Legal issues continue to mount for Wells Fargo & Company WFC. The third largest U.S. bank by assets is under the scrutiny of regulators in California and New Jersey. The bank will be investigated for signing up customers for Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU life policies, without their consent.



Wells Fargo has come under regulators scrutiny, after former employees of Prudential alleged the latter, last week, in a whistleblower lawsuit for fraud and misconduct. The insurer has been accused of safeguarding Wells Fargo for deceptively opening Prudentials low-cost MyTerm policies for clients without their permit. Notably, these employees were laid off, after they reported about the scam related to opening of policies by Wells Fargo without customers knowledge.



Both California and New Jersey regulators have geared up to scrutinize Prudentials activities as well, along with Wells Fargo. Prudential and Wells Fargo are in partnership for selling the formers insurance products to the bank's clients.



Our first objective is to figure out the truth, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said. The penalties can be quite severe if there is a violation. The purpose of the penalties is to discourage unlawful conduct and to hold accountable those that engage in unlawful conduct.



Notably, Prudential restricted distribution of MyTerm life policies through Wells Fargo after the allegations surfaced. Moreover, the insurer will compensate the customers charged for coverage without their consent.



We are deeply concerned about these allegations as they are completely counter to our values and our commitment to providing customers only the products and services they need and want, Ancel Martinez, a bank spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. We are working with Prudential to investigate any unauthorized or inappropriate referrals, added Martinez.



This investigation follows the banks $190-million settlement in Sep 2016 to resolve regulators claims of illegally opening millions of unauthorized accounts to meet their aggressive internal sales goals.



Conclusion



After the disclosure of malpractices related to opening of around two million bank and credit card accounts without customers consent, Wells Fargo has been facing issues with clients as they are reluctant to conduct business with the lender.



Further, investors disappointment was reflected in the share price movement. The shares, with a growth rate of 2.6% year to date, underperformed the 21.3% growth for the Zacks categorized Regional Banks-Major industry.

Story continues





The allegation led to many setbacks, including the banks shattered image, numerous lawsuits; triggered federal and state investigations, congressional hearings, and the banks former CEO  John Stumpf  losing his job (Read: Will Tim Sloan be the Turnaround CEO for Wells Fargo?). Further, in Oct 2016, the state of Illinois suspended $30 billion in investment activity with Wells Fargo for predatory and illegal banking practices. (Read More: Wells Fargo Loses Illinois State Business in Latest Setback).



In addition, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) intimated the bank about taking regulatory approvals before making business decisions. Particularly, Wells Fargo is restricted from making golden parachute payments to its departing executives. Also, the board of directors will require prior approval from the OCC, for hiring or laying off senior executives, as well as bringing changes in business plans.



However, the bank has undertaken many steps to restore its reputation post exposure of the scam. It initiated an internal probe and hired a consultant to review its sales practices. Additionally, management proposed to eliminate sales goals for its retail banking business, earlier than planned.



While the current crisis at Wells Fargo will take some time to alleviate, we believe that continued growth in loans and deposits, and expansion moves should support its growth profile, going forward.



Wells Fargo currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



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Comerica Inc. CMA has been witnessing upward estimate revisions for the last 60 days. Further, the stock has surged over 66.2% so far, this year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Fifth Third Bancorp FITB has been witnessing upward estimate revisions for the last 60 days. Also, the companys shares have risen nearly 35.8% so far, this year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



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Republican leaders on Capitol Hill put patriotism above partisan posturing in pledging to investigate the Central Intelligence Agencys explosive assessment that Russia used computer hackers to interfere with the U.S. presidential election.

The CIA had concluded that the Russians motive was to assist Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has ridiculed the assessment and the efficacy of the spy agency, invoking its 2002 warning that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

I think its ridiculous. I think its just another excuse. I dont believe it, the president-elect said Sunday in an interview on Fox News. He earlier accused Democrats of pushing the story because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country.

But Republican leaders in Congress, who control both houses, were not willing to summarily dismiss allegations of what would represent an unprecedented assault on the American political process. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that he would support a complete review of the matter by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Russians are not our friends, McConnell said. We need to approach all these on the assumption the Russians do not wish us well.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said his chamber also would investigate.

Any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable, Ryan said in a statement. And any intervention by Russia is especially problematic because, under President (Vladimir) Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests.

Its hard to overstate either the gravity of the allegations or the uniqueness of the political interplay at work between a president-elect, congressional leaders of his own party and the agency that is charged with providing the White House with the intelligence foundation for myriad foreign policies. The president-elect is mocking the CIA and its capabilities, not only on this issue, but in his dismissiveness toward the need for regular briefings. Republican leaders who are far more schooled in intelligence matters are drawing distance from Trump.

The House and Senate leaders willingness to investigate is welcome, but the question is whether that probe will be sufficiently aggressive and open.

Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., has called for a select committee along the lines of the ones that pursued the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s and, more recently, the Benghazi attacks. He called the hacking of the Democrats operations another form of warfare. Several prominent Senate Democrats, including Californias Dianne Feinstein, have urged an independent, nonpartisan commission to comprehensively investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The GOP leaderships willingness to investigate is a start. Pursuit of the facts must be unflinching, relentless and bipartisan  no matter where it leads.
San Francisco is one of the most progressive cities in the nation, especially when it comes to national immigration. We believe so much in the natural right of people to join us here in America that we fought to keep our status as sanctuary city even in the face of being federally defunded for it. We pride ourselves on our rejection of plans to tighten immigration controls and deport undocumented immigrants. Yet take that same conversation to the local level and all bets are off. City meetings have become heated, divisive and prone to rhetoric where we openly discuss exactly which kinds of people we want to keep out of our city.

This is an ethically incoherent position. If we in San Francisco so strongly believe that national immigration is a human right, then it seems strange to block migration into our own neighborhoods.

Consider the San Francisco Board of Supervisors decision to challenge the environmental review of a proposed housing project at 1515 Van Ness Ave. Despite the projects plan to rent 25 percent of its units at a below-market rate, many members of the neighborhood preservation group, Calle 24, expressed anger that the project might bring tech workers into the Latino Cultural District.

Or that members of the Forest Hill homeowners association opposed a project that would build affordable housing for seniors and the formerly homeless on a site now occupied by a church. One of the grievances aired was that it might bring mentally unstable or drug-addicted people into the neighborhood.

Both of these groups are reacting to the threat of change. In both cases, residents took it as a given that they were within their rights to control who lived in their neighborhoods.

Conservatives see national immigration as a privilege to carefully dole out. Liberals see immigration as a human right that needs to be protected. San Francisco progressives view living in certain neighborhoods as a privilege to be earned, and see nothing wrong with preventing certain groups of people from moving in, a traditionally conservative view.

Tech workers have now become the most visible of those whom neighborhood groups seek to exclude. Tech workers have been been cast as shallow opportunists who indifferently displace existing residents. However, most tech workers who move here are simply migrants from less affluent parts of the country. Theyre people from places like the Midwest who are just trying to find good jobs in one of the last functioning economic engines in the country. If we believe that San Francisco should be a shelter for people from less prosperous countries, why shouldnt it also be a shelter for people from less prosperous parts of our own country?

Even more pointedly, more than a third of Silicon Valley tech workers are immigrants themselves. For many people in China, India and Eastern Europe, working in technology is one of the few ways out of their countries and into ours.

Neighborhood activists want to protect their vision of San Francisco, and that is absolutely a noble purpose. However, blocking future residents isnt the way to go about it. How would you even do it?

The current approach of attempting to just halt construction hasnt proven effective at preserving neighborhood aesthetics. To truly control who lived in a neighborhood, youd have to create some official tribunal that would essentially have the ability to vet applicants by their demographics. This is would be very dangerous and likely illegal. Its hardly a progressive idea to deliberately institutionalize exclusionary policy.

If we really believe that migration is a human right and not a privilege extended at the discretion of current residents, then we need to acknowledge that neighborhood meetings where people feel entitled to debate the virtues of future residents are antimigration by definition.

We need to acknowledge that making room for, say, an Indian tech worker on an H1-B visa who is trying to get a green card serves the very same ideological purpose as making room for an undocumented worker from Mexico.

If you feel the same way, please come speak at City Hall in support of housing projects in your neighborhood.

Vincent Woo, who runs a small technology company, is a volunteer with the Yimby Party , a coalition of pro-housing organizations, including SF Bay Area Renters Federation , Grow SF , Progress Noe Valley , Palo Alto Forward and East Bay Forward . To find out about public hearings on new housing projects, subscribe to the SFYIMBY newsletter.
During the presidential campaign, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti called President-elect Donald Trump a racist and a bigot as he campaigned for Hillary Clinton. But since election day, the Democratic mayor of the nations second-largest city says he has spoken three times with Trump and encouraged him to leverage cities in a good way and reward those cities that step up with innovative ideas and ways to fund them.

If the president-elect knows anything, Garcetti said Monday during a visit to San Francisco, he knows leverage. Deal-making leverage.

The looming Trump presidency is casting a shadow over the two-day West Coast Mayors Summit, which runs through Tuesday. Some of the mayors  many of whom campaigned hard against Trump  are now worried that his administration will slice federal funding to cities or enforce harsh policies against immigrants.

Mayors such as Garcetti are concerned that Ben Carson, Trumps nominee for secretary of housing and urban development, has expressed a desire to shrink the department hes been tapped to lead. Even though Los Angeles voters passed a $1.2 billion bond measure in November to build 10,000 units of housing for homeless people over the next decade, losing federal funding could hurt the citys effort to deal with homelessness. Los Angeles now receives about $1 billion annually in federal housing support, half what it got 10 years ago.

It would be devastating to lose our federal (housing) funding after a decade of (seeing) it being cut in half, Garcetti said.

While Im realistic that cities are going to have to step up and ... find the funding sources on their own, to lose the last vestiges of federal funding would be devastating and compound this crisis, Garcetti said.

The good news, Garcetti said, is that during their conversations, he found that Trump starts with a fluency about cities. Being a New Yorker, Trump understands how infrastructure and public transportation work, Garcetti said. The two have spoken about the need for improved infrastructure and about Los Angeles bid to host the Olympic Games, he said.

Garcetti said he had tried to impress on Trump the need for immigration reform. He explained that nearly two-thirds of new businesses in Los Angeles are started by immigrants. Trumps reaction: He listened to it, Garcetti said. He expressed that he wants to do a large solution to fix a large ongoing problem (the immigration system) thats been broken for a long time.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is concerned about the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, said Lees spokeswoman, Deirdre Hussey.

More than 250,000 San Franciscans get some aspect of their health care through the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Hussey said.

Trump has called for repealing the law, and his nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, GOP Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, has been a leading congressional opponent of the act.

Other California mayors are addressing social repercussions from Trumps election. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Monday that he spent much of the weekend visiting mosques in his city, largely because of Trumps proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, an idea the president-elect has backed away from somewhat.

I was just trying to calm fears and assure people that we stand with them, Liccardo said.

Liccardo, Lee and Garcetti were among 18 mayors and municipal executives who signed a letter asking Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program until there is a long-term immigration rights solution. The DACA program gives certain rights to people who were brought to the U.S. as children by parents who lacked legal documentation. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel hand-delivered the letter to Trump last week.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement Monday that while her city is open to working with Trump, we are also prepared to fully exercise the autonomy that we have as local and state governments if the incoming administration pushes forward with policies that run afoul of our values or the rights we have as Oaklanders and Californians.

And for now, Schaaf, Lee and Liccardo havent spoken to Trump. Only Garcetti has.

Hes not on my speed dial, Liccardo said. And Im not on his.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
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BEIRUT  Syrias military said Monday that it has regained control of 98 percent of eastern Aleppo, as government forces close in the last remaining sliver of a rebel enclave packed with fighters as well as tens of thousands of civilians.

A medical administrator said he and the staff of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held districts were huddled in a shelter as Syrian government forces pushed in. Those killed and wounded are left on the streets, Mohammed Abu Rajab said.

Syrian President Bashar Assads troops and allied militias are on the verge of victory in Aleppo, the countrys largest city and onetime commercial capital, which has been divided since 2012.

A Syrian rebel spokesman in contact with fighters in the city called the collapse terrifying. Bassam Haj Mustafa, a senior member of the Nour el-Din el-Zinki group, said they are doing their best to defend what is left.

A U.S. official said Russia, a key ally of Assad, has refused an American proposal for a temporary halt to the fighting to allow the safe departure of those remaining in rebel-held areas. The proposal came during weekend talks in Geneva between U.S. and Russian experts that had been billed as an 11th-hour attempt to ease Aleppos endgame. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Osama Abo Zayd, a legal adviser to the Free Syrian Army rebel coalition, said some fighters had agreed to evacuate but that the Russians had demanded that all militants surrender, something he said was impossible.

This pushes us to fight to the last breath despite what we have to face, he said.

The loss of Aleppo would mark the greatest defeat for the rebels since the conflict began in 2011. The insurgents still control the northwestern Idlib province as well as scattered patches of territory elsewhere in the country.

Earlier on Monday, Syrian troops and allied Shiite militiamen from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran captured Sheikh Saeed, a sprawling neighborhood in eastern Aleppo. The military also claimed to have retaken al-Fardous, one of the most populous districts.

Rami Abdurrahman, head of Britains Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the rebels still control around 7 percent of eastern Aleppo. His group relies on a network of activists inside Syria.

The situation is very, very critical, said Ibrahim al-Haj, a member of the Syrian Civil Defense, volunteer first responders who operate in rebel-held areas. He said he has been seeking shelter for himself and his family, fearing clashes or capture by the government.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled to government-held western Aleppo since the offensive began last month, but tens of thousands of others are believed to have remained in the citys east.

A rebel fighter from inside Aleppo, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said most of the remaining civilians have massed in two or three neighborhoods, raising the specter of mass casualties if they are targeted by air strikes or artillery.
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A man was injured in San Franciscos North Beach neighborhood Sunday after a sidewalk dispute led to a drive-by shooting, officials said.

Gunfire erupted about 2:15 a.m. on the 400 block of Columbus Avenue near Vallejo Street, close to a number of bars and restaurants, police said.

The 24-year-old victim exited a business with two men, ages 26 and 22, police said. As the victim was walking out, he bumped into a group of three other men standing on the sidewalk, leading to an angry altercation, police said.

The three suspects fled the argument, returned in a vehicle and opened fire, hitting the victim, police said.

The victim, whose name was not released, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspects fled south on Columbus Avenue, police said.

No arrests have been made.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
City College of San Francisco, struggling for every dollar it can muster, must repay the state nearly $39 million because it cant prove that instructors taught thousands of students in hundreds of online classes from 2011 to 2014, an audit revealed.

City College has been unable to verify teaching about 16,000 students in 587 online courses  from Accent Improvement to Cardiorespiratory Emergencies  over the three-year period, according to the state-commissioned audit that ended in September.

No fraud is suspected. State officials say the college simply bungled the way it tracked course participation and will give the college a decade to repay the money. But having to give up $3.9 million a year exacerbates City Colleges budget woes, brought on by what the college says has been a severe plunge in enrollment due to its ongoing accreditation troubles.

Community colleges receive state money on a per-pupil basis. But to keep the money, instructors of online courses have specific requirements for documenting that they spent the required amount of time interacting with students.

Its a pretty black-and-white requirement, said Mario Rodriguez, vice chancellor for fiscal policy at the California Community College Chancellors Office, which requested the audit in 2015 after City College officials themselves discovered and reported the problem.

They knew they should have been keeping records of communications between students and instructors to prove the course was happening  and they didnt, Rodriguez said. No one can prove that they did, or they would get to keep the money.

He said it isnt enough just to show that students received grades in the courses. Were asking for some reasonable assurance that the state is getting what it paid for, he said, noting that of the states 113 community colleges, one or two have similar difficulties each year, although none to the extent of the City College problem.

According to the audit, it was not evident that students both participated and/or knew about the instructional activities and expectations of the courses.

The audit attributes the problem to instructors improper use of the Learning Management System designed to keep track of online instruction.

The trouble began in 2011 as the college, like many around the country, began relying more heavily on online courses in hopes of expanding enrollment and course offerings for less money.

But it was also a time when City College had grown lax with its fiscal management and governance  problems that came to the attention of college accreditors in 2012. Thats when the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges cracked down on City College for such lapses and spent the next few years trying to revoke its accreditation and shut down the school.

At the time, we were not keeping ourselves abreast of (state requirements), which is part of why there were accrediting challenges, said Jeff Hamilton, the colleges spokesman.

The accrediting commission is set to make its final, private determination about whether City College will live or die in January, and will make the ruling public in February.

State officials say the latest revelation should be seen as an example of how City College has improved since the crisis began.

They discovered the problem themselves, brought it to our attention, fixed the problem and are committed to paying the money back, said Paul Feist, spokesman for the states Interim Chancellor Erik Skinner. So this would suggest that the college has made a lot of progress, and a demonstration that its getting its fiscal house in order.

Hamilton said the problem was revealed in 2014 by Susan Lamb, just months after she was hired from Contra Costa Community College as vice chancellor for academic affairs at City College. Lamb brought it to the attention of the schools then-Chancellor Art Tyler, who reported it to the state.

Tyler has since resigned, while Lamb is interim chancellor. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Since its accrediting crisis began in 2012, City College said it has lost roughly 22,000 students, or 26 percent, bringing annual enrollment to less than 62,000. It remains unclear whether the problems with student counts in online courses are related to City Colleges overall enrollment decline.

The state has given City College millions of dollars in stabilization funding to offset the loss of students, but the law authorizing that cash ends in 2017.

The college got $44 million last year and $25 million this year, and will get nothing next year.

To address the budget problem, college officials have begun reducing their 3,500 course offerings by 5 percent a year, to the dismay of students and faculty.

Last month, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved Prop. B, an extension of the citys parcel tax for City College, which is expected to provide about $19 million a year, up from the current $15 million.

Asked how the $38.9 million loss will affect the college, Hamilton said only that the loss will have to be built into its budget.

We arent falling off a fiscal cliff, as some have described the schools finances, he said. We have a budget plan to prevent us from falling off a fiscal cliff.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
WASHINGTON  When Special Agent Adrian Hawkins of the FBI called the Democratic National Committee in September 2015 to pass along some troubling news about its computer network, he was transferred, naturally, to the help desk.

His message was brief, if alarming. At least one computer system belonging to the DNC had been compromised by hackers federal investigators had named "the Dukes," a cyberespionage team linked to the Russian government.

The FBI knew it well: The bureau had spent the last few years trying to kick the Dukes out of the unclassified email systems of the White House, the State Department and even the Joint Chiefs of Staff, one of the government's best-protected networks.

Yared Tamene, the tech-support contractor at the DNC who fielded the call, was no expert in cyberattacks. His first moves were to check Google for "the Dukes" and conduct a cursory search of the DNC computer system logs to look for hints of such a cyberintrusion. By his own account, he did not look too hard even after Hawkins called back repeatedly over the next several weeks  in part because he wasn't certain the caller was a real FBI agent and not an impostor.

"I had no way of differentiating the call I just received from a prank call," Tamene wrote in an internal memo, obtained by The New York Times, that detailed his contact with the FBI.

It was the cryptic first sign of a cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, the first such attempt by a foreign power in American history. What started as an information-gathering operation, intelligence officials believe, ultimately morphed into an effort to harm one candidate, Hillary Clinton, and tip the election to her opponent, Donald Trump.

Like another famous American election scandal, it started with a break-in at the DNC. The first time, 44 years ago at the committee's old offices in the Watergate complex, the burglars planted listening devices and jimmied a filing cabinet. This time, the burglary was conducted from afar, directed by the Kremlin, with spear-phishing emails and zeros and ones.

An examination by The Times of the Russian operation  based on interviews with dozens of players targeted in the attack, intelligence officials who investigated it and Obama administration officials who deliberated over the best response  reveals a series of missed signals, slow responses and a continuing underestimation of the seriousness of the cyberattack.

The DNC's fumbling encounter with the FBI meant the best chance to halt the Russian intrusion was lost. The failure to grasp the scope of the attacks undercut efforts to minimize their impact. And the White House's reluctance to respond forcefully meant the Russians have not paid a heavy price for their actions, a decision that could prove critical in deterring future cyberattacks.

The low-key approach of the FBI meant that Russian hackers could roam freely through the committee's network for nearly seven months before top DNC officials were alerted to the attack and hired cyberexperts to protect their systems. In the meantime, the hackers moved on to targets outside the DNC, including Clinton's campaign chairman, John D. Podesta, whose private email account was hacked months later.

Even Podesta, a savvy Washington insider who had written a 2014 report on cyberprivacy for President Barack Obama, did not truly understand the gravity of the hacking.

By last summer, Democrats watched in helpless fury as their private emails and confidential documents appeared online day after day  procured by Russian intelligence agents, posted on WikiLeaks and other websites, then eagerly reported on by the American media, including The Times. Trump gleefully cited many of the purloined emails on the campaign trail.

The fallout included the resignation of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the chairwoman of the DNC, and most of her top party aides. Leading Democrats were sidelined at the height of the campaign, silenced by revelations of embarrassing emails or consumed by the scramble to deal with the hacking. Though little-noticed by the public, confidential documents taken by the Russian hackers from the DNC's sister organization, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, turned up in congressional races in a dozen states, tainting some of them with accusations of scandal.

In recent days, a skeptical president-elect, the nation's intelligence agencies and the two major parties have become embroiled in an extraordinary public dispute over what evidence exists that President Vladimir Putin of Russia moved beyond mere espionage to deliberately try to subvert American democracy and pick the winner of the presidential election.

Many of Clinton's closest aides believe that the Russian assault had a profound effect on the election, while conceding that other factors  from Clinton's weaknesses as a candidate, to her private email server, to the public statements of FBI Director James A. Comey about her handling of classified information  were also important.

While there's no way to be certain of the ultimate effect of the hack, this much is clear: A low-cost, high-impact weapon that Russia had test-fired in elections from Ukraine to Europe was trained on the United States, with devastating effectiveness. For Russia, with an enfeebled economy and a nuclear arsenal it cannot use short of all-out war, cyberpower proved the perfect weapon: cheap, hard to see coming, hard to trace.

"There shouldn't be any doubt in anybody's mind," Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S Cyber Command, said at a postelection conference. "This was not something that was done casually, this was not something that was done by chance, this was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily," he said. "This was a conscious effort by a nation-state to attempt to achieve a specific effect."

For the people whose emails were stolen, this new form of political sabotage has left a trail of shock and professional damage. Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and a key Clinton supporter, recalls walking into the busy Clinton transition offices, humiliated to see her face on television screens as pundits discussed a leaked email in which she had called Clinton's instincts "suboptimal."

"It was just a sucker punch to the gut every day," Tanden said. "It was the worst professional experience of my life."

The United States, too, has carried out cyberattacks, and in decades past the CIA tried to subvert foreign elections. But the Russian attack is increasingly understood across the political spectrum as an ominous historic landmark  with one notable exception: Trump has rejected the findings of the intelligence agencies he will soon oversee as "ridiculous," insisting that the hacker may be American, or Chinese, but that "they have no idea."

Trump cited the reported disagreements between the agencies about whether Putin intended to help elect him. On Tuesday, a Russian government spokesman echoed Trump's scorn.

"This tale of 'hacks' resembles a banal brawl between American security officials over spheres of influence," Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote on Facebook.

Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder and editor, has resisted the conclusion that his site became a pass-through for Russian hackers working for Putin's government or that he was deliberately trying to undermine Clinton's candidacy. But the evidence on both counts appears compelling.

Over the weekend, four prominent senators, two Republicans and two Democrats, joined forces to pledge an investigation while pointedly ignoring Trump's skeptical claims.

"Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyberattacks," said Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Schumer and Jack Reed.

"This cannot become a partisan issue," they said. "The stakes are too high for our country."

As the year draws to a close, it now seems possible that there will be multiple investigations of the Russian hacking  the intelligence review Obama has ordered completed by Jan. 20, the day he leaves office, and one or more congressional inquiries. They will wrestle with, among other things, Putin's motive.

Did he seek to mar the brand of American democracy, to forestall anti-Russian activism for both Russians and their neighbors? Or to weaken the next American president, since presumably Putin had no reason to doubt U.S. forecasts that Clinton would win easily? Or was it, as the CIA concluded last month, a deliberate attempt to elect Trump?

In fact, the Russian hack-and-dox scheme accomplished all three goals.

What seems clear is that Russian hacking, given its success, is not going to stop. Two weeks ago, the German intelligence chief, Bruno Kahl, warned that Russia might target elections in Germany next year. "The perpetrators have an interest to delegitimize the democratic process as such," Kahl said. Now, he added, "Europe is in the focus of these attempts of disturbance, and Germany to a particularly great extent."

But Russia's cybertsars have by no means forgotten the American target. On the day after the presidential election, the cybersecurity company Volexity reported five new waves of phishing emails, evidently from Cozy Bear  the nickname for one of the two Russian hacking groups the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike found at work inside the DNC network  aimed at think tanks and nonprofits in the United States.

One of them purported to be from Harvard University, attaching a fake paper. Its title: "Why American Elections Are Flawed."
YouTube launched in 2005 and since then, a select few have been launched into stardom and making millions.

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1 Fatal fire: Four children under the age of 10 were killed and another child and an adult were injured when a home in middle Tennessee caught fire early Monday, a fire official said. Springfield Fire Chief Jimmy Hamill said firefighters arrived within four minutes of getting the call at 3:34 a.m. to find heavy fire coming from the front of the house in Springfield. Crews fought their way into the small home to search for survivors and knocked the blaze down quickly, but found four children, ages 4, 7, 8 and 9, dead near the back of the house. Hamill says the childrens father and a female child were taken to a hospital in Nashville. Hamill said the mother and two other children escaped unharmed.

2 Fetal remains: Advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in Austin Monday seeking to prevent Texas from requiring hospitals and abortion clinics to bury or cremate fetal remains rather than disposing of them in a sanitary landfill, as they most often currently do with such remains and other biological medical waste. The lawsuit by the Center for Reproductive Rights and other groups contends that the rules set to take effect Dec. 19 serve no medical purpose and are meant to shame women who seek abortions and make it harder for doctors to provide them. Texas has failed to provide any credible evidence of what health benefit this might, said Nancy Northup, the Center for Reproductive Rights president.
WASHINGTON  President-elect Donald Trump has selected Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department, dismissing concerns about the businessmans close ties with Russia, two people close to Trumps transition said Monday night.

Trumps decision caps a lengthy process that often played out in public and exposed rifts within his transition team. It also sets Trump up for a potential fight with Congress over confirming Tillerson, who has connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump was set to announce Tillersons nomination Tuesday morning. The people close to his transition team insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the decision ahead of that announcement.

The president-elect had moved toward choosing Tillerson after a meeting Saturday, their second discussion in a week. Trump was said to be drawn to the idea of having an international businessman serve as the nations top diplomat.

But the prospect of Tillersons nomination sparked immediate concern on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are already grappling with intelligence assessments suggesting Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote on Twitter that being a friend of Vladimir was not an attribute he was seeking in a secretary of state.

In a weekend interview with Fox News Sunday, Trump cast Tillersons deep relations with Moscow as a selling point. As Exxon Mobils head, he maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded by Putin with the Order of Friendship in 2013, an honor for a foreign citizen.

A great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company, Trump said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Tillersons test will be whether his corporate deal-making skills translate into the delicate world of international diplomacy. He would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages, and in China, given Trumps recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas in 1975 and never left.
CONCORD, N.H.  Snow and freezing rain made for messy commutes and closed hundreds of schools Monday as a snowstorm pushed into the Northeast.

The storm left nearly a foot of snow on the ground in some spots in the Great Lakes and upper Midwest before dumping up to about a half-foot across New York and northern New England. Boston, New York City and Philadelphia were spared.

Speeds were reduced on snow-packed roads and there were many school delays and closures from Michigan to Maine. Authorities said there were numerous crashes on the Maine Turnpike, and crashes on local roads in Gorham and New Portland, Maine, resulted in two fatalities.

Portland, Maine, got about 4 inches of snow, but that wasnt enough to close down the Portland Fish Exchange, an auction house that was preparing for the arrival of day boat scallops later Monday.

Weve got a crew in here doing snow removal and repairs and whatnot, said auction house general manager Bert Jongerden. Its pretty rare that we happen to close here. This is just a little bit of nuisance snow, really.

Pats Peak Ski Area in Henniker, N.H., had received 6 to 8 inches by midmorning. Spokeswoman Lori Rowell said the ski area that opened Saturday with about half its trails saw more children Monday, thanks to school closures.

We love it, Rowell said. There are lots kids there that took advantage of that opportunity.

But it wasnt all fun and games.

Brian Audet of Epsom, N.H., said he saw one car off the road as he drove into nearby Concord early Monday. It was slow going, but they stayed ahead of it, and it was pretty decent, he said.

David Holden, owner of Hair Biz Salon in Concord was among those spending the morning shoveling the citys newly expanded sidewalks.

The roads are really slippery this morning. Its a first bigger snow for us in New Hampshire, we probably have 6 or 7 inches, and so they were a little slippery and people were moving slow, he said.

The National Weather Service said that 3 to 6 inches fell in Maine and New Hampshire while Vermont saw 8 inches in West Brattleboro and 2 to 4 inches in most other places.

Hundreds of Michigan schools closed Monday as the state dug out from more than 10 inches of snow that fell over the weekend. In southeastern Michigan, schools were closed Monday in Detroit and surrounding Wayne County. Wayne State University in Detroit also was closed.
A gun-wielding assailant opened fire at a Sacramento apartment with 16 people inside  including children  seriously injuring four people, police said Tuesday.

Calls came in about 9 p.m. Monday reporting shots fired and injured victims inside an apartment on the 4800 block of Myrtle Avenue, according to the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department.

At the scene, deputies found three female victims  ages 39, 38 and 15  and a 21-year-old male victim with gunshot wounds. Deputies gave medical aid to the victims before Sacramento Metro Fire took them to hospitals, authorities said.

The 39-year-old woman suffered a life-threatening gunshot wound in the head and was in critical condition Tuesday. The other three victims were in serious condition, the department said.

Its not known whether there were multiple attackers, but police say it appears the gunshots were fired through the closed front door of the apartment.

Officials believe the culprit or culprits were known to the victims, and the victims had prior incidents with one suspect, said Sgt. Tony Turnbull, a sheriffs spokesman. He would not disclose details of the previous confrontations.

Of the 16 family and friends gathered at the apartment, five were children who ranged in ages from 4 to 16, officials said.

Investigators continue to follow leads and were interviewing potential witnesses. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information on the shooting can call the sheriffs department at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. To remain anonymous, visit www.sacsheriff.com or call (916) 874-8477.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
(Adds dropped word without in eighth paragraph)

By Julia Fioretti

BRUSSELS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Messaging services such as Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's WhatsApp face stricter rules on how they handle customer data under new security laws due to be proposed by the European Union, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

The EU executive wants to extend some rules that now only apply to telecom operators to web companies offering calls and messages using the internet, known as "Over-The-Top" (OTT) services, according to the draft.

Web services will have to guarantee the confidentiality of communications and obtain users' consent to process their location data, mirroring similar provisions included in a separate data protection law due to come into force in 2018.

Telecoms firms have long complained that companies such as Alphabet Inc's Google, Microsoft and Facebook are more lightly regulated, despite offering similar services.

The phone companies have called for European Union rules specific to telecoms firms - known as the e-privacy directive - either to be repealed or extended to everyone.

"This creates a void of protection of confidentiality for the users of these services," the draft said, referring to OTTs.

"Moreover, it generates an uneven playing field between these providers and electronic communications service providers, as services which are perceived by users as functionally equivalent are not subject to the same rules."

A European Commission spokeswoman declined to comment on the draft but said the aim of the review was to adapt the rules to the data protection regulation which will come into force in 2018 and simplify the provisions for cookies.

Telecom companies, barred by current rules from using customer data to provide additional services and make more money, will be able to use customer data with their consent, according to the proposal.

It would also remove the obligation on websites to ask visitors for permission to place cookies on their browsers via a banner if the user has already consented through the privacy settings of the web browser.

Story continues

Cookies are placed on web surfers' computers and contain bits of information about the user, such as what other sites they have visited or where they are logging in from. They are widely used by companies to deliver targeted ads to users.

"If browsers are equipped with such functionality, websites that want to set cookies for behavioral advertising purposes may not need to put in place banners requesting their consent insofar as users may provide their consent by selecting the right settings in their browser," the draft said.

Many have questioned the effectiveness of such cookie banners which appear every time a user lands on a website because people tend to accept them without necessarily reading what that entails.

"While such banners serve to empower users, at the same time, they may cause irritation because users are forced to read the notices and click on the boxes, thus impairing internet browsing experience," the draft said.

The proposal is set to be unveiled in January and may still undergo changes.

(Editing by David Clarke)
At this point, most people in Washington believe that there was a Kremlin-sponsored effort to interfere in the election by hacking the computer systems of, among others, the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, Hillary Clintons campaign chairman. The problem for Republicans is that their incoming president isnt one of them.

Despite the unanimous assessment of the 16 agencies that comprise the U.S. Intelligence Community, President-elect Donald Trump has continued to say that he doesnt believe Russia was involved in any sort of hacking, and has accused the agencies of playing politics.

Related: Trump Says No to Daily Intel Briefings Because He's a 'Smart Person'

His efforts to cast doubt on the intelligence agencies findings only intensified over the weekend, after The New York Times reported that the Central Intelligence Agency is confident that the Russian effort was aimed specifically at helping Trump win the election, and not just an attempt to undermine confidence in U.S. elections. (It should be noted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has agreed with the finding that the hacks were sponsored by Russia, has said that it does not have enough evidence to impute a motive to the Kremlin.)

In a remarkable attempt to rewrite history, the president-elect on Monday morning tweeted, Unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?

The first claim, according to computer forensics experts, is patently false. But Trumps demanding to know why the issue of Russian hacking wasnt brought up before the election is a bit like asking, Why didnt the sun come up last Wednesday?

Related: Trump Dumps on the F-35

Thats because it was brought up before the election. Repeatedly. On a daily basis, in fact, all through the summer and fall. It was even brought up by Clinton, during a televised debate, with Trump standing right next to her. (The occasion of the president-elects meme-worthy No puppet! No puppet! Youre the puppet! response.)

Story continues

Trumps denial -- and now the suggestion among some prominent Trump supporters that the whole hacking episode was a false flag operation possibly conducted by the U.S. government itself -- has put congressional Republicans in a tough spot.

Republicans are facing the first opportunity in more than a decade to enjoy unified control of the legislative and executive branches of government. Pursuing an investigation of an attack that Trump claims never happened could take the focus off things like Obamacare repeal and tax reform.

If an investigation confirms the Intelligence Communitys assessment, it could delegitimize the president that they are hoping to work with for the next four years. And given Trumps demonstrated ability to hold a grudge and his willingness to retaliate if he believes he has been wronged, it could poison the relationship between the White House and Capitol Hill.

To top it all off, it could conceivably cost Trump his reported pick for secretary of state, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. A Tillerson nomination is already seen as potentially problematic, due in large part to his relationship with Vladimir Putin. Several key Republicans in Congress are already signaling their concerns. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) tweeted on Sunday, "Being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState."

Related: Trump Says the Unemployment Rate Is Bogus -- and His Labor Pick Puzder Agrees

The result of all this is a mishmash of positions among top GOP leaders.

On Sunday morning, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who chairs the Judiciary Committees Crime and Terrorism panel, joined Democrats in calling for a thorough investigation.

Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American. Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyber-attacks, they said in a joint statement.

However, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, tweeted, All this news of Russian hacking: it has been going on for years. Serious, but hardly news.

Related: Economic Growth Alone Wont Make America Great Again

On Monday, though, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he strongly condemn[s] the Russian hacking and has the highest confidence in U.S. intelligence services. He said it defies belief that Republicans in Congress would not want to investigate the matter. However, he resisted the call to appoint an independent commission, saying that he believes the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is capable of conducting the inquiry.

On the other side of the Capitol, House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to want to have things both ways, issuing a statement in which he strongly condemned Russia but fell short of calling for an investigation.

We must condemn and push back forcefully against any state-sponsored cyberattacks on our democratic process ... As Ive said before, any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable. And any intervention by Russia is especially problematic because, under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests. At the same time, exploiting the work of our intelligence community for partisan purposes does a grave disservice to those professionals and potentially jeopardizes our national security. As we work to protect our democracy from foreign influence, we should not cast doubt on the clear and decisive outcome of this election.

Related: How Mike Pence Is Already Putting His Stamp on the Trump White House

It wasnt long before it became clear which approach Team trump favors. In an interview, Trump spokesman Jason Miller was asked specifically about McConnells decision to support an investigation.

I think really clearly that what this is is an attempt to delegitimize President-elect Trumps win, Miller said.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
RENO  Environmentalists in the Sierra Nevada praised congressional approval of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act as a critical step necessary to continue efforts to reverse a long-term drop in the clarity of the mountain lakes azure waters.

The act approved Friday as part of a larger national package of infrastructure improvements authorizes up to $415 million in federal appropriations at the lake over the next seven years.

Tahoe advocates who had been concerned that President-elect Donald Trump might not sign the measure into law were relieved it is now headed to the desk of President Obama.

Its a great day for Lake Tahoe, said Darcie Goodman Collins, executive director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe. Once signed by President Obama, this legislation will allow essential actions to protect Lake Tahoe to move ahead, increasing the likelihood that well be able to Keep Tahoe Blue now and for future generations.

Two longtime backers of restoration efforts at the lake  Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.  voted against the overall bill because they say an amendment attached to the measure by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, will allow more water to be pumped into the Californias Central Valley to benefit agriculture at the expense of the salmon industry.

But Joanne Marchetta, executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, said the importance of the bipartisan legislation cannot be overstated.

Underwater visibility stretched to a depth of 105 feet at Lake Tahoe in 1968 when scientists first measured it by lowering a white, dinner-plate-sized disk into the water until it disappeared.

Clarity worsened by 30 percent over the next three decades  about a foot a year  falling to a record-poor 64 feet in 1997. The rate of the loss of clarity has since slowed, registering 73 feet last year.

The act authorizes the spending for environmental restoration projects, including the control of aquatic invasive species and reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfire.

Federal policy is once again focused on preserving Lake Tahoe for future generations of Americans to enjoy, said Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev. Important initiatives addressing the numerous threats the lake faces will now be set into motion.

Heller co-sponsored the bill along with Sens. Reid, Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., as well as Reps. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove (Sacramento County) and John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove (Sacramento County).

Bill details

$150 million for fire risk reduction and forest management.

$113 million for stormwater runoff pollution reduction.

$80 million for environmental improvement projects that can range from bike trails to creek restoration.

$45 million for invasive species management.

$20 million for Lahontan cutthroat trout recovery.
The University of California released its admissions data for the fall 2015 term and revealed which UC campuses accepted the most students who attended San Francisco public high schools.

For the 2015 academic year, the UC schools that accepted the most applicants from public high schools in San Francisco were UC Merced, UC Riverside and UC San Diego, with about 55, 49, and 44 percent of the applicants being accepted, respectively.
Sidewalk vendors operate legally in the biggest U.S. cities with one notable exception: Los Angeles.

For decades, efforts to add a permit system for the citys $500 million underground vending economy have faltered. Proponents say thats because the city lacked a crucial ingredient: political will.

But a new bid has an unlikely motivator: President-elect Donald Trumps plan to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally.

It seems to have lit a fire under some of the City Council members, said Mark Vallianatos, who teaches urban and environmental policy at Occidental College.

According to government estimates, there are roughly 50,000 sidewalk vendors in Los Angeles, hawking wares like T-shirts, phone chargers, bacon-wrapped hot dogs and tamales.

Most are immigrants and an unknown share are unauthorized to stay in the United States, researchers say.

While antivending laws are seldom enforced, violations can result in misdemeanor charges. City Council members have said decriminalizing the work has become a pressing matter given the statements from Trump, who has vowed to deport unauthorized immigrants with criminal records.

A new proposal would create a permit system for the vendors, regulate where they can set up their carts and require them to abide by health codes long enforced at their brick-and-mortar counterparts.

The plan was advanced by a City Council committee Monday. It is set to go before the full City Council early next year.

Parts of the proposal have pleased business owners who have traditionally been wary about what legalized sidewalk vending would mean for them. Notably, it calls for a limit of two vendors per block.

But some are also skeptical such a rule would be enforced.

Norm Langer, owner of Langers Delicatessen in the Westlake neighborhood, said he had complained to the city repeatedly about a rambling colony of illegal vendors outside his restaurant. The police responded, he said, Never, never, never.

All of this is fine and good if youve got enforcement, he added. I have no confidence that will happen.

Both sides in the debate acknowledge that the system now is broken.

Vallianatos said the moment appeared ripe to fix it. He cited the political power of the citys rising Latino population, a growing embrace of urban walkable spaces and, of course, Trump.

To me, its kind of embarrassing, Vallianatos said. To have us be the standout in the country with no possibility for legal vending is a betrayal.
NEVATIM AIR FORCE BASE, Israel  The vanguard of Israels new fleet of F-35 fighter jets roared onto the Nevatim air base Monday, ushering in a new era for Israeli air power and sharpening its military edge in a volatile Mideast.

The arrival of Israels first two F-35 stealth aircraft also highlighted the Obama administrations commitment to providing its ally with the latest U.S. military advances.

An elaborate ceremony at Nevatim in southern Israel was delayed several hours because poor weather kept the F-35s from taking off from Italy for the flight to Israel.

In attendance were U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking shortly before the planes landed, Netanyahu thanked Carter and President Obama.

We value this commitment to the alliance with Israel, he said.

Netanyahu issued a warning to Israels enemies. I want to also say clearly, anyone who thinks to attack us will be attacked, anyone who thinks to destroy us is positioning themselves to an existential threat. That is a vital condition to ensure our future. History teaches us a simple thing: weak states dont survive, Netanyahu said in Hebrew.

Carter said that the U.S. is more committed to Israeli security than ever before and that the F-35s are evidence of that.

From its stealth technology to its fighter capabilities, the F-35 will allow pilots to evade detection and fly at supersonic speeds while conducting air defense; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; or ground attack missions, Carter said.

The F-35 is considered to be the worlds most sophisticated new warplane, equipped with stealth capabilities that allow it to evade or delay detection by the top radar systems. Israeli officials believe the plane will give them an advantage over their neighbors for years to come.
Robbie Sweeny/13th Floor

The first sign that the world of 13th Floors Next Time, Ill Take the Stairs isnt like our own is that the elevators Ivy (Julie Mahony) and Otis (David Silpa) are trying to go only down.

The second sign is that Ivy and Otis dont adhere to conversational norms; shes probing into his past  and tickling him  before she even knows his name. Before long, characters have plummeted into a world where space and time break rules as well, where a ticking sound can bite you and where the ensemble swim in a lake that pours out of a characters pockets. It feels a bit like Alice in Wonderland, not least because one character, played by Jenny McAllister, is named Rabbit.
This article originally appeared on Inside Science.

Earth's weather ranges from blizzards to sandstorms and more. It's not the only planet in our solar system with weather, either. Jupiter, for example, has storms large enough to swallow Earth. Now researchers have for the first time detected weather-like patterns on an exoplanet, a world outside the solar system.

This alien weather may involve clouds of the same mineral that rubies and sapphires are made of, and winds up to thousands of kilometers per hour. "This would look stunning," said study lead author David Armstrong, an astrophysicist at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.

In the past two decades, astronomers have confirmed the existence of more than 3,400 worlds outside Earth's solar system, many of which NASA's Kepler space telescope found. These discoveries have revealed that some exoplanets, such as "hot Jupiters" -- gas giants that orbit their stars closer than Mercury does the sun -- are very different from those seen in Earth's own solar system.

Scientists are now moving from merely discovering exoplanets to uncovering more details about them. For instance, exoplanets reflect light from their stars, and examining this light can yield insights on the atmospheres and surfaces of these distant worlds.

The scientists focused on HAT-P-7 b, also known as Kepler 2b, a giant planet discovered in 2008 located about 1,045 light years from Earth around a star about 50 percent more massive than the sun. HAT-P-7 b is a hot Jupiter roughly 1.4 times Jupiter's width and 1.8 times its mass that orbits its star about 10 times closer than Mercury does the sun. Dayside temperatures can reach a scorching 1,925 degrees Celsius, "easily hot enough to melt iron," Armstrong said.

They examined four years of data that the Kepler spacecraft gathered on fluctuations in HAT-P-7 b's light. They found the brightest spot on the exoplanet changed position over time, shifting to either side of the point closest to the star on the timescale of tens to hundreds of days. This suggested that clouds on the world that reflected this light moved as wind speeds varied over time.

"These measurements are a stunning example of how planets are really places, complete with variable weather," said astrophysicist Laura Kreidberg at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who did not take part in this study. "It's really exciting stuff."

HAT-P-7 b is tidally locked, which means that one side of the exoplanet always faces its star while the other side faces "the cold of space," Armstrong said. "This makes the dayside much hotter than the nightside. Strong temperature differences like this cause powerful winds, blowing around the planet in an equatorial jet." Prior research of hot Jupiters suggest that the winds on HAT-P-7 b may blow at speeds of several kilometers per second, he added.

Since the nightside on HAT-P-7 b is cooler than its dayside, clouds form more easily there. However, whereas the clouds on Earth are made of water, those on HAT-P-7 b are made "of condensed minerals, such as corundum or perovskite," Armstrong said. (Corundum is the mineral that forms rubies and sapphires.)

The exoplanet's strong winds push these clouds from the nightside onto the dayside, explaining the fluctuations in brightness the researchers detected. "There would be a huge bank of clouds streaming into the bright side of the planet, reaching further when the winds are strongest," Armstrong said.

Armstrong said they chose HAT-P-7 b because it is one of only a handful of exoplanets that have large bodies of data on the light they reflect from their stars. "HAT-P-7 b is the planet with the second strongest signal available," he said. "We did look at the strongest, Kepler-13 b, but did not find anything."

The variable nature of HAT-P-7 b's weather may be due to magnetic fields, said astrophysicist Vivien Parmentier at the University of Arizona at Tucson, who did not participate in this study. The winds are likely full of electrically charged ions, and the exoplanet's magnetic fields might drive them back and forth across the planet, he said. "The magnetic explanation seems possible but needs to be confirmed by more theoretical work and observations," Parmentier said.

Planned space telescopes such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's PLATO or CHEOPS could help shed more light on alien weather, Armstrong said. "Future missions will allow us to start seeing what the full range of exoplanet weather could be," Armstrong said. "We see huge diversity in the planets we find, so we would expect the same diversity in their atmospheres and weather."

The scientists detailed their findings online Dec. 12 in the journal Nature Astronomy.

This article originally appeared on Inside Science.
Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Sidney Crosby left briefly after taking a stick to the face, then returned and picked up his NHL-leading 21st goal as the Penguins won their sixth in a row by crushing Arizona 7-0 in Pittsburgh on Monday night.

Crosby received treatment between the first and second periods after getting whacked in the mouth by the Coyotes Martin Hanzal, then returned to the bench about three minutes into the second.
ROME  A judge in Sicily convicted a ship captain and crewmate Tuesday in the April 2015 sinking off Libya that left 700 people dead in the Mediterraneans worst-known refugee disaster.

The Tunisian captain, Mohammad Ali Malek, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined $9.5 million. He was convicted of multiple manslaughter counts. His Syrian crewmate, Mahmud Bikhit, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $9.5 million for facilitating illegal immigration.

Prosecutors had accused Malek of inadvertently ramming the overloaded fishing boat he was captaining into a cargo ship that had come to its rescue on April 18, 2015. The boat flipped after passengers rushed to one side, trying to get off.

Only 28 survived.

Earlier this year, the Italian Navy brought the wreck to the surface and recovered about 700 bodies, many trapped in the hull. Forensic pathologists have been working to try to identify them, so the remains can be returned to the victims families.

The wreck prompted the European Union to beef up its Mediterranean rescue flotilla. But the waves of refugees have continued: In 2016, 176,678 people have arrived in Italy by sea, more than in either 2014 or 2015, according to the International Organization of Migration.

The deaths have continued as well: The organization counts 4,244 known deaths on the Libya-Italy smuggling route during 2016, compared with 2,868 last year.

Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro hailed the verdict after the fast-track trial.

In a statement, Zuccaro said it reinforced two important legal principles: affirming Italian jurisdiction for illegal immigration cases that occur in international waters, and considering rescued refugees as victims, not suspects.
BAGHDAD  A report released Monday by Airwars, a London project aimed at tracking the U.S.-led coalitions air strikes targeting the Islamic State group, criticized the coalitions lack of transparency when assessing civilian casualties. Coalition air strikes have been critical in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq where Iraqi forces are currently trying to push the militant group out of Mosul.

While U.S. officials have acknowledged that 173 civilians have died in coalition air strikes since the start of the campaign against Islamic State in the summer of 2014, the Airwars group says the number of civilian casualties is much greater: at least 1,500.

The Airwars project said the discrepancy in the numbers of acknowledged civilian casualties is partially due to how civilian deaths are investigated, assessments carried out by the coalition are opaque, ad hoc, and significantly biased towards internal military reporting, the group said.

The coalition has been repeatedly criticized for the slow pace of investigations into civilian casualties in the fight against Islamic State. The coalition has carried out more than 16,500 air strikes in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State targets since the fight against the militant group was started more than two years ago.

In Mosul, Iraqi forces continue a slow advance on the citys eastern front. During meetings with Iraqi military commanders south of Mosul Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi emphasized the operation is being waged in an effort to reduce casualties among Iraqi troops and civilians, according to a written statement released by his office.

Iraqi forces inside Mosul were more optimistic about the pace of the fight.

Within days we will be advancing toward the six remaining districts and reach the left bank of the Tigris (River), meaning we will have liberated the whole of the east side of Mosul, said Iraqi special forces Maj. Gen. Maan al-Saadi in Mosuls eastern Nour neighborhood on Sunday.

In Fallujah, two suicide car bombings targeting security checkpoints in the city of Fallujah have killed at least two people on Sunday, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen Saad Maan. He said the attacks killed a civilian and a policeman, and wounded seven.

A local police officer and a medical official put the casualty toll at three killed and 11 wounded.
Supreme Court Denies Motion to Put PNM Rate Increase on Hold

PNM customers will be

if the states high court determines early next year that regulators and the investor-owned utility failed to properly justify a recent electric rate hike.

Trump Team Talks to Wilson About Security Post

South Dakota School of Mines President Heather Wilson, who served in Congress for New Mexico after working on the National Security Council staff under President George HW Bush,

on Monday.

Expedited Reimbursements

Congress has passed a bipartisan measure to

to tribes and local governments for costs they incurred after the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally released toxic chemicals from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River.

Election Results Certified

Matthew Reichbach reports, Recently

to the election night winners.

Prosecutors Look to Standardize Investigations

District attorneys from New Mexicos 13 judicial districts are l

police officer shooting investigations.

Santa Fe Faculty Files Petition to Unionize

Robert Nott reports, The faculty of Santa Fe Community College, following the lead of teaching staffs on campuses across the country, has

with the New Mexico Public Employees Labor Relations Board to organize a union next year.

Santa Fe Reporter
Fonterra Cooperative Group chairman John Wilson expects it will take another one-to-two years before theres clarity on how its Chinese partner Beingmate Baby & Child will fare under new regulations governing infant formula in China.

The so-called Article 81 regulatory change means each legal entity will only be allowed to have three brands with three recipes for infant formula and thats expected to decimate the number of brands and labels on supermarket shelves in China from more than 2,000 currently to around 200.

The Shenzen-listed Beingmate, in which Fonterra has invested about $754 million, recently reported further operating losses for the third quarter of 2016. Following a dismal half-year performance where it reported a 214 million yuan loss, Beingmate has reported negative earnings of 195 million yuan for the quarter ending September 2016 and a net margin of negative 42 percent. Its share price is trading at 12.58 yuan, well down on the 18 yuan per share Fonterra paid for its 18.8 per cent stake in March last year. Beingmate hasnt paid dividends for some time.

Many of the infant formula producers who are expected to be forced to exit the Chinese market have been clearing inventory which has had a substantial impact on market prices and net margins in the past and current financial year.

A shareholder in Fonterras unit fund asked for more information on the dairy cooperatives China strategy at yesterdays annual fund meeting while the annual Fonterra Shareholders Council report has in-depth commentary on Beingmate which it said had quite rightly been of great interest to shareholders.

Wilson said the regulatory changes are challenging for all entities operating in Chinas infant formula market but Fonterra has confidence Beingmate will come through the changes well and the board is monitoring it closely.

Historically it has operated very well and every participant in that sector is under the sort of pressure Beingmate is under, Wilson said. Beingmate has to grab the opportunities that present themselves because of that and that is our expectation of them.

Fonterras China strategy involves $1.6 billion of total capital investment in farms in China and the Beingmate partnership. Wilson said it was important to remember the investment in Beingmate is just one component of the partnership. There has been a 78 percent uplift in sales of Fonterras Anmum infant formula brand, a latecomer to the Chinese market, through Beingmates distribution network while production is starting to flow into Beingmates consumer businesses from its joint venture Darnum plant in Australia following a lengthy delay in getting regulatory approvals.

Fonterra is also starting to do some work with Beingmate to help make its own farms more efficient, using its capability to drive high-quality fresh milk for the Chinese companys own business.

The Chinese farms were the only negative result in an otherwise positive annual result for Fonterra in the 2016 financial year. The 10 farms in two hubs produced an increased annual loss of $59 million, up from $44 million the prior year. Its level of milk production hit 230 million litres, the level required to sustain a processing factory in China though Fonterra has cut back on its original plan to produce 1 billion litres of milk from its own Chinese farms since the deal with Beingmate.

The Fonterra Shareholders Council annual report said it was important for Fonterra shareholder suppliers to view the investments in China as a whole, rather than as separate initiatives,although each investment must deliver returns to the co-op per its business case.

Council chairman Duncan Coull said while it was understandable shareholders were concerned about some issues of late in China such as the stockmarket and regulatory changes, Beingmate is a long-term investment and China a market that Fonterra has to be in.

One in four litres of Fonterra milk now ends up in China and Coull said it would be difficult to sell that amount anywhere else in the world.

But the council is expecting to see significant returns on that investment over time, he said.

It was also critical that Beingmate adapted to the fast-paced shift to e-commerce thats occurring in China, the report said, and that it is allocating significant resource into fast-tracking their ability in this area.

Coull said the council was also concerned about the downward trend in Fonterras share of the New Zealand milk market which has dropped in the past year to 84.1 percent from 85.4 percent, although overall milk volumes have grown.

He said Fonterra and the council had strategies they were working on to try to shore up its share of the local milk pool, particularly given production is down an estimated 7 percent this current season.

We dont want to base our loyalty on the last payout because that leads us down a slippery slope. We have to develop deeper connections, he said.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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Insurers and the Earthquake Commission have cut a deal where the private companies will take the lead in dealing with claims from the Kaikoura earthquake, acting as agents for the state-owned disaster insurer in an effort to make the process simpler and easier to manage.

EQC has signed a memorandum of understanding with AA Insurance, Farmers Mutual Group, IAG New Zealand, Medical Insurance Society, QBE Insurance, Tower New Zealand, Vero Insurance New Zealand, and Youi NZ, where the private insurers, who are all members of the Insurance Council, will act as agents for the Crown agency. That means they will assess and settle contents and house claims from the Kaikoura event on its behalf. The deal covers claims already lodged with EQC, which will be passed on to their insurer.

"This approach draws on the experience we have gained from settling hundreds of thousands of claims following the Canterbury, Eketahuna, Cook Strait and February 2016 earthquakes," EQC chief executive Ian Simpson said in a statement. "The new approach will be more efficient and will mean we can make the best use of the country's loss adjusting expertise to deliver a better result for customers."

Last year Vero, a unit of Australia's Suncorp Group, pushed for an overhaul of the dual claims management, which it blamed for unnecessary delays to claims made for the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury quakes. The dual process meant customers had to deal with EQC for the first $100,000 on personal property, and a private insurer for anything over the Crown entity's cap.

Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton said the new process will speed up settlements, while Vero executive general manager of claims Jimmy Higgins said the streamlined approach was one of the lessons from the Canterbury quakes.

All land claims and claims relating to properties before the Kaikoura quake are out of the scope of the deal, and insurers will identify vulnerable customers under the Human Rights Commission's guidelines. Insurers will be paid for their handling expenses by EQC, and the state agency will audit claims from intermittently to ensure they meet legislative requirements.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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BENGALURU: 2016 was a year of technological innovations in the smartphone market. While the leading brands made strong competition among themselves, the Chinese smartphone manufacturers marked their benchmark in the market with best-in-class technology with the lowest price tag. Apple, Samsung and Google introduced their flagship products this year, where Google Pixel made the headlines.

Even though 2016 was not really a great year of success for Samsung Note series, the edge segments were in the limelight. While Apple introduced iPhone 7 variants, Google ditched its Nexus series. The competition went really strong but Samsung sales felled drastically as they had to recall about 2.3 Million Note 7s due to hardware issues.

Chinese brands such as Oppo, LeEco, Lenovo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Huawei are revolutionizing the smartphone market with their flagship models competing against the market leaders in price as well as performance. While considering the factors like graphics, internal memory and storage with price the Chinese devices are far better than the leading smartphones.

These Chinese smartphones are also no far from a branded devices premium metallic finish, fingerprint sensors, camera and superior audio quality. While leading companies push smartphones with their brand value, the Chinese are offering almost similar features at the most affordable price without compromising the quality, struggling for a benchmark.

Even if you crave for the best and latest hardware, and premium built quality in a new smartphone, there are devices from a Chinese brand that fits the bill unless you are an Apple enthusiast.

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BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working on handling the after-effects of his demonetisation move. He appreciates countryman for using digital ways of transactions to involve cashless economy in the system. There has been a huge surge in digital payments since the cancellation of 500 and 1000 domination notes. To accelerate digital transactions, the central government announced a few incentives for digital and cashless payments. YourStory reported about the packages announced by Government of India for the promotion of cashless economy.

The Central Petroleum Companies are instructed to offer a discount of 0.75% on the payments done my digital modes. This incentive scheme will provide benefits to more than 45Mn customers who buy diesel/petrol from such petrol pumps. The central government with the help of National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is planning to expand digital infrastructure in rural areas also. The government planned to deploy at least 2 POS devices in each of 1 Lakh villages. These machines will be installed at cooperative societies/agricultural input dealers/milk societies to smooth agriculture related transactions through digital modes.

From January 1, 2017, Indian Railways through its sub-urban railway network will provide a discount of 0.5% to the passengers travelling on seasonal or monthly tickets bought through digital modes. The passengers can also leverage the benefit of free accidental bonus of up to 10 Lakh by buying tickets online. A discount of 5% will be provided to the passengers using digital payments for the paid services offered by the railways.

Public sector insurance firms will give a discount or credit up to 8% on new life policies and 10% on the premium of general insurance policies of LIC. Customers can leverage the additional benefits by buying policies through online portals and payments. Public sector banks are advised to provide mobile POS/PoS terminals/Micro ATMs to merchants in not more than 100 per month. No service tax will be charged on transactions up to 2000. A discount of 10% will be given to the users making payments with RFID card/Fast Tags for toll at National Highways Toll Plazas.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A female ironworker employed by a Pleasant Plains-based company at the Empire Outlets construction site in St. George was sexually harassed by a male co-worker who snapped embarrassing photos of her in the bathroom and distributed them to other workers, a lawsuit alleges.

Marline Salvat, 34, contends her employer, Construction Resources Corp., sacked her in retaliation for her complaints of "unlawful sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions" at the site, according to a civil complaint.

Salvat, who has ovarian cancer, had requested a "secure and accessible" restroom after the alleged incident with co-worker Anthony Sango, but was ultimately provided one with broken locks and vents, the complaint said.

Salvat had previously been told to use the restroom at the adjacent St. George Ferry Terminal, her complaint alleges.

She has sued Construction Resources and Sango in Manhattan state Supreme Court, alleging gender discrimination, harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

She seeks unspecified monetary damages.

"She had an excellent track record as an employee," said her lawyer, Bennitta Joseph, of the Manhattan-based firm Joseph & Norinsberg. "They absolutely fired her for making the complaint of sexual harassment."

A Construction Resources spokesman said Sango was fired "immediately after we learned of these disturbing allegations."

"Construction Resources is a woman-owned business that respects all employees and is committed to preventing harassment in the workplace," said the spokesman. "We are taking these allegations seriously and conducting a full investigation, because this kind of alleged behavior has no place in our company."

Sango could not immediately be reached for comment.

Salvat, a Long Island resident, began working on the job in late July, her complaint said.

About two weeks later, Sango allegedly confronted her over a conversation she had with a shop steward.

"I will tell your fiance, unless you pay me with your panties," the civil complaint quotes him as threatening her.

Salvat informed another shop steward of Sango's action, and he was "purportedly reprimanded," the complaint said.

However, the next week, Sango followed her to a portable bathroom and banged on the door when she went inside. That forced her to push her hand against the door because the lock was broken, alleges the complaint.

Sango, who was outside, then took pictures of her through a broken vent above the door as she sat on a toilet "naked from the waist down," the complaint alleges.

He threatened to distribute the photos unless Salvat agreed to have sex with him, alleges the complaint.

She refused and told him to leave her alone.

Sango, instead, bragged about taking the photos and passed them around to several co-workers, alleges the complaint.

Salvat then told superiors of her health condition and stressed the need for having a "secure and accessible" bathroom to aid in her recovery, the complaint said.

Previously, she had been told to use a restroom at the ferry terminal.

A women's bathroom was provided at the site; however, the locks and vents were broken and Salvat complained to management, said the complaint.

Afterward, she was terminated "under the pretext of non-existent and factually baseless performance issues" and "in retaliation" for her complaints of sexual harassment and "unsafe" working conditions, the complaint alleges.

Salvat was fired, despite her having a decade of experience as an ironworker and "an impeccable track record," maintains her complaint.

Joseph, the lawyer, said her client received no complaints or negative write-ups about her work performance during her brief time with Construction Resources.

She further contended Salvat, since her sacking, has been unable to get health benefits, to which she is entitled.

Expected to open late next year, Empire Outlets would become New York City's first outlet mall.

It will be comprised of 350,000 square feet of prime retail space with around 100 designer outlet retailers and a 190-room hotel.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A West Brighton man has admitted he sexually abused a 6-year-old male relative earlier this year.

Adolfo Rosa Tiburcio pleaded guilty Friday in state Supreme Court, St. George, to a charge of first-degree criminal sexual act. The crime, the top charge in a 10-count indictment, was formerly classified as sodomy.

In exchange for his plea, the defendant will be sentenced Jan. 24 to six years in prison and eight years' post-release supervision.

The defendant, who is not a U.S. citizen, is expected to be deported to his native Mexico after serving his prison sentence, said a law enforcement source.

Rosa Tiburcio, then 23, was arrested April 20 and accused of sodomizing the boy inside his home on numerous occasions between January and April, according to court documents.

He is identified in online city Correction Department records as Adolfo Tiburcio-Rosa.

Rosa-Tiburcio has an unrelated case pending in Criminal Court in which he's accused of misdemeanor counts of menacing and criminal weapon possession, stemming from an April 18 incident.
heroin.jpg

Mexico is the main supplier of heroin in the country.

(Advance file photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Staten Islanders know very well the toll that heroin and opioid addiction are taking on our borough.

No family has been left untouched by the scourge. If there hasn't been a death or an addiction in your own family, you certainly know a family that has been so visited.

One way or the other, too many of us are going to too many wakes and funerals.

And now we know that nationally, Staten Island isn't alone.

Drawing on data from the Centers for Disease Control, the Washington Post last week reported that there were 33,092 opioid overdose deaths in the United States in 2015.

That's 5,000 more deaths versus 2014. Deaths from fentanyl use were up 75 percent versus 2014.

It's the first time that the opioid death toll had topped 30,000 in recent U.S. history. It shows you how different this crisis is from the heroin scourges the country confronted in the 1970s and in the 1990s. With prescription pills figured into the equation, it's become much more of a multi-faceted battle.

But here's the real frightening statistic from the CDC: There were 12,989 heroin deaths in America in 2015 versus 12,979 gun homicides.

That's right: More deaths via heroin than by gun homicide. As recently as 2007, gun homicides outnumbered heroin deaths by 5 to 1. And, frankly, what do you hear more about on the television news or on Capitol Hill: Heroin deaths or gun homicides? That's part of the reason we're in this mess.

On Staten Island, we've had 18 murders so far this year, not all of them gun homicides, and 84 drug overdoses.

At least we know how we got here: In the face of an exploding prescription drug crisis in the last decade, lawmakers in New York created the I-STOP drug database. Prescriptions were tracked. Doctor-shopping was cracked down on. Unscrupulous pill-pushing physicians felt the heat of law enforcement on their necks.

Of course, there was a very large unintended consequence. Because you still had a lot of folks out there who were hooked on the opioid buzz. We took their pills away from them, so they needed a substitute way to get high. Heroin-pushing drug cartels moved in to fill the vacuum. And they did it with ruthless efficiency. Few people read a market better than career criminals.

And here's another way that today's crisis differs from those of the past: The prime supplier of the heroin in circulation today is Mexico. Back in the day, heroin came here from the Far East and the Middle East.

Now, the suppliers are right on our doorstep. And we know how porous our border with Mexico can be. Getting heroin into American neighborhoods is a lot less arduous than it was during the "French Connection" days.

Not to turn this into a debate about illegal immigration, but in addition to treatment for addicts, why aren't we talking about stepping up border security? Or have we completely given up on the idea of drug interdiction?

So, now we know that Staten Island is not alone in dealing with the heroin crisis. Should that be comforting or chilling? It's hard to know sometimes.

But we do know this: We shudder to think of what the numbers from 2016 will bring.

For related videos on Staten Island's heroin crisis, see our YouTube playlist.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An Annadale man who, authorities said, beat his 87-year-old grandfather three months ago when the victim refused to give him money, has pleaded guilty to felony assault.

Gregory Wolf, 26, punched his grandfather about the body on Sept. 5, during an incident at the victim's home, said a criminal complaint.

The older man suffered arm bruising, the complaint said.

Wolf repeated his request for cash the next day and was again denied, the complaint said.

In response, the defendant damaged a wall and door and cracked a TV, said the complaint.

The victim subsequently obtained an order of protection instructing Wolf to stay away from him.

The defendant violated the order on Nov. 7, a second complaint said.

Wolf pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree assault. The charge accuses him of physically injuring a person who is 65 or older while being more than 10 years younger than the victim.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to a felony count of criminal contempt for violating the protecting order.

In exchange for his pleas, Wolf will be sentenced Jan. 12 to three years in prison and five years' post-release supervision on the assault conviction.

He'll also receive a concurrent sentence of 18 months to three years behind bars on the criminal contempt conviction.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Silver Alert has been issued for a missing senior citizen from Willowbrook with dementia whose vehicle was spotted in Brooklyn.

The man, Harry Hill, who has dementia and may need medical attention, left his home on Darcey Avenue near Hawthorne Avenue in a red Ford Explorer on Monday at about 1 p.m. He went to go food shopping, according to information from Notify NYC and police.

His vehicle was last seen near Troy Avenue and Saint John's Avenue in Brooklyn, according to Notify NYC. Anyone who spots the missing man or his car is urged to call 911.

The NYPD has asked for the public's assistance in finding the man described in a statement as 5'7," 180 pounds, with a medium build, brown eyes, dark complexion, gray hair, a salt-and-pepper beard and mustache.

The car he was driving is described as a 2015 red Ford Explorer with a New York State license plate of APZ4331, according to Notify NYC.
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Hillary County;

Voting irregularities in Detroit have spurred plans for an audit by Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's office, Elections Director Chris Thomas said Monday.

State officials are planning to examine about 20 Detroit precincts where ballot boxes opened during the recount had fewer ballots than poll workers had recorded on Election Day.

"We're assuming there were (human) errors, and we will have discussions with Detroit election officials and staff in addition to reviewing the ballots," Thomas said.

The Detroit precincts are among those that couldn't be counted during a statewide presidential recount that began last week and ended Friday following a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court.

The recount problems were the worst in Detroit, where discrepancies meant officials couldn't recount votes in 392 of the city's 662 precincts, or nearly 60 percent. State law that bars recounts for unbalanced precincts or ones with broken seals.

Democrat Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly prevailed in Detroit and Wayne County.
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A cheeky name, impeccable vintage style and great service - it is well worth putting CaraVan Morrison on your party list.

Canberra entrepreneurial duo Liam Thompson and Digby Walcott share a love of the outdoors and throwing a great party.

Canberra entrepreneurs Digby Walcott and Liam Thompson have launched CaraVan Morrison. Credit:Jay Cronan

Powered by a passion to bring mobile bar culture to the ACT, they have transformed a tired old caravan into a handsome beverage catering company which brings the party to you.

Helping his mum with her wedding floristry business Liam said he'd seen there was a strong appetite for something more than the lacklustre "Esky and trestle table" make-shift bar at events.
The humble sausage could well have changed the political history of Australia in 2016.

July 2, election day, Malcolm Turnbull proved himself the tong master at Penrith South Public School while across town Bill Shorten struggled to eat a sausage sandwich - albeit one in a fancy roll, not a slice of white bread - and not even the sweet taste of democracy could save him.

It seems only fitting then that "democracy sausage" has been named Australia's 2016 word of the year by the Australian National Dictionary Centre, based at the Australian National University.

Centre director Dr Amanda Laugesen said the official definition was "a barbecued sausage served on a slice of bread, bought at a polling booth sausage sizzle on election day".
Retired journalist Don Abey was devastated when three pads of notes and a USB were stolen from his car in Chisholm earlier this month.

The theft represented the loss of four years of meticulous work on his memoirs. Mr Abey dreaded digging out an early draft to edit and rewrite his book.

Retired journalist Don Abey with National Library of Australia reference librarian Sonja Barfoed. Mr Abey's stolen memoirs have been returned. Credit:Sam Cooper

So imagine his delight when he spotted a plastic bag outside his garage on Monday containing his life story.

"It's a mighty huge relief and joy," Mr Abey said.
Canberra mornings: Wednesday, December 14, 2016

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More than a century after the Royal Military College dispatched its first students to Gallipoli with minimal fanfare or ceremony, Duntroon has said goodbye to the final graduating class of 2016.

Governor General, General Peter Cosgrove, an RMC graduate and former head of the ADF, said by the time his term ended two years from now many of the graduates would have been been tested in remarkable ways.

Graduates throw hats in the air at the Duntroon graduation ceremony. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

"Some of you will have made life and death decisions and will carry them through and will live with the consequences," he said.

"Not only will the men and women in your care entrust their well-being to your care; so too will their loved ones entrust you; so too will Australia.
The ACT Legislative Assembly's newest gay politician has thanked chief minister Andrew Barr for paving the way for him to serve in the territory's parliament without facing discrimination.

In his inaugural speech, Labor member Chris Steel said he believed he was the second ever openly gay person to be elected to the ACT's parliament.

Labor's Chris Steel told of the last conversation he had with his brother Kurt before he was killed in a Bolivian bus crash. Credit:Jamila Toderas

But he said the chief minister's "hard-won path" as the first openly gay leader of an Australian parliament meant his was a "mundane achievement".

"He has made it easier for those who come after him and their families - and for that I thank him," Mr Steel said.
Qantas hasn't abandoned its dream of a lucrative tie-up with American Airlines and says it's considering re-applying for approval from the United States regulator that killed the deal.

The expansion of the two carriers' alliance  which would have had them co-ordinate trans-Pacific routes and share marketing expenses and ticket revenue  was blocked by the US Department of Transport on competition grounds last month.

Qantas and American withdrew their application for immunity from antitrust laws within the 14-day appeals window, saying it was not enough time to respond to the regulator's ruling.

But on Tuesday, Qantas International chief executive Gareth Evans said the partners were considering how they could still pursue the tie-up they first announced in 2015.
One of Australia's largest vegetable growers has been hit with a landmark legal test case aimed at recovering more than $500,000 in back pay for exploited international workers.

Through its case against Gippsland-based Covino Farms, the National Union of Workers (NUW) is also seeking to make primary employers responsible for the middlemen they engage to supply labour on their farms.

One former process worker Shuk Ying Ho is looking to claw back nearly $27,000 she says she is owed for a year's work. Credit:Jason South

Underpaid farm workers are often left with no means to claw back stolen wages after shady contractors and middlemen disappear or two-dollar companies go into liquidation.

The legal action draws further attention to worker abuse in supermarket supply chains and the use of black-market labour in Australia, as revealed by Fairfax Media over the last 18 months.
The headquarters of Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings Warehouse has sold for $24.7 million as wealthy investors and syndicates move on mid-range assets before the end of the year.

Bunnings' head office at 16-18 Cato Street in Melbourne's leafy Hawthorn East sold to a private syndicate on a yield of 6 per cent in a deal negotiated by Colliers International's Peter Bremner and Rob Joyes.

The Bunnings Warehouse headquarters at 16-18 Cato Street, Hawthorn East. Credit:Nick Lenaghan

The hardware chain has six-year lease on the building and an additional six-year option. Strong rental growth coupled with consistent yield compression was motivating buyers, Mr Joyes said.

A shortage of similar A-grade small office stock in Sydney's Parramatta prompted family-owned Holdmark Property Group to pay $23 million for a long-term development opportunity at 41 George Street, Colliers' Sydney metro sales director John McCann said.
Australia doesn't need a taxpayer bill of rights, a review has found, but the Australian Taxation Office must take greater steps to educate the public about their rights and apologise when it makes errors.

A review by the Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT), Ali Noroozi, also suggests that the government consider whether the onus on a taxpayer to prove their innocence when hit with a tax bill should be shifted.

And the ATO could set aside more money to compensate taxpayers and tax practitioners who faced losses, including non-economic ones, due to mistakes or prolonged IT outages.

Mr Noroozi conducted a review into existing taxpayer protections including the Taxpayers' Charter, which was introduced in 1997 to educate taxpayers about their rights and steps they can take when they have issues with the conduct of the ATO and its officers.
Up to 150 jobs will be made redundant at Victoria's largest gold mine where underground mining is ceasing due to declining profitability.

Kirkland Lake Gold is putting the Stawell Gold Mine into care and maintenance mode due to dwindling production at the mine, which is a popular stop for tourists in the Grampians.

The underground Stawell mine. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

The company stopped underground mining on Tuesday, as employees had a meeting with contractors at the Stawell Clay Target Club.

The town of Stawell - about 230 kilometres north-west of Melbourne - was founded during Victoria's gold rush with alluvial gold found in the area in 1853.
"They hire a lot of people that are dumb as rocks," Stuban said. Credit:Jim Rice Seconds later, his sharp-tongued missive landed in the inboxes of 2,000 fellow employees. Weeks later, during an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, Stuban, who retired on Thanksgiving Day, seemed to be at peace with his decision. "When they asked for an honest exit interview, I gave them one," he told the newspaper. "I sent it minutes before I officially retired." Calls to Stuban and his former employer were not immediately returned.

In his questionnaire, Stuban said, rather surprisingly, that he actually enjoyed his job, according to a copy of the questionnaire published by PennLive. "I really didn't want to retire yet," he wrote. "I like my job. The first 30 years were great but the last 5 years are terrible. (10 years as a toll collector, during which I served a few years as a union officer, 25 years in management)." Asked in the questionnaire what the most upsetting part of the job was, Stuban unloaded. "The phoneyness," he wrote. "Giving us classes where we are being told we are not political," he wrote. "That's bulls---. Jobs/Promotions are filled by the politicians, it's who you know, not what you know. Positions created for people who are not qualified. Hiring people off the street when we have qualified [personnel] in our ranks."

Stuban also claimed that commission employees "have no morale" and that executive-level management is "out of touch with the average employees" and "only looking out for themselves." "Everything is a state secret, no input is asked from the until after decisions are made," he added. "Employees are kept in the dark." The message was not well received by Sean Logan, chairman of the Turnpike Commission. Logan, a former Pennsylvania state senator, decided to fire back at the outgoing employee and also hit the reply-all button, writing: "Mr. Stuban . . . I don't believe we ever met, and after reading your Exit Questionnaire, I am grateful that we didn't." He added that the commission "couldn't be to [sic] bad of a place considering you stayed for 35 years. Best of luck in your retirement." Stuban told the Daily News that he found out about Logan's reply from his former colleagues.

"He did miss the point," Stuban said. "If it was an effective company and someone told you there are problems and no morale, you don't have to believe me, but maybe someone should check into it." "They hire a lot of people that are dumb as rocks," he added. Logan told PennLive that the message was the first time he'd been made aware of Stuban's frustration and said he didn't appreciate the means of delivery. "I thought it was a very disingenuous way to communicate your issues," Logan said. "If he really wanted to be constructive with his criticisms and suggestions, there's a whole other way to do it." But he did lend some credence to several of Stuban's criticism, such as the idea that employees are kept in the dark about management decisions.

"We're running a billion-dollar, with a B, organisation here," Logan told PennLive. "We can't put everything out there." But he pushed back against the idea that his executives are "out of touch," noting that Turnpike Commission chief executive Mark Compton and chief operating officer Craig Shuey "communicate very, very well with our employees and are out there in the field." "I would love to have received that criticism in a more constructive way because it does make you think," Logan told PennLive. "Should I have communicated more frequently? That's a valid point." Stuban rose up through the commission ranks over several decades. He retired as a mid-level manager, but he told the Daily News that he began his career working in a tollbooth.
Teachers and students are positioned to have ownership of senior secondary curriculum and assessment. The configuration of these processes positions teachers to learn from each other and develop judgment and expertise.

What makes a great education system? Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves are world-renowned experts on high-performing education systems. In their 2015 research article, "Professional capital as accountability", they argue that a highly successful education system creates conditions for collective responsibility and continuous improvement. The ACT senior secondary system embodies these principles.

The architects of this system understood the value of education as being beyond the need to regurgitate knowledge in an external exam. The education system they established has evolved and continues to prepare students for life and work.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the ACT senior secondary system. We have much to celebrate. The early architects and pioneers of our senior secondary system showed great wisdom and insight. They laid the foundations of a highly successful system that is based on sound educational principles such as meeting student needs and respecting teacher professionalism.

This is a successful senior secondary system because students and teachers are treated with respect. The senior secondary system is based on the premise that teachers are experts in their area  they know their students and community  and so are best-placed to develop curriculum and assess students according to their needs and interests.

The ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies leads senior secondary education. It is responsible for quality assurance in senior secondary curriculum, assessment and certification. The Board consists of representatives from colleges, universities, industry, parent organisations and unions.

The configuration of the ACT senior secondary system is unique in Australia. It is a decentralised system of education. This means that colleges have autonomy to make decisions on a range of education issues. A defining feature of our system is school-based curriculum and continuous assessment.

School-based curriculum means that college teachers are responsible for developing curriculum that is reviewed every five years. The ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies accredits a diverse range of curriculum that reflects the needs and interests of all students including vocational and tertiary pathways. Curriculum makes provision for students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities so that all students have the opportunity to achieve an ACT senior secondary certificate. Students have ownership of their learning as they are able to study courses that are relevant to their interests and provide a pathway beyond year 12. Student engagement and retention rates are high. This is a focus of the national education agenda.

A defining characteristic of the ACT senior secondary system is its school-based continuous assessment model, that ensures students are continually assessed throughout years 11 and 12, with both years contributing equally to senior secondary certification. This is now unique within Australia and aligns with international research on what constitutes effective practice. In the 2015 article "Re-assessing assessment", produced by the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, assessment in a contemporary education setting can be understood as, "assessment can enhance student engagement and motivation, particularly when it incorporates interaction with teachers, other students and a range of resources".
The remote Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus Island will be among the first places in the world to celebrate the arrival of 2017. Some 1500 refugees and asylum seekers will be there to greet it, stranded in a combination of semi-detention and community residences. Four New Years into their offshore limbo, yet little closer to knowing what this one will bring.

When news rolled in of Donald Trump's shock victory in the US presidential election last month, few minds would have jumped automatically to these stranded few. But unbeknown to the Australian (or American) people, an extraordinary refugee resettlement deal was in the works. This deal would provide for the US  already the world's largest resettlement country, with an intake of some 110,000 people forecast for the coming financial year  to step in and finally address the issue that has plagued five successive Australian governments: what to do about Australia's offshore refugees.

The Manus Island detention camp. Credit:Getty Images

Whether the deal will actually go through remains to be seen and may rest in the uncertain hands of President-elect Donald Trump. In the meantime, the Australian public should be asking what other deals are secretly in the works. And what are we entitled to know about them?

The US agreement was negotiated under almost autocratic secrecy, and there is good reason to believe other furtive deals are on the way. Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia have been rumoured as possible partners in the so-called "third-country resettlement" of people from Nauru and Manus Island, while others may yet be unnamed. Sources in Cambodia, too, are keeping a close eye on how discussions with Australia unfold there.
The incessant Christmas carols played non-stop in shops and about snow bells, sleigh rides, ancient kings and animals with antler horns will eventually convey me to the funny farm, bemoans Richard Stewart Pearl Beach. "I know there are Aussie Christmas carols and recall one about 'Dashing down the road, in a rusty Holden Ute...' Would very much love to hear more words. Got to be much more appropriate than songs about a snow man with a carrot nose."

Matthew Joyce of North Rocks rarely visits Sydney but found himself near Wynyard, confronted by Christmas decorations and office workers hurrying to annual parties. "How ironic when many celebrate the birth of Christ, and promote a spirit of giving, not one person thought it necessary to acknowledge the presence of a homeless gentleman sitting at the intersection, let alone to respond to his request for money for accommodation."

Now a trivia question for Christmas from Philip Fitzgerald of Lapstone. How many "wise men" (magi or kings) come to visit the infant Jesus? Most people will answer three. The story occurs only in Matthew's Gospel and that Gospel simply states 'some' wise men. There were three gifts hence the assumption that there must be three wise men."

Nowadays you can only buy cherries with single stems, reports John Stackhouse of North Turramurra. "Remember? They once had twin cherries, on two V-stems, sometimes (oh delight) even three. How will little girls with new dresses decorate themselves with bright red earings this Christmas?"

Now the mystery Bilgola bird (C8). "During my usual choice of C8 for my early morning read, I was coincidentally being audibly entertained by the pterodactyl-like calls of two channel-billed cuckoos nearby as I read Alexander's query re monkey type noises in his region of Bilgola." From Nicholas Hunt, Hurstville Grove.
Her willingness to listen to new voices in the community was a defining attribute and enriched much of her broadcasting. She heard the voices of gay people and feminists when most didn't. She was one of many broadcasters who opposed non-communist involvement in Vietnam.

I always admired her independence and refusal to be typecast and owned by any group. It gave her a lot of room to move and it demonstrated her capacity for friendship and hospitality.

Anne was always all that she was  wife, mother, friend and role model to many women. Her circles of contacts rippled across the community and often brought people together.

She was generous with her time, hospitality and intellect. My immediate instinct on hearing of her death was to remind people to remember her and celebrate her contribution to Australia. She was a warrior for considered and thoughtful social change.

How sad that she had Alzheimer's, which is such a cruel and isolating disease that can render people invisible to the extent that we do not honour them. Anne's life was a life well lived and it is that which we celebrate.

Some of her friends shared their reflections. Justice Elizabeth Evatt said: "I first met Anne in 1974 when we were appointed to the Royal Commission on Human Relationships and we became life-long friends. I saw her only a week ago and knew that her time was very short.



"She was a lovely person in every way, beautiful, graceful, always living in beautiful surroundings, a gracious hostess and an excellent cook on top of all. She wrote well, was eloquent; and she could be very funny at times.



"But what was very special about her was her insatiable desire to know everything about human nature. Her curiosity about people and their lives was endless, but it was not idle. The knowledge and understanding she gained enabled her to pinpoint the fault lines in society, the failure of our systems to protect the vulnerable.

"And it enabled her to speak up so eloquently about these issues. To add to this she was not shy about exposing the stories of her own life if she thought it would help other people by letting them share in her own experiences. How many of us are brave enough to do that?

"The success of the royal commission was largely due to Anne's insistence that we take the inquiry out to the people. We did this, by holding open hearings and meetings in many places throughout Australia in an attempt to hear the voices of as many Australians as we could. The resulting report is enriched by the words of the people who spoke to us.
Rose Evansky, who has died aged 94, was the inventor of the "blow wave", the technique of using a hand-held dryer and hairbrush on loose, wet hair to create soft, natural waves; her method is still the standard for a professional blow dry today and brought an end to the traditional overhead hood dryers and tight perms of the 1950s.

She was born Rosel Lernel on May 30, 1922, at Worms, south of Frankfurt, the daughter of Polish Jews who had fled anti-semitism in their homeland. As she later recalled in her memoir, In Paris We Sang (2013), her childhood was not happy; she was abused by two of her uncles when her family was lodging with relations at Ludwigshafen and in 1938 her father was arrested and sent to Dachau.

Rose Evansky's hairdressing technique has been a perpetual hit, here customers get a blow wave at a unisex hair salon in 1972.

Soon after, Rosel  who spoke only German and Yiddish  was sent to Britain on the Kindertransport, initially to Dudley in the West Midlands. She then moved to London where she found work as a hairdresser's apprentice in Whitechapel. "I worked and practised till late at night on anyone who'd let me get at their hair," she later wrote.

Reunited with her family, they all moved to a flat in Soho, and despite the war she continued to work in hairdressing, finding a job as a stylist in a salon near Regent Street. During this time she Albert Evansky, who was also a hairdresser, and following their marriage in 1943 the couple set up their own salon in Hendon soon after the war was over. Ambitious and hard-working, they made such a name for themselves that by the mid-1950s they had moved to premises in Mayfair.
The Russians know how to make you feel welcome. On my first visit to Moscow as British foreign secretary in 2010, whole motorways seemed to have been closed, vodka flowed freely, and the then President Medvedev hosted me at his villa in the woods. They were determined to improve on their terrible relations with the previous Labour government, and so was I.

Yet within two years we were at furious loggerheads over Syria, and the year after that we were falling out over the direction of Ukraine. Faced with Vladimir Putin's invasion and annexation of Crimea, part of another European country, we British were rightly on the side of sanctions, and penalising aggression. The lashings of vodka might as well have been poured down the drain.

This is the sad cycle of two decades of Western relations with Russia: optimism from each incoming US president or British government, then disillusionment brought on by behaviour that cannot be accepted. From killing untold numbers of civilians in the bombing of Aleppo to murdering dissidents in London with radioactive polonium, Russia takes actions we find beyond the pale.

Now a new US president is about to take office with a fresh determination to do business with the Kremlin, this time unencumbered by the disputes of the past, or indeed any particular knowledge of them. If reports are to be believed, Donald Trump will appoint as his secretary of state an oilman who has done many a deal with Moscow and knows Putin personally. While better relations with Russia are a laudable goal, this could be Russia's best chance since the Second World War to weaken and divide the West.
Dylan Voller's former case manager has described a Northern Territory justice system that failed the offender from a young age, neglecting diversionary programs, adopting a punitive and not rehabilitative approach, turning him violent, and failing to help him re-enter society.

Antoinette Carroll, who is the co-ordinator of the Youth Justice Advocacy Project and has worked with Voller since 2009, told Tuesday's royal commission hearing that his 18-month sentence - his first - at age 11 was a "devastating" one for a low-end offence and that his violent behaviour and spitting only started in detention.

Ms Carroll's testimony before the royal commission into the NT youth detention system follows Voller's Monday appearance, in which he described a 15-hour road trip in a stifling hot police van with little water and no toilet stops. Now 19, Voller said he was forced to defecate in a pillow slip, threatened self-harm and vomited from cigarette-smoke-induced nausea.

The image broadcast by ABC's Four Corners of Voller in a spithood and strapped to a mechanical restraint chair, as well as footage of him being tear-gassed and handled aggressively as a young teen, put him at the centre of the NT's youth detention scandal and helped trigger the royal commission.
Former NSW RSL president Don Rowe withdrew more than $200,000 in cash on his RSL credit card and provided free phones to five family members, an explosive auditor's interim report has found.

The report, which deepens the scandal that has engulfed the veterans' group since Fairfax Media first raised expenses concerns in September, reveals Mr Rowe was quietly forced to resign over his spending rather than health reasons as claimed.

The forensic review by auditors KordaMentha also blasts national president Rod White for refusing to explain his share in more than $2.5 million in consultancy fees that he received from the organisation's aged care arm, RSL LifeCare.

And it found that Mr Rowe and Mr White had both used their positions within the RSL to steer donations from other, needier parts of the organisation towards RSL LifeCare while they were receiving consultancy fees. Both have breached charities laws by failing to tell the state charities minister about the payments, which they received despite being volunteers, it states.
The most complained about ads in 2016 1. Meat & Livestock Australia Lee Lin Chin gives the instruction to begin "Operation Boomerang" - a mission to rescue Australians from various countries so that they will be able to eat lamb on Australia Day. Total complaints: 747 One complainant said the ad was offensive because a vegan's house is lit on fire while the vegan is still inside because he won't eat lamb. "I know someone who lives in a vegan household, and their child watched the ad and became fearful that people would burn their house down," the complainant said. A second complainant said the ad "sends a message saying that veganism is wrong and non-acceptable".

Another said the use of the use of the term "Operation Boomerang" showed a "distinctly anglo, and culturally insensitive approach". The ASB dismissed the complaints on the grounds the violence depicted in the "irreverent" ad was clearly "exaggerated and unrealistic". Meat & Livestock Australia's 'Operation Boomerang' ad. 2. Ultra Tune Australia Two women in skin tight outfits dancing with the tagline "we're into rubber".

Total complaints: 416 One complainant said the ad was "degrading to women and had pornographic overtones". The ASB dismissed the complaints because "whilst the women are portrayed as sexy they are also portrayed as confident and in the board's view the overall manner in which the women are depicted in the advertisement does not use their sexual appeal in a manner that is degrading". Ultra Tune Australia ad with two women dancing in tight outfits, with the tagline 'we're into rubber'. 3. BCF (Boating Camping Fishing)

A group of men, women and children enjoy outdoor activities, accompanied by the jingle: "Boating, camping, fishing is BCFing fun." Total complaints: 248 One complainant said: "The play on words is inferring language that is totally unnecessary to be broadcast into homes at any time particularly when children are viewing." The ASB found the ad "did not use language which is inappropriate, strong or obscene in the circumstances" and dismissed complaints. BCF advertisement using the phrase 'BCFing fun'.

4. Ultra Tune Australia Two women are in a car which breaks down on train tracks. Total complaints: 208 One complainant said the ad was "completely inappropriate for daytime TV due to the explicit content of seeing two women apparently being killed in an accident when a train crashes into them and then walking away from the crash". The ASB upheld complaints because the ad "makes the women appear unintelligent and presents them in a stereotypical helpless female situation".

5. Ultra Tune Australia Two women are in a car which goes off a cliff after being put into the wrong gear Total complaints: 113 One complainant said the ad was "rude, stereotypical and sexist against women". The ASB dismissed the complaints, saying: "The Board noted that the two women are wearing 'going out' clothing which is often revealing but considered that in this instance although the women's breasts are enhanced by the style of clothing the women are wearing, their breasts are not the focus of the advertisement."

Ultra Tune Australia ad depicts two women in a car which goes off the cliff after being put in the wrong gear. 6. Roadshow Film Distributors Advertising campaign for horror movie The Conjuring 2 featuring children screaming and people being flung across rooms and banging in to walls. Total complaints: 82 One complainant said the ad "evokes extreme negative feelings, causes fear and distress in all members of my family ... I have anxiety and used to sleep with the lights on due to severe fears related to the content depicted in the advertisement."

The ASB found "the imagery and supernatural themes contained in the advertisements depicted a level of violence that was not justifiable in the context of the product or service advertised" and upheld the complaints. 7. Medibank Private Advertisement celebrating diversity including heterosexual and homosexual couples kissing. Total complaints: 66 One complainant said: "I object to advertising showing males kissing males, females kissing females as well as seeing a breastfed baby directly on the nipple of a female."

The ASB dismissed complaints because the depictions of kissing "were in the context of a broad range of depictions of loving relationships and that these scenes were not gratuitous or inappropriate". The Advertising Standards Bureau dismissed complaints about this Medibank ad. 8. Honey Birdette Three window posters depicting women in lingerie and the tag line "Room Service". Total complaints: 59
A more serious meeting is to take place between Trump and Bill Gates, who has compared Trump to JFK. [Lisa Hagen/The Hill] 2. Evacuation deal struck A Syrian boy sitting next to bodies in Aleppo. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP) Credit:White Helmets via AP Just a short time ago news came through that a deal had been struck to evacuate rebel fighters and civilians out of east Aleppo. [Al Jazeera] It came after the United Nations said it received reports that pro-Assad forces have executed 82 civilians in their own homes in Aleppo "on the spot."

The "hell" is a "complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo," says the UN. [The Washington Post] French President Francois Hollande said it is the West's duty to now act. He was speaking with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who described the situation as "heartbreaking." [Politico.eu] The British Parliament held an emergency debate on Syria. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the Russians have the future of Syria in their hands. [Andrew Sparrow/The Guardian] This image posted by the IS-controlled Aamaq News Agency, purports to show a general view of the ancient ruins of the city of Palmyra, in Homs province, Syria. Credit:IS/AP The Kremlin says the US is to blame for Islamic State reclaiming Palmyra. [AFP]

Meanwhile two men involved in the November 2015 attacks in Paris have been killed in a US airstrike over Syria, the Pentagon says. [BBC] And the winner in this quagmire is...Tehran, writes David Garnder. [Financial Times] 3. Iran wants nuclear ships Iran's President Hassan Rouhani. Credit:BEBETO MATTHEWS And the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered his officials to develop nuclear powered ships. He says the US has reneged on Obama's international nuclear deal. [BBC]

4. Australian politics There's a bit of scuttlebutt around amid speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle. One anonymous Liberal believes Christopher Pyne is after Marise Payne's job as Defence Minister.[James Massola,Amy Remenkis/Fairfax] Christopher Pyne, speaking at the Policy Exchange in London. Credit:Nick Miller Pyne has been in London and is en route to France and then Saudi Arabia. [Nick Miller/Fairfax]

He is proposing a defence industry dialogue between the UK and Australia. [Michelle Grattan/The Conversation] But the media-shy Senator Payne, who has been in hospital, forcing the cancellation of talks with Japan, made a virtual appearance at yesterday's Cabinet and National Security Committee meetings, reports The Australian. This report also says there have been "suggestions" Julie Bishop no longer wants to be the Foreign Minister and wants a domestic portfolio. James Packer, Mariah Carey and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Credit:John Sciulli Bishop has repeatedly and accurately described her gig as her "dream job." (Hence why there are plenty of her colleagues after it!)

So while this could (a). be backgrounding against Bishop or (b) as the authors of the report suggest - a precursor to her taking on the Prime Ministership if the struggling Turnbull were to leave or be forced out. [Dennis Shannahan, David Crowe] However the Foreign Minister Julie Bishop tells me the report that she no longer wants her job is definitely not true. "I wish and intend to remain Foreign Minister," she says. And so I refer you to point (a)! The closure of the coal-fired Hazelwood power plant in Victoria will cost households an average of extra $78 per year, Adam Morton reports. [Fairfax]

The Australian Energy Market Commission's report is also covered in the Financial Review [Ben Potter, Mark Ludlow] and Michael Owen [The Australian]. And if the difference between an emissions trading scheme and an emissions intensity scheme passed you by during last week's furore then Ross Gittins has an excellent piece about the difference between the two and why Malcolm Turnbull's political cowardice will end us costing us all more in electricity prices. [The Sydney Morning Herald] Head of the Prime Minister's department, Martin Parkinson. Credit:Peter Rae And regarding last week's furore over climate policy, the right-wing commentator Janet Albrechtsen says it's the fault of the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Martin Parkinson. [The Australian] Parkinson is loathed by many right-wing types but respected by the moderates. Indeed, it was Turnbull as freshly-minted prime minister, who called Parkinson out of retirement after he was dispatched as Treasury head under the Tony Abbott-Peta Credlin regime.

5. Bali widow rejects Sara Connor's monetary offer Sara Connor Sara Connor, of Byron bay, is charged in Bali, along with her British DJ boyfriend, over the alleged murder of policeman Wayan Sudarsa. Connor says she is innocent. She has offered a "donation" of $2,500 to Sudarsa's widow, it has been rejected. Our Indonesia correspondent Jewel Topsfield reports on the dramatic day of events in court. [Fairfax] 6. Ahok case set for Dec 20
Women even took leadership roles in organising protests across the country, the most well known being Tawakkul Karman, who shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. By 2014, women were making headway in seeking greater representation in government and asserting their rights. Child marriages, for example, started to decline. The advances, though, barely reached remote areas like Gubaiya, where culture and traditions rule and modern laws enshrining women's rights are not enforced. The following year, northern rebels known as Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, and drove out President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his government. The rebels now control Yemen's northwest, and Hadi's forces rule swaths of the south and east. A regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and supported by Washington, has intervened on Hadi's side. U.N. humanitarian officials say the conflict has killed at least 10,000 Yemenis, including civilians. About 3 million people have fled their homes. Two-thirds of the country's 27 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. Since September 2015, violence against women and girls, including rapes and domestic assaults, have risen 70 per cent, according to aid officials, and child marriages have spiked. The conflict has deprived more girls and women of access to education and health care, and their involvement in civic activities has all but ended.

"Perhaps the most concerning social consequence of the war has been its impact on the rights and situation of women," said Scott Paul, senior humanitarian policy adviser for the aid agency Oxfam America. "The assault on Yemen's economy has helped break down barriers to women's participation in the workforce. Unfortunately, women have effectively been shut out of the political process." And yet, the conflict has reshaped their role within the family. With Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and clashes eviscerating the economy, many families are trying to make money any way they can. Thousands of men have been killed or seriously injured in the war, leaving women with greater authority in their households. In Gubaiya, a sedate hamlet in northwestern Yemen, many men worked in neighboring Saudi Arabia on construction sites, at restaurants and in menial jobs. With the border closed, job opportunities vanished. Some men left to fight; others went south to find work in Sanaa and never returned. Those who remained tried to care for their families. First, they used up their savings. Then, they were forced to sell their cattle.

Running out of options, Mohammed Kuweit, 41, finally turned to someone he never expected to ask for help: his wife. They made a plan. She would collect wood every day to turn into charcoal to sell, and he would seek work as a day labourer. On days when he found no work, he would help her. "I'm not happy, but I am forced to do this," Kuweit said. "No one can accept seeing his wife go out and suffer." Now, Kuweit is charting new territory again. He helps clean the house and gets water from the well. If his wife arrives home late from work, he helps prepare dinner. Kuweit insists that he is "still the one in control" but concedes that their relationship has changed. "In the past, my wife would have a say in the running of the house," Kuweit said. "Now, I consult with her on more matters, especially anything related to income. The workload is more divided now." A recent survey conducted by CARE, Oxfam and others involved in humanitarian work in four of Yemen's 22 provinces found that the labor reversals had caused increased conflict between husbands and wives in some areas. But in other areas, the survey said there was greater appreciation of women's and men's roles and "an improved sense of how gender roles are mutually reliant." In particular, there was "an increased openness" to women working in jobs considered "shameful" including as "butchers, barbers or chicken sellers."

For most of her life, Shabon wasn't allowed to participate in the community or seek employment. She was forced to drop out of school to marry and have children. "I used to just stay at home and take care of my children," said the mother of eight, who, like every woman here, wore a black abaya and veil that covered her body and face save for her eyes. But these days, she heads to the scrub to gather wood after she makes breakfast. Her husband, Hassan Abdo Ibrahim, feeds their children, gathers water and washes the clothes while she is out. "At home, we are equal. There is no difference," he said a bit grudgingly. "I have no choice." When she returns home, he helps her with the wood to make charcoal, and together they go to the market. Each bag, which takes a week to prepare, sells for $3.50.
But it is still something to worry about for a disease that, without vaccination, infects whole populations. The complications start an average of eight years after the infection. "Nobody would connect it with measles," Cherry said. SSPE begins with symptoms like poor performance in school and subtle behavioural changes, Cherry said, and then progresses over the course of months to seizures. And then the children deteriorate further: "They lose a lot of other functions, and then they end up needing tube feeding and in a vegetative state." Measles also causes a form of encephalitis in some children at the time of infection, and it can harm and kill children in other ways. Measles encephalitis is what killed Olivia, the seven-year-old daughter of the writer Roald Dahl, in 1962, before the vaccine was available; he wrote a passionate letter to other parents two decades later, imploring them to get their children immunised. Those children who do die from measles are often killed by other infections, especially pneumonia. Measles was "the first immunosuppressive virus described, long before HIV," said Dr William J. Moss, deputy director of the International Vaccine Access Centre and a professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Epidemiologists have attributed any non-traumatic death in the first 30 days after measles to the disease, he said, but more recent evidence suggests that the risk period may be longer than that.

The virus is so contagious because it can spread through airborne transmission, but also because the viral particles stay in the air or on surfaces for a long time. If you are not immunised (as children younger than one year are not) or if you had only one dose and you are in the five per cent of people who don't respond to that first dose, you can get infected by being on the bus, or in the paediatrician's waiting room, even after the sick person has left. "Two of the most contagious viral infections are smallpox and measles," said Dr Anne Gershon, director of the division of paediatric infectious diseases at Columbia. Before they develop that characteristic measles rash, children have high fever and respiratory symptoms, and they are therefore at their most infectious before the disease has been identified. "In the early stages of the disease there's a lot of coughing, runny eyes and nose, but you don't think of isolating somebody till the rash comes out and after that they're gradually less contagious," Gershon said. Dr Matt Zahn, medical director for epidemiology for the Orange County Health Care Agency, oversaw the public health response in Orange County to the Disneyland measles outbreak that began in December 2014. He also took care of kids who were sick in the hospital. "The fever is high, there's a lot of nasal congestion and cough, these kids are miserable, they feel rotten," he said. "A kid with measles is not a smiling child who has a mild rash."

The anti-vaccine movement has been known to cite sitcom episodes as evidence that measles wasn't a serious disease; sure, the Brady Bunch kids got red spots. In fact, the measles rash is startling, with red patches that tend to merge as they cover the skin. The first dose of measles vaccine, which we give at 12 months, leaves 95 per cent of children immune, but that's not enough for effective herd immunity with a disease this contagious. That's the reason for the second dose of vaccine, which is now given at four years old, but may be moved up. We passed a kind of milestone last September when the Americas were declared officially free of endemic measles cases, an epidemiologic honour meaning that the only cases seen in this hemisphere since 2002 were from imported virus. But it's a fragile victory, as everyone who works with infectious diseases continues to worry, since the disease is still around in many other parts of the world, and people travel back and forth, and there is a significant population of unprotected young children in this country, largely thanks to parental anxiety about vaccination. Even more worrisome, according to some experts, is the population of children whose parents refused the vaccine a couple of decades ago; measles can be a bad disease in children, but it can be even more dangerous in young adults. Zahn said of the California outbreak: "What contained this virus in this event was that while we have relatively lower immunisation rates in some paediatric populations in our community, our adult immunisation rates were high, well over 95 per cent." Loading
The video had dark figures, a sunset, a cobra's head, a tropical beach, and flashes of Islamic State fighters brandishing their flag.



The accompanying lyrics referred to dying "a martyr", "armies of darkness", and "extermination".



Another video had chants including: "Go wear an explosive, rise up and blow up, and take pleasure in destruction."



Labourer Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand, 19, accessed these extremist videos on YouTube, which was a serious breach of a terrorism control order issued by a Federal Circuit Court judge, a sentence hearing was told on Tuesday.



Naizmand, suspected of being part of Sydney's largest terror cell, has pleaded guilty to breaching the control order by accessing three videos on his phone five times in January and February.



"The control order was made to protect the public from a terrorist attack and in breach of this control order, the offender viewed extremist propaganda material of Islamic State which advocated ... destroying non-believers for the sake of Allah," Crown prosecutor Michelle England told the NSW District Court, after playing the videos.

The control order banned Naizmand from accessing electronic media depicting the activities of IS, or anything that describes terrorist activities.

Ahmed Saiyer Naizmand is led out of Burwood Local Court in shackles after his arrest in February. Credit:Peter Rae

Ms England said: "The [Federal Circuit] court accepted that the offender was part of a close-knit group of men in Sydney who support the activities and ideology of Islamic State.



"The group of men were closely connected with the activities of another person who had been charged with terrorist offences and that the group of men was willing and able to commit a terrorist act."



That terrorist act, the court heard, was planned to be the random killing of a "non-believer", who would then be draped in an IS flag in a public place.

Naizmand was subjected to the order last year after he was convicted of using his brother's passport to travel to the Middle East in 2014 and his home was raided during Operation Appleby.



Defence barrister Ertunc Ozen said that control orders were nothing new in the legal system.
Aria's mother, Hollie Dunn, posted a photograph of her daughter on Facebook on Tuesday, prompting an immediate outpouring of messages of condolence and support for her, husband Craig and their son Jett.

Family members and neighbours attempted to revive Aria, before NSW Ambulance paramedics took her to Campbelltown Hospital. She was pronounced dead a short time after arrival.

Aria Dunn, aged 20 months, was pulled unconscious from the swimming pool at her family's house on Thunderbolt Drive in Raby just after 4pm on Sunday.

A toddler who drowned after falling into a backyard swimming pool in Sydney's south-west at the weekend has been remembered as a "beautiful little angel", as friends rally around her heartbroken family in the lead up to Christmas.

"I love you all more than you know and can only tell you how truly sorry I am for the loss of your beautiful little Aria. May she forever fly free with the Angels," one family member wrote.

Another person said: "Hollie there are no words we can say to make the pain ease, just know that we are here for you all and we love you all. There will always be a special angel looking over you, Jett and Craig. RIP Aria we love you."

Another said: "Please just know that you and your family have not left my thoughts since hearing of the loss of your beautiful little girl. Always here if you need anything Hollie. Rest in peace Aria. Lots of love always."

The State Coroner will investigate how Aria managed to get through a safety fence surrounding the swimming pool on the afternoon that she died.

Acting Superintendent Michael Rochester said the "very tragic" accident should serve as a reminder for others to check the safety of their pool fences.
A man whose body was found at a Housing NSW complex in Wollongong last year had been savagely beaten and  once dead thrown from a second-storey apartment and left to rot inside a shared laundry for 13 days, a court has heard.

Alleged details of 56-year-old Mark Dower's miserable demise were aired in Wollongong Local Court, as one of two men charged with his murder sought bail, the Illawarra Mercury reports.

The apartment complex where the man's body was found. Credit:Adam McLean

The Crown will attempt to prove Mr Dower was murdered as part of a joint criminal enterprise involving Paul William Turner, now 49, and a resident of the apartment complex, Mark Kenneth Jenkin, 45. Crown documents considered by Magistrate Michael Stoddart allege Jenkin had a history of assaulting and detaining vulnerable people within the Mangerton area until he could access their bank accounts.

The Crown will allege Jenkin targeted Mr Dower in this way and aware that Mr Dower received a substantial payment each month  regularly took money from him.
Scott Harry Richardson claimed he did not rape a woman sleeping on the couch in his Redfern flat, but merely jumped on top of her in a case of mistaken identity.

But a NSW District Court jury has rejected his version of events, finding him guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

Scott Harry Richardson, 25, found guilty of rape during an impromptu summer party at his flat. Credit:Facebook

Richardson, 25, was red-faced and teary when the foreperson announced the verdict on Tuesday afternoon. He bowed his head, and rubbed his forehead and eyes.

He lifted up the sleeves of his suit jacket to allow Corrective Services officers to handcuff him and lead him downstairs to the cells.
A man who acted as a lure in Sydney gay bashings is set to give evidence at an inquest into the death of a talented mathematician 28 years ago.

The naked body of Scott Russell Johnson, 27, was found at the base of a Manly cliff, his clothes and possessions neatly stacked above, in December 1988.

The last family photo of Scott Johnson, who died in 1988. Credit:NSW Police

The first inquest, held soon after, found Mr Johnson had taken his own life. That conclusion has never been accepted by his family, who believe Mr Johnson was the victim of a hate crime.

Another inquest, in 2012, found the cause of death an open question.On Tuesday, after extensive lobbying by the Johnson family, a third inquest began at the NSW Coroner's Court in Glebe in an attempt to discover how the young man died.
This is the chart the NSW government says is evidence of the resilience of Sydney's housing market.

The chart shows the locations in which the record volume of new properties approved in Sydney last year will be built .

According to NSW Treasury, the spread of the dwellings across the city marks Sydney's property boom as different from Melbourne's and Brisbane's.

In those cities, apartments have been concentrated in central business districts.
A man accused of torching a Brisbane bus, murdering the driver and trapping more than a dozen passengers inside may never face trial, a magistrate has suggested.

Accused Moorooka bus attacker Anthony Mark O'Donohue's charges, including 14 counts of attempted murder, were all referred on Monday to a mental health callover despite protests from his lawyer.

Magistrate Suzette Coates told the court the 48-year-old might spend the rest of his life in The Park mental health centre, pending a psychiatric assessment.

Police allege Mr O'Donohue boarded a Brisbane City Council bus in the city's south on October 28 and threw an "incendiary device" on driver Manmeet Sharma.
Embattled MP Billy Gordon will not be referred to Parliament's ethics committee over claims he deliberately misled the house over tax and child support payments.

Earlier this month, it was revealed the independent member for Cook had thousands of dollars owing and Speaker Peter Wellington was investigating whether Mr Gordon had misled the Parliament.

Member for Cook Billy Gordon will not be referred to the ethics committee over claims he misled the house.

In March 2015, Mr Gordon told Parliament he had ensured any outstanding child support payments "have been made to my ex-partner".

He also said he had moved to immediately rectify his tax affairs.
An inquest will examine the mysterious disappearance of an army officer from Brisbane 17 years ago.

Sean Sargent, then 24, vanished after getting into a fight while attending a party with friends at a house in the suburb of St Lucia on March 19, 1999.

Military police reported Mr Sargent missing on March 22, 1999, after he failed to report for duty at the Enoggera Barracks. Credit:Glenn Hunt

There have been a small number of witness sightings of Mr Sargent since that night, but nothing else to indicate he is alive.

A pre-inquest conference on Tuesday heard how the army lieutenant had once joked about committing suicide in an email to a girlfriend but had talked to others about changing identity.
The man accused of killing a Brisbane bus driver in a fire attack that trapped several passengers on board has been charged with another three counts of attempted murder.

Police announced the additional three charges on Tuesday, adding them to 11 charges Anthony O'Donohue was already facing.

The 48-year-old allegedly boarded a bus at Moorooka on October 28 and threw an "incendiary device" on driver Manmeet Sharma, who died at the scene.

It was previously thought 11 passengers had been trapped on board but on Monday, police said they'd spoken with three additional passengers.
Next time you're lying on the beach soaking up the rays, spare a thought for the sun-loving algae hiding in the grains of sand beneath you.

By lying on the sand you are denying these critters sunlight, and to survive the microalgae have to hold their collective breath until they see the light again.

Michael Bourke with sand at Middle Park beach. Each grain of sand would host hundreds of micro-algae. Credit:Joe Armao

Sand is full of microalgae called diatoms. The algae can survive in harsh environments - ones in which it is continuously churned by the sea or covered by sunbathers. The algae are nothing if not adaptive: they can be at the top of the pile soaking up light one minute and buried in the dark the next.

Now Monash University researchers have found that the microscopic algae living in sand from Middle Park beach are an unlikely source of hydrogen gas, a key ingredient for those developing clean energy alternatives.
Thousands of school text books and Christmas presents donated to the Les Twentyman Foundation have been destroyed in the fire at Footscray's Little Saigon market.

The foundation was using most of the top floor of the two-storey building as a library for students who couldn't afford to buy their own textbooks as part of its back-to-school program.

At least 6000 textbooks, mostly donated by Melbourne private schools, have likely been lost  as well as presents for the foundation's Christmas party that were destined for teens who would otherwise get nothing.

"The kids are going to miss out at school this year," Mr Twentyman said at the scene of the fire on Tuesday morning.
The union that shut down Melbourne's train and tram systems last year with a series of strikes is in crisis after hundreds of train drivers tore up their memberships over a fight between leaders for control of the union's finances.

Almost 400 Metro train drivers have quit, fracturing Victoria's Rail, Tram and Bus Union, after being ordered not to pay their dues into a special bank account because they were in breach of union rules.

Union State Secretary Luba Grigorovitch. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The snap exodus is a snub to the authority of union secretary Luba Grigorovitch, and threatens to dilute the power of the combative union, which went on strike for the first time in 20 years last year when industrial negotiations with Metro Trains and Yarra Trams turned sour.

The disaffected train drivers have dumped the RTBU and sought to join an interstate union, the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees, even though such a move could expose them to the potential loss of employment conditions won in the bitter 2015 industrial dispute with Metro Trains.
Spain Proposes To Leave $4B Treasure On Caribbean Seafloor To Avoid Conflict With Colombia

We can say that the vessel is Spanish as according to international law a ship has the nationality of the flag it sails under when it sinks. Inside there are hundreds of Spaniards who died a the time of sinking, and because of that we think the best thing to do with a sunken ship is to respect the cultural heritage it represents and leave it where it is. Click to expand...

In order to avoid conflict with Colombia over who owns the $4 to $7 billion treasure inside the galleon San Jose, Spain proposed Monday to leave the treasure on the Caribbean seafloor where it has been for more than 300 years.The galleon, sunk by a British war ship in 1708, was found in December off the coast of Cartagena, one of Colombias most popular tourist destinations.However, after finding possibly the biggest treasure in history, three parties laid claim to it: Colombia, Spain and US investors who had financed the search.In order to avoid an international legal battle between Spain and Colombia, Spanish Justice Minister Rafael Catala told Colombian newspaper El Tiempo the best idea would be to leave the ship and use parts of its treasure for a museum.Catala told El Tiempo that the proposal to leave the galleon and its multi-billion treasure is the formal Spanish proposal to avoid a legal confrontation before international courts.Lets not have an economic debate about the currency inside the galleon, if theyre yours or mine, that I keep it because I saw it first, Catala told El Tiempo.Additionally, the Spanish minister proposed to settle the dispute before a bilateral commission of experts, rather than the International Court of Justice where international disputes on territorial and property issues are fought.According to Catala, I believe this is an issue in which we politicians can take a step back and leave that historians, heritage experts and experts on issues like this sit down at the table, and that they tell us what to do with the treasure.Spains claim on the treasure is highly sensitive because of the countrys colonial history in the Americas. After Christopher Columbus discovery of the continent in 1492, the European country killed many thousands natives, exterminating entire peoples while looting the natives treasures.
Fire investigators are hoping to gain access to the Little Saigon market on Wednesday to confirm the cause of the fire that destroyed the Footscray institution.

Fresh photos from the scene on Wednesday morning show the gutted remains of the Nicholson Street premises.

But the extent of the damage, or the confirmation of the cause, won't be determined for some time. Early indications estimated the damage bill would exceed $12 million.

The market was engulfed in flames from 6am on Tuesday with firefighters battling the blaze from outside, unable to get inside to extinguish the blaze due to fears the building would collapse.
Victorian voters are warming to Pauline Hanson's One Nation after shunning her party at the federal election, with nearly one in ten people indicating support in a new poll.

Ms Hanson's return to the Senate has seen a bounce in her popularity in the traditionally progressive state, with One Nation capturing 9.4 per cent of the state primary in a new ReachTEL poll of 1649 Victorians.

A spokesperson for One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said it was a matter for the lawyers. Credit:Andrew Meares

At the federal election One Nation won just 1.8 per cent of the Victorian senate vote.

Her resurgence is most problematic for the Nationals, which polled just 3.7 per cent in the poll. A Fairfax analysis of the federal election results in Victoria showed she was most popular in Nationals held seats.
Victoria's budget surplus has taken a $1.2 billion hit in just seven months as the Andrews government ramps up spending on public service wages.

State Treasury is now predicting a $1.7 billion surplus for the current financial year, down from $2.9 billion forecast in the April 2016 budget.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas. Credit:Justin McManus

Although the state's finances remain amongst the strongest in the nation, with surpluses worth $7.4 billion over the four-year budget period, the write down since the budget has been precipitous.

A huge jump in the public wage bill was partly to blame, raising questions about the structural integrity of the budget, particularly if revenue is hit by a property slump or general downturn as some economists fear.
An indigenous woman has died in custody after having a heart attack, the Department of Corrective Services has confirmed.

The woman, who Fairfax Media has chosen not to name, died at 9.23pm on Saturday after the cardiac arrest, during her treatment at Royal Perth Hospital.

The woman, who was 44, was on remand pending a court hearing. Credit:File image

She had been taken there earlier that evening from Bandyup Women's Prison via priority one ambulance.

The woman, who was 44, was on remand pending a court hearing.
A former Anglican priest has been charged with alleged sexual offences against a 10-year-old girl from more than 15 years ago.

Police allege the 64-year-old man from Preston Beach sexually assaulted the young girl from August 2010 to November 2011 when he was an Anglican Priest at a church in Secret Harbour.

A former Anglican priest has been charged with a string of child sex offences.

He has been charged with three counts of indecent dealing of a child under 13 years, and one count of persistent sexual conduct with a child under 16 years and will appear in Rockingham Magistrates court on Tuesday.

If you are or have been a victim of child sexual abuse, or if you have information about someone being abused, please contact police on 131 444.
A 29-year-old man has been charged over the death of a man who was allegedly hit in the head with a brick at a Forrestfield home on Saturday.

The 40-year-old victim died in hospital after being injured in a fight after police were called to the Allamanda Way home at about 8pm after reports of an altercation and serious injuries.

Police at the site of the incident in Forrestfield. Credit:Alice Pooley/Nine News Perth

St John Ambulance took the man to Royal Perth Hospital, where he later died.

Major Crime Squad detectives have charged the Forrestfield man with grievous bodily harm after he was taken into custody in Geraldton on Monday.
A meteor shower expected to burst across Perth skies on Tuesday night would normally provide stargazers with a spectacular celestial show.

But that pesky supermoon is back to steal the limelight.

The Geminids meteor shower can be seen on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with 120 meteors lighting up our skies per hour, if the heavens remain clear.

But the peak of the meteor show coincides with the third supermoon of 2016.
Aleppo: The Syrian army and its allies are in the "last moments before declaring victory" in Aleppo, a Syrian military source said, after rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground.

A Reuters journalist in the government-held zone said the bombardment of rebel areas of the city continued non-stop on Monday, and a civilian trapped there described the situation as resembling "Doomsday".

"The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly. They [rebels] don't have much time. They either have to surrender or die," Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the government's Aleppo security committee, told reporters in the recaptured Sheikh Saeed district of the city.

Rebels withdrew from all districts on the east side of the Aleppo river on Monday afternoon after losing Sheikh Saeed in the south of their pocket in overnight fighting, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
A presidential elector representing Texas declared last week that he would not vote for Donald Trump when the Electoral College meets December 19. He is the second Republican elector this year to refuse to cast his vote in accordance with the results in his state.

Christopher Suprun, a paramedic and former firefighter who was one of the first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, wrote in a New York Times op-ed that Trump is "someone who shows daily he is not qualified for the office." Suprun said he had a legal right and constitutional duty to vote his conscience and planned to do so.

Suprun's announcement followed one by Art Sisneros, another Republican elector in Texas, who last month wrote that he would resign rather than cast his vote for Trump.

Suprun joins a handful of other "faithless electors" in American history. (Because Sisneros resigned, he is technically not "faithless.")
Jakarta: The embattled governor of Jakarta emotionally told his trial for blasphemy that his own godparents had been Muslims and it would not be possible for him to insult Islam.

Hundreds of police provided security as Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, was indicted for blasphemy in the Central Jakarta District court building on Tuesday.

"I am very sad that I have been accused of insulting Muslims. It is the same to me as insulting my godparents, my family," Ahok told the packed, stiflingly hot court room, his voice trembling.

The first openly ethnically Chinese and Christian governor told of how he was born to non-Muslim parents but was the godson, or adoptive son, of a religious Muslim family from Sulawesi.
Back in 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision in a case known asNorth Dakota was attempting to impose a use tax on all sales that were shipped into the state. A use tax is designed to discourage businesses and individuals from buying items from sources where they won't have to pay sales tax. FYI, here in California, the Revenue Code requires all taxpayers to self-report and pay use tax on all of their purchases where sales tax was not collected.The court's ruling was that North Dakota could not impose the use tax on Quill Corp because the company did not have a "physical presence" in the state. As a result of that ruling, most online retailers have not collected sales taxes in states where they do not have the required physical presence.Now by choosing to not hear a case, the court may have made a major change in how states attempt to collect use tax. Colorado had passed a law designed to compel companies who sell to customers in Colorado without a physical presence in the state to either collect the sales tax, or report information on the purchases to Colorado. That way the state will have a record that they can use to collect the tax themselves.The Data & Marketing Association filed a suit challenged the law. Ultimately a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Colorado. With the Supreme Court's decision to refuse to hear an appeal of that ruling, the case is over. Those who sell in Colorado must either collect the tax or furnish the information.Considering how some states have grown more dependent upon sales tax revenue for their budgets to balance, the trend in those states will undoubtedly be to enact similar laws.* * *Meanwhile the California Supreme Court gave a victory to online hotel sites in deciding that the City of San Diego cannot force them to collect a hotel occupancy tax for the amount they charge when they sell a room on behalf of a local hotel.These sites like Expedia, Hotwire and so on, make money by negotiating a wholesale price on the rooms found on their sites and then marking up that price by as much as 22%. The person booking the room is charged the occupancy tax on the higher price and the online site pockets that money.San Diego and other cities wanted to collect that occupancy tax on the full price. The court's ruling will allow the cities to go after the hotel owners directly, and the online sites may have to reimburse them for the tax, depending on the terms of their contract.* * *Donald Trump says he doesn't need the daily intelligence briefings that every previous president received, because he's a smart guy.Plenty of his predecessors were also very smart men, many of them far smarter in terms of experience with geopolitics and raw IQ. They didn't beg off from those briefings and Trump shouldn't avoid them either.Things change rapidly on the world stage and the vast increase in the speed at which information travels has made those changes more time-sensitive than ever.Trump has already demonstrated that he is less than fully informed by his phone call with the president of Taiwan and the resulting strain in the relationship between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China. You don't unilaterally alter foreign policy BEFORE taking office.I fear for our future if he keeps going in this direction.
Beirut: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there had been a suspected gas attack in Islamic State-held territory near Palmyra on Monday, amid heavy aerial bombardment of the same area which together killed at least 53 people.

Citing local sources near the site of the attack in eastern Hama province, north-west of the ancient city of Palmyra which was re-captured by IS on Sunday, the Observatory said there were cases of suffocation and that dozens had been wounded during heavy rocket fire on the area.

This image posted online on Sunday by the IS-controlled Aamaq News Agency purports to show the ancient ruins of the city of Palmyra, in Homs province, Syria. Credit:IS/AP

The dead included 28 children.

Local sources had reported seeing dead bodies with no visible injuries, said the Observatory, a British-based group that monitors the war in Syria through a network of contacts across the country.
PHILIPSBURG:--- As the investigation of the two (2) missing young men, E. ROSARIO (23 years old) and L. DIAZ SARANTE (23 years old) , continues, the home of one of the men has been searched. The men had been both reported missing since Monday, December 5 2016.

The detective Department remains diligent in search for these two young men and all possible leads are being looked into. The community is asked to lend assistance that may lead to finding them. Anyone with relevant information is asked to call the Police Station 542-2222 ext 208 or 211.

If you wish to stay anonymous, you can call the tip line at 9300 (free of charge) or send a private message to our Facebook page Police Force of Sint Maarten.

Three women robbed

Philipsburg: On December 10th 2016, at approximately 00.35 am (twelve thirty) three female were robbed of their belongings as they walked along the Juancho Yrasquin Boulevard. The three ladies were on their way back to their boot that was anchored at the Point Blanche Pier when they were suddenly attacked by an armed man dressed in dark clothing. Their purses were taken during the attack. One of the women was struck on the head, but luckily she did not suffer any injuries that needed medical attention. Their wallets were later found in the surrounding area. Detectives are busy with the further investigation.

Jewel Store robbery

Philipsburg: On Saturday, December 10th 2016, at approximately 12.25 pm a Jewel Store on located on the Front street in Philipsburg was robbed. An armed man ran into the establishment and grabbed several chains from behind the display case and fled the scene as quickly as he had entered it. No one was hurt during this robbery. Police and detective patrols quickly searched the surrounding area to no avail. Members of the forensic team were also called in to conduct their investigation.

Supermarket robbed

Philipsburg: On Sunday, December 11th 2016, during the evening hours the police patrol was dispatched to Conch Shell supermarket on the A Th Illidge road where an armed man dressed in a hooded sweater robbed the supermarket of an undisclosed amount of cash. Anyone with information pertaining to this robbery can contact the detective department.

Body found floating in Simpson bay Lagoon

On Sunday, December 11th 2016, a patrol was dispatch to the Pink Iguana Restaurant on the Airport Boulevard where a body was discovered floating in the Lagoon. With the assistance of the coast-guard the lifeless body of an adult male was pulled out of the Lagoon. His body was discovered at approximately 09.30 am (nine thirty).

After being examined by the forensic doctor it was decided to confiscate the body for further investigation. There was no indication that foul play was involved in his death. The search of his clothing revealed a British drivers license and passport registered under the name of Russell Frank HODGSON. He was born on November 30, 1945. The body was transported short afterward to the Royal Funeral Home. Witnesses were questioned and contact was quickly made with members of his family who are expected to arrive on the island so that the body can officially be released.

Man injured after being struck

Philipsburg: On Sunday December 11 2016, a white Hyundai Getz traveling on the L.B. Scott road coming out of the direction of St. Peters, struck the rear end of a garbage truck while it stood still. A garbage collector who was situated at the back of the truck was seriously injured as a result of the impact. Medical personnel transported him to the hospital where it was determined that he had suffered a broken leg. The investigation on the scene was conducted by members of the traffic department.

KPSM Press Release
PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Franklin Meyers used most of his speaking time during the budget debate to speak out against the constant arrests taking place on St. Maarten. Meyers said right now only the blacks on St. Maarten is being targeted. He mentioned the names of the various owners of houses of repute that were arrested even though the government is making monies from the girls that comes to the island to work. He said government issued permits to the owners of these businesses, they make monies from the owners and the girls yet government sit back and allow the Dutch namely the law enforcement wing targeting locals. Meyers asked if there are any local policemen from St. Maarten investigating people in Holland? Further, he asked who is the RST and other Dutch detectives reporting to? are they reporting to St. Maarten local chief of police or the former chief of police of St. Maarten. Meyers said locals on St. Maarten are not allowed to excel in life, he said because of this black men commit crimes such as robberies. Meyers went on to say his brother Etienne Toochi Meyers who is like a father to him was arrested and locked up for 32 days and all his rights were violated. "my brother did not even have the right to a visitor." Meyers said it's all well and good when locals work for banks or airlines and other major companies but the moment they try to own a bank or an airline they become a target because then and only then the Dutch wants to know where the locals are getting monies from. He vowed to speak out on this matter especially seeing that locals can no longer do business or even live in peace.

MP Meyers said that the moment a local is rising to the top they become a target. He said his brother Etienne Meyers was in police custody for 32 days and he was denied a visitor, he asked the Minister of Justice if that is normal practice, since the Minister is also a lawyer. Besides that he said that recently the owner of Checkmate Security (Oneil Arrindell) was arrested simply because that black man has monies and the Dutch wants to know where the blacks on St. Maarten getting the monies from. Meyers said that the Dutch went as far as trying to align MP Frans Richardson with the owner of Checkmate. "They wrote in their newspapers that MP Richardson and Arrindell were childhood friends, Meyers said when he read that he laughed because the only childhood friend MP Frans Richardson had was him. Meyers made clear as a young man growing up he and Frans Richardson were seen everywhere. This he said is another attempt to tarnish another businessman and local. Meyers mentioned the arrest of Silvio Matser, and several others all of which he considered to be unjustified.

Meyers said that during his screening process the VDSM wrote a report that is full of lies, and the worst part is that he cannot contest the contents of the report. Meyers said that VDSM claims he is part of the sex industry, something that is a blatant lie. Meyers said that in the same report that VDSM wrote that he is doing business with a mafia boss Francesco Corallo because he rented his casino license to Corallo. MP Meyers made clear that there is a court verdict that prohibits people from labeling Corallo as a mafia boss because there is no evidence or proof to support such, yet VDSM and the RST address the businessman as a mafia boss. MP Meyers said while locals are forbidden to speak or do business with Corallo, the Dutch themselves such as the RST renting apartments from the same person they are calling a mafia boss. MP Meyers kept calling on the Members of Parliament and Ministers to do what they need to do to protect the people of St. Maarten. He said the Dutch is after the people of St. Maarten, "today it's me but tomorrow it will be you or your loved ones."

He also mentioned that on Monday, during the Parliament meeting two Dutch men walked into the Parliament building (RST agents) to interview MP Brownbill. MP Meyers said that Parliament has a chair and he cannot understand why the RST or the prosecutors office did not send a notification to say they wanted to speak or interview MP Brownbill. He said that this is not normal. However, spokesman for the Prosecutors Office said that the two officers went to Parliament to make an appointment with someone that was in Parliament on Monday and they did not interview anyone.
PHILIPSBURG:---The Anti-corruption Taskforce (TBO) of the Kingdom Detectives Cooperation Team

(RST) are conducting searches since early in the morning of Tuesday, December 13,

2016. At the request of Italian authorities the suspect F.C. (56), born in Italy, has been arrested. The searches are taking place at a home and an office building and are led by an investigative Judge.

Another suspect was arrested on French Saint Martin where searches will also taking place led by a French investigative judge. Dutch-born R.B. (50) was arrested.

The searches and arrests are part of an international action taking place simultaneously in Italy, St. Maarten, French Saint Martin and The Netherlands.

We will give an update on new developments as soon as possible.

Update international Action on St. Maarten

The searches in St. Maarten that started this morning Tuesday, December 13, 2016, and are being led by the Judge of Instruction are still ongoing. The home of the suspect F.C. (56) born in Italy is one of the premises that is being searched.

The Anti-corruption Taskforce (TBO) of the Kingdom Detectives Cooperation Team has arrested F.C. at the request of Italian authorities. Italy will ask for his extradition. He will be prosecuted in Italy among other things for tax evasion and bribery of several politicians. F.C. is also suspected in Italy for using his businesses for money laundering.

The arrests and searches are part of an international coordinated action in Italy, St. Maarten, Netherlands and the French Saint Martin.

Several searches are also taking place on French Saint Martin led by an Investigative Judge. There the suspect R.B. (56) born in The Netherlands has been arrested. Furthermore, searches have taken place in Italy and suspects have been arrested. Finally, in Amsterdam, an office building has been searched.

These actions are the result of a partnership which started six months ago between the Prosecutors Offices of Italy, the Netherlands and St. Maarten. The Anti-corruption Unit of the Attorney Generals Office acted in line with this partnership regarding the arrests, searches, and seizure.

This international cooperation between Italy, St. Maarten, French Saint Martin and the Netherlands fits into the joint, intensive approach to combat cross-border corruption and fraud, also called undermining. Undermining, including corruption and money laundering, poses a serious threat to the security and economy of the countries in the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom. The TBO of the RST, the National Detectives Agencies of Curacao and Sint Maarten and the Prosecutors Office are partners in the fight against undermining.

Prosecutor's Office Press Release
Spartan Motors, Inc. announced Tuesday its wholly-owned subsidiary, Spartan Motors USA, Inc., has agreed to acquire Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. and its subsidiaries for $36.3 million.

Smeal, based in Snyder, is a manufacturer of fire apparatus. Spartan Motors designs, manufactures and assembles specialty chassis and vehicles. The two companies have a longstanding relationship that spans more than 30 years released information says.

Smeal is expected to generate 2016 revenues of approximately $100 million, which includes approximately $30 million of Spartan chassis sold to Smeal.

The newly combined Spartan Emergency Response business unit is expected to rank as one of the top-four North American fire apparatus manufacturers.

We look forward to adding Smeals industry-leading product portfolio and manufacturing expertise to Spartans, while expanding on a decades-long successful partnership, said Daryl Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer of Spartan Motors. We are pleased that Smeal chose Spartan Motors as their partner to carry on their brands legacy, as we take our supplier relationship to the next level. Spartan Motors is prepared to lead the consolidation charge in the fire apparatus market as strategic opportunities present themselves, and this acquisition represents a deliberate and strategic decision to accelerate the turnaround of Spartans Emergency Response business unit.

Founded in 1955, Smeal and its subsidiaries, U.S. Tanker Co. and Ladder Tower Co., are leaders and innovators in fire truck manufacturing and vehicle technology, offering a full line of aerial ladders and platforms, pumpers, stainless steel tankers and wildland urban interface vehicles (WUI). In addition to its Snyder plant, Smeal operates facilities located in Neligh; Delavan, Wis.; and Ephrata, Pa.

Spartan Motors is the perfect fit for Smeal, our customers, our employees, and our operational leadership team, as we combine with a proven ally and industry leader to help solidify our future and preserve the legacy of the Smeal organization, said Rod Cerny, Smeals Chairman of the Board. As part of a larger, profitable and well-capitalized public company, we will have the working capital necessary to ensure continued investment in product development and make sure the Smeal brand is able to deliver the exceptional products and service our dealers, departments, and municipality customers have come to expect.

The combined company will have 47 dealers in 44 states, 10 provinces and three territories, giving Spartan Emergency Response the ability to serve customers in the entire U.S. and all of Canada. Smeal is expected to add approximately $70 million in annual revenue (excludes $30 million of Spartan chassis sold to Smeal) to the Companys Emergency Response segment

The transaction will be initially financed with Spartan Motors recently amended $100 million line of credit

We are proud of this significant milestone for Spartans Emergency Response business, and welcome Smeals knowledgeable and respected operational management team and employees to the Spartan Motors family, Adams said. This transaction will bring together some of the best talent in the industry and provides an opportunity for all employees to pursue a broader and more diverse career path.

Spartan Motors employs approximately 1,800 associates, and operates facilities in Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kansas, South Dakota, Saltillo, Mexico; and Lima, Peru. Spartan reported sales of $550 million in 2015.
Claim: Candy canes were created as Christian symbols representing the blood and purity of Jesus. Rating: About this rating False

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The peppermint-flavored, red-and-white-striped sugary candy cane can be found everywhere at Christmastime. It's as much an ornament as it is a confection, and people munch these treats and decorate with them, scarcely giving a thought to just where candy canes came from in the first place. In recent years several different stories have been advanced claiming that the candy cane was designed to be fraught with Christian religious symbolism, variously offering it as a secret form of identification used by European Christians during a time of persecution, a sweet treat created to induce children to behave well in church, or a confection dreamed up by a candymaker in Indiana to express his Christian faith:

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols from the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray. Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane  a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who "have eyes to see and ears to hear." Every time you see a Candy Cane, remember the Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas, and that His Love remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today. Advent Day 11: The color white of the candy cane represents the #purity of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. #RethinkAdvent #RethinkChurch #inumc pic.twitter.com/lXMJYsDpak  Kilmore UMC (@KilmoreUMC) December 7, 2016 The Candy Cane Legend: A Simple Craft to Share Jesus with Others https://t.co/CWq71hF7SV pic.twitter.com/Db5ywr4Pjj  Mindy Harris White (@MindyWhiteMW) December 13, 2016 An upside down candy cane makes a J to remind us of Jesus. #25Ornaments pic.twitter.com/RY9554ByAi  Laramy Wells (@SupermanofTech) December 12, 2016

The first of these claims  that the candy cane was intended as a means by which persecuted Christians could furtively identify each other  is directly contradicted by history. Even questionable accounts regarding the origins of the candy cane place its origins no earlier the latter part of the 17th century, at which time Europe was almost entirely Christian. By then, only people who were not Christians would have been the ones in need of this form of "secret handshake"! Like the apocryphal tale of the "true" meaning of the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," this claim is a modern day attempt to infuse a primarily secular holiday artifact with Christian origins and meanings.

Another popular account claims a choirmaster in Cologne, Germany, as the inventor of the candy cane:

Church history records that in 1670 the choirmaster at Germany's Cologne Cathedral was faced with a problem that still challenges parents, teachers, and choir directors today. In ancient Cologne, as well as in thousands of churches today, the children in the choir often grew restless and noisy during the long services. He sought out a local candy maker, and after looking over the treats in his shop, the music leader paused in front of some white sweet sticks. Yet the choirmaster wondered if the priests and parents would allow him to give the children in his choir candy to eat during a church service. The choirmaster asked the candy maker if he could bend the sticks and make a crook at the top of each one. The candy would not be just a treat; it would be a teaching tool. The choirmaster decided that the candy's pure white color would represent the purity of Christ. The crook would serve as a way for the children to remember the story of the shepherds who came to visit the baby Jesus. The shepherds carried staffs or canes, and with the hook at the top of the stick, the candy now looked like a cane."

However, this account also presents significant historical problems. Despite the authoritative-sounding appeal to "church history," no one has yet produced any documentation that either verifies this account as true or reliably dates it to the 17th century  it exists only in the form of anecdote, recorded no earlier than the mid-20th century. Moreover, English-language references to "candy canes" (1866) and their association with Christmas (1874) didn't begin to pop up until the latter part of the 19th century, two hundred years after the treat had supposedly been invented and popularized as a Christmastime confection.

The claim that candy canes were created by "a candymaker in Indiana" who "stained them with red stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received" is similarly lacking in documentation and historically problematic. (One has to wonder how it is we supposedly know that one specific person invented the candy cane, we know where he lived, and we know precisely why he made candy canes the way he did, yet no one even knows his name.) The existence of candy sugar sticks with colored stripes has been documented at least as far back as 1844, but visual evidence of the J-shaped, white-with-a-red-stripe modern candy cane did not appear until the beginning of the 20th century: Christmas cards produced before 1900 show plain white canes, but striped canes only started to appear on Christmas cards at the beginning of the 20th century:

The strongest connection one might make between the origins of the candy cane and any intentional Christian association is to guess that possibly some unknown person, at some indefinite time, took a long-existing form of sweet (i.e., straight white sticks of sugar candy) that was already associated with Christmas and produced bent versions of it to represent a shepherd's crook and/or make it easier to hang on Christmas trees, but even that general association is nothing more than mere supposition with no supporting evidence behind it.

One verifiable (albeit indirect) religious connection associated with the modern candy cane exists, however.

In 1919 Bob McCormack began making candy canes for local use and sales in Albany, Georgia, and by the middle of the century his company (originally the Famous Candy Company, then the Mills-McCormack Candy Company, and later Bobs Candies) had become one of the world's leading candy cane producers. But candy cane manufacturing initially required a fair bit of labor that limited production quantities (the canes had to be bent manually as they came off the assembly line in order to create their 'J' shape,) and it was McCormack's brother-in-law, a Catholic priest named Gregory Harding Keller, who came up with the solution: Father Keller invented the Keller Machine that automated the process of shaping straight candy sticks into candy canes.

Claims made about the candy's Christian symbolism have become increasingly widespread as religious leaders have assured their congregations that these mythologies are factual, the press have published these claims as authoritative answers to readers' inquiries about the confection's meaning, and several lavishly illustrated books purport to tell the "true story" of the candy cane's origins. This is charming folklore, but one should not lose sight of the fact that such stories of the candy cane's origins are, like Santa Claus, myths and not "true stories."

Sightings: Fictional accounts of the candy cane's religious origins are the subject of a number of colorful Christmas volumes, including The Candymaker's Gift: A Legend of the Candy Cane by Helen Haidle (1996), The Candy Cane Story by Joy Merchant Nall and Thomas Nall, Jr. (1996), The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg (1997), and the children's book The "J" Is for Jesus by Alice Joyce Davidson (1998).
Faction Named as Official Cloud Service Provider for Denver Zoo

DENVER, CO  (Marketwired)  12/13/16  , an enterprise-class Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud provider, announces today that it is the official cloud service provider for . Denver Zoo is utilizing Factions enterprise-grade cloud for its dynamic data protection and disaster recovery solution.

Founded in 1896, Denver Zoo is an 80-acre facility located in Denver, Colorados City Park. Home to over 600 species, Denver Zoo hosts a wide variety of award-winning educational programs and is committed to state-of-the-art animal care, global conservation efforts and groundbreaking sustainability operations.

As part of the Faction solution, Denver Zoo migrated from an on-premise IT environment using tape backups to a Faction cloud-based platform, reducing latency and providing increased control over its IT environment. In addition, Factions cloud solution includes hypervisor-based tools that replicate Denver Zoos critical applications and production data to the Faction Cloud. This tool provides cutting-edge security by taking granular snapshots of data inside a virtualized environment. In the event of a major issue, Denver Zoo will have full backups readily available, as opposed to taking a week or more on the Zoos previous solution, therefore increasing capabilities and providing 100% protection for its business-critical telecommunications.

Factions approach in working with Denver Zoo was unique in that the team genuinely expressed an interest in supporting the local community, comments Dean Paulson, Director of Information Technology for Denver Zoo. With Factions highly available infrastructure, our recovery time objective for virtualization backups will be significantly improved. Their team went above and beyond in helping our IT team with day-to-day management, as our former backup method involving managing tapes required a significant investment in time and money. We look forward to expanding the solution in the future.

Faction is passionate about supporting local organizations and communities, and is excited to strike this new partnership with Denver Zoo, comments John Drake, Senior Vice President of Sales for Faction. Data protection is critical to the success of any business. The Zoo hosts hundreds of species and thousands of guests, employees, and volunteers each day. It is essential it has the right tools in place for securely backing up its applications, systems and data. We look forward to providing a high level of support for this community treasure.

For more information, please visit .

Faction is an enterprise-class IaaS cloud provider offering private, public, & hybrid cloud solutions. Faction supplies cloud the way service providers, partners and customers want it with extreme performance, deep control, and broad customization capabilities. No compromises. No exceptions. With cloud nodes across the United States and in Europe (Seattle, Santa Clara, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, New Jersey, New York, and the United Kingdom), Faction offers both Cisco UCS and Open Compute platforms, is a Platinum-level NetApp Service Provider, and is VMware Hybrid Cloud and Iaas Powered. Join the Faction Fold. Learn more at or (855) 532-4734. Follow us on (@FactionInc) and .

Jaymie Scotto & Associates

+1.866.695.3629 ext. 13
Lite Access Technologies Announces Listing on TSX Venture Exchange

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA  (Marketwired)  12/13/16  LITE ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (the Company) (CSE: LTE)(CSE: LTE.CN)(OTC PINK: LTCCF), an integrated fibre optic solutions provider, is pleased to advise that its common shares will be listed on the TSX Venture Exchange effective December 14, 2016. The Company will be listed as a Tier 1 Industrial Issuer under the stock symbol LTE. Effective the close of trading on December 13, 2016, the Company will delist its common shares from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

This is another significant milestone in the development of our company and marks an important step as we accelerate deployment of our fibre optic connectivity solutions, including our innovative micro-trench installation methodologies and proprietary Microduct and air-blown fibre technologies, said Mike Plotnikoff, CEO of Lite Access Technologies. The TSX Venture Exchange is one of the worlds leading public venture markets for fast growing public technology companies and we see this listing enabling the Company to add value for its shareholders, increase liquidity for its shares and increase access to capital markets.

About Lite Access

Lite Access is a world leader in Microduct and fibre optic technologies. Using its specially designed and innovative micro-trench and alternate methods of deployment, Lite Access proprietary Microduct technology extends a network providers ability to deliver true broadband connectivity directly to end-users, such as homes, government and educational institutions, and emergency response facilities. Providing a full portfolio of fibre connectivity solutions for many types of Telecom infrastructure, Lite Access has successfully deployed thousands of kilometres of Microduct networks throughout North and South America, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, Australia and Asia.

Lite Access products have been deployed in many high profile communication networks including the Whistler 2010 Winter Olympic facilities, builds within the state of New York including Central Park, the Las Vegas strip and surrounding areas of Nevada, fibre to the home at Stanford University and numerous other locations around the globe that have adopted Lite Access as the solution of choice for future proof fibre optic connectivity.

Forward Looking Information

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect managements current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. Such factors include, among other things: receipt of further purchase orders in South Africa and the risks and uncertainties described in the Companys Annual Listing Statement available on . Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Lite Access Technologies Inc.

1-604-247-4704

For investor relations please contact:

Contact Financial Corp.

Rob Gamley

1-604-689-7422
Conviva and EdgeConneX(R) Release Comcast Network Performance Study in New Whitepaper

HERNDON, VA  (Marketwired)  12/13/16  , specializing in global data center solutions at the edge of the network, and , powering every internet-connected screen with the most engaging experiences imaginable, today announce the availability of a new whitepaper documenting the benefits of EdgeConneX colocation services. Specifically, this study quantifies the improvements to Quality of Experience metrics for content delivery partners based on its 2016 research. Conviva measured the video data streams of multiple publishers that distributed EdgeConneX-enabled streams for Comcast across eight major metro areas in the United States. These measurements were compared against networks that did not utilize an edge localization strategy with EdgeConneX.

EdgeConneX colocation services minimize the distance between viewers and video content. The companys Edge Data Centers (EDCs) circumvent the distance, capacity constraints, multiple network hops and centralized processing loads that exist in traditional internet architecture. EdgeConneX and Conviva have been consistently measuring the impact of these colocation solutions on the quality of experience delivered to viewers. The Conviva findings in 2016 have proven once again that mobilization of content brings success and directly impacts the bottom line for both SVOD and AVOD publishers.

In the , Conviva found a 12 to 20% reduction in rebuffering time when a content provider was localized in an EdgeConneX EDC and directly linked to the ISP. The 2016 study found an even greater benefit. The average performance improved 25% as a result of localizing content at the edge across eight metro areas in the United States. Furthermore, findings revealed that the EdgeConneX-enabled ISPs improvement across these eight areas against the next leading CDN was 23%, and against national broadband providers was 16%. In the Pittsburgh metro area, as an example, Comcast, using EdgeConneX to enable their content delivery, has shown 19% improvement against the next leading CDN and 34% improvement against the next leading metro broadband provider.

Conviva strives to make the internet a better place for video by providing our data and analytics services to ecosystem providers such as EdgeConneX and Comcast, comments Dr. Hui Zhang, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Conviva. Services provided by EdgeConneX optimize the experience for everyone in the video ecosystem, improving delivery levels and increasing consumers expectations above and beyond traditional linear TV.

Our Edge Data Centers effectively improve the delivery of high volume, mission-critical content such as IP video, states Clint Heiden, chief commercial officer, EdgeConneX. In this latest analysis, Conviva has demonstrated that video cached locally in our Edge Data Centers and delivered over the Comcast network had significantly lower rebuffering. The combination of localization and direct peering continues to resonate with our customers and end-users alike. This translates to higher viewer engagement and greater revenue for both ISPs and content providers.

In , Conviva found that a 1% increase in interruption resulted in a 14-minute reduction in engagement per user viewing session. With an average 25% reduction in interruptions across eight metro areas in the United States, ISPs enabled by EdgeConneX Edge Data Centers at the edge should expect substantially lower viewer abandonment rates.

Comcast is extremely pleased with our partnership with EdgeConneX and their purpose-built, edge infrastructure, shares Paul Merritt, Vice President, Comcast Business for the Keystone Region. Together with content and connectivity ecosystem partners, Comcast can deliver superior video and cloud services to our end-users. As Conviva measurements demonstrate, our strategy to localize the ecosystem in our metro areas significantly raises the quality of the customer experience.

To download the full report, .

EdgeConneX is the only global Edge Data Center provider. Creating purpose-built, edge-of-network infrastructure solutions that extend the internets reach, EdgeConneX enables the fastest and most secure delivery of content, cloud services and applications. Edge Data Centers host bandwidth intensive and latency sensitive data closer to end-users, establishing a more secure, reliable and cost effective distribution model for the internet. For more information, please visit the EdgeConneX Internet of Everywhere at .

Conviva powers every internet-connected screen with the most engaging viewing experiences imaginable by elevating the way OTT businesses use data-driven intelligence. For years, HBO, Sky, ESPN and the like have been using the

Conviva Platform to enlighten, reveal and inform with important insights around consumer in-screen viewing experience allowing them to connect those metrics to important business outcomes. This allows customers to not only maximize subscriber retention and growth but also understand content and viewing trends so that they can deliver more personalized viewing experiences. We make engagement a data driven outcome based on actionable quality of experience (QoE) analytics. Conviva is privately held and headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with offices in New York and London. For more information, please visit us at .
Inside The Buyers Mind  Nine Industry-Specific Research Publications from Altify Show How Buyers in Different Industries Behave

DUBLIN, IRELAND and SEATTLE, WA  (Marketwired)  12/13/16  , the global leader in sales transformation, today announced the immediate availability of nine industry-specific research publications that illuminate what buyers in each industry think about their interactions with salespeople. The industry publications build on the of 1,245 participants from 66 countries, which examined the gap between buyer and seller perspectives and the economic cost of misalignment. That study was first published in April of 2016 by Altify Knowledge, a knowledge and research resource for Altifys customers and the broader sales community.

New research from @AltifyInc gets inside the buyers mind in 9 verticals including #HighTech, #Manufacturing, and #ProfessionalServices

The ongoing research into buyer behavior is a collaborative initiative between Altify and  a strategic procurement consulting company, uniquely contrasting the opinions of the buy and sell-side of the equation. It brings buyers and sellers together for the first time to help buyers better understand the sellers perspective, and guide sellers to deliver more value to buyers by fully appreciating their point-of-view.

: In the global report, 67 percent of buyers indicate that they engage suppliers early in their buying process. In automotive, that is even more front-loaded with 50 percent engaging even before the project is identified.

According to high-tech buyers, 40 percent of sellers are seen to rarely or never add value. This poor score from buyers may reflect the complexity of the product/service and hence the need for the salesperson to be technically qualified in their field in order to gain trust and add value.

: The global audience of buyers only prefer the incumbent supplier only 41 percent of the time. In manufacturing, however, this is much higher at 72 percent.

Even including expected cost and quality of the solution, the overwhelming factor that buyers look at when selecting a supplier is their previous experience with that supplier. Fifty-three percent of buyers put that as their number one criterion for making a purchase.

Contrary to some opinions, buyers across all industries depend on sellers to help them make a decision, said Ingrid De Doncker, CEO of IDD Consult. This unique research shows how sellers in each industry are falling short. Buyers and sellers need to understand each others perspective to deliver maximum mutual value  and now sellers can learn what changes they might need to make.

It has always been about the customer  and that is even more true today, said Donal Daly, CEO of Altify. Part of our role is to help our customers, who are typically selling organizations, understand what their customers think. This new research provides a huge opportunity for growth for sales professionals who want to bring more value to their customers and take a customer-first perspective.

The studys findings were based on quantitative analysis of the submissions of 1,245 respondents between February 16, 2016 and March 24, 2016. Comparative analysis of each of the data points for both buyers and sellers was undertaken to establish absolute and relative perspectives. The analysis was also expanded to consider demographic, firmographic and geographic factors to establish further insights. Where mathematical calculations were conducted based on ranges, the median point of the range was used. All amounts were calculated in US dollar currency. Where outliers existed in any of the data submitted, outliers were subjected to qualitative assessment for inclusion or exclusion. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics was used to determine the number of sellers (15,000,000) and professional buyers (961,000) in the US. LinkedIn was used to determine indicative global numbers for sellers (35,000,000) and buyers (3,700,000).

To receive your copy of Inside the Buyers Mind for any of the industries listed, or to get the original Altify Buyer/Seller Value Index 2016 please contact .

For B2B sales organizations, Altify provides proven enterprise sales methodology in software sellers want to use. The Altify platform helps sales teams win the deals that matter and increase wallet share in existing customers. With Altify, sales people, managers and executives achieve revenue growth consistently.

Customers include: Autodesk, BMC, Brocade, BT, GE, Honeywell, HP Enterprise, Johnson Controls, Optum, Salesforce, Software AG and Virgin Media Business.

Shauna Roberts

BOCA Communications

+1 415-298-1486
Agritek Holdings, Inc. Announces Filing Of Quarterly Reports And Return To Fully Reporting And Compliant Trading Status

LOS ANGELES, CA  (Marketwired)  12/13/16  Agritek Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: AGTK), a leader in compassionate care technology and agricultural solutions for the recreational cannabis industry, today announced that the Company has completed the filing of its quarterly reports and has returned to fully reporting and compliant trading status. Based on the Companys strategic plans for growth in the state of California and new offices in Puerto Rico, the Company will seek to uplist to a higher exchange after the New Year based on the new legalization initiatives passing in multiple jurisdictions.

This legalization explosion is best explained by the changing tide in public opinion toward marijuana. National pollster Gallup found that support for marijuanas legalization is at a new all-time high of 60% in 2016 (up from 25% in the mid-1990s). An additional 84% of surveyed Americans would like to see medical cannabis legalized nationally, according to a CBS News poll in 2015. The more favorable the publics opinion toward marijuana, and the more states are able to demonstrate that they can safely and effectively regulate their pot industry, the greater the likelihood that other states will legalize as well.

Investment firm Cowen & Co. believes that legal marijuana sales could soar from $6 billion today to $50 billion by 2026. Thats a compound annual growth rate of nearly 24% over the next decade.

We sincerely apologize for the delay in posting our financial filings to our shareholders as we have had many transitions to overcome over the last six months. As the first fully reporting Company in this sector, we have always strived to remain fully reporting with complete transparency to our investors. It is important to realize the prior six months of filings do not in our opinion reflect the intrinsic value of our accomplishments over the last sixty days with our recent product and corporate acquisitions. Our plans for new recreational markets, namely California, are just beginning to show fruition. We look forward to increasing sales revenue through our new products and acquisitions within regulated jurisdictions as we prepare to take full advantage of new recreational markets nationwide and position ourselves as a meaningful player in the public cannabis sector, stated B. Michael Friedman, CEO of Agritek Holdings Inc.

About Agritek Holdings, Inc.

Agritek Holdings, Inc., () a pioneer within the medicinal marijuana space, provides innovative technology and agricultural solutions and seeks to be the leader in Compassionate Care Technology for the recreational cannabis industry. Agritek Holdings, Inc. does not directly grow, harvest, or distribute or sell cannabis or any substances that violate or contravene United States law or the Controlled Substances Act, nor does it intend to do so in the future.

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER:

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Agritek Holdings, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.

Agritek Holdings, Inc.

305.721.2727
Zurich International Life Deploys Kodak Alaris High Performance Scanners Backed by Local Service and Support to Drive Companys Digitization Efforts

ROCHESTER, NY  (Marketwired)  12/13/16  As part of the companys automation and digitization efforts, Zurich International Life made the decision to upgrade its document capture capabilities, starting with the deployment of ten i3400 Scanners from Kodak Alaris. The award-winning scanners are purpose-built to deliver consistent throughput and minimize downtime. Mr. Ramesh Ramakrishnan, Head of IT, Middle East at Zurich International Life estimates that in the insurance industry, the deployment of scanners can typically save 80 percent of the workload.

Zurich International Life is part of the Zurich Insurance Group, offering investment and protection solutions in the Middle East. The company has been operating in international markets around the globe for many years. In the Middle East, customers have trusted Zurich for almost 30 years to protect their futures and provide financial security for their families and businesses.

Talking about the need for scanners, Mr. Ramesh says, Fifteen years back there was no integration between technology & business. But all that has changed. Technology is not just seen as a business enabler, but as a business driver. CIOs now report into CFOs. The intent is to be more agile and cater to growing demands of business so that the business is able to generate more revenue.

The model which Zurich International Life operates in this region is primarily through banks and independent financial advisors/ brokers. So, when we have strategic relationships with key banks like Citibank and HSBC, the demands are pretty high. We have to be on our toes, racing against time. Automation in this industry is a game-changer and can be a huge competitive advantage, especially as customers demand faster service. Scanners are an integral part of this automation process.

Mr. Ramesh reiterates the importance of scanners by saying, In every department there is scope for process improvement and scanning is something done by all departments today. We are in the era of E-Storage. Everyone is talking about reducing paper. Ultimately, it boils down to cost. Even one employee manually doing this job is additional cost for a company.

Explaining the document handling process in the insurance industry and Zurich International Lifes decision to automate processes, Mr. Ramesh says, Insurance is a very competitive industry and delivering top quality and fast service to our customers is key.

Typically when we sell life insurance policies to customers, most applications contain many supporting documents. These then go through the process of screening to ensure everything is in order. The final decision will then have to be communicated to the customer. Overall, this is quite a complex and time consuming process.

Automation helps to reduce the timeframe. So where do you automate? Scanners are the starting point and they should integrate seamlessly with the back-end systems. The moment you receive an application form it should get scanned automatically and then be fed into the imaging and workflow system. Then it gets assessed and once accepted, a policy document will be generated. It all comes down to customer experience and how automated you are. Providing high-end service means reducing that end-to-end process journey and making it more competitive.

Mr. Ramesh estimates that typically in the insurance industry, with digitization and scanning, up to 80 percent of the workload for an insurance application can be saved  sometimes even half a day on one application.

With scanning, once the document comes in, it is directly scanned and sent for verification. Alternatively, in a manual process, the employee has to ensure the paper application is physically sent for verification and then if it has some errors, comes back to the agent and then goes back and forth, wasting a huge amount of time. Instead once scanning takes place, it is easy to scroll through and verify that everything is in order. The turnaround time is much faster.

After evaluating several brands, the decision to go with Kodak Alaris scanners was based on the fact that Mr. Ramesh and his team had good prior experience with Kodak Alaris. The company also works with consultants and system integrators who are strategic partners. The decision to go with Kodak Alaris was based on recommendations made by these IT vendor partners.

Zurich International Life signed a yearly service and support agreement with Kodak Alaris which gave the company access to on-site service, Advanced Unit Replacement, 24x7x8 hour response and preventive maintenance.

As a global technology provider, our primary purpose is to simplify and improve the way our customers work, said Rick Costanzo, president & general manager, Kodak Alaris Information Management. For clients like Zurich International Life, adopting an end-to-end solution where hardware, software and services remove cost and complexity from the business is extremely valuable and can be the deciding factor when selecting a vendor.

Kodak Alaris delivers fast, reliable through best-in-class Field Engineers (FEs) to keep operations running at peak efficiency. Skilled service engineers provide over-the-phone, remote expertise to solve problems fast and if an on-site call is necessary, one of the many strategically located FEs will visit the site to resolve the issue. The company has the distinction of achieving the ISO 9001:2008 certification among scanner service organizations, so customers can feel confident that Kodak Alaris will deliver on its promise to meet the most stringent requirements on a global scale.

The decision by Zurich International Life to deploy Kodak Alaris scanners backed by local service and support was certainly justified two years down the line. Talking about his experience, Mr. Ramesh says, The service standards at Kodak Alaris are very high. When we buy something and it sustains for a long period of time, we ultimately spend less effort and time on it. Our experience using Kodak Alaris scanners has been great! The scanners do everything that is expected. They are very durable and have great brand value. Weve never had any issues and hardly spend any time on it. Once you install the system and implement the solution, its ON and thats it.

We have been pampered when it comes to Kodak Alaris. On the service front, there has never been a downtime issue or escalation. We are happy to renew the service contract. I believe in the phrase If it aint broke, dont fix it, concludes Mr. Ramesh.

Zurich International Life is part of the Zurich Insurance Group, offering investment and protection solutions throughout the world. Weve been operating in international markets around the globe for many years. As a major player in the provision of international financial solutions, weve developed our knowledge and understanding of key markets. This enables us to meet the goals of our customers and business partners with individually tailored financial solutions that are both flexible and portable. We provide individual savings, investment and protection products and have established branches in Bahrain, Hong Kong, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. For more information, log onto

The ever-increasing flood of data, and how we manage it, is one of the greatest opportunities facing businesses and governments in the 21st century. Kodak Alaris works with organizations from small offices to global enterprises, bringing together the best science, technology, services and partner ecosystem so its clients can stay ahead of the curve. From our and software to the best global customer service and support, were here to help businesses transform data into a powerful competitive advantage.

To learn more, please visit .

 2016 Kodak Alaris Inc.

The Kodak trademark and trade dress are used under license from Eastman Kodak Company.

Jonathan Ghent

Public Relations Director

Kodak Alaris Information Management

Martha De Labbey

Senior Account Executive

Text100 for Kodak Alaris Information Management

617.399.4931
IDGs CSO Honors vArmour Customer John Muir Health

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA  (Marketwired)  12/13/16  , the leading data center and cloud security company, today announced that IDGs CSO has honored vArmour customer, John Muir Health as a recipient of a 2017 CSO50 Award. According to CSO, the 50 honorees are selected based on the demonstration of security projects and initiatives that have created outstanding business value and thought leadership for their companies.

The award recognizes the systems implementation by John Muir Healths CISO Tom August at the nationally-recognized health system in the San Francisco East Bay. August established a layered but integrated security approach that included use of vArmour for visibility and control across virtual servers. Once deployed, vArmours software-based segmentation helped August and his team to quickly identify and investigate potentially suspicious activity in their data center, medical device and desktop network segments. As a result, John Muir Health can now see network, application and user traffic across data center, public cloud and affiliated organization environments; furthermore, the systems in place support efforts necessary to improve security posture for regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, a critical compliance component within any healthcare organization.

As one of the nations leading health systems, ensuring that our environments are protected against todays growing threat landscape is critical to our patients safety and well-being, said August. The healthcare industry demands innovative security solutions that offer increased visibility and intelligent integration across networks. We are proud of our Network Visibility project and are thrilled to be recognized with a CSO50 for the work.

Launched in 2013, the are scored according to a uniform set of criteria by a panel of judges that includes security leaders, industry experts, and academics. Awards will be presented at the CSO50 Conference + Awards held on May 1-3, 2017, in Scottsdale, AZ.

The team at John Muir Health recognizes that an entirely different way of thinking about data center security is necessary given the dramatic changes in IT operations, said Tim Eades, CEO, vArmour. As a result, Tom August and his team selected proven security technologies, including vArmours ability to segment and micro-segment traffic across virtual and cloud environments that are built with new IT deployments in mind. It is no surprise to us at all that they were honored with this accolade.

The stakes have never been higher when it comes to protecting an organizations sensitive data from criminals and breach, said Joan Goodchild, editor-in-chief of CSO. Security leaders are expected to not only deliver protection, but also to drive business initiatives. Our annual CSO50 awards recognize security projects that not only enhance defense, but that also deliver ROI.

For more information on John Muir Healths systems implementation, feel free to view this video .

vArmour, the data center and cloud security company, delivers software-based segmentation and micro-segmentation to protect critical applications and workloads with the industrys first distributed security system. Based in Mountain View, CA, the company was founded in 2011 and is backed by top investors including Highland Capital Partners, Menlo Ventures, Columbus Nova Technology Partners, Work-Bench Ventures, Allegis Capital, Redline Capital, and Telstra. The vArmour DSS Distributed Security System is deployed across the worlds largest banks, telecom service providers, government agencies, healthcare providers, and retailers. Partnering with companies including AWS, Cisco, HPE and VMware, vArmour builds security into modern infrastructures with a simple and scalable approach that drives unparalleled agility and operational efficiency. Learn more at .

John Muir Health is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit healthcare organization east of San Francisco serving patients in Contra Costa, eastern Alameda and southern Solano Counties. It includes a network of more than 1,000 primary care and specialty physicians, nearly 6,000 employees, medical centers in Concord and Walnut Creek, including Contra Costa Countys only trauma center, and a Behavioral Health Center. John Muir Health also has partnerships with Tenet Healthcare/San Ramon Regional Medical Center, UCSF Health and Stanford Childrens Health to expand its capabilities, increase access to services and better serve patients. The health system offers a full-range of medical services, including primary care, outpatient and imaging services, and is widely recognized as a leader in many specialties  neurosciences, orthopedic, cancer, cardiovascular, trauma, emergency, pediatrics and high-risk obstetrics care.

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Employees who provide the services to the residents of The Nebraska Masonic Home are the backbone of the facility. They provide the means for The Nebraska Masonic Home to be one of the finest continuing care retirement facilities in Nebraska.

Each month, the employees choose an Employee of the Month. At the end of the year the supervisory staff selects the Employee of the Year from the Employee of the Month recipients.

The employee of the Year for 2016 is Janelle Krisko, R.N. who has been an employee of The Masonic Home since June 2014 when she was hired as the Assisted Living Coordinator. Janelle has made a big impact in two short years. She is cheerful and helpful to the residents and staff, and according to the supervisory staff, she has a heart of gold. Congratulations, Janelle, on an honor that is well deserved.

The following employees were honored by their peers during 2016 as Employee of the Month: Marsha Scholl, Peggy Newcomb, JoAnn Marling, Margaret MacLeod, Tim Davenport, Jordan Reitan, Kari Casey, George Assah, Dawn Peters, and Dana Strobel.

Employees who provide the services to the residents of The Nebraska Masonic Home are the backbone of the facility. They provide the means for The Nebraska Masonic Home to be one of the finest continuing care retirement facilities in Nebraska.

Each month, the employees choose an Employee of the Month. At the end of the year the supervisory staff selects the Employee of the Year from the Employee of the Month recipients.

The employee of the Year for 2016 is Janelle Krisko, R.N. who has been an employee of The Masonic Home since June 2014 when she was hired as the Assisted Living Coordinator. Janelle has made a big impact in two short years. She is cheerful and helpful to the residents and staff, and according to the supervisory staff, she has a heart of gold. Congratulations, Janelle, on an honor that is well deserved.

The following employees were honored by their peers during 2016 as Employee of the Month: Marsha Scholl, Peggy Newcomb, JoAnn Marling, Margaret MacLeod, Tim Davenport, Jordan Reitan, Kari Casey, George Assah, Dawn Peters, and Dana Strobel.

Other Award Winners

The Masonic Home supervisory staff is very proud of the employees who achieve a perfect attendance certificate as well as those employees that have chosen lengthy careers with The Nebraska Masonic Home.

2016 Perfect Attendance Honorees:

Marie Coffelt  16th year

Janice Jensen  13th year

Brenda Miller  11th year

Gaby Martins  8th year

Roxie Hansen 1st year

Tim Davenport  1st year

Length of Service Honorees:

25 years of service  Chris Abbott & Julie Garrean

15 years of service  Michelle Dixson

10 years of service  Tina Buttercase, Karen Edmonds, Randy Gillott,

Cynthia Sheldon, Kathy Wiles

5 years of service  Dawn Alexen, Drew Wampler

Many thanks are extended to each employee for the part he/she plays in the care of our residents.
PLATTSMOUTH  Plattsmouth Board of Education members examined the possibility of ending the school districts involvement with GED and adult education programs on Monday night.

Board members spent time in their workshop and regular meeting discussing the future of the general equivalency diploma (GED) and adult education (AE) offerings. The board opted to delay action on the subject at the end of their meeting. Mary Caverzagie, Don Freeburg, Tony Foster, Nancy Lowery, Matt Glup, Cory Wehrbein and Ken Winters said they wanted to research the topic more before making a decision.

The district has offered both programs for 40 years and currently houses them at the Plattsmouth Academic Curriculum and Equipment (P.A.C.E.) Complex. Plattsmouth and Crete are the only two Nebraska districts that maintain GED and AE courses in their school buildings. Alliance, Blair, Seward and York have all ended their programs in recent years.

Plattsmouth Superintendent Dr. Richard Hasty told the board the district was looking at the possibility of Southeast Community College (SECC) taking over the two programs. SECC opened a learning center in downtown Plattsmouth this past fall.

It seems to make educational sense to me, and to everyone else Ive talked to, for Southeast Community College to facilitate the programs, Hasty said. It seems like a logical fit for Southeast to run it, because students would get a firsthand look at postsecondary educational opportunities there.

Hasty said the district will maintain the GED and AE programs through the end of the current school year. If board members decide to end the schools involvement with the courses after that, the state would open a bidding process for them. Hasty said SECC officials would likely make a bid but there was no guarantee that the state would choose them. Other entities such as Metropolitan Community College could also make bids.

One reason the district is exploring its options is the growth of career academy courses at the P.A.C.E. Complex. Plattsmouth High School offers classes such as welding, horticulture and auto mechanics at the building. Interest in those courses has increased with the start of the PHS wall-to-wall career academy setup this year.

Plattsmouth Business Manager Tonda Haith told board members the district spends approximately $10,000 to $13,000 each year on the GED and AE programs. Grant monies from other non-district sources cover a large majority of the expenses.

Plattsmouth GED/AE Director Tallie VanWesten told board members she had spoken to SECC officials and said they were willing to take over AE courses. She said they were not interested in operating GED testing in the future. She said this would mean Cass County students would have to drive to either Beatrice or Lincoln to take GED tests in math, science, social studies and language arts.

Losing the GED program from Plattsmouth would put a strain on some of the students, VanWesten said. It is definitely a concern of mine.

VanWesten said Plattsmouths program has served anywhere from 30 to 125 students per year. She said the number has decreased in the past several years because Nebraska now offers GED tests only on computers. Iowa, Missouri and Colorado still offer pencil-and-paper tests.

VanWesten said Plattsmouth students use two computers to take tests. She said local groups are small enough that testing can take place at any point during the school year.

Foster, Winters and Wehrbein all voiced concerns about the impact the loss of the GED program could have on local students. Wehrbein wondered if the district could arrange for career academy courses to occupy the P.A.C.E. Center during the day and GED classes to take place there at night. Winters said he would be in favor of studying the issue more to see what type of accommodations could be made for GED services.

Board members will explore additional options over the next few weeks. The board could revisit the issue either in January or February.
A guide to voter rights in Indiana. What you need to know before you cast a ballot
An interesting thing happened in the wake of the recent election. A member of the elite press corps admitted to being a member of the elite. It's a stunning and refreshingly honest admission. The national media misread the election. Some are now beginning to recognize that they have been detached from the deep anxiety and vulnerability that many Americans feel. Perhaps this comes from the self-affirming circle of narratives they have created, which can easily pass for truth. Even the recent ongoing self-evaluation still reflects an air of self-righteousness. Just like the distrust directed at politicians, citizens have become deeply suspicious of the motives of journalists.

It's worth tracing how we arrived at this moment. Historically, American media played a pivotal role as watchdogs, as disseminators of carefully researched facts, and as creators of the conditions for personal and governmental accountability. Of course, things haven't always been well: the media have served as a tool for propaganda, political ambitions, and moneyed interests. However, when you think of Walter Cronkite or David Brinkley, you do not think of a political agenda, only good journalism. When you see the old newsreels from WWII, the media told the hard story, cutting the rougher details, but with an eye toward lifting the mood of the country. When you see the ugly aspects of racism directed at the early Civil Rights Movement, the media clearly participated as an objective force for social good.

The medias turn towards bitter elitism likely started with Watergate. Before then, the media participated in a society of commonly shared values that Americans everywhere celebrated. Although the Watergate investigation was groundbreaking, the paradigm in the press shifted to one of rank distrust of civic institutions and the persons who lead them. Journalism schools reinforced that worldview. The media began suggesting, presumptively and too frequently, that those institutions and their leadership should be regarded as inherently corrupt. Tradition was scorned, and the unenlightened mocked and bullied. Nevertheless, the media still wants to be respected as an elite establishment, a veritable fourth estate, but decades of singularly cynical narratives have eroded that historic ideal.

Fast forward to today with the advent of new communication technologies. The dominant mainstream media no longer dominates. New information-sharing techniques have created a completely new dynamic for creative storytelling. Americans can self-select where and how to receive their news. There is a downside to this trend as well: Information overload is distracting to us; story-generators are often unknown; sensationalism rules. Media has splintered into ever-more Balkanized silos of rigidly enforced ideological purism, contributing to social fracture.

However, until this competition arrived, there was little mechanism to hold journalists accountable. Just as the elections left the aging Republican and Democrat play books in shatters, the aging industrial media complex is in disarray too.

On election night, like so many Americans, I was up very late. I chose a particular channel to watch the returns, one with an analyst I respect. As the night wore on, it was clear that they were having real trouble comprehending and communicating the results. They had a preconceived narrative, and they had difficulty abruptly adjusting to a new political reality. The election openly showed that media groupthink is real and voters are just plain tired of it.

Of course, there are good journalists; smart and thoughtful people who want to do the right thing. Particularly in Nebraska where local reporting is nested within the community, there tends to be a sense of civic virtue tied to reporting, a sense of community responsibility. That should be the medias approach everywhere: to support a reporting climate of objectivity and integrity. Indeed, If media trauma is to be resolved, journalists must once again champion honesty and fairness, and, above all else, the ideals of public service.
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Setting budget priorities is a key responsibility as your Governor. The upcoming legislative session will require tough choices to address a revenue gap which has grown in recent months. In Midwestern states, lower prices for our major ag commodities like corn and beef have resulted in a downturn in tax revenue.

When Nebraska families face tough financial times, they reduce their spending. Government should be no different. In my last budget, the Legislature and I reduced the rate of growth in state spending by almost half from 6.5 percent to 3.6 percent. Instituting restraint over the last two sessions was the right thing to do, and it laid the foundation for balancing this next budget with reductions in spending.

While cutting back during tough budget times is a common sense step for Nebraska families and business owners, the State Capitol is full of various groups and special interests opposed to budget cuts. Already, senators and their staff are being lobbied to raise taxes instead of cutting government spending. Rolling back previous tax reductions, raiding the property tax credit relief fund, and raising the sales tax rate are just a few of the proposals being pushed by special interests. All of these proposals would be bad for Nebraska families and businesses and bad for our economy.

When the Legislature returns in January, I will take a different approach by recommending the Legislature make immediate reductions to close the states budget gap in the current year. Additionally, I will propose a new two-year budget that continues to rein in the growth of government without a tax increase.

Three principles must guide our next budget. First, the budget must be balanced. Second, the revenue gap must be addressed without tax increases. Third, the budget must reduce government spending.

State law requires Nebraska to balance our state budget. To achieve this, my administration has taken proactive steps to begin reducing state spending. At my direction, state agencies instituted a hiring freeze for non-mission critical positions and a ban on non-essential out-of-state travel. We reduced the amount of money state agencies receive quarterly in preparation for the needed spending reductions to the current budget.

In preparation for the next state budget, state agencies identified ways to cut back. Agency directors proposed targeted reductions, and I have been combing through the proposals with my budget office as we prepare the budget I recommend to the Legislature.

As we work to reduce spending, we are also developing legislative initiatives to reduce spending and identifying tax reforms that fit in a flat budget. The only way to have sustainable tax relief is to control spending. Any opportunity for tax relief is fundamentally the difference between spending restraint and revenue. Our need to grow the economy will also sharpen our focus to reduce unnecessary regulations and ensure economic incentive programs create good-paying jobs all across Nebraska.

As your Governor, my focus is on representing Nebraska families and their interests in state government. This year, I hosted over 30 town halls across the state, and everywhere I travel Nebraskans tell me our taxes are too high.

This reality is reflected in national rankings. USA today ranks Nebraska 5th in the 10 worst states for property taxes while the Fiscal Times ranks Nebraska 7th highest for property taxes. According to Bloomberg, Nebraska ranks 16th highest for income taxes. High taxes are a major barrier to growing our state. I oppose tax increases and will continue to do everything I can to pave the way for future tax relief by reducing state spending.

I hope you will contact your state senator before January to express opposition to tax increases and support for spending restraint. You can find contact information for your senator at www.NebraskaLegislature.gov. Please also share your ideas with my office at pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov or 402-471-2244. In Nebraska, the people are the second house, and I value your input.
WASHINGTON  A new contract from NASA to build the agency's Restore-L satellite servicing spacecraft could bring Space Systems Loral that much closer to launching its own satellite servicing business.

NASA awarded the contract to SSL Dec. 5, tasking the company with supplying a chassis, hardware and services for the mission. The Palo Alto, California-based satellite builder is responsible for supporting integration, test, launch and operations.

The purpose of Restore-L is to demonstrate the ability to refuel a satellite in orbit, including those not designed to have their fuel tanks opened in space. In-orbit refueling has the potential to extend the lives of otherwise healthy spacecraft that have exhausted their propellants.

SSL, with parent company MDA of Canada, has been actively entertaining the notion of launching a commercial in-orbit servicing business, one that would combine MDA's past experience from the almost-launched Space Infrastructure Services system in the early 2010s with SSL's knowledge of satellite manufacturing. Steve Oldham, the former president of MDA's Space Infrastructure Services division who currently leads strategic business development at SSL, said the company has interest from prospective customers in using an SSL-built servicer, and that the MDA board of directors expects to make a decision on relaunching such a business through SSL in the very near future.

SSL has been steadily accruing space robotics experience through other government programs with NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Restore-L contract adds to that base, especially given NASA's intentions of transferring technology from the program to commercial entities.

In a Dec. 6 email to SpaceNews, Oldham said SSL's work with NASA on Restore-L "will likely contribute to technologies that could be used in future government and commercial missions and will therefore help us in developing our strategy for commercial on-orbit servicing missions."

Restore-L is intended for launch in 2020, after which NASA will direct the spacecraft to dock with Landsat-7 in low Earth orbit for a test flight. Landsat-7 launched in 1999 aboard a Delta 2 rocket, and will have been in orbit for more than two decades based on current mission timelines.

NASA's contract with SSL has a maximum value of $127 million and includes a three-year core period coupled with a two-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity portion. The agency's Satellite Servicing Projects Division at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, is managing Restore-L. Along with in-orbit fueling, the agency believes Restore-L can potentially contribute to in-orbit repairs, spacecraft assembly, de-orbiting and debris removal.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Through dogged determination, Jon Larsen has become driven to find space particles, which date back to when our sun was a baby, in the urban sediment that collects in the guttering of building rooftops. And, after he convinced a British planetary scientist to study his findings, years of work have finally paid off.

In 2011, Larsen reached out to Matthew Genge, of Imperial College London, with his plan to find dust particles in this seemingly unlikely place. Though distinguishing space particles from the zoo of man-made dust particles in a city environment was considered too difficult, the hurdle didn't deter Larsen.

"It was an amateur scientist, a chap called Jon Larsen who's actually quite a well-known jazz musician in Norway, who got interested in this and started collecting all the debris that ends up in the gutter," Genge told Seeker. After going through the debris found in the roof guttering from buildings in Oslo, Paris and Berlin, Larsen would send photos of interesting particles he'd find to Genge and, despite his pessimism that Larsen would ever uncover this unlikely quarry, he eventually struck gold.

RELATED: Robots That Have Collected Interstellar Dust

Now, with Genge's assistance, the pair have identified hundreds of particles that fell from space and have origins dating back to the birth of the solar system. Larsen documents his micrometeorite discoveries as part of Project Stardust.

"Imagine somebody who has been sending you pictures every other week of something, and every time you look at them, you're like 'no, no, no, that's not it' and then after 5 years they send you a picture and it actually is the thing that you're looking for... that was the moment I went 'oh, my God! I should pay more attention to this guy!'" Genge added.

"He's put in so much work. He went through 300 kilograms [660 lb] of sediment from gutters. That's pretty incredible."

As described in research published in the journal Geology, the duo identified 500 particles of dust that originate from asteroids and comets. But finding these cosmic artifacts in the dirt was just the beginning; their research has revealed some profound science about the space dust that is falling onto our heads right at this moment and could add another layer to our understanding about the building blocks of planets.

Our solar system is filled with dust from collisions between asteroids and venting from comets. The most visible sign of this dust encountering Earth are the meteor showers that light up the upper atmosphere as Earth orbits though one of the many dusty trails left behind these interplanetary vagabonds. However, the tiny particles that rain through the atmosphere as "shooting stars" burn up completely, leaving only a bright flash in their wake. Their journey comes to an abrupt end as a blaze of super-heated glory.

"These particles [in gutter sediment] are almost definitely not coming from meteor showers as that dust comes in too fast  it comes in at maybe 30 kilometers per second [67,000 miles per hour]  and it completely evaporates in the Earth's atmosphere," said Genges.

RELATED: Interstellar Dust Discovered Inside NASA Spacecraft

The gutter particles are thought to enter the atmosphere at a speed of around 12 kilometers per second (27,000 miles per hour) where atmospheric heating does inevitably heat up the particles, but the dust survives the fall. Judging by their size of around 0.3 millimeters, these are likely the fastest dust particles to survive the hot atmospheric entry, noted Genges. Through analysis of the 500 specimens, the researchers found there to be a mix of particles that originate from asteroids and others that originate from comets.

"We have found dust particles that we think come from comets and they are subtly different from those that come from asteroids ... they are carbon rich. Whereas the ones from asteroids look similar to the material from meteorites, that are also from asteroids," he added.

Separating the cosmic particles from plain old gutter dirt is no easy task, but the researchers used an important trait found in these space particles to their advantage  they contain minerals that make them magnetic. So, by magnetically separating the dirt under the microscope, these particles could be found.

"These [particles] are very similar to the cosmic dust from deep sea sediments," said Genges. "The main difference is that these are very young. Because they've been largely collected from roofs on commercial buildings, those buildings have their gutters cleaned at least every 3-5 years, so we know these [particles] have landed on Earth at least in the last 5 years. Whereas the particles found on the seabed are up to 50,000 years old. These are a sample of what's landing on Earth, practically today."

RELATED: Meteorites Peppered With Ancient Supernova Star Dust

As this dust has fallen to Earth within the last 5 years, the researchers could even deduce how the solar system dust falling on Earth has changed over the last million years. The dust found in city gutters contains fewer crystals than the dust that has been found in million-year-old ice Antarctica, for example, but the particles are remarkably similar to cosmic dust that fell onto Earth in medieval times.

According to an Imperial College London press release, the researchers think that the changes in dust particle structure could be down to very small orbital changes in the solar system's planets over millions of years. The slight gravitational disturbances likely change the trajectory of the interplanetary dust, causing it to hit the Earth's atmosphere at different speeds and angles. These slight changes can therefore influence how much heating is caused by atmospheric entry which, in turn, influences the size of the particles that make it to the ground and influence the shape of the crystals inside the microscopic grains.

In short, these tiny cosmic grains of dust hold an incredible amount of information about the state of the planets' orbits when they hit Earth, but they are also the very tiny fossilized remains of our solar system, emerging directly from the material in the nebula that went on to form our sun and the planets.

"The actual materials of comets and asteroids have a very long history; they date back to the birth of our solar system four and a half billion years ago," said Genges.

When Oscar Wilde composed his famous quote, "we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars," little did he know that, one day, a Norwegian amateur scientist would be looking for star dust in the gutter.

Originally published on Seeker.
The Ursids produce a handful of meteors or shooting stars every hour, usually in the range of five to 10 per hour. A nearly moonless sky means good viewing, despite the low.

The 2020 Ursid meteor shower will peak overnight the night of Dec. 21-22.

In some past years, the meteors have been more spectacular  in 1945 and 1986, for instance, 50 per hour were observed  but experts say that such events are rare.

Experts are not expecting an outburst in 2020. "But the Ursids have surprised us before," NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com.

Related: How meteor showers work (infographic) (opens in new tab)

Ursid meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, the Little Dipper, in the northern sky. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The Ursids have a sharp peak on the morning of Dec. 22, meaning that observers will see many more meteors on that day than on days before or after. Look at the sky in the morning on the 22nd, after midnight and as late as possible before sunrise. The meteor-shower radiant, which the meteors will appear to be flying away from, is near the bowl of the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor (opens in new tab), near the celestial North Pole), and the radiant will climb higher in the sky in the predawn hours.

Meteors will appear to be streaming out from the radiant, but they can show up all across the sky. Look a little bit away from the radiant, but not too far, to make sure that you catch sight of meteors with longer tails. That said, the Ursids are not known for leaving spectacular tails in the sky.

Where do they come from?

This orbit map shows the movement of Comet 8P/Tuttle through the solar system. (Image credit: NASA/JPL)

The Ursids are associated with Comet 8P/Tuttle, which was discovered in 1790 and then re-discovered by Horace Tuttle in 1858. It goes around the sun every 14 years and is not a very bright comet, due to its many trips around the sun.

The Ursids occur when Earth passes through the trail of dust and debris (opens in new tab) left along the comet's orbit.

The shower itself was first recorded in England in 1900, and also spotted in Germany in the decades following.

Shooting stars are more officially called meteors. Before they hit the Earth's atmosphere, they are called meteoroids. Meteors that reach the ground are called meteorites, although it's very uncommon for the debris that makes up meteor showers to make it down without totally burning up in the atmosphere, because these pieces are so small.

How to get the best view

You need only your eyes to see meteor showers; in fact, binoculars and telescopes are a bad idea, because they narrow your field of view (opens in new tab). Find a place as far away from lights as possible, especially since the Ursids are faint. (Although this year, the full moon won't necessarily allow your eyes to fully adjust.) Prop yourself up so you are facing nearby Ursa Minor, and dress warmly if it's cold. You'll have best results after giving your eyes about 20-30 minutes to adjust to the darkness.

Editor's note: If you snap an amazing Ursid meteor shower photo you'd like to share with us and our news partners for a possible story or image gallery, send images and comments to us at: spacephotos@space.com (opens in new tab).
The U.S. Mint will strike coins to commemorate 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing in 2019, as directed by Congress.

The United States Mint will recognize the 50th anniversary of the historic first moon landing in 2019 by striking domed coins bearing an iconic image from the Apollo 11 mission.

The Senate late on Friday (Dec. 9) passed the legislation for the new commemorative coinage, days after the House of Representatives approved the same. The bill, the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, will now go to the White House for the President to sign into law.

The Senate's passage of the legislation was preceded by a meteoritic rise in cosponsors, rocketing from only 16 to 70 senators in the course of three days. The sudden burst of support could be partially attributed to the House's vote on Monday (Dec. 5), but it was also bolstered by members of the space community advocating for the coins, including letters sent by the surviving two Apollo 11 astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. [Apollo 11 Moon Landing Pictures]

Aldrin, together with the late Neil Armstrong, became the first men to land on the moon on July 20, 1969, as Collins remained in lunar orbit.

With the consent of the Congress and the President, the Secretary of the Treasury will direct the U.S. Mint to issue as many as 1.3 million gold, silver and clad coins, ranging in tender value from half a dollar to $5 each, in time for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 2019.

In each denomination and metal, the commemoratives will be produced such that their reverse is domed, or convex, "to more closely resemble the faceplate of [an] astronaut's helmet."

"The design on the common reverse of the coins minted under this act shall be a representation of a close-up of the famous 'Buzz Aldrin on the moon' photo... showing just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut [Aldrin], in which the visor reflects the image of the United States flag and the lunar lander," the legislation directs.

The front of the coins will feature a design "emblematic of the [U.S.] space program leading up to the first manned moon landing," to be selected through a juried competition overseen by the Secretary of the Treasury, with advice by the Commission of Fine Arts and a review by the Citizen's Coinage Advisory Committee, which put forth the Apollo 11 theme as a suggestion in 2014.

The commemorative coins will be sold to the public, in part to cover the cost of their minting, but also to benefit three organizations:

the Astronaut Memorial Foundation, to continue to honor the nation's fallen space explorers;

the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to continue to support college students excelling in science and technology degrees; and

the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, to fund its new "Destination Moon" gallery, slated to open in Washington, D.C. in 2020.

"The technology, teamwork and calculated risks the Apollo program produced to enable man to walk on the moon has impacted every aspect of life," Tammy Knowles-Sudler, the executive director of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation told collectSPACE. "Nothing in our history has had such a profound influence on our everyday life."

The U.S. Mints Apollo 11 50th anniversary commemorative coins will be domed, or curved, like the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame coins. (Image credit: U.S. Mint)

"The surcharges from the coins will allow us to continue to commemorate the legacy of the Apollo astronauts. We will be able to award a greater number of Astronaut Scholars and support them in positions that will have the optimum influence on society for positive changes," she said.

The U.S. Mint previously recognized the moon landing by using the Apollo 11 mission patch as the reverse design on the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars issued from 1971 to 1981. The Mint also struck the 2011 New Frontier Congressional Gold Medals awarded to Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins (and the late Mercury astronaut John Glenn).

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
In "Blueprint for a Battlestar: Serious Scientific Explanations Behind Sci-Fi's Greatest Inventions," NASA insider Rod Pyle explores remarkable and memorable technologies from the world of science fiction. Each concept is explained and dissected to reveal the real science behind it. Some are temptingly within our reach  such as cyborgs and artificial intelligence  others are further off, but fast approaching reality (think bio-ports or cloaking devices). Below is an excerpt of "Blueprint for a Battlestar: Serious Scientific Explanations Behind Sci-Fi's Greatest Inventions" (Sterling, 2016).

Death from Above: Building a Death Planet

Without doubt, the technological celebrity of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was the death Planet known as the Death Star. It was the threat that hovered above a world...the target of the heroic pilots in their X-Wing fighters and the home base that Darth Vader so tenaciously defended with his wicked Twin Ion Engine (TIE) Fighters.

Tactical Concerns

The death planet seemed so effective that it was even the subject of a public petition sent to the White House in 2012. The suggestion was that the US should build its own Death Star, presumably to maintain law and order on some planet other than Earth. The tongue-in-cheek document garnered more than 25,000 signatures, enough to warrant an equally silly response from the Obama administration. They said the cost of such a device was estimated at about $850 quadrillion (which is even larger than the US debt,) and that it would take 833,000 years to create enough metal to fabricate it. The response further elaborated that the US government did not support blowing up planets and had tactical concerns about a weapon which could be destroyed by a tiny, battered one-man fighter.

Death Planet Mk1: General Arrangement Diagram

NASA may not be working on a death planet. But what would it take to actually build one? The first problem to overcome is sheer size: The death planet, as represented in the Star Wars films, is really big. Various sources have estimated its diameter at somewhere between 60100 miles. At this size it would put most of the inhabitants of the asteroid belt to shame and, even though basically hollow, would have a small gravitational field and essentially be a mini-planet, if you will.If something that size was placed in Low Earth Orbitthe region around our planet extending to an altitude of 601,200 milesa goodly chunk of it would be hanging down into the atmosphere, dragging and heating up and rapidly reentering. It would most likely crash into the ocean.

Just getting the death planet into orbit in the first place wouldn't be easy. After spending nearly a million years to fabricate the metal, it would take an untold number of launches to get all that mass up there...enough to permanently poison the atmosphere.

There is one way around this particular problem, however. There is plenty of metallic ore in the asteroids that roam the solar system. Most of it is in the asteroid belt and the Kuiper Belt (outside of Pluto's orbit,) but there are also plenty of rogue wanderers. Grabbing a number of large ones and smelting their ores down would net many millions of tons of metal that is already up in space...no bulk launches necessary for building materials. Of course, powering the mining operation itself would require solar panels, possibly thousands of miles across.

If built on Earth getting the death planet into space would be daunting. The largest flying machine ever created was the Apollo program's Saturn V rocket, which weighed over five million pounds, when its fuel is included. It was about the size and mass of a World War II navy destroyer and, had it exploded, would have had the power of a small atomic bomb. All this explosive power was required simply to propel the tiny 12,000-lb capsule at its nose to the moon and back. Moving the death planet would require something hugely more powerful.

Supposing a death planet could actually be built and powered, it would still lack the very nasty weapon the original version had. It is never explicitly said exactly what kind of weapon the death planet used to destroy Alderaan, but some documentation refers to the weapon as a "Super Laser." Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER.) This is a fancy term for 'coherent' light, a form of light in which all the waves cooperate to move essentially in unison. This can create a powerful beam that carries a lot of energy a long way, if the laser is powerful enough. Lasers have been around for about 50 years and are well understood devices, currently in use in everything from DVD players to military weapons.

Once properly converted into energy, the mass equivalent to Mount Everest could power a single blast from the laser.

Today's most powerful lasers don't even use electricity to power them. Instead they employ gases that are forced explosively through a large tube at high velocities. In the correct configuration, a gas that changes temperature rapidly enough can emit light, in this case coherent light. But you need a lot of gas, moving very quickly, to do this. The upside is that a lot of very powerful, hot light can be created for a brief time. The largest such lasers known today are the MIRACL (Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser,) made by the US Navy, and a US-Israeli collaboration called the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL.) Lasers in this size and power range, the current upper limit, can shoot down artillery shells and small battlefield rockets up to five feet long and well under a foot in diameter. Thats a bit smaller than Alderaan.

That planet was around 7,700 miles in diameter, or about the same size as Earth (just shy of 8,000 miles.) To destroy it would take the equivalent of over a sextillion (or a billion trillion) artillery shells. The 'super laser' would need to be enormous. The Star Wars version also vaporizes the planet in just two to three seconds, far quicker than todays battlefield lasers can destroy those artillery shells. So for a gas laser, you would need a small planet-full of gas (bigger than the death planet itself) to fire up the laseror all the power that could be made by the combined generating stations of Earth in a few trillion years (for comparison, the entire universe is just over 12 billion years old.)

Elsewhere in the official Star Wars universe, it is mentioned that the weapon is actually powered by hypermatter. Regardless of what powers it, vaporizing matter gives off energy. How muchmatter would need to be flashed out of existence to create that much power? About the equivalent of the mass in Mount Everest is how much. We do have a lot of mass on Earth, enough to make many thousands of Mount Everests so as long as we're willing to dig enormous holes in our planet. The problem is to figure out a way to convert it into energy.

Bear in mind that, using this system of reference, one gram of matter contains as much energy as 21.5 kilotons of TNT high explosive, or about the same explosive force of the plutonium atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki in the Second World War. So how many grams are in Mount Everest? The mountain contains about 365 cubic miles of mass, or about 6,399,000,000,000 metric tons. That's a huge amount of explosive energy to be released if we vaporized it, making it possibly more practical than a gas-powered death planet.

Copyright  2016 by Rod Pyle. Used by permission of Sterling. All rights reserved.
This photo of Comet ISON was taken with the TRAPPIST national telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory on Nov. 15, 2013.

SAN FRANCISCO  If your death-from-above musings focus solely on asteroids, you need to broaden your worried mind.

Comets can also deliver a heaping helping of calamity to Earth, and scientists and policymakers alike should start taking measures to combat the threat, said Joseph Nuth, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"Comets have largely been ignored by people that are interested in defending the planet," Nuth said during a news conference Monday (Dec. 12) here at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). [Best Close Encounters of the Comet Kind]

The main reason for this lack of attention is the perception that not much can be done about an incoming comet, because of the difficulties involved in spotting and tracking these icy bodies, Nuth said. But something can indeed be done, if we're sufficiently prepared, he stressed.

Dangerous comets

The fixation on asteroids is understandable. For starters, they're far more common in near-Earth space than comets are, and therefore make up the vast majority of impactors.

Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are also much easier to detect and track than comets are, because NEA orbits are relatively similar to that of our planet. Comets, on the other hand, spend the vast majority of their lives out in the dark depths of the outer solar system, giving astronomers far fewer chances to spot them before they may come through our neighborhood. (The famous Halley's comet, for example, rounds the sun just once every 75 years or so.)

"A comet comes out of nowhere, pretty much," Nuth said during a scientific talk at AGU on Monday, a few hours before the news conference.

As an example, he cited Comet Siding Spring, a roughly 0.3-mile-wide (0.5 kilometers) object that was discovered in January 2013. Just 22 months later, in October 2014, Siding Spring buzzed Mars, coming within 87,000 miles (140,000 km) of the Red Planet. [Mars-Bound Comet: Photos of Comet Siding Spring]

So the element of surprise is more in play with comets than it is with NEAs (the biggest, most dangerous of which have nearly all been found already, scientists say). And that's a problem for deflection efforts, which would launch a spacecraft out to meet an incoming impactor (and then nudge, knock or blast it off course).

"If you look at the schedule for producing high-reliability spacecraft, and launching them, it takes five years to launch a spacecraft," Nuth said during the AGU news conference.

Other comet characteristics are concerning as well. For example, Nuth said, the typical comet is larger than the average NEA and encounters Earth at a much higher relative velocity because of its highly elliptical orbit, which is more conducive to direct hits. (NEAs' more Earth-like paths, by contrast, lead to more glancing blows.)

Whereas the average NEA that hits Earth does so at about 44,700 mph (71,940 km/h), it's not uncommon for comets to hurtle by planets more than twice as fast, Nuth said. In October 2014, for instance, Comet Siding Spring zoomed past Mars at about 125,000 mph (200,000 km/h).

So, while comet strikes on Earth are relatively rare  much rarer than asteroid impacts, anyway  they can be potentially cataclysmic, Nuth said. That's why he's sounding the alarm.

What to do?

Nuth thinks the world should start gearing up for a potential comet strike now, or in the very near future at least, because leaving things until the last minute may make deflection efforts impossible.

"It's really imperative that we reduce that reaction time," he said during the news conference, referring to the typical five-year lag between mission approval and launch.

Nuth's plan calls for building two spacecraft  an "interceptor" and an "observer"  and storing them until they're needed. If a potentially dangerous comet appears in the sky, the observer would be launched to study the object and help astronomers figure out its orbital path, and thereby assess the threat it poses to Earth. If this threat is deemed serious enough, the interceptor would be launched to deflect the comet.

The interceptor would be capable of carrying a nuclear bomb, Nuth said. (Nukes may be necessary to deal with big space objects that are detected with little warning time.)

This strategy would not necessarily be comet-specific, he added; it could also be used to mitigate a big and dangerous asteroid that managed to slip through astronomers' surveillance.

To make all this happen, NASA would have to make a request to Congress.

"We're talking a considerable amount of money," Nuth said. "The NASA request would probably be for several hundred million dollars to produce one of these spacecraft."

Such a request is not on the books, Nuth said.

"I'm a NASA scientist," he said. "I'm not a NASA policymaker; I'm not even in the adminstration of NASA. So this is more a scientific recommendation."

Lasers to the rescue?

It may also be possible to deflect an incoming comet without launching a spacecraft out to meet it.

For example, powerful laser blasts could vaporize portions of a hazardous comet's surface from afar, causing the eruption of gaseous jets that would push the icy wanderer off its original trajectory, another study presented at AGU on Monday suggests.

"These effects have been observed by heating by the sun alone," lead author Qicheng Zhang, a physics undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told Space.com.

The computer simulations performed by Zhang and his colleagues suggest that the same ground-based laser system engineers plan to build for the Breakthrough Starshot project  which aims to blast nanoprobes toward Alpha Centauri at 20 percent the speed of light using lasers  would also be able to deflect some comets. (One of Zhang's co-authors is Philip Lubin of UCSB, a key member of the Breakthrough Starshot team.)

"A sufficiently large [laser] array can deflect any comet," Zhang and his team wrote in their study.

The array could also theoretically help de-orbit space junk and perform a variety of other tasks, Zhang said.

"This laser system is very multipurpose," he said.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
With all Nebraska high school juniors taking the ACT rather than the Nebraska State Accountability tests in spring 2017, thousands of public school students will have the opportunity to take the exam free of charge, enabling them to get a jump on preparing for college should they choose that route.

Fremont High School students, however, are receiving an even larger advantage this spring through face-to-face instructional interactions with John Baylor, founder of John Baylor ACT Prep and voice of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Volleyball program.

Baylors ACT program is utilized by more than 300 high schools in 15 different states, with his online course generally raising an entire schools ACT scores by 1-2 points, information off of johnbaylorprep.com says.

In years past, numerous FHS students utilized his online ACT prep course, consisting of 12 modules/classes covering tested material in Math, Science, Reading and English. Students also received a 200 page study guide with practice exams and worksheets.

Students paid $20 for the course and received $10 back if they attended all classed and submitted their ACT results.

During Monday evenings Fremont Public School Board of Education meeting, the Board unanimously voted to implement a new John Baylor program that involves live instruction for all FHS junior students.

Previously, students completing the course watched instructional videos and were taught/monitored by a proctor.

The new live instruction  including online access  costs the district approximately $19,600, which roughly breaks down to $56 per student, information released by the district shows.

For a student/students family to pay on their own for the live instruction or for strictly online access, it normally would cost $375 or $279, respectively.

The expenses pay for three live instructional sessions at the school with Baylor, two additional instructional sessions with a John Baylor representative and all of the necessary books, videos, PDF documents and webinars provided to give students the best possible opportunities to succeed.

One live refresher session with Baylor will take place in early April, one week before the exam.

Scott Jensen, executive director of instruction and secondary operations, said that all juniors having the ability to prepare for the ACT in such a manner is terrific. It ensures that everybody has the same opportunity to prepare for the exam.

Through the course, the goal is for students to attend two-year and four-year institutions and graduate with minimal debt. The John Baylor Prep course may even engage some students who otherwise wouldnt think about attending college after graduating from high school.

This helps us provide our students with opportunities that they may not be able to have without us providing it for them, Jensen said.   We are going to have kids taking the ACT that have never taken it before, and really have never thought about taking it before.

Maybe they have never thought of themselves as two-year or four-year college-type material, and we are hoping that with some good scores some of these kids who didnt even realize their own potential will have the opportunity to move ahead without a lot of debt.
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As back to school is well underway, our schedules can become very hectic with carpools, school events, homework, and the like. In my back to school blog, I wrote, a well thought out routine can be the secret to a calm, child centered learning environment if planned appropriately. This time I want to encourage you to make a family night part of that routine.

Young children thrive on quality time spent together with family. Not only is the interaction good for building self-esteem, reserving a special night is a great way to strengthen communication and bonding within a family and build traditions that are special and unique to each individual family. I also encourage families to get away from screen time as a family activity and instead look for creative games to play with their children.

According to Elizabeth Brunscheen-Cartagena, family life and resource management agent with Kansas State Research and Extension, board games can help family members connect and have fun together, all while helping kids build essential learning skills as they navigate the social component of game playing. Brunscheen-Cartagena refers to this as social capital in her blog, Get Your Game Face On.

There are many benefits to playing games with young children as a family, and research tells us that it is through play that children make discoveries and learning new skills.

Motor Development: Age appropriate games give opportunities to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills such as rolling dice and turning over cards.

Intellectual Development: Games allow exposure to counting, sorting and identifying numbers, and some introduce shapes and patterns, as well as new vocabulary and letter recognition.

Problem solving abilities: Games that promote memory and puzzles are good choices here. Games are great tools that give opportunities for simple decision making.

Social skills: Playing games introduces and allows practice in turn taking and opportunities for families to model appropriate ways to interact with others.

Check out an article from Scholastic Parents on The Benefits of Board Games. It gives some great suggestions on age appropriate game selections and advice about winning.

Family Game nights do not have to break your budget. There are many creative games that you can play without an inventory of board games with a few simple everyday objects or with just a paper and pencil. And I am all for any activity that gets kids up and moving.

Tips to make your family night a success:

Establish a regular day and time that works best for your family

Eliminate distractions such as cell phones and television

Make sure everyone can play or participate

Keep it fun, build a family tradition to be remembered

SOURCE: Lynn DeVries, Extension Educator, The Learning Child
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STAMFORD  The largest real estate deal in the city since the recession came as somewhat of a shock to neighbors.

We are totally surprised, state Rep. Terry Adams, whose district includes the South End, said Monday of the $400 million sale of five buildings in Building and Land Technologys Harbor Point development.

Affected residents were notified of the pending sale via email last week. Adams, who also is president of the neighborhood revitalization zone, said he would have appreciated a similar warning.

We would have preferred a heads up. It would have been nice for them to at least tell us Hey, were selling off part of our portfolio and we wanted to let you know as good neighbors,  he said.

The buyer, Manhattan real estate firm GAIA Acquisitions, is gaining five buildings  The Key at Yale & Towne, the Vault Apartments, The Lofts at Yale & Towne, 111 Harbor Point and Postmark Apartments  with a total of 1,200 apartments.

Adams has several questions for BLT general counsel John Freeman, who is vice president of the NRZ, at the groups monthly meeting on Tuesday evening.

We will try to get a firsthand update, Adams said. Its just disappointing because we always thought they were supposed to build and operate all of their buildings.

Stamford Mayor David Martin said while the transaction between BLT and GAIA Acquisitions is sizable, it shouldnt come as a surprise.

This is part of the normal process, he said. BLT is not focused as a property owner or manager  they are a developer. Thats what theyre good at.

Yes, we are mindful, but not concerned. We know they are still planning and working on a lot of good things in Stamford, Martin said.

BLT Chief Operating Officer Ted Ferrarone said the company  which began developing the $3.5 billion Harbor Point site in 2009  has no immediate plans to pull up stakes in the South End, where it has more than 80 acres.

Theres no desire to sell everything in the neighborhood now, he said. Were still very bullish on the Stamford real estate market.

Ferrarone said the work BLT has put into cultivating a community that has attracted millenials, young families and empty-nesters will continue.

Its going to get even better, he said. Were just getting started in terms of what this neighborhood can support in terms of programs and events. We actually see GAIA more as partners. Were excited to bring these guys down there.

Some residents welcomed the news that BLT  whose partner, Prime Management, runs their apartments buildings  sold to a company that specializes in rental property management.

Jessica Caruso, who lives at Infinity, the building next door to BLTs Postmark, said Harbor Point residents could come out on top after GAIA takes over.

Putting the building in the hands of a property manager would be better for the renters versus a building company whos in the business of buying and selling ... and not as in tune to renters needs, said Caruso, 30, who previously worked in real estate.

Welcome change?

Caruso, who has several friends who live at Postmark, said there appears to be a disconnect between renters and BLT. This summer, for example, Postmark residents were unhappy with the pool rules.

They had to have bracelets for the pool, and if you didnt have one, you would get turned away. You couldnt bring guests, she said. It seemed a little bit strict.

She said she feels lucky to have moved into Infinity just before BLT sold it to Lincoln Property Co. three years ago.

Ours is a little bit more like, Be reasonable to your neighbors. ... Thats nice. Let people do the right thing, she said. Property managers are in the business of keeping their renters happy. Thats their business model.

Angelica Fernandez, 30, who moved from The Loft at Yale and Towne to Postmark in search of better amenities, said the only change she has heard of so far is the way she pays rent.

They said the portal  where we pay rent and stuff  will change, she said. Maybe a few other things will change ... hopefully for the better.

nora.naughton@scni.com; twitter.com/noranaughton
Contributed photo

DARIEN  Police highly suspect recent car break-ins at the Darien YMCA parking lot are the work of the Felony Lane Gang, an organized crime group that works on the East Coast.

On Dec. 2 around 7:30 a.m., two purses were stolen from cars parked in the YMCA parking lot after two men smashed the windows of both vehicles and stole the purses hidden inside them. Police said this type of burglary is characteristic of the gang, which often targets parking lots of busy areas in affluents towns where they know people often leave valuables in their cars.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)  Donald Trump's boast on the campaign trail that he could shoot somebody and not lose any voters tops a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2016.

Sound bites from the presidential campaign dominated the 11th annual "Yale Book of Quotations" list from Fred Shapiro, an associate director of the library. He chooses quotes that are famous or revealing of the spirit of the times, and not necessarily eloquent or admirable.
B usiness has not been particularly good for lawyers this year. Growth has not been remotely exciting  but, because most of them make a considerable amounts of money overseas and/or are paid in sums other than sterling, cash profits as measured in UK currency show a substantial increase. A devaluation of between 10% and 15% does wonders for the bottom line when the majority of costs are in sterling.

But the more splendid this news is for partners at home, the more it is likely to upset those overseas because the effect is reversed for them. Through no fault of their own, their income has been severely clipped and, while mechanisms may be put in place to mitigate the worst harm from this, it will be astonishing if this can be done without igniting at least some of the tensions and rivalries that are seldom far below the surface in this most civilised profession.

There is, however, a deeper cause, which is that  while English law is firmly established as the regulation of choice for the worlds international business and while the impartiality of the English courts has secured London as the venue of choice for much of the worlds most complex litigation  this does not mean the spoils of all this choice accrue as of right to the London-based firms. To put it rather more bluntly, it is becoming ever more apparent in London legal circles that American firms which have set up here over the past 20 years are now beginning to eat their lunch.

Most professions have already been Americanised. Accounting went a long time ago, as did management consulting, headhunting and employee benefits and pension consulting. Fund-management statistics show virtually no British presence in the international top 20. Perhaps the mystery is that British law firms have managed to hold out for so long.

But they are in trouble now. The root of the problem is that no UK firm has successfully established itself in America, so they lack serious access to US capital markets and dont generally move in the right circles over there. That in turn means that when American corporations go global  usually through an acquisition  they no longer automatically look to the indigenous British firms for advice but are instead increasingly content with the London offices of US firms.

As US corporations progressively tighten their stranglehold on the globalised economy, American law firms are extending their reach here.

At the same time, the determination of the American authorities to apply US law whenever the mood takes them in wherever country in the world that suits them has put pressure on non-American multinationals to build close relationships with US lawyers. If the Department of Justice decides to launch some massive action against a non-American company for allegedly breaking sanctions in Iran, that company needs a lawyer with top-level contacts in the Department of Justice. It is no longer enough for them to rely on a British firm to meet their global needs, and they do not feel comfortable doing so.

Nor do these relationships result just from corporate wrongdoing. Until a few years ago, private-equity groups would rely almost entirely on London law firms for the legal work that lies behind their often-complex financial structures. Now, however, it is the US firms in London that are landing the business. That is perhaps a reflection of how US parent firms  Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle and the others  increasingly dominate the space.

The core of the problem is the London firms have a business model that is no longer suited to the modern world. London law firms basically provide two quite different services. On the one hand, they offer advice, providing expert guidance to senior business figures on the intricacies of some complex strategy. They charge a vast amount of money for this  and if they are good, the client usually pays without too much complaint.

But the other business channel is to supply a relatively cheap resource for what are in effect execution-only deals. This is when the client knows what he wants to do  has probably already done it  but requires a legal team to sort out and tie up the loose ends. This is pretty standardised commodity work.

A British firm typically has had a small number of partners doing advisory stuff, and a large number of associates doing the grunt work. But competition in grunt work is increasing, and it is very vulnerable to technology. So the firms overall are stuck with overheads that are increasingly hard to support. There has been a rush to relocate these businesses to cheaper parts of the UK  Belfast, Glasgow or Manchester  but it is not getting any easier. The real answer would be to split in two: a high-quality advisory firm and a low-cost, efficient, technology-driven provider of services.

In contrast, there is probably no such thing as a cheap American lawyer. But in this context, their business model has high numbers of big fee-earning advisers and relatively few people doing grunt work  so they can focus on capturing and executing the high-value business. This also plays to their strengths when it comes to establishing their presence in London  the more so as many of their partners are credible and experienced British lawyers who were prematurely bounced out of their original firms when they turned 50, in order to create space and a career path for the army underneath.

That is the kind of problem you encounter in trying to operate a business model which is no longer fit for purpose.
T he Barings name, synonymous with infamous rogue trader Nick Leeson, is expected to soon be based at 20 Old Bailey, it has emerged, as research today revealed a surge of post-Brexit City office-leasing deals.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has selected the building opposite the criminal courts as the new London HQ for four of its asset-management businesses, which recently merged under the Barings name.

Barings is understood to be in advanced negotiations to take around 100,000 square feet at Blackstones building. Staff will be moved there from three offices. MassMutual did not respond, while Blackstone declined to comment.

Barings appeared as a bank in London in 1762, and collapsed in 1995 after fraudulent trading by broker Nick Leeson. It was bought by MassMutual in 2005.

Separately, figures from agent JLL today showed City office take-up has surged in the final quarter of the year, and is expected to reach 5.3 million square feet by the year end, just 6% below the long-term average.

JLLs Neil Prime said the lettings and purchases from firms such as Wells Fargo show that demand has been more resilient than many feared.
S trike! A refurb of outdated bowling alleys by the UKs biggest tenpin operator, Hollywood Bowl, boosted sales at the newly listed group last year.

Weve completely updated the experience, chief executive Stephen Burns said. Most bowling alleys were set up in the late Seventies and Eighties to serve the youth market with large dance floors and bar areas but weve slowly been refurbishing the sites. The experience is completely different and more current. Its fresh and engaging.

Changes include a restaurant called Hollywood Diner, nicer bars with lounge areas and 900 new, up-to-date arcade machines.

The dreaded bowling shoes which put off so many customers are also optional. As long as youre wearing flat shoes, you can bowl, Burns said.

The group spent 7.8 million on sites last year, including rebranding three Bowlplex sites which it bought from a rival. That helped to keep customers at the alley for longer and increased extra spending per customer per game to 8.63 from 8.12. Total revenues rose 24% to 106.6 million for the year ending September.

The company, which listed on the stock market three months ago, made a lower profit of 2.6 million, from 4.8 million, because of expenses related to the float.
I taly's biggest bank is cutting 14,000 jobs  one in 10 staff  and raising 10.9 billion from investors as it battles bad debts.

UniCredit hopes the record rights issue can be used to offset most of its poor performing loans and rescue its battered balance sheet. Italys banks are widely regarded as troublesome, with fears that a banking crisis there could spread across Europe. However, the UKs banks are only marginally exposed to Italy.

UniCredit chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier said the cuts and fund raising is a pragmatic plan based on conservative assumptions.

He added: We are taking decisive actions to deal with our legacy issues to improve and support recurring future profitability to become one of Europes most attractive banks.

UniCredit also plans to cut a quarter of is 3800 branches. The banks shares have halved this year. It claims the job cuts will save it more than 1 billion (839 million) a year in costs.

The rights issue, the biggest-ever in Italy, will be launched early next year, and will be led by Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and other investment banks. UniCredit has been offloading assets as it seeks to tidy up a messy balance sheet.

On Monday, it sold fund management arm Pioneer Investments to Frances Amundi for 3.88 billion.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the third-biggest bank in Italy, is trying to raise 5 billion to avoid a government bailout.
U K policymakers have hit back at German calls to base the merged London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Borse outside London amid looming EU objections to the merged groups clearing business.

Deutsche Borse is facing calls from political factions in the German state of Hesse to move the holding company to the continent because of Brexit.

Hesse regulates Deutsche Borses Frankfurt stock exchange and has the power to remove its licence if it dislikes the 21 billion deal.

Separately, the LSE and Deutsche are due to receive a list of objections from EU competition authorities tomorrow. They are understood to focus on the clearing business but will steer clear of other areas like equities.

Members of the Treasury Select Committee and the City of London Corporation canvassed by the Evening Standard said it was essential that LSE and DB stuck to their guns on the London base, which was a key part of the merger agreement.

London has played host to one of the worlds oldest and largest stock exchanges, the level of expertise of which is unparalleled in Europe, said City of London policy chairman Mark Boleat.

That is why it remains the only option to host the new merger, he added. Tory MP and former McKinsey consultant Chris Philp, who sits on the select committee, said: Its essential the headquarters remain in London, which is the financial capital of Europe.

London is lower tax so it makes sense to have it here.

Another member of the select committee, Labour MP John Mann, said German officials should pipe down a bit.

Of course it should be here. Its always been here, its got the history here.

The head of the Christian Democrat Union in Hesse, Michael Boddenberg, said the holding company must be in Frankfurt to win approval.
B ritain is unique within Europes Customs Union; unique because  with our trade, job opportunities and big-spending tourists  the UK serves to the categorical financial benefit of all its fellow members.

As such, the idea that we might have to pay to be allowed access to the trade bloc post-Brexit is as absurd as it is infuriating. Our negotiating position as we head towards Article 50 is far stronger than many commentators and politicians  even the Brexit Minister David Davis  would have you believe.

Let me explain: in 2015, Britain imported almost a quarter of a trillion pounds worth of goods from the EU27 nations, creating an 88.9 billion trade deficit with them.

Germany, perhaps the most similar country to us on the continent, has a trade surplus with its European friends  earning far more from them than they do from it.

Its not just about trade, though. By the end of 2015, we had admitted 600,000 more EU citizens, taking the total of National Insurance numbers granted to continental Europeans up to almost five million. Thats five million Europeans making their living here, and often sending money back home to boost the economies of their nations. Not only that, but last year Britons made more than 50 million visits to the EU27  some to do business, others for leisure along its warm-water coastline. We Brits accounted for more than a quarter of Spanish and 40% of Cypriot tourism.

Were the EU to damage our economy by, say, booting us out of the Customs Union of the European Economic Area (EEA), the knock-on effects for its own economies and citizens would be enormous.

Take Spain, perhaps the most commercially connected of all the EU27 to us. Telefonicas O2, Ferrovials Heathrow, Santanders UK bank and Inditexs Zara all contribute substantial chunks of their parent companies global profit. Spanish hotelier Melia relies hugely on free-spending Brits holidaying in the Med. And thats before you consider the 309,000 mostly retired Brits living in Spain and spending their pensions there.

Damage Britains economy by punishing us for Brexit, and many of the constituents of the Ibex 35 index of top Spanish companies would be issuing profit warnings.

Its not just Spain, either. Frances EDF, Renault (via its half-share in Nissan) and Lafarge make big money from their assets based here; likewise Germanys RWE, E.on and Volkswagen; even faraway Sweden through Electrolux, Ericsson and Skandia. In fact, every country, with the exception of Luxembourg, relies on us more than we need them for trade, tourists or labour for their populations.

There will be those who accuse me of exaggerating Britains importance to our continental neighbours. But this is not some sort of economic dysmorphia on my part. The facts are incontrovertible.

Rather than make us pay to be in the EEA, it should be Europe that pays us. Our negotiators should realise that, and not listen to those who would talk our country down.

Savvas Savouri is chief economist at Toscafund
E gypt is observing three days of national mourning after at least 25 people were killed, and dozens injured, when a bomb exploded next to Cairos Coptic cathedral on Sunday. The countrys President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, issued an apparently constructive statement calling on Muslims and Coptic Christians to emerge victorious in the war against terrorism, which is the battle of all Egyptians.

But while rightly blaming the atrocity on extremists, he missed the bigger picture: the virus of terrorism flourishes in a hospitable soil. Looking across Egyptian society, we can see innumerable cases of anti-Christian discrimination and violence dating back decades. If Muslims were being oppressed in a similar way in Christian-majority countries, the Islamic world would erupt in fury. But when the targets of violence are churches and their congregations, the West and the Middle East turn a blind eye. The hierarchy of victimhood is as blatant as it is under-reported. (Memo to the BBC: take note.)

Two examples illustrate a broader pattern. A property belonging to the Coptic community in Al-Nagameesh, a village in eastern Egypt, was attacked by a mob on November 25. A crowd emerged from the local mosque after midday prayers and marched to the Coptic neighbourhood, setting fire to a four-storey building they believed was being used for Christian worship. Local Copts had applied for permission to build a church but the building in question was used as a nursery and care home for the elderly. The mob then torched a number of Copt-owned homes and businesses. Several people were injured. Later the mob blocked access to the village for emergency services and stopped the water supply to prevent fires from being put out.

Al-Nagameesh is by no means an untypical case. Since there is no church in the village, the 2,000-strong Christian population were using the community centre as a focal point. Tension had mounted three days before the attacks when the local priest held a memorial service in the building to mark the anniversary of the death of his father. Muslim hotheads viewed this harmless action as inflammatory.

Back in June, homes and property belonging to the Coptic community in another village, Qarayat al Bayda near Alexandria, were attacked by crowds protesting at rumours that a house under construction was also being turned into a church. According to the Daily News Egypt website, the owner, Naeem Aziz, said he was building the new house for his son but after Friday prayers, a crowd attacked the building and destroyed materials being used to build it. Mr Aziz and his brother, Moussa, were assaulted and adjacent premises attacked and looted.

Ramy Kashwaa, a local Coptic activist who witnessed the events, stated: Had it not been for the intervention of our sane Muslim brothers, [someone] could have died.

My book, Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack, instances many similar examples of anti-Christian violence around Egypt dating back decades. One of my interviewees, an Egyptian-born GP now based in the Midlands, told me of how even in the Seventies no Christian medical student from his university at Asyut in Upper Egypt was placed in the Excellent, Very Good or Good categories after exams. Knowing from the start that his Coptic allegiance would form a glass ceiling to his career, he began a new life in Britain.

The latest edition of Religious Freedom in the World, a global survey published last month by the charity Aid to the Church in Need, identifies so-called Islamic State as the main source of a genocidal campaign against Yazidis and Shia Muslims, as well as Christians.

But the hyper-extremists of Islamic State represent only one especially virulent strain of a broader problem. The report also makes clear that Christians are the most oppressed faith group on Earth: 200 million believers, or 10 per cent of the global total, face discrimination or persecution. The culprits include communists and Hindu nationalists, as well as Islamists.

Faced with statistics such as these, the response of many people is to reject faith as such. In her book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence, Karen Armstrong observes that large numbers of people  American commentators and psychiatrists, London taxi drivers and Oxford academics  cite undifferentiated religion as the cause of all the major wars in history. The short-circuiting of debate by unacknowledged ideology is no less clear here than when militant atheists pillory believers with straw-man arguments and half-truths in the media.

Christianity and Islam are the worlds two most formidable belief systems. They are growing strongly overall, whatever the figures on church decline in Britain. And although both traditions can be put to corrupt use  400 years ago, of course, some Christians were behaving as unspeakably around Europe as Islamic State is today  both faiths contain the antidotes to their own violent poison.

Eye-for-an-eye morality is rejected more comprehensively in Christianity through Jesuss teaching in the Sermon on the Mount than in any other global faith apart from Buddhism. But Islam, too, developed a sophisticated body of Koranic interpretation during the Middle Ages explaining that apparently bloodthirsty or intolerant passages in Scripture needed to be seen in context. Considered as a whole, the Koran, like the Bible, preaches a more inclusive message. That is why most Muslims have no truck with extremism.

In other words, violent jihadists should be more, not less, Islamic. They will not renounce their outlook for secular liberal reasons but may be persuaded to do so for solid theological ones. In an increasingly post-secular world, the answer to bad religion is good religion, not no religion at all.

Rupert Shortts latest book, God Is No Thing: Coherent Christianity, is published by Hurst.
A t our Evening Standard Film Awards last week, the person most in selfie demand was Ed Balls. He is philosophical about the fame Strictly Come Dancing has brought him. His new constituency is comprised largely of small children and grandparents. When the first-rank Labour politician Yvette Cooper, who happens to be Eds wife, went to get a dress for the awards, she was greeted respectfully at Debenhams. They recognised her from being in the audience of Strictly.

What if Strictly had come before Ballss leadership bid against Ed Miliband in 2010? He shrugs off the tantalising possibility, because politics was different then. Party politics had a conventional structure and a set of rules. This year of disruption has changed everything. Theresa May can dress down Boris Johnson as much as she likes but he will not defer, nor should he. The public have got his back.

The ability to connect with the public is the greatest contemporary political gift. It is surprising how few politicians have it. It is not linked to class or background. Jacob Rees Mogg can win over the public, yet Zac Goldsmith could not. Sadiq Khan is a master of it. It is fascinating to watch him work a room of disparate people  as at our Progress 1000 party, and naturally connect with all of them. He remains Londons best champion in the headwinds of Brexit.

Brexit is not the same as Donald Trump, a figure who will not be replicated in the French presidential elections next year. Yet it is increasingly difficult to be aloof and win. Nigel Farage has no doubts about it. The President-elects ability to engage rather than rule is his Trump card. There is no worse time for David Cameron to go all Coriolanus about public opinion. Political ambition or cunning is not enough, temperament is now key.

'Speaking human': President-elect Donald Trump / AP

According to Farage (who, lets face it, is our most reliable guide to the incoming US administration) Trumps ability to speak human is political genius. It is particular: as Farage puts it, Trump is an alpha male who assumes all men want to be him and all women want to sleep with him. Some of us may beg to differ, but we are never likely to be asked. His examples of charm are not extraordinary. Trump will apparently compliment women on a dress and say something clubbable to men. But the effect of tangible conversation beyond the fake delight and platitude of politicians can be electric.

Look at the Foreign Secretary; the PMs best shot of removing his powerbase is preventing him from public engagement. He can no longer ride his bike or appear on public transport. But I have observed the effect when he does. He strikes up conversations naturally and is deeply interested in the views of his transient friends. I have watched him do this post-Brexit and among the metropolitan elite. He has a Churchill-like knack of making difficult views palatable. His blunders are honest. His gaffe about Saudi Arabia has done him nothing but good.

I hope that the winds of change are about style rather than substance. Donald Trump has the power to do real harm, especially on the environment. But others could use public popularity to good effect. Ed Balls, Sadiq Khan and Boris Johnson, in different ways, are all considering the purpose of their potency.

Beware the revenge of the dumped ally

Theresa Mays leather trousers were a symbol first of her centralised control (Leather! Trousers!) and since then of division. Some have described the unsisterly episode between her adviser Fiona Hill and former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan as demeaning and irrelevant but it is really about leadership.

Morgan feels slighted. First she was sacked with a kind of relish, then May added insult to injury by giving no public acknowledgement of Morgans achievements. No wonder Morgan is a fervent Osbornite now.

Those in power will always make enemies, and the worst tend to be dumped loyalists. Michael Goves psychological wounds inflicted by David Cameron sacking him as Education Secretary had to be avenged. Camerons former staff also believe his adviser Steve Hilton went rogue because he felt unloved. It is hard to be powerful without making enemies. Cameron was considered too loyal to those around him until near the end.

But May has gone out too early to punish those whom she fears as rivals or followers of rivals. She should read Robert Caros biography of Lyndon B Johnson rather than Macbeth to understand successful politics. Osborne knows Caro by heart.

Gender game has its merits

Looking through the Golden Globe award nominations  which includes Claire Foy for her part in The Crown  I am awkwardly reminded of a witty observation made by the comedian and film maker Richard Ayoade, who hosted the London Evening Standard British Film Awards.

Ayoade ironically praised the splitting of categories by gender, wondering why we did not separate the skills of male and female dentists in a similar manner. Why should best actor and best actress be measured differently? It would be dull if we only had one winner, though.

Swiftian troubadour of journalism will be missed

It is sad that in these eventful times we will have to do without the Swiftian observations of A A Gill, who died at the weekend.

I particularly admired Gills troubadour approach to journalism. He spoke truth to power and liked to bite the hand that fed him, which is apt for a restaurant critic.

Gill regarded himself as a sinner, which is the proper position both for a Christian and a journalist. He was a former alcoholic who never forgot that you can be in the gutter but still looking up at the stars. His compassion was not lofty but based on proper understanding  there but for the grace of God go I.

He always sided with the underdog. It is a Christmas message, of sorts.
They say that in London, youre never more than three feet away from a Pandora charm. At least thats what they should say, so ubiquitous is this charming phenomenon. Whats most remarkable about this is the fact that the charm bracelets biggest ambassador landed on UK shores only seven years ago. In that short time, Pandora has opened 220 stores and decorated countless wrists with sterling silver bracelets laden with charms shaped like hearts, cupcakes and daisies. Now the brand has come to count the UK as its second biggest market behind the US. And while Pandora is not alone in its charm offensive, it is to the charm bracelet what Ikea is to flat- pack furniture.

But what is it about this brand, a company thats joined by a host of competitors in dominating the affordable jewellery market, that has charmed the capital  and in fact, the entire country  into lining their jewellery boxes with London buses and sterling silver teapots?

For many, the success of the charm phenomenon is intrinsically linked to our sentimentality. As a society, we have long looked to jewellery to mark significant occasions. This modern day equivalent takes the tradition of marking milestones to a new level. About to start a new job? The four-leaf clover charm makes for the perfect leaving present. Newly wed? Give the gift of a church bell charm. There are also charms dedicated to celebrating new arrivals to the family, big birthdays, pets, hobbies and iconic landmarks, not to mention a series of styles dedicated to seasonal holidays, from Christmas trees to the Easter bunny.

This trend for wearing our life on our sleeve is reflective of our collective demand for products that offer an element of personalisation. Its also indicative of a shift in the way that women buy jewellery. While the purchase of rings and bracelets was once predominantly a transaction between a man and a woman, many of todays most successful jewellery brands are ones that speak to girls girls, with friends buying for friends, daughters for mothers and sisters swapping. This inclusive attitude is also evidenced in the brands accessible price point, with charms coming with price tags as low as 20.

Shine on: bracelets from 55, from a selection, Pandora (pandora.net)

But Pandoras charmed existence was no intentional one. In fact, the company  founded in Copenhagen in 1982 by husband and wife Per and Winnie Enevoldsen  began life by creating rings. The idea for a bracelet was hatched years later when the brands small team of sales people noticed that customers were buying necklaces laden with pendants and wrapping them around their wrists instead. In 2000, Pandoras charm bracelet was born.

Nowadays, what began with a range of just 16 charms  including a plain sterling silver heart that still holds the title of bestseller, with more than three million sold since its launch  spans more than 700 charms and accounts for 75 per cent of global revenue.

But despite its mass appeal, Pandora remains a hand-finished operation. Last year its factories in Thailand, which employ a 12,000-strong team of skilled craftsmen, produced over 100 million pieces of jewellery and set 2.6 billion gemstones. Yet each charm goes through 17 individual processes, from polishing and plating to enamel painting, passing through a total average of 30 pairs of hands. To meet demand, Pandora is set to open a new eco-factory in Chiang Mai early next year  and naturally, its shaped like its bestselling bracelet.

Engagement rings - in pictures 1 /12 Engagement rings - in pictures Browse our edit of the best engagement rings... Rex London Victorian Ring Company Asscher Cut Diamond Cluster Ring This vintage-inspired design boasts a square central diamond with a halo of 16 round stones and 6 diamonds on the shoulders. It has a polished finish and can be customised with coloured gemstones or alternative metals. From 2,450, London Victorian Ring Company, Buy it now Shannons Jewellers 18ct White Gold Octagonal Halo Cluster Ring A white gold cluster ring featuring a rub over set diamond centre, a halo of brilliant cut diamonds and dazzling diamond-set shoulders. 4,995, Shannons Jewellers, Buy it now Hugh Rice 18ct White Gold Diamond Octagon Cluster Ring This one is filled with 0.95ct of round brilliant diamonds in the centre, halo surround and shoulders. 1,595, Hugh Rice, Buy it now London Jewellery Company 18ct Yellow Gold Diamond & Sapphire Oval Cluster Ring Presented in a luxury wooden box, this oval cut sapphire is mounted in a cluster of round diamonds weighing 0.42ct. 1,275, London Jewellery Company, Buy it now Beaverbrooks 18ct White Gold Diamond and Sapphire Cluster Ring If your lady prefers cooler hues and silver jewellery, then this white gold option is a great alternative to Kates yellow gold ring. 2,750, Beaverbrooks, Buy it now Blue Nile Scalloped Pave Diamond Engagement Ring In 18 carat white gold, this gorgeous piece is perfect for the girl who wants her ring to be noticed. The top half of the band is embellished with scalloped pave diamonds that complement the large centre diamond. It has a total carat weight of 3.39. 27,088.80, Blue Nile, Buy it now Moissanite and Diamond Engagement Ring This handmade option features an extra thin yet sturdy band  similar to Kim Wests  that makes the diamond appear bigger. Its main stone is a forever brilliant moissanite. From 934.46, Etsy, Buy it now Tiffany Novo A brilliant diamond is set in platinum and elevated above the shank to bring light to the centre. From 31,900, Tiffany, Buy it now

How charming.

@standardfashion
A talented young artist is finally being given his first exhibition more than 30 years after his murder.

The family of painter Keith Church have worked with his former college Goldsmiths to produce a show which highlights the potential of the artist who was stabbed to death aged 27 in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, on July 9, 1982.

TV journalist Kurt Barling, Mr Churchs cousin, said the show was a double-edged event for the family.

For me, there has never been a day when Ive not thought, What if?  he said. Every art exhibition Ive ever seen, whether it is at the Tate or the Guggenheim in Venice, I always have visions of my cousins art. Every time I go to an art gallery and have the sense that Keith would have done something like that, I wonder, What if?.

Brother Reading by Keith Church

You cant get away from that, it becomes part of your being, part of your DNA, how you see the world through that prism of loss.

Mr Churchs murder  which has never been solved  came as he was preparing to return to Goldsmiths where he had studied a foundation course before leaving to spend six years honing his skills as an artist.

Mr Barling said: He was ready to take on the world, he was ready to come back and be educated into how to be an artist and his life was snuffed out.

The college agreed to the exhibition after being approached by Mr Churchs mother Pat, 83, who has kept thousands of his works at her home in Cambridgeshire.

Mr Barling, who chose the works for the show with members of the family and the help of the son of Mr Churchs former art teacher, said his aunt was overwhelmed by the idea of the show. He said: She never thought her sons work would be shown, she thought she would go to her grave, never having seen her sons works exhibited.

Mr Churchs family have started a campaign to try to raise 4,000 to fund the preservation of his work.

The show, Urge to Paint  Keith Church 1955-1982, is in the Professor Stuart Hall Building at Goldsmiths from January 19 until February 9. Entry is free. For more information, visit: www.keithchurch.co.uk and crowdfunder.co.uk/keith-church-urge-to-paint-1955-1982

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D reaming of Christmas in New York but cant afford the airfare? Never fear - all you need to do is head up to Finsbury Park.

This Yuletide, Park Theatre play host to Buckland Theatre Company, who are reviving Murray Schisgals LUV. The New York-centric absurdist playwright is well known for his Oscar-nominated screenplay Tootsie, and LUV brings the same irreverent humour to look at what people will do when struck down by love. Prepare to be transported to 1960s New York, when two miserable friends decide it is time to find their happy ever afters.

Director Gary Condes says that LUV provides a warning of how urban living can be isolationist and destructive to romantic relationships. And they didnt even have Tinder when the play was set. Despite being written around 50 years ago, LUV maintains its relevance though: its never out of time to remind ourselves of ourselves, Condes says.

Its a reminder of both how society and we ourselves make it for us to be satisfied in our relationships, he thinks. Every era has its own pressures, hypocrisies, despair and pious obsessions and this play is a glorious reminder of how fractured and absurd modern urban existence can get and how love indeed does conquer all.

Nick Barber and Charles Dorfman star in LUV / Richard Davenport for The Other Richard

Actor Charles Dorfman, who plays Harry in the show, agrees that the show ages well. Although its written with a 1960s sensibility, its themes are contemporary, and its questions are timeless. It takes a step back to remind us how absurd modern living is, he says.

The sets design touches on a number of iconic movies and TV series as cultural reference points, with saturated colours evoking a 1960s film-like nostalgia. The action plays out on the iconic New York bridge, and Woody Allens Manhattan is an obvious inspiration, says Condes, and the mid 1960s New York zeitgeist makes the characters face themselves and a new found modernist existential despair.

The performances will be influenced by a mix of absurdist humour, vaudeville and Broadway comedy so that it feels we are witnessing Neil Simon and Mel Brookes give birth to Eugene Ionesco, he says.

Dorfman and Condes both say that working at the Park Theatre has been a perfect fit for Buckland Theatre Companys ambitions. Their PARK90 space offers the intimate space they need to be able to build a relationship with the audience, without having to compromise on quality, says Dorfman. It offers the theatre-goer a high quality experience as well as support and flexibility for the company.

Instead of putting another Nora Ephron film on through a haze of mulled wine, LUV can offer a quirky Christmas romcom made all the more magical by being on stage.

Condes says the show offers audiences a good old cathartic belly laugh at how self-indulgent humans can be with their own problems. Its a romp through a multitude of matters, he says: marriage, relationships, loneliness, lost identity, desires, ambitions, failures, suicide - and of course, love.

Dorfman adds that although the show gives a heart-warming and silly evening at the theatre, the underlying intelligence and sharp observation of Schisgals writing stops it being frivolous. I hope everyone leaves the theatre with their spirits lifted, but with something existential to debate over their mulled wine.

LUV is at the Park Theatre until January 7; parktheatre.co.uk

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Last week the New York Times editorial board urged President Obama to issue a blanket commutation during the waning weeks of his presidency of the extremely long prison sentences handed out to many thousands of non-violent, petty drug offenders.

This is a good idea. Our nations prison population has ballooned during the war on drugs. In some cases prisoners were sentenced according to the pointless distinction between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, resulting in disproportionately long imprisonments. Other prisoners face many decades of confinement based on sentencing guidelines that were much harsher than those currently in place.

Obama has already pardoned or commuted the sentences for about a thousand inmates, but the clock is ticking for thousands more. President-elect Trumps nominated attorney general, Jeff Sessions, strongly opposes sentencing reform and he has been highly critical of Obamas grants of clemency.

So for thousands of prisoners who face unconscionably long sentences, the next few weeks are a matter, almost literally, of life and death.

But thousands of prisoners are an abstraction; Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is a hapless, flesh-and-blood human being who is currently awaiting a February court-martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Bergdahls lawyer has asked President Obama for a pardon before the end of his term; Obama should grant it.

By way of reminder: Bowe Bergdahl got in trouble with the Army when he abandoned his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was captured by the Taliban. He spent five years in harsh conditions, including solitary confinement and torture. In May 2014, he was repatriated in exchange for five Taliban members who were being held in Guantanamo.

Obama endured considerable criticism from the right for this exchange, but it was the correct decision. Time was running out for Bergdahl, and the circumstances of his capture were unknown. Obama would have rightly been subject to equal or greater criticism if he had left an American soldier to rot in enemy hands.

As Bergdahls failure to do his duty in Afghanistan became more evident, I urged leniency. Bergdahl was never mentally prepared to serve in the military and certainly not in combat. The Coast Guard discharged him for psychological reasons after 26 days of basic training, but the Army  in need of troops  inducted him under a special waiver that ignored evidence of his instability.

Then the Army sent him into combat in a dubious war in which America had mostly lost interest.

Obama should pardon Bergdahl because he is unlikely to get a fair trial under a Trump administration. The commander-in-chief-elect has already prejudged Bergdahl, calling him a no-good traitor, who should have been executed. Thirty years ago, Trump said, he would have been shot.

Trump never served in the military  he avoided Vietnam with four student deferments and a plea of heel spurs  and he is unlikely to have an even-handed or sympathetic understanding of a volunteer who was permitted to get in over his head.

Further, in Trumps post-fact administration, Bergdahl will have a hard time defending himself. Heres one example: its widely believed that six soldiers lost their lives searching for Bergdahl, but a careful Reuters reconstruction of events connected to Bergdahls disappearance indicates that the allegation simply isnt true.

Will evidence like this be taken seriously in an administration led by a man whos already made up his mind about Bergdahl and who is careless in his use of facts? Unlikely.

Clearly, Bergdahl failed to do his duty in Afghanistan. He should probably be punished, perhaps even beyond what hes already suffered. But life in prison is a sentence far too harsh.

Obama has plenty of other things to worry about right now, and so does our nation. But letting Bergdahl fall into the hands of a vengeful, indiscriminate Trump administration is likely to create just one more sad statistic from a generation of soldiers who have suffered far too much because of our misguided Middle East policies.

Obama should pardon Bergdahl, while he still can.
H edda Gabler star Rafe Spall says he watches his co-star Ruth Wilson like any other member of the audience in her acclaimed performance of the troubled woman in the plays title role.

Spall, who plays the sinister Judge Brack, said it was a great honour to share the stage at the National Theatre with her.

He said: I have to watch her like a member of the audience, I have to watch her like any other person watches another person.

I think that is the trick, you have to listen and respond rather than just think about what you have to say next.

The actor, whose cinema roles include The BFG, said he had not read Henrik Ibsens 1890 work or seen it performed when he took the role, saying: The only exposure Ive had to it is being in it.

This version, with a new script updated and adapted by Patrick Marber and directed by Ivo van Hove, transforms the stage into a minimalist flat and comes with a soundtrack featuring Joni Mitchell.

Spall said: We treated it like a new play, it feels like a brand new play. It feels like something that could have been sent and produced by the Royal Court now.

He said the cast and crew treated the story like something we could have a fresh look at in a way that could be as shocking to modern audiences as it would have been watching the play in the 1890s in Norway.

Spall said working with van Hove, who has produced three different versions of the play in his career, was truly exciting.

He said: He is someone who had a total clarity of vision and that is a very secure thing for an actor to be part of because you immediately know you're part of a symphony and he does so much of the work for you in the staging.

Visit standard.co.uk/theatre for the latest news and reviews from Londons theatre scene

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R ubies in the Rubble, the luxury condiment company whose award-winning pickles, chutneys and relishes are made from surplus fruit and veg, has released a doubly virtuous Christmas chutney.

Doubly virtuous because not only is it concocted from British pears and figs destined for the scrap heap, it's also set to raise thousands for youth homelessness charity Centrepoint.

For every jar of limited edition pear, fig and port chutney sold at Fortnum and Masons this Christmas, 1 will be donated to the charity.

The money will go into the same Standard Christmas appeal pot earmarked to fund a Helpline for young people at risk of homelessness.

The chutney is sweet and subtly spiced, a perfect accompaniment for cheese, particularly Stilton.

Centrepoint helpline pkg

On Tuesday the Standard caught up with Rubies director Alicia Lawson, who started by explaining why they chose to support Centrepoint this Christmas.

"We're a young team, and are all really thankful for the lucky starts we've had in life. We think the work Centrepoint does with young people is amazing.

"I love that they offer 'more than just a bed' with ongoing support and life skills once they've helped them into homes.

"Also being entirely focussed on young people means the impact of getting them off the streets and back on their feet is so much bigger - they have their whole lives ahead of them."

Homeless helpline: The Evening Standard is supporting Centrepoint with this years's Christmas appeal (NIGEL HOWARD ) / NIGEL HOWARD 

Why pear, fig and port for your Christmas chutney?

"Because it's a limited edition it was a great opportunity to celebrate fresh, seasonal British fruit - hence British conference pears being our hero ingredient.

"But more than anything we were thinking about cheese! Pear, figs and port are all perfect partners with stilton as the sweetness really cuts through the strong saltiness of the cheese."

Could you say a bit more about the ingredients that went into this chutney?

"50 per cent is made from fresh British conference pears which we source direct from Tendring Fruit farm in Essex.

"These are what the farmer, Pete, calls his 'naturals' - the pears that are rejected by supermarkets for being too, well, pear-shaped!

"The same amount of care and energy goes into producing them as the perfectly shaped ones."

Centrepoint: Monique's story

"Rubies in the Rubble is all about valuing food and the resources and effort that go into growing it, and celebrating the whole harvest.

"Our ingredients have to pass a taste test - not a beauty contest.

"So as well as the 1 from every jar that's sold going to Centrepoint, each and every jar contains beautiful ingredients that would have otherwise gone to waste."

How did you perfect the recipe?

"It's based on an old recipe from the mum of Rubies founder Jenny [Dawson Costa]  with a modern twist.

"That's where we got the amazing spice blend of cinnamon, turmeric, fresh ginger and orange zest.

"We then tried endless variations on this theme in my kitchen at home, including cardamom, elderflower, and cloves.

"The fig and port came out the clear winners thanks to the depth of flavour from the port and the texture from the fig seeds. "

Last year your products won a number of taste awards - why do they taste so good?

"Because we are using 100 per cent fresh, British produce, straight from the farm.

"Unlike other food producers, because we're trying to rescue as much fruit as possible from going to waste, we don't scrimp on the main ingredients.

"Our jars are jam packed with fresh produce. Also I like to think we come up with some some unusual flavour combinations.

"All our products are made by hand in small batches, with minimal sugar and vinegar, and and a massive amount of care and love!"

Buy the limited edition chutney from Fortnum & Mason, and explore the whole range at Rubies in the Rubble.
A lthough this newspaper is the number one guide for Londons little-known sweet spots, theres one woman whose advice in all areas, from nut milks to divorce, can never be ignored: Gwyneth Paltrow. Through her lifestyle website Goop, Queen Gwynnie provides readers with tips they never knew they needed, from Scandinavian tostada recipes to her festive Goop gift guides, complete with $120 matcha tea sets, $42 stress balls and $70 bone broth samplers (Merry Christmas!)

Now London has had a Gwyn-over. Although allegedly it was Paltrows reluctance to live here that prompted her and Coldplays Chris Martins conscious uncoupling, it seems she spends enough time here to have a network of 75 health and beauty gurus to share with readers so they too can get the Gwynnie glow.

The best listings have carefully curated Instagram feeds, wellness books and beautifully designed products that might even rival Paltrows. Theyre also almost unfailingly based in west London. Heres how to get the best of London, Gwynnie-style.

Amanda Lacey: The master cleanser

Lacey has cleansed the faces of pretty much everyone from Paltrow to Emily Blunt, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to Erin Wasson. Her philosophy, Gwynnie claims, is pleasantly old school: shes claimed skincare is like Lego, in that you can add elements, but the core building blocks are always the same and some go as far as to say Lacey was pro-face oil before face oils were cool. Her skincare range, including cult products such as her Cleansing Pomade and Miracle Tonic, are sold on Net-a-Porter, although not Goop.

Find her at: a secret location in Chelsea, amandalacey.com

Eve Kalinik: The green eater

A nutritionist with a gorgeous Instagram, Kalinik is a former fashion PR at Karla Otto, whose health problems triggered a career change. A one-hour sesh involves a discussion of any symptoms you think might be caused by dye as well as digestive analyses, saliva tests and hormone screening, and one-on-one cooking lessons so you can overhaul your life. Beautifully snapped dishes on her website include Paltrow-worthy mint and curd stuffed courgette flowers and chia coconut pancakes. Look out for her book, Be Good to Your Gut, out next year.

Find her at: Portobello Road, W11, evekalinik.com

Best books on mindfulness 1 /14 Best books on mindfulness Find your inner peace with our pick of the best mindfulness and meditation books... Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world This bestseller will get you in the right frame of mind for 2016. Based on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)  a successful form of brief meditation this book's success relies on the way in which authors Mark Williams and Danny Penman optimistically focus on adding joy to your life as opposed to ridding it of unhappiness. 10.50, Amazon, Buy it now Anti-Stress Dot-to-Dot Always thought that dot-to-dots were an activity for children? Apprently you're wrong be wrong  the pictures in this book, featuring elegant buildings and nature scenes, will relax and focus your mind in a way you never thought a dot-to-dot book could. 5, Amazon, Buy it now I Am Here Now This will help enhance both your observation and creativity; with an audio track (featuring musings from mindfulness teacher Tara Brach) and a field notes page for recording purposes, I Am Here Now will enable your thoughts and emotions to take on a new lease of life. 7, Amazon, Buy it now The Mindful Workplace What better time to deploy the theories of mindfulness than at work? This book, filled with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques, provides an eight-week training course to keep your workplace attitude at its peak. 30.50, Amazon, Buy it now Get some headspace This book from Andy Puddicombe, founder of popular digital health platform Headspace, attempts to get people to take ten minutes out of their day for meditation purposes. Once the technique's been learned, these skills will stay with you for the rest of your life. 10, Amazon, Buy it now The Mindfulness Colouring Book Much like the dot-to-dot book above, this pocket-sized adult colouring book is the perfect activity for a 10-minute breather. Consider your stress and anxiety soothed. 4, Amazon, Buy it now The Little Book of Mindfulness In this day and age, it's more important to be in the moment than ever  this book will help you with that. From Dr Patrizia Collard, these brief practices will rid your day of stress and have you feeling more optimistic. 4, Amazon, Buy it now Body Calm The saying mind over matter derives from the idea that our minds have the power to control our bodies if we really want them to. Equally, mental stress can have a damaging effect on our bodies. Newbigging teaches us a new self-healing meditation technique to help keep our bodies healthy and to understand the source of common stress and anxiety triggers. 11, Amazon, Buy it now The Power of Now The Power of Now has become one of the most famous mindfulness books out there. Helping us to tap into our innermost Being, Tolle guides us through various techniques to help us understand that the present moment is all that really matters. 8, Amazon, Buy it now A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled An ambassador for mental health awareness, Ruby Wax OBE has helped to make mindfulness accessible to all. Having suffered from depression herself, in this book she explores how modern living is causing us more stress and anxiety than ever as we know and see too much. Included are mindfulness exercises and tips for everyone from babies to adults; all with sound underlying scientific reasoning. 4, Amazon, Buy it now

Arezoo Kaviani: The vajazzler

Although Gwynnie is better known for steaming her vagina than covering it in gems, she recommends Kaviani, whose Twitter bio proclaims her as the first to bring Brazilian/Playboy with Swarovski crystals to Europe, aka the vajazzle. Its Kavianis ability to perform the best Brazilian wax in London, bar none that draws Paltrow. Kaviani also does facials at her Knightsbridge salon  its probably those, rather than the Swarovski, which attracts other celebrity clients like Jake Gyllenhaal.

Find her at: a secret location in Knightsbridge, arezoo.co.uk

Dr Joshi: The gut doctor

Joshi is truly special. I love him, says Gwynnie of Dr Nish Joshis Marylebone clinic, which also counts Patsy Kensit and Ralph I pretty much consider Joshi as my GP Fiennes as fans. The main treatment? Colonic hydrotherapy and colonic irrigations, which Joshi has promoted for years as a health fix. Theres also the Riad detox retreats in Marrakech, where Joshi shares with you his Ayurvedic philosophy while youre waited upon by 12 full-time staff. Paltrow is a fan.

Find him at: 57 Wimpole Street, W1, joshiclinic.co.uk

Diana MacLellan: The easy speaker

A straight-talking midult who tells you how to get your s**t together. MacLellan uses her experience with Alexander Technique to give Body Talk Evaluations. These teach how your posture might be giving off negative vibes  not what you want when youve got an Oscar to present. MacLellan should know how to read body language: she used to work for MI5 and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Find her at: Ifield Road, SW10, dmaclellan.com

Xochi Balfour: The multi-tasker

The face of millennial healing in London is how Paltrow describes the ethereal blonde Balfour, also known as The Naturalista. Besides running sacred space retreats in east London, shes a gluten- and dairy-free advocate with an Instagram feed that could compete with Gwynnies for inducing debilitating lifestyle envy. Balfour founded the food truck Rainbo, beloved for its delicious gyoza. Even Paltrow hasnt got a street food business (yet).

Find her at: Holistic Health, Broadway Market, E8, thenaturalista.co.uk

Follow Frankie on Twitter @franklymcoy
U ber driver Janis Rogers has completed what is believed to be the companys longest ever drive using the ride-hailing service.

She picked up her customer from a Ben & Jerrys outlet in Williamsburg, Virginia, and travelled all the way to Brooklyn in the state of New York.

Speaking to the New York Post, Rogers seemed to suggest the epic ride-hailing trip was quite spontaneous. Her customer asked: How far north can you take me?

I said, Well, Im not doing too much today, so Ill take you all the way.

She said, Really? That would be great.

The Uber user, who Janis describes a young woman aged around 19-20, then slept under a blanket on the back seats for most of the journey. The reason for this record-breaking trip? She wanted to get to Brooklyn to see her boyfriend.

After factoring in the cost of petrol, the trip earnt Janis just $8 an hour, but she told the Post that she did it for the adventure, rather than the money.

It cost the Uber client $294.09, or around 233, more than a plane ticket, and considerably more than the equivalent train or bus fares.

30 places to visit before you turn 30 1 /41 30 places to visit before you turn 30 Click through our gallery to discover the places you should visit before you turn 30... Shutterstock 1. Bali Highland panoramas, scenic waterfalls, open blue skies, golden sunsets and awesome sunrises across the coastline. Theres a reason why people say that Bali stirs the soul.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Explore temples and palaces, go river rafting, sign up to a surf school, volunteer at an orangutan sanctuary, take a yoga class in the mountains and party all night. Best of all, its cheap - so youll be able to live like a king on a fortnights trip here. Stephan Stansfield/Flickr 2. Island hopping in Greece If youve never made it to Greece, then schedule in some time to discover its lesser-known islands by boat. Go to big-hitters Santorini, Crete and Rhodes and and discover little-known gems Astypalea and Tinos.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because you can explore whitewashed cubic houses, lie on white hot sands, take a dip in the bath water-warm Aegean. Shutterstock / Mikhail Gnatkovsk 3. Myanmar Until fairly recently, Myanmar was off limits to wanderlust Westerners. But after five decades of military rule, Asias formerly Junta-controlled diamond in the rough has finally opened its crystal shores to nirvana-seekers.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Unsullied beaches, ancient Pagan temples and incredibly cheap prices make Burma the perfect holiday spot for cash-strapped travellers in their 20s. Joe Connor 4. Ibiza No surprises here - the Island that never sleeps has long been one of the hottest places to play for people in their 20s. This hedonistic paradise is a lure for British clubbers drawn in by sun, sand and world-class DJs.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because nowhere does sunset chilling quite like Ibiza. Shutterstock / FP media 5. Croatia Ancient walled towns, dreamy deep-blue seascapes, an unrivaled festival scene and guaranteed good weather. Whats not to love about Croatia?



Why go here before you turn 30?



Visit festival and wellness island Obonjan, go fun-seeking at Sonus, take a Game of Thrones tour, go white-water rafting, stroll around the museums in Zagreb or simply spend your days enjoying cocktail after cocktail on the beach. Angus Webster 6.Toronto, Canada Forget Williamsburg, hipsters looking for a cultural injection should make a beeline for Canadas largest city for art, food and dive bars by the dozen.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Ethnic enclaves, a bustling food scene and cool designer stays - there are plenty of reasons to discover Toronto. Shutterstock / njene 7. Pammukale, Turkey Pamukkale is actually Turkish for cotton castle, which accurately sums up this amazing display of natural hot water pools in Denizli Province. The city is famous for its travertines - terraces of dazzling white carbonate minerals left by the flowing water that tourists can bathe in.



Why go here before you turn 30?



It'll make for one stunning Instagram. Shutterstock / Copycat37 8. Backpack through Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is one of the most accessible regions for the novice traveller - thanks to its mix of volcanoes, rainforests, rice fields, beaches and coral reefs. Some popular stops include Chiang Mai in Thailand, Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Laos, Hanoi in Vietnam.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Explore thousand-year-old Hindu ruins, rave on the beach, attend a Buddhist ceremony at dawn and hike through the jungle looking for wildlife. The possibilities are endless. Shutterstock / Lena Serditova 9. Costa Rica Theres plenty of time for gentle package holidays in your later years. This tiny Central American oasis is a twenty-somethings playground of wild beaches, rocky points, volcanoes, reefs, rare wildlife and spectacular rainforests.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because you can learn how to surf on the Nicoya peninsula, try truly amazing Costa Rican coffee, learn to speak Spanish, get lost on a hike in a rainforest, go white water rafting at Turrialba and see real life sloths, monkeys, crocodiles, ocelots and toucans. Autentico Adventures Costa Rica/Flickr 10. Tiger's Nest Monastery, Bhutan William and Kate put this remote kingdom on the map earlier this year, and a trip here isnt complete without paying a visit the the Tigers Nest Monastery. Believed to be the birthplace of Bhuddism, the Monastery has been a place of pilgrimage since it was built in 1692.



Why go here before you turn 30?



The temple complex clings to a cliff, a dizzying 3120 meters above the sea level on the side of the upper Paro valley. If you want to take in the stunning views of blue pines and rhododendrons youll need fearless stamina to hike to the top. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images 11. Songkran Festival, Thailand Songkran festival, or the Thai New Year, is three days of nonstop revelry. Its celebrated across the country, with locals and tourists gathering in the streets with super soakers, water balloons and buckets of water one almighty water fight.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because who doesnt love a water fight? AFP/Getty Images 12. Banff, Canada This resort town is one of Canada's most popular tourist destinations, known for its mountainous surroundings and hot springs. A visit here offers the chance to experience the spectacular Canadian Rocky Mountains and glacier-fed lakes, bull elk and brown bear sightings, and small-town charm like no other.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because its some of the finest mountain scenery youll find on the planet. Shutterstock / Songquan Deng 13. Norway Picturesque fjords, magical mountains, quaint coastal towns and the possibility of spotting the Northern Lights makes Norway a tempting trip for those on the hunt for natural beauty.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Visit trendy Oslo, discover magical lesser-known towns, stand on a gravity-defying boulder, sail around the fjords, stay in a fishermans cottage you may even spot a polar bear. Shutterstock / Carsten Pasternac 14. Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California Rising nearly 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley and 8,800 feet above sea level, Half Dome is one of the greatest hiking challenges a traveller can undertake. This granite dome sits at the eastern end of one of Americas most spectacular national parks.



Why go here before you turn 30?



The terrain is dramatic, the scenery is amazing, and its probably the single most iconic thing you can do in California. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images 15. Iceland This Nordic island nation isnt far from the UK, but packs in astonishing natural phenomena and take-your-breath-away landscapes.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Contemporary cuisine, Lord of the Rings-esque lands, stargazing, endless hours of daylight and geothermal springs. Its hard to narrow it down. Shutterstock / pranodhm 16. The Inca Trail, Peru The Inca Trail is by far the most famous trek in South America. In just 26 miles it manages to combine beautiful mountain scenery, lush cloud-forest, subtropical jungle and, of course, a stunning mix of Inca paving stones, ruins and tunnels.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because the final destination of the trail just cannot be beaten: Machu Picchu, the mysterious "Lost City of the Incas". Brent Stirton/Getty Images 17. Manchester, UK The capital of The North might not strike as the most exotic of travel destination, but its giving London a run for its money thanks to a wealth of music and art history, smart fine dining restaurants, hipster neighbourhoods and a swathe of cool new boutique hotels.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because it's only 2 hours away by train from the capital. Shutterstock / Tupungato 18. India The food alone is enough of a draw to India, but throw in palm-fringed beaches, one of the seven wonders of the world, forts, mosques, monuments and ancient ruins, and you have a holiday on that ticks all the boxes on your hands.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because youll want leave enough room to come back again and again over your lifetime. Shutterstock / LukaKikina 19. Berlin Edgy, cool and creative, Berlin is one of the worlds best cities for boutique shopping, brilliantly offbeat nights out and hipster hangouts.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because its one of Europes most exciting cities. Shutterstock / Claudio Divizia 20. Melbourne, Australia Whether youre looking to party, simply kick-back on a beach or sample some of the best brunch in the world, Melbourne offers it all to young travellers and backpackers.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Australias coolest capital holds all kinds of attractions for people in their 20s, from bars and boutiques to clubs and cafes. Shutterstock / GagliardiImages 21. New Zealand Undoubtedly one of the most spectacular places on earth, New Zealand is home to some incredibly unspoilt scenery. Make sure to take a decent camera, because stunning national parks and reserves make up a third of its land.



Why go here before you turn 30?



When else can you spend a whole month hiking its natural peaks and troughs? Gareth Richman 22. Carnival, Rio de Janeiro Forget Notting Hill carnival: once a year, several million travellers descend on Rio to enjoy four days of parades and partying at the beginning of Lent.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Who wouldnt want to be part of the biggest street party on the planet? Raphael Dias/Getty Images 23. The Great Wall of China As the famous Chinese saying goes, 'he who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man'. This great engineering marvel winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching across over 13,000 miles.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because your 20s arent just for partying and frolicking... AFP/Getty Images 24. Burning Man Festival, Nevada Every year, tens of thousands of people gather in Nevadas Black Rock Desert to create Black Rock City, a temporary festival of art, hedonism and self-expression.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because its the most outrageous festival of all: alongside meditation and yoga theres spanking classes, orgies, and naked foam parties. Chances are, youll only want to get involved when youre young enough not to regret it. Duncan Rawlinson/Flickr 25. Antelope Canyon, Arizona Located just outside of Page, in the heart of Navajo Country, Antelope may just be the most photographed slot canyon in the world - thanks to its awe-inspiring, sandstone formations.



Why go here before you turn 30?



The celestial light beams in the canyon make this place completely unforgettable and unmissable. AFP/Getty Images 26. Pacific Coast Highway, California The PCH is a road trip-lovers dream, with its winding ribbon roads that meander alongside the crashing Cali coast from Carmel to Morro Bay. The 123-mile route takes in Big Sur and the much photographed Bixby Bridge, as well as five hours of cliff-hugging open road.



Why go here before you turn 30?



The all-American road has been voted one of the top motorcycle rides in the U.S - its basically the drive of a lifetime, but youll enjoy the freedom most on two wheels. Howard Ignatius/Flickr 27. Bosnia & Herzegovina Turquoise rivers, medieval castles and tumbling waterfalls. It sounds like something out of a fairytale, but the craggily beautiful lands of Bosnia and Herzegovina are real - and theyre one of Europes best kept secrets.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because there are few places in the world where you can enjoy hiking, beautiful countryside, rafting and swimming, inner-city bridge jumping and skiing all within one country. Shutterstock 28. Tokyo, Japan Japans busy capital shouldnt be overlooked - as well as providing endless Instagram opportunities, it manages to pack in both the ultramodern and the traditional - from neon-lit skyscrapers to historic temples.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because you can sleep in a capsule, walk across the beautiful Tokyo bay, spend hours in an multi-storey arcade, slurp down some heavenly ramen and spend hours strolling through the brightly-lit streets. Shutterstock 29. Osea Island, Essex On Osea Island, they know how to throw a party. Located in the middle of Essexs Blackwater Estuary, the private island  which is only accessible by boat, helicopter or car at low tide  boasts four and a half miles of its own beaches and coastline perfect for social gatherings.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Because you can throw the most incredible weekend parties here. Alamy Stock Photo 30. Las Vegas, Nevada Live like a celebrity for amongst the glitz and glitter of one of the worlds most famous strips.



Why go here before you turn 30?



Win big at a casino, take in a cirque production, party all night, go four-wheeling in the surrounding national parks just make sure you dont accidentally get hitched. Shutterstock / Don Mammoser

Although the Uber trip itself was just under eight hours long and ended at 3.45am, 64-year-old Janis then returned to Newport News in Virginia, straight after collecting her fare, and completed the whole trip without a single visit to the bathroom.

Prior to Janis record-breaking journey, the longest Uber trip was thought to have been a 320 mile drive from Santa Barbara to Palo Alto in California.

Follow Ashley on Twitter @Ashley_Coates



Follow Evening Standard Motors on Twitter: @ES_Motors.
T his is the bloodied face of a teenager who was allegedly attacked by a minicab driver after a row over the fare.

Francesca Donnelly, 19, said she was beaten by a private hire driver in Belsize Park as she made her way home after a night out.

The dance student, from Watford, said she was forced to the ground and kicked in the head repeatedly near Southampton Road in the early hours of Saturday morning.

She said the driver sped away from the scene and left her lying on the ground where she was later discovered by a passer-by who called the police.

Shocking: Ms Donnelly claims the minicab driver sped away from the scene and left her on the ground. / Francesca Donnelly

Ms Donnelly, who studies at the London Studio Centre, told the Standard she booked a minicab from Hungerford Road in Islington at about 4.20am but got into a row with the driver.

She said: My phone died so I went up to a car thinking it was mine and saw a couple of girls in the car.

I asked where they were going and they said round the corner so I asked if I could get in to charge my phone and they let me in.

Ms Donnelly said that after the driver dropped the other women off in the Tufnell Park area she was left alone in the car with him and she attempted to rebook her onward journey to High Barnet with him using an app on her phone.

She said she had trouble booking the journey and that the driver became aggressive about how she would pay.

Ms Donnelly said she asked him to stop the car near Mansfield Road so she could get into a different minicab she had booked via the app but he refused and locked the doors.

Shocking: Dance student Ms Donnelly, from Watford, also works in a club. / Francesca Donnelly

He eventually stopped the car in Southampton Road after they argued and he let her out but followed her out of the car and assaulted her.

Days later she is still heavily bruised with a swollen eye and said she is shocked whenever she looks in the mirror.

Ms Donnelly said: I feel shaken. You always see these things on the news and think how horrible it is but you never think it will ever happen to you. I keep thinking it's my fault because I got in a random car.

It can happen to you and you're not invincible. Its made me realise you should always get in a cab with someone else and stay safe.

I'm very thankful to the man, James, who found me, he was amazing, I don't know what I would've done if he hadn't found me.

I'm quite a strong person so I'm sure I'll get over it but it will take some time.

A spokesman for the Met Police said they and the ambulance service were called to reports of an assault on Malden Road on Saturday, December 10.

A 19-year-old woman was found injured at the location and was taken to a north London hospital with facial injuries, the spokesman said.

The woman alleged that she had been assaulted at Southampton Road by the driver of a private hire vehicle.

Police said no arrests have yet been made and enquiries are ongoing.
A man has died after he was hit by a car in west London, police said.

The pedestrian was struck by the vehicle in Earl's Court on Tuesday evening.

Emergency services raced to the scene on Warwick Road shortly after 9.30pm.

Medics fought to save the victim, aged in his 50s, but he was pronounced dead.

The road was closed for hours as police carried out an investigation into the collision.

A Met Police spokesman said: "The driver of the car involved stopped at the scene and is assisting police with their enquiries.

"Police are in the process of informing next of kin.

"No arrests have been made. Enquiries are ongoing.

"Officers from the Roads and Transport Policing Command continue to deal along with officers in Kensington and Chelsea."

Any witnesses to the collision are asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
T errified passengers have told how they fled a packed train carriage and barricaded themselves inside a shop after a man allegedly stabbed a passenger.

A man, who was allegedly heard shouting death to Muslims and go back to Syria, is said to have stabbed his victim in the face and chest on a moving train between Honor Oak Park and Forest Hill station on Monday afternoon.

A man in his forties was today being treated in hospital.

Alison Thomas, 47, told how a stampede of travellers crushed together at the Forest Hill station turnstiles to escape and praised local shop-owners for giving frightened passengers refuge.

She described getting chills down her spine when she came face-to-face with a man moments before he was arrested by police.

Moment man is arrested after Forest Hill attack

Ms Thomas, who works in banking, said she was sitting in a carriage when a man walked past muttering to himself.

She said: I thought nothing of it until people started stampeding past me shouting Theres a guy with a knife.

I went to push the panic button, but a guy told me not to, as he was worried it would stop the train before we got to Forest Hill.

Scene: Police outside Forest Hill station / @SE23LDN

When the doors finally opened everyone was running up the stairs and over the concourse trying to get away. I saw an older lady huffing and puffing trying to get up the stairs so I stayed with her.

I saw the man walking up and down the platform, then he started to come after us up the stairs.

He had a blank look in his eyes. Everyone stampeded to the gates. She added: We grabbed another lady and ran inside a shop and locked the door. It was clear glass to the high street and he was just pacing around outside.

He went out of view and I heard police sirens so I thought it was safe to look outside. I opened the door and he walked straight past and looked at me.

It was so unnerving, we were wondering if he was going to come for us, if he was going to attack anyone else. He was pacing up and down and had this wild look in his eye.

Police: Officers arrested a 38-year-old male on suspicion of GBH / PA

I slammed the door shut and ran back in. I felt like it could have been me next, I had chills running down my spine.

Ms Thomas praised other passengers and shop owners for making sure others were safe even with a knifeman on the loose.

She added: I think everyone was running around in this mayhem but still managed to look out for each other. I saw a lot of people grabbing others hands and making sure kids werent getting crushed.

The station guards were talking to everyone afterwards to make sure they were alright. The shopkeepers let people run in, there was no-one who turned anybody away.

Videographer Richard Etienne, 32, told the Standard how he saw a man threaten a woman on the train: I heard him shouting loudly I want to kill me a Muslim, I want to kill me a Muslim. He was at marching pace, muttering to himself loudly.

He looked at me and stops and looks at a woman opposite in a hijab. Then he shouts I dont want a Muslim woman, I want a Muslim man.

It goes quiet and he keeps marching past. I hear a scream and then I see three or four guys jumping towards him to help get him off.

Scene: Police cars outside Forest Hill station / @rustlem

There was a different woman in a hijab stepping off of the first carriage with her hands raised and covered in blood.

Superintendent Jenny Gilmer of the British Transport Police said the attack was being treated as a hate crime but there are no reasons to believe it has any links to terrorism.

She said: Investigations are on-going and officers are working to establish the circumstances around todays events.

I would like to take this opportunity to reassure members of the public throughout London, specifically the community of Lewisham, that incidents of this nature are very rare and that there will be officers in and around Forest Hill station reassuring the travelling community.

A man, 38, is being questioned by police after being arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.
A Good Samaritan who tried to stop a woman being attacked in east London was punched in a brutal assault, police said.

The 44-year-old victim was knocked to the floor after he tried to intervene in a row between a man and woman during a night out in Hoxton Square.

Police say the alleged attacker had been arguing with the woman over whether she should come home with him before becoming physically aggressive towards her.

When the victim tried to intervene he was allegedly punched in the face, falling backwards on to the pavement, before the man headed off down Hoxton Street towards Old Street.

Paramedics had to treat the 44-year-old for cuts to his chin and the back of his head after the attack.

Detectives have now released CCTV image of a man they want to trace over the incident, which happened between 1.15am and 1.30am on October 5.

He is described as black, in his early 30s, around 5ft 10ins tall and of medium, muscular build. He wore black jeans, a beige jacket and was carrying a black bag.

Police say the woman was white, with long dark hair and was wearing a black and white top.

Detective Constable Vicki Henderson, from Hackney CID, said: "This is a brutal attack on a man coming to the rescue of a woman after a night out.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A High Court judge was mugged near the Royal Courts of Justice, a court heard.

Terry Brown, 45, appeared at City of London magistrates court this morning accused of carrying out the robbery of Sir Robin Knowles CBE on Middle Temple Lane at around 9.30pm on September 27 this year.

Middle Temple Lane is the area close to the Royal Courts of Justice where many of Britain's top barristers have their chambers and private offices.

Sir Robin was called to the Bar in 1982, specialising in financial and company law, as well as insurance and professional negligence.

He was the chairman of the Commercial Bar Association from 2005 to 2007, and was awarded a CBE in 2006 for services to pro bono legal work.

Brown, of Huddleston Close, Bethnal Green, is accused of one count of robbery. He has not yet entered a plea.

He was remanded in custody until a hearing at Inner London crown court on January 10 next year.
A former city trader who killed his wife then tried to burn down the family home to cover it up has been convicted of murder.

Darren Byrne, 40, attacked his 34-year-old wife Maria then turned on the gas in the kitchen of their home in Theydon Bois, Essex, claiming she died making him a bacon sandwich, a court heard.

He reportedly attacked her while the couple's two young children were staying with their grandparent.

Byrne killed his wife after she discovered he was having an affair with his osteopath, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

He was found guilty of murder and arson by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday, Essex Police said.

In a statement released after the trial, Mrs Byrne's mother Linda Biggs said what Darren Byrne did to her daughter was "beyond any human comprehension".

She said: "Eight years ago we entrusted Maria, the most precious thing we had, to Darren Byrne.

"We loved him and treated him like our own son.

"This person, instead of loving and protecting her, took her life in the most degrading way."

The court heard that Byrne began an affair with an osteopath he was receiving treatment from in London.

He was discovered a first time by his wife but then continued the affair.

When his wife discovered for the second time that he was having an affair he killed her on February 13, 2016.

When paramedics arrived Byrne told them his wife had been making him a bacon sandwich and when he returned home she was dead, the court heard.

Byrne told police he had been out walking his dog.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Jennings said after the hearing: "Byrne brutally killed his wife before dousing her in white spirit and turning the gas on in the kitchen to cover up what he had done.

"He was motivated by his own selfishness and anger, needlessly ending Maria's life in a most horrific way and tearing apart his own family.

"Two young children have been robbed of their mother by their own father and my thoughts are very much with them and Maria's family as they continue to come to terms with their loss.

"Byrne has not shown any remorse and will now have to live with the consequences of what he has done and the devastating impact of his actions."

Byrne is expected to be sentenced later this week.

Additional reporting by Press Association
A dangerous former scout leader who subjected young children to a string of sex attacks has been jailed.

Terry Figg, from Stevenage, carried out 11 acts of indecent assault on four boys under the age of 14 while acting as a Scout leader in Orpington, Croydon Crown Court heard.

The offences all took place between 1970 and 1980.

The 68-year-old was found guilty of all 11 offences on November 16 following a 12 day trial.

He was jailed for 13 years at the same court on Monday.

Detective Sergeant Samantha Townsend, from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command branded Figg a dangerous sexual predator.

She said: "He who abused his position of trust to prey on young vulnerable children.

"I would like to commend the victims for their courage in coming forward and helping us to get Figg convicted."
A man has been convicted of dragging a teenage girl out of a Pizza Hut restaurant before raping her and stabbing her in the stomach.

Costica Voedes, 33, of Epsom High Street, attacked a worker inside the restaurant before dragging the 17-year-old girl outside, Guildford Crown Court heard.

He raped her in a nearby park before stabbing her in the stomach during the violent attack.

Voedes was found guilty on December 6 of two counts of rape, two counts of wounding with intent to cause GBH, possession of an offensive weapon, kidnap, threatening to kill and intimidating a witness.

Violent attack: The girl was dragged out of the Pizza Hut restaurant / Google Street View

Police were called to Pizza Hut in Waterloo Road, Epsom shortly after 10.30pm on June 17 following reports that a man had entered the restaurant and assaulted a member of staff, before dragging a 17-year-old girl out of the building and escaping on foot, the jury heard.

Officers rushed to the scene and started searching the surrounding area before finding and arresting Voedes in Court Recreation Ground off Pound Lane in Epsom.

His teenage victim was rushed to a south London hospital with serious injuries, the court heard.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Westwood said: This was a violent and pre-planned attack in a very public location in the centre of Epsom.

I want to commend the exceptional bravery of the two victims who had to relive their ordeals during the course of this trial.

What Voedes did will live with them for their rest of their lives but their strength and commitment, working alongside the investigation team, has secured these guilty verdicts.

Voedes will be sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday, January 19.
A vengeful arsonist who torched his ex-girlfriend's home while she and her family were asleep inside is facing jail today.

Michael Lane, 32, set the end-of-terrace house in Riverdale Road, Erith, ablaze after an "acrimonious" split from his partner of 14 years Heidi James.

Six people, including Ms James' parents and her twin brothers, were in the house, but survived the attack in the early hours of June 28.

Lane had threatened to "firebomb" the home prior to the blaze and made threats against members of Ms James' family, the Old Bailey heard.

He appeared in the dock this afternoon to plead guilty to arson with intent to endanger lives.

The court heard he has a previous conviction from 2008 for arson, and will be assessed for dangerousness before he is sentenced on February 10 next year.

"This is an incident which arises out of the breakdown of a relationship of about 14 years between the defendant and Heidi James which was acrimonious", said prosecutor Graham Smith.

"She received threats in advance, and in the early hours of the morning the house was set fire to."

The court heard Lane made a phone call to his brother-in-law moments before starting the fire, revealing he could see the occupants of the house sleeping.

Lane was jailed at Woolwich crown court in 2008 for setting fire to a house containing a mother and her two children, one of whom is disabled.

He and his then girlfriend started the blaze at the bungalow in Slade Green in 2006 during a feud with a former friend.

Judge Richard Marks QC, the Common Serjeant of London, remanded Lane back into custody until sentencing.

He will be psychiatrically assessed before sentencing.

Lane, of Thursland Road, Sidcup, pleaded guilty to arson with intent. He denied six counts of attempted murder which were left to lie on file.
A British man has been jailed for 12 months for trying to grab a policeman's gun at a Donald Trump rally in an alleged bid to kill the now US president-elect.

Michael Sandford, 20, attempted to snatch the weapon at a Las Vegas casino where Mr Trump was addressing supporters in the run-up to the US election in June.

He allegedly told officers after his arrest that his plan was to shoot the tycoon.

Sandford, who has autism, was sentenced at a federal court in Las Vegas after pleading guilty in September to charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function.

Family photo: Lynne Sandford and her son Michael / PA Wire

Lawyers acting for Sandford said he suffers a number of mental health problems and he was diagnosed as having had a psychotic episode at the time of the incident on June 18.

Sentencing Sandford to 12 months and a day in prison, Judge James Mahan told him: "You have a medical problem. You should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it. You need medication.

"You're not a hardened criminal. You're not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people we have.

"I don't think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do."

Sandford, of Dorking, Surrey, had faced up to 20 years in jail had he been found guilty of the offences at a trial. He had initially denied the charges but pleaded guilty in September following a plea agreement.

Before sentencing, Sandford waved to his mother Lynne, father Paul Davey, grandmother Christine and four-year-old sister Jessica, who were in court.

Ms Sandford has called for her son to be allowed to serve his sentence in the UK so he can receive psychiatric help.

Sandford, wearing leg irons and an orange prison uniform, became tearful as he addressed the court to apologise for his actions.

He said: "I know saying sorry is not enough. I really do feel awful about what I did.

"I wish there was some way to make things better.

"I have cost taxpayers so much money. I feel terrible."

Addressing the judge, he added: "I'm really sorry to you and the court for taking up so much time."

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of up to 18 months.

Sandford's lawyers say he will now serve around four months, having been detained since June, before he is deported back to the UK.

Sandford - whose legs were shaking as he stood in the courtroom - was arrested at Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas where Mr Trump was addressing 1,500 supporters on June 18.

According to court documents, Sandford told a policeman at the rally that he wanted Mr Trump's autograph before he attempted to seize the officer's gun.

He was tackled by officers and frogmarched from the venue.

During a police interview, when asked why he attempted to grab the weapon, Sandford replied: "To shoot and kill Donald Trump," court records show.

Additional reporting by Press Association.
A woman was left with a fractured skull after being targeted in a violent robbery in north London.

The 31-year-old was allegedly jumped from behind as she walked home in Harrow between 7.20pm and 7.30pm on Monday.

Her attacker tore her bag from her shoulder as she made her way down Mayfield Avenue, close to Kenton Road, police said.

The victim suffered a fractured skull and was left with a bleed on the brain following the robbery.

She remains in a west London hospital in a stable condition.

Her bag, containing a mobile phone, some foreign currency and bank cards, was stolen.

The man then fled towards Kenton Recreation Ground where the womans phone and other personal items were found by police.

It is currently unclear whether she was assaulted and collapsed during the attack or fell, Scotland Yard said.

Detective Sergeant Matt Smith, from Harrow CID, said: "This was a violent robbery that has left a woman badly injured and naturally very distressed.

"We are appealing for anyone who saw what happened or has any information to come forward.

"We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a man running down Mayfield Avenue, Becmead Avenue and into Kenton recreation ground.

"The man may have been carrying items as well as discarding them along the route."

Anyone who can help is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
B ritain is to pour tens of millions of pounds into research to help mothers protect their children from malaria, it was being announced today.

New treatments aimed at the poor, women and under-fives were being unveiled at the London launch of the World Malaria Report.

Aid money will be spent on the development of drugs, insecticides and treated mosquito nets to overcome worrying signs that insects and parasites are becoming resistant to existing treatments.

In Kenya I saw first-hand mothers desperate to protect their children from this disease, International Development Secretary Priti Patel was expected to tell a conference in the capital.

Malaria claimed 429,000 lives last year, including a childs life every two minutes.

But Ms Patel was due to point out that the UK saw 1,319 cases last year  including 681 in London  which means no country can afford to be complacent.

Malaria can devastate lives and holds back developing economies from reaching their full potential. This is a double tragedy, she was set to tell an audience of health professionals and charities.

In our increasingly interconnected world it is in the UKs interests to take on global health threats and push others to step up so we can eradicate malaria for good.

Malaria parasites that are resistant to the main drug combinations for treating the disease are now spreading across South-East Asia and beyond.

A World Health Organisation report found global malaria death rates have dropped by nearly two-thirds since 2000, averting 6.2 million deaths, but estimated there were 212 million cases worldwide.

Britain has already given 9.7 million long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed nets and is to fund another 40 million.

New plans include up to 50 million to develop new antimalarial drugs through Medicines for Malaria Venture, and some 25 million for new insecticides for spraying and for treating mosquito nets.
L ondon has been overtaken as Europes cocaine capital for the first time in three years, new analysis suggests.

The capital has been usurped by Belgian city Antwerp, according to an official study of drug concentrations in sewage.

However, more cocaine was found in London than any other European city during the week, the EUs drug monitoring agency found.

It said the average daily concentration for cocaine in London's sewer waters across the whole week was 894.9mg per 1,000 people per day, behind Antwerp at 914.8mg.

It is the first time since 2013 the capital has not topped the chart overall for traces of the Class A drug.

The average weekday concentration of cocaine found in the capitals sewers was recorded at 949.3mg, a jump from 730.4mg the previous year.

The result was the highest compared to dozens of cities in 18 different countries.

But lower drug use at weekends in London, which researchers said was out of step with the rest of Europe, meant it fell into second place.

Separate research published earlier this year highlighted powder cocaine use has risen among wealthier households with an income of 50,000 or more across England and Wales.

The EU's European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), which published the results, said: "Traces of cocaine in wastewater indicate that cocaine use is highest in western and southern European cities, particularly in cities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

"The analysis points to very low to negligible cocaine use in the majority of eastern European cities."

Wastewater was tested for amphetamine, MDMA - or ecstasy and methamphetamine as well as cocaine.

Most cities showed a spike in MDMA traces compared to 2011 which the EMCDDA suggested was down to increased availability of the drug.
A pair of mega-towers that will be the two tallest buildings in the City cleared their final planning hurdle last night when Sadiq Khan gave them both the green light.

Work can now begin on the skyscrapers at 1 Undershaft - better known at The Trellis - and 22 Bishopsgate, the site where the doomed Pinnacle was originally due to be built.

The Mayor gave his consent after developers agreed to include free public viewing galleries in their plans for the buildings. They will also make 6 million of contributions towards affordable housing and 14 million towards the construction of Crossrail.

The 73 storey Trellis will be the highest building in the Square Mile and, at 305 metres, only marginally shorter than The Shard at London Bridge. It was given consent by the City of London Corporation last month.

Justified: an impression of the planned 278-metre skyscraper at 22 Bishopsgate

The 59 storey tower at 22 Bishopsgate will be 255 metres making it the second highest structure in the City. Its planning all-clear ends a saga that dates back to 2001 when the Pinnacle - also known as the Helter Skelter - was first proposed for the site. Work on the tower ended in January 2012 when funding ran out after had reached nine storeys high.

Mr Khan said: These two projects represent a significant investment in the heart of Londons economy and are a clear sign that the capital is open for business. They will be highly visible signs of Londons enduring appeal as a place to invest.

Plans for "Trellis" skyscraper

These new landmark buildings will offer world-class offices and its great news that the development of the site at 22 Bishopsgate can now proceed as this has lain unused for almost five years.

Whats more, Londoners and visitors alike should have the opportunity to take in the views from the upper reaches of these new buildings, for free, and Im really pleased we have been able to secure this as part of the plans.
T racey Emin has scrapped controversial plans to demolish a listed building to create a home and studio in east London.

The Turner Prize nominee submitted plans to Tower Hamlets council last July to tear down a listed building in Bell Lane, Spitalfields, and replace it with a five-floor house connected to her studio in Tenter Ground.

The council rejected Ms Emins proposal in April.

She then lodged an appeal but withdrew it last week, the Guardian reported.

A council spokeswoman told the newspaper that the only way to pursue the redevelopment would be to submit a new application.

The application sparked outrage among conservation groups and was met with almost 60 objections branding the plans ugly and an eyesore.

SAVE Britain's Heritage director Clem Cecil said of the application when it was submitted: "This is an extremely aggressive move on the part of applicant Tracey Emin and suggests that she wishes to force this through the planning process, whatever the opinion of the councillors, local people or preservation groups.

"However, this does not change the fact that 66-68 Bell Lane is a locally listed building in a conservation area."

Notable works by the artist include Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995, a tent with all the names of people she has shared a bed with, and My Bed, an installation of her own unmade bed which contained used condoms and blood-stained underwear.
L abour's Brexit spokesman today said the party would fight for soft-Brexit that gives British businesses easy access to trade.

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour has a clear plan for the country after it quits the EU, while the Government veers between the undefined and vague.

He used his speech at Bloomberg LPs European headquarters in Central London today to say the party would fight any strategy that tears us apart from our EU partners.

He said: Put simply, Labour will push for a Brexit model which maintains and protects our ability to successfully trade goods and deliver services with and to the EU.

Labours model seeks to ensure continued tarriff-free trade for UK businesses in the EU, promote competitiveness of UK services and manufacturing sector and maintain EU standard workers rights.

He said: [The Government] has veered between a hard, extreme Brexit and some other undefined, vaguer form of Brexit.

He reiterated that Theresa May will face a Commons battle if she tries to force hard Brexit on the UK.

If the Supreme Court upholds the ruling that MPs must be given a say before the Prime Minister can formally start the Brexit process, Labour will seek to amend the legislation unless they see a meaningful plan delivered by Mrs May, he said.

And any proposal put forward that would ditch the customs union and access to the single market and revert to World Trade Organisation would result in strong opposition from the party, he added.

Yesterday Chancellor Phillip Hammonds suggested the Government is considering a transitional relationship with the EU after the end of the two year negotiation period.

Ex-Tory business minister Anna Soubry, who wants the Government to take its Brexit proposals back to Parliament, said the idea makes a great deal of sense.

However in an attempt to reassure Brexiters that transitional plans will not water down the clear referendum result, she added: We will get there. It just would be the dreadful idea of dropping off a cliff dge - thats the alternative.


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J eremy Corbyns rock-solid union backing is under threat as a new challenger in Unites leadership battle today promised to put workers first and end the fascination with running Labour.

Unite regional secretary Gerard Coyne launched his bid against stalwart Len McCluskey in Birmingham, deliberately going to the heartland of disgruntled Unite members.

He said: Under my leadership, Unite would be a more flexible, responsive and transparent union for all our members.

Often, they are people who dont feel political, even if they are affected by political events. I believe they want a general secretary who spends less time trying to run the Labour party and more time looking after their interests.

Mr McCluskey - nicknamed Red Len - has led Britains biggest union since 2011 and resigned a week ago, triggering an early leadership election.

Challenger: Unite Midlands regional secretary Gerard Coyne who is hoping to take over Len McCluskey's leadership. / PA

If the 66-year-old former dock worker wins it will ensure his term runs in parallel to the Labour leader, in effect protecting the funding stream to Labour which has seen Unite become the partys most generous donor.

However a Labour source said Mr Coyne stands a good chance of toppling Mr McCluskey.

Weve got a large number of workers who are disappointed. Sometimes its with whats going on in the union - they want a General Secretary who wants to run the union and not the Labour Party.

And someone who can find his way to Hull more than Havana and end the close association to Corbyn. Things like Corbyn considering a ban on petrol cars...which is the biggest growth sector for the union...it irritates workers.

Mr Coyne has been a union official for more than 20 years.
S yrian pro-government forces have entered civilian homes in the remaining rebel strongholds in eastern Aleppo and killed them inside, the United Nations has said.

The UN human rights office said it had received reports at least 82 people including women and children had been slaughtered across four different neighbourhoods in the city .

Spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday civilians were reportedly shot in the street trying to flee, as well as inside their homes.

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he is alarmed over reports of atrocities in Aleppo and has instructed his special envoy to Syria to follow up, although he stressed the UN was unable to verify the claims.

Offensive: Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood / AFP/Getty Images

It comes as Syrian media reported that pro-government forces and allies now controlled 99 per cent of the citys formerly rebel-held neighbourhoods.

Syrian troops, backed by Russian airstrikes and militias from across the region, launched a major offensive on Aleppo last month to drive rebels away from the city.

Regaining full control of the city would provide President Bashar Assad his greatest victory so far in the five-year civil war.

But the fighting has sparked deepening fears of an escalating humanitarian crisis.

Jubilant: Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of Aleppo after rebel fighters retreated / AFP/Getty Images

The Red Cross issued an urgent appeal to fighters to do all they can to spare civilian lives in the besieged city.

In a statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said thousands of innocent people have literally nowhere safe to run".

It added further of loss could only be averted if basic rules of warfare and humanity were enforced.

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On Monday, French President Francois Hollande pleaded for a corridor to be set up to allow civilians access to food and medical aid.

He said: There cannot be any solution without a cease-fire."
T housands of civilians are trapped in Aleppo with nowhere safe to run and at least 82 have already been shot on the spot as tyrant Bashar Assads forces sweep through the citys last remaining rebel stronghold.

Pro-government troops were said to be entering homes and executing civilians, with 11 women and 13 children among the 82 dead, according to Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN human rights office.

He said there were reports of numerous bodies lying on the streets.

The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight.

The UN described a complete meltdown of humanity. Aleppo residents and activists told of their hell and the most horrible massacre in our history.

As some reports put the civilian death toll in the hundreds, Boris Johnson was set to warn that the bloodiest tragedy of the 21st century was unfolding.

The Foreign Secretary was also set to say President Assads capture of the city would turn to ashes in his mouth as the civil war rages on in Syria.

The International Committee of the Red Cross made a desperate plea to Russia and Assad to stop the relentless bombing of eastern Aleppo to spare civilian lives.

It warned that thousands of people with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run.

Marianne Gasser, the ICRCs head of delegation in Syria, said: We appeal to the parties to put humanity ahead of military objectives.

The appeals ap-pear to have fallen on deaf ears in Moscow and Damascus, as rebels have been forced out of more and more of the city and its total recapture is in sight.

The Syrian military, backed by Iranian forces, Shia militias and Russian airstrikes, has claimed it now controls 99 per cent of Aleppo. Reports of mass executions could not be confirmed, but up to 50,000 civilians were believed to be trapped in a small section of the city. Syrian opposition activists said regime forces were carrying out summary killings in areas captured yesterday.

Russias defence ministry said the rebels were holding out in a neighbourhood roughly three square kilometres (just over a square mile) in size.

Retaking Aleppo, which has been split be-tween rebel and government-controlled zones since 2012, would be Assads biggest victory yet in the civil war.

But Mr Johnson was due to tell the Commons: Assads conquest of Aleppo will not mark the end of the war.

This victory will turn to ashes in his mouth because even if he reimposes his rule over the rubble, about two thirds of Syria will still be outside his control.

Millions of Syrians will still be viscerally unwilling to accept the dominance of a tyrant who has the blood of hundreds of thousands on his hands.

He condemned Russia and delivered a stinging attack on Labour MPs under Ed Miliband and other MPs who voted against military action against the Syrian regime in 2013 after it used chemical weapons on civilians.

We vacated the space into which Russia then stepped, beginning its own bombing campaign on behalf of Assad in 2015, he was set to add. And the bloodiest tragedy of the 21st century has since unfolded.

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault demanded a cessation of hostilities, saying: The backers of the regime, starting with Russia, cannot allow this logic of vengeance and terror without taking the risk of being complicit. I call on the UN to ... establish the truth of what is happening so that the international community does not let these crimes remain unpunished.

The Syrian military denied reports of summary killings, claiming such allegations were a desperate attempt to try gain international sympathy.
A British backpacker allegedly kidnapped in Australia was reportedly saved by police after sending a series of desperate texts to her father in England.

The 20-year-old said she had accepted a lift from a Swedish man in their Queensland hostel. But he then allegedly told her he was an "alien" and refused to let her out of the car.

Despite agreeing to go with her to Brisbane, Mary Kate Heys was driven more than 50 miles in the opposite direction, the Courier Mail reported.

The woman, from Manchester, texted her father telling him: I need you to call Australian Police.

"I've been taken by a man  please hurry."

Her father contacted the authorities and police were able to stop the pair in Gympie, around 55 miles from their Sunshine Coast hostel.

Ms Heys told the paper: He kept talking about how they were coming to get us and we had to get to Cairns to escape. I was so scared, I thought I was going to die.

She went on: "When the police car finally put its lights on I have never been so relieved in my life.

I didnt even wait for it to stop moving, I just ran out because I was so terrified."

The Swedish man was arrested but will not face charges after the complaint was reportedly withdrawn.
D onald Trump today vowed his business would make no new deals during his time as US president as he postponed a press conference planned to address how his empire will be run.

The president-elect had been due to address this week how he would divest himself of his business interests to avoid a potential conflict of interest.

Instead he took to Twitter to confirm that his two sons Donald Junior and Eric would manage The Trump Organisation.

Mr Trump wrote: Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my business before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the Presidency.

Eric Trump, son of President-elect Donald Trump, will manage his business alongside brother Don Junior / Getty Images

"Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them.

"No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office. I will hold a press conference in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest. Busy times!

Sean Spicer, a Trump transition team spokesman, said the legal team needed more time to work out the plan for the Trump Organisation.

Mr Trump was today expected to announced Exxon Mobil boss Rex Tillerson will lead the US State Department, dismissing concerns about the businessmans close ties with Russia and snubbing establishment candidates such as New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

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The president-elect is said to be drawn to the idea of having an international businessman serve as the nations top diplomat.

However the prospect of Mr Tillersons appointment sparked alarm among Republicans with Florida senator Marco Rubio saying a US secretary of state should not be a friend of Vladimir.

As chief executive of oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil, Mr Tillerson maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded the Order of Friendship by Mr Putin in 2013, an honour for a foreign citizen.

Mr Giulianis prospects fell amid revelations of his overseas business ties and Mr Romneys volte-face from condemning Mr Trump as a fraud during the election race to going for an enjoyable and enlightening dinner with him ultimately was not enough to secure the job.

The president-elect continued to publicly dispute CIA claims that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons campaign team to assist him in the election.

Mr Trump branded the allegations ridiculous and asked why they were not raised earlier even though they were widely reported during the race for the White House.

Unless you catch `hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking, Mr Trump tweeted yesterday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said that he had the highest confidence in the intelligence community and especially the Central Intelligence Agency, indicating that he disagreed with Mr Trump. Obviously, any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing. And I strongly condemn any such efforts, he added.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was the consensus view of the intelligence community that the Russians sought to meddle in the election.

You didnt need a security clearance to figure out who benefited from malicious Russian cyber activity, Mr Earnest said.

Presidential election recount efforts came to an end yesterday (Mon) in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with both states certifying Mr Trump as the winner in contests that helped him secure the White House.


K anye West has broken his silence for the first time since he was taken to hospital with stress and exhaustion by discussing his meeting with Donald Trump.

The rap superstar and the president-elect bumped shoulders like old friends after their meeting at Trump Tower in New York City on Tuesday.

In his first Twitter posts for almost two months, the 39-year-old musician said the pair had spoken about issues including bullying, supporting teachers, modernising curriculums, and violence in Chicago".

He wrote: "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.

'Old friends': Kanye West and Donald Trump

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future president if we truly want change.

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.

West previously announced his own plan to run for president in 2020, but tweeted "#2024" after the meeting with the president-elect.

Kanye West and Donald Trump speak with the press at Trump Tower / AFP/Getty Images

He posed for photos in the lobby of Trump Tower with Mr Trump after the meeting, and when asked why he was not speaking replied "I just want to take a picture right now".

Mr Trump said the two were "just friends" and that they discussed "life", describing the musician as a "good man".

West recently spent more than a week in hospital for stress and exhaustion after abruptly cancelling his US concert tour.

Last month, the star, who is married to Kim Kardashian West, said he did not vote in the US elections, but if he had done so, he would have cast his ballot for Mr Trump.
A non-profit group director who sparked a race row after branding Michelle Obama an ape in heels is being allowed back to work.

Pamela Taylor, head of US-based Clay County Development Corp, was suspended from her job after making the reference in a Facebook post comparing the First Lady to Melania Trump.

She reportedly wrote: It will be so refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady back in the White House.

Im tired of seeing an ape in heels.

When the comments went viral, the West Virginia woman was suspended from her role.

But Ms Taylor will be allowed to return to her job later this month, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Michelle Obama 'shaken to the core' by Donald Trump comments

The paper reported she is due to start work again just before Christmas on December 23.

Her agency has been warned that any discrimination shown by staff could jeopardise its future funding, the paper claimed.

Beverly Whaling, the mayor of Clay, was forced to resign after her own response to the Facebook post was made public.

Explained: How the Obama-Trump handover will work

She reportedly wrote: "Just made my day Pam."

Councilman Jason Hubbard offered an apology to those who were offended, branding the comments horrible and indecent.
T elevision historian Dan Snow has spoken about the terrifying time he caught malaria when he was a teenager as he sought to raise awareness about the appalling disease.

Snow, 38, was 18 when he contracted the disease during his gap year while working on an eco-tourism project on the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Before travelling, he had been told to take Lariam, the anti-malaria drug. Mood swings and mental health problems are side-effects and Snow said the tablets made him feel crazy.

So I just gave up taking them, he said. I was young, so just thought I would be okay. But then I caught malaria. It was brutal.

A community health worker testing a young boy for malaria in Kenya

Snow, a father of two who lives in the New Forest, is working with charity Malaria No More to put the spotlight on the disease which kills more than 400,000 people a year.

He said: I still remember the hallucinations and dreams, terrifying sections of books I had read, combined with childhood memories.

"Then there are the hot and cold periods, and you cannot even look at food or drink. It was terrifying, appalling. I am very lucky to be alive.

After being given drugs, he recovered within a few days. Snow, the son of BBC journalist Peter Snow, 78, said the experience inspired him to work with Malaria No More. He said: I feel an empathy for people who suffer.

Today, the World Health Organisation released a major report on malaria, which revealed there were 212 million new cases last year, a fall of 62 per cent since 2000.

About 90 per cent of new cases and 92 per cent of related deaths were in sub-Saharan Africa.

Snow said: Malaria is a solvable problem. Giving money or getting malaria nets makes a huge difference. Buying nets helps tackle this disease.
S usanna Reid has revealed that she was once turned down by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber after auditioning for one of his musicals.

The Good Morning Britain presenter nearly had a very different career as she had her sights set on becoming a West End star before turning her hand to journalism and presenting.

While interviewing the musical theatre impresario on Tuesday morning, the 46-year-old admitted that shed auditioned for the part of Maria in the Sound of Music over a decade ago.

When you were looking for a Maria in The Sound Of Music, you gave me a very useful piece of advice, she said.

Ed Balls lifts up Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain

If I wanted to sing professionally, Id need two years tuition.

Rather awkwardly, Lord Webber didnt seem to remember coming across Reid during the audition process.

Yes, I auditioned for you. But the good Lord (Webber) said there are non-singing parts available, Reid added.

Lord Webber went on to say that hed turned down people in the past who had gone to become stars, including Rihanna.

After hearing her sing in a bar in Barbados when she was an unknown, the West End mogul contemplated bringing her back to London with him.

This was about 12 years ago," he said. I remember talking to my friend about her and we both just thought 'Wow, she's very good.'

"But I thought, if we brought her back to the UK, it'd be the same as a holiday present it seems great at the time but when you get home it's not the same."

I don't think about what I lost out in terms of money there - but let's put it this way, that is not something I am proud of.
MASON CITY  Allyson Krull began working from home one day a week in October.

Marketing and leadership development director at the Mason City Chamber of Commerce, Krull said that so far the arrangement seems to be going great.

There are fewer distractions at home than at work, said Krull, who lives north of Northwood.

She has set up a professional office in the basement of her home. Her two young children are in day care, just as they would be any other day.

We have remote access to our computers, Krull said of the arrangement. I take hard-copy files home that I think Ill need. I am accessible to the office by phone and by email. I can actually work a longer day because I dont have the commute.

She and Chamber executive Robin Anderson decided Tuesdays were the best day for her to work outside of the office because it worked best for the Chamber schedule.

The only drawbacks she can see is if she forgets a hard-copy file at work, if someone stops in to see her at the office or if several co-workers are sick that day.

As a commuter, its handier, Krull said of working from home. Im still a productive employee.

The trend for some companies to allow some of their employees to work from home probably began with the influx into the workplace of Gen X or millennial employees and the availability of modern technology, said Abby Cervantez, professional recruiter for Quality Personnel Services (QPS) in Mason City.

Employers can save money on overhead, she said. It boosts morale and can provide a more flexible work life. Sometimes it also helps reduce staff turnover, especially in urban areas because of long commutes, getting stuck in traffic. The same goes in rural North Iowa. Companies do lose money (due to commuter issues).

Working from home is seen as part of the total benefit package, Cervantez said.

The arrangement works well for employees in support positions or positions such as sales, where they are out of the office, Cervantez said.

Its a way for organizations to be strategic rather than stagnant in an increasingly global society, she said. You have to keep doing new things to keep your work force engaged. The work force is really competitive right now. Companies have to offer something that is cutting-edge to attract employees.

Its a nice option to have in an emergency if the employee has family issues or cant come in for some reason. The employee needs to have integrity. There has to be trust.

Technical communications between home and office should also be good, Cervantez said.

A potential drawback would be the inability of a company to oversee the quality of work being done at home, she said.

But a lot of companies have open database access so they can check (the employees work), she said.

Another drawback would be if an employee were using the arrangement to get out of doing more work.

Polly Heinen, assistant director of human resources at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, said Principal has been allowing some of its employees to work from home at least 10 years. The practice has become especially popular within the past six or seven years, she said.

Approximately 100 of the 400 employees at the Mason City office work from home, Heinen said. Some additional employees work from home as needed.

It really is a win-win, Heinen said. It gives the employees flexibility. We know organizationally giving people control over where they work gives them a perk. It makes them more loyal to the company. It helps in winter, too (due to problems commuting), although not all are commuters. It makes a lot of business sense. It can help the employee balance home and work life. Employees say their weeks are more productive.

Its worked really, really well for us, Heinen said. Our culture is more focused on the work getting done.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didnt do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.  Mark Twain

It was probably 15 years ago that I came upon this quote, and for me, the message continues to inspire me to take on new challenges. Dream new dreams. Explore new possibilities.

If people ask me where I see myself in five years, I really dont have an answer for them. Do I have a plan, well, of course I do. But, I also know that at any moment, that plan may change.

Right or wrong, for most of my life, I have let my heart take the helm. I follow the path that is most compelling at that time. What I know now is that I should have been journaling my experiences and sharing them with whomever would listen.

Everything in my life has led me to this very moment. Writing these words on my laptop. Sharing small pieces of my thoughts, my experiences and my life with all of you. I appreciate this opportunity and I dont take it lightly.

I think the reason why I live my life the way I do, is that I have seen how temporary it all is. This life, and I mean in the literal sense of the word, can be taken away in an instant. We are not guaranteed a certain amount of time. We are not promised a certain kind of life. Everything we accomplish in life is completely up to us. In the end, a good life is not measured by your accountant. Its measured by your experiences, your loved ones, your deeds and your character.

When I was 11 years old, my world was forever changed. My sister and I both had come down with the flu. After a few days, I started to get better, but my sister was still pretty ill.

One morning, I was getting ready for school and my sister was not doing so well. My mother was going to take her to the doctor after I went to school. After school was out, my parents picked me up and I found out that my sister was in the hospital.

We all went to the hospital that night and I hung out in the waiting room while my parents were with my sister and the doctors. After a while, my dad took me home because I had school the next day. Shortly after we got home, my mom called and talked to my dad. I heard him say, What do you mean shes unresponsive? I got a knot in my stomach and everything after that was surreal.

My dad took me to stay with friends that night. I could tell by the looks on their faces that it wasnt good. But, I just stayed tough. I wasnt going to believe the worst.

In the middle of the night, my dad returned to pick me up. He said that my sister was being flown to Childrens Hospital in Denver and we need to go home and pack a few things. We stopped by the house and gathered up some items. He would get a phone call about every 15 minutes and I could hear the distress in his voice.

Trying to stay positive, I told my dad that I was going to pack some things for my sister, so she would have her favorite clothes to come home in. He told me that was a great idea. That we are going to bring her home.

My mom flew to Denver with my sister, and my dad and I drove. We got to my aunt and uncles house in Denver and got me all settled in, then my dad headed to the hospital.

The next morning I woke up and it was just me and my cousin. He put on Pee-Wees Playhouse and poured some cereal for me. I was eating my cereal and watching TV when the phone rang. Again, I could tell by my cousins demeanor after he got off the phone, that it wasnt good news. But I just focused on my breakfast and the TV.

Shortly after the phone call, My parents and my aunt and uncle returned. My parents came over to me, and my dad knelt down in front of me. He said, Remember how we talked about Melissia coming home with us? And I remember the words spilling out of my mouth, Shes not coming home, is she?

That was the first time I had ever heard my dad cry.

I didnt know how I was going to move forward without my sister. It didnt seem real. This doesnt really happen does it? She was only thirteen.

Now, as a father, I can see that no matter how much I was hurting, the pain my parents were experiencing was immeasurable.

Since that time, I have lost many family members. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. What I have learned from all of this is that time should never be taken for granted. Live each day with purpose.

You know that place that youve always wanted to visit, but never took the time? Go, now, theres no time like the present. That person that you love, but havent told them so tell them. Never withhold hugs, smiles, kisses or compliments. Dont spend more time that you have to being angry or sad. Dont waste time on lies, hate or regrets.

Every day that you wake up, is another opportunity to be happy and to make others happy. Its another chance to learn and grow. Its another day to explore, to dream and to discover.
This page is archived. Data published after 5 April 2022 can be found on the renewed website. Go to the new statistics page

Published: 13 December 2016

Turnover in manufacturing grew by 2.3 per cent in the third quarter

According to Statistics Finland, turnover in manufacturing in the July to September period was 2.3 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of the year before. Domestic sales grew by 2.0 per cent and export turnover by 2.5 per cent from one year ago.

Three months' year-on-year change in turnover in manufacturing (C) sub-industries (TOL 2008)

Turnover went up from the corresponding period of the previous year in nearly all. Turnover grew most in the electrical and electronics industry, by 5.5 per cent, and in the forest and metal industries, by 4.2 per cent. Less turnover than in the previous year was generated in the food industry, 1.6 per cent and in the chemical industry, 1.8 per cent.

Three months' year-on-year change in turnover in main industrial categories (TOL 2008)

In the, turnover in mining and quarrying increased by 10.5 per cent, and in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities by 2.2 per cent from one year before. Turnover contracted from the previous year by 4.2 per cent in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply.

The index of turnover in industry describes enterprises whose main industry is manufacturing. The calculation of the indices is based on the Tax Administrations value added tax data which are supplemented with data obtained with Statistics Finlands sales inquiry. The monthly turnovers of manufacturing enterprises can vary considerably, especially in the metal industries. The variation is mainly due to invoicing practices. The final invoice for major machinery deliveries and projects may be recorded in the sales of one month, even if the delivery had required the work of several months or years.

Source: Index of turnover in industry 2016, September, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Maija Sappinen 029 551 3348, Kirsi-Maaria Manninen 029 551 2681, myynti.teollisuus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Mari Yla-Jarkko

Publication in pdf-format (346.4 kB)

Updated 13.12.2016

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Index of turnover in industry [e-publication].

ISSN=1798-596X. September 2016. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 3.11.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tlv/2016/09/tlv_2016_09_2016-12-13_tie_001_en.html
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DES MOINES  Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday they expect a smooth transition of power next year presuming he is confirmed to serve as ambassador to China.

Branstad said he will continue as governor by presenting the Condition of the State address and a two-year state budget proposal on Jan. 10.

He said he will work as a team with Reynolds during his confirmation process and the 2017 legislative session until the historic change of leadership at the top state executive post takes place.

The reality is that were really not going to do anything differently, said Reynolds, who expected to be sworn in once Branstad resigns as governor.

One of her first tasks will be to appoint a new lieutenant governor to work with her in an administration that generally will carry on many of the same practices and people as the current Branstad-Reynolds team.

Both Branstad and Reynolds said the transition of power they envision is spelled out in the Iowa Constitution and the state code.

Its unique. I never imagined this, Branstad told reporters during his weekly news conference.

Given the uncertainty of the timetable for his Senate confirmation as ambassador, Branstad said he could well be governor during much, if not all, of the 87th Iowa General Assemblys 2017 session, which is slated to run 110 days.

Branstad said there is a huge amount of paperwork associated with his new appointment, but he doesnt know when hell begin that process given that Trump wont be inaugurated until Jan. 20. Then there is a 42-day review process before confirmation proceedings would be scheduled with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He said he hopes to meet with every committee member in advance of his confirmation hearing, but he didnt believe he would need to be in Washington more than a few days during the session.

The governor said he and his wife talked with current U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus last weekend and expects to have more discussions as his appointment proceeds for an office with a big staff that oversees the embassy and five consulates in China.

He declined to discuss recent developments as it relates to Trumps approach to Americas One China policy involving China and Taiwan, saying it would be inappropriate for him to weigh in given his appointment is pending.

Its not for sure. Ive got to be confirmed by the Senate before I become the ambassador. Im taking that responsibility very seriously," Branstad told reporters.

Its not my role to be setting policy, but rather to be one that helps implement policy and act as a go-between, he added. There are a lot of challenges out there today. I understand that I have been appointed to a delicate and difficult position and I will do my very best.

Branstad later told leaders of the Iowa Older Iowans Legislature his daughter may take a leave of absence from her teaching job and move her family to China to be with him and his wife, Chris, once they have settled in his new assignment.

Reynolds said ensuring a smooth transition when she becomes Iowas first female governor is paramount and she expects to maintain the same partnership with the lieutenant governor she appoints as she had enjoyed with Branstad for six years.

Shes in on all the decision-making, Branstad said. She has from the beginning. We will continue to work as a team.

Branstad said the upcoming state budgeting cycle will be challenging and he was very hopeful the new GOP-led Legislature will approve state supplemental aid to schools for the next two fiscal years within the first 30 days of the new session which opens Jan. 9.

Last week House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said she expects the Legislature would set fiscal 2018 state funding for K-12 schools early in the session but she was reluctant to commit to a second year of funding more than 18 months out given the uncertainty surrounding state tax collections.
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In 2015 the Statesville Human Relations Commission was established to help foster better community relations among all people. Heres what you need to know about the group working to better Statesville and how it plans to do that.
With one hand holding a bottle of champagne and the other an oversized certificate declaring him the winner of $1 million from Publishers Clearing House, Bruce Saunders stood on the front porch of his western Davie County Monday and rattled off a list of things he plans spend his spend money on  medical bills, fixing his lawnmower and helping family members.
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Scott Schmieder, county road and bridge foreman, reported to the county commission last Thursday that temperatures are getting too cold at night for much more asphalt work to be done. He said potholes had all been patched. His crews were working on Bodine Road and made call-ins to locate
DES MOINES -- Gov. Terry Branstad and state lawmakers likely will have to cut about $100 million in spending from the current state general fund budget after a state panel Monday lowered the rate it expects state tax collections will grow between now and June 30, officials said Monday.

Members of the state Revenue Estimating Conference lowered its October tax collection target for the current fiscal year by $96.2 million to nearly $7.212 billion -- which still represents 4.2 percent growth for the year but less than previously expected as farm income and other Iowa economic sectors lag.

The three-member panel also shaved about $51 million from its fiscal 2018 projection, meaning the governor and GOP-led Legislature can expect about $7.556 billion, or 4.8 percent growth, in revenue when they meet in January to chart a new state general-fund spending plan.

"We're still having positive growth," said David Roederer, director of the state Department of Management who also serves as Branstad's budget director and leader of the revenue panel, "it's just not at the rate that was anticipated."

With the state's ending balance depleted but its cash reserves full at about $730 million, state budget-makers already were looking at a fiscal 2017 shortfall before Monday's lower tax collection projections exacerbated the problem.

Branstad, meeting with representatives of the Older Iowans' Legislature earlier in the day in his Capitol office, said he anticipated he would have to recommend a "modest de-appropriation" for the current fiscal year when he presents his budget plan to state lawmakers on Jan. 10 with his Condition of the State address.

"We probably have to cut about $100 million out of the current budget," Roederer told reporters after the REC meeting in which he pushed for higher tax growth projections than conferees Holly Lyons and David Underwood, of Mason City, supported. Lyons had recommended lowering the growth projections by nearly $200 million through June 30, 2018, but the panel agreed to trim $147.2 million from its October estimates.

"We have been looking at the possibility that we would have some reductions," Roederer said, but added it was premature to detail what selective spending cuts might be proposed. He ruled out the governor ordering an across-the-board reduction and he said the plan would not call for reducing the level of state supplemental aid that K-12 school districts are receiving this year.

"There's a difference between the economy growing, and then government needing more than what the economy is currently growing at in order to honor the commitments that have been made," said Roederer, who noted 4 percent yearly growth is still healthy.

But he called plans by GOP legislators to cut taxes next session "challenging" unless they find a "revenue-neutral" way to accomplish the changes.

Sen. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, who will take over as the Senate's majority leader in January, said Monday's REC numbers underscore the need for economic growth in Iowa and reform in state government.

"Senate Republicans are committed to implementing pro-growth policies which will provide confidence to job creators and reform government to protect the taxpayers," Dix said. "These policies will put Iowa on a strong path to address the current budget situation."

During Monday's REC meeting, Underwood noted there is still uncertainty in Iowa's economy, with industrial sales and manufacturing sectors weak and sales taxes lagging even though wages and employment are up slightly.

Lyons said Iowa's growth continues but at a "decelerating or flattening" rate that is "perplexing." Roederer said Iowa's economic indicators have "been a mixed bag," but he was optimistic about fiscal 2018 when he expects to see more positive news out of Iowa's agricultural sector.

Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City, ranking member of House Appropriations Committee, accused the Branstad/Reynolds administration and House Republicans of putting the state general fund budget "$135 million in the red' and stalling the state's economy."
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Romania ranks first in the European Union (UE) with respect to the relative poverty rate in 2014, the country's position being characteristic to a state with rather big problems in ensuring a high living standard for all its citizens, according to a publication of the National Institute of Statistics (INS), sent at agerpres' request.

"In accordance with data gathered at Eurostat level, Romania's position is characteristic to a state with relatively big problems in ensuring an elevated living standard for all its citizens. From the point of view of relative poverty rate, Romania (with 25.1 percent) belonged in 2014 to the group of relatively poor states, with values above the European average, such as: Spain (22.2 percent), Greece (22.1 percent), Bulgaria and Estonia (21.8 percent), Latvia (21.2 percent), Portugal (19.5 percent), Croatia and Italy (19.4 percent), Lithuania (19.1 percent). Lower poverty rates are recorded in countries such as the Czech Republic (9.7 percent), the Netherlands (11.6 percent), Denmark (12.1 pct), Slovakia (12.6 pct), Finland (12.8 pct) and France (13.3 pct), informs INS.

The relative poverty rate represents the share of poor people, who have an available income per adult-equivalent lower than the threshold established at the 60 percent level of the median available income, of the overall population.

In most cases, children and young people up to 18 years old in European countries have higher poverty rates than the poverty rate of the respective countries, especially in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Italy. This category of people is somewhat more protected against the scourge of poverty in Denmark, Finland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Greece, Slovenia.

In the age range 18-24 olds, writes INS, most EU member states have higher poverty rates. Remarkable differences can be noticed in the case of the 65 and above year-old elders for which higher poverty rates than the rate of the respective countries were recorded: Estonia (+10.8 percentage points), Cyprus (+0.8 percentage points), Latvia (+6.4 percentage points), Croatia (+3.7 percentage points), Finland (+3.2 percentage points), Slovenia (+2.6 percentage points), Sweden (+1.4 percentage points) etc. Poverty is relatively less spread among the elderly in most European states such as: Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, the Netherlands, France, the Czech Republic, Denmark etc.
Boeing Co. said Tuesday that it will move the headquarters of its defense unit from St. Louis to the Washington area.

The decision, which will affect about a dozen top executives and some support staff, reflects the aerospace giants desire to be closer to the levers of power in the nations capital.

Boeing said the move had been under consideration for several months and was unrelated to the results of the Nov. 8 election.

We continue to expand our leadership presence in the [Washington] area to increase customer engagement in a highly competitive market, Boeing spokesman Philip Carder told the Post-Dispatch. Approximately one dozen positions will be part of the initial move and we anticipate about 50 positions will eventually relocate there over time.

Boeing Defense, Space & Security president and CEO Leanne Caret is slated to begin working from the companys Arlington, Va., office on Jan. 3. Shell reside in the Washington area and maintain offices in both Arlington and St. Louis, Carder said. Caret was tapped earlier this year to lead the defense unit. There will be no change to the day-to-day operations at the St. Louis site, Carder said.

Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $30 billion business, employing 50,000 worldwide.

The move puts Boeings executives closer to decision-makers in Washington. Its major competitors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, are both based in Washington suburbs.

The big problem is all the key military customers are based in Washington and its inconvenient to try to deal with those customers from St. Louis, said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute, a policy research group in Arlington, Va.

Thompson said the location of the headquarters wouldnt have a negative impact on Boeings St. Louis area workforce.

Moving the top staff to the capital probably bolsters Boeings ability to protect jobs in Berkeley, Thompson said, referencing the municipality where a concentration of St. Louis-area Boeing employees are based. This is not about St. Louis losing jobs, this is about St. Louis protecting jobs.

Richard Aboulafia, a vice president and aviation analyst at Fairfax, Va.-based Teal Group, said the decision to locate near the Pentagon made overwhelming sense.

Its really just to have their top decision-makers close to those making the decisions and paying the bills, Aboulafia said.

The headquarters announcement comes almost exactly 20 years after Boeing announced it was buying St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas and would base its defense operations here.

The $13.3 billion merger, first announced on Dec. 15, 1996, was finalized in 1997. McDonnell Douglas traced its start to the 1939 launching of McDonnell Aircraft Corp. at Lambert Field by aviation pioneer James S. McDonnell.

Production of Boeings F-15, F/A-18 and EA-18G fighter jets is based in St. Louis, in addition to advanced weapon systems, new product development, and composite components for the new 777X commercial airplane.

Though the headquarters move means the loss of some area jobs, Boeing announced last month that it planned to move 500 jobs to its north St. Louis County campus from California as part of a consolidation of its Defense, Space & Security business.

Boeings commitment to the St. Louis region remains strong, the company said in a statement.

Boeing employs about 14,500 people in the St. Louis area. McDonnell Douglas had 23,000 employees locally at the time of the merger 20 years ago.

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump complained on Twitter about the costs to build a new Air Force One, made by Boeing, and urged the government to cancel its order.

Asked whether Trumps comments affected the decision to move top executives closer to the nations capital, Boeing indicated they did not.

Discussions regarding planning for this move have been ongoing for some time, Carder said. The move is focused on enabling [Boeing Defense, Space & Security] leadership to be closer to customers and key decision-makers, and is unrelated to the new administration.

Congressional staffers in the Missouri delegation also said it was unlikely that the move was related to Trumps recent statements about the company, noting that moves such as this would be months in the making. Boeing officials individually briefed members of the delegation before the announcement.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said that, in total, Boeing still had put more jobs in the St. Louis region in recent months than had left.

In our view, Boeing has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the St. Louis region, with net-gain of 450 new local jobs, and the opening of its Composite Center, in 2016 alone, McCaskill spokesman John LaBombard said. Clearly they remain committed to our state.

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, had a response similar to McCaskills.

"Congresswoman Wagner remains confident in Boeing Defense's commitment to the greater St. Louis region and the role it plays in our national defense, said Wagners communications director, Meghan Burris. The Congresswoman looks forward to continuing this partnership and protecting the local, good-paying jobs that Boeing Defense provides."

Sheila Sweeney, CEO of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, noted the companys recent move of additional jobs here and said the regions workforce continues to make St. Louis an attractive place to build planes and weapons.

Their competitors being located in the D.C.-area, and as their CEO pointed out, it afforded them the opportunity to have more face time with folks in D.C., Sweeney said. We have no reason to believe its anything other than that.

This isn't the first time top executives of a major St. Louis defense contractor relocated to the Washington area.

In 1991, General Dynamic moved its 300-person headquarters from Clayton to Falls Church, Va. Unlike Boeing, the company didn't have any St. Louis area factories, and was only here because David S. Lewis, a McDonnell Douglas executive, insisted General Dynamics move to St. Louis when he took the CEO job in 1971.

Chuck Raasch, Jacob Barker and David Nicklaus of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
MASON CITY  A 3-year-old boy who died in a fire Saturday in Mason City was a helpful, inquisitive child who loved the outdoors, his family said.

Vicente Gonzalez, 3, died after he was found in the bedroom of his fire-damaged home at 118 13th St. N.E.

The fire was ruled an accident.

He left behind his parents, Jesse Gonzalez and Darcy Chase, and an older brother, Carter, 9.

Update: Boy, 3, identified as victim in Mason City fire MASON CITY | Firefighters on Monday released the name of a 3-year-old boy killed in a house 

Jesse Gonzalez said Vicente wanted to learn whatever he could  about everything.

"He was very, very, very curious about life," Gonzalez said Monday afternoon. "He wanted to know why and how come."

An enthusiastic child, Vicente always tried to jump in and be part of the action.

If his father was fixing the brakes on the car, Vicente wanted to help.

When dad fired up the lawnmower, Vicente got his toy lawnmower out and helped "mow" as well, said his grandmother, Donna Brummund.

"He always wanted to help, no matter what it was," said Brummund, who lives next door to the fire scene. "'I help! I help!" she said the boy would say.

Vicente, who never had a haircut his entire life, loved anything that involved being outside, his family said.

"He loved snow," Jesse Gonzalez said. "We were supposed to be playing in the snow today."

"He was so excited for the first snow," said Chase, his mother.

Officials say Vicente and his father were in the family's one-story home when fire broke out in the living room about 10:55 p.m. Saturday.

Mason City Assistant Fire Marshal Tom Wollner said the damage was so bad that investigators weren't able to pinpoint the cause.

The living room was extensively damaged, and the bedrooms had significant heat and smoke damage.

Firefighters did not find any working smoke detectors in the home. Family members say they had recently moved into the house.

Well-wishers placed a brown teddy bear on the deck steps Monday morning. A folded note tucked inside a plastic bag was attached to a bow on the bear's collar.

Counselors were available on Monday for students or staff members in Mason City Community Schools, where Vicente's older brother was a student.

Family members say Vicente looked up to Carter, following him everywhere.

"We're hurting for this family and want them to know that we care about them and want to be able to support them," said Mason City Schools Interim Superintendent Mike Penca.

Friends of the family started a fundraiser on gofundme.com.

Funeral services are pending.

Vicente's family says they hope their child, who wanted to help people so much, is able to do that after his death.

They donated his eyes, as well as various tissues, to the Iowa Donor Network.

His mother, through tears, said she'd like to meet the recipients one day.

"He's going to hopefully save other little kids by his donations," she said.
Caleres has acquired Allen Edmonds, a mens dress shoe company, for $255 million, the company said Tuesday.

The deal allows the Clayton-based shoe retailer to rapidly increase its exposure in mens footwear.

We think weve acquired one of the great gems in mens footwear, Diane Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman of Caleres, said in a statement.

Caleres acquired Allen Edmonds from Los Angeles-based private-equity firm Brentwood Associates. The deal is subject to certain adjustments.

Allen Edmonds will join the companys current roster of mens shoes that includes Vince, George Brown Bilt and Dr. Scholls.

Well be sharing our mens footwear knowledge and expertise, while simultaneously benefiting from the brand development, materials sourcing, product development and design capabilities inherent in a much larger footwear organization, Paul Grangaard, president and CEO of Allen Edmonds, said in a statement.

Caleres, formerly known as Brown Shoe Co., will use current cash and its revolving credit agreement to fund the acquisition.

Allen Edmonds was founded in 1922 in Belgium, Wis., about 30 miles north of Milwaukee. The company found early success by manufacturing shoes without nails or a metal bar under the instep, according to the companys website.

The brand also carries presidential prestige.

Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush each took the oath of office in a pair of Allen Edmonds shoes, Bloomberg previously reported. The tradition was broken by Barack Obama in 2009.
CREVE COEUR  The City Council has approved plans by BJC HealthCare to replace Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital with a bigger, modern structure as part of an overhaul of its Creve Coeur campus.

The plan, approved unanimously by council members, also includes the addition of four new medical office buildings and a new parking garage.

The approval means city officials agree with the long-term vision for the 54-acre site at the southeastern corner of Olive Boulevard and Mason Road. BJC will still have to come back and seek more approvals when it starts constructing the actual buildings.

The measure was passed Monday evening with the condition that a traffic study be conducted and submitted to the city with each phase of the project.

BJC officials did not say Monday night when the first phase would commence. However, they said they expect to know more in the next couple of weeks.

The first phase would include the replacement hospital and one attached medical office building, according to George Stock, of Stock and Associates, a representative for the project.

Stock did not object to the traffic study.

Previous conditions that were agreed upon call for BJC to provide additional landscaping as needed to buffer residential properties and Olive Boulevard from the project.

The proposal for the replacement hospital calls for a 260,000-square-foot, six-story building  more than twice as big as the current Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.

BJC officials have said the current hospital, which was built in 1969, is outdated and needs modern accommodations like single-patient rooms. BJC acquired the hospital in 1989.

The new hospital will have up to 100 beds  23 more than the current facility.

Some have raised questions about the need for more beds given the occupancy rate of 27 percent in 2014, according to data from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition. Thats well below the national average of 61 percent.

Stock said the hospital will open with 68 beds but will have the ability to add an additional 32 if needed.

The hospital will use shelled or unfinished space that will be built out in the future if needed, Stock said Monday night.

Its really no different than the project that MoBap [Missouri Baptist Medical Center] constructed three years ago, Stock said referencing the shelled space.
DOHA  The head of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has told U.S. officials it will invest $10 billion in infrastructure projects inside the United States, sources said, in an apparent boost to the economic plans of president-elect Donald Trump.

Sheik Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, chief executive of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), delivered the message to officials including Charles Rivkin, U.S. assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, in Doha on Monday, a Qatari official and another source close to the QIA told Reuters.

No time frame was given for the investment. Both the QIA, one of the world's largest sovereign funds, and a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Qatar declined to comment.

The QIA had previously said it intended to invest $35 billion in unspecified projects in the United States between 2016 and 2021, and it was not clear if the $10 billion would form part of that larger amount, the official said.

Trump has said his economic plans include a major boost to infrastructure investment. In one of the presidential debates against Hillary Clinton, Trump contrasted the gleaming airports of Qatar and Dubai with more shabby U.S. facilities such as LaGuardia and Newark.

The investment by Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, could help to cement ties with the Trump administration at a time of uncertainty in the Gulf, where Arab states fear any retreat of U.S. power could benefit regional foe Iran.

Trump has signaled he may halt U.S. support to Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, has been among the top backers of the rebels.
Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil chief picked Tuesday as President-elect Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state, visited the White House repeatedly as sanctions were imposed on Russia in 2014 to make sure his company's competitors didn't gain an edge in the way they were enforced.

Tillerson made at least 20 visits to the White House during President Barack Obama's two terms, visitor logs show, including five after Obama began authorizing the 2014 sanctions in response to Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

Tillerson, who has questioned whether sanctions work, was concerned that European nations might not apply the restrictions as strictly as the U.S., giving Exxon's European competitors an advantage, according to a White House official at the time, who asked not to be identified because the purpose of the visits was never made public.

As secretary of state, Tillerson would play a central role in deciding whether and how to maintain the current sanctions regime against Russia. Hundreds of people including Igor Sechin, the president of Russian oil giant Rosneft PJSC  Exxon's partner in Russia  are targeted under the U.S.'s sanctions over President Vladimir Putin's intervention in Ukraine.

White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman declined to comment on Tillerson's White House visits and referred questions about sanctions discussions to the Treasury Department, which didn't have an immediate comment.

At Exxon's May 2014 shareholder meeting, Tillerson said of sanctions: "We don't find them to be effective unless they are very well implemented."

Members of Congress have signaled that Tillerson's close relations with Putin will bring tough questions in his Senate confirmation hearing. Republican senators including John McCain and Marco Rubio have joined Democrats indicating they would press Tillerson on issues such as sanctions.

The Exxon chairman and chief executive officer met several times with Jeffrey Zients, director of the National Economic Council, according to to the White House logs. Those visits began on March 12, 2014, six days after Obama signed Executive Order 13660, authorizing sanctions such as travel restrictions on people and entities deemed responsible for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, or stealing assets of the Ukrainian people. Tillerson and Zients met two more times in 2014 and twice in early 2015.

Exxon signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Rosneft in 2011, and in 2014 the companies together drilled an exploration well in Arctic waters. When the Obama administration imposed sanctions later that year, Exxon successfully lobbied the administration to give it a two-week reprieve to keep working on the $700 million well in the Kara Sea long enough to cap it for an eventual return. Exxon persuaded U.S. Treasury and Energy Department officials that it couldn't safely obey the White House order to halt work by the deadline.

Sanctions against Russia remain an issue for the White House and Congress. In October, at the request of the White House, the State Department weighed options for adding more sanctions against Russia over its participation in the siege of the Syrian city of Aleppo. No further action has been taken.

Senators including Rubio have called for more sanctions that would target Russia, not fewer. Last week, Rubio introduced legislation targeting foreigners who threaten order in Iraq and Syria.

"Russia and Iran have continued to bolster and prop up the brutal Assad regime in Syria, which has fueled a conflict that now threatens us here at home," Rubio said in a Dec. 8 news release.
An overflow crowd listened Monday night to a developer and an architect describe their $130 million project to build a 36-story apartment building in the Central West End.

The project, called One Hundred, is proposed for the parking lot at North Kingshighway and West Pine Boulevard.

Alderman Joe Roddy, whose 17th Ward includes the projects site, arranged the meeting for the public to hear from Eli Ungar, founder of the developer, Mac Properties, and Juliane Wolf, design principal at Studio Gang, the architect.

Ungar and Wolf provided the crowd of more than 100 people at the Schlafly branch library their views on how the 305-unit apartment tower would affect the St. Louis neighborhood.

Wolf said the buildings scallop-shaped facade would provide each apartment with lots of daylight and ventilation. Ungar said he believed One Hundreds strikingly modern design would impress people in the future the way the neighborhoods old buildings were revered now.

Then came time for audience questions.

A woman asked Ungar why the developer disregarded the neighborhood before springing the design on the public. He replied that Monday nights meeting was part of the process of informing the public about One Hundred.

Another resident, a man who said he is in his 20s and lives on West Pine, said he liked the project and its design.

Im so excited to see something amazing built here, he said.

Much of the crowd applauded in response.

Ungar said at a news conference earlier Monday that One Hundred would draw residents from nearby apartment demand generators, including the Washingtion University medical complex. He said Mac Properties hoped to complete financing of the $130 million project by the middle of next year. With a projected construction timeline of about 20 months, One Hundred could open in spring 2019.

Proposed is a 385-foot apartment building overlooking Forest Park at 100 North Kingshighway. The mostly glass, leaflike building is set to be 75 feet taller than the Chase Park Plaza just to the north and 55 feet taller than the Park East Tower two blocks away.

Studio Gang, led by founding principal Jeanne Gang, is known for its modern designs, including the Aqua Tower and Solstice buildings, both in Chicago.

Mac Properties is seeking for One Hundred a public incentive of tax abatement. After months of negotiations with the company, city development officials and Roddy agreed to support the project with 95 percent tax abatement for 10 years and 50 percent tax abatement for five years. The board of the citys Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority is scheduled to consider the request Tuesday.
In an interview on Monday, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway called Rex Tillerson, the current chief executive of ExxonMobil and President-elect Donald Trump's newly announced pick for Secretary of State, "a very Trumpian-inspired pick." Tillerson is someone who has spent his career outside of politics crafting big deals and making a big impact, she said.

But there's an aspect of Tillerson's biography that is not so Trumpian. As an energy executive, Tillerson voiced support for global free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade pact that was once of Trump's favorite targets during the campaign.

Trump denounced the TPP, President Barack Obama's signature deal, as a "potential disaster." He argued it was a terrible deal for American workers and said he would withdraw the U.S. from the deal on his first day in office. Republican Congressional leaders have said they are unwilling to bring the deal to a vote in Obama's remaining months in office, meaning the TPP is almost certainly dead.

This hardly appears to be a fleeting policy position: Trump has consistently criticized global free trade deals as disadvantaging American workers throughout his career.

Tillerson has maintained a very different stance. In a speech he gave to the Asia Society Global Forum on June 13, 2013, Tillerson talked about his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which he said would provide the open markets that would allow the United States and countries in Asia and elsewhere to grow and progress.

"We must embrace the free flow of energy, capital, and human talent across oceans and borders," Tillerson told the crowd.

As reports emerged that the incoming Trump administration was considering Tillerson for secretary of state, his position on trade attracted attention and criticism from some.

"America First? Um ... not so fast," conservative political analyst Bill Kristol tweeted Sunday. "As SecState, CEO of multinational that cuts deal with one and all - the very definition of a 'globalist.' "

As secretary of State, Tillerson wouldn't be directly involved in negotiating trade deals - that's primarily the job of the United States Trade Representative.

But the State Department does play a prominent role in helping to promote the president's international trade agenda and broadly guiding trade policy as part of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, an interagency committee that coordinating export promotion and finance.

In addition, trade could figure prominently in Tillerson's job if Trump pursues some of his biggest campaign promises. Trump has pledged to seek out better terms of trade with major economic partners like Mexico and China, a likely source of conflict that could easily define the diplomatic relationship with these countries for years to come.

Last week, the Obama administration said that it wouldn't grant China the official title of a "market economy" at the World Trade Organization, a move which might significantly lower the punitive tariffs other countries could apply to China if the country violates agreed-upon trade terms. Trump has also indicated that he does not see China as a market economy.

The move has provoked a strong response from China, which launched a legal challenge under WTO rules.

Tillerson's past support of the TPP may not be terribly surprising, given the pact's likely benefits for the U.S. energy industry. The trade pact could have resulted in an increase in U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas to Asia, due to increased access to Japan's profitable market, Michael Levi, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote last year.

If his nomination is approved, Tillerson will not be alone on Trump's cabinet in his previous support of the TPP. Wilbur Ross, Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary, Iowa governor Terry Branstad, who is to serve as Trump's ambassador to China, and even Vice President-elect Mike Pence have all been past supporters of the deal.
United States Steel plans to reopen a portion of its Granite City factory that has been idled for nearly a year, calling back about 220 laid-off employees.

Those employees will return to work at the Metro East facilitys hot strip mill, which finishes steel made elsewhere.

The blast furnace and other steelmaking facilities will remain idled, U.S. Steel said in a news release.

The Pittsburgh company laid off about 1,500 workers a year ago. Some 500 employees are still working at the Granite City Works on lines that finish steel made in other blast furnaces. The hot strip mill in Granite City has been idled since January.

U.S. Steel CEO Mario Longhi said last week that the company planned to hire back as many as 10,000 workers, many of whom were laid off as the company tried to cut costs amid a steep drop in global steel demand.

After months of not hearing from the corporation about the steel mills future, Tuesdays announcement was welcome news, said Granite City Mayor Ed Hagnauer.

Theres 200 families right now who are going to have a lot better Christmas than they thought, he said.

Hagnauer noted there are still more than 1,000 former workers who are out of work, and he said an event organized by retired steelworkers this Thursday will offer baskets of food and gift cards to those who are still waiting for the whole plant to start back up.

Its hard to get these guys to come down here and do this, he said. Theyve got their pride.
Monsanto shareholders voted to approve the agribusiness companys acquisition by Bayer AG at a special meeting Tuesday morning.

Creve Coeur-based Monsanto reported that approximately 99 percent of votes cast supported the sale to the German pharmaceutical company, which was originally announced in September.

The vote assures shareholders of receiving $128 per share upon completion of the merger. Including debt, the acquisition is valued at about $66 billion.

This is a really significant milestone said Monsantos chairman and chief executive officer, Hugh Grant, following the meeting. When you get 99 percent affirmation, thats very encouraging.

Executives from both companies have touted the merger as a way to provide farmers with an improved innovation pipeline needed to address agricultural issues ranging from climate change to food scarcity.

The test will be: Did we produce better products faster? Grant said. Did we help them lift yields?

While acknowledging that price is always important, Grant said he believes the complementary nature of the two companies ultimately helped garner support among shareholders.

Its about bringing bright people together, Grant said. Combining the two companies unlocks a whole new level of resourcing.

While many wonder what those combined resources will mean for the new companys presence in St. Louis, Grant said ongoing talks with Bayer reassured him that the region would retain its stature as a biotech hub going forward.

The more we interact and the more we talk, the better we feel about that, Grant said. St. Louis will become the global headquarters for all the work on seeds and biotechnology.

The deal is projected to close by the end of 2017 and needs to be approved by antitrust regulators. Grant said Bayer has made regulatory filings in the U.S. and intends to do so in Europe in early 2017. Brazil, India and China represent other key markets where the deal must be upheld, Grant said.

He expressed confidence that the proposed merger would hold up in all jurisdictions, given the differences between the two companies.

The overlap between the two is really quite small, Grant said.

Others, however, have argued that a merger would consolidate too much market share within one company.

The existence of such a powerful player would substantially harm both farmers and the environment by decreasing competition and innovation, resulting in increased costs, and allowing for greater corporate control over farmers planting choice, the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental organization, said in a statement.

The organization filed a letter with the U.S. Department of Justice opposing the measure.

With Bayer as a leading pesticide manufacturer, NRDC also voiced concern that the move reinforces chemical-intensive growing practices harmful to the environment, and especially pollinators, such as bees.

Monsanto shares fell 7 cents to close at $104.52.

In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Monsanto indicated that the merger does not require approval by Bayers shareholders.
MASON CITY  City officials are postponing a neighborhood cleanup effort until the weather gets better in the spring.

That's good news for people like Kyle Hall.

Hall, who lives at 1815 S. Hoover Ave., has been trying to comply with a city notice to clean up his property  but there's a lot to clean up, he said.

Hall is one of many Mason City residents who received a nuisance notice from the city. His property is on three lots in an isolated area with a yard with several lawn tractors, scrap metal, lumber, tires and rubbish.

He was cited by a code enforcement officer on Dec. 8 and given two weeks to clean up the property and dispose of the junk.

Failure to do so could result in being cited for a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $100, a jail sentence not to exceed 30 days or a municipal infraction with fines up to $750 a day.

But city officials granted the reprieve until spring on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier Tuesday, Hall was out in his yard, shoving as much as he could into a storage shed. "I'll probably have to get rid of most of it," he said.

Hall said he is doing his best to try to comply but feels like he is being singled out. He pointed in the direction of a neighbor who also has junk in his yard but has not been cited.

He is not being singled out. In fact, he is one of dozens of residents who received similar notices in the past two weeks  a cleanup effort made more difficult because of the cold, snowy weather.

"This is a police initiative. Neighborhood Services is working with the officers on civil nuisance issues in Mason City," said Pat Otto, Neighborhood Services director, prior to the suspension of the enforcement.

"Its pretty much business as usual for us as we handle nuisance complaints all year round. Most of the complaints concern inoperable motor vehicles, garbage and junk, rubbish and refuse in yards," she said.

Otto said many of the nuisance concerns have been noticed by police officers as they patrol their beats. Others are noted by the code enforcement officer while in a neighborhood.

"We arent issuing citations," Otto said. "Were issuing notices to abate as we normally do. The general length of time given for a cleanup is 10 days except for garbage which needs to be properly bagged and set out for the next garbage pickup day."

Otto said whether or not citations will eventually be issued depends on how the people receiving the notices are doing on their cleanup efforts.

"We are more than willing to work with those who are making headway in getting the violations cleared from their properties," she said.

She said about 70 abatement notices have been issued in the past two weeks.

Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley said, "The background on this is that we started working on this as a result of First Detail patrol officers noticing things on properties that were in violation as they responded to calls for service.

"Their command staff reached out to Neighborhood Services with the idea that our beat officers would work with them to identify issues that were code violations," he said.

"The idea was that wed work together among departments to clean up the violations that would improve the appearance of properties and make Mason City more attractive to visitors."
Restaurants, public schools and hospitals are among the places that a new Oklahoma law requires to post signs telling pregnant women where to receive services.

The provision for the signs was tucked into a law the Legislature passed this year that requires the state to develop informational material for the purpose of achieving an abortion-free society. The signs must be posted by January 2018.

The State Board of Health on Tuesday will consider regulations for the signs, which will businesses and other organizations about $2.3 million since lawmakers approved no money for them.

Lawmakers are hearing complaints about an unfunded mandate from the Legislature.

We dont have any concern about the information theyre trying to get out ... This is just the wrong way to do it, said Jim Hooper, president of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association. Its just another mandate on small businesses. Its not just restaurants. It includes hospitals, nursing homes. It just doesnt make sense.

The anti-abortion group Oklahomans for Life requested the bill. The sponsor, Sen. A.J. Griffin, said she may revise the measure in the upcoming legislative session to more narrowly target it to exclude some facilities.

I do see how it is going to need to be tempered a tad, said Griffin, a Republican from Guthrie. We need to make sure we have something thats reasonable and still effective.

Under the law, the signs would state, There are many public and private agencies willing and able to help you carry your child to term and assist you and your child after your child is born, whether you choose to keep your child or to place him or her for adoption. The State of Oklahoma strongly urges you to contact them if you are pregnant. The signs would also include a link to the Health Departments website.
Four days before bidding was to close on a $3 million study of three proposed transit routes in St. Louis County, an engineering company made an otherwise unremarkable political donation.

Jacobs Engineering, a Texas-based firm with offices in St. Louis, donated $5,000 to St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger. It was Sept. 22.

On Sept. 26, the window closed for companies to bid on the request for qualifications sought by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the regions planning authority for transportation projects. Stenger had sought the study  and pledged county funds to pay for it  as a response to a plan by Mayor Francis Slay and other key regional leaders to push forward on development of the long-planned Northside-Southside MetroLink expansion. The route would connect south St. Louis County to north St. Louis County and run directly through the core of some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city of St. Louis.

In a less divided region, Stenger would back the Northside-Southside route and county transit funds produced by 2010s Proposition A would help pay for it. Instead, Stenger wants to spend public resources on studies of routes that East-West Gateway long ago determined are of lesser significance than the Northside-Southside route.

Three companies bid on the contract sought by Stenger. One of them was Jacobs Engineering.

After an initial round of scoring, two companies remained: WSP: Parsons Brinckerhoff and Jacobs.

According to records obtained from East-West Gateway, a six-member panel examined the bids and in October interviewed representatives of each company.

Then the panel split 3-3 on who to pick.

The three members with the most transportation experience, one from East-West Gateway, one from Metro Transit, and one from the Missouri Department of Transportation, all chose Parsons Brinckerhoff. The three members of the panel who are all employees of Stenger chose Jacobs Engineering.

This wouldnt be the first time that a company seeking bids from Stengers government happened to make large donations to the county executive before decisions on projects are made. Earlier this year, Stenger and the County Council suddenly decided to move three county offices to a North County project controlled by developers David and Michael Glarner, whose donations to Stenger now top six figures. Coincidence, the county executive insisted.

In November, the transit panel was to meet again to figure out a compromise.

Instead, Stenger took his transit ball and went home.

We couldnt come to consensus, said Jim Wild, the executive director of East-West Gateway, who finds himself put in a tough spot by Stenger, who is on his board. Weve returned the $3 million.

So Stenger is back to where he was more than a year ago when he announced a plan to study potential new transit routes in the St. Louis region. He continues to fight against the route that holds serious economic promise for St. Louis, while hoarding the countys transit money so he can reward campaign donors instead of making an investment that would raise the economic fortunes of the residents, businesses and taxpayers in his county.

Tom Curran, Stengers senior policy adviser  and one of the three members of the panel that chose Jacobs for the transit study  says the county executive plans to issue a new request for proposals for the study early next year through the county procurement process. He said East-West Gateway officials will provide technical expertise. Asked if he was aware of the Jacobs Engineering campaign donation before scoring the bids, he said, No, sir.

Curran said the countys concern was just getting the best information we can get from the consultants. He was hesitant to discuss specifics of how the bidding process was conducted, he said, because the panel signed a confidentiality agreement.

Im surprised you have the knowledge that you do, he said.

Surprised or not, Curran confirmed my information on the vote was accurate. After we spoke, Stenger spokesman Cordell Whitlock called to outline a plethora of reasons why the county employees preferred the Jacobs Engineering bid, including better minority and women participation and a project engineer that had more recent MetroLink experience, he said.

As Stenger dawdles, the train on the Northside-Southside route expansion is moving down the track. On Monday, after Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro announced that the city of St. Louis will receive $30 million to redevelop the near-North Side neighborhoods around Carr and Preservation squares, Slay told Castro what was coming next.

He plans to place a sales tax increase before voters in April to help fund the Northside-Southside MetroLink route through the city. Slay told me something similar a month ago when a different federal official was in town to discuss transit, though at the time the mayor was targeting a parking tax. Whatever tax it is, as the mayors final term is coming to a close he is seeking to get St. Louis to invest in a transit future. One that will better connect north to south, the poor to jobs, and take advantage of development momentum in the citys central corridor, and on the North Side, including the nearly $2 billion relocation of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

In the city of St. Louis, voters are poised to have a say on the regions transit future.

Steve Stengers campaign donors will apparently decide if St. Louis County comes along for the ride.
GREENVILLE  An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution-Greenville pleaded guilty Monday of assaulting another prisoner, the U.S. attorney's office said Monday.

Billy Evans, 26, had been indicted on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon and is to be sentenced March 31 in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis. He could be imprisoned up to 10 years and fined up to $250,000 on the charge.

Officials said that on July 6, Evans injured another inmate with a weapon fashioned from tying a lock to a belt. They said that after the assault he turned himself in and admitted the crime. The victim suffered a lacerated head, abrasions and bruises.

The prison, housing more than 1,300 medium and minimum security inmates, is in Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of St. Louis.
ST. LOUIS  A man driving a stolen car and his passenger were critically injured in a crash Tuesday morning after leading police on a chase from East St. Louis Senior High School into St. Louis, police said.

One of them was pronounced dead after the car ran under the back of a tractor-trailer on North Broadway at East Carrie Avenue but was then rushed to a hospital after showing signs of life, officials say.

The driver and passenger were hospitalized in critical condition. Their names were not released. Police say the driver was 18 years old; his passenger was a 16-year-old male.

Police recovered a handgun from the wreckage.

Michael Hubbard, the police chief of East St. Louis, said it started with a tip that two people were driving to the high school, at 4901 State Street, in a stolen car with weapons inside to pick up a student. When police approached the silver Ford Taurus about 9:09 a.m., it fled.

The vehicle was involved in two collisions at Martin Luther King Drive and Collinsville Avenue, where the driver tried to strike an officer who was on foot there, Hubbard said. It then crossed the Martin Luther King Bridge and ended up on Broadway, where it rammed the truck near OFallon Park, in the North Riverfront neighborhood.

Authorities said the driver of the car may have fired shots at police, but Hubbard said that had not been confirmed.

St. Louis Fire Capt. Garon Mosby said one person was trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by firefighters.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the car crash was fatal, based on information from police and fire department spokesmen. Authorities have now said that a medic initially pronounced one person deceased but then the person was taken to a hospital after showing some life signs.
The Hazelwood School District may move East Middle School, which has seen decreasing enrollment in recent years, to part of a high school to save money.

The district is also considering closing the middle school entirely or transforming it into a magnet school.

East Middles enrollment has dropped from 500 in 2013-2014 to 412 this year.

Leaving it as it is is just not sustainable, said Superintendent Nettie Collins-Hart at Mondays School Board meeting. Its too expensive, its not a good use of facility and it does not address something that is long-term looming in this corridor.

An official recommended Monday that the district move East Middle, 1865 Dunn Road, to its own section of East High School, 11300 Dunn Road, possibly with a separate entrance.

There are currently 1,280 students at East High, compared to 1,999 at Central High School and 2,225 at West High School.

East High School has the space to house the middle school, and two more security officers would be hired for middle students safety, Jeff Haug, assistant superintendent for middle school education, told the board Monday.

The move would let the district right size support staff for the middle school and save $200,000 for the next school year, in addition to $800,000 saved by reallocating teaching staff. Haug said it would also allow middle school students to take high school-level courses.

Haug presented three other options for the middle school: keeping it as it is but reallocating teaching staff to save $800,000; transforming it into a magnet school, which would cost an additional $1.6 million for the 2018-2019 school year; or closing the school to save $3.4 million in 2018.

The board will vote on the options at its Feb. 7 meeting.

A preliminary budget, including budget cuts, will be sent to the board for consideration in April. The end of the budget timeline is June 20, when the School Board will vote on the budget.
JEFFERSON CITY  Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Richardson is asking for an injunction to prohibit Secretary of State Jason Kander from certifying ballot initiatives that would legalize marijuana.

Filed in Cole County Circuit Court last week, Richardson's petition argues such initiatives contradict federal law that states marijuana use is illegal.

It also cites 15 pot legalization proposals for 2018 that have already been received by Kanders office and opened up for public comment.

The petition asks the judge to declare those petitions unconstitutional, stating that Kanders actions pose an immediate threat to the constitutional and initiative petition process.

Neither Richardson nor a spokeswoman for Kander were immediately available for comment.

An effort to put a marijuana legalization referendum on the ballot for the 2016 election failed when supporters fell short of the required number of signatures for certification.

Backed by the nonprofit New Approach Missouri, the measure would have allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat patients with certain conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimers and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Twenty-eight states have legalized medical marijuana.

Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for New Approach Missouri, said Missouri courts have long held that lawsuits this early in the petition process aren't valid, opting to wait until voters weigh in to address legal questions.

"This is an incredible waste of public resources for a prosecutor to file a frivolous lawsuit that has no merit," Cardetti said.
UNIVERSITY CITY  New University City Councilman Steve McMahon will be in office at least until 2018 after the council voted 4-2 Monday night to prevent a new municipal election for his seat in April.

The issue came up after the November special election ballot suggested that McMahon and his opponents were running to hold the seat only until next April, contrary to city charter stipulations.

They were vying to fill the unexpired term of Councilman Stephen Kraft, who was elected to a four-year term in 2014 but resigned this year. The council could not agree on an appointment to replace him.

We have to follow the charter. We have to follow our ordinances, Councilwoman Paulette Carr said.

The debate over the resolution included council members questioning the professional integrity of the city clerk and the city attorney in how the mistake wound up on the ballot. Mayor Shelley Welsch, whom McMahon openly criticized on the campaign trail, said the mistake meant an election must be held this April because the approximately 6,000 residents who voted may have believed thats what they were supporting.

I cant support this resolution, Welsch said before the vote. The main reason is that very ballot said the people were voting for a term ending April 2017.

McMahon, Carr, Terry Crow and Bwayne Smotherson voted in favor of the resolution that allows McMahon to finish Krafts four-year term. Councilman Rod Jennings and Welsch were opposed, while Councilman Michael Glickert abstained.

Carr said she asked for a legal opinion from City Attorney Kathryn Forster more than a month ago and never received it. That clashed with Welschs comments that she saw a legal opinion from Forster.

Crow was furious that the city attorney had not responded to Carrs request and cast doubt on whether Welsch had received a formal legal opinion from the attorney. Meanwhile, Jennings asked if the issue could be delayed two more weeks to get a legal opinion.

I think we have enough lawsuits and things going on, Jennings said.

But Carr and Crow said there was no time left to consider the issue. They said candidates for an April election, unneeded except for the error on the November ballot, could begin applying before the end of the year.

Once you have a candidate who has filed, youve got another can of worms, Carr said.

The resolution to clarify that McMahon was elected through April 2018 was originally to be voted on Nov. 28 but was removed from the agenda. Carr said the city attorney has all but refused to make herself available to talk to her about the issue.

McMahon asked City Clerk Joyce Pumm, the author of the ballot language, whether she intentionally made the mistake for political reasons. Pumm said no.

The city attorney was not present at Mondays council meeting, but Pumm made a statement at the end of the meeting. Pumm said she followed the advice of city legal counsel when she incorrectly noted on the ballot that the office would be up for election again next year instead of 2018.

It is my job to follow legal advice, which I did, contrary to what Council Member Carr is proposing, Pumm read from a written statement, apparently in reference to previous comments by Carr.

The University City Council doesnt meet again until January.
CHARLES CITY | Eleanor Debban, 98, of Charles City, and formerly of Mesa, Arizona, died Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, at the Faith Lutheran Home in Charles City.

A graveside service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, at Riverside Cemetery in Charles City, with Pastor Jim Beranek from Trinity United Methodist Church in Charles City officiating.

Family and friends will gather at Hauser Funeral Home at 10 a.m. on Thursday before the graveside service.

Hauser Funeral Home, Charles City, is in charge of arrangements.
This election gave us a surprise: President-elect Donald Trump. And he will nominate someone to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court due to the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia. The stakes are high as the court prepares to hear important matters of constitutional law, including a case concerning religious liberty in Missouri, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley.

Last summer, Trump listed a number of individuals he would consider nominating to fill a Supreme Court vacancy. One of those names is Judge Raymond Gruender, a St. Louis native who now sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. And perhaps the best person to serve as the next Supreme Court justice is Gruender, whose dissenting opinion in Trinity Lutheran Church distinguishes him as an outstanding choice.

The fight concerns, of all things, shredded tires. A Columbia, Mo., church operates a daycare and preschool. It wanted to improve its childrens playground by taking advantage of a Missouri program that provides recycled scrap tires to replace playground surfaces.

When the church applied to receive the shredded tires to resurface its schools playground, it was rejected for one reason  it was a church. Missouri has long had an amendment in its constitution that forbids the spending of public funds directly or indirectly in aid of any church. Missouri officials cited this provision when denying the churchs request. The church sued and alleged that Missouri had impermissibly infringed on its right to engage in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Missouris amendment is one of many Blaine Amendments still on the books in some states. In the late 19th century, Maine politician James Blaine led the charge to exclude religious institutions  mostly targeting Roman Catholics  from receiving government benefits. But these amendments are of dubious constitutionality: They single out religious institutions over all others.

The district court dismissed the churchs claim, and two of the three judges on the 8th Circuit panel that handled the appeal affirmed that dismissal. But Gruenders dissent reflects the better approach, a careful and proper understanding of the Constitution and the law.

Gruenders treatment of small but important technical matters bears mentioning. He recognized that the church sought a narrow form of relief: that this program violated the Free Exercise Clause, not that the Blaine Amendment was unconstitutional in all circumstances. His precise and measured approach addressed only the case before the court, nothing more.

And he cautioned against dismissing the case too early in the litigation process, which the district court had done. Gruender recognized that if the church plausibly claimed a basis for relief, the law permitted the church to have an opportunity to inquire into Missouris true motives for singling out churches. Later investigation of facts might change the outcome of the case, and Gruender recognized the perils of throwing out this case too early.

Gruender then turned to the specific details of the churchs claim. It is problematic under the Free Exercise Clause, he noted, if a state singles out a church and tells it that it cannot participate in a government program simply because it is a church. Gruender deftly navigated the Supreme Courts messy, fact-driven precedents in this area before concluding that the state failed to articulate a sufficient basis to burden the churchs rights.

Missouri claimed that it was worried that it would appear to the public that it was favoring churches by giving them recycled tires for the preschools playground. Gruender explained that many government programs appropriately provide financial benefits to religious institutions. And in the instances where the Supreme Court has permitted states to single out and exclude churches from receiving government benefits, it is because the church is doing something exclusively or overtly religious. Here, Gruender explained, schoolchildren playing on a safer rubber surfaced made from environmentally-friendly recycled tires has nothing to do with religion.

The Supreme Court overturns about two-thirds of lower courts decisions in the cases it chooses to hear. That means that if there is a dissenting opinion in a case it chooses to hear, it often adopts the outcome articulated in that dissenting opinion. If Gruenders dissenting opinion in Trinity Lutheran Church has favorably attracted the attention of the justices already on the Supreme Court, perhaps it is time to consider nominating him so that he might join them.
Watch what we do, not what we say.

At the beginning of Richard Nixons presidency, thats how Attorney General John Mitchell explained the way reporters could best understand what the country was about to experience.

Its also good advice for understanding the administration of the billionaire phony populist who will assume the presidency next month. Donald Trump cast himself as the champion of a besieged American working class and a defender of its interests. His early decisions tell us something very different: This could be the most anti-worker, anti-union crowd to run our government since the Gilded Age.

Theres an irony here, since Mitchell was trying to reassure journalists that despite Nixons 1968 law-and-order campaign, he would stay true to enforcing civil rights laws. In Trumps case, were learning that rhetoric out of labor songbooks meant less than nothing. He was covering up an agenda focused on undercutting legal protections for workers and weakening their already beleaguered organizations.

How else to understand Trumps decision to nominate Andrew Puzder, a fast-food executive, as secretary of labor? Perhaps, in the interests of transparency, the incoming Republican Congress can rename the part of our government historically devoted to workers interests the Department of Low-Wage Labor.

The contradictions abound. One of Trumps core promises was to restore well-paying jobs in the factories and the mines. But hes putting at the helm of the Labor Department the CEO of the company that franchises Hardees and Carl Jr.s. Their workers tend to be at the bottom end of the pay scale. Puzders passions have been invested in cutting wage costs. If Trump wanted a corporate type at Labor, might he at least have tried to pick someone from the manufacturing sphere?

Ah, but Trumpworld is also a land of cronies. Trump and the Republican Party could not say enough about the corrupt intersection of donors to the Clinton Foundation and the policies that Hillary Clinton would pursue as president. Yet here comes Puzder  joining a Cabinet of working stiffs with a net worth so far of $14.5 billion, according to NBC News  who will no doubt feel well rewarded for his own financial support of the Trump campaign.

A rule of thumb for the next four years: With Trump, everything that Republicans said about corruption and conflicts of interest where Clinton was concerned is now, to use the Nixon-era word, inoperative.

The labor secretary is responsible for enforcing laws that protect employees. But as New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman noted, the fact that Mr. Puzder has now reportedly been selected to lead the same agency that uncovered wage theft at his restaurants is a cruel and baffling decision by President-elect Trump. How closely will the Republican-led Senate look into this issue?

And you get a clear sense of how anti-union Trump threatens to be when you combine the Puzder pick with Trumps attack on Chuck Jones. Hes the president of the United Steelworkers Local 1999 at the Carrier plant in Indiana where Trump claimed he saved 1,100 jobs. Jones used colorful language to say that Trump had lied about the number of jobs protected and had given Carrier workers false hope. The real jobs number was closer to 800, and layoffs are expected in 2017.

Jones was quickly assailed by Trump (on Twitter, of course) for having done a terrible job representing workers. Further, Trump blamed the union for the job losses. If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Trump likes to talk about workers but hates it when they talk back.

Jones, tougher than Trump when it comes to absorbing criticism, shrugged off the president-elects tantrum, saying Trump didnt know what in the hell he was talking about.

But the rest of us  and particularly workers who cast ballots for Trump in the hope of better days  ignore the Tweeter-in-Chiefs behavior at our peril.

Fake populism is an old story, and it often involves dividing workers against each other along the lines of race, religion, ethnicity or immigration status. Trump has already proved himself a master of this sort of manipulation.

Over the long run, though, workers will rely on the content of their paychecks and the quality of their living standards to help them decide whether Trumps word to them was any better than his promises to the students he fleeced at Trump University. They wont need John Mitchell to tell them to keep a close eye on what this man actually does.
There are two sets of ominous considerations in reports that the CIA has concluded that the Russian government hacked U.S. computers to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. One is political, the other is geopolitical. Trump is taking the wrong approach on both.

The president-elect reacted defensively to Fridays disclosure by The Washington Post that CIA analysts have determined that Russian hackers deliberately attempted to tilt the Nov. 8 election in Trumps favor. I think its ridiculous. I think its just another excuse, Trump told Fox News Sunday.

Earlier his transition team had mocked the CIA for its incorrect assessment in 2002 about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Thus Trump is now at odds with the CIA, the agency charged with telling him whats going on in a dangerous world.

Not that hes particularly interested in daily briefings. He told Fox News Sunday, Im, like, a smart person. I dont have to be told the same thing in the same way every single day  . But I do say, If something should change, let us know. 

Luckily there are some grown-ups in Washington who understand that having a foreign power tampering with U.S. elections is a bigger deal than soothing one mans fragile ego. On Sunday, a bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrats Charles Schumer of New York and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, called for investigations into the cyberattacks. This cannot become a partisan issue, the senators said. The stakes are too high for our country.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agreed. The Russians are not our friends, McConnell said. He wants the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to lead the investigation. Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt sits on that committee. He should defend the independent oversight authority of Congress by stepping away from partisan politics and adding his voice to the effort.

Yes, there are domestic political considerations. The election was so close in three key states, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, that Russian tampering might have made a difference. The investigation is unlikely to overturn election results, but its important to know how it happened to keep it from happening again.

At a geopolitical level, Americans need to know why it happened. Trumps admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin is no secret. He and members of his inner circle have significant business ties with Russia. They must never allow those ties to cloud their judgment on whats best for this country.

The integrity of our democratic system is paramount. Reports of Russian meddling have inflicted serious damage on public confidence. If Trump were anywhere near as smart as he thinks he is, hed listen to his intelligence briefers.
So my question is, if the department is defunded, and low pay continues, what will happen the next time the police are desperately needed and only a handful of them are available?
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Would you like to see a Boris Bikes-style scheme in Stratford?

A CRUCIAL survey of peoples priorities has been launched by Stratford District Council as it faces even further cuts in government funding.

A wide-ranging questionnaire has been sent to the councils 1,200-strong citizens panel asking what members think are the key public projects that need to be supported as cash becomes ever tighter in the years ahead.

Four vital areas are covered  transport, the local economy, housing and health and wellbeing  and members of the panel are being asked to indicate which projects they regard as low, medium, high or essential priorities.

One project that stands out is the creation of a new park in Stratford, on land between the back of the leisure centre and the River Avon.

It would be the first new park in the town for 100 years and would link the area to the recreation ground.

The questionnaire asks the panel how much importance should be placed on such a proposal.

Other ideas are to establish a Shakespeare Museum in Stratford dedicated to the playwrights life and works. Such a scheme would be conducted in collaboration with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

There is also a proposal to establish a science and technology park.

There are a total of 22 potential schemes contained in the questionnaire. They include establishing a rail link from Stratford to the Birmingham International HS2 station, reinstating the rail line from Stratford to Honeybourne, and improving Stratford Railway Station.

There are suggestions for the redevelopment of the A3400 Birmingham Road in Stratford to ease traffic congestion and building an eastern relief road linking the A422 Banbury Road in Stratford with the A429 at Wellesbourne.

The road-related projects also include a question about whether the council should try to encourage the government to dual the entire length of the A46.

Theres also an idea to improve cycle routes in Stratford to provide safer passage in the town and link the town centre with various Shakespeare attractions and other market towns in the district.

People are being asked for their views on introducing the Boris Bikes scheme in Stratford.

On housing, the questionnaire asks whether the council should take a more direct approach to the provision of affordable accommodation and also help provide market housing for key workers that could be made more affordable through subsidies.

Regarding health and wellbeing, theres a suggestion that the council should investigate options for the funding of investment in health services. Theres also an idea that agencies, including the council, should be more co-ordinated and focused on tackling the issue of child obesity.

Listed under infrastructure, proposals to regenerate the Canal Quarter in the heart of Stratford include a mix of housing and light industry as well as a possible multi-purpose community facility.

Cllr Chris Saint (Cons, Shipston North), the district council leader, told the Herald: The questionnaire is a serious piece of information gathering to help the district handle its role in infrastructure provision.
On July 14, 1953, Russel Russ Borchardt of Clear Lake was walking to the officers quarters at a camp in Kumsong Valley in Korea when an explosion knocked him flat on the ground.

I thought to myself, Im dead, Borchardt said.

He couldnt hear, see or move.

I just laid there for a while, Borchardt said. My vision started to come back and I thought guess Im not dead.

Once he could move, he stumbled into the bunker, covered in dirt, thinking he was badly hurt. A medic dusted him off, looking for signs of injury and found none.

I looked down at my hand and saw a little speck of blood on my finger, Borchardt said. I cleaned it and had to pull a pebble out of it. I still have the scar.

He said he put a Band-Aid on it and that was the extent of his injuries.

The commanding officer told him the explosion was caused by an armor piercing shell that is meant to go through steel armor before exploding. The shell went deep into the ground before exploding so the shrapnel was absorbed in the ground, causing dirt to fly and leaving Borchardt unharmed.

Now, 63 years later, Borchardt feels the effects of those loud explosions he experienced in Korea. He has hearing aids he can control though a remote worn around his neck.

In October 1952, the Cerro Gordo County Draft Board sent 18 men including Borchardt for military service.

One day during his U.S. Army basic training he was told to report to his commanding officers office.

Borchardt said he was shaking in my boots. The commanding officer handed him a letter from his mother, begging the officer to let Borchardt have some time off to be the best man for his younger sisters wedding.

I broke down in tears, he said.

The officer granted him nine days to go to the wedding. To this day, it still makes him tear up.

On February 20, 1953, his 21st birthday, Borchardt set sail and made several stops before making it to Busan, Korea, on March 17.

He and other troops then boarded a wooden train from Busan to an Army base near Seoul.

We saw evidence of the war pretty quickly, Borchardt said. The further north we traveled the worse it got, with destroyed homes, burned-out factories and more.

He was assigned to C Battery, 69th Field Artillery Battalion, a mobile unit, on the front lines, and was assigned to the communications squad where he first worked as a telephone switchboard operator then later installing and repairing phone lines.

Our nickname was Hell on Wheels, he said. I cant say that we were hell on wheels but we moved around a lot.

Borchardt had another close call in June in a location called Mortar Valley. Mortar fire started coming in and one of the phone lines to a large gun was cut. Since he had strung the phone wire he went out to fix it.

He was able to fix the break, but, as soon as I stood up, the gun a few yards behind me decided to fire and the concussion knocked me to the ground, Borchardt said.

He was unharmed but it took several days to fully recover his hearing.

Before one large battle, Borchardt remembers four men in his company who comforted them all.

They formed a quartet and sang the hymn, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord at prayer service in the mess hall.

They were amazing singers, he said.

Borchardt remembers huddling in heavy overcoats and ponchos with his crew in a ditch. It was cold, dark and raining during mortar fire.

We were all scared, he said.

In the night, he could hear a strong voice begin singing the hymn again. Then three others joined him.

They relaxed us and we werent afraid anymore, Borchardt said. There were good things that happened, too.

On April 22, 1954, Borchardt made it back to Mason City with another veteran from Plymouth.

We took a cab to Park Hospital where my sister worked and surprised her, he said.

Borchardt grew up in Plymouth and now resides in Clear Lake with his wife, Judy.
Wellesbourne Airfield.

SUSPECTED fake and unsafe goods worth around 3million were seized from Wellesbourne Market on Saturday, police have said.

The joint swoop was carried out by Warwickshire Police, the Anti Counterfeiting Group (ACG) and the National Markets Group (NMG).

A 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy, both from Birmingham, were arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation. They have been bailed until February 2017.

Inspector Julia Brealey said: "This is not the first time we have targeted operations at this market.

"This latest action should send out a clear message to all those trading in suspected counterfeit goods that we will catch you and you risk not only losing all your stock but also your vehicle and possibly your liberty.

"The message is simple - legitimate traders are welcome at Wellesbourne Market but we will disrupt the operation of those thought to be non-legitimate traders."

Graham Mogg, intelligence co-ordinator at the ACG and chair of the NMG, added: ''The sale of any potential counterfeit products including unsafe electrical and cosmetic items at Wellesbourne Market places shoppers at risk of serious injury.

"In addition this criminality undermines legitimate trade, takes revenue out of the UK economy and is known to fund other crime and terrorism.

"Wwe were delighted to support the direct and positive action taken by Warwickshire Police to mitigate those risks and protect the public."

Back in 2013 7.2million of fake goods were seized in two separate raids on the popular market in a matter of weeks.
Conviva and EdgeConneX Release Comcast Network Performance Study in New Whitepaper

Comcast Experiences an Average of 25 Percent Improvement in Quality of Experience Metrics with Deployment of Edge Data Center Solution

Herndon, VA( )

EdgeConneX, specializing in global data center solutions at the edge of the network, and Conviva, powering every internet-connected screen with the most engaging experiences imaginable, today announce the availability of a new whitepaper documenting the benefits of EdgeConneX colocation services. Specifically, this study quantifies the improvements to Quality of Experience metrics for content delivery partners based on its 2016 research. Conviva measured the video data streams of multiple publishers that distributed EdgeConneX-enabled streams for Comcast across eight major metro areas in the United States. These measurements were compared against networks that did not utilize an edge localization strategy with EdgeConneX.

EdgeConneX colocation services minimize the distance between viewers and video content. The companys Edge Data Centers (EDCs) circumvent the distance, capacity constraints, multiple network hops and centralized processing loads that exist in traditional internet architecture. EdgeConneX and Conviva have been consistently measuring the impact of these colocation solutions on the quality of experience delivered to viewers. The Conviva findings in 2016 have proven once again that mobilization of content brings success and directly impacts the bottom line for both SVOD and AVOD publishers.

In the 2015 study, Conviva found a 12 to 20% reduction in rebuffering time when a content provider was localized in an EdgeConneX EDC and directly linked to the ISP. The 2016 study found an even greater benefit. The average performance improved 25% as a result of localizing content at the edge across eight metro areas in the United States. Furthermore, findings revealed that the EdgeConneX-enabled ISPs improvement across these eight areas against the next leading CDN was 23%, and against national broadband providers was 16%. In the Pittsburgh metro area, as an example, Comcast, using EdgeConneX to enable their content delivery, has shown 19% improvement against the next leading CDN and 34% improvement against the next leading metro broadband provider.

Conviva strives to make the internet a better place for video by providing our data and analytics services to ecosystem providers such as EdgeConneX and Comcast, comments Dr. Hui Zhang, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Conviva. Services provided by EdgeConneX optimize the experience for everyone in the video ecosystem, improving delivery levels and increasing consumers expectations above and beyond traditional linear TV.

Our Edge Data Centers effectively improve the delivery of high volume, mission-critical content such as IP video, states Clint Heiden, chief commercial officer, EdgeConneX. In this latest analysis, Conviva has demonstrated that video cached locally in our Edge Data Centers and delivered over the Comcast network had significantly lower rebuffering. The combination of localization and direct peering continues to resonate with our customers and end-users alike. This translates to higher viewer engagement and greater revenue for both ISPs and content providers.

In earlier studies, Conviva found that a 1% increase in interruption resulted in a 14-minute reduction in engagement per user viewing session. With an average 25% reduction in interruptions across eight metro areas in the United States, ISPs enabled by EdgeConneX Edge Data Centers at the edge should expect substantially lower viewer abandonment rates.

Comcast is extremely pleased with our partnership with EdgeConneX and their purpose-built, edge infrastructure, shares Paul Merritt, Vice President, Comcast Business for the Keystone Region. Together with content and connectivity ecosystem partners, Comcast can deliver superior video and cloud services to our end-users. As Conviva measurements demonstrate, our strategy to localize the ecosystem in our metro areas significantly raises the quality of the customer experience.

To download the full report, click here.

About EdgeConneX

EdgeConneX is the only global Edge Data Center provider. Creating purpose-built, edge-of-network infrastructure solutions that extend the internets reach, EdgeConneX enables the fastest and most secure delivery of content, cloud services and applications. Edge Data Centers host bandwidth intensive and latency sensitive data closer to end-users, establishing a more secure, reliable and cost effective distribution model for the internet. For more information, please visit the EdgeConneX Internet of Everywhere at edgeconnex.com.

About Conviva

Conviva powers every internet-connected screen with the most engaging viewing experiences imaginable by elevating the way OTT businesses use data-driven intelligence. For years, HBO, Sky, ESPN and the like have been using the Conviva Platform to enlighten, reveal and inform with important insights around consumer in-screen viewing experience allowing them to connect those metrics to important business outcomes. This allows customers to not only maximize subscriber retention and growth but also understand content and viewing trends so that they can deliver more personalized viewing experiences. We make engagement a data driven outcome based on actionable quality of experience (QoE) analytics. Conviva is privately held and headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with offices in New York and London. For more information, please visit us at www.conviva.com.
Gray Targets Millennials by Delivering Local News Through Haystack TV's OTT Platform

ATLANTA( )

Gray Television, Inc. ("Gray," "we," "us" or "our") (NYSE: GTN and GTN.A) announced today that it has reached an agreement with over-the-top video network Haystack TV to distribute its local news video content to its millennial-targeted audience.

Haystack TV radically improves the way TV news is consumed and distributed online through a mix of big data technology, artificial intelligence and human curation. Upon accessing Haystack TV, local users will see a mix of the top news stories and other content tuned to their specific interests based on their viewing habits, preferred publishers and favorite topics. The platform features content from traditional news broadcasters, as well as from newer niche publishers. Haystack TV presents videos in a way that allow for an optimal lean-back viewing experience.

"Third party researchers have named Gray as the television group reaching the highest number of 'millennial' consumers," said Kevin Latek, Gray's Executive Vice President. "It is therefore quite appropriate that Gray today becomes the first local broadcaster in each of our 50+ television markets to distribute local news video content on Haystack TV's new and innovative platform."

Jason Effinger, Gray's Chief Digital and Technology Officer explained, "Our viewers don't just want great content, they want to consume information on the platforms and devices of their own choosing. Haystack TV allows Gray to better meet the needs of our millennial viewers through a technology and a platform that are far ahead of the competition in delivering relevant video content to local viewers across the country."

The Haystack TV platform is just one more exciting way that Gray's stations get their highly sought-after local content into the hands of news-hungry millennials. Previously, Gray was the first television broadcast group to launch all of its CBS affiliates on the CBS All Access platform. Gray is also one of the largest broadcast groups supporting Roku with local station apps in dozens of markets in addition to hundreds of iOS, Apple, Kindle, and AppleWatch apps. Likewise, Gray's early and extensive involvement with "Facebook Instant Articles" led Facebook to select Gray as a "case study" for all media companies looking to expand their presence on the world's largest social media network.

Haystack TV is available on iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Fire TV and on the web via http://www.haystack.tv. Haystack TV was one of the initial launch partners for the Android TV platform and was featured by Google for its Chromecast integration. Haystack TV has also been featured multiple times on the Apple App Store and was a winner at Twitter's Hatch startup competition. Additional information about Haystack is available at http://www.haystack.tv/about-us.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) expresses concerns about the nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state.

While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination. The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of America's interests, and will be a forceful advocate for America's foreign policy goals to the president, within the administration, and on the world stage. I look forward to learning more about his record and his views. I will do my part to ensure he receives a full and fair but also thorough hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Neighborhood impact and sustainability top priorities in community-centric design

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Brickstone Partners today unveiled three proposed design schemes for its 3100 Lake Street Class A+ residential development on the north side of Lake Calhoun. The property is currently an office building, but was slated for redevelopment after Brickstone bought the property in August 2015.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005251/en/

Brickstone Partners 3100 Lake Street proposed 6-story scheme (Photo: Business Wire)

Brickstone Partners is a seasoned, full-service real estate investment and development firm with roots in Minnesota and Colorado. Founded in 2001, Brickstone focuses on providing high-end luxury housing in legacy locations such as Lake Calhoun. ESG Architects, a firm distinguished in Minnesota multi-family architecture, will serve as the project architect. Adolfson Peterson will serve as the general contractor overseeing construction.

We are attracted to Minnesota, and this site in particular, for many reasons, including its history of strong community and commitment to sustainable, forward-thinking design, said Dan Otis, principal at Brickstone Partners. We are very excited to be a part of the thriving market here, and it is important to us that our designs honor the architectural heritage of the area and enhance the neighborhood from multiple perspectives.

After receiving initial feedback on our original plan for a taller building, the Cedar-Isles-Dean Neighborhood Association, or CIDNA, requested we provide the neighborhood with three options that we considered to be more reasonable in height and more consistent with the neighborhood.

The designs up for review by CIDNA include:

A 13-story tower constructed of high-quality concrete and high-end finishes. This building maximizes setbacks, allowing significant green space between adjacent properties and using height to maximize open space.

A nine-story, C-shaped concrete and wood structure. This option offers a hybrid option between the six- and 13-story buildings as it steps from nine stories to four stories at Lake Street. This building has slightly less open space than the 13 story, but still accommodates better set backs to the neighboring properties.

A six-story, wood-frame donut-shaped building. This structure would be much like the standard six-story, multi-family projects prevalent in the marketplace. This option would offer a more continuous fabric facade along Lake Street. Also, the building is the least tall of the three options, encompassing much of the site and offering the least open space.

All three designs include approximately 200 units and 295 underground parking spaces. Additionally, they include an abundance of high-end amenities, such as a rooftop pool and fitness and yoga rooms to accommodate the active lifestyle of the neighborhood. A gourmet coffee shop and juice bar at street level will add ambience and convenience to residents and passersby alike.

Concluded Otis, While all three designs are great options, our aim is to be cognizant of the propertys neighbors, the beautiful surrounding scenery and urban design. Given these factors, we believe our 13-story design is the best fit, allowing for a much more green space and a responsible footprint. Were looking forward to moving forward with the project.

About Brickstone PartnersBrickstone Partners, Inc. is a full-service real estate investment and development firm with offices in Denver and Minneapolis. Founded in 2001, Brickstone has been involved in more than 2.1 million square feet of office, retail and multi-family investment and development. Most recently, Brickstone has been focused on developing high-end multi-family housing in legacy locations in highly desirable neighborhoods. The Company is also co-sponsor of the more than $180MM Google Regional Headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. While Brickstone delivers strong returns to its investors, it is equally committed to adding long-lasting value to the communities and neighborhoods it serves.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005251/en/

Brickstone Partners

Dan Otis, 720-399-2554

Principal

[email protected]

or

PadillaCRT for Brickstone Partners

Matt Sullivan, 612-455-1709

[email protected]

Source: Brickstone Partners
SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 12/12/16 -- Milipol Asia-Pacific 2017, the leading international exhibition and conference dedicated to all aspects of homeland security in the Asia-Pacific region will be held in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre from 4 - 6 April 2017.

Supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore and the Ministry of the Interior of France, the seventh edition of Asia-Pacific's largest homeland security show promises to be the largest of the series so far with over 250 exhibitors, eight national pavilions from more than 30 countries showcasing the latest solutions, technologies and innovations for regional homeland security. New pavilions added to this year's show include Drones & Robotics and Private Security.

VIP delegations from countries throughout the region will again be represented at Milipol Asia-Pacific 2017. An estimated 150 VIP delegates, comprising of key security personnel from more than 15 countries will be in attendance.

The Milipol Asia-Pacific 2017 Conference is honoured to have Mr Khoo Boon Hui as its 2017 Conference Chairman. Mr Khoo was Singapore's Police Commissioner (1997-2010) and INTERPOL President (2008-2012). He left the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore as its Senior Deputy Secretary in 2015.

This year's theme, Emerging Threats -- The Case for Collaborative Public Safety, will be focusing on the importance of emergency preparedness amid the increasing presence of threats, and the critical need for public and private collaborations. Anticipated highlights of the three-day conference and for the first time in Asia is the retelling and lesson learnt of the Paris attacks in the words of the four key people involved, plus sharing his extraordinary experiences on the ground in Syria by James Le Mesurier, Director of the Syria Civil Defence support programme.

For more information, please visit: www.milipolasiapacific.com

Note to Editors

-------------------------------------------- What: Milipol Asia-Pacific 2017 -------------------------------------------- When: 4 April - 6 April 2017 -------------------------------------------- Where: Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, 1 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018971 -------------------------------------------- Tickets: Free entry to public --------------------------------------------

About Milipol Asia-Pacific

In 2015 the GIE Milipol, Comexposium and GSA Exhibitions Pte Ltd announced the partnership between Global Security Asia and the Milipol Events. After the 2015 edition of the Global Security Asia exhibition and conference, the event was renamed Milipol Asia-Pacific, so creating the world's leading international network of exhibitions dedicated to solutions, technologies and innovations for homeland security.

For over 30 years, the MILIPOL brand has been synonymous with the highest quality, international events focused on Homeland Security. Over the years, the brand has proudly presented Milipol Paris and Milipol Qatar.

For more information, please contact Right Hook Communications: Debbie Pereira Right Hook Communications Pte Ltd Tel: +65 9880 9848 Email: Email Contact Gladys Ngiam Right Hook Communications Pte Ltd Tel: +65 97427792 Email: Email Contact

Source: Comexposium
KYOTO, Japan, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nidec Corporation (TSE: 6594) (OTC US: NJDCY) has noted today that Muddy Waters Capital LLC published a report on December 12, 2016 (US time) which expresses doubts about the credibility of Nidec Corporations past financial statements and accounting procedures employed.

Nidec Corporation places utmost priority on transparency and accountability in information disclosure and concludes that Muddy Waters statements are factually inaccurate.

Contact: Masahiro Nagayasu General Manager Investor Relations +81-75-935-6140 [email protected]

Source: Nidec Corporation
Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic cut short a visit to Brussels on Monday after a row with Croatia, which Serbia says is blocking its progress toward European Union membership, Serbian news agency Tanjug reported.

Vucic had been due to attend a meeting of the EU Intergovernmental Conference on Tuesday, which was expected to approve the opening of three new accession chapters in Serbia's application for membership.

But Croatia, one of two former Yugoslav nations to have joined the EU so far, is objecting to the opening of the chapter on culture and education because of a dispute about the translation of textbooks, Croatia's HINA news agency said.

"There are things Serbia must implement along its EU path," Croatian minister for foreign and European affairs, Davor Ivo Stier, was quoted by Tanjug as saying. "Full protection of national minorities is one of those matters."

Croatians account for less than one percent of Serbia's population. Their languages are very similar and were part of a common language before the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

"Serbia was patient so far, but now it will talk differently," Vucic said in remarks broadcast by the Belgrade-based Prva TV before he left Brussels.Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic accused Croatia of acting in an unprincipled way.

"If Croatia is the one to decide about whether Serbia will enter the EU, then my interest just dropped somehow," Dacic said after meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Louise Ireland)








UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549





FORM 6-K





REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

Pursuant to Section 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934





For the month of, December 2016





Commission File Number: 001-14534









Precision Drilling Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)









800, 525 - 8 Avenue S.W.

Calgary, Alberta

Canada T2P 1G1

(Address of principal executive offices)









Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F Form 40-F X





Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1).









Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):

















SIGNATURE









Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.





Dated: December 12, 2016 PRECISION DRILLING CORPORATION By: /s/Carey T Ford Name: Carey T Ford Title: Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Exhibit DESCRIPTION





99.1 PRECISION DRILLING CORPORATION HAS ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT TO SWAP ITS CANADIAN COIL TUBING OPERATIONS FOR ESSENTIAL ENERGY SERVICES SERVICE RIG BUSINESS

















Exhibit 99.1
Continuing on its persistently-bullish trend, Pakistans KSE-100 Index crossed the 46,000-point mark during midday trading hours on Tuesday, recording 46,120 points at 12:07 PM. The benchmark index had hit its 45,000-point milestone last Friday.

KSE-100 index jumped 406 points from 45,387 as trading commenced in the markets. This represents an approximately 0.90% incline from Mondays closing bell.

As of the aforementioned time, 106 million shares  worth Rs. 10 billion  have swapped hands.

In related news, oil prices rose on the back of non-OPEC countries approval to slash production. Brent crude  the global benchmark  climbed to peak at $57.89 a barrel during yesterdays session  which represents the highest level since mid-last year.

Russia-led non-OPEC members have decided to bring down the output level by 558,000 barrels a day (bpd). This comes as an attempt to push up prices  part of a deal that is the non-OPEC members first one since 2001, and their largest contribution as well, Reuters reported.

On December 9, JS Global CCO Khurram Schehzad noted the new record-high, and explained that the continuous uptrend is a positive indicator, given how forex outflow is adverse for investor sentiment. He said, Pakistan equities (KSE-100) have now yielded a year-to-date (YTD) return of a massive 40.2% (40% in USD).

In addition, Pakistan expects major foreign inflows soon, as it is scheduled to recover its Emerging Market status in May 2017, according to MSCI.
Were a big fan of all the bicycle/pedestrian trail work thats taken place in Mason City this year. Its a big point of emphasis in the Blue Zones project, tourists love trails and many companies look for such things as quality-of-life offerings that will help them attract and keep employees.

So were very excited about plans to buy five miles of abandoned rail line to craft into a bicycle trail in one of Mason Citys more scenic areas.

The High Line Bike Trail would run north and south through the city, connecting to the south with the trail leading to Clear Lake and to the north with Lime Creek Nature Center and its multiuse trails. It runs parallel and just east of South Carolina Avenue from 19th Street Southeast, crossing over East State Street  one of the citys most scenic streets  then goes west across Willow Creek. It would be a beautiful bike trail year-round.

As the project stands now, the city is negotiating with two companies that own the land, the Union Pacific Railroad and Backtrack Inc. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation would buy the land, which is being appraised, then sell it to the city over time.

City Administrator Brent Trout emphasized the unique nature of the project.

"This is considered to be one of the rare opportunities you get to be able to put a trail through the middle of town through some of the most scenic property that exists," he said.

Its good that the Natural Heritage Foundation is involved because it specializes in such projects. Through its Rails for Trails program, it has helped buy more than 2,000 miles for conversion to bike trails, including the High Trestle Trail from Ankeny to Woodward and others.

Communication Director Joe Jayjack says parcels such as the one in Mason City are among the last natural and greenway corridors left in what is really a highly developed state.

This project has been a point of interest by the city for years, with formal approval to pursue negotiations coming in September 2015. Trout said if talks go as expected, the trail could be cleared and graded for at least some use within five years. We could see it used initially by mountain and fat bikes  which weve seen out in the cold and snow -- before eventually becoming available to more styles of bicycles.

What a great project this would be, not only because it would like trails from the north end of Mason City to Clear Lake but because it would highlight the citys natural beauty. Its the kind of project where word will spread quickly among bicycle enthusiasts, both local and tourists.

Were commend the city for shifting the project into high gear.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday said his party would come out on the streets if the government fails to meet the PPPs demands by the December 27 deadline.

Addressing a press conference, Bilawal said the government does not appear willing to meet even one of the demands made by the PPP, let alone four.

The government is not making fun of us, it is mocking the entire nation, he said.

We are not requesting the government; we will see to it that our demands are met, he added.

The PPP chairman during his address at Karsaz on October 17 had made four demands from the government:

1) A parliamentary committee should be formed on national security

2) PPPs Panama bill should be passed

3) Asif Zardaris resolution on CPEC should be implemented

4) A foreign minister should be appointed immediately

No option but to come out on the roads

Bilawal said if the government does not meet the demands there would be no other option left but to take to the streets.

He said the PPP would announce its next plan of action after December 27.

Taking aim at Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal claimed the Prime Minister had hidden money stolen from the nation abroad.

The PPP chairman further said the Interior Minister was not answerable and was not ready to come to the parliament.

Bilawal said if Lahores budget is compared to that of the rest of Punjab, injustice would be clearly visible. He added that peace and security situation in Punjab was deteriorating.

The PPP chairman said the law should reign supreme for both him and the Prime Minister.

He added that his party believes in maintaining good working relationships with all the parties, including the opposition.

Government has failed to implement NAP

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said earlier on Tuesday the government had refused to implement the National Action Plan (NAP).

In a series of tweets, Bilawal had said if the government was scared of accountability the new PPP would see them on the streets.

In a series of tweets, Bilawal said if the government was scared of accountability the new PPP would see them on the streets.

When I was a child,accountability czar said wouldnt rest until "Benazir's children were begging" on streets.Why expect leniency now? #Panama  BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) December 13, 2016

Governments refusal to implement #NAP results in incidents like #chakwal . Govt must accept my demands immediately. Particularly on CVE. 1/2  BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) December 13, 2016

The PPP chairman also said that when he was a child the accountability czar said he wouldnt rest until Benazirs children were begging on the streets. Why expect leniency now?

If govt is scared of being accountable to parliament, #NewPPP will see them on the streets, chanting #GoNawazGo. 2/2  BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) December 13, 2016

In the past, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned the government that if his partys demands are not met, then a long march would be announced on December 27.

The PPP chairman during his address at Karsaz on October 17, made four demands from the government.

Formation of a parliamentary committee on national security

PPPs Panama bill should be passed

Asif Zardaris resolution on CPEC should be implemented

A foreign minister should be appointed immediately
Britain has announced plans to adopt a controversial new definition of anti-Semitism, which includes criticism of Israel, in a bid to counter the rise in hate crime against Jewish people.

It means the UK will become the first country in the world to adopt the definition coined by the Berlin-based International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

The definition regards criticism of Israel and comparing Israeli state policy to that of the Nazis as anti-Semitic.

According to the IHRA anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred towards Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

Downing Street in a statement on Monday said that the definition will be used by government agencies and police to identify and combat incidents of anti-Semitism.

Fears definition could silence critics

The plans come after Jewish community groups recorded a 62 percent increase in incidents of anti-Semitism across Britain during the last year.

Last week a man who launched an anti-Semitic rant against Jewish MP Luciana Berger on Twitter was convicted of racially aggravated harassment and jailed for two years.

Theresa May, in a pre-released statement to Reuters, said the definition was adopted to ensure that culprits will not be able to get away with being anti-Semitic because the term is ill-defined, or because different organisations or bodies have different interpretations of it.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, Jewish groups across Britain have welcomed the governments adoption of the definition.

The Community Security Trust, which monitors incidents of anti-Semitism, said that it was an important step which could help reduce incidents in the UK.

Britains Labour Party, which has been gripped by numerous recent scandals related to anti-Semitism, also welcomed the definition.

Critics, however, have voiced concerns about the defintion being instrumentalised by the British government to quell criticism of Israel.

Hilary Aked, a researcher investigating the Israel lobby at the University of Bath, told Middle East Eye: While the headline definition set out by the IHRA is laudable and should be welcomed, a closer look at the guidelines issued with it shows that the government is trying to make it more difficult to criticise Israel and say that its discriminatory practices stem from Zionism  the idea of an ethnically exclusivist or majority Jewish state.
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MIAMI and HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Dec. 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI.A) (NYSE:HEI) today announced that its Annual Shareholders Meeting will be held on March 17, 2017. Shareholders of record at the close of business on January 13, 2017 will be entitled to vote at the meeting.



HEICO has two classes of common stock traded on the NYSE. Both classes, the Class A Common Stock (HEI.A) and the Common Stock (HEI), are virtually identical in all economic respects. The only difference between the share classes is the voting rights. The Class A Common Stock (HEI.A) receives 1/10 vote per share and the Common Stock (HEI) receives one vote per share. There are currently approximately 40.3 million shares of HEICOs Class A Common Stock (HEI.A) outstanding and 27.0 million shares of HEICOs Common Stock (HEI) outstanding. The stock symbols for HEICOs two classes of common stock on most web sites are HEI.A and HEI. However, some web sites change HEICOs Class A Common Stock stock symbol (HEI.A) to HEI/A or HEIa.

HEICO Corporation is engaged primarily in the design, production, servicing and distribution of products and services to certain niche segments of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries through its Hollywood, Florida-based Flight Support Group and its Miami, Florida-based Electronic Technologies Group. HEICO's customers include a majority of the world's airlines and overhaul shops, as well as numerous defense and space contractors and military agencies worldwide, in addition to medical, telecommunications and electronics equipment manufacturers. For more information about HEICO, please visit our website at http://www.heico.com.
WILMINGTON, Del., Dec. 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andrews & Springer LLC, a boutique securities class action law firm focused on representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating potential securities violation and breach of fiduciary duty claims against the Board of Directors of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. (Forest City Realty or the Company).



If you own shares of Forest City Realty and want to receive additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit us at http://www.andrewsspringer.com/cases-investigations/forest-city-realty-trust-class-action-investigation/ or contact Craig J. Springer, Esq. at cspringer@andrewsspringer.com, or call toll free at 1-800-423-6013. You may also follow us on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/company/andrews-&-springer-llc , Twitter  www.twitter.com/AndrewsSpringer or Facebook - www.facebook.com/AndrewsSpringer for future updates.

Andrews & Springer is a boutique securities class action law firm representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty or corporate misconduct. Having formerly defended some of the largest financial institutions in the world, our founding members use their valuable knowledge, experience, and superior skill for the sole purpose of achieving positive results for investors. These traits are the hallmarks of our innovative approach to each case our Firm decides to prosecute. For more information please visit our website at www.andrewsspringer.com. This notice may constitute Attorney Advertising.
NEWTOWN, Conn., Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The market for gas turbines in the worldwide oil and gas industry will see significant expansion thanks to rapid growth in demand for floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels used in offshore oil and gas exploitation projects, according to data generated by Forecast International's Platinum Forecast System version 3.1.

Forecast International is projecting the sales value of mechanical drive industrial gas turbines delivered between 2016 and 2030 to total $27.8 billion. Approximately 4,220 turbines will be sold during this period, with a per-unit price of $6.5 million. These gas turbines will be used for pipeline compression and pumping, and in LNG applications, as well as in refineries and in the chemical and petrochemical industries.

"Gas turbines used as compressors or pump drives meet the requirements for reliability, availability, efficiency, and environmental compatibility, providing low life-cycle costs and the best possible return on investment," said Stuart Slade, Forecast International's senior Industrial and Marine gas turbine analyst.

Increasing use of natural gas as fuel for industrial applications is also accelerating demand for mechanical drive gas turbines, according to Slade. "The share of the market held by natural gas will grow to over 19 percent in 2017, to over 21 percent by 2020, and to 23.5 percent by 2025," said Slade. "As a result, gas turbines are now the drivers of choice for the oil and gas industry, particularly the LNG industry."

Slade believes that the annual production of gas turbine machines for mechanical drive duty will increase steadily through the coming decade. This projection is predicated on the enormous worldwide potential for oil and gas production and transport. "The market for the machines will be driven by new, large-scale, high-capacity pipeline and FPSO construction," said Slade. "So expect to see continued demand for these high-powered aeroderivative machines."

Production is expected to reach a high of 295 units in 2025, before leveling off slightly in the out-years. In terms of value of production, Solar Turbines will lead the field, with a 37.4 percent share, followed by Siemens (23.2 percent) and GE Energy (20.7 percent).

Slade points out that the dynamic growth of the oil and gas industry, especially LNG, has resulted in the use of very complex and high-technology mechanical drive turbomachinery for pumping, compressor, and refrigeration service. Expansion of the the oil and gas segment is forecast to reach a 12 percent industry growth rate by the end of the decade. Slade cautions, however, that increased mechanical drive capacity will not be reflected by parallel growth in the number of machines procured, since power output per turbine is increasing faster than the aggregate demand for added power.

About Forecast International

Forecast International, Inc. is a leading provider of Market Intelligence and Analysis in the areas of aerospace, defense, power systems and military electronics. The firm also maintains a high posture of situational awareness and geopolitical analysis. Based in Newtown, Conn., USA, Forecast International specializes in long-range industry forecasts and market assessments used by strategic planners, marketing professionals, military organizations, and governments worldwide. Forecast International's resources and extensive base of experience can also be readily adapted and efficiently focused to fulfill a broad spectrum of civil and military consulting and special research requirements.
Madison, CT, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clarity Software Solutions, Inc. today announced it ranked 385 on Deloittes Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. Clarity grew 176% during this period.

Sean Rotermund, Claritys Founder, President and CEO, credits ongoing innovation and collaboration for the companys 176% revenue growth. He said, "At Clarity, we continue to innovate and enhance our solutions to stay ahead of the needs within the healthcare industry. We collaborate with our clients and industry experts to ensure were providing products and solutions that position our clients for continued success."

Clarity previously ranked 247 as a Technology Fast 500 award winner for 2015. This is the fourth consecutive year that Clarity has been recognized by Deloitte.

About Deloittes 2016 Technology Fast 500

Deloittes Technology Fast 500 provides a ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies  both public and private  in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2012 to 2015.

In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company's operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least $50,000 USD, and current-year operating revenues of at least $5 million USD. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of four years and be headquartered within North America.

As used in this document, Deloitte means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

About Clarity Software Solutions, Inc.

Clarity Software Solutions, Inc. assists clients with optimizing customer relationships by enhancing flexibility and control over their document management and communications delivery. Clarity is headquartered in Madison, CT and serves various industries across the country. Clarity's custom solutions are built within secure web-based technology, are easy-to-use and allow a single communication to be published to any form of media-print, web or email. For more information, please visit www.clarityssi.com.

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Infielder Emmanuel Burriss hit .300 for the Syracuse Chiefs in 2014.

(Gary Walts | GWalts@Syracuse.com)

The Washington Nationals have signed four players to minor league deals, according to MLB.com, including one who is already very familiar to Syracuse Chiefs fans.

Infielder Emmanuel Burriss is back as a strong option as a depth player for the Nationals. Burriss spent parts of the 2014-15 seasons with the Chiefs before spending last year in the Philadelphia organization.

Burriss could have a shot at sticking with Washington since the Nationals need depth after trading Danny Espinosa to the Angels last weekend.

The other players inked are pitchers Mike Broadway, Jacob Turner and Tim Collins. All four players will get an invitation to Washington's spring training.
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Sgt. Jon Seeber, of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, gives a coat to a man in Syracuse. As the sheriff's office gets new coats, the coats deputies used to wear will be donated to Onondaga County residents in need.

(Onondaga County Sheriff's Office)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Starting this month, deputies will donate used coats to Onondaga County residents in need.

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office is retiring the departments' old coats in favor new coats that are more visible, said Sgt. Jon Seeber. As deputies receive new jackets, the coats formerly worn by deputies will be given to county residents.

"By the very nature of our work in responding to calls for assistance, deputies see the real life challenges facing many in our community," Sheriff Eugene Conway said. "Helping them by way of this initiative is one way in which we can further serve our community."

The winter coats are washed and markings are removed before the coats are donated, Seeber said. The sheriff's office will donate the coats through organizations and deputies who spot residents in need.
Joshua Baez Arnold

Joshua Baez-Arnold

(Provided by New York State Police)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- An Oswego County man was charged with having drugs twice within a matter of hours Friday, state police said.

First, state police said they found 29-year-old Joshua Baez-Arnold, in possession of heroin and needles during a traffic stop in the city of Syracuse.

Then, as he was being booked at the Onondaga County Justice Center, sheriff's deputies found he had crack cocaine in a "body cavity," troopers said.

Baez-Arnold, of 42 Senior Ave., Fulton, was initially charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, possession of a hypodermic instrument and two counts of second-degree criminal impersonation, all misdemeanors.

Those charges stem from a traffic stop at 11 a.m. Friday on Van Rensselaer Street in the city of Syracuse. State police say Baez-Arnold was a front-seat passenger in a car driven by Thomas J. Knopp Jr.

Knopp, of Cherry Street, Phoenix, had a revoked license, was processed at the scene and released to a third party, state police said.

Troopers say the heroin and hypodermic needles they found hidden inside the vehicle during the traffic stop belonged to Baez-Arnold.

But it took a couple tries to confirm the front-seat passenger's identity. That's because Baez-Arnold provided troopers with two fake names, state police said.

Baez-Arnold was taken into custody and transported to the state police barracks in North Syracuse, where troopers learned he had multiple outstanding warrants in Oswego County. Baez-Arnold was then transported to the Onondaga County Justice Center in Syracuse.

At the jail, deputies searched Baez-Arnold and found crack cocaine "secreted within a body cavity," troopers said.

After deputies found the crack cocaine, Baez-Arnold was also charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and first-degree promoting prison contraband, both felonies.
NEWTON, Mass., Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adviser Investments announced today that it has been recognized as a Best Place to Work in Money Management for 2016 by Pensions & Investments magazine. Adviser Investments was one of 50 organizations named to the list.

Adviser Investments was acknowledged for its commitment to employees work/life balance, profit-sharing contributions to employees 401(k) plans, the companys bonus programs and its highly competitive benefits package.

We are honored to be named a Best Place to Work in Money Management, and for the recognition of our culture and ongoing commitment to creating a workplace where employees can excel, said Adviser Investments President Dan Silver. Weve worked hard to create an environment that enables us to attract and retain top talent, which translates into the personalized service and investment expertise weve offered our clients for more than two decades.

Employees at these top-ranked firms most often cited their colleagues, the firms culture and the benefits as the things that make it a great place to work, said P&I Editor Amy B. Resnick. Our surveys found that the employers on the list were much more likely to offer things like flex time, telecommuting, family leave and adoption assistance.

Internal development is a primary focus at Adviser Investments. To that end, the firm offers a mentoring program, cross-departmental training and sends key employees to leadership workshops and other seminars and conferences of relevance. The company also supports employees professional growth with continuing-education allowances and in-house training with outside experts, including effective communication techniques, public speaking, meetings with portfolio managers and even etiquette lessons.

Our employees are truly our greatest asset, and its rewarding to know that their feedback led to this honor, said Adviser Investments CEO and Chairman Dan Wiener. Our culture of communicating, executing and learning has enabled us to grow into one of the largest independent advisers in the country, and we are pleased to celebrate and share this award with everyone in the firm.

Pensions & Investments partnered with Best Companies Group, an independent research firm specializing in identifying great places to work, to conduct a two-part survey process of employers and their employees.

The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated companys workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. This part of the process informed approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of a survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process contributed approximately 75% to the total evaluation. The combined score determined the top companies.

The Pensions & Investments award caps a banner year for Adviser Investments. In October, the firm received Fidelitys Be Greater award, recognizing registered investment advisers who are evolving their businesses to meet ever-changing demands of a growing and sophisticated investor class. Fidelity singled out Adviser Investments among all RIAs with more than $1 billion in total assets under management that use its custodian and record-keeping services.

Earlier in 2016, Adviser Investments was named to Barrons list of the top 100 independent financial advisers nationwide and its list of the top advisory firms in Massachusetts for the fourth consecutive year. It has also been recognized on the Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers list in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

# # #

To learn more about Adviser Investments services, please contact Dick Veidenheimer, managing director, at (617) 369-2321.

# # #

About Adviser Investments

Adviser Investments and its subsidiaries operate as an independent, fee-only professional money management firm with a particular focus on Fidelity and Vanguard mutual funds. With more than 2,500 clients and over $3 billion under management, Adviser Investments provides services to investors in all 50 states. Our investment professionals focus on helping individual investors, trusts, foundations and institutions meet their investment goals. Our minimum account size is $350,000.

For more information, please visit www.adviserinvestments.com or call 800-492-6868.

# # #

Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management for 2016 award does not evaluate client experience or advisory services offered.

The 2016 Fidelity Be Greater Awards were open to current clients of Fidelity Investments who met certain eligibility requirements, including but not limited to (1) at least $50 million in total assets under management, (2) more than two fulltime employees, (3) in business for four years or more prior to January 1, 2016, (4) not under investigation by any regulatory or government agency or enforcement division, and (5) completed the program application, and acknowledged and agreed to the terms and conditions set forth in the program rules and regulations.

The Be Greater Award does not include client surveys or testimonials as part of its analysis; thus the award does not reflect the individual experience of any client or group of clients.

The Barrons rankings reflect the volume of assets overseen by the advisers and their teams, revenues generated for the firms and the quality of the advisers practices, as determined by its editors.

Editors at the Financial Times bestowed elite status on 300 firms in the U.S., as determined by assets under management, asset growth, longevity, compliance record, industry certifications and online accessibility.
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Harriet T. Olsen, of Bloomingdale, Frankling County, has been missing since June 2000. She was 75 years old when she went missing.

(Provided)

BLOOMINGDALE, N.Y. -- It took Harriet T. Olsen an hour to disappear.

She had dinner with her husband on a summer night in 2000 inside the couple's Franklin County home in the Adirondacks, said the New York State Police. Her husband, Henry Olsen, headed outside after dinner and spent less than an hour in his garage, troopers said.

When he returned to his home, his wife was gone.

Harriet Olsen, then 75, disappeared from her Bloomingdale home in June 2000. More than 16 years later, she remains missing.

Harriet Olsen ate dinner with her husband around 5:30 p.m. in the couple's Fletcher Farm Road home, troopers said. Her husband went outside into the couple's garage after dinner and returned inside between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., troopers said.

When he realized his wife was not inside, Henry Olsen searched the area near his home and contacted his neighbors, troopers said. He then called his daughter, who urged him to call state police for help.

Although Harriet Olsen often took short walks and was in "fairly good physical health," troopers said it appeared she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

On the night Harriet Olsen went missing, troopers searched all residences within a 2-mile radius of her home. Troopers also interviewed neighbors and checked with local hospitals, taxi services and bus lines, but did not find any leads.

Troopers, forest rangers and environmental conservation police spent two weeks searching for Harriet Olsen.

"The search failed to locate Harriet T. Olsen or provide any substantial leads," troopers said.

When she went missing, Harriet Olsen was 5 feet 10 inches and weighed 170 pounds, troopers said. She had short gray hair and wore glasses.

Troopers asked anyone who has information about Harriet Olsen's disappearance to call (518) 897-2000.
English French

PRESS RELEASE December 13, 2016

Movements in the Board of Directors -

Date of the 2017 Annual General Meeting

Appointment of Ms. Yu Serizawa to the Renault Board of Directors

The Renault Board of Directors of December 12, 2016 appointed Ms. Yu Serizawa, as director proposed by Nissan. She replaces Ms. Yuriko Koike, who resigned on July 27, 2016, for the remaining duration of the term, i.e. until the 2017 Annual General Meeting.

Yu Serizawa, Chairman of Forma Corporation and Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Mori Building Company Limited, started her career at Credit Lyonnais, firstly in Paris and then in the Tokyo office as an analyst and chief economist. She founded InfoPlus Inc and then Forma Corporation. Following this, she became Senior Advisor for Japan to the World Economic Forum, and since 2000, she has been Advisor to the Chairman of Mori Building Company Limited. Today she is Chief Executive Officer for International Affairs of the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum.

Yu Serizawa, 58 years, is a Knight of the National Order of Merit.

Resignation of Mr. Hiroto Saikawa as Director

The Board of directors noted the resignation of Mr. Saikawa, submitted to the Chairman of the Board today. Mr. Saikawa was Director proposed by Nissan since December 2006. A new Director will be proposed by Nissan and elected in the next Renault Board of Directors.

2017 Annual General Meeting

The Renault Shareholders' Annual General Meeting take place on Thursday June 15, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. at the Palais des Congres (2, place de la porte Maillot 75017 Paris). The agenda of this Annual General Meeting will be published in April 2017.

The ex-dividend date for shares is set at Wednesday June 21, 2017 and payment will take place on Friday June 23, 2017.

About Groupe Renault

A carmaker since 1898, Groupe Renault is an international group with a presence in 125 countries, which sold more than 2.8 million vehicles in 2015. Today, it brings together more than 120,000 employees, has 36 manufacturing sites and 12,000 points of sale around the world. In order to address the great technological challenges of the future and pursue its profitable growth strategy, the Group is concentrating on its international development, the complementarity of its three brands (Renault, Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors), electric vehicles and its unique alliance with Nissan. With a new Formula 1 stable and a strong commitment to Formula E, Renault is using automotive sport to drive innovation, image and brand awareness.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frederic Texier

Director of Corporate Press Services

+33 1 76 84 33 67 / +33 6 10 78 49 20

frederic.texier@renault.com

Renault Press: +33 1 76 84 63 36

Internet Sites: www.media.renault.com - www.groupe.renault.com

Follow us: @Groupe_Renault
English French





PRESS RELEASE

Financial Information

Cegedim's 7th Investor Summit:

Cloud, BPO, Digital and data

are driving growth



December 14, 2016, from 2 to 5pm

(welcome coffee at 1:30pm CET)

Cegedim Auditorium, 17 rue de

l'Ancienne Mairie in Boulogne-Billancourt

Boulogne-Billancourt, December 13, 2016

Cegedim, an innovative technology and services company, will host its 7th Investor Summit on December 14th, 2016, in its Boulogne-Billancourt Auditorium. The event will bring together journalists, investors, and financial analysts, as well as current, future and potential shareholders. It will focus on Cegedim's solutions and its ongoing business model transformation combining Cloud, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), digital, connectivity and data.

Agenda of the meeting hosted by Jan Eryk Umiastowski, Cegedim Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investor Relations:

Cegedim: the ongoing business model transformation is on track , by Laurent Labrune, Managing Director of Cegedim.

Presentation of Cegedim and its strategy , by Jan Eryk Umiastowski.

Insurance market trends and innovative solutions , by Philippe Simon and Pierre-Henri Comble, respectively President and Marketing & Prospective Manager of Cegedim Insurance Solutions.

Meeting the challenge of new medical practices (multidisciplinary health facilities, mobility, multi-site practices, etc.), by Dr. Eric Jarousse, Vice-President of Cegedim Healthcare Software.

The Cloud Transition of Cegedim Healthcare Software , by Stefan Janssens, new President of this B.U.

Review of performances and financial achievements in 2015 and the first 9 months of 2016, by Jan Eryk Umiastowski.

Cegedim and the financial market, by Jan Eryk Umiastowski.

Cegedim will reiterate its targets for 2016 of like-for-like revenue growth of 4% and EBITDA down by 10 million relative to 2015.

The presentation slideshow (in English), as well as the audio replay (in French and English) of the meeting, will be available on Cegedim's financial website after the meeting at:

http://www.cegedim.com/finance/documentation/Pages/presentations.aspx
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Gate University (GGU) welcomes Dr. Gordon Swartz as the new dean of the Edward S. Ageno School of Business.



Dr. Gordon Swartz brings to GGU a strong blend of academic knowledge and experience launching and growing entrepreneurial businesses as well as transforming industry-leading global firms for high performance, said GGU President Dr. David J. Fike. His expertise in these areas will be extremely valuable as he focuses on building and strengthening partnerships with the business community in order to identify and provide new training and educational opportunities.

Swartz holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Harvard University, a High Technology MBA from Northeastern University and bachelor degrees in nuclear engineering and political science from MIT. His professional background is extensive and varied, combining business school teaching, research and administration with strategy consulting and development of high-growth organizations.

The new deans arrival coincides with GGUs development of professionally focused initiatives at the graduate and undergraduate levels designed to engage new students, San Francisco Bay Area employers, alumni and community partners. In support of these innovations, GGUs Undergraduate Programs has become a division within the Ageno School of Business, reporting directly to Dr. Swartz, further enabling business education throughout the university to benefit from shared expertise of faculty and market and programmatic synergies.

Dean Swartz will drive new programs at the cutting edge of business transformations worldwide to educate the next generation of business leaders. His experience in go-to-market strategy, multi-channel marketing and sales improvement, predictive business analytics, voice of the customer research, brand building strategy, and organizational change and leadership will be important assets to Ageno and Golden Gate in our next phase of growth, said President Fike.

Early in his career, Swartz served as the deputy dean of the MBA program at the London Business School, where he was also an assistant professor of marketing. More recently, he was the associate dean of executive education at Georgetown University, where he led the design and launch of the schools Global Executive MBA programs. Swartz has been a frequent speaker at the nations elite business schools and until recently was adjunct professor in Northwestern Universitys masters degree program in predictive analytics. His articles and case studies have been published in distinguished academic journals, including the Journal of Service Research, Sloan Management Review, Marketing Management and the Harvard Business Review.

Prior to his work in academia, Swartz served as an intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency and worked as a management consultant, providing clients with a wide range of go-to market strategy and implementation and market analysis services. As vice president of MarketBridge, Inc., he led major marketing, sales strategy and transformation efforts for Fortune Global 500 companies.

The national search for Agenos new dean began following Dean Paul Fouts announcement earlier this year that he would retire from his position as Agenos dean. Fouts will take a sabbatical leave and return to GGU as a faculty member in 2017.

Dr. Swartz looks forward to contributing to the next chapter in the history of GGU and the Ageno School of Business. One of the great attractions of Golden Gate University is its long, vibrant history of contributing to the advancement and outstanding achievements of professionals and organizations in San Franciscos world-changing business environment. The Bay Area is a world leader in so many areas of endeavorhigh tech, medicine and health care, finance, global business, public administrationand GGU has been at the core of this global community for more than a hundred years! said Swartz.

I feel very fortunate to join GGU and the Ageno School of Business, and to have a chance to work with GGUs global communityits faculty, staff, students, alumni and partner organizationsto explore new ideas, deliver innovative programs and open new doors of opportunity.

About Golden Gate University

Since 1901, non-profit Golden Gate University (GGU) has been helping adults achieve their professional goals by providing high quality, practice-based undergraduate and graduate educational programs in law, taxation, business and related professions in an innovative and challenging learning environment that embraces professional ethics and diversity.
Sam Smiley, a Cambridge favourite for baguettes, sausage rolls, and other lunchtime snacks, has announced that it will no longer be selling food as of Saturday 10 December.

The takeaway on Trumpington Street also sells Cambridge-themed gifts such as notebooks and shot glasses, and is adjoined to a larger gift shop of the same name which sells university apparel for students and tourists alike.

In a handwritten sign on the shop door, the takeaway announced we will be closing the food shop on Sat 10th December to expand our gift shop next door. It added we would like to thank you all for your custom over the last 25 years!

The food section of Sam Smiley will be missed, particularly by students of central colleges who live minutes away from it. In recent years, vet students at Pembroke have even traditionally held their freshers welcome lunch at the takeaway.

Sam Smiley food has an average of four stars on Yelp. One customer wrote that I studied abroad at Cambridge 4-5 years ago and still dream about the amazing sandwiches at Sam Smileys. I really would go back to Cambridge just to have a sandwich from this place.

Another reviewer remarked Ah, to taste their delicious corn filling, and the crunch of that baguette brings back memories 5 stars!!

A third added: Just the name itself called to me. I needed a smile.
It's official: AMD's next-generation CPU is called Ryzen. Formally known as Zen, AMD's exciting new processors are set to launch in Q1 2017, complete with some features and capabilities freshly announced at the company's Tech Summit 2016 last week in California. We were in attendance.

Let's discuss the big details first.

AMD's desktop Ryzen platform also known as 'Summit Ridge', will include a CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of at least 3.4 GHz. This was the first time AMD revealed the clock speed Ryzen will achieve, and the company stated that while engineering samples are currently running at the 3.4 GHz frequency, production units will be clocked higher than that.

Summit Ridge will also include frequency boost technology, with exact boost frequencies still to be determined. Summit Ridge is set to include 16 MB of L3 cache and 4 MB of L2 cache at the high end.

Supporting the new Summit Ridge CPUs will be the AM4 platform, of course, with DDR4 memory, PCIe gen 3, USB 3.1 gen 2, and NVMe storage.

During the summit AMD showed us a Summit Ridge engineering sample running at 3.4 GHz (without boost) in a head-to-head battle with a stock Intel Core i7-6900K. The i7-6900K is a $1,100 Broadwell-E enthusiast CPU from Intel with 8 cores and 16 threads, clocked from 3.2 to 3.7 GHz, so it's a great processor to compare to AMD's similar Summit Ridge hardware.

AMD showed Summit Ridge narrowly outperforming the i7-6900K in a Handbrake video rendering task, completing the render a second or so faster. We weren't told the exact Handbrake configuration used, but Summit Ridge matching the performance of Broadwell-E is very promising, especially considering AMD is set to introduce frequency boost and a higher base clock speed closer to release.

It's also looking good for high-end Summit Ridge in terms of power consumption. In the Blender CPU rendering test that AMD first used to demo Ryzen a few months ago, Summit Ridge consumed around 3-5 watts less total system power than the Core i7-6900K. AMD didn't reveal exactly what was in each system, so the difference in system power could be explained by other components, however the company did suggest it was an apples-to-apples comparison.

Summit Ridge was also shown consuming less total system power at idle, sitting at around 93 watts compared to 107 watts for the Intel system. At peak both systems jumped to around 190 watts, for interest's sake.

AMD CEO Lisa Su reiterated that the company is on track to deliver a 40% improvement in IPC over their last-gen products at the same level of power consumption. "No games, no gimmicks, it's all about delivering the real product."

And if the demos are a true reflection of Ryzen and Summit Ridge, AMD will be delivering a modern CPU that can truly compete with Intel's best.

AMD also touched on a number of Ryzen's features, particularly surrounding a group of technologies they're calling SenseMI. The name "SenseMI" is essentially a brand for AMD's network of sensors and monitoring hardware built in to Ryzen, which itself isn't anything we haven't seen before in competing products (and last-gen AMD hardware).

SenseMI technology is used in five key areas of Ryzen that will help deliver optimal performance and power efficiency.

Pure Power: a closed-loop control system that optimizes clock speeds and frequencies to deliver the best performance at the least power consumption. AMD states that Pure Power is used to enable "lower power for same performance"

Precision Boost: works in tandem with Pure Power, but instead offers higher performance at the same power consumption level through clock speed boosts in 25 MHz increments.

Extended Frequency Range (XFR): Perhaps the most interesting SenseMI feature, XFR allows the CPU to increase its clock speed beyond rated boost clock frequencies depending on the temperature levels. This sounds similar to Nvidia's GPU Boost 3.0 technology, which often boosts Pascal GPUs well above their rated frequencies. AMD says XFR will reward enthusiast coolers by allowing Ryzen clock speeds to scale with cooling solutions.

Neural Net Prediction: The use of the term "neural net" is a bit loose here, however this technology will pre-load instructions by anticipating the actions a user will perform ahead of time.

Smart Prefetch: This technology learns data access patterns to prefetch necessary data into the CPU cache so it can be immediately accessed where necessary.

AMD will have more to share about Ryzen Summit Ridge closer to its Q1 2017 launch. Ryzen CPUs for servers, codenamed 'Naples', are scheduled for launch in Q2 2017, while the second half of 2017 will see Ryzen-based 'Raven Ridge' APUs for low-power devices.
BROOKFIELD NEWS, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Trustees of Brookfield Canada Office Properties (TSX:BOX.UN) (NYSE:BOXC) announced a distribution of $0.1092 per trust unit payable on January 13, 2017 to holders of Trust units of record at the close of business on December 30, 2016.



The distributions are declared in Canadian dollars. Registered unitholders resident in Canada will receive payment in Canadian dollars and registered unitholders resident in the United States will receive the U.S. dollar equivalent unless they request otherwise. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the distribution will be based on the Bank of Canada closing exchange rate on the record date or, if the record date falls on a weekend or holiday, on the Bank of Canada closing exchange rate of the preceding business day. Beneficial unitholders will receive payment in Canadian dollars unless they request to receive the U.S. dollar equivalent.

About Brookfield Canada Office Properties

Brookfield Canada Office Properties is Canadas preeminent Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Our portfolio is comprised of 26 premier office properties totaling 20 million square feet in the downtown cores of Toronto, Calgary, and Ottawa, in addition to a development site in Calgary. Our landmark assets include Brookfield Place and First Canadian Place in Toronto, and Bankers Hall in Calgary. Further information is available at www.brookfieldcanadareit.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Brookfield Canada Office Properties is the flagship Canadian REIT of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $250 billion in assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com.
Google as anticipated on Tuesday announced that it is spinning off its self-driving car project into a new venture called Waymo that'll function as an independent company under the Alphabet umbrella. The unit will be led by John Krafcik, former president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.

Krafcik said in a post on Medium that Waymo, which stands for "a new way forward in mobility," is a self-driving technology company on a mission to make it safer and easier for people and things to move around.

Notably, Waymo is not a car company which aligns with a story yesterday from The Information (via Gizmodo) suggesting Google has shelved the idea of creating its own self-driving cars and will instead work to get its self-driving technology into vehicles from established automakers.

The Information said Google at the beginning of 2016 had to make some tough decisions in light of the fact that its existing prototype vehicles were starting to break down after having accumulated so many miles during testing.

Google could either design and build a vehicle end-to-end, work with an existing automaker to build a vehicle that would lack a steering wheel and pedals similar to its current "koala" prototypes or work with a car brand to integrate its technology into existing "traditional" vehicles with a full set of human driver controls.

The search giant elected for the latter option which is one of the reasons it partnered with Fiat Chrysler earlier this year to create a test fleet of 100 Pacifica minivans loaded with autonomous driving tech.

In addition to personal vehicles, Krafcik said they can see their technology being useful in ridesharing, logistics and in last-mile situations. In the long term, the technology could be used in ways not yet conceived to create new types of jobs, products and services.

Speaking of, Bloomberg is reporting that Alphabet is planning to start a ridesharing service using the aforementioned Chrysler Pacifica minivans that's expected to go live by the end of 2017, sources tell the publication.

Google has been working on its self-driving project for nearly eight years, an eternity in tech time. Although the company made tremendous advancements over the years, those that worked specifically on the Google car must no doubt be bummed that it's being shelved.
A court in Denmark has barred Apple from using a refurbished iPhone as replacement for a device that it fails to repair. Danish customers are, therefore, entitled to a new handset if they exchange a faulty iPhone that is still covered by Apple warranty.

New vs. Refurbished iPhone Replacement

The ruling is based on a complaint filed by David Lysgaard, who returned a damaged iPhone 4 in 2011. Apple gave Lysgaard a refurbished replacement in 2012.

Once that was discovered, Apple was dragged to court on the strength of the Danish Sale of Goods Act, which maintains that devices must have a brand-new replacement if not repaired within the product's warranty period.

Denmark mandates that all products sold in the country have to be covered by a 24-month warranty.

Apple: Refurbished iPhones Are As Good As New

Apple has argued that refurbished iPhones have been repaired or restored so that they meet the company's certification. Cupertino further stressed that, since it is the original manufacturer, it is able to provide certification that a repaired component is already good as new.

However, the court pointed out that a refurbished phone is not equal in value to a new device, deeming it unfit to be considered as a replacement as defined by Danish laws. Particularly, it cited that refurbished components have been repaired or recycled, so it no longer meets the consumer's legitimate expectations. The judges further ruled that due to this variable, the device could fetch a lower resale value.

It is important to note that the recent ruling already confirms a decision made by the Denmark's Consumer Complaints Board. Apple also lost a related complaint in the country, wherein it was ordered to replace a woman's iPhone 6 Plus with a new model.

Apple Verdict Impact

The ruling in Denmark could have wide-ranging complications for Apple if not properly addressed. In California, Apple is battling a class action suit similar to Lysgaard's case.

Apple might have a slight advantage here in comparison to its position in Denmark. The existing laws in the state seem to be relegating the issue as contest in semantics. Particularly, the court could base its ruling on the interpretation of what constitutes the concept of new.

Nevertheless, the Danish ruling could effectively establish a legal precedent, a variable that is important in the U.S. legal system. It could even snowball into a crisis if it prompts similar complaints in other countries.

Apple has so far remained silent on the issue. Observers, however, expect the company to appeal the verdict.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google Allo is helping Star Wars fans prepare for the latest installment of the movie franchise. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story premieres in theaters this Dec. 16, but until then fans will have to settle for the Star Wars stickers available on Google's own messaging app.

The new Star Wars stickers put smileys and emojis to shame. The set of stickers released to usher in the new movie installment features some of the main characters and villains of the movie, including Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers.

The Star Wars sticker pack was released one week ahead of the movie premiere. In order to get into the hype, smartphone users should have the Google Allo app in their Android or Apple device. Both Google Allo and the Star Wars stickers are free for download on any smartphone operating system.

"Starting today, exclusive stickers are available in Google Allo to help you prepare for the newest Star Wars adventure," said Chad Lancaster, product marketing manager at Google. "Our stickers feature new characters Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO, as well as some familiar ones  Stormtroopers, Darth Vader and the Death Star (in all its glory)," he added.

Animated Star Wars Stickers

The stickers are also animated, making them more appealing to Google Allo users. Unlike the seemingly dark plot of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story based on the released trailers, the animated stickers are playful and fun and will surely find their place in everyday Google Allo conversations among friends.

Choose Your Star Wars Characters

There are 23 different sticker designs from the Star Wars sticker pack. The stickers were playfully created to represent the movie characters and even the spacecraft model.

Google released its instant messaging app Google Allo last September and the company has worked since then to make the app the top choice for consumers. In order to do that, the company is consistently releasing themed sticker packs to entice more users to shift from their trusted apps like Whatsapp to Google's own messaging platform.

Aside from the Google Allo Star Wars sticker pack, there are tons of other Star Wars merchandise rolling out in the market just in time for the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. One example is Electronic Arts' Rogue One: Scarif, the final expansion to Star Wars: Battlefront.

Star Wars fans now have a lot of Rogue One-inspired games and other releases like the Google Allo sticker pack to keep the Force alive until the movie premieres on Dec. 16.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It seems that Netflix's integration into the Google Home platform is proceeding smoothly. A number of users are now confirming that the popular media-streaming service is already popping up on their devices alongside Google's native Photos service.

Netflix, Photos On Google Home

The world got a first glimpse of how Netflix will get integrated into Google Home last October during the platform's demonstration. There was no follow-up to the demo until now. With the recent development, users are about to find out for themselves how the app gets implemented.

So Netflix made an appearance on the Google Home app's Assistant settings, under the Video and Photos menu. It included the capability for linking a Netflix subscription alongside an option to turn Photos on.

"Link your Google account to Netflix to enable your voice control and playback on compatible devices," a window prompt informs the user once linking is triggered.

To find the Google Assistant setting, just head to the Devices icon located in the top right corner of the Google Home app's main interface. Navigate to Settings, then tap More, and you will find yourself inside the Videos and Photos panel.

According to Android Police, the Netflix linking feature is not yet working, which could mean that Google is still trying to fine-tune the integration process. Other users who were able to successfully link their Netflix accounts were also informed that they are still barred from playing Netflix contents.

This hiccup is probably caused by problems on the server side, but overall, the service's rollout should already be in sight.

Google Home Actions

At this point, what is particularly interesting is how Netflix and Photos are getting their Google Home treatment by way of the Actions feature that the company recently announced. Essentially, this is the mechanism that allows users to get Google Home perform tasks through voice commands.

One can even say that it is similar to Amazon's own virtual assistant called Alexa. Through Amazon's Echo speaker, for example, it can also respond to voice commands through its downloadable skills.

Google, however, maintains that Actions is more advances than Alexa's skills. The Google Home smart assistant can hold its own in a conversation with its user. Once an action is triggered, it can respond to commands and also cope with related queries to clarify specific information necessary to deliver the service or feature accurately. It is this reason why Google is saying that when a user holds a conversation with Google Home, he is communicating with an AI-powered bot.

In this context, it seems that Netflix has developed its own proprietary bot that could converse with the Google Home user if the Netflix action is triggered.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google Pixel and Pixel XL have some connectivity problems, but the Mountain View company is on top of it, bringing a fix by releasing a new Android 7.1.1 Nougat build.

Earlier this month, owners of the Phones by Google reported that the stable version of the latest Android already took care of the LTE Band 4 issues, but that wasn't the case for everyone.

This time around, the new build named NMF26Q release 6 is coming hot on the heels and is expected to iron out all the cellular wrinkles of Pixel phones on O2, a carrier in the United Kingdom.

Solution To Pixel And Pixel XL Connectivity Problems

As mentioned earlier, the updated Android 7.1.1 Nougat build is designed to focus on resolving connectivity problems, and according to the Android Open Source Project, it particularly addresses the issues with sending and receiving multimedia messages on O2.

"Remove spaces in front of APN types so that telephony can find APNs that can handle a particular type properly," the description reads.

Android 7.1.1 Nougat NMF26Q Availability

Google didn't give a solid release date when the update will be pushed to the Pixel and Pixel XL, but it did already publish the factory image and OTA image on the Android Developers website.

That said, those who can't wait another minute to get the new build of Android 7.1.1 Nougat up and running can go ahead and flash the factory image and sideload the OTA image.

What Else Is New?

Aside from fixing the connectivity problems, the new build didn't really add anything else to the mix.

That means Pixel and Pixel XL owners who aren't experiencing any cellular issues don't really need to install it. On that note, it's still safe to assume that Google will launch it as an OTA update for everyone in the foreseeable future.

Wrapping Things Up

To boil things down, the new Android 7.1.1 Nougat build NMF26Q is taking care of business and fixing connectivity problems on the Pixel and Pixel XL, and the best part is, the factory image and OTA image are already available for download.

Are you one of the unfortunate users who's facing cellular issues on the Phones by Google? Feel free to hit us up in the comments section below and let us know, especially if the recent Android Nougat launches got you out of your predicament.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Climate change has long impacted West Antarctica but East Antarctica is remote and cold so its ice sheets have been fairly resilient amid a warming planet. Scientists, however, have now found compelling evidence that the region starts to feel the impact of climate change as well.

Lake Of Freshwater Underneath Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf

In a new study published in Nature Climate Change, researchers examined East Antarctica's Roi Baudouin ice shelf, which floats in the ocean. Using satellite measurements, models and field surveys, they found a massive lake of freshwater underneath the ice shelf, which indicates that melting has occurred.

The researchers drilled through the ice and discovered englacial lakes in between the surface of the ice shelf and its base that is in contact with the ocean. The researchers discovered 55 lakes, and many of them were buried in the ice.

Dangers Of Melting Ice

The findings hint of a problem. Warmer temperatures cause melting of the ice shelves. Warmer ocean currents also eat away the ice from beneath. Meltwater on the surface curves canyons through ice, seep into fractures and fill the subsurface chambers with water.

The water would eventually become powerful enough to force apart the ice shelf. Broken up masses of ice would then melt more easily in the sea. Researchers call this phenomenon hydrofracturing.

"If this region can get warmer in the future, the meltwater production will enhance a lot, and we can only expect these features, these processes to be more present than they are now," said study researcher Jan Lenaerts, a glaciologist with the Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "With potential implications for hydrofracturing to happen and for ice shelf stability."

Increase In Sea Level

Glaciers that slide toward the sea, where they would begin melting, can cause considerable increase in sea levels that can endanger coastal cities worldwide. Antarctica is estimated to hold enough ice to raise the sea levels by about 200 feet if all the ice in the region melted. A study published in December last year also found that the melting of glaciers can force planet Earth to slightly wobble on its axis.

"Surface melt and subsequent firn air depletion can ultimately lead to disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves causing grounded glaciers to accelerate and sea level to rise," the researchers wrote in their study, which was published on Dec. 12.

"Ice-shelf grounding zones in East Antarctica, like their Antarctic Peninsula counterparts, are vulnerable to hydrofracturing," noted the study authors.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Panasonic Unveils Its Automated Grocery Shopping Experience | TechTree.com

Last week, Amazon showcased its automated grocery checkout system, which saves you from the long checkout queues. If that wasn't enough to make the store cashiers in developed countries feel insecure about their jobs, the Japanese tech company Panasonic has now unveiled its automated grocery checkout system





Panasonic's checkout machine can handle everything from detecting items in your cart to raising an invoice. The system comprises of a basket can identify cart items by scanning the tags. It then raises a bill and even packs the items in a plastic bag.

Amazon's implementation is a bolder one as it uses array of cameras and sensor to let you pick up the stuff and walk out. The e-commerce giant then charges you from your Amazon wallet. In contrast, Panasonic's automated grocery store system enables customers to pay by cash or card. This means that these machines may require a human to oversee the operations.

A good things is that Panasonic's checkout system keeps its prying eyes limited to the shopping basket. On the other hand, Amazon's in store system will be monitoring you like a high security prison.

Panasonic is having a test run of its system at Lawson convenience store in Osaka, Japan . If things go as planned, the company will give this technology a wider release in 2018.

TAGS: E-Commerce
Microsoft And Qualcomm Are Bringing The Windows 10 Experience To Snapdragon Chipsets | TechTree.com

Microsoft and Qualcomm are working together to bring the full PC experience on next-gen Snapdragon chipsets. Based on the ARM Architecture, these SoCs (System on Chip) were not capable running programmes meant for x86 platform.







For those not in the know, ARM is an RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) architecture, which is extremely power efficient but sadly nowhere near the x86 performance wise. On the other hand, the x86 is a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) architecture, which can solve complex things in a single instruction. Little wonder then, that the x86 platform goes quite heavy on power. Usually, smartphones and other portable devices use ARM processors for the sake of longer battery life. It requires relatively less transistors for their reduced instruction set, so the size of die is significantly compact.







The latest development comes as a good news for those wanting to access full blown PC software on ARM devices. This new technique emulates x86 on ARM chips. Since Windows 10 mobile can't run Win32 (x86) apps natively. HP used virtual access to Windows environments and applications in the cloud using Workspace solution, so the apps run in the cloud and are transmitted to the device, which serves as full windows 10 experience but it needs a reliable and constant Internet connection to work.



The x86 Emulation layer will enable ARM processors to run Win32 apps natively, which is a big leap. Soon, you can carry a fully functional PC in your pocket. Though ARM processors are not as powerful as x86 processors, Snapdragon 820 is good enough to run Windows 10, Adobe Photoshop (Win32/X86) and other apps exceptionally well.

TAGS: computers
The Great Recession was uniquely devastating for states and localities because it hit all three major tax revenue sources: income, sales and property. It was a scenario that few, if any governments, were really prepared to absorb. As a result, governments were forced to make massive budget cuts.Now, as the recovery trudges on longer than most, a growing number of states are making sure they arent blindsided by the next downturn.Enter stress testing. The idea, which was borrowed from the U.S. Federal Reserve, essentially throws different economic scenarios at a state budget to see how revenues would be impacted.Were in an environment where everyone is starting to think about the next downturn and what thats going to look like, said Emily Raimes, a Moodys Investors Service analyst. A stress test is a tool for states to think about what types of programs they should commit to and how much to save now.Credit rating agencies, in fact, are among the practices biggest fans. Earlier this year, Moodys stress-tested budgets of the 20 most populous states and found that Missouri, Texas and Washington are in the best position to handle a recession because of their strong reserves, spending flexibility and lower revenue volatility. (Low revenue volatility means a state's income doesn't change too drastically from one year to the next. In other words, it's more predictable.)California and Illinois, however, found themselves at the other end of the spectrum in Moody's stress test. California is endangered by its high revenue volatility and lower reserves, according to the report. And Illinois is vulnerable because of its extremely low reserves and inflexible governance.S&P Global Ratings also stress-tests state budgets. In August, the agency performed a stress test on the top 10 borrowing states' fiscal 2017 budgets. The scenario focused on what would happen if global economies like the United Kingdom or China slowed down more than anticipated.The results  some of which overlap with Moody's  show that Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are most likely to feel significant fiscal stress, while Florida, New York and Washington are best positioned for a downturn.A few states are forging the way with their own stress-testing systems, while even more are looking into the idea.Utah has the most robust practice, and it's something credit rating agencies have held up as an example. Last year, the state tested its budgets against a moderate and severe recession  think 2001 versus 2008. The results told policymakers that Utah has enough in reserves to weather a moderate downturn, but a severe one would likely require cutting nearly $1 billion in spending over two to three years in addition to using most of the state's reserves.The process was so informative that Utah Office of Management and Budget Director Kristin Cox and her colleagues are developing additional scenarios to test. For instance, what happens to specific revenue streams if the states biomedical industry slows down? Or if oil prices shoot back up? (Utah's stress testing is one of the reasonsrecently awarded Cox with a Public Official of the Year award).Minnesota also uses a form of stress testing to evaluate its revenue volatility and inform its rainy day fund policy. It's one of just four states that requires periodic evaluations to make sure its savings targets actually reflect the states revenue volatility. It's also the only state to determine its risk tolerance  that is, the tolerance policymakers have for not fully covering a potential shortfall. Its current savings target is the amount deemed necessary to cover 90 percent of all possible downturn scenarios.California, which saw its revenues drop 20 percent during the Great Recession, recently started using stress tests. The state Legislative Analysts Office now includes estimates of what would happen to the states budget under an economic growth scenario and a mild recession scenario. The most recent analysis concludes that, in the event of a mild recession in 2018, the state would have enough reserves to cover most of its operating deficits through the 20202021 fiscal year.Of course, no government can be fully prepared for every economic twist and turn.We're trying to create certainty in an environment that is inherently uncertain," said Cox. "Instead our approach should be, how prepared are we to respond to different scenarios?"The unusual recession and equally unusual recovery period has sent the message to budget officials that they can't afford to be caught unprepared. Since presenting Utahs stress-testing methods at a National Conference of State Legislatures meeting, Legislative Fiscal Analyst Jonathan Ball said hes gotten calls from Colorado, Nevada and Vermont, among others.Its gotten a lot of traction, he said. We didnt know if it was going to work at first. Were kind of learning as we go and sharing our experience with other states.
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a statement on its ruling on advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) practicing in VA facilities. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is pleased that nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and certified nurse midwives will now have full practice authority when they are acting within the scope of their VA employment, but disappointed that certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are not included in this ruling.



Commenting on the ruling NCSBN CEO David C. Benton, RGN, PhD, FFNF, FRCN, FAAN, said, While we are heartened by the inclusion of these three vital APRN roles, we are concerned that the omission of CRNAs will impede veterans access to critical services in medically underserved areas and feel that it is shortsighted in addressing gaps in access.

Benton continued, The decision seems to forgo the stated advantages in quality, efficiency, effectiveness and standardization that are well referenced and cited in the VAs final rule.

NCSBN feels that including only three of the four APRN roles puts this ruling at variance with the coherent national standard of the APRN Consensus Model.

About NCSBN

Founded March 15, 1978, as an independent not-for-profit organization, NCSBN was created to lessen the burdens of state governments and bring together boards of nursing (BONs) to act and counsel together on matters of common interest. NCSBNs membership is comprised of the BONs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories  American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. There are also 27 associate members that are either nursing regulatory bodies or empowered regulatory authorities from other countries or territories.

NCSBN Member Boards protect the public by ensuring that safe and competent nursing care is provided by licensed nurses. These BONs regulate more than 4.5 million licensed nurses.

Mission: NCSBN provides education, service and research through collaborative leadership to promote evidence-based regulatory excellence for patient safety and public protection.

The statements and opinions expressed are those of NCSBN and not the individual member state or territorial boards of nursing.
"Unfortunately, we have not found a full will to establish dialogue and find a solution to the Santa Cruz conflict", Development Planning Minister Cusicanqui revealed. | Read More
HONOLULU, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barnwell Industries, Inc. (NYSE:BRN) today announced that Morton H. Kinzler resigned as Chief Executive Officer effective December 31, 2016 and that Alexander C. Kinzler will be promoted to Chief Executive Officer on that same date. Mr. Morton H. Kinzler will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Alexander C. Kinzler will retain his titles of President and Chief Operating Officer of Barnwell. Mr. Alexander C. Kinzler will not receive any additional compensation for his service as Chief Executive Officer.



The Board of Directors wishes to recognize and note their appreciation for Mr. Morton Kinzlers service, dedication and many contributions to the Company from its date of incorporation in 1956 to the present.

The information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. A forward-looking statement is one which is based on current expectations of future events or conditions and does not relate to historical or current facts. These statements include various estimates, forecasts, projections of Barnwells future performance, statements of Barnwells plans and objectives, and other similar statements. Forward-looking statements include phrases such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, predicts, estimates, assumes, projects, may, will, will be, should, or similar expressions. Although Barnwell believes that its current expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it cannot assure that the expectations contained in such forward-looking statements will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such statements. The risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause actual results to differ materially from Barnwells expectations are set forth in the Forward-Looking Statements, Risk Factors and other sections of Barnwells annual report on Form 10-K for the last fiscal year and Barnwells other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, as they speak only as of the date of this press release, and Barnwell expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein.
High Dynamic Range offers incredible creative possibilities for filmmakers but, at this stage, few have delivered an HDR project. Jon Creamer talks to some of those that have about their experiences with the medium so far

High Dynamic Range content allows filmmakers to show the world on the screen almost as the human eye sees it in real life, with vibrant colours, dazzling light and incredible detail. Right now though, HDR content that the viewing public can tap into is fairly limited. Amazon and Netflix are broadcasting a selection of shows in full HDR glory, Blu-ray is another outlet and the BBC, Sky and BT are all experimenting with HDR. HDR content will ramp up, but at the moment very few producers and post producers have been asked to deliver in HDR. Those that have often become cheerleaders for the medium, describing it as a step change from SDR. Weve asked a selection of production pros how theyve approached HDR so far.



Planet Earth 2

Films@59



Bristols Films@59 delivered the SDR version of the BBCs epic Planet Earth II series and was also asked to deliver an HDR version of the programme. Post producer Miles Hall and inhouse colourist Christian Short explain how they did it

What were you asked for?

MH The decision to deliver in HDR was taken relatively late in the day which meant we had to think carefully about the workflow as the series was predominantly an SDR delivery. We had to adopt the HLG standard which is the BBC and NHK devised Hybrid Log Gamma rather than using a Dolby PQ or Dolby Vision method.

What did the grade have to achieve?

CS The SDR version was graded by Adam Inglis and the key thing was to make sure the original grade translated through into the HDR grade while using as much of the HDR-ness of some of the imagery to make those shots pop. Some scenes are shot in flat light and some are in dappled light under forest canopies and so on. We could achieve an overall lifting on the flatter light stuff but the stuff that was shot in HDR-centric environments really did pop and we could play with masking areas to bring certain highlights out. Its the first HDR experience weve had. Weve done a lot of tests and seen a lot of examples but we were feeling our way on the first programmes. Certain scenes you can do a lot with, others you just lift them and bring them into HDR space

What was different about working in HDR?

CS From my perspective, the environment Im working in now has to have much brighter ambient lighting than it would do if I was grading in SDR. Frequent eye breaks are needed too because it is super bright and it does fatigue you. You feel smashed at the end of the day compared to grading in SDR though I imagine if I was grading in HDR all the time Id get used to the muscle strain. Also, when youre grading an HDR version and then grading something in SDR, as a colourist you need a good clear day to reset your eyes. Its a good idea not to bolt those sessions back to back.

MH Whats tricky is when you go from the HDR to the SDR version, its a bit of a let down. Thats something for producers and post producers to get their heads around because when something looks amazing in HDR, when you come back to it in SDR you might think its a bit disappointing.

What needs to be thought about beforehand?

MH You need to plan your workflow carefully and talk to your post house about what the deliverable is because there is more than one flavor of HDR. There might be more than one HDR deliverable so while you might deliver HLG through the BBC, when you go to Blu-ray they might require PQ, so there are additional processes you might have to go through to transform your HDR between standards. You will have to repeat processes. Were working very hard to try to establish a workflow that will minimise the repeating of vfx work and so on. Noise reduction is very important when delivering in UHD, not just HDR. What you can get away with in SDR HD is a lot more than you can in UHD HDR. Theres definitely an uplift on top of the SDR version, at the bare minimum you have to grade for the HDR. Its not something you can do as an after thought.



Ex Machina

Molinare

Molinare colourist Asa Shoul created the original grade for Ex Machina and returned this year to grade the film in HDR

What was the brief?

To recreate the film in 4K and to reflect the original graded look and feel as closely as possible. Creatively we needed to represent the original film but, in 4K, there were several scenes that lost the key characteristics of look and feel when using the original grade settings. We revisited these, taking advantage of the wider range of colour space and contrast to deliver the original look and feel but taking it to a new level. We were conscious of the danger that all our options might accidentally lead to a completely new look, however to avoid this we constantly referred to the original material. On a standard Rec709 monitor we had the original grade so that we could use this as reference when doing the HDR.

What was the creative upside of HDR?

HDR offers greater freedom and choice in the creative process. The opportunity to highlight key sections of the image, bring greater depth of field, underpin the emotion and excitement of sequences is even greater. We can achieve even more during post production than before. However, used unwisely, HDR can be unforgiving. Its power needs to be harnessed. There is a danger of overwhelming the viewer, thus losing the creative intent but, with sensitive use and a creatively controlled approach, it offers fantastic new creative choices.

Did any scenes really lend themselves to HDR?

In the scenes where there was a power cut and the red safety lights came on, when grading in P3 and Rec709, we found that the saturation of the red was never quite as rich as we would like, whereas in HDR it was stunningly rich and vibrant. Also because of the extended greens in Rec2020 (HDR) exterior forest scenes took on a more realistic quality, transporting you to that environment.

What advice would you give to others working in HDR?

HDR offers real creative opportunities but it can be too powerful. The enhanced colour and contrast offer so much more for storytelling. However it needs to be used with care. DoPs and colourists need to fully understand what it offers and apply their experience to harness the capabilities in a measured and creative way. With both a creative instinct and a technical understanding these tools offer fantastic freedom in post for filmmakers.



Inferno

Company 3

Company 3 colourist Greg Fisher on the HDR delivery for DaVinci Code sequel, Inferno

What was your approach to delivering in HDR?

I was actually a little wary of HDR before actually trying to grade it. The first demos I had seen were basically just the same images, but brighter, so I wasnt too impressed. Today I think it is understood that you are trying to deliver more dynamic range but maintain an image suitable for its display scenario, which is what I found worked well whilst grading Inferno. In terms of my workflow, I would first use DaVinci Resolve to make sure that the HDR frames appeared similar to the SDR version. I then used Resolves grading tools, including log grade, highlight and soft clip controls, to carefully control the roll off. Ultimately, this made the images much more lifelike, with a significant improvement in sharpness despite no change in pixel resolution or file size.



Are there any scenes that really lent themselves to HDR?

The first time we meet the lead, he is in hospital, disorientated, confused and suffering from amnesia. This is emphasised by lights flickering on and off while hes in his bed. When watching on the 4000 Nit Pulsar monitor, you actually feel the heat of the flashes in your eye and your iris playing catchup. This puts the audience with him in his state of mind to a far greater extent than is normally possible.



What advice would you give other colourists?

Embrace it. Real black in a cinema is a revelation, as is the extra sharpness. It feels like a significant progression.



Various film projects

Technicolor



Technicolors senior supervising colourist, Peter Doyle has delivered features in HDR including Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

What do you need to look out for when working in HDR?

Poor image processing techniques and dirty LUTs and transforms are exposed to a much greater degree in HDR. Noise and grain take on a less attractive sensibility, its not so easy to hide a less than perfect key or colour separation behind grain. LUT and transforms need to be as wide and deep as possible.

What do you have to think about when delivering in HDR?

Does one reproduce the Rec709 grade on a HDR monitor, or do you take advantage of the extended dynamic range and colour gamut? Does the original photography have the dynamic range to justify opening up the contrast ratio? When grading on a 14 F/L xenon what was felt to be a compromise from a dynamic range stance and should HDR be used to put it back?

What are the difficulties you encounter? Locking down display device specifications and coordination between the various studios differing specs and requirements creativelyits always about maintaining the patina and look of the 14 F/L xenon grade. This takes more than a LUT and trimming the colour. Its about reproducing the flare, cross-colour distortions and the very experience of seeing an image reflected on a white screen to an image reproduced by an light emitting device.

Whats the creative upside of HDR?

Greater dynamic range and colour gamut and finally getting away from Rec709. 709 has served us well, but it had its issues, that have become an accepted look. To be able to take your DCI XYZ grade and reproduce in rec 2020 for a video deliverable is almost an epiphany.

HDR is not just a technology, its a toolset for the creatives.Skin tones stay intact, speculars and highlight modeling are reproduced without compromise. Indeed there is a subtlety returned to the reproduction of the lighting thats fantastic. It gives great access to performance. Delicate reflections and colour hues can be displayed without needing the sledge hammer thats needed for Rec 709.



Fleabag

The Look

The Look colourist Thomas Urbye graded BBC3 and Amazon sitcom Fleabag which also had to be delivered in HDR

As the vast majority of the audience will be seeing Fleabag in SDR it was important to me and DP Tony Miller that we got sign off in Rec709 on each episode. We then moved on to the HDR version where I was trusted to keep the integrity of the image intact. The whole series was shot on the Arri Alexa in ProRes 444 at 28802160 with anamorphic lenses and the entire workflow was maintained at this resolution.

Once the SDR version was signed off our attention moved to the HDR versions. Amazon had specced Rec2020/2084 (PQ) and we were told to use the Sony BVM X300 monitor in UHD. Thankfully the Quantel Rio uses transfer curves at 16bit float to move you from the Rec709 colour space in to Rec2020 & PQ and the image and grade is essentially maintained. However, at this stage, any clamping on highlights and colour saturation is released and the image visually comes alive in highlight areas. Detail that was formerly lacking outside windows and in bulbs suddenly takes on real shape and even skin tones seem to have a new sense of life about them. I had a Sony OLED in Rec709 showing me the episode in SDR and then simultaneously on the Sony BVM X300, the HDR grade. It was important to me that I maintained the same feel in HDR and to not fall in to the trap of pushing contrast or over-saturating the image. Contrast ratios do increase by the nature of the highlights being unclamped in PQ, so care has to be taken that mid tones in the image are lifted slightly to create the same visual intention.

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Leadership, teamwork, ethics, and a global approach to business are essential elements of the Duke Fuqua MBA, which is why youll need to make sure you express your passion for these ideals in your application essays. Impress the Fuqua adcom by positioning yourself as an innovative leader and team player, as someone who can see the big picture, work collaboratively, and shape global business.My tips are in blue below.Three short answer questions and 2 essays are required from all applicants. Responses should use 1.5 line spacing and a font size no smaller than 10-point. Do not copy the essay question in the document you upload with your application. Respond fully and concisely. Length requirements vary by question, and are detailed below. Responses must be completed before submitting your application. Prepare your responses carefully. The Admissions Committee considers your answers important in the selection process. All essays are scanned using plagiarism detection software. Plagiarism is considered a cheating violation within the Honor Code and will not be tolerated in the admissions process.Answer all 3 of the following questions. For each question, respond in 500 characters only (the equivalent of about 100 words).1.[/b] What are your short term goals, post-MBA?State what you see yourself doing immediately after you earn your MBA in terms of function and industry. If location or geography are important to your goal , include them. If you know the type of companies you would like to work for, you can include that information too, but dont say you want to work for Company X, unless Company X is sponsoring you. Without sponsorship, a "Company X" answer is probably too narrow, but saying you would like to work for a firm like Company X would work.What are your long term goals?Your long term goals should flow logically from your short-term goals. They can be fuzzier both in terms of direction and timing. But you should have them. They can, but don't have to, include larger aspirations and present a broader perspective on where you are headed. But please don't go so general and say something like "I aspire to be a good person" or "I strive to leave a lasting impact on my community." Nice sentiments, but way too vague.Life is full of uncertainties, and plans and circumstances can change. As a result, navigating a career requires you to be adaptable. Should the short-term goals that you provided above not materialize what alternative directions have you considered?Whats your Plan B? If you cant get a job at a leading strategy consulting firm -- your first choice -- what do you want to do? If Plan A is investment banking, whats Plan B?Present your response in list form, numbered 1 to 25. Some points may be only a few words, while others may be longer. Your complete list should not exceed 2 pages.The "Team Fuqua" spirit and community is one of the things that sets The Duke MBA experience apart, and it is a concept that extends beyond the student body to include faculty, staff, and administration. When a new person joins the Admissions team, we ask that person to share with everyone in the office a list of "25 Random Things About Yourself." As an Admissions team, we already know the new hire's professional and academic background, so learning these "25 Random Things" helps us get to know someone's personality, background, special talents, and more.In this spirit, the Admissions Committee also wants to get to know youbeyond the professional and academic achievements listed in your resume and transcript. You can share with us important life experiences, your likes/dislikes, hobbies, achievements, fun facts, or anything that helps us understand what makes you who you are. Share with us your list of "25 Random Things" about YOU.Have some fun with this list. It certainly allows a more creative approach than permitted by most essay prompts. Note that the questions asks you to go beyond the professional and academic achievements listed in your resume and transcript." So you can list your Pez collection or perhaps your brief membership in a rock band or the fact that you took violin from ages 6-18 or your membership in a gospel choir or your volunteer work in a hospital, your needlepoint, your favorite recipe or photo. Gosh the list is endless. Just let it reflect you. Think of this list as an introduction to potential friends. For more insight into this question and the motivation behind, please read Megan Overbay's, the former Director of Admissions, advice . Yes, it's old, but I believe you will find it helpful. And very friendly.Your response should be no more than 2 pages in length.Fuqua prides itself on cultivating a culture of engagement. Our students enjoy a wide range of student-led organizations that provide opportunities for leadership development and personal fulfillment, as well as an outlet for contributing to society. Our student-led government, clubs, centers, and events are an integral part of the student culture and are vital to providing you with a range of experiential learning and individual development experiences.Based on your understanding of the Fuqua culture, how do you see yourself engaging in and contributing to our community, outside of the classroom?Do your homework about Fuqua (and yourself) before responding to this question. What activities and groups appeal to you? How do you see yourself participating? Making a difference? Then look at Duke's multi-faceted definition of "Consequential Leaders ." Which do you most identify with? Imagine how you would participate and sometimes lead. While you can reference similar activities in the past, keep the focus of this essay on what you would do at Fuqua.One approach to responding to this question: Address a letter to a close friend or colleague and tell her how you would contribute to this very participatory culture. That letter could morph into this essay.If you feel there are circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware, please explain them in an optional essay (such as unexplained gaps in work, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance). Do NOT upload additional essays nor additional recommendations in this area of the application. The Optional Essay is intended to provide the Admissions Committee with insight into your extenuating circumstances only. Limit your response to two pages.Why isnt your current supervisor writing your rec? Why is there a six-month gap on your resume ? Why did your grades dip during the first semester of your senior year? What are your responsibilities while working for a family business after having left a prestigious investment bank, and why did you make the change? Answering any of those questions (but not all) could be the topic of your optional essay.***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***By Linda Abraham , president and founder of Accepted and co-author of the definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools How To Earn A Spot On Team Fuqua [Podcast] This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com. Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants getaccepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where apply, writing yourapplication essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help you get accepted
Eleven whooping cranes are catching a plane from Maryland to Louisiana, where the species was all but wiped out decades ago, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Once in Louisiana, they'll be added to a population that has been boosted by a project begun in 2011 to reintroduce one of the rarest and largest birds in the world.The whooping crane can grow up to 5 feet tall with a 7-foot wingspan.

Not seeing the video below? Click here.

+2 Wildlife officials celebrate Louisianas first whooping crane hatched in wild since 1939 NEW ORLEANS (AP)  For the first time since 1939, a whooping crane chick has hatched in the 

The 11 whooping cranes were raised at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, where handlers donned Hazmat-like white suits to capture and crate the birds. They never see a human face or hear a human voice, according to the WSJ report, to keep them from becoming comfortable around people.

Whooping cranes mostly disappeared from the Louisiana landscape by 1950, the victim of habitat loss and hunting. The last sightings of the cranes in Louisiana were in the White Lake area in Vermilion Parish.

+2 14 whooping cranes released in Vermilion Parish waters GUEYDAN  Fourteen young whooping cranes arrived in Vermilion Parish this week in an ongoing

In December 2014, 14 young whooping cranes arrived in Vermilion Parish from facilities in Maryland and Wisconsin to add to the population in Louisiana, then numbered 40.

For information on the whooping crane reintroduction project, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/node/32933

+2 Robert Loves work with whooping cranes recognized The reintroduction of whooping cranes to Louisiana made national headlines, and the man, Rob
Back in July, when candidates were signing up to run for elective office, dozens claimed to be outsiders who planned to use social media to overcome establishment advantages of money and name recognition.

But only one  Clay Higgins, who was elected as the congressman for the Acadiana region on Saturday night  was able to pull it off.

Relying on Facebook posts, Higgins ran as an everyday street cop and spent about $320,000, or about $4.11 for every vote he received Saturday. He beat fellow Republican Scott Angelle  a candidate with 30 years of government experience, high name recognition and who spent at least $1.2 million or about $19.75 per ballot cast for him.

Outsiders didnt win any of these elections except Donald Trump and Clay, said John Mathis, who worked for a Super PAC that supported Higgins, saying he was an average person speaking for average people in the halls of power.

With Clay, its literally Mr. Smith going to Washington, Mathis added.

Angelle didnt want to weigh in on the campaign Monday. But sources associated with his effort attributed Higgins victory to the wave that ousted longtime elected officials, something encapsulated by the election of Donald Trump to the presidency.

Its really more about the atmosphere in America right now, said Chris Comeaux, who managed the Higgins campaign. People are frightened. People think the country is weak and vulnerable. So, its not so much what theyre saying, its the tone. They want tough talk  Its what attracted voters to Clay and its that same impulse that brought them to Trump.

Math tells only part of the story.

To win the low turnout election, Angelle, R-Breaux Bridge, needed to score well in the urban centers of Lafayette and Lake Charles, plus pick up a rural parish. He did well in Lake Charles, but lost Lafayette and barely won his home parish of St. Martin by 109 votes.

A bigger reason was the Higgins campaigns effective use of social media.

Higgins, R-Port Barre, made his name as the tough-talking cop in Crime Stoppers segments that ran on local television news shows.

In most markets, Crime Stoppers is a dull plea for help on individual crimes. Higgins strapped on weapons and threatened suspects by name, thereby creating a segment that went viral on the internet. He appeared on national television with Jimmy Fallon and his announcement to enter the race was covered by the European press.

It also gave Higgins a pretty good idea how to use YouTube and Facebook, said Comeaux. Higgins came up with the idea of filming campaign events, then having Comeaux edit moments from the footage and post it on YouTube.

The idea was to give people all across the district a feeling of having attended the rally personally, Comeaux said.

Faced with flat fundraising over the summer, Higgins went to small gatherings in at least 50 towns, with only a couple dozen people, rarely more than 50 or so. Jambalaya or catfish were served. Higgins jumped up on a bale of hay or stood in the back of a pickup truck to give his stump speech. He then would go around to shake each hand.

It was the combination of new media matched up with '30s campaign style, Comeaux said.

The videos got thousands of hits, he said, which was good because the campaign could only afford to run television commercials 31 times, he said, adding, Were in a transitional moment where television is less important and social media is coming into its own.

Not so fast, said LSU Professor Martin Johnson, who studies social media in political contexts. Higgins was a YouTube sensation before running for office and already was well-versed in attracting attention.

How many people did you hear talking about Mr. (John N.) Kennedy and weed killer in the Senate campaign. He made a splash on television, Johnson said. You cant count TV out yet.

The Higgins campaign recognized early that Angelle was vulnerable because of the anger many Republicans felt at his not endorsing U.S. Sen. David Vitter in the 2015 gubernatorial election. (Angelle ran a strong third in last years race for governor.)

We believed that Scott Angelle created long-term damage to the state of Louisiana when he refused to support Sen. Vitter and allowed his supporters to raise money for John Bel Edwards, Mathis said.

Vitters former top aide, Kyle Ruckert, ran a Super PAC called Make Louisiana Great that spent about $200,000, mostly on television ads attacking Angelle, according to federal campaign disclosures. Ruckert did not respond to a request for comment.

And Warrior PAC, which supported tea party favorite Rob Maness in the Senate election, also threw in with Higgins in the runoff.

Warrior PAC used Cambridge Analytica, a New York-based firm that helped Donald Trumps campaign, to put together behavioral microtargeting. Basically, the firm analyzes a wealth of available data and develops models for the type messages that would resonate with individual voters.

Warrior PAC spent about $65,000 on robocalls.

For instance, the Super PAC targeted African American voters with Higgins message that the prison system needs revamping to focus more redemption and rehabilitation. African-Americans, who make up 24 percent of the districts registered voters and were thought to favor Angelle. Calls also were made to Republicans who backed Kennedy for the Senate and to voters who supported Trump.

The PAC made about 270,000 robocalls that 143,000 people listened to for at least 10 seconds, Mathis said.

Super PACs supporting Angelle spent about $365,000 attacking Higgins.

Higgins will be sworn in January and has three weeks  including the Christmas holiday  to set up offices in Washington and around the 3rd District. State Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, is chairing Higgins transition committee.

Hes going to be a lot less bombastic, Comeaux said. Clay is serious about being a thoughtful servant for the 3rd District.
U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany has dropped his defamation lawsuit over a book that alleges the Republican Louisiana congressman was involved with prostitutes who were later killed.

Boustany sued the author and publisher of "Murder in the Bayou" in October, when he was in a tight competition for a U.S. Senate seat. Boustany lost his Senate bid in November and ended his lawsuit this month.

The congressman's lawyer, Jimmy Faircloth, confirmed the lawsuit dismissal Tuesday. He said Boustany felt "it would probably be best for all concerned for him not to proceed with the lawsuit."

Author Ethan Brown says he's pleased Boustany ended the lawsuit against him.

Brown's book, about the killings of eight prostitutes, cites multiple anonymous sources claiming Boustany was a client of some of the women.
Baton Rouge businessman Shane Morrison has reached a deal to open up eight Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar restaurants across the South.

Morrison is the franchisee for the Walk-Ons under construction in the Americana traditional neighborhood development in Zachary. Under the deal announced Monday, hell bring Walk-On's to Auburn and Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Gainesville, Pensacola and Tallahassee, Florida; Gulfport, Mississippi; Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee. Morrison will also open additional Walk-On's in Louisiana, although no specific locations were mentioned.

No timetable was announced for when the restaurants will open. Most of the new locations are in college towns, markets that Walk-On's has long eyed.

Walk-On's said with Mondays announcement, the chain now has more than 50 franchise locations in the pipeline. The first location outside of Louisiana opened in Lubbock, Texas in October. A Bossier City restaurant opened last month. Walk-On's has plans to open restaurants in markets such as Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, Metairie, Covington and Ascension Parish.

Walk-On's announces more Texas restaurants Walk-Ons Bistreaux & Bar is expanding its presence in Texas, announcing an agreement to

Morrison owns and operates some Celebrity Theaters and Santa Fe Cattle Co. locations.

"We are excited to bring Walk-On's to these new states with Shane and his team," said Scott Taylor, Walk-On's president and chief operating officer. "Shane is a seasoned restaurant operator and real estate expert, so we know our brand is in excellent hands as we widen our footprint across the South."
U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise took part in a meeting with a key member of President-elect Donald Trump's administration at Trump Tower in New York on Monday.

Scalise, a Jefferson Republican and the third highest member in the U.S. House, said he met with Republican National Committee Chairman and incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to talk about the GOP agenda moving forward when Trump takes office in January.

We were talking about the agenda we're working together on to create jobs, to strengthen our economy, to strengthen our military," Scalise told reporters and C-Span's live camera feed in the lobby of Trump Tower. "We know we've got a great opportunity to get the country back on track. Were all excited about the opportunity but we know its going to be a busy first few months. Its time for our members to buckle up and strep it on. Its going to be a really good ride for our country. Its exciting to have a president thats focused on creating jobs and getting this country back on track and making America great again.

Scalise, who has been a vocal supporter of Trump, flew from New York to Baton Rouge with Trump on Friday for a GOP unity rally and get-out-the-vote event ahead of Saturday's elections.

I had a great meeting with @Reince at @TrumpTower. We have a great opportunity to get our country back on track. #MAGA pic.twitter.com/KFkhGlAGcb  Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) December 12, 2016

Reporters asked Scalise whether he would back an investigation into any role that Russian hackers may have had in influencing the presidential election.

"I think theres nothing wrong with an investigation that looks of all sides of what Russia did and frankly any other country," he said. "Look North Korea, China, other countries have been hacking into America for years and Barack Obama sat on the sidelines and didnt defend American families and companies who were being hacked by foreign countries for years."
FEMA's response to the catastrophic floods that damaged much of south Louisiana in August has been unacceptable and needs to be "Cajunized," U.S. Rep. Garret Graves said on Monday to the Press Club of Baton Rouge.

Cajunizing is a reference to the Cajun Navy, a group of volunteers who emerged in the immediate hours of the August flood with their own fishing boats to rescue people trapped in their homes.

"FEMA wasn't leading that," said Graves, R-Baton Rouge. "The community was."

He said to Cajunize the response would be to "apply common sense."

"What we do in government doesn't stand up to the common sense test," he said. Graves said layers of bureaucracy have led to exorbitant government waste and a painfully slow pace in terms of receiving recovery dollars and delivering services.

He noted that FEMA is spending about $150,000 per unit for mobile homes for flood victims, when the going market rate is $35,000 to $40,000 each. According to a cost breakdown, FEMA is spending $62,500 for the acquisition of the mobile home and another $43,400 on transporting, installing and maintaining the unit. FEMA is also collecting a 22 percent administrative fee for another $23,000.

Graves also said it was appalling that four months after the flood, people are still waiting for trailers and could be waiting for another month and a half. He also said the "Shelter at Home" program, which provides some repairs to flooded properties to allow people to live in their own houses while finishing the rebuilding work, was a good idea in concept but "the execution was fundamentally flawed."

He complained that almost 30 percent of Congress's first allocation to Louisiana flood recovery is being eaten up by overhead and compliance costs. That means that $127 million of the $438 million will go toward program administration instead of direct relief for homeowners, renters and businesses.

Graves said administrative costs should be much closer to 5 percent.

"The situation is that the federal government has really lost its way," he said. "If this happened in the private sector, would it survive? The clear answer is absolutely not."

Gov. John Bel Edwards defended the recovery response. His spokesman Richard Carbo said in a statement that strictly administrative costs for flood recovery are capped at 5 percent, but that "program delivery" costs for outreach, environmental reviews, determining eligibility, grant tracking, fraud prevention and other overhead, would be an estimated 20 percent of the allocation. That amount is less than the 45 percent that New York spent for similar programs after Hurricane Sandy, he said.

He also took issue with Graves' criticism of the pace of disbursements.

"The federal government sets the criteria for submitting proposals before funds can be disbursed to the state, and you would assume that Mr. Graves is aware of that since he serves in Congress," Carbo said. "However, he made no attempts to offer legislation to expedite the process. The initial payment of assistance was secured with unprecedented speed, and we are following HUD's guidelines to obtain final approval."

Ideally, Graves said, flood victims should have their damage assessed and be given lump sums. Then they could make their own decisions about their recovery, whether they use the money for rental assistance, their own repairs or buying a mobile home.

He acknowledged that this could lead to a slight uptick in fraudulent spending, but said the flooding is serious enough that the government should be more generous on the front end, and then have aggressive auditing and accountability measures on the back end to seek necessary repayment.

Shifting to the recent presidential election, Graves said his problems with the disaster response and recovery are not a partisan issue. But he also said he has much reason to believe there will be new and better opportunities for governmental efficiencies under President-elect Donald Trump.

"Having a president that understands that time is money is going to be good for us," he said.

Graves said he has spoken to both Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence about the need for additional flood dollars and changes to the process to hasten the time line.

He said the incoming administration agreed that the pace of recovery was "absurd," but didn't make a specific promise about additional money.

But Graves remains optimistic, adding that the data clearly shows Louisiana will need more federal dollars for the flood recovery.

Congress has so far approved about $1.7 billion for the flood recovery. Officials estimate the total damage to the state is $8.7 billion and will be seeking additional dollars.
Qantas' first Dreamliner 787 route will be a direct flight between Melbourne and Los Angeles, commencing in December next year, the airline has announced.

The 236-passenger aircraft will fly six times a week replacing the airline's 747 service, which currently fly twice a week, Qantas announced on Tuesday.

Service will start on December 15 next year and go on sale on Christmas Day.

Qantas International CEO Gareth Evans said the first of its Dreamliner services would be a "step change" for passenger comfort and operational efficiency.
The ex-wife of former Billabong boss Matthew Perrin broke down as she described how he confessed to losing their "forever home".

He used the family's custom-built property on Cronin Island, Surfers Paradise, as security for $13.5 million credit from the Commonwealth Bank.

The former CEO of the surfwear company allegedly forged his wife-at-the-time's signature on the mortgage documents.

Mr Perrin called the family together after his investments went wrong and allegedly made the shocking confession: "I'm going to jail, I've done a lot of bad things."
Woolworths has found new jobs for more than 1500 of its former Masters workers in Australia's biggest supermarket chain.

The company shut the doors on its monumentally unsuccessful hardware business on Sunday, when Masters finally ended its long-running fire sale.

About 1650 Masters staff of the former workforce of 6000, have accepted new roles at Woolworths' supermarket chain, a take-up rate that equates to just under half the number of people who were offered alternative jobs.

An additional 600 workers have taken roles at other, mainly hardware-aligned businesses through Woolworths' outplacement program instituted when the retailer announced plans to shut down the network by December.
Senior surgeons say they are using "sticky tape" to fix surgical instruments during operations because of shortages of staff and equipment at Sydney's busy Prince of Wales complex of hospitals.

A litany of failures in the efficient supply of sterile equipment that works is outlined by a senior surgeon and in a confidential internal review.

Junior doctors at Westmead have been ordered to take their accumulated days off before June 30. Credit:Nicolas Walker

The surgeon told Fairfax Media doctors have been forced to use sterile sticky tape to hold together two separate parts of a surgical instrument used for internal investigations because of the shortages. Children have been woken out of anaesthetic after cancellation of their operation because of broken equipment.

Tubes used to drain fluid from brains had also been missing, leaving doctors to be "creative" with other equipment, including infant feeding tubes. Special pins needed to hold a head steady for brain surgery were often in short supply and sometimes missing, leaving a relatively unsteady head rest as the only alternative.
The decision by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to speak this weekend at the 25th anniversary of the Australian Republican Movement will almost certainly reopen debate on the question of whether Australia should become a republic. The Age welcomes this.

Public discourse over the merits of becoming a republic has faded in recent years, due in part to efforts by monarchists such as former prime minister Tony Abbott to relegate the issue to the deep freeze. Even Mr Turnbull, a founding member of the Australian Republican Movement, has fallen almost silent on the topic. But the republic question has never fully gone away, and won't until there is lasting change.

A much younger Malcolm Turnbull on the eve of the failed 1999 republic referendum. Credit:Mark Baker

It's worth remembering that back in 1999, despite the overwhelming "no" vote in a referendum on the issue, 58 per cent of those polled by Nielsen supported a republic. On the night of the referendum, Mr Turnbull famously said then-prime minister John Howard would be remembered by history as "the prime minister who broke this nation's heart".

While the popularity of the monarchy has risen since that time, particularly following the arrival of the royal family's own Gen Y, the very popular Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the merits of the argument for a republic remain.
In a recent article Malcolm Turnbull wrote: "Change can be difficult and disruptive. But, equally, innovation represents opportunity. It is not something we can hide from." Last week's debacle on climate policy shows Malcolm doing just that. Hiding from the changes and the opportunities. To the detriment of our children and grandchildren. Robert Brown, Camberwell Extinguishing hope Yes, carbon dioxide is necessary for life in a mixture of gases that is our atmosphere. Did Cory Bernardi miss the year 7 experiment which demonstrates that too much of it extinguishes candle flame? Ann Berman, Harper's Haven

Senator, do the numbers Cory Bernardi says he identified the mood for change in New York and Washington (DC, I presume.) In New York Clinton gained 58.8 per cent of the votes; Trump 37.5 per cent. In Washington DC, Clinton got 93 per cent; Trump 4 per cent. What mood is Bernardi talking about? Is he trying to impose his own version of post-truth mood, numbers and politics? Patrick Alilovic, Pascoe Vale South Gender policy working well Good to see the government's gender equalisation policy working so well with Stella Growth joining Polly Lution in the Climate Change Ministry, outing Jobson Growth who was an absolute failure.

Graham Bell, Blackburn THE FORUM Let's set an example Much as we should oppose the actions of autocrats like Trump and Putin, it is a bit rich for US politicians and the CIA to cry foul over foreign intervention in their domestic politics. After all, US meddling, the funding of killing squads, assassinations of democratically elected leaders et al in Central and Latin America, Africa and Asia over the decades is all on the public record. The lack of uncompromised democratic leadership is at the heart of current political predicament globally. We are looking for leadership to protect us from climate catastrophe, from inequality, to bring out the best in us, and to remind us to do unto others. But who can we trust? Until they stand up, why don't we set them an example?

Mark Carter, North Melbourne Free to be offended What a dilemma for politicians: push for amendment of Section 18C to allow freedom of speech, yet insist that professor Gillian Triggs apologise for calling them ignorant and uneducated. Eve Addis, Blackburn Sold to be leased

In a nearby street, three houses within 400 metres of each other went on the market a few months ago. Within weeks they boasted "sold" signs. Now the boards say "For lease". No doubt three more families have been denied home ownership at the expense of negatively geared investors. Clive Millsum, Cranbourne Stellar performance Kevin Rudd left government with the best performing economy in the OECD and the third lowest debt to GDP ratio in the world. Such dark days, Francis Smith (Letters, 13/12)? Graeme Finn, St Peters, NSW

Get out and spend Consumers, you are not spending enough. That's the warning from some finance and economic experts  the high priests of the "economic growth is everything" religion. Reduced consumption of useless goods could lead to a second quarter in a row of negative growth, which will be heretical and un-Australian. It will have dire consequences on the health of the nation bar the fat cats'. We all have to consume ever more so the finite resources of our planet can deplete at a faster rate. Fethon Naoum, Portland Poor don't need coal Queensland Resources Council's Ian Macfarlane claims that activists who oppose the Adani mine are preventing people in India from enjoying the everyday luxuries such as electricity that Westerners take for granted.

A leader in his position is surely aware that energy poverty in rural areas of such countries occurs largely because of the prohibitively expensive costs of connecting to the grid. Renewable power is cheaper, more abundant and easier to provide. Mr Macfarlane should stop spreading the dangerous and fatuous argument that the poor need coal. The world's poorest are screaming for Australia and other Western countries to tackle climate change. Climate change poses an existential threat to people living in poverty. Energy poverty does not. Christine Morris, Hoppers Crossing I'm calling out abuse I am a secondary school teacher and this week, after much deliberation, I have decided to wear a "Teachers for Refugees" T-shirt to school. I'm very aware of my obligations as a teacher and try to remain impartial when discussing issues with students. I have never been involved in such a workplace campaign. But I have a duty of care to students. In accordance with the Department of Education's "reporting obligations" I am legally obliged to report if: [I believe a] child has suffered or is likely to suffer emotional or psychological harm; and [a] child states that they have been physically or sexually abused.

There is overwhelming evidence of the systematic abuse and neglect of detainees, including children, in Australian-run detention centres. If I remain silent on this issue, I would contravene the very principles for why I became a teacher. I believe unequivocally that teachers have a moral obligation to call out child abuse. Polly Cotton, Thornbury Dangerous lemon Released amid much fanfare, the new VicEmergency app is in reality a life-endangering lemon. It has a number of problems ranging from warning banners that push vital buttons off the bottom of the screen where they can't be used and wildly incorrect map locations, to regular freezing and an inability to be used when a device is held sideways. But the most critical issue is that the app spontaneously and seemingly randomly logs users out, sometimes multiple times a day, without warning and without informing users this has occurred. Yet users must be logged in to receive alerts localised to their "watch zone". In the absence of notifications, users may go for hours, days or longer thinking all is well.

At the very least, authorities should give users the option of using the reliable and effective FireReady app until this failed experiment has been fixed. Summer is coming  will you remember your password when you see the flames coming towards you? Lauren Smythe, The Basin Premier bereft of ideas In recent times, Premier Daniel Andrews has overseen and agitated for a number of changes in the criminal justice and corrections system. Children being held in maximum security prisons, minimum sentences for some offences, the judiciary having regard to the community's concerns on sentencing and thwarting Craig Minogue's bid for parole, come to mind. It is difficult to contemplate a more cynical process of populism. Moreover, it is transparently so and reflects the abandoning of principles. Perhaps it is also a desire to abandon those idiotically named "cultural elites" in favour of the growing asinine Trump devotees, Brexit rebels and Hanson praisers. Whatever his motivation his conduct is bereft of leadership.

Geoffrey Steward, Brighton East Prepare apology now Premier, you may not apologise for putting kids in adult prisons now, but will you apologise to the community when those newly skilled, ferociously angry young men are released, as they will be? Lawry Mahon, Port Fairy Too late to complain

Former inmates of the Parkville youth detention centre are complaining about being incarcerated in an adult prison. Who trashed Parkville so that it is uninhabitable, and will now take months and millions of dollars to repair? Maybe they should've thought about where they would be housed before their vandalism spree. Did they expect to be released into the community and asked to kindly return after rebuilding? Ray Nolan, Rutherglen New approach vital Kevin Fox (Letters, 10/12), nearly 600 residents from North Richmond and Abbotsford voted for a trial of a medically supervised injecting centre in the Victoria Street precinct at the recent council election. More than 100 centres have been established worldwide, providing significant benefits to individuals and communities. In Kings Cross, 70 per cent of local businesses and 78 per cent of local residents support their centre. Our residents know that a MSIC is a solution to Yarra's community health crisis. They daily confront the consequences of the escalating drug dealing and using and know that the law and order approach is not working. As most of the activity occurs in Victoria Street, establishing a centre in Queens Parade, Clifton Hill, would be useless. Furthermore, drug dealing is prohibited at all MSICS.

Judy Ryan, Abbotsford Victims carry stigma Paid leave for domestic violence victims will only be a Band-aid solution and is likely to reinforce an acceptance of domestic violence. What is needed are supports to help families and children continue their lives as normally as possible while those who threaten their safety bear the brunt of their failure and society's failure to recognise physical violence and intimidation for what it is  a criminal act. Paid leave and temporary accommodation for men who don't understand this would place the stigma for such behaviour where it belongs. Meanwhile education programs would help change the ingrained attitudes and laws that not so long ago allowed men to beat their wives. Patricia Wiltshire, Montmorency Explain your stance

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy's comment on the physician assisted dying bill nicely sums up the major problem our politicians have discussing important issues raised by another party (Comment, 9/12). Instead of arguing a rational case for or against the proposed matter, he simply dismisses the looming debate as a "political distraction", claiming it will occupy a lot of time in 2017 "for an outcome that will not help the day-to-day lives of every Victorian". It's not good enough for members of political parties to simply oppose what the other side puts forward. The public is desperate for reasoned debate on all important matters, particularly this one, which affects all of us. Help us understand your position, Mr Guy, instead of giving us the knee-jerk stuff. Peter Kay, Carlton North AND ANOTHER THING...

Federal politics Well may the government accuse the opposition of "post-truth politics" but the government itself proves to be a dab hand in the dark art of "truthiness". Chris Pettifer, Hughesdale The only thing the government stands for is the national anthem.

Bryan Fraser, St Kilda Once upon a time, when a government was deemed incapable of governing, it was famously dismissed. Time for another dismissal? Peter Seligman, Brunswick West Tony Abbott found 50 Shades of Grey a shocker because he only sees things in black or white. Tony Lenten, Glen Waverley

If the oleaginous Abbott is really the power behind the scenes, would that make him an eminence grease? Monty Maizels, Kilsyth I suggest Cory form a new Denial Party then he'd have to face the people rather than just get on to the Senate ticket. Bruce Matheson, Carlton North Turnbull

We've been dudded. We're governed from the backbench fronted by a ventriloquist's dummy in a nice suit. Jerry Koliha, South Melbourne It seems we have a lame duck PM and lots of quacks on the front and back benches. Anne McKenzie, Preston Malcolm's like a pricey 4WD  advertised for bold adventure, but mostly found creeping over speed humps and giving way to the right.

Laurie McCormack, Clifton Hill If Malcolm is "not an ATM" when it comes to the premiers, how come he gave his PIN code to Adani? Les Anderson, Woodend Turnbull is to address the Australian Republican Movement. Why bother? Nobody believes what he says any more. Adrian Tabor, Point Lonsdale
Sydney has clocked its hottest December day in 11 years as north-westerly winds from the hot interior kept sea breezes at bay.

Fire crews, meanwhile, are battling two blazes with residents near Abermain in the Hunter with home at risk. The Rural Fire Service has issued an emergency warning for the area.

The city's temperature reached 37.8 degrees - or almost two degrees more than forecast - just after 1pm. So far the hottest inland site has been Richmond with 38.8 degrees recorded a few minutes earlier.

Miranda Langton, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said light sea breezes were gathering off the coast. Those managed to knock the mercury down 6 degrees in half an hour from the peak before temperatures started rising again.
In Melbourne's eastern suburbs, Vermont Secondary College has been celebrating some impressive further maths results. A record three students at the state high school achieved a perfect study score of 50 in the most popular maths subject  and they were all in year 11. Overall, 18 students at the state school achieved a 40-plus score in further maths. Director of numeracy Mary Zervos attributed this success to the school's team of young and experienced maths teachers She said students worked tirelessly, completed many practice exams and asked questions. "You have to have talent, and you have to be willing to work hard," she said. "We are a community school that works with all the students in the neighbourhood to achieve the best we can for them."

Westall Secondary College was another government school that produced some sharp further maths minds unlikely to be fazed by curly exam questions about 50 cent coins. The relatively small school in Clayton South has just over 50 year 12 students, but managed eight scores of 40 or above in the subject. Principal Tristan Lanarus said the school had a strong maths culture, and one of its students last year represented Australia at the International Maths Olympiad. Maths Methods / Specialist Maths At Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, almost every student studies a year 12 maths subject. While the private school always performs well in maths, principal Tony Larkin said he was particularly thrilled with this year's results. Students achieved five perfect scores in maths methods and two in specialist maths. Across the two subjects, students received 47 study scores that were 40 or above.

Mr Larkin has two tips for students who want to do well in maths: do your homework and seek out as many problems as possible. Legal studies If you want to do well in this popular subject, look no further than Glen Waverley Secondary College. It beat every school in the state, with more than one in three students achieving a 40-plus score. Debate about the same-sex marriage plebiscite, the "Malaysia Solution" and Adrian Bailey made the subject relevant and interesting. Schools that got the most 40-plus scores in other VCE subjects

Classical studies: Canterbury Girls Secondary College (six study scores of 40 or above) Environmental science: Mac.Robertson Girls High School (11) French: Penleigh and Essendon Grammar (7) Health and human development: Genazzano FCJ College (49) Information technology (computing informatics): Aquinas College (9)

Literature: Mac.Robertson Girls High School (18) Media: Lauriston Girls School (13) Outdoor and environmental science: Frankston High School (17) Philosophy: Melbourne Grammar School (17) Psychology: Nossal High School (40)
A man who told his Iranian-born neighbour to "go back to her country", then assaulted two police officers, has been branded a racist and jailed.

Craig Stephenson, 54, had no pre-existing quarrel with the woman, who kept a large Persian-style ceramic pot plant holder out the front of her Corrimal home.

Stephenson was drunk and walking to his front door the evening of October 24, when he noticed the pot, the Illawarra Mercury reports.

He picked it up and threw it on the ground, smashing it.

"Go back to your f---ing country and clean up this f---ing mess," he called, as the woman came to investigate the noise.
9/20

Peter Taylor talks with the kids while they have their lunch at the Da Bac Kindergarten which is supported by the Vung Tau Veterans & Friends Childrens Fund. Credit:Kate Geraghty
Commuters on the Bruce Highway are still facing a slow trip but it is better news on the M1.

About 8.15am, Australian Traffic Network traffic reporter Olympia Kwitowski said congestion had eased between the Loganholme and Pimpama on the M1 after an earlier crash.

But she said the Bruce Highway was still heavy southbound from Anzac Avenue to the Gateway Motorway exit.

The Gateway was still "really heavy" through Nudgee.

EARLIER
Tanker loads of chlorine are being poured into prawn ponds south of Brisbane as biosecurity officials try to contain an outbreak of white spot disease.

Authorities are scrambling to contain the outbreak to the Logan River area, amid fears it could spread and affect lucrative prawn fisheries elsewhere.

Prawn fishers south of Brisbane are facing a 30 per cent revenue hit over Christmas. Credit:Natalie Boog

So far wild prawns taken from the river have tested positive, as have prawns at three of the eight land-based farms in the region.

The virus, which can stop prawns and crabs from growing but poses no risk to humans, was not previously known to be in Australia, and has sparked a ban on prawn and crab fishing in the river while eradication efforts are underway.
Premier Daniel Andrews' cabinet ministers will have their phones checked in an extraordinary move to hunt down the source of sensitive government leaks.

The plan has left his colleagues flabbergasted and given his internal detractors ammunition, with some declaring him "paranoid".

Premier Daniel Andrews has moved to investigate his ministers mobile phones. Credit:Penny Stephens

Mr Andrews on Monday told cabinet that ministers' phones would be audited after Labor's $2 billion plan to recruit 2729 new police officers was leaked to the media hours after meetings confirming the policy.

News Corp Australia quoted one minister saying "everyone was going WTF just happened" after the Premier revealed his plan. It said no time line was given for when the audit would take place.
Controversial Liberal preselection candidate Stephanie Ross has won the backing of a Turnbull government MP who has declared the 25-year-old a ministerial prospect.

Deakin MP Michael Sukkar's decision to write a reference for Ms Ross' challenge on state MP Gary Blackwood's seat is at odds with Opposition Leader Matthew Guy who is backing the incumbent.

Preselection candidate Stephanie Ross, Brighton Liberal James Newbury, and party numbers man Marcus Bastiaan. Credit:Twitter

Ms Ross grabbed headlines last weekend when it was revealed that she opposed abortion even in cases of rape. She has also inflamed some tensions in the party by running against a sitting MP.

In the past week Ms Ross has been inundated with abusive and threatening phone calls, emails and social media posts threatening assault and rape over her nomination  police have been contacted.
Five architectural firms have been given a shot at transforming one of Melbourne's ugliest railway station precincts, in Frankston, via a $63 million overhaul.

A shortlist of designs for a new Frankston station was unveiled on Tuesday by the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, which is hosting a design competition.

Frankston station is ugly and unsafe. Credit:Paul Jeffers

Designs focused on opening up the station area to pedestrians, creating public space for events such as markets, and improving connections to Young Street's shops and to the large Chisholm TAFE campus on the eastern side of the tracks.
One teenage girl. Free to a good home. Will trade for monkey.

Before you call children's services or even the police, Perth mum Sandra Jones - who published the hilariously tongue-in-cheek post on Facebook - says she loves her 15-year-old daughter "unconditionally".

Perth mum's tongue-in-cheek post on Facebook offering her daughter "free to a good home". Credit:Getty Images

But like most parents, she just gets a little frustrated from time to time.

Since Ms Jones' frank post on the Perth Have a Whinge page, she has been swamped with hundreds of positive comments from other parents who agree with her.
Washington: US Republican President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday formally announced Exxon-Mobil Corp chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson as his nomination to serve as US secretary of state.

"His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State. He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States," Trump said in a statement released by his transition team.

The President-elect had dismissed bipartisan concerns that the globe-trotting leader of the energy giant had forged a too-cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, transition officials said.

The announcement finally brings an end his public and chaotic deliberations over choosing the nation's top diplomat  a process that at times veered from rewarding Rudy Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.
30 Years On: Nissan's Iconic 1987 Paris-Dakar Rally Car Rides Again

 Nissan Patrol Fanta Limon fully restored three decades after race success

 Found as a rusting wreck in Spanish museum in 2014

 Rebuilt by Nissan engineers as a ?passion project at weekends and after work

 Final chapter an emotional return to North African desert

LONDON - December 13, 2016: After exactly 30 years away from the public eye, Nissan has brought one of its most iconic motorsport machines back to life. The stunning 1987 Nissan Patrol Fanta Limon Paris-Dakar rally car has been fully restored to its former glory, and made an emotional return to its spiritual home in the sand dunes of the Saharan desert.

The cars legendary status is second to none, writing its very own chapter in Dakar mythology. It took victory in the diesel category, and was the first diesel car to ever finish in the races overall top 10, taking ninth spot. Today, all the top cars are diesels.

The Fanta Limon car has been given a new lease of life thanks to a dedicated team of engineers at Nissans European Technical Centre (NTCE) in Barcelona, Spain. For more than two years they restored the car after work and at weekends, turning it from a rusting wreck in a Spanish museum to a highly capable off-road racer.

Pedro Diaz Illan is Manager of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering team at NTCE, and the only member of the original 1987 team still working there. That was a proud moment. Our brains, hearts and souls have gone into this project and it has not been easy. But to see the car in the desert again was just fantastic.

The story of the cars success in the 1987 Paris-Dakar rally starts the year before, when Nissan Motorsport devised a plan to take part in high-profile off-road endurance rallies. The base vehicle was to be the Patrol  Nissans popular 4x4 vehicle  with the team at NTCE in Spain leading the project.

The sponsorship with Fanta Limon came through links between Nissan Spain and drinks brand Coca-Cola, which was looking to exploit the global publicity generated by the Paris-Dakar race. Success came quickly, with victories in the diesel class in three events during 1986 (see results table, below).

But the main target was the Paris-Dakar. It began on 1 January 1987, with 312 vehicles lining up at the start of the gruelling 13,000 km race through Europe, Algeria, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. The Nissan Fanta Limon team entered two vehicles; car 211 with Miguel Prieto and Ramon Termens as driver and co-driver respectively, and car 212, crewed by brothers Jorge and Hansi Babler.

Things did not run smoothly. The teams support truck broke down on the second stage, leaving the pair without spares for the rest of the race. Car 212 was eventually forced to withdraw after rolling down a dune, but 211 battled on to the end. It was the first diesel to finish, in ninth place overall.

Mission accomplished, the cars were retired from racing. The whereabouts of 212 is unknown, but 211 was offered to the Salvador Claret, a private car collection and automotive museum south of Girona, Spain. There it remained for almost three decades.

The idea for recovering the car came in February 2014, when NTCE technicians spotted images of it on an internet forum. Realising the 30th anniversary was less than three years away, they contacted the museum to ask for it back.

Juan Villegas, an NTCE technician and part of the restoration team, explained: The engine was in terrible condition. It was impossible to start and many parts were heavily corroded. The front axle was quite damaged, but the worst thing was the electrics, which had been badly attacked by rats.

The wreck was transported to NTCE Barcelona in May 2014 and the eight-strong restoration team began work, using their own time at evenings and weekends. They searched all over Europe for parts, asking Nissan dealers to search their warehouses for old stock. Some components were bought used and also restored.

Juan added: We wanted the car to be accurate in every way, and were lucky to get the very old drawings and service manuals from NTCE. We followed all the fine adjustments to get the exact Paris-Dakar race set-up.

In November 2016 the Patrol was complete and made a return to its spiritual home  the sand dunes of the Sahara. It was an amazing moment for the team.

Juan commented: The spirit of innovation that was at the heart of Nissans entry into the 1987 Paris-Dakar has been all around us as we have completed this project. We felt inspired by the memory of that team, which decided to participate in the most challenging race in the world and achieved such success.

The restorations cost has been covered by Nissan as part of its ?Performance Innovation fund. Its a pot of money set aside each year for projects which bring the companys brand promise  Innovation That Excites  to life.

Tech spec for 1987 Nissan Patrol Fanta Limon Paris-Dakar rally car

Engine: Four-cylinder turbodiesel

Capacity: 2,800 cc

Power: 146 hp

Weight: 1,600 kg

Top speed: 150 km/h

Races and results
Recently, Kellyanne Conway, who made history as the first female campaign manager of a winning presidential campaign, explained why she turned down a senior role in the Trump White House. During Politicos Women Rule Summit she made a point to say that while all womenfrom single women to working mothersare welcome in a Trump White House, she didnt feel that taking a high profile White House job was compatible with her family life. Conway said in part:

And when I was discussing my role with other senior campaign folks, they would say, I know you have four kids, but... I said, Theres nothing that comes after the but that makes any sense to me, so dont even try. Like, what is the but? But theyll eat Cheerios for the rest of life? Like, nobody will brush their teeth again until I get home? I mean, it justwhat is the but? And I do politely mention to them that the question isnt, would you take the job? The male sitting across from me whos going to take a big job in the White House. The question is, would you want your wife to? And you really see their wholewould you want the mother of your children do that? You really see their entire visage change. Its like, oh no, they wouldnt want their wife to take that job. So, its all good.

With that some liberal and feminist critics pounced. New York Magazines headline read, Kellyanne Conway suggests Mothers Shouldnt Take Jobs in the White House.

The Huffington Post blared, Kellyanne Conway Slips Up Implies Trump White House will be Terrible Place for Women. Refinery 29 said, Kellyanne Conway Doesnt Think Moms Should Work in the White House. And Slate announced, Kellyanne Conway Suggests Men Dont want their Wives to Work in the White House.

To be clear, there is very little that has come out of Kellyanne Conways mouth the last couple of months I have agreed with. But of all of the things for feminists, including myself, to take issue with, her comments about motherhood should not be on the list. The fact that liberal leaning publications attacked her shows just how out of touch they are with many women across this country and their values, and it explains why so many in the East Coast media bubble remain shocked these women didnt vote for Hillary  and their specific brand of feminism.

What I mean is for plenty of women around the country being the kind of mother they want to be is not compatible with an incredibly demanding job, plain and simple. That doesnt mean they dont believe mothers should work, or that other mothers shouldnt take demanding jobs, if that works for their family. But for plenty of women, including my own mom, having the flexibility to attend my dance recitals and school plays, outweighed her desire for the corner office. She worked, and worked hard outside of the home, but she didnt pursue jobs, that required heavy travel or being on call 24/7. You know like being a White House Press Secretary.

She doesnt think women who have pursued those jobs are bad mothers. Nor do I. But just as most feminists would denounce a publication for shaming a mother who has multiple nannies while climbing the corporate ladder, can we all agree that we shouldnt shame a woman for saying she doesnt think working 24/7 is compatible with raising four children, particularly while her husband has a demanding job as well? (Conways husband is a partner at a major law firm.)

It is worth noting that Conway will remain a part of Trumps inner circle in what is being colloquially dubbed the Kellyanne role. But it is also worth noting that previous women in senior White House roles have acknowledged the difficulties of balancing motherhood  or more specifically parenthoodwith one of the worlds most demanding jobs. Karen Hughes and Mary Matalin both served in senior roles in the administration of George W. Bush before leaving citing family demands.

The misfire on this latest round of coverage of Conway is indicative of a larger gulf between those of us in the media bubble who cover women, and other women in other parts of the country who have chosen different pathsincluding voting for Donald Trump.

Since the election there has been endless handwringing about how any woman could vote for Trump, whose rhetoric about women would make your run-of-the-mill sexist pig blush with embarrassment. (See Access Hollywood tape.) A lot of the ire has been directed at white women  specifically women like Conway, who are educated and therefore, the thinking goes, should know better.

But as I have had to remind a number of my outraged and heartbroken progressive friends in recent weeks, not all women define gender equality and feminism on the same terms. There are women who care passionately about pay equity and were outraged about Gretchen Carlsons experience with sexual harassment but dont support abortion rights. I know some of these women. I may not agree with their final calculation in the voting booth, but that doesnt mean that when it comes to their worldview and the values most important to them, they made the wrong choice.

Let me put it another way to any woman reading this who is passionately pro-choice. If the presidential race had come down to a candidate who made racist and homophobic remarks, but promised to stack the courts with pro-choice justices, would you vote against that candidate in favor of a nice-non-bigoted person who promised to only nominate pro-life justices? Im guessing your calculation in the imaginary voting booth just got more complicated.

For many women, their feelings about balancing their attitudes toward empowerment, equality, feminism, motherhood and politics are complicated as well. Which is why those of us who proudly wear the feminist label have a responsibility to cover these issuesand womenresponsibly. These attacks on Conway were irresponsible, and are a perfect case study in why some younger women eschew the feminist label. After all, why would they want to be part of a group that seems like a less-fun sorority?

Kellyanne Conway broke a major glass ceiling this year. And while I may not celebrate the candidate she worked for to break it, Im not going to knock her or her choices as a wife and mother every step of the way because I dont agree with all of her politics. Little girls need to see women like her in positions of power as much as they need to see the Hillary Clintons of the world.
Trevor Noah got lucky.

On Monday, The Daily Show host aired a hard-hitting sit-down interview recorded over the weekend with President Obama. And the timing couldnt have been better. Noah sat down with POTUS just after The Washington Post published a bombshell report stating: The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter.

Noah didnt waste any time before asking Obama about the report.

Obama then pointed to the Oct. 7 joint statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which said: The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations.

Well, its not a rush. Keep in mind, when the DNC got hacked, we immediately assigned our intelligence communityour law enforcementto investigate what had happened. And we determinedand announcedin October that it was the consensus of all the intelligence agencies in law enforcement that organizations affiliated with Russian intelligence were responsible for the hacking of the DNC materials that were being leaked. That was a month before the election. This was not a secret, the president said.

I will say this, though, Trevor: None of this should be a big surprise, he continued. This was reported on before the election. I dont think there was any doubt among anybody in the media or among members of Congress as to who was being advantaged or disadvantaged by the political gossip that was being put out in drip-drip-drip fashion leading up to the election.

Then POTUS took things one step further, drawing a line between President-elect Donald Trumps team and the Russians.

This was not a secret running up to the election! exclaimed Obama. The president-elect [Trump] in some of his political events specifically said to the Russians, Hack Hillarys emails so that we can finally find out whats going on, and confirm our conspiracy theories. You had what was very clear relationships between members of the president-elects campaign team and Russians, and a professed shared view on a bunch of issues.

If you recall, Trumps then-campaign manager Paul Manafort was shown the door in August following a New York Times report connecting him to pro-Putin movements in Ukraine. Numerous other Trump team members have Russia ties as well, including retired Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Trumps pick for national security adviser, who accepted a paid speaking gig fromand was a personal dinner guest ofVladimir Putin last year; his pick for secretary of State, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, a longtime pal of Putins whose company has billions tied up in Russia; and former adviser Carter Page, who is in Moscow for some reason.

The big lesson to be learned here, according to POTUS, is why these hacked emails had such a big impact on the election.The real question that I think we all have to reflect on is this: What has happened to our political system where some emails that were hacked and released ended up being the overwhelming story, and the constant source of coverage that was depicted as somehow damning in all sorts of ways, when the truth of the matter was it was fairly routine stuff, said Obama. And the reason I saw that is, going forward, I worry that we dont spend enough time on self-reflection about how our democracys working, how our campaigns working, and how all of us have to do a better job at talking about whats at stake.

Calling the hacked emails not a particularly fancy brand of espionage or propaganda, he claimed that Russia trying to influence our elections dates back to the Soviet Union, and then explained why hes ordered a hasty review of Russias alleged hacking.

The reason that I have called for a review is really to just gather all the threads of the investigationsthe intelligence workthat has been done over many months so the public and our elected representatives going forward can find ways to prevent this kind of interference from having an impact on the elections in the future, he said.
ISTANBUL As the Assad regime and Iranian-led Shiite militias captured the last districts still in opposition control Tuesday night, Russia and rebel leaders agreed on a cease-fire in embattled east Aleppo that will lead to the evacuation of civilians and their armed defenders, Turkish officials said.

Under an agreement reached with Turkish help, buses were to begin shuttling the beleaguered civilians to areas outside Aleppo, with moderate rebel fighters to follow, they said. Turkey, already the biggest host country with 3 million Syrian refugees, is planning to set up a tent city inside Syria to accommodate 80,000 Syrians fleeing Aleppo, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said.

But many details appeared to be unresolved, and Turkish officials called the accord fragile.

It wasnt clear, for example, whether provision had been made for evacuating the fighters of Jabhat Fateh al Sham, formerly the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra force, whose presence in east Aleppo was the reason Russia has cited from attacking the old city. Also unclear who will supervise the transfer.

Turkish officials disputed accounts that Turkey and Russia would be the guarantors of the deal and said the U.N. will oversee the evacuation, but U.N. officials said this had not yet been decided. The local council in east Aleppo said the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent would play the supervisory role, but Turkish officials said it was not the case.

The deal was reached in behind-scenes talks between the Turkish MIT intelligence agency and the Russian military, but both took their signals from Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and his Turkish counterpart, whove had three phone conversations about the fate of Aleppo, according to Turkish news media.

Turkey, which has sympathized with and supported the moderate opposition during the five years of fighting, was bitterly critical of the Assad regime and on Tuesday accused it of directly attacking the civilian population and carrying out mass executions as it took territory in east Aleppo.

But with its own forces inside Syria and highly vulnerable as they take on both Islamic State extremists and a Kurdish militia allied with the United States, the Turks have been highly reluctant to take on Russia, despite its leading role in the air war against east Aleppo.

With reporting by Duygu Guvenc from Brussels
Crony capitalism is dead in Washington! Long may crony capitalism prosper worldwide under Donald Trump!

On Monday Trump postponed his promised announcement of his plan for what will be the moment of truth for his brand of crony capitalism, in which he will finally say what he will do with his family business while he is in the White House (see Donald Trump's Conflicts of Interest and What Happens to Trump's Businesses When He Becomes President). He Tweeted that evening that "I will be leaving my businesses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the Presidency. Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office." His big decision, widely expected, is a big "so what."

So long as Trump or his family continue to operate the Trump Organization with its vast entanglements with foreign powers and interests there will be no way to separate the business interests of the 45th president from the national security and other interests of the United States of America.

By removing himself from operations, Trump is hoping to shield the privately owned Trump Organization finances from public scrutiny. Yet without transparency, how can Americans know whether Trump is making decisions solely in the interests of the American people and U.S. national security or is tilting policy in favor of those funneling money into his once and future business enterprises?

Indeed, how could we know whether any of his official conduct is tilted in favor of family profits and inimical to the national interest?

Stepping back from business operations would be a sham. By Trumps own accounts he's never played much of a role in operations. But what difference does it make in judging the quality and integrity of Trump administration actions whether money flows to the man himself or to his family and the organization bearing his name?

Trump's Real Wall: Around Trump

The Trump Organization is not a publicly traded firm in which Trump is a major shareholder with fiduciary duties to other shareholders. It's Trumps company lock, stock and undisclosed barrels of money and obligations.

If Trump succeeds in building an impenetrable wall around Trump Organization finances it would create a national security nightmare. Such an anti-disclosure wall would enable corrupt transactions inimical to the interests of the United States of America. The American public won't have any obvious way to discover any pay-for-play deals arranged with his children.

Even if you believe everything Trump does is motivated solely by love of country, one cannot serve two masters. And if there is anything that Trumps 70 years have established it is his love of money. The fictional Gordon Gecko declared, "Greed is good." Trump thinks it's great.

Trump has a long and thoroughly documented history of breaking the rules, ignoring the rules and just making up his own rules so he can stuff cash into his own pockets with no regard for anyone else.

Court records detail Trump's decades-long history of conspiring to not pay illegal immigrants, as well as shortchanging vendors. So sue me, is what vendors not paid all they were owed say Trump has told them, knowing that the legal expense to recover even $100,000 is a burden not worth bearing. And, of course, there are all those banks that Trump stiffed for nearly $1 billion, which is why we know from his extremely limited financial disclosures that he owes American banks nothing, but he's in hock to Deutsche Bank and, much more troubling, to the Bank of China, owned by the communist regime in Beijing.

And then there are the civil fraud cases he settled  on the condition that the files be sealed  alleging investment frauds. Hundreds of investors in failed Trump-branded real estate projects lost many millions of dollars, while Trump and his cronies pocketed millions of dollars.

Key among these cronies is the violent felon and stock swindler Felix Sater, an individual whom Trump claims he barely knows even though for years the two men traveled widely on Trumps personal jet and Sater worked in the Trump Organization offices in Trump Tower.

Sater was involved in Trump-branded developments that failed in Arizona, Colorado and Florida, and as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging a quarter-billion-dollar tax fraud over the Trump SoHo New York hotel in Manhattan. Sater has publicly talked of his long and close relationship with Trump, who know seeks to distance himself.

But most relevant today is that Sater avoided prison in the stock swindle he ran on behalf of four organized crime families by persuading the federal government that he could intercept missiles on their way to terrorists. The American people need full disclosure of the relationship between the next president and this close advisor.

Would you have any idea who these arms merchants are or how to intercept weapons? Even if you did, how much could the United States of America be assured that all the weapons were intercepted, rather than some, with the other weapons creating numerous opportunities for profiteering? The reality in such situations is the public is dealing with a black box and the government may be watching through dirty or distorted windows.

The terms of many Trump deals to license his name create easy and lucrative opportunities for crony capitalism.

My files include many Trump licensing contracts. They reveal Trumps penchant for deals in which he gets an increasingly fatter slice of the pie as buyers of Trump-branded real estate pay premium prices. Trump gets guaranteed fees upfront and then an escalating share of the purchase price. The bonuses are usually calculated per square foot, so that above so many dollars per square foot Trump gets an extra 10% and at even higher price he gets a quarter or a third of the premium price.

That's a smart tactic for someone who derives much of his income from licensing his brand name as a private citizen. It's also a simple and easy formula for payoffs. And those payoffs could be either in the form of bribes offered to win favorable treatment or that could be extracted as blackmail when an official favor is needed once the embodiment of the Trump Organization is the American president.

This creates vast pay-for-play opportunities to curry favor with Trump. Just buy Trump-branded condos or office space at premium prices. The Trumps would know how lucrative each deal was, but no current law would require any public disclosure. As Trump himself keeps asserting, he is exempt from federal conflict-of-interest statutes. But as with many Trump pronouncements it's not quite the whole truth. As president, Trump will be subject to the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bans gifts from foreign powers. That clause could become his Achilles heel if events turn him into a political pariah with Republicans.

How would we ever know if Ivanka, his oldest daughter, or sons Donald Jr. and Eric just mention over dinner in the official residence how much they like this head of state or that foreign business?

And what of foreign land deals? In many countries access to prime real estate for development is decided not on the basis of sound business judgment, but of relationships with the dictator, king, sheikh or other ruler.

This means that Trump removing himself from day-to-day operations or even all operations while his children or even a trustee ran the family business is beside the point.

Don't expect Trumps coming announcement to square with Trump's own stated standard, articulated in a Nov. 30 Tweet:

Creating a trust or other mechanism that removes Trump from operations, but leaves him or his children with ownership interests, is the kind of sham arrangement long favored by crony capitalists.

There is only one legitimate solution to this looming national security and Presidential integrity nightmare. Trump must create a blind trust and have others not within his crony capitalism sphere pick an independent brokerand that broker must liquidate all Trump holdings with full disclosure of the terms of each deal.

David Cay Johnston's new book, "The Making of Donald Trump," was published on August 2, 2016. His next one will be "The Prosperity Tax: A New Federal Tax Code for the 21st Century Economy." Johnston is a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at Syracuse University College of Law and Whitman School of Management, and also writes for Investopedia and Tax Notes.
Confronted with the news that the CIA concluded Russia hacked and meddled in the U.S. election with the intent to get him elected, President-elect Donald Trump simply denied it.

Denial is a common tactic used by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the media machine he sponsors. When little green men, Russian soldiers without insignia, started occupying Crimea, Putin denied it. When Russian soldiers spilled across the Ukrainian border, fueling a civil war in the country, Putin denied it.

When Russia intervened in the war in Syria, Putin and the headlines emblazoned on Russian-backed media proclaimed the Kremlin was coming to the rescue to take out ISIS. Reality proved different. Russian bombs were directed not at ISIS hotbeds, but rebel strongholds. In a ruthless campaign to prop up their brutal ally Bashar al-Assad, Russia went on to bomb numerous hospital, schools, bakeries, a United Nations humanitarian aid convoy and the emergency rescue group the White Helmets, among other civilian targets. The Kremlin denied all of it. Its media served to amplify all those denials.

When news came out that the CIA believes Russia had intervened in Americas election to help elect Trump, his transition team denied it: These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. Its now time to move on and Make America Great Again.

Invoking Iraq is a common tactic of deflection in Russian media. Asking What about Iraq? is meant to bring the conversation to a halt and absolve the Kremlin of any wrongdoing. How dare the U.S. assert any moral superiority after invading Iraq? On my final day of anchoring at RT, when it became apparent Russian forces were present in Ukraine, the news director demanded I pose this question to former Congressman Ron Paul: The mainstream media has been covering Ukraine non-stop. John Kerry famously said You just dont invade another country on phony pretext Why didnt the mainstream media challenge the secretary of State regarding pretext to war in Iraq?

Iraq had nothing to do with the pressing issue at hand, but it served to redirect the conversation to U.S. hypocrisy. The argument was similarly summoned to deflect from Syrias use of chemical weapons.

Russian messaging aims to incite existing tensions and deepen existing divisions. It aims to make angry people angrier and paranoid people more paranoid. Its overarching goal is to instill a deep distrust in the political establishment, Western media, and the concept of democracy itself. In that sense, Trump ran a Russian campaign, enflaming the angry and disillusioned.

But he went further, stepping into territory where even RT producers put their foot down. As the Republican presidential nominee, Trump went on Alex Joness showwhere hes peddled lies about 9/11 as an inside job and the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoaxand praised the notorious perpetrator of falsehoods.

Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down, Trump told the InfoWars host. After the election, says Jones, Trump called to personally thank the man who became persona non grata at RT, as producers argued continuing to have him on as a guest was damaging to the channels credibility.

We saw exactly what can happen when an armed consumer of Alex Jones, fake news, and disinformation got off the internet to explore a conspiracy in the real world. A man walked into a popular D.C. pizza place last week to self-investigate Pizzagate, the bizarre and completely false scandal in which Democratic leaders were supposedly running a child-sex ring, firing his weapon inside the establishment before he was finally apprehended. After he was captured, the man admitted, in an epic understatement, that his intel was not 100 percent.

When Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down in the shadows of the Kremlin in early 2015, the Russian government denied any involvement. To this day, no one has been held accountable. But many blame the atmosphere of fear, hate, and paranoia instilled by the tightly controlled state media, which casts opposition as an evil danger to Mother Russia.

In the past month, I have traveled to three European countries reacting to Russian disinformation and hybrid warfare at a time when a resurgent Russia is growing bolder and more aggressive. In the Baltic state of Latvia, where Russian occupation is still a painfully fresh memory, Russian disinformation is seen as tool of an existential threat. In Poland, the nation views Russian disinformation as a national-security threat. A press conference and series of panel discussions on the topic was attended by the defense and foreign ministers, signaling the Polish governments priority to combatting what it views as a serious danger.

It was a different story in Budapest, where press freedoms have been steadily declining. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has developed cozy ties with Putin and the press has taken an increasingly pro-Russian tone, with the government news outlets sometimes parroting headlines from Russian propaganda sites. In October, the countrys largest opposition paper shut down. The growing anti-American sentiment in the country hit me during a panel discussion I was participating in, which included a Trump adviser and Hungarian politician. Zsolt Nemeth, head of the Hungarian parliaments foreign affairs committee, flatly blamed the wars in Ukraine and Syria on the U.S. Stunned, I found myself the sole voice reminding the audience of Russias integral and aggressive role in both conflicts.

Facts are the foundation upon which modern civilization thrives. Medicine and science depend on the consensual agreement of facts, and so does foreign affairs and journalism. Both Trump and Putin use disinformation to channel a message of anger, division, and above all, distrusttelling its listeners to trust no one. Both boldly reject truth and disregard facts.

For Trump as for Putin, reality is something that can be molded or outright dismissed when it would prove damning. It is now up to U.S. institutions, the media, and the American people to declare that a world in which facts dont matter is not a reality we want to live in.
Can you not quite put your finger on why having the worlds biggest oil CEO as Americas secretary of State might be a problem? OK then, thats why Im here!

1. Rex Tillerson has been running a global quasi-state for a decade and has dedicated pretty much his entire adult life to that quasi-state (hes worked at ExxonMobil since 1975). As such, he has, it is fair for us to assume, a world view centered on the worlds provable and exploitable fossil-fuel resources. As ExxonMobil chief executive, he has had the responsibility of trying to exploit those. He knows where they all are, how hard they are to get to, who owns them (if anyone), what theyre worth.

Heres a list of countries by proven oil reserves. Think Tillerson doesnt know this list cold? How will 40 years spent thinking about the world through this prism influence his, er, diplomacy? He can sell his stock (which I hope and assume were hoping and assuming). But he cant erase his memory banks any more than Donald Trump can suddenly forget which countries hes doing deals in. Which countries are ExxonMobil doing deals in? ExxonMobil has partnered with PetroVietnam to drill in the disputed South China Sea. Whats Exxons business exposure in China? Is anyone seriously contending that a Secretary Tillerson can instantly set all these concerns, all these learned habits, aside?

Two main points here. First, Exxons interests are Exxons, not the United States of Americas. Sometimes theyve aligned, but sometimes they have not. But second and more important, is the vantage point of a fossil-fuel extractor really the vantage point that we want to privilege in the role of the worlds most important diplomat?

2. This brings us specifically to Exxons and Tillersons Russian ties, which youll be reading a lot about in the next few days and which is what Democrats will likely pounce on in confirmation hearings. Its not some general vague notion. Tillerson, according to this article, came up through the ranks in Exxon managing the Russia account! Its next to impossible that Trump didnt know this, and it seems reasonable to conclude then that Trump chose Tillerson not in spite of his deep Russia ties, but precisely because of them.

Tillerson cut a huge deal in 2011 with the Russian oil company Rosneft. Putin himself was at the ceremony. The men have known each other for years. How will this affect Secretary Tillersons view of Ukraine, the Baltic states, NATO? Its mind-boggling.

3. Climate change has been a major State Department issue for years now. As Cathleen Kelly wrote this year for the journal I edit, Democracy, the State Department has moved on a range of fronts to recognize climate change not just as an environmental issue but as an issue of first-order diplomatic and strategic importance as climate shifts result in population flows and agricultural changes and all kinds of things.

Tillerson, though, is a climate-change denier in the general sense. As CEO, he did soften Exxons image in that department, coming out in favor of a carbon tax (although he had the safety of knowing that such a proposal wasnt going anywhere). But Exxon spent years spearheading a public campaign denying a human role in climate change.

ExxonMobil employs 1,600 scientists and engineers. They know the science. They spend their days calculating things like the environmental costs of extraction. But would Secretary Tillerson try to sit down with his president and explain them, or would he just go along? Hint: See point 1, about 40 years worth of mental training.

4. Theres a hell of a lot of other stuff the secretary of State has to do. Lets start with Israel and Palestine. What sort of grasp of Israeli politics does Tillerson have? Any? And the internecine battles within the Palestinian world?

Syria? Factions upon factions upon factions! The history of the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The roles played by the Muslim Brotherhood and Hezbollah and their histories. Does Tillerson know anything about any of this beyond the broad headlines? And thats just one region of the world. There are several others, you know.

Then there are the issues that the State Department works on that go beyond state relationships. Potable water. Does he have a handle on that? The subjugation of women. Slavery and peonage. Malaria and other diseases. Whats he going to prioritize, and whats he going to propose to do about those matters?

My point isnt that he ought to be able to fix all these things. Its that a normal pick would know a little something about all these matters, and have a sense of who to get on the phone when a crisis erupts somewhere. Tillerson will be learning on the job literally every day for his entire tenure, however long it lasts.

Except, that is, about fossil fuels and Russia. Those are the two things he knows upside down. And its not very likely that thats an accident. A global energy CEO would have been a totally unacceptable choice 20 or 30 years ago. No, even a decade agoDubya would have seen that this was just too brazen, and he probably would have realized that he should have someone with some relevant experience (and indeed, comparatively speaking his two secretary of state choices werent horrible).

But now its happening. And the thing isits hardly even the most shocking of Trumps Cabinet picks.
For most of us, 2016 has been a Westworld-esque nightmare loop weve triedand failedto wake up from. But much like Vladimir Putin, and Air Canada, director Mel Gibson is having the best year ever. On Monday, Gibsons latest film, Hacksaw Ridge, earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Director and Best Film (Drama), as well as a Best Actor nod for Andrew Garfield. And these come on the heels of Hacksaw being awarded two Critics Choice awards over the weekend, including Best Action Movie. The movie tells the story of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector who enlisted as a battlefield medic during World War II. Of course, any drama that Gibson directs pales in comparison to his own behind-the-scenes odyssey: the story of an odious individual who, after years on the outskirts of Hollywood, has somehow managed to fight his way back into the mainstream.

Gibsons uphill road back to respectability has nothing to do with prejudices or obstacles outside of his control. Instead, Gibson earned his enemies the old-fashioned way: by being a terrible person who says atrocious things. In 2004, people started asking questions about the celebrated director, tied to his arresting, deeply polarizing film The Passion of the Christ. The unlikely blockbuster was immediately accused of anti-Semitism, due to its callous depictions of bloodthirsty, villainous Jews. When asked why, exactly, he chose to produce some of the most two-dimensional, unlikable Jewish characters since Shylock, Gibson defended his directorial vision, insisting, Im subjected to religious persecution, persecution as an artist, persecution as an American, persecution as a man.

The persecution of Mel Gibsona famous white man with a fortune well over $400 milliononly intensified. Two years later, he was arrested for drunk driving in Malibu. Doubling down on his bad decisions for the day, Gibson took this opportunity to unleash a trigger warning-worthy tirade of word vomit. He called a female police officer sugar tits, and told another arresting officer, I own Malibu I am going to fuck you. Most famously, he pulled out this anti-Semitic gem: Fucking Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world Are you a Jew? The drunken comments seemed to echo the views of Gibsons father, who is a Holocaust denier.

Like so many meninists, Gibson didnt just talk the talk of aggressive misogynyhe also hit his girlfriend. In 2010, leaked audio recordings revealed Gibson hurling disgusting insults at former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. The audio included Mel telling her, Youre an embarrassment to me. You look like a fucking pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault. Then another tape surfaced, in which Gibson admitted to hitting Oksana while she was holding their baby daughter. During the recording, Oksana cries, What kind of a man is that who would hit a woman when she is holding a child in her hands, hitting her twice in the face? What kind of man is that? Mel responds, You know what? You fucking deserved it. A year later, Gibson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery, and received three years probation. In a sworn statement, Gibson admitted that he slapped Grigorieva with an open hand because she was allegedly shaking the baby, while Grigorieva claimed Gibson flew into a violent rage, striking her and delivering a concussion as well as chipped front teeth.

Of course, behaving badly towards women is no major career impediment for a man, whether hes looking to direct mainstream movies or be the next President of the United States. What differentiates Gibson from other Hollywood bad boysmisogynists, accused abusers, rapists, etc.is the sheer number of identity groups hes managed to offend. In addition to his infamous anti-Semitism, Gibson also has a history of on-the-record homophobia. In 1991, he shared his opinions on gay men with Spanish newspaper El Pais: They take it up the ass. [laughs, stands up, bends over, points to anus] This is only for taking a shit. He continued, With this look, whos going to think Im gay? I dont lend myself to that type of confusion. Do I look like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them? Four years later, when asked if he intended to issue a GLAAD-recommended apology to gays and lesbians, Mel insisted, Ill apologize when hell freezes over. They can fuck off. And when Frank Rich violated the eleventh commandment by criticizing The Passion of the Christ, Gibson came after the columnist, saying, I want to kill himI want his intestines on a stickI want to kill his dog.

From women to gays to Jews to New York Times reporters, Mel Gibson has crossed just about every group off his bigotry bingo card. Naturally, his prize has been a slew of nominations and accolades. Hacksaw Ridge was enthusiastically received at the Venice Film Festival, and has an 87 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So what has Gibson done to warrant this Hollywood redemption?

Basically, he showed up.

The implied argument is that after 10 years in the doghousethats 70 in dog years! its about time we started showering Mel Gibson in money and metal statuettes. This argument is implied because Gibson doesnt actually ask for forgiveness, or attempt to justify his actions. Instead, hes decided to gaslight America by simply acting like he has nothing to apologize for. Gibson showcased this strategy during his Hacksaw Ridge publicity tour, all but avoiding any discussion of his unsavory past.

During a Late Show With Stephen Colbert appearance, when the host persistently pressed him for a comment, Gibson mustered this up: Its a pity that one has to be defined with a label from, you know, having a nervous breakdown in the back of a police car from a bunch of double tequilas, but thats what it is. Now, you know, this is notthat moment shouldnt define the rest of my life. In addition to a distinct lack of humility and shame, Gibson is also making the deliberate decision to boil all of his bad behavior down to one moment in timehis 2006 DUI. And while blaming the Jewish people for all the wars in the world would have been most celebrities low point, Gibson actually has a whole lot more to answer for. When a reporter from The Globe and Mail similarly tried to interrogate Gibson, the director blew him off, saying, That was, like, 10 years ago. Its old, Barry, its so old. Ive moved on, and I wish everyone else would.

Has Gibsons wish come true? In the thick of the audiotape controversy, Gibson became something of a persona non grata in Hollywood, with super-agent Ari Emanuel and then-Sony Pictures head Amy Pascal publicly condemning him. Apparently, thats all water under the bridge. According to Gibson, I talk to Ari on a regular basis, we email each other. We sorted it all out. Theres a lot of posturing and a lot of media sensationalism that goes on when someone has a nervous breakdown, drunk in the back of a police car. I made the necessary apologies at the time. People can either accept them or they dont have to. But Ive done my part.

Technically, this isnt Gibsons first attempted comeback. In 2011, his portrayal of an unstable character in The Beaver flopped. Either 2011 was simply too soon, or audiences can temper their guilt by hiding abusers behind the camera. After all, if we cant see the misogynistic, anti-Semitic homophobe, are we really helping him turn a profit? (Yes.) This pattern explains the continuous employment of another beloved male auteur, Woody Allen, as well as the fact that many Hollywood heavyweights publicly support and defend Roman Polanski, who raped a 13-year-old girl.

So what makes white, male directors so gosh-darned forgivable? In addition to the fact that we dont have to watch directors on the big screen, our amnesia may have something to do with director tropes. We envision directors as predominately male, but also as slightly manic. Like all artists, were inclined to make excuses for their bad behavior. While female directors like Catherine Hardwicke are routinely denied future work for refusing to kowtow, being impossible to work with has somehow become a point of pride for male auteurs. Take, for example, David O. Russell, who was borderline abusive to star Amy Adams on the set of American Hustle. Through the Sony hacks, it was revealed that Russell grabbed one guy by the collar, cursed out people repeatedly in front of others and so abused Amy Adams that Christian Bale got in his face and told him to stop acting like an asshole. By forgiving these directors, we are simultaneously stealing opportunities from up-and-coming artists. We are reticent to chastise male auteurs, and incapable of resisting the call of the comeback story.

Of course, directors arent the only celebrities getting a free pass. Performers like Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, and Chris Brown have all emerged more or less unscathed from public opinion purgatory. But theres something about the timing of Gibsons comeback that makes his predictable Hollywood redemption feel particularly icky.

Beginning with The Passion of the Christ, Gibson has been cast as a sort of Trumpian figurea lone wolf, condemned by the politically correct media, voicing the (bad) opinions that people are generally reticent to share on the record. While many read Gibsons offensive actions and statements as unhinged, others saw reason and bravery in his outbursts and his eventual Hollywood estrangement. The fact that some people actually agreed with the directors vitriol makes his refusal to further rescind those comments even more deplorable. If being a domestic abuser isnt enough to discredit Mel Gibson, his status as an ultra-conservative hero should give Hollywood second thoughts. At the last Golden Globes, Mel Gibson appeared onstage as a punchline. One year later, is the Hollywood Foreign Press really going to hand the alt-right apostle an award for Best Director?
On August 28, 2010 Glenn Beck staged a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Dubbed the Restoring Honor rally, Beck opened his address by calling for America to restore said honor by turning our faith back to the values and the principles that made us great.

Rally attendance estimates ranged anywhere from 80,000 to 500,000 (NBC News reported 300,000), a discrepancy Beck immediately focused on: I heard the media estimates on the crowd size. The first one was theres tens of thousands of people here. I think the latest I heard were two. I heard over three hundred thousand and I heard over five hundred thousand. And if thats coming from the media, God only knows how many. God only knows.

By the time I attended that rally, Id logged so many hours watching and writing about Glenn Beck as a staff writer for the media website Mediaite that I had no trouble mingling with the crowds of people that had come to hear him. I recall noting, as I weaved my way through the masses in oppressive August heat, that nearly everyone in attendance was white, largely from the middle of the country, and financially solvent enough to fly to DC for the weekend, often with their entire family. They had not, as some of Becks coverage may have suggested, been drawn mostly from the economic and cultural fringes.

Those crowds have been very much on my mind in the weeks after last months election. Perhaps the only thing the country can agree on with regards to Trumps victory is that it was shocking (for him as well, according to many reports). And yet as the reality settled in and the numbers began to emerge certain aspects of it began to take on a sense of deja vu.

Much has been written about Trumps success with white working class voters, largely because this is where Hillary, despite winning the majority of voters with incomes less than $30,000, lost ground from 2012. But its useful to remember that Trump also won the majority of all white voters making over $50,000. This citizenry may not have been front and center in much of the coverage leading up to, or in the aftermath of the electionindeed few polls or even heated reports from Trump rallies seemed to catch thembut they were very visible on the Mall on that August day IN 2010. And they had a great appetite for Becks message: that Americas greatest days were behind it, and the media was not telling us the true story about anything. When Trump threw his hat in the ring with a nearly identical message five years later, it was not falling un untrained ears.

When Beck held his rally, few failed to note that it fell on the anniversary of Martin Luther Kings I Have A Dream Speech, held in the same location 47 years earlier. Beck himself made a well-publicized point to invite Alveda King, MLKs niece and former GOP state senator from Georgia, and give her a speaking slot. Less noted was the fact that then-Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama had also held his convention acceptance speech in Denver on the same day two years earlier. Between the staging and the date and the crowd size it seemed very clear that Beck was eager to both place himself in the pantheon of iconic American leaders, as well as the main opposition to then barely two-year-old candidacy of Barack Obama.

Certainly with regards to that latter, he had been doing just that since his FOX News show had launched on Jan 19, 2009, the day before Obama formally took office. That the network run by former Nixon advisor Roger Ailes had set itself up as Obamas main opposition party was no secret, but for the first few years Beck, with his specific calls to return America to its glory days, and his penchant for unpredictability on air (in 2010, he famously turned to the camera during a live interview with Congressman Eric tickle fight Massa, who was under fire for sexual misconduct, and apologized to America: I think Ive wasted your time.) was its loudest, most compelling voice.

For a long time, the mainstream media, for lack of a better term, treated him with deep skepticism and barely veiled contempt. Beck is a genius entertainer, there is no questionhe was by far the most purely talented entertainer on TV at the time (something both Jon Stewart and Rachel Maddow conceded in their otherwise scathing coverage) but to many, his outrageous pronouncements, racially loaded language and complicated chalkboarded conspiracy theories were reflective of the same fringe element firing up the Tea Party, and not to be taken seriously. His mind-boggling numbers should have belied this. In 2010 his ratings regularly beat Sean Hannitys enviably situated 9PM show, and even rivaled longtime FOX king Bill OReilly. When I began as a media reporter in 2009, having rarely spent any time watching cable news, and never having heard of Beck, it was these numbers as much as Becks antics that compelled me. Could a person really be that crazily outside the mainstream if this many people were tuning in at 5 p.m.?

The answer, we now know is no. Beck, who in very typical Beck fashion (he has never been a party-line toe-er, nor had much compunction about publicly changing his mind), has recently taken a hard left turn against Trump and for, among other things, groups like Black Lives Matter. Hes been embraced by the mainstreamincluding the New Yorker, NPR, Charlie Rose and the Atlanticas a sort of emissary from the other side who, under the cloak of redemption (and America loves nothing more than a redemption story) can both justify half the countrys horror at what has taken place, while at the same time offer some insight into the thinking behind Trump supporters.

The truth is, though, it was Beck before he became tolerable to the NPRs of the world, that may be the best predictor of what Trump voters admire and tolerate: showmanship, explosiveness that can be interpreted as authenticity, paranoia, conspiracy, a deep hatred of the media, and a deep-seated fear of the future. None of this is news, but it is a reminder that weve seen this show before.

Of course, Beck was not elected leader of the free world (though we may soon wish he had been as he, at the very least, has a deep grasp on the Constitution). Even so, it may be worth considering, even as some of us are laboring under the sensation that we are being plunged uncontrollably into a dark abyss, what happened to Beck.

The phrase Going Rogue was one made popular by Sarah Palin, mostly as an attempt to cover up her ineptitude as a candidate. During his time at FOX, however, Beck was doing the real thing. His bonanza ratings, a boon to the network early on, began to make people at FOX News tightly run ship very nervous. FOXs famously vigilant PR team could not exert the control over him they demanded from all employees. In fact, Beck kept a separate team outside the network in the form of Matt Hiltzik, the uber-powerful New York PR person who had worked for Hillary Clintons team when she ran for the U.S. Senate (and won) and now calls Ivanka Trump a client.

It was not unusual, particularly in the latter half of 2010, when Beck announced his rally plan, for me to get subtly-phrased PR from FOX undermining Beck. It was fairly clear FOX, despite the numbers Beck was bringing in, was only interested in allowing him so long a leash before they felt it in their interests to cut it entirely. To be sure, nine months later, Beck announced his departure and a few months after that, his plan to start his own online channel, Blaze TV, which while successful by any measure of independent media start-ups, lacks the clout of the FOX establishment.

That Donald Trump is currently running rogue with American democracy is an increasingly terrifying reality. And yet, even as he surrounds himself with a mix of outsiders, and deep establishment characters one wonders how long before the GOP establishment, which currently runs all the houses, cuts the leashand how much damage will be done in the meantime.

One thing we can be sure of: Theres little chance Trump will ever turn to the camera and apologize to America for wasting our time. In a perfect world, thats all hell end up doing.
Statistically, Americans are now vodka drinkers.

Traditionally, of course, we were whiskey drinkersvodka, introduced here in the 1890s, became chic in the 1930s, widely popular in the postwar years and finally displaced whiskey as top-selling spirit in the bicentennial year of 1976. Before that, whiskey, widely available since the 1740s, had been our spirit of choice since at least the 1830s.

But the North American colonies were settled beginning in 1609, which leaves over a century of thirsty colonists and the question of what they drank. Rum is the standard answer. But while the colonists would eventually put away ungodly amounts of it, rum wasnt introduced until the 1650s and didnt take off for a couple of decades after that. That leaves a couple of generations of colonists looking for a drink. What they found was Americas original spirit: brandy.

Specifically, apple brandy, which is still widely available, andtheir preferencepeach brandy, which isnt. In fact, that now-forgotten peach brandy was the first truly American spirit; the first popular dram you could get over here that you couldnt get back home in England.

Now, the peach brandy in question wasnt the syrupy, low-proof, Del Monte-tasting gunk that you lift off the bottom shelf at the back of the discount liquor store. That disco-drink staple is an artificially-colored mixture of cheap grape brandy, sugar, and peach flavoring, which may also be artificial. It is, for the most part, vile and undrinkable. The peach brandy Im talking about was made from the juice squeezed out of ripe peaches, fermented, distilled in copper pot stills and aged in oak barrels. Its other name, peach whiskey, gives a clue as to its flavor profile: dry, oaky, with only a little of the base materials underlying sweetness and fruitiness to give it character.

I know this because now, for the first time in half a century, American distillers are starting to make the stuff again.

Ill get to them in a bit. First, some hard-won history (like so many spirits that arent whiskey, rum or French brandy, its history has never been written). When English colonists began to settle in North America in the early 1600sthey were in Virginia in 1607; in Massachusetts in 1620; Maine and New Hampshire in 1622 and 1623; Connecticut and Maryland in 1633 and 1634; and Rhode Island in 1636they found themselves stranded in an alien land, at the end of a long and precarious supply line.

When it came to the daily necessities of life, they were on their own. Among those necessities were alcoholic beverages. The 17th-century Englishman or Englishwoman did not drink water. Indeed, doing so was regarded more or less like we now treat playing Russian roulette: Stories from the time abound of individuals who drank cold water on a hot day (regarded as particularly dangerous) and dropped stone dead practically on the spot. Instead, they drank beer, cider and wine.

While wine would always be a problem (the stuff made from native grapes was nasty, while imported grapes all died due to the indigenous phylloxera louse), after a couple of lean years they got barley growing for beer and apple and pear trees for cider. In the southern colonies, however, it was too hot much of the year for beer to ferment.

Fortunately, the colonists there found a great number of peach trees growing, descendants of ones planted by the Spanish in their explorations of the continent a century before. Indeed, so prolifically did these propagate that, as one Virginian who was assisting the first Marylanders get settled told their chronicler, the year before he had fed a hundred bushels worth of peaches to his hogs. (Its possible that the only thing that interests me more than archaic peach brandy is peach-fed pork.)

The colonists didnt have much experience with the peachit was difficult to grow in the English climatebut they soon learned that you could make an acceptable cider from it, too. The problem with this mobbie, as they called it, was the same one shared by their other ciders. The American climate was not the English one, and even in England, fermented beverages tended to be rather unstable: as the English agriculturalist Richard Haines noted in 1684, for want of strengthCyders are apt to Decay and Dye. This was particularly true in the hot South. Whats worse, in a land with few roads and lots of remote settlements, they were fiendishly difficult and expensive to transport. If you turned them into aqua vitae or strong waters, though, they took up a fraction of the space and would keep indefinitely.

Britain came late to modern distilled spirits. In the early 1600s, the French were already making Cognac, the Dutch and Germans gin, or at least genever, the Poles and Russians vodka. England, however, was still making weird, medieval-style multi-botanical medicinal drams. Even the usquebaugh being made in Scotland and Ireland, the precursor of whiskey, was heavily flavored with things like raisins and saffron.

The North American colonists, however, did not have the luxury of accumulating rare spices and following complex recipes. They simply put the cider in their stills, ran it off and casked up the result.

We dont know who the first colonist was to try to distil peach mobbie or when or where that happened. By 1645, however, Virginia was regulating prices for locally-made aqua vitae or brandy, setting its worth as half that of English strong waters. That valuation would soon change. In the next half-century, colonial distillers gained skill and experience. By 1700, from southern New York to Georgia, vast amounts of peach and apple brandies were being distilledand, as time went on and the sophistication of American distillers increased, Americans were developing a distinct preference for the latter. In 1683, William Penn, after a year in America, wrote that peaches make a pleasant drink (by that point, mobbie had been largely supplanted by peach brandy). A generation later, the wealthy Virginia planter William Byrd, normally a drinker of French wines and Madeira, would make an exception for drams of peach brandy, as his secret diary shows. In 1722, Robert Beverley, in his History of Virginia, claimed that peaches yielded the best spirit next to grapes.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, some American distillers were letting their peach brandy attain significant age. One starts hearing about fine old peach brandy, like the half-barrel General Francis The Swamp Fox Marion and his men liberated after ambushing a Tory raiding party at its supper. In 1788, we find Philadelphia merchant John Wachsmuth advertising a cask of excellent Peach Brandy, six years old for sale. That cask would have brought a pretty penny: By the 1780s, good quality peach brandy was worth more per gallon than any other domestic spirit, and extra-old brandy like Wachsmuths was rivaling the best imported goods (and bringing in twice as much as the best rye whiskey).

In fact, the years between the end of the Revolution in 1783 and the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 would prove to be the spirits heyday. Its production was perfected: The best producers moved on from the old way of preparing the mobbie, whereby the peaches were pounded in large wooden troughs with heavy wooden pestles and the juice was left to ferment on the resulting muck, and ground their fruit in iron mills and then squeezed in cider-presses, fermenting and distilling only the clear-run juice. This process was cleaner, and it had the additional benefit of cracking the pits, thus allowing the nutty kernels to flavor the distillate. The connoisseurs liked that.

Among those connoisseurs were the Marquis de Lafayette and his friend George Washington, who in 1786 sought in vain for an anker (a ten-gallon cask) of peach brandy of sufficient quality to send his friend in Paris along with the barrel of Virginia hams Mrs. Washington was sending Madame Lafayette. Perhaps that was an ongoing problem: six years later, James Madisons son, then in new York, wrote his father in Virginia to see if he could get a barrel of the good stuff for his friendthe older the better, provided the quality be excellent, to be shipped in a cask of wood that will give it no ill taste. The younger Madison suspected, however, that this might be a tall order, and that something might have to be custom-distilled for his friend. Washington had the same idea: In 1797, when he built his model distillery at Mount Vernon, peach brandy was one of its products.

The problem was that good peach brandy was expensive to make. Sure, the peaches were cheap, if you grew them, but they didnt travel and didnt keep, so you had to do your distilling on the spot, when the fruit was ripe. Grain, on the other hand, kept year round and could be transported to wherever labor was cheapest and most skilled. The materials cost ended up at around 30 cents a gallon for peach brandy, 25 cents for rye and 20 cents for corn whiskey. That was fine as long as the brandy brought higher prices. But by the 1820s American whiskey at its best was no longer the raw bust-head of Colonial times. Old Monongahela rye and old bourbon were closing the price gap with peach brandy with startling rapidity. Whats more, and this was a major factor in the American distilling industry right up to Prohibition, you could feed cattle and hogs on the spent grain from the distillery and sell them for a massive profit. You couldnt do that with the leftovers from peach brandy.

Whatever the reason, as the nineteenth century progressed, peach brandy got shunted off onto a side-track of American drinking. It still had its constituency among the true connoisseurs, among whom one must include Americas bartenders, then creating a whole new way of mixing drinks. As the distiller Harrison Hall wrote in 1813 (after praising the spirit of remarkably fine flavor peaches yield), peach brandy was principally valued for the purpose of forming agreeable mixtures.

Among those who agreed with this assessment was Orsamus Willard, head bartender of New Yorks City Hotel and the most famous man of his profession in the world. One of his specialties was an Extra Extra Peach Brandy Punch. Others took advantage of its unctuous richness in concocting their Mint Juleps. It was also an essential component of Philadelphias notorious Fish House Punch.

None of that, however, saved peach brandy as a popular spirit: It was still made, right up to Prohibition, but in relatively small quantities. In 1892, America produced just under 100,000 gallons nationwide (legally, anyway), more than half of that from Maryland. That seems like a fair amount until you compare it to the 1.3 million gallons of apple brandy distilled or the whopping 112 million gallons of grain spirits.

After Repeal, peach brandy was briefly revived by one Lem Motlow, who in 1937 reopened his Tennessee distillery after 27 years of silence. He also made whiskey there: Jack Daniels Whiskey. When he sold the distillery to the Brown-Forman company in the 1950s, there was no more peach brandy. For the next half-century, you could find bootleg stuff in Georgia if you knew whom to ask (I never managed to find the exact right person), but that was it.

Now, of course, we have microdistillers, and if there was ever a spirit that was perfect for microdistillers to adopt its peach brandy: it has a deep tradition that can be leveraged to pique hipster interest, theres no mainstream competition and, most importantly, nobody knows what its actually supposed to taste like, so theyre free to interpret the spirit as they wish.

A number of small distillers have dipped their toes in this water. Kuchan, from California, was perhaps the first. Dutchs Spirits, from New York, is another pioneer. They both make entirely reasonable takes on the spirit (if on the young side) that make for a fabulous Fish House punch. I also hear good things about the version made by Peach Street in Colorado. Unfortunately, for a recent tasting I was unable to secure bottles of any of these threeproduction is as yet tiny and distribution poor. I did, however, manage to round up four examples.

Rising Sun Distillery, in Denver, makes a minimally-aged brandy that is nonetheless quite delicious: clean, smooth and juicy, with bright, fresh peach notes that still avoid being cloying ($23/375 ml).

Privateer, in Ipswich, Massachusetts, usually concentrates on rum, the traditional distillate for those parts. Their limited-edition Distillers Drawer Single Orchard Peach Brandy (I wont give a price as this years batch is already sold out) is on the opposite end of the spectrum, but just as seductive: dry and spicy, with an astringent oakiness at first sip that expands into a generous, clean fruitiness (the spirit is impeccably distilled) and a long, complex finish.

From Purcellville, Virginias popular Catoctin Creek distillery theres the Short Hill Mountain Peach Brandy ($30/375 ml), which explores the funkier end of the spirits flavor spectrum. It offers notes of honeysuckle and aged tobacco in the nose and is thick, rich and sweet on the palate, with plenty of peach skin.

Finally, theres Hubers Starlight Distillery Peach Brandy from Borden, Indiana, which goes all the way smooth ($60). Light, clean and fruity in a non-specific sort of way, its a pleasant spirit, to be sure, and plenty mellow, but if anything too cleanyou want a little more of what the Catoctins got in there.

The best thing to do, I think, is if you see a bottle of any of these (or any other microdistilled peach brandy, for that matter) just buy it. This is the stage where producers need the most help. Its not easy prying a dead spirit from the grave, and any purchase goes towards showing those who are brave, or foolish, enough to try that their effort is appreciated. Enough of that, and theyll get it right: the examples of peach brandy available today are far younger than the stuff the connoisseurs of 1800 were obsessing over, but even now you can see why they did it. And if you want to mix up a bowl of Fish House Punch to bring your friends into the secret, so much the better: theres no finer drink in existence. Heres how, lightly adapted from a 1793 recipe (they liked things too damn sweet back then).

Original Fish House Punch

Ingredients:

1 cup of sugar1 cup of Fresh lemon juice1 pint Water12 oz Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaican Rum*6 oz VSOP Cognac6 oz Peach brandy

Directions:

Dissolve 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice and 1 pint water. Combine the mixture with the rest of the ingredients and pour into a 1-gallon punch bowl half-filled with ice cubes. Stir and let sit in the shade for 45 minutes. Ladle forth in 3-oz portions. Makes about 25 servings.

*Even better is a mix of 8 ounces Appleton Estate Reserve and 4 ounces Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum.
Text messages sent by Pizzagate gunman Edgar Welch show he was prepared to kill when he entered a Washington, D.C. restaurant with a rifle on December 4, according to a criminal complaint released Tuesday.

Welch, 28, drove from his home in North Carolina to Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C. on December 4 where conspiracy theorists said a network of tunnels was used by powerful pedophiles linked to the Hillary Clinton campaign to conceal a child sex slave-ring. This theory was spread by the likes of conspiracy theorist kingpin Alex Jones of InfoWars and even the son of Donald Trumps incoming national security adviser, General Michael Flynn.

Welch, armed with an AR-15 and .38-caliber pistol, entered the pizzeria and discharged the rifle before surrendering to police.

Before he arrived, Welch allegedly wrote in a text message to a friend that lives might be lost for his cause.

Welch texted C. (used to refer to the other individual) and asked him if he was down for the cause? a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation wrote in an affidavit.

C. said it depended on what the cause was and Welch responded:

Raiding a pedo ring, possibly sacraficing [sic] the lives of a few for the lives of many. Standing up against a corrupt system that kidnaps, tortures and rapes babies and children in our own backyard defending the next generation of kids, our kids, from ever having to experience this kind of evil themselves[.]

Im sorry bro, but Im tired of turning the channel and hoping someone does something and being thankful its not my family. One day it will be our families. The world is too afraid to act and Im too stubborn not to[.]"

Welch reportedly told police after the incident that there wasnt evidence of the alleged child-harboring inside of Comet. (The intel on this wasnt 100 percent, he later told The New York Times from jail.)

Welch has been charged by feds with transporting a firearm with intent to harm across state lines, which carries a maximum prison penalty of ten years.

Officers obtained warrants to search Welchs vehicle and phone subsequent to his arrest and discovered that he had used it to search a number of YouTube pages prior to the incident.

Welch indicated that he had been researching Pizzagate and that it was making him sick, according to the complaint. Welch continued to search pages for hours on December 1 after sending a text message to his girlfriend, referred to in the complaint as M.R. At that time, Welch also allegedly went to Comet Ping Pong website.

The complaint also alleges that Welch was attempting to recruit at least two other people to join him.

Shortly after 8:00 p.m., the complaint continues, Welch sent another text to a friend identified in the document as B. He sent him a link to a YouTube video about Pizzagate and included the note Watch PIZZAGATE: The Bigger Picture on YouTube.

Another friend, identified as C, was allegedly communicating with Welch as well and seemed to think that the plan the shooter had in mind was to go to the North Dakota Access Pipeline.

At about 8:28 p.m., C texted Welch, Tell me we r going to save the Indians from the pipeline, the complaint reads. Welch then allegedly responded to him: Way more important, much higher stakes and Pizzagate. C wrote back: Sounds like we r freeing some oppressed pizza from the hands of an evil pizza joint. Welch replied with a vague YouTube tonight, talk in AM.

Shortly thereafter, C. told Welch via text message: Im in.

On December 4, the day of the incident, Welch seemingly left home in the morning while his girlfriend was asleep. M.R., the girlfriend, sent text messages that became increasingly concerned as the day progressed.

Also found on the phone was a video recorded while Welch was driving, in which he told family members that he loved them and hoped he had showed it. He also said that he hoped he would see them again.

Welch arrived at Comet Ping Pong by about 3 p.m. and entered the front door of the restaurant with an assault rifle across his chest. At the time, according to the complaint, an employee identified as CW-1 was retrieving dough from a freezer in the alley. He said that he heard three loud bangs while outside but returned to the restaurant. CW-1 then saw Welch, who turned towards the witness and pointed the AR-15 in his direction. The employee immediately fled outside and found officers who had arrived on the scene.

In a subsequent statement to police, Welch said that he had told his girlfriend he might be gone awhile. He also told police that he looked for evidence of tunnels and hidden rooms in the restaurant and, at one point, tried to open a locked door with a butter knife before shooting it with the AR-15. After that was unsuccessful, Welch also allegedly climbed furniture to look into the room and discovered that it was unoccupied.

Welch also had a loaded shotgun in his car along with 14 rounds of ammunition.
ROME  Pope Francis is moving beyond prayer in stepped-up efforts to find peace for Syrians caught in the crossfire in a lingering civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people in five years of relentless fighting.

The pontiff, who will turn 80 this weekend, penned a letter to Bashar al-Assad that was hand-delivered to the Syrian leader in Damascus on Monday by Mario Zenari, the Vaticans newly minted cardinal and apostolic nuncio (or ambassador) to Syria, calling for an end to the violence and the peaceful resolution of hostilities.

According to the Holy See press office, which issued a statement but not the full text of the letter, the Vatican has been increasing diplomatic pressure on Assad with an eye to becoming an integral negotiator in eventual peace talks.

In naming Archbishop Mario Zenari to the College of Cardinals, the Holy Father sought to show a particular sign of affection for the beloved Syrian people, so sorely tried in recent years, the statement says. In a letter sent through the new cardinal, Pope Francis expressed again his appeal to President Bashar al-Assad and to the international community for an end to the violence, and the peaceful resolution of hostilities, condemning all forms of extremism and terrorism from whatever quarter they may come, and appealing to the president to ensure that international humanitarian law is fully respected with regard to the protection of the civilians and access to humanitarian aid.

Vatican City is one of the few Western nations that has maintained active diplomatic ties with Assad, though the Holy Sees embassy in Damascus has been damaged in recent shelling. Zenaris promotion to cardinal was meant as a signal. Upon receiving his red cap in November, Zenari said elevation sends a strong message to Assad. It is almost a warning, he said.

In an interview with La Stampas Vatican Insider in October before he was made a cardinal, Zenari described life in Damascus, where he has lived since 2009. Unlike Aleppo, it is still possible to live here, despite the mortar fire and bullets, he said. Everythings contaminated: the air, the water, the soil. And those who escaped the bombs or chemical attacks live under a different kind of bomb, the bomb of poverty, which affects 80 percent of the population. Half of the factories and hospitals are destroyed.

He went on to say that the only solution in Syria lies in the hands of the United Sates and Russia.

Three years ago, it seemed a miracle was near but events in Crimea and Ukraine brought the Cold War back to life. At the start of last September, an agreement had been reached, the Russians were committed to getting Syrias armed forces to stay on the ground, while the U.S. was working on getting moderate rebels to stay put. Then, on the 19th a humanitarian convoy was attacked. Obviously someone wanted the agreement to fall through.

Francis has been a strong advocate of a diplomatic solution in Syria, condemning the incredible quantities of money being exchanged in the region for weapons. And some of the countries supplying these arms are also among those that talk of peace, he said last summer. How can you believe in someone who caresses you with the right hand, and strikes you with the left hand?

On Sunday, Francis concluded his Angelus with prayers for those left in Aleppo. Every day I am close, especially in prayer, to the people of Aleppo, he said. We must not forget that Aleppo is a city in which there are people: Families, children, the elderly, sick people... Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to war, to destruction; but we must not forget Syria is a country full of history, culture, and faith. We cannot accept that this is negated by war, which is a pile of abuses and falsehoods. I make an appeal for the commitment of everyone, because we face a choice of civilization: No to destruction, Yes to peace, Yes to the people of Aleppo and Syria.
As a nuclear weapons nerd, I do love a presidential transition. Every four or eight years, I get to watch beffudled politicians discover that the United States Department of Energy doesnt actually have anything to do with energy policy. It would be more accurately named the Department of Nuclear Weapons.

If you didn't know that, or forgot, its OK. Rick Perry probably forgot, too.

Yes, the former Texas governor is reportedly President-elect Donald Trumps choice to be the Secretary of Energy. The same Rick Perry whos gaffe-studded run for the 2012 Republican nomination for president included a promise to abolish three federal departments  Commerce, Education and  he couldnt remember the third. But the third was the Energy Department because of course it was.

Perrys appointment says a lot about how Trump values  or doesnt  expertise in a world of complicated threats, chief among them the spread of nuclear weapons. Once upon a time, it was normal to stash an ex-pol at Energy. By that old standard Perry is better qualified than most. But as the spread of nuclear weapons looms larger, weve come to value having a Secretary of Energy with real technical chops.

Consider the Energy Departments mission. While Energy does spend some money on energy research  about 22 percent of its budget the largest expenditures are for making nuclear weapons and cleaning up their legacy. Those two categories account for nearly 60 percent of the Energy Departments budget for fiscal year 2017. And with Trump enviously praising Russias nuclear arsenal as tippy top, that percentage will probably grow. At least the part for making nuclear weapons. Well see about cleaning up afterwards.

Once upon a time, Perrys appointment might not have seemed so crazy. Perry spent a record 14 years as governor of Texas, which is home to the PANTEX plant in Amarillo  the primary place in the United States for assembling and disassembling nuclear weapons. PANTEX gets about $700 million a year in federal funding, which goes a long way in the Texas panhandle. Being a former governor of state that has a large nuclear-weapons facility under contract to the Department of Energy might reasonably have been considered a qualification. That sort of familiarity was certainly a selling point for Bill Richardson, who had represented the Los Alamos area, home to one of our nations nuclear weapons design laboratories, in Congress. Perry wouldnt be the first former politician to land at Energy. One secretary was a dentist, for crying out loud, although some of my friends have suggested securing the departments funding is rather more like pulling teeth than Id like to admit.

But in recent years, the trend has been to appoint a Secretary of Energy with real technical expertise. President Bush appointed Samuel Bodman, who had a distinguished career as an MIT-trained chemical engineer before making a fortune in the private sector. President Obama upped the ante, appointing Berkeleys Steven Chu and MITs Ernest Moniz to the position. Both are physicists. Chu has a Nobel Prize. By contrast, Perry took four chemistry courses and got two Cs, a D and an F. He got a C in physics. And a D in something called Meat.

Perry was widely mocked for trying to address concerns about his intelligence by suddenly donning a pair of eyeglasses. It is easy to make fun of Perry, although its probably not entirely fair. He managed to repeatedly win reelection in Texas despite earning a C in public speaking. Grades arent everything. Hes probably not any more stupid than Gerald Ford was clumsy. But it turns out having a technically-sophisticated Secretary of Energy can be a real advantage.

Moniz, the current Energy Secretary played an instrumental role in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, which is formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He negotiated directly with the Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization and himself an MIT-trained physicist. Diplomats joked about the Ali and Ernie show. The Iran deal is a marvel in how its handles incredibly thorny technical issues. Frankly speaking, I dont think Americana and Iranian diplomats could have done it without the presence of Moniz and Salehi. And, in the aftermath of the agreement, Moniz became the Obama administrations most effective advocate for the deal by far. His appearance on The Daily Show was a tour de force. Had Obama appointed a washed-up Democratic pol as Secretary of Energy, he might not have what may turn out to be his signature foreign policy achievement.

Of course, the Iran deal might not last long under President Trump. But thats what throws Perrys appointment into such sharp relief. If Trump is going to replace the Iran deal, hes going to count on Perry to help renegotiate it? Perry is undoubtedly a talented politician who is deserving of a cabinet post, just not one that involves nuclear weapons.

Much has been made of Trumps disdain for expertise, whether its refusing intelligence briefings or dismissing the national security community as incompetent. Perrys nomination suggests that Trump doesnt think he needs technical advice, either. Trump thinks he can get better deal with Iran than Obama and Moniz? OK. Trump will also have to find a way to stanch North Koreas nuclear program. In doing so, hell need to be more specific than simply inviting North Koreas Kim Jong Un for cheeseburgers. And hell need to respond to Russias bewildering array of new nuclear weapons systems, from underwater drones to treaty-violating cruise missiles. And then there is also China. And those are the nuclear threats we know about. Every administration usually discovers one or two surprises are lurking out there. Mismanaging any one of these threats could result in a catastrophe.

But fear not, Rick Perry is putting on his eyeglasses.
Ive never had the luxury of political opinions, snarks Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the reluctant heroine of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, turning down an invitation to join the Rebel Alliance against the insidious Galactic Empire and its squadron of fascist goons. Disney CEO Bob Iger might agree. The studio head insisted recently that Rogue Onethe latest Star Wars film carried by a strong female lead, here backed by the most diverse, multicultural supporting cast in the entire four-decade franchiseis not a film that is, in any way, a political film. There are no political statements in it, at all.

Both Jyn and Iger would be wrong on those counts, but at least she eventually owns up to it in the rousing Star Wars standalone, a spiritual and canonical companion piece to The Empire Strikes Back set in a crucial historical gap between Episodes III and IV. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) with an assured confidence and a stacked arsenal of original trilogy references, callbacks, and yes, cameos, Rogue One serves up plenty of political statements about what makes a heroor rather, a heroineand the timeless human imperative to stand up to bullying and injustice in the world.

Even Rogue One co-scripter Chris Weitz acknowledged the series longstanding duality as a political allegory when he tweeted in November after Donald Trumps Election Night victory, Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization. The tweet came down after it and a similar post from original project writer Gary Whitta triggered a backlash of alt-right hot air. Maybe Iger was just protecting one of Disneys most prized and diverse four-quadrant investments from the nefarious #DumpStarWars hashtag. But why ignore the truth when its right there onscreen?

Rogue One is a kind of sideways Star Wars movie with darker, more mature elements at playemphasis on the warin which a fearless young woman steps up to lead soldiers on a suicide mission against impossible odds. Well, someone had to steal the plans to the Death Star. But while the criminal-turned-resistance fighter Jyns loyalties are questioned as wary rebels waver over a risky mission at the start of the Galactic Civil War, her ability never is. As the latest great Star Wars heroine to face off against the Empire, shes neither born into political service like Princess Leia nor chosen by The Force like Rey. Being a hero is a choice that Jyn Erso makestentatively, for her own reasons, and ultimately for the greater goodand in doing so, her personal convictions become political.

Joness Jyn has a good reason for thinking herself immune to the influences of greater political machinations. The daughter of Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), the architect of a fearsome new planet-killer dubbed the Death Star and one of the most notorious tools of the Empire, she has long staved off her unresolved childhood abandonment issues and the judgmental eyes of the free galaxy by developing a tough exterior and crafty sense of self-preservation. A pre-title prologue simultaneously establishes her own personal tragedy and introduces the ruthless Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), whos come to hunt down the Ersos on a remote planet, sweeping across its black sands flanked by ominous black storm troopers, his signature white duds gleaming across the ground like a slow-moving cancer.

Raised since that day by the rebel extremist Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), a fighter so rigid in his own methods hes sacrificed limb and lung to the cause, Jyn learned everything she knows from joining his guerrilla insurrection against the Empire. His is the kind of dirty war fought in dusty marketplaces with guns and grenades, IEDs blowing up the Empires tanks, ambushes set for their troops. Eventually Jyn found herself on her own, racking up an extensive rap sheet, feeling further alienated from society. So when Rebel forces break her out of prison at the start of the filmon the condition she get Saw to lead them to her father in order to stop his weapon of mass destructionshes forced into service to secure her own freedom.

Soon enough, Rogue One turns into The Dirty Dozen of space operas, a premise that delivers its most satisfying payoff in Edwardss dazzling third-act conclusion. Call it The Dirty Half-Dozen: Theres Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a cocky Rebel Alliance intel officer willing to do whatevers necessary to help the cause; Cassians metallic sidekick K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk), a reconfigured Imperial enforcer droid given to manic swings of neurosis and comical pettiness; Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), the brain-frazzled pilot who defects from the Empire to deliver an important message; Chirrut Imwe (the spotlight-stealing Donnie Yen), a blind warrior-monk whos lost his purpose in life but finds a new one fighting for the Alliance; and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), Chirruts protective life partner/assassin in arms.

Its a shame Lunas Cassian Andor, infusing a hint of that brusque Han Solo charm into his prickly dealings with Jyn, makes himself too closed off to serve as a good foil for Jones. The clear-eyed young actress runs circles around him in the course of bringing Jyn to lifeso much so that when Jyn and Cassian finally reach an understanding, as you know that they will, it feels disjointed and forced, as if footage containing a crucial character moment has gone missing. Whitaker, on the other hand, is a tad too much as Saw Gerrera, a veteran of the Clone Wars made unyielding in his methods by the battles hes seen.

Yens contributions to Rogue One, however, cannot be overpraised: The Hong Kong martial-arts superstar is the films secret weapon, whether hes casually cleaning the clocks of a dozen stormtroopers while armed only with a staff, or delivering some of the films many offhanded one-liners with effortless charisma and humor. There are no Jedi anymore, only dreamers, he declares, himself a relic of the past now that the Jedi way is no more. And yet its his recurring mantra that rings into the ears of his squadmates, taking on new meaning: I am one with the Force, he repeats, and the Force is one with me.

Rogue One, more so than The Force Awakens, is a Star Wars fanatics wet dream. Contained yet expansive, nostalgic yet new, it introduces striking heroes and villains and fills its two hours and 13 minutes with a narrative that fits snugly into the canon. But where The Force Awakens leaned on a family-friendly appeal with its innocent do-gooder leads and tantrum-throwing baddie, Rogue One satisfies a darker itch. Its stakes are higher, soaring on the bombastic score of Michael Giacchino, which turns iconic themes into hard-charging new arrangements; its battles are more violent and militaristic. The scope of the mass casualties incurred in ground and air assaults between the Alliance rebels, Saw Gerreras insurgents, and the Empires heavily armed forces hammer home the costs of war.

The film also takes one of the biggest risks since Jar Jar Binks with a CG character thatll make fans do a double takeand then wrestle with how they feel about it. Rogue One keeps more than a few tricks up its sleeve, in fact. While they dont all work, theyre enough to flesh out whats otherwise a fairly straightforward narrative and tether it back to the main saga.

Familiar faces show up onscreen to thrill fans, some from very unexpected corners of the Star Wars universe. Even in its most patronizing moments, the script credited to Weitz and Tony Gilroy finds ways to weave Rogue One into the pre-established Star Wars fabric. What makes Rogue One exciting, after a bumpy middle stretch jammed with narrative shortcuts and choppy transitions, are the emotional payoffs that come in a spectacular denouement. Every hero gets a momentand those who dont make it, an earned goodbye.

So is Rogue One a political movie? One might easily see it as the tale of multicultural insurgents blasting their way through the defenses of powerful white fascist overlords on a mission to stop the deployment of WMDs against the innocent. Its also a Star Wars movie grounded by the limits of human capabilities, largely absent of the supernatural Force, with nary a Jedi to be seen; thats a crucial key to understanding the inner turmoil of its new villain Krennic, too, who finds himself on the losing side of a sibling-esque rivalry with the Emperors No. 1 pet: Darth Vader.

As Jyn discovers, taking a stand for a cause isnt a luxury when its something you must do. That matters as much now for screenwriters, directors, stars, producers, and even studio heads forging bold paths toward new ideals as it did a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away for heroines like Leia, Rey, Jyn, and those whom we have yet to meet, still waiting to see their own stories brought to life.
Word that President-elect Donald Trump planned to appoint Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state has triggered a mini-maelstrom.

As head of one of the world largest oil companies, Tillerson not surprisingly has close ties with Russia, one of the worlds most significant oil producers with untapped reserves to boot. In and of itself, that may not be an issue, but his possible selection as fourth in the line of succession for the presidency has understandably been clouded by confirmation from the CIA that Russian security services did indeed hack into various databases during the presidential campaign and engineered the release of information designed to hurt Hillary Clintons campaign for the White House.

Its been a weird few days, befitting the general weirdness of our new Trumpian world. Trump promptly rejected the CIAs findings, blasting the intelligence community as inept in forecasting Saddam Husseins weapons program and hence untrustworthy now. Four Senators, including Republicans Lindsey Graham and John McCain, then countered that reports of Russian meddling should alarm every American, presumably including Trump and Tillerson. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellwhose wife is Trumps pick for Transportation secretary said Monday that he strongly condemns foreign hacking and supports Congressional investigations into Russias role.

Meanwhile, Tillersons public and lengthy close relationship with the architect of that hacking, Russias president Vladimir Putin, turns on its head years of consensus that Putin represents a clear challenge to American leadership and interests in global affairs.

Its not as if Tillerson and Exxon Mobils close ties with Russia and Putin have been shrouded in secrecy. As has been widely reported, Tillerson spearheaded multiple multi-billion dollar oil and gas deals with Russia over the past decade. The largest was a 2011 deal with Rosneft that involved potentially hundreds of billions of dollars to open up parts of the Artic and Siberia along with other untapped Russian supplies. That led Putin to grant Tillerson the prestigious Order of Friendship (an award few of us had heard of a week ago but is now the subject of intense scrutiny).

The relationship with Russia, however, extends back before Tillerson was appointed CEO of Exxon in 2006. Russia made his career, said Joseph Pratt, a University of Houston oil-industry historian. Tillerson was one of the key Exxon Russian executives in the 1990s, and was later the point person for multiple deals that demanded Putins acquiescence if not active involvement. And Tillerson as CEO was then a strong voice against U.S levied sanctions against Russia over Putins annexation of the Crimea and encroachments in eastern Ukraine.

The push-back against Tillerson over the past 48 hours has been intense, and mounting Senate concerns over Russia may, in fact, change the Trump calculus about ultimately selecting him for one of the more important cabinet posts. It would hardly be the first time that a nominees name is floated ahead of an announcement to gauge reactions and then withdrawn as a possibility.

Lost in this fray, however, are some legitimate policy issues. The intense coziness of Tillersons Russia ties combined with the hacking scandal make not just for uncomfortable political optics but such muddled conflicts of interest that it could severely compromise the capacity of the United States to steer the independent and maverick foreign policy that Trump claims to desire. That is clear.

What should also be clear is that breaking from the past 15 plus years of U.S. foreign policy orthodoxies on everything from Russia to China to the Middle East should not be viewed as some calamity but as an opportunity. It is hard to characterize recent U.S. foreign policy as anything other than a series of missteps following one unmitigated disaster: the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. The U.S. legacy in Iraq has arguably done more damage to U.S. security than any decision in U.S history, including Vietnam. The regional instability and blowback in the form of ISIS and increased political risk are unresolved. U.S. support for the overthrow of Qaddafi in Libya somehow repeated the Iraq mistake of unending a brutal regime with no plan in place for the aftermath, thereby creating another vacuum filled by many who are intending great harm to the West and the rest of the Middle East. And while the United States is low on the totem pole of responsibility for the atrocities of the Syrian Civil War, nor have we found a clear policy to manage that.

As for Russia, yes Putin is a brilliant and troubling thug with nuclear weapons and regional ambitions. But that does not mean we need to ratchet up the conflict with Russia. The German government has much the same view of Putin, but also recognizes the need for a constructive working relationship.

For much of the 20th century and back into the mists of time, a certain degree of realism was key in foreign policy, which meant that you worked with the world as it is rather than the world as you might wish it to be. That, in turn, meant dealing dictators and all sorts of unpleasant people in positions of power. It meant understanding that we neither can nor should fight every good fight, or attempt to rectify the manifold injustices and atrocities of the world.

And so, today, we work with the Saudis even as we morally depart from them on womens rights and the rights of free expression. We work with the Egyptian military government even while disagreeing with them on everything from how they manage economically to how they deal with dissent. And yes, we have close and entwined economic ties with China in spite of strong reservations about Chinas ambitions in the Far East and the way the Communist Party manages society.

Trumps actual foreign policy has yet to unfold. But a shift in how we interact with the world combined with less conflict with Russia is not in and of itself a negative concept. For sure, the implementation could go profoundly awry and harm us deeply. That is always a risk when you disturb a status quo that may be sub-optimal but is also at some level working. Reminding China that the eternal limbo of Taiwan may not be tenable could shake things up constructively with Beijing, or the cost of rocking that particular boat could be unacceptably high in the form of military build-ups and trade wars. That remains to be seen. Better working relations with Russia may only embolden Putin and do nothing for the United States, but it may also help the U.S. achieve its goals elsewhere in the world.

In short, the Tillerson nomination is a shaky idea. But the idea of shaking things up and resetting American foreign policy on the heels of a less-than-stellar fifteen years is something we should cautiously welcome rather than reflexively denounce just because it is Donald Trump doing the shaking.
It wasnt exactly a sit-down interview with President Obama, but Late Night host Seth Meyers dedicated Mondays edition of his must-see A Closer Look segment to The Washington Posts jaw-dropping report over the weekend.

The piece, quoting anonymous officials, stated: The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system. The New York Times followed that up with a report claiming that the Russians hacked the Republican National Committees computer systems in addition to those of the Democrats, but chose to not release whatever information they gleaned from the Republican networks.

So they only released the Democrats emails but not the Republicans, though to be fair, what could possibly be in the Republican emails that was more embarrassing than what their candidate was saying out loud in public? joked Meyers on Monday. Donald Trump is a hacked email come to life. Did you hear? Donald Trump made fun of the disabled. In a private email? No. Into a microphone in an arena.

And, as Meyers added, you might expect an incoming president to take seriously the findings of the intelligence agencies that hell need to rely on as president, but this is Donald J. Trump were talking about. So as is his wont, Trumps team instead opted to slam the CIA in a statement that read: These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. Its now time to move on and Make America Great Again.

Well, almost nothing in that statement released by the Trump transition team is true. The U.S. officials who spoke to WaPo and the Times did so anonymously, so there is no way of knowing whether they are the same people who claimed that Saddam Hussein had WMDs over 14 years ago; Trumps win was not one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history, instead ranking 46th out of 58 presidential elections in terms of margin of victory; and the election only happened five weeks ago.

Of course, this is not the first time Trump has openly rejected the findings of the intelligence community, said Meyers. Both duringand afterthe campaign hes repeatedly sought to downplay the possible role of Russia in the hacks, suggesting alternate theories for who might be behind them. These theories have included China, some guy sitting on their bed who weighs 400 pounds, or as he told Time magazine, some guy in his home in New Jersey. A 400-pound guy at his home in New Jersey? Is he actively trying to frame Chris Christie?! cracked Meyers.

Meyers also covered his bases, issuing the following disclaimer about the recent news reports alleging that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee in order to sway the election toward Trump: Now, its always important to take anonymous claims from intelligence officials with a giant grain of salt. Thats why we need a full investigation and all the evidence to be made public, he said. But even before that happens, Trump has repeatedly rejected the intelligence communitys findings.Trump could easily reassure critics who say hes too close to Russia by denouncing Russian influence in the election, but as he has repeatedly made clear, he has a bizarre affection for Vladimir Putin, Meyers added. And his apparent choice for secretary of State isnt helping.

Trumps pick for Secretary of State is ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, a longtime friend of Putins whos not only received Russias Order of Friendship award from Putin himself, but also presides over a company with billions of dollars tied up in Russia. Meyers subsequently threw to the following tweet of Trumps, which indicates that the president-elect is treating the Cabinet selection process like his own personal game of The Apprentice:

Stop telling us to stay tuned! exclaimed Meyers. Youre president-elect for the next four years. Like it or not, were all fucking tuned! Youre going to be the first president who has commercial breaks in his State of the Union.
In less than a week, in 51 locations around the country, and for the 57th time in our history, electors will cast their vote for president. Yet notwithstanding 224 years of history, to this day, there is a profound misunderstanding about the law and norms that govern their decisions.

This confusion rests upon a failure to distinguish between the legal obligations that electors live under, and the moral or ethical constraints that must guide their vote.

Legally, or better, constitutionally, electors are free to exercise their independent and nonpartisan judgment, as Justice Jackson put it, however they wish. No state law can tell a presidential elector how he or she must vote, any more than a state law could tell the electors, as the Constitution describes them, who select Congress (i.e., we voters) how we must vote. The Constitution sets the requirements for an elector; federal law regulates how electors act. Those are the only legal requirements that may, constitutionally, constrain an elector. Thus, on Dec. 19, by (what should be a secret) ballot, an elector can vote however he or she wishes, without fear of any legal consequence.

But to say that an elector is free legally is not to say that she is free ethically. Because while the Supreme Court has indicated that an elector cannot be punished for voting one way or another, the court has permitted states to impose moral obligations on electors. An elector can be required, as a condition of becoming an elector, to make a pledge to one candidate or another. That pledge creates obligations, and those obligations cannot, in good faith, be ignoredat least without good reason. And even if they are ignored, there remains a difficult questionwho then should the elector select?

There is now an historically unprecedented effort to persuade electors that they have a sufficiently strong ethical reason to vote against Donald Trump. Those reasons range from the weak to the very strong.

Among the weakest is the argument that Trump is just unfit to be president. I get this argument. It is something I myself believe. But despite the certainty with which this claim is asserted by many, at least 62 million Americans disagreed with it by casting their vote for Trump. This fact has enormous moral force within a democracy. And whatever the electors were meant to be originally, we cannot today recognize them as our moral or democratic guardians, charged with second-guessing what the American people have said. Against the background of that strong democratic principle, this reason alone is not enough to justify violating an oath to support Donald Trump.

Much stronger is the concern that Trumps refusal to disentangle himself from foreign assets  and, what should be even more concerning, foreign debtsrenders him unavoidably in violation of the Constitutions Foreign Bribery Clause. Richard Painter, a Republican, and former ethics czar for President Bush, has made this case most forcefully. Trump cannot keep assets that create an ongoing risk of influence peddling by foreign governments or foreign nationals. He especially should not be liable in debt to foreign banks or governmentsas his companies reportedly are to Deutsche Bank for more than $300 million. We need a president who is independent of personal interests that might affect his presidential judgmentfor the same reasons Trump was right early in the campaign to complain that super PACs compromised the independence of his opponents. That independence is what the Constitution seeks through the Foreign Bribery Clause. Trumps refusal to comply with its restrictions is plainly reason enough to reject him.

Likewise with concerns about Russian involvement in the elections. The Russians have acknowledged contact with the Trump campaign during the election; the CIA has concluded they actively interfered in the election to try to turn the results toward Trump. Whether or not one can prove that their involvement is actually responsible for the 80,000 votes in the three states that turned the winner of the popular vote into the loser of the election, an elector could well reason that we should have zero tolerance for any such interference. And when there is evidence of collusion or conspiracy between a campaign that has been benefited and a foreign government, an elector could well reason that his vote should be withheld from that colluder. This again would justify a vote against Trump.

And likewise, finally, with the concern that the winner by far of the popular vote will be denied her victory only because of a system for aggregating Electoral College votes that denies equal weight to each citizens vote. The winner take all rule for allocating Electoral College votes (and not required by the Constitution) radically skews the voting power of citizens, based simply upon where they live. That skew is inconsistent with the constitutional principle of one person, one vote. An elector could well justify a decision to deviate from his or her pledge and vote against Trump based on this more fundamental constitutional ideal.

Each of these three stronger reasons points to facts that did not exist, or were not apparent, on Nov. 8. For an elector to base her decision to violate her pledge on one of these reasons would thus not imply that he or she knows more than the voter who elected him or her. It would instead be a perfectly and democratically justifiable exercise of precisely the judgment the Constitution secures to electorsto confirm or not the results of the popular election.

Yet there would still remain the question: For whom should such an elector now vote? Does the judgment, I cannot in good faith support Trump, mean the elector is free to vote for whomever she wishes?

There is a strong argumentand I believe, ultimately, this is the correct argumentthat if an elector cannot vote for the candidate to whom she is pledged, she ought to vote for the next best candidate among those the public actually voted for. That candidate is Hillary Clinton in every state, and especially the three swing states that ultimately decided the result. And it is my view that an elector unable to support Trump has an ethical obligation to vote for Clinton.

Yet it is the most strikingly depressing truth about our current time that partisanship renders this choice almost unthinkable. We have entered the age of party over country, which makes the very notion of a Republican elector voting for a Democratic candidate impossible. One would have thought that after an election, recognizing the candidate who received the most votes would not be a partisan act, but a factual acknowledgment. But thats not how the electors apparently view their role. They, partisans, feel themselves committed as partisans, forgetting that they are actually citizens first.

This reality has led some Democratic electors to try to work out a deal. The Hamilton Electors, as theyve called themselves, are working to persuade Trump electors to join them in voting for John Kasich. If at least 37 Republicans join, then the election would be thrown to the House of Representatives. And with one vote per state, the House would select the president from among the three top vote-getters. Mortally wounded by an Electoral College defeat, these Hamilton Electors hope that choice would not be Trump.

From the standpoint of high principle, and Electoral College ethics, this is a hard move to justify. Clinton electors have no good faith reason not to vote for Clinton. Electors defecting from Trump, in my view at least, have no justification for voting for anyone except someone the public has actually voted for. And moreover, the Electoral College was expressly designed to avoid just this sort of collusion. The Framers thought making electors vote on the same day in different states would make it impossible for them to coordinate. Add Twitter and email to the list of things the Framers just did not get.

Yet from the perspective of practical politics, this grand compromise is making more and more sense. If there are 37 electors who cannot in good conscience support Donald Trump, they should at least give the House of Representatives the opportunity to choose a candidate who might unite a nation fractured by a bitter and divisive campaign. That candidate would need to be a Republican. Ideally, the college would also give the Senate the chance to select a Democrat for vice president. This split ticket might unite America over the next four years, and possibly avoid a spiral into civil war.

This is not how it should be. We should have a system for electing our President that counts all votes equally. We dont. We should not have a system in which electors think about strategic voting. We do. And months after a vote, we should not still be wondering who our next President will be. As many still are. But in the face of bitter and violent clashes, it may well be time once again for an extraordinary intervention by Congress. But unlike the intervention that spurned Andrew Jackson and Samuel J. Tilden, this time it would be pushed not from the top down, but from an incredible swell of energy coming from the bottom up. If the winner of the popular vote cannot be President, maybe its right that the loser shouldnt be either.

At least this the conscience of the electors could decide.
Just how much money is it acceptable to spend on a pair of leather pants?

If you are the (female) British Prime Minister Theresa May, then the answer appears to be: a thousand pounds.

The price of designer pants may seem an odd issue for the Brits to be fixated on given the continuing gyre of doom-laden global news, but Theresa Mays photoshoot with The Sunday Times two weekends ago wearing a pair of expensive Amanda Wakeley-designed leather pants has blown up into the most unlikely political row of recent years.

Mrs. May was taken to task for the pricey pants by a fellow Conservative MP, the former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who told The Times, "I don't have leather trousers. I don't think I've ever spent that much on anything apart from my wedding dress."

She implied that Mrs. Mays sartorial choice defined her as out-of touch, and, referring to a provincial agricultural town in her constituency said: "My barometer is always: 'How am I going to explain this in Loughborough market?"'

Trousergate, as the affair has come to be known after the British word for pants, has grown legs, and more than two weeks after the original photo shoot, the story is stubbornly refusing to die.

In part this is because of the leaking of a series of angry text messages to the Mail on Sunday between Mays joint chief of staff, Fiona Hill and an MP, Alistair Burt, in which Morgan was dropped from a list of Conservative MPs to be given a private meeting with the Prime Minister.

Dont bring that woman to Downing Street again, Hill texted Burt, the paper said.

Morgan apparently saw the text and responded to Hill directly: If you dont like something I have said or done, please tell me directly, she wrote. No man brings me to any meeting. Your team invites me. If you dont want my views in future meetings you need to tell them.

Hills response was: Well, he just did. So there!

Mrs. Mays defenders have leapt to her defense as the row has deepened, accusing her critics of sexism.

Conservative backbench MP, Nadine Dorries, sometimes described as Britains answer to Sarah Palin, said, "Nicky Morgan's comments were sexist, because she never criticized David Cameron's extremely expensive suits."

Critics rejoiced when photographs were produced of Morgan toting a 950 handbag. Her supporters briefed the press that it was a twelve-year-old gift, but that has made little difference to the perception of hypocrisy.

The plot thickened as it emerged that the Prime Minister has a discount card for the Amanda Wakeley store, which she has noted on her official register of interests since 2013.

The PMs spokesperson has refused to say if the card was used, perhaps concerned that admitting to use of the card would mark Mrs. May as a privileged (read out of touch) VIP.

Why so much fuss about the price of pants?

Well, it turns out that Trousergate, in the best of British traditions, is actually about something quite other than what it appears to be about.

Its actually about Brexit.

The connection between the price of leather pants and the UK vote to leave the EU in a referendum earlier this year may be hard to figure at first.

But Morgan is a renegade Tory Remainer who was sacked by May when she came to power, and now stands accused of seeking to undermine Mrs. May by attacking her pants.

Dorries encapsulated the governments position neatly, saying, Sadly, the ragged band of nutcase Europhiles will find any excuse to take a pot shot at the Prime Minister.

They do not believe the result of the referendum should be honored. They are working to find any means possible to undermine the position of the PM and her Brexit ministers.

In a piquant detail, it was noted that the color of the trousers was listed as "bitter chocolate" by the designer.

How very appropriate.
Inside Sources Say Twitter Changes Coming Next Week: Report

AS SOON AS MONDAY

Elon Musk, keen to make changes after his purchase of the platform, is set to change up the way verification works as soon as possible.
Estimados amigos,

Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.

Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.

Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.

There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.

You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

No soy alguien que sabe, sino alguien que busca.

Only Gold is money. Everything else is debt.

Las grandes almas tienen voluntades; las debiles tan solo deseos.

Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.
The future of packaging in today's digital age

Innovation realisation director David McGowan talks about the new digital age we now live in and its impact on drinks brands and their packaging requirements

David McGowan Pi Global - brand shaping specialists

The world was a different place when I started in the drinks industry as a young brewer in 1988. Since then we have seen other product categories stretch their imagination as brands have evolved to find new consumer benefits in this digital age.

Remember Bob your milkman? Over time convenience and HDPE bulk containers have added value to the purchase of milklarger more useful pack sizes, available fresh, when you want it fresh from your 24 hour local convenience store; butter has become spreadable (halleluiah!) and now sold in re-sealable tubseven the humble lettuce has evolved into fully washed, cut, mixed and packed ready for your perfect Caesar salad.

But has the drinks industry changed? Or does it even need to?

After spending some time exploring the Museum of Brands, it made me realise that little has changed over the past 150 years. Beer is still (mostly) sold in glass bottles and cans, Spirits and Mixers are also locked into glass as premium packaging material of choice.

As a rule, pack formats have remained consistent. Any evolution has come through new moulding capabilities, sustainability and procurement targets which have resulted in material savings with quality improvement.

However do these improvements add value to the consumer or the brand?

Certainly not for the premium sector of our business. My old friends in Duty Free have always enjoyed the freedom to express luxury through their packaging that FMCG marketers simply do not.

My favourite project over the last few years was the Bombay Sapphire limited edition crystal bottle, launched in 2011 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the recipe. Completely hand blown, with an innovative inner glass layer of Bom bay blue glass and a stopper encrusted with jewels designed by Garrard. Laser etched with precision tools, it was a wonderful example of pushing the packaging boundaries with new technologies to enhance artisanal craftsmanship skills honed over time. Difficult to deliver technically, but an object of beauty, revered by consumers and at 2000 per bottle (only 350 pieces made) absolutely on brand for heritage, style and substance. (Click here to view the creation on YouTube)

Of course, that doesnt mean there is no product innovation in the industry at all.

In an age of have what you want, when you want, brands have created new noise by launching product variations such as cask finish malts from Glenmorangie and there has never been greater choice of vodka flavours; Smirnoff Flavours have used the opportunity to twist their packaging a little harder.

But in this digital age, with new technology launching daily the speed at which innovation will hit the market will dramatically reduce, and therefore the ability to react instantly to competitive innovation becomes more and more important to avoid you looking dated. The ability to stay ahead becomes more challenging. What does this mean for the drinks industry?

3D printing alone is allowing for fast, accurate and relevant decision making on new designs. The ability to replace a 2d drawing, never mind a technical drawing, with a tangible model is a powerful thing when a decision is required.

In addition the development of digital printing has already left your officecraft brewers in the USA are using digitally printed cans for production stock  allowing consumer relevant designs whilst minimising capital outlay. The ability to print market specific labels as you need them is a huge benefit to small run, high value production lines. As well as the promotional marketer.

Once substrate challenges are cracked, it is easy to see a time within the next 10 years where the advances and benefits of 3d prototyping leave the workshop and enter the actual manufacturing arena.

Surely it is not a leap of imagination to see a day in the future when some form of packaging will be 3D printed at your filling site, converted and printed on line digitally in small volumes (with promotional consumer relevant message), before passing down the line and being filled with fresh product. You can see the clear benefits for the manufacturers. Perhaps not so clear for convertors.

And of course there is little in this for the consumer except wonderful brand engagement. The one huge aspect of the digital age is the immediate access to information  the thirst for immediate knowledge is constant and ever hungry, therefore the ability to communicate with your consumers direct, through printing what you want, when you want it is a huge benefit to both parties.

Small run launches would also complement Human Centred Design, an approach that has opened the eyes of many innovators within the industrya way of working with clear focus on consumer empathy - driving insight and proof as to which innovations add real value. You could launch, test, evaluate and then scale if the results are good.

And of course the digital age is driving real innovation through on line retailing and home delivery. The Tescos of the world have reviewed the supply chain, created applications that make it easier to shop your brand (visual pack shots!), anytime, anywhere, identified the barrier to purchase (your time!) and removed it. Simple.

But is this enough? Shouldnt we ensure that our brands are equipped with the sensorial toolboxes they need to compete effectively in this digital world? Conventional branding principles do not work in digital where the browsing and purchase process are functionally and emotionally very different.

And so if the drinks industry follows the retailer example do we need packaging at all?

If packaging in its truest form is simply a way to transport a product from A to B with integrity then why cant that nice man from Tesco visit my home, (after being contacted directly by my fridge), arrive at an agreed time, clean out my 5L bespoke branded fridge growler and re-fill with fresh Tennents once per week? My brand experience will change but will be arguably enhanced. My wife may not approve, but thats a different discussion.

Which brings us full circle; back to the milkman with his float - before current packaging options, when home delivery was a convenience that consumers were happy to pay for. Thats fine for my favourite beer, but I think I would still wish to treat myself to my preferred single malt from a premium glass bottle.

So this permission to explore the new is exciting; however it is imperative to stay true to the brand to keep the brand cohesive and the brand personality uncompromised. Being creative is easy staying relevant and being creative requires a whole different set of skills.

And so for spirits, an industry that epitomises heritage, care and time perhaps we have permission to allow the digital age to bypass us. Perhaps it is simply irrelevant. Perhaps our innovation lies with building on heritage, skills and passion.

After all, it is those aspects that our consumers value.

13 December 2016
WASHINGTON (AP) 

The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump's transition to the White House (All times EST)

9:32 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department.

That's according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

The two-time presidential candidate had been a harsh critic of Trump during the 2016 race, calling him a "cancer to conservatism." He later endorsed the Republican nominee and said he'd be willing to work in a Trump administration.

One of Perry's best-remembered moments from his first White House run was when he couldn't remember in a debate the third of three federal agencies he promised to eliminate if elected. The one he forgot was the Energy Department.

The two people with knowledge of Trump's pick insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the decision ahead of the official announcement.

-By Ken Thomas and Julie Pace

___

9:25 a.m.

Kanye West is visiting Trump Tower this morning.

The musician entered the building shortly after 9 a.m. with a large entourage. West was not accompanied by wife Kim Kardashian West.

The 39-year-old recently spent over a week in Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles for stress and exhaustion.

West did not stop to talk to reporters gathered in the lobby.

At a concert in November, West said he didn't vote, but if he had he "would have voted for Trump."

___

9:21 a.m.

An aide to President Vladimir Putin is praising President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Tuesday in remarks reported by the TASS news agency described Tillerson as a "very credible figure" and a "big professional."

The CEO of ExxonMobil has met Putin several times and he received Russia's Order of Friendship in 2013. ExxonMobil works closely with Russian oil giant Rosneft and in 2013 the two companies struck a multi-billion dollar Arctic oil exploration deal.

Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also praised Tillerson's "pragmatism."

___

8:50 a.m.

Rudy Giuliani says Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson would do a good job as secretary of state.

Giuliani, at one time in the running for the post, says President-elect Donald Trump has chosen someone who has the experience to understand the world.

"I'm okay with the choice," Giuliani told CNN on Tuesday morning. "I think Donald Trump has selected somebody who knows the world and can advise him on the world."

Giuliani says Trump had several solid candidates on his short list, such as former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton. "I thought John Bolton would have been a great secretary of state," he said. Giuliani said he took himself out of the running last month.

___

8:40 a.m.

Russia's foreign minister says the "pragmatism" of the nominee for the next U.S. secretary of state, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, is good basis for future relations.

Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday in the Serbian capital that both President-elect Donald Trump and Tillerson "have not been against our cooperation."

Lavrov says, "we expect that this pragmatism will be a good foundation for building mutually beneficial cooperation" between the U.S. and Russia.

Tillerson has close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, which is certain to draw scrutiny and fuel a potential Senate confirmation fight.

___

7:44 a.m.

A top adviser to Donald Trump says the president-elect "hit it off" with his choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.

Reince Priebus said Tuesday that the president-elect chose Tillerson in part because the ExxonMobil CEO is a diplomat who "happens to be able to drill oil."

The Republican National Committee chairman said, "Tillerson had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren't the easiest places to have relationships, during many different (presidential) administrations."

Some Republicans and Democrats said they have concerns about Tillerson's longtime business ties to Russia, raising questions about whether he could win Senate confirmation.

Priebus spoke Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

___

7:00 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has settled on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state.

The real estate mogul said in a predawn statement that Tillerson is "among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal makers in the world."

Trump added that Tillerson's career is "the embodiment of the American dream."

Senate Democrats and some Republicans have said they're concerned about Tillerson's business ties to Russia. The subject is likely to come up during Tillerson's Senate confirmation proceedings.

___

4:00 a.m.

President Barack Obama is criticizing Trump for saying he'll shun daily intelligence briefings when he takes office.

Appearing Monday evening on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Obama said that a president who isn't getting the benefit of such regular briefings from the intelligence community is likely "flying blind" in managing national security issues for the country.

Trump said in a television interview Sunday that he wasn't interested in getting daily intelligence briefings, a practice that's been a fixture for chief executives of both parties for several years.

Obama also said the reason he's ordered a wide-ranging probe into purported Russian hacking against the U.S. election process is to "really just gather all of the threads of the investigation." He says notions of meddling in the campaign "was not a secret" before Election Day, Nov. 8, in the United States.

3:15 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department, dismissing concerns about the businessman's close ties to Russia and bringing a long public audition process to a conclusion.

Two people close to Trump's transition team said Monday night that Trump had selected Tillerson. They insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the pick ahead of that announcement.

Trump was set to announce his nomination Tuesday morning. The selection could set him up for a potential fight with Congress over confirming Tillerson, who has connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties about Tillerson, as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.
Gladys Carrion, the commissioner of the city's Administration for Children's Services, has stepped down from the position, the Mayor's office announced on Monday. Carrion's resignation comes in the wake of multiple child abuse-related deaths.

"Gladys has spent four decades serving the public with excellence and an unparalleled commitment to the children and families of New York," Mayor de Blasio said in a statement. "Gladys leadership and reforms have ushered in a heightened level of accountability and performance at the Administration for Childrens Services."

De Blasio also said that "the search process is already underway" for Carrion's successor.

Carrion served as ACS commissioner for three years.

"I have struggled with this decision but have come to the conclusion that it is best for my well-being," she wrote in a letter to Mayor de Blasio, which was obtained by the Daily News. "After 40 years of working on behalf of children and families, it is time for me to retire." Her letter did not mention the recent abuse-related deaths of Zymere Perkins or Jaden Jordan.

A report released by the Department of Investigation in May alleged that ACS had consistently failed to investigate and report child abuse, hold foster care providers to a high standard, and maintain accurate records. The report also found that ACS often took more than a month to investigate child abuse allegations.

In October, the agency came under fire again after the death of six-year-old Zymere Perkins, who died after being beaten with a broomstick. His mother, Geraldine Perkins, had five child abuse allegations on her record and the medical examiner said that the boy died of "fatal child abuse syndrome."

"Losing a child is unbearable," Carrion reportedly said during a council hearing regarding Perkins's death on October 31st. "It is my responsibilityone that I take seriously."

In the aftermath of Perkins's death, Mayor de Blasio announced that the agency would be reformed, and five ACS staffers were placed on administrative duty while Perkins's case was under investigation.

The Department of Investigation probed ACS again earlier this month after three-year-old Jordan was found badly beaten in Brooklyn. The toddler was beaten into a coma by his mother's boyfriend and died after being taken off life support.

"As Commissioner Carrion steps down, all of us must step up our push to reform the Administration for Children's Services," Public Advocate Letitia James said in a statement. "The mission to reform ACS is one we can't afford to fail. Our children's welfare depends on it."
Making a return to our two favourite summer locations, Mount Maunganui and Nelson in early January 2023, we've got whiff of the first release lineup and me oh my, yes boy
There's some exciting news today out of my old home in West Philly. Dan Filler has been named the next dean at Drexel Law School. Cribbing now from Drexel president John Fry's announcement:

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel M. Filler as the new dean of Drexels Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Professor Filler, 54, currently is the Kline Schools Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs. As an inaugural member of the faculty in 2006, he helped with the formative development of the School. In his new leadership role, Dan brings a wealth of legal practice experience, in addition to 18 years in teaching.

Dan was chosen from a list of excellent finalists after a national search by the firm Korn Ferry, which specializes in law school deanship searches. We thank Dr. James Herbert, chair, and the members of the search committee comprised of faculty, students, alumni and members of the judicial community for their service and such a wonderful outcome.

As a practitioner, legal scholar and academic, Dan enjoys the highest respect from colleagues in the legalcommunity. They view him as someone who builds networks, encourages collegiality and brings out the best in new scholars and teachers, helping them develop and find their footing in the classroom and in scholarship. Those qualities are well-known by the Kline School of Law faculty and professional staff, who were actively engaged in the search for a new dean.

Working in collaboration with founding dean Roger Dennis, Dan has helped expand the law schools LLM program, which trains international lawyers about the U.S. legal system, the Global JD program for lawyers from abroad who plan to sit for an American bar exam, and online Master of Legal Studies, which recently joined an exclusive group of law schools in receiving accreditation from the Compliance Certification Board.

As a scholar, Dans work has focused on issues relating to juvenile justice, sex-offender community notification, and the death penalty. His scholarship has appeared in some the nations top law journals and his trailblazing work on Megans Law was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. Before joining Drexel, Dan was a professor of law at the University of Alabama School of Law, where he established the school's Capital Defense Clinic. During that time, he chaired the American Bar Associations assessment of the fairness and accuracy of the Alabama death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court cited the report that resulted from that assessment in a 2012 ruling that favored a death-row inmate in Alabama. Pennsylvania leaders looked to Dan for his expertise on capital punishment in 2012, appointing him to the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment. He has been a leader in the legal academic community, serving as chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law and Humanities and on the executive board of several other AALS sections.

Dan also has been a leading commentator on legal education, creating in 2008 The Faculty Lounge blog, which quickly became one of the go-to blogs in the legal academic community. In addition to logging millions of visits, The Faculty Lounge has been a three-time winner of the American Bar Associations Blawg 100 award.

Dan earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his JD from New York University School of Law after serving as an editor for the New York University Law Review and winning the Orison S. Marden Moot Court Competition. Dan clerked for Judge J. Dickson Phillips, on the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and worked for The Bronx Defenders and the Defender Association of Philadelphia following two years at the internationally renowned law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton.

This is an exciting time for the Kline School of Law, which welcomed its tenth class in August. Thanks to the magnificent gift from noted trial attorney Thomas R. Kline, students soon will be able to hone their advocacy skills in a unique setting  the Thomas R. Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy, housed in a renovated historic building at 1200 Chestnut Street.

While we welcome Dan to his new role, effective Jan. 1, we are profoundly grateful to Roger Dennis for putting Kline Law on such a successful path during a difficult period in American legal education. Throughout his tenure as dean, Roger has remained the driving force behind this innovative and successful institution.

We are confident that, under his leadership, Drexels Kline School of Law will realize its enormous potential to advance legal education. Please join us in congratulating Dan.

More details are available at Drexel's press release.
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delivered on his promise and succeeded in securing an historic national climate deal with the provinces. Under the new pan-Canadian agreement each province and territory will advance their own climate action plan.

The wide-ranging accord includes carbon pricing, eliminating coal-fired

power, lowering carbon content of motor fuels. The agreement will see more investments in renewable

energy, electricity infrastructure, clean-technology and

energy efficiency.

The deal is a creative mix of carbon tax and cap-and-trade with BC and

Alberta using the former and Ontario and Quebec employing the latter.

While cap-and-trade is less expensive under the deal companies must

invest outside of Canada (California) to reduce emissions.



I am very happy to share with you the results of many months of hard work, the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, Mr. Trudeau was quoted as saying in the Globe and Mail. An ambitious and achievable framework to address climate change and grow the clean economy for our children and our grandchildren.

The carbon reduction deal was signed despite opposition from

Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The two dissenting premiers Saskatchewan

Premier Brad Wall and Manitobas Brian Pallister are the only hold-outs, however there appears to be flexibility in Pallisters position.

There was also some last minute drama from British Columbia (BC) who has led carbon pricing in Canada. BC already has the highest carbon tax in the country ($30 per ton)

so BC Premier Christy Clark wanted, and was given assurances that there would eventually be

equal pricing in all provinces.

Although Saskatchewan on track to get half its energy from renewables, Brad Wall the premier of that province is averse to carbon

pricing, arguing it will harm his provinces energy-intensive industries (oil and gas, agriculture and mining). Wall also argued that it will undermine Canadas economic competitiveness. Wall pointed to the changing political landscape in the US with the election of Donald Trump who has promised to kill climate action and support fossil fuels.

I think all Canadians know that Canadian climate policy will be set by Canadians, not by whomever happens to the president of the United States, Mr Trudeau countered. The Prime Minister argued that the deal will create jobs and grow the economy by incentivizing clean-tech investment in the country.

US Vice President Joe Biden assured Trudeau and the premiers that the

election of Donald Trump will not kill climate action.

Given

the nations reliance on fossil fuels Ottawa will have to pay billions

for carbon credits to meet Canadas climate targets (GHG emissions

reductions of 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030).

Canadas primary fossil fuel producing province is on-board having recently launched a climate plan of their own. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley struck a pragmatic note when she said, Listen, climate change is real and in Alberta, we need to take action. We cannot delay on it.

The Alberta Premier is prepared to pay the price because of the net gains afforded by ramping up fossil fuel exports with the recent addition of two oil pipelines. The dualism in Canadian energy policy, namely increasing fossil fuel production while combating climate change, has been the subject of widespread condemnation by environmentalists.

Related



Canadian Dualism: Climate Leadership is at Odds with Ramping Up Fossil Fuels

Canadas Pyrrhic Climate Victory

The Folly of Canadian Fossil Fuel Pipelines

Now is the Time for Carbon Pricing in Canada

Review of Canadian Climate and Energy Policy (Videos)

Canadian Renewable Energy: Federal and Provincial Government Policy Initiatives

Political Changes Signal the Dawn of a New Day for Climate Action

What Canadian Provinces are Doing to Combat Climate Change

Canadas Provincial and Territorial Governments Draft Principles for a Clean Energy Strategy
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
The bar carts and commissary counters at Grand Central Terminal have been closed since last Wednesday as the MTA is auditing the vendors under a shroud of suspicion. An MTA spokesman confirmed a Journal News report stating that Metro-North suspended booze sales as part of a probe into missing money, and that three employees have been suspended as the investigation continues.

The MTA Inspector General's Office is involved in the investigation, a spokesman for the agency confirmed.

Metro-North booze sales were already set to be suspended over the weekend for SantaCon. The carts and commissary are cash only. For the coming year, the MTA anticipates that the retail operations in Grand Central will bring in $68 million in total revenue. If history is any guide, several million of that would be coming from the bar carts and commissary counters.

Signs along the upper-level tracks where the bar carts would normally be currently advise commuters that the carts and counters "are not available at this time," and recommend that seekers of cold ones try one of the businesses inside the terminal.



(Nathan Tempey/Gothamist)

Brian O'Gorman, a construction manager from Greenwich, Connecticut, has been commuting into the city for 15 years, often stopping for a beer with the lads before catching the train back. On Monday afternoon at around 4:30, capping a work shift that started in the early morning, he was standing around a tall table on the lower level with a group of fellow working stiffs sipping on tall cans of Budweiser and Bud Light that he said they purchased at the nearby Zaro's Bakery. Usually, he and the fellows patronize the carts, and he is sad to see them taken out of commission.

"Zaro's is getting our money now," he said. "There you're just a customer. Over here," at the carts, "they treated you like a person."

O'Gorman said he'd heard rumors of the investigation and noticed the carts gone on Friday.

"Those were good guys," he said of the cart vendors. "They took care of you like a regular. I feel for 'em. It's the holidays, and they've got families."

Transport Workers Union Local 2001 did not respond to a call seeking comment.

In a statement, an MTA spokesman said, "We will re-open the commissary as quickly as possible."

In September, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy announced that the beloved in-train Metro-North bar cars, discontinued in 2014, are returning to the New Haven Line. No date has been set.
As he teases a 2024 run, Trump returns to Iowa for election rally

Trump is scheduled to touch down in Sioux City Thursday night for a pre-election rally with Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.
A federal judge this afternoon indicated that he is inclined to unseal documents related to FBI Director James Comey's protocol-breaching announcement of a new angle on the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server 11 days before the election. The judge's statements in court came in response to a records-access lawsuit filed in parallel with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking the search warrant and supporting documents that the FBI and Justice Department used to review the Clinton-related emails of aide Huma Abedin. The emails were found on Anthony Weiner's computer, during a separate investigation into his reported sexual online messages to a teenage girl in North Carolina.

Instead of demanding that the FBI produce the documents, lawyer Abraham Hassen explained, the suit heard today asks the court to turn them over. Hassen's client, E. Randol Schoenberg, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in the recovery of Nazi loot, believes that because the FBI investigation into Clinton was again shelved two days before the election, the documents that the FBI prepared to get a judge to sign off on the search warrant for Abedin's computer may show some funny business, by overly zealous conservative FBI agents, Trump surrogates feeding the FBI bad information, or even the Clinton camp.

Schoenberg's lawyers' filing in the latest case reads, "The records at issue here are of a nature that indicate the value of public access is at its most positive, as they go to the core functioning of the courts and law enforcement as independent, non-partisan actors in our democratically controlled government."



FBI Director James Comey (Win McNamee/Getty)

Judge P. Kevin Castel gave the government, as well as Weiner, Abedin, Clinton until Thursday to make arguments as to why he should not unseal the documents, or what should be redacted. Castel made the decision over the objections of DOJ lawyers who traveled up from Washington, D.C. to argue at the hearing, according to Hassen.

The government lawyers, possibly referring to the separate Weiner probe, claimed that releasing the documents would conflict with an ongoing investigation.

"The judge was not listening to that," Hassen said. "The judge was standing up for the concept that the court should be public."

Practices and policies vary by jurisdiction, Hassen explained, but there is plenty of precedent for members of the public gaining access to search warrant records from closed investigations.

"The law is mostly on our side, especially for a closed investigation," he said.

In an interview last week, Schoenberg said that he pursued legal action because he didn't want to wait years for a response to his FOIA request.

"I think this one is a little bit more urgent," he said. "Ifand this is obviously a huge leapif there was some illegal activity that led to this failed search warrant and that traces back to the Trump campaign, that could have huge ramifications with Congress and the electoral college."

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story has been updated to reflect that the judge in this case indicated he could unseal documents the court has, rather than ordering the Justice Department to turn them over.
In October, a select group of NYC theatergoers were dazzled by a special, very limited gala staging of Stephen Sondheim's beloved Sunday in the Park with George, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. NY Times critic Ben Brantley wrote, "[T]his is one of those shows that seems destined to be forever spoken of with misty-eyed bragging rights by anyone who sees it." Now, more Sondheim loversand perhaps more than a few Gyllenhaal fanswill get their chance, because the show is being staged next year with Gyllenhaal and his co-star, Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford, for a 10-week engagement.

The revival will mark the re-opening of the Hudson Theatre, which last saw a Broadway show in 1968 (it's been used for conferences in more recent years). Performances will begin Saturday, February 11, 2017, with opening night on Thursday, February 23rd (the show will close Sunday, April 23). Tickets are now on sale at the Hudson Theatre's website and by phone (855-801-5876).

"We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming audiences back to the historic Hudson Theater for the first time in almost 50 years with this musical classic," said Mark Cornell, Ambassador Theatre Groups Chief Executive Officer. "Direct from its acclaimed New York City Center production, Sondheim and Lapines masterpiece Sunday in the Park with George, starring Jake and Annaleigh, is the perfect inaugural offering for this Broadway treasure box. To be re-opening our most intimate of New York venues with this special work makes me excited about the future of the Hudson."

In his review, the Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote, "[Gyllenhaal] sang one of Sondheim's most self-revealing songs, 'Finishing the Hat,' with aching expressiveness and an acute understanding both of the obsessive passion for making art and the isolation that can accompany it... Two of his duets with co-star Annaleigh Ashford as Seurat's muse Dot, 'We Do Not Belong Together' and 'Move On,' were especially stirring."

Sunday in the Park with George, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and book by James Lapine, debuted on Broadway in 1984, with Mandy Patinkin as painter George Seurat, and co-starring Bernadette Peters, Charles Kimbrough and Brent Spiner. Lapine's niece, Sarna Lapine, directed the City Center gala presentation and will direct this revival.
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WASHINGTON  Connecticuts Democratic lawmakers Monday expressed hope  if not total confidence  that Congress will get to the bottom of the CIAs conclusion that Russian cyberspies with high government connections worked to throw the U.S. election to Donald Trump.

Russias efforts to disrupt our elections through cyber hacking and dissemination of false media reports present a grave danger to our democracy, said Rep. Elizabeth Esty. The sanctity of our elections  and the publics confidence in their outcome  is fundamental to our nations very survival.

I think the Russians motives are still up for discussion, said Rep. Jim Himes, a member of the House intelligence committee. But whats not up for discussion is Russian meddling in our election.

And Sen. Richard Blumenthal said: Whatever their intention, the Russians didnt simply blunder into this interference. They did it purposefully, and whether it was to swing the election to Trump or disrupt the democratic process requires clarification.

Members of the Connecticut delegation spoke as Democrats and a few Republicans on Capitol Hill rallied around the idea of a congressional investigation into the motivation of Russian hackers, who among other things broke into the Democratic National Committees email system. That led to a WikiLeaks release of emails damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Reaching across the aisle

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain made, R-Ariz., the rounds of television talk shows Sunday and Monday to talk about plans for a bipartisan investigation, agreeing the Russian threat potentially could harm both parties as well as the entire U.S. electoral process.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Monday gave his blessing to a bipartisan effort, telling reporters the Russians are not our friends.

McConnell also said the normally secretive Senate intelligence committee is more than capable of conducting the investigation.

But Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned whether McConnells strategy might be an effort to sidetrack the search for an answer.

The Senate intelligence committee oversees U.S. intelligence, and they do everything in secret, he said. It seems like a sure way to bury (the investigation) in a secret committee.

Murphy joined his Connecticut Democratic colleagues in calling for a thorough probe of Russian efforts to disrupt the election, even questioning the incoming Republican presidents own motivation.

What frightens me is his enthusiasm to bury this, Murphy said. I wonder if he worries that the investigation will get to the bottom of it.

Trump has derided reports of a direct Russian effort to assist his candidacy.

I think its ridiculous, he said on Fox News on Sunday. I think its just another excuse. I dont believe it.

Allegations of Russian efforts to assist Trump grow out of a briefing that the CIA and FBI jointly gave to Senate leaders just after the election. The U.S. intelligence community for months had stated its belief that Russians were intent on causing electoral havoc, but had not pinpointed a specific objective until last month.

Even so, the FBI was said not to share the CIAs conclusion  a divergence that might be a reflection of the FBIs law-enforcement role building cases that stand up in court, versus the CIA role of giving policymakers the best snapshot of what they know right away.

Also on Monday, Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, whose campaign-related emails were among those hacked and disclosed by WikiLeaks, said he supported a request by 10 presidential electors including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to receive an intelligence briefing ahead of the Dec. 19 Electoral College certification of the election results.

We now know the CIA has determined Russias interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump, Podesta said. This should distress every American.

Trumps state connections

The entire episode is the latest installment in an ongoing saga of the New York real-estate developers apparent bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Trump once described as a more effective and crafty leader than President Barack Obama.

Paul Manafort, scion of a New Britain Republican family and Trumps one-time campaign manager, was among those in Trumps orbit with Russia connections, principally through pro-Russia political figures in Ukraine who were clients of Manaforts consulting business.

Those connections were among the reasons Trump fired Manafort, although his exit may have hinged more on Trumps children disliking him and distrusting his political prowess.

Manafort has remained enthusiastic about Trump and may end up getting some kind of position in the new administration.

Himes called Manafort small beer in the overall Trump-Russia connection.

Trumps denial of Russian efforts is unmoored from reality, and we should know why, Himes said.

Trump bolstered his expression of doubt by citing CIA mistakes in concluding Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which then-President George W. Bush cited as a basis for invading Iraq in 2003.

Himes acknowledged past mistakes of the CIA, but questioned Trumps motivation and knowledge.

This guy hasnt earned the right to sit in judgment of U.S. intelligence, Himes.
According to HubSpot, the third top marketing challenge for companies is the lack of budgeting resources. Unless you are a startup with venture or angel capital, you probably have a limited marketing budget. Here some ways you can market your business on a limited budget.

Guerilla marketing looks to leverage creativity, imagination and originality in place of a big budget. Smart small businesses with a limited budget often use guerilla marketing to compete with huge companies. There is no shortage of creative guerilla marketing ideas. Here are just a few examples:

If you have a brick and mortar location, pay someone to create eye-catching art with chalk.

If you sell a product that can be used on the street, employ undercover agents to promote your product directly to potential customers. For example, Sony hired agents to ask strangers to take photos of them and then raved about their camera.

Organize a flash mob to garner crowd attention and promote awareness of your brand.

Related: How to Be Like Banksy and Reap Massive Exposure Through Guerilla Marketing

2. Socialize on social media.

According to the Pew Research Center Report of Social Media Usage: 2005-2015, nearly two-thirds of American adults use social media now. This is a near tenfold increase within the last decade.

Popular social media channels include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Snapchat. Each of these social media platforms are unique in its own right and require unique ways of engagement. Rather than try to master it all at once, choose a few you like and try to master those first.

3. Create valuable content.

Not only do potential customers love great content, but so does Google. There are many ways to share information -- blogging, creating videos, hosting podcasts, designing infographics or submitting articles to online authority sites. Not only do you gain authority as an expert, but you also get free traffic. You can also offer to be a guest blogger for another complementary website or be interviewed on a podcast.

You dont always have to produce the content yourself. You can hire freelance writers, graphic designers and personal assistants through websites like Upwork. If you run out of ideas, you can repurpose old content and give it a new spin.

4. Contests and giveaways.

Everyone loves free gifts! Give away desirable or fun items to gain goodwill, build brand awareness and connect with potential customers. They dont need to be expensive. Things such as online ebooks, white papers and checklists dont cost you anything but your time.

You can also promote your products through Facebook groups where members agree to try your product for free or a discounted price in exchange for an honest review. Physical gifts with your advertising on it such as balloons, smartphone wipes, key chains, fridge magnets, pens and notepads are always popular too.

You can also create a viral marketing effect by making your marketing interesting, attractive and fun. One of the craziest marketing efforts that went viral is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. People dared their friends and family to pour ice cold water on themselves within 24 hours. Those who failed to do so would then have to donate to the ALS charity.

5. Piggyback your partners.

When you are a small business with a limited marketing budget, it makes sense to partner with other complementary businesses. These can include manufacturers, suppliers and vendors. Not only do you both win when your businesses succeed, but there is added credibility when another business recommends you.

Related: The Ultimate Networking Guide: 4 Ways to Expand Your Network

As an example, you can exchange customer lists and offer to pay the business a commission for every sale you make. Just make sure that you have requested permission from your customers to share their details!

For direct mail marketing, offer to share postage costs and include your flyer with the other businesses mail. If the other business has a physical retail space, ask to put your business cards in their customer waiting area.

You can also seek partners within your existing customer base. Create a referral rewards program where you reward your customers for referring business to you. Word of mouth is extremely effective when it comes to marketing.

6. Leverage scalable advertising channels.

Conventional advertising mediums such as TV, radio and newspaper ads can be extremely costly and hard to measure effectiveness, but online advertising can be cheaper and more targeted. Popular options are Google Pay Per Click ads and Facebook ads. Also, dont forget to list your business in free online directories like Google Business for Google Maps and Yelp.

You also can promote your latest products and services through these free or cost effective methods:

A telephone message that plays your promotions while customers are on hold.

Window decals advertising your latest offer if you have a retail shop.

Car magnets and bumper stickers displaying your advertising while you drive around town.

Advertising on email signatures or letterheads.

Sending special holiday discounts, birthday coupons and surprise rewards to your mailing list.

7. Milk the media.

Getting your business featured by the media is free marketing. To capture the attention of the media, try these and invite the media to come and cover it.

Create a publicity stunt. Think of some of the crazy ones that Richard Branson has pulled off including dressing as a female flight attendant onboard his airline.

Do something for the community, and send out a press release prior to the event. For example, some innovative hair dressers have offered free haircuts to the homeless.

Sponsor an event by donating your products or services as giveaways or prizes or host a contest.

Nominate yourself for a business contest or award. If you win, even better!

You can also seek opportunities to be interviewed for print, radio and TV. To look for opportunities to contribute your expertise, sign up to an email list like Help A Reporter Out.

Related Book: Market Like You Mean It by Al Lautenslager

8. Help yourself by helping others.

All your marketing should be of some use to your audience. There are many ways that you can make your marketing efforts a welcome intrusion rather than an annoyance to your audience. Try these:

Provide useful information. Information marketing has proven to be highly effective in increasing sales. By educating your audience on problems that they care about, you are also not only growing your customer base but also positioning yourself as the solution. To do this, host a Meetup group, an event, a class or even an online webinar. Offer to speak at events.

Provide assistance. Answer questions posted on forums and websites like Quora and direct your audience to your website for more information. There are online directories that list a whole variety of forums such as Find A Forum.Net.

Entertain your audience. Make them laugh or cry. Think of the funny and touching ads that you see and how quickly they are shared.

Marketing your business on a limited budget is completely possible. You just need to get creative and think out of the box.

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Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Dementia is a complex disease that is often difficult to understand and navigate, both for the person diagnosed as well as their loved ones.

Its inevitable that family members and others will detect changes in someone with dementia  changes that may present hurdles and be difficult to cope with. But as the saying goes: knowledge is power. To alleviate confusion, stress and anger that can result from not fully understanding the disease, its vital for family members and friends to educate themselves once their loved one has been diagnosed by a physician.

Begin with the basics. There are a wealth of resources available on dementia, and the Alzheimers Association and the National Institute on Aging are both excellent sources for gaining a comprehensive overview of the many different forms of dementia, as well as symptoms and treatments.

Next, be sure to pass on your expertise. Individuals with dementia often experience increased agitation and sudden mood swings, which can be distressing or even frightening for family members and friends. Prepare loved ones by being candid with them about the challenges of dementia, and share tactics for communicating and engaging with someone with memory impairment:

Be patient. Empathize and remember they cant help their condition.

Keep communication short, simple, slow and clear.

Used closed-ended questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no.

Use repetition as much as necessary.

Dont patronize or say things like Do you remember? or Did you forget?

Dont talk in front of the person as if they are not present.

Of course, no matter how much you educate and prepare yourself and others, watching the onset of dementia in a loved one is extremely difficult. You can be the most caring and patient person in the world and still experience frustration. In fact, its perfectly normal to feel a complicated mix of emotions such as grief, guilt, anger and shame in this situation. Its important to acknowledge these feelings, monitor your stress levels and get the support you need.

Support groups are a great way to share concerns and worries with other caregivers and families experiencing similar challenges; you may also learn helpful tips on how to care for your loved one. Bridges by EPOCH at Trumbull, a nearby memory care assisted living community, offers a monthly support group for caregivers  their next session is at noon Friday, Dec. 16, The Alzheimers Association also offers a list of their Connecticut Chapter support groups, including three regularly scheduled meetings in Norwalk:

Second Monday of the month from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Elderhouse

Every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Norwalk on the Green

Second and fourth Thursday of the month from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Norwalk Senior Center

To be able to care for a loved one with dementia, you must first care for yourself. Equipping yourself  as well as family members and friends  with the proper knowledge and resources will help illuminate what your loved one is going through, making it easier to give them the love, support and care they need to face this disease.

Terry Tumpane is the executive director at Bridges by EPOCH at Norwalk, a memory care assisted living community that will open in fall 2017. She can be reached at ttumpane@bridgesbyepoch.com.
NORWALK  Using technology that wasnt available in 1996 when a body washed up on the shore of Shea Island, Norwalk police have recently developed a DNA profile that could bring them one step closer to finally identifying the man.

The body of the white or Hispanic male who was estimated to be between 20 to 38 years old, about 5-foot-1, with brown hair and eyes was badly decomposed. It was found in the straw and grass on the north shore of Shea Island on April 18, 1996.

The issue with this case is that the man was found on Shea after having been in the water for eight to 10 months, said Lt. Art Weisgerber of the Norwalk Police Departments Cold Case Unit.

In 1996 dental records were used to for identification, he said. This individual had 14 or 15 teeth missing so that would give us close to thousands of possibilities. ... Since the case is from 1996, the unidentified male most likely did not have his own DNA profile on record since CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) was not fully funded and running until 1998 and after.

On Nov. 28, 2016, the DNA Section at the State of Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory issued a DNA report indicating that a complete DNA profile was developed from hairs collected from the mans body in 1996. The DNA Section was also able to produce a mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) profile that will also assist in a possible identification. The DNA and mtDNA profiles have been uploaded in the Connecticut and National CODIS databases to search for a possible match, Weisgerber said.

On April 18, 1996, at 7:25 p.m., the Norwalk Police Dispatch Center received a call reporting that a deceased person had been discovered on the north shore of Shea Island. A husband and wife had been camping out on the island when they made the discovery. The Norwalk Police Marine Unit ferried detectives to the island so they could investigate. The remains were badly decomposed and partially skeletonized with no clothing attached. No facial identification was possible. The body was removed from Shea Island and transported to the State Medical Examiners Office for autopsy.

There were no signs of trauma that would lead us to believe this was a homicide, Weisgerber said.

In an attempt to make an identification through fingerprints, nine of the fingers were removed at the middle knuckle and placed in separate jars. Some jars had glycerol added in an effort to soften the tissue for print rolling.

Two of the nine fingers exhibited enough ridge detail for identification, Weisgerber said.

The two prints were sent to the Latent Print Section of the State of Connecticut Forensic Laboratory in April 1996 and searched through the AFIS system with no identification. The prints were also sent to the FBI Latent Print Section and to the Rockland County Sheriffs Office in New York in 1996 for searches through their Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) with no identifications. In September of 2014, a request was made to the FBI to have the prints searched through the new NGI database and again no identification was made.

We dont know where he came from, Weisgerber said. It could have been from New York, the north shore of Long Island, or the eastern part of Connecticut. We are asking anyone in the tri-state area to contact their local agency if they have information.

Weisgerber stressed that in this or any other case where a family member goes missing, a simple DNA sample from relatives for comparison can provide critical identification information.

Its a simple buccal DNA swab, Weisgerber said. There are three levels of comparison-level one being mother, father or siblings. Level two is the maternal side, it could be half sisters or brothers, or the mothers relative. Level three since this was a male, would be someone on the paternal side.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Lt. Weisgerber at 203-854-3164 or AWesisgerber@norwalkct.org.

Anonymous information can be left at any of the below contacts.

Norwalk Police Tip Line at 203-854-3111

Anonymous Internet tips can be sent to Norwalk Police website at: www.norwalkpd.com

Anonymous text tips can be submitted by typing "NPD" into the text field, followed by the message, and sending it to CRIMES (274637).
From politics to pop culture -- 2016 has been quite a year.

With clever storylines, impressive cinematography and amazing graphics, its been a breakthrough year in advertising. As 2016 comes to a close, weve taken a look at some of the most interesting ads of the year.

1. Apple -- The Kiss

In probably its funniest commercial since Mac vs. PC, Apple's The Kiss featuring Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Communitys Alison Brie is bound to make you chuckle.

In the ad, things are not going well as the actors rehearse a kissing scene. Brie takes to Apple TV where she watches Coster-Waldau kissing Juliette Binoche in 1,000 Times Good Night to understand what she could be doing better.

Before she can flip to Game of Thrones, Coster-Waldau suggests a better idea to get Brie in the mood: asking Siri to open Apple Music and find songs by Jeremiah.

The actors comedically incorporate Apple TV features as they figure out how to execute a romantic wartime scene.

2. IKEA -- Wonderful Life

Little things mean a lot. Thats what IKEAs Wonderful Life commercial taught us this year.

The video starts with a young man and woman painting designs in a 1960s studio and folds out over the decades. It shows how small achievements were truly unforgettable moments in their lives together: A game of badminton turns into a doubles match at Wimbledon, their first car was like competing in the Grand Prix race.

The video pushes the audience to realize the importance of lifes minor details -- even in items such as beds, bookcases and desks.

IKEA also launched an end-of-year ad campaign, Retail Therapy, that names products after most frequent Google searches about relationships, such as He cant say he loves me and She doesnt want to cuddle.

3. Spotify -- Thanks 2016, its been weird

Image credit: Spotify

Spotify launched its global outdoor ad campaign, Thanks 2016, its been weird, a variety of data-driven ads, to 14 markets around the globe. Each hilarious spot contains a message specific to that area -- also picking on some of the wacky events that occurred in 2016.

An ad in New York City reads: "Dear person in the Theatre District who listened to the Hamilton soundtrack 5,376 times. Can you get us tickets?"

In the U.K.: "Dear 3,749 people who streamed 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It' the day of the Brexit vote. Hang in there."

And just poking some fun: "Dear person who played Sorry 42 times on Valentines Day. What did you do?"

4. John Lewis -- #BusterTheBoxer

Department store John Lewis got creative this holiday season with its #BusterTheBoxer video.

As a young girl falls asleep on Christmas Eve, her father goes out in the cold, winters night to build her a trampoline as a surprise on Christmas morning. Little do they know, foxes, skunks and even squirrels come out to play on the trampoline.

While the animals have fun outside, the family dog Buster watches enviously from inside. The girl then discovers her surprise, but at the same time, Buster gets out and races to the trampoline.

5. Sprint -- Paul Switched

Can you hear me now? We all know that line said by the Verizon guy in the company's older commercials. This year, in perhaps the most clever (and devilish) campaign yet, the Verizon guy, Paul Marcarelli, became the Sprint guy.

In the campaign Paul Switched, the actor explains why he switched. I imagine there's also an element of revenge to his jumping ship.

6. Under Armour -- Rule Yourself

In honor of his return to the Olympics, gold-medalist Michael Phelps stars in Under Armours 2016 ad campaign Rule Yourself. The video features Phelp training and preparing for his final swing at the Olympics, all to the song The Last Goodbye by The Kills.

Related: The Most Inspirational Moments From the 2016 Olympics

The video is powerful and motivating, ending with the note, Its what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.

7. Old Spice -- Rocket Car

Old Spices unbelievable Rocket Car ad campaign launched in January. The spot's star is legendary and hilarious -- in a self-deprecating sort of way.

In the ad, the man seems to have pushed himself too far -- having built a rocket without any engineering knowledge. "The most valuable lesson I have ever learned is that if you fill your brains with knowledge, then there won't be any room for dreams, he says in the video as his rocket slowly falls apart and eventually catches fire.

The video, specifically for Old Spices Legendary Protection for Legendary Men collection, is perfectly on-brand, charming and clever.

8. Geico -- Forest

This ad is so stupid, its funny. Geicos Forest spot features two men in the outdoors, sawing a tree when a massive grizzly bear suddenly approaches them.

Plot twist: Before what could be a vicious attack, one of the men recognizes a birthmark on the grizzly, realizing its his long-lost brother. Cue the music -- He Aint Heavy Hes My Brother comes on as the bear and man embrace.

9. Hennessy -- The Piccards

Promoting its Wild Rabbit products, Hennessys The Piccards commercial tells the stories of physicist Auguste Piccards adventure to the stratosphere, and his son Jacquess accomplishment of reaching the deepest part of the ocean.

Told through visuals, the commercial is dominated by unbelievable graphics and cinematography. It isnt until the very end that the company tells you what you are watching, with copy on the screen telling of the father and sons accomplishments. The video ends with the question: Whats your wild rabbit?

10. Adidas -- Your Future Is Not Mine

The video above is taken from a third party YouTube account and could be removed at any time.

Adidass Your Future Is Not Mine is sure to give you goose bumps. The video depicts life from different cultural perspectives. It puts you in the shoes (or should I say, Adidas) of others as they walk through different scenarios set in the future.

The film demonstrates how everyones lives are different, and includes gadgets such as virtual reality headsets and robotic women taking selfies of themselves.

11. GE -- Raining Octopuses

Forget about raining cats and dogs. GEs ad campaign Raining Octopuses literally features octopuses falling from a stormy sky. The catastrophe causes accidents and general chaos around the city -- but GE is ready to help, demonstrating to the audience that the company is prepared for whatever the world throws at us -- literally.

12. H&M -- Come Together

Wes Anderson, director of favorites such as Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The Royal Tenenbaums, helms H&Ms holiday ad campaign with the video Come Together starring Adrien Brody.

Related Book: The Advertising Solution: Influence Prospects, Multiply Sales, and Promote Your Brand by Craig Simpson

The video is very Anderson-esque, which makes it all the more appealing. As the train conductor, played by Brody, announces unfortunate news to passengers of an extra 11 hours due to bad weather, the people aboard come together to celebrate Christmas, rather than dwell on the fact that they have to spend the holiday on a train.

13. Lyft -- Ride on the Bright Side

Lyfts end-of-year campaign Ride on the Bright Side takes a stab at competitors like Uber. In the video, three sinister corporate men from Ride Corp and definitely not Uber try to plot against the ride-sharing startup.

In one video, an executive asks, "Why are all the Lyft drivers so happy?" Another replies, "Maybe it's because Lyft lets passengers tip them in the app." Oh, snap.

Related:



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
AMARILLO, Texas  Marian Virginia Ohlson Murdock, 94, of Amarillo, Texas, formerly of Grand Island, died Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church Chapel in Amarillo, with the Rev. Corky Holland officiating.

Marian was born Sept. 22, 1922, in Grand Island to Paul and Blanche Ohlson. She was raised in Nebraska and graduated from Grand Island Senior High School in 1940. During her teenage years, she worked as popcorn girl at the Grand Theatre in town. Marian did secretarial work at Cornhusker Ordnance Plant in Grand Island during the war years.

She also attended the local First Baptist Church, where she taught childrens Sunday school classes. She married Sax Murdock of Clinton, Conn., on Jan. 31, 1946. Together they traveled to Chicago, where Marian worked at the Art Institute of Chicago while her husband studied to receive his degree there. After moving to Texas in 1957, they made Amarillo their hometown for life.

Marian enjoyed church activities and was always involved in sharing her faith and love of Jesus with the people around her. She and Sax joined First Baptist Church in 1981, where they sang in the chapel choir and served on various committees. At age 85, Marian initiated and led Hemmed in Prayer, a ministry of sewing to provide clothing for children in Third World countries.

With a special calling and heart for missions, she and Sax participated in many mission trips to countries around the world. Over her lifetime, Marian visited all 50 states, as well as 18 different countries on five continents. Wherever she went, she managed to make new friends for life, friends she treasured and corresponded with for many years.

Marian had many hobbies, including singing, sewing, knitting, crocheting and cross stitch. She dearly loved all the dogs she had as pets during her lifetime. She enjoyed playing various card, domino and board games with family and friends. Marian loved the outdoors, camping and hiking with her family in various national parks across the U.S. She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, she will be greatly missed.

Survivors include, a daughter, Pam Forsyth and her husband, Skip, of Amarillo; two grandchildren, Lauren Purdom of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Paul Purdom of Katy, Texas; and her son-in-law, Larry Purdom of Katy.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Saxton Murdock; and a daughter, Paula Murdock-Purdom.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimers Association, 1400 Wallace Blvd., Amarillo, TX 79106.
As I visit with Nebraskans, the number one issue encountered is property taxes. One need only to examine the facts to understand Nebraskans angst over their property tax burden, and why we must deliver systemic, sustainable property tax relief for everyone.

Of the big three revenue sources in Nebraska, property taxes comprise roughly 48 percent of the total, while sales taxes and income taxes account for 20 percent and 32 percent, respectively. According to Tax Foundation data from 2014, homeowners in Nebraska are burdened by the seventh highest property taxes in the nation, as a percent of home value. And according to the Nebraska Farm Bureau, ag land property taxes have risen 176 percent in the last 10 years, and our states farmers and ranchers are now burdened by the third highest property taxes in the nation.

Our K-12 funding structure is at the heart of the issue. According to Department of Revenue data, over 60 percent of Nebraskans property tax bills go to funding K-12 education. And according to U.S. Census Bureau data, K-12 education in Nebraska derives about 48 percent of its funding from property taxes, while the national average is 29.5 percent. In fact, we are second in the nation in the percentage of K-12 funding derived from property taxes.

Lets consider what all of this means for Nebraska.

Economists agree that housing costs are a primary consideration when young people are considering where to locate. But the seventh highest residential property taxes in the country inflate housing costs for both homeowners and renters. In fact, 30 to 40 percent of a Nebraska familys housing costs can go toward property taxes. In order to grow Nebraska, and generate opportunities for young people to live, work, and raise their families in our state, we must strive to make housing more affordable. And property tax relief is where we must start.

According to Tax Foundation data for 2014, typical Nebraska homeowners pay 1.65 percent of their homes value in property tax. The average for the six surrounding states is 1 percent. If we could reduce Nebraskas residential property tax burden to this regional average, as a percent of home value, the owner of a $200,000 home would save over $100 per month. The retention of those kinds of dollars in our communities and urban areas could stimulate considerable economic growth for our state, while helping the household budgets of young families and fixed income seniors alike.

And what about ag? Agriculture is Nebraskas No. 1 industry, generating 25 percent of all employment in our state. But an examination of UNLs crop budgets suggests that many of our row crop producers will be operating in the red this year. And the nations third-highest ag land property taxes add to the red ink. This downturn in the ag sector, fueled to some degree by escalating property taxes, will ripple through Nebraskas economy, impeding economic growth and employment in our state.

Although the Legislature, with the support of Gov. Pete Ricketts, has passed elements of property tax relief, frustration about the matter has led some folks to raise the possibility of a ballot initiative or lawsuit directed at the issue. But any such measure carries with it the possibility of unintended consequences. This uncertainty underscores the urgency of a legislative solution.

I could continue on here, but the point is that there are plenty of reasons why property tax relief must be a priority, and why it must be directed at all Nebraskans, for if we split along rural/urban lines, everyone loses. So where do we start?

Make no mistake, we must continue searching for cost-saving efficiencies and innovations in state and local programs, including public education. But the most direct and effective route to dealing with the property tax dilemma, and providing immediate relief that will benefit all Nebraska property owners, is rebalancing our tax structure, including the way we fund K-12 education. Our goal should be a nearly equal mix of property, income and sales taxes  a truly fair and balanced three legged stool.

In Nebraska, our tax structure is woefully out of balance. The discussion going forward must focus on how best to address this problem, for it is imperative that we rebalance this mix of funding. Long term economic growth in Nebraska hinges on our ability to do so.

Tom Briese of Albion will begin serving District 41 in the Nebraska Legislature when it opens its 2017 session in January. He was elected to succeed Sen. Kate Sullivan.
The Grand Island school board made a good decision in selecting Kelly Enck and Heidi Schutz to fill two vacant board seats.

Enck will be filling the Ward A seat that Jennifer Worthington is leaving to take an administrative position with the district. Enck brings a business background to the board through her work at a local bank. She has also been involved with the Grand Island schools through work with PTAs, Junior Achievement and serving on parent advisory and key communicators groups.

In Schutzs case, she wont be a new board member. She is already on the board but didnt run for re-election because she thought she would be moving out of the district. When she ended up not moving, Schutz applied to retain her seat when it came open.

The seat became open when one of the two general election candidates for two open Ward B seats withdrew his name because he was moving to North Carolina.

What was amazing was the board had nine excellent applicants for the Ward A seat. It took them four votes to decide on Enck but that was because of the quality of the applicant field.

What is somewhat distressing is that so many people apply to fill an open seat but so few file for election to those seats. This year only four people ran for four seats, and one of those people withdrew. There were no competitive races. That is in complete contrast to the Northwest school board where eight people ran this year for three seats.

Why is that? If there is so much interest in serving on the board that nine people applied for a position, why didnt more run in the election?

That is open to speculation, but perhaps its because people are hesitant to challenge an incumbent, especially one they feel is doing a good job. So when Worthington resigned, it allowed people to try to fill the position without having to go against someone already on the board.

It also could be the unwillingness to go through the rigors of an election. To be appointed, one just has to convince the majority of the board. To be elected, if you have opposition, one has to gain thousands of votes.

While there were two applicants for the Ward B seat that represents south-central and southeast Grand Island, it was disappointing that there werent more, as was the fact that there werent enough candidates on the ballot to fill the two open seats.

With Schutz and Lori Coen not running for re-election, there were no incumbents to challenge so one would have thought there would have been a lot more candidates.

The Grand Island school board is an important body. They set policies for the schools, approve a budget and property tax rate and set the direction for a district that educates approximately 10,000 students.

The Grand Island school board has done an excellent job leading the district in recent years. They have built community support for the schools and steered clear of controversies. The board has had excellent leadership.

Lets hope that in the future more people see the value of serving on the Grand Island school board and run for positions in the next election.
World Series no-hitter! Astros combine for Fall Classic's first no-no since 1956

Cristian Javier and three relievers combined to no-hit the Phillies in a 5-0 win, evening the World Series at 2-2.
On Monday, December 19th, the Electoral College will convene to formally cast votes for the 45th President of the United States. If, as expected, the electors choose to make Donald Trump President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, they will have handed America over to a kleptocrat who blundered into power on a razor-thin victory facilitated by Russian hackers. This would be an unprecedented assault on the foundations of our democracy, and the electors have a profound responsibility in this moment to put forward a viable alternative candidate who will win approval in the House of Representatives.

The Electoral College was, in part, created to thwart "the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils," in the words of Alexander Hamilton. Now the Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that Russian hackers interfered with the election in Trump's favor, a shocking confirmation that a foreign-backed despot has become ascendent here in America. This is a brazen attack on our system of government, one that transcends partisan politics and demands an equally historic response from our electors, who have a moral responsibility to avert this clear and present danger.

Addressing the CIA assessment in an interview this week, former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell put it bluntly: "We need to see this for what it is. It is an attack on our very democracy. Its an attack on who we are as a people. A foreign government messing around in our elections is, I think, an existential threat to our way of life. To me, and this is to me not an overstatement, this is the political equivalent of 9/11."

The CIA's conclusions are even more alarming when considered in the context of Trump and his allies' Russian financial interests, which have been partially obscured by his refusal to release his tax filings. We do know that Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort was paid millions for advising Ukraine's former pro-Putin President Viktor F. Yanukovych, and Trump adviser Carter Page, who has extensive business dealings in Russia, is suspected of negotiating with the Russian government through back channels during the campaign. Trumps pick for national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, has been paid personally by the Russian government for a speech. And this weekend, the Kremlin cheered news that Trump's choice for Secretary of State is Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who is a vocal opponent of sanctions against Russia, and whose company has billions of dollars at stake there.

Perhaps the President-elect's son, Donald Jr., summed it up best in 2008 when he said, "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." Trump has vaguely promised to divest himself of his business interests. But yesterday, as electors demanded an intelligence briefing on Russian hackers' impact on the election, Trump canceled a press conference scheduled for Thursday intended to announce his divestment plans, postponing it until after the Electoral College vote. Overnight, Trump tweeted that, "Even though I am not mandated by law to do so," he plans to put his sons Donald Jr. and Eric in charge of his businesses, and wrote that "[n]o new deals will be done during my term(s) in office."



(Getty)

Presidents are not governed by federal conflict of interest policies or subject to the federal background check that could have been disqualifying for Trump, but so long as Trump retains a stake in his business he would likely violate the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, which bars U.S. government employees from getting paid by foreign governments. Trump's refusal to release his tax returns and divest from his businesses also breaks with decades of presidential tradition.

Had Trump held a press conference this week as planned, it would have been his first since July 27th, when he urged Russia to perpetrate a cyber attack on Hillary Clinton and the State Department. "Darkness is good," Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, said not long after the election, going on to praise the power of Satan.

In August, 50 of America's most senior Republican national security officials signed an open letter warning that Trump, as president, "would put at risk our countrys national security and well-being...He is unable or unwilling to separate truth from falsehood. He does not encourage conflicting views. He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be president and commander in chief, with command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal."

Multiple inquiries will now examine in greater detail how Russian hackers tipped the election toward Trump, but the results will not be known until after December 19th. The Electoral College cannot wait, but must cast their votes based on what is established so far. It should be enough to terrify them: The CIA has concluded that Russian President (and former KGB officer) Vladimir Putin successfully interfered on Trump's behalf, and it is obvious, judging by Trump's words and actions, that the President-elect is eager to repay the favor. This should outrage and alarm all Americans, regardless of party affiliation. (Electors should also take into account, one last time before the point of no return, all of the other ways Trump has demonstrated that he is unfit for office.)

"Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying," Senator John McCain said on Saturday. Representative Jim Hines said Monday, "It became clear to me last night that this man is not only unqualified to be president, he's a danger to the republic. I do think the Electoral College should choose someone other than Donald Trump to be president. That will lead to a fascinating legal issue...but I would rather have a legal problema constitutional legal problemthen to find out the White House was now the Kremlin's chief ally."

For now, at least, it is still not too late. Will 37 Republican electors rise above local politics and prevent this impending catastrophe? Ask them yourself.

Update: President Bartlet agrees:
Hundreds of women young and old marched from the Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle to Trump Tower Monday afternoon in protest of the president-elect and his nascent administration's positions on women's rights.

The march was part of a nationwide Women and Allies Strike campaign, which called for women to take collective action in cities across the country. There have been similar, smaller marches in several cities, including Los Angeles, Portland, Houston. According to its Facebook page, the campaign seeks to condemn "any effort to erode the rights of women and other vulnerable groups."

The march began at noon with a rally at Columbus Circle, with a speech by Eve Ensler, the feminist activist and author of The Vagina Monologues. Ensler called upon the crowd to "stand and lead this revolt" and "protest, protect, plan, and prophesize." Several spoken word poetry performances followed.



Eve Ensler with spoken word artists and other organizers. (Joshel Melgarejo/Gothamist)

Around 1:30 p.m., protesters began to march east toward Trump Tower. The reaction of passersby was mixed: one woman honked to show support of the march, but a contingent jeered at the protesters, yelling "Suck it, bitches" and "Get over it, she lost!" A police cordon kept the crowd about a block away from the tower, so protestors gathered in front of the Louis Vuitton store just down Fifth Avenue, where they chanted "Pussy Grabs Back" and "Electors Save Us." The rally lasted until around 9 p.m.

"Taking to the streets is how we're gonna get attention from the government," said Allison Hargrove, 23, who held a sign saying "Trans Lives Matter" at the Columbus Circle rally. "We need to show electors that they have the power not to vote for Trump," she added.

Many attendees said that beyond protesting the coming administration, they showed up at the rally to be around likeminded women.

"I've been feeling a lot of anxiety since the election," said Diane Patmos, 53. "I just feel like I want to be with people who feel the same way."
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Linkedin Hendri Yulius (The Jakarta Post) Sydney  Tue, December 13, 2016

For the past few months, the Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama blasphemy case has provoked debates among public figures, religious scholars, politicians and the general Muslim public.

The push for legal action against his statement to people in the Thousand Islands regency was followed by a massive march of Islamic people through the city of Jakarta in Nov. 4. Even after Ahok was declared as a suspect, the anger against incumbent the Jakarta Governor, concomitant with the disappointment toward the administration, provoked another massive rally on Dec. 2, which has been dubbed as the 212 Action [Aksi 212].

Under the auspices of defending Islam [Aksi Bela Islam], a torrent of protesters and some organizations marched through the city for a mass prayer at the National Monument (Monas) park.

The protest was led in an orderly fashion, but a number of Sari Roti volunteers giving away free bread have stolen public attention as the carried signs that said, gratis untuk Mujahid [free for Muslims]. When the photos went viral, people thought the bread manufacturer, Nippon Indosari Corpindo, supported the rally. In order to clarify the misuse of the logo and brand in this mass prayer, the company issued a public statement on its website, claiming that their bread products were not involved in the rally and were committed to preserving Indonesias motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity).

This statement shifted public praise toward Sari Roti. Netizens angry with Sari Roti swarmed social media with photos of another brand of bread as a substitute, while others, who felt there was nothing wrong with the companys statement, posted their pictures with Sari Roti products.

(Read also: Sari Roti under fire after denying involvement in 212 rally)

Looking at how consuming bread has been used to signify religiosity reveals the production of middle-class Islamic Indonesians identity through consumption and public piety.

There is a significant difference between eating and consuming. While the former simply refers to a means to survive, the latter articulates the cultural facetsthe patterns and investments of values that subsequently produce and construct a particular identity. In other words, consuming is also producing. As the distinction between private and public has also been blurred, consumption perceived as a private and intimate activity between commodity and self has been also challenged.

Since what we consume constructs our identity and even signals our political stance, consuming also becomes publicparticularly how self has been represented in collective space. The contestations over Sari Roti become more evident in new forms of Indonesian Muslims consumption, when they are placed within the process of Islamization after the New Order era.

The collapse of Soehartos authoritarian regime in 1998 has signified Indonesias transition to democracy. As freedom of expressions has been guaranteed, the previous suppressed groupsin this case, Islamic groupsproliferate in a political arena. While in the New Order, their ideology was repressed, the Reformation era provides a fertile ground for them to articulate their ideas and enact a number of moral-based or Sharia-influenced policies through decentralization. On the other hand, Sonja van Wichelen in Religion, Politics, and Gender in Indonesia (2010) asserts that the discontentment with the New Order priority toward the secular middle class has partly unfolded the other middle-classincluding teachers, students, and middle-level urban workers with no social power. Nevertheless, they did not harvest the benefits of the New Orders development agenda. Unlike oversimplified assumptions that strong religious devotion is commonly associated with lower education and socio-economic status, the other urban middle-class defines modernity in a different configuration, in which Islamism is inherently permeated and to be strictly observed.

As a response, Islam has also been increasingly commodified. Equally important with specific lines of product targeting Muslim Indonesians and the increasing representation of modern Islam in popular culture, like Ayat-Ayat Cinta (verses of love), it is not strange to see some Indonesian Islamic clerics have their own show of religious seminars and missionary endeavors [dakwah] on television. In a similar vein, the increase of veiling among Muslim women not only indicates the explicit patterns of public religiousness but also the emergence of the Muslim middle-class as a powerful social class with purchasing power, that increasingly distinguishes itself from secular modernity. The association of religiosity with backwardness and un-modern gradually fade.

The first Indonesian writer to be nominated for the Man-Booker Prize, Eka Kurniawan wrote about his personal experience in finding a school for his daughter, Kinan. Comparing this with his growing-up experience in a village, which had loads of freedom, the urban-middle class is nowadays very much preoccupied with both sacred and secular concerns. On the one hand, they want good quality education for their kids, while on the other hand, they also desire a religious school to safeguard the moral fiber of their kids. Its a religious school, isnt it? They teach the children English, dont they? explicitly illustrates the current hysteria of middle-class families in Jakartathey want success both in heaven and on earth for their kids.

Having more consumption choices, the Sari Roti debates demonstrate how middle-class Muslim Indonesians, who are familiar with social media, factor in their religiosity into their consumption decisions. Furthermore, the politicization of the upcoming gubernatorial election along the lines of religion and ethnicity exacerbates these sentiments. What matters now is the rise of conservatism that fits in with market logics, which give birth to a new social class with purchasing power. Hence, it is no exaggeration that religiosity, capitalism and modernity are not always contradictory, as we might have thought before. They are malleable, adaptive and interactive. They connect together, which shapes the meanings involved in being Muslim Indonesians at this time.

***

The writer, who obtained his Masters in public policy from the National University of Singapore, is the writer of Coming Out and a lecturer of gender and sexuality studies. He is currently pursuing his Masters by Research in Gender and Cultural Studies in The University of Sydney. See other writings by Hendri Yulius here.

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Linkedin Alisha Sulisto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

Almost a year after initiating discussions on regulating the fintech industry, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) finally produced some concrete rules by issuing a draft regulation on fintech lending.

Although narrow in scope, the draft does apply a principled approach to consumer protection by putting forth stringent requirements for fintech lenders to obtain licenses and fully operate in Indonesia.

Requirements such as a minimum of Rp 2 billion in paid-up capital to become a registered fintech company under the OJK and Rp 5 billion in paid-up capital to obtain a license are aimed at screening out unscrupulous players from taking advantage of the lucrative fintech lending market.

(Read also: ANALYSIS; Peer-to-peer lending: A new form of financial inclusion)

However, initially aiming to regulate all fintech subsectors, from payments to crowd funding, wealth management and remittances, the draft regulation exhibits a significantly limited jurisdiction compared to its earlier premise.

Two weeks prior to the OJKs issuance of the draft regulation, Bank Indonesia published BI Regulation No. 18/40/PBI/2016 on Payment System Processing in conjunction with the launch of its Fintech Office.

According to BI Governor Agus Martowardojo, the Fintech Offices objective is to facilitate innovation of all digital technology-based financial service providers, become a national point of contact for all fintech companies and subsequently provide business intelligence, then assess, coordinate and communicate between the relevant government and private sector entities.

Most importantly, it provides fintech players with a regulatory sandbox that allows fintech startups to try, fail and succeed within certain parameters set by Bank Indonesia.

On the other hand, Article 12 of the draft OJK regulation on fintech lenders requires a fintech lender to continuously increase its practical knowledge through the OJKs fintech hub. Based on an OJK press release from Oct. 6, the fintech hub is designed to be the one-stop national point of contact for all fintech companies to communicate, collaborate and cooperate with institutions that play a supporting role in the digital financial ecosystem.

The fintech hub provides minimum regulations as a legal basis for the fintech sector to attract investment, protect consumers and grow sustainably.

Now, it may seem odd that two institutions that are supposedly established to complement one another in regulating the financial sector would come up with competing divisions to serve a similar function.

But that, unfortunately, is the current state of our regulatory environment.

Alas, this is the challenge that needs to be dealt with when multiple entities supervise the financial sector, unlike our neighboring countries Malaysia and Singapore.

The byproduct of multiple regulators, particularly related to fintech, is a very fragmented approach to regulating the industry. BI, the OJK and to some extent the Communications and Information Ministry and the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) all have their own ideas on how fintech should contribute to the growth of Indonesias economy.

This leads to an impression that fintech can be regulated in very particular segments rather than holistically. The discordance between all these relevant institutions is already evident in the allowance of foreign ownership in each regulation relevant to the digital economy that theyve championed.

E-commerce, for example, allows for 100 percent foreign ownership, if the valuation is above Rp 100 billion. This stipulation was spearheaded by the Communications and Information Ministry and included in the Negative Investment List. Fintech lenders, according to OJK rules, are allowed to have 85 percent foreign ownership. Payment system providers, led by BI, are only allowed 20 percent foreign ownership.

Although it may seem harmless now, the fragmented supervision of fintech is a reflection of the general lack of coordination between government institutions in policymaking, and the institutional tension that already exists between Bank Indonesia and the OJK in particular. This reflects in their quest to compete for ultimate ownership over the fintech sector.

Add to this the backdrop of the upcoming revisions to Law No. 23/1999 on Bank Indonesia and Law No. 21/2011 on the OJK, and the institutional tension will reach its apex in the upcoming sitting session of the House of Representatives slated to begin on Jan. 10.

So what does that mean for a burgeoning industry with a huge potential market in Indonesia? The bestcase scenario would be a limited administrative impact, where the overlapping licensing process might cause fintech businesses to incur delays in obtaining licenses but nothing detrimental.

The worst-case scenario is that regulators have completely conflicting visions on where to take the industry and actively issue regulations that undermine one anothers authority over the industry, subsequently hampering innovation. Thus, unless one regulator comes out and owns the industry, theres a real fear that the latter may become inevitable.

But for the sake of the industry, I sincerely hope Im proven wrong.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Good Indonesian Food (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

Coffee shops in Jakarta have become hangout spots during weekdays and weekends. However, only a handful of people have a firm grasp of what coffee is all about. The lack of knowledge regarding a beverage that has practically become a culture in itself became the catalyst that drove Ve Handojo and Hendri Kurniawan to start ABCD (A Bunch of Caffeine Dealers) School of Coffee.

From organizing small-scale activities in Pasar Santa to producing successful graduates, ABCD has done wonders for coffee lovers. We had a chat with Ve Handojo to find out more about his educational venture.

Can you tell us how it all began with ABCD Coffee?

ABCD Coffee was essentially founded due to my partner, Hendri Kurniawan, and my concerns about the youth of today who know next to nothing about coffee. The irony is that Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer in the world. With Hendris burning passion for coffee, we agreed to set up ABCD Coffee in 2014. We started out by running workshops via Instagram. As the number of interested parties began to swell, we had to move from Pasar Santa to Gondangdia. We also operate our own coffee shop called Ruang Seduh Kemang, where we offer visitors a chance to learn about coffee brewing or how to make their own latte art.

Who are your pupils at ABCD Coffee?

Our students are primarily interested in opening their own coffee shops or are set on continuing their studies abroad. By acquiring basic coffee knowledge, they can apply to be baristas and earn a little extra cash on the side whilst in a foreign land. Our students have a wide age range. We have had many people who enroll in ABCD without prior knowledge about coffee. Some who do not drink coffee at all, but they register to find out more about the beverage. So far, we have 181 classes with a total of about 500 participants.

(Read also: Coffee campus aims to maintain quality of Indonesian coffee)

What do you teach at ABCD Coffee?

The types of classes we teach cover basics, such as getting familiar with coffee, discerning the differences between robusta and arabica, why some people dislike coffee and whether or not coffee causes sleeplessness and stomach damages. For three days, our students will learn about the different tastes of coffee, how to brew manually, how to pour milk, how to make foam and etc. We also provide exclusive classes on weekends on various topics, such as theory classes or manual brewing classes, for visitors who would like to take part in just one class. For our master classes, we invite a guest lecturer, like a World Barista Champion, to lead the class.

How can we apply to take classes at ABCD Coffee?

Interested parties can get in touch with ABCD Coffee, fill out a form and pay Rp 5 million (US$375.4) for a class package.

Do you have a particular favorite coffee?

I try every type of coffee, so not really. However, I prefer those that are sweet-sour in taste over the bitter ones.

Is there a signature flavor to Indonesias coffee?

Indonesia is unable to produce a genuinely sweet coffee due to our climate, elevation and planting methods. Yet it is impossible to determine the taste of each coffee batch as there are other factors that affect its flavor, including the post-harvest process and the roasting, grinding and brewing methods that are utilized.

Lastly, would ABCD Coffee be interested in recommending its curriculum to universities?

We do have such a goal, but we would like to introduce it to kids in junior high and high school so they could get an early start on coffee education. (kes)

Explore more about Indonesian cuisine here.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Eva Aruperes (The Jakarta Post) Manado, North Sulawesi  Tue, December 13, 2016

A Palestinian choir group held a Christmas concert and sang Christmas songs in Arabic in some parts of Indonesia.

In North Sulawesi, on Monday, the event was hosted by one of Manado's shopping malls.

"In addition to the [concert by] Bethlehem Bible College choir, the Palestine Ambassador for Indonesia will also visit North Sulawesi," Indonesian Inter-Church Council (Bamag)'s secretary general Hence Bulu told The Jakarta Post in Manado on Saturday.

(Read also: Indonesian choir wins grand prize in Spain)

Hence said the Bethlehem Bible College has held the Christmas concert since Dec. 9 in several regions, like Jakarta and Bali.

According to a press release, the concert was part of cultural cooperation between Bethlehem Bible College and STT Global Indonesia higher education, which was signed in early 2016.

A representative from the Palestine Ambassador for Indonesia, Taher Hamad, said, "The concert sang Christmas songs in Arabic and not other languages because Jesus was born in the land of Palestine." (kes)
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

Given childrens intense use of technology, especially smartphones, traditional toys and games are perceived to be a positive activity for children to do in their spare time.

As part of its efforts to introduce traditional Indonesian toys to children, the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection held the Festival Permainan Tradisional Anak Indonesia 2016 (Traditional Indonesian Children's Toys Festival 2016) at Taman Bhineka Tunggal Ika, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta, on Sunday.

The festival was held for the first time this year, and involves various events such as opera, competitions, expo, playgrounds, parades and traditional dance performances from children representing the 34 provinces of Indonesia.

Children participate in a workshop by Robotic Explorer at the Traditional Indonesian Children's Toys Festival 2016 at Taman Bhineka Tunggal Ika, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta, on Dec. 11.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Upon entering the venue, visitors were welcomed by a traditional toys exhibition from the Hong Community, which displayed hundreds of the over 2,000 traditional toys from Aceh to Papua. Initiated by Mohammad Zaini Alif in 2005, the Hong Community has been identifying and gathering Indonesian traditional toys such as the dam-daman, panahan, taplak, wayang padi, congklak, kelereng that were on display, and many more.

Traditional toys are a medium to learn about our identity, said Zaini Alif to The Jakarta Post. So children will learn about their national identity through their world, which involves playing [games].

Located in Bandung, West Java, the Hong Community is visited by thousands of children each month, but Zaini still feels pessimism from their parents about traditional toys.

Childrens awareness of the toys is there, but it is their parents who are probably still afraid of this and that, and in the end they choose something that is easy for them and less risky for their children, he explained.

Children play "dam-daman" at the traditional toys exhibition at the Traditional Indonesian Children's Toys Festival 2016 at Taman Bhineka Tunggal Ika, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta, on Dec. 11.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Furthermore, children could also participate in a workshop by Robotic Explorer in the venue. Established in 2005, Robotic Explorer focuses on robotic education starting from 3-year-old children to adults.

We want to introduce the world of robotics to children, so they can assemble and play with robots that weve provided, explained Robotic Explorer operational staff member Hendry, adding that different types of robots were on display, from simple ones controlled by cable, wireless robots, and more advanced robots controlled by Bluetooth.

(Read also: Weekend activity: Learn pottery at the National Gallery)

When we talk about traditional toys, they must contain three elements; the toy itself, how to play it, and the song that is performed when children are playing with it, said deputy head for child growth and development affairs at the Womens Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, Lenny N. Rosalin.

Children and their parents are watching the performance at the Traditional Indonesian Children's Toys Festival 2016at Taman Bhineka Tunggal Ika, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta, on Sunday.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Zaini of the Hong Community said, Many people want to combine (hi-tech) gadgets with traditional toys, but theyre actually different things." Traditional toys often need natural elements in order to be able to be played, for example taplak needs soil as its base, congklak needs a particular wooden case with holes as its board, and can-based ship toys need water to be able to move.

Traditional toys should be included as childrens learning tools, instead of learning purposes, Zaini stated. They learn about honesty, focus, social values, their relationship with nature and relationship with God from the traditional toys. (asw)
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Linkedin Djemi Amnifu (The Jakarta Post) Kupang  Tue, December 13, 2016

An unidentified man who allegedly attacked students at a state elementary school in West Sabu district, Sabu Raijua, East Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday, wounding seven students, was allegedly beaten to death by residents.

Seven students sustained stabbed wounds in the attack, West Sabu Police chief Com. Silfeston said.

Silfeston said the wounded students were being treated at Seba General Hospital.

He said the alleged perpetrator was detained by residents after the attack, which occurred at 9 a.m. and handed him over to the police.

The motive behind the attack is unclear.

Two hours later, thousands of residents gathered outside the West Sabu Police, where they allegedly beat the suspect to death. Police officers were reportedly outnumbered.

The perpetrator is reportedly a resident of Bekasi, West Java.

Separately, Timor Evangelical Church (GMIT) chairperson Merry Kolimon deplored the attack against the children, urging the government to investigate the attack.



Violence against children is a crime against humanity, Merry said.

However, Merry called on residents to remain calm and uphold tolerance among different faiths on Sabu Island. (jun)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

The Chinese government has pledged to donate US$1 million to help disaster relief and reconstruction efforts in Aceh following a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that has claimed more than 100 lives.

Speaking in the handover ceremony of a $100,000 donation from the Chinese Red Cross Society to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xie Feng said his government had decided to offer another $1 million to support disaster and reconstruction efforts in Aceh.

The friendship between Chinese and Indonesian people dates back to centuries ago. We have always supported and helped each other in time of difficulties, Ambassador Xie said in his remarks.

The earthquake, which hit Pidie Jaya regency early on Dec. 7, has brought back memories of the 2004 Aceh earthquake  the strongest earthquake registered in the world for 40 years, which caused a devastating tsunami and left more than 220,000 dead across the Indian Ocean. (hwa)
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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13 2016

Perusahaan Listrik Negaras (PLN) plan to use electronic money in its subsidy scheme is predicted to be a difficult task considering hindrances such as unreliable subsidy recipient data and low financial literacy in the country.



The state-owned electricity firm has announced a plan to start channeling subsidized electricity for the poor through e-money cards by mid-2017, or the beginning of 2018 at the latest. The e-cards are expected to be channeled through an integrated system connecting various state-owned lenders under the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara).



However, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministrys director for electricity business affairs supervision, Satya Zulfanitra, shared a contrary view, arguing that the government was not ready to implement such a plan in the near future.



Indeed, weve been approaching players in the banking sector [to form partnerships], but were not ready to launch the digital scheme in 2017. It needs to be properly tested first, she said. Nonetheless, she acknowledged that the use of e-money cards would make it easier for the government to implement its subsidized electricity program.



As of November, subsidized electricity prices for 900-watt and 450-watt subscribers were set at about

Rp 585 (4 US cents) and Rp 417 per kilowatt hour (kWh), respectively, compared to Rp 1,460 per kWh for non-subsidized low-voltage households.



By using the e-money cards, each recipient could get Rp 50,000 to Rp 75,000 per month, for instance. Then, the funds would be non-transferable and could only be used to pay for electricity, Zulfanitra went on.



Meanwhile, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) economist Latif Adam said all banks needed to immediately prepare their IT systems to pave the way for the use of e-money cards.



Bank Indonesia (BI), as the countrys payment system regulator, plans to issue a regulation on the National Payment Gateway (NPG) in December to enable interoperability and interconnectivity among all electronic payment systems in the country.



If all goes well, the next question is, are people going to be ready to use the digital scheme as expected? Latif said. So, financial inclusion will be crucial, as many recipients of the subsidized electricity program come from the low-income category, which has yet to be connected with banks.



According to a World Bank survey in 2014, only 36 percent of Indonesias adult population had accounts at formal financial institutions.



Moreover, Agus Pambagjo, a public policy expert at the University of Indonesia (UI), said the government would find it hard to implement the digital payment scheme as long as it had yet to fix its digital identification program.



He said the government could not just rely on data from the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) that was not real-time.



The data should be real-time because the government must know if some people are no longer considered to be poor, so that it can channel subsidized electricity on target. Besides, what if theres someone who has died and the government keeps channeling electricity to his or her house? Agus said.



The nationwide centralized online identification system, which started in 2012, has faced a number of technical glitches. A lack of supplies and tech-illiterate officials has hampered the migration from a manual recording of names in the civil registry to the online system.



Meanwhile, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has recently issued a regulation stipulating the removal of 18.85 million subscribers from the 900-watt subsidized electricity program that are considered unqualified, leaving only 4.05 million eligible subscribers.



For the 18.85 million subscribers, the government will raise the electricity price in three stages, starting from Jan. 1, 2017.

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Linkedin Rudi Kamdani (Member of the Indonesian FinTech Association and president director of PT FWD Life Indonesia) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

The middle class is the largest group in Indonesias social pyramid, accounting for 74 million people in 2014 and expected to reach 141 million people in 2020, according to Boston Consulting Group data collected in 2013. However, the rise of millions of people to the middle class, and out of poverty, is not followed with adequate financial literacy, such as savings habits and the anticipation of future financial needs, the ability to find the right investment opportunity and developing or compounding advantages from financial activity, including the prudence to benefit from health and life insurance from possible finance activities. Of course, there also needs to be greater efforts to increase financial literacy for the lower income group.

The Indonesian FinTech Association reported that only 36 percent of the Indonesian population owns a bank account. McKinsey and Company further found that only 27 percent of Indonesian people keep their money in banks. What about more advanced financial services like insurance? Unfortunately, life insurance penetration is still as low as 2 percent, according to Hendrisman Rahim, chairman of the Indonesian Life Insurance Association.

There are many contributing factors, one of which is the perception among the people that insurance is complicated, with a complex process from buying the insurance product to claiming them. This becomes a burden for people in dealing with insurance.

Digital technology is the new lifestyle for Indonesian people. According to eMarketer data, Indonesia is 7th among countries with the most smartphone users. In 2015, smartphone users reached at least 52.2 million and are expected to rise to 69.4 million this year and 86.6 million in 2017.

Data from the Association of Indonesian Internet Providers (APJII) found that Indonesian internet users are spread across the archipelago, from Sumatra island (15.7 percent), Sulawesi (6.3 percent), Kalimantan (5.8 percent), Bali and West Nusa Tenggara (4.7 percent) and the Moluccas and Papua (2.5 percent). Still, the majority is concentrated in Java at 65 percent. Reflecting on that, internet-based technology can be one way to increase financial inclusion through user-friendly insurance.

(Read also: The emergence of fintech: disruptive or collaborative?)

Technology can provide a different experience in insurance for both the agent and the costumer. For instance, through technology innovation in life insurer FWD Life, the insurance buying process can be simplified from 16 steps to just six steps, significantly cutting down on processing time. The use of technology, which is familiar to the young generation, also opens up possibilities to reach younger potential customers, which in turn results in greater insurance benefits.

The existence of financial technology (fintech) is an opportunity. In the context of insurance, fintech can help give birth to innovations that can ease the insurance process, changing peoples perception of insurance as well as increasing financial inclusion.

As an example of digital insurance in Indonesia, FWD Life has adopted various technology innovations that include an integrated mobile application allowing agents to approach costumers through different applications for different purposes. FWD Life, which has allocated Rp 500 billion (US$37.6 million) in investment until 2020 to develop digital technology elements in the companys business, also launched an ecommerce distribution channel to ease customers experience in purchasing insurance products.

The Indonesian market, including its insurance business, has become even more promising due to the rapid growth of online transactions, which according to Bank Indonesia (BI) are targeted to reach US$130 billion in 2020, or grow as much as 77.4 percent from $14.8 billion in 2016. Supported by technology developments, insurtech can help penetrate the net-savvy market group.

Of course, this opportunity has to be supported through regulations that allow both industries to grow, complementing one another, and providing maximum protection for the Indonesian people.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Tue, December 13 2016

President Joko Jokowi Widodo delegates the formulation of Indonesias position on global matters without much guidance or clarity, observers say. The Jakarta Posts Tama Salim interviewed Siswo Pramono, head of the Foreign Ministrys Policy Analysis and Development Agency (BPPK), to review his foreign policy and strategies for the next three years. Here are excerpts from the interview:

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama shed tears when he read out his statement against prosecutors indictments in a hearing at the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday morning.

Ahok told the courts judges that he has always had a harmonious relationship with Muslims. He attended Muslim schools, and he has Muslim friends who he considers his own family.

Ahok further said it was Analta Amir, his Muslim brother, who paid his tuition fee when he got his Master's degree at Prasetya Mulya University.

I am so sad about being accused of insulting Islam because it means that I have defamed my own Muslim family whom I really love," Ahok said, weeping before the judges.

(Read also: 80 lawyers to accompany Ahok in blasphemy trial)

The non-active governor later mentioned several pro-Muslim programs, which had been implemented under his leadership as an East Belitung City Council member, East Belitung Regent and later Jakarta governor.

Ahok said during his term as a Jakarta governor, he had constructed several mosques across the city and dispatched mosque employees to perform umrah (minor haj) to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

He further explained he had constructed a mosque in every low-cost apartment across Jakarta to accommodate Muslim people who wanted to pray.

During fasting seasons, Ahok said he permitted all Muslim civil servants to go home early so they could eat breakfast and pray with their families at home.

"I hope my explanations prove that I never had any intentions to insult Muslims and ulemas," he said. (ebf)
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Tue, December 13 2016

After a long wait, the country finally opened its first plantation museum at the Palm Oil Research Center (PPKS) office complex in Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday, to coincide with the commemoration of National Plantation Day.

The Agriculture Ministrys director general for plantations, Bambang, who attended the inauguration ceremony, hoped that the future of plantations in Indonesia would be better as the country now had its own plantation museum.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

Mufthi Akbar, 39, bought a long-coveted action camera at half price on Monday, the first day of Indonesias online shopping days, or Harbolnas.

Soon after comparing the prices on mataharimall.com and its competitors, such as Lazada and Bukalapak, the Jakarta-based private-sector employee rushed to purchase the camera for Rp 920,000 (US$69), as the deal would only last for two hours.

Like Mufthi, Qisthina Quddus could not resist her enthusiasm over Indonesias biggest online shopping event, which allowed her to buy an array of fashion items from her wish list. Alerted to the three-day event by the many advertisements in cyberspace, she was online to shop as early as 8 a.m.

Harbolnas comes just days after I got my year-end bonus, and the jeans I want are sold at half price, from Rp 600,000 down to just Rp 300,000, so of course I will grab them, said the 24-year-old doctor.

Unlike Mufthi and Qisthina, who encountered no technical glitches in their online shopping experience, customers of giant bookstore Gramedia saw the website crash and undergo maintenance from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Gramedia, which offers discounts of up to 70 percent on all books, ended up announcing that it had run out of stock for Harbolnas by the afternoon due to the flood of orders.

Still, e-commerce players are upbeat their sales will increase significantly during the three-day event, which is inspired by Chinas Singles Day and Cyber Monday in the United States.

Bukalapak and mataharimall.com both eye a 15-fold surge in revenue during Harbolnas, which was first held in 2012. The Harbolnas committee expects overall sales to triple this year, as the number of participating online stores nearly doubled from last year to around 237.

Indonesian E-commerce Association (IdEA) chairman Aulia E. Marinto said e-commerce platforms were similar to conventional shopping, differing only in terms of the flexibility they offer consumers.

Offline sellers should look to this event for their future, because online stores have a wider market, Aulia said.

The government targets e-commerce transactions reaching US$130 billion by 2020. To achieve that goal, the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister released an e-commerce road map last month, which among other measures, includes simplified tax procedures for e-commerce start-ups.

The government should help with an e-commerce campaign, because it is considered a new thing here, said Indonesia ICT Institute executive director Heru Sutadi.

E-commerce could contribute around 3 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) this year and 4.5 percent in the future, he added.

Bank Central Asia (BCA) economist David Sumual said e-commerce would keep growing due to the countrys rising number of middle-income consumers demanding convenience in shopping.

Besides, the exchange rate is more stable, and growth in the consumer sector is 5 percent this year, compared to 4.8 to 4.9 percent last year. Therefore, people will remain confident to shop, David said.

The increased use of gadgets, David continued, also boosted e-commerce growth. A recent study by Google found that 43 percent of Indonesias 250 million people used smartphones, with 57 percent of those using their cell-phone for online shopping. (wnd)
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Linkedin Haeril Halim, Arya Dipa, Ganug Nugroho Adi and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Bandung/Surakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

The arrest of a woman suspected of planning to detonate a bomb in a suicide attack and of being an Islamic State (IS) group supporter on Sunday has raised concerns over the involvement of women in terror attack plots in the country.

The National Polices Densus 88 counterterrorism squad has arrested several women on allegations of helping male suicide bombers prepare attacks over the past few years, but the arrest of Dian Yulia Novi, who was allegedly prepared for an attack on the State Palace, shows that for the first time, a woman may have been given a key role in a terror attack plot.

Dians alleged role also marks a global trend in which terror groups employ females in suicide attacks. At least 200 suicide bombers have blown themselves up, killing thousands of people since 2014 in countries like Pakistan, Nigeria, Iraq and Syria.

Dian allegedly planned to detonate a 3-kilogram triacetone triperoxide (TATP) bomb at the State Palace during the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) handover ceremony on Sunday, but the plot failed to materialize after Densus 88 arrested her along with two other alleged accomplices in Bekasi, West Java, on Saturday.

University of Indonesia (UI) terrorism expert Ridwan Habib has claimed that Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting in Syria alongside IS, instructed Dian to target the State Palace, following attacks involving female bombers in Syria.

The expert said the foiled terror plot could inspire more female suicide bombers in Indonesia to launch similar attacks in the future.

Until now, security officials have only focused on prospective male attackers and thats why Bahrun Naims group switched to something new by using a woman as a suicide bomber, Ridwan said on Monday.

Ridwan said the weight of the explosive was light enough for Dian to carry among the crowd gathering for Car Free Day on Sunday, before making her way to the weekly Paspampres ceremony at the State Palace compound, which has been open to the public since August this year.

If the police did not arrest her the day before, she would have been able to walk around freely carrying the 3-kg bomb in a bag without being watched by our security personnel, who are only accustomed to watching suspicious men in a crowd. This shows that Bahrun is finding new ways to instruct his followers to launch an attack, Ridwan said.

Another terrorist expert, Sydney Jones, said the TPAT bomb was identical to the explosive used by IS-related groups in Paris last year.

The explosive is the same type used in Paris, she said.

Explosive experts say TATP bombs are easy to make, easy to set off and susceptible to accidental detonations.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said Bahrun, known as a tech-savvy terrorist, had given Dian, Solihin and Agus an online course on devising a bomb.

Solihin was thought to be the leader of the group and Dian was a member.

The money to make the bomb was transferred by Bahrun through a bank account. The appointed attacker was [Dian], who is Solihins second wife, Tito said.

National Police spokesman Ins. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said police arrested several other individuals over supporting roles in the foiled plot.

There are now seven suspects. The latest person to be named a suspect has been identified as F [Fathoni], who works a bomb maker. He was arrested in Ngawi [in Central Java], Boy said, adding that police arrested another bomb maker identified only by the initial W.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Nabire  Tue, December 13 2016

Wings Air, a subsidiary of Indonesias largest private carrier Lion Group, has continued to provide flights to and from Nabire, Papua, despite a flying ban imposed by Nabire Regent Isaias Douw last week.

Wings Air will continue to fly from Nabire to Ambon [Maluku], Jayapura [Papua] and Kaimana [West Papua] as scheduled, Nabire Airport official Omardani Setyonugroho told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said Wings Air had received a copy of a letter from Isiais, barring the private carrier from flying to the region.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

Shortly after arriving in the Indian capital of New Delhi for a two-day state visit, President Joko Jokowi Widodo began making his sales pitch to Indian investors.

Indonesia invites India to increase investment in pharmaceuticals, information technology and automotive [industry], President Jokowi said after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

President Jokowi is in India from Dec. 12 to 13 to meet with Modi and the Indian business community, before continuing on his journey to Iran.

Jokowi also said Indonesia expected to increase trade with India.

Indonesia wishes to increase trade and diversify export products to India, he said.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) data said the realization of investment from India to Indonesia between January and March was worth US$6.69 million.

Indonesia makes up 43 percent of Indias investment portfolio with ASEAN, having poured $57.2 million into the country last year.

On his first day in India, Jokowi conducted bilateral meetings with Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee, and attended a ceremony to mark the maiden flight of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesias new route connecting Jakarta and Mumbai.

Jokowi also delivered a message that as two great democratic countries, Indonesia and India can contribute much to maintain regional and global peace and security.

The visit is Jokowis first to India since taking office, reciprocating Modis predecessor Manmohan Singhs tour of Jakarta in October 2013 and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansharis visit in November 2015.

President Jokowi is expected to hold a meeting with 20 CEOs of Indian firms to discuss investment on Tuesday.

We are seeking new opportunities in trade and investment, said Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi on Monday.

Retno said Indonesia was looking to diversify exports beyond crude palm oil (CPO) and coal commodities to India.

We want to diversify our export commodities, such as furniture. Other than that we also have commodities like gambir and areca nut, she said.

According to the Trade Ministry, Indonesia enjoyed a trade surplus of nearly $9 billion in 2015, with two-way trade between Indonesia and India having stood at $14.4 billion.

Total trade from January to September reached $9.1 billion.

India is Indonesias fourth-largest trade partner, and the largest in the South Asian region.

After wrapping up his visit on Tuesday, President Jokowi is scheduled to continue his trip to Iran.

The trip to Iran is also reciprocal, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani having participated in the 60th Asia-Africa Conference in Jakarta and Bandung in April last year.

Energy will top the agenda when Jokowi meets with senior government and business leaders

on Dec. 14.

Jokowi considers diversifying Indonesias energy sector partners an important step to achieving energy security.

Indonesia will need more oil and gas to achieve energy security, an analyst has said.

Iran can increase its LPG [liquefied petroleum gas] imports to Indonesia, Beginda Pakpahan from the University of Indonesia said.

Earlier, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) agreed to supply Pertamina with 600,000 tons of LPG for 2016 and 2017.

In addition to the LPG purchase, the two state-run companies have signed an agreement to conduct a preliminary study on two giant oil fields in Iran. (sha)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

The lawyer team of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has said it is ready to give legal assistance both in and outside of court to the non-active governor who will begin his trial on alleged blasphemy on Tuesday.

Calling itself Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (BTP) Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Advocacy Team, the group of about 80 lawyers, who have been divided into two groups, said they were ready to ensure Ahok would get a fair trial.

The lawyer teams head Sirra Prayuna said 10 to 20 lawyers had been assigned to accompany Ahok to each of his trials. Meanwhile, another 60 lawyers would work on advocacy tasks from outside of court, he explained.

This team will collect information, data and facts related to the incident in Thousand Islands on Sept. 27, Sirra said. He referred to Ahoks speech, in which he cited Surah Al Maidah 51, that led to blasphemy charges.

Sirra further said the non-litigation team would also handle verification and validation processes of data, including written letters and testimonies of witnesses and experts.

There will be a legal drafting team that will construct facts obtained during the trial, and compose them to become legal information, the lawyer said.

They are also assigned to input facts obtained during trials that we will later use as facts and juridical analysis materials, he added.

The courts judge panel, comprised of five appointed judges from the North Jakarta District Court, began Ahoks trial held at the former Central Jakarta District Court on Jl. Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta, at 9 a.m on Tuesday.

The judges are H. Dwirso Budi Santiarto, Jupriyadi, Abdul Rosyad, Joseph V Rahantokman and I Wayan Wirjana. The first trial was scheduled to be a hearing of Ahoks indictments. (ebf)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13 2016

Indonesias biggest fruit exporter Sewu Segar Group (SSG), which produces Cavendish bananas under Sunpride brand, aims to see its fruit exports reach 1 million tons by 2018, up from a half million tons last year.



The group, which sells bananas and pineapples to 60 countries including Japan and South Korea, is among the few exporters that can hit thousands of tons in annual exports.



Other major players like PT Alamanda Sejati Utama ship less than 10,000 tons of fruit each year.



Sewu Segar and Alamanda Sejati Utama are examples of the minority group of exporters that are able to sustain their businesses and even eye future growth despite various domestic challenges, particularly the difficulties of opening big-scale fruit plantations and obtaining a continuous supply.



At present, there are few large fruit exporters in the country due to the lack of focus from domestic business players on developing big-sized plantations, according to Indonesian Fruit and Vegetables Exporters Association chairman Sandy Widjaja.



Available data indicate sporadic planting, supporting Sandys view. Areas planted with fruits now only span 800,000 hectare, mostly at mini-scales, nationwide.



The government targets the development of another 400,000 ha of new fruit farms by 2025 to meet its ambition of making Indonesia the worlds biggest exporter by 2045.



Sewu Segar Nusantara (SSN), a business unit of Sewu Segar Group, said the firm can sustain its numbers because of the significant profit margin from sales of high value varieties.



The key is in focusing on high value varieties so we can have good prices. Easily planted ones like dragon fruit are oversupplied in the market so the price falls, SSN managing director Martin Widjaja told The Jakarta Post recently.



The group plans to expand by developing big scale plantations in Aceh and Blitar, East Java. Its existing area in Lampung includes 19,000 ha for pineapples and 3,700 ha for varied fruit plants.



Indonesias fruit and nut exports amounted to US$775,922 in 2015, ranking the country 32nd as the biggest exporter globally, still behind neighbors Philippines and Thailand, according to Trade Map data.



Despite existing hurdles, new players are coming in as they are upbeat about potentials offered by overseas markets as well as minor rivalries caused by a small number of Indonesian fruit exporters.



Rio Erlangga, 31, is one of them. After quitting his job as a private company employee, he tried his luck by starting a banana business under CV Cipta Agri Pratama last year. Currently, Rio manages 27 ha of land in Cianjur, West Java, which he jointly owns with some independent farmers.



Lots of farmers in Cianjur dont have primary commodities. They just plant anything sporadically, so we give them seedlings and basic fertilizers and monitor them to ensure we have a quality harvest and sufficient supply, he said.



To avoid lower-than-expected demand, the mid-sized enterprise only plants based on orders. This year it has exported the majority of its total 432 tons production to the Middle East. With cash injection from some investors, it will expand in 63 ha of land next year to fulfill purchase contracts from Middle East buyers.

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Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya, East Java  Tue, December 13, 2016

The Banyuwangi administration in East Java aims to welcome more than 2 million tourists by 2017 as its Jakarta-Banyuwangi direct flight route will be ready to operate next year.

Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas said his administration had continued to tap into tourism potential in the area, including by speeding up the development of the Marina Beach area and the construction of a womens only beach club.

We have received many requests for a female-only beach club from Middle Eastern tourists. Middle-income female tourists say they want to go to the beach but dont feel as if they can do so freely. Therefore, we plan to build a beach club dedicated to female tourists and their families, Abdullah said. Construction will start in 2017.

Banyuwangi welcomes 2 million tourists per year, up from 400,000 tourists in the previous year.

The number of foreign tourists has passed 50,000 per year, far higher than only around 5,000 people in previous years. We will continue to increase foreign tourist visits through continuous promotion, said Abdullah.

Pertamina deputy president director Ahmad Bambang said the company would add fuel tanks as there would be an increase in avtur consumption.

In 2017, we will build a new fuel stand. But if it is not completed before the new flight route is opened, we will use small tanks. We will prepare fuel tanks with a capacity of 500,000 liters. Its enough because one aircraft needs only 10,000 liters. (ebf)

Vacation time -- Banyuwangi expects more tourists as its Jakarta-Banyuwangi direct flight route will be ready to operate in 2017. (JP/Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
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Linkedin Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara  Tue, December 13, 2016

The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial administration is optimistic about growth in the number of incoming tourists, as it is hoping to have 4 million tourists visits by 2018.

"We are optimistic to meet our goal for 3 million tourists by year-end. Thus, we are upbeat to hit 3.5 million visits in 2017 and 4 million in 2018," NTB Culture and Tourism Agency head Mohammad Faozal said on Tuesday, attributing the success to the government's coordinated efforts to improve local infrastructure.

Official data shows that, as of earlier this month, 2.93 million people visited various tourist attractions in NTB, including Mount Rinjani and Gili Islands.

"The number of domestic and foreign tourists are equal," Faozal said, adding that the room occupancy rate for local hotels currently stood at an average of 75 percent.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, is hoping to see the arrival of 20 million foreign tourists in 2019. (hwa)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13 2016

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will question Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto in its investigation into a graft case centering on an electronic ID (e-KTP) project on Tuesday.

KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said Setya would also be interrogated with regard to the budgeting of the project at the House of Representatives and the implementation of the project after the government disbursed Rp 6 trillion for the project between 2011 and 2013, during which he served as a lawmaker.

The project was allegedly rigged and awarded to particular companies favored by the House and its tender was allegedly plagued by corruption, including a markup that nearly doubled the projects worth.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

Amid the increasing trend of global oil prices, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has urged the government to increase the price of subsidized diesel, known locally as Solar, in 2017 to avoid further losses from the sales of the product.

Pertamina deputy president director Ahmad Bambang said on Tuesday that the company expected the price of Solar to increase by Rp 500 (4 US cents) to Rp 5,650 per liter next year.

Actually the price [of diesel fuel] should have increased in October. Since September, we have incurred losses in Solar sales at Rp 700 per liter, as were selling it at Rp 5,150 per liter [] Now, does the government dare to increase the price? he told reporters in Jakarta.

The expected increase in diesel price would be in line with improving world oil prices, which the company predicted to reach $55-60 per barrel next year. It is also considering the fact that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to slash output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1.

Global oil prices have been in free-fall from around $110 per barrel of Brent crude in June 2014 to around $40 in the middle of this year. The price has continued to fluctuate and recently stood at around $50 per barrel. (win/hwa)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, December 13, 2016

State-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina is in negotiations to take over the participating interest of Spanish energy company Repsol in the Menzel Lejmat North (MLN) oil field in Algeria, the companys official said Tuesday.

Pertamina deputy president director Ahmad Bambang said the acquisition would expand the companys footprint in the North African country.

[Repsols] financial condition is not good; they are planning to sell everything. We are still negotiating [the acquisition], Ahmad said on Tuesday.

Ahmad explained that Pertamina planned to purchase Repsols 35 percent participating interest in the MLN field using its internal funds. Currently, Pertamina holds the remaining 65 percent shares.

Pertamina also currently serves as operator for two other oil fields in Algeria, EMK and Ourhoud, with 16.9 percent and 3.7 percent stake, respectively. (win/hwa)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine and Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Bandung  Tue, December 13, 2016

The blasphemy trial of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama is slated to begin on Tuesday, in a case that has put the countrys pluralism creed to the test and fanned more bellicose acts by hard-liners.

The trial is the result of an accelerated investigation by law enforcement institutions that are thought to have been pressured by a series of nationwide rallies carried out by conservative Muslim groups to demand the prosecution of the Christian, Chinese-Indonesian governor.

Ahok is accused of disrespecting the Quran during a speech made in front of residents of Thousand Islands regency.

The North Jakarta District Court will hold the first hearing of the trial at the old Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta, in the heart of the city, dismissing security concerns raised by the police that mobs would potentially flock to the court and disrupt the trial.

The police earlier suggested that the trial should be held outside of the city center, after two mass rallies blocked the capitals main thoroughfares and allegedly encouraged certain groups to launch attempts to overthrow the government and send bombs to the Presidential Palace and House of Representatives. All of these alleged plots have been thwarted by the police.

National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said the selection of the trial venue was the inviolable prerogative of the court.

The police abide by the wishes of the court that will hold the hearing, Boy Rafli said in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.

He added that the Jakarta Police were ready to implement maximum security measures to ensure the trial went smoothly.

The police were prepared to adjust security plans should there be any changes to the location in the future, he continued, adding that officers would not hinder people from attending the public trial. However, the police will limit the number of visitors allowed inside the courtroom.

As announced earlier by the North Jakarta court, the trial will take place at the old Central Jakarta court building, as its own building is currently under renovation.

Court spokesperson Hasoloan Sianturi has announced that the panel of judges would include Jupriadi, Abdul Rosyad, Joseph V. Rahantoknam and I Wayan Wirjana, with Dwiarso Budi Santiarto as the presiding judge.

Ahok is being charged under articles 156 and 156 (a) of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on blasphemy and incitement, which carry a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment.

Ahoks trial, which has drawn national attention, will kick off with the prosecutors indictment on the first day. A large number of the same conservative Muslims who have staged massive rallies in the capital over the last two months are expected to flock to the court to demand his imprisonment.

Ahok, who has frequently apologized for his remarks, conveyed again his apology at an event commemorating the Prophet Muhammads birthday in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

He said human beings were bound to sometimes make mistakes.

I ask for the doors of forgiveness to be opened as wide as possible, Ahok said.

In front of hundreds of attendees, he also asked for people to pray that the trial would run smoothly.

The chairman of human rights watchdog Setara Institute, Hendardi, has warned that limiting the number of people in the courtroom during Ahoks trial was necessary to maintain the independence of judges.

There have been indications of a trial by the mob since the very beginning of this case, so it is important to maintain the independence of judges by any means, he said. (vny)
A cold Sunday afternoon yesterday was considerably warmed and brightened in one small corner of Aberdeen Township.

Young Israel of Aberdeen  Congregation Bet Tefilah welcomed a new Torah scroll donated by Congregant Eric Nelson in memory of his father.

With enthusiastic support from the young men of Yeshiva Gedolah of Cliffwood, the synagogues members and guests escorted the Torah up the synagogues drive to live music and boundlessly energetic dancing until the new scroll was taken inside. There it was honored with moving addresses by Mr. Nelson, Young Israels Rabbi Yaakov Tesser and Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Shimon Alster and feted with a sumptuous meal organized by the synagogues Sisterhood.

This celebration was just one of a number that have been spearheaded by Rabbi Tesser, the dynamic young Rabbi, who only recently arrived at this small but growing community in Aberdeen, New Jersey.

Also the home of the inspirational Sunday Breakfast and Learn series and the source of the popular Twitter feed Halacha of the Day, Young Israel of Aberdeen  Congregation Bet Tefilah is centrally located on Lloyd Road in Aberdeen, where it also serves the surrounding picturesque communities of Matawan and Keyport and the larger communities of Hazlet, Holmdel and Marlboro.

[TLS]
Is the Lower East Side ready for its luxury condo transformation? The answer is apparently yes, according to at least some wealthy buyers. The developers of two high profile projects are crowing today after penthouse units went into contract.

At 215 Chrystie, Ian Schragers condo project above the new Public Hotel, theres a deal close to the asking price for a 4,300 square foot apartment with 3-bedrooms and 4.5 baths. The full-floor unit with panoramic views was listed for $23.5 million.

At One Manhattan Square, Extells gigantic tower at 252 South St., a penthouse apartment has gone into contract for about $13 million. Its a 3,699 square foot duplex on the 80th and 81st floors with 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Raizy Haas of Extell told the Wall Street Journal that around 80 of the 815 units in the project have sold so far. U.S. sales launched last month after brokers in Asia spent several months pushing apartments to prospective foreign buyers.

There are only 11 condo units at 215 Chrystie and, according to Streeteasy, all but three are under contract. Listing prices ranged from $4 million to $23.5 million. Besides the unit that recently sold, two other penthouse apartments were listed (for $20 million and $18.75 million).

Real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller says the average sale price for a condo on the Lower East Side is $1.14 million, down 16% in the past year.
Residents living next door to Starrett Developments proposed 62-story tower at 259 Clinton St. got a first look at the plans yesterday evening. You saw the renderings first last night on The Lo-Down. Now we have a follow-up, detailing reaction from residents at Lands End 1, the mixed-income property bordering the development site.

In case you missed it, Starrett is hoping to build a 732-unit rental tower with 25% of the units designated as affordable. There would be about 2,500 square feet of retail along South Street. The firms president, Josh Siegel, is touting the projects focus on resiliency (there will be greenery surrounding the building, flood gates and storm water retention devices).

After a short presentation last night, residents spoke out. Lands End 1 , a 260-unit-complex, was sold by Starrett to L+M Development Partners and Nelson Management Group in 2015. Starrett kept a small parcel for future development and shifted air rights from an adjacent tax lot.

Daisy Echevarria, a member of the tenant association board, was first to speak. The tenants reject this proposal, she said, to build a 62-story building on our lot. The Starrett project and two other large-scale projects in the Two Bridges neighborhood will undergo a joint environmental review. But Echevarria called for a more thorough study of impacts in the community. We have many, many concerns, she added, mentioning worries about the stability of the foundation of Lands End 1. Echevarria brought up the construction of Extells mega-tower a few blocks away, where sidewalks buckled, streets were flooded and apartments in neighboring buildings developed cracks. This monstrosity, Echevarria told Siegel, will impact our building.

Other residents asked whether the proposal is a done deal. While it is an as-of-right project and does not require any special city waivers, the building site is located in the Two Bridges Large-Scale Development Area. An Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared and the city has the option of asking for changes in the plans.

A longtime resident said she believes the new buildings will change the entire neighborhood. I liked the fact that it wasnt crowded in the Two Bridges area, she said. The proposal, she argued, is not conducive to community. A neighbor told the developer, Your building is so tall. It will block our sunlight. [Developers conceded that Lands End 1 and the new building will touch but have stated that no views will be directly blocked.] Other residents chimed in, asking, Any particular reason it has to be so tall and so big?, and telling Starrett, If you really wanted to fit in within this community, you wouldnt be building a 62-story building.

In response, Siegel said, We recognize its a prominent building, but we are building in accordance with the existing zoning. He noted that the project is not receiving any subsidies, meaning that the market rate units must help pay for the affordable apartments. [Starrett does hope to make use of a floor area bonus in exchange for building the affordable units.]

Residents expressed other concerns, saying that existing schools, hospitals and mass transit are already overloaded and cant absorb thousands of new residents. They voiced fears about the displacement of low-income neighbors. While acknowledging that new affordable housing will be built, they said rising housing costs in the neighborhood will put pressure on the most vulnerable tenants. Siegel said, No one will be directly displaced by this project, adding that Starrett wants to help local residents apply for the affordable apartments when they come online.

Following the meeting, we spoke with three tenant leaders at Lands End 1 (Daisy Echevarria, Aaron Gonzalez and Marc Richardson). Gonzalez, tenant association president, said, The top issue for me is the multitude of buildings going up at the same time (in the neighborhood). He mentioned the construction of Lands End 1 in 1975, using precast concrete. Gonzalez fears that his building could be compromised when Starrett begins to dig its foundation on the neighboring lot.

Richardson added, I really wonder how (the project) serves our community, the existing residents who are there. I question how many of those units are going to be affordable to the community. Richardson said he hopes the environmental review is truly focused on community needs, not simply the interests of developers. Do we have a list of things we would like to see in the community? The answer is no because the process is so focused on catering to what they want to do as opposed to actually providing those (local) amenities, said Richardson.

Echevarria said it bothers her that Starrett, when it owned Lands End I, chose to leave the Mitchell Lama program. The result, she said, was displacement of longtime residents (the building has gone from being 100% affordable to 50% affordable). That was a long time ago (2004), but Echevarria said she finds it difficult to trust Starrett now given its history on the Lower East Side.

All three developers will present their plans at a public meeting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. It will be held at Gouverneur Health, 227 Madison St.
Can women help end human trafficking by wearing a dress? The Dressember Instagram account asks. Absolutely - they already are.

Blythe Hill, the founder of the Dressember campaign, first began learning about the extent to which women and young girls are affected by human trafficking in around 2005. She says on Dressembers website that she felt an urgency to do something to stop it, but recalls feeling powerless.

Hill explains, Im not a social worker, Im not a lawyer, Im not a psychologist. Im someone whos interested in fashion, trend analysis, wordplay, and blogging. She says that her interests felt shallow in the grand scheme of things.

However, she soon discovered the influence and power that her interests in fashion could have.

In 2009, Hill decided to set herself a personal style challenge to wear a dress every day for the whole month. Despite having no plans to continue the challenge beyond the first year, Hill realised the following year that her friends wanted to join her in wearing dresses for the whole month.

It soon became clear that the movement was growing in attention and following, and Hill thought maybe I can use Dressember to raise some money for anti-trafficking.

Eight years on from Hills personal style challenge, Dressember now has 14.6K followers on Instagram and has raised over $1.5M in the last three years with the help of thousands of women.

Throughout this month, women across the world are sharing images of their daily dress styles on social media for Dressember. Captioning the posts with #dressember and #youcandoanythinginadress, women are uniting through social media to make a difference.





The Dressember Foundation is making a huge difference; the movement shows there is so much more to dresses and fashion than is often recognised.

Dressember's Instagram is filled with empowering messages about women, for women, and by women. With dresses representing female solidarity, the movement is inspiring women to join together to help end human trafficking.

here.
Lets be honest, things are winding down for the year, even though weve still got a few weeks left. The inevitable Best of 2016 lists and reviews are in, making it even easier to plan how youll be spending your Christmas hibernation, be it with a good old boxset binge or catching up on those albums you told yourself youd get around to listening to. No matter how highly you chart on the scrooge-o-meter its probably time to start thinking about getting around to some present shopping if you havent already. You cant put it off any longer, its time to embrace the festive spirit, and deploy the decorations.Returning from an extended hiatus earlier this year with their eight studio album, Distance Inbetween, The Coral, have been quick to consolidate their return with the bafflingly titled, Holy Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues EP. 'After the Rain', is a brooding return to form for Merseyside six-piece.The Belgian ensemble Soulwax work their remix magic once again to inject Warpaints New Song with a healthy shot of funked up rhythms. Looped over and over, Emily Kokals crooning of dancing to you all night long becomes an incantation recited to induce a hypnotic trance upon the listener.Fluttering synths create an ephemeral texture beneath Demo Tapes longing vocals. Aged only 18-years-old, the Atlanta native is already receiving major support for his music, and his latest release Stay, makes it easy to see why. The self-taught producer, cites Flying Lotus as one of his key influences, and the apparent similarities in some of their sounds are testament to Demo Tapeds evident talent.Joel Wastberg dons cape and crown for a regal performance in the video to his debut single In the Midst. The globetrotting musician has recently settled into his favorite Gothenburg studio to record his first solo project under the moniker sir Was. Heralding an album next year, In the Midst is a meditative blend of hip-hop rhythms with soulful lyrics.With an opening melody that carries the timbre of a wind up music box, Break Apart carefully unfurls itself, transitioning from the sounds of soothing nostalgia to Rhyes comforting vocals. The sweeping aerial shots of the accompanying video prelude the themes of travel and dislocation that Simon Green seeks to explore in his forthcoming album, Migration.Its certainly not every day that a collaboration of this scale comes around. Adam Beyer has built an enviable reputation around his record label Drumcode, and for the labels latest release he teams up with the vanguards of UK techno, Dense & Pika, to create a record capable of shaking down the walls of even the most packed out warehouse.Guitarist Ripley Johnson describes how Moon Duos latest single was inspired by the idea of death slowly creeping up on you. Despite this, Creepin is full of energy thanks to some pumped up, foot-tapping drum fills and relentless guitars, it instead relies on Johnsons sinister half-whispered vocals to conjure the duos more insidious themes.On their third album, The Orwells have recruited producer Jim Abbiss, to record, in their own words mutilated pop songs. Groovy basslines and thudding kickdrums introduce Double Feature as business as usual, however around the three minute mark any semblance of structure peters out into a meandering breakdown of languid riffs that gradually build to a howling climax.A relative newcomer, little is yet known about producer Teflon Saga. His second release is an enchanting journey composed of ethereal squeals, tightly ticking trap snares and SAINt JHNs rapturous vocals.Gently bubbling away between sub bass kicks, the synth lines of View From The Window are seemingly endless. This exquisitely ambient record is deep house composed for relaxation rather than the dancefloor.
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Taylor resident Erica Freebern got quite the surprise Sunday afternoon when a car came crashing through her front room.

It all started when a late model dark-colored SUV started swerving on Beech-Daly Road around 3:15 p.m. Dec. 11.

According to witness Danny Shaw, the SUV crossed the center line and struck a silver Saturn Vue that was travelling southbound between Eureka and Pennsylvania.

I was right behind the Vue, he said. It was fairly light traffic, but the roads were pretty bad.

He said the two vehicles went into a yard, one appeared to get stuck on a sign post or mailbox, the other was doing donuts in a yard.

They were there just long enough for me to dial 9-1-1, he said. Then the SUV drove off and the Vue went through six or seven yards before crashing into the house.

Shaw said he was on the phone with the 9-1-1 operator as the vehicles broke free of the first yard and started to move.

I ran down to the house the Vue smashed into, he said. There was a lot of smoke, I thought the car was on fire.

The driver was very disoriented according to Shaw, he was still trying to accelerate, despite more than half of his car being inside Freeberns living room.

The car was somewhat smashed, so I pulled him out of it, he said. At first I turned the car off, and he tried to turn the ignition back on. He was shocked and didnt know where he was.

Shaw pulled him from the house, the went back to check on Freebern, who was alone with just her three dogs.

We got the dogs out and put into her car, Shaw said. At that point the police, fire and EMS, were arriving.

Shaw said the whole house smelled of burnt rubber, but the car turned out to have not been on fire, it was just from the tires squealing.

Freebern posted a GoFundMe page asking for help for her and her dogs, since they have no place to stay.

I dont like doing this it breaks my heart to ask people for money, she wrote, but yesterday I was in my house when someone smashed right through my living room.

She said she was thankful that she and her dogs were all uninjured, but all of her belongings have been destroyed by the crash and the smoke.

 the damage was quite extensive, she wrote. I was renting this house and I did not think to get renters insurance so none of my belongings that were ruined are being covered.

The worst part is that I no longer have a home. The damage is too bad for me to stay there.

The GoFundMe can be found at http://bit.ly/CarSmashedHouse. She is asking for $1,700 to help cover expenses while she gets back on her feet. In the first 24 hours the page raised $225.
East Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday night to interview all eight firms responding to its request for qualifications for architectural and engineering services for a new school. The board plans to propose a school facilities bond this coming year and has set a tentative deadline for completion of the building by August 2018.

The firms include: CWG Architects, Slate Architecture, SMA Architects, Dowling Studio Architects (DSA), all of Helena; NE 45 and Architects Alaska, both of Bozeman; LPW Architecture of Great Falls; and JGA Architects Engineers Planners of Billings.

The board will hold the interviews Wednesday and Thursday and plans to make a decision Thursday or hold a special board meeting Monday night to vote.

The board also heard a report on school district suicide prevention initiatives.

We in East Helena have noticed a significant number of East Helena students have been victims of suicide, said Superintendent Ron Whitmoyer. Five out of the six suicides at Helena High School in the past five years were students from East Helena.

East Helena parents started a suicide prevention coalition, he said. A number of community partners have stepped up including United Way, HHS and the Helena School District.

An email will go out to all our parents that were working through Karl Rosston (the states suicide prevention coordinator) to hand out gun locks. Whitmoyer said, adding its important that guns be locked and unloaded.

Our culture is one of hunters and collectors, he said, but we need to make sure kids cant get their hands on guns to commit suicide.

An Americorps VISTA volunteer with a background in journalism and communications will be working with the school district on getting out suicide prevention information, he said. Were thrilled to have her.

The governors office is trying to budget money for suicide prevention, he said, adding that state Rep. Jenny Eck, D-Helena, has a significant interest in curbing this scourge on our kids.

Counselor Kevin VanNice of East Valley Middle School and Mike Cloeren reported on some of the suicide prevention trainings they have been doing with classes and staff.

EVMS students are receiving S.O.S. (Signs of Suicide) training, which teaches adolescents about some of the risk factors that can lead to suicide and also how to seek help.

Sixth-graders completed the training, said VanNice, with training slated for seventh and eighth graders this school year.

School counselors completed QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training so they can train staff, parents and community members in this suicide prevention program.

Suicide prevention education is an ongoing process, said Cloeren, adding that there needs to be more open discussion in the community.

In other matters

Board members were very positive about a joint meeting last week with the Helena School Board of Trustees and local legislators.

Working together jointly is a positive step, said trustee Marcia Ellermeyer. I thought it was a good meeting.

Helena school district would hold a meeting with or without us, said board chairman Scott Walter. This is the first time we were there as equal players in this discussion.

He was pleased at the chance to meet legislators and to start building a relationship with them, he said, rather than meeting in a hallway in the Capitol during the session.

And Walter said he was particularly pleased by a comment by Helena interim superintendent Jack Copps.

I didnt think Id ever hear a Helena superintendent speak in support of us to have some sort of (school district) expansion. ...There was some understanding our point was valid ... and that maybe we can have some common solution.
The U.S. Forest Service recently decided to reroute a road in the Bridger Mountains near Bozeman rather than engage in a costly court battle with a landowner to obtain a prescriptive easement across his property. For many access advocates, that rational agreement represents a slippery slope.

The decision to negotiate rather than litigate stands in stark contrast to an access dispute between a small landowner on Indian Creek south of Ennis and the USFS. In October, U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon issued an opinion in which the USFS prevailed with a finding that it has a prescriptive easement for a trail running through the front yard of the 80-acre property. Unfortunately, the landowner spent over a million dollars of their own money, and the USFS spent millions of taxpayer dollars on the litigation. This is the slippery slope that we should all be concerned about.

Consider the fact that the USFS had a letter of agreement from the landowner giving the USFS an easement across the property not by prescription, but by a grant from the landowner. The letter of agreement established a new trail location and required the landowner to pay for construction of the new trail and two new bridges. According to Madison District Ranger Mark Petroni (Feb. 10, 2006), They (the landowner) have offered to partner with us to acquire an easement across their property, assist with acquisition of an easement across their neighbor, the CB Ranch, and help fund NEPA (environmental review) and construction of a new trail location that avoids their lawn. This potential partnership is too good to pass up.

Despite the fact that the landowner maintained the trail and existing bridge, never once denied access to the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area, and never suggested that access would be denied in the future, the USFS ended its good neighbor policy on Sept. 1, 2011, and pursued a prescriptive easement instead. It filed a statement of interest stating that, The United States of America states that it has and claims an easement for the Indian Creek trail 328 over and across the private land. Based on that statement of interest, the landowner sought to clarify or quiet its title.

Establishing a prescriptive easement requires that the USFS must show open, notorious, exclusive, adverse, continuous and uninterrupted use by the public on private land without permission from the landowner. Historically that has been a high bar, but the judge lowered that bar in the Indian Creek case granting the prescriptive easement based on a USFS Trail Registers from 1969 and from 1970 showing only 30 users per year. Moreover, the Indian Creek landowner posted signs notifying trail users that they were crossing private property with gratuitous permission.

The message to all landowners is clear: If you allow even a few people to cross your property to access public land, you may find yourself in court spending millions on lawyers and losing control of your property. With that message, it is reasonable to expect that many landowners will stop allowing access.

To see how far the USFS is willing to push its interest in access across private property, consider the advice from District Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz (Yellowstone Ranger District) posted on July 7, 2016, on the Facebook page of the Public Land/Water Access Association: NEVER ask permission to access the National Forest Service through a traditional route shown on our maps EVEN if that route crosses private land. NEVER ASK PERMISSION; NEVER SIGN IN (concerns c ome see me) Whatever past (district rangers) or colleagues have said, I am making it clear, DO NOT ASK permission and DO NOT ADVISE public to ask permission By asking permission, one undermines public access rights and plays into their lawyers trap of establishing a history of permissive access. Landowners beware!

Access disputes will continue as a growing population pushes for more access across private lands. The dilemma facing public land management agencies is whether to pursue litigation or negotiation. Not only is litigation costly to landowners and the government, it tears at the social fabric of cooperation among landowners, federal and state agencies, and public land users that has been the tradition in Montana. Lets hope that the Forest Services decision in the Bridger Mountain case does set precedent.

Terry L. Anderson is a senior fellow at PERC (Property and Environment Research Center) in Bozeman and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Chinese woman injured during boat trip off Phuket

PHUKET: A Chinese tourist was taken to hospital yesterday (Dec 12) after she injured her leg when she slipped and fell while stepping from one tour boat to another during a trip to Koh Hae (Coral Island).

accidentsChinesehealthmarinetourismtransport

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 13 December 2016, 10:39AM

The Chinese tourist is brought ashore at Chalong Pier. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Phuket Tourist Police and rescue workers were called to Chalong Pier at midday yesterday to pick up an injured 26-year-old female Chinese tourist who had an accident when stepping from one speedboat to another during a trip to Coral Island. The tourist had sustained a severe laceration to her thigh as a result of the accident. The unnamed tourist was given first aid treatment upon arrival at Chalong Pier before being transferred to Dibuk Hospital.
D-day delayed at Dhammakaya temple

PRATHUM THANI: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and police admit they are having problems agreeing on an operation plan to raid Wat Phra Dhammakaya and arrest its former abbot after a five-hour meeting yesterday (Dec 12) failed to reach any conclusion.

crimelandpoliceviolencereligion

By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 13 December 2016, 09:28AM

A van is stopped to check a monk and disciples of sect leader Phra Dhammajayo. Photo: Pongpat Wongyala

Speaking after a meeting with the DSI to discuss plans to arrest the embattled former abbot Phra Dhammajayo, Deputy National Police Chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said the police and the DSI were still working out the details.

Authorities are still facing problems assembling personnel, particularly those responsible for gathering forensic evidence. They need to be sure enough evidence is gathered before seeking a search warrant from a court, he said.

They must finalise the plan and then explain to the court the steps involved in the operation as well as report the results to the court, Gen Srivara said.

Authorities need some time to prepare and will launch the operation as soon as they are ready, Gen Srivara said.

Asked if the DSI and police can carry out the plan this week, Gen Srivara said: It depends on the DSI chief, the timing and if there is an opportunity.

Phra Dhammajayo is wanted on charges of alleged involvement in laundering money and receiving stolen property in connection with the multi-billion-baht Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement scandal. The case was investigated by the DSI.

The monk is also the subject of arrest warrants issued by the Sikhiu and Loei provincial courts in connection with alleged forest encroachment in the two northeastern provinces.

Gen Srivara said people would not be prevented from entering Wat Phra Dhammakaya, but security forces have been deployed around the temple to ensure their safety.

He said the police are responsible for providing support to the DSI in its operation to arrest the former abbot.

It is up to the National Police Chief to decide whether to allow police to lead the raid on the temple and open the way for the DSI to apprehend the former abbot, Gen Srivara said.

He also countered a claim by Wat Phra Dhammakaya spokesman Ong-art Thamnitha that about 3,000 police have been deployed to raid the temple.

Gen Srivara said most police officers involved in the operation plan are non-commissioned officers, who do not have the authority to carry out a search as stipulated by Section 97 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Police officers who are authorised to execute the search warrant must be at least sub-lieutenants, according to the law. There are not enough of them in the forces deployed, Gen Srivara said.

Police will not use any weapons during the search. But people should not behave like villains. The law applies equally to everyone, Gen Srivara said.

He said officials have been asked to maintain peace and order and prevent any third party from causing unrest. He added those who obstruct the operation will face legal action.

At the same media briefing, DSI Director-General Paisit Wongmuang reiterated the deputy police chiefs words, saying the DSI must present a map and details of the operation to the court when seeking a search warrant.

Col Paisit said he could not disclose details of when the search would be carried out and whether it would continue for several consecutive days.

Meanwhile, disciples of Wat Phra Dhammakaya continued to flock to the temple in large numbers yesterday, following reports of an imminent raid.

Police set up checkpoints along the roads leading to the temple to search vehicles.

Deputy DSI spokesman Woranan Silam called in the media to counter claims by Mr Ong-art that the DSI and police have treated the temple and its former abbot unfairly.

Maj Woranan said DSI investigators handling the KCUC embezzlement case have not charged anyone with illegally collecting donations as claimed by Mr Ong-art.

He said the DSI has pursued a criminal case of money-laundering and theft of property against those involved.

Read original story here.
BILLINGS  An incident in which a Billings bus driver handed out tape to noisy students wasnt as serious as social media posts portray, said School District 2 superintendent Terry Bouck.

Several posts by parents on Facebook described a bus driver who handed out tape to elementary school-aged students as they got on the bus to put over their mouths in response to the students' noise level.

A video recording from the bus shows that a student asked the bus driver where tape was, referring to previous joking statements the driver apparently made about taping kids' mouths because the bus was too noisy, Bouck said.

The driver pulled out a roll of clear tape similar to Scotch tape and asked students who wanted a piece. The driver then went down the bus aisle, distributing tape to students who raised their hands.

The situation didnt involve the driver disciplining kids in any way, Bouck said. It appeared that it was an attempt to play and interact with the kids that in my opinion was extremely poor judgement.

SD2 contracts with First Student, a private company that hires its own drivers, for busing. Bouck said he requested that First Student remove the bus driver from the route and that the company is taking the "appropriate discipline." The driver is no longer on the route.

The bus route took kids from Bench Elementary to Medicine Crow Middle School for the Boys and Girls Club.

Bouck was alerted to Facebook posts on the topic Saturday morning. He said he hadn't received any calls from anyone about the incident.

I wish I would have gotten a phone call, he said. I dont administrate a district through Facebook ... we cant do anything unless we know.
Honest Phuket taxi driver reunites Italian tourist with his lost possessions

PHUKET: An Italian tourist was today (Dec 13) reunited with his belongings which included over B100,000 in cash and a passport after he left them in a taxi.

transporttourism

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 13 December 2016, 05:39PM

Taxi driver Mr Dusit Somprayoth (2nd left) said that Mr Valluzzi (left) gave him a cash reward but declined to say how much. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

The man, Mr Francesso Valluzzi, 71, reported to airport security and Sakoo Police that he had lost his bag after being dropped off by taxi at his accommodation in Kamala.

Mr Valluzzi told officials that among the lost items were over 3,000 Euro (about B111,000), a notebook computer, camera, passport and B5,000 in Thai currency.

While police were investigating the incident, a taxi driver, Mr Dusit Somprayoth, 37, came forward with the lost items which he said had been left in his taxi.

Mr Dusit went to the Kianseng Guesthouse in Nai Thon Beach and returned the items to Mr Valluzzi.

After checking his bag, Mr Valluzzi confirmed that all his belonging were intact and thanked the police for their help and Mr Dusit for returning his items.

Mr Dusit explained that he picked up Mr Valluzzi at the airport at around 11am today and dropped him off at a guesthouse in Nai Thon.

I did not pay much attention as to whether the tourist had left anything behind after I had dropped him off so I left.

I only noticed a bag when I got to my home in Rawai so I returned to the guesthouse to bring it to him, he said.

Mr Dusit said that Mr Valluzzi gave him a cash reward for his honesty but did not reveal how much.
Phuket officials urge caution after falcon attacks locals

PHUKET: Phuket officials are warning people to be aware of a falcon after it attacked four local residents in Kamala this morning (Dec 13).

animalshealthviolence

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 13 December 2016, 03:13PM

Two people required stitches to wounds to they suffered to their heads. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Local officials were notified this morning by a local Line group which had posted a warning to local residents warning them of a falcon which the group said had attacked villagers near the Bang Wan waterfall in Kamala.

Two people had suffered lacerations to their heads which required five stitches while two others had suffered only minor injuries.

Deputy Chief of the Kamala Administration Office (OrBorTor), Mr Saeree Lapmak, said that it is possible that the falcon had escaped from captivity and that it may have attacked villagers prior to todays incident.

Four people have been hurt by the bird, he warned, officials in charge must catch it before it attacks more people. We are afraid that residents may try to shot it if it is not captured soon, he said.

Mr Nirut Sariya, the person who posted the message in the Line group, said that he will contact officials from the Nature and Wildlife Education Centre at Khao Phra Thaew to help catch the bird.

The Chief of the Nature and Wildlife Education Centre at Khao Phra Thaew, Mr Pongchart Chaeuhom, said that if the falcon is still in the area he wants villagers or local rescue workers to catch it first so that it isnt given another chance to escape.

They will need to capture the falcon by using bait and a trap, Mr Pongchart said.

However, if we find that this falcon belongs to someone, that person will be brought in to be questioned, they may also face legal action because the bird has already attacked and injured people, he added.
Six arrested for Phuket tuk-tuk club president shooting, shooter still at large

PHUKET: Police have today (Dec 13) confirmed that six people have been arrested so far in connection with the fatal shooting of the President of the Patong Tuk-Tuk Club Sakol Srisompotch on October 25. However, a seventh person, said to be the shooter, remains at large.

crimedeathmurderpatongtransport

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Tuesday 13 December 2016, 06:28PM

Forensic Police collect evidence from Mr Sakol's tuk-tuk on Nov 2. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

Kathu Police Deputy Chief Investigator Lt Col Amponwat Seangreung told The Phuket News today, Now we are looking for the last suspect in this case who we believe is the shooter. He is Porjet Sukwanlee, 27.

The most recent arrest was that of Ekkarat Ponprasit, 25, who surrendered at Kathu Police Station, Lt Col Amponwat said but declined to give any further details on the arrest.

Everyone arrested in connection with this case has denied all charges made against them, he added.

Asked whether a forensic report had been received by his team, Lt Col Amponwat said, Forensic police collected information on November 2. We have received a report from them about the getaway motorbike used in the crime and Mr Sakols tuk-tuk, however, we are still awaiting their report of the bullets found at the scene.

Mr Sakol was shot dead in Kathu on Oct 25 in what police believe is a personal dispute. (See story here.)

Two suspects were initially arrested or their part in the public slaying of Mr Sakol.

Wattana Dam Nawakeaw, 38, was taken into custody after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Friday (Oct 28).

The second suspect, a 17-year-old who police named only as Tong, was arrested at a rental room on Sakdidet Rd on also on Oct 28. (See story here.)

Police then announced they had arrested the man who drove the motorbike used in the slaying of Mr Sakol.

The 28-year-old suspect, who police declined to name, was taken into custody in the northern province of Mae Hong Song after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Oct 31. (See story here.)
South Korean tourist dies during Phuket honeymoon

PHUKET: A 33-year-old South Korean tourist died during a snorkelling trip to Koh Hae (Coral Island) yesterday (Dec 12) after ignoring tour guides instructions to wear a lifejacket.

accidentsdeathmarinepolicetourism

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 13 December 2016, 10:24AM

Police make their investigation into Mr Jeong's death at Chalong Pier. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Maj Col Nareuwat Phutwiro, an investigator with the Phuket Tourist Police was informed at 10:30am yesterday that a South Korean tourist, named by police as Mr Jeong Yong Soo, 33, had died during a snorkelling trip to Coral Island.

Maj Col Nareuwat said, After making investigations we learned that Mr Jeong arrived in Phuket on Dec 10 with his wife to celebrate their honeymoon, the couple were due to depart from Phuket on Dec 14.

We were told that during the trip to Koh Hae Mr Jeong wanted to go snorkelling and was advised by the tour guide to wear a lifejacket which he refused to do. We believe that this played a part in his death, he said.

Mr Jeongs body was transferred to Dibuk Hospital after arriving at Chalong Pier.

Maj Col Nareuwat confirmed that the investigation into Mr Jeongs death is continuing.
Thai man, 36, arrested in Phuket for destroying government assets

PHUKET: Thalang Police arrested a 36-year-old Thai man early yesterday morning (Dec 12) after he set fire to an electricity pylon in Pa Khlok.

crimedrugspoliceproperty

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 13 December 2016, 11:30AM

Mr Raliek Seapsod, 36, (right) is questioned by police at Thalang Police Station. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Lt Col Anugoon Noogate, an inspector from Thalang Police Station, was called to investigate an incident where a man had set fire to an electricity pylon in front of the Sin Sunthon Bamrung School in Pa Khlok.

Lt Col Anugoon said, We discovered that the man, Mr Raliek Seapsod, 36, had set fire to electricity pylons nine times before. We also learned that he was previously jailed for four years after being found in possession of about 350 methamphetamine pills (ya bah).

At the scene of the latest incident officers found a lighter, tyre, bamboo pole, T-shirt and and his motorbike, Lt Col Anugoon said.

Locals told us that this is not the first time Raliek has set fire to electricity pylons, according to them, he has done it about nine times, he added.

After being taken to Thalang Police Station Raliek was found to be under the influence of an unknown substance which may have caused his unusual behaviour.

Raliek has now been charged with destroying government assets, and police will continue to question him to find the true motive of his actions.
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BUTTE -- The assembled graduates heard messages of hope and congratulations.

"You have a community of people who believe in you and have seen firsthand your determination, your strength, your desire to overcome any obstacle that may confront you," Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney told them.

The commencement earlier this year was not at a high school or a university. It was in Butte District Court Judge Kurt Krueger's family drug court.

As their friends and family members watched, Cooney exhorted the graduates to break with the past and reshape their lives.

The Butte-Silver Bow Family Drug Court was started in 2004 and is one of four family drug courts in a state of about one million people. Three others serve Missoula and Yellowstone counties and Fort Peck Indian Reservation, a tribal court in northeastern Montana.

Child abuse and neglect cases in Montanas district courts have more than doubled since 2010, according to Beth McLaughlin, administrator for the states Supreme Court. In the first three quarters of 2016, 1,839 cases have already been filed.

Judges from across the state and the Department of Health and Human Services report drug use  specifically methamphetamine  is fueling the spike in case filings.

Krueger said meth's increase since early 2015 has been driven by price and availability, which, he added, also lures youths who may initially use alcohol, prescription medications or marijuana and then go on to experiment with meth.

Krueger first practiced law in Butte beginning in the early '80s and was elected to the District Court bench in 2001. As a young boy he dreamed of becoming a lawyer. By college, he viewed the profession as a way to help people change outcomes.

Krueger started the family drug court with duct tape, glue and some wire after determining a drug court for juveniles may be limited in tackling the root of addiction stemming from family substance abuse.

Breaking the cycle of chemical dependency compels the judge and his team of professionals to take a holistic approach and strive for permanency for children, who they say deserve to live in a sober and nurturing home environment. Krueger believes family drug courts work.

When I say they work, it appears to be the most successful program to have parents be sober, and sobriety is our major function," he said, adding, "We teach them how to be good parents.

The first drug court opened in Miami, Florida, in 1989 to address the rise in drug-related court cases and to reduce recidivism and substance abuse. It was also a response in part to the crack cocaine epidemic raging across the U.S.

Family drug courts were created to reinforce treatment and bolster outcomes in child abuse and neglect cases for parents suffering from substance abuse. The first one opened in Reno, Nevada, in 1995.

As in adult drug courts, participants receive chemical dependency treatment, attend status hearings in court, submit to frequent testing for drug and alcohol use, and are subject to a system of rewards and sanctions based on their progress.

Krueger said the family drug court model supports and encourages healthy parent-child relationships and demands accountability in the workplace and at home.

It has a greater success than incarceration or even probation, because it provides our participants with structure. It provides them with opportunities. It provides them with services that they normally dont get," he said, crediting the expertise of his team as essential to the program.

A decade after the first family drug court opened, more than half of U.S. states reported an increase in drug court participants whose primary drug of choice was methamphetamine, according to Virginiabased National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

This year the association reported that 3,057 drug courts operated in the U.S. as of Dec. 31, 2014, a 24 percent increase in five years.

Citing numerous studies, NADCP Director of Communications Christopher Deutsch said drug courts reduce recidivism by an average of 14 percent. But, he added, the best drug courts are reducing it by as much as 80 percent.

The research has also found that drug courts are most effective at reducing recidivism when treating people with long criminal histories and the most severe substance use disorders. Drug courts are twice as effective at reducing recidivism when serving this high-risk, high-need population, Deutsch said.

Federal funding for drug courts reached an historic high of $93.9 million in 2014, a more than 47 percent increase over the previous five years. Last year, appropriations soared to a new record of $110 million, a testament to their life-saving, crime-reducing and budget-controlling contributions, the report noted.

In Montana, a January 2015 report by the Office of Court Administrator of the states Supreme Court confirmed drug courts continue to provide a strong investment in the recovery of drug and alcohol dependent persons involved in criminal, child abuse and neglect, and juvenile cases.

The OCA analyzed data over a 78-month period from May 2008 to October 2014 and found that drug court participants are increasingly a high-risk, high-need population, but are performing at an improved level. In addition to enhancing public safety, the data indicates that offenders who participate in drug court are less likely to reoffend than those who are imprisoned.

Forty-three percent of family drug court participants indicated methamphetamine was their primary drug of choice, followed by alcohol (29 percent), marijuana (12 percent) and OxyContin, an opioid, (8.5 percent).

Of the nearly 2,200 adult and juvenile participants who entered Montanas drug courts in the reporting period, 59 percent graduated  a rate better than or on par with national findings. During the final two years in 2012-14, the graduation rate for adult drug courts was 67 percent, 45 percent for family drug courts and 50 percent for juvenile drug courts.

Montana drug courts costs per participant of $4,721 are less than the national average of $6,008. A cost-benefit analysis by the OCA found that the program saves state taxpayers money, resulting in a decrease in re-arrests, court cases and incarceration rates.

As Krueger looked out at the sea of faces in his courtroom during the graduation ceremony earlier this year, he said the journey for each drug court participant ranged from a year and a half to two years. The court followed the Olympic Games model of awarding bronze, silver and gold medals.

You start out with a bronze coin and then you get a silver coin, he told the graduates. Upon graduation you get your gold coin.

Dressed in a suit and turquoise tie, graduate James Cochrane said he wasnt going to cry despite his painful fancy shoes. His fiancee Chantell Azure, also a graduate, listened as he shared his story of addiction and his joy at seeing their four children among the well-wishers.

I tried to quit several times, because it was hard work, he said, adding that it takes a higher power and reaching out to others to avoid suffering alone in addiction.

If you think of addiction as a rock hitting a body of water, the first ripple effect is the addict, the second ripple is the family, the children, the mothers, sisters  Cochrane said, his voice cracked with emotion.
After 20 years as the Codington County auditor, Cindy Brugman retires

Codington County Auditor Cindy Brugman will see through one more election night ballot count before passing her title down to Brenda Hanten.
VICTOR  Are you ready Miss Piper?

The lights on the Vgo robot standing a couple of feet away from Victor Kindergarten teacher Sue Lane blink happily.

Is your paper folded short and fat or long and skinny?

Short and fat, comes Pipers response.

On tiny tables surrounded by tiny chairs, the rest of Lanes kindergarten class finishes folding their own pieces of paper into four little squares.

Math class is set to begin.

On the other side of town  across busy Highway 93  6-year-old Piper Heinz is keeping a close eye on her teacher on the electronic tablet that rests on the familys kitchen table.

She draws the same candy canes, presents and Christmas stars that her classmates at school do as they learn a lesson on how to add and subtract. When her classmates hold up their fingers to show the answer, Piper does the same.

And when the lesson comes to an end, her classmates make a beeline to the robots camera to share their work with their friend.

They all love Piper, Lane said, with a smile.

***

The sweet little blonde-haired bundle of joy was born with cystic fibrosis.

At first, her parents werent sure that she would survive.

I didnt know anything about cystic fibrosis back then, said Pipers mother, Virginia. Its genetic. I had no idea I carried that gene, but now I know so does 80 percent of the population.

People with cystic fibrosis have a defective gene that causes a buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas and other organs.

In the lungs, that mucus can trap bacteria, which can lead to extensive lung damage and respiratory failure. In the pancreas, the mucus prevents the release of digestive enzymes that allows the body to break down food and absorb nutrients.

Before people understood its dangers, children born with the disease often didnt live to see their first birthday.

It was called failure to thrive, Heinz said.

Piper cant digest food without medication. Her lungs have to be manually cleared by someone carefully pounding on her chest. Whenever she goes out into public, Piper wears a mask to protect herself from germs that might stray her way.

I suppose in a perfect CF world, a person wouldnt be around anyone or anything, Heinz said. They would be a bubble child. Germs are very dangerous to her.

But thats not the life anyone wants for Piper.

She started kindergarten this year and went to school with her mask for the first few weeks until her mother heard the annual flu outbreak had arrived in the area.

Heinz and the school knew the day would come that it wouldnt be safe for her to be with her classmates.

When Piper came into the school, we all realized that she was going to have a tough time, medically speaking, said Victor Superintendent and Elementary Principal Lance Pearson.

Pearson said he didnt know very much about cystic fibrosis initially. When he began researching the disease, he came across some information about how people were using robots to allow home-bound children to stay connected with their peers.

As a former kindergarten teacher, Pearson said he knows how important it is for children of that age to be able to interact with other kids.

They want to be able to see their classmates, Pearson said. They learn as much from their peers as their teachers. When I saw that robot, the light came on. I thought this is what we could do for her.

No one knew for sure just how well it might work.

***

Instead of being forced to go out and buy one, the school turned to an organization called MonTech thats headquartered at the University of Montana.

The organization offers a variety of assistive technology items for people with a variety of disabilities and health conditions.

Two years ago, MonTech purchased two robots that can be controlled over the internet. This year, Piper is using one. The other is being used by a student with a different diagnosis on the other side of the state.

Were really happy that were having this kind of success with both of them, said MonTechs clinical coordinator Julie Doerner.

Initially, Doerner said the robots were designed for tele-health applications to allow physicians to examine patients in isolated communities in a private setting.

When we first bought the robots, we just wanted to demonstrate how they work, Doerner said. We wanted to plant a seed at different conferences.

Someone had the idea they could be used to keep homebound students connected with their classmates. Last spring, MonTech made its first loan of a robot to a student in the Billings area.

Our loans do have a time limit, she said. Unfortunately, the robots are expensive. This does give school districts and others an idea about whether they are worth the investment.

So far, were hearing that kids love them, Doerner said. There are so many things that kids miss out on if they have to rely on other people.

***

Pearson said its been a great learning experience for everyone.

Even the kids in class are getting something out of it, he said. Most importantly, its been a neat tool for Piper to be able to interact with her peers.

The school is looking for a way to purchase its own robot for Piper.

Its one of those things that we need to do, Pearson said. We all love Piper. We want the best possible education for her.

Once the danger of the flu season has passed, Heinz said her daughter will return to school with her mask on.

She knows the flu would wipe her out, Heinz said. It could be life ending. Shes also very social. She wants to be with her friends.

Heinz has been thankful for the schools efforts to help her daughter.

Actually I bawled my eyes out when I heard the school was willing to do this, she said. People have gone out of their way to do wonderful things for her.

Pipers teacher knows how important it is for Piper to stay in touch for her classmates. Its not only Piper that benefits.

She sees it every day when the robot suddenly comes to life and starts moving across the classroom.

Thats always followed with excited shouts: Piper is here!

Socialization and friendship is what kindergarten is really all about, Lane said. They always get excited  sometimes too excited  when she comes in.

Everyone knows that there will be other times in Pipers life when she cant physically be there in the classroom, but the robot will still allow her to be with her friends.

Its going to be a great thing for her to have when they all get in middle school, Lane said. She will be able to go into the girls bathroom and talk. These will always be her people.
DECATUR  The capital campaign to build a new headquarters for the Northeast Community Fund is nearing the $1 million mark and just received a $10,000 matching grant a Decatur couple is giving to encourage first-time donors to contribute an amount of any size to the cause.

The donors, Tom Malenshek and Charlotte Hanks, were among four people who took a tour of the agency's facility Monday morning and told Executive Director Jerry Pelz and Campaign Chairwoman Regan Deering at the conclusion how they wanted to help.

We're big on matching grants, Malenshek said. The more people you have giving donations, the more people you have buying in to your organization.

Monday's informal event, intended to illustrate the different ways Northeast helps people in need as well as the limitations of its current building at 825 N. Water St., was the sixth such tour/coffee hosted by volunteer Joyce Keller since August. Seeing is believing, she said.

Indeed, tourgoers couldn't help but notice the walls of the conference room they used at the end of the tour consisted of boxes of paper and personal hygiene products stacked almost to the ceiling and that they couldn't even step into the lobby/clothing room, it was so crowded with people.

We're trying to perform about four functions in one area, Pelz said. Mostly we do a pretty good job, but sometimes it's kind of mass confusion out there.

Nicole Bateman, community marketing manager for the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County, said she was especially impressed by the agency's Family Investment Program, begun in 2014, providing intense case management to help move 14 families to self-sufficiency.

It's also a program Pelz hopes to expand at Northeast's future home, a 20,000 square-foot building in the 800 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the 400 and 500 blocks of East King Street and East Central Avenue.

The project is projected to cost $2.5 million for the building and $1.4 million for furnishings and a forklift.

Deering said the board wants to have the entire building cost in hand and/or pledged before construction begins and that previous tours/coffees have also led to significant donations. Anyone interested in helping is encouraged to visit www.northeastcommunityfund.org.

In addition to its food pantry, the Northeast Community Fund also provides clothing, small household supplies, micro-financing, utility and prescription payment assistance and other emergency funds, emergency and work-related transportation, sleeping bags and survival backpacks for the homeless and baby formula and diapers.
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In this Aug. 30, 2011, file photo, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil's chief executive smile during a signing ceremony in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. President-elect Donald Trump selected ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti via AP, Pool)
LETTER: Instead of dropping 'The Ode,' find another way to honour Labrador

Many writers to the Telegram have chimed in, some with vitriol, on the decision by MUN not to sing "The Ode to Newfoundland" at the recent or future graduation convocations. I am astonished, however, at the number who see no problem with changing its ...
DECATUR  The old upright piano at Garfield Montessori School has seen better days.

It's almost unusable, said Mary Miller, the choral teacher. It would not hold a tuning. I hadn't used it for years because of that fact. We had an electric keyboard and it's fine and it serves the purpose, but the sound of an acoustic piano is more attuned to the human voice. It's better for singing and accompanying voices or instruments.

The Parent-Teacher Association at Garfield has been fundraising and saving money for years toward buying new playground equipment, said President Tracy Hewitt. The money was sitting in the bank waiting to be spent. But playground equipment is permanent, and the district is undergoing a study on facilities usage. Nothing has been decided, but there has been talk of moving the Garfield Montessori program to another building.

Chung-Ha Kim, whose son attends Garfield and who is a member of the PTA, suggested buying a new piano.

The PTA was opening it up to proposals on how best to use the money, and I thought Garfield could use a new piano, she said. The one they had in the auditorium before this one was more than 20 years old and not in good shape.

Kim contacted a Millikin University alumna, Susan Lutz, of Steinway Piano Gallery in Springfield, who could get a good piano for a good price. The school bought a Boston upright, made by Steinway & Sons, for $8,000. It was made to order for the school, and it was delivered on Nov. 29. It will be featured in the orchestra concert at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14.

With good care, the piano should last the school for many years, Kim said.

It'll be used for just about every musical event at Garfield, in our general music class, and we'll use that piano since it's on stage where students have music class, it's right there to accompany singing, Miller said. Choirs will be able to be accompanied by that for concerts and rehearsals, also for the musical. The orchestra is using it to accompany their players in concerts and rehearsals. Everybody in the school is going to benefit at some point or another from that piano, hearing it and making music with it and maybe even on it. We're hoping to give lessons to students who are interested.

Music is an integral part of the Montessori program, with a band, a jazz band, choirs, an orchestra, the annual musical production, and music classes. Having a nice piano is critical, Hewitt said.

The big unveiling for the students was on Dec. 2, with Kim playing and Hewitt singing, using the new piano.

That was so they could hear what their parents and families had purchased for them, and get a firsthand look at it, Hewitt said.
ATLANTIC SKIES: Stellar asterisms  eye-catching pretenders to the constellation throne and just part of the bigger picture

Most everyone, or at least most amateur astronomers, are familiar with the constellations in the night sky to some degree. Many, however, may not be familiar with the numerous asterisms in the night sky. What is the difference between a constellation ...
Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar will lead the Indian delegation to the fifth India-Arab Partnership Conference in Muscat, Oman from December 14-15. The conference is being organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers in Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in partnership with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, supported by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Three statesJharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradeshwill showcase business and investment opportunities in their states to the Arab world. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Madhya Pradesh Industry Minister Rajendra Shukla and CEO of Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board Jasthi Krishna Kishore will head their state delegations.

The fifth India-Arab Partnership Conference is significant given that there has been a fresh injection of vigour into India's relations with the Arab world with several high level visits. The Arab world is collectively Indias largest trading partner with bilateral trade crossing US$ 180 billion. India sources 60 per cent of its oil and gas requirements from West Asia. Leading Indian companies are involved in activities ranging from manufacture of bus bodies, oil field drilling equipment and platforms to supplying heavy duty dumpers to phosphate mines.

The conference will aim at enhancing the flow of investments from both sides, accelerating pace of investment projects in a number of prioritised sectors, activating the existing joint ventures, providing a conducive environment for export promotion and sharing of expertise.
Azerbaijan violated the Karabakh ceasefire sixty times last night, firing some 900 rounds of various caliber weapons, this according to the NKR Ministry of Defense.

The ministry reports that intensive firing, including Istiklal long-range sniper rifles, was directed at Artsakh Defense Army positions in the southern (Hadrout) and eastern (Martouni) areas.

The ADA mostly refrained from responding in kind.

The ministry also refuted Azerbaijani claims that its forces shot down two Artsakh drones.
The US proposal for implementing a ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo is not acceptable to Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Belgrade on Monday.

Russia, which is assisting the Syrian government's offensive to expel rebels from East Aleppo, thinks it is necessary to define in advance the corridors to be used by the rebels in leaving the besieged city, EFE news quoted Lavrov as saying in Serbian capital.

"We can coordinate this with Americans very quickly. We undertake commitments to guarantee that these corridors won't be attacked by Syrian armed forces, while Americans undertake commitments together with their regional allies to get militants' consent to leave eastern Aleppo via these safe corridors," he said.

But the US, after initially endorsing the Russian plan, subsequently insisted on implementing the truce immediately without prior coordination, the foreign minister said.

"We have already gone through this. This will mean that militants will once again get a respite," Lavrov said.

"I hope they will stop sparing gunmen, that the United States as a serious power will use its influence on militants and on those who control gunmen apart from Washington, and that we will finally be able to solve this problem, honestly and caring first of all for the civilian population," he added.

Lavrov travelled to Belgrade for bilateral talks with the Serbian government and for a meeting on Tuesday of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council.
While the plan to build a neighborhood for Syrian-Armenian refugees in the town of Ashtarak, a half hour drive from Yerevan, never got off the ground, monies donated for the cause remian unused years later.

660 individuals filed application for apartments at the neighborhood to be called New Haleb. Estimates to build the neighborhood hovered around US$25 million, to be raised from the applicants and benefactors.

But the required funds were never raised and the project remained on the drawing board. Benefactors kicked in 52 million AMD (around $107,200 at todays exchange rate), of which the late Hrant Vardanyan contributed 42 million AMD.

The Coordinating Center for Syrian-Armenian Problems, an NGO headed by Armenias Ministry of the Diaspora, was responsible for the project.

In a 2015 Hetq article, the NGOs director, Lena Halajian noted that of the 52 million AMD, 10 million had been allocated for land surveys at the neighborhood site and that the remainder, 42 million, had been deposited in the ACBA Credit Agricole Bank in Yerevan.

The money remains in the NGOs bank account today.

When asked what will become of the money and whether it couldnt be used to assist Syrian-Armenians now in Armenia in other ways, Halajian says the money was donated for a specific purpose and can be only spent for other needs if the legal heirs of Vardanyan agree.

So far, the NGO isnt planning to present such a request to the Vardanyan family.
[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Israel Police arrested two Romanian terrorists last week. They had 22 forged credit cards in their possession when they were taken into custody.

Additional fraudsters were also arrested for similar crimes.

Police explain the thieves are alert and use technology to steal credit card information from unsuspecting shoppers.

As seen in the video, they attach their own double devices onto ATMs and unsuspecting card-users are in fact having their details recorded by the thieves. In other cases, there are also video cameras in place recording their actions.

Police report these thieves come from the Ukraine, Romania and other countries.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
This CBN report shows the extent of the hate attack perpetrated against the Living Bread Church in Jerusalem, an attacked believed to have been carried out by Muslims. Pastor Karen Dunham explains she refers to the attack as terror, nothing less. This is not the first attack as the church has been harassed in the past, but the pastor feels the correct path is to love them and forgive them. Church members held a prayer service outside, expressing hope as Pastor Dunham said despite the damage to the building, the church is still alive.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Hundreds have commented on social media including the new Facebook page set up to declare I too will not evacuate Amona, clearing wishing to send a clear message to military officials. The court-ordered evacuation deadline is December 25, 2016, the first day of Chanukah.

One post says Good morning. We start the day with the 605th Engineering Battalion announcing it will not take part in an evacuation of Amona, refusing to take part. Another speaks in the name of 9th Brigade as well as Duchifat, but all posts are anonymous.

In the meantime, the force that will be evacuating has prepared, members of Israel Police who were using an IDF training facility to drill the operation, as reported by YWN-ISRAEL.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Some laud the Health Ministry decision made last week while other lament it comes decades too late. The Health Ministry has approved accepting blood donations from Ethiopian-born Israelis, ending a policy banning acceptance of blood donations from them.

The matter became a media item during a Knesset blood drive in 2013 when MK (Yesh Atid) Penina Tamanu-Shata was told she cannot donate blood because she was born in Ethiopia. She was astounded, stating I am good enough to serve my country but for some reason, Im not good enough to donate blood. It is sad that after all these decades the state hasnt learned not to distinguish blood from blood or to not treat people equally

In line with the new ministry regulation, Ethiopian-born Israelis may now donate blood for as long as they have not visited Ethiopia over the past year prior to the blood donation. Certain other regulations pertaining to blood donations have been amended too, including the acceptance of blood from men maintaining a toeiva lifestyle for as long as they have not had such relations RL for a year prior to donating blood.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Parliamentary aide Shaked Hasson, who assists MK (Machane Tzioni) Merav Michaeli was stopped from entering Knesset by a guard who explained her dress was too short and did not comply with modesty standards. The guard pointed out her dress was above the knee and therefore, not in conformance with the Knesset modesty code. Hasson was eventually permitted to enter following the intervention of MK Michaeli. The guard reportedly apologized as Hasson explained she felt humiliated, but explained he was just doing his job as the dress code is enforced. Hasson explained she told him the dress and her leggings were indeed modest and the guard called over others and at one time, all five were looking at me, explaining she was utterly humiliated.

Michaeli immediately took it to the next level, insisting the dress code in Knesset cannot be used as another vehicle to oppress women.

When asked to comment, the Knesset spokesman explained only a woman may comment regarding the length of anothers womans dress and this incident will be addressed and the appropriate lessons learned. It is added that Knesset Director-General Albert Saharovitch recently released a memo reminding Knesset employees over the ban against flip flops and tank tops, but no mention was made regarding dress lengths.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Workers in the Chareidi Education Division in Jerusalem City Hall have launched a boycott of the division leader, Itamar Bar-Ezer. They have put the word out, for all employees under Bar-Ezer to stop cooperating with him and not to contact him for any reason.

One should realize this does not effect a few individuals for the division, which is instrumental to the citys chareidi community, includes forty employees who are responsible for chareidi education and funding. Bar-Ezer is also a veteran in the post and is viewed a wielding considerable power and authority in City Hall.

However, in recent years, there have been complaints from employees about inappropriate reference from him, and at times, workers demanded he be sacked from his post. Now, a city workers union has ordered employees not to cooperate with him in any way and those who violate the directive will be punished. Workers complain he does what he wishes when he wishes, feeling he answers to no one. The straw that broke the camels back was an incident which occurred this week. Bar-Ezer reportedly shouted at an employee publicly for watching toeiva movies instead of working while it was known to all no such incident occurred. This prompted the union to take action against him.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Chareidi parties in Knesset remain adamant in their opposition to an egalitarian prayer area near the Kosel, having stated more than once this is a deal-breaker that could topple the coalition.

A bill backed by Yahadut Hatorah, Shas and MKs from Bayit Yehudi and Likud seeks to grant exclusive authority to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to codify regulations for the holy site to bring an end to those in the non-Orthodox camp who constantly challenge the long-standing religious status quo at the location.

The bill seeks to set firm regulations into place to government activities and behavior at the site as the state is going to mark the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Kosel. Shas has initiated the bill, explaining there is no doubt the wording of the bill represents the majority of Israelis and the bill is intended to restore the Kosels honor and dignity. Actually, the bill began with the Chief Rabbis and then to Minister of Religious Affairs (Shas) David Azoulai and now in the form of a Knesset bill to the coalition.

The bill prohibits chilul Shabbos anywhere in the Kosel Plaza as well as prohibiting any kind of religious ceremony not approved by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. The new regulations also address attire (lack of modesty), as well as prohibiting one from providing any religious services not approved by the Kosel Chief Rabbi. Delivering speeches and holding placards, signs, playing musical instruments or music or singing without the approval of the Chief Rabbi of the Kosel would be banned as well.

Men are prohibited from entering the ezras noshim and vis versa. Persons not complying with regulation face a fine up to NIS 10,000 and up to six months imprisonment.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman responded to protests against him at a physicians conference held in southern Israel. He explains he did not disturb the protestors for he understands them and much of what they say is simply correct and he is working on the issues.

Minister Yaakov Litzman spoke to Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) host Razi Barkai, explaining the plans to build an additional hospital in Beersheva in addition to Soroka Medical Center. He stated there is already a plot of land allocated for it, a facility that would begin between 300-500 beds.

Galei Tzahal

Are you adding physicians and beds to Soroka?

Litzman

I have set up frontal emergency rooms in surrounding areas including Rahat and Dimona and this has removed considerable strain from the hospital. These emergency rooms can take care of many issues, almost everything other than a heart attack and other maladies that require hospitalization.

Galei Tzahal

Is there a MRI in these emergency rooms?

Litzman

No. perhaps you forgot that until a few months ago, there were no MRIs in some hospitals and I made sure to change this and continue working to improve.

Galei Tzahal

Something here is unclear to me. The speaker before you claimed there is one half the amount of doctors and beds in Soroka than in Tel Aviv. Is this correct?

Litzman

No. We also worked to bring more doctors to Soroka at a high cost. We are now renewing this with the Finance Minister. I cannot tell you an exact number but it is sufficient. We are now working to bring more specialists to the area.

Galei Tzahal

So the protest was simply a provocation?

Litzman

I never said this. If they want to protest I respect this. Not that I do not have what to say but they are entitled to protest. I have nothing against them and I have patience. Life expectancy in Israel is among the highest in the world but in the periphery, it is lower and it is not good and I am dealing with it.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The following is via Politico:

Moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem will be a major focus for Donald Trump, senior aide Kellyanne Conway said on Monday.

That is very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump, Conway told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on his Monday morning show. He made it very clear during the campaign, Hugh, and as president-elect Ive heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly.

Past White House hopefuls, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, reneged on their support to move the diplomatic post from Tel Aviv to the holy city. The United Nations does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital and most countries keep their embassies in the vicinity of Tel Aviv.

But Conway questioned why such a policy shift has not already occurred.

It is something that our friend in Israel, a great friend in the Middle East, would appreciate and something that a lot of Jewish-Americans have expressed their preference for, she said. It is a great move. It is an easy move to do based on how much he talked about that in the debates and in the sound bites.

(Source: Politico)
President-elect Donald Trump is vowing to corral the out of control cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But congressional Republicans and Democrats, aware of the tens of thousands of jobs the aircraft generates in 45 states, will be wary of any plans by Trump to cut the program.

A Monday morning tweet from Trump targeting the F-35 doesnt explain exactly how hell save billions of dollars in military purchases while also honoring a campaign vow to rebuild the armed forces. Once Trump is in office, he can propose deep cuts to the F-35 or even elect to cancel the program altogether. But Congress, not the president, controls the governments purse strings and makes the final decisions about the budget.

Built by defense giant Lockheed Martin, the nearly $400 billion price tag for the F-35 makes the program the Pentagons most expensive weapons acquisition ever. Despite the huge cost, the program has strong bipartisan support in Congress, where lawmakers view the aircraft as essential to national security.

After Trumps tweet, Lockheed Martins shares tumbled, wiping out nearly $4 billion of the companys market value. The F-35 program made up 20 percent of Lockheeds total 2015 revenue of $46.1 billion. U.S. government orders made up 78 percent of its revenue last year.

Whoever has this airplane will have the most advanced air force in the world. Thats why were building the F35. Thats why its important to not only the U.S., our partners and our partners like the Israeli Air force to have this airplane, said Jeff Babione, general manager of the F-35 program, at a base in Israel.

Israel and several other U.S. allies are also buying the F-35, expanding the programs international footprint. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Israel on Monday as Tel Aviv received the first two next-generation F-35 fighter jets that will help preserve the countrys military edge in the volatile Mideast.

The F-35, which uses stealth technology to avoid being detected by radar, is being built in different configurations to be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The Navys version, for example, is designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier.

Current plans call for the United States to buy nearly 2,500 F-35s. Close to $13 billion will be needed annually between 2016 and 2038 to hit that procurement number, according to the Government Accountability Office.

While the F-35 had massive budget overruns early on, the cost has stabilized and even dropped a bit following tough negotiations between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin, according to Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Trump is unlikely to squeeze more blood out of this rock, Harrison said.

Lockheed said that it has worked to lower the price of the F-35 by 60 percent and expected the aircraft to cost $85 million each in 2019 and 2020.

Companies from 45 states are involved in the F-35s production, with Texas, Georgia, California, Arizona and Florida playing the leading roles in testing and manufacturing the jet fighter. The company is teamed with more than 1,250 domestic suppliers to produce thousands of components ranging from highly sophisticated radar sensors to parts of the aircrafts fuselage, according to Lockheed Martin.

Overall, the F-35 program is responsible for more than 146,000 U.S. jobs, the company said.

The Lockheed Martin plant where the F-35 is being built is located in Texas Republican Rep. Kay Grangers district. Shes vice chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, represents the district next door to Grangers.

Thornberrys committee has supported buying more F-35s than the Obama administration had asked for in its budget request. The F-35 will replace an aging inventory of U.S. aircraft that many lawmakers believe are becoming increasingly unsafe to fly.

Claude Chafin, a committee spokesman, said Thornberry shares the president-elects determination to have the Pentagon get weapons in the hands of our troops faster, while being better stewards of the taxpayer dollar.

The tweet on the F-35 marks the second time in a week Trump has blasted U.S. aircraft spending. Last week, he tweeted that costs to build new presidential planes by Boeing Corp. were out of control and ended the tweet with Cancel order!

(AP)
Hillary Clintons campaign Monday said that the Obama administration owes it to the American people to tell what it knows about Russian hacking of Clinton campaign emails and those of the Democratic National Committee as it attempted to sway last months election.

Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, whose emails were stolen and posted on the internet, said never before in the history of our Republic have we seen such an effort to undermine the bedrock of our democracy.

Podesta said the campaign supports an effort by a handful of members of the Electoral College, including a Republican who says he wont vote for President-elect Donald Trump, to be briefed on U.S. intelligence on potential links between Trumps campaign and Russia.

Ten electors on Monday released an open letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper requesting information about ongoing investigations on ties between Trump and Russian government interference in the election.

Podesta agrees with Senate Intelligence Democrats who last week called for President Barack Obama to declassify and make public intelligence information on Russias attempts to interfere in the election.

The administration owes it to the American people to explain what it knows regarding the extent and manner of Russias interference and this be done as soon as possible, Podesta said in a statement.

The letter from the electors, released on the social media site Medium, was written by Christine Pelosi, the daughter of top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California.

Minority Leader Pelosi, D-Calif., who receives super-secret intelligence as one of the top leaders of Congress, followed hours later with a call for an investigation by an independent commission.

The U.S. intelligence community has determined that Russia interfered in U.S. elections, Pelosi said. There must be no equivocation or ignoring the seriousness of the intelligence communitys conclusion about Russias actions.

None of the electors is likely to vote for Trump anyway. The votes are cast on Dec. 19.

Nine are Democrats and the sole Republican to sign the letter is Chris Suprun, a Texas paramedic who says he wont vote for Trump, citing a Federalist paper by Alexander Hamilton that says electors must determine that the president is qualified and independent from foreign influence.

Suprun attracted national attention with a New York Times column last week in which he said Trump is someone who shows daily he is not qualified for the office.

The letter says the Founding Fathers envisioned the Electoral College as a deliberative body and not simply a rubber stamp to ratify the results.

The Constitution envisions the Electoral College as a deliberative body that plays a critical role in our system of government  ensuring that the American people elect a president who is constitutionally qualified and fit to serve, the electors wrote.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have passed laws designed to bind members of the Electoral College so that they are not faithless electors.

(AP)
Syrian forces in the city of Aleppo pinned rebels into a tiny sliver of territory on Monday as President Bashar al-Assads troops appeared close to capturing their biggest battlefield prize and delivering a crushing loss to opposition fighters.

Taking full control of Aleppo  a key northern city and one of the last urban strongholds for the rebels  would not end the more than five-year-long conflict that has ravaged Syria and scattered millions of war refugees across the Middle East and Europe.

But Aleppos fall would mark a major setback for rebel factions and leave them  and their Western and Arab allies  struggling for ways to keep the anti-Assad rebellion alive.

On social media, some people wondered whether they were posting their final words.

I am waiting to die or be captured by the Assad regime, wrote Ameen al-Halabi, a photographer. Pray for me and always remember us.

Rebel officials said their forces were pulling out of district after district in the face of overwhelming force by Syrian ground troops backed by Russian air power. By nightfall, rebels controlled no more than a 10th of the eastern Aleppo neighborhoods they had once hoped to use as a seat of power to rival the capital, Damascus.

The battle of Aleppo has reached its end. It is just a matter of a small period of time, no more, no less . . . its a total collapse, said the director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, who goes by the pseudonym Rami Abdulrahman.

He said rebel forces had withdrawn from all districts on the eastern side of the Aleppo River after losing a key area, Sheikh Said, in overnight fighting.

After repeated attempts to take back Aleppo, a pro-government offensive has smashed rebel defenses there and left armed opposition groups ready to surrender. But while rebel officials say they have agreed to evacuate the city, under the terms of a deal proposed by the United States and Russia, pro-Assad forces have continued their seemingly unstoppable march through what remains of the enclave.

Defeat of the rebels in this strategic city, once Syrias economic powerhouse, would be devastating for what remains of the broader fight against Assads rule.

It also would give the government an important morale boost, a day after the Islamic State militant groups recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra underscored the armys deep manpower shortages.

More than 100,000 people are thought to have fled the fighting in eastern Aleppo over the past two weeks, often arriving in government- or Kurdish-held areas with nothing. But those who remain have said they cannot leave.

Some fear getting caught and even disappearing in the dragnet of government detentions. The United Nations has received reports that the rebels have stopped people from leaving.

They have been killing us for so long, why would they have mercy, asked one resident, who gave his name as Ahmed al-Shaer.

Inside what remains of rebel-held eastern Aleppo, most residents sheltered in their houses on Monday as bombs rained down and government troops grew closer. The area has been shattered, and monitoring groups say hundreds have been killed there in the latest offensive.

Residents said Monday that roads in the rebel-held districts were awash with civilians camped out and huddling in the winter cold.

Life in Aleppo has become a slow death, Shaer said. You watch everything and everyone dear to you disappear.

A video posted to Facebook, apparently filmed in recent days, revealed a grim snapshot. In a makeshift field hospital, blood covers the floor. Out on the street, the air is filled with smoke and flames, and in the middle of the road, a figure staggers to its feet, burning.



(c) 2016, The Washington Post  Louisa Loveluck
An Interview with Reb Dan Waldman with the Five Towns Jewish Times

Reb Dan Waldmans remarkable life is a microcosm of much of modern Jewish history. He was born in Galicia to a family of Belzer Chassidim. They soon moved to Poland. On Sept. 1, 1939, the Nazis YS invaded Poland, and miraculously the Waldman family managed to escape to Russia. Unfortunately, the rest of their extended family perished in the Nazi holocaust.

Reb Dans father passed away in Siberia, and after the war, he found himself in East Germany. From there he made it to Eretz Yisroel, where he fought in four wars, 1956, the war of attrition, the Six Day War, and the Yom Kippur War. He watched the miracle of the first day of the Six Day War unfold, and his unit, the 101st, was the one that liberated Yerushalayim.

Reb Dan shared the nissim and niflaos that he was privy to observe with students in the Five Towns/Far Rockaway community.

After the pilots came back from the sorties over Egypt, Reb Dan explained, They themselves were shocked at the remarkable success rate. Some pilots came back with a 150% success rate. Others 200%. Others 133%. These pilots were so taken by the open miracles that many became baalei Teshuvah. The air force was so frightened of the consequences of pilots becoming frum  that they forbade Rabbis from coming onto the base  lest they convince them to become shomrei Torah uMitzvos.

In Az Yashir we read the reaction of the nations in the aftermath of the exodus from Egypt, Then the chieftains of Edom were startled; as for the powerful men of Moab, trembling seized them.. Rav Chaim Shmulevitz ztl (Hagaddah of the Roshei Yeshiva of Mir p. 226), asks that this pasuk seems to be revealing some great chiddush or insight. Yet is this not obvious that when faced with open miracles people are startled and tremble?

Rav Chaim Shmulevitz answers that, in fact, it is not. It is the nature of people not to change themselves even after seeing open miracles. This explains, said Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, why people around us now are not changing after seeing the open miracles of the Six Day War. This shmuess was delivered in June of 1967 in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim. The Mirrer too experienced an open miracle when a bomb that crashed through the ceiling did not explode.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE MIRACLES OF THE SIX DAY WAR?

We say them in Al HaNissim. Gibborim beyad chalashim. We had 200 planes. They had three entire air forces. Rabim byad meatim  We had 2 and  million Jews  they had four entire nations. There were numerous numerous miracles.

THROUGHOUT THE FOUR WARS YOU REMAINED A FRUM JEW  WHAT INSPIRED YOU?

I had two inspirations. Before my father passed away, he told me that he was not going to make it. He told me to always remember to be a frum Jew. I was not zocheh to a full Yeshiva education like you kids are. But this lesson of my father  I shall never forget.

Also, Rav Shmuel Bergstein ztl, the only Musmach fo Rav Elchonon Wasserman hyd took me in as a family member and inspired me greatly.

WHAT DID YOU FEEL WHEN YERUSHALAYIM FINALLY CAME BACK INTO JEWISH HANDS

There was no feeling like it in the world. I remember though soldiers saying that they will not liberate Yerushalayim from shaar haAshpa  they went in through shaar HaAriot  the Lions Gate. Everyone realized that these were open miracles. Chareidim in Bnei Brak, and even the most secular people.

WHAT DID THE FIRST DAY OF THE WAR FEEL LIKE?

The truth is that Hashem won us this war, not in six days, but in six hours. There were such nissim. The Jordanians new that our plains were bombing those of the Egyptians. They sent a message to Egypt. Hashem made it that they changed the codes the previous day and did not inform the Jordanians. This was yad Hashem. The complete destruction of the Egyptian air force in hours. This was Yad Hashem.

In fact, none of the military schools in any country teach from the Six Day War. It was too miraculous and there are no military lessons that can be taught.

Reb Dan Waldman is in New York to celebrate the engagement of his grandson David Waldman of West Hempstead, NY to Atara Rosen of Lawrence, NY.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
It was blistering cold in midtown Manhattan on Sunday afternoon as former UN Ambassador John Bolton and other leaders stood outside the UN  in the presence of major national media outlets  urging President Barack Obama and his administration to have Israels back during the final weeks of his presidency. Referring to the weather, Mr. Bolton, rumored to be the pick for Undersecretary of State in the Trump administration, quipped, This is what it feels like for Israel in the UN on a good day.

Ambassador Bolton was joined by Morton Klein, President of the Zionist Organization of America; and Dr. Joseph Frager, Odeleya Jacobs, Dr. Paul Brody and Duvi Honig , members of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerces Public Policy Committee, which arranged the news conference. (The conference was sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America and National Council of Young Israel.) Aaron Klein, noted author, radio host and Breitbart News Jerusalem Bureau Chief, traveled in from Israel to address the conference as well.

Mr. Honig opened the conference by thanking Ambassador Bolton for his longstanding support for Israel. He mentioned how Yaakov Avinu prepared to defeat the enemies of his People through tefillah, Mr. Honig recited a kapitel Tehillim followed by the tefillah of Acheinu at the podium.

Dr. Frager explained that the goal of the press conference was to protect the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel from the castigating of Israel that the UN is infamous for. The conference also served as the official launch of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerces mission to Israel on January 3rd and 4th, to strengthen U.S.  Israel economic ties. Former governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, among other high ranking officials, business leaders and activists, will participate in the mission.

Focusing on the weeks ahead, Mr. Klein of the ZOA cited the real basis for fear that the enemies of Israel will utilize these final weeks of the Obama administration to harm Israel at the UN. Specifically, there is the fear that the Obama administration will now support, or at least refuse to veto, UN resolutions that are damaging to Israel  unlike the administrations policy up until now.

Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Ambassador Samantha Power refused to say whether they would go along with a UN declaration of settlements in East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as illegal. According to Wikileaks, senior Obama aides were discussing supporting a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood. The administration has also as of late been using harsher than usual language condemning Israeli construction within existing boundaries. Perhaps most concerning have been the recent declaration of support for unilateral Palestinian statehood by former President Jimmy Carter and The New York Times editorial page. We believe that this is orchestrated, said Mr. Klein, noting that an official Palestinian delegation is currently in Washington to lobby the administration to support its goals at the UN.

Dr. Frager pointed out that approximately 20% of the UN budget is covered by the United States, and our nation therefore has leverage to keep UN anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment in check. The PA cant use the UN instead of negotiating, he explained.

He was followed by Aaron Klein of Breitbart who detailed the various potential UN resolutions that may be pushed in the upcoming weeks. They include, among others, unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, a timetable for statehood declaration, or a declaration that Israeli settlements are illegal. This is almost a sick jokea diplomatic assault, said Mr. Klein, detailing the Palestinians repeated refusal to accept a state at the negotiating table.

Ambassador Bolton was the final speaker of the conference, utilizing his impeccable diplomatic pedigree to sound the alarm about the very far reaching repercussions that would result from a US abandonment of Israel at the UN. He pointed to the bipartisan US consensus for nearly half a century that a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be imposed by other countries. It is a fiction that a resolution across First Avenue will lead to lasting peace, he said.

The ambassador and other speakers then took questions from the audience, and expounded in greater detail how virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Israel Mahmoud Abbas and other moderate Palestinian leaders, not to mention Hamas, are  making it all the more dangerous if statehood gains momentum at this moment.

Mr. Honig concluded by expressing appreciation to President Obama and his administration for their repeated vetoes of anti-Israel UN resolutions in previous years, and other instances of support for Israel. He expressed hope that the administration will continue down that path through its final days. The enemies of Israel are trying to hijack the UN to harm the Jews, Mr. Honig summed up. Dont get blinded by the hate!

(By Shimmy Blum  YWN)
Two major events were recently held for our community Bais Yaakov mothers and students, that will have a lasting impact on all.

Organized by our coalition of Bais Yaakov principals, and under the guidance of Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim, an incredible Kiddush Shem Shomayim took place. The message of the events were Raising the Level of Kedusha for All Bnos Yisroel.

Hundreds of mothers gathered to listen to Rebbetzin Rina Tarshish, an inspirational speaker and principal at Mesoras Rochel Seminary in Yerushalayim, who expounded on the challenge of technology in todays generation. This was followed by practical suggestions given by Mrs. Faige Zelcer, founder of Penimi, who composed a well regarded school curriculum on technology.

The following day this message was delivered at an historic Asifa. Rebbetzin Tarshish, along with Rabbi Yissocher Frand, addressed over 1500 eleventh and twelfth grade high school students from area Bais Yaakov schools. The event was simultaneously streamed live to dozens of Bais Yaakov schools around the country and Canada. The Asifa made a powerful impression on the students.

Rebbetzin Tarshish discussed the importance of Mesorah, and when it comes to technology, we, too, are a generation without a Mesorah. Our mothers and grandmothers did not grow up with cell phones; they did not provide us with guidance as to how to limit the perfidious influence that threatens to overwhelm and overshadow all the good that we do.

We have no nisayon to turn on a light on Shabbos, continued Rebbetzin Tarshish. We are Makpid on particular Hechshreim for Kashrus, going the extra mile without complaining. Yet when it comes to cell phones, we look for the easy way out. Reasons for having internet can range from school to shopping convenience to ease of communication with the office. This is despite the deleterious effect that excessive cellphone use, even filtered, has on every member of the family. Rebbetzin Tarshish concluded with a plea to the girls to take the difficult route, since they are the legion tasked with creating a Mesorah for future generations.

Mrs. Zelcer discussed the findings that even secular scientists have discovered about the negative effects of excessive texting, WhatsApp, and other social media. Young adults are not learning how to conduct face to face conversations; true empathy is non-existent. This overdose of communication results in an insatiable fear of being left out, commonly known today as FoMo. Incessant picture texting has led to the public sharing of all aspects of life, from shopping to vacations to engagements and the list goes on ad infinitum. Girls are deluged with information that they do not want and do not need, and feel tremendous social pressure to join the WhatsApp and text groups to share their lives as well. The resultant lack of privacy, explained Mrs. Zelcer is affecting our newly married couples too, who cannot help but compare themselves to this virtual ideal.

Rabbi Frand held the massive audience at the edge of their seats as he described the pitfalls of unlimited cell phone use and their effects on our society. He bemoaned the lack of sustained attention in our adolescents and adults, who surreptitiously look at their cellphones an average of 6 times an hour, and discussed the concept of mesiras nefesh,

Rabbi Frand concluded by setting up foundational commitments that he asked of his audience of Bais Yaakov girls. He strongly suggested never to go to sleep with the phone in your room, he appealed to anyone who does not have a smart phone, not to get one, and to use the phones just for calls not social media.

The cumulative impact of the impassioned pleas from these major speakers, who were flown in for this specific purpose, was immeasurable. The students were encouraged to translate their inspiration into deeds and make immediate long-term commitments to limit their cell phone use. Many approached their principals made commitments on the spot.

This historic Asifa was termed the start of a revolution. The tide is now beginning to turn, against the proliferation of smart phones, WhatsApp, texting etc. Bais Yaakov students, along with their parents, are committed to bring back privacy, peace of mind and sanctity into our homes.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan pledged Tuesday to implement new sanctions against North Korea, including capping the countrys coal exports to choke off cash flowing into its nuclear weapons program.

After meeting in Seoul, the envoys said the countries agreed to maintain an around-the-clock information sharing system to monitor how sanctions are working.

Responding to North Koreas nuclear and missile tests this year, the United Nations Security Council recently voted to tighten sanctions by limiting the countrys coal exports, one of its major sources of foreign currency.

The effectiveness of the sanctions is dependent on the commitment of China, North Koreas most important ally and its biggest buyer of coal. Joseph Yun, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, said Chinas announcement over the weekend that it would freeze imports of North Korean coal until the end of the year was an encouraging sign.

We look forward to more cooperation from the Chinese authorities, and with their full cooperation, I do believe the intended effect of cutting revenues that go to North Korea will be done, Yun said.

After the toughening of the U.N. measures, South Korea and Japan also announced new, unilateral sanctions against North Korea.

South Korea banned its citizens from engaging in financial dealings with dozens of high-profile North Korean officials and entities. The North Korean officials include two of leader Kim Jong Uns closest associates, Choe Ryong Hae and Hwang Pyong So, and the blacklisted entities include those involved in coal exports and the dispatch of laborers abroad.

Japan said it will expand its blacklist of individuals, groups and vessels suspected of ties to North Korean weapons programs. It also plans to more strictly block visits by North Korean officials and penalize related groups, including ones in China.

(AP)
Israel launched an investigation Tuesday into a poster bearing the image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind a noose, sparking a debate over the limits of freedom of expression in an increasingly polarized society.

The poster, a riff on the hope poster from U.S. President Barack Obamas 2008 campaign, was plastered in the hallway at Jerusalems prestigious Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, apparently by a student, and swiftly removed. The word hope in the original poster was replaced by the word rope.

Noam Sharvit, a Justice Ministry spokesman, said the probe was launched to look into suspicions that the poster incited to violence.

Israels Culture Minister Miri Regev, a staunch Netanyahu supporter, wrote on Facebook that artistic freedom is not freedom to incite, and called for Bezalels funding to be cut. Dovish opposition legislators said such a move would trample on the right to free expression, while acknowledging the poster was in bad taste.

What disturbs me in this context is the immediate lashing out that calls for denying funding to Bezalel, Zehava Galon, from the opposition Meretz party, told Israeli Army Radio. We need to leave wide margins for freedom of expression unless it borders on bloodshed.

Israel has a flourishing arts scene bolstered by world class academies, galleries and museums.

Last week an artist erected a golden statue of Netanyahu in a central Tel Aviv square that drew a stream of selfie-taking passersby before being toppled by a bystander. The statue was interpreted as a commentary on his lengthy rule and reputation for a lavish lifestyle.

But critics say that dissent is being stifled under the current government, the most nationalistic in the countrys history.

Regev has been one of the prime targets of that criticism, with many liberal Israelis saying she expects their artistic output to conform to her nationalistic worldview. Regev has publicly clashed with liberal actors and entertainers, and has threatened to cut funding for institutions that refuse to perform in West Bank settlements.

Adi Stern, the president of Bezalel, told Army Radio that the poster had been taken out of context. He said it appeared with a poster of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin with the word traitor printed underneath. Such posters were common ahead of Rabins 1995 assassination, part of a climate of incitement that many say inspired the killing. Another sign on display at the academy read: Its called incitement.

Stern said he interpreted the display as a general commentary on incitement.

Ahead of Rabins assassination, Netanyahu, who served as opposition leader at the time, addressed a protest in downtown Jerusalem where demonstrators held posters portraying Rabin in an Arab headscarf or Nazi uniform. Netanyahu denies he incited against Rabin in the months leading up to his death, claiming he didnt see the banners or hear violent chants.

(AP)
Some 800 mispallalim arrived at Kever Yosef on the night of 13 Kislev (Monday to Tuesday) in PA (Palestinian Authority) occupied Shechem. The visit was coordinated with the IDF and soldiers and border police were on hand for the protection of the visitors.

Despite Oslo Agreement clauses guaranteeing Jews free access to this and other holy sites, PA residents were out late at night to attack the mispallalim. Rocks and bottles were flying. Security forces responded and the mispallalim were able to continue in safety. Bchasdei Hashem there were no injuries.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Knesset on Monday evening approved MK Moshe Gafnes Affirmative Action Bill in its second and final readings, passing it into law. Gafne explained the bill will provide a fair chance for new immigrants and chareidim alike as it addresses both populations.

When fighting to gain support for the bill, Gafne stated This is a very interesting phenomenon that must always be taken it into account when you have achievements. When was affirmative action for Arabs, Druse, Circassians, women, people with disabilities, Ethiopians  it passed. When it comes to chareidim however, legal advisors, both men and women on the committee, exhibit resistance to the matter for chareidim. This will not occur.

Gafne threatened to topple the coalition over the legislation, insisting he will not tolerate the continued discrimination that exists against the chareidi tzibur at large. 35 MKs backed the bill and there were no abstentions.

The law is designed to ensure there is fair representation among the ranks of civil service from the chareidi community as must be the case with other communities.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
With the Jewish community becoming more responsive to the growing drug epidemic that has taken all too many young lives in recent months, the need to come to terms with this insidious trend has become more important than ever. In an effort to provide greater awareness and understanding of drug abuse, a group of five organizations have joined forces for an evening that promises to take concrete steps to help those dealing with addiction and their loved ones, in the hopes of avoiding future tragedies.

The event, taking place on Wednesday, December 14th at the Woodmere Fire House at 7 PM, is a joint effort of Amudim, Project Extreme, The Living Room and the Woodmere Volunteer Fire Department, sponsored by the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. In addition to discussing drug abuse, the evening will also feature a training session in the use of Narcan, a medication that can reverse the effects of heroin overdoses, as well as some other types of painkillers, when administered within the prescribed time frame.

The overdose rate has been plaguing our community for several years and we need to combat this in all ways possible, noted Rabbi Zvi Gluck, director of Amudim. In addition to raising awareness, we need to teach people that there is help available and that there are resources and services out there that can hopefully save lives.

Narcan, an FDA approved nasal spray from of naloxone, was approved by Governor Andrew Cuomo several months ago for over the counter sales, making the lifesaving medication available to all New York State residents. While Narcan is available at many major pharmacies, it is also available free of charge at numerous registered opioid overdose prevention programs throughout the state. Many of these facilities offer training so that both medical professionals and non-medical persons can safely administer the drug and prevent an overdose from becoming fatal.

We want people to know that there is help available in the case of overdoses, said Gluck. Dozens of lives that we know have been saved by civilian use of Narcan, making it crucial to train those who come into contact with those dealing with a drug addiction in the use of this lifesaving medication.

Simcha Leibowitz, clinical director of Project Extreme, noted the importance of bringing the issue of drug abuse and its treatment into the public forum.

Having worked with this population for so many years and having lost some of our finest clients and campers to drug overdoses, we see that there is a vital need for awareness of these types of issues and to be equipped to take preventive steps to prevent further losses.

While some have argued that making Narcan readily available enables drug users, Menachem Poznanski, clinical director of The Living Room, wholeheartedly disagrees.

It is essentially the same thing a using a defibrillator for someone in cardiac arrest, noted Poznanski. Sometimes you need medical intervention. At the same time, it is important to educate people about what addiction is so that they can engage those in their lives who are struggling from a place of compassion and a place of education, so that they never get to the point where Narcan is necessary.

Having lost too many friend to addiction over the past year, Gavi Liebowitz was heavily involved in organizing the event.

I think that this is the first step in putting a stop to this terrible loss of life, said Liebowitz. I fully believe that one of the most important things we can do is to educate people about the signs of drug addiction, from how to help those in crisis to using Narcan, which can literally and physically, save lives.

Among the featured speakers of the evening will be Mrs. Rebecca Glassman, who lost her 28 year old son Ari to a heroin overdose seven months ago.

We have to make people aware, said Mrs. Glassman. If we sweep this under the rug and pretend that nothing is going on then we will never be able to fix this problem. People need to know that this exists in the Jewish community. We dont need to lose any more children than we already have.

For more information email [email protected] or call or text Gavi Liebowitz at 213-280-0525.
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The creation of Sky with its UK customer base of 11.5million paid subscribers and its reach in the German and Italian pay TV markets has been a triumph for British technology and has bolstered the country's reputation for creative and independent news programming.

Along with ARM Holdings (now owned by Japan's Softbank) and Vodafone, it is one of the few world class high-tech companies to break out of the pack and join the elite on the FTSE 100.

This is partly because of the willpower of Rupert Murdoch and his family which saw off the initial challenge of British Satellite Broadcasting and invested in the best technology kit rather than distribute all gains in dividends.

Nevertheless, minority investors, corporate governance mavens and the defenders of media plurality have good reason to treat the 10.75-a-share offer from 21st Century Fox (worth 18.5billion) with a long spoon.

Dynasty: James Murdoch returned as chair of the Sky board this year having put a safe time and distance between his previous role at News Corp after the phone-hacking scandal

The offer, revealed late on Friday, was greeted like the relief of Mafeking by some Sky shareholders and in parts of the media.

But the 40 per cent premium to the price on December 6 is not all it seems.

The 5 per cent rise in Sky shares ahead of Friday's bid means the premium was closer to 35 per cent rather than 40 per cent.

A 15 per cent fall in sterling since June 23 reduces the cost of the premium to Fox to 20 per cent.

The fall in Sky shares in 2016 means in fact that much of the premium is negligible. Moreover, under the 2014 deal in which Sky bought out the minority shareholding in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia, 21st Century Fox collected 4.9billion cash.

This effectively was a rights issue intended to help fund an offer for Time Warner. That same cash stumped up by Sky investors is now being used to help fund the 11.1billion which Fox must find to buy up the 61 per cent stake.

Sky's minority investors partly are being bought out with their own money.

The circular nature of all this is made possible by the peculiar governance of the Murdoch empire.

For reasons beyond comprehension, James Murdoch returned as chair of the Sky board in April of this year having put a safe time and geographical distance between his previous role at News Corp after the phone-hacking scandal.

Rightly, minority shareholders didn't much like the return of the prodigal son who, in the meantime, had become chief executive of 21st Century Fox where the Murdoch family owns 10 per cent of the equity but has 40 per cent of the vote.

When investors voted in July more than 50 per cent rejected the return of the younger Murdoch.

In spite of a decisive rejection 'independent' directors led by Martin Gilbert of Aberdeen did not challenge the appointment but went along. Now the same supine bunch has rushed into acceptance of the 21st Century Fox offer as if the bidder was offering frankincense and myrrh.

Irrespective of Gilbert's reputation as one of the City's more robust figures, the deal raises questions as to whether the non-executives have been firm enough in their resolve.

Away from the intricacies of price and governance, a decisive issue is likely to be media ownership.

Last time it was the opposition of then Business Secretary Vince Cable and eventually the Coalition government which kept News Corp at bay. We are supposed to believe everything is different this time.

It is hard, however, to conclude that 21st Century Fox is any more acceptable as a buyer than old News Corp before.

To all intents and purposes the leadership of 21st Century Fox and new News Corp is the same, with Rupert Murdoch and the family votes and shareholdings all but identical.

The arguments, then, boil down to changes in the media landscape. The internet, we are told, is the second largest source of news. Together with convergence as represented by AT&T's bid for Time Warner, BT's entry into the TV market has changed everything.

Maybe, but the AT&T deal could yet be blocked. The proposed merger of CBS and Viacom has been abandoned. And Facebook et al are under fire for 'fake news'.

Moreover, the closure of the News Of The World has not resolved the ethical taint. News International in Britain is still involved in civil suits related to the antics of the 'Fake Sheik'.

There must also be concern that under Fox control Sky News will be politicised in the manner of rabidly Right-wing Fox News in the US.

Theresa May's government should lose no time and seek an Ofcom review. It would be surprising if the European competition commissioner didn't want to take a look too.

The suggestion is that Fox will seek to rush through the deal with a court sponsored Scheme of Arrangement. That should be halted.

Bad scan

Still on the topic of foreign takeovers, the latest UK tech firm looking to wave farewell to these shores is E2V Technologies heading into the hands of California-based Teledyne.

As always the premium looks too good to be resisted. Britain's post-Brexit prospects depend heavily on the UK's high-tech excellence.
British holidaymakers heading abroad are facing pricier trips next year thanks to Brexit uncertainty, sterling depreciation, rising oil prices and ongoing geopolitical events, a leading online travel firm warns.

Four in five UK travel companies surveyed by Travelzoo are bracing themselves for price increases in 2017. One fifth of those say the increase could be as high as 15 to 20 per cent.

Travelzoo says that until now, travel companies have been absorbing price increases on costs such as hotel rates set in euros in popular spots like France and Spain - and many have been selling holidays at prices set before June's EU referendum.

Heading up? Research from Travelzoo suggests travel agents could be charging up to 20% more for popular holiday destinations next year

But it adds that businesses cannot do this indefinitely.

Last week, travel firm Mark Warner wrote to customers who had already booked trips to say it was having dish out an additional surcharge of up to 50.

Its managing director said in a letter to clients: 'It will be necessary and unavoidable for us, for the first time in many years, to invoke the surcharge clause contained within our contractual terms and conditions.'

Joel Brandon-Bravo, managing director of Travelzoo UK, said: 'The impact of sterling's fall in particular has not really been felt in holiday pricing to date, however all the signs are pointing in the direction of price hikes for many popular holiday destinations in 2017.

'In Britain, the travel industry serves two masters; firstly, the UK economy  which is currently feeling the effects of Brexit, with a pound worth much less than this time last year.

'Secondly, the wider global market  one that's reeling from rising oil prices, travel bans to north African sun destinations, and safety concerns in other traditional holiday destinations.

'If one catches a cold, the other can normally soak up the additional expense. However, when both are struggling  as they are right now  something has to give.'

Travelzoo spoke to 15 different travel agencies last week for the research.

Cape Town: The South African city has made Travelzoo's travel list for 2017

This year has seen the largest proportion of Britons holidaying abroad since 2011, with 86 per cent of the population heading away, according to the Association of British Travel Agents.

Travelzoo's research shows a growing sense of consumers looking 'beyond Europe', with a quarter saying they're avoiding European holiday destinations, due to concerns over the falling value of the pound and the general safety of Europe.

Joel Brandon-Bravo adds: 'For those looking to minimise the impact of these imminent price hikes we would advise consumers book early for peak holiday periods such as summer 2017, consider destinations that have more favourable exchange rates and be open-minded.'

'If destinations such as Sharm el-Sheikh and Tunisia remain closed to the UK this will continue to put pressure on pricing to ultra-popular Western Mediterranean destinations.

'The world is a large place  perhaps 2017 is the year to break out of predictable holiday destinations and try somewhere new.'

Ljubljana: The Slovenian city may be hard to pronounce, but Travelzoo predicts it could see a surge of tourists next year

It predicts some unusual spots will see a rise in UK tourists next year as they offer good value for money.

The five spots it has picked is Cape Town, South Africa; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Tivat, Montenegro; Zighy Bay, Oman and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Cape Town makes the list as the South African rand still remains weak against the pound. Ljubljana thanks to direct flights and the fact the next First Lady of the United States hails from Slovenia.

Tivat is included thanks to new direct flights from EasyJet and warm temperatures. Zighy Bay was named one of Lonely Planet's best in travel destinations for 2017 and Colombo thanks to it being one of the cheapest long-haul destinations.
Some of the world's biggest investment banks have lost millions to a suspected rogue trader at a failed investment firm, documents reveal.

Investigators are probing Invexstar Capital Management, which was based in the City and whose collapse last year cost five giant lenders 120million.

The business went bust after building up a 2billion trading position in bonds  despite having less than 1million of capital.

Investigators are probing Invexstar Capital Management, which was based in the City and whose collapse last year cost five giant lenders 120m

Its collapse hit customers including international lenders BNP Paribas, Nomura, Morgan Stanley, ING and Mizuho International.

BNP is thought to have lost 50million alone, and Nomura almost 30million. In a tribunal earlier this year, it was revealed Nomura had a 526million position with Invexstar.

This led to the biggest individual trading loss in the Japanese bank's history.

It later emerged that the trader  Italian Alberto Statti  who is also Invexstar's co-founder and sole employee, had run it without being given regulatory permission to trade.

Invexstar's administrator SFP said it had uncovered evidence which might allow creditors to recover some cash.

It has brought in a forensic accountant to do detailed investigative work, and instructed lawyers to look at possible claims.

Administrators revealed they could not provide any more information as it could make efforts to recover the money more difficult.

Any criminal investigation would likely be managed by City of London Police, which declined to comment yesterday.

Invexstar's collapse was hugely embarrassing for the City institutions which lost money, and raised questions about their attitude to risk.

Statti, 49  described by colleagues as 'a very colourful and funny guy'  had been responsible for two other failed firms before setting it up.

Nomura sacked its trader Giovanni Lombardo for his dealings with Statti after the losses became clear although there is no question of any criminal behaviour on Lombardo's side.
Booming: Heathrow has recorded its busiest ever November

AIRPORT SOARS Heathrow has recorded its busiest November on record, welcoming 5.72million passengers last month, up 2.5 per cent year-on-year.

The airport, which is the Government's preferred location for boosting runway capacity in south-east England, said growth was driven by the use of larger aircraft such as Airbus A380s, A350s and Boeing 787s.

Emerging markets performed strongly in terms of passenger numbers, with Mexico, China and the Middle East all up 8 per cent.

MORTGAGE PROBE The financial watchdog is to probe the mortgage market as part of efforts to improve competition for consumers and ensure borrowers receive value for money.

The Financial Conduct Authority has launched a market study to consider if consumers have enough information to choose products, and if they are in a position to understand whether they are cost effective.

The review will also explore if commercial arrangements between lenders, brokers and other players lead to conflicts of interest.

FRENCH SALE Barclays is to sell its French retail banking business to AnaCap Financial Partners as it continues a drive to undergo a restructuring.

The deal  for an undisclosed sum  will see the lender shed 74 retail branches and a life insurance business, as well as wealth, investment management and brokerage operations in the country.

It means Barclays has completed its exit from consumer-facing banking in continental Europe. However, it will retain its corporate and investment banking businesses in France.

CLEANERS STRIKE Cleaners on Great Western Railway are to stage two 24-hour strikes in a dispute over pay and conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union employed by contractors Servest UK will walk out from 6am on Friday, December 16 and from the same time a week later.

The dispute, involving almost 200 workers, is over a number of issues including pay, annual leave and the use of agency workers.

The union is calling for agency workers to be made members of GWR staff to end the current situation of a 'two tier' workforce.

RIGHT NOTE British banknote manufacturer De La Rue is set to buy the authentication unit of DuPont Electronics and Communications in an all-cash deal worth $25million (19.8million).

De La Rue said the acquisition of the Utah-based business is in line with its five-year strategic plan, helping to 'transform the group into a technology-led security product and service provider'.
Ultimate Products is currently in the process of floating on the London Stock Exchange

The maker of homeware brands Salter, Beldray and the NutriPro smoothie machines has appointed the former boss of Poundland to help steer the business through a 100million stock market flotation.

Jim McCarthy, 60, who was chief executive of Poundland from 2006 until July this year, will serve as chairman of Ultimate Products.

McCarthy helped grow Poundland from a 300million company to a 1.3billion-a-year empire with over 900 stores.

Ultimate Products, which is currently in the process of floating on the London Stock Exchange, is hoping he can recreate its success.

The company boasted a record year, thanks to the popularity of its domestic appliances, housewares and audio devices.
Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority are buying a 8bn stake in Rosneft

Officials will probe Glencore's joint purchase of a 19.5 per cent stake in a Russian oil producer.

The commodities giant and Qatar Investment Authority are buying a 8billion stake in the Russian state-owned group Rosneft, in a deal part-financed by Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo.

Rosneft is under US and EU sanctions due to Russia's annexation of Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014, which the EU said was illegal.

A European Commission spokesman said: 'We are aware of the case and are currently looking into the details of it.

Rosneft is an entity explicitly targeted by some of the EU's restrictive measures.'

Last week, US international energy envoy Amos Hochstein said the US was also 'looking at what the implications are'.
German politicians are piling pressure on the buyer of the London Stock Exchange to junk a pledge to keep it based in London.

Deutsche Boerse is trying to seize control of the 215-year-old institution in a 21billion deal.

The two companies insist their tie-up will be a merger of equals but the new business will have a German boss and Deutsche shareholders will hold a controlling stake.

Target: Deutsche Boerse is trying to seize control of the London Stock Exchange in a 21bn deal

The firm will be based in London  but this cast-iron promise has come under attack since Britain's vote to quit the European Union.

The Germans see the headquarters as a prize which would allow them to build up a rival financial services power base, harming the British economy in the process.

Michael Boddenberg, head of the ruling Christian Democrats in the Hessen regional assembly  which includes Frankfurt  has been the latest to step up pressure.

He said: 'The seat of the joint exchange holding company after a possible merger of Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange must be Frankfurt.

'After the vote of the UK to leave the EU it is in our view ruled out that London can be considered.'
Italian banking giant UniCredit is to axe one in ten of its workers and ask investors to cough up billions in cash so that the lender can keep itself afloat.

The shake-up comes as Italy's banking sector finds itself on its knees, with some of its banking giants crippled by debt and in need of aid. The nation's banks are weighed down by 360billion in bad loans that it is feared won't be repaid due to the weak economy.

UniCredit's shake up will see the company shed 14,000 jobs, around 11 per cent of its workforce, while it is also shutting around a quarter of its 3,800 branches.

Drastic action: UniCredit has unveiled a 13billion fundraising and plans to cut 14,000 jobs but the Italian banking sector remains in a woeful state for both savers and investors alike

Early next year it plans to launch a record rights issue - asking investors to find 13billion (10.9 billion) in cash to help it remove nearly 18billion of bad debts from its balance sheet.

The capital raising is the bank's fourth since the financial crisis began in 2008 and by far the largest.

The announcement was greeted as good news and offered brief respite for investors as the bank's stock rose 15.9 per cent per cent in Milan this session, having more than halved in value this year.

The shares of rivals UBI Banca, Intesa Sanpaolo and Monte dei Pasch also moved higher, while leading banks in the UK also made minor gains off the back of the plans.

Chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier said the group was taking 'decisive actions' to offload its bad debts and 'improve and support recurring future profitability'.

He added: 'We have developed a plan which is pragmatic, with tangible and achievable targets, which depends mostly on cost and risk management levers which are firmly under our control.'

Chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier said UniCredit was taking 'decisive actions'

As well as increasing its financial strength, the group is also hoping its overhaul will see it post a profit in 2019 and resume shareholder dividend payments.

Since Mustier took over in July, the bank has sold its Polish subsidiary Pekao and the Pioneer investment arm, as well as a 30 per cent stake in the Fineco internet banking business.

But the major problem for the Italian Government and global bank investors remains rival Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which is trying to raise 5billion to avoid a rescue.

Italy is also in a bind due to new bank bail-in rules. These mean that bank investors must take a hit rather than the bank being bailed out by the Government.

However, Italy's largest banks have sold large numbers of their bonds to ordinary savers - and those Italians are terrified they could lose their savings and investments if nothing is done.

This means that the nation would rather bail out its banks and rescue those savers, but Italy has been told by the European Central Bank that it cannot bend the rules.

It looks increasingly likely that Italy's oldest bank will require some form of state aid before the end of the year and new Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni told parliament that Italy would be prepared 'to intervene to guarantee the stability of the institutes and the savings of citizens.'

Gentiloni was sworn in yesterday after previous Italian PM Matteo Renzi resigned after losing a referendum on changes to the country's constitution.

Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets, said: 'While it is welcome news that an Italian bank CEO is finally grasping the nettle of the problems facing his particular bank, this isnt the first time that Unicredit has tapped up its shareholders for extra cash in the last 8 years.

'Investors will be hoping that this time will be fourth time lucky, given that the shares are down over 55 per cent over the last twelve months, with any decision likely to be made in the New Year.'
The departing boss of struggling Mitie has been given a payoff worth more than half a million pounds.

Baroness McGregor- Smith, who quit her job at the outsourcing firm in October after claiming her children complained they didn't see enough of her, will be paid her salary, pension, car allowance and other benefits until the end of October next year.

The businesswoman, who is being replaced by Phil Bentley, the former managing director of British Gas, will receive 445,355 for the remainder of her notice period  which expires in October next year as well as 76,000 in legal fees.

Baroness McGregor- Smith will be paid her salary, pension, car allowance and other benefits until the end of October next year

Her departure follows a tough time for Mitie, which issued a surprise profit warning in October and sent shares tumbling to a six-and-a-half-year low.

The firm also last month revealed it was pulling out of the home healthcare business, blaming rising wage costs for a collapse in profits.

Baroness McGregor- Smith, who took home 2.5million in pay and bonuses last year, said she will spend more time at her 2.8million home in Ascot in Berkshire.
Tells MPs transitional deal will be discussed 'early on in negotiations' with the EU

Says 'large numbers of people' will be needed to hire and train new border staff

Interim deal is needed to put 'significant infrastructure' in place to deal with adjustment of Brexit

Hammond takes swipe at Brexit colleagues by saying 'thoughtful politicians' want a transitional deal with the EU

Brexit could take more than two years to deliver, Philip Hammond warned today as he widened Cabinet splits by saying publicly for the first time that he wants to strike a transitional deal with the EU.

Taking a swipe at Cabinet colleagues opposed to the idea, the Chancellor said there was an 'emerging view' among business leaders, regulators and 'thoughtful politicians' that a transitional deal after Brexit will be needed.

Interim arrangements relating to Britain's relationship with the EU immediately after Brexit are needed to avoid financial disruption, he said.

Mr Hammond also warned that 'large numbers of people' will be needed to be hired and trained to deal with a five-fold increase in border checks, which would cost 'hundreds of millions of pounds'.

But the added costs could be offset by new tariffs by any new tariffs charged on imports by the UK Government, he added.

Brexit could take more than two years to deliver, Philip Hammond, pictured at the Treasury Committee today, warned as he widened Cabinet splits by saying publicly for the first time that he wants to strike a transitional deal with the EU

He told MPs on the Treasury committee that the issue of transitional arrangements will need to be discussed at the start of Brexit negotiations next spring.

'Collectively I think transitional arrangements would be beneficial to us,' the Chancellor said in the firmest statement in support of a transitional deal.

This has put him in direct opposition to some of his pro-Brexit Cabinet colleagues, who fear a transitional deal will effectively keep Britain in the EU for years as we would be forced to continue paying billions into the EU while a permanent arrangement is agreed.

Just last week a leaked memo revealed Brexit Secretary David Davis told representatives from the City of London Corporation (CLC) that he is 'not really interested' in seeking a transitional deal with the EU.

He said he thought it 'unlikely' Britain would stay in the European single market after Brexit, as the EU would be 'inflexible' about the need to retain freedom of movement.

Chancellor Philip Hammond, pictured at the Treasury Select Committee today, said that the issue of transitional arrangements will need to be discussed at the start of Brexit negotiations next spring

And last month a sheet of notes accidentally exposed to photographers revealed some ministers are 'loathe' to seek a transitional deal with the EU because 'Whitehall will hold on to it' and try to keep Britain in EU schemes for years.

The idea of a transitional deal is one of the issues that is dividing the Government over its Brexit strategy. Businesses have called for an interim deal to avoid the sudden hit to trade when Britain cuts ties with Brussels.

Last month Theresa May signalled she supported the idea after she told business leaders they would not face a 'cliff edge' when we leave.

And today Mr Hammond said a transitional deal would help smooth Britain's adjustment to life outside the EU.

Just last week a leaked memo revealed Brexit Secretary David Davis, pictured told representatives from the City of London Corporation that he is 'not really interested' in seeking a transitional deal with the EU

He told the Treasury committee: 'There is, I think, an emerging view among businesses, among regulators and among thoughtful politicians as well as I think quite a universal view among civil servants on both sides of the English Channel that having a longer period to manage the adjustment between where we are now as full members of the European Union and where we get to in the future as a result of the negotiations that we will be conducting, would be generally helpful, would tend towards a smoother transition and would run less risks of disruption, including - crucially - risks to financial stability, which must be a very real concern.'

Asked if this meant he supported a transitional deal, Mr Hammond replied: 'That's another way of putting it, yes.'

Alarmingly, he suggested a transitional deal could cover more than two years, which could restrict the Prime Minister's ability to reduce immigration.

Asked whether a couple of years was the 'bare minimum' needed to adjust to life outside the EU, Mr Hammond explained there was a conflict between the 'political will to get things done and move on' and the 'bureaucratic and or business desire to have the longest period possible to make any change'.

He said it wasn't just businesses that needed a period of time to adjust to cutting ties with Brussels.

Chancellor Philip Hammond, left, took a swipe at Cabinet colleagues - including Brexit Secretary David Davis, right, who are opposed to the idea of a transitional deal, saying there was an 'emerging view' among business leaders, regulators and 'thoughtful politicians' that a an interim deal will be needed

'I wouldn't like anyone to think this is just about financial services,' Mr Hammond said.

'For example, depending on what future custom arrangements are between the UK and European Union there could be quite significant infrastructure changes that need to be changed at ports of entry and exit, not only in the UK but on the continental Europe as well.

'There could be a need to train large numbers of people in anticipation of a much more intensive process at borders.'

VAT RAISED FROM JO COX SINGLE WILL GO TO CHARITY, HAMMOND ANNOUNCES The money raised will go to a range of different charities Jo Cox, pictured, supported VAT raised from sales of the Christmas single in memory of the late Labour MP Jo Cox will go to charity, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced today. A cross party group of MPs have recorded a special version of The Rolling Stones' hit 'You Can't Always Get What you Want'. It is due out on Friday and also includes Kaiser Chiefs' frontman Ricky Wilson, Cockney Rebel's Steve Harley, KT Tunstall and David Gray. The money raised will go to a range of different charities Ms Cox supported, including the Royal Voluntary Service and White Helmets, the volunteer search and rescue civilians who risk their lives to help victims of the civil war in Syria. Mr Hammond said: 'Jo Cox dedicated so much of her life to helping people less fortunate than herself and the charity named in her honour is carrying on that excellent work. 'It is only right that we do what we can to support that work and I am pleased to confirm that every single penny of sales from this single will go towards the good causes the Jo Cox Foundation supports.' Advertisement

He added: 'It is true that in certain conceivable outcomes, there would be a very substantial increase in the numbers of customs submissions and customs inspections. We are talking about - in EU trade - perhaps five times as many submissions and inspections being required.

'It could certainly add hundreds of millions of pounds to the cost of operating the customs services.'

Mr Hammond continued: 'So it's not just the business sector, it's also the government sector that has to think about how long it takes to make changes, hire people, train people, introduce IT changes and I think the further we go into this discussion the more likely it is that we will mutually conclude that we need a longer period to deliver.'

His strong public backing for a transitional deal suggests he is at odds with Mr Davis.

The two were understood to be allies over the need for a pragmatic solution to Britain's departure from the EU, in contrast to other Cabinet Brexit supporters, such as International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Just last week leaked notes about Mr Davis' meeting with representatives from the City, which were obtained by the Financial Times, revealed that he suggested Britain could secure a trade deal like the CETA agreement between the EU and Canada, which will remove most trade tariffs.

The memo said he was looking for a future trading relationship 'somewhere in the middle of the models for Turkey, Switzerland and Norway'.

And he was quoted as saying that Britain's opening approach to the EU would be to offer 'open access on all services and goods without tariffs in the UK'.

A spokesman for Mr Davis's Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) insisted that the document did not 'properly reflect' his views or Government policy. The Brexit Secretary was 'looking at all options' to deliver a smooth and orderly exit from the EU, said the spokesman.

Business has been pushing for a transitional arrangement with the EU to prevent a sudden 'cliff edge' change in regulations and tariffs on the day when the UK leaves - probably in 2019.

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn told MPs this week that her members wanted 'an adjustment period' to adapt to the new arrangements, and Mrs May told the organisation's conference last month that she understood their concerns on the issue.

But the memo taken by a CLC representative of the November 15 meeting with Mr Davis recorded that he was 'not really interested' in the discussion around the arrangements (and) did not foresee any benefits'. A transition deal 'could be perceived as a delay to the process that is not something the Government can abide', the note said.

Today the Chancellor said both the UK and the remaining 27 members would need to agree on the need for a transitional arrangement rather than it being demanded by Mrs May during the negotiations.

Last month Theresa May, pictured earlier this week at a Gulf summit in Bahrain, signalled she supported the idea after she told business leaders they would not face a 'cliff edge' when we leave

Mr Hammond said: 'I don't think we should approach this on the basis that we need transitional arrangements, because I think we can only get to a situation where we have a transition if there is a genuine meeting of minds on both sides of this negotiation.'

He added: 'The further we go into this discussion, the more likely it is that we will mutually conclude that we need a longer period to deliver.'

In today's committee hearing Mr Hammond also cautioned that the UK's desire to engage in the freest possible trade after Brexit may not bear immediate fruit.

It was 'not necessarily' the case that 'because we have a desire for freer and more open trade, the short-term deliverable is more trade', said Mr Hammond. 'It may take time during the transition process to see the benefits of that.'

Mr Hammond said he had heard concerns about the stability of the financial services sector due to the change of regulatory systems expected as a result of Brexit. He told the committee: 'I would expect that this would be one of the process issues that we would want to discuss early on in the negotiations.'

And he said that he would like the UK to continue to participate in a number of cross-European programmes following Brexit.

'Programmes like science, technology, research and development, academic exchange programmes are hugely beneficial to this country and countries across Europe,' said the Chancellor.


Sir,



I am currently employed as a teacher and I have ardent interest in the RE curriculum, mainly because I studied Theology and religious studies at the University of Swaziland.



The RE curriculum scope covers a range of religious matters, religious ethics and explicates the subject of religion in particular. The religions covered by the curriculum are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bahai Faith and Swazi traditional religion.



Muslims complain that the teaching of Islam in schools is unwelcome, as they feel that their core beliefs are invariably misinterpreted and misrepresented.

They argue that this is because the teachers are not trained as experts in Islam like the imam; they dont have the specialised expertise to teach the religion.



This sounds perfectly true because I was only introduced to the fundamentals of this religion.

This is also the case with the Bahai Faith and Judaism. The only religions which I received extensive training in are Christianity and Swazi traditional religion.

Guess why? Because they are relevant to us and are manifested in our daily lives, conversations, practices and activities. Why teach a religion you dont even have the specialised knowledge in? I feel that pupils should be made to focus on these two religions in kindergarten and then only be introduced to the foreign religions at a later stage because they are only taught to forge international harmony.



Why are Swazi pupils being indoctrinated with the different faiths at an early stage as if they are to live and emulate their teachings?

The teaching of these religions in schools is premised on the ideology that multiculturalism is a fact of life and that it has brought along the aspect of dynamism. We live and work in a global village with people of diverse multicultural backgrounds.



So interfaith dialogues are staged to calm and dissipate racial hatred, antagonisms for which religious diversity is the major cause. The discussion of interfaith relations has a soothing effect on matters that border on the subject of religion in particular. Well, all this sounds perfectly fantastic and fascinating, but do we really need to produce Islamic specialists, for what?



Why do we feed the pupils extreme religious ideas and beliefs that might incite civil and political unrest? It is anticipated that the relevant stakeholders will engage in productive discussions to a point where the curriculum content will be modified and transposed, which will see Islam and Judaism being phased out in the curriculum as they impart no moral values to pupils.



Christianity along with Swazi traditional religion should be taught in elementary grades, to inculcate the pupils with a strong Christian spiritual foundation reinforced by a strong cultural background.

The phasing out of these religions in the RE curriculum does not mean they will have to be stopped; the followers are entitled to practice them as they are allowed by our Constitution.



S Shabangu




MBABANE  Speculation is to the effect that Ingatja is likely to be commissioned tomorrow by His Majesty King Mswati III, meaning the main Incwala could be danced on Saturday.



However, the Minister in charge of cultural events in the country, Princess Tsandzile, who heads the Ministry of Home Affairs, said information concerning the Incwala Holiday has not been communicated to her yet.



The regiments are eagerly waiting for His Majesty to commission the regiment to go and cut the sacred shrub. This only happens during the full phase of the moon after the dancing of the Little Incwala, which entered its 14th day yesterday.

Ingatja is the word that is used to describe young boys who participate in the fetching of the sacred shrubs (lusekwane) and red leaves (imbondvo) and other royal duties when assigned to do so.



The Ingatja and the regiment from the Hhohho region spent the night at Ntsanjeni Royal Kraal and they are expected to proceed to Ngabezweni Royal Residence today where they will camp until the King commissions them.

The Hhohho regiment will be joined by all the other regiments from the regions of the country and dance with the King before he commissions Ingatja.



Inkhanyeti Indvuna Masheshisa Kunene confirmed that Ingatja was yesterday commissioned at Buhleni Royal Residence to Ntsanjeni Royal Kraal.

Yes, the King has spoken. we are leaving Buhleni for Ntsanjeni Royal Kraal where we will spend a night and proceed to Ngabezweni. From there we will get the order from the King, he said briefly when called at around 2pm yesterday.
MBABANE  The recusal application is brought on baseless grounds and it undermines the public confidence and is aimed at impugning the integrity of the learned judge.



These were some of the submissions made by Medscheme in its answering papers where it is opposing the application for recusal of Judge Jacobus Annandale filed by Swazi Med.

In its application for the recusal of the judge, Swazi Med alleged that his (judge) impartiality was now in doubt.

This comes after the judge issued an alleged mysterious and/ or secret order in the matter.



It was also the companys (Swazi Med) submission that Judge Annandale was disqualified by his actions.

In his answering affidavit, Director of Medscheme Tim Rametse contended that Swazi Med was not entitled to request the judge to recuse himself because they were concerned that he might not find in their favour when possibly another judge could.



He alleged that this was precisely what the respondent (Swazi Med) was seeking through the application. He described the application as a deliberate stratagem aimed at preventing Medscheme from securing the relief sought in the main application (application to stop the shareholders meeting).



It is submitted that judicial officers should particularly be astute to ensure that the confidence in the Judiciary is not eroded which will be the consequence if judges recuse themselves every time a litigant is dissatisfied during the course of proceedings with rulings or interventions by the court, argued Rametse.



The Medscheme director further submitted that judges were not simply silent umpires but permitted to ask probing questions and bias was not established because a judge had ruled against a particular party.
MBABANE  There are more prostitutes in local schools than one can find on the street corners at night.



This is an observation made by Pastor Celani Mhlanga, who is concerned about the alarming increase of cases of children who are caught having sexual intercourse in schools.



His biggest concern is that such activities will definitely water down the national efforts to fight against the increase of HIV infections, STIs, unwanted pregnancies and abortion.



Mhlanga, who is the leader of Nation of God Church situated at Timbutini in Manzini, said local schools had become brothels instead of learning institutions, with girls going there dressed like prostitutes.



They wear miniskirts and mini tunics, revealing more than half of their thighs and leaving very little to the imagination. There has been an outcry about male teachers having sexual intercourse with their pupils, but everyone overlooked the fact that there are more prostitutes in schools than you can find on the street corners at night, Mhlanga said.

He highlighted that he did not understand the reason for wearing miniskirts and short tunics if it was not to seduce teachers, fellow pupils and other men.



It is sex everywhere, in class, in toilets and even in teachers houses. This is a nightmare for parents who still try to instil good practices to prevent their children from contacting STIs and falling pregnant. Imposing a curfew on their children is of no use anymore since the girls do not need to come home late to be pregnant.
By Bob Harris

The civic associations in Fresh Meadows have been concerned about the use of three hotels, which are being built in the neighborhood. Noting what is going on in other neighborhoods of Queens, the Fresh Meadows residents have been fearful that the hotels might be turned into homeless shelters. At a meeting arranged by state Sen. Tony Avella, however, the owners of the two Marriott Hotels being built along the north side of the Long Island Expressway at 183rd Street emphatically stated that their hotels are being built as regular hotels.

Avella convened the meeting of representatives from the West Cunningham Park Civic Association, Civic Association of Utopia Estates, Fresh Meadows Homeowners Civic Association, Fresh Meadows Tenants Association, and the East West United Realty in his office. The owners of the two Marriott Hotels explained that they will not rent out to the homeless because they have learned that hotels which take in homeless residents have had vandalism with rooms destroyed. They then cant get regular hotel guests to rent rooms and when they take in more homeless, they have more vandalism.

One of the hotels will be a Courtyard by Marriott and the other will be a Fairfield Inn. The owners have carefully thought out their plans. They plan to obtain customers from family members who have students in local colleges, family members of people in local hospitals, people passing through and from tour groups who will find it cheaper to rent out rooms in Queens rather than in hotels in New Jersey. It will be a quick ride from Fresh Meadows to Manhattan along the Long Island Expressway. They will also be close to sporting events in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The hotels will have meeting rooms, which can hold about 50 people and can be used for business meetings. They have no plans to have party events. There will be parking for 150 cars depending on how many buses there will be. The owners and the manager said they plan to open in March and will soon be reaching out to the community.

The civic association leaders came away from their meeting much relieved, but there is still concern about the hotel being built on 186th Street off of 64thAvenue. The owner of that hotel has never met with the local civic leaders and we dont know what his plans are. Avella is trying to arrange a meeting, but so far there have been no results.

GOOD NEWS OF THE WEEK: Federal prosecutors have brought charges against scores of people in India and the United States for operating call centers, which defrauded Americans with phony tax schemes. The crooks would call people and pretend to be from the IRS or customs officials or police officers and claim the victim owed money. The victim would be conned into buying a prepaid debit card, which the crook would then cash and send back to India. The con artists have bilked Americans out of about $300 million. People should realize that the U.S. government would never ask people to buy a debit card to pay a supposed tax bill. The crooks sometimes obtain personnel information about a victim to convince them that they are real officials. People should be very careful.

BAD NEWS OF THE WEEK: Airlines are reducing seat space and charging fees for someone to get more space or even bring a carry-on bag on a plane. To squeeze more money from people the airlines seem to be charging for everything these days. Economy class seats have shrunk an average width from 18 inches to 16.5 inches. And the space between rows of seats has dropped from 35 inches to 31 inches. If the person in front of someone in economy class pushes their seat back, the person in the rear is trapped in a box-like position. My wife and I had a bad experience flying economy class recently. We wonder if people squeezed into these small spaces are not in danger of thromboses because they cant stretch out or move around a lot.
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By Bill Parry

A double-edged crisis is playing out in Astoria where the leader of a faith-based non-profit sent out eviction notices to 39 residents just after Thanksgiving saying they had to vacate the premises before Dec. 31. The New York School of Urban Ministry housed low-income New Yorkers at the facility in dorm-style single rooms with common spaces and kitchens for more than 33 years, but its pastor, Rev. Peter DeArruda, believes he can make more money by having a service provider run a shelter-like operation at the location.

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) spoke with the pastor Monday and later stood with state Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) and dozens of residents and vowed to fight.

Money is at the heart of what is happening here, Van Bramer said. People. Innocent hardworking people are being tossed out of their homes at Christmastime by a Christian organization because of money. There is no other way to say it.

The residents, who pay between $400 and $500 a month, would not be able to afford market-rate apartments and would likely end up homeless, according to Van Bramer, who said they would get an extra month provided they sign away any right to challenge the eviction in housing court.

That is not an act of Christian kindness, thats more like a gun to the head, Van Bramer said.

Four tenants have already left despite the efforts of state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who made repeated visits to the facility advising residents to remain in their homes.

Only a modern day Ebenezer Scrooge would blind side residents with sudden eviction notices during the holidays, Gianaris said. I am continuing to advise tenants, some of whom have lived there for half a decade, of their legal rights and will support then as they fight for their homes.

The building, located at 31-65 46th St., is owned by the New York School of Urban Ministries, which hosts, trains, and deploys over 5,000 youth and adults for urban ministry each year by partnering with inner city pastors and churches in New York City, according to its website. The Department of Homeless Services had been interested in the property but not since Nov. 17.

At the time the city considered this property, it had no knowledge that there were residents living at this location who would be displaced, DHS spokeswoman Lauren Gray said. We are currently working to connect tenants at this location to free anti-eviction legal services.

The Legal Aid Society will examine all documents and assist the residents. DeArruda and his attorney, Ira Clair of White Plains, could not be reached for comment. The Department of Homeless Services has been asked to explain the situation but has not yet responded.

Kicking low-income residents out of their homes in the middle of December in the cold is heartless and asinine, Simotas said. This organization appears to be using scare tactics rather than lawful procedures and I will continue to work with tenants and my colleagues in government to ensure that no one loses their home due to this unconscionable money grab. We will band together, fight together. We are activated and awake and were going to make sure this does not happen.
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By Gina Martinez

Two Jamaica men have been charged in the shooting death of a 21-year old South Ozone Park man.

Jonathan Chan, 21, turned himself in Monday morning in the Sunday afternoon shooting death of Eric Assanah, police said. Chan was one of four suspects police were searching for. On Tuesday morning police arrested 21-year-old Shamar Daley. Assanah was shot at 131-37 135th Place at 12:22 p.m. Sunday, police said.. According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, Chan and three other suspects made their way into the first-floor bedroom where Assanah was in bed with his girlfriend and allegedly shot him. Assanah was found unconscious and unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the torso, the back and severe head trauma, police said. EMS pronounced him dead at the location.

This is another senseless act of gun violence, Brown said. The defendant allegedly unlawfully entered the victims residence with three other unapprehended individuals, crept into the first-floor bedroom and shot and killed the 21-year-old man. The victims girlfriend awoke to see her companion bleeding to death as the four men fled the scene. This was truly a nightmare come true for this young woman.

According to police, authorities were still searching for the two other suspects.

The dispute was allegedly over money. Chan had threatened to kill Assanah earlier in the day unless he received an undisclosed amount of money, Brown said.

Assanahs girlfriend allegedly stole money from Chan while at his home and Chan threatened retaliation if the cash was not returned, the Daily News reported.

Chan has nine previous arrests, including criminal mischief and criminal possession of marijuana, police said.

He was charged with second-degree murder, burglary and resisting arrest, the DA said.

If convicted he faces up to 25 years in prison, Brown said.

Daley has been charged with murder and burglary, police said.
Civilians and rebel fighters were to start evacuating from Syria\s Aleppo "within hours" under a deal reached Tuesday that would end years of opposition resistance in the city.

Rebel officials, Russia and Turkey confirmed the agreement which, if implemented, would mark a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad over opposition forces who rose up against him in 2011.

Russia\s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said the Syrian military had stopped its operations in Aleppo under the agreement, adding: "The fighting around eastern Aleppo is over."

Green government buses gathered at the edges of the divided Salaheddin district late on Tuesday, with some entering briefly but returning empty and parking on the outskirts again, an AFP correspondent said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the evacuations were now expected to begin around 0300 GMT.

The agreement came amid mounting global outrage over reports of atrocities, including dozens of summary executions, as forces loyal to Assad closed in on the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo.

Officials from several rebel groups told AFP there was a deal to allow civilians and fighters to leave Aleppo for opposition-held territory to the west of the city.

"An agreement has been reached," said Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group, adding that the deal had been "sponsored" by Russia and Turkey.

"The first stage will be the evacuation of civilians and wounded, within hours, and afterwards fighters will leave with their light weapons."

As the UN Security Council met in emergency session to discuss Aleppo, Churkin said: "There is indeed an arrangement achieved on the ground that the fighters are going to leave the city."

Turkey said that under the agreement civilians would first evacuate, followed by a withdrawal of rebel groups.

"While we are pleased with today\s step taken to secure a ceasefire, at the same time we must always be aware of the fragile situation in front of us and it is wise to be cautious," said foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu.

US ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council Washington wanted international observers in Aleppo to oversee the evacuation.

She raised concern for "people who wish to leave but who, justifiably, fear that if they try they will be shot in the street or carted off to one of Assad\s gulags."

In east Aleppo, a spokesman for the White Helmets rescue group said the prospect of leaving the city was devastating.

"How can someone leave his city?" said Ibrahim Abu al-Leith.

"Don\t think that we\re very happy about leaving. No one who gets kicked out of their country is happy."

An AFP correspondent in west Aleppo said there had been no sounds of fighting or bombardment since around 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) Tuesday and the Observatory also said it was quiet.

The United Nations and aid agencies had been pleading for an agreement to allow for the evacuation of thousands of civilians trapped in rebel territory.

After weeks of heavy fighting, forces loyal to Assad were on the verge of taking all of the city, dealing the biggest blow to Syria\s rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

The United Nations said it had received credible reports of at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, being executed by pro-government forces in Aleppo in recent days.

In Geneva, UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said pro-government fighters had in some cases entered homes and killed those inside, and in others "caught and killed on the spot" fleeing civilians.

The UN was "filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner of opposition-held eastern Aleppo," he said.

Witnesses in Aleppo described scenes of carnage in rebel areas, with bodies lying amid the rubble of city streets, as desperate residents sat on pavements with nowhere to shelter.

Syria\s army has taken more than 90 percent of the territory once held by rebels in east Aleppo, after launching an all-out offensive last month to seize control of the entire city.

Aleppo, a cultural and economic hub in northern Syria second only to Damascus in importance, had been split between a rebel-controlled east and government-held west since 2012.

It was unclear how many civilians remained in rebel territory, after an estimated 130,000 fled to other parts of Aleppo during the government advance.

Jan Egeland, head of the UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, told AFP that thousands of civilians were in need of evacuation and safe passage, including hundreds of wounded.

"We need a pause in the fighting but we also need to get the people inside to help organise an evacuation," he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said there was only a "last chance to save lives" in Aleppo.

The government assault has been backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes, with at least 463 civilians, including 62 children, killed in east Aleppo since mid-November, according to the Observatory.

Another 130 people including 40 children have been killed in western districts by rebel rocket fire, the monitoring group says.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees.

SOURCE: AFP
Beaver County preparing for robust Election Day

As the Nov. 8 midterm election approaches, nearly 114,000 people are registered to vote in Beaver County.
United Steelworkers Local 1999 President Chuck Jones speaks during a news conference Dec. 9 in Indianapolis. The local union president slammed by Donald Trump on Twitter says he won't stop saying the president-elect is inflating the number of jobs being saved in a deal with Carrier Corp. to stop the closing of an Indianapolis factory. PHOTO BY DARRON CUMMINGS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Here's one area in American life where the gender gap is narrowing: heroin abuse.

More men than women continue to use the highly addictive, deadly drug. But amid a heroin epidemic that has affected all segments of society  rich, poor, white, black, urban, suburban  use of the drug among women has risen markedly in the last decade, doubling between 2002 and 2014, according to federal data.

As part of a collaboration with WMHT focusing on the heroin epidemic in the Capital Region, "The Dragon Lives Here," the Times Union interviewed three women in the midst of recovery at an Albany treatment center called The Next Step. Below is one of those stories, about Ashley, a 26-year-old who lived a rough life on the streets supporting her drug habit.

More Information On the web: Go to www.timesunion.com/heroin to access: The Times Union/WMHT multimedia collaboration. More Times Union coverage on the epidemic in the Capital Region. Registration link for the Times Union/WMHT community conversation on heroin taking place 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at WMHT studios in Troy. See More Collapse

Monika

"This is where my story gets rough."

By the time 26-year-old Monika Spearman says this, she has already revealed more turbulence in her life than most people can imagine.

She'd used all manner of drugs, served time in jail, been stabbed by a boyfriend, danced in a strip club, worked as a prostitute, married her drug dealer, lost more than a dozen friends to heroin overdoses.

Spearman's family didn't model a disordered life, she said. She was a rebel.

"Everything I was told not to do, I did," Spearman said. "I love chaos. I just loved the street life."

Spearman began her story, nonetheless, with a loss: her mother's abrupt move from suburban Newburgh to Arizona, after rekindling a love with a former boyfriend. Spearman was 13.

Spearman started dating an older boy. She skipped school with him, drank and smoked pot. By 14, she was using cocaine and Ecstasy.

When Spearman moved to Arizona, the boyfriend followed. And then a confusing chain of events ensued, which included time in a juvenile detention center. She returned to New York to escape the boyfriend and crystal meth.

In Newburgh, she got a job at a strip club, something she had always wanted to do. With the $150,000 she made in eight months, she bought a townhouse and a BMW.

She snorted coke occasionally, until a friend of her boyfriend's stopped by, regaling her with heroin experiences.

"That's the one thing I never tried," said Spearman, who was 19.

They snorted a bag together. Spearman got more the next day. And then every day. And then 10 bags, then 20. Then the only way to keep from withdrawal was to shoot up.

Her savings dwindled. She got fired when strip club managers saw track marks on her arm.

"It was really bad," Spearman said of her addiction, then laughed: "How do you get fired from a strip club?"

Her boyfriend left. His mother took the BMW, which was in his name. Spearman could no longer afford the townhouse.

"I hit the streets," she said. Translation: she started hooking.

She met a drug dealer named Dewey. At 42, he was twice Spearman's age. She wasn't that interested in him. Until she landed in Orange County Jail for a year, after violating court-mandated rehab.

"He stuck by my side," Spearman said, recalling the note she received from him: "Just when you think you have no friends, I'm here for you."

They got together when she got out. Spearman figures she was pregnant within a week. They got married two months later and stayed clean through the pregnancy. But two weeks after Jayden was born, Dewey brought home crack to celebrate. They started using regularly.

Spearman brought Jayden to her father, saying she and Dewey were fighting. When she returned, high, several days later, staff from Child Protective Services was there.

Spearman wouldn't take a drug test. Jayden, less than a month old, stayed with her father.

It's here when Spearman said, "This is where my story gets rough."

She and Dewey needed a lot of money to support their drug habits. She smoked about $500 of crack and shot up another $100 of heroin, every day. Dewey smoked even more crack than she did.

They concocted a scam: Spearman would pose as a prostitute. She'd tell the john where to drive, and Dewey would "find" them. He'd point a gun at the john and feign outrage over catching him with his wife. Spearman, meanwhile, would take the guy's money.

Then they'd go buy dope, and do it again.

It worked for a while. Then a huge man  Spearman estimates he weighed 300 pounds  picked her up and wouldn't drive to the designated location. They ended up in a parking lot near a laundromat at 11 a.m.

The john wanted oral sex. When Spearman bent down to crawl at the front of the truck, she saw his wallet, filled with 100-dollar bills.

"I thought, 'Bingo,'" she said. She took a bill.

"We have a (expletive) problem," the john said.

The john beat Spearman and stabbed her in the head. She saw spots before her eyes. He broke 14 bones in her face, she said.

She was found alone, bloody and unconscious, and airlifted to Westchester Medical Center.

She was in a coma for four days, on methadone to prevent severe withdrawal. Two days after waking up, she left the hospital against medical advice. The withdrawal was light, but she wanted dope.

Spearman realized then that she might have a problem. She stopped stealing and cut down on the drugs.

But on Mother's Day this year, she overdosed on heroin. It wasn't the first time. But it was the first time her heart stopped. Doctors brought her back with naloxone.

Later in May, she sold two bags of heroin to an undercover cop.

"This is where it gets to the good part," Spearman said.

She sat in jail for about three months, when she was offered treatment at The Next Step. She figured she could get out of jail in about four more months. But she'd been to jail, for long enough stretches to get clean. It didn't help her change.

"I need help," she told her lawyer, and asked to go to The Next Step.

On a late September day when she talked to the Times Union, 45 days into the program, she had filed for divorce.

"It's not because I don't love him," Spearman said, "but it's toxic for me."

A couple of weeks later, she wasn't sure she'd go through with it.

It may seem unlikely that someone with Spearman's history will stay clean. She sees it differently. She she could leave and get high anytime, she said, pointing to Delaware Avenue as a source for drugs.

"I'm just not going to do it," she said. "I'm done."

In late September, she was excited that she'd earned a visit with Jayden, who will be 2 in December. She hadn't seen him in five months.

Last week, after the visit, she was more sedate. Jayden hadn't recognized her. "It was a little rough," she said. "We're going to try again."

chughes@timesunion.com  518-454-5417  @hughesclaire
Schenectady

Jurors quickly convicted a former Rotterdam man on Tuesday of the savage rape, burglary and attempted murder of a neighbor who was saved when her 7-year-old son bravely confronted her attacker in their home.

Craig Ackerman, 40, faces at least 50 years  and could face more than 80  in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 7 by Schenectady Matthew Sypniewski.

The jury, which began deliberating Tuesday afternoon, reached the verdict around 5:30 p.m.

"His act was interrupted by a 7-year-old boy who came to the aid of his mother," Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham told jurors in closing arguments Tuesday.

Michael Mansion, Ackerman's defense attorney, had argued that the allegations did not fit the criteria for attempted murder and noted the absence of physical evidence to prove a rape took place.

The prosecutor described the sequence of events as follows:

 Ackerman, who is 6 foot 2 and weighs 215 pounds, burglarized the 27-year-old woman's Hamburg Street home during the predawn hours of Sept. 14, 2015 and announced, "It's your neighbor."

 Ackerman demanded money from the woman and attacked her saying, "Do you want to die?" and "If you scream I'll kill you." Ackerman choked the woman into unconsciousness in her bedroom and sexually assaulted her. The woman's screaming woke up her son, who went to his mother's bedroom. Ackerman told the boy his mother was asleep and shut the door. The boy reopened the door and saw Ackerman punching his mother, who was vomiting.

 Ackerman grabbed the boy by his neck, shoved him into his bedroom and kicked him in the face. The woman awoke and tried to go to her son, who was now crying. Ackerman shoved the woman onto a couch and ran out. The woman called her brother, who came to the aid of his sister and nephew. They contacted police.

 In the final event described by the prosecutor, Ackerman fled to North Carolina, leaving behind his apartment and belongings. He left behind damning evidence at the crime scene, including his underwear and a screwdriver.

U.S. marshals arrested Ackerman on Sept. 23, 2015 in North Carolina.

Tremante-Pelham said Ackerman confessed his crime to an inmate in the Schenectady County jail and made incriminating remarks to his mother in a phone call at the Schenectady County jail that was recorded. He was convicted of attempted murder and first-degree rape and burglary.

rgavin@timesunion.com  518-434-2403  @RobertGavinTU
Gov. Scott Walker on Monday compared possible Russian influence to help Donald Trump win the presidential election to a Scottish leader endorsing Hillary Clinton.

I dont think we want any foreign government trying to influence our election, Walker told reporters during a briefing about his trip to the Middle East last week.

Walker was responding to a recent Washington Post report that a senior CIA official said there was a consensus in the U.S. intelligence community that individuals with connections to the Russian government gave hacked documents from the Democratic National Committee to WikiLeaks to help Trump win.

Conversely you had the leader of Scotland endorsing Hillary Clinton, and I dont think leaders from other countries one way or the other, whether its for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or any other candidate  I think its best left to Americans to make those decisions, Walker said.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon broke with international protocol when she wrote days before the election that she hoped Clinton would win. Trump is projected to win 306 Electoral College votes compared to Clintons 232.

Trump has criticized the suggestion of Russian influence in the U.S. election.

Jenni Dye, research director for liberal group One Wisconsin Now, called Walkers comparing the two scenarios simply jaw-dropping.

Declaring one of these actions was not dramatically more serious than the other is either incredibly naive or the most disturbing example yet of Gov. Walkers blind partisanship, Dye said.

Walker also voiced support for keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan, noting the number of troops still stationed in Germany decades after World War II. He noted that the 8,400 troops expected to remain after President Barack Obama leaves office is higher than the 5,500 Obama said would remain in October. Obama, who won election amid widespread opposition to the Iraq War and on promises of ending the war in Afghanistan, had talked about reducing U.S. presence to only an embassy.

Walker said those he talked to in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan were encouraged by Trumps pick of Gen. James Mattis for defense secretary, because it signaled that he would be making decisions based on military needs and not politics.

One of the observations you get by being over there is you realize more troops doesnt necessarily mean more people in danger, in fact in some ways it might mean the opposite, Walker said. If you want to minimize the risk, having a higher force capacity is actually a better thing.

Walker said the benefit of his trip to several Air Force bases and hospitals was building morale among Wisconsin National Guard and Reserve troops and showing that the people who represent them are willing to come and see them and understand what theyre going through.

He said it also gave him a greater appreciation of how Wisconsins servicemen and servicewomen are integrated into the U.S. foreign deployment.
[December 12, 2016] $16K Grant to Keystone CDC to Help Low-Income Homebuyers

Low-income, qualified homebuyers in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Montgomery counties will benefit from $16,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP (News - Alert)) funds awarded today to the Keystone Community Development Corporation (Keystone CDC). The nonprofit, which provides homebuyer and related educational programs, received the grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and Associated Credit Union of Texas. It will be used to cover administrative and material costs of Keystone CDC's homebuyer education and related classes. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161212006251/en/ Dignitaries from the city of Deer Park, Texas, join representatives from the Keystone Community Development Corporation, Associated Credit Union of Texas, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas for the presentation of a $16,000 Partnership Grant Program award on Monday, December 12, 2016. The funds will be used to cover costs related to Keystone CDC's homebuyer education program. (Photo: Business Wire) "Once our clients complete an education class, they receive homeownership counseling and help in applying for down-payment assistance at no charge," said Christopher Fuller, executive director at Keytone CDC. "Funding from the Partnership Grant Program will help us keep it that way."



PGP grants are offered annually through FHLB Dallas' member institutions, such as Associated Credit Union of Texas, via a lottery system. Funds may be used for research, organizational capacity-building, grant- and funding-application assistance, or contractual services. "Our institution supports the vision of Keystone CDC," said Clay Franks, chief financial officer at Associated Credit Union of Texas. "They are a caring and dedicated group who strive every day to make this region an even better place to live and work. We appreciate the support from FHLB Dallas for partnering with us on this grant. It will serve families well."

Through the PGP, member institutions contribute $500 up to $4,000 to a community-based organization (CBO). FHLB Dallas matches the contributions at a 3:1 ratio, which provide up to $12,000 in grant money to a CBO. In 2016, FHLB Dallas awarded $225,000 in PGP funds to assist 23 CBOs. Combined with the $96,200 from member institutions, a total of $321,200 was awarded this year. "FHLB Dallas designed the PGP to address the inevitable funding gaps experienced by housing-related nonprofits," said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "At the same time, the partnerships are strengthened between our member institutions and these nonprofits. It is a win-win for communities across our District." About Associated Credit Union of Texas ACU of Texas is a community credit union that offers quality financial services to Galveston, Brazoria and Harris counties and surrounding areas. As a state chartered credit union, federally insured by the National Credit Union Insurance Fund (NCUIF), ACU of Texas is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing services in a caring, professional manner while maintaining a strong financial base. Visit www.acutx.org. About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank system created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $58.4 billion as of September 30, 2016, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately 850 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. Visit fhlb.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161212006251/en/

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[December 13, 2016] 24 Hour Fitness Announces New Club and Ribbon-Cutting in Kissimmee, FL

24 Hour Fitness is joining one of Florida's fastest-growing communities in Kissimmee with a new club in the recently opened Cinque Terre Shopping Center, which features an expansive a 530,000 square feet of retail space. The addition of the 24 Hour Fitness fills a critical health and wellness gap that has been needed in central Florida. A grand opening event is scheduled for Saturday, December 17, 2016, 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., 24 Hour Fitness Kissimmee club, 850 West Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee. The community is invited to this free celebration, which includes club tours, prize drawings, group training demonstrations, innovative group exercise studio classes and more. The Kissimmee community offers no shortage of outdoor parks, trails and water sport options. Indoor fitness also has an important place among these options as a location to build endurance and overall fitness to enjoy the active outdoor Florida lifestyle. 24 Hour Fitness offers residents the convenience and quality that members across the country have come to expect in the 30 year history of 24 Hour Fitness, 20 of which have been with a Florida presence. "As an influx of fitness alternatives begin to spread in this growing community, 24 Hour Fitness is proud to open our 12th club in the state. We are thrilled to continue offering an affordable, high-quality fitness option for our residents," said Jasmine Fernandez, General Manager. "Our goal is to offer members a variety of fitness options to help them stay focused and motivated, as well as build a strong community of like-minded individuals among our members and fitness professionals." The new, 40,000 square-foot club features a mdern design and open-floor plan. Amenities include:



Cardio, strength and functional training equipment

Large studio space for a full schedule of Cycle and Group X  classes, including new formats such as POP Pilates, Treat While You Train  and bootybarre 

classes, including new formats such as POP Pilates, Treat While You Train and bootybarre Virtual classes: Members can take Cycle and Group X  classes on their own convenient schedule, when the studios aren't in use. It's as easy as making a selection of virtual class format options, pressing a button, and GO!

classes on their own convenient schedule, when the studios aren't in use. It's as easy as making a selection of virtual class format options, pressing a button, and GO! Turf Zone: One of the newest additions to the club designed both for athletes and non-athletes alike. The area includes specialized fitness equipment that take your workouts to the next level

TRX Suspension Training: Normally only found at specialty fitness centers, incorporates the use of a system of straps that allows members to work against their own body weight to develop balance, flexibility and core stability

Multi-Functional Training Rig: Used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts, these multi-station rigs are meant for both high-energy Functional Training and Olympic Lifting

Indoor lap pool, spa and sauna

Personal and Group training services*

Kids' Club* *Additional fees apply To experience the new gym, download a free guest pass from 24hourfitness.com/Kissimmee

About 24 Hour Fitness Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., 24 Hour Fitness is a leading health club industry pioneer, serving nearly 4 million members in over 400 clubs across the U.S. For more than 30 years, the company has been dedicated to helping members change their lives and reach their individual fitness goals. With convenient club locations, personal training services, popular group exercise classes and a variety of strength, cardio and functional training equipment, 24 Hour Fitness offers fitness solutions for everyone. Please visit 24hourfitness.com for more information and to find the club nearest you. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005311/en/

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[December 13, 2016] Best Buy to Confront the Opportunity Gap by Nearly Doubling Its Teen Tech Center Network in Support of Underserved Urban Youth

More of the nation's underserved teens will have access to free technology tools and training as Best Buy (News - Alert) today announces plans to add nine new Best Buy Teen Tech Centers to its year-round support network in 2017. The announcement was made just as the company officially opens its newest Teen Tech Center in Denver, Colorado today. The expanded network of 20 Teen Tech Centers will provide tech education to thousands of students, with special priority for new centers to be located in urban cities such as Las Vegas and Pittsburgh. Plans are already underway to open centers in early 2017 in Atlanta and San Diego. In the coming decade, 77 percent of all jobs will require technology skills.1 Yet wide disparities still exist among youth from lower-income families who lack tools like computers and internet connections, or know how to use them, creating an opportunity gap for urban teens. "These community centers will provide underserved young people with the technology tools and education that enable them to pursue new career paths for a tech-reliant future," said Laura Bishop, vice president of public affairs and sustainability at Best Buy. "With help from our community partners, we can inspire teens to become innovators and creators, and forever change the course of their lives for the better." Best Buy Teen Tech Centers provide opportunity for young people needing it most

For more than a decade, Best Buy has provided access to tech tools and training for hundreds of thousands of low-income youth through community grants and partnerships with local nonprofits to host the free, year-round facilities and summer camps. Teen Tech Centers, which launched in 2012, help students learn basic computer skills and explore interests through classes that are neither taught nor required in many traditional school settings. Classes range from programming to coding, application development, digital photography, music and grapic design.



Devonte Gooding, a 20-year-old Teen Tech Center alumnus from Washington, D.C., advanced his photography skills during his time at a local center and it forever changed his future. "My time at Best Buy's Teen Tech Center inspired me to go after a career I never thought possible," Gooding said. After a chance meeting with a government official at an art auction that sold one of his photos, he now holds the first-ever photo internship with the U.S. Department of Energy and is pursuing his bachelor's degree in graphic design. In a recent study of students who participated in Teen Tech Centers, 92 percent believe they will use the skills acquired in their future careers, and 94 percent plan to continue their education post-high school.2

The growing national network of Teen Tech Centers relies on local nonprofit partners who understand the unique challenges that youth in urban areas face. Best Buy is seeking organizations passionate about helping youth develop skills needed in a tech-reliant future as they navigate education and career choices. Organizations are invited to find out more about hosting a Best Buy Teen Tech Center by visiting theclubhousenetwork.org/bestbuy. Best Buy taps Geek Squad Agents to create new curriculum

As technology evolves, so do the requirements for advancing career potential. Best Buy's Geek Squad Agents ensure underserved youth stay ahead of trends by employing new curricula each year that align with passions like digital filmmaking, 3D design, HTML coding and circuitry, and others. For example, in 2017, a new pixel art curriculum will be introduced across all Teen Tech Centers. Teens will learn how to create original pixel art and animation, beginning with the design of a character. The basic principles of coding are inherently part of this curriculum, providing teens with skills that lay the foundation for a variety of careers. About Best Buy Community Relations

Since 1995, Best Buy has invested nearly $300 million in the communities it serves. In the past five years, the company concentrated its focus on giving support to programs that leverage technology to inspire and engage underserved teens, and to help them prepare for college and careers. This commitment to addressing the opportunity gap among underserved youth is exemplified through programs such as Geek Squad Academy and 11 Best Buy Teen Tech Centers now operating in Bellevue, Washington; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Jersey City, New Jersey; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis; Oakland; San Antonio; and Washington, D.C. 1. IDC Research

2. Youth Impact Survey, 2015 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005321/en/

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[December 13, 2016] Charles River Expands Its ISO-Certified Hosting Capabilities in Canada with CenturyLink

Charles River Development is expanding its private cloud through an agreement with CenturyLink (News - Alert). The arrangement opens up Charles River's Software-as-a-Service offerings to Buy-Side clients in Canada which requires local residency for data and hosting providers. "We've been broadening our hosted services since 2005, and the addition of CenturyLink's on-the-ground facilities and support assures even more clients that we can process and protect their sensitive data," said Tom Driscoll, Global Managing Director, Charles River. "Our newest functionality in the Charles River Investment Management Solution is SaaS (News - Alert)-based. Our agreement with CenturyLink lets clients take full advantage of hosted capabilities regardless of their location." Charles River's fully managed, private cloud solution is ISO 27001 certified, and helps firms simplify operations and reduce technology costs. Clients have a dedicated instance of Charles River IMS hosted at premier centers with stringent security and disaster recovery capabilities. "We're pleased to support Charles River as it expands its hosted services in new regions," said Ash Mathur, Regional Vice President and country manager for CenturyLink's Canadian operations. "We have extensive experience in meeting the hosting needs of enterprise customers in Canada, including top financial services customers suc as Charles River, with our world-class facilities and support. Our local presence and expertise, combined with Charles River's comprehensive platform, is a powerful solution for Canadian asset managers."



About CenturyLink

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is a global communications, hosting, cloud and IT services company enabling millions of customers to transform their businesses and their lives through innovative technology solutions. CenturyLink offers network and data systems management, Big Data analytics and IT consulting, and operates more than 55 data centers in North America, Europe and Asia. The company provides broadband, voice, video, data and managed services over a robust 250,000-route-mile U.S. fiber network and a 300,000-route-mile international transport network. Visit CenturyLink for more information. About Charles River

Charles River enables sound and efficient investing across all asset classes. Over 350 firms worldwide use Charles River IMS to manage more than US$25 Trillion (News - Alert) in assets in the institutional investment, wealth management and hedge fund industries. Our SaaS-based solution automates and simplifies investment management on a single platform - from portfolio decision support and risk management through trading and post-trade settlement, with integrated risk and compliance throughout. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, we support clients globally with more than 750 employees in 11 regional offices. For more information, please visit www.crd.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005003/en/

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[December 13, 2016] Civitas Solutions, Inc. Announces Date of Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Civitas Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CIVI) announced today that it will conduct its 2017 annual meeting of stockholders on Friday, March 3, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at its headquarters located at 313 Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The record date for determination of the Civitas stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting is January 9, 2017 (the "Record Date"). The proxy statement containing additional meeting details and admission procedures is expecte to be available no later than the last week of January to stockholders of record as of the Record Date.



About Civitas Civitas Solutions, Inc. is the leading national provider of home- and community-based health and human services to must-serve individuals with intellectual, developmental, physical or behavioral disabilities and other special needs. Since its founding in 1980, it has evolved from a single residential program to a diversified national network offering an array of quality services in 35 states.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213006219/en/

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[December 13, 2016] FPT Software Celebrates 10,000th Employee

FPT Software, a global leading software and technology company headquartered in Vietnam today welcomed the 10,000th employee. This marks an important milestone in the development history of FPT Software as the company is moving closer to the top companies with large-scale resources in Asia and its target to have 30,000 people in 2020. An announcement event regarding this achievement was held on December 13th at FPT Software Headquarter in Hanoi with the presence of Vietnam government representatives, FPT Corporation's leaders and FPT Software's leaders. Mr. Hoang Nam Tien, Chairman of FPT Software shared: "2016 recognized several achievements of FPT Software such as the partnership with big technology players like GE, AWS or the ignition of digital transformation services for 200-billion-dollar-revenue companies; and today we celebrate the 10,000 employee milestone. This strengthens FPT Software's position as a symbol for Vietnam's software industry, and is a guarantee for our clients to continue our strong growth to always be your trustworthy partner." Lam Thai Son, the 10,000th employee of FPT Software, joined the company as a software engineer in the embedded system/ automotive domain. About the reason to choose FPT Software, he shared: "With 9 years of experience in the software sector, through many locations, I noticed in particular the automotive industry, like other industries has shifed violently by the impact of the trend of new technologies such as Cloud, Internet, telecommunications infrastructure, and IoT. In Vietnam, FPT Software is now the pioneer. That is why I chose FPT Software to satisfy my passion, which is to deliver embedded software services for automotive devices. I'm thrilled by the scenario that my product will be used in automotive systems of big automobile brands in the world."



FPT Software was founded in 1999 and was originally a strategic unit of FPT Corporation. In the 2012-2016 period, the company has created over 7000 IT jobs for the market. The company reached the 5000-employee milestone in 2013, the 10,000-employee mark in 2016 and is planning to have 30,000 IT human resources by 2020. About FPT Software:

FPT Software is part of FPT Corporation - the global leading technology, outsourcing and IT services group headquartered in Vietnam with over US$1.8 billion revenue and 27,000 employees. Qualified with CMMI Level 5 & ISO 27001, FPT Software delivers world-class services in Analytics, IoT, Mobility, Cloud, Embedded System, QA testing, Legacy Migration, Package Implementation, Application Service, and BPO services globally from delivery centers across the United States, Japan, Europe, Australia, Vietnam and the Asia Pacific. With focus on R&D activities to improve quality of services, the company has been serving over 400 customers worldwide, of which nearly 50 are Fortune 500 in the industries of manufacturing, semiconductors, healthcare, utility, financial services, satellite TV and more. For more information, please visit https://www.fpt-software.com/ To get more updates about FPT Software's activities, follow us on Twitter @fpt_software and LinkedIn (News - Alert) at https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpt-software. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005561/en/

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[December 13, 2016] Kaplan University Publishes Seventh Annual Academic Report

Today, Kaplan University (KU) issued its seventh annual Academic Report: The Year in Review 2015-2016, detailing the University's work, progress and achievements throughout the academic year beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016. The 55-page report provides an overview of KU and includes details around key metrics such as learning, graduation and employment outcomes as well as important updates on accreditation and program approvals. The report also profiles Kaplan University schools and programs, and includes survey results from KU's student and alumni. "Kaplan University made significant strides on a number of important fronts throughout the academic year. Our regional accreditation was reaffirmed by the Higher Learning Commission through the 2025-2026 academic year which speaks well to the quality of our educational offerings and overall operations that put students first," said Dr. David Starnes, Kaplan University Chief Academic Officer. The report also notes the steps forward KU took in the academic year with competency-based education. In addition to receiving their academic transcripts, all KU students receive a personalized competency report that summarizes their cumulative progress toward mastering competencies employers identify as essential to workplace performance and success. The University also received approvals to begin offering bachelor's degree level, competency-based educational programs.



Dr. Betty Vandenbosch, Kaplan University President, said, "Documenting and sharing our achievements in the Academic Report each year is not only a gratifying look back at the past year for Kaplan University, it also provides important insights to our current student body and future students. While much progress has been made, our important work helping adult learners finish what they started continues." Key Report highlights from the 2015-2016 academic include:

Kaplan University conferred 12,742 degrees.

Nearly three-in-four (74%) of Kaplan University students were female with six-in-ten (60 %) over the age of 30, similar to prior years.

While more than four-in-five (84%) KU students had some postsecondary education prior to enrolling at KU, more than half (55%) came from backgrounds where neither parent attended college.

More than 16,000 students (16,147) were awarded $34.5 million in scholarships and grants.

Under KU's credit transfer program, 13,788 students received a total of 783,469 transfer credits, representing a total student's savings of more than $256 million in the academic year.

Since 2008, the University has been surveying final-term students to gauge their KU experience. In 2015-2016, more than nine-in-ten (91%) believe what they learned at KU will help them reach their personal and career goals. Additional results from the survey are included in the Report starting on page 29.

Focused on offering the most current and relevant courses and programs designed to meet the needs of employers, under its systemic review process based on rigorous data analysis, 57 courses were developed and 607 courses were revised.

Acknowledged as a military-friendly school by multiple sources including Military Advanced Education & Transition , Kaplan University is the academic choice of more than 8,700 military-related students including active U.S. military, veterans and military spouses.

, Kaplan University is the academic choice of more than 8,700 military-related students including active U.S. military, veterans and military spouses. The University annually invests in institutional research through its Research Pipeline to improve student learning and performance. Some of the most exciting work has come from research on increasing students' motivation to succeed and persist. This is described on page 24 of the Report. A pdf of the Report can be downloaded here. About Kaplan University Kaplan University offers a different school of thought for higher education. It strives to help adult students unlock their talent by providing a practical, student-centered education that prepares them for careers in some of the fastest-growing industries. The University, which has its main campus in Davenport, Iowa, and its headquarters in Chicago, is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. Kaplan University serves approximately 34,000 online and campus-based students. The University has campuses in Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Maryland, Maine, and Wisconsin, and Kaplan University Learning Centers in Missouri and Maryland. Kaplan University is part of Kaplan Higher Education LLC and Kaplan, Inc., which serves over 1.2 million students globally each year through its array of higher education, test preparation, professional education, English-language training, university preparation, and K-12 offerings to individuals, institutions, and businesses. Kaplan has operations in over 30 countries, employs more than 19,000 full- and part-time professionals, and maintains relationships and partnerships with more than 1,000 school districts, colleges, and universities, and over 2,600 corporations and businesses. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC) and its largest division. For more information, please visit www.Kaplan.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005278/en/

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[December 13, 2016] Pediatric Associates Implements Bridge Patient Portal for Pediatric Features & Greenway EMR Interface

DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kansas City-based pediatrics practice Pediatric Associates - a private practice with two locations and 17 providers - has implemented Bridge Patient Portal for its robust suite of pediatric-specific features and its capacity to interface with Greenway EMR software. Pediatric Associates will benefit from a full integration between their EMR and the patient portal, as well as key features for the caregivers of their young patients. "We are excited about the pediatric specialty," says Bridge Patient Portal CEO John Deutsch, "because it presents a number of challenges related to medical record sharing, age of majority, and other unique features. Success in the pediatric specialty paves the way for success in larger and more complicated primary care scenarios, as pediatrics presents some of the greatest challenges for a patient portal." Bridge offers a number of features for pediatricians that are difficult to find in other portals: Immunization records: The child's immunization history with the physician's signature can be printed, making it easy to provide records for school or camp.

The child's immunization history with the physician's signature can be printed, making it easy to provide records for school or camp. BMI, height, & weight growth charts: Track the child's height and weight over time, and compare their growth against a standard growth chart.

Track the child's height and weight over time, and compare their growth against a standard growth chart. Support for multiple children: It's easy for parents to toggle between their own account and their children's accounts.

It's easy for parents to toggle between their own account and their children's accounts. Age of ajority rules engine: Once a teen patient reaches the age of majority as per state law, parents' and guardians' access to their medical records will be automatically revoked.



"At Pediatric Associates, we strive to be innovators and leaders in the pediatric space," says Dr. Natasha Burgert of Pediatric Associates. "Bridge was the only portal with the functionality we needed to support our patient care goals. Any physician working today understands the need for reliable communication with patients. Bridge is a tool that allows us to accomplish fast, accurate, and compassionate care with all the patients we serve."

Current patients of Pediatric Associates can sign up now for the new portal. Existing users of their previous portal were migrated to Bridge, allowing them to take advantage of the new portal and easing the headache of manual patient transfer for the Pediatric Associates staff. About Bridge Patient Portal

Bridge Patient Portal (http://www.bridgepatientportal.com/) is an enterprise portal platform that provides a superior experience for healthcare organizations and its patients. The Bridge Patient Portal platform is ideal for organizations seeking to replace their existing EHR portals or connect to disparate EHR environments with a single, EHR-agnostic patient portal platform. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Bridge Patient Portal has installations in more than 50 physician practices, hospitals and health systems nationwide. About Pediatric Associates

Pediatric Associates (http://www.pedsassoc.com/) is a pediatric practice with locations in Kansas City and Lee's Summit, Missouri. The team of 15 physicians, 2 nurse practitioners, and dozens of nurses aim to provide comprehensive, reliable care while developing trusted relationships with the families they care for. The staff specializes in the care of infants, children, and adolescents as well as preterm or multiple births. Media Contact: Marie Westerhof

Phone: (619) 377-4809

Email: [email protected] *Bridge Patient Portal LLC does not endorse or hold any affiliation with the companies mentioned in this article. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pediatric-associates-implements-bridge-patient-portal-for-pediatric-features--greenway-emr-interface-300377131.html SOURCE Bridge Patient Portal

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[December 12, 2016] Banyan Technology Provides Gifts for Local Children and Families in Need

Banyan Technology, a freight management tech company in Elyria, today announced a donation of gifts and household items valued at over $3,700 to local children and families in Lorain County. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161212006234/en/ Banyan Technology employees delivering gifts for families in Lorain County. (Photo: Business Wire) Banyan employees packed up over 100 gifts for 30 local children, and dozens of family and senior citizen baskets full of household necessities for the Christmas for Carng annual fundraising effort for Neighborhood Alliance, a non-profit organization that provides assistance for families in Lorain County and surrounding areas.



"Banyan is proud to support Neighborhood Alliance," said Brian Smith, CEO of Banyan Technology. "We're so thrilled to be a part of this fundraising effort. It is astounding to see the passion that Banyan employees have for supporting their local community." Over the past 3 years supporting the Christmas for Caring program, Banyan Technology has donated more than $7,500 to Neighborhood Alliance.

"The holiday season can be a particularly tough time for children and families who are struggling," said Ashley Ortiz, Banyan employee and fundraising champion. "Thank you to everyone that has donated and helped with the efforts for the past three years. We have been able to touch so many lives thanks to your generosity." In addition to the Christmas for Caring fundraising effort, Banyan Technology embraces the spirit of corporate and community giving throughout the year, supporting charities and community organizations in northeast Ohio, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland and Sheffield Schools - Brookside Robotics Program. About Banyan Technology: Banyan Technology is North America's leading provider of live carrier and API connectivity for transportation management. With more than 1,300 carrier connections and 27,000 users, Banyan Technology provides commercial shippers, brokers, and 3PLs with unparalleled access to carrier data. These connections boost efficiency, improve visibility, and deliver permanent reductions in shipping costs. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161212006234/en/

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[December 12, 2016] Qtrade Investor takes first place in annual ranking of online brokerages

VANCOUVER, Dec. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - Qtrade Investor has once again claimed first place in the latest annual ranking of online brokers by The Globe and Mail. Of Canada's 12 online brokers, Qtrade was one of only two to receive an overall 'A' ratingonce again topping the big banks' services to secure a share of top spot. This is the eighth time in the past 11 years that Qtrade Investor has been awarded first place in the Globe's review. "In an evolving world, they keep adapting to better serve clients," said financial columnist Rob Carrick of this year's top brokers. He praised Qtrade Investor's "fresh, clean, and client-friendly package" while acknowledging Qtrade's ability to meet high client expectations across numerous criteria, including a clean, modern, easy-to-use website; trades for under $10; commission-free ETFs; no-commission on all mutual funds; U.S. dollar accounts; dividend re-investment plans; and Level II quotes for all clients. "We're honoured to be ranked as a top choice for self-directed investors, and first nationwide in a very competitive industry," said Qtrade Financial Group CEO Bill Packham. "Our team works very hard to provide self-managed investors with exceptional value and an outstanding online brokerage experience, and it's gratifying to see that work recognized." "The results of the Globe's survey validate our commitment to improving and streamlining the client experience and to offering competitive pricing," said Catherine Wood, Qtrade Financial Group's Senior VP and Head of Online Brokerage. "This year we improvd our offering with numerous enhancements inspired by client feedback and supported by client usage analytics, and we've been very pleased by the positive reaction from our clients."



Among the enhancements made this year, Qtrade Investor eliminated ECN fees. Young Investor Pricing was introduced to empower investors age 18 to 30 to save more and build assets more quickly. Qtrade also significantly increased its commitment to ETF investors by expanding the list of commission-free ETFs from 60 to 100. As well, Qtrade launched a major overhaul of the navigation and home page dashboard within its client site: the simplified new design reduces friction and allows clients to easily monitor their portfolios and take action, with fewer clicks. The latest online brokerage review was published December 12, 2016. According to The Globe and Mail, the annual ranking "is designed to highlight the brokers that are most effectively adapting to a more competitive world" while emphasizing "features that help people build and manage their portfolios effectively, notably user-friendly websites."

The recognition in the latest Globe survey follows Qtrade Investor being named Canada's top online brokerage in the 2016 Canadian Online Discount Brokerage Review by Surviscor, which was announced December 1, 2016. About Qtrade Investor Known for its easy-to-use online and mobile investing platforms and world-class client service, Qtrade Investor has consistently been ranked among Canada's top online brokerages for over a decade. Qtrade gives clients access to a wide range of investments and account types, all at competitive prices, along with extensive free educational resources and trading toolsmaking it a trusted choice for beginners and seasoned investors alike. Part of Qtrade Financial Group, Qtrade Investor is a division of Qtrade Securities Inc., Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. For more information, visit www.qtrade.ca/investor. About Qtrade Financial Group Qtrade Financial Group is a national, award-winning, integrated financial services company, with over $13 billion in assets. Qtrade Financial Group provides online brokerage services to individual investors along with full-service brokerage, wealth and investment management platforms and services, custodial services, introducing broker services, and insurance solutions to meet the diverse needs of over 150 financial institutions, as well as their members and clients, across Canada. Qtrade's partners include credit unions, banks, trust companies, insurance companies, investment dealers, portfolio managers and financial planning firms. Qtrade Financial Group is backed by Desjardins Group, the leading cooperative financial group in Canada and the sixth largest cooperative financial group in the world. More information is available at www.qtrade.ca. SOURCE Qtrade Canada Inc.

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A new ramen shop from the owner of Restaurant Muramoto and two of his chefs opened Monday on King Street.

Shinji Muramoto helped two former Muramoto chefs, Matt Morris, and his wife, Francesca Hong, open Morris Ramen, where RED sushi was, at 106 King St.

"I think we had a great night," she said. "We had some good feedback and some good, constructive feedback as well. So we are excited to be open."

The idea with Morris Ramen is to be the neighborhood noodle shop, where people can feel "cozy, feel at home, feel nourished," Hong said. "Our menu is small, our staff is small. We are very family oriented."

Morris and his father built the restaurant, with construction consulting from Carlson Construction, Hong said. Morris, Hong and Muramoto run the kitchen and front-of-the-house operations. "We've got an amazing staff and we just really want to be contributing to the First Settlement District and the rest of Madison to make people happy," Hong said.

There are four different ramen bowls on the current menu and they will start adding ramen specials in the next couple of weeks. "Whatever Shinji and Matt feel inspired by, but still pretty much sticking to traditional techniques when we can," Hong said.

Morris Ramen is also offering what Hong characterizes as "comfort pub food," including a chicken wing recipe she's had since she ran the kitchen at Muramoto's former restaurant, 43 North. They are also playing around with different types of steamed buns, including a squash one with a yogurt chutney, and a short-rib one that is Korean-inspired with ssamjang, a spicy, fermented soybean paste.

"That's where we are able to be a little more creative," she said, noting they are staying traditional with the ramen flavors.

This week Morris Ramen is only open for dinner, but starting next week it will open for lunch Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with dinner Monday through Saturday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

There will be no lunch on the weekends and they will be closed Sunday. That day will be reserved for family time, Hong said. The couple has a six-month-old son named George. "I don't recommend having a baby and opening a restaurant in the same year, but it's been fun. It's been wild," she said.

Morris Ramen is waiting for signage. They've ordered a traditional noren, or curtain, which will be coming from Japan within the next couple of weeks.

Muramoto opened his first restaurant, Restaurant Muramoto, at 106 King St., in 2004. In 2008, he moved it to 225 King St., a location that had previously housed Cocoliquot.

He closed that location on Nov. 22 and is moving it into the former 43 North restaurant. He closed 43 North this summer due to plumbing issues and never reopened it.

Morris Ramen is located in the original Muramoto location -- where RED sushi was before it moved to West Washington Avenue. It is also next door to the future Muramoto Downtown location. Muramoto said that location should be open in about a month.

Ramen has been booming all over the U.S. for the past five or six years, but Muramoto said he never thought it would have the staying power sushi has had. "But it seems like it's going to stay and become the next American food," he said.

Muramoto is from Sapporo, the fourth biggest city in Japan, which is famous for ramen. "Ramen is my soul food," he said.

Two years ago, Muramoto sent Morris to Obihiro, Japan, Madison's sister city, to work in a restaurant for three months. "He was inspired by the food there and just fell in love with ramen," Muramoto said.

"Ramen makes us really happy," Hong added, "and we just want to make people happy with our ramen. That's bottom line, really."
[December 13, 2016] WISeKey to Establish a Join Swiss China Blockchain Center of Excellence to Deploy a Trusted Blockchain Platform in China

WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey")(SIX:WIHN), a leading cybersecurity company today announced a project to establish a join Swiss China Blockchain Centre of Excellence to deploy a Trusted Blockchain as a Service platform. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161212005965/en/ WISeKey Founder/CEO Carlos Moreira with senior management from Lykke and Stratumn (Blockchain Swiss and French companies) and Chinese executives, CITIC Fund, Ventureslab, Sinodata (SHE:002657), Insightcredit, Chinese Youth Angel Association, Weshare Finance and Joy Capital WISeKey will work with experts in industry, government, and academia to address businesses' most relevant Blockchain developments with practical, standards-based solutions using available Blockchain technologies. This dedicated center of excellence will conduct research, rapid pilot prototyping, co-creation of use cases and IP creation on Blockchain technology and platforms. The Swiss China Blockchain Centre of Excellence will recommend a Blockchain Platform to facilitate enterprises to swiftly adopt and on-board Blockchain based solutions and services. WISeKey received a delegation from Beijing INTO Global Business Communications (http://intoer.com/en/), a company that connects Chinese tech investors with global innovative companies, organized hundreds of delegations to global innovative hubs such as Silicon Valley, Israel, Japan and Europe by visiting local tech companies and investors having as a goal the establishment of cooperation agreements and potential investments. Their network involves over 500 clients, including Internet giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and 360, leading public companies, start-ups and powerful investment institutes such as IDG, CIITIC PE, and Sequoia Capital (News - Alert) China, etc. A delegation of top Chinese Tech investors and entrepreneurs visited WISeKey's headquarters in Geneva with senior execs from CITIC Fund (managing $1.5 billion in assets), Ventureslab, Sinodata (SHE:002657), Insightcredit (a leading credit / financial institution), Chinese Youth Angel Association, Weshare Finance, Joy Capital and many more. This highly active and diverse group in the frontier of China's Tech innovation, will be seeking investment opportunities and potential partnerships with the best of Swiss and will be working with WISeKey on the Swiss China Blockchain Center of Excellence. WISeKey will be cooperating with local Chinese companies participating at the center on building points of view, proof of concepts, policies, educational materials including addressing all the distributed ledger capabilities across different Blockchain schemes (public, consortium and private), with industry verticalization and domain specialization (IoT, transactions, messaging, etc.), underpinned by the best underlying technologies from startups, our key partners and from the community. WISeKey will be localizing in China via a Joint Venture WISeKey China the WISeID Blockchain which is constantly growing as new blocks are added to it with a new set of recordings. Each WISeID node gets a copy of the WISeID Blockchain and gets downloaded automatically upon joining the WISeID network. Through the WISeID Blockchain app users are always in control of their digital identity stored on their mobile, IoT sensor and or computer and is only the user who determines which identification attributes are shared with social media, credit cards, merchant sites etc. never disclosing the Personal Identifiable Information (PII) if not required or necessary. WISeID uses Blockchain as a public, immutable ledger that allows third parties to validate that the original Identity or Attribute certifications provided by a Third Trusted Party has not been changedor misrepresented. Keeping control of Digital Identity is key to protecting user's personal data. WISeID is also provided as a software development kit (SDK) to third parties wanting to use this method of identification for their identities requirements.



At the heart of this platform is the OISTE-WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust which has been actively used since 1999 by over 2.6 billion desktops, browsers, mobile devices, SSL certificates and Internet of Things' devices. The OISTE WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust is ubiquitous and universal, and a pioneer in the creation of Digital Identities. The WISeID Blockchain operates with the WISeID Kaspersky Lab (News - Alert) Security cyber-resilience edition that uses the digital identification to lock personal data such as account usernames and passwords, credit card numbers and access PINs into a secure personal data organizer, creating accountable identities for online activity while the data itself remains protected in a secure cloud vault.

Mobile security threats are increasing in number and sophistication, with hackers looking for sophisticated ways to hijack mobiles for Bitcoin mining, or to trick mobile users into giving up their personal identity and bank account information. Even though mobile operating systems provide app developers with significant security features, hackers have still been able to exploit the massive installed base of Android (News - Alert) and iOS devices, using many different infection vectors to place malware. Among other things, WISeID keeps passwords in an encrypted vault, generates hard-to-crack passwords, and safely synchronizes data between computers and devices on multiple platforms, using secure cloud storage. The vault can be unlocked only with the user's Master Password and/or defined pattern, with additional protection provided through facial recognition authentication. WISeID can be accessed online though a single click. DOWNLOAD: WISeID Kaspersky Lab Security with built-in Kaspersky Mobile Security SDK is available now for iPhone, iPad, Android,Mac OSX, Windows and Kindle, or directly on our website http://www.wiseid.com. WISeKey China agreements announced this year: Partnership with Chinese Feitian: http://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/wisekey-holt-sich-hilfe-aus-china-gegen-ddos-angriffe-1278223 http://security.itbusinessnet.com/article/WISeKey---s-Security-and-Feitian-Technologies-to-Protect-IoT-Devices-4714719 WISeKey locks Digital Identity Solution in China: http://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2016/wisekey-locks-down-digital-identity-solution-in-china/ About WISeKey WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange:WIHN) is a leading global digital security and CyberSecurity company. Working at the forefront of information cybersecurity, identity management, and mobile security, WISeKey's mission is to facilitate the global growth of secure electronic transactions by providing individuals, businesses, cities, citizens, objects, and governments with advanced technology and services that authenticate and protect digital identity across the full spectrum of personal, business and administrative transactions online. At the heart of this 4th Industrial Revolution (News - Alert) strategy is the OISTE-WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust which has been actively used since 1999 by over 2.6 billion desktops, browsers, mobile devices, SSL certificates and Internet of Things' devices. The OISTE WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust is ubiquitous and universal, and a pioneer in the identification of objects. More articles can be found at https://www.wisekey.com/ . Interested about Latest News about WISeKey subscribe to our Newsletter or visit WISeKey Investors Corner. Disclaimer: This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161212005965/en/

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[December 13, 2016] Regional Nursing Conferences No longer Makes Sense: Digital Media Transforming Towards Global

OMICS International is quick in exploring the digital media options to create awareness on nursing through its 100+ International nursing conferences in 25+ Countries scheduled for 2017 LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nursing Conferences are crucial in updating the latest practices in the field as the interface attracts practitioners and policy makers of the industry on to the same dais. Digital revolution has further specialized this field by offering tailor-made, personalized solutions to the users with instant information at their fingertips. Digital marketing has become a potential and inseparable organ of the sales and marketing wing of the healthcare nursing industry, nursing professionals are acquiring the latest knowledge on the best practices and passing them on to the communities and societies through networks in a personalized way. Social media facilitates companies to accompany their customers in their tough physical, Physiological and psychological passage to assess their needs and state of mind. Social and digital media strategies hence formed an essential part of healthcare, and nursing practitioners are also updating their practice through digital and social media. Global digital healthcare market is worth of $30 billion in 2014 and it is expected to reach $50 billion by 2018. Nurses form the majority of the healthcare industry and their number is swelling with 581,500 nursing new jobs to be filled by 2018. Qualified nurses are in great demand especially in developed coutries like Japan, United States and major European Countries.



Dr Srinubabu Gedela says, as per the Google analytics reports, OMICS Group's robust online publicity attracts 30 million readers to its library of proceedings and articles, bringing worldwide exposure to the speakers at the conferences. OMICS International Conference Series nursing conferences websites attracting 500,000 readers. On an average each nursing conference is getting 30,000+ unique online readers, most of these readers are nurse practitioners and professionals in the nursing. This is possible as majority of the existing major societies events previous talks literature is disappearing from the Internet where as OMICS International Nursing upcoming and previous conferences talks literature circulating in digital and social media. This type of digital media reach is not possible in any nursing meetings other than Conference Series. OMICS International nursing meetings provides a high-class opportunity to the nurse practitioners to publish their abstract and full length article in the respective journals with specific DOI Number provided by CrossRef. Speaker's profiles displayed in the conference websites give a special recognition to the new nursing practitioners. Our nursing conference presentations enhance the nursing professionals 'global viewership on pioneering platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo and other social media platforms.

With attendees drawn from around the globe, researchers, scholars, students and the industry could benefit from demonstrations; workshops, symposiums, and exhibitions that facilitate information exchange, meeting the current and potential practitioners, and product promotion. Nursing Meetings also provides CME, CPD, CE and CNE credits essential to maintain competency. OMICS Group with its 2,000+ employees has been supported by 50,000+ well-qualified scientists as editorial board members who serve on voluntary basis to disseminate healthcare and scientific information open access, and year on year this support is increasing progressively with which OMICS Group is able to grow from 10 journals in 2009 to 700 peer reviewed journals by 2016. OMICS Group open access journals and conferences readers/online visitors also increased from 10,000 in 2009 to 30 million by 2016. OMICS International Conference Series organizes 3000 scientific conferences every year across America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. PR Contact: [email protected] 1-650-618-9867 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161023/431540LOGO

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[December 13, 2016] Bench Announces New Integration with Fellow Canadian Tech Leader, Shopify

Announcement highlights the United States' adoption of Canadian-made tech solutions VANCOUVER, Dec. 13, 2016 /CNW/ - Bench, North America's largest bookkeeping service, today announced a new integration with Ottawa-based ecommerce giant, Shopify. The integration will showcase Bench as the only Do-It-For-You bookkeeping solution available to American merchants through the Shopify App Store.

"America's adoption of Canadian back-office solutions like Shopify and Bench highlights our country's reputation as a major driver of innovation and economic growth," said Ian Crosby, Co-Founder and CEO of Bench. "We're seeing more international focus on what's being produced in Canada. Companies like Slack, Hootsuite, BuildDirect and Wealthimple are not just leaders in the Canadian tech space, they're proving to be the best in class globally."





Shopify merchants across the United States can now fully outsource their bookkeeping needs to Bench, a white-glove service that organizes the financials of small businesses with the combination of intuitive software and a team of real, online bookkeepers. Time that was once spent buried in back-office tasks, outside of an entrepreneur's wheelhouse, can now be re-focused on scaling the core business and driving its success.

"Bench is a hugely valuable addition to the Shopify ecosystem," said Atlee Clark, Director of Apps and Developer Relations at Shopify. "This integration exemplifies how two Canadian tech companies can come together and solve problems that small and medium-sized businesses across the world face and simultaneously drive the growth of Canada's tech industry as a whole."

Launching out of TechStars New York City in 2012, Bench's co-founders left the promise and allure of the concrete jungle in favour of relocating the company to Vancouver, British Columbia.

About Bench

Bench is a four-year-old, design focused tech company that offers a combination of custom-built software and professional online bookkeepers to organize the financials of small businesses across the United States. Bench was founded by Forbes 30 Under 30 winner, Ian Crosby along with Jordan Menashy, Adam Saint and Pavel Rodionov in 2012, and has since raised $33 million in funding. The company employs 230 brilliant humans (and a few dogs) out of its HQ in downtown Vancouver, and has plans to double its workforce by June 2017 with a special focus this month on building out its Accounting Associate and Sales teams. SOURCE Bench

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[December 13, 2016] Bop Design Reveals How Web Design Evolved in 2016

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The creative team at Bop Design, a B2B marketing agency, recently conducted an evaluation of thirty-eight company websites to see how web design evolved over the past year and shared their analysis, along with examples. In addition to examining recent changes affecting web design, the designers identified several trends that are rapidly fading in popularity and why these trends are disappearing. Kara Jensen, creative principal at Bop Design, noted seven major changes that she and the design team have seen. "After all the projects we've worked on over the past year and what we are seeing out in the marketplace, we've singled out seven major, identifiable trends that have evolved in 2016," said Jensen. "To start, motion and movement are coming back into web design and digital marketing in general. It went out of style for quite a long time, since in the past, motion elements would cripple load times and site functionality, creating a poor user experience. That's changed now with JQuery, HTML5, and CSS3," she said. "Really cool things can now be achieved with motion and movement on digital assets. It's great to see advancements thatallow designers to bring these elements back in a way that creates an exciting user experience and contributes to the brand story."



In addition to motion and movement making a comeback, Jensen noted that gradients are reappearing in new and interesting ways in all types of marketing materials. She also stated there has been a further expansion of white space and clean designs, shortened messaging, and a prioritization of usability over traditional SEO strategies for web design. However, Jensen pointed out that while these innovative functionalities are trending in digital marketing, design for design's sake is falling out of favor.

"Winning awards is great, but if the goals of the website aren't met in the design, it's a failure. Most websites can't afford to just be beautiful  they need to fulfill a purpose and add value for the brand," said Jensen. More information about how web design evolved in 2016 is available on the Bop Design website. Kara Jensen has been designing and working on marketing communications and websites for corporations and non-profits for over 16 years. Before Jensen co-founded Bop Design in 2008 with Jeremy Durant, she worked at LPL Financial, designing materials and overseeing brand strategies. She has also worked as a marketing communications director for three years at Windsor Capital, where she led their rebranding efforts, developed campaigns, ads, and websites. Jensen has received a variety of nominations for leadership and business awards and has served as a board member for the San Diego Hunger Coalition. She is the founder and creative principal at Bop Design, a B2B web design agency with locations in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, and New York. More information about the San Diego web design firm and Jensen is available on the firm's website: http://www.bopdesign.com. Contact:

Jeremy Durant

Bop Design

610 West Ash St. Suite 706

San Diego, CA 92101

888-670-7803 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bop-design-reveals-how-web-design-evolved-in-2016-300376218.html SOURCE Bop Design

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[December 13, 2016] ClearForce Announces Tom Miller to Join as New CEO

VIENNA, Va., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/-- ClearForce LLC announced today that Tom Miller has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Miller brings over 25 years of proven executive, analytic and risk management experience as the former CEO of ALI Solutions (aka, Austin Logistics), former Vice President of Analytics at Noble Systems and Vice President of Credit Risk Management at Chase Bankcard. James L Jones, III, founder and Executive Chairman of the Board, states, "As innovators in the employee risk management market, we are excited to have Tom join the team. Tom's proven leadership in analytic technology and delivering risk management solutions to the world's largest financial services companies compliments our domain expertise and success in the government technology market." ClearForce enhances cyber security and protects organizations and employees from insider crime through continual and real time alerting of high risk and illegal behavior within and outside the workplace. ClearForce makes it possible for organizations to efficiently and confidently use external regulated data to take real-time action through automated, standardized and legally compliant workflow. Miller describes ClearForce as an essential risk management solution for any enterprise that handles financial transactions or customer, confidential, or sensitive information, noting "Organizations can significantly reduce financial and reputational risk while also creating a more trusting workplace, removing judgmental bias, and improving customer confidence."



Norm Willox, CEO of Bluewater International and Board member at ClearForce, adds, "Federal agencies, along with state and local government, will find that ClearForce provides timely assistance in preventing the next cyber breach, while also providing leadership an opportunity for early engagement with at-risk employees. Today much of this process for companies is manual, costly and complicated due to regulations. ClearForce with SAAS based automated analytics, simplifies the process thru legally compliant automation and rapid cost effective deployment." For more information, including the scheduling of a ClearForce demo, contact David Haas, Senior Director of Marketing at 703-639-4780 or [email protected].

About ClearForce LLC

ClearForce LLC is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia and protects organizations and employees from insider crime. ClearForce provides innovative and actionable business applications in cybersecurity and enterprise risk management through patent pending technology. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clearforce-announces-tom-miller-to-join-as-new-ceo-300376732.html SOURCE ClearForce LLC

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[December 13, 2016] Cyber Attackers Move on to Vulnerable Small Businesses

BATON ROUGE, La., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The national political parties and big organizations with thousands of employees, like Anthem Blue Cross, Wendy's, Target, and Experian, aren't the only ones in cyber attackers' target sites any longer. According to the 2016 Verizon Data Breach Report, 59% of the security incidents with confirmed data loss occurred in companies with less than 1,000 employees1. Email phishing is still a dominant mode of attack used to install persistent malware and can happen in just minutes: one minute and forty seconds to be exact. And the primary motive? Greed. Access to cash. To make matters worse, data breach victims are striking back at the affected businesses, delivering a second blow of harm and penalties. While Congress debates legislation like H.R. 5064, the Improving Small Business Cyber Security Act of 2016, business owners still have an obligation to shore up their defenses. Banks, local CPA firms, and small physician practices, for example, are the types of firms that are reporting personal data breaches in the recently released Washington State Attorney General's Data Breach Report (November 1, 2016). TraceSecurity, a leader in cloud-based cyber security solutions for more than 2,000 firms, is offering its Cybersecurity Assessment Tool free of charge to help businesses create and maintain their cyber security defense plans. Within weeks of launching the solution, almst 1,000 firms across more than 10 industries have downloaded and accessed the solution. Across these firms, the tool has identified hundreds of items that these firms need to remediate in order to reduce their exposure.



The TraceSecurity Cybersecurity Assessment Tool is designed to help organizations of any size by providing a step-by-step process for evaluating their cyber security exposure and maturity. Once the initial assessment is completed, small-mid size businesses may continue to access the tool, enabling them to maintain and edit their assessment year-over-year. Additionally, the tool automatically generates detailed reports that illustrate an organization's overall inherent risk level and cyber security maturity levels.

Assessment services include, but are not limited to, assistance with data collection and results analysis. To learn more: Access the TraceSecurity Cybersecurity Assessment Tool customized for various industry regulations like the Retail, Healthcare, and Financial Industries

the TraceSecurity Assessment Tool customized for various industry regulations like the Retail, Healthcare, and Financial Industries Watch a short video about the TraceSecurity Cybersecurity Assessment Tool

Assessment Tool Read our blog to learn about the differences between an IT Risk Assessment and the NIST Framework based Cybersecurity Assessment

Visit TraceSecurity online to learn about our cyber security assessment services About TraceSecurity

TraceSecurity is a leader in cyber security software and services that help organizations of all sizes reduce the risk of cyber breaches and demonstrate compliance. TraceSecurity offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions that allow organizations to manage their information security program and supplement it with third-party validation and testing. TraceSecurity's suite of information security services includes but is not limited to IT risk assessments and audits, social engineering, penetration testing, and security training. TraceSecurity's award-winning TraceCSO is a revolutionary cloud-based solution that dramatically streamlines the management of IT governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) programs. It accomplishes this by tightly integrating and automating all eight critical IT GRC components: Risk Management, Compliance Management, Audit Management, Vendor Management, Incident Response Management, Vulnerability Management, Policy Management, and Training Management. With market experience that spans over 2,000 customers, TraceSecurity offers the insight, products, professional services, and partners to support the security and risk management efforts of organizations across all industries. TraceSecurity certified partners leverage TraceCSO as a discovery tool to identify additional security solutions and services to offer their customers. Founded in 2004, the company has executive offices in Silicon Valley and offices in Baton Rouge, La. For more information, call (225) 612-2121 or visit www.tracesecurity.com. 1 Page 5, Table 2, 447. Incidents in organizations with 1,000 or less. Total security incidents with confirmed data loss based on organizations with known employee size = 759. Contact: Kelly Kutche

803-228-0608

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cyber-attackers-move-on-to-vulnerable-small-businesses-300377030.html SOURCE TraceSecurity

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[December 13, 2016] Dashlane Announces Inaugural "Top 10 Celebrity [email protected] of the Year"

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dashlane, the award-winning password manager and leader in online identity management, announces its inaugural "[email protected] of the Year" list. The list highlights the high-profile people and organizations that experienced the biggest password-related blunders of 2016. To raise awareness about good password hygiene, Dashlane is also extending a special $20 limited-time discount off of its award winning Premium password management service. The discount runs through Friday 16 December and is available at: dashlane.com/passholes2016 [email protected] Passwords and cybersecurity aren't the sexiest topics in the world, and even the most technically savvy user often finds it difficult to understand the best practices in these fields. Our goal in releasing the [email protected] List is to draw attention to many high-profile, yet common, password gaffes that are often easily preventable. While it can be amusing to have a little tongue-in-cheek fun at the expense of celebrities, the fact of the matter is that most people are guilty of making the errors our [email protected] made. Whether it's using a weak and easily guessed password, or reusing a password that was leaked in a previous breach, all of our [email protected] cases highlight the important role passwords play in our digital lives. Below are the Top 10 [email protected] of 2016. The list is random and not in order of rank. The public, however, can visit @Dashlane on Twitter use the hashtag #dashlanepassholes to vote for the nominee they believe should be the [email protected] of the Year. Top 10 [email protected] of 2016 Drake, Katy Perry , OurMine Victims - If you're reading this, it's too late... Summer 16 saw dozens of celebrities suffer Twitter takeovers by the OurMine hackers. The cause? Weak and reused passwords from old MySpace accounts. Drake and Katy Perry were the two most high-profile celebrities who didn't take care of passwords and lost controlla of their accounts. Chelsea Handler , Channing Tatum , and Lana Del Rey were also affected. Hey celebrities, use a password manager. You can thank us later.

National Football League - The NFL had to scramble like Russell Wilson to secure their Twitter account after hackers announced that Sheriff Commissioner Roger Goodell was dead. They could have blocked the breach attempt if they tackled passwords the proper way as unsportsmanlike hackers got in by cracking the email of an employee who handles social media. No end zone celebrations for the No-Fun-League after this incident.

Big Websites: AdultFriendFinder, Dropbox, MySpace, LinkedIn, Yahoo! - Remember MySpace? Hackers do, and said Yahoo when they LinkedIn to the more than 2billion usernames, passwords, and email addresses that stemmed from breaches at these companies. Millions of people had to update their passwords to avoid putting their friends, reputations, and connections, both professional and private, at risk.

John Podesta - The Chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was the victim of a classicphishing email. As a result, his Gmail account was leaked for the world to see - an event that probably altered the course of the U.S. presidential election. This classic case shows that (fire) walls can't keep all of the intruders out. #ImWithStrongPasswords





Kylie Jenner - The youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan also had her Twitter account hacked by the OurMine hacker group. In keeping up with terrible celebrity PR moves, she immediately took to Snapchat to proclaim, "I don't really care, I'm just letting them (hackers) have fun." That's precisely the advice Millennials do NOT need to hear. Our advice, Kylie? Keep your lips sealed and your accounts protected.

Tech Leaders: Mark Zuckerberg , Sundar Pichai , Daniel Elk , Jack Dorsey , Travis Kalanick - We trust tech companies to secure our personal data, but that faith is put to the test when the leaders of some of the world's most popular companies use bad passwords to protect their own accounts. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook made headlines this year for presumably using his daughter's first words to protect his Twitter and Pinterest accounts. But let's not forget about, Sundar Pichai (Google), Daniel Elk (Spotify), Jack Dorsey (Twitter), and Travis Kalanick (Uber) who all had their social media accounts hacked this year. Time for big tech leaders to get stronger passwords before they get put in the unfriend zone.

Houston Astros  The Houston Astros of Major League Baseball had their online database of player statistics hacked by a former executive of the St. Louis Cardinals. The hacker, Christopher Correa , who was recently convicted on federal charges, used the password of a former Cardinals employee who had recently joined the Astros. This is a grand slam password fail. It's not astrophysics folks; reusing passwords never leads to a perfect cybersecurity game.

Harry Styles - While no one is iPerfect, protecting your iCloud account with a weak password will only take you in One Direction; hacked. This year, people got access to Styles' files when an iCloud account associated with him was breached. Rough seas were ahead for Harry, as pictures from an intimate boating trip with Kendall Jenner were splashed around the world. You know what really makes you beautiful, Harry? A strong password.

Jack Johnson - More like Hack Johnson. One-half of the pop-rap duo Jack & Jack (and not the affable adult alternative artist), had one of the worst password stunts of the year when he requested that his 4+ million Twitter followers send him their passwords so he could put a personalized video in their feeds. It's safe to say he doesn't know Jack about password security.

Tom Hiddleston - Never in our wildest dreams did we expect Tom to make the list. Unfortunately, less than a week after coming out of the woods and joining Instagram, his account was promptly hacked. Hopefully, he can shake off his password mistake and come back in cybersecurity style. No bad blood Tom. 99 Problems Bad Passwords Don't Have To Be One Although we've had fun at the expense of the celebrities, it's not completely their fault. Celebrities, like the rest of us, must deal with a broken system that demands human beings memorize passwords for all of the accounts we have. To be completely secure, you need a strong, unique password for each online account. With the average user having over 100 accounts requiring passwords, it's just impossible to ask people to memorize strong passwords for each account.

Below are four actions everyone can take to ensure they good the best password hygiene. Strong Passwords  Your passwords should be like Kanye West album titles completely random and impossible to guess. Never use passwords that are easy to guess, such as ones with common names or things people know about you. Your passwords should be at least 8 characters long and include a mix of random letters, numbers, and symbols.

Different Password for Every Account  Treat your passwords like a celebrity treats an outfit; never use it twice. If a hacker gets access to a password that you're reusing then they have access to all of your accounts. Having a unique password for every account ensures that even if one is breached, others will be secure.

Two-Factor Authentication  This is like hiring another bodyguard, and ensures that even if someone does get your password, they can't access your account without a second form of authentication, such as a text message code or email link.

Get a Password Manager!  Password managers like Dashlane simplify all of the items above by creating and storing strong passwords for all of your accounts. To help keep you safe and off of the [email protected] list, we're offering an exclusive $20 discount on our Premium service. Don't be a [email protected] click HERE to get your limited time discount! About Dashlane Dashlane makes identity and checkouts simple with its password manager and secure digital wallet app. Dashlane allows its users to securely manage passwords, credit cards, IDs, and other important information via advanced encryption and local storage. Dashlane has helped over 6 million users in 150 countries manage and secure their digital identity. The app is available on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS, and has won critical acclaim from top publications, including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Dashlane is free to use on one device, and Dashlane Premium costs $39.99/year to sync between an unlimited number of devices. Dashlane was founded by Bernard Liautaud and co-founders Alexis Fogel, Guillaume Maron, and Jean Guillou. The company has offices in New York City and Paris and has received $52.5 million in funding from Rho Ventures, FirstMark Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners. Learn more at Dashlane.com Infographic - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161206/446261-INFO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dashlane-announces-inaugural-top-10-celebrity-pssholes-of-the-year-300374484.html SOURCE Dashlane

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[December 13, 2016] Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. Expands Reach Further into Toys and Wearables Markets with New Client - ZeroUI

DRAPER, Utah, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (FLXT) is pleased to announce it has recently received production Purchase Orders from ZeroUI, a CES 2016 award-winning developer of Ziro  an exciting modular robotics toy kit which leverages wireless and mobile technologies and a Bend Sensor-driven, wearable glove technology. ZeroUI is a dynamic company and pushing boundaries in the development of natural interface technologies in HCI (Human-Computer Interface) markets. These technologies have wide ranging applications in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), and Wearables. ZeroUI has a number of technology product plans for the present and future. Their first commercial offering, Ziro, came out of CES 2016 recognized with an award as one of three "Best Maker-Friendly Technologies." Ziro is the result of a long-term development effort by a former Purdue University professor. Under the leadership of Mr. Raja Jasti, ZeroUI CEO, the company has assembled a team of bright and energetic developers/designers. According to Paul Sexauer, Flexpoint VP-Sales & Marketing, "ZeroUI is a visionary, inventive company and the Ziro technology maps nicely to a number of our sweetspots  toys, robotics and wearables. Given these dynamics, we have been able to assimilate ourselves into the ZeroUI team very well." The Ziro robotics kit is made up of individual modules that are controlled by a uniquely designed, wireless smart glove comprised of, amng other things, a custom Bend Sensor. A mobile app connects the robot to the smart glove, and the user can program hand gestures to control the robot without any coding. There are many robotics kit ideas in production and planning phases. Two such robotics kits are the zirover and .ziro bo.



ZeroUI is experiencing tremendous interest from entities around the globe to help bring their exciting technologies to market. Commercialization efforts are well underway and poised for a big 2017. Commenting on the overall collaboration and rollout plan, Mr. Raja Jasti, ZeroUI CEO stated, "Ziro is the next big thing in educational robotics. It is redefining the boundaries of what kids can create and discover for themselves how much fun hands on learning can be. We've created a kit that makes complex subjects such as robotics not only accessible, but also entertaining. The worldwide response has been overwhelming." Sexauer further commented, "Flexpoint is proud to be serving as a key partner to ZeroUI. We look forward to a long-term, successful and mutually beneficial relationship with them. The future is now and the possibilities are quite exciting!"

Please visit http://www.flexpoint.com/ and http://zeroui.com/ for more information. About Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (FLXT) is an innovative technology firm specializing in developing products that feature the Company's patented Bend Sensor and related technology. The Bend Sensor is a groundbreaking sensing solution that is revolutionizing applications in the automotive, safety, medical and industrial industries. The Bend Sensor single-layer, thin film construction cuts costs and mechanical bulk while introducing a range of functions and stylistic design possibilities that have never before been available in sensing technology. Flexpoint's technology and expertise have been recognized by the world's elite business and academic innovators for over 17 years. The company is setting a new standard for sensing solutions in the "smart" age of technology. About ZeroUI

ZeroUI is based on a simple premise: Hands are the most natural UI. Humans possess the innate dexterity of using our hands to interact with the real world. ZeroUI's technologies and solutions enable people to interact with the digital world in the same way. The company develops natural interface technologies for the screenless world based on cutting edge HCI research. Such technologies have wide ranging applications in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), and Wearables. ZeroUI's first commercial product is Ziro (formerly HandiMate), a hand gesture controlled robotic toy construction kit for children for STEM learning, playful communications and storytelling. Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" and involve both known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such uncertainties include, among others, certain risks associated with the operation of the company described above. The Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. Contact Information:

Flexpoint Sensor Systems

Clark Mower, President

801-568-5111 Brokers and Analysts

Chesapeake Group

410-825-3930 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flexpoint-sensor-systems-inc-expands-reach-further-into-toys-and-wearables-markets-with-new-client---zeroui-300376964.html SOURCE Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

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[December 13, 2016] Local Digital Marketing Simplified for Retailers as New England Appliances and Electronics Group Partners with Promoboxx

BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Promoboxx, a SaaS marketing platform that connects and aligns national brands and their local retailers, today announced their partnership with the New England Appliances and Electronic Group (NEAEG). The NEAEG is a cooperative buying organization whose goal is to give independent appliance stores a market advantage over big box retailers. Recently launched, the NEAEGs Preferred Digital Vendor Program looks to help local appliance retailers succeed in digital marketing by certifying solutions that are trustworthy and in the best interest of the local retailer. Promoboxx is among the first vendors to be certified and offers appliance stores access to promote professional brand content for Frigidaire, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Haier, Fisher Paykel, and Speed Queen across their digital channels (website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, email) via the Promoboxx platform.

Local appliance retailers are time-strapped and wear several hats (sales, finance, service, marketing, etc.). Given their limited bandwidth, small business owners need help and resources to understand the importance of having a digital footprint to survive and thrive in todays marketplace. The NEAEG supports almost 120 independent appliance retailers with this by providing dedicated digital marketing tools, solutions, webinars, and marketing advice as part of its member benefits. Both the NEAEG and Promoboxx, share a common belief that locally-owned businesses have the most profound impact on their communities and seek tohelp them succeed in todays retail environment. The Preferred Digital Vendor Program seeks to provide certified, trustworthy digital marketing vendors that have been vetted by us. Having previously been a Promoboxx customer during my time at Electrolux, I was familiar with how the platform makes it super easy for appliance dealers to publish quality brand content across their digital channels. Their support team is exceptional and Promoboxx is sponsored by the brand, which makes it free to the local retailer - all of these things make them a great partner, states Shelley Kanther, Marketing and Digital Strategy Consultant at the New England Group.



Promoboxx, also an advocate for local businesses over big box retailers, has a thorough understanding of the current challenges faced by independent appliance store owners. Ben Carcio, CEO and Co-Founder of Promoboxx, states, We are excited to become an official partner of the New England Group as we share a common interest in doing whats best for the local retailer. Todays appliance dealers are time-strapped and are struggling with how to do it all - run a business and find the time to market their store properly. Our goal at Promoboxx is to make digital marketing simple, easy, and effective for the tens of thousands of retailers we serve. To learn more about how Promoboxx connects and aligns brands with their local retailers, visit www.promoboxx.com.

About Promoboxx Promoboxx is the only marketing platform that connects and aligns national brands and local retailers to drive sales. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Boston, Mass., Promoboxx works with leading brands in the outdoor, footwear, auto, appliance, flooring, animal nutrition, and hearing aid industries. More information is available at ?www.promoboxx.com?. About NEAEG The New England Appliance and Electronics Group (NEAEG) is a cooperative buying organization consisting of 117 independent appliance retailers encompassing 161 storefronts throughout New England and northern New York. Its goal is to provide the most competitive pricing through valued vendor partnerships as well as merchandising and advertising guidance for its members to ensure market advantages over big box corporations. NEAEGs 300,000 square foot warehouse stocks over 85 appliance, electronics, furniture and bedding brands, all available for delivery to its members within a day. Founded in 1963, NEAEG has grown steadily, relying on the principles of strength in numbers, the power of collaboration and a belief that locally owned and operated businesses are the foundation of our communities. Media Contact: Kelly Kressner Promoboxx [email protected] 617-859-6435

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[December 13, 2016] AnswerDash Delivers Predictive Self-Service Customer Support to Fixed-Wireless Leader Rise Broadband

SEATTLE, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AnswerDash, a leading provider of SaaS self-service support solutions, announces its agreement with Rise Broadband, the nation's largest fixed wireless internet and digital phone provider. Under the agreement, Rise uses AnswerDash's predictive Q&A engine on its website to deliver questions and answers in context, thereby improving the customer experience. AnswerDash provides this support by overlaying a dynamic Q&A tab on each page on the Rise site. When clicked by visitors, the tab pops out and displays the most commonly asked questions which are relevant to that page. By clicking on one of the common questions, a visitor receives an instant answer without having to leave the page to search a static FAQ or formulate a search query. The system leverages a company's existing knowledge base and determines the optimum questions to present using AnswerDash's predictive Q&A engine based on proprietary natural language processing (NLP) algorithms. "We are excited to work with Rise Broadband," said Bill Colleran, CEO at AnswerDash. "Rise provides exceptional service and is continuing to lead the way in the fixed wireless industry by implementing the latest customer support technology." Rise Broadband utilizes AnswerDash's simple, intuitive interface to efficiently handle commonly-asked questions. Visitors can also view other questions, search for different topics, submit a new question and provide feedback as to whether the answers were helpful. Rise continues to offer live chat and customer service agents when additional support is desired. "Rise is dedicated to providing a positive experience for our website vsitors by answering questions quickly, accurately and efficiently," said Kim Whitehead, Vice President of Marketing at Rise Broadband. "AnswerDash seamlessly delivers content to our customers, enabling us to effectively assist them 24 hours a day."



Because AnswerDash enables web site visitors to get predictive self-service help, organizations can improve their customer satisfaction while reducing customer support costs. Similarly, because AnswerDash provides assistance that is faster, more intuitive and simpler to access, visitors to AnswerDash-enabled web sites tend to achieve their objectives more often, resulting in higher conversions including downloads, registrations and purchases. About AnswerDash

AnswerDash's predictive Q&A engine enables companies to empower their users with the right information in the right place at the right time, whether on websites, in mobile apps or via chatbots. With AnswerDash, businesses can transform their digital user experience to dramatically cut support costs, increase sales conversions and improve customer satisfaction. AnswerDash integrates with the most popular knowledge bases and ticketing systems from Salesforce.com, Zendesk and Freshdesk, bringing knowledge base content directly to the point of need. AnswerDash also integrates with live chat solutions from leading providers such as Olark, Zopim, LiveChat, inContact, and SnapEngage. Founded by experts in human-computer interaction at the University of Washington, AnswerDash was named a Cool Vendor in Gartner's 2015 CRM Customer Service Report. Learn more at www.answerdash.com.

About Rise Broadband

Rise Broadband is the nation's largest fixed wireless internet service provider; offering affordable high-speed broadband (internet and phone) services in 16 states. Established in 2005 as JAB Wireless, Inc., Rise serves nearly 200,000 residential/commercial accounts in rural and suburban areas throughout the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions. The company also offers DISH and Direct TV service as well as PC Care; a one-stop resource for residential tech assistance. Rise is headquartered in metro Denver and more information can be found at RiseBroadband.com. Media Contacts

AnswerDash

Jennifer Spencer

301-675-7848

[email protected] Rise Broadband

Richard Abels

303-779-6292

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/answerdash-delivers-predictive-self-service-customer-support-to-fixed-wireless-leader-rise-broadband-300377048.html SOURCE AnswerDash

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A 16-year-old boy carrying a handgun and yelling he was going to kill someone was arrested by Madison police Monday morning.

The Madison teen was taken into custody, tentatively charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, police said.

The incident happened at about 8:40 a.m. in the 5800 block of Balsam Road.

A concerned resident called 911 after seeing a man with a big silver and black handgun was walking in the neighborhood, yelling he was going to kill someone.

"The suspect with a weapon in hand was spotted by an officer in a parking lot," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "He ran into a nearby apartment building but gave himself up after being ordered to do so by officers."

The loaded handgun, with an extended clip, was discovered by officers near a parked car where officers first spotted the suspect.

Nobody was injured.
[December 13, 2016] CrisisResponsePro Receives 2016 'Red Herring' Top 100 Global Award

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- At an awards ceremony in Southern California, Red Herring magazine announced that CrisisResponsePro, a secure SAAS for crisis and litigation communications, was named to its Top 100 Global list of the leading private companies from North America, Europe and Asia. The prestigious award celebrates innovations and technologies across their respective industries. Red Herring's Top 100 Global has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube and eBay would change the way we live and work. "Choosing the companies with the strongest potential was by no means a small feat," said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. "After rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list down from hundreds of candidates from across the globe to the Top 100 Winners. We believe CrisisResponsePro embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture." "We are honored to be named to this prestigious list, and feel it's a testament to the success of our young start-up," said Jim Haggerty, Founder & CEO of CrisisResposePro. "The level of talent represented on this list is extraordinary. We're humbled by our inclusion."



CrisisResponsePro was developed by PRCG | Haggerty LLC, a leading communications firm specializing in crisis communications, litigation communications and other sensitive areas of public relations and reputation management. Jim Haggerty's new book, Chief Crisis Officer, will be published in 2017 by Ankerwycke Books, an imprint of the American Bar Association. Red Herring's editorial staff evaluated the companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, strategy, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track records and standing of startups relative to their peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the 'buzz' and make the list a valuable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the most promising new business models from around the world.

Red Herring has been selecting the most exciting and promising start-ups since 1995. About CrisisResponsePro CrisisResponsePro.com's highly secure, web-based subscription portal brings the crisis communications team together and provides content and a collaborative platform to respond quickly and effectively to immediate crises like physical accidents, data breaches or product recalls, as well as longer-term issues related to legal, regulatory or public affairs matters. Built around the "Virtual WorkRoom" concept, CrisisResponsePro.com allows Users to access more than 10,000 statements issued by other companies, as well as hundreds of templates, checklists and other resources. Users can alert members of the crisis team and open a new Virtual WorkRoom at the touch of a button and view their crisis plan, approved messages and background materials from any computer, tablet or smartphone. CrisisResponsePro's subscription, browser-based software is cost-effective and scalable to organizations of any size, with billing based on Users and Virtual WorkRooms in service. All data is hosted on secure, private servers that allows CrisisResponsePro to deliver cost-effective crisis communications planning and response with the highest level of security: NSA-level, 256-bit encryption (in transit and at rest); password protection for all documents; secure, encrypted confidential messaging; two-factor authentication; and daily backup to multiple server locations with bank-level security. For more information, visit www.crisisresponsepro.com. Media Contact: Andrea Garcia, 1-212-683-8100, [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crisisresponsepro-receives-2016-red-herring-top-100-global-award-300377437.html SOURCE CrisisResponsePro

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[December 13, 2016] David Cooper Joins WEX as Chief Technology Officer

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), a leading provider of corporate payment solutions, today announced that David Cooper has joined the company in the newly created role of chief technology officer. The role was created to lead all aspects of corporate technology. In this position, Cooper will spearhead corporate IT and platform strategy, enterprise architecture, program management, information security, and IT infrastructure operations. "David brings a depth and breadth of experience across payments and technology, combined with a strategic acumen and proven track record that will be a tremendous asset to WEX," said Melissa D. Smith, president and chief executive officer of WEX. "We are confident that his leadership in technology and contribution to corporate-level strategic initiatives that support our global growth goals will make David a great addition to our tea."



Prior to joining WEX, Cooper held several senior technology positions, including head of global operations at GlobeOne, SVP of technology at Green Dot, and CTO and SVP of product development at both Fiserv and CashEdge. Cooper earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Microprocessor Systems from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. He will be based in Portland, Maine.

About WEX Inc.

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) is a leading provider of corporate payment solutions. From its roots in fleet card payments beginning in 1983, WEX has expanded the scope of its business into a multi-channel provider of corporate payment solutions representing 10 million vehicles and offering exceptional payment security and control across a wide spectrum of business sectors. WEX serves a global set of customers and partners through its operations around the world, with offices in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Norway and Singapore. WEX and its subsidiaries employ more than 2,500 associates. The company has been publicly traded since 2005, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "WEX." For more information, visit www.wexinc.com and follow WEX on Twitter (News - Alert) at @WEXIncNews. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213006163/en/

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Five candidates in race for NLCS District 3 board seat

Five candidates are seeking election to the district three NLCS board seat: Tony (Rock) Fleetwood, Tye Hooten, Scott King, Rob Payne and Autumn Ray.
Police detained a person of interest in a Far East Side bank robbery after witnesses said the robber left the scene in a taxi Tuesday, the Madison Police Department said.

Shortly before 1 p.m., a person robbed U.S. Bank, 4602 East Towne Blvd., police said. Witnesses told police the person, who did not display a weapon, left the scene in a taxi cab.

A taxi was pulled over near the intersection of East Washington Avenue and Schmedeman Avenue, a little more than a mile and a half from the bank, police said.

A person of interest in the taxi was detained without incident, and detectives are talking to the person, according to police.
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A Brooklyn man charged with striking and killing a cyclist in August on his way to work is also facing 12 counts of misdemeanor theft dating back to 2014, according to court records.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court charges Kevin Meister, 35, with stealing and later pawning landscaping equipment from his employer, Glacier Landscaping Inc. in the town of Verona, and Sub-Zero Group in Fitchburg, where he did work for Glacier, over two years.

The equipment, with a total value of more than $6,500, was allegedly sold at a Madison pawn shop.

Ten pieces were stolen from Glacier Landscaping, while the remaining two were from Sup-Zero Group. Some of the items pawned include hedge trimmers, backpack leaf blowers and concrete saws.

Meister is facing charges of a hit and run causing death and second-degree reckless homicide in the Aug. 5 death of Shelton Berel, 33, of Madison, who was struck while riding his bicycle on Lincoln Road in the town of Oregon.

A Dane County Sheriffs Office detective who was investigating the hit and run found a letter from Pawn America in Meisters vehicle, prompting him to search online pawn shop databases for other equipment Meister pawned, according to the complaint.

Meister has been free on bail since early November. Hes due in court Thursday on the theft charges. Hes also due in court Dec. 20 for a conference relating to the hit-and-run charges.
A Portland, Oregon, man was sentenced Friday to nearly two years in federal prison for money laundering that was part of a marijuana distribution scheme.

Nguyen is the fifth of six people to be sentenced for taking part in a scheme in which parcels containing more than 700 pounds of marijuana were shipped from Oregon to other locations in the U.S., with more than $2.5 million in proceeds laundered at U.S. banks.
HBO Max reportedly leaks Last of Us show release date

Thanks to an apparent mistake in the HBO Max app, we now know that The Last of Us' HBO show is (probably) almost here.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are getting older, but they're worth considering if you want an iPhone under $400.

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Now that they've been around for a few years, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are no longer sold by Apple directly, but these phones are available through carriers as well retailers as unlocked phones. The iPhone 7 now starts at $349, while the larger iPhone 7 Plus costs $449, making them a good choice for anyone looking for a cheap iPhone.

And for that money, you get pretty solid cameras (especially on the dual-lens iPhone 7 Plus), bright displays, responsive performance for apps and games from Apple's A10 Fusion chip and water-resistant bodies. The battery life is good, too, though the iPhone 7 Plus lasts longer on a charge.

The newer iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus offer better cameras, more storage, faster processing and perks like wireless charging, but those on a tight budget should be satisfied with the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus.

See our best phones page to see all of our top picks for every budget.

iPhone 7 design and water resistance

With the exception of two new color options, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus look nearly the same as their predecessors, but at least they can take more abuse.

Apple banished the unsightly antenna bands on the back of the handset, relegating them to the edges. It makes for a cleaner look, but if you want an iPhone that actually looks new, youll probably want to skip the Silver, Gold and Rose Gold and opt for the Black or Jet Black option.

The high-gloss Jet Black iPhone 7 I tested is a real head-turner, like a flattened, shiny Darth Vader helmet. The back does show finer scratches and fingerprint smudges more readily than other finishes, so you'll want to pick up a case (go with clear). The regular matte black iPhone 7 Plus I reviewed has a no-nonsense, executive-chic vibe.

I enjoyed  maybe too much  spilling a lot of water on the iPhone 7 and then dunking it in a pitcher.

Thanks to its IP67 water resistance, the iPhone 7 can survive being submerged in 1 meter (or about 3 feet) of water for 30 minutes. That's not quite as good as what Samsung promises for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge  5 feet of water for 30 minutes  but it's better than previous iPhones, which could be done in by an unexpected splash.

Photo: Nick Bush / Tom's Guide

I enjoyed  maybe too much  spilling a mug of water on the iPhone 7 and then dunking it in a water pitcher. After wiping off the screen it worked just fine. Just keep in mind that Apple designed this feature not as a party trick but as a way to prevent accidental damage.

Up front, Apple upgraded the display on the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch Plus to be up to 25 percent brighter than last year's iPhones, while showing a wider color gamut. A group of reds, yellow, light greens and purple heirloom tomatoes looked more vibrant on the new display versus the iPhone 6s. However, the iPhone 7 doesn't support HDR like the Galaxy Note 7, which delivers more natural colors and higher contrast in services like Amazon Video.

Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

My issue with the iPhone's design is that it doesn't look as fresh or as sexy as the curved Galaxy S7 Edge or Note 7. Just as important, there's more bezel around the iPhone 7's screen, so l had to stretch my thumb farther across the screen on the Plus to reach app icons and type with one hand. The bezel is less of an issue with the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 7.

Is the missing headphone jack a big deal?

At the risk of sounding like an iApologist, no, it's not. Or at least, it won't be for long.

Left: iPhone 7 Plus. Right: iPhone 6s Plus. Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

Wireless is the future, and Apple is clearly trying to push us in that direction with the AirPods and AirPods Pro. And there are several other great options on our best wireless earbuds list.

Image: Apple

So what about everyone else who hasn't gone wireless? First, Apple includes EarPods in the box that connect to the iPhone 7's Lightning port (the same you use for charging). They're hard and not very comfortable to wear, but they also deliver pleasingly balanced audio.

MORE: Best Smartphones on the Market Now

Just keep in mind that you can't charge your iPhone and listen at the same time unless you use an accessory like the iPhone Lightning Dock ($49) at your desk or Belkin's Lightning Audio + Charge Rockstar ($39) on the go.

Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

Second, Apple also throws a Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone adapter in the box, which you can just leave attached to your favorite wired headphones. Just don't lose this little sucker; it's $9 to replace.

Speaking of audio, I'm glad Apple added a second speaker on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus  one speaker is at the top of the phone, while the other is on the bottom. The pulsing beat and vocals on "Don't You Want Me" came through much louder on the newer phone than my iPhone 6.

Good cameras, but the optical zoom on the Plus rules

Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus feature a new 12-megapixel camera that delivers excellent performance in low light  a weakness of the iPhone 6s. There's two reasons for this: a wider f 1/1.8 aperture lets in more light, compared with f 2/2.2 on the previous phones, and Apple finally gave both the 7 and 7 Plus optical image stabilization, which improves exposure while minimizing hand shake. (Previously, only the Plus phones had OIS.)

Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

In a low-light photo I took of some colleagues using both my old iPhone 6 and the iPhone 7 Plus, the latter shot exhibited much less grain when I zoomed in, and colors were more natural-looking. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus also benefit from a new Quad-LED flash, which is 50 percent brighter than the flash in the iPhone 6s.

Photo: Mark Spoonauer / Tom's Guide

Outdoors, the iPhone 7 really shined, such as in this shot of a pink hibiscus flower. When I zoomed in, I could easily make out the veins in the petal and individual drops of water. I also appreciated the new wide color aperture capability in the camera, which faithfully recreated the darker and lime green leaves that surrounded the flower. However, the Galaxy S7 did a slightly better job of also keeping the pistil in focus.

Photo: Samuel Rutherford / Tom's Guide

The reason to get the iPhone 7 Plus over the iPhone 7 isn't the bigger screen, but the second telephoto lens that gives you true optical zoom. In the live-camera view on the iPhone 7 Plus, you'll see a 2x button; press it, and you'll be able to get much closer to your subject without the typical digital zoom noise.

Optical zoom on the iPhone 7 Plus. Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

A shot I took of the Empire State Building with and without the 2x zoom resulted in completely different photos. It's like cropping without the work, and the close-up looked more dramatic with the late-day sun bouncing off its facade, contrasting against the clear blue sky. You can zoom in even farther from there to 5x or 10x by sliding your thumb on the screen, but it will be digital.

Photo: Mark Spoonauer / Tom's Guide

Soon, Apple will release a camera update for the Plus that will add a special Portrait mode for taking photos that leverage the dual-camera setup. Youll be able to artfully blur the background for a dramatic "bokeh" effect.

The reason to get the iPhone 7 Plus over the iPhone 7 isn't the bigger screen, but the second telephoto lens that gives you true optical zoom.

Apple also graced both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with a sharper 7-megapixel front camera, an upgrade over the 5-MP camera in the previous iPhones. The camera did a fine job capturing my weekend stubble, as well as the folds on my gray O'Kellys Pub T-shirt. The flash accurately captured my skin tone without blowing out the background.

Photo: Mark Spoonauer / Tom's Guide

The new home button feels weird, but it's effective

When trying out the iPhone 7 for the first time, my wife was convinced that the Home button was a real button. "The whole bottom of the phone feels like it's vibrating," she said. That's Apple's Taptic Engine in action, which provides feedback that makes the Home button feel like it's being depressed when it's not.

Then I turned off the iPhone 7 and she tried pressing again. Nothing. My wife called it "sorcery." There's a learning curve, but I'm glad Apple made this move, because you'll no longer have to worry about lint or other gunk getting behind that button.

Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

Plus, because more than just the Home button vibrates, developers can tap into the Taptic Engine to make games and other apps feel more immersive, building on last year's 3D Touch experience. I got a taste of this capability when I played the Zombie Gun Ship shooting game and could feel each shot and explosion. Here's hoping developers give the Taptic Engine more love than 3D Touch got and update their apps.

A new speed champ

We'll get to the benchmark results, but what I appreciate most about the A10 Fusion chip in the iPhone 7 is how much more responsive it makes the iPhone 7 feel versus the iPhone 6. That nagging lag between opening an app and stuff appearing on screen, such as in the Settings menu, is practically gone. Exiting to the home screen is also faster, as is launching the camera, which takes a half second less.

That may not seem like much. Over the course of a day, though, and certainly a couple of years, all of those momentary delays add up.

MORE: Best Cheap Unlocked Smartphones

Apple says that the four-core A10 Fusion processor is the most powerful chip ever in a smartphone, and our test results back that up. On the new Geekbench 4 benchmark, the iPhone 7 notched 5,507, compared with 3,917 for the Galaxy S7. The OnePlus 3 and LG G5 also trailed Apple's flagship.

Those who care about gaming will love the advantage the iPhone 7 has over the competition. The iPhone 7 turned in a score f 37,810 on the 3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited Test. That demolishes the OnePlus 3 (29,957), Galaxy S7 Edge (27,851) and LG G5 (27,118).

Last but not least, the iPhone 7 also beat the field on the JetStream browser test, which measures JavaScript performance. (Higher numbers are better.) The iPhone 7 hit 169.04 in Safari, compared with the low 50s for the LG G5 and OnePlus 3 and 44 for the Galaxy S7  all in Chrome.

When it comes to storage, I'm glad that Apple finally stopped ripping people off by starting with just 16GB. Now both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus offer your choice of 32GB, 128GB and 256GB of storage. Each tier adds $100 to the price tag.

A big endurance boost

You'll have much less of a need to slap a bulky battery case on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. They benefit from bigger batteries than the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (according to iFixit), and the A10 Fusion chip has two low-power cores that kick in when you don't need intense performance.

The larger iPhone 7 Plus' battery endured for 1.5 hours half longer than the iPhone 7, lasting 10 hours and 35 minutes.

On the Tom's Guide Battery Test, which involved continuous web surfing over AT&T 4G LTE network, the iPhone 7's 1960 mAh battery lasted 9 hours and 3 minutes. That's a huge improvement over last year's iPhone 6s 1715 mAh battery on the same network, which lasted just 6:46. The smartphone average is 8:54, and the Galaxy S7 lasted a slightly less 8:43.

The larger iPhone 7 Plus' 2900 mah battery (up from 2750 mAh on the 6s Plus) endured for 1.5 hours longer than the iPhone 7, lasting 10 hour and 35 minutes. That's longer than the lowly 8:16 from last year's iPhone 6s Plus and it also beats the Galaxy S7 Edge (10:09). However, several Android phones last 11 hours or longer.

MORE: Smartphones with the Longest Battery Life

iOS software

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both support iOS 13, so you can enjoy features like Dark Mode and much-improved Photos app.

Apples software makes the iPhone more visually appealing and more open than ever before. For example, the Messages apps lets you share GIFs in your texts, as well as fun visual effects like Fireworks. Theres also lots of new apps that integrate with Messages, including OpenTable for booking restaurant reservations and Square Cash for sending money directly from within the messaging app.

Image: Nick Bush / Tom's Guide

Swiping to the left of the home screen brings up a Today screen that lets you quickly check the weather, news headlines, your next appointment and more. You can customize the order these widgets appear in and download more from the App Store as developers update their apps to take advantage of this iOS 10 feature.

Photo: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide

Another highlight is that Siri is now open to apps. For instance, you can ask Apples assistant to book you a car via Lyft or Uber or send messages to contacts via LinkedIn with your voice.

Photos gets a welcome makeover in iOS 10, too, serving up curated Memories that consist of your best photos and videos over certain time periods. You can also search for images based on the People in them. And Photos now supports facial recognition, automatically grouping together photos featuring the same people.

Theres a lot more to this update, including proactive suggestions in Maps and when youre typing, so check out our full iOS 10 review.

Bottom line

I would have liked to see Apple up the screen resolution on its flagship phones and shave away some of the screen bezel to make the Plus more one-hand friendly. But I really don't mind the missing headphone jack because I've already gone wireless. Between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, I'd go with the Plus. You get longer battery life, a bigger screen and a second telephoto lens that lets you get closer to your subjects.
Adata announced its new Ultimate SU900 SSD, which makes the notable change to Micron's 3D MLC NAND and throws in an SLC buffer for better performance. Adata is the first major third-party SSD vendor with 3D MLC NAND, and also the first to use an SLC buffer on an MLC SSD.

3D NAND has finally trickled down to the third-party manufacturers following a long three-year delay after Samsung initially announced the new technology. Samsung doesn't sell into the third-party market, choosing instead to use its captive supply for its own products. Now that Micron is seeding the smaller players with both TLC and MLC 3D NAND, we can expect more choice on the market, which might break Samsung's current stranglehold.

Many enthusiasts were very skeptical when 2D TLC NAND first came to fruition, and rightly so. TLC NAND offers less endurance and performance than MLC, and though the lower price point is nice, it's hard for us enthusiasts to overlook those limitations. Clever engineers came up with SLC buffers, which use a small portion of the NAND as a fast holding area, to overcome some of the performance penalty. However, the real advance was the move to 3D TLC, and now more SSDs sell with TLC NAND than MLC NAND.

Even though 3D TLC NAND is good enough for most, it still isn't enough to satisfy more demanding users. Adata's SATA 6Gbps SU900 steps up a notch to Micron's 3D MLC NAND paired with the four-channel SMI SM2258 controller and a DRAM buffer. Adata also employs an SLC buffer, which is a first for an MLC SSD. The SLC buffer absorbs incoming write traffic faster than the MLC NAND, which will help boost performance during bursty workloads. The drive comes in the familiar 2.5" form factor with a 7mm Z-height (thickness).

The faster NAND provides up to 85,000/90,000 random read/write IOPS, which is an improvement of 5,000/10,000 read/write IOPS over the TLC-powered SU800. The SU900 moves the needle ever-so-slightly with up to 560/525 MBps of sequential read/write throughput, but we suspect most of the gains will come courtesy of the SLC buffer during lighter workloads.

Adata SU900 Adata SU800 Capacity 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Interface SATA SATA NAND Micron 256Gb 3D MLC NAND Micron 384Gb 3D TLC NAND Controller SMI SM2258 SMI SM2258 DRAM Yes Yes Sequential Read/Write (up to) 560/525 MBps 560/520 MBps Random Read/Write (up to) 85,000/90,000 IOPS 80,000/80,000 IOPS Endurance (up to) 800TB 800TB Warranty 5-Year 3-Years

As always, performance varies by capacity, and the SU900 comes in 128GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB options. The 2TB model is a big step up over the previous 1TB limitation, and the company also eliminated the 128GB model. Interestingly, even though the drive comes with the generally more impressive MLC NAND and doubled capacity, it still features the same maximum endurance rating of 800TB. Adata improved the warranty period up to five years, which actually reduces the amount of per-day warrantied data writes compared to the TLC model. The extra warranty period is nice, but we usually expect to see endurance scale with capacity, not to mention the addition of more robust NAND. We've followed up with Adata to clarify.

The Ultimate SU900 also features several staples of modern-day SSDs, such as LDPC error correction, data shaping, and a RAID engine, which provides enough parity for the SSD to recover from failed portions of NAND.

Adata includes a few goodies, such as a 2.5mm spacer and 3.5" bracket, with the SU900. The 256GB model retails for $113 USD, while the 512GB weighs in at $214.
Lets start with the good news, shall we? In the Folding For Charity competition between Toms Hardware and AnandTech, everyone was a winner (I know, its trite), most particularly Folding@Home, the distributed computing program organized by Stanford University to apply spare computing resources to battle crippling and deadly diseases.

Between our two publications, we accumulated 508,647,874 points. We also spurred yet another competitor, The Tech Report, to join in the fun to maintain its ranking. Its worth noting that AnandTech and Hardware Canucks also do yearly battle for the cause.

Heres more good news: Toms Hardware climbed up a few notches in the global leaderboards from the time the race was announced, and our folding team is now ranked 22nd in the world (as of this writing). At our current pace, our team could break into the top 20 by the end of December. The Toms Hardware Folding team also doubled its normal weekly output during the race.

In short: Wow! And congratulations. And most of all, thank you.

Now of course, theres other news, and Ive been putting this off . . . but Ive got to hand it to the AnandTech Folding team, which soundly spanked us this time around. Although Toms Hardware accumulated 212,467,005 points, AnandTech managed to garner 296,180,869. While Toms Hardware was doubling its weekly output, AnandTechs tripled. Indeed, as of now, the AnandTech team has leapt in front of Tom's Hardware, and is ranked 21st.

Sincerely, congratulations to AnandTech.

However, maybe Im biased, but although AnandTech's point volume was higher, Id like to think our point quality was superior. Also, I think these numbers are a little dubious, potentially influenced by Russian hackers. I hear the CIA is looking into it. And although I am not sanctioning the effort, I understand that some have called for a recount. I mean, knowing that AnandTech editor-in-chief Ryan Smith was on vacation during the contest, did he leave his massive stash of GPUs fired up and folding while he was away?

Regardless, I am determined that we will come out on top when we meet again.
After a four month break, Sydney hip hop collective One Day are hosting a special summer pop-up edition at The Greenwood Hotel on January 14.

The pop-up event will feature the One Day family: Joyride, Raph, and Nick Lupi, plus guest sets from the likes of Jayteehazard, NES, Klasik, Girls DJs, and Shantan Wantan Ichiban. There will also be a live mural, food stalls, and drink specials.

One Day have been entertaining audiences around the country since 2006, but go back even further than that. As Horrorshow MC Solo explained last year: Most of us went to the same high school and even those who didnt; we all grew up in the same neighbourhoods around the inner west and so we moved in similar circles and were connected through house parties, mutual friends, graffiti and of course a love of rap music.

Back at this time we were mucking around, freestyling at parties and beginning some early attempts at making songs. Once Spit Syndicate had a couple of mixtapes under their belt and were playing gigs around Sydney, the crew was starting to take shape and we gave it the name One Day  a nod to our aspirations for the future as to where we might take this music thing.

Tickets to the One Day Summer Popup start at $15, and considering these events often sell out within the first 24 hours, youll wanna grab tickets here.
Today weve got a 100% unashamed slab of throwback fun for you from Melbournes newest soul, disco and funk champs Sugar Fed Leopards.

Packing one hell of a sax solo, Shut Up (Show Me With Your Shoes) the first single taken from their upcoming sophomore album, due in April 2017. The colour-drenched clip was filmed by Sabina Maselli, Billy Buckley and Nick Pollock, and edited by Sugar Breath and Davide Dolce  and looks like it was probably just a little bit of fun to shoot.

Having played the likes of Boogie Festival and Woodford Folk Festival in 2016, theyve just wrapped up their last show for the year, but we can absolutely recommend catching them live in the new year, as their live shows are some of the most joyously energetic around.
After months of speculation and bureaucratic back-and-forth, the Herald Sun reports that an Australian Music Hall of Fame will finally be established. According to News Corp, the Australian Music Hall of Fame will serve as part hall of fame, part museum and will be housed at the Victorian Arts Centre.

Kylie Minogue, Molly Meldrum, and Mushroom Records founder Michael Gudinski will be patrons of the Hall, which will have free entry and will bring an end to what Gudinski referred to as a 15-year-plus struggle to get an Australian Music Hall of Fame built, something of a passion project for the veteran promoter.

It would have been shattering for Molly and me and Kylie if it happened anywhere else in Australia like Sydney, he told News Corp. It seems the $10 million in State Government funding the Andrews Government had earmarked for a Music Hall of Fame wasnt simply empty party rhetoric spouted in the lead-up to the state election.

The venue was originally the cause of a major bidding war between famed Melbourne music sites. Among those who were vying for the government cash was St Kildas iconic Palais Theatre. We think it would make a lot of sense for it to be at the Palais, Mayor Amanda Stevens told The Leader in 2014. Theres a huge amount of musical history in St Kilda and wed be really keen to secure the extra funding.

The Victorian Arts Centre will be redeveloping its Gallery 1 area to house the Hall, which will feature items donated by Minogue, Meldrum, and Gudinski, as well as exhibits from the Arts Centres own collection. The Australian Music Hall of Fame is set to officially open in November 2017.

It will be an opportunity for all generations and all types of people including the next generation to be educated on music and the experience of it, Gudinski told the Herald Sun. If people are going to walk through it and if they feel inspired in any way then weve achieved our goal.

Its not yet clear whether the Australian Music Hall of Fame will operate in a similar way to the US Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which is located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio and hosts yearly inductions in New York City. ARIA already maintain a Hall of Fame, selecting one inductee per year, though it does not maintain a physical, brick-and-mortar hall of fame.
Ministry Of Sound started as a London nightclub, and spawned into a record label, a radio station, and one of the most recognisable brands on the planet. But for countless Aussies its the Ministry Of Sound Annual compilation series that soundtracked hundreds of nights out, evenings in, and hazy mornings after.

The first Annual compilation was released in 1995, with the first Australian Annual dropping in 2001. According to News Corp, the series has been responsible for over two million sales in Australia alone, with each edition selling upwards of 100,000 copies during the peak. Worldwide, MoS have sold an astounding 55 million compilation albums  this includes not only Annual, but other popular series, such as Sessions.

According to Ministry of Sound Australia, the 2005 Annual was the biggest seller, with just under 300,000 sales  sales for the 2008 Annual came close to this.

The first local Annual  the 2002 Annual, which was released late 2001  was an instant success, selling 130,000 copies.

15 years on from the release of the first Annual in Australia, Ministry of Sound DJs John Course and Mark Dynamix are embarking on a reunion tour, suitably focusing on the Annual releases from 2001-2004. Tour dates are below, with tickets available here.

Fri 16 Dec  Sydney  Metro Theatre (SOLD OUT)

Sat 17 Dec  Sydney  Greenwood Hotel (SOLD OUT)

Fri 23 Dec  Adelaide  HQ

Mon 26 Dec  Melbourne  The Prince Bandroom



Fri 13 Jan  Darwin Discovery

Sun 15 Jan  Perth  Matisse Beach Club

Sat 21 Jan  Brisbane  The Met

Reunion Tour: The Annual 2001-2004 is at The Metro Theatre, Sydney on Friday, Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney on Saturday, HQ, Adelaide on December 23, Discovery, Darwin, January 13, Matisse beach Club, Perth, January 15 and The Met, Brisbane, January 21.
An employee at a Fitchburg massage business was arrested after a report of an alleged sexual assault during a recent massage, according to police.

Christopher Ehrett, a 33-year-old employee at Massage Envy, 6231 McKee Road, was arrested on a tentative charge of third-degree sexual assault by Fitchburg police after an investigation Monday.

The owners of Massage Envy have cooperated with police during the investigation, Fitchburg police said.

An employee of Massage Envy who wouldn't give her name declined to comment on the incident.

Police are asking anyone with more information on this or related incidents to contact them at 608-270-4300 or Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.
KANSAS CITY RESIDENTS SEEM TO OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSE LOCAL POLITICAL CONTROL OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT!!!

City Councilman Ed Ford: What is it about Kansas City that makes us incapable of self-governing?

Steve Glorioso: "Given the opportunity, over time, we see that Kansas City always votes for direct Democracy."

Former KCPD Chief Jim Corwin: "The community is the police, the police are the community. Kansas City needs to be informed about the choice the confronts them."

Former police board president Karl Zobrist: You cannot put a price on integrity. This structure has served our city effectively for 70 years. Once you give this system up, you will not get it back."

Councilman John Sharp: "Now, more than at any other time time in local history, we have better communication and cooperation with our police department."

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sponsored what is likely the most important political discussion we've had all year in Kansas City.Here's what's most important . . .Gauging public response and even according to moderator Dave Helling . . .Here are just a few choice quotes from the discussion . . .There were a lot of comments from the crowd and former police officers butprovided the most insight into the current state of municipal government and police relations.Again, the crowd seemed skeptical of local control . . .And the background that we discovered by attending this discussion is. . . Behind the scenes, Kansas City elected officials want to"reform" police pensions and that's a big part of the push for local control. KCPD wants no part of this move. A realization by voters that we're mainly talking political control and not any structural changes is important so that well-informed voters might realize the real nature of this effort.
KCUR: "Something of this magnitude has never happened at our library, and all of us our shaking our heads because we are so surprised," says Carrie Coogan, the Deputy Director of Kansas City Public Library.









Coogan says library surveillance footage shows what appears to be a tall, white man with shaved or bald head defacing the Abernathy portrait. The footage indicates the incident took place about 4 p.m. Sunday.





"We are talking with police to determine whether this is a library regular or if anybody recognizes him," Coogan says.

Here's a comprehensive write-up on the tragic tagging attack aimed at the Kansas City Public Library . . . Take a look:Now . . .Prez-Elect Trump supporters have the impulse to dismiss this act as hoax or false flag and his detractors tend to view it as an example of political hateration . . . However, the only thing this incident really tells us is that the Public Library is frequented by dangerous and unbalanced people who have the tendency to lash out in ways that aren't understandable and totally unacceptable and might indicate a need for mental health services i.e. Kansas City hobos tend to be cray. And this is part of the reason why looking for info online is the preferred option nowadays.You decide . . .
Early this morning without much fanfare or any notice from mainstream media there were hundreds of faithful Kansas City residents celebratingThe tradition is marked with early morning singing ofoutside of the Westside's Sacred Heart Shrine on Avenida Cesar E Chavez in Kansas City, Missouri.The mass is marked byand speaks to the indigenous roots of Mexican heritage which was exceptionally significant this year given widespread controversyNevertheless, as an upcoming immigration crackdown confronts a great many ethnic communities in the U.S., the morning congregation celebrated a tradition that's every bit as politically and spiritually charged as the antics of the slightly less melodic so-called "compassionate Conservatives" who are equally engaged in a merciless culture war against this very kind of diversity practiced quietly by the faithful crowd who, ironically, worship the same God.
Show-Me Sen. Claire & Roy On Same Page

Rock Chalk Russian Questions . . .

Vice News: Everything You Need to Know About This Whole Russian Hacking Mess

















Fox News: CIA report of Russia interference in 2016 race divides Republicans

Politicos from both sides of the aisle in Missouri and Kansas are teaming up to look deeper into news from the FBI & CIA that the recent presidential elections were hacked.Double links:And here are TKC's favorite links on the topic . . .Now . . .Here's something that deserves special attention . . . Media reports over a "division" between the CIA & FBI are searching for a headline. Check quote from people smarter than TKC that seems to sum up any semblance at a rift . . .And so, the only real aftermath here is that talk about Russia targeting U.S. Democracy in a retro-assault that threatens the start of another cold war.You decide . . .
CHECK OUT TKC TIPSTER EXCLUSIVE COURTHOUSE INSIDER PERSPECTIVE ON NEWBIE EXEC FRANK WHITE FEUDING WITH THE LEGISLATURE OF BUDGET MONEY BEHIND THE SCENES!!!

"More childish antics from the White administration as they have let all of the legislators know that if Frank does not get EVERY SINGLE ITEM in his proposed budget approved, he is going to veto the entire thing and leave the county without a budget for the first time in modern history.

"Stop for a moment and grasp this. Set aside for a moment how childish and immature this threat is. It's COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE for an Administration to threaten to damage the operations of the government they manage just because they don't get their way.

"Employee raises? No, because Frank is having a tantrum. New crime reductions programs? Nope, because Frank's throwing a hissy fit. More prosecutors to fight crime? No way, because Frank is stomping his feet. For anyone actually interested in a government that works for the people and not the ego of politicians, dark days at the courthouse."

Earlier this morning we noted a Jackson County budget battle in the works.And now . . .An important note from Jackson County insiders on the current budget impasse and the consequences of the feuding . . .Developing . . .
KMBC: Kansas City has the only police department in the country thats controlled by the state and not the city. Missouri took control of the department during a reform movement in the 1930s and 40s.



A request for a statewide vote on the issue of local police control was filed in Jefferson City last week. If it moves forward, voters across Missouri could decide on the matter in 2018.



Statewide control would mean that citizens, through the Kansas City Council and the mayor, would have more direct control over the police than they do now. While the police are asking the city for more than $217 million for the upcoming budget year, the department doesnt technically answer to City Hall.

SHOULD CITY HALL TAKEOVER CONTROL OF THE KCPD???

Take a look at a top story tonight that should worry not only police but also neighborhood and community volunteers . . .And so we throw the question to our TKC Blog Community this evening . . .A few years ago this topic was. However, this time around it looks like Conservatives are backing the effort and they won't face as much opposition from their GOP buddies.Something to consider . . . While this debate has a great many implications for public safety and community outreach . . . Let's not forget that the result of a City Hall KCPD takeover would also- A frightening concept that probably sends a shiver down the spine of even the most streetwise Kansas City cop.Finally . . . The topic of political influence used against police never merits much discussion among far too polite mainstream media but the fact is that KCPD was taken over by the state when Missouri politicos determined that rampant Kansas City corruption threatened the governance of police and, like it or not, it's hard to argue that very much has changed in Kansas City on that front.Developing . . .
An article posted online on Monday, penned by the Director of the IMFs European Department Poul Thomsen and the Economic Counselor and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund Maurice Obstfeld, suggests that the IMF is not requesting further austerity measures from Greece. The article, which was posted an the IMF blog on Monday, is as follows:

"Greece is once again in the headlines as discussions for the second review of its European Stability Mechanism (ESM) program are gaining pace. Unfortunately, the discussions have also spurred some misinformation about the role and the views of the IMF. Above all, the IMF is being criticized for demanding more fiscal austerity, in particular for making this a condition for urgently needed debt relief. This is not true, and clarifications are in order.

The IMF is not demanding more austerity. On the contrary, when the Greek Government agreed with its European partners in the context of the ESM program to push the Greek economy to a primary fiscal surplus of 3.5 percent by 2018, we warned that this would generate a degree of austerity that could prevent the nascent recovery from taking hold. We projected that the measures in the ESM program will deliver a surplus of only 1.5 percent of GDP, and said this would be enough for us to support a program. We did not call for additional measures to achieve a higher surplus. But contrary to our advice, the Greek Government agreed with the European institutions to temporarily compress spending further if needed to ensure that the surplus would reach 3.5 percent of GDP.

We have not changed our view that Greece does not need more austerity at this time. Claiming that it is the IMF who is calling for this turns the truth upside down.

Making the Greek budget more growth-friendly and fair

But this does not mean that there is no further work for Greece to do on the fiscal side. Greece still needs to reform the structure of its taxes and spendinghow the government raises its money and what it spends it onbecause both are highly unfriendly to growth and equity. But the point of the measures we are calling for is not to generate more austerity and a higher primary surplus. To the contrary, the gains from these reforms should be used fully to increase spending or cut taxes to support growth. In our view, reforms like those we propose are indispensable: we do not believe that Greece can come close to sustaining even a modest primary surplus and realize its ambitious long-term growth target without a radical restructuring of the public sector. This should notand cannothappen overnight, but it is critical that a plan to create a more growth-friendly and equitable structure of the public finances over the medium term is adopted now.

Why is the currently agreed budget unfriendly to growth? While Greece has undertaken a huge fiscal adjustment, it has increasingly done so without addressing two key problemsan income tax regime that exempts more than half of households from any obligation (the average for the rest of the Euro Zone is 8 percent) and an extremely generous pension system that costs the budget nearly 11 percent of GDP annually (versus the average for the rest of the Euro Zone of 2 percent of GDP). Instead of tackling these difficult problems, Greece has resorted to deep cuts in investment and so-called discretionary spending. It has done so to such an extent that decaying infrastructure is hampering growth and the delivery of basic public services such as transportation and health care is being compromised.

We think that these cuts have already gone too far, but the ESM program assumes even more of them, with an increase in the primary surplus to 3.5 percent of GDP achieved through further cuts in investment and discretionary spending. Perhaps through a Herculean effort Greece could manage the spending cuts needed to achieve a 3.5 percent of GDP deficit in the short run. But experience has shown that they cannot be sustained and are inconsistent with Greeces ambitious long-term growth target.

Greeces economy needs far-reaching modernization across the board. Above all, Greece does not have the kind of unemployment compensation and other well-targeted social benefits that are commonplace elsewhere in Europe and that are critical for broad social support in a modern market-oriented economy. A case in point is the Governments reluctance to lift the restriction on collective dismissalsan outdated pre-approval requirement that does not exist in most other European countries. Its hesitation comes not because the dismissal restriction is a good idea in itself, but because Greece has no adequate unemployment compensation. Rather than provide support to dismissed workers, the government instead restricts the ability of firms to dismiss them. Simply put, Greece cannot modernize its economy by boosting funding for infrastructure and well-targeted social programs while exempting more than half of households from income taxes and paying public pensions at the level of the richest European countries.

A path forward that adds up

What are the implications for debt relief? Greeces debt is highly unsustainable and no amount of structural reforms will make it sustainable again without significant debt relief. Similarly, no amount of debt relief will allow Greece to return to robust growth without reforms. But since the higher the primary surplus that Greece maintains, the lower the amount of debt relief to ensure debt sustainability, the question is how to distribute the burden between Greece and its partners. We have suggested that the primary surplus target used to calibrate debt relief be set at 1.5 percent of GDP. But we recognize that member states reluctance to accept this (and the resulting additional need for debt relief) is rooted in the reality that some of them will themselves have to run higher primary surpluses than proposed for Greece, while others provide less generous pension benefits and tax exemptions than does Greece. The Euro Zone is not a full political union, and we realize that a solution will have to be politically acceptable to 19 sovereign member states. A compromise between the Greeks and their European partners may therefore have to involve a higher primary surplus for a while, although this would not be our first choice.

But while we can be flexible for the short term about how the burden is divided between the Greeks and their European partners, the solution needs to add up in a credible manner. Having argued above that not even a surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP is consistent with strong growth without pension and tax reforms to make the budget much more growth friendly and fair, it should be obvious that pushing the budget to a surplus of 3.5 percent of GDP will take an even larger toll on growth. It will reduce demand in the short runwhich is why we would in any case not recommend increasing the surplus above 1.5 percent of GDP until the recovery has taken better hold. And it will weigh on medium-term growth by delaying the onset of the needed implementation of a more growth friendly budget. Thus, an open-ended long-term commitment to very high surpluses is simply not credible.

Should Greece and its European partners agree on a short-term surplus target of 3.5 percent of GDP, however, two aspects are relevant for the IMF. First, there needs to be a credible plan how to push the surplus beyond 1.5 percent of GDP. This would require significant additional measures that are not yet in place. And second, credibility requires that these additional measures are legislated upfront to leave no doubt about Greeces political resolve to overcome the resistance from vested interests that have hampered program implementation in the past.

In conclusion, it is not the IMF that is demanding more austerity, either now or as a means to lower the need for debt relief over the medium-term. Or to be more direct, if Greece agrees with its European partners on ambitious fiscal targets, dont criticize the IMF for being the ones insisting on austerity when we ask to see the measures required to make such targets credible.

Read this note for a more detailed explanation of why the current Greek budget is unfriendly to growth and equity, and why solving this problem requires tax and pension reforms."

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
According to German Spiegel online, the EU is preparing to send two FRONTEX forces tasked with monitoring the borders between Greece and FYROM and passport checks at the border points, as it estimates the refugee agreement between the EU and Turkey will fall through. It would be the first time since the beginning of the refugee crisis that Frontex forces will be deployed in the region with this function. It is estimated that nearly 60 employees will be sent in January and February.

The move comes as a response to Greek authorities concerns that the Turkish government will denounce the refugee deal with the EU and push thousands of migrants and refugees towards the Balkan route to enter the EU. The first mission, called Operation Focal Point 2017, will focus on passport controls at official border crossings, while the second operation, Flexible Operational Activities 2017, is to patrol at the border of the two countries to prevent illegal crossings. Surveillance tasks could also include the collection of intelligence and a vetting process of migrants such as their origin, the routes taken or smugglers networks.

Top ranking representatives from Frontex and the Greek police inspected the operational area last week. The EU border guards will be on the ground with two teams, while a headquarters will be established in Kilkis, 47 kilometers from the FROM border. The other will be situated at the village of Evzoni near an official border crossing and the former refugee camp Idomeni. An internal police document shows that the deployment of Frontex forces could also be extended to the border of Greece with Albania. To date, Frontex officers on the northern Greek land border were only used to register migrants.

Source: Spiegel online

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
Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, one of the pioneering Sharia compliant banks in the kingdom, has launched its new Visa Infinite Credit Card, designed to meet the requirements of a select group of upscale clients.



The new Sharia-compliant card provides unparalleled services and benefits for an easy access to a diverse selection of privileges specially created for the affluent traveller, said a statement from Al Salam Bank-Bahrain.



It offers privileges such as premium airport lounge access at over 500 worldwide destinations, free Gulf Air FalconFlyer loyalty miles, complimentary multi-trip travel insurance coverage of up to $1 million, complimentary Hilton Honors membership, exclusive Harrods Black Card, exclusive offers on a selection of stores and luxurious hotels collection, 24 hours concierge services, purchase protection, extended warranty and much more, it said.



The new credit card is in-line with our commitment to consistently deliver premium services to our valued high net-worth clients in Bahrain with the finest banking services, said Anwar Murad, deputy group CEO of banking, Al Salam Bank-Bahrain at the signing ceremony held in the Bahrain World Trade Centre.



Ahmed Gaber, general manager for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, Visa; Shashank Singh, Bahrain and Oman country manager, Visa; Ali Habib Qassim, acting head of private banking, Al Salam Bank were also present.



Our new Visa Infinite is a world-class card and offers unmatched features and benefits, stated Murad.



We will continue in leveraging the strengths of our strategic partnerships with Visa to deliver innovative and dynamic Sharia-compliant products and services to meet the needs of our clients, he added.



Gaber expressed delight at the partnership with Al Salam Bank-Bahrain for the new credit card.



"Visa Infinite is for our affluent segment in the Middle East and is an innovative product with great rewards and travel benefits. Owning a Visa Infinite card denotes a class above for the cardholder who can now experience incredible packages, higher rewards, special offers and automatic upgrades at some of the finest hotels and resorts, he added.



Qassim said: "We strive to keep its efforts to further enhance our Sharia-compliant priority banking products suite to cater the evolving lifestyle needs of our increasingly diverse clients.



"With the new credit card which is considered to be one of Visas premium cards, we will serve our high net worth clients with differentiated and priority services, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
A 14-year-old Madison boy was detained by security at Madison Area Technical College Monday night, after he allegedly broke into a parked car and stole money and a credit card.

The incident happened at about 11:50 p.m. at the main campus at 1701 Wright St., Madison police said.

Security staff held one of two teens with the other fleeing the scene before police arrived.

"The young men were spotted inside a student's car, which was located in the large parking lot," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The teens allegedly used a landscaping stone to break out a window on the car.

The detained teen was cited for being party to the crimes of theft and criminal damage to property, and for a curfew violation.
Work on King Hamad Causeway is on track and final touches are being put to the financial aspect of the project, a top minister was quoted as saying by the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.



To read further, please visit GDNonline.












UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a leading aluminium producer in the Middle East, has announced that the first bauxite bulk sample shipment from its mine under development in the Republic of Guinea has left from the port of Kamsar, bound for bauxite customers in China.



The shipment of 55,000 tonnes is an important milestone in EGAs programme to unlock Chinese and other markets for Guinean bauxite, said a statement from the company.



EGA is the largest industrial company in the UAE outside the oil industry. Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of EGA, is currently building a major bauxite mine in Guinea in the largest greenfield investment in that country for four decades.



With construction now fully underway, commercial production of Bauxite is set to begin in 2018 and ramp up to 12 million tonnes of bauxite per annum, it said.



As part of the project, EGA is developing additional port capacity at the port of Kamsar to allow shipping of bauxite in Capesize and Newcastlemax vessels which are substantially larger than current shipping options from the Guinean port, it added.



The use of larger vessels will make shipping to distant markets less expensive and Guinean bauxite more competitive.



Guinea has around 7 billion tonnes of bauxite resources, over a quarter of the global total. Guinean bauxite is amongst the highest quality worldwide. EGAs concession in Guinea contains more than 1 billion tonnes of high quality bauxite, said a statement.



China is the worlds largest bauxite importer. Global demand for high-quality bauxite, particularly in China, is expected to grow significantly over the next decade.



Abdulla Kalban, managing director and chief executive officer of EGA, said: This shipment, and those that will follow, are important because they will demonstrate the high-quality of EGAs Guinean bauxite to customers in key markets such as China.



The GAC project, currently under construction, will support a long-term leadership position for Guinea in the global bauxite market and contribute substantially to Guineas gross domestic product (GDP), exports and create economic opportunities for more than 4,000 Guineans, he said.



More than 200 Guineans are being seconded over the next several years to EGAs operations in the UAE to prepare them for roles at GAC.



EGA is also investing to support communities near its operations in Guinea, opening community health centres, installing water wells, building schools, providing adult literacy and vocational training and protecting local fauna and flora, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Iran has inaugurated a project to build a 350m ($370 million) renewable energy park in a tie-up with a German firm, a report said.



The park consists of various renewable energy sections including a 90MW wind farm, a 40 MW solar (photovoltaic) plant and a 20MW solar-thermal unit, Tehran Times reported.



The participation of the German firm will be in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI), Dashtbozorg, managing director of Khuzestan Regional Electricity Company, was quoted as saying.



With the estimated value of 80 million, the first phase of the project which is a 50-mega watt wind farm has been stared; this farm will be constructed based on the worlds latest technologies and German turbines will be used in it, Dashtbozorg said.



The official noted that the German company will finish the project in several phases over a period of two years. A universal institution for renewable energy education will also be constructed in the region, he added.
Rina Indonesia, in consortium with PT Depriwangga, has been awarded two contracts to provide quality assurance (QA) services for offshore and onshore projects in Indonesia.



The first, awarded by Chevron Indonesia, is to provide QA/QC inspection services as part of the offshore Bangka Field development project. The second is to provide QA and Quality Engineering services for ExxonMobil Cepu Limited (EMCL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, for the development of its onshore Cepu Block.



The Bangka Field is located approximately 70 km offshore at East Kalimantan in water depths of 3,200 ft. The field comprises two stacked upper slope channel complexes, known as the Upper Channel and Lower Channel reservoirs both containing gas-condensate. Chevron Indonesia is creating Bangka hubs which are located in the Makassar Strait, Indonesia.



Chevron is developing the field as two subsea wells connected via a single flexible flowline to the existing West Seno Floating Production Unit (FPU), which is located approximately 20 km south of the field.



Rina Indonesia will provide QA/QC inspection services for material and component fabrication, installation, testing, pre-commissioning and commissioning activities. In addition, the company will perform third party expediting services for various materials and equipment purchased domestically and globally for the project.



The 12-month contract has an estimated value of $1.3 million. It is the result of a focussed campaign put in place by Rina global and local energy teams to develop business in the region. The business is significant in that it is the first project in Asia with an oil major like Chevron which operates different fields in offshore Indonesia.



The contract awarded by ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd (EMCL) for the Cepu Gas Drilling Program comprises services for land drilling and completion program for six wells in the Jambaran Tiung Biru field with four new and two re-entry wells and a further optional two new and one re-entry wells in the Kedung Keris field.



The contract, which was awarded to PT Rina Indonesia and PT Depriwangga, is valued at $3 million and covers QA and QE for drilling equipment and tools, OCTG, drilling tubulars supporting equipment and materials. The contract is expected to run for three years with work carried out at various facilities and bases located throughout Indonesia and worldwide.



Andrea Bombardi, chief commercial officer Energy & Infrastructure, Rina Services, said: Rina Services is a strong company that can support major oil companies throughout the world. We are delighted to be providing services to our US key clients, Chevron and ExxonMobil on these two prestigious projects. The Bangka Field development is the companys second deep water project in Indonesia, the first being the Jangkrik Complex Project, and builds on the success of Rina with US oil majors and in this region.  TradeArabia News Service
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The history of distilled spirits in Tennessee is a long one. For well over a century, moonshiners have been making the good stuff in the hills, dodging the long arm of the law, and passing their recipes down through the generations. Building on that heritage, todays Nashville distilleries come in all shapes and sizes.

Some distilleries in Nashville thrive on innovation, making uncommon flavors and blends to keep customers coming back. Others draw on proven family recipes and strong Tennessee pride to make the best whiskey (and more) this part of the South has ever seen. Either way, there are a lot of great spirits to try and fun distilleries to visit on a trip to Nashville.

Corsair Distillery

Corsair Distillery is always pushing the envelope in craft spirits. Founded by childhood friends Darek Bell and Andrew Webber, the Nashville distillery has grown tremendously over the last decade, and were always happy when we see their whiskey on the shelf across the US and abroad.

Constantly innovating and trying new things, Corsair has one of the broadest product lines weve seen in a craft distillery anywhere, with more than 25 spirits on offer at different times of the year.

Corsair has traditional spirits from gin to at least seven types of whiskey. Theyre also known for their more adventurous products like Pumpkin Spice Moonshine, absinthe, and vanilla bean vodka. But what really persuaded us to visit Corsair Distillery was their unique genever, a gin-like spirit that we first discovered on a trip to Amsterdam, where genever has been made for over 400 years.

Known for experimentation and crafting a damn fine cocktail, Corsair Distillerys award-winning products are available at their two Nashville distilleries, their Kentucky location, and around the US. A tour here is a fun date night idea. See their website for information or just stop in for a sip.

Nelsons Green Brier Distillery

History is at the heart of Nelsons Green Brier Distillery in Nashville. Brothers Andy and Charlie Nelson have resurrected the family whiskey business that was once located in nearby Greenbrier, Tennessee, before the days of Prohibition.

In the late 1880s, Andy and Charlies great-great-great grandfather Charles Nelson was even more popular than Jack Daniel, making the top-selling Tennessee whiskey in the world. Charles passed away in 1891, and his wife Louisa took over. She ran the business successfully for nearly 20 years, but Prohibition put an end to the familys good fortunes.

One hundred years after the first Nelson distillery closed, Andy and Charlie re-formed the family business based on the original recipes that made it so popular. The history and family pride is evident in everything about the distillery.

Now, the Nelsons Green Brier Distillery product line features a variety of offerings, including whiskeys, bourbons, and sherries  most named after Nashvilles famous Belle Meade plantation. Youll also find a product in honor of Louisa, a coffee caramel pecan liqueur thats named after her.

Nelsons Green Brier Distillery offers tours and tastings at their warehouse and distillery on Clinton Street where you can even see some of the original bottles from the 1880s.

Ole Smoky Distillery

Ole Smoky Distillery in Nashville isnt just a distilleryits an experience. The location at 6th & Peabody is 30,000 square feet, including Ole Smoky and Yee-Haw Brewing Co. in addition to a taco shop and a food truck featuring local favorite Princes Hot Chicken. With live music, indoor and outdoor spaces, and sports games on the giant movie screen, you could practically spend all day here.

The focus during my visit was the offerings at Ole Smoky, which bills itself as the leading craft distiller in the US. Drawing on the heritage of the moonshiners in the Smoky Mountains, Ole Smoky makes a cornucopia of over 40 types of brightly-colored moonshine and flavored whiskeys from a 100-year-old recipe.

Many of Ole Smokys dozens of flavors are available for tasting at the large bar. I opted for the full tasting, which included 8 moonshines (one was a surprisingly good moonshine-soaked pickle) and 2 flavored whiskeys along with a Yee Haw beer. Although it sounds like a huge amount of alcohol, the tastings are 1-2 sips each, so its not over-the-top.

Ole Smoky is a place for people who are looking for a casual, fun time. Dont expect to discuss mash bills, angels share, or how long a product is aged. Just lean in and try the apple pie moonshine (theres a reason its the most popular) or the salty caramel whiskey. Many flavors are also available in cocktails at the bar.

Pennington Distilling Co.

Established in 2011, Pennington Distilling Co. is located in Nashvilles Nations neighborhood. The grain-to-glass distillery has aged and clear spirits along with other products.

We loved their Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey, which is filtered through maple charcoal and aged a minimum of four years. With flavors of caramel and toasted marshmallows, its the first locally distilled small batch Tennessee whiskey, a point of pride in a town that takes its whiskey very seriously.

Penningtons flagship brand Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream goes well beyond the expected. The cream liqueur combines the characteristics of Tennessee whiskey with caramel, molasses, and pecan favors. Think Baileys meets Jack Danielsif that delicious concoction were 40 proof. Even its bottle is unique, combining the look of a classic whiskey jug and an old-fashioned milk bottle.

Pennington Distilling Co. also produces two vodka linesPickers Vodka and Waltons Vodka. Pickers is distilled 11 times and comes in original and several flavors infused with actual fruit. Waltons Finest Vodka is made with 100% Tennessee red winter wheat and cut with Tennessee limestone water.

Tours and tastings at Pennington Distilling Co. are offered Thursday through Sunday.

Nashville Craft Distillery

Nashville Craft Distillery is a laid-back place to sample some familiar spirits and try a few you may not have had before. Whether you take a tour, have a tasting, or stop in for a cocktail, the staff will tell you everything you want to know about the products, which is great for people like me who want to know all the details.

Founder and distiller Bruce Boekoa former DNA lab directorshifted his scientific focus from biology to the slightly more fun fermentation and distilling, opening Nashville Craft in 2016. Along with distiller Rachael Sykes, he has created a portfolio of interesting spirits and liqueurs.

Everything at Nashville Craft Distillery is made from scratch. Whether theyre made from sorghum, honey, or grain, the small-batch spirits all start in-house with a focus on local and regional ingredients.

Naked Biscuit and Golden Biscuit (the barrel-aged version of Naked) are smooth sorghum spirits that you can try straight or in a cocktail. The gin and whiskey offerings are also excellent. My favorite product was the spiced honey liqueur, which tastes just like it sounds with a hint of sweetness and the flavors of fall.

Prichards Distillery

One of the oldest Nashville distilleries, for over 20 years, Prichards Distillery has produced small batches of spirits using techniques that have been in the family for hundreds of years. Every step of the process from fermentation to bottling takes place on-site under the direction of the master distiller. Prichards takes pride in using quality ingredients, whether for their rum that uses molasses from Louisiana or their innovative Double Chocolate Bourbon, which incorporates elements from local Nashville chocolatier Olive & Sinclair.

Prichards second location (the original is in Kelso, Tennessee) is at the 186-acre Fontanel complex, which also features dining, zip lining, and an outdoor music venue. Take a tour to see how they make their rums, whiskeys, and liqueurs. You can even make a weekend of it by booking a hotel and exploring everything Music City has to offer.

Jack Daniels Distillery

If youre looking to venture a little farther, Lynchburg, Tennessee, is only about 90 minutes from Nashville. This tiny, dry town is the home of the top-selling American whiskey in the worldJack Daniels. Every year, Lynchburg attracts over 300,000 visitors looking to see how Tennessee whiskey is made, making the distillery one of the top attractions in Tennessee.

At the Jack Daniels distillery, visitors can see how craftsmanship and attention to detail have built a fine brand and drinks that people around the world swear by. A distillery tour here is also a walk through the 150-year history of Jack Danielthe man and his eponymous products.

On a distillery tour, youll see the grain, the distillation process, and the 10-foot stacks of sugar maple charcoal that help set Jack Daniels apart. All this is before the white whiskey gets its color and flavor from handcrafted toasted oak barrels built on-site.

There are several different tour options, and we chose the one that includes a tasting of the five core Jack Daniels products, including the Tennessee Whiskey, Tennessee Honey, and Gentleman Jack. Its a an informative and entertaining tour even if youre not a big whiskey drinkerwe both came away as fans.

Cascade Hollow Distilling Co.

Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. is probably more familiar to most people at the makers of George Dickel Tennessee Whisky. Despite the enormous popularity of their products, a visit here doesnt feel like a visit to a large corporation. Instead, it feels like a country cabin in the Tennessee hills. There is no cell reception or trafficjust great whiskey.

Just over an hour from Nashville, a tour at Cascade Hollow traces the story of George Dickel, a German immigrant who became a successful merchant and ultimately one of the top whiskey makers in the US. Youll learn how his wife Augusta helped the company prosper after George died and the unique way it kept going despite Prohibition.

Today, Cascade Hollow prides itself on its products that are handmade the hard wayfiltered with sugar maple charcoal that is burned and transported by hand in the hollow. Youll learn about the process and see the fermentation and distilling as it happens at one of the top distilleries in Tennessee.

The hour-long tour ends with a tasting of four whiskies ranging from George Dickel No. 1an unaged white corn whiskyto their high-end George Dickel Barrel Select, which is aged for at least 10 years. If youre feeling brave, you can also try the variety aged in Tabasco barrels for a bit of a kick.

We were the guests of Jack Daniels. All opinions of the flavorful and barrel-aged are our own.
Most of you may have probably of Airbnb, an app that lets you stay in a private person's home instead of a hotel during traveling, for a more adventurous experience. Initially, Airbnb is a rental company, but after the Airbnb Open conference in L.A's Orpheum theater last November 17, they revealed that they have become so much more.

Now, Airbnb offers Airbnb Trips, a new service feature in the Airbnb app that functions like a travel agency. With Trips, you can now book tours, experiences, and immersions within the 12 cities Airbnb initially operated, and be guided by Airbnb hosts as well.

But unlike a travel agency, where tours are mostly about known places and famous attraction, Trips lets you experience a particular place in a local's eyes, which means that you can do fun activities and go to secret places tourists aren't familiar of. With several options of Experiences and Immersions to choose from, you will not be short of adventures.

Over 500 experiences are now available in the Airbnb app. Although currently they are only available in 12 cities worldwide (Detroit, London, Paris, Nairobi, Havana, SF, Cape Town, Florence, Miami, Seoul, Tokyo, and Los Angeles), Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, announced in the conference that they are planning to expand in more cities by 2017.

According to Conde Naste Traveler, Trips have two options. "Immersions" are activities that can last up to several days, and activities or tours that only last for a few hours are called "Experiences". You don't have to spend thousands of bucks to have a taste of these tours. Although Airbnb hosts are the ones who set their own price, most tours are accessible under $200.

In Airbnb Trips, they encourage travelers to live like a local. That is in part of Airbnb's motto, "Don't go there, live there". They want their travelers to see the places they're traveling underneath the usual tourist stigma. They want their travelers to really open up in a certain place, allowing them to have a one-of-a-kind travel experience.

"Everything we do will be powered by people. A lot of technology companies talk about the magic being in the technology, but the magic is, always was, and always will be in the people." Brian Chesky said.

"These aren't tours. You actually participate and are immersed."

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
Many passengers already got used to taking flights which doesn't offer any complimentary meals. If they want something to eat, they need to order from the available menu on the plane. But good news to passengers who are flying economy on US carries since Delta Airlines will bring back its free meals for routes between California and New York.

While many airlines offer free snacks to its passengers, it is only the Hawaiian Airlines that offer complimentary meals to their passengers for all classes. This time, Delta is set to join the Hawaiian Airlines in giving free meals to everyone.

During the test period, customer satisfaction scores will be closely monitored to determine the impact on the in-flight experience," said Catherine Sirna from the corporate communications of Delta Airlines.

Not all flights will be part of the test but for those who will luckily take the flights that are included in the test, they will avail of complimentary meals. Said meals will include a Honey Maple Breakfast Sandwich or Luvo Breakfast Medley for morning flights. For afternoon flights, they can choose between a Mesquite Turkey Combo with chips and a brownie or a Luvo Mediterranean Whole Grain Veggie Wrap which is served with grape and a cookie.

Additional details about the free meals will be revealed once the test is over. Free meals will be offered until Dec. 15 for flights between JFK Airport in New York City and Los Angeles and San Francisco airports, Time reports.

For sure, this will encourage passengers to ride with Delta Airlines because of the perks they are offering to their passengers even for those who are riding economy class. Aside from the meals, there are also changes to the airline's in-flight snacks.

Beginning December 4, the usual brand of peanuts and pretzels will be replaced. They will serve Snyders of Hanover pretzels, Squirrel Brand Honey Roasted peanuts and NatureBox Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Bars, Travel and Leisure reports. Another good news is that the snacks will be served more frequently. While the peanuts and pretzels brand will get a new taste, their signature Biscoff cookies will still be part of the in-flight snacks.

Nearly all of Deltas 180 million customers enjoy our snack offerings each year, which is why, in the future, were also going to look at ways to let them help choose our next lineup, said Allison Ausband, Deltas senior vice president of in-flight service.

The decision of switching snacks is a response to the feedback of their customers and employees. It is also possible that there are more switching of snacks in other occasions.

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Gigi Hadid will most likely follow the footsteps of artists and other models who have taken a time off social media. The 21-year-old model has announced while in New York that she will be taking a break from two social media platforms.

According to Hadid, she will be taking a break of her Instagram and Twitter accounts during an event for Reebok's Perfect Never campaign, reports Inquisitr. However, the Victoria's Secret model cleared that she will only be off the social media platforms over the holidays. She added that she thinks she needs a break in order for her to focus on her career and herself.

The model also explained that she thinks that she really needed to take a break, that's why she's going to take one. Hadid also said that she will highly appreciate people who will support her in this decision, and will still choose to follow her when she decides to go back. She also said that she might decide not to follow those who will not understand her decision.

According to Huffington Post, Hadid also announced during the campaign that she has been suffering from Hasimoto's disease. The model has been battling with the thyroid disease for two years now and has been taking medication since then.

Hadid's also did not escape from the eyes of the public, who noticed that the model is getting slim. The model explained that this year, her thyroid disease has made an effect on her body metabolism.

Recently, Selena Gomez also decided to take a time off her social media accounts to attend to her own health and undergo rehab. Kendall Jenner also took a break from her Instagram account and said that she needs to have a detox from the social media platform and thinks that she has been a lot dependent on it.

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President-elect Donald Trump tweeted himself into yet another stock-price-rocking fight with a federal contractor on Monday, this time blasting a costly fighter-jet program Wisconsin leaders are hoping will benefit the state.

Trump said on Twitter that F-35 fighter jets being purchased by the Pentagon are too costly, and he promised to cut billions from the price.

The Air Force announced less than a week ago that Madisons Truax Field was one of five finalists to join a growing number of military bases that are home to the new generation of warplanes.

Trumps Republican allies in Wisconsin have joined Democrats in pushing for deployment of the jets to Truax as a way of securing the bases economic benefits to the region.

On Monday, state Republicans responded to Trump with measured statements, maintaining support for bringing the F-35 here without criticizing the president-elect.

The Air Force plans next year to select two of the five finalist locations. Becoming a home for 18 F-35s is seen as protection for Truax when the military re-evaluates its needs and ponders base closures.

Trump didnt threaten to cancel production of the F-35  as he did last week with manufacture of new presidential aircraft  and there was no immediate word on how his comments on Twitter and on a Fox News program Sunday might affect F-35 base selection.

But the stock price of the aircrafts manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, plunged in the hours following the tweet. Sales of the F-35 accounted for 20 percent of Lockheeds revenue last year.

The aircraft has been criticized previously by Trump and others over cost overruns, delays in complex software for its navigation and weapons systems, and optimistic Pentagon projections for when problems will be fixed.

The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th, Trump tweeted.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, who won re-election in November while allying himself more closely to Trump than many Republicans did, responded by issuing a statement emphasizing the role of Congress.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the next Congress to ensure that the costs of the F-35 remain under control, Johnson said.

A spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker praised Trumps criticism of the F-35s $400 billion cost while repeating his support for deploying the jets in Madison.

The 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field would be an outstanding location for the Air Forces F-35s, and program costs dont change that, Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said. The governor is also pleased to see President-elect Trump fighting to put taxpayers first.

The president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, which also is pushing for Truax, avoided any mention of Trump.

The United States Air Forces current plan is to select two National Guard sites for the F-35A aircraft, and as long as that process continues to move forward, the Chamber and our partners will make the case that the 115th Fighter Wing is uniquely positioned to be the future home of these next-generation jets, chamber president Zach Brandon said.

The F-35A is the Air Force version of the jet. Other models are being produced for the Navy and the Marines.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said she would continue to push for basing the jets at Truax while also demanding progress and strong congressional oversight of the program.

Two other Truax boosters in Congress  Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, and Sean Duffy, R-Wausau  didnt respond to requests for comment.

Members of Wisconsins Congressional delegation lined up months ago to urge the Air Force to place F-35s at the state Air National Guard base at Truax.

They argued that basing F-35s at Truax would create cost savings because the state has other military airfields and training bases nearby, including a high-technology bombing range at Volk Field a few minutes northwest of Madison by jet.

Wisconsin is competing against Dannelly Field, Montgomery, Alabama; Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho; Jacksonville Air National Guard Base in Florida; and Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Detroit.

Congress sees jobs

in defense spending

Roughly 200 of the 2,443 jets the Pentagon expects to buy in the next 20 years have already been deployed or are in the pipeline.

It was the second time in a week that Trump blasted a federal aircraft contractor. Last week, Trump tweeted Cancel order! about out of control costs for new presidential planes being built by Boeing Corp.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats, aware of the tens of thousands of jobs the aircraft generates in 45 states, will be wary of any plans by Trump to cut the program despite its nearly $400 billion cost.

The F-35 is the Pentagons most expensive weapons acquisition ever. Despite the huge cost, the program has strong bipartisan support in Congress, where lawmakers view the aircraft as essential to national security.

Despite massive budget overruns early on, the per-airplane cost has decreased as production picked up, said Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon office overseeing F-35 procurement.

The 2014 price tag of $108 million per plane was $4 million lower than in the previous year, and the cost is on a glide path toward $85 million per plane by 2019, DellaVedova said.

But the projection appears to omit the price of the engine and the cost of development, according to Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. When those elements are added in, the cost in current-year dollars is closer to $138 million, Harrison said.

Companies from 45 states are involved in F-35 production, with Texas, Georgia, California, Arizona and Florida playing lead roles in testing and manufacture. More than 1,250 domestic suppliers produce thousands of components, according to Lockheed.

Harrison said the 2014 price drop followed tough negotiations between the Pentagon and Lockheed.

Trump is unlikely to squeeze more blood out of this rock, Harrison said.

Lockheed shares fell more than 7 percent at one point Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Starting March 2018, Australia and London will finally have a non-stop direct flight. Qantas Airlines announced that they will start selling tickets as early as April 2017.

Perth Airport will delegate this new flight from Qantas Airlines, using their Boeing 787 Dreamliners aircraft. This 14,498-kilometer flight will take about 17 hours to and fro, 14 times a week, depending on the weather conditions.

As Europe and Australia never had a direct link before, this will open up big opportunities on both sides. According to The Guardian, Colin Barnett, Western's Australia's premier, has promised $14 million to help upgrade Perth's Airport with this incoming new flight. Several infrastructure projects must be improved since they are planning to use Terminal 1 in 2025 and to make sure other customers using the said terminal will not be inconvenienced.

"The tourism benefits to the state are enormous. The service will create opportunities for people to stop over in Perth for a day or two if en route to or from another Australian destination." Barnett said.

Perth's economy will greatly increase with this new flight, particularly in the retail and hospitality sector. And since major infrastructure projects will take place, such as immigration, customs, and quarantine construction, several jobs will be offered.

This is Qantas' longest flight ever, and the world's third longest. Currently, the longest flight is an Emirates Airlines 14,200 kilometers Dubai-to-Auckland flight that started in March 2016 and takes 16 hours 35 minutes, while the second longest is the 13,800 kilometers Qantas Dallas-Sydney route that takes 17 hours to reach their destination.

This flight is the first of its kind for Qantas, and customer satisfaction is their top priority. With their 787 Dreamliners aircraft, future passengers will enjoy more storage areas, personal device holders, and USB ports, as well as an extra inch of legroom in the economy class.

The future looks very promising to Qantas Airlines. If everything goes smoothly, they will open up other direct flights from Perth to other European cities, such as Paris and Frankfurt.

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Traveling alone can be a very astounding experience however it can likewise be demanding. Everything on your list is up to you, from your agenda to how much fun you plan on having.

According to a report by Huffington Post, as a traveler traveling solo is one of the most soul-stretching adventures you'll ever take. Women are also encouraged to travel alone to make you adaptable, make endless creative potential, build confidence, find your strength, broaden your circle, and traveling alone empowers you.

If you've decided to go on a trip without a single soul to accompany you then don't worry, we've got your back. Travel and Leisure chose the best places for female wanderlusts who wants to travel alone and here we have derived the Top 5 places.

Iceland tops our list, "a country of sharp contrasts. A place where fire and ice co-exist. Where dark winters are offset by the summer's midnight sun." according to Iceland.is "A country where insular existence has spurred a rich and vibrant culture." Just off the country's capital Reykjavik, Viey is the largest island found in Kollafjorur fjord and a number of tourists visit the uninhabited island for leisure.

Second is one of the most visited countries in the world, London, England. Going on a trip to London is like riding a time machine, from the modern Coca-Cola London Eye to the historic Tower of London you surely are up for a trip. What's more? Most of the landmarks found in London are FREE, yes you read that right. However, other destinations and tourist hotspots are available with a special discounted price with the use of a London Pass.

If you're planning to unwind and relax, Kripalu Center in the Berkshires, Massachusetts is the place to be. Anyone seeking for a joyful, inclusive and compassionate environment for wellness, learning and retreat can check the non-profit center.

Amazing events all-yearlong takes place in Washington, DC. The best part in traveling here is that many of their events and places specifically museums and attractions are free of charge. Home of the Kennedy Center, 75+ museums and theater scenes, many activities await you in traveling to the capital of US.

Last but definitely not the least is the Fjords of Norway. The succession of ice ages has created stunning landscapes of Fjord Norway. Here you'll find everything from desolate skerries to the largest cities. All it takes is a short drive and you'll find yourself from urban to the quiet countryside or to the prime wilderness.

What are you waiting for? Pack your bags and book your trip! There is nothing much more beautiful than seeing all of these for yourself.

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Instagram is a popular social networking site where users can post photos as artistic as possible. Many users post pictures of themselves, their things and especially the food they eat. It is important to find the perfect angle, the perfect filter and the perfect object to take and upload the picture with.

As more and more Instagram users become fond of posting unique and artistic photos, there are restaurants that cater these kinds of users. Insider and Mail Online listed down some of the most Instagrammed restaurants in the United States of America. Here are some of the favorite restaurants usually visited by Instagram users.

1. Sugar Factory- This restaurant is located in many places in the US. However, most tags lead to the Sugar Factory branch in New York. The restaurant offers tons of food in their menus. From meals to desserts, the Sugar Factory restaurant has them all. But Instagram users usually post pictures of the unique and colorful looking desserts that the resto provides and it surely satisfy each customer's sweet tooth even by just looking at its pictures.

2. Nobu Malibu- Located in Malibu, Ca, Nobu Malibu is quite popular even among celebrities. It was even reported that Miley Cyrus and the Kardashians dined in the restaurant. It offers fully prepared food such as sushi and many more. One of the advantage Nobu Malibu has is wonders of its place including the famous sunset.

3. Tao Downtown- Having a taste of Asian cuisine, Tao Downtown customers love the ambiance and the food of the restaurants. It is a restaurant and a nightclub that operates up until two in the morning. Tao Downtown is also popular among many celebrities and it was visited by stars like Victoria Justice and Cameron Diaz.

4. Katz's Delicatessen- Known for having delicious sandwiches, Katz's Delicatessen is also visited by many Instagram users. Located in New York City, many people visit the restaurant despite the traffic and waiting times. It also became more popular when a scene from "When Harry Met Sally" took place in the said restaurant. Despite the old age of the restaurant, it is still attractive towards Instagrammers.

5. Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer- This restaurant has gained much attention for quite a while now leaving all their branches with long lines. It serves their best selling burgers and milkshakes. However, the milkshakes in Black Tap Craft is not your ordinary milkshake. Topped with desserts like cake and many more, the restaurant's milkshake is popular especially in Instagram.

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Information is Beautiful, a website created by a London-based author and writer, David McCandless, has released its 2016 map that shows what nations are best at. The website aims to provide necessary world's data, information, and knowledge.

The information provided by the said map is based on statistics gathered from across the internet, Daily Mail reports. The sources of the map include the World Bank and Guinness Records.

The 2016 global revelation may be mind blowing to some people. Many of them will think that Silicone Valley and the tech hubs of Asia have the fastest Wi-Fi. However, the map revealed that it is Lithuania based on the data from Rotten Wifi.

If you think Japan tops for pornography, the map said Pakistan consumed more gay pornography than any countries. South Africa gets the number one sport for death and it has no competitors, while the United States rules the category of spam emailing.

Japan is said to be the best place for foodie as the map said this country is the number one haute cuisine destination and it has more three-Michelin-star restaurants than anywhere else in the world. Meanwhile, France is the best place for whiskey drinkers.

Turkey tops the Twitter censorship list, while Russia has no equal for dashcam. Meanwhile in Australia, it is advisable to change password often as the country has more data breaches that have been reported.

When it comes to whiskey, France is the best. There are tons of coffee drinkers in Netherlands, that's why it tops the list for numbers of coffee drinkers, while Norway has tons of pizza eaters.

Singapore has been reported have more healthiest people in the world, while Egypt tops the category of having more heavy women.

For those who want to view Information is Beautiful's map, click this link.

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A beautiful country in the south eastern part of Europe, Albania is a place of good blends. Here, there are sights to behold and activities to be experienced. What else is there to know about Albania? Read through and discover here.

First aspect that you will discover in this Balkan place is that two different ideologies exist in this nation and the people can live in harmony while celebrating both. With an estimated population of 3.2 million, the major religions among its people are Islam and Christianity.

Although a late bloomer in the travel and tourism, Albania is abundant with abundant with destinations that can give a good experience to tourists. The second aspect that will fascinate you is its sceneries. For an instance, the Accursed Mountains could be a refreshing trek for backpackers. Another one to try is the sandy beach of Drymades which is known for its relaxation benefits. The next scenery to marvel at is the Rozafa Fortress which has a mysterious legend to how it was built. One unique place to go to is the Bunk'Art which originally was a bunker that was converted into an under the ground museum.

The next wonderful aspect of Albania is its people and their hospitality. The Albanians have this philosophy called philosophy called "besa" which they observe. It is the Albanian way of showing their concern over the welfare of others. This was evident in history when Albanians took in refugees from Kosovo.

Another reason to travel up to Albania is its rich blended cuisine of Greek, Italian and Turkish which they call Kuzhina Shqiptare. Some dishes to delight in are Tave Kosi (lamb dish), Veal (chicken with walnuts), Pace (stew that makes use of the head of pig, cattle or sheep) and Dollma (vegetable dish).

Albania might have been in isolation for a long time and has bloomed quite late. It is not yet too late to discover what it has to offer to tourists.

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Christmas is one the most awaited seasons that is being celebrated all over the world. Some choose to spend it at home while others are lucky enough to be spending it on scenic vacations. When it comes to travel destinations this holiday season, there are expensive places to spend Christmas that you can choose to add on your bucket list. If you are lucky enough to have deep pockets, then consider these destinations for you and your family to enjoy according to Travel and Leisure.

1. Oslo - This is the capital city of Norway and is known for its scenic and delightful charms as it showcases the Norwegian's Viking History. It is one of the most expensive places to spend Christmas with where you can find colorful houses, mountain vistas, and famous locations that will surely take your breath away. For Christmas travelers, there are websites to visit which will give you a hint on the amount that you need to prepare for accommodations and shopping.

2. Musha Cay, Bahamas - This has been known as the "Outland Islands" of Bahamas and definitely one of the places known to be the destinations of the rich. When it comes to shopping, you would really expect that their price tags will cost you a lot of bucks. You can choose to stay into one of their best islands or choose to rent the entire island as well for about $40,000 a night!

3. Dubai - One of the most talked about Middle Eastern hotspot for Christmas vacation is Dubai. This place has become popular for several travelers who have deep pockets for vacation. You will surely enjoy their man-made islands, luxurious hotels, and scenic coastline during your stay.

4. Tuscany - When you think of a less-visited yet fulfilling destination, consider Tuscany as it is one of the most expensive places to spend Christmas in Italy. You can find gorgeous vineyards for destinations and several tourists' traps with a really much expensive price tags.

5. Bora Bora - One of the tiny islands in Polynesia will surely burn money is the famous Bora Bora. If you would love to make a little twist of spending Christmas, this island will cost you around $800 per night in their scenic islands and beaches.

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It is almost Christmas! One of the most favorite holiday of all time is coming near and what better way to add more fun to the festivities than by enjoying another fun-filled episode of hit TV series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". Curious as to what the episode is all about? Read on and find out.

The show is now on its fourth season and will air its tenth episode this week. Titled "Captain Latvia", the synopsis, via TV Guide, reads: "Jake helps Charles search for a Christmas present for his son, but the pair end up facing off against a Latvian crime ring in the process. Elsewhere, the team prepare for their annual Christmas carol competition against their rivals, the MTA."

This week's episode is the show's Christmas-themed one and everyone is going to be witnessing the cast singing their hearts out with Christmas carols. As mentioned in the synopsis, the Nine-Nine team will battle it out against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to win the coveted annual caroling competition. Will they be able to get the prize and prove to everyone that they are great carolers too?

Meanwhile, with the holidays around Christmas isn't complete without gift giving and Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) will be busier than ever this year. According to an article by the Citizen Oracle, he and his partner Genevieve (Mary Lynn Rajskub) adopted a Latvian child named Nikolaj (Antonio Raul Corbo) and Charles wanted to make the child's Christmas extra special by giving him a toy.

Turns out finding a toy isn't an easy task. He ended up asking for help from Charles and the two started scouring for toys but an unforeseen and unplanned event is going to happen. The two are going to go face to face with a Latvian criminal gang. The answer on whether the two were able to get away from the group unharmed is still yet to be discovered. Tune in to FOX as "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" airs Tuesdays.

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Vacation Agent Magazine

A version of this article appears in print in the December 2016 issue of Vacation Agent Magazine. Subscribe
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who sits on a Senate committee that vets nominees for U.S. Secretary of State, is praising President-elect Donald Trump's pick for the post, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson.

Trump announced his pick of Tillerson Tuesday morning, despite concerns from some lawmakers about his ties to Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

Johnson, R-Oshkosh, echoed Trump's description of Tillerson in a statement to the Wisconsin State Journal, calling the oilman a "world-class player."

I have been impressed with the experience and competence of President-elect Trump's nominees. The nomination of Mr. Tillerson adds another world-class player to the team," Johnson said. "I look forward to meeting Mr. Tillerson and discussing the enormous global challenges we must address.

Johnson sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which votes on nominees for Secretary of State before the full Senate considers them.


Search News Archive : Fast Travel News Promotion Via Search, Social Media + Email Follow Us On : LIMITLESS TOURS AND TRAVELS OFFERS TOUR PACKAGES TO EXPLORE THE SOURCE OF THE NILE Industry: Transport

Limitless Tours and Travels provides Uganda tour packages to see the Source of the Nile in the way that best suits the clients holiday, leisure and other travel needs.



(TRAVPR.COM) UGANDA - December 12th, 2016 - The River Nile is the longest river around the world. The Source of the Nile starts right from Jinja, Uganda, the eastern part of Africa. The river flows from the areas up close to the equator to the outrageous desert and up to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. About 6,696km long, the river pours water over nine countries though its more centered to Uganda and Egypt. The countries receiving water from the River Nile include Uganda, Burundi, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Rwanda.



As the river is more centered in Uganda, many tour operators like Limitless Tours and Travels, have been providing travel itineraries to explore the Source of the Nile in Uganda. Limitless Tours and Travels offers amazing packages to experience the unrivaled beauty, natural endowment and very friendly people in Uganda. Its tour itineraries include so many activities on the Nile like water rafting, kayaking, bungee jumping, boat riding, fishing and more. This is why large numbers of tourists choose to visit the River Nile with Limitless Tours and Travels.



Offering the best opportunity to catch a closer glimpse of the Nile, Limitless Tours and Travels prides itself on ensuring exciting adventures with ultimate fun and thrill. When planning a tour to Uganda, the Source of the Nile should be one of the most awe-inspiring places to visit before getting back home. Hence, choosing a holiday with Limitless Tours and Travels to visit Uganda including the River Nile can be the best decision to take, if adventure and thrill appeal to the travel enthusiasts.



Booking our tour itinerary to reach the Source of the Nile, our driver/ tour guide will pick you up from the airport or hotel and help you reach Jinja, making a stop at Sezibwa Falls in Mukono District. Youll stop at Mabira forest for an exciting Tree ziplining and head straight to Jinja reaching the Source of the Nile. You can take a boat ride right on the Nile River to see the place where the river starts its journey to the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. When youre in the source with our tour guide, you will be able to see a wide variety of bird species including kingfishers. After seeing this, youll enjoy a lunch at Jinja Nile Resort Hotel and then go for a half day water rafting trip at the Bujjagali Falls or horse riding, quad biking, kayaking or bungee jumping  anything that appeal you the most. Therefore, its necessary to choose which activity you want to engage yourself in and we will deliver after that. At the end of all the adventures, youll return to Kampala in the evening for ultimate relaxation from the thrilling River Nile activities. After all, youll have day long River Nile adventures; but also enjoy delicious dinner and overnight at Protea hotel in Entebbe. If pure relaxation, bungee jumping, water rafting and a chance to de-stress completely is what youre in need of, then book a tour package to the Source of the River Nile with Limitless Tours And Travels today, says one of the spokespersons of Limitless Tours and Travels.



About The Company:



Limitless Tours and Travels is a reputable, reliable company providing most affordable tour itineraries including a tour to the Source of the River Nile in the best suiting way to the needs of clients. The company believes that there shouldnt be any limit or barrier to have fun, excitement and pleasure. Thats why it provides tour packages at the best possible costs letting the clients get the value of money they spent. For more info about its tour itineraries and services, consider visiting the website today! Website: http://www.limitlesstoursuganda.com/itinerary.php?id=52 ### Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. TravPR.com are not the issuers of this press release and are not responsible for the accuracy of the content. Share Release :



CONTACT INFORMATION Name: Owor Domisiano Company: Limitless Tours and Travels Phone: 701-334-200 Email: limitlesstoursandtravels@gmail.com Web: PRESS RELEASE TAGS
zores Airlines will offer new service this summer from Providence to Porto, Portugal. The new service will be offered weekly, on Fridays, between June 2 and September 29, 2017. The widebody Airbus aircraft will fly direct to Porto with a stop in the Azores in Ponta Delgada.



(TRAVPR.COM) USA - December 12th, 2016 - Azores Airlines will offer new service this summer from Providence to Porto, Portugal. The new service will be offered weekly, on Fridays, between June 2 and September 29, 2017. The widebody Airbus aircraft will fly direct to Porto with a stop in the Azores in Ponta Delgada.

This new flight will double the number of seasonal flights from T.F. Green Airport offered by Azores Airlines in 2017.

The city Porto sits near the mouth of the Douro River, close to the Atlantic and has medieval walls and a cathedral, a classical riverfront, as well as modern venues. Porto is hilly, with many buildings built off a cliff face perched on the river. Across the river from Porto, in the city of Gaia, are warehouses of Port wine companies such as Calem, Fonseca, Sandmans and Kopek.

Azores Airlines is part of the SATA Group, which connects the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, with the world. For more information and reservations, contact Azores Airlines at 800-762-9995, www.AzoresAirlines.pt

###


Search News Archive : Fast Travel News Promotion Via Search, Social Media + Email Follow Us On : ST. LUCIA NATIONAL CAR RENTAL OFFERS CHEAP CAR HIRE IN ST LUCIA WITH BOOKING AND CANCELLATION ONLINE Industry: Car Rental

St. Lucia National Car Rental guarantees cheap car hire in St Lucia matching the needs of customers with a wide variety of options in vehicles such as Nissan Almera, Chevolet Spark, Suzuki Jimny etc.



(TRAVPR.COM) SAINT LUCIA - December 13th, 2016 - St. Lucia National Car Rental, a long established car rental company serving continuously St. Lucia customers with pure, simple and quality transportation service, offers cheap car hire in St Lucia with online booking and cancellation facility. It has a great fleet consisting of vehicles like Daihatsu Terios, Nissan Xtrail, Suzuki Jimny and many more models that change year after year to bring excellent satisfaction to customers within their budget and according to their desire and needs. St. Lucia National Car Rental allows booking, amendment or cancellation of its cheap car hire in St Lucia online so that customers can save their time and avoid hassle. 10% discounts will be available to customers who book its St Lucia car hire service directly through the website. Moreover, repeat customers will have the chance for special discounts as well as long term discounts on cheap car hire in St Lucia of St. Lucia National Car Rental all the time.



With warmth and sunshine available throughout the year, St Lucia is considered one of the most popular vacation spots in Caribbean. Its situated in the eastern side of the Caribbean Sea and features among Caribbeans Windward Islands, a cluster that consists of neighbouring islands like the Grenadines, St Vincent and Martinique. St Lucia brings into play the wonderful images of snow white sand beach, mountains dressed in emerald-coloured vegetaion, shaded hammocks, rainbow like spark coming from interesting flowers and cocktails sipped at sundown. There is even more to discover in this Caribbean island paradise using private car hire service. When you consider cheap car hire in St Lucia, it is likely to give you access to its treasured box. Read on below to find out what to see and do. St. Lucia National Car Rental guarantees the best deals on St Lucia car hire required to explore the best attractions in this Caribbean island. It has the great collection of vehicles and the best options for cheap car hire in St Lucia.



We have Daihatsu Terios, Nissan Xtrail, Suzuki Jimny, Suzuki APV and many more vehicles that will suit your holiday transportation needs in St Lucia. Our St Lucia car hire service will be priced the best so as to meet your budget and ensure you the best comfort and relaxation during your ride to any desired location in this island. The online reservation and cancellation facility will add to your experience of cheap car hire in St Lucia service in the chosen vehicle that is late model and will safely move them around the Caribbean island for the desired time, said a spokesperson of St. Lucia National Car Rental.



Cheap car hire in St Lucia from St. Lucia Nation Car Rental is the best option to save money on your travel to this Caribbean Island. It is relaxing, convenient and allows you to enjoy quick pick up at the international airport so you can start with your St Lucia travel adventure almost immediately. Go through the website at http://stlucia-car-rental.com/ and find the best deals on cheap car hire service in St Lucia which will be free from extras and hidden charges.



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St. Lucia National Car Rental is a car rental company operating in St. Lucia since1979, and awarded several times for its simple and pure quality service to customers at affordable rates. It has grown with a modern fleet and great deals on cheap car hire in St Lucia to meet the transportation needs of traveling customers all the time.To save money on a comfortable car ride in St Lucia, you should check out the car rental vehicles and offers at http://stlucia-car-rental.com/. ### Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. TravPR.com are not the issuers of this press release and are not responsible for the accuracy of the content. Share Release :



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From water conservation to less pollution to women's empowerment, a founder of Netafim explains why drip irrigation is the future of agriculture.

Naty Barak likes to tell the story of people coming to his community in the Negev Desert, in southern Israel, and admiring the majestic palms and lush, flowering undergrowth. They tell him, I can see why you would choose to live here. Barak laughs and points to a black-and-white picture on the wall: That is what it looked like when this community started. We made it this way. All I can see is barren desert sand, not a tree in sight. It looks desolate.

Barak is a tall, white-haired man with a great sense of humor and a knack for storytelling. He has taken the morning to teach me and a group of fellow environmental writers about drip irrigation, an agricultural practice that he believes can save the world. Despite warning us of his deep bias and the fact that hes a founder of Netafim, a now-huge Israeli company that markets drip irrigation systems worldwide, his enthusiasm and logic are infectious.

 K Martinko

Agriculture is responsible for 70 percent of the worlds water use, growing food crops, bio-fuel, fodder for livestock, and fiber for clothes (i.e. cotton). Only 20 percent of the agricultural sector irrigates its crops, and yet that segment is responsible for 40 percent of the planets food. Irrigation is key, Barak argues, to improving crop yields.

There are different forms of irrigation. Four percent of farmers who irrigate use drip irrigation. Twelve percent uses pivot irrigation, another fairly efficient form of irrigation, while the remaining 84 percent uses flood irrigation.

Flooding is inefficient; it requires great quantities of water, while increasing greenhouse gas emissions, emitting methane, and contaminating aquifers. Often it requires women and children in poverty-stricken countries to spend many hours hauling water in buckets by hand, making it difficult for them to pursue education or complete other tasks.

Enter drip irrigation, which Netafim has been promoting since 1965. The idea is to give the plant whatever it needs, at the right time, and to irrigate the plant, as opposed to the soil. This is done via plastic drip lines that lie either above the soil or sub-surface. Water is controlled at the source, whether its a reservoir or tank, and the soil around the plant receives a small, steady, and equal amount of water when the valve is opened.

There are countless benefits to this system, Barak tells us. Not only does it use 60 to 70 percent less water  a precious limited resource on our planet today  but it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions through more precise use of fertilizers, which are pre-mixed in the water before irrigation. It allows farmers to grow crops on hilly land, as only level ground can be tilled when flood irrigation is required. Drip irrigation reduces nitrate leaching and heavy metal absorption in the soil.

It increases crop yields significantly. Barak shows pictures of greenhouses in the Netherlands and Israel, where tomatoes and strawberries are grown with drip irrigation, resulting in much higher yields than in fields. For example, the average yield of tomatoes in one of these greenhouses is 650 tons per hectare, compared to 100 tons/hectare in a field using flood irrigation. Barak tells us that the resulting crop is of better quality, too.

 K Martinko -- Naty Barak (right) discusses drip irrigation with a jojoba farmer at Kibbutz Hatzerim, Israel

Drip irrigations can break the poverty cycle. While Netafim is best known for its high-tech, computer-controlled irrigation systems that can provide large-scale farmers with real-time field data, the company also sells very basic Family Drip Systems, which can be used off-grid by relying on gravity to transport water from a holding tank through lines in the fields. These are an affordable option for the planets 500 million subsistence farmers, who currently provide 80 percent of the developing worlds food. Many of these farmers are women, and to be less tied to the backbreaking job of watering crops is incredibly empowering.

Netafims work ties in nicely to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set last year by the United Nations. There are 17 global goals overall, and Barak pointed out that Netafims work aligns directly with 9 of them, including ending poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, ensuring availability of water, and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.

 K Martinko -- A row of freshly harvested and trimmed jojoba plants

To finish off the lesson with a real-life example, Barak takes our group to a jojoba field. While jojoba originated in Mexico, it has taken well to the Israeli desert  aided, of course, by drip lines that are sunk 30 centimeters below the surface. These jojoba plants are 26 years old and produce seeds that are crushed into oil thats used by the cosmetics industry. The plants are watered three times a week for 14 hours each time.

Baraks arguments are convincing, but it is looking around at his stunningly beautiful community, the Kibbutz Hatzerim, a small pocket of desert transformed into an oasis, that really makes his message loud and clear. If plants can be cajoled to live here, then I dont doubt Netafim can make it happen anywhere.

 K Martinko -- A view of Kibbutz Hatzerim, where Netafim began in 1965.

TreeHugger is a guest of Vibe Israel, a non-profit organization leading a tour called Vibe Eco Impact in December 2016 that explores various sustainability initiatives throughout Israel.
The board overseeing state worker health benefits declined to take action on self-insurance and other restructuring options Tuesday, as had been expected, saying discussion will continue in January.

There is much complexity and volumes of information that relate to our consideration, and of course we are not taking these decisions lightly, Michael Farrell, chairman of the Group Insurance Board, said in announcing the delay.

The board is considering a move to self-insurance, in which the state would pay for health care directly and take on the risk for claims, instead of paying premiums to 17 HMOs. Separately, the board is looking at requiring insurance companies to operate in one or more of four regions, instead of picking the counties in which they want to do business.

The $1.5 billion program covers 250,000 state workers and their family members, nearly 100,000 of whom are in Dane County.

Even a partial move to self-insurance would require approval from the state Legislatures budget committee.

In a letter Monday to Farrell, the committees co-chairs said they are concerned that even establishing regions for insurers could impact the states health care system without saving money.

A move to regionalization would create artificial government boundaries and essentially draw a map of coverage where Wisconsin already has viable, functioning marketplaces, wrote Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette. Moving forward, we are requesting to meet with the (board) chairs to discuss this issue further.

Farrell, when asked after Tuesdays board meeting whether the legislators letter contributed to the decision to delay action, declined to comment.

Consultants have said moving to selfinsurance could cost $100 million a year  or save $42 million, largely by avoiding $18 million in Affordable Care Act fees, cutting $11 million in administrative costs and eliminating $11 million in insurance company profits.

The Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, which represents many of the 17 HMOs, opposes self-insurance, saying it would disrupt the states regional health care systems, which own many of the HMOs.

State workers make up about 15 percent of the states fully-insured health insurance market, in which insurers carry the risk.

In Dane County, the HMOs include Dean Health Plan, part of SSM Health; Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin; Physicians Plus, part of UnityPoint Health; and Unity, part of UW Health.

In open and closed sessions Tuesday, the insurance board considered seven restructuring options, four involving self-insurance to some degree and five giving the state more power to set insurance rates.

Most of the scenarios would require insurance companies to operate in regions.

Lisa Ellinger, director of the state Department of Employee Trust Funds Office of Strategic Health Policy, said that whatever happens, significant changes are on the way, including an increased emphasis on wellness programs and quality measures.

The status quo is not presented here as an option, Ellinger told the board Tuesday. It was clear at the last meeting that this board feels like were paying too much for health insurance.

Ellinger said in a memo to the board that ETF plans to change how rates are determined for state worker coverage.

Instead of having insurers submit bids and lower them if necessary to be assigned the lowest premiums for employees, the state plans to set rates for three premium tiers and have companies select the tiers at which to participate.

That change  along with another new requirement for three-year, instead of one-year, contracts  could give the state more leverage to reduce costs, Ellinger said.
Bathinda, December 12

Farmers under the BKU Ugrahan today staged a protest against the State Bank of Patiala branch in Mansa after they failed to get new currency notes.

Farmers claimed that they were not being given more than Rs 2,000 of new notes but they badly needed money to sow wheat crop.

A number of incidents have been reported from the region where the public standing in queues came on roads or indulged in quarrels with bank officials.

Frightened, the bank officials are demanding security from a long time from the state government.

On December 1, a number of labourers staged a protest in front of the bank in Nathana. Most labourers are unable to get work these days.

Farmers are complaining of not getting the required urea and the cooperative societies have closed doors for numerous farmers.

There are around 185 cooperative societies in Bathinda and about 142 cooperative societies in Mansa. The state requires about 13 lakh tonne of urea during the wheat growing season.

Today, we staged a protest and blocked the BathindaPatiala highway for around an hour and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The farmers are worried as they need urea but cannot get it from cooperative societies because until the farmers clear their earlier dues of cooperative society limit they cannot get loan for another term. As the farmers dont have new currency notes, they are unable to clear their dues of cooperative societies that dont accept old currency, said Ram Singh Bhenibhaga, BKU Ugraha president.

We are already facing several problems due to demonetisation. We are unable to purchase the basic things to sow wheat crop. Urea is unavailable even as this is the correct time to spray it over the sown crop. The limit of cash debit from banks for farmers should be increased by the government, he added.  TNS
Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

After taking the cashless initiative, the Administration has started work on making the UT the first WiFi enabled city in the region.

Sources said some mobile companies had offered help to the Administration in this regard. The Administration held discussions with representatives of the companies. Top officials of a mobile company met UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore recently and offered to make all educational institutions WiFi enabled.

The company has offered to bear the cost of capital for providing infrastructure in these institutions.

An official said the Administration was moving fast towards the cashless system and making the WiFi facility available at major points to help residents use the Internet on their mobile phones and laptops. The WiFi services will enable WiFi device users to log on to the Internet by using a password. For smartphone users, the services will be available with a simple tap on the WiFi option.

The Administration had earlier planned to make important areas in the city such as the bus stand, Sector 17 and Sukhna Lake WiFi enabled, but the plan did not materialise due to various reasons. However, after the cashless initiative, the WiFi plan was once again discussed and it was decided to make the entire city WiFi enabled in a phased manner.
Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13

Thousands of Airtel subscribers, including broadband, in the tricity had a harrowing time today as their data network stopped working bringing the communication almost to a halt with mails, WhatsApp messages, cab aggregators Ola and Uber and other apps not functioning either.

Although the mobile customers have access to voice network, but the data network was not available. Besides individuals, companies and their employees, who are mostly dependent on group messaging, were affected.

I was trying to reach out to my friends on WhatsApp since 12 noon but couldnt as my phone signal went haywire. I was unable to access my e-mails on the phone, said S Sharma, an executive working with a private company.

I thought there was something wrong with my handset; I restarted it a couple of times, but didnt get the data connection, said Pritam Singh. Besides mobile subscribers, customers using the Airtel broadband also faced trouble with their Internet connections and data speed. Since morning, I have been facing difficulty due to poor broadband speed and am having problems in loading certain websites. Disappointed, I called the customer care, which informed me that the operator was facing some technical issues and these would be sorted out soon. Now it is 5 pm, but the connection has not been restored, said Aditya, who runs his own company. Sources said the problem was not restricted to Chandigarh alone. Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and a few pockets of Haryana also faced a similar problem.

A spokesperson for Airtel said, Due to the cyclone at the Chennai coast yesterday, one of our international undersea cables got damaged, impacting the Internet traffic partially. As a result, customers in some locations may be experiencing slow Internet/data speed. Our teams are working to normalise the operations at the earliest and making alternative arrangements to divert international Internet traffic.

The sources said Airtel also had an undersea network from Mumbai in addition to Chennai and efforts were on to make arrangements through the Mumbai network.

Cyclone impact

The mobile operator also sent an SMS to its customers regarding the problem. In the SMS, Airtel said, Dear customer, the cyclone in Chennai has impacted one of our undersea network cables which may affect the Internet speed. We deeply regret the inconvenience. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue and the services will be normalised shortly.
Aarti Kapur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13

The Panjab University authorities were in a fix when they found the names of employees who have retired, died or left the campus on the poll duty list for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections, scheduled for December 18. The university authorities raised the issue with the State Election Commission today and asked it to assign the polling duty to others in place of these employees.

The PU Registrar, Col GS Chadha (retd), after receiving the list, officials pointed out the flaw in the allocation of duties. He said no fresh roster was sought by the authorities and the poll duties were assigned on the basis of the old roster by the State Election Commission. He said his office issued a notice to around 60 employees who did not join the election duty today as asked by the State Election Commission. State Election Commission Secretary-cum-Additional Commissioner SS Gill said they would resolve the poll duty issue.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

The coveted post of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Chandigarh has finally fallen vacant with Sukhchain Singh Gill relinquishing the charge here on Sunday afternoon. With this, three key posts in the UT police  DIG, SSP and SSP (Traffic)  have fallen vacant, probably the first time in the history of Chandigarh.

Confirming the development, UT Home Secretary Anurag Aggarwal told The Tribune that no officer had yet been assigned the officiating charge of the UT SSP and a panel of IPS officers was being sought from the Punjab Government for appointment of the new SSP in Chandigarh.

Gill, who completed his three-year deputation on December 11, had sought a one-year extension and his request was recommended by the UT Administration to the MHA, which forwarded it to the PMO for approval by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. His extension request was declined by the PMO, a top UT functionary told The Tribune.
Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

Snatching is the toughest crime to prevent, said outgoing SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill here today.

The 2003-batch Punjab-cadre IPS officer said it had been observed that more snatchings were reported at a particular time of the year. We have studied that the maximum number of snatchings is reported in August and September, he said.

Gill said checking snatching incidents was tough. Citing an example, he said, A snatcher comes from Mohali, moves around the city like any other two-wheeler rider, commits a crime and escapes.

The city had witnessed a sudden spurt in snatching incidents this year during July, August and September, with around 70 cases of snatching reported during these months. What was shocking for residents was that gold chains were being snatched on the doorstep.

Gill said the only way to curb snatchings was to keep an eye on snatchers released from jail.

He said cracking the Pinky murder case and the kidnapping of a 17-year-old boy, who was rescued three days later, were the two toughest cases during his three-year stint.

The murder of Pinky, an 11-year-old girl and student of Class VI, who was found strangled to death in a jute sack in a jungle in Sector 52 on December 1, 2013, was a hard case to crack, Gill said.

Another case that was an uphill task for the SSP was safely rescuing a 17-year-old boy who was kidnapped by some persons who had some dispute with the victims elder sister. It was a tough and sensitive case as rescuing someone safely in a kidnapping case is an uphill task, he said.

Gill said he regretted that the murder case of Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu and the daylight robbery at a jewellery store in Sector 22 could not be solved.
Faizan Mustafa

THE Allahabad High Court, while dismissing two petitions and refusing to give any relief, has made interesting observations on triple divorce. There was no judgment as was reported in the media as judgment determines rights and liabilities. In one case, the petitioner was the second wife who had sought protection from the police harassment as the mother of the divorced first wife was threatening her. Here, the contention was that since the husband gave instant triple divorce just to marry another woman, the first marriage has not dissolved.

Justice Suneet Kumar did not appreciate that as per existing law, bigamy is not an offence for Muslims and thus even if the first marriage subsists, the husband can take a second wife, of course if he can "do justice between the two wives" and the first wife would retain all rights of wife, including the right to residence and maintenance. In the second petition, the wife whose first husband was living in Dubai has married another man by asserting that her husband had divorced her on the telephone. The husband denied this but the lady insisted that her second marriage is valid as triple divorce on the phone has legally dissolved her first marriage.

The learned judge refused to go into the validity of either divorce in the first case and marriage in the second but rightly noted that not only men but even women do take undue advantage of personal laws. In the process, the judge said that triple divorce is cruel, inhuman and unconstitutional. Now the question is, without recording a finding should a judge make such sweeping observations, particularly when the judge has recorded that the matter is pending before the apex court? The current debate even in the Supreme Court is unnecessary as in 2002 itself the apex court has held in the Shamimara case that triple divorce does not dissolve marriage. A writ court can declare a law as unconstitutional. But is Muslim Personal Law law within the meaning of Article 13 of the Constitution? Only a law can be challenged and courts would have power of judicial review if a law is in contravention of fundamental rights. Custom and usages are not personal laws but deviations from personal law. Had personal law been law, untouchability would have become void on its own. Its explicit abolition under Article 17 indicates that framers of the Constitution intended to exclude personal laws from the definition of law. Even constitutional amendments are not laws under Article 13 and cannot be challenged on the basis of fundamental rights. The limited challenge can be on the basis of the basic structure of the Constitution. Judgments of the Supreme Court too are also not law under Article13. However, parts of Muslim Personal Law which have been enacted by the Parliament are certainly laws such as the Shariat Act, 1937, Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 etc. If any of these laws are contrary to fundamental rights, the court would be free to strike them out as unconstitutional. Muslim Personal Law is largely based on juristic interpretation. Islamic law is given by the experts. Law making is indeed a private enterprise in Islam. Jurists intervene between God and State. Muslim Personal Law has not been passed by any legislature. It is based on the interpretations given by various jurists. Can courts declare the opinion of jurists who lived in 9th century and who considered triple divorce as valid unconstitutional? It is difficult to answer. Moreover, if people in the family and neighbours consider that divorce has taken place, court's declaration that it has not taken place would not drastically change the ground situation. Things which society considers illegal, law on its own cannot easily make legal. There have been cases, including the second case of the Allahadad High Court where the wife herself asserted that triple divorce has irrevocably dissolved marriage. In the Masroor Ahmad case, the wife filed the case of rape against the husband, who continued to have sexual relations with her after giving her triple divorce.

Accordingly, ulema must come forward to declare that three instant divorces in one go without prior efforts of reconciliation would be considered as just one pronouncement. There is enough room within Islam to show such flexibility. The Modi government has argued in the Supreme Court that triple divorce is not an essential aspect of Islam. What the government has failed to understand is that Article 26 gives religious freedom both to religious denomination as well as any sect thereof. Thus various sects have their own laws. Moreover, the question of what is permissible (halal) and what is prohibited (haram) is the central to Islam. Islam does lay down what food is permissible, what clothes or metals one can wear and what relationship is valid. If some Muslim sects consider triple divorce as valid, sexual relations between the divorced couple would become haram or prohibited.

Law is not a great agent of social control and we must accept its limitations in bringing about social change. Hindu law reforms have not fully succeeded in ensuring the empowerment of Hindu women. Similarly, demands of banning triple divorce are misplaced as "banning" would invariably mean "prohibiting" some conduct generally through the instrumentality of "criminal law". Strangely, even the senior officials of the Muslim Personal Law Board too are singing the tone of imprisonment for the one who gives triple divorce. Judiciary cannot create new crimes. We need an Act of Parliament to make an act criminal. This author is of the view that it is the duty of ulema to rise to the occasion and urge people to give divorce only as per the Quranic procedure if it is unilateral. That is, after making necessary efforts at reconciliation and arbitration with just one revocable pronouncement in a period of three months or alternatively have divorce by mutual consent which is a recognised mode of divorce in Islam. Pre-nuptial contract (nikahnama) with terms and conditions clearly laid down would be a much better solution.

The writer is the Vice Chancellor of Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad.
Hasan Suroor

AS 2016 draws to an end amid scenes of chaos, anger and despair with millions of Indians set to ring in the New Year with nightmares about shuttered ATMs and cashless banks, it would be interesting to see how New Delhi spins the Modi governments year-end progress report. For, this was a year which was singularly bereft of the PMs famous strong leadership, grand vision, his game-changing policy agenda.

On any objective assessment, it was Modis annus horribilis; even his admirers could see that he was struggling. Barely halfway through his term, he appeared to have run out of tricks with no noteworthy achievement on any front, domestic or foreign. The ill-conceived, badly-timed and botched-up demonetisation gamble typified the year  and his style of governance. If it doesnt pan out the way hes trying to sell it, Modi could see his ambition for a second term seriously damaged. And this is no left-liberal wishful thinking. The Hindu Mahasabha (presumably a member of the Sangh Parivar?) has warned that demonetisation would eventually lead to de-Modi-tisation of the country.

Stating that the poor were bearing the brunt of its destabilising impact on daily life, the groups national general secretary Pooja Shakun Pandey accused the government and Modis supporters of creating a fear psychosis in the country by branding all those opposed to PMs policies or ideas as anti-nationals. That leaves common people who are hugely inconvenienced by the cash crunch with no other choice than (sic) hailing the move.

So far, people have been remarkably patient but the public mood can change swiftly if the mayhem continues beyond the PMs 50-day deadline which he seems to have plucked from thin air. And once the patience snaps, no amount of Modis filmi supplications are likely to help. Already, there have been a number of incidents of violence with angry mobs attacking banks and bank officials prompting the Supreme Court to warn that people were frantic and there could be riots.

Meanwhile, there are fears about the moves long-term effects on the economy. Economists say it could drag down growth without necessarily achieving its objective of cleaning up black money. The RBIs decision to lower its growth forecast in the wake of demonetisation should send alarm bells ringing in the PMO. Venkaiah Naidu, the loquacious Information and Broadcasting Minister, says it is part of Modis grand cultural revolution. The bad news, Mr Naidu, is that historically grand cultural revolutions have not had great endings. So, beware. In a perverse sort of way, however, the demonetisation crisis is a fitting finale to a year in which nothing appeared to go right for the government. Relations with Pakistan worsened; cross-border terrorism increased; the insurgency in Kashmir touched a new high; and ties with China cooled.

Modi came to power promising to clear the mess left behind  according to him  by successive governments over the past 60 years. He was supposed to be the man of the moment  the leader (leader with a capital L) India needed to reset the button of its destiny. And he arrived with all the enthusiasm of a new broom set to cleanse the stable; only to end up deepening the mess. Today, the stable looks not only messier but a more dangerous place: a more hostile Pakistan, heightened terror threat, Kashmir in flames, the economy set to decline after the demonetisation chaos, and social tensions on the increase.

The year also saw an already intolerant government become even more sensitive to criticism labelling anyone not parroting the sarkari line anti-national; and invoking national security to intimidate the media. There was outrage when, in an unprecedented move, it attempted to ban NDTV India for a day ostensibly for breaking some vague broadcasting rule. The truth, of course, was that the ban was intended to punish the channel for its often fierce criticism of the government. Although it was eventually withdrawn in the face of nationwide protests and threat of a legal challenge, the government had succeeded in sending out a message to the media: toe the line, or else.

From any independent perspective 2016 would be remembered as the year when the gloss came off the Modi facade. (Apparently it cost him the Times Person of the Year cover as the magazine lost interest in him.) Its just as well that India doesnt have a system of regular public poll ratings of its leaders as they do in the West; Modis ratings would be abysmal at the moment. Hes also lucky that the Opposition is so weak, and divided. But, as weve seen in the past, just one big issue is enough to unite the Opposition. And the demonetisation chaos could well turn out to be such an issue. It could also become a lightning rod for voters to express their disillusionment with the government generally.

This article, however, is not intended to be Modis electoral obituary. There are still two-and-a-half years to go for the next general election and Modi is a skilful tactician who knows a thing or two about vote-catching stunts. The intention here is to give a sense of his performance halfway through his term and highlight how miserably he has failed to deliver on his campaign pledges. Particularly in areas he had specifically singled out as his priorities which, to repeat, included straightening out Pakistan; combating terrorism; and turning around Kashmir. The gap between image and reality is too glaring to be ignored; and 2016 exposed it warts and all.

The problem, Ive consistently maintained, is that theres a vacuity of vision at the heart of whats essentially a technocratic government short on talent and driven by hastily-minted policies with an eye on headlines. Only such a government could have thought of prioritising the idea of a cashless society in a country where 90 per cent of the people earn their wages in cash, and where many more pressing bread-and-butter issues are crying for attention.

The Economist described Donald Trumps style as that of an impresario with a knack for sensation. Thats also true of Modi. If anything his philosophical and intellectual outlook is even more shallow than Trumps. And this is compounded by his fondness for concentrating all decision-making in his own hands without seeming to realise his own limitations. Clearly, he needs to get out of his egocentric bubble, and consult more widely. The disasters of 2016 showed that his style is doing no good either to him or  more importantly  to the country. And neither can afford a repeat.

The writer is a London-based commentator
India and China now have a new bone to quarrel over. Days after the Dalai Lama left Dharamsala for a four-day trip to Ulaanbaatar, China decided to punish Mongolia for the effrontery. It imposed a toll on every Mongolian truck passing through Chinese territory. As 90 per cent of its trade is with China, the sanctions hurt Mongolia and it appealed to India for help. Last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ulaanbaatar and promised a $1 billion aid package. Mongolia wants India to activate this package at a time of financial distress. China interprets this as interference in its attempt to chastise Mongolia.

Nationalists had not yet finished rejoicing over this South Block masterstroke of riling China when trucks crossed the Chinese border into Nepal on a new rail-road cargo route via Tibet to Kathmandu. Official reactions in India have viewed Chinas cargo service with Nepal as a threat to the sale of Indian goods. China then reopened old wounds when it responded to Foreign Secretary S Jaishankars statement that Indias bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) should not be given a political colour. Beijing said it was not changing its positions on both Indias entry into NSG and the lock on the UN listing Masood Azhar as a terrorist.

The highly unpredictable US President-elect Donald Trump has already stirred the regional waters. He accepted a congratulatory call from the Taiwanese President, breaking a vital condition for maintaining normalcy in Sino-US affairs. If Trump plans to take China head-on, then South Block may have placed its bets correctly by confronting China in Mongolia. But India will then have to accept greater Chinese presence in its neighbourhood. Regardless of which way the Trump penny drops, both India and China need not be too touchy. Beijing should welcome Indias interest in Mongolia as an example of its participation to promote economic development of areas near China. India must have an open-minded attitude towards Chinas cooperation with South Asian countries. The world is set to suffer some disorder while Trump settles down as US President. India and China can avoid adding to that.
Bhiwani, December 13

The police have arrested two more persons in the alleged HSSC examination answer key leak case. Talking to mediapersons here today, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Kumar said that arrested JBT teacher Virender and science teacher Anil Panghal were running the racket in a dozen schools here.

The SP said that the SIT had arrested Panghal of Bhiwani who had entered the examination centre on Sunday to pass on the answer key to Narender in the examination hall. He said that Panghal had gained entry at the examination centre in connivance of a jammer company supervisor after obtaining a fake entry pass at Bhiwani Public School on Sunday.

The accused first entered the exam centre posing as a flying officer and leaked the question paper with the help of Narender and later again entered after 40 minutes to provide him the answer key.

The matter came to light when he was spotted by teachers on duty and informed the police. The police said Panghal and his accomplice Jitender Siwach, who run Universal Academy in Rohtak, had planned the paper leak to make fast bucks by selling answer key to select candidates. The duo had disclosed their plan to JBT teachers Virender and Satish who helped them get candidates for the deal.

The police said that the accused used to pass on the answer key to the candidates by colluding with supervisor of the jammer company by striking a deal to give Rs 60,000 for each candidate passed the answer key in the examination hall.

The police said the accused had taken money from 15 candidates for passing them the answer key during the HSSC examination and recovered Rs 1 lakh from their possession. In another incident, the police arrested Satbir, a resident of Ishwarwal village, on the charges of conning a woman of Rs 65,000 for passing her in exam. The victims husband, Anil, a resident of Mandan village, told the media that the accused had introduced him as an official of the Board of School Education Haryana and promised to pass his wife in the exam. He demanded Rs 6 lakh for the job and took an advance of Rs 65,000 from them but they got suspicious and informed the police. TNS
Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, December 13

The state governments proposed plan to set up a nature education and cure centre by denotifying 85 acres of forest land in the Aravallis has brought it in the line of fire.

The CM Office has reportedly given approval to the proposed corrigendum of the Forest Department to take away the forest tag from 85 acres of land which along with another 500 acres was notified as forest in 2004.

They cried hoarse and accused us of deteriorating the Aravallis when we went ahead to develop the non-forest areas and now, they are denotifying the forest and using it for their benefits in name of a nature centre, said senior Congress leader Captain Ajay Yadav.

Refuting the allegations, Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh said: This is just being blown out of proportion. The Supreme Court had in its order mentioned only 500 acres as forest and the remaining 85 acres were included by bureaucrats. What harm a naturopathy centre will do to the environment. No threat to environment is being posed nor is any private player is being favoured.

It may be noted that this 85 acres of land was repossessed by the Haryana Government in 2001 from Bharat Yatra Kendra, including a farmhouse of former Prime Minister Chandrasekhar after his demise.

The possession was transferred following a Supreme Court order. While 500 acres went back to the Forest Department, 85 acres, with nearly 20 structures, were restored to the gram panchayat.

The gram panchayat gave the 85 acres to the Forest Department to manage it. The entire 585 acres of land was notified as forest in 2004. It was recently that the Forest Department had suggested the denotification saying wrongly notified as forest 12 years ago.
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Tribune News Service

Hisar, December 13

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala said that he was surprised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not given time to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue.

The Chief Minister says that he had written to the PM to take up the states stand on the SYL canal. But it is surprising that even after 25 days, the PM has not given time to meet him. This indicates that either the PM does not want the construction of the canal and thus avoiding a meeting with the CM or Khattar has not been able to build pressure on the issue, he said while talking to mediapersons here today.

Abhay, who is Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said that now, he had written to the Prime Minister to seek time for a meeting with a delegation of the INLD MPs and MLAs to press for the construction of the canal.

Flaying the statement of Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma who had stated that former Chief Minister Bansi Lal had ensured the construction of the SYL canal, Abahy said that he was factually wrong and the statement revealed a hidden understanding between Sharma and Congress leader Kiran Choudhry.

Showing a copy of the Assembly proceedings of December 19, 1991, the INLD leader stated that even Bansi Lal had said that most of the construction work of the canal was completed during the tenure of former CM Devi Lal.

On scrapped currency notes taken from Hisar airport to Dimapur in Nagaland in a private jet, Abhay demanded an inquiry into how many flights had taken off from Hisar airport after November 8. He also demanded a CBI inquiry into the distribution of Rs 70 lakh in scrapped notes to priests in Bhiwani yesterday.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 13

The Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) is once again at the centre of political controversy. Reacting to the recent meeting of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Hamirpur MP and BCCI president Anurag Thakur with union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar to seek the laying of foundation stone of CUHP at Dehra, Minister for Urban Development Sudhir Sharma today said that the union minister had already given in writing to the state government that the institute campus would come up at Dharamsala.

The minister said, The meeting with the union minister is not going to change anything as the decision for bringing up the CUHP campus at Jadrangal in Dharamsala Assembly constituency had already been conveyed to the state government. The union government had evolved a policy to give quick environmental clearance for the national projects. I hope it shall be followed and the CUHP campus would be brought up at Jadrangal.

The site selection committee of the union HRD ministry had visited Jadrangal site proposed by the state government for bringing up the CUHP in the month of September. Later the committee had given in principal approval for bringing up the CUHP campus at Jadrangal. The entire land proposed for CUHP campus in Jadrangal was forest land the case for its conversion for other purpose would go the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests. The process might take 6 months to over a year.

The BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur had been lobbying hard that the majority campus of the institute should come up at Dehra area of Kangra that falls in his constituency. During the stint of previous BJP government about 80 acre land in Dehra was transferred in the name of the CUHP in revenue papers. The union ministry had also given in principal approval for the campus in Dehra.

However, the Congress government did not give its approval for bringing up the campus in Dehra. The fight over campus of CUHP also crossed political boundaries. Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress leader from Himachal Viplove Thakur locked horns with CM Virbhadra Singh demanding that the CUHP campus should come up at Dehra. She even termed the CM as anti Dehra. On the other land the BJP MP from Kangra and former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar had thrown his weight behind the move to bring up the CUHP campus at Jadrangal in Dharamsala.

It is for the first time that the former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has openly supported the move to bring the CUHP at Dehra and met the union HRD minister.

The institute, at present, is running in an inadequate building in Shahpur. The students of the university are being forced to take classes in shifts due to shortage of space. The university is not in a position to start new courses and many senior faculty members have left the university due to uncertain future of the institute.
Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar December 13

In a major relief to the Congress, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court today stayed the restraint orders on construction activities in the party office on which a Shiite association is claiming property rights.

Justice Ali Muhammad Magray stayed the trial court orders which had restrained the Congress from raising any construction on the office premises spread over 0.67 acre along the MA road, Srinagar. The party has moved a petition through Advocate Javed Iqbal before the High Court pleading that the trial court orders, which have put a stay on the construction in the party office, be set aside. A trial court of Principal and District Sessions Judge, Srinagar, on June 18, had directed the Congress to forbear from any construction on the office premises. In another order on November 24, the court directed the police to ensure that the party should abstain from raising any construction in the office. The court orders had come after the All Jammu and Kashmir Shiite Association (AJKSA), through its president Molvi Imran Ansari, moved an application claiming that the land for the office had been donated to it by a Mumbai-based family in 1974.

The AJKSA said that the property originally belonged to Hassanally Yahyabhay Rangwalla and his wife Nusrat Yahyabhay Rangwalla, who, out of their desire to help the Shiite community of Kashmir, donated the property in its favour. It said the Rangwalla family executed a memo of wakf in favour of the AJKSA which was registered on September 21, 1974, by the sub-registrar, Srinagar. The revenue authorities later mutated the suit property in favour of the AJKSA which has acquired the full legal ownership rights of the suit property under the law of land, the AJKSA said.

The association said the Congress was illegally trying to raise a construction and change the nature of the suit property. However, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee moved an application before the High Court claiming that the property was a custodian land and belonged to Seth Yousuf Ali of Rawalpindi in Pakistan. The party said the property came into the possession of the J&K National Conference during Bakshi Ghulam Muhammads regime in the 1950s. However, the Congress took its possession in the 1960s during the regime of former Chief Minister Ghulam Muhammad Sadiq.
Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 13

In a major crackdown to detect fake ration cards and fraudsters who are taking undue benefits of the relief assistance meant for displaced Kashmiri migrants, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will take over the distribution of cash assistance by switching over to Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme format.

Despite opposition from the ruling PDP-BJP coalition government to the move, the Centre has also sought details about the reason behind the delay in implementation of the Centrally sponsored projects to improve living conditions of the families affected by terror violence.

A total of 60,000 families are registered with the Relief Department who were forced to leave the Valley in 1989-90 due to the threat of terror groups.

As per the official figure, only 18,000 families displaced from the Valley that include Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims draw the cash assistance and free ration. Cash assistance is being provided to families since 1990 and mainly benefits the Pandits.

There has been widespread allegation of frauds committed by some officials in the past allowing some non-migrants to get registered. Even some Pandit families have been found with multiple ration cards.

Sources maintained that it had also become a platform to adjust political migrants, a name given to party workers of the Congress, National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, who were included in the list citing threat from the militants depriving several genuine migrants from free ration.

The scheme will help in tracking the flow of assistance. It will make payments more transparent. There have been several cases of embezzlement of funds and fake ration cards in the past, said YP Suman, Relief Commissioner (Migrants).

The benefit was given to mostly farmers or persons working in private sector in the Valley who had no avenues to sustain their lives in Jammu. Those working in government sector are not entitled to cash assistance and free ration.

The Central Government will look after the entire relief and rehabilitation package meant for Kashmiri Pandits. It is good for weeding out corrupt practices which had deprived hundreds of the benefits, said Surinder Amberdar, BJP Member of Legislative Council (MLC).

Meanwhile, the state government has also ordered special audit of the Relief Department to detect the wrong doings in the distribution of relief and registration of the people who are entitled for relief assistance.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 13

The state governments decision to demolish Government Girls High School, City Chowk, in the middle of the academic session for creating a car parking has snowballed into a political controversy with the Opposition parties describing the move as illogical and anti-student.

Infuriated over the government decision, students, supported by their parents, continued their protest and accused the state government of subjecting them to great hardships by shifting it to other place. The school is located close to the civil secretariat and at a stones throw distance from the residence of the Minister of State for Education, Priya Sethi.

According to the protesting parents and students, the officials of the Education Department had been asked to arrange desks at a nearby school for accommodating over 200 students of the school. Parents alleged that their wards were asked to sit in the open at other schools as the officials had failed to make proper sitting arrangement for them at the alternate school.

It is quite surprising that the government has come out with an illogical move of shifting students from one place to another just a couple of months before their examinations. It will be difficult for our wards to adapt to a new school in this scenario. We are not opposed to the decision, but it should have been taken only after the exams, parents argued.

Meanwhile, the National Conference also staged a demonstration against the government decision of demolishing the school.

Leading the protesters, National Conference district president, Jammu, (Urban) Dharamvir Singh Jamwal described the measure as antithesis of Beti Bachao, Beti Padao campaign of the BJP and said this exposes the partys hypocrisy.

He criticised the insensitive and irresponsible decision of the government and sought its immediate reversal, saying that the future of girls was at stake. At a time, the government ought to have provided incentives to girls for getting ornamented with education, it is punishing them by way of dismantling their temple of learning, he said, adding that this particular school caters to the academics of poor and weaker segments of society.

He also described the explanation of the government that inmates of the school would be accommodated in other schools as absurd. In fact, it needed to be developed as a model school in the heart of the city, he added.

The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) general secretary, Vikram Malhotra, has also expressed serious concern over the shifting of the school and said the closing of the school in the middle of the academic session without making adequate arrangements could not be described a wise decision. It has created uncertainty in the minds of students studying there. The government should have waited till the end of the academic year i.e March-April 2017, he said.

He even questioned the Education Minister and local MLA as to why they were mum over such issues of public concern and why they did not react over the closing of a government school in the middle of session, since both represent the same constituency.
Melbourne, December 13

Australia can assist India in improving skill development, but it requires basic research on existing training regimes and should align such plans with a long-term economic strategy for India, a think-tank here has said.

'Skill India' is a major policy initiative of the Indian government which seeks to provide vocational training to 400 million Indian workers by 2022, the Melbourne-based think-tank Australia India Institute (AII) said.

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"Australia can assist in improving skill provision in India but it requires basic research on existing training regimes and a clear narrative about why it wishes to be involved. It should align plans for skill development with a long-term economic strategy for India," AII said in a recently released paper on Sustainable Skill Development.

The report said that Australian investments in Vocational and Educational Training (VET) in India were often unsuccessful and only a handful of students so far had graduated from Australian RTO's based in India.

The report, quoting Australian Trading Commission, said Australian firms that have attempted to work in India found inadequate infrastructural support, outdated curricula and a lack of industry participation and also failed to offer quality training at rates that were competitive with local providers.

"These shortcomings are largely due to the lack of a comprehensive framework for engaging with India on skills.

Unlike the UK, Australia has not yet developed comprehensive institutional supports to facilitate skills collaborations and unlike Germany, has not aligned skills collaborations with long-term plans for economic engagement with India," it said.

"Basic research is required into how skills, vocation and training are practiced and understood in India. These would greatly enhance institutional efforts to promote specific forms of skill development in different parts of India.

"Following Germany's example, the Australian government should develop a long-term economic strategy for its engagement with India which, in turn, should be linked to its skills and international education strategies," it said.

The paper highlighted that by 2025, the average age in India would be 29 years and about the Skill India campaign launched by the Modi Government to provide vocational training to 400 million Indian workers by 2022.

It said India faced many challenges in achieving its target in skill development, including poor quality of existing institutions, unrealistic institutional goals, low quality of schooling, lack of vocational education in schools, weak links to industry and disappointing labour market outcomes.

"Students in India are not able to enrol in vocational courses until Class 11. There are also poor linkages between formal and vocational education in Indian schools. Outside of elite institutions, many schools in India are under-funded and suffer from teacher neglect and poor curricula," it said.

The 'raw material' for vocational training  high school matriculates  often lack skills in numeracy, literacy and other academic areas. PTI
Mumbai, December 13

An Anti-Terrorism Squad is investigating bank transactions of Mumbra youth Tabrez Tambe, an Islamic State fighter who was detained in Libya last week, sources said on Tuesday.

The agency has confirmed that Tabrez's friend Ali, who radicalised him, was a citizen of Saudi Arabia national.

According to sources in the ATS, the agency has written to the central government for more information on Tabrez and his activities in the oil-rich country and his role in the jihadist group.

The agency is investigating if there any Islamic State handlers had sent money to Tabrezs family.

Investigators are also looking into whether Ali, who had previously visited India with Tabrez, radicalised more youngsters.

"We will investigate the reason for Alis Indian visit," an ATS official said.

ATS has also impounded mobile phones and laptops from the Tambes for forensic analysis.

An official claimed there was no contact between Tabrez and his family members after he was booked under various sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Tabrez left India earlier this year to work in Egypt but instead went to Libya, where the jihadists are currently battling US-backed coalition forces.  PTI
Ruchika M Khanna & Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13

The thought of gaining power can corrupt too. Or so it seems. As many as 16 sitting Congress MLAs, former MLAs and senior leaders, lobbying for the party ticket, have laid a siege to the Punjab Bhawan in Delhi. Not willing to concede defeat to the Opposition just as yet, the ruling dispensation in Punjab has closed ranks to oust the illegal occupants.

In this battle for control, a senior IAS officer has been made the scapegoat.

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A media adviser, special principal secretary and kin of an officer on special duty with the Deputy Chief Minister were aghast to find there were no rooms for them at the Punjab Bhawan. They had accompanied the minister for a summit in Delhi.

The three raised the issue with the powers-that-be, complaining that anticipating a change of regime in Punjab, the officers were switching loyalties. Peeved at Resident Commissioner K Siva Prasads inability to allot rooms to the Deputy CMs men, the officer was transferred to Punjab as Sugarfed MD even though top officials insist that the transfer was a routine one.

As for the illegal occupants, the government has started serving them notices, asking them to vacate their rooms immediately or pay a penal rent of Rs 3,000 per day.

Hospitality Department officials confirmed that notices had indeed been served on leaders illegally occupying rooms.

The drama began unfolding early this month with Congress ticket aspirants booking rooms in Blocks A and B. With the Congress high command delaying an announcement on ticket allotment, these Congressmen chose to remain put, opting not to check out even while visiting their constituencies back home.

Why should we vacate the rooms? Let the Congress come to power, we will settle the bills then, said a defiant MLA, furious at being sent a notice.
Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, December 13

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court today convicted Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and four others for their role in the Hyderabad twin blasts in 2013. The explosions ripped through a busy marketplace in the Dilsukhnagar area on February 21, 2013, claiming 18 lives and injuring 131 persons.

The NIA special court, which conducted proceedings in camera at Cherlapally jail here, convicted Bhatkal, a Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman (alias Waqas), Asadullah Akhtar (alias Haddi) of Uttar Pradesh, Tahaseen Akhtar (alias Monu) of Bihar and Aijaz Sheikh of Maharashtra. They are all lodged in the Cherlapally prison. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on December 19.

They have been convicted under various sections of IPC, Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Riyaz Bhatkal, believed to be operating from Karachi, is still at large.

The final arguments in the case concerning the attack concluded last month during which 157 witnesses were examined and 251 documents and 300 objects were seized. The trial in the case began on August 24 last year.

It was a meticulous investigation carried out by the NIA team in which every piece of evidence was examined minutely. This is the first-ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres. We will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits, NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said.

In its chargesheet, the NIA said the Indian Mujahideen had hatched a conspiracy to wage a war against India and decided to carry out bomb blasts in Hyderabad to create terror in the minds of people.

The main operative of the module Riyaz Bhatkal, who is named as the main accused in the case, had allegedly directed his associates Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas to find a place in Mangalore to be used as a hideout for explosive material sent by him, the investigation revealed.

The Bhatkal brothers, who are said to be experts in making explosives, originally hail from Bhatkal village in Udupi district of Karnataka. They are wanted in a series of terror attacks in different parts of the country. Yasin, who had received arms training in Pakistan in 2006, was arrested near Motihari in Bihar in 2013.

The bombs were carried on bicycles that were kept close to the blast sites in Dilsukhnagar. Most of the victims were men and women who were having their evening snacks and tea at the tea stalls when the bombs went off.
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 13

From wooing people queuing up before ATMs and banks with laddoos and chai to evoking their nationalistic emotions, the ruling BJP has done it all in the 35 days since Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck off 86 per cent of the countrys currency on November 8.

However, as the 50-day concession sought by the PM for the situation to normalise draws closer, there is a certain amount of discomfort in the BJP, stemming from the possibilities of what may happen after December 30.

The party is scheduled to hold its National Executive in the first half of January when, in normal circumstances, the agenda would have revolved around "development works" of the Modi government and the usual confidence-building and pep talk for forthcoming Assembly polls in key states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

But with demonetisation, the situation has changed and, perhaps, so has the agenda. It would not just have to cater to assuaging fears of a negative fallout on Assembly polls in party cadres but also ways on to send the right message to the people.

Officially, the party exudes confidence, denying any fears of negative political implication of the move. But leaders in private admit to the possibility of the move backfiring if things do not fall in place by January 1, 2017.

The meeting of office-bearers on Thursday is expected to set the agenda for the meeting scheduled on January 6-7, sources say.

Basically, the discomfort is stemming from two possibilities and the key one is of the cash crunch providing genuine reasons to people to reflect their anger in Assembly polls.

The continuing cash crisis is eroding support on the move for the government day by day, indicate some reports. While they are standing in queues for hours, people are also upset over money laundering cases and seizures of hundreds of crores of rupees in new currency notes.

It was not without a reason that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today reportedly went around the Rajiv Chowk to take a reality check on ATMs.

The second possibility is of differing voices emerging from within. Seeing BJP veteran LK Advani express unhappiness over disruptions and logjam in the Lok Sabha have given a sufficient reason to many to believe that he, and his sidelined colleague in margdarshak mandal Murli Manohar Joshi  may vent feelings of people's anguish through a letter or a blog.

They have done it in the past, like the time when the party fared poorly in Delhi Assembly polls.

Party leaders dismiss the possibility. People of the country are aware about the Prime Ministers good intentions and so are the leaders of the party, they claim.

Besides the demonetisation move has the blessings of the all powerful Sangh  the RSS  signified the way RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy has been defending it for past two days. Besides, the BJP leadership also believes that "all will fall in place by the year-end".
Hyderabad, December 13

A special court on Tuesday held five accused guilty in the 2013 twin bomb blasts case.

Pronouncing the judgement, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court fixed December 18 for announcing the quantum of punishment for the five operatives of Indian Mujahideen.

The five accused found guilty are Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Yasin Bhatkal alias Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa, Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, Pakistani national Zia ur Rehman alias Waqas, and Ajaz Shaikh.

The twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar area in Hyderabad on February 21, 2013, claimed 19 lives and injured over 130 people.

The NIA, which probed the case, concluded that the blasts were engineered by the Indian Mujahideen operatives.

Out of the six accused in the case, the investigating agency arrested five. Main accused Riyaz Bhatkal alias Shah Riyaz Ahmad Mohammed Ismail Shahbandari is absconding.

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For the last one year, the trial had been going on in the special court at Cherlapally Central Prison on the city outskirts where the five accused are currently lodged.

The NIA has produced 158 witnesses, seized 201 pieces of material evidence and furnished over 500 documents in the court.

Six months after the blasts, Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akthar were arrested from an area in Bihar close to the Nepal border. Three other accused were arrested subsequently and the NIA filed two chargesheets against the five accused.

The twin blasts occurred within a distance of 100 metres at crowded places in Dilsukhnagar on the evening of February 21, 2013.

IANS
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 13

Cushioning the blow to public post demonetisation with the promise of lower tax rates in the future and higher cash availability in three weeks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today hit out at the Congress alleging the partys scandalous record was making it extremely uncomfortable with PM Narendra Modis anti-corruption drive.

In a statement to the media, Jaitley said while the Congress was in power for 10 years (2004-2014), it did not take a single step against corruption or black money.

Corruption scandals peaked during that period. So from 2G scandal to coal block, CWG, VVIP helicopter Agusta Westland deal, each of the scandals, which is even today discussed in public space, belongs to that period, he said.

Attacking the Congress for opposing demonetisation, he said, Given this scandalous record, it is not surprising that the Congress is extremely uncomfortable with the anti-corruption campaign that the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched.

Assuring the public of higher cash availability, he said the pressure should ease in the next three weeks. Notwithstanding some transient problem which people have to face, we are now rapidly completing remonetisation exercise. Significant amounts are going to be injected in next three weeks which will gradually bring the pressure down, he said.

He said demonetisation would lead to higher tax recovery and lower income and indirect taxes in future. So much money that was operating as loose cash in the system has come into the banking system. It has to be accounted for where taxes have not been paid, which will now be recovered, he added.

Future transactions would be substantially digital and come in the tax net. Therefore, the future taxation level would be much higher than what is currently being collected. This would enable the government at some stage to make taxes more reasonable, he said.

He appealed to the Opposition to let Parliament function. He said action would be taken against those who have been trying to subvert the system once again. All agencies are keeping an eye on this. All those found indulging in the malpractices will have to pay a very heavy price for what they are doing, Jaitley said.
Dadri(UP)/Nagpur, December 13

The Congress on Tuesday unleashed a dual attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over note ban woes with Rahul Gandhi accusing him of "waging a war" against the poor by rendering them "cashless" and P Chidambaram calling it a "biggest scam" of the year that needed to be probed.

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Flagging the impact of demonetisation on the ground, Chidambaram dubbed it as a "thoughtless move", "the worst assault" on the poor and worse than natural calamity for them while Gandhi said Modi's vision of a cashless economy has rendered the poor "cashless", robbing them of their hard- earned money.

Before banning high-value notes, Chidambaram said Modi should at least have consulted his "own man" Yashwant Sinha, a former union finance minister, so that the "monumental mismanagement" could have been avoided.

Taking a vox-pop-style referendum on demonetisation among people standing in a bank queue in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi charged that the announcement by Modi on November 8 has enabled the conversion of black money into white.

Who said what

"Only 2 paise out of Rs 100 is counterfeit. Modiji says he will make the economy cashless. He has made it cashless indeed, with the poor having no cash."  Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi

"Demonetisation has broken the back of 45 crore people. It is punishing the poor. I see no rich man affected by the ban."  Former finance minister P Chidambaram

The Congress vice-president alleged that the NDA government has "blocked" the money of the poor through currency ban to favour a "handful of industrialists" and to recapitalise banks that have extended loans worth "Rs 8 lakh crore" to them.

Addressing a gathering at a wholesale market, Gandhi said, The Prime Minister has brought honest people on the streets while the rich and the corrupt are taking money through the backdoor of banks.

"It was done to ensure that the poor deposit their money in the banks, which will be used to repay the debt of around Rs 8 lakh crore owed by these industrialists to the banks.

Modiji wants the money of the poor to remain in the banks for the next six to eight months," he said.

Gandhi said the measure will "injure" the country. He also accused the Prime Minister of shifting goalposts over the issue by listing the objective of the measures ranging from unearthing black money to curbing counterfeit currency.

"Only 2 paise out of Rs 100 is counterfeit. Two days after Modiji made the announcement, terrorists, after they were slain, were found having new currency. Then he says he will make the economy cashless. He has made it cashless indeed, with the poor having no cash," he said.

Chidambaram while terming the exercise as "absurd" and "thoughtless" in a scathing attack on the Modi government sought to know how many economies in the world are cashless.

"This is the worst assault on the poor in the country.

Demonetisation has broken the back of 45 crore people. It is punishing the poor. I see no rich man affected by the ban," the Congress leader told a press meet in Nagpur.

"Daily wagers are out of work. Village markets and mandis have been shut for the last 30 days," Chidambaram said.

"World over small transactions are done in cash not by cards. To assume that India will go from 3 per cent to 100 per cent cashless in a matter of few months, is an outlandish expectation," the former union finance minister said.

It was an illusion that demonetisation was created to hurt the rich and help the poor, he said.

Highlighting the woes of the people in remote areas, he said, "The pain in rural areas is indescribable."

The Congress leader while seeking a thorough probe by the SIT on the matter said that recent cash seizures in Rs 2,000 notes across the country point to the "biggest scam" arising out of the note ban.  PTI
Rakesh Chopra



Smita Patil, the face that expressed a thousand emotions, would have been 61 this year had not God plucked one of the finest flowers of Indian cinema in the prime of her life. Two weeks after giving birth to son Prateik she died of childbirth complications on December 13, 1986, all of 31. But in just a decade she left a body of work that most dont leave in a lifetime.

Born in Pune into a politicians family, Smita had dark complexion and was often mocked as Kali. During her college days, the family shifted to Mumbai, where a Doordarshan director saw her photographs and appointed her as a Marathi newsreader. Minutes before going on the air a reluctant Smita would hurriedly wear the sari over her jeans. But the poise with which she read the news won her many admirers, including film star Vinod Khanna, who would rush back from work to catch the evening bulletin.

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal chanced upon her as he saw her in an FTII diploma film and cast her in Charandas Chor. It was a childrens film and the year was 1975 when the parallel cinema was coming into its own. Then came Nishant that pitted her against the redoubtable Shabana Azmi. Their professional rivalry continued till Mandi. At the launch of Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence, her biography by Maithili Rao, on the actors 60th birth anniversary in October last year, Shabana recounted their love-hate relationship, saying they were good colleagues who could never be friends.

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Benegal signed her once again for Bhumika, which was based on the life of Marathi actor Hansa Wadkar. For her convincing portrayal of the legendary rebel, she walked away with the National Award for the best actress. Amol Palekar, her co-actor in the film, is on record saying that he was yet to see an actor in Indian cinema other than Smita who could convey myriads of emotions without uttering a word. Chakra four years later brought her the second National Award besides the Filmfare trophy for the best actress. In the centenary year of Indian cinema, Rediff.com included her role of the gritty Sonbai in Ketan Mehtas Mirch Masala as one of the 25 greatest performances in Indian cinema.

When a New Wave Cinema producer overlooked her for an important role as he wanted someone established in mainstream films, she was hurt. This made her try her luck in commercial cinema. She signed Ramesh Sippy-directed Shakti and also starred in Prakash Mehras Namak Halaal, where she did that rain song Aaj rapat jayen with Amitabh Bachchan. It offended her sensibilities and even made her cry. But once she had taken the plunge, there was no going back. She signed film after film and even matched the dancing prowess of Mithun Chakraborty step for step in B Subhashs Dance Dance.

Amitabh doesnt tire of recounting an incident that showed Smita could foresee things. He was shooting for Coolie in Bengaluru when he got a call in his hotel in the dead of night, and a worried Smita enquired about his well-being, saying she just had a dream that something untoward had happened to him. And the next morning, he had that infamous injury on the sets. Smita visited him in hospital everyday bringing him flowers, the superstar reminisces of the unique woman. That was Smita, down-to-earth and caring.

In Mahesh Bhatts Arth, Smita loves a married man and wants to settle down with him. The theme also played out in her real life as she fell in love with Raj Babbar, her co-actor in many films and a married man with two kids. The family did not take kindly to the revelation and stayed away from the wedding. The media also was livid as it could not stomach someone championing the cause of women on celluloid as a home-breaker in real life. There were enough demands of the troubled marriage which the couple could not cope with.

Its been three decades since that arresting face left us, and today as I repeatedly hit YouTube for watching the Janam janam ka saath hai tumhara hamara number from Raj-Smita starrer Bheegi Palkein, their cackling on-screen chemistry leaves a lump in my throat. Alas, their togetherness was short-lived as their real life could not live up to the haunting Lata-Rafi melody.
Lucknow, December 13

Prospects of a poll alliance between the ruling Samajwadi Party and Congress appeared to be brightening on Tuesday with both showing inclination towards a tie-up, feeling that it will be beneficial for the two parties and would halt BJP's march.

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Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said a tie-up between SP and Congress would fetch over 300 of the 403 Assembly seats in the upcoming elections while Congress said it is not averse to a "respectable" seat-sharing formula.

"Though samajwadis are going to form majority government in the state, if an alliance takes place, it will win over 300 seats. The final decision in this regard will be taken by SP national president (Mulayam Singh Yadav)," Akhilesh told reporters here.

Congress leaders of Uttar Pradesh, while sniffing a chance because of demonetisation, are showed inclination towards an alliance, saying the party is open to a "respectable" seat-sharing formula with SP.

Accepting that there are some back channel efforts to firm up an alliance, a Congress leader said his party will not agree to less than 100 seats which it has already identified.

"Besides the 29 seats it won in the last Assembly polls and 31 others on which it had finished second, there are some 50 other constituencies where the party has good chance," he said.

The party, which has been out of power in the politically important state for 27 years, is trying its best to revive its electoral fortunes by pushing its vice president Rahul Gandhi to hold a 'kisan yatra' across the state.

"The aim and target of Congress is not just to halt BJP in Uttar Pradesh but also in the country for which it believes that all parties having similar ideology need to come together," said the leader who refused to be identified.

"Such an alliance is also in the interest of Samajwadi Party which desperately needs to secure a strong platform to ward off division of Muslim votes in order to consolidate its position," he said.

BSP is posing a stiff challenge to Samajwadi Party and is going all out to woo Muslim voters and this is a concern for SP, he noted.

The Congress had launched its poll preparations much in advance, roping in election strategist Prashant Kishor and announced the name of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as its chief ministerial candidate with an eye on Brahmin votes.  PTI
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, December 13

The World Bank (WB) today decided to temporarily halt the arbitration process between India and Pakistan on the question of the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects being built by India along the Indus water system.

The World Bank said the decision has been made to give the two countries a chance to come up with an alternative solution to their problem in accordance with the Indus Water Treaty by January next year. India last month had categorically rejected the World Banks decision of appointing two simultaneous mechanisms for resolving differences with Pakistan.

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In response to todays decision by the world body to give a pause to the process, India said that it had on November 10 pointed out the legal untenability of the WB in launching two simultaneous processes for appointment of a neutral expert (as requested by India) and for the establishment of a court of arbitration (as requested by Pakistan).

India, voicing a sense of diplomatic victory, said that the banks decision today has confirmed that the two concurrent processes can render the Indus Water Treaty unworkable over time.

The historic Indus Water Treaty of 1960, mediated by the World Bank, has stood the test of time over water-sharing agreements between India and Pakistan despite frequent tensions.

The government in the last few months has, however, threatened Pakistan that water and blood cannot flow together. This has set many an alarm bell ringing since water remains an emotive issue on both sides of the border.

The Bank today in its statement said, This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty, rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time.

Earlier this year, Pakistan had objected to the construction and design of the 850-MW Ratle and 330-MW Kishanganga hydropower schemes, saying that both projects would have adverse impact on the flow of the Chenab and Neelam rivers.
Jaipur, December 13

A 23-year-old woman was allegedly killed over dowry by her husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law in Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan, police said today.

The deceased, Safedi, was beaten up and thrown into a well located nearby yesterday, SHO Bamanwas police station Revad Mal said.

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The body was pulled out and taken to a hospital where she was declared dead, he said.

"A case of murder has been registered against her husband of three years Satyanarayan, his brother and father," he said, adding that no arrests have been made yet.

The victim's father alleged that she was tortured over dowry demands by her husband's family, the officer said. The body was handed over to her parents after postmortem.

PTI
GS Paul & Anirudh Gupta

tribune news service

Harike, December 12

Harike Cruise, an amphibious bus, made its maiden journey across the Harike wetland today carrying Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and sister Praneet Kaur Kairon as its first passengers.

The vehicle, imported from Swedish automobile company Scania, can run both on land and water. It was reassembled in Goa before being brought to Harike.

After a 15-minute ride, Sukhbir said: My target was to integrate the amphibious bus service with key tourist spots of Amritsar. We have started a hop-on, hop-off bus service from Amritsar to bring tourists to the Harike Wildlife Sanctuary so that they can have a glimpse of its rich biodiversity. In the next phase, amphibious buses would be started in Ropar and Bathinda.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition and those who had ridiculed the move, Sukhbir said he was delivering on his promise of running a bus on water. Resham, a local resident, said people used to initially laugh at the idea. Asi sochde si, sarkar toh road te bus chaldi nahi, pani te kiddaan challau? (We wondered how the government would run a bus on water when it cant do it properly on roads?), said Resham. It is exciting to see it happen.

The bus will enter the wetland from a ramp near Chungian village, around 3 km from Gurdwara Nanksar, and emerge from water at Makhu, traversing over 3 km in the water. The Irrigation Department has prepared a 240X25 feet ramp on either side at an estimated cost of Rs 75 lakh.

Col Sandeep Singh, CEO, Punjab Tourism, said in the first month of operation, a driver provided by the manufacturer would handle the vehicle. He will subsequently train local drivers.
Gagandeep Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 13

In a setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), its national executive member who was the candidate from Hoshiarpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Yamini Gomar, today resigned from the party. Terming AAP a "party of looters", Yamini lashed out against the leadership calling them "anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab".

Being a prominent Dalit face of the party, Yamini was expecting ticket from the Sham Chaurasi (reserved) Assembly seat. Turning emotional during a press conference here, she alleged: "Volunteers are being made to work like slaves. While other parties, including the SAD, are known to loot people after coming to power, AAP has begun the loot even before the elections. Senior party leaders, including organisational head Durgesh Pathak and Punjab incharge Sanjay Singh, are the biggest manipulators themselves".

In her resignation, Yamini wrote: "There is no inner democracy. All right thinking leaders, who had established the state unit, have been thrown out one by one."

On AAP observers from Delhi, she said: "They have captured the state unit. The so-called observers are openly indulging in corruption. Party tickets are being openly sold to people with criminal background."

On Dalit Deputy CM promise, she said: "It is nothing but an election stunt. If AAP is so concerned, why it did not announce its MP Harinder Khalsa, a Dalit, as the leader of Parliamentary group?"

Resignation over ticket: State convener

Chandigarh: AAP state convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich said: "Yamini's rise in the party contradicts her allegations. She was demanding ticket to contest the elections. She has betrayed the Dalits. It is sad that Yamini is playing in the hands of those forces that exploited Dalits for centuries." TNS

Another desertion

Yamini Gomar had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Hoshiarpur on AAP ticket. She was polled over 2.13 lakh votes. Besides being a member of the AAP national executive committee, she was party's spokesperson and campaign committee member
Gagandeep Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 13

In a major jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), its national executive member and Hoshiarpur candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha election Yamini Gomar resigned from the primary membership of the party on Tuesday.

While terming the party as that of looters, she lashed out against the leadership calling them anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab.

Being one of the prominent Dalit faces of the party, Gomar was expecting a ticket from Sham Churasi (reserved) Assembly seat.

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Repeatedly becoming emotional at a press conference here, she said, Party volunteers are being made to work like slaves. The so-called observers of the AAP have captured the entire Punjab and are indulging in corruption and wrongdoing. The disgusting situation has shattered all my dreams and hopes for bringing in a change and improvement in Punjab.

Gomar, who had been quite active for more than two years, said, The three Cs which the party has been claiming to weed outcorruption, crime and characterless--are not at all being followed. AAP leaders, including organisational head Durgesh Pathak and Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh, are the biggest manipulators. While other parties, including the SAD, indulge in loot after coming to power, the AAP has already begun the loot even before elections.

A Dalit herself, she reacted to national convener Arvind Kejriwals recent announcement of appointing a Dalit Deputy CM. It is nothing more than an election stunt. If the AAP is so concerned, why the party did not announce its MP Harinder Singh Khalsa, who is a Dalit and a Sikh, as the leader of parliamentary group, she said, also terming the release of the Dalit manifesto as a poll plank of the party.

Announcing her resignation along with Baljit Singh from Gurdaspur, vice president, Youth Wing, AAP Punjab, and LR Nayyar, former organiser AAP Punjab, the partys national leader said, There is no democracy within the party. We cannot speak what we feel. The volunteers have no role in decision-making. All right-thinking leaders and a large number of old volunteers, who had established the party in Punjab, have been thrown out one by one. The party tickets are being openly sold to corrupt, criminal and characterless people.

She, however, said she had only heard about such cash-for-ticket stories but was not a witness to it.

Yamini had polled 2.12 lakh votes in the parliamentary poll from Hoshiarpur.
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13

Demonetisation has come as a pleasant surprise for the cash-strapped Punjab Government. The ban on Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes has brought buoyancy in the states revenue collection after the state government allowed tax payers to deposit old currency notes towards payment of their taxes.

For the first time in the past two quarters, the state governments revenue receipts increased by 6.6 per cent over last year. This, in spite of the fact that in the beginning of November  just days before the demonetisation  the state finances took the deepest plunge ever, when the state went into a double overdraft (having an overdraft of Rs2,000 crore). However, the decision to accept the taxes in old currency notes proved a godsend for the state, whose total revenue receipts increased from Rs2,600 crore in November 2015 to Rs2,772 crore in November 2016.

In the first week, since demonetisation, the state Finance Department initially saw its revenues from the state excise collections and VAT fall by almost 50 per cent. But as the state government started accepting old currency notes, its VAT collection went up to Rs2,080 crore in November (against Rs1,873 crore last November) and its excise collection went up from Rs449 crore in November 2015 to Rs510 crore now.

Interestingly, the excise collection in the state was showing negative growth in October  the excise collection was Rs391 crore in October 2016 as against Rs428 crore in October 2015.

The only revenue receipt that took a dip was stamp duty collection, which is earned from the sale of property. Since real estate was the worst-hit sector post demonetisation, the stamp duty collection in November 2016 was Rs90 crore, as against Rs178 crore in October 2015  a fall of almost 50 percent.

The euphoria, say senior officials in the Finance Department, is only temporary. The real worry, they say, is the fall in all revenue receipts  be it the states own tax and non-tax revenues as well as fall in the total devolution of Central Government taxes to the state in December.

With cash crunch showing no signs of abating, the Finance Department expects a 30 per cent fall in its monthly revenue receipts for December.

This means that the state could see its own tax revenues falling by Rs750 crore and the central devolution of taxes could further dip by Rs100 to Rs150 crore  thus bringing down the total receipts by Rs850 crore to Rs900 crore.

Hosiery units in crisis

Ludhiana: Local BJP leaders on Tuesday held a meeting with representatives of hosiery associations following the latters decision to protest against demonetisation on December 16. The leaders pressed upon the hosiery traders to call off the proposed strike. Hosiery traders and manufacturers said demonetisation had dealt a blow to their business. Some of the units were on the verge of closure, they said. tns
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, December 13

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today criticised the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre terming its two-and-half-year tenure as miserable. The Centre had failed to fulfil the majority of the promises made during the 2014 General Elections.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by his wife Pratibha Singh for a dip in the Ganga at Har-ki-Pauri here. After taking a bath in the Ganga, he performed rituals and offered milk amid chanting of hymns by teerth purohits.

Virbhadra termed the demonetisation drive as a step taken in haste. The Prime Minister is shying away from speaking in Parliament, which itself points to the lackluster and failed demonetisation measure taken by the BJP government, he said.

He expressed unhappiness over the state of the Ganga despite the Namami Gange scheme and public statements being made by Narendra Modi and Union Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharati. He said on the ground level he was seeing no major impact of Namami Gange.

The Ganga pollution is increasing day by day, with no impact of the schemes in the past 30 months, since the Modi government took oath. The Prime Minister boasts more than he does work on ground, like bringing black money from foreign shores or giving a befitting reply to Pakistan. Barring the surgical strike, Indian Army personnel are being targeted by Pakistani Army Rangers and terrorists from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir launchpads, said Virbhadra.

Since childhood I have a special attachment with the Ganga. Its an integral part of our culture and identity. We all need to ensure we dont pollute the sacred river and the government should ensure its sanctity and purity is restored, said Virbhadra, who left for New Delhi later in the day.
London, December 13

A 38-year-old man who shouted "death to Muslims" before stabbing a passenger at a southeast London Overground station has been arrested.

British Transport Police (BTP) officers were called to Forest Hill station in southeast London on Tuesday evening after receiving reports that a man had been assaulted on a train.

"The man, in his forties, was rushed to hospital with injuries consistent with having been stabbed. He remains in hospital in a serious, but not life threatening, condition," a BTP statement said.

It said a 38-year-old man from London was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm. "He remains in police custody," it added.

"The circumstances are being investigated but the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related at this time," it adds.

Eyewitness accounts claim that the attacker was shouting phrases like "death to Muslims" and "go back to Syria".

"This is an isolated incident and at this time is being treated as hate crime. We have no reasons to believe that it has any links to terrorism. Investigations are ongoing and officers are working to establish the circumstances around today's events," Superintendent Jenny Gilmer said.

She said that BTP was increasing officer visibility in the area to reassure members of the public throughout London that incidents of this nature are "very rare".  PTI
Brasilia: Brazil's Senate on Tuesday approved a 20-year government spending freeze billed as the centerpiece of austerity reforms aimed at restoring economic health to the troubled Latin American giant. The upper house voted 53 to 16 to lock in the spending ceiling. Center-right President Michel Temer says tough measures are needed to get Brazil's finances back under control, but his austerity policies have prompted violent protests and were criticised last week by a United Nations expert as "a historic mistake." The Police were out in force in the capital Brasilia to protect government buildings from demonstrators during the upper house vote. A poll published today showed that 60 per cent of Brazilians oppose the spending ceiling. Only 24 per cent are in favour. AFP
New York City, December 13

An Indian-origin doctor miraculously survived a plane crash on Sunday when the plane he was piloting developed an engine trouble and came down in the frigid waters of Long Island Sound, an estuary off the city.

Inderpal Chhabra and his co-pilot David Tobachnik climbed out of the sinking plane and hung on to a rock till they were rescued, News 12 cable station reported.

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Chhabra, a 1992 graduate of Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi, described the event as a "controlled landing" and not a crash as he was in control of his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, till it hit the water.

"It was a controlled landing on the water, it was not a crash," Chhabra told WABC TV. "Up until the last minute that I hit the water, I was actually still flying the plane." Chhabra said that he and the co-pilot waited on the plane's wing till it sank and then swam the short distance to a large rock from where they were rescued.

News 12 said that he had taken off from MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma on Long Island, about 100 kilometres from New York City, and was headed to Calverton.

"As soon as I reached cruising altitude it got a little bit of a shudder, so I looked at my co-pilot and was like, 'Should we turn back?'" Chhabra told WABC. "And he said, 'Yeah you should.'" He said he was prepared for dealing with the emergency. "This is what we train for," he said. "Fly the plane all the way into the crash, and I'm so glad that's what I did." The wait for the rescue seemed like an eternity to him.

"I was like, why is this taking them so long? We could see the police helicopters directly over us, so we knew that help was near, but it seemed like an eternity," he said.
Berlin, December 13

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that they favour extending EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict, ahead of a Brussels summit that will discuss the issue.

Merkel said that  given grave shortcomings in the Ukraine peace process, which has been marred by regular ceasefire violations  "it will be necessary to extend sanctions against Russia once more".

Hollande, speaking at a joint Berlin press conference with Merkel, agreed there had been insufficient progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement.

"Since there hasn't been an effort made, no progress, and the same blockages remain, I, like the chancellor, am in favour of extending sanctions," he said.

Neither the Ukrainian government nor the pro-Russian rebels waging an insurgency in the country's east have fully implemented the agreements  designed to bring an end to a conflict that has claimed 10,000 lives since 2014  and low-level fighting continues.

In Brussels, a European official said last week that Merkel and Hollande would recommend extending the sanctions to EU leaders at the summit on Thursday.

"There appears to be consensus," said this official, adding that a formal deal to prolong sanctions could be clinched in January.

"But for some member states, it's important to listen to Merkel and Hollande first," this official added.

Imposed in July 2014 after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over rebel-held eastern Ukraine, the EU sanctions target the Russian energy, defence and finance sectors.

Currently in force until January 31 next year, they are the subject of debate among EU member states, with some arguing they should be lifted as Moscow has imposed retaliatory measures hurting especially European farmers.  AFP
Perth, December 13

A lone survey vessel has left an Australian port for perhaps the final time to search for the Malaysian airliner that mysteriously crashed into the southern Indian Ocean two years ago.

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester's office said Tuesday thatthe Dutch survey ship Fugro Equator left Fremantle on Monday night to continue the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 alone.

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His office says whether the voyage is the ship's final monthlong deployment from Fremantle before the search is completed will depend on the weather.

Chester thanked China for the services of a Chinese ship that joined the search in February of a 120,000-square-kilometer area where authorities calculate that the Boeing 777 crashed with 239 people aboard in 2014. The Chinese ship left the search this month. AP
ALEPPO/GENEVA, December 13

Thousands of people fled the front lines of fighting in Aleppo on Tuesday as the Syrian military hammered the final pocket of rebel resistance and Russia rejected an immediate ceasefire.

The rout of rebels from their ever-shrinking territory in Aleppo sparked a mass flight of civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity" with civilians being shot dead.

The Syrian army said it could declare full control over eastern Aleppo "at any moment", predicting those districts would fall on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"The army continues to advance towards ... Sukkari, what remains of Seif al-Dawla, part of al-Amiriya and Tel al-Zarazir," a military spokesman told Reuters during a tour of recaptured parts of Aleppo.

"When the army regains control of these areas, its operation in the eastern areas of the city ...will have finished," he said.

The spokesman added that rebels were continuing to reject withdrawing from the city.

The UN human rights office said it had reports of abuses, including that the army and allied Iraqi militiamen summarily killed at least 82 civilians in captured districts of the city, once a flourishing economic centre with renowned ancient sites.

"The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN. office. "There could be many more."

Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed.

Colville said the rebel-held area was "a hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre, adding its capture was imminent.

The Syrian army and its allies are in the "last moments before declaring victory" in Aleppo, a Syrian military source said, after rebel defences collapsed, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground.

Turkish and Russian officials will meet on Wednesday to examine a possible ceasefire and opening a corridor, a senior Turkish official, who declined to be identified, said.

But Moscow, the Syrian government's most powerful ally, rejected any immediate call for a ceasefire. "The Russian side wants to do that only when the corridors are established," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

The spokesman for the civil defence force in the former rebel area of Aleppo said rebels now controlled an area of less than three sq km. "The situation is very, very bad. The civil defence has stopped operating in the city," he said.

A surrender or withdrawal of the rebels from Aleppo would mean the end of the rebellion in the city, Syria's largest until the outbreak of war after mass protests in 2011, but it is unclear if such a deal can be struck by world powers.

By finally dousing the last embers of resistance burning in Aleppo, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military coalition of the army, Russian air power and Iran-backed militias will have delivered him his biggest battlefield victory of the war.

However, while the rebels, including groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist groups that the West does not support, will suffer a crushing defeat in Aleppo, the war will be far from over.

Fleeing in panic

Aleppo's loss will leave the rebels without a significant presence in any of Syria's main cities, but they still hold much of the countryside west of Aleppo and the province of Idlib, also in northwest Syria.

Islamic State also has a big presence in Syria and has advanced in recent days, taking the desert city of Palmyra.

The army and its allies had taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday.

After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night as the weather deteriorated, a Reuters reporter in the city said.

However, rocket fire pounded rebel-held areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, reported. Rebels and government forces still fought at points around the reduced enclave, the Observatory said.

The UN children's agency UNICEF cited an unnamed doctor in Aleppo as saying that many unaccompanied children were trapped in a building that was under attack, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had no knowledge of the incident.

"Artillery shelling is continuing but because of the weather the aerial bombing has stopped. Many of the families and children have not left for areas under the control of the regime because their fathers are from the rebels," said Abu Ibrahim, a resident of Aleppo in a text message.

Colville said he feared retribution. "In all, as of yesterday evening we have received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children," Colville told a news briefing, naming the Iraqi armed group Harakat al-Nujaba as reportedly involved in the killings.

The military official said the rebels were fleeing "in a state of panic", but a Turkish-based official with the Jabha Shamiya insurgent group in Aleppo said on Monday night that they had established a new frontline along the river.

"The bombardment is not on the frontlines, the greater burden of the bombardment is on the civilians, and this is what is causing a burden on us," the official said.

Terrible conditions were described by city residents.

Abu Malek al-Shamali, a resident in the rebel area, said dead bodies lay in the streets. "There are many corpses in Fardous and Bustan al Qasr with no one to bury them," he said.

"Last night people slept in the streets and in buildings where every flat has several families crowded in," he added.

Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night, with fighters shooting rounds into the sky in triumph.

Tide of refugees

A daily bulletin issued by the Russian Defence Ministry's "reconciliation centre" from the Hmeimin airbase used by its warplanes, reported that more than 8,000 civilians, more than half of them children, had left east Aleppo in 24 hours.

State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings.

One man pushed a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a cart on which sat an elderly woman. Another man carried on his back a small girl wearing a pink hat.

At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic.

In some recaptured areas, people were returning to their shattered homes. A woman in her sixties, who identified herself as Umm Ali, or "Ali's mother", said that she, her husband and her disabled daughter had no water.

They were looking after the orphaned children of another daughter killed in the bombing, she said, and were reduced to putting pots and pans in the street to collect rainwater.

In another building near al-Shaar district, which was taken by the army last week, a man was fixing the balcony of his house with his children. "No matter the circumstances, our home is better than displacement," he said.

All around the buildings in that area were earthen fortifications and rebel slogans daubed on walls. But in a playground, all the equipment was burned.  Reuters
Smith

FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith warned that President-elect Trump's campaign promises to pull back on international trade agreements could be catastrophic.

Smith told the audience at the National Council on Competitiveness Forum, Trade has made America great, and expanding trade has been a bipartisan pursuit for over 80 years. The failure to continue to do so would be a severe mistake with enormous consequences for America and the world.

He noted that while the U.S. is facing many major economic challenges, including slow economic growth, national debt, low federal and business investment, deteriorating infrastructure, increasing protectionism here and abroad, and too many citizens feeling that theyre being left behind, these problems should not be blamed on trade.

In addressing the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) negotiated among the U.S. and 11 other countries, Smith said, We urge the Trump administration to put its stamp on a revised TPP by addressing any concerns it sees, and making any additional improvements to promote trade, rather than restrict it.

As for the benefits of U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada, Smith advised that while the North American Free Trade Agreement agreement could be updated and strengthened, withdrawal from the agreement would have massive economic repercussions. He added, There are myriad reasons why that would be catastrophic for the U.S. economy due to the supply chains throughout the region.

NAFTA trade more than quadrupled in 20 years, which boosted the economies of all three countries. Nearly 14 million jobs depend on trade with Canada and Mexico, he said.

Few people understand how NAFTA has woven the productive capacity of North America into one integrated platform, he explained. The United States, Canada and Mexico make so many things together. The auto industry is a great example. A November 10 Wall Street Journal article cited an example in which a seat had parts from four U.S. states and four Mexican locations.

Among other examples of times when protectionism has not worked, Smith noted, We have the best example of protectionism from our own history. The devastating Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 raised tariffs on more than 20,000 items. This contributed to a 66% decline in world trade from 1929 to 1934. This misguided act of Congress ignited the Great Depression.

Smith emphasized that trade is a two-way street, in which both imports and exports are vital. He said American farmers, manufacturers and other companies  and the jobs they support  depend on foreign markets. Overall, trade supports over 40 million U.S. jobs, or more than one of every five in our nation. Tens of thousands of those jobs are at FedEx.

Smith noted that the U.S. currently has free trade agreements in place with only 20 trading partners. Contrary to public perception, the U.S. enjoys a surplus with those trading partners in manufacturing, and has global surpluses in services and agriculture. In fact, he said, these 20 free trade partners buy nearly half of all U.S. exports. The U.S. wins when we enter free trade agreements.

Full text of the speech is available here.





Originally posted on Automotive Fleet
One former PNM stalwart says there is only one fit to head the political entity and it's not
Tomorrow night SBS VICELAND screens the doco The Last Lesbian Bars.

San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, and New Orleans are four of the biggest gay party meccas in America, yet these cities lesbian bars keep shutting down. Broadly host JD Samson travels across America to find out why lesbian bars are dying while clubs for gay men continue to thrive.

Thursday, 15 December at 9.00pm on SBS VICELAND.
Kingston has unveiled a new storage device that will make getting large video files off your Android device quick and easy. The storage device is called the DataTraveler microDuo. The duo in the name comes from the fact that the flash drive is able to work in a USB port or a microUSB port.

If you are an Android smartphone or tablet user, odds are that microUSB port is all you have. If your device supports USB OTG, you can plug the microDuo directly into that port and use a free app to move files to and from the storage device.

The drive is offered in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities. The flash drive is very small and compact and should be easy to take with you on the go. Since it works with regular USB ports as well, transferring files to and from your smartphone and computer will be easy.
Ukrainian soldiers were neither killed, nor wounded in the anti-terrorist operation area in eastern Ukraine over the last day.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Spokesperson for ATO Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk said this at a press briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Ukrainian soldiers were neither killed, nor wounded as a result of combat actions over the past day, Motuzianyk said.

As noted, 21 militants were killed and another 11 militants were wounded in ATO area in last week.

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Ukraine is interested in increasing imports of coffee, tea, exotic fruits and nuts from Kenya, and Kenya, in turn, is interested in supplies of Ukrainian grain, flour, apples, juice concentrates, seeds and feeds for poultry and fish farming.

These issues were discussed during an official visit of the Ukrainian delegation headed by Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister, Trade Representative of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska, Deputy Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry Olha Trofimtseva to the Republic of Kenya, the government's official website reports.

"The sides expressed mutual interest in the export/import of products: Kenyans expressed interest in the import of Ukrainian grain, flour, apples, juice concentrates, seeds and feeds for poultry and fish farming, and Ukraine, in turn, is interested in the increase in imports of coffee, tea, exotic fruits, such nuts as macadamia, and cut flowers from Kenya. Representatives of the Ukrainian delegation got acquainted with the work of a laboratory at KEPHIS, reads a report.

Also, during the meeting, representatives of the Ukrainian delegation together with specialists of Dairy Veterinary Services (DVS) discussed the issue of potential export of animal products from Ukraine to Kenya.

Read the latest news on Kenya on Tuko.co.ke
The Canadian province of Ontario condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine and expressed support for the Ukrainian people.

Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne said this during her speech in the parliament, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We continue to condemn the aggression of Putin regime against Ukraine, and we remain determined to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," Wynne said.

She added that she shared the pain of Ukrainians who needed to defend the values of humanity using arms.

She was also proud of "the humanitarian support that our government sends to the people of Ukraine that protect the democracy."

As a reminder, this year Canada marks 125 years since the establishment of the first Ukrainian settlement in the country.

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Ukraine will get visa-free regime with the European Union in a few months.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli said this at a briefing in the Kharkiv Regional State Administration.

"Visa-free regime will come into force in a few months... It has been already decided, and there is consent of all 28 countries," Mingarelli said.

As noted, he can not disclose the exact date yet. There are still some legal formalities, Mingarelli said.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have called for the extension of sanctions against Russia because of the lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

The leaders said this after talks in Berlin on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported from Germany.

"Sanctions against Russia must be extended," Merkel said.

She stressed that the parties "would like to see more progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements."

French President Hollande supported the head of the German government, stressing "all the same obstacles" in the process.

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The Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs of Ukraine and the Delegation of the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations agreed to cooperate in providing food assistance to citizens affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2017.

This has been reported by the press service of the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine.

"This project is scheduled for one year, and the goal of the World Food Programme in Ukraine - deal with food risk. We have to help those affected by the conflict and look forward to assist the Ministry in determining where our help is needed most," WFP Representative in Ukraine Dorte Ellehammer said.

In turn, Deputy Minister Heorhiy Tuka said that governmental and non-governmental organizations were working in these areas. He noted that the most problematic issue of food security was settlements located in the so-called "gray zone."

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UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi meets forcibly displaced people in Diffa, Niger.  UNHCR/Dustin Okazaki

DIFFA, Niger  Despite facing high levels of poverty and other development challenges of its own, Niger is playing a key role in sheltering refugees fleeing conflicts in the region, the UN refugee chief said during a visit this week.

The West African country provides asylum and refuge to over 165,000 refugees fleeing conflict and persecution in neighbouring Mali and Nigeria.

Its very rare to find a country and a people facing so many challenges  security, economic, climatic - surrounded by unstable neighbours, yet providing refuge and maintaining humanitarian values, despite it all, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said during his first visit.

I had no hope when I fled Nigeria, but now I feel at home."

The region of Diffa, in the south-east of Niger, is a perfect example of this solidarity, as expressed by Grandi on a visit to the region to highlight the Nigerian displacement crisis. Since February 2015, Diffa has been under constant threat from Boko Haram.

The numbers of displaced people in the region has skyrocketed in the past year, reaching over 250,000 by last month. This total includes refugees, returning Niger citizens and people forcibly displaced within the countrys borders. What is exceptional about Diffa is the fact that amongst the displaced, just 7,500 are living in a refugee camp. The majority live side by side with the local population, who also face major challenges

Niger: UN refugee chief visits Diffa

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, provides assistance and protection to people in need, based on their vulnerability, and not just on their status as refugees. In such a dynamic and volatile context, UNHCR has been forced to rethink the way it operates, and to come up with innovative solutions for all.

In its Urbanization Project, UNHCR works hand-in-hand with the local and community authorities, to provide legal access to land for displaced families, while contributing to improving the local economy.

During a visit to the town of Maine Soroa, in the Diffa region, Grandi met with Amina, a 28-year-old Nigerian refugee who had received a parcel of land and a house under the project. I had no hope when I fled Nigeria, but now I feel at home. Ive put my daughter in school and I want my family to make our life here.

To date, over 2,000 families have benefitted from land parcels, whilst the construction of social and sustainable long-term housing began in 2016.

Another such project, which helps not only refugees, but also the local population, is the Gas as Domestic Energy programme. Throughout 2016, over 200,000 of the most vulnerable people across the region of Diffa received gas bottles to use for domestic purposes. UNHCR struck a partnership with a private gas company in Niger to ensure the sustainability of the project.

If we dont invest in the future of the children, of the young people, then the risk is that we slide back into insecurity. "

Not only does the use of gas protect the environment, which is essential in the Lake Chad Basin, but it provides multiple other benefits. The gas has changed a lot of things in our life, Bintu, a local woman hosting refugees in her home, told Grandi.

The cost of gas refills is far lower than the price of wood, which means people have more money to invest in other areas. Women and girls are also spared having to gather firewood far from home, where they are vulnerable to assault. It also enables girls to spend more time in school rather than on domestic chores.

The High Commissioner, noting that Diffa had been one of the most prosperous regions in Niger, stressed that: If we dont invest in the future of the children, of the young people, then the risk is that we slide back into insecurity. We cannot afford that. The people cannot afford that. The authorities cannot afford that."

During a meeting on Sunday with Niger Prime Minister Brigi Rafini in Niamey, Grandi reiterated, that, Niger is an example that I assure you I will use around the world.
Giles Duley talks with a Syrian refugee who lost his left leg during an air raid in Syria.  UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis

GENEVA  Award-winning photographer Giles Duley, who has carved a reputation as a gritty chronicler of the resilience and courage of refugees, says he feared his career was over after he suffered life-changing injuries on assignment.

Instead it made him even more determined to tell refugees stories in a way that portrayed them not as victims, but as victims of circumstance, he told a gathering organized by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Geneva marking the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities last week.

All of us have to confront our own prejudices and preconceptions of what disabled people can and cannot do, he said.

Eighteen months after he was injured in 2011, losing both legs and one arm when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, Duley set off on photo missions to Afghanistan and Lebanon.

My disability shouted louder than my skills.

He financed himself with the aim of showing he was still capable of taking high-quality photos.

However, he was surprised that he was offered little work. My disability shouted louder than my skills, he said.

It was only after he insisted that his photos and stories be published without mentioning his disability that the work started coming in again. Since then, his photos have been used in publications such as GQ and some were displayed on stage during a tour by the British band Massive Attack.

In October, he won a prestigious International Photography Award for his portraits of Syrian refugees.

Among the stories that illustrated the resilience of refugees whom he had encountered on assignment for UNHCR, he mentioned a four-year-old Syrian girl called Aya with spina bifida, whose story he told earlier this year.

Progress has been made in the past decade, but significant challenges remain.

When he first met the family, they were living in terrible conditions in a makeshift tent next to a cement factory in Lebanon. Seeing them again a few weeks ago, now resettled in France, he noticed a difference. Ayas mother had started wearing colorful headscarves, because Im finally happy, she told him. He realized it was the first time he had seen them all smiling and laughing together.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, much progress has been made in the past decade, but significant challenges remain in fully realizing the rights of people with disabilities, including those among the agencys own work force.

Giles Duley caught up with Aya and her family in their new home just outside Paris, after having been resettled in France. Giles realized that, until that day, he had never seen Aya's parents smile.  Line Karout

In an email to staff, he noted that the UN-sponsored Sustainable Development Goals contained a pledge to leave no one behind, yet we know that persons with disabilities continue to be left behind.

They face barriers to accessing protection and assistance programs, education, and livelihoods, and are often excluded from decision-making processes and leadership opportunities, he wrote.

Their exclusion is frequently linked to attitudes and stigma about disability, which serve to undermine the capacities of persons with disabilities and the contributions they make to their families and communities."
Manal was working for the Syrian Ministry of Justice when the violence of the countrys conflict came too close for comfort. Running out of options, she made a decision that no mother should have to make: she fled for her life, leaving her three children behind.

Manals home was destroyed by bombs and bullets as the fighting raged. After she received a direct threat from rebels and a judge was murdered, she realized her own life was in danger.

There was too little time and money to organize the journey for all four of them, so her plan was to go it alone in the belief that they would be just a few steps behind her. It would be more than a year before she saw them again.

Manal reached safety in Denmark in December 2014, but her worries were far from over. She learned that she would have to wait three years to obtain the right for her family to join her. That meant three more years of worrying about her children in Syria and the prospect of them making the dangerous journey to Europe by themselves.

I had one wish, she said. To see my children. I could never imagine to live my life without them. No one wants to live without their children.

I had one wish  to see my children."

Desperate, Manal turned to people smugglers to bring her family to Denmark as soon as possible.

Their journey began in October 2015 and she kept in touch with her eldest daughter, 18-year-old Sarah, through Facebook and WhatsApp. It was autumn in Europe and Manal knew the trip would be cold and dangerous.

On October 30, Sarah wrote that they had found someone to take them across the border into Turkey, and from there arrange a boat to Greece.

Usually, the sea crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesvos takes just a few hours, so Manal was excited when Sarah wrote that they had finally reached the coast and would board the dinghy next morning at dawn.

After that, Manal heard nothing. She went to bed fearing the worst and woke up to news that a boat heading to Lesvos from Turkey had broken down. Many of those on board had fallen into the sea. It was the boat she knew her children were on.

Manal walks with her three children through Copenhagen, Denmark.  UNHCR/Johan Bavman

The family buy train tickets in order to travel home to their flat.  UNHCR/Johan Bavman

Manal on the train with her eight-year-old son Karam.  UNHCR/Johan Bavman

Manal and her children walk home to their flat in the suburbs of Copenhagen.  UNHCR/Johan Bavman

Manal feared that her children had drowned during the crossing from Turkey to Greece.  UNHCR/Johan Bavman

Manals world collapsed as a news report spoke of the numbers of men, women and children who had drowned. Alone in the asylum centre and racked by guilt, she curled up into a ball, shivering and unable to move.

As the day wore on, she stared at her phone and scrolled through photos of those who had drowned in the accident, searching for her children among the faces.

By the fourth day, Manal had found a photo of a drowned boy who looked just like her eight-year-old son Karam. He has the same curly brown hair, the same eyes, the same innocent face. The photo was blurred but it could easily have been him.

What is the meaning of life if your children have died? she asked herself. All they wanted was safety, and now they are dead because I said that Denmark was a safe place to come to.

Then, a message appeared in Manals Facebook inbox. It was short and from a stranger, but still the most precious message a mother could receive. It read, simply: Your children are alive. They are in Turkey.

What is the meaning of life if your children have died?

A fisherman had saved Karam, Joudy and Sarah from the sea and taken them to the Turkish island of Cunda. They were being lodged in a prison in their soaked clothes and had not been able to change since their failed voyage. At least they were together and alive. They were released after 10 days.

The children and their father decided to continue their journey to join their mother. Staying in Turkey was not an option if they wanted to be one family again, nor was returning to Syria, and their desire to be reunited with their mother stronger than the fear of drowning. Despite Manals fears for their safety, the three children managed to reach the island of Lesvos in Greece.

From Greece, the children continued north through the Balkans by train. The journey took them almost a month and they were finally reunited with their mother in Denmark in November 2015. By then, they had already been separated for more than a year.

Manal and her children have now been in Denmark for 11 months, but decisions on family reunion and the childrens asylum applications are still pending. The authorities have since separated them again, moving the children to a different asylum centre, more than an hour away from their mother.

The cost of the train and two buses that she must take to see them, the journey time and having to juggle visits with her work as a volunteer translator make it difficult for Manal to see her children every day. However, they are safer and closer now than they were a year ago, and Manal hopes that what she went through is never repeated.

No one should have to cross an ocean and risk their lives to reunite with their family, she said. No one.
It seems that many people are still in disbelief that Donald Trump has won the recent Presidential election. Information are now surfacing that Russian hackers were instrumental with Mr. Trump's success.

Donald Trump addressed so-called rumors as "ridiculous."

New York Times reported that intelligence agencies in the United States are confident that Russia has something with Donald Trump winning the election. Information also surfaced that the Russians allegedly hacked the Republic National Committee and other Democratic organizations.

It is not yet clear what documents were stolen by the hackers. Investigators described the events as conspicuous because the hackers did not release the information that they've gathered. It is believed that the main motive behind the attack was to disrupt the recently concluded election.

US President-elect Donald Trump claimed that the information was "ridiculous." He added that the accusations are just excuses and that he do not believe the reports. He stated that there's a strong possibility that the reports came from the Democrats and that the different intelligence agencies has nothing to do with it.

Mr. Putin's end-game for the Russian hackers.

It is believed that whatever information gathered by the Russian hackers are meant to discredit Mrs. Clinton and her staffs just in case she won the election. Senator McCain said that the evidences of the hack are there. McCain also asking Mr. Trump to admit the fact that Russia did interfered with the recently concluded election.

Senator McCain also insisted that what happened doesn't just affect two parties but the security of the United States. The Russians have denied any involvement and claimed that they did not interfere with the election in the United States, ABC reports.

Consequences for the Russian hackers.

If the reports are indeed true and it can be proven, what actions are they taking against the Russian hackers? President-elect Donald Trump is denying it and it seems President Barack Obama doesn't have any plans as of yet. Are Americans supposed to ignore what just happened, if it indeed happened?
Oxford University has joined the gender neutrality cause. The school is urging its students to use "ze" in place of traditional pronouns like "he" and "she."

The Daily Mail reported that Oxford University is encouraging its student community to use the gender neutral pronoun "ze." The students' union revealed that the move was intended to decrease the risk of offending transgender students.

"It is a positive thing to not always emphasize gender divisions and barriers," Peter Tatchell, an LGBT rights campaigner told the publication. "It is good to have gender-neutral pronouns for those who want them but it shouldn't be compulsory."

Tatchell described the school's announcement as a "thoughtful, considerate move." Oxford University's behavior code has deemed the wrong usage of pronoun to a transgender person is an offense.

According to Oxford, its equality policy is part of its efforts to have an inclusive environment which "promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are respected." It is aimed at enabling all members of its community to feel welcome, safe, valued and supported.

Cambridge University is believed to follow suit as well. One student from King's College revealed that gender neutral pronouns should be used in lectures too.

Prior to this, a guidebook for teachers, parents and students were sent to schools in Britain advising against using gender biased pronouns. It also discouraged the use of the terms "boys" and "girls" so as not to offend transgender pupils.

Last September, the University of Michigan in the United States announced that it has allowed students to indicate their preferred gender pronoun on class rosters. Provost Martha Pollack and E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, confirmed to the campus community on Tuesday that a pronoun committee, composed of faculty and staff members, has developed this process since last year.

A preferred pronoun is a gender pronoun which is used to identify an individual. Other people are also expected to use it when referring to the person.
Elon Musk's space company, SpaceX, has been deemed as one of the best places to work in the United States. This is based on Glassdoor's annual list for 2017.

This is the first time that SpaceX has placed in the list, Inverse reported. Elon Musk's company took the 40th spot.

The results were based on data gathered from anonymous employee reviews from at least 75 people from Nov. 2, 2015 to Oct. 30, 2016. Bain & Company got the top spot on the list with a 4.6 over 5 rating.

Other companies in Glassdoor's list are Facebook, the Boston Consulting Group, Google, World Wide Technology, Fast Enterprises, In-N-Out Burger, LinkedIn, Adobe and Power Home Remodeling, among others. SpaceX ranked higher than BASF Corporation, Texas Instruments, Raising Cane's, Mayo Clinic and even IKEA.

The reviews for Elon Musk's space company revealed that 90 percent of employees would recommend SpaceX to a friend. A whopping 97 percent approved of the CEO.

One review from an employee who has been working at the company full-time for five years admitted that SpaceX's mission makes it "interesting" and "compelling" to work there. One of the cons, however, is the lack of work-life balance because of weekend work.

Another reviewer deemed SpaceX as a "great place to work" because of the free coffee and yogurt 24/7. Another called the company "out of this world awesome."

It was previously reported that SpaceX is confident of a January relaunch for the Falcon 9 rocket. If this pushes through, it would happen just four months after the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on a Florida launch pad.

However, Elon Musk's company still does not have a license from the Federal Aviation Association. The company has confirmed that they are "finalizing the investigation" on the Falcon 9 rocket blast. They are also working on the final steps needed for a safe and reliable return to flight of the spacecraft.

Tesla, on the other hand, got only a 3.5 rating on Glassdoor's list. The long hours and work-life balance are also issues in Elon Musk's electric car company.
Income Share Agreements, the hot new way for students to pay for college education, is as controversial as it is promising. While the new college-funding option is lauded by students, their parents are actually suspicious about it, news reports say.

Income Share Agreements (ISAs) are a more flexible way of paying for college education. Unlike traditional student loans that require a monthly repayment regardless of a graduate's income status, students have a more flexible way of paying back: by giving a share of their income every month for a specific period of time.

What's more, ISAs are considered to be a safer option. Students who availed of ISAs but are unable to earn up to a specific amount after graduating will not be forced to pay anything for that time being. This is quite the opposite of traditional student loans that require a fixed amount whether or not the graduate earns

Although the concept of a safer, more flexible way to pay for college appeals to many, some students and parents aren't that optimistic about it, TIME reports. According to a focus group research conducted by the American Enterprise Institute, many are suspicious of ISAs given that it's relatively new, and appear to be a "very safe" option.

"Initial gut reactions from students ranged from suspicion - wondering where the 'catch' was - to cautious optimism that income share agreements are a financial product that would work for them," the paper read. "The most common questions were about flexibility of the agreements with regards to length and how the cap system works."

Some students are worried about possible "surprises" that they might get when they avail of ISAs.

"I don't love the idea, but I don't hate it... I feel like there's something that would surprise me," Maura, a student from Boston, said.

For others, the idea that one doesn't have to pay when he doesn't earn enough is already tempting.

"I think it could demotivate some people... They might not try as hard." Zachary, also from Boston, said.

"I'm gonna have a low income job, so it sounds safer for me." Danny, a student from Columbus, said.

For others, the idea of having to stick to a long-term contract without the option of pre-paying is scary. They say that they might feel "locked up" in a commitment far longer than they expect to live. Many of them said they'd rather pay larger amounts in shorter time periods so that they won't have to stick to a longer commitment.

Read the report here.
December 13 2016

The Scottish government has given the final go-ahead for creation of a 35m care village within the grounds of Stirling Community Hospital, enabling a start to be made on-site from January.Overseen by Hub east central Scotland the JM Architects designed build is being spearheaded by Stirling Council, NHS Forth Valley and the Scottish Ambulance Service to provide short-term care for the elderly.As part of the scheme a new primary and urgent care centre will also be developed alongside a relocated ambulance station.In their design statement JM said: The scale and form of the Care Hub building acknowledges the architectural merits of the 1930s hospital and is designed to show deference in height to the existing building with the visible facade facing onto the shared plaza being only two stories while the original administration block extends to three stories.The civic entrance formed mainly from a vintage, varied brick contains a number of large glazed panels that bring activity and vitality from the inside out into the public plaza. This makes the entrance friendly and welcoming with movement and liveliness at its core. By contrast the residential pedestrian street to the right of the entrance addresses the potential future housing zone in a more domestic scale.Final completion is expected by autumn 2019 and a community engagement event will be staged on 25 January where additional information will be provided.
Green Berets are historically some of the Army's toughest Soldiers. They've been to hell and back since the days before the beret, since World War II when small teams of Soldiers conducted unconventional warfare behind enemy lines, often under the umbrella of the Office of Strategic Services. Special operators fought guerrilla warfare in Europe and the Pacific and later in Korea and Vietnam. (President John F. Kennedy authorized the green beret in 1961.)

Now-Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brad Fowers with Afghan fighters and warlords, who opposed the Taliban (2001). Fowers served on one of the first Special Forces detachments from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command's 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) to arrive in Afghanistan following 9-11. Their mission was to destroy the Taliban regime and deny Al-Qaida sanctuary in Afghanistan. They scouted bomb targets and teamed with local resistance groups. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brad Fowers) During Operation Desert Storm, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf described Special Forces as "the eyes and ears" of the conventional forces and the "glue that held the coalition together". Green Berets in Afghanistan were instrumental in the fall of the Taliban. They've also provided humanitarian assistance, trained indigenous forces and performed special reconnaissance missions around the world.



Among the most essential components of such missions is relationship-building, the working with local allies to overthrow corrupt regimes like the Taliban. It involves embedding in local militia units, sharing their accommodations, eating at their communal meals. It involves drinking tea, taking horse rides along steep mountain trails. It's sharing their hardships, bathing in icy rivers, and sleeping in a cave or under a truck in the mountains in freezing November weather.



"I find the best way to start out is, even if you don't know a language fluently, showing an effort that you want to learn the language," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brad Fowers, a Special Forces Soldier who served on one of the first Special Forces teams to go into Afghanistan in 2001. "Picking up on cultural nuances, you know, the placing of a hand on the chest, head gestures, picking up on all of these things and kind of giving that back when you communicate with a partner force just shows a lot of respect."



Building trust, whether it's by showing local fighters they can rely on America, that there will be bombs, ammunition and humanitarian supplies to support them, he said, "is everything. I think that was really highlighted in Afghanistan ... You have a handful of Americans there. At any time, that town can fold on you. You only have so much ammunition. You're just as reliant on them as they are on you."



Fowers noted that, for the missions they undertook, they packed only what they could carry. Yes, there were supply drops, but most of their weapons were locally procured, such as Soviet machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. In fact, the Afghans taught the Americans a few things about surviving in the harsh Hindu Kush mountains and jerry-rigging their gear.

November 11, 2016 - Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brad Fowers poses in front of De Oppresso Liber, or the Horse Soldier, a 16-foot bronze statue honoring the work of Special Forces Soldiers in Afghanistan at the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in the last months of 2001. Recently rededicated, the statue stands near ground zero in New York. Fowers served as a junior weapons sergeant on Operational Detachment A 572 in 2001. (Photo by Cheryle Rivas, U.S. Army Special Operations Command) "Their field craft was amazing," he explained. "They could make a vehicle last for months, [even] with the environment they put it through and the harsh treatment of it. I learned a lot from them on vehicle maintenance. They would take out the air filters and blow it out with the exhaust pipe or things like that ... They definitely know how to survive in their environment.



"We needed them as much as they needed us. It was a pretty neat experience to go through. I was very surprised at how much support came from the small villages ... They definitely put their best foot forward and helped us in any way they could."



Never, he said, underestimate the power of will. It can overcome the severest privation, the harshest oppression. "You show me a population with a will and I'll show you a population that can overcome anything.



"That's the biggest part of it: The people have to want what they're after. It doesn't matter how much money or equipment or training you throw at a partner nation. If they don't have the will, it's not going to be successful. They have to have the will for it.



"In '01, the Afghans definitely had the will. They were ready to go against the Taliban with pick axes and whatever they could find in the tool shed. Of course, giving them some equipment and training goes a long way, but it's all for naught if they don't have the will to fight." By Elizabeth M. Collins, Soldiers, Defense Media Activity

Army News Service

Copyright 2016 Comment on this article


ReBAR, the newest Bar / Antique store in Downtown Las Vegas is having its historic Grand Opening Sausage Ribbing Cutting. Hosted by Mayor Carolyn Goodman and featuring guest speakers: Congresswoman Dina Titus, Councilman Bob Coffin, Assemblywoman Heidi Swank and many more.

Free hot links, Free Heineken and Free Harp for everyone in attendance.

Located at 1225 S. Main St. in the heart of the Downtown Las Vegas Arts District, ReBAR is a fun and eclectic bar which is part tavern, part antiques store  and everything is for sale!

A unique and original concept created by Las Vegas Arts District Board President Derek Stonebarger, ReBAR boasts a generously-stocked full bar, great selection of local and domestic beers, bottled and keg wines and of course classic cocktails.

Antiques, oddities and collectables adorn the interior walls, with unique, recycled and re-purposed items and furnishings throughout the interior bar areas and exterior patio  and everything is for sale.

ReBARs kitchen roasts John Mulls Meats  with Hot links, Mild links and Brat links that come on locally made Great Buns pretzel rolls.

Charitable Cocktails that raise money for local non-profits are on the menu too. Drink from your very own antique/collectable stein, which stays on its own shelf at ReBAR and will be washed and waiting for you on your next visit.

I came up with the idea for ReBAR many years ago  but finally decided to focus my efforts on it after a scary bout with life-threatening cancer. Stonebarger said. I knew we needed more food options in the Arts District, so I chose two of my favorite local companies to collaborate with  John Mulls Meats and Great Buns Bakery. Im pretty excited for people to taste this winning combination which was just filmed for a Food Network Show!

ReBAR is owned by a team of Downtowners: Derek Stonebarger and his wife Dorian a Programs Manager at Three Square Food Bank. Charles Vlasic a Downtown Attorney and his wife Sarah a Product Manager at Zappos. John P. Witucki a Downtown Attorney and Rob Gurdison a Downtown Architect and owner of Make Studios.


HEXX Kitchen + Bar at Paris Las Vegas will welcome Consumer Electronics Show (CES) attendees and exhibitors with an exclusive prix fixe menu available to those with a CES badge from Thursday Jan. 5-Sunday Jan. 8 (Pictured: Maryland Crab Cakes  Photo credit: Chris Wessling).

Prepared by Executive Chef Matthew Piekarski, HEXXs CES menu starts at $34.95 per person. The first course offers four different options including HEXXs signature simple salad topped with candied cocoa nibs; roasted tomato bisque; Maryland crab cakes or chilled jumbo shrimp, both for an additional supplemental charge.

Photo credit: Adam Christopher Smith.

Entree options include HEXXs classic burger, topped with aged Wisconsin cheddar; chicken & apple-cheddar waffles, topped with bourbon maple syrup; grilled king salmon, served with Manhattan clam chowder; a 14-ounce rib-eye or the roasted sea bass, both for an additional supplemental charge.

For dessert, guests will have the option of taking home one of HEXX Chocolate and Confexxions craft single origin chocolate bars, for the discounted price of $4.95 per bar.
Officially formed a year ago, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is home to more than 600 million people and fast-growing economies that boast a combined GDP of almost $3 trillion. The landscape of the regional market is expected to transform in the years to come with free movement of goods and services, investment, and skilled labour, as well as the liberty of cross-border financial services.

According to Tharabodee Serng-Adichaiwit, senior vice president and general manager at Bangkok Bank Public (Vietnam), following the AEC formation, many Thai companies have been looking forward to investing overseas. They feel confident with the level playing field that AEC has created.

For Vietnam, in particular, Serng-Adichaiwit noted that numerous companies have eventually found their way to Thailand. Like Masan, theyve started to sell their products in Thailand and Vinamilk or even Vietjet Air, too.

The banking and finance sector, however, has not seen much of the movement or transformation. Serng-Adichaiwit stressed that we have to accept that there are different situations and regulations between each AEC countries, so it will take time for this sector to open up, but for those who are ready to go overseas, they will branch out to serve their customers.

For Vietnamese banks, they are still in the state of building a stronger empire locally, and then they will work on elevating their business to reach international standards in order to expand overseas, Serng-Adichaiwit told VIR on the sidelines of the Bloomberg ASEAN Business Summit in Hanoi last week

Likewise, vice chairman of Credit Suisse Asia Pacific Lito Camacho said, Unfortunately, the banking and finance sector among the ASEAN countries have yet to open up, because our banking rules in the ASEAN member countries dont really make a distinction between ASEAN and non-ASEAN foreign investors.

In terms of opening it up and encouraging inter-regional investment across countries in the banking sector, it hasnt actually happened because today we dont really make that distinction.

So how can they encourage ASEAN banks to really invest in Vietnam if theyre just going to enjoy the same benefits as a non-ASEAN bank? Camacho questioned.

Thats one of the things that Im hoping the ASEAN leaders will come around to solving. If you want ASEAN to be integrated, you have to give reference to distinguish ASEAN capital, ASEAN labour, and ASEAN services  not only ASEAN goods, he noted.

Meanwhile, according to CEO of Deloitte Vietnam Pham Van Thinh, the conflicts of alignments among AEC countries where economic views are often influenced by political viewpoints  arise from different interests in different countries  have posed as a weak link.

Each decision made in AEC is a collective decision, which can only go through if all member countries agree to it. If one disagrees, a decision may not be put through. This is a real barrier which I believe is blocking the development of AEC, Thinh said in an interview last Thursday.

In some 20 years joining the global integration, ASEAN, according to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, has always been the first and most important playground for Vietnam, particularly when such a level playing field has now grown bigger, into the so-called AEC.

Being positioned in the middle group, we fully understand that we must quickly narrow down the gap of development in the country and those in the upper group, Dung said. To be able to do this, Vietnam has been pursuing a strategic direction of growth, in a much faster pace and more sustainably, making the country into the top destination for Southeast Asian investors, he added.

Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the Bloomberg conference, Each of the ASEAN nations would not be able to develop successfully if we solely rely on the exploitation of natural resources or basic labour. We ought to change, innovate, enhance our competitive advantages, and integrate deeper into the global supply chain, as well as aim for higher level of value-added.

The AEC thus act as a body and a motivator in the process of connecting economies, enabling new ideas and startups, and at the same time creating new drive for the development of trade and investment, Phuc stressed.
John Rockhold, chairman of the Vietnam Business Forums Power and Energy Working Group, talked with VIRs Phuong Thu about how to maximise Vietnams energy resources to stimulate investment in energy generation and attract foreign investors.

What is the linkage between foreign investors and local investors in Vietnams energy sector?

We cannot develop the energy sector without domestic companies. We need strong domestic developers. We need equipment for renewable energy projects made here in Vietnam, as the country has to import these items currently.

The cost is too high to implement renewable energy projects [on our own]. We need local companies involved in [the field] to kick start its growth. The local companies can structure renewable energy projects so we can drive their price down. For example, we have seen how other countries have invested in solar power projects. When they first invested in solar, at first the price was 13, 14, 15 UScents per kWh. In the few years after domestic firms were able to come in with the technology and learn it, the price dropped down to 6 UScents. This is what we want to do.

We also want to see that we can buy energy directly from a power producer. Right now we can only buy power from state-run Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). Buying energy directly has been shown to be extremely effective in developing clean energy in other countries. Foreign investors in Vietnam, and other multinational corporations as Intel and Nike, have publicly made global commitments to work towards using energy from renewable, energy-efficient projects. A change in this policy, allowing enterprises and customers to have access to clean energy, will attract additional investment and global brands that will help carry Vietnam up the manufacturing value chain. If the Vietnamese government approves direct power purchase agreements of 1,000 megawatts of wind power and solar power that can be added to the grid before 2020, this will cost the government nothing in capital costs, and will not require any government guarantee.

Besides power purchase agreements between power producers and larger power consumers in wind or solar farms, what are the recommendations of your made-in-Vietnam energy plan in your report at VBF?

The report outlines the advantages of placing greater emphasis on cleaner domestic energy solutions for Vietnams future energy needs, and demonstrates the advantages of domestic hydro, gas, wind, and solar energy. It also directly supports Vietnams global and domestic environmental commitments and will attract immediate investment from the private sector.

We need to create a clear power pricing roadmap to 2020, with a vision to 2025, including a definition of variable pricing between the three main tariff groups: residential, commercial, and industrial. The provision of actual cost information can empower consumers and investors as to the most effective way to invest in higher efficiency equipment and processes. Energy efficiency investment and innovation is not occurring in high volume now because consumers believe the power price will remain low. Meanwhile, investors require government guarantees because the prices do not reflect the full costs of production.

In addition, we suggest the government works with the private sector to develop offshore gas reserves and infrastructure, and encourage exploration to bring additional gas on line as soon as possible to reduce the need for imported coal.

We support the enhancement of EVNs creditworthiness. This involves increasing international donor support for renewable and cleaner energy development, and procedures to assist the costs of guaranteeing that EVN will pay power suppliers, under a power purchase agreement for renewable and clean energy projects in Vietnam.

Your report also referred to related environmental issues, which are one of the big concerns of the public. In your opinion, what kind of punishments should be instituted for polluters?

Many countries have a pollution pays law  if you make pollution, you pay for it. In Vietnam, polluters are only fined, and if you look at the fine, it is very low. People will pay much more attention to pollution if they are hit with very high fines.

Vietnam has in place adequate environmental laws and regulations, but sadly we have seen businesses able to bypass these laws.

The government of Vietnam needs to consistently and comprehensively enforce these laws, forcing companies to implement their environmental plans, especially those with large energy consumption and potential pollution risks from producing things like cement, steel, and fertilizer.
Former Director General of DongA Bank Tran Phuong Binh.

Former director general of the bank Tran Phuong Binh, 57, and former deputy director general Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van, 46, will be prosecuted for deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences, and violating lending regulations of credit institutions, under the Penal Code.

Binh and Van have been arrested and are under temporary detention pending further investigations, the agency said.

The police have also arrested and decided to prosecute three other bank staffers for deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences.

Following the arrests, the board of directors and management board of Dong A Bank last Saturday made an official announcement on the banks website that all five employees had been dismissed in August, 2015, after the bank was put under special observation for suspected illegal activities.

Their arrests and prosecution have not affected operations, the bank said.

In August, 2015, the State Bank of Viet Nam picked two outsiders to serve as chairman and CEO of Dong A Bank, to help the bank clear any potential hurdles.
Incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres meets current post-holder Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Oct 13, 2016. (AFP/Drew Angerer)

During a solemn ceremony at the General Assembly, the former prime minister of Portugal placed a hand on the UN charter and took the oath office administered by the president of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson.

The first former head of government at the UN helm, Guterres takes over from Ban Ki-moon on Jan 1 amid ongoing bloodshed in Syria and questions over how the US role in the world chould shift under President-elect Donald Trump.

"This organisation is the cornerstone of multilateralism, and has contributed to decades of relative peace, but the challenges are now surpassing our ability to respond," Guterres said in an address. "UN must be ready to change," he added.

The 67-year-old socialist politician said the United Nations must "recognise its shortcomings and reform the way it works" and singled out the failure to prevent crisis as the most serious weakness.

The UN's refugee chief for a decade, Guterres was sworn in as Syrian forces were on the verge of retaking the entire city of Aleppo - a potential turning point in the nearly six-year war.

"This is a war in which everybody is losing. This became a threat for everybody around the world," Guterres later told journalists. "It is high time to put an end to this nonsense."

Guterres vowed to "engage personally" in conflict resolution, signalling a more pro-active approach to the role of secretary-general than under the 72-year-old Ban, the South Korean who led the world body for two five-year terms.

The election of Guterres has energized UN diplomats who see him as a skilled politician, able to overcome divisions that have crippled the United Nations, notably over Syria.

But Trump's shock election has raised questions over the US role in the world and the new US administration's relationship with the United Nations, as the world body's biggest financial backer.

FEAR DRIVING DECISIONS

The new UN chief will begin work just weeks before Trump takes office on Jan 20.

"Fear is driving the decisions of many people around the world," Guterres said, in a reference to the surge of populism that propelled Trump to the White House.

Citizens worldwide are losing confidence in their governments and in global institutions, he said, adding that it was "time to reconstruct relations between people and leaders."

He pledged to show the new US administration a "clear will to cooperate in relation to the enormous challenges we will be facing together."

Guterres laid out three priorities for change during his five-year term: work for peace, supporting sustainable development and improving internal management.

The 71-year-old United Nations has been criticised for its clunky bureaucracy which has at times slowed down the response to global emergencies.

Guterres vowed to press ahead with gender parity at the United Nations, saying it was a priority to appoint more women to senior posts.

Among the appointments expected soon, Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed is tipped to become UN deputy secretary-general, diplomats say.

An engineer by training and practising Catholic, Guterres fought for migrants' rights over a decade as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.

He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, anchoring his country to the European Union and working to raise living standards.

US Ambassador Samantha Power praised Guterres as "the man for the job in such challenging times."
Japanese Kume Group plans to invest in a waste to organic fertiliser plant in Hung Yen, aiming to help the northern province tackle waste and boost environmental protection, according to a local official. - Photo baohungyen.vn

Nguyen Van Phong, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee said that Kume Group would work with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to construct the plant.

A pilot plant will be built to treat and classify waste and turn the waste to organic fertiliser, while guidance will be given to locals on how to classify rubbish, he said, adding that another plant will be constructed after the pilot.

Kume Group has also asked for support from the province, especially in researching waste releasing in the locality and waste gathering for the plant.

Phong expressed his belief that the project would be effective, pledging that the province will create optimal conditions for its implementation, especially in land use, clean water, infrastructure and power supply.

The province will back the construction of the pilot plant, while directing provincial departments and agencies to co-ordinate with Kume Group during the project, stated Phong.
A branch of Dong A Bank in HCM City. The central bank said the arrests of five suspended employees, including its general director, has not had an adverse effect on the beleaguered lender. -VNS Photo

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy general director of the State Bank of Viet Nams HCM City office, said the central bank is closely monitoring DongA Bank, Saigon Times Daily reported.

We confirm that the banks operations are going on as usual. The State Bank of Viet Nam has sufficient resources to bail it out under any circumstances.

DongA Bank officials have informed partners, clients and shareholders about the arrests, assuring that customers interests would be protected.

The bank would meet all its financial obligations to partners and customers, they promised.

The lenders board of directors and management last Saturday announced on its website that the Ministry of Public Securitys Economic Police Agency has arrested suspended general director, Tran Phuong Binh, his deputy, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van, and three other employees for flouting banking and monetary regulations.

All five were suspended in August last year when the bank was put under special supervision for suspected illegal activities.

Immediately after their suspension the SBV picked two outsiders to serve as chairman and CEO to help the bank steer clear of any potential trouble.

After more than a year now the bank has made fair progress. It has achieved positive lending growth since August this year, while its liquidity and solvency figures are good.

On its website, the SBV said it would continue to take all measures to ensure DongA Banks safety and protect the interests of depositors and the economic rights and obligations of all stakeholders.

Besides, the bank would be restructured to improve its safety and health further, it added.
Chair of the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Bui Thanh Son, who is also Vietnams Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the media last week that four Vietnam-initiated priorities for APEC 2017 that contribute to the theme Creating new dynamism, fostering a shared future were highly appreciated by senior officials, consultants, policy researchers and international development organisations.

These include promoting sustainable and creative growth, the role of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and their competitiveness capacity and creativity in the digital era, and enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture in ways that are adaptable to climate change.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said at the meeting that APEC was called upon to further transform itself to reassert its relevance and better serve as the premium regional economic forum. He added that the co-operation and integration need to be broader in scope and deeper in substance.

Economic growth of APEC and beyond is strongly affected by weakening commodity prices, global trade, and the tightening of monetary and fiscal policies, said Minh. The risks that can arise from the advancement of new technologies are increasing and may widen the development of disparity among economies.

We expect APEC 2017 to be another step forward in this long series, with focus areas that benefit our people and businesses.

APEC 2016s SOM Chair, Perus Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Quesada, expressed a strong belief in the success of APEC 2017 under the leadership of Vietnam, and highlighted the guiding role of Vietnam in 2017 in moving APEC to the next level. He also expressed his appreciation for Vietnams chosen theme and priorities for APEC 2017, which reflect the continuity of APECs agenda in 2016.

I think all member economies of APEC are quite confident in Vietnams capabilities of organising a good year, he told VIR.

The power of trade

There is a clear recognition in APEC of the enduring power of trade to boost job creation and living standards, but that some adjustments in approach will be necessary moving forward, said Dr Alan Bollard, executive director of the APEC Secretariat.

Concerns about fairness and equity provide an opening for APEC to advance globalisation 2.0 [in a way] that is softer, more inclusive, and palatable, he noted. The focus must be on whos benefiting and whos being hurt, and how to communicate and compensate better.

Senior Officials will consult with representatives from the regions business community, policy researchers, and civil society on ways to address these issues, as anti-globalisation and protectionist pressures mount.

They will also consider the findings of APECs newly-concluded two-year study on realising a free-trade area for the Asia-Pacific. Also covered was the regions new roadmap on the development of service, its fastest growing sector and biggest source of employment.


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Cambodia has begun prosecuting cases of alleged surrogacy with the jailing of an Australian and two Cambodians alleged to have been acting as an intermediary between an adoptive parent and a pregnant woman.

Tammy Davis-Charles, 49, and two Cambodians, including Penh Rithy, 28, an official with commerce ministry, and nurse Samrithchan Chariya, 35, were ordered jailed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court pending trial on charges that also include requesting fake documents.

It is the first known case under a new government regulation that was issued in October.

Chou Bun Eng, secretary of state of the Ministry of Interior and vice-permanent president of the anti-human trafficking and sexual exploitation committee, told VOA Khmer recently she believed the surrogacy, which is not legalized in Cambodia, is a form of baby trafficking because there is no report proving where the babies were heading to and who the parents of those babies are.

Simply speaking, we think that the surrogacy is for parents, mother, and father or some spouses, who dont have children and may take [the babies] to be their children. This led us to think that its a charity issue but in this case there is one person or group who need from four; ten to twenty babies. So, we can question what they will do with those babies? she said. If they take the babies to any parent, they will charge the money. Thus, this is the baby trafficking.

She said she was also concerned some babies are being raised and will be used for organ replacements.

Now we are aware that there is a movement regarding the replacement of organ of the body. So, will all these babies become the replacement material of other peoples body organ or not?, she said.

Sam Everingham, director of the Australian non-profit organization Families Through Surrogacy, explained in an email last week that surrogacy is a poorly understood process by most legislators and governments.

Regarding Cambodian governments attempt to shut down surrogacy, Everingham believed that there has been pressure from western governments and the United Nations on Cambodia to shut down unregulated surrogacy.

Also, surrogacy is a foreign concept to Cambodia and particularly to Buddhist teachings, hence the Cambodian government likely feels it is culturally inappropriate to allow it to continue, he wrote in an email.

Pro and Cons of Surrogacy

The advantages are that surrogates in Cambodia who carry a child can earn significant sums of money, potentially $10,000, to support their own families. The process also provides childless couples with the opportunity for a child, and in the case of cross-border surrogacy, hopefully deepens cultural ties between the intended parent family and the host country, said Everingham.

He explained the disadvantages include the fact that children may not have the opportunity for later contact with their egg donors or surrogate, and that surrogate mothers may not always fully understand the process.

There is a risk that surrogates are not well screened psychologically, making it emotionally difficult to separate from the child post birth. There is also the risk that surrogates agree to a process that they do not fully understand and may later regret. This is particularly likely in the case of poorly educated and illiterate women, he wrote in an email.

He added that in Cambodia intended parents may pay an average of $50,000 for all aspects of surrogacy. The intended parents may pay around $45,000 in Ukraine, $70,000 in Australia, $80,000 in Canada and $160,000 in the United States, he said.

However, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on November 22 that a surrogacy company run by Australian nurse and fertility specialist Davis-Charles has been paying poor Cambodian women $400 a month to carry babies for foreign biological parents, including Australians.

The story reported that police said Australian intending parents have been paying Davis-Charles company up to $50,000 for their babies. It added that a company founded by Davis-Charles recruited 25 Cambodian surrogates.

Surrogacy is heavily regulated in Australia, making it often very difficult and expensive for many childless couples to locate a willing surrogate and to go through the process, he added.

The Australian embassy in Cambodia has confirmed to VOA Khmer that it is working to provide consular assistance to Davis-Charles.

The Australian Embassy is continuing to provide consular assistance to an Australian woman arrested in Cambodia, in accordance with the Consular Services Charter. For privacy reasons we will not comment further, a media liaison officer wrote in an email.

Ongoing Investigation

Cambodian authorities have said the investigation into the surrogacy service is still under way, while there are reports saying that surrogacy agents operating in Cambodia have moved to Laos.

Keo Thea, chief of Phnom Penh Municipals anti-human trafficking bureau, said authorities are still conducting more investigations. He said he couldnt predict what new laws the government would make to control surrogacy or shut it down for good.

This is the issue of the high-level leaders who will make the law but we dont know about what the decision will be. So, we have to wait. I am only the law implementer and enforce what it has already, because I am the judiciary police, he said.

Cambodian authorities confirmed that the three accused persons were arrested and sent to the court because a law on surrogacy services doesnt exist in Cambodia.

Bun Eng told VOA Khmer that Cambodian authorities didnt offer support to the surrogacy service.

In Cambodia, this is prohibited but there are some opinion saying that this would offer a lot of money to women. But I want to say that in Cambodia, we probably didnt take this occupation to make economic prosper because its an occupation of producing humans for sale, she said.

Cambodian anti-human trafficking authorities said that Davis-Charles, founder of Fertility Solutions PGD, moved her clinic from Thailand to Cambodia last year when the military government in Thailand shut down surrogacy service in that country.

There are 23 surrogate mothers who have been hired by Davis-Charless clinic, according to Bun Eng. Five of them already delivered while 18 others are pregnant, she said.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is visiting Cambodia on a two-day diplomatic trip that will see the controversial world leader sign agreements on combating transnational crime with Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Duterte will first meet King Norodom Sihamoni before a bilateral meeting with Hun Sen.

Chum Sounry, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the two world leaders would also discuss cooperation in the field of sports.

Ou Virak, president of the Future Forum think tank, said Duterte likely sees Cambodia as a proxy through which he can conduct diplomacy with China over the contested South China Sea region.

Because of the intimate relationship between Cambodia and China, the Philippines can improve its relations with China through cooperating with Cambodia, he said.

Duterte, 71, was elected in June on a platform to clampdown on the drugs trade. Since his election, thousands of people are thought to have been extra-judicially killed on suspicion of involvement with drugs.

On Monday morning, five Filipino protesters gathered at the Royal Palace to demonstrate against the killing, leaving after only a few minutes for fear of repercussions.

The protesters, who hid their identities, later issued a statement saying numerous innocent people had been caught up in Dutertes war on drugs.

This stupid action should be terminated The killing of people outside of the judicial system is not the solution to the drug issue that originates from poverty and despair, it read.
In October, a few days after the Washington Post released a story on how Donald Trump boasted about groping a married woman, Michelle Obama, the wife to President of the United States Barack Obama, gave a speech and appealed to young Democratic Party supporters to take to social media to help appeal for votes.

Either Hillary Clinton or her opponent will be elected president this year, and if you vote for someone other than Hillary or you dont vote at all then you are helping to elect her opponent, she said.

And young people and not so young people get on social media, share your own story of why this election matters, she said.

Her words were not going to waste.

Amy Depala, a university student studying English literature at California State University in Long Beach, took Obamas advice seriously.

I posted calls for my friends and the people who are my friends to vote and also to support the Democratic party, and I talk a lot about how dangerous Trump is to America, she said, adding that she supported the Democrats for number of reasons.

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter have become key battlegrounds in elections and a forum for debate and propaganda. Experts have warned of the potential negative impacts of the social media boom.

Twenty percent of social media users say that they modified their stance on social and political issues after seeing material on social media, while 17 percent say that social media has helped them change their views about a specific political candidate.

The same research also found that more than one-third of social media users are worn out by the amount of political content they encounter.

A fifth said they like to see political posts and discuss on social media.

Ed Horowitz, associate professor of communications at Cleveland State University, said Barack Obama had won the 2008 election in part because he had been able to mobilize support on social media.

He was very appealing to young voters as a first African-American black candidate, he said. Young voters like that idea.They are more open minded than older people in America, so he knew they were using Facebook, so he uses Facebook and his opponent at the time John McCain was much older than him. They did not understand Facebook, did not use Facebook, so it was a much greater advantage to him in 2008.

For Clinton, he added, convincing young voters had been more of a challenge.

The evolution of new media, the digital revolution have brought about a whole new level of change, said Geoffrey Cowan, author of Let the People Rule.

It gives them ways of finding things they otherwise wouldnt find, but has some negative affects too, said Cowan, who was director of VOA in the 1990s.

You can read news that fits just with your own ideal life or cocoon. And it is often deeply biased There is no longer the checking that was at one time required of the media, he added.

Social medias impact has also been felt in Cambodia, where the Ministry of Telecommunications estimates that at least 7 million people have access to the Internet.

In 2015, Prime Minister Hun Sen launched his own official Facebook page.

Its happening everywhere; Cambodia is no different. Social media creates echo chambers because algorithms want to find more stuff that interests the readers, and that means reading more and more like-minded materials, leading to polarization, Ear Sophal, author of Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy, wrote in a message.

He said that leaders everywhere, particularly in Cambodia, have started using social media to put themselves in the public eye.

If I read something in a legitimate newspaper, I trust that some editors have made sure this is not fake news. In social media, theres no telling, he said.
President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination for Secretary of State Tuesday, picking ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer Rex Tillerson to be the nation's top diplomat.

Tillerson, friendly with Russias president, has spent his 41-year career at the same oil company.

Trump said Tillerson's knowledge of running a global company is crucial to successfully leading the State Department.

"His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for secretary of state," Trump said in a statement released by his transition team. "He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States."

It was thought Trump would be compelled to select someone else, such as former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, because the requisite Republican support in the Senate for Tillerson appears shaky.

Concern

Tillersons relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin is a matter of concern, Senator John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Sunday.

Another Republican senator, Marco Rubio said Tuesday that "While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination."

Senator Bob Corker called Tillerson "a very impressive individual" and said the Senate Foreign Relations Committe will hold a hearing on his nomination in early January. His statement indicated the hearing would be held before Trump's inauguration on January 20.

Ties with Russia

Speaking earlier this year at the University of Texas, Tillerson acknowledged, I have a very close relationship with him, having known Putin for more than 15 years.

Putin in 2013 awarded Russias Order of Friendship to Tillerson, who has guided huge ExxonMobil deals with Russian companies for exploration and production of oil and gas and has opposed U.S. sanctions on Moscow.

The Kremlin has praised Tillerson, calling him highly professional.

Other reaction

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated Tillerson on his nomination and said the State Department will continue to provide full support for a smooth transition. Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice called Tillerson an "excellent choice."

Amnesty International said the nomination was "deeply concerning."

"We know that Tillerson has been successful in safeguarding the interests of a massive oil company  will he be as invested in safeguarding human rights abroad?," Eric Ferrero, director of communications for Amnesty International USA said in a statement. "The U.S. must have a Secretary of State that will hold all countries accountable for human rights violations  even countries that have profited from his business."

Confirmation could be tough

Amid reports the CIA concluded that Russia interfered in the U.S. election in favor of Trump, a secretary of state with deep Russian ties would face significant scrutiny in confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill.

There is a bipartisan push for a thorough investigation of the alleged Russian involvement in the U.S. electoral process.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Marco Rubio, who like McCain is a Republican, also expressed doubt about Tillerson, tweeting Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState.

Based on the current composition of the Senate, if all Democrats vote in unison against any nominee and more than two Republicans join them, the next president's choice would be rejected.

Democrat Ed Markey, a clean energy advocate, predicts the Trump administration will face a major battle if Tillerson is nominated, asserting we cannot allow oil to replace diplomacy as the currency of the U.S. Department of State.

Climate change

On climate change matters, Tillerson or any other nominee will do Trumps bidding, said Bob Tippee, editor of Oil & Gas Journal. The selection of Tillerson would further inflame climate activists, which might be the point.

Tillerson, who is due to leave his company next year when he reaches its mandatory retirement age of 65, met with Trump earlier this month and again on Saturday.

Selecting Tillerson is much in line with Trumps preference for military and business leaders in his Cabinet.

The president-elect seeks to use Russia, a secondary consideration for him behind a primarily domestic agenda, in a very pragmatic way and Tillerson would be good to get cooperation (with Moscow) on certain issues while scaling back Americas international commitments, says Professor Henry Hale, a Eurasia specialist at George Washington University.

Despite Tillersons extensive international trade experience, doing business abroad is not the same thing as conducting the nations business abroad, Hale told VOA. But all secretaries of state learn on the job to some degree.

Tillersons comfort with and understanding of organizational formality might equip him uniquely to deal with the Foggy Bottom establishment, which has cultural rigidities of its own, editor Tippee told VOA. I find this really interesting and potentially transformative.

Tillersons career has given him numerous skills necessary for a competent top diplomat, absorbing complex political analysis, evaluating foreign leaders, attending ceremonial events, and negotiating with friends and adversaries, according to Steve Coll, author of a book about ExxonMobil called "Private Empire."

Exxon

The company, which eschews interference in the 50 countries in which it operates, sees itself as an independent, transnational corporate sovereign in the world, a power independent of the American government, one devoted firmly to shareholder interests and possessed of its own foreign policy, writes Coll in the latest online edition of the New Yorker magazine.

The energy giants foreign policy sometimes has more impact in countries than does the State Department, says Coll, describing ExxonMobil executives as regarding U.S. diplomats with disdain, if not contempt, for a perceived bias against oil and their inability to understand sensitive and complex oil deal negotiations.

Hale, the Eurasia scholar, who just returned from a visit to Russia, said Tillersons nomination would be reason for concern, and its anybodys guess how well this will work.

Supported Jeb Bush

The Exxon chief has contributed to many Republican political campaigns in the past, but FEC records show he has not financially supported Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, contributing instead to the ultimately unsuccessful campaign by Jeb Bush, a brother of former president George W. Bush.

Tillerson's wife did contribute to Trump's campaign.

Tillerson has voiced positions on some domestic issues in the past that diverge from stands taken by Trump, but he has avoided speaking out on non-business topics.
The Afghan government announced late Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into allegations a former provincial governor was abducted, tortured and raped by security officials acting under the authority of First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum.

The announcement by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office came after U.N., U.S. and European Union officials in Kabul condemned the alleged abuses and called for a swift investigation.

Hours earlier, the victim, Ahmad Ishchi, a political ally-turned-rival of Dostum and former governor of the northern province of Jawzjan, revealed details of the alleged atrocities in an interview with the local Tolo TV News.

Ishchi, 63, asserted he was illegally detained two weeks ago and sexually assaulted for five days at Dostum's compound in Jawzjan. He said he was then handed over to the local intelligence agency, where he spent 11 more days in detention before provincial elders negotiated his freedom.

Dostum's spokespeople rejected the charges as baseless and a conspiracy to defame him. They insisted Ishchi was arrested, not abducted, by security forces to probe his links to anti-government forces.

The U.N. office in Kabul said it was concerned about the allegations against Dostum and stressed the importance of due process and accountability.

"The unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr. Ishchi by the first vice president raises serious concerns," said a U.S. Embassy statement.

"We would welcome the Afghan government's move to swiftly investigate these allegations," it added.

EU missions in Kabul expressed similar concerns.

Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek and former Afghan warlord, has been previously accused of atrocities against Taliban prisoners and other human rights violations.
China and Mexico pledged on Monday to deepen ties at a meeting between their top diplomats following last month's U.S. presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has tested Washington's relationship with both countries.

Before arriving in Mexico on Sunday, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met with members of Trump's team in New York, including his pick for national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn.

Mexico has been exploring ways to lessen its economic dependence on the United States out of fear that access to its No. 1 trade partner will be restricted by policies under Trump, who promises to protect American jobs from going outside the country.

Yang's meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu included discussions of enhancing trade and investment ties, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, as well as improving flight connections between the two countries.

"They agreed to deepen mutual trust and develop the bilateral dialogue about subjects of mutual interest via the Mexico-China Strategic Dialogue," the ministry said, without giving more details.

After his meeting with Ruiz Massieu, Yang had a "courtesy visit" with President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trump's moves in recent days, protesting his decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan's president and voicing concern after a weekend interview on "Fox News Sunday" in which Trump questioned whether the United States had to stick with a "one China" policy. China considers Taiwan a renegade province.

Mexico's relationship with China appeared to cool after Pena Nieto scrapped high-profile rail and retail projects that were supposed to usher in a new era of business between the manufacturing rivals.

But Mexico last week awarded two deepwater oil blocks to China's Offshore Oil Corporation during a historic auction that was part of the country's energy reform.

"The China-Mexico relationship is back on again," said Evan Ellis, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College who specializes in China's presence in Latin America.

"The election of President Trump and the associated threat to NAFTA probably was one driver for [Pena Nieto] to position Mexico to diversify its foreign economic engagements," Ellis added.

Trump has vowed to renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trade deal important to Mexico, which includes the United States and Canada.
France is Western Europes top exporter of jihadists, but its a regional laggard when it comes to programs to combat radicalization. Thats changing - but maybe not fast enough. With the Islamic State group weakened in Iraq and Syria, fighters are returning, posing a growing threat at home. From the French city of Bordeaux, Lisa Bryant takes a look at new efforts to turn the tide.
Brazil's top prosecutor brought new charges against Senate President Renan Calheiros on Monday, accusing him of taking part in corruption at state oil company Petrobras and asking the Supreme Court to remove him from office.

Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot's request comes just a week after Calheiros was nearly removed in a separate embezzlement case.

Janot alleges that Calheiros received part of a donation of 800,000 reais ($240,000) in 2010 from an oil and gas contractor in return for keeping a senior Petrobras executive in the post, where he was later convicted of currying favors.

Calheiros rejected the allegation in an emailed statement, and said he was willing to cooperate with any investigation.

It was not clear when the Supreme Court would take any action on the charges, but the justices enter into recess after this week and do not return to work until Feb. 1.

Monday's charges were the first that specifically tied Calheiros to the massive corruption investigation centered around state-run oil company Petrobras, where a political kickback scheme played out for years.

In the embezzlement case, Calheiros was indicted on Dec. 1 by the Supreme Court over allegations of misusing public funds in a nine-year-old case involving the payment of child support for a daughter from an extramarital affair.

A Supreme Court justice ruled last week that Calheiros should be removed from his leadership role, but the full court overturned the injunction, defusing a standoff that threatened to derail the government's agenda of economic reforms.

Under Brazil's constitution, members of Congress can only be tried by the Supreme Court, which often takes years to rule on major investigations because of an extensive backlog of cases.

($1 = 3.35 reais)
The U.N. children's agency said Tuesday that about 35,000 children have fled from Mosul since Iraqi forces and a U.S.-led coalition launched a massive operation in mid-October to retake the city from the Islamic State group.



Iraqi special forces meanwhile pushed deeper into the city's eastern part, retaking the Falah neighboring late Monday, said Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi. Fighting raged as a haze of fog and smoke hovered over the city, which was rocked by tank fire and airstrikes.



The children are among some 93,500 people who have fled since the operation began, while hundreds of thousands have remained in their homes. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the extremist group's last major urban stronghold in the country.



"Children are the innocent victims of any conflict and in this conflict are the most innocent victims,'' UNICEF's representative in Iraq, Peter Hawkins, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.



He said that once IS is driven from the city it will be important to ``invest in children's services so this war doesn't continue.''



He could not provide an exact figure on how many children have been killed since the operation started, but he said some of them have been targeted by snipers.



"We know that children who have been queueing up for water have been targets,'' he said. "I saw a photograph of a child this morning who's been shot by a sniper queueing up for water.''



UNICEF teams are providing the children with water and sanitation supplies as well as vaccinations against measles and polio. In refugee camps, Hawkins said, there are places where children can play, draw and restart their education.



"On day one they can't look you in the eye, they're not smiling, they're sad,'' he said. "But day after day when they start to draw, when they start to play with their friends... you see them start to smile, their eyes start to brighten up.''



Mosul, about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, fell to IS in the summer of 2014, when the group swept across northern and western Iraq. The Iraqi advance has slowed in recent weeks in the face of suicide car bombs, sniper fire and networks of underground tunnels from which the militant launch counterattacks.
Members of Gambia's ruling party asked the supreme court Tuesday to void December 1 election results, following their leader's loss.

President Yahya Jammeh initially conceded defeat to election winner Adama Barrow but withdrew his concession Friday, saying "unacceptable errors" were found by election officials.

The appeal was made the same day that a delegation of West African leaders arrived in the capital city to urge Jammeh to concede the election after over two decades in office.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari told Reuters that Jammeh had been "very receptive" to the delegation.

Earlier in the day, security forces entered the electoral commission office and instructed the chairman to leave. They have since blocked access to the building.

Jammeh, 51, has ruled the West African nation since taking power in a military coup in 1994. He won four subsequent elections that critics said were neither free nor fair, and supported a 2002 constitutional amendment that removed presidential term limits. He once said he could rule Gambia for "a billion years."
The government and military of Myanmar are responsible for burning down hundreds of buildings in the Rakhine State during the past three months as retribution for militant attacks on security forces, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.

Since October 9, government forces are responsible for burning down at least 1,500 buildings, in some cases torching entire villages and forcing thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims from their homes.

Human Rights Watch Asia director Brad Adams said, The new findings refute the Burmese military and governments claims that Rohingya militants were responsible for burning down their own villages. The satellite imagery and eyewitness interviews clearly point the finger at the military for setting these buildings ablaze.

The timing of multiple arson instances shows a systematic building destruction that coincides with the presence of military forces in the area. In several separate instances, fires started in villages just hours after government forces reported being attacked by militants in the area.

According to witness accounts in the report, soldiers used rocket launchers and gasoline to lay waste to large swaths of buildings at a time.

One witness, Abdul, from Kyet Yoe Pyin village tract, said he saw the army setting fire to his village and aiming and firing at people, shortly before he fled on October 12.

Last week, more than a dozen diplomatic missions called on the Myanmar government to allow humanitarian aid into the Rakhine State, which has been virtually cut off since a military operation began two months ago.

The government has denied most journalists and aid access to Rakhine state since its counterinsurgency operation began two months ago, following the killing of nine border guards by unidentified attackers.

The government has stated multiple times their intention is to allow aid to be delivered to the area, where more than 80 people have died and more than 20,000 have fled to Bangladesh.

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar on Monday asked all sides in the country to cease hostilities and allow peace efforts to move forward.

Continued conflict undermines the trust necessary to achieve a durable peace, and disproportionately affects the lives of innocent civilians and the thousands of IDPs forced from their homes, the embassy said in a statement.
Giovanni Guerrero says he has been "staying in more and more lately."

The third-year aerospace engineering student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo is both a member of the LGBT community and Mexican-American, and he feels especially vulnerable after a highly divisive election campaign that was accompanied by a rise in various types of hate crimes.

"I mean, [living] in California is a lot safer and I'm grateful for that  [but] anti-LGBT people are very pumped now," he said.

Guerrero's anxiety is shared by many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, as evidenced by the Trevor Project, a nonprofit group that works to prevent suicides among LGBT youth. The project's national suicide hotline for LGBT youth received more than twice its normal call volume in the two days after the presidential election.

Trevor Project spokesman Steve Mendelsohn told VOA the crisis center received an average of 150 to 175 calls, texts or online messages a day last December. In the week following the November election this year, the number of contacts was up to 230 a day.

"There's a lot of fear out there  [and] the anxiety was heightened after the election.  They're worried they will lose their rights," Mendelsohn said.

Mendelsohn said people who contacted the hotline disclosed anxiety about their personal safety as well as fears they would be forced into conversion therapy or that laws establishing marriage equality would be reversed after Donald Trump assumes the presidency in January.

Trump's LGBT position

During his campaign, Trump vowed to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would reverse a ruling making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states, though he later said the current law was "settled" and he was comfortable with it. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has long been suspected by the LGBT community of supporting conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation. In a recent New York Times interview, Pence's spokesman denied this.

The former Indiana governor supported the state's religious freedom law in 2015, which lets people and companies assert that their exercise of religion has been or is likely to be substantially burdened as a defense in legal proceedings. Critics say this permits discrimination against the LGBT community.

Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin Republicans  a leading group of conservatives fighting for LGBT inclusion in the Republican Party  said a lot of the fear people are experiencing stems from myths that were perpetuated by Democrats during the campaign. He said Trump was the "most pro-LGBT" Republican nominee ever.

Trump, he said, is "someone who has reached out directly to the LGBT community during his campaign and who said, and I quote, 'I will be a real friend to the LGBT community.' "

But to Guerrero, the current environment favors those who have a "dark" attitude, exemplified by a man who yelled "faggot" recently at some of his friends who were holding hands.

"It's obvious that a lot of people are more comfortable in showing their opinions, which come off as racist and homophobic," he said.

Heightened anxiety

In an online survey of primary and secondary school educators across the country, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project contacted more than 10,000 teachers, counselors, administrators and others working with youth in schools.

Ninety percent reported that the climate in their schools had been negatively affected since the election, and most of them said they thought the impact would be long-lasting.

"There's certainly a lot of anti-LGBT harassment reported," said Maureen Costello, director of Teaching Tolerance and the study's author.

Eight in 10 educators reported heightened anxiety on the part of marginalized students, including LGBT students, immigrants, Muslims and African-Americans.

"LGBT kids, immigrants or kids perceived as immigrants are very anxious about the future and they have now suffered this harassment, and that doesn't go away," Costello said.

Angelo said he would not discredit anyone's personal experience, but that he thought the anxiety about the LGBT community's future under Trump was ill-founded.

"This notion that conversion therapy is going to be forced upon LGBT Americans or whether marriage equality is going to go away are not statements that Mr. Trump made during the course of his campaign and certainly are not of any policy agenda for the Trump administration," he said.

In July, Angelo described himself as "mad as hell" at the Republican Party's platform, which was drawn up during the campaign. The platform opposed marriage equality and included language affirming conversion therapy, supporting adoption agencies that deny gay couples the right to adopt, and endorsing Pence's religious freedom bill. Angelo described it as the "most anti-LGBT platform in the party's history."

But now, he said he's keeping an open mind, giving Trump and Pence a chance to lead.

"[Trump] has already condemned anyone who is bullying or harassing other people and using his election as a justification," he said.

Meanwhile, Guerrero said anxiety and fear were taking him and his friends back in time.

"I don't want to feel that I have to get used to this type of life where I'm always hiding from my personal identity," Guerrero said.
The blasphemy trial of Jakarta's Chinese Christian governor has begun during anxious times for Indonesian Christians.

Last week, a hardline Muslim group shut down a Christmas celebration in Bandung, West Java, provoking widespread alarm on social media and a pointed statement from the citys mayor. In subsequent days, another Muslim hardline group forced a Christian university in Yogyakarta to remove billboards featuring hijabi women, and in East Nusa Tenggara, a Christian vigilante group spurred police to arrest nine men who intended to conduct Muslim religious services in the predominantly Christian province.

These snags in Christian-Muslim relations seem to reflect the high pitched discourse surrounding the trial of Jakartas governor, Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama. During the last three months, hardline Islamic groups have convened enormous rallies charging that Ahok committed blasphemy by carelessly quoting the Quran.

Although the protests have been largely peaceful, the polarized discourse has empowered critics of many minority groups, including the LGBTQ community and now Christians.

Whether these tensions subside or escalate remains to be seen. Either way, they are a test for Indonesias founding Pancasila political philosophy, which officially protects religious diversity.

Call to intensify dialogue

On December 6, members of an Islamic group that calls itself the Ahlu Sunnah Defenders (PAS) protested a planned Christmas service at a public event space in Bandung. The Reformed Injili Indonesia Church bowed to pressure from dozens of PAS protesters, who claimed that the church didnt obtain the proper permit, and cancelled the event.

But Bandungs mayor responded with a strongly worded Facebook post demanding a PAS apology for the incident within seven days.Religious activities do NOT require formal permission from state agencies, just notification to the police, he wrote.There should be no civil society groups that place restrictions, . . . or perform public outcry against religious worship.He also called for the areas various Muslim groups to intensify the dialogue between religious communities in the city of Bandung.

What happened in Bandung is not new, said Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Deputy Chairman of the Setara Institute, a human rights research organization. In the years since Suhartos fall, intolerant groups have proliferated across Indonesia, he said, Theyre always pretty smart about playing up certain issues to gain public support  like Christmas.

Christian backlash

Muslim groups dont have a monopoly on sectarian action. In the predominantly Roman Catholic province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), a group calling themselves the Brigade Meo Timor intercepted nine Muslim men from a mosque in Makassar. They convinced the local police to apprehend the group and send them back home.

The action was not a direct retaliation to the Bandung incident, Ady William Ndiy, of the Brigade Meo Timor, told VOA. He said the men simply didnt have the proper documentation to conduct religious activity in NTT. Plus, they were affiliated with a hardline Muslim group called Hizbur Tahrir Indonesia, which a Brigade Meo Timor press release described as an organization whose ideology is contrary to Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution."

Naipospos, of the Setara Institute, disagreed. What happened in NTT is a reaction to what happened in Jakarta and Bandung, he told VOA. Such reactions should be avoided and cannot be justified, because they will likely provoke wider conflicts.

Toward a more robust pluralism

Indonesias moderate Muslims have publicly criticized the Bandung incident and its fallout. Both Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhamadiyyah, the countrys two largest moderate Muslim groups, disapproved of the PAS, and NU deputy secretary-general Imam Pituduh even called for the government to dissolve the group.

What happened in Bandung and the attendant reaction of law enforcement has a level of absurdity, Yahya Cholil Staquf, NUs general secretary, told VOA. The fact that officials seriously entertained the protest of a hardline group like PAS is like if police tried to mediate a dialogue between a robber and his victim. One party is clearly in the wrong.



In light of the Indonesian police reluctance to protect Christian religious expression, said Staquf, NUs youth wing, Barisan Ansor Serbaguna, would help Christians peacefully celebrate Christmas, by, for example, providing guards for churches during Christmas services.

Although Staquf was confident that moderate Indonesian Muslims retain strength in numbers  NU and Muhamidiyyah together claim over 80 million members  he was concerned by the extent to which the Ahok trial has amplified voices of intolerance.

Everything about Ahoks case has been so manipulative from the beginning, said Staquf. They have very deftly used Islam as a political gimmick. He hoped a speedy conclusion to Ahoks trial would slow hardliners momentum. But its still very impressive that they have mobilized masses to this extent. It will take a long time for us to recoup our standard of tolerance.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani ordered scientists on Tuesday to start developing systems for nuclear-powered boats, in reaction to what he called the United States' violation of a global atomic deal.

The announcement marked Iran's first concrete response to a U.S. Congress decision last month to extend legislation making it easier for Washington to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

Rouhani described the technology as a "nuclear propeller to be used in marine transportation," but did not say whether that meant just ships or possibly also submarines. Iran said in 2012 that it was working on its first nuclear-powered sub.

His words will stoke tensions with Washington, already heightened by comments from U.S. president elect Donald Trump who has vowed to scrap the deal, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for lifted sanctions.

There was no immediate reaction from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran's nuclear work.

"The United States has not fully delivered its commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal),"

Rouhani wrote in a letter published by state news agency IRNA.

"With regards to recent (U.S. congress) legislation to extend the Iran Sanctions Act, I order the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to ... plan the design and construction of a nuclear propeller to be used in marine transportation to be used in marine transportation."

U.S. Congress members have said the extension of the bill does not violate the nuclear deal agreed last year to assuage Western fears that Iran is working to develop a nuclear bomb.

The act, Congress added, only gave Washington the power to reimpose sanctions on Iran if it violated the pact.

Washington says it has lifted all the sanctions it needs to under the deal between major powers and Iran.

But Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month that the extension was a definite breach and Iran would "definitely react to it"

Iran always argued its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.
Under pressure from unrelenting airstrikes and increasingly capable forces on the ground, the Islamic State terror group is having trouble mustering a fighting force capable of holding onto its self-declared caliphate.



New U.S. estimates put the number of IS "battle ready" fighters in Iraq and Syria at just 12,000 to 15,000, less than half of what the terror group was able to field at its height.



The latest intelligence puts the number of IS fighters "at the lowest point it's ever been," U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk told White House reporters Tuesday, adding the terror group "is unable to replenish its ranks."

WATCH: McGurk Talks about IS Numbers

Previous U.S. military and intelligence estimates, long considered by many experts to have been overly conservative, had put the size of the IS force at as many as 33,000. And bolstered by a steady influx of foreign fighters, for a time the group was able to replace fighters at the rate they were being killed.



But increased cooperation from Turkey and others has helped shut down many of the transit routes into Iraq and Syria, allowing the combination of more than 17,000 airstrikes and emboldened Iraqi, Kurdish and other Arab forces to take their toll.



Just last week, a senior U.S. military official said airstrikes alone had killed at least 50,000 IS fighters, saying the actual number was likely higher.



Still, many in the U.S. military and intelligence communities have urged caution when citing such numbers, explaining the strategies that made IS effective rarely relied on brute force.



"ISIL has integrated a range of asymmetrical tactics into its military strategy," a U.S. counterterrorism official told VOA, using an acronym for Islamic State.



Even IS's use of explosives, whether in the form of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) or in the form of bombs strapped to suicide attackers, has been designed to "instill fear and deter adversaries," rather than fight them head on, the official said.



Recent developments and other assessments are also stirring doubt that IS is nearing its end.



Despite having lost about 61 percent of the territory it once possessed in Iraq, IS still controls "huge swaths" of land, a U.S. official told VOA on condition of anonymity.





And even the ground campaign to retake the IS stronghold of Mosul has slowed as Iraqi forces have edged closer to the city center, encountering fierce resistance.



"By our calculations, we think we have killed or badly wounded over 2,000 [IS fighters]," the commander of Combined Joint Task Force Inherent Resolve, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, said earlier this week in Iraq.



But Iraqi forces have also taken heavy casualties, and Townsend admitted as many as 5,000 IS fighters remain in Mosul, roughly the same number thought to have been left to defend the city as the Iraqi-led operation got underway two months ago.



"I doubt all estimates of ISIS's manpower," said Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, using an acronym for the terror group. "The estimates have been quite clearly wrong going back to 2014 and even before. I have no reason to think the estimates are any better now."



Joscelyn's own estimates put the size of the Islamic State fighting force at its peak at possibly more than 50,000. Other analysts and diplomats suggested the numbers might have been higher.



Yet no matter what the IS fighter numbers are now, "just be careful about writing them off," Joscelyn warned. "They are clearly able to still muster for battle."



Perhaps the best illustration of that has been the IS offensive this week to capture the Syrian city of Palmyra, wresting it back Sunday from Syrian regime forces backed by Russian air power.



Subsequent video distributed on social media by IS's Amaq News Agency on Wednesday showed fighters taking control of the nearby Russian airbase, gaining access to munitions and other supplies.



"That should give us pause," said Jennifer Cafarella, a Syria expert at the Institute for the Study of War.

"The U.S. should be similarly concerned on the Iraq side of the border that our metrics for assessing ISIS's strength have been incorrect thus far."
Italy's latest government was formed and rapidly sworn in Monday, a center-left coalition headed by new Premier Paolo Gentiloni and strikingly similar in makeup to the just-ended one that Matteo Renzi quit after a humiliating loss.

Economist Pier Carlo Padoan remains as finance minister of the new government, which inherits the same deteriorating banking crisis, stubbornly flat economy and other urgent problems that marked Renzi's tenure.



The largely unchanged composition of the newly forged coalition government fueled fresh calls from opposition forces and even from within Gentiloni's ruling Democrat party for hastened elections.



Gentiloni, 62, served as Renzi's foreign minister until the latter resigned after voters resoundingly defeated a December 4 referendum on government-backed constitutional reforms.



Renzi kept his promise to quit if the referendum failed.



I won't hide the political difficulties that derive from the referendum's outcome and the political crisis that followed, Gentiloni said.



He also acknowledged Italy's persistent economic malaise. We cannot ignore the suffering, especially in the middle class and in the south were work is scarce, Gentiloni said.



Youth employment hovers at 36 percent, down from 40, nationally, but it runs about 50 percent in the underdeveloped south.

The new prime minister is a staunch backer of Renzi's. Even before he announced his Cabinet, some observers took to dubbing it the Renziloni government.

Gentiloni is Renzi's double, Roberto Fico, a leader of the populist 5-Star Movement, said in comments to Corriere della Sera daily.

It's a government identical to the last one, [but] more fragile, said Liguria Governor Giovanni Toti, from former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's center-right opposition party.



Toti was referring to a last-minute defection by a centrist Renzi coalition ally who was angered his small party didn't get any Cabinet posts in the new Gentiloni government.



That defection risks narrowing the new government's margin for victory in mandatory confidence votes this week in Parliament. But the squabbling Democratic Party, still led by Renzi, would still hold a majority, barring defectors from his own fold.

Gentiloni was scheduled to make a pitch for support with speeches to Parliament on Tuesday.



The 5-Star Movement, founded by comic Beppe Grillo, is Parliament's largest opposition force and eager for elections soon in a bid to gain its first premiership.



Critical of harsh austerity measures advocated by European Union leaders, they want a popular referendum on whether Italy should keep the euro as its official currency.

Among the holdovers from Renzi's Cabinet is Roberta Pinotti, who continues as defense minister.



Another is Angelino Alfano, who crossed over a few years ago from former Silvio Berlusconi's center-right to become the leading non-Democrat in Renzi's government. He now switches from interior minister, where he dealt with the flood of migrants across the Mediterranean to Italian shores as well as domestic anti-terrorism strategy, to foreign minister.





After seeing 64 governments in some 70 years, Italians are used to political crises.



Italy's head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, summoned Gentiloni to the Quirinal presidential palace on Sunday to ask him to try to forge a government, working with the same Democrat majority in Parliament.

By Monday night, Gentiloni was back at the palace and sworn in as premier, along with the ministers whose names he had announced only 90 minutes earlier.

Italy's politics remain roiled.



Matteo Salvini, who heads the anti-migrant Northern League, said he would hit the streets of Palermo and Milan this weekend seeking signatures to ask for elections immediately. Later, on Facebook, Salvini slammed the minor changes in the Cabinet.



It's not a government. It's a jumble of chair-holders, he said.



Former Premier Massimo D'Alema joined some others in the Democratic Party who viewed the referendum debacle as an expression of citizens' impatience for early elections.

I think the government has a limited assignment, D'Alema said.



But many, starting with President Mattarella, agree Italy must first urgently overhaul its election law to make the country more governable.

The current law has one set of electoral rules for the Senate and another for the lower Chamber of Deputies. That's because voters in the recent referendum rejected changes that would have made the Senate not directly elected.

The economy is another urgent matter. Renzi's labor reforms, on which he staked much of his prestige, barely nudged the economy to grow.



The lackluster economy factors into the crisis suffered by Italy's banking sector, burdened with non-performing loans.
Kenya is giving serious thought to withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). During a public address Monday for Kenyas Independence day celebrations, the country's president gave the clearest sign yet it may be headed out of the ICC.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said the government will consider two motions passed by parliament for Kenyas withdrawal from the court.



He said his decision was influenced by the failure of the ICC to reform in order to respect the national sovereignty of member countries



Our choices are the basis of how we will steer our country to its destiny as a sovereign state , Kenyatta said. "Our founder fought bravely to have the right to make choices free of external influence. Today the world is full of wars driven by the desires of some to exploit the resources of independent nations.



Kenyatta said the ICC showed a lack of impartiality when it dealt with Kenya and other African nations have recognized the same thing.

He said Kenya has been a champion of global institutions grounded in fairness and respect for national sovereignty as part of its pursuit of a more stable and just world.

The Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court have ended, but the experience has given us cause to observe that this institution has become a tool of global power politics and not the justice it was built to dispense, Kenyatta said.



Kenya is not the first African Country seeking withdrawal from the ICC.



In October, President Pierre Nkurunziza signed legislation calling for Burundis withdrawal from the ICC. Burundis government says the court is an instrument of powerful countries used to punish leaders who do not comply with the West.



Gambia made a similar announcement under long-serving president Yahya Jammeh, who was defeated in recent elections by Adama Barrow who strongly campaigned on remaining in the ICC.



South Africa also pulled out, saying its obligations were in conflict and inconsistent with its diplomatic immunity legislation.



Kenyatta has in the past been among the most vocal voices calling for African states to stage a mass withdrawal from the ICC.



Although there is an argument the Court has disproportionately focused on African countries, the court has also been increasingly scrutinizing the conduct of Western powers.
Veteran leader Nikola Gruevski's nationalist VMRO-DPMNE won 51 out of 120 seats in Macedonia's parliament in a snap election Sunday that is expected to end a two-year-long crisis that brought his government down.

The nationalists are now in a good position to form a government with their old partner, the Albanian DUI, despite their losses. Overall, Albanian ethnic minority parties lost out to the social democrats, suggesting an easing of ethnic strains.

Preliminary results issued by the State Election Commission showed opposition Social Democrats had won 49 seats in the election, brought about by Gruevski's resignation over a wiretapping scandal.

Albanian voters in Macedonia shifted toward the Social Democrats in significant numbers for the first time since a 2001 interethnic conflict.

The provisional result suggested ethnic factors were playing a lesser role in politics, reducing the dangers of nationalist frictions that have beset Macedonia in the past.

Albanians make up about a third of the 2.1 million population of the landlocked former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, and have traditionally voted for ethnic Albanian parties, one of whom then becomes the junior party in a coalition government.

This time, the Albanian DUI party, which formed the last coalition government with Gruevski, won 10 seats in parliament  a half of what it had in the last election.

A new, anti-establishment Albanian party, Besa, picked up 5 seats, while the Democratic Party of Albanians got 2 seats, and Alliance for Albanians recorded 3 seats.

"With anger, I say the Albanians lost their mandate," DUI leader Ali Ahmeti said after the vote Sunday.

Ethnic tensions

Sunday's snap election was called after Gruevski stepped down and handed over power to a caretaker government in January to end a national crisis caused by opposition allegations that he and his counter-intelligence chief had wiretapped the phones of more than 20,000 people.

Zoran Zaev released recordings that appeared to show abuses of power by senior government figures. Gruevski denied wrongdoing.

Both Gruevski and Zaev proclaimed victory Sunday evening, and their supporters celebrated on the streets of Skopje.

International observers called Monday for national unity to give Macedonia a chance of resuming stalled talks to join the European Union and put years of conflict behind it.

"The country is at a new crossroads, which opens a path toward normality in political life," said Stefan Schennach, head of the delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. "Now the entire country must replace ethnic separation with nation-building cooperation."

Victories of the Social Democrats in towns such as Aracinovo and Brest clearly show that Albanians voted for it, said Artan Sadiku of Skopje's Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities.

"It is clearly a significant shift and a departure from an ethnically determined vote," he told Reuters, adding that political parties might no longer be able to use nationalism to generate further instability.

Ethnic tensions over regional autonomy, political representation and Albanian-language schooling brought Macedonia to the brink of war in 2001. It was ended by the so-called Ohrid Accord, brokered by NATO and the European Union, which gave Albanians greater rights.

Parties will have 20 days to constitute the parliament, once the state election commission comes out with results.
In its latest annual report, the World Health Organization says strong progress has been made in the fight against malaria, particularly in offering effective control programs to children and pregnant women in Africa.

The organization, however, warns funding has plateaued, putting targets for tackling the disease at risk.

The WHOs 2016 report highlights significant achievements in the global fight against malaria. Mortality rates for the annual number of deaths from malaria have been halved in the past 16 years to just over 400,000.

Programs to distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets are the cornerstone of malaria prevention efforts in Africa, says Dr. Jo Lines of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The progress is that now 53 percent, just over half that target population and it's a very large target population in some very difficult to reach places. Fifty-three percent of those people now report sleeping under an insecticide-treated net, said Lines said. That's fantastic."

Mosquitoes becoming resistant

As more insecticide is used to prevent malaria, however, the mosquitoes that transmit the disease are becoming resistant.

"Insecticide resistance is spreading very rapidly. Now that we're achieving those high levels of coverage, it's spreading more rapidly than ever and becoming really strong in some places, said Lines. So there are places in Africa that now report that their mosquitoes can stand one thousand times the dose of the original population.

Diagnostic testing for malaria has also increased sharply in the last five years allowing for the rapid prescription of life-saving treatment, particularly for children.

"What's clear now is that we need to do a much more differentiated set of interventions, said Lines. We need to tailor what we do to each place.

Funding has waned

By far, the highest share of the global malaria burden is borne by sub-Saharan Africa where 92 percent of malaria deaths occurred in 2015.

Dr. Pedro Alonso Fernandez, the director of WHO's Global Malaria Program, says progress is being hampered by a lack of funds.

The last five years we have seen no increase in the level of funding, be it from international donors or domestic funding from the affected countries themselves, said Fernandez. We are not on [target] to achieve our goals unless we increase the amount of resources made available for the fight against malaria."

The WHO says more needs to be done to prevent and treat malaria infection in children. Children under the age of five account for an estimated 70 percent of all malaria deaths.
Malaysia's new king, a 47-year-old state sultan, ascended the throne Tuesday, becoming one of the youngest constitutional monarch in the Southeast Asian nation's history.



Sultan Muhammad V took his oath of office in a nationally televised ceremony attended by hundreds of dignitaries at a cavernous hall in Malaysia's federal palace.



Under a unique system maintained since Malaysia's independence from Britain in 1957, nine hereditary state rulers take turns as the country's king for five-year terms.



The monarch's role is largely ceremonial, since administrative power is vested in the prime minister and Parliament. But he is highly regarded, particularly among the ethnic Malay Muslim majority, as the supreme upholder of Malay tradition and symbolic head of Islam.
A few miles east of Diffa, the regional capital, the national guard of Niger patrols in the sand, aiming to secure the border with Nigeria and prevent militants from striking on Niger soil.

Ready to open fire with their rifles, the soldiers are looking for any potential threat. Boko Haram militants from Nigeria could be anywhere. The jihadist group has been damaged, but still has the ability to attack by suicide mission or with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Lieutenant Moussa Daouda Rabiou, the commander of the village of Assaga position, is "extremely cautious with mines, he tells VOA. We trained our men and with our vehicles, we don't follow the road if there is any suspicious footprint."

The patrol is advancing toward the Nigerian border, with soldiers on foot and jeeps, carrying cannons, progressing slowly.

In the village of Zenamn Kelouri, villagers have started to return. The U.N. refugee agency estimated in January that 100,000 people were driven from their homes in southeast Niger in attacks by Boko Haram. The UNHCR said 170 villages had been emptied.

Moussa Kadre, age 90, never left. His children bring him food from the nearby refugee camp.

"I want to thank our security forces, he tells VOA.

Asymmetric war

The army of Niger keeps secret the number of soldiers who have been deployed along the border. But, according to VOA sources, there are at least a thousand for the entire Diffa region.

The army has managed to earn the trust of the population, which is the first line of defense to fight Boko Haram. The militants are just on the other shore of the Komadougou River, the natural border between Niger and Nigeria.

The Nigerian army has not permanently retaken Damasak or Malam Fatori, so Boko Haram still can launch operations into the Diffa region.

"I can assure you that the Nigerian army is very active; it is operating, says Colonel Abdou Sidikou Issa, the deputy chief of staff for the Niger army. We coordinate the fight together. You cannot say there are uncontrolled zones."

While the army of Niger has the right to pursue militants into Nigeria if a direct threat is detected, Boko Haram is usually invisible until it strikes.
Pakistan has inaugurated a special maritime force to ensure security of its new Chinese-built Gwadar port, which is central to a multi-billion dollar economic cooperation agreement between the two countries.



China is investing around $50 billion dollars in Pakistan to help build a network of roads, rails, communication and power projects that will eventually connect the western Chinese border region of Xinjiang to the deepwater port on the Arabian Sea.



The cooperation, dubbed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC, officials say, will turn Gwadar into a gateway for imports and exports from Xinjiang to international markets.



Top Pakistani civilian and military officials along with Chinese diplomats traveled to the port Tuesday to witness the inauguration of the "Task Force-88" raised by the Pakistan Navy.



"(It) is aimed at ensuring security of Gwadar port, its seaward approaches, as well as CPEC-related and other maritime projects,"Zafar Mehmood Abbasi, deputy chief of the naval staff operations told the ceremony.



The marine force would comprise "warships, (attack) helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), duly supported by shore-based sensors", he added.





The Pakistan military has already established a "Special Security Division" of around 20,000 personnel for the protection of Chinese workers and land routes being built under CPEC.



The Gwadar port is located in the insurgency-hit Baluchistan province, which also hosts a number of CPEC-related projects.



Pakistani officials allege rival India is funding Baloch separatists in the province in its bid to try to undermine the Corridor building efforts, a charge New Delhi denies. Islamabad also sees Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliates a threat to CPEC.



Chinese officials say that CPEC is "the major and pilot project of the Belt and Road" initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping.



"We believe the Belt and Road initiative will serve the greatest interests of the international community and this region for common development and shared prosperity," says Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong.



He says 17 "early harvest" CPEC projects are already under "smooth" construction in Pakistan.



"There are more than 10,000 jobs that have been created for the local people with all these 17 projects.In the near future, we can see that CPEC projects will generate thousands of megawatts (of electricity) into the national grid of Pakistan."
The Pentagon said Tuesday a coalition airstrike killed three key Islamic State leaders in Syria, including two militants who were involved in last year's terrorist attacks in Paris.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.



Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said all three plotters were targeted while riding in a vehicle in Raqqa, Islamic States de facto capital in Syria, on December 4.



Two of the militants, Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, were involved in plotting last year's Paris attacks that killed 130 people, according to Pentagon officials.



Speaking in Italy Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter identified the three as close associates to the late IS external operations leader, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who was killed in an airstrike earlier this year.



Gourmat was also known for inspiring lone wolf attacks in the West, and Djedou was considered a major recruiter for the terror group who was actively plotting suicide attacks in Western nations, Davis said.



The third killed IS leader, Walid Hamman, is a French national who was convicted in absentia in Belgium for a terror plot that was disrupted in 2015.



IS claimed responsibility for last year's attacks in Paris during which suicide bombers and gunmen launched a coordinated assault across the French capital, including a concert hall were 90 people were killed.
Romania's left-leaning Social Democratic Party (PSD) won the country's parliamentary elections with about 46 percent of the vote in both houses.

Official results released Tuesday showed the center-right National Liberal Party in second place at about 20 percent.The Save Romania Union, a new party that campaigned with an anti-corruption platform, finished third with about 9 percent.

The exact makeup of parliament after Sunday's election is due to be announced later in this week.

A caretaker government under technocrat Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, a former European commissioner, has been running the country during the past year.

Former prime minister Victor Ponta of PSD resigned after mass protests following a nightclub fire in October last year that killed 64 people.

And the chairman of the PSD, Liviu Dragnea, received a two-year suspended prison sentence for voter fraud in April for inflating voter numbers in a July 2012 referendum to impeach then president Traian Basescu.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has refused to appoint anyone with legal problems as prime minister.

A country of about 19 million people, Romania is one of the poorest in the European Union and perceived as one of the most corrupt.
An anti-corruption activist has announced he will run for president of Russia in the 2018 election after a ban against him running for political office was removed last month.

Alexei Navalny, 40, is the leader of the opposition Party of Progress and has been one of the most vocal critics of current Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he accuses of graft and corruption.

Navalny made the announcement Tuesday via a video statement posted on his new campaign website.

It's time for us to choose not only a person at elections. It's time to choose between stagnation and a program of development, Navalny said in the video.

Navalny helped lead mass protests in December 2011, following parliamentary elections marred by electoral fraud charges, and another protest in Moscow in March 2012, following Putin's re-election as president. He heads an anti-corruption foundation that publishes documents exposing the lavish lifestyles enjoyed by state officials.

In 2013, Navalny received a five-year suspended sentence for fraud charges he says were politically motivated. Those charges initially kept Navalny from running for office, but last month Russias Supreme Court ordered a retrial for Navalny after ruling that his first trial was unfair.

If Navalny is convicted in the retrial, he will again be barred from running for office.

In his campaign video, Navalny says he will fight for victory and discuss what everyone is silent about. The issues Navalny is running on include what he calls the unfair distribution of wealth, an unfair court system and corruption among Russian officials.

Putin hasnt yet made clear whether he will seek re-election in 2018.
The United States will halt the planned sale of precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia, a U.S. official said, in response to concerns over Saudi military practices in the Yemeni civil war, which has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians.

The official said President Barack Obama's administration canceled the sale of air-dropped precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally. "That's obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties," the official said.

In addition to canceling the sale of the precision-guided weapons, the U.S. will alter the way it trains Saudi air force personnel to improve their accuracy, a persistent source of concern in the Obama administration.

Air strikes are war crimes?

The decisions could further strain ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia at a time when the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume control of the executive branch of the U.S. government.

The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen was responsible for about 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015. Some rights groups have criticized the U.S. for supporting the Saudi war effort with weapons sales and refueling Saudi-led coalition jets. Some rights groups also say attacks by the Saudi-led coalition on clinics, factories, markets and schools amount to war crimes.

Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or said the presence of fighters in the targeted areas justified the strikes. Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to the latest decisions by the Obama administration.

Since Saudi-led coalition forces entered Yemen's civil war in March 2015, the coalition has launched thousands of airstrikes against the Houthi movement - which is allied with Iran.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the 20-month-old war in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. The war has sparked a humanitarian crisis, including chronic food shortages.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is directly blaming FBI Director James Comey for the Democrats' loss in last month's election, saying Comey ignored pleas to investigate possible Russian cyber-interference.

"I am saying the FBI did nothing," Reid told CNN television Monday. "All the information that we've heard in the last couple weeks, it was available to the FBI. He just ignored it. He did not make it public. We asked him more than once and he didn't do it."

Reid said he believes the Democrats would have won the Senate and Donald Trump would have lost the presidency if Comey had acted. Reid accused the FBI chief of breaking the decades-old precedent of not getting involved in politics.

He also said Comey's revelation that more Hillary Clinton emails had surfaced two weeks before the election hurt her chances of winning the White House.

Comey has not yet responded to Reid's accusations.

But Trump has said it is ridiculous to think Russia interfered in the election to boost his chances, including the determination by the CIA of Russian computer hacking.

"I don't believe it. If you take a look at what [the CIA] said, there's great confusion," Trump told Fox News Sunday. "Nobody really knows. They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace."

He said the allegations are "just another excuse" by Democrats to explain his upset over win Clinton.

Trump contends that if Clinton had won the election and Republicans "tried to play the Russia/CIA card, it would be called conspiracy theory. Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?"

Intelligence committees in both houses of Congress launched investigations Monday into the charges against Russia. Among those endorsing the probes are Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

"The Russians are not our friends," McConnell said. He added that the investigation should be undertaken with the idea that "the Russians do not wish us well."

Ryan said the House probe "should not cast doubt" on Trump's victory, but that foreign interference in a U.S. election is "entirely unacceptable" and Russian involvement "especially problematic."

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the final stretch of the presidential campaign to help Trump win the presidency. Experts say Russians hacked the Republican and Democratic national committees' computer systems and disclosed embarrassing emails about the Democrats through WikiLeaks.
In Wau, South Sudan, thousands of people who have fled violence are living inside the grounds of a cathedral, with assistance from humanitarian organizations. Nearby, another 29,000 internally displaced people have sought refuge at a site to protect civilians, run by the U.N. From Wau, Jill Craig reports that many are thankful for the help, but they really just want to go home.
Its called the St. Mary Help of Christians Cathedral. And right now, the church is helping more than 8,500 South Sudanese who have fled fighting around the town of Wau, South Sudan, since violence erupted there in June.



The church is like a faith-based organization that can also provide humanitarian assistance, and in times of trouble, you need to stand by your people, said Francis Mogga, the camp officer.



But St. Marys, or the Cathedral IDP Center, as its now known, has become more than just a spiritual home for these internally displaced people, who have brought their families to live on the church grounds until they can return home.



Sitting behind a sewing machine inside a small shelter, with a tape measure around his neck, tailor Adam Edman Idriss said he moved to the cathedral in July, to flee violence.



I think this is more safe than if I go back to my area, where I have to listen to the gunshots and the night robbery every time, said Idriss.



Helping these newcomers is an undertaking of almost biblical proportions. While the church lends its space, Mogga explains that the World Food Program supplies food, Oxfam helps with water, the International Organization for Migration assists with healthcare and the U.N. Refugee Agency handles general protection.

Just across town is a U.N. protection of civilians, or PoC, site, which hosts another 29,000 IDPs. And although many of them are thankful for the assistance, they say theyd rather be home.



Sixty-six year-old Bernard Khabas has been living at this PoC site for six months. He says that he witnessed killing, raping and looting in June, which caused him to flee his home.



Nobody wants to stay here, but because the life there is not safe, thats why we are still here now, said Khabas.



IDPs have described how uniformed men and young Dinka attacked areas primarily inhabited by ethnic Fertit in the June clashes. Prior to these attacks, Western Bahr el Ghazal had been spared much of the violence that had struck other parts of the country. The government has denied involvement by its soldiers, instead blaming the rebels.



Security is stricter at the U.N. site than the cathedral, but some church residents say they are getting help from a higher power.



But the belief we have in faith, that we are Christian, we are praying every day, so this is how we are staying here without fearing anything bad may happen to us, said Monica Ilario Kaima, a 40 year-old IDP who has been living at the church for five months.



Camp officials say they are hosting more than 3,600 IDPs at three other church locations around Wau. Despite the challenges, officials say they will continue doing so, until its safe for people to leave.
Donald Trump on Monday widened his attack on defense contractors, slamming Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet program as too expensive as aides to the president-elect said he intends to keep pushing to cut the costs of military hardware.

Trump's latest Twitter broadside sent defense shares tumbling and fanned concerns that the incoming administration will reduce defense contractors' profit margins and cut broader federal spending, threatening U.S. factory jobs even as Trump promises to boost manufacturing employment.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control," Trump said on Twitter, echoing campaign promises to cut waste in federal spending. "Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th."

Last week, Trump targeted Boeing with tweets for "out of control" costs on new Air Force One planes, urging the federal government to "Cancel order!"

The new administration's focus is likely to be "wide-reaching and impact all of government as we look to come up with better deals," Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller said. "We're going to look for opportunities to go back through and make sure that we're not getting taken advantage of."

Trump's F-35 tweet drew support from U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, who has voiced support for the fighter jet in the past. While a president cannot cancel a program after funds have been allocated, it can purchase less.

"He can reduce the buy over time, next year, as we look at it again," McCain told Reuters.

But Trump's off-the-cuff remarks bristled others in Congress. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, home to F-35 engine maker Pratt & Whitney, said the program supports 2,000 Pratt jobs and thousands more at suppliers.

"The suggestion that costs are out of control is just plain wrong," he said. Trump should "learn more about the facts" before discussing "arbitrary cuts in the program," he added. "He's the president-elect. What he says matters."

Lockheed shares fell 2.5 percent after being down 5.4 percent earlier. Shares of General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, BAE and Raytheon also fell, while United Technologies and Boeing shares were slightly higher.

'Acquisition Malpractice'

The F-35 has been dogged by problems, with the Pentagon's chief arms buyer once describing as "acquisition malpractice" the decision to produce jets before completing development.

That led to retrofits and helped escalate costs to an estimated $400 billion, prompting the F-35 to be described as the most expensive weapon system in history.

The Pentagon's chief weapons tester has continued to criticize it, but the jets are now in use by the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force, and by six countries: Australia, Britain, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands and Israel. Japan took delivery of its first jet last week, according to a program spokesman.

Lockheed's F-35 program leader, Jeff Babione, said Monday the company had invested millions to reduce the jet's price by 60 percent from original estimates.

"We project it to be about $85 million in the 2019 or 2020 timeframe," he told reporters in Israel.

The Pentagon is now paying about $102 million each for the conventional takeoff A-model, according to sources familiar with the program. The savings reflect larger quantities and the ironing out of technical issues.

As a practical matter, it was unlikely the U.S. would unwind such a large program involving contractors in nearly every U.S. state and eight partner nations, Baird Equity Research analyst Peter Arment wrote in a note Monday.

"But what is likely ... is the message to the industry of potentially more risk-sharing on costs," he said. "This is potentially a new paradigm for the industry."
Aides to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump say he has decided to name a one-time political foe, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, to head the countrys Department of Energy, a sprawling agency Perry once said should be abolished as wasteful.

Perry, a two-time Republican presidential candidate, called Trump a cancer to conservatism in the early stages of the partys lengthy presidential nominating contest. But after dropping out of the race with scant voter support, the 66-year-old Perry endorsed Trump, saying the New York businessman wasnt his first or second choice for president, but is the peoples choice.

Trump has yet to formally name Perry, who served a record 14 years as governor of Texas, the southwestern state that is the countrys second largest. But the president-elects aides said Tuesday he has decided to name Perry to lead the agency that has 100,000 employees, oversees the countrys nuclear-weapons arsenal and promotes development of green-energy projects.

Oil-rich Texas

Perry, a staunch conservative, could shift the Department of Energy away from its recent focus on renewable energy, which President Barack Obama has championed, and back toward oil and fossil fuels, which Perry promoted in oil-rich Texas. Perry has been a vocal skeptic of manmade climate change, but during his tenure as governor turned Texas into a major producer of wind-powered energy.

In 2011, during his first unsuccessful bid for the presidency, Perry committed a political gaffe that diminished his chances in his race against Trump.

During a debate, Perry called for elimination of three federal government agencies - the Departments of Commerce and Education, and then couldnt remember the third, finally saying, Oops. He later said Energy was the third agency he wanted to abolish.

For most of Tuesday, Trump continued to work in New York to fill his Cabinet before his inauguration on January 20, when Obama leaves office after two terms in the White House.

Media reports late Tuesday said Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Navy Seal, was believed to be the president-elects choice for Secretary of the Interior.

Zinke, described by The Washington Post as a lifelong hunter and fisherman, is a proponent of keeping public lands under federal ownership. That position would put him at odds with those in the Republican Party who favor privatization, or placing federal lands under the control of states.

Trump also has said he does not think public land should be placed under state control.

The Interior Department has more than 70,000 employees across the United States and oversees more than 20 percent of federal land, including national parks.

RNC head

Trump also seemed likely to tap Ronna Romney McDaniel, the Michigan Republican Party chairwoman, as head of the Republican National Committee.

McDaniel is the niece of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who had been among those being considered by Trump for the secretary of state post.

Later Tuesday, Trump flew to Wisconsin, the Midwestern state that he narrowly carried over Democrat Hillary Clinton in last months election, for another thank you rally for supporters.

It was -12 degrees Celsius when Trump landed in Wisconsin. Addressing those who turned out for his rally in the town of West Allis, he discussed many of the same themes as during his campaign.

He also took time to praise the Wisconsin politicians at the rally, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, who represents a district in southern Wisconsin and who has had a rocky relationship with the president-elect.

When the crowd booed the mention of Ryans name, Trump rallied the crowd, saying Ryan was like a fine wine. Every day that goes by I get to appreciate his genius more and more.

A recount in the state confirmed that the billionaire real estate mogul won the election in the dairy state by a razor-thin margin - the first time a Republican presidential candidate has been victorious there since 1984.



Business decisions

Late Monday, the president-elect used a series of tweets to say he would soon hold a news conference to discuss his Cabinet appointments and the fate of his global business empire when he assumes power. Reporters had been expecting such a meeting with Trump would be held on December 15, but it apparently will be delayed several weeks.

Trump said he will leave management of his hotels, resorts, golf courses and consumer product sales in the hands of his eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and other executives in order to focus on the presidency and avoid conflicts of interest.

An aide said Monday the president-elect will spell out details sometime in January of how he will separate himself from his Trump Organization operations, and that Trump had pledged no new deals will be done during his time in office.

What is not clear is the exact extent to which Trump will remove himself from his companies or what kinds of business actions would fall under the no new deals statement.

Ethics experts have said the only way for the president-elect to completely avoid conflicts of interest is to sell his global holdings, but Trump has given no indication he plans to do that and is not required under U.S. law to divest his holdings.

Numerous past U.S. presidents, none of them as wealthy as Trump, have put their assets in blind trusts while in office, with an independent manager handling the assets without the presidents knowledge about what investment decisions are being made.


A court in Italy has convicted a Tunisian man of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in one of the worst Mediterranean disasters since World War II.

Mohammed Ali Malek was sentenced in Catania, Sicily, to serve 18 years in prison for manslaughter, human trafficking, and causing a tragedy in which at least 700 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as they tried to reach Europe in April 2015.

Reports say that survivors told authorities that Malek was the captain of a vessel that sank and that his lack of sailing knowledge caused a deadly collision.

Before the verdict was announced, the Tunisian man, who had lived in Italy in the past, addressed the court.

"I spent two years and six months in Italy and I have a young son with an Italian woman: I want to marry her and recognize the baby," Malek said.

"It's the truth. I've always told the truth. Just as I immediately gave (police) my real name, and told them I was a passenger," he added.

Prosecutors previously said Malek, arrested under suspicion of multiple homicide, had mistakenly steered his severely overloaded boat on a collision course with a merchant ship that was coming to its rescue. The prosecutors absolved the merchant ship of any responsibility for the tragedy.

Only 28 passengers survived among the hundreds of mainly African and Bangladeshi migrants on board. Police quoted survivors giving death tolls that range from 400 to 950 in what appears to have been the worst disaster ever among migrants fleeing across the Mediterranean to Europe.

So few survived because most of the migrants on board, including women and children, had been locked in the hold and lower decks of the three-deck fishing boat, officials said.
There are at least 81 journalists imprisoned in Turkey, which is more than are jailed in any other country, and accounts for almost one third of all imprisoned journalists worldwide.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the journalists jailed by the Turkish government in the aftermath of a failed July coup attempt sent the total number of jailed journalists soaring from 199 in 2015 to 259 now.

The 81 journalists imprisoned in Turkey have been accused of anti-state activity, according to a CPJ report released Tuesday. Anti-state activity makes up the vast majority of charges levelled against journalists jailed around the world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cracked down on journalists, academics, the military, and civilian government employees, following the July coup attempt.

More than 100,000 people have been removed from their jobs since government forces blocked the coup attempt. More than 35,000 others, including military officers and opposition politicians, have been arrested for suspected collusion with the coup plotters.

China and Egypt follow Turkey on the list of most imprisoned journalists, with 38 jailed in China and 25 in Egypt.
President Barack Obama's administration has decided to include a massive report on the CIA's use of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" in his presidential papers, meaning it may eventually be declassified.

The White House wrote to Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Dec. 9 informing them of its decision.

Feinstein, who released the letter Monday, said Obama had refused to declassify the report at this time but she was pleased it would go into his archive, meaning it would one day be available for declassification.

"The report represents six years of hard work by dedicated staff, and I firmly believe its 6,700 pages and 38,000 footnotes will stand the test of time. I also strongly believe that this must be a lesson learned  that torture doesn't work," Feinstein said in a statement.

A White House spokesman confirmed the decision. Burrs office had no immediate comment.

Feinstein and other congressional Democrats had urged Obama to declassify and release the report before Republican President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Feinstein chaired the intelligence panel as it researched and wrote the report on the interrogation techniques used in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and she spearheaded the effort to expose the CIA's actions.

The committee, then led by Democrats, released a 525-page executive summary of its findings in December 2014. But the full report has been deemed by Obama and others as too sensitive to release.

Trump promised during his campaign that he would not only revive waterboarding, but bring back "a hell of a lot worse" if elected. However, he said more recently that retired Marine Corps General James Mattis, his nominee for secretary of defense, had persuasively argued against it.

Obama ended the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" via executive order just after he took office in January 2009.

Led by Republican Senator John McCain and Feinstein, Congress has since passed legislation outlawing their use.
Uzbekistan's ruling party nominated Deputy Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov for prime minister on Monday, a position soon to be vacated by president-elect Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The death of veteran leader Islam Karimov in September has prompted the transition. The head of state wields sweeping powers and the prime minister is more of a technocrat figure.

Aripov, a telecommunications engineer by training, had worked as deputy prime minister between 2002 and 2012, overseeing for much of that time the telecoms sector, which has been tainted by foreign allegations of corruption.

Mirziyoyev returned him to the same position shortly after becoming interim president following Karimov's death.

The party said on its website that Aripov, 55, was "capable of taking responsibility for reforms."

Some country-watchers had expected another deputy prime minister, Rustam Azimov, to become cabinet head, reflecting his status as a political heavyweight in the former Soviet Central Asian nation of 32 million people.

Mirziyoyev, 60, was elected president this month. The government has yet to announce the date of his inauguration.

Aripov is little known outside secretive Uzbekistan and there is no official information about his occupation between 2012 and 2016.

A leaked 2007 U.S. diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks described a meeting between Aripov and then-deputy assistant secretary of state Evan Feigenbaum in 2007 to discuss the investment climate and regulatory pressure on then U.S.-owned Uzbek cellular provider COSCOM.

"Aripov does not get it," the diplomats wrote in the comments section. "Aripov appears uninterested in taking any steps to improve the overall business climate."

Nordic telecommunications giant Telia took over COSCOM in 2007. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and state prosecutors of the Netherlands started investigating Telia's dealings with Uzbekistan.

Aripov lost his job as deputy prime minister the same year.

In September, U.S. and Dutch authorities proposed Telia pay $1.4 billion to resolve allegations that it paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to secure business in Uzbekistan.

Telia said in its third-quarter report that it had recorded a provision for $1.45 billion, adding resolution of the investigations would require negotiation with the government agencies involved.

Telia Chairman Marie Ehrling acknowledged in September that Telia's entry into Uzbekistan "was done in an unethical and wrongful way" and it was "prepared to take full responsibility."

The diplomatic cables identified Gulnara Karimova, the late president's daughter, as the person behind regulatory pressure on COSCOM, and according to U.S. and Dutch prosecutors she had personally benefited from its sale.

Karimova has not appeared in public for the last two years after several media outlets reported she had been placed under house arrest on her father's order.

Unlike her mother and sister, Gulnara Karimova was not seen in any state TV footage from his funeral. She has not commented on the Telia case.
The Obama administration says the United States should not use its "One China" policy as a "bargaining chip" with China.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest Monday was reacting to President-elect Donald Trump's statement Sunday that he does not know why the U.S. should be bound by that policy unless a deal on other matters, such as trade, is made.

Since 1979, the U.S. has recognized China's official position that Taiwan is part of China.

"That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties had pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," Earnest said. "This is an issue that the Chinese government considers to be highly sensitive, and disrupting this policy could have a disruptive effect on our ability to work with China where our interests align."

Earnest mentioned Chinese cooperation on climate change, the nuclear agreement with Iran and the pressure China puts on North Korea as examples in which "common ground" benefits Americans, the Chinese, and the the entire planet.

Earnest said that such progress would be "much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our One China policy."

Trump told Fox News Sunday he does not want China telling him what to do.

"We're being hurt very badly by China with devaluation, with taxing us heavy at the borders when we don't tax them, with building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea, which they shouldn't be doing...you have North Korea. You have nuclear weapons, and China could solve that problem, and they're not helping us at all," Trump said.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Monday said the one-China policy is the foundation of U.S.-China relations and urged Trump to "understand the seriousness."

The state-controlled Global Times suggested if Trump supports Taiwan independence or weapons sales, then China "would have no grounds to partner with Washington on international affairs," and could offer military and other support to U.S. opponents.

Trump also defended his controversial and unprecedented telephone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, congratulating him on winning last month's election.

Trump said it would have been disrespectful not to talk to her.

"It was a very nice call, short," Trump said. "And why should some other nation be able to say I can't take a call?"

Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the Communist takeover of the mainland. The nationalists set up a separate government on the island, but China has always regarded Taiwan as part of the central government.

The U.S. and Taiwan are robust trading partners and the U.S. is committed to come to Taiwan's aid if China tries to use military force to put down a formal declaration of independence by Taiwan.

VOA State Department correspondent Nike Ching contributed to this story.
In its latest annual report, the World Health Organization says strong progress has been made in the fight against malaria, particularly in offering effective control programs for children and pregnant women in Africa. However, the organization warns funding has plateaued, putting targets for tackling the disease at risk. Henry Ridgwell reports.
Intelligence committees in both houses of Congress launched investigations Monday into accusations that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election to boost the chances that President-elect Donald Trump would win.

President Barack Obama also ordered a full review by the intelligence community into the allegations.

"The reason that I've called for a review is to really just gather all of the threads of the investigations, the intelligence work that has been done over many months, so that the public and our elected representatives going forward can find ways to prevent this kind of interference from having an impact on the elections in the future."

The probes amounted to an early rebuke of Trump, who over the weekend said the Central Intelligence Agency conclusion was "ridiculous" that Russia engaged in cyberattacks to help him win. He continued to assail the finding Monday.

Even before he assumes power next month, the Republican Trump's mocking of the CIA conclusion about Russian interference on his behalf put him at odds with both of the top Republican lawmakers, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. They endorsed bipartisan probes conducted by the intelligence committees in each chamber of Congress.

WATCH: McConnell on Russia hacking

"The Russians are not our friends," McConnell said. He added that the investigation should be undertaken with the idea that "the Russians do not wish us well." Ryan said the House probe "should not cast doubt" on Trump's victory, but that foreign interference in a U.S. election was "entirely unacceptable" and Russian involvement "especially problematic."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the congressional review "is certainly warranted when you consider the stakes and the consequences."

But Trump spokesman Jason Miller called the CIA conclusion about Russian interference "an attempt to delegitimize President-elect Trump's win."

Clinton camp responds

Trump's election opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, has been silent about the Russian hacking allegations. But her campaign manager, John Podesta, on Monday demanded that the administration of President Barack Obama declassify and release all the information it has about Russia meddling in the election.

Clinton won the national popular vote against Trump but lost where it mattered, in the state-by-state contests that decide U.S. presidential elections. Podesta called for release of the intelligence data before electors in the Electoral College vote to formally ratify Trump's victory on December 19.

In a pair of comments on Twitter, Trump questioned why information about the computer hacking was not widely known before the election.

He contended that if Clinton had won the election and Republicans "tried to play the Russia/CIA card, it would be called conspiracy theory.

He added, "Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?"

But U.S. officials did in fact publicly accuse Russia of trying to undermine the presidential election in early October, saying intelligence agencies were confident Russia directed hacks of the Democratic National Committee that resulted in controversial emails being leaked before the Democratic nominating convention.

Obama spokesman Earnest said, "This was all material that was known by Republican politicians in the Congress that endorsed the president-elect. And how they reconcile their political strategy and their patriotism is something they'll have to explain."

Trump: I don't believe it

Trump's latest remarks came after he told Fox News in an interview aired Sunday that the CIA conclusion about Russian cyberattacks to boost his chances of winning was "just another excuse" by Democrats to explain his stunning upset of Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state.

"I don't believe it. If you take a look at what [the CIA] said, there's great confusion," Trump said Sunday. "Nobody really knows. They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace."

Trump told Fox News that he does not oppose Obama's order to review cyberattacks the CIA concluded came from Russia during the lengthy presidential campaign, but said, "You should not just say 'Russia.' You should say other countries also, and maybe other individuals." The CIA said it had "high confidence" that Russia sought to help Trump win.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russia interfered in the final stretch of the presidential campaign to help Trump win the presidency, and not simply meddle in the U.S. electoral process as previously believed, according to senior Obama administration officials. The conclusion is based to some extent on a finding that Russians hacked the Republican National Committee's computer systems, in addition to those of Democratic organizations, but disclosed only embarrassing emails from the Democrats, via WikiLeaks.

Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee and Trump's pick for White House chief of staff, told ABC News the party was not hacked.

"The entire report is based on unnamed sources who are perhaps doing something they shouldn't be doing by speaking to reporters or someone talking out of line about something that is absolutely not true," Priebus said Sunday.

Trump's rejection of the CIA conclusion came as Arizona Senator John McCain, the losing 2008 Republican presidential candidate, and three other senators called for the investigation into Moscow's interference in the election, saying that it "should alarm every American." McCain, along with Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrats Jack Reed and Chuck Schumer, said the United States needs to stop "the grave threats that cyberattacks conducted by foreign governments pose to our national security."
President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination for Secretary of State Tuesday, picking ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer Rex Tillerson to be the nation's top diplomat.

Tillerson, friendly with Russias president, has spent his 41-year career at the same oil company.

Trump said Tillerson's knowledge of running a global company is crucial to successfully leading the State Department.

"His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for secretary of state," Trump said in a statement released by his transition team. "He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States."

It was thought Trump would be compelled to select someone else, such as former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, because the requisite Republican support in the Senate for Tillerson appears shaky.

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was among those who welcomed the nomination.

Ties with Russia

Tillersons relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin is a matter of concern, Senator John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Sunday.

Speaking earlier this year at the University of Texas, Tillerson acknowledged, I have a very close relationship with him, having known Putin for more than 15 years.

Putin in 2013 awarded Russias Order of Friendship to Tillerson, who has guided huge ExxonMobil deals with Russian companies for exploration and production of oil and gas and has opposed U.S. sanctions on Moscow.

The Kremlin has praised Tillerson, calling him highly professional.

Confirmation could be tough

Amid reports the CIA concluded that Russia interfered in the U.S. election in favor of Trump, a secretary of state with deep Russian ties would face significant scrutiny in confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill.

There is a bipartisan push for a thorough investigation of the alleged Russian involvement in the U.S. electoral process.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Marco Rubio, who like McCain is a Republican, also expressed doubt about Tillerson, tweeting Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState.

Based on the current composition of the Senate, if all Democrats vote in unison against any nominee and more than two Republicans join them, the next president's choice would be rejected.

Democrat Ed Markey, a clean energy advocate, predicts the Trump administration will face a major battle if Tillerson is nominated, asserting we cannot allow oil to replace diplomacy as the currency of the U.S. Department of State.

Climate change

On climate change matters, Tillerson or any other nominee will do Trumps bidding, said Bob Tippee, editor of Oil & Gas Journal. The selection of Tillerson would further inflame climate activists, which might be the point.

Tillerson, who is due to leave his company next year when he reaches its mandatory retirement age of 65, met with Trump earlier this month and again on Saturday.

Selecting Tillerson is much in line with Trumps preference for military and business leaders in his Cabinet.

The president-elect seeks to use Russia, a secondary consideration for him behind a primarily domestic agenda, in a very pragmatic way and Tillerson would be good to get cooperation (with Moscow) on certain issues while scaling back Americas international commitments, says Professor Henry Hale, a Eurasia specialist at George Washington University.

Despite Tillersons extensive international trade experience, doing business abroad is not the same thing as conducting the nations business abroad, Hale told VOA. But all secretaries of state learn on the job to some degree.

Tillersons comfort with and understanding of organizational formality might equip him uniquely to deal with the Foggy Bottom establishment, which has cultural rigidities of its own, editor Tippee told VOA. I find this really interesting and potentially transformative.

Tillersons career has given him numerous skills necessary for a competent top diplomat, absorbing complex political analysis, evaluating foreign leaders, attending ceremonial events, and negotiating with friends and adversaries, according to Steve Coll, author of a book about ExxonMobil called "Private Empire."

Exxon

The company, which eschews interference in the 50 countries in which it operates, sees itself as an independent, transnational corporate sovereign in the world, a power independent of the American government, one devoted firmly to shareholder interests and possessed of its own foreign policy, writes Coll in the latest online edition of the New Yorker magazine.

The energy giants foreign policy sometimes has more impact in countries than does the State Department, says Coll, describing ExxonMobil executives as regarding U.S. diplomats with disdain, if not contempt, for a perceived bias against oil and their inability to understand sensitive and complex oil deal negotiations.

Hale, the Eurasia scholar, who just returned from a visit to Russia, said Tillersons nomination would be reason for concern, and its anybodys guess how well this will work.

Supported Jeb Bush

The Exxon chief has contributed to many Republican political campaigns in the past, but FEC records show he has not financially supported Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, contributing instead to the ultimately unsuccessful campaign by Jeb Bush, a brother of former president George W. Bush.

Tillerson's wife did contribute to Trump's campaign.

Tillerson has voiced positions on some domestic issues in the past that diverge from stands taken by Trump, but he has avoided speaking out on non-business topics.
France has hosted the fourth summit of the Open Government Partnership, [which took place] from 7 to 9 December 2016. 70 states participated in it.

This organization is the product of a major reform of the Obama Open Government Initiative, launched in 2009 on the first day of his first term in office.

Applying the principles of the philosopher Karl Popper promoted by the George Soros foundations, this initiative pursues the following aims:

 keeping a watchful eye over the transparency of democratic governments;

 making citizens participate in decision-making through NGOs  and not through their Parliaments.

At the time this inter-governmental organization was created, two other objectives were added:

 fighting corruption  except when undertaken by registered lobbyists; [and]

 making new technologies available to everyone.

The Open Government Partnership was launched by the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton in 2011. Pursuing the application of its own principles, this inter-governmental association brings together several NGOs both to its debates and management. France and the World Resources Institute currently hold the presidency. The latter is a US association established by the Democrats. Its aim is to promote a market in ecology, by-passing the UN. It is through this NGO, that the former vice-president, Al Gore, popularised the theory that humans cause problems for the environment. [1].

Open Government Partnership receives the bulk of its funding from funds set up by businesses: George Soross Open Society, the Omidyar Network heavily implicated in the coup detat in Ukraine, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, (the traditional partner of the CIA) and by its member states.

Five years on from its establishment, anyone can see that, contrary to the commitments made by Barack Obama and the presidential decrees, the United States has never been as opaque, corrupt and unambiguously closed. In contrast, the other members states have been forced to become weaker, supposedly in the interests of all, but actually in the sole interests of the  ONG  and the foundations of accredited enterprises.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

After his morning meeting with Donald Trump, Kanye clarified the reason for the chat. The pair did talk about life, as Trump suggested, but on Twitter Kanye clarified the conversation was focused on multicultural issues. These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago, he tweeted. The meeting was arranged, Kanye wrote, because its important to have a direct line of communication with our future president if we truly want change. But if its change in the form of a Kanye presidential campaign that youre craving, that might come later than the rapper initially teased: In his last tweet about chatting with the president-elect, Ye tweeted 2024, likely suggesting that hes still watching the throne, but has a different time frame in mind.

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016
Photo: Getty Images

Mother Monster Lady Gaga has zero time for Piers Morgans accusatory stances. In a Twitter exchange from Tuesday morning, Gaga has agreed to be interviewed by Morgan regarding the post-traumatic stress disorder she suffered following a rape at the age of 19. Earlier this month, Gaga revealed her lingering PTSD from the attack for the first time  saying that the kindness shown by her doctors, family, and friends had really saved her life  but Morgan was critical of her openness, suggesting that people should take her reveal with a pinch of salt. Now, the two have engaged in a spirited debate on Twitter, which ultimately culminated with Gaga agreeing to the interview. (Morgan is currently a host on Good Morning Britain across the pond.)

@piersmorgan I've work w/ our VP Joe Biden on helping educate people about why women don't report, would love to share it w/ you some time.  Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) December 13, 2016

OK, you're on.

Let's do an interview about this & you can tell me why I'm wrong to be sceptical. https://t.co/CFLOL06Emq  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 13, 2016

@piersmorgan would also love to talk with you about PTSD, that it's not just a "military" disorder. There is a mental health youth epidemic.  Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) December 13, 2016

@piersmorgan if anyone in your family suffers from it, I pray they have more good days than bad. It has affected me & my whole family.  Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) December 13, 2016

I know numerous soldiers with PTSD, it's a very serious thing.

I also know people who claim to have it but clearly don't.

Let's talk... https://t.co/ZTk5mSZLBt  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 13, 2016

@piersmorgan Let's do that & yes Mr. Morgan, I can handle u. Suprised you would question that. Was that the 1st question of our interview?  Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) December 13, 2016

Yes!

OK @ladygaga, we have a deal.

I'll get my people to contact your people.

It's an important debate. https://t.co/WY2mmVZDFT  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 13, 2016

I rather admire @ladygaga for agreeing to an interview after my criticisms.

Should be a fascinating debate.

I'll press my meat suit.  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 13, 2016

if you continue to shame me in the process of kindly agreeing to interview w/ u I'll happily do the interview with someone else  Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) December 13, 2016

OK.

If you're big enough to do this, I'm big enough to play fair too. https://t.co/L4CT1qtn4N  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 13, 2016

Gaga and Morgans conversation was seemingly spurred by Gaga publicly tweeting out a supportive comment to Madonna, who spoke candidly at the Billboard Music Awards last week about sexism and misogyny in the music industry. Madonna has also drawn skepticism from Morgan very recently about her rape claims, with him saying that all claims of rape shouldnt be necessarily accepted as fact without proper criminal investigation.
Lee Byung-Hun. Photo: Walter McBride/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Theres no other Korean-born actor who can boast Lee Byung-Huns resume in Hollywood: After a flourishing career in South Korea, he made his Hollywood debut with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009, going on to star in a string of action films including RED 2, Terminator Genisys, and most recently as a shoot-em-up cowboy in The Magnificent Seven. But as with any first, hes experiencing how difficult it can be to blaze a trail. Speaking to the Korean website Dailian, Lee discussed some of his experiences with racism on set. Naturally, the original article is in Korean, but it has since been translated and disseminated in English via Redditor hangryforpeace with yours truly making some translation amendments.

I cant say who, but there are actors who wouldnt even look me in the eyes because I was Asian. I tried to [introduce myself] and shake their hands, but they would ignore me and walk past me. I couldnt shake their hands until we had finished filming the movie, Lee said. Rather than feel sad, I felt really enraged. He continued: To them, I could just be the actor who couldnt speak English, said Lee. Still, to confront them, there would be cultural and and linguistic barriers. Lee added, Hollywood hasnt changed all that much.

Like any other Asian-American, Lee has an anecdote about getting mistaken for another actor of Korean descent, in this case, the comic Ken Jeong. I went to a coffee shop for a cup of coffee and the baristas asked me, Youre a movie star, right? I thought, Finally someone recognizes me, but then they said that they really enjoyed the movie The Hangover. To them, all Asians look the same.

Heres a little bit of context for those unfamiliar with these two men: Lee is a movie star who starred in J.S.A. and The Good, the Bad, the Weird. He has abs for days. Ken Jeong is the fantastic Korean-American comic who starred in the beloved Community where he insisted that he was, indeed, a Spanish teacher. This would be like mistaking Tom Cruise for David Spade or Brad Pitt for Dana Carvey. Well just leave you with a pleasant reminder of what Lee Byung-Hun looks like:


Photo: Phil Bray/Netflix

Fans of Marco Polo  the television series, not the pool game  should be ready for a blue-silk-free Christmas this year: Netflix has chosen not to renew the program for a third season. The series, which was a bit Game of Thrones meets a fever dream you had once during World History class, starred Lorenzo Richelmy as the young Italian hot shot (Marco Polo) hanging out with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong), while war and political intrigue ensue. Marco Polo received mixed reviews, but its big budget and stunning Malaysia setting earned it a fair amount of viewers in its first season. The second season, which dropped last July, did not make as large a splash.
Photo: NBC

Thinking back on the childrens Christmas specials of yore with an adult frame of reference can be a little bit dizzying. There is the suffocating consumerist melancholy of A Charlie Brown Christmas, the existential dread of a magical friends impending death in Frosty the Snowman, and the political allegory of Heat Misers rise to power that is A Year Without a Santa Clause.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, is changed with a close, analytical reading of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the 1964 stop-motion special. I mean, just look at it: Rudolph is totally, absolutely, 100 percent, Neil-Patrick-Harris-French-kissing-Ricky-Martin gay. Anyone who even knows what Queer Theory is can tell you that the subtext of the narrative seems to be a pre-Stonewall contemplation of the power of coming out and embracing sexual minorities into society at large.

The film starts in the North Pole, where traditional gender roles are quickly reinforced. Mrs. Claus does all the cooking and nags her husband about not eating enough. The elves, identical in shape and apparel, are at work on Santas toys, the boys wearing blue and the girls wearing pink. Rudolph is born to Donner, who immediately hates his sons red nose and thinks that something so different will keep him from leading a heterosexual life where he pulls Santas sleigh and marries a nice doe someday.

Rudolph goes along with his parents wishes and wears a black cap on his nose when he goes out to meet the rest of the reindeer for the first time. His father doesnt care how uncomfortable it makes him  he is going to play reindeer games with the other boys just like hes supposed to.

For a year the Donner family did a good job hiding Rudolphs  non-conformity, the narrator tells us, pausing slightly before landing on the right euphemism. This is the closet of Rudolphs parents devising, which he goes along with thanks to the internalized homophobia that he inherited from both his father and Santa, the superego of the North Pole, who is equally distressed by Rudolphs difference. Santa even goes so far as to tell Donner that he should be ashamed of his son and try to change him. Its almost as if Santa is a church elder trying to force Rudolph into conversion therapy.

Rudolph cant take it anymore and heads off into the wilderness to live alone. There he runs into Hermey  the only elf with any hair, and its a flamboyant blond wave. He also has especially red lips, a feminine-shaped face, and eyelashes any doll in Santas workshop would be jealous of. He speaks with a Paul Lynde cadence, as if his ascot is tied on a little too tight. Hes also signaled as different by his professional aspirations: He wants to be a dentist rather than a toy maker. Its not that dentistry is especially queer or even the sort of creative job one would expect an open homosexual to have during the Johnson administration, but it hammers home that something sets Hermey apart from his conformist class.

Unlike Rudolph, Hermey refuses to live in the closet, so he leaves Santas workshop and heads to the wilderness himself to open up his own dental practice. The woods the two explore could be equated to a traditional cruising ground, like the Rambles in Central Park or Hampstead Heath in London, both notorious for the availability of anonymous male-on-male sexual encounters. When Hermey and Rudolph run into each other, they reprise their song about being misfits, singing, seems to us kind of silly that we dont fit in. Now that these two young gay men have met each other, they realize that the oppression of sexual conformity theyve been living under their whole lives is a total sham.

That sham is once again underscored when Yukon Cornelius enters those same woods. When he meets Rudolph and Hermey, they are both literally facedown in the snow with their asses in the air. Cornelius is what we would now call a bear, an older, hirsute gay man who embraces an over-the-top masculinity, despite being gay. Cornelius is the original lumbersexual, so much so that its shocking hes not wearing a buffalo plaid flannel shirt and a pair of excessively wide braces along with his traditionally macho workmans wear.

The three of them head to the Island of Misfit Toys. The first person they meet is Charlie-in-the-Box, the official sentry of the Island. If Hermey sounds like Paul Lynde, then Charlie sounds like Paul Lynde doing a Charles Nelson Reilly at Liza Minnellis bachelorette party. As the official sentry, he welcomes these three like-minded gentlemen into a land where all people of difference are accepted and can flourish. We know its a land of otherness because when Rudolph, Hermey, and Cornelius spend the night, they sleep in a pink room with pink sheets and blankets, coded traditionally female. This is the gay community that all of these men find after leaving the closet behind. This is the family of their own making that they devise because their own biological families have rejected them.

The problem with the Island of Misfit Toys is that they all long for the acceptance and embrace of society at large. The leader of the Misfits, King Moonracer, tells Rudolph to go back to Santa and convince him that toys like the Misfits are worthy of acceptance and inclusion as well. But Rudolph takes off in the middle of the night, still afraid that his very obvious red nose will bring the wrath of the Abominable Snow Monster, a fanged embodiment of violent homophobia.

Rudolph returns to the woods and, as the narrator says, Rudolph would make a friend or two, but it wouldnt last long. (Translation: Rudolph is promiscuous and engaging in the sort of short-term relationships that gay men were expected to have at the time.) Eventually, Rudolph learns that the homophobia that was coming for him now threatens his parents and friends. He rushes to save his parents, but is knocked out by the untamable Snow Monster. Hermey and Cornelius swoop in to save them, with Hermey literally defanging the beast. They are essential in this confrontation: The two prove to Santa, Donner, and the rest of the patriarchy that gay men can be useful to them, and just as masculine as anyone else.

This renders the Snow Monster docile, tamable. He is welcomed into the society of the North Pole just as the rest of the former outcasts are, after they prove their worth. Their difference hasnt been extinguished, but straight people now know that the thing that makes Rudolph so rare is also the thing that can save Christmas. Its almost as if he is their own Carson Kressley, someone who is allowed to be as flamboyant as he wants as long as he isnt a threat to their way of life  his gayness can even help transform them into something even more worthwhile.

The biggest counterpoint to this reading is that Rudolph has a love interest: the shockingly underdeveloped Clarice, who will go on to become an FBI agent who solves the string of Buffalo Bill murders. Just kidding, she doesnt do that. But Rudolph doesnt seem to willingly enter a relationship with Clarice and only starts to speak to her because the other boys urge him to. She represents the desires he is expected to have. This being the early 60s, the films subtext also needs to lie fully below the surface  Rudolph cant be entirely gay. Once he proves he is macho enough for the sleigh, he is given a suitable reward: a woman to marry and breed with under the auspices of matrimony.

Cornelius and Hermey arent given similar whitewashings. Hermey is allowed to become a dentist and remains unattached. Cornelius, always the most passable of the bunch, gets to stay in the North Pole since his masculinity seems to have ushered in a live and let live, or at least a dont ask, dont tell chapter into the culture. Santa, as superego, has warmed to those who express their sexual differences  the homophobia that fueled their fear has been rendered harmless (though still present), and those who were formerly shunned because of their flamboyant differences have been embraced. Rudolph is the parable of gay acceptance that many of us always wanted and some of us didnt know we already had.
Photo: Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

Rick Perry. Remember Rick Perry? Hes a former governor of Texas, a two-time former Republican presidential candidate, and most recently a former contestant on Dancing With the Stars. Yes, Rick Perry has lost a lot of high-profile jobs, but pending Senate approval he could be headed for his biggest assignment yet, as Donald Trump is submitting the Josh Brolin lookalike as his pick to head up the Department of Energy. Right now youre thinking, How is a person who thinks the Department of Energy should be eliminated qualified in any way to run the damn thing? But that kind of questioning just shows a lack of imagination. Rick Perry is very qualified to head up the DOE, and that becomes apparent if you do a close read of his brief time on ABCs Dancing With the Stars. Hes (kind of) quick on his feet. He has a nice smile. He looks great in sparkly clothes, and just like his possible future boss, hes a former reality-television star, too. So here is a very relevant primer on the leadership credentials of hopeful DOE head Rick Perry, as explained by his time spent dancing on national television.

Hes open-minded to surprising partnerships.

Perrys ascension to the Trump cabinet makes a lot of sense, considering how much the two men have in common. As Erin Andrews pointed out during Perrys season of DWTS, the former Texas governor and climate-change denier (much like his new boss!) developed an unexpected bond with 90s artifact and rapper Vanilla Ice. And we know how Trump loves an unexpected bond, having spent the days since his election speaking to world leaders that the United States had not previously spoken with directly in years, lest we appear insensitive to long-standing diplomatic agreements or supportive of people who could be enabling human-rights violations. In the new White House, it could be Vladimir Putin one day and Vanilla Ice the next, with the president of Taiwan FaceTiming in to forge yet another unexpected bond in the Trump regime.

Hes never too old to learn.

As we learned in this DWTS segment, Rick Perry had never danced before in his life prior to appearing on the show, and his willingness to learn proves that hes a man committed to growth and new experiences even in his advancing age. Thats great to hear, because Perry once tried to list the Department of Energy  the one he will hypothetically lead  as one of the government agencies he would abolish as president. We say tried because Perry forgot the name of the department when denouncing it as unnecessary during a presidential primary debate in 2011. But that was five years ago, and if President-elect Trump has proven one thing, its that none of us is accountable for anything weve said in the past. Trump clearly sees a lot of himself in Perry, and if he gets confirmed by the Senate, they should have a lot to talk about. And judging by his inability close his mouth while concentrating really hard in this dancing clip, we know Perry will study ferociously  cottonmouth be damned  to prepare for his new role for which he has incredibly minimal experience.

Hes high energy.

Look at this vim. Look at this vigor. Look at this high-step. Look at this confidence in a dusty rose-colored silk vest. Look at this energy. When you have this much energy coursing through your own body, you dont even need to know what the Department of Energy does to run it. You know what? Screw the DOE. If Perry gets confirmed, the first order of business should be changing its name to the Department of Quickstepping, because Perry hasnt looked this good since he swaggered his way across a stage and called the Environmental Protection Agency a cemetery for jobs.

He looks fabulous in rhinestones.

Rick Perry playing the part of the fourth Amigo during his Paso dance on DWTS proved that bedazzling can be masculine, and while its unclear how that directly translates into a valuable skill for running the Department of Energy, all of Washington, D.C., needs more bedazzling, so that cant be a bad thing. Besides, all that sparkle will come in handy when hes trying distract from the fact that he stands for very little, and has spent his political career switching positions and even party affiliations to ensure personal success. Rick Perry is a man who will do what it takes to win, and if there had been more political back-channeling involved at DWTS, he surely would have taken home that mirror-ball trophy instead of being just the second person eliminated in his season. You cant win em all, but Perry is an inspirational reminder that you can sometimes fail up.
The search for a new Waco police chief has been narrowed to three finalists, including two current Waco Police Department officials.

Assistant chiefs Ryan Holt and Robert Lanning, as well as Austin Police Department Assistant Chief Troy G. Gay, will be interviewed Tuesday and Wednesday. City officials aim to choose a chief before Christmas who could start soon after the new year.

The city and its consultant, Slavin Management Consultants, received 83 applicants in a nationwide search that began after the July retirement of Chief Brent Stroman. Assistant Chief Frank Gentsch, who was not interested in the permanent position, has served as acting chief since Stromans retirement.

The field was narrowed based on criteria that were developed with input from the mayor, city council, city manager, department heads and community leaders. City Manager Dale Fisseler said he hopes the selection process will be wrapped up in time for the council to ratify the choice at its Dec. 20 meeting.

Fisseler said the search committee did Skype interviews with the candidates using an identical set of questions, and the two internal candidates were among those who rose to the top.

Its a coincidence, he said. We deliberately dont try to give internal candidates a leg up or external candidates a leg up. . . . I do think its important to do a national search, because if you only look at internal candidates, you never know if youre getting the best and brightest.

Both Waco candidates have more than 20 years of experience in the department, while Gay, the Austin candidate, also has experience on the Waco police force.

Holt started here as a police officer in 1996 and rose through the ranks to become assistant chief in 2008. He currently oversees the community services patrol division.

He has experience as a crisis/hostage negotiator, public information officer, a SWAT supervisor and a special deputy for the Lone Star Fugitive Task force. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and holds a master of criminal justice degree from Tarleton State University.

Lanning started his career in Waco as a police officer in 1994, also becoming assistant chief in 2008. He has commanded the community services division and now oversees criminal investigations. A Baylor University graduate, he has a masters degree from Tarleton State and has professional training from the Police Executive Research Forum and the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration.

Gay, the Austin assistant chief, also has experience with the Waco Police Department, where he started his career in 1987. He served as a police officer for the U.S. Marine Corps from 1991 to 1995.

Since 1995, he has served the Austin force in a variety of roles and was promoted to assistant chief in 2013. He now commands the departments patrol bureau.

Gay is a graduate of Texas State University and the FBI National Academy.

Fisseler said all three candidates are highly qualified for the job.

The challenge now is to decide who would be the best police chief, he said. Were looking for a lot of things. In this day and age, neighborhood policing is important, and being able to make connections with the community.

At the end of the day, were looking for leadership. The police chief is one of the most important positions we have in the city.

Salary for the post depends on experience, but city officials said it would be between $88,269 and $141,000 a year. Before his retirement, Stromans salary was $121,192 a year.
The winners of Americas Next Top Diplomat appear to be in. If reports over the weekend are correct, President-elect Donald Trump will tap Exxons chief executive officer Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state, and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, to be Tillersons deputy.

To say that this would represent a good cop/bad cop combination is an understatement. With apologies to Harvey Keitel and Abel Ferrara, the Tillerson/Bolton combo at Foggy Bottom would be more like good cop/Bad Lieutenant.

This is particularly true when it comes to relations with Russia. Lets start with Tillerson. In 2012, Russian president Vladimir Putin presented the oilman with his countrys Order of Friendship. As journalist Julia Ioffe reported, Tillerson lobbied the State Department against sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Contrast this with Bolton. When he served as undersecretary of state in George W. Bushs first term, he hung a framed copy in his office of a Tehran newspaper denouncing him as the devils spawn. In 2009, he was introduced at an event by then-Sen. Jesse Helms, who said he was the kind of man with whom Id want to stand at Armageddon. Helms was the kind of man who thought Ronald Reagan was too soft on communists in the Western hemisphere.

So it shouldnt be a surprise that Bolton has had it with Russias current leader. Before Putin even annexed Ukraine, Bolton said the United States should be causing him pain for his provocations in Syria. In July he told Fox News that European and American sanctions against Russia to punish the 2014 invasion of Ukraine were too weak.

All of this is particularly important in light of the latest CIA reports that Russia not only tried to interfere in last months presidential election but did so to aid Trumps election.

In an interview aired on Fox News Sunday, Trump called the report ridiculous. His incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, went on other Sunday shows to dispute the claim in the New York Times that the Republican National Committee was successfully hacked by the Russians.

The U.S. intelligence community disagrees on whether Russia intended to elect Trump, but there is consensus that Russia hacked Democrats to interfere with the election. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham joined with Democrats to call for a full investigation and policy response to Russias election hacking this weekend.

Nomination fights can be tough. Senate staffers tell me Exxon will have to make significant disclosures on its Russian business to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is chaired by one of the finalists for the position, Bob Corker.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a member of that committee, tweeted Sunday: Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryofState. McCain also has signaled his concerns about Tillerson. If Rubio, McCain, Graham and others in the GOP oppose Tillerson, he will likely lose a nomination fight, considering how many Democrats are likely to block the Exxon chief on environmentalist grounds.

This is an irony for Bolton. One of his liabilities is that he is already opposed by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who told CNN on Sunday that Bolton should not be allowed anywhere near the State Department. Democrats would only need to pick off two more Republicans to sink a Bolton nomination.

But the logic against Bolton also applies to Tillerson. If the Exxon boss cannot persuade Graham, McCain and Rubio he will be a bad lieutenant when it comes to Russia, Tillerson may be in trouble. Democrats these days are in no mood to help Vladimir Putins friends.

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg View columnist.
The selection of Ben Carson to be secretary of housing and urban development is yet more evidence that Donald Trump and his transition team are embracing an approach that uses race as cover for a return to the racially oppressive past.

Carson, whose professional ascent was aided by civil rights victories and affirmative action, has pointedly rejected the very methods that allowed him to access opportunities that were unheard of in Americas pre-civil rights years. He will lead an agency tasked with helping combat poverty and support vulnerable Americans, yet Carson has openly dismissed the idea that government can be trusted with that work.

It isnt just that Carson isnt qualified; his selection in combination with Trumps choice of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist and Jeff Sessions as attorney general suggests that America is headed toward becoming a neoconfederacy. By publicly nominating officials who in a different era would have worn their defiance against racial integration and voting rights as a badge of honor, Trump has publicly sanctioned the politics of massive resistance against civil rights and social justice into an extension of the federal government. Hes made the politics of racial reaction and economic injustice part of the American mainstream.

This is not only stunning, but dangerously echoes the nations post-Reconstruction period of Redemption. The redeemer South derived its name from efforts by white politicians, business leaders and the working class to restore the racial and economic advantages of pre-Civil War America through legal and violent means. Over the course of a brutal 30-year stretch at the end of the 19th century, they accomplished exactly that, ridding virtually the entire South of black elected officials, disenfranchising black voters and decimating the notion of equal citizenship.

Northern leaders turned a blind eye to the Southern horrors of lynching, segregation and racial violence that became normalized enough for a sitting president, Woodrow Wilson, to rid the entire federal workforce of black workers and express public admiration for D.W. Griffiths masterpiece of racial dissemblance, The Birth of a Nation.

The modern civil rights era opened a racial Pandoras box that exposed deeply rooted myths about racial slavery and the injustice of Jim Crow, among others. While politicians such as Alabama Gov. George Wallace and South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond became icons of the unreconstructed South, political transformations in the rest of the country made such flagrant displays of anti-black racism counterproductive.

Americas post-civil rights landscape thus became coded, or dog-whistle, political messages that stoked racial fears of black crime and violence, but pushed the cruder forms of bigotry to the margins of hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.

Fast forward to when Trump identified himself as both the law and order candidate and the voice of a new silent majority. Then he innovated a set of rules, using the word Chicago as a metaphor for black rage, lawlessness and poverty, exploiting the tragic deaths of law enforcement officers to spark fears of a nationwide crime wave and publicly supporting stop and frisk measures that have been proved to be racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.

America has a long, shameful history when it comes to race and a capacity to allow for the degradation of whole populations based on race, religion, gender, sexuality and difference. We have come too far as a nation to return to an era when people of color, women, and gays and lesbians enjoyed far fewer rights than they do now.

The first step in resisting these efforts is not reaching out to the voters whose resistance to the idea of racial equality, let alone justice, made this possible. It lies in recognizing the larger danger in mainstreaming racism as a political and governing strategy. We all must summon the moral courage to resist the rhetorical sleight of hand that bashes civil rights as identity politics, identify the alt-right as the white supremacists and white nationalists that they are, and label Trumps impending Cabinet as the most powerful example to date of the Neoconfederacy resumption of power.

Peniel Joseph is a professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. His books include Waiting Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama.
Donald Trump has a huge perception problem that could undermine his legacy before he even takes the office of president. A growing segment of our nation questions his long-stated fondness for Vladimir Putin, a Russian autocrat who masquerades as a beloved president and a former KGB official who longs for the bad old days of Soviet domination, complete with an axis of subservient nation-states. Nows the time for Trump to reverse course before its too late and demonstrate cold, sober realization about the tyrant with whom hes one-half of a mutual-admiration society. He should encourage a full investigation of election-tampering by foreign powers.

The image problem so far is definitely one of Trumps making. During the 15-month presidential campaign, the real-estate magnate and reality TV star talked not only of abandoning members of NATO to possible Russian conquest but how Putin eclipsed President Obama as a real leader  always a distinct possibility in a dictatorship. Trump was clearly flattered by Putin comments about him and returned the favor. Worst, Trump famously encouraged Russian hacking. Had a Democrat done this, we can only imagine the deafening roars of Treason!

Now both the FBI and CIA say the evidence strongly suggests that Russian hackers under government control successfully pillaged emails of Democratic Party officials, then passed them along to WikiLeaks, probably to confound the U.S. election. While we dont believe this effort ultimately persuaded Americans in their votes  economics and immigration instead influenced many voters  we do find the idea of Russians meddling in our elections alarming.

Yet instead of joining calls of outrage, Trump crows about his victory and is hypersensitive to anything that might diminish what he sees as an electoral miracle. For his sake and ours, he should quickly reconsider and reorder his priorities. Hes won. For all the silly efforts by some to convince Electoral College electors to rebel against Trump  we roundly condemn such efforts  Trump should accept that he will be president. He must put his ego on hold and join key Republicans who want more answers about the Russians. Indeed, this affair will test Republican integrity and he must demonstrate hes no Putin patsy. Otherwise, Putin will have neatly outmaneuvered an American president at the very outset.

One column on our opinion page today offers a rationale for Trumps placing ultra-conservative John Bolton in the state department, if for no other reason than Boltons deep suspicions of Russian autocracy are no secret. Regardless of how Trump decides on that, he must unequivocally demonstrate his dedication to the workings of our constitutional republic by condemning any foreign power seeking to make mash of how we choose our leadership.
Getting off topic

To Rev. Kyndall Rae Rothaus: I would like to respond to your open letter addressed to me in the Trib (Christians need consistency in principles, Dec. 10) which was a response to my earlier Trib column about church autonomy (Nov. 27).

You wrote that Baptists have committed to ideals [of freedom and autonomy] within reason and in keeping with our traditional Christian beliefs. Apparently the Baptist General Convention of Texas decided, rightly or wrongly, that welcoming LGBT people into local church membership is not in keeping with our traditional Christian beliefs. I expressed no opinion about that decision except that it does not violate the Baptist principle of church autonomy (as some said in the Trib).

I am still not sure, in spite of your response, which dealt with issues I did not address in my column, how a decision such as the BGCT made interferes with a congregations right or ability to govern itself. Your response to me was eloquent but, in my opinion, not directly relevant to the meaning of church autonomy within Baptist doctrine and polity, which was the subject of my column. It is what it is regardless of how its practice makes people feel.

Roger Olson, Waco

EDITORS NOTE: Roger Olson is the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor Universitys Truett Seminary. He is the author of The Story of Christian Theology: 20 Centuries of Tradition and Reform.

Whos justified?

I see by the Trib where a congregation and its lady pastor (see I Corinthians 14:34-37) have decided that LGBT individuals will be accepted in good standing into their local fellowship (Lake Shore Baptist Church welcomes LGBT community, Dec. 9). This is really nothing new. The church in Corinth in the first century accepted individuals like this with only one difference: They had to repent and stop their practices, which were out of line with gospel guidelines. Notice how the scripture records this: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (I Corinthians 6:9-11).

We thank and praise God for his divine providence in protecting the Bible through the centuries so we can know today exactly what God thinks about such things and not have to depend on religious leaders who seem to be determined to justify individuals in remaining in whatever condition they wish, without repentance.

David Trayler, Lorena
WAHOO  Funeral services for a long-time member of the Bishop Neumann community will be held Monday in Omaha, with a Memorial Mass planned next Wednesday at St. Wencelsaus Catholic Church in Wahoo.

St. Michelle Hayek, N.D. died Dec. 7. Hayek moved to Seven Oaks at Notre Dame in Omaha this past January, after fully retiring from service at Neumann.

Her heart was at Neumann, Neumann Principal Fr. Jeremy Hazuka said about her.

He said her legacy will be the connections she made over the years with Neumann students, families and faculty, as well as the entire community.

She made so many connections in so many ways. She had the pulse of Neumann, he said.

Hayek joined the Neumann faculty in 1978, as principal of the Catholic high school.

After serving for two decades as principal, Hayek took a yearlong sabbatical in Missouri.

Hayek told the Wahoo Newspaper in June that, for most of her sabbatical, she didnt know what next for her after the stay at the renewal center was over.

Toward the end of her sabbatical, Neumann began looking for a new development director.

It looked like God opened the door, Hayek said.

She served in that capacity at Neumann for a number of years. She then got lone-some for the classroom and taught ninth grade religion class at Neumann for several years.

For the past few years, she continued to live at the con-vent in Wahoo and still volunteered her time and service at the school.

All during this time, she continued to be involved with the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton group, a group she started at Neumann that focuses on growth in spiritual life and service.

No matter her position at the school, she said the Seton group and its members were always near and dear to her heart.

Hazuka said the Seaton group is a fine example of the good work that Hayek saw could be accomplished by Neumann students.

I think it is a good re-minder that everyone is called to holiness, including the high school girls, he said.

Hazuka credited Hayek for being a dedicated member of the schools faculty and always willing to offer support and encouragement.

It was not uncommon, he said, for her to attend faculty meetings, even after her retirement.

Afterwards, she would offer words of encouragement and advice, he said.

Despite the long list of known activities that Hayek took part in at Neumann, Hazuka said there was an equal list of little, behind the scenes service too.

Her devotion to cleaning up the faculty lunch room or helping to set up for a big mass, he said, didnt really become noticeable until after she left the community last winter.

Hayek was also active with the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church parish in Wahoo, including teaching CCD classes, assisting in RCIA classes and leading of the Lenten discussion groups.

A vigil service at Notre Dame Chapel, 2501 State Street in Omaha, will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday. Mass of Christian will be 10 a.m. Monday at the chapel.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Wenceslaus in Wahoo.

Memorial have been suggested to the Notre Dame Sisters.
WAVERLY - Just one month after the resignation of Raymond Central Superintendent Paul Hull, School District 145 is preparing for a superintendent search of its own.

The district's board of education accepted Bill Heimann's resignation as superintendent during a special meeting Monday night, effective June 30, 2017. Heimann has accepted an offer of employment to serve as the administrator for Educational Service Unit #1, pending action by their Board of Directors.

"Since 2009 I have been fortunate to serve as the leader of our district," Heimann said in a statement. "We have implemented many educational and curricular systems throughout the district, as evidenced by the completion of AdvancED district level accreditation. With a focus on our District Essentials, an emphasis on academic achievement, and the development of many partnerships, we have increased the level of engagement among students, staff, parents and community. From our Early Childhood services to our high school career academies and Project Search, we have added many great opportunities to meet the needs of our growing student population."

Heimann said the district had emphasized "fiscal discipline, prioritizing expenditures and maximizing resources" during his time as superintendent.

"We partnered with our patrons to devise and implement a plan to address safety, security, technology and facility needs," he said. "Despite a significant decline in state revenue and a shift to local resources, we have emerged as one of the most efficient school districts in the state."

Heimann said he learned much from his peers as superintendent.

"I am very proud of the administrative team, teachers, and staff in District 145," he said. "You give your best each day and have taught me many lessons during my tenure."

The Board of Education will identify a process and timeline to select the next superintendent. Community input will be welcomed.
When asked why folks call him C.R., the interviewee responded, Well, try to write down Clifford Robert McCullough on most documents and there just aint enough space. Born and raised into a Rockdale County share-cropping family in 1933, C.R. McCullough experienced the Great Depression and tough times. Dad finally found steady employment at the old Rogers Grocery Store until they closed shop, McCullough said. He moved to Freeman Brothers and during high school I worked in grocery stores for almost four years. I graduated from high school in 1950. Asked which school, McCullough responded, Which one? Shoot, there was only one, Conyers High School. Our senior class was the last one in Rockdale to graduate under the old 11-grade system.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. The Korean War would last for three years. McCullough recalled, My older brother was in the Navy pulling shore duty at Subic Bay in the Philippines when the war started. I turned 17 that July and wanted to join, but my parents refused to sign the papers. I joined on my own when I turned 18 in July of 1951.

After enlisting in Atlanta, McCullough and a busload of other recruits traveled to Macon to board a train for San Diego. That was a long train ride, he said. We spent a week aboard that train, but we did see a lot of our country. We got into San Diego around midnight. I figured wed get a good nights sleep then start our training in the morning. Well, at 0500 they sounded reveille. Im standing there wondering, Why in the heck did I join the Navy? And I kept asking myself that question after they served us beans and cornbread for breakfast.

Laughing, McCullough said, You know, when they threw that slop on my tray I really wondered why Id joined the Navy. But you adapt and move on. Basic training was, well, fairly basic. We marched, went to classes; we marched some more, stacked rifles, marched to another class, jumped up and down doing calisthenics, learned ranks, and marched to another class. That lasted about 12 weeks. During basic McCullough was instructed to list his choice of careers. My older brother was a radioman, so that was my first choice, he said. Believe it or not, thats exactly what I got.

After passing a plethora of tests, he attended an eight-week course. We learned Morse code, McCullough said. We had the earphones on all day listening to Morse code. I heard the darn code in my dreams. They didnt teach radio repair, thats another guys responsibility, so we concentrated on radio technology, finding proper frequencies, receiving messages and sending them out, and the like. After qualifying as a radioman, McCullough was assigned shore duty. Well, I dont know if that was lucky or unlucky, but I spent about 18 months at the 11th Naval District in San Diego.

Asked his duties, McCullough smiled and replied, Making coffee. I was low man on the totem pole so I became the gofer, go for this and go for that. Wanting to do a great job, I took it upon myself to clean out the coffee pot. Shoot, I scrubbed that pot sparkling clean. Then a chief came in and got a cup. He gagged then spit out the coffee and asked what I had done. I told him I cleaned the pot. Well, he went ballistic and chewed me out, Dont you ever screw up a coffee pot in the Navy!. I still remember that. So I thought, well, okie-dokie, and never cleaned another coffee pot.

McCullough ran messages, practiced Morse code, and manned a teletype. You know, as a country boy, San Diego was a bit unusual, he stated. They had water shortages and still do, but dang if they didnt paint concrete green to mimic real grass. To a boy from Georgia, that really seemed a bit weird. San Diego wasnt much of city back then, just a typical Navy town with good and bad areas. The lower side of San Diego was a wide open area, a lot of fun, and a lot of trouble to get into. Orders came down for the Bremerton, Wash., Naval Base. McCullough said, They were recommissioning a WWII Essex-class aircraft carrier, the Hancock, into the first steam catapult carrier. (The USS Hancock fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam). When I arrived in Bremerton and saw that ship, I couldnt believe it, the thing was monstrous. We were assigned bunks and duty stations. The communications room was right below the flight deck near the super structure.

The USS Hancock put to sea. McCullough recalled, We sailed down the coast to San Francisco, then sailed to San Diego to pick up our jets from North Island. The pilots trained day and night on the steam catapult. Coded messages came in from other ships, we coded and decoded, plus went up to the bridge occasionally and watched the take offs and landings. There were advantages being in the communications room. We also distributed the mail. If we couldnt get fresh coffee or pastry on the nightshift, well, we withheld the cooks mail, McCullough said. Needless to say, we had plenty of hot coffee, donuts, just about anything we wanted.

On life aboard an aircraft carrier: Its like a small city. We had barber shops, snack bars, movies every night, a grocery store  we longed for nothing. We lost one man while I was aboard. He went to the fantail of the ship, stripped, and jumped in. They sent small boats out to save the guy, but as they approached the sailor waved, smiled, then went under, never to be seen again. The next day they discovered the Dear John letter he had received.

On the steam catapult: I thought those pilots were crazy, McCullough said. Those guys were launched off the carrier in about 3 seconds, one heck of a ride and one heck of a jolt for the pilot. They did discover one flaw with the jets. As they revved up for launch the back of the jets would, as they said sit down and eventually burn a hole in the wooden deck. Thus, a new metal deck was installed and they are still in use today.

Later in 1954, McCullough got up one morning, readied for work, then tried to turn the handle on the door. I couldnt turn it, he said. I didnt have the strength. I said, to heck with it, and went on to work, not thinking it was a big deal. Eventually I could hardly type, my hands and fingers seemed frozen. A young ensign took notice and ordered me to sick bay. Well, they ran tests and two weeks later transferred me to the hospital in San Diego. I spent four months there. Rheumatoid arthritis was setting in. I was 21 years old.

Medically discharged as 50 percent disabled, McCullough returned to Rockdale County and walked the streets, in Rockdale and Atlanta, seeking employment. Nobody wanted to hire me, he said. I finally found a job in the credit department of Warren Refrigeration Company on Memorial Drive until they closed the doors 17 years later. I worked another 19 years for a distributor for Warren until the arthritis got the best of me. McCulloughs mobility now requires a motorized wheel chair, or as McCullough claims, his Cadillac, supposedly turbo charged. He and his wife, Midge, have lived in the same house for 50 years, across from a horse farm on land once used for the Bethel Grammar School.

Final thoughts on his Navy days: It is a fact, you go in a boy and come out a man. You go in straight out of high school, you never have been on your own; you learn to obey orders, to take care of yourself. Mom aint there to wash your clothes, make your bed, clean for you; shoot, you have to grow up. Im a firm believer that each kid should serve in some way after high school. It is discipline, its getting on a schedule and sticking to it. You screw up in the Navy and 50 guys work you over, youre part of a team, you pull your own weight.

On the changes hes seen in Rockdale County: Like the song says, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Article by Peter Macca via rockdalecitizen.com

Pete Mecca is a Vietnam veteran. For story consideration or comments: aveteranssstory@gmail.com
A decision to postpone the Japan-Australia "two-plus-two" talks between the two nations' Defence and Foreign Affairs ministers has sparked a fresh round of talk about Marise Payne's future in the Defence portfolio.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop revealed the talks, which were due to take place next week, had been cancelled because of Senator Payne's illness. The Minister announced last month she had undergone surgery for a severe abdominal infection and has been absent; on Tuesday, she dialled in remotely to a cabinet meeting held in Canberra.

Speculation has been mounting among ambitious backbenchers that Senator Payne - along with Attorney-General George Brandis and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion - could stand aside, or be moved on in a frontbench reshuffle by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Talk in Coalition ranks centres on Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne stepping up to take over the rest of the mammoth defence portfolio, while Senator Brandis is said to be bound for the High Commissioner's post in London, or potentially a position on the federal court.
Vast amounts of data stored by the Australian Taxation Office have been lost in the crash that brought down the agency's internal systems and customer service websites on Monday and Tuesday.

Large numbers of ATO officials were still sitting idle on Tuesday afternoon, unable to use their computers for a second day in the latest public service tech meltdown.

Fairfax has been told that it may be Wednesday before the Tax Office's systems are fully restored and that the ATO is trying to recover a petabyte  a million gigabytes  of data.

It is unclear what was recorded on the lost data but Tax Office management are adamant that no taxpayer information has been compromised.
Aviva plc provides various insurance, retirement, investment, and savings products in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and internationally. The company offers life insurance, long-term health and accident insurance, savings, pension, and annuity products, as well as pension fund business and lifetime mortgage products. It also provides insurance cover to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses for risks associated with motor vehicles and medical expenses, as well as property and liability, such as employers' and professional indemnity liabilities. In addition, the company provides investment management services for institutional pension fund mandates; and manages various retail investment products, including investment funds, unit trusts, open-ended investment companies, and individual savings accounts for third-party financial institutions, pension funds, public sector organizations, investment professionals, and private investors. It markets its products through a network of insurance brokers, as well as MyAviva platform. The company was formerly known as CGNU plc and changed its name to Aviva plc in July 2002. Aviva plc was founded in 1696 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
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OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and energy services provider that offers physical delivery and related services for electricity, natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. It provides retail electric service to approximately 879,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned and operated interconnected electric generation, transmission, and distribution systems, including 16 generating stations with an aggregate capability of 7,207 megawatts; and transmission systems comprising 54 substations and 5,122 structure miles of lines in Oklahoma, and 7 substations and 277 structure miles of lines in Arkansas. Its distribution systems included 350 substations; 29,494 structure miles of overhead lines; 3,365 miles of underground conduit; and 11,125 miles of underground conductors in Oklahoma, as well as 29 substations, 2,795 structure miles of overhead lines, 349 miles of underground conduit, and 662 miles of underground conductors in Arkansas. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Rain showers this morning with mostly sunny conditions during the afternoon hours. High 84F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.
The real world is so beautiful. I don't think Bigg Boss house needs people like me.

My favourite contestants are Bani Judge, Gaurav Chopra, Rohan Mehra, Rahul Dev. Things have however changed since I have left. Bani and Gaurav used to fight a lot when I was there, and I used to play a peacemaker.

It is difficult to say who will win at this point as things are changing rapidly in Bigg Boss house.

On quitting Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai: I had a lot of health issues and it wasn't in my control. I was working for so many hours; it used to get tedious. I would say my health has recovered 75%. I think it will take a little while before I recover completely. Then I would be come back to work in a full-fledged way.

Bani is good at heart. She is very straightforward. I used to get along well with her. I admit that it is not easy to understand her. She will be definitely my friend once she comes back.

Om Swami is quite a dramebaaz. You will make a fool out of yourself if you choose to talk to him.

It is difficult to say if Priyanka is fake or real. She has been outside the house and she's playing her game accordingly. Everybody is playing their game smartly now.

I like to play soccer, badminton, swimming. I would also love to go back to sketching.

I am very fond of Manveer. I used to get along well with Manu better. Manveer is good at heart but gets carried away pretty soon. Manu is more of a smart player.
Astros throw group no-hitter at Phillies to tie Series at two games each
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By The Associated Press / West Kentucky Star Staff

Dec. 13, 2016 | FRANKFORT, KY

By The Associated Press / West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 13, 2016 | 05:26 AM | FRANKFORT, KY

Big Rivers Electric Corporation could potentially provide wholesale electric power to as many as nine Kentucky cities under a contract approved by the state's Public Service Commission.



The PSC said in its order Monday that the contract will help Big Rivers utilize excess generating capacity.



Big Rivers has entered into a power sale agreement with Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency, which represents nine Kentucky cities: Bardwell, Barbourville, Benham, Corbin, Falmouth, Frankfort, Madisonville, Paris and Providence.



In 2013 and 2014, aluminum smelters in Hawesville and Sebree stopped purchasing power from Big Rivers. At the time, the smelters accounted for about two-thirds of Big Rivers' load and revenue.



The loss of the smelter load and revenue left Big Rivers with excess generating capacity and necessitated rate increases to allow the utility to maintain financial stability, including customers of Jackson Purchase Energy, which owns one third of Big Rivers.



Another local electric company also has a lot of excess power for sale. Paducah Power has yet to find a suitable customer, or customers, to sell its excess generating capacity it has through its ownership of the Kentucky Municipal Power Agency.



Paducah Power has the excess capacity from its ownership in the Prairie State Energy Electric Plant, and also had to increase rates as a result.






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By The Associated Press

Dec. 13, 2016 | GATLINBURG, TN

By The Associated Press Dec. 13, 2016 | 01:08 PM | GATLINBURG, TN

Officials say a text message warning residents to evacuate amid deadly wildfires wasn't sent because cell towers went out of service before agency leaders had a chance to agree on the message's wording.



In a news conference Tuesday, Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said that on Nov. 28 at 8:30 p.m. John Mathews of the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency tried to call the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to discuss sending the text. Miller said that's about when two cell towers went down.



Miller said TEMA tried to reconnect to get approval of the language of the alert, but couldn't, and didn't send the message because the wording wasn't approved.



Miller said an inappropriate message could have evacuated people toward the fire, instead of away from it.



Officials went door-to-door to evacuate people, used social media and news releases, and sounded a downtown siren with a spoken message.



Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters says there will be a comprehensive evaluation of the alert system, among other issues.
"A total of 18 persons were killed in rain-related incidents linked to Cyclone Vardah," a top Tamil Nadu government official monitoring the situation said.

By Press Trust of India: Eighteen people were killed in six districts of Tamil Nadu in rain-related incidents linked to Cyclone Vardah that crossed the coast, as Chief Minister O Panneerselvam held a meeting of top officials today to speed up work to ensure return of normalcy in storm-hit regions.

The government said it is taking all steps to ensure that the jammed mobile phone networks are restored and a meeting of telecom operators and officials was held. "A total of 18 persons were killed in rain-related incidents linked to Cyclone Vardah," a top Tamil Nadu government official monitoring the situation said.

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He said five each were killed in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts. Four persons died in Kancheepuram district, one each in Villupuram and Nagapattinam districts and two in Tiruvannamali district, the officials added. All these deaths were in the revenue districts.

Also read: Cyclone Vardah: Pictures that wreaked havoc in Tamil Nadu

He said as expected districts like Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and the Western belt of Dharmapuri too witnessed heavy rains that began with the commencement of the cyclone Vardah landfall.

"Chief Minister Panneerselvam held a meeting of top officials today. Our priority is to restore power supply which has been hit due to fallen trees, clear clogged roads which have fallen trees," the official said.

He said traffic has already been cleared in all arterial roads in the affected districts and efforts were now on to clear the roads and restore power in other neighbourhoods.

Also read: Cyclone Vardah: Why you need to keep your mobile charged and other life-saving tips

"TANGEDO (State-run power undertaking) itself has deployed about 4,000 personnel to ensure quick restoration of power supply," he said.

Personnel from multiple government departments including Revenue, Police, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and other state agencies from Ariyalur, Perambalur, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Salem and Thanjavur districts were being deployed to handle the situation in the cyclone-hit regions, he said.

On the number of people now housed in relief centres, he said more than 13,000 people are being sheltered in over 100 centres. All vulnerable areas were identified in advance and teams of officials are on the job, he said. To a question on clogged mobile phone networks, he said a meeting of telecom officials and operators was being held to address the situation and ensure expeditious return of normalcy.

Also read: Cyclone Vardah: Cyclone Vardah: Heavy rains pound coastal districts of Tamil Nadu

Also read: 8 dead, 266 relief centres opened: Cyclone Vardah in numbers

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From Aditi Khanna

London, Dec 13 (PTI) Two men, who were found guilty of giving 3,000 pounds to a key suspect in the Paris and Brussels terror attacks during a meeting in a Birmingham park, have been jailed by a UK court.

Mohammed Ali Ahmed, from Birmingham, who had pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism last month was sentenced to eight years yesterday.

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Co-defendant Zakaria Boufassil, alsofrom Birmingham, was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court of the same charge at the end of a trial last week and was sentenced to three years.

They handed over the cash to Mohamed Abrini - who became known as the "man in the hat" after his face was caught on CCTV footage following the deadly attack on Brussels airport in March.

"I am sure that you are an individual who has for some time, and continues to hold extreme Islamist beliefs, and that you are committed to the cause of Islamic State," Justice Jeremy Baker told Ahmed.

He said that Boufassils motivations had been less clear.

"There is no evidence, beyond your participation in the offence, that you hold extreme Islamist beliefs and have an ongoing commitment to the cause of Islamic State," he said.

Justice Baker also imposed an additional one year licence or restrictions on both men, which will apply on their eventual release from prison.

"We know that Abrini visited several locations during his visit to the UK, but that his sole purpose of being here was to collect the money and our case - whilst not focused on attack planning - acts as reminder of why our work to prepare for and prevent such incidents in the UK is important," said Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, Counter Terrorism Lead for West Midlands Police.

"We are working hard with partner agencies and community groups around the West Midlands to alert the public to the dangers of radicalisation and explain what help is available to those vulnerable to negative influences," he said.

The money had been withdrawn from the bank account of one Anouar Haddouchi, a Belgian national who had been claiming UK state-funded welfare benefits while living in the West Midlands with his wife.

Haddouchi is believed to have fled to Syria since.

The court heard that hours after collecting the money fromBoufassil and Ahmed,Abrini visited the Grosvenor Casino in Birmingham where he took a photograph of a gambling machine on his mobile phone.

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In March this year, Abrini was captured on CCTV alongside Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui, who detonated bombs hidden in suitcases killing 12 people at Brussels airport.

Another 20 people died in an attack on Maalbeek metro station less than two hours later.

Jurors were also told he is also wanted by the French authorities in connection with the attacks in Paris last November.

Boufassilhad denied one charge of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.

Abrini remains in custody in Brussels. PTI AK ZH AMS

--- ENDS ---
"As soon as Rajkumar moved from signal post at Kalindi Kunj, a speeding dumper rammed the motorcycle from behind. Rajkumar, Seema and their daughter Ritu died on the spot, while their two minor sons, Avinash and Surya, were critically injured," said a traffic official of south district.

By Ajay Kumar: Three people were killed and two critically injured in Kalindi Kunj on Tuesday when a dumper rammed their motorbike from behind. The victims, identified as Rajkumar, 38, who worked as a constable with the CRPF, his wife Seema and their three children met with the fatal accident around 1.30pm when they were riding the motorcycle on their way to Pushp Vihar from Noida.

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HOW IT HAPPENED

"As soon as Rajkumar moved from signal post at Kalindi Kunj, a speeding dumper rammed the motorcycle from behind. Rajkumar, Seema and their daughter Ritu died on the spot, while their two minor sons, Avinash and Surya, were critically injured," said a traffic official of south district.

The driver of the dumper tried to flee from the spot but was caught and thrashed by the angry passers-by. The dumper driver was later handed over to the police. He had been now admitted in the hospital. "Only two people are allowed to ride a motorcycle in our country, but in this case five people were on the bike, which is violation of traffic rules. Besides, only three of them were wearing helmets," the traffic official said.

TRIPLE RIDING ON TWO-WHEELERS

According to the data provided by Delhi Police, there were 1,394 fatal accidents in the national Capital this year. The figure, however, is 5.42 per cent less than the figure during the same period last year when it reached 1,474. Till November 30 this year, about 5,397 non-fatal accidents were reported which is 8.26 per cent lower than the number in the corresponding figure in 2015, when it touched 5,883.

Delhi police say, 86,272 cases have been lodged for triple riding on two-wheelers this year till November 30 and 6,32,029 twowheelers have been prosecuted for dangerous driving, riding without helmets, etc.

ALSO READ:

Mumbai: 2 kids dead after soldier's wife runs over them during driving lessons

Fog in Delhi-NCR: 1 person dies, 10 injured on Yamuna Expressway

--- ENDS ---
The focus of the CBI is to find out how the other two players - Russia-based company which manufactures Mi-17 choppers and US-based Sikorsky which manufactures S-92 choppers - were eliminated from the race.

By Atir Khan: The key to unravelling the mystery behind how AgustaWestland got the contract to supply VVIP choppers during the UPA regime lies in finding out how the other two companies in the race were systematically eliminated.

The CBI sources said they has a now fair idea of how AgustaWestland was brought in the race from backdoor due to alleged lobbying by politicians, top bureaucrats and Air Force officials. But now, their focus is to find out how the other two players - Russia-based company which manufactures Mi-17 choppers and US-based Sikorsky which manufactures S-92 choppers - were eliminated from the race.

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Sources said during the interrogation of former Air Chief SP Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan, inquiries are being made to find out how corruption led to selection of UK-Italy based helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland bag the contract to supply Rs 3700 crore deal. SP Tyagi has claimed circumstances were created to suit AgustaWestland and he was left with no choice but to select the company.

Sleuths are going into the background of the entire deal, which started in late 1999 during the NDA regime under the aegis of the then NSA Brijesh Mishra. It was during Mishra's tenure it was decided to phase out the obsolete fleet.

Also read: AgustaWestland: SP Tyagi blames Manmohan Singh for scam, remanded in CBI custody for 4 days

Thereafter, in the tender journey of acquiring VVIP helicopters, four companies were eliminated which led to AgustaWestland get the contract.

FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS CREATED

In the initial stage, Mi-172 and Euro copter were out of the race as they did not match the requirements. Eventually in 2005, altitude requirements for the chopper were reduced to 4500 mts during the UPA I regime and so AgustaWestland also came into the fray.

However, it was in 2006 that a fresh request for proposal (RFP) was issued under the UPA-I government to 6 vendors. But three companies - the makers of Mi-172, Sikorsky which made the S-92 helicopters and AW-101 - responded to the RFP.

Curiously enough, the Russian company opted out as the Ministry of Defence had put in place a new integrity clause. According to the clause, the companies had to give an undertaking that no bribes would be paid or that agents would be used in the contracts. The Russian company that manufacturers the Mi-172 withdrew from the competition at an early stage refusing to sign the integrity contract.

This has raised curiosity of the CBI sleuths as to why a company would simply withdraw on the introduction of integrity clause, since other Russian companies were doing business with India. The CBI is making inquiries to find out whether government officials in some way influenced the company to opt out of the race.

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Also read: Now Cyrus Mistry drags Tata Sons into AgustaWestland scam

Further, in March 2005 meeting, which was attended by top government officials including the then NSA MK Narayanan, the other company Sikorsky was also discussed. According to the IAF sources, the S-92 was found to be non-compliant on four counts: It could not reach 15,000 feet without maximum power, its 'hover out off ground effect' was insufficient, its drift down altitude did not meet the requirement and its missile airborne warning system was not up to the mark.

ISSUE OF CABIN HEIGHT

However, the moot point was the cabin height. The SPG had objected to the lower cabin height and they claimed it would be inconvenient for the president and the prime minister to travel in low cabin height. Sources said the US company's representation was that why cabin height was being made such a big issue when the then US president used the same helicopter.

The CBI is also inquiring as to who were the main government officials who played a crucial role in turning down this company as well and creating circumstances suitable for AgustaWestland. The CBI suspects that there was a conspiracy by some top government officials to knock out the other two companies, perhaps with an assurance that they would be given bigger contracts another time. It is being examined whether the decisions were taken merely on merit or not.

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Later, it was projected that AgustaWestland, with its three engines, was a bonus since one engine failure still meant it had two engines to fall back upon. Sometime in 2009, the Air HQs had sent its recommendation to the defence ministry and after going through stringent financial and technical requirements, the contract was finally signed in February 2010.

Also read: India saves Rs 470 crore in Hercules transport aircraft deal with US

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Anouskha Shankar has once again proved that she is one of the most sought-after artistes globally. While we all come across social-media trolls and random creeps, Anoushka just took one done like an absolute boss.

On one of her promotional picture-statuses on Facebook, a user commented saying, "Whay send sexi picture? r u nonsense (sic)". Anoushka's reply to the comment was nothing short of incredible. The sitar maestro also went on to address the guy in a separate post on her Facebook page.

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Also read: Performing in India is like homecoming: Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka's response: "So you find my photo sexy? Thank you! It's just me leaning on a table and smiling. In fact, my eight-month pregnant belly is hiding under the table. You are finding me sexy and that is bothering you. Or you think a woman who plays sitar can't also be sexy. Whatever it is, here's the deal- I'm not nonsense. I'm a full, whole woman and human being in every aspect- spiritual, emotional, artistic, and yes, sexual. If the idea of that integrated Completeness bothers you, then maybe there is something you need to question about yourself! Best wishes."

Her fierce-yet-candid response made it clear why an artiste should be taken lightly, even on social media. More power to you, Anoushka!

--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A longtime Winnipeg garment manufacturer has been awarded another multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract to supply enhanced combat uniforms to the Canadian Forces.

The four-year contract awarded to Peerless Garments LP is worth up to $18.2 million. It includes a firm, $6-million order to supply 18,000 combat jackets and 38,760 pairs of combat trousers over the next two years. It also includes two optional orders, worth up to $12.2 million, to supply a similar amount of jackets and trousers in the third and fourth years of the contract.

Peerless Garments longtime president Albert El Tassi said Monday hes optimistic the Department of National Defence (DND) will exercise the two optional contracts.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Albert El Tassi, owner of Peerless Garments.

Sometimes they exercise options earlier, sometimes they exercise them on time, and in some cases they dont exercise (them), he said in an interview Monday.

But this is an item or commodity that is used on a daily basis and because they use them day in and day out, they wear them out, he added.

So Im sure they will (exercise) the options.

El Tassi noted Peerless has been manufacturing uniforms and other garments for the Canadian Forces since the 1950s, and has been producing this particular type of enhanced combat uniform since 1996. The enhanced garments are made from high-tech fabrics and are waterproof, breathable, anti-static and infrared reflective. Theyre also worn by both army and air force personnel.

He said the awarding of the new contract is timely because within the next 60 days Peerless will be delivering the last batch of combat uniforms from a similar contract it won three years ago. He noted that contract also included one firm order and two optional orders, and they exercised both of those optional orders.

He added that as soon as work on that contract is completed, work on the new one will begin.

The new contract wont result in the creation of any new jobs at Peerless Notre Dame Avenue factory because the company hired an additional 20 workers in the past three months to help out with some other new orders it received. Those hires boosted the factorys workforce to about 120 people.

But he noted the company has outstanding bids on a number of other government contracts, including a new three-year deal to supply 3,000 garments to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The types of garments it manufacturers for Canadas national police force include parkas, patrol jackets, fleece liners and trousers.

He said if Peerless wins some of those contracts, it will likely need to hire another 10 to 15 workers.

Hes hoping those new hires can include some of the Syrian refugees who arrived in Winnipeg about a year ago. He said their government support is about to run out, so many of the adults will be looking for jobs.

He noted Syrian women often know how to sew, and while they may not have experience working on the kinds of industrial machines Peerless uses, once you know the basics (skills) it is easy to learn the other ones.

While language barriers are often an issue, we help wherever we can, he said, noting the company recently hired two Syrian refugees to work as garment inspectors in its factory.

Peerless Garments is 90 per cent owned by Vancouver-based Unisync Corp. Unisync also has another business unit called Unisync Group, which produces corporate apparel for clients like Air Canada, Loblaws, Telus and Purolator. Last year, Unisync Group also acquired Vancouver-based Omega Uniforms Systems Ltd. and Ottawa-areas Carleton Uniforms Inc.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  People who lost their jobs when the Port of Churchill was closed last summer say the American owner is holding the facility and the town hostage.

Nikki Clace, Dawne Palmer and Joe Stover were in a small delegation of Union of Canadian Transportation Employees who travelled to Ottawa for meetings on Parliament Hill Tuesday. They are asking the government to take back ownership of the port, which was sold to Denver-based OmniTrax for $1 almost 20 years ago.

We are at zero-hour here, said Stover, adding it will mean the end of the port if nothing is done to get grain moving in 2017.

ADRIAN WYLD . THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES NDP MP Niki Ashton hosted the delegation.

Palmer said OmniTrax controls the railway and has cut service to Churchill down to a single train each week, impacting deliveries of everything from fresh produce to gas and heating oil. Prices have increased, and if residents dont get groceries on Friday they may be out of luck until the next shipment a week later.

The government needs to federalize the port so this company can no longer hold our community hostage, she said.

NDP MP Niki Ashton, who hosted the delegation, said the port closure is devastating and the federal Liberals, who privatized the port when Jean Chretien was prime minister, need to step up to help now.

We need the American billionaire holding the port ransom to step away, she said. We are here because time is running out. We need to make sure there is a 2017 shipping season and that cant happen if the federal government doesnt step up and take back control.

The workers and the union are frustrated by their inability to get a meeting with a cabinet minister. They were scheduled to meet with Manitoba MP and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr Tuesday, but he had a conflict and had to cancel. The group will meet with his staff instead. When Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains travelled to Churchill at the end of September, he met with the union via a conference call, but did not make himself available in Ottawa this week. An aide to Bains is meeting with the delegation.

In a scrum following the weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday, Carr said hes met with Churchills mayor and would always be pleased to meet with a northern delegation.

The government knows that Churchill will be a very important part of northern policy for Canada and that we will be working diligently with the people of Churchill and with the northern delegation to determine where the best opportunities are and thats something thats important to Manitoba and also very important to the future of the North, he said.

The government announced a $4.6 million fund through Western Diversification to pay for projects that develop new economic opportunities in Churchill. The funds will be used projects developed inside the community with a focus on tourism and Arctic research.

Little of that money has been allocated so far. A spokesman for Bains said there have not been many proposals.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
The tribunal bench headed by Justice DP Singh and Air Marshal Anil Chopra said before issuing the order that it had heard the grievances of both sides and then it, "got inkling that there is a chance for the parties to reconcile their grievances and mutual marital discord, putting aside their past."

By Ajit Kumar Dubey: The Indian Army is known as the last line of defence in both internal and external security matters. It is also the last resort in rescuing people during natural calamities. But now, it has also been assigned the task of saving a near-broken marriage. A military court passed a unique judgment asking the army to deploy an officer to keep a close watch on the marital behavior of an estranged defence couple asked to live together by it.

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TRIBUNAL INTERVENES IN MAJOR'S MARRIAGE

The order was passed by a bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal in the case of one Major S Dutt who got married in 2009 but the couple separated due to differences between them. They also have a four-year -old child who is living with the mother. In its order this month, the tribunal asked the couple to live at each other's place for one week each and try to resolve their marital discord and live peacefully together.

As per the order, initially, the officer would go and live with his four-year old daughter and wife at his in-laws' residence for seven days between December 12 and December 24. Immediately after the couple lives together at the girl's house, the military tribunal asked the Army to ensure that the officer gets leave so he can stay with her at his official residence in Secunderabad, Telangana. During the course of stay, "the Army authorities are directed to ensure that both the parties live together in complete harmony and maintain marital cordiality without any ruckus from any side."

MEDIATION

The Army is to deploy an officer to keep a close watch on the behaviour and conduct of the Major with his wife and vice versa, it said. The officer deployed there will "prepare a report and submit it to the tribunal giving his views indicating whether both the parties are willing to live together maintaining martial cordiality." The tribunal bench headed by Justice DP Singh and Air Marshal Anil Chopra said before issuing the order that it had heard the grievances of both sides and then it, "got inkling that there is a chance for the parties to reconcile their grievances and mutual marital discord, putting aside their past."

The "inkling gave us encouragement to try mediation to resolve the mutual discord" in the hope that it would be better for the future of the child if both parties start afresh. The court has also appointed a trained mediator to assist both the parties in resolving their marital discord, the bench said.

--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/12/2016 (2152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Beautiful new houses may one day back onto the Winnipeg River at the current site of Whiteshell Laboratories, if a new plan to bury the labs nuclear reactor goes ahead.

But in the near term, the Town of Pinawa must prepare for massive job losses should the research reactor be decommissioned on a new accelerated schedule. The atomic energy laboratory still employs 350 people.

If we are not successful in developing another economy on that site, then those jobs will all be gone in 2024, said Pinawa Mayor Blair Skinner.

SUPPLIED An illustration of the Whiteshell Laboratories nuclear reactor, and how it would be encased in concrete for disposal.

Whiteshell Laboratories is still a major force of employment for Pinawa, nestled in the Canadian Shield, 115 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Its easily the largest employer in a town of about 1,500 people.

Not that the nuclear reactor research facility hasnt suffered job losses in the past. The town was devastated by the loss of 700 jobs in the late 1990s during initial decommissioning the site.

Now Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) has been contracted to oversee decommissioning, and wants to bury Whiteshell Reactor #1 (WR-1) in concrete on site. Under the plan, CBL would entomb WR-1 in its five-story deep basement with a concrete grout.

The 11,000-acre Whiteshell Laboratories site, two-thirds of which never had any nuclear presence, has many advantages for an industrial park, said Skinner. For example, it has a difficult-to-obtain nuclear license, an asset that sets us apart in Western Canada, said Skinner.

As well, the town has a certain comfort level living next to nuclear power, with many of its residents either employed by the industry, or retired employees.

There are nuclear opportunities that could be developed for the site, maintained Skinner. One is to house a demonstration reactor for deployment of small modular reactors for remote, off-grid communities and mining sites.

Modular reactors are manufactured at a central location, and assembled at the site of usage. Makers say they require less space because they are smaller, and offer greater security of nuclear materials.

We are having significant discussions with some vendors of modular reactors of this regard, said Skinner.

The town will be looking at non-nuclear opportunities, as well. The site is beautifully landscaped into a kind of grass oasis surrounded by Canadian Shield rock. It has infrastructure like water from the Winnipeg River, a newly paved road leading to the site, and access to 10 megwatts of power.

You have relatively inexpensive land, ample water, ample power, and youre an hour and fifteen minutes from an international airport, said Skinner.

It might even lead to building houses on the site some day, at least along the waters edge about 500 metres from where the WR-1 would be buried. There are some beautiful properties overlooking the river, Skinner said.

People were initially reluctant to build near the nuclear energy station at Pickering, Ontario, which houses eight nuclear reactors, versus only one at Pinawa. Now there are houses built right up to the site fence, said Skinner.

A working group has been set up to look at development in the wake of the Whiteshell Laboratories decommissioining. The group is a partnership of five other municipalities in the area, three economic development organizations, as well as CNL and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

As well, North Forge Technology Exchange in Winnipeg opened its first satellite centre in Pinawa last week. The company provides incubator service to help launch entrepreneurs in southeastern Manitoba.

The initial timetable for complete shutdown of the nuclear site was supposed to be 2028 but few people in the community thought that likely. Area residents are also skeptical CNL can meet its 2024 target date for decommissioning.

Workers at Whiteshell Laboratories are represented by at least four unions, including the Professional Institute of Public Service of Canada, and several trade unions. Representatives of the Professional Institute did not return messages.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PEGUIS FIRST NATION  Sunlight and frosty air streamed into the entrance of the Peguis First Nation community hall as Vanessa Bushie stepped through the double doors with her winter coat pulled up over her head, signalling the return home of a tragic homicide that has mostly been shrouded in secrecy.

Bushie and her former partner, Daniel Williams, are charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, respectively, in the death of their 21-month-old daughter Kierra Elektra Star Williams.

The preliminary hearing continued Monday in Peguis First Nation, where the toddlers parents are accused of killing her in July 2014.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A Mountie escorts Vanessa Bushie into the community hall at Peguis First Nation for her preliminary hearing Monday. She is accused in the death of her young daughter, Kierra.

Kierra was in the care of Child and Family Services before she was returned to her parents prior to her death.

Flanked by an RCMP officer, Bushie entered the makeshift courtroom without stopping to look at Williams, who is out on bail and sat with his mother and four family supporters.

They filled only a quarter of the gallery seats, facing a stern-looking image of Santa hung directly behind the witness seat in the festively decorated hall, where a gold glitter proclamation of Peace on Earth was in stark contrast to allegations of horrific child abuse and murder on the days court docket.

Details of the preliminary hearing, which is being held to determine whether there is enough evidence for a trial, are protected under a publication ban.

The circumstances surrounding Kierras death have never been publicly disclosed, so Mondays hearing was the first opportunity for Peguis residents to hear facts of the case first-hand  a task that appeared to be a low priority for people in the community.

The shock that swelled through the community of about 10,000 after news of Kierras death has dissipated in the more than two years since she died. Her name may not be immediately recognizable to many: even in her hometown, memories still need to be refreshed with bits and pieces of the case, the quick hits that have been in the news. But Kierra hasnt been forgotten here, where mention of the case quickly conjures criticism of the child-welfare system and comparisons to Phoenix Sinclair. Rumours still swirl and families still wait to find out what happened to Kierra, hoping the court process will bring them closer to the truth.

I hope they get to the bottom of it, said 49-year-old Bradley Flett outside the post office Monday afternoon.

He stopped by court to find out what was going on, he said, but didnt stay to listen to what he described as an awful case. With only a couple of weeks before Christmas, its particularly bad timing for many people, he said, still, Im concerned with what really happened.

Its upsetting. It really bothers us here, Marilyn Spence, a retired Peguis resident, said of the case.

The mothers all feel for them (children such as Kierra), but what went on there, we dont really know.

Even family members of the accused are waiting to hear the facts of the case. Daniel Williams older brother, Alex Williams, said he believes Daniel isnt to blame, but he couldnt bear to sit in court and hear how his niece may have suffered.

It opens wounds again, and I dont want to hear it, Alex said, saying Daniel worked hard driving a taxi to earn money for his children.

Alex said he only met Kierra once during her short life. When she died, he said he was shocked. At the time, he was told she choked on a sausage.

We were all hurt. We all couldnt believe it. I dont know what happened. I dont know why they didnt take her to the hospital (earlier), he said.

In my heart, I know Daniels innocent, not only because hes my brother but because of the affection he had for his children, Alex added. To get to the truth of the matter, he said, that would be justice.

Williams and his mother declined to speak to the Free Press during a break in court. So did Bushie, through her lawyer, Mike Cook.

Cook and Williams defence lawyer, Greg Brodsky, agreed its important for Peguis residents to see justice being done in their own community.

This case is important because it shows you how the child-welfare system works, and people can see how it works and doesnt work, Brodsky said.

People here are surprised at the allegations and came to see the truth of it. Whatever the judge decides, they want to be part of it  theyre not just cheerleaders, he said of the supporters who showed up in court Monday, in spite of the hearing being delayed by nearly two hours because of a mix-up with Bushies transportation.

katie.may@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @thatkatiemay
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A luxury car towed and sold at auction has led to a collision in court between an auto dealer and a towing company.

Lawyers for Kobis Auto Ltd., argued in Manitoba Court of Queens Bench on Monday that a 2004 BMW 750Li it had leased to a client was sold at auction by Tartan Towing without the dealer being informed about the sale in advance under provincial legislation.

They did not comply with the garage keepers act, said lawyer Carly Kahan, adding that the car was bought at the auction for about $9,800 by a director of Tartan who purchased it from proceeds from the sales of other seized vehicles auctioned off that evening by his company.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

But Trisha Faurschou, a lawyer acting for Tartan Towing, says the company did everything it could to find the registered owner.

Faurschou told Justice David Kroft that unlike days gone by, towing companies are not allowed to break into vehicles to check vehicle registrations while privacy rules also prevent Winnipeg police and Manitoba Public Insurance from telling them who owns it.

Tartan tows thousands of cars every year and hundreds of them are abandoned, she said adding the companies compound would be filled if they didnt have a way to get rid of vehicles.

If you find them not to have done it right they will have to change the way they do business.

Kahan said if they are successful, owners for Kobis are hoping to be awarded damages as well as recouping the $16,000 to $17,000 they claim the vehicle was worth when it was sold in April 2015. Kobis is also suing the woman who was leasing the car at the time.

Court wasnt told why the BMW was towed, but Sonja Pecanac, a retired nurse, told the court the car she was leasing from Kobis for more than $600 per month needed servicing so she and her son were told by an Osborne Village garage to park it on Wardlaw Avenue in November 2014.

Pecanac said it was days later they discovered the car had vanished and despite searching the area  and calling the citys 311 service and local tow truck companies including Tartan  no one knew where it had gone.

When Pecanac went to police to report the car as stolen in early December, officers found it was sitting in a Tartan Towing compound after having been towed there from another Osborne area street. Court was told the car was towed to McMillan Avenue about a kilometre away, but no one knew why it had been taken there.

Earlier, Pecanacs son, Darek, testified when he called Tartan an employee told him it would cost $1,400 to bail the vehicle out.

We were trying to get the money together to get the car and by the time we got there the car had been sold, Sonja Pecanac said.

Pamela Warren, the comptroller and bookkeeper for Kayes Auction, which conducted the vehicle auction for Tartan on April 11, 2015, testified there have been several occasions where a representative of the towing company had successfully bid on a vehicle themselves.

Warren said Kayes advertises what is going to be auctioned on its website and in a Free Press advertisement, but other than that its up to a seller like Tartan itself to make sure they can legally sell a seized vehicle.

It really isnt our responsibility, she said.

Later, Richard Truthwaite, Kobis sales and finance manager, said he has never looked in the Manitoba Gazette to find out if one of their cars is about to be auctioned.

We have over 1,200 cars out on our lease program  there is no way Id know which one of our vehicles is on this list. How could we check the VIN (vehicle identification) numbers?

The trial continues.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Oh, Pope Francis: you should hang your head in shame. The Vaticans Congregation for the Clergy has just issued a document on priestly formation, in which it reiterates the 2005 ban on any homosexual man from entering a Roman Catholic seminary. Remember, this doesnt mean gay men in relationships, but any man, celibate or not, who considers himself to be gay. The only exception provided is for men who have overcome transitory and adolescent homosexual tendencies many years earlier.

In other words, what this patronizing and callow document is arguing is that if you had the odd dream about another man a few years ago or as a child were not entirely sure about your sexuality you might  just might  be allowed into a seminary. This is deeply significant because, in the past, the Catholic Church has said that it was celibacy, and not sexuality, that mattered. Now, it seems, thats irrelevant. If youre gay, youre out.

More than this, the document goes on to state that gay men are gravely hindered from relating correctly to men and women. Not some but all gay men, and not just priests but all people. Consider that statement once again: gay people cant relate properly to everyone else. Im not entirely sure what constitutes homophobia, but thats surely a pretty good template.

ANDREW MEDICHINI / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Pope Francis has continued the Roman Catholic practices of banning gay men from serving as priests.

If the document is to be relied upon, we have to ask whether gay people can be employed as teachers, politicians, social workers, police officers, administrators, almost anything? Its not rhetorical to say that this is one of the most pernicious comments in living memory about people born with same-sex attraction to come from a mainstream and powerful institution.

The document is based quite firmly on the 1992 apostolic exhortation on priestly formation, and also on the teachings of Benedict XVI. The former was issued by John Paul II, a man who allowed child-abusers and those who had sheltered child-abusers back into church positions and even gave them senior Vatican positions. As for Pope Benedict and his opinions, let us say that the hypocrisy is as thick as incense.

There are other layers of double-talk here as well. Benedicts statement included the lines that, the church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture. The cruelty aside, its difficult to see how the Catholic Church can respect those who cant relate correctly to other people. Surely that makes them odd, freakish and not to be trusted.

The document further states that, One must in no way overlook the negative consequences that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies. The implication here is quite clearly to the abuse crisis, and this is truly vile. The Roman Catholic Church dealt appallingly with the long-term and widespread rape of young people by its priests. While most clergy were entirely innocent, a culture of disguised and retarded sexuality, of subterfuge and of enforced celibacy and patriarchy allowed this plague to occur.

Now, and only after being exposed by the media and after myriad denials and lies, the Catholic Church effectively blames the abuse crisis on gay men. They may claim that this isnt true, but then failing to tell the truth is not a new game for them. If so, they would admit that at least 30 per cent of Roman Catholic clergy are gay, including some of the people behind this report and at the most senior levels of the hierarchy. Anybody who knows the Catholic Church well is aware of this.

But rather than being open, loving and well-adjusted gay men  who often in my experience make the best and most empathetic and compassionate priests  they are dark, deep in the closet and terrified of allowing the world to understand the authentic nature of the situation.

The pain and suffering this will cause and the stigma it will allow is incalculable. Pope Francis once said that we should not judge someone for his or her sexuality, but good Lord  that is precisely what is being done here and now. Gay people dont abuse, bad people abuse  whatever their sexuality. And, frankly, there are too many bad people in the Roman Catholic Church.

Michael Corens latest book is Epiphany: A Christians Change of Heart and Mind over Same-Sex Marriage (Random House).
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Early Monday, representatives of the Manitoba government, the City of Winnipeg and Shoal Lake 40 First Nation gathered for their annual meeting as part of the Tripartite Agreement. With the federal government, they have been doing so each year since 1989. That is a lot of meetings  27, to be exact.

At the end of the meeting, Shoal Lake 40 Chief Erwin Redsky announced good and sorely needed news: a three-way funding agreement between the province, the city and the federal government to build Freedom Road, linking Shoal Lake 40 to the Trans-Canada Highway, has been reached.

Im a historian, and in the past few years Ive spent a lot of time researching the history of how we all got to this point. How Winnipeg came to rely on drinking water from Shoal Lake, about 180 kilometres to the east, is a complicated story and a difficult one. The critical events occurred from 1913 to 1919, but they have implications and obligations that endure to this day, ones that Mondays funding agreement will, hopefully, go some of the way to addressing.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman and Shoal Lake 40 Chief Erwin Redsky meet at city hall Monday. The federal government increased its share of funding to make Freedom Road a reality.

In the early 1900s, Winnipeg was an ambitious, growing and conflicted city. It was also badly in need of a better supply of drinking water. In 1912, Thomas Russ Deacon was elected mayor on a Shoal Lake-water platform, pledging: I am in favour of providing at once for the people of Winnipeg an ample and permanent supply of pure soft water, which will forever remove the menace now hanging over Winnipeg of a water famine and the consequent danger of conflagration and sickness.

But the land that was needed for the planned aqueduct was on the reserve lands of an Anishinaabe people, Shoal Lake 40. Late in 1913, the federal governments Department of Indian Affairs granted the Greater Winnipeg Water District permission to do preliminary work on the reserve. The next year, they undertook a process that stripped the community of its right to gravel and sand used in building projects.

In 1914, mayor Deacon travelled to Ottawa to meet with federal officials, and soon after, the federal government announced it would use a clause within the Indian Act, Section 46, that allowed it to take, without any consultation or process, reserve lands if they were deemed necessary for public works.

In 1915, the federal government transferred more than 3,000 acres of Shoal Lake 40s reserve land to the Greater Winnipeg Water District for the sum of $1,500. The interests of the settler city were placed above those of indigenous people, even to lands supposedly reserved for them. For Shoal Lake 40, the consequences of these events have been enormous.

The physical impact was that the reserve was cut into three and the community made into an artificial island.

A lot has changed in the century since then. But Shoal Lake 40 remains an artificial island and the peoples daily life there is profoundly shaped by their imposed and sustained isolation enacted in the citys interests. Shoal Lake 40 has been under a boil-water advisory for almost two decades. The aging ferry that acts as a lifeline for the community fails too often, as it did last Friday, at the worst possible moment, as the community prepared for freeze-up.

The plaques and monuments to the Shoal Lake aqueduct that dot Winnipeg dont mention this difficult history or this difficult present. They focus instead on the engineering genius that allowed clever men to devise a way to get water to travel such distances and how access to good, clean water has improved the lives of Winnipeggers.

But there are other stories and other histories of Winnipegs water that need to be told and are being told. History is rarely easy. It unsettles us and makes demands on the present.

In this case, it asks all of us who benefit from Shoal Lake water to recognize and live up to some of the most basic obligations that we owe to the indigenous people who have paid, and are still paying, such a steep price for the water we drink.

Mondays news about a funding agreement for Freedom Road is a good and hopeful step towards this one piece of reckoning with the relationship between indigenous people, settlers and governments. Of course, Shoal Lake 40 has seen hopeful signs and heard cheerful words before. Those of us who have benefited the most from Shoal Lake water need to make sure the most recent announcement doesnt become another empty promise.

Adele Perry is a professor of history at the University of Manitoba and vice-president of the Canadian Historical Association.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last week, Rona Ambrose, the interim Conservative Party leader, advised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to park his electoral reform project, set it aside and focus on the economic challenges facing Canadians. It was wise advice. Mr. Trudeau should think about it over the holidays and look for a convenient parking place.

The public and the political parties are far from a consensus on a specific reform that would improve on the first-past-the-post system, by which Canadians have until now elected their members of Parliament. The chief electoral officer, Marc Mayrand, has warned that a new system would have to be enacted two years before the next election  which probably means about nine months hence  to provide time for conduct of the 2019 election by a new set of rules. Given the fragmented state of opinion in the country and in Parliament, that is not a realistic prospect.

The governments main reason for pressing ahead with electoral reform is that Mr. Trudeau repeatedly said in the 2015 election campaign that it would be the last one in Canada using the first-past-the-post system. He has said the same thing many times since taking power, most recently last Wednesday. That line used to have a nice decisive ring to it, but as the debate proceeds and grows more rancorous, it has begun to seem divorced from political reality.

ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose

Like any prime minister, Mr. Trudeau does not like to be told he has broken an election promise. Like any prime minister, he has made a certain number of promises whose fulfillment should be deferred. Ms. Ambrose is suggesting the electoral reform promise is one of these  and she is right.

The way to do that is to describe the position fairly and squarely to the country and explain what he is doing. We can all see he made an honest effort to fulfil his promise. We can all see that the time is short and the matter is not ripe for decision. A new electoral system should not be rammed through Parliament just because the Liberals promised reform last year and underestimated how long it would take. Mr. Trudeau could be forgiven for extending the electoral reform deadline in order to do the job carefully and well. It would be harder to forgive him for slapping something together in haste and pushing it through Parliament just to show he kept his promise.

Canada faces important challenges. We have to keep the U.S. market open for our exports despite a climate of protectionism. We have to open shipping routes to get Alberta oil to market. We have to seek reconciliation between indigenous peoples and settler society. We have to protect ourselves better from drug addiction. We have to take better care of the frail elderly and those with illnesses of the mind. Of all the things that are wrong with Canada, the imperfections of our electoral system come fairly far down the list.

Ms. Ambrose is letting Mr. Trudeau off the hook. He will still be teased about breaking the promise, but the teasing will not hurt much after the leader of the Opposition has invited him to break it. He should respond to her gracious advice with an equally gracious concurrence.
Question: I enjoy reading your column. I have been driving for a number of years but still get confused as to what all the white road markings mean. I know what the white dashes on a road/highway mean  OK to pass. But what do solid white lines mean, particularly if they are on a three-lane highway? Also, what do the intermittent white bricks mean? What do narrowly spaced white lines mean verses widely spaced white double lines. Thanks for your help!

White lines separate lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction.

 A white line with dashes indicates that drivers can change lanes in areas where this type of marking is present.

 A line of shorter and thicker white dashes indicates that the lane will end.

 A solid white line indicates that lane changes are discouraged. Solid white lines also mark cross-walks, stop lines at intersections, parking stalls, and the edges of a roadway.

 Double solid white lines indicate that lane changes are against the law.

 A solid white line with a bicycle insignia along the side of the road indicates an area designated for bicycle traffic only. Bicycles must travel in the same direction as adjacent traffic.

Yellow lines separate traffic moving in opposite directions.

 A solid yellow line indicates that passing is prohibited. Passing in a no-passing zone is illegal.

 A line composed of yellow dashes indicates that passing is allowed.

 A solid yellow line may appear on one side of the roadway, while a line composed of dashes appears on the other side. Drivers must obey the marking that is present in their lane of traffic.
"Congress was in power from 2004 to 2014. But no step was taken to check black money," Jaitley said.

By India Today Web Desk: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched an offensive against Congress and charged that corruption scams peaked in the UPA's period.

"Congress was in power from 2004 to 2014. But no step was taken to check black money. The second feature of that government was rampant corruption like 2G and coal block allocation scams," he said.

He further said, "Given this scandalous record, it (Congress) is uncomfortable with anti-corruption steps. So, it is understandable that they are uncomfortable with this strong step by the Modi government."

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The Minister said during the UPA regime, high denomination currency went up from 36 per cent to 85 cent. But the Narendra Modi government was overhauling the system. The demonetisation move was launched on November 8. That decision was a step forward in that direction, he said.

Also read:

Congress asks who is running government - Modi, Jaitley, RBI or Gurumurthy?

Jaitley admitted that few people were trying to take advantage of the situation arising out of demonetisation with the connivance of some bank officials. But the government agencies are keeping eye on these acts. Those people will have to pay heavy prices, he said.

'SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CASH TO BE INJECTED SOON'

He said though paper currency will still exist, it will move towards digital economy. He assured that significant amount will be injected in the banks in the course of next three weeks. Circulation of money will help to release the pressure. "We are now rapidly completing the demonetisation scheme," he said.

Also read:

In a big push for cash less India, Jaitley announces 11 new measures to romp up digital payment

'STRATEGY TO MOVE TO LOW CASH ECONOMY'

The minister said the Narendra Modi government's strategy is to move to low cash economy. The future transaction will be more in digital. Therefore, taxes will increase and social cost is likely to go down, he said.

The Finance Minister disclosed that more actions would be taken in future to bring transparency. "We are ready to debate in Parliament, therefore, rise above slogan and see the positive aspect of this movement," he said.

Future transactions will be substantially digital and once they are substantially digital they get caught in the tax net, he said.

Also read:

Jaitley's cashless New Year gift: Know your discounts on online bookings

--- ENDS ---
Republican Donald Trumps victory in Wisconsin was reaffirmed Monday following a recount that showed him defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000 votes.

The numbers barely budged in Wisconsin after nearly 3 million votes were recounted. Trump picked up a net 162 votes and still won by more than 22,000 votes. The final results changed just 0.06 percent. Green Party candidate Jill Stein had successfully requested, and paid for, the Wisconsin recount while her attempts for similar statewide recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were blocked by the courts.

Wisconsin finalized its recount on the same day that a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of the Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvanias presidential election and scan some counties election systems for signs of hacking.

A federal judge, meanwhile, halted Michigans recount last week after three days. Trump won Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes out of nearly 4.8 million votes cast.

In Pennsylvania, U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond said there were at least six grounds that required him to reject the Green Partys lawsuit. Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election borders on the irrational while granting the Green Partys recount bid could ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts, given Tuesdays federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College, wrote Diamond.

In Buffalo County, there were no remarkable errors discovered in their recount. County Clerk Roxann Halverson said a recount of 7,052 voter ballots cast in 23 precincts showed a net result of Hillary Clinton losing six votes and Donald Trump losing one vote.

Green Party candidate Stein saw no change up or down in Buffalo County vote totals.

The recount vote tally showed Trump defeating Clinton 4,048 to 2,525 votes in Buffalo County. Stein had 74 votes. Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson had 218 votes.

The cost of the recount in Buffalo County was estimated at $18,000. Halverson said the three-day recount was done by seven people at the county courthouse in Alma.

There were observers present from the Green Party, Stein campaign, Republican Party, Clinton campaign and Democratic Party, Halverson said.

Steins petition for a recount claimed there were irregularities and evidence of tampering with voting machines in Wisconsin. There was no evidence of voter fraud or machine tampering found in Buffalo County, according to Halverson.

The only changes that occurred in Buffalo County had to do with votes cast on paper ballots, Halverson said.

She said the recount discovered four absentee ballots that had to be rejected because the envelope forms were not completed correctly. There were no changes to the votes cast on the election machines, she said.

Halverson said voting machines are tested by municipal clerks prior to election day to make sure they are working properly. The recount involved verifying the machine results by counting the trail of ballots recorded on paper rolls inside the machines. Halverson said the machine paper records were hand-counted to double-check accuracy.

Halverson said she has been involved in other recounts involving machines in Buffalo County and has yet to find a mistake. I have not found one error on them.

I really want people to have faith in the machines, she said. I do not believe they are rigged or tampered with in any way.
A deep stillness settled over the federal courtroom as graphic photos were shown of the nine people murdered last year at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church.

The defendant, 22-year-old Dylann Roof, sat motionless throughout, as he has since his death penalty trial began last Wednesday. Behind him sat his paternal grandparents, media and members of the general public. Although Roof has pleaded not guilty, his attorney David Bruck, a renowned anti-death penalty advocate, told jurors that he didnt expect them to find his client not guilty. At stake is whether Roof deserves to die or spend the rest of his life in prison.

Roof, who posed in online pictures with the Confederate battle flag, allegedly told his victims he had to kill them because blacks were taking over and were raping our women.

In a serendipitous display of unwanted irony, the Souths racial divisions that Charleston, especially, has worked so hard to bridge were refashioned by happenstance and logistics in the courtroom itself. Reserved seating placed the victims family and friends, primarily black, on one side of the room and the defendants family and the mostly white media on the other. This imposed segregation was purely circumstantial but painful, nonetheless.

Before the photo display, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel repeatedly warned family members that the pictures were graphic, saying there was no shame in sitting out this portion of the trial. The quiet was profound and leaden as each person in the room tried within his or her own space to convey respect for the dead and the bereaved. The pin-drop silence was interrupted only once when a young black man, upon seeing the body of 70-year-old Ethel Lance, bolted from the courtroom.

Most striking of the photographs was that of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who seemed to have been running toward the altar when he was felled by three bullets, according to the autopsy report. He had pitched headfirst toward the raised lectern in a prone position reminiscent of reverential prostration. A wide ribbon of blood streamed away from his head for several feet before disappearing from the frame.

Those who have followed the events of June 17, 2015, and thereafter are familiar with Pinckney and the eight black parishioners who died. Over time, weve learned their names and faces, and feel as though they were friends or people wed like to have known. Seeing their photos in the courtroom, their bodies labeled with a number as the only way to identify them initially, refreshed a sense of the killers anonymous presence among them that night and the deft, dispassionate brutality with which he dispatched them.

From the evidence, it was easy to discern how the shooter went about his business. Shell casings and empty magazines were found around the perimeter of the room, indicating that the killer was moving around while shooting. One magazine was left on one of three round tables in the center of the room where the Bible study group was meeting and where most of the victims were found. This particular table was draped with a bright yellow-and-green-patterned cloth. Next to the dark, empty magazine was a large, opened Bible and a piece of paper.

Bullet holes in another of the tablecloths and an indentation in the metal frame underneath suggested that the shooter deliberately aimed under the tables to kill those crouched below. The precision of his execution, at once heartbreaking and unconscionable, would deliver a staggering psychic blow to any decent human being.

For almost an hour, according to previous reports, Roof sat among these welcoming people, pretending to share their spiritual purpose, and then opened fire in a blaze of resigned fury. When a wounded Tywanza Sanders begged him to stop, Roof kept firing until four bullets riddled Sanders body. How could he? How could anyone?

By anyones definition, Roof is a racist, but surely this is too facile an explanation. The rational mind wants more. Insanity? Not according to a psychiatrist who examined him. What then?

The what will be the focus of defense attorneys who will try to persuade jurors to spare Roofs life. If they do, he still faces another death penalty state trial next year. Whatever is decided here  and again later  it may be difficult to get beyond the way survivor Felicia Sanders described the assailant as the prosecutions first witness. Looking directly at Roof, she said, Evil, evil, evil.

By anyones definition, Roof is a racist, but surely this is too facile an explanation. The rational mind wants more.
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Beaver Dams school board unanimously approved changes for the spring semester and next school year in order to accommodate construction in the schools.

Aaron Christman, Melissa Dzioba and Bonnie Franke attended the meeting and voiced concerns against changes to the school calendar.

Voters approved the Nov. 8 referendum which asked for $48.9 million in improvements for the district, including a remodeling nearly all of Beaver Dam High School except for the science wing.

Superintendent Steve Vessey said, the changes will affect the spring 2017 semester and the 2017-18 school year. It will help reduce the cost of the project and also give needed time to complete the project by the middle part of August 2018.

The school days are increased by 20 minutes starting Jan. 16. Each school day will start 10 minutes earlier and end 10 minutes later.

The schedule for next semester and all of next school year will be:

High school: 7:40 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.

Middle school: 7:30 a.m. to 2:52 p.m.

City elementary schools: 8:20 a.m. to 3:17 p.m.

Rural elementary schools: 8:40 a.m. to 3:42 p.m.

Christman said he understands that this might work well for a high school students schedule, but many families with younger children are in need of child care and will have the added expense of funding two additional weeks this summer.

Dzioba said she contacted the five major day cares and summer camps in Beaver Dam. At the YMCA of Dodge County alone, 250 students attend the before and after school programs in Beaver Dam.

That is 250 students who will have to have alternative care, Dzioba said. If on average they are paying $140 a week for 300 students, then $41,000 will be spent for just those nine days of care. If it is saving the school district $350,000 that is less than 1 percent of the whole referendum.

Franke asked why they would be doing this to students when studies have shown having teens start school later actually benefits them.

I voted for the referendum, but I dont think this is a good thing to do to these kids in the middle of the school year, Franke said.

Franke also said that the project will impact the Beaver Dam Community Theatre production since they will not be allowed to perform in the high school in the summer.

Vessey said that since the news broke about the changes of the schedule he has had 31 contacts with people with 21 of those being from staff at the district. Ten parents emailed him with half of them being in favor of the changes.

The changes to the schedule has some challenges such as: increased day care costs, curriculum adjustments, student skill loss with longer summers, adjusting end of the school year events and affecting religious celebrations, Vessey said.

Graduation on May 21 does create a conflict with one confirmation, Vessey said.

The school year will end on May 22.

Board member Marge Jorgensen said the district promised not to disrupt the schools with construction past the 2017-18 school year.

The other promise we made was to be good stewards with the communitys money, board member Jim Jansen said. $350,000 is a lot of money.

In other news, CG Schmidt, who has worked with the district in the past, was chosen as the construction managers for the project at a cost of 1.5 percent of the project.
In January, Agrace Hospice & Palliative Care will offer volunteer orientation for people interested in making a difference in the lives of people with advanced illnesses.

Volunteers are needed in all Columbia and Sauk County communities to provide companionship to local hospice patients in patients homes, or in nursing homes or assisted living centers. Volunteers may be asked to read aloud to the patient, play a game or help with a hobby, help with light housekeeping, run an errand, make a light meal or snack, or simply be there as a caring presence.

Schedules are flexible, and free training is provided for all volunteer roles. Before they can attend orientation, prospective volunteers must complete an application and an interview process with Agraces Volunteer Services staff to identify their skills and interests.

Agrace will hold volunteer orientation on Thursday, Jan. 5, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Wednesday, Jan. 11, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at its Baraboo office: 1670 South Boulevard. Call 608-327-7163 to ask for an application and to register for orientation.

Founded in 1978, Agrace is a nonprofit, community-supported hospice and palliative care agency dedicated to providing exceptional care and support to patients and families facing the challenges of serious illness. With offices in Madison, Janesville and Baraboo, Wis. and Rockford, Ill. Agrace serves more than 700 patients every day throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
A woman from Oakdale and a man from Mauston are charged with child neglect resulting in death in a case that has spanned more than four years.

Ashley A. Horton, 33, and Richard L. Beck, 43, are being charged with negligence in the death of their son Donald Beck on June 18, 2012 in Mauston. The infant was just a few months old at the time of death.

According to the criminal complaint, when called to the scene, a Mauston police officer reported the baby was not breathing and was without a pulse. The baby was transported to Mile Bluff Medical Center, but died shortly after. The Mauston PD interviewed Horton at the hospital. According to the criminal complaint, Horton appeared highly emotional and was crying.

Horton told the officer that Donald was fussing and she gave the infant a little bottle and he went back to sleep. According to the report, the baby slept in a futon in the living room. He never woke up after he was found not breathing.

According to Horton, several people lived at the residence, including her boyfriend, Richard Beck.

The Mauston officer who interviewed Horton noted she would nod off in the middle of her conversation, put her head down and close her eyes. He suspected Horton was under the influence of something. She also appeared to have vomit stains from the baby on her shirtsleeve.

Later that day, the officer returned to the residence and took photos. He noted it was in disarray and not fit for a baby. According to the report, there was dirt and numerous items spread all over the floor and this was not a good, clean, sanitary environment for an adult, let alone a small baby.

The officer also interviewed Beck and noticed he appeared emotionally upset, but did not appear to be coherent. Beck denied taking drugs or being drunk, but said he wanted to go to a bar and get drunk because he was upset.

Another interview subject told the police she visited the residence on the night of the babys death. She went to play with the baby and noticed a brown substance running from the babys nose. After rubbing his stomach, she noticed his face was turning purple, along with his back. She started screaming, picked up the baby and transported him, along with Horton, to the hospital.

After being interviewed at the hospital, Horton admitted she smoked crack cocaine hours after her sons death to help her calm down. In a later interview with law enforcement and the county coroner, Horton also admitted to drinking some alcohol and taken a Xanax earlier in the day. She then allegedly smoked crack and took prescription Vicodin after Donald had died.

On June 28, 2012, Beck was interviewed by workers from the Juneau County Health and Human Services Department. He admitted that both he and Horton were taking drugs the night Donald died, specifically Lorazepam. Other witnesses interviewed by law enforcement also stated Horton appeared to be out of it during the night.

An autopsy of Donalds body was conducted on Sept. 13, 2012 and the report stated positional asphyxia due to unsafe sleep environment, but no evidence of injury, natural disease or competing cause of death was identified. Also, blood, drug and alcohol screens were found negative.

In 2013, a forensic toxicology report found that both Beck and Horton had tranquilizing substances in their system on the night of Donalds death.

Horton was last interviewed by law enforcement in July stating that both she and Beck were drug addicts. Beck was interviewed in March of this year and said he realizes he may be held responsible for his sons death.

Horton, who is not currently housed in the Juneau County jail, and Beck, who is currently in the Juneau County Jail, will make an initial appearance at 9 a.m., Jan. 25 at the Juneau County Justice Center.
The Department of Corrections is taking steps to increase its visibility as the department addresses a wide swath of challenges and limited resources.

So, Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes, DOC Secretary Jon Litscher said matter-of-factly Monday to area residents and DOC staff at the Portage Public Library. I wouldnt be here in front of all of you today, in all honesty, if probably it werent for the issues surrounding Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes.

Litscher was appointed to the position by Gov. Scott Walker in February following the resignation of Secretary Ed Wall amid a federal investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the juvenile detention center in Lincoln County, north of Wausau.

We are getting a handle on the vacancies, we have been able to expand our medical and mental health services for our youth, we are able to do a training module that deals with the training of those people who are engaged with the youth at Copper Lakes, we are putting forth initiatives to expand mental health services for our young inmates in Copper Lakes and also as of, I believe the first or the middle of last month, all medication deliveries are done by qualified, certified health care professionals, Litscher said.

Since taking the helm at DOC, Litscher has been touring the systems prisons, coming to Portage at the invitation of Columbia Correctional Institution Sgt. Dale Paul.

In the first half hour of Mondays session, Litscher gave a summary and provided initial answers to some inevitable questions.

In my meetings across the state, this one concept kept coming back and kept coming back and I can say to you that there wasnt one institution where this concept was not brought to me, Litscher said of a new system for overtime. As opposed to a rotating cycle on overtime like a treadmill as of Monday, the DOC switched to a system in which daily overtime orders will be based on a seniority system in which posts are volunteered on seniority or in the event of no takers, assigned based on reverse seniority.

A concern among officers and inmates alike has been overwhelming overtime assignments in which staff would work several double-shifts in a row, leading to officers being exhausted and irritable when dealing with inmates and each other.

To encourage new recruitment, on May 5 Litscher announced an 80 cents per hour wage increase for correctional officers, correctional sergeants, youth counselors and youth counselor-advanced employees.

Staff in those positions were also given a 50-cent per hour add-on on Waupun Correctional Institution, Green Bay Correctional Institution, Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake School and Columbia Correctional Institution.

On a purely anecdotal basis, Litscher told the group that the additional 50 cents per hour did help with staff retention, though it was only a pilot program that will end on Jan. 7.

Over the past two years Columbia Correctional Institution has dealt with a staffing shortage with estimates between 20 percent and 30 percent. The higher figures come from an estimation including long-term vacant positions that have otherwise been removed from the count.

The good news, Litscher said, is that the DOC is graduating new recruits to fill those vacancies with more than 70 new officers soon to be dispatched between CCI, Fox Lake Correctional Institution and Waupun Correctional Institution.

In terms of an end goal, it is to fill every vacancy, mostly at a theoretical level, according to Litscher. Theres a myth out there that we were ever fully staffed, said Litscher. With these new figures I think we will break the double-digits.

On the other side of the equation is the number of inmates supervised by the prisons roughly 250 uniformed staff. CCI averages an inmate population between 815 and 825, while the prisons annual report describes the facility as a maximum security prison with an operating capacity of 541.

At its opening in 1986, residents were given tours that described housing one inmate per cell. Over time, cells were doubled-up and then, at times, tripled, with prisoners sleeping on mats on the floor.

Statewide, Litscher said, there is a net growth of roughly 30 new inmates each month. Although prisons like CCI have long passed their official capacity, Litscher said that the system is approaching critical capacity.

Among the questions from a handful of attendees, Columbia County Board member Susan Bradley, of Portage, asked whether privately operated prisons are within Wisconsins correctional system.

No, Litscher said.

Good, Bradley replied.

It is not allowed by statute in this state, Litscher said. I might also include one word: now, but I dont ever envision that happening.

It is possible for Wisconsin inmates to be sent out of state to be housed in privately-operated prisons, but management of corrections remains under the jurisdiction of the state, Litscher said.

We learned more about what the local issues are at the Columbia facility here and a lot of the labor issues that have developed over time, said Columbia County Board member Nancy Long, of Lodi, about the value of Litschers session on Monday. But also in general, the broader issues in our community and how it affects increasing prison population.

Among the broader topics were to what extent opioid issues play into the overpopulation in prisons and ways to perhaps opt for treatment over incarceration, availability of mental health services and health care specific to aging populations.

I think we all have to have that dialogue amongst each other and between agencies from the county to the state and from the state to county and city, said Long. I was impressed that he seemed sincere in wanting to hear from people and of these things, hopefully there will be more of them and not less.

The Columbia Correctional Institution is opening its doors Friday morning for a public Community Relations Board meeting at 10 a.m. at which Warden Michael Dittmann will address developments and initiatives at the prison over the past year.
Columbia Countys recount numbers are in.

Additional votes found for Donald Trump: 3.

Additional votes found for Hillary Clinton: 2.

Votes lost by the candidate that asked for the recount, Green Party nominee Jill Stein: 1.

Hours invested in examining poll books, ballots, absentee ballot envelopes and other election documents by hand: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 1, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 2 and 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 5.

Number of tabulators working: 45 on Dec. 1, 49 on Dec. 2, 41 on Dec. 5.

Number of people who came forward to be tabulators: 80.

Number of tabulators who worked all three days of the recount: 17.

Columbia County Clerk Susan Moll presented this summary Monday to the County Boards Executive Committee, which oversees the work of the clerks office.

And yes, the people working in the clerks office worked far beyond their normal hours to complete the job well before Mondays deadline, but they werent the only county employees caught up in the historic but tedious task.

Columbia County Sheriffs Office staff had to prepare the room at the Law Enforcement Center, including moving out the computers that are normally housed in the countys computer training area and hooking up computer connections for the clerks office.

Buildings and Grounds staff hauled two truckloads of election materials, including not only the 29,914 paper ballots cast in Columbia County for the Nov. 8 election, but also poll books, absentee ballot envelopes and other documentation relevant to the election.

And, the Human Resources Department has to cut checks for the tabulators, after computing the time that each spent at the job  based on the sign-in sheets that everyone attending the recount had to sign.

Moll said she doesnt know the final cost of the recount yet, but its almost certainly less than the $126,281.85 cost that Moll initially estimated at the behest of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The Stein campaign paid the state, and each county will apply to the state for reimbursement.

At the time she made the estimate, Moll said, there were several things she didnt know, including how long it would take to hand-count all those ballots, whether weekend work would be required (it wasnt) and where the recount would take place. At the time, it was possible that the recount would have to be conducted outside of county property, if adequate and secure space couldnt be found in one of the countys buildings.

If nothing else, said County Board First Vice Chairwoman Mary Cupery of the town of Fort Winnebago, the recount made it clear that Columbia Countys 10-year-old vote tabulating machines are reliable and accurate.

Moll said that the most of the changes in the vote total stemmed from ballots that were not properly marked  ballots that the automated tabulator would have rejected, but which offered clear evidence of the voters intent to vote for a particular candidate.

One of the more creatively marked ballots that the tabulators came across had marked at the ovals next to every presidential candidate on the ballot, except Trump. But while the anybody but Trump intent was clear, Moll said, that ballot did not result in a vote being awarded to anyone.

County Board Chairman Vern Gove of Portage said Molls experience and professionalism was a key factor in the recount going as smoothly and quickly as it did.

It was like being a referee for a while, he said, referring to Moll and the other members of the Board of Canvass  Republican representative Bobbie Goodman of Pardeeville and Democratic representative Margo Miller of Portage.

Ruf said Moll made a smart management decision when she formed teams of tabulators, by making sure that each team had at least one member whod been through a recount before. The most recent statewide recount was in the spring of 2011, when Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg challenged the victory of incumbent Justice David Prosser.

Ruf joined Moll in praising the tabulators  who were either municipal clerks or experienced election workers  for being willing to work.

To get 80 people to show up for a really, really important but incredibly tedious task  it says a lot, Ruf said.

Executive Committee Member Kirk Konkel of Portage said he thinks the County Board should adopt a resolution praising the countys handling of the recount.

That will happen, Gove said  probably at the County Boards January meeting.
By PTI: solutions

Mumbai, Dec 13 (PTI) Lighting products and consumer durables maker Bajaj Electricals has partnered UK-based firm Gooee to create innovative lighting products and solutions on IoT (Internet of things) platform.

Gooee will be the first full stack operating platform providing Bajaj Electricals a service driven framework to deliver IoT applications to its customers, Bajaj Electricals said in a statement today.

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IoT refers to the connection of devices other than computers and smartphones to the Internet.

Bajaj Electricals and Gooee will develop innovative offering relevant to indoor commercial spaces like workspaces, retail outlets, hospitals, hotels industrial units, it added.

"Intelligent lighting is emerging as the next big thing for new age electrical solution companies across the globe. Lighting as a Service (LaaS) is gaining momentum and we at Bajaj Electricals see a huge technology convergence, with rapid technology evolution in every field," Bajaj Electricals Luminaires Business Unit Executive President and Country Head R Sundararajan said.

"Today, people are getting into open office culture and yet need personalised spaces. The IoT and mobile integration with lighting fixtures being the sensing point, we can create spaces which are personalised and still open. This will help in better management of space, comfort and ensuring energy efficiency at each step," he added.

Bajaj Electricals had recently entered into an arrangement with Geneva based WISeKey International to create a trusted IoT platform for over 100 million lighting digital identities appliances per year. PTI DS NRB

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PARDEEVILLE  Pardeeville Area School District moved one step closer to finalizing an April 2017 referendum question for the construction of a new auditorium.

School board members last week went over initial floor plans designed by its architect, General Engineering Company of Portage. The board plans to have its referendum question wording finalized at its regular meeting Jan. 2.

Superintendent Gus Knitt expects to have a clearer picture of the projected costs next week. The auditorium would be for music, drama and other school or community activities. Total construction is 35,000 square feet and also involves new space for the high school and district offices. The new construction will be attached to the high school, on the south side where the student parking lot is.

Were pretty excited about it, Knitt said of the project, which will receive financial help from the fundraiser group, Pardeeville Bulldog Support Foundation. Moving the high school and district office is an effort to make the building safer, Knitt added.

Right now, the high school building is not very secure, Knitt said, noting the current entrance requires people to walk past classrooms before getting to the main office, which poses serious issues if Pardeeville were to ever deal with an armed intruder.

The issue of safety regarding the high school entrance needs to be dealt with soon, regardless of whether the referendum succeeds in April, Knitt said.

Pardeeville leaders have been in touch with Wautoma Schools regarding its auditorium, which it uses for both school and outside groups, local discussions that will accelerate down the road once Pardeevilles construction plan is finalized, Knitt said.

Cost estimates for the auditorium construction involve ongoing reviews Knitt said strive to keep the project cost-effective while still maintaining quality.

Since Pardeevilles current operational referendum expires in 2018, officials are considering also placing that referendum on the ballot in April to simplify the matter for voters. Were still deciding whats less confusing (to voters), Knitt said.

Pardeevilles next operational referendum is expected to stay in the range of its present referendum, at about $850,000 a year.
Donald Trump ran on a promise to bring back manufacturing jobs that have been shipped overseas, partly by using import tariffs to punish U.S. companies that move their operations abroad.

He took the first step toward keeping that promise when Indiana manufacturer Carrier Corp., offered a package of state tax incentives (and possibly fearful of its corporate parent losing Pentagon contracts), agreed to retain 800 workers it had planned to lay off.

Some 600 jobs it had planned to move to Mexico will still be going there. But the incoming president claimed credit for those that will be staying here.

Theres nothing wrong with a president exhorting American corporations to fly the American flag, support the arts or find ways to preserve well-paying domestic jobs. Where such efforts become troublesome is when theyre accompanied by threats. The president-elect used his Twitter account to lambaste Milwaukee-based Rexnord for rather viciously firing all of its 300 workers, referring to a decision to shut a bearings factory in Indianapolis and move production to Mexico. He warned that companies outsourcing abroad were making a very expensive mistake, referring to the 35 percent tariff he wants to slap on their goods shipped here.

But the managers and shareholders running such companies generally have a better idea than anyone else of what they have to do to survive in a competitive market. A U.S. company that goes out of business may not ship any jobs abroad, but the domestic jobs it provides will be gone regardless.

Though Trumps jawboning makes for good headlines, its not really a plausible method for meeting his goals. Its the equivalent of trying to fill a swimming pool with an eye dropper. The 800 Carrier jobs he saved are dwarfed by the 5 million manufacturing jobs the country has lost since the start of this century. The type of deal he made with Carrier could backfire, by giving CEOs the idea that they can extract special favors by floating plans to leave. Trump may find himself putting out fires he inadvertently started.

To make a real difference in the job market and the fortunes of blue-collar workers, a president cant rely on case-by-case persuasion. Something much bigger is needed. The key to keeping  and creating  jobs here is to make America a more inviting place to do business.

Trump could start with pushing to cut the corporate tax rate to a more competitive level. Even President Barack Obama proposed lowering the rate from 35 percent, one of the highest in the world, to 28 percent. Obama was never willing to spend any political capital getting his party behind the idea, though, and he saw corporate tax reform chiefly as a way to milk American companies for more revenue. With a Republican Congress, Trump should be able to achieve what his predecessor didnt.

Another way to improve the job climate is by curtailing costly regulation. Trump has made a promise to formulate a rule which says that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. Done with care and resolve, that is a path to freeing up business to do what it does best.

U.S. regulation is arbitrary, slow, discretionary and politicized, Hoover Institution economist John Cochrane wrote last month in The Wall Street Journal. He offers some ideas for improvement: Congress must review and approve major regulations. People and businesses have a right to see evidence and appeal. Regulators face a shot clock  no more years and years of delays on decisions. In sum: Companies dont expect zero regulation, but they are entitled to smart, timely, cost-effective regulation.

If Trump were to bring about reforms such as these, he would make producing in the United States more attractive not only to companies that are planning to move abroad but to companies that are already producing abroad, companies that see room for expansion and companies that havent even been created yet. Broadly improving the U.S. climate for job retention and creation is the real prize, and Trump should keep his eyes on it.
A residency program could help bring more doctors to Sauk Prairie and other rural areas, thanks in part to a four-year, $675,000 grant.

The funding awarded to the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health will help resident physicians build additional skills necessary to succeed in a rural community.

This is for places where they might not have as many specialists such as for addiction, mental health services or even cardiology, said Dr. Ildi Martonffy, who will take over the residency program in 2017. The residency provides a more robust training.

Amy Lindloff, administrator of the Prairie Clinic, said doctors trained to work in larger cities do things differently than those in more rural settings. In larger cities they are used to referring out to specialists, she said. In smaller communities doctors treat the whole patient.

The Prairie Clinic has enrolled in a program through the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative Residency Program as a means to recruit more physician candidates to the area, Lindloff said. She said there is a projected nationwide shortage of family practice physicians, and attributed the shortage to a rise in demands placed on physicians.

Lindloff said Prairie Clinic is new to the program and hasnt yet had any residents come through. But the goal is to have well-trained physicians in our community, she said.

Mattonffy said family physicians see patients in all stages of life, from birth to death. In some areas, they might be the one doctor for a large geographical area.

We know the majority of our residents end up within 100 miles from where they trained, Mattonffy said. We need to train them to function in other areas of the state.

She said the goal is for the doctors to become community advocates. We want them to treat the needs of the community as well as the individual person.
How five vivid arts projects offer up hope for repair and resistance

The Conversation Africa asked contributors to list five books, records, buildings and works of art, in their field that made a difference to them in 2016.

Review 2016: This has been a year most of humanity would like to forget with war, disasters, racism, sexism and, especially in arts and culture, the deaths of revered icons. But it is also in the arts and culture where people look for and find hope. Here is architecture scholar Hannah le Rouxs year in review.

In an el Nino year that started in the high thirties, it seems that the works that have held my interest share a theme of global impact. The five vivid projects that come to mind all link how we build, experience and consume in space to the consequences of these ways.

They make it clear that it is no longer a marginal question to ask how to live on this planet and the consequences that holds for people close and far from us. Specifically, they come out of a questioning of the devastating impact of colonial cultures on the New World, and in different and beautifully constructed media, propose ways to structure acts of repair or resistance into our personal and professional positions.

1. UrbanNext

UrbanNext is a website with sound ambitions to create a community of self reporting urban practitioners, particularly around the challenging issues that hold interest of architects looking at trans-disciplinary and transnational issues. The site is linked to the most courageous of architecture publishers, Actar, who work out of Barcelona and New York. It has a youthful freshness that crosses between architecture, urbanism, technology and ecology, with a fair amount of content sourced in Africa as well as cities in crisis, such as Detroit.

Experts on architecture, urbanism and technology, like architect Mitch McEwen, feature on UrbanNext. McEwen Studio

It carries good video clips narrated by some of the more thoughtful people in this field, including Mitch McEwen, Anupama Kundoo, Keller Easterling, Jean-Philippe Vassal and Amelie Klein. Many are people with whom I have recently been in touch in the course of other projects, and this made for a good sense of the growing connectivity that transcends our specific locations.

2. Extraction

A similar sense of the world shrinking and moving south in its orientation came from the Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. Amongst many great shows, I was moved by the installation of the Canadian contribution on the bare ground between the French, English and Canadian pavilions.

The team of EXTRACTION has landscape architect and Harvard academic Pierre Belanger as the curator. They detail the consequences of the more than 10,000 mining projects carried out around the world by Canadian firms. The powerful message of EXTRACTION lay in the way it presented the content, set against a huge array of sandbags that held the crushed ore needed to produce a gram of gold.

There is an obvious connection with the Witwatersrand landscape in South Africa, made toxic by mining, and this global scan of mining. To view the media content of this anti-pavilion one had to kneel before the pavilions of Britain and France and peer into the hollow of a surveyors peg. 800 images flashed past, detailing the consequences of all the digging that has enriched and, they argue, constructed Canada.

3. Annie Proulx

In the cold months, I tackled the thick tome that Annie Proulx published at the age of 80: Barkskins. Canada and Michigan are again sites of concern, now as the background to the felling of their forests and their inter-generational impact. It is through both the greed for extraction and the awareness of its consequences that lives and attitudes are produced in the process of deforestation.

Barkskins begins with the arrival of two French woodsmen in 1693, and ends in the present. I hugely appreciated Proulxs meticulous historical research. Also her hard-bitten prose, which is filled with sudden deaths by accident and impoverished lives, as well as her guarded optimism that this devastation will somehow be halted, if not reversed through the survival of some innate and indigenous sense of resistance.

American author Annie Proulx. Peter Hanna/Reuters

4. Captain Fantastic

Forests, education and community also came out as the backdrop for Captain Fantastic, an appealing family drama that tells the story of a father having to reassess the Utopian life he has built for his six children. The film stimulated some decent discussion with my own son, who is at the end of his own secondary schooling, about the respective values of de-linking and self-educating  and perhaps decolonising  and the often compromised system of suburban schools.

The system that is promoted here learns by respecting the land, practising creativity, self building and having conversations based on classical and critical thought. The clarity around these positions is of course possible in a space of isolation, and it is in the tension between such idealism and the broader world that the drama places out.

5. Swartberg House

We will end the year with a visit to Jennifer Beningfields Swartberg House, which I already know through her drawings and photos. It is situated on the edge of the Great Karoo, a semi-arid region in the heart of South Africa. The background to the building is her PhD and then book on the literature of South African landscapes, The Frightened Land, which is mindful of the ethics of living on colonised territory. Her architectural response to the landscape, which is both material and conceptual, is a pure but nuanced white walled shelter with an incredibly calming interior.

It links to areas of planting, a pool and above all, the sky overhead. The idea of the house is a retreat, from which to simultaneously enjoy our privileged place in relation to the land, while rebuilding awareness though the phenomenological connection of how we are linked to the fragile system in which we pause, and through which we move.

Hannah le Roux, Associate professor of Architecture, University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
By India Today Web Desk: Seven people, including a hawala operator, were arrested in Bengaluru today as part of a racket that converted black money in banned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes into the new Rs 2000 currency notes.

Rs 93 lakh in new currency was found with the middlemen after multiple government agencies raided them.

One of the arrested has been identified as KV Virendra, who is believed to be running a casino in Goa. He was produced before a special court in Bengaluru which has sent him to six days of CBI custody for questioning.

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The CBI has also registered cases against the officials of four Karnataka banks - State Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank - on charges of converting old notes with Rs 2000 notes.

The CBI sources said that during preliminary probe, the names of several persons have been taken by Veerendra and it is trying to gather material evidence linking the alleged hawala operator with them.

The seven accused are reported to be charging 15 to 35 per cent commission for their work from black money hoarders.

Also read:

Demonetisation the biggest scam of 2016: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram

Black money crackdown: Rs 60 crore cash, 245 kg gold seized from 10 airports since demonetisation

Tamil Nadu: New notes worth Rs 24 crore seized in Vellore, total recovery rises to Rs 166 crore

WATCH THE VIDEO

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Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. provides early education and child care, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families. The company operates through three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services. The Full Service Center-Based Child Care segment offers traditional center-based child care and early education, preschool, and elementary education services. The Back-Up Care segment provides center-based back-up child care, in-home child and adult/elder dependent care, school-age camps, virtual tutoring, and self-sourced reimbursed care services through child care centers, school-age campuses, and in-home caregivers, as well as the back-up care network. The Educational Advisory and Other Services segment offers tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration, workforce education, and related educational consulting services, as well as college admissions advisory services. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 1,014 child care and early education centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, and India. The company was formerly known as Bright Horizons Solutions Corp. and changed its name to Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. in July 2012. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.
Manu and Mona's bond seems to have suffered a dent. Read on to know why Lopa is Manu's new favourite.

By India Today Web Desk: This week's luxury budget task BB 10 democracy will see a lot of drama in the Bigg Boss 10 house. So Bigg Boss will give contestants a couple of situations and they will be given two options to choose.

The option that gets the maximum votes, will become a rule in the house. But here's a twist. While it will appear that housemates are making these choices, in reality Bigg Boss has given a special power to Manu and Priyanka (who are in the secret room) for making the final decision.

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Clearly in a mischievous mood, the two will make some controversial decisions which will create a storm in the house.

Also read: 10 things BB 10's evicted contestant Karan Mehra revealed in a live chat

The first question will be--which contestant will make food for everybody? The options would be Rahul and Om Swami. The second situation will require the contestants to vote if Bani should stop using the gym. Manu and Priyanka will choose 'yes', leaving Bani upset.

The third situation will go like this--which two contestants should use the jacuzzi for half an hour every day? The options would be Lopa and Swami, and Mona and Gaurav. Priyanka will choose Mona and Gaurav, and the duo will straightaway head to the bathroom.

Also read: Bigg Boss 10: Is something cooking between Nitibha and Manveer?

Manu will get really upset when he will see Gaurav and Mona getting playful in the jacuzzi. Has Mona failed Manu's test?

Meanwhile, Manu is realising the true faces of contestants in the house. While he is losing trust for Mona, he seems to be leaning towards Lopa. Based on his family's inputs, he will start to trust Lopa more. And that's the reason he will try to save Lopa in every possible way in the luxury budget task.

However it remains to be seen whether Manu will ditch Mona upon re-entering the house.

Bigg Boss 10 airs Mon-Fri at 10:20pm and Sat-Sun at 9pm on Colors TV.

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Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services for retirement savings and income. It offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, and bank products. The Principal Global Investors segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as asset allocation, stable value management, and other structured investment strategies. The Principal International segment offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, and Southeast Asia. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment provides specialty benefits, such as group dental and vision insurance, group life insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products in the United States. It also offers insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as executives. Principal Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Crestwood Equity Partners LP develops, acquires, owns, controls, and operates assets and operations in the energy midstream sector in the United States. It operates through three segments: Gathering and Processing North; Gathering and Processing South; and Storage and Logistics. The Gathering and Processing North segment offers natural gas, crude oil, and produced water gathering, compression, treating, processing, and disposal services to producers in the Williston Basin and Powder River Basin. This segment owns and operates natural gas facilities with approximately 0.4 Bcf/d of gathering capacity and 0.5 Bcf/d of processing capacity; crude oil facilities with approximately 150,000 Bbls/d of gathering capacity and 266,000 Bbls of storage capacity; and produced water facilities with approximately 130,000 Bbls/d of gathering and disposal capacity. The Gathering and Processing South segment provides natural gas gathering, compression, treating, and processing; and produced water gathering and disposal services to producers in the Marcellus, Barnett, and Delaware basins. This segment owns and operates natural gas facilities with 2.5 Bcf/d of gathering capacity and 0.7 Bcf/d of processing capacity; and produced water facilities with approximately 75,000 Bbls/d of gathering and disposal capacity. The Storage and Logistics segment offers natural gas liquids, crude oil, and natural gas storage, terminal, marketing, and transportation, including rail, truck and pipeline services to producers, refiners, marketers, utilities, and other customers. Crestwood Equity GP LLC serves as the general partner of Crestwood Equity Partners LP. The company was formerly known as Inergy L.P. and changed its name to Crestwood Equity Partners LP in October 2013. Crestwood Equity Partners LP was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC.

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand. The company also provides home decor products under the West Elm brand; kids accessories under the Pottery Barn Kids brand; and an organic bedding to multi-purpose furniture under the Pottery Barn Teen brand. In addition, it offers made-to-order lighting, hardware, furniture, and home decors inspired by history under the Rejuvenation brand; and women's and men's accessories, travel, entertaining and bar, home decor, and seasonal items under the Mark and Graham brand, as well as operates a 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings and decor industry. The company markets its products through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs, and retail stores. It operates 544 stores comprising 502 stores in 41states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; 20 stores in Canada; 19 stores in Australia; 3 stores in the United Kingdom; and 139 franchised stores, as well as e-commerce websites in various countries in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, and India. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
The following companies are subsidiares of Quest Diagnostics: AmeriPath, AmeriPath Cincinnati Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Cleveland Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Consolidated Labs Inc. (FL), AmeriPath Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Hospital Services Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Indianapolis PC (IN), AmeriPath Kentucky Inc. (KY), AmeriPath Lubbock 5.01(A) Corporation (TX), AmeriPath New York LLC (DE), AmeriPath Texas Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Tucson Inc. (AZ), American Medical Laboratories, American Medical Laboratories Incorporated (DE), Associated Clinical Laboratories L.P. (PA), Associated Clinical Laboratories of Pennsylvania L.L.C. (PA), Athena Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics, Blueprint Genetics FZ-LLC (UAE), Blueprint Genetics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics Oy (Finland), California Laboratory Associates, Cape Cod Healthcare - Business, Celera, ClearPoint Diagnostic, Clearpoint Diagnostic Laboratories LLC (TX), Cleveland HeartLab, Cleveland HeartLab Inc. (DE), Clinical Laboratory Partners, Colorado Pathology Consultants P.C. (CO), ConVerge Diagnostic Services, Consolidated DermPath Inc. (DE), DFW 5.01(a) Corporation (TX), DGXWMT JV LLC (DE), Dermatopathology of Wisconsin S.C. (WI), Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma LLC (OK), Diagnostic Pathology Services Inc. (OK), Diagnostic Reference Services Inc. (MD), ExamOne Canada Inc. (New Brunswick), ExamOne LLC (DE), ExamOne World Wide Inc. (PA), ExamOne World Wide of NJ Inc. (NJ), Focus Diagnostics, HemoCue, Hoffman M.D. Associated Pathologists Chartered (NV), Institute for Dermatopathology Inc. (PA), Isabella Street Urban Renewal LLC (NJ), Kailash B. Sharma M.D. Inc. (GA), Kilpatrick Pathology P.A. (NC), LabOne, LabOne LLC (MO), LabOne of Ohio Inc. (DE), Laboratorio de Analisis Biomedicos S.A. (Mexico), Lancet Labs, MACL, Med Fusion LLC (TX), Med fusion, MedPlus, Mid America Clinical Laboratories LLC (IN), Nomad Massachusetts Inc. (MA), Nuclear Medicine and Pathology Associates (GA), Ocmulgee Medical Pathology Association Inc. (GA), Pathology Building Partnership (MD) (gen. ptnrshp.), PeaceHealth Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories PLLC (WA), Q Squared Solutions Holdings LLC (DE), Q Squared Solutions Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (China), Quest Diagnostics Brasil Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Domestic Holder LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics HTAS India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Health & Wellness LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Incorporated (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (MD), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NV), Quest Diagnostics India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Infectious Disease Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics International Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics International LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Investments LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Ireland Limited (Ireland), Quest Diagnostics LLC (CT), Quest Diagnostics LLC (IL), Quest Diagnostics LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Massachusetts LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Mexico Holding Company Trust (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Mexico S de RL de CV (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute (CA), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute Inc. (VA), Quest Diagnostics Receivables Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Subsidiary Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics TB LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Terracotta LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Venture LLC (PA), Quest Diagnostics Ventures LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics do Brasil Ltda. (Brazil), Quest Diagnostics of Pennsylvania Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics of Puerto Rico Inc. (PR), Quest HealthConnect LLC (CA), ReproSource, Reprosource Fertility Diagnostics Inc. (MA), Solstas Lab Partners, Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC (AZ), Specialty Laboratories Inc. (CA), Summit Health, UMass Memorial Medical Center - Anatomic Pathology Outreach Laboratory Business, Unilab Corporation, and Unilab Corporation (DE).

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Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides newborn, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and other pediatric subspecialty care services in the United States and Puerto Rico. It offers neonatal care services, such as clinical care to babies born prematurely or with complications within specific units at hospitals through neonatal physician subspecialists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and other pediatric clinicians. The company also provides maternal-fetal care services, including inpatient and office-based clinical care to expectant mothers and unborn babies through affiliated maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists, as well as obstetricians and other clinicians, including maternal-fetal nurse practitioners, certified nurse mid-wives, ultrasonographers, and genetic counselors. In addition, it offers pediatric cardiology care services comprising inpatient and office-based pediatric cardiology care of the fetus, infant, child, and adolescent patient with congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease, as well as adults with congenital heart defects through affiliated pediatric cardiologist subspecialists and other related clinical professionals; and specialized cardiac care to the fetus, neonatal and pediatric patients. Further, the company provides other pediatric subspecialty care services through pediatric subspecialists, such as pediatric intensivists, pediatric hospitalists, pediatric surgeons, and pediatric ophthalmologists, as well as pediatric ear, nose, and throat physicians; and support services in the areas of hospitals, primarily in the pediatric emergency rooms, labor and delivery areas, and nursery and pediatric departments. As of February 17, 2022, it operated a network of approximately 2,700 physicians. The company was formerly known as MEDNAX, Inc. and changed its name to Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. in July 2022. Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Sunrise, Florida.
Bihar government wants its college students to surf the web for educational purposes only. Accessing porn websites is strictly not allowed.

By India Today Web Desk: From February 2017, Nitish Kumar government wants to provide free Wi-Fi internet to all the colleges in Bihar. The free Wi-Fi comes as a blessing considering prime minister's demonetisation drive which is pushing people to go cashless and adopt online methods for payments.

The internet is not just about social media, online shopping or information and knowledge, it has its dark side as well. A few months ago in Uttar Pradesh, students at Meerut's Chaudhary Charan Singh University browsed through porn websites, misusing the facility. And soon, the facility was scrutinised.

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Taking into consideration many such incidents, Bihar government decided to provide free Wi-Fi but all pornographic sites will be blocked and along with it, other sites which have hardly anything to do with course material or education.

"We have decided to block all pornography and other undesirable sites to enable the service for educational purpose only on the campuses of educational institutions," Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Beltron), Patna managing director Rahul Singh told PTI on Monday.

Beltron is already on the project and has stated working towards providing Wi-Fi to 300 colleges and nine universities in the state, Bhaskar reported.

According to a Hindustan Times report, Rahul Singh said, "other colleges would be provided with an internet speed of 10 mbps, universities and other bigger institutions like IIT would be provided with the speed of 20 mbps."

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The following companies are subsidiares of Centene: AT Learning Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, AT Medics Holdings LLP an English and Welsh LLP, AT Medics Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, AT Technology (Private) Ltd. a Pakistan private company, AT Technology Services Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, AWC of Syracuse Inc. a New York corporation, Absolute Total Care Inc. a South Carolina corporation, AcariaHealth Inc. a Delaware corporation, AcariaHealth Pharmacy #11 Inc. a Texas corporation, AcariaHealth Pharmacy #12 Inc. a New York corporation, AcariaHealth Pharmacy #13 Inc. a California corporation, AcariaHealth Pharmacy #14 Inc. a California corporation, AcariaHealth Pharmacy #26 Inc. a Delaware corporation, AcariaHealth Pharmacy Inc. a California corporation, AcariaHealth Solutions Inc. a Delaware corporation, Access Medical Acquisition LLC a Delaware LLC, Access Medical Group of Florida City LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Hialeah LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Lakeland LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Miami LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of North Miami Beach LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Opa-Locka LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Perrine LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa II LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa III LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa LLC a Florida LLC, Access Medical Group of Westchester LLC a Florida LLC, Accountable Care Coalition Direct Contracting LLC a Florida LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Chesapeake LLC a Maryland LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Community Health Centers II LLC a Texas LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Community Health Centers LLC a Texas LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers II LLC a Delaware LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers III LLC a Delaware LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers IV LLC a Delaware LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers LLC a Hawaii LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers V LLC a Delaware LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers VII LLC an Arizona LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Florida Partners LLC a Florida LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Georgia LLC a Georgia LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Maryland LLC a Maryland LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Maryland Primary Care LLC a Maryland LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of New Jersey Inc. a New Jersey corporation, Accountable Care Coalition of North Texas LLC a Texas LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northeast Georgia LLC a Georgia LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northeast Partners LLC a Pennsylvania LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northwest Florida LLC a Florida LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Prime Health LLC an Oregon LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health II LLC a Delaware LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health III LLC a Delaware LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health LLC an Oregon LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Partners LLC a Georgia LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Physician Partners LLC a South Carolina LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin LLC a Wisconsin LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Tennessee LLC a Tennessee LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, Agate Resources Inc. an Oregon corporation, AirLogix, Ambetter of Magnolia Inc. a Mississippi corporation, Ambetter of North Carolina Inc. a North Carolina corporation, Ambetter of Peach State Inc. a Georgia corporation, America's 1st Choice California Holdings LLC a Florida corporation, American Progressive Life and Health Insurance Company of New York a New York corporation, Apixio, Apixio Inc a Delaware corporation, Arch Personalized Medicine Initiative LLC a Missouri LLC, Arkansas Health & Wellness Health Plan Inc. an Arkansas corporation, Arkansas Total Care Holding Company LLC a Delaware LLC, Arkansas Total Care Inc. an Arkansas corporation, B2B Gestion Integra S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., B2B Salud S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., BMI Healthcare Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, BMI Hospital Decontamination Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, BMI Imaging Clinic Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, BMI Southend Private Hospital Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, BMI Syon Clinic Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Bankers Reserve Life Insurance Company of Wisconsin a Wisconsin corporation, Bishopswood SPV Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Bridgeway Health Solutions LLC a Delaware LLC, Bridgeway Health Solutions of Arizona Inc. an Arizona corporation, Buckeye Community Health Plan Inc. an Ohio corporation, Buckeye Health Plan Community Solutions Inc. an Ohio corporation, CCTX Holdings LLC a Texas LLC, CEF Holding Company Limited a limited liability Malta company, CMC Real Estate Company LLC a Delaware LLC, CT Poprad s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., CT Presov s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., California Health and Wellness Plan a California corporation, Cantina Laredo Clayton LP a Delaware limited partnership, Cardium Health Services, Care 1st Health Plan of Arizona Inc. an Arizona corporation, Care1st Health Plan Administrative Services Inc. an Arizona corporation, Carolina Complete Health Holding Company Partnership a Delaware partnership, Carolina Complete Health Inc. a North Carolina corporation, CeltiCare Health Plan Holdings LLC a Delaware LLC, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts Inc. a Massachusetts corporation, Celtic Group Inc., Celtic Group Inc. a Delaware corporation, Celtic Insurance Company an Illinois corporation, Cenpatico Behavioral Health LLC a California LLC, Centene Center I LLC a Delaware LLC, Centene Center II LLC a Delaware LLC, Centene Center LLC a Delaware LLC, Centene Company of Texas LP a Texas limited partnership, Centene Europe Finance Company Limited a limited liability Malta company, Centene Health Plan Holdings Inc. a Delaware corporation, Centene Institute for Advanced Health Education LLC a Delaware LLC, Centene International Financing Company Limited a limited liability Malta company, Centene International Ventures LLC a Delaware LLC, Centene Management Company LLC a Wisconsin LLC, Centene Technology Europe S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Centene Technology UK Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Centene Venture Company Alabama Health Plan Inc. an Alabama corporation, Centene Venture Company Florida Inc. a Florida corporation, Centene Venture Company Illinois Inc. an Illinois corporation, Centene Venture Company Indiana Inc. an Indiana corporation, Centene Venture Company Kansas Inc. a Kansas corporation, Centene Venture Company Michigan Inc. a Michigan corporation, Centene Venture Company Tennessee Inc. a Tennessee corporation, Centene Venture Insurance Company Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, Centro Inmunologocia De La Comunidad Valenciana S.L. a Spanish S.L., Centurion Correctional Healthcare of New Mexico LLC a New Mexico LLC, Centurion Detention Health Services LLC a Delaware LLC, Centurion LLC a Delaware LLC, Centurion of Arizona LLC an Arizona LLC, Centurion of Delaware LLC a Delaware LLC, Centurion of Florida LLC a Florida LLC, Centurion of Indiana LLC an Indiana LLC, Centurion of Kansas LLC a Kansas LLC, Centurion of Minnesota LLC a Minnesota LLC, Centurion of Mississippi LLC a Mississippi LLC, Centurion of New Hampshire LLC a Delaware LLC, Centurion of Pennsylvania LLC a Pennsylvania LLC, Centurion of Tennessee LLC a Tennessee LLC, Centurion of Vermont LLC a Vermont LLC, Centurion of West Virginia LLC a West Virginia LLC, Centurion of Wyoming LLC a Wyoming LLC, Chrysalis Medical Services LLC a New Jersey LLC, Circle Birmingham Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Clinical Services Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Harmony Health Ltd. a Hong Kong private company, Circle Health 1 Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Health 2 Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Health 3 Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Health 4 Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Health Holdings Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Health Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Holdings Ltd. a Jersey private company, Circle Hospital (Reading) Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle International an English and Welsh PLC, Circle Nottingham Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Circle Rehabilitation Services Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Clinica Santo Domingo De Lugo S.L. a Spanish S.L., Collaborative Health Systems IPA LLC a Florida LLC, Collaborative Health Systems LLC a New York LLC, Collaborative Health Systems of Maryland LLC a Maryland LLC, Collaborative Health Systems of Virginia LLC a Virginia LLC, Community Medical Group, Community Medical Holdings Corporation a Delaware corporation, Comprehensive Health Management Inc. a Florida corporation, Coordinated Care Corporation an Indiana corporation, Coordinated Care of Washington Inc. a Washington corporation, DELMARVA Collaborative Care LLC a Delaware LLC, Discare CZ a.s. a Czech Republic A.S., District Community Care Inc. a Washington D.C. corporation, Dr Magnet s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., Elche-Crevillente Salud a Spanish S.A., Envolve Benefits Options Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Dental IPA of New York Inc. a New York corporation, Envolve Dental Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Dental of Florida Inc. a Florida corporation, Envolve Dental of Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, Envolve Health, Envolve Holdings Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Optical Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve PeopleCare Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Pharmacy IPA LLC a New York LLC, Envolve Pharmacy Solutions Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Total Vision Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Vision Benefits Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Vision IPA of New York Inc. a New York corporation, Envolve Vision Inc. a Delaware corporation, Envolve Vision of Florida Inc. a Florida corporation, Envolve Vision of Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, Essential Care Partners LLC a Texas LLC, Fidelis Care, Forensic Health Services LLC a Delaware LLC, Foundation Care LLC a Missouri LLC, GHG (DB) Pension Trustees Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, GHG Healthcare Holdings Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, GHG Intermediate Holdings Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, GHG Leasing Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, GHG Mount Alvernia Hospital Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, General Healthcare Group Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, General Healthcare Holdings 2 Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, General Healthcare Holdings 3 Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Generale de Sante International Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Golden Triangle Physician Alliance a Texas not-for-profit corporation, Granite State Health Plan Inc. a New Hampshire corporation, HHS Texas Management Inc. a Texas corporation, HHS Texas Management LP a Texas limited partnership, HLM Strategic Investment Fund L.P. a Delaware limited partnership, Hallmark Life Insurance Company an Arizona corporation, Harmony Health Management Inc. a New Jersey corporation, Harmony Health Plan Inc. an Illinois corporation, Harmony Health Systems Inc. a New Jersey corporation, Health Care Enterprises LLC a Delaware LLC, Health Net Access Inc. an Arizona corporation, Health Net Community Solutions Inc. a California corporation, Health Net Community Solutions of Arizona Inc. an Arizona corporation, Health Net Federal Services LLC a Delaware LLC, Health Net Health Plan of Oregon Inc. an Oregon corporation, Health Net LLC, Health Net LLC a Delaware LLC, Health Net Life Insurance Company a California corporation, Health Net Life Reinsurance Company a Cayman Islands corporation, Health Net of Arizona Inc. an Arizona corporation, Health Net of California Inc. a California corporation, Health Plan Real Estate Holdings Inc. a Missouri corporation, HealthSmart Benefit Solutions Inc. an Illinois corporation, HealthSmart Benefits Management LLC a Texas LLC, HealthSmart Care Management Solutions LP a Texas partnership, HealthSmart Information Systems Inc. a Texas corporation, HealthSmart Preferred Care II LP a Texas partnership, HealthSmart Preferred Network II Inc. a Delaware corporation, HealthSmart Primary Care Clinics LP a Texas partnership, HealthSmart Rx Solutions Inc. an Ohio corporation, Healthy Louisiana Holdings LLC a Delaware LLC , Healthy Missouri Holdings Inc. a Missouri corporation, Healthy Washington Holdings Inc. a Delaware corporation, Heritage Health Systems Inc. a Texas corporation, Heritage Health Systems of Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, Heritage Physician Networks a Texas not-for-profit corporation, Home State Health Plan Inc. a Missouri corporation, HomeScripts.com LLC a Michigan LLC, Hospinet S.L. a Spanish S.L., Hospital Polusa S.A. a Spanish S.A., Hospital Povisa S.A. a Spanish S.A., Illinois Health Practice Alliance LLC a Delaware corporation, Infraestructuras y Servicios de Alzira S. L. a Spanish S.L., Integrated Mental Health Services a Texas corporation, Interpreta Holdings Inc. a Delaware corporation, Interpreta Inc. a Delaware corporation, Iowa Total Care Inc. an Iowa corporation, Kentucky Spirit Health Plan Inc. a Kentucky corporation , LifeShare Management Group LLC, LifeShare Management Group LLC a New Hampshire LLC, Louisiana Healthcare Connections Inc. a Louisiana corporation , MH Services International Holdings (UK) Limited an English and Welsh private company, MHM, MHM Correctional Services LLC a Delaware LLC, MHM Health Professionals LLC a Delaware LLC, MHM Services Inc. a Delaware corporation, MHM Services of California LLC a California LLC, MHM Solutions LLC a Delaware LLC, MHN Government Services LLC a Delaware LLC, MHN Services LLC a California LLC, MHS Consulting International Inc. a Delaware corporation, MHS Travel & Charter Inc. a Wisconsin corporation, MR Centrum Melnick s.r.o. a Czech Republic S.R.O., MR Poprad s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., MR Zilina s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., Magellan Health Inc, Magnolia Health Plan Inc. a Mississippi corporation, Managed Health Network LLC a Delaware LLC, Managed Health Network a California corporation, Managed Health Services Insurance Corporation a Wisconsin corporation, Marina Salud S.A. a Spanish S.A., Maryland Collaborative Care LLC a Maryland LLC, Maryland Collaborative Care Transformation Organization Inc. a Delaware corporation, Mauli Ola Health and Wellness Inc. a Hawaii corporation, Medicina NZ spol s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., Meriden Hospital Advanced Imaging Centre Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Meridian Health Plan of Illinois Inc. an Illinois corporation, Meridian Health Plan of Michigan Inc. a Michigan corporation, Meridian Management Company LLC (a/k/a Meridian Administration Company LLC) a Michigan LLC, Meridian Network Services LLC a Michigan LLC, MeridianRx IPA LLC a New York LLC, MeridianRx LLC a Michigan LLC, MeridianRx of Indiana LLC a Michigan LLC, Michigan Complete Health a Michigan corporation, Mid-Atlantic Collaborative Care LLC a Maryland LLC, Mount Alvernia PET CT Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Nations Healthcare Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Nebraska Total Care Inc. a Nebraska corporation, Network Providers LLC a Delaware LLC, New York Quality Healthcare Corporation a New York corporation, Next Door Neighbors Inc. a Delaware corporation, Next Door Neighbors LLC. a Delaware LLC, North West Cancer Clinic Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Northern Maryland Collaborative Care LLC a Maryland LLC, Novasys Health Inc. a Delaware corporation, OB Care a Czech Republic S.R.O., OB Klinika a.s. a Czech Republic A.S., Ohana Health Plan Inc. a Hawaii corporation, Oklahoma Complete Health Holding Company LLC a Delaware LLC, Oklahoma Complete Health Inc. an Oklahoma corporation, One Care by Care 1st Health Plans of Arizona Inc an Arizona corporation, Operose Health (Group) Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Operose Health (Group) UK Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Operose Health Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, OptiCare Health Systems - Managed Vision Business, PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy, PRIMEROSALUD S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Panther Pass Co LLC a Pennsylvania LLC, Panther Specialty Holding Co LLC a Pennsylvania LLC, Pantherx Access Services LLC a Pennsylvania LLC, Pantherx Specialty LLC a Pennsylvania LLC, Parker LP LLC a Nevada LLC, Peach State Health Plan Inc. a Georgia corporation, Penn Marketing America LLC a Delaware LLC, Pennsylvania Health and Wellness Inc. a Pennsylvania corporation, Preamed s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., Premier Marketing Group LLC a Delaware LLC, Primary Care Partners Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Pro Diagnostic Group A.S. a Slovakia A.S., Pro Magnet CZ s.r.o. a Czech Republic S.R.O., Pro Magnet s.r.o a Slovakia S.R.O., Pro Nuclear a.s. a Slovakia A.S., Pro RTG s.r.o a Slovakia S.R.O., Progress Medical A.S. a Czech Republic A.S., Prowl Holdings LLC a Delaware LLC, QCA Healthplan Inc. an Arkansas corporation, Qualchoice Life and Health Insurance Company and Arkansas company, Quincy Coverage Corporation a New York corporation, Rhythm Health Tennessee Inc. a Tennessee corporation, Ribera Diagnostics S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Ribera Healthcare S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Ribera Lab S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Ribera Management S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Ribera Salud II a Spanish UTE, Ribera Salud Proyectos S.L. a Spanish S.L., Ribera Salud S.A. a Spanish S.A., Ribera Salud Tecnologias S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Ribera Slaud Infraestructuras S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Ribera-Quilpro UTE a Spanish UTE, Runnymeade SPV Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Salus Administrative Services Inc. a New York corporation, Salus IPA LLC a New York LLC, Secure Capital Solutions 2000 S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., SelectCare Health Plans Inc. a Texas corporation, SelectCare of Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, Servicios De Mantenimiento Prevencor S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Shanghai Circle Harmony Hospital Management Limited a Chinese private company, SilverSummit Healthplan Inc. a Nevada corporation, Social Health Bridge LLC a Delaware LLC, Social Health Bridge Trust a Delaware trust, Specialty Therapeutic Care GP LLC a Texas LLC, Specialty Therapeutic Care Holdings, Specialty Therapeutic Care Holdings LLC a Delaware LLC, Specialty Therapeutic Care LP a Texas limited partnership, Sunflower State Health Plan Inc. a Kansas corporation, Sunshine Health Community Solutions Inc. a Florida corporation, Sunshine Health Holding LLC a Florida LLC, Sunshine State Health Plan Inc. a Florida corporation, Superior Health Management Advisors LLC, Superior HealthPlan Community Solutions Inc. a Texas corporation, Superior HealthPlan Inc. a Texas corporation, TKH Holding Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, Terapias Medicas Domiciliarias S.L. a Spanish S.L., The Pavilion Clinic Ltd. an English and Welsh private company, The Practice Properties Limited an English and Welsh private company, The WellCare Management Group Inc. a New York corporation, Three Shires Hospital LP an English and Welsh limited partnership, Torrejon Salud S.A. a Spanish S.A., Torrevieja Salud S.L.U. a Spanish S.L.U., Torrevieja Salud UTE a Spanish UTE, Transplant Health Solutions IPA Inc. a New York corporation, Trillium Community Health Plan Inc. an Oregon corporation, UAM Agent Services Corp. an Iowa corporation, US Script, Universal American Corp. a Delaware corporation, Universal American Financial Services Inc. a Delaware corporation, Universal American Holdings LLC a Delaware LLC, Vivamed s.r.o. a Slovakia S.R.O., WCG Health Management Inc. a Delaware corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of America an Arkansas corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of Kentucky Inc. a Kentucky corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of Louisiana Inc. a Louisiana corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of Nevada Inc. a Nevada corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of New Hampshire Inc. a New Hampshire corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of New Jersey Inc. a New Jersey corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of Oklahoma Inc. an Oklahoma corporation, WellCare Health Insurance Company of Washington Inc. a Washington corporation, WellCare Health Insurance of Arizona Inc. an Arizona corporation, WellCare Health Insurance of Connecticut Inc. a Connecticut corporation, WellCare Health Insurance of Hawaii Inc. a Hawaii corporation, WellCare Health Insurance of New York Inc. a New York corporation, WellCare Health Insurance of North Carolina Inc. a North Carolina corporation, WellCare Health Insurance of Southwest Inc. an Arizona corporation, WellCare Health Insurance of Tennessee Inc. a Tennessee corporation, WellCare Health Plans, WellCare Health Plans Inc. a Delaware corporation, WellCare Health Plans of Arizona Inc. an Arizona corporation, WellCare Health Plans of Kentucky Inc. a Kentucky corporation, WellCare Health Plans of Massachusetts Inc. a Massachusetts corporation, WellCare Health Plans of Missouri Inc. a Missouri corporation, WellCare Health Plans of New Jersey Inc. a New Jersey corporation, WellCare Health Plans of Rhode Island Inc. a Rhode Island corporation, WellCare Health Plans of Vermont Inc. a Vermont corporation, WellCare National Health Insurance Company a Texas corporation, WellCare Prescription Insurance Inc. an Arizona corporation, WellCare of Alabama Inc. an Alabama corporation, WellCare of Arkansas Inc. an Arkansas corporation, WellCare of California Inc. a California corporation, WellCare of Connecticut Inc. a Connecticut corporation, WellCare of Georgia Inc. a Georgia corporation, WellCare of Illinois Inc. an Illinois corporation, WellCare of Indiana Inc. an Indiana corporation, WellCare of Maine Inc. a Maine corporation, WellCare of Michigan Holding Company a Michigan corporation, WellCare of Mississippi Inc. a Mississippi corporation, WellCare of Missouri Health Insurance Company Inc. a Missouri corporation, WellCare of New Hampshire Inc. a New Hampshire corporation, WellCare of New York Inc. a New York corporation, WellCare of North Carolina Inc. a North Carolina corporation, WellCare of Ohio Inc. an Ohio corporation, WellCare of Oklahoma Inc. an Oklahoma corporation, WellCare of Pennsylvania Inc. a Pennsylvania corporation, WellCare of South Carolina Inc. a South Carolina corporation, WellCare of Texas Inc. a Texas corporation, WellCare of Virginia Inc. a Virginia corporation, WellCare of Washington Inc. a Washington corporation, Western Sky Community Care Inc. a New Mexico corporation, Windsor Health Group Inc. a Tennessee corporation, Winning Security S.L. a Spanish S.L., and Worlco Management Services Inc. a New York corporation.

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The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases. It also provides credit cards and payments; real estate secured lending, auto finance, and consumer lending services; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, and advice to retail and institutional clients through direct investing, advice-based, and asset management businesses; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking products and services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to corporations, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,061 branches and 3,381 automated teller machines (ATMs) in Canada, and 1,148 stores and 2,701 ATMs in the United States, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. It has a strategic alliance with Canada Post Corporation. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Citigroup Inc. is one of the worlds largest financial institutions. It is the 13th largest bank globally by assets and 8th by market cap with operations in consumer and institutional banking. In the US, Citigroup is the 3rd largest bank by assets and one of the Big Four deemed systemically important and too big to fail.

Citigroup Inc. was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. The bank was run by Samuel Osgood who led the company with success for many years, even throughout the War of 1812. The bank was later renamed the National City Bank of New York in 1865 and by 1895 is the largest bank in the US. In 1913 it was the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a few years later it began to expand into overseas territories.

The bank became the First National City Bank of New York after another merger in 1955 and then later, the New York part was dropped off as part of the 150th-anniversary celebration. By 1974 the company is known as Citicorp which is still the operational branch of the business and a global banking powerhouse. A merger with Travelers insurance group in 1998 resulted in the name Citigroup but the joint venture did not last. By 2002 Travelers was publicly traded once again but Citigroup retained the new name.

Today, the company is headquartered in New York, New York but boasts more than 200 million customer accounts in 160 countries worldwide. As of mid-2022, it operated 2,649 branches in the United States, Mexico, and Asia. The company reports nearly 725 branches in the US and 1499 in Mexico with the rest scattered throughout its territory. Total annual revenue topped $75 billion in 2022.

Citigroup is a diversified financial services holding company that owns Citicorp among other assets. The companys mission is to serve as a trusted partner providing responsible financial solutions to its clients. Citigroup provides financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. The company operates in two segments, Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and Institutional Clients Group (ICG).

The GCB segment offers traditional banking services including deposit and saving accounts, credit cards, personal loans, home loans, and investment services. This segment operates through local branches and digital means. The ICG segment offers wholesale banking products and services to corporate, institutional, public sector, and high-net-worth clients.
Interceptions have been made at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Dimapur and Pune airports since November 10. The seized amount of Rs 60 crore is in scrapped denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: In a massive crackdown against black money since demonetisation of old high-currency notes came into force, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has seized over Rs 60 crore cash and gold weighing 245 kg from 10 major airports across the country.

According to documents accessed exclusively by India Today, a special surveillance operation was initiated by the CISF and the intelligence units of the Income Tax department and the interceptions have been made at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Dimapur,and Pune airports since November 10.

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Also read | Venkaiah says Centre has no plans to rework demonetisation strategy

The total cash and gold seized from November 10 to December 8, 2016 is about Rs 60 crore. While the currency is all in the scrapped denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the gold recovered is about 245 kilograms.

HOW MUCH AND WHERE

At the Delhi airport, cash worth Rs 6.23 crore and gold weighing 19.409 kg has been seized between November 10 and December 6.

In Mumbai, cash to the tune of Rs 18.32 crore and gold weighing 90.4 kg recovered between November 15 and December 8.

In Kolkata, cash amounting to Rs 5.65 crore and 25.463 kg of gold seized between November 15 and December 8.

At the Chennai airport, cash worth Rs 6.05 crore and gold weighing 109 kg was seized in only two days -- December 8 and 9.

In Guwahati, cash worth Rs 69.14 lakh was recovered between November 15 and December 8.

At the Patna airport, cash amounting to Rs 1.33 crore was seized between November 19 and December 1.

In Ahmedabad, cash to the tune of Rs 3.14 crore and gold weighing 800 grams was recovered between November 19 and December 4.

At Nagpur airport, cash worth Rs 11 crore was seized between November 24 and December 2.

Cash amounting to Rs 3.5 crore has been seized at the Dimapur aiport in this period.

In Pune, cash worth Rs 4.02 crore and gold weighing 11 kg was seized between December 7 and December 11.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Procter & Gamble: "Petersburg Products International" LLC, "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, 1837 LLC, Agile Pursuits Franchising Inc., Agile Pursuits Inc., Ambi Pur, Arbora & Ausonia, Arbora & Ausonia S.L.U., Avon - Giorgio Beverly Hills, Billie, Braun GmbH, Braun Shanghai Co. Ltd., Celtic Insurance Company Inc., Charlie Banana USA LLC, Corporativo Procter & Gamble S. de R.L. de C.V., DDFSkincare, Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery Shanghai Co. Ltd., Fameccanica North America Inc., Farmacy Beauty, Fater Central Europe SRL, Fater Eastern Europe LLC, Fater Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Fater S.p.A., Fater Temizlik Urunleri Ltd STI, First Aid Beauty, First Aid Beauty Limited, Folgers Coffee, Fountain Square Music Publishing Co. Inc., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette China Limited, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Shanghai Ltd., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay S.A., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, Inversiones Plaza LLC, LLC "Procter & Gamble - Novomoskovsk", LLC "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", LLC Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, Laboratoire Mediflor S.A.S., Laboratorios Vicks S.L.U., Lamberts Healthcare Ltd., Liberty Street Music Publishing Company Inc., Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones C.A., Merck Consumer Healthcare, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, Native, Nature's Best Health Products Ltd., New Chapter Canada Inc., New Chapter Inc., Nioxin Research Laboratories, Noxell Corporation, OUAI, Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Consumer Health Germany GmbH, P&G Distribution East Africa Limited, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding Inc., P&G Health Austria GmbH & Co. OG, P&G Health France S.A.S., P&G Health Germany GmbH, P&G Healthcare Zhejiang Limited, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Investment Management Ltd., P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G Japan G.K., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G South African Trading Pty. Ltd., P&G-Clairol, PG13 Launchpad Alpha Inc., PG13 Launchpad Beta Inc., PG13 Launchpad Gamma Inc., PGT Healthcare LLP, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Pressbox, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chengdu Ltd., Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble China Ltd., Procter & Gamble China Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent Beijing Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deutschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distributing Philippines Inc., Procter & Gamble Distribution Company Europe BV, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe LLC, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana S.A.U., Procter & Gamble Far East Inc., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finance U.K. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble Ghana Trading Limited, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Guangzhou Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Guangzhou Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Guangzhou Ltd., Procter & Gamble Guangzhou Technology Innovation Co. LTD., Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care LLC, Procter & Gamble Health & Beauty Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Health Belgium BV, Procter & Gamble Health Limited, Procter & Gamble Health Ltd., Procter & Gamble Health Poland Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Hellas Single Member Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holding Thailand Limited, Procter & Gamble Holdings UK Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Honduras S de RL, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership KKT, Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings Inc., Procter & Gamble Indochina Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica Limitada, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de El Salvador Limitada de Capital Variable, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala Limitada, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama S. de R.L., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International Sarl, Procter & Gamble Investment Company UK Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Italia S.p.A., Procter & Gamble Jiangsu Ltd., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea Inc., Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble L&CP Limited, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA Pty Ltd, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Thailand Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Tianjin Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Mataro S.L.U., Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Philippines Business Services Inc., Procter & Gamble Philippines Inc., Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo Higiene e Saude S.A., Procter & Gamble Product Supply U.K. Limited, Procter & Gamble Productions Inc., Procter & Gamble RHD Inc., Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services Sarl, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Switzerland SA, Procter & Gamble Singapore Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology Beijing Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Trading Thailand Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Vietnam Company Limited, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil Ltda., Procter & Gamble do Brazil LLC, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble doo Beograd, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Procter and Gamble Lanka Private Limited, Procter and Gamble SA Pty Ltd., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Recovery Engineering, Redmond Products Inc., Richardson-Vicks, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Riverfront Music Publishing Co. Inc., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Series Acquisition B.V., Seven Seas Limited, Shulton Inc., Snowberry, Snowberry New Zealand Limited, Sunflower Distributing LLC, TAOS - FL LLC, TAOS Retail LLC, THIS IS L, TULA, Tambrands, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving, The Art of Shaving - FL LLC, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Iams Company Inc., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company LLC, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., This is L. Inc., Thomas Hedley Co, US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon Shanghai Academy, VitaminHaus Pty Ltd, Walker & Co. Brands Inc., Walker & Company Brands, Wella AG, Zenlen Inc., Zirh, and iMFLUX Inc..

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According to the circular, schools have to make all payments online. This includes wages to contractual workers, procurement of goods and services.

By India Today Web Desk: Come January and you will have to pay your child's school fees online.

As per a Central Board of Secondary Education circular from secretary Joseph Emmanuel, all affiliated schools have been told to collect fees online or through other cashless modes from January 2017.

Not just this, the board has directed schools to disburse the salary to their staff through direct bank transfer.

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The CBSE has also introduced e-payment facilities for exam fee collection, affiliation and various other activities, including making payments to exam invigilators.

ALSO READ: Centre to hold chaupals to sensitise minorities about cashless economy

ALSO WATCH

The directives are expected to reduce the cash burden on the board and its affiliated schools. They are also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for a cashless economy.

ALSO READ: Now, Indian Railways to go cashless. And paperless

According to the circular, schools have to make all payments online. This includes wages to contractual workers, procurement of goods and services.

The board wants schools to interact with parents during the Parents Teachers' Meeting (PTMs) to make them aware about the benefits of cashless transactions.

ALSO READ: How cashless Maharashtra farmers are living their nightmares during demonetisation

The circular says schools should motivate senior students to promote benefits of cashless transactions in their neighbourhood.

Schools can organise various programmes such as workshops, seminars, competitions to create awareness on digital transactions and help students and their parents cultivate the habit of making payments digitally/online.

ALSO READ: Jaitley's cashless New Year gift: Know your discounts on online bookings

ALSO WATCH

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BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, "You are a champion of scams who presided over a scam of Rs 12 lakh crore. You, who couldn't give urea to farmers in 70 years, is now talking about it."

By Brijesh Pandey: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today hit back at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's charge that demonetisation is a scam and called Congress a "champion of scams".

Retorting to Chidambaram's allegation that the banning of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes is a "scam" and claimed it has broken the back of the poor, BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, "You are a champion of scams who presided over a scam of Rs 12 lakh crore. You, who couldn't give urea to farmers in 70 years, is now talking about it."

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Sharma charged that after demonetisation the only party which was suffering from depression was the Congress party. "In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, corruption was a big issue. Televisions and newspapers were full of corruption related stories. The people reposed their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.

Also read: Demonetisation a case of khoda pahaad, nikli chuhiya: 10 not-to-be-missed P Chidambaram quotes

He claimed that the BJP-led NDA government had done a lot of work, especially demonetisation which has broken the back of the black marketers, terrorists, Naxals and the like. The people who have indulged in corruption for last 70 years are frustrated. They cannot digest the popularity of Modi, he said.

Launching a personal attack on Chidambaram, Sharma said someone who was the finance minister during 'Coalgate' was making all kind of baseless allegations.

The BJP leader also hit out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. "I want to ask Rahul Gandhi where were you when 2G, coal block allocation and other scams were taking place. Then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave you a robust economy of 8 Gross domestic product (GDP)," he said.

Also read: Narendra Modi government could have consulted Manmohan Singh on demonetisation: Congress

He said the Modi government will not buckle under any pressure. "The culture of Congress is that wherever there is cash, there is commission. This is why they are rattled. This drying of commission is rattling them as it is their fight for survival," he said.

Sharma said it would have been better if Chidambaram had advised the Modi government. "The people don't take Congress seriously," he claimed.

Also read: PM Modi has already made society cashless, no one has money: Rahul Gandhi

Also read: Chidambaram to India Today: Demonisation of cash, not demonetisation of currency

--- ENDS ---
By Jack Robey (Guest Contributor)

While many know Louis Le Vau for his architectural accomplishments, few are aware of the lawsuit that haunted him at the end of his life. Le Vau rose to the prestigious position of Surintendant des Batiments, translated as superintendent of buildings, under King Louis XIV. While Le Vau is best known for his renovations of Versailles, his work at the Louvre, various hotels particuliers and at Nicolas Fouquets Vaux-le-Vicomte chateau has contributed to Frances share of famous architecture. While his final project was designing Versailless Enveloppe from 1668 to 1670, when he died, Le Vaus work on the College de Quatre-Nations in Paris has left him a controversial legacy.

The dispute regards Le Vaus design and construction of the College de Quatre Nations, which became part of the Universite de Paris and is today part of the Sorbonne. Le Vau was accused of embezzling funds by King Louis XIVs Minister of Finances, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who opposed Le Vaus architectural plans for the site. Funds for the College had been left by Cardinal Mazarin, who wanted further development and consolidation of royal power in Paris.

Styles of architecture were in the midst of a shift during the late-17th century in France. The conflicting classical and baroque styles, favored by Colbert and Le Vau respectively, represent the modernization and growing sophistication of the French capital city. Some have called the College a Baroque building in a classical city, and its influence on central Paris was significant. Situated across the river Seine from the Kings new apartments in the Louvre, it meant that Le Vaus designs would occupy both sides of the river as well as at Versailles.

Although the lawsuit wasnt resolved by the time of Le Vaus death in 1670, Le Vaus designs for the College were carried out by his pupil, Francis dOrbay. Colbert objected to the turning of attention from Paris to Versailles, believing that further development of Paris would be more beneficial to the monarchys image than construction of an isolated palace. However, Louis XIV ultimately had the last word in this matter.

Le Vau was bankrupt at his death, leaving his wife and daughters in debt and without anywhere to live. After his death, it became evident through financial records that Le Vaus management of personal and work-related funds sided on the irresponsible. However, his contribution to Frances architecture remains admirable nonetheless.

Bibliography

Ballon, Hilary. Louis Le Vau: Mazarins College, Colberts Revenge. Princeton: Princeton Architectural, 1999. Print.

Cojannot, Alexandre. :Mazarin et le Grande Dessein du Louvre : Projets et realisations de 1652 a 1664. Bibliotheque de lecole des Chartes 161.1 (2003): 133-219. Historical Abstracts. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

Versailles  World Heritage Site  National Geographic. National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

Jack Robey is a junior at Vanderbilt University working toward a major in Economics and minors in French and Psychology. He is interested in the history of economics and French language and is involved with several student organizations on campus.
Kiren Rijiju accused the main Opposition party of "cheap" politics and claimed all the payments now under scanner in the project were made during the UPA regime.

By India Today Web Desk: Congress leader Randeep Surjewala today demanded the resignation of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju for his alleged involvement in an Arunachal Pradesh hydro project scam.

Rijiju, in turn, accused the main Opposition party of "cheap" politics and claimed all the payments now under scanner in the project were made during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.

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Surjewala said, "The minister has no right to remain on his post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who talks of transparency and honesty, should get this (Rijiju's involvement in scam) investigated by an independent agency.

Also read: Kiren Rijiju calls report on Arunachal hydel power 'planted', says accusers will be beaten with shoes

"Till that time, the Prime Minister should either dismiss the Minister of State or ask for his resignation," he said as he demanded an investigation against all the senior officials associated with the project.

CONGRESS MUST APOLOGISE: RIJIJU

Shortly after the Congress press conference, Rijiju took to Twitter and demanded apology from the party. "Now Congress must apologise to the Nation. All Contract works & payments were made during Congress regime. I just forwarded a memorandum," he said.

"Really cheap! This is the copy of representation I received and forwarding letter to Power Minister. Is it a corruption helping poor Tribals?" he said in another tweet, with which he attached the letter received from the contractors and the one he wrote to the Power Ministry.

Earlier, Rijiju had slammed The Indian Express for "planting" a story about his alleged involvement in a power project and said if they visit Arunachal Pradesh, they will be "thrashed with shoes".

The newspaper claimed that he had written letters to clear payments of the contractors in the construction of two dams for the 600MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

Also read: Congress asks who is running government - Modi, Jaitley, RBI or Gurumurthy?

--- ENDS ---
Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette draws thousands each year who are seeking illumination of all kinds
Jordan research reactor complete

12 December 2016

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has completed a safety assessment of Jordan's first nuclear reactor ahead of its routine operation. The Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JRTR) has finished its test run and been declared complete by its Korean constructors.

The IAEA peer review team in discussion with Jordanian experts during the INSARR mission (Image: Jordan Atomic Energy Commission)

The Integrated Nuclear Safety Assessment of Research Reactors (INSARR) mission was conducted at JRTR between 4 and 8 December by an international team of nuclear safety experts from the Vienna-based agency and five countries that operate research reactors. The IAEA conducted the mission, at Jordan's request, to assess and evaluate the reactor's safety on the basis of IAEA safety standards.

INSARR team leader Amgad Shokr said the IAEA team peer reviewed the JRTR safety programs, focusing on the commissioning results and preparations for the reactor operation phase. "The team provided JAEC with recommendations and suggestions for operational safety improvements, including in the areas of operation management, staff training and qualification, reactor maintenance, and operational radiation protection," Shokr said.

Greg Rzentkowski, director of the IAEA's Division of Nuclear Installation Safety, commended Jordan for the progress it had made in introducing a nuclear research program. "It has to be recognized that the transition from the construction to the operation phase of a nuclear facility is never simple. Thus, work has to continue to implement a management system to demonstrate that the operating organization is qualified, and to confirm adequate safety measures are being implemented," he said.

Reactor complete

The 5 MWt JRTR is being built for the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) by a consortium headed by the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute with Daewoo at the Jordan University for Science and Technology. Construction of the reactor began in 2010, and Korea's Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning declared it complete on 7 December.

The reactor will be used for research and development, education and training and to produce medical and industrial radioisotopes. As well as being Jordan's first nuclear reactor, JRTR is the first nuclear reactor exported by Korea. Korean-designed power reactors are also under construction at Barakah in the United Arab Emirates.

The reactor was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki, on behalf of King Abdullah II, at a ceremony attended by Korean science minister Choi Yang-hee. Choi said the country would "proactively support" the reactor's operation and would also "partner with Jordan for the country's introduction of nuclear power reactors and technological development".

In March 2015, Russia and Jordan signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the construction and operation of two 1000 MWe VVER units in central Jordan. In September, Sergey Kirienko, then director-general of the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said a feasibility study on the project would be carried out early next year.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News



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Amano notes nuclear's role in sustainable development

13 December 2016

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In an address to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday in New York, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, highlighted the role of nuclear science and technology in sustainable development.

Amano addresses the UN General Assembly (Image: IAEA)

Amano noted there are currently 450 nuclear power reactors in operation in 30 countries, with a further 60 under construction.

"Nuclear power can make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy security, while delivering energy in the large and growing quantities needed for development," he said. "Around 30 developing countries are considering introducing nuclear power. If countries opt for nuclear power, we support them actively at every step of their journey so they can use it safely, securely and sustainably."

Amano said, "There is widespread recognition that the world can never be complacent about nuclear safety and that a robust safety culture must be maintained everywhere." He described the IAEA as "the global platform for strengthening nuclear security".

The IAEA has been celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Amano noted, "From the 26 countries which had ratified the IAEA Statute when it entered into force in July 1957, we have grown to an organization with 168 member states that spans the globe."

The IAEA implements safeguards in 181 states, 174 of which have Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements in force. "The number of countries with additional protocols in force has risen to 129 today from 93 in 2009," Amano noted.

"Our mission is Atoms for Peace and Development and our membership continues to grow," he told the UN General Assembly. "The agency has helped to improve the health and prosperity of millions of people by making nuclear science and technology available in health care, energy, food and agriculture, industry and other areas."

He said the past 60 years have demonstrated that nuclear science and technology play a significant role in supporting sustainable development. "Today, the agency is active in helping countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including those concerning poverty and hunger, human health, energy, climate change and the protection of the oceans," Amano said.

On 1 January, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit - officially came into force. Over the next 15 years, with these new goals that universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

"Improving access to effective cancer treatment in developing countries remains a high priority for the IAEA," Amano said. "Through activities such as our Program of Action for Cancer Therapy, we help countries to devise comprehensive cancer control programs. Real progress has been made in the availability of cancer treatment in recent years in Africa, in particular. New specialist cancer centres have been established. Radiation oncologists and medical physicists are returning home after receiving intensive training abroad with the support of the agency. But the needs remain great and the agency will maintain its focus on cancer control."

Amano highlighted the IAEA's rapid response to recent crises such as the Ebola and Zika viruses. This, he said, demonstrates the agency's ability to successfully manage large-scale projects.

"Since 1958, more than 48,000 scientists and engineers have held fellowships and scientific visitor positions through the IAEA technical cooperation program, both at the agency's laboratories, and in the facilities of our partners around the world", Amano noted. "Many of these scientists and engineers went on to play a key role in building capacity in nuclear science in their countries."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Canada owns 4 of the top 10 largest gold companies in the world. Two of these companies are South African. The remaining four belong to Russia, Malaysia, the US, and Australia.

Barrick Gold

The number one gold company in the world, in annual production, is Barrick Gold. This Canadian company has taken the number 1 spot for several years in a row despite seeing a drop in production from 2013 to 2014. During this time, Barrick Gold was implementing a structural readjustment project that resulted in production changes. In 2015, the company announced that it would be measuring its success in terms of financial results rather than production amounts. In 2016, the company produced a total of 203.1 tons of gold. It has mining operations in 10 countries: the Dominican Republic, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Zambia, and the US.

Newmont Mining

The second largest gold company in the world is Newmont Mining, a US-owned organization. Although in the number 2 spot, its 2016 production levels have significantly decreased compared to 2014 and 2015. Its most recent gold output is 142.67 tons. The Newmont Mining company has gold mining operations in Peru, New Zealand, Indonesia, Ghana, Australia, and the US state of Nevada. Worldwide, it employs approximately 34,000 employees and contractors.

AngloGold Ashanti

The third largest gold producing company is AngloGold Ashanti, a South African enterprise. In 2016, this company produced 116.37 tons of gold. This number represents a three-year consecutive drop in production. AngloGold Ashanti operates in 9 countries. This year, it has reported that an illegal mining operation has taken control of its Obuasi mine in Ghana.

Other large gold companies can be seen in the chart published below.

Demand For Gold

Gold has been one of the most sought after products across cultures for over a thousand years. It has been the cause of wars and the foundation of colonies and nations. Gold has long been a symbol of wealth and power, used as currency, in jewelry, for architectural embellishments, and as a component in modern technology. Today, gold mining is a large industry worldwide and a major economic contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) of some nations.

Global Gold Production Trends

Global gold production fluctuates from country to country on a yearly basis. The production of gold decreased in 2008 by 2.1% of 2007 levels. The costs of running a gold mine increased by 4.1% in the last quarter of 2010, which led to a decrease in production at mines in some countries. The following year, 11 of 14 major gold producing countries reported an increase in output. By 2012, that number was down to 6 of 14 and in 2013, it rose to 9 countries. Most recently, 2015 output numbers indicate a global increase in gold production of just under 1%. This is because the increased production of North America and Indonesia was canceled out by the decreased production in China and throughout Africa. The final numbers for 2016 are expected to show a global decrease.
Latvia is a Northern European Baltic country that is bordered by Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, and Sweden. The country houses 1,957,200 people and encompasses an area of 64,589 square km. The country also shares a maritime border with Sweden. Latvia has well-developed cities with proper infrastructural facilities and amenities. The country was listed as a high-income country on July 1, 2014. The capital and biggest city of Latvia is the Riga. Liepaja is an ice-free port in the city. Jurmala and Daugavpils are major tourist attractions in the country.

The Biggest Cities In Latvia

Riga

Riga is Latvias biggest city and also the nations seat of government. It is the largest city among the cities of the Baltic States, and one-third of Latvias population call the city their home. Riga is situated on the Gulf of Riga and occupies an area of around 307.17 square km. The city was founded in 1201, and its historical center has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was the declared as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Several important international events like the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, and others have been hosted in Riga.

Daugavpils

Daugavpils is a southeastern Latvian city that is located on the banks of the Daugava River. It is the second biggest city in Latvia. The city borders Lithuania and Belarus and is also only 120 km away from the Russian border. The strategic position of Daugavpils thus enhances its importance in Latvia. It is a beautiful and well-visited city that is dotted with many nature parks and lakes. This age-old city that was established in 1275 has a number of cultural institutions and historical monuments. The Daugavpils fortress is most prominent among them. The city is also famous for its numerous red brick buildings.

Liepaja

Liepaja is the third biggest city in Latvia. The city is most well-known for being an ice-free port. The city is referred to as the "City where the wind is born, due to the constantly blowing sea breeze. Liepaja, being Latvias windiest city, hosts the nations biggest wind farm. An industrial city, many high technology plants are located in Liepaja. The Blue Flag Beach with its rolling dunes and white sand is the major tourist attraction in the city. Age-old churches and ruins of military fortifications are historical attractions in Liepaja.

Jelgava

Jelgava is located 41 km southwest of Riga in central Latvia. The city is located in a fertile belt of the country at an elevation of only 3.5 meters above sea level on the river Lielupes right bank. The Jelgava Air Base and a railway center are located in this city. Between 1578 and 1795, the city served as the Duchy of Courland and Semigallias capital. Several ruins and preserved buildings from this era remain as tourist attractions in the city today.

Jurmala

Jurmala is the fifth biggest city in Latvia. It is located about 25 km west of Riga. The city is one of Latvia's major tourist destinations and a resort town. The location of the city between the Lielupe River and the Gulf of Riga make endows it with scenic natural beauty. Long beaches and romantic wooden houses draw tourists to this city from around the world.
Suspicions of Russian hacker influence in elections has German party officials worried.

High-ranking party officials in German politics are concerned about Russian hackers spreading misinformation to influence the outcome of the 2017 election, according to the BBC.

The concerns are heightened by reports that Russians may have tried to influence the United States Presidential election in November, by hacking into the Democratic Partys database and documents that were damaging to Hillary Clintons campaign bid.

Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior MP in Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) party was quoted in a German newspaper as saying there was a general danger for the upcoming election for the Bundestag, Germanys lower parliament, next year. He added there could be influence-peddling via targeted infiltration from outside, with the goal of manipulating facts or opinions.

Bosbach made his comments while discussing the concerns that the US has over possible Russian assistance for Donald Trump. Russian officials have denied any interference in the US elections and downplayed warnings from other Western states.

Rolf Muetzenich, a foreign affairs spokesman for the Social Democrat party (SDU) agreed, offering, unfortunately we cannot exclude such activities in Germany, either.

Officials from Germanys intelligence agency, BfV, admits increasingly aggressive cyber-espionage, and add the indications of attempts to influence the elections are on the rise. Their sources say a hacker group, known to them as Fancy Bear or APT28 which the believe is controlled by the Russian state, is particularly active.

German intelligence also believes a set of secret files from the Bundestag committee that was investigating US National Security Agency spying on German politicians were obtained by Russian sources. Those files, from 2014-15, were released by Wikileaks earlier this year.

The American CIA suspects that Russian hackers were involved in attacks on US politics, but has not yet provided any concrete evidence. Meanwhile, members of both houses of Congress are calling for hearings and an internal investigation on the attempted break-ins.
Congress attacked the Modi government and sought to know who was running the current dispensation at the Centre.

By Ashok Singhal: A day after RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy revealed that the Rs 2,000 denomination note will be demonetised in a few years, Congress attacked the Narendra Modi government and sought to know who was running the current dispensation at the Centre.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad asked who was running the government - PM Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, RBI or Gurumurthy. The question arises because the demonetisation initiative was announced by Modi whereas it is the prerogative of either the RBI or the Finance Minister to do so, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said.

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Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, "Yesterday a leading RSS spokesman said that Rs 2,000 notes should also be withdrawn. I won't be surprised if they do that."

ALSO READ | New Rs 2,000 notes to be phased out within 5 years, says RSS ideologue Gurumurthy

However, the Modi government rejected the Congress charge. Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said Gurumurthy just gave a suggestion. "He (Gurumurthy) is a well meaning person and a nationalist. He has just given a suggestion (that Rs 2,000 note could be phased out)," he said.

In an exclusive interview to India Today, Gurumurthy, who is also a chartered accountant, supported the notion of lower-denomination banknotes for the country. A key member of the Sangh-backed Vivekananda Foundation, he has been advising seniors in the government over ways to deal with demonetisation.

Gurumurthy described the new 2,000 bills as a "bridge" to meet the gap in cash while it is being taken out of circulation. But the new biggest notes, he said, would also be "phased out" gradually.

(With agency inputs)

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Dec 13 (PTI) Pakistans top diplomat today said the USD 46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project carries enormous economic potential not only for the country but for different regions, including the Gulf.

The Prime Ministers Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made the remarks while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a three-day conference on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Region Integration here.

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Aziz said apart from connectivity, the ambitious project will help Pakistan overcome energy shortages, Radio Pakistan reported.

Highlighting the challenges to the project, which runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and has led to concerns in India, Aziz said some detractors are not happy but steps have been taken to ensure security of the Chinese personnel engaged in execution of different projects under the umbrella of CPEC.

He was confident that the CPEC has the element to make Pakistan self-reliant in various spheres.

Many of the multi-dimensional power projects of the CPEC are under implementation phase which will add about 17,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, Aziz said.

"About six to seven thousand megawatts will come in the system in the next two years time. Overcoming the energy shortages will also help enhance our GDP growth which is expected to move to five percent this year," he said.

The CPEC project was launched in early 2015 to link China with the Arabian Sea through Pakistan by building a network of roads, railways, energy parks and industrial zones.

Aziz also clarified that China is investing USD 36 billion in these power plants and providing soft loans for infrastructure development. Given the terms, these loans will not increase debt liability.

He, however, emphasised the need for diversifying the countrys exports. He said Pakistans private sector and entrepreneurs should be "more forthcoming to bring value addition" in the industrial parks to be set up in each province under the project.

"We also have to reorient our training programmes in order to meet the work force demand in the industrial parks," he said. PTI SH ABH

--- ENDS ---
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, incarcerated in the Ecuadorean embassy for four and a half years, has released a transcript of the statement he made to Swedish investigators last month.

Assanges comments include more detail about the sexual encounter on which the bogus rape allegations against him were based. He presents a devastating review of the US-led campaign against him, which underscores the politically motivated and concocted character of the smears.

Assange issued the statement after he was finally interviewed by Swedish authorities, on behalf of prosecutor Marianne Ny, following years of prevarication and delay. In his 19-page statement, Assange exposes blatant breaches of Swedish law by Ny.

Swedish law demands the conduct of preliminary investigation as expeditiously as possible and when there is no longer reason for pursuing the investigation, it shall be dropped.

No person should be exposed to suspicion, or put to unnecessary cost or inconvenience. But Ny deliberately suspended her work to progress and bring to a conclusion the preliminary investigation, despite Assanges repeated offers to be interviewed following his original voluntary questioning on August 30, 2010.

Assange outlined the egregious circumstances of the November interview. His Swedish defence lawyer was not permitted to be present, despite the interview being a Swedish criminal preliminary investigation. Assanges Ecuadorian defence counsel has no access to the case file and did not understand Swedish. Assange has not been able to read key text messages in the possession of the Swedish authorities, which will confirm he is innocent of the allegations against him.

Nevertheless, the WikiLeaks founder felt compelled to give my statement today so that there can be no more excuses for the Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny to continue my indefinite unlawful detention, which is a threat to my health, and even to my life. He continued, I will not grant this prosecutor any excuse to avoid taking my statement as I fear she would use it as a means to indefinitely prolong my cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

On the circumstances of his trip to Stockholm in 2010, Assange explained that earlier in that year Hillary Clinton, as United States Secretary of State, launched an investigation unprecedented in scale and nature against WikiLeaks. Led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], the investigation grew to involve a dozen other agencies, including the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], the NSA [National Security Agency] and the Defence Intelligence Agency. Described as a whole of government investigation, the case also involves a closed door Grand Jury and the torture and jailing of whistleblower and political prisoner Chelsea Manning for 35 years in an attempt to implicate Assange and WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks published the Afghan War Diaries in July 2010. These exposed a brutal war of colonial subjugation involving rampages by army personnel, targeted assassinations, indiscriminate bombing and drone attacks on entire villages and the destruction of an impoverished country.

The diaries provoked a state-orchestrated international media witch-hunt against WikiLeaks and threats to arrest or kill Assange. The statement cites Marc Thiessen in the Washington Post, whose article WikiLeaks Must be Stopped called for diplomatic pressure to be brought on governments to arrest Assange. Failing this, the US can arrest Assange on their territory without their knowledge or approval. Another article described an office near the Pentagon with 120 analysts, from the FBI and other agencies, working around the clock on the frontlines of the secret war against WikiLeaks.

Assange travelled to Stockholm under enormous pressure and in considerable danger to ensure the safety of WikiLeaks publishing servers, some of which were in Sweden. Swedish state television complained that WikiLeaks presence in Sweden risked its strategic relationship with the US. During Assanges stay his personal bank cards were blocked, and WikiLeaks Moneybookers account could not be accessed. Later in the year, this became a concerted judicial economic blockade against WikiLeaks by US financial service companies, including VISA, Mastercard, PayPal, Bank of American, Western Union and American Express.

Cut off from funds, Assange was forced to rely on people he hardly knew for food, safety and telephone credit. He gave a speech on the Afghan war which a woman, SW, attended and sat in the front row. SW, he writes, appeared to be sympathetic to my plight and also appeared to be romantically interested in me. The pair went to the National Museum, where SW said she worked and where she kissed me and placed my hands on her breasts.

They met again two days later. SW invited Assange to her home where she made it very clear that she wanted to have sexual intercourse with me. Assange notes that he felt concerned about the intensity of SWs interest. SW knew an unusual amount of detail about Assange. They had consensual sex on four or five occasions.

He goes on, In the morning she went out to pick up breakfast for us. After enjoying breakfast together, I left her home on good terms. At no stage when I was with her did she express that I had disrespected her in any way or acted contrary to her wishes other than to be not interested enough to pay her attention above my security situation or attempts to sleep. She accompanied me to the train station on her bicycle and we kissed each other goodbye.

Over the following days, he and SW spoke on the phone and SW told him of her concerns over sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). She went to the Swedish police for STD advice and asked him to be tested for STDs. He agreed and stated, You can imagine my disbelief when I woke the next morning to the news that I had been arrested in my absence for rape and that police were hunting all over Stockholm for me.

Texts from SW to a friend and seen by Assanges lawyers expose the allegation of rape as bogus. Assange states that the texts were sent to her friends during the course of the evening I was at her home and during that week, which the Swedish police collected from her phone. Although the prosecutor has fought for years to prevent me, the public and the courts from seeing them, my lawyers were permitted to see them at the police station and were able to note down a number of them, including (as directly cited by Assange):

  On 14 August 2010 SW sent the following text to a friend: I want him. I want him. Followed by several more of similar content (all referring to me) in the lead-up to the events in question (13:05);

  On 17 August SW wrote that we had long foreplay, but nothing happened (01:14); then it got better (05:15);

  On 17 August, after all sex had occurred, SW wrote to a friend that it turned out all right other than STD/pregnancy risk (10:29);

  On 20 August SW, while at the police station, wrote that she did not want to put any charges on Julian Assange but that the police were keen on getting their hands on him (14:26); and that she was chocked (sic shocked) when they arrested him because she only wanted him to take a test (17:06);

  On 21 August SW wrote that she did not want to accuse Julian Assange for anything, (07:27); and that it was the police who made up the charges (sic) (22:25);

The remainder of the statement records the extraordinary and ever more aggressive, undemocratic, illegal and intimidatory methods employed by the US, Swedish and British governments to silence Assange and WikiLeaks.

In November 2010, immediately following WikiLeaks release of hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables exposing further crimes and political conspiracies carried out by Washington and the Pentagon, the US established a State Department War Room against WikiLeaks. On November 30, an Interpol Red Notice was sent to 180 countries to arrest Assange for a Swedish preliminary investigation for which no charges or indictment exist. Days later a European Arrest Warrant was issued and Assange was arrested in London. He was held in a high security jail, then under house arrest for nearly two years before applying for diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in June 2012, where he remains.

Last month, the British government lost its appeal as inadmissible against a legally binding verdict earlier this year by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD). According to the original verdict, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, the adequate remedy would be to ensure the right of free movement of Mr. Assange and accord him an enforceable right to compensation, in accordance with article 9(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Julian Assanges full statement can be accessed here.
The latest End Child Poverty coalition report shows that 3.7 million children (29 percent) in the UK are living in poverty. The coalition was established in 2001 and comprises over 100 local and national groups, including childrens charities, social justice groups, trade unions and faith organisations.

A graphic in the report shows 30 desks in a classroom, nine of which are in black to represent each child living in poverty. It explains that while child poverty exists throughout the country, in the areas with the highest levels, child poverty is running at 47 percent. It is at 10 percent in areas considered more affluent.

The data was compiled using the most recent tax credit data of two years ago but also used national trends in joblessness to give an up-to-date picture of child poverty.

The report gave a detailed picture of levels of poverty across the UK using parliamentary constituencies and local authority areas. The local authority area data was broken down into ward boundaries to give a detailed localised picture of levels of poverty.

The data based on parliamentary constituencies showed high levels of child poverty in the UKs major cities. Birmingham Ladywood tops the list with a child poverty rate of 47.3 percent. The other top 20 areas include Manchester Gorton, Leeds Central, Glasgow Central, Liverpool Riverside and Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough. Within Greater London, the Poplar and Limehouse constituency along with Bethnal Green and Bow have poverty rates greater than 43 percent.

Whole areas of the UK are blighted by child poverty, with nearly a quarter of children in Northern Ireland affected and 27 percent of children in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.

Scotland has nearly a quarter of a million children living in poverty, with a third of children in Glasgow and 30 percent of children in the former coalfield area of North Ayrshire blighted by poverty.

Commenting on the figures, John Dickie, director of the Scottish Child Poverty Action Group, said, Theres no doubt that many of the key drivers of child poverty are UK-wide and if the prime minister is serious about supporting families then decisive action must be taken to end the freeze on childrens benefits and reverse sharp cuts to in-work support under Universal Credit.

Some areas traditionally considered more affluent suffer elevated levels of child poverty. Kent has a 25 percent rate and in Slough the figure is nearly 27 percent. In the Cotswolds, the figure is one in six and nearly one in six in Aylesbury.

The measure used by the government defines relative poverty as households whose income is below 60 percent of the median income. The median income figure is one in which half of households earn more and half earn less.

In its Key Facts, End Child Poverty noted:

Since 2010, child poverty figures have flat-lined. The number of children in absolute poverty has increased by 0.5 million since 2010. As a direct result of tax and benefit decisions made since 2010 the Institute of Fiscal Studies (an independent body) project that the number of children in relative poverty will have risen from 3.6m to 4.3m by 2020.





Work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK. Two-thirds (64 percent) of children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one member works.





Child poverty blights childhoods. Growing up in poverty means being cold, going hungry, not being able to join in activities with friends. For example, 60 percent of families in the bottom income quintile would like, but cannot afford to take their children on holiday for one week a year.





Childcare and housing are two of the costs that take the biggest toll on families budgets. When you account for childcare costs, extra 130,000 children are pushed into poverty.

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) states its mission is to hold the government and all main political parties to account for their commitment to eradicate poverty by 2020.

In a commentary on the report, Sam Royston, the chair of End Child Poverty, stated, Many families who are just about managing today, wont be managing tomorrow if Universal Credit leaves them with fewer pounds in their pocket, and if rising costs of living mean their money doesnt stretch as far as it used to.

Last months Autumn Statement given in Parliament by Chancellor Philip Hammond demonstrated that there would be no let-up in austerity from a government that, as revealed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has carried out an additional 12 billion in welfare cuts in the 18 months since the last general election. No cuts in place will be reversed, with Hammond saying the budget re-states our commitment to living within our means.

The statement included a reduction in the Universal Credit tapermeaning the rate at which the low pay supplement is withdrawn as earning rise was reduced. However, as Royston noted, the measures laid out in the Autumn Statement are but a drop in the ocean compared to recent cuts to family income. The 3.9 million children living in poverty across the UK are still waiting for measures that make Britain a country that works for everyone, as promised by Theresa May in her first speech as Prime Minister. He added, Instead, whilst experts are giving stark warnings of price rises on the horizon, the Government is continuing with a four year freeze on childrens benefits and tax credits until 2020. As a result, low income families are likely to find it ever harder to make ends meet in coming years.

A Joseph Rowntree Foundation report published in June this year, based on a Department of Work and Pensions analysis of Households Below Average Income, showed 19 percent of children living in poverty before housing costs are taken into accountrising to 29 percent when they are factored in. It noted, The gap between the two poverty measures has grown which reflects the rising housing costs over the past decade pushing more people into poverty.

Another indicator of growing poverty is the ongoing increase in the use of food banks by families. Trussell Trust food banks, which operates 400 food banks across the UK, distributedin Scotland alone63,794 three-day supplies of emergency food to people in crisis between April and September 2016. This compared to 60,458 during the same period in 2015an increase of 6 percent. Nearly a third 20,332 of these (32 percent) were for children.

Working people are being made to pay for the crisis of the capitalist system and poor families with children are at the sharp end of this. This is the result of a systematic offensive against the working class waged by successive Labour and Tory governments over the last decade.

More than 100 billion has been slashed from public spending as a result of the 1 trillion bailout of the banks initiated by the 2007-2010 Labour government of Gordon Brown and continued by the Tories. The ruling elite aims to destroy what remains of the post-1945 welfare state, while implementing its pro-business agenda to step up the exploitation of the working class to compete with their international rivals.
The Chinese regime has criticised US President-elect Donald Trump over his remarks on Sunday calling into question the One China policy that has been the basis for US-China relations for more than four decades. Set in place by US President Richard Nixon during his groundbreaking trip to Beijing in 1972, the policy recognises Beijing as the sole legitimate government of all China, including the island of Taiwan.

Speaking on Fox News, Trump declared that he did not see why the US has to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade. His tirade amounted to a list of demands for Chinese concessions on everything from trade and economic policy to North Korea and Chinas activities in the South China Sea.

Trump had already placed a question mark over the One China policy by taking a phone call on December 2 from Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wenthe first such contact since 1979 when the US broke off formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. On Sunday, he again defended the phone call, which had been lined up weeks in advance by his advisers, saying that it would have been very disrespectful not to take it.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang yesterday expressed Chinas serious concern over Trumps remarks. I want to stress that the Taiwan issue concerns Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, and involves Chinas core interests, he said. Upholding the One China principle is the political basis for developing China-US ties.

Geng warned: If this basis is interfered with or damaged then the healthy development of China-US relations and bilateral cooperation in important areas is out of the question  The China-US relationship had global and strategic significance. This not only concerns the happiness of both countries and their people, it concerns the peace, stability, development and prosperity of the Asia Pacific and internationally.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime has always regarded Taiwan as a vital core interest and has warned that it would forcibly seize the island if Taipei ever declared formal independence from the mainland. Beijing is further concerned that by giving succour to President Tsai, whose party supports a more independent Taiwan, Trump is also indirectly encouraging separatist sentiment elsewhere in China, particularly in Tibet and Xinjiang.

An editorial yesterday in the hawkish Chinese state-owned Global Times entitled Trump overestimates US capability to dominate the world called on the Chinese government to pursue an aggressive, militarist response. China has become a country with substantial strength among countries in the West Pacific Ocean, it boasted. Especially in the Taiwan Strait, China is now confident enough to arm-wrestle with the US.

The Global Times continued: China must win respect from Trumps team  Fantasising about an appeasement policy is not an option. A new round of gamesmanship between the two countries will be needed to test how much respect the two should pay to each other based on their strength. It specifically urged Beijing to severely punish pro-independence forces in Taiwan through non-peaceful means and make the use of military force an actual option to realise reunification.

The editorial underscores the reactionary character of Beijings response to the mounting threats posed by the US that will escalate when Trump assumes office: on the one hand, efforts to appease Washington, on the other an arm wrestle with the US.

The CCP regime, which rests on a tiny layer of super-rich oligarchs, is organically incapable of making any appeal to workers in China, Taiwan or internationally. Its whipping up of Chinese nationalism and its military build-up play directly into the hands of US imperialism, heighten the danger of conflict and divide the international working classthe only social force that can halt the slide to war.

Trump has already indicated that he will intensify the Obama administrations aggressive pivot to Asia against China on all frontsdiplomatic, economic and military. In the course of his election campaign, he threatened trade war measures against China, including by declaring it a currency manipulator and imposing tariffs of 45 percent on Chinese goods. To back his confrontational policy, Trump has promised to dramatically increase the size of the US military, in particular its naval strength, which is a key element of the Pentagons war planning against China.

By putting a question mark over the One China policy and hinting at close US relations with Taiwan, Trump is deliberately inflaming one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the world. Until Nixons rapprochement with China in 1972, the US supported the claim of the Kuomintang (KMT) dictatorship in Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, to be the legitimate government in exile of all of China and backed it militarily. Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the US continues to supply arms to Taiwan and maintains ties with its military.

Most recently, as tensions escalated between Beijing and Taipei, the Clinton administration in 1996 sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to nearby waters in the biggest display of naval force in the region since the Vietnam War. The crisis was triggered by the decision of Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, a supporter of Taiwanese independence, to visit the US to deliver a speech at his alma mater, Cornell University. President Clinton provocatively sent the USS Nimitz and its battle group through the narrow Taiwan Strait separating Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.

What Trump is threatening to do will trigger a crisis in the Taiwan Strait that will make the 1996 episode pale into insignificance. His remarks have come under fire from the Obama administration. White House press secretary Josh Earnest yesterday rejected Trumps suggestion that the One China policy be used as a bargaining chip with China. Taiwan is not a source of leverage, he said. Its a close ally of the United States.

Obamas opposition to Trumps threat to tear up the One China policy has nothing to do with opposing war with Chinahis administration has been preparing for just that eventuality over the past eight years. Rather it is part of the extraordinary conflict that has erupted in the American ruling elite over allegations that Russian hacking was aimed at influencing the US presidential election in favour of Trump. The issue at stake in this escalating infighting is not whether the US should target China and Russia, but which to confront first.
After initially conceding defeat to Adama Barrow after the December 1 presidential election, incumbent President Yahya Jammeh announced on Friday that he rejects the results of the poll, citing serious abnormalities which he claims occurred during the election.

After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election. I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process, Jammeh announced on state TV. He did not elaborate on what the serious abnormalities were, except to claim that the election held on December 1 was influenced by foreigners.

Jammeh called for new elections, saying, I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a God-fearing and independent electoral commission.

The veracity of Jammehs claims cannot be assessed, as the results of the thorough investigation have not been released. No evidence exists of the claim of foreign influence in the election.

The inquiry cited by Jammeh was initiated by the official Independent Election Commission (IEC) of The Gambia, which is beholden to Jammehs ruling government. Late Saturday, Jammeh said he would be preparing a legal challenge to the result of the December 1 vote before the Gambian Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court in a statement said that it would decline to hear the challenge due to a lack of seated judges.

Various international critics over the weekend sharply condemned Jammeh on the news of his decision to challenge the poll.

The United Nations Security Council denounced Jammehs about-face, and demanded that he hand over power to President-elect Barrow. In a unanimous statement of the 15-member panel, it called on Jammeh to respect the choice of the Gambian people.

The Obama administration via the US State Department condemned Jammehs reversal, declaring it a reprehensible and unacceptable breach of faith with the people of The Gambia and an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election process and remain in power illegitimately. It further stated, We call upon President Jammeh, who accepted the election results on December 2, to carry out an orderly transition of power to President-elect Barrow in accordance with the Gambian Constitution.

After Jammeh made his announcement rejecting the election result, troops were deployed in the streets of the capital city Banjul, and were reported to be setting up sandbags, as if in preparation for a siege.

This prompted the US embassy in Banjul to issue a statement, urging the Gambian army to show respect for the rule of law and the outcome of the presidential election, adding, The Gambian people have made a clear choice for change and a new start.

Washingtons condemnations are entirely hypocritical and make a mockery of its appeals for Jammeh to adhere to democratic norms, considering Washingtons recent history of launching a war with its NATO allies in Libya in 2011 utilizing Al-Qaeda-linked forces to remove and murder Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

There is also Washingtons ongoing support of Islamist militias in Syria to foment regime change in order to place a more pliant government in Damascus. The result of these two imperialist excursions have left both countries virtual wastelands, with tens of thousands maimed and killed, and have resulted in the worst refugee crisis since World War II.

The leader of the incoming political coalition behind Barrow, Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, has vowed that they are preparing to prosecute individuals in Jammehs regime, including Jammeh himself, if the election is resolved in Barrows favor.

There is no doubt that this played a role in Jammehs sudden about-face. Jammeh and his security apparatus have committed acts of repression, disappearances, torture and murder of political opponents, the victims of which include members of the political party of the incoming Barrow administration. Many of these individuals still remain detained at the Mile 2 prison where at least two of the prisoners have died as a result of torture.

There are clear indications that Jammeh has fallen out of favor with Washington and its Western European partners.

In October, Jammeh made moves to withdraw The Gambias participation in the International Criminal Court (ICC), and in 2013 rescinded The Gambias participation in the British Commonwealth of Nations, the organization of former British colonies. The Commonwealth was set up after the formal independence of the colonies in order to maintain the framework of economic exploitation set in place during colonialism.

Jammehs decision to withdraw The Gambias participation in the ICC is based on his fear that he and his cronies may be brought forth before it like other autocrats that fell out of favor with Washington, such as Liberias Charles Taylor.

Washington has scathingly criticized Jammeh for his autocratic form of rule in recent years, hypocritically condemning his governments brutal repression of dissent. In reality, Washington and Britain have grown weary of Jammeh and his unpredictability; such behavior is not good for the business of exploiting The Gambias economic resources.

The human rights abuses committed by the Jammeh regime are giving Western interests a public relations black eye. Since 2014, the European Union has withdrawn millions of dollars in aid to The Gambia. In the same year, Washington booted The Gambia from its African Growth and Opportunity Act, a program aimed at expanding trade on the continent.

Barrow, on the other hand, has demonstrated his willingness to enter a subservient relationship with Washington and its Western European allies, and has stated that he is open to greater economic relations with wealthy international interests, and has promised to restore The Gambia as a member of the Commonwealth.

In response to Jammehs about-face on the election result, Barrow said, [Jammeh] is damaging The Gambias democratic credentials. He went on further: We are calling on Mr. Jammeh to respect the will of the people and will hold him responsible for anything that happens in this country and its people.

A pall of fear has fell over the Gambian masses with Jammehs refusal to accept the poll result. Many are expecting a crackdown. In the capital city of Banjul, many shopkeepers closed early on Friday, anticipating unrest. Senegalese fighter jets have been reported flying across the Gambian skies, in what can be interpreted as a warning to Jammeh.

In the event that a new election is called, it will almost certainly result in a Jammeh victory, as the Independent Election Commission is in the back pocket of the ruling government. The IEC arbitrarily decides which parties can run for election, it oversees labyrinthine rules on voter registration and polling locations which result in voter disenfranchisement, and it is the sole monitor and custodian in the country over the counting of the vote. It is certain that Jammehs security forces will be out in force throughout the country to carry out acts of intimidation and repression of political opponents and voters.

Regardless of whether Jammeh or Barrow takes the reins of power, the exploitation and repression of the Gambian masses will continue unabated. While Barrow is more palatable to Washington and Europe, both men have pledged their undying loyalty to the demand by the tiny wealthy Gambian elite and wealthy international corporate and banking interests that The Gambia is to remain open for capitalist exploitation.
The death toll in the western Indonesian province of Aceh following a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit before dawn on December 7 stands at 101, with more than 800 injured. The number of people displaced or left homeless has risen in recent days to nearly 84,000.

Officials declared last Friday that search and rescue operations involving 1,500 personnel were nearing an end. Emergency response coordinators told Australias ABC News that while the death toll could still increase, their focus was shifting to clearing and securing the damaged sites.

The destruction in the districts of Pidie Jaya, Pidie and Bireun is extensive: more than 11,500 houses, 152 mosques and Mushola (Muslim prayer rooms), 157 shops, 25 schools, a shopping centre and a hospital are listed as destroyed or severely damaged. Many roads have been badly cracked and power poles toppled over.

The disaster is the worst in the Aceh region since the magnitude 9.1 quake which struck on 26 December 2004 triggering a devastating tsunami that killed more than 120,000 Aceheans. A total of 226,000 people died along Indian Ocean shorelines across Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives.

Volunteers and rescue personnel have concentrated on the town of Meureudu, near the quakes epicentre. Local officials have pleaded for more medicines, doctors and supplies to treat the injured. We need surgeons and orthopedics, because many victims have fractures, deputy district chief Said Mulyadi stated. Some areas have proved inaccessible to large machinery or too unstable, forcing rescuers to search by hand or with just basic tools.

More than a dozen bodies were pulled from rubble at a popular market place at Meureudu. A shop owner, Hajj Yusri Abdullah, told the Independent they included a group of eighta newlywed couple and family members holding a celebration known as Antar Dara Baro. He did not hold out much hope of finding survivors.

Many of the severely injured were sent to other districts because Pidie Jayas hospital was damaged and unsafe. Beds lined an outdoor corrugated iron-covered corridor where the quake victims lay injured and shocked. More than 300 were treated at the hospital for cuts and bruises, broken bones and head injuriesabout 50 died there. Minor injuries were being treated in a field hospital erected in the grounds of the district chiefs office.

A state of emergency has been declared in the province for two weeks, but the Indonesian government has not sought assistance from any foreign nation. The International Organisation of Migrations Paul Dillon told the Sydney Morning Herald that the level of damage remains opaque and it was unclear how many people would be long-term or medium-term displaced.

Survivors told the ABC late last week they still feared a tsunami, although no warning was issued after the quake hit. Supplies of food and water were said to be low. The commander of a military medical facility, Major General Ben Rimba, said that with ongoing aftershocks, the biggest concern was illness and injuries.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was centred about 19 kilometres southeast of Sigli, a town near the northern tip of Sumatra, at a depth of 17 kilometres. Numerous aftershocks have rattled the area.

Devastating quakes occur regularly in the region. The worlds largest archipelago, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Ring of Fire, an extensive arc of unstable fault lines in the Pacific Basin. Since 2004, thousands of people have died or been displaced in devastating earthquakes near the main island of Java in 2005, three times in 2006, and once again in 2009. An 8.5 magnitude quake hit Aceh in April 2012.

Last Friday, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Solomon Islands, triggering tsunami warnings across the southwest Pacific. While no deaths were reported, humanitarian agencies said over 3,000 people were affected and many buildings damaged. It was followed by a second 6.9 magnitude earthquake on Saturday.

Last month, two earthquakes off Japans northwest coast triggered tsunami fears and injured some 20 people. On November 14, a 7.8 magnitude quake hit New Zealand, isolating the seaside town of Kaikoura and causing considerable damage to the capital, Wellington.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo toured the stricken areas of Aceh on Friday, visiting a hospital and speaking to survivors at Atta Karuf mosque in Pidie Jaya. He reportedly told local children to keep high spirits in your study, keep singing and stay happy.

Widodo announced 15 million rupiah ($US1,125) in compensation for families of the deceased, with those injured receiving 5 million rupiah. The government will allocate just 40 million rupiah for heavily-damaged houses and 20 million rupiah for partially-damaged homes. The amounts pledged are a pittance and will only support the most superficial and short-term measures.

The victims face the same levels of poverty and underdevelopment that created the conditions for this and previous disasters. Most of the dwellings that were flattened were poorly constructed and not designed to withstand tremors. The earthquake was significantly smaller than the massive quake that triggered the 2004 tsunami, yet it still caused substantial levels of destruction and suffering.

The repeated occurrence of such social tragedies is an indictment of the irrational character of the profit system, which subordinates social need to the profit requirements and anarchy of the capitalist market. Little is being done to prevent disasters in the future, either by the Indonesian government or by the major powers such as the United States.

According to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Asia-Pacific continues to be the worlds most disaster-prone. In 2015 there were 160 reported major disasters, accounting for 47 percent of the worlds total. Large-scale catastrophes caused more than 16,000 fatalities, more than a two-fold increase over 2014. In 2015, Asia and the Pacific incurred more than $45.1 billion in economic damage and even higher indirect losses.

The principal victims are the impoverished millions who constitute the urban working and rural poor, living in centres that ESCAP admits are not adequately prepared for such disasters. In 2014, memorials were held across Asia in remembrance of the thousands of victims of the 2004 catastrophe. Amid the commemorations, warnings were again raised by earthquake experts that the regions early-warning systems required vastly more development and funding.

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[21 October 2005]
Four days after the resignation of Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, President Sergio Mattarella has appointed the former foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni to be his successor.

On Monday evening, Gentiloni presented his cabinet proposals to Presient Mattarella. The names will be announced today, and the new cabinet will then be presented for confirmation by both chambers of parliament over the next few days.

Gentiloni (62) is regarded as a close follower of Renzi, who suffered a serious defeat in the constitutional referendum on 4 December and subsequently resigned. He has therefore been derided by the opposition as Renzis clone and avatar.

The scion of an old Italian noble family, he was active in leftist circles as a teenager and had occupied a school. He then joined the environmental movement, and finally the Christian Democrat-dominated party, Margherita, where his political career began in local politics in Rome. In the Democratic Party (PD), into which Margherita dissolved itself in 2007, he is regarded as a theoretician of a third way, in the mould of Tony Blair.

In his first statement on Sunday afternoon, Gentiloni said that both in its composition as well as its programme, his government would follow in the footsteps of the Renzi government. Not voluntarily, he said, but from a sense of responsibility, we will stick to the framework of the outgoing government and its majority.

Like his predecessor, Gentilonis administration will be based on a coalition of the PD with the right-wing New Centre Right (NCD), a spin-off from Silvio Berlusconis Forza Italia. His personnel will largely be drawn from the same sources, according to media reports.

Pier Carlo Padoan, who was originally talked of as a successor to Renzi, remains as finance minister, to continue taking care of the unresolved banking crisis. Gentilonis successor as foreign minister will be the former Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, leader of the right-wing conservative NCD.

The Gentiloni government will continue the policies of the Renzi governmentmassive attacks on pensions, public schools and workers rights. Its two central tasks are the adoption of a new electoral law and the mitigation of the acute banking crisis.

President Mattarella, who is supported by the European Union and the international financial community, is determined to forestall any elections until a new electoral law is passed. Under the existing law, the two chambers of parliament, which enjoy equal rights, are elected using completely different methods, almost automatically leading to differing majorities and a correspondingly weak government.

In the House of Representatives, the largest party automatically gains the majority of seats, even if it is only supported by a minority of voters, while in the Senate, a complicated system of proportional representation applies, which also gives a chance to smaller parties. Renzis failed constitutional reform would have largely disempowered the Senate, and thereby imparted authoritarian power to the government. After the referendum failed, a similarly undemocratic electoral law is now to be drafted for the Senate.

According to press reports, ex-prime minister Renzi is preparing to head the PD slate again in the next elections. He told the newspaper Quotidiano Nazionale that he expects the elections to be in June 2017, one year prior to the usual deadline. He only regards Gentiloni as a transitional figure. He wished him good luck with the words, He has the stuff, he will succeed.

The euro-sceptic Five Star Movement and the right-wing populist Lega Nord are pushing for immediate elections and have called the delay in the election date a betrayal of the voters in the referendum. Opinion polls have the Five Star Movement as the second strongest party, just behind the PD.

The second major problem facing the Gentiloni government is the crisis of the Italian banking system, which is burdened with bad loans totalling 360 billion. With the rejection of the new constitution on December 4, this crisis has become even more acute.

The third-largest Italian bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), must receive a capital injection of 5 billion by years end. But following the failure of the referendum, potential investors from Qatar and the United States have withdrawn their capital commitments, fearing losses under an unstable government. The bank has lodged a request with the European Central Bank for an extension until January 20, but the ECB Banking Supervision rejected this on December 9. As a result, MPS shares slipped by 14 percent. All Italian bank stocks gradually fell and at the close were 4 percent in the red.

If the rescue plan for MPS fails, the bank would have to be either wound up or restructured following ECB rules. Tens of thousands of small investors would lose their savings, since they must be used in accordance with EU rules as part of the restructuring. In the case of four smaller regional banks, a similar approach led to mass protests months ago.

One reason for the appointment of Gentiloni, in addition to his loyalty to Renzi, is his good relations with leading international and EU politicians, which he developed as foreign minister. He gets along well with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and particularly German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

On Thursday, he will participate in the EU summit in Brussels as the new Italian prime minister. President Mattarella has said the country quickly needs an effective government to participate in the important meetings that are scheduled both at home, in Europe and internationally.

The December 4 referendum failed mainly because many Italians voted against, in protest against the right-wing course of the Renzi government. Most No votes came from young voters and socially disadvantaged regions or city districts.

Because the PD and its pseudo-left supporters have pursued a policy of welfare cuts for decades, and there is no socialist alternative, it is right-wing parties that particularly benefit from the discontent. They will continue to gain support when the same government continues the same policies but with another man at the top.
New Zealands ruling National Party caucus yesterday elected Finance Minister Bill English as its new leader and therefore prime minister. English replaces John Key, who resigned suddenly on December 5 after eight years as prime minister.

In the corporate media, Key was widely predicted to lead the government to a fourth consecutive election victory in 2017. Media commentators and members of his government expressed shock and perplexity at his announcement. One week on, the political and media establishment has largely given credence to Keys explanation that he is retiring so he can spend more time with his family.

Keys resignation, however, occurred in the context of the US election result. Questions were raised in the media about whether Key would be able to work with President-elect Donald Trump. Key himself expressed disappointment with Trumps pledge to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Trumps protectionist agenda threatens to start a trade war with China and further destabilise the Asia-Pacific region.

While supportive of New Zealands military alliance with the US, Key was anxious to maintain good economic relations with China, which is New Zealands main source of export income.

During his final press conference as prime minister, Key yesterday pointed to the growing shift by sections of the ruling class toward national protectionism. He said he supported an open, globally connected New Zealand, where we sell to the world, where we invite capital from overseas, where were not afraid of migration.

Whatever the exact reasons for Keys departure, it has undermined the governments stability and set the stage for a further shift to the right by the political establishment as a whole in response to deepening social and political discontent.

English told the media that the new leadership team was chosen by the caucus in a constructive and civil manner. Both English, who was endorsed by Key, and Paula Bennett, the new deputy prime minister, were elected unopposed.

Nevertheless, the process revealed tensions within the National Party. Police Minister Judith Collins and Health Minister Jonathan Coleman initially said they would challenge English for the leadership, but withdrew their bids once it became clear that English had the majority of the caucus behind him.

Collins has pushed for more police officers and has links to far-right blogger Cameron Slater. Former National Party leader Don Brash, who is best known for his repeated attempts to whip up anti-Maori sentiment, threw his support behind Collins. Brash has criticised Key from the right, demanding an end to interest-free student loans and advocating other attacks on the working class.

Collins argued that she was better placed than English to work with the right-wing populist New Zealand First Party in a future coalition government. Whoever wins the next election, Labour or National, could need support from NZ First, whose leader Winston Peters has aligned himself with Trump and called for similar anti-immigrant, protectionist policies in New Zealand.

Already big business is calling for sharper austerity measures. New Zealand Herald business editor Liam Dann wrote that some business friendly policies that Key had ruled out  may now be back on the table under English. These include further asset sales and the restructuring of NZ Superannuation.

The media has heaped praise on English for his management of the economy, which has been growing at around 3.5 percent annually. The growth is largely based on speculative activity, particularly in the property market, which has driven up the cost of housing for working people and created an unstable bubble. Economists have warned that a significant correction in the market could destabilise the broader economy, as has happened in the US, Ireland, Spain and elsewhere.

With an eye to next years election, and aware of rising social unrest, English yesterday sought to project a moderate image. He said he would focus on better incomes for our households, safer communities and smarter government support for our most vulnerable.

As finance minister, however, English has been responsible for eight budgets that drastically underfunded health and education, cut welfare entitlements and increased the goods and services tax, while slashing taxes for corporations and the rich. He also oversaw the partial privatisation of power companies and devised the governments plan to sell thousands of state-owned houses. Median incomes have declined following the 2008 global financial crisis and an estimated one in four children are living in poverty.

Further attacks on the working class are being prepared. Key repeatedly promised not to make any changes to the age of entitlement for the pension, currently 65. English yesterday would not rule out raising the age, telling the media: Im not making the same pledge as the previous prime minister did.

Bennett, the incoming deputy prime minister, has previously served as social development minister and social housing minister. Over the past six years, she has overseen the governments restructure of the welfare system, which included pushing tens of thousands of single parents off benefits.

Steven Joyce, the new finance minister, played a major role as tertiary education minister in cutting funding to universities and polytechs, reducing access to student allowances and imposing more onerous conditions on student loans. Under a policy implemented this year, graduates who have not made loan repayments can be arrested.

The opposition Labour Party and sections of the media are pushing for the government to call an early election.

Labour leader Andrew Little yesterday told the media the government had failed to address homelessness and was underfunding the health sector. There are an estimated 41,000 homeless people and tens of thousands of people, many of them elderly, have been denied hospital care and surgery.

In reality, the Labour Party agrees that the working class must continue to pay for the ongoing economic and social offensive. Little repeatedly praised Keys response to the 2008 crisis, and Labour has accepted the increased consumption tax, asset sales, state sector job cuts and other austerity measures.

Little said he did not support increasing the age of entitlement for superannuation but added that he would look at any proposal, any suggestion to help meet the affordability requirements, to help the sustainability of the scheme in the long run. Labour has previously campaigned for an increase in the retirement age and for means-testing of pensions.

To divert the growing popular disaffection into reactionary channels, the Labour Party and its ally the Greens have joined NZ First in campaigning for cuts to immigration. All three parties have scapegoated foreigners, especially Chinese people, for the housing crisis and for placing pressure on hospitals and other public services.

The repeated denunciations of China by the opposition also dovetail with Trumps protectionist demands and US preparations for war against China. Labour is demanding greater spending the military to accelerate New Zealands integration into the US military alliance.
The West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Finance Board approved a cut of more than $50 million to benefits for state and public school employees and retirees December 8. Effective July 1, 2017, the reduction slashes health insurance for some 200,000 public workers, their families, and retirees.

It is the latest in a series of devastating attacks on benefits for one of the lowest-paid public sector workforces in the country. A huge segment of the working class of the state will be directly affected by the cut. Teachers, highway workers, emergency responders, university staff, and many others receive health coverage via the PEIA.

Having exhausted its reserve funds under the impact of years of underfunding by the state legislature, coupled with rising health care costs, PEIA was forced to begin cutting benefits due to a state-mandated 80/20 employer-employee funding mechanism of premiums. In 2014, the agency cynically held a series of contentious meetings that allowed public employees to choose how they wanted more than $40 million in health care benefit cuts imposed during the 2015-16 plan year.

By October 2015, the plan faced an even larger deficit of $120 million, prompting the finance board to propose a package of draconian cuts for the 2016-17 plan year. The cuts were approved by the board in December, but were temporarily put on hold after Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin pledged in his January State of the State address that he would provide an additional $43.5 million toward employer premiums, funded through an increase in the states tobacco tax, to offset the cuts.

After a 92-day state budget impasse, the legislature approved the funding increase at the end of a 17-day special session in mid-June, only weeks before the start of the 2016-17 plan year on July 1. The budget included the $43.5 million increase in employer premiums as well as an additional $15 million a year for four years for a new PEIA Financial Stability Fund.

However, the increase in state premium funding required a corresponding increase in employee contributions due to the match requirements, amounting to an effective pay cut for current state workers. The rules of the new stability fund allow it to be used to offset future benefit cuts and reduce retiree premiums, but not to offset premium increases for active public employees.

Under the new cut, current state employees will see a 7 percent increase in premiums in 2017, and a 9 percent increase in 2018. Retirees, whose health care is funded by a shrinking pool of current workers, are expected to see premium hikes of a staggering 28 percent every year beginning in 2019.

The rate hikes amount to a substantial pay cut for public workers. A public high school teacher in Kanawha County told the World Socialist Web Site that the cost of co-pays and deductibles were eating into teachers meager salaries.

Teachers here have not had a pay raise in 15 years, the teacher told WSWS. Teachers and other public workers accepted lower pay in return for good benefits. That was part of the social contract. Now they are trying to get rid of that. Turnover in public education is exceptionally high, and some 550 teaching positions are currently unfilled across the state.

West Virginias state budget has been in crisis for years, crippled by the collapse in coal and the elimination of corporate income taxes and other taxes on big business and the wealthy. Currently facing a total deficit of some $400 million, the outgoing Tomblin administration has imposed round after round of across-the-board cuts to state agencies. Late last month, Tomblin ordered a 2 percent reduction for most agencies, totaling $60 million.

Over 20 percent of the budget has been slashed in the past few years, with more cuts to come under the incoming administration of the Democratic governor-elect, billionaire coal baron Jim Justice, and a solidly Republican legislature.

The state has underfunded the PEIA for years, while health care costs have continued to soar by 6 to 7 percent annually. PEIA Executive Director Ted Cheatham said the agency would require $50-60 million each year simply to keep upthus, each year, the insurance program would need cuts of that amount to stay afloat.

We are at that point in our lives when we are going to need that new revenue every year, Cheatham told West Virginia Public Radio. And its not just a question of, Lets do a tobacco tax for $50 million and give it to PEIA this year. Well, you just took care of this year. Next year youre going to have to find me a new source of $50 million, and the next year a new source of $50 million, every year  its new money to keep it the same.

One cost-saving measure included in the latest round of cuts is a 90-day mandatory fill for prescription drugs that is estimated to save $11 million a year because of a difference in the states reimbursement rate for larger quantities of medicine.

Fewer than half of the pharmacies in the state have agreed to fill the 90-day prescriptions, said Cheatham. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that smaller, locally owned pharmacies are not participating in this change because they would lose money filling non-generic 90-day prescriptions for chronic medical conditions.

West Virginia Pharmacists Association Executive Director Richard Stevens told the PEIA board, Your policy-holders are not going to have access to care Theyre going to have to drive 30 to 40 miles to get their prescriptions filled, passing pharmacies along the way. Stevens said Pharmacy Benefits Managers involved in the PEIA program were making massive profits at the expense of consumers and small pharmacies, according to the Gazette-Mail .

Jon Dodds, a senior IT network engineer within the states higher education system, told the WSWS that the change would create significant hardships for PEIA beneficiaries.

Going to a three months maintenance prescription for medication requires two co-pays up front, he explained, referring to maintenance medicines to treat chronic ailments. Yes, that will save people money on the third month, but they need to come up with the two co-pays up front. That sounds great on paper, but many retirees can have three, four, five, six or more maintenance prescriptions.

It will break them up front, having to come up with the additional co-pay, Dodds said. It is just too much for so many people to bear.

Already, the costs compel many to postpone or simply forego medical treatment. I try not to go to the doctor, Dodds told the WSWS. I consolidate personal illnesses and issues and save them. When I do finally go to the doctor for something, I have a list of things.

The crisis in the state is at root a product of the global crisis of capitalism, of which the collapse of energy prices is one immediate expression. As the price of coal has plummeted, state revenue in the form of severance taxes has likewise collapsed. Six countiesBoone, Clay, Lincoln, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyominghave spiraled from one-time centers of coal production with relatively better living standards into conditions of a great depression, according to West Virginia University economist John Deskins.

Thousands of miners have been laid off in West Virginia since 2012, a loss that has had a ripple effect on employment in all other industries and forced families to scatter in search of work. Coalfield counties have seen their tax bases collapse, straining the municipal and school district budgets still more. Teachers and other public sector workers have been laid off en masse and subjected to enormous pay cuts and increased workloads.

At no point have the various public sector unions proposed mobilizing the workforce in a strike, let alone suggested that taxes be raised on billionaires like Governor-elect Justice. Instead, unions like the West Virginia Education Association have urged members to attend public hearings and make proposals about where the cuts should be made, or to appeal to the state to implement regressive new taxes on cigarettes, food, or gasoline. Meanwhile, the unions have postured as helpless bystanders in the face of no-strike clauses and the states right-to-work law.

The working class must organize its own independent defense of health care as a social right. This opposition requires a break from the unions and the rest of the political establishment. Workers must reject the notion that health care is an optional benefit that can be clawed back at the moment the ruling class deems it unaffordable.

Ultimately, the question of affordable health care is one of public control of the banks and giant corporations, including the pharmaceutical and medical industries. The Socialist Equality Party calls for the expropriation of the billion-dollar pharmaceutical companies and hospital corporations, which arbitrarily gouge the public for lifesaving treatments. Quality health care must be freely available to all, and new state-of-the-art clinics must be built as part of an emergency jobs program.

Contact the Socialist Equality Party to organize a fightback.
On December 2, US President-elect Donald Trump held a seven-minute phone conversation with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in which he endorsed Dutertes murderous war on drugs.

Since Dutertes installation in office at the beginning of July, relations between Manila and Washington have soured dramatically. The Obama White House sought to use accusations of human rights violations against the Duterte administration as a means of curtailing his moves toward improved ties with Beijing. Duterte, a volatile former mayor unused to the national stage, responded with bluster, publicly cursing Obama and threatening to order the removal of US forces from the Philippines.

Trumps phone call to Duterte was an attempt to improve ties with Manila, by backing his drug war, whose official death toll, as reported by the Philippine National Police, has now exceeded 6,000 victims in less than six months. The Trump camps official read-out of the phone call innocuously stated that the two figures noted the long history of friendship and cooperation between the two nations and agreed that the two governments would continue to work together closely on matters of shared interest and concern.

Duterte, however, held a press conference in which he described the conversation in detail. Despite the protestations of Obama picturing the Philippinesof course, including meto be murderers, here comes Trump and we had a talk, Duterte reported. He said, Oh, President Duterte, we should fix our bad relations ... youre doing great. I know youre worried about Americans criticizing you. Youre doing good, go ahead. Duterte claimed that Trump wished me well in my campaign [against drugs] and termed Dutertes approach the right way.

Trumps call to Duterte was more than an attempt to shore up damaged relations with an ally against China. It expressed Trumps own enthusiasm for police-state measures within the United States. Duterte declared that Trump explicitly compared the war on drugs in the Philippines with his own campaign against undocumented migrants, whom he described as these goddamn shit guys who were a problem on the border of Mexico and America. Duterte claimed that Trump concluded when you come to Washington DC or New York City, look me up and well have coffee, maybe you can give me one or two suggestions on how to solve these goddamned sons of bitches.

How accurate was Dutertes description of the seven-minute call? The Trump team has made no attempt, over the past nine days, to gainsay or alter his account. Reuters cited a Trump transition team advisor who reported that the president-elect intended to start a clean slate with Duterte. Ernie Bower of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) commented that the call was likely arranged between Trumps business partners in the Philippines and a core group of advisers, who include his children.

In other words, this was not a pro-forma diplomatic call but a carefully calculated and arranged gambit by the Trump administration, of a similar character to his phone conversation with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen, the first direct contact between US and Taiwanese leaders since 1979, which was likewise held on December 2.

Duterte enthusiastically welcomed Trumps overtures, telling the press: You need to choose. You want to be an Obama, then suffer the consequences. You want to be Trump, youre my friend. Trump told me, Youre doing alright, ignore the international media. No media supported me and I did it on my own.

Dutertes murderous campaign against impoverished communities in the Philippines under the guise of his war on drugs, continues to rack up an average of 40 bodies in the street each day. Over 2,000 of these victims were directly killed by the policethe vast majority alleged to have been resisting arrest. The remaining 4,000 were killed by vigilante squads, who wrap the murder victims in plastic and place signs on their corpses, saying, Im a pusher, dont imitate me. Duterte has repeatedly and enthusiastically called for the killing of alleged drug pushers and criminals, and has explicitly promised impunity to the police for these murders.

The crisis in US-Philippine relations, however, did not stem from this murderous crusade. The Obama administration initially endorsed Dutertes anti-drug war. John Kerry, when visiting Manila in July, pledged $32 million to fund it. Despite Obamas later public criticisms of Dutertes measures, Washington continues to fund and train counter-narcotics in the Philippines. In a bid to retain and expand the US Armed Forces presence in the country, Washington is discussing including counter-narcotics as a key component in future joint military exercises, termed Balikatan.

Washingtons cynical posturing over human rights abuses in the Philippines is bound up rather with Dutertes moves to improve diplomatic and economic relations with Beijing. Duterte sought to repair ties with China by reducing tensions in the South China Sea, ignoring the July ruling against China by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and canceling joint military exercises with Washington in the South China Sea.

These issues have not gone away with Trumps phone call. Duterte has declared his intention to secure arms from China. He told the press that Beijing had offered to supply Manila with arms purchased through a Chinese loan that would be payable in 25 years. He said he would send Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to China to make arrangements. Lorenzana has just returned to Manila from Moscow where he discussed enhanced military ties with Russia, the first visit from a head of the Philippine military since 1976.

The move to acquire arms from China, which will be deployed in domestic repression under the anti-drug war, follows the cancellation of a deal for the United States to supply 26,000 rifles to the Philippine National Police. Washington called off the arrangement, citing alleged human rights concerns, as a means of pressuring Duterte away from China.

The Duterte government declared last week that it would not allow US ships to use bases in the Philippines as staging points for Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOP) in the South China Sea. While Duterte remains committed to the basing of US forces in the Philippines, under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), he is seeking at the same time to mitigate tensions with China. The FONOPsdirect naval intrusions into Chinese-claimed watersare deliberate provocations that have raised tensions throughout the region. Duterte declared that Washington can deploy vessels for FONOPs using its bases at Guam or Japan.

Dutertes attempt to improve relations with China and retain relations with Washington is utterly untenable. Philippine politics, intimately tied to its former colonial ruler, the US, is in crisis. Vice President Leni Robredo, of the Liberal Party, associated with former President Benigno Aquino, has quit Dutertes cabinet as a result of these tensions. Robredo was increasingly associated with opposition to Dutertes policies, and was instructed by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, formerly of the Maoist Communist Party, to stop attending cabinet meetings. She resigned.

The opposition to Duterte has received massive infusions of funding from US-based Filipino American billionaire Loida Nicolas Lewis, who has, through her organization US Pinoys for Good Government (USP4GG), called upon Duterte to resign. USP4GG bankrolled Aquinos presidential campaign in 2010 and provided the majority of funding for the vociferous anti-China protests staged during his administration, including the provocative visits to the South China Sea by the pseudo-left organization Akbayan. Lewis met on several occasions with then Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke to discuss opposition to Chinese financial interests in the US.
The conflict within the US government and intelligence apparatus over allegations of Russian intervention in the US election escalated on Monday with the direct intervention by the White House and the Clinton campaign.

Since the White House announced Friday that it had commissioned an investigation into allegations that Russia hacked into Democratic Party emails to manipulate the election, the opposed factions in the state have assumed increasingly intransigent positions, which are bound up with conflicts over the foreign policy of the incoming Trump administration.

In a press briefing Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest declared that Trumps campaign was boosted by Russian government intervention into the election. You didnt need a security clearance to figure out who benefited from malicious Russian cyberactivity, he said.

Speaking of Trump, Earnest added, He called on Russia to hack Secretary Clinton. So he certainly had a pretty good sense of whose side this cyberactivity was coming down on.

Also on Monday, Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, declared his support for a request by ten mostly Democratic members of the Electoral College for an intelligence briefing on the CIAs investigation into claims of Russian intervention in the election.

We now know that the CIA has determined Russias interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump, Podesta stated. Electors have a solemn responsibility under the Constitution and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed.

The frenzied character of the Democratic Party-led campaign, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of manipulating the US election and portraying Trump as his agent, was summed up by the statement of former acting CIA Director Michael Morell, who called the alleged intervention by Russia the political equivalent of 9/11.

Morell, along with many former intelligence officials, publicly opposed Trump and backed Clinton during the election campaign.

Trump responded to this renewed offensive by reiterating his rejection of the CIAs claims of Russian hacking and intervention in his behalf. Can you imagine, he demanded, if the election results were the opposite and we tried to play the Russia/CIA card? It would be called conspiracy theory!

The divisions within the state are not simply along party lines. On Monday, leading Republican members of Congress, including Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain, joined calls by Democrats for a bipartisan investigation into the alleged hacking. McCain earlier called Putin a thug, bully and murderer.

The escalation of the internecine conflict is related to two developments over the past several days. First was the announcement late last week that Trump would likely appoint Rex Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil, to be his secretary of state. This appointment was confirmed Monday night by the Trump transition team and is expected to be formally announced this morning.

Tillerson has been criticized by some Republicans, including McCain and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and a host of Democrats for his friendly relations with Putin and his extensive business ties to Moscow. A number of Republicans, including McCain, have suggested that they might unite with Democrats to block his confirmation in the Senate.

The Democrats are raising no objections to putting a multimillionaire executive of an oil conglomerate at the head of the State Department. They are entirely focusing their opposition on Tillersons supposedly too close relations with Russia.

The second development is the imminent rout of US-backed Syrian opposition forces, who are on the verge of being driven out of their former stronghold of Aleppo by Syrian government forces backed by Russia. The CIA, in particular, has invested enormous resources in the US regime-change operation against the Syrian president and Russian ally Bashar al-Assad. Several top Trump appointees, including his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, have criticized the failed CIA-led operation.

In an editorial Monday, the New York Times made clear the goals of the Clinton faction. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, made it clear her administration would redouble efforts to punish and isolate Moscow for war crimes in Syrias civil war and its aggression toward Ukraine and other neighbors, the newspaper wrote. It favorably quoted Clintons statements during the campaign that she had taken Putin on and would do that as president.

While the forces behind Clinton have focused their threats on Russia, Trump has indicated a shift toward a more immediate focus on intensifying military and economic pressure on China. Earlier this month, he made a phone call to the president of Taiwan and later said he would be willing to revise the One-China policy that has been the foundation of Sino-US relations for nearly 40 years.

In their escalating campaign against Trump, the Democrats and the media outlets that support them, most notably the New York Times, are saying virtually nothing about the fact that Trump lost the popular vote (by as many as three million). Nor are they making an issue of the ultra-right-wing cabinet he is assembling, composed of billionaires, corporate executives and former generals.

While endlessly repeating unsubstantiated charges of Russian hacking, the Democrats have largely dropped any reference to the one state agency that clearly did intervene in an effort to shift the election toward Trumpthe FBI. In the immediate aftermath of the election, the Clinton campaign cited the intervention of FBI Director James Comey into the scandal over Clintons emails as a major factor in her defeat. This is now being downplayed in favor of denouncing Russia.

Whatever, if any, attempts by the Russian government to influence the outcome of the US election, they were dwarfed by the systematic and secret machinations of American intelligence agencies such as the FBI along with those of the Democratic Party establishment. The internal Democratic Party material released by WikiLeaks, which the Clinton campaign sought to bury by blaming the leaks on Russia, revealed a conspiracy between the Clinton team and the Democratic Party establishment to sabotage the primary challenge of Bernie Sanders. Other material included transcripts of Clintons lavishly paid and groveling speeches to Wall Street bankers.

What is now being revealed are the issues both campaigns in the 2016 election sought to conceal: the far-reaching preparations for an escalation of global warfare and the sharp disagreements over the direction of Washingtons predatory foreign policy.

There is not an ounce of democratic content in the positions of either faction of the state and intelligence apparatus and nothing to choose from between the arch-reactionary Trump and the veteran warmonger Clinton. However the disputes are resolved, the result will be a massive escalation of war abroad and the attack on the working class within the United States. The events of recent days have thrown into starker relief the need for the working class to advance its own political solutionopposed to both parties and the ruling elite they defendin response to the deepening crisis.
Flight operations have also resumed at Tirupati Airport after they were temporarily suspended due to cyclone Vardah. Death toll has gone up to 10 in Tamil Nadu.

Many parts of Chennai were damaged in the wake of Cyclone Vardah.

By India Today Web Desk: Cyclone Vardah's activity over north Tamil Nadu has moved further west-southwestwards during the past 6 hours at a speed of 20 kmph, and now weakened into a depression, says National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Flight operations have resumed at Tirupati Airport after it was temporarily suspended due to cyclone Vardah that hit Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh yesterday. Chennai airport, where flight operations were yesterday suspended in the wake of cyclone Vardah, is now operational.

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Death toll due to cyclone Vardah has gone up to 10 in Tamil Nadu. Four people were killed in Chennai, 2 in Kancheepuram, 2 in Tiruvallur, 1 in Villupuram and 1 in Nagapattinam, according to NDMA.

Also read | Day after cyclone Vardah, Chennai feels like a forest

Several trees have been uprooted in widespread damage in many parts of Chennai after Cyclone Vardah hit the city yesterday.

#WATCH: Trees uprooted, damage caused in several parts of Chennai after #cyclonevardah made a landfall in the city yesterday pic.twitter.com/pPy5Edyeuu ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

Rainfall over north interior Tamil Nadu and in adjoining south Karnataka is very likely in the next 12 hours in the aftermath of cyclone Vardah, says NDMA.

Latest visuals from Chennai, where #cyclonevardah made a landfall yesterday. Trees uprooted, damage in some parts of the city pic.twitter.com/bk05QcV7lK ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

In Andhra Pradesh, NDRF teams are engaged in carrying out relief operations in areas affected by cyclone Vardah.

Relief operations in progress in Andhra Pradesh. ANI Photo.

Meanwhile, DG of NDRF RK Pachnanda has said that the situation is being monitored closely and efforts are on to restore normalcy as soon as possible.

Situation being monitored closely by concerned authorities.Working to restore normalcy as fast as we can-RK Pachnanda DG NDRF #cyclonevardah pic.twitter.com/DspgR2fzmn ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has said his government will extend every possible assistance to Tamil Nadu, which suffered extensive damage due to the cyclone.

Will extend possible assistance to TN, that suffered extensive damage. We'll discuss contribution that can be made to TN: Andhra Pradesh CM ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

Impact of cyclone Vardah was also felt in Karnataka as Bengaluru witnessed light showers earlier today.

Karnataka: Bengaluru witnesses light showers after #CycloneVardah made a landfall in Chennai, yesterday pic.twitter.com/DxUEcF18ZM ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

--- ENDS ---
The Socialist Equality Party last week held successful public meetings in three Australian state capitals on the significance of the US presidential elections. Entitled The political causes and international implications of Trumps election: A Marxist assessment, the events attracted important layers of people seeking an objective analysis of the US elections and the political issues now facing the international working class. For many it was their first SEP meeting. (see: Workers and youth speak about US election and SEP program)

SEP national secretary James Cogan addressed the Melbourne and Sydney events, which were held on December 4 and December 11, respectively. SEP national committee member Linda Tenenbaum spoke at the Brisbane meeting on December 10.

Comprehensive reports by the speakers, which included graphs and charts on US voting patterns, and their relationship to dramatically falling living standards within the working class, were followed by lengthy question and answer sessions. The serious response from the young people, high school and university students, workers, professionals and retirees in attendance indicates that broad sections of the population are being politicised by Trumps election and are seeking a perspective to oppose social reaction, war and militarism.

Chairing the Sydney meeting, SEP assistant national secretary Cheryl Crisp welcomed the more than 100 people in attendance and explained that others were participating online from the Philippines, Japan and various Australian cities, including Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.

SEP national secretary James Cogan told the meeting that Trumps election was a dangerous and transformative development in US and international politics. Before he even takes office, Trump has signalled a major escalation in military tensions with China, posing even more starkly the warnings our world party, the ICFI, has made about the danger of a third world war, he said.

After reviewing the socially regressive record and fascistic outlook of some of the individuals Trump has selected for his incoming administration, Cogan debunked mass media and pseudo-left claims that Trumps victory reflected a rightward turn by the American working class.

The essential factor in the election outcome, the speaker emphasised, was social inequality, not race, gender or other secondary issues. The truth behind Trumps victory is not that millions of American workers are racists but that they were so alienated from the Democratic Party, hostile to the policies of the Obama administration and sick of war that they either didnt vote at all or, in some cases, chose Trump as the lesser evil.

Cogan explained that the principal responsibility for Trump winning the presidency lay with the Democratic Party. Its right-wing, anti-working class and militarist program had produced a virtual collapse in working class support for the organisation after eight years of the Obama administration, he said.

The speaker also reviewed the pernicious role played by Bernie Sanders. He pointed out that Sandershaving declared himself a socialist and an opponent of Wall Street and the ultra-richwon some 13 million votes in the primaries but then endorsed Clinton.

The real motive behind his campaign, Cogan said, was not to oppose the agenda imposed under Obama, but to try to prevent a break by millions of ordinary people from the Democratic Party.

Cogan explained that Trump, who postured as anti-establishment and offered demagogic promises about improving the conditions of workers, was able to benefit from the mass disaffection with the Democratic Party.

This was a global phenomenon, Cogan continued, reflected in the mass repudiation of long-established parties and political structures by millions of ordinary people in country after country. He pointed to the Brexit vote in Britain, the collapse in electoral support for the Labor and Liberal-National Coalition parties in the Australian elections last July, and the overwhelming no vote in the recent Italian referendum.

Masses of people are hostile to the attacks on their living standards, jobs and basic rights, Cogan said, but do not yet understand that the source of the social crisis they confront is the failure of the capitalist system. The rise of Trump and his socially-retrogressive and militarist America First program was not an aberration, he insisted, but part of increasingly reckless attempts by the US ruling elite to overcome its economic decline through trade war threats and military force. In order to understand this process, he continued, it was necessary to study the historic nature of the crisis of the capitalist profit system and its impact on the US and around the world, particularly since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

After 25 years of war and 15 years of the war on terror, Trumps election marks the definitive end of the post-World War II order; the final repudiation by the US ruling class of the international mechanisms through which it both dominated the globe and sought to regulate economic and political relations, the speaker said.

Cogan concluded his report by citing Leon Trotskys assessment of the political and economic contradictions that faced US imperialism in 1928, just before the Wall Street crash and the Great Depression.

The United States, Trotsky wrote, will seek to overcome and extricate herself from her difficulties and maladies primarily at the expense of Europe, regardless of whether this occurs in Asia, Canada, South America, Australia or Europe itself, or whether this takes place peacefully or through war  A major crisis in the US will strike the tocsin for new wars and revolutions.

The Trump administration, Cogan said, would rapidly intensify the class struggle in the US and internationally and elevate the danger of a catastrophic world war. He emphasised that there was no national solution to economic devastation and war.

The essential question is the expansion and development of a revolutionary international movement based on the working class and fighting to end capitalism and establish world socialism, Cogan concluded, making a strong appeal for those in attendance to join the SEP.

Cogans report provoked a range of questions on whether the Trump administration was a fascist regime; the danger of military dictatorship in the US; and whether increases in US military spending, paid for by cuts in social programs, would deepen the political crisis there. There were also questions about the role of the pseudo-left and identity politics.

Commenting on the reactionary and divisive nature of identity politics, Cogan said, The SEP fights for the rights of all sections of the working classthe right to a decent job and living standards, housing, healthcare and educationirrespective of a workers gender, racial background or sexual preference. Identity politics splits working people along multiple lines, preventing them from fighting the source of their oppression, the capitalist system, as a unified political force.

Speaking about the character of a Trump administration, Cogan explained that, in contrast to Germany in the 1930s, Trump did not rest on a mass fascist movement, but warned about the political dangers of such a movement developing. He said the Trump administration would intensify social and anti-democratic attacks on American workers as it introduced trade war measures against its international rivals and moved to militarily confront Russia and China.

In Melbourne there were questions about the SEPs attitude to the anti-Trump protests following the presidential vote; Americas Electoral College system; and Trumps position on Taiwan and the threat of war in Asia. In Brisbane audience members raised the importance of the Chinese working class and the necessity to unite with them in the fight against war.

Significantly, at all three meetings, audience members asked questions about the prospects and necessity for socialist revolution. In Sydney, one asked: How likely is socialist revolution in the US and how important is that in the struggle for world socialism?

Cogan responded: The revolutionary overthrow of capitalism in the US is essential to the prospect of world socialism and is essential to the prevention of another world war 

Our party does not offer any guarantees or an easy political roadthe working class faces monumental struggles against a formidable military and intelligence apparatus. But the working class, armed with a socialist and internationalist program, is the most powerful class in society.

The eruption of a revolutionary crisis in the US is inevitable, he continued, but so is the explosion of mass struggles in countries all around the world, including in Australia. The critical issue is the building of our party to lead the working class to power.

Concluding the discussion in Sydney, the chair, Cheryl Crisp, emphasised that it was necessary to approach all phenomena from a historical standpoint and quoted from the preface to A Quarter Century of War: The US Drive for Global Hegemony 19902016, David Norths latest collection of essays, articles and lectures.

[T]he Marxist method of analysis examines events not as a sequence of isolated episodes, but as moments in the unfolding of a broader historical process. This historically oriented approach serves as a safeguard against an impressionistic response to the latest political developments. It recognizes that the essential cause of an event is rarely apparent at the moment of its occurrence.

The seriousness of the questions raised at the SEP meetings points to a growing recognition that workers in every country will confront tumultuous political events, that there is a growing danger of world war and that a new international political perspective is needed. Significant layers of students and youth are beginning to grapple with the Socialist Equality Partys revolutionary socialist program. This was also reflected in the generous response to collections for the SEPs monthly fund at the meetings, which totalled more than $3,600, and in the sales of Marxist literature.
India's already sluggish internet further took a backseat as Cyclone Vardah affected undersea digital cables of countless service providers.

By Vishakha Saxena: India's already sluggish internet further took a backseat on Monday night as Cyclone Vardah made landfall at Chennai, affecting undersea digital cables of countless service providers.

A day later, the situation remains the same, and it might be a while before connectivity improves.

NOT SO 'REFRESH' ING

The internet gateway at Chennai is one of the three gateways of India, and some very important submarine telecom cables like the SEA-ME-WE 3 and The Bay of Bengal Gateway have their landing points in the city (and even Kochi).

via submarinecablemap.com

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In its approach and eventual descent, Cyclone Vardah caused disturbances in the undersea cables at these landing points, primarily at Chennai. This caused speed delays and made your webpages take longer than usual to load.

Cyclone Vardah impact (File Photo)

Tata Communications owns cable landing stations in both Chennai and Cochin. Meanwhile, two of Bharti Airtel's cable landing stations are in Chennai.

INTERNET PROVIDERS RESPOND

Various users took to social media to share problems with internet connectivity.

Tata Communications handle more than 24% of the Internet,Which is impacted by Vardah Cyclone causing Google & many other services slow down. Sharad K Rathi (@rathiko) December 13, 2016

Cyclone Vardah has slowed down the internet. Jio and Broadband both. roshan polekar (@roshanpolekar) December 12, 2016

@mailanantha There may be disruption in voice/internet services due to cyclone Vardah. Rest assured were working to deliver a.. cont1 Vodafone India (@VodafoneIN) December 13, 2016

Seeing the situation various service providers sent out messages to users alerting them of Cyclone Vardah's impact on their services.

via Vichtra Amarnathan

Ouch.

Internet services affected in #Pune. Just rec msg from Hathway that Google is facing connectivity and repair issues in Chennai due 2 #Vardah Anamika Nandedkar (@meg123nandu) December 13, 2016

The mix of Cyclone Vardah with demonetisation has, meanwhile, further worsened the situation in Chennai.

No shop in Chennai accepting card payments citing network failure. People unable to buy essentials #Vardah #DeMonetisation @NewIndianXpress J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016

Banking sites around the country struggled last night. Similarly, payment gateways on apps like Zomato, PayTm, etc. either failed to load or remained terribly slow.

The situation saw a slight improvement this morning, but it will be a while before the speed delays are completely resolved.

Until then, we suggest you sit back with a book or a Sudoku puzzle. Or you might end up a frustrated monkey.

--- ENDS ---
Reportedly, Sonam Kapoor lost out on presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Rekha because Deepika Padukone had laid a condition to attend the award only if she was given the chance to present the award.

By India Today Web Desk: At the recently conducted Star Screen Awards, Sonam Kapoor losing out on the Best Actor (Female) award to Alia Bhatt was not her only disappointment. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Sonam was supposed to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Rekha, but was replaced at the last minute.

ALSO READ: All of Sonam Kapoor's digs at Deepika Padukone, in one place

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ALSO READ: Sonam has never had sex with her co-stars. A dig at Deepika again?

ALSO READ: Sonam takes a dig at Priyanka, Deepika? Says she doesn't want to be the hot Indian girl in Hollywood

Sonam Kapoor had paid a tribute to the evergreen actor and was supposed to present the award to her too, but Deepika Padukone did the honours instead. One can only imagine how big a blow it was for Sonam, who is not exactly best pals with Deepika.

Reportedly, DP agreed to attend the show only if she was given the chance to present the award. The organisers wanted to cash in on Deepika's star power, and let her have her way, leaving Sonam out in the cold.

--- ENDS ---
BERRIEN COUNTY, Ga. (WTXL) - The Berrien County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in finding a fleeing sex offender wanted in Cleveland, Oklahoma for robbery, assault and battery.

Deputies in Berrien County believe that 24-year-old Brandon Holton, a sex offender out of Coffee County, may still be somewhere in the county.

They said that Holton has the name "Sherry" on his left arm, a tribal tattoo on his left shoulder and the letters "BH" on his thumb.

Deputies in the area spotted him in the area after they got an alert from another county saying that he was wanted, though it is still not confirmed whether or not he's been arrested.

He is not known to have committed any crimes in Berrien County at this time.

If you see this person or have information on his whereabouts, please call The Berrien County Sheriff's Office at 229-686-7071 or dial 911.
VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - Officials said they are investigating after an inmate was killed in a one-on-one assault at a Valdosta prison.

The Georgia Department of Corrections says that an inmate died at Valdosta State Prison on Friday.

Gwendolyn Hogan, a manager of public affairs for the agency, confirmed that Robert Hughes died on Friday.

She said that the incident was a one-on-one assault and is being investigated as a homicide.

We will update this story as we confirm more details.
LIVE OAK, FL (WTXL) -- Local activists continue to fight plans for the Sabal Trail Pipeline, which would affect several counties in Florida and Georgia.

A group of "water protectors" met at Sacred Water Camp in Live Oak, which is near one of the construction sites by the Suwannee River.

"It's right in our backyard," said Taylor Tullos, a local activist who traveled from Tallahassee to Live Oak. "It's right there, very close to some exposed areas of the florida aquifer, and if anything is to leak into that, that would jeopardize water that is provided for over 10 million people."

Activists came from Jacksonville, Kissimmee and Tallahassee, among other places. They're hoping momentum from the national protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) will carry over closer to home.

"It could cause so many different environmental effects that would never be good for anything here, and it could damage a lot of the wetlands here, which is an environment that is very specific to Florida," Tullos said. "It's basically looking at an environmental disaster for Florida if it goes wrong."

Activists are hoping to establish campsites along the pipeline route. They're also planning to make one near Jacksonville a 24/7 camp.

The group is also planning more demonstrations, though none have been scheduled so far.
The Delhi BJP has decided to distribute laddoos to each household in the city to "thanks them for their patience" while waiting in the long queues, thanks to the demonetisation drive.

By Shalini Lobo: It's a laddoo for all your demonetisation woes!

The Delhi BJP cadres have been instructed to doll out laddoos to every household in the city to "thank them for their patience".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched this revolutionary step to tackle black money. Despite facing some inconvenience, people supported the move, "Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari told The Indian Express. "Now, it is our turn to thank them and show our appreciation and respect for their patience."

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WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO EMOTE GRATITUDE?

Laddoo, of course!

So, how many laddoos will that be?

Um, one laddoo per family. Go fetch.

'We are thankful to the people who are patiently standing in line. Everything will be fine in 50 days. We are grateful to them as they are in full support of Modiji', said Jai Prakash, the Vice President, Delhi BJP unit. The BJP state unit started handing out laddoos to those who are waiting in queues already, for instance, BJP members were seen distributing laddoos to people waiting outside Canara Bank's Hans Raj College branch. BJP cadres also personally thanked the people for cooperating with the prime minister.

While some smiled seeing the gesture, some were furious.

Suja, a customer waiting in the queue outside the branch to withdraw money, had questions for the BJP. "Can this laddoo fill my stomach? Can it help me buy food for my family? I have to waste all my time standing here and they think it will be fine with one laddoo?"

Another customer said, "I appreciate this [demonetisation] move but the implementation is very poor. And after waiting to get money after so many days, I get a laddoo. I'm not stealing money. It is my own money which I do not have access to".

From January 1 to January 10, BJP cadres will go door-to-door distributing the sweet. "We will encourage our workers to reach out to people...If people can stand in queues and not complain, can't we give them a laddoo as a token of appreciation?" wonders Tiwari.

--- ENDS ---
Starting this fall, Heritage University students wanting to pursue a career as pharmacists will have guaranteed places in graduate school.
A bench of Justices Gita Mittal and RK Gauba said a child born out of rape, either of a minor or a woman who is an adult, is clearly a victim of the act of the offender and entitled to compensation independent of the amount of compensation paid to his/her mother.

By Mail Today Bureau: A child born out of rape is entitled to compensation, independent of any such relief granted to the mother, the Delhi High Court has ruled. The court made the observation while hearing a matter in which a man was sentenced with life imprisonment for raping his minor step-daughter who later conceived.

COMPENSATION

The court noted that there was no such provision under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act or under the Delhi government's victim compensation scheme for the same. The high court, which had earlier laid down a law in this regard, reduced the compensation amount for the rape victim to Rs 7.5 lakh instead of Rs 15 lakh as was awarded by the trial court, saying the higher amount went against the 2011 compensation scheme formulated by the Delhi government. It also faulted the trial court by giving a go-by to the guidelines for maintaining confidentiality of the rape victim.

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However, a bench of Justices Gita Mittal and RK Gauba said a child born out of rape, either of a minor or a woman who is an adult, is clearly a victim of the act of the offender and entitled to compensation independent of the amount of compensation paid to his/her mother. The matter was brought to the court's attention when it was hearing the appeal of a man convicted and awarded life term for raping his minor stepdaughter, who as a result of the crime gave birth at the tender age of 14 years. Upholding the conviction, HC said the trust and confidence reposed in the man by his wife and step-daughter was abused out of sheer lust, leaving the untold miseries on the body, mind and psyche of the victim.

ALSO READ:

India set to have registry for sex offenders after demands for tough action on predators

--- ENDS ---
Amona pioneers , you have taken it upon yourselves to be the Jewish peoples emissaries in the long and complicated process of returning to our land, which includes sovereignty alongside settlement. The Jewish people selects its representatives in a democratic manner  the only possible manner for sustaining the Jewish peoples sovereignty in the Land of Israel, according to Torah of Israel. All other ways have been tried and have failed since the destruction of the Temple.

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Elected representatives by the power of the Jewish people have the laws of the land under the Halacha, as our master Rabbi Kook ruled as did all those who follow his path. As far as private Halacha is concerned, each person from Israel sitting on this land is observing the mitzvah to settle the land with his own body, regardless of whether he lives in Haifa or Amona, Safed or Ofra, Beer Sheva or Yatir, Ashkelon or Gush Etzion.

Amona residents. There is no divine providence for any dividing battle against the State of Israel and its elected institutions (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

If the Israeli government moves settlers from one mountain to another mountain, even if the arguments for doing so are inappropriate, it changes nothing in each settlers observation of the mitzvah to settle the land. The change is in the general mitzvah of the lands inheritance, but that is a mitzvah imposed on the entire public and on its elected representatives. If they fail to uphold this duty properly, they must be convinced in all acceptable ways, and that you have already done above and beyond.

No chance for a dividing battle

No individual or group have the right or the authority to act on their own in the name of the Jewish people, and even if a tribe of Israel conquered part of the fatherland, it is considered nothing but an individual occupation (Maimonides, Hilchot Trumot 1:2), unless you have signed douments that prove you are the offspring of the families of the Benjamin (or Ephraim) Tribe, which had lands in the Amona mountain (the Shilo land dispute, by Joshua Bin Nun).

All the acts of resisting the Israeli governmentthe states institutions and the security forcesthat have been carried out for 42 years, have completely and utterly failed and have brought no blessing to the Jewish people and to the Land of Israel.

I have personally taken part in many of these activities, with the strong and clear support of prominent rabbis, and even of my own teachers and rabbis  and none of them succeeded! There is no divine providence for any dividing battle against the State of Israel and its elected institutions.

All the remarkable success stories of the settlement enterprise since the Six-Day War were executed in agreements with the leaders of the government and state institutions, and I got to play a role in many of them since the reestablishment of Kfar Etzion.

All the bitter and painful failures the settlement enterprise has experienced came from the battles against the state and its institutions, and they only kept the values of the settlements and the mitzvot of the land away from the heart of the majority of the public.

Friends, dont come to Amona

Thirty-seven years ago, the High Court of Justice ruled that the seizure of lands in favor of the Elon Moreh group of settlers on the Rujib hill was illegal. My master and teacher, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, instructed Hanan Porat and the Elon Moreh group to obey the court ruling, as the majority of the Jewish people opposes a battle against a legal ruling.

The vast majority of the Elon Moreh group, with families and children, climbed up the Kabir mountain range and reestablished the large community, which I doubt we would have managed to establish if it were not for the High Court ruling. Four years later, after completing the purchase of lands, the community of Itamar was established on the Rujib range. Thanks to the Elon Moreh ruling, two large communities were established on both mountain ranges.

The same can happen in Amona, if we act with the majority of the Jewish people rather than against it, with the State of Israel and its institutions rather than against them. The eternal people is not afraid of a long journey.

I call on all settlement supporters not to come and not to face the security forces in Amona, or anywhere else, not even for a passive resistance. We have tried that and failed so many times, that one does not have to be a genius to understand and know that this is not what God wants.

Battle can lead to many offenses

Amona pioneers, if you wish to continue to play an important part in the general mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel, get reorganized and agree to do so in the places suggested by the State of Israel and its elected institutions, in the name of the people of Israel.

If you wish to build your private life as part of the private mitzvah of every Jewish person in the Land of Israel, it is your full right to choose whichever place or places you like, and if you are entitled to it, the states institutions will even help you.

Protecting ones home as a basic human right is a universal right, and it is not part of the mitzvot to settle the land, but as we know, it is subject in the entire world to maintaining the acceptable rules.

I call on you not to put any mental efforts and resources into a battle, even a passive one, against the State of Israel and its elected institutions, as there is no mitzvah in such a battle, and it may even lead to many offenses, and it is not what God wants.

In the War of Independence, we were divided in a serious feud between brothers, and God did not give but part of the land. In the Six-Day War, the entire nation united (for the first time since the days of David and Solomon!) and God gave us control of our fatherland (up to the Jordan River), in a remarkable victory.

Every time we split and sink into a feud between brothers, we grow weaker. Lets together uphold the unity of the Jewish people in its land, because that is Gods only desire, and that is the only thing that will save us.
A kindergarten teacher in the Jerusalem area was arrested on Monday on suspicion of hitting the 3-year-old children under her care. The complaint against her was made by an assistant which was supported by evidence from other workers in the kindergarten, The suspect was released to house arrests.
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres was sworn in Monday as secretary-general of the United Nations, becoming the ninth UN chief in the body's 71-year history.

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The former UN refugee chief was elected to the top job by acclamation in the General Assembly in October. He takes over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1.

Guterres, 67, performed well in answering questions before assembly members and his executive experience as prime minister and as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005-2015 propelled him to first place among 13 candidates vying for the job in informal polls in the Security Council. After the sixth poll, the council nominated him by acclamation and his name was sent to the assembly for final approval.

After being sworn in by General Assembly President Peter Thomson, Guterres addressed the 193 member nations, saying the UN must work to simplify, decentralize and make more flexible its sprawling bureaucracy.

Antonio Guterres sworn in as UN Secretary-General (Photo: AFP)

"It benefits no one if it takes nine months to deploy a staff member to the field," he said. "The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process, more on people and less on bureaucracy."

Guterres also said he would send a clear signal that gender parity "from top to bottom" within the organization would be among his first priorities.

The swearing-in came after the General Assembly paid tribute to Ban, ending with a standing ovation for the South Korean.

Guterres' swearing-in ceremony included the UN's top leaders and was attended by dignitaries.

UN bids farewell to Ban Ki-moon (Photo: AFP)

US Ambassador Samantha Power lauded Ban's accomplishments while in office and said she was confident Guterres is the right person to replace him. "He is the man for the job in such challenging times," she said.

Louis Charbonneau, the UN director at Human Rights Watch, said rights abuses are abundant around the globe, not just in war zones like Syria. He said Guterres should use his position and authority to "call out rights abuses wherever they occur."

The selection of a new secretary-general had traditionally been decided behind closed doors by a few powerful countries. But this year, the process involved public discussions with each candidate who was campaigning for the job.

UN chiefs are charged with promoting sustainable development, working for peace around the globe, protecting human rights and dealing with humanitarian catastrophes.
The Israeli government has decided to boycott Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom's upcoming visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday.

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Wallstrom is a vocal critic of Israel and has made several controversial statements in the past. Her government also holds one-sided pro-Palestinian positions

She previously accused Israel of conducting "extrajudicial executions" of Palestinians committing terror attacks and seemed to imply that there was a connection between Islamist terrorism in Europe and the "desperate situation" of the Palestinians.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom (Photo: GettyImages)

For her upcoming visit to Israel, Wallstrom asked to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Israeli ministers but the official response she received was that the Israeli officials could not fit her into their schedule.

Government officials noted that this was merely an excuse, as Wallstrom was a persona non grata in israel.

Despite this, the Swedish foreign minister decided to go ahead with her planned visit and meet with officials in the Palestinian Authority.

This isn't the first time Wallstrom receives a cold shoulder from the Israeli government. She cancelled an official visit in January 2015 after Israeli officials refused to meet with her then as well.

At the time, Wallstrom harshly criticized Jerusalem's policies , which she dubbed "extremely aggressive," and claimed that Israel had irritated close allies by over-reacting to Stockholm recognizing the state of Palestine, saying its rhetoric over the issue had "crossed all limits."

The Swedish government is considered the most hostile to Israel among the European governments. Some in the Israeli Foreign Ministry suggested in the past to close the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm since it was a "lost cause."
A 74-year-old man died of hypothermia after his car got stuck in a flooded tunnel in Haifa on Tuesday morning, while Israel was pounded by rain throughout the night and morning.

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After the man failed to get to work on Tuesday morning, his wife reported him missing. He was eventually found unconscious in his car wearing wet clothes and suffering from a low body temperature.

He was not breathing and had no pulse and was rushed in critical condition to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, where he was declared dead.

The sunk car in the flooded tunnel.

An initial investigation of the incident by the police found that the man's car had already sunk by the time firefighting crews arrived at the scene to extract a woman who was stranded on the roof of her car on the other side of the tunnel.

The man was the first to drive into the tunnel, followed by a truck and then the vehicle of the woman who was rescued. It is unclear at the moment whether the firefighting forces searched for other trapped persons and why the man was not spotted earlier, police said.

The Fire & Rescue Authority's Haifa District said firefights did search the truck, whose driver had already fled, and another vehicle.

"The vehicle was filled with murky water and the firefighters did not find anything inside. It's unclear whether this was the car the deceased was in," the Fire & Rescue Authority said in a statement. "We will conduct a full investigation in the coming hours to understand what happened."

So far, the city of Haifa has experienced the most rain, with 46mm measured since the night. The heavy rain led to flooding in many areas in and around the city, leading to some streets being partially closed.

Flooding in Haif overnight (Photo: Fire Department)

In some areas of the city, traffic lights stopped working and municipality teams were working to fix them.

Kiryat Bialik, which is in the Haifa district, also experienced flooding.

The Golan Heights saw 25mm of rain, while Kibbutz Ginosar next to the Sea of Galilee got 22mm of precipitation.

In the Arab local council of Arraba, two families had to be evacuated from their homes because of flooding.

In the Sharon plains, Netanya had its fair share of rain with 16mm, while Tel Aviv only saw 5mm and Rishon Lezion got 6mm. There was no considerable rainfall south of Rishon Lezion.

Hail in Nof Yam (Photo: Yifat Brodetzki)

Flooding on the Coastal Highway led to the closure of some of the lanes near the Poleg Interchange.

Flooded roads at the Poleg Interchange (Photo: Police)

"Cold air is coming from western Russia towards the Black Sea and from there it is supposed to reach our area within 24 hours," explained Meteo Tech meteorologist Tzachi Waxman. "Even now, because of this cold air, we're seeing big amounts of rain."

Waxman said winds are expected to increase during the day Tuesday, with rain continuously falling from northern Israel to Ashkelon. The Negev area will only see rain on Wednesday.

Heavy rain in Netanya (Photo: Ido Erez)

Rain and winds will further increase overnight, leading to possible flooding in streams in the Dead Sea area and in the coastal plain. Strong flow of water is expected in streams in the Golan and Galilee areas.

Waxman said snow is expected in the early hours of Wednesday on Mount Hermon, as well as in the northern Golan Heights.

Umbrellas out in Netanya (Photo: Ido Erez)

"However, the snow won't mount very high," he said. "The top of Mount Meron and other areas like Beit Jann and Safed might also see snowfall, but it won't pile up."

He said the storm is expected to subside by Wednesday morning while Thursday will only see light rain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is prepared to meet President-elect Donald Trump at any time.

When asked by journalists about the possibility of arranging a meeting with Trump, Put said "we are ready at any moment. There are no problems from our side," according to an interview transcript released by the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Putin said that "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this."

He added that "we understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship. But we are prepared to do our bit."

Putin said, however, that a meeting between the two leaders was more likely after Trump's January inauguration.
Ewa Safi is self-described as a Moroccan lounge, conjuring up images of divans with brocaded cushions. In reality, with the exception of one or two sofas, the seating is standard restaurant issuealthough the turquoise-accented North African decor is attractively atmospheric.

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The other description the restaurant attributes to itself pertains to its cuisine: Moroccan soul food. According to Ewa Safis owner, it serves Jewish food from Casablanca, inspired by his mothers cooking, while using only the freshest and finest ingredients.

Ewa Safi has been open for only five months, the reason given for the unavailability of a wine or cocktail list in Englisheven though the food menu is trilingual (Hebrew, English and French). It also employs colorful symbols indicating when dishes are spicy, very spicy, vegetarian or vegan.





The full bar offers six specialty cocktails, listed on a two-sided card bearing the identical Hebrew on both sides. The eponymous house cocktail, the Ewa Safi, blends vodka, amaretto, lemon and caramelized chili, garnished with lemon and a large red pepper as tall as the glass in which it is served. The result is a refreshing drink with with a bite of heat, mellowed by sweetness.

A Moroccan meal at Ewa Safi starts with a spread of salads, served with warm farina breadlike a thick, pillowy pitabaked on the premises. The mezze that stood out here were the smooth eggplant cream, the rich Har Brakha tehina, the spicy cherry tomatoes and a superb matboukha.

Our first starter was the veal sweetbreads in a red sauce that looked the same as the ones we saw accompanying fish steaks and patties. This was a delicacy that melts in the mouth, in a pleasantly piquant sauce that begged to be mopped up with Ewa Safis fresh hallah.

Next was the pastilla, elegantly shaped golden, crispy phyllo dough stuffed with slow cooked shoulder of lamb, grilled spring chicken and caramelized dried fruit, topped with toasted almonds, and dusted with powdered sugar. The distinctive pastilla is one of my favorite Moroccan dishes, and this version did not disappoint.

The green herb salad consisted of chopped parsley, coriander and mint, sprinkled with toasted almonds, studded with dried cranberries, and drizzled with tehina. Unusual as this medley of ingredients might seem, the combination yielded a very nice interplay of flavors and textures.

There are four tajines on the menu, served in the same ceramic casseroleswith their unique cone-shaped lidsin which they were cooked. All feature couscous with vegetables, including the lamb osso buco with prunes and pumpkin confit. The lamb was fall-off-the-bone tender, the succulent meat enhanced by the sweetness of the fruit. The candied pumpkin, meanwhile, was practically addictive.

Another house specialty is the Moroccan friescubed potatoes, seasoned to perfection.

The house wine is 4 vats, a pleasant red blend by Carmel Wineries.

There is only one dessert listed on the menu, and it is more a dessert category: Haliwat di mama, rendered as traditional Moroccan cookies, although the literal translation is Moms sweets. The broader definition is more accurate in reality as well, since we were served sufganiyot and malabi in addition to assorted cookies.

The sufganiyot came piping hot from the fryer, with a shot glass of rosewater-flavored syrup; the warm, syrupy doughnut dissolves on the tongue like the Moroccan equivalent of a Krispy Kreme. Unusually, the firm malabi is served in bars, reminiscent of pieces of cheesecake, while the dome-shaped cookies came in a variety of flavors. Dessert is accompanied by mint tea, served in small glasses from a traditional teapot.

Ewa Safi

Kosher

Hashahar 8, Tel Aviv
The figures also reveal that the crime rate had gone up every year since 2005, particularly for heinous offences.

By Chayyanika Nigam: The city is safer now than at any time in at least the past decade, Delhi Police data suggests. Grave crimes such as rape, murder, kidnapping, riot and dacoity witnessed a sharp dip of 27.16 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year, the statistics accessed by Mail Today show.

The figures also reveal that the crime rate had gone up every year since 2005, particularly for heinous offences. For instance, after the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape in, the number of serious crimes nearly doubled from 2,402 that year to 4,159 in 2013.

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MURDER, THEFT AND RAPE

The case had sparked widespread revulsion across much of urban India and led to thousands of people coming out onto the streets to protest over growing violence against women in the largely patriarchal and conservative nation. However, despite the government strengthening laws, such crimes did not witness any major drop. Also, the total number of cases registered in 2012 was 54,287 and this went up to 80,184 the next year. There has been a 39.72 per cent dip in dacoity cases till November 30 this year, a 36.88 per cent plunge in riots, a 36.35 per cent decrease in robbery cases, an 18.09 per cent drop in attempt to murder cases, and a 1.78 per cent fall in rape cases reported at police stations across the city.

A sharp decline is also visible in the number of non-heinous crimes such as snatching, molestation, as well as accidents. While the senior cops attributed this trend to better policing, many residents Mail Today spoke to said they do not feel any safer. Crimes against women have always been a major worry for the force. But this year, Delhi Police managed to improve the situation. Earlier, on an average as many as six rapes were being reported every day, while in 2016 the number has come down to five.

Similarly, daily around 15 women reported being molested last year, whiletill November 30 in 2016 the average had reduced to 11. If the crime rate of 2014 and 2016, till November 30, is compared, then two years ago as many as 10,266 cases were registered under IPC sections (heinous crimes) while this year, only about 7,620 such cases have been reported. However, the data of 2016 shows a rise in cases of burglary cases, vehicle theft and other thefts.

ALSO READ:

Gangraped US woman slams Delhi Police probe, asks why accused is yet to be arrested

--- ENDS ---
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu senses an opportunity to work with US President-elect Donald Trump to cancel the Iranian nuclear deal, despite his refusal to explain publicly how such a cancellation could be implemented.

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While political officials assess a total annulment of the deal as slim, a number of channels do exist to bring about its practical demise.

There are ways, various ways of undoing it, Netanyahu told Lesley Stahl during CBSs 60 Minutes interview which was aired on Sunday. I think what options we have are much more than you think. Many more. And Ill talk about it with President Trump. I have about five things in my mind.

Asked if he would share one option with the interviewer, Netanyahu quipped Well, Id like to talk to the president before I talk to the 60 Minutes.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to rip up the Iran deal which he frequently referred to as the worst deal ever signed. The close associates with whom he appears to be surrounding himself do not bode well for the deals continued validity in its current form.

Netanyahu during CBS interview

General James Mattis, Trumps pick for Defense Secretary was one of the most vociferous opponents of the deal as it was being hammered out. Even he, however, has cautioned against abrogating the deal in its entirety.

Nevertheless, a number of officials have posited that there are several avenues through which the terms of the deal can be improved, particularly from Israels point of view.

For example, asking Congress to impose new sanctions. It is believed that the Trump administration is likely to use the bi-partisan opposition in Congress to initiate new legislation that would essentially remove the US as a party to the agreement.

Another option would be to use presidential decrees to make the deals continuation conditional upon the limitation of Irans missile program. Simultaneously, the US also possesses the power to freeze the billions of dollars slated to flow into Irans coffers but which currently remain in American hands.

Officials also point to the operational option to increase oversight and enforcement. For example, increasing the number of random inspections of military facilities and improving the collection of intelligence could serve to deter Iran from breaching the deals stipulated terms.

The threat of retribution in the event that evidence is exposed that Iran is in violation of the agreement is another deterrence mechanism being emphasized.

The option of taking the matter to the UN Security Council also remains should Iran fail to comply with the deal.

Overall however, the comprehensive termination of the deal is unlikely for two main reasons. Firstly, Iran has already declared that it will not agree to changes.

Secondly, the international community, which has already reinstated Iran into its ranks, is unlikely to cooperate with all US actions against Tehran. Essentially therefore, even if Trump refuses to abide fully by the agreement, it will likely be a symbolic gesture if the international community fails to follow suit.

During the CBS interview, Netanyahu insisted that cancellation of the deal would not precipitate a nuclear arms race. I think Iran didnt rush to the bomb before there was a deal  because they were afraid of retribution. he said.

However, not everything about the deal spelled doom and gloom for Netanyahu. The only good thing I can say about the deal with Iran is that it brought the Arab states and Israel closer together."

Asked whether matters became personal between him and President Barack Obama, Netanyahu said no but added that ties with Washington would strengthen under Trump.

Finally, the issue of his controversial speech to Congress was raised as Lesley accused the prime minister of disrespecting the president in his attempt to rally Congress against the deal.

It was not borne of any disrespect, because I have the greatest respect for him. I had then and I have now  I think its my responsibility, to speak up when something threatens our very future.
The UN human rights office says it has received reports of Syria's pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians as they entered the last remaining strongholds of the rebels in eastern Aleppo.

Spokesman Rupert Colville of the UN human rights office says the reports recount pro-government forces entering homes and killing some civilians "on the spot" in the former rebel enclave.

Colville spoke to reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

He says 11 women and 13 children were among those reportedly killed in four neighborhoods of the increasingly-shrinking rebel enclave in the city of Aleppo.

Colville says the reports came in late the previous evening and that he doesn't know exactly when the killings took place.
BERLIN - The leaders of Germany and France say European Union sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine will need to be extended.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Tuesday that the implementation of last year's Minsk peace accord in eastern Ukraine is "very sluggish." She added "it will be necessary to extend the sanctions against Russia once again."

French President Francois Hollande says he also favors extending the sanctions, which were placed against Russia for backing separatists in eastern Ukraine. Fighting there has killed 9,600 people since April 2014.

The EU's 28 leaders are holding a summit Thursday in Brussels. Economic sanctions against Russia are set to expire Jan. 31.
MOSUL - The UN children's agency said Tuesday that about 35,000 children have fled from Mosul since Iraqi forces and a US-led coalition launched a massive operation in mid-October to retake the city from the Islamic State group.

The children are among some 93,500 people who have fled since the operation began, while hundreds of thousands have remained in their homes.

"Children are the innocent victims of any conflict and in this conflict are the most innocent victims," UNICEF's representative in Iraq, Peter Hawkins, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

He said that once ISIS is driven from the city it will be important to "invest in children's services so this war doesn't continue."
DUBAI - Qatar called on Tuesday for an emergency Arab League meeting to discuss the situation in Aleppo, where Syrian government and allied forces were making a final push to capture the city from rebels, Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported.

Qatar is a main supporter of rebels who have been fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran.

Thousands fled the front lines of fighting in bitter weather as the Syrian military hammered the final pocket of rebel resistance in Aleppo and Russia rejected an immediate ceasefire. The United Nations described the situation as a "complete meltdown of humanity".

The Qatar-based satellite channel said the request was made for a meeting at the level of representatives to the Cairo-based Arab League, but gave no further information.

Egypt's state news agency also reported that a request had been made by Qatar's delegation to the Arab League "to discuss the tragic situation in Aleppo".
Russia says it is fed up with calls from the United States to halt the fighting in Aleppo, where government forces are on the verge of driving rebels from their last remaining enclave in the northern city.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists Tuesday that "we are tired of hearing this whining from our American colleagues in the current administration that we need to immediately halt military action."

Lavrov said that while urging Russia to halt military action, the US did nothing to separate moderate rebels from "terrorists" in Aleppo. He also criticized Western governments for what he said were "untrue" accusations that Russia was blocking aid convoys to Syria.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit launched an investigation Tuesday into a poster bearing the image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind a noose, sparking a debate over the limits of freedom of expression in an increasingly polarized society.

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The poster, a riff on the "hope" poster from US President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, was plastered in the hallway at Jerusalem's prestigious Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, apparently by a student, and swiftly removed. The word "hope" in the original poster was replaced by the word "rope."

Noam Sharvit, a Justice Ministry spokesman, said the probe was launched to look into suspicions that the poster incited to violence.

Bezalel's students' union said that it did not know who was behind the poster, but did clarify that it was the work of an individual student expressing themselves artistically, clarifying, "We certainly do not support messages calling for violence and incitement of any kind whatever and even oppose that. However, as a design institution, we believe in the freedom of expression and art and are for providing an expression for the entire rainbow of opinions, within the boundaries of the law."

Its chairman, Nadav Heipert, said, "In Bezalel, lots of strange works are hung on the wall, some of which are connected to politics and some of which aren't."

Bezalel itself commented that it was investigating if the posters were part of a course assignment of the private work of a student.

Regardless, they said, the creation was a creation internal to Bezalel "as part of an ongoing dialogue on design, art and culture, including the issues of borders, reproducing images and memory. The exercise, more or less successful, is part of professional discourse, hung on the internal wall in a stairwell in the academy and not presented publicly, has no political incitement and should be judged accordingly."

Culture Minister Miri Regev, a staunch Netanyahu supporter, wrote on Facebook that "artistic freedom is not freedom to incite," and called for Bezalel's funding to be cut.

Dovish opposition legislators said such a move would trample on the right to free expression, while acknowledging the poster was in bad taste.

"What disturbs me in this context is the immediate lashing out that calls for denying funding to Bezalel," Meretz leader Zehava Galon told Army Radio. "We need to leave wide margins for freedom of expression unless it borders on bloodshed."

Israel has a flourishing arts scene bolstered by world class academies, galleries and museums.

Last week, an artist erected a golden statue of Netanyahu in a central Tel Aviv square that drew a stream of selfie-taking passersby before being toppled by a bystander. The statue was interpreted as a commentary on his lengthy rule and reputation for a lavish lifestyle.

But critics say that dissent is being stifled under the current government, the most nationalistic in the country's history.

Regev has been one of the prime targets of that criticism, with many liberal Israelis saying she expects their artistic output to conform to her nationalistic worldview. Regev has publicly clashed with liberal actors and entertainers, and has threatened to cut funding for institutions that refuse to perform in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Adi Stern, the president of Bezalel, told Army Radio that the poster had been taken out of context. He said it appeared with a poster of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin with the word "traitor" printed underneath. Such posters were common ahead of Rabin's 1995 assassination, part of a climate of incitement that many say inspired the killing. Another sign on display at the academy read: "It's called incitement."

Stern said he interpreted the display as a general commentary on incitement.

Ahead of Rabin's assassination, Netanyahu, who served as opposition leader at the time, addressed a protest in downtown Jerusalem where demonstrators held posters portraying Rabin in an Arab headscarf or Nazi uniform. Netanyahu denies he incited against Rabin in the months leading up to his death, claiming he didn't see the banners or hear violent chants.
AVIANO AIR BASE - US Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the US has killed three key leaders of the Islamic State group in Syria.

Among the dead were two militants believed to be tied to the November 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

Carter's spokesman, Peter Cook, said later that the three were killed in an airstrike Dec. 4 in Raqqa.

Cook said the two involved in the Paris attacks, Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, were close associates of Islamic State external operations leader Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who was killed in August.

He said the third person, Walid Hamman, had been convicted in absentia in Belgium for a disrupted 2015 planned attack.
RAMALLAH- Two-thirds of Palestinians believe a two-state solution to their conflict with Israel is no longer possible, a poll said Tuesday.

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The share of those who lost faith in such a deal rose from 56 percent in September to 65 percent now, probably due to an acceleration of settlement activity, said the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey research.

Most in the international community still back the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, even though a deal appears to be increasingly complicated, in part because of the continued growth of settlements. Gaps between Israeli and Palestinian leaders remain wide, preventing any meaningful talks since 2009.





Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip

The poll was conducted last week among 1,270 Palestinians and had an error margin of three percentage points.

The survey also found that 54 percent have no faith in the newly elected leadership of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. The vote at a recent Fatah convention affirmed aging party stalwarts in top jobs and was seen as a move to sideline exiled Abbas rival Mohammed Dahlan.

In a related development, Abbas decided to strip four legislators seen as close to Dahlan of their parliamentary immunity, taking yet another step to prevent a Dahlan political comeback.

Hassan Ouri, a legal adviser to Abbas, told the West Bank radio station Ajyal on Monday that the Palestinian leader made the decision after the Palestinian Constitutional Court affirmed his right to do so.

In the past, only the Palestinian parliament could strip legislators of their immunity. Parliament has been defunct since 2007, when the violent split between Fatah and rival Hamas produced separate governments in the West Bank and Gaza. Abbas has ruled autonomous West Bank enclaves by decree since then.

Fatah said on its Facebook page that the four legislators would be investigated about suspicions of embezzlement of funds and weapons dealing.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AFP)

Najat Abu Baker, one of the legislators being targeted, said the decision amounts to "suppression of the freedom of expression." She said she was not notified of any possible legal steps against her.

Tuesday's survey said 60 percent of Palestinians reject the court ruling giving Abbas the right to move against legislators.

Abbas has waged a relentless campaign against Dahlan since he fell out with his former senior aide several years ago. Dahlan has won the backing of several influential Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, which urged Abbas earlier this year to allow the exiled politician to return.

Dahlan was convicted in absentia of defamation after Abbas lifted his immunity in 2012. A Palestinian court threw out separate corruption charges after ruling that Abbas' immunity decree was not legal.
UNITED NATIONS- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will brief the Security Council on Syria's under-siege city of Aleppo at about 12 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, diplomats said.

The meeting was requested by France and Britain as a Syrian military source said the last rebel pocket in Aleppo could fall "at any moment." Ban has said that the world body was receiving alarming reports of atrocities against civilians.
Baba ji is out with a new song, and you will most definitely relate to it.

By India Today Web Desk: Baba Sehgal is not someone who's taking the whole demonetisation jig lightly. Though the king of India rap had come out with a song even last month about black money--in the wake of demonetisation--this time, he's gone a step ahead and made a song around what's commanding our lives at present--the ATM. Here's a sample of Baba ji latest creativity:

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"Aajkal yeh ATM is very yummy yummyAsking for zyaada is my tummy tummy tummyIndia is a nation, Dadar is a station,Modi ji ne kar diya demonetisationOpposition boley naya law very funnyATM mein boley toh no money money Arey haddi aur pasli thoda weak ho jayegaDon't worry uncle sab theek ho jayega ATM mein khadey ho toh baat karo yaar seNaye naye note hain welcome karo pyaar se"

So, for all those Baba Sehgal fans out there, here's presenting, ATM:

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"No one judges a soldier to look good in someone else's eyes, but rather to protect the IDF and its values," said IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot during a meeting with students with in Acre in reference to the trial of Sgt. Elor Azaria.

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Azaria's trial recently concluded after he was charged of manslaughter for shooting and killing a seriously wounded Palestinian terrorist in March

Gadi Eisenkot (Photo: Ido Erez)

Eisenkot said, "We have professional requirements and norms we expect from our soldiers, and when commanders think that something happens that deviates from the norm, they take a position. If we didn't do this, we wouldn't be able to be able to give soldiers guns and expect them to use them."

He went on to say that he was supporting Azaria's commanders and that he had faith in the integrity of the military courts. According to Eisenkot, the incident did not negatively impact the motivation of soldiers serving in the IDF: "I have seen since then hundreds of soldiers and incidents and I discerned no harm caused to their motivation or to their willingness to draw their weapons and shoot whomever they need to shoot."

Elor Azaria (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Commenting on the recent statements made by rabbis and IDF officials opposing female enlistment into IDF combat units, Eisenkot responded: "We have female fighter pilots endowed with great talent, female commanders who serve as ship commanders in the navy, seven security battalions containing female soldiers who stand with courage against challenges posed by men," he retorted proudly.

"We are now seeing record numbers of women serving as senior officers since the establishment of the IDF and are undertaking efforts to widen the participation of women. We are a nation that has a religious population, and we also need to cater for a religious soldier who doesn't want to serve in a co-ed unit, but all the shouting is needless because today there is an option for religious soldiers who don't want to serve in a co-ed unit and can serve in another unit," he added.

Regarding the allegations of sexual assault against Brig. Gen. Ofek Buchris Eisenkot commented , "I sayas a commander and as a father to daughters with sensitivity to human dignitythat these incidents are handled with an iron first. In the case of Ofek Buchris, a firm and correct hand was used: He was suspended from the IDF and dismissed from his position. In general, I view exploiting a position of authority poorly, even if nobody complains."
MK Oren Hazan (Likud) was summoned to a hearing regarding claims that he attacked the mayor of Ariel during an argument which occurred in the municipality building in October 2014.

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The Israel Police announced its recommendation to try the MK back in September 2015 for attacking a public worker and misconduct in a public office.

The recommendation was given following a police investigation into the incident. Hazan allegedly attacked the mayor in the mayor's office in Ariel after arguing over a debt Hazan had to the city.

MK Oren Hazan (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

The State Prosecutor's office said that "there is a suspicion that in October 2014, after Hazan was informed that his mother's bank account had been frozen due to outstanding debts. He went to the city hall to find out who put a freeze on his mother's bank account."

"Hazan then yelled and cursed at the mayor, grabbed him, and forcefully pushed the mayor into a railing. Hazan also grabbed the mayor, refused to leave his office, and told the mayor that he would be dealt with, and that Hazan will make sure that the mayor is removed from his post," the prosecutor's office continued.

MK Hazan responded, "I'm hopeful that the decision hasn't been made yet, and that the attorney general will hear my position in the opening statements along with my claims in the upcoming hearing. (I hope that) he will understand that this is a mutual complaint on a trivial case which was on its way to be forgotten. (The case) was suddenly renewed only after I was elected to the Knesset, and only after immense, unprecedented pressure from the press in conjunction with various politicians who want to shut me down."

"These types of cases - where there is an argument and one says that the other pushed him while the other says that he grabbed him  get closed by the police all the time as the public simply doesn't care," the MK continued. "I'm sorry to say that my case isn't like this. The State of Israel has a system of laws, and I ask that (this system), the attorney general, and his representative be trusted. I hope that my statements fall on open ears."
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said Tuesday that he is confident Donald Trump will move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a break in US policy that is sure to anger Palestinians, who claim the eastern sector of the city for their future capital.

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Barkat told The Associated Press that he has been in touch with Trump's staff about the issue. While previous presidential candidates have made similar promises, Barkat said his conversations have led him to believe that Trump is serious about making the move.

"Naturally my intuition tells me that it's different this time, knowing the people hearing his statements, where we are today," Barkat said.





Nir Barkat speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his Jerusalem office. (Photo: AP)

Transferring the embassy to Jerusalem would be a highly symbolic and politically charged act. The fate of east Jerusalem is at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of their future state.

"The United States of America has embassies in all of the world's capitals with the exception of Israel," Barkat said. "That's absurd, and moving the embassy to the capital of the Jewish people, to Jerusalem, is a straightforward, standard thing to do."

Barkat spoke a day after Trump's spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that the president-elect is determined to move the embassy to Jerusalem when he takes office

"That is a very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump," she said. "He made that very clear during the campaign, Hugh. And as president-elect, I've heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly."

The moving of the embassy, and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, enjoys broad support among Israel's Jewish majority. Speaking to foreign reporters Monday, before Conway's comments had been reported, opposition lawmaker Yair Lapid called the proposal an "excellent idea."

Nir Barkat speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his Jerusalem office. (Photo: AP)

Moving the embassy to Jerusalem would signal US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a move that would infuriate Palestinians, break decades of American policy and distance the US from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe.

The Palestinians condemned the idea.

"Any attempt to move the embassy to Jerusalem will not help achieve peace," said Adnan Husseini, Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs. He urged Trump to instead push for the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a peace settlement with Israel.

Trump has said he would like to broker a peace deal, but he has given few details on how he hopes to do so. He has raised concerns among Palestinians because many of his advisers take hard-line positions that favor Israel, and his campaign platform made no mention of Palestinian independencea US position for the past two decades.

The last round of US-mediated peace talks collapsed over two years ago.
ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula has announced that its liaison to HamasHashem Abdel Aileh Kishtah has been killed. However, the group didn't reveal how their liaison to the Palestinian terror group died.

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ISIS released a statement on the matter on Tuesday. Kishtah was originally from the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza strip.

Kishtah, the liaison between Hamas and ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula

Kishtah's name was first revealed when it was mistakenly announced via Sky News Arabic that the Egyptian Air Force had assassinated him in February of 2016. He was referred to as a high-ranking official in the Hamas Izzadin al-Qassam military brigade. There were also reports that he had died in Libya; however, his family quickly denied this report.

Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai mentioned Kishtah's name several times when speaking about the relationship and cooperation which exists between ISIS and Hamas. However, Hamas has denied any connection to ISIS, and upon initial reports of his death in February 2016, Hamas completely distanced itself from Kishtah.

During an Al Jazeera news piece dealing with relations between Hamas and ISIS, Mordechai mentioned Kishtah again, saying "Kishtah took part in training ISIS operatives in the Sinai."

Kishtah in Sinai

ISIS-affiliated Amaq has been reporting that Israel has been hitting ISIS targets in el-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid in Sinai over the last several days, and is claiming that Israel and Egypt are coordinating in the fight against it.

Amaq released a similar statement hours before ISIS launched a rocket in the general direction of Israel, causing sirens to be heard in the Negev on Tuesday morning. The rocket seems to have failed at launch.

According to a Der Spiegel report on ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula which covered several high ranking ISIS Sinai branch officials, Kishtah was recognized as one of the leaders. The German report stated that Kishtah is a central figure in increasing ISIS's fighting capabilities in Sinai, particularly over the last two years. The report also noted that he was an operative in the Hamas military wing.

Egyptian Air Force pilots heading out to bomb Sinai

Before the ISIS group in Sinai officially became a part of the multi-national terror group, it was merely a local Sinai terror group called Ansar Beit al-Maqdis. It is alleged that Kishtah was smuggled from Gaza into Sinai via a tunnel running underneath the border, and then became an instructor who taught the Sinai terrorists how to use anti-tank missiles and how to create IEDs.

He was thought of as one of the biggest experts in anti-tank missiles and anti-tank fighting in the Middle East.

Before his arrival in Sinai, the terrorists primarily targeted the Egyptian military with RPGs. However, according to reports, under Kishtah's tutelage, ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula has become very proficient in the use of advanced Kornet anti-tank missiles when attacking Egyptian military armor.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a series of agreements Tuesday with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during Netanyahus official visit to the Muslim-majority country.

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Meeting at the Zagulba Palace in the capital of Baku, Netanyahu and Aliyev focused talks on standardization, double taxation, agricultural cooperation and the establishment of a mixed commission to advance bilateral cooperation on economic matters, science, technology, health, agriculture and trade.

Welcoming the Israeli prime minister, Aliyev noted the strong defense trade between the countries  which currently stands at $4.5 billion  as well as Netanyahus first visit to Azerbaijan during his first stint as prime minister during the 1990s. He said the current visit is a sign of both strong existing ties between Baku and Jerusalem, as well as a potential for expanding cooperation moving forward.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev meet in Baku, Azerbaijan (Photo: Haim Tzah)

(Todays agreements) will help to increase and diversity trade turnover, mainly because of the oil supplies from Azerbaijan to Israel (in addition) we have very good prospects in cooperation in agriculture. Israel has very modern technologies  some of them we are already using and some of them probably will come later to Azerbaijan. Good prospects for cooperation in that area, Aliyev said.

Both leaders mentioned the history of Jews in Azerbaijan. There are currently seven synagogues in Azerbaijan, and Netanyahu is scheduled to visit a Jewish school, Chabad Or Avner. He will also meet with local Jewish leaders.

Netanyahu remarked that he could see from the air that Azerbaijan has taken an immense leap forward over the past 20 years, and also spoke about the growing energy relationship between the countries, including plans to link Israels gas exports to an Azerbaijan-Turkey pipeline currently under construction. The prime minister also noted Israeli accomplishments in agriculture, education, technology and other areas.

In addition, Netanyahu noted the fruitful relationships between Azerbaijani Jews and Muslims, saying the countrys example shines against the background of intolerance and lack of acceptance and mutual respect."

Most Azerbaijanis are Muslim, and the country is officially a Muslim state.

The mutual respect that you show here, the attitude that youve shown to Jewish people in Azerbaijan over the years, one that has fostered this very strong bond of sympathy and admiration for Azerbaijan, first of all with the 70,000 Azerbaijani Jews who live in Israel its something that we can show the world. Here is an example of what relations can and should be between Muslims and Jews everywhere, Netanyahu said.
KHARTOUM- Sudan has accused Egypt of seizing Sudanese gold miners from its territory and confiscating their equipment.

Sudanese state TV Ashorooq on Tuesday quotes the Sudanese Minister of Minerals as saying he met with representatives of the gold miners in Wadi Al-Allagy, in the Sudanese Red Sea State where their colleagues were allegedly attacked and taken to Egypt.

Ahmed al-Karoury says some of the 45 miners were later released but without their equipment.

Karoury described as "grave and unacceptable" the act by the Egyptian forces, calling it "an aggression on innocent Sudanese nationals on Sudanese territories."
F-35 Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Yotam and his deputy Capt. D. took Israel's new stealth jets for their first flight over the country at about 1pm on Tuesday, the first time the planes were piloted by an Israeli.

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F-35s' inaugural Israeli flight (:  ")

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The two planes, the 901 and 902, which arrived in the country on Monday, took off in perfect weather from the Nevatim Air Force Base for a short, preliminary, unarmed test flight that took about an hour. The planes flew above the south of Israel and were accompanied by IAF F-16s.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

Accompanied by F-16 (camouflage paint) (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

Yotam's unit, the Golden Eagle Squadron, trained for this moment on American flight simulators. This was the first time that Israeli pilots controlled the cockpit on the F-35s. They took off after long preparations by the ground crew. In the coming days, the planes will remain mostly on the ground to allow the technical teams to get better acquainted with the sophisticated machine.

Yotam explained last week to Ynet that the purpose of the first flight, and indeed those of all flights with the F-35 in the near future, would be principally to get a feel of the jet, to practice takeoffs and landings, and to get to know the basic elements of the world's most advanced aircraft, which costs some $9010 million.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin and representatives from his Ministry hosted on Tuesday the traditional pre-Christmas reception for leaders of the Christian communities and churches in Israel at the Shimshon Center, Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem.

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The minister sent seasons greetings to the Christian communities and invited the faithful around the world to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Last year's Christmas parade in Nazareth (Photo: Zoomout)

At the reception, Levin said, "I welcome you and the believers from your communities who are expected to arrive in Israel for the Christmas holiday and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are doing our utmost to ensure that their stay in Israel will be successful and enjoyable."The ministry invests significantly throughout the year in the conservation and upgrading of Christian sites in order to ensure that every Christian can visit the sites that are sacred for him and find them in good order, as befits their status. I invite you to visit the holy sites and enjoy the uniquely powerful religious and spiritual experience of the Holy Land."

Tourism minister with guests at reception (Photo: Jorge Novominsky)

Also participating in the reception were Tourism Ministry Director General Amir Halevi, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III, Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Nourhan Manoogian, Custodian of the Holy Land Fr. Francesco Patton, Apostolic Nuncio Giuseppe Lazzarotto, representative of the Latin Patriarchate Bishop William Shumali, Executive Director of the Christian Embassy Dr. Jurgen Buhler and representatives from many other Christian communities in Israel. Also in attendance were members of the diplomatic community and representatives of government and private bodies involved in promoting Christian tourism to the Holy Land.

Jerusalem YMCA's Christmas market last year (Photo: Eyal Weiss)

Christmas in Haifa (Photo: Zvi Roger)

According to Tourism Ministry statistics, over half of all incoming tourists to Israel were Christian. It estimates that approximately 120,000 tourists will visit Israel in December, of whom half are Christian.

Haifa Christmas market 2015 (Photo: Zvi Roger)

From 3pm on Christmas Eve (December 24) until 3am on Christmas Day, the ministry will offer free shuttle transportation for pilgrims travelling between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Buses will leave every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour from the bus stop near the Carta Parking lot (opposite Jaffa Gate and near to the Mamilla Boulevard). The bus will also stop near the entrance to the Mar Elias Monastery, and at the Rosmarin junction, before continuing via Rachel's Crossing to Bethlehem before returning to the capital. There may be changes to the schedule due to demand.

Tourists and pilgrims at Rachels Crossing will be greeted with a small gift in the spirit of the holiday. During the traditional Christmas parade in Nazareth, a firework display will take place.
ISTANBUL - Turkey will set up a tent city to accommodate up to 80,000 Syrian refugees fleeing Aleppo, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek tweeted on Tuesday.

There are currently around 2.7 million Syrians in Turkey, which Simsek described as the country hosting the most refugees in the world.

He did not provide any further details.
Syria's U.N. ambassador is hailing "the liberation of Aleppo" and rejecting allegations that his country's military has carried out revenge attacks and executions of civilians.

Bashar Ja'afari told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that Syrian forces have liberated civilians from "terrorists" who controlled eastern Aleppo.

The United States, Britain and France are accusing Syrian President Bashar Assad's government of committing atrocities against civilians in the rebel-held area.
"This is the biggest scam of the year and must be investigated," former Finance Minister Chidambaram said.

Senior Congress leader Chidambaram asked how large amount of money is being found in multiple raids in the last two weeks.

By India Today Web Desk: The Congress mounted its attack on demonetisation today with former Finance Minister P Chidambaram calling the banning of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes the biggest scam of 2016.

"This is the biggest scam of the year and must be investigated," Chidambaram said in his address to reporters in Nagpur.

"Every bank says there is no cash. So how does the government say there is enough cash? That is why Dr Manmohan Singh called demonetisation a "monumental mismanagement"," he said.

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"What calculations did the government do to say that one can withdraw Rs 24000 when banks don't have enough cash to dispense," he said.

ALSO READ | Venkaiah Naidu says Centre has no plans to rework demonetisation strategy

The senior Congress leader asked how large amount of money is being found in multiple raids in the last two weeks.

"I cannot get Rs 2000 notes. How did crores in Rs 2000 notes find their way to individuals being raided all over the country?" he asked.

Chidambaram spent a good part of his press conference to red flag the crisis in cooperative banks, which have been denied access to the new notes.

"Why are district cooperative central banks kept out of this whole exercise? Keeping out cooperative banks is punishing farmers. There is no money for them to buy supplies," he said.

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Dobra, k. Szczecina 900 m2

40 miejsc parkingowych



Atut: Dodatkowe dochody z paczkomatow InPostu, a juz niedugo i z myjni samoobsugowej.



Tradycyjny zakup nieruchomosci, mozliwosc wykupienia uzytkowania wieczystego.
"PM's narrative has changed over time, first it was black money, then terrorism and now it is about making society cashless", says the Congress vice-president.

By India Today Web Desk: Interacting with locals in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi once again attacked PM Modi over his government's demonetisation scheme, saying the move had already made the society cashless and that people were suffering as no one had any cash.

The government has favoured more frequent use of e-wallets, net banking and mobile payments in a bid to do away with loose cash and minimise corruption.

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Also read | Demonetisation a case of khoda pahaad, nikli chuhiya: 10 not-to-be-missed P Chidambaram quotes

The Congress leader also accused the government of constantly shifting goalposts. "PM's narrative has changed over time, first it was black money, then terrorism and now it is about making society cashless."

NO SOLUTION IN 50 DAYS: RAHUL

He said that the problem would not be resolved in 50 days, as promised by the government, but for years to come the country will have to face the ill-effects of this demonetisation move.

Rahul questioned PM Modi's claim that he would bring back black money, alleging that those having unaccounted wealth were the ones to market him. He said that a few businessmen had taken Rs 8 lakh crore loans from banks, which they were not paying back, and that had compounded the cash crisis outside banks and ATMs.

The real motive behind the demonetisation exercise is to enable the banks collect enough money so they can waive off the loans given to big corporates and industrialists, Rahul added.

Also read | Modi government could have consulted Manmohan on demonetisation: Congress

The Congress vice-president alleged that only the middle-class and poor people were having to stand in long queues to show that banks were functioning and face inconvenience of cash crunch, while the rich were not feeling the pinch, being unaffected by the crackdown.

"If your money remains in these banks for eight to 10 months, they will be able to waive off these loans owed by the industrialists who actually marketed Modi and made him the Prime Minister," Rahul told traders and commoners in Dadri.

FARMERS WILL BE WORST SUFFERERS

Slamming the concept of cashless society further, Rahul said that farmers wouldn't know how, if such a system were to come into effect, how 5 per cent of their money would directly go into the pockets of corporates.

On the shortage of new 500 rupee notes, he said that while the common man was being able to withdraw only Rs 2000 notes, the corrupt were getting their black money worth Rs 50 to 100 crores converted into white using back-door methods.

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The Congress leader likened PM Modi to a king, who was only fond of talking and not taking any concerted steps for the welfare of the people.

Also read | Congress asks who is running government - Modi, Jaitley, RBI or Gurumurthy?

(WITH INPUTS FROM IANS)

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After demonetisation, consumers are opting for digital payments for daily grocery shopping from e-grocers like Big Basket and Grofers.

By Indrajit Kundu: Amid the cash crunch in the country, online grocery business has seen a massive boost. Over a month has passed since the government's demonetisation announcement, the biggest worry for consumers have been small transactions done at unorganised retail sector.

After all, how does one pay a local vendor for daily essential commodities like fruits, vegetables, fish and milk, if not with cash.

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The lack of cash in the market has pushed consumers to opt for digital payment options. With unorganised retailers mostly out of the digital ambit, the vacuum has promptly been filled by e-grocers like Big Basket and Grofers.

In the past one month alone, e-grocer Big Basket has seen a 25 per cent jump in new customer base while doing a business of about Rs 125-130 crore across markets. The company has recorded an overall growth of over 10 per cent while orders have soared by 15 per cent across the board.

Even Grofers, which had seen a huge slump in business having to scale down operations in several cities, hopes to make a comeback riding high on the cash crunch.

Also read: CBSE schools go cashless: Get ready to pay your child's fees online from January

"There are a number of modes of payments that we have, like PAYTM, Mobikwik, card-on-delivery and net backing which provide convenience to the customers. Thus, there has been quite a surge in our business in the last month," says Ashish Tebriwal, Eastern Regional Business Head of Big Basket.

FARMERS BENEFIT

In fact, small scale farmers across the country have benefited by tying up with such e-retailers. "There have been instances last year in Karnataka where there was an excess production of tomatoes getting wasted. Farmers were forced to sell them at a low price. So, we tied up with them, bought it at a premium price and made sure everyone got their money. So, while our customers got benefited because of low price, the farmers too did not lose anything," added Tebriwal.

The companies said that the challenge was to maintain quality while catering to a fast growing customer base.

Also read: Mobile frauds for online transactions may rise by 65 per cent in India - Study

While they have not announced any special discounts, to lure newcomers, many innovative schemes have been brought in. For example, Grofers has tied up with Yes Bank to deliver cash at the doorstep of the cash-strapped consumer.

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HAPPY CONSUMERS

With such hassle free shopping, consumers are happy too! They not only get rid of the need to give cash, but also get benefits from these innovative schemes. "If I have an option for going cashless, then why not," says Atri Sanyal, one such consumer who works in a private firm in Kolkata.

Sanyal's family has been trying to cope with the cash crunch like this for the past one month. Earlier, they used to fetch their daily supplies like vegetables and groceries from the local neighbourhood store. With no digital payment options available there, the Sanyals say cash transaction was inevitable at such shops. But now with lack of cash in hand, they have promptly moved over to online shopping of daily essential commodities.

Also read: NITI Aayog takes cue from PM Modi, proposes new scheme to incentivise digital transactions

"When we go out shopping at the local vegetable market using cash, we are often unable to keep a check on our expenses. But while paying online, I can plan better and thus end up saving some of the impulsive expenses," adds Mr Sanyal.

While consumers said they have faced inconvenience due to demonetisation, they also mentioned that they cannot deny the little benefits that have emerged while shopping online.

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Yuma, Arizona - Today, at approximately 12:06 p.m., a 25 year old white female was shot in the parking lot of Walmart, 2900 S. Pacific Avenue.

The initial investigation showed the female left Walmart and was in the east side of the parking lot when a light colored four door passenger car drove up. A single shot was fired from inside the vehicle and then the vehicle sped off southbound on Pacific Avenue.

The victim is currently at Yuma Regional Medical Center listed in serious condition.

The only suspect information we have at this time is the suspect vehicle; a light colored four door passenger car. We have no suspect information or description at this time.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call Detective Frank Saenz at (928) 373-5000 #6079, the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous. Remember, if your information leads to an arrest you may receive up to a $1,000 cash reward.
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Parker, Arizona - Today, the Arizona Western College Parker Community Center was officially opened. Dignitaries and AWC officials gathered to cut the ceremonial ribbon on the newest facility in the La Paz area. It was time to celebrate a history of community partnerships and a future of collaborations.

The 11,200 square feet new facility will be used for classroom space, with an exciting feature: the classrooms can be converted into a large meeting space that will be able to accommodate 250 seated guests, dining style. This will allow the new facility to serve as a venue to host different events for the community and/or private entities when not being used as classrooms. There will also be a fitness center, kitchen and offices in the new facility.

Katheline Ocampo, Associate Dean for La Paz County Services at AWC, said I am excited about the possibilities and programs this new facility will support. We will continue to meet the current needs of our community and explore how AWC will be able to better improve services offered to the community.

The total cost is estimated to be around 1.8 million for the new AWC Parker Community Center.

There was a Groundbreaking Celebration for the new Arizona Western College Parker Community Center on Thursday, May 5. The celebration took place at the AWC Parker Learning Center (1109 S Geronimo Ave, Parker, AZ), which is located immediately south of where the new facility will be built.
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Washington, DC - Today, the Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) released the 2017-2019 U.S. Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. This document charts the course for work to be carried over the next three years by the federal government with opportunities for state and local governments, foreign governments, and the private sector in support of a strong policy environment for intellectual property enforcement.

The U.S. State Department collaborated with the IPEC and counterparts in other government departments in crafting this plan, which highlights the cultural and economic importance of creative and innovative communities. These sectors support over 45 million U.S. jobs, generate more than 50 percent of our exports, and enrich our cultural landscape.



The State Departments Office of International Intellectual Property Enforcement promotes American and global innovation by advocating for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) around the world. The office works with economic officers at the State Departments embassies, consulates, and missions to ensure that the interests of U.S. rights holders are represented overseas, and to highlight the vital role of IPR protection in the global economy.
Incendiu la o fabrica de incaltaminte din Arad: doi angajati erau in incinta

Apelul la 112 s-a facut in jurul orei 5,30 si a intervenit Detasamentul de Pompieri Sebis cu doua autospeciale de stingere cu apa si spuma si un echipaj SMURD."La sosirea echipajelor, incendiul se manifesta cu flacara deschisa la nivelul [citeste mai departe]
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- The number of registrations of individuals and legal persons increased, in the first nine months of this year, by 3.32%, compared to the similar period in 2021, to 120,602, of which 90,814 are limited liability companies (SRL), according to data centralized by the National Trade Register Office (ONRC),

- Romania exported, in the first seven months of 2022, cereals and cereal-based foods in the amount of almost 3.126 billion euros, an increase of 74.8% compared to the similar period in 2021, according to data centralized by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Fii la curent cu cele mai

- This year, for the first time, the Bucharest Stock Exchange exceeded the threshold of 100,000 investors, and a few days ago the threshold of one million transactions was exceeded, president of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) Radu Hanga said on Tuesday, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele

- The total volume of trade between Romania and Kazakhstan amounted to 1.8 billion USD in the first seven months of 2022, increasing by 73pct compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MAT) announced on Monday. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri.

- National electricity consumption was lower by 4.9% (30.873 billion kWh), between January and July 2022, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest report of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE). Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro

- he number of building permits issued in the first seven months of 2022 in Romania decreased by 9.4% as against the similar period in 2021, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro

- The general consolidated budget deficit increased to 1.94% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) after the first seven months of this year, from 1.71% of the GDP in the first semester of 2022, according to the data with the Finance Ministry (MF). Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste

- Romania has registered a trade deficit (FOB/CIF) of 15.44 billion Euro, during the first 6 months of this year, up by 4.74 billion Euro from the one registered during the similar period of last year, according to the data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Tuesday. Fii
The Congress also demanded the details of the Reserve Bank of India meeting on November 8 must be made public.

By India Today Web Desk: Attacking the government over its claim of secrecy prior to announcing demonetisation, the Congress today asked how involving senior economists, including a former Prime Minister, betrayed secrecy.

"The government should have consulted at least Yashwant Sinha. He is their own man. They could have consulted Dr Manmohan Singh," former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a press conference today.

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Yashwant Singh, a senior BJP leader, served as Finance Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government more than a decade ago. He is considered a specialist in the Indian economy.

WHY SO MUCH SECRECY?

"There are over a 100 officers involved in the making of the Union Budget. Till today, it has never been leaked. What secrecy is this? Nobody was consulted," he said.

Also read | Demonetisation the biggest scam of 2016: Ex-Finance Minister P Chidambaram

The banning of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, has been cricised by many experts for the lack of preparedness. The government, in its defence, has repeatedly said secrecy forced them to have limited preparation for it.

"Are you suggesting that a former Prime Minister, if consulted by the present PM, will betray a secret?" Chidambaram asked.

The Congress also demanded the details of the Reserve Bank of India meeting on November 8 must be made public.

"The RBI should publish the minutes of meeting on Nov 8 and let the country know who were the directors who attended the meeting," Chidambaram said.

MANMOHAN SINGH LED OPPOSITION CHARGE

Incidentally, the first major attack from the Opposition against demonetisation came from Manmohan Singh, who in a scathing 7-minute Rajya Sabha address last month, called it "organised loot and legalised plunder".

"It is a case of organised loot and legalised plunder. It is not my intention to pick holes. I sincerely hope the Prime Minister, even at this late hour, will find a solution," the former Prime Minister had said as he warned the government that it will drag India's GDP by 2 percentage points.

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Mamata Banerjee has criticised the demonetisation move, calling it a visionless policy that has caused a setback to crores of commoners and workers.

By Indrajit Kundu: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday termed demonetisation a "setback" for commoners and workers, saying the "visionless policy" has claimed crores of "victims".

"Demonetisation is a major setback for commoners and a maximum setback for workers... Crores of people have become victims of a visionless policy. It's a major catastrophe," Banerjee wrote on her Facebook page.

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Mamata took to social media to express her "deep sorrow" over the common man's ordeal and claimed that the Narendra Modi led central government's demonetization decision had "drastically affected about 5 Crore workers in the country".

"According to reports, around 1.25 Crore workers in the country in unorganized sector, e-commerce, leather, jute, textiles, glass, beedi, gems and jewellery sectors and daily wage earners under government schemes like MNREGA have either lost jobs or have been seriously affected due to cash crunch," she added on Facebook.

Raising concern about jobloss, the Trinamool chief claimed that big industries were undertaking retrenchment process which will result in a huge number of workers losing their jobless. "I can feel with deep sorrow the extensive sufferings and ordeal that these people are going through now. It is a matter of great concern that I wanted to share with all of you," she said.

The Trinamool Congress supremo has been on the warpath against the Narendra Modi-led central government over the issue of demonetisation. She has conducted multiple protest rallies against the move, in not just West Bengal but even in capital Delhi, Lucknow and Patna too.

Mamata has demanded a rollback of the move, asserting that as many as 95 people have died following the November 8 move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

--- ENDS ---
Rio de Janeiro: In more trouble for former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the country's federal authorities have now decided to file new charges against him.

According to Federal Police, Lula has been charged with passive corruption in connection with a case involving bribes paid by the Odebrecht construction company for him to rent an apartment and buy property.

Efe news reported on Tuesday the Federal Police, in the same case, has also filed charges for money laundering against six other people, including Lula's wife, his former finance minister and his attorney.

Lula was already the target of three indictments for corruption.

One of the accusations refers to alleged influence-peddling to benefit the former head of state's son, Luiz Claudio Lula da Silva.

The grafts took place in 2013-2015, two years after the end of Lula's second term, but prosecutors maintain that he continued to wield influence within the administration of protege and successor Dilma Rousseff.

Lula's son received $740,000 from companies that sought an extension of favourable tax treatment for Brazil's auto industry, according to the Attorney General's Office.

The new charges filed on Monday come within the framework of the investigation into the huge corruption network that diverted funds from state-run oil company Petrobras.

The charges filed by the police would now be reviewed by the Attorney General's Office, which may then ask the Justice Ministry to bring the seven accused to trial.

With IANS inputs
Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump has settled on Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil CEO, to be his secretary of state, transition officials said on Tuesday.

Trump planned to announce the selection on Tuesday morning, finally bringing to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over choosing the nation's top diplomat, New York Times reported.

His choices veered from Rudolph Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.

It also included an endlessly changing list that at times included Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee; David Petraeus, the former Army general and C.I.A. director; and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor and presidential candidate in 2012.

Romney, Petraeus and Corker - the three leading runners-up for the diplomatic post - all received calls late Monday informing them of Trump's decision, according to people familiar with the final choice.

Trump teased his imminent announcement of Tillerson on Monday night on Twitter, saying that "I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning."

He settled on Tillerson, a deal maker who spent the past four decades at Exxon, much of it in search of oil and gas agreements in troubled parts of the world.

Tillerson, 64, is from Wichita Falls, Texas, who speaks with a strong Texan twang, and runs a company with operations in about 50 countries, cutting deals to expand business in Venezuela, Qatar, Kurdistan and elsewhere.

If confirmed as Secretary of State, Tillerson would face a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.
Bangkok: Thailand`s new King Maha Vajiralongkorn has announced that he will pardon or commute the sentences of nearly 150,000 prison inmates, which also included those jailed for insulting the Thai Royal family.

The announcement from King Vajiralongkorn comes nearly two months after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, on October 13.

The new King ascended the throne on December 1.

"This is the first opportunity since his majesty`s ascension to show his mercy," the Royal Gazette said in a statement, announcing that 150,000 inmates could be eligible for release or to have sentences cut, under the pardon.

However, the Thai officials do not have a figure for the number of inmates who will benefit from the pardon since the decisions will be made by different prisons depending on factors including the inmate`s age, how much of the sentence has been served and behaviour.

Prisoners jailed for insulting the monarchy and drug offences will also be eligible, said Kobkiat Kasivivat, director general of the Department of Corrections.

"Prisoners convicted of 112 and prisoners convicted of drug offences will be included for consideration for release or commuting of sentence," Kobkiat was quoted as Reuters, referring to the royal insult law by its article number in the criminal code.

The government has not released a figure for the number of people who are in jail for royal insult but there have been more than 80 prosecutions under the law since mid-2014, according to figures from the legal monitoring group iLaw.

"The inmates will be looked at on a case by case basis at each individual corrections facility," Chanchao Chaiyanukit, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, told Reuters.

Those convicted of murder and rape will not be eligible for release or to have sentences cut, officials said.

Thailand`s prison population has soared in recent years, largely because of tough drug laws.

Corrections Department figures for July showed a prison population of 321,347 in Thailand, with about 70 percent jailed for drugs offences.

With Reuters inputs
Peshawar: Pakistan`s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that the army will work with the government to ensure equitable development in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

General Bajwa was at Corps Headquarters Peshawar on Monday, where he received briefing on security operations and the way forward in FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Malakand Divisions.

Appreciating the gains from counter terrorism operations so far, Bajwa said that the focus must remain on indiscriminate IBOs, combing operations for stabilisation and consolidation.

"The nexus between terrorists in remote areas and their facilitators in urban centres will be severed whatever the amount of effort and time," he said.

General Bajwa also reviewed progress on border management and directed all concerned to expedite construction work and capacity building initiatives.

He observed that for the optimum effect of sealing movement of terrorists or insurgents from either side, border management will have to be managed both by Pakistan and Afghanistan.

General Bajwa particularly placed emphasis on the return of Temporarily Dislocated Persons (TDPs). He said TDPs must be helped to resettle in their native towns.Earlier on his arrival in Peshawar, General Bajwa was received by Lt Gen Hidayat ur Rehman, Corps Commander 11 Corps.
New York: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif might like to attend US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

The Pakistani government had sent a special emissary Tariq Fatemi to Washington last week "where he hinted broadly that Sharif might like to attend Trump's inauguration", said The Washington Post.

Fatemi said he believed the incoming Trump administration would provide Pakistan with "a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials" with the United States, the report said.

It added that senior Pakistani officials said they take the long view of their country's relationship with the US, which has been dominated by military and intelligence ties.

"Our relationship with the United States is almost as old as Pakistan itself. There have been ups and downs, but overall we have remained very close," Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's top foreign policy chief, said in an interview.

"Through both Republican and Democratic administrations, there has been a broad continuity in policy, and we fully expect our relations will continue on an uphill trajectory," he added.

Following Trump's conversation with Sharif, in which Trump is said to have hinted casually that he would be willing to help Pakistan solve its historic differences with India, Pakistani officials are now "scrambling to prepare for an unpredictable new phase" in its wary but enduring partnership with Washington.

Pakistani officials said they also want to reassure the incoming administration that their relations with other countries are not a "zero sum game" and are independent of their policies toward the US.

They insisted that their deepening economic trade and plans for a major transportation corridor to China do not represent a "pivot" away from their longtime economic and military links with Washington.

Aziz added that Pakistan, like the US, wants to see Afghanistan become peaceful and stable.

He said Pakistan has been "frustrated" that its efforts to arrange peace talks with the Taliban have failed, and that rising attacks in Afghanistan have been partly the result of Pakistan's military raids to drive the insurgents out of the tribal border areas.

Meanwhile, India on December 01 had said that it would welcome US-Pakistan talks to resolve the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

"I will reserve my judgement. We have seen only one side of the conversation. And that conversation does talk about the US President-elect willing to resolve all outstanding issues of Pakistan. We believe that the most outstanding issue of the outstanding issues is Pakistan's continued support to terrorism. To that extent, we will welcome a dialogue between the US and Pakistan to resolve that issue," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said.

(With PTI inputs)
San Francisco: A Germany bound Lufthansa Airlines flight from Texas was diverted to a New York City airport following a threat call received by the airline`s headquarters, reports said on Tuesday.

According to reports, Flight 441 destined for Frankfurt from Houston landed safely and was taken to a remote area of John F. Kennedy International Airport around 8:30 pm, a spokesman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Steve Coleman, said.

All passengers were evacuated from the plane and were taken to hotels after which the authorities searched the jet, a Lufthansa spokesman later said on Tuesday in Germany.



However, he neither confirmed nor denied receipt of a bomb threat, adding that he did not have enough information.

Joerg Waber, the Lufthansa spokesman, also said once the search is complete, the plane will be flown back to Germany without passengers.

Operations at the New York City airport had not been affected by the incident, said Coleman, the Port Authority spokesman.
The Indian Air Force's AN-32 plane, which was en route to Port Blair from Chennai, went missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22. The disappearance of the Russian-made Antonov An-32 twin engine turboprop transport aircraft kicked off India's biggest search operation yet for a missing plane on the sea.

Twenty-nine people were on board the plane when the incident occurred.

Despite a number of efforts, the officials of the Navy, Indian Air Force, and Coast Guard could not locate the missing plane. And in September, the 29 people on board the AN-32 plane were declared "presumed dead".

However, officials from both the IAF and Navy said the search for debris of the ill-fated aircraft would continue.

The aircraft, an upgraded AN-32 belonging to 33 Squadron, took off from Tambaram Air Force Station in Chennai at 8.30 am, and was expected to land at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 11.30 am, in what officials said was a "routine sortie". However, the plane never landed.

As per the recorded transcript of air traffic radar, the last signal from the aircraft was 151 nautical miles east of Chennai when it took a left turn with rapid loss of height from 23,000 feet.

Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships were deployed for scanning the surface of the sea as part of the search operations after the aircraft went off radar.

Also, data from Indian satellites were scanned to locate the missing aircraft.

Reports suggested that the aircraft was not fitted with an underwater locator beacon, which made the search operations even more difficult.

The plane had on board six crew members, 15 personnel from the IAF, Army, Navy and Coast Guard, and eight civilians who were family members of the personnel.

According to Aviation Safety Network data, an online portal that tracks airliner accidents across the world, as many as 15 AN-32 aircraft of the IAF crashed between 1986 and 2014.

The AN-32 plane is a medium tactical transport aircraft that can carry 39 troops and five crew.
Guwahati: With the possibility of militant outfits in Assam trying to convert their old currency into new post demonetisation, police urged banks to keep strict track of transactions.

The Police asked the banks to be careful especially regarding huge deposits in places where it is mostly unlikely, officials said on Tuesday.

During a recent meeting, Police asked 14 major banks in Assam, including Reserve Bank of India`s Guwahati office, to keep a lookout for ways in which militants may possibly get their money converted into new currency notes.

The meeting was chaired by Special Director General (Law and Order) Kuladhar Saikia.

The banks have been told to alert the state police in case there is any exchange of money through contractors and traders involved in business across the border.

Keeping in view the modus operandi in earlier cases, the bankers have been told to be alert about sudden huge money transfers to accounts of companies, firms and business entities if there was an attempt at extortion.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 evening, he stated curbing terror funding as one of the objectives behind the move.

The banks in Assam have also been told to inform police in case there was an extra submission of school fees termed Children Education Allowance either for the children of militants or the children of their kin.

Banks officials have also been told to strictly monitor third party transfers which is what militants could resort to get their money exchanged.

"Scarcity of cash has handicapped the ultras in terms of extortion. Any sort of covert or overt collusion with militants in collecting the money and extortion could be taken as part of facilitating terror financing," Saika told IANS.

Informed sources said that eagerness among the militant groups in Assam to get their money exchanged is more as some of them are trying to regroup themselves on a common platform.

According to Assam police, districts like Charaideo and Dibrugarh have witnessed apprehension of militants while collecting money through various means recently.

Similar cases were also witnessed in Bodo Territorial Area Districts of the state leading to the arrest of a number of militants and recovery of arms.

The militant groups currently active in the state are the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) and a number of Karbi militant outfits.
New Delhi: Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag will visit the strategically important tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command this week and review India's amphibious warfare capabilities.

Army sources said it is likely to be a two-day visit during which he will also review the ongoing projects in the country's only tri-service command, which is being beefed up to counter China's moves in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Army has an entire brigade (about 3,000 personnel) posted in the Adamans which are exclusively trained and meant for amphibious warfare.

They also have another amphibious brigade in Trivandrum which can be pushed into action within a short span of time.

The Army personnel conduct joint drills with the Navy so to ensure that operations run smoothly in case of any need.

Both the IAF and the Navy have cranked up their infrastructure and deployment of critical assets under the Command.
Rex Tillerson, known to be a deal-maker, faces a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.

By Indo-Asian News Service: US President-elect Donald Trump has settled on Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil CEO, to be his Secretary of State, transition officials said today.

Trump planned to announce the selection today morning, finally bringing to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over choosing the nation's top diplomat, New York Times reported.

His choices veered from Rudolph Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.

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ALSO READ: TIME Person of the Year is Donald Trump, 'President of Divided States of America'

It also included an endlessly changing list that at times included Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee; David Petraeus, the former Army general and CIA director; and Jon M Huntsman Jr, the former Utah governor and presidential candidate in 2012.

ALSO WATCH

Romney, Petraeus and Corker - the three leading runners-up for the diplomatic post - all received calls on Monday informing them of Trump's decision, according to people familiar with the final choice.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump to nominate retired General Mattis for Pentagon

Who is Rex Tillerson?

Trump teased his imminent announcement of Tillerson on Monday night on Twitter, saying that "I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning".

I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016

He settled on Tillerson, a deal maker who spent the past four decades at Exxon, much of it in search of oil and gas agreements in troubled parts of the world.

ALSO READ: Nikki Haley lends Donald Trump's team diversity, but little diplomatic heft

Tillerson, 64, is from Wichita Falls, Texas, who speaks with a strong Texan twang, and runs a company with operations in about 50 countries, cutting deals to expand business in Venezuela, Qatar, Kurdistan and elsewhere.

If confirmed as Secretary of State, Tillerson would face a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump upsets China: Breaks from tradition, speaks with Taiwanese President

ALSO WATCH

--- ENDS ---
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Government has cleared ex-gratia to next of kin of 17 persons, including Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani's brother, killed in militancy-related incidents in the Valley, while giving one week's time for filing of any objection before formal orders are issued.

Burhan Wani's killing by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmir's Kokernag area on July 8 this year triggered unrest in the Valley which has left as many as 86 people dead.

According to a notification issued on Monday by Deputy Commissioner Pulwama, ex-gratia relief under rules has been cleared by the District Level Screening-cum-Consultative Committee (DLSCC) in favour of next of kin of those persons who died in militancy-related incidents.

Among the 17 names in the list of persons killed in militancy-related incidents is Wani's brother, Khalid Muzaffar Wani, who died in firing by security forces in Buchoo forest area of Tral on April 13 last year.

The DLSCC meeting took place under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, Muneer-ul-Islam, on November 24. The deputy commissioner has sought objections, if any, to the notice within seven days before the formal orders are issued.

Under the rules, an ex-gratia of Rs four lakh is sanctioned in such cases.

Army had said that Khalid was an over-ground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed in an encounter. However, locals claimed that he had no links with militancy.

Khalid (25) was pursuing Masters Degree in Political Science from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Also on the list is Shabir Ahmad Mangoo, a contractual lecturer who died when he was allegedly beaten up by the army personnel at Khrew in Pulwama on August 17 this year.

Locals had claimed that army conducted house to house searches for the youths, who were leading violent protests in the area, which was resisted by the residents of Khrew.

In the ensuing clash, 30-year-old Mangoo died.

Army had ordered an inquiry into the incident, saying such incidents would not be tolerated.

"These raids were not sanctioned in the first place. It is unjustified. Nobody can support it and it will not be tolerated," the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda had said.
Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslim (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday attacked the Narendra Modi-led government over demonetisation.

In what could stir controversy, the Lok Sabha MP claimed that adequate bank network was missing from Muslim areas.

Speaking at a meeting at Udgir in Latur district of Marathwada region on Monday, Owaisi said, "In many Muslim areas, banks are not present in the manner they should be. The proportion of loan distribution is also less (compared to other areas).

"ATMs are not there. This is what is happening. People in the entire country are facing problems," he said.

"ATMs in Muslim-dominated areas were not functioning. If a bank is open (in Muslim areas), it is declared 'red zone'," the MP from Hyderabad further said.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday stressed that demonetisation move would benefit the economy and the nation in the long run.

The Finance Minister also assured that "significant amounts" of money will be injected into the banking system over the next three weeks which would ease the cash crunch.

High denomination notes, as percentage of total currency in circulation, increased from a mere 36 per cent to over 80 per cent during UPA regime, he said in oblique reference to ill-gotten money usually being hoarded in high denominations.

Also Read - Not surprising Congress uncomfortable with demonetisation as corruption peaked during UPA rule: Arun Jaitley

"There are economic costs of dealing in cash, there are social costs of dealing in cash. These are the costs which the system has to bear," he said, adding that demonetisation was a step in the direction of "less cash economy".

(With PTI/IANS inputs)
New Delhi: Underlining strong historical ties between the two countries, President Pranab Mukherjee has said India and Indonesia must work together in maritime security area to achieve strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes.

Welcoming Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is on his first State visit here, Mukherjee said India and Indonesia have age-old bilateral ties and they share a common experience of struggle for freedom from the colonial rule.

Mukherjee said he sees India and Indonesia as two countries providing a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance.

"India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and transnational threats. Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes," he said.

In his banquet speech on Monday, Mukherjee said India would be happy to contribute to Indonesia's 'maritime fulcrum vision' of Indonesia Nusantara and, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region.

"In the multilateral and global context of facing the common challenges of the 21st Century, India and Indonesia, together, are factors of stability for the world," he said.

He said India attaches high importance to Indonesia's success as a pluralistic democracy with an open society based on the shared values of syncretism, tolerance and respect for diversity.

The President sought Indonesia's "active support" for strengthening India-ASEAN relations during 2017 when the regional group will meet for 15 years of Summit level interaction.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said India and Indonesia provide a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance.

"We see India and Indonesia as two countries providing a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance. India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and transnational threats," Mukherjee said while welcoming visiting Indonesia President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

"India looks forward to work with Indonesia to achieve the full potential of economic cooperation, maritime and air links and in increasing reciprocal investments. India would be happy to contribute to Indonesia`s `maritime fulcrum vision` of Indonesia archipelago and, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region."

Observing that Indonesia is the largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and India`s number one trade partner in the region, Mukherjee said bilateral trade was about $16 billion last year.

Pointing out that India values Indonesia`s active support for strengthening India-Asean relations during 2017 while celebrating 15 years of the summit, he said: "We can try to realise the actual potential of our trade by diversifying our trade basket."

"The two countries share a common experience of struggle for freedom from colonial rule," the President said.

"Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve for strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes."
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Government has cleared ex-gratia to next of kin of 17 persons, including Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani's brother Khalid Muzaffar Wani.

These 17 died in militancy-related incidents in the Valley.

The government has given one week's time for filing of any objection before formal orders are issued.

Noteworthy, Burhan Wani's killing by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmir's Kokernag area on July 8 this year triggered unrest in the Valley which has left as many as 86 people dead.

According to a notification issued on Monday by Deputy Commissioner Pulwama, ex-gratia relief under rules has been cleared by the District Level Screening-cum-Consultative Committee (DLSCC) in favour of next of kin of those persons who died in militancy-related incidents.

Burhan's brother Khalid Muzaffar Wani

Among the 17 names in the list of persons killed in militancy-related incidents is Wani's brother, Khalid Muzaffar Wani. He died in firing by security forces in Buchoo forest area of Tral on April 13 last year.

The DLSCC meeting took place under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, Muneer-ul-Islam, on November 24. The deputy commissioner has sought objections, if any, to the notice within seven days before the formal orders are issued.

Rs 4 lakh as ex-gratia

Under the rules, an ex-gratia of Rs four lakh is sanctioned in such cases.

Army had said that Khalid was an over-ground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed in an encounter. However, locals claimed that he had no links with militancy.

Khalid (25) was pursuing Masters Degree in Political Science from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Also on the list is Shabir Ahmad Mangoo, a contractual lecturer who died when he was allegedly beaten up by the army personnel at Khrew in Pulwama on August 17 this year.

Locals had claimed that army conducted house to house searches for the youths, who were leading violent protests in the area, which was resisted by the residents of Khrew.

In the ensuing clash, 30-year-old Mangoo died.

Army had ordered an inquiry into the incident, saying such incidents would not be tolerated.

"These raids were not sanctioned in the first place. It is unjustified. Nobody can support it and it will not be tolerated," the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda had said.
NEET

Despite strong reservations expressed by several states against conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), the Parliament in August passed by voice vote the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provide for putting the NEET in place for admission to medical and dental courses across the country from 2017.

The government says the NEET is designed to curb corruption by bringing in transparency, checking multiplicity of exams and stop the exploitation of students in counselling.

IITs

In April, then Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani approved more than two-fold hike in annual fees for undergraduate courses in Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) from the present Rs 90,000 to Rs 2 lakh from next academic session.

A bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in July which aimed at bringing the six new IITs (IIT Tirupati, IIT Palakkad, IIT Goa, IIT Dharwar, IIT Bhilai and IIT Jammu) under the ambit of the IIT Act.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar in August inaugurated the transit campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Jammu.

In November, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Mahendra Nath Pandey told the Rajya Sabha that the IIT-Council has approved, in principle, the proposal for increasing the overall students' strength in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the country from the current 82,604 to one lakh by the year 2020.

A number of steps such as outstanding young faculty awards, mobility of faculty from one central educational institute to another, and pay parity to faculty have been taken to attract best faculty in the IITs in the country.

The Narendra Modi government has launched the Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN) to enable foreign faculty to teach some courses in the higher educational institutions.

IIMs

The Union Cabinet in October approved the establishment and operation of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Jammu at a cost of nearly Rs 62 crore.
New Delhi: Tropical Cyclone Vardah has made an appearance and made a landfall in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on Monday December 12, 2016.

The severe cyclonic storm was accompanied by heavy rains and high velocity winds of 90-100 kmph, killed ten people as it pounded the city and coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.

Here is a list of top cyclonic storms that have hit India in recent past:

Cyclone Laila

In 2010, the south-eastern part of India was hit by two 'severe' cyclones within a gap of few months. The first being Cyclone Laila entered along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Total deaths in Sri Lanka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu amounting to 65 and cost of damage reached a total of USD 117.49 million.

Cyclone Jal

After Cyclone Laila, Cyclone Jal formed in the Pacific Ocean on 31st October, 2010. Torrential rains poured in Thailand causing extensive flooding which led to the demise of 59 people and similarly claimed four more lives in Malaysia.

The cyclone Jal proceeded towards Andhra Pradesh where, through timely warnings. 70,000 people were evacuated from villages where damage was expected to be the highest. On 9th November, the C.M. of the state declared 54 people dead due to the storm.

The total damage estimated by the Indian government was USD 53.55 million with Visakhapatnam district suffering a damage of USD 18.53 million, Nellore district suffering a damage of USD 22.59 million and Prakasam district suffering a damage of USD 12.43 million.

Cyclone Phailin

Cyclone Phailin was a cyclone of matched magnitude to hit the peninsula in October 2013. The cyclone hit Andhra Pradesh and resulted in the evacuation of 64,000 people from low-lying areas. A total of 134,426 people were eventually evacuated.

Power and communication lines went down across the district. With one casualty, the damage amounted to USD 8.1 million in Andhra Pradesh alone.

Cyclone Hudhud

The last time a cyclone of Vardah's scale breached from the Bay of Bengal was in October 2014 when Cyclone Hudhud originated from the Andaman Islands and snowballed into a category IV cyclone, being dubbed as 'Extremely Severe.' It proceeded to hit the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha.

The estimated damages were approximated to a total of USD 3.4 billion. Death toll due to the cyclone hit 124. Unlike most Bay of Bengal storms that dissipate quickly over land, Hudhud has been the only tropical cyclone whose remnant ever reached as far north as the Himalayas.

The cyclone further proceeded up north to trigger an avalanche in Nepal. Prime Minister Modi announced of October 15th that USD 136 million was to be awarded as aid for affected areas in Andhra Pradesh.

Cyclone Nada

Recently, Cyclone Nada appeared to threaten the peninsula in late November 2016. Howeve, the cyclone seemed to fizzle out with its landfall in Tamil Nadu. Heavy winds were encountered, however.

Schools were shut for two days to acts as storm shelters for the citizens. Unfortunately, 12 deaths were still recorded related to the storm.

(With Agency inputs)
Lucknow: Here is a good news for UP government employees as they are all set to get 7th Pay Commission salary hike.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led UP state cabinet on Tuesday cleared the 7th Pay Commission salary hike for the state government employees.

Reportedly, the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission for the salaries of UP government employees will be in effect from Jan 2017.

The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday; meeting was chaired by UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Now, the government is expected to table another supplementary budget in the assembly session starting December 21.

The budget will be for sanctions to fund the revised scales of employees and pensioners.

The budgetary allocation for this is expected to be to the tune of Rs 24,000 crore.

With this, over 16 lakh government employees and 6 lakh pensioners will be benefited directly.
A CCTV footage showing a ruthless man, possibly German, kicking a woman in the back sending her flying down a flight of stairs in a Berlin subway, was released by the Berlin police, seeking public help ton identify the attackers.

By India Today Web Desk: The Berlin police released the CCTV footage that showed a woman being followed by a group of men inside a subway, and one of them -- who had a beer bottle in one hand and a lit cigarette in another -- kicking the woman in the back, sending her flying down the flight of stairs.

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Police released the footage seeking help from public to identify the culprits. The video went viral on the internet, and caused outrage.

Watch the video here:

DISCLAIMER: DISTURBING CONTENT. VIEWER'S DISCRETION ADVISED

A report in the Express UK says around ten people contacted the police to help identify the men seen in the CCTV footage, and that the police have arrested one of the men who attacked the woman. It is not clear whether it is the man who actually booted the woman, or one of his companions.

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Beirut: An agreement for the imminent evacuation of civilians and opposition fighters from east Aleppo in Syria has been reached, a rebel official told AFP on Tuesday.

"An agreement has been reached for the evacuation of the residents of Aleppo, civilians and fighters with their light weapons, from the besieged districts of east Aleppo," said Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nurredin al-Zinki group.

He said the deal was "sponsored by Russia and Turkey" and would be implemented "within hours".

The deal comes one month into a Syrian army operation to recapture all of east Aleppo, which rebels had held since 2012.

The rebels are now confined to just a small pocket of territory in the south of their former bastion, and tens of thousands of civilians have already fled former opposition territory during the offensive.

"The first stage will be the evacuation of civilians and wounded, within hours, and afterwards fighters will leave with their light weapons," Youssef added.

The deal stipulates those leaving will be allowed to choose whether to go to rebel-held territory in west Aleppo province or to neighbouring Idlib province.

A source in the powerful Ahrar al-Sham rebel group also confirmed the deal, saying civilians and then fighters would be evacuated on buses to either western Aleppo province or Idlib.

Idlib province, in northwest Syria, is almost completely controlled by a powerful rebel alliance known as the Army of Conquest.

Ahmed Ramadan, an official with the political opposition National Coalition, also confirmed a deal had been reached.

"There is an agreement and we look forward to its application with the exit of civilians first," he said.
Washington: President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the U.S. Department of Energy, a source close to the transition said, putting him in charge of an agency he proposed eliminating during his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

The choice of Perry adds to the list of oil-drilling advocates skeptical about climate change who Trump has picked for senior positions in his Cabinet, worrying environmentalists but cheering an industry eager for expansion.

The department is responsible for U.S. energy policy and oversees the nation`s nuclear weapons program. Perry has advocated lighter regulation on the fossil fuel industry, and has called the science around climate change "unsettled."

The selection of Perry, who also had been mentioned as a candidate for agriculture secretary, was disclosed on Monday night after Perry met the president-elect at Trump Tower in New York.

Perry`s proposal to get rid of the Energy Department caused what has become known as his "oops" moment during a November 2011 Republican presidential candidate debate when he could not remember all the Cabinet-level departments he wanted to eliminate.

"It`s three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: commerce, education and the um, what`s the third one there? Let`s see," Perry said.

His debate opponents tried to prod his memory but Perry ultimately gave up, saying, "I can`t. The third one, I can`t. Sorry. Oops."

A few minutes later in the debate Perry said with a laugh, "By the way that was the Department of Energy I was reaching for a while ago."

Perry, who also briefly ran in the 2016 presidential race, would have to be confirmed by the Senate to head the Energy Department.

Perry served as governor of Texas, a leading oil-producing state, from 2000 when he succeeded President George W. Bush until 2015. In his unsuccessful presidential runs, he touted his record of job creation in the second-most-populous state.

Perry was a fierce critic of Trump last year before dropping out of the race, calling him "a cancer on conservatism" who offered "a toxic mix of demagoguery and mean-spiritedness and nonsense."

Trump also had harsh things to say about Perry during the campaign, even belittling his eyeglasses by saying, "He put on glasses so people will think he`s smart."

Once Trump secured the nomination, Perry endorsed him as "the people`s choice."

There were indications of a possible rocky handover for the Energy Department after Trump transition officials asked the agency for the names of employees who have worked on climate change issues. Department spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder said on Tuesday the department will not comply and that the request had "left many in our workforce unsettled."

Perry`s selection is another indication that the incoming Trump administration may be friendly toward the fossil fuel industry.

Trump on Tuesday named Rex Tillerson, chief executive of oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp, as his choice for secretary of state.

Trump has settled on U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a climate-change skeptic and an advocate for expanded oil and gas development, as interior secretary.

Trump`s choice for the Environmental Protection Agency is Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, an ardent opponent of President Barack Obama`s measures to curb climate change who has sued the EPA to block in a bid to undo a key regulation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from coal-fired power plants.

An overwhelming majority of scientists believe that carbon dioxide emissions from burning oil, gas and coal is a significant contributor to global climate change, causing sea level rise, drought and more frequent violent storms.
Seoul: Senior US, Japanese and South Korean officials with special responsibility for the North Korean nuclear issue held talks on Tuesday, at a time of political flux and policy uncertainty in Washington and Seoul.

"We shared the view that it is more important than ever to keep close cooperation among the three countries," South Korea's nuclear envoy Kim Hong-Kyun told reporters after the meeting in Seoul.

The three envoys get together regularly in each other's capitals and one of their main aims is to shape and maintain a consensus on how best to deal with the growing nuclear weapons threat from Pyongyang.

It's a consensus that is looking particularly frail at the moment.

The trio's meeting in Seoul on Tuesday was the first since the eruption of a major political scandal in South Korea that resulted in parliament voting last week to impeach President Park Geun-Hye.

Park took a hard line with North Korea and was a staunch ally of Washington's policy of "strategic patience" -- essentially a refusal to engage in any significant dialogue unless Pyongyang made some tangible commitment to denuclearisation.

Although Park's impeachment still requires approval by the Constitutional Court, most observers are betting on an early election that could result in a more pro-engagement president entering the Blue House.

It is also the first trilateral meeting since Donald Trump became US president-elect -- a result that could presage some tectonic shifts in US foreign policy, including how to deal with the security situation on the Korean peninsula.

In a recent interview that drew expressions of deep concern from Beijing, Trump questioned Washington's traditional "one China policy" -- the cornerstone of decades of Sino-American diplomacy.

Adherence to the policy should be linked to other bilateral issues, Trump argued, citing the need for China to do far more to help pressure North Korea into abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.

"There are, to be frank with you, important domestic transitions going on both in Washington and Seoul and I'm sure like everyone else, North Koreans are watching those transitions carefully," the US nuclear envoy Joseph Yun told reporters in Seoul.

Yun spun the hiatus as an "opportunity" for Pyongyang to reconsider its opposition to denuclearisation.

"But so far of course we have not seen any signs that they want to engage," he added.
New York: Authorities say a Lufthansa flight has been diverted to New York's John F Kennedy International Airport due to a bomb threat.

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman says Lufthansa Flight 441 was heading from Houston, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany, last night when a threat was called in to the airline's corporate headquarters in Cologne (kuh-LOHN'), Germany.

Coleman says the pilot was notified and chose to divert to JFK as a precaution. The plane was taken to a remote area of the airport where 530 passengers and crew were evacuated. Officials were searching the plane late last night. The flight has been rescheduled.

Coleman says the incident has not impacted flight operations at JFK.
Nay Pyi Taw: Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused the Myanmar army of burning hundreds of houses in the Rohingya Muslim minority villages where a massive military offensive has been ongoing for over two months.

The rights group, with the help of satellite images, said 1,500 houses were burnt by the army in the northern Rakhine state, EFE news reported.

The army`s offensive followed an attack on October 9 against police border posts, allegedly by Rohingya insurgents.

The group said the pattern of torching houses coincided with the advance of the soldiers and their deployment in the villages.

The torching in three cases took place after alleged attacks by insurgents and suggests "a reprisal element", the report said.

It included the testimony of 10 Rohingya refugees, who fled towards Bangladesh due to the violence and witnessed soldiers setting houses on fire.

The report strengthens claims by local activists who accuse the army of carrying out killings, rapes and looting in the area which has been closed off to humanitarian aid organisations, observers and the media.

According to the UN, around 150,000 people were dependent on humanitarian aid for food and money before the armed attacks and subsequent military operation by the army, which has prompted at least 21,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh.

Both the army and the government denied the accusations and instead blamed the attacks on Rohingya militants.

HRW also urged the Myanmar authorities to open up the affected region to humanitarian aid and observers, following similar pleas by the UN and 14 diplomatic missions in the country in recent days.

Rakhine is home to more than a million Rohingyas, a community not recognised as citizens in the country and often shunned as Bangladeshi immigrants.

Around 120,000 of them live severely restricted lives in 67 camps since the outbreak of sectarian violence in 2012 when at least 160 people died.

The sectarian conflict in Rakhine is one of the main challenges facing the Aung San Suu Kyi administration, the first democratic one in the country in over half a century.
Cairo: The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a Cairo church that killed 25 people, in a statement circulated on social media on Tuesday.

IS identified the suicide bomber who carried out Sunday`s attack by the pseudonym Abu Abdallah al-Masri.

The bomber "got in between the crowd" and detonated his explosive belt, the jihadist group said in the statement.

The group said it would continue attacks against "every infidel and apostate in Egypt, and everywhere".

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi named the suicide bomber as Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa, 22, during a funeral for the victims on Monday.

Sisi said Mostafa had detonated his explosive belt at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church.

The interior ministry said late on Monday that Mostafa had been identified by DNA tests from body parts which matched that of his family.

The authorities have arrested four suspects, including a woman, Sisi said on Monday.

They are still searching for others, according to the interior ministry.
Tokyo: Japan is postponing a summit with China and South Korea, the government said Tuesday, after the impeachment of South Korean President President Park Geun-Hye.

The Asian powers were planning to hold an annual trilateral gathering this month in Japan, which is the rotating chair.

South Korea`s parliament voted Friday to impeach Park, who is engulfed in a scandal over her friendship with a long-time confidante who has been charged with meddling in state affairs.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, while not directly mentioning Park`s impeachment, said "various factors" were behind the decision.

"We decided to re-arrange it and hold the summit at an appropriate time next year," he told reporters after a regular cabinet meeting.

Park has been relieved of official duties as president and is awaiting a decision by the country`s Constitutional Court -- a process that could take months -- on whether she will have to permanently step down.

She has been replaced in the interim by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn.

Leaders of the three countries met in November last year in South Korea for the first time since 2012.

Summits had been on ice due largely to Tokyo`s often thorny relations with Beijing and Seoul over territorial issues and history.
Manila: There have been 5,927 deaths linked to the "war on drugs" in the Philippines since July 1 according to statistics released by its national police.

President Rodrigo Duterte who assumed office in May on a platform of cracking down on crime, particularly illegal drugs, came down heavily on drug cartels, reported CNN on Tuesday.

Since taking office, his police force has waged a bloody war on drug dealers and users, resulting in the deaths of thousands of suspects at the hands of police and vigilantes.

The figures released by the Philippine National Police on Monday span the period from July 1 to December 12.

Of the total, 2,086 were killed in police operations and 3,841 in extrajudicial or vigilante-style killings. More than 40,000 suspects have been arrested.

Although, Washington was critical of the handling of drug dealers, but on December 3, President-elect Donald Trump told the Duterte that he was going about his fight against drugs "the right way," according to Duterte.

The Police force also said that since July, more than five million houses were visited as part of an anti-drug campaign.
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is prepared to meet President-elect Donald Trump at any time.

When asked by journalists about the possibility of arranging a meeting with Trump, Put said "we are ready at any moment. There are no problems from our side," according to an interview transcript released by the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Putin said that "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this."

He added that "we understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship. But we are prepared to do our bit."

Putin said, however, that a meeting between the two leaders was more likely after Trump's January inauguration.
Bucharest: Romania`s president reiterated his refusal Tuesday to appoint a prime minister with legal problems, in an apparent swipe at convicted Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea whose party scored a resounding election win on the weekend.

"I`ve listed the (prime ministerial) criteria before the election campaign began so there wouldn`t be any discussions afterwards, and they remain the same," Klaus Iohannis said at a press conference in the capital Bucharest.

Dragnea`s corruption-tainted Social Democrats (PSD) staged a thumping comeback on Sunday by sweeping 45.3 percent of the vote, a year after anger over a deadly nightclub fire drove them from office.

Their centre-right rivals National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, newly created by a mathematician-turned-activist, trailed on a combined 29.5 percent.

As chief of the biggest party, Dragnea would be the logical choice for prime minister.

However the 54-year-old is serving a suspended jail sentence for electoral fraud, which in theory under Romanian law bars him from office.

He nonetheless suggested Sunday that he wanted the top job.

"I do not intend to gift my votes to someone else, whether it be a person or an institution. I ran the campaign, the party, it was an enormous responsibility," he said.

Analysts said the PSD may seek a way around the issue by trying to amend the law.

But the president warned he would stick to his guns even if legislation was changed.

He added that he would hold talks with all elected parties on Wednesday.

The new government will be sworn in at the earliest on December 19.

Mass protests in the EU`s second-poorest country after the disco blaze on October 30, 2015 that claimed 64 lives drove premier Victor Ponta and his Social Democrats to resign.
By PTI: Panaji, Dec 13 (PTI) Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today said he dropped two MGP ministers from his Cabinet to prevent the BJP cadres from getting demoralised by their outbursts in the poll-bound state, even as the ally chose to continue support to the government, citing "coalition dharma".

Parsekar last night sacked Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Partys Sudin Dhavalikar and Dipak Dhavalikar from his Cabinet following their outburst against the BJP-led government, raising prospects of new equations emerging in state where elections are due next year.

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"Dhavalikar brothers were sending wrong signals. They were continuously busy making allegations against us. My party cadres across the state were getting demoralised. I can tolerate anything but cant allow the party cadre to get demoralised," Parsekar told reporters.

"The party cadres are our asset. Due to this I had to take the decision. It is the prerogative of the chief minister but still I took into confidence the entire BJP team, including the higher-ups," he said.

Parsekar had held close-door meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and state Forest Minister Rajendra Arlekar at his bungalow before dropping the Dhavalikar brothers from the Cabinet.

"The consultation with the BJP party leaders was going on till midnight yesterday when I wrote to the Governor recommending removal of both the ministers," the CM said.

Parsekar said he has high regard for MGP as one of the oldest political outfits in the state but it was being led by "wrong" people.

"I have high regard for MGP. Since my childhood I have witnessed the developments in the MGP, that is the party which took along common man with it," he said.

"But right now it is in the wrong hands. When we decided to give them ministerial posts, out of three MLAs, one Cabinet berth should have gone to their (third) legislator Lavu Mamlatdar, but both the brothers took the slots," Parsekar said.

"Even one of them (Dipak Dhavalikar) became MGP president. If that is the case what are other workers for? I am upset over how they are handling MGP. It is no more the party formed by Goas first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar. They have even changed their ideologies," he said.

"I want that a proper person should take over the party. This party is as much close to me as my BJP. They should change the leadership. I can only suggest it, finally it is their decision. I have a soft corner for the party," Parsekar said. (MORE) PTI RPS DK GK NM DV

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Moscow: Russian opposition figure and anti-graft campaigner Alexei Navalny announced on Tuesday he plans to run for president in 2018, causing a potential headache for the Kremlin.

Navalny is very unlikely to pose a serious threat to President Vladimir Putin, who will be overwhelming favourite to win re-election if, as expected, he decides to seek another term.

But his candidacy would force the Kremlin to either exclude him from the race, leaving it open to allegations that the election is unfair, or risk the embarassment of Navalny picking up a large protest vote, said political analyst Yekaterina Schulmann.

"There have not been competitive elections in Russia for 20 years," Navalny, 40, the founder of Russia`s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in his statement.

"I`m sick and tired of watching `elections` with the candidates just making up the numbers, not daring to criticise the pre-determined winner. I understand very well that for me even to become a candidate would not be easy."

Navalny has accused top government officials from Putin`s inner circle of taking bribes and kick-backs and of stealing government funds.

Since 2011, he has faced several criminal cases against him with one leading to a suspended five-year sentence.

A court in Russia`s Kirov region found Navalny and an associate guilty of embezzling funds from a timber firm and in 2013 sentenced him to five years in jail, a sentence that was later suspended on appeal. Navalny has long said all charges against him were politically motivated.

Last month, Russia`s Supreme Court struck down the suspended year sentence..

"(After that decision) Navalny is free to take part in elections", his lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, told Reuters.

Russian law bans anyone convicted of a serious crime of running in elections. Someone can apply to be a candidate in a presidential vote if they collect 300,000 signatures.

Navalny enjoys some popularity among the urban middle classes, especially in Moscow and St Petersburg.

He ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013, and though he lost to a Kremlin-backed candidate, he took second place with 27.24 percent of votes cast.

But Navalny has struggled to widen his appeal. State-run television, primary source of news for most Russians, usually shows him in a negative light.
Washington: A coalition drone strike in Syria killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men who helped facilitate last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

They were killed in a December 4 air strike in Raqa, an IS stronghold in Syria.

Cook said two of those killed - Salah-Eddine Gourmat and Sammy Djedou - were involved in facilitating the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died.

Gourmat was a French national, and Djedou was Belgian.

Both of them were "close associates" of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, an IS spokesman and an external operations leader who was killed in a coalition air strike in August.

The third person killed was Walid Hamman, a Frenchman who Cook said was a Walid Hamman, a Frenchman who Cook said was a suicide-attack planner who was convicted in absentia in Belgium for a terror plot disrupted in 2015.

They were riding together in a vehicle at the time of the drone strike, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

All three belonged to a network led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, a Tunisian killed in an air strike last month, officials said.

Last year's IS-claimed attacks in Paris saw suicide bombers and gunmen launch a coordinated assault across the French capital, including at the Bataclan, a concert hall where 90 people were killed by three attackers during a rock gig in the culmination of the carnage.

Gourmat had worked on external attacks in Europe, the Middle East and north Africa and was involved in the "financial facilitation" of the Paris attacks, Davis said.

Djedou was involved in plotting Europe attacks, Davis added without giving details about his role in the Paris attacks.

Hamman was a "longtime French terrorist" who helped IS seize Mosul and other operations, Davis said.

In March 2014, a French court sentenced an absent Gourmat, then 24, to four years in prison for charges including trying to conduct jihad in Syria.

He had been arrested with two other men in May 2012 at an airport near Saint-Etienne in central France carrying a revolver, night-vision goggles, camouflage clothing and tactical vests.
Washington: A coalition air strike in Syria killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men involved in facilitating last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. He said the three were killed in a December 4 air strike in Raqa, an IS stronghold in Syria.
The United Nations said on Tuesday it had reports that Syrian government troops and allied Iraqi militias had killed civilians in eastern Aleppo, including 82 people in four different neighborhoods in the last few days.

The Syrian army and its allies have taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday.

Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the U.N. human rights office, said he feared retribution against thousands of civilians believed to be holed up in a "hellish corner" of less than a square kilometer of opposition-held areas. Its capture was imminent, he said.

"In all, as of yesterday (Monday) evening we have received reports of pro-government forces killing least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, in 4 different neighbourhoods - Bustan al-Qasr, al-Fardous, Al-Kalasah and al-Saliheen," Colville told a news briefing, naming the Iraqi armed group Harakat al-Nujaba as reportedly involved in the killings.



"The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes" Colville said. "There could be many more".

"The only way to alleviate the deep foreboding and suspicion that massive crimes may be underway both within Aleppo, and in relation to some of those who fled or were captured, whether fighters or civilians, is for there to be monitoring by external bodies, such as the UN," Colville said.

France on Tuesday called on the United Nations to use all its mechanisms to determine what was happening in Aleppo, warning Russia that it risked being complicit in acts of "vengeance and terror" taking place in the Syrian city.

Jens Laerke, U.N. humanitarian spokesman said that it looked like "a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo"
Aleppo: The Syrian army said it could declare full control over eastern Aleppo "at any moment" as it advanced against rebels holed up just a handful of neighbourhoods, predicting those districts would fall on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"The army continues to advance towards ... Sukkari, what remains of Seif al-Dawla, part of al-Amiriya and Tel al-Zarazir," a military spokesman told Reuters during a tour of recaptured parts of Aleppo.

"When the army regains control of these areas, its operation in the eastern areas of the city ...will have finished," he said.

The spokesman added that rebels were continuing to reject withdrawing from the city.
Florida: The self-described white supremacist accused of killing nine African American churchgoers in Charleston had a gun, more ammunition and a list of churches in his car, jurors in his federal death penalty trial heard Monday.

Dylann Roof was ruled unfit to purchase the gun he used to kill the parishioners. But by the time the store that sold him the weapon was informed, it was already too late to prevent the June 17, 2015 attack, the court heard.

In his car, Roof had a handwritten note listing six churches in Charleston`s black community, including the target of his attack, as well as the Glock .45 semi-automatic handgun and eight ammunition magazines, investigators said.

Investigators also found a Confederate battle flag, a symbol of the US South in times of slavery, as well as a sweater emblazoned with a large "88," an abbreviation of the Nazi salute "Heil Hitler."

Roof`s journal, uncovered in his car, included condemnation of racial integration, Jews and homosexuality.

The reclusive youth, who glorified Nazism and apartheid, does not contest the facts and has so far not expressed remorse over his massacre at "Mother Emanuel," the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the US South.The FBI had previously made the stunning admission last year that Roof should have been denied the gun purchase, citing a breakdown in the background check system and paperwork confusion.

Gun store Shooter`s Choice sold Roof the gun and eight ammunition magazines despite not having received the results of his mandatory background check, because the law allowed them to do so after a three-day delay, The Post and Courier newspaper cited store manager Ronald Thrailkill as saying.

"That`s standard practice," Thrailkill said, adding he was only told on June 29, 2015 that Roof should have been denied the gun.

Prosecutors are hoping to wrap up their case this week.

Roof has not said anything in court since the trial began Wednesday, maintaining a stone-faced demeanor and refusing to lift his eyes from the defense table where he sat, even as photographs of his blood-soaked crime scene were displayed and a survivor called him "evil."

Roof`s mother suffered a heart attack during testimony on the first day.

On Sunday, the defense filed a motion requesting Judge Richard Gergel to bar descriptions of Roof as "evil" and other such language from the courtroom in order to preserve fairness in the trial.

The mass murder stunned the country as it grappled with a series of high-profile police shootings of African Americans.

Roof, 22, faces the death penalty if convicted on hate crimes charges over the massacre.

Prosecutors refused to accept his offer to plead guilty to the 33 federal charges against him in exchange for a life sentence. So Roof then entered a not guilty plea.

The accused gunman is also facing state murder charges in South Carolina that could see him sentenced to death.

That trial is not due to begin until January 17.
Caracas: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the closure of Venezuelan border with Colombia for 72 hours till Thursday to deal with the "mafias" operating and smuggling out Venezuelan currency.

The measure came on the heels of his decision to withdraw the 100-bolivar bill from circulation, Efe news reported on Tuesday.

"We`re intercepting about $95,000 that was crossing over, so I decided to close the frontier with Colombia...," Maduro said in a radio and television announcement from Miraflores presidential palace.

Maduro had recently said that criminal groups operating from Colombian border cities were taking huge numbers of 100-bolivar bills out for the past two years to "destabilize" the Venezuelan economy as part of a "financial war".

On Monday, he said that his government had spoken with Bogota about the matter, adding that he hoped to speak very soon with his Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, to move to correct "this distortion".

The Colombian central bank sets that country`s exchange rate nationwide, except along the border with Venezuela, Maduro said.

He added that his decision to remove the 100-bolivar bill from circulation was "inevitable, necessary and radical".

He added that it was an attack by Colombian criminal groups and Venezuela`s MUD opposition coalition "combined with international mafias via an NGO hired by the US Treasury".

Meanwhile, Interior, Justice and Peace Minister Nestor Reverol said that the US government and several non-governmental organisations operating in Venezuela were behind the `financial` attack executed by withdrawing currency from the money supply.

"These operations were also staged in Iraq and Libya, to create a crisis to seek the overthrow of the government," Reverol said.

An investigation was underway of the suspected removal of large amounts of cash, with the sum possibly reaching about $447 million, the minister said.

The NGOs, according to the official, hire criminal organisations to move 100-bolivar bills, the largest bill in circulation now, to Colombia.

From there it is send to Switzerland, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic, where the money is stored in large warehouses.

On Sunday, Maduro ordered the central bank to withdraw all 100-bolivar bills from circulation to stop Colombian organised crime groups supposedly stockpiling currency to destabilise the economy.

The President said during his weekly show, "En contacto con Maduro" (In Contact with Maduro), that some nationally chartered banks were involved in the effort to destabilise the economy.

Last week, the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) said it would introduce new bills in larger denominations to address a sharp currency devaluation.

Venezuela`s new currency will go into circulation on December 15, in denominations of 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 2,000, 1,000 and 500 bolivares, with 100-, 50- and 10-bolivar coins, the BCV said.
Tokyo: The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, Western sanctions imposed after Russia`s annexation of Ukraine`s Crimea are an obstacle to talks on a peace treaty with Japan, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A conflict over four islands seized by Moscow at the end of World War Two but claimed by Japan has kept Tokyo and Moscow from formally signing a peace treaty ending the conflict.

Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet in Japan on Thursday and Friday to discuss economic cooperation and the decades-old territorial dispute.

Putin, in an interview with the newspaper ahead of a Dec. 15-16 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan, said Russia was willing to discuss joint economic activity with Japan on disputed islands at the core of a decades-old territorial feud, the newspaper said.

But Putin said any such activity must be under Russian sovereignty. Putin also said Japan's proposal for economic cooperation in eight areas had helped the atmosphere for talks with Japan, the Yomiuri said.

Putin also said Japan`s proposal for economic cooperation in eight areas had helped the atmosphere for talks with Japan, the Yomiuri said.

Putin said Japan and Russia needed to agree on conditions for a peace treaty based on trust and large scale joint economic activities could help achieve that.

But he questioned whether that was possible if Russia remained the target of Japanese sanctions, the Yomiuri said.

Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko on Monday ruled out any economic deals that would undermine Group of Seven (G7) unity on sanctions imposed after Russia`s annexation of Ukraine`s Crimea region in 2014.

The United States, the European Union and Japan imposed the sanctions to punish Russia it after the annexation, and some Western countries have been worried about Japan breaking ranks.
Riyadh: In a shocking incident, Saudi police arrested a woman for removing veil on Twitter.

Police in the Saudi capital said on Monday that they had arrested a woman for taking off her veil in public and posting pictures of her daring action on Twitter.

Police spokesman Fawaz al-Maiman did not name the woman, but several websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri.

What did she do?

The woman triggered a huge backlash on social media after posing without the hijab in a main Riyadh street last month.

Maiman said in a statement that the police in the ultra-conservative kingdom acted in line with their duty to monitor "violations of general morals".

He said the women posted a tweet of herself standing next to a popular Riyadh cafe but without wearing the Islamic headscarf that is required in Saudi society.

She allegedly tweeted THIS photo

A Saudi woman went out yesterday without an Abaya or a hijab in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and many Saudis are now demanding her execution. pic.twitter.com/gPMOz5bRAr  Anon (@dontcarebut) November 29, 2016

The woman, in her 20s, was taken to prison, he said, also accusing her of "speaking openly about prohibited relations with (non-related) men".

"Riyadh police stress that the action of this woman violates the laws applied in this country," Maiman said, urging the public to "adhere to the teachings of Islam".

Women not allowed to drive

The oil-rich desert kingdom has some of the world`s tightest restrictions on women and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive.

Women in Saudi Arabia are expected to cover from head to toe when in public.

(With agency inputs)
Of the seized cash, Rs 13 lakh is in new Rs 2000 currency notes.

By Press Trust of India: Vadodara Police seized cash worth Rs 19.67 lakh, including Rs 13 lakh in the new Rs 2,000 rupee notes, during a raid at the residence of a city-based businessman on Monday.

The notes were seized from a gunny bag kept in a cupboard at the businessman's house located on the Ajwa Road, said M S Vaghela, an inspector with the crime branch (detection).

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During the raid, 650 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination, 6,000 notes of Rs 100, 500 notes of Rs 20 denomination, 1,000 notes of Rs 50 and 700 notes of Rs 10 denomination were seized from the house, Vaghela said.

Also read: Bengaluru: 7 arrested for converting old notes into new; Rs 93 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes found

Acting on a tip-off on illegal liquor possession, police first went to the businessman's house on Sunday and seized 91 cases of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) from his residence.

"We arrested the businessman on Sunday under relevant provisions of the Gujarat Prohibition Act," said Vaghela.

The businessman was then produced before a local court which remanded him in a one-day police custody. He was later released on bail.

While in custody, he revealed that a member of his family was holding a liquor permit issued on health grounds by the state prohibition department and claimed that he had purchased liquor from an authorised shop.

Also read: Black money crackdown: Rs 60 crore cash, 245 kg gold seized from 10 airports since demonetisation

In order to find the invoices of the liquor purchased, police raided his house on Monday and chanced upon the gunny bag containing the currency notes, Vaghela said.

The Vadodara police has informed the income tax department about the currency seizure.

Also read: Another law firm raided in Delhi, Rs 13 crore in cash recovered

Also read: 16 kg gold biscuits recovered from baby diapers at Delhi's IGI Airport

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Hardik Patel announced that he will be holding a "Kisan Mahasabha" in Gujarat on January 28, which will mark his return to state politics

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Akhil Bharatiya Patel Navnirman Sena leader Hardik Patel who has been ordered by the Gujarat High Court to stay out of the state for six months is planning his comeback into the state with a mega rally along with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Hardik Patel announced that he will be holding a "Kisan Mahasabha" in Gujarat on January 28, which will mark his return to state politics. In this regard, Hardik Patel met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna today and invited him to participate in the "Kisan Mahasabha".

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According to sources, Hardik is planning to hold the show of strength in Mehsana, Surat and Rajkot along with Nitish Kumar to galvanize Patel community in the run up to the Gujarat elections slated for December 2017.

KISAN MAHASABHA IN GUJARAT ON JANUARY 28

"I will be holding a "Kisan Mahasabha" in Gujarat on January 28 and for that I had come to invite Nitish Kumar. We are fighting for politics of vikas (development) but it's the politics of vinaash (destruction) that is going on in Gujarat at the moment", said Hardik Patel.

Slamming the BJP, Hardik Patel asserted reservation must be provided to all on the basis of the Mandal Commission.

HARDIK SLAMS DEMONETISATION MOVE

Hitting out the demonetisation policy of the Narendra Modi government, Hardik Patel said that entire policy was flawed only to benefit the rich and the capitalist. He said it was only the poor who was roughing it out on the street post demonetisation and the rich remained completely unaffected.

"We are against corruption. Farmers and labourers do not have black money. It is Adani and Ambani who have stashed black money. We never saw Arun Jaitley's or Nitin Gadkari's son standing in the queue", remarked Hardik Patel.

Hardik said whether PM Modi's demonetisation policy has been a success will be known only after December 30, when the period of 50 days ends, there are no long queues outside ATMs and banks or else if the serpentine queue continues, it should be accepted as a failure.

Hardik dismissed reports that his meeting with the Bihar CM was political in nature and was also non-committal on supporting JDU in upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls.

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A week, they say, is a long time in politics. A few months can be swift and brutal.

April, 2015, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga stands in Parliament to face questions about the private prison operator, Serco.

In the last prison performance table, might I just add, Sercos Mt Eden Corrections Facility was the most exceptional prison, he tells the House.

Serco Mt Eden: the golden child.

July, 2015, Lotu-Iiga is back on his feet in Parliament.

I am appalled at the images that were shown in the last week that have come out of our corrections facilities, he says, in reference to the YouTube footage of Mt Eden Fight Clubs.

Serco Mt Eden: the unwanted misfit.

Worse than that, actually. Within days of that speech, the Corrections Department had stepped in to take over the running of the prison again.

By December, Serco had lost the contract to run Mt Eden.

And Lotu-Iiga was dumped as minister.

It was a bloody demise for both Serco and Lotu-Iiga as months of anguish and allegations about Mt Eden spewed forth in Parliament and the media.

But did the scandal mask wider problems going on in the prison system?
By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) The volume of annual bilateral trade between India and Indonesia is set to touch a whopping USD 50 billion in next nine years from the present USD 9 billion, as per a vision document prepared by an Eminent Persons Group tasked to identify areas for deeper two-way engagement.

Observing that the two fast growing economies were blessed with an "epic legacy of cooperation", it said it was high time for India and Indonesia to elevate their relations to a New Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

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"By 2025, India-Indonesia bilateral economic cooperation shall blossom to reach a bilateral trade volume of USD 50 billion and two-way investment of USD 50 billion," as per the Vision Document.

In the talks yesterday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the findings of the Eminent Persons Group, comprising experts from both sides, were discussed.

Referring to maritime security cooperation, the group said the partnership will contribute to strategic stability in the Indian Ocean and called for closer security and defense relations including counter-terrorism collaboration.

It said India and Indonesia will develop convergent maritime interests, and will intensify their maritime linkages by developing the necessary infrastructure and connectivity.

The document said the partnership will contribute to strategic stability in the Indian Ocean and India and Indonesia, as the largest Indian Ocean rim countries, will work closely to prevent potential conflict and rivalry.

"India and Indonesia shall have ever closer security and defense relations, marked by close military-to-military relations, counter-terrorism collaboration, naval cooperation including combined maritime patrols, regular exchanges and joint exercises, intelligence sharing, and joint production of defense equipment and systems," it said.

Calling for deeper defence and security cooperation, particularly in maritime sphere, it said Indonesia too had been affected by Chinas maritime incusions into its waters off Natuna Islands.

The group said the India-Indonesia partnership must be robust, forwardlooking and multi-sectoral and that it must carry significant impact, both bilaterally and in the context of regional order, commensurate with the strategic weight of both the nations.

"By 2025, the partnership shall contribute to a more durable Asian order, marked by peaceful relations among the major powers, win-win cooperation involving all the countries in the region, open regionalism, resolution and/or reduction of conflicts, and the prevalence of strategic trust," it said. PTI MPB SC

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Boeing in October reported that commercial deliveries had slowed in the third quarter, with 188 planes delivered, down 5.5 percent from the same period of last year

Aviation giant Boeing on Monday said it was cutting production of its 777 aircraft to five a month from seven due to slackening demand, in a move that will impact jobs.

The announcement followed the manufacturer?s clinching of a $17 billion dollar deal on Sunday to sell 80 jetliners, including the 777, to Iran, the first such agreement between a major US company and the Islamic Republic.

In a message sent Monday to all employees working on the 777, Vice President and General Manager Elizabeth Lund said orders for the aircraft had slowed in some regions.

While the agreement with Iran was "good news," with deliveries to Iran Air expected to start in 2018, the decision to slow production had already factored in the deal, she said.

"The 777 program does expect some impact on employment next year," Lund said in the message. "While the exact number of affected positions has not been determined, we will do our best to lessen the impact."

Boeing in October reported that commercial deliveries had slowed in the third quarter, with 188 planes delivered, down 5.5 percent from the same period of last year. The company delivered 22 of the 777 planes, five fewer than during the same quarter of 2015.

Boeing's relations with President-elect Donald Trump took hit last week when he called for cancellation of the Boeing project to build a new Air Force One, saying costs were out of control.

It was unclear how the incoming Trump administration could handle renewed commercial ties between Iran and Western countries following the lifting of international sanctions this year. The Financial Times earlier this month said the Trump transition team was considering new non-nuclear sanctions for Iran.

Prior to the Boeing announcement, the company's share price had risen 0.4 percent in New York and it was up 0.7 percent toward 2130 GMT in after-hours trading.
In a statement sent to AFP, Airbnb said it made nearly 90 percent of its payments in France via bank transfer

A Spanish court has annulled a fine of 30,000 euros ($32,000) imposed by the regional government of Catalonia on Airbnb for advertising lodgings that did not have permits to host tourists.

The Barcelona court justified its decision in a ruling dated November 29 which was released by the home rentals website on Monday on the grounds that there is a legal vacuum regarding the regulation of the "sharing economy" in Spain.

"The regulation of this new phenomenon of consumption has been left orphaned... and this can't be substituted by imposing a fine," the court said in its ruling after hearing Airbnb's appeal.

It is the first time that a fine against Airbnb has been overturned by a Spanish court.

Catalonia, home to the seaside city of Barcelona, slapped Airbnb with the fine in July 2014 for breaching local laws requiring any flat or house rented to tourists to be registered with the region's tourism authority.

The region tightened its rules on hospitality in 2012, saying this was needed to better control the quality of services on offer.

San Francisco-based Airbnb welcomed the court ruling, saying it was "key" to solving its legal issues in Catalonia.

"Airbnb is part of the solution in Barcelona and we want to work with leaders on clear, fair rules for home sharing. We hope this ruling will kickstart a new conversation on how we can work together," it said in a statement.

Barcelona city hall, led by a former anti-evictions activist, last month fined Airbnb and its rival HomeAway 600,000 euros ($635,000) each for marketing lodgings that lacked proper tourist permits.

Airbnb, which lets homeowners share their homes for a fee by marketing them online, has become a popular alternative to hotels and mirrors consumers' growing reliance on online sharing services in other areas such as transport, including cars.

Catalonia has figured prominently in its growth, with Barcelona consistently ranking as one of the site's largest markets.

But the company has recently faced mounting criticism from some quarters that it exacerbates housing shortages and squeezes the long-term rental sector.

At the same time, several cities are exasperated by what is regarded as a service which appears to lack the legal and tax constraints of commercial enterprises.

New York, Miami and Berlin are just some of the other cities that have cracked down.
Goldman Sachs president and COO Gary Cohn arrives for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York November 29, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named Gary Cohn, current president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, to lead the White House's National Economic Council.

"As my top economic advisor, Gary Cohn is going to put his talents as a highly successful businessman to work for the American people," Trump said in a statement.

Cohn called the selection "a great honor."

"I share President-elect Trump?s vision of making sure every American worker has a secure place in a thriving economy, and we will be completely committed to building a nation of strength, growth and prosperity," Cohn said.

Former president Bill Clinton established the council in 1993 to advise the president on domestic and global economic policy. It has been led by former Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Larry Summers, and former Federal Reserve governor Larry Lindsey.

The Cohn announcement brings to three the number of current and former Goldman Sachs bankers with key roles in the incoming Trump administration, including Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary and Steve Bannon as White House strategic advisor. Anthony Scaramucci, a member of the presidential transition team, also has worked at Goldman Sachs.

Trump, who takes office in less than six weeks, attacked his rivals on the campaign trail for their connections to the bank.

Cohn, 56, joined Goldman Sachs in 1990, overseeing its fixed income, currency and commodities division and rising to the bank's second most senior position in 2006 beneath CEO Lloyd Blankfein.
LONDONAs many free speech advocates already know, the United Kingdom doesn't have constitutionally mandated freedom of speech; that "right" is very much subject to the whims of Parliamentand when it comes to porn, the barriers to watching it online are getting higher, with some sexy activities facing a complete ban in the near future.

According to the online news site DailyStar.co.uk, among the acts that will be prohibited by the new Digital Economy Bill, which recently passed the House of Commons and is about to be before the House of Lords, "Spanking, caning, aggressive whipping, penetration by any object associated with violence, physical or verbal abuse, urolagnia (female ejaculation), role-playing as non-adults, physical restraint, humiliation, strangling, face sitting or fisting are all on the government's naughty list."

Also expected to be banned are vomiting on another person, playing with excrement, and whatever activities the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has already declared to be verboten on DVDs sold in the country, including urination, any penetration of a person's vagina or anus by more than four fingers, and sex where the woman is clearly menstruating, as well as those that "depict and encourage rape, including gang rape; depict non-consensual violent abuse against women; promote an interest in incestuous behaviour; promote an interest in sex with children; and bestiality."

And, of course, everyone who tries to rent an adult DVD must be 18 or older, and that restriction is about to be extended to online content, requiring ISPs to verify a viewer's age before allowing him/her to access hardcore content.

In fact, the BBFC has already been tapped to be the agency responsible for the age verification program, and naughty ISPs who refuse to put content behind the age wall, or who do a bad job of verification, can find themselves subjected to fines of up to 250,000 (US$310,000)or five percent of revenues, whichever is higher.

But as bad as the censorship of certain sex-play is likely to be, worse is the fact that those who wish to access porn sites by providing a government-issued ID or valid credit card will be laying themselves open to identity theft, since there's nothing in the Digital Economy Bill that calls for the list of approved porn viewers to be protected from hackers.

Websites could choose age verification tools that risk data leaks, tracking, and even encourage credit card fraud unless the government place privacy standards into the bill, Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, said in a statement. This is incredibly irresponsible.

"There are no provisions in the bill as it's currently drafted to secure the privacy and anonymity of those who are using these sites," said Alistair Carmichael, of the small Liberal Democrats opposition party, adding that the restrictions proposed could be "circumvented pretty easily by any tech-savvy 14-year-old."

"All of the data measures in this act and all of the consequences of the age verification process will be within the Data Protection Act, which has a very strong consensus of support behind it," responded culture minister Matt Hancock. "It will be held in such a way that it is required to be secure and the data is not made available."

Trouble is, that "way" has not yet been specified, and privacy advocates continue to be worried.

Another problem with the legislation is that it could lead to some sites, which offer a wide variety of viewing material, being banned altogether, but according to xHamster, the world's third largest adult site, similar bans in other countries haven't always been as effective as censors would imagine. Despite strict porn filtersand, often, specific bans on the xHamster sitein many countries, millions of users are still getting around the filters.

For example, though xHamster is banned in India, 655,039,182 people have nonetheless visited the site so far in 2016. Likewise, 125,214,402 in Thailand, 95,447,737 in Turkey, 83,401,435 in the United Arab Emirates, 73,545,085 in Russia, 60,841,625 in China, 42,257,057 in Malaysia, 11,045,297 in Kazakhstan and 8,486,277 in Iran, all of which had banned access to the site.

Despite the best attempts of censors, users are finding their way to the xHamster using web-based proxies, VPNs, and networks like Tor, said Alex Hawkins, a spokesperson for xHamster in a press release. Unlike political bans, porn bans may have the opposite of the intended effect by pushing otherwise apolitical citizens into networks that bypass government blockades.

According to xHamster, the UK is the site's third-largest source of traffic, so the company is launching a campaign for all UK visitors, asking them to sign a petition repealing the Investigatory Powers Bill, a wide ranging bill that allows the government to monitor sites visited. The companion Digital Economy Bill would ban adult sites that feature specific "objectionable" content like public sex or urination, and require mandatory age-verification checks to prevent people from accessing sites anonymously.

"If the Digital Economy Bill passes, most adult websites could be effectively banned," Hawkins warned.

More information on this issue can be found on xHamster's blog, and those in the press and media who wish more information may contact Alex Hawkins at [email protected].
Bottles of beer are transported on a belt at Plzensky Prazdroj (Pilsner Urquell) brewery in Plzen, Czech Republic, November 12, 2015. REUTERS/David W Cerny/File Photo

By Thomas Wilson and Martinne Geller

TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - Asahi Group Holdings will buy a group of eastern European beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR) for 7.3 billion euros (6.1 billion pounds), boosting its new presence in the region in the largest overseas beer deal by a Japanese brewer.

AB InBev agreed to sell brands including Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic, Poland's Tyskie and Lech, Hungary's Dreher and Romania's Ursus to ease clearance from competition regulators for its $100 billion takeover of SABMiller, finalised in October.

The acquisition, seen closing in the first half of next year, would be Asahi's biggest deal, building on its 2.55 billion euro purchase of SABMiller's western European brands Peroni and Grolsch.

It was announced on Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after the deadline for final bids, according to sources close to the matter.

Asahi said on Tuesday that the business had annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 493.8 million euros in the year to the end of March.

Based on that figure, its bid represents a multiple of 14.8 times, which is higher than the 12 to 14 times brewing assets in mature markets often fetch.

It paid about 15 times EBITDA for Peroni and Grolsch, its first foray into Europe, fuelled in part by synergies with its existing business in Australia.

Asahi was widely seen as the frontrunner in an auction whose first round included bids from a consortium led by Swiss investment firm Jacobs Holding, Czech investment firm PPF, China Resources and private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International.

Asahi, which needs to offset a weak home market, said the purchase would allow it to generate nearly a quarter of sales from overseas, up from 16 percent in October.

Also reaching outside Japan, Sumitomo Corp agreed last week to buy Ireland's Fyffes (FFY.I) for 751 million euros in a deal that will merge the largest banana distributors in Asia and Europe.

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MATURE MARKETS

Asahi's latest deal will give it 9 percent of the European beer market excluding Russia, said Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling, putting it third behind Heineken (HEIN.AS) with 20 percent and Carlsberg (CARLb.CO) with 12 percent.

Eastern European consumers already drink a lot of beer. The Czech Republic, where Asahi will be the leader, has the world's highest per capita consumption, though SAB's European margins had been eroding for years amid price competition.

"They've been very tough (markets) and profits have been declining, not growing," Stirling said, although the rising popularity of premium and craft beers offers scope for growth.

The takeover of SABMiller, the biggest deal in consumer goods history, took a year to complete and included sales of SAB's businesses in Europe, the United States and China.

These asset sales have recouped nearly 25 percent of the $100 billion price tag, but they have also removed a large proportion of its earnings capacity, effectively increasing the price for the higher growth areas of Africa and South America.

"The deal has become very expensive," said John Colley, a professor at Warwick Business School, but he added AB InBev, known for its frugal culture, could exceed its target for $1.4 billion in cost savings.

Another deal still to come is the sale of SAB's stake in an African soft drink business, which Coca-Cola (KO.N) plans to buy back and then sell to a bottler.

FUNDING FEARS

Asahi shares fell more than 6 percent before closing down 4.6 percent, with market participants pointing to investor nerves about how the deal would be funded.

Asahi gave no details, but a source close to the situation told Reuters it would take more debt onto its balance sheet, which as of September, showed $471 million in cash, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Not including the Asahi deal, Japanese companies have spent $77.6 billion on outbound mergers and acquisitions this year, Thomson Reuters data shows, seeking to counter domestic deflation, weak consumer spending and a shrinking population.

AB InBev, whose shares were up 1.8 percent at 1343 GMT in Brussels, was advised on the deal by Deutsche Bank and Lazard while Asahi was advised by Rothschild and Barclays.

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Thomas Wilson and Ritsuko Shimizu in Tokyo, Martinne Geller in London and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Jason Neely and Keith Weir)
An Airbus A400M military transport plane is parked at the Airbus assembly plant during an event in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain, December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo

By Andrea Shalal

BERLIN (Reuters) - A sixth new Airbus (Paris:AIR.PA - News) A400M military transporter plane is due to land in Germany on Wednesday, with another likely to follow before the year's end, but Airbus faces penalties for the late deliveries, the German defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The European multinational A400M programme is years behind schedule, with Germany's share of the costs having risen to 9.6 billion euros ($10.2 billion) from an initial estimate of 8.1 billion euros, according to a ministry report to parliament.

Each plane is now estimated to cost 181 million euros, up from an initial 153 million, the report said.

In August the ministry asked Airbus for 12.7 million euros in damages for delays in delivering another A400M aircraft it received in July, and a ministry spokesman said it would seek damages for delays in subsequent deliveries as well.

According to the original delivery plan, Germany should have received 11 A400Ms in 2016, and should have a total of 17 planes altogether. Instead, it will have seven at year's end.

In addition, the ministry plans to withhold an unspecified amount due in payment to Airbus given certain "shortfalls" in the radar and defensive capabilities of the first tactical A400 airlifter, a defence ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, without providing details.

Those funds would be paid to Airbus once the capabilities on the aircraft reached required levels, he said.

The first tactical aircraft, which Germany formally accepted in Seville, Spain on Monday, is due to arrive at an air base in northern Germany late on Wednesday, with a seventh A400M likely to arrive on Friday, a spokesman for the German air force said.

Airbus spokesman Kieran Daly declined to comment on any penalties or shortfalls and said the company remained in "lengthy and complex" discussions about its contracts with participating countries.

Meanwhile, experts from the German and French defence ministries are still working on plans to jointly operate a fleet of smaller Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT - News) C-130J Super Hercules transport planes, a ministry spokesman said. He gave no timetable for completion of the work.

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German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced plans in October to acquire four to six C-130Js and operate them jointly with France as a complement to the expected fleet of 40 A400M aircraft.

Germany has modified its military procurement process in the wake of the A400M problems and now insists on companies assuming more responsibility for delays and technical issues.

However that approach has led to delays in two key multi-billion-dollar projects - the MKS 180 multi-role warships programme and a new missile defence system to be developed and built by Lockheed and the multinational European missiles joint venture company MBDA, owned by Airbus, Britain's BAE Systems Plc (:BAES.L) and Italy's Leonardo Finmeccanica SpA (:LDOF.MI)).

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Research

3 Forces Shaping Ed Tech in 2017

Ovum's latest report examines the key trends that are expected to impact higher education in the new year.

Sometimes predictions about coming trends in a given segment seem willy-nilly. First, we're marching in this direction, and then suddenly, it's a new year and we're marching in that direction. Not so with Ovum in its recent report, "2017 Trends to Watch: Higher Education." There, the industry is expected to follow in the same direction it has been heading for the past year. The key watchwords: use of innovative technology in teaching and learning, improvement of the student experience and an overall IT strategy that focuses on IT agility. The main difference: Colleges and universities have made "significant advancement" along the way.

Institutions Will Support the Use of More Innovative Tech in Teaching and Learning

As Research Analyst Navneet Johal explained, a major part of innovation will center on the learning management system and the use of alternative content, particularly to support the needs of adult students. These learners are becoming so ubiquitous in schools  expected to make up more than four in 10 postsecondary students in the next five years  that Ovum has suggested renaming them from "non-traditional students" to "new traditional."

The resulting changes in student demographic will influence the expectations institutions have for their online learning platforms. An Ovum survey among 474 IT leaders found that schools have a "weak perception of the quality of all major learning management system solutions." In the coming year, Ovum asserted, vendors of those applications will put a greater emphasis on personalized learning and support for "a range of pedagogical techniques," enabling students to move forward at their own pace and with greater interaction among students and faculty.

Alongside that progression will be a greater push to use open educational resources (OER) and videos to "enhance" and "open up access to" teaching and learning, said Johal, who wrote the report. Johal said she expected textbook publishers to position themselves "as learning companies that promote better learning outcomes for students." To make that work, however, they'll need to do a better job of "providing the capabilities to keep students engaged and help them succeed."

Schools Will Leverage Technology for Improving the Student Experience

High dropout rates are convincing institutions to do everything they can to improve the student experience. As Johal explained, "Retaining students is not very easy, especially for North American institutions. If they do more around the student experience and give students more value for money in the higher education experience, then they're more likely to retain those students and help them succeed."

Therefore, she added, learning analytics is "going to be a huge part of improving and measuring how well they're doing from a teaching and learning perspective and how they can improve student success and retention."

An important aspect of learning analytics is that it needs to be made available through "tools that can be used by nontechnical advisers and faculty," the report noted.

According to the Ovum survey, nearly 40 percent of schools have "fully deployed" analytics specifically for tracking student learning and progress. The analyst firm expects that number to rise over the next year. It will be up to IT, Johal wrote, to help stakeholders from faculty to student advisers "identify, assess, implement and enable access to solutions best suited to improving student outcomes."

To reach the same goal, the coming year will see a blossoming of the stalwart student information system. As Johal asserted, the SIS has become the "backbone of what goes on at an institution. If that system fails, then students dont have access to records, faculty can't have access to attendance."
By India Today Web Desk: Kangana Ranaut has been away in the US shooting for Hansal Mehta's Simran, but that hasn't put an end to rumours of her rift with her Rangoon co-stars, Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan.

ALSO READ: All you need to know about the legal war between Kangana Ranaut and Hrithik Roshan

ALSO READ: Kangana's revenge plans for Alia-Ranveer's jibes at her on Koffee With Karan

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Stories of an arrogant Kangana flaunting her achievement of winning the National Award thrice (for Fashion, Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns) and interfering with creative decisions began doing the rounds. Kangana told Mid-Day that she reads everything that is written about her.

She added, "I don't pay much heed to mischief-makers, whether they are contemporaries or competition. These mischief-makers are mostly unnecessary publicists who do everything possible to malign you and get you in trouble. I keep a watch on everything. If it's alarming and I foresee a bigger trap, I hit back. I don't care about bugs in the bed."

While she called Saif a "classic man" and said that she loves him and Kareena, she was not so nice about Shahid. She said, "I don't see any trouble between us. Of course, we weren't pally, which [is] probably [what] was misconstrued. People need to understand that we don't go to work to make friends."

ALSO WATCH: Kangana on being called witch, whore and psychopath

--- ENDS ---
By Edward McAllister BANJUL (Reuters) - Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will lead a mission to Gambia on Tuesday to mediate in a crisis brought on by long-ruling President Yahya Jammeh's refusal to step down, president-elect Adama Barrow said. Jammeh had quickly conceded defeat to Barrow after a presidential election on Dec. 1. But in an about-face on Friday that drew international condemnation, he denounced the results. He plans to contest the result at the Supreme Court, raising the prospect that a shock opposition victory that was poised to end 22 years of autocratic rule will be overturned. Barrow told Reuters on Monday that Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate and current chair of the West African regional organisation ECOWAS, would head a delegation representing the bloc as well as the United Nations and the African Union. Neither the Liberian president's office nor Gambian officials could be reached for comment. The mission will meet with both Jammeh and the president-elect and include regional heads of state, Barrow said, though he declined to name which ones. "With the statement from Jammeh (challenging the poll results) which shocked the world, he made a mistake, and they have to advise him," Barrow told Reuters at a hotel in the capital Banjul. Asked what he expected the delegation's visit to accomplish, Barrow said he wanted to see an "expedited transitional period" that would lead to Jammeh handing over power. "We are not talking about a military option. We want to safeguard our democracy and we want peace," he said, but added that he was concerned for his own security. "I have no official security. As president-elect, I should not be exposed in the way I am today," he said. Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 when he was an army lieutenant and has ruled ever since, wining four elections that were criticised by rights monitors and surviving several coup attempts. International human rights groups accuse him of widespread violations and repression. He declared Gambia an Islamic Republic last year. A statement from the opposition coalition read to reporters in Barrow's presence on Monday called for Jammeh to step down immediately. Before his surprise change of mind, he had pledged to hand over power to Barrow in January following the transitional period dictated by Gambian law. However, Gambia has no sitting Supreme Court. In order to hear Jammeh's complaint, legal experts believe at least four judges must be hired. "We do not recognise that the outgoing president has the constitutional authority in the last days of his presidency, to appoint any Supreme Court judges in the Gambia for the purpose of receiving his petition," opposition figure Mai Fatty said. (Reporting by Edward McAllister; Writing by Joe Bavier, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Eindhoven, Netherlands - HERE, the Open Location Platform company, today announced that it is providing highly accurate high-definition (HD) map data to PSA Group to aid its testing of highly automated vehicles.



HERE is making HERE HD Live Map roadway data available for 17 different routes within France, totaling 1,500 kilometers of coverage.



"Precise digital maps are a key component for highly automated and ultimately autonomous driving," said Bruno Bourguet, Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development at HERE. "At HERE, we have the expertise and experience to help our customers advance their efforts to develop this crucial technology. This agreement with PSA Group is a recognition of the high level of quality and accuracy of our maps."



HERE is developing HERE HD Live Map to provide a precise lane level and real-time representation of the road network to support the positioning, localization and strategy planning of an automated vehicle - enabling greater safety and efficiency.



For the precise sub-lane level data used by PSA Group, whose leading brands include Peugeot, Citroen and DS, HERE deploys LiDAR technology to collect billions of 3D points and models road surfaces down to the number of lanes and their width. It captures important details such as the slope and curvature of the road, lane markings and roadside objects such as sign posts, including what that signage denotes.



Read more about how technology from HERE is enabling autonomous driving on HERE 360.



Media Enquiries

HERE Communications

http://here.com/en/company/newsroom/media-contacts

press@here.com

HERE, the Open Location Platform company, enables people, enterprises and cities to harness the power of location. By making sense of the world through the lens of location we empower our customers to achieve better outcomes - from helping a city manage its infrastructure or an enterprise optimize its assets to guiding drivers to their destination safely. To learn more about HERE, including our new generation of cloud-based location platform services, visit http://360.here.com
English Finnish

Municipality Finance Plc

Stock exchange release

13 December 2016, 15:30 EET

Standard & Poor's affirms Municipality Finance Plc's AA+ credit rating

The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) affirmed its long-term credit rating on Municipality Finance Plc to be maintained at AA+ on December 13, 2016. The outlook of the rating is stable. The short-term credit rating of is still the best possible, A-1+.

Standard & Poor's assesses that Municipality Finance's capital has strengthened considerably. The credit rating agency states that Municipality Finance's strong ratings are based on the credit strength of the Finnish local government sector. Standard & Poor's assesses Municipality Finance's business and financial risk profiles as strong. This is based on their estimate on Municipality Finance's business position, management and governance, combined with an assessment of the company's funding, liquidity and capital adequacy.

Simultaneously with affirming Municipality Finance's rating, Standard & Poor's has also affirmed maintaining its AA+ credit rating on the Municipal Guarantee Board. The Municipal Guarantee Board exclusively guarantees Municipality Finance's funding.



Under Standard & Poor's rating methodology Municipality Finance's ratings reflect those of the Republic of Finland. The long-term credit rating on the Republic of Finland is also AA+.

MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC

Further information:

Pekka Averio

President and CEO

tel. +358 500 406 856

Esa Kallio

Executive VP, Deputy to the CEO, Head of Capital Markets

Tel. +358 50 3377 953

Measured by the group's balance sheet, Municipality Finance Plc (MuniFin) is Finland's third largest credit institution. The company is owned by Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the Republic of Finland. MuniFin is an integral part of the Finnish public economy.

MuniFin's balance sheet totals nearly EUR 36 billion. Funding for the company is primarily obtained through the international capital markets. MuniFin's funding is guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.

MuniFin's mission is to ensure competitive funding for its customers in all market conditions. The company's customers are Finnish municipalities, municipal federations, municipally controlled companies and non-profit housing corporations. A significant portion of lending is used for socially responsible projects such as building hospitals, healthcare centers, schools, day care centers and homes for the elderly.

The Municipality Finance Group also includes the subsidiary company, Financial Advisory Services Inspira Ltd.

Read more: www.munifin.fi
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ABN) (OTCBB:ABNAF) (Frankfurt:E2L2) (Aben or the Company) and Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:EPL) have executed a formal Option Agreement whereby Aben has the exclusive right to earn an undivided 80% interest in the Chico gold project, located 125 km east of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 40 km south of Silver Standard Resources Seabee / Santoy mine complex. Aben may earn an initial 60% interest by incurring $1,500,000 in exploration expenditures, issuing 1,500,000 common shares and making cash payments totalling $100,000 over 4 years. Upon earning this 60% interest in the Chico Gold Project, Aben may elect to exercise a second option to earn a further 20% interest by incurring an additional $2,000,000 in exploration expenditures, issuing 1,000,000 common shares, and making $50,000 cash payments within two years of the date of election.



Chico Gold Project location map, Saskatchewan:

http://www.abenresources.com/i/maps/ABN_Chico_Location_and_Highlights.jpg

Eagle Plains recently completed fieldwork on the 2915 hectare property, which consisted of a 661 line-km airborne geophysical survey, mapping, trenching and soil geochemical surveys designed to define high-grade gold targets for upcoming drilling activity. Results of this work were summarized in an Eagle Plains news release dated December 6th, 2016.

Chico property highlights include the presence of a 1.5 km mineralized structural corridor which is confirmed by geophysical surveys, geological mapping and recent soil sample coverage which included numerous highly anomalous samples ranging up to 4.5 g/t gold. Sporadic historical drilling has been completed in the area and has returned high-grade intercepts. Rock samples collected in 2016 by Eagle Plains along this structural corridor ranged from trace quantities to 20.2 g/t gold. Recent work resulted in numerous high-priority drill targets being identified.

The overall objective of the 2016 program was to identify mineralization similar to that at the nearby Seabee and Santoy deposits. The Seabee gold operation has been in continuous production since 1991 and has produced 1.2M ounces of gold from the Seabee and the Santoy deposits. Ore geology at Seabee/Santoy consists of high-grade vein mineralization associated with volcanic and mafic intrusive rocks which have been structurally disrupted by splays of the deep crustal Tabbernor Fault system. The Tabbernor Fault is a 1500 km long regional structure which has been traced from as far north as the Rabbit Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan to as far south as the Black Hills of South Dakota, the latter of which hosts the 40M oz Homestake gold deposit. The shared proximity to the Tabbernor fault and similarities in terms of age and tectonic history to the Homestake and Seabee deposits was the main driving force behind both Eagle Plains and Abens interest in the Chico property. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the subject properties.

Chico Project Summary and History

The Chico structural zone comprises a north/northeast-trending 20m- to 150m-wide multi-episodic shear system comprising both ductile and brittle gold-bearing quartz vein systems. Trenching and drilling activities carried out by Corona Corporation and Cameco from 1988 to 1993 defined a mineralized strike length of over 1400m. Trenching by Corona at the Royex showing returned five chip samples greater than 1000 ppb gold with a best (chip) sample of 14.3 g/t gold over 1m (AR 63M06-0034). Follow-up diamond drilling by Cameco near the Royex trench returned five significant intercepts ranging from 0.51 g/t gold over 1.5m, to 36.0 g/t gold over 0.3m (AR 63M06-0041).

Mineralized shear zones and quartz veining that define the Chico zone are hosted in diorite and granite and especially along the sheared contact between these two units. The Chico and the adjacent parallel Ed and Western structural zones are related splay structures off the larger Tabbernor fault system. Despite the significant surface discoveries of gold along these structural trends, mineralization remains largely untested at depth and along strike extensions. Eagle Plains has initiated permitting for future drilling within the property area.

President of Aben Resources Ltd, Jim Pettit comments, The Company is pleased to add the 'Chico Gold Project' to its portfolio of high-value properties. Based on past and recent exploration results, this region of Saskatchewan appears to be on the verge of a renaissance of significant new exploration in the coming years. On top of that, Saskatchewan is considered one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world as ranked by the Fraser Institute. This exciting new project allows the Company to potentially drill through the winter while it is compiling data and permitting for summer work and drilling programs on its BC based Forrest Kerr Project and Yukon based Justin Project.

Eagle Plains has two common directors with Aben Resources Ltd., each of whom abstained from voting regarding this transaction.

About Aben Resources:

Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing projects in British Columbias Golden Triangle, the Yukon and now Saskatchewan.

For further information on Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ABN), visit our Companys web site at www.abenresources.com.

Aben Resources has approx. 30 million shares issued and outstanding.

ABEN RESOURCES LTD.

Jim Pettit

____________________________

JAMES G. PETTIT

President

For further information contact myself or:

Don Myers

Aben Resources Ltd.

Corporate Communications

Telephone: 604-687-3376

Toll Free: 800-567-8181

Facsimile: 604-687-3119

Email: info@abenresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
Dutch English

Regulated Information - Inside Information

13 December 2016 at 18.15 CET

The Board of Directors of Nyrstar NV ("Nyrstar" or "the Company") announce today that Bill Scotting, Chief Executive Officer of Nyrstar, has decided to leave the Company to pursue other opportunities with immediate effect.

Since joining in 2015, Bill has led Nyrstar and been instrumental in implementing the change in strategy to strengthen the balance sheet, divest the Mining segment, deliver substantial cash and cost savings and progress the Port Pirie Redevelopment.

Mr Hilmar Rode, an industry leader with significant experience in metals processing, the Board's unanimous choice as Bill's successor, will be the new Chief Executive Officer of Nyrstar effective immediately.



Hilmar's background in the metals industry and specifically his experience and technical knowledge of the smelting business will be an asset for the Metals Processing transformation strategy. He has demonstrated experience through his involvement with the construction and commissioning of an ISA smelt furnace and acid plant at the Kazzinc project in Kazakhstan, and his extensive experience at the Skorpion zinc project in Namibia which produces special high grade zinc. Further detail of Hilmar's professional experience can be found in the Notes to Editors below.



Chairman, Martyn Konig said: "The Board thanks Bill for his hard work and unrelenting dedication since he joined Nyrstar. We all wish Bill the best for his next venture."



"For Nyrstar, 2017 is a significant year of delivery with the Port Pirie Redevelopment, further optimisation of the Metals Processing assets and the divestment of the remainder of the Mining segment. We welcome Hilmar as CEO and are confident that his extensive experience in delivering projects of this scale and type will successfully execute the Company's strategy."

Nyrstar reiterates its 2016 full year guidance.

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors:

Hilmar Rode - biography

Hilmar brings to Nyrstar more than 20 years of experience in the metals (zinc, copper, coal and diamonds), paper & packaging and chemicals industries. He has worked at BHP Billiton, Glencore, Mondi, Anglo American and Praxair in senior management roles spanning operations, strategy, business development and R&D. At Glencore and Anglo American he accumulated extensive experience in zinc & lead mining and smelting.

Most recently, he led the successful transformation of Minera Escondida, the largest copper mining and processing project in Chile operated by BHP Billiton. The transformation achieved a step change in productivity and reset the cost base whilst always putting safety first.

Prior to BHP Billiton, Hilmar led a restructuring and business optimisation project at Glencore's Kazzinc operation in Kazakhstan for two years, including the design and implementation of a new business model converting the zinc, lead and copper smelters from cost centres to profit centres, the construction and commissioning of an ISA smelt furnace and construction of a new acid plant.

While at Anglo American, Hilmar worked on the Skorpion zinc project in Namibia for four years from pre-feasibility through to commissioning. He had responsibility during the project phase for product and marketing, including product and casthouse specification, outbound logistics, port warehouse specification, customer segmentation and implementation of the sales strategy.

He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a first-class degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch. He also completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

About Nyrstar

Nyrstar is a global multi-metals business, with a market leading position in zinc and lead, and growing positions in other base and precious metals, which are essential resources that are fuelling the rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of our changing world. Nyrstar has mining, smelting and other operations located in Europe, the Americas and Australia and employs approximately 5,000 people. Nyrstar is incorporated in Belgium and has its corporate office in Switzerland. Nyrstar is listed on Euronext Brussels under the symbol NYR. For further information please visit the Nyrstar website: www.nyrstar.com.

For further information contact:

Anthony Simms Group Manager Investor Relations T: +41 44 745 8157 M: +41 79 722 2152 E: anthony.simms@nyrstar.com Franziska Morroni Group Manager Corporate Communications T: +41 44 745 8295 M: +41 79 719 2342 E: franziska.morroni@nyrstar.com

The full press release can be downloaded from the following link:
We explain the nature and extent of graft allegations against Kiren Rijiju for his alleged involvement in a Rs 450 crore hydel project scam in Arunachal Pradesh.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju is taking immense heat from the opposition following reports of his, and his cousin's alleged involvement in a Rs 450 crore hydel project scam in Arunachal Pradesh.

"The minister must resign and a high level independent probe must be ordered. Enquiry into 28 minute conversation between Satish Verma and Rijiju's cousin should also be probed," said Congress spokeperson Randeep Surjewala.

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Surjewala's demand was reiterated by Aam Aadmi Party member Ashish Khetan who said, "the Minister must be removed and a high level probe should be ordered."

We explain the nature and extent of these graft allegations against Rijiju:

#1 In a petition before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Satish Verma has alleged that his services as the Central Vigilance Officer (CVO) of a power corporation were curtailed after he flagged a transportation scam worth Rs 450 crore involving Rijiju's cousin and a fraudulent land deal in Gujarat.

#2 Verma -- an NDA appointee who also assisted CBI in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case -- was the CVO of North Eastern Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO). His tenure was curtailed by a year in July and he was served a notice for alleged "misconduct" and "unauthorised absence" from duty by the Home Ministry.

#3 In his affidavit, Verma has said that all his outstation visits were accounted for and were done to investigate the fraudulent activities. He attributed his "absence" to the investigation and final unearthing of the scam.

#4 Verma has sent a 129-page report to CVC, CBI and Ministry of Power, in which he has alleged corruption in the construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project -- one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

#5 He has further alleged an "elaborate conspiracy" involving contractors, NEEPCO officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds that "may extend up to Rs 450 crore." The site of the project -- West Kameng -- falls in Rijiju's parliamentary constituency Arunachal West.

#6 Verma alleges that several fake and inflated bills were presented by contractors to allegedly siphon off money in the name of transporting rocks needed for the dam construction. The report says that the transportation cost was decided arbitrarily, and many transport challans and records provided by the contractor, Patel Engineering Limited (PEL), were found to be fake. Kiren Rijiju's cousin Goboi Rijiju was one of the sub-contractors in the project.

#7 NEEPCO stopped the reimbursement of PEL's bills for the period between May and July 2015, after Verma sent an advisory to the Head of Project flagging the alleged irregularities. However, on November 9, MoS Kiren Rijiju wrote a letter to the Ministry of Power, saying the funds should be released.

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#8 Apart from the report, evidence against Rijiju includes a taped conversation between Verma and Goboi Rijiju, in which the latter offered to help the CVO with a promotion, on the behest of 'bhaiya' (Kiren Rijiju), if the officer cleared the payments that had been stuck for months.

India Today is in possession of all said documents.

RIJIJU'S RESPONSE

When questioned about his role in the alleged scam, the Minister of State for Home lost his cool. "Ye jo plant kar rahe hain news, wo hamare yahan jootay khaageyenge (Those who are planting this news will be beaten with shoes if they come to Arunachal Pradesh)," he said.

Later, however, he admitted to writing a letter 'based on appeals he received from people of his constituency, including Goboi'. At the same time, he dismissed all allegations of graft.

--- ENDS ---
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By PTI: Kolkata, Dec 13 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who recently criticised RBI Governor Urjit Patel for being silent on peoples suffering due to Centres demonetisation move, is likely to meet him here on Thursday.

Patel will arrive in the city tomorrow for some official engagements and his meeting with Banerjee is likely to take place on Thursday afternoon, a top official of the Chief Ministers Office told PTI today.

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State Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee will meet Patel and take him to the state secretariat Nabanna where the meeting will be held, the official said.

The meeting assumes significance as Banerjee had criticised Patel on December 8 questioning his silence on the suffering of the common people following demonetisation.

It is a custom for the RBI Governor to meet the Chief Minister whenever he visits a state and there was a formal request from Patels office for an appointment of Banerjee.

On being asked why Banerjee agreed to meet the RBI boss when she was critical of him, the official said this was an opportunity for the state government to place its views on issues related to demonetisation directly before Patel.

So, the problems faced by common people of the state would come up for discussion during the meeting, he said.

Banerjee is one of the most vocal opposition leaders against demonetisation since it was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8.

Patel will be here to attend the Central Board meeting of the RBI tomorrow. He will also meet bankers and industry leaders during the visit. PTI SCH NN AYP

--- ENDS ---
Compassion International had sought home ministry's approval to fund 35 Indian NGOs of which 10 have been sanctioned, while 25 others are under scrutiny.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: In what could upset the apple cart in the US-India relations, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided not to reconsider its decision banning a US-based donor from funding Indian NGOs, notwithstanding consistent appeals by the US authorities. A change from its stand, earlier last week.

However, in some concession, the MHA has allowed the US NGO to donate to some Indian NGOs after examining its applications on a case-to-case basis. The NGO has been accused of promoting religious conversions in India.

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"We have no immediate plans to reconsider the case of Compassion International, the US donor, which was put under 'prior permission category' for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)," a senior home ministry official told India today.

Recently, Compassion International had sought home ministry's approval to fund 35 Indian NGOs of which 10 have been sanctioned, while 25 others are under scrutiny.

Also read: India saves Rs 470 crore in Hercules transport aircraft deal with US

Compassion International was put under 'prior permission category' in May last year. When a donor organisation is put under prior permission category, it is barred from funding any Indian NGO without the nod from the government.

ACCUSED OF PROMOTING RELIGIOUS CONVERSION

The US donor has been working in the field of child rights for 48 years and is accused of promoting religious conversion and funding non-FCRA registered NGOs.

Accusing Narendra Modi government of trying to eliminate foreign NGOs, Stephen Oakley, Senior vice president and general counsel, Compassion International spoke in length during the US congressional hearing in first week of December. "Until 2016, Compassion sent nearly $50 million per year in humanitarian aid to India, funding nearly 145,000 sponsored children in some of India's most impoverished and remote regions. The MHA evidently views Christian values as a threat to the national interest, particularly if those values are taught to the poor. The MHA has never provided Compassion or its partners with any explanation for the prior clearance order, nor has it ever responded to Compassion's multiple efforts to engage in dialogue."

Though Ministry of External affairs is seized of the matter, the Union Home Ministry took the action after receiving reports that funds from Compassion International were being received by Chennai-based 'Caruna Bal Vikas', which in turn was distributing the aid to non-registered NGOs, a clear violation of norms.

Also read: Beef lynching, cow vigilantism incidents in India very disturbing: US ambassador to India Today

The US government has been actively pushing the case with (now former) US Secretary of State John Kerry allegedly having asked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to reconsider the decision to place Compassion International in the prior permission category.

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--- ENDS ---
A 35-year-old journalist who was covering illegal logging and crime in Myanmar was found beaten to death.

By India Today Web Desk: A newsman reporting on sensitive topics such as illegal logging and crime in Myanmar's rugged northwest border region was found beaten to death on Tuesday, police said, the fifth killing of a journalist since 1999.

A vibrant domestic media has flourished since Myanmar eased media restrictions in 2012 as it began a transition from decades of military rule, but reporters can face intimidation or legal threats for covering touchy subjects.

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Police launched an investigation into the death of the 35-year-old Soe Moe Tun, following the discovery of his body on Tuesday morning.

"Someone had attacked him and beaten him with a stick on the back of his head," Captain Thein Swe Myint, of the northwestern Monywa police-station, told Reuters.

"But we cannot say exactly why he was killed."

Mining and timber are key industries in the mountainous forested Sagaing region on Myanmar's border with India, where enterprises can often run illegal operations.

Soe Moe Tun had been reporting from Monywa, the area's commercial hub, since early 2015, his employer, Eleven Media Group, which runs the popular Daily Eleven newspaper, said in a statement.

He was a prolific reporter who had recently tackled subjects such as a seizure of stimulant tablets and a surge in illegal karaoke lounges fronting for brothels, besides illegal logging operations in Sagaing, an editor at the paper said.

"He normally chased sensitive stories secretly," the editor told Reuters on condition of anonymity, as the topic is sensitive.

In a statement, the Myanmar Journalists' Association urged the authorities to "expose the truth behind this case and to give effective protection to journalists".

Myanmar abolished pre-publication censorship in 2012, permitting private dailies to publish for the first time in decades. After landmark elections last year, a civilian government took power, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Rights groups say the risks of covering subjects such as illegal logging are growing in Asia.

Last year, Reporters Without Borders documented the murders of 10 journalists killed covering the environment since 2010, nine of them in South or Southeast Asia.

Four other journalists have been killed in Myanmar since 1999, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says.

Eleven Media Group made a press release concerning the dead of Monywa based reporter Soe Moe Tun as well.

Screenshot: Eleven

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By PTI: Kathmandu, Dec 13 (PTI) Nepals three main political parties have in-principle agreed to hold local body polls based on the old structure as part of a move to implement the new Constitution, a top opposition party leader today said.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba said political parties were bound to hold local body election based on the old structures as part of the implementation of the constitution.

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As Nepal has adopted federalism, there was no alternative to holding elections in all three levels by January 2018, The Kathmandu Post reported.

"NC is shouldering the responsibility of implementing constitution at present. However, all parties should stand together for this," he said, arguing the constitution amendment was forwarded to bridge the gap between hill and Madhesi people - the residents of Nepals southern plains who share strong bonds with Indians.

The amendment bill is in limbo due to opposition to it in Parliament by main opposition Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). The oppositon has been demanding that elections to the local bodies should take place only after restructuring them on the basis of population.

Senior NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel urged the party leadership to garner UMLs support for constitution amendment.

Stressing the need of moving ahead by incorporating the sentiments of Madhesi people, he expressed the belief that the NC would be stronger if the National Tarun Dal, a youth-based party, would move ahead by following the partys norms, values and characteristics.

NC would soon form a central department by incorporating the Nepal Tarun Dal, according to Deuba, who urged the Tarun Dal to play significant role during the coming elections. PTI ABH

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"Though he was in support of PM's move on crackdown on corruption, black money and terrorism through demonetisation, he was waiting to see its impact," said Nitish.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is closely keeping an eye on demonetisation process that was declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8. Nitish has said that he was watching the developments relating to demonetisation and was waiting to analyse its impact at the end of 50 days, the time period which PM Modi sought after which he believes corruption, black money and terrorism would be eradicated from the country.

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Speaking at a workshop on prohibition in Patna, Nitish said, though he was in support of PM's move on crackdown on corruption, black money and terrorism through demonetisation but was waiting to see its impact.

"PM has said demonetisation will help crackdown corruption, black money and terrorism and I extended my support on this. After 50 days we will see and analyse whether in fact all these things happened or not", said Nitish Kumar, Bihar CM.

Also read:

Demonetisation alone cannot curb black money menace, Nitish warns PM Modi

Bihar CM further made a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his promise to bring back black money from abroad. Without naming the PM, Nitish said people (PM Modi) had promised to bring back black money and deposit Rs 15 lakh in every person's bank account but that has still not happened.

"During elections, they made so many announcements and promises to bring back black money and deposit Rs 15 lakh in every one's bank account. They promised jobs to unemployed. Where are the jobs? Where is the black money?," remarked Nitish Kumar.

Also read:

Nitish-Mamata ties strained as Didi calls demonetisation supporters 'traitors'

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Thanks to the holidays, I believe Im now moving firmly into the 5th stage of grief over the election. Having conquered the shock (stage 1), pain (stage 2) and anger (stage 3), my depression (stage 4) is giving way to a calmer, more organized approach to our situation (stage 5). Avoiding excessive news coverage of the incoming administration, relaxing (for now) about the amount of damage that can be done by a president in four short years, and doing my best to bring others past their outrage into the present world of, we are here and this is happening, is truly helping. My new mantra is Enjoy the holidays. Hold all you love near. Prepare yourself for the peaceful transfer of power. Then, wait for the buffoonery to begin in earnest (the likes of which we have never seen before). There will be setbacks, but with each specific action or event, well at least know exactly what were fighting for and (hopefully) our paths will be clear. The next stage is reconstruction, which I take to mean developing a new normal. Hope I can get there soon after Inauguration Day. How are you coping?
The ruling party has informed the Opposition that Modi would intervene in the discussion though the final reply would be made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present in Parliament for remaining three days of the ongoing Winter Session, said Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today.

Meanwhile, Congress has issued a three-line whip, asking all MPs to remain present in both houses of Parliament respectively. Besides, the Congress party strategy meeting would be held at 10.30 am on Wednesday.

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The Opposition has been disrupting both the Houses of Parliament demanding, among other things, presence of the prime minister throughout the discussion on demonetisation.

Congress uncomfortable with Modi government's anti-corruption steps: Jaitley

While the Rajya Sabha has already started discussions on demonetisation initiative of the Narendra Modi government, the Lok Sabha has yet to initiate it. However, even in the Upper House, the discussion was disrupted over demand by the Opposition for the presence of the prime minister.

On its part, the treasury benches said Modi was present in both the Houses on different days. Yet, the Opposition created ruckus as a result of which the prime minister could not intervene in any discussion.

The ruling party has informed the Opposition that Modi would intervene in the discussion though the final reply would be made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The ball is now in the Opposition's court with Naidu informing that the prime minister will remain present on the remaining three days of the current session of Parliament.

Demonetisation a case of khoda pahaad, nikli chuhiya: 10 not-to-be-missed P Chidambaram quotes

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Emir Sheikh Sabah of Kuwait called for the adoption of austerity measures because the countrys income has drastically fallen. In an address before the parliament opening session, Sheikh Sabah said he is convinced that all Kuwaitis realize that cutting public spending through careful measures to fix the imbalance in the state budget, stopping waste and bleeding natural resources have become inevitable.

Disagreement between the former parliament and cabinet over austerity reforms triggered a political crisis which forced the Emir to dissolve the parliament in October. Most MPs elected in the November parliamentary polls have vowed to reject the austerity reforms which include increasing electricity and fuel prices.

It is inevitable to initiate effective measures to remedy the deficit and alleviate its effects Sheikh Sabah explained, adding that there is no other option but to take effective measures to deal with it.

He however said that those measures should spare low-income people and take into consideration social justice.

Kuwait has a generous welfare system for its citizens who make up 30% of the 4.4 million residing in the country.

Analysts said the Emirs message to the parliament could be seen as an effort to calm the tension between the parliament and the cabinet over means of reducing the growing budget deficit by promoting the diversification of the economy from oil which accounts for 95% of the states income.

The Emirs address on Sunday took place after Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah formed a new government a day earlier.

Kuwaits oil revenues dropped from a massive $97bn in the 2013-2014 fiscal year to just $40bn in the last financial year, which ended on March 31, according to finance ministry figures. Its 2015-2016 budget recorded a $15 billion budget deficit. Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency, said the government could soften its stance on substantive initiatives if the oil prices recover but could nevertheless pursue some of its fiscal agenda with smaller, less contentious measures. The country could also overcome its challenges as oil producing countries agreeing on cutting production output.
Important stuff you won't get from the liberal media! We do the surfing so you can be informed AND have a life!
Telkom is expected to report flat fixed-line revenue growth later this week and investors will focus on who will head the company and whether it plans to sell its 50 percent stake in Vodacom.

Analysts expected state-controlled Telkom to post headline earnings a share of about R1 820.1 for the year to March, up 4.6 percent on the year before, according to Reuters Estimates. Results are due tomorrow.

But while Telkoms core fixed-line business is faltering in the face of tougher competition, some analysts are betting that the company will sell its stake in cellphone operator Vodacom to joint owner Vodafone  a reason to hold on to the stock.

Rhys Summerton, a telecommunications analyst at Citigroup, said: "The long-term fundamentals in the fixed-line business are under pressure, but you own this stock for the dividend and for the inherent value in Vodacom."

Telkom has said Vodacom, which has already reported a 23 percent rise in full-year operating profit to R10.9 billion, was not for sale. Vodafone said on May 29 that it was happy with its stake and was not aware the other half was for sale.

But speculation surfaces regularly that Telkom will sell the stake to Vodafone, which is keen to expand in emerging markets, and use the proceeds to buy another cellphone firm  possibly the third-ranked Cell C.

Citigroup values the stake at up to R75 billion, which would account for the lions share of Telkoms current market value of R97.4 billion. Summerton said the joint ownership was stifling Vodacoms growth in Africa and the cellphone firm could push into new markets more quickly with only one shareholder.

"Telkom and Vodacom are holding each other back and they are competing over the same data market at home," he said.

Rajay Ambekar, Cadiz African Harvest portfolio manager, said Telkom needed a strategy. But if there was an attractive price for the cellphone operator, the fixed-line operator probably would sell its stake.

Renaissance Asset Management director Khulekani Dlamini said that in absolute terms, it made commercial sense for Telkom to sell its Vodacom stake to realise value.

But any decision on Vodacom will probably depend on who is named as Telkoms chief executive, after Papi Molotsane unexpectedly quit in April under a cloud of criticism from shareholders and the government.

Former chief operating officer Reuben September was named interim chief executive. Many analysts expect him to stay, even though some say the company should recruit a boss from abroad who would couple telecoms experience with a stronger commercial vision.

"They need someone with commercial understanding and September may be too much of a technical man," said a London-based analyst. "But they also need someone who can play the political game and a foreigner would create problems in terms of black empowerment."

Investors said they would be looking for details on how the company would combat tougher competition.

They want proof Telkom is reining in costs.

Comments
CareerJunction has released its latest CareerJunction Index (CJI) report, which shows a continued decrease in job advertising in the South African telecoms sector.

The CJI uses data gathered from the CareerJunction website to represent labour dynamics in South Africa.

While the telecoms sector was not a good place to be for jobseekers, the situation looked much better for IT professionals.

The IT sector has shown a stabilising demand trend since mid-2016, following a steady increase in demand during the first half of the year.

Software Development remains the most sought-after skill set on CareerJunction, where over 25,000 jobs are posted monthly. C# and .Net skills are at the forefront of market demand.

The graphs below show volume trends for IT and telecoms job adverts published on the CareerJunction website over the past 12 months.

Now read: 6 tech jobs which will be in high demand in 2017
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Armenia FM: In few days there will be meeting between me, Bayramov, Blinken in Washington

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: One cannot despair, struggle must continue

Deputy FM: Armenia can make some progress in simplifying visa regime with EU

Turkey says Russia assures not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Armenian MFA: Cautious optimism in restoration of diplomatic relations with Hungary

Uzbekistan refuses to resume operation of Mir cards in country

Belarus Council: If Poland unleashes aggression, war will spread throughout Eastern Europe

Peskov: It is up to the Ministry of Defense to increase the term of military service

Valerie Boyer: Corrupt, racist Azerbaijan is attacking Armenia borders, seeking to continue ethnic cleansing, genocide

Meeting of CIS Security Councils chiefs kicks off in Moscow

Charles III travels with teddy bear and toilet seat

EU plans to finance programs in Armenia for AMD 55 billion 747 mln

Economy minister: Armenia and Iran are making efforts to jointly sell goods to third countries

Azerbaijani Armed Forces practice capturing borders during exercises on border with Iran

Storm in Philippines leaves 150 people killed

Inflation in Turkey is up to 85.51% in October

Armenia economy minister on Central Bank: First they said increase would be 4%t, then 1%, then 6%

Borrell thanks UN and Turkey for facilitating Russia's return to the grain deal

Foreign direct investments in Armenia last year totals AMD 129.2bln

Minister: Examination of Armenian soldiers' bodies continues

Jaguar station wagon from Elizabeth II fleet to be sold at auction

IMF plans to provide more than $165 million to Armenia

Marukyan: Baku says Karabakh Armenians should either stay on Azerbaijan terms or leave for 3rd country

Minister of Economy: Armenia's role in Eurasian Economic Union grows

Biden says U.S. troops will stay in Europe for a long time

Vahan Hunanyan: Yerevan and Tehran have no disagreements on most issues

Armenia, Russia to collaborate in information security

Artsakh State Minister: There are many principal disagreements with Armenian authorities

Public TV Company of Armenia to make purchase worth AMD 2 698.6mln for Junior Eurovision 2022

Armenian-Russian trade turnover up by 71.7%, Economy Minister

Secretaries of CIS Security Councils to discuss nuclear security

Economy minister: Armenia exports to other EEU countries increased 2 times

Outgoing Artsakh Minister Artak Beglaryan to take position in state government system

Japan Coast Guard reports 3 North Korean missile launches in a day

Pashinyan says Armenian government did a lot for revival of Armenian aviation

Oil falls in price

Patrushev comments on Zelenskiy's statement about preventive nuclear strike

WSJ: Americans favor Republicans over Democrats

Turkey announces normalization of grain corridor

Gold prices are down

Putin calls on CIS countries security councils to use all their security capabilities

SPRING PR founders were awarded the 'Global PR Leader of the year'

Copper prices are rising

State Duma member proposes to extend term of military service in Russia

Iranian MPs: Powerful Iran will never tolerate changing of its borders

Turkey to complete construction of pipeline in Black Sea in November

Newspaper: Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty to be signed in Georgia

US delivers more than 200 artillery systems to Ukraine since February

Secretary of Armenian Security Council to visit Moscow

Switzerland to direct $100 million to repair energy infrastructure in Ukraine

Study: Blue whales eat 10 million particles of microplastics a day

Microsoft president warns of shortage of staff to fight climate change

Latvia extends state of emergency on Belarus border

WSJ: UAE tried to convince Saudi Arabia not to cut oil production

Cavusoglu: Greece must stop arming the demilitarized islands in the Aegean Sea

Moody's downgrades outlook for banks in Germany, Italy, and 4 other countries to negative

About 40 international companies to announce their relocation to UAE by end of year

Israeli Prime Minister cancels participation in climate summit in Egypt

Earthquake strikes in Antalya

Polish manufacturing output falls amid economic uncertainty

IEF: Oil price to exceed $100 due to EU sanctions against Russia

Regnum Agency suspends its work

Iranian MFA denies information about country's planned attack on Saudi Arabia

Lebanon: U.S. guarantees will protect maritime border agreement with Israel if Netanyahu wins

Belarusian MFA responds to Armenia after reaction to statements of Alexander Lukashenko

Azerbaijani propaganda machine launches anti-Iranian rumors in social networks

National interest: Why China fears the emerging Turkic alliance

Lavrov and Abdollahian discuss situation in Persian Gulf zone and South Caucasus

Erdogan and Aliyev discuss results of Sochi meeting of Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders

Goldman Sachs predicts that natural gas prices in Europe will fall by about 30%

White House alleges Iran's plans to supply Russia with surface-to-surface missiles

Iran to send delegation to Vienna to strengthen relations with IAEA

Iranian Foreign Minister to discuss state of nuclear deal negotiations with Borrell

Putin: Russia is ready to supply grain to the poorest countries even without participation in the deal

First list of Armenian servicemen killed as result of Azerbaijan's September aggression is published

Pentagon to supply Vampire anti-drone system to AFU

Russian Foreign Ministry issues statement on prevention of nuclear war

Xi Jinping confirms China's readiness to invest in Pakistan

Kuzmina: I don't agree that Armenia's economy will be swept away if the borders with Turkey are opened

Poland to build wall on border with Kaliningrad
The German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier spoke abruptly in favor of negotiations with Turkey over EU membership. Speaking in Brussels at a press briefing after the meeting of the EU foreign ministers, Steinmeier criticized his Austrian counterpart. The Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told, that Vienna would objected to the continuation of negotiations with Ankara, reports the DW.

"I would not like to give a signal about the termination of negotiations now," said Steinmeier. He noted, that it is the opposition that asks to continue negotiations with Turkey. In addition, terminating the negotiations can affect negotiations on the unification of Cyprus, which are in the final stage. The prospects of Turkey's membership to EU relate to future arrangements of situation around the restoration of death penalty in Turkey. If Ankara takes such a step, it would mean crossing the red line. Because it does not happen, the negotiations are considered as deterrent policy for Turkey.

Negotiations with Turkey about accession to the EU began in 2005: 18 years after the submission of the relevant application by Ankara. Out of 35 negotiating requirements that Turkey should meet, Brussels accepted only 16. Apart from occupation of a part of Cyprus, negotiations are hampered by the Turkish authorities' actions against the opposition.
We are paying less attention to the development of domestic tourism.

President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, stated the aforesaid at the consultation he held in Jermuk town, to discuss the tourism development issues of the country.

Several officials attended and delivered respective reports during the consultation.

Sargsyan, for his part, stressed that despite some positive results achieved in the tourism sector of Armenia, there still is a great potential in this sector that is not completely discovered.

The President also spoke about the avenues for tourism development in Armenia and the respective preconditions that have been created.

As a result of the consultation, Serzh Sargsyan gave several instructions to the officials in attendance.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Despite the change of administration, those in Nagorno-Karabakh trust in the democratic traditions that are established in the US.

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Prime Minister Arayik Haroutyunyan, who is on working visit to the US, told the aforementioned to Voice of America Armenian service.

We are convinced that the established American traditions recall that self-determination of nations, or democracy, is more preferred, and overall, peace is more preferred, added the NKR PM.

Haroutyunyan stressed that when it comes to the avenues for resolving the Karabakh conflict, the US has always tried to act based on the precepts of territorial integrity, and self-determination of nations.

Our expectation is that they continue what they had over the course of the last twenty years, without a sudden radical change, he noted.

Also, Arayik Haroutyunyan noted that Artsakh does not expect any major progress soon in the Karabakh peace talks, and therefore they do not see a need for deploying peacekeeping forces at the conflict zone.

Since there are no negotiations, also this factor is ruled out, stated the NKR premier.
By PTI: Ahmedabad, Dec 12 (PTI) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will visit Gujarat to address a public rally in Mehsana town on December 21, the Gujarat Congress announced here today.

"Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Mehsana on December 21. This is his first visit to Gujarat after demonetisation move by the Centre. It is expected that Rahulji would take up the issue of hardships being faced by common men and various other issues concerning farmers during his rally," Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

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Gandhis visit holds significance in the wake of upcoming assembly polls in Gujarat, expected to be held in the later part of 2017.

Gandhi had earlier visited Gujarat in July this year to meet four dalit youths who were allegedly thrashed by cow vigilantes in Una town of Gir Somnath district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited his home state five times in the last five months. PTI PJT PD NRB ARK

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STEPANAKERT.  The adversary violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces more than 60 times, from late Monday night to early Tuesday morning.

During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired around than 900 shots toward the Armenian position-holders, and by way of various caliber rifle weapons, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Defense Army informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

More intense violations were recorded toward the southern (Hadrut) and eastern (Martuni) defense positions, where, aside from rifles and machine guns, the adversary fired also from sniper rifles.

But the NKR Defense Army vanguard units primarily refrained from responding to the ineffective shots fired by the Azerbaijani armed forces, and continued confidently defending the military positions that are under their protection.

As for the information which the Azerbaijani propaganda machine disseminated on Monday, and with respect to their downing two Armenian drones, it is nothing more than an ordinary false propaganda.
A fight broke out Monday in the Turkish parliament between the MPs of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP).

When an HDP deputy approached the parliament podium, the AKP MPs started making remarks against this deputy, and stated that the HDP, which speaks about democracy, supports the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)which Ankara considers to be a terrorist organization, reported Cumhuriyet daily of Turkey.

Subsequently, the argument became more heated, and it led to a fight.

As a result, an HDP deputy was injured, and he received medical treatment from the parliament physician.
YEREVAN.  Armenia should not allow Azerbaijan and Israel to further deepen bilateral cooperation.

Founder and Director of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs, political analyst Styopa Safaryan, told the abovementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am, as he commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to Azerbaijan.

In his words, Armenia suffered the consequences of this cooperation during the four-day war in April, when Azerbaijan made use of the drones it had purchased from Israel.

Armenia had many opportunities for improving relations with Israel, said Safaryan. But we didnt take advantage of them, since we just dont have a foreign policy.

As per the analyst, the deterioration of Turkish-Israeli relations was one such opportunity.

Armenia could have reaped many benefits in this context, added Safaryan. But it didnt make use of this opportunity.

Furthermore, Styopa Safaryan expressed a view that, aside from the inaction by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, several regional factors, including the Russian-Iranian factor, also impact on the absence of relations.
YEREVAN.  There are plans to increase Armenias Jermuk-brand mineral water exports to China, by the year 2020, Jermuk Group CJSC CEO Vahagn Arsenyan said at a press conference on Tuesday.

President Serzh Sargsyan had attended the official opening of the companys new plant in Jermuk town.

Jermuk Group exports Jermuk mineral and Byuregh spring water to fifteen countries.

Most of these exports are to Russia, and China and South Africa are among the new markets.

We already are working with two to three buyers in China, stated Arsenyan. But they like [it], and we wish to supply more.
In 2020, Armenias profits from the tourism industry should reach $2.5 billion per year.

Minister of Economic Development and Investment, Suren Karayan, told the abovementioned to reporters. He noted this based on the results of the President Serzh Sargsyan-led consultation, which was convened in Jermuk town.

He added that the number of tourists visiting Armenia shall be doubled within three years.

Karayan stated that, at present, around 1, 200,000 tourists visit the country every year.

Given that each tourist spends an average of $1,000 in Armenia, the countrys authorities expect the aforesaid $2.5 billion.

To note, Armenias minimum GDP for 2017 is projected to be Armenian drams equivalent to approximately $11.2 billion, at the current exchange rate.
The Russian government will provide a $ 3-million grant to Armenia, and for the development of rural tourism.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Development, Davit Lokyan, told the aforementioned to reporters. He stated this based on the results of the President Serzh Sargsyan-led consultation, which was convened in Jermuk town.

This amount will be used for carrying out recreational area improvement projects in around sixty communities of Armenia.

The complete list of these projects, however, will be approved within two months.
If Azerbaijan decides to purchase Iron Dome air defense system from Israel, this may be considered as a successful turn of events for the Armenian side.

Deputy Director of the Caucasus Institute, Sergey Minasyan, who is also a political analyst, told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

In his words, the deal can be considered successful from the standpoint that Azerbaijan will have to pay lots of money, while Armenia has recently obtained Iskander missile systems by very favorable conditions.

I dont think that Baku can find means for acquiring Israeli air defense system and if they find such, it is a big issue whether these systems can resist Iskander or other types of weapons, the analyst said.
YEREVAN.  The authorities, the opposition, and the civil society joining together around the Electoral Code of Armenia is unprecedented, National Assembly Vice President Hermine Naghdalyan told reporters on Tuesday.

In her words, the objective is not solely to create a document, but the process whereby the civil society, whole community, and all voters participate in Armenias parliamentary elections with utmost trust.

Also, Naghdalyan called on the countrys civil society to seek all the opportunities for continuing this process.
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In the wake of merger of railway budget with the general budget, the rail ministry had urged the finance ministry to bear its operational losses but the request was turned down by the latter.

Railways had urged finance ministry to bear its operational losses in the wake of merger of its budget with general budget.

By Rakesh Ranjan: Another hike in rail fares is on the cards, with the railways planning to reduce passenger subsidy and a sizable cut in myriad concessions given to various categories of passengers. In the wake of merger of railway budget with the general budget, the rail ministry had urged the finance ministry to bear its operational losses but the request was turned down by the latter.

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RAILWAYS' LETTER TO FINANCE MINISTRY

Citing its inability to bear the loss of Rs 33,000 crore, the railways has told the finance ministry that it is left with no option but to cut down the concessions. A senior official of the rail ministry's finance department said it could consider cutting down expenses on concessions and subsidy that will ultimately result in fare hike. At present, railways spends nearly Rs 77,000 crore on passenger operations while it receives only Rs 44,000 crore from passenger fares. Thus it incurs a loss of Rs 33,000 crore annually.

However, the finance ministry is not keen on providing any financial assistance and instead wants the railways to bridge the gap through its internal resources. A railway board official said the ministry was also considering generating money through commercial exploitation of its vacant land and station buildings, but that would require huge investment.

NO CHOICE BUT TO HIKE FARES

"The railway ministry has no option but to cut down its expenses on concessions and subsidy. This may result in hike in fares and monthly season tickets," the official said. In the last budget, the railway minister had speared a fare hike but increased the freight of the rail ministry shows that the railways offers 43 per cent subsidy on a single train journey to its passengers. This means, if the railways spends Rs 100 on a train journey, it only charges Rs 57 from passengers and the remaining Rs 43 goes as subsidy.

Comprehensive data shows that the railways incurred the expenditure of Rs 34,000 crore on 'social service obligation' for the year 2015-2016. Out of this, Rs 1,600 crore was spent on a myriad concessions on train travels. A major chunk of it - Rs 1,200 crore - was spent on concession to senior citizens.

As per the rules, male senior citizens above 60 years of age are given 40 per cent concession of rail fare while women above the age of 58 years can avail 50 per cent concession in all classes. Some categories like physically challenged, deaf and dumb, and heart patients can avail concession up to 75 per cent on rail fares.ALSO READ:

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Indian Railways to put next generation Maglev trains on fast track

Now, Indian Railways to go cashless. And paperless

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The policy of official Washington towards Armenia is unlikely to change after the appointment of Exxon Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson to the post of the U.S. Secretary of State.

Regional Director of the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), Arpi Vartanian, told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

In her words, unless President-elect Donald Trump assumes the presidency and starts conducting policy, it is hard to predict what position U.S. will form in regard to particular countries and issues.

The policy conducted by Washington in regard to Armenia over the recent 25 years is unlikely to undergo significant changes, Vartanian noted.

She also added that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be in the center of the U.S. leaderships attention, considering the U.S. co-chairmanship in the OSCE Minsk Group.
Exxon Mobil Group, whose CEO is Rex Tillerson, whom Donald Trump appointed the US secretary of state, has serious business interests in Azerbaijan. Exxon Mobil was founded in Azerbaijan in 1995. The Azerbaijani ExxonMobil owns 8 percent of the stake in the oil development project of Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli.

As Reuters announced, in July of this year, the American oil giant Exxon Mobil and British BP did not reach an agreement on the major deal of processing Azerbaijani mines, blocking the so-called extension of the "Contract of the Century".

The BP that operated the Azeri-Chirag- Gunashli (ACG) in the Caspian Sea, which owns the 10th part of its world exportation, had previously agreed to extend the terms of a 30-year contract with the government, the sources reports.

However, Exxon, which accounts for 1 percent of hydrocarbon extraction of ACG, in 2014, after almost double fall in world oil prices expressed a hope for a better condition for the deal.

As a result, negotiations on the draft, which would allow them to produce more oil at current price of $ 100 billion, entered a deadlock, intensifying existing tensions between Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson and his BP partner Bob Dudley, said the sources.

8 years is left for the current argents to expire. However, in case of such long-term contracts of mutual processing of the mines, it is accepted to begin negotiations as soon as possible, preferably 10 years earlier, to plan new investments. Consortium partners have already invested $ 32 billion into the project.

Three fourth of the total Azerbaijani oil export, or about 600 thousand barrels per day of oil production, 0.7 percent of world production is at stake. Mining processing is carried out under the agreement between the consortium members and the government of Azerbaijan.

BPs share in the project makes 35.8 percent, while Exxons only 8 percent. Among other members of consortium are Azerbaijan's SOCAR state oil company and American Chevron; the share of each makes 11 per cent. The Japanese Inpex has the same share. Norwegian Statoil reached 8.6 percent, the Turkish TPAO, Japanese ONGC and Indian Itochu have smaller shares.

The mines should have produced 1 million barrels per day, but in 2010, after reaching a daily production of 820 thousand barrels, they registered a decrease. The Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused BP of giving "false promises".

Azerbaijan was even talking about a possibility of processing its own mines in 2024, after the contract expires. However, BP managed to begin negotiations on a contract extension until 2040, possibly until 2060, at a price of $ 50 per barrel at the cost of $ 100 billion till 2 billion barrels of oil to produce.
YEREVAN. - The State Hermitage Museum of Russia and Armenian museums will work jointly to study the exhibits and archeological artifacts found in Karmir Blur (Red Hill), as well as excavate new ones.

Director of Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, and Culture Minister of Armenia, Armen Amiryan, on Tuesday signed an agreement at the History Museum of Armenia on Strategic Cooperation between the State Hermitage and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia on examining Karmir Blur and its surrounding.

The agreement supposes joint work between the archaeologists and conservators in carrying out excavations, examining artifacts and conserving the archaeological materials in the territory of Karmir Blur.

The latest examinations in Karmir Blur ended this spring, as a result of which 281 tombs were found on each 6 cubic meters.

According to Mikhail Piotrovsky, Karmir Blur was chosen for the purpose of excavations, since the archaeological site has not been disclosed till the end and is thus of great significance for archaeologists.

Nothing is disclosed till the end, and in this regard this ancient settlement is of great significance to us, he said.

Under one of the paragraphs of the agreement, in 2018 Hermitage will host an international conference dedicated to the 110th anniversary of Boris Piotrovsky and 2800th anniversary of Yerevan, as well as small exhibitions featuring Hermiateg exhivits in Armenia.

Mikhail Piotrovsky has arrived in his native city of Yerevan along with his son Boris Piotrovsky, who will deal with the publications of art illustration books.
The Centre is skeptical about publishing the information as it could have a negative impact on those who turn out to be "innocent" later and their "return to the mainstream" with their public naming and shaming.

By Harish V Nair: India is set to have its first registry for sex offenders but government departments and law enforcement agencies are still debating whether the details should be made public, the home ministry has told the Supreme Court. The Centre is skeptical about publishing the information as it could have a negative impact on those who turn out to be "innocent" later and their "return to the mainstream" with their public naming and shaming.

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DEMANDS FOR TOUGH ACTION

The move comes amid widespread demands for tougher action on sexual violence, more than three years since the fatal gang rape of a physiotherapy student in Delhi. The apex court has suggested that the government can go ahead with listing names of those who have been convicted. "The draft guidelines on the proposal to set up a sex offenders registry in India is under preparation in consultation with relevant ministries/organizations before they are put out for wider consultation with the state governments and the public," the MHA said in an affidavit filed in the SC.

"The initial consultation draft includes the registration of individuals convicted for offences like rape voyeurism, stalking and aggravated sexual assault and includes possibility of registration of offenders below and above 18 years." Sex-offender registries exist in many countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Ireland. But among these, the US is the only country with a registry that is publicly accessible.

SUNITHA KRISHNAN PUSHING FOR MOVE

In other countries the databases are only available to law enforcement agencies. Some observers fear that identifying convicted rapists will lead to vigilante attacks. The affidavit came on a PIL filed by social activist Sunitha Krishnan, founder of the NGO Prajwala, who says she has rescued and rehabilitated more than 10,000 rape victims. She had sought such a register given the steep rise in the number of rapes and shockingly videos of such incidents being uploaded on social media.

Krishnan, who received 200 such videos from victims and forwarded them to the SC bench that ordered a CBI probe, told Mail Today: "From most of the videos, it is clear that this is not the offender's first rape due to the ease with which the men go about the act." The database will likely include personal details of the convicted including their residential address, fingerprints, DNA samples, and identity card information like the PAN card with tax ID and Aadhaar card that contains biometric information, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told Parliament in April. The MHA has also said that an agency - Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Committee (ICCCC) - with pan-India jurisdiction to probe such clips and take action against the criminals is also being constituted at a cost of nearly `200 crore.

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Elaborating on its importance, Krishnan said, "It (an agency) is very essential for prompt action. As of now, what is happening is when I am sitting in Hyderabad I get a video from Kashmir or Haryana. The local police say they do not have the jurisdiction to act on it. But ICCCC can immediately lodge an FIR, investigate and take action against the offenders."

ALSO READ:

Shame the Rapist: WhatsApp, Facebook, Google asked by Supreme Court to block rape videos

--- ENDS ---
The European Council, where all the member-states of the union are presented, and the European Parliament have reached a political agreement on visa liberalization for Georgian citizens.

Now this decision must be formally approved by the European Council, the Slovak Presidency to the European Council informed, RIA Novosti reports.

Good news: we reached a deal wt the @EUCouncil @eu2016sk for #visa liberalisation wt #Georgia! Shared commitment to deliver asap! @EPPGroup, reads the Twitter page of the Slovak Presidency.

Good news for #Georgia's citizens: political agreement b/w @EUCouncil & @Europarl_EN on #Georgia visa lib. Next step @EUCouncil soon. pic.twitter.com/uCzsyd7rz4

 EU2016SK (@eu2016sk) 13  2016 .
Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates believes Donald Trump has a lot of "flexibility" when it comes to targeting issues and implementing policies.

"I think there is a lot of fascination to see what the new directions will be. Donald Trump was elected not so much for specific policies, but because of the kind of leaderships those voters wanted," Gates told CNBC on Tuesday morning.

Gates hopes Trump initiates a dialogue to achieve positive things for the U.S. Gates would like to see a Trump administration "double down" on innovation in health care, energy and education.

Furthermore, as someone involved in China both through his foundation and through nuclear power ventures, Gates advocated against negative trade relations between the U.S. and China. Trump has unsettled relations between the two as recently as Sunday, when he said the One China Policy could be used as a "bargaining chip."

"I feel sure that he and the team he brings around them, even as they try and tune things, won't want the lose-lose that you would get if you start to get tariff walls," Gates said. "A lot of the strength of the U.S. economy comes from exporters. If you are trying to suppress imports, then you can get into a situation where countries are raising tariff walls."

However, Gates called Trump "sophisticated" and hopes that he has carefully contemplated how he will further deal with China.

"We are moving into a new phase now," Gates said. "What are the steps forward in education, health, even lower-cost energy? I think all of those have got to be a part of that formula."
Behind the Facades in France: What expats and the mainstream media (French and American alike) fail to notice (or fail to tell you) about French attitudes, principles, values, and official positions
A pipeline leak has spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into a North Dakota creek roughly two and a half hours from Cannon Ball, where protesters are camped out in opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline.

Members of the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes, as well as environmentalists from around the country, have fought the pipeline project on the grounds that it crosses beneath a lake that provides drinking water to native Americans. They say the route beneath Lake Oahe puts the water source in jeopardy and would destroy sacred land.

North Dakota officials estimate more than 176,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from the Belle Fourche Pipeline into the Ash Coulee Creek. State environmental scientist Bill Suess says a landowner discovered the spill on Dec. 5 near the city of Belfield, which is roughly 150 miles from the epicenter of the Dakota Access pipeline protest camps.

The leak was contained within hours of the its discovery, Wendy Owen, a spokeswoman for Casper, Wyoming-based True Cos., which operates the Belle Fourche pipeline, told CNBC.

It's not yet clear why electronic monitoring equipment didn't detect the leak, Owen told the Asssociated Press.

Owen said the pipeline was shut down immediately after the leak was discovered. The pipeline is buried on a hill near Ash Coulee creek, and the "hillside sloughed," which may have ruptured the line, she said.

"That is our number one theory, but nothing is definitive," Owen said. "We have several working theories and the investigation is ongoing."

Last week, the Army Corp of Engineers said it would deny Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) the easement it needs to complete the final stretch of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline. United States Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy said the best path forward was to explore alternative routes for the pipeline, something Energy Transfer Partners says it will not do.

Energy Transfer Partners says the Dakota Access pipeline would include safeguards such as leak detection equipment and that workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close valves within three minutes if a breach is detected.



Story continues

Republican President-elect Donald Trump has voiced support for the Dakota Access Pipeline. About 5,000 people are still occupying land near the planned construction site.

The 6-inch steel Belle Fourche pipeline is mostly underground but was built above ground where it crosses Ash Coulee Creek, Suess said. Owen said the pipeline was built in the 1980s and is used to gather oil from nearby oil wells to a collection point.



Suess said the spill migrated almost 6 miles from the spill site along Ash Coulee Creek, and it fouled an unknown amount of private and U.S. Forest Service land along the waterway. The creek feeds into the Little Missouri River, but Seuss said it appears no oil got that far and that no drinking water sources were threatened. The creek was free-flowing when the spill occurred but has since frozen over.



About 60 workers were on site Monday, and crews have been averaging about 100 yards daily in their cleanup efforts, he said. Some of the oil remains trapped beneath the frozen creek.

Suess says about 37,000 gallons of oil have been recovered.



"It's going to take some time," Suess said of the cleanup. "Obviously there will be some component of the cleanup that will go toward spring."

True Cos. has a history of oil fieldrelated spills in North Dakota and Montana, including a January 2015 pipeline break into the Yellowstone River. The 32,000-gallon spill temporarily shut down water supplies in the downstream community of Glendive, Montana, after oil was detected in the city's water treatment system.

True Cos. operates at least three pipeline companies with a combined 1,648 miles of line in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, according to information the companies submitted to federal regulators. Since 2006, the companies have reported 36 spills totaling 320,000 gallons of petroleum products, most of which was never recovered.

 The Associated Press contributed to this story.









More From CNBC


FAA Suspends Certificate of Atlanta Technical College

The agency says the school failed to maintain approved grade, attendance, and make-up reports for students.

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an order to suspend the certificate of Atlanta Technical College (ATC). The school's Air Agency Certificate is suspended pending compliance.

The FAA reported ATC failed to maintain approved grade, attendance, and make-up reports for students in its Aviation Maintenance Technology program. Grade records were either not maintained or incomplete and were not signed by instructors. Students who had not made up absences were allowed to move to the next lesson, according to the agency.

The agency also said ATC has continued to deliver exit exams and certificates of completion to former students when it was not authorized to do so.
Kitco Privacy Policy

Updated: August 25, 2022

Your trust means everything to us.

And it always has. Our commitment to integrity has always been an important value for us. Part of that commitment includes being transparent with how we use your information, and how we protect your right to privacy.

This Privacy Policy explains how we process any personal information collected on the Kitco platform. It also tells you what choices you have with respect to that information. The policy has a serious tone that reflects the importance of the issue and is in line with federal regulations. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us anytime at privacy@kitco.com.

Table of contents:

Introduction

Information we collect and why we collect it

How we share your personal information

How we protect your personal information

Your choices with regards to your personal information

How to stay informed on Privacy Policy changes

How to contact us

Introduction

Kitco Metals Inc. ("Kitco" or "we") is committed to respecting and protecting your privacy and personal information when it comes to our online websites, social networking sites ("sites"), mobile applications ("apps") and services. By visiting our sites and apps, using or applying for a Kitco account, and buying or selling any and all products with us, you are consenting to agree to our Privacy Policy.

Information we collect and why we collect it

Depending on the Kitco products or services you use, the following information is collected from you:

All visitors to our sites or users of our apps : If you're simply browsing our sites or apps and don't have any accounts or subscriptions with us yet, we don't collect, capture, or retain any of your personal information. We only collect information about: Your location Your Internet Protocol (IP) address The type of mobile device you use Your device operating system and browser type The unique identifier of your device Your browser's language The address of referring websites The path taken through our sites or apps Cookies and other information about your browsing session A cookie is a piece of data from a website that's stored within a web browser for the website to retrieve at a later time. Cookies are used to tell the server that a visitor has returned to a particular website. They can contain information that can be used to track other pages you've visited, but cannot read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other websites. You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser, and you don't need them turned on to use our sites, apps, or services.



We use this anonymous information to remember your preferences and provide you with relevant and personalized advertising. We may also use and share the information on your browsing session for analytics purposes to improve our products and services.

: If you're simply browsing our sites or apps and don't have any accounts or subscriptions with us yet, we don't collect, capture, or retain any of your personal information. We only collect information about: A cookie is a piece of data from a website that's stored within a web browser for the website to retrieve at a later time. Cookies are used to tell the server that a visitor has returned to a particular website. They can contain information that can be used to track other pages you've visited, but cannot read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other websites. You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser, and you don't need them turned on to use our sites, apps, or services. We use this anonymous information to remember your preferences and provide you with relevant and personalized advertising. We may also use and share the information on your browsing session for analytics purposes to improve our products and services. Alerts/newsletters subscribers : When you opt-in for our newsletters, marketing materials, or to a rate-watch tool on our sites or apps, we may collect your name, email address and phone number so we can respond to you with any information you requested.

: When you opt-in for our newsletters, marketing materials, or to a rate-watch tool on our sites or apps, we may collect your name, email address and phone number so we can respond to you with any information you requested. Customers who apply for or open an account, or initiate a precious metals transaction with us :



We may collect information that allows us to carry out our obligations relating to your contracts and transactions with us:



Your contact information (full legal name, email, phone number, fax number) Your financial information (bank account) to facilitate a transaction Transaction-related details such as amount paid or received for products or services, the shipping address For security purposes, we collect information that helps us authenticate and verify your identity to prevent fraud or other suspicious activity. The information we collect may include:



Your login and password details, your security questions, and answers Your residential address, year of birth, and IP address Documents that assist us in verifying your identity (e.g., proof of residential address, an original, scanned or photographed image of your government-issued photo identification document, or an image of your face provided through a mobile app or computer webcam (i.e., a selfie)) A digital representation of your voice (only for customers that have opted-in to this service), that's inaudible to the human ear but can be recognized by a computer We may collect information that helps us comply with anti-money laundering regulations:



Your occupation, employment history and any documents related to your source of funds or source of precious metals We may collect personal information about you through third party service providers, publicly available records, or other sources we consider appropriate. We may collect information about you when you don't have a direct relationship with us. This may happen, for instance, when someone applies to open an account with us for a legal entity where you are a beneficial owner or a legal representative.

: We may collect information that allows us to carry out our obligations relating to your contracts and transactions with us: For security purposes, we collect information that helps us authenticate and verify your identity to prevent fraud or other suspicious activity. The information we collect may include: We may collect information that helps us comply with anti-money laundering regulations: Montreal Counter visitors : Our Montreal Counter operates video surveillance for security and operational purposes to help us improve our customer experience.

: Our Montreal Counter operates video surveillance for security and operational purposes to help us improve our customer experience. Call recordings, copies of chats and emails : For quality assurance, training, and security purposes, telephone calls are recorded. We also keep additional copies of emails and chats made or received by our employees.

: For quality assurance, training, and security purposes, telephone calls are recorded. We also keep additional copies of emails and chats made or received by our employees. General : We may collect your name, email and phone number if you contact our customer experience team, post a review or comment on our various social media channels, post other user-generated content on one of our sites or mobile services, or participate in a contest, promotion, or survey.

: We may collect your name, email and phone number if you contact our customer experience team, post a review or comment on our various social media channels, post other user-generated content on one of our sites or mobile services, or participate in a contest, promotion, or survey. Potential employees : If you are a prospective employee of ours, you may be asked to share information with us if you apply for employment using our corporate site. In order to use the Career feature, you will be required to create a unique profile and supply a username and a password. In addition, to complete the application process, you will be asked to provide information about your previous employment, education and qualifications, as well as your contact information.

: If you are a prospective employee of ours, you may be asked to share information with us if you apply for employment using our corporate site. In order to use the Career feature, you will be required to create a unique profile and supply a username and a password. In addition, to complete the application process, you will be asked to provide information about your previous employment, education and qualifications, as well as your contact information. Visitors to third party websites: Our sites and apps may contain links or references to websites operated by other companies. Please keep in mind that when you provide information to us on a third-party site or platform, the information may be separately collected by that third-party site or platform. We are not responsible for the privacy and security policies of those other websites.



Along those lines, Kitco uses YouTube API services to connect the contents of Kitco's YouTube Channel(s) with our sites and apps. You can learn more about YouTube's privacy policies at policies.google.com/privacy.



If you submit personal information relating to another person to us, we trust you have the necessary consent from such individuals and have authority to disclose their personal information to us, as well as their consent to our collection, use and disclosure of their personal information, for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.

How we share your personal information

We may disclose and share your personal information with selected third parties, including:

Affiliates, business partners, joint marketers, suppliers, sub-contractors and agents for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you

Advertisers and advertising networks solely to select and serve relevant advertisements to you

Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimization of our sites and apps

Risk management service providers that assist us in prevention and detection of fraud and in compliance of regulatory obligations

Collection agencies and other authorized parties that assist us in retrieving debts and locating hard to find customers who have holdings, or to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain

Governments, courts, regulators and law enforcement authorities, including those outside your country of residence, upon demonstration of lawful authority.

Your information may be transferred to a third-party service provider for processing and storage, and may also be stored and processed in countries where we have facilities or service providers. By using our services, you consent to your information being transferred to countries outside of Canada, which may have different data protection rules. If your personal information is transferred outside of Canada, the governments, courts, law enforcement or regulatory agencies of that jurisdiction may be able to obtain disclosure of your personal information through the laws of that jurisdiction.

If all or part of Kitco is merged, sold or reorganized (including transfers made as part of insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings), your personal information could be shared with the successor business. Please rest assured we'll make all reasonable efforts to ensure the successor treats your information with the same respect and consideration as we do.

How we protect your personal information

Your safety and security is of utmost importance to us. As such, we enforce the highest security measures when it comes to protecting your personal information against theft, loss, and corruption, as well as defending against the misuse and alteration of any customer data stored on our servers.

To keep your credit card information secure, we only use the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliant version of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol for transferring credit card information across the internet, and all Kitco employees and agents are aware of this security policy. Your personal information is accessible only to selected employees and agents who need this information to carry out contractual obligations with you.

However, when you log into your account through a public or other unsecured connection, or if you choose to share your login information with others, we can't guarantee the security of your account. It's best practice to keep your passwords private, so you should avoid sharing this information with others.

Your choices with regards to your personal information

Depending on the services you use and the sensitivity of your information, we may obtain your consent to share information in different ways. Express consent may be obtained verbally, online, or in writing, and implied consent may be obtained through your use of our sites or apps, or when you approach us to obtain information on Kitco products and services.

Generally, we seek consent to collect, use and disclose personal information at the same time we collect the information. In some circumstances, we may identify a new purpose and seek your consent to use and disclose personal information after it's been collected.

Consent can also be given through an authorized representative, such as a legal guardian or a person with Power of Attorney. This may be necessary if we cannot obtain express consent from a minor (i.e., someone who is under the age of 18), or a person who is seriously ill, or mentally incapacitated.

Choices related to your personal information

We encourage you to ensure that your information is as accurate and up to date as possible. If you have an account with us, you can access and update your information online or call our customer experience team at 1 877-775-4826 to request your personal information be updated. You aren't required to provide personal information when requested, however this may prevent us from providing certain services to you.

Choices related to cookies

Your browser or internet device may allow you to delete, disable, or block certain cookies.

Choices related to communication

Marketing : We may occasionally send you marketing content about our sites, services, or products, as well as the products and services of unaffiliated third parties through email, text, pop-ups, push notifications and messaging applications. You can opt out of these marketing communications at any time. If you have an account with us, you can also adjust your communication preferences in your account settings or by calling our customer experience team at 1 877-775-4826. For messages sent via push notifications, you can manage your preferences on your device.

: We may occasionally send you marketing content about our sites, services, or products, as well as the products and services of unaffiliated third parties through email, text, pop-ups, push notifications and messaging applications. You can opt out of these marketing communications at any time. If you have an account with us, you can also adjust your communication preferences in your account settings or by calling our customer experience team at 1 877-775-4826. For messages sent via push notifications, you can manage your preferences on your device. Informational and other: We will send necessary communication to you and other users of our services that contains important information, as well as other communication you request from us. You may not opt out from receiving these communications or adjust the media format through which you receive them.

How to stay informed on Privacy Policy changes

To ensure this Privacy Policy stays up to date, we may make changes from time to time without notifying you directly. You'll always be able to see any changes made on our website. The revised Privacy Policy will be date stamped with "Last Updated" at the top and will become effective when posted to our sites. Using our sites, apps, products and services, and/or providing consent to the updated Privacy Policy following such updates constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, you can contact us at:

Kitco Metals Inc.

Attn: Customer Experience Department

620 Cathcart Street, Suite 900

Montreal, Quebec, H3B 1M1

privacy@kitco.com

1 877-775-4826
The Reserve Bank, in a notification issued today, said banks should "preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from November 8 to December 30, 2016, until further instructions".

By Press Trust of India: RBI has asked banks to preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests to help law enforcement agencies in identifying people engaged in hoarding of new notes post demonetisation.

The Reserve Bank, in a notification issued today, said banks should "preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from November 8 to December 30, 2016, until further instructions".

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The central bank said the move will "facilitate coordinated and effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes".

Also read:

Are banks failing the demonetisation drive?

Earlier in October, the RBI had asked banks to cover the banking hall/area and counters under CCTV surveillance and recording and preserve the recording to help identify people abetting circulation of counterfeit notes.

After demonetisation, there have been reports of hoarding of new currency notes by unscrupulous elements at various bank branches across the country.

Also read:Congress uncomfortable with Modi government's anti-corruption steps: Jaitley

The Income-Tax Department is carrying out raids across the country on a regular basis since demonetisation to nab new currency hoarders and several people, both individuals as well as bank officials, have been booked so far for carrying out such illegal activities.

Also read:

Demonetisation the biggest scam of 2016: Ex-Finance Minister P Chidambaram

The government has said abolishment of these high denomination banknotes is intended to bring back unaccounted money into the system, curb fake currency circulation as well as to deter terror financing.

Also read:

Venkaiah Naidu says Centre has no plans to rework demonetisation strategy

--- ENDS ---
Disclaimer and purchase conditions for Kitco's online store

Updated: January 18, 2021

1. Definitions

For the purpose of these Terms and Conditions, the following terms shall have the meanings specified below, unless otherwise indicated:

"Agreement" or "Terms and Conditions" shall mean these terms and conditions that shall govern the relationship between Kitco and the Customer, except as otherwise specifically provided for, and as same may be amended from time to time, without notice;

"Authorized User" shall mean a person to whom a Card has been issued at the authorization of the Primary Cardholder;

"Business Day" shall refer to Kitco's operational hours, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and any statutory holidays and bank holidays in the province of Quebec;

"Cleared Kitco Pool" shall mean unallocated metal deposits of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or rhodium, or such other metals as may be amended from time to time, that have been acquired or purchased from Kitco and that have been paid with cleared funds;

"Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM" shall mean unallocated metal deposits of gold and silver that have been acquired or purchased from Kitco and that have been paid with cleared funds;

"Customer" shall mean a customer who enters into a transaction with Kitco for the purchase or sale of Precious Metal Bullion, Kitco Pool, Kitco VaultChainTM or Scrap Metal and is in compliance with these Terms and Conditions between the Customer and Kitco;

"Customer Purchase Transaction" shall mean any sale operation whereby Kitco sells Precious Metal Bullion, Precious Metal Products, Kitco Pool or Kitco VaultChainTM to its Customer;

"Customer Sale Transaction" shall mean any sale operation whereby Kitco purchases Precious Metal Bullion, Precious Metal Products, Kitco Pool or Kitco VaultChainTM from its Customer;

"Kitco" shall mean Kitco Metals Inc.;

"Kitco Account" shall mean a Customer account maintained with Kitco under the Customer's name that allows the Customer to place a Customer Purchase Transaction, Customer Sale Transaction or Scrap Metal Transaction for Precious Metals Products. The Kitco Account also allows the Customer access through Kitco's Online Store to a web portal for the purposes of conducting transactions, viewing Customer's account information, purchase and sale transactions history and account balance of cleared funds, stored Precious Metal Products, Kitco Pool and Kitco VaultChainTM.;

"Kitco's Online Store" shall mean and refer to Kitco's Precious Metal Store, available at https://online.kitco.com;

"Kitco Pool" shall mean unallocated metal deposits of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or rhodium, or such other metals as may be amended from time to time, purchased through Kitco;

"Kitco VaultChainTM" shall mean metal deposits of gold and silver which are purchased through Kitco, securely stored by the Royal Canadian Mint and for which the chain of title is maintained and validated by TradeWind Markets, Inc. using a blockchain distributed ledger.

"Open Transactions" shall mean all contemplated and submitted Customer Purchase Transactions, Customer Sale Transactions and Scrap Metal Transactions that have not been completed. For the purposes of confirming a price for a transaction, a Customer Sale Transaction of Kitco Pool and Kitco VaultChainTM are not considered an Open Transaction;

"Precious Metal(s)" shall mean and refer to fine gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and rhodium or other such metals as may be amended from time to time;

"Precious Metal Bullion" shall mean and refer to Precious Metals in the form of bars, coins or rounds;

"Precious Metal Products" shall mean and refer to products in various forms which contain gold, silver, platinum or palladium or other such metals, including but not limited to Kitco Pool and Kitco VaultChainTM, as well as certain collectible products and accessories with varying precious metal purities, as may be amended from time to time;

"Return of Funds" shall mean and refer to a return of cleared funds held on account to the Customer;

"Scrap Metal" shall mean material containing gold, silver, platinum or palladium or other such metals as may be amended from time to time, which is suitable for melting or refining;

"Scrap Metal Transaction" shall mean any sale operation whereby Kitco purchases Scrap Metal from its Customer.

The following Terms and Conditions shall govern all transactions between the Customer and Kitco, except when purchasing and selling specialized products such as Kitco Rhodium Sponge and Royal Canadian Mint Prestige Accounts. Kitco Rhodium Sponge transactions are subject to the Kitco Rhodium Sponge Product: Terms and Conditions. Kitco Royal Canadian Mint Prestige Account transactions are subject to the RCMPA: Terms and Conditions.

It is the Customer's responsibility to confirm that their transaction conforms to the Terms and Conditions as set out in each of the above specialized products.

2. Application

Customers wishing to purchase from or sell to Kitco must have an account. For Customers who currently have a Kitco Account, please refer to Section 3 of these Terms and Conditions.

2.1. Account Opening

Depending on the type of account to be opened, individuals, business entities or trusts can create an account with Kitco online, by telephone or in person. Additional information regarding the application forms to be completed and the documentation requirements for each type of account can be found on Kitco's website.

Failure to provide all required documentation may delay the opening of the Kitco Account. Upon receipt and formal acceptance of the completed application form and copies of the required documentation, Kitco will send a confirmation to the Customer as to whether the application has been approved or rejected. Once the application is approved, Kitco will open an account and inform the Customer of their account details.

The Customer acknowledges that Kitco relies on the veracity of all information provided by the Customer when processing any application. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, the Customer represents and warrants to Kitco that all information provided by the Customer to Kitco is true and accurate.

2.2. Multiple Accounts

Unless approved in advance by Kitco, only one account may be created per Customer. Kitco will not accept transactions placed by a single Customer over multiple accounts, and the Customer may be held liable for any resulting market loss repayments and administrative fees.

3. Transactions

3.1. Transaction Restrictions

Kitco may restrict the purchase or sale of Precious Metal Bullion, Precious Metal Products or Scrap Metal, whether online or by telephone, as updated from time to time in the Schedule of Transaction Restrictions. Kitco reserves the right to unilaterally amend restrictions or implement new restrictions without notice at any time.

3.2. Customer Purchase Transactions

3.2.1. Confirming a Price for Customer Purchase Transactions

A price is confirmed at the time a Customer Purchase Transaction is submitted (both online as well as by telephone). Should a Customer cancel a Customer Purchase Transaction after it has been submitted, the Customer may be liable for market loss repayments and administrative fees, pursuant to Sections 5.1 and 6.1.3. Subject to the conditions set out in the Schedule of Transaction Restrictions, the price at the time a transaction is submitted will be confirmed, regardless of market fluctuations.

3.3. Customer Sale Transactions

3.3.1. Precious Metal Bullion

Any Precious Metal Bullion sent to Kitco by mail must be accompanied by a packing slip. Customers wishing to confirm a price for their Customer Sale Transaction before sending their Precious Metal Bullion to Kitco may do so online or by contacting Kitco by telephone (see Section 3.3.1.2 for more details). Once a price is confirmed, Kitco will send Customer a packing slip by email.

Customers who do not wish to confirm a price prior to sending their Precious Metal Bullion to Kitco may create a packing slip online at Kitco's Online Store.

Kitco is not responsible for the customs clearing, duties, insurance and/or transportation costs related to any package. All costs relating to these issues remain Customer's sole responsibility. Kitco does not provide any letters of guarantee or credit.

3.3.1.1. Testing Precious Metal Bullion

Precious Metal Bullion sent to Kitco will be inspected, weighed and tested for purity and for authenticity. Depending on the type of product sent, destruct testing may be required. Should that be the case, Precious Metal Bullion will be damaged in the process of being tested. Customers wishing to have their Precious Metal Bullion returned after testing acknowledge and agree that it may not be returned to the Customer in the same condition as it was received at Kitco. Kitco may reject a package once it's been tested if it's determined that the Precious Metal Bullion sent by the Customer is tampered with, stolen or counterfeit, in which case market loss repayments and fees will apply, as described in Sections 5.4 and 6.

3.3.1.2. Precious Metal Bullion that has been Tampered with or is Counterfeit

In case of products which have been tampered with or counterfeit, Kitco may remit the products to local authorities for further investigation.

3.3.1.3. Confirming a Price for a Customer Sale Transaction of Precious Metal Bullion

A price is confirmed at the time a Customer Sale Transaction for Precious Metal Bullion is submitted (online or by telephone). Should a Customers choose to send Precious Metal Bullion to Kitco along with a packing slip without confirming a price, their transaction will be completed at the market price once the package is received and processed.

Should a Customer cancel a Customer Sale Transaction after it has been submitted, the Customer may be liable for market loss repayments and administrative fees, pursuant to Sections 5 and 6.

For Customer Sale Transactions where the Customer has chosen to confirm a price prior to sending Kitco the Precious Metal Bullion, Kitco guarantees the confirmed price on the packing slip created only when the Customer package is postmarked within one (1) Business Day of the date the order is submitted, and must be received within ten (10) Business Days.

In the event the amount or type of Precious Metal Bullion received by Kitco differ from what was originally submitted by the Customer, the quoted price may be revised and any deficit amount will be treated as a cancellation. Market loss repayments and administrative fees will apply, as described in Sections 5 and 6. Should the Customer send other products in addition to those initially submitted, Customer will be contacted by Kitco in order to confirm a price for the additional products.

Subject to the conditions set out in the Schedule of Transaction Restrictions, the price at the time a transaction is submitted will be confirmed, regardless of market fluctuations.

3.3.2. Kitco Pool and Kitco VaultChain TM

A price is confirmed at the time a Customer Sale Transaction for either Kitco Pool or VaultChainTM is submitted (both online as well as by telephone). Should a Customer cancel a Customer Sale Transaction after it has been transmitted, the Customer may be liable for market loss repayments and administrative fees, pursuant to Sections 5 and 6.

Customers must provide a valid Visa or MasterCard credit card in order to submit a transaction. The price at the time a transaction is submitted will be confirmed, regardless of market fluctuations.

3.4. Scrap Metal Transactions

Customers may send or bring their Scrap Metal to Kitco to be tested, following which Customers may choose to sell said Scrap Metal to Kitco.

3.4.1. Sending Scrap Metal to Kitco

Any Scrap Metal sent to Kitco by mail for testing or for a Scrap Metal Transaction must be accompanied by a packing slip. Customers wishing to confirm a price for their Scrap Metal Transaction before sending their Scrap Metal to Kitco may do so by contacting Kitco by telephone (see Section 3.4.3 for more details). Once a price is confirmed, Kitco will send Customer a packing slip by email. Customers who do not wish to confirm a price prior to sending their Scrap Metal to Kitco may create a packing slip online at Kitco's Online Store. Customers must have a valid Kitco Refining Business account in order to create a packing slip.

Kitco is not responsible for the customs clearing, duties, insurance and/or transportation costs related to any package. All costs relating to these issues remain Customer's sole responsibility. Kitco does not provide any letters of guarantee or credit.

3.4.2. Testing Scrap Metal

Scrap Metal sent to Kitco will be scratch tested using a touch stone and acid. Should it be impossible to determine the Precious Metal content of Customer's Scrap Metal by this method, Customer will be contacted and may choose whether or not to proceed with testing using melt and/or assay services, subject to the applicable fees described in Section 6.

Scrap Metal will be damaged in the process of being tested/assayed. As a result, should Customer request that Scrap Metal be returned after testing, it may not be returned in the same condition as it was received at Kitco.

Kitco's tests can accurately determine purity only up to 18 Karats. Scrap Metal believed to be higher than 18 Karats must test as well as 18 Karats and have a recognized hallmark stamp. If the Scrap Metal scratch test at 18 Karats, but bears no stamp or an indistinct stamp, Kitco will purchase said Scrap Metal at the price applicable to 18 Karat products. Customers may request an assay of their Scrap Metal at any time.

Once Customer's Scrap Metal has been tested, Customer will be contacted to proceed with completing the Scrap Metal Transaction. Customers having had their Scrap Metal tested by Kitco may request that it be returned at any time before the transaction has been completed. Scrap Metal will be returned upon payment of relevant return shipping costs and any applicable market loss repayments and fees, as described in Sections 5 and 6.

Kitco may reject a package once it has been tested if it has determined that the Scrap Metals sent by the Customer contains metal contaminants beyond certain acceptable limits. This Scrap Metal may be impossible to refine. In these cases, Kitco will return the Scrap Metal to the Customer, at the Customer's expense.

Kitco will also reject a package once it has been tested if it is suspected that the Scrap Metal sent by the Customer is fraudulent, counterfeit or has been stolen. Market loss repayments and fees will apply, as described in Sections 5.4 and 6.

3.4.3. Confirming a Price for Scrap Metal Transactions

A settlement price is confirmed at the time a Scrap Metal Transaction is submitted by telephone. This results in a binding agreement between Kitco and Customer relative to that transaction. Customers who chose to send Scrap Metal to Kitco along with a packing slip without confirming a price for the Scrap Metal Transaction beforehand will be contacted by Kitco once their package is received and tested in order to have their transaction completed.

For Scrap Metal Transactions where the Customer has chosen to confirm a price the transaction prior to sending Kitco their Scrap Metal, Kitco guarantees the price only when the Customer package is postmarked within two (2) Business Days of the date the order is submitted, when Customer provides Kitco with a tracking number for the package sent within two (2) Business Days of the date the order is submitted, and when the package is received within ten (10) Business Days. In the event the amount, karat weight or purity of the Scrap Metal received by Kitco differ from what was submitted by Customer, the quoted price may be revised and any deficit amount will be treated as a cancellation. Market loss repayments and administrative fees will apply, as described in Sections 5 and 6.

Should a Customer cancel a Scrap Metal Transaction after a price has been confirmed, or should Kitco reject a Customer package after a Scrap Metal Transaction has been submitted, the Customer may be liable for market loss repayments and administrative fees, pursuant to Sections 5 and 6.

Subject to the conditions set out in the Transaction Restrictions Schedule, the price at the time a transaction is submitted will be confirmed, regardless of market fluctuations.

3.5. Credit Cards

As described in Sections 3.2 and 3.3, Customers may be required to provide a valid Visa or MasterCard credit card when purchasing or confirming a price for a transaction.

Credit card is an acceptable form of payment for products purchased from Kitco (as outlined in Section 3.2) for market loss repayments (as outlined in Section 5) or other fees (as outlined in Section 6) that become payable and remain unpaid.

By providing a valid credit card to Kitco, the Customer confirms that:

 The Customer is the named credit card holder or Authorized User to use the credit card;

 The credit card may be used to confirm a price for a transaction (if applicable);

 The credit card may be used to pay for the Customer Purchase Transaction (as outlined in Section 3.2);

 Kitco can pre-authorized a nominal amount on the credit card; and

 Kitco may charge unpaid outstanding market loss repayments or other fees to the credit card.

4. Payment and Funds on Account

4.1. Funds on a Kitco Account

Customers may add funds to their Kitco Account (also referred to as "funds on account"). Cleared funds on a Kitco Account shall be used towards payment for Customer Purchase Transactions, as described in Section 4.2, and may be used to confirm a price for both Customer Purchase Transactions and Customer Sale Transactions, as described in Sections 3.2 and 3.3. In order for funds on account to be considered cleared, there must be no hold placed on the funds, and applicable holding periods must have elapsed.

Funds on a Customer's Kitco Account belong to the Customer until they are applied to a specific transaction or used as payment for any amount due to Kitco. These funds shall be specifically identified and segregated at all times from funds belonging to Kitco.

4.2. Acceptable Methods of Payment and Adding Funds to a Kitco Account

At any one time, payment can be made and funds can be added to an account using only one method in addition to funds on account. Multiple payments or funds sent at the same time will not be accepted. The methods of payment or adding funds to a Kitco Account, along with their corresponding transaction limits and fees, are defined in the Schedule of Accepted Payment Methods.

Kitco may refuse payments or funds (in any form whatsoever, including, and without limitation, credit card, checks, bank drafts, money orders or bank wires) received from an individual or from an entity that is not the named account owner. Furthermore, Kitco may request additional documentation before such payment or funds are applied to Customer's Kitco Account or delivery of Customer's Purchase Transaction.

4.3. Payment Deadlines - Customer Purchase Transactions

Payment must be sent to Kitco within one (1) Business Day from the date on which a transaction is submitted. Payments made by bank wire must be received by Kitco no later than three (3) Business Days from the date on which a transaction is submitted.

Should a Customer fail to send payment within one (1) Business Day from the date on which a transaction is submitted, or if Kitco does not receive payment within the deadline specified above, Kitco reserves the right to cancel the transaction and the Customer will be liable for market loss repayments and other fees, as described in Sections 5 and 6.

4.4. Credit Cards

A valid Visa or MasterCard credit card is an acceptable method of payment for Customers residing or having their principal place of business in Canada or the United States (subject to applicable restrictions as described in Section 4.2). If paying by credit card Customer's confirms that shipping address must match billing address associated with said card.

Kitco may also refuse a payment by credit card without notice at any time and may request additional documentation and information before such payment is applied to Customer's Purchase Transaction or delivery of the Customer's Purchase Transaction.

Kitco does not accept any pre-paid credit cards or gift cards for a Customer's Purchase Transaction.

4.5. Checks

Checks are an acceptable method of payment or for adding funds to a Kitco Account for Customers residing or having their principal place of business in Canada or the United States (subject to applicable restrictions and holding periods as described in Section 4.2).

Checks should be made payable to Kitco Metals Inc. Checks must always reference Customer's Kitco Account in order for funds to be properly applied to said account.

Checks will be returned to the Customer by Kitco if they are incorrectly written (for reasons which include, without limitation, incorrect or missing date, dollar amount discrepancies, incorrect spelling of payee or missing signature). Incorrectly written checks will be returned to the Customer via regular mail once the Customer has been notified by Kitco of the returned check. Customers may choose to have their check returned via courier upon payment of a fee as defined in the Schedule of Accepted Payment Methods, including applicable taxes. Said fee can either be added to the amount of the replacement payment, or can be paid by credit card.

Checks that are returned by the bank in cases of fraud, counterfeiting, NSF (Non-Sufficient Funds) in Customer's account, ACL (Account Closed) or CNT (Cannot Trace) will be subject to the administrative fee described in Section 6.1.2.

4.6. Bank Wires

Kitco's bank wire information is made available to the Customer at the end of the online ordering process, through the Customer's online account transaction details. This information is also made available to the Customer by e-mail, once a transaction is submitted.

Bank wire transfers must respect the payment deadlines described in Section 4.3. Bank wire transfers must always reference the Customer's Kitco Account number and name in order for funds to be properly applied to said account.

4.6.1. International Bank Wires

International bank wires may be subject to correspondent bank fees that are deducted while a wire is in transit. As Kitco's bank is simply the recipient bank, it is impossible to determine the fees that may be deducted by any correspondent banks. Kitco highly recommends that all Customers sending funds from a bank outside the United States and Canada include an additional amount on their bank wire to accommodate for any fees that may be deducted by a correspondent bank. The Customer should confirm with their banking institution the exact amount that may need to be included in the wire to cover all fees that may be deducted. Kitco will always credit the entire amount it receives to the Customer's account. Should no fees be deducted, the entire bank wire amount will be credited to the Customer's account.

4.7. Proceeds from Customer Sale Transactions, Scrap Metal Transactions and Return of Funds

Settlement options, along with the corresponding fees and transaction limits, for Customer Sale Transactions, Scrap Metal Transactions and Return of Funds are defined in the Schedule of Accepted Payment Methods and are subject to change from time to time.

Once a payment option has been selected or if the option to convert to Kitco Pool or VaultChainTM has been chosen, it cannot be altered for any reason.

Processing and settlement for Customer Sale Transactions and Scrap Metal Transactions may take two (2) Business Days from receipt of Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products by Kitco. Return of funds may take two (2) Business Days from receipt of request to Kitco.

However, note that settlement time may be delayed due to statutory and bank holidays in Canada and in the US, increased market activity, capacity limitations of Kitco or size of the transaction.

Due to anti-money laundering legislation in both the United States and Canada, Kitco cannot forward the proceeds from any Customer Sale Transaction or Scrap Metal Transaction to an individual or entity who is not a designated account owner. Any payment from a Customer Sale Transaction or a Scrap Metal Transaction in a Business Account can be made in the business name only. For Sole Proprietorships, payment can be made in the business name or the sole proprietor's name, provided proper authorization documentation has been received by Kitco.

Note that for any single transaction, payment can be made by only one method in addition to funds on account.

4.8. Completing a Transaction

4.8.1. Customer Purchase Transactions

A Customer Purchase Transaction is completed when payment is received in full within the payment deadlines described in Section 4.2, provided that no hold is placed on payment, and Kitco performs its principal obligation.

For Customer Purchase Transactions of Precious Metal Bullion, Kitco's principal obligation is presumed to have been performed if Kitco attempted to deliver the Precious Metal Bullion but was prevented from doing so by the actions or negligence of the Customer, or when Kitco consents to the Customer taking possession of the Precious Metal Bullion.

Legal ownership of the Precious Metal Bullion or Kitco Pool will be considered transferred from Kitco to the Customer once the transaction is completed.

4.8.2. Customer Sale Transactions and Scrap Metal Transactions

A Customer Sale Transaction or a Scrap Metal Transaction is completed when Kitco has received the Customer package within the deadlines specified in Section 3 and Kitco performs its principal obligation.

Legal ownership of the Customer package will be considered transferred from the Customer to Kitco once the transaction is completed.

All Customer Sale Transactions and Scrap Metal Transactions are final. Once a transaction is complete and ownership has been transferred to Kitco, Precious Metal Bullion or Scrap Metal cannot be returned to Customer.

5. Transaction Cancellations

When cancelling a transaction, market loss repayments may apply as a submitted transaction constitutes a binding agreement between Kitco and the Customer. Applicable market loss repayments will be determined based on the following:

5.1. Customer Purchase Transactions

In the event a Customer Purchase Transaction is cancelled (whether by the Customer or by Kitco for failure to receive payment in full within payment deadlines, as stipulated above), market loss repayments may be applicable. This fee is calculated based on whether there has been a decrease in the price of the Precious Metals (market loss) from the time the price is confirmed for a submitted transaction to the time a transaction is cancelled.

For Customer Purchase Transactions cancelled by Kitco due to non-payment, market loss repayments will be calculated using the LBMA PM gold price, LBMA PM platinum price, LBMA PM palladium price or the LBMA silver price on the day that the payment deadline expires. For transactions involving rhodium, market loss repayments will be calculated using Kitco's live spot price (plus applicable premiums) for rhodium on the day that the payment deadline expires.

For Customer Purchase Transactions which are cancelled by the Customer, market loss repayments will be calculated using Kitco's live spot price at the time a cancellation request is submitted.

Decrease in Price of Precious Metals

In the event of a decrease in the price of Precious Metals, the market loss repayment will be equivalent to the difference between the original value of the Customer Purchase Transaction and its value at the time of cancellation.

Increase in Price of Precious Metals

In the event of an increase in the price of Precious Metals, no market loss repayment will be applicable.

5.2. Customer Sale Transactions and Scrap Metal Transactions

In the event a Customer Sale Transaction or a Scrap Metal Transaction is cancelled, whether by the Customer or by Kitco, market loss repayments may be applicable. This fee is calculated based on whether there has been an increase in the price of Precious Metals from the time a transaction is submitted and the price confirmed to the time a transaction is cancelled.

Customer Sale Transactions for Precious Metal Bullion or Scrap Metal Transactions will be cancelled in ten (10) Business Days, if product is not received by one of our depositories. Customer must expedite shipment of any product included in their Customer Sale Transaction or their Scrap Metal Transaction within one (1) Business Day of the date the price is confirmed.

For Customer Sale Transactions or Scrap Metal Transactions cancelled by Kitco, market loss repayments will be calculated using the LBMA PM gold price, LBMA PM platinum price, LBMA PM palladium price or the LBMA silver price on the day that the deadline for receiving Precious Metal Bullion or Scrap Metal expires. For transactions involving rhodium, market loss repayments will be calculated using Kitco's live spot price for rhodium on the day the deadline for receiving Precious Metal Bullion or Scrap Metal expires.

Increase in Price of Precious Metals

In the event of an increase in the price of Precious Metals, the market loss repayment will be equivalent to the difference between the original value of the Customer Sale Transaction or Scrap Metal Transaction and its value at the time of cancellation.

Decrease in Price of Precious Metals

In the event of a decrease in the price of Precious Metals, no market loss repayment will be applicable.

5.3. Cancellation at the Customer's Request

Transactions may be cancelled at the Customer's request, provided payment has not been received or settlement has not been issued in full. Should the Customer request a cancellation, the above cancellation policy will be considered in effect. Fees will be calculated based on Kitco's live spot price for the product being cancelled at the time a cancellation request is submitted. Customers must submit all requests for cancellation by telephone only.

5.4. Materials Sent Different from Those for Which Prices were Confirmed

Should the amount or product received by Kitco differ from that for which prices were confirmed by Customer, any deficit amount will be treated as a cancellation and the above cancellation policy will be considered in effect. Market loss repayments will be calculated using the LBMA PM gold price, LBMA PM platinum price, LBMA PM palladium price or the LBMA silver price on the day the deficit is discovered. For transactions involving rhodium, market loss repayments will be calculated using Kitco's live spot price for rhodium on the day the deficit is discovered.

Increase in Price of Precious Metals

In the event of an increase in the price of Precious Metals, the market loss repayment will be equivalent to the difference between the original confirmed price of the Customer Sale Transaction or the Scrap Metal Transaction and the price on the date the deficit is discovered by Kitco, multiplied by the number of pure ounces of which the Customer's package was deficient.

Decrease in Price of Precious Metals

In the event of a decrease in the price of Precious Metals, no market loss repayment will be applicable.

5.5. Unauthorized Sale Transaction Request

In the event that a Customer Sale Transaction is initiated when the Customer did not request the transaction, the Customer must notify Kitco immediately upon being made aware of the request so that Kitco may begin examination of the claim without delay. In the event that Kitco determines that the Customer Sale Transaction was unauthorized, the market loss repayments will be waived.

6. Fees

Kitco may charge the fees and premiums to the Customer in relation, but not limited to, Precious Metal Bullion, Precious Metal Products, Scrap Metal Transactions and other services. Such fees, which are subject to change from time to time, are set out in the Schedule of Fees and the amounts are posted on the Kitco Online Store (which fees shall be subject to change from time to time). Unless otherwise specified, all fees stated are in both US and Canadian Dollars. A transaction placed in British Pounds or Euros will be converted based on the US Dollar exchange rate at the time the transaction is submitted.

6.1. Administrative and Storage Fees

6.1.1. Kitco Pool

An administrative fee in the amounts posted on the Kitco Online Store from time to time (which fees shall be subject to change) will be charged to Customers for all purchase and/or sale transactions that involve Kitco Pool. This includes transactions in which Kitco Pool is purchased or sold in combination with Precious Metal Bullion. The administrative fee is calculated/quoted in USD for U.S. dollar transactions, in CAD for Canadian dollar transactions and in USD equivalents for transactions in all other currencies.

6.1.2. Kitco VaultChain TM

Kitco VaultChainTM accounts may be subject to an applicable account opening fee, administrative fees and annual storage fees in the amounts posted on the Kitco Online Store from time to time (which fees shall be subject to change). Applicable Kitco VaultChainTM account fees will be charged to Customers upon the opening of a Kitco VaultChainTM account and annually thereafter. Kitco VaultChainTM account annual storage fees will be pro-rated on a quarterly basis based on the number of quarters having elapsed in a given calendar year at the time of initial Kitco VaultChainTM purchase and annually thereafter. The account opening fee, administrative fees and storage fees are calculated/quoted in USD for U.S. dollar transactions, in CAD for Canadian dollar transactions and in USD equivalents for transactions in all other currencies.

6.1.3. Returned Check

An administrative fee will be charged to Customer if a check (of any kind), bank draft or money order that Customer has sent to Kitco has been returned. This includes, but is not limited to, checks returned due to fraud, NSF (Non-Sufficient Funds) in Customer's account, ACL (Account Closed) or CNT (Cannot Trace).

6.1.4. Transaction Cancellations

In addition to applicable market loss repayments, transactions cancelled pursuant to Section 5 will be subject to an administrative fee in the amounts posted on the Kitco Online Store from time to time (which fees shall be subject to change).

6.1.5. Changes to Delivery Address

An administrative fee in the amounts posted on the Kitco Online Store from time to time (which fees shall be subject to change), will be charged in the event the Customer wishes to make any changes to the delivery address for the Purchase Transaction. Any request for change is subject to Kitco's approval and Kitco reserves the right to refuse the Customer's request for any reason.

6.1.6. Undeliverable Packages

An administrative fee in the amounts posted on the Kitco Online Store from time to time (which fees shall be subject to change), will be charged to Customer in the event that Customer's Precious Metal Bullion is bought back by Kitco as a result of said Precious Metal Bullion being returned as undeliverable, further to Section 7 herein.

6.2. Fabrication Fees

The Customer may request a conversion from Cleared Kitco Pool or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM to any corresponding Precious Metal Bullion product. In these cases, a fabrication fee may be applicable. Said fee may vary, depending on the physical product the Customer requests. Shipping and insurance fees (as outlined in sub-section 6.3), or pick-up fees (as outlined in sub-section 6.4), may be incurred.

6.3. Shipping and Insurance Fees

Should the Customer request that Kitco arrange for shipping or delivery of Precious Metal Bullion, or should the Customer request or Kitco be required to return any Precious Metal Bullion or Scrap Metal back to the Customer, shipping and insurance fees will be applicable. Quotes for shipping and insurance fees will be provided during the transaction process based on the value of the shipment, the type of products being shipped, the shipping method and the shipping destination. Taxes may apply to shipping and insurance fees. For Shipments outside of continental United States and Canada, standard shipping rates may not apply.

All shipments prepared by Customer for delivery to Kitco must be properly packaged and labeled in order to accelerate processing times and ensure the safe arrival of Customer packages. Detailed shipping and packaging instructions can be found on Kitco's Online Store. Failure to properly package and label shipments sent to Kitco may result in the insurer rendering insurance coverage void.

6.3.1. Large Shipments

For certain large shipments, standard shipping and insurance rates may not apply. Large shipments may include (without limitation) orders over $100,000.00 in value, order containing 100 oz / 400 oz gold bars, monster boxes or orders over 700 oz in total weight. For large shipments, a quote for shipping and insurance fees will be provided by Kitco on a case-by-case basis.

Furthermore, Kitco may recommend or require shipment via armored vehicle, which will require delivery to a business, bank, or depository service. If applicable, the Customer is responsible for all shipping and insurance costs for armored vehicle service.

6.4. Pick-up and Drop-off Fees

Should the Customer submit a Purchase Transaction or convert to Precious Metal Bullion and pick-up at one of Kitco's depositories, a pick-up fee may be applicable, dependent on location. Furthermore, a fee may be charged to Customers who drop off items at one of Kitco's depositories in relation to a Customer Sale Transaction, dependent on location. Such fees will be charged based on the amounts posted on the Kitco Online Store from time to time (which fees shall be subject to change)

6.5. Melt & Assay Fees

If a Kitco representative can test Customer's Scrap Metal with a scratch test, there will be no processing fees. However, if determined that a melt and/ or assay are required, Kitco will contact Customer before proceeding to advise the Customer of fees and processing times.

6.6. Handling Fees for Testing Scrap Metal

In addition to applicable market loss repayments and the administrative fee described in Section 6.1.3, Customers who confirm a price with Kitco and then decide to not sell the Scrap Metal after it has been tested, will be charged a handling fee of $70 (USD for U.S. dollar transactions, in CAD for Canadian dollar transactions and in USD equivalents for transactions in all other currencies). Said handling fee shall also apply should Customer simply send Scrap Metal to Kitco for testing without completing a Scrap Metal Transaction.

6.7. Taxes and Duties

Should the Customer request delivery of Precious Metal Bullion or should any package be returned to a location outside the United States or Canada, taxes and duties, including Value Added Taxes (VATs), may be applicable, depending on the country of import. The Customer, in agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, acknowledges that any taxes or duties, including VATs, will be the sole responsibility of the Customer and Kitco will not be held liable for any fees.

6.8. Sales Tax

Unless otherwise indicated in this Agreement, all fees quoted herein and on Kitco's Online Store are exclusive of sales tax. Applicable sales tax will be added to Customer's Purchase Transaction depending on Customer's delivery address. For more information, please contact Kitco.

Undeliverable or Refused Packages

In the event that a Customer has asked Kitco to arrange for delivery of Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products and that said Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products returned to Kitco for any reason, including, without limitation that the package has been deemed by the carrier to be undeliverable or are refused by the recipient, Kitco will promptly notify the Customer in order to obtain further shipping instructions. Once instructions have been received from the Customer, Kitco will arrange for the Customer's Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products to be re-shipped and shipping and insurance fees will be applicable as described in Section 6.3.

Instructions regarding the re-shipment of returned Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products must be received from the Customer no later than ten (10) Business Days from the date on which the Customer was notified by Kitco of the return.

Should the Customer fail to contact Kitco regarding re-shipment of the Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products, or if Kitco is unable to arrange for re-shipment of the returned Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products within the deadline specified herein, Kitco will proceed to buy back said Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products. In these cases, an administrative fee will apply, as described in Section 6.1.

Precious Metal Bullion will be bought back by Kitco using the LBMA PM gold price, LBMA PM platinum price, LBMA PM palladium price or the LBMA silver price on the date that the deadline for receiving shipping instructions from the Customer expires, plus applicable premiums. For transactions involving rhodium, the price used will be Kitco's live spot price for rhodium on the day the deadline for receiving shipping instructions from the Customer expires, plus applicable premiums.

Proceeds from the sale of returned Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products will be deposited as funds on Customer's Kitco Account, less any applicable fees.

7. Exchange Policy

Customer may ask for the exchange of any Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products purchased from Kitco in the event that the Customer is unsatisfied with said products. Customer must notify Kitco by telephone of their desire to exchange their product(s) within three (3) Business Days of having received said product(s) from Kitco. Products must be returned in their original packaging and all shipping and insurance costs for incoming and outgoing shipments shall be at the expense of the Customer.

All requests for exchange are subject to Kitco's approval and Kitco reserves the right to reject a Customer's request for exchange for any reason including, without limitation, lack of availability of the Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products in question. Additional costs may be applicable in case of an exchange for a product with a higher premium.

8. Return Policy

Customer may ask to return any Precious Metal Bullion or Precious Metal Products purchased from Kitco in the event that the Customer is unsatisfied with said products. All returns will be purchased from Customer as a Sale Transaction as outlined in Section 3.3 less any applicable market loss repayment.

9. Right to Withholding and Compensation (Set-off)

To secure the payment or repayment of any sums payable by Customer to Kitco, including, without limitation, for transactions, market loss repayments, account opening fees, administrative fees, storage fees, or any other account or transaction-related fees, Customer undertakes to maintain and consents that Kitco withholds cleared funds on Customer's Kitco Account, Precious Metal Products, Cleared Kitco Pool or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM, in an amount corresponding to those funds needed to confirm a price for Customer transactions, as described in Section 3. Kitco may withhold said funds on Customer's Kitco Account, Cleared Kitco Pool or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM until full payment has been received.

In case of cancellation of a transaction or non-payment by Customer of any amounts due and payable to Kitco pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, Kitco may, subject to applicable laws and the terms of this Agreement (including in the case of overdue amounts Section 13.1), in its discretion and without notice to Customer, set-off or compensate any amounts that Customer owes to Kitco against any of the cleared funds or other assets in Customer's Kitco Account including but not limited to cleared funds, Precious Metal Products, Cleared Kitco Pool and/or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM.

To the extent allowable by applicable law, Kitco may enforce its rights under this Section 9 by: (a) using any cleared funds in a Kitco Account to satisfy such outstanding amounts; or (b) disposing of any assets held in a Kitco Account including but not limited to balances of Precious Metal Products, Cleared Kitco Pool or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM to satisfy such outstanding amounts. In the event that Kitco disposes of any of the assets held in the Customer's Kitco Account in accordance with its rights under this Section 9, then, after deducting all unpaid amounts due and owing to Kitco plus any and all costs of administration, including any costs associated with storing, disposing and reselling the assets, and any other charges, fees and expenses Kitco may incur in disposing of the assets and enforcing its rights hereunder. Kitco shall remit the remaining balance, if any, of the proceeds of such disposition to the Customer.

Customer acknowledges and agrees that it will reimburse Kitco for all reasonable costs incurred by Kitco (including legal fees) in connection with the collection of any amounts owed by Customer to Kitco.

10. Kitco Pool

As defined in the present Agreement, Kitco Pool is comprised of unallocated precious metal deposits purchased through Kitco. Kitco Pool may consist of precious metals in any form whatsoever, including, without limitation, bars, coins, and scrap metal. Precious metal deposits which form Kitco Pool shall remain the property of Customer holding Kitco Pool at all times and Kitco shall cause such precious metal deposits to be specifically identified and segregated at all times from coin, bullion and metal in any form whatsoever which belong to any other person or entity, including Kitco. These precious metal deposits belong to Customers who hold Kitco Pool and are available to said Customers at any time, subject to payment of related fees and the time necessary for fabrication and delivery. Kitco Pool is stored in secured depositories in various locations. Said depositories are chosen by Kitco at its sole discretion.

Customers holding Kitco Pool hereby authorize Kitco to perform any and all acts necessary for the administration of Kitco Pool on their behalf, including, without limitation, arranging for the insurance of Kitco Pool, storing and transferring unallocated metals from one depository to another and having scrap metal deposits refined.

A Customer owning Cleared Kitco Pool may request a conversion from Kitco Pool to the corresponding Precious Metal Bullion product. For conversions from Precious Metal Bullion to Kitco Pool, the Customer will be credited with the exact ounce amount of the product converted.

11. Kitco VaultChain TM

As defined in the present Agreement, Kitco VaultChainTM is comprised of unallocated gold and silver deposits purchased through Kitco for which the chain of title is recorded in a blockchain distributed ledger maintained by TradeWind Markets, Inc. Kitco VaultChainTM may consist of precious metals in any form whatsoever, including, without limitation, bars, coins, and scrap metal. Precious metal deposits that form Kitco VaultChainTM shall remain the property of Customer holding Kitco VaultChainTM at all times. These precious metal deposits belong to Customers who hold Kitco VaultChainTM and are available to said Customers at any time, subject to payment of related fees and the time necessary for fabrication and delivery. The Royal Canadian Mint securely stores Kitco VaultChainTM.

Customers holding Kitco VaultChainTM hereby authorize Kitco to perform any and all acts necessary for the administration of Kitco VaultChainTM on their behalf, including, without limitation, arranging for the insurance of Kitco VaultChainTM.

A Customer owning Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM may request a conversion from Kitco VaultChainTM to the corresponding Precious Metal Bullion product. For conversions from Precious Metal Bullion to Kitco VaultChainTM, the Customer will be credited with the exact ounce amount of the product converted, in accordance with clause 6.2 of this present Agreement.

12. Melt Loss of Scrap Metal

Testing and refining Scrap Metal will result in a decrease in the gross weight of said materials due to the burning process in which impurities such as alloys are eliminated. A decrease in weight may also occur as gemstones, enamel or other imbedded metals are separated and retained in borax. While the average loss in purely metallic material (without gemstones) is approximately 1%, this will increase if Customer's Scrap Metal includes gemstones or other non-precious metal content. Dental Scrap Metal such as gold filings may lose up to 30% of their weight, depending on the amount of contamination present in said materials. To aid in melting of substances containing palladium or platinum, copper may need to be added to melts. In such cases, the melt loss is difficult to estimate and will vary from cases to case.

13. Remedies

In the event that Customer is in default of any of its obligations under this Agreement, Kitco shall immediately have the option, in its sole discretion, in addition to any other rights which it may have at law or in equity and without any further notice to the Customer, to exercise any of the remedies specified under this Agreement.

13.1. Overdue Amounts

In the event that Customer fails to pay any amount due and owing at any time to Kitco in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, Kitco may provide Customer with written notice detailing the failure to pay and Kitco's intention to dispose of the Customer's Precious Metal Products (including Cleared Kitco Pool and/or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM balances) if the failure is not remedied within sixty (60) days following the delivery of such notice. In the event that Customer fails to remedy its failure pay such outstanding amounts in full within said sixty (60) day period, Kitco shall be entitled to dispose of the Precious Metal Products (including Cleared Kitco Pool and/or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM balances) in its sole and entire discretion, without further notice or delay. In the event that Kitco sells the Customer's Precious Metal Products (including Cleared Kitco Pool and/or Cleared Kitco VaultChainTM balances) in accordance with its rights hereunder, as are more specifically set out in Section 9 above.

13.2. Inability to Perform

In the event that:

(i) either Kitco or Customer fails to perform any material obligation pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and does not cure such failure within thirty (30) days after the receipt of written notice thereof from the other party,

(ii) either Kitco or Customer shall be dissolved or adjudged bankrupt, or a trustee, receiver or conservator of such party or its property shall be appointed, or an application for any of the foregoing is filed,

(iii) control of either Kitco or Customer is taken over by any government or other public authority, or

(iv) any government or governmental agency shall have taken any action which has materially adversely affected or will materially adversely affect a party's ability to perform any of its obligations hereunder, and such action shall not have been rescinded or modified, and the adverse effects thereof shall not have been eliminated, within thirty (30) days after written notice of such action shall have been given to the other party,

then this Agreement may be terminated at any time thereafter by Kitco or Customer upon written notice to the other party.

In the event of termination of this Agreement in accordance herewith, provided that there are no unpaid fess, charges or other amounts due to Kitco, Kitco shall promptly arrange for the delivery of all Precious Metal held for Customer in accordance with Customer's instructions.

14. Risk

14.1. Advice

Kitco has not offered or given and will not provide any investment advice in connection with any transaction and has not offered or given any opinion with respect to the suitability of any transaction made or which might be made by the Customer.

The Customer acknowledges, represents and warrants that Kitco has not offered or given any investment advice to Customer in connection with the products and services offered by Kitco. In addition, Kitco has not given Customer any opinion with respect to the suitability of any of its products or services for Customer.

14.2. Market Risk

Customers should carefully consider the suitability of Precious Metals as an investment choice before taking any decisions that may affect their financial situation. Precious Metal products and accounts are not insured by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation, Canadian Investor Protection Fund or other similar program and may lose value.

The purchase and sale of Precious Metals involves a high degree of risk and is not suitable for all persons. The purchase and sale of Precious Metals provides no guarantee of interest, yield or return. Losses may be incurred both as a result of price devaluation and if price gains do not exceed applicable fees, including those charged herein. The Customer has read and understands these Terms and Conditions and acknowledges that all risk of decline in the market value of any Precious Metals is the Customer's risk and not that of Kitco. If the Customer has any doubt as to the suitability of Precious Metals as an investment, the Customer should contact an independent legal or financial advisor.

15. Kitco's Rights

Kitco hereby reserves the following rights and the Customer acknowledges and agrees to the following:

 Kitco may adjust ASK and BID prices at any time without prior notice.

 Kitco may withdraw or limit the products or services provided by telephone, in person and on Kitco's Online Store, or may suspend the availability of Kitco's Online Store, or suspend the completion of transactions submitted to Kitco, without notice at any time.

 Kitco may cancel or reject any order at any time.

 Kitco may place limits on the amounts that may be offered for sale or the amounts that may be bought back by Kitco in any twenty-four (24) hour period.

 Kitco may terminate this Agreement at its sole discretion and may freeze an account or liquidate and close an account at any time for any reason including but not limited to the abuse of policy, criminal activity, circumvention of Kitco's web security services, and any other violation of these Terms and Conditions. If the Customer has Kitco Pool, Kitco will close the Customer's Kitco Account and liquidate any Kitco Pool holdings and send the Customer a check or bank wire as explained in sub-section 4.6 herein.

16. Limitation of Liability

Kitco hereby reserves the following rights and the Customer acknowledges and agrees to the following:

16.1. Capital Gains/Income Taxes

Kitco does not report any Customer transactions to the Internal Revenue Service or the Canada Revenue Agency; however, the purchase or sale of Precious Metals may be considered reportable as taxable income. It is the Customer's responsibility to contact a financial advisor for further information. Kitco will not be held liable for any capital gains or tax implications due to the purchase or sale of precious metals by the Customer.

16.2. Technical Issues

16.2.1. Electronic Order Entry Risk Disclosure and Disclaimer

Kitco specifically disclaims any liability or responsibility for orders placed via the Kitco online order entry system, for any losses, or direct, indirect, consequential or incidental damages, which the Customer may recognize or incur as a result of the use of the Kitco online order entry system. Further, Kitco specifically disclaims any liability for the interruption, cancellation or other termination of the Kitco online order entry system.

16.2.2. Negligence

All orders placed through the order entry system are taken on a best efforts basis. Kitco shall not be responsible for errors, negligence or inability to execute orders. Nor shall Kitco be responsible for any delays in the transmission, delivery or execution of Customer's order due to breakdown or failure of transmission or communication facilities, or to any other cause or causes beyond Kitco's reasonable control or anticipation.

16.2.3. Possible System Failure

Order entry systems have been designed to provide an efficient and dependable method for entering orders. Commercial internet service providers are not 100% reliable and a failure by one or more of these providers may affect internet based order entry. The Customer acknowledges that the order entry system is a mechanical system and as such may be subject to failure beyond the control of Kitco.

16.3. Internet Security

Kitco adheres to the highest security measures to ensure Customer data is protected against theft, loss, and corruption, and against the misuse and alteration of any Customer data stored on our servers. However, when a Customer accesses their account via a public or unsecured computer terminal or if a Customer chooses to share their account username and password ("Electronic Identification Information"), Kitco cannot guarantee the security of account data.

Sensitive communication between the Customer and Kitco's online store is always protected via encryption while in transit, using the SSL encryption standard. However, the Customer should be aware that Kitco has no control over the privacy of Customer e-mail communications with us. We highly recommend that Customers not include private and sensitive information in e-mails to Kitco, including, but not limited to, account numbers, balances, passwords, Electronic Identification Information, etc. Kitco will not be held liable for any damages suffered by Customers should they transmit confidential or sensitive information to us through e-mail.

Information provided on Kitco's website is not intended to provide legal, accounting, or tax advice, and should not be relied upon in that regard. Kitco is not responsible in any manner for direct, indirect, special or consequential damages howsoever caused, arising out of the use of its website.

16.4. Indemnification

Except as otherwise expressly provided, Kitco shall not be liable for any loss or damage, whether direct or indirect, resulting from the transactions contemplated by these Terms and Conditions.

Kitco shall not be liable under any circumstances whatsoever for special, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive losses or damages (including lost profits or lost savings), whether or not caused by the fault or neglect of Kitco and whether or not Kitco had knowledge that such losses or damages might be incurred.

The limitations and exclusions in this clause shall apply to all claims of whatsoever nature, kind and description, whether arising from breach of contract, delay or non-delivery of services, negligence or otherwise.

16.5. Force Majeure

Kitco shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder due to fire, computer viruses, network failure, computer hardware failure, explosion, flood, lightning, act of terrorism, war, rebellion, riot, sabotage, orders or requests of any government or any other authority, legislative changes, strikes, lockouts or other labor disputes, or events or circumstances beyond its reasonable control, but Kitco shall use commercially reasonable endeavors to minimize dangers or losses to the Customer as a consequence of such events.

16.6. Joint Accounts

For joint accounts with Kitco, Kitco is authorized to act on the instructions of either one of the named Customers, without further enquiry with regard to any and all transactions in any way related to the joint account and the disposition, transfer, deposit or withdrawal of any amount or of any or all of the funds or Kitco Pool held in the joint account. Kitco shall have no responsibility or obligation for further enquiry into such apparent authority, and shall bear no liability and disclaims all responsibility for the consequences of any acts or omissions made in reliance upon such instructions.

17. Customer Obligation and Liability

17.1. Ownership and Authority

Customer hereby warrants that it is either the owner or the authorized agent of the owner of any Precious Metal Bullion or Scrap Metal sent or brought to Kitco for the purpose of a Customer Sale Transaction or a Scrap Metal Transaction. Customer further warrants that it is authorized to accept and is accepting the terms of this Agreement not only for itself but also as agent for or on behalf of all other parties who have or may hereafter have any interest in said Precious Metal Bullion or Scrap Metal.

17.2. Compliance and Due Diligence

The Customer is responsible for complying with all laws of the jurisdiction from which the Customer accesses the Kitco Website or receives the services described herein, and the Customer shall at all times be solely responsible for obtaining any authorizations required by any authoritative body in such jurisdiction.

The Customer has carried out reasonable due diligence to ensure that the purchase and sale of Precious Metals as provided under these Terms and Conditions is not contrary to any laws or regulations of the Customer's governing jurisdiction, and that the acceptance of these Terms and Conditions by the Customer and the entering into of a Customer Purchase Transaction or Customer Sale Transaction or Scrap Metal Transaction is not contrary to any federal, provincial, state or any other law or regulation applicable to the Customer.

17.3. Protection of Electronic Identification Information

It is the Customer's obligation to ensure that its Electronic Identification Information is kept secret. The Customer agrees to keep their Electronic Identification Information and all components thereof secret and safe to prevent unauthorized use.

17.4. Notification

If a Customer believes that any transaction or balance recorded in their account is incorrect, the Customer must contact Kitco immediately to notify Kitco of suspected unauthorized use of Customer's Electronic Identification Information. Customers are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information displayed in their account, howsoever accessed. Kitco will not be held liable should a Customer fail to disclose any unauthorized use of Electronic Identification Information and Customer's Kitco Accounts.

17.5. Customer Liability

Kitco will be under no obligation to confirm the actual identity or authority of any user of the Electronic Identification Information or any component thereof.

The Customer will not be responsible for any unauthorized use of Electronic Identification Information occurring after notifying Kitco of the suspected unauthorized use as indicated in sub-section 15.4 above.

The Customer represents and warrants to Kitco that any funds or Precious Metals advanced, remitted or sold by the Customer to Kitco in connection with a Customer Account, a Customer Sale Transaction and/or a Customer Purchase Transaction will not represent proceeds of crime for the purposes of the PCMLA Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (Canada) (the "PCMLTFA"). The Customer further represents and warrants to Kitco that none of the funds provided by the Customer to Kitco: (i) have been or will be derived from or related to any activity that is deemed criminal under the laws of Canada, the United States, or any other jurisdiction; or (ii) are being tendered on behalf of a person or entity other than the Customer, and the Subscriber will promptly notify Kitco if the Customer discovers that any of such representations cease to be true and provide Kitco with appropriate information in connection therewith;

18. Intellectual Property, Trademarks, Logos

All of the intellectual property rights including without limitation trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyright and other rights used or embodied in this website are and will remain the sole property of Kitco (or its suppliers where applicable).

All information and material supplied by Kitco, constitutes part of Kitco's confidential and proprietary information and no Customer participating in any of its programs may reproduce, copy or disclose such information without the prior written consent of Kitco.

No party accessing this website may attempt to tamper with, modify, reverse engineer, gain unauthorized access to, or in any way alter any software used in Kitco's programs or comprising Kitco's website.

19. Miscellaneous

19.1. Insolvency

In the event: (i) that a receiver or trustee is appointed in respect of the property and assets of the Customer as a result of the latter's insolvency or bankruptcy, and (ii) that Kitco is requested by the receiver or trustee to remit any Customer holdings, the receiver or trustee will direct any Customer holding liquidation requests to Kitco. Any inquiries by the said trustee or receiver regarding the present Agreement between the Customer and Kitco shall be directed to Kitco.

19.2. Death of Customer

19.2.1. Individual Account

In the event of Customer death, Kitco will require full documentation of the Customer's estate, including a copy of a death certificate, will or trust documentation, and any probate information if applicable. Upon confirmation of a Customer death, Kitco will freeze the Customer's account and act in accordance with the conditions set out in the Customer's will, or as instructed by the trustee of the Customer's estate. It is the sole responsibility of the Customer to ensure that such documentation will be provided for in the event of death.

19.2.2. Joint Account

Except for accounts where either of the Customers in a joint account with Kitco resides in the Province of Quebec, in the event of death of any one of the named Customers, the deceased Customer's interest in the Account will pass automatically to the surviving Customer.

It is agreed that in the event of death of one of the named Customers, the surviving Customer shall immediately give Kitco written notice thereof, and Kitco may require such papers, retain such portion and/or take any measures it deems advisable, including restricting transactions or liquidating the joint account, to protect itself against any tax, liability, penalty or loss under any applicable laws. The estate of the deceased Customer and the surviving Customer shall continue to be liable, jointly and severally, to Kitco for any obligation incurred prior to Kitco's receipt of written notice of the death of such Customer or for any loss, damage or costs incurred by Kitco, including reasonable attorney fees, in any dispute between the estate of a deceased Customer, the surviving Customer or a third party.

19.3. Changes to Terms and Conditions

Kitco reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions, any applicable fees and charges, or any services, rights or obligations provided for herein at its sole discretion, at any time, without prior notice to the Customer. Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions is limited to the acknowledged transaction and is not applicable to any future transactions. The Customer will be responsible for accepting the Terms and Conditions for every subsequent transaction.

19.4. Applicable Law

This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws applicable in the Province of Quebec and the laws of Canada applicable therein. The Parties hereby irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the province of Quebec in respect of all matters or disputes arising from the Agreement, except as otherwise specifically stated herein.

19.5. Binding Effect

This Agreement is binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors, heirs, legal representative and permitted assigns.

19.6. Severability

In the event that any provision in this Agreement is determined to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such determination shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other remaining provisions of this Agreement.

19.7. Language

The parties hereto have expressly required that this agreement and all deeds, documents or notices relating thereto be executed in the English language. Les parties aux presentes ont expressement convenu que cette entente et tout autre acte, document ou avis y afferent soient rediges en anglais.

19.8. Privacy

Kitco respects your privacy. Our privacy policy is available at: https://online.kitco.com/help/privacy_policy.html
Digital Marketing  Women More Satisfied Than Men, Chinese Most Satisfied

Q4 Northwestern University and Performics Digital Satisfaction Index (DSI) Measures Online Consumer Satisfaction in the U.S., Germany & China



 Digital Satisfaction Index measures consumer attitudes, perceptions of online marketing

 Major factors driving consumer digital satisfaction: trust, utility, social and privacy

 Among key findings: Women are more satisfied with consumer experience than men

EVANSTON, Ill.- December 12, 2016  A pioneering research partnership between Medill Integrated Marketing Communications(IMC) and Performics Worldwide has released its latest study, assessing and comparing how online shoppers in the U.S., Germany and China rate their online interactions with major brands.

The Digital Satisfaction Index (DSI), released quarterly by their collaboration, the Intent Lab, offers a research-driven global tool to better understand consumers online behavior.

Key insights of the fall quarter DSI reportthe second issued by the Intent Lab since its inceptioninclude findings that Chinese consumers are the most satisfied, due in large part to online social engagement; Germany excels in privacy and trust; privacy is a deal breaker in the U.S.; women are more satisfied than men and baby boomers are least satisfied (see more below).

The quarterly Digital Satisfaction Index gives us a consistent benchmark on how consumers perceive their interactions with brands, websites and apps, said Frank Mulhern, professor and associate of Medills (IMC) program. The Index also gives us unique insight into what matters most to consumers. For instance, social interactivity holds special importance to consumers in China, while trust is critical in Germany.

The research illustrates how important consumer feedback is to brand success, said Michael Kahn, CEO of Performics Worldwide and Global Performance Practice Lead, Publicis Media.

The DSI report makes it clear that brands seeking a satisfaction boost should allocate resources to utility firstfine-tuning landing pages, streamlining experiences, aligning user experience with consumer intent and eradicating user hurdles, Kahn said. But beyond utility, U.S. brands, in particular, continue to lag in creating user comfort around data collection practices.

All brands should look to create more social interactivity, which powered Chinese satisfaction in this latest study, Kahn added. Community feedback is integral in the consumer purchase journey, and sites that excel in social integration can separate themselves from the pack.

To construct the DSI, Northwestern and Performics conducted in-person consumer interviews, surveys with probabilistic and non-probabilistic samples of more than 3,000 participants throughout spring of 2016, and identified the four key needs that impact consumer satisfaction: Trust (need for consistency), Utility (need for efficiency), Social (need for connection) and Privacy (need for safety).

Across both Q3 and Q4 of the DSI, the researchers consistently observed that in every intent-momenta moment where consumers have a want or need that brands can satisfyconsumer satisfaction is dependant on these four factors. However, based on the vertical and market, the priority of these needs can change.

The overall DSI score, based on a 100-point scale, indicates how satisfied users are with these four primary factors, weighted by their importance to respondents.

The full report provides insights into why the online experience of consumers in the U.S., China and Germany differ so significantly. One major driver is the varying degree of digital literacy among survey respondents.

Its important to keep in mind that a major driver to digital satisfaction for consumers is digital literacy, which can vary with age and education, said Ashlee Humphreys, principal researcher for the Intent Lab. Marketers need to keep in mind that not all consumers are equally savvy and can easily become frustrated and overwhelmed. This impacts their perceptions of utility dramatically, which are most important in determining satisfaction.

Among the findings:

  Privacy Is a Deal-Breaker in the U.S.: The U.S. scored an overall Q4 DSI of 61.3. While U.S. users were relatively satisfied with brand Utility and Social interactions, they were dissatisfied with Privacy. (30.3 U.S. Privacy DSI vs. 41.9 in China and 44.7 in Germany). In particular, U.S. Gen Xers had high privacy concerns. The U.S. score is higher this quarter than last quarter by a statistically significant margin. This is because Utility and Social, which people rate very positively, were viewed as being more important than in the previous quarter.

  Chinese Consumers are the Most Satisfied: China scored a 69.7 DSI, outranking Germany and the U.S. Chinese digital satisfaction was driven mainly by high scores in Utility and Social. In fact, Chinese sites excelled in Social satisfaction at 73.7 (vs. 61.9 in the U.S. and 60.3 in Germany), and Chinese consumers also placed more importance on social interactivity.

  Germany Excels in Privacy and Trust: German DSI (64.9) fell in the middle. While the DSI revealed potential for improvement, especially in Utility, German consumers were satisfied with Trust. And of the three nations, Germany scored the highest Privacy DSI. This is likely due to stronger EU privacy safeguards, like cookie opt-in consent, vs. other markets.

  Women More Satisfied than Men: In all three countries, women were more satisfied with their online experiences than men. This satisfaction was mainly driven by the Social factor.

  Baby Boomers Least Satisfied: While Millennials (aged 18-35) and Gen-Xers (36-51) aligned in terms of digital satisfaction, baby boomers (52-70) were the least satisfied generation, especially in China.

About Performics

As the original performance marketing agency, Performics converts consumer intent into revenue for the worlds most admired brands. Across an expansive global network operating in 57 countries, Performics creates connected and personalized digital experiences across paid, owned and earned media. RECMA recognized Performics as one of its Top Digital Agency Networks. Headquartered in Chicago, Performics is a Publicis Media company. To learn more, visit www.performics.com.

About Northwestern University Medill School

Medill, a leader in education since 1921, offers programs in journalism and integrated marketing communications that combine enduring skills and values with new techniques and knowledge that are essential to thrive in todays digital world. Medill has a long-standing reputation for academic excellence. As the media industry experiences unprecedented change, Medill leads the way. The schools graduate and undergraduate programs are educating a new generation of multimedia journalists and integrated marketing communications professionals who are not only thriving in this evolving media landscape but also helping to shape it.

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Brazilian President Michel Temer said Tuesday he has received US President-elect Donald Trump's support for controversial austerity reforms in Latin America's biggest economy.

In a "friendly and positive" phone conversation, the incoming US president and his Brazilian counterpart agreed there should be a "pro-growth" agenda" between their countries, the Brazilian presidency said in a statement.

"Temer said that businessmen from the two countries know each other well and want to increase business," his office said. "He emphasized Brazil's interest in having more US investments."

Temer flagged what he said was support from the Republican president-elect for Brazil's austerity measures, which include a 20-year spending freeze approved by the Senate on Tuesday and plans to raise the retirement age.

Trump "congratulated Temer for reforms and measures to promote growth in Brazil," the statement said.

Sixty percent of Brazilians oppose the austerity package, according to a new poll, and the spending cap was denounced by a UN expert last week as "a historic mistake."

Brazil is in a deep recession and has seen its foreign credit ratings reduced to junk status. Temer has warned that without deep reforms, the country faces bankruptcy.
The RBI official had done the conversion in connivance with a State Bank of Mysore bank branch.

By India Today Web Desk: A Senior Special Assistant employed with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Bengaluru was arrested by the CBI today for money laundering and helping in the exchange of black money into white.

Sources in the RBI said the officer named K Michael was arrested by the CBI along with two others for his involvement in converting Rs 1.51 crore of black money.

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"K. Michael, a Senior Special Assistant in the Issue Department of RBI's regional office, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in conversion of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes worth Rs 6 lakh into Rs 100 notes at the State Bank of Mysore's (SBM) Kollegal branch in Chamrajpet district," said the official on anonymity.

Kollegal is 145 km from Bengaluru in Karnataka's southwest region.

Michael's arrest comes a week after the CBI on December 6 registered a case against the bank branch's senior cashier Parashivamurthy for allegedly laundering Rs 1.51 crore of new currency in exchange for old currency after the government demonetised those on November 8.

ALSO READ: Jaipur bank CEO goes missing after IT raid, Rs 1.56 crore seized

"As the Kollegal branch is SBM's currency chest, large amounts of new notes in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 were kept with lower-value notes for distribution to the bank's branches and state treasury offices in the district," pointed out the official.

Michael's name figured when CBI sleuths interrogated Parashivamurthy in the money laundering case.

"Coincidentally, Michael was at Kollegal on the day of demonetisation (November 8) to refill the currency chest with fresh stock and helped the bank's cashier convert the old notes for Rs 100 notes without proper documentation," said the official.

Michael's arrest came shortly after the CBI today arrested alleged hawala operator KV Veerendra in connection with seizure of Rs 5.70 crore of new currency notes of Rs 2000 denomination from his premises in Karanataka.

The agency has also registered a case against the officials of four banks - State Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

ALSO READ: Delhi: Lawyer watches own house getting raided on phone, Rs 2.62 crore found in new notes

ALSO WATCH

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The EU said Tuesday it would open no new areas in Turkey's membership talks in the "prevailing circumstances" because of concerns about Ankara's post-coup crackdown. Austria however refused to sign the statement because it wants a complete freeze of Turkey's long-stalled process for joining the 28-member bloc, including negotiations that are currently underway. "Under the currently prevailing circumstances, no new chapters are considered for opening," said the statement by the European Union presidency, which is currently held by Slovakia. A "chapter" is a specific area of negotiations in the membership talks, on issues ranging from human rights to economic cooperation. The development is likely to further strain EU ties with Turkey in the wake of the government's mass arrests and purges following the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July. It comes despite a promise by the EU in March to prepare to open new chapters at an "accelerated pace" as part of a landmark deal with Ankara to tackle the migration crisis. The EU opened one new chapter in June, but this brings the tally to only 16 out of the 35 required for Muslim-majority Turkey to join the bloc. Only one chapter has been completed. - 'Step in right direction' - EU divisions were on show with Austria leading calls for the accession process to be halted altogether over Turkey's post-coup crackdown. The European Parliament last month also voted in favour of freezing the membership talks. After Austria refused to sign up to Tuesday's statement, the Slovak presidency said it "notes the absence of a consensus" but that there was an "overwhelming majority" on the course of action. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said that Turkey "is moving away from the EU" and that the Netherlands and Bulgaria backed Vienna's call for a complete freeze. "The text developed in the right direction, but it was not yet enough from my point of view," Kurz told reporters. But he said the statement is "definitely positive", adding: "New chapters cannot be opened. That is at least a step in the right direction." However, German Minister of State Michael Roth warned that "we shouldn't slam the doors in this difficult phase" despite "a regression" in the rule of law and media freedom in Turkey. But at the same time, he said: "There has to be a clear signal of the European Union to... the citizens in Turkey who share our European values." Turkey formally applied to become an EU member in 1987 and accession talks only began in 2005, even though Ankara's aspirations to become part of the bloc date back to the 1960s.
Iraqi twin brothers went on trial Tuesday in Finland over their alleged role in a 2014 massacre of up to 1,700 unarmed recruits by the Islamic State group in Iraq. The 24-year-old brothers, who came to Finland as asylum seekers in September 2015 and were arrested a few months later, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial began on Tuesday with procedural matters, and the defendants were not in the courtroom. The prosecution is seeking life in prison for the brothers' alleged role in the massacre of unarmed, mostly Shiite military recruits captured outside the Speicher military base in Tikrit. The highest estimates put the total number of executed cadets at 1,700. One of the two brothers is believed to appear in a propaganda video later released by the Islamic State group (IS), shooting dead at least 11 prisoners who had been forced to lay down in a hole on the ground for execution. The twins look so much alike that the prosecutor has been unable to identify which of the two may appear in the video, opting instead to charge them both for an unspecified number of murders. Deputy state prosecutor Raija Toiviainen said the murder charges covered the twin's active role in the massacre as a whole, for capturing and transporting the victims, all the while knowing it would result in their execution. "In the same way that if a murder takes place on the street in which several people participate, one by firing the gun and another one by holding the victim still for example... they can all be sentenced for murder," she explained to AFP. The twins have also been charged with committing a war crime for allegedly killing unarmed cadets, as well as for "aggravated assault with terrorist aims". One of the prosecution witnesses has claimed that the brothers, together with other IS fighters, captured and beat him up in his apartment and then took him by force to a former palace of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein where the assault continued. A life sentence in Finland usually consists of 14 years in prison before the prisoner is paroled.
Japan is postponing a summit with China and South Korea, the government said Tuesday, after the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye. The Asian powers were planning to hold an annual trilateral gathering this month in Japan, which is the rotating chair. South Korea's parliament voted Friday to impeach Park, who is engulfed in a scandal over her friendship with a long-time confidante charged with meddling in state affairs. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, while not directly mentioning Park's impeachment, said "various factors" were behind the decision. "We decided to re-arrange it and hold the summit at an appropriate time next year," he told reporters after a regular cabinet meeting. South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed the postponement, with a spokesperson in Seoul saying only that the three sides "had difficulty setting a date this year". China, meanwhile, said it was important to keep up the "momentum" of three-way cooperation. "We believe that the summit should be held when the timing and conditions are convenient for all three countries and should be able to reach positive outcomes," said Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesman. Park has been relieved of official duties as president and is awaiting a decision by the country's Constitutional Court -- a process that could take months -- on whether she will have to permanently step down. She has been replaced in the interim by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn. Leaders of the three countries met in November last year in South Korea, marking the first trilateral summit since 2012. The meetings had been on ice due largely to Tokyo's often thorny relations with Beijing and Seoul over territorial issues and history.
Macedonia's ruling conservatives edged a narrow victory against the opposition in a weekend election aimed at ending the Balkan country's instability, results showed on Monday. With votes counted at nearly 100 percent of polling stations the VMRO-DPMNE party of longtime ruler Nikola Gruevski had a narrow lead of 1.37 percent over the Social Democrats (SDSM). Late on Monday the electoral commission announced that the VMRO-DPMNE would have 51 MPs, two more than the SDSM. With the result so close, the political uncertainty that has plagued the nation looks set to continue, particularly as both the VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM had claimed victory on Sunday night. The main ethnic Albanian political force, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), which has long been the junior coalition partner of the rulers, came third with 10 seats and could provide the VMRO-DPMNE a very fragile parliamentary majority. Three more minor ethnic Albanian parties share remaining 10 seats. "This neck-and-neck situation proves one thing for sure, that the political crisis is far from over," Marko Troshanovski, head of the Institute for Democracy think-tank, said before the distribution of seats was known. "After the election we can expect another political crisis ... that will have to be solved in new parliamentary elections sooner or later," he told AFP. - Wiretapping scandal - Sunday's vote was called as part of a European Union-brokered deal between Macedonia's four main political parties after a mass wiretapping scandal erupted in February 2015 and sparked street protests. The turnout was higher than at previous elections, nearly 67 percent. Observers warned of some irregularities but no political party has complained about the electoral process or results so far. Wiretapping allegations led Gruevski of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party to step down from the premiership in January after nearly 10 years in power. The vote, which was twice delayed owing to international concerns over fraud, pitched the former prime minister against Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev. It was Zaev who released tapes last year that appeared to show the government had wiretapped thousands, including journalists and religious officials, as well as alleging high-level corruption. Gruevski denied the claims and accused Zaev of planning a coup with foreign support. Zaev, 42, has pitched the vote as a choice between "doom or life" and pledged to stop an exodus of young people from the former Yugoslav republic, which remains one of Europe's poorest countries. "Whoever wins the election will have huge challenges and issues to solve," Zaneta Trajkoska, director at the Institute of Communication Studies, told AFP. - Albanian kingmakers - Following the neck-and-neck results for the VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM, ethnic Albanian parties will likely play a key role as kingmakers, in a country where a quarter of the population is Albanian. Albanian insurgents fought Macedonian forces in an uprising 15 years ago, leading to an agreement giving the minority group more rights. Macedonia aspires to join both the EU and NATO but accession has been blocked by Athens owing to a dispute over the country's name -- Greece has a northern region also called Macedonia. The latest EU progress report on Macedonia said democracy and rule of law had been "constantly challenged" in particular by "state capture", referring to the considerable influence of private interests on state decisions. Analysts however suggest Europe has brushed aside concerns because of Gruevski's role as a "gatekeeper" in the refugee crisis -- hundreds of thousands of migrants have entered landlocked Macedonia from Greece on their way to western Europe. The refugee wave has put added pressure on the public purse in Macedonia, where the average net wage is around 360 euros ($380) a month and unemployment stands at nearly 24 percent.
A new high-speed rail link between Singapore and Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur signed Tuesday will slash travel times between the southeast Asian neighbours from over five hours by road to 90 minutes.

The 350-kilometre (217-mile) bullet-train line from the city-state to Kuala Lumpur will "transform" the way the two do business, the countries' leaders said at the deal signing in Malaysia's administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Singapore's leader Lee Hsien Loong described the rail link as a "marquee project" that will "transform the way we do business."

The price tag is not yet known but analyst estimates have been as high as $15 billion for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2026.

"I know people are excited about it," Malaysian leader Najib Razak said, adding the project would "open a new landscape in terms of bilateral relations".

Separated by the Straits of Johore, leaders have agreed to link the bullet-train line using a bridge.

The rail proposal has already sparked interest among major Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean rail firms.

But speculation has been mounting the Chinese have the inside track, which would be the latest sign of Beijing's rapidly growing economic clout in the region.
putin

The New York Times made a striking admission in a wide-ranging article on Tuesday about Russia's hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) during the 2016 election: The Times, and many other publications that jumped at the chance to report on emails stolen and posted to WikiLeaks, became "a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence."

The report, written by national security reporters Eric Lipton, David Sanger, and Scott Shane, goes deep into how Russia was able to burrow itself in the servers of the DNC, and how Democratic staffers and leadership struggled to get them out.

In June 2016, The Washington Post reported that two different hacker groups associated with the Russian government were found inside the DNC servers, and were subsequently kicked out by cybersecurity experts. But it was in Sep. 2015 that a warning came from an FBI agent who called the DNC, according to The Times, and told a tech support operator what the world would know many months later.

The operator, unsure of whether the FBI agent was legitimate or just a prank caller, seemingly shrugged off the warning. It was the first of several missteps for the DNC.

Soon after The Washington Post report on the hacking was published, a hacker calling himself "Guccifer 2.0" began publishing some of the stolen documents. Then WikiLeaks, and a new website called DCLeaks, published many more.

"There shouldn't be any doubt in anybody's mind," NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers said after the election. "This was not something that was done casually. This was not something that was done by chance. This was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily. This was a conscious effort by a nation-state to attempt to achieve a specific effect."

The hack, which was investigated by the FBI and the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, was linked to Russia through a lengthy technical analysis, which was detailed on the firm's blog. Former NSA research scientist Dave Aitel, who now leads another cybersecurity firm, has called the analysis "pretty dead on."

Story continues

Hillary Clinton

The hack of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta's private Gmail address was traced by cybersecurity researchers to hackers with Russia's foreign intelligence service, the GRU, because the group made an error during its campaign of "spear phishing" targets  tricking them into clicking on malicious links or give up their passwords. The researchers found that the group had targeted more than 100 email addresses that were associated with the Clinton campaign, according to The Times.

The Obama administration in October publicly accused Russia of being behind the hacks. Officials with the CIA recently admitted that they believed the intended goal of the hackers was to help Trump win the White House.

The major media, desperate for scoops and new stories, ran with the thousands of leaks that emerged, and published a wide array of stories that were often unflattering to Clinton.

Intrusions into political campaigns are not surprising: The Chinese government reportedly hacked both Obama and McCain in 2008, and hackers tried repeatedly to break into the campaign accounts of Obama and Romney in 2012.

Hackers working for foreign governments can gain valuable insight into a presidential candidate's mindset before they take office, or uncover private communications that might give their country a leg up in diplomatic negotiations. In 2008, for example, a letter Sen. John McCain sent to the president of Taiwan was intercepted by hackers from China

But the hacks during the 2016 election are unprecedented in that the data that was stolen was later made public by the perpetrators, in an effort to sway public opinion, as opposed to normal espionage.

NOW WATCH: Congressional leaders want an investigation into Russia's alleged interference with the US election, but Trump is unconvinced





More From Business Insider


Cohesity CEO Mohit Aron and employees

Cohesity

Cohesity CEO Mohit Aron (in blue tie-dye), and some engineering employees plus a family member on a celebratory trip in Hawaii

Cohesity is a storage startup that emerged from stealth just a year ago, founded by Mohit Aron, the cofounder and former CTO of Nutanix.

Cohesity is growing so fast, Aron just sent the entire company and their families on a thank-you trip to Maui, Hawaii.

The company has about 110 employees  so big that they had to break the thank-you holiday vacation trip into two parts. The 50-ish engineering employees plus their families are on the island now. Aron is with them, and sent us a few pictures.

The sales and marketing teams, consisting of about 60 employees plus families, are taking a separate trip in February.

Cohesity is trying to craft a new storage market called hyperconverged secondary storage.

At his former company, Nutanix helped pioneer the original hyperconverged market. Thats a device that stores data but also includes some computer power and networking and management software (known as virtualization). It allows companies to string devices together to grow their infrastructures really large, really fast, and more affordably than if they were using traditional storage.

Cohesity in Hawaii

Cohesity

More Cohesity engineers in Hawaii

Cohesity does a similar thing for all the massive amounts of data a company needs to keep thats less important. Its focused on backups/archives, file-shares, data for test/dev environments (the computers developers use to write and test apps), data for analytics apps, and so on.

Founded in 2013, the company has been selling its product for about a year. It has grown revenues by over 100% quarter over quarter for the past two quarters. In the third quarter, revenue jumped more than 150% from the previous quarter. It also doubled the total number of customers it has.

And thats what brought about the thank-you trip to Maui, the company tells us.

Story continues

Cohestiy has raised $70 million over two rounds of venture investment.

And Aron did well for himself when Nutanix finally went public in September, as he owned more than 8% of the company.

All in all, its been a good year for him.





The post This startup is growing so fast, the CEO just took the entire company and their families to Hawaii appeared first on Business Insider.
Liberia's president said Tuesday no deal has yet been reached by a heavyweight delegation for Yahya Jammeh to transition power to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who was declared the victor of a recent presidential election. A day of talks with Jammeh and Barrow yielded constructive conversations but no resolution. The situation was further complicated by Jammeh's political party filing a legal challenge to the result in the afternoon. "We come to help Gambians find their way through a transition. That's not something that can happen in one day. It's something that one has to work on," said Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, acting as the head of a delegation of four West African heads of state visiting the country. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama all flew in with Sirleaf in an attempt to find common ground between the two sides. The Liberian leader said Jammeh had "expressed some concerns" on the same day his party filed the petition with the country's Supreme Court. "The ECOWAS mission was here to meet with him to understand the status quo a bit better," Sirleaf added, referring to a West African regional bloc. The ECOWAS community would now consider the results of the visit on Saturday, she said. Nigeria's Buhari had said earlier the longtime ruler had been "receptive" to their pleas, but president-elect Barrow said the talks were in gridlock. "There has not been an agreement so far," said Barrow, who also met the delegation. The leader of the opposition described a "standoff" with the government. Referring to the court challenge filed by the ruling party, he said Jammeh "doesn't have the authority" to annul the result. The lack of a deal will come as a blow to the opposition, who had hoped Jammeh would leave power within a month under international pressure. That transition will be all the more complicated given the legal petition, seen by AFP, claimed the country's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had violated the law, that Barrow was not the elected president and the result was void. The ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) said it was not present when the IEC issued a recount on December 5, claimed there were irregularities in the process and alleged voter intimidation. - Sanctions threat? - A top ECOWAS official had said that if Jammeh and the delegation do not reach an agreement, West African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", but the quartet would not elaborate on this Tuesday. Jammeh had surprised observers by initially conceding defeat in the poll but then reversed his stand last Friday, triggering an avalanche of international condemnation and a multitude of calls for him to cede power peacefully. His decision was triggered in part by a readjustment of the votes counted in the election was made by the IEC on Monday last week, reducing the number of ballots for all three candidates but ultimately confirming Barrow's victory. Earlier on Tuesday, police locked down the offices of the electoral commission, raising fresh fears Jammeh might not leave office without a fight. The electoral commission chairman, Alieu Momar Njie, told AFP that when he went to work riot police prevented him from entering the premises. Later Tuesday Njie maintained the results still stood, and questioned Jammeh's ability to bring a legal challenge. Jammeh in mid-2015 dismissed a string of Supreme Court judges after criticising the court's move to commute several death sentences. "The only recourse when you have any problems with the results of the elections, one has to appeal to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has been dormant since May 2015," Njie said. A group of the country's most influential lawyers has said there is "no legitimate legal mechanism available in The Gambia to hear and determine the election petition", as Jammeh would have to stuff the court with his own appointees. - Army loyalty - Earlier in the day, opposition coalition members had been more confident of a breakthrough. "Remember President Buhari is from the military. Jammeh is from the military. I think that will make a difference," said Hamat Bah, a senior coalition official. Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his regional peers but has never threatened peace in the area. The situation has dramatically shifted, however, since Jammeh's move to void the election. Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie also seemed to reverse a previous declaration of support for Barrow and arrived at delegation preparation talks wearing a badge that featured Jammeh's face on his uniform. Badjie said he supported the "commander in chief, President Yahya Jammeh" in brief comments to journalists.
The terminally-ill child's last wish was to meet Santa Claus. Minutes after he did, he breathed his last in Santa's arms.

By India Today Web Desk: Eric Schmitt-Matzen is a 60-year-old professional whose job it is to play Santa Claus. With his natural white cotton candy-like beard and 6-foot frame, he makes the Christmas make-belief very much real.

Originally a mechanical engineer, Matzen works around 80 gigs a year playing Santa Claus, bringing joy to several children. But even Santa has bad days. And something like that happened few weeks back.

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"I cried all the way home," Schmitt-Matzen told USA Today. "I was crying so hard, I had a tough time seeing good enough to drive."

IT ALL STARTED WITH A CALL FROM A HOSPITAL.

A CHILD WAS DYING.

"I'd just gotten home from work that day," said Schmitt-Matzen. "The telephone rang. It was a nurse I know who works at the hospital. She said there was a very sick 5-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus.

While Matzen wanted to change into his Santa Claus outfit for a more authentic feel, the nurse told him there's no time for that. The child didn't have that much time.

So, Schmitt-Matzen got to the hospital as quickly as he could, where he met the child's family.

"She [the child's mother] had bought a toy from PAW Patrol and wanted me to give it to him," he said. "I sized up the situation and told everyone, 'If you think you're going to lose it, please leave the room. If I see you crying, I'll break down and can't do my job.'"

Matzen goes on to talk about what happened after he entered the boy's room alone.

Also read: Christmas crisis: Why some children cry at the sight of Santa Claus

"When I walked in, he was laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep. I sat down on his bed and asked, "Say, what's this I hear about you're gonna miss Christmas? There's no way you can miss Christmas! Why, you're my Number One elf!"

The kid looked up and said, "I am?'"

Matzen then gave him the present, which he describes the boy was barely strong enough to unwrap. But when he saw what was inside, "he flashed a big smile and laid his head back down."

Then, the boy asked Matzen something that broke his heart: "They say I'm going to die. How can I tell when I get to where I'm going?"

All Schmitt-Matzen could tell him was that when he gets 'there', "tell them you're Santa's Number One elf, and I know they'll let you in."

The 60-year-old Santa impersonator got a "big hug" from the sick boy.

And then, he died in his arms.

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"I wrapped my arms around him," Schmitt-Matzen said. "Before I could say anything, he died right there. I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to him."

"I spent four years in the Army with the 75th Rangers, and I've seen my share of (stuff)," he added. "But I ran by the nurses' station bawling my head off. I know nurses and doctors see things like that every day, but I don't know how they can take it."

Schmitt-Matzen was ready to give up his job as a Santa Claus impersonator, but then he decided to do "one more show".

"When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold. It made me realize the role I have to play," he said.

"For them and for me."

--- ENDS ---
Evz: There was a group called The Townies and you were in The Townies, (laughs).

Vaughan: It was a few Wirral boys like Tom Tanner, Geff [Jospeh McGuffog] and a couple of others. Evz and his boys were a younger crew. No beef or anything but thats just how it was at the time.

When did you start hanging out with each other? Was it when you both got on Lost Art or before that?

Vaughan: Probably a bit of both, I reckon.

Evz: We just grew up, didnt we? Everyone just started becoming friends.

Vaughan: Because its a small scene as well you had everyone start to skate together. The shop definitely helped, its the kingpin of the scene.

Evz: The meeting place. Everyone just met at the shop and that was it.

Andy Evz Evans  switch ollie, Nicosia  photo Chris Johnson

You share a few of the same sponsors but also have really different scenarios with being sponsored. Vaughan, as youre currently living in London, is there anything you preferred about Liverpool and generally just skating in this end of the country?

Vaughan: For sure, I miss it loads, its nice to come back. I would say I mainly miss the people but theres a good crew of people in London as well though. I dont know, its just Liverpool is my hometown so obviously I miss it and its good to see all the boys I dont get to see a lot of. Its good to go back to the shop as well whenever I have the chance.

When I stayed at your place at the start of the year you were living with your brother Guy, Jono (Coote), Chris Mann and a few others. Is it right that you have all moved out of that house now?

Vaughan: Yeah, we got kicked out. The fucking estate agent was being a knob basically. Told us the landlord wanted to rent it to a family member, which was bullshit. They were just kicking us out. It was full of mould though so it was like a blessing in disguise. Every room had mould and pretty badly as well, Im surprised no-one got ill. Those guys moved just up the road in Camberwell and have got a skate house and I just moved in with my girlfriend. Still in Camberwell though, I like it down there, its mellow.

Do you see much of Tom Tanner with him also riding for The National?

Vaughan: A little bit, we go skating together but he lives in East and I live in South. For some reason there seems to be a divide and no one can be arsed going to each others part of London even though it is about twenty minutes away from each other. I dont know if that is laziness or we secretly just hate each other

Vaughan Jones  ollie rail into bank, Limassol  photo Chris Johnson

So, you went from being in the same crew in Liverpool to a different one in London.

Vaughan: Yeah, Im not Palace enough, (laughs).

In your Haunts you mentioned sneaking off to skate Manchester as a kid and getting in trouble with your parents. As we arent too far from Manchester right now I was wondering if, had you not ventured down south, could you have imagined living in Manchester instead?

Vaughan: Yeah, actually. Its a fucking dope city, got loads of sick spots and the scene is amazing. Definitely one of the best places. Theres a few places I probably would have moved to, like I lived in Leeds for three years, which was fucking dope, but Manchester is a good city.

What about you Evz, could you see yourself moving out of Liverpool?

Evz: Well I love Liverpool, its my hometown and the best city in the UK in my eyes. The people are the best and scousers look after their own. Its pretty chill. I actually took a trip up to Manchester last week just with my girlfriend and its pretty fucking gnarly, within ten minutes we had seen two fights. Its crazy man. I am quite content to stay in Liverpool but if something came up I really like Bristol, its a really nice city and there is a sick scene.

You looked pretty settled in at that Lloyds comp a little while back

Evz: Yeah, it was a really good comp Lloyds; good people, good weather and a good set of stairs, (laughs).

Youre known for being an absolute workhorse. Are you still grafting in a kitchen five or six days a week?

Evz: Yeah, Ive got to go home tomorrow, well tonight. Ive only been here three days and Ive gotta go straight back to the kitchen and work all through the weekend It has been a sick trip! We both go home today but I wish I could stay longer.

Are you able to get out skating anymore now than when you shot your Haunts with CJ last year?

Evz: No way, (laughs). I get to skate maybe once a week if Im lucky but it feels like once every two weeks, so thats pretty shit. Then I come on a trip like this as well and Im not used to skating this much so I feel the full effect of it. Its hard work but I love these trips, its all good.

How frequently do you two get to see each other?

Vaughan: I guess just when I go back to Liverpool, I go visit as much as I can really. Although Evz has been coming down a little bit.

Evz: Ive had a few little trips to London on a weekend. Or one day in-and-out sort of thing. Obviously you see all those spots in videos growing up so its good to go down there and give them a go. Vaughan has been up to Liverpool a few times and we had Cyprus as well but that was pretty much it.

Vaughan: You couldnt make all of that.

Evz: Oh yeah! That was last time I got time off work for a skate trip and I had to push for that as well. November of last year for a Cyprus trip with The National and I couldnt even do the full thing for that either! Half way through I had to fuck off

I worked in hospitality for a few years so I know what you mean about getting time off. Is it just from your workplace being understaffed or are you quite high up and have a lot of responsibilities that other people cant do?

Evz: A bit of both really, they miss out when Im not there but in a kitchen staff just come and go so you need your people who are always there to be there. Its pretty shit man, innit? Long hours and on your fucking feet all day, its not good.

You have been getting hooked up by New Balance quite a bit longer than Vaughan, how did that come around? With the limited amount of time you have to get out skating, filming and shooting photos; do you feel surprised to have been able to pick up a shoe sponsor?

Evz: I just didnt have a shoe sponsor and was floating around getting some shoes here and there. Mackey knows everyone so something came up and it was something new so I thought I would give that a go. I started getting shoes through Stu Titmus and The Rolling People, and as soon as Mackey took over as the TM it kind of really kicked off from there.

Its rad and to be honest Im pretty lucky. I dont really have the chance to do much, I cant do all the trips, I had to miss a another National trip like three weeks ago because of work again. Its hard and Im very lucky to have it, I really am. But its more to do with Mackey  with him being a friend, he knows what I can do when I am out skating so that has given me a good chance.

On that note, Vaughan, why did you decide to make the move from Nike SB to New Balance?

Vaughan: I just thought it would be a fresh start and knew there would be some mates also riding for it like Evz and Cam. I mean of course with Mackey being the TM I couldnt say no to that. It felt like the perfect opportunity to have a proper role in something because he has always got good ideas. Like with this barge trip, he has had it planned for the shop for about four or five years but has never had the proper opportunity until now. So, its good that he has been able to put those ideas into action.

So, to round this off. How does Mackeys ability as a boat captain hold up?

Evz: Awful, (laughs).

Vaughan: His driving isnt the best Theres two boats. Mackey is driving one and Ash is driving the other. Its pretty surreal sleeping on a boat; theres enough beds for everyone, theres no sway or anything and it doesnt make a sound.

Evz: Within five minutes of picking the boat up we had ran onto dry land. The canal is a bit shallower at the side so we got stuck on that straight away. I nearly fell off the boat when he crashed into ours. Hes doing well, Ill give him that, but he cant park it to save his life, (laughs).

New Balance Numeric  Barge at Will feature here!
Getting involved with Climate Science via crowdfunding and crowdsourcing

Posted on 5 April 2022 by BaerbelW

This article was originally published in December 2016 and was updated on April 2 2022 to mention the short term crowdfunding project "Warming Stripes on the Sachsenbrucke". We also added a fourth section to highlight our own projects you can contribute to.

At a guess, many of you reading this post are already making good personal choices to help mitigate climate change. Some of you would perhaps like to do more. So, here are some suggestions where you can get actively involved either via crowdfunding, where you make a monetary contribution or via crowdsourcing, where you contribute your or your computer's time to sift through different sets of data.

This post is divided into four sections:

Ongoing crowdfunding - sites and groups listed here are continously looking for contributions

Shortterm crowdfunding - these are projects with a target amount and a set deadline

Crowdsourcing - projects looking for your (or your computer's) time

Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. - our own projects you can contribute to

Ongoing crowdfunding

Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF)



The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund was established to make sure that legal actions are not viewed as an attack against one scientist or institution, but as attacks against the scientific endeavor as a whole. As well. the CSLDF protects individual scientists facing unfair legal attacks by organized groups. Given the current climate - pun most definitely intended - in the U.S. the CSLDF's work is unfortunately becoming ever more important. Link to donation page

Dark Snow Project

Jason Box's and Peter Sinclair's The Dark Snow Project gathers hard numbers from the Arctic to quantify the distant snow/ice melting impact of industrial and wildfire black carbon soot; mineral dust; and microbes, each melt factor having some human driven enhancement. Link to donation page

The Australian Climate Council

After thousands of Australians chipped in to Australia's biggest crowd-funding campaign, the abolished Climate Commission has relaunched as the new, independent Climate Council. We exist to provide independent, authoritative climate change information to the Australian public. Why? Because our response to climate change should be based on the best science available. Link to donation page

Citizens Climate Education (CCE)

Your donation to Citizens Climate Education will train ordinary citizens to promote fair, effective, and non-partisan climate change solutions. Citizens Climate Educations volunteers understand that we owe it to tomorrows generations to face our climate challenges today. These informed, respectful citizens work to build a clean and prosperous future, leading elected officials towards solutions that reduce carbon pollution, create jobs, and strengthen the American economy. Link to donation page

Real Skeptic Blog

The goal of Real Skeptic is to look at claims about science and investigate what the scientific literature has to say about it. Since the official start of Real Sceptic a wide array of articles about skepticism were written for this website. Theres a heavy emphasis on the accuracy of the articles published and the usage of high quality sources. Link to Patreon page

Inside Climate News



InsideClimate News is an essential, global voice that exposes the truth about the climate crisis. We connect the dots to those responsible, so that you can hold them accountable. As we enter our 10th year, were launching The InsideClimate Circle to ensure that our award-winning nonprofit news organization remains fiercely independent and courageously persistent. Link to membership page

ClimateAdam

Adam Levy is a doctor in atmospheric physics from the University of Oxford. During his research he saw the huge gap between what we know about climate change and how we talk about it. So he created the ClimateAdam channel dedicated to explaining climate change in playful and engaging ways: everything from the crucial science to the actions we can all take. In order to grow his channel, he set up a Patreon project.

Just have aThink

Dave Borlace has been conscious of environmental issues since studying for a BSc in Technology with the Open University back in the late 1990s. In early 2017 Dave set off on a quest to create climate communication videos that aim to decode the sometimes overwhelmingly complicated and confusing scientific information around climate change and explain the concepts in the sort of plain English that he, and hopefully you, can understand. As well as looking at the causes and consequences of climate change, Dave also presents news of the technological breakthroughs that may help us avoid, or at least mitigate, the worst of those consequences. To support this work Dave has now set up a Patreon page.

Short term crowdfunding projects

This section will highlight short term climate-related crowdfunding projects we deem worthwhile to support. Please feel free to make suggestions in the comments so that we can check them out. To give you an idea of which types of projects would likely "make the cut", here are some links to past projects:

Climate Feedback: a guide to reliable climate news on Indiegogo

Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe on Indiegogo

Baba Brinkman's 'Rap Guide to Climate Chaos' Album on Indiegogo

DeSmog UK's Indieegogo project

Warming Stripes on the Sachsenbrucke in Leipzig

Ed Hawkins' Warming Stripes visually communicate historical, global warming trends. Leipzig furs Klima will paint these stripes permanently across the width of the Sachsenbrucke bridge in Leipzig to clearly broadcast their message to as large an audience as possible. Given sufficient funding, they will work with groups in other cities to identify additional spots on which to paint similar, large versions of these Warming Stripes. Join them as they establish another international tool for communicating the urgency of climate action. The current, first funding phase lasts until April 30 2022 (midnight in Germany) and is looking to collect at least 10,000 for the bridge in Leipzig. If they receive 30,000 in funding, they will see to it that the Warming Stripes can be applied permanently and in large format at a suitable location in a second major city, and if they receive 50,000, a third major city will follow. Support the campaign on StartNext until April 30, 2022!

Crowdsourcing projects

Climate Prediction

We run hundreds of thousands of state-of-the-art climate models, each very slightly different from the others, but still plausibly representing the real world. This technique, known as ensemble modelling, requires an enormous amount of computing power. Climate models are large and resource-intensive to run and it is not possible to run the large number of models we need on supercomputers. Our solution is to appeal to volunteer computing, which combines the power of thousands of ordinary computers, each of which tackles one small part of the larger modelling task. Project information

Climate CoLab

The goal of the Climate CoLab is to harness the collective intelligence of thousands of people from all around the world to address global climate change. Inspired by systems like Wikipedia and Linux, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Collective Intelligence has developed this crowdsourcing platform where people work with experts and each other to create, analyze, and select detailed proposals for what to do about climate change. Project information

Old Weather

Old Weather volunteers explore, mark, and transcribe historic ship's logs from the 19th and early 20th centuries. We need your help because this task is impossible for computers, due to diverse and idiosyncratic handwriting that only human beings can read and understand effectively. By participating in Old Weather you'll be helping advance research in multiple fields. Data about past weather and sea-ice conditions are vital for climate scientists, while historians value knowing about the course of a voyage and the events that transpired. Since many of these logs haven't been examined since they were originally filled in by a mariner long ago you might even discover something surprising. Project "Arctic" and Project "Whaling"





Old Weather - WW2

Help recover hidden weather data collected by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The purpose of this project is to recover hidden marine weather data recorded in U.S. Navy ships' logbooks during World War II. Like all Old Weather projects, these data will be used to drive sophisticated computer models that help us understand weather and climate in extraordinary detail. But there is another goal that is just as vital - to uncover the source of a mysterious distortion in the Navy temperature data collected during the war. Get involved in Old Weather

Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc.

Skeptical Science

Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but our work is not without financial costs. Contributions supporting our publication mechanisms from our readers and users are a critical part of improving the general public's critical thinking skills about science and in particular climate science. Your contribution is a solid investment in making possible a better future thanks to improving our ability to think productively, leading to better decisions at all levels of our climate change challenge. Please visit our support page to contribute.

Translations of the FLICC-poster

Translations of the Cranky Uncle Game
Climate Science Legal Defense Fund at AGU and how you can help

Posted on 13 December 2016 by Guest Author

Executive Director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) Lauren Kurtz reminds us that we're living in "interesting times," describes how the CSLDF is here to help, encourages Skeptical Science readers to pitch in. You can help with a variety of worthy climate-related projects at the Skeptical Science crowd source funding page.

Over to Lauren:

The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) was founded in September 2011 to defend climate scientists from harassing and invasive attacks via the legal system. Five years in, our work is more necessary than ever. The United States has elected a president who has mocked climate science, threatened to cut funding for research, and bullied those who disagree with him. His transition team also includes members of the very organizations we fight in court, like Myron Ebell and David Schnare.

Weve seen politicians try to silence climate scientists' voices in the past. We fear that the incoming White House and Congress will be worse. Accordingly, CSLDF is expanding our efforts to offer climate scientists the best legal counsel so they can remain focused on their work: weve been increasing our pro bono network of attorneys available to help scientists, and creating educational materials and programs for scientists on how to respond to harassment. For those in San Francisco during the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, please consider attending our talk on how open records laws have been used to attack climate scientists on Wednesday, December 14, stop by our booth in the exhibit hall (booth 1523) for free legal education materials, or email lawyer@climatesciencedefensefund.org to schedule a free consultation with a lawyer.

Many of you have been with us through years of scientists being dragged into courtrooms, targeted with harassment by political appointees, and vilified by Congressional committees for simply doing research. Skeptical Science readers have been integral supporters of CSLDF, including generous donations made by many in the SkS community. SkS supporters were particularly critical for meeting the goals of our last fundraiser, a $50K match campaign. Thank you!

We are very grateful for everything you've done for the scientific community. In light of the new challenges facing climate scientists, please consider helping CSLDF again by volunteering your time, contributing to our litigation fund, or spreading the word to others who might help.
Small businesses supported Donald Trump throughout his presidential campaign. And the support seems to continue with an upbeat attitude by the majority of small business owners after Trumps win in the November 2016 election.

A new study has found small businesses optimism improved to its highest level in eight years after the 2016 presidential election.

Small Business Optimism in December 2016 is High

Feelings about a new Trump presidency seem to be a big part of that optimism. For example, 51 percent of small business owners believe their companies will be better off under a Trump presidency and new Congress. Meanwhile, 61 percent of small business owners said they believed Trump would focus on issues important to them.

The latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, which measures the optimism of small-business owners, increased to +80 in mid-November from +68 in July.

The November index shows the highest optimism reading since January 2008.

Key Highlights

Improvement in small business owners optimism about the future, rather than their opinions of the present situations, is mainly responsible for the increase in the overall index.

Here are some important takeaways:

The number of small business owners who expect company revenues to rise over the next 12 months grew from 48 percent to 58 percent.

Thirty-five percent of respondents expect to increase spending compared with 25 percent surveyed in the third quarter.

Thirty-six percent expect adding jobs compared with 21 percent in the third quarter.

Great Expectations

Small businesses played a major role in swaying the election results in president-elect Trumps favor.

Going into Election Day, the PPD U.S. Presidential Election Daily Tracking Poll found small business owners heavily favored Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, 61 percent to 36 percent. Thats far higher than the 52 to 47 percent split Mitt Romney enjoyed over President Barack Obama during the month of September before Election 2012, Richard Baris, senior editor and analyst at Peoples Pundit Daily (PPD) told Small Business Trends in an email interview in November.

Naturally, expectations are huge from the Trump administration. Small businesses will be keenly watching how he acts on his promises to deliver much-needed tax, healthcare and regulatory reforms.

For the survey, Gallup interviewed approximately 600 small business owners across the country. The index measures a businesss current standing and combines that with its future outlook to create a score.
Success means different things to different businesses. But no matter what your specific idea of success is for your business, you need a way to track it. Here are some key tips to help you measure your success and track your small business goals for 2017.

Another tip as youre navigating your way into the New Year is to use Staples to ship client gifts for the holidays. Right now they have 10 percent off UPS shipping!

Set Specific Goals

If you want to be able to track your businesss success throughout the next year, you need to first have some sort of gauge for what success might look like. That means you need to set some goals.

But you shouldnt just set general goals like increase sales. That would mean that basically any improvement could mean your goal is achieved. Thus you wouldnt have anything specific to work toward throughout the year.

Instead, come up with specific goals or milestones that you want to achieve. So instead of increase sales, you could say that you want your business to increase sales by 15 percent. That gives you a specific number to hit by the end of the year. And you can track your progress toward that specific number each month.

Break Them Down

From there, you have to figure out what you want to do to actually make those goals happen. For example, if you want to increase sales by 15 percent by the end of the year, what are you going to do each month to make those increases happen?

Come up with an action plan that you can work on throughout the year to get to your main goals. Then you can keep track of each of those items individually and even measure what kind of impact they have on your goal.

For instance, in January you might try an online ad campaign that brings in a decent increase in sales. But in February, if you add a new social media campaign to the mix and it doesnt have much of an impact, you might decide to just focus more of your efforts on the original ad platforms you used.

Keep an Organized List

Since each of your businesss main goals is likely to have a lot of different components or action steps, its important for you to keep them organized. If not, you might forget about some of the steps you wanted to take. Or you might even lose sight of your main goals as you deal with all of the day-to-day aspects of keeping your business running.

So once you set your goals, you need to have some sort of system for tracking your action steps and progress. This might be a list, a spreadsheet or even an app. Just make sure its something thats easy for you to check on and update throughout the year.

Monitor Your Metrics

Different metrics like sales numbers, website analytics and even social media engagement can help you monitor your success and keep track of your business goals throughout the year. These numbers offer real, tangible insights into how your business is performing. So you need to be aware of them at each step in the process.

Once you have a starting point and a goal, you can keep track of those numbers through your analytics or bookkeeping systems. This should help you get a better idea of your progress throughout the year. So if you notice any changes or issues with the numbers, you might be able to adjust your strategy so that you can improve your chances of success going forward.

Dont Be Afraid to Adjust

At the beginning of the year, its a good idea to map out at least a general plan for your business and what you want to achieve. But things change throughout the year. You might get a new opportunity. You might have some unexpected struggles. Or you might just decide that you want to take the business in a different direction.

Along with those changes, your goals and ways of measuring success might also change. So throughout the year, you should be able to change up your goals and plans to fit your businesss current direction if you find that to be necessary.

Use the Staples QuickWins App

There are so many things that go into tracking the success of a small business. And since small business owners often have so many other tasks to worry about, the last thing you need is another complicated process to add to your to-do list.

But the Staples QuickWins app is designed to make tracking success easier for small business owners. With the app, you can measure important analytics like sales and website traffic, and then receive customized ideas of ways you can help your business optimize and grow. So if you know you want to increase sales, you can use the app to monitor your progress, but also get some new ideas for ways you can make that goal actually happen. In addition, the app includes a community feature so you can get advice and support from other small business owners.
When it comes to privacy issues, much of the press focuses on companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. Unfortunately, that focus often ends up being a distraction from the real offenders. For the most part, we consider Facebook to be a self-inflicted wound since the content is typically posted by the individual themselves. However, it is the postings by others where these platforms like Twitter and Facebook can be very dangerous. We all know (or should know) not to post personal and private information online. These sources feed the practice of doxxing and can lead to many different types of assaults.

What is Doxxing?

The term Dox or Doxxing is derived from the word Document. It originates from the practice of researching information about an individual. Doxxing is often defined as an Internet-based practice of researching and broadcasting personally identifiable information (such as names, addresses, phone numbers, spouse, children, relatives, financial history and much more) about an individual. The practice of doxxing is not new. It actually dates back to the 1990s and was often used for constructive purposes such as helping law enforcement locate suspects and/or dangerous criminals, as well as in business analysis and in the legitimate vetting of individuals. Doxxing, however, strays into a very dark area when it is used for other purposes. In last 12 months, we have seen a huge spike in doxxing activity specifically related to individuals in the public safety arena.

The current trend we are seeing in the area of doxxing is mainly focused on confrontational interactions in high profile cases. It is often a situation where an individual is videotaping an incident and there is a specific interest in capturing the public safety individual as much as possible. You will often see that the individual recording the video will interact with public safety personnel in an attempt to get a name. Once they have that name, they are off to the races.

Unfortunately, the reality is that this information is already out there and readily available for the taking. Some of the companies doing this vast collection of public record information and selling it are names you have probably never heard of before such as; Intelius, BeenVerified, PeopleFinder, etc. These people finder websites gather information from a wide arrange of sources and make that information available for purchase to anyone. While there are over 200 companies out there doing this kind of activity, you need to be mostly concerned with 20 to 30 of them. I say this because there are plenty of companies that collect this detailed information for the sole purpose of sending you a coupon in the mail or displaying a pop-up advertisement on your computer screen. You could argue that this is creepy, but the good news is that these companies do not sell this information to individuals.

Doxxing As Used By Online Vigilantes

There are countless recent examples of doxxing that millions of Americans read about every day, often without realizing that doxxing is at the heart of what they are reading. In the last three years, the Social Security number of First Lady Michelle Obama, Beyonces home address, Aston Kutchers personal phone number and the credit report of Los Angeles PD chief Charlie Beck were all posted online following acts of doxxing. While these events were troubling enough to the individuals involved, the more recent use of doxxing has taken an even darker turn.

Following recent events in Ferguson, the group called Anonymous acquired the sensitive personal information of Colonel Ronald Replogle, posted it on the Internet and then tweeted the location of this information to thousands of people.

Literally anyone such as an ill-intended individual, gang member, escapee, former arrestee, protestor, etc. can follow the provided link to acquire a home address, phone number, email address and much more. These kinds of acts essentially put the individual involved and their family at immediate risk.

Erica Garner, the daughter of the man who died following an arrest by a New York City police officer, tweeted out the address of one of the officers present at the time (Justin DAmico). Her Tweet linked to a web page with addresses for DAmico and for five possible relatives. Erica Garner has more than 5,000 Twitter followers and her post was retweeted about 500 times.

Following the fatal shooting of a homeless man on Skid Row in Los Angeles in early March, LAPD confirmed that at least two police officers were the victims of doxxing. An unknown individual or group posted the officers names, addresses, and details about their kids schools on the Internet.

The Risks and Threats of Doxxing to Law Enforcement Officials

Law enforcement officials often find themselves in risky situations. It comes with the territory. Doxxing, however, is a new kind of threat and one that can manifest itself in many dimensions and extend the risk beyond the individual involved to include family members and relatives.

The bigger problem here, of course, is the ready availability of sensitive personal information on the Internet to feed the practice of doxxing. More than 50 entities, loosely defined as People Finder Sites or Data Brokers, have compiled comprehensive information profiles about most of us. This information is then made easily available for anyone to acquire on the Internet. These sources feed the practice of doxxing and can lead to many different types of assault including the following  which do not need to be life threatening to be debilitating:

Targeting

Physical stalking

Cyber stalking

Bullying

Harassment

Embarrassment

Identity Theft

Extortion

Coercion

Today anyone with a phone, computer or tablet can get almost immediate access to anyones personal and private information. We all know there are many, many companies out there databasing everything we buy, where we live and where we like to go. These same companies then take all this detailed information and create detailed reports on virtually every individual in the US.

Protecting Against Doxxing

With respect to protecting yourself against doxxing, and other misuses of your personal information, theres lots of good advice out there regarding the use of the Internet, such as:

Never give out personal information like phone numbers or physical addresses;

Refrain from providing your first name. It makes it much harder to find the individual online with only a last name.

Run your own name on these sites and see how easy it is for you to be found.

Use a PO Box as a mailing address whenever possible.

Contact each data broker and request your information be removed from their site.

At the end of the day, while all of this is useful and well intended, the only practical solution is to remove your personal information from these sites. But, that task is easier said than done.

The unfortunate reality is that removing personal information from these sites is intentionally convoluted and difficult. While it is technically possible, most people do not have the time or patience to execute each of the following steps:

Step 1  Identify all of the more than 200 sites that compile, maintain and sell personal information, and then zero in on the 50 that can really hurt you. Step 2  Dig through each of the sites to locate the particular set of instructions for opting out of that site. Step 3  Follow each of the required processes, prepare and submit the necessary form or forms, and provide the additional information necessary (including a photo ID in some cases) to complete the opt-out request. Step 4  After the full set of opt-out instructions have been submitted, revisit each of the sites to verify they have complied with the opt-out request. Step 5  More than a step, this is an on-going process. Even after many of these sites have complied with the initial removal instructions, they will repopulate personal information over time. So, periodically (at least every 30 days), it is necessary to return to Step 1 and repeat the entire process. Protecting your personal information in an on-line world is a never ending and time consuming, but very necessary process for individual and family safety  especially today.

The important takeaway is that virtually anyone can find just about everything they might want to know about you on the internet for any purpose  targeting, stalking, bullying, revenge, embarrassment, identity theft and much more.

Activities such as doxxing are not going away. If anything the problem is getting worse. From solo criminals to organized gangs, the data vigilantes are everywhere, operating throughout the world. The best way to deal with this growing problem is to protect yourself by removing your information online either manually as I covered in this article or through a service like ManageURiD, our data privacy company. Do this for yourself and your family before it happens to you.

Republished by permission. Original here.

See Also: How Amy Schumer and Other Celebs Could Be a Threat to Your Business
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DGAP-News: AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA / Key word(s): Disposal





The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



AURELIUS sells brightONE's consulting business in the Netherlands to a strategic partner - brightONE Netherlands is very well positioned following a successful restructuring and strategic reorientation - Sale to strategic investor CRM Partners Munich, December 13, 2016 - brightONE Holding BV, a subsidiary of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8), is selling brightONE IT Services BV ("brightONE Netherlands"), based in Amersfoort, to CRM Partners Group, which is also based in the Netherlands. brightONE Netherlands is a leading provider of IT services and consulting with 50 employees and annual revenues of around EUR 7 million. The acquisition by CRM Partners will create one of the leading providers of CRM services and consulting in the Netherlands and Benelux. The parties have agreed to keep silent about the purchase price. AURELIUS had acquired Tieto Deutschland GmbH, Eschborn, and its affiliated operations in the Netherlands, Poland and India from the Finnish Tieto Group on July 1, 2013, and renamed it brightONE. The company has meanwhile been completely reorganized operationally as well as strategically. The customer portfolio for the IT services and consulting activities in the Netherlands was considerably expanded and important partnerships with Microsoft and Liveperson were intensified. This is the next successful sale of a brightONE unit after the sale of the German and Dutch healthcare operations at the beginning of 2014, business unit brightONE Smart Products Solutions also in 2014, and brightONE GmbH in 2016 to strategic partners. CRM Partners has 180 employees working in the Customer Relationship Management and Customer Engagement segments and maintains branch offices in the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The company is Microsoft Certified Gold, a Microsoft CRM Partner, and a member of the Microsoft Presidents Club. Emiel Putman, founder and CEO of CRM Partners Group: "We help our customers to become Customer Engagement companies. Customer service and online interaction are becoming more and more important. brightONE offers precisely this expertise. Therefore, we didn't hesitate even for a second when the opportunity came up to bring brightONE into the CRM Partners family. The two companies are a perfect strategic match for each other." ABOUT AURELIUS

AURELIUS Group is a pan-European asset manager with offices in Munich, London, Stockholm and Madrid. Over the last ten years AURELIUS has grown from a local turnaround investor to an international multi-asset manager investing in a wide range of sectors and across the capital structure. AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8, Ticker Symbol: AR4) represents the listed entity within the AURELIUS Group that focusses on investing in Special Situations and MidMarket transaction opportunities. AURELIUS Equity Opportunities currently has 22 portfolio companies located across Europe which employ around 23,000 people and generate annual revenues of approximately EUR3.0 billion. The shares of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities are traded on all German stock exchanges with a market capitalisation of c. EUR1.7 billion as of December 2016. With its group charity AURELIUS Refugee Initiative, AURELIUS provides comprehensive support for refugees on their way towards a better life. To find out more, visit www.aureliusinvest.com CONTACT

AURELIUS Group

Anke Banaschewski

Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Phone: +49 (89) 544799-0

Fax: +49 (89) 544799-55

E-Mail: investor@aureliusinvest.de

13.12.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

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LONDON  The longer it takes for Britain to trigger Article 50, and thereby start the formal two-year Brexit negotiation talks, the more likely it is that companies will "postpone business investment decisions ... or, worse, speed up decisions to relocate some operations outside," according to a partner at a massive asset manager.

Zane E. Brown, partner and fixed income strategist at Lord Abbett a fund manager with $135.9 billion (106.9 billion) assets under management, said in his "2017 Global Outlook" note that Brexit is likely to have a negative effect on the UK for several reasons.

Here are the key excerpts (emphasis ours):

"Brexit negotiations seem likely to lead to slower growth in the United Kingdom, as well as in the European Union, while U.S. growth appears relatively attractive, especially if Republican pro-growth initiatives are passed. British prime minister Theresa Mays intention to begin exit negotiations with the European Union by the end of March 2017 has been compromised by a High Court ruling that requires Parliaments involvement. Parliament could delay the March date, and could include conditions that complicate the negotiating process.

"Such uncertainties may serve to postpone business investment decisions within the United Kingdom or, worse, speed up decisions to relocate some operations outside the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Mays hope may be that the U.S. trade uncertainties that accompany a Donald Trump presidency could encourage a more conciliatory approach by EU negotiators."

The loss of passporting rights following Brexit is one of the biggest fears in the City of London. If the passport is taken away, then London could cease to be the most important financial centre in Europe, costing the UK thousands of jobs and billions in revenues. Around 5,500 firms registered in the UK rely on the European Union's passporting rights for the financial services sector, and they turn over about 9 billion in revenue.

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So this is why, if there is a "hard Brexit" or a strong indication that one may happen, firms are likely to relocate.

Britain voted for a Brexit by a slim majority on June 23 and, since then, there has been much speculation on when the new prime minister Theresa May will trigger Article 50 and start the official two-year negotiation process for Britain to leave the EU. March 2017 is the current target date.

However, there are two legal challenges that the government faces:

One over the triggering of Article 50. The case, heard by the Supreme Court last week, is examining whether Parliamentary approval is required to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of leaving the European Union. The government insists no vote is required, but campaigners, led by Gina Miller, argue otherwise.

And one over Britain's membership of the European Economic Area. The government argues that triggering Article 50 will also begin the process of Britain withdrawing from The EAA. But thinktank British Influence disputes this, arguing that only a vote from Parliament can legally withdraw the UK from the EAA.

Meanwhile, May has continuously said she will not give a "running commentary" on how negotiations are going but she has made it clear in various speeches that her government is prioritising immigration restrictions. This would imply a "hard Brexit" because the EU's official line is that it will not allow the UK to curb immigration and keep membership the Single Market at the same time.

EU parliament Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said an interview with Business Insider that the deal Britain has discussed so far makes no sense.

And various EU officials, including the prime minister of Malta said that the EU is not "bluffing" when it says it will push Britain into a "hard Brexit" if May insists in opting out of freedom of movement.

Brown at Lord Abbett noted that "Brexit negotiations could be contentious."

"The EU seems intent on making an example of the United Kingdom to avoid an exit contagion among other countries seeking preferential treatment on immigration quotas or economic contributions," he said.

"Trade tariffs between the United Kingdom and the European Union will result in more expensive imports and slower economic growth in both regions. In addition, problems with adequate capital among some German banks and excessive nonperforming loans among many Italian banks seem positioned to further restrict growth in the European Union."

NOW WATCH: How Donald Trump used bankruptcy to stay rich

See Also:

SEE ALSO: The House of Lords is pushing for special Brexit treatment for Northern Ireland
By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Hotel management firm Sarovar Hotels has forayed into Ethiopia with signing of a hotel deal in the countrys capital Addis Ababa as part of its overseas expansion plans.

Ethiopia entry marks Sarovars presence in the fifth country in Africa after Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan and Zambia, Sarovar Hotels said in a statement.

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The hotel is owned by Meskerem Alemu Kebede, it added. The company, however, did not provide any financial details of the management contract it has signed.

Commenting on the development, Sarovar Hotels Pvt Ltd Executive Director Ajay K Bakaya said: "With Sarovar Premiere Addis Ababa, we exceed a total of 1,000 rooms in Africa".

The company sees great growth potential in this market with high demand and this development makes a momentous step in its growth and expansion strategy in the overseas market, he added.

The 101 keys hotel will be called Sarovar Premiere Addis Ababa.

Sarovar Hotels currently operates over 75 hotels in India and abroad with a key size of over 6,000 under the brands Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico and Hometel. PTI AKT ADI MKJ

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SWNS

<p>The average American begins to notice the signs of aging at the age of 42, but 15% noticed themselves getting older before age 35. </p><p>Thats according to a new poll of 2,000 Americans with representative samples for Gen Z, millennials, Gen-X and baby boomer respondents, where respondents believe they were at the peak of their health at the age of 34.</p><p>On top of that, 46% of Gen X were unaware they couldnt engage in the same fitness or diet regimens as they could when they were younger until they were over 40.</p><p>While respondents start noticing they need to make changes to their health and wellness routines around the age of 39, 21% admit theyre currently in denial about their body aging.</p><p>Another 30% of respondents admit they used to be in denial, but theyve since accepted it.</p><p>Of those respondents, 61% put off making necessary routine changes for three to six years, while 29% put it off for up to two years.</p><p>Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of evidence-based weight care program, <a href="http://www.joinfound.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-safelink="true" data-linkindex="1">Found</a>, the survey found that things like joint pain (39%), the onset of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes (37%), slower metabolism (35%), or where respondents carry their weight (30%) are some of the top indicators that respondents believe are signs of aging.</p><p>Because of these changes, respondents are making adjustments to their health and wellness routines. </p><p>Overall, 36% are making adjustments to the types of vitamins and supplements they take, with baby boomers (41%) being the most likely generation to do so.</p><p>Two in five (40%) baby boomers are changing the types of food they eat, with 34% of Gen X doing the same. </p><p>Even 30% of Gen Z are doing so, despite their relatively young age. </p><p>Thirty-one percent of all respondents are fine-tuning what types of exercises they do as they get older.</p><p>And millennials might be getting ahead of aging more than others, with that generation being more likely to do so than any others (36%), including Gen X (31%) and baby boomers (30%). </p><p>Millennials were also the most likely generation to practice meditation or mindfulness, especially when compared to baby boomers (30% vs 21%).</p><p>And while about one-quarter (24%) found making those adjustments difficult, 46% found it to be an easy process.</p><p>But that doesnt mean respondents arent looking for guidance, as 35% tend to lean on their primary care physician and specialty doctors (30%). </p><p>While aging is inevitable, making healthy changes to your lifestyle are preventative care measures that can help mitigate age-related issues like weight gain and chronic conditions. Over the past 100 years we have nearly doubled our life expectancy, so its crucial to be proactive about extending our health span as well as our lifespan, said Dr. Rekha Kumar, Chief Medical Officer at Found. Programs that incorporate guidance to not only help people manage their weight, but also improve overall lifestyle habits, such as improved sleep, daily movement or taking care of their mental health, can help people maintain their health as they age. </p><p>While aging may be inevitable, respondents outlined mixed feelings about it. Almost three in 10 (29%) admit theyre either stressed or anxious about aging, while some are confident (25%) about the inevitability.</p><p>In fact, 41% of respondents have experienced shame or embarrassment when discussing their changing health and wellness with their primary care physician, with 47% of millennial respondents experiencing this.</p><p>Even so, 31% also say they trust their PCP the most when it comes to advice about maintaining a healthy weight as they age.</p><p>Almost two-thirds (64%) agree that they struggle with their body not only not looking like it used to, but also not feeling the same either. . </p><p>Although 39% are happy with their current weight, one in five were happiest between the ages of 20 and 30.</p><p>Research has found that the stories we tell ourselves about our weight and our motivations to make lifestyle changes dramatically affect how successful and satisfied we are with those changes, said Laura Garcia, Director of Clinical Design at Found. We are so used to focusing on what we want to get rid of, and not what we want to gain. Positive lifestyle changes give us the opportunity to feel better about our bodies now and, most importantly, allow us to continue doing what we care about in the long-term. If we are motivated by extending our health and preventing the negative effects of our lifestyle on our bodies, we will be more likely to maintain these changes over the years--which is key for sustainable weight loss and overall health.</p>
A British backpacker who was abducted in Australia was saved after texting her dad in England: A man has taken me please hurry.

Mary Kate Miri Heys, 20, from Manchester, shared her location with her father, Anthony, using Google Maps.

In a series of frantic texts, she wrote: Dad are you awake? I need you to call the Australian police, according to the Courier Mail.

He then alerted Queensland police that a Swedish backpacker she had befriended at a Sunshine Coast hostel had allegedly taken her hostage.

Miri Heys, 20

She told the Daily Mail she agreed to go on an adventure with the 23-year-old man.

Then, she said, his demeanour changed.

Looking back his eyes were really wide  like a serial killers  I should have known something was not right but I went with him, she said.

She said that during the trip from Mooloolaba to Gympie, north of Brisbane, the man began to warn her about aliens.

Heys has been sharing her Australia trip on Instagram

MORE: Amazon workers sleeping in tents near Scottish depot to save money

MORE: Theresa Mays mail has been accidentally sent to the wrong person

He lost the plot  he was a normal person and just snapped, she told the paper.

He kept talking about aliens and conspiracy theories; he kept telling me I was special and I was the one, and that I was like him.

Kidnapped backpacker saved by emergency text to dad on other side of the world @couriermail pic.twitter.com/0AxDjAp1D3  Lachlan Heywood (@LachlanHeywood) December 12, 2016

Heys said he then told her they were going to Cairns  18 hours drive away.

He had gone crazy, I thought I was going to die, but I just tried to stay calm so that he wouldnt flip out and kill me, she said.

But, after sharing he GPS location with her father, police pulled over the car.

A Queensland police spokesman told the Mirror: Basically what happened was they have gotten in a car down at the Sunshine Coast and they have driven up to Gympie.

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She has said that she was being held against her will. So it was a deprivation of liberty job. Police have then pulled the car over in Gympie.

A clarification on a matter that originated on the Sunshine Coast that is being reported this morning. pic.twitter.com/iUeEtwJuvJ  QPS Media Unit (@QPSmedia) December 12, 2016

They have spoken to both parties involved. He was then taken to the hospital but I believe he did go to the mental health unit there.

Then the woman has told police she did not want any further action taken on it. Basically, not press any charges.

He added that there is no further action from our end.
BERLIN (Reuters) - The leaders of France and Germany, speaking two days before an EU summit which will discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine, said they want to extend sanctions against Russia due to a lack of progress in implementing a ceasefire deal. The conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since it erupted in 2014. Germany and France have tried to convince both sides to implement a peace deal agreed in Minsk last year but with little success so far. EU leaders will on Thursday discuss extending sanctions, which include restricting access to international financing and curbs on defence and energy cooperation with Russia. Merkel, speaking with Hollande who was visiting a Franco-German conference on the digital economy in Berlin, said implementation of the ceasefire deal was "very sluggish". "It will be necessary to extend the sanctions against Russia again - although we would have wished for better progress in the implementation of this process," she said. Hollande agreed. "We must continue to apply the terms of the Minsk agreement and when they are not carried out, we must continue with sanctions," he said. The sanctions were extended several times and are due to expire at the end of January. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of stoking the separatist movement and aiding the rebels. The Kremlin denies these charges and accuses Ukraine of perpetuating the violence and violating the Minsk deal. At the end of last month, four-way talks on ending the separatist conflict ended without a breakthrough. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Michael Nienaber in Paris, Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn began getting official briefings from aides of President Park Geun-hye on Monday, after assuming presidential authority as a caretaker following Park's impeachment by parliament. Hwang has sought to calm anxiety over national security and to reassure financial markets while Park's presidency is in limbo pending the outcome of a Constitutional Court review of her impeachment, which may take up to 180 days. Until then, Park will remain in the presidential Blue House a few blocks north of the main government complex where Hwang's office is located. Eight of the Constitutional Court's nine judges met on Monday to discuss how to proceed with the case but has not set dates for public hearings, its spokesman, Bae Bo-yoon, told a briefing. The ninth was away from the country on business. At least six of the nine judges have to concur for the motion to be upheld. The court will next week decide on the date for the two sides' lawyers to appear for a preliminary hearing, he said. Park, the daughter of a military ruler who held power for 18 years after a 1961 coup, has been accused of colluding with a friend and a former aide, both of whom have been indicted, to pressure big businesses to donate to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. She has denied wrongdoing but apologised for carelessness in her ties with her friend, Choi Soon-sil. Park has yet to announce her defence team, which is expected to be made up of at least four lawyers, including an attorney she had retained last month. Park's term was set to end in February 2018. If the court upholds Friday's overwhelming parliament vote to impeach her, she will become the first elected South Korean leader to be forced from office in disgrace. If that were to happen, a new election would be held within 60 days to pick a successor who will serve a full five-year term. IMMUNITY Hwang received briefings from senior presidential secretaries on Monday and he will get more on Tuesday, a Blue House official said. Since assuming presidential powers late on Friday, Hwang has also chaired a National Security Council meeting, met the cabinet twice and visited military headquarters. He was expected to keep Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho to ensure continuity of policy instead of replacing him with the head of the financial regulator, who Park last month had designated as his replacement, Yonhap news agency reported. On Sunday, state prosecutors charged two more former senior officials as part of their investigation of a corruption scandal that has led to Park's impeachment and the indictment of former aides and a friend, Choi Soon-sil. Park herself has immunity from indictment while she is in office but could face prosecution if she is removed. The scandal erupted in October and has drawn large street protests in Seoul for the past seven Saturdays, with the crowds calling for Park to step down immediately. An amendment to the Constitutional Court Act requires that rulings carry named opinions by judges, suggesting they could be under some pressure in view of the public calls for Park's removal. An opinion poll released on Friday showed that 81 percent of those questioned supported the impeaching of the president. (Additional reporting by Christine Kim; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert Birsel)
The new Prime Minister of the controversial rebel Houthi government which has just been set-up in Yemen has accused Britain of war crimes, in his first interview since taking power.

Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtour spoke scathingly about how the British Government cares more about making profits from arms sales to Saudi Arabia than the humanitarian disaster in his country.

"They have sold cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia," he told Sky News in his office in the capital Sana'a. "They know the Saudis are going to drop them on Yemen ... in Sa'adah and in Sana'a and other provinces.

"I don't think they are guilty of war crimes, I believe so. They are participating in the bombing of Yemen people."

Among American cluster bombs in Sa'adah City we found a nose cone used to protect a British-made Storm Shadow cruise missile, which the Ministry of Defence calls "arguably the most advanced weapon of its kind in the world".

It was clearly marked with a UK identifying stamp.

A soldier who had collected a pile of cluster bomb shells said the nose cone landed four days earlier.

"We have found a lot of British-made bombs," he claimed. He showed us pictures of British cluster bombs he said had been found in fields in the city, which have been shared widely locally.

The pictures have been examined by independent bomb experts who said they were "two BL-755 submunitions from an air-dropped BL-755 cluster bomb, most certainly UK made".

Britain agreed to stop using and selling cluster bombs around six years ago.

The words of the Convention on Cluster Munitions also state that signatories will "never under any circumstances assist, encourage or induce" anyone to use such munitions.

However, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are believed to have British-made cluster bombs bought in the 1980s and 1990s.

Theresa May responded by saying during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday that any allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law would be "properly investigated".

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She said "the security of the Gulf is important to us" and added "the intelligence we get from Saudi Arabia has saved potentially hundreds of lives here in the UK".

Sky's investigation follows Human Rights Watch research last year which also concluded cluster bombs, which are banned under international rules of war, had been dropped on the city and there had been several breaches of humanitarian rights where civilians were targeted.

Swathes of Sa'adah City have been reduced to rubble. In the Old City, which dates back to the 9th Century, barely any building has been left untouched by the airstrikes which have pounded it, including the mosque built more than 1,200 years ago.

"We used to think Britain was our friend," one old man told Sky News. "Now we think they are criminals because of what's happening here. They're committing crimes, killing our children and pregnant women."

Sa'adah City is a stronghold of the Houthis, sitting in the north of Yemen near the Saudi border.

It has endured repeated and sustained attacks by the Saudi-led coalition since it launched airstrikes in March 2015 in an attempt to restore what it insists is the legitimate government and its leader, President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was driven out of the capital by the Houthis.

Mr Hadi still leads the internationally recognised government out of the southern port of Aden.

The coalition campaign is backed by the US, Britain and France, while the Saudis say the Houthis are aided by Iran.

There have been claims of human rights abuses on both sides but it is the ferocious air campaign by Saudi Arabia that has drawn worldwide concern after hospitals, schools, funerals and weddings were hit.

Sa'adah City is home to a military base, but Sky News saw hundreds of homes, businesses and schools which had been flattened.

The director of the al Goissy boys' junior school said it had been hit 11 times. When they moved the students to the nearby girls' school to continue their studies, that too was attacked.

"This is a big, big crime," the director Ahmed Ahmed Saleh said. "These are just places of learning. There are no weapons here. They just want to stop our children from learning."

The children are still attending lessons in the classrooms which have not collapsed.

"They suffer from the cold weather," the director said. "Because all the windows have been blown out."

Thirteen-year-old Ahmed Al Munasir said he and his friends were terrified at the continual sound of jets overhead.

"As soon as we hear them, we just run home," he said.

The bombings have had a terrible effect on the health of the population, more than half of which is under 18 years old.

The damaged infrastructure has compromised hygiene and affected clean water supplies, leading to a significant outbreak of cholera as well as a spike in an array of other diseases, including whooping cough, tetanus, measles, pneumonia and severe malnutrition.

The skeletal young face of Fasl Hamood is a picture of pain.

He is nearly two years old but weighs little more than 5kg. His tiny feet look outsized in comparison to his stick-like limbs. His breathing is rapid. His protruding chest heaving in short, rapid movements. His eyes are huge, staring and frightened as he fights for breath.

His is the face of Yemen's war. A tiny child - one of more than 300,000 estimated to be starving to death in Yemen.

A UK Government spokesperson said: "We are aware of reports of an alleged airstrike on a school using UK-supplied weapons and are seeking further information regarding the incident.

"The UK Government takes all allegations of international humanitarian law violations very seriously. We will analyse this allegation in the usual way.

"This analysis will be used to contribute to our overall view on the approach and attitude of the coalition to international humanitarian law, as part of all the information available to us."

:: Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Yemen - donate 5 by texting SKY to 7000, calling 0370 60 60 900 or at dec.org.uk
King's Casino Owner Leon Tsoukernik Leads 50,000 PokerStars EPT Prague Super High Roller

December 13 2016 Frank Op de Woerd

After a day full of action, just six players remain in the 50,000 Super High Roller at the last ever PokerStars European Poker Tour event, in Prague.

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (photo, left) bubbled the event, going out in eighth place while King's Casino Rozvadov owner Leon Tsoukernik (photo, right) leads the star-packed final table.

Charlie Carrel, two-time EPT High Roller champion, sits in second place. Russian online player Viacheslav Buldygin comes into Day 3 third in chips. Rounding out the table are German 2013 WPT Prague winner Julian Thomas, 2014 EPT Prague Super High Roller runner-up Paul Newey and EPT Deauville High Roller champion Juha Helppi.

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Leon Tsoukernik Czech Republic 4,330,000 87 2 Paul Newey United Kingdom 955,000 19 3 Charlie Carrel United Kingdom 3,565,000 71 4 Julian Thomas Germany 535,000 11 5 Viacheslav Buldygin Russia 1,230,000 25 6 Juha Helppi Finland 1,615,000 32

The penultimate day of the Super High Roller started with three players signing up, bringing the total to 49 entries (39 unique players, plus 10 reentries). Besides [Removed:17] and Martin Kabrhel giving it another go after having played on Day 1 already, Justin Bonomo was the sole new player in the field. Bonomo came straight from Vegas where he had made the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic final table (fifth for $345,272), but didn't last long in Prague. He spun up a stack before doubling Ali Reza Fatehi and busting to Martin Kozlov not much later.

By that time, Steffen Sontheimer and Max Silver had already fallen. They wouldn't be the only ones; Russian players Sergey Lebedev and Vladimir Troyanovskiy followed them to the rail rather quickly.

Steve O'Dwyer, who won this event last year for 746,543, doubled early in the day through Mustapha Kanit, but wouldn't put those chips to good use. Bit by bit he lost his precious stack and eventually got it in with ace-seven against the kings of Leon Tsoukernik.

While big names like Isaac Haxton (ace-nine to the ace-eight of Vojtech Ruzicka), Ben Heath (fives to ElkY's aces) and Martin Kabrhel (king-queen to Vojtech Ruzicka's ace-ten) all fell, Leon Tsoukernik was gaining chips by the dozens. The King's Casino Rozvadov owner splashed around in a lot of pots; showing big bluffs, tricky semi-bluffs and sneaky value bets. Like yesterday, Tsoukernik was the life of the party, battling with his neighbor Charlie Carrel on multiple occasions and coming out on top just as many times as going under.

Tsoukernik first busted Koray Aldemir in a huge pot to get his stack up to 1.8 million. He added another 2 million in a huge three-bet pot against Carrel and Jean-Noel Thorel. Tsoukernik got it in with a set of nines against the top pair and top kicker Thorel held with ace-king, and had his French opponent drawing dead on the turn.

That was after Charlie Carrel had taken care of Mustapha Kanit in a pot just as big. Kanit couldn't get away from his straight, only to discover upon showdown that his British adversary had the nut flush.

While Carrel and Tsoukernik took care of the big pots, most other players built their stacks by playing small ball. Paul Newey, as patient as ever, waited for his spots and got it in with big hands several times to hang in there and make the money. He finished runner-up in 2014 for 557,090, and tomorrow he'll be back on the final table to try and one-up that result.

PokerStars Team Pro Grospellier, once a staple on the EPT Super High Roller scene but absent in recent years, made his return to the big stage here in Prague. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he ended up bubbling the event. Down to just short of four big blinds, he pushed with pocket fives. Leon Tsoukernik called with nine-eight and flopped a nine to send "ElkY" packing.

With that, the remaining seven players were in the money and guaranteed 123,520. Anthony Zinno, who bubbled this event last year going out against Dzmitry Urbanovich, made the money this year, but won't be coming back on Tuesday's final day. He went out in seventh place when his jack-ten was up against Paul Newey's ace-queen. Zinno hit a jack on the flop to stay hopeful, but the river gave Newey a straight and the tournament was six-handed.

With that, and almost 50 minutes left in the 25,000/50,000-level, play was done for the day. The remaining six players return to the Hilton Hotel Prague Tuesday at noon to play down to a winner. The final table will be live streamed with hole cards up on a one-hour delay. PokerNews coverage of the final table, with every hand covered, resumes at 1 p.m. local time.

Charlie Carrel

Seat 1  Leon Tsoukernik (4,330,000, 87 BBs)

One of Europe's true high rollers, Tsoukernik runs the show over at King's Casino on the Western edge of the Czech Republic but has made the short journey to Prague for this last EPT Super High Roller. Tsoukernik is no stranger to big action, having been a participant in a number of nosebleed cash games in his home casino against the likes of Patrik Antonius and other big-name pros. Tournaments don't see to be his area of expertise as he has just one recorded cash, coming back in 2011 for 33,020. It's clear the joy of pulling off big bluffs plays a central role in Tsoukernik's drive to play poker, and he's certainly not afraid to get chips in the middle at any time. He'll be active as ever in seeking his first big tournament cash.

Seat 2  Paul Newey (955,000, 19 BBs)

Newey is one of the high rollers without a true poker pedigree in the sense that he did not build a roll in smaller buy-in events. The well-bankrolled Brit hopped into deep water pretty much right away and has cut his teeth against some of the world's best tournament players over the past few years. Observe nearly any high buy-in event around the globe recently, and one was likely to lay eyes on Newey. He has been a regular face at final tables, including making the second $1 million Big One for One Drop final table in 2014. He's totaled over $4 million in cashes but is still seeking that first big win. Will this be it for him?

Seat 3  Charlie Carrel (3,565,000, 71 BBs)

A young British pro who crushed online under the name "Epiphany77" on PokerStars, Carrel has made a remarkably smooth transition to live poker. He has already bagged a pair of EPT High Roller titles, winning a 25,500 High Roller at EPT Grand Final 2015 for 1.1 million and a 10,200 High Roller at EPT Dublin for 164,500. Indeed, Carrel is already acutely attuned to looking for live tells, as he spends quite some time studying the faces and reactions of opponents in every notable hand and isn't afraid to get the banter going in search of information. Carrel's looking to add to his $3 million in live cashes and is certainly a favourite to do so given his stack.

Seat 4  Julian Thomas (535,000, 11 BBs)

Thomas is a young German grinder, and while he hasn't attained the fame or fortune of some of his compatriots like Ole Schemion and Christoph Vogelsang, he still doesn't lack for some nice results. Thomas' best live score came in this very city in 2013, when he beat out a field of 306 runners to win World Poker Tour Prague for 206,230, almost exactly half of his live cashes. Thomas has shown he isn't afraid to gamble in big spots, like when he surprised Anthony Zinno with a raise-call for almost 20 big blinds holding king-jack, and he'll take that fearless attitude to the final table.

Seat 5  Viacheslav Buldygin (1,230,000, 25 BBs)

Not much is known about Buldygin, a young Russian player who has reportedly done well online. That would be the likely explanation for Buldygin's ability to play in some of the high-stakes live events, considering he had no live cashes until August 2015. Since then, he has been unafraid to mix it up with in the nosebleeds of the EPT, with three of his four live cashes coming in EPT High Rollers to account for most of his $258,094. Buldygin has been close to grabbing wins twice but finished runner-up in a pair of Malta events. He's a bit hot right now after cashing the 10,000 prelim event here at EPT Prague for 20,250.

Seat 6  Juha Helppi (1,615,000, 35 BBs)

Among the high roller community, few have been doing it as long as Helppi, whose first live cash came way back in the day at an event called Helsinki Freezeout 2001 for just over $5,000. The Finn has come a very long way since then with over $6.5 million in cashes and nary a score bigger than $400,000. Helppi has experienced his share of success on EPT high rollers, with five top-five finishes. One of those came in this very event two years ago, when Helppi finished fourth for 269,360 in a tournament won by Leonid Markin. He tends to be the quiet sort at the table, contrasting him a bit with some of his opponents here, but the Finn will be drawing on a vast well of experience.
U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall of New Mexico blasted the transition team of President-elect Donald Trump on Monday for asking the Department of Energy for the names of any federal or national laboratory employees who worked on climate policy during the Obama administration.

Heinrich, a Democrat, called the reports about the questionnaire extremely concerning.

While we dont yet know what the President-elect intends to do with this information, we do know about his troubling climate denial statements and the record of some of his key appointees in attacking climate science, Heinrich said in a news release.

I will not tolerate any efforts by the incoming administration to intimidate scientists and researchers in the government or at our national laboratories who are tackling some of our nations greatest challenges, including climate change.

Udall, also a Democrat, issued a news release urging Trump to explain the reasons for his 74-point questionnaire to DOE employees.

The badgering tone of the questionnaire and its focus on particular meetings and emails related to important climate change work are troubling, and I urge the Trump transition team to clarify their intent as soon as possible, Udall said in a prepared statement. I hope it isnt to single out civil servants who are contributing important work to our understanding of climate change. Our national security relies on DOE, and our national labs provide honest, unbiased scientific information and advice to the president and his team.

Different administrations have different policies and goals, but objective, scientific work should be a bipartisan priority, Udall said.

According to The Associated Press, the Trump team is asking DOE employees for information about the agencys operations and personnel, including a list of employees and contractors who attended international meetings on climate change over the past five years.

The detailed questionnaire seeks a list of all political appointees and senior executives, and asks employees to offer their opinions on who owns the departments clean energy mission and other policy goals. The transition team also wants to know whether there are any legal barriers to moving ahead with a nuclear waste dump in Nevada, a project that is staunchly opposed by the states congressional delegation.

A DOE official called the 74 questions a hit list, and said Trumps team appears to be going after top scientists and employees who work on subjects ranging from the Iran nuclear deal to the internal operations of the national energy labs.

The official said questions about professional society memberships and websites that staff at the DOEs national laboratories maintain or contribute to could raise questions about Trumps commitment to scientific independence  a fundamental tenet at the agency.

New Mexico is home to two national labs  Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. LANLs climate change research has included studies of the expected decimation of forests in New Mexico and the greater Southwest as global temperatures rise.

Another question about the identities of the top 20 salaried employees of each lab raised alarms about whether these workers would be targeted for a particular reason, according to the official.

The DOE has a $32 billion annual budget, yet the bulk of its workforce  nearly 100,000 employees  is supplied by private contractors. The agency has 14,000 government employees.

Bloomberg News first reported the questionnaire. The Associated Press independently obtained a copy of the document.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., sent a letter to Trump on Friday telling the president-elect that the new Trump administration would violate the law if any of the information being collected is used to punish department employees who carried out legal policy directives.

Civil servants should never be punished for having executed policies with which a new administration disagrees, wrote Markey, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. That would be tantamount to an illegal modern-day political witch hunt, and would have a profoundly chilling impact on our dedicated federal workforce.
BELEN  Authorities in Valencia County are investigating vandalism found in Belen, Los Lunas and the Rio Communities area believed connected to the recent rollover death of a sheriffs deputy.

Noblin Funeral Service, which handled the services for the deputy killed last week, was painted with graffiti that began with an acronym for a profane insult toward police officers and finished with the words, Crash harder next time.

Deputy Ryan Thomas was responding to a call last Tuesday night when the single-vehicle crash occurred in the Belen area. The 30-year-old officer was ejected after losing control of his vehicle.

That crash harder next time phrase and similar vandalism was found at other businesses, on an overpass and on the back of a stop sign in the Belen, Los Lunas and Rio Communities area, according to KOB TV. One area business offered a $700 reward for information leading to an arrest, according to police.

Belen Police, the Valencia County Sheriffs Office, and Los Lunas Police told Channel 7 KOAT on Monday that tips have been pouring in about the vandalism.

The owner of the funeral home says that security cameras didnt catch the vandalism.

Investigators say that detectives will talk to other businesses that were hit to see if any other cameras in the area recorded the crime.

The funeral home owner said detectives want to get Crimestoppers involved so that a potential reward could be offered for any tips that lead to an arrest.

Belen Officer Micheal Yant is one of Thomas closest friends. He says that he wont let the offensive graffiti keep people from remembering his hero.

Nothing that this individual or individuals do can take away the honor of Ryan Thomas, Yant told Channel 7.

Yant says Thomas funeral will be at Legacy Church in Albuquerque on Saturday.
SANTA FE  New Mexico political candidates and committees have disclosed their final spending sprees of the 2016 election season that gave Democrats the Secretary of States Office and majority control of the Legislature.

Political committees in particular unleashed a stream of negative advertising this year in the most competitive legislative races.

Standouts in an intricate web of political finances include the GOP-aligned political committee Advance New Mexico Now, run by Jay McCleskey  the top political adviser to New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. Advance spent more than $2 million since January, including $281,000 after Nov. 1.

The committee was instrumental in defeating Democratic Senate majority leader Michael Sanchez of Belen, by sponsoring negative ads with disputed claims about Sanchez and his treatment of crime victims. Another ad claimed without proof that Sanchez traveled to Hawaii at taxpayers expense, when the senator insisted he has never been there.

Final spending tallies for Nov. 8 elections were due before midnight Friday at the Secretary of States Office.

Overall, Democrats extended their majority hold on the Senate, and won back control of the House of Representatives after two years of Republican control.

Automatic recounts are underway in three state legislative races where the margin of victory was less than 1 percent. If results remain unchanged, Democrats would outnumber Republicans 26-16 in the Senate and 38-32 in the House of Representatives.

New Mexico Together, a political committee aligned with six Democratic candidates for state senate, spent $146,000 in the final days of the general election campaign, and $476,000 in all during the 2016 election cycle.

The committee was behind negative ads against incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Barela of Estancia, who lost to Democrat Liz Stefanics of Santa Fe, and against Senator-elect Greg Baca, the political newcomer who defeated Sanchez.

The Democratic committee Patriot Majority New Mexico spent nearly $1.7 million during the 2016 campaign season.

In the final days before the Nov. 8 election, it collected $50,000 from organized labor committees and $40,000 from an advocacy group for gun control called Everytown for Gun Safety  and paid out $200,000 that was funneled largely toward political canvassing.

Two candidates for Secretary of State spent more than $1 million combined, as Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver of Albuquerque defeated Republican Nora Espinoza of Roswell to become the states top elections regulator. Toulouse Olivers campaign spent about $720,000, while Espinoza spent $358,000.

Campaign contribution limits increasing slightly after the election. Individuals can give up to $5,500 per election toward statewide candidates and $2,500 to legislative candidates.

Judith Nakamura became the first Republican elected to the New Mexico Supreme Court in decades in a publicly financed campaign against Democrat Michael Vigil. The candidates had almost evenly matched campaign accounts.
A young woman in Saudi Arabia, who was arrested for stepping out in public without a hijab, now faces chances of being lashed for breaking the country's law.

By India Today Web Desk: Saudi Arabian woman Malak Al Shehri had posted a picture on Twitter of herself a few days ago, in which she could be seen standing on a street without a hijab. Soon enough, people on social media were asking for her blood.

Al Shehri's picture, in which she was wearing neither a hijab or an abaya (a traditional full-body clock), sparked outrage among conservatives who demanded for her being punished for such an "act".

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While some demanded she be "thrown to the dogs," others asked her to be "beheaded".

At the same time, hundreds stood on her defence and applauded her "bravery".

However, Al Shehri was soon said to have been arrested for breaking the country's rule, which forbids Muslim women to go out in public without a hijab.

#FreeMalakAlshehri her crime was taking off the black garbage bag that millions of women forced to wear in SAUDI ISIS ARABIA ! pic.twitter.com/5wfATd4c7y

Again, some rejoiced this outcome, others protested and encouraged people to "stand with Malak". The picture soon triggered a hashtag calling for justice for Al Shehri.

A Saudi woman went out yesterday without an Abaya or a hijab in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and many Saudis are now demanding her execution. pic.twitter.com/gPMOz5bRAr Anon (@dontcarebut) November 29, 2016

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The consensus in Israel is that the relationship between the Jewish state and the United States is going to improve in a Trump administration, says former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Zalman Shoval.

On a recent visit to Washington, D.C., Shoval told me that he believes Donald Trump and his cabinet picks so far have a more realistic view of the Middle East than President Obama, who from his first days in office, perhaps before, believed it was his calling to fix once and for all, all matters between the U.S. and the Arab and Muslim worlds, as expressed in his Cairo speech.  This gives Trump in the hearts and minds of more than a few Israelis a head-start.

Shoval said he believes the issue of a Palestinian state  the objective of U.S. foreign policy over several administrations  has become less concerning than the regional and international threat posed by a nuclear Iran.

He likes recent statements by secretary of defense-designate Gen. James Mattis about the way forward in dealing with an unstable Iran, believing Mattis recognizes that as important as it is to defeat ISIS, the real threat in the Middle East is Iran.

Its not only the nuclear deal that bothers Shoval, though he believes Iran will eventually have a bomb, unless it is stopped. It is also bothersome that Iran continues with its terrorist activities, subsidizing anti-American and anti-Israel groups around the world because radical mullahs think their god has ordered them to do so. That makes any kind of diplomatic agreement with nations Iran regards as infidels impossible.

Even when the battle for Mosul is over and victory has been declared over that ISIS stronghold, Shoval believes, what it really will mean is that the Iranians and the Shia are going to be the real victors. They will continue their attempts to build a territorial corridor all the way to the Mediterranean along with Hezbollah, which is not only a threat to Israel, but also something the so-called moderate Arab states look at with a great deal of concern.

Shoval says he hopes the incoming Trump administration realizes that Iran cannot be a partner with the United States in the Middle East even if from time to time it seems like that because of whats happening in Syria. Ultimately, Iran is a great danger.

People like former President Jimmy Carter have a different worldview. In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, Carter called on President Obama to recognize a Palestinian state before he leaves office. Carter also called on the UN to pass a resolution setting the parameters for resolving the conflict.

I believe in miracles, but for the UN, or anyone else, to resolve a conflict in which one side thinks it has a heavenly mandate to destroy the other is not where most people would see as a good starting point for conflict resolution.

Carter continues to trade off his one success  the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. But getting one thing right with a unique combination of leaders, one of whom  Anwar Sadat  was assassinated by Islamic fanatics for making peace with Israel, is like an astrologer wanting credit for one prediction that came true while ignoring hundreds that didnt.

Shoval disagrees with those who think the Israel-Palestinian status quo is not sustainable. He believes it is, otherwise a Palestinian state would mean Hamas and Hezbollah would be just 20 minutes away from Jerusalem and in a position to overwhelm Israel.

In his book, The Field of Fight, Michael Flynn, Trumps pick to head the National Security Council, writes about President Obama: I find it simply incredible that an American president should believe a strategic alliance with Iran to be more attractive than our traditional embrace of Israel. Our new leaders need to reverse that, pronto. We will need Israel if were going to defeat the radical Islamists, and above all, the Iranians.

This is the opposite of wishful thinking.

E-mail: tmseditors@tribune.com; copyright, Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
CHICAGO  As sure as Earth rotates around the sun, college professors condemn high schools for freshmen who cant write decent papers, high school teachers blame middle schools for passing barely literate students along, and middle school teachers tsk-tsk elementary school teachers for kids who arent comfortable with the basics of writing and arithmetic.

Elementary school teachers would be forgiven for blaming their teacher preparation programs for not adequately equipping them to lay the foundations of academic achievement for their young charges.

According to the latest National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) rating of 875 of the nations undergraduate programs that prepare elementary school teachers, only 5 percent require teacher candidates to take sufficient courses in literature, science and history/social studies.

The subject of math is an apt example: Only 13 percent of programs require coverage of topics deemed critical by mathematicians.

Elementary school education is foundational, and if you want to understand how important elementary math is, look no further than todays PISA scores, said Kate Walsh, NCTQs president, referring to new figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments Program for International Student Assessment. They found that 15-year-old U.S. students score below the global average on math.

If were trying to figure out why kids are performing so badly in mathematics, Walsh added, theres no subject more reliant on foundational skills from kindergarten on up. Yet were looking at what programs do in math and theyre all over the map; they do not expect elementary school teachers to master topics found in the elementary curriculum. And if you have a weak grasp, it may be that you are able to solve a fraction but not able to teach it.

The same can be said about science, history and literature. Though 83 percent of surveyed teacher preparation programs require a course in composition, only half require at least two courses in literature and composition, a paltry amount for such wide-ranging subjects. Just three in five require a course in early or modern American history and only 12 percent require courses in at least two science topics.

Its hard to imagine why anyone would want the people with the least amount of subject-area knowledge tasked with giving students a foundation in core content areas, but its actually rational.

In order to have the expertise needed to pass certification tests in the core subjects, one has to have studied them extensively. But there is little incentive to do so when so few teacher programs require them and state certification exams for elementary school teachers dont test for deep content area knowledge at all.

And then theres the cultural aspect: The prevailing sentiment in education circles seems to be that the most important aspects of teaching are how much you can love your students and how committed to social justice your educational philosophy is, rather than how academically accomplished or pedagogically prepared you are.

NCTQs report did uncover one bright spot  reading instruction. Today, 39 percent of undergraduate programs for aspiring elementary school teachers (up from 29 percent in 2014) incorporate content from all five components of early reading instruction  comprehension, vocabulary, phonics, fluency and phonemic awareness  that research has determined are essential.

Its still awful, but its a full 10 percentage points higher than it was two years ago, said Walsh, and Im very heartened by the fact that more programs are paying attention to evidence-based research in reading instruction.

There is much work to be done, however, with obvious upgrades necessary in the crucial areas of providing highly qualified mentors for student teachers (93 percent of programs accept mentors chosen by a district without much vetting) and offering more in-school observation and feedback to gauge effectiveness in teaching and classroom management.

Still, this latest batch of research on teacher preparation programs validates the sometimes-feared adage in education that what is measured improves.

We went into this with a lot of people saying Youll never get higher ed to pay attention to these findings, but the improvements we observed show they are willing to make changes, said Walsh. Its not as fast as anyone would like, but there are clear signs of progress.

If teacher training programs can be as eager to better themselves as most of the teachers I know, we should see the quality of preparation improve fairly quickly.

Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

LAS CRUCES  Now that New Mexico State Universitys administration has slashed its budget and staff, cutback efforts will move to the academic colleges, according to Chancellor Garrey Carruthers.

For example, colleges will be asked to review things like department head stipends and summer salaries and to determine the minimum size of a department and what the corresponding management structure would look like, he said in a presentation to the Board of Regents at a meeting Friday.

The universitys administrative units have either identified or already made changes that will result in about $10.4 million in mostly recurring savings, Carruthers said. NMSUs colleges will now have to take a hard look at their organizations, and plans will be evaluated during the spring semester, Carruthers said.

I think some of the pain was relieved by the fact that we tried to involve as many people as we could in the conversation about how to transform our university, he said.

As difficult as this has been, we have had more cooperation and collegiality and less pushback than anyone would ever anticipate, and thats because they are a caring community trying to take care of a great university.

NMSU, the University of New Mexico and the rest of the states higher education institutions are facing steep budget cuts as the state budget shrinks and enrollment decreases hurt revenue. NMSU slashed its fiscal 2016 budget by $11.9 million and its fiscal 2017 budget by $12.8 million before being forced to shave another $5.8 million, thanks to a 5 percent reduction in state appropriations announced during the special session this fall.

The state has been slammed with a persistent budget shortfall, thanks to a sharp drop in oil prices over the past year and the domino effect of weaker revenue as the oil-based economy slowed, especially in southeastern New Mexico.

In the restructuring of administrative units, one of the biggest sources of savings came from an effort to trim levels of management.

On average, Carruthers said, 19 administrative units eliminated one to two management levels and boosted the employee-manager ratio from three employees to every manager, to six employees to every manager. That reorganization resulted in $5.2 million in savings, he said.

As the universitys academic units embark on a similar process in the new year, Carruthers said, the College of Education is already looking at shifting from five internal departments to three schools, or divisions, to reduce administration. The College of Business may scale back to four departments from five.

NMSU has scaled back its main campus workforce by 727 full-time faculty and staff jobs over the past seven years, largely through attrition, Carruthers said, although that figure includes 37 layoffs over the past year due to budget cuts. NMSUs main campus currently has 3,203 faculty and staff members.

After Carruthers presentation, regent Kari Mitchell asked him and the administration to aim not to just meet a number for the sake of it, but to square the restructuring with the universitys goals for its students. She also asked the administration to deliver the university to a place where it can make strategic investments.

Are we making decisions that are lending itself to operating in a highly student-centric environment? she asked. Are we actually building a university structure that can deliver the kind of student outcomes that we are looking for?

Carruthers answered by saying the primary goal has been to get our budget in line with revenues and reminded the regents that the Legislature is likely to squeeze higher education allocations again in the 2017 session, which starts in January.

Wed like to make investments in faculty and staff, he said. We havent given our staff raises in years and years and years. I understand that. You are going to have to help us in the coming session with tuition. We cant cheap ourselves to prosperity.

NMSU regents declined the administrations request to raise tuition earlier this year, asking it to tighten its belt first; that was before the blow of the state cuts to higher education during the special session.

Fall tuition totaled $3,364.50 for full-time students with in-state residency and $10,617 for out-of-state students.
FARMINGTON  Tuesday special elections in five Northern Agency chapters, including Shiprock, will determine representation on school boards and government seats.

Precincts will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. The other chapters are Tse Alnaoztii, Cove, Red Valley and Aneth.

Voters in Tse Alnaoztii Chapter will cast ballots to determine the chapter presidency.

Candidates in that race are Alonzo Cohoe, Remnita Henderson, Frank Smith and Ruthda Thomas.

The tribe held its general election for chapter government seats on Nov. 8 but the seat for Tse Alnaoztii Chapter president was postponed due to an Oct. 7 ruling by the Office of Hearings and Appeals that declared Smith eligible to run after a challenge to his candidacy.

In August, the Navajo Election Administration determined Smith ineligible to seek the position because he failed to list a March 1988 driving while intoxicated conviction on his candidacy paperwork.

Smith challenged the decision by the election office in September with the Office of Hearings and Appeals.

In Shiprock Chapter, Hazel Dayish is seeking a seat on the Tiis Nazbas Community School board and Eva B. Stokely is running to represent Shiprock and Tse Alnaoztii chapters for the Nenahnezad Community School board.

Virginia Nelson, a voter registration specialist at the election administration office in Shiprock said those who are elected in Tuesdays special election could take the oath of office in January.

In order for that to happen, candidates must file their campaign expense reports and the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors would have to certify the special election results by Dec. 23, Nelson said.

The inauguration ceremony for the Northern Agency will be Jan. 13, 2017 at Shiprock High Schools Chieftain Pit, she said.

Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636.



2016 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)

Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com

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The Bureau of Land Management honored two New Mexico ranchers for their landscape restoration efforts.

Jim Ross Caviness and Cliff Waide received the 2016 BLM Restore New Mexico Land Stewardship Award during the New Mexico Joint Stockmens Convention earlier this month.

Caviness, whose land is located in Lea and Eddy counties, was recognized for treating more than 15,000 acres of land for invasive mesquite and voluntary livestock reduction during dry periods.

Waide, who owns Waide Irrigation in Dexter and the Wiggins Ranch, has participated in BLM conservation projects, partnered with the BLM to have more of the ranchs watershed treated to eradicate mesquite and creosote.

It is a pleasure to present both Mr. Waide and Mr. Caviness with the Restore New Mexico Award, said Amy Lueders, state director of BLM New Mexico, in a news release. Their efforts not only improve the grazing capabilities of their individual allotments, but improve overall wildlife habitat. These projects will help protect the landscape for the use and enjoyment of future generations.



2016 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.)

Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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BEIRUT  When Syrian rebels surged into Aleppo in the summer of 2012, it was the high point of their still young, still idealistic revolution against President Bashar Assad.

Four and a half years and hundreds of thousands of deaths later, troops loyal to his government were poised Tuesday to take the city back, heralding the end of an era for the rebellion.

With the rebels clinging to a tiny pinprick of territory in one corner of the city, it is now only a matter of time before the government reclaims full control over the countrys biggest metropolis, an architectural and historical jewel that has now become a symbol of the catastrophe of the Syrian war.

Last-minute diplomacy to rescue the tens of thousands of people trapped by the fighting or because they fear being detained by loyalist forces generated a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey on Tuesday to evacuate the last rebel-controlled enclave.

The deal would see rebel holdouts and perhaps also the civilians still living there evacuated on buses to other rebel-held areas in the north of the province of Aleppo or the nearby province of Idlib, according to Russian officials and rebel spokesmen. But exact details were unclear, and U.S. officials said they were doubtful it would be implemented fully, if at all.

We remain skeptical, said one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a quickly changing situation. Weve seen these kind of declarations before by the Russians and the regime, and just as many times weve seen them violated and broken.

If the evacuation does not go ahead, an even bigger nightmare could unfold, U.N. agencies and human rights groups warned. Jens Laerke, the U.N. humanitarian spokesman, called the scenario in Aleppo a complete meltdown of humanity.

There have already been disturbing reports of abuses as Assad loyalists converged in recent days on former rebel strongholds that had been fighting against the government. The U.N. Human Rights Council said it had been given the names of 82 civilians who were killed in summary executions in two neighborhoods on Monday. According to Rupert Colville, spokesman for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the reports asserted that Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi militia had entered homes and killed people on the spot. Among them were 11 women and 13 children, he said.

Tens of thousands of people who fled the neighborhoods overrun in recent days have sought refuge in the tiny enclave still under opposition control, joining the residents who were already there and creating chaos in the cramped streets. People stumbled over the bodies of the dead as they fled for their lives ahead of advancing government troops, and they now fear for their lives should they be caught, said Zouhir al-Shimale, an activist who lives in one of the last rebel-held neighborhoods.

Most people now only want the chance to escape the area safely and welcomed the news of Tuesdays deal with a kind of shock of happiness, said Shimale, who was among those who joined in the uprising against Assads rule. But now, he said, all anyone can think about is getting out.

Its dead. Its over, and no one cares, he said.

The rout of the rebels gives the Assad government its biggest victory yet in the five-year-old war. It wont, however, change the course of the conflict, which was all but sealed by Russias military intervention more than a year ago. That Assad is in no danger of being toppled has been clear since Russian airstrikes began turning back rebel gains, putting beyond doubt that the opposition would ever be able to overthrow his regime in Damascus.

It also wont end the war. The rebels still control large areas of northwestern Syria, much of the countryside of southern Syria and several pockets of territory around Damascus and near Homs.

But the endgame in Aleppo does change the parameters of the conflict, leaving the rebels with no hold over any strategically significant area of the country and no real bargaining chip to try to force the government into a negotiated settlement. Coming weeks before the inauguration of a new U.S. president, Donald Trump, it leaves the Obama administrations five-year-old policy of using rebel gains to force Assad to compromise in shreds.

The bloodshed could now intensify, diplomats fear, as an emboldened government, backed by its Russian and Iranian allies, steps up its efforts to fulfill Assads promise to reclaim all of the territory lost to the rebels.

Whether they can, at least any time soon, is a different question. It has been three years since government forces turned the tide in Aleppo and began taking back rebel areas.

And the war, which has claimed, by most estimates, at least 400,000 lives, has since become much more complicated.

The Islamic State now controls more than a third of the eastern part of the country, and has drawn the United States into Syrias war. While attention was focused on the battle for Aleppo, the militants recaptured the Syrian city of Palmyra, overrunning in just three days loyalist positions that had been depleted by diversions to the Aleppo front.

Syrian Kurds are now governing a big area in northeastern Syria that Assad has also said he wants to reclaim. Turkish troops have intervened in another area of the north of the country and control a chunk of territory alongside a force of allied rebels.

Two things are absolutely clear here, said the U.S. official. One, the regime doesnt have capability to end this war, even with Russias backing, and the scorched-earth approach that theyre taking is only going to attract more extremists.

Aleppo will nonetheless be remembered as a symbolic milestone, the final death of a dream of a more democratic Syria that had waned long ago. The brutality of the government crackdown and the reluctance of world powers to pressure the Assad regime into softening its tactics exposed shortcomings in the global system of laws and norms designed to ameliorate the suffering of civilians in war.

Aleppo represents the death of respect for international law and the rules of war, according to David Miliband, who heads the International Rescue Committee, an aid agency.

U.S. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who have long advocated a more assertive U.S. policy toward Syria, said Aleppo would go down in history as one of the great failures of the international community to halt human rights abuses.

The name Aleppo will echo through history, like Srebrenica and Rwanda, as a testament to our moral failure and everlasting shame, the senators said, citing the locations of major atrocities in the Bosnian war and in Africa.

And Aleppo also became a symbol of the failures of the Syrian revolution, which began with peaceful protests against a dictatorial regime but mutated into an armed rebellion that also violated many of those international rules.

In Aleppo, rebels looted homes and factories. They squabbled, fragmented and turned on one another, even in the last days of the siege, battling one another for control over stockpiled weapons, according to rebel commanders and residents of the city. A sizable number embraced the extremist visions of Islam that so alarmed the United States and its Western allies that promises of more significant support were never fulfilled.

And now the shattered city stands as a symbol too of a wrecked and polarized country. West Aleppo, which always remained in government hands, is still largely intact, though rebel shelling killed many civilians there too. Tens of thousands of civilians from eastern Syria have sought refuge there in recent days, streaming across the front line clutching bags and blankets.

East Aleppo, which was under rebel control, is destroyed.

Syrian state television broadcast live footage throughout the day on Tuesday showing its reporters roaming through the ruins of the newly reconquered neighborhoods, trumpeting the governments victory as they climbed over piles of rubble, peered into abandoned homes and sifted through the remains of rebel defenses. There was no other sign of life in the empty streets.

  

Ryan reported from Washington. Heba Habib in Stockholm and Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul contributed to this report.

syria-5thld-writethru
The UNM Board of Regents reached an agreement Tuesday morning regarding school president Bob Frank.

He is expected to leave the presidents job Dec. 31 and go on a paid professional development assignment. He still has a job offer to work at the Health Sciences Center at $190,000 a year, a much lower salary than previously disclosed.

Regents earlier this month had discussed the possibility of terminating Franks contract, which would have closed the door on the 64-year-old presidents $350,000 tenured position at the Health Sciences Center.

The regents did name provost Chaouki Abdallah as acting president, and Craig White, a dean at the Anderson School of Management, as acting provost.

It wasnt immediately clear what that means for Frank.

That announcement came following an hour-long and closed meeting of the board Tuesday morning ahead of a regularly scheduled public meeting at 9 a.m. today. Frank did not attend the meeting as hes currently travelling.

Antagonism between the board and the president has been high since late November when several documents critical of Frank were leaked to local media outlets.

The presidents attorney argued these documents were defamatory, while announcing his intent to sue the school and the seven-member Board of Regents. The regents huddled last week to discuss possibly firing or suspending Frank, whose salary as President is $362,136.

Instead after three and a half hours, the regents took no action and offered no comment to the roughly half-dozen reporters gathered outside a conference room where they met.

In September, Frank announced he would not seek to renew his five-year contract when it ends this May. The board of regents have since launched a search for a new president, and hope to have the position filled by spring.
A man was shot and killed after an argument at a home near Coors and Interstate 40 Monday night, according to a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department.

Officer Fred Duran said a woman called police around 9:45 p.m. saying her boyfriend, later identified as 32-year-old Gilberto Medina-Pena, had been shot by someone or a group of people she did not know.

When officers and paramedics arrived at the house in the 1100 block of Palisades NW they found Medina-Pena with a gunshot wound, Duran said. He was taken to the University of New Mexico, where he died.

Upon preliminary investigation, it was determined there was a verbal altercation with a subject or subjects who arrived to the residence prior to the shooting, Duran said.

Homicide detectives are investigating to determine who is responsible, he said.

Betty Iddings, who lives nearby, said that around 9:30 p.m. she heard six gunshots coming from the single-story stucco home up the block.

I thought it was fireworks, and my next door neighbor thought it was fireworks, too, Iddings said. (Then) all these cops showed up.

Iddings said it was a long time after she heard gunshots before the officers and paramedics arrived, but she thinks its because the people involved didnt call 911 right away. Duran said officers were on scene about 6 minutes after the call came in.

Iddings said several people live in the house and they frequently hold loud parties or host bands. She said she heard gunfire coming from the house Saturday, but no one was injured then.

Theyre always fighting, I guess it got out of hand, she said.

Tuesday afternoon several cars were parked in the houses front yard and a large blood spot was still on the driveway. No one answered the door.
Alarmed that decades of crucial climate measurements could vanish under a hostile Trump administration, scientists have begun a feverish attempt to copy reams of government data onto independent servers in hopes of safeguarding it from any political interference.

The efforts include a guerrilla archiving event in Toronto where experts will copy irreplaceable public data, meetings at the University of Pennsylvania focused on how to download as much federal data as possible in the coming weeks, and a collaboration of scientists and database experts who are compiling an online site to harbor scientific information.

Something that seemed a little paranoid to me before all of a sudden seems potentially realistic, or at least something youd want to hedge against, said Nick Santos, an environmental researcher at the University of California at Davis, who over the weekend began copying government climate data onto a nongovernment server, where it will remain available to the public. Doing this can only be a good thing. Hopefully they leave everything in place. But if not, were planning for that.

In recent weeks, Trump has nominated a growing list of Cabinet members who have questioned the overwhelming scientific consensus around global warming. His transition team at the Department of Energy has asked agency officials for names of employees and contractors who have participated in international climate talks and worked on the scientific basis for Obama-era regulations of carbon emissions. One Trump adviser suggested that NASA no longer should conduct climate research and instead should focus on space exploration.

Those moves have stoked fears among the scientific community that Trump, who has called the notion of man-made climate change a hoax and vowed to reverse environmental policies put in place by President Barack Obama, could try to alter or dismantle parts of the federal governments repository of data on everything from rising sea levels to the number of wildfires in the country.

Michael Halpern, deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists, argued that Trump has appointed a band of climate conspiracy theorists to run transition efforts at various agencies, along with nominees to lead them who share similar views.

They have been salivating at the possibility of dismantling federal climate research programs for years. Its not unreasonable to think they would want to take down the very data that they dispute, Halpern said in an email. There is a fine line between being paranoid and being prepared, and scientists are doing their best to be prepared . . . Scientists are right to preserve data and archive websites before those who want to dismantle federal climate change research programs storm the castle.

To be clear, neither Trump nor his transition team has said that the new administration plans to manipulate or curtail publicly available data. The transition team did not respond to a request for comment. But some scientists arent taking any chances.

What are the most important .gov climate assets? Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist and self-proclaimed climate hawk, tweeted from his Arizona home Saturday evening. Scientists: Do you have a US .gov climate database that you dont want to see disappear?

Within hours, responses flooded in from around the country. Scientists added links to dozens of government databases to a Google spreadsheet. Investors offered to help fund efforts to copy and safeguard key climate data. Lawyers offered pro bono legal help. Database experts offered help organizing mountains of data and free server space to house it. In California, Santos began building an online repository to make sure these data sets remain freely and broadly accessible.

Climate data from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association have been politically vulnerable. When Tom Karl, director of the National Centers for Environmental Information, and his colleagues published a study in 2015 seeking to challenge the idea that there had been a global warming slowdown or pause during the 2000s, they relied, in significant part, on updates to NOAAs ocean temperature data set, saying the data do not support the notion of a global warming hiatus.'

In response, the U.S. House Science Committee chair, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, tried to subpoena the scientists and their records.

That effort launched by Holthaus is one of several underway to preserve key federal scientific data.

In Philadelphia, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, along with members of groups such as Open Data Philly and the software company Azavea, have been meeting to figure out ways to harvest and store important data sets.

At the University of Toronto this weekend, researchers are holding what they call a guerrilla archiving event to catalogue key federal environmental data ahead of Trumps inauguration. The event is focused on preserving information and data from the Environmental Protection Agency, which has programs and data at high risk of being removed from online public access or even deleted, the organizers wrote. This includes climate change, water, air, toxics programs.

The event is part of a broader effort to help San Francisco-based Internet Archive with its End of Term 2016 project, an effort by university, government and nonprofit officials to find and archive valuable pages on federal websites. The project has existed through several presidential transitions.

At the American Geophysical Unions fall meeting in San Francisco, where more than 20,000 earth and climate scientists have swarmed the citys biggest conference center this week, an air of gallows humor marked many conversations. Some young scientists said their biggest personal concern is funding for their research, much of which relies on support from NASA and other agencies.

You just dont know whats coming, said Adam Campbell, who studies the imperiled Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica.

But others also arrived at the meeting with a strengthened sense of resolve. Campbell was planning to join hundreds of other people at a rally Tuesday, organized by the activist group Climate Truth, encouraging researchers to stand up for science. People have felt a call to arms, Campbell said. We need to be outspoken.

Attorneys with the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund  which provides legal assistance to researchers facing lawsuits over their work on climate change  will be holding one-on-one consultations with researchers who think they might need help from a lawyer. And the organizations table in the AGU exhibition hall is piled high with booklets titled Handling Political Harassment and Legal Intimidation: A Pocket Guide for Scientists.

We literally thought about it the day after the election, said Lauren Kurtz, the groups executive director. I have gotten a lot of calls from scientists who are really concerned . . . So its intended in some ways to be reassuring, to say, There is a game plan; were here to help you.'

The 16-page guide contains advice for government researchers who believe their work is being suppressed, as well as how scientists should react if they receive hate mail or death threats.

Holthaus, who encouraged scientists to flag key databases, said the effort to safeguard them is mostly precautionary.

I dont actually think that it will happen, he said of efforts by an incoming administration to obscure or alter scientific data. But I think it could happen . . . All of these data sets are priceless, in the sense that if there is a gap, it greatly diminishes their usefulness.

Thats the main concern for Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University. He said he doubts even the most hostile administration would try to do away with existing climate data, given the potential backlash.

I think its much more likely theyd try to end the collection of data, which would minimize its value. Having continuous data is crucial for understanding long-term trends, Dessler said. Trends are what climate change is about  understanding these long-term changes. Think about how much better off the people who dont want to do anything about climate change would be if all the long-term temperature trends didnt exist.

He added, If you can just get rid of the data, youre in a stronger position to argue we should do nothing about climate change.

  

The Washington Posts Chris Mooney in Washington and Sarah Kaplan in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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The Obama administration will curtail some intelligence sharing with Saudi Arabia following a review of military assistance, an official said, but it will expand support in other areas despite intense criticism of Saudi strikes on civilians during the Kingdoms air war in Yemen.

The carrot-and-stick approach reflects an attempt by U.S. officials, increasingly uncomfortable with support for an operation that has been widely condemned by rights groups, to distance themselves from the Yemen campaign without alienating a core Middle Eastern ally.

This is not a punitive measure; its a corrective measure, said a senior U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal decision-making. We have to careful not to cut back on things that serve our interests in the process of trying to cut back on things that dont serve our interest.

The White House launched the high-level review of U.S. assistance in October, following a Saudi airstrike that killed more than 100 people at a Yemeni funeral. The incident, one of a series of apparent Saudi attacks on civilian targets in the Kingdoms war against Shiite Houthi rebels, prompted the White House to warn that U.S. aid was not a blank check.

Now, following months of deliberation, the administration has reached a set of interim conclusions, the official said, including a decision to reduce sharing of intelligence that the United States believes could be used to conduct similar problematic strikes in the Houthi campaign.

At the same time, U.S. officials will continue or even increase other kinds of intelligence sharing, on targets such as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or when the United States sees legitimate Saudi concerns about Houthi aggression. The rebels, suspected of ties to Iran, have repeatedly launched attacks across the Saudi-Yemeni border.

While the modest changes are an acknowledgment that U.S. attempts to urge greater Saudi restraint have failed, they mostly tweak around the margins of a military relationship that has been central to U.S. goals in the Middle East. According to the Congressional Research Service, the United States concluded $58 billion in arms deals to Saudi Arabia from fiscal 2009 to 2015.

The administration has also decided to shelve the planned sale of $390 million worth of precision munitions guidance systems to Saudi Arabia. Some rights groups have called for a suspension of arms sales by the United States and other countries, pointing to the repeated appearance of U.S. munitions at the sites of Saudi strikes on civilian targets.

The United States will also retool its training for the Saudi air force in an attempt to resolve some of their structural, endemic problems with their targeting practices, the official said, and will maintain only a small presence of U.S. military personnel at a Saudi command center in Riyadh.

Either they will take that to heart and they will listen to us more or, at a minimum, we will no longer be providing assistance to some of their practices, the official said.

A spokesman for the Saudi military was not immediately available for comment.

But the Obama administration will also expand support in other areas, as officials scramble to avoid further damage to bilateral ties already shaken by President Barack Obamas nuclear deal with Iran. Officials declined to give details on the expanded support for the defense of the Saudi border, but said it would include greater intelligence sharing related to that threat.

With the combination of the plus-ups and the curtailment, we hope that that will send a message that this is not an inimical, hostile gesture, the official said.

Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, said the move was unlikely to impact Saudi behavior or change the course of the Yemen conflict.

In an indication of the difficulty of disentangling support for operations targeting Houthis within Yemen from those defending Saudi borders, the United States will continue to use its tanker aircraft to refuel Saudi planes midair, which has been a major component of U.S. assistance to the Yemen operation.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who has been a vocal critic of U.S. support for Saudi Arabia, said U.S. support for the Saudi campaign in Yemen, and the civilian deaths there, had made the United States less safe.

It is completely unacceptable that the United States continues to engage in military operations with the Saudi operation that is resulting in what appear to be multiple war crimes, said Lieu, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

The Saudi government and its allies have reviewed some of the casualty allegations through an investigatory board. It found the October funeral strike was the result of inaccurate targeting information and called for compensation of the victims families.

The official said the review did not address whether Saudi strikes were unlawful, as rights and aid groups have alleged. Some of the sites that have been allegedly struck by Saudi planes include medical facilities, schools and detention centers.

The question is how many unlawful strikes have to happen before the U.S. and particularly President Obama during the last days of his administration steps up and does something to make it clear that this is unacceptable and the U.S. does not want to risk complicity in these attacks, said Kristine Beckerle, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Even as the White House decided to forego one weapons sale, it has moved forward with others. Just last week, the State Department informed Congress of the administrations intent to sell 48 Chinook cargo helicopters to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth $3.5 billion. Officials stressed those helicopters were intended for use within Saudi Arabia rather than in neighboring Yemen.

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As many as 12 including four school girls were killed in bus-autorickshaw collision in Madhya Pradesh.

By Hemender Sharma, Rahul Noronha: Twelve people including 4 school girls were killed on Tuesday evening when a speeding bus rammed into an autorickshaw. The incident happened near the town of Rajgarh which is some 150 km away from the state capital Bhopal.

The bus was carrying 27 people who were traveling from Biaora to Rajgarh when it rammed into an autorickshaw. The impact of the collision was so strong that the autorickshaw that was carrying 14 people was crushed under the bus.

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As many as 11 people including four school girls, aged between 13 to 15 years, died on the spot while another injured died during treatment at the Rajgarh district hospital.

Rajgarh Collector -- Tarun Pithode -- said that two more people who were injured have been referred to Bhopal for treatment.

Transport minister Bhupendra Singh ordered the suspension of Rajgarh KP Agnihotri (RTO), and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.

The state government has even ordered the registration of an FIR against the owner of Sai Travels, the company that owned the bus.

--- ENDS ---
NAIROBI, Kenya  In less than a week, the tiny country of Gambia has gone from a symbol of democratic promise in Africa to an example of the enduring power of dictatorships on the continent.

That swift change, like almost everything else that has happened in Gambia in the past two decades, was the product of one man: President Yahya Jammeh.

Earlier this month, after more than 22 years in power, Jammeh shocked the world by announcing that he had conceded the presidential election. Activists rejoiced at what appeared to be a peaceful transition of power. Maybe Gambia would morph into West Africas democratic beacon, some suggested. Then, a week later, Jammeh changed his mind, saying he had decided to reject the outcome.

His U-turn has prompted calls from the United Nations and a host of African leaders for him to step down. And on Tuesday, an even more surprising anti-Jammeh call came through  this time, from his own ambassador in Washington.

In a statement, Ambassador Sheikh Omar Faye said that Jammehs reversal has created a serious post-election crisis and put The Gambia on a dangerous path.

He continued: I find it morally difficult to remain silent while Gambians are in fear and uncertainty.

Fayes statement was released just as a high-level delegation of African leaders, including the presidents of Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana, arrived in Gambia to persuade Jammeh to step down. On Tuesday afternoon, the BBC reported that Gambian security forces had seized the countrys electoral commission headquarters and would not allow employees to enter.

According to the official results, Jammeh was defeated by Adama Barrow, a real estate agent and former security guard with little political experience. Jammeh said the results were marred by serious and unacceptable abnormalities, but he did not offer any evidence.

As of Tuesday, it remained unclear whether the delegation or critics like Faye would succeed in their efforts. Jammeh, who came to power in a military coup, is a mercurial leader who once said he would rule for a billion years. Human rights groups say he has imprisoned and threatened his opponents. Dissent within the government is rare, and the countrys patronage network is small but powerful.

That is what makes Fayes statement so surprising. At least publicly, he has been a Jammeh loyalist. In July, the military veteran and former minister said of Jammeh: There have been big leaps, big improvements, what I will call colossal gains under him.

Is Fayes new criticism a sign that Jammehs regime is beginning to crack? Or will Jammeh retain enough power, particularly within the military and police, to quash opponents?

Reporters in Banjul and Serrekunda, Gambias two largest cities, reported seeing police and military patrolling with their weapons. It appeared, at least at the highest ranks, that officers had remained loyal to Jammeh. But it is unclear whether soldiers and police have received special orders in the wake of his rejection of the election results.

Jammeh said he will appeal to the supreme court to resolve the impasse. But while Gambia has a chief justice, it does not currently have a supreme court, and more judges would have to be appointed to review the case. If Jammeh appoints them, few will respect the courts decision.

The Chief Justice has been known to carry executive directives in matters of the state interest, the Gambian Bar Association said in a statement on Tuesday.

On Monday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations described the situation in Gambia as very dangerous. Samantha Power also requested Jammeh to respect the election results.

During much of his rule, thousands of Gambians have fled the country, migrating through Libya and across the Mediterranean. And while Jammeh was invited to the White House in 2014 for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, he was mocked across much of Africa as irrational for his quixotic, unfounded claims (including that he could cure AIDS with local herbs). If he were to remain in power despite the urgings of the international community, the regime would probably find itself even more alienated.

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PARIS  Days after the Islamic State group seized back control of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, a prescient exhibit was inaugurated in Paris on Tuesday that aims to educate the public on the wounded wonder that Syrians affectionately call the Bride of the Desert.

Its organizers said the display opening Wednesday is designed to be an emotional experience that takes visitors to Palmyra and other endangered world heritage sites in the Middle East. Its also meant to show how much of the Syrian sites heritage so far has been spared.

The exhibit at the Grand Palais plunges visitors into a three-dimensional, 360-degree projection using never-before-seen images of Palmyra. They were taken by a drone in April days after the city was liberated from Islamic State group fighters.

But just as the exhibit opens, the threat to the city it honors is ratcheting up.

Islamic State group militants on Sunday re-occupied the site, from which they had been expelled earlier this year, in a surprise attack that took advantage of the Russian and Syrian governments preoccupation with the front in Aleppo.

French President Francois Hollande, who inaugurated the exhibit alongside UNESCO chief Irina Bokova, spoke about the terrible, tragic coincidence of the exhibits timing.

At the time we inaugurate this exhibition, there are bombings over Aleppo.Civil populations are being held hostages and martyrized, Hollande said. And there is the return of Daesh in Palmyra.

Last year, the militants destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to A.D. 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a stone block structure fronted by six towering columns  viewing them as monuments to idolatry. They also blew up a non-religious ancient monument, the Arch of Triumph.

Despite the loss of such archaeological treasures, the researcher behind the 3-D imagery, Yves Ubelmann, called the previously unseen photos he collated positive because they illustrate how much of Palmyra remains intact. Experts estimate that some 80 percent of the citys ancient ruins are still unharmed, for now.

A UNESCO world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. Before the war, it was Syrias top tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Instead of responding to extremists with guns, were fighting to show that heritage and culture matter, Bokova said. They want to destroy our very understanding of humanity, and this shared understanding is the very spirit of this exhibit.

Ubelmann founded the France-based organization Iconem whose state-of-the art technology is showcased in the exhibit and maps out with arresting realism every nook and cranny of the sites that are found among the Middle Easts most hostile places.

As well as Palmyra, they include Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Khorsabad in Iraq, the Umayyad Mosque in Syria and Kerak Castle in Jordan.

Ubelmann was the first person Syrias heritage authority sent to Palmyra following its liberation from militants in March because of his expertise and familiarity with the site.

Its unclear whether President Bashar al-Assad will prioritize retaking the old city and whats left of its archaeological treasure.

At least we have these photos in April that can be an archive for the memory of humanity, Ubelmann said.

Marielle Pic, the curator of the exhibit and director of the Oriental Antiquities Department in the Louvre Museum, expressed remarkable sangfroid at the prospect of Palmyras further destruction at the hands of militants.

Archaeologists, she said, must simply accept it.

We know that each era can be a new chapter for a site. Now, Palmyra has entered a dark period, Pic said. But for us the destruction is part of the story of an archaeological site. We need to accept it.

The exhibition, Eternal Sites, From Bamiyan to Palmyra, runs until Jan. 9.

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP
During the presidential campaign, the Trump team fought off accusations that it had direct connections with senior Russian officials and oligarchs. Now, President-elect Donald Trump has appointed as his secretary of state Rex Tillerson, a businessman who has some of the most deep and long-standing ties to the Russian political and business elite of any American.

Not so long ago, the Trump camp disavowed its former foreign policy adviser Carter Page when it was reported in September that he had met with Igor Sechin, head of the Russian oil giant Rosneft. In fact, Page had never met with Sechin. But after leading Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called for an FBI investigation into Pages relationship with the sanctioned Russian tycoon, the Trump team pretended he had never even been part of the campaign.

Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil, has a close and personal relationship with Sechin dating back over a decade. The connection was integral to ExxonMobils ability to deeply penetrate the corrupt but lucrative Russian oil market  and it almost led to Russias energy industry acquiring a significant stake in strategic American assets.

Tillersons involvement in Russia dates back to 1998, when he was appointed head of Exxon Neftegas Limited, which was in charge of the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project off the coast of Siberia. The huge project put Tillerson in line to become the corporations vice president, president and eventually chairman and chief executive officer. It also led to deep relationships with Russian leaders and a growing profile for Tillerson in the Russian press.

In 2004, the same year that Tillerson became president of ExxonMobil, Sechin took control of Rosneft, the company in charge of the Russian part of the Sakhalin-1 consortium. The Rosneft partnership was not the first time ExxonMobil had attempted to join forces with a major Russian energy firm. Tillersons predecessor had negotiated a deal with Russian energy giant Yukos for a stake in that company. But the Kremlin turned on Yukos and its boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky, imprisoning him in 2003 on what were widely seen as politically motivated charges.

Tillerson learned the lessons of the Yukos episode, namely that no deal with a Russian business or oligarch is safe unless it is sanctioned by the Russian government. In a 2005 interview, he laid out his strategy for doing business in Russia, focusing on partnership over investment.

ExxonMobil is not interested in buying shares in other companies, because it does not allow us to fully do what we do best. We invest in Russia, not only money, Tillerson said.

Tillersons close relationship with Sechin and Rosneft benefited both sides in their competition with Gazprom, Russias largest gas producer, which also holds significant oil assets. In 2006, Gazprom tried to exert control over the export of gas from the Sakhalin-1 project and Tillerson fought back, using the relationship with Rosneft to his advantage.

In 2011, Tillerson and Sechin raised the ExxonMobil-Rosneft relationship to a new level by signing the first in a series of deals as part of a Strategic Cooperation Agreement that involved deep cooperation in exploration and exploitation of energy sources in the Arctic and the Black Sea.

As part of this set of agreements, ExxonMobil was to give Rosneft subsidiaries big stakes in American and Canadian oil projects. A subsidiary of Rosneft based in Delaware struck a deal for 30 percent equity in ExxonMobils share of a project in West Texas and the rights to acquire 30 percent of ExxonMobil holdings in the Gulf of Mexico. Another Rosneft subsidiary struck a deal to acquire 30 percent of Exxons stake in the Cardium formation in Alberta, Canada, where development of the tar sands reserves was underway.

These agreements are important milestones in this strategic relationship, Tillerson said at the time.

The agreements led to Tillerson having several direct interactions with then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who remarked during one meeting with Tillerson in 2011 that it was scary to even think of the scale of the deals, which were estimated to be worth between $200 billion and $300 billion.

Sechin, who was also deputy prime minister at the time, was often referred to as Darth Vader in the Russia press and was eager to improve his public image. He traveled to New York in April 2012 and went on a publicity tour with Tillerson to tout the ExxonMobil-Rosneft cooperation.

In June 2012, Tillerson attended an event with Putin and Sechin in which Putin inaugurated a new presidential commission on fuel and energy. Sechin was appointed head of the commission. Putin spoke with Tillerson and publicly praised ExxonMobils involvement. This is the best evidence that the relationship between Russia and the United States continues to develop, Putin said.

Putin, Sechin and Tillerson all met again in Moscow in 2012. This video, widely circulated yesterday, shows Putin and Tillerson celebrating one of the many ExxonMobil-Rosneft cooperation deals and toasting each other with champagne. In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, a high honor for a foreigner in Russia.

In 2014, the U.S. government slapped several sets of sanction on Russian officials and entities in response to Putins annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine. Rosneft and Sechin were among the targeted entities, making it illegal for any American to do business with them. ExxonMobils projects with Rosneft were stalled. The losses for ExxonMobil were reported to be more than $1 billion.

Tillerson lowered his profile in Russia but continued to meet with non-sanctioned high-level Russian officials in Moscow, including Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. ExxonMobil also became embroiled in a dispute with the Russian government over $500 million the company said it overpaid in Russian taxes. Rosneft and Sechin sided with Tillerson in this dispute.

At various times, Tillerson has criticized the U.S. sanctions against Russia. At ExxonMobils 2014 annual meeting, he said, We do not support sanctions, generally, because we dont find them to be effective unless they are very well implemented comprehensively, and thats a very hard thing to do.

Talking about the Russia projects at a conference in 2015, he said, Well await a time in which the sanctions environment changes or the sanctions requirements change.

In June of this year, Tillerson traveled to Moscow for the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, which Sechin also attended. As to the sanctions questions, Ill use the same approach that my friend Mr. Sechin took. Thats a question for the government, he said at the forum. Sechin laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.

Sechin told a Reuters reporter that the sanctions hurt him in a personal way; he would no longer be able to come the United States to take motorcycle rides with Tillerson. Now, the time may have come for Sechin and Tillerson to resume their business partnership and their personal friendship.

Russia leaders have praised the Tillerson appointment this week while some senators in both parties in Washington have expressed deep concerns. Tillersons appointment comes in the middle of a separate but related controversy over Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential campaign through hacking and other means.

There are a number of senators who are hot to trot on the Russia issue, period. When you create a nexus between your State Department nominee and Russia, youve put it on steroids, one senior GOP Senate staffer told me. The fact that members are even wrestling with this does not bode well for his nomination.

As the CEO of ExxonMobil, Tillerson had the duty and obligation to fight for the interests of his company. The question is whether he can now pivot and assure senators he will shed any conflicts of interest and advocate for the interests of the country.

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Authorities say a worker was killed Monday at a wind blade storage site in the southern New Mexico industrial hub of Santa Teresa.

Dona Ana County Sheriffs spokeswoman Kelly Jameson said deputies responded after 12:45 p.m. Monday to a 911 call after a man, possibly in his fifties, was crushed by a heavy block.

The supervisor at the site said he was working at the site and was shifting a 350-pound steel block and it crushed his chest, she said.

The man was working at an open-air site where Arizona-based TPI Composites Inc. stores the 188-foot commercial wind blades it manufactures across the border in Ciudad Juarez for Spains Gamesa and other companies.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of an employee of one of our contractors, TPI said in a statement. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will continue to work with our employees and contractors to maintain the safest possible work environment.

Jameson said she did not know the mans identity.

Jerry Pacheco, president of the Border Industrial Association in Santa Teresa, declined to comment.
The city of Albuquerque won another legal ruling Tuesday allowing its crews to continue building a bus rapid transit system on Central Avenue, the old Route 66.

In a 55-page opinion, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court ruling that allowed construction of the $119 million project to proceed. The three-judge panel rejected a host of legal arguments offered by opponents of the project  largely centering on whether the city and Federal Transit Administration had violated environmental and national historic preservation laws in planning the project.

The judges concluded that opponents failed to prove it would be in the public interest to halt construction of the project, among other findings.

Albuquerque Rapid Transit has been a priority of Mayor Richard Berry, with support from a 7-2 majority of the City Council.

ART is a world-class project that will cohesively connect Albuquerque via the Central Avenue, Berry said in a written statement. I understand that change is not easy, and if it were, it would not be worth it. I encourage everyone to watch the project unfold as it makes our city a more connected and vibrant place to live.

Defending against the lawsuit, nonetheless, has been expensive. The city has authorized up to $425,000 to pay the Denver-based law firm of Kaplan, Kirsch and Rockwell for work on the project.

Mayoral spokeswoman Rhiannon Samuel said the city will evaluate its options for recovering its legal costs.

Yolanda Gallegos, an attorney for the Coalition of Concerned Citizens to Make ART Smart, a group critical of the project, said the coalition and other plaintiffs are reviewing their legal options.

We continue to believe that the effects of ARTs design on Central Avenues businesses and adjoining neighborhoods were never meaningfully assessed and that any reasonable assessment would have shown the harm this project will do to our city, to historic Route 66 and its adjoining residential neighborhoods, she said in a written statement.

Gallegos noted that the FTA has said it would review a traffic analysis and other information submitted by the plaintiffs.

We remain hopeful that the FTA will weigh the new evidence it was presented with at trial and carry out the full review this project deserves, she said.

Crews already are building a nine-mile network of bus-only lanes and bus stations in the middle of Central Avenue, between Coors and Louisiana. The new buses could be running by late next year.

But hurdles remain.

In arguments before the 10th Circuit, the FTA said it has not yet approved a $69 million Small Starts grant that is critical to financing construction, and Congress hasnt yet adopted a budget that would fund the grant.

It also isnt clear whether opponents of the project  including business and property owners along the route  will continue their legal fight.

The Berry administration, in any event, contends theres almost no risk of the city failing to get the federal money eventually. The FTA has issued a letter allowing the city to start spending money to carry out the project, with reimbursement to come later if the federal funding is approved.

No project at a similar stage has ever failed to get the money, city officials say.

Berry and other supporters of ART say it would improve the reliability of mass-transit service in a critical urban corridor and trigger redevelopment along Central. Supporters include the University of New Mexico and Presbyterian Hospital, major employers along the route.

Opponents, in turn, say the creation of bus-only lanes would choke traffic along Central and damage its car-friendly charm, pushing customers away from local businesses.

Among their key arguments in the federal lawsuit is that the FTA improperly granted the project an exemption from rules that would normally require a detailed environmental assessment or study. The plaintiffs also accused the city of misleading the FTA about the potential impact to the environment and neighborhoods along Central.

But the 10th Circuit rejected those arguments. The judges noted that construction will occur primarily within the existing boundaries of Central Avenue and that the city made changes to the design of some bus stations to address concerns raised by historic-preservation officials.

I am pleased both the federal district and the appellate courts have seen the merit of this catalytic project to allow us to move forward, Berry said.

In late July, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales refused to order a halt to construction. Granting a preliminary injunction to stop ART, he said, would require meeting a series of strict legal tests, and the plaintiffs hadnt succeeded in meeting their legal burden.

The 10th Circuit on Tuesday agreed, affirming Gonzales ruling.
DENVER  Colorados nine electors must vote for Hillary Clinton because she won the states popular vote, a judge ruled Tuesday, effectively stopping the states electors from joining a longshot effort to unite with Republicans behind a compromise presidential candidate other than Donald Trump.

Denver Judge Elizabeth Starrs also ruled that any electors who fail to do so can immediately be replaced when the Electoral College convenes Dec. 19. She responded to a request from Colorados secretary of state, who was seeking a way to prevent electors from diverging from the winner of the states popular vote.

Electors Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich had sued to overturn a state law requiring them to vote for Clinton, but a federal judge refused to do so Monday.

There are similar lawsuits in California and Washington state seeking to overturn laws binding electors. A total of 28 other states have laws binding their electors to the winner of the popular vote.

At least one other Colorado elector has said he will vote for someone other than Clinton in a bid to woo Republican electors to a different GOP candidate, such as Mitt Romney. Only one Republican elector nationally has publicly said he would do that.

Chris Jackson of the Colorado attorney generals office argued in court Tuesday that the effort undermines democracy.

What were asking the court to do is protect against the chaos that would ensue from faithless electors failing to perform their state law duties, he said.

Jesse Witt, an attorney for Baca and Nemanich, said he was disappointed at Starrs ruling and may appeal.

We feel it is an abridgement of free speech and free expression, he said.

Earlier, Baca and Nemanich filed an emergency appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to try to get it to suspend the Colorado law. That comes after U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel declined to put the law on hold Monday and called the effort a political stunt.

Its unclear whether the appeals court will hear the case before the electors vote, but the state judges order would still stand.

The Colorado electors could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if they defy the law and vote for someone other than Clinton.

Trump won 306 electors last month, well over the 270 needed to put him in the White House.
Three weeks after Inauguration Day in 2009 and still a long way from crafting an agenda, Michelle Obama climbed into her motorcade and paid a visit to Marys Center, a Latino community services agency a few miles north of the White House. She read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to the young children and met with teenagers who asked why she had come.

The first reason, she said, was that Washington was now the Obamas home and they had always been taught to listen and not just pass on by. The second reason identified the audience and framed the approach that would define this most uncommon first ladys agenda for the next eight years.

I think its real important for young kids, particularly kids who come from communities without resources, to see me, not the first lady, she said. To see that there is no magic to me sitting here. There are no miracles that happen. There is no magic dust.

With the 13 teenagers seated in a semicircle, Obama shared the setbacks and self-doubt she faced as the daughter of black working-class parents in Chicago. When people told her she couldnt achieve something, she set out to prove them wrong. One step at a time, she climbed, and now she felt an obligation to share.

When you get, you give back, she said.

Obama would give much bigger speeches on much bigger stages as she became one of the most famous people in the world. For many Democrats, she was the moral voice of the 2016 presidential campaign, calling out Republican Donald Trump for trafficking in prejudice, fears and lies. For other fans, she was simply the first lady who went viral, making them smile with her eclectic fashion choices and her energetic, sometimes goofy pitches for healthier eating.

The heart of Obamas efforts, however, was a message about the persistent inequities of race, class and gender in America. In scores of speeches and projects, she turned again and again to the stacked deck. These were the themes and conundrums that animated her work before she reached the White House and now seem certain to shape her choices after she departs.

For all the grief she took from critics who conjured radicalism, grievance or, bizarrely, racism from her finely tuned remarks, Obamas antidotes were fundamentally timeless and conservative. More than anything, she used the strength of her own Chicago-to-Princeton-to-the-White-House narrative to urge kids to believe in themselves and never quit. She mastered the levers of popular culture and harnessed the convening power of her office and her carefully curated brand to establish partnerships with the private sector.

Obama addressed obesity, which disproportionately affects low-income families and children of color. She worked to increase arts education in poorly performing schools and ease the path for aspiring first-generation college students. She dispensed hugs to thousands of children, saying in a simple embrace that she believed in them. At a BET special, she called out, Black girls rock!

A straight-talker by temperament, she modulated her tone in deference to the role. Eternally disciplined and pragmatic, she never swung for the fences. Critics on the left chided her for not being bold enough, as she acknowledged last year. Her answer: These were my choices, my issues, and I decided to tackle them in the way that felt most authentic to me  in a way that was both substantive and strategic, but also fun and, hopefully, inspiring.

When Obama took up her unpaid job three days after her 45th birthday, she faced vast and conflicting expectations. She was the first African American first lady in a country that was anything but post-racial. She was the magnetic campaigner who told audiences that power concedes nothing without a struggle. She was the highly educated, professionally accomplished mother of two young daughters who smilingly adopted the moniker of mom in chief.

From the moment we walked in the door, people have wanted to get inside her head and figure her out. Is she in this box or that box? Why isnt she doing this or doing that?  said Jocelyn Frye, a Harvard Law School friend who became Obamas first policy adviser. Shes not a person who lives in boxes. Its just not that simple.



The personal story that Obama carried into the White House in January 2009 was enough to etch her name in the history books even if she did not accomplish anything more. She called herself the little black girl from the South Side of Chicago. As she would say later, her ancestors had arrived in the United States in chains and now she and Barack Obama were living in a home that slaves helped build.

But in other ways, too, Obama brought a set of experiences markedly different from her modern-day predecessors. Of the previous eight presidents, four had been governors, four had been vice presidents. Their wives had lived in the public eye. Obama was a young Chicago professional, a working mother in a big city who spoke openly about juggling jobs, chores and child-rearing with her increasingly famous and preoccupied husband.

By upbringing, she was urban and attuned to issues of prejudice, hardship and inequality. She adored her father, Fraser C. Robinson III, a gregarious aspiring artist who spent his working life as a shift worker in the city water plant. A swimmer, boxer and soldier as a young man, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his 30s. His health deteriorated, and he went from one crutch to two to a motorized cart. He died in 1991 at age 55, still working at the plant.

Both of Obamas grandfathers had come north in the Great Migration, and many members of the Robinson and Shields families lived nearby. Purnell Shields, a talented carpenter and Obamas maternal grandfather, was barred as an African American from the labor unions that claimed the highest-paying jobs. Fraser C. Robinson Jr. spent much of his career as a postal worker. If he had been born white, Obama once said, he would have been a banker.

Obama spent time with this extended family. She knew them all, from those who were prospering to those who were ailing or just getting by. She also knew countless schoolmates who seemed hardly different from her, yet had fallen short of their ambitions. When Barack Obama met her in 1989, he detected a sense of vulnerability that he traced to Michelles sense that life was terrifyingly random. She called herself a statistical anomaly.

After ditching the prosperous law firm, where she found the work soulless and many colleagues narrow, she spent two years doing economic development work at City Hall with future White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. Next, in what she described as the happiest phase of her working life, she built the Chicago office of Public Allies, a nonprofit leadership training program with roots in community organizing.

Next, she spent a dozen years as an administrator at the University of Chicago, where she elevated the interests of neighboring African American communities. Much as she would in the White House, she searched for ways to connect a powerful and often remote institution with communities where it could do some good. Comfortable and connected in both worlds, she saw herself as a bridge.

In 2001, protesters seeking more construction jobs for African Americans at the university medical center said she should be fired. One said Obama and her colleagues were looking out for themselves and did not have the best interests of blacks at heart. Obama persisted. In the next seven years, 42.9 percent of the hospitals spending on new construction, or $48.8 million, went to firms run by minorities or women, according to university figures.

The focus was not new. At Harvard Law School, where the tenured faculty was 96 percent white and 92 percent male, Obama spoke up for greater diversity. Charles Ogletree, a mentor and professor, pinpointed her passions early.

Everything she wrote, the things that she was involved in, the things that she thought about, he recalled of her law school years in the mid-1980s, were in effect reflections on race and gender. And how she had to keep the doors open for women and men going forward.



One of Obamas signatures was the push for a seat at the table  or in the room where it happens, to borrow from Hamilton, the Broadway musical the Obamas admire. A few years ago, she told a gathering of White House interns that if they were not prepared to risk their power when they claimed that seat, they needed to make room for someone who would.

In reaching the most rarefied of tables, she figured she had four years, maybe eight, to make something happen, to move the needle, as she put it. As the media made a fuss over a new hairstyle, she once explained how she saw the role of first lady: We take our bangs and we stand in front of important things that the world needs to see. And, eventually, people stop looking at the bangs and they start looking at what were standing in front of.

Obama saw early that she could connect with disadvantaged young people by describing her South Side upbringing and the choices she made in her life. Even as the Obamas set out unambiguously to be the president and first lady for the entire country, they were determined to look out for people who historically have not had people looking out for them, Valerie Jarrett said in an interview. Certainly, African American women and girls see themselves in her in a unique way.

The White House portfolio included Lets Move, her childhood obesity project, and efforts to open the White House and its grounds to kids who barely knew where it was and never imagined stepping inside. She established Joining Forces to help the military and their families with jobs and workplace issues and started a small mentoring program that became a personal cause.

She worked on homelessness among veterans and pushed Reach Higher, seeking to increase post-secondary education for low-income adolescents. Finally, she launched Let Girls Learn, an international initiative designed to improve access to secondary school for millions of girls around the world who found themselves on the outside looking in.

Throughout, Obama made clear to her staff that she favored coherent projects backed by creative but realistic thinking. She sought buy-in from federal agencies, state governments and private partners, and she wanted to make use of every opportunity. She told her aides, Dont just put me on a plane, send me someplace and have me smile.

She never looked at things esoterically or theoretically. It was practical and real, said Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter, who advised her at key moments. Her focus was never How do I move Washington? It was much bigger than that. It was How do you mobilize a country? How are real people outside of Washington going to see things? 

At the White House, she staged arts events, from dance, music and spoken word to food and design workshops. She made sure that artists who were performing for well-heeled East Room audiences at night were teaching children at the White House or local schools during the day. Her tastes tilted to designers, artists, playwrights and directors of color, choices that alerted millions of Obama-watchers to work they might not have seen or heard.

In 2011, she helped launch Turnaround Arts, a program designed to deliver arts teaching, inspiration and supplies to some of the worst-performing schools in the country  often in places where arts programming was a budget casualty. From eight pilot programs in 2011, the project now reaches 68 schools, with 20 to be added in 2017.

She knows the power of the arts. Its visceral and its who she is, said Megan Beyer, executive director of the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Every time we do an event, shell look at the audience and shell say, This is not a fluke. This is what happens when you invest in these kids. 

To critics on the right, including former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who mocked or denounced new science-based standards for school lunches as overly intrusive, Obama urged them to look more closely. She pointed to the millions of low-income children who depend on those meals and the federal governments help in paying for them.

We simply cant afford to say, Oh, well, its too hard, so lets not do it,  Obama said in 2014. When lobbyists persuaded Congress to count one-eighth of a cup of tomato paste in pizza sauce as the equivalent of a half-cup of vegetables, she wrote dismissively in the New York Times, You dont have to be a nutritionist to know that this doesnt make much sense.



Inside the East Wing, Obama commanded intense loyalty from her staff and set her own agenda, down to the number of public days on her schedule  two at first, while Malia and Sasha were getting settled, and later three. She stayed closer to home than Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, who each traveled abroad more than twice as much, and put limits on her campaign trips, especially when not campaigning for her husband.

She tightly controlled her message. In eight years, she never gave a news conference, although she held a select few roundtables with reporters. She rarely granted interviews to the beat reporters who knew her work the best. More often, and more strategically, she granted face time to grateful personalities and comedians, along with media outlets carefully chosen for the audiences they reached.

Aides and friends were barely more accessible. When reporters called, former chief of staff Jackie Norris once said, Obama expected her friends to check in and have conversations and make sure that its good for her. Mostly, the friends did.

Since the beginning of the first presidential campaign nearly 10 years ago, Obama has credited her girlfriends with keeping her grounded amid the maelstrom. When youre isolated, thats when you need your girls. They can keep you together when no one else can, said Angela Kennedy, a D.C. public defender and former Princeton roommate who sees Obama regularly. Shes smart. She recognized that.

Not trailed by the presidential press pool, Obama escaped to the gym, restaurants, theaters and her friends houses, as well as the occasional trip to the presidential retreat at Camp David. It helped to have her mother, Marian Robinson, now 79, living on the third floor of the White House. I can always go up to her room and cry, complain, argue, Obama said. And she just says, go on down there and do what youre supposed to do.

Obama spoke often of what it meant to have normal family dinners and activities with Malia and Sasha, talking about the girls doings and keeping things light. She has always been able to stay above the fray, said Frye, her Harvard friend, in part by meeting with real people and talking about real-world problems. At the end of the day, she has kept her head.

Obamas ascendance  as mother, mentor, leader and critic  carries many meanings in American culture, particularly as an African American woman, said Nell Irvin Painter, an emeritus professor of American history at Princeton.

Her power is a symbolic power, Painter said, noting the way Obama has conducted herself as first lady. She has grace, there is no question, but I would add elegance. Its a kind of assurance that is also something new for a black woman in public life. She is the symbol of what an American can be. Michelle Obama has presented a universal American identity.



On May 9, 2015, Obama took the stage at Tuskegee University in Alabama and delivered the most thorough and personal speech about race and racism of her tenure. As a speechmaker, said author Garry Wills, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his study of Lincolns Gettysburg Address, I dont know that she has any competitors in womens history. She wowed millions of fans with keynote addresses at three successive Democratic National Conventions, but she also had a serious body of work that received less attention in mainstream circles.

Many times before her Tuskegee appearance, she had spoken about the countrys history of violence and discrimination against African Americans. She did it in Orangeburg, S.C., in 2007 to woo black support for her husbands candidacy. She did it in Nashville during the 2012 reelection campaign, and in Topeka, Kan., in 2014 to mark the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. And she did it at other historically black universities, including Bowie State, Jackson State and North Carolina A&T.

Together, the talks reflected a lifetime of thinking about the shifting landscape of racism, the advances and the setbacks. At Tuskegee, she spoke of slights and hurdles while suggesting strategies  tested by her own experience, as always  to block out the noise and navigate a path forward.

Heres the thing: The road ahead is not going to be easy, she told the graduates in an address that tracked the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, a storied black flying squadron in World War II. It never is, especially for folks like you and me. Because while weve come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn and they havent fully gone away. So there will be times, just like for those Airmen, when you feel like folks look right past you or they see just a fraction of who you are.

Too many folks feel frustrated and invisible, Obama said. She cited worries about being pulled over for absolutely no reason, or being overlooked for a job because of the way your name sounds, or sending children to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal. Above all, she said, there is the realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen, for some folks, it will never be enough.

The Obamas were not immune, despite their efforts, their achievements, their conduct. For years, Donald Trump sowed doubts about Barack Obamas birth and citizenship, while talk show host Rush Limbaugh told his millions of followers that Michelle suffered from uppity-ism and called her Michelle My Butt. Foes likened her to a character from Planet of the Apes, a Star Wars Wookiee and a gorilla, a racist slur with a particularly long and ugly history. They challenged her patriotism and even questioned her gender.

But no matter how grim the outlook and how significant the structural challenges, Obama said at Tuskegee, despair and anger are not an excuse to just throw up our hands and give up. Instead, she proposed the measured, practical, traditional responses that had worked for her. Study, organize, band together, be a mentor, help a cousin fill out a financial aid form and vote, vote, vote.

You have got everything you need to do this. Youve got it in you, she said in her best I-believe-in-you tone. Most of all, youve got yourselves and all of the heart, grit and smarts that got you to this day.

It was never Obamas style to summon people to the barricades. She drew criticism from some African American intellectuals and activists for perpetuating a bootstraps narrative that said black people must be twice as good to do just as well as whites. Painter recognized the critique but saw Obamas message differently.

She also says you can figure it out. Thats a crucial part, Painter said. Her commentary to black kids is, You can do it. Its not just lecturing and shaking her finger in their faces, but an encouragement. Its pragmatic, but the way she phrases it, it is full of empathy and I think there is still a lack of empathy in the way the United States speaks to black people.

The response to Obamas remarks provided proof aplenty. Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham saw a litany of victimization. Media comment boards filled with talk of a tirade and an America-hater and an angry woman who has no appreciation for the many gifts our country has bestowed on her. Someone wrote, Can she or her husband ever just be Americans? Why do they always have to focus on their skin color? Repulsive.

But also, Michelle for President!  something that Obama, whose favorability ratings routinely topped 60 percent, has said will never happen. No. Nope. Not going to do it, she said earlier this year.



Michelle Obama was dismayed by the rise of Donald Trump. She perceived danger in the candidacy of an unstudied Republican who lied with abandon and routinely mocked and disparaged rivals, critics and entire swathes of the American populace, all the while vowing to wreck much of what the Obama administration spent eight years building.

This is not normal. This is not politics as usual, Obama declared at an October rally in New Hampshire after a tape surfaced of Trump boasting about grabbing women by the genitals. A growing number of women said they had been accosted. I know its a campaign, but this isnt about politics. Its about human decency. Its about right and wrong.

Obama said repeatedly during the campaign that Trump was dangerous, undeserving and lacking any idea what this job takes. In Philadelphia, she pointedly recalled Trumps leadership of the birther movement, referring to the hurtful, deceitful questions deliberately designed to undermine her husbands presidency.

The attacks on Trump were the strongest, sharpest words Obama uttered in public during the White House years. Whatever her anger or dismay, she never said she was surprised, for these were the regressive forces that she had seen in action her entire life.

On a weekday morning, with not many people watching, Obama delivered her take on the political moment. To a rapt church audience  men and women, white and black  she said in a tone more suited to a seminar than a rally, My fear is that we dont know what truth looks like anymore. She spoke of her hard-won understanding of the world, drawing on her Chicago life, where persistence and good intentions came with no guarantees.

Politicians had become expert at turning doubt into fear, she said, as life got harder, progressively harder, for regular people.

Were still a nation thats a little too mean, Obama said. I wish mean worked, because were good at it. Our tone is bad and weve grown to believe that, somehow, mean talk is tough talk . . . and we reward it. Not just in politics, but we reward it in every sliver of our culture. We look on people who are tough and say, Thats what we need. 

Obama spoke those words in South Carolina in January 2008. As Trump makes his way to Washington with his gilded pitchfork, her assessment rings true for more than 62 million Americans who supported him and millions more who didnt care enough to vote. She is leaving the White House with work unfinished and fresh troubles brewing. She was right that day at Marys Center, in her first weeks on the job, when she offered a verdict that applied as much to the nation as to herself. There are no miracles, no magic dust.

What Obama offered was something else. To audiences great and small, she presented conviction, savvy, a dose of inspiration and a certain faith that the battles were worth waging and the effort would pay off in the end.



Peter Slevin, a former Post national correspondent, is the author of Michelle Obama: A Life.



Michelle Obama walks out on stage at 2008 Democratic National Convention:

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MOSCOW  Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman on Tuesday issued a blunt denial of U.S. allegations that the Kremlin intervened to help Donald Trump win the presidency, and expressed hope that Moscow will be able to reset its relationship with the new administration.

In an interview with RT television, Peskov dismissed the findings by the CIA that the Russian government provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others with the intent of aiding Trump as absolute nonsense.

The Trump transition team has dismissed the CIA conclusions of a broad Russian conspiracy, and Peskov said the Kremlin was looking forward to working with the president-elect after the long downturn in U.S.-Russian relations.

We hope that all the statements that President-elect Donald Trump has made, his declared desire to resume dialogue with Russia, that these will be brought to lift, and he will act in these intention, Peskov said.

Moscow has regularly denied interfering in the elections, especially after U.S. intelligence agencies in October said the Russian government helped provide WikiLeaks with hacked emails from the DNC and Hillary Clintons campaign staff.

Putin dismissed the allegations as hysteria intended only to distract the attention of the American people from the substance of what hackers had put out.

His aides have questioned the lack of evidence, called the probe politicized and pointed to similar attacks against the Kremlin.

Every day, Putins site gets attacked by tens of thousands of hackers, Peskov said in October. Many of these attacks can be traced to U.S. territory. Its not as though we accuse the White House or Langley of doing it each time it happens.

Gleb Pavlovsky, a former Putin adviser, said in a recent interview that the Kremlin leader privately enjoys the attention the hacking accusations provide, both as a sign of his political power, as well as for the chaos it causes his adversaries in the United States.

But one senior Russian official, who spoke on background because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said Tuesday that Moscows leadership is appalled by the allegations.

The fact that there are people who are convinced that Russia acted on behalf of Donald Trump is frightening, the official said. In the long run it could be very dangerous for people to think that Russia may interfere with other peoples elections.

But there were some in the Kremlins camp who suggested there might be some truth to the allegations. In November, reacting to Trumps win during a November 9 reception at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov said he thought that Russia helped with WikiLeaks.

I dont know how, specifically, but I think they probably helped [WikiLeaks founder Julian] Assange, Markov said in an interview, adding that he did not know how Russia might have helped.

Everybody in the world is helping Assange, Markov said in English. Everybody understands that in this conflict between CIA and Assange, Assange is right, CIA is wrong. So, Vladimir Putin is part of community of all the honest people in the world.

Some Russian analysts think that supporters of Hillary Clinton are using the allegations of Russian hacking to mount a campaign to dissuade the Electoral College from confirming Trumps victory.

Incredible pressure is being put on the electors. There is a true special operation to turn them, Vladimir Vasiliev, of the Institute of the USA and Canada, commented earlier this month. The Democrats are doing everything possible to force them not to vote for Trump.

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LONDON  As the last rebel strongholds fell in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday amid widespread reports of atrocities by pro-government forces, Britains Parliament was back in a familiar place: debating, but not acting.

Debating is what Parliament was doing in the summer of 2013, when then-Prime Minister David Cameron was pushing for military action after credible evidence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government had deployed chemical weapons against its own people.

The debate ended with a shock: The House of Commons defied Camerons call and rejected by 13 votes a planned campaign of British airstrikes. Chastened by the loss of its British ally from the fight, the United States soon pulled back from its own ambitions for military action, with President Barack Obama punting the matter to Congress.

As Parliament debated again on Tuesday in an emergency session called as women and children were reportedly being shot dead in their homes by advancing Syrian government forces, the memory of that earlier vote loomed large in the Palace of Westminster.

And it prompted two of Britains most prominent politicians to issue a particularly stinging charge: The tragedy of Aleppo, they told their fellow lawmakers, is partly your fault.

We as a House of Commons, we as a country, we vacated that space into which Russia stepped, beginning its own bombing campaign on behalf of Assad, said an unusually somber Boris Johnson, Britains foreign secretary, as he recalled the Aug. 29, 2013, vote.

Since then, Johnson said, our ability to influence events in Syria or to protect civilians or compel the delivery of aid has been severely limited. The dictator was left to do his worst, along with his allies Russia and Iran, and the bloodiest tragedy of the 21st century has since unfolded.

Johnsons words echoed those of George Osborne, who had confronted his colleagues with a similar accusation earlier in the two-hour debate. Osborne, Britains treasury chief at the time of the 2013 vote, called the Aleppo atrocities the price of not intervening.

The tragedy in Aleppo did not come out of a vacuum. It was created by a vacuum, a vacuum of Western leadership, of American leadership, British leadership, he said.

The effect was not limited to Aleppo, Osborne said. Tens of thousands of deaths across Syria, the rise of the Islamic State militant group, the destabilization of Turkey and Jordan, and a refugee crisis that has fed extremist politics across Europe can all be traced to the 2013 vote, he told a hushed chamber.

That is the price of not intervening, said Osborne, who lost his job as chancellor of the exchequer in the tumult that followed Britains June Brexit vote but remains a member of Parliament.

Today, Osborne said, it is impossible to intervene anywhere.

Tuesdays debate was the latest in an agonized reckoning for Britain over the price of intervention  and nonintervention  that dates to the countrys decision to join the United States in its 2003 invasion of Iraq.

That choice  now widely regretted among British politicians and the public  was a significant factor in Parliaments decision to reject intervention 10 years later in Syria. It also helped to delay Britains entry in a U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The emergency debate on Tuesday came about as a result of calls from members of the opposition Labour Party for the Conservative government to do more to protect Aleppos civilians.

But even Labour politicians admitted that their party bore responsibility for allowing the situation in Syria to so badly deteriorate. It was Labours opposition to the 2013 vote that cemented its defeat. John Woodcock, a Labour lawmaker, said he felt sick when he thought of the partys role in blocking British military action three years ago.

Tuesdays debate  like the one in 2013  ended with Britain remaining on the sidelines.

Britains ability to influence events on the ground, Johnson acknowledged, was extremely limited. Aid drops, he said, would not work without Russian consent because British transport planes could be shot down.

The most he said he could do was call for Russia to withdraw its backing for Assad  an oft-repeated demand that has virtually no chance of being met given that Russia and Assad are now so clearly in command.

We are doing everything we can within the constraints that we face, Johnson said. I hope that Russia will see sense and join with us to secure the transition away from Assad. That is the only hope for a peaceful Syria. Its up to them. Its up to the Russians, its up to Iran. They have the future of Syria in their hands.

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BATON ROUGE, La.  Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana has dropped his defamation lawsuit over a book that alleges the he was a client of prostitutes who were later killed.

Boustany sued the author and publisher of Murder in the Bayou in October, when he was in a tight Senate race competition. Boustany lost the race in November and ended his lawsuit this month. Boustany lawyer Jimmy Faircloth confirmed the lawsuit dismissal Tuesday.

He felt as though it would probably be best for all concerned for him not to proceed with the lawsuit, Faircloth said.

Author Ethan Brown and a spokesman for publishing house Simon & Schuster said they are pleased with the decision.

Browns book, about the killings of eight prostitutes in Jefferson David Parish, includes a chapter claiming Boustany was involved with some of the women. The book, which cites multiple anonymous sources, does not allege that Boustany was involved in the slayings.

The books release last month came at a sensitive time for Boustany, ahead of the Nov. 8 election in which he was among the leading candidates in the race for an open U.S. Senate seat. He came in third. Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy won the runoff last weekend and will be sworn in as senator next month, while Boustany will end his tenure in Congress.

Boustany called the prostitution allegations lies, and his lawsuit claimed Browns book included the chapter on Boustany to sensationalize the story and to boost sales with disregard for the truth.

The congressman still believes the information should never have been published and is indefensible, Faircloth said. But he added that continuing the lawsuit probably would have resulted in a lot more publicity to this.

Browns book also says a former Boustany employee was involved in the operations of a Jefferson Davis Parish hotel that allegedly was frequented by the prostitutes. The defamation lawsuit didnt challenge those claims. Boustany has said the employee hid the hotel information from him and left the congressmans office in September.

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Follow Melinda Deslatte on Twitter at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Dec 13 (PTI) The Obama administration has made it clear that Taiwan was not a "bargaining chip" and America was firmly committed to the decades-old "One-China" policy, an assertion that came after President-elect Donald Trump questioned the policys relevance.

"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy. Thats also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

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"One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip," he said, adding that Taiwan is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US.

Earnest made the remarks after Trump questioned the relevance of continuing with the "One-China" policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. He had said that China was "very badly" hurting the US by devaluing its currecy and accused the communist nation of not helping in reigning in North Korea.

Trump has suggested he can leverage Taiwan by questioning the "One China" policy and force China to "make a deal".

Trumps "One China" rhetoric prompted the strongest public warning from China yesterday that bilateral ties will be damaged.

"Adherence to one-China principle is the political bedrock of the China-US relations. If it is compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relationship as well as bilateral cooperation in major field would be out of question," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

The US since 1979 has respected Chinas stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province. But Trump said, without concessions from China, he did not see why it should continue.

"Bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is in our best interest. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to make the case that its in the interest of Taiwan," Earnest said.

Under Obama administration, the US has been able to lower tensions around cyber issues and they have been able to work effectively with the Chinese to ramp up pressure on the North.

"We certainly dont agree with the Chinese on everything, but where common ground does exist, weve been able to make progress in a way that benefits the American people and benefits the Chinese people... That kind of progress is much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our one-China policy," Earnest said.

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Obama, he noted, has worked hard to manage relationships with China and Russia in a way that gives the US the opportunity to capitalise on common ground where it exists.

"In each case, our differences are substantial, but in each case effective diplomacy resulted in both those countries bolstering our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and further isolate the North Korean regime for their destabilising activities on the (Korean) peninsula," he said. PTI LKJ ABH ASK ASK

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The Islamic States conquest of Palmyra appears to have netted the group a trove of weaponry, armor, ammunition and equipment that risks fueling a surge of gains by the militants in Syria at a time when attention has been diverted on the battle unfolding in Aleppo.

Palmyras fall comes less than a year after Syrian government forces, along with Iranian-backed militias and Russian special operations troops, retook the city from the Islamic State. The group seized the city in 2014, partially destroying a number of its world-renowned archaeological sites.

The recent militant offensive drove Syrian government troops almost completely from the city on Sunday. The Islamic State-linked news agency Amaq later posted images of Syrian and Russian equipment left behind by the retreating troops. One video shows the remains of a Russian forward operating base that had been established after the city was first retaken in March and was used to help with demining efforts there.

It is unclear how long the Russian base had been abandoned before the Islamic States arrival. Footage taken in what appears to be the facilitys mess hall still shows food bowls on tables, and the scenes are spliced together in a fashion that makes it look as if large stores of ammunition, small arms, heavy machine guns and damaged antiaircraft guns were all left behind. One segment that shows ammunition crates and an antiaircraft gun appears to be within the confines of the Russian base, given the landscape in the background.

News clips from May of the Russian base showed a truck-mounted surface-to-air missile system, known as the Pantsir S-1. It is unclear whether the system was left behind or was only there for a short time when the base was under construction.

Following the citys fall, Amaq claimed that the Islamic State seized upward of 20 tanks, a handful of armored personnel carriers, howitzers and antitank guided missiles. Some of the claims in the video may have been fabricated for propaganda purposes, but given the speed of the offensive, it is likely the group has accumulated some material.

Images posted online Tuesday by the group also depict fighters seizing what looks like a Syrian fire base to the west of the city. An independent researcher who runs a website that documents the Syrian conflict, puts the base just north of the government-held Tiyas air base.

Images taken by the Islamic State show abandoned artillery pieces, machine guns and, in the background of one of the photos, the outline of what looks like an S-125 surface-to-air missile system and its associated targeting and tracking radar.

The S-125, known as a SA-3 to NATO countries, is a Soviet-era weapon that can hit targets flying at approximately 60,000 feet, and has a maximum effective range of 17 miles, according to U.S. military documents. It can be configured to fire two or four missiles from its rail system. If properly used, it could pose a threat to any aircraft flying in the area; however, systems such as the S-125 are complicated to use and are easily seen and targeted from the air.

A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said military officials were tracking the Islamic States capture of significant equipment around Palmyra, which were not very happy about.

The official declined to say specifically what equipment that included. Theres no doubt were paying pretty close attention to that.  It can end up in lots of places, he said.

While U.S. and international forces are carrying out regular airstrikes in Syria, American aircraft have rarely carried out attacks near Palmyra.

The Islamic State recovered air-to-air missiles when the group took the Tabqa air base in 2014, but appeared to have failed to convert them into anything that could take down an aircraft. The group has also used shoulder-mounted surface-to-air-missiles, known as MANPADS, notably taking down an Iraqi helicopter in 2014 with a Chinese variant of the weapon.

Other images posted Tuesday show that Islamic State fighters had also closed within visible range of the strategic Tiyas air base west of Palmyra. Known as the T4 air base, Tiyas in the past has been home to Russian helicopter gunships and Syrian Arab Air Force aircraft.



The Washington Posts Missy Ryan in Washington and Liz Sly in Beirut contributed to this report.

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Presidents usually root for oil prices to go down, not up. That might not be true for the Trump administration.

With apologies to presidents Reagan and George W. Bush, Trump may be assembling the most unabashedly pro-drilling Cabinet in American history. Trumps picks for the Energy and State Departments are a former governor of a state that enjoyed an oil boom under his watch, and the chief executive of the worlds largest publicly traded oil and gas company, respectively. Theyre drilling fans, who would likely reinforce the instincts of a president who has promised to open vast swaths of Americas lands and waters to more oil and gas exploration.

A portion of Trumps promise to speed economic growth and create 25 million new jobs rests on his commitment to leasing more federal lands and offshore areas for drilling. In the campaign, Trumps advisers estimated that such an expansion would generate nearly $100 billion a year in additional economic growth over the next decade. The source for their projections was a study by a Louisiana State University economist, Joseph Mason, published by the Institute for Energy Research, a group that champions pro-fossil-fuel policies.

Heres where the laws of supply, demand and politics kick in  and get a little weird. Masons study forecasts the amount of drilling and job creation that would occur with the global oil price at $100 a barrel. As he explained in an email earlier this year, that was based on the International Energy Associations forecasts at the time of the study. But oil prices today are substantially lower  just north of $50 a barrel  and the IEAs most recent forecast sees prices around $80 a barrel come 2020.

The higher the price, the more drilling activity youre likely to see in the United States. A collapse in prices led the oil and gas sector to shed nearly 30,000 jobs over the last two years. Those jobs paid relatively well, especially for workers without college degrees, a key support group for Trump in the election. If Trump wants to bring those jobs back and then some  and Masons study suggests the short-term gain could be a half-million jobs  then he needs oil prices to rise.

Theres been a lot of rhetoric from Trump about ramping up U.S. oil and gas production, but I think there are relatively few regulatory steps they can take to achieve that, said Jason Bordoff, a former energy adviser to President Obama who is the founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. You can open a lot of new areas, and you can scrap a lot of environmental rules, and on the margin that might slightly reduce the cost of drilling a new well. But that has a negligible impact compared to the swings of the global oil market.

The problem compounds if foreign countries approve new drilling projects that would increase global supply, as proposed Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson has pushed for as the head of Exxon-Mobil. Such projects would push down global prices, unless theyre offset by rising oil demand.

Higher prices could reduce global oil demand, and with it, the carbon emissions that drive climate change. But they would bring other economic and political downsides for Trump. Research has found a link between lower oil prices and higher presidential approval ratings. The relatively low gasoline prices recently have spurred some increased consumer spending on other goods and services.

The low oil prices of the last several years have had a significant positive impact on the economy, said Joshua Freed, vice president for clean energy at the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, but not necessarily the oil and gas industry.

None of this is Trumps doing; he will assume the presidency at a time when the hydraulic fracturing boom has made the United States a much larger player in the global oil market. Higher oil prices are still on balance bad for American consumers, but as Bordoff puts it, thats less true than it used to be. Especially for an administration so invested in drilling as a job-creation strategy.

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NEWARK, N.J.  A Romanian national was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Tuesday for participating in a scheme that stole bank account information from thousands of customers by installing card-reading devices in ATMs.

A federal judge sentenced Robert Mate to 57 months in prison for his role in what the U.S. attorneys office called one of the largest such conspiracies ever uncovered. It is estimated multiple banks were defrauded out of at least $5 million, and thousands of customers were affected.

Mate, 31, who also went by the name Marcel Varga, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He also will be required to pay about $7.4 million in restitution under terms of his plea agreement.

Authorities uncovered the scheme in 2013. Fifteen of 16 people charged in the conspiracy have been convicted and one remains elusive, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

Mate and the others, including mastermind Marius Vintila, also of Romania, used the card-reader devices and pinhole cameras at ATMs in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida and other states. The information taken from customers bank cards through the process known as skimming was used to produce fraudulent cards and make withdrawals from other peoples account.

Vintila was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison. He used an alias to rent storage units where the group stored cash, the skimming devices and other materials used in the scheme. He also allegedly provided members of the group with fake passports and aliases.
As part of a $50,000 grant from the Morgan Stanley Foundation, economically disadvantaged families in the Kirtland Elementary School area will get some help for the holidays.

On Tuesday a truck loaded with perishable and nonperishable food was distributed to about 60 families in the schools gymnasium. The needy families were identified and selected by the school.

Kirtland is one of nearly 80 schools in New Mexico that receive food through the Childhood Hunger Initiative, a program of Roadrunner Food Bank. The Childhood Hunger Initiative took 1.7 million pounds of food to those school partners last fiscal year, said Roadrunner spokeswoman Sonya Warwick.

In all, Roadrunner provides food to more than 440 partners throughout the state, including food pantries, regional food banks, emergency shelters and meal programs, Warwick said.

New Mexico is ranked second in the nation in childhood hunger. One-fourth of the children in the state, more than 136,000 kids, are at risk of food insecurity and hunger, according to Feeding Americas latest Map the Meal Gap report, issued in April 2016. Of those children, 75 percent live in families that are at or below the federal poverty level, which for a family of four is about $24,250 a year.

Feeding America is a national consortium of about 200 food banks, including Roadrunner.

The $50,000 grant is part of the Morgan Stanley Foundations $8 million, four-year pledge to support Feeding America. Since the firms partnership with Feeding America launched in 2009, the foundation has given over $21 million, including $200,000 to Roadrunner.

We are honored to be able to help Roadrunner in its important fight against child hunger, said Morgan Stanley Branch Manager Robert Hartmann. Our employees volunteer regularly with Roadrunner, so we are delighted to extend our support through this grant and provide even more children with the foods they need to learn, grow and thrive.

Nancy Curby, a senior vice president at Feeding America, said grants like this one from Morgan Stanley are vital to providing nutritious meals for hungry children nationwide. More than 13 million children in the United States experience food insecurity daily, she said.

With the holiday season under way, making a financial donation to Roadrunner is one way people can give back to the community, Warwick said. Currently, one anonymous donor and two others, Lynne and Jerome Pfeffer, and the Anderson Charitable Foundation, have pooled their resources and are offering matching financial contributions through the end of the year.

So if someone gives $5 or $500, it will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $80,000, she said.

This is a crucial time for us, because funds raised now will impact us well into 2017.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Mark Boal said Tuesday that he has agreed on a settlement with the U.S. government that scuttles an Army plan to subpoena 25 hours of recorded interviews with Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a soldier who faces court-martial after walking off his base in Afghanistan and being captured by the Taliban.

Boal, whose movies include The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, sued the U.S. government in July after a prosecutor on Bergdahls case, Army Maj. Justin Oshana, argued in a court filing that the filmmakers interviews were relevant and necessary to the case. Bergdahl, 30, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy in a trial scheduled to begin in April. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Excerpts from Bergdahls interviews with Boal were a centerpiece of Serial podcast episodes released between last December and March that explored Bergdahls choices and harsh treatment while in captivity. But Boal and other news organizations, including The Washington Post, argued that the Armys request was overly broad and that the service should not be able to use Boals newsgathering efforts in a court battle.

Boal said in a phone interview that as part of the settlement, he will provide the Army with about 10 minutes of recordings that authenticate and provide context to conversations that aired on Serial. He filed the lawsuit seeking a restraining order on the Army issuing a subpoena.

Im definitely happy now because I think the threat of subpoena crossed a line, and it could have set kind of a creepy precedent, Boal said. Im happy and glad that the Army is now back in keeping with the tradition of respecting freedom of the press.

Boal said that he continues to consider some combination of a book, movie and documentary about Bergdahl, but that he is putting the project aside until the Army concludes his case. Boals lead counsel, Jean-Paul Jassy, said he would file a request for dismissal of the lawsuit Tuesday.

Paul Boyce, a spokesman for the Army, said in an email that the service continues to maintain careful respect for the military justice process and Bergdahls rights, but declined to comment on the settlement being reached.

Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the settlement is an encouraging development in press-government relations in the closing days of the Obama administration. It comes nearly two years after the Justice Department reached an agreement with New York Times reporter James Risen in which he was not required to testify in the case of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer who was charged with providing Risen information about a failed effort to disrupt Irans nuclear program.

What his lawsuit did was force the government to go to the table and say, OK, what do we really need to get our case ready for trial?  Brown said of Boal. These cases together really show at the end of this administration that the government recognizes it can do its job of bringing these cases to trial and at the same [time] get convictions.

Browns organization filed an amicus brief in support of Boals case that had 37 signatories.

Boal began interviewing Bergdahl after he was recovered in 2014 in a controversial swap in which five senior Taliban officials were freed from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into supervised release in Qatar. The Obama administrations decision to do so prompted an outcry from lawmakers who said the detainees could return to the battlefield, and ran afoul of a law that states Congress needed 30 days notification, according to a review by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.

Administration officials have argued that the White House needed to act while it could to bring home a soldier who went missing on the battlefield. Bergdahl had been held since June 30, 2009, when he was captured by the Taliban hours after he left his patrol base alone with plans to cause a commotion that would draw attention to deficiencies he saw in his unit.

Bergdahl has been a lightning rod for criticism ever since, with fellow soldiers saying he is a deserter and President-elect Donald Trump arguing repeatedly during his campaign that Bergdahl is a traitor and should dropped back off in Afghanistan.

Bergdahl completed a long interview with a senior Army official, then-Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, that was aired in a pretrial hearing in September 2015, but had not been heard from in his own words in public until the second season of Serial began last December. Bergdahl told Boal that he fancied himself acting like action hero Jason Bourne on the battlefield before he slipped away from his base, but got lost within hours and was soon captured by Taliban fighters on motorcycles.

Court documents in the case say Bergdahl was diagnosed after his recovery with schizotypal personality disorder, which causes brief psychotic episodes with delusions or hallucinations. Dahl testified last year that he found the soldier unrealistically idealistic and to have an outsize impressions of his capabilities, but the general did not think Bergdahl deserved jail time on top of the five years of confinement he already endured.

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SANTA FE  There are nearly 700 days to go until Election Day, but U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday that shes officially in for New Mexicos 2018 gubernatorial race, becoming the first candidate from either major political party to enter the race.

Lujan Grisham, an Albuquerque Democrat, was re-elected last month to a third term in Congress but said in a interview she will keep her seat in Congress and believes she can juggle a statewide campaign and her duties in Washington, D.C.

New Mexico needs someone whos a fighter and a leader, she told the Journal. I have no doubt Ill have to make some sacrifices, but I have a great staff in Congress and I dont need much sleep.

Lujan Grisham, 57, has held appointed posts, including two Cabinet positions, under three governors  and is a former Bernalillo County commissioner.

Her announcement comes just a week after U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, another prominent New Mexico Democrat, said he would forgo a run at governor and remain in the Senate.

Lujan Grisham said Tuesday that Udalls decision was a signal for her to run for governor, adding, His decision about staying in the Senate makes me feel better that well have enough fighters in Congress.

In a web video announcing her candidacy, Lujan Grisham took aim at Gov. Susana Martinez  who is barred, because of term limits, from seeking re-election in 2018  and cited New Mexicos high unemployment rate, struggling public school system and persistent trouble spots of poverty and substance abuse.

We wont solve our problems overnight. Its why this is a beginning, Lujan Grisham said. But for the last six years with a governor who refused to acknowledge the problems even exist  we havent been able to solve anything.

However, the state Republican Party immediately criticized her as a political opportunist with a skimpy record of accomplishments in Congress.

Lujan Grisham has no record as a job creator and has done very little during her time in Congress, state GOP spokesman Tucker Keene said in a Tuesday statement.

New Mexico has been grappling with a persistent revenue downturn over the past two years, due largely to falling oil and natural gas prices, that has prompted steep budget cuts and other solvency measures.

Lujan Grisham said her campaign for governor will focus on diversifying and strengthening the states economy, though she provided few specific proposals in her Tuesday announcement.

You cant cut your way out of these economic woes, she told the Journal.

Meanwhile, Lujan Grishams decision to file early as a candidate for the 2018 race could give her a jump in raising campaign funds. Running for governor requires ample fundraising prowess  Martinez took in more than $6.7 million in contributions during her 2010 gubernatorial bid.

You can click here to watch Lujan Grishams web video.

It could also put pressure on other potential candidates to decide whether to jump into the race.

Other Democrats who have expressed interest include New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas; Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales; state Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces; media executive Jeff Apodaca; and Santa Fe businessman Alan Webber.

Although no Republicans have formally entered the race yet, potential GOP candidates include U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and Lt. Gov. John Sanchez.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Hitting speeds of more than 100 mph, two cars raced down Interstate 25 in the Friday night darkness toward the heart of Albuquerque. One weaved in and out of traffic before smashing into the back of an unsuspecting familys SUV.

The Nov. 12 collision sent the vehicles rolling, ejecting 10-year-old Carmen Esmeralda Rivera and killing her  in a gruesome crash that has reignited a push by a New Mexico lawmaker and the state attorney generals office for tougher penalties for those convicted of reckless driving resulting in death.

The driver accused in Esmeraldas death, 23-year-old Xavier Nelson, pleaded not guilty last week to charges of reckless driving, street racing and possession of prescription drugs. Nelson, who has no prior criminal history, was released on bond pending trial and faces no more than six years in prison if convicted of the more serious reckless driving charge.

Sarah Maestas Barnes, a Republican, plans to pre-file legislation this month that would increase the crime to a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years behind bars  the same punishment drunken drivers now face when convicted of vehicular homicide.

State Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, is backing the effort and plans to seek support from Democrats and Republicans.

The crash and the heartache that followed were avoidable, said Maestas Barnes, a mother of two young daughters and a lawmaker whose district includes areas frequented by street racers.

A person chooses to drink and drive. A person chooses to drive erratically and recklessly down the streets. A person chooses to drag race. Its a conscious decision, she said in an interview, and we have to ensure we have laws in place that protect New Mexicans so that we dont have another family thats suffering the loss of a loved one.

Balderas said the current maximum punishment illustrates a lack of parity in how New Mexico treats reckless drivers and drunk drivers.

Its absurd that the law treats a drunken driver with more accountability than a driver who chooses to operate a vehicle at 112 mph and then kills somebody, he said.

Stiffer punishment for reckless drivers was supposed to be addressed during the 2016 legislative session that ended in February but the measure was amended in the final hours by the Democratic-led Senate.

Maestas Barnes and Balderas acknowledged it could be difficult to attract legislative support for the lengthier reckless driving prison terms but said the death of Esmeralda could give the effort a boost.

She was one of the 369 people who died on New Mexico roads between January and November, a number that far surpasses the 298 killed in 2015.

State transportation officials say they know of no particular trend or causes behind the rise and are maintaining campaigns against distracted and drunk driving.

Alcohol-related crashes make up nearly 40 percent of the total fatal accidents in 2016, about the same as last year.

We see it time and time again  someone has too much to drink, then gets behind the wheel and kills someone. Or someone sends a text message then ends up in a fatal crash, said Emilee Cantrell, a transportation department spokeswoman. We all play a part in preventing tragic crashes. Everyone needs to demand that their friends and family are responsible when they get behind the wheel.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke, who has represented Montanas at-large congressional seat for one term, to serve as secretary of the Department of the Interior, according to an individual with firsthand knowledge of the decision.

Zinke, who studied geology as an undergraduate at the University of Oregon and served as a Navy SEAL from 1986 to 2008 before entering politics, campaigned for his House seat on a platform of achieving North American energy independence. He sits on the House Natural Resources Committee as well as the Armed Services Committee.

A lifelong hunter and fisherman, the 55-year-old Zinke has defended public access to federal lands even though he frequently votes against environmentalists on issues ranging from coal extraction to oil and gas drilling. This summer, he quit his post as a member of the GOP platform-writing committee after the group included language that would have transferred federal land ownership to the states.

What I saw was a platform that was more divisive than uniting, Zinke said at the time. At this point, I think its better to show leadership.

Trump also opposes such land transfers, but the provision made it into the official Republican platform.

Zinke recently criticized an Interior Department rule aimed at curbing inadvertent releases of methane from oil and gas operations on federal land as duplicative and unnecessary.

Clean air and clean water are absolute top priorities when we talk about responsible energy development, however the final rule issued by the Obama administration does nothing to further protect our resources, he said in a statement. This rule is a stark reminder that we need to invest in infrastructure projects like the Keystone pipeline, so we dont need to flare excess gas.

During his time in Congress, Zinke has established a 3 percent voting score with the League of Conservation Voters. But he has broken ranks with the panels GOP majority on occasion, opposing a measure by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, that would have allowed each state to buy up to 2 million acres in U.S. Forest Service land to boost timber production. He has also pushed for full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a high priority for outdoors groups.

Land Tawney, president and chief executive of the Montana-based Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, described Zinke on Tuesday as a straight shooter who has established credibility with outdoors enthusiasts in the state. During a recent meeting with him at a distillery in Whitefish, the congressmans hometown, Zinke walked into the place in flip-flops.

You wouldnt know hes a congressman, Tawney said. He really prides himself on being a Theodore Roosevelt Republican, and he lives that a little bit more than other people.

Outdoors activities such as mountain biking and skiing are a major economic driver in Whitefish as well as in Montana overall, where roughly 200,000 residents have big-game hunting licenses and 300,000 have fishing licenses. Zinke, who has been endorsed by the Outdoor Industry Association, has embraced that sector of the states economy.

Hunting and fishing isnt something we do in Montana, its a way of life, said Tawney, a fifth-generation Montanan.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership President Whit Fosburgh, whose hunters and anglers group has worked with Zinke, said in an interview that it would be very supportive of Ryan Zinke as a Cabinet nominee.

Hes shown courage and commitment to public lands and conservation and [is] someone we think would be an excellent secretary of interior, Fosburgh said.

Still, a slew of environmental groups came out Tuesday against Zinke, who opposes safeguards President Barack Obamas administration has provided for temporary wetlands and intermittent streams, as well as its temporary moratorium on coal leasing on federal land. While he supported subsidizing renewable energy programs and climate change legislation before being elected to the House, during a 2014 debate he said of climate change, Its not a hoax, but its not proven science either.

Zinke embodies the worst kind of magical thinking in Congress: that government welfare handouts can save dying coal companies and crumbling oil and gas giants, Greenpeace climate campaign specialist Diana Best said Tuesday. The fact is, coal demand is shrinking globally, and people across America want a Department of the Interior that will protect our precious public lands in perpetuity. That means keeping them off-limits to fossil fuel production and recognizing that the world is moving forward.

Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the congressmans brief political career has been substantially devoted to attacking endangered species and the Endangered Species Act, while the National Parks Conservations president, Theresa Pierno, said he has repeatedly voted to block efforts to designate new national parks that would diversify the National Park System.

While some Democrats are likely to oppose Zinkes nomination, the pick does provide the party with one bit of good news: It removes a possible challenger to Sen. Jon Tester, the Montana Democrat who likely will face a tough reelection bid in 2018.

Although Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., was a leading contender to lead Interior in recent days, Zinke hit it off with Trumps oldest son, Don Jr., an avid hunter, and met personally with the president-elect on Monday in New York.

In a Facebook post Tuesday evening, McMorris Rodgers wrote, It was an honor to be invited to spend time with the President-elect, and Im energized more than ever to continue leading in Congress as we think big, reimagine this government and put people back at the center of it.

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WASHINGTON  Congressional leaders are vowing to vigorously probe allegations that Russia interfered in the elections to benefit President-elect Donald Trump, but they are already arguing over who should do so and how any examination should be conducted.

Senior Republicans want to channel any investigation through the House and Senate intelligence committees, over which they have greater control. But some Democrats, fearing that the results of such an investigation would never be released to the public, are pushing the formation of an independent body of outsiders modeled on the Sept. 11 commission.

Still other Republicans would like to see a bipartisan investigation in Congress  or better yet, form entirely new congressional committees and subcommittees to dig into the matter. A different group of Democrats would like to see a very unusual bicameral probe into whether Russia allegedly hacked the Democratic National Committee emails and leaked them to WikiLeaks in a concerted effort to damage Hillary Clinton.

The cacophony of competing voices on Capitol Hill could hamstring the rare, near-universal commitment to dig into allegations Russian interfered with the 2016 election. It may also allow Trump to discredit lawmakers efforts as overly partisan  the president-elect has called charges ridiculous that Russia interfered in the election to benefit his candidacy.

In public statements, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., have both focused on channeling any Russia investigation through their intelligence committees.

McConnell on Monday said the Senate Intelligence Committee  of which he is a symbolic member as the chambers GOP leader  is more than capable of conducting a complete review of the matter. Ryan agreed, saying that a special panel is unnecessary because the House Intelligence Committee is working diligently on the cyber threats posed by foreign governments and terrorist organizations.

But if history is any guide, those investigations could be highly classified and damaged by partisan infighting. Their findings may be subject to presidential review and closely held by top lawmakers, the intelligence community and senior aides in the Trump White House.

There certainly is a danger in this being swept under the rug, said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D), an Intelligence member. There must be urgency and transparency in getting facts out into the open, whether theyre being investigated by the intelligence committees, other standing congressional committees, a joint committee or an independent commission.

The closest parallel may well be the so-called torture report, produced in 2014 by the Senate Intelligence Committee documenting CIA treatment of suspected terrorist detainees in the wake of Sept. 11. Despite then-chairwoman Dianne Feinsteins, D-Calif., intense desire to see the full 7,000-page report released, all but the 548-page executive summary has remained private.

That panel devolved into near chaos when the torture report was released without the support of Republicans, including the incoming chairman of the Intelligence committee, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. When he became chair, Burr demanded the return of all copies of the report, apparently concerned it could be obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

President Barack Obama just this week made moves to preserve the report when he leaves office without ensuring it immediately becomes available to the public.

Obama has also taken steps to collect information about the CIA allegations before he leaves office on Jan. 20, ordering a full review of the charges be delivered to him before he leaves office. Separately, a group of senior Democratic senators is pushing Obama to declassify information about Russias alleged election-related hacking operations before Trump is inaugurated.

Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman on Tuesday issued a blunt denial of U.S. allegations that the Kremlin intervened to help Trump win the presidency, and expressed hope that Moscow will be able to reset its relationship with the new administration.

In an interview with RT television, Peskov dismissed the findings by the CIA that the Russian government aided Trump  or that it was interfering in upcoming German elections  as absolute nonsense.

The battle over how to investigate Russian influence is likely to bleed over into the confirmation hearings of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who was nominated on Tuesday by Trump to be his secretary of state. Several Republican senators, who must vote to confirm Tillerson, expressed concern over ties Tillerson has to Russias President Vladimir Putin, who decorated him with the Kremlins Order of Friendship in 2013.

While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will hold confirmation hearings, said in a statement. The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of Americas interests, and will be a forceful advocate for Americas foreign policy goals to the president, within the administration, and on the world stage.

McConnell, however, backed Tillerson, saying I look forward to supporting his nomination.

The House and Senate intelligence panels have already had briefings from various officials pertaining to allegations Russia interfered in the elections. But in the House, Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has also criticized Director of National Intelligence James Clapper for presenting the committee with a different take on Russias hacking activities than the CIA assessment saying the Kremlin interfered to help Trump win.

The committee has an urgent need to accurately understand the current IC assessment of alleged Russian cyberactivities relating to the election, and any disagreements among IC components, Nunes wrote in a letter to Capper on Monday.

In a separate statement Monday, Nunes also saidthat he do[es] not see any benefit in opening further investigations.

But so far, those committees havent made any of their current information public, and may not do so if they broaden their reach.

Top avoid such a situation, Senate Democrats  including Feinstein  have called for an independent commission of experts, appointed by congressional leaders, to investigate the charges. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also supports that idea in which both sides would have subpoena power.

Such a committee would be structured like the Sept. 11 commission, with both parties leaders appointing one to two non-lawmakers to sit on it. The president would not be allowed to appoint panel members, a courtesy often extended during the creation of other commissions, as Democrats believe Trump would have a conflict of interest because of the nature of the charges. Democrats want a report made public 18 months after such a panel begins its work.

McConnell, Ryan, and other committee leaders  including Trumps most vocal critics on the Hill  have been dodging direct questions about whether they believe the CIAs assessment that President Vladimir Putin, who Trump frequently praised during the campaign, was behind the hacks the CIA believes were intended to help Trump prevail.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who has said theres very little doubt Russia intervened in the elections and has derided Trump for casting doubt on that conclusion, suggested that in this one instance, maybe the CIA is wrong.

The CIA has not always been exactly right, to say the least, he said.

In the wake of the CIA allegations, however, McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined calls from incoming Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer (New York) to initiate a bipartisan probe.

For McCain, the election is one part of a larger examination that must focus on national security risks posed by cyber threats, particularly related to the military. Officials already suspect that Russia may have been behind a major email breach at the Pentagon last year.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, has also pledged to dig into the allegations of Russian hacking next year. And Graham, who chairs two subcommittees on the Judiciary and Appropriations committee, has also committed to investigating Russias alleged intervention in the elections, as well as other nefarious activities across the globe, including in the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.

  

The Washington Posts David Filipov contributed from Moscow and Kelsey Snell reported from Washington.

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Shareholders of three Tata group companies, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals today moved the Bombay High Court against the Special Notice by these companies to remove independent director, Nusli Wadia from the their board

By Vidya : A day after Nusli Wadia hit out against Ratan Tata and Tata sons for seeking to remove him as independent director of some of the group's major entities, Tata filed a caveat against Wadia in the Bombay High Court. Tata Global Beverages board member Mallika Srnivasan, who had been appointed on the company's board at the same time as Mistry in 2012, also filed a caveat against Mistry on Tuesday.

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These caveats have been filed in anticipation that either Wadia or Mistry will approach Court against them or against any other entity of the group, and thus, seek that the court must not pass any 'ex-parte' orders on the same.

SEEKING TO REMOVE NULSI WADIA

Meanwhile shareholders of three Tata group companies, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals today moved the Bombay High Court against the Special Notice by these companies to remove independent director, Nusli Wadia from the their board. The petitioners prayed to the court to issue orders to the Security Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to direct to abstain from voting on any resolution seeking removal of independent director at the Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) of the three companies.

Also read: Cyrus Mistry removed as director of Tata Industries

Petitioners Janak Mathuradas along with three others have made the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Ministry of Law & Justice (Department of Legal Affairs) as defendants apart from SEBI and Union of India. The three petitions filed thru advocate yogesh adhia have said that independent directors play an important role in the working of any company and this is being undermined by tatas.

It has been reported that the three Tata companies have called EGMs next week to remove both Wadia and Cyrus Mistry as directors from their boards. Similar petition was filed sometime back by a few shareholders against the removal of Mistry. These petitions will come up for hearing in due course of time.

Also Read: Now Cyrus Mistry drags Tata Sons into AgustaWestland scam

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Durrington Walls, two miles from Stonehenge, is named after the Neolithic henge that calls the location home. But with ongoing research revealing a massive and previously unknown monument hidden beneath its banks, the sites history is set to be rewritten. Carly Hilts spoke to Vince Gaffney, Mike Parker Pearson, and Nick Snashall to find out more.

Around 4,500 years ago, hundreds of people gathered two miles from Stonehenge to build another massive monument, at a location known to us as Durrington Walls. The spot they had selected lay within sight of the celebrated stones, and had previously been home to a village that may have housed the community that erected them (CA 208). But now the short-lived settlement lay abandoned, and  perhaps motivated by a desire to commemorate its presence  the new group of builders punched through the living surfaces and midden material of their predecessors to complete their work.

Their efforts were not focused on raising the imposing earthworks of the henge that gives the site its modern name, however. Instead, their labour created a previously unknown earlier phase whose full extent is only now being revealed by ongoing research: as many as 300 huge wooden posts, evenly spaced 5m apart in a ring almost 450m across. It would have been an arresting sight, yet within a maximum of 50 years the monument had been decommissioned once more, its posts removed and their sockets filled in, before being covered over by the henge that we see today. All trace of the post circle would lie hidden beneath the banks of its successor for millennia  until it was brought to light once more by a series of excavations and the largest geophysical survey of its kind. Why did the site undergo such a sudden change in design, and what can we learn about the rise and fall of a long-lost monument? As analysis continues, intriguing clues are beginning to emerge.

Early signs

The first clues to the earlier circles presence came during 1967, when an investigation led by Geoffrey Wainwright revealed six postholes on the north-east side of the henge. At the time, it was not clear what these represented, but decades later the 2005-2007 Stonehenge Riverside Project (co-directed by Mike Parker Pearson) saw archaeologists uncover a short row of four more postholes while digging near the henges eastern entrance. So far, so enigmatic  and this was how these features would remain, until a recent wide-ranging geophysical survey revealed them to be part of something much more significant.

The surveying was part of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, a collaboration between the Universities of Birmingham and Bradford, and the Ludwig Boltzman Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna, which between 2010 and 2014 explored an area of over 13 square kilometres around Stonehenge using an arsenal of cuttingedge geophysical techniques (CA 296). Their findings were revelatory: footprints of dozens of previously unrecorded prehistoric features could be seen scattered across the landscape, proving that what was once thought to be a relatively empty environment  with Stonehenge standing in glorious isolation  was anything but.

Among the projects star finds were hints of a mystery monument beneath Durrington Walls. It yielded such strong signals that the team initially wondered if they had found the buried remains of a stone circle. Preliminary analysis hinted at a vast C-shape of at least 120 standing stones, with some 30-40 toppled over but remaining intact, and the rest represented by in situ fragments or empty sockets (CA 308). This would have been an enormous construction  but what was it? The next step was to put spade to earth and ground truth some of these features through excavation.

Pits and palisades

To this end, the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project and Stonehenge Riverside Project teams came together with the National Trust to explore the enigmatic anomalies. Two of the pits were selected for further investigation. As digging began, it swiftly became clear that the holes had held not stones but posts, and enormous ones at that. Supported by pits measuring over half a metre across and around 1.5m deep, these timbers could have stood as much as 5m above the ground; not slender poles, then, but tree trunks weighing between 1.5 and 3 tonnes, the team estimates.

Mike Parker Pearson led the excavation. He argues that, as analysis continues, it becomes increasingly likely that the postholes previously discovered on the other side of the henge also formed part of this arrangement. Given that the pits are so regularly spaced, and taking into account gaps in the circuit caused by early 20th-century disturbance, this could point to a ring of as many as 300 posts. The labour involved in creating such a monument without the aid of modern technology must have been staggering, but the recent project has uncovered some clues to how it was achieved. Both of the excavated pits were accompanied by a ramp cut into the bedrock, evoking images of a post being guided in at an angle and then lifted vertically.

The end result was a form of monument known as a palisaded enclosure  a type occasionally seen elsewhere in Wessex, such as one excavated at Greyhound Yard in Dorset in the 1980s, but more commonly found in Scotland and Wales. At 440m in diameter, the Durrington Walls enclosure is an illustrious addition to this body  the secondlargest Late Neolithic example yet found  although it is dwarfed by the largest, at Hindwell in Wales, which is twice the size.

That this form of monument had reached Salisbury Plain seemingly lends credence to suggestions that the Stonehenge landscape attracted people and ideas from far afield during the prehistoric. Isotope analysis of cattle and pig bones found at Stonehenge speak not only of large-scale feasts being held near the stones, but of people travelling great distances to attend them. With ongoing research also pinpointing the source of some of the bluestones in the Preseli hills in Wales (CA 311), the famous site could be seen as being as much a monument to mobility as a ceremonial site. Might the Durrington Walls enclosure also represent this flow of ideas towards the celebrated stones? Such a transmission might explain why the post circle is at least a couple of centuries later in date than similar examples in Scotland and Wales.

Building the monument

If building the monument would have been a logistical feat, sourcing the materials it was built from presented no less of a challenge. The huge posts indicated by the size of the Durrington pits would have come from mature trees perhaps 70-80 years old: heavy things to shift, and needed in large numbers. At this time, however, pollen and mollusc studies suggest that the Stonehenge landscape was open grassland. So where can these quantities of tall, straight trees have come from?

The answer, the team suggests, could lie along the River Avon, either towards the coast where the land was more thickly forested, or in the densely wooded valleys that lay upstream. Finding areas of canopy forest was key, they argue, because trees competing for light tend to grow straight up, producing the tall, pole-like trunks required for a project like the Durrington Walls circle  whereas single trees are more likely to grow twisted. With the help of the river, moreover, transporting the heavy trunks even over long distances should not have been overly problematic  after all, the researchers point out, Neolithic people were capable of shifting the much heavier components of Stonehenge over even greater distances.

It was perhaps to commemorate the achievement of erecting the posts that enigmatic structured deposits seem to have been placed close to the timbers after they were installed. Holes had been dug into their accompanying ramps, into which were tucked intriguing collections of objects: animal bones including partly articulated cattle remains, lumps of sarsen stone, and a fist-sized nodule of iron pyrites. Might these be votive offerings made to mark the monuments completion?

The moment when the mighty timbers were heaved into place must have been a triumphant one, but within perhaps only a couple of generations  or even sooner  the whole arrangement had been taken apart and replaced by something completely different. The absence of tell-tale soil stains testify that the posts had not been left to rot in situ; in any case, the interval between the posts being installed and the henge being constructed on the same site is too narrow for this to have been possible.

As yet, we have no direct dating evidence for precisely when the posts were set up or taken down, but the fact that this was a rapid process can be clearly seen thanks to previous research at Durrington Walls. There is an underlying Neolithic village, which is thought to have been inhabited for only 10-12 years, based on our understanding of the chalk floors of the houses, which seem to have been renewed at most nine times, and of the pits from which material for this was quarried, which seem to have been recut a maximum of 12 times. Bayesian statistical analysis of radiocarbon dates established during earlier projects reveals that this village went out of use in c.2500-2460 BC, while the henge bank was completed by c.2480-2450 BC. Taken together, this suggests a window of a maximum of 50 years in which the timber circle existed.

Further clues may emerge as post-excavation analysis continues, however; rather considerately, the prehistoric builders left a shovel formed from a cows shoulderblade, possibly used for loosening a post before removal, at the base of one of the pits after the pole was taken out. We can tell that it post-dates the timbers being removed, rather than being involved in their installation, because if the latter were true the bone would have been completely crushed. By contrast, part of an antler pick recovered from pit fill is thought to have been used in the initial construction. It is hoped that radiocarbon dating both of these might provide bookends for the monuments life cycle that will help to make the existing Bayesian statistical model more robust.

Durrington decommissioned

Despite this apparent haste, however, this was no wanton destruction. The pits and ramps show no sign of the damage that might be expected if the posts had simply been hauled over sideways and dragged from their sockets. On the contrary, concentric rings at the bottom of one of the excavated postholes suggest that the timbers had been carefully twisted loose before being extracted vertically. Was this a sign of respect for a significant site at the end of its life? Or might the decommissioners instead have been salvaging the posts for reuse elsewhere?

Such suggestions can only be speculative, but tantalising clues to just such a process might possibly lie nearby. In 1967, Geoffrey Wainwright led the excavation of two rather different prehistoric post arrangements, formed of multiple concentric rings of timbers, just 200m from Durrington Walls. The larger of these, known as the Southern Timber Circle, seems to have undergone significant augmentation at the very same time that the Durrington Walls palisaded enclosure was being taken apart  modifications that included the addition of 200 new posts. Might this have been the final home of the Durrington timbers?

It is a tempting possibility  though, as an alternative, Mike also proposes a more prosaic fate: when the enclosure was dismantled, the builders were probably already planning to build the henge that so swiftly replaced it, a project that required a vertically sided ditch some 6m deep. This would have been tricky to get into, he said. I wonder if some of the timbers might have been turned into notched log ladders of the type we have seen elsewhere for this period  they would have been perfect for that.

Whether the timbers next use was ceremonial or more mundane, and wherever they ended up, their departure from Durrington Walls was marked by the Neolithic community. All of the empty postholes were packed with quantities of chalk fragments: it was this densely crammed rubble that had produced signals during the geophysical survey, which led the team to interpret the remains as standing stones. Furthermore, the route of the new henge was designed to follow the line of the pits.

The henge was a dramatic break with the earlier design of the site: a 3m-high circular bank accompanied by a ditch 3-5m wide. But what prompted this radical change of direction, and so soon after the post circle was built? Could this simply be attributed to the mercurial moods of senior management that we are all so familiar with today  a vivid illustration of the people and resources that the prehistoric elite could command? Or could the change have been more dramatic?

Such a major switch might hint at a change in the social order and a particular group or individual wanting to impose their own stamp on the landscape, suggests Nick Snashall, National Trust archaeologist for the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site: It is possible that the breaking up of the diverse group of people who had come from across Britain to build Stonehenge may have created social instability, she said. This is a moment of such change that you almost feel that someone new had taken sway.

While the care apparently given to dismantling the palisaded enclosure suggests that this was not a violent change, Vince Gaffney of Bradford University, who co-directed the geophysical work, agrees that there may have been an ideological motive behind it. I think theological change seems reasonable, given the scale and speed of the transformation, he said.

Prehistoric prestige?

Instead of a destructive change, might we be better off viewing the creation of the henge as an upgrade to the site? Given that the Durrington palisaded enclosure falls quite late in the tradition of such monuments, ideas of some kind of prehistoric Reformation might be misplaced, Mike suggests.

Yes, the palisaded enclosure would have been a big undertaking, but its creation represents a tiny amount of effort compared to building a henge bank and ditch with antler picks  that is a project that would have required not hundreds but thousands of people.

For prehistoric monuments to have undergone striking redesigns is not unknown on Salisbury Plain; after all, the layout of the stones of Stonehenge shifted multiple times during its life (CA 275), while Aveburys avenue was relatively late in joining the rest of the Neolithic complex. Nor would the arrival of the henge be the last modification of Durrington Walls: at some point two or three centuries later, its north and south entrances were blocked off and their causeways severed to create the continuous bank with a single eastern entrance that we see today.

As for the future, the team has no immediate plans to excavate any more of the pits, but the site and its surroundings may yet yield further secrets. The vast datasets of geophysical survey results produced by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project will take time to sift through, and the next step will be to work through these and continue to refine their results. The Stonehenge landscape has been studied in varying degrees of detail by generations of archaeologists and antiquarians, but new technology may hold the key to eking out even more previously unknown features. As Vince Gaffney comments: Its a site that keeps on giving.

This article appeared in CA 320. Click here to subscribe!

Images: Aerial-Cam,www.aerial-cam.co.uk; LBI ArchPro / Joachim Brandtner; National Trust
The Samajwadi Party government's move will directly benefit over 16 lakh employees of the state.

By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: Just a couple of months ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Akhilesh Yadav government today gave a salary bonanza to lakhs of its employees by implementing the Seventh Pay Commission recommendation.

The Samajwadi Party government's move will directly benefit over 16 lakh employees of the state. The state government may be accused by the Opposition of indulging in populism to woo the lakhs of voters before the elections.

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The Akhilesh government is facing anti-incumbency and it is also struggling with the internal feud in the Yadav family. The decision to implement the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations in the state was taken in the cabinet meeting today. The recommendations will be implemented from January 1, 2017.

SHIVPAL, AKHILESH DISAGREE ON TICKET DISTRIBUTION

SP state president Shivpal Yadav and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav are at loggerheads over distribution of tickets to their favourite candidates.

Earlier, the two had sparred over posts to their near and dear ones. While Akhilesh had stripped his uncle Shivpal of the ministerial berths, the latter hit back by removing the CM's supporters from several party posts.

Also read | Samajwadi PariWar continues, Akhilesh, Shivpal promote favourites ahead of UP elections

SP supremo intervened on several occasions and tried to bring about truce between the two warring factions. However, the peace has always proved momentary.

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By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) A top US diplomat on international religious freedom today discussed issues concerning minority rights in India including triple talaq and Uniform Civil Code during his meeting with Minority Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi here.

US Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom David Saperstein, who is currently visiting India, also met Munu Mahawar, Joint Secretary (Americas) in the External Affairs Ministry apart from interacting with some minority leaders.

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"Saperstein was here to attend a private event and, on the sidelines of the event, he had sought some meetings, which were arranged for him," official sources said.

During his meeting with Naqvi, another source said, the US diplomat talked about various reports which mentioned change in the reservation policy vis-a-vis minorities by the Modi government.

"Not only was he told about the various initiatives taken by the government for the rights and upliftment of minorities, it was also conveyed to him that these reports dont present factual position in India," the source said, adding the issues including triple talaq and UCC were also discussed.

In its report in May, US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had said that India was on a "negative trajectory" in 2015 as far as religious freedom was concerned as religious tolerance "deteriorated".

Debunking the report, India had said it does not see the locus standi of a foreign entity like USCIRF to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens constitutionally protected rights and it takes "no cognisance" of their report.

On his interactions with minority community leaders, Saperstein, who will also visit Mumbai and Bangalore, tweeted, "Had deeply meaningful conversations with community leaders on religious life in #India. Appreciate their insights.

"Visited the #Sikh community with DAS Manpreet Anand at the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, New Delhi, #India." PTI PYK SK

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Published On Dec 13, 2016 03:49 PM By Raunak

Volvo already offers Apple CarPlay with its Sensus infotainment system; now it has added Google Android Auto smartphone integration.

Volvo has introduced Android Auto support in its range-topping 90 series vehicles  the S90, V90, XC90 and the India-bound V90 Cross Country  in the UK. The Android Auto will be part of Volvos smartphone integration package, which already includes Apple CarPlay, and is now priced at 300 (roughly Rs 26,000). Moreover, Volvo highlighted in an official release that existing owners of these models  those built after April 2016  who already have Apple CarPlay, can benefit from a complimentary upgrade to the new smartphone integration package. Since it is now available in the UK, Volvo is expected to soon introduce this in India as well.

Android Auto is available on any Android smartphone running 5.0 Lollipop or a higher OS (operating system). Volvo has added a secondary USB port for Android Auto and its apps are displayed in the bottom section of the Sensus infotainment systems gigantic screen. As is the case with all other cars with Android Auto support, a wide range of Android-optimised apps  including Google Maps and Google Play Music  are available directly via the cars touchscreen or with the phones voice control system. Users can also make and receive calls, and send and receive text messages using Android Auto.

Recommended Read: 5 New Volvos En-Route To India!
By Romita Datta: The West Bengal government is planning to generate 180 megawatt of solar power in the next two years. So far only seven megawatt of solar power is produced in West Bengal, which is very poor, compared to states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

It has identified 1,300 government buildings, schools and hospitals for setting up solar panels. In 2016-17, the target is to generate 61 megawatt of power, whereas in 2017-18, the target is 120 megawatt. The government is planning to spend over Rs 1,000 crore on the project.

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The government had pledged of 100 per cent of rural electrification by next year. It had also planned to bring the remotest islands of Sundervans under the power grid by this year. However, not much progress could be made because locals were objecting against the acquisition of land, however, small it might be for installation of poles.

Land acquisition has become a sensitive subject in Bengal, post Singur. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who led the save farm land movement from 2007, is also not ready to antagonise the people, if they were not willing to give away their land for public purpose.

Also read: India flaunts world's biggest solar power plant in Tamil Nadu

"She has asked us to negotiate with the locals and try and convince them about what changes rural electrification will bring in their lives. She has asked the people's representatives at the local level to go for a consensus before embarking on the project," said an official of the power department.

However, the land problem will not come up in case of generating solar power since the government will use its various departmental buildings for setting up the panels.

"While solar panels will help in lighting up the government buildings, the cost of production can also be brought down," said the same official.

The panchayat and rural development department has agreed to make use of nearly 400 buildings. The health department is willing to offer 200 terraces of its various buildings.

Also read: Ye Pakistan hai kya: Bengal BJP chief over fatwa for 'derogatory' remarks against Mamata Banerjee

A huge amount of money is spent on account of electricity bills. The government hopes to cut down the expenses of several crores once the panels are fitted on the roof tops and terraces.

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The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into two monastic charities, Ampleforth Abbey and the St Laurence Education Trust, following media reports of historical sexual abuse.

Ampleforth Abbey runs the Benedictine monastic community and the St Laurence Education Trust runs two private schools, including Ampleforth College, which are located on the same site as the Abbey.

Earlier this year media reported that the police were investigating complaints against the Right Rev Cuthbert Madden, which dated back to the 1990s.

Police took no further action and Madden had denied any wrongdoing.

The Charity Commission said it opened the inquiry in November to investigate the charity trustees approach to safeguarding and how it handled allegations of sexual abuse.

It will examine:

the administration, governance and management of the charities by the trustees and whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law

whether, and to what extent, there was/had been misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charities by the trustees

the charities handling of safeguarding matters, including the creation, development, substance and implementation of their safeguarding policy and review procedures

how the charities dealt with the risks to the charities and their beneficiaries arising from alleged abuse incidents, including the application of their safeguarding policy and procedures

Ampleforth Abbey has an annual income of around 25m and recently received a 3m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out repairs to a church.

Charitys statement

The charities said they were cooperating with the Charity Commission.

A statement said: Following media reports of historic allegations this summer, the Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in the UK, has notified the trustees of the Ampleforth Abbey Trust and the St. Laurence Education Trust that it has opened an inquiry into whether trustees followed best regulatory and administrative practice in regards to safeguarding issues. The trustees are co-operating fully with the Commission and as the inquiry is ongoing, no further comment can be made.

Ampleforth is strongly committed to good governance and a January 2016 inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate found the College to be fully compliant with regard to all aspects of safeguarding. In addition, an independent audit of the Abbey Trusts Safeguarding Commission carried out by the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service on behalf of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission in June 2015 endorsed the work of that Commission in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
Saddam Al Qadimi ICRC

The Disasters Emergency Committee has launched an appeal to help people facing hunger in Yemen.

Television and radio appeals fronted by Clare Balding and Tom Hardy will air across major broadcasters today and the Department for International Development is matching donations up to 5m.

Yemen has been affected by war for the last 20 months. The DEC said than seven million people do not know where their next meal will come from, and children are dying of from malnutrition.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC said: Now is the time to save lives in Yemen before it is too late. Children face the greatest risk of starvation  almost half a million infants and young children need immediate treatment for malnutrition. DEC members are already providing treatment for malnutrition, running mobile health teams, distributing emergency food and cash but they need funds to reach more people.

DEC member charities, including the Red Cross, CARE International, Islamic Relief, Oxfam and Save the Children, are already working across the country. Christian Aid and Tearfund are supporting activities of partner charities responding to the crisis.

Donations can be made online, by calling 0370 60 60 900, at high street banks and post offices, or by texting SUPPORT to 70000 to give 5.


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Boeing is also a leader in innovation, leveraging its many decades and avenues of experience to further aerospace and defense technology. Among the many innovations is the MQ-25 Stingray which will be the worlds first autonomous aircraft. The Stingray is only one of many areas of research that also include drones and undersea vehicles.
Capital One Financial Corporation was founded in 1988 with the goal of revolutionizing the credit card industry. The companys ground-breaking services were data-driven, opened the doors of credit to millions of people, and today Capital One is one of the worlds largest banks.

The companys commitment to connecting people with responsible credit helped to rank it 10th in the US in regard to total assets and 72nd globally. The company has nearly $400 billion in assets in late 2022 and operated a network of subsidiary institutions including Capital One bank. Capital One Financial Corporation is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and operates a network of branches and offices throughout the US, Canada, and the UK.

Capital One Financial Corporation is the holding company for Capital One Bank (USA), National Association; and Capital One, National Association, which provides various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Capital One Financial Corporation operates in three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking. The Credit Card segment operates a wide range of revolving consumer credit cards while the Consumer Banking segment offers a range of traditional banking and investment products including auto and home loans, savings, and certificates of deposit. The Commercial segment offers business accounts, financing, commercial and multifamily real estate, and commercial and industrial loans.

In the US, the company serves its clients through digital channels, branches, cafes, and other distribution channels located in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and California. Digital services include online accounts, account services, loan applications, and investments. Among the many features of banking with Capital One are fee-free checking accounts, cloud-based financial tracking services, and Capital One Cafes. The company operates more than 40 cafes across the US where anyone, not just account holders, can get a coffee or snack as well as improve their financial education. The cafes are equipped with ample public space, nooks for private work, and even event space for meetings.

Capital One continues to advance the digital financial industry to this day. The company was among the first to move its operations to the cloud, doing so in 2012, and it is now developing machine learning, open source, and cloud technology applications to help detect and prevent fraud, secure accounts, and improve banking services.

Capital One is committed to aiding the worlds fight against climate change. To that end, it is pursuing several avenues that include influencing its value chain, fostering a sustainable office culture that is in sync with its surroundings, promoting and financing sustainable energy projects, and transparency in regard to its climate goals.
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.
Scientists are now able to better track the giant ice sheets movements

Scientists say the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica may be melting faster than in past years, raising concerns about the consequences if it shrinks faster than expected.

Its actually nicknamed the doomsday glacier because of what could happen if it began to rapidly add water to the ocean. In a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers suggest the massive ice sheet could begin melting twice as fast as in the past.

To make their projections, the scienti...
The EU executive wants to extend some rules that now only apply to telecom operators to web companies offering calls and messages using the internet, known as "Over-The-Top" (OTT) services.

By Reuters: Messaging services such as Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's WhatsApp face stricter rules on how they handle customer data under new security laws due to be proposed by the European Union, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

The EU executive wants to extend some rules that now only apply to telecom operators to web companies offering calls and messages using the internet, known as "Over-The-Top" (OTT) services, according to the draft.

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Web services will have to guarantee the confidentiality of communications and obtain users' consent to process their location data, mirroring similar provisions included in a separate data protection law due to come into force in 2018.

Telecoms firms have long complained that companies such as Alphabet Inc's Google, Microsoft and Facebook are more lightly regulated, despite offering similar services.

The phone companies have called for European Union rules specific to telecoms firms - known as the e-privacy directive - either to be repealed or extended to everyone. "This creates a void of protection of confidentiality for the users of these services," the draft said, referring to OTTs.

"Moreover, it generates an uneven playing field between these providers and electronic communications service providers, as services which are perceived by users as functionally equivalent are not subject to the same rules."

A European Commission spokeswoman declined to comment on the draft but said the aim of the review was to adapt the rules to the data protection regulation which will come into force in 2018 and simplify the provisions for cookies.

Telecom companies, barred by current rules from using customer data to provide additional services and make more money, will be able to use customer data with their consent, according to the proposal.

It would also remove the obligation on websites to ask visitors for permission to place cookies on their browsers via a banner if the user has already consented through the privacy settings of the web browser.

Also read: German regulator orders Facebook to delete user data

Cookies are placed on web surfers' computers and contain bits of information about the user, such as what other sites they have visited or where they are logging in from. They are widely used by companies to deliver targeted ads to users.

"If browsers are equipped with such functionality, websites that want to set cookies for behavioral advertising purposes may not need to put in place banners requesting their consent insofar as users may provide their consent by selecting the right settings in their browser," the draft said.

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Many have questioned the effectiveness of such cookie banners which appear every time a user lands on a website because people tend to accept them without necessarily reading what that entails.

"While such banners serve to empower users, at the same time, they may cause irritation because users are forced to read the notices and click on the boxes, thus impairing internet browsing experience," the draft said.

The proposal is set to be unveiled in January and may still undergo changes.

--- ENDS ---
There's a lot of talk about the high cost of health care, but do you know which conditions contribute most to health care spending?

If you said diabetes, you're right -- a new study finds diabetes costs $101 billion annually in diagnosis and treatment and is growing 36 times faster than the cost of heart disease, the leading cause of death and the second most-expensive condition.

"While it is well known that the US spends more than any other nation on health care, very little is known about what diseases drive that spending." said Dr. Joseph Dieleman, lead author of a paper published in JAMA and Assistant Professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. "IHME is trying to fill the information gap so that decision-makers in the public and private sectors can understand the spending landscape, and plan and allocate health resources more effectively."

In fact, the study found that just 20 conditions make up more than half of all spending on health care in the United States.

While diabetes and heart disease primarily affected consumers 65 and over, lower back and neck pain, the third-most-expensive condition, primarily strikes adults of working age.

These three top spending categories, along with hypertension and injuries from falls, comprise 18% of all personal health spending and totaled $437 billion in 2013.

This study distinguishes between spending on public health programs from personal health spending, including both individual out-of-pocket costs and spending by private and government insurance programs. It covers 155 conditions.

$2.4 trillion

In addition to the $2.1 trillion spent on the 155 conditions examined in the study, Dr. Dieleman estimates that approximately $300 billion in costs, such as those of over-the-counter medications and privately funded home health care, remain unaccounted for, indicating total personal health care costs in the US reached $2.4 trillion in 2013.

Other expensive conditions among the top 20 include musculoskeletal disorders, such as tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis; well-care associated with dental visits; and pregnancy and postpartum care.

Other key findings include:

Women ages 85 and older spent the most per person in 2013, at more than $31,000 per person. More than half of this spending (58%) occurred in nursing facilities, while 40% was expended on cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and falls.

Men ages 85 and older spent $24,000 per person in 2013, with only 37% on nursing facilities, largely because women live longer and men more often have a spouse at home to provide care.

Less than 10% of personal health care spending is on nursing care facilities, and less than 5% of spending is on emergency department care. The conditions leading to the most spending in nursing care facilities are Alzheimer's and stroke, while the condition leading to the most spending in emergency departments is falls.

Public health education and advocacy initiatives, such as anti-tobacco and cancer awareness campaigns, totaled an estimated $77.9 billion in 2013, less than 3% of total health spending.

Top 10 diseases

The top 10 most costly health expenses in 2013 were:

1. Diabetes - $101.4 billion

2. Ischemic heart disease - $88.1 billion

3. Low back and neck pain - $87.6 billion

4. Hypertension - $83.9 billion

5. Injuries from falls - $76.3 billion

6. Depressive disorders - $71.1 billion

7. Oral-related problems - $66.4 billion

8. Vision and hearing problems - $59 billion

9. Skin-related problems, such as cellulitis and acne - $55.7 billion

10. Pregnancy and postpartum care - $55.6 billion
A couple engaged to be married were also allegedly engaged in a $374,000 fraudulent check scheme while they worked at two Wisconsin credit unions to support their mutual drug habit.

Anna Chaberek, 32, of Waukesha, Wis., a former accounting specialist at the $26.8 million Enterprise Credit Union in Brookfield, Wis., and Anthony N. Tourtillott, 30, a former teller at the $42.9 million Focus Credit Union in Wauwatosa, Wis., were each charged with four felony charges of theft last week by Waukesha County prosecutors.

Chaberek and Tourtillott were allegedly responsible for 328 fraudulent checks that were deposited into six different bank accounts for a loss of $300,230 and 429 unauthorized ACH transactions deposited into three different bank accounts for a loss of $74,229, according to a six-page criminal complaint that detailed how the duo pulled off the scheme between the two credit unions.

If convicted, Chaberek and Tourtillott could each face up to 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. They are scheduled to make their initial appearance in Waukesha County Circuit Court Dec. 19.
Political changes in the UK and US have reversed recent progress towards greater clarity in the world's largest carbon markets, says Graham Cooper.

What a difference a year makes! This time last year, politicians and environmentalists, along with many businesses and investors, were celebrating the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the increased certainty it provided about global and national targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

12 months on, and the same people are bemoaning fresh uncertainties arising from the UK's vote to leave the European Union and the victory of a climate change sceptic in the US presidential election.

The Paris Agreement boosted confidence in the future of carbon markets, with an international PwC survey of large companies  members of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) revealing that 82% expected existing carbon markets would expand as a result of the ground-breaking deal.

EU Allowance (EUA) prices stood at about 8 in December 2015 but, a year later, they are languishing around 5, representing a fall of almost 40%.

Optimism was also prevalent in the North American markets, this time last year, thanks to the election of a more climate-friendly government in Canada and president Obama's progress on his climate change strategy for the US.

A central plank of that strategy  the Clean Power Plan (CPP)  was expected to encourage more states to introduce carbon trading and possibly join one of the existing regional carbon markets  in California and the northeast (the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)).

"It really feels like we are in growth mode again around greenhouse gas credits in North America," said one of last year's winners in December 2015.

A year later, however, both the CPP and the California market are beset by legal challenges, while the Brexit decision, low EUA prices, and a lack of clarity over forthcoming market reforms, have cast a cloud of uncertainty over the EU market.

"It's been a very interesting 12 months," says a rueful Louis Redshaw, founding director of Redshaw Advisors, that retained the title of Best Advisory/Consultancy (EU ETS) in this year's poll.

Despite some "pretty serious" nuclear plant outages in France and the approach of winter, the fact that EUA prices remain far below last year's highs "tells us there is oversupply in the market  even in a year with backloading," he says, referring to the mechanism to withhold 900 million EUAs from auctions in 2014-2016 until 2019-2020 in an attempt to temporarily reduce the excess that accumulated after the economic slowdown after 2008.

"The news from the power sector is almost as bad as it can be but carbon is still struggling to break higher," he says.

ETS Markets  voted Best Trading Company (EU ETS)  shares Redshaw's concern. "It's a frustrating time," says Tim Atkinson, the firm's founder. "We would like to be working more proactively with clients about developing future compliance strategy but Brexit concerns, unclear Phase 4 reforms and low prices make that difficult."

"All the signs are for lower [EUA] prices next year."

Louis Redshaw, Redshaw Advisors

Many companies see too much uncertainty to take a long-term view at present, he says. Although allowance purchasing requirements are going up, as targets tighten and surpluses are used up, at current prices EUAs are not a significant cost for many companies, he adds.

Few market insiders expect any dramatic recovery in prices next year. Redshaw says he expects 2017 will see the French nuclear plants resume generation, and lower gas prices as more LNG capacity becomes available, but no major increase in demand for allowances. Furthermore, the end of backloading will mean an increase in EUA supply.

"Some pretty serious headwinds are coming," he says. "All the signs are for lower prices next year."

Further bad news for the embattled EU market, is the threatened mandatory closure of coal-fired power stations in several European states. "Such intervention is undermining the carbon market," Redshaw says.

2017 will be an important year for companies to keep track of EU ETS Brexit negotiations and Phase 4 reforms, notes Atkinson at ETS Markets. They should remember "that policy decisions can cause sudden price movements so being able to react quickly will be important," he says.

In response to the low prices, both Atkinson and Redshaw have been looking beyond their core activities based around the EU ETS.

ETS Markets has started to do more advisory work on renewable energy and energy efficiency, while Redshaw has advised South Korean companies about emissions trading and provided firms in the aviation sector with training on emissions trading. Most airlines will be covered by a new carbon market  the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia)  from 2021.

Baker & McKenzie, which held on to its title of Best Law Firm in the EU ETS, for the eighth year in succession, is also seeing more interest from airlines. "We see an increasing of level of activity here," says Martijn Wilder, head of the firm's global environmental markets and climate change practice.

The company's work on the EU ETS has been "pretty limited" in the past year, he adds. The focus has been more on advising its European clients who operate internationally in other markets, while also working on the REDD+ forestry crediting mechanism and policy work, Wilder says.

But, despite the low prices, EUA trading volumes remain robust, with average daily volume on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London of about 20,000 lots, says Gordon Bennett, managing director, utility markets at the exchange. ICE was once again voted Best Exchange/Clearing House for the EU ETS.

And, with more than 100 companies trading on a typical day, the EUA futures contract is one of ICE's leading utility- focused contracts, he adds.

Volumes have also been strong in the bilateral over-the-counter (OTC) market. "We have seen an uptick in OTC volumes and expect that to continue into 2017," says Michael Karavias, a London-based managing director at Evolution Markets, which was once again voted Best Broker in the EU ETS.

The world's second largest carbon market  that of California  is also beset by uncertainty and low prices. But the reasons are specific to the state and unrelated to the election of a president who has dismissed climate change as a Chinese hoax.

"Many companies see too much uncertainty to take a long-term view at present."

Tim Atkinson, ETS Markets

The California market didn't move at all in reaction to Trump's election, says Lenny Hochschild, MD and head of the Carbon Americas group at Evolution Markets, which also retained its stranglehold on the title of Best Broker in both the California and RGGI market categories. "I don't see the federal election affecting California's policy," he adds.

Even if the incoming US administration cancels the Clean Power Plan, the Californian market is unlikely to be affected, agrees Kevin Townsend, chief commercial officer at Bluesource, which retained its title as Best Project Developer in the North American markets as well as Best Offset Originator in the California market. The California administration is "going to do what they need to do to achieve their goal," he says.

But 'spillover effects' from other polices of the incoming administration could affect the market, cautions Izzet Bensusan, CEO of Karbone, which won the Best Advisory/Consultancy title for California and all North American GHG markets. "If Trump finds ways to support the fossil fuel sector, actually implements his infrastructure improvement plan, or 'brings back manufacturing' in some meaningful way, each of these could theoretically increase emissions in California (and the rest of the country), thereby increasing allowance prices."

The state continues to set the pace in terms of emission reduction targets in the US and in August the state Assembly and Senate passed bills that set an aggressive new target for 2030  to reduce California's GHG emissions to 40% below their 1990 level.

But the market, launched in 2012, is under attack from the local Chamber of Commerce and others who argue that auctions of emission allowances are effectively an illegal tax, while the state's 'Environmental Justice' lobby group remains opposed to the very principle of cap and trade.

Rick Saines, head of Baker & McKenzie's North America climate change and environmental markets practice, notes that the 2030 target is now codified in law, so "the big question is how best to meet it".

He thinks it is likely that industry will rally to support the cap-and-trade market if the alternative is 'command and control'. "All the infrastructure is there for a very solid market," he notes.

Baker & McKenzie has been voted Best Law Firm in the North American carbon markets for six years now, mirroring its leading role in the EU market.

The story of the year in the US has been significant progress at state level, adds Saines. In addition to California's plans for 2030, Oregon and Washington are both considering trading markets while several other states have undertaken preparatory work in anticipation of the Clean Power Plan being enacted.

"Even before Trump's election, much of the activity was at the sub-national level across North America," agrees Zac Eyler, vice-president, greenhouse gas programmes, at Ruby Canyon Engineering, which was again voted Best Verification Company in the North American GHG markets.

And, notes Hochschild, Ontario is expected to link to the California market in 2018, following in the footsteps of Quebec. The RGGI market has also discussed the possibility of aligning its rules with those of California, market insiders say.

"We expect more certainty on legal and policy challenges in 2017"

Kevin Townsend, Bluesource

The likely demise of the CPP under the Trump administration would be more of a blow to the RGGI market than to California, they warn. This was reflected in allowance prices immediately after the election result was announced. Carbon prices in RGGI dropped 10.4% to about $4.2 within 24 hours of Trump's victory being announced. California prices, on the other hand, were virtually unchanged at about $12.8.

The final CPP rules  which aim to curb emissions from US power plants  "are supportive of regional and potentially national trading," notes Saines. Several states were believed to be considering joining RGGI to help them comply with the Plan.

But the CPP was already facing a legal challenge, before Trump's election victory. The US Supreme Court put the brakes on the plan in February, pending a judicial review. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit heard the challenge against the CPP in late September, but it is unlikely to reach a verdict until next year.

Several states intervened in favour of the CPP, although 25 others opposed it, Saines notes. "Some of the plans developed in preparation for CPP may proceed even in the absence of the CPP."

"I think you're going to see some states taking aggressive action on climate change; while others will breathe a sigh of relief," if the CPP is cancelled, he says.

2016 has been "a pretty difficult year" for RGGI, says Hochschild at Evolution Markets. In addition to the unexpected decision by the US Supreme Court to 'stay' the CPP, also unexpected was the decision in August by NY governor Andrew Cuomo to provide billions of dollars to help four nuclear plants to remain operating. This exerted some further downward pressure on carbon allowances in the market.

But most major players are optimistic for 2017.

"I think 2017 should be much better," says Townsend at Bluesource. "We expect more certainty on legal and policy challenges in 2017."

"We are still confident in the momentum and direction for 2017 and after," agrees Eyler at Ruby Canyon, "overall there is still good momentum for carbon markets even with the uncertainty that Trump's election has caused."

Hochschild at Evolution Markets says he expects the challenge to the California market to be resolved in the first half of the year.

There is also renewed optimism in the international market for 'Kyoto credits' thanks to the Paris Agreement. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol  the precursor to the Paris Agreement  created instruments such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which award tradable carbon credits to projects in developing countries that prevent, or avoid, GHG emissions.

Although prices for CDM credits have collapsed to levels that are insufficient to make many potential projects economically viable, there are widespread hopes that a mechanism similar to the CDM will form the basis of international offset trading under the Paris Agreement.

"I think you're going to see some states taking aggressive action on climate change; while others will breathe a sigh of relief [if the CPP is cancelled]"

Rick Saines, Baker & McKenzie

"We are in early discussions with several parties on transitioning projects from the existing infrastructure under the CDM to the future mechanism, and/or bilateral transactions under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement," says Caspar Chiquet, a key account manager for the public sector at South Pole Group, voted Best Project Developer and Best Trading Company in the Kyoto credit market. "It looks like existing CDM projects, especially [those] in least developed countries, will play an important role."

In addition, he adds: "Our public advisory team works on assisting governments and multilaterals in the transition from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement."

The Zurich-based company is also engaged in the World Bank's effort to support the CDM via its innovative Pilot Auction Facility and was among nine winners in the second auction, for methane reduction projects, held in May 2016.

K.Sudheendra, head of operations at India's EPIC Sustainability, which retained the title of Best Verification Company in the Kyoto credit market, says methane projects are among the most popular in the market at present. Despite the low prices for most CDM credits, he reports reasonable supply and demand and is confident that there will "definitely be more activity" in 2017.

Another source of work for South Pole is the proposed new market in offset credits for the aviation sector. The company "is in talks with several airlines regarding early action and pre-compliance engagements," says Chiquet. "Many of those airlines are existing buyers of voluntary offsets from our portfolio of projects," he adds.

Baker & McKenzie also sees potential in the aviation sector. "We see an increasing level of business here," says Martijn Wilder. Another possible growth area is the Chinese national carbon market which is due to begin in 2017. "We are getting more and more queries," but the market is still developing and remains quite opaque, he adds.

And the Paris Agreement "has had a big impact," Wilder stresses. Among other projects, Baker & McKenzie is advising various governments on their national emission reduction plans submitted as part of the Agreement; working on the REDD+ mechanism to reward projects that prevent deforestation; and developing ideas around Article 6 of the Agreement, which provides a foundation for international cooperation through markets.

And, he adds, "many corporate clients are developing plans to develop carbon offsetting plans and climate strategies.

"For us it is like post-Kyoto all over again and the opportunities are significant," he concludes.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Syrian refugees seeking reprieve from civil war may have traded a violent home for a different danger: deadly earthquakes, according to new research presented here today.

More than 2.5 million Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey in the past five years now live in seismically active regions, many with histories of powerful tremors. Yet their presence is not reflected in the data traditionally used to produce risk assessments, which scientists and agencies use to mitigate and respond to natural hazards, according to Bradley Wilson, a geoscientist at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Including Syrian refugees in Turkey's earthquake risk assessments could boost the death toll from a major earthquake in the country's most populated districts along the Syria-Turkey border by up to 20 percent, potentially causing hundreds or thousands more casualties than currently projected, according to Wilson's new research.

The research highlights the importance of including physical, political, cultural and socio-economic factors in natural hazard risk assessments, Wilson said.

"It is vital to remember that Syrian refugees migrating northwest into Turkey are migrating to areas constructed on the ruins of cities that have been repeatedly destroyed in large earthquakes," said Wilson, who will present the results of his research today at the 2016 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.

Turkey lies atop several active fault zones, which have produced some of the world's deadliest earthquakes. The 7.8-magnitude Erzincan earthquake struck northeastern Turkey in 1939, claiming nearly 33,000 lives and demolishing the city of Erzincan. More than 600 years earlier, an earthquake estimated to be of magnitude 7.0 struck the area known today as the Adana province, killing roughly 60,000.

Wilson's study area spanned regions surrounding the Turkey-Syria border, where both seismic activity and refugee numbers are high. Using a combination of population and refugee data, Wilson compared the regions' populations before and after the Arab Spring in 2011 to depict how refugee migration affected the country's earthquake-prone districts. Using Turkey's seismic records, he then simulated multiple earthquake scenarios and forecasted casualty tolls under magnitude 5.8, 6.4 and 7.0 earthquakes.

Incorporating refugees into Turkey's earthquake risk assessments significantly shifted the study area's high-risk zones. Before refugee migration, most at-risk areas were near the country's center. While those areas remain high-risk, including refugees shifts the most at-risk regions to the south, where most refugees now live.

Under worst case scenarios, where a magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Turkey's most populated districts, the study suggests the death toll could rise by 20 percent over current estimates. Deaths could rise by at least 3 percent if a magnitude 5.8 earthquake were to strike in a less populated district, according to the new research.

"If ignored, these discrepancies ultimately complicate the work of the scientists and agencies who work to mitigate and respond to earthquake disasters," Wilson said.

###

Media Q&A and presentation information

The researcher, Bradley Wilson, will be available to answer questions from members of the news media during a media Q&A from 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. PT today in the Press Conference Room, Moscone West, Room 3000. The media availability will also be streamed live over the web. Information about how to stream press conferences can be found here.

The researchers will present a poster about their work on Tuesday, 13 December 2016 at the AGU Fall Meeting.

Poster Title: Fleeing to Fault Zones: Incorporating Syrian Refugees into Earthquake Risk Analysis along the East Anatolian and Dead Sea Rift Fault Zones

Session: NH23A: Model, Tools, Techniques, and New Data Streams for Natural Hazards and Emergencies II Posters

Date: Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Time: 1:40 - 6:00 p.m.

Abstract number: NH23A-1851

Location: Moscone South, Poster Hall

Contact information for the researcher: Bradley Wilson: bsw006@email.uark.edu, +1 (708) 519-0442

2. Today's press events

8:30 a.m. - New obstacles for Syrian refugees (Media Q&A)

9:00 a.m. - First results from the Norwegian Young Sea ICE Expedition

10:30 a.m. - Arctic Report Card 2016

11:30 a.m. - News from Gale Crater: Recent findings from NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover

1:30 p.m. - Tracking the reorientation of the terrestrial planets

2:30 p.m. - Direct from New Zealand: The Kaikoura earthquake

4:00 p.m. - The path forward from Paris, one year later (Media Availability)

5:00 p.m. - Integrating scientific research into local decision making

All Fall Meeting press events will be streamed live on the AGU press events webpage and archived on AGU's YouTube channel.

3. Noteworthy sessions happening today

The Frontiers of Geophysics Lecture, "Shifting the Energy Mix in a Post-Paris World," will take place from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. in Moscone North, Hall E. The panel will present economic, scientific and industry viewpoints on future energy demand, the shifting energy mix/energy tradeoffs and the economic, social, and political drivers of those shifts in a post Paris COP21 world. The lecture will be streamed live on AGU On-Demand and in the Press Conference Room, Moscone West, Room 3000.

The Path Forward from Paris, One Year Later: A panel of high level science policy experts from around the world will discuss the outcomes of COP21/CMP11 and implications for both the research, policy, and action agendas at local, regional and global scales. Margaret Leinen, AGU President, will host the panel, which will take place from 1:40 - 3:40 p.m. in Moscone North, Hall E. This session will be streamed live on AGU On-Demand. A media availability will be held immediately following this session in the press conference room, Moscone West, Room 3000.

Registered journalists who are interested in attending these events should meet an AGU staff member at the entrance to the lecture hall 30 minutes prior to the start of the talk.

4. Press networking events happening today

Members of the media will be able to meet and mingle with colleagues at several events throughout the week. Here is what's happening today:

NCSWA HOLIDAY DINNER: CALIFORNIA'S REDWOODS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE - DEC. 13

[The following is provided on behalf of the Northern California Science Writers Association.]

AGU press are encouraged to join their colleagues in the Northern California Science Writers Association for NCSWA's annual holiday dinner on Tuesday, December 13. This year's speaker is noted UC Berkeley ecologist Todd Dawson, one of the world's leading authorities on redwood trees. Dawson will discuss the impacts of climate change on California's redwoods and his high-altitude forest research, featured prominently in National Geographic and other outlets.

Details: Tuesday, December 13, 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

L'Olivier, 465 Davis Ct. (within walking distance of Moscone Center)

Cost for non-NCSWA members: $45

NCSWA encourages AGU press to register online in advance as the event may sell out.

5. Potentially newsworthy presentations happening today

Assessment of the extent of land deformation associated with salt domes within the Jazan City and surroundings, Saudi Arabia

9:00 - 9:15 a.m., Moscone West, Room 3002, Session G21C

9:00 - 9:15 a.m., Moscone West, Room 3002, Session G21C Scaling of dielectric breakdown thresholds in Earth's and CO2-rich atmospheres: Impact for predictions of extraterrestrial transient luminous events and lightning discharges

9:45 - 10:00 a.m., Moscone West, Room 3001, Session AE21A

9:45 - 10:00 a.m., Moscone West, Room 3001, Session AE21A The High Arctic's only great lake is succumbing to climate warming

1:55 - 2:10 p.m., Moscone West, Room 3003, Session GC23J

1:55 - 2:10 p.m., Moscone West, Room 3003, Session GC23J An outrageous geological hypothesis for the early Mars hydro-climatic conundrum

2:55 - 3:10 p.m., Moscone West, Room 3002, Session P23E

2:55 - 3:10 p.m., Moscone West, Room 3002, Session P23E AGU journal editors recommend these sessions happening today.

6. Online media resources

For journalists: During the Fall Meeting, journalists can find many resources online in the Virtual Press Room in the Media Center on the Fall Meeting website. These resources include press releases, press conference materials and other information. Videos of press conferences will be added to the Virtual Press Room during the meeting for easy online access.

For public information officers: PIOs are now able to share press releases and other materials in the Virtual Press Room by directly uploading them via the Press Item Uploader. PIOs can upload press releases, tip sheets and press conference materials to the Virtual Press Room at any time before or during the meeting, including uploading items in advance and scheduling them to post during the meeting.

The AGU press office is offering two new online tools to connect reporters with scientific experts at the 2016 Fall Meeting. The Find an Expert tool allows public information officers to list scientific experts who are available to be interviewed by reporters at the meeting. The Request an Expert tool allows reporters to send requests for experts directly to PIOs.

More information about these tools can be found in the Fall Meeting Media Center.

The American Geophysical Union is dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing more than 60,000 members in 139 countries. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and our other social media channels.
Arthur Benjamin, the Smallwood Family Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, will receive the 2017 JPBM Communications Award for Public Outreach.

The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) represents the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Benjamin is honored for his books aimed at general audiences, his TED talks, his popular video courses from The Great Courses, and his "mathemagics" performances. His work demonstrates "his ability and commitment to share the joy of mathematics, and excites and engages audiences at all levels," the prize citation says.

Benjamin is an unusual breed: He is both a mathematician and a magician. The two roles combine to make him a teacher with remarkable charisma, a writer whose works appeal to a wide variety of readers, and a performer who can enlighten as well as entertain.

As a magician, Benjamin performs a mixture of math and magic to audiences all over the world, including the Magic Castle in Hollywood. He has demonstrated and explained his calculating talents in his book and DVD Course, Secrets of Mental Math, and on numerous television programs. He has been featured in many national newspapers and magazines and has given three TED talks, which have been viewed over 12 million times. Princeton Review recently profiled him in the book, The Best 300 Professors. Reader's Digest calls Benjamin "America's Best Math Whiz."

Arthur Benjamin earned his bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University and his doctorate in mathematical sciences from Johns Hopkins University. Since 1989, he has taught at Harvey Mudd College, where he is the Smallwood Family Professor of Mathematics and past chair. In 2000, he received the Haimo Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Mathematical Association of America.

Read an interview with Benjamin that appears in the January 2017 issue of the Notices of the AMS at http://www.ams.org/journals/notices/201701/rnoti-p32.pdf.

Presented annually, the JPBM Communications Award recognizes outstanding achievement in communicating about mathematics to non-mathematicians. The award will be presented Thursday, January 5, 2017, at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Atlanta.

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Find out more about AMS prizes and awards at http://www.ams.org/profession/prizes-awards/prizes.

Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, today the American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.
Trials conducted under very specific conditions and design flawed in many cases, say researchers

There is insufficient evidence to support the use of homeopathy in food producing animals as a way to prevent or treat infectious diseases, reveal findings from a comprehensive review published online in Veterinary Record.

While some clinical trials have shown effectiveness, the authors of the review question the reliability of the evidence, because all studies have a range of limitations.

All clinical trials were conducted under very specific conditions, for example, and none were repeated under comparable conditions. Therefore, the authors say the findings cannot be be used to recommend homeopathy.

Homeopathy is widely used in livestock, especially to replace or reduce the use of antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases, although its use is often seen as controversial. For organic agriculture, homeopathy is even promoted.

In this comprehensive review, Dr Caroline Doehring and Professor Albert Sundrum from the University of Kassel, Germany, assessed peer-reviewed studies on the efficacy of homeopathy in cattle, pigs and poultry published between 1981 and 2014.

They analysed 48 publications on homeopathic remedies, which have been suggested to replace or prevent the use of antibiotics or promote growth in food producing animals. This included 52 clinical trials, 34 with cattle, 12 with pigs and six with poultry.

Overall, 28 trials were in favour of homeopathy, 26 showed significantly higher efficacy in comparison to a control group, while 22 demonstrated no effect.

Only 10 trials provided information on cure rates for the treatments. These varied to a high degree, while the remedy used did not seem to make a big difference.

Trials on pigs were frequently efficacious, while studies with cattle or poultry had a similar distribution of efficacious and non-efficacious treatment.

Double-blind randomised controlled trials reported efficacy of the homeopathic treatment almost as often as they reported lack of it.

Meanwhile, single-blind and non-blind randomised controlled trials, and observational trials were more likely to present evidence of efficacy, suggesting that positive outcomes may be due to bias.

Other study limitations, such as potential conflict of interests, low sample size, risk for selective reporting and bias, were found in the majority of trials.

"A considerable number of studies demonstrated a significantly higher efficacy for homeopathic remedies than for a control group," explain the authors, "therefore, the potential medical efficacy of homeopathy under certain conditions cannot be ruled out."

However, they caution that "all studies included were conducted under very specific conditions, but no trial was repeated in a comparable manner. A certain remedy which proved efficacious in a scientific trial may not be effective under farm conditions.

"The current evidence of studies providing evidence in favour of homeopathy lacks reproducibility and therefore cannot claim to have sufficient prognostic validity."

They explain that evidence of efficacy can only be proven by reproducing results through randomised controlled trials, the gold standard for evaluating the efficacy of interventions, and in various farm management conditions.

They stress the importance of applying the most effective treatment or remedy to prevent unnecessary suffering of the diseased animal, and say that due to the unknown level of effectiveness of on-farm homeopathy, this can only be established through the appropriate control and monitoring of treatment success on farms.

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Review: Efficacy of homeopathy in livestock according to peer-reviewed publications from 1981 to 2014

About the journal:

Veterinary Record, published weekly since 1888, is the official journal of the British Veterinary Association (BVA). It is published on behalf of the BVA by BMJ. http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com
Three-quarters of people aged 65 and over in the US would take a test telling them they were going to develop Alzheimer's disease if such a test existed, according to research published in the open access journal Alzheimer's Research and Therapy.

When asked what they would do if they were told they were definitely going to develop Alzheimer's, 87% of the study participants said they would discuss health plans with loved ones and 81% indicated they would make plans for their future care and/or make a living will, even though only 15% reported that they had already done so.

Dr Meera Sheffrin, lead author from Stanford University School of Medicine in the US, said: "Our research confirms that there is a high level of public interest in predictive tests for Alzheimer's disease. This could be because Alzheimer's is often in the media and perceived as a particularly devastating disease. This interest, and the potential high demand for predictive testing, should be considered as these tests become available, so recourses are available to help counsel patients and prepare for the future."

The researchers analyzed the results of 875 people aged 65 and older (belonging to the Health and Retirement Study), and asked them the hypothetical question whether they would take a free and 100% accurate test to predict their future risk of Alzheimer's disease. Participants were then asked to rate their likelihood of completing advance care planning or a living-will if they knew they would develop Alzheimer's.

Participants' responses to the question were examined based on demographics and self-reported characteristics such as physical functioning, memory, health and risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Dr Sheffrin said: "We found that interest in a predictive test for Alzheimer's disease testing was similar amongst the participants regardless of whether or not they perceived themselves as being at high or low risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Unexpectedly, interest did not vary between individuals who were healthy and those suffering from many medical conditions, or by sex, race, functional status or perceived memory."

In the future, a predictive test could provide an opportunity for patients and families to prepare for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline and allow them to make any necessary financial or family arrangements.

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Notes to Editors

1. Desire for Predictive Testing for Alzheimer's Disease and Impact on Advance Care Planning: A Cross-sectional Study Meera Sheffrin, Irena Stijacic Cenzer, Michael A. Steinman Alzheimer's Research & Therapy 2016

During the embargo period, please contact Alanna Orpen for a copy of the article.

After the embargo lifts, the article will be available at the journal website here: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13195-016-0223-9

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

2. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy is the major forum for translational research into Alzheimer's disease. An international peer-reviewed journal, it publishes open access basic research with a translational focus, as well as clinical trials, research into drug discovery and development, and epidemiologic studies. The journal also provides reviews, viewpoints, commentaries, debates and reports. Although the primary focus is Alzheimer's disease, the scope encompasses translational research into other neurodegenerative diseases.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Nature, a major new force in scientific, scholarly, professional and educational publishing, created in May 2015 through the combination of Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, Macmillan Education and Springer Science+Business Media. http://www.biomedcentral.com
Los Alamos, N.M., Dec. 13, 2016 - Boron has been identified for the first time on the surface of Mars, indicating the potential for long-term habitable groundwater in the ancient past. This finding and others from NASA's Curiosity rover science team will be discussed in a press conference today in San Francisco during the American Geophysical Union conference.

"No prior mission to Mars has found boron," said Patrick Gasda, a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory. "If the boron that we found in calcium sulfate mineral veins on Mars is similar to what we see on Earth, it would indicate that the groundwater of ancient Mars that formed these veins would have been 0-60 degrees Celsius [32-140 degrees Fahrenheit] and neutral-to-alkaline pH." The temperature, pH, and dissolved mineral content of the groundwater could make it habitable. (Watch video here.)

The boron was identified by the rover's laser-shooting Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument, which was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in conjunction with the French space agency. Los Alamos' work on discovery-driven instruments like ChemCam stems from the Laboratory's experience building and operating more than 500 spacecraft instruments for national defense.

Boron is famously associated with arid sites where much water has evaporated away--think of the borax that mule teams once hauled from Death Valley. However, environmental implications of the boron found by Curiosity are still open to debate. Scientists are considering at least two possibilities for the source of boron that groundwater left in the veins: It could be that the drying out of part of Gale lake resulted in a boron-containing deposit in an overlying layer, not yet reached by Curiosity. Some of the material from this layer could have later been carried by groundwater down into fractures in the rocks. Or perhaps changes in the chemistry of clay-bearing deposits and groundwater affected how boron was picked up and dropped off within the local sediments.

The discovery of boron is only one of several recent findings related to the composition of Martian rocks. Curiosity is climbing a layered Martian mountain and finding rock-composition evidence of how ancient lakes and wet underground environments changed, billions of years ago, in ways that affected their favorability for microbial life.

As the rover has progressed uphill, compositions trend toward more clay and more boron. These and other variations can tell us about conditions under which sediments were initially deposited and about how later groundwater moving through the accumulated layers altered and transported ingredients.

Groundwater and chemicals dissolved in it that appeared later on Mars left its effects most clearly in mineral veins that filled cracks in older layered rock. But it also affected the composition of that rock matrix surrounding the veins, and the fluid was in turn affected by the rock.

"There is so much variability in the composition at different elevations, we've hit a jackpot," said John Grotzinger, of Caltech, Pasadena, Calif. As the rover gets further uphill, researchers are impressed by the complexity of the lake environments when clay-bearing sediments were being deposited and also by the complexity of the groundwater interactions after the sediments were buried.

"A sedimentary basin such as this is a chemical reactor," Grotzinger said. "Elements get rearranged. New minerals form and old ones dissolve. Electrons get redistributed. On Earth, these reactions support life."

Whether Martian life has ever existed is still unknown. No compelling evidence for it has been found. When Curiosity landed in Mars' Gale Crater in 2012 the mission's main goal was to determine whether the area ever offered an environment favorable for microbes.

Four recent drilling sites, from "Oudam" this past June through "Sebina" in October, are spaced about 80 feet (about 25 meters) apart in elevation. This uphill pattern allows the science team to sample progressively younger layers that reveal Mount Sharp's ancient environmental history. "Variations in these minerals and elements indicate a dynamic system," Grotzinger said. "They interact with groundwater as well as surface water. The water influences the chemistry of the clays, but the composition of the water also changes. We are seeing chemical complexity indicating a long, interactive history with the water. The more complicated the chemistry is, the better it is for habitability. The boron and clay underline the mobility of elements and electrons, and that is good for life."

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Photo caption:

ChemCam target Catabola is a raised resistant calcium sulfate vein with the highest abundance of boron observed so far. The red outline shows the location of the ChemCam target remote micro images (inset). The remote micro images show the location of each individual ChemCam laser point (red crosshairs) and the B chemistry associated with each point (colored bars). The scale bar is 9.2 mm or about 0.36 inches.

(Image Credit: JPL-Caltech/MSSS/LANL/CNES-IRAP/William Rapin)

About Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, BWXT Government Group and URS, an AECOM company, for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and global security concerns.
By PTI: Panaji, Dec 13 (PTI) Hours after two of its ministers were sacked from the Goa cabinet by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) today said they would continue their support to the government as part of their "coalition dharma".

"We will abide by coalition dharma. Our support to BJP will continue till election code of conduct (for the upcoming Goa Assembly election) comes in force," MGP President Dipak Dhavalikar told PTI today.

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Dhavalikar said his party (MGP) will fulfil its commitment made towards the BJP when they forged a pre-poll alliance with them before the 2012 assembly elections.

"Our support continues for the government. That is what I can tell you right now," he said refusing to answer any further questions.

In a late night development, the CM sacked two of his MGP colleagues from the state cabinet following their outburst against the BJP-led government raising prospects of new permutations and combinations in Goa going to polls next year.

Parsekar faxed the communication to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha late night recommended dropping of Sudin Dhavlikar and Dipak Dhavlikar from the cabinet. With this, the total number of ministers in Parsekar-led cabinet is reduced to ten.

While Sudin was holding Transport and Public works department portfolios, Dipak was Rural Development Agency and Factories and Boilers minister in Parsekar led cabinet.

After their removal from the cabinet, all the portfolios allotted to the duo were reverted to Parsekar.

The friction between MGP and Parsekar began when the former asserted that they will not enter into a pre-poll alliance with the BJP for the upcoming assembly polls if Parsekar continues to lead the party.

Sudin Dhavalikar even went on to accuse Parsekar of taking back the state by ten years during his two and half year old rule in the state while Dipak had dared the BJP to dissolve the Assembly and face election on their own and win majority seats.

Interestingly, RSS rebel Subhash Velingkar-led Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) had proposed alliance with MGP for polls.

MGP, the first regional ruling party after Goa was liberated from Portuguese in 1961, had fought 2012 Assembly election in alliance with BJP. While BJP won 21 seats in the 40-member house, MGP was victorious on three. They later formed the government under leadership of Manohar Parrikar who was later elevated to the Central cabinet replacing him with Parsekar. PTI RPS DK DV

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A new study has identified a network of genes in the brain that, when disrupted, causes epilepsy; the results also predicted that a known anti-epileptic drug works to restore the network's function. This discovery has not only offered a new target for developing anti-epileptic drugs, but the original 'network biology' approach developed by the team may provide a quicker and cheaper way to accelerate the discovery of novel drug candidates that are effective treatments for disease.

The study was published on 13 December 2016 in the journal Genome Biology and was led by Associate Professor Enrico Petretto from the Centre for Computational Biology at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) in Singapore and in collaboration with Imperial College London.

Epilepsy is a common and serious neurological disorder which afflicts many people, and is characterised with a tendency to have recurring, unprovoked seizures. While many anti-epileptic treatments have been discovered, a third of epileptic patients still suffer from seizures. As a result, the search for effective treatments and cures is still ongoing. Research to identify new anti-epileptic drugs has been largely unsuccessful because the current widely-employed process of targeting one-gene-at-the-time, to find suitable targets and develop new drugs, is very slow and expensive.

Assoc Prof Petretto's lab has developed a 'network-biology' approach to identify a network of genes in the brain that underlie risk of developing both common and rare epilepsies. The approach identifies entire pathways, networks of genes and processes of disease that can be studied. Most importantly the approach can be used to predict how to manipulate the disease-networks with drugs to return them to a healthy state.

Using brain samples of healthy subjects, Assoc Prof Petretto's team built gene networks that were expressed across the human brain. Then, a using large database of mutations and genes associated with epilepsy, they discovered a gene network associated with rare and common forms of epilepsy. This 'epileptic-network' contained 320 genes and is called M30. This network represents a previously unknown convergent mechanism regulating susceptibility to epilepsy broadly.

The analyses the team did in mouse models of epilepsy suggested that the down-regulation or disruption of M30 contributed to the manifestation of epilepsy. To confirm this, the team employed computational approaches, based on 'network-biology', and leveraged public data resources to predict the effect of drugs and small molecules on the network to restore the 'epileptic-network' to its healthy state. The effect of valproic acid, a commonly-used anti-epileptic drug, to restore M30 to health was confirmed during this process. Other new drugs were also identified, which may have been acting in combination with valproic acid.

The results of the study suggest that targeting the M30 'epileptic-network' with combination of drugs may be a viable strategy to treat epilepsy.

"Like a mechanic who can predict how to fix or rewire a broken or malfunctioning set of highly interconnected gears in a car, my group uses a 'network-biology' approach to identify interconnected genes in the brain and other organs that may be dysregulated in diseases. We then predict how these genes can be targeted for restoration of function to a normal healthy state," explained Assoc Prof Petretto.

"Our approach allowed us to identify a network associated with epilepsy and provide a compelling proof-of-principle by predicting a known anti-epileptic drug to target the network. We were able to do this in a matter of few months only using publicly available data, while a typical effort to identify anti-epileptic drugs would usually take years."

The next step for Assoc Prof Petretto is to exploit his novel 'network-biology' approach for the discovery of new drugs for specific forms of epilepsy and other untreatable neuropsychiatric disorders. This will allow his team to leverage their approach on a larger scale and identify new potentially effective drugs that can be tested in a clinical setting.

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Authors include co-author Dr Sarah Langley and Dr Aida Moreno-Moral from Duke-NUS, and Dr Andree Delahaye-Duriez and co-senior author Professor Michael Johnson from Imperial College London.
RICHLAND, Wash. -- Water has many unusual properties, such as its solid form, ice, being able to float in liquid water, and they get weirder below its freezing point. Supercooled water -- below freezing but still a liquid -- is notoriously difficult to study. Some researchers thought supercooled water behaved oddly within a particularly cold range, snapping from a liquid into a solid, instantaneously crystallizing at a particular temperature like something out of a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

Now, researchers have figured out a way to take snapshots of water freezing within that deeply supercooled range. And guess what? Water isn't as weird as it could be. Liquid water can exist all the way down, crystallizing into a solid more slowly as things get colder -- as expected, but never all at once.

A team of researchers from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reported the work in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online. Although the results won't change the way you make your iced tea in the summer, it might help theorists flesh out their understanding of water and help atmospheric scientists better understand rain and clouds.

One weird water trick

Most people know that ice floats on liquid water, but they might not be aware that water has a hard time forming a glass. A glass -- like a window -- is a solid in which the molecules are actually arranged as they would be in a liquid.

Take a bunch of oranges. Oranges jumbled loosely in a bag are like a liquid -- the individual molecules can move around pretty freely. If you pack the oranges neatly in a box, you form a crystal. If you tighten the bag and stop the jumbled oranges from moving around but without arranging them neatly, you form a glass.

Glasses are great because they can hold contaminants -- think a fly in amber, or nuclear waste in vitrified glass -- whereas crystals kick out contaminants -- freezing seawater is one way to desalinate it. To make a glass, researchers melt sand or another component until it is liquid. And then they cool it so fast it can't form a crystal before it solidifies.

But freeze bulk water fast and it does not form a glass. It rapidly becomes ice. To become glass, liquid water must be cooled to a deeply subzero temperature within microseconds -- about 136 Kelvin (about minus 215 degrees F), a temperature common in outer space, where some expect glassy water to exist.

The range that has been difficult to study is slightly above that so-called glass transition temperature. Scientists don't know what's going on between about 160 and 235 K. (In real life, that's between the temperature on Mars's moon Phobos and Fairbanks, Alaska, in the depth of winter.) At the high end of that range (closer to 235 K, Fairbanks), water freezes from a supercooled liquid to a crystal in milliseconds, which is way too fast for current analytical techniques to study.

Scientists came up with a variety of ideas to explain what might be going on in that unexplored region. They wondered if the water would remain metastable -- liquid but poised to start crystallizing at a moment's notice -- all the way down to temperatures where it becomes a glass. Or if the liquid would become unstable somewhere warmer than that, around 228 K (a little warmer than the record lows at McMurdo Station in Antarctica), at which point it would spontaneously crystallize due to what physicists call a singularity. Also, something within that range might be happening that can help explain why water has a hard time forming a glass.

"There was a plethora of postulates but a paucity of data," said PNNL chemical physicist Bruce Kay.

"Our goal was to develop a new technique to rapidly heat and cool nanoscale supercooled water films," said PNNL physicist Greg Kimmel.

The mystery within

To get the data in that unmeasurable range, Kimmel and Kay worked with Yuntao Xu, a laser expert, and others at PNNL and developed a way to heat and cool water on nanosecond timescales with a laser. Using this method, the PNNL scientists measured how quickly the supercooled water converted into crystalline ice as the temperature decreased. The crystallization time dropped from nanoseconds near the highest temperatures to hours at 126 K. At no point, especially at 228 K, did the supercooled water snap into a crystal, ruling out the possibility of a singularity.

To look for the singularity from another angle, the researchers explored how fast the molecules of supercooled water could move, and how much that changed as it got colder. If the singularity existed, they would expect the water molecules to be unable to move at some point. From the freezing point down to the glassing point, the molecules moved slower and slower in a complex but continuous fashion. Overall, the relation between the temperature and how fast the molecules could move did not suggest a singularity at 228 K.

"We can probably take the singularity off the table," said PNNL's Kay.

Taken together, the results provide valuable insight into how water behaves.

"For example, in atmospheric chemistry, supercooled drops of water are found in clouds. There are questions about how long they persist," said PNNL's Kimmel.

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This work was performed in EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at PNNL. This work was supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science. (BES-CHEM).

Reference: Yuntao Xu, Nikolay G. Petrik, R. Scott Smith, Bruce D. Kay and Greg A. Kimmel. The growth rate of crystalline ice and the diffusivity of supercooled water from 126 K to 262 K, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Early Edition December 12, 2016, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1611395114.

Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. As the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. Located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., EMSL offers an open, collaborative environment for scientific discovery to researchers around the world. Its integrated computational and experimental resources enable researchers to realize important scientific insights and create new technologies. Follow EMSL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Eight new research projects that will help people self-manage chronic conditions, such as COPD and diabetes, at home while linked to support from carers and clinicians, were announced today by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) which is funding the work with a 10 million investment.

The research will take place at seven UK universities; involve over 30 partners from industry, charities and the public sector who will add contributions worth over three quarters of a million pounds.

It will explore how to improve the use and development of networks that connect patients, and those supporting them, to clinicians and treatment. It will investigate how using wearable devices like sensors, smart-watches, activity and heart rate monitors can allow clinicians to get the right sort of data to make choices and advise patients.

The studies will use conditions such as COPD, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and dementia as examples to test technology and systems' designs. The projects have different emphases, some will concentrate on how systems can be made more intelligent and interpret data coming into them, while others will develop and refine sensors and monitoring equipment and ensure they can be accessed securely.

Professor Philip Nelson, Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), said: "The UK has an aging population and the demands on our health services are growing. Monitoring chronic conditions through outpatients' clinics is both costly and time consuming for patients, surgeries and hospitals. Using these new technologies provides ways of gauging a patient's health in real-time and detecting any deterioration quickly. This will help people remain in their homes for longer, avoid congestion and delay and mean treatment can be targeted quickly and when it can be most appropriate and effective."

For further information please contact the EPSRC Press Office on 01793 444 404 or email pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk

Details of the projects are listed below:

ASPIRE: Automated Sensing & Predictive Inference for Respiratory Exacerbation - Led by Professor David Clifton, University of Oxford

The team proposes to develop an 'intelligent' home-based system, with smart algorithms embedded within lightweight healthcare sensors, to overcome current limitations. Its novel work will incorporate next-generation machine learning algorithms to combine information from healthcare sensors with information from GP and hospital visits.

This will enable the system to learn the 'normal' health condition for individual patients, with knowledge of other conditions from which they may be suffering, and which can then make recommendations to the patient concerning self-management of their condition.

Project partners: Microsoft Research Ltd; Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust; Oxehealth Ltd.

EPSRC Grant 1.5 million - Total partners' contribution 416,000

PAMBAYESIAN: PAtient Managed decision-support using Bayesian networks - Led by Professor Norman Fenton, Queen Mary University of London

The overall goal of the project is to create a new generation of intelligent medical decision support systems with real-time monitoring for chronic conditions, based on expert-built Bayesian Networks (BNs).

The team's aim to extend current techniques for developing BNs so that they can be used in a system with several layers (sensor, patient, clinician) in a co-ordinated way.

They will design systems that fit into, and improve, the interaction between patients and the healthcare team. Enable BNs to run in the computing resources available at different places in the overall system eg on small computers.

They will also look towards practical applications. This project has a number of technology companies involved on the Advisory Board to help ensure effective commercial exploitation in the long run.

Project Partners: Mediwise Ltd; IBM United Kingdom Limited; Rescon Technologies; uMotif Limited; SMART Medical Limited; Hasiba Medical GmbH; Be More Digital Ltd.

EPSRC Grant 1.5 million - Total Partners' contribution 63,000

ARISES: An Adaptive, Real-time, Intelligent System to Enhance Self-care of chronic disease - Led by Dr Pantelis Georgiou, Imperial College London

This project will develop an Adaptive, Realtime, Intelligent System (ARISES) that will run on a smart phone locally and collect data from multiple sources to deliver an intervention to the patient that allows self-management of chronic disease.

The core of ARISES will use Case-based reasoning (CBR), a consolidated artificial intelligence technique which can solve problems in much the same way as a human does, using historical data and scenarios as a reference to recommend a current solution which can treat the patient.

CBR is also powerful in that it has the capability to be adaptive according to patient lifestyle and behaviour and always provide the most optimum solutions for a given set of resources. ARISES will have the capability to collect data from wearable devices such as smart-watches, activity monitors, heart rate monitors and continuous glucose meters and using smart-algorithms will be able to extract meaningful information to provide to the CBR system.

Underpinning this will be energy efficient algorithms which make ARISES aware of what sensors are connected to the patients local area network, safety systems that minimise the risk of any possible undesired event related to the management of the disease, and a data security to make sure information is protected against non-authorised access.

ARISES will provide a generic framework which can be used to treat many chronic diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive airways disease, hypertension, heart failure, ischaemic heart disease, arrhythmias and chronic neurological conditions.

The team will use diabetes, which currently affects 3 per cent of the world's population, as an exemplar chronic condition to demonstrate the ARISES framework, and will target improvement in glycaemic control which can reduce micro- and macrovascular complications associated with the disease.

In this context the system will promote the self-management of diabetes by optimising glucose control through insulin dosage recommendations, exercise and physical activity support, carbohydrate recommendations to prevent hypoglycaemia, and behavioural change through education.

Project partners: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Dexcom Inc; ICON Clinical Research (UK) Ltd.

EPSRC Grant 1.3 million - Total partners' contribution 79,000

SCAMPI: Self-Care Advice, Monitoring, Planning and Intervention - Led by Professor Neil Maiden, City, University of London

The project's prime objective is to prototype a new computerised toolset to support the more seamless care planning, monitoring and interventions by people with chronic conditions and their carers.

To achieve this, a team of leading researchers in computer science, the health sciences and digital business at City, University of London will co-design, prototype and evaluate the feasibility of the toolset with people with two example chronic conditions - dementia and Parkinson's disease. The researchers will work closely with the Alzheimer's Society and Parkinson's UK in order to engage people with these conditions, their families, carers and disease experts.

Project partners: Parkinson's UK; Evalucom Consulting Limited; NHS Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group; CWHHE CCGs Commissioning Collaborative; My Home Life; Alzheimer's Society.

EPSRC Grant 0.98 million

CONSULT: Collaborative Mobile Decision Support for Managing Multiple Morbidities - Led by Professor Simon Parsons, King's College London

CONSULT will combine wireless 'wellness' sensors with intelligent software running on mobile devices, to support patient decision making, and thus actively engage patients in managing their healthcare. Software will use computational argumentation to help patients follow treatment guidelines and will learn details specific to individuals, personalising treatment advice within medically sound limits.

The technology will be evaluated in many ways in a proof-of-concept study, engaging stroke patients, their carers and medical professionals, while capitalising on King's College London's world-leading position in stroke research and its established patient groups, particularly those connected to the South London Stroke Register programme.

EPSRC Grant 1.35 million

The Wearable Clinic: Connecting Health, Self and Care - Led by Dr Niels Peek, The University of Manchester

The research team propose to develop a set of software tools for smartphones and tablets, called the 'Wearable Clinic'. This will help patients with long term conditions, together with their carers and doctors, to better manage their health in daily life, respond more quickly to changes in symptoms and prevent fall back episodes.

The project will trial methods of data collection and use that will take account of individual risk factors (eg age, ethnicity) and conserve the battery life of devices.

While the Wearable Clinic concept could potentially be useful for managing a range of long term conditions, the team will test it with two different conditions, where symptoms are known to fluctuate over time: schizophrenia and chronic kidney disease.

Project partners: Cerner Corporaton; Withings SAS; UK Renal Registry; Manchester Mental Health & Social Care; Nat Institute for Health and Care Excellence; Health and Social Care Information Centre; Manchester mHealth Ecosystem; Health Innovation Manchester.

EPSRC Grant 1.6 million - Total partners' contribution 115,000

STRETCH: Socio-Technical Resilience for Enhancing Targeted Community Healthcare - Led by Mr Blaine Price - Open University

The STRETCH project aims to coordinate "circles" of support for older adults recovering at home following hospital treatment.

These 'circles', which include relatives and neighbours, the voluntary sector, carers and medical professionals, would be coordinated through the use of both wearable and smart home technologies with the double benefit of increasing NHS capacity to cope with an increasing number of older patients, while improving care by ensuring that medical professionals have timely and accurate information at all times about patients.

Project partners: Age UK Milton Keynes; Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Age UK Exeter; Exwick Health Centre; NEW Devon CCG.

EPSRC Grant 1 million - Total partners' contribution 95,000

A Novel Wearable Technology for Early Detection of Exacerbations in COPD - Led by Professor Esther Rodriguez-Villegas - Imperial College London

The aim of the project is to create a small, lightweight and low-cost novel wearable wireless technology which can be worn around the neck to monitor patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, currently the fourth leading cause of death in the world that affects about 3 million people in the UK.

It is hoped that the devices will be able to provide early detection of potential exacerbations and inform patients and medical professionals so they can be treated promptly.

It is also anticipated that the devices will reduce the cost of hospitalisations and visits to GPs, therefore resulting in savings to the NHS.

Project partner: Biocompatibles UK Ltd.

EPSRC Grant 0.97 million - Partner contribution 15,000

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Notes to Editors:

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

As the main funding agency for engineering and physical sciences research, our vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world to Research, Discover and Innovate.

By investing 800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, we are building the knowledge and skills base needed to address the scientific and technological challenges facing the nation. Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from healthcare technologies to structural engineering, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry. The research we fund has impact across all sectors. It provides a platform for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture.

We work collectively with our partners and other Research Councils on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk
Although mutations in the PARK2 gene that encodes the Parkin protein are associated with developing early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD), much remains to be discovered about how Parkin functions in cells and how loss of Parkin function could contribute to PD and other degenerative diseases. Parkin is known to regulate the degradation of mitochondria that are cellular organelles that generate energy required for a multitude of cellular functions. Damage to mitochondria is associated with the production of free radicals during the aging process and is involved in the development of multiple diseases ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to cataract formation.

To discover new cellular functions for Parkin and how loss of Parkin function could contribute to age-related diseases, a team of researchers in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University engineered eye lens cells to make either normal Parkin or a mutant form of Parkin, and examined whether Parkin function was required for lens cell mitochondrial function, and lens cell survival.

Results of the study, recently published in the journal Biochemica et Biophysica Acta: Molecular Basis of Disease, are the first to demonstrate that the Parkin gene is turned on when cells are exposed to environmental insults that cause free radical formation and cataract formation. They also discovered that through the removal of mitochondria that are damaged by these environmental insults, Parkin prevents free radical formation in lens cells and increases the ability of the cells to survive exposure to conditions that are associated with aging and the development of many degenerative diseases. The data suggest an important function for Parkin in promoting the survival of not only lens cells, but of many cells of the body including neurons, and they suggest that activation of the Parkin gene could prevent cell damage that is associated with age-related cataract formation and death of neurons associated with PD and other age-related degenerative diseases.

"We found that Parkin is necessary to maintain lens cell function and that loss of Parkin function likely contributes to the formation of cataracts and possibly other age-related degenerative diseases that are associated with loss of mitochondrial function and increased free radical formation," said Marc Kantorow, Ph.D., senior-author, professor of biomedical science, and assistant dean of graduate programs in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. "Our findings suggest that Parkin plays a direct role in the prevention of oxidative stress through its ability to maintain cellular mitochondrial populations. Our data also suggests that the gene encoding Parkin is induced upon environmental damage so that drugs or genetic methods to increase Parkin levels and function could prove effective in the prevention of cataracts and other age-related degenerative diseases including neurological diseases like Parkinson disease."

Kantorow and co-authors Lisa Ann Brennan, Ph.D., research associate professor in FAU's College of Medicine, and Josef Khoury, a Master's degree student in the Kantorow Laboratory, hypothesized that Parkin also may be important for the embryonic development of the eye lens since regulation of mitochondrial function is a key feature of the development of all tissues.

"We found that levels of Parkin based on genomic sequencing of eye lens at different growth stages exhibited different levels of Parkin suggesting that Parkin had region-specific functions in the eye lens," said Brennan. "We were looking for genes that are changed during the normal growth and differentiation of lens cells to help identify those genes that control how undifferentiated stem-like cells become mature transparent eye lens cells."

It is estimated that more than 6 million people in the United States suffer from some kind of degenerative neurological condition including PD. Despite advances in surgical techniques, cataracts remain a significant cause of world blindness. It is estimated that any therapy that could delay the onset of cataracts by just 10 years, could reduce the number of cataract surgeries annually by half, and moreover, improve the quality of visual health care while reducing costs.

"The next step of our ongoing research is to work to establish how Parkin regulates the growth and development of the eye lens by controlling mitochondrial populations that are required for lens cell growth," said Kantorow. "We want to be able to identify the genetic mechanisms that regulate the production of Parkin in cells and to see if they can be manipulated to increase Parkin levels, thereby increasing cell survival to prevent disease."

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This work was supported by a $2.7 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant (EY02678) to Kantorow and his collaborators from the National Eye Institute that seeks to identify those mechanisms that regulate cellular growth and differentiation.

About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine:

FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of 141 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum. To further FAU's commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. In June 2014, FAU's College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class of 36 residents in its first University-sponsored residency in internal medicine.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Deep stores of carbon in northern peatlands may be safe from rising temperatures, according to a team of researchers from several U.S.-based institutions.

And that is good news for now, the researchers said.

Florida State University research scientist Rachel Wilson and University of Oregon graduate student Anya Hopple are the first authors on a new study published today in Nature Communications. The study details experiments suggesting that carbon stored in peat -- a highly organic material found in marsh or damp regions -- may not succumb to the Earth's warming as easily as scientists thought.

That means if these northern peatlands -- found in the upper half of the northern hemisphere -- remain flooded, a substantial amount of carbon will not be released into the atmosphere.

"We do see some breakdown of peat on the surface, but not below 2 feet deep, where the bulk of the carbon is stored," Wilson said.

The study is part of a long-term look at how carbon stored in peat will respond to climate and environmental change. The team of researchers, led by Paul Hanson of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, includes scientists from FSU, University of Oregon, Georgia Institute of Technology, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, Chapman University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Researchers ran four different temperature simulations -- increasing the temperature of the peat by 2.25 degrees Celsius, 4.5 degrees Celsius, 6.25 degrees Celsius and 9 degrees Celsius -- to see how it would respond to increased heat.

They found that the surface peat did emit more methane gas when warmed, but the deep peat did not break down and did not start emitting additional methane or carbon dioxide.

"If the release of greenhouse gases is not enhanced by temperature of the deep peat, that's great news because that means that if all other things remain as they are, the deep peat carbon remains in the soil," said Joel Kostka, professor of microbiology at Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Earth's soils contain 1,550 billion tons of organic carbon, and 500 billion tons of this carbon is stored in northern peatlands around the world. This quantity is roughly the same amount as carbon in the atmosphere.

Scientists have been anxious to learn how these northern peatlands will respond to warming because a tremendous amount of carbon could be released into the atmosphere.

Researchers worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's experimental site known as SPRUCE in northern Minnesota to examine both surface peat and peat up to 6 feet deep. The majority of the carbon is stored deeper in the ground.

Large environmental chambers were constructed by the Oak Ridge team to enclose portions of the peatlands. Within these chambers, scientists simulated climate change effects such as higher temperatures and elevated carbon dioxide levels. They also took some of the deep peat back to their labs to heat in additional studies.

While scientists said they were surprised by the results, they also cautioned that this came only after one year of warming.

"There are the necessary caveats that this was only for one year, and the experiment is planned to run for a decade, and other ecosystem feedbacks may become important in greenhouse gas emissions," said Scott Bridgham, director of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at University of Oregon and Hopple's adviser.

In the future, scientists also plan to look at how these peatlands respond to heightened carbon dioxide levels combined with the temperature increases.

"In the future, we'll be warmer, but we'll also have more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, so we need to understand how these deep stores of peat, which have all this carbon, respond to these conditions," said Jeff Chanton, professor of oceanography at Florida State University.

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This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
INDIANAPOLIS -- One of the largest gifts ever to the Indiana University School of Medicine will enable researchers to harness the power of the immune system to cure cancer and other devastating diseases -- propelling Indiana's standing as an engine for biomedical discovery and innovation.

Indianapolis entrepreneur Donald E. Brown, MD, has announced a $30 million gift to establish the Brown Center for Immunotherapy at the IU School of Medicine. The center will discover new ways to deploy immune-based therapies to treat cancers and pioneer use of this powerful technology in other diseases. Researchers will also study how to make this highly specialized therapy accessible to large numbers of patients.

"Immunology is the right place for a big investment. It is clear to me that this is the most exciting area in all of science," said Dr. Brown, a 1985 graduate of the IU School of Medicine who has founded three successful software companies. "It has tremendous potential for long-sought breakthroughs in cancer, but also autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and a whole range of conditions. We have tremendous resources and talent in Indiana. Hopefully my contribution can push us over the top to do some really exciting things."

The gift is the IU School of Medicine's largest ever from an alumnus. The infusion of resources will enable IU School of Medicine Dean Jay Hess, Executive Associate Dean for Research Affairs Anantha Shekhar and other school leaders to move aggressively to build the center and recruit top-flight experts in immunotherapy to Indiana.

"Immunotherapy represents one of the most promising advances in my career, if not in the entire history of medicine," said Dr. Hess, vice president for university clinical affairs and Walter J. Daly Professor, said. "The impact of this gift on patients will be extraordinary. The center will focus on developing innovative therapies to cure at least one type of cancer and slow the progression of at least one other chronic disease. We are tremendously grateful to Dr. Brown for partnering with the IU School of Medicine to make this vision a reality."

The gift will also provide a powerful boost to the state's economy. Dr. Brown's charge to the IU School of Medicine is "to use the work of the center to catalyze the formation of new companies and the creation of new jobs in the field of immune-based biotechnology."

To accomplish these goals, the Brown Center for Immunotherapy will collaborate with the private sector throughout Central Indiana, including leaders in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and other relevant fields.

"Throughout his exceptional career, Don Brown has established himself as one of Indiana's leading entrepreneurs in the fields of technology and software development," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. "I am confident that, through his transformational gift, Don is catapulting the IU School of Medicine and state of Indiana to the leading edge of this vital area of research. By undertaking this grand challenge, the Brown Center for Immunotherapy will advance discovery that produces therapies for some of humanity's most insidious diseases. This is not simply a tremendous contribution to the IU School of Medicine and Indiana University; it is a life-changing gift for current and future generations around the world."

Video links:

A major gift funds immunotherapy center at IU School of Medicine

A gift, immunotherapy research and new hope for patients

About cell-based immunotherapy

While immunotherapy broadly refers to a variety of techniques used to spur the immune system to fight disease, the Brown Center for Immunotherapy will focus more specifically on the emerging field of cell-based therapies.

Thus far, these therapies have shown the most promise against cancer. Cancer is able to thrive in part because tumor cells evade the body's natural defense system. Cell-based immunotherapy seeks to retrain the immune system to seek out and attack these tumor cells.

T cells -- a type of immune cell -- are extracted from a patient and engineered in a laboratory to recognize specific antigens on tumor cells through the insertion of a chimeric antigen receptor. Such modified T cells are known as chimeric T cells, or CAR T cells. Thousands of the CAR T cells are created and infused into the patient's bloodstream.

The cells act as a living drug that hunts down and kills cancer cells. Importantly, these reprogrammed immune cells survive in the body for years, constantly patrolling for cancer cells and attacking them as they appear.

While use of the therapy is still in its infancy, the results of small trials elsewhere have been remarkable. For example, CAR T cell therapy has been successfully used to treat refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a disease that was previously considered universally fatal. In early trials at the University of Pennsylvania, nearly 90 percent of patients treated with the therapy survived.

The Brown Center for Immunotherapy will initially focus on multiple myeloma and triple negative breast cancer, two diseases for which the School of Medicine and its clinical partner Indiana University Health have a strong foundation of talent, sizable patient populations and existing resources that can be leveraged to maximize impact.

Researchers will also investigate potential opportunities to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders with immunotherapies.

"Our hope is to show this therapy's ability and effectiveness in one or two diseases while we simultaneously develop technology that is broadly applicable to many, many diseases," said Dr. Shekhar, who leads research for the School of Medicine. "Our vision is not simply to build a center or facility that can make immune cells and give treatments to a limited number of patients here in Indiana. Our vision is to create a program that will transform the whole technology so that thousands of patients all over the world can benefit from it."

How the gift will be used

Of the $30 million gift, $13 million will be directed to establish five endowed faculty chairs. These funds are crucial to recruit world-class leaders and provide them with an ongoing, stable source of funding. Thanks to a gift-matching program part of For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign, the financial support available from the endowed funds each year will essentially be doubled.

The director of the center will hold the Don Brown Chair in Immunotherapy. Other chairs that will support center leadership are named after four of Dr. Brown's eight children: the Paige Brown Chair in Experimental Therapeutics, the Nicole Brown Chair in Immunology, the Christopher Brown Chair in Immunology and the David Brown Chair in Genomic Medicine.

The remainder of the gift will be used to invest in necessary infrastructure and technologies and to fuel research.

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About Don Brown

Dr. Donald Brown is one of Indiana's most successful and respected entrepreneurs, and his ties to Indiana University run deep.

He earned his Bachelor of Science in physics from Indiana University Bloomington in 1978 and later enrolled in a combined M.D./Ph.D. program with the intent of becoming a laboratory researcher. After deciding that career path was not a good fit, he switched his focus to computer science. He earned a master of science in 1982 before finishing medical school in 1985.

Dr. Brown launched his first software company with a friend while still in medical school. Dealership Programming Inc. allowed car dealerships to easily calculate monthly payments for consumers financing their vehicles, a task that had previously been done on paper.

In 1988 he co-founded Software Artistry Inc., a developer of customer support software. He left to start Interactive Intelligence in 1994. Software Artistry became the first Indiana software company to go public in 1995 and was acquired by IBM in 1998.

Dr. Brown grew Interactive Intelligence into a national leader in call center and communication technologies, enabling businesses to improve customer service and productivity. He took the company public in 1999 and led the charge to migrate their software onto a cloud-based platform before most others in the industry had contemplated such a move.

The company was acquired on Dec. 1 by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. for $1.4 billion in the second largest tech deal in the state's history.

"When I learned that we were going to be selling Interactive Intelligence and I would be able to monetize the investments I had made, I wanted to take some portion of the fruit of my efforts and use it to give back to the larger community, and to do so at least partly as a message to my children," Dr. Brown said. "I wanted to communicate to them as much as anybody that my life has not been about accumulating wealth. I've always wanted to build teams and do really interesting things. The wealth has been a byproduct of that, and I'd like to be able to use that to do things that benefit not just me and not just my family, but society as a whole. That's been a huge factor behind this effort."

About Indiana University School of Medicine

Indiana University School of Medicine is a national leader in medical education and research with nine campuses across the state and more than $320 million in annual research funding. Through strong clinical partnerships with Indiana's most advanced hospitals and physician networks, the school is continuously advancing its mission to prepare healers and transform health in Indiana and throughout the world.

About For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign

For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign is taking place on all IU-administered campuses including IU Bloomington, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend and IU Southeast. The campaign will conclude in December 2019 to coincide with IU's bicentennial year celebration in 2020. To learn more about the campaign, its impact, and how to participate, visit forall.iu.edu.
Defendants charged with murder in North Carolina from 1990 to 2009 were more than twice as likely to receive the death penalty if the victims were white, Michigan State University researchers have found.

Catherine Grosso and Barbara O'Brien, associate professors at MSU College of Law, conducted the most comprehensive study of its kind to date, also finding the race of the defendant doesn't carry much weight.

"The white victim effect was the clearest and strongest finding in this study analysis," Grosso said. "Race still matters in the criminal justice system, and it shouldn't."

At the same time, the researchers found cases involving both a black defendant and a black victim were more than two times less likely to advance to a capital trial, where a jury decides whether to impose a death penalty or a life sentence.

"The dismissing of black-on-black crime is so salient right now," Grosso said. "There's under policing in black communities, and that may be what's going on here. It's the justice system that seems to be driving this scenario."

The study was inspired by North Carolina's Racial Justice Act of 2009, which allowed death row inmates to challenge their sentencing based on evidence of racial discrimination. Since statistical evidence was needed, the researchers were tapped to conduct the study.

Prosecutors don't seek a death sentence in the majority of cases that North Carolina law says are eligible for the death penalty, the researchers said. So with a team of about 45, Grosso and O'Brien examined 5,000-6,000 cases to understand how the law is implemented and to identify cases to include.

The end result was a data set of 1,500 cases - a sample of defendants against whom prosecutors could have but didn't seek a death sentence and all defendants for whom a jury decided to impose either the death penalty or a life sentence. This included everyone on death row in North Carolina.

Researchers identified the race of every defendant and victim and coded information relating to the defendant, the victim and the circumstances of the crime. In addition, research team members visited every courthouse in the state.

The scholars obtained unusually complete information due in part to cooperation from North Carolina officials, Grosso said.

While the MSU Law study was exclusive to cases in North Carolina, the results echo an alarming trend occurring throughout the United States, O'Brien said.

"I have a hard time believing that a preference for white victim cases doesn't reflect a fundamental bias in our criminal justice system," she said. "What we worry about is the extent to which these biases play out even before a case gets to sentencing. There's every reason to think it's not just appearing at that stage in the process."

The study was published in the most recent edition of North Carolina Law Review.

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The 2016 Monitoring the Future (MTF) annual survey results released today from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reflect changing teen behaviors and choices in a social media-infused world. The results show a continued long-term decline in the use of many illicit substances, including marijuana, as well as alcohol, tobacco, and misuse of some prescription medications, among the nation's teens. The MTF survey measures drug use and attitudes among eighth, 10th, and 12th graders, and is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the NIH.

Findings from the survey indicate that past year use of any illicit drug was the lowest in the survey's history for eighth graders, while past year use of illicit drugs other than marijuana is down from recent peaks in all three grades.

Marijuana use in the past month among eighth graders dropped significantly in 2016 to 5.4 percent, from 6.5 percent in 2015. Daily use among eighth graders dropped in 2016 to 0.7 percent from 1.1 percent in 2015. However, among high school seniors, 22.5 percent report past month marijuana use and 6 percent report daily use; both measures remained relatively stable from last year. Similarly, rates of marijuana use in the past year among 10th graders also remained stable compared to 2015, but are at their lowest levels in over two decades.

The survey also shows that there continues to be a higher rate of marijuana use among 12th graders in states with medical marijuana laws, compared to states without them. For example, in 2016, 38.3 percent of high school seniors in states with medical marijuana laws reported past year marijuana use, compared to 33.3 percent in non-medical marijuana states, reflecting previous research that has suggested that these differences precede enactment of medical marijuana laws.

The survey indicates that marijuana and e-cigarettes are more popular than regular tobacco cigarettes. The past month rates among 12th graders are 12.4 percent for e-cigarettes and 10.5 percent for cigarettes. A large drop in the use of tobacco cigarettes was seen in all three grades, with a long-term decline from their peak use more than two decades ago. For example, in 1991, when MTF first measured cigarette smoking, 10.7 percent of high school seniors smoked a half pack or more a day. Twenty-five years later, that rate has dropped to only 1.8 percent, reflecting the success of widespread public health anti-smoking campaigns and policy changes.

There has been a similar decline in the use of alcohol, with the rate of teens reporting they have "been drunk" in the past year at the survey's lowest rates ever. For example, 37.3 percent of 12th graders reported they have been drunk at least once, down from a peak of 53.2 percent in 2001.

Although non-medical use of prescription opioids remains a serious issue in the adult population, teen use of prescription opioid pain relievers is trending downwards among 12th graders with a 45 percent drop in past year use compared to five years ago. For example, only 2.9 percent of high school seniors reported past year misuse of the pain reliever Vicodin in 2016, compared to nearly 10 percent a decade ago.

"Clearly our public health prevention efforts, as well as policy changes to reduce availability, are working to reduce teen drug use, especially among eighth graders," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA. "However, when 6 percent of high school seniors are using marijuana daily, and new synthetics are continually flooding the illegal marketplace, we cannot be complacent. We also need to learn more about how teens interact with each other in this social media era, and how those behaviors affect substance use rates."

"It is encouraging to see more young people making healthy choices not to use illicit substances," said National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli. "We must continue to do all we can to support young people through evidence-based prevention efforts as well as treatment for those who may develop substance use disorders. And now that Congress has acted on the President's request to provide $1 billion in new funding for prevention and treatment, we will have significant new resources to do this."

The MTF survey, the only large-scale federal youth survey on substance use that releases findings the same year the data is collected, has been conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor since 1975.

Other highlights from the 2016 survey:

Illegal and Illicit Drugs

Illicit Drugs other than Marijuana: Past year rates are the lowest in the history of the survey in all three grades. For example, 14.3 percent of 12th graders say they used an illicit drug (other than marijuana) compared to its recent peak of 17.8 percent in 2013.

Marijuana-Past year use: Past year marijuana use among eighth graders dropped significantly to 9.4 percent in 2016, from 11.8 percent last year. Past year rates were somewhat stable for sophomores at 23.9 percent, and for seniors at 35.6 percent when compared to last year. However, past year marijuana use has dropped in the last five years among eighth and 10th graders.

Marijuana-Daily use: Daily rates among 10th and 12th graders remained relatively stable at 2.5 percent and 6 percent for the past few years.

Marijuana Edibles: Teens who live in states where medical marijuana is legal report a higher use of marijuana edibles. For example, among 12th graders reporting marijuana use in the past year, 40.2 percent consumed marijuana in food in states with medical marijuana laws compared to 28.1 percent in states without such laws.

Synthetic Cannabinoids: Past year "synthetic marijuana" (K2/Spice) use among 10th and 12th graders dropped significantly from last year. For example, the rate for seniors fell to 3.5 percent compared to 5.2 percent in 2015, with a dramatic drop from its peak of 11.4 percent the first year it was measured in 2011.

Cocaine: Past year cocaine use was down among 10th graders to 1.3 percent from 1.8 percent last year. Cocaine use hit its peak in this measure at 4.9 percent in 1999.

Inhalants: Inhalant use, usually the only category of drugs used more by younger teens than their older counterparts, was down significantly among eighth graders compared to last year, with past year use at 3.8 percent, compared to 4.6 percent in 2015. Past year inhalant use peaked among eighth graders in 1995 at 12.8 percent.

MDMA (Ecstasy or "Molly"): Past year use is down among eighth graders to 1 percent, from last year's 1.4 percent. MDMA use is at its lowest point for all three grades in the history of the MTF survey.

Heroin: Heroin rates remain low with teens still in school. High school seniors report past year use of heroin (with a needle) at 0.3 percent, which remains unchanged from last year. In the history of the survey, heroin (with a needle) rates have never been higher than 0.7 percent among 12th graders, as seen in 2010.

old and Cough Medicine: Eighth graders alone reported an increase in misuse of over-the-counter cough medicine at 2.6 percent, up from 1.6 percent in 2015, but still lower than the peak of 4.2 percent when first measured in 2006.

Attitudes and Availability: Attitudes towards marijuana use have softened, but perception of harm is not necessarily linked to rates of use. For example, 44 percent of 10th graders perceive regular marijuana smoking as harmful ("great risk"), but only 2.5 percent of them used marijuana daily in 2016. This compares to a decade ago (2006) when 64.9 percent of 10th graders perceived marijuana as harmful and 2.8 percent of them used it daily. The number of eighth graders who say marijuana is easy to get is at its lowest in the history of the survey, at 34.6 percent.

Prescription Drugs:

Opioid Pain relievers (described as "Narcotics other than Heroin" in the survey): The past year rate for non-medical use of all opioid pain relievers among 12th graders is at 4.8 percent, down significantly from its peak of 9.5 percent in 2004.

Vicodin/OxyContin: The past year non-medical use of Vicodin among high school seniors is now lower than misuse of OxyContin (2.9 percent compared to 3.4 percent). The past year data for 12th graders 10 years ago was 9.7 percent for Vicodin and 4.3 percent for OxyContin.

ADHD Medicines: Past year non-medical use of Adderall is relatively stable at 6.2 percent for 12th graders; however, non-medical use of Ritalin dropped to 1.2 percent, compared to 2 percent last year, and a peak of 5.1 percent in 2004.

Tranquilizers: Non-medical use of this drug category, which includes benzodiazepines, has seen a general decline. For example, among 12th graders the 2016 past year rate is 4.9 percent, compared to its peak in 2002 at 7.7 percent.

Attitudes and Availability: The majority of teens continue to say they get most of their opioid pain relievers (for non-medical use) from friends or relatives, either taken, bought or given. The only prescription drugs seen as easier to get in 2016 than last year are tranquilizers, with 11.4 percent of eighth graders reporting they would be "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get, up from 9.8 percent in 2015. Also, when eighth graders were asked if occasional non-medical use of Adderall is harmful ("great risk"), 35.8 percent said yes, compared to 32 percent last year.

Tobacco:

Daily Smoking: The 2016 daily smoking rates for high school seniors was 4.8 percent compared to 22.2 percent two decades ago (1996). For 10th graders, the 2016 daily smoking rate is 1.9 percent, compared to 18.3 percent in 1996.

Hookah Use: For past year tobacco use with a hookah, the 2016 rate dropped to 13 percent among high school seniors, from 22.9 percent two years ago, its peak year since the survey began measuring hookah use in 2010.

E-Cigarettes (Vaporizers): The rate for e-cigarettes among high school seniors dropped to 12.4 percent from last year's 16.2 percent. Of note: only 24.9 percent of 12th graders report that their e-cigarettes contained nicotine (the addictive ingredient in tobacco) the last time they used, with 62.8 percent claiming they contain "just flavoring."

Little Cigars: The 2016 past year rate dropped to 15.6 percent among 12th graders, from a peak of 23.1 percent in 2010, when first included in the survey.

Attitudes and Availability: This year, more 10th graders disapprove of regular use of e-cigarettes than last year. For example, 65 percent of 10th graders say they disapprove, up from last year's 59.9 percent. In addition, more 10th graders think it is harder to get regular cigarettes than last year; 62.9 percent said they are easy to get, compared to 66.6 percent last year. This represents a dramatic shift from survey findings two decades ago, when 91.3 percent of 10th graders thought it was easy to get cigarettes.

Alcohol:

Past year use: More than half (55.6 percent) of 12th graders report having used alcohol in the past year, compared to the peak rate of about 75 percent in 1997. Thirty-eight percent of 10th graders and 17.6 percent of eighth graders report past year use, compared to the peaks of 65.3 percent in 2000 among 10th graders and 46.8 percent in 1994 among eighth graders.

Binge drinking: Among eighth graders, binge drinking (described as five or more drinks in a row in the last two weeks) continues to significantly decline, now at only 3.4 percent, the lowest rate since the survey began asking about it in 1991, down from a peak of 13.3 percent in 1996. Binge drinking among high school seniors is down to 15.5 percent, half its peak of 31.5 percent in 1998.

Been drunk: Representing a long-term downward trend, 37.3 percent of 12th graders say they have been drunk in the past year; 20.5 percent of 10th graders say they have been drunk, down from a peak of 41.6 percent in 2000. Eighth graders reported a rate of 5.7 percent, down from a peak of 19.8 percent in 1996.

Attitudes: Just over 71 percent of 10th graders think it is easy to get alcohol, compared to last year's rate of 74.9 percent, and down from 90.4 percent two decades ago.

Overall, 45,473 students from 372 public and private schools participated in this year's MTF survey. Since 1975, the survey has measured drug, alcohol, and cigarette use and related attitudes in 12th graders nationwide. Eighth and 10th graders were added to the survey in 1991. Lloyd D. Johnston, Ph.D., who has been the principal investigator at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research for all 42 years, is retiring from that position this year, but the survey of teens will continue under the leadership of Richard A. Miech, Ph.D., who is currently a member of the MTF scientific team.

"The declining use of many drugs by youth is certainly encouraging and important," said Dr. Johnston. "But we need to remember that future cohorts of young people entering adolescence also will need to know why using drugs is not a smart choice. Otherwise we risk having another resurgence of use as was seen in the 90s."

"We want to thank Dr. Johnston for his lifetime of work building this survey into the important public health tool it is today," added Dr. Volkow.

###

MTF is funded under grant number DA001411. Additional information on the MTF Survey, as well as comments from Dr. Volkow, can be found at http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/MTF.html. The University of Michigan press release can be found at http://monitoringthefuture.org.

MTF is one of three major surveys sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provide data on substance use among youth. The others are the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The MTF website is: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org. Follow Monitoring the Future 2016 news on Twitter at @NIDANews, or join the conversation by using: #MTF2016. Additional survey results can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/news or http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp. Information on all of the surveyed drugs can be found on NIDA's Web site: http://www.drugabuse.gov.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is the primary source of statistical information on substance use in the U.S. population 12 years of age and older. More information is available at: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/population-data-nsduh.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, is a school-based survey that collects data from students in grades nine-12. The survey includes questions on a wide variety of health-related risk behaviors, including substance abuse. More information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/index.htm. Additionally, the National Youth Tobacco Survey, a school-based survey of U.S. students in grades six-12 conducted by the CDC in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration, collects data on the use of multiple tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. More information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/surveys/NYTS/.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found at http://www.drugabuse.gov, which is now compatible with your smartphone, iPad or tablet. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA's DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or email requests to drugpubs@nida.nih.gov. Online ordering is available at http://drugpubs.drugabuse.gov. NIDA's media guide can be found at http://drugabuse.gov/mediaguide/, and its easy-to-read website can be found at http://www.easyread.drugabuse.gov

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
NASA satellite data provided a look at the cloud cover and rainfall rates within Tropical Cyclone Vardah. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite measured rainfall rates as Vardah was headed for landfall. After landfall, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of the storm's cloud cover as it weakened to a remnant low pressure area over southern India.

On Dec. 13 at 3:24 a.m. EST (0824 UTC) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible-light image of the Vardah's remnants over southern India.

On Dec. 13, India's Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) noted that Vardah, locally known as "Bob" was located over the north interior of the state of Tamil Nadu. Vardah was moving westward and weakened into a remnant low pressure area. RSMC has issued a Heavy Rainfall Warning: "Rainfall at many places with isolated heavy falls over north interior Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of south interior Karnataka & north Kerala is very likely [today]."

On the previous day, Vardah moved in from the Bay of Bengal pounding Chennai, India with winds of 75 knots (86 mph) and heavy rainfall. That means that Vardah was the equivalent of a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale when it came ashore. Four tropical cyclones have formed in the Bay of Bengal this year with Vardah being the most powerful.

Vardah was approaching Chennai from the Bay of Bengal when the GPM core observatory satellite passed directly above the storm Dec. 11 at 9:41 p.m. EST (Dec. 12 at 0241 UTC) GPM's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) data collected at that time showed that very heavy rainfall was present in storms in the southern side of the eye. Rain was measured by GPM's DPR falling at a rate of over 235 mm (9.25 inches) per hour.

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, GPM's Radar data were used to analyze the 3-D structure of precipitation within tropical Cyclone Vardah. The violent storms in the southern side of Vardah's eye were revealed by GPM's radar (DPR Ku Band) to reach altitudes of almost 16 km (9.9 miles). A 3-D cross section by GPM's DPR through the center of Vardah's eye showed that some downpours were returning radar reflectivity values greater than 82 dBZ to the satellite. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.

RSMC issued the final bulletin on the system on Dec. 13.

###
A special NIA court has convicted Yasin Bhatkal and four other Indian Mujahideen terrorists for their role in the 2013 Hyderabad bomb blasts.

By India Today Web Desk: A special National Investigation Agency court on Tuesday convicted five Indian Mujahideen terrorists, including Yasin Bhatkal, for their role in the 2013 Hyderabad bomb blasts.

The quantum of punishment for the five IM operatives -- Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Yasin Bhatkal alias Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa, Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, Pakistani national Zia ur Rehman alias Waqas, and Ajaz Shaikh -- will be pronounced on December 19.

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ABOUT THE CASE

Twin blasts killed 19 people and injured more than 130 others in Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar area on February 21, 2013.

The case was probed by the NIA, which concluded that the blasts were engineered by Indian Mujahideen operatives.

Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akthar were arrested from an area in Bihar close to the Nepal border, six months after the blasts. Three other accused were arrested subsequently, and all the five terrorists were moved to the Cherlapally Central Prison on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The sixth and main accused Riyaz Bhatkal alias Shah Riyaz Ahmad Mohammed Ismail Shahbandari remains absconding.

THE TRIAL

The trial has been going on in a special court at the prison for the last one year and the NIA has filed two chargesheets against the five accused.

The investigative agency has produced 158 witnesses, seized 201 pieces of material evidence and furnished over 500 documents in court.

--- ENDS ---
Continuing PLOS Medicine's special issue on cancer genomics, Christos Hatzis of Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA and colleagues describe a new subtype of triple negative breast cancer that may be more amenable to treatment than other cases of this difficult-to-treat disease.

Triple negative breast cancer is so called because it lacks molecular characteristics that are associated with response to modern targeted treatments. Hatzis and colleagues selected individual tumors from patients who had exhibited either good or poor sensitivity to cytotoxic chemotherapy, and characterized 29 cases of the disease by whole exome sequencing, with validation in further groups of patients. Patients with a newly-defined "BRCA deficient" subtype experienced better survival with chemotherapy, and had a higher burden of mutations and neoantigens that could be targeted by the immune system. Based on these findings, the authors suggest that immunotherapies might be tested in patients with BRCA deficient, triple negative breast cancer.

In a commissioned Perspective article, Mack Su and David Fisher of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA discuss developments in cancer immunotherapy, an area which has had a long history. During the past decade there have been notable advances in the treatment of melanoma, an aggressive tumor type which is increasing in incidence in some populations. Alongside development of drugs which target the BRAF mutations that are common in melanoma, therapies have been discovered that stimulate the immune response to tumors--blocking so-called checkpoints, or inhibitors of the immune response. Su and Fisher describe the potential for use of different combinations of immune and targeted therapies and conclude that, as new immunotherapies are developed and tested in different tumor types, "deeper mechanistic insight will be required to inform clinical decisions."

###

Research Article

Funding:

This work was supported in part by grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to CH, LP and WFS and from the Lion Heart Fund for Cancer Research to CH. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests:

All authors have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: WFS reports stock and intellectual property in Nuvera Biosciences, Inc.

Citation:

Jiang T, Shi W, Wali VB, Pongor LS, Li C, Lau R, et al. (2016) Predictors of Chemosensitivity in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: An Integrated Genomic Analysis. PLoS Med 13(12): e1002193. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002193

Author Affiliations:

Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

MTA TTK Lendulet Cancer Biomarker Research Group, Research Center for Natural Sciences,

Budapest, Hungary

2nd Department of Pediatrics, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America

Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:

http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002193

Perspective Article

Funding:

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from NIH grants 5P01 CA163222, 5R01 AR043369-19, and T32GM007753, and grants from the Melanoma Research Alliance, and the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests:

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation:

Su MY, Fisher DE (2016) Immunotherapy in the Precision Medicine Era: Melanoma and Beyond. PLoS Med 13(12): e1002196. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002196

Author Affiliations:

Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America

IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:

http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002196
As a doctoral candidate, Owen Gottlieb received advice from a consortium that eventually led him to a successful teaching and research career. Years later, Gottlieb, an expert in games and learning at Rochester Institute of Technology, is "paying it forward," using a National Science Foundation grant that will enable the next generation of gaming scholars and researchers to make inroads in the field of game design and development.

Gottlieb, an assistant professor in Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Interactive Games and Media and research affiliate in RIT's Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC), has earned a $99,800 NSF award to design a capacity-building program tailored to early-career scholars. The grant, co-authored by Crystle Martin from University of California at Irvine, will provide mentorship and networking with senior scholars, opportunities for research and grant proposal collaborations, examine diversity within the field, and provide valuable advice for those entering the field, something Gottlieb claims has been lacking.

"The original scholars of video games and learning began their work about 12 years ago," explained Gottlieb. "I consider myself the next generation, or second generation, of games and learning scholars. We need this type of interaction with those who have come before us, and we're continuing to build and expand this talented group of scholars."

###

Gottlieb is the founder and lead research faculty of the Initiative in Religion, Culture and Policy at RIT's MAGIC Center. His work traverses multiple fields including games, religion, education, media studies, communications, cultural anthropology, dramatic writing for film and television, and software development. He is also working on his project, "Lost and Found: Promoting Religious Literacies through Gaming," prototyping a digital game set in 12th century Egypt that teaches student about medieval religious legal codes. The purpose of that project was to enhance religious literacies, improve discourse about religious legal systems and increase awareness of the prosocial aspects of religious legal systems, including collaboration and cooperation and is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

To learn more about Gottlieb's work, go to owengottlieb.org.
HOUSTON - (Dec. 13, 2016) - As the Mexican government oversees the implementation of the country's energy reform, it must consider how best to prioritize water use in accordance with the law and allocate supplies thoughtfully, according to a new paper from the Mexico Center at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

"Looming Conflicts? Energy Reform Priorities and the Human Right of Access to Water in Mexico" argues that energy reform, following closely on the heels of the adoption of access to water as a human right, has created a situation in which water-resource allocation - already a tense subject in the country - may become a source of conflict and social tension.

The paper offers recommendations for legal and policy initiatives that my help alleviate potential tensions as energy production increases in the country. It was co-authored by Alejandro Posadas, an independent consultant and lawyer and former Mexican diplomat and law professor, and Regina Buono, nonresident scholar in the Baker Institute's Center for Energy Studies.

"Recent constitutional reforms have begun to open Mexico's energy sector to the world," the authors wrote. "The reforms are targeted, in part, at facilitating access to vast amounts of technically recoverable shale gas via unconventional recovery efforts, a massive and expensive undertaking that will require the use of large volumes of water in a region of the country (northeastern Mexico) where water is already scarce. The new energy laws prioritize energy development, imposing requirements on landowners to cooperate with companies attempting to develop the resource."

The Mexican energy reform is targeted at facilitating access to -- among other resources - vast amounts of technically recoverable shale gas. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that 545 trillion cubic feet of this valuable resource underlie Mexico. Most of the shale gas is located in the northern part of the country, which is also where much of Mexico's large-scale agriculture and industry is located, according to the paper.

The authors said that the mandate to enact a new General Law on Water that accompanied the adoption of the new human-right provision provides an opportunity to transition from a model of water administration based entirely or primarily in engineering as the tool to provide water and necessary human infrastructure, to a model based on a true, sustainable, development-based policy agenda that seeks to secure water renewability and availability in the long term. "As the Mexican government oversees the energy reform, it must consider how best to prioritize water use in accordance with the law and allocate supplies thoughtfully," the authors wrote. "Improving public participation processes and facilitating use of alternative supplies via advances in technology are important steps in lessening or averting conflict over water supplies in the country."

The paper is part of a Mexico Center research project examining the rule of law in Mexico and the challenges it poses to implementing the country's energy reform. The project's findings are compiled in a Spanish-language book and will be posted on the Baker Institute's website in English.

###

For more information or to schedule an interview with Posadas or Buono, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

Related materials:

Paper: http://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/energy-reform-priorities-and-human-right-access-water-mexico.

Buono bio: http://www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/regina-m-buono.

Posadas bio: http://escueladegobierno.itesm.mx/profesores/en/alejandro-posadas.html.

Follow the Mexico Center via Twitter @BakerMexicoCtr.

Follow the Baker Institute via Twitter @BakerInstitute.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Founded in 1993, Rice University's Baker Institute ranks among the top five university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute's strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes -- including a public policy course -- and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at http://www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute's blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.
Following a 'keystone dialogue' between scientists and seafood industry, 8 of world's largest seafood companies issue 10-point statement committing to action on ocean stewardship

Eight of the world's largest seafood companies have issued a ten-point statement committing to action on ocean stewardship following the first "keystone dialogue" between scientists and business leaders.

Through the "keystone dialogues" - a new approach to engage major international businesses in global sustainability challenges - companies have committed to improving transparency and traceability and reducing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in their supply chains.

Antibiotic use in aquaculture, greenhouse gas emissions and plastic pollution will also now be prioritized. And the businesses commit to eliminating any products in their supply chains that may have been obtained through "modern slavery including forced, bonded and child labour".

The statement says signatories "represent a global force, not only in the operation of the seafood industry, but also in contributing to a resilient planet." It was signed by the two largest companies by revenues (Maruha Nichiro Corporation and Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd), two of the largest tuna companies in the world (Thai Union Group PCL and Dongwon Industries), the two largest salmon farmers (Marine Harvest ASA and Cermaq - subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation) and the two largest aquafeeds companies (Skretting - subsidiary of Nutreco, and Cargill Aqua Nutrition).

To implement the commitments the companies plan to create a new initiative - Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship - that will, for the first time, connect wild capture fisheries to aquaculture businesses, connect European and North American companies to Asian companies and connect the global seafood business to science.

The inaugural dialogue, initiated by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, took place 11-13 November at the Soneva Fushi Resort on the Maldives under the patronage of HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden - Advocate for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative was a unique meeting between CEOs, senior leadership of major seafood companies, leading scientists from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, and advisors including The Honorable Dr Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University and U.S. Science Envoy for the Ocean - U.S. State Department, Mr Volker Kuntzsch, CEO of Sanford Ltd., Mr Rupert Howes, CEO of Marine Stewardship Council, and Ambassador Magnus Robach, Swedish Ambassador to Japan.

"We depend on a stable and resilient planet for human prosperity. However, science is already providing evidence that we have entered the Anthropocene, an epoch where humanity is now challenging the stability of Earth and its ocean," the statement goes on to say.

The dialogue is the first between scientists and "keystone actors" a term coined in 2015 by Carl Folke and Henrik Osterblom, science directors at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Keystone species play a disproportionate role in ecosystems. Increasingly, large transnational corporations now play this role, for example, in the ocean and in rainforests.

Osterblom led research identifying the keystone actors in the world's oceans. The team identified 13 transnational corporations controlling 11-16% of wild marine catch and up to 40% of the largest and most valuable fish stocks.

"We invited the leaders of these companies to a dialogue to build trust and develop a common understanding about the state of the ocean," said Osterblom.

"We were delighted so many companies accepted our offer. This shows they are aware of the urgency of the situation and willing to engage in these issues."

According to related research published by a group of U.S. scientists in 2016, good management of global fisheries could lead to increase in annual catches of over 16 million metric tons and $53 billion in profit compared with remaining on the current trajectory.

Stockholm Resilience Centre Director Johan Rockstrom said, "The small concentration of multinational companies means that CEOs are significant leverage points to effectively engage in transforming the entire seafood sector towards more sustainable practices".

Chair of the dialogue, and founding director of Forum for the Future, Jonathon Porritt said, "It's hugely encouraging to see these leading companies in the global seafood industry making such critical commitments to help protect the world's ocean. This combination of world-class science and inspirational corporate leadership is a powerful one - and I've no doubt we'll need to see a lot more of it over the next few years." The organization was a key supporter of the dialogue.

Myoung W Lee, CEO of Dongwon, one of the largest tuna companies, said, "It's remarkable that seafood companies came together to discuss the sustainability and development of the seafood industry and lay grounds for ocean stewardship. I am honored to have contributed to such a significant, historic event and will ensure that Dongwon does our part to uphold the agreement."

Cermaq CEO Geir Molvik said, "Cermaq is very much engaged in Sustainable Development Goal 14 - life below water - and have encompassed the SDGs in our business strategy. Working with other keystone actors in the global seafood sector is important because it's only through partnerships we can efficiently pull in the same direction and make significant changes."

President of Cargill Aqua Nutrition, a major aquafeed company, Einar Wathne said, "This initiative has a truly global perspective, from east to west. That makes me believe that we will have a powerful impact when addressing the challenges we have in our oceans and marine ecosystems, with the UN Sustainable Development Goals as our guideline."

"Creating more awareness of the opportunities - and business necessities - of managing seafood sustainably should be a key priority for CEOs," added Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, PhD candidate at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and co-organiser of the event.

The dialogue will now be followed up with additional meetings and dialogue between science and business. A next meeting is already scheduled for next year, where more concrete joint actions will be identified.

###

STATEMENT, PRESS PACK, PHOTOS

https://stockholmuniversity.box.com/s/coezmkhm6um20xfx4q2yj6n8i2l45f9b

Companies who attended and signed the statement:

Maruha Nichiro Corporation

Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd

Thai Union Group

Marine Harvest ASA

Dongwon Industries

Nutreco (owner of Skretting)

Cargill Aqua Nutrition

Cermaq (subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation)

Additional information about this initiative and the science that support it:

http://www.keystonedialogues.earth

http://www.stockholmresilience.org

http://www.gedb.se

http://www.beijer.kva.se

Media contact details

Owen Gaffney

Media

Stockholm Resilience Centre

Tel: +46 (0) 734604833

Owen.gaffney@su.se

Company contacts

Cermaq Group AS

Lise Bergan

Corporate Affairs Director

Tel. +47 23 68 50 00

lise.bergan@cermaq.com

Cargill Animal Nutrition, Cargill

Hanne Dankertsen

Communications Manager

Tel. +47 99 44 91 73

Hanne_Dankertsen@cargill.com

The Seafood Innovation Cluster (Norwegian initiative partner)

Tanja Hoel

Managing Director

Tel. +47 92 80 13 15

tanja@seafoodinnovation.no

Thai Union

Christopher Hughes

Head of Sustainable Development and Innovations communications

Christopher.Hughes@thaiunion.com

Whitney Foard Small

Corporate Communications

M +66.63.225.1045

Whitney.small@thaiunion.com

Marine Harvest

Ola Helge Hjetland

Chief Communications Officer

M: +47 970 67 932

ola.helge.hjetland@marineharvest.com

Maruha Nichiro Corporation

Hiroyuki Metoki

Investor Relations & Public Relations Department

Phone +81 (0)3 6833 0826

h-metoki@maruha-nichiro.co.jp

Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.

Kenichi Sugiyama

Head of Communications

kenichi_sugiyama@nissui.co.jp

Yuki Sugita

yuki_sugita@nissui.co.jp

Nutreco

Mark Woldberg

Manager Corporate Communications

Tel. +31 (0) 880 532 214

Tel. +31 (6) 1503 3036

mark.woldberg@nutreco.com

Scientists

Henrik Osterblom, Deputy Science Director at Stockholm Resilience Centre: henrik.osterblom@su.se

Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, PhD-student at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: jean-baptiste.jouffray@su.se

Carl Folke, Science Director at Stockholm Resilience Centre and Director, Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: carl.folke@beijer.kva.se

Johan Rockstrom, Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre: johan.rockstrom@su.se

The dialogue was a Stockholm Resilience Centre event supported by Forum for the Future and the Soneva Foundation. The Walton Family Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation funded the dialogue.

References http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127533

Photographs from the dialogue available on request. Please contact jean-baptiste.jouffray@su.se
Deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine) in wildlife is previously known as a problem among certain species within relatively limited geographical areas. Now, researchers at Stockholm University, together with several other research institutions in Europe and North America, show that the thiamine deficiency is far more widespread than previously realized. The results are published today in the highly ranked journal Scientific Reports.

By examination of thousands of mussels, birds, and fishes in 45 areas in the Northern Hemisphere, the researchers now demonstrate that the thiamine deficiency problem in wildlife is much more extensive than previously realized. Special attention is paid to the high prevalence of such effects that cause impaired health and reproduction, but are not directly fatal. This impact is very serious, because, in the long run, also these effects will cause populations to decline and disappear. Another important conclusion is that the thiamine deficiency occurs episodically, i.e. with variable intensity in time and space.

- The symptoms may appear for one or more years in an area, after which they can disappear for some time and then return, declares Professor Lennart Balk, who has coordinated the research.

The thiamine deficiency in the species investigated here - blue mussel, common eider, American and European eel, Atlantic salmon, and sea trout - has been demonstrated by chemical and biochemical analysis. Examples of effects that are not directly fatal, but that have been related to thiamine deficiency, include reduced growth, altered organ sizes, generally impaired nutritional status, impaired blood chemistry, increased infections, altered behaviour, impaired swimming endurance, and substantial negative effects on reproduction. The link between such effects and thiamine deficiency has been demonstrated previously in laboratory experiments, but now also in wildlife in the field. Moreover, data in the existing literature have been revisited and, in the light of the new results, further indicate the occurrence of thiamine deficiency across the Pacific Ocean, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, and northern Europe.

The overall goal of the research is to find the ultimate cause of the thiamine deficiency, i.e. how it has arisen in the ecosystems. The presented results provide essential basic knowledge for the further investigation of possible biochemical mechanisms.

- Currently, we cannot exclude that the observed thiamine deficiency is so serious that it significantly contributes to the ongoing worldwide extinction of many animal species, says Lennart Balk. Other researchers have pinpointed this loss of biological diversity as the most serious of all threats to life on earth today.

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The article "Widespread episodic thiamine deficiency in Northern Hemisphere wildlife" (DOI: 10.1038/srep38821) by researchers from 5 countries and 13 universities and other research institutions, led by Professor Lennart Balk at Stockholm University, is published in Scientific Reports within the Nature Publishing Group (NPG) and is available by open access at http://www.nature.com/articles/srep38821. The major part of the research has been funded by the foundation BalticSea2020 and the Engkvist foundations in Sweden.

More information

Lennart Balk, Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, Tel +46-8-6747721, +46-73-6923468, E-mail lennart.balk@aces.su.se
UNESCO and partners convene international experts to advance vital new approach to solve interconnected problems; More well-funded, multi-disciplinary education, studies and research essential to meet humanity's growing needs, global goals

The "business as usual" approach to scientific problem-solving -- characterized too often by narrow, disconnected, uni-dimensional research -- simply isn't up to the vital task of addressing the world's increasingly complex, inter-connected problems.

That's the quandary inspiring a high-level international experts meeting in Malaysia Dec. 19-21 to be conducted under the auspices of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The meeting's mandate: Recommend how to stimulate worldwide the large-perspective, trans-disciplinary scientific approach needed to slow and reverse increasingly complex threats to human well-being on track to worsen in the near future.

For example, energy, water and food security are recognized as a highly-interrelated trio of fundamental issues confronting policy-makers, who must weigh and balance choices related to one part of the nexus against impacts on the other two.

Urban planning, infrastructure design and climate science is another combination of natural, industrial and social sciences that need to be bridged and dots connected, informed by a wealth of relevant indigenous and local knowledge. The combination of human health and livestock production sciences is among a myriad of other examples.

UNESCO's two-year "Sustainability Science Approach" project aims to foster more collaborative, multi-disciplinary research and education worldwide.

It was initiated in October 2015 by two UNESCO sectors - Natural Sciences, and Social and Human Sciences - together with the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan/MEXT), which hosted the first symposium last April.

This second symposium in Kuala Lumpur (program), hosted by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), the Office of the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, and UNESCO, will air regional experiences and help formulate concrete new international "Sustainability Science Policy Guidelines," being readied for UNESCO member states' consideration at the third and final symposium, in Paris next fall.

Among reforms suggested to date:

Co-design of research, well-funded

Better institutional co-ordination and direction-setting for research

Mainstreaming knowledge on sustainability issues

Shaping the education system to develop a generation of trans-disciplinary scholars and practitioners

Comments

"Sustainability Science is essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It is problem- and solution-oriented - an innovative form of "use-inspired basic research. And interest in this approach is growing within the policy-making community."

Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid, Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Co-Chair of MIGHT

"Sustainability science is needed now more than ever, with humanity facing unprecedented challenges that require researchers and policymakers to work together to develop integrated, transformative solutions. This symposium will play an important role in charting the future path for sustainability science and advancing such solutions, including efforts to achieve the global goals."

Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Senior Visiting Professor, United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)

"With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, governments are posing many questions: What kind of knowledge is needed to inform the 2030 Development Agenda? How can natural and social sciences engage in a dialogue with each other as well as with relevant indigenous and local knowledge? Can the knowledge of other stakeholders than the academic community be mobilized to address societal challenges related to sustainability? What are the institutional measures that may be required to pursue inter- and trans-disciplinary research and education? Through expert work in the area of sustainability science facilitated by UNESCO and generously funded by Japan, we are starting to have the right answers to such important questions, and the meeting in Kuala Lumpur is a fundamental step to this end."

Salvatore Arico, Chief of Section, Capacity Building in Science and Engineering, Natural Sciences Sector, UNESCO

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Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology The Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee under the purview of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. MIGHT is an organization built on the strength of public-private partnership with more than 100 members, both local and international, from industry, government and academia. MIGHT is dedicated to providing a platform for industry-government consensus building in the drive to advance high technology competency in Malaysia.
For years, small rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have reliably supplied billions of portable devices with energy. But manufacturers of high-energy applications such as electric cars and power storage systems seek for new electrode materials and electrolytes. Michael Metzger, researcher at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has now developed a new battery test cell allowing to investigate anionic and cationic reactions separately. Recently the researcher was honored with the Evonik Research Prize for his work.

Energy storage systems are in demand as never before. Billions of mobile telephones and tablets need electricity to go. Add to this the growing number of electric cars. But, high-performance batteries can also store renewable energy produced by wind turbines and solar cells so that it can be fed into the grid on cloudy and windless days.

"Manufacturers of rechargeable batteries are building on the proven lithium-ion technology, which has been deployed in mobile devices like laptops and cell phones for many years," reports TUM researcher Michael Metzger. "However, the challenge of adapting this technology to the demands of electromobility and stationary electric power storage is not trivial."

Standard rechargeable batteries are only marginally suited for high performance: "To raise the energy density, you need to increase the voltage or the capacity, and that is where traditional electrode materials and electrolytic fluids reach their limits," explains the physicist.

Research is thus running at full pace around the world. For example, engineers are experimenting with special electrode materials that can provide a voltage of nearly 5 volts, instead of the current maximum of 4.2 to 4.3 volts.

Consult your engineer about risks and side-effects

But this "battery doping" also has side-effects. Changes in the chemical composition of the electrodes and electrolytes can lead to battery performance drops after only a few charging cycles or the formation of gasses at the electrodes that cause the batteries to balloon.

"The future of lithium-ion batteries hinges on getting a grip on these undesirable reactions," predicts Metzger. He has already fulfilled one prerequisite to this end: The chemical processes that transpire during charging and discharging can be investigated in detail using the new battery test cell he developed with his team.

A test cell for the batteries of the future

The researchers spent three years working on their apparatus. "Normally electrolytic fluids and electrodes - the positive cathode and negative anode - are in a permanent electrochemical exchange," says Metzger. "Thus far it has not been possible to investigate the reactions at the anode and cathode independently of each other. We are the first to manage this successfully."

The key: The battery test cell, which, like every lithium-ion battery, comprises an anode, a cathode and electrolytes is not completely sealed, but rather is fitted with a fine capillary. This allows gasses that are released during charging and discharging to be sampled and investigated using a mass spectrometer.

To study the processes at anodes and cathodes independently of each other, the engineers also modified the membrane - a thin glass ceramic platelet coated with aluminum and synthetics - to make it permeable not only by lithium ions, but also by all other components of the electrolytic fluid.

Water is poison for a battery

Using their test cell, the researchers were, for the first time, able to explain precisely what transpires inside a high-voltage battery. The results demonstrate that the stability of electrodes and electrolytes depends on several factors, for example, charging voltage, operating temperature and even tiniest chemical impurities:

The higher the applied voltage and temperature, the faster the electrolytic fluid decomposes. The gasses released in the process, mainly carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, can cause the battery enclosure to balloon.

Even smallest traces of water that intrude into the cell release hydrogen at the anode and acts as an oxidizing agent on the carbon in the cathode. This impairs the conductivity of the electrode.

The chemical reactions that take place at the anode and cathode lead to interactions. This crosstalk, which has hardly been investigated to date, reduces the overall cell performance.

Measurement in practice

"For industrial end-users, the new measurement methodology is extremely interesting," says Prof. Hubert Gasteiger, who chairs the Department of Technical Electrochemistry. "In our investigations, we were able to show that the development of gasses in batteries can be reduced by adding the right admixtures to the electrolytic fluid or by inhibiting crosstalk between the electrodes."

One research result, in particular, bears a direct consequence in practice: The higher the desired voltage, the less residual moisture the materials may contain. Manufacturers could extend the lifetime of future cells by replacing the electrolyte ethylene carbonate with more stable solution components.

But here to the devil is in the detail: A small amount of ethylene carbonate is required in current systems to pacify the anode. The new cell allows processes at the anode and the cathode to be observed independently, possibly leading to the discovery of entirely novel solutions.

Evonic Research Prize for innovative developments

Metzger was recently honored with the Evonik Research Prize for the development of the battery test cell, which, for the first time, allows mass spectroscopy investigations and an independent analysis of the processes at each electrode. The chemical group Evonik awards the prize annually to an exceptional next-generation scientist.

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Publications:

M. Metzger, P. Walke, B. Strehle, S. Solchenbach, and H. A. Gasteiger: Anodic Oxidation of Carbon and Electrolyte with Different Conducting Salts in High-Voltage Lithium-Ion Batteries Studied By Online Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry; Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science, 5. Okt. 2016

M. Metzger, B. Strehle, S. Solchenbach, and H. A. Gasteiger: Hydrolysis of Ethylene Carbonate with Water and Hydroxide under Battery Operating Conditions, J. Electrochem. Soc., 163 (7), A1219-A1225 (2016), DOI: 10.1149/2.0411607jes

M. Metzger, B. Strehle, S. Solchenbach, and H. A. Gasteiger, "Origin of H2-Evolution in LIBs: H2O Reduction vs. Electrolyte Oxidation", J. Electrochem. Soc., 163 (5), A798-A809 (2016), DOI: 10.1149/2.1151605jes
The graphene films, grown on the copper (Cu) substrates must be detached clean without leaving residue behind, as residual metallic impurities can significantly alter electronic and electrochemical properties of graphene.

However, thanks to recent advances in graphene transfer method, the electrochemical corrosion of graphene coatings on Cu has allowed the monolayer-thick material to be mechanically delaminated without significantly compromising its structural integrity.

The new UNIST graphene research veers off in a new direction by succesfully seperating graphene from its metal growth substrates without the assistance of the adhesive tape. The research findings have been published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).

In the study, led by Prof. Sang Kyu Kwak (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, UNIST) and Prof. Rodney Ruoff (Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, IBS), the research team revealed the surface oxidation chemistry of the nanoribbon-covered Cu(111) surface.

Specifically, they have demonstrated that the graphene nanoribbon (GNR) edge type influences the initial oxidation stages of the Cu surface, thus driving the nanoribbon decoupling by the intercalation of surrounding adsorbate molecules (e.g. oxygen and water).

The difference between the armchair GNR and zigzag GNR on the Cu(111) substrate, is distinguished by the presence of an edge state in the zigzag GNR edges, which has been attributed to the hybridization between the out-of-plane carbon  orbitals and the metal d orbitals. This edge state, however, is absent in the armchair GNR edge atoms. Such an observation has not been reported for H-terminated GNR on Cu(111).

Vibrational stretching mode calculations showed that the GNR edges influenced the molecular adsorption of oxygen at the bare and GNR/Cu sites, confirming the role of GNR edges in weakening the pre-elongated O-O bond at the GNR/Cu interface. The research team also explained that the GNR edges facilitated the stabilization of water molecules (regardless of surface oxygenation), which would otherwise be unstable on the bare Cu surface.

Dr. Kester Wong, who takes full charge of the research, notes that "GNR-mediated interactions between water and the chemisorbed oxygen radicals can shed further light in elucidating the role of water and oxygen in the surface oxide formation."

"This particular study may have interesting implications for the development of regioselective graphene-based catalysis. Nonetheless, employing other crystal facets for the interfacial study of low dimensional materials is of great interest, and several investigations are being heavily pursued by our group in this area", says Prof. Kwak.

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This work has been supported by Institute of Basic Sciences (IBS, CMCM) and Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Korean Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP).

Journal Reference: Kester Wong, Seok Ju Kang, Christopher W. Bielawski, Rodney S. Ruoff, and Sang Kyu Kwak, "First-principles study of the role of O2 and H2O in the decoupling of graphene on Cu(111)", J. Am. Chem. Soc., (2016).
A new approach developed by a team of researchers, led by Prof. Jaephil Cho (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering) could hold the key to greatly improving the performance of commercial lithium-ion batteries.

Prof. Cho and his research team have developed a new type anode material that would be used in place of a conventional graphite anode, which they claim will lead to lighter and longer-lasting batteries for everything from personal devices to electric vehicles.

In the study, the research team has demonstrated the feasibility of a next-generation hybrid anode using silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon. They report that this architecture allows compatibility between silicon and natural graphite and addresses the issues of severe side reactions caused by structural failure of crumbled graphite dust and uncombined residue of silicon particles by conventional mechanical milling.

This newly-developed anode material has been manifactured with increase in graphite content in composite by 45%. The research team has also developed new equipment, which is capable of producing 300kg in 6 hours per batch using a small amount of silane gas (SiH4). Such simple procedure is highly esteemed, as it ensures competitive price.

They report that the silicon/graphite composite is mass-producible and it has superior battery performances with industrial electrode density, high areal capacity, and low amounts of binder. The findings of the research have been published in the August issue of the prestigious energy journal Nature Energy.

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This work has been supported by the IT R&D programme of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) and Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT), 2016 Research Fund of UNIST, and by the Office of Vehicle Technologies, Battery Materials Research Program of the US Department of Energy.

Journal Reference: Minseong Ko, Sujong Chae, Jiyoung Ma, Namhyung Kim, Hyun-Wook Lee, Yi Cui, and Jaephil Cho, "Scalable synthesis of silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite for high-energy lithium-ion batteries." Nature Energy, (2016).
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Therefore, a fast and reliable diagnosis of heart attack is urgently needed.

A new study, led by Prof. Jaesung Jang (School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering) has developed an electrical immunosensor to detect the acute myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack within a minute. The system works by measuring the level of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a protein that is excreted by the heart muscle into the blood following a heart attack.

Prof. Jang states, "This new immunosensor is constructed in a different way than any other sensor." He adds, "Owing to the new design of this immunosensor, this device is able to rapidly diagnose the level of heart attacks at the point of care."

A schematic diagram of the SWCNT electrical immunosensor with two pairs of concentration and detection electrodes.A schematic diagram of the SWCNT electrical immunosensor with two pairs of concentration and detection electrodes.

Using just a single droplet of blood, this immunosensor detects the target protein present in the blood serum following a heart attack and provides a result in 1 minute.

In the study, dielectrophoretic (DEP) forces have been applied to attract the target protein. The incubation time required for the detection is decreased through DEP-mediated biomarker concentration, in which the target protein is attracted onto the sensing areas via electrical forces. Therefore, the dielectrophoretic concentration of cTnI reduced the incubation time required from 60 min to 1 min.

Chang-Ho Han (School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering), a combined master's-doctoral student in Prof. Jang's group notes, "The level of cTnI within a single droplet of blood serum is not great." He continues, "However, we were able to attract the target protein onto the sensing areas via electrical forces, thereby greatly improvingdetection time and detection limit."

Image shown above is the core material used for the new sensor detects proteins in the blood stream following a heart attack, providing results in just 10 minutes.Image shown above is the core material used for the new immunosensor that detects proteins in the blood stream following a heart attack, providing results in just 1 minute.

According to the research team, this novel immunosensor holds considerable potential for use as a platform for sensing distinct types of proteins, along with the feasibility of miniaturization and integration for biomedical diagnosis.

The findings of the research have been published in the August issue of the prestigious biotechnology journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics.

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This work has been supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education and by the 2016 Research Fund of UNIST.

Journal Reference: Abhinav Sharma, Chang-Ho Han, and Jaesung Jang, "Rapid electrical immunoassay of the cardiac biomarker troponin I through dielectrophoretic concentration using imbedded electrodes." Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2016.
A team of researchers, affiliated with UNIST claims to have made yet another step towards finding a solution to one of the critical but unsolved fusion plasma physics problems, which is to mitigate or suppress the potentially harmful plasma edge instabilities, so-called the Edge Localised Modes (ELMs).

The energy bursts caused by the ELMs would be a detrimental event, as it can potentially damage the internal components of the fusion plasma devices like ITER. Therefore, the fundamental understanding of the ELMs and comprehensive physics of the role of magnetic perturbation (MP) as a promising suppression technique have been debated for a long time in fusion community.

The research results achieved by the Fusion Plasma Research Center at UNIST and led by Prof. Hyeon Park in collaboration with Prof. Gunsu Yun at POSTECH was published in the August issue of the prestigious journal, Physical Review Letters.

Through the study, the research team has discovered underlying physics of the suppression mechanism, in which the swirling turbulent flow driven by MP may prevent the ELM crashes in fusion plasmas.

Dr. Jaehyun Lee (UNIST Fusion Plasma Research Center), the first author of the paper has demonstrated that the ELM is weakened by losing energy through interaction with the turbulence induced by MP for the first time. The analysis confirmed coexistence of the ELM and turbulence induced by MP in the ELM-crash suppression phase. The dispersion relation of the turbulence together with spatial structure were directly measured and the nonlinear interaction between the ELM and turbulence was explicitly demonstrated.

This research result was possible by the 3D electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) system, pioneered by Prof. Park a decade ago. The most advanced ECEI system has been developed for KSTAR while he was at POSTECH and currently maintained by the UNIST Fusion Plasma Research Center together with the POSTECH team.

Prof. Park says, "This research result will be a corner-stone for the predictable modeling of the suppression of mechanism of the ELM-crash which will be beneficial for the international project like ITER." He adds, "Also, such an innovative new research result will position the KSTAR as a leading physics research device in the worldwide fusion community."

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This research was supported by National R&D Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

Journal Reference

Jaehyun Lee, Gunsu S. Yun, Minjun J. Choi, Jae-Min Kwon, Young-Mu Jeon, Woochang Lee, Neville C. Luhmann, Jr., and Hyeon K. Park, "Nonlinear interaction of edge-localized modes and turbulent eddies in toroidal plasma under n=1 magnetic perturbation," Phys. Rev. Lett., 117, 075001 (2016).
In early 2014, when a large-scale marine heat wave in the Pacific Ocean produced temperature anomalies greater than anything seen since recordkeeping began in the early 1900s, marine scientists saw something else, too: opportunity.

Ocean researchers at UC Santa Barbara quickly seized the chance to evaluate the sentinel status of giant kelp forests along the Southern California coastline as an indicator of climate change. They expected forests of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), known to be sensitive to such increases as well as to the resulting low-nutrient conditions, to respond quite rapidly to a rise in water temperature.

However, to the scientists' surprise, that was not the case. The kelp, they discovered, was all right. Their findings appear in the journal Nature Communications.

"The response that we saw in kelp was really no different than what we'd seen in our temporal record," explained lead author Daniel Reed, deputy director of UCSB's Marine Science Institute (MSI). "The values were low but not necessarily lower than what we'd seen during cool-water years."

Giant kelp does not have the capacity to store nutrients for very long (only about three weeks), and in the absence of new nutrients, the kelp cannot support its rapid growth of about 2 percent per day. The standing biomass -- the amount of living kelp present at a given time -- is relatively transitory and turns over about seven times a year.

"Each frond only lives about three to four months," Reed said. "So when you have something that grows rapidly and doesn't live long, you would expect its standing biomass to respond rapidly if it's subjected to really adverse growing conditions for a long time."

The researchers used kelp records from a 34-year time series of data taken by Landsat satellites, which -- among many other characteristics -- measured kelp canopies. The investigators analyzed kelp biomass from Santa Barbara to San Diego through time and related it to sea surface temperatures at those sites.

The data showed some large positive temperature anomalies that were unprecedented. For example, in September 2015, the water in the Santa Barbara Channel averaged 4.5 degrees Celsius higher than normal for the entire month. Daily anomalies went as high as 5.5 degrees Celsius. Despite these high temperatures, the team saw no dramatic response by giant kelp whose biomass remained within the range observed during the decades-long time series when the water was cooler.

"Nobody knows how this warming event relates to climate change, other than we've not seen this before," said co-author Libe Washburn, an oceanographer at the MSI and a professor in UCSB's Department of Geography. "That's somewhat alarming, but this work may provide some insight into how these kelp forests would respond to future climate warming."

The team also examined changes in understory algae, invertebrates and fishes of the giant kelp ecosystem and found that they didn't show much of a response to the warming event either. Sea urchins and sea stars were the exception as they declined dramatically due to a disease that was linked to the warm-water event.

"The fact that we did not see drastic responses in the rest of the community tells us that we don't know everything we think we know about this system and about its ecology," Reed noted. "The results have caused us to pursue lines of research that try to understand how this happens. More importantly, the findings underscore the value of long-term data in terms of trying to tease apart these trends."

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Other UCSB co-authors include Tom Bell, Robert Miller and Shannon Harrer. Andrew Rassweiler of Florida State University also was a contributor.

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research program, the NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting program, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management Environmental Studies program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in support of the Santa Barbara Channel Marine Biodiversity Observation Network.
Exercise is good for you -- but why? MoTrPAC to investigate molecular changes that come from physical activity

We know that exercise is good for you. But why, and how? The National Institutes of Health today (Dec. 13) announced a six-year, $170 million nationwide project to dig deep into the molecular changes that come from physical activity, and how they influence health. Two professors in the University of California, Davis, College of Biological Sciences, Sue Bodine and Keith Baar, are taking part in the effort.

"We have long understood that exercising is beneficial to our overall health, but don't fully understand the impact of exercise at the molecular level," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins. "The development of a so-called molecular map of circulating signals produced by physical activity will allow us to discover, at a fundamental level, how physical activity affects our health. This knowledge should allow researchers and doctors to develop individually targeted exercise recommendations and better help those who are unable to exercise."

The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium, or MoTrPAC, will include seven clinical centers across the country, including one at UC Irvine focused on children. The clinical centers will recruit people from diverse racial and ethnic groups, aged from childhood to old age, and examine how molecular signals are altered by exercise.

The UC Davis researchers will run one of three centers using rats as a model to understand exercise physiology. Working in tandem with the clinical centers, the animal model will allow researchers to more fully explore the effects of exercise on organs and body systems.

More than building muscle

Understanding the role of exercise in health is increasingly important as our lives become more sedentary, Bodine said.

"The general population is inactive, and it's getting worse," she said. Your doctor might recommend that you take up exercise or become more active, but physicians aren't trained in how to prescribe different types of exercise for different needs. Exercise is known to affect mood and cognition as well as physical attributes such as heart health and muscle strength, but the mechanisms are largely unknown.

"Nobody would question that exercise is good for you," Bodine said. "What we don't understand is, what are the signals and pathways that lead from exercise to improved health."

Among the questions the consortium hopes to answer are how different kinds of exercise, such as endurance exercises like running or resistance exercise such as weightlifting, affect health, and how the effects of exercise change over our lifespan.

"When we think about exercise, we think about muscle, heart and lungs, but we also know that exercise has effects on the brain, on cognition, on cancer prevention," Bodine said. "How does exercise do these things?"

Other centers will carry out analytical work on tissue samples from both humans and animals. The resulting data and tissue banks will be available to other researchers.

The UC Davis share of the grant will be approximately $2.3 million.

The consortium is funded through the NIH Common Fund and managed by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute on Aging, and National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

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Biodiversity on earth is greatest in the tropics with the number and variety of species gradually diminishing toward the poles. Understanding exactly what shapes this pattern, known as the latitudinal diversity gradient, is not just key to knowing the nature of life on Earth, but it also could help scientists slow biodiversity loss and protect areas of the globe that generate a disproportionate variety of species.

David Jablonski, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Service Professor of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Diego attempt to reconcile two competing ideas explaining the pattern in a forthcoming paper in the December issue of The American Naturalist.

David Jablonski

Prof. David Jablonskidownload

One idea contends that local environmental factors determine the biodiversity of a given region. The other holds that lineages arise elsewhere and enter into adjoining geographical areas to generate the biodiversity of a given region. In the paper, Jablonski and his coauthors argue both factors work in tandem in what they describe as a "perfect storm."

"The gradient involves mutually reinforcing causes--'perfect storms' rather than a single mechanism," Jablonski said. "Many of the most dramatic biotic patterns, past and present, are likely to have been generated by diverse, mutually reinforcing drivers--by both local effects and long-term expansions of geographic ranges."

The researchers argue that these rare "perfect storms" play a key role in the history of life. Candidates include West Pacific "Coral Triangle" diversity peak in today's oceans; the temperate coastlines of southeast Australia and southeast Japan, each of which contain more species than the entire Caribbean region; the Cambrian Explosion of multicellular life 530 million years ago; and the explosive diversifications of both flowering plants and insects over the past 100 million years. "Perfect storms" may also crush biodiversity: the biggest mass extinction in the history of life, at the end of the Paleozoic Era 250 million years ago, may be another example.

Bivalves tell the story

For the study, researchers relied on an analysis of marine bivalves, such as scallops, mussels, and cockles, which have become a model system for large-scale spatial and temporal analyses of biodiversity. They show a strong latitudinal diversity gradient that mirrors other groups on land and sea, while their rich fossil record allows for reliable estimates of origination and extinction. Jablonski and his colleagues argued that the case they make using marine bivalves should apply broadly across different groups of organisms.

"I hope that people will be impressed by how much additional understanding we can achieve by integrating fossil data into studies on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of biodiversity," said Paul Fine, professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, who did not participate in the research.

The latitudinal diversity gradient of marine bivalves has been greatly impacted by climate changes over the past millennia, but also by the fact that tropical latitudes are the source for almost all lineages of bivalves, Fine added. "Many people will be surprised to see how decoupled bivalve diversity is from latitude, meaning that marine areas with similar environmental conditions (temperature, productivity, etc.) have wildly different bivalve diversity levels," he said. "In other words, history matters, but it is not the only important factor underlying the latitudinal diversity gradient."

The search for unitary mechanisms for the latitudinal diversity gradient is valuable, but the most extreme patterns of biodiversity should take into account diverse, overlapping, mutually reinforcing drivers, the paper concluded. "Perfect storms" may become a crucial part of our understanding of past, present and future diversity on Earth.

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Citation: 'Shaping the latitudinal diversity gradient: New perspectives from a synthesis of paleobiology and biogeography' by David Jablonski, University of Chicago; Shan Huang, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center; Kaustuv Roy, University of California San Diego; and James W. Valentine, University of California Berkeley. The American Naturalist, Dec. 6, 2016. DOI: 10.1086/689739

Funding: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
Aiken, S.C. - Researchers from the University of Georgia have found that invasive species on Hawaii Island, or the Big Island of Hawaii, may be especially successful invaders because they are formidable scavengers of carcasses of other animals and after death, a nutrient resource for other invasive scavengers.

The team of researchers from UGA's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory is the first to study vertebrate and invertebrate scavenging of invasive species on an island.

The state of Hawaii has the highest number of endangered and threatened native species in the U.S., and this study, published recently in the journal Ecosphere, could inform efforts to manage invasive populations in Hawaii and similar island ecosystems threatened by invasive species.

"It is essential to know where nutrient resources flow in a highly invaded ecosystem," said wildlife ecologist Olin E. Rhodes Jr., director of the SREL.

"We wanted to see what was eating the invasive species that have significant populations on the island," said team leader Erin F. Abernethy, an alumna of SREL and UGA's Odum School of Ecology, now at Oregon State University. "And, we wanted to identify the percentages of carcasses eaten by invasive vertebrates and invertebrates."

What they found, said Abernethy, "indicates a positive feedback loop. The more non-native species invade an island, live and reproduce and die, the more nutrient resources they create for other invasive species through carcasses--synergistically refueling off of one another and further invading the ecosystem."

The team set up 647 individual invasive carcasses of amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and birds on camera traps across three diverse landscapes on the island.

A small percentage of the carcasses were also fitted with transmitters to allow the researchers to see if they were consumed after being removed from the camera's view.

The camera images revealed significant scavenging by invasive vertebrates. Although scavenging by vertebrates was only 10 percent higher than that of invertebrates, the researchers were surprised at their lack of discrimination about what they scavenged.

"We anticipated that vertebrates would quickly find and remove large carcasses, but we discovered that the vertebrates were skilled at acquiring all types of carcasses," Abernethy said. "They were adept and highly efficient at finding the smallest of resources--locating carcasses of coqui frogs, a small frog native to Puerto Rico--and geckos that only weighed a few grams, before invasive invertebrates had the opportunity to get to them."

Abernethy said that despite their small size, these animals represent a significant food resource. Previous research on the island indicates coqui frogs number 91,000 per 2.47 acres.

Invasive vertebrates removed 55 percent of the carcasses in this study. The mongoose and the rat proved to be the most formidable scavengers. They removed the most carcasses and were observed more frequently. The mongoose was the only species in the study to participate in cannibalism--feasting on mongoose carcasses.

The invasive invertebrate scavenger community, which included yellow jackets and fly larvae, removed 45 percent of the carcasses. This left no carcass resources for the native species on the island--the owl and hawk. Few in number on the island, these animals were not seen by the team during the study.

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Further information about the study, including differences in scavenging activity among the three sites, can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.1496/full.

Additional authors on the study include James C. Beasley and Kelsey Turner, SREL, Aiken, South Carolina, and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Athens, Georgia.; Travis DeVault, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, NWRC, Sandusky, Ohio; and William Pitt, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, Virginia.
Recently graduated Norwegian police officers may perform better in murder cases than investigators with extensive experience. And English murder investigators are far better than their colleagues in Norway, which can be explained by a more systematic approach and clear-cut professionalisation of the detective role in England. This is revealed in a thesis in psychology from The University of Gothenburg.

Image of Ivar FahsingIn the short story The Boscombe Valley Mystery Sherlock Holmes says: "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact." Even in real-world criminal investigations, it is a fundamental but demanding skill and ability of the police at the start of a criminal investigation to identify all the potential scenarios, follow-up obvious clues and resist the pressure to sharpen the focus too early in the investigation.

"If you are incapable of that, critical clues may quickly disappear and the investigation can end up in a blind alley or in the worst case lead to a wrongful conviction," says Ivar Fahsing, author of the thesis.

He wanted to find out if the system in Norway was as good as that in England for developing expertise in the investigation of serious crimes. A working method was introduced in England and Wales in 2005 that sought to standardise the investigative process. And in order to investigate serious violent crimes, the police also have to gain certification in a programme known as Professionalising Investigation Programme. Other than England and Wales, no countries currently have a corresponding system.

Ivar Fahsing carried out tests with sixty Norwegian and sixty English police officers. The groups included both recently graduated police officers and experienced murder investigators. The participants had to examine two fictitious cases; one where a Kurdish girl has disappeared and one where a woman is found murdered the day after her husband left home and checked into a hotel.

In both cases, the British experts performed almost twice as well as the Norwegian group. The majority of the Norwegian investigators became locked into an initial hypothesis about who was guilty and only managed in exceptional cases to create new investigative scenarios even where they were encouraged to do so.

"Norwegian investigators seem to grow increasingly characterised by mental stereotypes the longer they work, while the English specialists show an impressively robust ability to resist this," says Ivar Fahsing.

Education per se set the participants apart. New Norwegian police graduates are educated to a higher level than the English bobbies. The newly trained Norwegian police also succeeded better than their English counterparts.

"This indicates that the bachelor's degree currently obligatory for joining the police in Norway provides a solid foundation upon which to develop investigative expertise," says Ivar Fahsing.

However, all of the test groups showed a tendency to favour hypotheses that involved the perpetration of a crime rather than non-criminal hypotheses such as accident, illness, voluntary departure etc.

"All in all, my thesis shows that it is difficult for investigators, regardless of experience and training, to fully uphold the legal principle 'innocent until proven guilty' deriving inter alia from the European Convention on Human Rights," says Ivar Fahsing.

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For further information: Ivar A. Fahsing, telephone: +47 9222 5533, email: ivarfahsing@gmail.com

Title of thesis: The Making of an Expert Detective: Thinking and Deciding in Criminal Investigations

More about the thesis at: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/47515
Many Asian economies are currently faced with the challenge of rapidly ageing population, which can be harmful to the economy in the long run. The study, conducted by Dr Keisuke Otsu from the University's School of Economics with the results published in Asian Development Review, analysed the effects of projected population ageing on potential growth in Asian economies over the period 2015-2050 using quantitative assessment.

The study constructed a representative household model to analyse the effects of demographic transitions on the growth rate of per capita GDP. The predicted population ageing is harmful for economic growth because it leads to a shrink in the workforce relative to total population. While the predicted decline in total population growth mitigates this effect due to a lower capital dilution, overall, the model predicts a 0.21 percentage point decline in the annual per capita GDP growth rate below its potential purely due to the demographic transition. This is equivalent to a 7.6% drop in the average income level over the 2015-2050 period.

In addition to the direct effect of population ageing through labour market participation, it would also lead to a rise in social security tax on the workforce as the dependency ratio rises. This reduces the labour force's incentive to work and leads to a gradual decline in hours worked. The study estimates the future increase in labour income tax in Asia given the projected demographic transition and finds that this would reduce the annual per capita GDP growth rate by 0.41 percentage points below its potential.

Population ageing could also lead to an increase in government consumption due to the rise in the demand for health care. The study estimates the future increase in government expenditure in Asia and finds that the increase in aggregate demand would lead to a 0.05 percentage point increase in annual per capita GDP growth rate above its potential.

However, the increase in government consumption can lead to a decline in aggregate productivity by shifting away economic activity in the more productive private manufacturing sector to the service sector. The study estimates the effect of population ageing on future productivity growth in Asia and finds that this effect could reduce the annual per capita GDP growth rate by 0.40 percentage points below its potential.

The paper concludes that population ageing is harmful for economic growth due to the decline in labour participation rate and its negative effect is significantly magnified through the increase in social security tax and the slowdown in productivity growth. This provides quantitative support for arguments for social security reform and innovation policies in ageing economies.

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Dr Keisuke Otsu is a Lecturer in Macroeconomics and Growth.

Population Aging and Potential Growth in Asia (Dr Keisuke Otsu and Dr Katsuyuki Shibayama; University of Kent; DOI: 10.1162/ADEV_a_00072) can be viewed at http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/ADEV_a_00072

(The figures presented in this newsletter are error corrected versions of those published in the journal article)

For further information contact Kiran Dhaliwal at the University of Kent Press Office.

Tel: 01227 823581

Email: K.K.Dhaliwal@kent.ac.uk

News releases can also be found at http://www.kent.ac.uk/news

University of Kent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UniKent

Established in 1965, the University of Kent - the UK's European university - now has almost 20,000 students across campuses or study centres at Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge, Brussels, Paris, Athens and Rome.

It has been ranked: 23rd in the Guardian University Guide 2016; 23rd in the Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2016; and 22nd in the Complete University Guide 2015.

In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2015-16, Kent is in the top 10% of the world's leading universities for international outlook and 66th in its table of the most international universities in the world.

The THE also ranked the University as 20th in its 'Table of Tables' 2016.

Kent is ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity (REF 2014). It has world-leading research in all subjects and 97% of its research is deemed by the REF to be of international quality.

In the National Student Survey 2016, Kent achieved the fourth highest score for overall student satisfaction, out of all publicly funded, multi-faculty universities.

Along with the universities of East Anglia and Essex, Kent is a member of the Eastern Arc Research Consortium (http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/partnerships/eastern-arc.html).

The University is worth 0.7 billion to the economy of the south east and supports more than 7,800 jobs in the region. Student off-campus spend contributes 293.3m and 2,532 full-time-equivalent jobs to those totals.

In 2014, Kent received its second Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.
COLUMBIA, Mo. - According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 million older Americans depend on nursing homes for their health care. The 16,000 nursing homes in the United States serve populations of all sizes; yet, according to new research from the University of Missouri, rural communities are lagging in health information technology (IT) needed to improve quality, safety and efficiency in health care. This gap could have implications for patient care as nursing homes in rural areas may have less capacity to exchange information with hospitals to ensure high-quality transitions in care.

"Previous studies demonstrate that IT sophistication can improve health outcomes for patients, such as reducing hospitalizations," said Greg Alexander, professor in the Sinclair School of Nursing. "The benefits of IT sophistication do not differ based on geography; however, in this national assessment, we found a significant gap in IT sophistication between rural and urban areas."

The study is the first national assessment of nursing home IT use since 2004. The researchers found that nursing homes located in metropolitan areas had greater IT laboratory capabilities for resident registration and admission. Urban nursing homes also were better at conducting and verifying medical tests, which can impact and improve patient care.

"As competition for experienced health care IT professionals increases in urban areas, rural health care organizations are finding it difficult to compete for needed talent," Alexander said. "Policy makers need to be aware of the unique challenges facing rural health organizations and provide the necessary incentives to help rural nursing homes improve their IT sophistication. Improvement of IT sophistication will lead to better patient outcomes and a better quality of life for nursing home residents."

Alexander recently received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar program grant to Australia from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. The grant will be used to study health informatics in nursing homes. He will be studying IT sophistication and quality measures at Macquarie University as part of a project to improve patient care in Australia's nursing homes.

"The state of nursing home information technology sophistication in rural and non-rural US markets," was published recently in the Journal of Rural Health. The research was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01HS022497). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

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ANN ARBOR--A University of Michigan-led team of geologists and engineers is mapping surface ruptures and some of the tens of thousands of landslides triggered by last month's magnitude-7.8 earthquake in New Zealand.

The U-M-led team includes a researcher from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Working in collaboration with scientists from New Zealand's GNS Science and the U.S. Geological Survey, they will combine observations collected by satellites, drones, helicopters and on foot to create what is expected to be the largest inventory of earthquake-triggered landslides, according to team leader and U-M geologist Marin Clark.

The high-resolution digital topographic maps the researchers create will help response teams in New Zealand determine which landslides pose the greatest threat for future sliding and for river damming that can lead to catastrophic flooding. The project is also viewed as a training exercise for future large earthquakes anticipated in places like Southern California.

The powerful New Zealand quake struck Nov. 13 near the town of Kaikoura, on the east coast of the South Island. It killed two people, generated tsunami waves several feet high and stranded hundreds of tourists who had to be evacuated by helicopter and ship.

Current estimates are that 80,000 to 100,000 landslides were triggered by ruptures along at least nine faults. About 150 of the landslides blocked river valleys, and nine are being monitored as potential threats for catastrophic flooding due to river damming.

"If the 100,000 estimate is correct, then this would be the largest documented earthquake-related landsliding event ever, slightly larger than one that occurred in China in 2008," said Clark, U-M associate professor of earth and environmental sciences.

"The landslide dams are especially important to recognize immediately after an event like this, while there is still time to do something about them. To avoid a potentially catastrophic breach and flooding event, spillways can be constructed to drain the water."

Members of Clark's team went to New Zealand late last month, hiking into the affected region with handheld GPS receivers and using helicopter-based observations and drone imagery to map fault ruptures and landslides. They worked with scientists from GNS Science and the Geotechnical Engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association, a volunteer organization known as GEER.

U-M scientists who made the reconnaissance trip were Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and postdoctoral researcher Timothy Stahl of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, who is also an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow. Clark and team member Dimitrios Zekkos, U-M associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, will travel to New Zealand next month.

The U-M-led team uses small, quad-rotor drones fitted with ultra-high-definition cameras to capture extremely detailed video images of the landslides and surface ruptures.

"Drones have totally changed how our work is done," said Zekkos, who also used the remotely operated aerial vehicles to map landslides in Nepal--on a team led by Clark--following last year's magnitude-7.8 earthquake there, which killed more than 8,000 people and created nearly 25,000 landslides.

"Landslides can block roads, and helicopters are expensive to operate and are often needed for other purposes after a natural disaster," he said. "But you can quickly send a drone into places that would otherwise be practically impossible to see--and you can get really, really close."

On Dec. 8, Clark's team received final approval of funding from the National Science Foundation for the year-long New Zealand study. While the amount of "rapid response funding" is modest at $46,516, the NSF award also gives the researchers access to satellite imagery and supercomputers they will use to create exquisitely detailed before-and-after digital maps.

The team's study area spans about 25,000 square miles, a region slightly larger than the state of West Virginia. The researchers will have access to stereoscopic satellite imagery of the sparsely populated, mountainous study area gathered both before and after the Nov. 13 Kaikoura earthquake.

The razor-sharp satellite images sample the surface at a 30-centimeter spacing and can recognize objects on the ground as small as 2 meters across, roughly the size of an SUV. In some cases, 1-meter resolution is possible. The pre-quake images were collected by commercial satellite company Digital Globe following New Zealand's 2011 Christchurch earthquake, which killed 185 people.

"What's unique about this situation is that we've never had high-resolution 'before' imagery that covers the entire area affected by a major earthquake," Clark said.

Digital Globe is now collecting "after" images of the region affected by last month's Kaikoura earthquake. Clark's team will have access to both data sets.

"It's never been done at this scale at this resolution, so this is going to give us an unprecedented view of the details of what's happening on the ground," she said.

Multiple satellite observations of the same ground locations from different viewing angles were combined to create stereoscopic imagery that provides a three-dimensional view of the surface. The 3-D view, in turn, enables researchers to precisely measure the elevation of surface features--including landslides.

"The 3-D models from satellite observations are not as accurate as drone-created models, but they cover much wider areas and are precise enough to measure any vertical change of more than a few tens of centimeters, or roughly the height of a beach ball," said team member Michael Willis, assistant professor at the University of Colorado.

The satellite imagery will be used to create before-and-after digital elevation models, or DEMs, which can be thought of as extremely detailed digital topographic maps. Techniques used to generate high-resolution DEMs from stereoscopic satellite images were developed by Willis as a member of a team creating such models for the Arctic.

Knowing the exact elevation at a given point before and after a landslide allows scientists to calculate the volume of material that moved, a value that is critical when trying to assess the threat posed now and in the future, Clark said.

"Some of these landslide locations are current threats for damming and catastrophic flooding. And all of them are now more susceptible to future landsliding in response to rains," she said. "So by knowing exactly where these landslides are and how far they've traveled, as well as their volume and composition, we can make better predictions about what might happen in the coming weeks, months and years."

Data collected on foot and using drones and helicopters will be used to validate the satellite images, a process called ground truthing.

The first DEMs based on the "before" images of the affected region could be finished this month and will be provided to landslide response teams from the U.S. Geological Survey and GNS Science. DEMs based on post-quake satellite imagery could take months to complete, depending on weather and other variables.

The New Zealand project is viewed as a training exercise for future large earthquakes, including an anticipated Southern California event along the San Andreas Fault. In that case, "before" images along the San Andreas have already been collected using plane-mounted LiDAR, a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating it with laser light.

The Nov. 13 New Zealand earthquake resulted from faulting on or near the boundary between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. At the location of the magnitude-7.8 earthquake, the Pacific plate is moving west-southwest with respect to the Australian plate at a rate of about 40 millimeters (1.6 inches) per year.

The NSF-funded New Zealand project is a collaboration between the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Clark's team also includes a collaborator from Greece, John Manousakis.

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The Zika virus remains a mystery. Isolated from macaque monkeys in the Ziika Forest in Uganda in 1947, the virus was shown to infect humans not long after, but it was identified as a benign disease, with mild symptoms. For this reason, it was not heavily studied until almost 70 years later when it appeared to be associated with an unusual cluster of cases of microcephalic birth defects and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) paralysis in Brazil in 2015 and 2016.

If the at-least-70-year-old virus is responsible for the recently reported neurological diseases, why were the first serious effects not noticed until recently? And, why were these effects first in Brazil, very distant from its continent of apparent origin, Africa? The mysterious history of the virus matters because its details might tell us the backstory of how it came to be what it is where it is and from that, why it is doing so much damage.

But, how do you know the history of an invisible virus, which leaves no physical record? It is especially hard to know the history of Zika because the seemingly benign disease has been under-the-radar for most of its known time in human hosts.

This is where genetics can help, since single-strand RNA viruses like Zika tend to change rapidly over time and, with bioinformatics, researchers can deduce what the ancestral relationships are between different viruses collected at different places in different times from different hosts. While the first noted occurrence of the virus was in Africa, it was detected only a few years later in Asia, and separate lineages of the disease are known from both areas - a clue that the history hidden in the genes may be complicated.

"But sequence data on Zika is limited," notes University of North Carolina at Charlotte Bioinformatics and Genomics Professor Daniel Janies. "People have made the assumption that it came out of Africa because that's where it was discovered. However, it has not been easy to reconstruct the history of Zika with the data we have," he said.

Janies heads a team of researchers who have recently completed a phylogenetic and geographic analysis of the available collection of Zika's genetic sequences. The analysis provides the most complete study of the virus's history to date and reveals specific genetic changes that occurred as the virus crossed the Pacific Ocean on its way to the Americas. An analysis of the genes involved also suggests new hypotheses to explain the virus's association with microcephaly and GBS.

A report by Janies, Adriano de Bernardi Schneider, Jun-tao Guo, Gregorio Linchangco, Zachary Witter, Dylan Vinesett and Lambodhar Damodaran from the department of Bioinformatics and Genomics at UNC Charlotte, Robert Malone from Atheric Pharmaceutical, and Jane Homan from IoGenetics LLC appears in the current issue of Cladistics.

"Our results indicate that Zika may have deep ancestry in Asia that has been under-recorded," Janies said. "For example, not all the recent global outbreaks of Zika appear to result from a simple linear chronology of travel from the most recent past outbreak."

"Recently there has been an outbreak of Zika in Singapore in parallel to the one in the Americas. We have updated our analyses and the Singapore Zika virus is distantly related to the viral lineage in the Americas. This lends support for the hypothesis that there are yet-to-be discovered reservoirs of Zika virus in Asia," Janies said.

The Cladistics report traces Zika's phylogenetic tree through analysis of genetic sequences, combining it with the chronology and geographic information from the samples, and allows the researchers to detail the virus' probable historical path as well as specific genetic and structural changes in the virus as it traveled to the Americas.

The researchers noted in particular some new mutations that began appearing in the virus as it travelled from island to island across the Pacific. Not long after these mutations appear, there are records in French Polynesia of an increase in both microcephaly and GBS. The specific nature of the new mutations in the virus also suggest to the team some possible relationships between viral infection and the severe symptoms associated with the virus in the Americas.

"We looked at the viral changes that correspond to the first reports of microcephaly and we saw the origins of these changes in the Pacific lineages," Janies noted. "There are mutations that occurred in the part of the viral genome that codes the viral envelope protein and the ends of the viral genome that are called 'untranslated regions.' We focused on the envelope protein because that's the part responsible for the entry of the virus to host's cells. We studied the untranslated regions since they mediate the types of tissues the virus attacks and viral replication."

Both sets of mutations suggested potential relationships to the virus's new association with neurological and developmental problems in adults and infants.

"Members of our team found that Zika has recently started making its envelope proteins with features, called epitopes, that are similar to human proteins, which could cause a human host immune response to the virus to be diluted," Janies said. "The theory underlying this idea is called 'epitope mimicry.' The similarity is advantageous to the virus because it confuses the host's immune system and blunts the immune reaction to the virus."

However, the researchers suspect that the human proteins being mimicked may be significant for reasons besides providing immune system "cover" for the attacking virus.

An important element of the envelope protein mutation, Janies points out, is not only in the mimicry itself, but also, in the specific genes being mimicked: "Our team members found that two of the human proteins that Zika is mimicking are involved in the signaling that goes on when the sensory organs are being formed in the fetus. These genes are called 'Neuron Navigator Protein 2' and 'Human Neurogenic Differentiation Factor 4', " he said.

"Because these are the proteins are being mimicked, a hypothesis is that the developmental pathways that rely on the proteins may be being disrupted by the immune system," Janies said.

The other mutations, on the untranslated regions, suggest other possible effects that might change where Zika virus infects in the body.

"Although epitope mimicry hypothesis helps clarify the protein-immune interaction, the mutations in the untranslated regions may explain the types of tissues Zika attacks" UNC Charlotte Bioinformatics and Genomics graduate student Adriano de Bernardi Schneider said. "The presence of specific binding regions on untranslated regions of the Zika viral genome, called "Musashi Binding Elements" provides bases for the study of changes in tissue preference of the virus."

In this part of the study, the authors evaluated the changes in the virus' Musashi Binding Elements and found that they increased the efficiency of the Zika virus that is circulating in the Americas in hijacking human cells.

Musashi is a family of RNA-binding proteins in the host cells that control gene expression and the development of stem cells. The finding that Zika has mutated to be better at binding to human Musashi proteins, leads to the hypothesis that Zika is adapting to be more efficient at attacking human cells. Moreover, the role of Musashi proteins in stem cells provides another possible target for the study of developmental defects in the fetus associated with Zika infection in pregnancy.

Both the autoimmune effect and changes in the virus' tissue specificity are working hypotheses suggested by computational models and will require further study to verify.

In contrast, the information gained from studying Zika's phylogenetic history is of immediate importance to medicine and public health response, as this work puts the mutations in specific time and place context, at a time when the virus has nearly circled the planet, changing from place to place in its travels and leaving different variants. Many versions of the virus currently exist globally and these variants have different capabilities and effects.

"We're tracing the lineages and the geographic links in a very rigorous way and pulling it all together, pin-pointing Zika's molecular changes in time and space - showing what actually is going on in different places," Janies said.

"Why does it matter? Well, when Zika arrives someplace is it going to be benign or dangerous? It has been both -- it depends on where it is coming from."

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The full paper can been seen at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cla.12178/epdf .

This research study is based upon work supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Program Simplifying Complexity in Scientific Discovery (SIMPLEX) and Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Pacific (SSC Pacific) under Contract No. N66001-15-C-4039 and by the UNC Research Opportunities Initiative grant to UNC Charlotte, NC State University, and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Source: Daniel Janies, 704-687-1742, djanies@uncc.edu
Scientists develop new method for accurately counting lions in the wild

Numbers in key habitat of Maasai Mara are higher than most other areas

Experts call for a unified approach to count the world's lions

Scientists based at Oxford University have created a new method for counting lions that they say is the most robust yet devised. Using the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies in Kenya as a case study, they estimate there to be 420 lions over the age of one in this key territory. At almost 17 lions per 100 square kilometres, that represents one of the highest densities anywhere in Africa.

Lion numbers are notoriously difficult to estimate, which is why there is heated debate over their true status throughout Africa, with some experts arguing that there are 20,000 lions left on the continent and others claiming the figure is more likely to be 30,000.

Lead author Dr Nic Elliot, Project Director of the Kenya Wildlife Trust's Mara Lion Project and a postdoctoral researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) in Oxford University's Department of Zoology, said: 'Reliable estimates of lion density are critical to conservation: at a policy level, they inform regional strategies and are used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Endangered Species Act and CITES to classify lions; at a local level, they are used to advocate for management practices and to highlight conservation needs and successes. Yet our current methods of counting lions are too inaccurate and too imprecise.'

Population numbers are a critical measure of conservation success or failure. To count lions, conservation biologists have traditionally used track surveys, which record lions' footprints, and/or call-up surveys, which broadcast sounds to attract lions for counting. This new study highlights how both methods can lead to inaccuracy and imprecision, thus providing misleading estimates of population trends. Despite such concerns, these two methods are currently the most commonly used to count lions. Additionally, other approaches tend to estimate lion numbers from observations of individual lions without including the amount of effort - such as distance covered in different areas - in the analysis.

The new survey, which circumvents these problems by using a 'spatially explicit' approach, involved five field teams systematically searching the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies for lions. They carefully logged their search effort during the 90-day survey and drove just under 8,400 kilometres while searching for lions. By taking close-up, high-resolution photographs of individual lions, researchers were able to log their unique whisker spots. A total of 203 lions were identified within the 2,400-square-kilometre survey area. The data was then analysed with powerful computers, using a tailor-made 'Bayesian spatially explicit capture-recapture' model that corrects for the bias that some lions may not have been identified during the survey.

The study, published in the journal Conservation Biology, adapts methodologies that have successfully been used by scientists to count other big cats, such as tigers and cheetahs.

Dr Elliot said: 'A survey typically produces an estimate of density and an interval which gives the lower and upper possible true number. Say, for example, a survey estimates 300 lions but gives a lower bound of 100 lions and an upper bound of 500 lions. If the survey is repeated and an estimate of 200 lions is produced, is that telling us that the population has declined by 100 or increased by 100? A good survey, then, will produce an accurate estimate with narrow intervals.'

He added: 'We estimate there to be 16.85 lions over the age of one year per 100 square kilometres in the Maasai Mara. This is extremely high compared with most places in Africa and reflects the incredibly productive ecosystem that the Maasai Mara is. We estimated the posterior standard deviation to be just 1.3, reflecting the excellent precision of our overall estimate. This survey will lay the foundation for accurate monitoring of the population over time.'

Co-author Dr Arjun Gopalaswamy, from the Indian Statistical Institute and the Department of Zoology at Oxford University, said: 'Good estimates of big cat abundance can only be obtained when a rigorous field method is combined with a tailor-made statistical method. This study demonstrates the power of such a combined approach.

'We should not underestimate the vital importance of obtaining accurate and precise estimates of wildlife numbers. When estimates are vague and non-transparent, we may fail to detect the direction of changes. As a result, we may end up supporting the most advertised rather than the most effective conservation strategy.'

He added: 'Think of it this way: a survey might reveal there are 200 identified lions, but it will tell you nothing about how many were missed and where. Our method crucially corrects for this problem that existed in previous methods by estimating density at a very fine scale so that we can produce a map to show which areas have high or low density. What's more, because we identify individuals, in time we will be able to estimate vital rates such as survival, additions to the population, and mortality for different demographics. As such, I can see this methodology being immediately applicable to count Asiatic lions in India.

'In addition to big cat densities, our approach simultaneously estimates allied parameters such as sex ratios and sex-specific home range sizes, which provide important clues about the health of these populations. For example, you could have good densities, but if the population is composed only of males, and/or the home range sizes are very large, it could still be a sign of worry.'

The authors make the case for a unified framework to assess lion numbers across the animals' range.

Dr Elliot said: 'Conservation decisions have to be supported by robust science. Our method shows enormous promise in that it is more accurate and precise than traditional methods and provides valuable information on space use. Going forward, it will provide an accurate assessment of population trends.

'Lions are too important for us to be vague about their numbers. Our methodology can accommodate sightings data, telemetry data and genetics data and is flexible enough to be used anywhere. As such, we recommend that spatially explicit capture-recapture methods are widely adopted to census African carnivores.'

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A chemistry professor at The University of Texas at Arlington has been honored with a prestigious award for his groundbreaking contributions to the fields of analytical chemistry.

Purnendu "Sandy" Dasgupta, the Hamish Small Chair of Ion Analysis in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UTA, was named recipient of the 2016 Eastern Analytical Symposium's highest award, the Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Fields of Analytical Chemistry. Dasgupta was presented with the award during the organization's annual meeting in Somerset, N.J. "This is a tremendous honor and I'm very grateful for this recognition by my peers," Dasgupta said. "This award means so much to me because it is a rare one that does not recognize expertise in a specific area but recognizes broad contributions across the fields of analytical chemistry."

The Eastern Analytical Symposium and Exposition is held each year to provide professional scientists and students continuing education in the analytical and allied sciences through the presentation of symposia of papers, workshops and short courses. College of Science Dean Morteza Khaledi said that the EAS Award is a well-deserved honor for Dasgupta, noting that many of Dasgupta's important contributions to analytical chemistry have had significant positive impact on health and the human condition, one of the main pillars of UTA's Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact.

"Through his research Dr. Dasgupta has done so much to address critical issues related to improving human health and the methods we use to treat disease and illness," Khaledi said. "His innovations and contributions across an array of fields make him a most worthy recipient of this prestigious award."

The honor was made all the more special for Dasgupta by the presence at the awards ceremony of many close friends and colleagues, including Janusz Pawliszyn of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada; Satinder Ahuja, president of Ahuja Consulting; Chris Pohl and Kannan Srinivasan of Thermo Fisher, a biotechnology product development company; Graham Marshall, president of Global FIA, a technology company specializing in flow-based analysis techniques; William Barber of Agilent Technologies, a public research, development and manufacturing company; and Kevin Schug, Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UTA.

Dasgupta, who joined UTA in 2007 following 25 distinguished years at Texas Tech University, has won numerous awards over the course of his career. In August, he received the Tech Titans Technology Inventors Award, presented by the Technology Association of North Texas, for his many innovations in chemical and environmental analysis.

Other honors he has received include the 2015 American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Education; the 2012 Stephen Dal Nogare Award in Chromatography; the 2012 Wilfred T. Doherty Award, DFW Section of the ACS; and the 2011 ACS Award in Chromatography. He also was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and an honorary member of the Japan Society of Analytical Chemistry, both in 2015.

Among his recent research projects, Dasgupta led a team which devised a new method to measure the amount of blood present in dry blood spot analysis, providing a new alternative to the current preferred approach of measuring sodium levels. Dry blood spot analysis is simple and inexpensive and is routinely used to screen newborns for metabolic disorders. It also has proven effective in diagnosing infant HIV infection, especially in developing countries where health budgets are limited.

Another of Dasgupta's recent projects is the development of a prototype for an implantable in-line shunt flow monitoring system for hydrocephalus patients, which could lead to better treatment, especially in infants and children who account for a large percentage of shunt operations every year. In another project, Dasgupta is using a $1.2 million grant from NASA to further the search for amino acids, the so-called building blocks of life, by extending a platform that he developed to detect and separate ions.

Dasgupta's active research areas also include methods for environmentally friendly analysis of arsenic in drinking water; rapid analysis of trace heavy metals in the atmosphere; iodine nutrition in women and infants and the role of the chemical perchlorate; and the development of a NASA-funded ion chromatograph for testing extraterrestrial soil, such as that found on Mars.

Dasgupta received a bachelor's degree with honors in Chemistry from Bankura Christian College in 1968 and a master's degree in inorganic chemistry from the University of Burdwan in 1970, both located in West Bengal, India. He came to the United States in 1973 and earned his doctorate in analytical chemistry under Philip W. West, with a minor in electrical engineering, from Louisiana State University in 1977.

After working as an instructor at LSU, as a research chemist at the California Primate Research Center and as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California at Davis, he joined Texas Tech University, where he did award-winning research and attained the rank of Paul Whitfield Horn Professor, the institution's highest honor. He has published more than 400 papers and holds 27 patents.

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The University of Texas at Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research-1 "highest research activity" institution. With a projected global enrollment of close to 57,000 in AY 2016-17, UTA is the largest institution in The University of Texas System. Guided by its Strategic Plan Bold Solutions | Global Impact, UTA fosters interdisciplinary research within four broad themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact, and data-driven discovery. UTA was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report as having the second lowest average student debt among U.S. universities. U.S. News & World Report also ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2017 Best for Vets list.
The oceanic crust produced by the Earth today is significantly thinner than crust made 170 million years ago during the time of the supercontinent Pangea, according to University of Texas at Austin researchers.

The thinning is related to the cooling of Earth's interior prompted by the splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea, which broke up into the continents that we have today, said Harm Van Avendonk, the lead author of the study and a senior research scientist at The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. The findings, published in Nature Geosciences on Dec. 12, shed light on how plate tectonics has influenced the cooling of the Earth's mantle throughout geologic history.

"What we think is happening is that the supercontinent was like an insulating blanket," Van Avendonk said. "So when these continents started opening up and the deeper mantle was exposed, more or less, to the atmosphere and the ocean it started cooling much faster."

All authors are from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), a research unit of the Jackson School of Geosciences.

The mantle is the very hot, but mostly solid, layer of rock between the Earth's crust and core. Magma from the mantle forms oceanic crust when it rises from the mantle to the surface at spreading centers and cools into the rock that forms the very bottom of the seafloor. Since about 2.5 billion years ago, the mantle has been cooling --a phenomenon that doesn't influence the climate on the surface of the Earth and has nothing to do with the issue of short-term man-made climate change. This study suggests that since the breakup of Pangea, the cooling rate of the mantle has increased from 6-11 degrees Celsius per 100 million years to 15-20 degrees per 100 million years. Since cooler mantle temperatures generally produce less magma, it's a trend that's making modern day ocean crust thinner.

"It's important to note the Earth seems to be cooling a lot faster now than it has been over its lifetime," Van Avendonk said. "The current state of the Earth, where we have a lot of plate tectonic events, this allows the Earth to cool much more efficiently than it did in the past."

The research that led to the connection between the splitting of the supercontinent and crust thickness started when Van Avendock and Ph.D. student Jennifer Harding, a study co-author, noticed an unexpected trend when studying existing data from young and old seafloor. They analyzed 234 measurements of crustal thickness from around the world and found that, on a global scale, the oldest ocean crust examined--170 million year old rock created in the Jurassic--is about one mile thicker than the crust that's being produced today.

"It's something that Jenny and I found, more or less, by accident," Van Avendonk said.

The link between crust thickness and age prompted two possible explanations--both related to the fact that hotter mantle tends to make more magma: Mantle hot spots--highly volcanic regions, such as the Hawaiian Islands and Iceland--could have thickened the old crust by covering it in layers of lava at a later time. Or, the mantle was hotter in the Jurassic than it is now.

Van Avendonk mentioned this problem during a casual conversation with Joshua "Bud" Davis, a Ph.D. student in UTIG's plate tectonics research group and co-author, who said that the group could investigate both of the explanations using computer models of plate movement since the Jurassic and a global database of hotspots.

The analysis ruled out the hot spot theory--thick layers of old crust formed just as easily at distances greater than 600 miles from hotspots, a distance that the researchers judged was outside the influence of the hotspots. In contrast, the analysis supported the hypothesis of mantle heating during the age of Pangea, and mantle cooling after the breakup of the supercontinent.

The finding that splitting up Pangea cooled the mantle is important because it gives a more nuanced view of the mantle temperature that influences tectonics on Earth, Van Avendonk said. The researchers also note that the study illustrates the success that can come from spontaneous collaboration and leveraging basic research on a global scale.

"A cool part of this study is that it didn't need funding," Harding said. "We went through all the literature, and collected all the data ourselves. There's always more information out there."

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Hoboken, NJ - December 13, 2016 - John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JWa and JWb) and The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) announced today plans to launch in 2017 a new international, open access peer-reviewed publication, JBMR Plus. JBMR Plus joins ASBMR's flagship subscription journal, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR), the top-ranked journal in the field of bone, mineral and musculoskeletal research, as the favored venue for publishing original research on all aspects of bone and musculoskeletal research through open access publication.

JBMR Plus aims to fill a need in the growing interdisciplinary field of research involving endocrinology, orthopedics, and rheumatology. JBMR Plus will publish original research, reviews, detailed protocols and methods, and special articles in basic, translational and clinical science relevant to bone, musculoskeletal metabolism and regenerative medicine research.

Jane Cauley, President of ASBMR, said "We are excited to launch a major new addition to ASBMR's publishing program, one that will build on our strong leadership in the promotion of basic and clinical science related to bone, muscle and mineral metabolism. An open access journal in this area will support the evolving and expanding needs of researchers, clinicians, educators and authors and continue to further the mission of the ASBMR. We look forward to working with our publishing partner Wiley, a proven leader in open access and publishing innovation."

JBMR Plus will be helmed by Editor-in-Chief Peter Ebeling, A.O., M.D., M.B.B.S., FRACP, Head of the Department of Medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. In addition to its distinguished Editor-in-Chief, JBMR Plus will be supported by Deputy Editors Bo Abrahamsen, M.D., Ph.D., and Teresita Bellido, Ph.D. Dr. Abrahamsen is a Professor of Clinical Database Studies and Consultant Endocrinologist at the University of Southern Denmark and Dr. Bellido serves as a Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology at Indiana University in the United States.

"JBMR Plus aims to accelerate the research into bone biology that has underpinned the recent innovative and targeted therapeutic advances in bone and mineral and musculoskeletal research. The NIH-mandated needs for reproducibility and excellence in study design, as well as those for open access, will also be well served by JBMR Plus," said Peter Ebeling, Editor-in-Chief.

All articles in JBMR Plus will be published under the Creative Commons (CC-BY and CC-BY-NC-ND) licenses on Wiley Online Library. Authors with open access mandates from funders will be fully compliant when publishing with this journal. Waivers and discounts to the article publication fees are available to authors in developing countries and under special circumstances, and authors affiliated with, or funded by, an organization that has a Wiley Open Access Account can publish without directly paying any publication charges.

"Wiley is proud to expand on our partnership with ASBMR to launch JBMR Plus," said Colette Bean, Vice President & Society Director at Wiley. "ASBMR has long been the premier society for the research and practice of bone and musculoskeletal biology and we are excited to work with the society and the journal editorial team toward establishing JBMR Plus as the next great destination for the bone community."

The journal will begin accepting submissions in January 2017 and plans to publish the first issue online in summer 2017. For more information, visit http://www.asbmr.org/JBMRPlus.

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About the Journal

JBMR Plus publishes original research, reviews, detailed protocols and methods, and special articles in basic, translational and clinical science relevant to bone, musculoskeletal metabolism and regenerative medicine research. The journal welcomes research on osteoimmunology as well as research on fat, muscle, cartilage and kidney interactions with bone. Clinical studies, including trials and observational studies, and epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology studies are encouraged. JBMR Plus also welcomes manuscripts on orthopedics, stem cell therapies, specialized biomechanics protocols, novel imaging techniques and big data. For more information, visit http://www.asbmr.org/JBMRPlus.

About American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) is the leading professional, scientific and medical society established to bring together clinical and experimental scientists involved in the study of bone, mineral and musculoskeletal research. ASBMR encourages and promotes the study of this expanding field through annual scientific meetings, an official journal (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research), the Primer on Metabolic Bone Diseases and Disorders of Mineral Metabolism, advocacy and interaction with government agencies and related societies. To learn more about upcoming meetings and publications, please visit http://www.asbmr.org.

About Wiley

Wiley, a global company, helps people and organizations develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Our online scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, combined with our digital learning, assessment and certification solutions help universities, learned societies, businesses, governments and individuals increase the academic and professional impact of their work. For more than 200 years, we have delivered consistent performance to our stakeholders. The company's website can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com.
Freelancing and crowdsourcing website, Freelancer Ltd, has acquired two of its competitors - Nubelo and Prolancer.According to Freelancer, apart from itself, these two companies are the largest Spanish and Portuguese freelancing marketplaces. Nubelo is headquartered in Barcelona, and took control of Prolancer back in July 2015.Freelancer expects this transaction will expand its leadership in the Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese markets  making it a dominant leader, far ahead of any other competitor, in the freelancing marketplace.The company has not disclosed the price it paid for these acquisitions, but expects the deal to close by today.Freelancer posted a net loss of $778,000 at 30 June 2016.
A lecturer has been arrested for sedition after a section of students alleged that he had made anti-India comments at a college in Jammu and Kashmirs Bani. Shah Nawaz, the lecturer from Dogripora in Kashmirs Awantipura, has been sacked. Kathuas Principal Sessions Judge Vinod Chatterji Koul rejected Nawazs bail application on Saturday saying that there were grounds to believe that he had committed the offence.

Sources said that Nawaz had made the comments on November 30 following the killing of seven soldiers in an attack on an army camp in Nagrota. Nawaz had allegedly intervened during a discussion among students and commented on gunfights between militants and armed forces.

Four students, Manoj Kumar, Tilak Raj, Ganesh Kumar and Subash, filed a police complaint against Nawaz quoting him as allegedly saying: Pakistani sheron ki tarah aate hein, Hindustaniyo ko marte hein aur wapas chale jatey hein (Pakistanis come here as lions, kill Indians and then go back across the border). There are 150 militants armed with AK 47 rifles in Kashmir for whom I can even give my life and provide all sorts of assistance. The complainants blamed Nawazs anti-national lecturers for disturbing peace on the campus with Muslim students coming to their classes in Afghan dresses.

The lecturers comments had angered the Hindu students, who boycotted classes and held a demonstration before filing a police complaint. The police took the lecturer into custody and registered a case against him as the situation was threatening to go out of hand. The matter was brought to the notice of Education Minister Naeem Akhtar, who ordered Nawazs sacking.

Sub Divisional Magistrate Ajeet Singh said that the situation was back to normal and classes had resumed. But sources said that the situation was still volatile as Nawazs arrest has polarised the campus.

Source : Indian Express
Bangladeshi Hindus have held a peaceful protest in front of the White House to urge outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama to help protect and bring an end to the persecution of religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country.

We believe you are a person of great sensitivity and resolve, and would find the situation in Bangladesh with respect to the minority communities deplorable. We would like to request you, if it is possible, to convey our anxiety regarding Bangladesh to the next administration, said a memorandum submitted by protesters to Mr. Obama on Sunday.

Organised by Hindu Buddhist Christians Unity Council, USA dozens of protesters conveyed their deep concern regarding the allegedly passive role of the Bangladeshi government in coming to the rescue of the affected or in taking legal measures against the perpetrators.

The destruction of Hindu households and temples, the usurping of Hindu lands and occasional killing and rape have become a norm in the present day Bangladesh. In fact, in recent weeks, the news of two more premeditated attacks were documented during which the party in power was complicit, and no actions were taken by the authorities to assist or support the victims and their families, the memorandum said.

Last month, the same organisation had held a similar demonstration in front of the Trump Towers in New York.

President-elect Donald Trump had attended a charity event before the election to raise funds for the terrorism.

Bangladeshi Hindus who are victims of terrorism. I am sure, he would take up our cause too, said protester Sitangshu Guha.

Protecting Bangladesh from falling into the lap of ISIS is the most pressing priorities, said Jay Kansara of the Hindu American Foundation.

Because if Bengal falls to extremism, then there would be no recourse to that, he said in his brief address to the protesters, which included women and children.

The memorandum alleged that the present Bangladeshi government occasionally spouted words of secularism, but in reality was following a path of ethnic cleansing that was instituted by Pakistan almost seventy years ago.

We would like to appeal to you to impress upon the Bangladesh government to consider the following pathways in order to end the minority cleansing and persecution in Bangladesh, the memorandum said.

Bangladesh was liberated from Pakistan with the great hope that there would be no communal feeing or communal force, but in the last seven years we see as many as 273 cases have been filed against the attack on minorities in Bangladesh, said Nabendu Bikash Dutta, president Hindu Buddhist Christians Unity Council, USA.

Bangladesh has been reeling under a wave of murders of secular, liberal activists and religious minorities.

Victims of the attacks by suspected Islamists have included secular bloggers, gay rights activists and followers of minority religions including Hindus, Christians and Muslim Sufis and Shiites.

In July, a Bangladeshi cafe was attacked by terrorists, killing 22 people including an Indian girl.

Source : The Hindu
Upset Hindus are urging Boston headquartered online home giant Wayfair for immediate withdrawal of bathmats carrying image of Hindu deity Ganesha; calling it highly inappropriate.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Shri Ganesha was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to put/wipe your feet on. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Wayfair to offer a formal apology.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.

Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu deity was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

In Hinduism, Shri Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking. There are about three million Hindus in USA. Ganesha bathmats at Wayfair sell up to $55.99.

Award-winning Wayfair, founded in 2002, claims to be one of the worlds largest online destinations for the home with over seven million products, which included one of the worlds largest online selections of furniture, home furnishings, decor and goods. It claims to have generated $3.14 billion in net revenue for the 12 months ending September 30. Besides Massachusetts headquarters; it also reportedly has presence in New York, Utah, Kentucky, Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.

Source : From Our Correspondent
Jailed Ibrahim Halawa handed his mother a paper bouquet in the colours of the Irish flag to thank the public for the support he has received during his incarceration.

The 20-year-old will mark his birthday in an Egyptian prison today, Tuesday, as his case is heard in court for the 17th time.

Mr Halawa, from Firhouse in Dublin, was detained in a mosque near Ramses Square in Cairo as the Muslim Brotherhood held a "day of rage" over the removal of their elected president Mohamed Morsi in August 2013.

He gave his mother Amina Mostafa the hand-made gift and a letter when they met more than a week ago in the Cairo jail.

"I have made something by my own hands, for so long I have been receiving presents and cards from my amazing family, my great friends and the beautiful kind Irish people," he wrote.

"But on this birthday, I have a present I have made in my cell with memories, a present I have expressed my feelings in. A hand-made flower bouquet with the colours of the Irish flag."

"On my birthday, I want to gift everyone who has always been there for me. I want to gift this to Ireland for raising me to be the man I am today."

Mr Halawa's lawyers have urged Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to act on an application for a decree to secure his release.

A new judge has been appointed to Mr Halawa's case, the fourth put in charge of the trial after he was detained with 493 others on charges that could ultimately see him face the death penalty.

His family claim he has been tortured, suffered electric shocks, beatings, been spat on and moved without their knowledge during his time in custody with several hundred others over the protests.

They appealed for supporters to join a protest at The Spire in Dublin on Tuesday to sign a birthday card and wish him freedom.

"Let us remind Ibrahim that he has not, and will not, be forgotten," his sister Somaia said.

"He always tries to remain strong, especially in front of our mother."

The campaign to free Mr Halawa is also supported by the Reprieve organisation in London, which fights against the death penalty.

Maya Foa, a director at the charity, said: "It's a scandal that Ibrahim Halawa, who was arrested as a child, is spending his 21st birthday caught up in a mass trial where he faces the death penalty along with 493 other people.

"Ibrahim has been through an appalling ordeal at the hands of Egypt's justice system and it is high time that he was released - along with countless other political prisoners and juveniles."

Reprieve called on the Government to urgently renew its calls on the Egyptian president to release Mr Halawa and for the UK the EU to follow suit.
The Dublin-based company yesterday announced the purchase of the 28.7 megawatt Twin Rivers wind farm, in Yorkshire, which will cost 95m to complete.

The project is the 10th acquisition of the NTR Wind 1 onshore fund, which was launched last year and is backed by the likes of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and British financial services group Legal & General.
Monte Paschi is making a last-ditch effort to raise funds as the prospect of a state rescue looms.

After regulators rebuffed its request for an extension, the worlds oldest bank said it will press ahead with a plan to raise 5bn from investors in the next 19 days.

As the odds of attracting fresh investment lengthened, the chance of a government bailout that will impose losses on bondholders grew.

Meanwhile, Amundi is to buy rival Pioneer Investments from UniCredit for 3.6bn, a deal that will bring in much-needed capital.

UniCredit, Italys largest bank, is preparing to publish a new business plan and announce a fundraising via a share issue that sources said could reach 13bn.

If successful, the fundraising would be a boost for Italys banking sector, which is weighed down by bad loans and political uncertainty following the resignation of prime minister Matteo Renzi.

Monte Paschi shares rose 3.5% yesterday, but are 84% down this year. UniCredit shares fell 3% and are 53% down this year.

On Monte Paschi, the recap of Banca MPS on the market remains extremely difficult to realise in the current context and in such short period of time, said Banca Akros analyst Luigi Tramontana.

The alternative would be the nationalisation of the bank and burden-sharing by hybrid and subordinated bondholders.

Monte Paschi suffered a blow last week on Mr Renzis resignation. The resignation clouded Italys political outlook just as the troubled Italian bank was seeking to lure investors to its clean-up plan, prompting the lender to make the unsuccessful bid to the ECB for a three-week extension, sources said.

The bank now plans to give bondholders another chance to exchange its debt for equity, after initially persuading investors holding about 1bn of bonds to convert.

A stock sale would follow the debt swap, though banks have not yet committed to underwriting the transaction, Monte Paschi said.

Should the share offering proceed, about 28bn of bad loans would be removed from the banks balance sheet, bundled into securities and sold to investors.

Observers were not optimistic on the prospects for success. Manuela Meroni, an analyst at Banca IMI, said that a so-called precautionary capital increase with help from the state and burden-sharing by debt holders was the most likely outcome.

Monte Paschi is planning to ask retail investors to swap about 2bn of subordinated bonds for equity.

Bloomberg, Reuters, and Irish Examiner staff
The party have hit out at the under-spend in flood defence schemes as part of capital expenditure plans.

Fianna Fail are to debate the various flood relief measures promised by Government and the issue of insurance cover for those living in flood prone areas in the Dail today.

They claim the Government has not fully implemented the flood alleviation announcements that were made in January of this year after storms ravaged much of the country and left many homes and businesses destroyed.

The party are now calling on Government to ensure that households and businesses are given adequate flood insurance.

While demountable or movable flood defences have been put in place to provide protection in many areas, insurers still refuse to cover many households.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has been in ongoing consultation with Insurance Ireland in a bid to get cover provided to homes and companies especially in areas where Government has invested in the standard one-in-a-century flood defences.

Fianna Fail is also calling for a single River Shannon agency established on a statutory basis.

Some 500 homes and 400 businesses were flooded during the winter months of late 2015 and early 2016, with an estimated 100m in damages.

It comes as OPW minister Sean Canney yesterday launched the largest flood relief scheme ever to be undertaken in Ireland.

The Lower Lee (Cork City) Flood Relief Scheme is expected to cost 140m to complete.

This overall programme will involve total investment of the order of 300m when account is taken of major schemes already completed in Mallow and Fermoy, works currently under construction in Bandon and Skibbereen and planned works in Blackpool, Clonakilty, Glanmire, Douglas/Togher, Ballymackeera and Midleton.

Launching the public exhibition stage of the scheme Mr Canney said there are currently 12 major schemes at construction stage in different parts of the country and a further 23 at design development and planning stage.

He added that Government has allocated 430m for flood risk management in its Capital Investment Plan for the period 2016 to 2021.
The minister downplayed the possibility of a joint agreement between both nations yesterday just hours after a 70-page review said Irelands agriculture, manufacturing, and SME sectors could bear the brunt of the financial fallout.

In an unusual step which underlines the wide risk posed by Brexit, House of Lords representatives yesterday travelled to Dublin to publish the first of six reports by its European affairs committee on the likely impact of Britains breakaway from the EU.

The 70-page document  which sought the views of former taoisigh John Bruton and Bertie Ahern, among others  acknowledged that the key issues remain between Britain and Europe.

However, in a clear warning to this country, it also said that series problems could occur in both Northern Ireland and the Republic unless a bilateral deal with Britain is reached in addition to any EU agreement.

According to the report, which can be read at www.publications.parliament.uk, should the potential negative effects of Brexit not be properly examined the peace process in the North could be damaged.

In addition, it said there is both a financial and social need for Ireland and Britain to retain the common travel area, to allow freedom of movement between both nations and to continue to ensure people in the North can hold Irish  and therefore EU  citizenship.

While stressing the issues may not be of as much importance to the EU as they are to Ireland and Britain, the report said if no bilateral deal is struck between both nations the Republics agriculture, manufacturing, and SME sectors could become the collateral damage of Brexit.

However, despite the concerns, speaking to reporters yesterday Finance Minister Michael Noonan said while the report includes some interesting things the fact remains that the EU will make any final decisions and that any formal bilateral deal will not happen.

The legal negotiation has to be conducted by the European Union with the UK, and we will be part of the negotiating team, we have representation on it already.

So thats the official legal position. Its not possible then to sort out whatever difficulties may emerge on the basis of a bilateral, Mr Noonan, who said the Republic wants to continue talking with Britain as part of the EU, said.

At a separate European Movement Ireland event in Dublin yesterday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny also downplayed the possibility of a bilateral deal, saying Ireland remains very much part of the EU 27 team when it comes to Brexit.

Speaking on RTE Radios Morning Ireland yesterday, House of Lords European affairs committee chair Tim Boswell said a bilateral deal is needed instead of talks through the EU as the UK and Irish governments are the people who understand the unique aspects of the border.
So you want to go to the best restaurant in the world? Youre in good company. Though its long been an established spot on the culinary bucket list, the small Italian city of Modena has officially shot up the ranks.

Its here smack in the middle of Emilia-Romagna, Italys agricultural core that youll find the most coveted dinner reservations on earth, at Osteria Francescana. Chef Massimo Bottura s $200 tasting menu is a blowout meal worth traveling for, but Modena offers much more for those who make the pilgrimage.

This humble town is a microcosm of everything that draws 48.5 million travelers to Italy each year. It has ancient-looking Romanesque architecture its Piazza Grande is Unesco -protected and the main church dates to 1184. It s a nexus for Italys deep-rooted culinary tradition, being the birthplace of balsamic vinegar. Its surrounded by provinces known for producing the best parmigiano reggiano and prosciutto under the sun.

And if that wasnt enough, its also home to Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.

Traditionally, Modena has been a place to pass through rather than linger in  thats largely due to the fact that until a few years ago, there was nowhere great to stay.

An earthquake in 2012 further stalled the citys rise as a global destination. Luckily, rebuilding some of Modenas most iconic sights, like the Estense Gallery, just culminated a few months ago just in time for the citys moment in the spotlight. Heres everything you need to know about planning a visit:

Nabbing That Coveted Reservation

On your mark, get set, go! Osteria Francescana opens reservations three months in advance at its website. Even the best travel agents and concierges in the region have little to no sway over the system, as the restaurant has only 12 tables. Stalk the site at exactly 10am central European time (GMT +1) when tables are released, and plan your trip according to your draw. Missed your chance? There are waiting lists for every seating.

Where to Stay

Most travelers to the region of Emilia-Romagna stay in Bologna, the areas largest city and a culinary capital in its own right. While Bologna has the largest supply of hotel rooms, most are midrange options that dont quite impress. Instead, opt for one of four rooms at Quartopiano, a tiny but luxurious boutique hotel in a Modena townhouse, owned and operated by a former general manager at Osteria Francescana. The rooms have gabled ceilings, whitewashed wood furnishings, and an aesthetic thats halfway between Provence and Rome.

For more of a countryside experience, book in to the Relais & Chateaux property Antica Corte Pallavicina, owned by another acclaimed Italian chef, Massimo Spigaroli (its where Bottura and his family take weekend escapes). Its a little more than an hours drive away, near Parma, with its own Michelin-starred restaurant, expansive farm, and bespoke bicycles for rides through the surrounding area. Bonus: Youll get one of the best hotel breakfasts anywhere in the world.

Fast Cars, Slow Food

Aside from your table at Osteria Francescana , youll want to book a few insider experiences to make the most of your time in Modena. Uri Harash, a travel agent with Perfetto Traveler, which specializes in culinary trips to Italy, can arrange visits to three balsamic vinegar farms, called aceitaias , just outside the city limits; the artisans there will teach you all about the years-long production and aging process, how to taste vinegar, and what to look for when shopping for the finest stuff (hint: older isnt always better).

For automotive enthusiasts, Harash can also one-up a visit to the sleek Ferrari and Lamborghini museums by arranging F1 track time with a professional Ferrari driver in the suburb of Maranello (20 laps will run you almost $9,000). Modena may be the one place where you can have top-notch food and automotive experiences under one roof, so if both appeal, make a personal appointment at Hombre, the dairy where Bottura sources his parmigiano reggiano. According to local lore, the 80-year-old owner, Umberto Panini (yes, thats his real name) bailed out Maserati from economic collapse in the 1970s, partially by buying up a lot of the companys vintage cars. Now those, and many more, are housed in a barn on-site that doubles as Italys coolest car museum.

What Else to See

Modena is a small city, and inherently walkable. Make sure to visit the covered market on Via Albinelli (where you might run into Bottura or his wife, who shop there daily for produce and meat).

If youd rather not carve out the time to visit balsamic vinegar producers in situ , get the crash course on the citys most famous ingredient at the Spilamberto Balsamic Vinegar Museum. It houses some of the oldest existing bottles of vinegar (which will likely never be tasted) along with personal production barrels, called batteries, that belong to many of the regions best chefs. The Estense Gallery may not be as grand as the Uffizi , but its worth visiting  its newly reopened after three years of restoration work following the 2012 earthquake, and includes a rich collection of works by Bernini and Velazquez.

Where to Eat

You came to Modena to eat, so you might as well pick more than one great spot to indulge. The local specialty is called gnocco fritto fried pillows of savory dough used to envelop paper-thin slices of prosciutto. Try it at Caffe Collegio, which churns out some of the best in town each morning. Osteria Ermes is a local institution and often has a line out the door; its a humble mom and pop place that makes an emblematic tortellini in brodo, or tortellini served in capon broth. Pay careful attention to the kitchen setup if you can you wont see a refrigerator. Thats because all of the ingredients are bought fresh daily. For dinner, try Massimo Bottura s more casual spot, Franceschetta 58, where you can order lots of little dishes to share, from ricotta-stuffed zucchini blossoms to veal cheek stew. Its also a great place to try culatello , a type of rare salumi made from heritage pigs in the neighboring province of Zibello.

Getting there

Modena is about 160km southeast of Milan, making it an easy drive from Malpensa Airport. Its a two-hour drive north from Florence, or a half-hour train ride from Bologna  the options for getting in are plentiful.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ABN) (OTCBB:ABNAF) (Frankfurt:E2L2) (Aben or the Company) and Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:EPL) have executed a formal Option Agreement whereby Aben has the exclusive right to earn an undivided 80% interest in the Chico gold project, located 125 km east of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 40 km south of Silver Standard Resources Seabee / Santoy mine complex. Aben may earn an initial 60% interest by incurring $1,500,000 in exploration expenditures, issuing 1,500,000 common shares and making cash payments totalling $100,000 over 4 years. Upon earning this 60% interest in the Chico Gold Project, Aben may elect to exercise a second option to earn a further 20% interest by incurring an additional $2,000,000 in exploration expenditures, issuing 1,000,000 common shares, and making $50,000 cash payments within two years of the date of election.

Chico Gold Project location map, Saskatchewan:



Eagle Plains recently completed fieldwork on the 2915 hectare property, which consisted of a 661 line-km airborne geophysical survey, mapping, trenching and soil geochemical surveys designed to define high-grade gold targets for upcoming drilling activity. Results of this work were summarized in an Eagle Plains news release dated December 6th, 2016.

Chico property highlights include the presence of a 1.5 km mineralized structural corridor which is confirmed by geophysical surveys, geological mapping and recent soil sample coverage which included numerous highly anomalous samples ranging up to 4.5 g/t gold. Sporadic historical drilling has been completed in the area and has returned high-grade intercepts. Rock samples collected in 2016 by Eagle Plains along this structural corridor ranged from trace quantities to 20.2 g/t gold. Recent work resulted in numerous high-priority drill targets being identified.

The overall objective of the 2016 program was to identify mineralization similar to that at the nearby Seabee and Santoy deposits. The Seabee gold operation has been in continuous production since 1991 and has produced 1.2M ounces of gold from the Seabee and the Santoy deposits. Ore geology at Seabee/Santoy consists of high-grade vein mineralization associated with volcanic and mafic intrusive rocks which have been structurally disrupted by splays of the deep crustal Tabbernor Fault system. The Tabbernor Fault is a 1500 km long regional structure which has been traced from as far north as the Rabbit Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan to as far south as the Black Hills of South Dakota, the latter of which hosts the 40M oz Homestake gold deposit. The shared proximity to the Tabbernor fault and similarities in terms of age and tectonic history to the Homestake and Seabee deposits was the main driving force behind both Eagle Plains and Abens interest in the Chico property. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the subject properties.

Chico Project Summary and History

The Chico structural zone comprises a north/northeast-trending 20m- to 150m-wide multi-episodic shear system comprising both ductile and brittle gold-bearing quartz vein systems. Trenching and drilling activities carried out by Corona Corporation and Cameco from 1988 to 1993 defined a mineralized strike length of over 1400m. Trenching by Corona at the Royex showing returned five chip samples greater than 1000 ppb gold with a best (chip) sample of 14.3 g/t gold over 1m (AR 63M06-0034). Follow-up diamond drilling by Cameco near the Royex trench returned five significant intercepts ranging from 0.51 g/t gold over 1.5m, to 36.0 g/t gold over 0.3m (AR 63M06-0041).

Mineralized shear zones and quartz veining that define the Chico zone are hosted in diorite and granite and especially along the sheared contact between these two units. The Chico and the adjacent parallel Ed and Western structural zones are related splay structures off the larger Tabbernor fault system. Despite the significant surface discoveries of gold along these structural trends, mineralization remains largely untested at depth and along strike extensions. Eagle Plains has initiated permitting for future drilling within the property area.

President of Aben Resources Ltd, Jim Pettit comments, The Company is pleased to add the 'Chico Gold Project' to its portfolio of high-value properties. Based on past and recent exploration results, this region of Saskatchewan appears to be on the verge of a renaissance of significant new exploration in the coming years. On top of that, Saskatchewan is considered one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world as ranked by the Fraser Institute. This exciting new project allows the Company to potentially drill through the winter while it is compiling data and permitting for summer work and drilling programs on its BC based Forrest Kerr Project and Yukon based Justin Project.

Eagle Plains has two common directors with Aben Resources Ltd., each of whom abstained from voting regarding this transaction.

About Aben Resources:

Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing projects in British Columbias Golden Triangle, the Yukon and now Saskatchewan.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - December 13, 2016) - Silver Range Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: SNG) ("Silver Range") is pleased to announce that it has staked 6 new precious metals projects in Nevada. Four of these targets are high grade prospects which returned surface samples greater than 5 g/t gold or 500 g/t silver.

Strongbox Property

The Strongbox Property is located in Esmeralda County near the Nevada / California border. The property covers epithermal mineralization in a granitic intrusion. Initial grab sampling returned analyses up to 27.2 g/t Au with 5 of 22 samples returning assays greater than 5 g/t Au. A historic dry-wash operation exploited weathered vein material at surface and narrow veins were mined with open stope methods to a depth of about 100 feet at other sites on the property.

Cold Springs Property

The Cold Springs Property is located in Churchill County near Highway 50. The property covers epithermal mineralization in Tertiary rhyodacite. Initial grab sampling returned analyses up to 20.5 g/t Au and 1770 g/t Ag from samples of mineralized quartz vein material in a 470 m by 160 m area. The property was last explored by Northern Abitibi Mining Corp. in 2006.

Big Gossan Property

The Big Gossan Property is located in Churchill County approximately 55 km NE of Fallon in the Dixie Valley. The property covers a small Tertiary intrusion surrounded by Triassic to Jurassic metaclastic rocks. Mineralization occurs both within and adjacent to the intrusion. Initial grab sampling returned analyses up to 5.96 g/t Au and 1120 g/t Ag from oxidized sulphide breccia.

Legal Tender Property

The Legal Tender Property is located in the Royston Hills in Nye County. The property covers Triassic carbonates and greenstones overlain by Tertiary volcanic rocks. Low to intermediate sulphidation mineralization occurs in veins exposed along a strike length of 1,300 metres. There are numerous prospect pits and shafts in these veins and notable past production from two sites. Initial grab sampling returned analyses up to 1,875 g/t Ag and 3.04 g/t Au from sulphide bearing quartz vein material retrieved from dumps.

Hunter Property

The Hunter Property is located in White Pine County and adjoins Eurasian Minerals' Golden Sunrise (French Bullion) Property. The Hunter Property covers Middle to Late Devonian Guilmette Formation and Late Devonian to Mississippian Pilot Shale. Mineralized jasperoid exposed in shaft dumps on this property was sampled by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and reportedly returned analyses (Atomic Absorption) up to 2.8 ppm Au. Sampling by Silver Range on this property has returned up to 0.67 g/t Au.

Krug Property

The Krug Property is located in the Jungo Mining District in Churchill County. The property covers apparent mesothermal mineralization in Triassic to Jurassic granodiorite intruding Permo-Triassic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. Initial grab samples returned analyses up to 3.54 g/t Au and 340 g/t Ag from mineralized veins. There are numerous shafts, adits and pits on the property and evidence of small scale production from one showing.

These properties were staked as part of a target acquisition program conducted by Silver Range from August through November 2016. Sample results from this program are pending and final results are expected by mid-January. More information on all of the Nevada acquisitions will be made available in the coming months as the company generates target reports.

Work on this project is being managed by Aurora Geosciences Ltd. under the supervision of Gary Vivian M.Sc., P.Geol, CPG. Samples were secured and shipped to ALS Minerals facilities in Reno NV for sample preparation and to North Vancouver for assays and geochemical analyses. Rock samples were analyzed by Ultra-Trace Aqua Regia ICP-MS (ALS code ME-MS41) and fire assayed for gold (30 g sample) (ALS code Au-AA25).

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Mike Power, M.Sc., P.Geo., CPG, President and CEO of Silver Range Resources Ltd. and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

Silver Range is building and exploring a portfolio of high grade gold targets in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Nevada to fulfil an increasing demand for gold projects in politically stable jurisdictions. The company is actively seeking joint venture partners to explore the assets in its portfolio.
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN / OTCQX:IVPAF) Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and Chief Executive Officer Lars-Eric Johansson today welcomed the positive findings of an independent PEA for the development of the Kakula Deposit at the Kamoa-Kakula Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Kamoa-Kakula Project - a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - has been independently ranked as the world's largest high-grade copper discovery by international mining consultant Wood Mackenzie.

The Kakula 2016 PEA was independently prepared by OreWin Pty. Ltd., Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services Inc. and SRK Consulting Inc. (The same team of consulting engineers was involved in planning the development of the Oyu Tolgoi Project in Mongolia.)

The Kakula 2016 PEA assesses the planned first phase of development of the Kakula Deposit - a discovery that was announced in January this year - as a 4 Mtpa underground mining and processing complex that would be known as the Kakula Phase 1 Mine at the Kamoa-Kakula Project.

Incorporated within the Kakula 2016 PEA is an option for an integrated, 8 Mtpa, two-stage development scenario involving an initial mining operation at the Kakula Deposit and a subsequent, separate mining operation at the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas of the adjacent Kamoa Deposit, discovered in 2008, which would be known as the Kansoko Mine.

A NI 43-101 technical report will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Ivanhoe Mines' website at www.ivanhoemines.com within 45 days of the issuance of this news release.

The Kakula 2016 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes an economic analysis that is based, in part, on Inferred Mineral Resources. Inferred Mineral Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would allow them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the results will be realized. Mineral Resources do not have demonstrated economic viability and are not Mineral Reserves.

Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining are continuing with the drilling program in and around the Kakula Deposit area, using six drill rigs, to expand the extent of the known mineralization and support potential upgrades in resource confidence categories. Ivanhoe Mines expects an updated resource estimate for the Kakula Deposit will be issued in the first quarter of 2017. In addition, a pre-feasibility study also is underway to enhance the findings of the Kakula 2016 PEA and to advance the project toward production.

Conference call will be held Thursday, December 15

A conference call to discuss the Kakula 2016 PEA results will be held on Thursday, December 15, 2016, at 9:00AM EST (6:00AM PST / 2:00PM GMT).

The conference call may be accessed by dialling +1-416-340-2216 or 1-866-223-7781 (Canada and U.S. toll-free number). Callers outside North America may check their country-specific, toll-free dial-in number at https://www.confsolutions.ca/ILT?oss=1P29R8662237781.

The conference call will be archived for later playback until January 18, 2017, and may be accessed by dialling +1-905-694-9451 or 1-800-408-3053 and entering the passcode 6300478.

Summary of the PEA's key results for an initial Kakula Phase 1 Mine

Very high-grade initial phase of production is projected to have a grade of 8.1% copper in year two and an average grade of 7.52% copper over the initial five years of operations, resulting in estimated average annual copper production of 209,000 tonnes. Peak annual copper production is estimated at 262,000 tonnes in year three. Initial capital cost, including contingency, is estimated at US$1.0 billion, approximately US$200 million lower than previously estimated in the March 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study. Average mine-site cash cost of US$0.37/lb of copper during the first 10 years (see details Table 4, page 10). After-tax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of US$3.7 billion, an increase of 272% compared to the after-tax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of US$986 million estimated in the March 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study. After-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 38.0%, which is more than double the IRR of the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study, and a payback period of 2.3 years. Kakula is expected to produce a very-high-grade copper concentrate in excess of 50% copper, with extremely low arsenic levels.

Greatly expanded production scenario now under study as part of a new PEA could double the mining rate and is expected to further improve net present value

A subsequent PEA now is underway to examine a doubling of the proposed mining rate at the Kakula Phase 1 Mine to 8 Mtpa. This next PEA is expected to be released in early 2017. Michael Gray, Ivanhoe Mines' senior mining advisor and former President and co-founder of McIntosh Engineering, will assist with the expansion studies for the Kamoa-Kakula Project. Mr. Gray has extensive experience in underground mine development and previously has worked on major projects such as San Manuel (BHP), Grasberg (Freeport Indonesia), Bingham Canyon (Rio Tinto), El Teniente (Codelco), Olympic Dam (BHP Billiton) and Oyu Tolgoi (the original Ivanhoe Mines).

Given the extremely high copper grades and bottom-loaded nature of the mineralization at the Kakula Deposit, Ivanhoe Mines expects that the results of having a single, 8 Mtpa mine at the Kakula Deposit will be even better than the results of an integrated, 8 Mtpa, two-stage, two-mine development scenario. The project engineering team is targeting a life-of-mine average annual copper production scenario for a single 8 Mtpa mine at Kakula in excess of 400,000 tonnes per annum. Given that the initial capital costs for the two options examined in the Kakula 2016 PEA are the same at US$1.0 billion, it can be expected that an expansion to 8 Mtpa also will have essentially unchanged initial capital costs and, in particular, given that the expansion then could be funded from future cash flows.

Based on initial metallurgical test work, the chalcocite-rich nature of the copper mineralization at the Kakula Deposit is expected to yield higher metallurgical recoveries and higher concentrate grades, which in turn are expected to reduce unit transportation costs and therefore improve financial returns.

Additional expansion studies are planned for 2017 in which the project engineering team will assess higher mining rates of up to 16 Mtpa, incorporating high-grade copper mineralization from both the Kakula Deposit and the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas of the Kamoa Deposit.

Strategic discussions continuing with potential partners

Continuing strategic discussions concerning Ivanhoe Mines and its projects are intensifying with several significant mining companies and investors across Asia, Europe, Africa and elsewhere. Several investors that have expressed interest have no material limit on the provision of capital.

Ivanhoe Mines will provide further comment only if a specific transaction or process is concluded, or if further disclosure is required or deemed appropriate. There can be no assurance that the company will pursue any transaction or that a transaction, if pursued, will be completed.

"Kamoa-Kakula is an incredibly disruptive, district-scale, Tier-One copper project that is still in its early days of discovery and development," said Mr. Friedland. "Kakula's high copper grades and thicknesses establish Kamoa-Kakula as the most remarkable and rapidly-growing mineral discovery with which I've been associated during my 30-plus years in the exploration business.

"We've already discovered as much copper in Measured and Indicated Resources as we found with the original Ivanhoe Mines at Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolia's South Gobi - but this time at much higher grades. Significantly, both the Kamoa and Kakula discoveries are open for future expansions. We remain focused on expediting development of Kamoa and Kakula. The engineering team has been assigned to produce an improved 8- to 10-million-tonne-per-annum study for Kakula, hopefully in time for the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town in early February next year."

Mr. Johansson added, "We will be working with our partners Zijin Mining and the DRC government to develop Kamoa-Kakula into the world's next great copper mine, generating widely shared economic benefits that will help to sustain communities, and deliver jobs and skills training, in conjunction with effective environmental management."

Figure 1. Planned Kakula 2016 PEA development and infrastructure for Kakula and Kansoko mines:

Principal initial projections from the Kakula 2016 PEA

The report assesses the potential development of the Kakula Deposit as a 4 Mtpa mining and processing complex. The life-of-mine production scenario schedules 82.6 million tonnes to be mined at an average grade of 5.76% copper, producing 7.5 million tonnes of high-grade copper concentrate, containing approximately 9.1 billion pounds of copper.

Figure 2. Start-up of 4 Mtpa Kakula Phase 1 Mine development scenario:



The economic analysis uses a long-term price assumption of US$3.00/lb of copper and returns an after-tax NPV at an 8% discount rate of US$3.7 billion. It has an after-tax IRR of 38.0% and a payback period of 2.3 years.

The estimated initial capital cost, including contingency, is US$1.0 billion. The capital expenditure for off-site power, which is included in the initial capital cost, includes a US$147 million advance payment to the DRC state-owned electricity company, SNEL, to upgrade two hydropower plants (Koni and Mwadingusha) to provide the Kamoa-Kakula Project with access to clean electricity for its planned operations. The upgrading work is being led by Stucky Ltd., of Switzerland, and the advance payment will be recovered through a reduction in the power tariff.

Solar power and high-capacity, grid-scale battery storage of electricity under study

The project team also is evaluating the installation of up to 100 megawatts of solar power and large-scale vanadium redox batteries for high-capacity storage of both solar and hydro-electric power.

"It is our intention to implement new technologies in efficient, eco-friendly power generation and power storage and establish the Kamoa-Kakula Project as one of the 'greenest' mines in the world," said Mr. Friedland.

Key results of the Kakula 2016 PEA for a single 4 Mtpa mine are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Kakula Phase 1 Mine results summary for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

Item Unit Total Total Processed Quantity Milled kt 82,566 Copper Feed Grade % 5.76 Total Concentrate Produced Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 7,534 Copper Recovery % 87.01 Copper Concentrate Grade % 54.94 Contained Metal in Concentrate Mlb 9,126 Contained Metal in Concentrate kt 4,139 Key Financial Results Initial Capital US$M 999 After-Tax NPV8% US$M 3,664 After-Tax IRR % 38.0 Project Payback Period Years 2.3 Initial Project Life Years 23

Table 2 summarizes the financial results and Table 3 summarizes planned mine production and processing statistics.

Table 2. Kakula Phase 1 Mine financial results for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

Net Present Value (US$M) Discount Rate Before Taxation After Taxation Undiscounted 15,561 10,935 4.0% 8,876 6,180 6.0% 6,843 4,735 8.0% 5,337 3,664 10.0% 4,203 2,859 12.0% 3,338 2,245 Internal Rate of Return - 44.9% 38.0% Project Payback Period (Years) - 2.2 2.3

Table 3. Kakula Phase 1 Mine average estimated production and processing statistics for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

Item Unit YEARS

1-5 YEARS

1-10 LOM AVERAGE Total Processed Quantity Milled Kt 3,163 3,584 3,590 Copper Feed Grade % 7.52 6.90 5.76 Total Concentrate Produced Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 380 394 328 Copper Recovery % 87.74 87.50 87.01 Copper Concentrate Grade % 54.94 54.94 54.94 Contained Metal in Concentrate Copper Mlb 460 477 397 Copper Kt 209 216 180 Payable Metal Copper Mlb 449 465 387 Copper kt 204 211 176

The Kakula concentrator production is shown in Figure 3 and the concentrate and metal production is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 3. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated concentrator production for the first 20 years:



Figure 4. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated concentrate and metal production for the first 20 years:



Figure 5. World's projected top 20 largest copper concentrate mines by 2027:



Figure 6. Target annual production and head grade for Wood Mackenzie's "highly probable" and "probable" copper concentrate projects:



Table 4 summarizes unit operating costs and Table 5 provides a breakdown of revenue and operating costs. The capital costs for the project are detailed in Table 6.

Table 4. Kakula Phase 1 Mine unit operating costs for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

$/lb Payable Copper YEARS 1-5 YEARS 1-10 LOM AVERAGE Mine Site 0.34 0.37 0.45 Transport 0.31 0.31 0.31 Treatment & Refining Charges 0.15 0.15 0.15 Royalties & Export Tax 0.14 0.14 0.14 Total Cash Costs 0.94 0.97 1.05

Figure 7. 2021 estimated mine-site copper cash costs:



Table 5. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated revenue and operating costs for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

YEARS 1-5 YEARS 1-10 TOTAL US$/t Milled US$M REVENUE Copper in Concentrate 426.00 389.65 26,729 Gross Sales Revenue 426.00 389.65 26,729 Less: Realisation Costs Transport 44.58 40.25 2,745 Treatment & Refining 21.24 19.43 1,333 Royalties & Export Tax 19.32 17.68 1,213 Total Realisation Costs 85.14 77.36 5,291 Net Sales Revenue 340.86 312.29 21,438 SITE OPERATING COSTS UG Mining 28.46 29.13 2,455 Processing 15.15 14.54 1,178 Tailings 0.31 0.28 22 General & Administration 6.81 6.47 521 SNEL Discount -2.51 -2.46 -201 Customs 0.55 0.74 61 Total 48.77 48.70 4,037 Operating Margin 292.09 263.58 17,401 Operating Margin 85.69% 84.40% 81.17%

Table 6. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated capital investment summary for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

Description Initial Capital Expansion Capital Sustaining Capital Total US$M US$M US$M US$M MINING Underground Mining 275 - 404 679 Capitalised Pre-Production 16 - - 16 Subtotal 291 - 404 695 POWER Power Infrastructure On Site 32 - - 32 Power Supply Off Site 115 - - 115 Subtotal 148 - - 148 CONCENTRATE & TAILINGS Process Plant 143 31 78 253 Tailings 32 - 74 106 Subtotal 176 31 152 359 INFRASTRUCTURE Plant Infrastructure 23 - 52 75 Plant mobile equipment 3 0 - 4 Buildings & Structures 20 - - 20 Camps 20 - - 20 Rail - 36 - 36 Subtotal 66 36 52 154 INDIRECTS EPCM 53 7 - 61 Owners Cost 80 7 - 86 Closure - - 67 67 Subtotal 133 14 67 214 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BEFORE CONTINGENCY 812 81 676 1,569 CONTINGENCY 187 20 30 237 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AFTER CONTINGENCY 999 101 706 1,806

Figure 8. Capital intensity for Wood Mackenzie's "highly probable" projects currently under construction:



The after-tax NPV sensitivity to metal price variation is shown in Table 7 for copper prices from US$2.00/lb to US$4.00/lb. The annual and cumulative cash flows for the combined base case and each operation are shown in Figure 9.

Table 7. Kakula Phase 1 Mine copper price sensitivity.

After Tax NPV (US$M) Copper Price - US$/lb Discount Rate 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 Undiscounted 4,884 7,911 10,935 13,960 16,985 4.0% 2,629 4,406 6,180 7,954 9,728 6.0% 1,942 3,340 4,735 6,129 7,524 8.0% 1,433 2,551 3,664 4,778 5,891 10.0% 1,052 1,958 2,859 3,761 4,662 12.0% 762 1,506 2,245 2,984 3,723 IRR 23.2% 31.3% 38.0% 43.7% 48.9%

Figure 9. Kakula Phase 1 Mine projected cumulative cash flow for the first 20 years:



Alternative 8 Mtpa development scenario for the Kakula and Kamoa deposits

The Kakula 2016 PEA also assesses the development of the Kakula and Kamoa deposits as an integrated, 8 Mtpa mining and processing complex. This scenario envisages the construction and operation of two separate facilities: the Kakula Phase 1 Mine on the Kakula Deposit and the Kansoko Mine on the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas of the Kamoa Deposit. Each operation is expected to be a separate underground mine with an associated processing facility and surface infrastructure.

Summary of the PEA's key results for the alternative 8 Mtpa development scenario

Very high-grade initial phase projected to have a grade of 8.1% copper in year two and an average grade of 7.10% copper over the initial five years of operations, results in average annual copper production of 224,000 tonnes.

Combined, the Kakula and Kansoko mines are projected to produce an annual average of 292,000 tonnes of copper at an average grade of 5.81% copper during the first 10 years of operations.

Peak annual copper production of 370,000 tonnes by year seven.

Initial capital cost, including contingency, is US$1.0 billion.

Average mine-site cash cost of US$0.42 /lb of copper during the first ten years.

After-tax NPV at an 8% discount rate of US$4.7 billion, an increase of 382% compared to the after-tax NPV at an 8% discount rate of US$986 million estimated in the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study.

After-tax IRR of 34.6%, which is more than double the IRR of the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study, and a payback period of 3.5 years.

Figure 10. Alternative 8 Mtpa development scenario:



Key results of this alternative development scenario are summarized in figures 11 & 12 and Table 8.

Figure 11. Kakula Phase 1 Mine & Kansoko Mine concentrator production for the first 20 years:



Figure 12. Kakula Phase 1 Mine & Kansoko Mine concentrate and metal production for the first 20 years:

Table 8. Alternative 8 Mtpa development results summary.

Item Unit Total Total Processed Quantity Milled kt 179,492 Copper Feed Grade % 4.68 Total Concentrate Produced Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 15,548 Copper Recovery % 86.66 Copper Concentrate Grade % 46.83 Contained Metal in Concentrate Mlb 16,052 Contained Metal in Concentrate kt 7,281 Ten Year Average Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 586 Contained Metal in Concentrate kt 292 Mine-Site Cash Cost US$/lb 0.42 Total Cash Cost US$/lb 1.06 Key Financial Results Initial Capital US$M 999 After-Tax NPV8% US$M 4,748 After-Tax IRR % 34.6 Initial Project Life Years 29

Current partners in the Kamoa-Kakula Project

The Kamoa-Kakula Project is a very large, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, located approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of Lubumbashi. The Kamoa copper deposit was discovered by Ivanhoe Mines (then named Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum) in 2008 and the Kakula Deposit in early 2016.

In August 2012, the DRC government granted mining licences to Ivanhoe Mines for the Kamoa-Kakula Project that cover a total of 400 square kilometres. The licences are valid for 30 years and can be renewed at 15-year intervals. Mine development work at the project began in July 2014 with construction of a box cut for the decline ramps for the Kansoko Mine that will provide underground access to the high-grade mining areas in Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale.

Following the recently signed agreement with the DRC government, Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining each hold an indirect 39.6% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project, Crystal River Global Limited (Crystal River) holds an indirect 0.8% interest and the DRC Government holds a direct 20% interest.

In addition, Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining and Crystal River have recently amended their Shareholder, Governance and Option Agreement that originally became effective on December 8, 2015, and under which their relationship in the Kamoa-Kakula Project is governed, to, among other things, codify the operation of the project committee and the management of the DRC subsidiary, Kamoa Copper SA, so that the agreement is consistent with existing, on-the-ground practice. The amendments also clarify that if Ivanhoe Mines arranges project financing for 65% of the capital required to develop the first phase of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, then Ivanhoe Mines will be entitled to acquire the indirect 0.8% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project held by Crystal River for a price equal to the then current market value of that interest as determined by an independent expert valuator. The acquisition of Crystal River's indirect 0.8% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project would give Ivanhoe Mines majority control of Kamoa Holding Limited (the entity that presently owns 80% of the Kamoa-Kakula Project). Zijin Mining already had committed to use its best efforts to arrange or procure project financing for 65% of the capital required to develop the first phase of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, as set out in a feasibility study, without any recourse, and on terms acceptable to Ivanhoe Mines. In the event Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining cannot agree on project financing, the matter will be referred to binding arbitration in Hong Kong.

At the request of Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining and subject to the satisfaction of the applicable conditions, the DRC will provide its assistance in obtaining the advantages contemplated by the DRC's special law - No. 14/005, enacted to facilitate Sino-Congolese cooperation - relating to the tax, customs, parafiscal tax, non-tax revenues and currency exchange regime applicable to cooperation projects.

Kamoa-Kakula Project Mineral Resource estimate

Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources for the Kakula Deposit have an effective date of October 9, 2016. Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources for the Kamoa Deposit have an effective date of May 5, 2014. Mineral Resources are summarized in Table 9 and are reported on a 100% basis.

Table 9. Consolidated Mineral Resource statement, Kamoa-Kakula Project, at a 1% copper cut-off over minimum thickness of 3 metres.

Deposit Category Tonnes

(millions) Area

(sq.

km) Copper

Grade True

Thickness

(metres) Contained

Copper

(kt) Contained

Copper

(billion

lbs) Kamoa Indicated 752 50.5 2.67% 5.2 20,110 44.3 Inferred 185 16.8 2.08% 3.8 3,840 8.5 Kakula Indicated 192 4.6 3.45% 14.3 6,630 14.6 Inferred 101 3.3 2.74% 10.3 2,763 6.1 Total Kamoa-Kakula Indicated 944 55.1 2.83% 6.0 26,740 58.9 Inferred 286 20.1 2.31% 4.9 6,603 14.6

Notes to accompany Kamoa-Kakula Project Mineral Resource table

Ivanhoe Mines Mineral Resources Manager, George Gilchrist, Professional Natural Scientist (Pr. Sci. Nat) with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), estimated the Mineral Resources under the supervision of Dr. Harry Parker and Gordon Seibel, both RM of Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), who are the Qualified Persons for the Mineral Resource estimate. The effective date of the estimate for the Kakula Deposit is October 9, 2016 and for the Kamoa Deposit is May 5, 2014. Mineral Resources are estimated using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources are estimated assuming underground mining methods, a copper price of US$3.30/lb (Kamoa) and US$3.00/lb (Kakula Discovery), a cut-off of 1% total copper, a minimum thickness of 3 m, and that concentrates will be produced and sent to a smelter. Tonnage and contained-copper tonnes are reported in metric units, contained-copper pounds are reported in imperial units and grades are reported as percentages. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal content.

The Kakula Deposit remains open along a northwesterly-southeasterly strike and there is considerable potential for resource expansion. High-grade copper mineralization has been outlined along a corridor that is currently approximately one kilometre wide and at least four kilometres in length. This high-grade corridor lies within an area of 8.7 square kilometres over which resources have been delineated. Given the outstanding success to date in delineating high-grade copper resources, the Kakula drilling program has been expanded by 60,000 metres and will continue unabated into 2017.

Combination of mining methods selected

Mining methods in the Kakula 2016 PEA are assumed to be a combination of controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining and room-and-pillar mining with hydraulic fill. At the Kakula Phase 1 Mine, the room-and-pillar mining method with hydraulic fill was selected to maximize the extraction of the Mineral Resource where the selected mining height is greater than six metres and two or three mining lifts are required to achieve maximum extraction. At the planned Kansoko Mine, in the Kansoko Sud and Centrale areas, only the controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining method is required as the mining height is six metres or less. The design for the Kansoko Sud and Centrale mining areas is based on the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study mine design, which includes a service decline and a conveyor decline. The production rate envisaged in the Kakula 2016 PEA increased to 4 Mtpa compared to 3 Mtpa outlined in the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study. At Kakula, the Kakula Deposit similarly is accessed by twin declines and the Kakula Phase 1 Mine also has a productive mining rate of 4 Mtpa.

Controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining does not require cemented backfill and instead pillars are stripped to allow the controlled convergence of the backs and floors of the mine; this is a productive method that provides very good extractive rates at relatively low costs. The controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining method has been successfully implemented by KGHM at its copper-mining operations in Poland for the past 20 years. Ivanhoe Mines engaged KGHM Cuprum R&D Centre Ltd. to study the applicability of this method to Kamoa. The results of the study indicate that the Kamoa Deposit is suited to the application of the controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining method.

Metallurgical test work and concentrator design

Between 2010 and 2015, a series of metallurgical test work programs were completed on drill-core samples of known Kamoa copper mineralization. These investigations focused on metallurgical characterization and flow-sheet development for the processing of hypogene and supergene copper mineralization.

Bench-scale metallurgical flotation test work, carried out at XPS Consulting and Testwork Services laboratories in Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada, has shown positive results. This test work was conducted on composite samples of drill core from the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas in the southern part of the Kamoa Mineral Resource area. Test work on a composite grading 3.61% copper produced a copper recovery of 85.4% at a concentrate grade of 37.0% copper. The second composite, grading 3.20% copper, produced a copper recovery of 89.2% at a concentrate grade of 35.0% copper using the same flowsheet.

Additional bench-scale metallurgical flotation test work was carried out in 2016 on two chalcocite-rich composites from the Kakula Deposit at a Zijin Mining laboratory and by XPS Consulting and Testwork Services. The initial composite, grading 4.1% copper, produced a copper recovery of 86% at a concentrate grade of 53% copper at a Zijin Mining laboratory in July 2016. The second composite, grading 8.1% copper, produced a recovery of 87% at an extremely high concentrate grade of 56% copper. The flotation tests were conducted using the circuit developed during the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study.

Average arsenic levels in the concentrate were measured to be approximately 0.02%, which is significantly lower than the limit of 0.5% imposed by Chinese smelters. Extremely low arsenic levels in concentrate are expected to attract a premium from copper-concentrate traders.

The concentrator design incorporates a run-of-mine stockpile, followed by primary and secondary crushing on surface. The crushed material with a design-size distribution of 80% passing (or p80) nine millimetres (mm), is fed into a two-stage ball-milling circuit for further size reduction to a target grind size p80 of 53 micrometres. The milled slurry will be passed through a rougher and scavenger. The high-grade, or fast-floating rougher concentrate, and medium-grade, or slow-floating scavenger concentrate, will be collected separately. The rougher concentrate is upgraded in two stages to produce a high-grade concentrate. The medium-grade scavenger concentrate and tailings from the two rougher cleaning stages, representing approximately 25% of the feed mass, will be combined and re-ground to a p80 of 10 micrometres before being cleaned in two stages. The cleaned scavenger concentrate then will be combined with the cleaned rougher concentrate to form the final concentrate. The final concentrate will be thickened before being pumped to the concentrate filter where the filter cake then will be bagged for shipment to market.

Electricity supply arrangements

Electrical power for the Kamoa-Kakula Project is planned to be sourced on a priority basis from the DRC national grid in return for the financing of the rehabilitation of three hydropower plants: Koni, Mwadingusha and Nzilo. A financing agreement with SNEL has been finalized for upgrading these plants to secure a long-term, clean, sustainable power supply to meet the requirements of the Kamoa-Kakula Project.

The Kakula 2016 PEA's estimated initial capital cost of US$1.0 billion includes a US$147 million advance payment to SNEL to upgrade two of the hydropower plants, Koni and Mwadingusha, to provide the Kamoa-Kakula Project with hydroelectric power for its operations. The upgrading work is being led by Stucky Ltd. and the advance payment will be recovered through a reduction in the power tariff. The Kamoa-Kakula Project initially will be powered by existing capacity on the national grid, until upgrading work on the hydropower plants has been completed.

The upgrading work on the first of six generators at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant was completed in August 2016 and the plant began supplying 11 megawatts of electricity to the national interconnected grid in September. The Kamoa-Kakula Project began drawing power from the national grid in October 2016.

Transportation routes to international markets

A phased logistics solution is proposed in the Kakula 2016 PEA. Initially, the corridor between southern DRC and Durban in South Africa is viewed as the most attractive and reliable export route. As soon as the railway between Kolwezi and Dilolo, a town near the DRC-Angolan border, is upgraded, the Kamoa-Kakula Project's production is expected to be transported by rail to the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola. In addition, there is the potential to negotiate off-take arrangements with smelters in Zambia.

Qualified persons

The following companies have undertaken work in preparation of the Kakula 2016 PEA:

OreWin - Overall report preparation, mining, logistics, power and economic analysis. MDM/Amec Foster Wheeler - Mineral Resource estimation, processing and infrastructure. SRK Consulting - Mine geotechnical recommendations.

The independent Qualified Persons responsible for preparing the Kakula 2016 PEA, on which the technical report will be based are Bernard Peters (OreWin); Dr. Harry Parker (Amec Foster Wheeler); Gordon Seibel (Amec Foster Wheeler); John Edwards (MDM/Amec Foster Wheeler); and William Joughin (SRK). Each Qualified Person has reviewed and approved the information in this news release relevant to the portion of the Kakula 2016 PEA for which they are responsible.

Other scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Stephen Torr, P.Geo., Ivanhoe Mines' Vice President, Project Geology and Evaluation, a Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Torr has verified the technical data disclosed in this news release.

Wood Mackenzie provided data based on public disclosure of comparable copper projects for the compilation of certain figures used in this release; however, Wood Mackenzie did not review the Kakula 2016 PEA.

A NI 43-101 technical report will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Ivanhoe Mines' website at www.ivanhoemines.com within 45 days of the issuance of this news release.

Kamoa 2016 PFS Mineral Reserve

The Kakula 2016 PEA assumes changes to the project production rate for both mining and processing of the Kamoa Mineral Resources and that a separate mine and processing plant is to be constructed at Kakula. The Kamoa 2016 PFS Mineral Reserve remains valid and is the current Mineral Reserve for the Kamoa-Kakula Project. The Mineral Reserve has an effective date of March 29, 2016 and has been estimated by Qualified Person Bernard Peters, Technical Director - Mining, OreWin Pty. Ltd. using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves to conform to the Canadian NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Mineral Reserve is based on the planned Kansoko Mine operation at a production rate of 3 Mtpa and is entirely a Probable Mineral Reserve that was converted from Indicated Mineral Resources.

Data verification and quality control and assurance

Amec Foster Wheeler reviewed the sample chain of custody, quality assurance and control procedures, and qualifications of analytical laboratories. Amec Foster Wheeler is of the opinion that the procedures and QA/QC control are acceptable to support Mineral Resource estimation. Amec Foster Wheeler also audited the assay database, core logging and geological interpretations on a number of occasions between 2009 and 2015 and has found no material issues with the data as a result of these audits.

In the opinion of the Amec Foster Wheeler Qualified Persons, the data verification programs undertaken on the data collected from the Kamoa-Kakula Project support the geological interpretations. The analytical and database quality and the data collected can support Mineral Resource estimation.

Ivanhoe Mines maintains a comprehensive chain of custody and QA/QC program on assays from its Kamoa-Kakula Project. Half-sawn core is processed at its on-site preparation laboratory in Kamoa, prepared samples then are shipped by secure courier to Bureau Veritas Minerals (BVM) Laboratories in Australia, an ISO17025 accredited facility. Copper assays are determined at BVM by mixed-acid digestion with ICP finish. Industry-standard certified reference materials and blanks are inserted into the sample stream prior to dispatch to BVM. For detailed information about assay methods and data verification measures used to support the scientific and technical information, please refer to the current technical report on the Kamoa-Kakula Project on the SEDAR profile of Ivanhoe Mines at www.sedar.com.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines is advancing its three principal projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: Mine development at the Platreef platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper discovery on the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex; mine development and exploration at the Kamoa-Kakula Project on the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC; and upgrading at the historic, high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine, also on the DRC's Copperbelt. For details, visit www.ivanhoemines.com.

Source: Ivanhoe Mines
Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (TSX: KL) ("KL Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to report that the Company has emerged as a new high quality mid-tier gold producer following the completion of the business combination with Newmarket Gold Inc. Consolidated guidance for 2017 includes:

Gold production between 500,000 and 525,000 ounces

Total Operating Costs (1) per ounce sold between US$625 and US$675

per ounce sold between US$625 and US$675 Total Operating Costs between US$310 million to US$320 million

All-In Sustaining Costs (1) ("AISC") per ounce sold between US$950 and US$1,000

("AISC") per ounce sold between US$950 and US$1,000 Growth exploration expenditure between US$45 and US$55 million

Transitioning of the Stawell and Holloway Gold Mines to care and maintenance

KL Gold is focused on growing shareholder value by maintaining a strong foundation of quality gold production, generating free cash flow and reinvesting in tier 1 district scale assets located in Canada and Australia. Extensive exploration potential, improved visibility to increase mine life, and excess milling capacity at each operation, positions KL Gold to organically grow production to increase value for its shareholders. The combination of the high-grade Macassa Mine Complex and the low-cost Fosterville Gold Mine, will form the production backbone of the Company. KL Gold has a strong balance sheet, providing financial flexibility to enhance its strategy and aggressively explore district scale opportunities, following the exciting high-grade discoveries made during 2016.

Tony Makuch, President and CEO of KL Gold stated: "Following the successful merger with Newmarket Gold, I am very pleased to provide guidance of 500,000 - 525,000 ounces of quality gold production from our high-grade gold mines located in tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Canada and Australia. Today, our market capitalization stands at a significant discount to our peers with a similar cost and production profile, representing a clear value opportunity. I firmly believe the quality of our assets, district scale exploration potential combined with a strong balance sheet will build investor confidence and drive value for our shareholders. With a strong operations team in Australia, I am confident in our ability to seamlessly integrate high quality gold production from our Australian operations and leverage intellectual capital to assist all operations to become more efficient with potential opportunities to reduce costs. Our renewed focus is to execute and organically grow production while generating free cash flow.

"As a multi-mine company, we have the ability to analyze our business and focus on the highest quality ounces. In doing this, we are applying our business acumen to create the best investment vehicle for our shareholders."

Care and Maintenance

Effective December 13, 2016 (AEST), KL Gold will commence transitioning the Stawell Gold Mine, located in Victoria, Australia to care and maintenance. The mine will be maintained in a state of operational readiness to possibly recommence operations with activities focused on exploration programs on the East Flank of the Magdala Basalt which hosts the Aurora B discovery. Aurora B results to date confirms the extension of mineralization along the Magdala East Basalt Flank, particularly within the Hampshire Lode, which remains open to the north and the south and at depth. More than 2.3 million ounces of historical production at Stawell has come from the West Flank of the Magdala Mineralization System with no recorded production from the East Basalt Flank.

The Company has also decided to transition the Holloway Mine, part of the Holt Mine Complex in Northeastern Ontario, Canada to care and maintenance due to limited economic viability. The majority of the workforce will be reassigned to the nearby Kirkland Lake operations, effectively replacing external contractors. The Company will continue to conduct aggressive surface exploration drill programs in 2017, which will progressively step further west of the Holloway shaft, an area which has historically remained under explored. Drilling will focus on testing the mafic volcanic / ultramafic volcanic contact to the north, and will also target the westerly strike extension of the Lightning and Middle zones (which were previously mined at Holloway). Further west of the Holloway deposit, drilling is underway at Lightval, and is planned for the Harker West target, as the Company continues to explore for another Lightning Zone style mineralization in the area. KL Gold will maintain the site in a production ready state with the intent of restarting the operation in the future with meaningful and enhanced economics.

Kirkland Lake Gold consolidated 2017 outlook is as follows:

Gold Production (ounces) 500,000 - 525,000 Total Operating Cost per ounce of gold sold US$625 - US$675 AISC per ounce of gold sold US$950 - US$1,000 Growth exploration expenditure US$45 - US$55 million

Footnotes:

(1) Operating cost and all-in sustaining costs per ounce sold are Non-GAAP measures. In the gold mining industry, these are common performance measures but do not have any standardized meaning, and are considered Non-GAAP measures. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS" or "GAAP"), certain investors use such Non-GAAP measures to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to generate cash flow. Accordingly, they are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. A reconciliation of operating cost per ounce sold and AISC per ounce sold to total operating costs for the most recent reporting period, the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, is set out on the Company's third quarter and nine month 2016 MD&A filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and at www.klgold.com.

Operating Costs per Ounce

Operating costs are disclosed in the notes to the Company's consolidated financial statements and include mine site operating costs such as mining, processing and administration, but exclude royalty expenses, depreciation and depletion, share based payment expenses and reclamation costs. Operating cost per ounce is based on ounces sold and is calculated by dividing operating costs by gold ounces sold; US$ operating costs per ounce sold are derived from the operating cost per ounce sold translated using the average exchange rate for the period.

All-In Sustaining Costs per Ounce

While there is no standardized meaning across the industry for this measure, the Company's definition conforms to the definition of all-in sustaining costs as set out by the World Gold Council in its guidance note dated June 27, 2013. The Company defines AISC as the sum of operating costs, royalty expenses, sustaining capital, corporate expenses, sustaining exploration expenses, and reclamation cost accretion related to current operations. Corporate expenses include general and administrative expenses, net of transaction related costs, severance expenses for management changes and interest income. AISC excludes growth capital, reclamation cost accretion not related to current operations, interest expense, debt repayment and taxes. The costs included in the calculation of all-in sustaining costs are divided by gold ounces sold; US$ AISC per ounce sold is derived from the AISC per ounce sold translated using the average exchange rate for the period.

(2) US dollar equivalents are based on a USD to CAD exchange rate of 1.28 and a USD to AUD exchange rate of 1.28.

Qualified Person

Simon Hitchman, FAusIMM (CP), MAIG, is a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this news release. Pierre Rocque, P.Eng., Vice President, Mine Engineering is a "qualified person" as such term is defined in NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data in this news release. As the Vice President, Mine Engineering, Mr. Rocque is not considered independent.

About Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.

Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. is a new mid-tier gold producer targeting +500,000 ounces in tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Canada and Australia. The production profile of the company is anchored from three high-grade, low-cost operations including the Macassa Mine Complex and the Taylor Mine located in northeastern Ontario and the Fosterville Gold Mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Kirkland's solid base of quality assets is complemented by development and district scale exploration projects, supported by a strong financial position with extensive management and operational expertise.

Source: Kirkland Lake Gold
Sacramento, CA Call center employees who allege they are not properly paid Call center employees who allege they are not properly paid California overtime and are not properly paid for all hours worked have been filing lawsuits against companies they allege make them work off-the-clock. These wage and hour lawsuits allege call center employees are forced to work before and after their shifts logging onto and off of computer systems but are not properly paid for their time, which in some cases amounts to overtime. Alorica is one such company that has recently settled a lawsuit filed by its employees.

According to reports, in May 2016, Alorica agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by customer service representatives who alleged they should have been paid for time spent involved in work-related activities before and after their scheduled shifts. Alorica denied liability but agreed to settle the lawsuit for around $9.25 million. The two sides had reportedly tried to work with a mediator to resolve claims in 2013 but could not reach an agreement. After 21 months, they returned to negotiations and this time reached a successful settlement. On December 5, 2016, the court approved the settlement.Alorica's primary headquarters are in Irvine, California, although the company operates call centers throughout the U.S. Those call centers provide customer service representatives for a number of companies, including AT&T.Among complaints were that customer service representatives were only paid for time logged into the company's computer systems, even if the employee were logged out for reasons beyond his or her control, such as an equipment failure. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges employees were required to log out for breaks of less than 20 minutes, even though such a requirement is a violation of the FLSA."Rest periods of short duration, running from five minutes to about twenty minutes, are common in industry," court documents quote from the FLSA. "They promote the efficiency of the employee and are customarily paid for as working time. They must be counted as hours worked."Plaintiffs allege that had they been paid properly for all hours worked they would have been eligible for overtime pay, given the uncompensated time they spent before and after their shifts.As many as 120,000 people may be included in the settlement.The lawsuit wascase number 13-cv-00092, US District Court, Central District of California.
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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > How Fidel Shaped Cuba and Influenced Latin America

TRIBUTE

by Nina Dey-Gupta

Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 and passed away on November 25, 2016 after a prolonged illness of diverticulitis.

Gandhi and Castro were both political leaders. While Gandhis political experience and experiments in politics began in South Africa based on non-violence, Castros was a purely home-spun one shaped by events closer home in Cuba, having led a popular uprising against General Batista, the dictator, who had seized power in a military coup in 1952 and had tortured and killed most of the captured rebels. It was at the young age of 26, in July 1953, that Castro led a group of armed combatants to attack Batistas armed forces. Finally, completing his mission of overthrowing the dictator, he entered Havana as a victorious guerilla Commander on January 8, 1959.

From then on, Fidel became a towering international figure whose importance in the 20th century far exceeded what was expected from the head of state of a Caribbean island-nation of 11 million people. He remained in power longer than any other living national leader except the still reigning Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Fidels final high school report in Havana records:

He always distinguished himself in all subjects related to arts and letters. An excellent student... an outstanding athlete, always courageously and proudly defending the school colours. He won the admiration and affection of all. He will study law and we have no doubt that he will make a brilliant name for himself.

Castro had made a dramatic entrance on the stage of Cuba and subsequently international politics. In his autobiography, My Early Years, Fidel recollected his days at the University of Havana when violent gangs ruled student politics, his early thoughts about armed struggles, his travels in Latin America as an international student organiser, his participation in solidarity actions with Latin American anti-imperialist movements, his first-hand experience of a popular uprising in Colombia in 1948, and his years as a young lawyer that finally converted him into a political activist.

Soon after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, several journalists and writers flocked to the island for an interview with him to discover the real Fidel Castrothe man himself. Washington Post corres-pondent Lionel Martin was one of the first to focus on Castros early years, speculating with some humour that Fidels Law School grades for the Spring Semester of 1949his Senior Yearpresaged his lifes course. He received a Outstanding in Labour Legislation, and only a simple Pass in Property and Real Estate, grades befitting a convinced Socialist.

Tad Szule, a serious biographer of Castro, had close access to him, resulting in a long, direct relationship, starting with his first conversations in 1959 and later when posted in Havana in 1961 as a correspondent for the New York Times. Szule commented that Cuban and world history would have evolved differently had this single individual been less determined.

Much speculation has always surrounded Castros political evolution, particularly his relations with the Cuban Communist Party and his commitment to Marxist ideas. In an unprecedented personal dialogue with the university students in Chile in 1971, during the government of President Salvador Allende, Castro discussed the formation of his political ideas: I was the son of a landownera reason for me to be a reactionary, was educated in religious schools that were attended by sons of the richanother reason for being a reactionary. I lived in Cuba, in which all the films, publications and mass media were Made in USAa third reason for being a reactionary. I studied at a university in which out of thousands of students only thirty were anti-imperialists and I was one of them. Later, in another speech at the University of Havana, he described how he, a political illiterate, learned quickly to survive in an atmosphere where mafia-like groups ran student politics. The Colombian journalist Arturo Alapes interview with Castro in 1981 described how the 21-year-old youth Fidel developed consciousness of the need for Latin American unity with his outstanding moral and physical courage, and his unshakeable self-assurance.

Castro remains the most important leader to emerge from Latin America and decidedly one of the pre-eminent shaper of Cuban history, since his own hero, Jose Marti, struggled for Cuban independence in the late 19th century. Castros own brother, Raoul Castro (the current President of Cuba since 2008), once remarked: The most important feature of Fidels character is that he will not accept defeat. Castro defied the US for nearly half-a-century, which included 11 US Presidents, while his country, Cuba, stoically bore the five-decade-long economic blocade.

It was only recently in 2014 that President Raoul and President Obama announced normalisation of relations with the US and Cuba reopening embassies in their respective capitals in 2015. However, Fidel Castro remains one of the most outstanding figures of the 20th century.

[The author first visited Cuba in 2004 and later in 2006 at the invitation of the Ministry of Education, Republic of Cuba to attend the International Conference on Education. Due to the serious illness that gripped President Fidel Castro in that year (2006), her meeting with the Cuban leader could not unfortunately take place.]

Nina Dey-Gupta taught Comparative Education, Education in the Third World and Developing Countries and Pedagogy of History at the University of Delhi. She is the Co-Founder of the Indian Ocean Comparative Education Society (IOCES).
The Pirates reportedly spent the bulk of the Winter Meetings fielding offers on center fielder Andrew McCutchen, but GM Neal Huntington said at the end of yesterdays Winter Meetings that its now unlikely that McCutchen is moved this winter, as MLB.coms Adam Berry writes.

Our intent coming in here was to have Andrew McCutchen in our lineup going forward, Huntington explained. No one changed that. Its unlikely that someone changes that going forward. Were not going to close the door, but were not going to be making calls.

Thats not a definitive statement that McCutchen will be in Pittsburghs Opening Day lineup come April, but it certainly casts further doubt on the possibility of a McCutchen trade. The larger question surrounding the former NL MVP may now focus on where hell play in 2017, as there have been multiple suggestions that the Pirates prefer to play Starling Marte in center field while moving McCutchen to a corner slot.

Both the Nationals and Rangers were linked to McCutchen over the past week, with Washington in particular reported to be in heavy pursuit. The Nats, though, shifted course and opted to secure a younger, more controllable piece  and one that enjoyed a markedly better 2016 season  in picking up Adam Eaton from the White Sox. Texas, meanwhile, re-signed Carlos Gomez to a one-year deal (though the team could still fit McCutchen into the lineup, from my vantage point). Huntington acknowledged that he did speak to other teams about McCutchen, but the GM also labeled his asking price as significant, Berry writes.

The decision to hang onto McCutchen may well prove to be shrewd. Hes still controlled for another two seasons by way of a $14MM guarantee in 2017 and a $14.75MM club option for the 2018 season. McCutchens .256/.336/.430 batting line represented the worst full offensive output of his exceptional career, and he turned in the highest strikeout rate and lowest walk rate hes posted as a Major Leaguer. Questions about his defensive performance have been chronicled at length. That made it difficult for the Bucs to secure the premium return they sought for the longtime face of the franchise, but a rebound in 2017 could allow the Bucs to land such a return if McCutchen is marketed either next July or next offseason, depending on the teams performance next year.

Huntington admitted that he listened to offers on multiple players with one and two years of team control remaining, which is an unfortunate but often necessary course of action for small-market clubs like the Pirates. As such, its certainly plausible to expect that the Bucs could yet make a deal later this winter, even if McCutchen isnt the player that is shipped out. Tony Watsons name came up in rumors this past week, for instance, and others fitting that description on the Pittsburgh roster include Juan Nicasio, John Jaso, Jordy Mercer, Jared Hughes and Antonio Bastardo (as can be seen over at Roster Resource). Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier this week that the Pirates were willing to pay a portion of Bastardos $6.25MM guarantee in 2017 in order to facilitate a trade.
Shatta Wale, Joey B, Guru and Okyeame Kwame are set to perform on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) at the official Christmas Party, Decemba 2 Rememba 2016.

The event, organized by 97.3 Citi FM will also have highly sought musical sensations Article Wan of Solo fame, Nii Funny of Broken Heart/Yoko Breaki me fame and the Grind boys, DJ Vision and A.I.

Characteristic of Decemba 2 Rememba, there will be other surprise acts on the night and rib-cracking moments with Hogan, the comedian.

Shatta Wale has promised to deliver his best show yet, as his Christmas present to Ghanaians. He's expected to set the stage on fire, along with the other artistes to usher Ghana into Christmas in style.

Regular tickets are pegged at GHS80, with VIP tickets going for GHS150.

#D2R2016 is powered by 97.3 Citi FM and sponsored by TOTAL CARD  Total Savings, Total Benefits, BAYPORT  Your future now, KIT KAT  Have a break, have a KitKat, HUNTERS  Refreshes like nothing on earth.

Tickets will be available soon in selected Total Service Stations and at the front desk of Citi FM, Adabraka.

The official dress code for #D2R2016 is white top and jeans.



By: Kojo Akoto Boateng/Citifmonline.com/Ghana
Ghanaian actor John Dumelo has eaten humble pie and congratulated Ghana's President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo for his victory over President John Mahama at the Wednesday polls.

The popular actor who is a National Democratic Congress (NDC) party activist since 2012 supported and endorsed President John Mahama leading up to the 2016 general elections.

He did not only campaign for the NDC, but also said he didn't see the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer becoming a president.

In January 2016, a Twitter follower asked John what do you think about Nana Addo becoming the president of Ghana and he responded saying, I have nothing against Nana Addo, but I only see one person being sworn in come January 2017 and it's not him (Nana).

But contrary to John's projection, Nana Akufo-Addo beat President Mahama during first voting on Wednesday, recording 53.85% of the total votes cast as against 44.40 by the current President Mahama.

John was left with no choice than to accept what could be described as a bitter defeat after President Mahama called Nana Addo to acknowledge defeat and congratulate him and subsequently announcing of results by Electoral Commission of Ghana head by Madam Charlotte Osei on Friday, December 9, 2016.

We fought a good fightbut the people have spoken. Congrats to president elect @NAkufoAddo, he said on Twitter and his other social media platforms after the announcement.

John announced his political ambition after he endorsed and campaign for the NDC run up to the 2012 elections in Ghana.

But after the NDC party won power, John attempted to switch camp for a not too clear reason as he met Nana Addo of the NPP, in an alleged attempt to lobby his way into the campaign team of the party.

During the meeting, Dumelo ran down President John Mahama, calling him names, political assistant to Nana Akufo-Addo, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has disclosed at the time.

After waiting for months without getting a call-up or any role to play in the NPP's campaign team, an obviously disappointed Dumelo turned his gun on Nana Akufo-Addo in an attempt to ridicule him.

However, John denied reports that he met Nana secretly, saying, I never met Nana Addo secretly. The last and only time I saw him was in 2014, 2 clear years ago. #ichoosejdm.

Within the same time, pictures of John and Nana in his office popped up.

But the brouhaha didn't affect John's relationship with the NDC publicly. He, subsequently, was allowed to speak at the NDC 2016 campaign launch at Cape Coast.

If you want Ghana to move forward, come to NDC because we are the party that would move NDC forward from now to eternity.

John Dumelo added that he has tried other political parties, but joining NDC has been life-changing.

Some people are promising you hope but the hope is happening already; JM has spoilt everywhere, he stressed and called on the youth, especially those in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), to join the winning team for a resounding victory on December 7.

During the last days of the campaign, John targeted first time voters and visited schools to urge first time voters to vote for President John Mahama. But that wasn't enough to give Mahama a win.

By Francis Addo (Twitter: @fdee50 Email: [email protected] )
Celebrated Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson has congratulated President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo for winning the 2016 presidential polls on Wednesday, December 7 and urged him to reunite Ghanaians.

The 72-year-old former Minister of Foreign Affairs under ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor's government defeated his major contender in the polls, President Mahama, by 53.8 percent to 44.4 percent.

Other candidates in the presidential race were Ivor Greenstreet, Nana Konadu Agyeman, Paa Kwesi Nduom, Edward Mahama and Jacob Osei Yeboah.

It is my duty and my privilege to declare Nana Akufo-Addo as the president-elect of Ghana, Electoral Commissioner Charlotte Osei said when she declared the election results on Friday.

Yvonne Nelson who didn't endorse any political party leading to the 2016 general elections has been critical of the Mahama-led administration. She is among the long list of important personalities who have publicly congratulated Nana Addo.

Congratulations to Nana Addothe PRESIDENT-elect for Ghana. OUR PRESIDENT For majority of Ghanaians, change is hope and a call for change is a call to duty. We pray for God's guidance for you to deliver. I believe you will also take this opportunity to reunite us as a people and together work for the great Ghana we hope for. Thanks to the president Mahama-led government You have played your part. And to Ghanaians, the security services and international observers .ayeekoo for a peaceful electoral process. One Ghana, one People!! #Ghana is all we have ..#peace #ghanawins, she said on Instagram.

Yvonne Nelson is one of the few celebrities who has been vocal about the harsh economic conditions under the current Mahama-led government and also led a huge campaign to pressurise the government over Ghana's power crisis, popularly called dumsor.

Jesus gives hope. Our leaders!!! God our leaders. So much is going on in this country!!! The average citizen suffers with so much ignorance. Citizens are afraid to speak. The system is upside down. No transparency! No truth! At least if the people knew the issues? Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray. Strong people stand up for themselves but stronger people stand up for others, she once said on Twitter in 2014.

Ahead of the elections on Wednesday, she appealed to first time voters to vote wisely and not just vote. They should not vote based on looks.

If you are a first time voter, especially if you just turned 18, VOTE wisely.do some research about GH, read and update yourselves on whats going on.again VOTE WISELY..dont waste your vote. DONT waste your vote on a candidates appearance and other silly things!!! The POWER is in your hands, she said on Instagram.

By Francis Addo (Twitter: @fdee50 Email: [email protected])
13.12.2016 LISTEN

Turning Point Pictures has scheduled a Ghana release of its critically acclaimed film, Like Cotton Twines on December 25 at Ho in the Volta Region.

The film which won Best Picture at the 2016 Ghana Movie Awards shines light on Trokosi, a religious form that enslaves women in a shrine, practiced in the Volta Region.

According to the director Leila Djansi, premiering in the Volta Region would allow the message of the film get to the intended persons; leaders and women of the Volta Region.

It is loaning my voice to women, not only in the Volta Region but all over Ghana and the world. We want to tell ourselves that education is a powerful tool for advancement and change. Education in a four walled classroom is essential, not everyone has that, so skill acquisition which also provides income, financial independence. An independent women is a powerful woman, a woman who can stand up for herself and her children, said Leila Djansi.

Like Cotton Twines tells the story of Micah, an American volunteer who takes a teaching job in a remote town of the Volta Region. He encounters Tuigi, his 14 year old student who is to become Trokosi to atone for her fathers crime. Micah begins the arduous task of fighting church and state to free Tuigi from this cruel fate.

Luckie Lawson who plays Tuigis mother in the film added that if the mother had a voice, social and financial independence, she could have saved her daughter. A poignant reason why women should not be trapped by rules of culture and society.

The film will premiere at the GNAT Hall, Ho on December 25 2016 at 6pm prompt.

Tickets are on sale for 10ghc and stars expected to attend the event are Luckie Lawson, David Dontoh. Adjetey Annang and Mawuli Semevo among others.

Like Cotton Twines stars Jay Ellis, Ophelia Dzidzornu, Miranda Bailey, Yvonne Okoro, David Dontoh, Luckie Lawson and Mawuli Semevo.

The very successful film has traveled industry festivals around the world and won the Best Narrative Feature at the Savannah Film Festival.
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Gambia's markets are leaving amid uncertainty over contested presidential election results. By Marco LONGARI (AFP/File)

13.12.2016 LISTEN

Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - The cocktails keep flowing by the pool on the tourist strip, but in The Gambia's markets many African migrant traders are packing up their businesses and heading home.

The international community is piling pressure on President Yahya Jammeh to leave power after 22 years and hand over to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who won an election two weeks ago only for Jammeh to later reverse his original concession of defeat.

Of the economy's two main sources of investment from abroad, tourism appears to be weathering the country's political storm far better than the thousands of petty traders who move to The Gambia from the rest of west Africa.

President-elect Barrow told AFP on Monday claims that tourist numbers could be hit were "exaggerated", and with hotels and restaurants full, for the moment he appears to be right.

Flights from Brussels and London are still arriving like clockwork for the peak winter sun season, with many holidaymakers telling AFP they return to the country year after year -- and aren't changing their minds.

Gambia's President-elect Adama Barrow says tourism will be little hit by the incumbent's rejection of election results

"I did think there were more checkpoints," said Elly Preston, a returning retired schoolteacher spending three and a half months in Kololi, the Gambian heartland of full English breakfasts and karaoke bars stuffed with crooning pensioners.

Preston had seen alarming posts on the Tripadvisor tourism website, but with hotel prices as low as 40 a night (48 euros) she stuck with her instinct and left behind the cold and rain of Cleckheaton in northern England.

"I feel safe here. I know everybody and we come together," she said from her sunlounger, waving at a friend she met while on holiday here a few years ago.

Reading a thriller while taking in some rays in the late afternoon, Joseph Fowlis from Liverpool is well aware that Jammeh has refused to stand down, and supports Barrow's fight for change.

"Taxi drivers told me they want a democracy," he told AFP. "And why shouldn't they have one?"

But that hasn't affected his budget break. Apart from a higher than usual level of political conversation in the back of cabs, he said, little had changed from the previous years he has been here.

"If you didn't know about it you wouldn't think anything of it," he said.

Hotel owners are slightly more nervous, but as long as the tour operators keep the flights up, business will boom, they told AFP.

Trader panic

A tourist looks from inside a bus at a supporter of the newly elected Gambian president Adama Barrow, celebrating in the streets of Senegambia, on December 2, 2016

The tiny west African state relies on largely British and Scandinavian tourists for 20 percent of its GDP.

Meanwhile Guineans, Mauritanians and Senegalese are well known for importing goods and selling them to the local population.

In a recent speech, Jammeh said 100,000 foreigners were working in The Gambia's markets, but did not specify a source for that figure.

Fifteen minutes down the road from Kololi, the hawkers and fruit sellers of Serekunda market have a very different interpretation of the events unfolding.

Amadou Wurri Jallow, a Guinean shopkeeper, spoke of his fear of soldiers being stationed on the streets of his neighbourhood.

"I do not understand why soldiers armed with machine guns would be deployed every night in built-up areas of Serekunda," Jallow said.

"This is really frightening and disturbing. I am leaving for my country until this political stalemate is resolved peacefully."

Fallou Diop, a Senegalese hawker who has lived and worked in The Gambia for the past few years, told AFP shortly before his departure to the city of Touba in central Senegal that the uncertainty was too much.

"Since no one can tell how this problem would come to an end, I am going back to Touba until the dust settles," he said.
The damage following a bomb explosion at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Coptic Orthodox Church on December 11, 2016, in the Abbasiya neighbourhood in Cairo. By KHALED DESOUKI (AFP/File)

13.12.2016 LISTEN

Cairo (AFP) - The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a Cairo church that killed 25 people, in a statement circulated on social media on Tuesday.

Suicide bomber Abu Abdallah al-Masri carried out Sunday's attack, the group said in the statement, one day after authorities named the bomber as Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa.
The International Cooperation, Trade and Security cluster chaired by Minister Edna Molewa will brief media on the progress made in the implementation of the clusters Programme of Action (PoA) towards achieving the goals of the NDP: Vision 2030.

The briefing follows the pronouncement that Cabinet has since been updated on the progress reports for the second quarter (July to September 2016), on the implementation of the Outcomes, which defines governments PoA in the current phase of the Medium Term Strategic Framework 2014  2019.

The briefing will outline progress that has been made and future plans to achieve Vision 2030.

Members of the media are invited as follows:

Date: 13 December 2016

Venue: GCIS Media Centre, Tshedimosetso House, 1035 Francis Baard Street, Pretoria

Time: 09H00

There will be a video link to Imbizo Media Centre, Ground Floor, 120 Plein Street, Parliament.

NB: Kindly confirm attendance by e-mail to: Themba Thobela (Pretoria), [email protected] , 076 0956 555 or Andile Duka (Cape Town), [email protected] , 071 154 5619.
Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has underscored the need for the new government to quickly move to tackle the associations concerns in order to safeguard local businesses.

Some of the issues GUTA wants the NPP government to act on include tax stamp, 3 percent flat VAT rate and the ECOWAS Common External Tariff as well as the influx of foreigners on the countrys retail market.

According to GUTA, though prior to the elections they met with the NPP and discussed their concerns which saw most captured in the partys manifesto, it was imperative that the Nana Akuffo Addo led  administration acted quickly to save the ailing trading market.

Speaking to the thebftonline.com an Executive Member of GUTA, Benjamin Yeboah said the government with the majority in parliament must pass policies that will engineer economic growth and create employment.

Though they came and solicited from us the challenges we face we think the time has come for them to now keep their side of the bargain by fulfilling their promise. We appreciate that fact that most of the issues we raised with the party when they visited us found its way into their manifesto. This means they are committed to correcting some of the challenges we face.

So with them now coming into power, we are very hopeful that all those things that we sort to have corrected, which we felt was not helping the business community and which we started making a lot of noise last year, February, they will take it up and then work on it, he said.

Mr Yeboah also added that one of the things they also wanted to be addressed was the tax stamp, which the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) had wanted to implement.

The Executive Member explained that it was not going to help the system because they felt it was a duplication of functions and was inimical to doing business in the country.

The 3% flat VAT rate which became 17.5% was reverted by the government due to GUTAs insistent calls to shed off some tax load on industry players.

He also added that, the GRA had also increased the threshold on their blind side from Gh?90,000 per annum to about Gh?200,000- which meant that there was no a lot of people who were not going to charge VAT.

We felt that was wrong in the sense that if you are not lucky, you might have a shop that makes that turnover at the end of the year and therefore qualifies to collect. You might have a similar shop which sells similar items but do not have that turnover, therefore they will not be collecting that disparity to us was the problem. And felt they did not consult the major stakeholder before doing that and we felt it should be reversed and the threshold brought down he said.

On the Common External Tariffs, he indicated that the upgrading should be done in a gradual process since it did not affect some commodities following their meeting with GRA.

Additionally, GUTA wants the new government to check the influx of foreigners on the countrys retail markets by enforcing laws that protect local businesses.

GUTA Cries over high taxes

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has raised concerns about the 3% Flat Vat Rate system which they say is brooding confusion among the association members and the Ghana Revenue Authority.

Under the Vat Flat Rate Scheme, retailers with annual turnovers of between GH100 million and GH1.2 billion are expected to pay three per cent of their turnovers as Value Added Tax (VAT).

The 3% flat vat rate which became 17.5% was reverted by the government due to GUTAs insistent calls to shed off some tax load on industry players.

GUTA had also earlier threatened to hit the streets following the adoption and introduction of the Ecowas Common External Tariffs (CET).

According to GUTA, the new law is unfair. GUTAs threat follows the implementation of the Common External Tariff, which took effect on Monday, February 1, 2016.
The Patriotic Professionals Ghana (PPG) has paid a courtesy call on Ghanaian president-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with a call on him to reignite the spirit of patriotism in Ghanaians.

The group led by the Executive Director, Eric Nartey Yeboah, visited the president to congratulate him on his victory in the 2016 general elections.

The president-elect expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the group for their support during the electioneering campaign and indicated that he will work closely with PPG towards bringing back nationalism and patriotism in Ghanaians.

Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that he was extremely happy that PPG has its focus on patriotism.

Mr Yeboah reiterated the group's commitment to supporting the newly elected president in delivering his mandate to the people of Ghana.

Now many Ghanaians think of what they will get from Ghana and not what they will do for the country. This is clearly contrary to your youthful period where you championed pure nationalism, Ghanaians believe in you; you are the only one who could champion the drive for nationalism, therefore we call on you to lead the journey, he said.

The group is made up of dedicated professionals with the commitment to providing humanitarian services to Ghanaians whiles instilling patriotism in them.

So far the group has organised health screening for over 20, 000 people and provided skills training with startup capital for over 900 rural women, in addition, the group has built a bridge at Dwene Woho in the Trobo constituency.

PPG also provides emergency health services at various NPP campaign rallies.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
A pro-NDC group, Friends of Atta Mills, has sent a message of congratulations to the newly President elect, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo and his vice, Dr. Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia, for their emphatic victory in last Wednesday's elections.

The group says the victory of the NPP and its candidate demonstrates the unwavering and perseverance of Nana Akufo Addo and his vice President elect, Dr. Bawumia.

In a statement issued and signed by its National Coordinator, Gabriel Aggah, the group urged Ghanaians, irrespective of their political affiliations, to come together and support the new leadership in order for them to succeed.

The group further charged its members to refrain from any attacks on the personality and administration of the NPP as they seek to implement their campaign promises contained in their manifesto.

"It is our plea that members of Friends Of Atta Mills will work in oneness and with all enthusiasm to defend and to help our in coming president so that all his intentions will be achieved" the statement emphasized.

It further appealed to Ghanaians to give Nana Addo and his leadership enough to be able to implement their policies and programmes.
A company in London has advertised for an emoji translator in what is thought to be the first such job worldwide.

The role will involve explaining cross-cultural misunderstandings in the use of the mini pictures, and compiling a monthly trends report.

Agency boss Jurga Zilinskiene said emojis were a "potential growth area" as "inconsistencies" had developed in their use.

Last year, a UK linguist said emoji was the country's fastest-growing language .

Emojis have been available on Japanese phones since the late 1990s but gained worldwide popularity after 2011, when iPhones started coming with emoji keyboards. They are now widely available on Android phones too.

They differ from emoticons by being coded little pictures rather than collections of punctuation points like :) or :'( or \_(a)_/. (For emoticon newbies, the latter is a shruggie).

But like emoticons, emojis can be used to indicate tone or emotion in messages composed largely of text.

Ms Zilinskiene, head of Today Translation, needed someone to translate diaries into emojis for one of her clients, but could not find a specialist.

She says software translations can only go so far and a human translator was needed, so the agency posted an online job advert . She herself speaks Lithuanian, Russian and English and codes in the programming languages Python and C#.

With more than 30 applications so far, she is hoping to appoint somebody on a freelance basis by the start of 2017, with the potential for it to become a full-time post. Translation jobs will be paid by the word/emoji, while research into the changing trends in emoji usage will be paid at an hourly rate.

Waving hand - You might think this emoji is waving hello or goodbye. Well in China, it has a very specific meaning, along the lines of "bye, you're not my friend any more". Like a middle finger in Europe.

Poo - In Japan, the words for "poo" and "luck" sound similar, so it's tradition to send your friends a funny "poo" message before an exam or job interview. Now that the symbols have gone global, though, some people use the smiley-faced poo for its cuteness, others to indicate something rubbish.

So can emojis be considered a language? No, absolutely not, says Rob Drummond, a senior lecturer in linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He says his test for a language is that you have to be able to translate a full sentence from one to another, with shared meanings - not necessarily fixed, but shared - and emoji meanings vary from person to person.

"It's an addition to language rather than a language itself," Dr Drummond says.

Red heart - French speakers use more heart emojis than any other language group, according to a study from last year , bumping even smiley faces off the top spot.

Dancing women - Originally these were Playboy bunnies, and might have been seen as strange to use in a message. But they have evolved to mean having fun with friends - and since emojis were made more diverse , there's a men's version too.

White flower - What does this even mean? You might have wondered. Unless you went to school in Japan, in which case you'll know that it's a copy of the symbol teachers stamp on exercise books when their students have done good homework. So white flower = good homework.

Emojis are more nuanced than words and, like gestures or body language, can add meaning to the text they go alongside.

Dr Drummond said he could see a space for emoji specialists, though, similar to people who go before a court to give an interpretation of what somebody might mean by a particular slang word.

Indeed, the legal world has had to take notice of emojis , as lawyers have started bringing forward the text communications sent by people accused of crime as evidence.

Tears of joy - The most commonly used emoji on the planet, this was the Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year for 2015. What does it mean? That depends on your perspective. It could be straightforward, a person laughing so much they're crying. It could be self-deprecating - you're laughing at yourself and a silly thing you did. Or it could be a way of gloating at somebody else.

Aubergine/eggplant - An innocent vegetable, if sometimes tricky to cook? Ah, no. In the most salient example of how meanings can stray from their original intentions, this has come to denote a phallus. In fact, it's the only emoji you can't search for on Instagram .

Jeremy Burge, who already has a full-time job in emojis as chief emoji officer for his website, Emojipedia, said the symbols were a way of inserting tone into messages and "bringing back what we miss in text communication when we don't have body language... it's a communication aid".

He said that of the 15-16 million page views the glossary gets a month, many were from social media professionals keen not to make a faux pas when posting on behalf of their companies.

If that's you, we hope our guides peppered through this article have given you enough to get started.
The Blue Community Observatory hosted by the USF Patel College of Global Sustainability (PCGs) of the University of South Florida, USA, has become the latest member of the UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories. This Observatory monitors the impact of tourism in parts of the Pinella and Manatee Counties, two popular tourist destinations in Florida.

The observatory is the first sustainable tourism observatory in the United States and will be working with a total of 16 communities within the two counties, aiming at providing policy makers and tourism managers with the regular gathering, analysis and communication of information related to tourisms impacts on environmental, social and economic aspects.

The monitoring area is one of the most popular tourist destination in Florida due to itsunique coastal environment and marine habitat. It welcomes over 13 million visitors every year who contribute enormously to the local economy where tourism generates directly 116,300 jobs (Pinellas and Manatee). Continuous monitoring of the tourism impact and performance, across the three dimensions of sustainable development, is therefore a crucial element for sustainable tourism development and evidence-based decisions.

The work of the Blue Community Observatory is focused on areas such as local satisfaction with tourism in the destination; seasonality patterns; energy, waste and water control; food production, clean marinas, education, and policies related to the science of planetary boundaries, among others.

We highly welcome the Blue Community Observatory at the University of South Florida as a new member of the Network as it will help us to achieve the mission of this initiative in a unique momentum in which we prepare for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

During 2017, the work of the Observatories will be prominently featured globally as crucial elements to monitor tourism development and ensure the sustainability of our sector, he added.
Ghanaians went to the poll on December 7, 2016 to elect leaders that will pilot the aspirations and hopes of the Country for the next four years but the outcome appears to have been very disappointing to many. Clearly, electing Akufo-Addo as President is not something that the people expected.

Many discerning and well-meaningful Ghanaians are still unravelling the disaster of the 2016 election.

These are bad days for our Country as January 7, 2017 will mark the sworn-in of what seems to be retrogression in the Countrys history.

In fact, we cant think far, we cant think madness that Akufo-Addo is the first old man of the land? God save us.

It will not be surprising if Akufo-Addo did not show up at the swearing in ceremony on January 7, 2017.

Even though we are required by law to accept the result of the December 7, 2016 polls, it is regrettable to note that the President elect (Akufo-Addo) is to me a mistake of the Majority because he does not represent the will of the people, bearing in mind the electoral fraud and hacking in to the Electoral Commissions transmission data base. A black day for Ghana. We shall not forget how the will of Ghanaians had been altered.

We have been warned ahead of time of these days but due to short memories, we have compromised, took things for granted and gave room for our will to be raided.

And now, the destiny of our Country will soon be placed in a man too old and weak to handle it.

Is just a matter of time when Kofi Koomson, Arthur Kennedy, Ahaji Banda and others are given back their stones.

After the wind of mistake of majority brew Akufo-Addo as President elect, he, (Akufo-Addo) took the rostrum in a house he allegedly inherited from his father and delivered his acceptance speech.

Akuffo-Addo promised to be President to all, whether you voted for him or not, whether you campaigned for him or not.

But to me is a political joke from Akufo-Addo because he could not even work with people with opposing views to his as required in democratic dispensation.

You can see clearly who Akufo-Addo was directing his speech to. He was not talking to Ghanaians, but rather a section of NPP members who dont share his point of view.

On the other hand, Akufo-Addo failed to provide leadership to NPP; how can he then provide a unify body to Ghana on a larger note?

If Akufo-Addo really wanted to redeem himself, then he should heed to advice, take Ghanaians serious and stop this political gimmick. For Presidency is a serious business.

In this very difficult moment as the Country is trying to migrate with the transition brought by mistake of the majority, Akuffo-Addo should refrain from adding pain to injury.

Akuffo-Addo will not enjoy Ghanaians acceptance and endorsement, but will be tolerated for the sake of peace and respect of the law.

He Akuffo Addo must also learn to tolerate 75% of Ghanaians who dont believe in him including members of SAVE NPP NOW.
In pursuit of love, care and protection for one another in a foreign destination such as Canada, Ghanaians have formed various traditional and welfare associations to help themselves.

Ga-Adangbe Association of Toronto-Canada is one of these Ghanaian associations who meets regularly to discuss the welfare members and how best to help in case one needs assistance.

Over the weekend, the association held an annual Christmas get-together for its members and invited guests dined and celebrate its achievement over the years.

Members who contributed in diverse ways towards the growth of the association received awards as well as non-members who have also helped in sustaining the association.

During the raffle draw, a Canadian who was born in St. Lucia Mr. Emilianus Mafie 59, in the Caribbean Islands won the first prize round trip air ticket to Ghana.

The second prize was won by Mrs. Doris Osei Bonsu who took home a kitchen set whiles another the third prize of HD. TV. Set wen to another lady.

Mr. Emilianus Mafie, promised to work hard to introduce more people to Ghanaian tradition and culture as well as travel to the homeland to learn more about the country Ghana.

Next year, Mr. Mafie assured he will sponsor 31 non Ghanaians to attend Ga-Dangbe Homowo festival and other traditional activities.

PIx. Mr. Emilianus Mafie and others receiving their prize.
Cancun, 12 Dec (Edward Hammond)  Negotiators at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Cancun, Mexico are working to resolve tough issues surrounding how to share benefits from the use of genetic sequence data from plants, animals, microbes and other biodiversity.

Biodiverse developing countries that typically provide genetic resources are urging immediate CBD action on the issue, in the face of gene sequencing projects that are rapidly placing commercially valuable sequence data in online databases that do not implement the CBD's benefit sharing rules on their users.

Many developing country negotiators consider this as a fast-emerging "loophole" in the CBD, because synthetic biologists, biotechnology corporations, and others that want to commercially utilize biodiversity - for example, valuable diversity in South American tomatoes, African coffee, or Asian rice - can increasingly turn to the internet "cloud" and download digital genetic sequence data to serve their needs, rather than going to the provider country(ies) to negotiate access and benefit sharing agreements.

In effect, genetic sequence data allows companies to access genetic resources without physical material changing hands, and without the typical material transfer agreement.

The issue is being considered under the CBD's agenda item on synthetic biology. This is because the Convention's Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Synthetic Biology, which met in September 2015, identified genetic sequence data's relevance to the CBD's access and benefit sharing provisions.

The AHTEG's report was formulated into a draft resolution by the CBD's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), which met in April 2016 in Montreal, Canada. But the SBSTTA was unable to come to a resolution on how to address the sequences issue, mainly due to a North-South divide, and two pieces of bracketed text on gene sequences were forwarded to the present 13th CBD Conference of the Parties (COP 13) in Cancun (4 to 17 December).

When the issue came to the floor of the COP 13 Working Group II on Tuesday (6 December) morning, there was near unanimity among CBD Parties in favor of having the Convention and/or its Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing start work to address the issue. Those that spoke in favor of this included Mauritania for the Africa Group and many more Africa Group members in individual interventions. From Latin America, host country Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Argentina also supported. From Asia came the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Malaysia. Switzerland and Norway also supported addressing the issue.

In its Working Group intervention on synthetic biology, the European Union was silent on genetic sequence data. New Zealand offered that addressing the issue is "premature", but only Canada expressly sought to dismiss it from consideration.

While the Working Group interventions ostensibly demonstrated near unanimity in favor of the CBD and/or Nagoya Protocol to begin formulating policies in response to the "digital DNA" problem, as was generally understood in the room, the North's lack of candor on the issue did not reflect agreement with the vast majority of countries that spoke.

Japan takes a position similar to Canada's, while the EU's silence masked varied internal perspectives and a desire to either place very tight limitations on how the CBD considers gene sequences, or to allow the perspective of Canada and Japan to carry the debate.

The Chair thus formed a contact group which, after reaching agreement on other outstanding brackets in the synthetic biology resolution, has begun the process of seeking a solution on sequence data. Some predict that the contact group could continue until the final day of COP 13 on 17 December.

Contact Group discussions have confirmed the high priority placed by many developing countries on the issue, and a very significant proposal has been tabled for a resolution to be adopted that will update the Parties' understanding of the Convention's definition of the term "genetic resources".

The proposed update, which has drawn support from most of the developing countries participating in the group, says that with respect to utilization, gene sequences will be treated as equivalent to genetic resources, i.e. physical samples. As one delegate aptly put the situation, with the present state of technology, it is no longer sensible to distinguish between the "hard copy" (e.g. a seed) and the "soft copy" (its genetic sequence data) for the purposes of benefit sharing under the Convention.

Because access and benefit sharing obligations apply to both Parties to the CBD and the smaller number of Parties to the Nagoya Protocol, many developing countries also view it necessary for the Convention itself, and not the Protocol, to take the leading decision on sequence data. Developing policy recommendations could be done by the Nagoya Protocol, they argue, but the major understanding about the status and treatment of sequence data needs to be taken in the Convention.

Developed countries have generally rejected this idea, and have held fast to earlier positions, while making few proposals themselves.

In the corridors, some delegates, especially European biosafety experts, express concern that the access and benefit sharing issue of sequence data is threatening to occupy so much of the attention of a presumed future meeting of the Synthetic Biology AHTEG that urgent biosafety business will be undesirably postponed.

While other delegates are not unsympathetic to this concern  indeed, developing country proposals to restrict controversial gene drive technology remain on hold while the Contact Group discusses sequences  at present, the synthetic biology topic remains the procedurally correct and a scientifically appropriate item under which to consider the gene sequence issue.

At times in the Contact Group discussion, Parties with varying views about how to address gene sequences have hinted that they might be receptive to moving the discussion outside of the synthetic biology item, thereby allowing the Synthetic Biology AHTEG to focus on other issues. But there are few avenues to moving the discussion while maintaining a procedural footing that would enable a decision by the CBD COP 13. Those that do, such as constituting a new contact group under a new agenda item, would likely require unanimous consent from Parties in an unscheduled plenary session of COP 13, and/or have other related procedural difficulties.

A related concern heard clearly in the corridors, primarily from Northern delegations, is that the "right people are not in the room." That is, that Europe and other Northern countries' synthetic biology negotiating team is primary composed of biosafety specialists and lacks access and benefit sharing specialists.

This complaint is advanced despite the fact the Terms of Reference for the Synthetic Biology AHTEG clearly extended to access and benefit sharing questions, and the April SBSTTA discussion in Montreal unambiguously presaged an access and benefit sharing discussion about sequences at COP 13  with the outstanding sets of brackets to be negotiated.

Sympathy is thus limited for the well-resourced developed countries that essentially say they are unprepared, despite the AHTEG result and SBSTTA discussion, and despite the COP being the CBD's highest body. Some observe that the "right people" argument is being advanced in hopes of delay.

In Working Group sessions of the second meeting of the Parties of the Nagoya Protocol (COP-MOP2), held concurrently with CBD COP 13, Namibia, supported by Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, Pakistan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and others has raised the question of gene sequences under the item on Nagoya Protocol Article 10.

The idea is that Article 10, on the possible establishment of a Global Multilateral Benefit-Sharing Mechanism, might be considered for use for benefit sharing with gene sequences, in cases where prior informed consent is not possible. This would generally mean cases where sequences are utilized commercially but their origin cannot be identified. A contact group has been formed with no meeting scheduled as yet.

The sequence issue has also been raised in the agenda item related to the Nagoya Protocol's relationships with other instruments. There, Namibia and others propose that the Nagoya Protocol consult with other international organizations with relevant activities, including the World Health Organization (which has the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework), the Food and Agriculture Organization (for the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (that has an Intergovernmental Committee considering genetic resources).

The Synthetic Biology Contact Group is expected to reconvene during the course of the present week.
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, yesterday (December12, 2016) was sworn in as the ninth United Nations Secretary-General at the UN headquarters in New York.

This was after he had taken the Oath of Office for his five year term, which begins on January 1, next year.

President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thompson administered the oath during the 71st session of the Assembly in front of the 193-member states.

The 67year old Secretary-General-designate will take over from 72 year old. Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea, whose 10-year tenure will expire at the end of this month.

Mr. Guterres, a former UN High Commissioner for Refugees paid tribute to Mr. Ban Ki Moon for his commitment to peace and security and for helping to chart the future of the UN  through the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The former UN High Commissioner for Refugees appointed by the General Assembly on 13 October this year noted that the three strategic priorities for the UN that is working for peace; supporting sustainable development; and reforming its internal management and pledged to personally help broker peace in various conflicts.

In the end, it comes down to values, as was said so many times today. We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the UN Charter: peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance and solidarity, he stated.

The Secretary-General-designate criticized the UN system for not doing enough to prevent and respond to the appalling crimes of sexual violence and exploitation committed under the UN flag against those we are supposed to protect and promised to do more to prevent and respond all forms of sexual exploitation.

On the issue of gender parity and their appointments to senior management positions, he promised that By the end of my mandate, we should reach full gender parity at the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General levels, including special representatives and special envoys.

Furthermore, Mr. Guterres indicated that he will engage in a comprehensive reform of the UN development system  both at headquarters and at country levels.

The Secretary-General-designate pointed out that the UN, which is tasked with peacekeeping in places where there is no peace to keep, needed to have a greater conceptual clarity and a shared understanding of the scope of peacekeeping in order to pave the way for urgent reforms.

The threats to these values are most often based on fear. Our duty to the peoples we serve is to work together to move from fear of each other, to trust in each other.

In his remarks, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon said it had been an honour and privilege for him to serve the UN and work together with the Member states and alongside the many courageous, dedicated and talented men and women of the UN.

He was happy to have seen the UN open its doors wider than ever to civil societies and many partners to help transform the world, stressing that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change have opened a pathway to a safer, more just and peaceful world for all of us.

Maintaining that he sought to stand up for the vulnerable and those left behind, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon said and I have tried to be sure that we are doing all we can so that future generations can live in peace .

He was confident that the in-coming Secretary General Guterres had the passion and compassion to successfully navigate the many complex challenges and steer the organization to new and higher heights.

The out-going Secretary General also expressed gratitude for the many tributes to him.
Cancun, 12 Dec (Lim Li Ching*)  As the meetings of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cancun reached their halfway mark, the issue of the continued work on risk assessment under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety remained threatened.

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which is a Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is the only international treaty that specifically regulates genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or living modified organisms (LMOs), as they are known in the Protocol. Meetings of Parties to the CBD and the Cartagena Protocol are taking place in Cancun from 4 to 17 December.

Risk assessment is the central pillar of the Protocol, necessary to assess the effects of LMOs on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health.

Operational objective 1.3 of the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety for the Period 2011-2020 envisages the development and implementation of scientific tools on common approaches to risk assessment and risk management for Parties. As such the outcomes include "guidance on risk assessment and risk management including guidance on new developments in modern biotechnology".

At this, the 8th Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (COP-MOP8) to the Protocol, views were sharply divergent on risk assessment.

COP-MOP4 first established the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Risk Assessment and Risk Management in 2008, to develop a 'roadmap' on the necessary steps to conduct a risk assessment in accordance with Annex III to the Protocol. It was also mandated to prioritize the need for further guidance on specific aspects of risk assessment.

In 2012, the AHTEG was re-established by COP-MOP6 with a balance of old and new members, and in 2014, it was extended with expanded membership by COP-MOP7. The AHTEG has therefore worked on risk assessment and risk management for the last 8 years.

This work has been supported by discussions in the Open Ended Online Forum on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, which involves a wide range of experts from Parties, non-Parties, academia, industry and civil society.

The resulting 'Guidance on Risk Assessment of Living Modified Organisms and Monitoring in the context of Risk Assessment' is the product of many years of work and the expertise of experts nominated by Parties to serve on the AHTEG. The Guidance comprises a Roadmap for Risk Assessment, as well as provides guidance on specific topics, as identified by Parties according to their needs and priorities. It has undergone numerous rounds of peer review, testing, revision and improvement.

At the COP-MOP8 Working Group I discussion on the agenda item on 8 December, there was however, strident opposition to the Guidance as well as to the continuation of the AHTEG to develop further guidance on specific topics of risk assessment.

Also at issue for some of the Parties was what they viewed as 'premature' the publication of the Guidance as Biosafety Technical Series 04, before any endorsement of the Guidance by the COP-MOP. (The Technical Series is published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and comprise technical documents that are not usually endorsed by Parties).

The hostility to the Guidance, led by Colombia, Brazil, the Philippines, Honduras and Iran, threatens the widespread use of the Guidance, both in conducting risk assessment and in capacity building on risk assessment.

The discontinuation of the AHTEG would also stymie the process of developing further guidance on specific topics of risk assessment, which have already been identified and prioritized by Parties.

A Contact Group was set up to try and resolve the disagreements. Co-chaired by Helmut Gaugitsch of Austria and Wadzi Mandivenyiof South Africa, it met in the afternoon of 9 December and again for the whole day of 10 December.

At the first meeting of the Contact Group, those Parties that were against the Guidance repeated their opposition to it, some with barely disguised contempt. They only wanted to 'acknowledge' or 'take note' of the Guidance. On the other hand, Parties such as Mauritania, Uganda, Mexico, the European Union, Switzerland and Norway were in favour of endorsing the Guidance.

Expressing discomfort with the judgements being made on the Guidance, and by extension the experts who had worked on it, many of whom were nominated by the same Parties now vehemently opposing it, Mexico reminded the Contact Group about the uniqueness of the Guidance in building on Annex III of the Protocol (on risk assessment) and focusing on the impacts of LMOs to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

Nonetheless, some Parties, and Brazil in particular, were adamant that the Guidance should not set the standard, and should only be considered as one of many other guidance documents and national approaches to risk assessment.

The Guidance is not prescriptive and does not impose any obligations on Parties. This understanding is recorded in Decision BS-V1/12 and recalled in Decision BS-VII/12. However, the Parties that were opposed to the Guidance insisted that any reference to the Guidance be preceded by the term 'voluntary' and that it was a 'voluntary' tool.

At the second meeting of the Contact Group, a non-paper from the Co-Chairs was issued, which attempted to bridge the divide among Parties. Following a proposal from Mauritania, the Contact Group began separating the issue of the Guidance from that of other guidance documents and national approaches to risk assessment. They left aside, for the time being, the issue of whether to endorse the Guidance or not.

A compromise was struck, to invite interested Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to take the Guidance into account as a voluntary tool to assist in conducting risk assessment in accordance with the Cartagena Protocol, at the same time recognizing or acknowledging that other guidance documents and national approaches could also assist in conducting risk assessment in accordance with the Protocol.

There was relatively quick agreement on text inviting interested Parties, other Governments and relevant organisations that have used the Guidance and/or other guidance documents and national approaches to share an assessment of their applicability and usefulness through the Biosafety Clearing-house.

Discussion on whether to ask the Global Environment Facility to provide funding for a global capacity-building project on risk assessment and risk management centred on whether or not there should be an explicit link with the Guidance. No agreement could be found on this and the entire paragraph remains in square brackets.

Preliminary agreement was however reached on a paragraph requesting the CBD's Executive Secretary to convene, subject to the availability of resources, and upon the invitation by Parties, regional and subregional capacity-building activities on risk assessment of LMOs.

The final major issue of contention was whether or not to extend the AHTEG to work on the development of specific guidance, based on two outlines already developed by the AHTEG: on risk assessment of living modified fish, and on LMOs developed through synthetic biology, as well as to take into account additional topics, including those identified by Parties in their submissions and by the AHTEG. These issues were included in the elements for a draft decision on risk assessment and risk management, for the consideration of Parties.

The issue of synthetic biology is being considered at the current Conference of the Parties to the CBD, and a coordinated approach between the Convention and the Cartagena Protocol has been recommended. (See separate article on "Genetic Sequence Data And Benefit Sharing Under Consideration".)

This is especially relevant for the issue of risk assessment. The CBD's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), at its 20th meeting in April 2016, noted that the general principles and methodologies for risk assessment under the Protocol and existing biosafety frameworks provide a good basis for risk assessment regarding living organisms that are in current and advanced stages of development of synthetic biology, but that such methodologies may need to be updated and adapted for current and future developments and applications. This makes the development of guidance on this topic critical.

The Co-Chairs' non-paper of 10 December however, in reflecting the differing views on the continuation of the AHTEG and development of guidance, only foresees online discussions of the Open-ended Online Expert Forum, to identify possible gaps in existing guidance on risk assessment of LMOs, and, where gaps are identified, for the Executive Secretary to assess the need for guidance to address such gaps. Following this, an analysis of the outcomes of the online discussions would be forwarded for consideration by COP-MOP9 in 2018, with the view to assessing the need for further guidance.

Mauritania, supported by Uganda, the EU, Norway and Switzerland, argued for the AHTEG to be continued, to work on further guidance on risk assessment, including on living modified fish and LMOs developed through synthetic biology. They preferred the original text in the draft decision and requested that this be reinstated.

This was strongly opposed by Brazil. Other Parties such as South Africa, the Philippines and Japan wondered if it would be more productive to compile views on available guidance and gaps and to present these for consideration by COP-MOP9.

Due to the inability to resolve the conflict, the texts from both the original draft decision and the Co-Chairs' non-paper remain bracketed. The Contact Group is expected to resume early this week, when it will continue its outstanding discussions.
Imagine what Africa will look like when it has fully tapped into its potential, he said citing opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing and intra-African trade.

But Africa and its partners will miss the opportunity to transform the lives of future as well as present generations if they carry on with business as usual....Tax avoidance and opaque business practices block Africas extractives sector too, said Mr. Kofi Annan. He was upbeat about prospects for Africas resource-rich countries, adding, Africas natural resources wealth rights belongs to the continents citizens, but these citizens are being robbed of its benefits by revenue diversion, corruption, jobless growth and rising inequality," (Kofi Annan , Geneva, September, 2013).

Dr. Peter Eigen, the founder of Transparency International observed that the World Bank and Western Governments do not see anything wrong with the multinational companies engaged in extractive industries paying tens of millions of dollars into private accounts overseas to secure bad agreements, contracts and laws in their favor, (DW TV Journal Interview, 31st December, 2013).

In a Paper titled from "Concession to Service Contract" by Ernest E. Smith in Tulsa, Law Review Vol. 27, Issue 4, International Energy Law Symposium 1993, Modern Concession

(Hybrid System) Contracts are characterized and subject to undue influences and corruption. That is exactly what is happening in Ghana as stated categorically by Dr. Adam Amin, Executive Director of ACEP, in a presentation to the US Congress Sub-Committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organization, on 18th July, 2013. Reported Dr. Amin:

"...I have already mentioned the issue of bad deals in the oil and mining industries. Some of these bad deals have already been producing resources and the United States like other importing countries is consuming oil from some of these bad contracts. This places an important responsibility on the United States to lead by example in ensuring that oil and minerals from countries that promote questionable contracts tinted with corruption are not patronized...

It is surprising, painful, sad and shameful the Parliament of Ghana, the Star of Africa, has passed an exploitative, predatory and obnoxious law, Act 919, to legalize corruption and perpetuate the robbery of Ghanaians of their sovereign wealth rights in the name of attracting investment, the very thing Mr. Kofi Annan had complained about.

Without mincing words, we know that the World Bank, Oxfam America and others were actively behind the passage of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Law (ACT 919) to rob Ghanaians of our oil wealth in the name of attracting investment in favour of Western vested interests and their local patrons.

We are not against investments nor do we think Ghanaians expect favours from any oil company. We believe that Ghanaians expect and stand for ethical investments governed by fairness and equity in sharing revenue from sovereign Ghana natural resources. That should be the basis of our national development and transformation that Kofi Annan highlights above.

OIL DISCOVERY

As is well known, before the discovery of oil and gas in Ghana, the nation had been blessed with a number of other extractive natural resources in the form of gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese and others. In respect of gold for example, it has been mined and have left the shores of Ghana for over 500 years. However, in terms of visible, concrete returns to the nations development as well as its socio-economic benefits, no one can dispute the fact that not much has been achieved. The evidence is visible for all to see. Take a trip to Obuasi and see whether Obuasi looks anything like Johannesburg, or whether Akwatia looks anything like Kimberley, South Africa.

Through providence, the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantity has come at an opportune time when Ghana most needs injection and, indeed, a booster, into the nations general welfare and socio-economic development. The announcement of the discovery in 2007 sent expectations by Ghanaians high through the roofs all over the land. However, after 6 years, the general consensus of public opinion on the operations of the oil and gas industry in Ghana has so far been negative. The euphoria and expectation of the whole nation which greeted the announcement of the discovery has flattened to the grounds because of the current economic hardships and difficulties Ghanaians are facing.

After 6 years, Oil and Gas production in Ghana has not been a development, economic and social mobility multiplier for Ghanaians.

Upon careful study and coordination with several interested parties, we have taken issue with the oil contract regimes, the conditionality under which the oil companies are operating, and the fact that the expected oil revenue inflows to Ghanaians are not forthcoming as Ghanaians were made to believe and expect.

For example, before production begun, regional workshops were held in the 10 regional capitals soliciting views from Ghanaians as to how the first US$5 billion for the first 5 years would be spent. Six years down the line, Ghana is not yet close to earning US$4 billion but total silence surrounds this fiasco.

In fact, as at 30th September, 2016, Ghana had earned approximately US$3.320 billion, representing 19.76% of total oil revenue of US$16,803,359,555, far below the 42% minimum government take recommended by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). 42% is the least expected to accrue to the host country from total production revenue for allowing sovereign oil and gas resources to be exploited in partnership with foreign oil companies. Ghana earned US$9,302,806 from gas within the same period making a total of US$3,329,041,243.

How did Ghana reach this sorry state of affairs?

ROYALTY TAX/HYBRID SYSTEM

We have determined that the prevailing hybrid system under which the oil companies are operating in Ghana is the cause of this short-fall in oil revenues to Ghana and consequent abysmal situation from the perspective of Ghanaians.

GIGS and the Fair-Trade Oil Share-GH PSA/Campaign and their supporters long ago observed that the Royalty System was not in the best interest of the people of Ghana, for Jubilee Oil Field, if only for lack of use by wisely managed countries. Now, the Royalty System has been transformed into the so-called Hybrid System by Act 919, still not in the best interest of the people of Ghana. The Hybrid System is skewed towards collection of taxes due from the Foreign Oil Companies, a great impossibility, as noted by the Auditor-General.

PRODUCTION SHARING AGREEMENT

The framework for managing the Upstream Petroleum Industry in Ghana before the discovery of oil in commercial quantities was established and given legal backing by two main statutes, PNDC Law 64 which established GNPC and the Petroleum Exploration and Production Law, PNDC Law 84.

The basis of these two laws being Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the laws were crafted and modeled to represent the most progressive, equitable and fair fiscal regime for sharing petroleum revenue in this 21st century between host government and the foreign oil company (contractor).

Records available at Oxford Institute of Energy Studies and Barrow Company Inc. indicated earlier agreements entered into by Ghana in the 1990s based on these Laws were Production Sharing Agreements.

However, contrary to existing statutes, all agreements and contracts entered into by our Governments and approved by Parliament - our Law makers  from the 2000s have been modeled after the Royalty Tax/Hybrid System Laws which, needless to point out, were not in our statute books at the time those agreements and contracts were signed.

As such, the signed Royalty Tax/Hybrid System agreements and contracts therefore do not conform with the tenets of the two PNDC Laws. In our informed opinion, these agreements and contracts are illegal and ultra vires because they are at variance with the existing PNDC Laws, which were still on the books. The fact that Royalty Tax/Hybrid System contracts have been approved by Parliamentarians does not make them legal.

The Executive and Parliament have erred in law.

The passage of Act 919 is to give retrospective legal backing to these illegal agreements and contracts tinted with corruption as stated emphatically by Dr. Adam Amin in his message to the Sub-Committee of the US Congress on 18th July, 2013.

The practice of law and jurisprudence frown upon, abhor, and resist this illegal practice and conduct that puts Ghanaian citizens at enormous developmental disadvantage merely for the benefit of foreign oil companies and their political patrons in Ghana.

BENEFITS OF PRODUCTION SHARING AGREEMENT.

If Ghana had adopted the Production Sharing Agreement without participating which the PSA allows, Ghanaians, sovereign owners of the oil resources, would have earned US$9.608 billion as at 31st December, 2015, instead of the US$3.112 billion earned under the Hybrid System.

As at 30th September, 2016, Ghanaians should have earned US$10.103 billion representing 61% of total revenue accrued instead of the US$3.320 billion under the Hybrid system.

LOSSES FOR NOT ADOPTING PSA

As at 30th September, 2016, Ghanaians suffered a loss of US$6.784 billion in oil revenue alone under the Ghana Hybrid System, now consolidated by Act 919. Data on gas was not available in the public domain to enable any meaningful assessment. Ghanaians would be losing more revenue in the region of about US$7 billion plus more within the next five years under the Ghana Hybrid System. This would bring the total losses to over US$13 billion in 10 years, per our estimates, considering other projects are coming on stream (TEN, Sankofa, etc.).

REMEDIAL ACTIONS TAKEN

Having realized these shortcomings in the Hybrid System, the illegalities and the robbery of our natural resources in the name of attracting investments and long before the Jubilee Fields started production and before the passage of Act 919 on 4th August, 2016, GIGS and the Fair-Trade Oil Share PSA/Campaign supporters have drawn the attention of the Presidency and Parliament and the general public to these abysmal situations through several letters and petitions but no positive response. They went ahead and adopted the obnoxious Hybrid System which, in our estimation, is even worse than the best of the old Royalty or Concession System

We had drawn the attention of the Speaker of Parliament, Committee Leadership and all members of the House through periodic publications and petitions made available to them over the years but no positive response.

We have equally brought these to the notice and attention of the following: The Minister of Finance, officials of the Ministry of Petroleum, Petroleum Commission, the Council of State, The National House of Chiefs, the Steering Committee and the Governing Council of the Trades Union Congress, the Christian Council of Ghana, the Muslim Council of Ghana, the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Ghana Journalist Association, Asantehene, Ex-Presidents Rawlings and Kufuor and other State Institutions through publications, letters, organized workshops and lectures requesting all the above mentioned bodies and individuals for their interventions to no avail.

Lastly, GIGS and PSA Campaigners on three different occasions, 6th July, 2015, 15th July, 2015 in Parliament House and 20th February, 2016 at Aqua Safari at Ada made an in-depth presentation to the Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Petroleum Commission and Ministry of Petroleum to make them understand and appreciate the fact that the Hybrid System can never be superior to the PSA as they claimed and that the system would not be in the best interest of Ghanaians. We were told in the face that, notwithstanding our position and presentation the Select Committee would go ahead and recommend to Parliament the passage of the Ghana Hybrid System Law to our amazement. Just because some are getting 3-5% free shares in those contracts?

SUPREME COURT INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT

This very important national issue bordering on the economic survival, security and stability of our country Ghana, and having sought the intervention of all the above mentioned bodies and entities over the years to no avail, GIGS and the Fair-Trade Oil Share Campaigners have decided to seek review, adjudication, and intervention by the Supreme Court of Ghana.

We are therefore appealing through the medium of this article to all Ghanaians wherever they might be on this Planet Earth, who mean well and care about the economic prosperity, stability and security of their beloved country Ghana to stand up, join and support us to pursue this very important national issue on behalf of the present as well as future generation of Ghanaians yet unborn to save them from economic bondage and servitude our Governments and political leaders have plunged us into.

We are equally appealing and calling upon Nana Akufo-Addo, the President-elect, not to enter into any new Petroleum Agreements after assuming office on 7th January, 2017 under this exploitative and obnoxious Act 919 until a National Consensus is reached as to what Fiscal Regime or Arrangement Ghana should adopt to regulate the exploitation and production of our sovereign Ghana natural resources, the oil and gas.

The whole Upstream Oil Industry in Ghana needs a proper re-engineering and restructuring for the maximum benefit of Ghanaians. The present arrangement does not.

CONCLUSION

We conclude first with the following three quotations which vindicate and support our position.

First, we quote from Mr. Kwame Pianims exchanges with a supporter of the PSA Campaign, a Ghanaian who resides in the USA, which has reached our hands.

Let us be clear, what my position is. I am for the introduction of PSA. The fact that the Ghana System has been under adjustment from the royalty based system to some hybrid system should be evidence enough that it is inferior to a properly structured and implemented PSA. (Mr. Kwame Pianim is a member of the Petroleum Commission).

Ghanas petroleum fiscal regime should be reformed to ensure maximum long-term revenue generation, even if the state is not fiscally dependent on oil revenue. The regime can also achieve greater take by increasing the states share in production share agreements. (Sara Zedingle Ghebremusse, Faculty of Law Thesis, University of Toronto Canada, 2014).

Unlike the concessionary system, where a sovereign nation often transfers its ownership of the resource to the licensee and mostly gets less than 25 percent of total revenue accrued, the PSAs mostly vest ownership on the state and could give a country over 50 percent of the accrued money, (Mr. Ben Dagadu, Deputy Minister of Petroleum, Graphic Business of Tuesday March 8th-March 14, 2016).

BOTTOMLINE: Adopting PSA with additional revenue accruing to Ghana, Government would have a lot more additional resources to undertake the massive infrastructural development the country and its people need. Provision of portable water to every community, construction of all-weather motorable roads, provision of class rooms and educational facilities, affordable housing accommodations, extensions of health facilities, and all other things that would positively impact on the social wellbeing of the Ghanaian, reducing pressure on Government and administration themselves.

The time for our economic liberation is here and we MUST grasp it, instead of pawning present and future generations yet unborn in the name of attracting investment under questionable and clearly wrong notions.

We live in the midst of plenty as a Nation, but we have become a beggar Nation with a bowl in hand.

Act 919 is a conspiracy hatched against the masses of Ghanaians from the corridors of Western Powers in collaboration with few Ghanaian elite technocrats and politicians. It is a 419 Royalty scheme to rob Ghanaians of their sovereign oil and gas wealth in the name of investment, that, like gold, diamonds and other minerals, will never materialize unless Ghanaians receive a Fair Share to begin with.

Solomon Kwawukume

Senior Researcher Officer (GIGS)

National Coordinator (FTOS-GH)
Ever since former president Jonathan made that call to president Buhari congratulating him on his victory at the last presidential polls, and following the enormous goodwill that has attracted to him worldwide, it is fast becoming a norm in Africa for incumbents to easily accept defeat at the polls and congratulate the winner.

Yahya Jammeh, the outgoing president of Gambia, was on his way to making history as one of the very few African presidents who would follow the enviable example of Nigerias former president and Africas hero of democracy, Goodluck Jonathan, by conceding defeat as an incumbent to an opponent in a political contest.

However, with his sudden u-turn on that stand, Jammeh, it seems, is about to throw that tiny West African country into a needless and avoidable turmoil.

After having been commended by major political players and the media worldwide, what could have caused Yahya Jammeh to retrace his steps just less than a week after conceding defeat and hailed the process that saw his closest rival, Adama Barrow, an otherwise political neophyte, emerge as the president-elect of Gambia as the most transparent election in the world?

Jammeh had told Barrow while conceding defeat to him, Im the outgoing president; you are the incoming president.

Also, in a telephone call to the president-elect, Jammeh was reported to have told Barrow, I wish you all the best. The country will be in your hands in January. You are assured of my guidance. You have to work with me. You are the elected president of The Gambia. I have no ill will and I wish you all the best.

He repeated the same thing in a televised statement when he said, I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr Adama for his victory. Its a clear victory. I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best. As a true Muslim who believes in the almighty Allah I will never question Allahs decision. You Gambians have decided.

Even the Head of Gambias electoral commission, Alieu Momarr Njai had said: Its very rare that this present situation now, in Africa, that this happens

The question on the lips of everyone is, why would Jammeh suddenly make a volte face after what seemed like a firm resolve to hand over power to the winner of the election, Adama Barrow?

The answer to this puzzle may not be far-fetched. Jammeh took his cue of conceding defeat from Nigerias Jonathan, he must have also thought he was making a mistake going by the happenings in Nigeria today.

With the relentless vindictive persecution of Goodluck Jonathans family by the Buhari administration, the unending vendetta against Jonathans former ministers and government officials, the use of the military, secret police and other security agencies to harass, intimidate and even kill innocent, harmless and helpless citizens in droves with little or no provocation, high-handedness in dealing with sections of the country that did not support the emergence of president Buhari, it probably became obvious to Jammeh the enormity of risks he is taking by conceding defeat.

His family members must have reminded him that there is nothing good in conceding defeat in Africa. They must have reminded him of what is going on in Nigeria despite the magnanimity of Goodluck Jonathan. Even his cabinet members might have become apprehensive. They must have become afraid of being witch hunted and persecuted.

Some of them might even be ready to face prosecution should there be any need for that, but then, they realize that what their counterparts in Nigeria are facing is more of persecution than prosecution. They must have all brought Jammehs attention to al the atrocities going on in Nigeria. Jammeh gives all these a long and hard thought, and then thinks it is not worth it in the end.

This is only just a part of the many consequences of Buharis tyrannical approach to governance in Nigeria. The message of his style reverberates across Africa. The goodwill and novel approach of incumbents conceding defeat in the continent is being endangered rather than being engendered. Consequently, Buharis style of leadership is rolling the political progress of Africa kick-started by that famous telephone call from Jonathan and his peaceful handover centuries backward.

Even Nigerias electoral system that was beginning to make tremendous progress under Jonathan has suffered unwarranted grievous attacks under Buhari. The nations electoral system has been so bastardised within the short period Buharis administration has lasted that electoral malpractices have been given an official toga.

Not even the ECOWAS court has been spared the torrid experience of having its court orders disobeyed by the Buhari administration as it concerns its pronouncement on Sambo Dasuki, Nigerias former National Security Adviser under Jonathan. It is therefore even more shocking that the same ECOWAS would rely on such a man to be a mediator in the political logjam about to befall Gambia.

Well meaning Nigerians have continued to warn that the autocratic manner Buhari is running Nigeria has very grave implications not only for the country but also for Africa. Gradually, those implications are beginning to unfold right before our very eyes. The UN that is asking Jammeh to accept defeat and hand over power to Barrow seem to be only interested in treating the symptoms of a disease without looking at the root cause of such a disease.

No one is saying that governments should not prosecute past governments where and when necessary, but everyone would want such prosecution not to degenerate into persecution, intimidation, harassment and vindictive pursuit of family members and officials of any previous government.

Diligent and civil prosecution of anyone would always encourage peaceful handover of power from one government to another in Africa. But first, the ECOWAS, AU, UN and other such international bodies must also not look away while any government deals with its people with an iron fist under the guise of fighting corruption and or other such otherwise noble guises.

Until this is ensured, there are likely to be many more Jammehs in Africa than anyone can imagine.

[email protected] ; Twitter: @StJudeNdukwe
The President of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom is back to work. Moments after the declaration of the 2016 president results, Dr Nduom flew to the United States of America to engage in various business meetings.

His meetings will primarily focus on strategic reviews and positioning of various Groupe Nduom companies abroad, including those in the United States and others back home in Ghana.

He will this week chair a meeting of the Board of Directors of ISF Bank, the bank he and his family acquired earlier this year in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Dr Nduom will explore various means and possibilities of improving the Worawora Rice Mill where he will discuss and evaluate with experts, the available options for the improvement of the machinery at the Rice Mill.

He is also expected to discuss plans that will hasten the construction of a new Rice Mill at Assin Breku in the Central Region where the ground breaking exercise took place early November this year.

Dr. Nduom will be consulting with private universities in the USA to encourage professors to consider associating with the new Nduom School of Business & Technology (NSB&T) in Elmina. The Nduom School of Business & Technology was commissioned December 6th 2016.
Two pro-NDC groups are calling on Ghanaians, irrespective of political affiliation, to support newly- elected President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo.

Members of Friends of Atta Mills and Professor Mills Movement want the citizenry to rally behind the in-coming administration to enable it deliver on its mandate.

They say failure of the NPP to fulfill its campaign promises for which Ghanaians voted for the party will be a national failure.

At a joint meeting in Kumasi, Friends of Atta Mills and Professor Mills Movement resolved to embark on nationwide education drive to solicit support for Nana Akufo-Addo government.

Gabriel Agah who speaks for the two groups which boast of over 5,000 members nationwide says the performance of the new NPP-administration will not affect only NPP supporters, but entire country.

We also decided to throw our weight behind the President-elect because we believe that with all his vision s and campaign promises, if he has the support of all Ghanaians and that of even members of NDC, he would be able to achieve all his promises for the betterment of this country. So we believe that we should not sit idle but we should call on all Ghanaians and all the NDC people to support him for his administration. We are all Ghanaians and if theres anything good that will come from this administration, it will affect all of us.

What we are saying is that, we are calling for support for President-elect.

Mr. Agah disagrees to suggestions their new posture runs contrary to ideologies of defeated the National Democratic Congress.

He says as a social democratic party, the NDC should endorse the position of the two groups.
As the incoming government prepares to take over the administration of the country, some observers in the tax industry have called for an evaluation of the Petroleum Tax and other tax components in the Road Fund levy to positively impact businesses.

Some Ghanaians expressed dissatisfaction at the beginning of this year when the price of fuel was about 70 percent constituted by taxes.

Speaking to Citi Business News, Tax Consultant Ali Nakyea-Abdallah reiterated calls for such laws to be evaluated to determine it real impact on businesses.

According to him, the subject is still relevant since businesses have complained about the adverse impact of some components of the taxes.

Industry has always complained about the cost of doing business. What translate into cost is the indirect taxes on the input that they use in their productive process. One of which is the petroleum product so if you have a lot of inbuilt taxes by way of recovery levies, road fund levies and all that, and then you introduce another special petroleum levy. If you think that taking off some of them will not affect your revenue base and can ease pressure on these businesses, then evaluate it, he advised.

He pointed out that a comprehensive evaluation will show whether a review of such taxes will impact positively on business operations which could be recouped by corporate tax.

If you think that when cost goes down these businesses will make more profit and you can get revenue through corporate tax then you can evaluate and also review, he stressed adding that tax evaluation is the best form of determining the effectiveness of tax laws.

Cautioning against calls to scrap taxes without evaluation, Mr. Nakyea-Abdallah stated that taxes are intended for a purpose, hence must always be evaluated before they are removed.

Taxation is such that you cannot just cancel without finding an alternative is about evaluating its impact on business and then you can tell whether it has to be reviewed or not. You don't just review. There are reasons why taxes are levied, he said.

Proposed tax reforms by NPP

Speaking in March this year, the President Elect, Nana Akufo-Addo promised to reduce the corporate tax rate, abolish VAT on Financial Services, and remove duties on the importation of raw materials and manufacturing equipment, amongst other fiscal incentives to stimulate growth of the private sector.



By:Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Deputy Minister of Agriculture in-charge of Livestock and outgoing Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano South, Hanna Bissiw, last Thursday went to the Techimantia Polyclinic to pack all items she had donated to the hospital sometime ago.

She claimed the people of Tano South, especially Techimantia, had voted against her and rather went for the NPP candidate, Benjamin Sekyere.

The items, which included hospital beds, stretchers, wheel chairs, strings, bed sheets, sterilizers and other consumables, were forcibly packed from the polyclinic.

The polyclinic is one of the recently built health facilities by the Mahama administration.

Under the supervision of some security personnel, the items were packed into a KIA truck and sent back to her house.

According to DAILY GUIDE's sources, the minister did not go to the place herself but sent a group of National Democratic Congress (NDC) 'macho' (stoutly built) men under the guard of some security men.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that she used the security men because she feared the hospital authorities might resist the move.

This happened on 8 December, 2016 after the 7th December elections when it became clear to her that she was losing the parliamentary seat to the NPP candidate.

When a radio presenter at Sunyani-based Sky Fm called her on phone to find out why she took that action, Ms Bissiw disclosed that it was none of her business.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that when news got to her that she was losing on the election day, she ordered thugs to block the road between Techimantia and Derma to prevent electoral officers from sending ballot papers from Derma and Techimantia to the collation centre to be added to the rest of the constituency.

It is said that when all other polling station results were being collated in the evening of Wednesday  except Techimantia and Derma  it was realised that the minister was losing, and so she ordered the road to be blocked.

Benjamin Sekyere polled 21,018 votes to beat the minister who had 17,215 votes.

She reportedly sent the men to the clinic and packed the items she had donated to the hospital long ago.

However, Hannah Bissiw denied the allegation that she sent for the beds from the hospital.

But it has been misconstrued by members of the NPP in the constituency, she said.

She told Peace FM in Accra that the beds seen in the video were never donated to any health facility, but they were being conveyed from a container at Techimantia to some CHP compounds she helped to build at Kosu, Derma, Moani and Esuboe.

The Techimantia Polyclinic where the items were being packed into a KIA Truck

Pix. Community members surprised and looked on as her gangs pack the items

From Daniel Y Dayee, Techimantia

[email protected]


THE ASSEMBLY man for Dumesua Electoral Area in Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo Region, Mark Asante has been arrested and arraigned before a Sunyani Magistrate Court B for burning down Fiapre toll booth last Friday night.

Mark Asante was alleged to have led a mob to vandalize and later set ablaze the Fiapre toll booth on Friday night immediately Nana Addo was declared the winner of the 2016 presidential election by the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei.

He was arrested by the Sunyani Police at about 10 am yesterday and immediately arraigned before court on a charge of willfully causing damage to public property.

He pleaded not guilty. The court presided by over His Worship Fred Obikyere granted him bail with two sureties. As part of the bail condition, Mark was to pay GH10,000 cash which he immediately did.

He told the court that he had travelled on the day of the incident so did not know anything about the destruction of the toll booth. The judge, Fred Obikyere granting him bail asked the police to do thorough investigations about his involvement in the arson. He is to reappear on December 20, 2016.

According to the BA Regional Public Relations Officer, Sergeant Sampson Gbande, the Fiapre toll booth makes an average sales of between GH2,500 and GH3,400 daily.

FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Fiapre

[email protected]


The Ghana Union of Traders' Association (GUTA) has called on President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to collaborate with it to enhance the socio-economic development of the country.

In a congratulatory message issued yesterday and signed by its General Secretary, Alpha Abdullah Shaban, GUTA explained that it is our fervent hope that he will always remember the private sector as the engine of growth of every economy and work in close collaboration with us to create an enabling business environment for the country.

GUTA expressed the belief that a fruitful collaboration between the president-elect and businesses would help enhance the private sector.

It said, We cannot help but express our profound admiration for the high-level of maturity, coupled with the patience, tolerance, perseverance and the exemplary leadership quality he exhibited before and during his electioneering campaign that won him the landslide victory over other contestants.

TUC Ready For Partnership

Meanwhile, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has indicated that it's looking forward to partnering Mr. Addo to rebuild the collapsed economy.

TUC, in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Yaw Baah said, We congratulate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP on their electoral victory.

The TUC and Organised Labour stand ready to work with the new administration to ensure that the economy of Ghana continues on a path of growth and that the interests of workers and their families are fully promoted, the statement said.

By Melvin Tarlue
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has congratulated Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on his election victory.

The association also commended President John Dramani Mahama, all the other presidential candidates and leaders of the various political parties for exhibiting maturity and responsibility during the general election.

These are contained in a statement issued in Accra and jointly signed by Benson Nutsukpui and Justin Amenuvor, National President and National Secretary of GBA respectively.

The statement described Nana Addo, the president-elect, as a very senior and distinguished member of the association and wished him well saying, As an association, we are proud of the fact that he is the third member of the GBA to be elected president since the advent of the Fourth Republic.

The GBA shares in the joy of his achievement and wishes him well as he embarks on the arduous task of administering the affairs of our nation. We pray that the Almighty God would guide and protect him during his term as president.

Free & Fair

The Bar notes the fact that the elections were free, fair, generally orderly and peaceful and would wish to applaud the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, the Deputy Commissioners, Members and staff of the Electoral Commission for successfully superintending the 2016 general election, according to the GBA.

The GBA also congratulated all members of the bar who have been elected to represent their various constituencies as Members of Parliament saying, The GBA is gratified by the respect for the rule of law demonstrated by Ghanaians during the 2016 elections and hope we all would continue to be law abiding, strive to promote peace and deepen democracy in the country.

Amidu's Message

In a related development, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin A.B.K. Amidu  who is an anti-corruption crusader  had congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo on his historic feat, saying that Nana deserves to win against incumbent President Mahama.

I convey my warmest congratulations to the president-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the Republic of Ghana for his well-deserved and stunning victory over incumbent President John Dramani Mahama in the just concluded presidential election.

Needless Burden

Changing a government under which the mass of ordinary people were unnecessarily and needlessly burdened over the years under the yoke of massive and pervasive corruption, deliberate oligarchic mismanagement of abundant natural resources, party political and ethnic cronyism and abject ineptitude peacefully through the ballot box is a feat worthy of emulation by other citizens of the West African subcontinent in particular and Africa in general.

He said, I have no doubt that with the wise decision of the Ghanaian people in electing Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as President of the Republic of Ghana, integrity, incorruptibility, probity and accountability in the Ghana body polity will soon be restored.

Nana's Track Record

According to Mr. Amidu, the track record of the president-elect and his 'unassailable' commitment to democratic processes since constitutional governance in Ghana in 1993 gives hope that under his leadership Ghana will once more instill the values of good and accountable governance not only in Ghana, but will also be an advocate for those values and norms in the West African sub-region and the continent at large.

I whole-heartedly congratulate president-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his patience, consistency to purpose, persistence and this victory that allows him to make a very positive and beneficiary difference in the lives of ordinary Ghanaians as President of the Republic of Ghana.

Woyome Cash

He said that he has no doubt that Nana Addo is aware that the people of Ghana expect that his new government will take up the urgent responsibility of getting back our over GH51.2 million back with the accruing interest looted by the outgoing government for its lootee, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, alongside the Waterville Holding (BVI) Ltd loot of over 47 million also with all the accruing interest both ordered to be refunded to the Republic of Ghana by the Supreme Court on 14th June, 2013 and 29th July, 2014 respectively.

He said, Your victory is partly the result of the mandate and confidence entrusted to you by the people of Ghana to get our monies back to the Republic of Ghana in the shortest possible time, adding, It is my personal prayer that upon your assumption of office on 7th January, 2017 you will as the President of Ghana with your government, and the new Parliament of Ghana reciprocate the trust and confidence reposed in you at these elections by getting our Woyome and Waterville looted monies back in the shortest possible time.

By William Yaw Owusu
Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, 2 December 2016 - Building quality into every stage of the life-cycle of projects is essential if investment in infrastructure is to have a positive impact on Africas economic development: This was one of the key messages from participants at this years annual meeting of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) held at the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, under the theme Building Quality Infrastructure for Africas Development.

The 12th Annual Meeting of the ICA, which took place on 21 and 22 November 2016, was officially opened by Cote dIvoires economic infrastructure minister, Patrick Achi. The two-day meeting was attended by Japans ambassador for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seiji Okada; African Union commissioner for infrastructure, Elham Ibrahm; Former energy minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo and current head of the Inga II hydropower project, Bruno Kapandji. AfDB Acting Vice President Stefan Nalletamby attended on behalf of the Bank.

The 150 participants agreed that while increasing funding for infrastructure development was important, it must be accompanied by improvements to the quality and sustainability of infrastructure.

Adequacy of infrastructure helps determine one countrys success and anothers failure in diversifying production, expanding trade, coping with population growth and reducing poverty. Building quality infrastructure is not an option, it is critical if we want to see success along our journey to transform Africa, Moono Muputola, Director of Nepad, Regional Integration and Trade told delegates during the closing ceremony.

There was broad consensus on the need to include, during the investment phase, life-cycle costs of projects for adequate maintenance, environmental and social considerations. Delegates also insisted on adopting a participative approach to involve beneficiary communities when designing infrastructure projects.

Building in concepts of quality throughout the project life cycle, from feasibility planning and design to operation and maintenance was cited as a key element in providing economically efficient and socially inclusive infrastructure.

As Africa is likely to be impacted severely by climate change, delegates called on policy makers and infrastructure project owners to ensure climate resilience measures are built into infrastructure projects. This will require additional investment costs estimated at 10% and 15%.

Deliberations ended with a call for greater involvement and stronger support from the private sector to Africas infrastructure development despite issues of country risk, governance and capacity.

The official outcomes statement for the Plenary Session of the 12th ICA annual meeting will be posted on the ICA website.

Hosted by the AfDB, ICA was launched at the 2005 G8 Gleneagles Summit. Its mission is to help improve the lives and economic well-being of African people by supporting and promoting increased infrastructure investment from both public and private sources.

ICA also acts as a platform to increase infrastructure financing, helping to remove policy and technical barriers. In addition, the ICA facilitates greater cooperation among stakeholders, and fosters knowledge exchange through monitoring, reporting and sharing best practices.
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Wontumi, has called for the arrest of people causing trouble in the city to tarnish the image of the party.

According to him, some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) dressed in NPP colours have been seizing toilets and tollbooths in the city just to dent the image of the NPP.

Wontumi stated that his office had realized that those causing commotion in the city were not NPP members.

He sternly cautioned the imposters who were committing crime in the city to quickly desist from the practice or else they would be arrested and prosecuted by the police.

According to him, some NDC members openly seized tollbooths and toilets in the city and the Ashanti region at large when NDC won the 2008 presidential elections.

Wontumi noted that the same NDC members have now adopted a new strategy by dressing in NPP colours to cause trouble so as to create disaffection for the NPP.

He claimed the NDC wants to use that weird and diabolic tactics to disrupt the NPP's celebration, reiterating that the culprits should stop the dastardly action.

The NPP members in the city are law-abiding people, who are jubilating after the party's historic electoral victory and can therefore not be the ones seizing toilets and tollbooths, according to him.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
RESIDENTS OF Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Region, have suddenly adopted a new dressing code in the city.

Most of the people are now seen dressed in the red, blue and white colours of the New Patriotic Party (NPP.)

The dress code emerged immediately voting in the December 7 presidential and parliamentary polls ended on Wednesday.

Most of the people were seen wearing NPP clothes, headgear, bracelet and cap, as they moved around the city.

The new dress code gathered momentum on Thursday when it became clear that the NPP was winning the elections.

Interestingly, people from all walks of life in the city, including traders and commercial drivers, have adopted the dress code.

Worshippers in churches and mosques, strangely, were also spotted being decorated with the NPP colours even as they worshipped.

Interestingly, people who are advanced in age and children, as young as three years, have all joined in the new dress code.

Some of the people that DAILY GUIDE spoke to, stated that the NPP's colours are beautiful, hence their decision to wear it.

Others also said they love the NPP so much that they have decided to dress in the party's colours to be identified with it.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi


Napo and other NPP executives from Manhyia South during a prayer session in one of the churches

Many churches in the Manhyia South Constituency have prayed fervently to God to protect and bless president-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

During the Sunday service, the congregants prayed to God for direction, wisdom, vision and strength for Nana Akufo-Addo so that his incoming government would be successful.

They said the prayers after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, visited about 12 churches in his constituency on Sunday.

The MP, popularly known as 'Napo,' who retained his seat in the just-ended parliamentary polls, visited the churches ostensibly to thank God for helping Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP to win the general elections.

He visited the Church of Pentecost, CPC, Faith Gospel Church, CPC, Assemblies of God Church, Krofrom, Methodist Church, Dichemso and the Apostolic Church of Ghana, Ash Town, among others.

The hardworking lawmaker, who had promoted unity in the NPP in the Manhyia South Constituency since he became MP in 2009, was accompanied to the churches by key party executives and supporters.

Napo, in his address, told the congregants that he visited churches before the polls and prayed to God to help Nana Akufo-Addo to win the 2016 elections.

According to him, God had answered his prayers and as a staunch Christian, it was prudent for him to visit the churches again to thank God for His invaluable support which helped the NPP to win the polls.

Napo said it would be inappropriate for him to refuse to visit the churches to thank God for supporting the NPP before, during and after the elections.

The Manhyia South MP stated categorically that Nana Akufo-Addo has competent people to improve the fortunes of the country, saying without God there is noting that man can do so support Nana Addo with prayers.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi




Some members of the Invisible Forces, a group aligned with the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are keeping guard at some government revenue collection points in Tema.

According to the over 50 youth, they took the action to prevent the looting of state properties and resources by some influential members of the outgoing government.

They claimed some members of the ruling government have started stealing some state property due to the change in government.

The Invisible Forces has therefore deployed men at the security points at the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA) in Tema, tollbooths on the Tema-Accra Motorway and other state installations.

The group allegedly ransacked a tollbooth and moved the money into their car.

The party recently issued a statement to condemn similar attacks in various parts of the country and cautioned members to desist from engaging in any violent acts.

However, police personnel in the Tema Region, upon hearing about the activities of the group at tollbooth, deployed armed personnel to the area who dispersed them from the area and retrieved the monies.

A man, who gave his name as Mohammed Ali, Commander of the Tema Branch of the Invisible Forces, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE at the tollbooth on the motorway on Monday dawn, disclosed that they had received information that some members of National Democratic Congress (NDC) had begun to loot the resources of the State.

According to him, they deployed their personnel to various state institutions in Tema to monitor activities there.

We have picked signal which indicates that some people in the current government have started looting state resources since they are leaving government.

We are not here to loot anything from this place and you can see that the monies we seized were returned to the people after they taught us how they manage the business here to know how much NPP should expect when we take over completely. Their earlier refusal to comply led to misunderstanding between us, but I can assure you that we are not going to take or hijack any property but we will rather protect and monitor things until the next government takes office, the commander of the Invisible Forces added.

Meanwhile, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Juliana Obeng, Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the Tema Regional Police Command, has stated that no illegal group would be allowed to take over the tollbooth or any other state institution in the region.

From Vincent Kubi, Tema
The police in Asamankese in the Lower West Akim Municipality of the Eastern Region went on a wild goose chase ostensibly to rescue the defeated National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the area, Shirley Naana Ampem, who was only doing pedicure in her room.

There were false reports that some supporters of the NPP and NDC had clashed on Sunday at Asamankese during a health walk by the NPP.

The report said the NPP supporters allegedly changed their route to the street leading to the house of the defeated NDC candidate, resulting in clashes between the two groups.

The reports said that the house of the MP reportedly came under attack by some of the youth, who hurled stones at her residence.

Asamankese District Police Commander, DSP Anane Appiah said his outfit received a distress call from the parliamentary candidate, adding that he mobilized his men and rushed to the defeated candidate's home, but was shocked to find out that she was only doing pedicure in the room.

This was the report that came to my office; we swiftly went there and saw that it was not true. It was just about two or three people who were passing by the house of the defeated parliamentary candidate of the NDC, and some of the guys in the house wanted to confront them. They fabricated a story that the NPP people came and attacked them. That was not true.

He continued: It was the candidate who, while in her room, called me that some people had come to attack them. So we quickly went there less than five minutes and we saw that she was in her room doing pedicure.

She said some of her boys gave her that information. Meanwhile, there were about six or seven cars there, so if they really threw stones it would have hit the glass or bonnet of at least one of the cars but we realized that it was not true, DSP Anane Appiah added.

From Daniel Bampoe, Asamankese

Pix saved as Defeated NDC in 2016


Hassan Ayariga, the leader of the All Peoples Congress(APC) has congratulated President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo on his victory at the recent polls.

In a statement, he said Your victory with a large majority has democratically been decided by the good people of Ghana. I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your well deserved and overdue success.

He said Nana Akufo-Addo has worked hard for the position of the President of the Republic of Ghana

and prayed that he is able to fulfill his campaign promises.

To Ghanaians, he said, they too deserved congratulation for the peaceful nature of the elections.

Ghana, he said, has showed the rest of the world that she is the beacon of democracy in Africa. He applauded the outgoing President John Mahama for, as he put it, enhancing democracy during his tenure. He particularly pointed at the concession of defeat by the President

He admonished Nana Addo to be a president for all and to adopt an all-inclusive governance system.

Hassan Ayariga who lost a primary of the People's National Convention formed the APC but the party failed to meet the standards of the Electoral Commission and could not field a presidential candidate in the general election.

He hit the road to campaign for President John Mahama in the northern regions.
THE NATIONAL Democratic Congress (NDC) will win nine new seats and add to our existing four seats to make it 13 seats in the Ashanti Region during the December 7 elections.

These were the exact words of the then confident-looking President John Mahama, as he embarked on massive campaign tour of the Ashanti Region, where he visited most of the constituencies.

President Mahama, who was the candidate of the NDC for the polls, without mincing words, stressed that the NDC's four seats at Asawase, New Edubiase, Sekyere Afram Plains and Ahafo Ano North, were safe.

Addressing party faithful when his campaign train hit New Edubiase, then a safe seat of the NDC, he stated that the Ashanti Region was no longer the stronghold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP.)

President Mahama noted that the NDC would snatch nine new seats from the NPP in the Ashanti Region to buttress his claim that the region was no longer a stronghold of the NPP.

Interestingly, the NDC was able to win just one of the nine targeted new seats (Ejura/Sekyedumase,) but the party also lost two of its four seats including Ahafo Ano North and New Edubiase.

President Mahama during the tour also stated that he would win the presidential race with a landslide but he ended up losing miserably to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the NPP.

Confusion

Reports emerging indicate that confusion had hit the NDC in the Ashanti Region after the defeat, as key party members had started pointing accusing fingers at each other, regarding who caused the shocking defeat.

Some of the aggrieved party members, according to reports, have said the renting of non-NDC members to fill all the spaces during the party's public programmes, did not help them.

Other NDC top guns also believed that the party did not have a clear message to woo the voters as compared with the NPP, and this resulted in their first round defeat by the NPP.

A party insider said on anonymity that President Mahama also should partly be blamed for the embarrassing defeat.

He said the president during his visit in the region talked as if he polls was not difficult.

According to him, President Mahama stated that the elections was a done deal for the NDC, and this positive saying from the president, perhaps, made the party supporters to relax a bit during the campaign.

For instance, the NDC insider said, whilst Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was passionately appealing to the electorates to vote for him, President Mahama was doing Jamaican Sprinter, Usain Bolt victory sign as if all was well.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
The Writer

13.12.2016 LISTEN

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 13 December 2016,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- "When you're finished changing, you're finished," said the wise Benjamin Franklin. But we don't need to take his word for it: there are many inspired thoughts that punctuate the role of change in business. The more difficult question is when change should happen.

This topic makes business leaders nervous. Change is good, but so is stability. The world does not comprise of only mavericks and trailblazers - and even those often reach their stature through steady determination, not constantly rocking the boat. Timing is important, as is a clear view of what lies ahead.

If there was ever time worth anticipating tomorrow, it is now. As the world builds on the tectonic shift of technology that was the Internet 1.0 era, we move into Industry 4.0, also called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The radical impact which technologies such as the internet, email and business applications have landed, is now evolving to reach beyond our computer screens and into the world around us. Breakthroughs such as the Internet of Things, blockchain, artificial intelligence, connected cars, smart cities and personalised consumer experiences are not just shaking things up - they are rewriting the rules.

Unfortunately this means nobody can, with certainty, predict what to expect. We can only determine how to be ready for it.

Radically changing business models is not a new phenomenon. By 2027, three quarters of S&P 500 companies will be replaced. But over the last 60 years nearly 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies ceased to exist as independent entities. The last time business experienced such upheaval was in the late 1970s, when new technologies sparked a massive shakeup of incumbents which lead into the consolidation-crazy 1980s.

Such change always arrives. Hasbro, a multinational toy giant, previously sold textiles. So did Berkshire Hathaway, now an investment titan. Western Union was once the leader of telegraph systems, today it is a leader in cash transfers. Fujifilm has shifted its vast skills in chemicals from photography to making high-end cosmetics.

But the waves of change are bigger, stronger and more frequent. Aptly the theme of the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos was "mastering the fourth industrial revolution." At SAP we define this event in three stages, aligned to the tropical depression, the tropical storm and the hurricane.

Companies in the tropical depression may not quite recognise change yet, since they seem to be in quiet waters. But the roaring clouds are gathering on the horizon. New business models, cost-saving systems such as IoT technologies and perhaps a bit too much confidence in their sector's resilience warn of big changes to come.

Those finding themselves in a tropical storm are more acutely aware of these changes and even trying to make the most of it by applying those technologies. They believe they are seeing the peak of the sea-change.

But that perspective is reserved for the companies in the hurricane: industries that are rapidly transforming, due to new business models, powered by modern technology. Nobody in the banking, retail, media or education landscape needs to be notified about change - they are seeing it first-hand.

It is imperative that business leaders reimagine their business models. Fortunately, though we cannot see the future, we can look at what is working so far. There are six distinct business models that have shown their resilience and talent.

First, but in no particular order, is the Outcome Based model. Instead of selling just products or services, a company's revenue is determined by the outcomes their customers experience. Insurance companies favouring a usage-based model are good examples of this. The second model is Expansion into New Industries and Markets- the most popular example of disruption. Examples include banks moving into telecommunications and telecommunication moving into banking. Amazon - a major freight customer - is now expanding into that very business.

Digitisation of Products and Services is the third model. Here companies use digitisation to improve the entire value chain and reduce costs. Think Apple's music empire or the drive by banks for customers to swipe cards instead of exchanging cash. Companies that Compete as an Ecosystem embrace the fourth model, using complementary partners to build richer products. One could argue that car companies have been doing this for decades, but the connected car is reshaping even that stoic sector through new and radical partnerships.

The fifth model needs little introduction. Shared Economy businesses thrive on exploiting under-utilised assets sourced from third parties. AirBnB owns no hotels. Facebook creates no content. Yet both grow on those elements, all coming from the outside. Finally, the Digital Platform is the sixth model: this could be an online marketplace such as New Zealand's Powershop; a networking space like SAP Ariba or the business tools found in Microsoft's Office 365. Digital Platforms not only offer more for less, but create new and exotic ways of monetisation.

Even SAP has shifted its business models. The vast majority of our revenue comes from streams that didn't even exist a decade ago. Your business may still be in calm seas or perhaps it already feels the waves smacking its hull. Those clouds of change are not going to blow over. It is time to sail the seas of change.

Link to white paper: https://dam.sap.com/mac/download/ad/JynOM.htm
President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo, has reiterated the point that his incoming administration will establish an independent prosecutor's office to deal with corruption in his administration.

Nana Akufo-Addo contends that, an office devoid of political influence will assist in arresting the issues of corruption that have plagued Ghana.

In an interview with the BBC, the President-elect said such a move would also allay the fears of witch-hunting of political opponents.We have decided that we want to take the politics out of it [the fight against corruption], so that the screams of witch-hunting and others will not arise, by establishing an office of a special prosecutor or somebody who will be independent of the executive and whose remit will be to investigate and tackle issues of corruption.

Hopefully, that person is going to be somebody who is going to command the respect of the society, and at the same time has an independent mind to make the decisions, he said.

Fixing economy a priority

Aside the efforts to establish an independent prosecutor's office, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that, his main priority will be fixing the economy and addressing the youth unemployment rate in the country, which the world bank has pegged at 48 percent for persons between ages 15 and 24.

Unemployment amongst the youth has reached alarming proportions, and if we don't find a method of dealing with it, our country and society are going to run into all kinds of problems down the line. So my major priority is what we need to do to get our economy working again, expanding and growing rapidly, Nana Akufo-Addo said.

-Citifmonline
The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has advised persons living with HIV/AIDS to stick to their medications instead of seeking cure from unverifiable sources.

Dr Angela El-Adas, Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, gave the advice in a statement read on her behalf by Rita Afriyie, Technical Coordinator for Greater Accra, Technical Support Unit, during the Greater Accra Region's commemoration of the World AIDS Day at Kpone.

The theme for the celebration was '90-90-90 Providing Comprehensive Integrated Services For All Towards An HIV-Free Generation'.

Dr El-Adas stated that affected persons should not allow themselves to be swayed by stories and claims of a cure for HIV.

She stressed that the responsibility and mandate of persons living with HIV was to stay on the drugs prescribed by their care givers.

She reminded them that there were many series of tests that substances must be subjected to before a claim of cure can be made.

The Ghana AIDS Commission, along with the MoH and the FDA, will be most proud to support the announcement of such findings. Until then, every researcher must be astute and stay within the ethics of research rather than sensationalism, she added.

Touching on Ghana's theme for the celebration, she explained that the 90-90-90 meant that by 2020, at least 90 percent of all infected with HIV would have tested to know their status.

Also, 90 percent of those tested HIV positive and know their status would be put on anti-retroviral treatment and 90 percent of persons on treatment would achieve viral suppression by the year 2020.

She mentioned that this year marked the first year when Ghana and the global community signed onto the 90-90-90 targets to be achieved towards ending AIDS in 2030.

Dr El-Adas announced that Ghana was entering 2017 with a new act for the GAC which has made provision for sanctions against people who stigmatise and discriminate against persons who live with HIV.

Patience Ami Mamattah, Kpone-Katamanso District Director of Health, giving the situational report of the disease for the area, said the district provides HIV/AIDS testing services at 16 health facilities in the area.

She indicated that this year, 2,556 pregnant women were tested, out of which 27 tested positive. A total of 1,437 other residents were also tested, out of which 148 turned out to be positive.

She, however, mentioned that the district does not have the needed infrastructure and equipment required to provide the needed care for HIV patients.

Mrs Mamattah said due to the lack of diagnostic facilities such as chemistry analyzer and CD4 count machine in the district, most positive clients were unable to start treatment

Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, Greater Accra Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, stated that through targeted prevention strategies over the past five years, the region's HIV prevalence has been sustained below two percent.

He added that the annual AIDS-related deaths have also been reduced by 43 percent, while 50 percent reduction of HIV transmission from mother-to-child had been achieved, with 81 percent of women now receiving prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services.

He announced that Ghana on October 1, this year began the implementation of the 'Treat All' policy in four high disease burden regions, comprising of the Greater Accra, Eastern, Western and Ashanti regions.

Under the treat all regime, everyone who tests positive to HIV will be put on treatment, he stated, adding that it was a step-up from the previous policy where one's CD4 count had to be 500 or lower before having access to treatment.

GNA


Drama unfolded in the Operations Room of the Electoral Commission (EC) in Accra last Friday after President John Dramani Mahama called Nana Akufo-Addo on phone to concede defeat in the 2016 general elections.

Staff of the Commission, representatives of the various political parties and observers spontaneously halted the collation of the results to jubilate.

The representatives of National Democratic Congress Party (NDC), Convention People's Party (CPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), Progressive People's Party (PPP), People's National Convention (PNC) and the Independent Candidate, hugged each other to defuse tension in the Operations Room.

During a press conference, the Chairperson of Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Charlotte Osei, averred that Nana Akufo-Addo polled a total of 5,716,026 votes to beat incumbent President John Dramani Mahama, who also had 4,713,277 votes.

According to her, Nana Akufo-Addo, 72, who now becomes the 5th President of the 4th Republic, secured 53.85 percent of the total valid votes while his closest contender, John Dramani Mahama recorded 44.40 percent.

The candidates of the other five contending political parties collectively secured 1.76 percent of the total votes.

She stated that a total of 15,712,499 registered voters took part in the elections at 28,992 polling stations across 275 constituencies and 286 voting centres.

Nana Akufo-Addo, a legal luminary and onetime Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration under the previous Kufour administration is married to Rebecca Akufo-Addo and has three daughters.

J.B Danquah, William OforiAttah and Edward Akufo- Addo were the grand uncle, uncle and father respectively of Nana Akufo-Addo.

Edward Akufo-Addo, his father, was Ghana's third Chief Justice and ceremonial President from 1969-1972.

Speaking to journalists after the declaration of the results, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress Party (NDC), congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo for emerging victorious in the general elections.

He mentioned that although there were reports of irregularities, they were insignificant.

By Solomon Ofori
Joe Anokye, the NASA IT expert for NPP is a Ghanaian. He is an IT professional who will go down in Ghana's history as the person who probably saved our vote manipulating politicians and could have for the first time in our history given us an opportunity to see what are the true voting numbers in this country.

I have always said that both parties have cheated consistently, on the basis that if I don't do it, they are doing it and I will lose bitterly.

I am not sure where the original article which I am reproducing verbatim came from, but I think all Ghanaians should know that in times like this when there is so much mistrust, good quality information trumps the lies and concoctions and gives us the confidence to carry on.

There were times during the 72-day-rapture period that some of us heard we could be heading for another coup d'etat. Had the election been called for Mahama, Ghana could have seen the bloodiest coup and deprived JJ of that title.

But here is a narrative of what happened insofar as the public space needs to know.

It sounded like the denouement of Ghana's nine-month-long political drama. At 2:00 on Friday morning, Joy FM, one of the most popular radio stations in Accra, announced that opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo had won the presidential election with 53% of the votes against incumbent John Mahama on 45.2%.

The radio station based its call on results from 218 of the country's 275 constituencies. Cheers erupted in the campaign team for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), which had been urging the radio station to call the election. In fact, Joy was the last of the big radio stations in the capital to announce that Akufo-Addo had built an insurmountable lead in the elections that ended on 7 December.

After looking at the data, Joy's top journalists and analysts concluded that it was now mathematically impossible for Mahama to win the elections. They had passed over their conclusions to the presidency for response. There was no comment beyond a tweet from President Mahama's official account: Lets allow EC [Electoral Commission] to carry out its constitutional mandate. Well make Ghana proud no matter the outcome.

Although the radio stations and most of the private newspapers had called the election for the opposition, remarkably the EC had not announced a single certified result by midday on 9 December.

The EC's timetable had been snagged by officials from the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), who refused to sign results sheets in several constituencies.

That allowed the media, civic activists and opposition parties to fill the election data vacuum. And their figures were almost all pointing to a substantial opposition victory in the presidential and parliamentary vote. How could they be so sure of the accuracy of their data?

The answer is something of a triumph for activists and oppositionists. Under Ghana's electoral system, party agents and independent monitors are allowed access to key voting data, polling station by polling station. Recruiting efficient and determined monitors and polling agents was the first step in crunching the numbers. Then some innovative information technology was brought in, with organisations setting up data systems linking all 275 parliamentary constituencies to report on results from the nearly 29,000 polling stations across the country.

Leading the field among them was the opposition NPP. Its presiding genius is director of technology Joe Anokye, a Ghanaian expert on data systems who has been working for the NASA space agency for the past two decades.

Anokye has been working on building an electoral data system for the party  at a secret location in Accra  since March. The first step was recruitment, he tells The Africa Report. We had to have two reliable and technologically capable agents for each of the 29,000 polling stations in the country. In previous elections, many of the party's agents had walked off the job or taken money to certify false results. But this time, the party treated the agents much better: the quid pro quo was that they had to report with total accuracy the results in their local polling station, the number of votes cast and any possible disputes.

Anokye and his team built a system that allowed the agents to feed their information into the party's national database in real time so party officials in Accra could know the results at each polling station as soon as they had been announced.

At the same time, the party had its own data experts in each of the 275 constituencies tracking the results polling station by polling station. It assigned one data expert to the EC's collation centre for the constituency, and the other run a collation centre for the party in each constituency. That enabled the party to compare its own figures with the results in the Commission's system.

To the NPPs relief, most of the results matched. That informed the NPP's early insistence that it had won the elections, a view now widely shared in the media and civil society, and even by the more discreet members of the governing NDC. Others NDC loyalists are still questioning some of the figures and holding up the official announcements.

So Charlotte Osei had to concede. After all the political jingoism, disqualifying many aspirants, being sued in court, appealing the decisions and even refusing to see the wisdom in cleaning the voter register so we would all have confidence in the main data source, some persons are now finding it politically correct, using the soft side of the Ghanaian culture to praise her for a mediocre performance.

The EC had no intention of surrendering the win to the NPP. Everything they did was clearly to make an NDC win. One day if any of the Commissioners gets the courage to pipe up, we will know exactly what changed hands.

The evidence is in the announcement of switching to a manual count rather than the electronic transmission and even after that was abandoned, yet more attempt to manipulate opportunities in the Afram Plains, the North and if possible, some parts of Ashanti.

Yes, I am saying it and if the EC believes it can afford in-depth scrutiny, I am readying myself for court. After all they have hardly won any case yet and I will count on their losing track record to be bold, be bold, be bold.

Oh, but she didn't try at all ooo! All the smaller parties lost so much ground and would not have delivered that second round king maker opportunity had the NPP relied on them.

Well, we have a new president in the offing, a new Parliament and a whole new set of ministers yet to be made arrogant.

But I had two opinion polls before voting day. Both predicted a win for the NPP and pretty accurately too.

The first gave Nana Addo a 50.79% win over John Mahama's 46.73%. It also predicted the NPP would win in five regions and NDC would split the rest. The regional split was insightful. But the later poll based on social media activity and commentary was so accurate I can say that Maximus Ametorgoh of OccupyGhana, who sent me his predictions ahead of time, was spot on. All his regions came through to NPP as he said and the numbers were rather close.

What we all did not see was the correction in the voter numbers, especially from the Volta Region. I also have to commend voters in Central and Western Regions. They delivered. Particularly spectacular was the emphatic defeat of Hannah Serwah Tetteh by George Andah in Awutu Senya West.

Gone is arrogance, gone is impudence! A major leap for George, and a mighty large jump for OccupyGhana. Our candidate has shown what good strategy and the right message can do in even the uninformed rural communities. We are proud to be part of his win, and we look forward to some good decisions in Parliament.

Read this week's Latin very carefully. I have definitely changed back. Ghana voted neither for the NPP nor did we vote out the NDC. We voted to stop the election rigging machines. I am proud of us!

Ghana. Aha a ye de papa. Alius valde week advenio. Another great week to come.

Sydney Casely-Hayford,

[email protected]
13.12.2016 LISTEN

Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region woke up to find their party head office locked up by a known party activist, Yakubu Tony Aidoo.

The angry party activist, said he took the decision to punish NDC executives, who in his view are responsible for the massive defeat of the party in the just-ended elections.

He said the party executives failed to use monies allocated for their campaign judiciously.

Citi News Hawa Iddrisu said some party officials were later called in to restore calm and open the office.

The Deputy Regional Communications Officer, Solomon Anane said party members in the region will soon meet to decide on the next line of action.

We have different people and the way they take issues and so people are not taking this loss very kindlyTheir reactions may differ but as we speak the party office is relatively calm, everything is moving on and so nothing much to worry. 

We cannot meet with our supporters as we speak. As a regional body we need to do a post mortem of exactly what happened and the way forward. After we have diagnosed the problem, we will meet our party faithful and tell them exactly what happened and the way forward.



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @EfeAnsah
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is heading to court to place an interlocutory injunction on the results of the Tamale central Parliamentary election.

The results are in contention following the NPP's discovery of over voting and unknown polling station results recorded at the end of the poll on December 7.

The Parliamentary candidate, Dr. Barhama Ibrahim Imoro Anyass refused to sign the Electoral Commission's statement of polls and called for nullification of the said over voting results and that of the unknown polling stations.

Citifmonline.com is reliably informed that Lawyer Akoto Ampau, Lawyer Kofi Bentil and Lawyer Hassan Tampuli constitute the legal team.

Lawyer Hassan Tampuli was spotted in Tamale on Tuesday to facilitate the legal tussle.

Below is the petition.

12 December, 2016

The Returning Officer

Tamale Central Constituency

2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections

Dear Mr Anabila Godwin Atinga,

DETERMINATION OF THE UNRESOLVED MATTERS OF THE TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION RESULTS IN THE

DECEMBER 7, 2016 ELECTION

I write to you as the Parliamentary Candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2016 Parliamentary Election, held on 7th December, 2016. This letter is to seek further clarification and information from you, as collation and declaration of the parliamentary results remain in limbo.

The following are cardinal among the litany of irregularities at the Tamale Central Constituency polls on the 7th December 2016.

1. Inaccuracies with the collated parliamentary results: while insisting that results that were disputed were not adding to the tally of results; your IT assistants continually discretely added them to produce a summary sheet of results. Your denial that you did not authorise them did not stop you from producing same summary sheet as the validated results of the election. Among these were the reported over-voting cases at twelve (12) polling stations. Equally, while not defined in law, you agreed with the detected pattern where under-voting occurred (voters not given parliamentary ballots creating discrepancies with tallied presidential results). While separating the two results  Presidential and Parliamentary  EC officials still alluded to one BVD thus requiring some unanimity of the ballots, upon verification.

2. Inaccurate Register of Voters: while raising valid complaints that were not heeded on over-voting and under-voting; these arose from the compiled register of voters for Tamale Central Constituency. I have detected inaccuracies in the Register of Voters presented to the NPP and the register that the EC produced at polling stations in the constituency. EC registers contain names far in excess of the totals that was originally handed to the party for the elections on 7th December 2016. For example 

3. Unknown Polling Stations: Ahead of the elections, as stated in CI.94 the NPP received names and codes of designated polling stations for all 136 polling stations in the Tamale Central Constituency. For the special voting an extra designated polling station at the Regional Police Headquarters in Tamale (now 137 polling stations). Conspicuously non-existent were the two polling stations at Mallam Fari's Mosque (A & B) with polling station codes H193804A and H193804B.

I personally enquired from the Returning Officer and the Metro Director where to locate these polling stations with my agents, without success. At the collation centre however, results arrived with Presiding Officers from the two polling stations. In spite of my loud and legal protestations that the vote should not be added to the tally, the RO on intimidation by the NDC Regional Chairman and his Metro Director caved in to their pressure  collating invalid results.

4. Over-voting at twelve polling stations: At counting upon the close of polls, complaints of over-votes initiated at polling stations remained unresolved at the collation centre. Every single instance of the twelve (12) polling stations that over-voting occurred was reported in my presence with the RO at the collation centre. The RO in all such cases stated that the PO and the agents be brought to the collation centre for resolution. However, to date not a single recount has been granted to verify the claims or otherwise of over-voting. We still demand recount of the ballots from these 12 polling stations below, as stipulated in the CI.94.

i. Manhaliya (H192702A)

ii. A.f.d.o.m (H193602)

iii. Fathul Islam Primary A (H192504A)

iv. Fathul Islam Primary B (H192504B)

v. Catholic Social Centre (H192608B)

vi. Church of Pentecost (H194101A)

vii. Church of Pentecost (H194101B)

viii. Tuffuor Hotel (H192802)

ix. ECG Centre B (H193503B)

x. Behind Imam's House Mohiyabihi (H193901A)

xi. Zogbeli Primary C (H193003C)

xii. Presby Primary B (H193502)

5. Destroyed ballot boxes: two recorded instances of destroyed ballot boxes. While the Metro Director of EC insisted that it did not matter that ballot boxes were destroyed  citing precedents at Wulensi, Tolon and elsewhere  that results remained valid with the produced pink sheets (collation sheets). It was not long however before we realised that the destroyed ballot boxes concealed the over-voting at Manhaliya Polling Station (H19).

6. Intimidation by NDC and EC Officials at Collation Centre: The Collation Centre got invaded twice by the NDC Regional Chairman, Alhaji Sofo Azorka, with other NDC macho men and vigilantes. Chaotic scenes with threats of beaten up officers and members of my team. In none of those instances did the RO raise an alarm or request for indoor protection. These were aimed at hastening and reaching a rushed  even if invalid  results. Such violations eventually affected the mood of the RO and his team and their attitude was one of acquiescence to the dictates of the NDC and their candidate, disregarding every single suggestion and complaint coming from my end, as a Candidate in this election.

7. Refusal to comply with CI. 94: To the extent that CI.94 is what regulate the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections; it is beyond doubt that the RO for the Tamale Central Constituency for the December 7, 2016 elections stood in complete violation of every single instance cited above.

a. Valid Results: Collation is aimed at valid results

b. Unknown Polling Stations: Criminal and Illegal

c. Over-voting: Denial of legitimate right to recount

d. Concealed evidence of over-voting by destroying ballot boxes

e. Interference by the EC Metro Director in the process at Collation

f. Invalid register containing names in excess of register given to the NPP for the vote

In the light of the above and in due regard to the gravity of these violations, I cannot imagine what resolution would redress these other than a re-run of the parliamentary elections in the Tamale Central Constituency. We, as a party, are unable to accept the collated results for the parliamentary elections that have been gathered so far due to the improprieties that have been cited.

This matter now deserves your urgent and resolute attention. Any further delays compounds the violations and heighten needless tensions within the constituency. I await your expeditious response to these issues.

Thank you.

Ibrahim Anyars Imoro

2016 NPP Parliamentary Candidate

Tamale Central Constituency

Cc: The Metro EC Director

The Regional EC Director

The Chair, EC Accra

The Regional Police Commander

The Northern Regional Chairman of NPP



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
As Belarusians are entering the New Year, one thing is certain  they will be celebrating the New Year with their Culture Code, as President Alexander Lukashenko who in 1994 said that the Belarusian Language was a pitiable one, flabby for conveying anything impressive, appended his signature on the Culture Code, which the House of Representatives passed and was approved by the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, middle of the year.

The Culture Code has been prepared for the first time and does not have analogues in the post-Soviet space, analysts have said. Before this time, I was worried why a sovereign country as Belarus would not have a cultural identity. I was meant to understand though some opinions, saying, Due to historical factors, the formation of Belarusian national identity was not at all straightforward: being on the crossroads of Europe the Belarusian territory was often re-divided and annexed to more powerful neighbours.

With his once political diplomatic ties with Russia, President Lukashenko, who has today given a nod for Culture Code in Belarus, had been in the forefront in pummeling the Language in favour of Russia, making judgment leaders to say, And in the years that followed, Belarusian became the language of the marginalised political opposition. But they added that the Culture Code will repose on and espouse the custom of Belarusian laws, such as:

1. Concerning culture in the Republic of Belarus.

2. Concerning library science in the Republic of Belarus.

3. Concerning arts and crafts in the Republic of Belarus.

4. Concerning creative unions and creative workers.

5. Concerning film making in the Republic of Belarus.

6. Concerning museums and the museum fund of the Republic of Belarus.

7. Concerning the protection of the Belarusian historical and cultural legacy.

Investigation revealed that in the past, Belarus was in search of culture code because, The official school of history underlines the negative impact of Western presence in Belarus, highlighting the suppressions during German and Polish occupations and the peasant role of Belarusians during these times.

It is evidence today that Belarus has risen to the occasion to identify with her cultures, not that of Russia, because the bilateral relationship that was existing between Russian and Belarus has gone cold. Its also a well known fact that before their newly perceived disunity, Russian and Belarusian presidents had maintained a bilateral relationship, with President Lukashenko and President Vladimir Putin of Russia once holding close political, economic and military knots.

In spite of this, Russian-backed pro-self-government and national army forces in eastern Ukraine, have made Lukashenko to start laying the foundations to make his countrys relationship with Europe a formidable one against his once brotherly love with Russia. What European political observers have seen is a Belarusian president that has been sending diplomats from his country to European capitals, and is in convivial ties with embassies from the EU and US  the two entities that have locked their horns with Putin in their diplomatic war.

In April 2015, Belarusian president was precautious to talk about the matter of Russian influence on his country and showed slim love concerning the presence of pro-Russian NGOs in Belarus and supposed that he had strong methods to handle the presence of radical Russian groups active in his country. Perhaps, the outcome of the political squabble between the two countries is the Culture Code we can hear in Belarus, a country where 70% of its people, have been influenced to speak the Russian Language. But the good side of the Culture Code is, according to media reports:

1. The document also reduces the number of legal acts in culture and streamlines them.

2. To preserve Belarus' cultural legacy, promote cultural organizations, and grant overall access to the benefits of culture, the Code provides for the legal, organizational, economic, and social norms in culture and regulates relations in the following fields:

3. preservation and development of cultural values, protection of the historical and architectural heritage, library and museum affairs, film making, arts and crafts, activities of amateur art groups, organization of cultural events, incentives in culture.

4. The Code will enter into force in six months after its official publication.

Before this time, there was the Russian Orthodox Church; regarded by observers as official rhetoric that promotes the idea of pan-Slavism, linking it to the Russian rule and the diffusion of religion in Belarus. Yet, the official approach clearly lacks historical national heroes. But on November 11 2016, President Lukashenko and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially opened a mosque to worship in Belarus, which was rebuilt by Turkey many years after it was shattered in the Soviet time.

While delivering a message during the opening ceremony of the mosque slated for July but for the coup challenge in Turkey, Mehmet Gormez, head of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, said, "This is an instance of viewing differences as wealth rather than a threat and danger. In Belarus, people of different religions and cultures share the same vision of future and work hard for Belarus' stability, growth and gain a deserved place in the international community and I think this feature of Belarus is very valuable in these troubled times and unfortunately, it is a rare feature."

Not only has President Lukashenko signed the Culture Code, he seemed to have woken up from his periodic years of sleeping against the Belarusian cultures, and has admonished at a meeting on the summary agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) Customs Code on 9 December, that Belarus interests were paramount, when the Customs Code of the EEU was embraced.

According to news reports, The Customs Code is the principal document regulating these relations. We always say that export is of vital importance to us. It brings foreign currency to our country which is used to ensure decent standard of living, Lukashenko noted.

He continued, Therefore, this document should be thoroughly elaborated, so that not a single Belarusian citizen, including me, asks our government, which has been responsible for the drafting and consideration of the Code, what real results it has brought about and why the situation in some aspects has become worse than before... This should be done immediately in order to give people time to provide feedback and say what is beneficial for us and what is not.

Notwithstanding, the Culture Code will enter into force in six months counting from July after its endorsed publication. At least, it will end the many years of mock on the once scrawny national identity of Belarus whichs Belorussia. We hope that the Culture Code will enhance the 11% number of daily tabloids printed in Belarusian. Although, Belarusian and Russian Languages are the official languages in the Constitution of Belarus, but if the country can make it Belarusian, it will hold enough water.

However, the Culture Code would mean that the Belarusians who perceivably believe till recently that they are still in the defunct Soviet Union, where the Russian Language is fad, have started to break the shackles of that Union which can be said has not been favourable to Belarus. We could remember that the Pahonian coat of arms is traceable to the era of the GDL and since 1917, has been in use as a sign of the political rival, awaiting today, making Belarus National Republic (BNR) to be unrecognised in 1918, but celebrated as fascist; with the flag been official under German occupation.

Odimegwu Onwumere is an award-winning journalist based in Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855. E-mail: [email protected]
The World Health Organizations (WHO) World Malaria Report 2016 reveals that children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa have greater access to effective malaria control. Across the region, a steep increase in diagnostic testing for children and preventive treatment for pregnant women has been reported over the last five years. Among all populations at risk of malaria, the use of insecticide-treated nets has expanded rapidly.

But in many countries in the region, substantial gaps in programme coverage remain. Funding shortfalls and fragile health systems are undermining overall progress, jeopardizing the attainment of global targets.

Scale-up in malaria control

Sub-Saharan Africa carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2015, the region was home to 90% of malaria cases and 92% of malaria deaths. Children under five are particularly vulnerable, accounting for an estimated 70% of all malaria deaths.

Diagnostic testing enables health providers to rapidly detect malaria and prescribe life-saving treatment. New findings presented in the report show that, in 2015, approximately half (51%) of children with a fever seeking care at a public health facility in 22 African countries received a diagnostic test for malaria compared to 29% in 2010.

To protect women in areas of moderate and high malaria transmission in Africa, WHO recommends intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (ITPp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. The treatment, administered at each scheduled antenatal care visit after the first trimester, can prevent maternal and infant mortality, anaemia and the other adverse effects of malaria in pregnancy.

According to available data, there was a five-fold increase in the percentage of women receiving the recommended three or more doses of this preventive treatment in 20 African countries. Coverage reached 31% in 2015, up from 6% in 2010.

Insecticide-treated nets are the cornerstone of malaria prevention efforts in Africa. The report found that more than half (53%) of the population at risk in sub-Saharan Africa slept under a treated net in 2015 compared to 30% in 2010.

Last month, WHO released the findings of a major five-year evaluation in five countries. The study showed that people who slept under long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) had significantly lower rates of malaria infection than those who did not use a net, even though mosquitoes showed resistance to pyrethroids (the only insecticide class used in LLINs) in all of these areas.

An unfinished agenda

Malaria remains an acute public health problem, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the report, there were 212 million new cases of malaria and 429 000 deaths worldwide in 2015.

There are still substantial gaps in the coverage of core malaria control tools. In 2015, an estimated 43% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was not protected by treated nets or indoor spraying with insecticides, the primary methods of malaria vector control.

In many countries, health systems are under-resourced and poorly accessible to those most at risk of malaria. In 2015, a large proportion (36%) of children with a fever were not taken to a health facility for care in 23 African countries.

We are definitely seeing progress, notes Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. But the world is still struggling to achieve the high levels of programme coverage that are needed to beat this disease.

Global targets

At the 2015 World Health Assembly, Member States adopted the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030. The Strategy set ambitious targets for 2030 with milestones every five years to track progress.

Eliminating malaria in at least 10 countries is a milestone for 2020. The report shows that prospects for reaching this target are bright: In 2015, 10 countries and territories reported fewer than 150 indigenous cases of malaria, and a further 9 countries reported between 150 and 1000 cases.

Countries that have achieved at least 3 consecutive years of zero indigenous cases of malaria are eligible to apply for the WHO certification of malaria elimination. In recent months, the WHO Director-General certified that Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka had eliminated malaria.

But progress towards other key targets must be accelerated. The Strategy calls for a 40% reduction in malaria case incidence by the year 2020, compared to a 2015 baseline. According to the report, less than half (40) of the 91 countries and territories with malaria are on track to achieve this milestone. Progress has been particularly slow in countries with a high malaria burden.

An urgent need for more funding

Sustained and sufficient funding for malaria control is a serious challenge. Despite a steep increase in global investment for malaria between 2000 and 2010, funding has since flat-lined. In 2015, malaria funding totalled US$ 2.9 billion, representing only 45% of the funding milestone for 2020 (US$6.4 billion).

Governments of malaria-endemic countries provided about 31% of total malaria funding in 2015. The United States of America is the largest international malaria funder, accounting for about 35% of total funding in 2015, followed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (16%).

If global targets are to be met, funding from both domestic and international sources must increase substantially.
Rabat (AFP) - Trouble is stirring in the remote sands of disputed Western Sahara in an area near the Mauritanian border where moves by the pro-independence Polisario Front have riled Morocco.

The Algiers-backed Polisario has set up a new military post in the Guerguerat district on the Atlantic coast, within a stone's throw of Moroccan soldiers.

In pictures posted online, its leader Brahim Ghali, in military fatigues and sporting a white moustache, is seen reviewing his troops with all-terrain vehicles parked in the dunes behind.

Ghali's mission was to supervise the establishment of a "support base" in Guerguerat, in the far south of the territory, according to pro-Polisario websites.

War broke out in 1975 when Morocco sent troops to the former Spanish colony and battled Polisario Front fighters, who declared a Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic the following year.

A UN peacekeeping force, MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara), was established in 1991 when a ceasefire took effect.

Morocco insists Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom, despite UN resolutions that task MINURSO with organising a referendum on self-determination.

Since mid-August, Guerguerat has become a source of tension between Rabat and the Polisario.

In a move it says is designed to counter trafficking, mostly in drugs and stolen cars, the Moroccan army has started to build a tarmacked road beyond the 2,500-kilometre-long (1,600-mile) sand wall that surrounds the 90 percent of the territory which it controls.

Polisario elements have since entered the area, bringing them close to Moroccan military positions, and the two sides have traded accusations of violating the terms of the 1991 ceasefire.

The United Nations has deployed a number of unarmed MINURSO blue helmets to the area and warned of the "regional implications" of any resumption of hostilities.

Rabat has given assurances of "restraint" but stressed it remains determined to complete construction of the road from Guerguerat to La Guera, a ghost town further south, just 15 kilometres (nine miles) across the border from Mauritania's second city Nouadhibou.

At the end of September, less than 3.5 kilometres (two miles) remained to be built, but there has been no progress report since then.

'Gesturing'

For Morocco, an advanced Polisario outpost amounts to "a serious provocation difficult to leave unanswered", an analyst of the decades-old dispute said.

Rabat has so far withheld any public comment, but the website Le360, which is close to palace circles, has branded it a "provocation".

It accused MINURSO of failing to act and criticised Mauritania, which allows the Polisario to move freely on its territory.

For Le360, "a plot hatched by Algiers, to be executed by the Polisario with the complicity of Nouakchott" aims to snatch control of the Guerguerat area.

The Moroccan army "continues to show restraint... but Polisario actions would call for a firm and rigorous response", it said.

Khadija Mohsen-Finan, a specialist on the region and professor at the University of Paris I, said the move was "gesturing" by Ghali, who took over as Polisario leader on the death of his predecessor Mohamed Abdelaziz in May.

"Nobody expects a military outcome to the conflict any more," she said.

"The Polisario can't engage in any confrontation without the agreement of Algiers, which doesn't want one."

The rising tensions come as Morocco steps up efforts to rejoin the African Union (AU), 32 years after quitting the bloc over its decision to accept the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member.

Since July, Morocco has lobbied hard to win the support of member states and its readmission could be put to a vote at the AU's next summit in Addis Ababa in January, barring any armed incident in the dunes of Guerguerat.
NDC Central Regional Director of Elections Yaw Asiedu has been killed in an accident Tuesday morning while on his way to Accra.

The accident occurred on the Winneba-Apam road in the Central region at about 8am.

Yaw Asiedu, a lawyer, was travelling to Accra to convey collation sheets from last weeks general elections to the partys headquarters when the accident occured.

The deceased in is mid 40s was in the company of the NDC regional treasurer Eric Essuah and a driver when the accident occurred

The vehicle in which the three travelled was found to have veered off the road. Cirumstances surrounding the accident is unclear, Joy News understands.

His body has been deposited at the mortuary at Winneba Trauma Hospital. The two others are in serious condition and have been airlifted to Accra for further treatment.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
The United States announced today nearly $92 million in additional humanitarian assistance to people affected by the ongoing conflict and severe food insecurity in Nigeria and throughout the Lake Chad Basin region.

With this announcement, the United States is providing more than $291 million in humanitarian assistance since the 2016 fiscal year to people affected by the Boko Haram-related conflict and the related humanitarian crisis. The United States continues to be the single largest humanitarian donor to the region.

This new funding to United Nations and NGO partners will help tens of thousands of people receive critically needed humanitarian assistance, including food, water, shelter, and services to address acute hygiene, protection, and nutritional needs.

In Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, the conflict has left more than 6.4 million people in need emergency food assistance and displaced 2.6 million people. The United Nations estimates an additional $1 billion is needed to meet the humanitarian needs of people in 2017. The United States calls on other donors to contribute additional humanitarian assistance for the millions of people in the region whose lives have been affected by Boko Haram violence.
13.12.2016 LISTEN



From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi.

The Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has tagged the Ashanti regional police commander, Commissioner of Police (COP) Nathaniel Kofi Boakye as a fair police officer in the discharge of his duty.

Mr. Agyapong, in a post-election statement in Kumasi said that COP Kofi Boakye, who is commonly known as Commander One, is a professional police officer who acts according to the law.

He lauded the Ashanti regional police command and the fourth Battalion (Military) for policing the polls for a successful peaceful election in the region.

Reacting to the backlash of Commander One, amidst the thumb-printed ballots papers which were retrieved from the Madison Lodge Guest House at TUC in Kumasi, the maverick legislature noted: Kofi Boakye was fair in what he did; he was fair in Ashanti region.

An elated Kennedy Agyapong, who spoke on Kumasi-based ASHH FM thanked the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the entire people in Ashanti region for supporting the NPP to power.

He hailed the Ghanaian youth for their splendid participation in the elections, stressing that the president-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will create jobs for the youth to secure their otherwise bleak future.

According to him, in the face of the saber-rattling military force without any provocation in places like Tema community 4 and his hometown, the youth resisted and protected the ballots.

He noted: I salute the youth of Ghana .The youth have done well: they defied gun threats and put out their lives to protect the ballots.

He assured them that the incoming Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government will not replicate corruption which prevailed in the NDC government.

The firebrand legislature disclosed that the Mahama administration spent colossal amount of money.

Mr. Agyapong noted that the NDC lost because they did not respect Ghanaians who abhor arrogance; hence they watched in patience and voted the NDC out at the right time.






13.12.2016 LISTEN





From Sebastian R. Freiku, Kumasi

The Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD) has congratulated Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on his election as the fifth President of the fourth Republic of Ghana.

Mr. Kwabena Adjei, leader and founder of the party described Nana Akufo-Addo's election victory as resounding and a reflection of the choice of the people who are yearning for positive change.

The party leader noted that the NPP flagbearers rise from three consecutive bids, since 2008, has been spectacular and a source of inspiration to up and coming politicians and hoped Nana Akufo-Addo would live to his promise as father of the nation and unify the country.

Convinced that Nana Akufo-Addo is the right choice to handle the ills in the officialdom, Mr. Adjei declared total support for the new administration, with the expectation that the president-elect would be committed to righting the wrongs in the system for the benefit of the Ghanaian populace.



He noted in a statement issued in Kumasi that incorruptible as he (Nana Addo) is, he expected the new administration to relentlessly tackle the canker of corruption that has plagued the system and help ameliorate economic hardships facing the people and promote development.

Mr. Adjei, also known as Bambaata, hoped Nana Akufo-Addo would form a government of selfless and dedicated people for an accelerated economic growth and ensure the much desired change for the people.

The RPD leader noted that Nana Akufo-Addo's election at this time was to enable him contribute to the growth of democracy in Ghana with his rich experience in governance and hoped he would be committed and dedicated to the cause and take Ghana to the next level.
13.12.2016 LISTEN



From Edmond Gyebi, Tamale..

He entered into the 2016 electioneering campaign with immeasurable and unshakable confidence and was sure of an overwhelming victory even at the last lap of his campaign. He believed in his ability, capability, popularity and above all, the work he claimed he had done in his constituency and Ghana as a whole.

But Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry has lost his Nanton parliamentary seat to the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) parliamentary candidate, Alhaji Hardi Tuferu.

Certified results from the Electoral Commission on Wednesday showed that the NPP's parliamentary candidate had won the seat by 11,346 votes as against Murtala's 10,451.

The outcome of the election actually shocked Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed and the entire NDC fraternity, since the incumbent MP had earlier bragged on many media platforms and given strong assurance of winning the seat again.

In his last interview with the media in Tamale, Mr. Murtala called the bluff of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

He insisted on defeating the NPP parliamentary Candidate even if Dr. Bawumia and Nana Addo joined Alhaji Hardi Tuferu to contest him in Nanton.

I want you to read my lips; the NPP candidate in my constituency will be the worse candidate ever and if Nana Addo and Bawumia decide to come and contest in Nanton, I promise I will beat them with a very wide margin.

Again, read my lips, the NPP candidate will not win up to 10 communities out of the 75. I am going to beat him resoundingly; if Nana Addo and Bawumia leave the Presidency and contest in Nanton I will beat them resoundingly.

However, Ibrahim Murtalas dream of leading the people of Nanton hit the rock, when he lost with 895 votes difference to the man he underrated so much.

Mr. Murtala was apparently over confident and therefore relied possibly on his popularity and acceptability of the NDC in Nanton and the entire Northern Region.

He mentioned that his achievements were overwhelming and open for all to see, and thus could not see why the people would vote against him.

In trying to further ascertain the possible factors that worked against the victory of Mr. Murtala, his blatant accusation against some of his colleague MPs from the region of plotting to unseat him quickly emerged.

In 2015, the Nanton MP without mentioning names hinted of a grand plan by one of the Ministers of State from Tamale to unseat him.

He exploded on Tamale based Diamond FM in an interview, saying: Someone who said to three people, Murtala has not incurred my wrath, I simply don't want him to succeed: I just don't want him to succeed in life. Are you God, who are you, the angry Nanton legislator fumed.

It is, therefore, not clear as to whether the unnamed saboteurs of Mr. Murtala actually worked against his victory in 2016. Efforts to speak with Mr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed proved unsuccessful.
13.12.2016 LISTEN



From Edmond Gyebi, Tamale..

THE NATIONAL Womens Organiser of New Patriotic Party (NPP), OtikoAfisahDjaba has showered massive praises on all women of Ghana who voted for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP in the just ended election.

According to Madam Otiko Djaba, the NPP could not quantify the contributions of Ghanaian women (who constitute over 51% of the population) towards the partys one touch victory, but could only say thank you to them for their unflinching support.

On behalf of the newly elected First and Second Ladies of this country, Her Excellencies Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Samira Bawumia, I want to say a big thank you to all the women in Ghana; from Upper West, Upper East, Northern, Volta, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern, Western, Central to Greater Accra regions and to those who are outside this country, but supported the NPP in diverse ways.

Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle, Madam Otiko Djaba described the NPPs victory as overwhelming and unprecedented in the history of Ghana.

She attributed it (the victory) to God and the hard work of all the men and women of NPP. She specially congratulated the newly elected President, Nana Akufo-Addo, his Vice Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ex-President Kufuor, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, Mr. Freddie Blay and all National, Regional and Constituency Executives across Ghana.

She said that all the women in Ghana worked hard for the NPP because they were fed up with the bad economic management, hardships, marginalisation and hunger that had visited them throughout the last eight (8) years of NDC regime.

The NPP National Womens Organiser, however, emphasised that, the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would diligently ensure that all women friendly policies they promised during the 2016 electioneering campaign were implemented.

She assured that the NPP government led by Nana Akufo-Addo would ensure that 50% of MASLOC served the interest of Ghanaian women irrespective of their political, religious or tribal affiliation.

Otiko Djaba also indicated that women in Ghana would also benefit immensely from the one village one dam, one constituency one million dollars and all the numerous social and economic interventions mentioned in the NPPs manifesto.

The women of Ghana deservedly better, they need employment, they need entrepreneurial skills, financial support and above all formal education to bring out the confidence in them. And that is what the NPP and Nana Addo are bringing on board for our women and all Ghanaians.

Otiko Djaba, who is also a development strategist said that the women of Ghana under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia would enjoy a meaningful life and would be offered the opportunity to contribute to national development.

She maintained that there shall be no discrimination against any ethnic, political or religious group under Nana Addo.

The NPP Women Organiser was particularly appreciative to the women of Northern Ghana, who massively voted against the corrupt, selfish and incompetent government of John Dramani Mahama.

She, therefore, reaffirmed Nana Akufo-Addos promise not to disappoint or discriminate against the people of the north.

She appealed to them continue to support the NPP for a better and a prosperous future for all Ghanaians.
13.12.2016 LISTEN



The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has recorded massive shoot-up in tax mobilisation through the deployment of Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS).

The GRA said many companies now use TRIPS to automate the processes for assessing, filing and payment of various domestic tax forms such as Income Tax, PAYE, VAT, Withholding Tax, Gift Tax, etc.

TRIPS, which was developed by the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) is a computer software for managing databases for controlling and administering revenue as well as tax payment processing.

The Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of the (GRA) has expressed confidence in the software saying it had optimized tax collection.

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said the DTRD through the software had made more than ten billion Ghana cedis in tax collection.

The development, according to the statement, was revealed at the one-day briefing and training on the TRIPS organised by the GCNet and GRA for officials of the Tax and Customs Divisions in Accra.

The GRA said it would continue to introduce mechanisms to encourage companies to enrol with the software so as to ensure viability of tax system in the country.



As part these efforts, the company has partnered the GCNet to introduce a competition and awards scheme geared to boost the full migration of all taxpayers onto Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS) in order to create a uniform platform.

The scheme seeks to award GHC 25,000 every quarter to the winning implementing tax office.

This is expected to encourage offices to accelerate the migration process, amidst the realisation that the introduction of the software has marked a major milestone in the history of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of GRA, the statement said.

Mr Kwasi Gyimah, the Commissioner of the DTRD, lauded the GCNet for partnering with the Revenue Authority to introduce the awards scheme saying it would trigger competition among companies whilst encouraging hard work and good ethics.

Mr Alwin Hoegerle, the General Manager of the GCNet, said the partnership with the (DTRD) of the GRA aligned with the core mandate of the organisation to improve revenue mobilisation through the deployment of efficient ICT enabled systems to significantly contribute to national development.

The organisation's commitment is not only to build capacity and provide logistics support but also to ensure the speedy migration of the TRIPS in all tax offices across the nation to guarantee faster processing of tax returns and revenue mobilization.

GNA


13.12.2016 LISTEN

From Sebastian R. Freiku, Hotopo..

The people of Freti, a farming community in the Ahanta West district in the Western region, have appealed to the government to assist them in the reconstruction of a wooden bridge, spanning Butre River.

The bridge, in its present state, passes as a death trap, thus cutting the rest of the surrounding communities off from accessing health care from the only health facility situated at Freti.

The local health facility at Freti serves communities like Hotopo, Ewusiadwo, Asemko and Sese among others.

In times of emergency, sick persons from the other side of the river would have to be carried across the already dilapidated bridge or have to meander through Ewusiadwo Junction and Aboadze before getting to Freti.

Mr. Kwame Massey, a native, appealed to the government through The Chronicle at the weekend to assist them build a steel bridge across the Butre River to facilitate movement of residents.

According to him, several appeals to the Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. George Kwame Aboagye have not yielded any positive response even though they had managed to mobilize lumber to span the bridge.

The residents also want the government to consider supporting the local industries with equipment for the milling of palm oil as oil palm plantations abound in the area to create employment for the youth in the area.

The residents also suggested the setting up of a Community mill to enable farmers process the oil palm at subsidized prices to boost the local economy.

Pix 1: The current state of the wooden bridge also used by children



Pix 2: The Bridge from another view




13.12.2016 LISTEN



The international community applauded the orderly manner in which last Wednesdays polls were conducted across the country. However, after the declaration of the results, reported cases of violent attacks and the destruction of government properties, tend to take the shine off that process.

The Chronicle understands that supporters of the outgoing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in some communities were beaten, slashed with cutlasses and even had their vehicles destroyed by jubilant supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Likewise, NDC supporters have reportedly attacked their political opponents for one reason or the other.

The reported incidents got to a peak when a member of the NDC was allegedly killed at Dunkwa in the Central Region, following a heated political argument with his friend, a member of the victorious NPP.

The two were reportedly caught in an argument in the evening of Friday after the defeat of the ruling NDC. The deceased, Ayoma, a head porter, was allegedly struck in the head several times with a club, in the heat of the verbal exchanges, with the suspect Atta, a herbal medicine seller.

On the 9th day of December, Abdulai Naaba, the brother of the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, was also reported to have inflicted cutlass wounds on about 10 innocent people in the Asutifi South Constituency for failing to vote massively for his brother.

The affected persons were said to be supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate, Cecelia Gyan Amoah.

One of the victims, Collins Osei Bonsu Christopher, whose hand was nearly chopped off, is current receiving treatment at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

In the specific case of Naabu, we at The Chronicle are worried because it was the failure of the police to effect his arrest when he earlier boasted on radio that he killed people every day, that almost cost the lives of those innocent Ghanaians.

Interestingly, as narrated by the NPP parliamentary candidate in the constituency, the police seem not to be interested in the investigation of the matter, possibly because a ministers brother is involved.

To remind ourselves, violence resulting from forceful takeover of public toilets and toll booths is not new. When there was transfer of power from the NPP to the NDC in 2009, similar incidents happened.

This is why The Chronicle thinks its important that party supporters are given proper orientations henceforth. The NDC is complaining today because NPP members are forcing their members out of certain positions, forgetting what they did when the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills won the elections.

This should, however, not be misconstrued as an endorsement of the behaviour of the NPP. Instead, we think it is time the parties tell their members what their roles are, especially when they win elections.

It is also important they get the understanding that in elections, you either win or lose. Therefore, the world must not come to an end simply because they won or lost an election.

Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama and President-elect Nana Addo Danquah Akufo must be commended for speaking against the post-elections attacks.

Ghana, which has set the standard for peace and security across Africa, is the only place we have.

Therefore, The Chronicle thinks it is essential that we remain calm, protect our country and

project it positively before the international community.
By Francis Ameyibor, GNA

Accra, Dec. 12, GNA - Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) has set out strategic oil industrial revolution roadmap to ensure that indigenous Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) dominate the downstream oil sector in 2017.

The GOIL Indigenous Industrial Revolution roadmap seeks to focus on building a 13.5 million litre Marine Gas Oil (MGO) tanks at the expanded Takoradi harbour, which will open avenues for big vessel bunkering.

'We will also start the actual construction of a new bitumen depot at Tema. Pursue visible branding strategy with more vigor and continuously improve GOIL's communication strategy by engaging the media more,' Mr Patrick Kwame Apke Akorli, GOIL Group Chief Executive Officer stated in Accra.

He said GOIL will also roll-out competitive pricing strategy as part of the broader measures to ensure dominance in the downstream oil industry, 'GOIL will continue to strictly enforce a national policy of maintenance of high standards at the forecourt of its filling stations across the country.

Mr Akorli, who is also known as Togbe Adza-Nye IV, Dutorfia of Ziavi in the Volta Region, said other measures included marketing of quality petroleum and other energy products and services in all its branches in an ethical, healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly and socially responsible manner.

Addressing the staffs and stakeholders at GOIL end of year-awards dinner in Accra, Mr Akorli who is also the Managing Director maintained that GOIL the nation's foremost indigenous oil marketing company will stay more competitive in 2017 while pursuing the drive for more product diversification.

'In 2017 GOIL will partner other companies to fully utilize its forecourt thereby increasing other income. The future looks bright and we will continue to pursue policies and strategies that will make GOIL more profitable and a successful, proud indigenous Oil Marketing Company, to fulfil the dreams of the forerunners,' he said.

Mr Akorli noted that as part of the broad mechanism, GOIL's GOENERGY Company Limited, which is a Bulk Oil Distribution Company (BDC), in 2017, would continue to ensure availability and stability of fuel supply in the country.

He said GOIL, through its BDC-GOENERGY would also continue to collaborate with other stakeholders including Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), to ensure improvement of fuel supply in the country.

He said: 'We are focused on the vision to be a world-class provider of goods and services in the petroleum and other areas of the energy industry as our geographical spread places us first in terms of the distribution of petroleum products whilst our networks enables GOIL products to reach virtually all parts of the country.

'GOIL remains one of the forerunners in the state-owned enterprises sector and the petroleum industry in general'.

On the performance of GOIL in 2016, Mr Akorli said, the company continued to make strides despite a challenging environment especially as indicated in the fall in consumption in the Oil Marketing Industry by about five per cent.

Despite this, 'we are projecting to grow our fuel sales by 6.2 per cent this year. Lubricants and LP Gas sales are also projected to increase by approximately 14.1 per cent and 83.2 per cent respectively compared to the same period last year. Over all, GOIL is likely to meet 92.8 per cent of the target in 2016.

'The exciting news is that the Company still remains the biggest OMC in the country in terms of both market share and the number of stations.

'This is despite stiff competition from the over 80 others. GOIL currently has a market share of 17.5 per cent which is slightly higher than that recorded last year. This is particularly significant taking into consideration the fact that the company commanded a market share of 13.44 per cent at the end of December 2014,' he stated.

Mr. Akorli said GOIL was particularly proud to have played a critical role in stabilizing the market since the implementation of price de-regulation in 2015.

'GOIL has been rewarded by the Ghana Investment Promotions Centre's Ghana Club 100 as the Second Best Company; the Best Listed Company on the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Largest Company for the year 2015 .

'We also won the Ashanti Business Excellence Awards 2015 again, as a result of our successes, the well-recognized Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) affirmed GOIL as the 2015 Petroleum Company of the Year, while I was named as the Marketing Man of the Year.

'Our Bulk Oil distribution Company GO Energy, also won the BDC Company of the year at the recently organized Oil and Gas Awards. We dedicate these awards to the visionary Chairman and Board of Directors, colleague management members and the entire hardworking staff some of whom we are recognizing tonight,' he said.

Mr Akorli noted that the awards will only spur staffs on to achieve even more successes in the coming year.

'While pursuing this, we cannot lose sight of some of the operational challenges confronting us, key among them being the increasing cost of doing business especially the hikes in rents, licenses, permits and fees by industry regulators and landlords,' he said.

Other initiatives includes achieving International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2008 Certification which ensured the strengthening of GOIL's internal control structures to guard its assets; and construction of a fuel storage tank farm at Sekondi Naval Base to boost the bunkering business.

Professor William A. Asomaning, GOIL Board Chairman, said GOIL embarked on expansion strategies with the setting up of aviation fuelling facility at the Kumasi Airport to ensure that; 'GOIL consolidates its position in the local aviation market".

He said GOIL had also rolled-out mechanisms towards gaining more control in the supply of fuel to mining, oil exploration and production, road construction and shipping companies.

Prof. Asomaning, commended the various stakeholders for their contribution towards the success story of a local company.

Mr Akorli and Mr Erasmus Ofori Sarkwa, Finance Manager was awarded for over 20 years of dedicated services to GOIL. Other staffs who have worked between ten and 35 years were also awarded and decorated.

GNA
By Christopher Tetteh / Daniel A. Ashietey

Fiapre (B/A), Dec. 13, GNA - Mr. Mark Tetteh, the alleged leader of a mob that set ablaze a tollbooth at Fiapre, near Sunyani on Friday night, has been arrested by the Police.

Police Sergeant Samson Gbande, the acting Brong-Ahafo Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, confirmed to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Monday, in Sunyani.

He said Mr. Tetteh, an assemblyman for Dumasua in the Sunyani West District, was arrested at 1000 hours on Monday, and he was being interrogated to be processed for Court.

Meanwhile, Mr. Abdul Razak, the supervisor on duty then, had earlier on alleged in a telephone interview with the GNA that a group of about 30 people led by Tetteh, stormed the place and demanded that the toll collectors on duty leave for them to take over.

He said shortly after the threat, the mob set it on fire with petrol and a vehicle tyre, saying the staff had to flee through the windows to save their lives.

Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO) I Ignatius Noekor, the Regional Operations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, said his outfit had the information at 2132 hours and reached the scene at 2138 hours.

He said it took them 52 minutes to extinguish the fire and added that investigation to establish the cause was on-going because they had not yet gotten to the 'seat or origin' of it.

GNA
Accra, December 13, GNA - The Ghana Union of Traders' Associations (GUTA) has congratulated Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo - Addo, the President-Elect on his victory in the just-ended 2016 elections.

In a statement signed by Alpha Abdullah Shaban, the General Secretary of GUTA and copied to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra on Tuesday, the Association expressed admiration for the persistency of Nana Akufo-Addo.

'We express our profound admiration for the high level of maturity, patience, tolerance, perseverance and exemplary leadership qualities exhibited before and during his electioneering campaign'. (sic)

The statement said the President-elect should 'always remember the private sector as the engine of growth of every economy and work in close collaboration with members to create and enabling business environment in the country'.

GUTA prayed for God's guidance for the President-elect and asked God to grant him good health, long life, more courage, knowledge, wisdom and all that may be required to help him realise his vision for the country.

The statement commended President John Dramani Mahama, the outgoing President, for his contribution to bringing the country this far.

GNA
Ho, Dec. 13, GNA - The Volta Region has elected five women out of the nine who contested the 2016 parliamentary seats for the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic.

The figure is an improvement on the 2012 election which saw four entering Parliament from the region.

All the five women, two of whom are new entrants, were elected on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Hohoe Constituency retained Dr Bernice Adiku Heloo with 35,437 votes which represented 82.93 per cent having beaten four other candidates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), National Democratic Party (NDP) and Convention People's Party (CPP).

Della Sowah was also retained in the Kpando Constituency after defeating the NPP's Djampoh Elvis, NDP's Daniel Carl and CPP's Isaac Adjanya with 17,318 votes, which represented 82.38 per cent.

North Dayi welcomed new entrant and winner of the Parliamentary seat, NDC's Joycelyn Tetteh, who also beat four other contestants, all men.

Another new entrant, Angela Oforiwaa Alorwu-Tay, who contested the Afadjato South seat, also won with 19,486 of the total votes cast representing 83.69 per cent.

In the Krachi West Constituency, the seat occupied by the Volta Regional Minister, Madam Helen Adjoa Ntoso, was heavily contested by independent candidate Emmanuel Jalulah who polled 5,163 of the total votes cast representing 25.98 per cent and the NPP's Douglas Osei-Nti who had 5,016, representing 25.24 per cent.

Madam Ntoso won with 9,644, which represented 48.52. This is said to be among the lowest votes recorded by the NDC in the region.

GNA
Wallpaper*, the international design, interiors and lifestyle title, is bringing the best in Danish interiors, craft, fashion and food to London with the Wallpaper* Hygge Christmas Market 2016.

Starting today and running until 18 December in Kings Cross, the market is a celebration of Danish creativity, craftsmanship and cosiness and is presented in collaboration with Danish architects 3XN, Kings Cross developers Argent and the Danish Embassy.

Product stalls include the likes of Nordic design names Georg Jensen, Nuori skincare, Skandium and Hay, as well as Danish-inspired wares from Skagen, all curated by Wallpaper* editors and Denmarks finest designers, say the publishers.

Scandi-inspired food will be provided by The Lighterman bar and restaurant, curated by The Danish Embassy; The Bread Station; and Kuf Studios.

The 400-square-metre market is set within an impressive pavilion designed by 3XN, which is inspired by both the Wallpaper* asterisk and the complex structure of snowflakes.

Wallpaper* editor-in-chief Tony Chambers says: We crowned Copenhagen the Worlds Best City this January in the 2016 Wallpaper* Design Awards so this is a perfect way to close the year. Thanks to our partners 3XN, Argent and the Danish Embassy, we are staging our first Danish Christmas market, presenting a very special winter wonderland and a celebration of Scandinavian design and lifestyle.

Claus Grube, the UKs Danish ambassador, adds: After Nordic Noir and Nordic food, the Danish way of life embodied in the concept of hygge has reached the UK. The spirit of hygge is to be found in togetherness and generosity, values that are particularly relevant at this time of the year. Im therefore delighted to be collaborating with Wallpaper* in organising the Hygge Christmas Market. Visitors to 3XNs highly original pavilion will be exposed to first-class Danish food, products and more, and Im sure it will be a very memorable event.

Claus Grube turned on the markets Christmas illuminations, designed especially for the event by new Danish brand Tivoli Lights yesterday.
By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA

Accra, Dec. 13, GNA - Crime Check Foundation, a Prisons Crime Prevention Advocacy NGO, has presented quantities of detergents to inmates of Ewutu Camp Prison in the Central Region.

The presentation, which was made on behalf of the Executive Director of the Foundation and Ambassador Extraordinaire of Prisons, Mr Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng was to assist and support the inmates with some basic cleaning items.

Mr Kwarteng, said prison reformation and transformation was a shared responsibility.

He called on the public and stakeholders to continue to support their brothers and sisters, who were in prison.

Superintendent William Anaman, the Officer in Charge of Ewutu Camp Prison, receiving the items thanked the Foundation for coming to the aid of the inmates.

He expressed gratitude to Mr Kwarteng, who he said had made the reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners a priority of his Foundation.

He urged other NGO's to follow the good example of the Foundation to support the Prisons Service.

Mr Eric Senyo Dadze, Managing Director, DZ Industries Limited, the company, who collaborated with the Foundation for the presentation, said the company would also support the National Stop Crime Campaign Schools.

GNA
On Saturday 10 December, 2016, the world woke up to the shocking news of The Gambia President, Yahya Jammeh, rejecting the result of the countrys Presidential election he earlier accepted. What could have necessitated this decision remains in the realm of speculations but may not be unconnected with the statement credited to Adama Barrow to the effect that his administration may look into the books of Jammeh who has been in power for about 22 years. How true this is remains to be seen. Events look to have moved fast since Jammeh made the announcement on state TV last Friday.

Aware the implication of this especially in a continent that has a history of sit tight leaders, several African Heads of State have moved in to forestall impending doom on the tiny West African country. On this list is Nigerias President, Muhammed Buhari.

Buharis visit to Banjul has raised some question here in Nigeria. Since he was sworn in as president in 2015, he has traveled out of the country on countless occasions to the chagrin of many Nigerians. Many Nigerians see most of his travels as needless and economically unbeneficial to his country especially as the recession has hit the country hard. Couldnt Buhari has ordered his Minister of External Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama , who has stayed at home more than the President himself to attend to brief the Gambian president of Nigerian official position? These and more are the issues raised about President Buharis visit to The Gambia.

First, let us make it clear that what is going on in The Gambia is purely political. Political issue, therefore, must be solved politically, not diplomatically. Why do we say this?

In a continent with a history of incumbent sitting tight and volatile to ethnic and religious conflicts, incumbents have the capacity to exploit the volatility in these states to hold on to power by promoting ethnic conflicts, if not full scale war. We witnessed this in 2008 in Kenya (which led to power sharing agreements between the two main factions) just as we also saw in Ivory Coast in 2012 (before French-led troops could restore order). These two events alone led to avoidable loss of lives and properties. Since it is a political issue, leaving such for diplomats may led to unpredictable series of events that may be beyond the control of those in the diplomatic circles themselves. Political problems often require political solutions!

Secondly, whether many people admit it or not, (West) Africas problems are often Nigerias problems. Buhari personally going to put pressure on Jammeh to obey the will of the may be the prudent measure to take at a time like this before things get out of hand. Now that the warnings are there, it will be easier to solve the problems that when they take other dimensions.

Many people will probably remember that when the Liberian civil war started, no one predicted it will spill quickly into Sierra Leone and Guinea. Nigeria did not understand the magnitude of what was happening till it was forced to hurriedly put together, with other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), what is now known as ECOMOG. ECOMOG alone has cost Nigeria and Nigerians a lot in terms of human and material resources. The country would have been spared all these expenses, had it intervened earlier enough.

That also remind us, we think, had Nigeria intervened politically, earlier than the French by putting intense political pressure on Laurent Gbagbo, may be a lot of lives would have been saved in 2012!

In our opinion, Buharis visit to The Gambia at this state of the build-up to what could be a major crisis is timely and prudent. It can be the other way too!

Olalekan Waheed ADIGUN is a political analyst and independent political strategist for wide range of individuals, organisations and campaigns. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria. His write-ups can be viewed on his website http://olalekanadigun.com/ Tel: +2348136502040, +2347081901080

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Follow me on Twitter @adgorwell
The National Democratic Congress is re-strategizing to wrestle power from the New Patriotic Party in the next general elections in 2020.

This follows the party's defeat in the recently held general elections that saw incumbent President, John Mahama of the NDCs ambition to serve a second term quashed.

The Presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akufo-Addo defeated President Mahama with a 53.85 percent lead in all valid votes cast, against the latter's 44.40 percent.

The NDC's defeat has sent shock waves through the rank and file of the party, with many blaming the leadership of the party for the loss.

But Speaking on the Citi Breakfast show on Monday, the Greater Accra Regional Campaign Coordinator of the party, Sylvester Mensah called on supporters of the party to remain focus and as the party prepares for the next elections.

We were very hopeful that we were going to win. It was like no, this cannot happen. But you see, it is not strange in an election situation when you have psyched yourself up and you are so convinced you are winning even when you are losing.

Most of our people are in shock, some are in anger and some are in complete disbelief but we want to assure them that what they hear and feel is true, we have lost the elections but they need to be calm and sober, he said.

Let us know and be confident that we are capable of winning the elections next four years. What we need to do is to regroup and reorganise and restrategize. The lessons have been learnt, lets come together as one strong party, he added.

He further called on supports to avoid provocation and violence.

Mahama concedes defeat in elections

President John Dramani Mahama on Friday, December 9 conceded defeat in the elections and has called his main contender, Nana Akufo-Addo to congratulate him.

This was ahead of the official declaration of election results by the Electoral Commission in Accra.

NDC activist locks up party office

Meanwhile, an aggrieved member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) the Ashanti Regional capital has locked up the partys head office in the region because he beleives the regional executives were responsible for the partys loss. in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region woke up to find their party head office locked up by a known party

The activist, known as Yakubu Tony Aidoo said he took the decision to punish NDC executives because they failed to use monies allocated for their campaign judiciously.



By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @jnyabor
Rome (AFP) - An Italian court ruled Tuesday that the captain of a migrant boat that sank in 2015, killing up to 900 people, was responsible for the disaster, the Mediterranean's worst since World War II.

Judges in the Sicilian port city of Catania ordered Mohammed Ali Malek, a Tunisian national, to serve 18 years in jail for multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the tragedy after the packed boat capsized after colliding with a freighter coming to its aid.

Syrian Mahmoud Bikhit, accused of being his first mate, was handed a five-year sentence for his role in the tragedy off the Libyan coast. Italian forensic scientists spent months sorting through decomposed body parts to count the victims.

The men were ordered to pay nine million euros ($9.5 million) each in compensation.

Both had claimed they were simple migrants and had been made to steer the boat by the real traffickers.

But survivors told investigators that Malek, who had lived in Italy in the past, was the captain. And that it was his lack of sailing skills that caused the deadly collision.

"I spent two years and six months in Italy and I have a young son with an Italian woman: I want to marry her and recognise the baby," Malek told the court in a plea before the verdict.

"It's the truth. I've always told the truth. Just as I immediately gave (police) my real name, and told them I was a passenger," he said.

The boat was carrying people largely from The Gambia, Senegal and Mali, as well as Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia. Only 28 survived.

'Scapegoat'

Tunisian national Mohammed Ali Malek (L) and Syrian national Mahmud Bikhit both claimed they were simple migrants and had been made to steer the boat by the real traffickers

Up to 900 people were packed into the 27-metre (90-foot) boat when it left Libya.

While prosecutors have put the number of victims at around 700 because there are 700 body bags, forensic scientists who examined the remains put the number at closer to 900, saying many bags contained pieces of more than one person.

Malek's lawyer Massimo Ferrante told AFP his client had been "naturally shocked by the verdict, but told me he wants to fight".

They will be appealing, he said.

Firefighters who recovered the mangled bodies from the rotting ship said they had been "packed in like on the trains for Auschwitz".

The Sicilian court heard from a survivor who lost relatives on the night of the April 18-19 wreck.

The vessel sank in pitch darkness after running into the Portuguese freighter King Jacob which had raced to its rescue, the collision sending its passengers over to one side and causing the vessel to tip over.

The King Jacob's captain, Abdullah Ambrousi, said he saw the migrant boat sailing erratically and cut his engines to avoid a crash, but the smaller vessel sped up and rammed into the freighter.

Malek has claimed the real captain died in the wreck and he is being scapegoated by the other survivors because he is Tunisian.

Italy's navy had the grisly task of raising the corpse-packed trawler from the seabed this year after the government promised to give the victims decent burials as a symbol of respect for all the migrants who have died trying to reach Europe's shores. The salvage cost 10 million euros.

Desperate fight to escape

Italian firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari has said the decomposing migrant bodies were found everywhere, from the well of the anchor chain to the tiny underfloor compartment where the bilge pump sits, to the engine room.

It was clear from their positions that many had fought desperately, but in vain, to get out when the boat rolled.

Fingerprints, DNA samples and distinguishing body marks were collected on file from the corpses in the hope the data may helping relatives seeking lost loved ones.

Over 12,000 people are known to have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since the current migrant crisis erupted in 2013. Aid agencies say it is likely many more disappeared without trace.

The departures have not stopped despite the turn in the weather as winter sets in. A record number of 175,000 people have arrived on Italy's shores this year.
I have been following for the past few months on various campaign trails of many of the political parties within the country. To be perfectly clear most of the campaigns been carried out are not the campaigns to elaborate on the vision and plans for this country, they are but hungry campaigns from both the incumbent government and the opposition parties. Many will disagree with me, but let's face the truth both the majority and the largest opposition parties are fighting the banana wars. Each in their campaign is claiming victory without the consent of the ordinary Ghanaian, as they would call as when they are in power.

This is one of the elections in Ghana that is most tenacious; it's an election that would spark both unity and division within the country, if we do not settle our mind as Ghanaians to think of Mother Ghana first. I want you to make a choice; so i ask you in the face; Peace or War? Which one do we choose as a country and people; whatever choice we make, put it in mind that we would end up bearing or reaping the consequence thereof, because if political parties campaigns begin to sound like victory even before the ballot is cast, then the populace are deceived that this party has already won.

Make no mistake am not against relaying confidence in campaigns but in that moment when you preach your message don't make your message absolute so it may sound like if you don't win then something went wrong. Accept the verdict as it may after all we are all fighting for mother Ghana first before any other party. If you don't like the verdict let due legal process take place and have confidence in our Rule of law. I have heard people say lots of scary things and that has propelled me to write this article to bring to your knowledge that we have only ourselves to blame not anyone if we don't seek Peace in this election.

Watch out for one another, tell a friend to tell a friend that; the development of this nation is not dependent on some greedy politician whose main aim is to make his purse fat and make you poor.

Nelson Mandela once said; Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.

He wanted us to know that whatever that we wanted to do it entails our own choice and we have the power to stop it or let it ride along to the shambles. So peace and conflict is a choice and can be stopped by man. Remind you no country is willing to take in refugees again when the inevitable could be stopped, therefore it is better to live in your country than, be a refugee in another man's country. Those who are well to do would take their families outside the country when conflicts spark, think about those of us who have no means to go anywhere all we have is our homeland.

The trends of campaigns in Ghana is becoming a national routine, thus reflecting of the people of the country as not imaginative in anyway. Politician stand to say Ghanaians have short memories not that we have short memories but because we believe in Ghana first before any political party. If we chose to forgive it means we do not want to hold on to the past but rather to move forward. The person we chose as a nation's President his character therefore depicts what we want in him to be. I pray this election would end in a peaceful manner but if you are out there cooking up trouble remind yourself this; conflict never solved a problem in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda and many more countries around the world. If nothing prompts you consider Libya, Conflict has left the country desolate once a prosperous country and the eye of Africa has now become a hunger zone, conflict only stream and fuel Poverty and Hunger leading to under-development. I stand for peace so should you. Let no one fool you; we are first Ghanaians.

Long Live Mother Ghana, Victory for Mother Ghana.'

Peace in Election 2016

Written by:

MARK SANCHEBE

Social Activist, Author and Pastor


From Musah Umar Farouq, Wa..

THE UPPER West Regional Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala West, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani has announced his retirement from politics, after suffering a humiliating defeat in the just ended parliamentary election.

Speaking to The Chronicle in an interview, the former Minister of Roads and Highways said he was initially not interested in contesting the Sissala West seat again, but the party prevailed upon him to rescind his decision and contest, only for the same party members to turn round to ditch him.

I did not want to contest the seat in the first place this year, but there was pressure on me from the party. That is how come I contested, but as fate will have it, I lost, he said.

Information picked from the grounds indicates that the constituents voted 'skirt and blouse' (ie, voted for Mahama and NPP candidate).

The former DCE for Sissala West, Mr. Moses Dramani Luir, who was sacked for declaring his intention to contest the minister in the primary, according to unconfirmed report, masterminded the defeat of the minister.

The same minister initially refused to accept posting to Upper West as the regional minister after he had been reshuffled from the Roads and Highways Ministry.

The Chronicle understands some party executives and family members had to intervene with an advice that he would destroy the progression of his political career, if he turned down the appointment from the president.

After finally accepting to become the Regional Minister, his DCE also decided to contest him in the NDC primary. Though the DCE was eventually relieved of his post, the development did not go down well with the minister.

The frustrations and the eventual loss of his parliamentary seat, The Chronicle understands, compelled the minister to announce his retirement from politics.

A source, which spoke to The Chronicle, said Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani may soon be 'enskined' the chief of his village.

The Regional Minister, however, told The Chronicle during the interview that he was leaving the scene, proud of his achievements, which will better the lives of the residents of Sissala West, after constructing boreholes, roads and a number of schools.

I feel proud about my achievements but it is not for me to rate myself but the people I represented, who benefitted from the various projects I embarked on, he emphasized.

Meanwhile, this is the first time the NPP has won the Sissala West seat since 2004, with Mr. Patrick Al-Hassan Adamah polling 13,130 votes as against Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani's 9,762.




13.12.2016 LISTEN

By Maxwell Ofori

[email protected]

The two major political parties in Ghana, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have both condemned the recent violence emanating from the victory of the former in the just ended elections.

Though the election itself was peaceful, reported violence are being recorded, as some supporters on both sides of the political divide have suffered various degrees of injuries, as a result of excessive jubilation or teasing by the winning team.

Reports from various parts of the country speak of violence after the declaration of the Presidential results.

The Electoral Commission on Friday, 9th December, 2016 declared NPP's Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo the victor of the Presidential elections.

The declaration, made by the Chairperson of the commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei triggered jubilation and sadness among supporters of both NPP and the NDC, which degenerated into chaos.

At Ekumfi and Upper Denkyira, clashes between supporters of the NPP and the NDC have resulted in the death of one person and several others injured.

NDC

The NDC condemned the attacks on its supporters, following the declaration of the results of the Presidential elections, which did not go their way. The party expressed displeasure about the alleged unprovoked attacks on members of the Party.

We have received several reports of unprovoked physical attacks on supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) across the country, a statement issued by the NDC National Organiser in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said.

We wish to request the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo to call on their supporters to desist from the attacks and contribute to building a more stable democracy.

While urging the Security Agencies to move in and protect life and property, we believe that our political parties must be interested in promoting political tolerance among our members, the statement said.

NPP

A statement issued and signed by the acting General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu also condemned the post-elections attacks and urged its supporters to desist from the acts.

The statement urged the police to enforce the laws governing the nation and bring any person perpetrating such acts to book.

The attention of the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been drawn to reports of alleged acts of violence and vandalism being perpetrated allegedly against some political opponents of the NPP in the aftermath of the announcements of the results of the 2016 election.

We condemn in no uncertain terms these distasteful occurrences, if true, and wish to state that NPP will not condone or sanction such actions.

We urge the Ghana Police Service to enforce the laws of the land, and bring to book any person, irrespective of their political affiliations, found to be perpetrating acts of violence against any person.

President Mahama

The outgoing President, John Mahama added his voice, calling on the leaders of the NPP to call their members to order.

According to the President, the development was likely to affect the country's security if not checked.

Across the nation, we have witnessed incidents of innocent people being attacked, vandalization of state property and unruly behavior arising out of these celebrations.

Supporters of opposing parties have been assaulted and threatened and some government properties have been attacked and destroyed. I must also add that some of the NPP supporters have also been victims of this excessive jubilation.

I had to subsequently direct security agencies to deploy across the country and ensure safety and security of all our citizens.

I stated in my congratulatory call to President elect, Nana Addo that we would have to collaborate in this transition period to ensure the security and safety of our people.

I, therefore, urge the President elect to act firmer in calling their supporters to order and halt immediately the harassment and attacks on innocent citizens. I'm happy to note that a statement to that effect has been issued.

Police Statement

Meanwhile, the Police Admiration has also released a statement condemning the violence. The statement, which was signed by the Director in charge of Public Affairs, Cephas Arthur reads;

It has come to the attention of the Police that some people are attacking supporters of NDC in various parts of the country.

Furthermore, there are reports of excessive jubilation by NPP supporters across the country.

Consequently, the Police are calling on the general public, especially supporters of the NPP to desist from engaging in any acts that will violate the rights of other people and also breach the peace prevailing in the country after the polls.

The Police are further, entreating party supporters in jubilant mood to go about their celebration in moderation.

The Police Administration wishes to caution those who are engaging in acts of vandalism and rowdism to desist, as Police officers who have been deployed to maintain law and order will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who break the laws of the land.

Chief Imam

In a related development, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Shaributu, has urged President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo to call his supporters to order, citing that the act could ruin the peace the country was enjoying.

Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, who spoke on behalf of the Chief Imam when he paid a courtesy call on Nana Addo yesterday said: Such things, if they are truly going on, then probably your (Nana Akufo-Addo) voice could also help to ameliorate the problem so we can have a very peaceful transition in the interest of our country.

Peace Council

At a press briefing yesterday, Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante said: The recent skirmishes between supporters of the NDC and the NPP cast a slur on Ghana's hard earned democratic credentials and image.

This act should awaken all Ghanaians to the reality that electoral violence is possible in our country. The current level and spate of violent clashes between the NDC and the NPP have the potential to foul the political atmosphere during and even after the elections, he added.

The NPC is deeply concerned about the continuing violent confrontations between supporters of the NDC and NPP.

The Council calls on the supporters of the parties in question to exercise caution and circumspection, as they embark on their legitimate rights to promote the virtues of their parties. It is pertinent to note that Ghana is bigger than any political party and that political hooliganism and violence have never been a legitimate mechanism for ascension to political power in any part of the world.

The Council unreservedly condemns such acts of violence, provocation and impunity, Chairman of the Peace Council stated.
Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - The ruling party of The Gambia's longtime leader Yahya Jammeh on Tuesday filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking it to void the recent presidential election result.

The filing seen by AFP said the electoral commission had violated the law and added opposition leader Adama Barrow was "not duly elected or returned as president, and that the said election was void."
A lecturer at the Legon Center for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) Dr Ken Ahorsu has warned against military intervention in Gambia following confusion over the recently held election results.

The West African country is in a constitutional deadlock after its leader Yahya Jammeh rejected results of that country's election held earlier this month. Dr. Ahorsu in an interview with Citi News said,

I'm against any form of military intervention in the domestic affairs of a state although those things are sanctioned. The results that weve seen in Libya, in Iraq and even in Ivory Coast is that you can sometimes remove a dictator but that harm that youve done in terms of people right and other sorts of things, it becomes harmful to the society and retrogresses progress, Dr Ahorsu said.

He said Yayha Jammeh's decision to contest the elections after initially conceding defeat to President-elect Adama Barrow, could be attributed to Mr Jammeh's fear of facing trial for crimes he committed while in office.

What is important here is the United Nations, IMF and World Bank are all calling on Jammeh to step down just as the people have spoken and he initially agreed. I think the main concern is that there must be some form of transitional arrangement. Jammeh has been a dictator and a lot of people are saying that he and his military and security commanders have carried out they must be punished and I think this is the reason why he is trying to reverse the decision of the elections, he said.

Mahama joins ECOWAS team for Gambia mediation talks

Ghana President John Mahama on Tuesday joined other West African leaders to mediate the current political situation in The Gambia.

The team included the Chair of ECOWAS, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who seek to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to hand power over to Adama Barrow.



By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @jnyabor
Multiple New Patriotic Party sources have told Citi News that Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, a former Member of Parliament for the Dome-Kwabenya constituency, may become the speaker of Ghana's next Parliament.

Insiders say a consensus is swelling around the candidature of the respected political scientist with credible sources saying that Prof. Oquaye will be proposed for the top job in Ghana's Parliament on January 6, 2017.

Under Ghana's Constitution and the rules of Parliament, for a candidate to emerge as Speaker, he or she must have been elected by members of the House or persons who are qualified to be elected as a member of Parliament.

Ghana's amended presidential transition act also requires that the new speaker should be elected 24 hours before the inauguration of a new president after national elections.

NPP insiders, both in Parliament and the party say there is a firm degree of certainty has been established around the idea of Prof. Oquaye as the country's next speaker and that he is upbeat about accepting the role.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, journalist, Paul Adom Otchere welcomed the news.

I think its welcoming news for Prof. Mike Oquaye to be the next Speaker of Parliament. All over the world, the work of Speaker of Parliament goes to experienced people. The job of speaker is not for young people. I think all over the world that role is settled for people who have had significant experience in life, their career, and a general background that allow them to ascend to such a place because you are going to be overseeing a lot of people and you have to be a father to all of them and you are going to be walking through legislature and all of that,he noted.

Transition processes are currently underway to enable Akufo-Addo, who defeated incumbent President John Mahama in last Wednesdays polls, take charge of administration of Ghana for the next four years starting January 7, 2017.

Prof. Oquaye's political life

Mike Oquaye served as the Second Deputy Speaker of Ghana's Parliament between 2009 and 2013.

He also was Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya constituency, a strong hold of the NPP, from 2005 to 2013.

From 2001 to 2004, Oquaye served as Ghanas High Commissioner to India.

In February 2005 he became Minister of Energy, and later he was moved to the post of Minister of Communications.

Mike Oquaye is a professor of Political science at the University of Ghana, (Legon), and was previously the Head of the Department of Political Science and member of the Universitys Academic Board, the highest authority at the level of the faculties.

He received his Ph.D from School of Oriental and African Studies in London, as well as winning the Rockefeller Senior Scholar Award in 1993 and the Senior Fulbright Scholar Award in 1997.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Peoples National Convention (PNC) has called for fresh Parliamentary election in Tamale central constituency of the Northern Region.

The partys 2016 Parliamentary candidate, Salifu Iddrisu alias protocol made the call in a petition submitted to the Electoral Commission on Tuesday.

He argued that the Tamale central constituency Parliamentary election on December 7 was characterized with irregularities including over voting and results from unknown polling stations.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is also heading to court over the same matter after submitting a petition to the EC.

Below is the petition:

The Returning Officer

Tamale Central Constituency

2016 Presidential and Parliamentary

Election

PETITION ON THE TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY PARLIAMENTARY RESULTS

It has become clear to me as a stakeholder in the stated constituency to petition you as the Returning Officer and the commission for the just ended polls in Tamale Central Constituency. The following are my specific particulars of claims;

Over voting of more than twelve (12) polling stations. Example Manhalia polling station.

Two (2) unknown polling stations called Mallam Fari Mosque

Destruction of some ballot boxes to conceal evidence

Furnish me with all polling station and summary pink sheets as i withdrew imposters purported as my agents.

On the basis of the above, it is evidence that serious violations, irregularities and infractions of C.I 94 occurred during the elections process. This has marred the credibility of polls in the constituency.

I therefore call for a fresh re-run of the entire constituency for the parliamentary to enable electorates chose who they want to represent them in parliament.

SIGNED..

SALIFU IDDRISU

PNC CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

Cc:

DR. IDRAHIM BARHAMA ANYAS

NPP CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

HON. INUSAH FUSEINI

NDC CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

BABA ALHASSAN

PPP CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY

ABUBAKARI ABDULAI MADUGU

CPP CANDIDATE, TAMALE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Central Regional Director of Elections, Yaw Asiedu and Regional Treasurer, Eric Essuah were involved in a fatal accident on the Apam-Winneba stretch of the Cape Coast-Accra road.

Yaw Asiedu died in the crash whilst Eric Essuah is said to be in a critical condition at the 37 Military Hospital, according to sources within the party.

The accident occurred as they were transporting copies of the polling centre pink sheets from some party agents to the NDC party headquarters in Accra.

They were first rushed to the Specialist and Trauma Hospital in Winneba and later transferred to the 37 Military Hospital.

The NDC Central Region Chairman, Allotey Jacobs, has urged party members to keep Eric Essuah in their prayers.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh's ruling party on Tuesday filed a court challenge to election results that showed he lost to opponent Adama Barrow, just as a quartet of African leaders were pressing him to step down.

The petition to the Supreme Court seen by AFP said the country's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had violated the law and that opposition leader Barrow was "not duly elected or returned as president".

The ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) said it was not present when the IEC issued a recount of votes on December 5, claimed there were irregularities in the process, and alleged voter intimidation.

The legal challenge came as Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama met Jammeh and asked him to accept what Sirleaf called the "prevailing will" of the people, and go.

Buhari later said the longtime ruler had been "receptive" to their pleas.

But speaking a couple of hours later, president-elect Barrow said the talks were in gridlock.

"There has not been an agreement so far," said Barrow, who also met the delegation.

"There is a standoff between the government and us," the leader of the opposition added, saying he had heard about the court challenge and believed Jammeh "doesn't have the authority" to annul the result.

Sanctions threat?

If Jammeh and the delegation do not reach an agreement, West African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", a top official with the regional ECOWAS bloc headed by Sirleaf has said.

Jammeh had surprised observers by initially conceding defeat in the poll but then reversed his stand last Friday, triggering an avalanche of international condemnation and a multitude of calls for him to cede power peacefully.

Map of Gambia

This was triggered in part by a readjustment of the votes counted in the election was made by the IEC on Monday last week, reducing the number of ballots for all three candidates but ultimately confirming Barrow's victory.

Earlier on Tuesday, police locked down the offices of the electoral commission, raising fresh fears Jammeh might not leave office without a fight.

The electoral commission chairman, Alieu Momar Njie, told AFP that when he went to work riot police prevented him from entering the presences.

No reason was given, he added, and the premises remained locked down and surrounded by police in the early afternoon.

Later Tuesday Njie maintained the results still stood, and questioned Jammeh's ability to bring a legal challenge.

Jammeh in mid-2015 dismissed a string of Supreme Court judges after criticising the court's move to commute several death sentences.

"The only recourse when you have any problems with the results of the elections, one has to appeal to the supreme court, and the supreme court has been dormant since May 2015," Njie said.

A group of the country's most influential lawyers has said there is "no legitimate legal mechanism available in The Gambia to hear and determine the election petition", as Jammeh would have to stuff the court with his own appointees.

Army loyalty

Earlier in the day, opposition coalition members had been more confident of a breakthrough.

"Remember President Buhari is from the military. Jammeh is from the military. I think that will make a difference," said Hamat Bah, a senior coalition official.

Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his regional peers but has never threatened peace in the area.

The situation has dramatically shifted, however, since Jammeh's move to void the election.

Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie also seemed to reverse a previous declaration of support for Barrow and arrived at delegation preparation talks wearing a badge that featured Jammeh's face on his uniform.

Badjie said he supported the "commander in chief, President Yahya Jammeh" in brief comments to journalists.

Gambia's president-elect Adama Barrow

This followed comments by the US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, warning that The Gambia faced "a very dangerous moment" if the military continued to side with the president.

The African Union has also promised to dispatch its own delegation as soon as possible to aid the transfer of power, while a statement released on Monday said it rejected "any attempt to circumvent or reverse the outcome of the presidential election".
The government transition team has denied reports that the handing over notes for the incoming President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo-led administration are not ready.

According to a statement from the government transition team, the spokesperson from Nana Akufo-Addo's team is on record saying the work of the transition team will start when the incoming administration receives copies of the handing over notes, which are yet been made available to them because they are not ready.

But the government transition team insists that the handing over notes for every ministry are ready and that the process of the transition will begin tomorrow [Wednesday] and the transition team's second meeting.

We wish to state that the handing over notes from each Ministry that are to be given to the transition team for the incoming administration are ready, and indeed were prepared before the elections were held on the 7th of December.

The second meeting of the transition team after the formal inauguration on Sunday the 11th of December is scheduled to take place on Wednesday the 14th of December at 10.00 am and we look forward to commencing the process of transition in earnest, the statement guaranteed.

The meeting tomorrow is expected to settle on the committees to be established and the composition of each committee so that the various committees can begin the process of planning the inauguration ceremony, handing over the machinery of the Civil Service including the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and ensuring the orderly transfer of the official assets and liabilities to the in-coming administration.

As a further assurance, the government transition team has also said that the handing over process will be completed before Nana Akufo-Addo is sworn in as president on January 7.

We envisage that the process of transition will be completed before the formal handing over to the incoming administration on the 7th of January 2017, however, if there are any matters that still need to be addressed the members of the Governments transition team will be available for further discussions.

Find below the full statement

PRESS STATEMENT FROM THE SPOKESPERSON OF THE GOVERNMENT TRANSITION TEAM 

GOVERNMENTS READINESS TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TRANSITION FROM ONE ADMINISTRATION TO THE NEXT.

Our attention has been drawn to a media report quoting the spokesperson of the President Elects transition team  Mr. Mustapha Hamid where he is reported to have said on Onua FM that the work of the transition team will start when the incoming administration receives copies of the handing over notes, which have not yet been made available to them because they are not ready.

We wish to state that the handing over notes from each Ministry that are to be given to the transition team for the incoming administration are ready, and indeed were prepared before the elections were held on the 7th of December. The second meeting of the transition team after the formal inauguration on Sunday the 11th of December is scheduled to take place on Wednesday the 14th of December at 10.00 am and we look forward to commencing the process of transition in earnest.

By the provisions of the Presidential Transition Act 2012 (Act 845) the transition team is to make comprehensive practical arrangements to regulate the transfer of political power following a Presidential election, and to do this by forming various sub-committees that will be responsible for different aspects of the process of the transfer of power. The law provides for the establishment of three specific committees  the inauguration sub-committee, the government machinery sub-committee and the presidency sub-committee and any other committees the transition team considers relevant for the performance of its functions. We envisage that tomorrows meeting will agree on the committees to be established and the composition of each committee so that the various committees can begin their work and get on with the process of planning the inauguration ceremony, handing over the machinery of the Civil Service including the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and ensuring the orderly transfer of the official assets and liabilities to the in-coming administration.

We envisage that the process of transition will be completed before the formal handing over to the incoming administration on the 7th of January 2017, however if there are any matters that still need to be addressed the members of the Governments transition team will be available for further discussions.

Hanna S. Tetteh

Minister for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration

Spokesperson for the Governments Transition Team

Issued In Accra on Tuesday 13th December, 2016



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Liberia's president said Tuesday no deal has yet been reached by a heavyweight delegation for Yahya Jammeh to transition power to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who was declared the victor of a recent presidential election.

A day of talks with Jammeh and Barrow yielded constructive conversations but no resolution.

The situation was further complicated by Jammeh's political party filing a legal challenge to the result in the afternoon.

"We come to help Gambians find their way through a transition. That's not something that can happen in one day. It's something that one has to work on," said Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, acting as the head of a delegation of four West African heads of state visiting the country.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama all flew in with Sirleaf in an attempt to find common ground between the two sides.

The Liberian leader said Jammeh had "expressed some concerns" on the same day his party filed the petition with the country's Supreme Court.

"The ECOWAS mission was here to meet with him to understand the status quo a bit better," Sirleaf added, referring to a West African regional bloc.

The ECOWAS community would now consider the results of the visit on Saturday, she said.

Nigeria's Buhari had said earlier the longtime ruler had been "receptive" to their pleas, but president-elect Barrow said the talks were in gridlock.

"There has not been an agreement so far," said Barrow, who also met the delegation.

Map of Gambia

The leader of the opposition described a "standoff" with the government. Referring to the court challenge filed by the ruling party, he said Jammeh "doesn't have the authority" to annul the result.

The lack of a deal will come as a blow to the opposition, who had hoped Jammeh would leave power within a month under international pressure.

That transition will be all the more complicated given the legal petition, seen by AFP, claimed the country's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had violated the law, that Barrow was not the elected president and the result was void.

The ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) said it was not present when the IEC issued a recount on December 5, claimed there were irregularities in the process and alleged voter intimidation.

Sanctions threat?

A top ECOWAS official had said that if Jammeh and the delegation do not reach an agreement, West African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", but the quartet would not elaborate on this Tuesday.

Jammeh had surprised observers by initially conceding defeat in the poll but then reversed his stand last Friday, triggering an avalanche of international condemnation and a multitude of calls for him to cede power peacefully.

His decision was triggered in part by a readjustment of the votes counted in the election was made by the IEC on Monday last week, reducing the number of ballots for all three candidates but ultimately confirming Barrow's victory.

Earlier on Tuesday, police locked down the offices of the electoral commission, raising fresh fears Jammeh might not leave office without a fight.

The electoral commission chairman, Alieu Momar Njie, told AFP that when he went to work riot police prevented him from entering the premises.

Later Tuesday Njie maintained the results still stood, and questioned Jammeh's ability to bring a legal challenge.

Jammeh in mid-2015 dismissed a string of Supreme Court judges after criticising the court's move to commute several death sentences.

Gambia's president-elect Adama Barrow

"The only recourse when you have any problems with the results of the elections, one has to appeal to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has been dormant since May 2015," Njie said.

A group of the country's most influential lawyers has said there is "no legitimate legal mechanism available in The Gambia to hear and determine the election petition", as Jammeh would have to stuff the court with his own appointees.

Army loyalty

Earlier in the day, opposition coalition members had been more confident of a breakthrough.

"Remember President Buhari is from the military. Jammeh is from the military. I think that will make a difference," said Hamat Bah, a senior coalition official.

Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his regional peers but has never threatened peace in the area.

The situation has dramatically shifted, however, since Jammeh's move to void the election.

Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie also seemed to reverse a previous declaration of support for Barrow and arrived at delegation preparation talks wearing a badge that featured Jammeh's face on his uniform.

Badjie said he supported the "commander in chief, President Yahya Jammeh" in brief comments to journalists.
A former Gender Minister says President John Mahama performed poorly in the three regions of the North because he failed to attend to the needs of the people.

Hajia Alima Mahama says it is difficult for residents of the Regions to afford little luxuries of life despite claims of extraordinary achievements by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

"I went to so many communities and they will tell me your government did this but when you left office nothing has been done.

"There was no single infrastructure. I know it is difficult to build bridges, but do something," she told Joy FM's Seth Kwame Boateng in an interview Tuesday.

The defeat of the NDC in last Wednesday's presidential poll has been on political discussion tables since the start of the week.

Several analyses have been proffered for the failure of President Mahama to garner enough votes in the poll.

New Patriotic Party (NPP), Presidential Candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo polled 5, 716,026 of the valid votes representing 53.85 percent while President Mahama recorded 4,713,277 which was 44.40 of the total votes.

Hajia Alima Mahama

NDC supporters have been blaming the party's functionaries for the President's defeat with some claiming the President's attention was not drawn to the reality on the ground.

Hajia Mahama formerly the Member of Parliament for Gambaga Nalerigu in the Northern Region said contrary to reports of infrastructural development, the NDC government has underperformed across the country.

I come from a poor district there is still a lot more to do like road infrastructure and bridges to make the place accessible," she said, adding in many of the communities she visited in her region they do not even have Community-based Health Planning and Services ( CHPS) compound.

She, however, entreated President-elect to endeavor to provide the basic needs of Ghanaians especially access to portable drinking water.

Hajia Alima believes Nana Akufo-Addo should focus on job creation in his first 100 days as leader of the country.

"It is obvious that the youth won the election for us," she said, adding if the NPP is able to implement the famous one-district, one-factory policy there would jobs in the country.

"This process of job creation is a continuous programme and definitely we have to put agriculture back on track," she said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers
By Erica Apeatua Addo,GNA

Tarkwa (W/R) Dec.13,GNA - A 27 year-old former roller operator of Pursues Gold Mine at Ayanfuri, Samuel Yamson, has been fined GH2,500.00 by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for defrauding nine of his colleagues.

The convict, who pleaded guilty to the offence, would go to prison for five years in default of the fine.

Narrating the facts of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Oscar Amponsah told the court that the complainants were residents of Ayanfuri, Bogoso, Tarkwa and Takoradi and the convict lived at Bogoso all in the Western region.

He said the complainants and Yamson used to be co-workers at the gold mine, but he was transferred to Accra and was dismissed from the Company in May 2015.

According to Detective Amponsah, Yamson later returned to Bogoso and deceitfully called each of the complainants on their mobile phones and informed them that the Golden Star underground mines at Akyepim, where he hailed from, was about to commence work and that his uncle was the Community Affairs Manager and he had asked him to begin the recruitment process.

The Prosecution said after the convict had succeeded in collecting their passport pictures, CVs, application letters, copies of their driver's licenses and various sums of monies, amounting to GH29,670.00 from the complainants, he refused to answer their phone calls.

The complainants who later realised that they had been duped, started searching for the convict to enable them to retrieve their money, but they could not locate him..

Detective Chief Inspector Amponsah said on November 3, this year, some of the complainants saw Yamson in the Bogoso Town and they reported him to the Police, and he was arrested.

He said at the Police Station Yamson admitted the offence in his caution statement.

GNA
13.12.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Dec. 13, GNA - The Tijjaniya Muslims of Ghana have congratulated President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for emerging victors in the just-ended polls.

A statement jointly signed by Sheikh Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo, the Director of Communications, and Alhaji Khuzaima M. Osman, the Executive Secretary of the group, said the victory attained by the NPP, led by the president-elect and his running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, was the victory of Ghana's democracy, the victory of the Muslim Community, and the victory of humanity.

The group, under the leadership of Sheikh Abdul Wadudu Haruna Zaeem, the National President, said the experience of the two gentlemen in the democratic governance and their expertise in relevant fields of nation-building would help accelerate economic transformation and national development.

It said in all democratic societies, governance was team work, hence 'we pray that Allah granted the president-elect the wisdom to select a competent team that would raise Ghana to another pedestal of development and prosperity.'

The statement expressed confidence that with faith in Allah, Ghanaians would advance as a united nation with a common destiny in a new era of hope, development, freedom and justice.

The Tijjaniya Muslims of Ghana also commended Ghanaians for their role in the peaceful conduct of the elections. They said by the exemplary conduct; 'we have demonstrated our commitment to democracy and good governance.'

The statement said the result of the election was a reflection of the country's readiness to 'maintain our accolade as the beacon of democracy in the West African sub-continent,'

The group also lauded President John Dramani Mahama for conceding defeat and opting for a smooth transition of power to a new administration.

'The incumbent president is indeed a statesman who respects the sovereign will of the people,' the statement said.

GNA
A GNA feature by Kwamina Tandoh, GNA

Accra, Dec 13, GNA - There is public perception that politics is a male domain; a boys club, that clouds the participation of women.

Mr Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the UN says: 'There is no tool or development more effective than the empowerment of women, no other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, no other policy powerful in the chances of education for the next generation.'

Women in the olden days were a preserve for the kitchen, however in contemporary times; they have risen to higher positions in various fields and are active competitors to their opposite sex.

Mrs Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, President of Liberia, Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Flag bearer of the National Democratic Party, Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection et al serve as role models to shape lives of younger female generation.

Empowering women to harness their potentials is the magic wand to foster the development of any society or a nation, and Ghana is not alien to the rule.

Gender advocacy groups and organisations, have upheld the need to increase women's participation and representation in both the local and national government structure.

The anxiety surrounding the abilities of women to win parliamentary seats in previous elections resurfaced in this year's election.

This was after 29 out of the 133 women were elected from the 10 regions to go to Parliament in the 2012 Election.

This year, 137 women contested 102 parliamentary seats in the December 7, 2016 election with 35 wining their seats.

This figure represents 12.72 per cent of the total parliamentarians, which is far below the minimum 30 per cent threshold recommended by the UN.

The low number of women in parliament can have implications for legislation that adequately reflects their interest and priorities.

With the 35 seats, 12 are held by the National Democratic Congress, and 23 by the New Patriotic Party.

This year, the Greater Accra Region fielded the highest number of 30, followed by Ashanti Region, which recorded 28 women contesting and 17 in the Central Region.

The rest are Brong- Ahafo Region; 12, Western Region; eight, Eastern Region; 15, Volta Region; nine, Northern Region; nine, Upper East Region; six and Upper West Region, three.

In the 2012 elections, Ghana ranked 149 out of 193 in the Inter-Parliamentary Union ranking on women representation in parliament across the world. This report was compiled on November 1 2016.

Ghana scored 10.90 per cent whilst other Sub-Saharan countries including Angola scored 36.80 per cent, Sudan-30.50 per cent, Ethiopia- 38.50 per cent and Uganda 33.80 per cent. (http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm)

Although Ghana has made progress in this year elections as compared to 2012, the trend is not the best for Ghana and all hands must be put on deck to reverse it.

Whilst commending the political parties for the good job done there is more to do.

Political parties must back the Public Funding of Political Parties Bill and brainstorm with civil society on how best to educate the public on the bill, which also provides for the funding of women candidates.

Past governmental regimes and current government in their bit had contributed to making women be in the frontline of their government holding various Ministerial and other higher positions, however more has to be done to support the full implementation of the global agenda of women's empowerment and greater participation in leadership and decision-making at all levels of the society.

GNA
He said: We want to know why Mrs. Mogherini in the past year has failed to condemn the appalling human rights abuses taking place in Iran.

Ashworth cited the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran who reported that executions in Iran in 2015, surged to nearly 1,000; the highest level in over 25 years. He also cited a report by Amnesty International, which stated that Iran was responsible for 60% of all registered executions worldwide in 2015.

He said: Mrs. Mogherini should know that Iran hanged 10 prisoners including three women, during the period of her visit to Tehran in April this year. I think its a matter of deep regretting shame that she chose to remain silent on those appalling human rights violations while she was there.

The meeting, designed to condemn the Iranian Regime for their human rights abuses, was organised by the Friends of a Free Iran (FOFI). FOFI attracts bipartisan support within the EU and has the support of 300 MEPs across political affiliations and countries.

Ashworth said: Its our duty to demand justice over the massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners. Particularly we send that message to the EU High Representative, Federica Mogherini. We would expect of her that she represents those very values of democracy, rule of law and human rights that we hold so dear.

The lawmakers urged Mogherini and all EU member states to condition their relationships with Iran on a halt of executions.

Ashworth urged Mogherini and the UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to hold the Regime accountable for atrocities like the 1988 massacre, which killed 30,000 political prisoners.

He said: Were proud to support the millions of Iranians demanding democracy and humanity. We should press the United Nations to establish a commission of inquiry in order to bring the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre to justice. 

Other speakers at the conference included former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi, the Iranian opposition leader, Maryam Rajavi who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).and former political prisoner, Shabnam Madadzadeh.
A South-African man has schooled Nigerians who are MMM participants.

Relaying his experience of what happened to the popular money doubling scheme in his country way back in May, the man said contrary to reports that the participants will get their money when the bans on mavros have been lifted, nothing like that will happen.

He said that was the exact thing that happened to them in May and up till now, no one has been able to get their money. He went ahead to say that Nigerians should have leanrt from South Africans. Read what he wrote below:

READ ALSO: National panic in Nigeria as MMM gets frozen

''LOL u should have learned from your brothers and sisters here in south africa , our old mavro maoney is gone as we speak and MMM is at silence as we speak so watch out for this ponzi schemes i have also learned my lesson here in south africa but atleast is not to much money that i lost''

From reports gathered by Legit.ng Gossip, this exact occurrence happening in Nigeria had happened also to the South African MMM sometime back. Headlines like:

"Controversial donation platform and alleged Ponzi scheme, MMM" and "South Africa collapsed and rebooted amid what it calls a media panic, flooded the news page when it happened in SA.

In a notice posted to participants of the scheme after it happened, the group said that persecution against MMM organized by the mass media has provoked a panic which has forced the scheme to start all over again.

MMMs administration said that the schemes currency  Mavros had been frozen and were impossible to use. The group blamed the collapse of the system on media reports and South African banks, which it alleges have hurt and robbed millions of people who were part of the MMM scheme.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

The scheme said it has started over with a clean sweep and all users whose mavros were frozen will be rewarded handsomely. They promised that the old version of the Mavro currency will be bought out through trades of the new version of the currency, where equal value would be paid out to participants over six months, using 10% of total trade  effectively placing a debt burden on all participants. All these were made known May 1, 2016. See the exact notice as sent to all participants below:

"Dear participants!

Unfortunately, the persecution against MMM organized by the mass media has provoked a panic. We have been working in South Africa for almost 2 years and we have millions of members. During all that time, we had no complaints and accusations from participants, everything was paid to everyone in time and in full amount, by 30% per month. We held charity events and helped children. We did a lot of useful things for people! Well, who was suffering from this?

READ ALSO: It's not a scam and 4 other things Mavrodi wrote to Buhari before freezing MMM

"The bankers and the adherents of the current unjust financial system. That is why they planned and brought all these crazy investigations and persecution in the mass media. The only thing which prevents the investigation is the fact that non of the participants reported to the police. If there are no complaints, and everybody is happy, then what is the investigation for? What is the subject? Did not they understand the consequences? Did not they understand that their irresponsible actions would hurt people? Millions of people! Well, try oppressing any bank, even the most reliable one, in the same way, and see what will happen tomorrow.

"However, it is futile to explain that to them. MMM prevents banks from robbing people, that is the only reason why all this is happening. And nobody cares about people. If we managed to pay millions of participants 30% per month for two years (and would still be paying, if the mass media did not lie about MMM!), why do banks not do the same? Why do they offer only a few percents a year? Make your own conclusions. Thought everything is clear right now. You are simply robbed, we have always been saying it. The modern financial system is predatory by nature. It is not for ordinary people, it is for the bankers. Its purpose is financial slavery! And it achieves this purpose perfectly. In general, in this situation, we have to start all over again. We have no choice. You can see on your own what is happening.

READ ALSO: Tears as MMM crashes in Zimbabwe, millions lose money

Hence,

The current (old) Mavros are frozen. Any operations with them are impossible. With the development of the system, we will send 10% of the total inflow (of all the PHs) to pay for the old Mavro. According to the experience of other countries, we can definitely say that in the normal course of events, all the old Mavro debts will be paid off in about six months.

New Mavros (Mavro bought from the moment of this announcement) are introduced. You can use them on a common basis: to acquire and withdraw them at any time. All of this, of course, is not very nice, but its not the end of the world. We will quickly pay off old Mavro debts, no doubt about it. You just have to wait. (And anyway, you can thank your precious media and banks for this gift!). The best thing you can do is just to start participating again, that is all. And you will quickly return everything, even with a benefit. Moreover, now is the most favorable time to participate and invite: in fact, everything starts from the beginning. So do not miss your chance! :-)) We hope for your understanding, Administration."

Sadly, MMM still owes the old participants from May till NOW!

Source: Legit.ng
- Nigeria has been facing serious economic crises for many months thus causing disillusionment among the masses

- However, while Nigerians continue to cry about the situation of the country, the prices of products have crashed

Nigerians may begin to heave a sigh of relief ahead of the Yuletide as prices of foodstuff have continued to crash amid tight pockets coming from a troubled economy.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prices of tomatoes and pepper have dropped by about 55 percent in most markets in Lagos state.

Prices of foodstuff crash ahead of Christmas

This means the prices could be far lesser in the northern part of Nigeria and other states with a high population of farmers.

Most of such products come into Lagos from other states.

The report said a basket of tomatoes at the popular Mile 12 and Iddo markets which previously cost N9,000 now sells for N5,000.

READ ALSO: 9 irresistible things Nigerians want for Christmas this year

The report also said pepper now sells for between N4, 500 and N4,000 respectively, as against N8,000 in November.

According to the report, the price of onions has also gone down with a bag now selling for N17, 000 as against N28, 000, while a plastic container of garri now sells for N650.

The spokesperson of the Mile 12 Traders Association, Mr Femi Odusanya, reportedly explained that the prices of the commodities dropped due to massive harvest of the items for the Yuletide season.

He said: Most farmers are harvesting their produce now leading to surplus and drop in prices of the items in the market.

Our appeal to government is to mop up the excesses through preservation because prices will further drop until April when the produce will not be in season.

We do not want a repeat of previous experience that we had much food waste due to our inability to preserve the excesses.

READ ALSO: Nigerians rush to buy local rice as Christmas approaches

He pleaded with the government to take urgent steps to encourage farmers to mass-produce crops and ensure food sufficiency in the country.

The report also said at the Daleko market, the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of rice ranged between N16,000 and N24,000 depending on its brand.

But the state government has promised to flood every local government with affordable rice which it has produced in partnership with Kebbi state.

A rice seller, Mrs Yinka Okunola, explained that the price of rice was still high as a result of the current exchange rate of the Naira and non-availability of local variety in most markets.

She was quoted as saying: We do not have the locally produced rice in the market, and when available it competes favourably with the imported rice and forces a reduction in the prices of rice.

Source: Legit.ng
The amazing thing is that people deliberately wish to change their appearance, apparently proceeding from the desire not to be like others. They give lots of money to disfigure their face and then just to be happy.

Ugliest people in the world

We present to your attention our selection of the most "beautiful" people in the world.

An amazing man opens our rating. So, this is not because the man is dressed as a cheetah. And, of course, he is not a cheetah. He is a 67-year-old Tom Leppard, who has covered 99% of his body with bizarre tattoos, resembling the pattern of a skin of a Cheetah. He lives on the Isle of Skye, imitating his favorite animal movement on his fours. Despite his presence in the list, compared with the following people, the man looks pretty well...

Ugliest people in the world

The next person in our list is Etienne Dumont, a literary critic from Geneva, who wishes to paint himself with tattoos from head to toe. The photo of a scary man-bull scares.

Silicone implants under the skin, makes him look like a young bull, five-centimeter ring in the ear tunnels and pinned glasses complete the image of a man coming as if from the worst horror. Well, the purpose of his life apparently is executed...

Ugliest people in the world

The next place is occupied by a "Zombie boy", who is already quite popular due to his unusual appearance and image. Walking down the street, Rick Genest surely hears the frightened cries of passersby.

Zombie-boy put a lot of effort to get into the list of the ugliest men in the world. This is not surprising: on the tattooed face he has fake teeth like skeleton and a black nose, as if smeared with oil, and, of course, a ring in his nose, which makes the guy even more formidable. It would be vain to hope that Rick is an optimist, if to recall the picture which he sees in the mirror every morning...

Ugliest people in the world

Julia Gnuse has become the most tattooed woman in the world and this is not due to her desire. Congenital skin disease Porphyria drove her for 10 years to cover systematically her body with new tattoos. But these drawings allowed Julia to become a world-famous woman-illustration and she is compared with the painted pottery due to some similarities.

Ugliest people in the world

Another woman in our list of the ugliest people in the world is a Brazilian Elaine Davidson. She can boast a number of scrap-metal on her face because she is wearing at least 3 kilos of body piercing on daily basis. 2500 tattoos are the complement to her unusual appearance.

The lover of metal rings now lives in Edinburgh, feared that at home she will not have a very sweet life. The question of the greatest interest is about: how she sleeps with all this magnificence? She must be asleep, otherwise, she would have had to remove and pull rings, cloves and balls all the night...

Ugliest people in the world

On the 5th place is Kala Kaiwi. This man has covered his body with tattoos by as much as 75%. But apparently it seems to him a little and he decided to make bifurcated snake tongue, to grow silicon hillocks on the forehead, reminiscent the cones and attach to the head metal horns. As many people suppose he has feelings and some manners of Satan.

Kala Kawai is deservedly included in the top ten of the scariest people on the planet. However, there is a quite prosaic motive: he decided to become a living advertisement for his own tattoo Studio in Hawaii.

Ugliest people in the world

Pauly Unstoppable seems to be quite a nice guy, if not for the tattooed face, the through-hole on the nose, cleverly covered by a huge ring (the boy sometimes entertains friends, pushing scissors through these holes) and huge tunnels in his ears.

One of the ugliest people on the planet and the most terrible thing what can be said about his appearance is that he has his tongue divided into three parts. You probably will have no desire to imagine this even in your wildest fantasies.

Despite the sophisticated appearance, Pauly looks like cheerful person with a modest smile, hiding behind his lips "flavor" of his appearance.

Ugliest people in the world

The top three is opened by Eric Sprague the first person in the world who made snake tongue, cutting his tip in a half, and day after day, stretching out the halves so that they are not fused.

Terrible man-lizard, judging from the appearance, can be called so: almost all of his body is painted with tattoos of green colour, and the silicon edged teeth give him the true nature of lizards.

Ugliest people in the world

The next guy by the nickname Lucky Diamond Rich is considered to be the most tattooed man in the world: the drawings embellished even his gums and ears. How much pain he had to experience waiting for a full cover of the body with tattoos? The answer is for more than 1000 hours!

READ ALSO: Reasons why most handsome men end up with ugly women

He is almost the ugliest man on the planet. Less patience it took for hundreds of artists, whose hands had created this masterpiece. And everything is not in vain: in 2006, man-tattoo was ahead of Tom Leppard because he had greater area of painted body. The title of one of the ugliest people on the planet complements the ability to swallow swords.

Ugliest people in the world

The Most terrible man by the will of fate

In the world there is another person who is different from all the above. The fact is that he has become "known" but this was without his desire. A retired police officer Jason Schechterle, while being at the service, survived a great tragedy. In 2001, he received burns of the fourth degree. It happened while patrolling his area.

A taxi crashed in the car of the guard. The blow was so strong that both cars broke out like a match. Unfortunately for Jason he could not get out of the car. Therefore, he received severe burns. And when he was taken to the hospital, the doctors had to literally remove his face. This fact, in a few years, allowed the newspaper Weekly World News to bring the officer Jason Schechterle in a list of the ugliest people in the world.

Jason Schechterle the ugliest person by the will of fate has appeared in the Print edition where a photo of the person was published, where he hugs the spouse. The man who shot the couple received several awards. But Schechterle immediately sued the newspaper in court. Naturally, he won.

And now the Corporation, which owns publishing house, pays a considerable amount of money to support the victims of burns. The exact amount of the payment is unknown, but the press called it "substantial."

In addition, the judges were obliged to deprive employees of the newspaper, who made it possible to get the picture in the print. And here, it is worth noting that the publication of Weekly World News, which has been on trial, is perhaps the most popular "yellow" newspaper in America.

It is worth noting the unique fact of devotion for a husband, in spite of the terrible changes in appearance of the spouse of a retired officer, the wife didnt refuse from her husband. After the tragedy, she supported him as she could. Most likely, thankfully to the faith and love Jason survived a terrible accident and returned to more or less normal life.

The ugliest person in the world

His name was Dennis Avner. But the biggest popularity came to him by the nicknames: cat, Man-tiger or CatMan. By the way, the appearance of Dennis changed so much not because he wished an original way to stand out from the crowd or to hide some defects. From childhood the man was attracted by the image of the tiger, it is not surprising that being an adult, he decided not only to be spiritually similar in this way, but also physically.

Today Dennis body flaunts a huge number of tattooed stripes which resemble a tiger. In total there are more than a hundred. Moreover, teeth of the ugliest person are specially sharpened to have a resemblance to cat.

We can say that Dennis in the area of his mouth nothing human has left. The upper lip is surgically forked, and to change the shape of the face of the man he needed to place implants in the forehead and on the eyebrows. Man-tiger also made the correction of the hairline. And to heighten the similarities regularly builds up his nails.

Ugliest people in the world

Dennis Avner is the ugliest man in the world. He even made on his face something similar to cat whiskers. Namely, the man inserted small metal rods around the mouth which were remote, but still resembled a mustache. Of course, Cat Man didn't forget to insert contact lenses. They helped Avner to have greater resemblance to a tiger.

It should be noted that during many years of reincarnation the ugliest person in the world has been injected in different parts of the face. By the way, drastic alterations in appearance Dennis started doing in the 80-ies of the last century. And exactly how much money he put into changing of his face is unknown. Even it was difficult for the ugliest man in the world to say because he got lost in the calculations. Anyway, the amount of money still turns out great. Perhaps this amount can only be compared with the cost of operations which are made for women, although not everything turns out successful.

Important information is that before the transformation for a tiger Dennis Avner worked for the Navy. Over the years he left the profession and became a real celebrity. Cat Man was interviewed and regularly invited to various talk shows. Dennis lived in a town called Tonop. Here he was known almost by everyone. It should be added that due to his long-term habit, "tiger" approached his animal ideal. Avner spent quite a lot of time in the trees. Moreover, he didnt mind to eat fresh raw meat.

Dennis Avner had a good enough reason to change himself. The young man came from the tribe of the Hurons, and also of the Indian people of Dakota. And they have a totem animal is a tiger. Once one of the great shaman told to Dennis, "Follow the tigers way". And the man literally embraced this admonition and began pursue seriously the transformation of his body.

READ ALSO: Six Benefits Of An Ugly lady

Source: Legit.ng
- The leader of the IPOB Nnamdi Kanu said he will not be subjected to a secret trial by the Nigeria government

- Kanu said he has been accused in public and will not accept the ruling of the court to try him in the secret

- He also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to always guard his utterances especially when speaking in public

Nnamdi Kanu said he will not be subjected to a secret trial by the Nigerian government

The trial of the leader of the Independent People Of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu took a new turn after a Federal High Court judge ruled on an application for secret trial by the Department of State Services (DSS).

After the judge over the matter, Justice Binta Nyako, made her ruling that witnesses in the ongoing trial of Kanu would be protected behind a screen, a vexed Kanu, replying from the dock said he will not be subjected to a secret trial by the federal government.

Kanu said: I will not be tried in the secret, this is not a Sharia court, I must be tried in an open court! kanu snapped back at Justice Nyako.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Court rules on secret trial on Nnamdi Kanu (Update)

Continuing in anger, the IPOB leader said: Buhari went public and he accused me in public now you he wants to try me secretly, I will not accept that, Kanu said.

"He (President Buhari) has sent his sister from Kastina state (refering to the judge) to try him, he should learn to guard his utterances," he added.

While Kanu was speaking, Justice Nyako called him to order, she also cautioned Kanu's counsel to tell his client to conduct himself in her court.

"This is my court and I what I say happens, it's like coming to your house and respecting your orders," Nyako said.

But Kanu continued: I will address this court! You cannot be killing my people and tell me that you will make me have a secret trial. That wont happen! The president can intimidate the judges, but he cannot do that to me. Tell him he has lied,

Nyako had in her ruling on Tuesday, December 13, said: "It is in law that criminal trials be conducted in open court, but however it is not strange that some circumstances can warrant the concealing of witnesses."

Nyako also advise parties involved - counsels and defendants - to choose a date for a test run on the screening process.

She said: "I will want all of you to choose a date for us to practice how the screening will be conducted, so that you will not be taken unaware on the process."

READ ALSO: Kanu is in prison for Radio Biafra but who will be imprisoned for BBC Hausa service? Achuzie spits fire

However, shortly after her ruling the court room was filled with Biafra agitators mostly dressed in Jewish robes.

The agitators in their scores chanted: No secret trial inside the court room.

The chants continued outside, with prison and police officer making calls for reinforcement.

Shortly after the calls, a huge police van with hundreds of police officer arrived the court premises and guarded with masked DSS officials Kanu and his fellow accused persons were driven out of the court in a prison van.

Source: Legit.ng
The first outbreak of Ebola fever in the West African nation of Guinea has killed at least 59 people and may be spreading into nearby countries, international health agencies warned on Monday.

Guineas Health Ministry said most of the 80 known cases of the disease were in border areas near Sierra Leone and Liberia; early reports of three cases in Conakry, Guineas capital, were unfounded, experts said.

There were reports of patients with symptoms in both Sierra Leone and Liberia, but no laboratory-confirmed cases, said Dr. Armand Sprecher, an Ebola expert with the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders.
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso  The government of Burkina Faso collapsed on Thursday as demonstrators protesting President Blaise Compaore's plans to stay in office after 27 years surged through the streets of Ouagadougou, the capital, overrunning state broadcasters, setting fire to the Parliament building and burning the homes of the presidents relatives.

Authorities imposed martial law, according to a communique from the presidential palace.

After several hours of increasingly violent protests, a government spokesman announced that a bill to extend the term of Mr. Compaore had been dropped, or at least delayed. Yet the protests continued, and later in the day, Mr. Compaore announced that the government had been dissolved and promised more talks with the opposition to end the crisis, according to a statement read on a local radio station.

Still later, according to The Associated Press, he spoke briefly on television and vowed to remain in office.

If the protests do unseat Mr. Compaore, it will be the first time since the Arab Spring that a popular movement has succeeded in removing an autocrat in sub-Saharan Africa. When the wave of Arab Spring protests first swept northern Africa, analysts predicted they would spread south, where some of the worlds most entrenched leaders continue to cling to power.
DANDANO, Guinea  Bring out your sick! the chief shouted angrily at the crowd, shaking his fist and warning of illness and death for the whole village if it did not obey.

Dont hide them! he yelled. If you dont expose them, you will suffer!

Slowly, haggard and dazed, a procession trudged to the muddy village center  a student, a minibus driver, a 5-year-old girl and farmers  with bloodshot eyes betraying the symptoms of Ebola. They walked alone, two village elders flanking them at a wary distance. The crowd edged away fearfully.

Then something just as unusual happened: A Red Cross team went to work freely, tossing water bags to the sick, sheathing them in plastic robes, rubber gloves and face masks. They were taken away down a rough dirt road by a waiting ambulance.

There are many, and they are still hidden, said a Red Cross nurse, climbing in.

This remote, mountainous part of Guinea is where the worlds worst Ebola outbreak began nearly a year ago, in villages hidden by dense forest, high reeds  and a long history of resistance to the distant central government.
Whilst looking through the menu, enjoying a cup of freshly brewed coffee and examining the ultimate American Pancake Stack, Amsterdam restaurant Dignita seems just like any other culinary hotspot.

The all-day brunch restaurant prides itself on freshness, ethically sourced ingredients and an international array of dishes such as the Benny-Boy with streaky bacon, eggs and signature potato roasti, along with the Forest Dwellers; a melting pot of mushroom overload with poached eggs and crispy sage.

But Dignita is so much more than a successful restaurant.

Dignita, which only opened last year, is part of Not For Sale, an international organization thats dedicated to providing long-term opportunities for survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery.

Were trying to help them get a normal work life, a normal community, said Toos Heemskerk-Schep, the director of Not For Sale Netherlands in a recent interview with Munchies. Trauma should be dealt with by psychologists, and humanity just by normal people.

De Wallen, otherwise known as the Red Light District, continues to attract thousands of travelers each month, who flock to see the sex shows, coffee shops and of course the red-lit windows occupied by scantily dressed women.

There are approximately between 6,750 and 8,000 sex workers currently working in Amsterdam. However, not all should be recognized as victims, since prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands in 2000. But despite the legalization providing a lawful framework for the sex workers to work in and the decrease of criminality, the concern for women who have been forced into sex labor continues.

According to research conducted by Not For Sale, In 2014, 1,561 possible victims of human trafficking were reported to Comensha, the coordination center for victims of human trafficking in The Netherlands.

However, conducting a concrete study is challenging, as not all those who are reported to be working as a sex worker is a victim and the victims a lot of the time go unreported since its a hidden industry.

Another struggle that is encountered while trying to estimate the number is that not all victims see themselves as such.

Ultimately, human trafficking is the exploitation of men, women and children; it is also known as the modern form of slavery. Not For Sale describes it as the acquisition of people using force, deception or coercion with the intent to exploit.

Human trafficking is also a booming business, as it is said to make an estimated $150 million annually. And unfortunately, eighty percent of those who are trafficked are young females, with half of the victims being under the age of 18.

According to Not For Sale, in a lot of cases, the traffickers threaten the victims with violence, use emotional blackmail, confiscate travel documents and take away the victims freedom of movement.

Some individuals enter into work agreements willingly but accrue enormous debt to the trafficker in the form of food, shelter, documentation and travel fees.

Therefore, the social enterprise restaurant is there to offer a real kitchen experience that will contribute towards rehabilitating the victims who were forced into sex work in Amsterdam.

Marcelle Bolweg is the Executive Chef for Dignita Amsterdam and Foodservice Manager for Not For Sale Netherlands. She develops the culinary course modules, writes and forecasts the menu, runs the kitchen and supervises and teaches the trainees.

Coming from New Zealand has allowed me to contribute my own fresh, healthy and from scratch recipes and align our food with seasonal influences, said Bolweg. The major benefit of this is that it also allows the Not For Sale trainees to really learn how to make delicious products from raw ingredients.

The first phase of the training is a four-week basic culinary course on preparing different soups. The main goal is to boost the confidence of the trainees and to expand their social skills. Twice a week the Not For Sale volunteers then sell and deliver soups and salads made by the trainees to the women working in the Red Light District.

In this way, the sex workers are offered a nutritious meal, and building a safe relationship.

At the end of the four weeks, the trainees receive a Not For Sale certificate at their graduation ceremony. The survivors who come to Dignita are given an opportunity to train, gain qualifications, stimulate recovery and work alongside professionals employed by Not For Sale.

In her interview with Munchies, Heemskerk-Schep said that the interaction with employees is an important part of their rehabilitation.

Following their training at Dignita, Not For Sale offers survivors a further three-month hospitality training module developed with the ROC of Amsterdam (a culinary training school). The training consists of hygiene and cleaning standards, production techniques and front of house practices.

After this phase, the trainees are then able to apply for an apprenticeship at either Dignita or at another designated workplace. Once all their training is complete, the survivors receive a recognized hospitality certificate, thus providing them with tools to get a paid job or additional education either in The Netherlands or their country of birth.

Not For Sale is currently training approximately 40 participants per year, and has helped four graduates find paid employment.

In the near future, Not For Sale plans to extend its concept of Eat Well, Do Good to the countries where the victims are from in order to attack the problem from the beginning.

Many customers, who arrived in the morning, are still at Dignita by midday. Evidently, no one has any urgency to leave. The friendly service, bright open space, fairy lights and the decorated Christmas tree thats surrounded with presents makes this eatery feel comfortable, welcoming and safe.
Hey, Bartender: What is the proper amount to tip at a bar?

Gratuity is a dicey subject. Opinions vary wildly on what qualifies as a fair amount. One thing we can all agree on, however, is that tipping nothing at all is unacceptable. In the United States, tipping people in the service industry is customary. I understand other countries have different norms, but I cant speak to those practices, so for the purposes of this column, lets stick to domestic tipping customs.

Bartenders, like other service industry employees, depend on tips as part of our income. Yes, we get paid a slightly higher hourly rate than a restaurant server  we also typically have more responsibilities  but we are still making less than minimum wage before tips. Working behind the right bar can be a lucrative gig  we can walk with several hundred dollars or more on a good night  but business can be inconsistent, so dont assume were raking in the cash.

Before I go any further, I want acknowledge that people in the hospitality industry have very different opinions on this subject. We tend to be more generous because we know the work involved. Pieces like this tend to irritate people outside the industry. I am offering my advice as a guideline based on standards of the industry. I understand that people will disagree with it. And thats okay. Ultimately, you are entitled to tip whatever amount you think is sufficient. For my part, behind the bar I strive to be professional, and treat all my guests equally well regardless of how much they are tipping. Of course, its a bummer when I get a lousy tip, but I keep it to myself.

I also want to be sensitive to peoples financial situations. I acknowledge some people live on tight budgets. I also believe everyone deserves the occasional night out. Ive spent enough time behind the bar to know when someone doesnt have a lot of money to spend. If youre polite and appreciative, Im not going to begrudge you for not leaving me a big tip (though gratuity really should be factored into your social budget). That said, if youre knocking back top-shelf spirits or pricey craft beers, you can afford to tip the standard amount.

So, whats the right amount to tip? It depends. The standard gratuity for service in a bar is $1 per drink. If youre keeping a tab open with a several rounds on it, then 20% of the total (or pre-tax total) is standard. I know that seems a bit steep if youre drinking only bottled beer at your local dive bar  all Im doing is popping a cap, right?  but there are also some intangible benefits that you might not notice. Im providing prompt, friendly service, keeping the bar clean and well-organized, the liquor stocked, the beer cold, and making sure everyone is enjoying themselves (responsibly and peaceably)  all factors that make your experience positive and enjoyable.

Now, if you order something more complicated than a beer or a simple mixed drink, you should consider leaving a bit more  around $2-$3 per drink, or 20% per round. The rule of thumb is that the more involved the order, the better the tip should be. Making a quality craft cocktail requires skill and knowledge as well as a bit of time. So be sure to show you appreciate the effort; especially, if I spend time helping you figure out exactly what you want.

Ill share a story. One night, a guest got ahold of our copy of the Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide. She began calling out obscure (and not very good) cocktails no one has made in 50 years until she found one I was sure shed like. Pleased with the result, she got her friends to order the same thing. Two rounds later, not one tip from the bunch. I was gracious enough to indulge her, made the cocktails with a smile and received nothing in return.

For poor service (i.e. rude, slow, inattentive), youre entirely within your right to tip less than the standard. But before you leave a nickel on the bar, maybe voice your displeasure to the bartender or a manager. The issue might be a simple miscommunication, or something else that can be easily rectified. Id much rather have a guest speak up and give me a chance to make things right on the spot than let me find out about it on Yelp.

Stiffing, on the other hand, is almost never acceptable. However, if you receive truly, objectively awful service  rude, offensive, disrespectful  and no one is willing to address things to your satisfaction, youre entitled to refuse a tip.

A word about hosted (open) bars. Just because the drinks are free, doesnt mean the service is. Be sure to show your appreciation to those hardworking bartenders, who typically have to do a large amount of additional side work since these sorts of bars need to be set up and taken down. Yes, we are likely to get a nice tip from whomever is paying the tab at the end of the night, but that doesnt excuse you from tipping. A good practice is to tip $20 or so at the beginning of the night  just make sure that I see you do it. If that seems like a lot of money, think about how much youd be spending if the bar wasnt free. Also, if theres a tip jar out, never reach into it to make change. If you need to break a bill, ask us to do it.

Additional notes on good tipping etiquette:

Many bartenders consider tipping coins to be insulting. Please dont leave pennies, nickels or dimes. If your beer comes to $4.65 and you leave $5, youre not going to be making any friends. However, if you leave four quarters or an amount that exceeds $1, we wont mind.

A shot is not a substitute for a tip. In Vermont, where I work, its illegal for a bartender to drink during a shift so I have to decline this gesture. But even if it were legal, I (and the majority of bartenders) would prefer money over booze any day.

Any money left on the bar is assumed to be a tip. Obviously, if you pay for three beers with $100 and forget the change on the bar, Ill make sure to get it back to you.

Dont leave tip money on top of the garnish tray, on bar mats (which might be wet or dirty), or anywhere else where it may be unsanitary or in the way.

If youre sitting at the bar but not drinking alcohol, you should still tip. If youre a designated driver, youre a hero, and Im probably comping your sodas anyway. But dont take up a seat that could be making me (and the house) money and leave nothing at the end of the night.

If someone from across the bar buys you a round or picks up your tab, you should still leave a tip. Ditto if I buy you a round.

Dont leverage a better tip for free drinks.

Jim Sabataso is a writer, cocktail enthusiast, and bar director for The Palms Restaurant in Rutland, Vermont. Follow him on Twitter @JimSabataso.
Angela Merkel, speaking Tuesday at the Christian Democrat party conference, gave her support to a proposed ban on Islamic face veils in Germany, calling them not appropriate here and saying they should be banned in the country wherever legally possible. The ban is backed by right-wing nationalists and an increasing number of populists grown fearful of immigrants. The proposal was prompted after an Afghan teenager who sought asylum in the country raped and murdered 19-year-old college student Maria Ladensburger this October.

This signals an abrupt shift to the right for Merkel, who just last year opened Germany to over a million asylum-seekers, most of them Muslims from regions ravaged by war. That humane decision, though  the Welcome Policy  was immediately savaged by far-right and nationalist groups, and soon enough, a pretty big portion of the public.

Merkel  a conservative whos been Germanys Chancellor since 2005  is again up for re-election next year. Shes going to have to take up whats now become an all too familiar fight against a surge of far-right nationalism in her party. Shes probably most worried about the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), which won a startling 145 seats in the latest state elections and touts an extreme anti-Islamic platform that calls for bans on face veils, minarets, calls to prayer, and other Islamic symbols and practices. Their slogan: Islam is not part of Germany.

This is probably the first of many signals Merkel will send to her base in coming months as she dusts off her conservative credentials and tries to shore up more support from the right, so its unclear whether shes being cynical or serious. No matter  theres a lot more to it when you look closer. The ban is about much more than politics, violence, or terrorism. It about much more than womens rights, even. Its about identity  what it means to be German or European.

Ill go further: Its about what it means to be human. Given the history in that part of the world, this terrifies me. I know that sounds sensational and clickbaity, but let me explain. See if you agree.

First of all, the ban wouldnt do much. There are a little less than five million Muslims in Germany, and experts estimate that none of them wear a burqa, which covers not just the full body but has a beekeeper-ish mesh over the eyes as well. And only a few hundred Muslim women in the country wear another traditional full-face veil, called the niqab. Then theres the hijab, which is the headscarf alone  no veil. Thats far and away the most popular.

Burqa bans have bounced around Europe for a while. This summer the mayors of several towns in France banned burkinis, prompting a major backlash in France and the U.K. before those laws were overturned by the French courts. And to be completely honest, the burqa itself  with its masked eyes  does invoke a reflexive, visceral unease in me before reason takes control. Not proud, but its true. Its something about the covered eyes. Theres an uncanny valley effect, I guess. It doesnt bother me in a cultural sense.

Still, even if the ban is passed, it would affect so few Muslim women that hardly anyone aside from those directly affected would notice. But that doesnt matter to the far right, because it was never about Muslim women, anyway.

These nationalist messages resonate with voters who see Merkels Welcome Policy (which has since been halted) as a huge mistake. Many cite violent crimes committed by asylum-seeking immigrants, such as during the New Years celebrations in Cologne when an estimated 1,000 women were reportedly sexually assaulted. This week the German government prompted a backlash when it warned the public not to respond to Ladensburgers murder by attacking or marginalizing immigrants. This also led to accusations  familiar to us in the U.S.  that the media, which didnt broadcast the story in main headlines, was sacrificing security in the name of political correctness. The next day another asylum-seeker was charged for raping two students.

This merely proves that asylum-seekers are just as capable of committing heinous crimes as anyone else. More to the point, perhaps, is the recent series of terrorist attacks in Germany carried out by asylum-seekers inspired by but unaffiliated with the Islamic State. A shooting outside a McDonalds at a Munich mall resulted in nine deaths. A suicide bomber injured 15 at a concert. Theres also been a run of knife attacks, which are terrifying to think about.

That shooting, though? Not an asylum-seeker. An Iranian. His parents were immigrants. He was a German citizen, born in Munich.

Its notable that Merkel didnt respond to calls for veil bans following these big events. She responded to calls following the rape and murder of a young, white woman.

Theres a larger political trend in Europe, and really, across the world  see Brexit, Trump, Erdogan, Duterte, etc. Right-wing nationalists are gaining critical momentum and political power, largely because of the immigration issue. Germany obviously isnt immune to this. Its particularly troubling to see it there, though.

First, Germany is basically the leader of the E.U., and all the more important after Brexit. Germany has the largest economy in the E.U. and third-largest in the world. The fact that right-wing parties are gaining traction there raises the possibility of a potentially devastating Germexit.

And I dont need to dwell on this, but we cant totally discount Germanys far-right history. The nation has gone to extremes to confessing that history, vociferously denouncing it, and teaching it in all its blackness and shame in order to stop similar populist movements from ever taking root.

And yet its happening. In supporting the ban, Merkel and her more centrist Christian Democrat party acknowledged there is a problem with Islam. Right-wing nationalist rhetoric has seeped into centrist parties: Women in Europe can wear whatever they like  but not Muslim women.

Ah, but I can hear them now: But Muslim countries ban veils, too! And those places are far worse to women!

Those are fundamentally flawed arguments. In those countries the debate truly is about how women should be treated, often in the confines of a shared religion. The veil obviously isnt perceived there as a threat to their way of life  but to Western nationalists it is. When people in Western countries demand that veils be banned, its not about womens rights at all: Thats a cynical and despicable argument using the very political correctness the right wing despises. That lie is especially despicable when it exploits and twists the name of Maria Ladensburger, a young woman whose rape and murder had obviously nothing to do with a veil. The fact that the response to that crime was a call to ban all face veils says a whole lot.

The real crime here is a crime of identity. Its what the veil represents. Nationalists might publicly call it violence, terrorism, even immigrants, but its much deeper. Islam is the crime. And the crime that Islam committed isnt rape or murder or terrorism. The crime of Islam is simply being a type of human  a type of human that isnt fully human. The veil is the perfect target: A faceless people.

This goes way beyond how we or other nations and cultures treat women. This is about who has the privilege of law. The real argument the right wing is making when calling for the burqa ban is that Muslim women do not deserve the full privileges of law. In democracies such as Germany the law is an egalitarian human right.

Merkel  who I believe does have noble intentions  will probably keep shifting to the right to secure votes, precisely to fight off the advances of the far right. But her embrace of right-wing policies  even cynically  is tacit complicity in a nationalist ideology and sends a troubling message to the German public. Whats more, these policies will radicalize more Muslims and asylum-seekers, begetting more attacks, begetting more severe policies, and so on and so forth. Right wing nationalism will continue to surge, and sadly, so will violence against immigrants. If this keeps going, that violence will be commonplace.

These veil bans are the first step to dehumanization. Its ironic, and probably not coincidental, that the veil is literally a mask that covers a human face. The populists in Europe dont want to see Muslim faces. They want to replace one veil with many, many millions more.
The worlds largest hotel is turning 30 next year, and it looks like it may finally openafter 30 years of construction.

North Koreas apparently turned on the lights at Ryugyong Hotel, fueling rumors that the regime is ready to revive the 3,000-room hotel.

NK News reports that developers from Egyptian-owned Orascom were recently flown into Pyongyang to discuss the progress of the property.

The 30-year-old hotel of doom has been a magnificent disaster by nearly all accounts. Work on the 105-story building began in 1987, during the reign of Kim Il-Sung, with the hopes of stimulating the countrys tourism industry.

Construction on the beast cost a reported $600 million, roughly 2 percent of the countrys GDP, but was abandoned five years later after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which caused North Korea to spiral deeper into poverty.

After years in disrepair, with crooked elevator shafts and weak concrete, the EU Chamber of Commerce concluded the hotel was irreparable.

Now, that doesnt seem to be the case, and, with the hotels 30th birthday coming up, there seems to be hope the hotel of doom may be able to relinquish that title.

Tom is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and hes currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? but with more sunscreen and jorts.
Its an undisputed fact that the internet peaked when it revolutionised how we accessed porn, and has been on a downward trajectory ever since.

Now, however, were starting to see a reversal (and we dont mean for the memes, a.k.a. Satans bad gags). The rise of sexual education on the internet has brought things like consent, female pleasure, and one trillion articles on how to do anal to the forefront, which definitely werent discussed in your average Sex Ed class.

In that vein, award-winning sexologist Dr Jess OReilly popped over to Reddit for a NSFW AMA, and answered all of the internets questions about sex they were either too embarrassed or too cheap to fork out for a sex therapist to ask.

Heres the top six Q&As.

1. How to achieve the elusive multiple orgasm (for men).

Q: How can you go from a one and done guy to a multi-cumming sex monster? (From Reddit user ellendeepthroats.)

Dr Jess: While most orgasms are accompanied by ejaculation in men, it is not the sensation of fluid expulsion via spinal reflex that produces the wave of pleasure and release of sexual tension associated with orgasm. These gratifying sensations can actually be enjoyed without ejaculation in an experience often referred to as a dry orgasm. If youd like to explore the possibility of having dry orgasms, the first step is to tone your PC muscle. As this area becomes stronger, you can experiment with several approaches to dry orgasm using your PC muscle: Squeeze tightly and flex for a few seconds when you feel orgasm is impending. When you release, you may still experience the wave of orgasmic pleasure and involuntary contractions. Wait until you reach the point of ejaculatory inevitability to flex your PC muscle and hold it while breathing deeply until the inclination to ejaculate subsides. Another option to experiment with dry orgasms involves a slow technique called Edging. Edging refers to bringing yourself right to the brink of orgasm several times without allowing yourself to go over the edge. Stimulate yourself however you please and stop as soon as you feel as though you are about to climax. Breathe slowly and deeply as you retreat to a less stimulating technique or area until the urge to ejaculate subsides. Repeat this process several times. With practice, some men find that they eventually experience orgasmic sensations without ejaculation during the retreat period.

2. How to ask your partner to get their kink on.

Q: How can you tell your partner that you really wanna be pegged / choked / get wrapped up tight in plastic and fucked [delete as applicable] if youre a touch embarrassed?

Dr Jess: I really like using pop culture references  if you see something on TV or in a movie that piques your interest, use the scene as a conversation-starter. It often feels less threatening when you use this approach. You can also frame it as a dream. Oh I had this dream about ________. What do you think about that? Its okay to have a laugh over sexual conversations  it doesnt always have to be serious.

PSA: if rimming was your thing, there were about 1000 references to it in pop culture in 2016, so youre in extreme luck.

3. How to keep ya dick hard.

Q: How do you prevent outside stress from causing erectile disfunction? (From Reddit user sexquipoop69).

Dr Jess: Your issue is so common! Dont worry  youll get over it. Have you ever taken a mindfulness class/webinar? Learning to be present outside of the bedroom (even just one class) can be helpful. If you find the problem persists (I dont think it will), you might also consider CBT (you can see a therapist or just use an app  the goal is for you to become your own therapist). You might also consider a cock ring  its more of a band-aid solution, but its also fun and can make sex hotter!

4. How long after unprotected sex you should get tested for STIs.

Q: Can you do it all at once? Or do you have to keep doing back?

(Honestly, just a quick shout-out to the Australian medical system for allowing us to visit a doctor and ask these questions FOR FREE.)

Dr Jess: STIs have different incubation periods, which means that some take longer to show up in terms of symptoms and test results. Check out this handy chart. Everyone should get tested regularly even if youre using condoms. Youll need to ask your healthcare practitioner which STIs theyre testing for (often youre not tested for HPV, for example, if youre not showing symptoms).

5. How to stay focused while boning.

Q: How do you stop getting distracted in the middle of sexy times?

Dr Jess: Its common. Some of us are easily distracted. Sensory overload can help to keep her in the moment: Blindfold her or make sure the room is pitch black. Play loud music to drown out any sounds from next door. Talk in her ear  find out what she likes to hear and tease out a fantasy to help her to escape from reality Read a sexy story or watch couples porn together. Just like watching a TV show or movie (e.g. horror film) evokes real emotion, so too can sexy storylines.

6. And finally  how the clitoris works.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SEND THIS TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW WHOS INTO VAGINAS.

Q: Whats the difference between clitoral and vaginal stimulation?

Dr Jess: They can be one in the same in some cases. The clitoris has several parts  inside and outside of the body. The head of the clitoris is located at the top of the vulva (where the lips meet). Its attached to a shaft (which gets erections) and is covered by the hood. Inside of the body, the clitoris has legs and bulbs which can be stimulated through the lips, but also via the vagina (the legs wrap around the vaginal canal). More women report reaching orgasm from clitoral stimulation that from vaginal stimulation alone, but because you can stimulate the inner clitoris through the vagina, sometimes its difficult to differentiate between the two.

Heres a bit of info about nerve pathways from my book, The New Sex Bible: The pelvic nerve transmits sensations from the vagina and cervix in women and the rectum and bladder in both men and women; the vagus nerve communicates signals from the cervix, uterus and vagina bypassing the spinal cord; the pudendal nerve carries information from the clitoris, penis and scrotum; the hypogastric nerve transmits data from the uterus, cervix and prostate.



There is a lot more that you might be surprised to learn about the clitoris. PREACH.

FYI, this is a very real 3D-printed model of the clitoris that French kids are using to learn about pleasure:

For one of the greatest monologues about the clitoris in television history, watch this part from the BBCs seminal early naughties sitcom Coupling (Skip to 5:59.)

Read the full AMA here.

Photo: Bad Teacher.
Heitman Real Estate has reported on an impressive display of office leasing activity in Bratislava, with 22,000 sqm of office space leased this year. This success reflects a strong recovery in the Bratislava office rental market after a challenging few years for real estate. Heitman is one of the

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Uber and Ola will operate only between 7AM and 7PM in cities coming under Green and Orange zones

As the country starts its third phase of COVID-19 lockdown, various businesses have started operations with limited resources or by following strict guidelines. The latest entrant on this list is cab services such as Uber and Ola.

The move comes under a new set of guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that allow online cab services (not part of essential services) to operate partially in Green and Orange COVID-19 zones, across the nation. As for any other non-essential service, cabs can operate only between 7AM and 7PM.

In an official statement, Uber shared that it does not recommend more than two users (in addition to the driver) to travel in the same car. Furthermore, riders should travel only in the rear. Uber has also requested individuals above 65 years of age, pregnant women, users with ailments or comorbidities and children under the age of 10 to stay at home unless there is an emergency.

On the other hand, Ola has issued a 10-step guideline to its drivers and riders, dubbed 10 Steps to a Safer Ride. Masks are mandatory for both driver and passengers. In fact, drivers need to authenticate themselves wearing a mask through their registered phones front camera before attending a ride request. In order to ensure ones own safety as well as other users, drivers and riders are advised to cancel a ride if either one of them is not wearing a mask or acts anything against the new normals.

As an additional step, Ola has directed its drivers not to switch on AC no matter what the surrounding air temperature is. However, Uber allows cabs to use AC but only in fresh air or outside air mode. The theory behind this is to prevent the recirculation of air (the primary medium of COVID-19 spread). Furthermore, customers have to load or unload their luggage themselves from the boot to maintain social distancing. At present, only Ola Cabs, Ola Auto and Ola Bike have resumed while Ola Share and Ola Outstation remain inoperational.

Both cab services have supplied masks, sanitisers and disinfectants to their driver-partners. Since the rate of usage would be much lower, drivers have been recommended to clean their cars after every trip.

COVID-19 has spread its effects beyond the health of mankind and has brought down several businesses to a standstill. Experts predict that the whole scenario of buying a new car would change even after automotive dealerships are allowed to open  read more details.
Johns Hopkins researchers report that implementing a checklist-style set of procedures appears to cut almost in half the number of potentially unnecessary blood culture draws in critically ill children without endangering doctors' ability to diagnose and treat life-threatening blood infections.

In a description of their two-year-long project, published in JAMA Pediatrics, the investigators say that safely reducing the frequency of blood draws in hospitalized children with fevers has historically not been a hospital priority despite the stress, pain and high rate of false positives associated with the procedure.

The researchers found that fostering cross-departmental collaboration and offering guidelines to clinicians helped reduce the number of unnecessary blood draws on some of the smallest and most vulnerable patients at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Clinicians were able to accomplish an immediate reduction in unnecessary blood draws using the newly designed checklist protocols, and they were able to sustain the reduction over time.

"Our work focuses on the prevention of infections, in this case blood infections, in hospitalized patients," says Aaron Milstone, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and associate hospital epidemiologist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. "We have found that blood cultures are a really challenging test to go after because the perceived risks are pretty low, which leads to overuse." There are currently no existing guidelines that help clinicians decide if a blood culture is needed, but the researchers say the common protocol is to order a blood draw whenever a fever is present because fever can indicate sepsis. This practice can lead to unnecessary blood draws.

In addition to the stress and pain associated with this procedure in young patients, the risk from blood cultures comes from the unintended consequences of false-positive results. Treating these pseudo-infections leads to longer hospitals stays, which can lead to more hospital-borne infections and an increased risk of antibiotic-resistant diseases due to the overuse of antibiotics. "It is common for children in the ICU to have a fever and get a blood culture. Sometimes, the culture is positive, but before the clinician can order treatment, the child clears the fever on his or her own," says Charlotte Woods-Hill, M.D., attending physician in the Division of Critical Care Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "The clinicians are left with the decision of what to do with that information, so to be safe, they to treat them. We have had a number of kids who are ready to go home and the next thing you know, they are spending two more weeks in the hospital getting IV antibiotics because a blood culture was positive."

The team's concern grew from the high rate of false-positive results. In general, only 5 to 15 percent of blood cultures drawn because of fevers test positive, and as many as 50 percent of those positive results can be false positives. Despite the inaccuracies of this type of screen, many doctors still order blood cultures for most patients presenting a fever because of the fear surrounding the risk of sepsis. However, sepsis is only one among a long list of conditions that can cause a fever. For example, withdrawal from narcotics, adverse reactions to medications or being too physically hot for too long can all cause a fever, necessitating the use of precision medicine to evaluate the risk of sepsis individually for each patient. These factors combined made blood cultures a natural target for the team in their efforts to implement high-value care in the Johns Hopkins pediatric ICU.

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Drawing on clinical experience and data, a collaborative team of nurses, vascular access specialists and physicians across specialties developed a checklist-style protocol. The checklist and an accompanying decision-making flow chart were created to guide caregivers before deciding to draw blood. Factors such as unexplained tachycardia, fever and immune deficiency are conditions that may warrant a blood culture, while caregivers were advised that drug withdrawal and recent negative blood cultures with no clinical change may not warrant drawing blood.

These tools were subsequently posted in the pediatric ICU at The Johns Hopkins Hospital with instructions to be completed at the bedside by nurses and physicians. Each week, the team would meet to evaluate the data gathered, review how many cultures were sent from the unit and discuss in detail individual cases where blood draws were necessary.

The researchers compared patient length of stay, mortality, readmission and the number of episodes of suspected septic shock at the hospital before and after intervention. In the year before the team introduced the tools, there were 2,204 patient visits to the pediatric ICU and 1,807 blood cultures drawn. After intervention, that number was decreased to 984 blood cultures drawn for 2,356 patient visits, almost halving the number of blood cultures per patient day.

Comparing the pre- and post-intervention periods, there was no statistical difference in the occurrence of septic shock, hospital mortality or hospital readmission, which, according to Milstone, means that patients experienced no increased risk of a missed sepsis diagnosis because of the intervention.

"I really believe that this constant feedback and discussion about why action was taken was key in driving change," says Milstone. By assessing other potential causes of each patient's fever using the tools, clinicians were able to appropriately treat patients based on their individual risk.

The checklist approach also showed the potential to be used in improving the use of antibiotics in hospitals. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics is a prevalent problem in the medical community, leading to increased rates of microbial resistance and the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms. "People often immediately link infection with antibiotics, but using the checklists seemed to help physicians critically analyze whether or not the patient was really infected, reassuring them in some cases that there was no need for antibiotic treatment," says Milstone.

"While our study was promising, there are limitations," says James Fackler, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Primarily, clinicians are uneasy when asked to do less, especially when facing an acute condition like sepsis. We hope that the tools developed by our team will ease these concerns by offering guidelines for a clear and effective path to diagnosis." The future directions of this study include further exploring the implications this process may have for antibiotic use as well as working to implement these tools in other ICUs. The tools are already being tried at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Florida and in the pediatric ICU at the University of Virginia.
Imagine you're about to give a high-profile presentation at work. You've been working on it for weeks. Your boss and the company's CEO are sitting right across from you. Crucial funding for the company -- and your possible promotion -- hang in the balance. Suddenly, your presentation images become garbled. Then your computer crashes. You feel panicked, disappointed and defeated.

Now what?

Sunita Sah, assistant professor of management and organizations at Cornell University, and her colleagues have a novel strategy to save your professional reputation: Reframe your distress as passion for the project.

Their new study suggests people who reframe a display of distress as passion, rather than emotionality, are seen as more competent and are more likely to be hired and chosen as a collaborator. "You can take some control of the situation after the event by reframing it to others as, 'I was upset because I'm very passionate about this project,'" said Sah. "Our studies show that reframing distress as passion changes how other people assess your competence."

"Being passionate is often stated as an important attribute for employees; passion is associated with determination, motivation and having a high degree of self-control. Being emotional, however, has almost a negative mirror effect and is associated with irrationality, instability, ineptitude and a low degree of self-control," said Sah.

Prior research in emotion regulation examined "cognitive reappraisal" -- that is, changing how one thinks about a situation to feel differently about it. For example, someone who is anxious about a performance can reappraise the anxiety as excitement, and thus feel more positively about the performance. This new research is the first to examine what Sah, and her colleagues, term "emotion reframing" -- a public reframing of the emotion to influence observers' perceptions rather than a private cognitive reappraisal.

The researchers conducted five experiments to assess how people viewed others' responses to stressful situations. The first two experiments revealed that participants who heard others say, "I was very passionate" versus "I was very emotional" about a stressful incident perceived the person expressing distress to be more competent. The next study asked study participants to think about a time when a coworker expressed distress and then describe how it showed the coworker was either emotional or passionate. "Just by asking people to reframe their coworkers' distress altered perceptions of their coworkers' competence," Sah said.

The final two studies demonstrated that emotion reframing can influence interpersonal decisions. Reframing distress as passion rather than emotion led to higher perceptions of competence which led participants to say they would be more likely to hire the passionate job candidates or choose them as collaborators on a project.

Sah explains "Emotion reframing appears to work because emotionality tends to be associated with negative attributes, such as an inability to act and think rationally and make sound decisions."

Sah and her colleagues, Elizabeth Baily Wolf of Harvard Business School, Jooa Julia Lee of the University of Michigan and Alison Wood Brooks, also of Harvard Business School, co-authored the paper "Managing perceptions of distress at work: Reframing emotion as passion," recently published on Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Northwestern University researchers now have an answer to a vexing age-old question: Why do earthquakes sometimes come in clusters?

The research team has developed a new computer model and discovered that earthquake faults are smarter -- in the sense of having better memory -- than seismologists have long assumed.

"If it's been a long time since a large earthquake, then, even after another quake happens, the fault's 'memory' sometimes isn't wiped out, so there's still a good chance of having another," said Seth Stein, the study's senior author and the William Deering Professor of Geological Sciences in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

"As a result, a cluster of earthquakes occurs," he said. "Earthquake clusters imply that faults have a long-term memory."

The model shows that clusters can occur on faults with long-term memory, so that even after a big earthquake happens, the chance of another earthquake can stay high. The memory comes from the fact that the earthquake didn't release all the strain that built up on the fault over time, so some strain remains after a big earthquake and can cause another.

"This isn't surprising," said Bruce D. Spencer, a professor of statistics in Weinberg and an author of the study. "Many systems' behavior depends on their history over a long time. For example, your risk of spraining an ankle depends not just on the last sprain you had, but also on previous ones."

Leah Salditch, lead author of the study, will present details of the research Thursday, Dec. 15, at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in San Francisco.

Since earthquake seismology started after a large earthquake destroyed San Francisco in 1906, seismologists have usually assumed that when the next big earthquake will happen on a fault depends on the time since the last one happened. In other words, a fault has only short-term memory -- it "remembers" only the last earthquake and has "forgotten" all the previous ones.

This assumption goes into forecasting when future earthquakes will happen, and then into hazard maps that predict the level of shaking for which earthquake-resistant buildings should be designed.

However, Salditch, a graduate student in Stein's research group, explained, "Long histories of earthquakes on faults sometimes show clusters of earthquakes with relatively short times between them, separated by longer times without earthquakes. For example, during clusters on the San Andreas, big earthquakes happened only about 50 years apart, while the clusters are separated by several hundred years. Clusters also have been found on the Cascadia fault system off the coast of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, and along the Dead Sea fault in Israel."

These results could be important for forecasting when future earthquakes will happen, said Edward M. Brooks, an author of the study and a graduate student in Stein's research group.

"When you're trying to figure out a team's chances of winning a ball game, you don't want to look just at what happened in the last game between those teams," Brooks said. "Looking back over earlier games also can be helpful. We should learn how to do a similar thing for earthquakes."
A research group led by Professor Helge Bode from Goethe University Frankfurt has discovered a whole class of new peptides with which bacteria are able to kill insect larvae.

Nature often produces a whole weaponry of active ingredients to ensure it is well prepared for any scenario that might occur. Pharmacists and medical experts have meanwhile learnt from this, since pathogens develop resistance more easily to single active drugs than to a combination therapy. The research group led by Professor Helge Bode has now discovered a whole class of new peptides with which bacteria are able to kill insect larvae.

The peptides, known as rhabdopeptide/xenortide peptides (RXPs), are produced exclusively by the bacterial genera Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus. They live in symbiosis with nematodes, together with which they infect and kill insect larvae. Since many RXPs are toxic for eukaryotic cells (including insect cells) and are produced by many different strains of Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus, they presumably play a very important role during infection.

One single strain of bacteria can produce up to 40 RXP derivates. As the research group, which is led by Professor Helge B. Bode, Merck Endowed Professor of Molecular Biotechnology at Goethe University Frankfurt, reported in the latest issue of Nature Chemistry, it was surprising to see that only a maximum of four enzymes is required for their production. Bode compares them with classic chemical catalysts for the formation of polymer chains. His group has successfully solved the mechanisms responsible for the production of the unusually high diversity of RXPs.

Why do the bacteria produce a whole library of RXPs instead of single compounds? The researchers explain that the bacteria cannot control into which insect larvae they are delivered by their nematode host. However, in order to survive they must be able to kill any insect quickly and efficiently and direct the mixture of substances at perhaps completely different target sites in the insect cells at the same time. "Imagine shooting with a shotgun," explains Bode, "even if you're a poor marksman, there's a good chance that the spray of bullets will ensure that at least one hits the target!"

Future work will focus on detecting the exact mode of action of the RXPs and identifying, by means of structure-activity analysis, particularly potent derivates, which can then be produced biotechnologically or chemically and perhaps used as insecticides.
Scientists based at Oxford University have created a new method for counting lions that they say is the most robust yet devised. Using the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies in Kenya as a case study, they estimate there to be 420 lions over the age of one in this key territory. At almost 17 lions per 100 square kilometres, that represents one of the highest densities anywhere in Africa.

Lion numbers are notoriously difficult to estimate, which is why there is heated debate over their true status throughout Africa, with some experts arguing that there are 20,000 lions left on the continent and others claiming the figure is more likely to be 30,000.

Lead author Dr Nic Elliot, Project Director of the Kenya Wildlife Trust's Mara Lion Project and a postdoctoral researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) in Oxford University's Department of Zoology, said: 'Reliable estimates of lion density are critical to conservation: at a policy level, they inform regional strategies and are used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Endangered Species Act and CITES to classify lions; at a local level, they are used to advocate for management practices and to highlight conservation needs and successes. Yet our current methods of counting lions are too inaccurate and too imprecise.'

Population numbers are a critical measure of conservation success or failure. To count lions, conservation biologists have traditionally used track surveys, which record lions' footprints, and/or call-up surveys, which broadcast sounds to attract lions for counting. This new study highlights how both methods can lead to inaccuracy and imprecision, thus providing misleading estimates of population trends. Despite such concerns, these two methods are currently the most commonly used to count lions. Additionally, other approaches tend to estimate lion numbers from observations of individual lions without including the amount of effort -- such as distance covered in different areas -- in the analysis.

The new survey, which circumvents these problems by using a 'spatially explicit' approach, involved five field teams systematically searching the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies for lions. They carefully logged their search effort during the 90-day survey and drove just under 8,400 kilometres while searching for lions. By taking close-up, high-resolution photographs of individual lions, researchers were able to log their unique whisker spots. A total of 203 lions were identified within the 2,400-square-kilometre survey area. The data was then analysed with powerful computers, using a tailor-made 'Bayesian spatially explicit capture-recapture' model that corrects for the bias that some lions may not have been identified during the survey.

The study, published in the journal Conservation Biology, adapts methodologies that have successfully been used by scientists to count other big cats, such as tigers and cheetahs.

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Dr Elliot said: 'A survey typically produces an estimate of density and an interval which gives the lower and upper possible true number. Say, for example, a survey estimates 300 lions but gives a lower bound of 100 lions and an upper bound of 500 lions. If the survey is repeated and an estimate of 200 lions is produced, is that telling us that the population has declined by 100 or increased by 100? A good survey, then, will produce an accurate estimate with narrow intervals.'

He added: 'We estimate there to be 16.85 lions over the age of one year per 100 square kilometres in the Maasai Mara. This is extremely high compared with most places in Africa and reflects the incredibly productive ecosystem that the Maasai Mara is. We estimated the posterior standard deviation to be just 1.3, reflecting the excellent precision of our overall estimate. This survey will lay the foundation for accurate monitoring of the population over time.'

Co-author Dr Arjun Gopalaswamy, from the Indian Statistical Institute and the Department of Zoology at Oxford University, said: 'Good estimates of big cat abundance can only be obtained when a rigorous field method is combined with a tailor-made statistical method. This study demonstrates the power of such a combined approach.

'We should not underestimate the vital importance of obtaining accurate and precise estimates of wildlife numbers. When estimates are vague and non-transparent, we may fail to detect the direction of changes. As a result, we may end up supporting the most advertised rather than the most effective conservation strategy.'

He added: 'Think of it this way: a survey might reveal there are 200 identified lions, but it will tell you nothing about how many were missed and where. Our method crucially corrects for this problem that existed in previous methods by estimating density at a very fine scale so that we can produce a map to show which areas have high or low density. What's more, because we identify individuals, in time we will be able to estimate vital rates such as survival, additions to the population, and mortality for different demographics. As such, I can see this methodology being immediately applicable to count Asiatic lions in India.

'In addition to big cat densities, our approach simultaneously estimates allied parameters such as sex ratios and sex-specific home range sizes, which provide important clues about the health of these populations. For example, you could have good densities, but if the population is composed only of males, and/or the home range sizes are very large, it could still be a sign of worry.'

The authors make the case for a unified framework to assess lion numbers across the animals' range.

Dr Elliot said: 'Conservation decisions have to be supported by robust science. Our method shows enormous promise in that it is more accurate and precise than traditional methods and provides valuable information on space use. Going forward, it will provide an accurate assessment of population trends.

'Lions are too important for us to be vague about their numbers. Our methodology can accommodate sightings data, telemetry data and genetics data and is flexible enough to be used anywhere. As such, we recommend that spatially explicit capture-recapture methods are widely adopted to census African carnivores.'
As Earth warms, much of the extra heat is stored in the planet's ocean -- but monitoring the magnitude of that heat content is a difficult task.

A surprising feature of the tides could help, however. Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are developing a new way to use satellite observations of magnetic fields to measure heat stored in the ocean.

"If you're concerned about understanding global warming, or Earth's energy balance, a big unknown is what's going into the ocean," said Robert Tyler, a research scientist at Goddard. "We know the surfaces of the oceans are heating up, but we don't have a good handle on how much heat is being stored deep in the ocean."

Despite the significance of ocean heat to Earth's climate, it remains a variable that has substantial uncertainty when scientists measure it globally. Current measurements are made mainly by Argo floats, but these do not provide complete coverage in time or space. If it is successful, this new method could be the first to provide global ocean heat measurements, integrated over all depths, using satellite observations.

Tyler's method depends on several geophysical features of the ocean. Seawater is a good electrical conductor, so as saltwater sloshes around the ocean basins it causes slight fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field lines. The ocean flow attempts to drag the field lines around, Tyler said. The resulting magnetic fluctuations are relatively small, but have been detected from an increasing number of events including swell, eddies, tsunamis and tides.

"The recent launch of the European Space Agency's Swarm satellites, and their magnetic survey, is providing unprecedented observational data of the magnetic fluctuations," Tyler said. "With this comes new opportunities."

Researchers know where and when the tides are moving ocean water, and with the high-resolution data from the Swarm satellites, they can pick out the magnetic fluctuations due to these regular ocean movements.

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That's where another geophysical feature comes in. The magnetic fluctuations of the tides depend on the electrical conductivity of the water -- and the electrical conductivity of the water depends on its temperature.

For Tyler, the question then is: "By monitoring these magnetic fluctuations can we monitor the ocean temperature?"

At the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco this week, Tyler and collaborator Terence Sabaka, also at Goddard, presented the first results. They provide a key proof-in-concept of the method by demonstrating that global ocean heat content can be recovered from "noise-free" ocean tidal magnetic signals generated by a computer model. When they try to do this with the "noisy" observed signals, it doesn't yet provide the accuracy needed to monitor changes in the heat content.

But, Tyler said, there is much room for improvement in how the data are processed and modeled, and the Swarm satellites continue to collect magnetic data. This is a first attempt at using magnetic satellite data to monitor ocean heat at all depths, he said, and there is still much more to be done before the technique could successfully resolve this key variable. For example, by identifying fluctuations caused by other ocean movements, like eddies or other tidal components, scientists can extract even more information and get more refined measurements of ocean heat content and how it's changing.

More than 90 percent of the excess heat in Earth system goes into the ocean, said Tim Boyer, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information. Scientists currently monitor ocean heat with shipboard measurements and Argo floats. While these measurements and others have seen a steady increase in heat since 1955, researchers still need more complete information, he said.

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"Even with the massive effort with the Argo floats, we still don't have as much coverage of the ocean as we would really like in order to lower the uncertainties," Boyer said. "If you're able to measure global ocean heat content directly and completely from satellites, that would be fantastic."

Changing ocean temperatures have impacts that stretch across the globe. In Antarctica, floating sections of the ice sheet are retreating in ways that can't be explained only by changes in atmospheric temperatures, said Catherine Walker, an ice scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

She and her colleagues studied glaciers in Antarctica that lose an average of 2 to 4 meters (6.5 to 13 feet) of elevation per year. They looked at different options to explain the variability in melting -- surrounding sea ice, winds, salinity, air temperatures -- and what correlated most was influxes of warmer ocean water.

"These big influxes of warm water come onto the continental shelf in some years and affect the rate at which ice melts," Walker said. She and her colleagues are presenting the research at the AGU meeting.

Walker's team has identified an area on the Antarctic Peninsula where warmer waters may have infiltrated inland, under the ice shelf- which could have impacts on sea level rise.

Float and ship measurements around Antarctica are scarce, but deep water temperature measurements can be achieved using tagged seals. That has its drawbacks, however: "It's random, and we can't control where they go," Walker said. Satellite measurements of ocean heat content and temperatures would be very useful for the Southern Ocean, she added.

Ocean temperatures also impact life in the ocean -- from the microscopic phytoplankton on up. Different phytoplankton thrive at different temperatures and need different nutrients.

"Increased stratification in the ocean due to increased heating is going to lead to winners and losers within the phytoplankton communities," said Stephanie Schollaert Uz, a scientist at Goddard.

In research presented this week at AGU, she took a look 50 years back. Using temperature, sea level and other physical properties of the ocean, she generated a history of phytoplankton extent in the tropical Pacific Ocean, between 1958 and 2008. Looking over those five decades, she found that phytoplankton extent varied between years and decades. Most notably, during El Nino years, water currents and temperatures prevented phytoplankton communities from reaching as far west in the Pacific as they typically do.

Digging further into the data, she found that where the El Nino was centered has an impact on phytoplankton. When the warmer waters of El Nino are centered over the Eastern Pacific, it suppresses nutrients across the basin, and therefore depresses phytoplankton growth more so than a central Pacific El Nino.

"For the first time, we have a basin-wide view of the impact on biology of interannual and decadal forcing by many El Nino events over 50 years," Uz said.

As ocean temperatures impact processes across Earth system, from climate to biodiversity, Tyler will continue to improve this novel magnetic remote sensing technique, to improve our future understanding of the planet.
Researchers from the University of Georgia have found that invasive species on Hawaii Island, or the Big Island of Hawaii, may be especially successful invaders because they are formidable scavengers of carcasses of other animals and after death, a nutrient resource for other invasive scavengers.

The team of researchers from UGA's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory is the first to study vertebrate and invertebrate scavenging of invasive species on an island.

The state of Hawaii has the highest number of endangered and threatened native species in the U.S., and this study, published recently in the journal Ecosphere, could inform efforts to manage invasive populations in Hawaii and similar island ecosystems threatened by invasive species.

"It is essential to know where nutrient resources flow in a highly invaded ecosystem," said wildlife ecologist Olin E. Rhodes Jr., director of the SREL.

"We wanted to see what was eating the invasive species that have significant populations on the island," said team leader Erin F. Abernethy, an alumna of SREL and UGA's Odum School of Ecology, now at Oregon State University. "And, we wanted to identify the percentages of carcasses eaten by invasive vertebrates and invertebrates."

What they found, said Abernethy, "indicates a positive feedback loop. The more non-native species invade an island, live and reproduce and die, the more nutrient resources they create for other invasive species through carcasses -- synergistically refueling off of one another and further invading the ecosystem."

The team set up 647 individual invasive carcasses of amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and birds on camera traps across three diverse landscapes on the island.

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A small percentage of the carcasses were also fitted with transmitters to allow the researchers to see if they were consumed after being removed from the camera's view.

The camera images revealed significant scavenging by invasive vertebrates. Although scavenging by vertebrates was only 10 percent higher than that of invertebrates, the researchers were surprised at their lack of discrimination about what they scavenged.

"We anticipated that vertebrates would quickly find and remove large carcasses, but we discovered that the vertebrates were skilled at acquiring all types of carcasses," Abernethy said. "They were adept and highly efficient at finding the smallest of resources -- locating carcasses of coqui frogs, a small frog native to Puerto Rico -- and geckos that only weighed a few grams, before invasive invertebrates had the opportunity to get to them."

Abernethy said that despite their small size, these animals represent a significant food resource. Previous research on the island indicates coqui frogs number 91,000 per 2.47 acres.

Invasive vertebrates removed 55 percent of the carcasses in this study. The mongoose and the rat proved to be the most formidable scavengers. They removed the most carcasses and were observed more frequently. The mongoose was the only species in the study to participate in cannibalism -- feasting on mongoose carcasses.

The invasive invertebrate scavenger community, which included yellow jackets and fly larvae, removed 45 percent of the carcasses. This left no carcass resources for the native species on the island -- the owl and hawk. Few in number on the island, these animals were not seen by the team during the study.
Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas. The Chemicals segment produces and markets ethylene and other olefin products; aromatics and styrenics products, such as benzene, cyclohexane, styrene, and polystyrene; and various specialty chemical products, including organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalysts, and chemicals used in drilling and mining. The Refining segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks into petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, aviation, and renewable fuels at 12 refineries in the United States and Europe. The M&S segment purchases for resale and markets refined petroleum products, including gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels primarily in the United States and Europe. This segment also manufactures and markets specialty products, such as base oils and lubricants. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
CarMax, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of used vehicles in the United States. The company operates through two segments, CarMax Sales Operations and CarMax Auto Finance. It offers customers a range of makes and models of used vehicles, including domestic, imported, and luxury vehicles, as well as hybrid and electric vehicles; and extended protection plans to customers at the time of sale, as well as sells vehicles that are approximately 10 years old and has more than 100,000 miles through wholesale auctions. The company also provides reconditioning and vehicle repair services; and financing alternatives for retail customers across a range of credit spectrum through its CarMax Auto Finance and arrangements with various financial institutions. As of February 28, 2022, it operated approximately 230 used car stores. CarMax, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in Richmond, Virginia.
[December 12, 2016] Fitch Affirms PeaceHealth (WA) Rev Bonds at 'A+'; Stable Outlook

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'A+' rating on PeaceHealth's outstanding debt, which is listed at the end of the press release. The Rating Outlook is Stable. SECURITY The bonds are secured by a gross revenue pledge of the obligated group (OG). The OG accounted for 99% of total assets and 100% of total revenue of the consolidated entity in fiscal 2016 (June 30 year end). Fitch's analysis is based on the consolidated entity. KEY RATING DRIVERS GOOD MARKET POSITIONS: PeaceHealth's primary credit strength continues to be its geographic diversity and good market positions in its major service areas. The Northwest Network's (Bellingham, WA and Alaska) largest facility is St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, WA, which has maintained over 80% market share the last four years. The Oregon West Network's (Eugene/Springfield/Florence, OR) flagship facility is Sacred Heart Riverbend and market share dropped to 67% from 70% the prior year due to physician and labor issues, which have been resolved and a rebound in market share is expected. The Columbia Network (Longview/Vancouver, WA) is the most challenging and competitive market with 49% market share. GOOD LIQUIDITY: The rating affirmation also reflects PeaceHealth's solid balance sheet with total unrestricted cash and investments of $1.5 billion at Sept. 30, 2016, which equated to 242 days cash on hand and 146.7% cash to debt compared to the 'A' category medians of 215.5 days and 148.6% cash to debt. PRESSURED PROFITABILITY: PeaceHealth has successfully implemented Epic (electronic health record), across its inpatient facilities (ambulatory was already complete) in all three networks which negatively impacted profitability especially in fiscal 2016. Operating EBITDA margin in fiscal 2016 fell to 7% from 13.5% in fiscal 2015 and 9.1% in fiscal 2014. However, Fitch notes that excluding Epic expenses operating EBITDA margin would have been 10.3% in fiscal 2016. EXPECTED INCREASE IN CAPITAL SPENDING: Capital spending has been constrained but is expected to increase starting in fiscal 2018. The five year capital plan totals $1.5 billion (approximately 1.8x depreciation expense/year) which includes master facility needs, routine capital expenditures ($117 million a year), as well as strategic acute and ambulatory growth. LIGHT DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE: Coverage of MADS weakened in fiscal 2016 to a light 2.5x from 4.0x and 3.5x in fiscal 2015 and 2014, respectively. Coverage was negatively impacted by Epic expenses and PeaceHealth's front loaded debt structure. The fiscal 2017 budget includes a 9.2% operating EBITDA margin (including Epic expenses) resulting in MADS coverage of 3.2x. RATING SENSITIVITIES FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENT EXPECTED: The rating affirmation reflects Fitch's expectation that operating cash flow will improve as a new management team implements its long range financial plan and realizes benefits of its favorable markets. The failure to meet the fiscal 2017 budget and ongoing operating EBITDA margin targets of around 10+% could trigger negative rating action. ADDITIONAL DEBT PLANS: PeaceHealth has additional debt plans to fund a portion of its large capital plan within the next three years. Improved operating cash flow will be necessary to absorb additional debt at the current rating level. CREDIT PROFILE PeaceHealth is a multi-state health care system with 10 acute care hospitals (1,653 licensed beds) in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska with total revenue of $2.4 billion in fiscal 2016. PeaceHealth sold its interest in Columbia United Providers (Medicaid managed care lives) to Molina Health Care of Washington effective Dec. 31, 2015. The figures cited in this report are for the consolidated entity for the audited periods and obligated group for the interim financials. At the time of the Fitch's last review in April 2015, the CEO and CFO positions were vacant and have been filled effective November 2015 and June 2016, respectively. In addition, governance was restructured from a traditional hospital board to a parent system board structure and half of the board members are new. There are ongoing management changes (COO role vacant) as well as personnel changes throughout the organization with a new culture focused on accountability. GOOD MARKET POSITIONS PeaceHealth's main credit strength is the system's geographic diversity and good market position in most of its service areas in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Fitch views the revenue diversity favorably with the Oregon West Network accounting for 34.1% of consolidated revenue in fiscal 2016, Columbia Network with 28.9% and Northwest Network with 23.8%. There was a disruption in the Oregon West Network in fiscal 2016 due to issues with the hospitalist group as well as labor pressures that resulted in diversions and impacted volume. These issues have been resolved and a rebound in volume is expected. The Columbia Network continues to be the most challenging with two facilities in diverse markets and also the most competitive as it competes with the Portland metropolitan area. Issues have arisen in this Network since a Kaiser contract termination in October 2013. Fitch expects a longer-term strategy related to this Network by Fitch's next review since an evaluation of these strategies has been underway for some time with no marked progress, but likely slowed due to management changes. PRESSURED PROFITABILITY After several years of weaker operating performance, profitability rebounded in fiscal 2015 aided by one time items, and a trend of improved profitability would have been sustained without Epic implementation costs. The total cost of the inpatient electronic health record was budgeted at $293 million with $157 million expensed and $136 million capitalized. Operating expenses related to Epic totaled $126.4 million through Sept. 30, 2016 with the remainder to be spent by the second quarter of fiscal 2017. The implementation was successful with go live dates of May 1, 2016 for the Northwest Network, Aug. 1, 2016 for the Columbia Network, and Oct. 1, 2016 for the Oregon West Network. Without the Epic costs, operating EBITDA margins have been over 10% compared to Fitch's 'A' category median of 10.3%. The fiscal 2017 budget is for a 9.2% operating EBITDA margin due to the remainder of the Epic costs (10.8% operating EBITDA margin without Epic). Fitch expects PeaceHealth to maintain close to or above 10% operating EBITDA margins. The organization continues to invest in physician alignment and the employed physician group (PeaceHealth Medical Group) is at almost 700 FTEs. he losses at the Medical Group are fairly sizeable but the loss per provider has been declining.



INCREASE IN CAPITAL SPENDING Capital spending is expected to increase significantly beginning in fiscal 2018. Capital expenditures are expected to total $302 million in fiscal 2018, $372 million in fiscal 2019, $337 million in fiscal 2020, $277 million in fiscal 2021, and $227 million in fiscal 2022.

There are growth and expansion plans included in the projections and the increased capital spending will need to be commensurate with improved, consistent financial performance. DEBT PROFILE Total master note debt is $990.2 million as of Sept. 30, 2016, which is 64% underlying fixed rate and 36% underlying variable rate. PeaceHealth's debt profile includes $502 million direct placements or bank loans and $146 million variable rate demand bonds. The direct placements and variable rate demand bonds have a three-year term out provision and the expiration dates and counterparty exposure are staggered and diversified, which is viewed favorably. Including the impact of its swaps, PeaceHealth's debt profile is 98% fixed rate. PeaceHealth is not posting any collateral related to its swaps. MADS equals $88.5 million and occurs in fiscal 2017. The debt service schedule includes a smoothing of PeaceHealth's bullet maturities ($80.65 million in fiscal 2019 for series 2008A, $50 million in fiscal 2021 for US Bank loan and $130 million in fiscal 2024 for BofA loan) as permitted under the master trust indenture. Aggregate debt service is not level and MADS drops to $80.3 million in fiscal 2018 then $79.8 million post fiscal 2018. PeaceHealth has a frozen defined benefit pension plan (legacy Southwest Medical Center plan) and the funded status dropped to 61% in fiscal 2016 from 74% the prior year due to a decline in the discount rate. Pension plan funding could pressure liquidity growth. DISCLOSURE PeaceHealth has covenanted to provide annual audited financial statements to Electronic Municipal Market Access within 150 days of each fiscal year end and unaudited quarterly financial statements (including a consolidated balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, and utilization statistics) within 60 days of each fiscal quarter end. Outstanding Debt: --$66,060,000 Oregon Facilities Authority refunding revenue bonds (PeaceHealth Project), 2014 series A; --$36,620,000 Washington Healthcare Facilities Authority refunding revenue bonds, series 2014A (PeaceHealth); --$86,310,000 Oregon Facilities Authority (OR) (PeaceHealth) revenue bonds series 2009A; --$72,410,000 Washington Health Care Facilities Authority (WA) (PeaceHealth) revenue bonds series 2009; --$145,975,000 Oregon Facilities Authority (OR) (PeaceHealth) revenue bonds series 2008A&B (LOC: U.S. Bank National Association); --$80,650,000 Washington Health Care Facilities Authority (WA) (PeaceHealth) revenue bonds series 2008A 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=1016332 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1016332 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  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. 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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/20161212006025/en/

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The people who used to own Abigail thought she would be a fighter. Or, at least, the kind of dog who would encourage others to fight. A bait dog. When she arrived at Miami-Dade Animal Services in November, she looked like a living chew toy. "Her whole entire side of her face was missing," Victoria Frazier of Love Is Fur Ever Dog Rescue told The Dodo last month. "Her skin tissue was hanging. Most of her ear was gone."

Victoria Frazier

Abigail found her way back from the brink - with help from Pets First Wellness Center and Love Is Fur Ever. And it soon became clear: Abigail is a lover. Especially of hats.

Dodo Shows Soulmates Pig Loves To Launch Himself Onto His Dad's Lap

Victoria Frazier

At first, she needed them to cover the wound on her head. Volunteers began knitting hats in earnest, giving Abigail a style for all seasons.

Victoria Frazier

And Abigail warmed up to them from the start.

Victoria Frazier

Then the rest of the world warmed up to Abigail. As more people read the former bait dog's story, more hats started pouring in.

Victoria Frazier

So far, Abigail has more than 50. And, Frazier says, more are arriving at the rescue all the time.

Victoria Frazier

"People all over the world are following her journey," Frazier tells The Dodo today. "She get gifts weekly - from organic treats, toys, to bonnets. "We get many people saying they look forward to her posts every day, and that Abigail has restored their faith in humanity." Abigail still needs at least one more operation on her missing ear. You can help support her medical journey here.

Victoria Frazier
No one knows exactly how long the kittens had only each other to cling to inside a shoebox. Since they were just a couple of days old, it couldn't have been too long. But, of course, on a freezing cold day, even a minute was too long. When someone came across the tiny parcel at a property in Surrey, British Columbia, it seemed likely neither would survive. The person who found the shivering orphans called the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) and a volunteer quickly scooped them up. The girl, despite the group's best efforts, didn't make it. That left one cold, frightened baby boy.

But he wasn't all alone in the world. A medical team gently cleaned away the dirt that had caked his mouth and nose and wrapped him in warm blankets, bottle-feeding him and keeping his belly full.

Dodo Shows Foster Diaries This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever

But the real warmth came a little later, when the kitten was introduced to a cat named Cauliflower. Having just had her own litter of kittens, Cauliflower was being fostered by Tania Hennessy. Her five kittens were nicknamed the Cabbage Patch - Kale, Parsnip, Courgette, Broccoli and Cabbage.

Cauliflower wasted no time in making the newcomer feel comfortable.

"She came over to sniff him, and because they were both healthy I allowed her to get closer," Hennessy tells The Dodo. "To my surprise, she gently cleaned the milk off his face and began to wash him all over." "She helped him pee and then pulled him in close to her. He nuzzled around and found a nipple and started suckling." Before long, the kitten joined the Cabbage Patch. He even got a name - Brussel Sprout.

"They've welcomed him in as one of their own," Hennessy says. "Now, he eats with them, plays with them and, when it's time for a nap, he snuggles into the cuddle puddle."
Daisy didn't have an easy start to life, and it showed in her fear of the world. She's one of 27 emaciated dogs found this summer, along with 11 dead ones, in a filthy home so morbid an investigator said it was "like 'Silence of the Lambs.'"

Daisy at the time of her rescue | It's The Pits

So when Daisy arrived at her foster mom Debbie Munson's house in September, she was understandably terrified of the people she encountered. For a few months, with Munson's care, Daisy slowly came out of her shell - but she still seemed scared much of the time. Then Daisy's Prince arrived.

Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Guy Falls In Love With His Little Meatball Of A Foster Dog

Prince had come from a home where he and two other dogs were being neglected. Around Thanksgiving, Munson agreed to foster him, too, through the nonprofit It's The Pits. From the moment he arrived at her home in Murrieta, California, Prince awakened something wonderful in Daisy. "She really has blossomed with him," Munson told The Dodo. "He just makes her feel at ease."

So now Munson has these two lovebirds on her hands, and on her couch, and on the dog beds and basically all over the place cuddling, napping, playing, taking car rides, being bathed, sharing toys and smooching, so much smooching. "All the time," Munson said. "They're just adorable together."

Daisy is the gray beauty, Prince is the handsome tan dog | Debbie Munson

The next step now is for these two to settle down for good, and get adopted into a loving home - together, of course. It's the Pits would like to hear from potential adopters in southern California. Foster coordinator Shann Lyles said these two - like all the group's dogs - will need a home where they will truly be treated as family. Outside of that, their needs are fairly simple. "They will need a large dog bed to share. Or even better, a couch with room for both of them," Lyles said.

Debbie Munson

The video that Munson took of Daisy and Prince's make-out session - at the top of this story - has gone viral. Munson hopes it helps get her two affectionate foster pups a home, and perhaps also helps more people see what she loves about pit bulls. The goofy side, the sweet side, the side that makes loud slurping noises while knocking noses with their one true love. "That's the majority of what they do," Munson said. "They do this noise, all the time."

Debbie Munson
It's pretty typical for people to feed birds in their backyard. But squirrels? They're usually the animals people shoo away. Larry Spencer, however, is a man who defies convention. In Spencer's backyard in Crawfordsville, Indiana, he feeds the squirrels first, and the birds second. "What the squirrels don't eat, the birds will come and they'll get that," Spencer told The Dodo.

Jill Runge

He'll feed the squirrels peanuts and corn - mainly in the winter, when it's harder for the squirrels to find food. But Spencer doesn't just feed the squirrels - he also makes sure they're comfortable while they eat. To do this, Spencer got a teeny chair and nailed it to a tree.

Dodo Shows Foster Diaries This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever

Jill Runge

Jill Runge, Spencer's partner, helped to pick out the chair. "We found the chair at the garage sale," Runge told The Dodo. "I thought it was cute because it looks like one of those old metal chairs that your grandparents used to have." The squirrels started using the chair immediately. "As soon as I put corn up there," Spencer said.

Jill Runge

One squirrel in particular - whom Spencer calls Buddy - likes to commandeer the seat. "He'll sit up there and eat away for about a half hour," Spencer said.

Jill Runge

The problem is, the chair's getting too small, or maybe Buddy's getting too big. "He's just about getting too fat," Runge said. "It's not big enough for him anymore."

Jill Runge

But Spencer thinks he has a solution: "I'd like to find a chair for two people," he said.

Jill Runge

For now, the squirrels seem content with the one chair, and Spencer and Runge love watching them sit on it while they eat. "They're very entertaining," Spencer said. "And they're great company."
Amazon.com Inc. chief executive officer Jeff Bezos and Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk will be among those attending president-elect Donald Trumps gathering of technology industry leaders Wednesday in New York, people familiar with the matter said.

An invitation to the meeting went out last week from members of Trumps transition team, including venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Oracle Corp. co-CEO Safra Catz, Cisco Systems Inc.s Chuck Robbins and Facebook Inc. chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg plan to attend. Alphabet Inc.s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt will be there too, as will Apple Inc.s Tim Cook, according to people familiar with the matter. IBM CEO Ginni Rometty  who is on Trumps advisory panel of business leaders  will also attend, said a person familiar with her plans.

The main topic of the meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday is likely to be job creation, one of the people said.

While support for Trump was thin among technology executives during the presidential campaign, Bezos and Trump clashed the most publicly. The Amazon founder mockingly tweeted that he would send the Republican candidate to space on one of his rockets, and Trump accused Bezos of purchasing the Washington Post to gain political influence in the nations capital to help his growing e-commerce empire.

Bezos is doing the responsible thing for Amazon shareholders in attending the summit even though it promises to be a grovelling session made for reality TV, said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc.

Bezos has to participate because he and his company were singled out, Pachter said. He has to be honourable and protect his shareholders.

Technology leaders in Silicon Valley and beyond had openly signalled an uneasiness with Trump, with most favouring Hillary Clinton  contributions to her campaign were 114 times the level they were for Trump, according to statistics compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. Over the summer, a group of about 140 industry figures sent an open letter decrying Trumps views on immigration, internet security and government investment, which they said would stifle innovation and growth.

Other significant issues for the industry that could be discussed are possible repatriation of overseas earnings and corporate tax reform, said Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Ciscos Robbins said those issues are among pretty important potential changes we could see in the corporate arena under Trump.

Speaking at the companys annual shareholder meeting in response to a question about how a change in repatriation rules or tax reform would affect Ciscos strategy, Robbins said a shift on bringing back foreign earnings is not being positioned as a tax holiday. It would be a permanent solution which we would be very happy with.

A lower tax rate is where I think the jobs get created, he said. So were optimistic and well see how it plays out.

Atkinson said the meeting may address China, where several U.S. tech companies have struggled to find a foothold. Recode reported earlier that Sandberg would be there and that Bezos was likely to attend. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the main topic of the meeting.

The gathering will also be a chance for techs leaders to find some common ground with the new administration.

Bezos and Trump have had a long-running spat, played out largely via Twitter, beginning last December after the candidate attacked the Washington Post for publishing unflattering reports about him.

The Washington Post, which loses a fortune, is owned by Jeff Bezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, Amazon, Trump said.

In June, Trumps campaign revoked the Posts press credentials, accusing the newspaper of being a front for Amazons political agenda. The newspaper later was the first to report on the Access Hollywood footage from 2005 of Trump making lewd comments about women.

Following Trumps victory in November, Bezos sought to strike a conciliatory tone, tweeting, I for one give him my most open mind.

Musks attendance brings a triangle of tension to the meeting. He and Bezos are both tech moguls who made their fortunes on the internet and then plowed them into space exploration. The two have sparred publicly via Twitter about the accomplishments of their space exploration companies: Musk owns Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Bezos owns Blue Origin LLC, which are both trying to advance space exploration with rockets that can be reused like airplanes.

Bezoss first-ever tweet celebrated Blue Origin sending a rocket to the edge of space and landing it back on Earth. Musk initially offered kudos, then in a subsequent message said: It is however, important to clear up the difference between space and orbit to highlight the current technology gap between the two ventures.

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On one end of the phone, there was Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, who has pledged a good chunk of his fortune to ending climate change. On the other end of the line, there was President-elect Donald Trump, who has described climate change as a hoax and surrounded himself with fellow deniers.

Somehow these two men managed to speak recently with at least a modicum of productivity, according to Gates. The call happened two weeks ago for about eight minutes, letting Gates present a small part of his philanthropic and investment agenda.

The key point I was pushing there was the opportunity for innovation in not only energy but also medicine and education and encouraging the idea that thats a great deal and a great thing for American leadership, Gates said.

Asked if the call, and Trumps recent appointments, made him optimistic, Gates said, Well, well see. Innovations could be bipartisan. We should all do our best.

These comments from Gates came during an interview on Monday about a new investment fund he and other billionaires started called Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Gates has tapped his vast network of technology and energy bigwigs to raise more than $1 billion that will be at the funds disposal, starting in 2017. The goal is to increase investments in energy-related technologies that will reduce, if not eliminate, greenhouse gas emissions.

Investors in Breakthrough Energy Ventures include Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc., Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group Ltd., and Michael Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg LP. There are also prominent venture capitalists like John Doerr and Vinod Khosla, who have pumped a lot of money into green tech companies in the past.

Gates has personally invested about $1 billion into energy technology, he said. The company he has backed most is TerraPower. This Bellevue, Wash.-based startup has raised $300 million  most of it coming from Gates  to make more efficient, safer nuclear reactors. The companys research has also been supported by the Department of Energy, groups in China and Southern Co., a utility company based in Birmingham, Ala.

Its the TerraPower model that Gates hopes to emulate with Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The fund plans to assemble teams of top scientists to evaluate ideas across five areas: electricity, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and buildings.

In each case, the researchers will be looking for radical advances that could create a dramatic shift in greenhouse gas production. When an idea appears promising, the fund will get it off the ground and then turn to public institutions and companies to judge the viability of the technology. If the idea again passes muster, the investors will try and work with companies like Southern Co. to advance the technology and bring it to market.

Gates has increasingly sounded the alarm that nothing short of an energy miracle will curb the effects of global warming, particularly as underdeveloped regions advance and chase modern lifestyles.

We are going to focus on things that have a big impact here, Gates said. We will be more selective than a lot of the green investments have been to date. The question you have to ask is, Is the science out there? He hopes the answer is a resounding, Yes.

We would love to have the money go out in two to three years, Gates said. But its more likely that it will take five years to deploy the capital. If we have good ideas, we will add new rounds to this. I dont think well have any difficulty doing that.

Each year, the fund will try to back five ideas, although Gates hopes the number will be even higher if the ideas are there.

Many venture capitalists have soured on green tech after a string of busts like Solyndra, Better Place and Fisker Automotive churned through mountains of capital, foundered and then received equally vast amounts of negative press. Gates, though, pointed to Tesla Motors and Impossible Foods as success stories.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures will focus on companies doing basic research, which means huge risks. Energy startups often build novel hardware and manufacturing plants, which require far more capital and time to develop than software startups, for example.

Following his call with Trump, Gates acknowledged that there are likely to be severe cuts around green technology. We will probably see at the federal level less incentives for renewable deployment, he said. That is unfortunate.

Still, he tried to find some positives from the conversation  particularly those that tied in well with the new fund.

I do think the most bipartisan piece of energy policy has been a commitment to energy R&D, he said. So, if your framework for looking at where the government should do more is where its a good deal for American leadership and jobs, I actually think there is some upside. I think in the R&D space we may see more investment.

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Wells Fargo & Co. is under investigation by regulators in California and New Jersey to determine whether the bank signed up customers for Prudential Financial Inc. life policies without their permission.

The announcements Monday by regulators followed fraud and misconduct allegations raised last week in a whistle-blower lawsuit claiming the insurer covered up an internal inquiry that found San Francisco-based Wells Fargo may have fraudulently opened Prudentials low-cost MyTerm policies. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said that his department will work with New Jersey watchdogs to examine all aspects of the allegations, and that Prudentials practices will be investigated as well.

Well be looking at whether there were any licensing violations associated with Wells Fargos sales, Jones said Monday in a phone interview. Well also be looking at whether they violated the law by allegedly signing people up for insurance without their permission.

The insurer said earlier Monday that its halting distribution of MyTerm life policies through Wells Fargo. The coverage was available through kiosks in Wells Fargo branches, or could be purchased online using the banks accounts. Newark, N.J.-based Prudential said it will reimburse customers who were charged for coverage they didnt want.

We are deeply concerned about these allegations as they are completely counter to our values and our commitment to providing customers only the products and services they need and want, Ancel Martinez, a bank spokesman, said in an emailed statement. We are working with Prudential to investigate any unauthorized or inappropriate referrals.

Wells Fargo agreed in September to pay $185 million (U.S.) in fines to settle a federal probe that it may have opened millions of bank accounts for customers who didnt want them.

The case is a setback for Prudential, which incurred billions of dollars in costs, changed compensation practices and brought on new leadership in the 1990s after scandals including a lawsuit alleging that agents misled consumers by convincing them to buy new life insurance unnecessarily to boost commissions. Prudential also was sued Monday by an Arizona customer in a case seeking to proceed as a group, or class-action, lawsuit.

Our first objective is to figure out the truth, Jones said. The penalties can be quite severe if there is a violation. The purpose of the penalties is to discourage unlawful conduct and to hold accountable those that engage in unlawful conduct.

New Jerseys regulator said earlier in the day that it was investigating the insurance sales, in a statement that didnt provide specifics. Wells Fargo didnt immediately return a message for comment.

We are in active discussions with the New Jersey Department of Insurance about our review of the distribution of the MyTerm product through Wells Fargo, and we are responding to their requests for additional information, Scot Hoffman, a spokesman for Prudential, said in an emailed statement.

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OTTAWAJustin Trudeau would not be human if he had not wished the year-end news conference he gave on Monday on Parliament Hill to provide him  in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season  with an opportunity to celebrate the many missions he believes his government accomplished in 2016.

But he would not be where he is today if he still believed in Santa Claus. And so it cant have come as a surprise to the prime minister that while he was asked what, if anything, he regretted most about his first full year in office, he was not similarly queried about what he believes was his greatest success.

For the record, Trudeau said the execution in the Philippines of two Canadians held hostage for ransom by Islamic extremists had made for his darkest hours as prime minister. A less introvert Stephen Harper would have answered along the same lines. The responsibility to make life-and-death decisions is one that no prime minister takes lightly.

On the plus side, Trudeau might have liked to bask a little longer in the afterglow of the climate pact ratified Friday by 11 of Canadas 13 provincial and territorial governments. After all, when Canada signed the Paris climate accord a year ago, many commentators doubted the capacity of the rookie government to do the heavy lifting required to translate talk into concerted federal-provincial action.

But it is the nature of politics that one crisis chases another and so three items of unfinished but time-sensitive business took precedence:

1) More so than climate change, health-care funding has been an apple of discord between Trudeau and the premiers. It was initially Harper who decreed that as of next year the annual increase of the federal health transfer would fall to 3 per cent from 6 per cent. Ever since Trudeau made that Conservative decision his own, the provinces have been crying foul.

The issue was the main topic of the dinner Trudeau hosted for the premiers Friday night. On Monday, the prime minister said he expected a resolution of the matter before the holidays. The relative radio silence that has attended the aftermath of the first ministers dinner suggests a compromise designed to allow everyone to save face is in the works.

2) On electoral reform and Trudeaus promise of a new voting system in time for the 2019 election, the Liberals have ended up tangled in a web of their own weaving. Monday, the prime minister professed excitement about the ongoing governments online consultation  the one that almost everyone else has talked about for the wrong reasons. The exercises main claim to fame is to have inspired parodies in both official languages.

Over the past six months, much of the intellectual energy of the top levels of the government has been focused on the dual issues of pipelines and climate change  at some cost to lesser files. If there is a point to Trudeaus latest contribution to this comedy of errors, it may be to buy the Liberals time so as to regroup and figure out where to go from the current electoral reform quagmire between now and when the House resumes in late January.

3) Political financing, finally, was never meant to be on the Liberal radar and its appearance has not been good news for the government. It has seemed both blindsided by and blind to the widespread public perception that the prime minister is being elastic in his interpretation of his own ethical rules when he allows his party to trade access to himself and his cabinet for donations.

Based on Trudeaus news conference, that blindness starts at the very top. On Monday, the prime minister said donors did use the access their money bought to lobby him but that it had no impact on his decisions. He compared chatting with donors at exclusive private events to the hosts of closed-doors meetings he holds with municipal politicians and/or community organizations.

Trudeau sees a parallel between the discussions he has with representatives of other levels of governments, such as the premiers he spent the day with on Friday and well-heeled contributors to his partys coffers. At this rate, he will soon be reassuring his provincial counterparts that he does not hold it against them that they get to spend quality time with him free of charge. After all, time is money in Liberal land.

Chantal Hebert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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OTTAWAOntario hopes to end the national logjam over health-care spending with a proposal for a new 10-year federal health spending plan, the Star has learned.

Under it, Ottawa would agree to increase federal health transfers to the provinces every year by 5.2 per cent in exchange for provincial commitments to spend on mutually agreed upon priority areas like mental health and home-care services, as the federal Liberals campaigned on.

The proposal says as part of the new long-term health accord, each province and territory would decide for itself how to report on the use of the federal funds.

What it effectively would do is take the $3-billion over three years that the Liberals say they want to spend on those services and roll it into the federal transfer, then extend the spending out over a decade, giving provinces the ability to plan properly instead of seeing money dry up after a few years.

The yearly hikes Ontario proposes are a lot more than the 3 per cent provinces are soon to receive under changes put in place by the previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper. But it would be less than the 6-per-cent annual increases provinces had been receiving since 2004 and that premiers had hoped to reinstate.

According to a two-page document obtained by the Star that was circulated Friday to provincial, territorial and federal officials on Friday, Ontario warns the imminent reduction in federal transfers will slash more than $1 billion out of the health system in 2017-2018 alone.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was directly and actively engaged in horse-trading with premiers on climate change Friday, sat down afterwards for a private dinner with all 13 to talk about their views on health-care funding.

But substantive discussions were punted to next weeks meeting of finance ministers from across the country, multiple sources said. Health ministers are invited to attend Mondays meeting.

Ontarios analysis is based on the Conference Board of Canadas estimate that future health costs will grow at an average rate of 5.2 per cent annually from 2015 to 2035  a conclusion Ontario says is supported by other experts including the Parliamentary Budget Office.

Its not clear how much traction Ontarios proposal will have among provinces. For now, the provinces have asked that the 6-per-cent escalator remain in place for one more year while Ottawa and the premiers negotiate an acceptable new deal.

At Queens Park, officials refused to comment on the proposal other than to confirm that Ontario did table one.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins broached Ontarios proposed formula with his colleagues across the country and sources say the premiers concluded Friday morning  before they sat down with Trudeau  that it could be workable.

Sources say the increases would make health care sustainable and also allow for new investments in shared priority areas such as home care and mental health.

For some, money that is committed to direct spending on services would allow premiers to ensure it goes to front-line services as opposed to collective agreements for health care workers, said one senior provincial source from Eastern Canada. Another provincial source from Western Canada said if there is a guaranteed federal increase in the range of what Ontario proposes for another decade, then a deal could be likely.

A senior federal source has suggested to the Star that the billions the federal Liberals want spent on home care and mental health services could be rolled into the federal health transfer but discounted increased funding hikes along the lines of 6 per cent.

Quebec, for one, has insisted on a 6-per-cent increase. And for Quebec, money that comes with strings attached is a non-starter. The other provinces have long recognized that federalism can make room for asymmetrical agreements that accommodate Quebec.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard told reporters Friday he would never agree to any deal that requires the province to spend on federal priorities in health. In fact, Couillard said, he had extracted a promise from Trudeau that it would never be the case.

We want to have the same clause that was adopted in 2004 recognizing that Quebec will choose its own priorities, said Couillard, referring to the health accord struck by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.

Monsieur Trudeau privately has told me this would not be an issue so thats fine, said Couillard.

Couillard said any federal funding formula that would see money dry up in a short time frame is a poisoned pill.

Weve seen that in the past. We dont want to see it again.

But the Quebec premier also said targeted or strings-attached funding may not be the big stumbling block it seems because everybody knows everywhere in the world that these sectors are the sectors where we must invest: home care, extended care, front-line mental health services. So in practice, I think everybody is there. Besides, youve seen the investments weve made. Theyre exactly in these sectors.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister last week made a loud and impassioned call for a sustainable health-care system. He refused to sign onto the Pan-Canadian Framework on Climate Change without a clear plan for how the federal health transfer will work.

At a news conference Monday, Trudeau was asked if he is willing to prolong the 6-per-cent health escalator until a new health accord is signed. He replied only by pointing to next Mondays meeting of finance ministers where health ministers are invited to work out an agreement.

I think people expect us to act in a measured way but also in an immediate way on the health file, he said.

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[December 12, 2016] Fitch Affirms Rush University Medical Center Obligated Group's (IL) Bonds at 'A+'; Positive Outlook

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'A+' rating on approximately $474 million of bonds issued by the Illinois Finance Authority on behalf of the Rush University Medical Center Obligated Group (Rush). The Rating Outlook is Positive. SECURITY Bond payments are secured by a pledge of the gross revenues of the obligated group. KEY RATING DRIVERS STRONG COVERAGE: The Positive Outlook reflects Rush's solid operating profitability and moderate debt burden which combine to produce strong coverage metrics. Maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage equaled 5.6x in fiscal 2016, easily exceeding Fitch's 'A' category median of 4.5x. SOLID PROFITABILITY: Operating profitability compressed from historic levels, but remains solid with operating EBITDA equal to 10.2% in fiscal 2016 and 10.6% in the three month interim period ending Sept. 30, 2016, exceeding Fitch's 'A' category median of 10.3%. IMPROVED LIQUIDITY: Unrestricted cash and investments increased 12.5% since fiscal 2014 to $1.14 billion at Sept. 30, 2016. Liquidity metrics are solid with 205.5 days cash on hand (DCOH), 25.2x cushion ratio and 165.3% cash to debt relative to Fitch's 'A' category medians of 215.5 days, 19.4x and 148.6%. INCREASED CAPITAL PLANS: Capital spending is projected to increase over the next five years and will likely involve the issuance of new debt. Fitch will assess the credit impact of any new bond issuance as more details become available. RATING SENSITIVITIES SUSTAINED CREDIT PROFILE: Fitch expects Rush University Medical Center to maintain its solid liquidity metrics and operating profitability, providing for continued robust coverage metrics. FURTHER CLARIFICATION OF CAPITAL PLANS: Positive rating movement will be dependent upon further clarification of Rush's capital plans given management's ability to scale back plans if necessary and the impact of any new debt issuance on Rush's overall credit profile. CREDIT PROFILE Rush operates an academic medical center and two community hospitals located in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Additional operations include a medical group with 629 employed physicians, a rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility, research facilities, a university with over 2,500 students and a graduate medical education program with 667 medical residents. Rush is unique among academic medical centers in that the hospital founded the university and both entities are under a common governance and management structure. Total operating revenues equaled $2.16 billion in fiscal 2016. Despite operating in the highly competitive Chicago market, Rush benefits from an excellent clinical reputation with strong market shares in key specialties, a highly aligned medical staff and its university with schools of medicine, nursing, allied health and biomedical research. Further, Rush's competitive position was enhanced with the opening of its new patient tower at its flagship academic medical center in January 2012. SOLID PROFITABILITY Operating profitability has been historically strong, but compressed slightly in fiscal 2016 and the interim period. Operating EBITDA margin averaged 12.1% between fiscal years 2009 and 2016, but decreased to 10.2% in fiscal 2016 from 12.1% in fiscal 2015. Operating EBITDA margin remained stable at 10.6% in the interim period. However, excluding certain non-recurring items, operating EBITDA margin decreased to 8.9% in the interim period. Profitability was challenged in fiscal 2016 and the interim period by increased labor and supplies expenses. Management projects that operating EBITDA margin will equal 10.7% in fiscal 2017 and will remain at comparable levels through 2020. STRONG COVERAGE Rush's debt burden remains moderate with MADS equal to 2.1% of fiscal 2016 revenue, relative to Fitch's 'A' category median of 2.7%. The moderate debt burden and solid profitability combine to provide strong MADS coverage by EBITDA equal to 5.6x in fiscal 2016, exceeding Fitch's 'A' category medians of 4.5x. Excluding non-recurring items, MADS coverage by EBITDA of 6.4x remained strong in the interim period. Solid investment returns mitigated the impact of the compressed adjusted interim period operating profitability on coverage. IMPROVED LIQUIDITY Unrestricted cash and investments increased 12.5% since fiscal 2014 to $1.14 billion at Sept. 30, 2016. Liquidity metrics are solid with 205.5 DCOH, 25.2x cushion ratio and 165.3% cash to debt relative to Fitch's 'A' category medians of 215.5 days, 19.4x and 148.6%. Unrestricted liquidity increased materially subsequent to the opening of Rush's new hospital in 2012, increasing from $618 million at June 30, 2012. INCREASED CAPITAL PLANS Capital spending is expected to materially increase over the next five years as Rush executes a new long term strategic plan. Historic capital spending has been modest reflecting the system's limited capital needs following the opening of Rush's new hospital in 2012 with capital expenditures averaging $109 million per year (90.7% of depreciation expense). Total capital spending is projected to equal approximately $1.5 billion over five years, averaging $299 million per year (approximately 200% of depreciation expense). However, the full capital plan will be executed only if Rush continues to achieve targeted operating performance and liquidity measures. A primary component of Rush's long term strategic plan is an expanded ambulatory development strategy to increase patient access and catchment. Capital plans include the construction of a 500,000 square foot ambulatory center adjacent to Rush's flagship academic medical center. The project is expected to cost $450 million with an expected opening date in fiscal 2020. However, the total cost and scope of the project can be scaled back if necessar. Additional capital plans include expansion of Rush Copley Medical Center's surgery department and main entrance, expansion of Rush Oak Park Hospital's emergency department, an ambulatory surgical center in Oak Brook (IL) and an ambulatory building in Chicago's south Loop. Capital plans are expected to be funded with operating cash flow, philanthropy proceeds and a bond issuance in fiscal 2018. Fitch will assess the impact of any future debt issuance as details become more certain.



DEBT PROFILE Rush had approximately $694.4 million of total debt outstanding at Sept. 30, 2016. In addition to the rated bonds, total debt includes approximately $90 million of bonds that are privately placed and not rated by Fitch. The bond portfolio is comprised of 84% underlying fixed rate bonds and 16% underlying variable rate bonds. Rush is counterparty to two fixed payor swaps converting 15% of the total debt portfolio to synthetic fixed rates. No collateral was required to be posted at Sept. 30, 2016.

DISCLOSURE Rush covenants to disclose audited financial statements within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year and quarterly reports no later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal quarter. Rush's disclosure practices are among the best in Fitch's health care portfolio with quarterly and annual disclosure consisting of balance sheet, income statements and cash flow statements, utilization statistics and a 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=1016350 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1016350 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. 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Theatre of the absurd. Or maybe theatre of the macabre.

But definitely vaudevillian in exposition  the month-long first-degree murder trial from which a captive audience of 12, the jury, was mercifully released on Monday afternoon, not to reconvene until after the holidays.

They departed with a further chorus of outrageous interjections from the defendant ringing in their ears.

Im not trusting you! Youre not trustable! You are a biased and evil judge!

That was directed at Justice Ian MacDonnell by the combustible accused, Xiu Jin Teng, 40, whos pleaded innocent.

Theres nothing funny about homicide, of course. Nothing humorous about a man, as court has heard, who fought for his life while being strangled with a ligature; wrists bound with the same green twine twisted around his throat, a puncture mark on his arm consistent with a needle injection, above therapeutic levels of a prescription insomnia drug found in his system.

Dong Huang did not shuffle gently off this mortal coil. Nor was there any evidence at autopsy that the healthy 40-year-old had suffered a fatal heart attack back in February, 2012, as his wife claimed, this before she allegedly stuffed the corpse into a storage closet at their Scarborough basement apartment. The body was discovered by the couples landlords after they went downstairs to poke around, concerned that Teng had been planning to skip out on the rent when she was spotted piling possessions into the trunk of her car. Teng had also maintained her husband  who hadnt been seen or heard by the landlords for a week  was in Hong Kong on business.

Originally, Teng was charged with committing an indignity to a body. Didnt take long for detectives to elevate the charge to murder one, as crucial investigative pieces fell into place, most notably that Teng, who worked for London Life, had not long before purchased life insurance on her husband, naming herself as beneficiary on a policy worth just under $2 million.

Teng has no defence lawyer. She is representing herself, with an amicus curiae assisting the court and a Mandarin interpreter at her side, though the defendant has no problem speaking English directly to the bench.

MacDonnell has repeatedly emphasized to the jury that the reason Teng is representing herself is of no significance to them and irrelevant to their deliberations once the case is put in their hands. While the background to this loopy state of affairs is intriguing, those details cant be publicly disclosed until the jury goes out. Likewise, the content of the defendants unremitting clashes with the judge cant be reported yet because theyve occurred outside the jurys hearing.

But its useful to keep in mind that old proverb: A man (or woman) who defends himself (herself) has a fool for a client.

These past four weeks, MacDonnell has not always been able to contain Tengs outbursts, or to rush the jury out before the accused could damage her own cause. So the jury has caught bits of it. They cant be entirely unknowing as Teng pops out of her seat, launching into her now-familiar refrains.

On Monday, with the Crown having closed its case  no more evidence to be called  it should have been the defences turn. With unstinting courtesy, MacDonnell invited Teng to do so, but only after reminding the jury that anyone charged with an offence is not required to present evidence and has the right not to testify. The choice is hers. Accordingly, Im asking Ms Teng if she wants to call evidence.

Which was rather like ripping a gag off this most cantankerous womans mouth.

I repeated it many times. Of course I have many witness, four witnesses. They are on the list. Why are you asking me again?

MacDonell patiently explained to Teng, in front of the jury, that of those four individuals, he had earlier ruled that one had nothing pertinent to add and the other three are out of the country  two of them fugitives under the Immigration Act.

Again, the judge told Teng she could enter evidence that two of her witnesses provided at the preliminary hearing. The jury could also hear an audiotape of a statement one witness had given police.

But Teng, rapping her knuckles against the table, wasnt having any of that.

Your honour, I told you this morning, she countered, referring to her dissatisfaction with that recourse. Your memory is going.

Yes or no? MacDonnell asked twice, buttressed around Tengs objections.

Teng: You should have given me a lawyer! Its not reasonable, its not logical, for you to ask me since you never gave me a defence lawyer.

MacDonnell: Ill ask you once more. Do you intend to call any witnesses?

Teng: Youve lost your jurisdiction.

MacDonnell, sighing: Im obliged to say that is not true. Ive given you alternative methods for calling that evidence.

After more denunciations from Teng, the judge concludes: The only answer I can take from that is no.

Teng is now in full dudgeon. Please sit down, says MacDonnell.

Teng: I will NOT sit down. You are a biased judge, totally biased!

MacDonnell: In light of that, theres no evidence to be called. The case is closed.

Then, addressing the gobsmacked jury: Youve heard what Ive heard on dozens of occasions. Ive instructed you on that. I have not responded to the allegations of why she is before the court without a lawyer because it is not relevant to any decision you have to make. There are often things about a trial that the jury doesnt necessarily understand. Thats not at all unusual. It is important that you take your instructions on the law from me. If I say that what Ms Teng says must not be taken into account, you must listen to what I say and follow my directions.

Closing arguments from the Crown will be heard on January 3.

Whether Teng plans a closing address  or diatribe  is anybodys guess.

Cuba misadventures: The Che Guevara Mausoleum is in Santa Clara, as I well know, though for some inexplicable reason I wrongly sited his remains in Santiago de Cuba in a recent column. The towering portrait alongside that of Che in Havanas Revolutionary Square is of Camilo Cienfuegos.

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

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Drunk and belligerent on duty-free booze, Milana Muzikante and Lilia Ratmanski smoked a cigarette in the bathroom of a Cuba-bound Sunwing flight promptly setting off the smoke alarm.

After they were ordered back to their seats by the crew, a male passenger reported overhearing Ratmanski make a bomb threat and Muzikante respond affirmatively.

The pilot didnt think the threat was credible  but out of caution decided to head back to Pearson airport.

The plane was escorted through Canadian airspace by two Canadian Forces fighter jets, as per the protocol of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Muzikante, then 26, and Ratmanski, then 25, were arrested upon landing amid the cheers of their fellow passengers and charged with mischief, smoking on a plane, uttering a threat to destroy an aircraft and endangering the safety of the Sunwing flight.

On Tuesday, more than two years later, the women were sentenced to a conditional discharge and 12 months of probation including 100 hours of community service. They pleaded guilty earlier this year to the least serious charges of mischief and smoking onboard an aircraft.

Their sentences mean they won't have a criminal record if they abide by their probation terms.

They each must pay a fine of $500 for smoking on board an aircraft and $7,500 in restitution to Sunwing.

Sunwing claimed it lost $42,500 as a result of costs including fuel, crew, airport handling fees and vouchers to the other passengers.

Ontario Court Justice Patrice Band emphasized that the womens obnoxious behaviour did not directly endanger anyone on the plane, though other passengers would likely have been frightened by the mention of a bomb.

In a post-9/11 world fear and anxiety lie just below the surface for even the most seasoned of travellers, he wrote in his decision.

The pilots decision to turn the plane around was made out of concern for passengers, as well as the possibility the behaviour of Ratmanski and Muzikante could escalate, Band said.

But this was less serious, Band said, than a 2011 incident where two drunk, aggressive Research in Motion Ltd. executives had to be restrained by staff and passengers on a Toronto-Beijing flight, causing the Air Canada flight to land in Vancouver.

Both women made tearful apologies for their behaviour on August 27, 2014 at a previous court appearance.

Band also noted that both women are studying to become nurses and found this incident to be out of character for them.

Good luck, I hope it works out on the nursing front, he told them. It looks like you both show really good promise. That was a large part of my decision.

He also pointed out that they have been punished in some ways already.

There has been substantial nationwide coverage of their actions, sometimes including images that portray them as vapid party girls, he said.

Their behaviour could also impact their career prospects and they are both on Sunwings no-fly list.

Muzikante, who is in Canada on a work permit, was at risk of being deported should she get a criminal record.

And, as a result of her bail conditions, Ratmanski was unable to travel to Ukraine in time to see her sick mother before she died or attend to the funeral arrangements.

Band said the sentence  including the $8,000 penalty  should deter others from similar behaviour.

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Erinn Davis and Alex Tushingham braced themselves to see the motorist who had killed their beloved dad Bruce, to tell her how a lapse behind the wheel was ravaging their family.

The devastation and shock of our loss affects all of us every moment of every day, Alex read from a victim impact statement his family had tearfully crafted.

But driver Nora Jones never heard that because she was not in court. Alex poured his heart out to a room that was empty except for people paid to be there and a few spectators waiting for the next traffic case.

Joness legal representative pleaded guilty on her behalf to unsafely leaving a Markham roadway, reduced from careless driving, in August 2013. A justice of the peace fined her $500. Case closed.

It never crossed Daviss mind the driver could stay home. Her family did know, though, that the violent death of a fit, loving 63-year-old cyclist  who had met his grandson the day he was born and returned the next with a photo of him on his T-shirt  would be reduced to a minor traffic violation.

The charge was no different if she hit a mailbox, or nothing, or killed my dad, Davis says. Theres no part of the charge that relates to the outcome, which is the crazy part.

With pedestrians and cyclists dying on Toronto streets at an alarming rate  more than 40 so far this year  safety advocates are demanding reforms to lax penalties in hopes of saving lives.

We give the car a special status in society, says Patrick Brown, a Toronto lawyer who has argued civil suits for grieving families of dozens of cyclists and pedestrians.

If you want to look at your phone or talk at length to your kid, your car is becoming a weapon  If you use any other weapon to kill someone, like negligent discharge of a gun, you will face very severe penalties.

While there is sometimes anger at the drivers, its Ontario laws that dictate penalties. Brown believes car bias is baked into our laws, into how police investigate and question drivers, and finally into drivers sentencing at court.

Theoretically, drivers can face up to 10 years in jail under a criminal charge of dangerous driving causing injury, up to six months in jail and a fine of $2,000 for the provincial offence of careless driving, or they can face an $85 fine for a minor traffic offence such as an improper turn.

Legal observers say courts almost never give the maximums and usually accept plea bargains to less serious charges. There are many examples of motorists paying less than $1,000 for actions that killed a person.

By contrast, Ontario courts have also fined a tourist $1,000 for hunting a bear with a spear, developers $5,000 for each illegally removed tree and a man $2,000 for drunkenly driving a riding mower.

Reached by phone, Jones  who told police her sandal got caught on the gas pedal, sending her car to the shoulder and then across the road head-on into Bruce Tushingham  tearfully refused to comment on her penalty.

The wife of Alvito Abreu, who was 79 when he was fined $2,000 and handed a six-month partial driving ban after killing 4-year-old Milad Sher-Ahmad, refused to put her husband on the phone.

He has been through so much stress and I dont want to put him through any more, she said. His health has deteriorated. We are people in our 80s and its really very, very painful.

Asked if the penalty for careless driving  running a Mississauga stop sign and turning left into an intersection, and the boy  was appropriate, she said: Ive accepted that and thats it. I pray for the family every day and it was not intentional.

More than 10,000 Toronto pedestrians and 5,000 cyclists were killed or seriously injured by motorists between 2008 and 2012. For the pedestrians, according to a city staff analysis, the vast majority had the right of way.

David Stark, whose wife Erica was fatally struck while standing on a Scarborough sidewalk in 2014, resulting in a $1,000 fine for motorist Elizabeth Taylor, co-founded Friends and Families for Safe Streets.

The group is pushing for safer road design but also the adoption of vulnerable road user laws, with significantly tougher penalties, first introduced in Oregon.

If motorists recklessly kill someone, they should face fines in the $50,000 range, Stark says. Drivers convicted in fatal crashes should be forced to attend court so they hear victim impact statements, he adds, and get significant driving bans and be forced to perform community service.

Where we are now with distracted driving is where we were a generation ago with drunk driving, says Stark. Its going to take some time for public opinion to shift and for people to realize its not acceptable for me to be tapping away on my phone while driving.

Edward Sapiano, a lawyer who successfully challenged a Toronto police account of Tom Samsons death that seemed to blame the cyclist, says new laws are not the answer.

We need the police to investigate the death of pedestrians and bicyclists like they investigate all other homicides, with appropriate resources and trained investigators.

They have plenty of (laws)  dangerous driving causing death or bodily harm, impaired causing death, manslaughter. Its the investigations that are deficient.

Last June, provincial Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca told Metro news he was open-minded about additional penalties or fines. Six months and many fatalities later, he told the Star much the same. Transportation staff continue to look at options.

I dont mind continuing to work on this, that doesnt bother me in the least, it is part of my responsibility, but I want to make sure if were going to go forward and we have a plan, its a plan that is more likely to work than not, and I think that requires a little more time   Del Duca said.

I completely respect the frustration and the impatience that some people are feeling and well have more to say, I think, in the relatively near future.

Davis, meanwhile, chokes up describing her sons growing up robbed of a super-involved grandpa.

Stiffer penalties wont help me, I still lost my dad, but maybe theyll make people think twice about being distracted by the radio, or their coffee, or their shoe, or whatever, she says.

If everyone is more focused, in less of a hurry and more conscious of others, maybe other families wont be devastated like mine was. I never thought this would happen to us.

A look at how drivers are penalized

Adrian Dudzicki, a 23-year-old elite squash player originally from Ottawa, was cycling to practice in North York on a November 2013 morning when Aleksey Aleksev sped through a red light and fatally hit him. The driver said he was adjusting the heating or the radio in his BMW car shortly before he hit the cyclist.

Aleksev was found guilty of unusually serious charges  dangerous driving causing death, criminal negligence causing death and manslaughter  and sentenced to two years less a day in jail, three years probation and a 15-year driving ban.

Riverdale mom Erica Stark was standing on a sidewalk next to a bus shelter in Scarborough, with a service-dog-in-training on a leash. Elizabeth Taylor, for no known reason, veered her minivan toward the curb, jumped it and slammed into a TTC pole and a utility box. Stark, a 42-year-old volunteer and mom of three young boys, died at the scene.

Taylor was found guilty of careless driving and given a $1,000 fine, six months probation, a one-month total driving ban and a five-month partial driving ban.

Bakhtawar Malik, a 13-year-old Mississauga girl about to start high school, was standing on a sidewalk at Bloor St. and Havenwood Dr. waiting for the light to change. Brikhena Xacis car jumped the curb and knocked Malik over a fence, killing her.

Xaci, 43, pleaded guilty to careless driving and received a $1,130 fine. A charge for running the red light was withdrawn in return for her guilty plea.

Edouard Le Blanc was cycling a hydro corridor near his Scarborough home in October 2014 when he was hit by a driver on Warden Ave. Witnesses told police Le Blanc had the right of way and the motorist ran a red light. Le Blanc, a 62-year-old retiree about to travel the globe with his wife, died at the scene after an impact so hard his organs were not fit for donation.

William P. Laurie pleaded guilty to careless driving after a lengthy legal fight and was fined $700 and given six demerit points.

Milad Sher-Ahmad, 4, of Mississauga, was being walked to kindergarten at Artesian Dr. Public School by his mother when, a block before their destination, a driver rolled past a stop sign into the intersection and hit the boy. A school bus driver who witnessed the crash said the 79-year-old driver seemed unaware of what he had done.

Alvito Abreu pleaded guilty to careless driving and was fined $2,000 under the Highway Traffic Act. A justice of the peace ordered him not to drive for six months except for medical appointments or religious functions.

Jessica Spieker, a personal fitness trainer, does not recall what happened while she was cycling on Bathurst St. near Shallmar Blvd. in Forest Hill. She woke up in an emergency room with a fractured spine, torn ligaments in one leg, and a brain injury that for a time impaired her short-term memory.

Motorist Sharon L. Gancman received a $300 fine.

Correction  Dec. 13, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists who were injured or died as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle in Toronto.

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Politicians are like pretzels  easily twisted out of shape.

Until they snap.

Ontarios Progressive Conservatives are twisting themselves into cloverleafs over road tolls. But theyre not the only politicians clutching fig leafs.

The New Democratic Party is also twisting and turning in ideological circles over road tolls. And this time, the road kill is one of their own.

Paul Ferreira, a lifelong New Democrat, one-time MPP, and former chief of staff to two of Ontarios NDP leaders, has quit the party.

Many New Democrats responded by telling him theyd already taken a similar decision, Ferreira told me, for the same reason: The party is being fundamentally dishonest.

His departure is a loss for the NDP. And a sign that, in his words, the party has lost its way by erecting reactionary roadblocks against highway tolls.

For Ferreira, the partys decision to get in bed with the anti-toll Tories last week was the last straw.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown led opposition in the legislature to a plan by Toronto Mayor John Tory  himself a former leader of the PCs from 2004-09  seeking toonie tolls on the city-owned Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway. Never mind that the plan emanates from city hall, Brown is trying to pin the blame on Premier Kathleen Wynne.

The Liberal governments position is that it will allow the local, elected level of government to decide its fate  a position Brown once held, but has since set aside. Bizarrely, Brown now insists he will overturn any provincial authorization should he ever become premier, tying Toronto in knots.

And so the PCs are leading with U-turns. And the NDP is following.

From a strategic point of view I was gobsmacked that we would support that motion, Ferreira said in our interview.

In the legislature, the partys position was articulated by Gilles Bisson  an MPP from Timmins attacking tolls in Toronto on behalf of his northern constituents: First off, I want to say that New Democrats will be voting in favour of this (PC) motion, because we, too, believe that citizens back home, our friends and our neighbours, are being squeezed.

Ferreira was incredulous. The guy from Timmins is the guy who speaks out on a Toronto issue?

When Ferreira dared to speak of tolls in the 2011 election, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath muzzled him. His mistake had been to give an honest answer when the issue came up during a radio debate on Toronto issues:

I think we owe it to voters, to residents, to citizens to have mature conversations on topics like that. Should there be road tolls?

The next day, Horwath threw him under the bus  and rallied to the defence of the almighty car:

Definitely no tolls! she told reporters on the campaign trail. I was quite surprised to find that this is something Paul said during a debate.... If hes trying to do that then it will stop at my desk.

Canvassing for votes that evening, Ferreira could hear Horwaths voice wafting from television sets in an apartment hallway. A voter opening the door to Ferreira recognized him as the candidate who had just been repudiated by his leader, and gave him a quizzical look.

Done in by his own party, he stuck with them a while longer. Now hes done with New Democrats for good.

What bothers Ferreira is that he long ago understood the need for tolls to make motorists pay their fair share. And was made to pay price for being ahead of the curve.

All these years later, city hall is coming round to his position  even NDP councillors are seemingly, grudgingly, open to tolls  but not Ontario New Democrats. Coveting votes in the suburbs, tolls are too toxic  for Horwath as they are for Brown and even Wynne.

The NDP-PC tag team rallied against Wynne as she considered new tolls during her first minority government. When the premier later took a timid first step with optional high-occupancy toll lanes, Horwath disparaged them as Lexus lanes (ignoring studies that show working class motorists also use them to bypass traffic jams if theyre late for a job).

Todays anti-toll, anti-tax NDP is more transactional than environmental. But opposing road tolls wont make inroads for them in downtown Toronto.

Ferreira says the party is wrong both ideologically and strategically. By betting on the 905 over the 416, the NDP is taking downtown voters for granted while chasing a suburban dream  riding the auto boom  that will only twist it out of shape, he warns.

The party right now is at a crossroads.

Or perhaps the NDP has come to a cloverleaf  which is, after all, an interchange designed by road engineers to avoid left-hand-turns.

Martin Regg Cohns political column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. mcohn@thestar.ca , Twitter: @reggcohn

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LA PAZ, BOLIVIAAt first glance, the indigenous Bolivian women dont look much like mountain climbers, with their colourful, multilayered skirts and fringed shawls.

But their helmets, polarized goggles and crampons attached to their shoes give them away as mountaineers who accompany their husbands, often as cooks and porters, as they guide tourists scaling the local peaks.

Eleven of these Aymara women, ranging in age from 20 to 50 years old, earlier this month made the two-day climb up the 6,099-metre-high Huayna Potosi, located near La Paz, with Lake Titicaca to the back and surrounded by snowy Andean peaks.

They started their climbing careers working for tourist agencies, carrying food and other equipment for the foreign mountaineers to the base camp located at 5,130 metres.

First, I was a porter, then a cook, said 41-year-old Domitila Alana Llusco. But the tourists asked me what it was like up on Huayna Potosi and I had to climb up so I could find out and tell them.

Alana said she had a hard time finding appropriate gear she could afford when she started 15 years ago.

My feet are small, there are no boots, she said. But nothing stopped me and I have reached the peak of three mountains.

Though they cling to their traditional clothing, these mountaineers arent typical indigenous women.

Women also have the right to climb mountains, said Adrian Quispe, one of the mountain guides. Its not just men who are allowed. Women of all ages can go.

And the money is good. While the minimum wage for a housekeeper is around $175 a month, guides can earn $35 a day and the female cooks about $20 a day.

As they climb, the women wear thermal sweat suits under their traditional clothing. Only in the last part of the climb up to the top do the women remove their skirts, to prevent accidents.

They start the last piece of their ascent after midnight to take advantage of the hardness of the snow, hoping to reach the top by dawn.

Some of the youngest in the group now dream of climbing even higher someday, to the top of Aconcagua, which at 6,960 metres) is not only the highest peak in the Andes, but also the highest mountain outside Asia.

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WASHINGTONDemocratic and Republican leaders called Monday for a bipartisan investigation into Russias meddling in the presidential election in the wake of the sensational revelation this weekend that the Central Intelligence Agency believes the countrys hackers intervened in the campaign with the express purpose of getting Donald Trump elected.

The news has also revived a desperate dream of forlorn liberals: an uprising against Trump by the members of the Electoral College.

Its not happening. Next Monday, barring some world-historical shock, the electors will officially choose Trump as Americas 45th leader.

What kind of leader? Still not exactly clear. Four weeks into his transition, Trumps policy agenda remains opaque. But the eventful month since his victory has taught us at least some useful things about his plans, his style and his flaws. Here are 12:

He remains infuriated by dissent: To the extent there is a philosophy governing Trumps behaviour, it is this quote from one of his pre-campaign speeches: If somebody hits you, youve got to hit em back five times harder than they ever thought possible. Youve got to get even. As president-elect, he has lashed out at an Indiana union leader who dared criticize him, Saturday Night Live for mocking him, and Boeing for the cost of Air Force One replacement planes  right after the release of an article in which its chief executive expressed concern about his trade rhetoric. He has also turned former critic Mitt Romney into a feeble supplicant, interviewing him for secretary of state in a transparent humiliation effort.

This is a full-fledged Republican administration: For all Trumps ideological unorthodoxy, the former Democrat has assembled a cabinet that could have been chosen by a regular right-wing Republican. Among his picks: an oil-friendly environmental chief, an anti-Obamacare health chief, an anti-illegal-immigration attorney general.

That said, he is malleable: Trump pledged all campaign to bring back waterboarding, a torture tactic. Then his secretary of defence pick, retired general James Mattis, told him that waterboarding is ineffective, and he enthusiastically recounted the conversation to the New York Times. On most policy matters, he remains susceptible to the views of the last person to speak to him.

He has a brilliant feel for the show: The reality TV star is blessed with an intuitive grasp of the little stuff that makes good political theatre. His teams deal to keep hundreds of Carrier Corp. jobs from moving to Mexico does nothing to fix the broader economy, but it has lots of people feeling like he cares.

He isnt even pretending to keep some promises: You may be old enough to remember the debate in which Trump promised to appoint a special prosecutor to probe the misdeeds of Hillary Clinton. When the crowd at his post-election rally in Michigan on Friday chanted lock her up, Trump responded, That plays great before the election; now we dont care, right?

He isnt even pretending to study up: Thing Trump has made time to do: watch SNL. Thing Trump has not made time to do: receive his daily intelligence briefing. Vice-president-elect Mike Pence is accepting his briefing six days a week, Trump only once a week, Reuters reported. Trumps explanation: Im, like, a smart person.

There is discontinuity afoot: For better or worse, Trump is already upending American foreign policy  and it is not clear how much is strategic and how much is reckless indifference to strategy. He spoke to the president of Taiwan, worrying China. He allegedly endorsed the brutal drug war of the Philippines president, worrying rights advocates. All of his phone calls, U.S. reports suggest, have been made without input from the State Department.

He hasnt stopped lying: The president-elect is still making stuff up, the brazenness of his serial lying undiminished by the weight of his new office. When the Washington Post broke the news about the CIA, Trumps response included the claim that he won one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. He actually ranks 46th out of 58.

This is no working-mans administration: Trump made Goldman Sachs a campaign arch-villains, a metonym for the sinister elite running the swamp he was going to drain on behalf of regular folks. He has now chosen Goldman people for treasury secretary and for National Economic Council chief. All together, he is putting together the wealthiest administration in modern U.S. history. Not exactly a promise broken  he said he would bring in savvier rich people, not poorer people  but perhaps not what some of his supporters had in mind.

Who knew, he loves generals: Trump asserted during the campaign that he knows more about Daesh than the generals do. Turns out hes a big generals fan. In picking former military men for defence secretary (Mattis), homeland security secretary (John Kelly) and national security adviser (Michael Flynn), he has the most military-heavy administration since the Second World War.

His fondness for Russia is unabated: Even at a time when it might help Trump to distance himself from Russia, he has continued to serve as Vladimir Putins defender  both insisting that some other country might have been behind the hack and lavishing praise upon a secretary of state candidate, ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson, who is seen by even some Republicans as uncomfortably close to the Kremlin.

Unresolved conflicts abound: Trump has pledged to hold a news conference to explain how he will be leaving his business. (He postponed it on Monday from this week to next month.) But he does not appear to be contemplating selling his stake or creating a blind trust, and the transition has proven over and over how his affiliation with the company and his childrens involvement in his government business combine to create an international web of conflicts.

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On the first day of her trial on decade-old negligence charges, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde told a Paris court Monday that the claims are nothing more than an imaginary plot.

Lagarde told the Cour de Justice de la Republique that she was profoundly shocked: shocked by the shortcuts, the approximations in the 2015 indictment, which is an imaginary plot written by someone who never met her. Lagarde, the former French finance minister, said none of her former colleagues could recognize me when reading the indictment.

I want at long last to prove that Im in no way guilty of any negligence, Lagarde said as she took the stand to answer the courts questions. The IMF chief, who is accused of not doing enough to prevent a massive government payout to Bernard Tapie eight years ago, rejected the charge and said she acted in the general interest.

The Lagarde trial stems from former state-owned bank Credit Lyonnaiss disagreement with Tapie over the 1993 sale of his Adidas AG. The dispute led to arbitration  that Lagarde didnt try to block  and an initial award of about 285 million euros ($398 million) for Tapie  that Lagarde didnt try to overturn. For those two reasons, the IMF chief was formally accused of negligence, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros ($20, 953).

Mondays hearing ended about 6 p.m. Monday and is scheduled to resume Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Lagarde told the court, which specializes in ministerial misconduct, that her decision to allow the arbitration procedure in 2007 came on the back of years of costly and inconclusive court proceedings, with 32 million euros ($44 million) in legal fees for that year alone.

It was worth trying something new, she said.

Earlier, her lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, requested a delay in the trial, telling judges as the trial opened that it doesnt make sense to rule on the negligence charge before establishing whether the French state was actually cheated. The court cant decide in only a few days whether state funds were misappropriated when Paris investigative judges have been examining this issue for years and still havent come to a conclusion.

After a temporary suspension, court president Martine Ract-Madoux said the case should be heard and the judges will rule on a delay at the end of the trial. Hearings are scheduled for all this week and could continue until Dec. 20.

The Tapie payout was cut to zero by an appeals court last year after doubts were cast on the impartiality of one of the three arbitrators, Pierre Estoup. In addition, the parallel criminal probe is focusing on links between Tapies lawyer, Maurice Lantourne, and Estoup. Orange SA chief executive officer Stephane Richard, who was chief of staff at the French Finance Ministry during Lagardes tenure, is also under investigation. He is scheduled to appear at the Paris court Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

The negligence must come on the back of a misappropriation of state funds, which hasnt yet been proven in the parallel probe and which is contested by all those under investigation in that case, Maisonneuve said. Judges should wait for the outcome of the second case.

The investigative part of the second probe ended in June and the judges overseeing that process are now poised to decide whether the criminal case should go to trial or be dismissed.

Was I, were many people, taken advantage of, and if so, by whom? Lagarde said. We may find out later on.

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WASHINGTONPresident-elect Donald Trump has selected Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department, dismissing concerns about the businessman's close ties with Russia, two people close to Trump's transition said Monday night.

Trump's decision caps a lengthy process that often played out in public and exposed rifts within his transition team. It also sets Trump up for a potential fight with Congress over confirming Tillerson, who has connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump was set to announce Tillerson's nomination Tuesday morning. The people close to his transition team insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the decision ahead of that announcement.

The president-elect had moved toward choosing Tillerson after a meeting Saturday, their second discussion in a week. Trump was said to be drawn to the prospect of having an international businessman serve as the nation's top diplomat.

But the prospect of Tillerson's nomination sparked immediate concern on Capitol Hill. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote on Twitter that being a friend of Vladimir was not an attribute he was seeking in a secretary of state.

In a weekend interview with Fox News Sunday, Trump pointed to Tillerson's deep relations with Moscow as a selling point. As Exxon Mobil's head, he maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded by Putin with the Order of Friendship in 2013, an honour for a foreign citizen.

A great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company, Trump said.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, Tillerson came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the company's central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

Trump also seriously considered Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, for the job. Romney said late Monday that he was honoured to be considered, signalling that he was being passed over for the high-profile Cabinet position.

Trump's decision to consider Romney, who fiercely criticized him during the campaign, was strongly opposed by some members of his transition team, who saw the potential nomination as a betrayal to longtime supporters.

Romney blasted Trump as a fraud during the campaign, but was full of praise for the president-elect after they discussed the State Department post over a private dinner in Manhattan. He wrote in a Facebook post Monday night that his discussions with Trump were enjoyable and enlightening.

I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace, Romney wrote.

Added to the mix is a looming congressional inquiry into Russian meddling in the election. The Washington Post reported on Friday that the CIA has told senators that Putins government was actively seeking to help Trump win the election  a step beyond an earlier finding that the goal was to undermine the credibility of the U.S. political process.

President Barack Obama has ordered a full review of the evidence of Russian hacking. Trump has rejected the idea that Russia has been pinpointed as the source of the hacks of Democratic Party servers.

With files from Bloomberg

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The federal government agency tasked with cracking down on offshore tax avoidance rents its offices from a corporate group that has moved hundreds of millions of dollars into tax havens.

Three Canada Revenue Agency offices  in Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal  were sold in 2007 in a controversial sale and leaseback arrangement to Larco Investments Inc., a company privately held by Vancouvers reclusive Lalji family.

Larco was desribed as a 100 per cent Canadian company when the sales were announced, but records found in the Panama Papers leak and at the Nevada State Gaming Control Board show the three Lalji brothers, who are worth an estimated $3 billion, routed profits from their business interests through the British Virgin Islands (B.V.I.) before parking them in private foundations in Liechtenstein.

In a legal operation to reduce their tax bill, the brothers moved somewhere between $300 million and $500 million offshore before 2003. It is not possible to determine if the Laljis Canadian profits  some come from rent paid by the taxpayer  still flow offshore, although the most recent public filings indicate that their U.K. profits still route to the B.V.I.

It raises questions about where those government payments go. We dont know. It is deliberately opaque, said Michelle Travis, a researcher with Unite Here Canada, a union that represents hospitality workers, some of whom are employed by the Lalji familys companies.

We think its fair game for the government to require Larco to explain how they are using tax havens and why that should be allowed to continue, said Travis who spent months researching the Lalji familys assets and first uncovered their offshore links.

Heather McCutcheon, a representative of Larco Investments, declined to comment for this report.

The CRA referred questions to the Public Services and Procurement Canada, which arranges all federal government leases.

We are committed to doing business with suppliers who respect the law and act with integrity, while obtaining the best possible value for Canadians, wrote spokesperson Nicolas Boucher in an email, without referring specifically to the Lalji case. The agency exercises oversight to protect the integrity of its contracts and real property agreements, Boucher wrote.

After receiving a $444-million boost to its enforcement budget earlier this year, the CRA has targeted offshore tax evasion and avoidance.

Records show that money flowing from Canada to offshore tax havens has skyrocketed in the last few years, more than quadrupling since 2014. The amount of tax revenue lost to offshore tax havens is pegged at $6 billion to $7.8 billon every year.

Las Vegas revelations

In addition to government buildings, Larco Investments Inc. has vast real-estate holdings in Canada, including Vancouvers Park Royal mall.

Because it is not publicly traded, Larco doesnt disclose its ownership structure or shareholders. According to 2016 inter-corporate ownership records compiled by Statistics Canada, it is part of of 35 Canadian corporations owned by the Lalji Family Trust.

The Lalji Family Trust also doesnt publicly disclose information. But when the Laljis decided to purchase JW Marriot and Rampart Casino in Las Vegas in 2003, they were obliged to reveal their business structures in order to obtain a gaming licence.

At a hearing held in Carson City, Nev., on December 3, 2003, Thad Alston, who according to his LinkedIn profile was Larcos executive director from 1995 to 2010, revealed that the Laljis had moved much of their wealth offshore to insulate it from Canadian taxes.

This structure was created really with legal, tax and estate-planning considerations for the Lalji family, Alston said.

Because Canadian law requires trusts to pay tax on their assets every 21 years, Alston said the Laljis decided to move their money offshore before their 2005 deadline in order to pay a lower rate of tax.

The idea was to take offshore  to actually cause a disposition of those assets before 2005, and pay the tax in Canada that was payable on those assets and move it offshore  with the idea that youd end up with a sum of funds offshore in a tax-free jurisdiction, he said.

Alston did not respond to requests for comment.

During the hearing, Alston said he and Shiraz Lalji met with HSBC bankers in Switzerland to discuss their options and chose to put between $300 million and $500 million in a private foundation in Lichtenstein.

In order to insulate the foundation, called Hilfreich Stiftung, from Canadian taxes, the Laljis put provisions into place to cut off the familys access to the money as long as they remained in Canada, Alston said.

The beneficiaries under the foundation are Shiraz Lalji and . . . Shirazs brothers, should they ever be nonresident in Canada . . . . There are restrictions in the (foundation) that prevent any money from this system getting to Canada, he said.

Its not money thats going to be (sent back to) Canada, because you cant without subjecting the whole system to tax in Canada  which you wont (do).

Alston described how brothers Mansoor and Amin Lalji operated one structure in Canada, which is kept separate from a second operated by Shiraz Lalji in London. Both have end points in Lichtenstein foundations.

Panama Papers connection

Further details of the Laljis offshore structures show up in the Panama Papers, a giant database of 11.5 million internal documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that was leaked to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Star.

In the U.K., Shiraz Lalji is a director of Access Self Storage Limited and its 25 affiliated companies. Public filings identify Oakdene Finance Ltd., a holding company in the British Virgin Islands, as the corporate groups ultimate parent company.

According to the Panama Papers, Oakdene was registered by Mossack Fonseca in 2004 and the firm remained its agent in the B.V.I. until 2007.

Over that time, more than 100 million ($166 million) in loans were arranged through Oakdene, from banks in the U.K. and Ireland.

While the Lalji name doesnt appear anywhere in the Panama Papers, details in the internal correspondence support Alstons testimony at the Nevada State Gaming Control Board.

In August 2004, Mossack Fonseca was approached by the Royal Bank of Canadas office on the Isle of Jersey. to register Oakdene on behalf of an unidentified client.

The company was given nominee directors, that is, people who provide their names to mask the true owners of the company. Andrew Mark de la Haye is a corporate director whose name appears on 230 other companies in Mossack Fonsecas records. Hilary Madeline May appears as the director of five companies registered by the firm.

In 2007, the companys sole shareholder was The Alamut Foundation, which provides RBCs address in the Isle of Jersey on the shareholder registry.

Because Lichtenstein doesnt have a publicly accessibly corporate registry, it is impossible to confirm whether this structure is still in place.

But in 2003, Alston told the Nevada State Gaming Control Board that Shiraz Laljis U.K. assets were moved offshore in a way that mirrored the Canadian structure.

I believe that he doesnt really have significant assets in his own name, Alston said. In other words, his wealth is, again, controlled by another foundation.

Its a (foundation) again, but the managers are residing in the Isle of Jersey . . . . It is Royal Bank of Canada Jersey, Alston said. Its the same kind of structure, a few more companies, but it amounts to the same thing.

Correction  December 14, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Liechtenstein.

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ROMEPrime Minister Paolo Gentiloni easily won a vote of confidence Tuesday night from the Italian Parliaments lower chamber for his new government, overcoming opposition outrage that his cabinet and agenda essentially mirror those of his humiliated predecessor.

Despite pledges by opposition lawmakers from the anti-European Union Northern League and the populist 5-Star Movement to stay away from the vote in protest of Gentilonis photocopied Cabinet, the measure passed 368-105 with no abstentions among the lawmakers present.

Opposition politicians say that by retaining so many ministers from ex-prime minister Matteo Renzis cabinet, Gentiloni ignored the results of a Dec. 4 constitutional referendum in which Italians overwhelmingly rejected Renzi and his reforms.

The Senate is expected to vote on its own confidence motion Wednesday. Approval from both houses is required for the government already sworn in by President Sergio Mattarella to carry on its mandate.

The aim is to have a government in place before Gentiloni heads to Brussels on Thursday for a European Council summit.

The opposition is particularly irked that Renzis reforms minister, who had promised to leave politics if the referendum failed, was named an undersecretary in Gentilonis office.

Italians said no, but it doesnt seem to matter! Giorgia Meloni, of the opposition Italy Brothers party, told Gentiloni during the parliamentary debate. Italians expressed themselves in an unequivocal way, but they dont care and they stay attached to their thrones.

Gentiloni defended Renzis term and insisted that his Democratic Party was doing the responsible thing by forming a government that could lead Italy until elections. He said he was taking a political risk by doing so, but that the Constitution requires the party with a parliamentary majority to try to form a government.

He acknowledged the difficulties ahead, saying his talks with lawmakers showed the impossibility of a general convergence. But he said he hoped that on individual items, opposition forces could find common ground with the majority.

Addressing Italys banking crisis, Gentiloni said the government was ready to intervene to guarantee banks and Italians savings. And he said the government would help lawmakers draft a new electoral law that harmonizes the rules between both houses of Parliament.

Opposition parties have clamoured for an early election following Renzis drubbing at the polls, but the current law has one set of rules for the Senate and another for the lower Chamber of Deputies.

The European Council summit on Thursday is just one of several international appointments on Italys agenda in 2017 that Gentiloni, the former foreign minister, cited to reinforce the need to have a stable government in place.

Italy on Jan. 1 takes up a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and in May hosts the Group of Seven. In March, it plans to host a summit to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, one of the founding treaties of the European Union.

Many of Renzis ministers kept their jobs in the Cabinet that was sworn in Monday: Finance Minister Carlo Padoan, Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti as well as the ministers of justice, health, infrastructure and culture. Angelino Alfano shifted from being interior minister to foreign minister  a key job given Italys 2017 international commitments.

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[December 12, 2016] Fitch Affirms Jordan School District, UT's GOs at 'AAA'; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the following Jordan School District, Utah (the district) ratings: --Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AAA'; --$124 million general obligation (GO) bonds, series 2007 and 2014 (refunding) at 'AAA'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The IDR, underlying ratings, and Rating Outlook reflect the district's credit quality without consideration of the guaranty provided by the Utah School Bond Default Avoidance Program. SECURITY The bonds are general obligations of the district payable from an unlimited ad valorem property tax levied on all eligible taxable property within the former boundaries of the Jordan School District. The taxable area includes the Canyons School District, which is responsible for repayment of 58% of the debt. Canyons School District occupies the former eastern portion of the Jordan School District and was created by voters on Nov. 6, 2007. It began operations in fiscal 2010 under its own school board. Fitch rates Canyons School District's IDR 'AAA'/ Outlook Stable. Existing bondholders benefit from an unlimited ad valorem property tax on the aggregate taxable AV of the previous, more extensive Jordan School District footprint. Each of the Jordan and Canyons school districts is legally obliged to tax the residents within its boundaries for its share of the outstanding debt. Salt Lake County collects the property tax revenues from within each school district's boundaries and distributes them to the two school districts. Jordan School District then invoices Canyons School District for its share of the full debt service payment. This debt repayment process has worked smoothly for the last seven years. The series 2014 refunding bonds are supported by an interlocal agreement between the Jordan and Canyons school districts, which creates a contractual obligation in addition to the existing statutory obligation. KEY RATING DRIVERS The 'AAA' IDR and underlying rating on the outstanding GO bonds reflect the district's solid financial operations, flexible labor environment, and low debt burden. The district's superior Inherent budget flexibility has resulted in exceptionally strong gap-closing capacity. The GO bonds are supported by a growing tax base and, during periods of taxable assessed valuation (AV) decline, protected by automatic tax levy adjustments. Economic Resource Base Jordan School District is the fourth largest in Utah, with approximately 52,000 students spread across 55 schools. It is located approximately 12 miles south of Salt Lake City, encompassing approximately 150 square miles. The district is significantly residential, with moderately large retail/commercial centers, and continues to benefit from being an integral part of the Salt Lake County economic hub. The county's unemployment rate remains very low. The district's wealth characteristics are somewhat mixed, reflecting the range within its component communities. Revenue Framework: 'aaa' factor assessment Strong general fund revenue growth will likely continue in line with, or above, national economic performance given growing student enrollment. The district's independent legal ability to raise revenues is high, which is unusual for a U.S. school district. Expenditure Framework: 'aa' factor assessment Spending growth will likely remain in line with, to marginally above, anticipated revenue growth. The district enjoys solid expenditure flexibility and a very productive labor environment. Long-Term Liability Burden: 'aaa' factor assessment The district's combined debt and unfunded pension liability is low relative to its resource base. Fitch does not expect the district's direct debt burden to increase materially with the issuance of new debt given rapid amortization of outstanding existing debt. The district's retiree health care liabilities are fully funded. Operating Performance: 'aaa' factor assessment The district has exceptionally strong gap-closing capacity and has demonstrated financial resilience during downturns. RATING SENSITIVITIES Solid Financial Operations: Fitch expects that both the Jordan and Canyons school districts will continue to exercise sound budget management. Continued balanced operations and sufficient reserve levels through the economic cycle would enable each district to maintain a 'AAA' IDR. CREDIT PROFILE In fiscal years 2015 and 2016, the district's taxable assessed valuation (AV) rebounded strongly by 23%, more than offsetting previous losses. Taxable AV had declined by 12% during the recession, largely due to state revaluation of centrally assessed properties (particularly Kennecott Utah Copper, by far Jordan School District's largest taxpayer) and county revaluations of local properties. Further taxable AV gains are expected in fiscal 2017 onwards driven by new development and rising valuations for existing properties. This helps offset volatile centrally assessed valuations. Canyons School District has similarly experienced a solid taxable AV rebound (18% between fiscal years 2013 and 2016), with further residential and commercial development also projected. Revenue Framework The district's funding comes from a combination of property taxes imposed by the school board, state-imposed personal income taxes and corporate franchise taxes, and federal sources. In fiscal 2016, local revenues accounted for approximately 26% of general fund revenues, state sources 69%, and federal sources 5%. The weighted pupil unit (WPU) is the statutory allocation methodology for equalized school funding across the state. It increased by 4% in fiscal 2016 and 3% in fiscal 2017. Fitch expects that strong general fund growth will likely continue in line with, or above, national economic performance. The district has experienced strong revenue growth over the past 10 years. Assuming a proportionate share of pre-fiscal 2010 revenues, its 10-year revenue growth has exceeded national GDP growth. This has been the result of growing student enrollment and improved state funding. The district is projecting almost 10% student enrollment growth during fiscal years 2017-2019 and further growth through 2022 (longer if further land is zoned for residential development, as expected). The district has a high independent legal ability to raise revenues. It could raise up to $35 million more per year (11% of fiscal 2016 general fund revenues), subject to the advisory truth-in-taxation public hearing process, under its board and capital local tax levies. Such increases would not result in a reduction of state funding. The district could also reduce its capital outlay levy and commensurately increase its operations and maintenance levy to direct more tax revenues to the general fund. However, the district has not increased property taxes for some years and has no plans to hold a truth-in-taxation public hearing in fiscal 2017. Expenditure Framework The majority of spending is on instruction costs (66% of fiscal 2016 general fund spending) and facilities operating costs (11%). These costs will increase due to student enrollment growth. In fiscal 2016, the general fund absorbed over $13 million in salary, benefit, and pension cost increases (over 4% of spending). The district's fisal 2017 general fund budget absorbed the costs associated with almost 3% student enrollment growth and almost $10 million in increased employee remuneration and benefit costs (almost 3% of budgeted spending).



Based on the district's patterns of revenue and spending, Fitch expects the district's future general fund expenditures to be in line with, to marginally above, general fund revenue growth given ongoing student enrollment growth pressure. District officials advise that this growth pressure has been partially relieved by the opening and expansion of several charter schools within the district's boundaries. Nevertheless, the district will see its fixed costs rise with the opening of new schools in fiscal 2017 onwards. The district's fixed carrying costs related to debt repayment and pension contributions are moderate relative to the district's resource base, leaving solid expenditure flexibility. District officials advise that there are a number of areas where they could reduce costs if necessary. They would consider increasing class sizes and reducing teacher hiring ratios, modifying or cutting costly optional programs, modifying or postponing capital improvement projects, and/or implementing more online courses. The district's labor relations have traditionally been productive, and its annual teacher contracts are flexible.

Long-Term Liability Burden The district's long-term debt and pension liability is low at approximately 3% of personal income and just over 1% of taxable AV. Approximately 40% of overall bonded indebtedness is direct debt (net of the portion of GO bonds to be repaid by Canyons School District), which amortizes at a rapid 85% in 10 years. On Nov. 8, 2016, voters authorized a $245 million bond measure to fund construction of five new schools to accommodate student enrollment growth and rebuild an existing middle school. This is significant given voters' rejection of a school construction bond measure in 2013, which was approximately twice the size, and a state law prohibiting school districts from imposing impact fees on new development. Fitch anticipates that future increases to the district's currently very manageable, rapidly amortizing debt burden will remain consistent with the district's high rating level. Fitch does not expect the district's credit quality to be affected by the progressive issuance of new debt between calendar years 2017 and 2021, which will be wrapped around the existing debt. The district participates in the state retirement pension system and makes its annual actuarially determined contributions. Using Fitch's 7% discount rate, which is more conservative than the state retirement pension system's 7.5% rate, the district's pension liabilities are approximately 80% funded in fiscal 2016. The district's employer contributions have now stabilized after some years of increases to offset recessionary investment losses. The district estimates that an approximately $53 million OPEB reserve (held in the committed general fund balance) more than fully funds obligations under its closed OPEB plan. Operating Performance The district has exceptionally strong gap-closing capacity. Since the fiscal 2010 division, the district has maintained surplus operations with the exception of two years of very small net operating deficits after transfers. Consequently, the district's unrestricted general fund balance remains well in excess of Fitch's 'aaa' reserve safety margin for the district of 2%. Given the district's low revenue volatility and superior inherent budget flexibility, the district should maintain a 'aaa' reserve safety margin even during any periods of economic stress. The district ended fiscal 2016 with a net operating surplus of more than $10 million, increasing its unrestricted general fund balance to almost $138 million (approximately 45% of spending). The budgeted large net operating deficit after transfers in fiscal 2017 of $23 million, followed by significant deficits in each of the following three years, is in large part due to state budgetary requirements. The district has to budget use of the entire unassigned general fund budget (almost $37 million at fiscal 2016 year-end). Typically the district significantly outperforms its conservative budgets and its general fund balances are expected to remain very strong. In addition to strong general fund liquidity, the district could borrow up to $102 million from funds outside the general fund, if necessary. The district has been using reserves and other sources to cash-fund construction of two newly opened elementary schools and one middle school. It has also begun construction on two additional elementary schools. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. In addition to the sources of information identified in Fitch's applicable criteria specified below, this action was informed by information from Lumesis and InvestorTools. Applicable Criteria U.S. Tax-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 18 Apr 2016) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/879478 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1016351 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1016351 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  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. 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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/20161212006210/en/

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OKLAHOMA CITYThe Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a law requiring abortion clinics to have doctors with admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, saying efforts to portray the measure as protecting womens health are a guise.

The law would require a doctor with admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles (48 kilometres) be present for any abortion. The court found it violates both the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year struck down a similar provision in Texas.

Under the guise of the protection of womens health, Oklahoma Justice Joseph Watt wrote, (the law) creates an undue burden on a womans access to abortion, violating protected rights under our federal Constitution, referring specifically to the Texas case.

Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed the measure, Senate Bill 1848, into law in 2014, but courts had blocked it from taking effect. Tuesdays ruling overturns a lower courts decision in February that upheld the law.

The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights challenged the law on behalf of Dr. Larry Burns, a Norman physician who performs nearly half of Oklahomas abortions. Burns has said he applied for admitting privileges at hospitals in the Oklahoma City area but was turned down. The other clinic in the state that does abortions is in Tulsa.

Todays decision is a victory for Oklahoma women and another rebuke to politicians pushing underhanded laws that attack a womans constitutionally guaranteed right to safe, legal abortion, Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but previously has said that bill was passed to protect the health and safety of Oklahoma women.

The court also found that the law violates the Oklahoma Constitutions ban on measures containing more than one subject, a practice known as logrolling. The law included 12 separate and unrelated subsections, the court said.

The sections in SB 1848 are so unrelated and misleading that a legislator voting on this matter could have been left with an unpalatable all-or-nothing choice, according to the ruling.

The courts ruling came the same day that the Oklahoma Board of Health approved new requirements for hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants and public schools to post signs inside public restrooms directing pregnant women where to receive services as part of an effort to reduce abortions in the state. The provision mandating the signs was tucked into a measure the Legislature passed this year that requires the state to develop informational material for the purpose of achieving an abortion-free society.

Businesses and other organizations estimate they will have to pay $2.3 million to put up the signs because the Legislature approved no funding for them. The Legislature and the governor must ratify the boards rules for the signs before they are scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2018, board attorney Donald Maisch said.

In Ohio, Republican Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday signed a 20-week abortion ban while vetoing stricter provisions in a separate measure that would have barred the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat. The so-called heartbeat bill would have prohibited most abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

In Florida, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit late Monday asking a federal judge to block additional parts of a contentious Florida abortion law. The lawsuit contends that the law violates constitutional rights by requiring groups to register with the state and pay a fee if they advise or help women seek abortions. The lawsuit also challenges a provision requiring groups to tell women about alternatives to abortion.

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BEIRUTSyrian rebels reached a ceasefire deal to evacuate from eastern Aleppo in an effective surrender on Tuesday, as Russia declared all military action had stopped and the Syrian government had assumed control of the former rebel enclave.

The dramatic developments, which appeared to restore the remainder of what was once Syrias largest city to President Bashar Assads forces after months of heavy fighting and a crippling siege, followed reports of mass killings by government forces closing in on the final few blocks still held by the rebels.

Damascus confirmed the evacuation deal and the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told The Associated Press in a text message that the safe withdrawal of people from the besieged area was now imminent. He was at the Security Council where an emergency meeting for Aleppo was underway.

Russias UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin took to the floor near the end of the session at the UN Security Council to announce fighting had ended.

According to the latest information that we received ... military actions in eastern Aleppo are over, Churkin said. The Syrian government has re-established control over eastern Aleppo.

Minutes earlier, he had announced that all militants and members of their families, as well as those wounded in the fighting, were being evacuated through agreed corridors in directions that they have chosen voluntarily, including the rebel stronghold of Idlib province.

As word spread of the deal, celebrations broke out in the government-controlled western sector of Aleppo, with convoys of cars driving around honking their cars and waving Syrian flags from the windows.

Retaking Aleppo, which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012, would be Assads biggest victory yet in the civil war. Aleppo, the countrys former commercial powerhouse, has long been regarded as a major gateway between Turkey and Syria and the biggest prize in the conflict.

There were conflicting reports about the timing and route that the evacuation would take.

Syrias military media said the gunmen would be evacuated through the Ramouseh crossing and from there to rebel-controlled areas of northern Idlib province.

Aleppo will be declared a secure and liberated city within the coming hours, it said on its Telegram channel.

Osama Abu Zayd, a Turkey-based legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the cease-fire went into effect Tuesday evening and that the first groups of rebel fighters would begin evacuating later Tuesday.

Yasser al-Youssef, a rebel spokesman, confirmed the deal, and another spokesman, Ahmed Karali, said those leaving the city would head to rural areas in western Aleppo province then head north.

The agreement Tuesday came after world leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents, and the UN human rights office said that pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians as they closed in on the last remaining rebel areas.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforced fears of atrocities in the final hours of the battle for the city.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the emergency meeting he had received credible reports of civilians killed by intense bombing and summary executions by pro-government forces.

Aleppo should represent the end of a quest for military victory, not the start of a new brutal campaign, he said.

Several residents and opposition activists told the AP that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in neighbourhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military denied the claim, saying such allegations were a desperate attempt to gain international sympathy.

None of the residents witnessed the alleged killings, and the reports came amid deepening chaos in the remaining rebel-held areas. Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held parts of the city, said the dead and wounded were being left in the streets.

Bashar al-Jaafari, Syrias ambassador to the United Nations, denied any mass executions or revenge attacks, but added it was Syrias constitutional right to go after terrorists, a reference to all opposition fighters.

Aleppo has been liberated from terrorists and those who toyed with terrorism, he said. Aleppo has returned to the nation.

The UN childrens agency said in a statement on Tuesday that it had received a report of more than 100 unaccompanied children trapped in a building under fire in eastern Aleppo. UNICEF is concerned over reports of extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children, said the agencys regional director, Geert Cappalaere.

The UN human rights office said it had received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians in four neighbourhoods of the rapidly-shrinking rebel enclave, including 11 women and 13 children.

Spokesman Rupert Colville, speaking to reporters in Geneva, said the reports described pro-government forces entering homes and killing civilians on the spot. He said the reports came in late Monday and he didnt know exactly when the killings took place.

A press release by the UN human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources reported dozens of civilians were shot dead Monday by government forces and allied militiamen in the Kallaseh and Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hundreds of bodies were still under the rubble.

A government win in Aleppo would significantly strengthen Assads hand but does not end the conflict  significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad familys four-decade rule.

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LONDONSyrian President Bashar al-Assad, assisted by Russia and Iran, is on the verge of retaking Aleppo in what would be the biggest victory for his troops against rebels in almost six years of civil war. Assad says hell turn his attention to remaining rebel strongholds, and his opponents have vowed to fight on in the absence of a political solution. That could lead to a surge in guerrilla conflict in areas reclaimed by Assads troops, while jihadists look to exploit any weaknesses. Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, did just that with its weekend assault on the historic city of Palmyra.

Is an end to fighting any closer?

Much of eastern Aleppo, a symbolic centre for the anti-Assad insurgency, is in ruins, levelled by Syrian and Russian bombing that led European and U.S. officials to speak of possible war crimes. But the opposition isnt ready to give up. Nobody can think about peaceful solutions in these circumstances, George Sabra, chief negotiator for rebel forces, told the BBC in November. Aleppo is an important place for the revolution but its not the last.

Thats one thing Assad agrees on. Aleppo will be a gain, but to be realistic, it doesnt mean the end of the war, he said in an interview with pro-government al-Watan newspaper published on Dec. 8.

Where will Assad focus on next?

Assad said in October Aleppo would serve as the springboard for other offensives, singling out Idlib. The regime lost nearly all of this region, which lies about 57 kilometres southwest of Aleppo near the Syrian-Turkish border, in mid-2015. Idlib borders Latakia, the heartland of the Assad regime, and is close to the Damascus-Aleppo highway.

Taking Aleppo, whose eastern neighbourhoods had been held by rebels since 2012, will hand Assad control over Syrias biggest cities. That amounts to more than 40 per cent of the countrys territory and about 60 per cent of its people. The four components of todays Syria are now more distinct: Assad with the major urban areas and the west; Kurdish-held enclaves in the north; Daesh controlling much of the east; and other groups left with shrinking pockets of influence.

Will the nature of the conflict change?

Some 150,000 rebels, including jihadists, are fighting in Syria, according to Charlies Lister, a senior scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington. The biggest losers from Aleppos collapse are Syrias moderate opposition groups, which had remained the citys primary actors ever since conflict first erupted there in early 2012, he wrote. The result, he says, will be an even more prominent role for Islamist extremists in leading the anti-Assad fight. In northern Syria, the mainstream opposition looks set to transform itself into a guerrilla-style insurgency in 2017, Lister said.

What does all this mean for Assad?

Hell have a hard time keeping local and foreign militias in check, and administrating cities he controls. The regime doesnt seem to have the capacity to hold areas and is hostage to the forces that are meant to be helping it, Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House in London, said this week. Thats been the case in Homs and most recently Palmyra, where Daesh over the weekend took advantage of the focus on Aleppo to attack a city it held for about 10 months until March.

Aleppo will be even more difficult to police and stabilize, said Raphael Lefevre, author of the 2013 book Ashes of Hama: the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. Insecurity has persisted in areas liberated from rebel control, he said, with civilians threatened by outbreaks of criminality and revenge attacks.

How will Trump change things?

The big unknown hanging over the future of the conflict is the shifting agendas of global and regional powers. Will Russia and Iran stand by Assad if he continues to insist on reconquering the entire country? And will Turkey resist being drawn further into a conflict that carries the risk of a heightened confrontation with Kurdish forces? And then theres the arrival in January in the White House of Donald Trump. The president-elect has said hes open to a more co-operative relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and has vowed to concentrate on defeating Daesh rather than pursuing the removal of Assad.

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UniCredit SpA (UNCFF) , Italy's biggest bank, has agreed the sale of its Pioneer Asset Management arm for around 3.545 billion ($3.75 billion), the bank confirmed Monday.

Amundi, the largest listed money manager in Europe, will purchase the group for cash in a deal that also includes and additional 315 million pre-transaction dividend, the company said. Once completed, the sale should boost UniCredit's core equity tier 1 capital ratio by 78 basis points, the bank said.

"Thanks to a long term distribution agreement, UniCredit's customers will have access to an extended range of quality products and services whilst the Group will reap the benefit of additional fee income from expected increased sales," CEO Jean Pierre Mustier said in a statement. "The transaction means Italy becomes Amundi's second largest domestic market and Amundi will turn Milan into one of its core investment hubs, creating new jobs and ensuring close proximity to UniCredit, our teams and clients."

UniCredit shares closed at 2.5 each Friday in Milan, capping a five-day gain of 18.6% on speculation of both the Amundi sale and government plans to inject capital into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Sienna, Italy's third largest lender.

The Amundi sale follows a 2.5 billion deal to sell UniCredit's 32.8% stake in Pekao bank in Poland to state-owned insurance group PZU.

Collectively, the two deal should take UniCredit's CET1 ratio to around 12.6%, a figure that would bring it more closely in-line with systemically important lenders in Europe.

Uni
The Justice Department's approval last week of the merger with Virgin America (VA) gave Alaska Airlines (ALK) more heft at the San Francisco and Los Angeles airports, more presence in the trans-continental market and a boost to the No. 5 spot among U.S. airlines, with a 6% market share.

It's a nice spot for a super-regional airline, but not so hot if Alaska -- which serves 34 states and Reagan National Airport -- has aspirations to be a national force.

What does Alaska want to be when it grows up? CEO Brad Tilden has made it clear that the carrier wanted to strengthen its claim to be the premier West Coast airline. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week, the carrier assured it will expand, at least into a half dozen key routes which the Justice Department said it can no longer rely on codeshares with American Airlines (AAL) to provide airplanes.

For international routes, Alaska relies on partners; in fact, it has partnerships with 13 international carriers, which combined serve 44% of all the long-haul international seats flown from the U.S. across the Atlantic and Pacific.

"Deploying our capacity in domestic and working with our international partners is a really successful strategy," Tilden said in a September interview. "There's no reason to change it."

Beyond that, some experts said the path to a broad national presence flows through New York, the headquarters of JetBlue (JBLU) , now the sixth-largest U.S. airline.

"Alaska working out a deal for JetBlue (market cap $7B) would be hard right now, but might be possible in a year or two," said aviation consultant Sandy Rederer.

"I don't see any other way for Alaska to become a national airline, but maybe I lack imagination," Rederer said. "The challenge of developing another hub would be huge and without that growth would be in the West. "

JetBlue is not a stranger to the West Coast. From Long Beach Airport, it serves 12 markets including eight on the West Coast.

Aviation consultant Bob Mann said Alaska and JetBlue are similar in their ability to leverage off coastal hubs in Seattle and New York to create partnerships with vast arrays of international carriers, and in their focus on customer service.

Nevertheless, he said, "I wonder whether there is a good fit, given the differing cultures and the fleet incompatibility," with an Airbus/Embraer fleet at JetBlue and an all-Boeing fleet at Alaska, unless Virgin America Airbus fleet is retained.

Also, Mann noted that since JetBlue lost out to Alaska in the battle to merger with Virgin America, it "has been acting like a spurned suitor, " growing in competitive markets.

In any case, Alaska has work to do before it could consider a merger.

Mann said the carrier "has to figure out a way to be a little more ubiquitous, probably through new routes." Expansion in the Southeast is likely, he said.

Alaska serves Atlanta and Washington Dulles airports and recently added flights from Seattle to Charleston, S.C. and Raleigh, N.C., but it lacks service to Charlotte, American's second-largest hub, and to Miami, American's third-largest hub (by passengers). In fact, Alaska serves only three Florida markets: Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.

In its filing, Alaska referred to eight codeshare flights, currently flown by American, including five with the potential for "high recapture" of the revenue that flight produces, and three with "moderate recapture."

By flying the eight routes, Alaska believes it can recapture $40 million to $45 million of the $60 million in revenue lost due to diminished codesharing. It didn't identify the routes. But the agreement with DOJ specifically requires that codeshares be halted on flights that serve American and Alaska hubs; this would include American flights from Charlotte and Miami to Seattle.

Additionally, Rederer noted that "Alaska is taking on a lot of debt in the Virgin deal and faces a lot of work to complete the integration." In the meantime, he said, JetBlue might get together with Hawaiian."

Another requirement for Alaska will be "to up their game in the front cabin in order to appeal to corporate travelers," Mann said. Alaska has first class, he said, "but it will have to appeal to a wider set of corporate customers. Maybe they can {apply} what they learn from Virgin America."

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
On Sunday, Boeing (BA) finalized an agreement to sell 80 jetliners to Iran for $16.6 billion.

This marks the first major completed deal between the country and an American company since a nuclear accord that removed sanctions on trade with the Islamic Republic.

But it comes at a strange time. Last week, President-elect Donald Trump targeted the aerospace company over the cost of the new Air Force One aircraft.

Meanwhile, Republicans have long lambasted Iran as the world's leading state-sponsored bastion of terrorism.

Companies trying to work in Iran after the landmark nuclear accord could all come under extremely stringent scrutiny and possibly be subjected to painful regulatory blockages.

In fact, if Congress trashes the Iran agreement, which Trump has called "the stupidest deal of all time," the Boeing contract could even fall through.

In hindsight, Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's chief executive, could probably have chosen a different approach in dealing with the president-elect.

This month, Muilenburg commented on trade talk in a speech delivered at the Illinois Manufacturers' Association annual meeting, cautioning attendees against the perils of "anti-globalization sentiments," as well as the dangers of quitting important trade agreements.

The mere announcement of a mega-billion dollar deal with Iran which would "support" tens of thousands of American jobs is hardly enough to get on Trump's good side.

Iran won't pay in cash and instead could look at financing for the deal. In the absence of private financing, this can be done only via the U.S. EXIM Bank, an institution that Trump wants to abolish.

And while Trump would need the support of China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K. to alter the dynamics of the Iran nuclear accord, his tactics could delay things for Boeing. There could be clauses in Boeing's agreement with Iran in terms of delivery and likely penalties if delays occur.

Rival Airbus is also waiting in the wings, just in case Boeing slips up. Iran is already close to finalizing another deal with the French company.

As America's biggest exporters walk a tightrope because of Trump's threats to shake up trade policy including with China, even foreign companies such as Royal Dutch Shell and Total face headwinds as they attempt to develop oil and gas operations in Iran.

In fact, if his aggressive posturing toward global manufacturing could have repercussions beyond Iran. Boeing's midsize and giant airliner business, which is heavily dependent on China for growth, could be heavily affected if Trump imposes any tariff on Chinese goods on their way to America.

This is also important because several technology heavyweights, such as IBM and Microsoft, have pacts with Chinese firms with links to the country's armed forces. If China starts shaking things up on its own, a massive market could simply crash and burn.

So is it time to drop Boeing's stock like a hot potato?

Until Trump takes office on Jan. 20, investors should wait for his official stance on the Iran nuclear agreement before making any decisions about Boeing and other companies looking to do big business in places such as China an Iran. Boeing and other global giants must lobby hard to ensure that alliances such as these remain unscathed.

---

A blistering financial storm is about to hit our shores. When it hits, weak companies and their investors will be washed away. You need to put yourself on solid ground. And that doesn't just mean changing your investment allocations or loading up on cash. I'll show you how to protect yourself and prosper when you click here.



The author is an independent contributor who at the time of publication owned none of the stocks mentioned.
Adidas (ADDYY) will join its sister brand Reebok and rival Under Armour (UA) and move into the 3D printed sneaker game.

The company said Monday that it will make the 3D Runner, it's first-ever 3D printed sneakers, available by reservation starting on Tuesday. Pairs, which will be the most expensive 3D printed sneakers released so far from the major footwear makers, can be picked up at Adidas' new New York City flagship store. A limited number of the shoes will also be made available on Dec. 15 in London and Tokyo.

"This is just the beginning," says Mikal Peveto, senior director of Adidas' Future team. "Creating customized shoes based on an individual's footprint -- including their running style, foot shape, performance needs and personal preferences -- is a north star for the industry and Adidas is leading with cutting edge innovations," added Peveto.

Here is what Reebok and Under Armour have been up to this year on the 3D printed sneaker front.

Reebok

The footwear maker recently unveiled its Liquid Factory process, which uses computer software and robotics to draw shoes in three dimensions. A proprietary liquid material, created for Reebok by chemical maker BASF, is used to concoct 3-D layers that next get plastered on a sneaker.

The first shoe born (above video) from this manufacturing process is the Reebok Liquid Speed, which is being released in a 300-pair production run for a cool $189.50 a pair.

In early 2017, Reebok plans to open its own Liquid Factory manufacturing lab in Lincoln, RI.

Michael Phelps' 3D printed sneakers from Under Armour

Under Armour

In March, Under Armour debuted a limited-edition 3-D-printed training shoe called UA Architechs. They featured a 3-D-printed midsole as well as an upper design that enhances the fit and is lightweight. The training shoe came together after a two-year research and development process that involved the study of geometric shapes and structures leading to the midsole design, according to Under Armour.

Only 96 pairs of the UA Architechs were made. The price? A cool $300, but they were still met with fierce demand. In August, Under Armour then dropped a pair of 3-D printed sneakers exclusively for Olympic star Michael Phelps, who is a spokesman for the company.

According to a source, the company currently doesn't have any new 3D printed sneakers set for release on the near-term horizon. But with the fast-moving Under Armour, that could change in a split second.
When you have $216 billion in cash that (for now at least) you can't return to shareholders without incurring a large tax bill, and when your business model leads you to be very selective with regards to making big acquisitions, you might start to get creative about deploying some of that cash.

That gives some context to a Monday Wall Street Journal report stating that Apple (AAPL) has held talks with Japanese tech/telecom giant SoftBank (SFTBY) about investing up to $1 billion in a massive tech fund SoftBank is in the process of raising. Just last week, SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son said during a meeting with President-elect Trump that he plans to invest $50 billion of the fund's assets in the U.S., creating 50,000 jobs in the process.

SoftBank is looking to raise $100 billion for the fund, set to launch next year, and Apple reportedly wants in. Sources caution that no deal has been finalized yet. SoftBank promises to invest at least $25 billion in the fund, and is close to getting a $45 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

More than 90% of the $237.6 billion in cash and marketable securities Apple held at the end of its September quarter was located overseas. And while Trump has voiced his support for a tax holiday that lets U.S. firms repatriate cash at a 10% tax rate (rather than the standard 35%), there's no guarantee yet that the holiday will be enacted.

Earlier this year, Apple showed that it's not averse to making a large overseas investments by pouring $1 billion into Chinese ride-sharing leader Didi Chuxing, reportedly at a $28 billion valuation. Didi was valued at $35 billion in a subsequent deal to acquire Uber's Chinese operations.

Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL? Learn more now.

By investing in Didi, Apple gained favor with a company whose data could be useful for its mapping and autonomous driving efforts, and perhaps also with Beijing. And by investing in SoftBank's fund, it would be in the good graces of a company that controls major carriers (

Sprint

(S)

and SoftBank Mobile) in two of Apple's three biggest iPhone markets -- the U.S. and Japan. SoftBank also

just spent $32 billion

to buy ARM Holdings, which developed the underlying CPU architecture behind Apple's A-series processors.

Investing in SoftBank's fund could also help Apple form alliances with some of the companies the fund ultimately invests in. For example, Apple could get a smart home device developer to support its HomeKit home automation platform, or a robot developer to make its hardware controllable through an iOS app.

Other tech giants, such as Intel (INTC) , Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google, Qualcomm (QCOM) and Microsoft (MSFT) , have long used their venture capital arms to invest in companies that end up being their customers and/or ecosystem partners, as well as to get a better read on tech trends. The WSJ states that one of Apple's goals with the investment would be to "gain insight on emerging technologies."

It's worth remembering, however, that Apple sported a $604 billion market cap as of Monday's close; a $1 billion investment would make just a small dent on the company's balance sheet. Though potentially having some strategic value, a move like this may be more interesting for what it says about how Apple is willing to deploy an offshore cash hoard that has grown to staggering levels.
The following article, originally published at 7:15 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, has been updated with market data and executive comments.

Insurance regulators in New Jersey and California are investigating claims in a whistleblower lawsuit that Wells Fargo (WFC) employees may have signed customers up not only for accounts they didn't authorize but for Prudential (PRU) insurance policies as well.

The allegations were detailed in a lawsuit filed last week by three Prudential employees who said the Newark, N.J.-based insurer, one of the largest in the U.S., retaliated against them because they refused to help cover up complaints about the term-life policies, which were to have been sold at special kiosks in the banks or online. They mark the first time that complaints about Wells Fargo's sales practices have involved another Fortune 500 company.

The San Francisco bank's stock plunged this fall after it agreed to a $185 million settlement with federal and state regulators over the opening of unauthorized deposit and credit accounts by employees struggling to meet sales quotas. More than 5,000 workers were terminated over a five-year period for their involvement, the company said.

The revelations, in early September, prompted probes by state attorneys general and the abrupt retirement of former CEO John Stumpf, who was grilled in two separate Congressional hearings. Lucrative government deals with the bank were also suspended.

California insurance commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement Monday that he directed investigators to look into all aspects of the claims, including whether there were violations of a California law requiring people selling insurance to have a license.

"We are deeply concerned about these allegations as they are completely counter to our values and our commitment to providing customers only the products and services they want," Mark Folk, a Wells Fargo spokesman, said in an e-mail. "We are working with Prudential to investigate any unauthorized or inappropriate referrals that may have occurred."

Prudential said executives suspended sales of the company's MyTerm policies through Wells Fargo's branches and its website, pending a review of how the bank handled the transactions. Unlike full-coverage life insurance policies, term plans play beneficiaries only if the policyholder dies in the covered period, or term.

"While our review is ongoing, Prudential remains squarely focused on doing what is right for our customers," Steve Pelletier, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Prudential's U.S. businesses, said in a statement. "If any Wells Fargo MyTerm customers have concerns about the way in which the product was purchased, we will reimburse the full amount of the premiums they paid and cancel the policy."

Wells Fargo customers' questions regarding MyTerm should be directed to the Prudential customer hotline, at 1-877-291-7193, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, the company said.

Prudential began selling the term policies through Wells Fargo in June 2014, according to the Essex County, N.J., Superior Court lawsuit, a copy of which was posted on the New York Times website. The insurer learned less than a year later that the policies had a high lapse rate and commissioned an e-mail survey to determine the cause, the suit claimed.

More than 700 of the forms sent to customers in that review were returned as undeliverable, a dozen buyers said they didn't understand the policies or know about the premiums, and one complained about high-pressure sales tactics from a Wells Fargo representative, the Prudential employees alleged.

Prudential, however, said that the customer responses didn't indicate potentially fraudulent activity and that after Wells Fargo's sales practices were made public, the insurer expanded its review and sought the bank's assistance.

New Jersey's banking and insurance department "is taking this matter very seriously and is investigating," Marshall McKnight, an agency spokesman, said in an e-mail.

Prudential dropped 25 cents to $104.27 at midday in New York, while Wells Fargo was little changed at $55.77.

The lender, whose biggest division is community banking, said credit card applications and new account openings dropped in October as prospective customers responded to the scandal and the company curbed marketing. Wells Fargo plans to disclose November traffic later this week, CEO Tim Sloan said at a recent Goldman Sachs conference.

"My primary objective is to restore trust in Wells Fargo," he said. "Although the sales practice issues were in retail banking, our entire company is focused on building a better Wells Fargo."

EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE: Wells Fargo is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells the stock? Learn more now.
To make money investing, all you need to do is buy the right stocks at the right price.

As an investor, there are a number of ways to make (and lose) money. Some people like to use very complex strategies. Others tend to use common sense and easy-to-understand strategies. I'm going to explain a very straightforward -- yet difficult to implement -- investment strategy.

Generally, investing in the best company in a dying industry rarely leads to profits. And investing in an average company in a growing sector is a toss-up. It could go either way (and, of course, valuations matter).

But to get the highest returns, look for the holy trinity of investing:

Find a sector that is showing exceptional, continuing growth

Identify the leading company in this major growth industry

Buy the leading company when it's cheap

Below are two examples of how this works.

(We show you more examples -- that you can buy right now -- here.)

Case 1: Apple Blossoms

Apple (AAPL) shares were trading for $18 (split adjusted) in the spring of 2009. At the time, Apple checked all three boxes:

Top Sector: The number of smartphone users was ready to explode.

Leading Company: The iPhone was unique, and Apple's other products were industry leaders too.

Cheap Valuation: Despite its growth rate and outlook, Apple stock carried a price-to-earnings ratio nearly the same as the S&P 500. In other words, it had the same value as an average stock on the S&P 500, even though it was a leading company in a high-growth sector.

In short, if you had identified Apple in early 2009 as a company that met all three growth criteria and bought Apple shares, you would have done very well.

By 2012, Apple shares were up 400%. Compare this to about a 50% return on the S&P 500. And if you still owned those shares today, you'd be sitting on a gain of more than 500%.

Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. See how Cramer rates the stock here. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL? Learn more now.

Of course, if we could invest based on perfect hindsight, we'd all be rich. But this does show how the growth investment trifecta works.

Case 2: Baidu, China's Google

Let's use Chinese search engine giant Baidu (BIDU) as another example to show the power of this investment strategy. Baidu is the Chinese version of Alphabet'sGoogle. The search engine's name translates to 100 (bai ) degrees (du ).

In early 2013, Baidu was China's biggest search engine. People were buying the company's shares for $90 each.

Alphabet is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. See how Cramer rates the stock here. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells GOOGL? Learn more now.

Even though Baidu was already on top, it still met all three growth criteria:

1) Top Sector: The internet search industry was growing steadily and forecasts were optimistic.

2) Leading Company: Baidu operated in China, the world's fastest growing economy at the time, and had overtaken Google in China.

3) Cheap Valuation: Baidu stock's P/E ratio had dropped to 20. This was a small premium to the market, despite its long growth history and positive outlook.

From early 2013 to mid-2014, Baidu shares rose almost 200%.

Both Apple and Baidu were large, famous, successful companies. But at the time, many investors were more interested in emerging unicorns that would lead them to untold riches.

We can see now that would have been a mistake. Investing in well-managed market leaders trading at a reasonable valuation paid off.

What seems to be a basic strategy -- identify a leading sector, find the leading company in the sector, buy when the stock valuations are cheap -- is difficult in practice. Which direction is a high-growth sector is moving? Will the management team be able to ensure the company's future growth? Is the apparently attractive valuation accurately pricing in a slowdown in growth?

How to Find These Companies

Asia is full of dynamic companies that meet these criteria right now. We just issued a report that outlines three of them... click here to find out more.

Kim Iskyan is the founder of Truewealth Publishing, an independent investment research company based in Singapore. Click here to sign up to receive the Truewealth Asian Investment Daily in your inbox every day, for free.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held shares of AAPL.
[December 13, 2016] I/O Digital Set to Release the Long Anticipated I/O Coin "DIONS" Blockchain Upgrade

AMSTERDAM, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The team behind I/O Coin (IOC) cryptocurrency (I/O Digital Foundation) has announced they are in final beta and gearing up for the upcoming launch of DIONS (Decentralized Input Output Name Server) Blockchain upgrade. It is the first major milestone in IOC's second development roadmap following the successful completion of the previous one set during the platform's initial launch. As a part of its initial development roadmap, the team had created a full featured HTML5 IOC wallet alternative to Bitcoin-based QT wallet. It was followed by IONS (semi-centralized domain names) and POS I/O  a Proof of Stake (PoS) volume controlled blockchain upgrade. The origin of IOC and DIONS goes back to the days when Proof of Work (PoW) based Bitcoin was introduced following Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper. The August 2012 paper by Scott Nadal and Sunny King on PoS based Peercoin cryptocurrency created yet another standard for digital currency platforms. IOC, over a period of time, has absorbed the best of both PoW and PoS technologies. Started as an X11 PoW based cryptocurrency, IOC successfully made a transition to unique PoS I/O. The PoS based IOC used a volume controlled blockchain, capable of instant transfers that received confirmations in less than 30 seconds. With block times of 1 minute, the I/O Digital Blockchain has proven itself to be extremely energy efficient and ten times faster than Bitcoin. Considering Bitcoin's lack of user-friendliness and privacy; risk of data bloat and centralized security breaches in Fintech. On December 2014, the I/O Digital development team proposed a major upgrade to the main IOC blockchain called DIONS. Its fully AES 256 encrypted decentralized name server, messaging, data storage and a decentralized "GPGTOOLS" like system offers a distinct advantage over Bitcoin. The DIONS Blockchain also enables identity storage, avatar creation and encrypted document storage capabilities that are transferable between users. All the features are readily hard coded into a user-friendly HTML5 wallet system. Encrypted Decentralized Messaging DIONS will be accompanied by a Skype-like decentralized end-to-end encrypted "chat" system with built in AES 256 encryption. The chat feature will not only allow users to send encrypted private messages, but also provides an option to broadcast messages to a wider world. It offers an attractive option for third party developers intending to build a censorship resistant decentralized "Twitter-esque" micro-blogging service. "Think of Skype chat, but with a strong AES256 end to end built-in encryption all decentralized over Blockchain  this is coming out with DIONS." Says the I/O Digital development team Decentralized Identity & Name Server System (Aliases) The I/O Digital blockchain DIONS, will allow users to store sensitive identity credentials ensuring a way for users to manage their reputation and control their data. The decentralized name system will be censorship resistant. DIOS which is part of the I/O Digital suite of tools enables the creation of arbitrary key / value pairs. Thus the I/O Digital blockchain provides a decentralised DNS database. Names can right now, be referenced as domain records by using our own or even 3rd party APIs. There is no restriction on the form of our DIONS aliases, they can take any arbitrary form and be transferable between users. The DNS records may be for example A records, CNAME or MX records. Thus, our blockchain provides a ready made DNS database upon which our own or even 3rd party APIs can be employed. (This can also reduce network traffic in terms of DNS queries) DIONS will allow for private creation of aliases and identity storage (so called 'private aliases' which can be made public at will by the user). A private alias will provide users an added layer of privacy at the time of creating an alias. In this way, users can create both public and private usernames with which transactions can take place. Combining a unique, memorable ID with their brand name to receive I/O Coin payments will be highly beneficial to individuals and business alike.



Businesses, as well as being able to make use of their own brand names, can now use unique human readable IDs to serve as a customer's, invoice or reference numbers (e.g. HSBC:8008135). This provides a more familiar format for customers accustomed to the naming conventions of email or websites. It also allows businesses to benefit from vastly reduced fees and the robustness and easy auditability of a decentralized distributed database. Data Storage

I/O Digital's Blockchain also helps manage intellectual property rights, certificates of authenticity and condition reports. A hash value included in an I/O transaction can serve as Proof of Existence for any digital file, with the timestamp of hash value serving as an immutable proof. The data storage feature along with an arbitrary key allows users to input data within the HTML5 wallet either through keyboard or 'File Upload' option. I/O Digital Ecosystem  Protecting Individual Freedoms In Blockchain Our I/O Digital Ecosystem has the capability for encrypted communications approved by the NSA for levels up to "Top Secret". It offers a unique feature in self-contained RSA public key cryptography over the blockchain. The I/O Digital team has built the first RSA public key communications system with AES 256 fully integrated over the blockchain for world-wide secure communications. Thus it can be viewed as a replacement for gpgtools (which has been widely used throughout the world for over 17 years), with the blockchain * replacing * all central key servers, for a completely decentralized means of encrypted communication. "[] the potential user base for this is huge, we have built the Blockchain version of GPGTools and there will be no more centralized key servers needed, literally everything is decentralized [] Furthermore, nobody has been here before by ensuring the ability to protect individual freedoms through strongly encrypted communications and we're tremendously excited"  I/O Digital development Team Developers through third party APIs could use DIONS to allow encrypt/decrypt, sign/verify and import keys from text selections, files, folders, images, audio for censorship free transmission across the worldwide network that I/O Digital already has become. " Users the world over can now safely and securely transmit photographic images, audio recordings, news reports or indeed any arbitrary data content across the world over Blockchain by using our Ecosystem."  I/O Digital development Team DIONS opens up great opportunities for businesses that can create their Proof of Concept around the I/O Digital Blockchain technology and figure out if Blockchain is interesting for their services. There is a bright future ahead for Blockchain development and services. An award winning team The I/O Digital Development team and IOC have won the public award in the Blockchain category of the Euro Fintech Awards. They have also made it to the finals of the Benzinga FinTech awards. I/O Digital was recently listed in the KPMG / H2 ventures FinTech top 100 as an Emerging Star. The team of I/O Digital is highly experienced industry professionals who know how to get results, deal with technological challenges and secure a place in the Blockchain ecosystem with their technology. I/O Digital's ultimate goal is to have companies use their blockchain technology to gain a competitive advantage by creating a synergy between services and operate with fewer costs while adding new services to their portfolio. Learn more about I/O Digital Foundation and its projects at  www.iodigital.io

More information about I/O Coin (IOC) is available at  www.iocoin.io Media Contact Contact Name: Richard Groen

Contact Designation: COO

Company Name: I/O Digital Foundation

Contact Email: [email protected]

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands I/O Digital Foundation is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Related Links Bitcoin PR Buzz I/O Digital This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com/. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/io-digital-set-to-release-the-long-anticipated-io-coin-dions-blockchain-upgrade-300377337.html SOURCE I/O Digital

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By Colette Davidson

When journalist and media activist Victor Mambour wants information from inside Papua, Indonesia, he knows how to get it -- he has to ask someone who isn't Papuan.

"I'm Papuan, so when something happens, I ask the police about it, but they don't give me an answer," says Mambour. "My friend, who isn't Papuan, can ask the same thing and get an answer."

The situation epitomizes how Mambour has had to operate in order to fill the pages of his Papuan-based newspaper, Jubi.

"If you want to be a real journalist in Papua and committed to ethics, it's very hard, from the reporting to the salary," says Mambour. "There's a double standard for Papuan journalists and a lot of discrimination."

The Indonesian government has used the long-standing conflict in Papua to justify implementing harsh rules in the region, offering limited opportunities and restricted access to journalists. While authorities may withhold information from local Papuan journalists -- who are identified by their family name or physical characteristics -- foreign journalists have little chance of even accessing the region.

But while the lack of access to Papua means that coverage of the region remains limited, some say that the coming year will be a test for Indonesia as it gets set to host UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day celebrations on May 3, 2017. Many Papuan journalists say they are fed up with the censorship, self-censorship and dangers that go along with reporting from and about the region and they are ready to let the world know.

Papua and West Papua have a long-standing history of human rights abuses, ever since the Free Papua Movement began its low-level guerrilla war against the Indonesian state in the 1960s. Since then, West Papuans have protested for independence, accusing the Indonesian government of violence and abuses of freedom of expression. In an attempt to mask the suppression of Papuan nationalism, the Indonesian government has long made outside access to Papua a challenge.

For journalists who do tackle the task of reporting on Papua, the primary focus is often related to the environment, with topics on resource extraction or corruption -- topics very difficult and dangerous to report on.

Recently, the Indonesian government looked ready to open access to Papua, when President Joko Widodo made an announcement in May 2015 stating that the government would lift restrictions on foreign media access. But Phelim Kine, the Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch in New York, says that the announcement hasn't pulled much weight.

"It was never followed up by any written decree, so while it was a rhetorical opening to Papua, foreign media still can't get in," says Kine. "And if they do get in, they're subject to surveillance and harassment that makes effective reporting very difficult."

Kine says journalists routinely self-censor material, and that the Indonesian government and security forces in Papua often place informers into media organizations to monitor and influence coverage. At other times, an intelligence operative will be required to follow a journalist into the region, restricting what they can report on and how sources offer testimony.

The result is that little or no coverage exists about the realities inside Papua, where civilians -- especially in remote areas -- are victims of civil, social and economic rights violations. Many in the region have no access to health or education services, or risk having their land stolen by the police or military. Because of their isolation, they have no one to whom they can report the violations.

But as much as authorities within Papua have tried to censor incriminating material, much of the news that comes out of the region remains negative, says Lina Nursanty, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers' (WAN-IFRA) Indonesian Media Freedom Committee chair and a West Java-based freelance editor.

"Whenever we hear anything about Papua, it's always about a tribal war or human rights abuses," says Nursanty. "The news we get from there is always violent."

As hosts of next year's UNESCO World Press Freedom Day celebrations, Indonesia has the challenging task of convincing the world that it deserves to act as a platform for media freedom. Nursanty says that while attending last year's Press Freedom Day event in Helsinki, she joined a meeting with the Indonesian ambassador, where the discussion of Papua was at the top of the agenda.

"The Indonesian press council representative said that our biggest homework for next year is press freedom in Papua," says Nursanty.

The Indonesian press council is currently creating a press freedom index for each region. And while the country's overall index is improving, many Papuan journalists say it's not enough. Mambour says that at next year's World Press Freedom Day, he is willing to expose the truth about Papua, even if it puts his personal safety at risk.

"We need to take the opportunity to tell the world about what's happening in Papua," says Mambour. "We need to say how we are not granted freedom of the press and about the discrimination there."

"I'm already past paranoia. I'll talk about what's going on. I'm not worried. Sometimes you have to take the risk."

The WAN-IFRA Indonesia Media Freedom Committee is organizing a joint reporting trip to Papua at the beginning of 2017. The initiative will see 10 Indonesian media organizations provide a week of joint coverage from the region, working with local Papuan journalists to shift the national news agenda and provide more detailed coverage of issues of importance to Papuans

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Federal bank regulators barred Wells Fargo (WFC) from expanding internationally and making certain acquisitions on Tuesday after the bank failed to fix deficiencies in its living will, a plan the largest financial institutions were required to craft after the 2008 crisis to wind themselves down without hurting the broader economy.

The wills, known as resolution plans, were mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act, a bill enacted after an implosion in the $15 trillion U.S. mortgage industry led to the bankruptcy of investment firm Lehman Brothers and forced billions of dollars in bailouts for finance companies.

In April, the government gave a failing grade to plans from Wells Fargo, Bank of America (BAC) , Bank of New York Mellon (BK) , JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and State Street (STT) , saying their plans to dismantle themselves in a way regulators believed wouldn't cause havoc were "not credible.

All the firms except Wells Fargo have since corrected those deficiencies, according to a statement from the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. A JPMorgan spokesman said the company was "pleased with the joint-agency conclusion."

Wells Fargo's resubmission still had flaws in the "legal entity rationalization" and "shared services capabilities" categories. A big bank's legal entity rationalization involves aligning its legal units in a way that makes the parent company simpler to dismantle, while shared-services capability covers identification of critical services that would need to be maintained even if the bank collapsed.

As a result of the findings, Wells Fargo won't be allowed to expand its non-bank activities or operations outside the U.S. That might rule out deals like the bank's 2015 purchase of a large commercial real estate portfolio from General Electric (GE) .

While the decision follows the San Francisco-based company's $185 million settlement with state and federal regulators in September over the creation of unauthorized consumer credit card and savings accounts, a senior Federal Reserve official said the two matters were unrelated.

The bogus accounts led to the dismissal of about 5,000 employees over a five-year period and set off a firestorm of criticism that ultimately spurred the resignation of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf and the installation of an independent board chairman at the bank.

Wells Fargo is expected to submit a revised "living will" by March 31, focusing specifically on the deficiencies identified by regulators.

Should it fail to satisfy the government then, the agencies will "limit the size" of two of the firm's major units, its broker-dealer division and its non-bank unit, to asset levels in September of this year. If Wells Fargo doesn't doesn't fix its problems within two years, the government may require the mega-bank to divest some assets.

Wells Fargo, which said it had made substantial improvements to its resolution plan, was informed of the decision on Tuesday.

"While we are disappointed with the determination issued by the agencies, we continue to be dedicated to sound resolution planning and preparedness," the bank said in a statement. "We believe we will be able to address the concerns raised today in the March 2017 revised submission."

The Fed and FDIC noted in an 11-page report that Wells Fargo's 2016 submission "did not include the considerations" that would guide its evaluation of "size, interconnectedness, growth prospects, risk parameters, and geographic footprint."

In addition, regulators said the plan lacked detail about how the company would separate its commercial bank into a number of regional units in the event of a failure.

The government said that, for now, Wells Fargo is prohibited from establishing a foreign bank or branch and buying any nonbank subsidiary. Regulators had the authority to require Wells Fargo to hike its capital reserves but chose not to do so.

Federal authorities also took issue with Wells Fargo's plan to execute its preferred break-up strategy in the event of failure, noting that a key assessment wasn't completed and that the company failed to identify a series of "misalignments."

The Fed had been particularly critical of Wells Fargo's living will submission earlier this year , noting "material errors" that undermine "confidence in resolution planning preparedness."

It's unclear the election of Donald Trump as president will affect the oversight of living wills by the FDIC and the Fed going forward.

FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg has said he plans to remain until his appointment expires in November, well after the March submission. However, it's possible that the Trump administration -- which supports looser regulations -- could try to make life difficult for Gruenberg and encourage him to step down earlier.

In addition to its March submission, Wells Fargo and its peers must also complete a 2017 living will for regulators by July.

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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.
Legal & General Group Plc provides various insurance products and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Legal & General Retirement (LGR), Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), Legal & General Capital (LGC), and Legal & General Insurance (LGI). The LGR segment offers annuity contracts with guaranteed income for a specified time; longevity insurance products; lifetime mortgages; lifetime care plans; retirement interest only mortgages; and workplace savings scheme that provides corporate pension scheme solutions. The LGIM segment offers index fund management; active fixed income funds and liquidity funds; active equity management; solution and liability driven investment; multi-asset funds; corporate pension scheme solutions; and real assets. The LGC segment provides investment strategy and implementation, and direct investment and structuring services. The LGI segment offers protection products, such as health, disability, critical illness, and accident; individual term assurance; reinsurance; savings and death benefits; and annuities. It is also involved in the unit trust and institutional fund management, mortgage finance, treasury, building project and modular housing development, general insurance, and open-ended investment businesses. In addition, the company engages in the investment, operation, management, trading, and letting and operation of leased real estate; and construction of commercial buildings, financial intermediation, pension tracing and transfer, insurance agents and brokers, fund general partner, commercial lending, venture capital investing, contractual scheme, investor alternative investment fund, collective asset-management, and investment management activities; and provision of investment advisory, business information consultancy, and technology services. Legal & General Group Plc was founded in 1836 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
The following companies are subsidiares of PPG Industries: AIPCF V Texstars Blocker Inc., AkzoNobel, Alpha Coating Technologies LLC, Alpha Coatings Inc., Broad Range Development Limited, CG Holdings Manufacturing Co., Centro de Investigacion en Polimeros S.A. de C.V., Chemfil Canada Limited, Chorlton Trade Paints Limited, Comercial Mexicana de Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Comex, Comex Industrial Coatings S.A. de C.V., Consorcio Comex S.A. de C.V., Cristacol S.A., Cuming Microwave Corporation, Deutek SA, Dexmet Corporation, Dexmet Holding Corporation, Distribuidora Kroma S.A. de C.V., EPIC Insurance Co. Ltd., Eberle Design Inc., Empresa Aga S.A. de C.V., Ennis Canadian Holding Company, Ennis Paint Canada ULC, Ennis Paint Netherlands Holdings LLC, Ennis Paint U.K. Holding Company Limited, Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions Pty Ltd, Ennis-Flint, Ennis-Flint Inc., Foshan Bairun Chemicals Co. Ltd., Fpu Industrial S.A. de C.V., Grupo Comex S.A. de C.V., Hemmelrath Automotive Coatings (Jilin) Co. Ltd., Hemmelrath International Trade (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hodij Coatings B.V., Homax Products, Industria Chimica Reggiana I.C.R. SPA, Johnstones Paints Limited, Kalon Investment Company Limited, Kalon South Africa Proprietary Limited, Karl Woerwag Lack-und Farbenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Masterwork Paint, MetoKote Corporation, MetoKote Mexico Holdings Inc., MetoKote UK Limited, MetoKote de Mexico S. de RL de CV, Milamar Coatings LLC, OOO Tikkurila, PPG A P Resinas S.A. de C.V., PPG AC - France SA, PPG ALESCO Automotive Finishes Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PPG Aerospace Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Architectural Coatings (Puerto Rico) Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc./PPG Revetements Architecturaux Canada Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Ireland Limited, PPG Architectural Coatings Italy S.r.l, PPG Architectural Coatings UK Limited, PPG Architectural Finishes Inc., PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd., PPG Business Services S.A. de C.V., PPG COATINGS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., PPG Canada Inc., PPG Cetelon Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Cieszyn S.A., PPG Coatings (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, PPG Coatings (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., PPG Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Thailand) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Wuhu) Company Ltd., PPG Coatings (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings B.V., PPG Coatings Belgium BV, PPG Coatings Danmark A/S, PPG Coatings Deutschland GmbH, PPG Coatings Europe B.V., PPG Coatings Nederland BV, PPG Coatings S.A., PPG Coatings South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PPG DYRUP S.A., PPG Deco Czech a.s., PPG Deco Polska sp. z.o.o., PPG Deco Slovakia s.r.o., PPG Deutschland Business Support GmbH, PPG Deutschland Sales & Services GmbH, PPG Distribution S.A.S., PPG Europe B.V., PPG Finance B.V., PPG Finland Oy, PPG France Business Support S.A.S., PPG France Manufacturing S.A.S., PPG Guadeloupe SAS, PPG Hemmelrath Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Holdco SAS, PPG Holdings (U.K.) Limited, PPG Holdings Argentina USA LLC, PPG Holdings Latin America USA LLC, PPG Iberica S.A., PPG Iberica Sales & Services S.L., PPG Industrial Coatings B.V., PPG Industrial do Brasil - Tintas E. Vernizes - Ltda., PPG Industries (Korea) Ltd., PPG Industries (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PPG Industries (UK) Ltd, PPG Industries Argentina S.R.L., PPG Industries Australia PTY Limited A.C.N. 055 500 939, PPG Industries Colombia Ltda., PPG Industries Delfzijl B.V., PPG Industries Europe Sarl, PPG Industries France S.A.S., PPG Industries International Inc., PPG Industries Italia S.r.l., PPG Industries Kimya a Sanayi VE Ticaret AS, PPG Industries LLC, PPG Industries Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Industries Lipetsk LLC, PPG Industries Middle East FZE, PPG Industries Netherlands B.V., PPG Industries New Zealand Limited, PPG Industries Ohio Inc., PPG Industries Poland Sp. Z.o.o., PPG Industries Securities LLC, PPG Industries de Mexico S.A. de C.V., PPG Investment (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PPG Italia Business Support S.r.l., PPG Italia Sales & Services S.r.l., PPG Japan Ltd., PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes Canada LP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.K. LLP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.S. LLC, PPG Luxembourg Finance S.aR.L., PPG Luxembourg Holdings S.aR.L., PPG Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Packaging Coatings (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Performance Coatings (Hong Kong) Limited, PPG Powder Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Refinish Distribution Limited, PPG Romania S.A., PPG Reunion SAS, PPG SSC Co. Ltd., PPG Switzerland GmbH, PPG Trilak Korlatolt FelelosseguTarasasag (PPG Trilak Kft.), PPG Vietnam Co. Ltd., PRC-DeSoto Australia Pty Ltd., PRC-DeSoto International Inc., PT. PPG Coatings Indonesia, Painter's Supply, Paintzen, Peintures de Paris SAS, Plasticos Envolventes S.A. de C.V., Polymeric Systems Inc., ProCoatings B.V., ProCoatings BV, Protec Pty Ltd, Reno A&E LLC, Revocoat France SAS, Revocoat Holding SAS, Revocoat Iberica SLU, Revocoat S.A.S, Road Infrastructure Investment Holdings Inc., SEM Products Inc., Sealants Europe SAS, Sierracin Corporation, Sierracin/Sylmar Corporation, Sigma Marine & Protective Coatings Holding B.V., SigmaKalon (BC) UK Limited, SigmaKalon Group, Sikar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Spraylat International Ltd, Texstars LLC, The Crown Group Co., The Crown Group Inc, The Homax Group, Tikkurila Group, Tikkurila Oyj, Tikkurila Sverige AB, Traffic Safety Intermediate LLC, Traffic Safety Parent LLC, VF Specialty Products LLC, Vanex Inc., Vernisol S.p.A., VersaFlex Acquisition Corp., VersaFlex Inc., VersaFlex Intermediate Holdings LLC, Versaflex, Viasa S.A. de C.V., Whitford, Whitford B.V., Whitford Corporation, Whitford Jiangmen Ltd., Whitford Ltd. (HK), Whitford Ltd. (UK), Whitford Pte. Ltd., Whitford S.r.l., Whitford Worldwide Company LLC, and Worwag Coatings.

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[December 13, 2016] Grubhub Announces 'A Year In Delivery,' Uncovering 2016's Top Delivery Trends

CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Grubhub, the nation's leading online and mobile food-ordering company, today announced the launch of A Year In Delivery, a comprehensive analysis of delivery trends throughout 2016. The data uncovers compelling stories about what Grubhub users turned to throughout various cultural moments this year. Grubhub dove into some of the largest moments from 2016 and how they influenced food orders, highlighting key events such as: On the day the Chicago Cubs broke the curse, Chicagoans celebrated with orders of hot dogs spiking more than 36 percent.

Throughout Winter Storm Jonas , orders of tomato soup increased by 230 percent.

, orders of tomato soup increased by 230 percent. During President Obama's final State of the Union, an American cuisine staple proved patriotic spirits were high, with New England clam chowder as a top ordered dish. "We are always looking to use our data to play back insights about big society moments impacting our users' eating behaviors," said Barbara Martin Coppola, CMO, Grubhub. "With 'A Year in Delivery,' we're excited to look back at the interesting and unexpected trends for what was a tumultuous year! Whether it was times of joy, sadness or stress, our data showed that food was always there for our users." How We Did it:

Grubhub's talented team of data analysts looked into how the events of 2016 influenced the food ordering trends of its users. In evaluating orders from January to November 2016 , Grubhub analysts compared orders from the same timeframe in 2015 and 2014 to identify current trends

, Grubhub analysts compared orders from the same timeframe in 2015 and 2014 to identify current trends When looking at specific moments, analysts evaluated each date and found the most ordered dishes by users compared to the rest of the year.

User habits for special instructions and tipping were also evaluated for particular moments. Data Findings Include:

In addition to analyzing the correlation between cultural moments and delivery trends, Grubhub uncovered the most popular dishes of 2016, anticipated trends for 2017 and what was most popular on the city level in 2016, using the year-over-year analysis methodology. Five Most Popular Dishes in 2016 (In Comparison to Orders In 2015 and 2014) Mac and cheese -- 373 percent incrase in orders Chicken and waffles -- 234 percent increase in orders Tonkotsu ramen -- 223 percent increase in orders Southern fried chicken orders -- 218 percent increase in orders Oxtail -- 161 percent increase in orders



Ten Dishes Expected to Rise In Popularity in 2017 (Based On Orders In 2016) Ternera -- 1781 percent increase in orders throughout 2016 Tamales -- 456 percent increase in orders Poke -- 169 percent increase in orders Spam musubi -- 161 percent increase in orders Takoyaki -- 139 percent increase in orders Sancocho -- 126 percent increase in orders Brisket -- 95 percent increase in orders Tater tots -- 85 percent increase in orders Pho -- 78 percent increase in orders Patacones -- 48 percent increase in orders Most Popular Dishes Ordered by City in 2016 (In Comparison to the Rest of the U.S.)

Seattle -- Vegetarian samosas saw a 422 percent increase in orders

-- Vegetarian samosas saw a 422 percent increase in orders Portland -- Panang curry saw a 354 percent increase in orders

-- Panang curry saw a 354 percent increase in orders San Francisco -- Carne asada burrito saw a 695 percent increase in orders

-- Carne asada burrito saw a 695 percent increase in orders San Jose -- Butter chicken saw a 297 percent increase in orders

-- Butter chicken saw a 297 percent increase in orders Los Angeles -- Spicy scallop roll saw a 180 percent increase in orders

-- Spicy scallop roll saw a 180 percent increase in orders San Diego -- Steak tacos saw a 230 percent increase in orders

-- Steak tacos saw a 230 percent increase in orders Las Vegas -- Garlic naan saw a 398 percent increase in orders

-- Garlic naan saw a 398 percent increase in orders Phoenix -- Carne asada burrito saw a 943 percent increase in orders

-- Carne asada burrito saw a 943 percent increase in orders Denver -- Fried pickles saw a 176 percent increase in orders

-- Fried pickles saw a 176 percent increase in orders Dallas -- Chicken tortilla soup saw a 207 percent increase in orders

-- Chicken tortilla soup saw a 207 percent increase in orders Houston -- Chile con queso saw a 852 percent increase in orders

-- con queso saw a 852 percent increase in orders Austin -- Brisket sandwich saw a 228 percent increase in orders

-- Brisket sandwich saw a 228 percent increase in orders Chicago -- Tonkotsu ramen saw a 176 percent increase in orders

-- Tonkotsu ramen saw a 176 percent increase in orders Detroit -- Banana pudding saw a 727 percent increase in orders

-- Banana pudding saw a 727 percent increase in orders Cleveland -- Grilled cheese sandwich saw a 199 percent increase in orders

-- Grilled cheese sandwich saw a 199 percent increase in orders St. Louis -- Chicken quesadilla saw a 377 percent increase in orders

-- Chicken quesadilla saw a 377 percent increase in orders Atlanta -- Sweet potato fries saw a 272 percent increase in orders

-- Sweet potato fries saw a 272 percent increase in orders Miami -- Jerk chicken saw a 244 percent increase in orders

-- Jerk chicken saw a 244 percent increase in orders Philadelphia -- Shanghai steamed pork soup dumplings saw a 151 percent increase in orders

-- steamed pork soup dumplings saw a 151 percent increase in orders Washington D.C. -- Chana masala saw a 301 percent increase in orders

-- Chana masala saw a 301 percent increase in orders Boston -- Kimchi fried rice saw a 142 percent increase in orders

-- Kimchi fried rice saw a 142 percent increase in orders New York City -- Barbacoa tacos saw a 202 percent increase in orders To see the full analysis, visit grubhub.com/thecrave/a-year-in-food-delivery. To find takeout restaurants available in your area, check out grubhub.com. If you are interested in becoming part of the Grubhub Delivery team, please visit driver.grubhub.com. To find out how your restaurant can join Grubhub, check out get.grubhub.com. To learn more about Grubhub and its portfolio of brands, please visit media.grubhub.com. About Grubhub

Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) is the nation's leading online and mobile takeout food-ordering marketplace with the most comprehensive network of restaurant partners and largest active diner base. Dedicated to moving eating forward and connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, the Company's platforms and services strive to elevate food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub is proud to work with more than 45,000 restaurant partners in over 1,100 U.S. cities and London. The Grubhub portfolio of brands includes Grubhub, Seamless, AllMenus, MenuPages, LAbite, Restaurants on the Run, DiningIn and Delivered Dish. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grubhub-announces-a-year-in-delivery-uncovering-2016s-top-delivery-trends-300377375.html SOURCE Grubhub

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The following companies are subsidiares of Prudential Financial: 210-220 E. 22nd Street SSGA Owner LLC, AIG Edison, AIG Star, AREF Cayman Co Ltd., AREF GP II Pte. Ltd., AREF GP Ltd., ASPF II - Feeder Fund GmbH, ASPF II - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, ASPF II Management GmbH, ASPF III Scots L.P., ASSURANCE, AST Investment Services Inc., Adlerwerke CB Investment LLC, Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Habitat S.A., Administradora de Inversiones Previsionales SpA, Aoba Life Insurance Company, Aoba Life Insurance Company Ltd., Asia Property Fund III GP S.a.r.l., Assurance IQ LLC, Assurance Intelligence LLC, BSC CP LP, Braeloch Holdings Inc., Braeloch Successor Corporation, Brazilian Capital Fund GP Limited, Broad Street Global Advisors LLC, Broome Street Holdings LLC, CB German Retail LLC, CLIS Co. Ltd., COLICO INC., Capital Agricultural Property Services Inc., Chadwick Boulevard Investment Holdings Co. LLC, Cibecue LLC, Coconino LLC, Colico II Inc., Columbus Drive Partners L.P., Commerce Street Holdings LLC, Commerce Street Investments LLC, Coolidge LLC, Coral Reef GP, Coral Reef L.P., Coral Reef Unit Trust, Cottage Street Investments LLC, Cottage Street Orbit Acquisition LLC, DICKENS AVENUE HOLDINGS VI LLC, DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI Ireland L.P., DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI US L.P., Dale/P Minerals Limited Partnership, Don Cesar Investor LLC, Dryden Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Dryden Finance II LLC, EVP II GP S.a r.l., EVP II Horizon GP S.a r.l., EVP II Sprint GP S.a r.l., Edison Place Senior Note LLC, Essex LLC, EuroCore GP S.a r.l., European Value Partners GP S.a.r.l., Everbright PGIM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Flagstaff LLC, GA 1600 Commons LLC, GA 333 Hennepin Investor LLC, GA BV LLC, GA Bay Area GP LLC, GA Bay Area Investor LLC, GA Belden LLC, GA CLARENDON LLC, GA Cal Crossings LLC, GA Collins LLC, GA E. 22nd Street Apartments Holdings LLC, GA East 86 Street LLC, GA JHCII LLC, GA MENLO PARK INVESTOR LLC, GA Manor at Harbour Island LLC, GA Metro LLC, GA TRITON INVESTOR LLC, GA W Paces LLC, GA/MDI 333 Hennepin Associates LLC, GIBRALTAR BSN HOLDINGS SDN BHD, GIBRALTAR INDIA SOLUTIONS LLP, Gateway Holdings II LLC, Gateway Holdings LLC, German Retail Income CP LP, Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, Gibraltar International Insurance Services Company Inc., Gibraltar International Service LLC, Gibraltar Reinsurance Company Ltd., Gibraltar Universal Life Reinsurance Company, Glenealy International Limited, Global Portfolio Strategies Inc., Gold GP Limited, Gold II L.P., Gold L.P., Graham Resources Inc., Graham Royalty Ltd., Green Harvest Asset Management LLC, Green Tree GP, Green Tree L.P., Greenlee LLC, Halsey Street Investments LLC, Hirakata LLC, IVP Fund GP LLC, Impact Investments Bridges UK S.a.r.l, Inter-Atlantic G Fund L.P., Inversiones Previsionales Chile SpA, Inversiones Previsionales Dos SpA, Ironbound Fund LLC, Jennison Associates LLC, Kyarra S.a r.l., Kyoei Annuity Home Co. Ltd. Kabushiki Kaisha Kyouei Nenkin Home, LINEUP LLC, Lake Street Partners IV L.P., Lotus Reinsurance Company Ltd., MC GA COLLINS HOLDINGS LLC, MC GA COLLINS REALTY LLC, MC Insurance Agency Services LLC, Manor at Harbour Island LLC, Marble Canyon LLC, Maricopa LLC, Market Street Holdings IV LLC, Montana Capital Partners, Morenci LLC, Mulberry Street Holdings LLC, Mulberry Street Investment L.P., Mulberry Street Partners LLC, Mullin TBG Insurance Agency Services LLC, MullinTBG Insurance Agency Services, National Family Assurance Group LLC, New Savanna, Northbound Emerging Manager Fund A LP, Northbound Emerging Manager Fund II - A LP, Orchard Street Acres Inc., PAI Bay Farm LLC, PAI Bayrock Groves LLC, PAI Belvidere Farms LLC, PAI Big Cypress Farm LLC, PAI Corcoran 640 Ranch LLC, PAI DeKalb Farm LLC, PAI Delano 1500 Ranches LLC, PAI Desert Falcon Farms Manager LLC, PAI Flicker Orchard LLC, PAI Good Hope Farm LLC, PAI Hawk Creek Ranch LLC, PAI Hills Valley Ranches LLC, PAI Holly Hill Groves LLC, PAI Hunt Farm LLC, PAI Jackson Bayou Farm LLC, PAI Lake Placid Groves LLC, PAI River Bend Ranches LLC, PAI Wallula Gap Vineyard LLC, PCP V Cayman AIV GP L.P., PEREF II Co-Invest 1 GP S.a r.l., PEREF II GP S.a r.l., PFI EM-Tech Fund I LLC, PG Business Service Co. Ltd, PG Collection Service Co. Ltd., PG Friendly Partners Co. Ltd., PGA Asian Retail Limited, PGA European Limited, PGI Co. Ltd, PGIM AC Co-Invest GP Pte. Ltd., PGIM AVP IV GP S.a r.l., PGIM Advisory Shanghai Co. Ltd., PGIM Agricultural Investments GP LLC, PGIM Australia Pty Ltd, PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Fund L.P., PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Partners LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Feeder VI LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Fund VI L.P., PGIM Custom Harvest LLC, PGIM DC Co-Invest GP Pte. Ltd., PGIM DC JV GP Pte. 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Ltd., PGIM Korea Inc., PGIM LTIF Berlin GP S.a r.l., PGIM LTIF Berlin MLP S.ar.l., PGIM LTIF GP S.a.r.l., PGIM Limited, PGIM Loan Originator Manager Limited, PGIM M Campus GP S.a r.l., PGIM Management Partner Limited, PGIM MetaProp Investor LP LLC, PGIM Netherlands B.V., PGIM Overseas Investment Fund Management Shanghai Company Ltd, PGIM Private Capital Ireland Limited, PGIM Private Capital Limited, PGIM Private Placement Investors Inc., PGIM Private Placement Investors L.P., PGIM QUANTITATIVE SOLUTIONS LLC, PGIM REF EUROPE SCSp, PGIM REF Europe GP S.a r.l., PGIM REF Europe Member LLC, PGIM REF Intermediary Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate CD S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Capital VII GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest L.P., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest SCSp, PGIM Real Estate Co-Invest Holdings LLC, PGIM Real Estate Debt GmbH, PGIM Real Estate Finance Holding Company, PGIM Real Estate Finance LLC, PGIM Real Estate France SAS, PGIM Real Estate Germany AG, PGIM Real Estate Global Debt GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Global Master Fund GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Inmuebles II S de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate Inmuebles S. de R.L. de C.V, PGIM Real Estate Italy S.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Japan Ltd., PGIM Real Estate Loan Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate Luxembourg S.A., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate Management Luxembourg S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Mexico S.C., PGIM Real Estate S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate U.S. CORE Debt Fund GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate U.S. Debt Fund GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate UK Limited, PGIM Scots Limited, PGIM Securities Investment Trust Enterprise, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management (Feeder) I LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management Fund I L.P., PGIM Shanghai Company Ltd., PGIM Singapore Pte. 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Ltd., Prudential Trust Company, Prudential Universal Reinsurance Company, Prudential Workplace Solutions Group Services LLC, Prudential do Brasil Seguros de Vida S.A., Prudential do Brasil Vida em Grupo S.A., Prudential/TMW Real Estate Group LLC, Pruservicos Participacoes Ltda., QMA JP EM All Cap Equity Partners LLC, Quartzsite LLC, Residential Services Corporation of America LLC, Rio CP LP, Rock European Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock Global Real Estate LLC, Rock Kensington Limited, Rock Marty GP S.a r.l., Rock Oxford S.a r.l., Rock UK Real Estate II S.a.r.l., Rockstone Co. Ltd., Rosado Grande LLC, Ross Avenue Energy Fund Holdings LLC, Ross Avenue Minerals 2012 LLC, SCP Apartments LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERS VI GP LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERSHIP FUND VI GP LLC, SHP IV Carried Interest LP, SHP V Carried Interest L.P., SMP Holdings Inc., SVIIT Holdings Inc., Sanei Collection Service Co. Ltd. Kabushiki Kaisha Sanei Shuuno Service, Senior Housing Partners V LLC, Senior Housing Partnership Fund V LLC, Sterling Private Placement Management LLP, Stetson Street Partners L.P., Strand Investments Limited, TBG Insurance Services Corporation, TENSATOR HOLDINGS LTD, TF Proveedora S.C., TMW ASPF I Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, TMW ASPF Management GmbH, TMW Management LLC, TMW Real Estate Group LLC, TMW Realty Advisors LLC, TMW USPF Verwaltungs GmbH, TRGOAG Company Inc., The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Keynes Dynamic Beta Strategy US Fund GP LLC, The Prudential Assigned Settlement Services Corp., The Prudential Brazilian Capital Fund LP, The Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Prudential Home Mortgage Company Inc., The Prudential Insurance Company of America, The Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd., The Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America Inc., The WMF Group, Thurloe Commercial Guernsey Limited, USPF V - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, USPF V Carry LLC, USPF V Co-Invest LLC, USPF V Investment LP, United States Property Fund VI GP S.a r.l., VIP Australia Holding Company LLC, VIP Australia Trustee Pty Ltd, Vailsburg Fund LLC, Vantage Casualty Insurance Company, Wabash Avenue Holdings V LLC, Wabash Avenue Partners V L.P., Wadhwani Capital Limited, Waveland Avenue Holdings I LLC, Waveland Avenue Partners I Ireland L.P., Waveland Avenue Partners I US L.P., Wellness Services Ecossistema De Bem Estar Ltda., Wellness Services SRL, Yamato Life, and Yavapai LLC.

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[December 13, 2016] Genticel Reports Final Results of GTL001 Phase 2 Trial in HPV16/18-Infected Women

No statistical difference in viral clearance between treatment and placebo groups at any time point over 2 years



No difference in incidence of subjects progressing to high-grade cervical lesions between groups

Company concludes HPV therapeutics development program; remains focused on seeking new drug candidates PARIS and TOULOUSE, France, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genticel (Euronext Paris & Brussels: FR00011790542  GTCL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company and developer of innovative immunotherapies to prevent cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), today announced the final results (24-month time point) of the phase 2 trial of its HPV16/18 immunotherapeutic candidate, GTL001. The final data at month 24 showed no statistical differences in viral clearance rates between the GTL001 and placebo groups. No consistent statistical differences between groups were demonstrated in any of the secondary endpoints (confirmed and sustained clearance) over the 2-year duration of the trial. The incidence of subjects progressing to high-grade lesions was identical in both groups. A significant increase in anti-CyaA1 antibodies following treatment was observed in the GTL001 group, but not in the placebo group. The significant increase in anti-CyaA titers in the treated group persisted during the entire course of the study. The 12-month results announced in January 2016 showed no overall difference in viral clearance between the treatment and placebo groups, but a trend towards a significant difference in sub-group analyses was observed, most notably in the NILM2 sub-group. The interim analysis at 18 months demonstrated that overall viral clearance, or by sub-group, did not statistically differ from the natural clearance observed in the placebo group. Other than the first days following each vaccination, GTL001 and imiquimod were generally well tolerated with no unexpected safety signal identified at any point during the study. This phase 2 trial was a randomized double-blind, placebo controlled study conducted at 33 investigational sites in 7 Western European countries. 233 patients positive for HPV 16/18 at baseline were evaluable for efficacy analysis, with a treated arm of 117 patients and a placebo arm of 116 patients. Enrolled patients were requiredto be HPV 16 and/or 18 positive with normal (NILM) or abnormal (ASCUS or LSIL3) cytology. All patients receiving at least one dose of vaccine or placebo were assessed for viral clearance. Compliance was excellent, with 218 subjects completing the study (112 in the treated group and 106 in the placebo group).



Sophie Olivier, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Genticel, commented: The positive safety and tolerance data, as well as the strong and lasting induction of anti-CyaA antibodies, observed in this trial are positive indicators for our partnership with the Serum Institute of India4. I wish to thank all of the investigators and clinical teams, as well as all the women, who participated in this trial, which will hopefully contribute scientifically to identifying improved therapies for the millions of women infected with dangerous human papilloma virus types. Benedikt Timmerman, PhD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Genticel, added: Genticel will now end its HPV therapeutics development program and the Company remains focused on seeking new drug candidates, as well as moving forward with our partnership with the Serum Institute, which recently resulted in a $1.2 million milestone payment to Genticel based on the successful completion of the last preclinical milestone.

About Genticel Genticels versatile platform, Vaxiclase, is well suited for the development of various immunotherapies. A partnership on the use of Vaxiclase as an antigen per se (GTL003) has been established with Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (Serum Institute), the largest producer of vaccine dose worldwide. This agreement covers territories in emerging markets only, and could generate up to $57 million in revenues for Genticel, before royalties on sales. It will enable Serum Institute to develop acellular multivalent combination vaccines against a variety of infectious diseases, including whooping cough. In November 2016, the last preclinical milestone was reached, opening the path to formal preclinical testing prior to clinical development and subsequent commercialization. More information at www.genticel.com Forward Looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not promises or guarantees and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. The Companys product candidates have not been approved for sale in any jurisdiction. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or projected herein are uncertainties associated generally with research and development, clinical trials and related regulatory reviews and approvals, the risk that historical preclinical results may not be predictive of future clinical trial results, and the risk that historical clinical trial results may not be predictive of future trial results. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other risks can be found in the Companys regulatory filings with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers, including in the Companys Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2015 and future filings and reports by the Company which are available on the Companys website.. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Genticel undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this Press Release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. 1 CyaA: Adenylate cyclase, the Bordetella pertussis

2 NILM: Negative for Intraepithelial Lesion or Malignancy 3 ASCUS: Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance - LSIL: Low-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion 4 Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. EU INVESTORS NewCap Dusan Oresansky +33 1 44 71 94 92 [email protected] US INVESTORS LifeSci Advisors Brian Ritchie +1 212 915 2578 [email protected] MEDIA ALIZE RP Caroline Carmagnol et Florence Portejoie +33 6 64 18 99 59 / +33 6 47 38 90 04 [email protected]

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- A bitter ex-boyfriend cost a Miss World Kenya to lose her title

- He sent controversial pictures of her to the event organisers

It has emerged that the reason Roshanara Ebrahim lost her Miss World Kenya title was because of a vengeful ex-boyfriend.

Roshanara Ebrahim

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In a court case where she had sued Ashleys beauty pageant Terry Mungai and the newly crowned Miss World Kenya, Evelyne Njambi, documents revealed that her nude photos had been sent to Mungai following a nasty break-up with Frank Zahiten.

The court heard that Ebrahims phone was stolen in Italy in April 2015 and that this could have been the source of the photos. However, it was found that there particular pictures were taken in March 2016 and the leakage could not be explained, published the news site today, Tuesday, December 13.

READ ALSO: Why only mothers and daughters were allowed to give DNA samples to identify Naivasha victims

Roshanara with her crown before it was taken away

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According to Zahiten, Ebrahim was not fit for the crown because of her character and alleged drug use.

She is a public figure and had not conduced herself in a manner befitting the title of the Miss World title. I forwarded the photos as a matter of public interest, defended Zahiten.

Nairobi News reported that Mungai received the pictures and the following day, she issued a statement saying Ebrahim had agreed to step down as queen, a notion Ebrahim refuted.

Ebrahim argued that Mungai had breached contract and her privacy but Justice Edward Mureithii of the High Court denied her plea.

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Evelyne Njambi, Kenya's current Miss World representative

READ ALSO: Girl who lost her fiance at the Naivasha accident speaks of the last words he said to her

Instead, Roshanara was found to have breached the contract when she took such photos of herself contrary to Ashley ruled, and that she breached her own privacy when she took the photos and sent them to someone else.

For this mess, Zahiten was fined KSh 1 million and banned from publishing any of the photos

The court upheld Roshanaras termination as lawfull because she had gone against the rules in her conduct.

Have something to add to this article or suggestions? send to news@tuko.co.ke

Source: TUKO.co.ke
UNICEF/UNI196758/Mahyoob

SANA'A, 12 December 2016  Nearly 2.2 million children in Yemen are acutely malnourished and require urgent care. At least 462,000 children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), a drastic increase of almost 200 per cent since 2014. An additional 1.7 million children suffer from Moderate Acute Malnutrition.



The situation of severely malnourished children in Governorates such as Hodeida, Saada, Taizz, Hajjah and Lahej is most critical. These five governorates put together have the highest of all SAM cases in the country. Saada also has the worlds highest stunting rates amongst children with an unprecedented eight out of 10 children in some areas being chronically malnourished.



Malnutrition in Yemen is at an all-time high and increasing, said Dr Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Acting Representative in Yemen. The state of health of children in the Middle Easts poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today.



Even before the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, Yemen faced challenges from widespread poverty, food insecurity and a dearth of health services. Now Yemens health system is on the verge of collapse.



Less than a third of the countrys population has access to medical care. Less than half of health facilities are functional. Health workers have not been paid their wages for months and aid agencies are struggling to bring in lifesaving supplies because of the political deadlock between the warring parties.



At least one child dies every ten minutes in Yemen because of preventable diseases such as diarrhoea, malnutrition and respiratory tract infections.



Violence and conflict have reversed significant gains made in the last decade in the health and nutrition of Yemeni children. Diseases such as cholera and measles have spread and, with few health facilities functional, such outbreaks are taking a heavy toll on children, said Relano.



In 2016, UNICEF has supported the treatment of 215,000 children suffering from SAM across Yemen and provided more than 4 million children under the age of five with vitamin supplements to boost their immunity. But this lifesaving work remains hindered by the shortage of funding and limited access to areas caught in the fighting.



We call on parties to the conflict to give us unhindered access to children in need across the country so we are able to deliver nutrition supplies, treat malnourished children and support Yemens health services, said Relano.



Funding continues to be a challenge. In 2017, UNICEF needs US$70 million to provide the much needed nutrition services to mothers and children across the country.



###


The Boeing logo is seen on Boeings office in Crystal City, near the Pentagon. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

When Donald Trump occupies the White House in January, he will be a lot closer to the senior leaders at Boeing running the Air Force One program he has threatened to cancel. The company announced Tuesday that about a dozen of its senior defense leaders are moving from St. Louis to Boeings Washington-area headquarters.

The company has been discussing moving its defense unit to the Washington area for months, and it is not related to Trumps recent vow, officials said. Rather it is all driven by being closer to the customer, Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher said.

Earlier this year, Boeing appointed Leanne Caret to take over its Defense, Space and Security unit, a $30 billion business with 50,000 employees across the globe. Caret puts a premium on personal engagement with senior leaders of the Pentagon, NASA and the Hill, Blecher said. And so this has been under consideration for some number of months.

Many of the nations largest defense contractors  including the likes of Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics  are already in the Washington area. Northrop Grumman was one of the most recent to join, moving to Falls Church, Va., from Los Angeles in 2011. Federal contractor SAIC relocated its headquarters in San Diego to McLean, Va., two years earlier.

In all, about a dozen Boeing senior executives will make the move from St. Louis to Washington in January, and eventually about 50 staff members would join them. The companys Washington operation center has its headquarters in a new, gleaming building in Crystal City, near the Pentagon.

The companys corporate headquarters is in Chicago, but it has run its defense business out of St. Louis, where it builds the F/A-18 Super Hornet, ever since it merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997.

About 14,000 employees will remain in the St. Louis area, Blecher said. Employees in St. Louis were told of the decision at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday. Since the senior leadership is moving, the company considers the headquarters of the unit to be moving as well.

The decision comes at a critical time for Boeing, which is involved in many high-profile defense and space programs. In addition to building Air Force One, it also makes the new fueling tanker, and it is competing to build a new jet for the Air Forces fighter jet training program.

The company is developing a spacecraft that would restore NASAs ability to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. Its also one of the prime contractors on a giant new rocket, known as the Space Launch System.

Boeing found itself in Trumps crosshairs last week after he tweeted that the costs of the Air Force One program are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order! Later he told reporters that he thought the cost was ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.

Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg called Trump and vowed to work with him to keep the costs down. The company also has pledged $1 million to help pay for Trumps inauguration. It made the same pledge for President Obama.
Chuck Jones, an Indianapolis union president, is in the national spotlight after President-elect Donald Trump insulted him on Twitter. (Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post)

Chuck Jones, an Indianapolis union president, is in the national spotlight after President-elect Donald Trump insulted him on Twitter. (Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post)

The yellow roses arrived just after lunch, and the daughter-in-law of the union leader worried that his cigarette smoke would wilt them. Maybe these should go in the kitchen, she told him.

But Chuck Jones wanted to keep them in the union halls war room.

First time in my life someone has sent me flowers, he said gruffly, taking another drag on a Marlboro Red. The bouquet came from a stranger  another Chuck  along with a note: God bless unions. Thank you for your courage.

Jones, 65, is the president of the United Steelworkers 1999, which represents the Carrier factory jobs in Indianapolis that President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to save. Hes also adjusting to a new role, one surreal to a Midwestern man who uses a flip phone: Internet star.

Jones became famous overnight after pointing out that Trump had overstated the deal he struck last month with United Technologies, Carriers parent company, to stop the plants jobs from moving to Mexico. Chuck Jones . . . has done a terrible job representing workers, Trump tweeted in apparent response Wednesday. No wonder companies flee the country!

The next day, as #StandWithChuck trended on social media, Jones huddled with friends and family in the squat, brick building, picking through care packages from people in Ohio, Kansas and California. They took turns answering the phone, scrawling tally marks on a dry-erase board for every good and bad call.

By Thursday night, good was winning, 85 to 22.

A lawyer in Seattle rang, offering free representation if Jones wanted to sue Trump for slander. (He did not.) The county prosecutor rang, offering to send security guards. (He said no.) A man who wouldnt give his name rang, telling Jones to just shut up. (He would not.)

What does a man do when the next leader of the free world bashes him on Twitter? Jones wasnt sure, so he kept working. The United Steelworkers were supposed to host a toy drive the next afternoon. Jones needed to buy Bud Light for the factory employees coming to wrap the presents, which were being collected for poor children.

He also agreed to talk to CNNs Anderson Cooper, whose crew built a temporary set in the unions meeting space, a cafeteria-size room with checkered floors and a defunct Dr Pepper machine.

Jones sat under the portable television lights and fixed his blue eyes on the camera, unsmiling. Viewers nationwide would see a man who didnt think hed live past 55, thanks to decades of smoking and drinking  but there he was, three months or so away from retirement, wearing jeans, steel-toe boots and a purple button-down shirt. Hed combed his gray hair and mustache. He told himself not to cuss.

In Indianapolis, Indiana a prayer vigil was held for the employees still at risk of losing their jobs when Carrier and Rexnord manufacturing plants are shut down and sent to Mexico. (Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post)

From a New York City studio, Cooper asked Jones about the bad calls.

Nobodys said theyre going to kill me or nothing, Jones replied. They make statements like, We know where you live. We know what type of car you drive. 

How it started

The attention started after Jones told The Washington Post on Tuesday that Trump had lied his a-- off.

He said the president-elect was taking credit for rescuing 1,100 of the Carrier factory jobs, when, by the companys figures, only 800 of the positions slated to leave will stay on American soil. There are 550 of his members, he said, still preparing to lose their livelihoods. I had to break the bad news to some of them, Jones said. Trump said all would stay, but it turns out only some will stay.

Carrier, meanwhile, will collect $7 million in state tax breaks. The company also said it would pour $16 million into updating the plant  a process that will lead to more automation and some job loss, United Technologies chief executive Greg Hayes said in a CNBC interview.

Joness words splashed across the Internet and landed him on television with CNNs Erin Burnett. About 20 minutes later, Trump, known to watch the news and then slam his critics, insulted Jones on Twitter, adding, If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working  less time talking.

Jones said he pleaded with Carrier over the past year to keep the jobs in Indianapolis and attempted to negotiate severance packages. But he couldnt match the $65 million that Carrier stood to save by moving to Mexico.

Then Trump visited the plant on Dec. 1, announcing that he had persuaded United Technologies to keep operating the Indianapolis plant.

Companies are not going to leave the United States anymore without consequences, Trump told the crowd of factory workers. Not going to happen. Its not going to happen, Ill tell you right now.

Jones, seated toward the back, wondered why the president-elect didnt mention the 550 jobs still scheduled to leave.

Years of experience

A sign in Joness office reads: The life of a union official: If they talk on a subject, they are trying to run things. If they are silent, they have lost interest in the organization.

He was born in Indianapolis to a mother who stayed home and a father who ran machines at a factory for 30 years. He has been divorced twice and is separated from his third wife. He has four adult children and stepchildren.

When he was 17, Jones started working at Rexnord, a bearings plant about a mile away from the Carrier factory. He repaired machines, making $29 an hour at his earnings peak. At 32, he realized hed been complaining for years about how the place operated and decided to run for union president.

Jones ended up winning, and he said he has won every election since  except for one in 1991, when someone spread a rumor that he had turned the union hall into a tavern.

He now acts as a foulmouthed advocate for his 3,000 members, all in Indiana, resolving conflicts between workers and bosses, sometimes calling them f---heads. He watches over 12 plants, down from 32 since 1998  casualties of trade and technology.

Next year, the Rexnord plant where Jones first worked will add to the tally of shuttered factories in his jurisdiction. The industrial supplier plans to move nearly 300 jobs to Mexico.

He also worries about losing more workers at Vertellus, a chemical company that shuttled at least 40 jobs to China last year.

He led a strike for seven weeks in 1985 when a company tried to downgrade its workers health insurance plan. He learned how important health insurance was, Jones said, when he developed colon cancer six years ago and beat it with chemotherapy and illicit marijuana joints.

Beyond one person

On Friday morning, the phone rang again. This time, Jones picked it up. He frowned and switched on the speaker.

Some whackjob in Las Vegas, he threatened our local, a United Steelworkers representative in Michigan said, his voice filling the war room. He threatened me. He threatened my family.

Thats kind of over the top, Jones said.

Id say so, the representative said. We filed a police report.

The threat came, the Michigan man said, after hed posted support for Jones on Facebook. This news worried the union leader. He wasnt sure whether hed heard from the Las Vegas guy.

Hell, he told his friends, seated around the union halls wooden table for the second straight day. Weve had so many.

He lit another Marlboro  this was a four-pack day  and wondered what to do. He said he didnt care if people threatened him, but he hated to hear about others getting scared. He joked about clobbering attackers with a stapler.

Im tired of being the hard guy, he said, the closest he had come to expressing concern about the attention. I cant whip nobody anymore. Im too old. I smoke too much. I cant breathe.

That night, as Jones settled in to watch Gold Rush, a show about miners on the Discovery Channel, his friends daughter searched his name on Twitter. She noticed that someone had created a fake account, one that had garnered 10,400 followers. She let him know.

How can I get that off? Jones asked. He didnt intend to build a Web presence. He didnt want someone muddying his name, either.

Im new here, the impostor wrote, but wanted to let Donald Trump know Im not scared of him.

The friends daughter didnt know how to stop it. The Internet felt out of their control.
Seeing Santa is still a magical thing for children and those who are still young at heart. (Bryan R. Smith/AP)

Editors note: Portions of this story were based on a column in the Knoxville News Sentinel. The News Sentinel no longer stands by it. As a result The Washington Post no longer stands by the account.

Since publication, the paper said, the News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify the account provided by Eric Schmitt-Matzen, the Santa who told the story. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified. The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzens account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate.

For more, see this Post story.

In my house, there is still a Santa.

My children know. They are 16, 18 and 21, and theyve known since they were in grade school that Santa is a fantasy and that their presents arrive not on a sleigh but in the trunk of our car.

But because I believe in the spirit of Santa, they still indulge me when I ask them what Kriss Kringle should bring them for Christmas. There is some eye-rolling. Still, they play along.

I was thinking of my refusal to let go of the legend while reading two news stories this week.

The first involved a Texas pastor who angered parents by yelling at kids in line to meet Santa that the man they were about to see was not real. The pastor posted his tirade on Facebook.

Kids, I want to tell you today that there is no such thing as Santa Claus, he says. Santa Claus does not exist. The Christmas season is about Jesus. . . . And thats the truth about Christmas. The man you are going to see today is just a man in a suit. . . . And, parents, yall need to stop lying to your children. . . . There are no flying reindeer. There is no workshop at the North Pole.

One irate parent confronts the pastor and says, Its not your decision for me to tell my kids whats the truth and whats not.

The truth is that the Santa Claus myth can be traced to some reality. Historians say the basis for Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, who reportedly used his inheritance to help the poor back in the 4th century in what is now Turkey.

Despite the pastors claim that he was just telling it like it is in the name of Jesus, he wasnt acting Christ-like. I dont believe  based on my study of Jesus  that Christ would have approved of his method of getting out his message. You dont yell at children or their parents.

Now compare that scene with a story of a terminally ill 5-year-old and a Tennessee man who plays Santa.

As Knoxville News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable wrote, a nurse reached out to Eric Schmitt-Matzen, a mechanical engineer who plays a very convincing Kriss Kringle. The nurse had a patient who was dying, and he wanted to see Santa.

After being handed a present for the little boy, Schmitt-Matzen says he walked into the boys room. And heres the rest of what happened, as he recounted to Venable:

When I walked in, he was laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep. I sat down on his bed and asked, Say, whats this I hear about youre gonna miss Christmas? Theres no way you can miss Christmas! Why, youre my Number One elf!

He looked up and said, I am?

I said, Sure!

I gave him the present. He was so weak he could barely open the wrapping paper. When he saw what was inside, he flashed a big smile and laid his head back down.

 They say Im gonna die, he told me. How can I tell when I get to where Im going?

I said, Can you do me a big favor?

He said, Sure!

 When you get there, you tell em youre Santas Number One elf, and I know theyll let you in.

He said, They will?

I said, Sure!

He kinda sat up and gave me a big hug and asked one more question: Santa, can you help me?

I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there.

After you read that, how can you tell me theres no Santa Claus?

Im always encouraging parents not to spend more than they can afford on holiday gifts. But I hope they dont take that advice to mean that they should lose the fun and fantasy around getting ready for Santas arrival. My kids so loved to create their wish lists. They always made cookies to set out. They used to stay awake in hopes of getting a glimpse of the man in the red suit.

Im cheap, but I never wanted to cheat my children out of believing in Santas magic.

No one has a right to tell your children there isnt a Santa. If you dont believe, thats fine. But I believe that the true story of Santa, whether based on Saint Nicholas or the accumulation of various cultural myths, is about the very real spirit of what he represents  love, joy, surprise and generosity.

Write Singletary at The Washington Post, 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or michelle.singletary@ washpost.com. To read more, go to wapo.st/michelle-singletary.
Weve certainly seen our share of technologies that advance the world we live in today. Emerging technologies based on machine learning and analytics are already having a huge impact on the industry and bringing about some really fascinating technology solutions.

While this began to really sprout in 2016, there is still more to come.

I recently caught up with Alex Vaystikh, CTO at SecBI, to find out more about this past years successes and predictions for the upcoming year.

The company, which closed a successful funding round in 2016, secured $5 million from Orange (News - Alert) Digital Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Amichai Shulman and existing investor Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP). The round, Vaystikh noted, is, critical to development and enables us to bring our solutions to market and increase our sales footprints in North America and Europe. We are especially excited that the round was led by Orange, one of the largest MSSPs in Europe. This was definitely a strategic investment for SecBI.

But along with successes always come challenges too. The industry as a whole faced a shortage of software engineers that specialize in machine learning and big data technologies. And this, Vaystikh said, affects every technology solution that revolves around machine learning  including cybersecurity. Without this pool of talent, cybersecurity challenges will pervade.

On the cybersecurity front, 2016 did have some achievements, Vaystikh noted.

Major developments in security response automation solutions for the cybersecurity industry and M&A processes (IBM (News - Alert) acquired Resilient Systems) as well as impressive funding rounds (Darktrace completed a $65M round) and many startup success stories (Hexadite, Carbon Black) happened in 2016.

This same innovation will make its way into the new year with machine learning and analytics technologies becoming key for security professionals.

In 2017, New security solutions based on machine learning and analytics technologies will create a security layer that operates on top of the existing commodity network gateways technologies, delivering actionable intelligence from the endless amounts of data in the gateways, Vaystikh told yours truly.

As this happens, well see a move away from IT departments being the only team to handle security needs. Instead, Vaystikh said, well start to see SOC teams who will lead the innovation and implementation of new security solutions while IT teams remain dedicated to maintenance of existing solutions.

With this added focus on security, well also see a trend for cyberinsurance arising in 2017, Vaystikh predicts.

Insurance companies are increasingly refusing to cover breach damages in cases where advanced security solutions are not in place. As such, enterprises will need to invest in new technologies in order to comply with these new regulations.

And youll probably want to start looking now. If Vaystikhs bold prediction for this year has any possibility of coming to fruition.

When asked to make one bold prediction for the upcoming year, Vaystikh said we may see the first cloud data center-focused ransomware. As ransomware becomes smarter, it will merge with information-stealing malware and first steal information and then selectively encrypt it, either on-demand or when other malicious goals have been achieved.

We are already seeing ransomware being used in sensitive environments such as hospitals, but so far there hasnt been significant damage. However, if malware is used to exfiltrate patient information before encrypting it, the results could, as happened in the case of the Central Ohio Urology, be catastrophic.

Edited by Alicia Young
As an inveterate bibliophile, I naturally turn to books in times of stress, and because Im a childrens librarian, those books tend to be ones written for kids. Children, too, are seeking guidance as they navigate these challenging and sometimes confusing times. Books can help.

Heres a list of titles to nurture hope in kids and adults, while also inspiring them into activism to make that hopeful world a reality. My idea was to choose books for younger readers that focus on kindness, peace and feeling good  and proud  about who you are. For older readers, I looked for books about diverse people, including kids who have overcome sometimes overwhelming odds to make a difference in the world. My choices draw heavily on Unity.Kindness.Peace., a list published a few days after the November election by the Association for Library Service to Children. Given time and space constraints, Ive had to leave out many wonderful books, so head to your local public library and seek out childrens librarians, experts eager to help you find just the right title.

YOUNGER READERS (Ages 3 to 7):

Because Amelia Smiled, by David Ezra Stein (Candlewick)

Because Amelia Smiled , by David Ezra Stein (Candlewick): One smile has international consequences in a book that celebrates the power of love and hope.

Can I Play Too? , by Mo Willems (Disney/Hyperion): Elephant and Piggy must wrestle with the question of what to do  and how they should act  when Snake, who has no arms or legs, asks to play catch.

Counting on Community , by Innosanto Nagara (Triangle Square): In this counting book, readers learn many ways that community is important, such as working together in a community garden and protesting injustice.

If You Plant a Seed, by Kadir Nelson (Balzer + Bray)

If You Plant a Seed , by Kadir Nelson (Balzer+Bray): A food fight breaks out when a rabbit and a mouse refuse to share the bounty of their vegetable harvest with a flock of birds. Things look grave until the mouse realizes that sharing just might be a better solution.

Last Stop on Market Street , by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson (Putnam): During a bus ride, a young boy in the inner city learns to appreciate his Nanas ability to find  and celebrate  beauty anywhere. The picture book won the 2016 Newbery Medal and for its illustrations, a 2016 Caldecott Honor.

The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

The Lion and the Mouse , by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown): Setting Aesops beloved fable in the African Serengeti, Pinkneys illustrations  and nearly wordless text  give this classic a powerful new twist. This book won the 2010 Caldecott Medal.

The Peace Book , by Todd Parr (Little, Brown): In his cheerful style, Parr defines the meaning of peace for very young children, from offering a hug to a friend to keeping the streets clean to the concluding message that peace is being who you are.

The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson (Grosset & Dunlap)

The Story of Ferdinand , by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson (Grosset & Dunlap): This classic tells the story of a peace-loving bull who is mistakenly thought to be a tough, violent animal but proves otherwise when hes put to the test in the bull ring.

OLDER READERS (Ages 5 to 12)

A Is for Activist , by Innosanto Nagara (Triangle Square): This unusual, beautifully illustrated book offers ways to identify and promote activism through each letter of the alphabet.

Drum Dream Girl , by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez (HMH): Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban musician, won international acclaim for her drumming, but only after overcoming Cubas ban on women drummers.

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, by Laurie Ann Thompson and Sean Qualls (Schwartz & Wade)

Emmanuels Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah , by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Schwartz & Wade): Born with a deformed leg, the determined Yeboah became a renowned athlete, winning fame for a 400-mile journey in his native Ghana to campaign for equal rights for the physically disabled.

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez , by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Yuyi Morales (HMH): Krull tells Chavezs compelling story with emotion and compassion, as she details what led him to push for the creation of the National Farm Workers Association.

I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings and Shelagh McNicholas (Dial )

I Am Jazz , by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas (Dial). Jazz Jennings, who knew from age 2 that she was really a girl in a boys body, has become a young spokesperson for the transgender community.

Malala: A Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal: A Brave Boy From Pakistan , by Jeanette Winter (Beach Lane): The stories of two brave Pakistani children who refused to accept the limitations set by the Taliban. Both were attacked for their outspokenness; one died and the other lived.

Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story, by Ruby Bridges (Cartwheel)

Ruby Bridges Goes to School , by Ruby Bridges (Scholastic): In 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges was thrust into the national spotlight when she became the face of school desegregation efforts in New Orleans.

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Familys Fight for Desegregation , by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams): The Mendez family led a successful fight to desegregate the California schools nearly a decade before the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregated schools.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down , by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Little, Brown): On Feb. 1, 1960, four young African American men took a seat at a whites only Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., inspiring others to do the same throughout the South.

The Storytellers Candle , by Lucia Gonzalez, illustrated by Lulu Delacre (Lee & Low): A Puerto Rican family newly arrived in the United States finds refuge at their nearby public library, where the childrens room was presided over by Pura Belpre, the first Puerto Rican librarian in New Yorks public library system.

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, by Carole Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes (Candlewick )

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement , by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Candlewick): In emotionally searing poems, Weatherford takes readers through the momentous life of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. The book won a 2016 Caldecott Honor.

Karen MacPherson is the childrens and teen services coordinator for the Takoma Park, Md., library, the only independent community public library in the state.


First lady Michelle Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Three weeks after Inauguration Day in 2009 and still a long way from crafting an agenda, Michelle Obama climbed into her motorcade and paid a visit to Marys Center, a Latino community services agency a few miles north of the White House. She read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to the young children and met with teenagers who asked why she had come.

The first reason, she said, was that Washington was now the Obamas home and they had always been taught to listen and not just pass on by. The second reason identified the audience and framed the approach that would define this most uncommon first ladys agenda for the next eight years.

I think its real important for young kids, particularly kids who come from communities without resources, to see me, not the first lady, she said. To see that there is no magic to me sitting here. There are no miracles that happen. There is no magic dust.

With the 13 teenagers seated in a semicircle, Obama shared the setbacks and self-doubt she faced as the daughter of black working-class parents in Chicago. When people told her she couldnt achieve something, she set out to prove them wrong. One step at a time, she climbed, and now she felt an obligation to share.

When you get, you give back, she said.

Obama would give much bigger speeches on much bigger stages as she became one of the most famous people in the world. For many Democrats, she was the moral voice of the 2016 presidential campaign, calling out Republican Donald Trump for trafficking in prejudice, fears and lies. For other fans, she was simply the first lady who went viral, making them smile with her eclectic fashion choices and her energetic, sometimes goofy pitches for healthier eating.

The heart of Obamas efforts, however, was a message about the persistent inequities of race, class and gender in America. In scores of speeches and projects, she turned again and again to the stacked deck. These were the themes and conundrums that animated her work before she reached the White House and now seem certain to shape her choices after she departs.

For all the grief she took from critics who conjured radicalism, grievance or, bizarrely, racism from her finely tuned remarks, Obamas antidotes were fundamentally timeless and conservative. More than anything, she used the strength of her own Chicago-to-Princeton-to-the-White-House narrative to urge kids to believe in themselves and never quit. She mastered the levers of popular culture and harnessed the convening power of her office and her carefully curated brand to establish partnerships with the private sector.



Children hug Michelle Obama as she visits Marys Center, a D.C. nonprofit organization that helps people with limited access to health services, in 2009. (Nicholas Kamm/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Obama addressed obesity, which disproportionately affects low-income families and children of color. She worked to increase arts education in poorly performing schools and ease the path for aspiring first-generation college students. She dispensed hugs to thousands of children, saying in a simple embrace that she believed in them. At a BET special, she called out, Black girls rock!

A straight-talker by temperament, she modulated her tone in deference to the role. Eternally disciplined and pragmatic, she never swung for the fences. Critics on the left chided her for not being bold enough, as she acknowledged last year. Her answer: These were my choices, my issues, and I decided to tackle them in the way that felt most authentic to me  in a way that was both substantive and strategic, but also fun and, hopefully, inspiring.

When Obama took up her unpaid job three days after her 45th birthday, she faced vast and conflicting expectations. She was the first African American first lady in a country that was anything but post-racial. She was the magnetic campaigner who told audiences that power concedes nothing without a struggle. She was the highly educated, professionally accomplished mother of two young daughters who smilingly adopted the moniker of mom in chief.

From the moment we walked in the door, people have wanted to get inside her head and figure her out. Is she in this box or that box? Why isnt she doing this or doing that?  said Jocelyn Frye, a Harvard Law School friend who became Obamas first policy adviser. Shes not a person who lives in boxes. Its just not that simple.

Her road to the White House

The personal story that Obama carried into the White House in January 2009 was enough to etch her name in the history books even if she did not accomplish anything more. She called herself the little black girl from the South Side of Chicago. As she would say later, her ancestors had arrived in the United States in chains and now she and Barack Obama were living in a home that slaves helped build.

But in other ways, too, Obama brought a set of experiences markedly different from her modern-day predecessors. Of the previous eight presidents, four had been governors, four had been vice presidents. Their wives had lived in the public eye. Obama was a young Chicago professional, a working mother in a big city who spoke openly about juggling jobs, chores and child-rearing with her increasingly famous and preoccupied husband.

By upbringing, she was urban and attuned to issues of prejudice, hardship and inequality. She adored her father, Fraser C. Robinson III, a gregarious aspiring artist who spent his working life as a shift worker in the city water plant. A swimmer, boxer and soldier as a young man, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his 30s. His health deteriorated, and he went from one crutch to two to a motorized cart. He died in 1991 at age 55, still working at the plant.

Both of Obamas grandfathers had come north in the Great Migration, and many members of the Robinson and Shields families lived nearby. Purnell Shields, a talented carpenter and Obamas maternal grandfather, was barred as an African American from the labor unions that claimed the highest-paying jobs. Fraser C. Robinson Jr. spent much of his career as a postal worker. If he had been born white, Obama once said, he would have been a banker.

Obama spent time with this extended family. She knew them all, from those who were prospering to those who were ailing or just getting by. She also knew countless schoolmates who seemed hardly different from her, yet had fallen short of their ambitions. When Barack Obama met her in 1989, he detected a sense of vulnerability that he traced to Michelles sense that life was terrifyingly random. She called herself a statistical anomaly.

After ditching the prosperous law firm, where she found the work soulless and many colleagues narrow, she spent two years doing economic development work at City Hall with future White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. Next, in what she described as the happiest phase of her working life, she built the Chicago office of Public Allies, a nonprofit leadership training program with roots in community organizing.

Next, she spent a dozen years as an administrator at the University of Chicago, where she elevated the interests of neighboring African American communities. Much as she would in the White House, she searched for ways to connect a powerful and often remote institution with communities where it could do some good. Comfortable and connected in both worlds, she saw herself as a bridge.

In 2001, protesters seeking more construction jobs for African Americans at the university medical center said she should be fired. One said Obama and her colleagues were looking out for themselves and did not have the best interests of blacks at heart. Obama persisted. In the next seven years, 42.9 percent of the hospitals spending on new construction, or $48.8 million, went to firms run by minorities or women, according to university figures.

The focus was not new. At Harvard Law School, where the tenured faculty was 96 percent white and 92 percent male, Obama spoke up for greater diversity. Charles Ogletree, a mentor and professor, pinpointed her passions early.

Everything she wrote, the things that she was involved in, the things that she thought about, he recalled of her law school years in the mid-1980s, were in effect reflections on race and gender. And how she had to keep the doors open for women and men going forward.

A portfolio of passions



Michelle Obama exercises with children from Orr Elementary School in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 6, 2013. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

One of Obamas signatures was the push for a seat at the table  or in the room where it happens, to borrow from Hamilton, the Broadway musical the Obamas admire. A few years ago, she told a gathering of White House interns that if they were not prepared to risk their power when they claimed that seat, they needed to make room for someone who would.

In reaching the most rarefied of tables, she figured she had four years, maybe eight, to make something happen, to move the needle, as she put it. As the media made a fuss over a new hairstyle, she once explained how she saw the role of first lady: We take our bangs and we stand in front of important things that the world needs to see. And, eventually, people stop looking at the bangs and they start looking at what were standing in front of.

Obama saw early that she could connect with disadvantaged young people by describing her South Side upbringing and the choices she made in her life. Even as the Obamas set out unambiguously to be the president and first lady for the entire country, they were determined to look out for people who historically have not had people looking out for them, Valerie Jarrett said in an interview. Certainly, African American women and girls see themselves in her in a unique way.

The White House portfolio included Lets Move, her childhood obesity project, and efforts to open the White House and its grounds to kids who barely knew where it was and never imagined stepping inside. She established Joining Forces to help the military and their families with jobs and workplace issues and started a small mentoring program that became a personal cause.

She worked on homelessness among veterans and pushed Reach Higher, seeking to increase post-secondary education for low-income adolescents. Finally, she launched Let Girls Learn, an international initiative designed to improve access to secondary school for millions of girls around the world who found themselves on the outside looking in.

Throughout, Obama made clear to her staff that she favored coherent projects backed by creative but realistic thinking. She sought buy-in from federal agencies, state governments and private partners, and she wanted to make use of every opportunity. She told her aides, Dont just put me on a plane, send me someplace and have me smile.

She never looked at things esoterically or theoretically. It was practical and real, said Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter, who advised her at key moments. Her focus was never How do I move Washington? It was much bigger than that. It was How do you mobilize a country? How are real people outside of Washington going to see things? 

At the White House, she staged arts events, from dance, music and spoken word to food and design workshops. She made sure that artists who were performing for well-heeled East Room audiences at night were teaching children at the White House or local schools during the day. Her tastes tilted to designers, artists, playwrights and directors of color, choices that alerted millions of Obama-watchers to work they might not have seen or heard.

In 2011, she helped launch Turnaround Arts, a program designed to deliver arts teaching, inspiration and supplies to some of the worst-performing schools in the country  often in places where arts programming was a budget casualty. From eight pilot programs in 2011, the project now reaches 68 schools, with 20 to be added in 2017.

She knows the power of the arts. Its visceral and its who she is, said Megan Beyer, executive director of the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Every time we do an event, shell look at the audience and shell say, This is not a fluke. This is what happens when you invest in these kids. 

To critics on the right, including former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who mocked or denounced new science-based standards for school lunches as overly intrusive, Obama urged them to look more closely. She pointed to the millions of low-income children who depend on those meals and the federal governments help in paying for them.

We simply cant afford to say, Oh, well, its too hard, so lets not do it,  Obama said in 2014. When lobbyists persuaded Congress to count one-eighth of a cup of tomato paste in pizza sauce as the equivalent of a half-cup of vegetables, she wrote dismissively in the New York Times, You dont have to be a nutritionist to know that this doesnt make much sense.

Preserving normalcy



President Obama and the first lady, along with their guests, wear 3-D glasses at a Super Bowl party at the White House in 2009. (Pete Souza/The White House)

Inside the East Wing, Obama commanded intense loyalty from her staff and set her own agenda, down to the number of public days on her schedule  two at first, while Malia and Sasha were getting settled, and later three. She stayed closer to home than Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, who each traveled abroad more than twice as much, and put limits on her campaign trips, especially when not campaigning for her husband.

She tightly controlled her message. In eight years, she never gave a news conference, although she held a select few roundtables with reporters. She rarely granted interviews to the beat reporters who knew her work the best. More often, and more strategically, she granted face time to grateful personalities and comedians, along with media outlets carefully chosen for the audiences they reached.

Aides and friends were barely more accessible. When reporters called, former chief of staff Jackie Norris once said, Obama expected her friends to check in and have conversations and make sure that its good for her. Mostly, the friends did.



The first family prepares to board Air Force One on Aug. 21, 2016, after their vacation on Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts. (Steven Senne/Associated Press)

Since the beginning of the first presidential campaign nearly 10 years ago, Obama has credited her girlfriends with keeping her grounded amid the maelstrom. When youre isolated, thats when you need your girls. They can keep you together when no one else can, said Angela Kennedy, a D.C. public defender and former Princeton roommate who sees Obama regularly. Shes smart. She recognized that.

Not trailed by the presidential press pool, Obama escaped to the gym, restaurants, theaters and her friends houses, as well as the occasional trip to the presidential retreat at Camp David. It helped to have her mother, Marian Robinson, now 79, living on the third floor of the White House. I can always go up to her room and cry, complain, argue, Obama said. And she just says, go on down there and do what youre supposed to do.

Obama spoke often of what it meant to have normal family dinners and activities with Malia and Sasha, talking about the girls doings and keeping things light. She has always been able to stay above the fray, said Frye, her Harvard friend, in part by meeting with real people and talking about real-world problems. At the end of the day, she has kept her head.

Obamas ascendance  as mother, mentor, leader and critic  carries many meanings in American culture, particularly as an African American woman, said Nell Irvin Painter, an emeritus professor of American history at Princeton.

Her power is a symbolic power, Painter said, noting the way Obama has conducted herself as first lady. She has grace, there is no question, but I would add elegance. Its a kind of assurance that is also something new for a black woman in public life. She is the symbol of what an American can be. Michelle Obama has presented a universal American identity.

A voice on race and racism



Michelle Obama blows kisses to graduates after delivering the commencement address for Bowie State University, a historically black university, in Maryland in May 2013. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On May 9, 2015, Obama took the stage at Tuskegee University in Alabama and delivered the most thorough and personal speech about race and racism of her tenure. As a speechmaker, said author Garry Wills, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his study of Lincolns Gettysburg Address, I dont know that she has any competitors in womens history. She wowed millions of fans with keynote addresses at three successive Democratic National Conventions, but she also had a serious body of work that received less attention in mainstream circles.

Many times before her Tuskegee appearance, she had spoken about the countrys history of violence and discrimination against African Americans. She did it in Orangeburg, S.C., in 2007 to woo black support for her husbands candidacy. She did it in Nashville during the 2012 reelection campaign, and in Topeka, Kan., in 2014 to mark the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. And she did it at other historically black universities, including Bowie State, Jackson State and North Carolina A&T.

Together, the talks reflected a lifetime of thinking about the shifting landscape of racism, the advances and the setbacks. At Tuskegee, she spoke of slights and hurdles while suggesting strategies  tested by her own experience, as always  to block out the noise and navigate a path forward.

Heres the thing: The road ahead is not going to be easy, she told the graduates in an address that tracked the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, a storied black flying squadron in World War II. It never is, especially for folks like you and me. Because while weve come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn and they havent fully gone away. So there will be times, just like for those Airmen, when you feel like folks look right past you or they see just a fraction of who you are.

Too many folks feel frustrated and invisible, Obama said. She cited worries about being pulled over for absolutely no reason, or being overlooked for a job because of the way your name sounds, or sending children to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal. Above all, she said, there is the realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen, for some folks, it will never be enough.

The Obamas were not immune, despite their efforts, their achievements, their conduct. For years, Donald Trump sowed doubts about Barack Obamas birth and citizenship, while talk show host Rush Limbaugh told his millions of followers that Michelle suffered from uppity-ism and called her Michelle My Butt. Foes likened her to a character from Planet of the Apes, a Star Wars Wookiee and a gorilla, a racist slur with a particularly long and ugly history. They challenged her patriotism and even questioned her gender.

But no matter how grim the outlook and how significant the structural challenges, Obama said at Tuskegee, despair and anger are not an excuse to just throw up our hands and give up. Instead, she proposed the measured, practical, traditional responses that had worked for her. Study, organize, band together, be a mentor, help a cousin fill out a financial aid form and vote, vote, vote.

You have got everything you need to do this. Youve got it in you, she said in her best I-believe-in-you tone. Most of all, youve got yourselves and all of the heart, grit and smarts that got you to this day.

It was never Obamas style to summon people to the barricades. She drew criticism from some African American intellectuals and activists for perpetuating a bootstraps narrative that said black people must be twice as good to do just as well as whites. Painter recognized the critique but saw Obamas message differently.

She also says you can figure it out. Thats a crucial part, Painter said. Her commentary to black kids is, You can do it. Its not just lecturing and shaking her finger in their faces, but an encouragement. Its pragmatic, but the way she phrases it, it is full of empathy and I think there is still a lack of empathy in the way the United States speaks to black people.

The response to Obamas remarks provided proof aplenty. Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham saw a litany of victimization. Media comment boards filled with talk of a tirade and an America-hater and an angry woman who has no appreciation for the many gifts our country has bestowed on her. Someone wrote, Can she or her husband ever just be Americans? Why do they always have to focus on their skin color? Repulsive.

But also, Michelle for President!  something that Obama, whose favorability ratings routinely topped 60 percent, has said will never happen. No. Nope. Not going to do it, she said earlier this year.

Assessing America



Michelle Obama campaigns with Hillary Clinton in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Oct. 27, 2016. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Michelle Obama was dismayed by the rise of Donald Trump. She perceived danger in the candidacy of an unstudied Republican who lied with abandon and routinely mocked and disparaged rivals, critics and entire swathes of the American populace, all the while vowing to wreck much of what the Obama administration spent eight years building.

This is not normal. This is not politics as usual, Obama declared at an October rally in New Hampshire after a tape surfaced of Trump boasting about grabbing women by the genitals. A growing number of women said they had been accosted. I know its a campaign, but this isnt about politics. Its about human decency. Its about right and wrong.

Obama said repeatedly during the campaign that Trump was dangerous, undeserving and lacking any idea what this job takes. In Philadelphia, she pointedly recalled Trumps leadership of the birther movement, referring to the hurtful, deceitful questions deliberately designed to undermine her husbands presidency.

The attacks on Trump were the strongest, sharpest words Obama uttered in public during the White House years. Whatever her anger or dismay, she never said she was surprised, for these were the regressive forces that she had seen in action her entire life.

On a weekday morning, with not many people watching, Obama delivered her take on the political moment. To a rapt church audience  men and women, white and black  she said in a tone more suited to a seminar than a rally, My fear is that we dont know what truth looks like anymore. She spoke of her hard-won understanding of the world, drawing on her Chicago life, where persistence and good intentions came with no guarantees.

Politicians had become expert at turning doubt into fear, she said, as life got harder, progressively harder, for regular people.

Were still a nation thats a little too mean, Obama said. I wish mean worked, because were good at it. Our tone is bad and weve grown to believe that, somehow, mean talk is tough talk . . . and we reward it. Not just in politics, but we reward it in every sliver of our culture. We look on people who are tough and say, Thats what we need. 

Obama spoke those words in South Carolina in January 2008. As Trump makes his way to Washington with his gilded pitchfork, her assessment rings true for more than 62 million Americans who supported him and millions more who didnt care enough to vote. She is leaving the White House with work unfinished and fresh troubles brewing. She was right that day at Marys Center, in her first weeks on the job, when she offered a verdict that applied as much to the nation as to herself. There are no miracles, no magic dust.

What Obama offered was something else. To audiences great and small, she presented conviction, savvy, a dose of inspiration and a certain faith that the battles were worth waging and the effort would pay off in the end.

Peter Slevin, a former Post national correspondent, is the author of Michelle Obama: A Life.


Persian Potato Pancakes are eggier and richer-tasting than classic potato latkes. See recipe link, below. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

I like latkes. All kinds: starchy potato, sweet potato, zucchini, cheese, apple, leek, even vegan and gluten-free ones. But for too long in this country, Hanukkah has been all about the latkes  and Im just about over it.

Sure, there are the games of dreidel, the chocolate gelt and sugary doughnuts with the fancy Hebrew name sufganiyot. But its almost as though guests wont even know theyve arrived at a Hanukkah party  the first of the Jewish holidays eight nights falls on Christmas Eve this year  unless theyre greeted by that telltale oily fried smell. From synagogue preschool parties to an annual celebration at the White House, the potato pancake is the guest of honor.

[Make the recipe: Persian Potato Pancakes (Kookoo Sib Zamini)]

At their best, latkes are a crunchy, savory delight, just snatched from hot oil, perfectly golden brown and ready to be topped with sour cream or applesauce or, even better, eaten straight up. But even if a distant cousin from the supermarket freezer case shows up, a bit soggy and barely warm, it doesnt seem to matter. People feel compelled to consume.

Such iconic food status is hard to dismiss  not that I want to. But latkes arent the only oil-involved foods appropriate for the holiday. How did they take over Hanukkah, anyway?

Well, theres nothing like a story from biblical times to give us permission to eat fried food. Hanukkah commemorates the victory in 165 B.C. of the rebellious Jewish Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks. Once back in control, the victors were able to clean up and rededicate the Temple in Jerusalem. As the story goes, they needed purified, sacred olive oil to light the lamps in the Temple but found only enough for one day rather than the eight days needed to purify more oil. By a miracle, that little bit of oil lasted until more could be made. We eat foods with oil in a starring role during this Festival of Lights, as Hanukkah is also known.

[Five myths about Hanukkah]

Theres another, lesser-known part of the Hanukkah story. Years before the Maccabean victory, a fierce woman named Judith who understood the power of food and drink saved her village by plying the invading general with salty cheese, which then made him thirsty for wine. Once he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him with his own sword.

A good story, but how does it fit in the story of Hanukkah and latkes?

For many centuries, Hanukkah was a minor holiday, with no written history of traditional foods. Then, in the 14th century, we find writings in Italy about pancakes for the holiday made from ricotta cheese and fried in oil, an ideal dish combining the symbolic foods from the two stories associated with the holiday.

Cheese pancakes for Hanukkah remained popular in Europe for a few more centuries, with Eastern European, or Ashkenazic, Jews also serving other dairy dishes such as cheesecake, sweet noodle kugels and cheese dumplings or fritters. In the 1850s, there were massive crop failures in the heart of the Ashkenazic world: Poland, Ukraine and the Pale of Settlement, territories in czarist Russia where Jews were allowed to live. To survive, the people planted cheap, easy-to-grow potatoes. Guess what they fried up for Hanukkah at that point? Yup, and with a couple million Eastern European Jews coming to the United States beginning around the same time until the 1920s  well, you can figure out how it was the latkes big break into a new market.



Cheese Blintzes, served with Chunky Berry Sauce. (Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post)

[Make the recipes: Cheese Blintzes; Chunky Berry Sauce]

Truth is, the latke is part of a wide variety of traditional potato pancakes found in nearly every European cuisine. However, its a surprise to many that Sephardic Jewish cuisines from the Mediterranean and the Mideast also have their own versions of potato pancakes. Most of those are served year-round as well as at Hanukkah, which remains a minor holiday in many Jewish communities, away from the increased competition with Christmas found in the United States and Europe.

Potomac resident Ellie Dayan traces her mothers family back over 2,500 years in Persia (now Iran). Dayan was born there, coming to the States in 1996 after her son was born. For Hanukkah, she makes kookoo sib zamini, the traditional Persian version of a potato pancake. Unlike for Ashkenazic latkes, the potatoes are cooked before being grated, which makes for less time in the oil, and more eggs are used in proportion to the potato. The pancakes are served with lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pickles and often fresh baguette.

Jews from Iraq have a similar dish, explains Rabbi Haim Ovadia of Rockvilles Magen David Sephardic Congregation, except the cooked potatoes are mashed with onions, which sometimes are fried first. Like the Persian version, the Iraqi patty leans toward an omelet or frittata.

Franz Afraim Katzir, founding director of SHin-DC, which stands for Sephardic Heritage in the District of Columbia, makes the Syrian version using the familiar grated raw potato and onion. Called ejjeh batata, these pancakes have the distinctly Syrian flavors of allspice and Aleppo pepper. They are eaten stuffed in a pita with raw and pickled vegetables.



Bumuelos. (Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post)

[Make the recipe: Bumuelos]

If youre looking for alternatives to latkes, its easy to find your way to some versions of syrup-soaked, deep fried dough or fritters perfect for Hanukkah. The batter can be dropped into hot oil in clumps or thinned out and squeezed into shapes, like the spirals of Iraqi zangoola or the fried squiggles of Syrian zalabieh  both thinner, crisper relatives of funnel cake. Latin America has its bunuelos, India its jalebi. For Persian Jews its zoloobiah, while Italian Jews serve anise-flavored frittelle di Hanukkah.

Rabbi Ovadias wife, Edna, born in Morocco, remembers sfenj served with tea with nana (mint). Not just for Hanukkah, sfenj is a favorite year-round breakfast treat.

I inherited a taste for bumuelos from my fathers family. Sometimes called the Sephardic or Turkish beignet, the hot, fried bumuelos are dipped in honey-sugar syrup instead of getting a beignets dusting of confectioners sugar.



Turkish Green Beans (Fasoulia) are poached in olive oil. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

[Make the recipe: Turkish Green Beans (Fasoulia)]

Expanding my horizons of Hanukkah foods even more, I realize that frying isnt required. Olive oil-poached Turkish green beans, an omelet or frittata and even a salad with olive oil dressing or a really good olive oil for dipping crusty bread could all bring welcome variety to any Hanukkah celebration. Suddenly, cheese-filled blintzes browned in some oil and butter also seem a perfect dish for this holiday.

While I am reconciled to latke love, this year I plan to invite other food friends to the party, establishing some new Hanukkah traditions with a full roster of co-stars alongside that iconic latke.

Barocas, the founding director of the Jewish Food Experience, is a filmmaker, writer and cooking teacher who lives in the District. On Twitter: @shbarocas. Shell join Wednesdays Free Range chat at noon: live.washingtonpost.com.
Adapted from an online discussion.

Dear Carolyn: My husband and I have been married two years; I am 20 weeks pregnant with my first child. We are both ecstatic.

He was married once before and has a tween child from that marriage. He and his ex have a tricky, acrimonious relationship. But we adore the child, who lives with us part-time.

The other night we were sharing a tender moment (fluttery baby kicks) when my husband commented: You know I love [older child], but knowing we made [baby] together makes me love her in a whole other way. I understood this comment was intended to be sweet, loving and romantic, but days later I am left with this horrified feeling  that he loves one child more than the other, that he ties his love for his children at least partly to how he feels about their mothers and that I reacted incorrectly. That I should have said something to discourage him from thinking or talking that way from now on.

I confided this in a friend whose father is remarried with younger kids, and she said this isnt newsworthy, that fathers always feel that way when they remarry, and the best ones just work very hard to not obviously prioritize the children of their current marriages. Understanding that no generalization holds for all fathers, do you think theres any truth to this one? Since I find it horrifying, what, if anything, can I do to advocate for my stepchild?

(Nick Galifianakis/for The Washington Post)

Uneasy in Virginia

Uneasy in Virginia: Be watchful. Thats all I think you need at this point.

My take is that your husband is expressing his love for you, not one child over another. And he did say whole other way (my emphasis), right? That is about difference vs. magnitude, which most parents can say about different kids from the same marriage.

If a time comes that his love for you bathes his younger child while his ex-acrimony scalds the older, then you absolutely have to step in  both by talking to your husband privately and by continuing to adore [older child].

And if you really feel you have to say something now, or if he keeps saying things in this vein, then just say youre stuck on his comment, and ask him: Does he worry about behaving differently toward his two children? Does he have a plan for preventing this? Could be hes way ahead of you here.

Re: Stepchild: Im a stepmom, plus my husband and I had a child together. The best thing we could do to advocate for my stepson was to banish the terms step, half, etc., and call the boys BROTHERS. Period. That puts them on equal footing  I love them both, so does their dad.

No Qualifiers

To Uneasy: Please challenge the thought that fathers always feel that way when they remarry. My father clearly has an order of preference: 1. first child (first wife  very contentious relationship), 2. third child (second wife), 3. fourth child (second wife), 4. second child (first wife). It mostly has to do with things we enjoy in common. All of us kids agree on this, but also know that he loves us all.

Anonymous

Anonymous: Yes, thanks  its rarely simple where parents and kids are involved.
VIRGINIA

Teen charged after wounding cabdriver

A 16-year-old boy is being charged as an adult after authorities said he severely wounded a cabdriver in Alexandria, Va., this year.

Authorities say Troy Vann shot a cabdriver at a gas station in the citys Foxchase neighborhood on Sept. 22, in what was most likely an attempted robbery. The driver spent several days in the hospital with critical wounds.

Vann, a city resident, was arrested 14 hours later. He is charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of that crime and possession of a firearm by a person with a felony record. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

 Rachel Weiner

MARYLAND

Man, 19, charged in Temple Hills homicide

A Temple Hills man has been arrested in connection with a homicide in Prince Georges County, police said.

Ernest Deshawn Edwards, 19, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Michael Corey Roberts, 26.

Officers went to the 3200 block of Curtis Drive in Temple Hills at 8:20 p.m. Dec. 5 in response to a report of a shooting, and they found Roberts suffering from gunshot wounds, county police said.

Police said the shooting stemmed from an attempted robbery.

 Lynh Bui

THE DISTRICT

School on lockdown after victim enters

A man who was shot and wounded Monday morning in the Eckington neighborhood of Northeast Washington ran into a charter school seeking help, forcing it into lockdown, according to D.C. police and a school system spokeswoman.

It was not immediately clear whether the man was connected to the charter, Harmony D.C. Public Charter School  School of Excellence, in the 100 block of T Street NE. The school enrolls students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

A spokeswoman for the charter school system said parents were notified and students were kept in classrooms during the police investigation. All students are safe, spokeswoman Tomeika Bowden said.

Police said the victim, who was shot in the leg and abdomen about 9:45 a.m., ran east along T Street and went into Harmony, next to McKinley Technology High School.

He was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.

 Peter Hermann
The Justice Department filed suit Monday contending that Culpeper County, Va., acted in a discriminatory manner in denying an approval needed for the construction of an Islamic house of worship there.

Justice asked a federal court to order the largely rural county to grant the permit approval needed by the Islamic Center of Culpeper for its proposed mosque. About 12 to 20 Muslims have been showing up for prayers at a temporary site, and wished to build a permanent home for their activities.

No mosque exists in the county, which is about 70 miles southwest of Washington. The nearest is 45 minutes away by car, Justice said.

The vote that has prevented construction came on what appeared to be a narrow technical question regarding the disposal of sewage. But the Justice Department investigated the issue with an eye toward determining whether the refusal of a disposal permit involved religious discrimination.

In its lawsuit, the department based its argument on the Religious Land Use act, which was intended to protect religious freedom and prevent discrimination in the application of land-use laws to places of worship.

The Islamic Center was told by the county health department, according to the lawsuit, that conditions at the proposed site required sewage removal by what is known as the pump-and-haul method.

In pump-and-haul, sewage is stored on site and trucked away periodically for treatment, a process that required a permit, according to the lawsuit.

In its suit, the Justice Departments civil rights division said rejecting the request for the permit made building the mosque impossible. As a result, the department argued, the Islamic centers members cannot engage in their religious practices to the degree and in the way they believe they are compelled to do.

The department said no other suitable land was available for the mosque. It argued that the board made use of the pump-and-haul permit process as a means to bar a use that the board did not want.

The lawsuit asserted that permission had been approved in cases similar to the Islamic centers.

A large crowd at an April meeting cheered the introduction of the motion to deny the permit. The supervisors rejected the permit by a 4-to-3 vote.

After learning of the Justice Departments review of the matter, County Administrator John Egertson had expressed confidence that the study would show that the county was completely compliant.

He said the board acted within their policy, and they acted fairly and consistently.

In an interview Monday night, William C. Chase Jr., the supervisor who proposed denial of the permit, called pump-and-haul a very messy operation.

He said the vote had nothing to do with religion nor did it depend on who it was making the request. Instead, he said, it was based on county permit practices.

County attorney Bobbi Jo Alexis said the county considered the lawsuit ill-informed and intended to defend its actions vigorously.

She said the county had based its actions on health concerns rather than on questions of religion. In a letter sent last week to Justice, she wrote that pump-and-haul of sewage could cause contamination.

She also said the Islamic Center did not show the supervisors that it had addressed alternatives to pump and haul.
Gov. Larry Hogan (R) proposed doubling the amount of money the state spends on scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools.

The state-funded private school scholarship program known as Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today would receive $10 million over the next three years, the governor said.

We are working hard to ensure that every single child in Maryland is given the chance for a great education, regardless of what neighborhood they happen to grow up in, Hogan said in a statement.

His office said that more than 5,000 applications have been submitted since the program was approved last year with $5 million in funding.

The state teachers union called on the General Assembly to end the scholarship program, calling it a Trump-like initiative that sends taxpayer money from public schools to private schools.
A Maryland legislative panel voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $20 million grant for defense giant Northrop Grumman, but not before top lawmakers scolded Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and his administration for not collaborating more with the General Assembly on the deal.

We had to do what we had to do because it was the right thing to do, but it wasnt handled the right way by the executive or your office, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) told state Commerce Secretary R. Michael Gill.

The grant, approved by the legislature this year, was designed to ensure that Northrop would maintain a strong presence in Maryland. The company must repay some or all of the money if it fails to keep at least 10,000 jobs in Maryland for the next 10 years and invest $100 million in capital projects in the state.

The deal nearly fell apart after Hogan refused to release $25 million that Democrats set aside for teacher pensions and school construction as part of an $80 million all-or-nothing spending package that included items the governor opposed.

[Hogan keeps most of legislatures fenced off money for rainy-day fund]

The General Assemblys Legislative Policy Committee, which had final say over whether the grant would move forward, postponed a meeting this summer to review and potentially vote on the agreement.

Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), who jointly head the panel, suggested at the time that they didnt have enough votes to greenlight the deal in light of Hogans decision on the all-or-nothing spending package.

The standoff ended last month, with the committee agreeing to approve the grant in exchange for Hogan supporting legislation next year that would provide equivalent funding to help local school districts pay for teacher pensions. Busch and Miller also agreed to round up legislative support for a deal the governor made with Marriott International to give the hotel company about $20 million in state funding to keep its headquarters in Maryland.

Busch asked Gill what he would do differently with future deals requiring legislative approval, but the secretary said he wouldnt change anything, insisting that he stayed engaged with lawmakers throughout the process to communicate the administrations goals.

Miller interjected, saying that government is a team effort. He added that Hogan should have called a meeting with you, the speaker and myself and the chairmen of the various committees involved in the House and Senate and said, What can we all agree upon? 

Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said the governor had many conversations with Miller while negotiating the Northrop deal.

Were not going to let his dour tone dampen what is clearly a great bipartisan achievement to continue a very prosperous partnership with this important Maryland employer, he said. We couldnt be more thankful to both presiding officers for their help in this collaborative effort.
John Lockhart and Karen Coleman help packages onto a conveyor belt at the FedEx facility on Telegraph Road in Alexandria, Va. (JOHN KELLY/The Washington Post)

To stand and watch the conveyor belts in FedExs sorting facility in Alexandria, Va., is to realize how hopelessly coddled our nations packages have become.

This side up! Top load only! No knife! Open immediately! Perishable! Fragile!

Ha! When I was a boy, kids got lawn darts and bags of coal for Christmas. Do you think those were fragile?

Then there was the package I watched go by  several, actually  wrapped in tape proclaiming Climate-conscious shipping. Um, you do know that these packages are not being delivered by condor and mule train, right?

Theyre being delivered by the 100 FedEx vans that are parked in two rows, their open backsides facing two long conveyor belts, each one a Santas sled awaiting todays shipment of toys.

The Post's John Kelly went inside a FedEx hub in Alexandria, Va., to see what it's like to process hundreds of packages during the holiday season rush. (The Washington Post)

I spent a morning there last week, and I know what a lot of you are getting for Christmas: 24-inch Dell monitors. I lost count of them.

They get an early start at the FedEx station on Telegraph Road. Everyones in place  package handlers, drivers, vans  by 6:30 a.m. A little before 7, a door at the back of the building rolls up and a containerized trailer vehicle backs in. The CTV  a tractor-trailer to you and me  is the first of four that arrive here every day but Sunday. It disgorges big, metal boxes that fit inside the trailer like a set of fitted luggage. These had just arrived from Dulles International Airport, where they sat in the bellies of FedEx planes flown in from Indianapolis, Newark and Memphis.

The sort is starting.

Overseeing everything is Tony Perritano, the senior manager at the facility and a 26-year FedEx employee. Tony wont tell me how many packages come in  company secret  but I estimate it at a lot.

Handlers unload the containers, tossing their contents on the conveyors. This is a core sample of American commerce and consumption. I see a 35-pound plastic tub of vanilla buttercream headed to a Dunkin Donuts somewhere in Arlington. I see a box labeled Oncology supply. I see a half-dozen boxes labeled Oxytocin, the chemical that can induce labor.

Lets hope those three deliveries dont get mixed up.

Because its the holiday season, theres a holiday aspect to much of the stuff. There are artificial trees in boxes, already wired with lights. There are Harry & David gift boxes. There are big-screen TVs, Samsung Soundbars, packages from Orvis and Eddie Bauer. And so, so many boxes bearing Amazons enigmatic grin.

It used to be, Tony says, that L.L. Bean shipped so many wreaths that the sorting station smelled like a pine forest every December. Not so much anymore, he says. But around Mothers Day, thanks to all those mail-order bouquets, we open the containers, and it smells like flowers.

The handlers divide the packages into two streams: those that will go on the conveyor belt to trucks bound for Alexandria and those that will go on the conveyor belt to trucks headed to Arlington. (In case you want to wow your friends with arcane delivery knowledge, the former are designated NDV, the latter ZFO.)

The conveyor belts move at a comfortable walking pace. Tony declines my request to speed them up, a la Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory. A sign exhorts workers to scan at the preferred rate of 38 packages per minute. They do that by pointing a pistol-like contraption at each package. It scans the bar code, determines where the package is going, then spits out a yellow sticker imprinted with the three-digit route-number code.

Handlers slap a sticker on each box, and drivers down the line pick the boxes out and put them in the appropriate vans. On a typical day, it will take under two hours to sort everything and send the vans into the maw of Washington traffic and weather.

Tony says that when it comes to Christmas shopping, he is a procrastinator and buys most of his gifts online. But I think he does that just so he can use FedEx. He enjoys tracking his packages through the system.

A brightly-colored box comes trundling down the conveyor belt, its busy packaging designed to induce covetousness in children. It contains a Nerf Mega Mastodon motorized Nerf gun, with 24-dart revolving drum capable of firing soft projectiles 100 feet.

There you go, Tony says with a smile.

Were both thinking the same thing: Man, that looks like fun.

Helping Hand

This holiday season, Ive been sharing stories of three charities: Community of Hope, Homestretch and Sasha Bruce Youthwork. Each works with homeless families and youths in our area, putting them on the path to self-sufficiency. Your tax-deductible gift through The Washington Post Helping Hand will allow these nonprofit groups to assist more clients.

For more information or to donate online, visit posthelpinghand.com.

Twitter: @johnkelly

For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly.
A District man pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder after stabbing another man in the face last year with a butcher knife.

Daniel Scott, 36, pleaded guilty in the fatal stabbing of James Michael Neal, 54, outside a 7-Eleven convenience store in the 1100 block of South Capitol Street SW on Nov. 21, 2015.

Prosecutors said Scott stabbed Neal after an altercation between himself and a female panhandler who was a companion of Neals at the time. Prosecutors said that after an argument between Scott and the woman, Scott followed the two, then pulled out a butcher knife and lunged at Neal, stabbing him once in the face before fleeing.

Scott was arrested at a nearby McDonalds and has been an inmate at D.C. jail since his arrest. Prosecutors said the knife penetrated Neals nasal cavity, causing him to hemorrhage.

Scott is scheduled to be sentenced in D.C. Superior Court on Feb. 24.
Executive director of Maryland police chiefs group charged with soliciting prostitute

The executive director of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association resigned Monday after the group learned he had been charged with soliciting a prostitute, who in fact was an undercover police officer, according to court records.

Larry Harmel, 71, a former state trooper and the head of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police for seven years, was charged by summons Dec. 8 in connection with a sting in Southeast Baltimore that took place on Oct. 12, court records show.

On Friday, Harmel denied having been charged before hanging up on a reporter. Attorney Bruce Marcus responded Monday to a second attempt to reach Harmel and said he was unaware of the allegations and not in a position to respond directly to the charges.

Hes a long, storied, exemplary law enforcement officer and public servant whos got an unblemished career, Marcus said. We will do everything humanly possible to clear his name and reputation.

Riverdale Park Police Chief David C. Morris, president of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, said the development deeply saddens the executive board, and we respect Mr. Harmels privacy as he and his family work through this personal matter.

A plainclothes vice officer was working at 3:20 p.m. in the 6700 block of Graceland Ave. in what police describe as an area known for prostitution when she said a man in a pickup truck pulled up to her, she wrote in court documents.

The officer asked Harmel what he was looking for, and said he responded: You know.

Youre making me nervous. Are you a cop? they asked each other, according to court records.

The officer said she would perform a sex act not for a lot, saying, I havent had my medicine today. I just need to get my medicine.

He agreed and she got into Harmels truck, where he said he would take her to a graveyard. The Hebrew Cemetery is nearby. He was taken to an arrest location and told he would receive a criminal summons at a later date, police wrote in charging documents.

The Maryland Chiefs of Police Association is a nonprofit group composed of chiefs from across the state, and it lobbies on their behalf.

Harmel was a Maryland state trooper for more than 30 years, retiring as deputy superintendent. He also commanded the states Executive Protection Division and security operations at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

He led the MdTA police force for seven years. In 2014, he unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for a seat in the House of Delegates representing Baltimore County.

Baltimore Sun reporter Alison Knezevich contributed to this article.


Harry and Terri Welch are in the District ahead of a scheduled court hearing for son Edgar Maddison Welch on Dec. 13. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

It was about 10 p.m. Dec. 4 when Harry Welch Jr. received a phone call at his North Carolina home. A friend asked Welch whether he knew his son was in Washington. Welch didnt. Check the news, the friend said.

Welch, with his wife, Terri, went online and began reading about an incident that had become national news: Edgar Maddison Welch had been arrested after police said he walked into a family pizza place in the nations capital, armed with an assault rifle and seeking to free children who he believed were being held captive there.

It was the first time that the couple heard the term Pizzagate. The first time that they heard about a false conspiracy theory linking Hillary Clinton to a child sex-trafficking ring supposedly hidden in the basement of Comet Ping Pong. Their son, they said, didnt tell them about his apparent concerns about the viral fake-news story.

We were stunned. And my heart just stopped and stomach just dropped, Terri Welch said in an interview Monday.

The Welches traveled to Washington this past weekend so that they could attend their 28-year-old sons hearing Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court. Maddison Welch, who goes by his middle name, faces multiple gun-related charges in connection with the incident. No one was hurt, but police say Welch fired a gun in the restaurant and pointed a rifle at an employee.

[Alleged gunman tells police he wanted to rescue children at D.C. pizza shop]

Harry and Terri Welch said they have not been able to talk to their son. He has tried to reach them, but with the media calling nonstop, they stopped answering the phone.

They declined to talk about guns, and about the specifics of the case.

The Welches were hesitant to talk publicly at all, Terri Welch said, because the news reports have been very harsh. They wanted to help people understand their son as they know him  loving and responsible, an affectionate father to two young girls. I want people to know hes not the monster hes portrayed to be, Terri Welch said.

Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, walked into D.C. pizza restaurant Comet Ping Pong armed with an assault rifle on Dec. 4, apparently to "investigate" a fake internet conspiracy. Here's what we know about him so far. (Deirdra O'Regan/The Washington Post)

She added later: Fear can alter your perspective, and I think this has driven a lot of the misconceptions about our son. We want to dispel those misconceptions so people will really know our son.

Sitting in the offices of the D.C. Public Defender Service, the Welches said that their son had never shown much interest in politics, and that he did not vote in the presidential election.

Maddison Welch had expressed enthusiasm online for some websites that spread conspiracy theories, apocalyptic topics and fake news on his Facebook page.

He didnt talk about that with his parents, who live at the other end of a long driveway in rural Salisbury, N.C., they said; all they knew was that he sometimes played video games and watched movies online.

Interviews with friends and North Carolina court records suggest that Maddison Welch has had trouble with alcohol and drugs in the past. Asked about that after their interview, his parents responded through an attorney with a statement: As far as we know, our son drinks alcohol socially. We are not aware of any problems with alcoholism or substance abuse presently or in the past.

But his parents said they noticed a change in his personality after a car crash in October. Maddison Welch was driving to work at the Food Lion warehouse one evening when he hit a 13-year-old boy, who had to be airlifted to a hospital with broken bones and a head injury. No charges were filed in the crash. The Welches and Tajuana Tadlock, Terri Welchs sister, said that Maddison Welch, who hopes to become an emergency medical technician, stayed with the teen until help arrived.

Their son felt a lot of guilt about it and worried about the long-term effects for the child, they said. They said Maddison Welch began having nightmares but declined to seek help.

Harry Welch said that after the incident, his sons outgoing and energetic personality shifted; he became melancholy and quiet. Welch said his son began showing signs of what he believes is post-traumatic stress disorder.

He was very traumatized. We feel that accident changed him, Harry Welch said, and his wife said they have wondered whether it could have been a catalyst.

Comet Ping Pong customers came out to support the restaurant after a gunman entered it with an assault rifle, firing it at least once. Several other businesses on the block have received other threats as well. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

They had not seen signs, before that, that would raise concerns. His nephews and nieces adored him because he was so much fun, Tadlock said, building blanket forts, skateboarding, fishing, crabbing and surfing with them. His daughters loved to hike with him; one time he ended up carrying one tired daughter and one tired dog on his back.

Maddison Welch has always been adventurous  whether jumping off a barn roof as a kid or, as an adult, surfing in deep water despite a shark warning, they said. The family hunts some, but he was more into target shooting and skeet shooting.

Children are very important to him, family and friends said. He is deeply religious, with two Bible verses, Isaiah 40:30-31, tattooed across his back. And he has very strong convictions as a father, Tadlock said. The Bible says you dont treat people wrong, you dont do wrong by people, you dont hurt children. Thats how we were raised, she said.

After the earthquake in Haiti, Welch spent weeks there building houses with a church. He is always ready to step in, Tadlock said  someones back porch needs repairs, a neighbor needs a hand, Maddison will come and help.

We are a family of rescuers, and Maddison has been a part of that his entire life, Terri Welch wrote in a statement that she shared with The Washington Post on Monday, explaining that she and her husband have run a no-kill dog rescue on their family land for more than a decade, have taken in foster children and have sent money to needy children abroad. After their oldest son was killed in a car accident, Terri Welch, a nurse, wanted to give back to those who had tried to save him, and she became a volunteer firefighter.

Maddison Welch, working to follow his mothers lead, had finished firefighter training in the spring. He began working as a volunteer firefighter in May, according to the Spencer, N.C., fire chief, Gray Grubb, but he became inactive and was removed from the roster at the end of November. Tadlock said Welch had trouble responding to fire calls because he cared for his daughters during the day while his estranged wife was at work, and he worked 12-hour night shifts at the Food Lion. She said he planned to get his EMT training next year, when the girls are both in school.

Hes a dad first, she said.

Terri Welch said that not talking to her son in the days since his arrest has been difficult. In Washington, Maddison Welchs attorneys gave the Welches a letter from him, which Terri Welch declined to discuss.

Asked what the couple would say to the people at Comet Ping Pong, Terri Welchs hazel green eyes filled with tears.

Im sorry, she said. And I am sure he is sorry for any heartaches he has caused.
A 32-year-old Rockville man was sentenced to life in prison with no parole on Tuesday for breaking into a next-door couples home, stabbing them to death with a machete and fleeing on an Alaskan cruise.

I dont know what dark part of your soul caused you to do this. Im not sure that anyone does, Montgomery County Circuit Judge John W. Debelius told the attacker, Scott Tomaszewski.

He told Tomaszewski that he couldnt think of any treatment or rehabilitation regimen in prison that would make him safe upon release. I dont think there is one, Debelius said. I come up empty.

In the dark, early morning of May 10, 2015  Mothers Day  Tomaszewski cut open a screen at the home of his longtime neighbors. He first attacked Dick Vilardo, 65, as he slept, according to prosecutors. Dicks wife, Jody, 67, fled toward the kitchen. Tomaszewski attacked her there. At some point, Dick Vilardo, stumbled down the hallway to try to save his wife, according to prosecutors, and was attacked again.

[Suspect in couples deaths on Mothers Day wished all a happy holiday]

Scott Tomaszewski under arrest in Alaska.

Dick Vilardo suffered 42 cutting and stabbing injuries. Jody, his wife of nearly 40 years, suffered massive injuries to her neck.

Hours later, the Vilardos adult children  Andy and Katy, who had planned to meet them for a Mothers Day gathering  went to check on them and discovered their bodies.

Detectives tracked down Tomaszewski on an Alaskan cruise with his family. They arrested him as he came off the ship for a day of whale watching.

Police did not determine a motive. He had burglarized a nearby house earlier, and while inside the Vilardo home he also took items.

But Tomaszewski was masked when he came to the Vilardo house and was armed with what prosecutors described as an 18-inch curved machete, similar in style to a Nepalese kukri knife. The attack on Dick Vilardo in his bed, rather than a spot that would indicate he had confronted a burglar, suggested to authorities that Tomaszewski intended to commit murder.

This would be a textbook case of deliberate, premeditated murder, Debelius, the judge, said.

Tomaszewski pleaded guilty in September to the killings.

An Eagle Scout at 13, he was raised in Montgomery County by two longtime cancer researchers at the National Institutes of Health. He graduated from high school but had trouble holding a steady job. He was living with his parents on the night that he slipped out for the attack.

His parents didnt know what had happened, even as they left for the airport to fly to their cruise, officials said.

Tomaszewski had suffered from seizures. One of them led to a car wreck, which led to a brain injury. Another caused him to fall into a hot tub, nearly drown, and go into a medically induced coma for five days.

Tomaszewskis attorney, John Kudel, had his client evaluated by doctors to try to determine whether there was a connection between the old injuries and deep mental illness but, after their findings, chose not to pursue a defense that Tomaszewski was legally insane at the time of the killings.

Theres no medical explanation from these doctors who have looked at him and seen him, Montgomery States Attorney John McCarthy said in court, other than we may be looking at evil.

In court Tuesday, Tomaszewski spoke for 10 minutes.

Im an introvert. I like to keep to myself for the most part, he said, saying that being around too many people fills him with anxiety. I cant stand attention or confrontations, which makes the actions that put me here today so abhorrent to my natural self.

He also said: I cant do anything to bring Dick and Jody back to life. And despite how ashamed and disgusted I am with myself, no amount of words or apologies will help console their family.

Tomaszewski said he was seeking psychological help and had been about to admit himself into a treatment program. I didnt realize how imperative my needing immediate help was, he said.

When the judge spoke, he cited Tomaszewskis phrasing that the couple had lost their lives, arguing that such language showed Tomaszewski had not accepted that he had killed the Vilardos.

You know what, whether now or whether at some point in your life, you need to own this thing, the judge said. These people werent lost. These people were murdered, and they were murdered brutally and viciously.
A cat was found with an electrical cord tied around its neck in the basement of a Greenbelt apartment building, police say.

On Friday, Greenbelt Animal Control responded to a call in the 6100 block of Springhill Lane, Greenbelt police said in a statement. Although the electrical cord found tied around the kitten was plugged in, police said the animal did not appear to be injured. It did appear malnourished and neglected, and it was taken to an animal shelter for further care, police said.

A cat found by Greenbelt Animal Control. (Greenbelt Police Department)

Police asked anyone with information about the case to call Greenbelt Animal Control at 301-474-6124.
Two adults and one child from St. Augustine Catholic School in Northwest Washington were treated at a hospital Tuesday after feeling ill, according to the D.C. fire department.

A spokesman for the fire department, Vito Maggiolo, said the investigation is centered on a gas line in the school cafeteria. But he said firefighters took readings and found nothing abnormal. He said gas to the building was being shut off as a precaution.

Maggiolo said the school in the 1400 block of V Street NW was not evacuated. He said two other adults also felt ill but were not taken to a hospital. He said the three people taken to hospitals were for precautionary reasons only.

The school serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The first call came into the fire department about 7:45 a.m.
D.C. police are searching for a blue Hyundai Santa Fe SUV after authorities said a woman was carjacked by five masked male assailants Sunday evening as she was unloading groceries from her vehicle in Chevy Chase.

The robbery, in which one of the men or teenagers had a gun, has unnerved residents in the upscale community in Northwest Washington, where such violent crime is rare.

The carjacking occurred about three hours before a 21-year-old man was found fatally shot in his Jaguar about two miles away in the neighboring Hawthorne community. Police say they have no reason to think the two attacks are related. Both occurred along the Western Avenue corridor that runs along D.C.s border with Montgomery County in Maryland.

The carjacking occurred about 6:20 p.m. on Western Avenue, near Connecticut Avenue and the Chevy Chase traffic circle. A police report says the assailants pointed a small gun at the victim and demanded her car keys. The group then took the vehicle and drove east on Northampton Street.

[Police investigating man found fatally shot in Jaguar in Northwest]

Police described the Hyundai as blue, with District license plates EN1190.

The victim, who did not want her name published because her attackers are not yet under arrest, said she noticed the group lurking in an alley as she parked behind her house. She said they were wearing dark clothes and hooded sweatshirts. She initially thought they might be friends of a nearby resident.

The woman said she put her groceries on the ground and was closing a fidgety gate when, suddenly, I heard footsteps on the gravel. She said one of the young men, his face now concealed by a mask or black stocking, approached her and said, Give me your car keys.

He got really up close to my face, she added. I said, Whats happening, is this a joke? Thats when he brought out the gun and pointed it at my midsection. I thought, Oh my God, you dont need to do this.  The woman said she thought the assailant was throwing his life away.

She said another man approached her and demanded her wallet and money. She handed over her car keys but showed them she didnt have a wallet. The woman said the assailants left in her SUV but never demanded her phone; she dialed 911 as her car pulled out of the alley.

The woman said two violent crimes in the same day are unusual in her neighborhood. I think its a bizarre coincidence, she said of the shooting. I think mine was a crime of opportunity. I think they were novices. Its so sad, thats how theyre starting out their lives.

The fatal shooting occurred about 9:15 p.m. in the 6900 block of 32nd Street NW, in Hawthorne. The victim, Grant Copeland Dosunmu, lived with his parents two blocks away.

Police have not made any arrests or discussed a possible motive in the case.

Dosunmus father, Razak Dosunmu, said his son had left home Sunday evening but did not tell him where he was headed. His father said he did not believe his son had problems with friends or others.

The fatal shooting was the first of the year for Hawthorne, and for the police patrol area that includes much of Chevy Chase and Barnaby Woods. The area had no homicides in 2015, with six unarmed and four armed robberies.
The American flag flies in front of the capitol dome is seen at sunset on Capitol Hill, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon/AP)

Members of Virginias congressional delegation split sharply on how to pay for a major infrastructure bill and how to reform health care during a discussion Monday about what could be possible with Donald Trump as president.

Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) engaged in some heated exchanges, but found common ground on defense funding  an area that knows no partisan divide in the military-heavy state.

Comstock, Connolly, Rep. Don Beyer (D) and Rep. Rob Wittman (R) participated in a congressional roundtable hosted by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

With majorities in the House and Senate and control of the White House, Republicans have pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017.

Comstock said news of skyrocketing premiums associated with President Barack Obamas top-down Washington plan helped Republicans and hurt Democrats in the final weeks of election. She said she met an auto mechanic in 2014 who told her his insurance premium had gone up $900 a month.

Connolly said repealing Obamacare would be very cataclysmic at a time when more people are insured than ever. It sounds nice to say you met a mechanic whose premiums went up, he said, talking over her. If were going to go anecdotal, Ill be glad to introduce you to people who now have health insurance who couldnt access it before.

Beyer said Republicans plan should leave in place the provision that covers contraception.

Comstock saidbirth control would still be available for purchase over the counter, prompting Beyer to respond that fewer people would have access because it would no longer be free through insurance.

He credited the Affordable Care Act with low rates of unplanned teen pregnancy and plummeting abortions.

[Average premiums for popular ACA plans rising 25 percent]

Turning to infrastructure, the four members agreed the nation desperately needs a long-term plan for improving roads and bridges.

Comstock said Republicans are still trying to figure out how to pay for such a strategy, but noted that Virginia would like to use a portion of royalties from off-shore drilling to pay for transportation fixes.

However, she said a gas tax and repatriation of foreign funds  both ideas offered by Democrats at the federal level  are only short-term fixes.

Connolly said Republicans who signed a no-tax pledge created by Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, wont raise gas fees.

If he says its a tax increase a lot of my friends on the other side of the aisle will automatically not vote for it because he says so, he said.

Comstock, who signed the pledge, said that while Fairfax voters overwhelmingly favored Hillary Clinton, they voted down a meals tax proposal.

Among other topics raised at the session, Wittman said making broadband internet available to rural communities is the best way to bridge the economic divide between country and city dwellers.
David Donald, an investigative journalist who was long at the frontier of computer-assisted reporting and whose command of large data sets helped propel stories about the underreporting of sex assaults on college campuses, the 2008 financial crisis and bill-padding among Medicare providers, died Dec. 10 at a hospital in Reston, Va. He was 64.

The cause was complications from mesothelioma, a form of cancer, said his wife, Joyce Donald.

Since 2014, Mr. Donald had been affiliated with American Universitys Investigative Reporting Workshop. He previously was data editor at the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative journalism group in Washington, and training director at the Missouri-based Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) organization.

Mr. Donald was variously a high school English teacher, a bard (with a focus on verse about the natural world) and an outdoor-equipment salesman, all in his native Ohio, before switching to journalism in his late 30s. Computer-assisted data analysis was becoming more common in newsrooms, and in time Mr. Donald plunged into high-profile reporting projects that involved terabytes of information.

His most notable work was conducted at the Center for Public Integrity, where he was on staff from 2008 to 2014. With painstaking effort, he wrestled with colossal amounts of data and applied the analysis techniques of social-science researchers. We borrow  in reality, we steal  their methods, Mr. Donald once quipped.

The project Cracking the Codes (2012) documented the abuse of the government-run Medicare system by thousands of doctors, hospitals and other medical providers who billed for costly, often unneeded treatments for seniors, sometimes after not performing the medical service at all. The story, which ran in The Washington Post, said that such upcoding amounted to $11 billion in fraudulent fees over the previous decade.

The 21-month investigation received the Philip Meyer Award, one of journalisms highest honors for data-driven reporting, and compelled the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services to promise heightened scrutiny of and the threat of prosecution for Medicare-related corruption.

Mr. Donald was also immersed in the Center for Public Integritys joint 2009 investigation with NPR called Sexual Assault on Campus.

When he saw the relevant data collected by the Education Department, it was unreal because you had large campuses . . . that had 40, 50, 60,000 students and no rapes or sexual assault, Mr. Donald said in an IRE video. You put together a bunch of young folks and everything, it just didnt make sense.

His team distributed surveys not to college presidents but to those who knew the topic best: workers at health clinics on and near campuses. Lo and behold, he said, on many universities that claimed zero or one rape, the health clinics were reporting dozens every year.

Using Education Department data, the reporters also uncovered how the universities adjudicated sex assaults  often through secretive disciplinary proceedings and other practices that effectively silenced the victims. The federal government, Mr. Donald said, often gave colleges a slap on the wrist for mishandling or failing to report campus rapes.

The story received the Sigma Delta Chi Award for public service in online journalism, and the NPR report earned a Peabody Award, a top broadcasting honor. Soon after the reporting, Vice President Biden announced new guidelines for schools to prevent and respond to campus sexual assaults.

Like good social scientists, Mr. Donald said in the IRE video, we made the data available to other news organizations, and a lot of them localized it to fit their universities or their regional area, so it had impact that way as well.

John Dunbar, now the Center for Public Integritys chief executive, worked as a reporter with Mr. Donald on Whos Behind the Financial Meltdown? (2009), which identified the largest subprime home mortgage lenders. Defaults on those mortgages were thought to be a leading factor in the financial collapse.

The data collected by Mr. Donald spurred further reporting by the center into how Wall Street megabanks backing the mortgage lenders were being bailed out by the government  in essence, how they were rewarded for destroying the economy.

Its hard to argue with hard data, Dunbar said. You can twist it around however you want, but when its presented by someone who knows that theyre doing, its very compelling evidence.

David Charles Donald was born in Cincinnati on June 5, 1952, and he grew up in the Cleveland suburb of Berea. He was a 1974 graduate of Miami University in Ohio and in 1980 received a masters degree in English from Cleveland State University; his thesis was a volume of original poems.

He spent much of the next decade in sales, turning to journalism because of what he called his need to go back to my world of words.

He received a masters degree in journalism from Ohios Kent State University in 1997, a degree he completed while working in computer-assisted journalism at the Savannah Morning News in Georgia.

Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Joyce Winkle Donald of Reston; a son, Ryan Donald of Lithonia, Ga.; and two brothers.

During those years in Savannah, Joyce Donald said of her husband, He taught himself SQL and other computer languages, and hed still read me poetry at night when we were together.
GEORGIA

Two wounded officers return fire, kill suspect

A man shot and wounded two Georgia police officers executing a search warrant early Monday, prompting officers to return fire, killing him, authorities said.

The mans girlfriend and an infant about 1 month old were also in the house in the central city of Fort Valley at the time of the shooting but neither was harmed, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent J.T. Ricketson said.

Officer James Wynn, 27, was shot once in his vest and in his left arm, said Lt. Bryan Hunter of the Byron Police Department. Wynn underwent surgery and is expected to recover fully. Officer William Patterson, 26, also was wounded in the left arm and was treated at a hospital and released, Hunter said. Ricketson identified the deceased man as Rainer Tyler Smith, 31. Byron is near Fort Valley.

The shooting happened after a drug task force went to the home about 2:30 a.m. to execute a search warrant, Ricketson said.

 Associated Press

ILLINOIS

In corruption case, Schock says not guilty

Former Illinois congressman Aaron Schock pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court to charges that he misused government and campaign money for personal use.

The 35-year-old Republican from Peoria pronounced his plea and gave short answers to questions by U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough, who set a trial date of Feb. 7.

The one-time formidable fundraiser and rising GOP star faces federal corruption charges alleging he used his position to spend lavishly on travel, World Series and Super Bowl tickets, and other amenities of an extravagant lifestyle.

Prosecutors claim he also pocketed thousands of constituents dollars, hosting Washington tours and meet-and-greets, charging a fee and keeping some of the cash.

The 24-count federal indictment was unveiled last month. Schock resigned in March 2015.

 Associated Press

MONTANA

No challenge of judges decision in rape case

Montanas attorney generals office has been unable to find legal grounds to challenge a judges decision to send a man to jail for 60 days for raping his

12-year-old daughter, state Department of Justice spokesman Eric Sell said Monday.

The amount of time behind bars, considered lenient by many, is reprehensible but that alone was not enough to appeal the Oct. 4 sentence issued by District Judge John McKeon, Sell said. The Associated Press and The Washington Post are not naming the man to avoid identifying the victim of a sexual assault.

State law in Montana and many other states mandates minimum 25-year prison sentences for sexual assaults of victims age 12 or younger.

However, McKeon said a legal exception allowed him to suspend most of the 30-year sentence he gave the man because a court-appointed evaluator said treatment outside prison was best to rehabilitate the offender while protecting the victim and society.

The man must undergo sex-offender treatment and faces other restrictions. He was given credit for 17 days in jail that he had served before sentencing. McKeon required him to serve the rest of his jail time within six months, saying he could stagger the time.

McKeons sentencing order noted that the girls mother and grandmother wrote letters to the court supporting community-based treatment in order to keep the man in the lives of his two sons. The mother walked in on the father raping their daughter, court records said.

 Associated Press
SOUTH CAROLINA

Judge: Some evidence in Roof case must wait

A federal judge said Tuesday he would not allow defense lawyers to present evidence about Dylann Roofs mental health to jurors weighing his guilt in the June 2015 massacre at a historic church in Charleston, S.C.

Roofs attorneys have not disputed that the avowed white supremacist shot and killed nine black parishioners during a Bible study and asked to call witnesses to testify about his state of mind and personal characteristics.

The motion listing the witnesses was sealed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson, who said in court that they included a police officer and someone with whom Roof had a business interaction, objected to the proposed testimony as self-serving hearsay and justification.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled that such evidence must wait until the penalty phase, when prosecutors plan to seek a death sentence.

The defense is hoping jurors will spare Roof, 22, from execution. He has indicated he will represent himself during the trials sentencing phase.

Roof is not asserting an insanity defense and was found competent to stand trial on federal charges of hate crimes resulting in death, obstruction of religion and firearms violations, Gergel noted in an order Monday.

 Reuters

NEW JERSEY

Romanian sentenced

in ATM conspiracy case

A Romanian national was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Tuesday for participating in a scheme that stole bank account information from thousands of customers by installing card-reading devices in ATMs.

A federal judge in Newark, N.J., sentenced Robert Mate to 57 months in prison for his role in what the U.S. attorneys office called one of the largest such conspiracies ever uncovered. It is estimated that multiple banks were defrauded out of at least $5 million, and thousands of customers were affected.

Mate, 31, who also went by the name Marcel Varga, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He also will be required to pay about $7.4 million in restitution under terms of his plea agreement.

Authorities uncovered the scheme in 2013. Fifteen of 16 people charged in the conspiracy have been convicted and one remains elusive, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

Mate and the others, including mastermind Marius Vintila, also of Romania, used the card-reader devices and pinhole cameras at ATMs in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida and other states. The information taken from customers bank cards through the process known as skimming was used to produce fraudulent cards and make withdrawals from other peoples accounts.

Vintila was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison. He used an alias to rent storage units where the group stored cash, the skimming devices and other materials used in the scheme. He also allegedly provided members of the group with fake passports and aliases.

 Associated Press

16 horses killed in fire: Sixteen horses were killed after a fire broke out in a barn north of Denver, firefighters said Tuesday. The fire was reported just after 1 a.m. Tuesday near the city of Brighton. Brighton Fire Rescue spokeswoman Natalie Ridderbos said the horses have various owners and that the barn appears to have been used as a boarding stable. Firefighters dont know what sparked the fire but do not think it was set intentionally. They say it started in an area of the barn that contains a refrigerator and a light. Another barn fire in the area killed eight horses in August. It was started by an overloaded extension cord.

Five hurt in Kansas oil field explosion: Five people have been hurt, two of them critically, in an explosion at a western Kansas oil field, authorities said Tuesday. KWCH-TV reported that the blast happened Monday morning south of Sharon Springs in Wallace County. Fire Chief Jay Sharp said crews were working when gas made its way onto the deck floor of a warming hut where heaters were running. Sharp said the explosion happened after an electrical spark occurred. Sharp said responding crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly.

British man sentenced in attempt to kill Trump: A British man diagnosed with mental illness was sentenced Tuesday to about four more months in a U.S. prison for trying to grab a police officers gun in a plan to kill then-

presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Las Vegas in June. Michael Steven Sandford, 20, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Mahan to one year and one day in prison with credit for time served and good behavior behind bars.

 From news services
STERLING, VA - DECEMBER 12: U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch (L) is greeted by director of All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center's BEAT Choir Hurunnessa Fariad (R) during an event December 12, 2016 in Sterling, Virginia.. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Outgoing Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on Monday urged Americans, and specifically American Muslims, to have faith and to persevere in the face of challenges in the years ahead  even as they grapple with the highest rate of hate crimes since Sept. 11, 2001, and growing concerns about the countrys new politics.

I know that many Americans are wondering: Are they in danger simply because of the way they look? Or the way they pray? Lynch said during an interfaith gathering at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Sterling, Va. I know that some are also wondering if the progress that we have made, at such a great cost, and over so many years, is in danger of sliding backwards.

During her 30-minute speech, Lynch oscillated between praise for what the Justice Department and Americans in general have accomplished in civil rights, and an acknowledgment of the anxiety and the hate crimes that stain our nations very soul.

Muslims and other minority groups have voiced increasing concerns in recent weeks about their safety and legal rights under the future administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump said that he plans to implement a ban on Muslims entering the United States or require those already in the country to register in a database.

The FBI last month released statistics that showed a 67 percent jump in hate crimes against Muslims in 2015  the highest rise for any group  and thats not even this year, Lynch said Monday.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that 2016 could be another record year, with Islamic activist groups and mosques reporting hate incidents on a near-daily basis. Vandals have spray-painted insults on the walls of mosques. Men and women have shouted taunts, and in some cases attacked Muslims or tried to remove womens headscarves. Some of the assailants have explicitly invoked Trumps name.

Lynch, who referred in her speech to the recent eruption of divisive rhetoric, but never mentioned Trump or his administration specifically, will be leaving office next month when Trump assumes the presidency. And if Trumps nominee for attorney general wins Senate approval, Lynch, the countrys first black female attorney general, stands to be replaced by Jeff Sessions, a U.S. senator from Alabama who has voiced support for Trumps proposed ban on Muslims entering the country.

It is unclear what, if any changes, Sessions would make to the Justice Departments ongoing lawsuits against local jurisdictions that it thinks acted with bias when they denied Muslims permits to build mosques, or its prosecution of suspects in hate crimes  a Justice Department posture that Lynch touted on Monday.

It is also unclear whether the new administration will implement a Muslim registry, as Trump and some of his associates have advocated. At least two of his advisers have suggested reinstating the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), a program drafted after 9/11 by a current Trump adviser. The program mandated the registration of immigrants and visitors from higher risk countries, and civil rights groups said it unfairly targeted Muslims. Obama closed the program in 2011, but a separate interfaith group held a protest in downtown Washington on Monday to call on the president to dismantle any regulatory vestiges that could be used to rebuild the registry.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said Monday that the department removed all countries [previously] designated under NSEERS, and stopped registering individuals under that program in 2011. Since then, the NSEERS program has gone unused, said Marsha Catron, the spokeswoman.

On Monday, Lynch likened the struggle of Muslims and other minority groups to the African American civil rights movement, and to the experiences of her father and grandfather, a North Carolina sharecropper.

This has always been hard, she told the gathering, which included Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Sikh leaders.

We face challenges that will require the Department of Justice to remain an active force for good in communities from coast to coast, she said. Our federal hate-crimes laws are among the most powerful tools we have for creating a more just and more equal nation.

And career Justice Department prosecutors will continue to enforce them, she said to applause.

Lynch did not address any specific questions about the future. Nor did she address the concerns of some members of the Muslim and civil rights communities that Muslims and mosques are already thought to be the targets of extra scrutiny and entrapment schemes by the FBI  an assertion that the FBI denies.

Lynch selected the ADAMS Center, which serves 25,000 people in the D.C. Metro area and has one of the largest mosques in the country, partly because of its size and the partnership with the interfaith community, a Justice Department official said.

Mosque leaders say they also have a close relationship with the FBI. The ADAMS Center was the recipient this year of the FBI Directors Community Leadership Award for its leadership role in building partnerships between law enforcement and the Muslim community, according to the FBI.

Justice Department and FBI officials filled two rows of chairs in the ADAMS Center gymnasium on Monday, listening as a group of Muslim Boy and Girl Scouts  the latter in American flag headscarves  recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and as the mosques leaders, wearing American flag pins, spoke of Muslim veterans and the mosques own Gold Star family.

Muslim leaders who attended the event said they were satisfied with Lynchs words. She pretty much covered everything, said Saleem Arif, the Centers Scout leader and an IT programmer. I trust our justice system. Its not run by one person.

A few hours after Lynch concluded her speech and listened to the ADAMS Center youth choir sing America, the Beautiful, a separate interfaith group made up of protesters stood in front of the Justice Department and demanded that Obama do [his] part to stop Trumps Muslim registry.

More than 80,000 people registered under NSEERS, and 13,000 of them were deported, said the activists from MoveOn.org and an assortment of other groups. And the regulatory language that made NSEERS possible is still on the books, said Deepa Iyer, an activist and writer.

What were afraid of is the new administration can say, We have precedent for this,  she said.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Catron declined to address the protesters assertion that the program could be easily reinstated.
Planned Parenthood officials are scrambling to prepare for the likelihood that Congress next year will cut off more than a half-billion dollars in federal funding to the group, fulfilling the wishes of abortion foes who are planning an aggressive push to roll back abortion rights under President-elect Donald Trump.

Officials with the 100-year-old womens health nonprofit organization are leaning on donors, new and old, and preparing to lobby friendly lawmakers at the state and local level to stem some of the loss. They have started gaming out which communities might be able to withstand a loss of services. They are asking supporters to get their medical care at Planned Parenthood clinics to increase the proportion of privately insured patients.

The effort to defund Planned Parenthood is likely to be just the opening salvo in a new battle over abortion rights touched off by the election. Empowered by joint Republican control of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2006, antiabortion activists see a historic opportunity to outlaw certain procedures and perhaps reverse Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationally four decades ago.

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) said in an interview that she plans to introduce a bill that would eliminate the providers funding as one of the first orders on the agenda when the new Congress convenes next month.

The federal dollars to Planned Parenthood  most of which flow to the organization in the form of Medicaid reimbursements  make up more than 40 percent of its budget. Such a loss, Planned Parenthood officials say, would force them to close many programs and turn away many of the 2.5 million patients their clinics see annually.

Planned Parenthood activists express their concern about President George W. Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts Jr., in front of the Supreme Court July 20, 2005, in Washington. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Obviously we are doing everything we can through advocacy and everything else to make sure we can continue to serve patients, said Erica Sackin, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood. But at the end of the day, this is a fight of a scale that we havent seen before and we need to be realistic about how much is at stake.

Among the other hopes of antiabortion groups that now seem plausible: A federal ban on dilation and extraction, the most common abortion procedure in the second trimester. Legislation to make permanent the Hyde Amendment, currently renewed every year, to bar federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. A ban on the procedure at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

And with Trumps pledge to appoint justices who oppose Roe v. Wade , the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide, abortion foes also see a chance to overturn that landmark ruling. Last week, in a direct challenge, Ohio lawmakers passed a ban on abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks. Gov. John Kasich (R) has not yet said if he will sign the measure.

The first strike, however, is likely to be aimed at crippling an organization that not only performs more than 300,000 abortions a year but also is the best known advocate for the unfettered rights of women to obtain the procedure.

Planned Parenthoods federal funding comes primarily from Medicaid as well as Title X, which provides family-planning grants. Although the money cannot be used for abortions, critics say it indirectly supports the procedures and that Americans want no part of such work.

It is time that taxpayers are taken off the hook for supporting an organization that supports the killing of innocent children, said Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), a longtime Planned Parenthood foe.

Antiabortion groups have urged congressional leaders to try to defund the group immediately in the new Congress as part of the budget reconciliation process, which requires a simple majority to pass. They sent a similar bill to President Obama in 2015; he vetoed it. Trump has pledged to sign such a measure.

Ohio lawmakers passed a bill that would prohibit abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected  at around six weeks, before many women realize they are pregnant. Here's what you need to know about the bill. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

It was one of the conditions that the pro-life movement had for supporting Trump, said Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, a conservative group. Since his election, Trump has not addressed the controversy over Planned Parenthood and his transition team did not return a request for comment.

Such a vote is likely to meet fierce resistance among reproductive rights advocates, who would no doubt challenge the effort in court. Federal law protects the right of patients on Medicaid to use the providers of their choice, and previous efforts at the state level to defund Planned Parenthood have been blocked by the courts.

But Congress has broad leeway in setting laws, and it is likely that the decision would ultimately rest with the Supreme Court.

We know that we have the will in both the House and the Senate to pass a new version of the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, said Black, as well as willing partners in Trump and Vice president-elect Mike Pence, who as governor of Indiana signed one of the nations strictest abortion laws. While in Congress, Pence filed the first legislation to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal dollars and tried to shut down the government over giving money to the organization.

There are other ways the Trump administration could target the organization. The Health and Human Services Department could back off what has been an aggressive defense under the Obama administration to stop states from cutting off Medicaid funds to the group. The Justice Department could redouble efforts by Congress to find evidence, so far lacking despite multiple investigations, that Planned Parenthood illegally sold fetal tissue for a profit.

In several polls over the past year, sizable majorities of respondents opposed cutting off all funding to Planned Parenthood. In a January CBS News/New York Times poll, 57 percent of those surveyed said Planned Parenthood should continue to receive funding from the federal government.

Across the country, leaders of Planned Parenthoods 52 affiliates are groping their way forward, unsure of exactly what is to come but operating with certainty that it will be bad. They spent part of last week in Washington, exchanging notes and strategizing.

The impact is likely to be greater for clinics that have a large number of patients on Medicaid, and less so on clinics that have fewer Medicaid patients. States that have more restrictive Medicaid policies have taken away the state matching portion of Title X funding. Other states, including Kansas, have refused to disburse Title X dollars to Planned Parenthood.

Nationally, about half of the organizations patients rely on Medicaid to get their preventive care, raising the prospect that a complete loss of federal funds will force clinics to turn some patients away.

Laura McQuade, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which serves four states, believes her health centers will be in a better position than others: Republican governors and legislators have already stripped away much of the federal funding her organization receives. She is asking donors who have private insurance to start using Planned Parenthood as a health-care provider to boost revenue.

Blue-state affiliates, for lack of a better phrase, are going to be hit much, much harder than those of us operating in deeply red states. We have lost the majority of our money already, she said.

Vicki Cowart, president of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which covers all or parts of five states, said her staff is analyzing which clinics might be most affected. A program that provides vasectomies to men in New Mexico, for instance, would have to shut down if its funding source, Title X, is cut off.

Were looking at this from a massive planning perspective, but then you put yourself in the shoes of the person who needs a vasectomy, and its a profound event for them, she said. The cost of human misery in this setting is huge, and I dont want us to lose sight of the fact that these are people, not some stupid political game.

Communities that have been supportive of Planned Parenthood are pledging to step in if the organization is defunded. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) last week tweeted that if GOP threatens federal funding for Planned Parenthood of NYC, we will ensure women receive the health care they need.

Anxious women have flocked to Planned Parenthood out of fear that their nearby clinic will close or policy changes might make birth control or other health care harder to get. In the immediate aftermath of the election, the organization said, there was a 10-fold increase at its clinics in the number of women seeking intrauterine devices  a long-acting and costly form of birth control that is now available for many women free of charge because of the Affordable Care Act.

The organization also said it has seen a surge of donations, some offered in Pences name as a jab at the incoming vice president, and a flood of people seeking to volunteer.

Amid all the uncertainty, clinics have sought to reassure patients that they have withstood political attacks before and will do so again.

Planned Parenthood is not about to go away based on anything that happened in this election, said Sarah Stoesz, president of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Weve built muscle over 100 years.

Scott Clement contributed to this report.
ITALY

2 convicted in sinking that killed 700 migrants

A judge in Sicily on Tuesday convicted a ship captain and a crew mate in the April 2015 sinking off Libya that killed 700 people in the Mediterraneans worst-known migrant disaster.

The Tunisian captain, Mohammad Ali Malek, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined 9 million euros (about $9.5 million). He was convicted of multiple manslaughter counts. His Syrian crew mate, Mahmud Bikhit, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 9 million euros for facilitating illegal immigration.

Malek was accused of inadvertently ramming the overloaded fishing boat into a cargo ship that had come to its rescue on April 18, 2015. The boat flipped after passengers rushed to one side, trying to get off. Only 28 survived.

The Italian navy brought the wreck to the surface this year and recovered about 700 bodies.

 Associated Press

IRAN

U.S. sanctions measure spurs retaliatory moves

Irans president on Tuesday ordered officials to draw up plans to build nuclear-powered ships and to show how the United States violated last years nuclear deal, a response to a vote by the U.S. Congress to extend some sanctions on the country.

The moves by President Hassan Rouhani were widely seen as posturing that would not affect the nuclear deal that Iran reached with six major world powers.

The Iran Sanctions Act awaits President Obamas signature to become law.

In a letter, Rouhani gave Ali Akbar Salehi of Irans Atomic Energy Organization three months to come up with a plan for nuclear-powered ships and producing fuel for them. A separate letter ordered Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to follow up on the U.S. violations of the nuclear deal.

Rouhani said the measures were warranted in light of the United States foot-dragging in fulfilling its commitments under the multilateral nuclear deal . . . and the recent ratification of anti-Iran legislation in the U.S. Congress, state television reported.

 Associated Press

EUROPEAN UNION

Turkeys crackdown hurts membership talks

The European Union on Tuesday expressed deep concern about Turkeys security crackdown since a coup attempt in July but stopped short of officially freezing membership talks with the country.

At talks in Brussels, E.U. foreign and European affairs ministers decided that no new sections of Turkeys accession negotiations should be started  an attempt to balance their concerns about the crackdown against their need for Ankara to manage Europes refugee crisis.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the detention of tens of thousands of people and forced many more from public service jobs in recent months. On Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said 568 people had been detained in the past two days over their alleged affiliation with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.

Turkey began membership talks in October 2005, but they have moved at a snails pace and are now virtually frozen.

Saying that Turkey is drifting today, Frances European affairs minister, Harlem Desir, declared that there will be no new chapters opened, referring to the 35 policy areas that all membership candidates must address.

Ankara has started negotiations in 15 of the 35 chapters. Only one chapter  science and research  has been closed.

 Associated Press

3 key Islamic State militants killed in Syria: U.S. airstrikes killed three key leaders of the Islamic State group in Syria, including two involved in the November 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter told U.S. airmen at a base in Italy. His spokesman said the three were killed in a Dec. 4 airstrike in Raqqa, the de facto capital of the groups self-proclaimed caliphate.

Aftershocks drive Indonesians from homes: The number of people displaced by last weeks earthquake in Indonesias Aceh province has jumped to more than 85,000 as aftershocks drive people from their homes, the nations disaster agency said. A spokesman said there have been nearly 90 aftershocks since the 6.5-magnitude quake, which killed 102 people and injured nearly 900.

 From news services
Regarding the Dec. 8 front-page article Man suing EPA is in line to lead it:

Is there a way to oppose the Paris agreement on climate change without publicly denouncing it? Can President-elect Donald Trump avoid the appearance of an anti-environment denunciation while still undermining the agreements goals and appeasing climate-change deniers and the fossil-fuel industry? Hmm. Of course  put Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In the name of job-saving deregulation, Mr. Pruitt, who has for years litigated against environmental protection, will want to dismantle the Clean Power Plans set of regulations designed to cut U.S. carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030. It could be a death by a thousand cuts. At the same time, Mr. Trump could sidestep a potentially unpopular, conspicuous abdication of the United States commitment to the Paris agreement. This is the way Republican administrations since President Nixon have traditionally and successfully fought environmental protection. Mr. Pruitt and Mr. Trump can call it the Smart Deregulation, Job-Saving, Clean-Enough Power Environmental Protection Plan. Whos going to know? Only the so-called radical left-wing environmentalists, and all they care about is killing jobs for the middle class while obtaining funding for climate-change studies to give themselves jobs.

Barry Kowalski, Arlington
CHARLES W. CALDWELL III, whose job description, now soaked with irony, is chairman of the Prince Georges County liquor board, was arrested last week and charged with driving under the influence, as well as reckless driving. Mr. Caldwell had attended the grand opening last Thursday of the new MGM casino at National Harbor, in Maryland, when shortly before midnight, he sideswiped one car and, in short order, backed into another, jolting its occupants, according to witnesses. Police, who responded immediately, reported a strong smell of alcohol on Mr. Caldwell, and charged him.

When public officials are charged with a crime as serious as drunken driving, it is not only their driving ability that may be impaired. It is their judgment.

Mr. Caldwell insists he was not drunk  he had just a tipple or two while at the casinos opening, he says. His denial would be more persuasive if a cellphone video shot by Gina Seelig, a passenger in the second car, did not strongly suggest otherwise. The video, as described by The Posts Arelis R. Hernandez, depicts a man, apparently Mr. Caldwell, wobbling, swaying, staggering and flailing his arms while seeming unable to walk a straight line as requested by the police.

By way of explanation, Mr. Caldwell, who is 72, cited old age as the cause for his shakiness on his feet. According to the police report, Mr. Caldwell spoke with thick slurred speech, argued with officers and asked, Is there a way we can make this go away? He repeatedly told the officers that he was chairman of the liquor board.

In his capacity as head of the liquor board, otherwise known as the Board of License Commissioners, Mr. Caldwell, who was appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and confirmed by the state Senate, serves a quasi-judicial function  administering and enforcing state and local laws and regulations, according to the boards website. His duties include issuing liquor licenses to more than 600 establishments across the county. That job calls for good judgment, which is precisely the quality that was lacking if indeed Mr. Caldwell was inebriated when he got behind the wheel of his car.

The same lack of judgment was evident in County Council member Mel Franklin (D-Upper Marlboro), charged with drunken driving last month after he crashed his county-owned vehicle into another car  the third time he has crashed at taxpayers expense. Mr. Franklin, who is thought to be angling to run for county executive in 2018, has not bothered to offer a public explanation for his abuse of the countys vehicular fleet.

Then there was Karen R. Toles (D-Suitland), another County Council member, who was chased down by police in 2012 going in excess of 100 mph on the Beltway, only to mouth off to the officer who finally pulled her over. This is why people dont like P.G., she said.

Were not aware of any antagonism toward Prince Georges generally, but plenty of its residents would be within their rights to feel disgust at the conduct and apparent mind-set of some officials who seem to think that bearing a title empowers them to flout the law.
THE NATURE of Donald Trumps relationship with Russia is the most obscure and disturbing aspect of his coming presidency. Mr. Trumps unwavering defense of Vladimir Putins regime against all criticism, and his breezy dismissals of a CIA finding that Moscow sought to tip the presidential election in his favor, raise critical questions. Does the president-elect merely happen to believe that he should begin by trying to cooperate with Mr. Putin, or is he driven by undisclosed personal or financial interests? Apart from the election controversy, does Mr. Trump accept the overwhelming evidence that Mr. Putins Kremlin is bent on disrupting and diminishing Western democracies, and the United States in particular, and will he resist that project?

The uncertainty Mr. Trump has raised around these questions, including among a number of congressional Republicans, inevitably shadows his possible nomination of ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Mr. Tillerson is evidently an able and seasoned executive who has managed one of the worlds largest companies and, in doing so, has gotten to know issues and leaders around the world. But one of those leaders is Mr. Putin, with whom Mr. Tillerson has cut enough deals over the course of two decades to be awarded Russias Order of Friendship. He has been a staunch opponent of sanctions against Russia, which his company once estimated had cost it $1 billion.

Mr. Tillerson might be considered a logical and qualified pick for a president seeking to rebuild constructive relations with Moscow. Or his nomination could augur a sellout by Mr. Trump of vital U.S. interests in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere. Given the opacity of Mr. Trumps ties to Russia, a consequence of his continuing refusal to release his tax returns and business records, senators are right to be wary of a Tillerson nomination.

Mr. Trumps rejection of the finding that Russian agents meddled in the election looks particularly blinkered in light of reports that Mr. Putins regime has tried to intervene in numerous other Western elections  most recently in Germany. The president-elect may reasonably worry that Democrats will use evidence of interference to delegitimize his administration. But it is one thing for Mr. Trump to defend what remains a clear electoral victory; it is quite another to deny or ignore the Putin regimes malevolent actions, which should be fully exposed and punished with bipartisan support.

Similarly, it is understandable that ExxonMobil would object to sanctions that blocked oil and gas megaprojects Mr. Tillerson negotiated with Mr. Putin. But those sanctions were adopted for a vital geopolitical cause: to punish Russia for its invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine, and to force a political settlement. In the face of Mr. Putins refusal to implement the peace plan he agreed to, the lifting of sanctions now would invite more Russian aggression, perhaps directed at NATO members.

If Mr. Trump nominates Mr. Tillerson, senators should seek clear statements recognizing the well-established facts about Russias belligerent behavior. For his part, the president-elect could ease many concerns by disclosing, once and for all, any investments or loans his companies have received from Russian firms and individuals. What should be unacceptable is for a new president to radically shift U.S. policy toward an established adversary while denying  or hiding  material facts.
The Portland, Ore., City Council just struck a direct blow at inequality, passing a path-breaking law that will slap a surtax on large corporations that pay their chief executives more than 100 times what they pay their typical worker.

Cynics immediately scorned the act both as mere symbol and as likely to drive business out of the city. In fact, the law is far more likely to generate similar measures in cities across the country. Donald Trump has trumpeted that Republican control of Congress will enable him to cut taxes, roll back regulation and overturn all things Obama-related, including signature health-care and climate-change reforms. Portlands act suggests Trumps biggest opposition may come from cities and from blue states across the country.

Portlands surtax goes after one of the greatest sources of inequality: corporate Americas perverse rewards structures, which let chief executives pocket more and more of the rewards of growth while workers get stiffed. In 1965, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies made about 20 times more than the typical worker; now they rake in more than 335 times as much, reports the AFL-CIOs Executive PayWatch. In 2018, one of the Dodd-Frank reforms will require publicly held companies to publish their chief executive-worker pay ratio. Using that calculation, Portland will tax corporations with voracious chief executives extra, penalizing extreme inequality and raising real revenue for investment in the city  as much as $3.5 million per year in Portlands case. Trump, of course, has broadcast his plans to cut corporate taxes drastically. Portland suggests one way cities and states can recoup some of that money for their own coffers.

Trumps plans for top-end tax cuts can also create an opportunity for progressive cities. New Yorks Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) campaigned and won on raising taxes on the very rich to pay for universal pre-kindergarten for New Yorks children. Cities and blue states may well counter federal tax cuts for corporations and the rich with state and local tax hikes that can be invested in vital public services.

On climate change and renewable energy, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose personal fortune makes Trump look like a pauper, pledged that if Trump carried through with his campaign threats to withdraw from the Paris agreements on climate, he would urge 128 cities to join the Paris agreement. Washington, Bloomberg noted, will not have the last word on the fate of the Paris Agreement in the U.S.  mayors will, together with business leaders and citizens. California already has a cap-and-trade ceiling on carbon emissions, with 35 percent of the revenue generated earmarked for clean-energy investments in low-income communities. The revenues invested  more than $1.2 billion in 2014 and 2015  dwarf the $28 million provided California cities by the federal Community Development Block Grant program, the largest community grants program under President Obama.

President-elect Donald Trump is nominating fast-food executive Andrew Puzder as secretary of labor. Here's what you need to know about him. (Sarah Parnass,Osman Malik,Danielle Kunitz,Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

Trumps appalling nominee for secretary of labor, fast-food chief executive Andrew Puzder loudly scorns virtually every worker protection  the minimum wage, sensible overtime protections, paid family leave and paid sick days. Under President Obama, the Republican House majority wouldnt allow even a vote on raising the minimum wage. But driven by the Fight for $15 movement of low-wage workers, 14 cities and states have passed $15 minimum-wage measures. Twenty-nine states now have minimum wages higher than that of the federal government. Initiatives raising the minimum wage passed in four states in 2016, including Arizona, which also voted for Trump. San Francisco has passed a worker bill of rights measure that guarantee workers fair schedules and equal treatment for part-time workers. It also requires businesses to provide paid sick leave. Other cities have begun similar reforms.

Similarly, if Trump and the Republican Congress carry out their threats to deregulate Wall Street once more, states can toughen their banking regulations, and crack down on bank fraud. Or, as Steven Pearlstein noted in The Post, they can revive early progressive movement reforms and charter state mutual banks and insurance companies that offer lower cost services than too-big-to-fail banks.

Cities have already announced they are ready to counter Trumps divisive threats to people of color and women. Sanctuary cities from Los Angeles to Chicago have announced their defiance. In a stirring speech at New Yorks Cooper Union, de Blasio pledged to New Yorkers that New Yorks values would not change: We are always New York. Somos siempre Nueva York.

Democrats have total control in only six states (Republicans control 24). Yet there are progressive city mayors and city councils throughout blue and red states  from Salt Lake City to Jackson, Miss. Red-state governments can and do try to quash progressive city reforms, as the conservative Ohio state legislature demonstrated in passing a law prohibiting Ohios cities from hiking the minimum wage. But grass-roots campaigns (Fight for $15, Jobs With Justice) and organizations (Peoples Action, Working Families Party and Our Revolution, the offshoot of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign) are driving this agenda and challenging opposition to popular reforms. These clashes are likely to build the movement for change, not deter it.

Trump, of course, still can wreak havoc, stripping millions of health care, trashing Americas leadership role in addressing climate change, unleashing a new lawless era of crony capitalism and sowing division rather than decency. But even with Republicans in control of Congress, neither he nor his Cabinet of bankers, billionaires and generals will have a free hand. Resistance will come, not only in the streets but also from leaders in states and cities who are intent on making America better.

Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvels archive or follow her on Twitter.
Jeffrey Gedmin is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a senior adviser at Blue Star Strategies consulting firm and former president and chief executive of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Gary Schmitt is co-director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

Donald Trump clearly views himself as master of the deal. When will the president-elect catch on that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been taking the United States to the cleaners in the media and information game? Putin has engineered a deal so profitable to his interests and so disadvantageous to the United States that it ought to become a business-school case study.

In 2005, Moscow decided to rebrand Putins Russia by establishing the Kremlin-directed and state-funded television network Russia Today. Its product and intended customer were clear: flattering news and information about Russia for a global audience. Russia Today hired young, attractive on-camera talent from the ranks of unemployed American and British journalists. Such upstart talent thrived at Russia Today, where Bernie Sanders-style rabble-rousing meets a youthful, edgy culture supported by high-end production values.

Like any good business, Russia Today showed agility and adapted to market conditions. When network executives discovered that the name was a liability, they changed Russia Today to RT (just as Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC around the time popularity of fried foods began to fade). It also became clear that audience size would be driven not by good news about Russia, but bad news about the United States. An emphasis on the woes and hypocrisies of U.S. politics and society would dovetail nicely with Putins vision of making Russia great again and delegitimizing the U.S.-led liberal order.

Bolstered by substantial resources from the Kremlins coffers, RT expanded with Arabic- and Spanish-language services and launched RT UK in 2014. French broadcasts are expected in 2017.

There was one more thing RT needed to do to be successful: tilt the playing field to its advantage. RTs American competitors, taxpayer-funded Voice of America and Radio Liberty, have evolved since the Cold War into multiplatform media companies comprising television, Web, social media and radio. Both provide reliable news and information, and both help ordinary Russians better understand their own country and the United States.

And heres the rub.

The Kremlin decided it wouldnt do to just jail U.S.-sponsored journalists and expel VOA and Radio Liberty. Putin decided on a shrewder approach. First, he disrupted their indigenous network of partner stations. Russian authorities used health and fire inspectors, tax collectors and anti-corruption police to harass VOA and Radio Liberty affiliates and drive up the cost of doing business with the Americans. In short order, Radio Libertys local partners, for instance, shrank from several dozen to a handful. Second, the Kremlin blocked the Americans from important airwaves, refusing them access to the Russian television market. Russian regulators have steadfastly rejected their efforts to obtain a license. (The BBC has faced comparable harassment and constraint.)

As a result, Russian-sponsored rants about America get airtime in America, while U.S.-underwritten attempts to fairly and honestly inform Russians are massively curtailed. Thats not an uneven playing field; thats our adversary owning the field and using Americas own liberality to attack U.S. policies and discredit Western values.

The new administration needs to push back.

Under U.S. law, there is a standing presumption that foreign ownership of broadcast companies or broadcast licenses may exceed 25 or 20 percent, respectively, only if the Federal Communications Commission determines that allowing it is in the public interest. However, while the law has not changed, the FCC has adopted more lenient rules for assessing that interest and indicated that it no longer frowns upon 100 percent foreign ownership.

Given the proliferation of broadcast mediums today, it was probably appropriate to widen the licensing aperture. And, of course, the United States ethic of free speech inclines us to take a relaxed approach to voices other than our own. But that very principle, if we take it as seriously as we should, ought to make us demand reciprocal treatment abroad.

When it comes to much of our foreign policy, Trump has argued that U.S. negotiators have failed miserably. Weve been made chumps by other countries. Free trade is not necessarily fair trade, or so many now believe. And while one can have doubts about that arguments economic merits, it has certainly been true enough when it comes to government-sponsored broadcasting.

The Kremlin has put hundreds of millions of dollars into its broadcasting and propaganda efforts, and the United States, along with other allies, has provided an open door for it to pursue its illiberal agenda. The least Washington should do is insist that, in exchange for access to U.S. airwaves, the favor be returned. Either the FCC can broaden its public interest assessments to include equal access, or Congress can mandate it through amendments to the Communications Act of 1934.

Fair play may be more important than ever. Recent reform legislation passed by Congress aims to make U.S. international broadcasting more effective by streamlining bureaucracy. If we resist the temptation to abuse the opportunity  Kremlin-style dissembling and deceit can never be Americas game  and stick to the highest standards of journalistic integrity, we can advance our interests with renewed energy and purpose.

With the end of the Cold War, the hope was that the competition of ideas might end as well. Russian revanchism has put it squarely back on the table, and Washington needs once again to take it seriously.
Supporters listen during the pledge of allegiance before President-Elect Donald Trump speaks at a "USA Thank You Tour 2016" event in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 9. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

This column is for Bernard Gibson, a good man from the state of Indiana. Late last month, NPR went out to Vigo County there to explain why it flipped from voting for Barack Obama in 2012 to Donald Trump in 2016. Gibson was one of those interviewed, and here is what he said: These are real people here. These are not New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles. You know, these are real people that live every day from hand to hand, just have to work to make a living and everything else.

Oh.

There are some things you ought to know, Mr. Gibson. I served in the Army. I worked at blue-collar jobs. I washed dishes and bused tables. I went to college at night and worked during the day for an insurance company (as the legendary Cohen of Claims). My father was raised in an orphanage, and my mother was an immigrant from Poland whose first childhood memory was of hunger. Somehow, despite all of that, I am called a member of the elite. If so, I damned well earned it.

[Trump voters  its not me, its you]

I do not mean to pick on Gibson, a real person after all, but I am tired of being told by him and others that I am not quite a genuine American because I did not vote for Trump or because I live on one of the coasts. I want to point out to Gibson that there are more of us than there are of him. At least 2.8 million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than for Trump. That does not mean Clinton won the election  she lost the electoral college, and thats what counts  but it is nevertheless true that Clinton was the candidate not just of the limousine set, but of most voters.

1 of 62 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Trump continues his post-election thank-you tour View Photos The president-elect has gone to Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina and Ohio, and saluted workers at an Indiana plant where he says he saved more than 1,000 jobs. Caption The president-elect has visited Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana, where he toured the Carrier factory. Dec. 17, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump waves as he is greeted by Azalea Trail Maids on his way to a thank you tour event in Mobile, Ala. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

After the election, I was repeatedly told that I live in something called a bubble and, because of that, I know nothing about my fellow Americans. Well, in the first place, my bubble is bigger than theirs  size ought to matter in this instance  and in the second place, I know plenty. Among the things I know is that Trump voters were played for suckers. After lambasting Clinton as a tool of Wall Street, Trump has so far named four Wall Street figures to his administration  three from Goldman Sachs alone  and an oilman is under consideration. And for the Labor Department, Trump has chosen Andrew Puzder, a fast-food magnate (Hardees and Carls Jr.) who is opposed to a decent minimum wage. This is fast shaping up as a Cabinet of billionaires and, just for leveling, the occasional millionaire. So far, aint no one who works with his hands.

Ever since the days of Jefferson and Madison and their veneration of yeoman farmers (some of whom owned slaves), we have been a bit gaga over our rural cousins, associating acreage with wisdom. Whatever the case, Americans have so totally fled the farm that now only 2 percent of us till the legendary fields. The country has not had a rural majority since 1920. Nevertheless, our electoral system favors the country mouse. The city mouse can vote or not vote  it often amounts to the same thing.

[New York should seize Trump Tower]

As it happens, Mr. Gibson, I have plenty of sympathy for typical Trump voters. (I exclude the alt-right and other menaces to the public good, such as Rudy Giuliani.) I have written about cultural dislocation and I understand the corrosive effect of diminished expectations. Clinton talked about the glass ceiling, but too many American workers  or former workers  had to contend with a cement one: jobs that were gone and not coming back. We in the bubble understand. Truly, we do.

But I will not concede that a greater wisdom exists in what is known as flyover country. It has voted for a charlatan, a blinged ignoramus who has promised the past as the future. Trump, who lives in a gilded bubble of his own, cannot reverse automation, replace robots with people or blunt American businesses compulsive search for the cheapest workforce.

Gibson is one thing. I understand. What I cannot understand is fellow bubble dwellers who tell me, with an air of impeccable condescension, that a vote for Trump was such proof of their own superior wisdom that it eclipsed all doubts about his qualifications, his temperament, his honesty in business and his veracity in speech. These people live in a bubble of their own. It is one that excludes the lesson of history and the demands of common sense. It will burst.

Read more from Richard Cohens archive.
MORE THAN six years after a brigade of U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal introduced cholera in Haiti, triggering an epidemic that has killed at least 10,000 and sickened many more, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has finally uttered the word sorry. Mr. Bans tortuously worded apology, delivered recently in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, must be the beginning, not the end, of official contrition and accountability by the United Nations in Haiti.

The glacial rate at which the United Nations grasped its moral responsibility for having wreaked a public-health disaster in the Western Hemispheres most impoverished nation has tarnished the institution. Cowed by its lawyers, jealously guarding its prestige, the United Nations averted its gaze from the victims, ignored incontrovertible scientific evidence and trembled at its potential legal liability.

Only when it became clear that its credibility was in tatters, and its authority to insist that member states adhere to international norms was in jeopardy, did the United Nations finally come to terms publicly with its culpability in the cholera outbreak. We simply didnt do enough with regard to the cholera outbreak and its spread in Haiti, Mr. Ban said. We are profoundly sorry about our role.

His statement, coming just a month before his term as the United Nations eighth secretary general expires, painstakingly avoided an overt admission of what is already known: that the outbreak began when Nepalese peacekeepers, failing to use basic protocols of sanitation at their base when they arrived in 2010, contaminated a nearby river that provided drinking water for Haitians. Cholera was rampant in Nepal at the time; it had been unknown in Haiti for decades.

What is critical now, as U.N. officials have acknowledged, is that the organization take concrete steps to make amends, namely by leading a public health blitzkrieg to eradicate the disease in Haiti and by making reparations, to victims families, their communities or both.

Legal accountability is not the point; a federal appeals panel ruled this summer that the United Nations enjoys diplomatic immunity from the victims claims. But moral accountability demands a sustained effort to wipe out a disease that has caused so much suffering in that country.

It wont be easy. U.N. officials say they have nearly raised the $200 million they sought to overhaul water and sanitation infrastructure in Haiti, and to treat choleras steady flow of fresh patients there. Thats a first step toward what is likely to be a long struggle for eradication. Unfortunately, they have made little progress in raising from member states what they hope will be an identical amount of money to provide payouts, scholarships and other benefits to the relatives and communities of the dead.

Under Mr. Bans successor, former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres, who takes office Jan. 1, the United Nations has every incentive to press ahead both to heal Haiti to the extent possible and to restore its own moral standing.
Good Lord. We are about to inaugurate as president a man whose election, according to the CIA, was aided by a Russian intelligence operation. Try as we might, we cannot pretend this didnt happen.

We cant ignore outrageous interference by an adversarial foreign power because President-elect Donald Trumps actions question his own legitimacy, or at least his fitness to hold the nations highest office, virtually every day.

He jets around the country holding adulatory victory rallies in the manner of an authoritarian strongman, preening like some latter-day Juan Peron. Does this worry you? It worries me.

He cant be bothered to sit through the regular intelligence briefings that have been a vital part of every modern presidents job. Im, like, a smart person, he explained Sunday. Are you reassured? Im not.

He reportedly is likely to nominate as secretary of state a man  ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson  whose most relevant qualification seems to be his long and cozy friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Does that sound like a good idea to you? It doesnt to me.

At a news conference, Dec. 12, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slammed Republican lawmakers who "are reluctant to either review Russian tactics or ignore them." "The Russians are not our friends," McConnell told reporters. (The Washington Post)

The president-elect appears to be assembling not a government but an anti-government. He said Sunday that nobody really knows whether climate change is real, though 97 percent of climate scientists say it is, and he intends to appoint a fervid skeptic as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He seeks to install a labor secretary who does not believe there should be a minimum-wage increase, an education secretary who shows little or no commitment to public education, and a housing secretary whose only relevant experience is having lived in houses. Is this a recipe for American greatness? Or for incompetence and failure?

Now we have the CIAs conclusion of Russian meddling on Trumps behalf. I think its ridiculous, Trump said in an interview with Fox News Sunday. But what about this weird and disturbing transition has not been ridiculous?

Trump notes that the CIA is hardly infallible, citing its flat-wrong conclusion that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He has a point. But there is little or no dispute within the intelligence community that operatives linked to the Russian government tried, at the very least, to sow doubt about the U.S. electoral process.

To that end, the Russian government directed the hacking of emails to and from Democratic Party organizations and Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, and then selectively disseminated this material through WikiLeaks and other outlets. The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reached that conclusion months ago and said so in a public statement on Oct. 7.

The only real question is whether Russias aim went beyond creating confusion to actually helping elect a specific candidate: Trump.

The CIA says yes. The FBI is reportedly unconvinced.

President Obama has ordered a full review that could settle the dispute, with a final report to be presented before he leaves office. Why wasnt this investigation ordered before the election, given the fact of Russian hacking was known in October? Good question. Perhaps Obama worried about the perception that he was using the tools of state power to influence voters.

1 of 35 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Heres a look at Trumps administration so far View Photos President-elect Donald Trump faces a challenge as he prepares for his move to the White House: selecting the men and women who will fill his administration. Caption The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Scott Gottlieb, nominee for commissioner of FDA President Trump is set to nominate Scott Gottlieb, a conservative physician and businessman with deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry, to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a White House official said. Courtesy of American Enterprise Institute/via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

Putin apparently had no such qualms.

The hacking, after all, was aimed at Democrats and their party institutions. If the Russians goal were simply to undermine confidence in the political process, surely there would have been embarrassing releases of Republican emails as well.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) confirmed Monday that there will also be a Senate investigation. The starting point for both inquiries is that the aim is not to challenge the legitimacy of Trumps victory. But just such a challenge may be the inevitable result.

After all, this was a very close election. Clinton won at least 2.8 million more votes than Trump; she lost in the electoral tally because Trump narrowly won Rust Belt states that were thought to be Democratic strongholds. Would she have won if she had spent more time in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania? Did the last-minute intervention by FBI Director James B. Comey tip the balance? Did she lose because of the original sin of conducting State Department business on a private email server?

Maybe, maybe, maybe. But also: Maybe she would have won if Russia hadnt been avidly helping her opponent.

Our president is supposed to be chosen in polling places across the United States  not behind the imposing walls of the Kremlin.

Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A.
Donald Trump has a problem that comes not from the cast of Hamilton, but from Hamilton himself.

In Federalist 68, Alexander Hamilton deals with that odd, anti-democratic feature of our constitutional order, the electoral college, which has dictated a different outcome from the popular vote in two of the past five presidential elections. The ultimate goal, he says, is to provide a check on cabal, intrigue, and corruption  a threat he specifies as coming chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?

Of a sudden, this fear does not seem quite so paranoid. A cumulative case for concern has been building for months. Trump has repeatedly expressed a soft spot for an oppressive dictator, Vladimir Putin, who is challenging American interests at every turn. As a candidate, Trump publicly invited Russia to hack his opponents emails. Trumps campaign manager, Paul Manafort, resigned amid reports that he had represented pro-Russian interests as a lobbyist. Trumps choice for national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, seems to be a Russophile and has appeared on Russias propaganda network.

In 2008, Donald Trump Jr. admitted that Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. President-elect Trump has consistently refused to be fully transparent about his finances.

Before the presidential vote, the American intelligence community determined that the Russian government directed the illegal hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other political figures. Now the CIA, according to reporting in The Post, has shared with Congress its finding that Russia intervened with the intent of swinging the election toward Trump. And Trump  instead of expressing concern about an act of cyberwar  has essentially come to Russias defense and launched an ad hominem attack on the U.S. intelligence community.

CIA officials told senators it is now quite clear that electing Donald Trump was Russias goal. In an interview on Fox News Sunday on Dec. 11, President-elect Trump denied the CIA's assessment. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

A few points:

First, the debate over whether Russia engaged in cyberespionage to help Trump or just to generally mess with American democracy is utter nonsense. Russian espionage resulted in the phased leak of material damaging to the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton at key moments during the presidential campaign. Anyone who finds Russias motivation mysterious is being intentionally obtuse.

Second, if the CIA interpretation is correct, this is not just one provocation among many. If Putin actually helped elect an American president more favorable to Russian interests, it is surely the largest intelligence coup since the cracking of the Enigma code during World War II. And it is arguably a bigger deal  more on par with, say, German intelligence helping elect Charles Lindbergh president.

Third, we will never know for sure if Russian espionage caused Trump to win. With Clinton losing by an 80,000-vote margin in three key states, everything  her poor messaging, her consistently bungled response to the email controversy, FBI Director James B. Comeys untimely letter  can be posited as the reason she lost. A hypothetical outcome minus Russian involvement is not just unknown, it is unknowable.

Fourth, Trumps blanket attack on the intelligence community for incompetence  as though he were still going after Little Marco or Lyin Ted  is an insanely dangerous antic that materially undermines American security. Given the extraordinary range of threats faced by the United States  Chinese provocations in the South China Sea, Russian attempts to dominate neighboring countries, North Koreas progress toward nuclear-tipped missiles that could reach California  a mutual trust between the president and American intelligence services is essential. That relationship has already been seriously damaged.

Will congressional Republicans pass the first big test of their integrity by convening a joint committee to investigate Russias involvement in the 2016 election? The ease with which Republicans folded under pressure from Trump on trade and refugees does not bode well. But few Republicans share Trumps sympathy for Putin, and this could be an exception to their general passivity.

Congressional Democrats might take a page from the Federalist Papers and demand that the 538 electors of the electoral college be briefed on what is known about Russian meddling before they cast their ballots on Dec. 19. This would be very unlikely to change the elections outcome because the House of Representatives holds ultimate sway. But at least it would demonstrate the type of scrutiny the founders intended.

Has a foreign power gained improper ascendance in our country? Unless that possibility is confronted in forthright fashion, suspicion will linger and fester.

Read more from Michael Gersons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook .
Garrison Keillor is an author and radio personality.

Was Donald J. Trump a recruit in

The Russians quest for a route in-

To the Oval Office

By way of a novice?

Trump pooh-poohs it: pooh-Putin.

So you hail a cab in Manhattan to go to LaGuardia and the cab driver heads for the Lincoln Tunnel and you say, LaGuardia, LaGuardia, LaGuardia, and he says, Yeah, yeah, yeah, and youre in New Jersey, and you yell at him to stop and he doesnt, he points north and says, Bridge! and now youre on I-87 passing by Poughkeepsie  this is pretty much where we are with Trump Inc. so far. The populist revolt turns into a corporate boardroom and the disaffected Democrats who voted for it are not going to catch that plane to Florida after all. They will be spending four years on cousin Sids rollaway in Schenectady.

The big guy said a couple weeks ago that he was planning to focus on running the country and now we see what focus means in his case. He appointed a pollution defender to head the EPA and his secretary of state will be the Exxon exec, a business partner of the Russians, and now you have to wonder if our next surgeon general will be an optometrist. And why not Billy Bush to head the National Endowment for the Arts? You got a problem with that?

[Real America is its own bubble]

1 of 35 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Heres a look at Trumps administration so far View Photos The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Caption The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Scott Gottlieb, nominee for commissioner of FDA President Trump is set to nominate Scott Gottlieb, a conservative physician and businessman with deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry, to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a White House official said. Courtesy of American Enterprise Institute/via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

Meanwhile, some Republican in his retinue should point out that the president does not run the country. He doesnt even run the government. There is a legislative branch involved, a judiciary, there is Twitter, Saturday Night Live, the dishonest press, and many many others.

Presidents are royalty and we measure our lives by their reigns, but their effect on the country in general is greatly exaggerated. Take me, for example. Mr. Lyndon Johnsons Selective Service System more or less governed my 20s, and now that Im old and shaky, his Medicare is very helpful, but for most of us, presidents are part of the scenery, like the great stone heads on Easter Island. Millions of words have been written about Richard Nixon but his effect on my life was minuscule compared to that of my third-grade teacher Fern Moehlenbrock. Her kindness and cheerfulness grow larger and larger in memory, and Mr. Nixon recedes to the size of a dried pea.

We remember Johnson for his abdominal scar and his syrupy voice, Nixon for his incredible awkwardness and I am not a crook, and Gerald Ford for tripping on the airplane stairs coming down. Then came the Georgia Sunday School teacher and the actor and the Ivy League Texan and the Arkansas playboy and the stupefied Dubya reading The Pet Goat to a class in Sarasota when the planes hit the twin towers in Manhattan. We remember their voices, as done by comedians. Their so-called legacy is mostly as cartoons. The disasters they caused fell mainly on foreigners. The marble temples erected to worship them are a bad joke.

And now, after eight years of the most graceful and articulate chief since FDR, we get this crude showman with the marble walls and gold faucets. Most of the country dreads him as he slouches toward Washington to be inaugurated. I worry what effect hell have on children. Everything Mrs. Moehlenbrock told us  no pushing, no insulting, no lying, no crude talk  Mr. Trump does on a daily basis. But how will he actually affect my life? Not much.

[New York should seize Trump Tower]

Im an entrepreneur, a writer. I dont look to the government for a tax deduction for time spent writing work that got rejected. Im not looking for legislative protection from foreign authors. Some people buy Dostoevskys books who might otherwise have bought mine: tough noogies. If I threatened to move to Mexico, no big deal.

The government that matters to me is local. I will always remember the day 14 years ago in St. Paul, Minn., when my daughter went into convulsions and I picked up the phone and in six minutes the rescue squad was in our living room, five uniforms looking after my girl and one uniform explaining to me about febrile convulsions. If you were in the midst of this crisis, Donald J. Trump would be the last person on earth youd want to see come through the door. He would tell you all about how he won Michigan and bring in a podiatrist and give you a coupon toward one of his steaks. Its going to be a long four years, people. Get back in touch with old friends. Take up hiking. Read history. But not books about Germany in the 1930s  itll only make you uneasy.
A federal judge dealt a severe setback Monday to a long-shot plan to deny Donald Trump (R) the presidency through the electoral college, refusing to suspend a Colorado law requiring the states nine electors to vote for the candidate who won the state in November.

U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel denied a request by two Colorado electors who contended that the law binding their vote to Colorado vote winner Hillary Clinton (D) violated their First Amendment rights and the intent of the Constitutions framers. The electors had sought the right to vote for someone other than Clinton to unite behind a consensus Republican other than Trump when the electoral college convenes Monday.

Daniel found that suspending the Colorado requirement would have harmed the states voters and jeopardized a peaceful presidential transition. Part of me thinks this is really a political stunt to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president, said Daniel, who was nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 1995.

If the Colorado electors had been successful, it could have signaled that similar laws in more than two dozen other states could also be overturned, freeing a large number of electors to defect from Trump. Jason Wesoky, who represents the two electors, said he may seek an emergency appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit  the only chance his clients would have of blocking the Colorado law before they have to cast their votes.

Should the Colorado electors be freed, some of them hoped to persuade enough of their counterparts elsewhere to unite behind a Republican alternative such as Mitt Romney. So far, only one Republican elector has announced he will not vote for Trump. The president-elect won 306 electors last month to Clintons 232.

An attorney for Trump filed legal papers Monday arguing a suspension of Colorados law could have sweeping consequences. This is very serious stuff, attorney Christopher Murray, who also represented the Colorado Republican Party, said in court. If you vote as a free agent in the electoral college, youre taking Colorado voters voices away.

An attorney for the state noted that Colorados ballot only lists the names of presidential contenders, not electors.

Jerad Sutton, an elector who is not one of the plaintiffs but also wants to vote for someone other than Clinton if it will block a Trump presidency, said he was disappointed with Mondays result. If people vote for president, Hillary Clinton would be president, Sutton said.

Also Monday, presidential election recount efforts came to an end in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with both states certifying Trump as the winner in contests that helped put him over the top in the electoral college stakes.

Trumps victory in Wisconsin was reaffirmed following a statewide vote recount that showed him defeating Clinton by nearly 23,000 votes. Meanwhile, a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvanias presidential election and scan some counties election systems for signs of hacking.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein successfully requested and paid for the Wisconsin recount while her attempts for similar statewide recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were blocked by the courts.
URBANA  One barrier to weed control on soybean farms was lifted in November. The Environmental Protection Agency approved a label allowing use of the herbicide dicamba in dicamba-resistant soybean, although only one commercial product received that label. Many Illinois farmers anticipate this technology will provide a much-needed method to control weeds that are resistant to multiple herbicides, as well as other difficult-to-control species.

Without question, there are instances and scenarios in which dicamba will improve control of certain weed species, but dicamba will not bring back the good ol days of POST-only weed control programs in soybean. Current expectations of what this technology can accomplish tend to be a bit more optimistic than what the technology actually will be able to deliver, says University of Illinois weed scientist Aaron Hager.

Hager expects the technology will work well in a handful of scenarios. For example, dicamba should be effective for glyphosate-resistant horseweed (i.e., marestail) that does not respond to the traditional burndown tankmix of glyphosate and 2,4-D.

It is important to note that although the new label allows soybean to be planted immediately after dicamba application, Hager advises farmers to wait a few days following application before injuring the weeds with the planting operation.

Hager also predicts that dicamba will provide good control of tall and ivy-leaf morning glory, and common and giant ragweed. Dicamba certainly can provide better control of herbicide-resistant ragweeds than can glyphosate or ALS inhibitors, he says. For farmers battling waterhemp, the solution may not be as simple. Most university weed control guides list dicamba as good or very good on waterhemp, but not excellent.

Dicamba can improve control of pigweed species, but it will never be as effective as glyphosate once was, Hager notes. Illinois farmers have made great strides toward utilizing more diverse herbicide programs for waterhemp control than they were using a decade ago. We suggest that dicamba should be used in a way that does not reduce this diversity. Illinois waterhemp populations have evolved resistance to herbicides from six site-of-action groups. According to Hager, resistance to dicamba is not a question of if, but when.

Hager points out some of the restrictions that come with the new dicamba label. One of the most significant limitations is the inability to tankmix dicamba with other herbicides. There is an avenue by which other herbicides can be approved for application with dicamba, but if the current label remains unchanged during the 2017 growing season, applicators will be required to apply dicamba alone.

Additional concerns about the new product relate to yield potential of dicamba-resistant soybean and the possibility of particle drift and volatilization. Hager suggests that dicamba will provide a solution to unique weed management challenges, but notes that not all weed management challenges can be met with dicamba.

Other herbicide-resistant crop technologies, such as Liberty Link and Enlist, also can provide solutions and remain viable options for soybean producers. Proper stewardship of all technologies is essential to prolong their effective utilization, Hager says.

For more information on University of Illinois Extension programming in Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Moultrie and Shelby counties, visit our website at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/ccdms/index.html or call us at (217)345-7034.

News writer: Lauren Quinn, 217-300-2435, ldquinn@illinois.edu
Allegations that Afghanistans first vice president brutally assaulted a former provincial governor while holding him captive in his private compound prompted condemnation and calls for an investigation Tuesday by U.S. and European officials.

Abdurrashid Dostum, a former ethnic Uzbek militia leader who has been accused of human rights abuses in the past, was accused of ordering his armed guards to seize Ahmad Ishchi during an outdoor polo match in northern Afghanistan two weeks ago.

Dostum allegedly kept Ishchi prisoner in his compound in Jowzjan province for five days, beat him and ordered him to be sexually assaulted.

General Dostum put me in a basement and told me to take off my clothes, Ishchi, a gray-haired former provincial governor from Dostums political party, said in an interview Tuesday evening on Tolo TV News.

He beat me and then he ordered his bodyguards to have sexual intercourse with me until I bled, then take pictures and bring them to him, Ishchi said softly, speaking in Dari.

Ishchi said the guards pretended to obey but did not attack him. After five days in the basement, he said, he was handed over to the national intelligence police and given medical treatment. His release was negotiated by a group of provincial elders.

Officials of Dostums party denied the allegations as baseless, Tolo reported. There has been no comment by President Ashraf Ghani or other officials.

After news of the incident reached Kabul on Tuesday, numerous Western governments expressed outrage and called for an investigation of Dostum for human rights abuses. The U.S. Embassy, in a statement, said the unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr. Ishchi by the First Vice President raises serious concerns. We would welcome the Afghan governments move to swiftly investigate these allegations.

Dostum, the longtime head of the ethnic Uzbek party Jumbush-i-Milli, is a former army general and was a powerful militia leader during the civil war and Taliban rule. He has been accused previously of atrocities against Taliban prisoners and of personally assaulting his own soldiers and associates when displeased with them.

Although he nominally serves in Kabul under Ghani, Dostum spends much of his time at his stronghold in Jowzjan, where he raised private forces to fight the Taliban. He has a reputation for rogue behavior and recently sent armed men to stop a group of marchers from reburying a long-dead king in Kabul.

Recently, Dostum criticized Ghani harshly in public and retreated to Jowzjan in anger. He complained that the government failed to help when his convoy was ambushed during a military operation two months ago, killing several of his men. Later he accused the governments national security adviser and intelligence chief of plotting against him.

Dostums displeasure with Ishchi apparently stemmed from longtime differences and erupted during a match of buzkashi, or polo, played with a goat carcass instead of a ball. Dostum was hosting the event, and Ishchi was playing on the field atop his horse when Dostum called him to the stands. They argued, then Dostum reportedly punched Ishchi and had his guards beat him and take him captive.

Pamela Constable contributed to this report.

Read more

Soldier succumbs to wounds received during November suicide bombing in Afghanistan

Afghan visa program extended despite pushback from immigration foes

Finally, Afghanistan is trying to penetrate and purge high-level corruption

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
First there was a moment of panic, when Pakistanis struggled to absorb the news last month that Donald Trump, who had threatened to bar foreign Muslims from the United States and suggested it was time to get tough with Pakistan for sheltering terrorists, was the U.S. president-elect.

Then came a moment of glory, when Trump showered compliments on Pakistan in a phone call with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif two weeks ago, using words like fantastic and terrific, and hinting casually that he would be willing to help Muslim-majority Pakistan solve its historic differences with India, a much larger Hindu-led rival next door.

Now both the shock and euphoria have worn off, leaving Pakistanis scrambling to prepare for an unpredictable new phase in their countrys wary but enduring partnership with Washington, which has included Cold War and anti-terrorism military alliances as well as sharp differences over Pakistans nuclear testing and harboring of Islamist insurgents.

Last week, the Pakistani government sent a special emissary, Tariq Fatemi, to Washington, where he hinted broadly that Sharif might like to attend Trumps inauguration and said he believed the incoming administration would provide Pakistan with a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials with the United States.

[Trump can resolve Kashmir impasse with dealmaking skills, his running mate claims. It wont be easy.]

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses the General Assembly at the United Nations on Sept. 21 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Pakistanis do have reason to believe that Trumps long-distance offer to mediate with India was more than a throwaway line. Vice President-elect Mike Pence repeated that offer in a clear, deliberate statement several days ago, saying the administration planned to be fully engaged in both nations and was prepared to play a pivotal role in resolving the key dispute over Kashmir.

And, after the initial worry here that Trumps limited knowledge of foreign affairs and anti-Muslim suspicions might work against the nations interests, some Pakistani experts are now positing that there might be a silver lining in having a brash dealmaker in the White House, unburdened by historical caveats and eager to make his mark.

India has adamantly resisted past U.S. offers to mediate over Kashmir, the border region claimed by both countries that has recently been roiled by violent protests and terrorism attacks. In October, a high-profile effort by Sharif at the United Nations to draw attention to abuses by Indian troops there was undercut by a gruesome attack that killed 17 Indian soldiers, and which India immediately blamed on Pakistan.

The key issue for the U.S. is that escalation could spark a conflict between two nuclear powers, said Awais Leghari, who is chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Pakistans Parliament. We cannot resolve these issues without superpower help, and it needs someone who is out of the box, someone radical enough to put an international hand into a sincere effort.

But this is more than a simple phone call, he added. It needs a lot of hard work.

Other Pakistani voices, however, caution that Trump is far more likely to lean toward India, a country where he has made serious investments  including Trump Towers in two cities  and whose leaders have made a concerted effort to woo America in the past few years.

For all Trumps praise, Washingtons tilt to India is real, said Huma Yusuf, a columnist for Pakistans Dawn newspaper. We should be less caught up with his gushing words.

The larger issue bedeviling Pakistans relationship with the United States  its ambivalent role in insurgent-plagued Afghanistan  has a more direct effect on American interests and lives, with about 10,000 U.S. troops still on the ground. Pakistani officials, stressing their long cooperation with U.S. drone strikes and other anti-terrorism measures along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, said they hope the Trump administration will be more appreciative of their peacemaking efforts and internal insurgent threats.

But experts here said this will be a far more difficult case for Pakistan to make. This week, Pakistani newspapers gave prominent coverage to statements by senior U.S. officials, including Gen. John W. Nicholson, the top commander in Afghanistan, that the Haqqani network, long based in Pakistan, is the single most serious threat to Afghanistans security. They do enjoy sanctuary inside Pakistan, Nicholson said. The White House spokesman voiced a similar concern.

[Pakistans surprisingly candid readout of Trumps phone call with prime minister]

Senior Pakistani officials said they take the long view of their countrys relationship with the United States, which has been dominated by military and intelligence ties. They stressed the close bilateral collaboration during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s and in the war on terror after the 9/11 attacks, and expressed confidence that this closeness will survive, no matter who is in the White House.

Our relationship with the United States is almost as old as Pakistan itself. There have been ups and downs, but overall we have remained very close, Sartaz Aziz, the governments senior foreign policy official, said in an interview Thursday. Through both Republican and Democratic administrations, there has been a broad continuity in policy, and we fully expect our relations will continue on an uphill trajectory.

Officials here said they also want to reassure the incoming administration that their relations with other countries are not a zero-sum game and are independent of their policies toward the United States. They insisted that their deepening economic trade and plans for a major transportation corridor to China do not represent a pivot away from their longtime economic and military links with Washington.

Aziz also insisted that Pakistan, like the United States, wants to see Afghanistan become peaceful and stable. He said that Pakistan has been frustrated that its efforts to arrange peace talks with the Taliban have failed, and that rising attacks in Afghanistan have been partly the result of Pakistans military raids to drive the insurgents out of the tribal border areas. To blame everything on Pakistani sanctuaries is simplistic, he said.

[Pakistan plays up, then plays down prime ministers chummy call with Trump]

So far, Trump has hewed more closely to the Obama administrations thinking on Afghanistan, although he has suggested at different times that he might withdraw U.S. forces or keep them there. But when it comes to the broader issue of Islamist terrorism, Trump has been consistently strong in his views that it must be stopped  and he has shown no qualms about playing hardball with Pakistan on the subject.

Just six months ago, in a comment that infuriated Pakistanis, Trump told Fox News that he might force Pakistan to release a local doctor, Shakeel Afridi, who was sent to prison after being accused of spying for the United States by running a fake vaccination campaign in the area where Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011 by U.S. Special Operations forces. The doctor is widely viewed here as a traitor.

Trump, then in the early stages of his presidential campaign, boasted bluntly that he could get Afridi freed in two minutes because Pakistan receives so much American aid. The United States, he declared, cant help Pakistan as long as it punishes people who help the war on terror.

Pakistans interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, reacted with great umbrage, saying the statement serves to show not only his insensitivity, but also his ignorance about Pakistan.

Read more

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Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his dog Yume, presented to Putin by Japan in 2012, welcome Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his arrival in Sochi, Russia, in February 2014. (Kyodo via Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had hoped to present Russian President Vladimir Putin with a bridegroom for Yume, the Akita dog Japanese officials gave the Kremlin leader in 2012.

But a Japanese lawmaker said Putin turned down the offer of a companion for Yume, whose name means Dream.

It may not be the last snub this week for Abe, who will meet with Putin at a remote hot spring resort in the prime ministers constituency in Yamaguchi prefecture on Thursday and again Friday in Tokyo.

Abes dream scenario for the talks would be to secure the return of at least two of the four disputed islands known as the Northern Territories to Japan and the southern Kurils to Russia. The island dispute has bedeviled the countries relations for more than 70 years, stopping them from signing a peace treaty at the end of World War II.

Ill put an end to this issue in my generation, Abe said Monday when he met former residents of the islands. Ill go into the summit with this determination.

Putin and Abe generally enjoy a warm relationship. But the Russian leader was cool on prospects for a deal.

We think that we have no territorial problems, he told Japanese reporters in Moscow this week, in an interview to which the Russian leader took Yume. Its Japan that thinks that it has a territorial problem with Russia.

On Tuesday, Yury Ushakov, Putins aide for foreign affairs, made it even clearer that Russia does not foresee a breakthrough on the islands this time, either.

It is unacceptable to stimulate inflated expectations of Russia and Japan signing a peace treaty, Ushakov said at a briefing in Moscow. There is no easy solution here and cant be one.

Russia took control of the four islands, northeast of Hokkaido, just days before Japan surrendered in 1945 and has retained control of them ever since. Efforts to resolve the issue in the 1990s led nowhere.

The issue is personal for Abe, whose father served as foreign minister and had tried to get the islands back.

Abe considers this an infringement of Japans national sovereignty and cant accept it, said Shigeki Hakamada, who studies Japan-Russian relations at the University of Niigata Prefecture. I think he has an ambition to make it his legacy by solving the issue.

But Putin has a personal stake in standing fast. He has carefully cultivated an image as the protector of Russian lands, and that has proved beneficial to him  his popularity spiked after Russias annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine and has floated above 80 percent since then. A May poll by the Levada Center suggested that more than 70 percent of Russians are opposed to any transfer of territory to Japan; 55 percent said Putins credibility would take a hit if he agreed to hand over any part of the islands.

The conventional wisdom is that Japan and Russia can never make a deal, that the gap on the territorial issue is unbridgeable, said Daniel Sneider, a Japan expert at Stanford University who reported from Russia in the 1990s.

The Japanese think that they will be able to buy the islands back if the Russians are desperate enough, but the Russians will never do that, even when they are in great need of investment, as they are now, Sneider said.

[Japan poised to impose sanctions on Russia over Ukraine]

Indeed, the second day of meetings will be focused on economic cooperation  much to the consternation of U.S. officials.

About 400 people are expected to attend an economic dialogue in Tokyo on Friday hosted by the two countries big business lobbies, with representatives from the construction, energy, electronics and banking industries registered, according to the lobby groups.

There have been reports in the domestic media that Japanese banks will ink a deal this week to lend about $830 million to Gazprom, the state-run Russian gas giant, and an even larger figure could be dedicated for a joint fund to invest in urban development. The countries are also expected to ease terms for visas.

The Obama administration has been unsettled by the warm ties between Putin and Abe, who have met 15 times since both returned to office in 2012 and reportedly call each other by their first names  something unheard of in protocol-bound Japan.

U.S. officials were said to be unhappy with this latest meeting  coming after leaks linked to Russia during the U.S. presidential election campaign  but were placated by the original plan that this meeting would be focused on the island dispute and held in Yamaguchi.

[Japans prime minister hopes to start building trusting relationship with Trump]

But the Russians have managed to turn this into a much grander occasion that looks like a formal, official visit, said James Brown, an expert on Russia-Japan relations who teaches at the Temple University campus in Tokyo.

However, Putin will not meet the emperor as in a state visit.

Previously, Japan had supported sanctions against Russia over Crimea, although only in the most minimal way.

But there is one factor that could profoundly alter Abe and Putins relationship: the election of Donald Trump as the U.S. president. Trump is heralding an era of much closer ties between Washington and Moscow, giving Tokyo the green light to press ahead with warmer ties with Putin.

If Trump improves relations with Russia, it would enable Abe to negotiate with Russia more openly. The Obama administration has interfered with Abes plans, said Akiko Yoshioka, a research fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies.

But there could be a downside for Abe: If Putins relationship with Washington turns friendlier soon, it could reduce the Russian leaders incentive to court other world leaders. Russia might find no reason to negotiate with Japan, Yoshioka said.

Yuki Oda contributed to this report.

Read more:

How to understand Putins jaw-droppingly high approval ratings

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny speaks during a September interview with the Associated Press in Moscow. On Tuesday he officially announced his bid to run in the 2018 presidential election. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, file) (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

Even in an era of political upsets, this ones a long shot.

Alexei Navalny, the opposition politician who helped lead street protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin here in 2011, announced Tuesday that he would run for president of Russia in 2018, sending a rare jolt of electricity through Russias subdued opposition.

I will take part in elections for the presidency of Russia, the vocal critic of Putin declared in a video released on the Internet. Genuine elections are not just the victory of one person. Theyre a clash of ideas, competition between programs.

Navalnys candidacy, the first declared by any politician, marks the beginning a long election cycle that seems headed for one, inevitable conclusion: a victor anointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Theres a good chance that will be Putin himself.

But the Russian leader, who turned 64 in October, has not said whether he will stand for reelection. He has served as president of Russia for three terms since 2000, a perpetual administration broken only by a stint as prime minister. He has no heir apparent.

Much has changed since Navalny, an anti-corruption activist who used his status as an investor in state companies to expose corruption, emerged as a leader of Russias White Ribbon protests in 2011.

The demonstrations, mainly in Moscow, united left- and right-wing political activists with middle-class and liberal intelligentsia in a rare outburst of anger at Putins return that year to the presidency.

Since then, Russia has annexed Crimea, to the delight of Putins base; coordination between opposition groups has collapsed; and demonstrators have been targeted in criminal cases, with some receiving years of hard time in Russian prisons. Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and one of Putins most vocal critics, was gunned down in sight of the Kremlin in 2015.

Navalnys brother Oleg was sentenced to 3 years in jail on embezzlement charges in 2014. Alexei also was charged in several prosecutions that he called politically motivated and received a suspended sentence for embezzlement in 2013.

Convicted criminals cannot run for president in Russia. But the conviction was overturned this year after criticism by the European Court on Human Rights. Navalny is facing a retrial; a guilty verdict will end his candidacy.

Political commentators said that his candidacy raises the stakes of the trial, tying the verdict to the 2018 elections.

In his 3 -minute video, Navalny seemed to consciously avoid using the name of the leader who has wielded power in the Kremlin for just about a generation.

Unfortunately, weve already become accustomed to the fact that elections decide nothing, he said. Those who are now in power have been there for 17 years and have stopped responding to any criticism.

Read more

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Russias opposition is still looking for who killed its leader

They survived WWII. Now they live on $4.50 a day.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, shown here during an interview by Nippon Television Network Corporation and Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper ahead of his official visit to Japan, denies any Russian role in the U.S. presidential election. (Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool/EPA)

MOSCOW  Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman on Tuesday issued a blunt denial of U.S. allegations that the Kremlin intervened to help Donald Trump win the presidency, and expressed hope that Moscow will be able to reset its relationship with the new administration.

In an interview with RT , Dmitry Peskov dismissed the notion that Moscow had aided Trump  or that it was interfering in other elections  as absolute nonsense.

The Trump transition team has dismissed the CIA conclusions of a broad Russian conspiracy, and Peskov said the Kremlin was looking forward to working with the president-elect after the long downturn in U.S.-Russian relations.

We hope that all the statements that President-elect Donald Trump has made, his declared desire to resume dialogue with Russia, that these will be brought to life, and he will act in these intention, Peskov said.



CIA officials told senators it is now quite clear that electing Donald Trump was Russias goal. In an interview on Fox News Sunday on Dec. 11, President-elect Trump denied the CIA's assessment. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

[Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House]

Moscow has regularly denied interfering in the elections, especially after U.S. intelligence agencies in October said the Russian government helped provide WikiLeaks with hacked emails from the DNC and Hillary Clintons campaign staff.

Putin dismissed the allegations as hysteria intended only to distract the attention of the American people from the substance of what hackers had put out.

His aides have questioned the lack of evidence, called the probe politicized and pointed to similar attacks against the Kremlin.

Every day, Putins site gets attacked by tens of thousands of hackers, Peskov said in October. Many of these attacks can be traced to U.S. territory. Its not as though we accuse the White House or Langley of doing it each time it happens.

Gleb Pavlovsky, a former Putin adviser, said in a recent interview that the Kremlin leader privately enjoys the attention the hacking accusations provide, both as a sign of his political power, as well as for the chaos it causes his adversaries in the United States.

But one senior Russian official, who spoke on background because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said Tuesday that Moscows leadership is appalled by the allegations.

The fact that there are people who are convinced that Russia acted on behalf of Donald Trump is frightening, the official said. In the long run it could be very dangerous for people to think that Russia may interfere with other peoples elections.

[Putin wants revenge and respect, and hacking the U.S. is his way of getting it]

But there were some in the Kremlins camp who suggested there might be some truth to the allegations. In November, reacting to Trumps win during a Nov. 9 reception at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov said he thought that Russia helped with WikiLeaks.

I dont know how, specifically, but I think they probably helped [WikiLeaks founder Julian] Assange, Markov said in an interview, adding that he did not know how Russia might have helped.

Everybody in the world is helping Assange, Markov said in English. Everybody understands that in this conflict between CIA and Assange, Assange is right, CIA is wrong. So, Vladimir Putin is part of community of all the honest people in the world.

Some Russian analysts think that supporters of Hillary Clinton are using the allegations of Russian hacking to mount a campaign to dissuade the Electoral College from confirming Trumps victory.

Incredible pressure is being put on the electors. There is a true special operation to turn them, Vladimir Vasiliev, of the Institute of the USA and Canada, commented earlier this month. The Democrats are doing everything possible to force them not to vote for Trump.

Read more:

Trump picks ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state

Yes We Did: Russias establishment basks in Trumps victory

Putin just called Trump smart, but its not entirely a compliment

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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The moon rises above the Old City of Jerusalem with its distinctive golden Dome of the Rock on the Hareem el-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary), or the Temple Mount.

Every four years, presidential candidates routinely signal their support for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Then, after theyre sworn into office, they balk when faced with the potential ramifications.

Comments from Trump aides and the mayor of Jerusalem, though, suggest that Trump could be poised to discard yet another diplomatic axiom and relocate the embassy fairly quickly after he enters the White House. That move would be highly political, effectively meaning that the United States was recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which it has refused to do for decades out of concern about provoking Palestinians who want part of the city to become their own capital.

They are serious about this, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said Tuesday after returning from a trip to the United States, where he met with transition aides whom he declined to identify. I am optimistic that this will happen sooner rather than later.

The question of Jerusalems status is the most sensitive and complicated issue in the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. It is fraught with political, religious and nationalist implications that potentially could create an uproar throughout the Middle East and the worlds 1.5 billion Muslims.

Trump will have an opportunity to decide the fate of the U.S. diplomatic mission on June 1, at the expiration of another six-month waiver President Obama signed to the Jerusalem Embassy Act passed by Congress in 1995 mandating that the embassy be moved by 1999.

[Did Obama just sign the last waiver before Trump moves the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem?

Jerusalem sits in the middle of the contested land, figuratively and literally. To avoid the appearance of favorites, the United States and every other country place their embassies in and around the commercial city of Tel Aviv and drive to Jerusalem to meet government officials.

The armistice lines from before the 1967 war are considered the broad starting point, with some modifications, for any final settlement that would end up with two states, a Jewish state for Israelis beside a Palestinian state for Arabs. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly promised that if elected he would 100 percent move the embassy.

About a week after the election, Jason Greenblatt, a real estate lawyer and Trump adviser, told Israels Army radio that Trump was going to do it. That confidence was reinforced Monday when Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said moving the embassy was a very big priority for Trump.

Meir Turgeman, the head of the Jerusalem building and planning committee in the Jerusalem City Council, said on Israeli radio this week that the transition team contacted Barkat asking for help finding an appropriate property.

Everything is on the table; they are still checking things out, said Barkat in an interview Tuesday.

The decision was already approved by Congress, and it is the right thing to do to recognize Jerusalem. Its been the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years, said Barkat, who is a friend of Trump son-in-law Jarad Kushner.

But because Jerusalems final status can be used as a bargaining chip, diplomats have advised presidents against giving it up outside the context of a peace deal.

Its hard to argue you could harm an already-comatose peace process, but you dont want to make matters worse, said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official who advised Republican and Democratic administrations on the Middle East. And you do want to maintain the hope and illusion that under some circumstances, a two-state solution is possible. By forcing the issue upfront as an immediate act of the Trump administration, youre essentially burying that possibility.

The move would be unpopular among Arabs across the Middle East and make it even more difficult for Arab governments to acknowledge publicly that they have been developing under-the-table relations with Israel, said Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

It would fan the flames of a region already on fire, he said. I dont think anyone benefits from that very much.

Meanwhile, a large plot of land in West Jerusalem has sat barren for a quarter-century, while the United States pays $1 a year to Israel on a 99-year lease for a site where an embassy could be built some day. The plot is within the 1967 borders, and even if there were a peace deal, it would still be inside Israel.

Rationally, theres a historic injustice that the United States does not have an embassy in West Jerusalem, said David Makovsky, an analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Palestinians would say this is a great cherry on the top after a deal, he added. The problem is, nobody believes a grand deal is in the offing. So to link it to a deal is like linking to the end of the rainbow.

Eglash reported from Jerusalem. Morello reported from Washington.

Read more:

Israeli leaders congratulate Trump, tell him to hurry up and move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem

How Trump could surprise the world on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking

Israelishould be very worried about President Trump
MATTOON -- The Lake Land Board of Trustees voted Monday evening to approve a 2017 levy that will seek $11.77 million in property tax revenue.

The new levy is approximately 3.6 percent larger than the $11.36 million sought by the levy that the board approved last year.

Bryan Gleckler, vice president for business services, has said the 2017 levy is based on a projected 3.75 percent increase in the equalized assessed valuation for property in Lake Land's community college district.

If the equalized assessed valuation does not increase by this amount, Gleckler has said the actual property tax revenue for Lake Land will be lower than the projected $11.77 million.

Gleckler has said if a 3.75 percent increase in equalized assessed valuation is realized, the increased impact of the colleges portion on a property tax bill for a $100,000 home, for example, will be approximately $7 per year.

In other matters, the board hired J.W. Terrill, Inc. to provide health benefit consulting services for $65,000 in 2017 and $80,000 per year for two additional option years. The board's finance committee recommended taking this action.

Trustee Dave Storm, who is part of the finance committee, said they think a consultant is necessary for Lake Land based on the rapidly changing environment of the health insurance industry.

The board also heard a report from biological science instructor Brenda Hunzinger about the annual Genetics Update Conference that was held on Friday on campus, featuring a keynote presentation by genetics educator Sam Rhine.

Hunzinger said Rhine travels throughout the country to give "student friendly" talks on the latest developments in genetics. She said Friday's event filled the theater with more than 240 people, including students from Lake Land, Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, and high schools in and out of Lake Land's district.

The trustees thanked Hunzinger and Lake Land's Math & Science Division for organizing the conference. Trustee Mike Sullivan encouraged the division to extend a special invitation to Mattoon, Charleston and Effingham high schools, which have not sent students to the conference in recent years.

Other actions taken by the board included:

Agreeing to abate Lake Land's property tax for new development in a proposed 15-year Douglas County Enterprise Zone. Pending state approval, this new zone will cover Arcola, Newman, Tuscola, Villa Grove, Arthur, and Atwood.

Borrowing $1.3 million from Midland States Bank to help finance energy efficiency, parking and roadway improvements on campus.

Renewing Lake Land's worker's compensation insurance coverage with the Illinois Public Risk Fund, through Dimond Brother Insurance Agency, for 2017 with an annual premium of $240,000. This is a 6.9 percent decrease from the previous year, with estimated savings of $17,818.

Purchasing new registers and software for the campus bookstore from Nebraska Book Co. for $36,618.

Purchasing two Kubota maintenance tractors from Niemeyer Repair Service for $28,635.

Accepting a $19,450 Bridging the Gap grant from the Illinois Community College Board for various academic services for students.
The Washington Post's Greg Miller explains what President-elect Donald Trump's clash with the CIA over Russia's suspected election interference means and how it started. (The Washington Post)

The Washington Post's Greg Miller explains what President-elect Donald Trump's clash with the CIA over Russia's suspected election interference means and how it started. (The Washington Post)

The CIA assessment that Russia waged a cyber-campaign to help elect Donald Trump is based in part on intelligence suggesting that Moscows hacking efforts were disproportionately aimed at targets tied to the Democratic Party and its nominee, Hillary Clinton, U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials said that both parties were repeatedly targeted as part of a months-long cyber-operation linked to Moscow, but that Democratic institutions and operatives came under a more sustained and determined online assault.

U.S. officials said the Republican National Committees computer systems were also probed and possibly penetrated by hackers tied to Russian intelligence services, but that it remains unclear how much material  if any  was taken from the RNC.

The lack of a corresponding Republican trove has contributed to the CIA assessment, reported by The Washington Post, that Russia was seeking to elect Trump and not merely to disrupt last months presidential election.

The disclosure of that CIA finding has roiled Washington, prompting calls for a broad congressional probe, compounding tensions between the president-elect and U.S. spy agencies, and extending the turmoil of a turbulent campaign.

CIA officials told senators it is now quite clear that electing Donald Trump was Russias goal. In an interview on Fox News Sunday on Dec. 11, President-elect Trump denied the CIA's assessment. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

Clinton officials on Monday joined calls for U.S. intelligence agencies to share their findings with members of the electoral college before they formally cast their votes, a step that would represent an extraordinary departure from a process that is typically an overlooked formality in the U.S. election process.

[FBI and CIA give differing accounts on Russias motives in 2016 hacks]

Trump has denounced the CIA conclusion as ridiculous. Republican operatives have vehemently disputed that their partys computer systems were hacked or, by implication, that Russia possessed but sat on a secret trove of emails or other materials that might have undermined the GOP nominee.

U.S. intelligence officials said that the Russian government appears to have succeeded in penetrating computer systems associated with both parties, but prioritized Democratic institutions in a campaign that culminated with the posting of thousands of sensitive emails on the WikiLeaks website.

The CIA briefed the administration that it thinks the Russians breached the RNC systems, according to a senior U.S. official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Obviously there havent been the same sort of leaks and pilfered documents spread about from this intrusion as there were from the various DNC and related incursions.

Other officials familiar with the CIAs assessment said there is high confidence that the RNC was targeted but less certainty that the Russians got inside the committee and stole material.

The explanation for the lack of damaging Republican leaks remains a source of debate across the U.S. intelligence community, but officials think it may reflect in part an allocation of resources and effort by Russian-backed actors who have been tied to the hacking campaign.

President-elect Donald Trump as well as Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Dec. 11 reacted to the CIAs assessment that Russia intervened to help Trump win the election. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

There are other possible explanations still being explored, with some officials noting that Republican Party computers may simply have been better protected from intrusion.

That theory is viewed with skepticism, however, by security officials and experts who describe Russia as a highly capable cyber-adversary, and see it as unlikely that a concerted campaign orchestrated by Moscow would fail to extract material.

[Trump, CIA on collision course over Russias role in U.S. election]

If the Russians want to get into an unclassified network, one that has young staffers, its not going to be that hard, said a U.S. official who has reviewed intelligence on the intrusions. The official said that the intelligence gathered so far indicates a more sustained effort was aimed at Democratic targets.

The White House and CIA officials declined to comment.

U.S. officials emphasized that intelligence agencies are continuing to gather and examine intelligence in an effort to reconstruct the alleged Russian intervention in a U.S. election, and that there are disagreements among agencies over how to interpret what they have assembled so far.

The FBI has been more cautious in assessing Russian intentions, and has so far stopped short of endorsing the CIA position that Russia quite clearly favored Trump. Some have attributed the competing positions to cultural differences between the bureau, accustomed to courtroom standards of proof, vs. the agency, whose mission is to help policymakers understand global events.

A senior FBI counterintelligence official was equivocal during a briefing with congressional officials last week  confirming that Republican systems had been targeted and acknowledging the apparent imbalance in damage done to Democrats, but refraining from assigning a pro-Trump motive to the Kremlin.

The RNC has vigorously disputed reports that its systems were hacked, let alone that Russia made off with a trove of material that it protected as part of an effort to elevate Trumps election chances.

The RNC was not hacked,  GOP spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement posted to Twitter on Friday evening in response to a New York Times report. He said the report was exhibit #1 in the fake news.

U.S. officials said the competing claims may reflect disagreement over terminology. There is no definition of hack,  a U.S. official said. If youre probed are you hacked? If a low-level staffer is breached are you hacked? Or do you have to get a massive release of documents?

The DNC was hacked by the common understanding of the word  the data was exfilled, the official said, referring to the exfiltration of files. Whether the data in the RNC was exfilled, maybe not. But if not, why not?

Republicans contributed to the confusion surrounding the issue with contradictory statements before the election. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex,) the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in September during a CNN interview that Russian operatives had not only hacked into the DNC but also into the RNC.

He subsequently said that he had misspoken, and that the targets had been Republican political operatives.

The material turned over to WikiLeaks included not just emails stolen from the DNC, but a separate trove taken from top Clinton campaign adviser John Podesta.

U.S. intelligence officials said the CIA has identified the actors who took possession of those stolen files and delivered them to WikiLeaks. The individuals are known for their affiliations to Russian intelligence services, but one step removed from the Russian government.

A senior administration official said that the CIA did not have high confidence about Russias motives until after the election, and that White House officials had engaged in numerous deliberations about how much to disclose before Election Day.

There was an honest and ethical determination among the senior leadership not to undermine the election, the official said. The political sensitivity was extremely important to take into account.

After failing to get bipartisan backing from senior members of Congress for a joint statement condemning Russian interference, the White House released language from National Intelligence Director James R. Clapper and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson accusing Russia of interfering in the election.

Last week, President Obama ordered all U.S. spy agencies to cooperate on a fuller investigation and to deliver a consensus report on Russian interference before Trump is inaugurated.

Ellen Nakashima, Greg Jaffe and Julie Tate contributed to this report.

Read more:

Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House

As Democrats demand probe over CIA election claim, GOP senators express doubt

Kremlin defers to Trump on the CIA assessment that Moscow helped him win
Colombia's peace deal with leftist rebels cleared a critical hurdle Tuesday as the countrys highest court ruled in favor of the governments fast-track plan to quickly implement the agreement.

The 8-to-1 decision by Colombias Constitutional Court means that President Juan Manuel Santos can seek expedited congressional approval for the laws and constitutional changes he needs for the peace accord with the rebels to take effect.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has some 6,000 heavily armed fighters deployed across Colombias jungles and mountains, and Tuesdays ruling clears the way for them to begin to demobilize and disarm in the coming weeks. The terms call for their 52-year war against the government, the longest-running conflict in the Americas, to end as the rebels move into camps, where the United Nations is to collect their weapons over a six-month period.

Had the judges ruled against the governments plan, the peace deal would have had to proceed through Colombias Congress along a slower, traditional legislative path. Santos insisted that the cease-fire with the FARC was too fragile to wait that long and said the peace deal would be at risk of falling apart or getting bogged down in lengthy congressional debates.

Instead, the streamlined approach reduces the number of legislative sessions and allows for up-or-down votes on the key elements of the accord. It effectively prevents lawmakers from making changes to the deal signed by the government and the rebels Nov. 24.

[Colombias Congress approves historic peace deal with FARC rebels]

The courts decision comes three days after Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a war that has killed more than 220,000 and driven at least 7 million Colombians from their homes.

After nearly four years of talks between government negotiators and FARC commanders in Havana, the two sides announced a peace deal in September and staged an elaborate signing ceremony. But Colombian voters rejected that accord less than a week later in a special referendum, sending the belligerents back to the bargaining table.

Their 2.0 agreement won new concessions from the rebels, including financial reparations to victims of the conflict. But Santos opted to bypass voters and take the revised accord straight to Colombias Congress, which approved it this month.

The accords opponents, led by former president Alvaro Uribe, abstained from the congressional voting while denouncing Santos for skipping a new referendum. They allege that the revised pact is still too soft on FARC chieftains guilty of terrorism, kidnapping and murder, and they say it creates a path for convicted war criminals to leap into electoral politics.

But Tuesdays court ruling means opponents of the peace accord will have little or no chance to amend or alter its terms. The judges determined that Colombias elected lawmakers possess the requisite democratic legitimacy to approve the deal without the need for a new referendum.

With elections coming in 2018, Santos feared that the accord would become a political football next year.

The first item on the legislative agenda will be the amnesty law that FARC leaders insist should be in place so that its fighters can move into the U.N.-run camps without risk of arrest.

Read more

Colombias president scrambles to save peace accord with FARC rebels

A FARC rebel on what its like spending 20 years at war

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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This is the first in a two-part series on the political background and role of Betsy DeVos, who has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Education.

Betsy DeVos, nominated by Donald Trump to the cabinet-level position of Secretary of the Department of Education, will be the first in the agencys more than 35-year history who has neither attended public schools nor sent her own children to them.

The billionaire DeVos family, without a doubt, inhabits a world a million miles away from the overstuffed classrooms, lack of credentialed teachers and crumbling state of American public schools. But Betsy DeVos and husband Dick, eldest scion of the pyramid sales dynasty Amway Corporation, represent something different. They have made the destruction of public education an ideological crusade.

Her advocacy of social choice, DeVos has stated, is aimed at displacing public schools from the center of communities, so that the Church can resume its rightful role. These candid comments were captured during an audiotape of The Gathering, an annual conference of some of the countrys wealthiest Christians, cited in Politico.

The outlook is in keeping with both DeVos Christian Reform Church background and Calvin College training. It is not only a repudiation of the Constitutional separation of church and state, but an explicit opposition to the Enlightenment concept of universal, high quality and secular education, an ideal which animated the American Revolution and decades of struggles, including the civil rights movement.

Donald Trumps first choice for Secretary of Education was reportedly Jerry Falwell, Jr. the head of Liberty University, a bastion of right-wing evangelicalism. Falwell and his father, founder of the Moral Majority, were infamous for their theocratic views opposing the separation of church and state, vicious homophobia, anti-Semitism and general bigotry.

But if DeVos has been less flamboyant than the Falwells, she and her family have been more effective politically. In the service of a social and philosophical counterrevolution, the DeVos clan has bankrolled a right-wing political machine over 30 years, both in Michigan and nationally, complemented by a lavishly-funded public relations juggernaut.

Arne Duncans ground zero in education reform

Pro-charter Obama Education Secretary Arne Duncan approvingly called Detroit ground zero in education reform, largely as a result of the political spadework of the DeVos family, which is based in Michigan.

It is impossible to outline the vast extent of the DeVos war against public education within a brief article, but it should be borne in mind that the following are just a few of her largest initiatives.

DeVos worked with former Michigan Governor John Engler to craft the states first law authorizing charter schools in 1993. In 2000, the DeVos family spent $5.6 million on a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution and create a voucher system, which was trounced by voters.

Since that time, the political action committee attached to the DeVos-controlled Great Lakes Education Project has been instrumental in pushing through legislation to expand the number of charter schools in Michigan (they have doubled in number since 2000) and exempt them from most regulation.

It is estimated, according to Mother Jones, that the DeVoses have donated more than $44 million to the state party, GOP legislative committees, and Republican candidates since 1997. Michigan now boasts the greatest proportion of charter schools run by a for-profit management organization of any state, 80 percent. Moreover, over half of Detroit students attend charter schools, the second highest percentage of any major school district. Two separate year-long studies of charter schools revealed that more than a billion dollars in Michigan has been spent with almost no oversight, including the funding of ghost schools that never opened.

Epitomizing the destructive approach of the DeVoses to public schools was their concerted campaign to dissolve the nearly 175-year-old Detroit Public School system last year, which also met with approval from the Obama administration. The couple funneled an average of $25,000 a day to GOP lawmakers, spending a total of $1.45 million over two months, to ensure that the final deal would include no local oversight over charter schools. The new entity, the Detroit Community Public Schools, currently educating about 45,000 Detroit students, is underfunded and charter-friendly. It will allow uncertified teachers into the classrooms.

This broadside against public education in Detroitwhich once had one of the best public school systems in the countrysparked months-long protests by teachers in defiance of both their union and the Obama administration. Backroom deals by the American Federation of Teachers sabotaged the actions of teachers and enabled the passage of the dissolution of the district.

In a coup de grace, DeVos-supported legislators pressed for legislation to strip striking teachers of their certification. The legislature included a new mechanism to impose strict new fines and the possibility of termination for teachers protesting the attack on public education. This was followed up with a recent measure, passed by the state House, stipulating up to $10,000 a day in fines for illegal mass picketing, in a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

At the same time, the DeVoses have steadily ramped up their war on education nationally over decades. They established a political action committee, All Children Matter (ACM) in 2003 with fellow billionaire John Walton (son of Walmart founder Sam Walton) and the Koch brothers, to better fund privatization drives. Following legal challenges for the violation of campaign reporting laws in Ohio, the lobbying group reformulated itself as the American Federation for Children (AFC), and continued to be funded by the DeVoses.

In 2011, Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, a DeVos ally, attempted to slash billions from teachers and other public workers benefits as well as eliminate their collective bargaining rights. Tens of thousands of workers and young people staged protests in response, and the DeVoses intervened. They provided a massive cash infusion to the embattled governor through AFC in order to oppose his attempted recall. Since that time, AFC has spent at least $4.5 million on independent expenditures and issue ads in Wisconsin. (It should be noted that they would not have been successful were it not for the decision of the major Madison-area unions to implement the cuts, so long as dues checkoffs were maintained).

AFC aggressively promotes a national school privatization agenda via its financial sponsorship of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a powerful corporate bill mill which promotes right-wing policy throughout the US. Thousands of state legislators are members of ALEC. Their projects include school choice, tax changes to subsidize private schools, parent trigger bills and anti-tenure lobbying. Other right-wing causes championed by the well-funded council include stand your ground gun laws, anti-immigration measures, voter identification rules and opposition to environmental regulation.

Betsy DeVos continues to lobby for vouchers through the AFC, is currently working with the Michigan Freedom Fund to destroy the Michigan public workers pension system, and provided substantial resources to the successful campaign to make Michigan a right-to-work state. The DeVoses have played leading roles in a litany of pro-privatization organizations: Children First America, Advocates for School Choice, the American Education Reform Council, the Education Freedom Fund, Choices for Children, Jeb Bushs Foundation for Excellence in Education (specializing in online charters) and the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP).

The Acton Institute and the Anti-Revolutionary Party

In the hot-house circles of ultra-wealthy Dutch Christian Reform Church members in Western Michigan, there were two preeminent families, both sharing similar worldviews. The first were the DeVoses, whose wealth stemmed from the wildly profitable pyramid scheme Amway founded by Rich DeVos, Sr. The second were the Princes, relatives of billionaire car parts manufacturer Edgar Prince. Betsy DeVos is the daughter of Edgar Prince and she married Dick, the son of Rich DeVos, Sr.

Under the banner of free enterprise, the DeVoses developed a specific political/business/social ideology (titled the American way, shortened to Amway by Rich DeVos). Their business model combined neo-Calvinist religious obscurantism and bigotry with hucksterism, crass exploitation, borderline or criminal tax-dodging, and the promotion of militarism.

At its core, this philosophy is Christian nationalist, anti-democratic and utterly hostile to the concepts of social and democratic rights. As the WSWS noted, for example, Betsy DeVos is a major financial backer and leader of the Acton Institute, which rejects the right to education and embraces child labor, indicating its benefits would be more widespread if only compulsory education were abolished.

The Acton Institute is based heavily on the life and writings of theologian and politician Andrew Kuyper, the father of Dutch neo-Calvinism, acknowledged by DeVos as a major ideological influence, according to the Washington Post. Kuyper founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) of the Netherlands in 1879 specifically to oppose the influence of the French Revolution and humanism. Its central practical aim was state funding for religious schools.

The ARP opposed popular sovereignty and sought to create an independent Protestant society with its own schools, papers and hospitals.

The ARPs role in South Africa was instrumental in the building of Afrikaner cultural, political and economic institutions to restore Afrikaner fortunes following the Boer War, which ultimately led to apartheid, according to Charles Bloombergs book Christian Nationalism and the Rise of the Afrikaner Broederbond.

DeVos not only financed the Acton Institute, but served on its board of directors for 10 years. Her mother, Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, continues on the board. Politically active in her own right, DeVos mother donated nearly half a million dollars to the ballot effort to ban same-sex marriage in California, and was the top individual contributor to Citizens for the Protection of Marriage in Michigan. Even more significantly, she is a contributor to the secretive and highly influential Council for National Policy (see part 2).

To be continued
More than 120,000 retired coal miners are threatened with the cutoff of health and pension benefits over the next several months as the United Mine Workers Health and Retirement Fund runs out of money.

This includes 16,000 retired miners from Patriot Coal in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois who are threatened with the loss of medical coverage by April, and another 6,500 who could see their health benefits terminated later in the year.

In addition, 89,000 miners and family members, and another 22,000 miners whose pensions are vested but who have not received payouts, face the loss of their pensions or severe cutbacks if the union retirement fund goes bankrupt or is dumped into the governments nearly insolvent Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

The tragedy that is unfolding is the outcome of decades of betrayals by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which have left the minershistorically the most militant and class-conscious section of the American working classfacing destitution.

The immediate cause of the crisis is the sharp falloff in coal demand and the moves by several companies, including the worlds largest producer, Peabody Coal, to declare bankruptcy and set up dummy companies to shed their obligations. In exchange for its complicity, the UMWA has been given control of retiree health care schemes known as Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Associations, or VEBAs, which serve as slush funds for the union executives.

The disaster facing the miners has political roots. It is the outcome of the subordination of the interests of coal miners and the working class as a whole to the profit interests of the corporations, enforced politically through the unions alliance with the capitalist Democratic Party.

The right to retiree health care and pension benefits was not handed to workers by the ruling class. It was the product of immense struggles, including the wave of strikes by miners and other sections of workers in the immediate aftermath of World War II.

UMWA President John L. Lewis, UAW President Walter Reuther and other union leaders, however, were opposed to socialism and refused to fight for any significant limitation on the economic dictatorship of the corporate elite, such as a government-run health and retirement system.

In 1950, Lewis, declaring that the union stands for the investors of the industry to have a return on their capital, agreed to a union-controlled health care and pension fund financed by employer-paid royalties on every ton of coal. In exchange, he backed the mechanization and restructuring of the industry, which led to the reduction in mining employment from 415,562 in 1950 to 124,532 in 1969.

In the ensuing decades, miners found themselves increasingly in conflict with the UMWA, which signed sweetheart deals that reduced royalty payments while cutting benefits to retirees and their spouses to shore up the dwindling funds. In the late 1960s, protesting retired and disabled miners sparked wildcat strikes to demand the full funding of benefits, community clinics and compensation for Black Lung disease.

This culminated in the 111-day strike in 1977-78 by miners to defend their cradle-to-grave health care and retirement benefits. The miners defied not only their union president, Arnold Miller, who twice failed to push through sellout contracts, but also Democratic President Jimmy Carter, who tried to force them back to work by invoking the Taft-Hartley Act.

In the 1980s, the American ruling class reverted to methods of class warstrikebreaking, union busting, gun thug violence and frame-upsthat had not been seen since the labor wars of the 1920s and 1930s. These methods, however, were not the basic cause of the defeat of the miners. The miners fought back with unstinting courage and determination. They were defeated as a result of the deliberate sabotage of the UMWA.

Defying the miners militant tradition of no contract, no work and national strikes that shut down all mines, union and nonunion, newly elected UMWA President Richard Trumka, a former member of Millers legal staff, introduced selective strikes to isolate and defeat militant struggles against AT Massey and Pittston. Facing a wildcat strike in 1989, Trumka issued a desperate plea to the coal bosses and the government, telling the Charleston Gazette that Pittstons intransigence threatened to destroy the stability and competitiveness the UMWA had brought to the coal industry.

If the company succeeded in breaking the UMWA, Trumka warned, When it comes back, I think the form of union probably will be different. Its tolerance for injustice will be far less and its willingness to alibi for a system that we know doesnt work will be nonexistent.

The UMWA and the rest of unions, however, continued to alibi for capitalism and the Democratic Party. While Trumka was rewarded with the top position in the AFL-CIO, the result of the unions collusion with the coal companies and the Democrats was nothing but disaster for miners and their families.

In West Virginia, coal employment has fallen from 65,000 in 1977 to less than 15,000 today. In McDowell County, one of the former strongholds of the UMW, life expectancy for males is only 63.1 years, 13 years below the national average and roughly the same as for men in Namibia.

Under the Obama administration, the Democratic Party escalated the assault on health care and pensions. The Affordable Care Act was used to shift costs from the employers to workers, who are forced to pay exorbitant fees and accept substandard coverage. Obama has backed the slashing of pension benefits for 270,000 workers, including Teamster drivers and warehouse workers covered by multi-employer pension funds, and he backed the Detroit bankruptcy, which paved the way for the destruction of public employee pensions.

In the 2016 Democratic primary contest, workers in West Virginia voted by a wide margin for Bernie Sanders, who presented himself as a socialist and opponent of the billionaire class. Sanders turned around and endorsed Clinton, whose contempt for the working class was summed up in claims by her campaign that white workers in industrially devastated states like West Virginia were racists who were seeking to defend their privileged status by turning toward Trump. This gave Trump a green light to exploit popular discontent and posture as a champion of the miners.

Workers will soon come to realize that Trump is their class enemy. His choice for commerce secretary, billionaire asset stripper Wilbur Ross, owned the Sago Mine, where 12 West Virginia miners were killed in 2006 after Ross and his subordinates ignored repeated safety violations. The efforts to return workers to the darkest days of industrial slavery will provoke immense struggles, including by the miners.

The lessons of the long, tragic and heroic history of the struggles of miners and the working class as a whole must be learned. New organizations of struggle, entirely free of the corrupt, bureaucratic and pro-capitalist unions must be built. Above all, the struggle must take a conscious political form, wholly independent of the parties and politicians of the ruling class, and based on the fight for the international unity of the working class and socialism.
Latin America

Dominican Republic: One-day truckers strike for fee increase

Drivers of freight trucks, flatbeds and tractor-trailers held a 24-hour stoppage December 6 to push for higher freight fees. At least 90,000 truckers, affiliated with the Fenatrado truckers federation struck nationwide.

The striking truckers also demanded improvements in working conditions and the end of a fuel subsidy to the business sector.

Clashes erupt between Brazilian police and anti-austerity protesters

Hundreds of anti-austerity demonstrators protested fiscal adjustment measures being discussed in Rio de Janeiros legislature December 6. The protesters gathered in front of the Legislative Assembly headquarters of Rio de Janeiro, or Alerj. Some of the workers demanded back wages, which the federal government ordered the state to pay, following the states declaration of a financial emergency ahead of the Rio Olympics earlier this year.

The demonstrations included public security employees such as police, firefighters and prison guards, who have engaged in previous demonstrations, often shouting right-wing slogans demanding military rule and disassociating themselves from education, health and other civil service workers.

Union bureaucrats railed against corruption, of which some of them have previously been beneficiaries, and denounced these criminals, these politicians who are in the legislative assembly and dont want to let go, in the words of Oil Workers Union spokesman Ronaldo Moreno.

Riot police moved in to disperse the crowd with pepper spray, rubber bullets and stun grenades, while some demonstrators threw homemade bombs at them. Some police holed up in a nearby church, from which they fired rubber bullets at the protesters.

Argentine cabbies continue anti-Uber protests

Taxi drivers descended on Buenos Aires December 6 to protest the Uber app-based ride service. A number of taxi drivers unions called the mobilization. In the city center, some drivers burned tires.

The Buenos Aires cabbies have held a number of protests against Uber and other similar services, which they say steal jobs from taxi drivers, are unregulated and do not comply with city ordinances. Last June, over 5,000 taxi drivers held a protest in Buenos Aires calling on the government to shut the service down.

Nonetheless, Uber has grown in Buenos Aireswith over 550,000 customers and 37,000 driversand it is expanding to other cities in Argentina. Union officials have accused the government of Mauricio Macri of full complicity in undercutting the cab drivers jobs.

Argentine metro workers strike for 24 hours over workers electrocution death

Underground commuter rail service on the six lines that serve Buenos Aires was halted December 7 following the death of maintenance worker Matias Kruger. The 24-year-old was repairing the air conditioning on a car when he was killed by a discharge of 1,500 volts of electricity.

The Buenos Aires rail system, known as the subte (for subterranean) is run by Metrovias, which took over the lines in 1994 during president Carlos Menems privatization drive. Workers have complained of the lack of a consistent protocol when treating electrical issues. One official for the AGTSyP (Subte and Premetro Workers Union Association) told reporters, This is the fifth such death in less than eight years, and another declared that work accidents are misnomers, when in reality this is about management crimes.

The official, Enrique Rosito, complained that the protocol for security and for cutting electricity at every workshop has a different modality, but when its a matter of working with 1,500 volts there should be a single protocol. AGRSyP bureaucrats had requested a meeting with the citys Labor Subsecretariat the day before on the issue of the protocol, but not only did they ignore us, they mocked our demand.

Short strike by Chilean metro ticket clerks over wages, benefits, conditions

About 300 ticket clerks for the Metro de Santiago underground railway network struck on the morning of December 7 at 27 stations in the Chilean capital. The striking workers, some 80 percent of the total, walked off the job to press their demands, including a raise in salaries, which they claim are barely above the minimum; quality of life benefits; overtime pay and bonuses for working festive days and 6-day workweeks. They also complained of being contract workers and not permanent employees.

By that afternoon, their union and management had signed an agreement that contained a monthly raise of about 50,000 pesos (US$76) and every other weekend off. The ticket clerks returned to work the next day. The workers contract status remains unchanged.

Chilean home improvement center workers return to work after union accepts inferior offer

After 26 days on strike for improvements in wages and benefits, 8,700 workers for Chiles Sodimac home improvement warehouse chain were called back to the job December 6. The final contract, according to a report in El Mostrador, is very far from the 5 percent above the consumer price index offer, in addition to an increase of benefits and an end-of-negotiations bonus of between 360 thousand and 500 thousand pesos [US$549 and 762], brought out last November 7, when the strike was decided.

Instead, the union signed for a 2 percent raise and a bonus of 200,000 pesos (US$305). The company will pay nothing for the 26 days on strike, but will advance 15 days of wages, which will be deducted over the next five months.

The unions web site claimed that we were confronted by an indolent enterprise that keep lowering its offer, despite the effort of the [union] directors to demand dignity for the workers. The cave-in was a replay of similar strikes at Banco de Chile in 2011 and at Walmart in 2014 that ended with acceptance of lower offers.

Comments on social media by embittered workers blasted the union, especially union head Jose Luis Ortega, a member of the Christian Democrats and president of the Sodimac workers union for 22 years. For some observers, El Mostrador noted, the situation is similar to what is happening in the ANEF [National Fiscal Employees] and CUT [Unitary Workers Center], which they see as a reflection that even the unions are living through a crisis of legitimacy.

The United States

Judge reinforces anti-strike injunction against ABX Air cargo pilots

A US district court judge issued a preliminary injunction December 7 that extends an earlier temporary injunction that barred ABX Air cargo pilots from striking or engaging in other forms of service disruptions. Judge Timothy Black first issued a temporary restraining back on November 22, bringing to a halt a strike by 250 Teamster pilots, protesting low wages, understaffing and forced overtime.

In extending the bar on striking, Judge Black called the issues with ABX a minor dispute. The new preliminary injunction is slated to be turned into a permanent injunction at some future date, guaranteeing pilots are to be held hostage to their current working conditions.

Behind the labor conflict stands retail giant Amazon, who canceled contracts with higher-paid UPS and FedEx pilots and now seeks to become a player in air cargo transport. Amazon holds options to buy stakes in ABXs parent company ATSG, and another cargo operation named Atlas Air.

The same day that Black issued his decision, a group of Atlas Air pilots carried out a protest outside of Amazons Seattle, Washington headquarters. Current contract talks between Atlas and the Teamsters union are at a standstill. Atlas Air management is seeking to incorporate inferior terms from the contract that governs the recently-acquired Southern Air unit into the Atlas contract. Southern Air went through bankruptcy in 2012.

Canada

Quebec paramedics set to strike

Some 3,600 paramedics, ambulance dispatchers and other emergency health care workers could be on strike as early as this week after 15 different union locals delivered strike mandates of at least 92 percent in November.

The workers involved in the dispute are represented by the Federation de la sante et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN), who have been working without a contract since March of 2015. The emergency health care workers are employed by ambulance companies across the province of Quebec and their right to strike is limited by essential service legislation which will mean that any job action may have a limited effect.

The union said the strike is due to the extremely slow pace of negotiations, but details of contract negotiations have not been made public.
This past summer Barnes & Noble announced it would take a leap into the restaurant industry , and now the third bookstore/restaurant prototype will open Dec. 13 in Folsom, California, equipped with an expanded menu and local beer and wine options. Barnes & Noble Kitchen worked with...

This past summer Barnes & Noble announced it would take a leap into the restaurant industry, and now the third bookstore/restaurant prototype will open Dec. 13 in Folsom, California, equipped with an expanded menu and local beer and wine options.

Barnes & Noble Kitchen worked with AvroKO (design and concept firm) and The Branstetter Group (hospitality management firm) to make the bookstore dining experience a reality, Eater reported.

To create the Kitchens menu, the bookstore also partnered with executive chef Sheamus Feeley, who was part of the opening team for Farmstead Restaurant in Napa Valley and previously worked with the Hillstone Restaurant Group.

Prices for menu items range from $5 for a side dish to $26 for slow-cooked beef short ribs with horseradish cream, potato puree, and roasted carrots.

David Deason, the companys vice president of development, told The Sacramento Bee that despite the new kitchen concept, books are the star.

Its still a bookstore, he said.

The other hybrid bookstores are located in Eastchester, New York, and a second in Edina, Minnesota.

Barnes & Noble isnt the first retailer to start a restaurant venture. Urban Outfitters has opened restaurants and cafes in the U.S. from Austin to New York City.
Edward Snowden penned a supportive letter to a 10-year-girl in Malawi who has albinism. (Photo: Rex/Getty Images)

Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who leaked top secret information about U.S. surveillance activities, sent a sympathetic letter to Annie Alfred, a 10-year-old in Malawi who has albinism  an inherited disorder in which the body produces little to no melanin, resulting in white or pink hair, skin, and eyes.

Alfred is one of 7,000  10,000 people in Malawi who have the condition, according to Amnesty International, which shared Snowdens letter on Twitter on Dec. 10. Many people with albinism are marginalized, but thats not the worst of what some of them have endured. Having albinism in Malawi and some other countries in Africa can also be dangerous, since those with the condition have been attacked, mutilated, and even killed. According to an Amnesty International report, they are targeted for their body parts by those who believe that they contain magical powers and bring good luck. The report also states that some erroneously believe that having sex with a person with albinism will cure HIV/AIDS.

Women and children with albinism are particularly vulnerable: They are targeted not only by criminals but also, in some cases, by their own family members. So its no surprise that many people with the condition often fear for their lives. According to CNN, at least 18 albinos in Malawi have been killed since 2014, while another five were kidnapped and are still missing. The Canadian albinism advocacy group Under the Same Sun reports that there have been 187 killings and 317 attacks, which include attempted abductions, mutilation, and rape, across 26 countries in Africa. But the organization also notes that many albinism-related attacks and murders are not reported.

Read @Snowdens powerful solidarity letter to Annie, hunted for her body parts in Malawi for having albinism: https://t.co/uGF03T82XC #W4R16 pic.twitter.com/KGMOqL9XHU  AmnestyInternational (@AmnestyOnline) December 10, 2016

It is shameful that people are being persecuted for being different, wrote Snowden, who has been living in exile since 2013. Your differences are not weaknesses, they are strengths.

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No child should fear that her liberty to participate and live as she desires is subject to the superstition and prejudice of others, he continued. Embrace the things that separate you from the crowd of the ordinary, and never stop defending the right to be different, no matter how difficult the times.

He concluded: Each of us is a treasure of the earth, and perhaps you most of all.

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Four additional teens have been charged in connection with the kidnapping and murder of David Grunwald, the 16-year-old whose remains were found on Dec. 2 after he went missing in November, bringing the number of teens charged to five.

Devin Peterson, 18, Austin Barrett, 19, and two minor teens were all taken into custody for allegedly playing a role in Davids death, according to a news release from the Alaska State Troopers obtained by PEOPLE.

Peterson, of Wasilla, is charged with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in the first degree. Barrett, 19, of Palmer, is charged with murder in the first degree, kidnapping, and murder in the second degree. The two youngest suspects, both 16 and from Wasilla, are charged with murder in the first degree, kidnapping, murder in the second degree, and evidence tampering. It is unclear if the two minor suspects will be charged as adults.

Last week, 16-year-old Erick Almandinger allegedly confessed to involvement in the killing, saying he was a friend of Davids, according to the state troopers. He was charged with murder in the first degree, kidnapping, murder in the second degree and evidence tampering. He has been charged as an adult.

David GrunwaldSource: Justice for David Grunwald Palmer, AK/Facebook

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David was reported missing on Nov. 13, after he didnt come home from hanging out with friends. His father, worried, called Alaska State Troopers and the following day, Davids 1995 Ford Bronco was found torched on a forest trail, according to the state troopers.

On Dec. 2, the same day Davids remains were discovered, Almandinger allegedly confessed, court documents obtained by PEOPLE state. Almandinger allegedly told investigators David came over to hang out, drink and smoke with two friends when things turned violent.

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The only motive that Almandinger indicated was present during the event was that had smoked all his weed, the documents state.

The 16-year-old was allegedly struck with a handgun until he was knocked unconscious, driven to a remote location in the woods and fatally shot after pleading for his life, the court documents state. It is still unclear who pulled the trigger, authorities say.

Almandinger has not entered a plea. He will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 13, Palmer County Court officials tell PEOPLE. He remains in custody and has not yet retained an attorney.

It is unclear whether Peterson, Barrett and the two others have entered a plea, retained attorneys, or remain in custody. All four will also appear in court on Dec. 13, according to Palmer County Court officials.

Remembering David

Since his death was announced, classmates and friends have come together to honor David.

At Mat-Su Career & Tech, Davids high school, one classroom plans to keep his chair empty until the end of the semester.

Its one thing I can do in my classroom as a tribute and an honor to his life, the impact he had in our classroom and the impact this has had on our community, Zack Lanphier, Davids former teacher, tells PEOPLE.

David was an amazing person, his mother, Edie Grunwald, tells PEOPLE. He the love of our life. He had hopes and dreams.

On Saturday, the Palmer County community held a candlelight vigil for David, his mother says. Friends, family and community leaders shared memories and stories.

 was quite special, Edie says. He has become Palmers child.

Parents Say Death Penalty Should Be Considered

In an interview with KTVA, Davids parents called his death unconscionable and said Alaska should consider implementing the death penalty, which has not existed in Alaska since it became a state in 1959.

My son doesnt get to breathe anymore. Hes gone, Edie Grunwald told the station. These kids  or these people  they get to breathe.

Added Davids father, Ben Grunwald, Would we take that wild animal, catch it, put it in a pen, feed it three times a day, give it medical attention when it got a sore paw? What would we do?




A firefighter in Romania recently went above and beyond to save everyone caught in a fire in the city of Pitesti.

According to Mashable, a 51-year-old man and his dog were pulled from the blaze. The owner had serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital. The dog collapsed from smoke inhalation shortly after being removed from the fire.

Firefighter Costache Mugurel saw the dog lying lifeless on the sidewalk and immediately rushed to help the animal. Following basic training, Mugurel started performing CPR on the pup. The firefighter gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions until a oxygen mask was made available for the dog.

Local journalist Costi Tudor posted a video of the rescue to Facebook with the comment, Nobody gets left behind.

The mans quick thinking saved the canines life, and earned him plenty of praise online. But Mugueral appears to think of it all as part of his very important job description.

After receiving assistance from the firefighter, the dog was taken to a nearby veterinary hospital, where he is said to be in stable condition.




While much of the U.S. was battling freezing winter weather over the weekend, the Eli Young Band and country newcomer Tucker Beathard were enjoying the Bahamas. The two acts performed at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort in Nassau as part of the Stories Behind the Songs series on Friday (Dec. 9), which launched in September. CMT's Cody Alan hosted the show at the Royal Theater, which was attended by key radio programmers and contest winners as well as Sandals guests.

"This is a neat deal to be able to sit up there and play acoustic and play these songs in a different environment. But they had to twist our arms to come play the Bahamas in December," lead vocalist Mike Eli told Billboard wearing a big grin.

In an extremely apropos setting, the Eli Young Band performed their new single "Saltwater Gospel." "We fell in love with 'Saltwater Gospel.' It captures a feeling that's almost indescribable. It was a no-brainer for all four of us," Eli says of the consensus shared by EYB guitarist James Young, drummer Chris Thompson and bassist Jon Jones.

Young concurs. "Sometimes you get those songs you hear at first listen and it's 'Yes!' when all four of us agree. That was undeniable. It reminds me of when we heard 'Crazy Girl.' Thirty seconds in and we knew it was a great song," says Young, referencing 'Crazy Girl," which was Billboard's 2011 Country Song of the Year.

Young says the band has always wanted to do a beach song and "Saltwater Gospel" came from a unique perspective that was appealing. "It puts a different spin on it, more about feeling humble in nature," Young shares. "You can find spirituality in everything in nature. We fell in love with the sentiment."

The band recently finished recording their new album for the Valory Music Co. Produced by Ross Copperman and Jeremy Stover, the release is due sometime next year. "I feel like we came full circle with this record," Eli says, noting that the band wrote all but three songs on the new set. "We went back to a lot of sounds that worked so well for us on some of our earlier records and really focused on that."

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As the touring year winds down, the band was happy to play a gig that focused specifically on songs and songwriting. "It opens up the freedom to get a little deeper into explaining the songs and talking about where they came from, what inspired them and how they relate to us," says Thompson. "If you do that in your regular, big loud show, it changes things. It definitely changes the dynamic. This is definitely the right place and right time to get into it and the audience is expecting that."

Jones says vacationing audiences, in general, are a different crowd. "When you play a show in someone's hometown, they are only 20 minutes removed from their regular life," Jones says. "So it's still in the back of their head what they have to go home to, what they are doing the next day, whatever that might be. But when you're out here, people are in a different mindset. They are ready to have fun. They can put all their worries behind them and just enjoy the night."

Beathard was excited about opening for the Eli Young Band, especially in the tropical setting. "I couldn't ask for a better way to end the year," says Beathard, a Big Machine Label Group newcomer whose Friday night set included his debut hit, "Rock On," and new single "Momma and Jesus." "I've been wanting to come to the Bahamas for a while. I've never been but I've seen pictures. I looked forward to coming. I brought a couple friends with me and we've been enjoying the resort and soaking it up."

Beathard admits since the show was at an all-inclusive resort he thought it might be difficult to get the audience to listen. "They are on vacation with a free bar, I thought it would be tough to get their attention, but they were a good group," he says. "It's tough to beat having a full band and be rockin' out, but I do love the stripped down acoustic songwriter stuff too. Both are fun."

Beathard is the son of hit Nashville songwriter Casey Beathard, whose cuts include Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink" and Eric Church's "Homeboy." The younger Beathard's debut EP, Fight Like Hell, came out this fall and he hit the road after that, headlining his Rock On College Tour with special guest Aubrie Sellers. Beathard co-wrote all six songs on his debut EP including "Momma and Jesus." "It talks about thanking God that Momma and Jesus haven't given up on me because I don't know where I'd be if they did," he says. "It's a pretty relatable thing. Everybody has done things in their life, stupid stuff, but two people have your back. It's really cool to see people connect with a song like that. I get messages on social media. To write a song and have it impact somebody's life is really cool. It's the whole reason I love music and do it."

Though the Sandals visit was a first for Beathard, the Eli Young Band have been Sandals Resort guests before. "I actually got married at Sandals in Jamaica," says Jones. "I drug these guys out and they stood up for me at my wedding six years ago. Sandals does a good job of showcasing acts like us, but also taking care of the communities, which is very important. They do a lot of good charity work."

"Sandals Resorts Foundation brought some kids in that sang one of our songs to us, which was incredible," Eli says, noting it was one of the highlights of their weekend. "They are doing a lot of work with families that were hit by the last hurricane."

The Resort held a toy drive during the event. Media and radio guests were encouraged to bring gifts for Bahamian children affected by the most recent hurricane. "They also do a lot with building schools and libraries and restoring the beaches," says Jones. "They do a lot for the islands."

The Eli Young Band/Tucker Beathard show was the second in the Stories Behind the Songs series. Radio stations from around the country broadcast live from the event during the weekend. "We want to keep things interesting and exciting for our guests," says Sandals rep Lazar DeLorenzo Charlton. "It's really cool to get country music down here in the Bahamas. A lot of our guests enjoy country music."

The first Stories Behind the Songs event was held in Turks and Caicos Sept. 23-26 featuring Lee Brice, Jerrod Niemann and Dylan Scott. "The Story Behind the Songs concert series has not only been hugely successful but also served as a platform for a major initiative we're rolling out at our resorts across the Caribbean called LIV + Events," says Debbie-Ann White, senior vp of public relations and promotions for Unique Vacations Inc.

Though details are still in the works, Sandals plans to initiate other events next year. "Based on the results we've seen from our first two Story Behind the Songs LIV+ vacation packages, there's definitely a demand for more events like these," White says. "The feedback has been tremendous and we're busy planning a number of exclusive experiences for 2017."
By Noah Yoo.

According to producer Elite, J. Coles Dreamville studio in North Carolina was raided by a SWAT team in March, after his neighbors reportedly told authorities that drugs were being made/sold in the building. Cole and his associates were in Austin for SXSW at the time of the raid. In an interview with Complex, Elite explained the incident. One of the neighbors told the police we were growing weed or selling drugs out of this house, he said. And there was a huge investigation, like a million-dollar investigation. They flew helicopters over, sent an entire SWAT team armed with weapons, broke down the door and searched the whole house.

Elite continued, They go downstairs and all they see is a studio, and obviously they felt stupid. Its just crazy ironic because out of anybody, they picked the wrong person. J. Cole is the last person to do anything like that. Hes out here doing extremely positive things for the community and for young artists. Because of obvious racism from the neighbors, the police were called and a raid took place.

The raid apparently inspired the song Neighbors, off Coles latest album 4 Your Eyez Only. The songs hook goes, I guess the neighbors think I'm sellin' dope, sellin' dope/Okay, the neighbors think I'm sellin' dope, sellin' dope. Much of the new album was recorded at the studio where the incident took place.

This story originally appeared on Pitchfork.

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The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.

Of all the advantages applying early to college offers, students might find one particularly appealing: a better chance of getting in.

Typically, students can apply to only one school under early decision and must attend if they're admitted. That's not the case for the less-restrictive early action and regular decision options, where students can apply to several schools and decisions aren't binding.



[Learn what happens to students who back out of early decision offers.]

Among the 245 ranked colleges and universities that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average acceptance rate for applicants who applied early decision or early action for fall 2015 was about 63.1 percent, while the average for regular applicants was about 50.2 percent -- a difference of 12.9 percentage points.

But among the 10 schools where applying early is most likely to boost applicants' chances of being admitted, the gap between early and regular acceptance rates was much wider. Those schools admitted an average 83.7 percent of early applicants but just 37.8 percent under regular decision -- a difference of 45.9 percentage points.

At the top of the list is American University in the District of Columbia, which accepted 87.2 percent of early applicants and 32.4 percent of regular applicants. Each of the 10 schools on the list saw a difference of at least 41.7 percentage points, with American University's at 54.8 percentage points.

One school, Meredith College in North Carolina, admitted 100 percent of early applicants compared with 58.3 percent of regular applicants.

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Nine of the schools on the list are either National Universities -- which offer a range of undergraduate majors plus master's and doctoral programs -- or National Liberal Arts Colleges, which emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts.

Trinity University in Texas is the list's only Regional University , meaning it has many undergraduate and some master's programs but few doctoral programs.

[Discover tips to complete college applications on time.]

A few schools, including Presbyterian College in South Carolina, Abilene Christian University in Texas and Georgetown University in the District of Columbia, admitted fewer students from their early applicant pools than under regular decision. For instance, for fall 2015, Georgetown admitted 13.3 percent of early applicants and 19.4 percent of regular applicants.

Below are the 10 schools where at least 10 percent of applicants applied early and early applicants had the strongest chance for admission compared with regular applicants for fall 2015. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.

*Combines early decision and early action programs at colleges that have both. Students should keep in mind that some colleges defer some early applicants to the regular pool, where they have an additional chance of admittance, so the percentage of early applicants who are eventually accepted may be higher.

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find admissions data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2016 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The admissions data above are correct as of Dec. 13, 2016.

Jordan Friedman is an online education editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at jfriedman@usnews.com.


These 10 gifts are meant for the friend whos bogged down by Mercury Retrograde

Come on guys, you know us. We hate to be the bearer of bad news. But its our obligation to let you know when life might get a little whacky. And its about to. On December 19th, Mercury will once again be heading into retrograde. If youre super sensitive to astrological mishaps, then you might be starting to feel the retroshade effects already (which began December 2nd). For that, were truly sorry, but theres nothing we can do.

Actually, there is something we can do. We can provide you with a list of gifts to give yourself or that special someone who struggles to keep calm and carry on through the retrogrades.

Happy shopping, cosmic enthusiasts!

With a cover appropriate for one who lives their life by the stars, this notebook will keep your friends life in order. Whether shes just writing to-do lists, or keeping track of all the weird stuff the retrograde is throwing at her, this notebook can make her feel more prepared.

The Anna Mermaid Crown

Give your BFF the ability to take control over her life back from Mercury Retrograde! This ~ gorgeous ~ mermaid crown from JUDYandMADELEINE on Etsy will help your friend feel like the fierce queen she is. More importantly, the clear quartz will help her better organize her thoughts and clear up any intentions shes putting into the world.

Mercury Necklace

Show Mercury whos boss with this beautiful glass pendant necklace from Out Of Space Jewelry on Etsy. Mercury wants to mess with you? Fat chance when youre the one who has the little guy hanging around your neck. This gift will honestly just make your friend feel like she has the upper hand in this human to planet relationship, which might be just enough to lessen the torment of the retrograde.

Clear as a Bell Elixir

Eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, pine and rosemary mix together with lemon and bergamot to make a slightly sweet and citrus astringent scent to clear the fog from the mind and help make decisions. This little bottle of clarity is made by Bewitching Spirits and will help those who are befuddled, get through the retrograde with ease. The oils are diluted with jojoba oil and charged with fluorite, clear quartz, citrine, and other clarifying stones and herbs.

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moon and stars sunnies

These babies are perfect for hiding your tired eyes after a restless night spent worrying about all the things that are going wrong during the retrograde. Available in pink or white, these Moon and Star Sunnies from ban.do are perfect for any cosmically oriented fashionista and will give her the confidence to power through the retrograde tunnel to the light at the end.

mercury retrograde crystal set

Love By Luna Co. on Etsy has got you covered when it comes to buying something for your crystal-obsessed friend. This Mercury Retrograde set includes black tourmaline, indigo gabbro, seed quartz, kyanite, and sodalite, all aimed to aid your communication, mental clarity, and focus while drawing in protective energies, according to Love By Lunas description. We feel relieved already! You can read more about what each crystal can do for you on Love By Lunas Etsy page.

Mercury Mood Mug

The retrograde can make waking up in the morning even harder to do. To explain your mood without having to say a word, theres the Mercury Mood Mug from MagickMoods on Etsy. Equipped with a ceramic middle finger on the inside, this mug will make your morning coffee chug do the explaining for you. Can you handle all this paperwork today? your boss asks. Take a long swig from this mug and youll have him/her slowly backing out of your office in no time.

middle finger pin

Along the same vein as the Mercury Mood Mug, this little enamel pin from ban.do can tell people (or life in general) to you know what before they even get close to messing with you or your friend. Show the world  in the cutest way possible  you are in no mood to deal with the ish it throws at you.

Mercury Soy Candle

You know this list wouldnt be complete without a candle. These Mercury Soy Candles from ALOHAELIXIR on Etsy are made for setting intention by using the energy from the planet of communication. Have a breakthrough, not a breakdown, ALOHAELIXIR writes in their Etsy description. The company also writes that this candle is ideal to use during Mercury Retrograde to subdue the negative impact on communication, electronics, and animals. Thank god. Sign us up.

hand stamped cuff

Finally, show your friend that you care about her well being by gifting her a personalized cuff bracelet. Roth Jewelry on Etsy lets you customize your own bangle with a personal message. Just Breathe is great for something struggling through retrograde, but get creative! These bracelets are made from skin-friendly and adjustable aluminum that wont tarnish with wear.

We hope we got your gift-giving gears turning. Once the retrograde hits, communication will suffer so its best to get going on these Mercury Retrograde-related gifts sooner than later. And dont fret  it will all be over on December 31st, just in time for the New Year.

We can get through this together everyone! Weve done it before and we can do it again!

The post These 10 gifts are meant for the friend whos bogged down by Mercury Retrograde appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday.

1. THE BET TRUMP IS MAKING WITH HIS SECRETARY OF STATE PICK

It's the same bet the president-elect asked voters to make on him: that Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson's track record of business accomplishment will translate into success in government.

2. WHO TRUMP HAS TAPPED FOR ENERGY AND INTERIOR POSTS

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is Trump's choice to run the Energy Department, while Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke has been offered the job of interior secretary, according to people with knowledge of the decisions.

3. SYRIAN REBELS REACH CEASE-FIRE DEAL TO EVACUATE FROM EASTERN ALEPPO

The developments followed reports of mass killings by government forces closing in on the final few blocks still held by the rebels.

4. WHY SHOUTING MATCHES ERUPTED DURING THE BILL COSBY TRIAL

The judge twice warned lawyers to maintain decorum after shouting matches that centered on the defense's insistence on identifying accusers by name in public documents.

5. OHIO GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL IMPOSING 20-WEEK ABORTION BAN

John Kasich vetoed stricter provisions in a separate measure that would have barred the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.

6. HOW QUICKLY THE TOP OF PLANET EARTH IS WARMING

Arctic warming is happening twice as fast as the rest of the globe, according to an annual report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

7. WHAT THE MAN WHO FIRED SHOTS IN DC PIZZERIA SAID TO HIS FRIENDS

Edgar Maddison Welch warned friends that his "raid", inspired by an internet conspiracy theory, could involve killing people, according to court documents.

8. KANYE WEST BACK ON TWITTER TO TALK ABOUT TRUMP

The Grammy Award-winner wrote that he met with Trump to "discuss multicultural issues" that included "bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago."

9. GAMBIA'S RULING PARTY PUSHES FOR NEW PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

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President Yahya Jammeh initially acknowledged defeat elections that ousted him after 22 years in power only to announce later that he was rejecting the results, plunging the tiny country into crisis.

10. GOVERNMENT PROPOSES REQUIRING NEW CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS TO TALK TO EACH OTHER

Transportation Department officials say the technology holds the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths and transform driving.
Sanaa (AFP) - Nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, victims of the near-collapse of the health care system during two years of escalating conflict, UN children's fund UNICEF said on Tuesday.

At least 462,000 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, as food supplies have been disrupted by the devastating war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels, the agency said.

Saada province, a rebel bastion in the far north, has the world's highest stunting rate among children with eight out of 10 children affected in some areas, it added.

"Malnutrition in Yemen is at an all-time high and increasing," said UNICEF's acting country representative, Meritxell Relano.

"The state of health of children in the Middle East's poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today."

At least one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen because of malnutrition and preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections.

"Diseases such as cholera and measles have spread and, with few health facilities functional, such outbreaks are taking a heavy toll on children," Relano said.

In 2016, UNICEF supported the treatment of 215,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and provided more than four million children under the age of five with vitamin supplements.

But relief operations remain hindered by funding shortfalls and limited access to battleground areas.

"We call on parties to the conflict to give us unhindered access to children in need across the country so we are able to deliver nutrition supplies, treat malnourished children and support Yemen's health services," Relano said.
A husband-and-wife pair of college students were able to get their degrees after years struggling with drug addiction, according to their son.

Charles Cole lll, 33, said he couldn't be more proud after his parents completed their degrees at Sacramento Theological Seminary, following years of crack addiction and moving their family around a lot when he was young.

Read: 950-Pound Manatee Rescued After Being Stuck in Storm Drain: 'Every Life Is Precious'

My parents struggled with drugs and going in and out of jail so their background has been one of getting their lives together and rebuilding it together brick by brick, Cole told InsideEdition.com

Cole, whos in a doctoral program himself, couldnt attend the graduation, but was overjoyed to receive a photo of his triumphant parents.

He posted it to Twitter, where it got more than 2,000 retweets.

When I saw the picture, they looked adorable, Cole said. I was just happy for them.

Cole said he speaks at schools encouraging children in the black community to get an education because that is what helped him to get out of the environment he was in.

I was happy in the sense that this is just what I do and where my focus is. My focus is getting people that look like me in and through school, he said. Ive seen what my parents have gone through so I was happy they were able to go back and accomplishment that.

Read: Couple Surprises Bone Marrow Donor with Whirlwind Sports Tour of the U.S.

Cole said his parents are even inspiring others.

I started seeing all these comments [on Twitter] of people in their old age wanting to go back (to school), trying to go back now saying, 'you know, I want my kids to be proud of me.' I think thats powerful."

Watch: Man Who Suffered Overdose in Video Seen by Millions Has Now Sobered Up

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Collaborating variously with director Mike Mills over the yearsmost notably on Beginnerscomposer Roger Neill brought an ethereal synth-driven score to 20th Century Women, in the process reestablishing a connection with instruments hed played as a child. As ever, music is integral to Mills final producthes often described the film on the awards circuit as As Time Goes By meets the Buzzcocks, an apt description of the intergenerational family drama, which captures a mothers disillusionment as her connection to her teenage son frays. Speaking with Deadline, Neill breaks down the instrumentation behind the score and Mike Mills vision for the film.

Youve worked with Mike Mills before. What got you excited to return to the fold for 20th Century Women?

First of all, I just really enjoy working with Mike. Weve done a bunch of stuff together, most notably Beginners, but also some commercials and other projects over the years. We just have a unique way of communicating and talking about music. Hes a good enough musician himself that he knows how to direct, but fortunately for me, not a good enough musician to be able to write his own score. [Laughs] Although I will say that his son Hopper did send me a number of noodlings. Hopper, I think, is 3 years old , so I got a few tips from Hopper.

When Mike and I work together, we usually actually work together, side-by-side, particularly for initial ideas. Hell just sit in my studio and well just get some basic notions of sounds, and Ill play some chords and hell say, Yeah, I like that chord, but I dont like that chord. Take that third chord and make it the first chord and then repeat it, but only twice. Itd be kind of something like that.

His notes are such that I end up making musical choices that I definitely otherwise would not make. He intentionally limits what I can do, or Ill come up with some really beautiful note, like this one note that is just perfect, and hell say, Okay, everything is great except for that one note, take that one note out. Then I have to find some way to still make it work, so the result is I end up creating with Mike music which is different from everything else that I do.

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Mills is a writer/director who is very specific about his choices, not least when it comes to music. How did he describe the films sound to you in words?

I read the script, five years ago maybe? A long time back. It was always established that there was going to be punk rock, a specific kind of California punk rock from that year [1979]. Mike and I are pretty much exactly the same age, were both Californians, so we know exactly what that is, and not just what it sounds like, but what it represents. He had a notion early on that the score would be in direct contrast with that, tonally.

The first idea was on the table for a long timeit was going to be cellos, a bunch of cellos, which we abandoned along the way, more or less. When we first got together, he and I, for our first writing session, noodling around with it, we were writing blocky cello popnot really pop, but its a cello-based sound. Along the way, it just morphed into more of a Brian Eno direction. He and I are both big fans of that, particularly the Eno-Bowie stuff in the late 70s, and the early Eno ambient records. I started adding more and more synthesizers, particularly.

I dont know if you know much about these instruments, but the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer was our main axe, which I think came out in 1977. That was our main sound. That sound, the Prophet-5, is something that wed used before.

One quick thing about that is the first time I ever played that particular synthesizer, I was 15I was the same age as our main character, Jamie. For this movie, I had that very same specific Prophet-5 shipped to me. It was now living in Indiana, so the same instrument that I played on at 15 is actually the one Ive used for the score.

Apart from the synthesizers, what other instrumentation do we hear in the score?

Its funny. When you work on a score, a lot of the process, when you have the time, is to really figure out what the sound is, what the instruments are. Eventually, you eliminate choices so that youre left with a certain core sound. Yes, there are certain instruments that we used. It was that synthesizer, its two other synthesizers, the Solina String Ensemble and the Yamaha DX7, which is a really glassy-sounding synth from that era. That particular instrument I used for just a specific cue. In addition to that, we did keep cellos, not a bunch of them, but single- and double-player, so there are cellos in there, within the fabric of the sound of the score. Then the last thing we ended up putting in the overall fabric is me playing guitar. Some of the cues I use are a particular technique called the EBow, which makes the guitar sustain indefinitely. That ends up being a sound of the whole score. The very first thing you hear at the top of the movie is a sort of whale soundthats the EBow.

It seems like distortion is also used as an artistic device.

First, with the guitar, thats the distorted, and its really washed with a lot of reverb and echoey sounds. All the techniques we used in recording the movies music were sounds that were available to us in that year, 1979. We didnt want to make it sound like it was from 1979, we didnt want it to be a nostalgic score, but we just wanted to be in that world. Its as if you had all those instruments, we wanted to do the most interesting, innovative thing we possibly could within 1979. I processed a lot of things, like the Solina String Ensemble instrument I mentioned earlierI put it through an effect to give it a warble-y sound. Waba-gaba-gaba-gaba-gaba-gaba-gaba. That ended up being a sound we liked a lot, it energized the music in an interesting way.

How do you go about identifying your musical themes for a film, or land on a specific feeling?

Most of the music was not written to picture. In fact, a lot of it was written before we even shot anything. Then thered be certain pieces of music that I would write and he would like it. I would do different versions of the same piece of music. Then when he was finally editing, he would put those pieces of music in the score. The initial titles of any particular piece of music refer to something happening in the movie, so one of the titles of one of my favorite pieces was called The Politics of Orgasm, which is the name of the essay that Jamie is reading. Anyway, Mike would take these pieces and he would just throw them wherever he thought was working right. He would really experiment to make connections with the music that were not necessarily obvious, which I loved. For example, when Dorothea, Annette [Bening]s character, shes in the punk club by herself and people are thrashing away, but were not hearing that music, were hearing this very lush and beautiful synth music, its very dreamy. Thats not something that would have occurred to me, but it occurred to Mike to do that.

The tone the music strikes is uniquetheres something nostalgic and bittersweet, but also cosmic and grand about it.

I have to agree. I in part was thinking about records I had myself at that time period. The cooler, artier records that not everybody else had, that were just really awesome that I had discovered. I think Mike and I both were going for a sound of something that was a bit more unusual, but still within the vernacular of music from the late 70s. Its still within that feel.

Im pretty sure if somebody who heard this music without seeing the movie, they wouldnt say, Oh, this is 70s music. That wouldnt come across at all. I think it just comes across as an interesting score. Hopefully. That would be my intention, but we do want something that did work with the whole feel of the entire movie.

Did Mills outline the pieces of period music that he wanted to incorporate into the film? Did you need to work around those cues?

There definitely were pieces that were stated in the script. You never know if were going to really get those pieces, but at least I had an idea where he was going. For me, once I realized he was using early Talking Heads and the Buzzcocks, that really got the sound he was going for. I myself was not involved in making those decisions. Those were Mikes decisions, and I didnt try to integrate my music with that in any way. I was just trying to write music that would fit with the story. Also, you have all the other music, which is Dorotheas music, which is music from the 20s and 30s. In some ways, the score acts as the ambassador between different time periods. Links it all together.

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Even though retirement is still decades away, millennials are increasingly jumping on the savings bandwagon.

According to Fidelity Investments' 2016 Millennial Money Study, 60 percent of young adults are saving for retirement and 62 percent have an investment account. When it comes to what they're investing in, mutual funds are a top choice.

The Investment Company Institute estimates that nearly one-third of millennials owned mutual funds in 2015. Forty-five percent of young investors are holding these funds through an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Mutual funds can be a less intimidating proposition for 20- and 30-somethings who may be leery of purchasing individual stocks. If you're using mutual funds to advance your retirement goals, either through an employer's retirement plan, an individual retirement account or a brokerage account, here's what you should be keeping in mind.

[See: 12 Steps Toward a Stronger 401(k).]

Think about your time frame. When you're investing in your 20s or 30s, time is literally on your side and that's something you should be using to your advantage, says Jeremy Torgerson, CEO of nVest Advisors in Brownsville, Texas.

"Time in the market is far more important than timing the market," Torgerson says, and millennials should be taking a diversified but aggressive approach to their portfolio.

For Torgerson, being a disciplined saver and keeping emotions in check when dealing with swings in the market are more impactful than trying to time the market or choose the very best fund.

He says millennials tend to think of themselves as sellers during a stock downturn when they should be thinking of themselves as buyers. When the market is down, that's a good time to buy, since everything is on sale. The No. 1 mistake younger investors make is going too conservative with their strategy without considering how that can play out over several decades.

"Stock market volatility can be scary but unless you need to use money from your investments this month, it doesn't matter in the slightest," Torgerson says.

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Derek Mazzarella, an investment specialist with The Bulfinch Group in Needham, Massachusetts, says millennials should direct more of their focus toward mutual funds that invest in equities, versus mutual funds with a heavy concentration in bonds.

"The long-term investment horizon will give the younger investor the ability to overcome a down market," Mazzarella says.

Make tax efficiency a priority. Where you put your investment dollars can carry as much weight as fund choice, especially if you're concerned about increasing your tax liability. Younger investors need to be aware of the differences when investing in mutual funds through a qualified retirement plan and a taxable investment account.

"The tax efficiency of certain investment vehicles is irrelevant within employer-sponsored retirement plans," says Matt Gulbransen, owner of Callahan Financial Planning Corporation in Minneapolis.

With a 401(k), for instance, your growth is tax-deferred and contributions are deducted from your taxable income for the year. Regardless of what you're investing in, there's no taxation until you begin making qualified distributions in retirement. The same is true of a traditional individual retirement account.

When you invest in mutual funds via a Roth IRA, you're using after-tax dollars so there's no added tax consequence once you begin making withdrawals from your account. If you're investing outside of an employer's plan or IRA, on the other hand, the tax implications could be very different, Gulbransen says.

[Read: How Will Robo Advisors Impact the Future of Investing?]

With a taxable account, you must factor in the impact of capital gains. Capital gains tax is triggered when you sell a mutual fund or another investment at a profit. The short-term capital gains rate applies to investments you hold for less than one year. The more favorable long-term capital gains rate kicks in for investments you own for longer than a year.

If you're investing in mutual funds through a taxable account, you'd want to look at funds that trigger the least number of taxable events. Index funds or exchange-traded funds, for instance, tend to have a lower turnover rate compared to an actively managed fund. At the end of the day, you'd be better off investing in these types of funds through a brokerage account and leaving actively managed funds in your 401(k).

Evaluate the fees carefully. The old adage of "you get what you pay for" isn't always necessarily true when it comes to mutual funds. A cheaper fund isn't a sign of poor performance and fund with a higher fee structure isn't guaranteed to be a winner.

That's something younger investors need to keep in perspective, says Chris Georgandellis, a chartered financial analyst with Tree Town Investments in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "In an ideal world, there would be positive correlation between fees and performance," Georgandellis says.

The problem arises when you're paying high fees on a yearly basis but the fund doesn't deliver on the same schedule. "It's extremely difficult to beat the S&P 500 consistently and it's even more difficult to pick out in advance one fund that will do so," Georgandellis says.

Given a choice between low fees, which are typically associated with more passive funds that try to match the performance of a broader market index, and higher-fee active funds, investors are better off with the low-cost option, he says.

Don't be dazzled by short-term performance. Aside from looking at the relationship between fees and performance, younger investors should also be turning an eye toward the long-term outlook of the mutual funds they're investing in.

Mike Hohf, a certified financial planner and financial advisor at Advance Capital Management in Southfield, Michigan, says attempting to chase performance is a serious mistake.

"Markets work in cycles," Hohf says. "It's unlikely that the investment that did the best last year will repeat that performance this year."

Gulbransen says one of the biggest dangers for millennial investors is allowing emotion to cloud their decision-making process. Like Hohf, he points to recency bias as a potential trap that young adults tend to fall into, while acknowledging the role of media influence in shaping investment decisions.

[See: 13 Ways to Take the Emotions Out of Investing.]

"There are endless opinions and advice about what's happening in the markets and the world," he says. "As investors we need to have a long-term commitment and avoid the short-term noise."





More From US News & World Report


Chicago is currently a seller's market. The number of existing home sales has risen roughly 6 percent in the past year and a half, driving the area's median sales price up more than 7 percent since February 2015. And real estate experts predict that conditions are only going to get better for those planning to list their homes.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean you will be flush with offers from the moment your home goes on the market. Any number of missteps -- from overpricing your property to ignoring your curb appeal -- can drive potential buyers away. If you're looking to sell your Chicago home fast, you'll benefit from the help of an experienced real estate agent.

The five Chicago real estate agents below are among those who sold the most homes in Chicago in the shortest amount of time over the past year, according to OpenHouse Realty, a real estate technology company (and a U.S. News partner).

[Read: 4 Ways to Sell Your Chicago Home Fast.]

Mario Greco, The MG Group

Average Time on Market: 64 Days

Mario Greco is the founder of the Chicago-based MG Group, which partners with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group. A former lawyer, Greco started selling real estate in 2002 and has closed more than $1 billion in sales to date. Greco specializes in high-end condominiums and townhomes, and also sells some single-family homes. The neighborhoods he focuses on include Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Logan Square, Bucktown, Wicker Park, West Loop and Uptown.

Greco's Advice for Sellers: "Listen to the professional you hired to sell your home when it comes to price. They know the market and there is nothing more important to getting top dollar for your home than an accurate, original list price."

Jeff Lowe, The Lowe Group of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Average Time on Market: 76 Days

Jeff Lowe is among the top-selling agents in Chicago in terms of volume, helping people find buyers for their homes in Lincoln Park, Bucktown, Wicker Park and Roscoe Village. When he's not helping sellers secure offers, Lowe is active in a number of philanthropic organizations, including efforts to build new parks in the city. He also serves as a real estate consultant for a number of schools and charities.

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Lowe's Advice for Sellers: "I would strongly recommend interviewing experienced agents that specialize in your neighborhood. Make sure they bring comparable properties with them and, most importantly, make sure they can talk intelligently and with actual knowledge of the properties. If the broker you are considering is not familiar with your area/housing type, I would continue looking."

[Read: 5 Questions Every Chicago Seller Should Ask When Hiring a Real Estate Agent.]

Matt Laricy, Americorp Ltd.

Average Time on Market: 80 Days

Matt Laricy is the managing partner for Americorp Ltd., a real estate company his father started. The recipient of a number of local honors, including Chicago Agent magazine's Choice Award for Industry MVP, Laricy specializes in luxury high-rise condos in neighborhoods such as the Gold Coast, River North, Old Town, Streeterville and the South Loop. When he's not selling homes, Laricy spends his time teaching Chicago youth about the real estate industry through the Chicago Association of Realtors Young Professionals Network. He's also active with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Laricy's Advice for Sellers: "Price your property right. Too many sellers try to over-ask on price point. You end up doing the price drop game, and in the long run, you get less than you would have if you priced it right in the first place."

Mauricio Gonzalez, Citywide Realty LLC

Average Time on Market: 98 Days

A Chicago native, Mauricio Gonzalez received a degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and has been helping Chicago residents buy and sell homes for 17 years. In 2015, Gonzalez was honored by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals as one of the top Latino real estate agents in the country. Gonzalez and his team specialize in helping sellers list single-family homes on Chicago's South Side, as well as in the southern and western suburbs, like Berwyn and Alsip, Illinois.

Gonzalez's Advice for Sellers: "Be truthful and be realistic about the price. Everything and anything, no matter its condition, will sell at the right price."

[Read: 4 Real Estate Trends to Know Before You Sell Your Chicago Home.]

Frank Montro, Frank Montro Homes

Average Time on Market: 99 Days

For more than 30 years, Frank Montro has helped clients buy and sell refurbished single-family homes and condos in the South Side of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs like Glenwood. He has experience helping sellers whose homes may not be in tip-top shape through every step of the home-selling process, offering tips on how to up a home's curb appeal or suggesting small fixes that could increase a property's value.

Montro's Advice for Sellers: "You want to make sure you find an agent who has your best interest at heart. My dad taught me there is more to life than a paycheck. When you put others first, everyone wins."

Looking for a real estate agent in Chicago? U.S. News' Find an Agent tool can match you with the person who's most qualified for the job.

Alex Mayster is a freelance writer based in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter.
President-elect Donald Trump has officially tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state.

Even before Trumps transition team announced his pick for the nations top diplomat on Tuesday morning, leading Republicans were voicing their concerns over Tillersons ties with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio quipped, Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a Secretary of State.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham warned, I dont know the man much at all, but lets put it this way: If you received an award from the Kremlin, the order of friendship, then were gonna have to do some talkin. Well have some questions. I dont want to prejudge the guy, but thats a bit unnerving.

And Arizona Sen. John McCain said, Its a matter of concern to me that he has such a close relationship with Vladimir Putin, that that would color his approach to Vladimir Putin and the Russian threat.

Despite the pushback, Trump moved forward with his nominee for secretary of state. He praised theExxonMobil CEO in a statement, saying: Rex Tillersons career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the worlds largest and most respected companies. His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State. He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States.

Tillerson responded to the nomination with a statement saying: I am honored by President-elect Trumps nomination and share his vision for restoring the credibility of the United States foreign relations and advancing our countrys national security. We must focus on strengthening our alliances, pursuing shared national interests and enhancing the strength, security and sovereignty of the United States.

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Evan Vucci/AP

As scrutiny over Trumps latest cabinet pick continues to mount, here are five things to know about Tillerson, including his connection to Russia:

1. As CEO of the multinational petroleum company ExxonMobil, hes negotiated major business deals with Russia

Tillerson, 64, first developed a working relationship with Putin in the 1990s while overseeing an Exxon project on Russias Sakhalin island, the Washington Post reports. In 2013, Tillerson was awarded the Order of Friendship by Putin, according to Politico. The CEO, who has worked at Exxon for more than 40 years, also made headlines in 2014 when he spoke at an energy summit in Moscow alongside Russian oil executive and Putin ally Igor Sechin.

2. A former Eagle Scout, Tillerson served as national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 2010 to 2011

Tillerson is known for pushing the organization to lift its ban on gay scouts and scout leaders, The New York Times reports. The organization voted to do so in 2013, while Tillerson served on the executive board. The Times points out, however, that Exxon has been criticized for its failure to readily adopt anti-discrimination policies protecting gay employees.

3. Tillerson was recommended to Trump by former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Bob Gates and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Rice and Gates, who have both done work for Exxon through their consulting firm, each issued statements announcing their support for Trumps pick on Tuesday.

Gates, who said he met Tillerson years earlier through their work with Boy Scouts of America, said in statement: He would bring to the position vast knowledge, experience and success in dealing with dozens of governments and leaders in every corner of the world. He is a person of great integrity whose only goal in office would be to protect and advance the interests of the United States. I know this Eagle Scout will be a global champion of the best values of our country.

Rices statement read: Rex Tillerson is an excellent choice for Secretary of State. He will bring to the post remarkable and broad international experience; a deep understanding of the global economy; and a belief in Americas special role in the world. I know Rex as a successful business man and a patriot. He will represent the interests and the values of the United States with resolve and commitment. And he will lead the exceptional men and women of the State Department with respect and dedication.

4. Tillerson supported Trumps rival Jeb Bush for president

He donated the maximum allowable contribution to Bushs presidential campaign in September 2015, the Washington Post reports.

5. He has called the threat of climate change real and serious

Under Tillersons leadership, Exxon shifted its position away from its past climate skepticism, recently officially acknowledging the link between greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use and the warming climate, according to the Washington Post. The company is now on record as being supportive of identifying solutions to climate change.

Tillersons own comments about the real and serious threat of climate change stand in contrast to those of Trump, who said on Fox News Sunday this past weekend that nobody really knows if climate change is real.




Fruit baskets, bottle of wine, potted plants  these are the classic housewarming gifts for new homeowners. Then there are the other housewarming gifts that seem so outrageously bad, you have to wonder: Is the giver trying to scare you away? Whether youre a new homeowner who wants to bond with other traumatized/puzzled gift recipients or someone whos shopping for what not to get a new neighbor, check out this list of the worst housewarming gifts ever to cross someones threshold.

Used appliances

Its one thing to regift a blender thats still in its original packaging, but its quite another to try to offload a less-than-new appliance on your unsuspecting neighbors.

Jamie Novaka professional organizer, no lessexperienced this in her new home in New Jersey. When my husband and I moved in, our next-door neighbors gave us a used bread machineone complete with a bunch of dried-on, burnt crumbs still at the bottom, she says.

The buttons were spattered with dough, and the box was for a completely different appliance. But waitit gets worse! This neighbor then proceeded to invite herself over for a fresh-baked loaf of bread!

Convection Automatic Bread Maker



A new house pet

Who doesnt love a puppy? Someone who didnt ask for one, thats who.

Gavin Keanne was taken aback when a furry little creature recently showed up on his door. He had just moved in with his girlfriend, and some friends decided to bring a puppy as a housewarming gift.

Not only do his little paws scratch my new wooden floors, but he leaves hair all over the furniture, he laments. Plus we can hardly sleep because he cries so much outside our door.

Its the gift that keeps on giving! While Keanne hasnt given up on their new houseguest quite yet, its definitely not a present he was glad to receive.

Look at my face! Dont you want to paper-train me on your new floor? pexels.com



A reminder of a homes murderous past

Its nice to have reminders of a homes pastits former life as a milk factory, or artifacts from a famous resident who once lived there. Then again, there are some skeletons that should best stay buried.

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Ainsley Llewellyn, a homeowner in London, knows this well.

Just as I moved into my new house, a friend sent me a framed newspaper cutting revealing that the last occupantwho lived in this home with his motherhad been convicted of murder a few months previously, she says. Id already known this was the case when I bought the place, but I wasnt about to hang this announcement on my wall!



Homemade art

After Jacquie M. and her husband bought a house in Westport, CT, We invited people over for an open house and received an apple pie, bottles of wine, and even a rose bush, she recalls. But things got awkward when one guest bestowed a picture he had painted himselfof a car crashing into a crowd of people.

It was bloody and awful to look atit was so realistic, she explains. To this day, its hanging behind her laundry room door, where she hopes few will notice it.



A dinner bell

This one is just plain strange. William Grant relocated to Manhattan a few years back and held a housewarming party to celebrate.

A couple came and presented me with a really big dinner bell on a long wooden handle, he says. The bell made such a loud clang that it could be heard up and down the block. My new home was bigger than my old apartment, but there was still no way you could use this bell inside without the cat freaking out and disturbing everyone within earshot, adds Grant.

The next day he promptly left it on the stoop outside with a Free sign. After all, you never know if someone in your neighborhood has a butler whos hard of hearing.

A petite bell ($5.50, amazon.com) could be a nice giftthat is, if someone has footmen at their beck and call. Any takers? Anyone? amazon.com



Dead flowers

Pretty posies are perfectly lovely as a housewarming gift, but ones that are wilting should be tossed. Yet some neighbors will still pluck sad blooms, pop them in a vase, and try to pass them off as acceptable.

Liz Kelly, who recently relocated to the north shore of Massachusetts, was on the receiving end of a bunch of really old lilacs when she moved into her new home.

Im sure they were beautiful at some point, she says, but I could tell they had just been picked from my neighbors lilac bush and the blooms were way past their prime.

Live flowers trump dead ones every time. Pexels.com

The post 6 Worst Housewarming Gifts Ever Received appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com.
The Daily Beast

GettyRussia announced Wednesday that it views Norways work with other countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as provocative, warning that Norways efforts to bolster its military in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine this year will likely be the death knell for Oslo-Moscow relations moving forward.Oslo is now among the most active supporters of NATO's involvement in the Arctic, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday, according to TASS. We cons
Here are some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be tracking for you today.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) were higher in early trading. Japanese brewer Asahi is buying five of AB InBevs Eastern European beer brands for $7.8 billion. This comes as the maker of Budweiser looks to offload businesses to get regulatory approval for its $100 billion takeover of SABMiller.

Wells Fargo (WFC) shares are in focus after California ordered an investigation into allegations that the banks retail bankers signed up customers for insurance policies from Prudential Financial (PRU) without its permission. Prudential Financial said Monday it would suspend distributing insurance policies through Wells Fargo following the companys sales practice scandal.

Smith & Wesson (SWHC) is in the spotlight. The 164-year-old gun makers shareholders are set to vote today to change its corporate name to American Outdoor Brands. This comes as the company looks to expand into other recreational products. However, the companys guns will continue to be sold under the Smith & Wesson name.

Apple (AAPL) reportedly held talks about investing in a $100 billion technology fund being raised by SoftBank. The Wall Street Journal says Apple has discussed a $1 billion investment with the Japanese mobile phone provider that owns Sprint (S). The new fund will invest in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and the so-called Internet of Things.

SeaWorld (SEAS) shares rose in early trading after Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $24 a share from $16. The firm believes that the companys Orlando performance will improve.
Fox News Channel said that its correspondent Abby Huntsman will be the new co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, with her official first day on Saturday. She joins Clayton Morris and a rotating male co-host on the program, to deliver the latest news and conduct interviews.

Huntsman replaces Anna Kooiman, who left in September to move to Australia; Kooiman continues as a freelance correspondent.

Huntsman, formerly co-host of MSNBCs The Cycle, joined Fox News as a correspondent in 2015. She contributed to coverage of the 2016 presidential election and served as a substitute co-host on Americas Newsroom and the weekday Fox & Friends.

She is the daughter of former GOP presidential candidate and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.

Fox & Friends Weekend airs Saturdays and Sundays from 6-10 AM ET.

Couldn't be more excited and humbled to officially join the @foxandfriends family as co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend! A fun ride ahead!  Abby Huntsman (@HuntsmanAbby) December 13, 2016

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KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum denied on Tuesday accusations that he had beaten and abducted a political rival and threatened him with sexual violence, in a case that sparked Western calls for a full and fair investigation. Dostum, a former warring faction commander with a fearsome reputation and a lingering power base in northern Afghanistan, was witnessed by hundreds of people, according to The New York Times, beating and then ordering his men to detain Ahmad Ishchi at a public sporting event in late November. Ishchi was once a member of the same political faction as Dostum but later fell out with him. Reuters has been unable to confirm independently the accusations made by Ishchi against Dostum. "He (Ishchi) was detained by Afghan security forces for allegations of funding the opposition and having a hand in repeated security issues," a spokesperson for Dostum said in a statement, denying any physical or sexual abuse had taken place. "For some time there has been a destructive movement by some unknown circles against the First Vice President," it added. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office promised a thorough investigation of Ishchi's accusations. While imprisoned by Dostum's men, Ishchi told Reuters he was repeatedly beaten, including by rifles, and threatened with sexual violence. After being held by men loyal to Dostum for five days, Ishchi said he remained for another 10 days with security forces who provided medical aid. "NOBODY IS ABOVE THE LAW" Pledging an investigation into Ishchi's claims, Afghan presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansori said: "For the Afghan government nobody is above the law. Rule of law and accountability begins in the government itself and we are committed to it." Western embassies in Kabul expressed concern over the accusations. "The unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr Ishchi by the First Vice President raises serious concerns," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. "We would welcome the Afghan governments move to swiftly investigate these allegations." The European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway echoed its call. Dostum joined Afghanistan's National Unity Government in 2014 in a bid by Ghani to attract the support of his mostly ethnic Uzbek constituency, but has been dogged by accusations of past human rights violations. Warring factions brought bloody chaos to Afghanistan after they forced the withdrawal of Soviet occupying forces in 1989. In the 1990s, many Afghans initially welcomed the rise of the Taliban who defeated and largely banished the "warlord" factions. But some old faction commanders have made a comeback to positions of influence since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, to the dismay of many ordinary Afghans. (Writing by Josh Smith,; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Allegations that Afghanistan's first vice president and his guards sexually assaulted a political rival while holding him captive in his private compound prompted calls Tuesday from the country's Western allies for a government investigation.

Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former warlord who has a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name, is accused of ordering his guards to seize Ahmad Ishchi last month in northern Jowzjan province during a game of buzkashi, or polo with a carcass.

Dostum allegedly kept Ishchi hostage in his private enclave for five days, where he was said to be tortured and sodomised.

"He told me 'I will throw you under the horses and do buzkashi on you'," Ishchi, a former Jowzjan governor, told local Tolo television Tuesday.

"He (Dostum) said first I want to have sex with him. His men rolled up my clothes... Then Dostum told 10 of his men to sodomise me until my anus ruptures and bleeds."

Dostum's office dismissed the comments as a conspiracy to defame him.

But the United States joined a slew of Western governments to call for a thorough probe.

"The unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr Ishchi by the First Vice President raises serious concerns," the US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.

"We would welcome the Afghan government's move to swiftly investigate these allegations."

The European Union along with Australia and Canada also demanded a "fair and transparent investigation" into what it called "gross human rights violations and abuses against Ishchi".

The presidential palace in Kabul, under fire from human rights campaigners, said the government was committed to investigating the allegations.

The controversy has once again drawn attention to how warlords and strongmen throughout Afghanistan operate with impunity, hobbling Western-backed efforts to restore peace and rebuild the nation after decades of conflict.

Dostum, who has come under a storm of criticism for his alleged brutalities and war crimes in the past, joined the the country's National Unity Government in 2014 in a bid by President Ashraf Ghani to attract the support of his mostly ethnic Uzbek constituency.
Paris (AFP) - Karam al-Masri, Agence France-Presse's correspondent in besieged eastern Aleppo in Syria, was honoured on Tuesday by a French foundation for his work and courage.

The 25-year-old journalist, who was born in Aleppo city, has been working for AFP since 2013.

The Varenne Foundation presented him with its grand prize in the photojournalism category for his pictures of a man known as Abu Omar, who chose to remain in the war-torn northern city to take care of his classic automobiles.

Before he became an AFP journalist, Masri had survived both detention by the Syrian regime and kidnapping by the Islamic State group.

The reporter, photographer and videojournalist has also had to withstand the pain of losing his parents, who were killed in an air strike.

AFP's Chief Executive and Chairman Emmanuel Hoog received the award on Masri's behalf, paying tribute to his "extraordinary courage and exemplary professionalism."

Press freedom groups called Tuesday for safe passage for media workers trapped inside east Aleppo as the Russian-backed army advances.

Masri's blog for AFP, "Covering Syria through hunger and fear", was published in September 2016. You can read it here: https://correspondent.afp.com/karam-al-masri.
The first river polluted by humanity may have been discovered in Jordan, contaminated by copper about 7,000 years ago, a new study finds.

Scientists examined a now-dry riverbed in the Wadi Faynan region of southern Jordan. Archaeologist Russell Adams at the University of Waterloo in Canada and his colleagues have been studying the area for more than 25 years to learn more about a critical turning point in history  the origins of metallurgy, when humans began moving from making tools out of stones to making tools out of metal.

"The region is famous as one of the principal sites in the Middle East where copper occurs that can easily be mined," Adams told Live Science. [Photos of the World's 10 Most Polluted Places]

Copper production began in this region during the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, which took place between about 5000 and 3200 B.C. in this region, Adams said. The Chalcolithic Age was a transitional period during the late Neolithic, or Stone Age, and the beginning of the Bronze Age.

"These populations were experimenting with fire, experimenting with pottery and experimenting with copper ores, and all three of these components are part of the early production of copper metals from ores," Adams said in a statement. "The technological innovation and the spread of the adoption and use of metals in society mark the beginning of the modern world."

This early copper production involved combining charcoal and the blue-green copper ore found in abundance in this area in pottery crucibles or vessels and heating the mixture over a fire. The process was time-consuming and labor-intensive, so it took thousands of years before copper became a central part of human societies, the researchers said.

Over time, communities in the region grew larger and copper production expanded. People built mines and then large smelting furnaces and factories by about 2600 B.C., the researchers said.

"This region is home to the world's first industrial revolution," Adams said in the statement. "This really was the center of innovative technology."

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Among other things, Adams and his colleagues were interested in the long-term effects of copper production on the environment in this region. "There are places in the Wadi Faynan basin where the pollution from the copper smelting residues, the slag, are significant health risks, and probably would've been that way for a long time," Adams said.

The international research team's analysis of the sediments in the area suggested that pollution of a meandering stream that once ran in Wadi Faynan began about 7,000 years ago. "This is the earliest example known yet of humanity's pollution of the world," Adams said.

The slag from copper production contained metals such as copper, lead, zinc, cadmium, and even arsenic, mercury and thallium. Plants absorbed these metals, and then people and animals such as goats and sheep ate them.

Pollution from millennia of copper mining and production likely led to widespread health problems in the region, such as infertility, newborn malformations and premature death, Adams said. He said that prior work examining human bones from Roman cemeteries in the region "found unhealthy levels of metals in people, and these were not necessarily people involved in mining and smelting themselves  many were infants and juveniles. There was clearly uptake of environmental pollution into the food chain."

Future research could look for signs of contamination in various parts of this region to learn more about how pollution in this area might have varied over time, Adams said.

The scientists will detail their findings Dec. 15 in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
- By Nicholas Kitonyi





Uber has emerged as one of the most promising companies in the transportation sector yet many still see it as a technology company.

On the other hand, Airbnb is a travel company that runs a peer-to-peer online marketplace and homestay network enabling people to rent short-term lodging in residential properties. The owner of the property sets the price of accommodation while in the case of Uber, the platform owners set the rates.





Now, while Airbnb operates as a hospitality company, property owners may see it as an opportunity to invest in real estate. Most people who have signed up with Airbnb to rent their properties for accommodation target traveling clients (tourists and business people), which makes the market more inclined to the hospitality industry.

As per this Quora user, who also happens to be an Airbnb property owner, Airbnb investors make more money when they invest in properties located in places frequented by tourists and business travelers. As such, cities like Paris, Miami, New York and Los Angeles sound ideal for Airbnb investment. However, investors can also find interesting opportunities in beach house investing. For instance, Gulf Shores real estate opportunities may not present the attractiveness of Miami or Paris. However, a simple search on the Airbnb website shows that the rates per night are close to what one would pay in San Francisco.

Real estate is certainly one of the best investment vehicles for people looking for alternatives to the stock market. However, as is the case with Uber, there are various headwinds that can count against investing via Airbnb.

Uber has faced strong resistance from various locations across the globe with some governments moving to protect their own short-distance travel industries. Uber drivers have also complained about the low rates charged to passengers as compared to what they would otherwise have charged for a given distance.

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Now, when it comes of Airbnb, most places restrict rentals to a minimum of 30 days, and this has become an issue for many Airbnb property owners. For instance, a good example is San Francisco, whose HOA (Home Owners Association) rules require a 30-day minimum for leasing and a maximum of 90 days for rentals whose host is not present.

In addition, "the Office of Short Term Rental which is part of the city government is proactively policing AirBnB, VRBO and Flipkey for units and issuing fines when they pinpoint the building location," points out the Quora user in his reply to an Airbnb question. He claims to have been fined twice already.

As such, while Airbnb presents a lucrative market place for investors looking to invest in real estate via the hospitality industry, there are clear hurdles that mirror those faced by Uber drivers. Therefore, with Airbnb, the host can be likened to an Uber driver as technology continues to revolutionize the travel and hospitality market.

Despite these obstacles, Airbnb has grown to become one of the world's largest companies with a reported valuation of over $30 billion since beginning operations in 2008. On the other hand, Uber, which launched in 2009 has a reported value of about $28 billion as of 2016. Both companies have been tipped to go public next year, but not everyone sees value for money going forward. For instance, Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) indicated earlier this year that if Uber was to go public, his company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A)(BRK-B) may not invest in the innovative travel company. When asked if Uber goes public would Buffett buy the stock, Buffett said, "No. It would go public at a price that would be -- it would be very hard for me to decide that the discounter value of all the future cash that was going to be produced was going to be attractive in terms of the price." He also added that "modern deficits don't matter."

However, Buffett's view on Airbnb was slightly different after endorsing the company's business model and the need for cheaper accommodation options in March last year.

Conclusion

In summary, investing in real estate can be done through several channels. However, Airbnb's innovative marketplace appears to have popularized the business model and now more investors are looking for opportunities in this space while more startups continue to crop up.

Nonetheless, just like is the case of Uber, another online-based platform which capitalizes on assets owned by individuals, Airbnb continues to face several challenges in a bid to expanding its global reach.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stock mentioned in this article.

Start a free seven-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






By Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) - In the waters off Malaysia, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> is finding gas quickly and cheaply to replenish depleting fields where only a few years ago geologists had lost hope of discovering any new reserves.

The Anglo-Dutch group is combining the latest technology with the wisdom of industry veterans to unlock new oil and gas deposits where it already operates, usually within 20 km (12 miles) of existing platforms.

The result has been a string of finds which, while modest in size, can generate cash rapidly to suit an era of drastically reduced exploration budgets across the energy industry.

After a costly flop in Alaska, Shell has turned away from giant "frontier" projects, focusing instead on exploring closer to home, such as in Malaysia where it has been producing oil for more than a century. Many of its rivals are following suit.

"With new data, new seismic and new brain power you can find extraordinary amount of hydrocarbons for the future," Ceri Powell, Shell's head of exploration, told Reuters.

Analysts say the industry will still need large discoveries in areas where the risk of failure is greater, but the cheaper and easier approach is paying dividends in the short term.

State-of-the-art technology such as 3-dimensional seismic imaging enabled Shell to unlock new prospects that quickly led to a string of discoveries, transforming the region off the Malaysian state of Sarawak into one of its most prolific basins.

Breaking with decades of traditional drilling techniques which used rudimentary technology, Shell combined the use of sonar waves with satellite images and super computers to pinpoint oil and gas deposits beneath layers of salt in rock.

This has proved so effective that Shell moved from holding only one exploration license in shallow waters off Malaysia in 2013 to nine now, searching at greater depths and further offshore than ever.

Today, it is exploring 27,000 square km (10,500 square miles) off Sarawak for oil and gas. It has made 16 discoveries in the last 28 months that unlocked one billion barrels of oil equivalent. Shell and other oil companies, including state-run Petronas <PETR.KL>, now plan to map geologically the entire Malaysian coast.

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Shell, like many of its peers including BP <BP.L> and Exxon Mobil <XOM.N>, have been forced into such strategies as the chances of finding new and huge reservoirs in hitherto unexplored frontier areas has diminished.

Per Magnus Nysveen, head of analysis at Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy, said the average distance of exploration wells to the closest fields fell from 113 km (70 miles) in 2015 to just 29 km in 2016 and is set to drop further next year.

Hugely expensive and risky frontier projects are often falling from favor due to the sharp decline in global oil prices since mid-2014 - which has made energy firms slash their exploration budgets - and the new supplies from cheaper sources ranging from U.S. shale deposits to the Malaysian discoveries.

Last year, Shell angered investors when it wrote down $7 billion after failing to find any oil or gas in the pristine Chukchi sea off Alaska's northwest coast. This followed years of complex work and a rig accident that drew heavy criticism from environmental activists.

The rate of successful exploration has dropped sharply in the last decade, with the proportion of projects finding any oil or gas down from around 40 percent to about 30 percent, according Andrew Latham, vice president of exploration at consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Fewer than half of the finds go into commercial production.

Across the industry, exploration budgets have sunk to $40 billion in 2016 from $95 billion two years earlier. Shell's spending dropped to less than $2 billion from around $5 billion.

"In the last two years, intense focus on new seismic and relooking at the basins that we have in our portfolio already is really paying dividends," said Powell, a geologist who joined Shell in 1990 and became head of exploration three years ago.

She is now applying the techniques used in Malaysia to other hubs such as Brunei and Egypt, where seismic imaging, advanced rigs and super computers are giving them a new lease of life.

Falling costs in some areas are also helping to stretch the tight exploration budgets. The cost of hiring vessels for seismic surveys has dropped around 60 percent from late 2013 to around $140,000 per day, according to Shell, which is using this to expand and accelerate its seismic plans into 2017 and 2018.

DOGMAS

It's not only technology that has helped to turn around the fortunes of the exploration business. Several times a year Powell brings industry veterans, some of them retired, together with the new generation of geologists.

The idea is to combine the experience and instincts of the old-school explorers with the younger generation's technological know-how to come up with ideas on where to find new reserves and how to unlock them.

"You put them all in one room and they look at the dogmas. They think about the wells they would have drilled in 1972 but didn't and why, and it has been astonishing." In Oman, where Shell has been exploring for 60 years, this exercise helped to identify six new geological prospects in a week, she said.

These brainstorming sessions have only one rule: to concentrate minds, no computers are allowed.

But while drilling closer to home is attractive in the short term, it comes at the expense of huge discoveries such as Exxon's Liza field in Guyana and Eni's <ENI.MI> Zohr in Egypt. These are crucial for replacing a natural decline of oil and gas reserves that in some reservoirs can reach 10 percent a year.

"Lead times are shorter and the value per oil equivalent is higher, but the cons are that discoveries are smaller. In general we would expect the largest discoveries to be coming from new plays and new frontiers, as has happened in recent years," said Latham.

Wood Mackenzie expects global exploration activity to accelerate in 2017 as oil prices recover.

RAPID CASH

While the Alaskan project failed, Shell added huge resources in Brazil, Australia, Egypt and southeast Asia to its reserves by buying BG Group in February for $54 billion.

This means it can now allocate around 80 percent of its exploration budget to areas up to only 20 km from existing platforms. In some cases, such as in Brunei, an exploration well can be completed and linked to production within days.

"Those will not necessarily be giant discoveries but (will be) very efficient and very rapid to get to production, and therefore to cash," Powell said. In the past six years exploration has added 6.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent to Shell's reserves, which reached 11.75 billion at the end of 2015, while the time from exploration to production has come down significantly, she added.

Other oil majors have adopted similar strategies. BP has begun drilling hundreds of meters below a reservoir produced by the Ravenspurn ST2 platform in the southern North Sea, searching for a new gas resource that could transform a basin first exploited 50 years ago and extend the life of infrastructure.

For Shell, the success of the new strategy and the Alaskan failure mean it will not return to frontier areas in the near future, but Powell still sees opportunities for big discoveries in the likes of west Africa, Namibia, South Africa, Uruguay, eastern Canada.

For a graphic of oil and gas exploration spending click http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/SHELL-EXPLORATION/010030ZJ24W/SHELL-EXPLORATION.jpg

(editing by David Stamp)
Lina Shamy, an activist who tweets from east Aleppo, released a video on December 12 calling on viewers to save the city.

Speaking in the video, Shamy says those left in east Aleppo are exposed to a genocide. She says that 50,000 people who rebelled against the dictator al-Assad are now threatened with  executions or dying under bombing.

Shamy also alludes to reports of summary executions in east Aleppo. A pro-regime media source denied the allegations of summary executions.

The Syrian regime announced on December 12 that it had captured as much as 96 percent of the city, leaving thousands of civilians trapped inside a small area of southern Aleppos al-Ansari Mashad District, according to activist reports from inside the city. Credit: Twitter/linashamy via Storyful
The Syrian civil war that has helped fuel a global refugee crisis took a turn Tuesday after government troops claimed the city of Aleppo following months of violence. Syrian President Bashar Assad's victory comes amid a climbing death toll that sent refugees fleeing to Europe and throughout the Middle East since the war began during the 2011 Arab uprisings.

"The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement.

With global leaders closely watching what happens next in Syria, here are nine facts about what life is like for refugees around the world.

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1. Roughly 65.3 million people around the world have been forced from their homes, an unprecedented figure. That includes nearly 21.3 million refugees.

2. More than half of all refugees are children, according to the United Nations.

3. Nearly 34,000 people are forced from their homes every day because of conflict or persecution.

5. The Syrian Civil War forced more than 10 million people from their homes.

6. The Zaatari Refugee Camp houses nearly 80,000 Syrians and has become the fourth-largest city in Jordan. The camp has scarce food, healthcare resources and educational opportunities.

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7. Germany is expected to place some 410,000 refugees in jobs by 2018, a study released Thursday from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy found.

8. Just 10 countries host more than half the world's refugees and there are all in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

9. Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, south-east Turkey, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and north-east Nigeria have also contributed to the refugee crisis.

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the Security Council on Tuesday that the Russian-backed Syrian Army's military operation in Aleppo would end "in the next few hours." "All militants, together with members of their family and the injured, currently are going through agreed corridors in directions that they have chosen themselves voluntarily," Churkin said. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told the council that the Syrian government and its allies Russia and Iran bore responsibility for killings of civilians in Aleppo. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of a rebel group in Aleppo is urging the United States and Turkey to move quickly to save civilians in what remains of the opposition's eastern Aleppo enclave from an assault by the government and its allies. The commander of the Jabha Shamiya group also told Reuters on Tuesday that the rebels' situation on the frontlines had improved in the past hours. The main problem was continued government bombardment of civilians in the "narrow area" still held by rebels, he said. "My message is that they must take a decision to save these people who are stuck here, these civilians, these children," Abu Ali Saqour told Reuters, the sound of explosions audible in the background as he spoke via Whatsapp from eastern Aleppo. "No state has helped this people in any way, my message to the world is to get these people out of this disaster-stricken city, at least the civilians," he said, singling out the United States and Turkey as governments with the power to do something. "Any state with power in its hands must take a decision as soon as possible to evacuate these people," he said. The Jabha Shamiya rebel group is fighting in Aleppo under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, and is one of the factions that has received support from states opposed to Assad, including Turkey. On the frontlines, he said "the situation is, God willing, good", describing the new positions taken up by the fighters as solid and steadfast. "The situation on the fronts is much better," he said. But bombardment was continuing. "The bombardment is not on the frontlines, the greater burden of the bombardment is on the civilians, and this is what is causing a burden on us," he said. (Reporting by Tom Perry)
Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war.

For centuries, Aleppo was Syria's economic and cultural powerhouse, attracting tourists from around the world to its celebrated heritage sites.

But now, only gaunt stray cats roam the rubble-strewn alleyways of its Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site, after years of savage conflict.

In the famed Al-Hatab Square, recently recaptured by the Syrian army, lawyer and Aleppian historian Alaa al-Sayyed could scarcely believe his eyes.

Al-Hatab was one of the oldest squares in the city, but it now lay dotted with sand barricades and the charred remnants of overturned buses.

"I couldn't even recognise it because it was so severely damaged. I told myself, this can't be Al-Hatab square," he told AFP.

The Old City became one of Aleppo's bloodiest front lines after rebel groups overran the eastern half of the city in mid-2012, a year after the conflict began with anti-government protests.

For four years, it was caught between opposition factions in the east and government forces in the west.

Fighting destroyed the 11th century minaret of Aleppo's famed Ummayad mosque and heavily damaged its citadel.

Faced with a blistering offensive by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition factions withdrew from the Old City on December 7 in a highly symbolic retreat.

- 'Irreplaceable heritage' -

The interior courtyard of the Ummayad mosque resembled a battlefield, strewn with scrap metal and electricity cables.

In part of it, rebels had created a fortified position, stacking large cement blocks to protect themselves.

Nearby, shrapnel that gouged large slits out of the bronze roof of a basin for ablution.

The mosque's minaret, dating back to the 11th century Seljuk period, was destroyed during clashes in April 2013, leaving a pile of blocks, some featuring elegant motifs.

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At the citadel, part of the imposing ramparts have collapsed, and at the entrance, the traces of fire could be seen on blackened walls.

Aleppo's covered market is the largest in the world, and served for centuries as a gathering place for artisans and traders.

They came from across the globe to its 4,000 shops and 40 caravanserais, roadside inns for travellers.

But now the market's walls are scarred by years of gunfire, rockets and mortar rounds -- attacks that Sayyed called "unjustifiable" because of the area's historical value.

The market was "the economic heart of Aleppo and an irreplaceable piece of heritage", he told AFP.

Attacking it "was a decisive blow against Aleppo's economy, because thousands of Aleppian families, whether rich for poor, relied on the souk for their livelihoods".

Abu Ahmad, 50, once owned several shops in the old market where he sold vibrant fabrics that he produced elsewhere in the city.

Forced to leave his storefronts behind as fighting there intensified, he opened a kiosk selling coffee and other hot drinks in the government-held Aleppo district of Furqan.

"I sold my wife's jewellery so I could buy this kiosk," Abu Ahmad said, tears welling in his eyes and his voice cracking on a cold December morning.

He told AFP he hoped to return and find his old storefront intact, but was prepared to sell his car to rebuild if necessary.

"I'm a tradesman, and I don't want to leave my trade. I want to pass it on to my son," he said.

- Ghost town -

The war also ravaged the touristic area around the citadel, including the Al-Sultaniyah mosque and the imposing white-stoned Grand Serail.

The luxurious Carlton Hotel was completely levelled by a massive rebel tunnel bomb in February 2014.

In nearby Aqyul district, the rows of demolished residential buildings seemed to extend endlessly towards neighbouring Bab al-Hadid.

Broken washing machines, air conditioning units, and other household items lay in heaps outside, while torn pieces of blue canvas fluttered in window frames where the glass had been blown out by explosions.

One stray cat wandered aimlessly across the main street, pausing to sniff at a decaying body still lying in the street.

Even the local cemetery did not survive unscathed, with parts of shattered tombstones strewn across patches of dried grass.

In Bab al-Hadid, home to one of the city's best-preserved historical gates before the war, there was a similar silence.

Near its square, which dates from 1509 AD, storefronts were still painted with the three-star flag of Syria's beleaguered opposition.

"From Houran (in the south) to Aleppo, the revolution continues," reads graffiti scrawled on a wall in the deserted neighbourhood.
Amber Heard is speaking out about her own experience with domestic violence in an effort to help women in similar situations.

The 30-year-old actress penned a powerful open letter that was published in the December issue of Porter magazine.

"You are not alone. You may have suffered alone behind closed doors, but you are not alone. You need to know that," Heard writes. "I want to remind you of your strength, a strength that has been multiplied by the number of women who stand silently behind you -- a truth that allowed me to break down the doors I once found myself behind."

WATCH: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard -- A Timeline of Their Relationship, Divorce and Domestic Abuse Allegations

"Let's start with the truth -- the cold, hard truth," she continues. "When a woman comes forward to speak out about injustice or her suffering, instead of aid, respect and support, she will be met with hostility, skepticism and shame. Her motives will be questioned and her truth ignored."

Heard notes that "it takes real strength to come forward" and that "it isn't easy to raise your voice, to stand up for yourself and your truth, and to do it 'alone.'"

WATCH: Chrissy Teigen Defends Amber Heard Against Gold Digger Accusations, Twitterverse Misinterprets

The Justice League star goes on to share how she felt while going through such an isolating time in her life. "I was raised to be independent and self-reliant. I was never given nor wanted the burden of dependency," she explains. "I never felt like anyone would or could rescue me, so naturally I resented the label of 'victim.'"

"So as I write this today, I can promise every woman who is suffering in silence, you are not alone," Heard concludes her letter. "You may not see us, but we are there. Your sisters are everywhere, and we are with you."

MORE: Amber Heard Speaks Out Against Violence Towards Women in Emotional Facebook Video

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This isn't the first time that the actress has shown her support of victims of domestic violence. She spoke out in a Facebook video on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Towards Women on Nov. 25, and read the words of Emily Doe, the sexual assault victim of former Stanford University swimmer, Brock Turner, at Glamour's Women of the Year Awards.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS COVERS THE WINTER ESCAPE ISSUE: As part of our issue celebrating the year's most incredible women, the enigmatic actress opens up about love, loss and moving on in #PORTERMagazine. See the full story when it hits newsstands on Friday, December 2. Photographed by @RyanMcGinleyStudios A photo posted by PORTER magazine (@portermagazine) on Nov 25, 2016 at 12:59am PST

Heard is currently "in the process of finalizing the settlement agreements" in her divorce from Johnny Depp, and her lawyer recently told ET that the estranged spouses have yet to sign the final document.

WATCH: Amber Heard to Donate Full $7 Million Johnny Depp Divorce Settlement to Charity -- 'Money Played No Role'

The two came to a $7 million settlement agreement in August after Heard withdrew her request for a domestic violence restraining order. "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love," Depp and Heard said in a joint statement. "Neither party has made false accusations for financial gains. There was never an intent of physical or emotional harm."



While the actress writes about being a victim of domestic violence, she makes no mention of Depp in her open letter, nor does she note any places, times or reference anyone specifically.



Depp and his legal team have always denied any accusations that he was physically abusive towards Heard.

WATCH: Amber Heard Makes Rare Public Appearance at Glamour Awards, Reads Essay From Brock Turner's Sexual Assault Victim

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A contestant on American Idol sued the producers of the show claiming that he suffered major ear damage when an audiologists representative took out an earpiece he was wearing and part of his eardrum was removed.

The contestant, Michael Simeon Smith, claims that on Dec. 12, 2014, he was getting ready to perform for the show and was fitted for an earpiece in his right ear, along with silicone or molding material. He immediately felt pain, according to the lawsuit, and when the audiologists representative pulled it out, a portion of his eardrum was removed. He was then moved to another room for several hours, as blood came out of his ear.

Plaintiff has sought medical treatment for his injuries, including right tympanoplasty, his lawsuit stated. Plaintiff has been unable to perform music at the same level as prior to the incident, due to the absence of much of his eardrum.

His claims include negligence and product liability. The lawsuit seeks unspecific damages.

Fox Broadcasting Co. is named as a defendant, along with production companies behind the show and the audiologists rep. A spokesman for Fox did not immediately return a request for comment.

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Yoni Ofir, an Israeli military veteran, found himself using medical marijuana to help treat anxiety. Like many veterans, it was one of the only that helped but it wasn't readily available. Ofir decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.

I started to grow it myself, but found that the process was time consuming and required a lot of care, Yoni Ofir, CEO of LEAF, told IBTimes.

After Ofirs first experience with growing, he knew many of the difficult tasks could be automated and optimized with hardware and data. Thats where the LEAF Plug n Plant system comes in.

The LEAF system - a stylish miniature refrigerator - monitors everything your marijuana plant needs to grow, including light, ventilation, nutrient levels and pH of the soil.

We wanted to ensure that users can grow cannabis in their homes in a compact and stylish way -- I originally grew plants in the open in my apartment and my girlfriend was not a fan of how it looked or smelled. We liked this design a lot and we felt like it would look great in any home, as it has a familiar yet modern look, Ofir said.

A carbon filter helps contain the odor of the cannabis plant. That means you can grow weed in a closed room and you dont have to worry about the smell. The system also reacts to measurements, meaning that if your plants are low on nutrients it can dispense more. It can automatically brighten the environment if your plants need more light.

After the recent election, seven states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational pot, and 21 others allow it to be used as medicine.

The company encourages users to head to their local dispensary to buy quality seeds or clones because for the time being it doesnt sell any. There is a lot of legal red tape involved in selling the actual seeds. When those legal hurdles change, we would love to offer tailored genetics for LEAF, Ofir said.

To buy the LEAF unit, users need to confirm they are over the age of 21. However,people dont need to provide proof they live in a state where marijuana use is allowed, because we dont sell cannabis and the product can be used for other types of growing, Ofir said.

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Ofir believes people will buy LEAF to not only grow marijuana but to also grow their own wheatgrass, kale or peppers. Its a great product for people who want higher quality produce and plants without pesticides or harmful chemicals, said Ofir. Its also great for people who live in homes that dont have outdoor areas or access to direct sunlight, because the LEAF unit has its own lighting system inside.

LEAF also has a social network of growers within the mobile app, which allows people to create and post recipes for strains and plants, which other community members can sync directly to their LEAF devices.

LEAF only grows small amounts of cannabis in the home - and yields about 4 ounces every three to four months, which is enough for one person to use marijuana daily.

LEAFs technology comes at a hefty cost, $2,990, and the nutrient packs and carbon filters will run you$39. The nutrient packs and carbon filters should be replaced after each grow. The company is taking preorders with a small deposit on its website and expects to ship in September.

Initially, LEAF will ship to the U.S. and Canada. The company says its working on international distribution partnerships to be able to ship worldwide.

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BEIJING (AP)  President-elect Donald Trump's questioning of long-established U.S. policy toward Taiwan is sparking a growing backlash in China and warnings about a potentially dangerous disruption in relations between the world's two largest economies.

Trump broke diplomatic precedent by talking on the phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2. Then, this past weekend, he said he might use America's recognition of Beijing as leverage for gaining advantages in trade and other areas.

That is placing him perilously close to touching on China's bottom line that brooks no formal recognition of Taiwan or challenge to its claim to sovereignty over the island.

A look at the highly sensitive issue of Taiwan in China-U.S. relations:

WHERE THE U.S. STANDS

A former Japanese colony, Taiwan was taken over at the end of World War II by the Chinese Nationalist forces, who then moved their government to the island after fleeing the mainland in 1949 ahead of the Communist victory in the Chinese civil war. Beijing threatens to use military force to unify with Taiwan.

Washington, which changed its recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, technically maintains only unofficial ties with Taiwan, although U.S. law requires the government to ensure that the island has the ability to defend itself and to treat all threats to it as issues of national concern.

The U.S. and China have signed three communiques that guide Washington's approach to Taiwan policy, including acknowledging Beijing's claim to the island and pledging to reduce weapon sales to Taiwan as long as China takes a peaceful approach to unification.

However, a pair of former officials with the George W. Bush administration, Dan Blumenthal and Randall Schriver, recently argued in favor of re-examining that approach, a move that would deeply unsettle those overseeing relations in both Beijing and Washington.

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WHY IT MATTERS

China's bottom line is that it will not allow any formal U.S. recognition of Taiwan's government or a change of position by Washington that would view the island as independent from China. China would likely respond to such a move by severing diplomatic ties and suspending cooperation with the U.S. across a wide range of military, economic and political issues.

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Trump's statement is an "act of incredible brinksmanship and hubris  something that threatens some four decades of diplomacy that has preserved peace and promoted prosperity," Boston University China expert Joseph Fewsmith said in an email.

Although Beijing has so far been restrained in its response, should Trump continue on this tack, "China will react, and strongly," Fewsmith said.

China has cut off links with Taiwan's independence-leaning leader since her election in January over her refusal to endorse China's claim that Taiwan and the mainland are part of a single Chinese nation. The number of Chinese tourists visiting the island has been drastically reduced and China has intervened to prevent Taiwan's participation in international forums ranging from the International Civilian Aviation Organization to world police body Interpol.

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR

As Trump seeks to carry out campaign promises to rebalance trade with China, Taiwan will serve as an "essential part of the mission," Miles Yu Maochun, an expert on Chinese politics at the U.S. Naval Academy, said in an email.

A re-evaluation of U.S. policy toward Taiwan might not be a bad thing if it more closely aligns with current realities, Yu said. At the time the U.S. broke official ties with Taiwan, the island was ruled by a military dictatorship that insisted it was still the sole representative government of all China. Today, Taiwan stands as a standard bearer for liberal, multi-party democracy.

"The Trump administration is a revolutionary departure from the established system of diplomatic nuances and 'strategic ambiguity,'" Yu said. "As such, it may well ditch the mother of all diplomatic double-talk called 'the One China policy.'"
MOSCOW (AP)  As the Soviet Union was breaking up 25 years ago, Mikhail Gorbachev expected the United States and its allies to provide vital aid. The former Soviet president thinks their failure to offer significant help wasted a chance to build a safer world and resulted from short-sighted gloating at a Cold War rival's demise.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, the 85-year-old Gorbachev voiced hope that Russia and the United States would do better during Donald Trump's presidency.

"The relations between us are so important and concern everyone else, so we must take the interests of others into account," said the leader credited with helping to end the Cold War.

Gorbachev said he was surprised by Trump's victory, but declined to offer an assessment of the president-elect. He said it remains to be seen what policies the new U.S. administration will pursue.

"He has little political experience, but, maybe, it's good," he said.

Gorbachev walked slowly with a cane, but his smile was as captivating as always, his wits as sharp as usual and his reactions quick during the rare, hour-long interview in his foundation's office in Moscow.

Gorbachev, who helped end the Cold War by launching liberal reforms, cutting nuclear stockpiles and allowing Soviet bloc nations in Europe to break free from Moscow's diktat, spoke bitterly about the West's failure to embrace the new era of cooperation he says his policy of "perestroika" offered.

"They were rubbing their hands, saying, 'How nice! We had been trying to do something about the Soviet Union for decades, and it ate itself up!'" Gorbachev said.

He blasted what he described as Western "triumphalism," saying it remains a key factor in tensions between Russia and the West.

Russia-West ties are at their worst since the Cold War era following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March 2014 and its support for a pro-Russian separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and the European Union responded with several rounds of economic sanctions, which along with low oil prices have driven Russia's economy into recession.

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Gorbachev said Russian and U.S. leaders must sit down for talks and "stay at the table until they reach agreement."

"The world needs Russia and the United States to cooperate," Gorbachev said. "Together, they could lead the world ... to a new path."

Gorbachev also praised outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama. But he deplored what he described as a misguided policy toward Russia pursued by the U.S. and its allies both during his presidency and now.

"They have been badgering Russia with accusations and blaming it for everything," Gorbachev said. "And now, there is a backlash to that in Russia. Russia wants to have friendly ties with America, but it's difficult to do that when Russia sees that it's being cheated."

Asked his opinion about Putin's leadership, Gorbachev said he sees him as a "worthy president," even though he has assailed the Kremlin for a crackdown on freedom of speech and rigid political controls.

"I almost fully supported him first, and then I began to voice criticism," Gorbachev said of Putin. "I can't renounce my views."

Gorbachev has received global accolades for his "perestroika," which eased government economic controls, and his role in ending the Cold War. At home, many held him responsible  and still do for economic hardships, political turmoil and the loss of superpower status resulting from the Soviet Union's collapse.

His voice trembled with emotion as he recalled the waning days of the Soviet Union, when his arch-foe, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and leaders of other Soviet republics were plotting his ouster while pretending to support a treaty that would give the republics broader powers.

"Yeltsin took part in that and supported it, but he was conspiring behind my back how to get rid of Gorbachev," he said, saying that the Russian leader was driven by a hunger for power. "Russia was spearheading the Soviet breakup."

Meeting secretly in a Belarus forest, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus on Dec. 8, 1991 signed an agreement pronouncing the Soviet Union dead and setting up the Commonwealth of Independent States. The move caught both Gorbachev and the West by surprise. Two weeks later, other ex-Soviet nations joined the CIS.

Driven into a corner, Gorbachev stepped down on Christmas Day 1991. Hours later, Yeltsin and his lieutenants took over his office in the Kremlin.

Amid the meltdown, the loyalties of the 4 million-strong Soviet army and the massive KGB apparatus were split. Asked if he considered using force to keep the Soviet Union intact, Gorbachev said launching a violent domestic conflict in a nuclear superpower was never an option for him.

"The country was loaded to the brim with weapons," he said. "And it would immediately have pushed the country into a civil war."
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f317054%2farcticwarmth

Arctic climate change went into overdrive in 2016, with record high temperatures eclipsing anything seen since at least 1900. Accompanying the record warmth were freak losses of sea ice, melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a host of cascading feedbacks that scientists have been warning about for years.

The record warm year reflects both human-caused global warming, which is hitting the Arctic harder than almost any other region on Earth, as well as natural weather variability that pumped even more heat into the region this year.

Scientists detailed the changes on Tuesday with the release of an annual peer-reviewed report that amounts to a physical of the Arctic environment, known as the "Arctic Report Card."

SEE ALSO: Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is, strangely, the most pro-climate Trump nominee

Due to human-caused global warming and natural weather patterns that acted to enhance such warming, the region scored an extremely poor grade this year.

Don Perovich, a scientist at Dartmouth University who helped prepare the report, said the Arctic is "shouting change" right now, whereas it used to "whisper change" back when the first report card was first released 11 years ago.

Warming of the Arctic compared to global temperature changes compared to average.

Image: noaa

At a press conference during the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Perovich said that if he were to give a letter grade to the sea ice cover, it would be a D-plus.

His colleagues agreed. Rarely have we seen the Arctic show a clearer, stronger or more pronounced signal of persistent warming and its cascading effects on the environment than this year, said Jeremy Mathis, director of NOAAs Arctic Research Program, in a press release.

Mathis said researchers are investigating how much of the Arctic warming had to do with the intense El Nino in 2015, but that untangling that mystery will take several more months.

Record air and ocean temperatures

The changes occurring throughout the Arctic, as the region warms at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, are sweeping and vivid.

Story continues

Average annual air temperatures over Arctic land areas were the highest in the observational record during the year ending in September 2016, with a 3.5-degree Celsius, or 6.3 degree Fahrenheit, increase compared to 1900. Record monthly highs were set in January, February, October and November.

Such records are especially noteworthy because these months are darker months, with little if any sunshine reaching the surface of the Arctic.

Iceberg near Illulissat, Greenland.

Image: Ilulisat, Vestgronland, Greenland

Seeing such a temperature spike during these months reflects both warm air being transported into the region by weather patterns, as well as feedbacks between missing sea ice, open ocean waters and air temperatures.

"Those are the periods when the Arctic should be really cold, Mathis told Mashable in an interview. Its one thing for the summers to be warmer, but this is [a new] trend of the winter months setting record temperatures.

Winter air temperatures set a new record overall, with some areas seeing air temperature anomalies of 8 degrees Celsius, or 14.4 degrees Fahrenheit, above average, the report found.

Snow and Ice is vanishing

Spring snow cover extent in the North American Arctic reached the lowest level in the satellite record, which began in 1967.

Greenland began melting at the second-earliest point on record in the spring season. The amount of young, thin sea ice cover has continued to increase compared to older, thicker sea ice that is more resistant to melting.

Image: noaa

The Arctic sea ice minimum extent from mid-October 2016 to late November 2016 was the lowest since the satellite record began in 1979, and 28 percent less than the average for 1981-2010 in October, the report card found.

Arctic sea ice is thinning, with multi-year ice now comprising just 22 percent of the ice cover, compared to 78 percent for the more fragile first-year ice.

Comparatively, multi-year ice made up 45 percent of ice cover in 1985.

Perovich said sea ice loss is already large enough that it is impacting human activities, with greater access to the Arctic for ships and drilling activities. A massive, 1,000 passenger cruise ship successfully sailed through the Northwest Passage during the summer, for example.

Freak fall of 2016

This year's report card contains a supplementary report focusing on the extremes observed in the Arctic during the past few months, with record high temperatures across parts of the Arctic preventing sea ice from reforming.

From mid-October to the present, the report found, sea ice extent has been the lowest on record since satellite data began in 1979.

The report found that the cause of the record warm temperatures have been winds transporting mild air masses from mid-latitudes, with complex interactions taking place between midlatitude weather patterns and the Arctic.

Sea ice extent in November set a new record low, for example. Astonishingly high air and ocean temperatures during November caused sea ice to trail far behind typical levels, with sea ice extent ending the month at a record low.

Arctic sea ice extent averaged 3.51 million square miles for the month, which was 753,000 square miles below the 1981-2010 average for the period, according to data released Tuesday by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado.

Sea ice extent compared to average, with 2016 in blue.

Image: NSIDC

The section of missing ice was about the same size as the entire country of Mexico. Or to put it in terms of U.S. states, the missing ice was greater than the states of Texas, California, Montana and New Mexico combined.

Research has shown that there may be connections between Arctic warming and the weather in the midlatitudes, potentially even causing more extreme weather events in the U.S. and Europe.

Ocean acidification, which is a global concern as more carbon is absorbed into ocean waters, is a greater threat to the Arctic due to the cooler water temperatures and sea ice formation there, scientists found.

When carbon dioxide dissolves in the water, a series of chemical reactions break it down in a way that reduces the amount of calcium carbonate minerals available. This process throws off the pH balance in oceans and can make it more difficult for some creatures, such as corals, snails and oysters, to function in a healthy way.

Data from the report card indicates that corrosive waters have been extending deeper into the Arctic Basin in recent years, damaging sea life, particularly shellfish. This is only likely to worsen in coming years.

Permafrost melting

In addition, on land, increasing temperatures are causing permanently frozen soils, known as permafrost, to become not-so-permanently frozen soils. This is releasing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, making parts of the Arctic a net source of global warming pollution. It is thought that the permafrost zone that rings the Arctic from Alaska to northern Canada and around Scandinavia to Siberia contains twice as much organic carbon as is currently in the atmosphere.

If all the permafrost were to melt, it would be an utter disaster for the climate.

"Overall, tundra appears to be releasing net carbon to the atmosphere," the report states.

Outside observers say the 2016 report card is alarming and should spur action.

The 2016 Arctic Report Card further documents the unraveling of the Arctic and the crumbling of the pillars of the global climate system that the Arctic maintains, said Rafe Pomerance, chair of Arctic 21 and a member of the Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, in a statement.

Governments must urgently work together to establish a future Arctic that minimizes ever greater warming from the loss of sea ice and snow cover and thawing permafrost, and massive sea level rise from the shrinking Greenland ice sheet and other Arctic glaciers.

Scientists involved with the report card said they are hoping to get more funding to support their work by funding additional observing networks to get more real-time data from the Far North.

That may be a tough sell with the incoming Trump administration, given the administration's strong climate denial bent.

BONUS: New Zealand's earthquake literally cracked the Earth open
LONDON (Reuters) - Christmas deliveries from British retailer Argos could be disrupted by a strike over a pay dispute by drivers at one of its main distribution centres, trade union Unite said on Tuesday.

The drivers, who work for UK logistics firm Wincanton (WIN.L) based at Argos's distribution centre at Barton-under-Needwood in central England, will strike for three days from 0001 GMT on Dec. 20.

The union's dispute with Wincanton centres on how holiday pay is calculated. It said management had offered to backdate the holiday pay from April this year, while Unite says the pay should cover at least the last two years.

Unite said a strike would cause "havoc and mayhem" to deliveries in the run-up to Christmas.

Wincanton said it was disappointed with Unite's move to strike as a meeting had been scheduled for Wednesday with conciliatory service ACAS to resolve the dispute.

A spokesman for Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury's (SBRY.L), said the retailer was encouraging both sides to keep talking.

"We also have contingency plans in place and can reassure customers we're working hard to ensure this will not impact our deliveries this Christmas," he said.

(Reporting by James Davey Additional reporting by Esha Vaish; Editing by Mark Potter)
* Asahi to spend $7.8 bln for No. 3 spot in Europe

* Price looks high for tough markets-analyst

* Asahi shares close down 4.6 pct on funding questions (Adds analysts' comments, context)

By Thomas Wilson and Martinne Geller

TOKYO/LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Asahi Group Holdings will buy a group of eastern European beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev for 7.3 billion euros ($7.8 billion), boosting its presence in the region in the largest overseas beer deal by a Japanese brewer.

Anheuser-Busch InBev agreed to sell brands including Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic, Poland's Tyskie and Lech, Hungary's Dreher and Romania's Ursus to ease clearance from competition regulators for its $100 billion takeover of SABMiller, finalised in October.

The deal, seen closing in the first half of next year, would be Asahi's biggest acquisition. It already bought SABMiller's Italian brand Peroni and Dutch beer Grolsch.

It was announced on Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after the deadline for final bids, according to sources close to the matter.

Asahi said on Tuesday that the business had annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 493.8 million euros in the year to the end of March.

Based on that figure, its bid represents a multiple of 14.8 times, which is higher than the 12 to 14 times brewing assets in mature markets often fetch.

It paid about 15 times EBITDA for Peroni and Grolsch, fueled in part by synergies with its existing business in Australia.

Asahi was widely seen as the frontrunner in an auction whose first round also included bids from a consortium led by Swiss investment firm Jacobs Holding, Czech investment firm PPF, China Resources and private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International.

Asahi, which needs to offset sluggish growth in its home market, said the purchase would allow it to generate nearly a quarter of sales from overseas, up from 16 percent in October.

Also reaching outside Japan, Sumitomo Corp agreed last week to buy Ireland's Fyffes for 751 million euros in a deal that will merge the largest banana distributors in Asia and Europe.

Story continues

MATURE MARKETS

Asahi's latest deal will give it 9 percent of the European beer market excluding Russia, said Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling, putting it third behind Heineken with 20 percent and Carlsberg with 12 percent.

Eastern European consumers already drink a lot of beer. The Czech Republic, where Asahi will be the leader, has the world's highest per capita consumption, though SAB's European margins had been eroding for years amid price competition.

"They've been very tough (markets) and profits have been declining, not growing," Stirling said, although the rising popularity of premium and craft beers offers scope for growth.

The takeover of SABMiller, the biggest deal in consumer goods history, took a year to complete and included sales of SAB's businesses in Europe, the United States and China.

These asset sales have recouped nearly 25 percent of the $100 billion price tag, but they have also removed a large proportion of its earnings capacity, effectively increasing the price for the higher growth areas of Africa and South America.

"The deal has become very expensive," said John Colley, a professor at Warwick Business School, but he added AB InBev, known for its frugal culture, could exceed its target for $1.4 billion in cost savings.

Another deal still to come is the sale of SAB's stake in an African soft drink business, which Coca-Cola plans to buy back and then sell to a bottler.

FUNDING FEARS

Asahi shares fell more than 6 percent before closing down 4.6 percent, with market participants pointing to investor nerves about how the deal would be funded.

Asahi gave no details, but a source close to the situation told Reuters it would take more debt onto its balance sheet, which as of September, showed $471 million in cash, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Not including the Asahi deal, Japanese companies have spent $77.6 billion on outbound mergers and acquisitions this year, Thomson Reuters data shows, seeking to counter deflation, weak consumer spending and a shrinking population at home.

AB InBev, whose shares were up 1.7 percent at 1207 GMT in Brussels, was advised on the deal by Deutsche Bank and Lazard while Asahi was advised by Rothschild.

($1 = 115.0500 yen)

($1 = 0.9400 euros)

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Thomas Wilson and Ritsuko Shimizu in Tokyo, Martinne Geller in London and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Jason Neely and Keith Weir)
By Thomas Wilson and Martinne Geller

TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - Asahi Group Holdings will buy a group of eastern European beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR) for 7.3 billion euros ($7.8 billion), boosting its new presence in the region in the largest overseas beer deal by a Japanese brewer.

AB InBev agreed to sell brands including Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic, Poland's Tyskie and Lech, Hungary's Dreher and Romania's Ursus to ease clearance from competition regulators for its $100 billion takeover of SABMiller, finalised in October.

The acquisition, seen closing in the first half of next year, would be Asahi's biggest deal, building on its 2.55 billion euro purchase of SABMiller's western European brands Peroni and Grolsch.

It was announced on Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after the deadline for final bids, according to sources close to the matter.

Asahi said on Tuesday that the business had annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 493.8 million euros in the year to the end of March.

Based on that figure, its bid represents a multiple of 14.8 times, which is higher than the 12 to 14 times brewing assets in mature markets often fetch.

It paid about 15 times EBITDA for Peroni and Grolsch, its first foray into Europe, fueled in part by synergies with its existing business in Australia.

Asahi was widely seen as the frontrunner in an auction whose first round included bids from a consortium led by Swiss investment firm Jacobs Holding, Czech investment firm PPF, China Resources and private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International.

Asahi, which needs to offset a weak home market, said the purchase would allow it to generate nearly a quarter of sales from overseas, up from 16 percent in October.

Also reaching outside Japan, Sumitomo Corp agreed last week to buy Ireland's Fyffes (FFY.I) for 751 million euros in a deal that will merge the largest banana distributors in Asia and Europe.

Story continues

MATURE MARKETS

Asahi's latest deal will give it 9 percent of the European beer market excluding Russia, said Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling, putting it third behind Heineken (HEIN.AS) with 20 percent and Carlsberg (CARLb.CO) with 12 percent.

Eastern European consumers already drink a lot of beer. The Czech Republic, where Asahi will be the leader, has the world's highest per capita consumption, though SAB's European margins had been eroding for years amid price competition.

"They've been very tough (markets) and profits have been declining, not growing," Stirling said, although the rising popularity of premium and craft beers offers scope for growth.

The takeover of SABMiller, the biggest deal in consumer goods history, took a year to complete and included sales of SAB's businesses in Europe, the United States and China.

These asset sales have recouped nearly 25 percent of the $100 billion price tag, but they have also removed a large proportion of its earnings capacity, effectively increasing the price for the higher growth areas of Africa and South America.

"The deal has become very expensive," said John Colley, a professor at Warwick Business School, but he added AB InBev, known for its frugal culture, could exceed its target for $1.4 billion in cost savings.

Another deal still to come is the sale of SAB's stake in an African soft drink business, which Coca-Cola (KO.N) plans to buy back and then sell to a bottler.

FUNDING FEARS

Asahi shares fell more than 6 percent before closing down 4.6 percent, with market participants pointing to investor nerves about how the deal would be funded.

Asahi gave no details, but a source close to the situation told Reuters it would take more debt onto its balance sheet, which as of September, showed $471 million in cash, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Not including the Asahi deal, Japanese companies have spent $77.6 billion on outbound mergers and acquisitions this year, Thomson Reuters data shows, seeking to counter domestic deflation, weak consumer spending and a shrinking population.

AB InBev, whose shares were up 1.8 percent at 1343 GMT in Brussels, was advised on the deal by Deutsche Bank and Lazard while Asahi was advised by Rothschild and Barclays.

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Thomas Wilson and Ritsuko Shimizu in Tokyo, Martinne Geller in London and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Jason Neely and Keith Weir)
Photo credit: Getty

From Seventeen

When the clock strikes midnight and 2016 finally comes to an end, you may be tempted to make a New Year's resolution or two. After all - new year, new you, right? Not exactly.

Model and America's Next Top Model judge Ashley Graham advises against making a resolution just because the calendar reads January 1. "I think it's good to go into a new season with goals and desires, but putting a pressure on yourself to look a certain way or act a certain way just because it's a new year isn't always easily attainable," she tells Seventeen. "I always say, 'Oh, it's the new year, I'm just going to continue to be my awesome self and live out the dreams that I put on my vision boards."

The good news? There is something you can commit to working on right away - and you don't even have to wait until 2017. "Change your words," Ashley says. "Your words have power. If you're saying, 'I'm fat, I'm ugly, I'm stupid' or 'I can't, I won't, I'm never going to be able to do anything' then that's exactly what you're going to have. We get stuck saying the same things over and over again and it's important to manifest exactly what you want through your language."

According to Ashley, confidence is the key to success - a lesson she brought to ANTM as a judge. "If these girls walk in and they're not confident, I call them out," she says. "To me, your confidence should walk in the door before you because that's the first thing people see. Smizes and confidence - that's all you need in life."

Of course, that may seem easier said than done, but Ashley's sharing her tried-and-true tricks for loving yourself. "I prep myself every morning, just giving myself affirmations while I look in the mirror," she says. "When I say, 'I am bold, I am brilliant, I am beautiful,' those three b's remind me how smart and courageous I am. That works for me - find the words that work for you!"

Story continues

Watch Ashley as a judge on America's Next Top Model tonight at 10pm ET/PT on VH1.

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The battle for Aleppo ended Tuesday with the Syrian military and its allies regaining full control of the city and remaining opposition forces retreating from its last rebel-held sections.

Russia, a supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the five-year-long civil war that has wreaked havoc on the nation, announced that all military action had ended against what was the opposition's last major urban stronghold in Syria and that a ceasefire had been reached. While both sides of the conflict have confirmed the ceasefire, the final details of the agreement are still being worked out. The Syrian government has said civilians would be permitted to evacuate and that armed rebels can withdraw.

The Syrian military's steady advance against opposition forces in Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial capital prior to the war, was met with mixed reactions by Syrians in the city. As celebrations took place in West Aleppo, residents of East Aleppo feared for their lives as near-constant airstrikes targeted crowded, shrinking positions occupied by both militants and civilians alike. Conflicting reports of alleged mass executions committed by pro-government forces and the use of civilians as human shields by rebels also weakened prospects of stability in the war-torn city.

The victory represents both a symbolic and tactical turnaround from the government's position prior to last year's Russian intervention. Since massive anti-corruption protests in 2011 devolved into armed opposition against the government, Assad had steadily lost territory to a broad network of rebel groups that included jihadist groups such as the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, now called Jabhet Al Sham and active in the battle for Aleppo, and the Islamic State militant group, whose recent advances in the strategic ancient city of Palmyra were overshadowed by the government's major operation to re-establish control over Syria's second city.

Over five and half years later, the death toll remains unclear with some sources putting the number well above 400,000 and the displacement of millions more both internally and abroad as refugees around the world. Following the rebels' defeat, some civilians returned to their homes - or what was left of them - others would take the opportunity to finally escape the city, long sieged by the conflict.

"The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said Tuesday in a statement referring to the difficult road ahead for Syria as rebels were expected to regroup in their next stronghold of Idlib.

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gravitational lens einstein ring alma

Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity predicts so much about the universe at large, including the existence of gravitational lenses or "Einstein rings."

At the same time, however, Einstein's famous equations struggle to fully explain such objects.

While general relativity says a strong source of gravity  like the sun  will warp the fabric of space, bend light coming from a distant object, and magnify it to an observer, very big objects like galaxies and galaxy clusters make gravitational lenses that are theoretically too strong (like the one above). General relativity also can't fully explain the spinning motions of galaxies and their stars.

That's why most physicists think as much as 80% of the mass in the universe is dark matter: an invisible source of matter, and its resulting gravitational force, that fills the gap. They think dark matter might be made of hard-to-detect particles, or perhaps an unfathomable number of tiny black holes. But we have yet to find smoking-gun evidence of either.

However, a contentious theory by Erik Verlinde at the University of Amsterdam suggests dark matter may not be matter at all. What's more, astronomers say his idea "is remarkable" in its ability to explain the behavior of more than 33,000 galaxies that they studied.

"This does not mean we can completely exclude dark matter, because there are still many observations that Verlinde's theory cannot yet explain," study leader and physicist Margot Brouwer said in a YouTube video about the research. "However it is a very exciting and promising first step."

A new theory of gravity?

universe

Called "emergent gravity," or EG, Verlinde's idea was first widely publicized by the New York Times in 2010. However, it took him 6 years to craft into a more testable (though not-yet-peer-reviewed) paper published on arXiv in November 2016.

Story continues

Emergent gravity borrows from the very tiny (and very weird) world of quantum mechanics to suggest that gravity is really a "dark" gravitational force, though more like a natural side effect of the fabric of space.

You might think of it as the outcome of a spacetime tug-of-war.

On the one hand, matter locally warps the fabric of space. On the other, a powerful and as-yet-unexplained force of nature, called "dark energy," is speeding up the expansion of space and the edge of the universe in all directions. (But don't worry, we may not go through a "big rip" until at least 2.8 billion years from now.)

Verlinde suggests the fabric of space has a kind of "elastic memory" for visible matter against expansion, "which can only relax very slowly"  a friction that, with large pockets of matter, generates a "dark" gravitational force at large distances.

Put another way, gravity may just be nature trying to fill a void with chaos, much like air rushing to fill a vacuum, or the heat of your body escaping into the space around you  no exotic, invisible, force-carrying particles required.

"In our view this undercuts the common assumption that the laws of gravity should stay as they are, and hence it removes the rationale of the dark matter hypothesis," Verlinde wrote in his most recent paper. "Indeed, we have argued that the observed dark matter phenomena are a remnant, a memory effect, of the emergence of spacetime together with the ordinary matter in it."

If you're feeling confused by all this, you're not alone: Dennis Overbye wrote for the New York Times in 2010 that "[s]ome of the best physicists in the world say they don't understand Dr. Verlinde's paper, and many are outright skeptical."

However, a team of astronomers recently ran Verlinde's equations through a limited test  and they appeared to check out.

Emergent gravity clears its first hurdle

gravitational lenses einstein rings nasa hubble

Brouwer and her colleagues tested emergent gravity by studying warped space around 33,613 galaxies.

Specifically, they looked at gravitational lenses caused by the galaxies, and how the background objects behind them were distorted.

"These bent images allow us to reconstruct the gravitational force around foreground galaxies up to a distance that is 100 times larger than the galaxies themselves," Brouwer said of her team's research, which was published December 11 in the British journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"Usually we explain this gravity by assuming that each galaxy has a dark matter cloud of a certain mass," she said. "This time we also compared our data to the new theory of gravity by Erik Verlinde."

Brouwer said Verlinde's equations could explain gravity's distribution "without introducing any free parameters or invisible particles." Translation: No dark matter required.

But the 22 authors of that study (none of whom include Verlinde) are careful to point out that dark matter is far from a dead idea.

"Although [emergent gravity's] performance is remarkable, this study is only a first step," they wrote. "Further advancements on both the theoretical framework and observational tests of EG are needed before it can be considered a fully developed and solidly tested theory."

Timothy Brandt, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study who's studied dark matter but wasn't involved in any noted here, told Business Insider in an email that  new evidence aside  Verlinde's concept leaves him with more questions than answers.

Brandt wondered, for example, if emergent gravity can also explain "the LIGO results, which perfectly match [general relativity]," evidence of the "dark matter content of dwarf galaxies," and the leftover energy of the universe's formation (called the cosmic background radiation).

Given all of the evidence for general relativity, Brandt said he "would bet pretty heavily against" emergent gravity's replacing it.

Even if Verlinde's idea turns out to fail future tests, physics still needs to find a way to solve its biggest problem: how to unite Einstein's general relativity (the physics of the very big) with quantum mechanics (the physics of the very small) into a so-called "theory of everything."

"At large scales, it seems, gravity just doesn't behave the way Einstein's theory predicts," Verlinde told Astronomy Now in November.

NOW WATCH: This 3-minute animation will change the way you see the universe





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NEW YORK (AP)  U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has praised New York City students for standing up for issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Lynch on Tuesday also visited the Stonewall National Monument and the Stonewall Inn, site of 1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement.

Earlier she told about a dozen students about the Department of Justice's work to create an environment in which everybody can live safely and free of prejudice.

The students' school is named for the late Harvey Milk, among the first openly gay men elected to public office in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco board of supervisors in 1977.

Lynch also talked privately with the students.

On Monday she addressed an interfaith gathering at a Muslim community center in Virginia.
By Huw Jones and Andreas Kroner

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Global banking regulators have softened proposed new capital rules in a bid to ease European concerns that piling on requirements would cause banks to crimp their lending, three sources familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday.

The Basel Committee of banking supervisors from nearly 30 countries met in Chile last month to complete new bank capital rules used by lenders in the world's major financial centres.

Among the most contentious elements, Basel proposed a "floor" for capital, which sources said Basel members have now agreed to change. They have also reached a preliminary deal on setting higher leverage ratios for the world's 30 top lenders.

Basel's compromises, which could still change, will need endorsement from the committee's oversight body, which is expected to meet on January 8.

The Basel Committee had no comment.

(Editing by Jason Neely and Alexander Smith)
Making his first and last appearance on Comedy Centrals The Daily Show with Trevor Noah as President of the United States, Barack Obama addressed his successors decision to skip daily intelligence briefings. Its a big, complicated world, and it doesnt matter how smart you are, Obama said.

If youre not getting their detailed perspectives, Obama added, referring to intelligence agencies, then you are flying blind.

In his half-hour taped interview at the White House, Obama addressed the Russian computer hacks, Obamacare, race and his post-presidency plans. On the latter he said, Ill be paying attention. Ill be a citizen of this country I love deeply.

On the Russian computer hacks, Obama dismissed the suggestion  promoted recently by Trump  that his Administration only broached the topic after the election. He pointed out that a consensus of intelligence agencies announced in October that the Russians were involved in the DNC hacking.

This is not a fancy brand of espionage or propaganda, Obama said, insisting that his demand for investigation results is necessary to prevent foreign interference in future elections.

Obama was particularly pointed about the nations focus  and the medias breathless coverage  of the drip drip drip of the Clinton campaign emails rather than the Russian capability of tampering.

What is it about our political ecosystem, what is it about the state of our democracy where the leaks of what were frankly not very interesting emails that didnt have any explosive information ended up being an obsession, and the fact that the Russians were doing this was not an obsession?

This was not a secret running up to this election, Obama said, recalling Trumps calls for Russia to hack Hillary Clintons computers.

Story continues

On Republican calls to replace Obamacare, the President said, If they had a great idea, they should have come up with it five or six years ago. He doubted that Republicans will come up with a better plan.

Obama also addressed the possibility of a reversal in his climate change policies. They may change the policy on climate change, but climate change is still climate change. He said that in his conversations with Trump, he advised that problems dont got away.

What you cant do is pretend theyre not problems.

As for his plans after January, hell give the new Administration space, but reiterated his previous claims that he might have something to say if he saw violations of the Constitution such as a Muslim registry or Dream Act kids being rounded up.

On the subject of race, Obama described the challenges of discussing the topic today. There may be times where you just have to call things out and name names, he said, but the challenge we face today when it comes to race is rarely the overt Klansman style of racism, and typically has more to do with the fact that people have other stuff they want to talk about, and its sort of uncomfortable, and its somebody not getting called back for an interview though its never explicit. And who gets the TV acting job, (when) the actress who doesnt quite look the part and what does that mean?

And I would add everybody has got a different role to play. If Chris Rock is doing stand-up, theres a benefit to him doing something that is different from the President of the United States doing something, Obama continued, taking a lighter route: For one thing, he doesnt have to edit his language quite as carefully, because I am still subject to some restrictions. Those seven words George Carlin talked about? As a general proposition, I cant use those because theres a lot of children watching, and I have to comport myself in a way my mother would approve of.

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(Adds details of ceasefire)

* Syrian rebels says full truce should be in place Tuesday night

* Reuters reporter sees fighters boarding buses at city gate

* Russia's U.N. envoy confirms ceasefire agreed

* Assad forces on cusp of big victory, guns fall silent

* Reports of civilians shot in their homes, trying to flee, U.N.

* Civil war far from over when Aleppo falls

* Graphics on fall of Aleppo: http://tmsnrt.rs/2gfboV9

By Laila Bassam, Angus McDowall and Stephanie Nebehay

ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT/GENEVA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Rebel resistance in the Syrian city of Aleppo ended on Tuesday after years of fighting and months of bitter siege and bombardment that culminated in a bloody retreat, as insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire.

The battle of Aleppo, one of the worst of a civil war that has drawn in global and regional powers, has ended with victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and regional Shi'ite militias.

For rebels, their expected departure with light weapons starting on Wednesday morning for opposition-held regions west of the city is a crushing blow to their hopes of ousting Assad after revolting against him during the 2011 Arab uprisings.

However, the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province to the southwest of Aleppo, and the jihadist Islamic State group holding swathes of the east and recapturing Palmyra this week.

"The fighters are going to leave the city," Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters in New York.

Rebel officials said fighting would end on Tuesday evening and a source in the pro-Assad military alliance said the evacuation of fighters would begin at around dawn on Wednesday. A Reuters reporter in Aleppo said late on Tuesday that the booms of the bombardment could no longer be heard.

Fighters and their families, along with civilians who have thrown in their lot with the rebels, will have until Wednesday evening to quit the city, a Turkish government source said on Tuesday. The ceasefire was negotiated by Turkey and Russia.

Story continues

A commander with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said that Aleppo was a moral victory for the insurgents. "We were steadfast ... but unfortunately nobody stood with us at all", the commander, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

"UNCOMPROMISING VICTORY"

The plight of civilians has caused global outrage in the wake of a sudden series of advances by the Syrian army and its allies across the rebel enclave over the past two weeks.

"We appear to be witnessing nothing less than an all-out effort by the Syrian government and its allies to end the country's internal conflict through a total uncompromising military victory," U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon told the Security Council on Tuesday.

The rout of rebels from their ever-shrinking territory in Aleppo sparked a mass flight of terrified civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity". There were food and water shortages in rebel areas with all hospitals closed.

The United Nations earlier on Tuesday voiced deep concern about reports it had received of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people in recaptured east Aleppo districts. It accused them of "slaughter".

"The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said U.N. spokesman Rupert Colville. "There could be many more."

The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, and its main ally Russia said on Tuesday rebels had "kept over 100,000 people in east Aleppo as human shields".

An official with an Aleppo rebel group said the bulk of about 50,000 people were expected to be evacuated.

Fear stalked the city's streets. Some survivors trudged in the rain past dead bodies to the government-held west or the few districts still in rebel hands. Others stayed in their homes and awaited the Syrian army's arrival.

For all of them, fear of arrest, conscription or summary execution added to the daily terror of bombardment. "People are saying the troops have lists of families of fighters and are asking them if they had sons with the terrorists. (They are) then either left or shot and left to die," said Abu Malek al-Shamali in Seif al-Dawla, one of the last rebel-held districts.

WASTELAND OF RUBBLE

A Syrian military source said the evacuation of fighters would start at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Wednesday. The source said fighters' families would also leave, but did not mention other civilian evacuations.

Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed.

The once-flourishing economic centre with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverised during the war which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State.

The U.N.'s Colville said the rebel-held area had become "a hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre. Its capture was imminent, he added.

The Syrian army and its allies could declare victory at any moment, a Syrian military source had said earlier, predicting the final fall of the rebel enclave on Tuesday or Wednesday, after insurgent defences collapsed on Monday.

After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night as the weather deteriorated.

"Artillery shelling is continuing but because of the weather the aerial bombing has stopped. Many of the families and children have not left for areas under the control of the regime because their fathers are from the rebels," said Abu Ibrahim, a resident of Aleppo in a text message before the ceasefire.

Terrible conditions were described by city residents.

Abu Malek al-Shamali, a resident in the rebel area, said dead bodies lay in the streets. "There are many corpses in Fardous and Bustan al-Qasr with no one to bury them," he said.

"Last night people slept in the streets and in buildings where every flat has several families crowded in," he added.

Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night after a day of sudden army advances brought final victory in the city within its grasp, with fighters shooting rounds into the sky in triumph.

TIDE OF REFUGEES

State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings.

One man pushed a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a cart on which sat an elderly woman. Another man carried on his back a small girl wearing a pink hat.

At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic.

In some recaptured areas, people were returning to their shattered homes. A woman in her sixties, who identified herself as Umm Ali, or "Ali's mother", said that she, her husband and her disabled daughter had no water.

They were looking after the orphaned children of another daughter killed in the bombing, she said, and were reduced to putting pots and pans in the street to collect rainwater.

In another building near al-Shaar district, which was taken by the army last week, a man was fixing the balcony of his house with his children. "No matter the circumstances, our home is better than displacement," he said.

By finally dousing the last embers of resistance burning in Aleppo, Assad's military coalition of the army, Russian air power and Iran-backed militias will have delivered him his biggest battlefield victory of the war leaving the rebels without a significant presence in Syria's main cities.

However, while the rebels, including groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist groups that the West does not support, have suffered a crushing defeat in Aleppo, the conflict is not over.

Saying victory in Aleppo would change the course of the war, Assad himself has said that his military would then need to march on other rebel-held enclaves.

"The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction - and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement.

(Reporting By Laila Bassam in Aleppo, Orhan Coskun in Ankara, Lisa Barrington, John Davison and Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Peter Millership)
One of the largest co-ops in the state is combining some of its Nebraska assets with those owned by a California-based ethanol company to create a new entity.

Aurora Cooperative Elevator Company said it will combine its Aurora West Grain Elevator, loop track, related land and other assets with the two Aurora ethanol plants and related assets owned by Pacific Ethanol. The Aurora co-op also is contributing $30 million in cash.

The combined entity will be called Pacific Aurora LLC. Aurora Cooperative will have a 26 percent ownership stake in the company.

Chris Vincent, president and CEO of the Aurora co-op, said combining the two entities' Aurora operations would lead to efficiencies and increased performance. "Aurora Cooperative will use its years of grain origination and operations experience combined with Pacific Ethanol's production expertise to greatly benefit Pacific Aurora LLC," he said in a news release. "Bringing both companies resources together benefits our collective stockholders and adds value and strength to our communities, the State of Nebraska and both the ethanol and grain industries.

Aurora Cooperative is the 34th-largest agricultural co-op in the U.S., with $1 billion in sales and 80 locations in seven states. Pacific Ethanol owns eight ethanol plants in five states, with total production capacity of 515 gallons.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's environmental watchdog is considering a ban on the use of trucks to transport coal and closing coal storage facilities in Tianjin, one of China's busiest ports, a researcher with the agency said, in what would be a drastic move to tackle smog. The city's Environmental Protection Bureau has not made a formal proposal to the municipal government of Tianjin, Zhou Yangsheng, researcher with the agency told a coal industry briefing on late Monday. He did not give an estimate on when a decision might be made on the move. If implemented, it would be the latest in a series of extreme steps taken by the capital city government to cut air pollution in and around the smog-plagued capital Beijing. The area surrounding the capital and its neighbor Tianjin in Hebei province is the most polluted in the world's second-largest economy despite mounting efforts to control traffic and shut down coal-fired power plants and steel mills. Tianjin port, China's second largest by cargo volume, is the key hub for trading 100-million-tonnes a year of sea-borne coal and domestic coal that flows south from Inner Mongolia. The proposal could reduce coal volumes at Tianjin by as much as 43 million tonnes, incurring a loss of 400 million yuan ($58 million) for the city, Yangsheng said, although ports in other parts of China would take the lost business. Closing storage facilities and prohibiting trucks would also likely force shippers and traders to find alternative routes and modes of transport, like rail. The municipal government of Tianjian did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal. (Reporting by Meng Meng and Josephine Mason; Editing by Richard Pullin)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent years perfecting his cowboy swagger  he rarely left home without his signature cowboys boots and even claims to have once used a .380-caliber Ruger pistol to gun down a coyote while jogging. He's probably best known, though, for the 40 seconds he spent on a 2011 presidential debate stage trying desperately to remember the third of three federal agencies he'd promised to shutter if elected, before sheepishly muttering "Oops."

The answer was the Energy Department, which President-elect Donald Trump has now tapped Perry to run, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

But the longest-serving governor in Texas history has less publicized past episodes that could raise political or personal questions when Perry appears before the Senate for confirmation.

Here's a look at a some of them:

ENERGY FIRM TIES

Perry led Texas for more than 14 years, but mere weeks after he left office he began serving on the corporate boards of two energy firms linked to Texas billionaire and GOP mega-donor Kelcy Warren.

One company, Energy Transfer Partners, is attempting to build the Dakota Access Pipeline, a $3.8 billion project carrying oil from North Dakota to Illinois that has sparked protests garnering national attention. The other, Sunoco Logistics Partners, recently announced plans to acquire Energy Transfer Partners in a $21.3 billion deal.

Like Trump, Perry has in the past been a climate change skeptic and cheerleader for coal. In 2005, he issued an executive order fast-tracking construction of coal-fueled power plants around Texas  but those stalled amid legal challenges from environmental groups.

Texas also became a leading wind energy producer under Perry, and the governor's office used state incentive funds to funnel public dollars to companies promoting alternative energy.

"CRONY CAPITALISM?"

Perry oversaw two state funds meant to encourage job-creating investment in Texas or to lure top employers to the state. But critics accused him of "crony capitalism" after outside auditors condemned both for rewarding firms Perry had business or political ties to  some of which got funding with little transparency or scant evidence they'd actually create jobs.

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In 2007, a Perry executive order mandated HPV vaccines for sixth-grade girls statewide, sparking such outcry that the governor was overruled by Texas' Republican-controlled Legislature. Perry said his move was to prevent the spread of a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer  but the vaccine maker, Merck, was a past Perry donor and employed one of his former aides as a lobbyist.

A remote West Texas waste dump site began in 2013 accepting low-level radioactive waste from Texas and other states. The 1,380-acre facility belongs to Waste Control Specialists, then owned by Harold Simmons, a billionaire who was a top donor to Perry and Republicans nationwide but who has since died.

The company has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin taking higher level nuclear waste in West Texas as a stopgap measure since a plan for a permanent repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain hasn't been federally approved. The Energy Department sets policy for nuclear materials' storage and handling, meaning Perry may make major decisions in an area he's already very familiar with.

INDICTMENT

Two years ago, Perry was indicted by a grand jury in Austin on coercion and abuse of power charges stemming from his publicly threatening  then executing  a veto of funding for state public corruption prosecutors. The move came after the investigative unit's Democratic director rebuffed Perry's calls to resign following her drunken driving conviction.

Perry dismissed the case as politically motivated, and the coercion charge was tossed on appeal before Texas' highest criminal court voided the abuse of power charge in February. Still, Perry said it hurt his second White House run in 2015, which lasted barely three months.

BEYOND 'OOPS'

While his debate brain freeze was the hardest thing for Perry to live down, there's more in the former governor's public career that could resurface if he joins Trump's Cabinet.

In 2011, The Washington Post reported about a rock outside a hunting camp Perry's family once leased that was painted with the name "Niggerhead." Perry's campaign said the governor's father painted over the rock  located near Perry's West Texas childhood home of Paint Creek  soon after he began leasing the site in the early 1980s.

Perry also has drawn past criticism for not denouncing Texas secession forcefully enough. At a 2009 rally, Perry said of his state seceding, "We've got a great union," but added, "if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what might come out of that."
(Adds quotes from Bill Gates, background on Breakthrough Energy Coalition)

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and a group of high-profile executives are investing $1 billion in a fund to spur clean energy technology and address global climate change a year after the Paris climate agreement.

Gates launched the Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund on Monday along with billionaire entrepreneurs such as Facebook Inc head Mark Zuckerberg, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Chairman Jack Ma and Amazon.com chief Jeff Bezos.

The fund seeks to increase financing of emerging energy research and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to help meet goals set in Paris, according to a statement by the investor group known as the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

It marked the first major investment of the coalition formed in December 2015 to spur research, development and deployment of clean energy technologies.

"We need affordable and reliable energy that doesn't emit greenhouse gas to power the future and to get it, we need a different model for investing in good ideas and moving them from the lab to the market," Gates told online magazine Quartz, according to excerpts of the interview published on Gates Notes.

Last year Gates helped launch a public-private partnership focused on scaling up investment in new and riskier clean technology that often faces steep hurdles to commercialization.

The election of Republican Donald Trump as U.S. President has raised questions about future government spending on clean energy research and development. Trump has called climate change a hoax invented by the Chinese but has also said he has an "open mind" on the issue.

"The dialogue with the new administration as it comes in about how they see energy research will be important...the general idea that research is a good deal fortunately is not a partisan thing," Gates told Quartz.

On a call with reporters Monday, Gates said coalition members would continue to push the message to Trump that "even if you don't look at the climate change piece of this, investing makes sense." (Reporting By Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Hay)
And the best fiancee award goes to Blac Chyna!

The new mom gifted her husband-to-be with a shiny new Range Rover on Monday  complete with a big, royal blue bow.

Just a little over two weeks away from Christmas, the Rob & Chyna star documented the moment that Rob Kardashian got his new set of wheels on Instagram.

Rob loves his new truck, Chyna, 28, says in the video shared Monday. Do you love it? she asks her fiance.

As he stands just next to the drivers seat, Kardashian  donning his signature, L.A. Dodgers hat  says with a smile on his face, Thank you baby.

Got bae a Range, she posted on Instagram with a heart emoji.

Kardashian, 29, also took to Snapchat to showcase his new gift to fans and followers.

My girl got me a Range Rover, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star says in the Snpachat video as he pans the video to his bride-to-be.

Less than a month prior to giving birth to her daughter Dream Renee Kardashian in November, Chyna also bought herself an expensive new car.

A little gift to myself for working this hard all year! Cant wait to bring my baby girl home! the reality star captioned an Instagram photo of her standing next to a white Rolls Royce, which cost her a reported $400,000, according to E!

Since welcoming their daughter into the world, the engaged couple are living together at Chynas home. Rob wants to live with Chyna and spend every day with Dream, a Kardashian source told PEOPLE. He is making a big effort to get along with Chyna. She seems very happy with him. They are getting along great and enjoying parenting together.




The photo that sparked the argument between Nick Harris and Babymom. (Photo: Facebook)

Viral stories about dads and their daughters braids are typically heartwarming  like the one about Michael Worthington and the precious styling sessions with his 4-year-old, or of Kordale Lewis and Kaleb Anthony, whose videos of them lovingly undertaking their kids hair and other morning rituals landed them a spot in a Nikon campaign.

But this time around, the tale is an upsetting display of racism  spewed by a white mom toward Nick Harris, the black father of their biracial child. Harris, a Delaware-based barber, posted screenshots of his back-and-forth texts with the unidentified mother on Facebook on Dec. 4. They begin with Harris sending her a photo of the cornrows that had been woven on the head of their daughter, who looks to be about 3 years old.

Ru serious. Just wait til Tuesday. I am so pissed off, the mom, who comes up as Babymom in his phone contacts, texted in reply to the photo.

Seemingly knowing what the problem was, Harris answered, Is that seriously your response? It looks great! She doesnt look too black.' To which she replied, No she looks black and shes not! Im taking it out, I hate that sh**. Harris points out that the girl is indeed black, unless Im not her father, adding, Your child is mixed sweetie She will always be half black. I treat her like a princess and thats why her hair is done instead of looking like a hot mess It truly amazes me that you hate half of your daughter.

The vitriol continues for several screens, with comments from Babymom including, My kid is more white in my eyes not fully black so she dont need that ugly hairstyle, and Nick I dont gotta embrace that side of her. This isnt history class.

Harris and his daughter. (Photo: Facebook)

Harris, who could not be reached for comment by Yahoo Beauty, noted that he posted the conversation to Facebook for support. So I dont really like to bring my drama to FB, he wrote. But Im just curious if Im crazy or if anyone else has ever dealt with a similar situation. I need advice. His post has been shared more than 11,500 times and has more than 5,400 reactions and 3,900 heated comments  with plenty of advice in the mix.

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Some suggested Harris try to get full custody of his daughter, many complimented the hairstyle, and a few shared photos of their own biracial children. Others criticized Harris for not knowing Babymom was a racist in the first place.

Still others gave him some support: Just indulge the kid as best you can with things and tell the ex to piss off when the kid wants something, one commenter offered. She can always change things later, but I think you are doing the best you can as a father who has a daughter, so thats more then most men do.

Another was among the many to lash out at the mom. Shes disgusting!!!! The childs hair looks lovely, her mother is a racist fool who doesnt know sh** about a child with mixed/afro hair, she said. You should take her to court!! The mother will end up brainwashing the child to think she is white when she isnt!!! You show her that being half black is just as beautiful.

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.




While hordes of drunken revelers dressing up as Santa Claus may once a year provoke ire on the streets of New York City, SantaCon is no match for the controversy continuing to be stirred up by a traditional Dutch Christmas character.

Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, stems from the Dutch legend of Sinterklaas, which saw St. Nicholas delivering presents in Spain with a team of black helpers. Since 1850, Black Pete has been a prominent character in those stories, disciplining misbehaving children by in some cases kidnapping them and bringing them back to Spain.

Given that, at the time the character emerged, slavery was common in the Dutch colonies and the character has exaggerated lips, an afro wig and earrings, it has long been met with charges of racism. That people often celebrate the character by dressing up in blackface only adds weight to that assessment. And while some claim that Black Pete looks the way he does due to soot from going down the chimney, it is commonly accepted that he, in fact, represents a Spanish Moor slave.

This year, the controversy even spread to Canada. The Dutch Delicious bakery in Edmonton had featured a representation of Black Pete every year for a decade to celebrate Sinterklaas, but last week it issued an apology after receiving a number of complaints, according to Canadian outlet Global News. The bakery has said that in the future it will instead feature Chimney Piet, a character with soot streaks on his face, without the curly hair and red lips.

The same accommodation has been put forward by Amsterdams Sinterklaas Party for the first time this year. A local court in 2014 had told the citys mayor to remove Black Pete from the parade but the decision was later overturned by the Netherlands highest court when it refused to rule on whether the character breached anti-discrimination laws.

The countrys prime minister has been similarly evasive on the issue. Responding to criticism in 2014, Mark Rutte said: Black Pete, that already says it, hes black. We cant change much about that. After confrontations in Rotterdam last month between supporters and opponents of Black Pete led to 100 arrests, Rutte appealed for calm on both sides.

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Weighing in on the matter last year, the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations was in no doubt about the correct course of action for the Dutch government. Recommending that the character at least be altered, a report wrote that in its current guise Black Pete is injurious to the dignity and self-esteem of children and adults of African descent.

The Committee recommends that the State party actively promote the elimination of those features of the character of Black Pete which reflect negative stereotypes and are experienced by many people of African descent as a vestige of slavery, read the report.

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Blue Ivy Carter hung out with some fellow celebrity tots over the weekend when she accompanied her mom, Beyonce, to Mariah Carey's Beacon Theatre show in New York City.

Mimi posted the group pic with her twins, Monroe and Moroccan, Beyonce, Blue, and a friend to her Instagram account on Monday.

WATCH: Beyonce Attends Mariah Carey's New York City Show, Takes Epic Diva Selfie

"Backstage at Christmas time with our beautiful children. @beyonce #christmas #family #love," she captioned the photo.

Backstage at Christmas time with our beautiful children. @beyonce  #christmas #family #love A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Dec 12, 2016 at 7:50pm PST

In the shot, everyone is grinning, except for Blue, who is holding up a giant red fan, covering half her face  like a baller.

Carey previously posted a selfie with Queen Bey, thanking her for attending her holiday show over the weekend.

She also shared a pic with Roe and Roc on stage with her, grinning up at Santa Claus.

I love you @beyonce thank you sooooo much for coming out tonight! #merrychristmas A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Dec 11, 2016 at 8:41pm PST

"Santa Claus is coming to town! #rocandroe #alliwantforchristmas #beacontheatre Show tomorrow at 8 pm! #aiwfciy," she captioned the pic.

It's unclear whether Blue joined the kiddos on stage for any part of the performance, but Carey still has shows through the end of the week in NYC (so there's still time, B).

Santa Claus is coming to town!  #rocandroe #alliwantforchristmas #beacontheatre Show tomorrow at 8pm! #aiwfciy  A photo posted by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Dec 12, 2016 at 12:03pm PST

WATCH: Beyonce on Track to Make GRAMMY History

As for Beyonce, it's been a big few weeks. The superstar picked up nine GRAMMY nominations for her album Lemonade, and if she wins at least eight during February's show, she will have the most GRAMMY awards of any female artist.

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For more from Beyonce and Mariah's meeting, watch the clip below!

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Boeing will be relocating its headquarters from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., the defense manufacturing giant announced Tuesday. However, Boeing has planned to maintain its manufacturing plant in St. Louis, making clear that existing jobs there would be secure after some operations are transferred to the nation's capital.

"There were will no change to the day to day operations at the St. Louis site," Boeing spokesperson Philip Carder told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday.

However, the senior leadership team of executives will be leaving St. Louis, the Washington Post reported. Its corporate headquarters will remain in Chicago.

The news of the move came about a week after President-elect Donald Trump chastised Boeing for how much it was costing the government to have a new series of Air Force One presidential planes manufactured. He even called for the contract with the givernment to be canceled. Trump blasted the company via a tweet and suggested Boeing was "doing a number" on taxpayers, who foot the bulk of the bill.

It was only announced last month that Boeing planned on beefing up its labor line in St. Louis by adding 500 jobs from its operations in California. The number of Boeing employees in St. Louis was about 14,000 prior to the new employees being added.

"This decision highlights our commitment to more strategically engage with customers and decision makers," Boeing spokesperson Todd Blecher told Defense One, which first reported news of the move.

Jobs at Boeing's St. Louis manufacturing plant have long been the subject of concern by employees there. When the company lost out on an $80 billion contract to build a new generation of long-range bombers last year, the possibility of lay-offs became very real, the labor union head who represents many Boeing workers told International Business Times at the time.

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"Yes, this deal hurts my Boeing members, Steve McDerman, president of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers' local St. Louis chapter, said.

Boeing is expected to begin moving its headquarters by Jan. 3, 2017.

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By Agnieszka Flak and Gwenaelle Barzic

MILAN/PARIS (Reuters) - French tycoon Vincent Bollore has raised the stakes in a battle with Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset (MS.MI) by saying Vivendi (VIV.PA) could buy up to a fifth of the Italian broadcaster, stirring talk of a hostile takeover bid.

Bollore is the chairman and biggest shareholder of Vivendi, which said on Tuesday it had raised its Mediaset stake to 12.3 percent. On Monday the French firm had said it had 3 percent of Mediaset but aimed to raise that to 20 percent as part of plans to expand in southern Europe.

But later on Tuesday, Berlusconi's Fininvest, Mediaset's controlling shareholder, said it had bought 27.6 million shares in the Italian broadcaster and had rights to buy 14 million more on Wednesday to reach 39.775 percent of voting capital.

Mediaset was not immediately available to comment.

The struggle between Vivendi and Mediaset highlights the pressure to consolidate among European media and telecoms groups, which are facing increasing competition from online providers such as Netflix (NFLX.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O).

Last week, Rupert Murdoch made a $14 billion bid for British pay-TV firm Sky Plc (SKYB.L), while the U.S. telecoms operator AT&T (T.N) is trying buy Time Warner (TWX.N) for $85 billion.

A source close to the matter said a hostile takeover by Vivendi was not on the agenda "today", but that the French group wanted to strengthen its position to reopen discussions with the Berlusconi family.

"Vivendi prefers to go with a soft approach for now but if there is no way to discuss, we'll have to reassess at this point," the source said.

FEUD

A Vivendi spokesman declined to comment beyond reiterating the group's statement from Monday.

If Vivendi takes 30 percent of the capital of the Italian broadcaster, it will be obliged to launch a takeover offer, under to Italian rules.

Bollore's move has deepened a feud that began in July when the French company ditched an agreement to take control of Mediaset's pay-TV unit, Premium, and give the two companies shareholdings in each other. Instead, the two groups are facing off in court, with a first hearing due in March.

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Fininvest said on Tuesday it had filed a complaint with prosecutors in Milan and market regulator Consob against Vivendi, citing market manipulation.

Bollore, who is also a key shareholder in the Italian investment bank Mediobanca, has a record as a corporate raider, resorting to different strategies to take control of businesses.

"This looks like the typical Bollore pattern ... acquire a small stake, then build it up and then look to influence the direction of the company," Liberum analysts said in a note.

Mediaset's shares, under pressure since the pay-TV dispute, jumped as much as 36 percent to 3.69 euros ($3.93), their biggest one-day gain recorded since the company listed in 1996. Vivendi shares closed flat.

The market is also speculating about Bollore's real intentions in Italy, drawing parallels between Mediaset and Vivendi's aggressive stake-building in Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) last year. Vivendi now has a 24 percent stake in Telecom Italia and partnerships with Orange (ORAN.PA) and Iliad (ILD.PA).

"MEDIA CORNERSTONE"

"This is just the first page of a new story," Mediobanca analysts said in a note.

"A group like Mediaset - leader in commercial TV in Italy and Spain, strong skills in content production, with a well established pay-TV business - is a cornerstone for everyone willing to set up a media platform, with strong focus on southern Europe."

Mediobanca, which has an 'outperform' rating on Mediaset and a 3.96 euro target price, said uncertainty over the Premium saga and Italy's constitutional referendum had pushed Mediaset's shares down to a 50 percent discount against its peers.

"Given the potential speculative angle, we believe Mediaset should trade at least in line with peers."

Fininvest accused Vivendi of trying to depress the company's share price by dropping the pay-TV deal in order to then launch a hostile takeover at a discount.

Some bankers have suggested Vivendi may eventually seek to combine Telecom Italia and Mediaset. All parties have repeatedly denied such speculation.

Analysts expect both Vivendi and Fininvest to raise their Mediaset holdings in coming months, underpinning the share price, but said a full takeover seemed unlikely in the short term, given the size of the Berlusconi family's stake.

Fininvest said it did not plan to diminish its role as a major investor and would use all means to block Vivendi's move.

Mediaset still aims to pursue its legal battle against the French company, and said it had hired top Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI) as advisers.

(Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in Paris, Sophie Sassard in London and Francesca Landini in Milan; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Jane Merriman and Kevin Liffey)
The Christmas magic is still alive for this Virginia boy, 8, who discovered his "Elf on the Shelf" was actually on a secret mission for local police when it mysteriously vanished along with his mom's purse.

Read: Girl, 4, Battling Leukemia Is Crowned a Princess, Complete With Coronation Ball and Prince Charming

Every year, 8-year-old Jovani Villahermosa of Bristow looks forward to a visit from Freddie, the "Elf on the Shelf," around the holidays.

"Every year, Freddie the Elf on the Shelf comes from the North Pole on December 1," his mother, Lorraine Villahermosa, told InsideEdition.com. "He gets into all these shenanigans, gets into mess, brings [my son] little gifts here and there. He comes every single morning and in the evening, he goes back to the North Pole."

Villahermosa explained they have continued the tradition for the last five years, ever since Jovani was 3 years old. But as he has gotten older, his mom said he has started becoming skeptical of some of Freddie's movements.

"He's like, 'Oh mom, he did that last year. Why is he doing things that are boring?'" she recalled. "So this year I have to step up my game."

The single mother's plan to give her son a magical year was thwarted when her purse, which contained Freddie, was stolen.

"I was going crazy," Villahermosa said. "I knew I had a few things in the purse, but the most important was that stinking elf."

While she explained her locks could be changed and all her important IDs and credit cards were taken out the night before, Freddie the Elf was purchased many years ago. The company he was sold from has since changed the design of their "Elf on the Shelf," and Jovani was sure to realize Freddie was switched out.

Read: Daddy Blogger Turns 4-Month-Old Baby Into Real Life Elf on the Shelf

When Freddie didn't show up that morning, "[Jovani] was devastated. It's the first time in five years he didn't show up for no reason."

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Luckily, Villahermosa's purse was found the same day, but when a Prince William police officer came by the house to drop it off, the family was out for the day. By the time Villahermosa made it to the station, her purse, along with Freddie, had been confined to an evidence locker, where police could not retrieve it for several days.

The worried mother begged officers to snap another picture with a different Elf on the Shelf, hoping to tell her son that Freddie was on a special assignment to help the police find her purse.

"We were happy to accommodate," said Sgt. Jonathan Perock.

They snapped a photo, and Villahermosa brought it back to her son.

But, Perock told InsideEdition.com, "a child shouldn't have to be exposed to something like a purse being stolen and have to handle that. We wanted to handle it and do it quickly so the mom had an explanation to her child."

That evening, he went out and purchased his own Elf on the Shelf and snapped a series of his own photos, including one where it appeared he was presenting the Elf with a police lineup of Christmas villains, and even created a little business card for Freddie, explaining he was now an honorary detective.

Perock admitted, "It was probably five minutes of my time."

But, when Jovani saw the pictures of Freddie at the police station appear on his email the following day, his mom said he bought the whole story.

Read: Mom Defends Buying 300 Gifts, Insists She's Always Shopping for Bargains

"I only have so much longer until my son stops believing in Santa," she told InsideEdition.com. "It's my heart's desire that this kid has the best Christmas ever, and this is going to be a Christmas he's going to remember with this elf."

Villahermosa said that when she finally was able to get her purse back, Freddie was still there, and ready to continue their December tradition where he left off.

Watch: 7-Year-Old Girl Calls 911 After Accidentally Moving Her Elf on the Shelf

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(Recasts throughout, adds background)

By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Eduardo Simoes

SAO PAULO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A Brazilian federal court dropped a case against Joseph Safra, the world's richest banker, over an alleged scheme to pay bribes to government officials in return for waiving tax debts.

The media office of the Brasilia-based Regional Federal Tribunal for the 1st Region said the decision favoring Safra was approved by the court in a 2-to-1 ruling.

In a statement, the Safra Group said the ruling prevents "the continuation of the action for lack of just cause and the proceeding ... is now closed."

In March, prosecutors asked that Safra be charged on claims he had knowledge of a 2014 plan by executives at an asset management unit of his Banco Safra SA to pay 15.3 million reais ($4.6 million) in bribes to federal tax auditors. Safra repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The probe and subsequent charges against Safra stemmed from a broader police inquiry known as "Operation Zealots," focused on kickbacks paid by companies through lobbyists.

Dozens of Brazilian firms, including steelmaker Gerdau SA and several banks including Banco Bradesco SA, have been under investigation for suspected bribes.

The investigation centers on whether companies bribed members of CARF, a body within the finance ministry that hears appeals on tax disputes, to get favorable rulings that reduced or waived the amounts owed.

According to a person with direct knowledge of Safra's process, the court's ruling cannot be appealed. The Lebanese-Brazilian billionaire, whose fortune is estimated at about $19 billion by Forbes Magazine, controls a banking and financial conglomerate that operates in 19 countries.

Operation Zealots has not only implicated some of Brazil's most influential firms but also some of the nation's foremost power brokers. Luiz Carlos Trabuco, Bradesco's chief executive officer, has been accused alongside three of the bank's main executives.

Trabuco has denied any wrongdoing.

($1 = 3.3252 reais) (Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown)
SAO PAULO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's Federal Police asked prosecutors to charge former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for more crimes in the country's widest-ever corruption probe, Globo's G1 news site reported on Monday.

Lula, president from 2003 to 2010 and a possible candidate in the 2018 election, is already a defendant in three criminal probes linked to the so-called Car Wash investigation into large-scale corruption at state-controlled oil company Petrobras .

According to the Federal Police, he should also be charged for corruption in the acquisition of land for his foundation and the rental of an apartment in the same building where he lives. The Federal Police alleges these expenses were paid by Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht SA, G1 said.

The former president's spokesmen told G1 that Lula had been paying rent on the apartment for years and that his foundation does not own the land on which its headquarters were built. Odebrecht said it is collaborating with Justice and declined to comment further.

Neither the Federal Police nor Lula's spokesmen were immediately available to comment on the report.

The Odebrecht family and top executives have signed plea bargains with Brazilian prosecutors in which as many as 77 of the engineering group's executives are testifying about widespread political graft. The family has apologized for its involvement in Brazil's massive corruption scandal.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Mary Milliken)
BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Michel Temer said on Tuesday that corruption accusations against politicians emerging from the Petrobras graft scandal must not paralyze the country, as his government plans measures to revive Brazil's stalled economy. Temer has asked prosecutors to speed up the release of plea bargain statements by defendants in the Petrobras investigation so that accusations, which have implicated members of his Cabinet, do not disrupt efforts to pull Brazil from recession. He said stimulus measures would be announced on Thursday but gave no details. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle)
BRASILIA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Michel Temer called U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, agreeing to work together to improve business relations between the two largest economies in the Americas, a statement from Temer's office said.

Brazil is keen to explore business opportunities that could open up if Trump follows through on campaign promises to rewrite a trade deal with Mexico.

"Temer and Trump agreed to launch, immediately after the swearing in of the new American president, an agenda for Brazil-U.S. growth," the statement said.

"(Temer) emphasized Brazil's interest in receiving more American investment," the statement added.

Reuters reported last week that Temer planned to call Trump, having sent a telegram of congratulations following his election.

Trump's calls during the campaign to protect U.S. companies by limiting trade worried some Brazilian investors, but the Temer administration, under pressure to rescue an economy stuck in a two-year recession, sees a silver lining for local businesses.

Brazilian industries, benefiting from a weaker real currency could increase their market share in the United States if Trump makes good on his threats to rework or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement with neighboring Mexico and Canada. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

In Tuesday's call, Trump and Temer agreed to put together teams to work on a mutual growth program from February next year.

According to the statement, Temer said that business leaders from both the United States and Brazil already understood each other well and wanted to work more closely together.

Robson Andrade, head of Brazil's most powerful industrial lobby, the CNI, said Trump could open up opportunities for Brazilian businesses if he drops or re-works U.S. trade partnerships currently being negotiated across the Pacific and with the European Union.

"That will make it easier for Brazil to forge new trade alliances," Andrade told Reuters. "I don't think Trump will cause the economic cataclysm people are talking about." (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Additional reporting and writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Paul Simao)
London (AFP) - Britain renewed a call Tuesday for President Bashar al-Assad to step aside, citing his "barbaric cruelty" towards Syria's people, as his forces stood poised to recapture Aleppo.

"We do not think that President Assad, who is presiding over such barbaric cruelty to the people of Syria, is a route to a long-term, secure and prosperous future for Syria," Prime Minister Theresa May's official spokeswoman told reporters.

"That's why we think there needs to be a political transition away from Assad."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson later told an emergency debate in the House of Commons that "Assad's conquest of Aleppo will not mark the end of the war".

"The victory will turn to ashes in his mouth because even if he reimposes his rule over the rubble of that city, about two thirds of Syria will remain outside his control," he said.

There were "millions of Syrians viscerally hostile to the rule of a tyrant who has the blood of hundreds of thousands on his hands", he told MPs.

Johnson urged Russia, which has backed the advance of Syrian government forces with air strikes, and Iran, which provides both financial and military support to Assad's regime, to "do the right thing".

They should "abandon their puppet and go forward with a peaceful and political solution", he said.

He added: "It's up to them, it's up to the Russians, it's up to Iran -- they have the future of Syria in their hands."

Assad's forces look set to overrun the last pocket of rebel territory in east Aleppo, dealing the biggest blow to opposition fighters in more than five years of civil war.

But the cost of the victory sparked international alarm, after the UN said it had credible reports of pro-government forces in the city executing dozens of civilians.

May's spokeswoman said the reports were "extremely concerning", adding: "Our first priority has absolutely got to be to get aid to those whose lives are in danger.

"More broadly we continue to work with partners to look at what steps we can take to make sure people are held to account for their actions there."

Britain will press fellow European Union (EU) leaders at a summit on Thursday to secure a "strong, clear statement" on the need for humanitarian access and a ceasefire in Aleppo, she added.
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's small right-wing Reformist Bloc on Tuesday launched an against-the-odds bid to form a new government and avert a snap parliamentary election, despite controlling less than 10 percent of the seats in parliament. An early election looks increasingly likely after Russia-friendly candidate Rumen Radev, backed by the opposition Socialists, won last month's presidential election, prompting centre-right prime minister Boiko Borisov to resign. The political direction of the NATO and EU member state is of interest to both the West and Moscow, which is keen to win friends and influence in the region as it presses for relief from international sanctions over its annexation of Crimea. The Reformists, junior partner in Borisov's government, accepted a presidential mandate on Tuesday to try to form a new administration after Borisov's GERB and the Socialists both refused, in anticipation of an election next spring. The bloc, with just 22 seats in the 240-member parliament, said it would try to convince Borisov, whose party has 84, to support it. "We think we can move forward with our partners from GERB. We do not think that the next parliament will be better, or the formation of a government easier," Reformist Bloc official Rumen Hristov told reporters. Analysts say a Reformist-led government is highly unlikely, and the move is most likely aimed at winning more time for the outgoing cabinet. "It is absurd to cling to power in this situation," said Parvan Simeonov, an analyst with Gallup International in Sofia. "Perhaps they are trying to win some time but actually they are losing their future. Chances of forming a government are very slim." The Reformists now have seven days to form a government or return the mandate to the president, who will have to appoint an interim government if their attempt fails. In that scenario, President-elect Radev, who takes office on Jan. 22, is expected to bring forward the next election, scheduled for 2018, and call a vote for March or April. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
The Burmese army has burned down more than 1,500 homes and other buildings in a systematic pattern of destruction targeting the countrys stateless Rohingya Muslims, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In a statement released Tuesday, the watchdog said it had collected satellite images and interviews with refugees that directly implicate the army, which has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing and instead blamed suspected Rohingya jihadists, claiming that they have been torching their own communities.

The Burma government and militarys barrage of unsubstantiated claims that the Rohingya are burning down their own villages have now finally been exposed as the fraud that we suspected all along, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for HRW, tells TIME.

Rather than continue this game of denials, the Burmese government should allow access to urgently needed humanitarian assistance, and permit U.N. investigators and the media into these areas to investigate how this human rights disaster has come about, and who needs to be held responsible, he adds.

The accusation is the latest of mounting claims that the Burmese army has carried out a disproportionate response to a deadly attack on security forces attributed to Muslim insurgents.

The Oct. 9 attack on three border security posts by a group of Rohingya militants who call themselves Harakah al-Yaqin triggered a military lockdown on the northern part of Arakan state, also called Rakhine, which lies along Burmas western border near Bangladesh. Humanitarian aid has been suspended in the area and journalists have been barred as the Burmese army carries out what it calls clearance operations.

An estimated 21,000 civilians have since fled across the border into Bangladesh, where they have sought shelter in severely under-resourced refugee camps. Those who fled tell harrowing stories of being terrorized by the armed forces; one Rohingya woman told TIME that she watched her son being thrown into a fire and burned alive.

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The U.N.s human rights envoy for Burma, Yanghee Lee, has warned that evidence indicates the actions of Burmese security forces are getting very close to what we would all agree are crimes against humanity.

HRW says its collection of pictures and testimony reveal four new developments: the number of buildings destroyed is higher than previously thought at more than 1,500; the timing and locations of the alleged incidents of arson point to a path taken by troops as they advanced west across the area; the timing and nature of the arson attacks suggest that they were carried out as reprisal; and some of the images show Burmese troops present at the site of at least one major fire.

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority numbering about 1.1 million, and are viewed as one of the worlds most persecuted peoples. They have seen their rights erode rapidly since communal riots in 2012 displaced more than 100,000 and ushered in a state of religious apartheid. Tens of thousands have fled to neighboring countries; those who remained are largely denied freedom of movement and access to basic services.

The crisis on Burmas western border has put pressure on Burmas de facto leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was swept to power by a landslide election win last year. Her party, the National League for Democracy, took power in April, the countrys first civilian government following nearly six decades of military dictatorship.

Suu Kyis failure to rein in the armed forces as they carried out counterterrorism operations in Arakan state has led some to question how much authority she actually has.
Connie Young knew her unlicensed reflexology practice was illegal, but she didn't think the law was being enforced.

Over 12 years, Young steadily but quietly grew her list of clients, some of them people with chronic pain or depression who sought relief through targeted pressure on their hands and feet.

Then, in October, she received a cease-and-desist letter from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, saying she could face a felony charge if she didn't shut down her home business.

"We can charge you with a felony for working with people's feet and hands," she said Tuesday. "That just seemed crazy."

So she put her house on the market, temporarily moved her business to Council Bluffs and made plans to move back to her home state of Indiana early next year.

The Omaha-based Platte Institute for Economic Research says onerous state licensure requirements are making it too difficult for many Nebraskans to start businesses or find jobs that pay well.

Nearly 200 occupations here require some form of government license under state law, according to the Platte Institute.

The free-market think tank says it is working with Gov. Pete Ricketts' office to review those laws.

It plans to back proposals in the Legislature next year to reduce the criteria for getting certain licenses, allow license holders from other states to more easily practice in Nebraska and eliminate other license requirements entirely.

"We're not looking at getting rid of all licensing, but we're looking at how can we make Nebraska competitive but still make sure that we're ensuring safety and health of the public," said state Sen. Nicole Fox of Omaha.

Fox, who sponsored a bill last year to exempt hair braiding from the state's licensing requirement, will join the Platte Institute as a lobbyist in January when her term expires.

Jim Vokal, the Platte Institute's CEO, said occupational licensing affects one in four U.S. workers and called it "the biggest labor force issue in our country today."

In many cases, Nebraska's standards exceed those in other states.

For example, Young said she is required to have a massage license here but not in Iowa or Indiana.

Not all of Nebraska's licensing requirements are written in state law: Some are set by independent boards and commissions tasked with regulating various industries, and others are adopted at the local level.

Luke French, owner of Tower Hall Banquet Facility in Malcolm, said he spent about $1,000 to license a food truck in Lincoln, only to be told he couldn't park it downtown, where he expected to get most of his business.

"So we ended up selling the truck to a guy down in Missouri who's doing real well down there," French said.
If you're meeting with an insurance agent or buying insurance on a website, you could spend all day purchasing policies. That is, beyond the basics, there's almost a never-ending array of extra coverage you can get.

Ned Ryerson, the fictional insurance agent, demonstrated that in a scene from the movie "Groundhog Day" when he raved about a sale he finally made with Bill Murray's character: "I have not seen this guy for 20 years. He comes up to me and he buys whole life, term, uniflex, fire, theft, auto, dental, health, with the optional death and dismemberment plan, water damage ..."

But, naturally, not every insurance extra is necessarily as great a deal as your insurance agent or company would have you believe. If you want some good coverage without spending every last nickel you have, this is what most experts would tell you to get -- and what you can skip.

[See: What It Costs to Outsource Your Most Dreaded Tasks.]

Auto Insurance Extras

What to skip. Just about everything, as long as you have comprehensive and collision coverage. Many features sound attractive until you do the math. Such as these ...

Accident forgiveness. You crash your car, and your premiums won't go up. What's not to love? "The catch is that you have to pay extra for this -- sort of like an insurance policy for your insurance policy," says Neil Richardson, who isn't a fan of accident forgiveness, is based out of Austin, Texas, and is a licensed agent with The Zebra, an online car insurance comparison marketplace.

Vanishing deductibles. Every year, your deductible decreases by about $100 per year when you are accident-free. When you pay for the feature (as most, if not all, insurers will have you do) you usually pay more than $100 a year, according to Richardson. So if you have to pay $500 or higher to remove a $500 deductible ... well, you can see the problem.

"You'd be better served by putting aside an extra $100 per year than paying more for it on your insurance policy," Richardson says.

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Towing and roadside assistance. If you can forgo paying it and use a service like AAA (American Automobile Association), you'll be better off, says Amy Danise, the insurance expert at the personal finance site NerdWallet.com. She points out that every time you use your insurance company to tow your car, it's a claim that goes on your record.

"While a couple of towing claims are not likely to lead to a rate increase, a string of claims could signal that you're a risky driver and lead to a rate increase at renewal time," she says.

[See: How to Live on $13,000 a Year.]

What to get. New car replacement. Actually, for most car owners, you can skip this, too, but for some car owners, it might be worth the added expense, if you have a ridiculously expensive car. Richardson points out that to use a new car replacement add-on, you have to be the original owner, so if you own a used car, it's a feature unavailable to you, and if your car is seriously damaged, but not totaled, you won't get your car replaced.

Homeowners Insurance Extras

What to skip. Richardson says that companies have begun offering add-ons that don't provide much benefit to consumers.

"Accidental damage, defamation of character and identity theft protection are offered by many companies in exchange for extra premium, but are seldom necessary," he says. "It's fairly easy to explain the benefit those coverage options provide, but the odds of actually utilizing those add-ons are slim for most people. Stick to what is necessary and determine your own specific needs before deciding to fork over extra money to your insurance company."

What to get. Really, you can probably justify about anything, given that this is your most valuable asset and one you spend a lot of time with. In other words, it's a judgment call.

"The key to add-ons with home insurance is understanding where your current policy's coverage ends," Danise says. "For example, the sewer pipe from the street to your home is typically not covered by home insurance. If it becomes backed up, it's your responsibility. If you don't want to potentially be saddled with that large repair and cleanup bill, consider adding sewer backup coverage."

Generally, most sewer backup add-ons increase a typical policy by about $50 to $100, according to industry experts.

[See: Dear Younger Me: 12 Financial Truths We Wish We Knew Earlier.]

Life Insurance Extras

What to skip. Insuring your children. "Some agents will try to sell an add-on of life insurance on the kids that will cover the kids up to a designated amount of usually $5,000 to $25,000 in the event they die," says Derek Benavides, an agent and branch owner of TWFG-Benavides Insurance in Brownsville, Texas.

Why? Benavides makes the point that many insurance experts make. Your kids probably aren't contributing anything meaningful to your household income, he says, and that's the point of life insurance, to replace a family's income if something happens to one of the revenue earners.

If you're worried about something happening to your kids and not having the money for a funeral, Benavides says he understands and wouldn't try and talk you out of it, but he would point out that the odds of something happening to a minor are generally slim, and if you're that concerned, you'd still be better off socking away the funeral money into a savings account.

What to get. Danise feels that there are two add-ons you'll want to look at.

Accelerated death benefit. You can access the death benefit while you're still alive, if you become terminally ill, Danise says.

"This can be a crucial safety net for paying medical bills," she says, adding that it's worth asking about. You may be able to add it for no charge or a low cost.

Critical illness rider. "A critical illness rider lets you tap into your policy's death benefit if you develop a severe condition, such as cancer or a stroke," Danise says. "The money can be used for anything -- living expenses, medical bills or anything else. This rider is best for people who wouldn't be able to pay basic expenses if they developed a severe condition."

It isn't a bad idea. Every year, over 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 130,000 people die from one. So if you can buy a critical illness rider, it may be worth it -- provided you can get one without a jaw-dropping price.
Carly Fiorina speaks with the media after meeting with Trump on Dec. 12, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering his former rival Carly Fiorina for the role of director of national intelligence.

When she was running against Trump for the Republican nomination, Fiorina often alluded to her experience as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). Now that shes being considered for a top role in the Trump administration, its worth looking into her tenure at HP  then the 11th biggest company in the US.

In the past, Fiorina has pointed out that she achieved doubled revenues during her time at the company and used her HP experience to attack Hillary Clinton, saying, Im very proud of our record. We went from a market laggard to market leader. Unlike Hillary, I have actually accomplished something.

How exactly does Carly Fiorinas tenure at HPwhere she was CEO from July 1999 until she was fired in February 2005stack up? Its true that HP was flagging when Fiorina came on board. And you can find a few Carly defenders out there: Bob Knowling, who was on HPs board of directors during Fiorinas tenure, told CNN last year that, Contrary to what has been written in terms of a lot of negative things, she did what she was hired to do and that was to lead a transformation.

Another person close to the company says: She certainly does not deserve all the blame, there is plenty to go around, and you could argue that no one could have saved HP from its decline from a once great company.

Much more frequently though, the informed commentary is less flattering: She was polarizing [and] disenfranchising, a top HP executive, who joined the company immediately after Fiorina left, told Yahoo Finance last year.

She was a value destruction machine with near zero cultural sensitivity, says a top tech CEO. Carly self excused the barrage of criticism by saying it all came with her necessary role as a change agent. I guess history doesnt welcome all saviors. The [Silicon] Valley opinion was universally and viscerally negative. I literally dont know a single person who thinks she was great and unfairly treated.

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HP track record

Fiorina has her picture taken with singer Gwen Stefani at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 7, 2005. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Fiorina, 62, did try to restructure HP and execute a mega-merger with Compaq, which set off a bloody proxy fight, pitting her against Walter Hewlett, son of company co-founder Bill Hewlett. She ended up laying off thousands of employees and tried to push the companys staid culture forward into the internet era. Its neither surprising nor conclusive that a woman CEO in those circumstances would be targeted with unattributed, qualitative criticism.

The best way to judge Fiorinas tenure then, and by extension, her potential to direct national intelligence for the US, is to simply take a dispassionate look at the numbers. It comes down to a version of the old Ronald Reagan question: Was HP better off after Carly left than when she arrived? The answer is no.

The signature saga of Fiorinas time at HP was the tortuous purchase of rival PC maker Compaq carried out in May of 2002. Thats what set off the bitter proxy battle with Walter Hewlett, which Fiorina ultimately won. The crux of the Compaq deal (spelled out in great detail in an award-winning Fortune Magazine 2005 cover story Why Carlys Big Bet is Failing written by Carol Loomis) is that HP issued 1.1 billion shares of stock to Compaq shareholders, which were added to HPs existing 1.9 billion shares, meaning that HP sold 37% of its assets to Compaq shareholders.

The crown jewel of HP has long been its high-margin printer business. To follow that math, before the merger the old HP shareholders owned 100% of that business. After the merger they owned 63%. Meanwhile, by buying Compaq, HP was essentially doubling down on PCs, a much lower margin business. Why would HP want to do that? Fiorina said at the time that HP needed scale in PCs, servers and storage.

After the 2002 merger the companys results suffered. Yes, Fiorina did double HPs revenues by buying Compaq, but at what cost? Lets take a look at the numbers. In 1999 when she arrived at the company, HP had $42 billion in sales and $3.1 billion in net earnings. When she left in 2005, HP had $87 billion in sales but only $2.4 billion in earnings.

In subsequent years HP would become more profitableto a large degree due to cost cutting by her successor as CEO, Mark Hurdbut the company would never become the moneymaking juggernaut Fiorina promised. Why is that? To a large degree its because HP basically traded a slice of its high-margin printer business for a larger share of the lower-margin PC business. For example, in 2004, after the merger and before Fiorina left the company, HPs printer business produced $24 billion in sales and $3.8 billion in profits, while PCs produced $25 billion in sales, but only $210 million in profits.

Betting on PCs

Mark Hurd peaks at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Pasadena, California July 24, 2009. REUTERS/Fred Prouse

This decision to accentuate the PC business dogs HP to this day. Yes, its market share in PCs leaped from 6% to 13% after the merger (according to Gartner data), and is up to 19% today, but the PC business is as bereft of profits as ever and even worse, over the past several years has been declining as customers switch to tablets and smartphones. (HP still has about a 40% share of the worldwide printer marketroughly where it was when Fiorina leftbut again that business is now a much smaller piece of the overall company.) Flash forward to last year, when HP had $111 billion in sales and $5 billion in net income. So 16 years after Fiorina became CEO, HPs sales grew by 164%, while earnings climbed only 61%.

And what about the ultimate measure of a companys performance, the stock price? Initially during Fiorinas run, the stock paced ahead of the market, but shares soon fell sharply and stayed down until she was dismissed. The bottom line is that HPs stock declined some 50% during Fiorinas tenure while the overall market, as measured by the S&P 500, fell 7% (according to FactSet cumulative return data).

And how about HPs cohort? How did they perform in that time frame? The answer is not as badly or much better. IBM (IBM) was off 27%, while archrival Dell was roughly flat. HPs chief printer competitor, Lexmark was up 30%. Apple (AAPL), well into the Steve Jobs renaissancehe came back to the company in July of 1997, exactly two years before Fiorina arrived at HPsaw its stock triple in those five-and-a-half years. HPs stock did have one decidedly strong spurt in the Carly era, soaring 6.9% the day after she was terminated.

Its true that other top executives in HPs recent history have had their own problems. The company appears to be snake bit in the leadership department. Subsequent to Fiorinas tenure, HPs then-chairman, the late Patricia Dunn, was implicated in a scandal where reporters were spied on. The aforementioned Mark Hurd was forced out after the HP board investigated him for expense report irregularities and sexual harassment charges by an HP contractor. (In Hurds case, HPs stock fell sharply the day he was ousted.)

Hurds successor, Leo Apotheker, lasted 10 months before he too was pushed aside after an ill-fated acquisition of British software company Autonomy for $11 billion. HP had to take an $8.8 billion charge related to accounting issues at the company. As for Meg Whitman who came on board in September of 2011, HPs stock underperformed the market during her tenure.

In November 2015, HP completed a spin-off of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., which focuses on providing information technology to businesses. Whitman is now CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Australian-born businessman Dion Weisler is CEO of HP Inc. (They have separate ticker symbols, HPQ for Hewlett Packard Inc., and HPE for Hewlett Packard Enterprise.)

If Trump does tap Fiorina as director of national intelligence, she would not be the only business leader to assume a foreign policy position in his administration. Just Tuesday, Trump nominated ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state. Indeed, Fiorina may even be qualified to direct Americas national intelligence, but not based on her time running HP.

Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance, and Tae Kim is an investing journalist at CNBC.

An earlier version of this article ran in April 2015.
PARIS (Reuters) - Carrefour (CARR.PA) has started searching for a successor to its chairman and chief executive Georges Plassat, whose mandate at the helm of Europe's largest retailer expires in May 2018, sources said on Tuesday.

Since taking over as CEO in 2012 Plassat has led a recovery at Carrefour, focussing on price cuts and accelerating expansion into convenience stores and renovating stores to boost growth.

Plassat, 67, won a second three-year mandate in June 2015. Earlier that same year he underwent surgery and named Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon and Secretary General Jerome Bedier as deputy CEOs to assist him.

At the May 2016 AGM Plassat said he was going to prepare his succession.

"In October Georges Plassat asked the board to start the process," a source close to Carrefour told Reuters.

Executive search firm Egon Zehnder cabinet has been mandated to select potential candidates.

"No specific scenario has been retained at this stage, the process has simply been launched," the same source added. The issue of whether the group will eventually split the CEO and chairman roles has also yet to be decided.

Plassat is said to favour keeping the same governance structure and recruiting a successor within the French retailer's ranks.

The group's top shareholders, which notably include two famous retail families, however want to keep all options open for the search.

"It is normal that the big shareholders also look elsewhere. The process is taking place in good terms with the CEO, even if the views may diverge", said one source close to the big shareholders.

The Moulin family, owner of French department store Galeries Lafayette, is Carrefour's top shareholder with a 11.51 percent stake, followed by Groupe Arnault with a 8.95 percent stake.

The family of Brazilian retail tycoon Abilio Diniz, has a 8.05 percent stake and private equity firm Colony Capital 5.23 percent.

Another source close to the matter denied recent media reports that Galeries Lafayette Chairman Philippe Houze could be eying Carrefour's chairmanship.

"Philippe Houze absolutely does not target the board chairmanship. It's totally false," the source said.

(Reporting by Pascale Denis, Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Mathieu Rosemain)
Donald Trump misstating the amount of jobs Carrier was keeping. Around 550 workers will be laid off. Source: Getty Images

After taking credit for giving 1,100 jobs at Carrier a stay of execution, President-elect Donald Trump was called out for fudging the numbers by United Steelworkers Local 1999 President Chuck Jones in a Washington Post op-ed last week.

Im tired of being lied to, Jones wrote after the president-elect ripped him on Twitter. Trump let people believe that they were going to have a livelihood in that facility When I told our members the next day, they were devastated.

Sure enough, 550 Carrier workers were still to be laid off.

As Jones told Yahoo Finance by phone, Ninety-some-odd percent of the folks that work at Carrier are assembly line workers. Theyre gonna have to be retrained if possible to other skill sets.

At Carrier, however, that might actually be possible. In a letter to employees, management told employees that the company would provide four years of its Employee Scholar Program to those who would be laid off.

In the letter, the line almost seemed an afterthought, easily overlooked by someone unfamiliar with the program. But it probably shouldnt be. The program offers four full years of education, books, and a few hours of paid study time every week, things that open up the possibility of a better ending for all: A worker employed for a more modern economy.

Carriers parent company has a history of this. United Technologies (UTX) is celebrating the 20th year of its Employee Scholar Program. When it launched in 1995, then-CEO George David enumerated his concerns with both globalization and modernization to the National Press Club.

There are about 120 million Americans working today, David said at the time. As many as 30 million of these will be at risk: 18 million people in administrative support jobs prone to automation, 10 million in manufacturing jobs susceptible to foreign competition, and 2 million in additional white-collar jobs that medium and large companies like ours, under the pressure of competition, will learn to live without.

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Davids words, foreseeing contemporary anxiety over automation, were a call to educatea call to retrain. We cannot guarantee anyone a job, but we are nonetheless obliged to provide employees reasonable opportunities to re-establish themselves, ideally on more favorable conditions, in the event of job loss.

Back then, around 4,500 people at United Technologies workforce took advantage of the program, a number that is now over 7,000. And in those 20 years, over 38,000 degrees from accredited institutions have been conferredsome as far ranging as in the culinary arts (the student later opened a bakery), pilots licenses, engineering bachelors, and MBAs.

Total participation today isnt particularly high; United Technologies employs almost 200,000 people, but they have been pushing it hardespecially now, according to USW Local 1999 leadership member TJ Bray, who says lots of people in Indianapolis have been taking advantage.

Jose Garcia, an employee of United Technologies subsidiary Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut who is currently pursuing an MBA after getting a bachelors through the program, agrees. Even though it costs the company money, theyre telling us, go for it, he told Yahoo Finance. Without the program, Garcia says he would have been in serious debt from having to pay for his degrees all on his own. For other less-motivated employees, many likely would have not bothered with more schooling without the free tuition, books, and subsidized study time.

Retraining and tuition reimbursement programs like United Technologies are relatively common for large public manufacturing companies, but few offer the no-strings approach. Lockheed Martin, for example, has a similar tuition reimbursement program but requires the education to be related to its business. Boeings Learning Together Program pays tuition in a related field (but not books).

Such programs, though, are not available to everyone because not everyone works at a massive company (United Technologies took in $56.1 billion in 2015 and is 45th on the list of Fortune 500 companies).

At the National Press Club, David spoke of the governments role in taking on responsibility of educating and retraining the workforcemodernizing it with new skills for new economies. We happily subsidize home ownership via interest deductions, and have since the beginning of income taxation in 1913, in the belief that this promotes a stable and civil society, he said. Why cant we even more reasonably subsidize higher education in the belief that it promotes a better and more competitive society?

For its part, the Obama administration has recognized these challenges, stressing targeted job training and community college programs. In 2014, the White House finished doling out a $2 billion workforce development fund, which focused on community college education.

Its a question thats likely to echo louder and louder in the coming yearsor monthsand not everyone has access to free training. For United Technologies employees at Carrier, many of them are now motivated to take advantage of the scholar program, even if theyve kept their job. [Its] something in your back pocket in case something happens again, says Bray, who adds that the uncertainty is still there among the workforce. As much as were happy jobs are staying, a lot of us dont know how much trust to put in Carrier.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumerism, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann.

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AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AP)  U.S. airstrikes killed three key leaders of the Islamic State group in Syria, including two involved in last year's attacks in Paris, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday.

He announced the killings during an address to U.S. airmen at a military base in Italy.

"I can confirm today we took out three of ISIL's key leaders in the last couple of weeks by one strike. These were guys linked to plots right here in Europe ... for example with the Paris attacks," Carter said, referring to the November 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

Carter's spokesman, Peter Cook, said later that the three were killed in an airstrike Dec. 4 in Raqqa.

Cook said the two involved in the Paris attacks, Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, were close associates of Islamic State external operations leader Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who was killed in August.

He said the third person, Walid Hamman, had been convicted in absentia in Belgium for a disrupted 2015 planned attack.

Coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have been taking out an increasing number of Islamic State leaders in recent months, aided by improved intelligence gathering from forces on the ground and from troves of information collected as IS has been driven out of neighborhoods.

Asked at a news conference later about the Islamic State's ability to quickly replace leaders and operatives who are killed in U.S. airstrikes, Carter said his announcement Tuesday was a reminder that U.S. counter-IS operations are aimed at protecting the American homeland.

"We remained focused on, and are consistently operating against, those who intend to conduct attacks upon the United States," he said. "That's an important priority. That is the priority the president gives us."

Carter also said that with the elimination of the final pocket of IS resistance in the Libyan city of Sirte, the U.S. has "concluded" its support to the Government of National Accord in its lengthy effort to regain control of that coastal city.

"That doesn't eliminate ISIL from Libya," he said, using an alternative acronym for the militant organization. "Sirte was their most important single nest and stronghold in Libya, but as it appears other places, we are prepared to take action."
Photo credit: undefined

From Town & Country

You are comfortably within the minority of well-informed Americans if you've ever heard of Charles R. Forbes. He and the nation would have been much better off had he never risen to any memorable prominence. The unfortunate serendipity of events bordering on farce that mark his unlikely rise and rapid fall are now resurrected for us by Rosemary Stevens in her new book, A Time of Scandal: Charles R. Forbes, Warren G. Harding, and the Making of the Veterans Bureau. Anyone with an appreciation of the absurd will thank her for it.

Charles Forbes was the least prominent of the troika of disgraced high-ranking officials in the brief but criminally eventful administration of President Harding. Forbes, the founding director of the Department of Veterans, was convicted of and imprisoned for receiving kickbacks from contractors in connection with the construction of veterans' hospitals. (The other two more prominent crooks were Albert Fall, Secretary of the Interior, and Harry Daugherty, Attorney General, of Teapot Dome scandal infamy.)

Charles Forbes was the least prominent of the troika of disgraced high-ranking officials in the brief but criminally eventful administration of President Harding.

Ms. Stevens would have us reconsider Forbes, suggesting that his accusers may have perjured themselves and that the historical record of his performance of his official duties may have been misrepresented by rivals. Ms. Stevens presents Forbes as far more textured and complicated than his cartoon-like portrayal in the heretofore available accounts of him.

Ms. Stevens readily admits that her subject was far from perfect, with many bad qualities as well as good. In rapid succession she describes him as "loud, sexual (imbued with animal vitality), coarse, free-spending, heavy-drinking (during Prohibition) . . . back-slapping, rough, poker playing, picaresque . . . a good time Charlie". (I must confess that after reading this I was curious as to what his bad qualities were.)

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We are also told of his abandoned first wife and children, his desertion from the army and his habitual lying and embellishment of nearly every credential and accomplishment. A chance meeting of the 37 year-old Forbes and a vacationing newly-elected U.S. Senator Warren Harding in Hawaii in 1915 would change the life course of the civil engineer working for the Pearl Harbor Commission. The two men and their wives began a close friendship that would last until nearly the end of the future president's life.

Photo credit: undefined

After reenlisting in the army and serving, honorably this time in the Great War, Forbes settled in Spokane, Washington, working as a construction engineer. When Harding announced his candidacy for the presidency in 1920, Forbes joined the campaign. When Harding won, he rewarded his friend with an appropriate patronage position, director of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. When, five months into his administration, Congress created the Veterans Bureau, Harding, for reasons Stevens and no one else can explain beyond cronyism, appointed Forbes to head the high profile, politically sensitive agency.

Under the most tactful administrator, the decisions Forbes confronted to care for and train wounded and unemployed veterans would have inevitably sparked controversy. Forbes was not the most tactful administrator. He almost immediately crossed swords with President Harding's most trusted advisor on health care issues, Major General Charles E. Sawyer, the White House physician and friend from Marion, Ohio.

He then brought into his orbit a con man and swindler named Elias Mortimer, who was either Forbes' wife-beating bag man for the bribes from the contractors or his cuckold bent on perjurious revenge. Perhaps he was both. In any event, Mortimer ended up the star witness in the successful prosecution of Forbes in the turbulent months following Forbes' resignation and Harding's death, and his estranged wife became the third Mrs. Forbes.

Forbes served a year-long stint in Leavenworth, and then, with the exception of a single penned newspaper editorial defending the deceased president in the New York World Telegram, led a quiet life of disgrace. In those days, prison for white collar inmates had not yet become a training ground for post-parole careers in prisoners' rights advocacy, born-again motivational speaking, or 12-step entrepreneurism. His death from cancer in 1952 attracted scant public notice.

This is a cautionary tale for those tempted to overvalue loyalty and friendship when choosing occupants for high office.

The question posed and unanswered by Ms. Stevens-whether Forbes was a thief or a fool- conclusively settles the question as to whether he had any business heading a powerful and unwieldy federal bureaucracy. Equally settled is President Harding's unfitness for the office which gave him the authority to appoint men who were either thieves or fools to such positions of responsibility. A Time of Scandal leaves the reader less interested in the guilt or innocence of Forbes than repulsed by the entire messy drama of his life and by the companion mess and drama of the abbreviated Harding administration.

While her book was completed before the results of the latest national election, a reviewer of it feels the magnetic attraction to find parallels to the election and that of 1920 and the respective winners. This is best resisted (as would be most of the strained Trump analogies we are unspared of at the moment, from the Hitlerian to the Baldwinian).

Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump have little apparent in common; whereas Harding and his opponent, James Cox, had a great deal superficially in common. Both were strikingly handsome successful newspaperman turned successful politicians, and both were Ohioans. While only time will tell what Hilary will do with the time she has left and the Clinton Foundation thereafter, James Cox went on to build Cox Enterprises, a longest lasting and hugely valuable American media conglomerate, and was paterfamilias to three generations and counting of scandal free executives, diplomats and philanthropists.

His running mate, one Franklin Delano Roosevelt, landed on his feet as well, being elected President of the United States four times in his own right. (These are impossibly tall hills for post-election Clinton-Kaine to climb.) And it is surely premature to compare the president-elect to perhaps our worst and definitely our most corrupt president.

A Time of Scandal is a cautionary tale for those tempted to overvalue loyalty and friendship when choosing occupants for high office. For that reason alone, it ought to be on every transition team's reading list.

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BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese soldiers laid wreaths on Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the 1937 massacre of civilians in the Chinese city of Nanjing by Japanese troops. The televised event at the Nanjing Massacre memorial recalls an incident in which China says Japanese soldiers killed 300,000 people in the city that was then its capital. A postwar Allied tribunal put the toll at 142,000, but some conservative Japanese politicians and scholars deny a massacre took place at all. The massacre could never be denied, however, said Zhao Leji, a member of China's Politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party, in a speech transmitted live by state broadcaster CCTV. "All hideous activities that attempt to change history, deny the violent activities and reverse the verdict of starting the aggression war will be criticized and spurned by Chinese people and anyone who loves peace and justice in the world," he said. Television images showed government officials, war veterans and school children singing the Chinese national anthem. Doves were released and flew overhead as a giant bell tolled to end the ceremony. Ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have been roiled by a territorial dispute over a group of tiny East China Sea islets and the legacy of Japan's wartime aggression. In October, Japan withheld its 2016 funding for UNESCO, following the UN heritage body's decision last year to include documents about the Nanjing massacre in its "Memory of the World" program. UNESCO set up the program in 1992 to protect important historical documents and materials. Last year, Japan raised questions about the authenticity of the Nanjing Massacre documents submitted by Chinese bodies for inclusion in the program and urged fairness and transparency, prompting an angry retort from China. (Corrects paragraph 4 description of Politburo) (Writing by Teppei Kasai Editing by Darren Schuettler and Clarence Fernandez)
Johnny Depp and Mel Gibson are among the Hollywood celebrities expected to turn up at Chinas Huading Awards, which land in Los Angeles this week.

The ceremony to be held at the Ace Hotel in Downtown L.A. on Thursday (Dec. 15) will see prizes presented in 11 categories. These include best global picture, best global newcomer and best global action choreography.

The awards were set up by the Tianxia Yingcai Cultural Media company and are held more frequently than traditional annual events. This weeks event is the 21st Huading Awards since they were established in 2007. It is the second time that the awards have taken place in Hollywoods home town, after a previous visit in 2014.

Los Angeles is where film culture originated from. So being here helps us to build the authority of the Huading Awards, said awards founder Wang Haige. And besides, it is good to return after two years.

The nominations are selected by a jury. The award winners are voted for by Chinese audiences voting online through the Huading website and major third party platforms such as Sina.com.

As such, they appear to reflect a Chinese view of western stardom. Matt Damon  who soon appears in upcoming Chinese-U.S. co-production The Great Wall  is nominated for The Martian. The 2015 film, which portrays Chinese scientists helping to save the American astronauts and which secured finance from Chinas Bona Film Group, receives nominations in five categories.

Other Western celebrities tipped to attend include Wiz Khalifa, Sylvester Stallone, Bryce Dallas Howard and Hilary Swank.

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As the worlds collective stomach churns at the horrors surrounding the Syrian city of Aleppo and the Middle Eastern nations seemingly ceaseless civil mark, much of the attention has centered around two of the worlds superpowers with troops on the ground and fighter planes in the air: the U.S. and Russia.

However, as Russia and the U.S. continue jockeying for positions of power in war-torn Syria, the worlds other superpower, China, has spent much of this year pushing for negotiations that would help embattled President Bashar Assad. And in the last week, China has showed it stands with Russia and not the U.S. in its support of Assads government.

Most recently, China reaffirmed its hope to aid in humanitarian operations in Aleppo, Russian state-run site Sputnik International reported Monday. Chinas special envoy to Syria, Xie Xiaoyan, reportedly visited Damascus, Syrias capital, to speak with officials from both the Syrian government and its opposition in the civil war. He sat down with Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Walid al-Muallem and others to discuss Chinas role going forward.

China also joined with Russia in vetoing a draft resolution presented at United Nations Security council last week that called for a seven-day cease-fire in Aleppo, BBC New reported. The resolution said the ceasefire would allow aid workers to reach trapped civilians and was backed by the 11 other members of the Security Council.

"China has expressed repeatedly that the issue can only be resolved through political settlement and that military means will lead nowhere," Special envoy to Syria Xie Xiaoyuan told reporters in Beijing in November. "We call on the United States and Russia to make efforts to resume their consultation on the cease-fire."

China, he added, could be a "widely valued and trusted" player in the peace deal.

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China is ready to give the Philippines weapons to help President Rodrigo Duterte wage his controversial war on drugs which has claimed over 5,000 lives, the Chinese ambassador to Manila said.

Beijing has previously said it supports Duterte's bloody crime war, which has been slammed by the United Nations and human rights watchdogs over alleged extrajudicial killings.

Beijing and Manila have experienced a rapprochement since Duterte's election in May, despite their conflicting territorial claims to the South China Sea.

Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, in remarks late Monday, confirmed China was ready to supply the Philippines with weapons.

"We're exploring the possibilities of providing arms, light arms," Zhao told reporters.

"Arms for fighting against terrorism, (for the) anti-drug campaign."

The ambassador said talks were still in the initial stages, adding there was no agreement on price or the specific type of weapons, though they would most likely be rifles.

Duterte, 71, won elections in a landslide on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals to fight narco-politics in the Philippines. Since he took office the crackdown has claimed over 5,000 lives.

The firebrand leader has also distanced the Philippines from longtime ally Washington, announcing his country's "separation" from the United States on a visit to the Chinese capital in October.

The Chinese ambassador noted bilateral relations were "good" and were "going to be better" still, "because your president paid a very fruitful and historic state visit to China".

Duterte has also hit out at US President Barack Obama and the State Department for criticism of his drug war.

However, according to Manila, incoming US leader Donald Trump has taken a different tact from Obama, apparently praising the crackdown when he spoke to Duterte by phone this month.

On Sunday, Duterte said China was ready to supply the Philippines with arms under generous terms.

"It is a grant payable in 25 years so it is practically giving," Duterte said in a speech.

He recently cancelled an order of about 27,000 assault rifles from the US after media reports that human rights concerns over his crime war would affect the delivery of the weapons.
Smeal Fire Apparatus Co., which has been based in the small northeast Nebraska town of Snyder for more than half a century, has been sold.

Spartan Motors Inc., a publicly traded manufacturer of specialty vehicles and parts, said Tuesday it has agreed to purchase the company for more than $36 million. The deal is expected to close next month.

Charlotte, Michigan-based Spartan said in a news release that Smeal has been a customer for more than 30 years, and this acquisition will take their relationship to the next level.

We look forward to adding Smeals industry-leading product portfolio and manufacturing expertise to Spartans, while expanding on a decades-long successful partnership, said Daryl Adams, president and chief executive officer of Spartan Motors.

Smeal employs around 300 people in Snyder -- about as many people who live in the town. It also has a smaller plant in Neligh and ones in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The sale announcement said Spartan management was on site and speaking with Smeal employees Tuesday, but it did not say whether there will be any consolidation or job cuts, and company officials were not available for comment.

Spartan said Smeal will become part of its Emergency Response business unit, and the acquisition will make the division one of the four largest fire apparatus manufacturers in North America.

Smeal, which has customers all over the U.S. and Canada, including Lincoln Fire & Rescue, is expected to surpass $100 million in revenue this year.

Spartan, which also makes delivery vans and trucks and provides chassis for buses and recreational vehicles, has 1,800 employees at plants in five states and two foreign countries. It had sales of $550 million in 2015.
Beijing (AFP) - China offered its sternest rebuke yet to Donald Trump, saying anyone who challenges Beijing's interests in Taiwan will "lift a rock only to crush his own toes".

"If he tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China's core interests, ultimately he will lift a rock only to crush his own toes," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said Monday in Switzerland according to comments posted on the ministry's web site.

China is closely monitoring developments, he said, issuing a warning against "any person or force in the world" looking to play tough with Beijing on Taiwan.

The comments come after Trump said he could jettison Washington's decades-old "One China policy" -- a diplomatic dodge allowing the US to simultaneously do business with Beijing and Taipei.

On Tuesday Chinese media sent another fusillade toward the "presumptuous and ill-guided" president-elect, slamming his approach to Taiwan as a recipe for disaster.

"Beijing should be prepared for the worst-case scenarios, particularly regarding Taiwan, as a presumptuous and ill-guided Trump looks set to usher in an era of turmoil," the state-run China Daily said in an editorial accompanied by a cartoon of the billionaire politician sitting on a powder keg.

"Trump's bloated and bloating ego may prevent him from seeing that is the likely outcome that lies ahead if he persists with this gamble."

China regards self-ruling Taiwan as part of its own territory awaiting reunification under Beijing's rule.

The nationalistic Global Times newspaper warned Trump in its editorial Tuesday that "pride goes before a fall", and said he had lost the "strategic initiative" by revealing his strategy of "blackmailing" China.

"Especially in the Taiwan Strait, China is now confident enough to arm-wrestle with Trump," it said.

Trump shocked the diplomatic establishment and angered Beijing by speaking directly with Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen after his election victory.

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After fierce criticism of the move, he upped the ante, taking to Twitter to ask why he should not be allowed to speak to Tsai, then attacking Chinese foreign and economic policy.

On Sunday, he went a step further, saying he did not see why Washington must "be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."

The remarks were a step too far for Beijing, which had initially seemed resigned to taking a wait-and-see approach to the president-elect.

Trump's comments also earned a rare rebuke from the White House, with spokesman Josh Earnest warning the president-elect that Taiwan is not a "bargaining chip".
From Popular Mechanics

According to various news outlets, China recently flew a "nuclear capable" bomber over the South China Sea. The flight outlined China's territorial claims in the region, the logic goes, and the fact that it was carried out with a bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons emphasized the seriousness of the matter.

Except it's not quite true. The bomber used in the overflight-the Xian H-6K-doesn't actually carry nuclear weapons.

The H-6K bomber is China's copy of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 "Badger" nuclear bomber. The Badger, as NATO nicknamed it, first appeared in the 1950s and was designed to fly to distant targets-including the continental United States and NATO countries-and drop nuclear free-fall bombs. It was later modified to target U.S. Navy aircraft carriers with anti-ship cruise missiles.

China started cranking out copies of the Badger in the late 1950s, but for the most part it relied on them as conventional bombers. According to arms control and Chinese nuclear weapons scholar Jeffrey Lewis, the People's Liberation Army converted exactly one H-6 to carry nuclear weapons for atmospheric nuclear tests. Furthermore, there are currently no nuclear aerial bombs in the China's nuclear stockpile. Slow and lumbering, the H-6K is equipped to carry out standoff attacks with DF-10 cruise missiles armed with high explosive warheads.

China's flight over the South China Sea was meant to reinforce its claim of the region, and according to The Independent it overflew the so-called "Nine Dash Line" that demarcates the ninety percent of the South China Sea it claims from the ten percent it doesn't.

The United States and other countries in the region do not accept the Nine Dash Line, and have conducted flights over the area to demonstrate they have the right to pass through. In November 2015, the United States flew a pair of B-52Hs through the South China Sea near China's artificial islands. Unlike the H-6K, the B-52H is capable of carrying both conventional weapons and nuclear-armed Air Launch Cruise Missiles.

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What does it matter whether the H-6 is nuclear capable or not? Both sides of this delicate dance-the Americans and Chinese-are doing these overflights as a form of "signaling" meant to show the other side they mean business. And what you send is a big part of the signal. Conventionally-armed bombers generally means readiness to fight a conventional war, as Lewis notes, while signaling with nuclear bombers signals readiness to fight something much, much worse. It's a warning for sure, but to jump straight to nukes might be ratcheting up the already heightening tensions a little faster than necessary.

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Chinese interest in a takeover of lighting group Osram Licht AG has cooled amid signs of mounting political opposition to Chinese acquisitions in Germany, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Sanan Optoelectronics and venture capital firm GSR Go Scale Capital Advisors have stopped pursuing a bid for the whole company, said the people, who declined to be named.

"Resistance from labour representatives and from politicians has left an impression on the Chinese," one of them said.

A spokesman for the German economics ministry declined to comment on what it described as business decisions by investors, saying the strategic direction of the company was up to Osram.

Osram declined to comment. Sanan and GSR Go Scale Capital Advisors could not immediately be reached for comment.

A Chinese takeover of Osram, which has a market capitalisation of about 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), had already run into opposition from the IG Metall trade union.

The sources said a takeover was also likely to face political obstacles following the blocking of the acquisition of German silicon chip manufacturing equipment maker Aixtron by Chinese buyers.

China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund withdrew its bid for Aixtron after the United States blocked the acquisition of its U.S. division on national security grounds and German authorities withdrew their approval.

The collapse of the Aixtron deal comes amid growing objections in Germany and the United States to China buying up firms with strategic technologies abroad without allowing reciprocal transactions at home.

Osram is shifting its focus from light bulbs to lighting technology, investing in chips for LED lights and making it a potential target for chipmakers such as Sanan.

Another source familiar with the matter said the Chinese buyers may settle for a stake of less than 25 percent in Osram.

"Chinese investors are warming to the idea of taking a minority stake in Osram as that would not draw scrutiny under German law," the person said, adding that the Chinese bidders may settle for a 17.5 percent stake owned by Siemens.

Story continues

But Osram also makes components such as LED chips and alloys that are considered dual-use goods, meaning they can be used for civilian and military purposes.

An investment in Osram by Chinese investors could potentially be examined by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), so a deal might need to be structured to exclude any sensitive technology.

Earlier this year Go Scale Capital was blocked from buying Lumileds, an LED components and car lighting business in the United States owned by Philips, following CFIUS opposition.

On Monday Philips agreed instead to sell Lumileds to U.S. private equity investor Apollo Global Management.

($1 = 0.9398 euros)

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Alexander Huebner and Jens Hack; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Editing by David Clarke, Greg Mahlich)
* Source cites resistance from unions and politicians

* Chinese warming to idea of taking minority stake - source

* Development comes after Chinese deal for Aixtron blocked (Adds ministry comment in paragraph 4)

FRANKFURT, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Chinese interest in a takeover of lighting group Osram Licht AG has cooled amid signs of mounting political opposition to Chinese acquisitions in Germany, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Sanan Optoelectronics and venture capital firm GSR Go Scale Capital Advisors have stopped pursuing a bid for the whole company, said the people, who declined to be named.

"Resistance from labour representatives and from politicians has left an impression on the Chinese," one of them said.

A spokesman for the German economics ministry declined to comment on what it described as business decisions by investors, saying the strategic direction of the company was up to Osram.

Osram declined to comment. Sanan and GSR Go Scale Capital Advisors could not immediately be reached for comment.

A Chinese takeover of Osram, which has a market capitalisation of about 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), had already run into opposition from the IG Metall trade union.

The sources said a takeover was also likely to face political obstacles following the blocking of the acquisition of German silicon chip manufacturing equipment maker Aixtron by Chinese buyers.

China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund withdrew its bid for Aixtron after the United States blocked the acquisition of its U.S. division on national security grounds and German authorities withdrew their approval.

The collapse of the Aixtron deal comes amid growing objections in Germany and the United States to China buying up firms with strategic technologies abroad without allowing reciprocal transactions at home.

Osram is shifting its focus from light bulbs to lighting technology, investing in chips for LED lights and making it a potential target for chipmakers such as Sanan.

Story continues

Another source familiar with the matter said the Chinese buyers may settle for a stake of less than 25 percent in Osram.

"Chinese investors are warming to the idea of taking a minority stake in Osram as that would not draw scrutiny under German law," the person said, adding that the Chinese bidders may settle for a 17.5 percent stake owned by Siemens.

But Osram also makes components such as LED chips and alloys that are considered dual-use goods, meaning they can be used for civilian and military purposes.

An investment in Osram by Chinese investors could potentially be examined by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), so a deal might need to be structured to exclude any sensitive technology.

Earlier this year Go Scale Capital was blocked from buying Lumileds, an LED components and car lighting business in the United States owned by Philips, following CFIUS opposition.

On Monday Philips agreed instead to sell Lumileds to U.S. private equity investor Apollo Global Management.

($1 = 0.9398 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Alexander Huebner and Jens Hack; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Editing by David Clarke, Greg Mahlich)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Chinese interest in a takeover of lighting group Osram Licht AG (OSRn.DE) has cooled amid signs of mounting political opposition to Chinese acquisitions in Germany, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Sanan Optoelectronics and venture capital firm GSR Go Scale Capital Advisors have stopped pursuing a bid for the whole company, said the people, who declined to be named.

"Resistance from labour representatives and from politicians has left an impression on the Chinese," one of them said.

A spokesman for the German economics ministry declined to comment on what it described as business decisions by investors, saying the strategic direction of the company was up to Osram.

Osram declined to comment. Sanan and GSR Go Scale Capital Advisors could not immediately be reached for comment.

A Chinese takeover of Osram, which has a market capitalisation of about 5 billion euros (4.2 billion pounds), had already run into opposition from the IG Metall trade union.

The sources said a takeover was also likely to face political obstacles following the blocking of the acquisition of German silicon chip manufacturing equipment maker Aixtron (AIXGn.DE) by Chinese buyers.

China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund withdrew its bid for Aixtron after the United States blocked the acquisition of its U.S. division on national security grounds and German authorities withdrew their approval.

The collapse of the Aixtron deal comes amid growing objections in Germany and the United States to China buying up firms with strategic technologies abroad without allowing reciprocal transactions at home.

Osram is shifting its focus from light bulbs to lighting technology, investing in chips for LED lights and making it a potential target for chipmakers such as Sanan.

Another source familiar with the matter said the Chinese buyers may settle for a stake of less than 25 percent in Osram.

"Chinese investors are warming to the idea of taking a minority stake in Osram as that would not draw scrutiny under German law," the person said, adding that the Chinese bidders may settle for a 17.5 percent stake owned by Siemens (SIEGn.DE).

Story continues

But Osram also makes components such as LED chips and alloys that are considered dual-use goods, meaning they can be used for civilian and military purposes.

An investment in Osram by Chinese investors could potentially be examined by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), so a deal might need to be structured to exclude any sensitive technology.

Earlier this year Go Scale Capital was blocked from buying Lumileds, an LED components and car lighting business in the United States owned by Philips (PHG.AS), following CFIUS opposition.

On Monday Philips agreed instead to sell Lumileds to U.S. private equity investor Apollo Global Management (APO.N).

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Alexander Huebner and Jens Hack; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Editing by David Clarke, Greg Mahlich)
Christies closed out a year that saw uncertainty in both the retail and vintage watch markets with a resounding bang, bringing in more than $8.5 million dollars at its Rare Watches Including Nautilus 40 Part IV sale held on December 6 at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

The top lot from the sale was an 18-karat pink-gold Patek Philippe ref. 5074R, an automatic wristwatch with minute repeater and perpetual calendar complications that sold for a remarkable $511,500just shy of its presale high estimate. Another highlight from the auction, however, left its presale estimate in the dust when a stainless-steel triple-calendar chronograph Rolex ref. 6037 sold for $499,500a truly astonishing $400,000 more than expected. The sale also marked the conclusion of Christies multi-auction thematic section commemorating the 40th anniversary of Patek Philippes Nautilus. All 10 examples that were brought to the block sold for higher than their estimated price. (christies.com)

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Christmas gifts arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday, courtesy of Japan.

A Japanese cargo ship pulled up at the orbiting lab four days after launching. The capsule  called Kounotori, or white stork  contains nearly 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other supplies. NASA said there also are Christmas presents for the two Americans, three Russians and one Frenchman on board.

Commander Shane Kimbrough, an American, and France's Thomas Pesquet used the robot arm to grab the capsule 250 miles above Chile. Flight controllers in Japan and Houston applauded  and some of the Japanese even bowed.

Kimbrough said the crew was "really excited" to accept delivery and radioed thanks to all.

"The vehicle is beautiful, and it performed flawlessly," he said.

Barely two weeks ago, a Russian supply ship was destroyed shortly after liftoff. At the same time, one of NASA's main suppliers, SpaceX, is grounded. So the Japanese delivery is especially welcome.

The astronauts need the six new lithium-ion batteries for next month's spacewalks. They will replace the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that store energy generated by the station's big solar panels.

___

Online:

NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Cairo (AFP) - The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a bomb attack on a Cairo church that killed 25 people, the first claim for one of the worst attacks on the Coptic Christian community in recent memory.

IS identified the suicide bomber who carried out Sunday's attack by the pseudonym Abu Abdallah al-Masri in a statement circulated on social media on Tuesday.

The bomber "got in between the crowd" and detonated his explosive belt, the jihadist group said in the statement.

The group said it would continue attacks against "every infidel and apostate in Egypt, and everywhere".

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi named the suicide bomber as Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa, 22, during a funeral for the victims on Monday.

Egyptian authorities are battling an Islamist insurgency led by an Egyptian affiliate of IS.

While most of the insurgents' attacks have mainly targeted police and military in northern Sinai province, the jihadists have also targeted security forces and government officials in Cairo.

The attacks have worsened since the July 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The ouster was led by Sisi, who was defence minister at the time.

Following the deadly dispersal by security forces of two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo in August 2013, mobs attacked more than 40 churches nationwide, as well as dozens of schools, houses and businesses belonging to Copts.

They pointed to the appearance of Coptic Pope Tawadros II next to Sisi in July 2013, when the then army chief -- also surrounded by Muslim and opposition figures -- announced Morsi's removal on television.

Sisi said Mostafa, the suspected suicide bomber, had detonated his explosive belt at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church, which is adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic pope.

The interior ministry said late on Monday that Mostafa had been identified by DNA tests from body parts which matched that of his family.

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It also said Mostafa was working with a group that received logistical and financial support from Muslim Brotherhood members residing in Qatar.

The Muslim Brotherhood has denied any involvement with the incident.

- Worst attack against Copts -

The authorities have arrested four alleged members of this group, the interior ministry said.

They are still searching for others, including the suspected ringleader Mohab Mostafa el-Sayed Qassem, also known as "The Doctor", the ministry said.

Qassem travelled to Qatar in 2015 where he met some Brotherhood leaders who had fled Egypt, it claimed.

There, they offered him financial and logistical support to carry out attacks in Egypt and upon his return, he travelled to North Sinai, where Islamist insurgents trained him in using weapons and making explosive devices.

When Qassem returned to his home in Cairo, the Brotherhood members residing in Qatar instructed him to start preparing and planning for attacks targeting Copts.

The attacks were "aiming to foment a large-scale sectarian crisis" without linking the group with these attacks, the interior ministry said.

The ministry statement claims a group named The Egyptian Revolutionary Council, an alleged arm of the Brotherhood, has issued a statement on December 5 "vowing to target the heads of the Orthodox Church because of its support for the state."

Some analysts had warned that Islamists affiliated with the Brotherhood, though not necessarily under their control, could turn to serious violence after the 2013 post-coup crackdown.

Copts have faced persecution and discrimination dating back to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.

Sunday's bombing was the worst attack against the Copts since a 2011 suicide bombing killed more than 20 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.
Democrat Hillary Clinton is within 500,000 votes of the number won by President Barack Obama in 2012, leading President-elect Donald Trump by 2.6 million ballots, the Associated Press reported Monday.

The latest tally gives Clinton 65,444,673 million votes or 48.2 percent, to Trumps 62,802,237 or 46.3 percent. Trump, however, retains the advantage in the Electoral College with 306 electoral votes to Clintons 232.

In 2012, Obama won 65,915,795 votes, or 51.1 percent, to Republican Mitt Romneys 60,933,504 votes or 47.2 percent. Obama won 3232 electoral votes to Romneys 206.

The totals came as Wisconsin finished the recount demanded by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. It showed Trump defeated Clinton in Wisconsin by more than 22,000 votes, with the recount adding 131 votes to Trumps total.

Trump tweeted his disgust with the recount process.

A federal judge Monday rejected Steins request for a paper ballot recount in Pennsylvania. U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond said the request for a recount borders on the irrational and that there was no credible evidence the system had been hacked. Trump won Pennsylvania by more than 70,000 votes.

Michigan got 40 percent of the way through a recount before it was halted by the courts. Clinton gained only 102 votes statewide, not nearly enough to overcome an 11,000-vote deficit.

The action comes amid an uproar over CIA conclusions that Russia tried to influence the outcome of the election. A group of electors Monday demanded a briefing on the intelligence findings ahead of their Dec. 19 vote, saying the matters involved go to the core of their deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as president of the United States.

Trump has discounted the validity of the intelligence conclusions. He said if he had lost and claimed hackers were to blame, it would have been called a conspiracy theory.

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Trump is to be inaugurated Jan. 20.

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To find the last Will Smith film that was a success with critics, one has to go back nine years to the 2007 release of I Am Legend. Following that films release, Smiths other titles, such as Hancock, After Earth and Suicide Squad, have all be met with negative reviews.

Unfortunately for Smith, his latest film, Collateral Beauty, does not stop the trend. Releasing Friday, the film currently holds a 13 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is on its way to becoming the worst-reviewed film of 2016.

The films all-star cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Edward Norton and Keira Knightley, cant save the movie from what the David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter calls silly high-concept Hollywood grief porn.

Collateral Beauty

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

While the film features a great cast, the problem, according to Owen Gleiberman of Variety, doesnt lie in the actors. Its the movie itself, which keeps piling on the devices until it becomes top-heavy, he wrote. Gleiberman went on to say the films emotion is engineered and pushes the gimmickry further.

In a one-star review from The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw did not mince words, writing, At the end of it, I screamed the way polar bears are supposed to when they get their tongues frozen to the ice. Bradshaw called the film a horrifyingly yucky, toxically cutesy ensemble dramedy and said the ending would be rejected by director M. Night Shyamalan for being too ridiculous.

Stephen Whitty of the New York Daily News praises Smiths overall acting skills but questions the actors recent film choices. Oh, hell yes, as Smith  a good actor with sometimes terrible, oh-so-serious taste  fully commits to a sticky, icky morality tale and gets other, even better actors to sign on, wrote Whitty, adding, Theyre the real Collateral casualties.

Alan Scherstuhl of the Village Voice was less forgiving of Smiths acting, calling the actor really convincing as someone who doesnt want to be there. Scherstuhl tore the films plot apart, writing, Youll... struggle to accept that what you saw on that screen actually played in theaters, was funded and approved by distributors, took a month or so of the lives of those extraordinary actors.

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Nebraska's criminal justice system levels fines and sets bail in amounts that low-income people are unable to pay, ultimately creating a debtor's prison, according to the ACLU of Nebraska.

The organization released "Unequal Justice" Tuesday, a 72-page report written after a survey of the system and its ramifications on people, jails and communities. The ACLU investigation, which focused on Douglas, Lancaster, Sarpy and Hall counties, mirrored what surveyors learned during interviews with attorneys in smaller counties across the state, said Amy Miller, legal director for ACLU of Nebraska.

Key findings included these:

* Nebraskans jailed on nonviolent offenses spend an average of 48 days behind bars before going to trial.

* It takes offenders an average of 4.6 paychecks to bail out of jail on municipal violations, 3.5 paychecks on traffic violations and four on drug violations.

* Fines and fees are not the same statewide. In Lancaster County, a charge of driving on a suspended license results in bail of $2,500, but no bail is needed for the same charge in Saunders, Seward, Platte or Hamilton counties.

* More than half of the people in county jails are there because they're waiting for trial and unable to afford bail.

At the same time, several counties are facing overcrowding problems, which the ACLU called a waste of taxpayer money. In Lancaster County, it costs $90 a day to house an inmate, according to Brad Johnson of the Lancaster County Correctional Center.

The ACLU said bail should be set only for people who pose a risk to public safety, like those charged with violent offenses including murder, sexual assault or robbery, or those who pose a flight risk.

The ACLU argues that wealthy defendants ordered to pay fines can do so immediately. Those who cannot pay go to jail, where their fines are reduced by $90 a day.

For example, a 27-year-old mother of two told ACLU surveyors she was pulled over for littering and charged with a misdemeanor. Her request for a public defender was denied since the charge doesn't carry jail time. But she was given two months to pay a $76 fine, and when she missed payments, she was arrested and booked into jail.

"The bottom line is, for far too many low-income Nebraskans, our justice system has become a maze of fines and fees that people can't escape," ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad said Tuesday. "They're being jailed because they can't pay those fines and fees set by the court."

To get a snapshot of pretrial hearings, the ACLU looked at jail lists from the four counties examined on four random days last summer. The group also spent 50 hours in random county court hearings in three counties.

It found that many courts dont comply with Nebraska law, which limits bail to those cases in which a defendant might leave a jurisdiction or might hurt someone.

Investigators found Nebraska courts treat defendants based on alleged crimes, not personal circumstances. The ACLU argues that ones wealth isnt an indicator of how likely he or she is to appear for a court date.

"These practices are absolutely prohibited by the United States Constitution," Conrad said.

The ACLU of Nebraska cited a study of Marylands pretrial release and bail system that shows that people released on their own recognizance appear in court more often than defendants released on cash bail.

In interviews with attorneys across the state, the Nebraska organization learned that some judges allow a couple of extensions on payment of fines, but people must go to court to ask for the extra time. People who are poor are less likely to have transportation and more likely to be unable to get time away from work or find child care so they can get to court hearings.

Lancaster County Public Defender Joe Nigro said he'd like to see a program that helps defendants by having them show the court they're looking for work, giving them community service or putting them on pretrial release, which he says is a program the county should use more.

"Pretrial release can identify people who need treatment and get them help or get them on medication, all things which will make it more likely that person appears in court," he said Tuesday. "Its a lot safer to do those things than making them just sit in jail. If the person has issues, theyre still going to have those issues when they get out."

During the 50 hours spent in county court hearings, the ACLU observers saw several things they consider to be of concern:

* Judges did not ask defendants if they were able to pay assessed fines and fees, and in just one case, court costs were waived.

* Just four people had attorneys present during the imposition of fines and court costs.

* In each county, they saw pay or stay sentences -- defendants without attorneys present were told if they didn't pay money that day, they would be forced to sit out their fines in jail.

The ACLU's Miller said the organization is not suggesting people who are convicted of crimes not face consequences. It is saying the system can be reviewed and changed so being poor isn't a crime.

"We are literally jailing people who have no money and no money to pay their fines," Miller said in a telephone news conference Tuesday morning. "Theyre sitting in jail on taxpayer expense, removed from their families, removed from their jobs ... for no reason other than they are poor."

Suggestions from ACLU of Nebraska for reforming the state's bail and fines system include these:

* Police should issue citations in lieu of arrest whenever possible.

* Judges should ensure attorneys are appointed before bail is set.

* Court clerks should adopt reminder systems such as postcards, phone calls or text messages to reduce the number of failures to appear.

* The Nebraska Supreme Court should create guidelines for determining inability to pay and policies for assessing fines, fees and costs.

* All judges and other court personnel should be trained on federal and state laws that prohibit incarceration of defendants who are too poor to pay fines, fees and costs, and train judges that they have the authority to waive all nonmandatory fees for defendants who are indigent.

"Nebraskas state motto is 'Equality before the law,'" the report says. "We need to work toward a system where all citizens are treated equally when they are charged with a crime or punished with a fine, regardless of their financial circumstances."
Bogota (AFP) - Colombian judges Tuesday approved special fast-track procedures to implement the government's contested peace accord with leftist FARC rebels which aims to end half a century of conflict.

The government says the fast-track reforms are needed to see through the peace deal before a fragile ceasefire collapses.

Constitutional court judges voted eight to one in favor of the measure, the court said.

The decision gives the green light to President Juan Manuel Santos to use accelerated legislative procedures to pass the various reforms included in the peace accord through Congress, where his side holds a majority.

Under the deal, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, must demobilize and surrender their weapons within six months.

The FARC will relaunch as a political party and its members will receive an amnesty or non-custodial sentences -- the most contested part of the accord.

Santos's opponents argue the deal grants impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes.

Voters rejected an earlier version of the deal in a referendum in October, forcing the government and FARC to revise the accord.

Opponents say the new version includes only token changes.

Colombia's civil conflict has drawn in various armed groups over the decades. It has killed more than 260,000 people.
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Colorado's cannabis enthusiasts are celebrating after a milestone was announced on Monday.

In the first 10 months of 2016, the state sold more than $1 billion of recreational and medical cannabis and cannabis-related products, according to data released by the state's Department of Revenue. That is a monstrous amount of weed.

The record number is up from 2015's total annual marijuana revenue of $996 million.

SEE ALSO: Weed dealer makes a smooth save after accidentally texting a teen's mom

Industry attorney Vincente Sederberg told the Cannabist that he believes sales will cross $1.3 billion in 2016.

"We think well see $1.3 billion in sales revenue this year and so the economic impact of this industry  if were using the same multiplier from the Marijuana Policy Groups recent report, which is totally reasonable  it suddenly eclipses a $3 billion economic impact for 2016.

While Colorado was the first state to legalize cannabis, it may soon lose its top spot in terms of revenue. California recently legalized marijuana for recreational use and is expected to make major profits once it sets up its retail shops. Florida also legalized cannabis for medical use and, according to Forbes, it's projected to rake in $1.6 billion by 2020, thanks to its large population of seniors with chronic pain and illness.

Welcome to the United States of Weed, our new cash crop.

BONUS: Trump is president, but at least you can get high in four more states
San Diego police are investigating the suspicious death of CorePower Yoga founder Trevor Tice, PEOPLE confirms.

Tice, 48, was found dead in his Sunset Cliffs home on Monday after police received a call to check on his welfare, San Diego police Lt. Mike Holden tells PEOPLE.

While police havent ruled his death a homicide, investigators were called to the scene because Tice was discovered under suspicious circumstances, Holden says.

Tice was reportedly living alone at the time of his death, and his home was being remodeled

This could end up just being a death, Holden tells PEOPLE, adding that the department is being cautious and not ruling anything out.

An autopsy has yet to be performed on the 48-year-olds body, Holden says. He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

Tice is the founder of CorePower Yoga, the largest privately held chain of yoga studios in the country. The Denver-based company said it operates more than 160 locations in close to 100 cities across the country and is preparing to open its first studio in New York City.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

In a statement on Facebook, CorePower described itself as the manifestation of the best Trevor brought to the world: boundless energy, an electric smile, an immutable desire to improve.

Trevor contributed more to the world than most dare to dream  and we will forever live in a more joyful, more peaceful, and fundamentally better place because Trevor Tice was part of it, CorePower said. Together, our community is grieving this tragic loss and honoring Trevors tremendous legacy. (A company representative declined further comment to PEOPLE.)

A Colorado native, Tice became interested in yoga after a climbing accident, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. As founder and CEO, he stewarded CorePowers growth until stepping aside after 2012.

Anyone with information about Tices death is asked to call San Diego police, at 619-531-2293, or Crime Stoppers, at 888-580-8477.




LIMA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The office of Peru's attorney general has reopened a corruption inquiry into whether President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski helped a Brazilian company win public work contracts while he was prime minister a decade ago, legal documents showed on Tuesday.

The anti-corruption unit in the attorney general's office ordered prosecutors to broaden a preliminary investigation into Kuczynski, ex-president Alejandro Toledo, and engineering conglomerate Odebrecht after concluding it had been prematurely closed in September, according to a decision signed by a leading prosecutor and seen by Reuters.

Kuczynski is currently facing the worst political crisis so far in his five-month old government as the opposition-controlled Congress prepares to oust his education minister.

The graft inquiry was first opened early this year at the request of an attorney who accuses Kuczynski and Toledo of collusion for passing a law in 2006 that the attorney said changed bidding rules so that a consortium led by Brazil's Odebrecht SA could compete for infrastructure contracts worth more than $500 million.

Graft inquiries involving high-profile politicians are common in Peru and usually end with no charges pressed.

Kuczynski's office declined to comment.

Toledo's spokesman said Toledo was traveling and unavailable for comment.

Odebrecht, at the center of the biggest-ever corruption scandal in neighboring Brazil, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The prosecutors who closed the investigation in September said the accusation of wrongdoing was based on speculation, according to the documents dated Nov 30.

But the anti-corruption unit said the prosecutors did not dig deep enough and ordered them to obtain the testimonies of Toledo, representatives of Odebrecht, and others.

Kuczynski, a 78-year-old technocrat who has worked on Wall Street and founded a non-profit to deliver clean water to poor Peruvians, provided his testimony to prosecutors earlier this year and denied wrongdoing, according to local media.

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Kuczynski has vowed to double down on his efforts to uproot widespread graft in Peru after firing his health advisor in September for appearing to plot corrupt acts in leaked audio tapes.

Kuczynski was elected in June with one of the weakest mandates of any recent president, beating his right-wing populist rival Keiko Fujimori by less than a quarter percentage point.

His approval rating rose to 63 percent in September before slipping to 48 percent in the latest Ipsos poll published on Sunday.

(Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Alistair Bell)
Attorneys on both sides of Bill Cosbys ongoing sexual assault trial were admonished by Montgomery County Judge Steven ONeil for an "uncivil" shouting match that erupted during Tuesdays pretrial. Cosby, the embattled entertainer accused of drugging and sexually assaulting numerous women, was reportedly in a joking mood, saying "Dont tase me, bro," to security while walking past reporters outside of the Philadelphia courthouse.

It was a spectacle long in the making. Cosbys defense team has been fighting the court to publicly identify each of the 13 women involved in the upcoming sexual assault trial, a move District Attorney Kevin Steele said could scare victims back into hiding instead of testifying against the actor.

Cosbys lawyer Brian McMonagle immediately sparred with Steele over his opposition to releasing information about Cosbys accusers, saying "these are witnesses in a trial. They are not children." The judge eventually allowed for 11 of the womens identities to be released to the public. Two accusers who havent gone public with their testimonies against Cosby would have their identities sealed, the judge ruled.

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Photo: Reuters

The decision, along with its accompanying shouting match, followed a major blow to Cosbys team of lawyers when the judge denied a request to hear from one of their key experts, a psychologist who points to flawed witness testimonies based on memory. His attorneys have argued several of the womens accounts of what happened shouldnt be taken into consideration, describing them as "decades-old" and "vague."

Another hurdle for Cosbys defense is the actors deposition he gave under oath, describing seducing women with Quaaludes, several sexual affairs and relationships he had with younger women and a specific account of a sexual encounter he had with Temple University employee over a decade ago. Constand filed a formal complaint against Cosby at the time, though the case was only reopened last year after dozens of women publicly accused the actor of sexual assault and drugging them, similar to her experience.

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Meanwhile, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing several of Cosbys accusers, called on her clients to testify about their encounters with Cosby despite having their identities revealed. The attorney said Cosbys defense attempts to diminish their experiences with the 79-year-old are "out of context or just plain wrong."

Cosby's trial is set to begin Jun 5, 2017. Cosby has pleaded not guilty to three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault.

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Washington (AFP) - Five crewmembers aboard a US Marine MV-22 Osprey in Japan were injured Tuesday when the tilt-rotor aircraft suffered a "mishap" and landed in shallow water, the Pentagon said.

The aircraft conducted a "landing in shallow water" off Okinawa near the US Marine base Camp Schwab, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

He did not immediately have additional details about the incident or whether the Osprey had crashed.

"It constitutes a mishap," he said, noting that an investigation was underway.

The incident occurred around 10:00 pm local time (1330 GMT) and the crewmembers were airlifted to a US naval hospital.

The MV-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that can carry 24 Marine combat troops and combines the maneuverability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a turboprop plane.

The crewmembers in Tuesday's incident were assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.
Members of the Electoral College will meet Dec. 19 in their respective states to officially choose President-elect Donald Trump as the next chief of state, sending their votes to state and federal officials before a formal electoral vote count in Congress on Jan. 6.

But some, like Justin Nelson, founder and president of Electoral College reform organization One Nation One Vote, are wondering why the U.S. uses the system in the first place. The Founding Fathers would be rolling in their graves if they knew that the current version of the Electoral College is one where not only does it not deliberate, but it rubber-stamps the loser in a popular vote election, Nelson told U.S. News & World Report. Its vital for democracy that the candidate with the most votes win.

The motivation behind the Electoral College is generally tied to founding father James Madisons fear of political factions and his worry, as described in his late-18th-century Federalist papers, that citizens freedoms might be poisoned by the tyranny of their own passions.

Nearly 230 years later, Trump is this year's presidential victor, with 306 electoral votes to opponent Hillary Clintons 232despite his losing the popular vote by 2.85 million. A similar phenomenon occurred 16 years ago, when candidate Al Gore beat President George W. Bush by 500,000 votes in the popular tally, but narrowly lost the in the Electoral Collegewhere 270 are needed to winwith 266 to Bushs 271.

This is the second time its happened in 16 years, said Mark Weston, a political reporter and author of The Runner-Up Presidency: Elections That Defied Americas Popular Will (And How Our Democracy Remains In Danger). This time, we need to plan in advance.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has also been an outspoken advocate for the termination of the Electoral College, calling the disparity between the two a profound problem.

Weve never seen such a disconnect between the popular vote and the Electoral College vote in the history of this entire country, de Blasio said in a Nov. 29 press conference. This is absolutely unprecedented, and I think it creates a huge question for our democracy. How is the president-elect going to proceed knowing that he had 2.3 million more people vote for his opponent?

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In a Nov. 16 New York Times op-ed, Akhil Reed Amar, a Yale University law professor and author, argued that the fact that state governors dont rely on electoral vote systems in their elections served as enough evidence that the entire country could survive without one. In 2001, he suggested that presidential candidates agree long before November to rely solely on the popular vote, and, in his more recent column, pointed to this method as a possible option four years from now.

Keep your eye on 2020, Amar wrote.

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Is this baby animal a mouse or a deer?

A rare Philippine mouse deer, the size of a Christmas ornament, was born at an England zoo, marking the first time the endangered species has been successfully bred in the U.K.

Read: Zoo Surveillance Footage Shows Incredible Moment Rare Asian Elephant is Born

The little lady, who weighs only 430 grams, was born last month to Rita and Ramos, Philippine mouse deer that currently live at the Chester Zoo.

Although the mouse deer bears the hooves of a deer and the size of a mouse, they are actually neither mouse nor deer. The rare species is considered an ungulate, a distant relative of giraffes and hippos.

"While this new arrival may be small in stature, it's big in terms of importance," Chester Zoo's Tim Rowlands said in a statement. "It's the very first time the animal has been bred in the U.K."

The species, native to Southeast Asia, is threatened by loss of habitat and poached for meat  considered a delicacy in parts of the Philippines.

Read: He's One of a Swine! Extremely Rare Newborn Piglet Caught on Camera

The birth of the unnamed female Philippine mouse is a result of a Europe-wide breeding program to repopulate endangered species.

Watch: Rare White Rhino, Believed to Be Infertile, Gives Birth to Newborn Calf

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) shareholders voted to remove Cyrus Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata Sons, as a director, according to the results of an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday.

About 93 percent of TCS shareholder who cast their vote were in favour of removing Mistry, TCS said in a regulatory filing. (http://bit.ly/2gWXb07)

His ouster comes as no surprise given Tata Sons majority stake in the company, about 73 percent as of September end, according to Thomson Reuters data. TCS, India's biggest technology services firm by sales, contributes the bulk of the group's revenue and profit.

About 43 percent of TCS's institutional holders who voted were against the removal of Mistry, according to the filing.

Interestingly, 78 percent of voting shareholders who were not promoters or institutional holders were against Mistry's ouster.

In a bitter boardroom coup in October, Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding firm for the $100 billion steel-to-software conglomerate, and group patriarch Ratan Tata returned to the helm temporarily. A public power struggle has since ensued between the two sides.

Mistry, however, still sits on the boards of several group companies. Tata Sons has called shareholder meetings at these companies over the next few days to vote on his removal.

Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHTL.NS), Tata Steel (TISC.NS) and Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) will hold their shareholder meetings next week.

"The fight is a matter of principle rather than facing the foregone outcome (of this meeting)," Mistry said ahead of the TCS shareholder meet in an indication that he had expected to be ousted given Tata Sons' majority shareholding in TCS.

"The very future of TCS hinges on good governance and ethical practices. In the past several weeks, we have seen good governance being thrown to the wind in every sense of the term, replaced by whims, fancies and personal agenda," he said.

Since his ouster from Tata Sons, Mistry has attacked the group's corporate governance standards several times, saying that his efforts to establish stronger guidelines contributed to his removal.

"Whatever be the decibel level of the voice that would drown your vote, I call on you to vote with your conscience and send a signal that catalyses a larger discussion on governance reforms," Mistry said.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Sangameswaran S; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Savio D'Souza)
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark's new right-wing government will allow Uber to continue operating under new rules in order to encourage more competition among taxis, its transport minister Ole Birk Olesen said.

Under new proposals put forward by the government on Tuesday, Uber [UBER.UL] drivers must meet certain criteria, including paying tax and proving they are in good health. At the moment they operate without any rules.

Olesen said he saw no reason why Uber should not compete with established taxi companies, although he wants to implement rules that distinguish between taxis which are ordered via an app and those where customers hail them in the street.

But the government, which has only 53 seats of 179 seats in parliament, faces a majority which does not support the plan as well as opposition from the Danish People's Party (DF), which would normally support government proposals.

"I regard the initiatives as an open door to Uber, which I do not like. We shall not have two sets of rules as proposed," DF spokesman Kim Christiansen told Reuters.

A Social Democrat spokesman also dismissed the proposals. Together, the two parties have 85 parliamentary seats.

(Reporting by Erik Matzen; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Two years after he was beaten to within an inch of his life while walking to his dorm room in Lincoln, Patrick Pantoja took the witness stand to testify at the trial of a man accused of taking part in the crime.

But, after a weeklong trial, Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen declared a mistrial in the case against James S. Price after the jury indicated Monday it was deadlocked.

Last week, Pantoja, 24, said he lives in Omaha and works in maintenance at a Wal-Mart.

Back on Oct. 3, 2014, he was a fine arts student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After a Thursday night at the movies, he'd gone to a friend's house near the Capitol. He and Emanuel Nartey started walking back to campus about 2:30 a.m.

As they approached 14th and K streets, Pantoja testified, he saw some guys walking toward them. The state alleged one of them was Price.

"They come up and ask, 'Do you have any money?'"

Pantoja said no and was walking away when he felt a pain in the back, like he'd been hit.

"Then unfortunately everything else is like pieces of a window," or scenes that skip on a DVD, he testified last week, searching for words to describe what happened.

"The only thing I remember is waking up at Bryan (hospital)," he said.

A month had passed.

Carol Pantoja said her son had to re-learn to walk, eat, go to the bathroom -- and remember who she was.

Now, she said, he sometimes has no filter and just blurts things out.

Stelson Curry of Texas is serving 30 to 45 years in prison on a first-degree assault charge for beating Pantoja and for false imprisonment involving a 20-year-old woman later that month. He pleaded no contest.

The state alleged Price, of Lincoln, aided and abetted him in the robbery and assault.

Curry testified that he punched Pantoja once, and that it was Price who beat him and kicked him in the head.

Defense attorney Brett McArthur said Curry had a motive to testify: He got a favorable letter added to his file for cooperating, which may mean he'll get parole earlier.

"Science doesn't lie," he said in closing arguments Friday, referring to a lack of DNA or other physical evidence tying Price to the crime. "Stelson Curry does."

Curry said he chased after Nartey twice when he tried to intervene as Price hit Pantoja but couldn't catch him. When he went back to the scene the second time, he said, he saw Price stomping Pantoja on the ground and told him to stop. Pantoja was out, he said.

They checked his pockets for money and left, Curry said.

Nartey testified he saw two men, one black (Curry) and one white (whom he ID'd in the courtroom as Price), beating and kicking Pantoja.

But he had failed to identify Price in a photo line-up shortly after the crime, and originally described the white attacker as bald. Price had short hair.

Nartey said a third man looked shocked at what was happening and wasn't involved.

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Dan Packard pointed to a security video that showed Curry and Price walking behind the Governor's Mansion within 14 minutes of the assault.

Curry was clearly jacked up, he said, suggesting the two had just beaten up Pantoja and that this was the aftermath: Two drunk guys talking about what had just happened.

"You may never understand the whys of this case," Packard said. "But the state doesn't have to prove why."

The jury got the case about 11 a.m. Friday and returned Monday, but couldn't reach a verdict. The case is set to be retried next year.
Photo credit: undefined

From Esquire

After Donald Trump claimed victory on November 9, Trump Tower became his transition team's headquarters, traffic was a perpetual nightmare, and the NYPD posted up around a sizable section of Midtown's luxury shopping district. "I will not tell you that Gucci and Tiffany are my central concerns in life," Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters in November, addressing the potential impact on retail from decreased foot traffic.

But the area also rents space to small businesses, 50 of which were surveyed for a report released Monday by the city comptroller, and half of which reported a "severe" impact following Trump's election. Per the New York Post:

Nearly a quarter of the restaurants, retailers, food stores, and beauty salons said they'll have troubling paying their rent, and more than 12 percent warned they might have to lay off workers, relocate or simply shut down. A whopping 70 percent also said they'd suffered delays getting deliveries or having their trash removed.

Just in time for the holidays, too, when business should be booming.

Photo credit: undefined

In early December, de Blasio sent a letter to Congress asking for reimbursement for the NYPD's Trump protection, which costs over $400,000 a day. That money, if granted, won't go to small businesses. And even when Trump is sworn in and the White House gets a new First Family, Trump Tower will still be a security zone: Melania will likely spend most her time in New York, and Trump is keen to get back to the city on weekends.

But in the grand scheme of things, that's hardly wasteful, especially when there are "out of control" Defense Department projects to malign on Twitter.

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Denzel Washington will receive the American Society of Cinematographers' Board of Governors Award at the 31st ASC Awards, on Feb. 4 at Hollywood and Highland's Ray Dolby Ballroom.

This award is reserved for filmmakers who have been champions for directors of photography and the visual art form.

Washington made his directorial debut with Antwone Fisher, followed by The Great Debaters. His current project is Fences, written by August Wilson and based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which will be released Dec. 25. In addition to producing and directing the movie, Washington reprises his Tony Award-winning role (for which he is nominated for a Golden Globe) alongside Viola Davis.

"Denzel Washington is an amazing director and actor, and a conscious force in these challenging times," said ASC president Kees van Oostrum. "A true artist is empowered by the era they live in, and he expresses an awareness of the world around us through his work. It is that strength of character that we honor with the ASC Governors Award."

Washington has starred in more than 50 films and television shows, in addition to his theater roles and directing credits. He received Academy Awards for his performances in Glory and Training Day, and was mostly recently seen in Antoine Fuqua's remake of The Magnificent Seven.

Read more: Denzel Washington on the Ease of 'Fences': "We Had Performed it 114 Times to Great Success" | Director Oscar Roundtable
On The Great Christmas Light Fight, twin brothers Dennis and Larry Field of Buffalo, New York used their self-described "twin-tuition" to create a "twinning" holiday light display. Larry is the older of the two by one minute. "Merry Twins-mas," Dennis and Larry exclaimed, and when they weren't doubling down on the twins humor, the were doubling down on their Christmas light display. Host Carter Oosterhouse joined a large crowd of the Field's neighbors as a display, which included a model of the Disney Cinderella Castle brilliantly lit up the night. "There are tons of lights to see all across the yard. There's video screens playing movies," Oosterhouse said. "Everything is integrated with the video, too." But, that wasn't all. "There's fireworks in the back. There's talking animals," Oosterhouse described. "There are so many things to see, my eyes are jumping around. This is insane." The Field twins also created their own version of Disney's "It's a Small World" ride using scarecrows that were on sale at the end of the Halloween season. Then they redressed and painted them to look like characters from "It's a Small World." In the end, the twins "small" display earned them the $50,000 grand prize.
Democratic and Republican Senators are preparing to turn the confirmation process for President-elect Donald Trumps pick for Secretary of State into a platform for debating the still-uncertain direction of U.S. relations with Russia.



Based upon his extensive business dealings with the Putin government & previous opposition of efforts to impose sanctions on the Russian government, there are many question which must be answered, tweeted Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham Tuesday morning. I expect the US-Russian relationship will be front and center in his confirmation process.

Graham was one of several senators to announce their concern after Trump settled on nominating Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to his to top foreign policy job this week. Tillerson has spent his entire career at the company, working extensively on deals overseas, including multi-billion dollar deals in Russia. In 2013, Putin presented him with the Russian Order of Friendship in recognition of his work.

I am concerned about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, said Republican Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.



Thanks to Republicans slim, 52-seat majority in the Senate, it would take just three dissenting Republican senators joining up with Democrats to make Tillerson the first cabinet nominee to fail a confirmation vote since 1989. Tillerson could also be blocked in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, if at least one Republican Senator votes against Tillerson and Democrats stand united in opposition.

Exxon Mobil has extensive business interests in Russia, including large projects that have been held up by U.S. sanctions. As CEO, Tillerson opposed sanctions imposed on Russia by President Barack Obama after Putins annexation of Crimea. The Russian president has also frustrated U.S. diplomatic efforts to wind down the civil war in Syria by providing support to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

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Another issue that is likely to surface at the hearings is Trumps refusal to accept the U.S. intelligence communitys assessment that Russia was behind election-related of the Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced his support for a non-partisan Senate investigation of the intelligence communitys findings.

The first test for Tillerson and Trump will be the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Obviously, theres been some flirting, if you will with Russia thats a little different than what were used to. I think folks are a little shaken by that, said the committees chair, Republican Sen. Bob Corker in an interview with CNNs Jake Tapper. I do think sanctions should continue to be in place. But Corker has expressed openness to confirming Tillerson. Just from the standpoint of experience, hes got it, Corker said.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, also a Republican member of the committee, has taken a more critical stance. While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination, he said in a statement. The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of Americas interests, and will be a forceful advocate for Americas foreign policy goals to the president.

The Senate Foreign Relations committee will be divided next Congress between nine Republicans and eight Democrats. Democrats like Sen. Ben Cardin and Sen. Chris Coons, have been strongly critical. Sen. Cardin said he was deeply troubled by Tillersons opposition to sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. If Tillersons nomination clears the committee, he will be subject to a floor vote, with Trump likely needing at least 50 Senators to support Tillerson, given that Vice President-elect Mike Pence can provide a tie-breaking vote.



McConnell has indicated he will support Tillerson. We need a full review of our national security policy, and I know Rex [Tillerson] will face each problem head on with American interests and security as his top priority, he said. I look forward to supporting his nomination.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, who is set to be Trumps White House Chief of Staff, also suggested in an interview with MSNBCs Morning Joe that the United States should reexamine its relationship with Russia, saying, We just dont believe that talking to people and having relationships is a bad thing.

Others senators said they were open to Tillerson. Im not committed to voting against him, said Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Im going to do my homework.

Other Trump nominees will undoubtedly be forced to contend with the president-elects denial about Russias role in the hacks of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Rep. Mike Pompeo, Trumps intended nominee to become the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has been a vocal Russia critic, but will surely face questions of whether he agrees with the president-elects comments about Russia. And Trump is considering Carly Fiorina to the post of Director of National Intelligence. After meeting with Trump Monday, she didnt immediately accept Russias role in hacking during the election, telling reporters after the meeting, We talked about hacking, whether its Chinese hacking or reported Russian hacking.

But Trumps stance toward Putin and fears in Congress about a realignment in U.S.-Russia relations may dominate confirmation proceedings early next year.

It is exactly because of President-Elect Trumps statements praising Putin, his flippant dismissal of the near-unanimous conclusion of the American intelligence community of Russias outrageous and unprecedented assault on our election by hacking, and the lack of clarity about his own potential conflicts of interests with Russian investors, that I see Tillersons friendship with Putin as a very concerning factor, said Coons, the Democratic member of the foreign relations committee.
It turns out Kanye West and Donald Trump weren't always so close.

While the president-elect told reporters that he and West have "been friends for a long time" after the two met at Trump Tower in New York City on Tuesday morning, it seems their relationship used to be way different.

WATCH: Kanye West Meets With Donald Trump at Trump Tower, Discusses 'Life' and Poses for Pics

During a conversation on Howard Stern's radio show in 2013, the president-elect body-shamed Kim Kardashian, who West would marry in 2014.

"Does she have a good body? No Does she have a fat a**? Absolutely," Trump said when asked by Stern to judge her appearance. "And if it weren't Kim, they'd say, 'Wow, I don't want to go out with her.'"

The 70-year-old businessman criticized Kardashian's body again later that year during an interview with HLN's Showbiz Tonight, while she was pregnant with daughter North, her first child with West.

"She's a nice person. I've known her over the years. She's a really nice person," he said. "She's gotten a little bit large. I would say this, I don't think you should dress like you weigh 120 pounds."

"I think that's great," Trump added after the reporter replied that Kardashian "feels good about herself." "If she feels good about herself, do it, Kim."

WATCH: Kanye West Tells Concertgoers He Would Have Voted for Donald Trump, Talks His 2020 Campaign

Trump has also attacked West in the past, publicly slamming the rapper in 2009 after he famously crashed the stage during Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, claiming that Beyonce had "one of the greatest videos of all time."

In an interview with TMZ, Trump called West's behavior "disgusting," and said that he would encourage a boycott on the rapper "so this kind of things doesn't happen again."

Story continues

The former Celebrity Apprentice host also told TMZ that he thought West's stage-crashing moment wasn't based on Beyonce's loss, but rather that he was "grandstanding to get attention."

Trump and West seem to have put their differences aside, however, as the president-elect sang the rapper's praises after their meeting on Tuesday.

WATCH: Wait, Is Kanye West REALLY a Donald Trump Supporter? -- See the Rapper's Democratic Campaign Contributions

"Just friends, just friends, and he's a good man," the hotel mogul told reporters while pointing to West, adding that they discussed "life" during their meeting. "We've been friends for a long time."

West stayed quiet during the pair's photo-op -- only saying that he wanted "to take a picture right now" -- but later took to Twitter to explain the purpose of their meeting.

"I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues," he tweeted, adding, "These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago." "I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change," he wrote, along with the hashtag, "#2024."

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

#2024  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

WATCH: Kanye West and Donald Trump's Meeting: New Details Emerge as Anna Wintour Also Visits the President-Elect

Tuesday's visit was one of West's first public appearances since being released from UCLA Medical Center on Nov. 30. The "Fade" rapper was hospitalized on Nov. 21 for what one source told ET was a "mental breakdown," while another said it was sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

On Monday, a source close to West told ET that he was currently in New York City for meetings about his fashion line, and that he is also looking for a new studio for the line.

See more in the video below.

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The fallout from Donald Trumps election win is far from over. More than a month after the results became official, the CIA announced last week that Russia intervened in the election to help Trump win. Trump rejected those claims Sunday and his comments have been called the latest evidence of a campaign fueled by gaslighting.

Trump won the presidency by gas light. His rise to power has awakened a force of bigotry by condoning and encouraging hatred, but also by normalizing deception, wrote Lauren Duca for Teen Vogue in a piece published Saturday. Civil rights are now on trial, though before we can fight to reassert the march toward equality, we must regain control of the truth.

Gaslighting, a term typically used to describe abusive relationships, refers to making someone question his or her sanity by way of psychological manipulation. The term comes from a 1938 movie in which a husband makes his wife question her perception of reality by hiding household items and blaming her for misplacing them. The wife clings to a single shred of evidence: the dimming of the lights that accompanies the late night execution of Jacks trickery, wrote Duca. Citing Trumps disproven claims such as his statements about Muslims cheering on 9/11 and that he never supported the Iraq war, Duca said the president-elect has effectively gaslighted the people.

The gas lighting part comes in when the fictions are disputed by the media, and Trump doubles down on his lies, before painting himself as a victim of unfair coverage and sometimes even threatening to revoke access, she wrote.

RTSUKLY

Photo: Reuters

Duca urged readers to differentiate between fake news and real and insist on transparency from the president-elect.

Various calls for investigation into possible Russian intervention have been made by Democratic and Republican officials alike since the CIA made its announcement.

Story continues

Trump, for his part, has remained adamant in his rejection of claims that Russia hacked the election.

Its just another excuse. I dont believe it, he told Fox News Chris Wallace in an interview Sunday. We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the Electoral College.

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Kanye West met with Donald Trump at his Trump Tower on Tuesday morning.

The rapper arrived at the lobby of the president-elect's Manhattan headquarters shortly after 9 a.m. ET and West, who had a videographer in tow, avoided questions from reporters as he headed up the elevators.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the pair met at West's request. After the face-to-face, the pair spoke to reporters in the lobby.

When asked what they had discussed, Trump said only, "We've been friends for a long time."

Reporters pressed the pair on whether they were meeting about Trump's upcoming Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump looked at West and shot him a smile when asked if West planned to perform. But Trump replied only that they talked about "life."

West, newly blonde, remained nearly silent and stood with his arms crossed. When pushed for a comment about the meeting and his plans to run for president in 2020, the Saint Pablo singer said, "I just wanted to take a picture right now" with a smile.

The pair smiled at each other and when saying goodbye, Trump told West to take care of himself and that he would "see him soon."

"We've been friends for a long time": Kanye West and President-elect Trump appear together at Trump Tower https://t.co/QoofBJzY1x pic.twitter.com/DK6z1P9LhG

- CNN (@CNN) December 13, 2016

On a conference call held by Trump's transition team on Tuesday, communications director Jason Miller said Trump met with "longtime friend" West and "enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with him." He added, "It was fun to watch some of the media folks' reaction to that." He said he was curious about the meeting and planned to ask Trump about it himself.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Miller said the pair met because Trump "is going to be president for all Americans," and added that West "has had positive things to say about the president-elect." Trump is interested in "putting together coalitions" and wants to "reach out to people both from traditional and nontraditional political viewpoints."

Story continues

West took to Twitter later on Tuesday to say that he "wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues." Citing bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums and violence in Chicago as the issues, West said it's "important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change."

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.

- KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.

- KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.

- KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

West then posted the hashtag #2024, a presumed nod to him running for president in 2024, as opposed to 2020, which was the year he initially proposed and when Trump would run for a second term if he decided to do so. The hip-hop star and husband to Kim Kardashian famously announced his decision to run in 2020 during the 2015 VMAs.

#2024

- KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

A rep for West did not respond to a request for further details from The Hollywood Reporter's sister publication Billboard.

This is one of West's first public appearances since being hospitalized three weeks ago for exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Ahead of his hospitalization, he told a crowd at his California concert that he would have voted for Trump, if he had voted.

The statement came amid a lengthy political rant during his show, where West discussed his own policy points and compared them to Trump's while doubling down on his vow to run for president. Days later, he canceled the remaining dates on his Saint Pablo Tour.

On Wednesday, West shared a photo of Trump's Time Person of the Year cover, which was signed by Trump and made out to West. "To Kanye, You are a great friend. Thanks," it read.

pic.twitter.com/tNMBk0sZJw

- KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 14, 2016

Read more: Kanye West Released From Hospital

Dec. 14, 11:35 a.m. ET: Updated with Time cover.

Dec. 13, 3:20 p.m: Updated with West tweets.
Photo credit: undefined

From Town & Country

Update 12/13/16: In a recent interview with Fox News, Donald Trump shared how much he'd love for his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner to be a part of his administration.

"I would love to be able to have them involved," he said. "If you look at Ivanka, you take a look, she's so strong, as you know, to the women's issue and childcare, and so many things-she'd be so good. Nobody can do better than her. I'd just have to see whether or not we can do that. She'd like to do that.... I'd love to have Jared helping us on deals with other nations and see if we can do peace in the Middle East, and other things. He's very talented. He's a very talented guy. So, we're looking at that from a legal standpoint right now."

A recent series of tweets from Trump also suggests that Ivanka will play a role in his administration, and further confirms that his two elder sons will run his business.

Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the...... - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016

Presidency. Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office. - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016

Original: "People think that you're going to be part of the administration, Ivanka," posed CBS news anchor Lesley Stahl.

While it would be unprecedented, it's certainly not a crazy assumption. Throughout her father's campaign, Ivanka served as a trusted advisor, giving speeches at events, appearing in advertisements, and reportedly shaping Trump's message.

But her response to Stahl affirms that she doesn't want a job in her father's government-at least not an official one.

Story continues

"I'm going to be a daughter," she said. "Wage equality, childcare. These are things that are very important for me. I'm very passionate about education. Really promoting more opportunities for women. So you know, there're a lot of things that I feel deeply, strongly about. But not in a formal administrative capacity."

We're only into week two of Trump's President-elect status, and it already appears that "formal administrative capacity" is merely semantics when it comes to Ivanka. On Thursday, she sat in on her father's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Trump Tower. Press pool reporters were not given access to the discussion, so it is unclear what role she played. We only know she was there because the Japanese cabinet public relations office shared a photo of the meeting.

Ivanka Trump sat in on her father's meeting today with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, per handout photo pic.twitter.com/tEbfYYeJFA - Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) November 18, 2016

Legally, her father couldn't appoint her to an official position in his White House, even if she wanted one.

Established under the Johnson administration, in what many saw as a reaction to President Kennedy's appointment of his brother Bobby as Attorney General, the Federal Anti-Nepotism laws state that "A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official."

Photo credit: undefined

Basically, Trump can't employ his relatives in the West Wing. But, according to Kevin Liptak at CNN, Trump could skirt the law if his children or son-in-law Jared Kushner opted to forgo a paycheck.

Liptak spoke with Steve Vladeck, a CNN contributor and law professor about that prospect: "While it's true that the penalty for violation of the statute is just to withhold salary or other financial remuneration from the wrongfully appointed employee," Vladeck said. "There's also the possibility that any action taken by such a wrongfully appointed employee could be subject to legal challenge and potentially even be voidable."

So then what-if any-role will Trump's kids play in his government?

For now, the oldest children, Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr. are fulfilling two duties that appear to be profoundly at odds with one another. First, they each hold a position on Trump's transition team, a small group of loyal advisors helping to fill the President-elect's cabinet and lay the groundwork for his early days in office. Trump's younger daughter Tiffany was excluded from the team, as was his 10-year-old son, Barron. But like in the campaign, his son-in-law Kushner plays a key role.

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Trump has also said that he will relinquish control of his corporate interests to his children, in a "blind trust" that the Washington Post described as "neither blind nor trustworthy."

"What happens when the Trump kids, having played a role in picking the leaders of this department, need a favor, or oppose a regulation?" columnist Ruth Marcus asked. "You might say that Trump administration officials might feel beholden to the Trump Organization whether or not Ivanka was on the transition team, but that is hardly comforting."

This week, there was some back and forth over whether the Trump transition team had requested security clearance for his older three children or his son-in-law Kushner. The New York Times is now reporting that "no security clearance is coming for Ivanka Trump or Jared Kushner," citing sources close to the Trump transition who say that the couple have no intention to apply for it.

Either way, it's becoming clear that official or not, the Trump children will be playing some role in their father's administration, and for the Trump Organization, business as usual will be anything but for the next four years.

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Omaha police on Monday were investigating the death of an 18-year-old man they say shot himself while barricaded inside a north Omaha home, according to a news release.

Someone called 911 around 2:30 p.m. saying the 18-year-old was damaging their cars near 50th Street and Hartman Avenue, the release said.

Officers arrived to find the man had barricaded himself in the bedroom of a nearby home, and as they spoke to him through a door, he shot himself once with a handgun, the release said.

He was taken to Nebraska Medicine and pronounced dead a short time later, the release said.

The man's parents were also home at the time that two officers were inside speaking to the man, the release said. They have been interviewed by police and are cooperating with the investigation.

Body camera footage captured by one of the officers is consistent with the accounts the officers and the man's parents provided to the department's officer-involved investigation team, the release said.

The man's death will be investigated by a grand jury as required by Nebraska law whenever someone dies in police custody.
Although President-elect Donald Trump called Kanye West his long time friend after their Tuesday meeting in Manhattan, the 70-year-old once publicly slammed the rapper.

In a 2009 interview with TMZ, Trump called for a boycott of West in the wake of his now-infamous stage-crashing interruption of Taylor Swift at the VMAs that year.

West stole the microphone from Swift as she accepted the VMA for best female video, claiming that nominee Beyonce had one of the greatest videos of all time.

Jason DeCrow/AP

The president-elect called Wests behavior disgusting at the time, and said he would boycott West so this kind of thing doesnt happen again.

Trump further told TMZ that he felt Wests actions werent even based on Beyonces loss, but rather the rapper was just grandstanding to get attention.

On Tuesday, West and Trump posed for photos after their early morning meeting, with the latter telling reporters that they had discussed life.

RELATED VIDEO: Yes, Donald Trump Just Met With Kanye West

Just weeks ago, West told the crowd at his Saint Pablo tour stop in San Jose, California, that he didnt vote in the presidential election, but if he had, he would have voted for Trump.

Shortly after, West canceled the rest of the tours remaining dates, and was hospitalized for exhaustion and sleep deprivation. He remained under physicians care at UCLA Medical Center for just over a week.




President-elect Donald Trump is postponing a planned announcement as to how he will try to mitigate his extensive potential conflicts of interest once he is sworn in. The press conference, set for Thursday, will be postponed into the new year, aides said. Trump tweeted late Monday that he will hand off control to his two adult sons and his business executives, and that No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office. But by maintaining ownership, Trump will continue to face tough questions about his business dealings over the course of his administration.

The press conference was set to be Trumps first since July, when he called on Russia to hack Hillary Clintons emails. Now, Trump is facing more pressure over his refusal to acknowledge Russian-backed hacking during the 2016 election. While the intelligence community is split over whether there is sufficient proof that Russia intended to help Trumps candidacy, there is broad consensus that Russia was responsible for the DNC hack, as well as the breach of Clinton aide John Podestas Gmail account. The issue is set to take center stage as Trumps newly-announced intended nominee for Secretary of State, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, faces the Senate.

Clintons team is calling on the intelligence community to hold briefings for presidential electors, as they continue to cast the legitimacy of Trumps election into doubt. Labor Secretary Tom Perez is set to run for DNC chair with the backing of the White House. And Obama swipes at Trump over intelligence briefings.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

Hillary Clintons Camp Wants the Electoral College to Get an Intelligence Briefing

Amid questions about Russias influence in Donald Trumps win [TIME]

Top U.S. spy agency has not embraced CIA assessment on Russia hacking

Divisions over whether the spy agency can prove intent [Reuters]

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez Is Said to Plan Run to Lead D.N.C.

Story continues

Ready to give the Warren-wing a run for its money [New York Times]

Donald Trump Just Fired a Heat-Seeking Tweet at the Pentagons Fattest Target

President-elect says F-35 costs are out of control [TIME]

White House rails against Trump for not accepting evidence of Russia hacking

Rare rebuke of the President-elect [Politico]

Sound Off

It doesnt matter how smart you are, you have to have the best information possible to make the best decision possible. If youre not getting their perspective, their detailed perspective, then you are flying blind. President Barack Obama on The Daily Show on President-elect Donald Trumps refusal to partake in daily intelligence briefings.

Im, like, a smart person. I dont have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years. Donald Trump to Fox News Sunday

Bits and Bites

Obama: President without briefings flying blind [TIME]

Donald Trump Postpones Announcement on Future of His Businesses to January [TIME]

Yes, Donald Trump Just Met With Kanye West [TIME]

RNC keeps close tabs on Electoral College vote [Politico]

Trump team working to remove top NATO official [Washington Post]
By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - The global pharmaceuticals industry is set to win the lowest annual number of new drug approvals this year since 2010 and a new report on Tuesday suggests drugmakers' returns on research investment are deteriorating. Only 19 new drugs have been approved in the key U.S. market so far in 2016 and, with less than three weeks to go, it is clear the full-year tally will be well down on 2015 and 2014's bumper haul of 45 and 41 new products respectively. At the same time the profitability of drug research is being squeezed by steadily rising costs and increasing political pressure over the high prices of many modern medicines. As a result projected returns on investment in research and development (R&D) for the top 12 pharmaceutical companies have fallen to just 3.7 percent this year from a high of 10.1 percent in 2010, according to consultancy Deloitte. "The majority of companies are struggling to achieve historical peak sales," said Colin Terry, a director in Deloitte's life sciences practice. "As costs per product remain high, sales projections decline, and given it now takes the industry over 14 years to launch a drug, real questions should be raised about productivity and returns on innovation." Deloitte's annual report calculates the return on investment that leading drug companies can expect based on long-term sales forecasts. Many industry executives still remain upbeat about finding new medicines, given advances in understanding the genetic basis of a wide range of diseases. However, they acknowledge the peak approval rates seen in 2014 and 2015 were exceptional. An increasing number of new treatments are being targeted at niche patient populations and are designed for rare diseases or very specific sub-types of cancer. With a few more drugs still expected to win a green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month, including Roche's closely watched multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus, Deutsche Bank analysts believe the final total of new approvals for 2016 will be around 22. That is well below the 2005-2015 average of 28 but next year there could be a rebound, given the industry's promising development pipeline. Some products that were delayed in 2016, such as Sanofi and Regeneron's sarilumab for rheumatoid arthritis, could also get a green light. As a result, Deutsche sees potential for a 2017 new drug tally of 37 - and the industry could receive a boost if FDA reform speeds up the approval process. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also waved through fewer new products this year, recommending a total of 73 new medicines in the first 11 months of 2016 against a 2015 total of 93. Unlike the FDA, the EMA includes generic drugs in its list. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Scott and Deirdre Gurney arent taking their sacking from ITV lying down.

Days after the Gurneys, producers on the A&E reality series Duck Dynasty, were sacked from ITV America and sued for fraud by the company, an attorney for the couple said that the producers will mount a countersuit.

This is a blatant, desperate attempt at intimidation by ITV, a classic greedy corporate grab, solely for the purpose of enriching one shareholder at the expense of the founders who built this company into the highly valued, sustained financial success story that it is, the couples attorney, Michael E. Weinsten, said. The claims against the Gurneys are completely baseless and fraught with contradictions, inconsistencies and outright falsehoods. My clients are considering all of their legal options and are preparing to respond accordingly.

Also Read: 'Duck Dynasty' Producers Scott and Deirdre Gurney Fired and Sued for Fraud by ITV

The Gurneys were given the heave-ho by ITV on Friday, the same day that the company filed a lawsuit against them for fraud and breach of contract.

According to ITV, an audit determined that the couple was secretly operating another production company that competed with Gurney Productions, which ITV purchased in 2012.

Following a meeting with Scott and Deirdre Gurney, the Board of Gurney Productions has been left with no alternative but to terminate their employment and file a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California on the grounds of self-dealing, fraudulent concealment and breach of contract, a Gurney Productions spokeswoman wrote.

Also Read: 'Duck Dynasty' Producers Scott and Deirdre Gurney Put On Leave in Company Audit

According to the lawsuit, the Gurneys sold a majority stake in their production company  which produces A&Es Duck Dynasty, about a Louisiana backwoods family with a successful duck call business  but then secretly formed a new production entity, Snake River Productions.

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They formed Snake River as part of an unlawful plan to misappropriate the companys opportunities for themselves and to artificially inflate the companys EBITDA, or earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization, the complaint added.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

Related stories from TheWrap:

'Duck Dynasty' Producers Scott and Deirdre Gurney Fired and Sued for Fraud by ITV

'Duck Dynasty' Producers Scott and Deirdre Gurney Put On Leave in Company Audit

'Duck Dynasty,' Reality Hit and Symbol of Culture Wars, to End After Current Season
The Hague (AFP) - The Dutch economy has grown by 2.1 percent this year the government's economic think tank said on Tuesday, thereby recovering to pre-financial crisis levels.

"With one quarter to go, 2016 has been a special year for economic recovery," The Hague-based Central Planning Office (CPB) said in a statement.

"Production per capita is back to 2008 levels following double dips in 2009 and 2012-13," the CPB said, adding that the last time Europe's sixth-largest economy showed such growth after a sustained crisis period was back in the 1980s.

Unemployment also fell, from 6.9 percent to 6.0 percent, in 2016 with a further dip to 5.3 percent predicted for next year -- but remains well above the 4.0 percent unemployment figure of 2008.

The CPB said improved growth was mainly due to a rise in consumer spending, with a thaw in the housing market -- which has seen a price freeze for several years -- having also stimulated spending.

It warned however that many uncertainties possibly affecting economic growth remained for next year, including fears over Britain's plans to leave the EU and US economic policy under a Trump administration.

The Dutch economy took a serious blow in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and has seen several years of austerity-driven budgets by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberal-Labour coalition government.

But Rutte has recently been driving home the point that the economy is improving -- an important rallying point for the Dutch premier ahead of planned parliamentary polls in March next year.
PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The president of the East Aleppo local council said on Tuesday a deal had been struck to evacuate civilians and rebel fighters from the besieged city to western Syria with the first buses expected to leave early tomorrow morning.

"It's not the best solution ... it's the least worst," Brita Hagi Hasan told reporters in Paris. "At the moment it's just words and still needs to be implemented."

He said five buses would initially start taking people out of the city to safety from 0500 local time to the west of the country, but that rebel fighters remained distrustful that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and Russia would implement their part of the bargain.

Hasan said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would manage the process.

(Reporting by John Irish and Tatiana Chadenat; Editing by Leigh Thomas)
Pro-government forces advanced into the Syrian city of Aleppo this week, entering homes and killing civilians. At least 82 Syrians were killed Monday alone, according to an estimate made by United Nations. The UN reported that bodies littered the streets and residents were unable to retrieve them due to continued bombardment and shooting. The International Rescue Committee released a statement on the devastating situation in the region Tuesday.

Eastern Aleppo has become a bloody graveyard for thousands of innocent people and for the death of respect for international law and the rules of war, said David Miliband, president and CEO of the committee. Weve seen countless attacks on the homes of civilians, institutions created for good like hospitals and schools bombed and destroyed, plus reports from the UN of families being shot in cold blood.

Syrians took to social media to post last goodbye messages as the bombardment continued. Others pleaded with people to protest at the UN to stop the massacre.

This could be my final appeal  everybody that can send a message to his government, to his country  ask him to stop the aggression, stop the killing, stop the war, Salim Abu Al-Nassar, a dentist in eastern Aleppo, posted in a video shared on social media Tuesday.

The troops are backing Syrian President Bashar Assad. Conflict in Syria has escalated since 2011 after protests known as the Arab Spring divided the nation. Russia began bombing Syria in 2015 to back the government.

The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women, and children, the destruction, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Tuesday. And we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict.

The pictures below show the devastation in Aleppo.

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe's banking regulator has lowered the individual capital requirements for Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) for next year, Germany's second-largest lender said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the European Central Bank's Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP), which looks at the risk profiles of lenders, Commerzbank will need to show a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 8.5 percent in 2017, compared to 10.25 percent for 2016.

Commerzbank posted a capital ratio of 13.6 percent according to the Basel 3 transitional rules as of 30 September 2016.

The ECB supervises the euro zone's top lenders and is looking at whether banks need extra capital under a supervisory review and evaluation process, or SREP.

It considers how much extra capital a bank should hold on top of its mandatory minimum requirements, and helps to formulate "capital guidance" for each bank.

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Tina Bellon)
The children had been living in a storage unit, the back of a car and in rented rooms.

When Crete police arrested their 29-year-old mother Thursday on a Lancaster County warrant, officers found the three youngest -- ages 5, 3 and 2 -- in the back of an SUV, filthy, half-clothed and each holding a stolen boxer puppy.

The case is not typical of homeless families, said Pastor Tom Barber of the Peoples City Mission. The vast majority of people who are homeless in Lincoln are women and children, but they generally arent living on the street.

Instead, he said, they tend to stay with family, and more than 60 percent of their cases are related to domestic abuse.

Two-hundred seventeen families, including 449 children and 228 adults, sought help in Lincoln over a one-year period ending Oct. 31, according to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincolns Center on Children, Families, and the Law.

Of the adults, 92 percent were women.

The actual number of homeless women and children likely is larger because those figures dont count people who stay with family and friends rather than seek emergency services, Barber said.

The Crete woman arrested last week has five children according to court records. Her oldest daughter, 12, lived with her father at the time. The woman is not named here to protect the identity of her kids.

Her second oldest, a 9-year-old boy, has missed school for days or weeks and bounced between Crete and Lincoln school districts seven times since 2013, according to court records.

School officials said his mother appeared intoxicated and unable to follow conversations when they spoke with her, court records show.

The boy spent days in intensive care this summer after he nearly lost his left arm when it became badly infected, and court records indicate his mother neglected to take him to follow-up medical appointments after doctors put pins in his arm to fix a broken bone.

Medical staff contacted state officials in August, and Crete police contacted the woman and offered to drive them to appointments. Still, court records say, she failed to take the boy to doctors.

Its unclear why the family ended up homeless, but they spent months in hotels, the storage unit and a car. Court records say the mother refused to cooperate with Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services caseworkers.

Luis Cuevas, who owns a private shop on the west side of Crete, said he occasionally saw the kids playing outside the nearby storage unit and adults coming and going during the past three months. He suspected the woman and her children were living in the unheated unit, he said Monday.

A man staying with the family occasionally stopped by the shop to borrow power cords, he said.

Then Cuevas six purebred boxer puppies went missing last week. They were 5 weeks old, too young to be separated from their mother.

Meanwhile, Crete police caught up with her Thursday as she dropped her 9-year-old son off at school after he'd been truant for days. In the back seat of her trash-filled SUV, officers found her youngest three children holding puppies.

The 5- and 3-year-old girls each had one bare foot and the 2-year-old girl was naked from the waist down and wrapped in a blanket, according to court documents.

Investigators believe the childrens mother sold three of the dogs. One was returned and two remain missing, Crete Police Lt. Gary Young said.

Police arrested the woman on a misdemeanor warrant for pawning property by a convicted person and cited her for possession of stolen property, theft and child abuse.

The children have been placed with their fathers. Their mother was in Saline County jail Monday evening.
* Suicide bomber said linked to banned Islamist movement

* Mother says he had been abused in custody

* Purported video footage shows moments before blast

By Lin Noueihed and Ahmed Mohammed Hassan

CAIRO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber who killed at least 25 people in Cairo's main cathedral on Sunday was a Muslim Brotherhood supporter who joined a militant cell while on the run from police, the Interior Ministry said.

In an interview with Reuters, the mother of the alleged bomber said he had been sexually abused in police custody in 2014, but she had seen no sign he had been radicalised.

At least 49 people were wounded when the bomb went off in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic Christian papacy.

The interior ministry named the attacker on Monday as Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa, a 22-year-old student. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said four people had been detained and two were on the run.

Sisi took power in 2013, deposing Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has since outlawed the Islamist movement as part of a crackdown in which hundreds of its supporters have been killed and thousands jailed.

The Interior Ministry said Mahmoud was arrested in March 2014 for carrying arms during a protest, and was freed on bail after two months. It said he had joined a cell led by Mohab Mostafa Sayyed Qassem, a militant with links to Islamic State fighters in Northern Sinai and exiled Brotherhood officials in Qatar, and was wanted in two other cases.

"MAHMOUD WOULD NOT DO THIS"

Sitting in a two-storey house with her four daughters, his mother, Umm Bilal, said Mahmoud fled to Sudan shortly after being released.

"Mahmoud would not do this... he would not kill anyone," she shouted as she listened to a news report on the bombing.

Mahmoud's father died two years ago, said Umm Bilal, who wore a robe and Islamic face covering, or niqab. The young man called his mother regularly from abroad.

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"He said he would not return because security forces would detain him again," Umm Bilal said, adding that the last call came about a week ago.

"He was asking after me and his sisters... I didn't notice any change in his voice or anything to suggest he would blow himself up."

Umm Bilal said her son was not radicalised, but had returned broken from police custody. Mahmoud had confided in his brother, she said, that he was sexually assaulted.

"He kept crying all night... He wasn't crying because he was beaten or tortured, though the scars were still visible on his face and body," she said. "I believe they broke him at the station, they violated his honour."

She said his two brothers had also been arrested, one of them after the bombing.

SPLINTERED MOVEMENT

The Muslim Brotherhood won Egypt's first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Mursi became president but was toppled two years later after mass protests.

Egypt's oldest Islamist organisation says it is peaceful, but has split into rival wings since the crackdown, while some erstwhile supporters have formed splinter groups that carry out targeted attacks on police and judicial officials.

Disillusioned by its ill-fated flirtation with democracy, some younger Brotherhood supporters have gone to fight in Syria or joined the local arm of Islamic State, which since 2013 has killed hundreds of soldiers and police in Egypt's Sinai peninsula. The army has responded by conducting air strikes and bulldozing entire villages.

No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing, but Islamic State supporters celebrated online. The group has urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds.

CCTV footage surfaced overnight showing a man walking briskly out of the church and another walking in seconds before the blast. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the footage.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba, writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
By Lin Noueihed and Ahmed Mohammed Hassan CAIRO (Reuters) - A suicide bomber who killed at least 25 people in Cairo's main cathedral on Sunday was a Muslim Brotherhood supporter who joined a militant cell while on the run from police, the Interior Ministry said. In an interview with Reuters, the mother of the alleged bomber said he had been sexually abused in police custody in 2014, but she had seen no sign he had been radicalized. At least 49 people were wounded when the bomb went off in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic Christian papacy. The interior ministry named the attacker on Monday as Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa, a 22-year-old student. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said four people had been detained and two were on the run. Sisi took power in 2013, deposing Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has since outlawed the Islamist movement as part of a crackdown in which hundreds of its supporters have been killed and thousands jailed. The Interior Ministry said Mahmoud was arrested in March 2014 for carrying arms during a protest, and was freed on bail after two months. It said he had joined a cell led by Mohab Mostafa Sayyed Qassem, a militant with links to Islamic State fighters in Northern Sinai and exiled Brotherhood officials in Qatar, and was wanted in two other cases. "MAHMOUD WOULD NOT DO THIS" Sitting in a two-storey house with her four daughters, his mother, Umm Bilal, said Mahmoud fled to Sudan shortly after being released. "Mahmoud would not do this... he would not kill anyone," she shouted as she listened to a news report on the bombing. Mahmoud's father died two years ago, said Umm Bilal, who wore a robe and Islamic face covering, or niqab. The young man called his mother regularly from abroad. "He said he would not return because security forces would detain him again," Umm Bilal said, adding that the last call came about a week ago. "He was asking after me and his sisters... I didn't notice any change in his voice or anything to suggest he would blow himself up." Umm Bilal said her son was not radicalized, but had returned broken from police custody. Mahmoud had confided in his brother, she said, that he was sexually assaulted. "He kept crying all night... He wasn't crying because he was beaten or tortured, though the scars were still visible on his face and body," she said. "I believe they broke him at the station, they violated his honor." She said his two brothers had also been arrested, one of them after the bombing. SPLINTERED MOVEMENT The Muslim Brotherhood won Egypt's first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Mursi became president but was toppled two years later after mass protests. Egypt's oldest Islamist organization says it is peaceful, but has split into rival wings since the crackdown, while some erstwhile supporters have formed splinter groups that carry out targeted attacks on police and judicial officials. Disillusioned by its ill-fated flirtation with democracy, some younger Brotherhood supporters have gone to fight in Syria or joined the local arm of Islamic State, which since 2013 has killed hundreds of soldiers and police in Egypt's Sinai peninsula. The army has responded by conducting air strikes and bulldozing entire villages. No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing, but Islamic State supporters celebrated online. The group has urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds. CCTV footage surfaced overnight showing a man walking briskly out of the church and another walking in seconds before the blast. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the footage. (Click here to view the map locating site of bombing in Cairo: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/EGYPT-SECURITY-BLAST/010030ZH24S/EGYPT-SECURITY-BLAST-01.jpg) (Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba, writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Emma Thompson will be blogging with Mrs. Claus for this super important reason

When we think of Santa Claus, we think of elves. We think of reindeer. We think of toys. Who do we not usually think of? Mrs. Claus. Emma Thompson joins a campaign to empower women by creating a blog from Mrs. Claus perspective.

ActionAid UK is an organization with goals to raise the visibility of hidden women and girls around the world. Theyre running a special campaign for the holiday season by focusing on Mrs. Claus. The blog, called Yours, Mrs. Claus, will feature stories and inspiration from Mrs. Claus. But ActionAid UK has also collected various awesome ladies like Emma Thompson to contribute stories as well.

Emma Thompson joined the campaign, because she like its synergy with the holiday season.

"Bridget Jones's Baby" - World Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals

Emma Thompson told Female First, I was inspired by this campaign and the synergy that it draws between the often hidden Mrs Claus, and the work that ActionAid does to support some of the most marginalized women and girls living in the poorest parts of the world.I have seen for myself how ActionAid champions these women and works with local volunteers to empower them to change their lives for good.

ActionAid UK wants to bring women who are hidden into the spotlight.

'Alone in Berlin' Premiere - 66th Berlinale International Film Festival

Jessica Holland, the Head of Brand Marketing and PR at ActionAid UK, explained that Mrs. Claus is often portrayed as a nameless, voiceless, stereotyped and hidden woman, which made her the perfect character to bring to life the story of the women and children we help around the world. She explains that theyre using the internet as a cost-effective way to reach women who need support. Plus, they also have their Gifts in Action site, which offers an array of action items that people can purchase, so they see clearly where their financial donation is going.

Other awesome ladies will be participating, including comedian Jo Brand.

The Mencap Big Comedy Special

Jo explained her involvement with the organization to Female First, ActionAid is doing really heartening and important work across the globe to give powerless women and girls some say in their lives.

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Check out Yours, Mrs. Claus here.

Were glad to see Mrs. Claus finally getting her time to shine!

The post Emma Thompson will be blogging with Mrs. Claus for this super important reason appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Seoul (AFP) - Senior US, Japanese and South Korean officials with special responsibility for the North Korean nuclear issue held talks Tuesday, at a time of political flux and policy uncertainty in Washington and Seoul.

"We shared the view that it is more important than ever to keep close cooperation among the three countries," South Korea's nuclear envoy Kim Hong-Kyun told reporters after the meeting in Seoul.

The three envoys get together regularly in each other's capitals and one of their main aims is to shape and maintain a consensus on how best to deal with the growing nuclear weapons threat from Pyongyang.

It's a consensus that is looking particularly frail at the moment.

The trio's meeting in Seoul on Tuesday was the first since the eruption of a major political scandal in South Korea that resulted in parliament voting last week to impeach President Park Geun-Hye.

Park took a hard line with North Korea and was a staunch ally of Washington's policy of "strategic patience" -- essentially a refusal to engage in any significant dialogue unless Pyongyang made some tangible commitment to denuclearisation.

Although Park's impeachment still requires approval by the Constitutional Court, most observers are betting on an early election that could result in a more pro-engagement president entering the Blue House.

- Tectonic shifts -

It is also the first trilateral meeting since Donald Trump became US president-elect -- a result that could presage some tectonic shifts in US foreign policy, including how to deal with the security situation on the Korean peninsula.

In a recent interview that drew expressions of deep concern from Beijing, Trump questioned Washington's traditional "one China policy" -- the cornerstone of decades of Sino-American diplomacy.

Adherence to the policy should be linked to other bilateral issues, Trump argued, citing the need for China to do far more to help pressure North Korea into abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.

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"There are, to be frank with you, important domestic transitions going on both in Washington and Seoul and I'm sure like everyone else, North Koreans are watching those transitions carefully," the US nuclear envoy Joseph Yun told reporters in Seoul.

Yun spun the hiatus as an "opportunity" for Pyongyang to reconsider its opposition to denuclearisation.

"But so far of course we have not seen any signs that they want to engage," he added.

Specifically addressing the transition in Washington, Yun said it was inevitable that a new administration would take a "fresh look" at outstanding foreign policy issues.

But he stressed that US policy on North Korea had generally enjoyed broad bi-partisan support.

"Nobody, whether they are Republican or Democrat, has ever said anything but the goal of denuclearisation ... so I'm not really worried about that," he said.

High on Tuesday's agenda was implementation of the new sanctions announced earlier this month by the UN Security Council, following North Korea's fifth nuclear test in September.

The measures aimed at blocking Pyongyang's access to hard currency revenues included a cap on North Korea's coal exports -- a key foreign exchange earner.

The United States, Japan and South Korea followed up by announcing their own unilateral sanctions, which Kim said they would try to coordinate in the most effective way possible.
By Alan Baldwin LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The greatest partnership in dressage comes to an emotional end on Wednesday when Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro make their final competitive appearance together. The evening will not, however, be the end of a love story that has captivated millions around the world since the pairing won individual and team golds at their home 2012 London Olympics. "I don't think there will ever be a horse that can replace Valegro," Dujardin, 31, told Reuters in an interview after leading the 14-year-old gelding out for the cameras at the London International Horse Show at Olympia. "But I do have some really nice up-and-coming horses as well behind him. I look at it that it's sad but it's not the end of Valegro. He's still going to be seen but just not competing. It's the start of another chapter." Together, Dujardin and Valegro won everything there was to win in dressage, where horse and rider perform a highly-trained routine choreographed to music. At the Rio de Janeiro Games in August, Dujardin retained her individual Olympic title while also taking a team silver. Her fiance Dean Golding, in the crowd, wore a shirt with the words "Can we get married now?" on it but he is still waiting for a date. "I've done so many interviews about my wedding it's put me off," she said with a smile. "One day I'm going to do it. I'm just going to nip away and have the smallest, secret wedding that nobody knows about." Tokyo in four years' time is already on the radar and Dujardin has several promising rides, with Mount St John Freestyle exciting those in the know. Valegro, though, can look forward to a pampered new life, cantering in the fields and making celebrity appearances. FRIEND ALWAYS "He's just somebody that has been a friend always," said Dujardin. "Going to competitions and not having him there, that will be the hardest thing. "But...he's still at the stables. If I want to ride him I can ride him. He's always going to be there. I'm going to go off and do demonstrations around the world with him. I've always got that to look forward to so it's not the end of him." Dujardin recalled her first reaction to the horse that would transform her life. Valegro was four years old and being ridden by co-owner and British team member Carl Hester. She stared open-mouthed and went 'Wow'. "I guess it's like when you get a boyfriend or a girlfriend and you kind of know that person's for you. I like really fast horses, I like really sensitive horses...and he was all those things," said Dujardin. "It's like sitting in a Ferrari and going 'yes, I love that power'. That's what he's like. He has so much power, so much ability and his trainability is incredible. I just remember getting on him, loving it and thinking he's the perfect horse. "We read each other. He knows when I'm a little bit tense or nervous and he can reassure me and I can do it for him.". Hester, who rejected huge sums for the horse after the London Games, is promising to keep Valegro active as a global ambassador for dressage. "He can't breed because he's a gelding and basically he would just turn into a great, fat lard if you just turned him out in a field because he is an eater. He definitely is an eater," he told Reuters. "That goes a little bit with his personality because he's so chilled and laid back. Wherever you put him he's just like: 'I'm eating'. He's got to be kept ridden to maintain fitness and suppleness. He won't be just doing nothing." (Editing by Tony Jimenez)
Alex Jones from Infowars.com and St. Augustine. (Photo combination: Yahoo News; photos: Lucas Jackson/Reuters, Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

A dozen or so years ago, I was working on a profile of Zig Ziglar, the famous motivational speaker who died in 2012, and I went to hear him speak at his church in a suburb of Dallas. His topic, as a lay lecturer in adult Sunday school, was the threat of cults, and he began by mocking the creation myth of Scientology  the whole baroque science-fiction epic starting 4 quadrillion years ago and proceeding through the Galactic Overlord, the frozen thetans and the nuclear holocaust on a planet called Teegeeack.

Now, I ask you, he said, wrapping up his recitation, how could any of this fool an intelligent, thinking man or woman who has read the first four chapters of Genesis?

Well, yes, precisely. Scientology is incompatible with Christianity, or Judaism or Islam; you cannot by any stretch of reason believe in both. What went without saying, to Ziglar and to his audience that morning, was the logical superiority of a six-day Creation and a talking snake, and by extension the flood and the ark, the litany of biblical miracles and the Resurrection.

But from an agnostic standpoint, theres no inherent reason to believe one account over the other. They are stories written in books that function as their own authority. People believe in the Bible as a matter of faith, because they accept its message of redemption, not because of empirical evidence or the inherent plausibility of the individual stories within it. This has been true as far back as Augustine, who held that faith and reason go together, but faith leads the way: Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.

Does that remind you of something transpiring in American society at this moment? Many Americans subscribe to conspiracy theories as preposterous as anything L. Ron Hubbard could have dreamt up, and  because they relate to current events and real living people  far more dangerous. Just in the past few days, a man shot up a Washington pizzeria, acting under the delusion that it was the headquarters of a child-sex ring involving Hillary Clinton, and a woman who believed that the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre was a government hoax was arrested for making threats against the parents of a child who died there.

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Conspiracy theories exist across the political spectrum, but some of the most influential purveyors populate the far right, including the radio commentator Alex Jones, who has claimed that not just Sandy Hook but also the 9/11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing were false flag operations staged by the federal government as pretexts to expand its tyranny. And Jones has had as a guest on his show Donald Trump, whose campaign abandoned even the pretense of grounding statements in empirical fact. The unemployment rate was whatever he said it was  probably 28, 29, as high as 35  and Barack Obama was born in Africa right up until the moment it became expedient to say something else.

Many of these absurd beliefs originate in fake news, clickbait posts whose authors may not even care if they are believed, as long as there are enough suckers out there to click on them. This has led to calls by media figures and other interested parties, Hillary Clinton among them, for a crackdown on the way social media sites abet the spread of nonsense. But the bigger question is, how could someone possibly believe that one of the most visible and recognizable figures in the world, surrounded at all times by aides and security, was sneaking into the basement of a pizza parlor to have sex with children? Who are those people?

By a wide margin, Trump was supported by (white) evangelical Christian voters. And in Brooklyn, N.Y., one of the few areas where he did well was the Orthodox and Hasidic enclave of Borough Park. Obviously, people supported Trump for all sorts of reasons, including some grounded in religious conviction, such as opposition to abortion, but also some that had nothing to do with faith. And, of course, many religious people voted the other way. But, to state the obvious, a precondition for believing, along with Jones, that Hillary Clinton is a literal demon from hell is a belief that demons and hell exist in the first place. It is much easier to ignore evidence about global warming if you believe, with Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., that Earths climate is controlled directly by God. More generally, is there something in the mindset of a religious believer  someone who accepts the reality of an unseen deity, based on ancient accounts of events with no parallel in everyday experience  that encourages the acceptance of unprovable claims in the realms of politics or science?

Its not an easy question. Christians put Scripture in a separate epistemological category: It is the word of God, not subject to the same empirical testing as a weather forecast or an unemployment report. Some highly trained minds  Isaac Newton, for one, and Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project and an evangelical Christian  have managed to maintain a strong Biblical faith while also rigorously pursuing objective truths about the natural world, but most of us dont have the philosophical chops to pull it off. Conservative churches offer their believers certainty rather than ambiguity, and they attract congregants who are comfortable obeying, and exercising, authority.

Brain-imaging studies show that doubt requires more mental effort than belief. Credulousness is the default setting for most people, most of the time. That is as true of crystal-gazing New Agers passing along posts about a conspiracy by Monsanto to control the world through genetically modified corn as it is of Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, an elder of the Erath County Cowboy Church, who passed along an unfounded rumor that Clinton had been endorsed by the Communist Party. Miller, who is reported to be under consideration for nomination as secretary of agriculture, told reporters he doesnt care whether its true or not.

So someone like Miller is essentially treating political discourse as a matter of faith. If your goal is to be saved, you dont go around looking for logical holes in the Gospels; you leave that to the atheists. If your goal is to elect Republicans, you pass along anything that puts your opponent in a bad light and leave the fact-checking to the mainstream media.

But is that any way to run a country? Maybe its a time to reawaken our capacity for doubt, now when misinformation is more readily available and arguably more dangerous than ever before in history. Faith has a place in the lives of many people. But, per Augustine, it can no more stand alone than pure reason; a Christian must call on both to be strong in the world. Thats still good advice.
By Francesco Guarascio

STRASBOURG, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The European Union's centre-right grouping on Tuesday elected Antonio Tajani as its candidate to replace socialist Martin Schulz as speaker of the European Parliament, a move that could increase calls for a reshuffle of other top EU jobs.

Tajani, a former EU commissioner, is a member of the rightist Forza Italia party and a close ally of former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi.

The socialists, the second biggest grouping, have said the election of a conservative president would unsettle the EU's balance of power by giving the conservative European People's Party (EPP) the presidencies of all three major EU bodies.

Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker runs the executive European Commission and Donald Tusk of Poland chairs EU summits as president of the European Council. Both are EPP members.

Tusk's own mandate expires at the end of May but he is expected to want to stay on, despite opposition from the Polish government controlled by his arch-enemy Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Juncker has three years left in office, although his position has been weakened by Britain's vote to leave the EU and by a failed plan to manage last year's migrant crisis with mandatory quotas of refugees for EU states.

As the candidate of the largest grouping in the chamber, Tajani looks likely to become the next speaker, although a win is not certain as the EPP has only 215 of 751 seats.

The socialists, ending a decade-long alliance with the EPP, have presented their own candidate for the presidency, Gianni Pittella, an Italian lawmaker close to Italy's most recent ex-prime minister, Matteo Renzi.

Pittella said his aim was to reduce the appeal of growing anti-establishment movements that prosper by depicting moderate parties of all political hues as pursuing the same agenda.

But a spat between Europe's two main political families may in fact give anti-system and anti-EU groups a boost.

A divided parliament may find it more difficult to pass legislation and such stalemate may strengthen eurosceptic parties such as Britain's UKIP, France's Front National and Italy's Five-Star movement.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)
On Tuesday, members of the European Parliament are debating the state of rule of law in Poland in response to eroding democracy at the hands of the governing Law and Justice party. But the inquiry is not likely to to halt the Polish party in its illiberal march  member state Hungary is expected to block the European Commission from taking any action against Warsaw. And so, on Dec. 19, Polands ruling party is expected to have control of the countrys courts.

The Polish government, for its part, has not only questioned the legitimacy of the debate, but also said it is in bad taste. On Monday  that is, the eve of the EU discussion  the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the debate unfounded. There is nothing to justify having such a debate.

The MFA then added, The date of the debate is unfortunate, painful for Poles: Dec. 13 is the anniversary of the introduction of martial law.

The implication here is that the European Union is disrespecting Polands history and democracy, since the debate comes on the 35th anniversary of the day its then-socialist regime cracked down on the pro-democracy Solidarity movement.

This is, of course, one argument. Another is that it is not the European Union, but Polands ruling party, that is disrespecting the memory of Solidarity by, for example, trying to take control of an independent judiciary and banning judges from publishing judgments critical of the ruling party. Or by removing the director of the Polish Culture Institute in Berlin for, apparently, sharing too much Jewish culture. Or by investigating and questioning a historian who writes about how Poles in the 1940s treated their Jewish neighbors. Or even by trying to discredit the literal founder of the Solidarity movement by accusing him of collaborating with the secret services of socialist times.

And perhaps this is why, on Tuesday, it was not in Brussels but in cities around Poland  from Warsaw to Lublin to Lodz to Bialystok  where people, on the 35th anniversary of a martial law that was not lifted for over a year and a half, marched to protest what has become of their countrys democracy.

Photo credit: JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images
By Gabriela Baczynska and Robert-Jan Bartunek BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Austria failed on Tuesday in an attempt to get the European Union to halt membership talks with Turkey, running into opposition from EU partners anxious not to upset a country whose help they need to curb an influx of Syrian refugees. Austria demanded the suspension of talks to protest against a Turkish security crackdown since a failed coup attempt in July. The country has jailed some 36,000 people pending trial and sacked or suspended more than 100,000 over their alleged support for the plotters. But Germany, France and many others, though critical, do not want to alienate Turkey as they need its continued support to keep down the number of migrants reaching Europe. More than 1 million arrived in 2015 but a deal between the EU and Turkey has helped reduce the total to some 380,000 so far this year. Austria's stance prevented the EU from agreeing on a text that would not have formally halted talks, although it would have said that no new areas of negotiation should be opened up for now. Diplomats described the talks as emotional - a reflection of the delicate nature of ties with Turkey and the sensitivity of the immigration debate. "One country was unable to support the compromise which all the remaining 27 member states found acceptable," said Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, who chaired the meeting. Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told a separate briefing: "From my point of view, it was not enough to give the approval on behalf of Austria. I have not agreed to the text." Opinion polls in Austria have regularly shown a large majority opposed to Turkey joining the EU. Kurz and Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern have at times seemed to try to outbid each other in their criticism of Ankara as they compete for votes before a parliamentary election. The Turkish talks have made relatively little progress in over a decade and the latest souring of relations between the EU and Turkey makes any advance politically impossible now. "The accession negotiations have come to a standstill for months and I don't see any movement in the next couple of months," said EU enlargement chief Johannes Hahn. While not ready to formally halt the process, the bloc has warned it would come to an automatic end should Ankara reinstate the death penalty, as it has considered doing. The worsening of relations has unwound EU promises made only last March to reinvigorate Turkey's accession process in exchange for Ankara's help on migration. The common text on Turkey would have been part of a wider EU review of where other aspiring countries, including Albania and Kosovo, stand on their way toward EU membership. Now there will be no formal agreement on any of that, diplomats said. "This is unfortunate for the Western Balkan countries that have made some progress and would like to see the EU acknowledging that," one diplomat said after the meeting. (Additional reporting by Francois Murphy in Vienna, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed new rules on Tuesday on what social benefits governments must pay to citizens from other EU states - a key for people concerned about immigration and "benefit tourism". The package of measures, delayed by nearly a year as Brussels hoped to avoid Britain voting to leave the EU, is designed to clarify rights of EU expatriate workers and states' obligations on unemployment benefits and social security. The new rules will confirm a series of EU court decisions that backed mainly rich northwestern states in rejecting "benefit tourism" by poor Europeans who did not look for, or find, work after arriving. "To sum up in one word, it is about fairness," said EU Commissioner for employment and social affair Marianne Thyssen. Under the proposal, jobseekers will be able to take unemployment benefit with them to a different country for six months, rather than three. Economically inactive people would, however, not be able to claim social security benefits abroad, setting out that freedom of movement of workers is not a full right to reside for everyone. EU leaders insist Britain must accept the four basic freedoms - movement of workers, goods, services and capital - if it wants to negotiate continued membership of the single market. Britain's referendum vote in June was partly driven by rejection of free immigration from the rest of the EU. One element on which former prime minister David Cameron had secured a promise of change before the Brexit vote is absent. States will continue to have to pay full benefits to children of EU expatriates working in their countries, even if those children live in other countries with lower allowances and living costs. Thyssen said the payment for such exported benefits was less than 1 percent of child benefit costs. "It's also difficult to argue with someone who is paying full contributions and taxes as a worker that they should not receive the same benefits," she said. Taking account of Europe's ageing population, the measures will clarify the responsibilities of states in providing long-term social care, not just medical benefits, for people who have worked and paid into social security systems in other states. Legal protections will be tightened on social security rules for "posted workers" -- people working on contracts outside their home country. Their general conditions are at the heart of a related piece of legislation which is now being argued over by member states. Rich states say it will let workers from poorer countries undercut wages in their own national economies. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
A $15 million grant will help University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers look for ways to improve retention among employees at child welfare agencies across the country.

The organizations tasked with working with families and preventing and protecting children from neglect and abuse have an average employee turnover rate of 20 percent, with some agencies reporting trouble holding onto half of their workforces.

Michelle Graef, a research associate professor at UNLs Center on Children, Families and the Law, will lead a five-year effort funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration and the Childrens Bureau to study ways to improve retention.

The challenge that a lot of these agencies face is that they dont quite know what to do, Graef said. There is a lot of anecdotes out there about if you train someone a certain way, theyll stay, but then they find it doesnt work.

Whats exciting about this is we'll bring evidence-based strategies to them and work with them to see if they can make some improvements, she added.

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development will work with as many as 10 state and tribal child welfare agencies in both urban and rural areas, conducting on-site assessments and organizational evaluations of their operations.

Researchers will then offer recommendations on evidence-based recruiting and retention strategies and use the results to better refine those strategies, Graef said.

Were looking for sites that want to be on the cutting edge of workforce retention, she said.

Different sites will have different workforce needs, she added, and that will allow researchers to draw conclusions about which retention strategies are successful, with the center's conclusions being made public for all agencies to consider.

Ultimately, the center will measure outcomes based on if employees are staying at those child welfare agencies and if the children and families they serve are improving as well, Graef said.

The University of Colorado, Denver, the University of Louisville and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are partnering with UNL researchers from the colleges of law, education and human sciences, and arts and sciences on the project.

Steve Goddard, interim vice chancellor for research and economic development, said the Center on Children, Families and the Law became UNLs first interdisciplinary research center when it was established in 1987.

Nearly three decades later, Goddard said, the center found itself in a position to solve a societal problem tied to low retention rates for workers who deal with children in precarious situations.

This is a huge problem and there has been very little research done, he said.

UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green called the projects goals important work  because these folks work with some of our most vulnerable citizens in the United States.

Green also said Tuesdays grant was indicative of the universitys commitment to double its research expenditures to $600 million by 2025.

Last week, UNL announced its Mid-America Transportation Center received a $13.75 U.S. Department of Transportation grant to fund a consortium studying ways to improve highway safety.

Goddard said the recent grant announcements have put UNL ahead of pace of the $146.9 million, record-breaking sponsored research funding haul it recorded last year.
STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Parliament's negotiator on Britain's divorce from the European Union warned on Tuesday against the risks of a return to violence in Northern Ireland because of Brexit. "The worst thing that can happen is that we return to violence because of this," Guy Verhofstadt told a news conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The former Belgian prime minister said a new hard border between the Republic of Ireland, which is staying in the EU, and the British province of Northern Ireland would be "politically a big problem and economically a disaster." Britain and Ireland, which broke away from British rule in 1922, both joined the EU in 1973, ensuring that the openness of their border remained, even during years of violence in the province involving groups favoring rule from either London or Dublin. However, Brexit will transform the line across the island into the only land frontier between the European Union and Britain, raising the possibility of customs and other controls. Verhofstadt said he had met representatives of Northern Ireland and cautioned EU and British negotiators to tread carefully on the issue. The EU chief negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier, said last week he would do all he could to avoid upsetting the peace in Northern Ireland. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Strasbourg; Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald in Brussels; editing by John Stonestreet)
Brussels (AFP) - The EU said Tuesday it would open no new areas in Turkey's membership talks in the "prevailing circumstances" because of concerns about Ankara's post-coup crackdown.

Austria however refused to sign the statement because it wants a complete freeze of Turkey's long-stalled process for joining the 28-member bloc, including negotiations that are currently underway.

"Under the currently prevailing circumstances, no new chapters are considered for opening," said the statement by the European Union presidency, which is currently held by Slovakia.

A "chapter" is a specific area of negotiations in the membership talks, on issues ranging from human rights to economic cooperation.

The development is likely to further strain EU ties with Turkey in the wake of the government's mass arrests and purges following the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July.

It comes despite a promise by the EU in March to prepare to open new chapters at an "accelerated pace" as part of a landmark deal with Ankara to tackle the migration crisis.

The EU opened one new chapter in June, but this brings the tally to only 16 out of the 35 required for Muslim-majority Turkey to join the bloc. Only one chapter has been completed.

- 'Step in right direction' -

EU divisions were on show with Austria leading calls for the accession process to be halted altogether over Turkey's post-coup crackdown.

The European Parliament last month also voted in favour of freezing the membership talks.

After Austria refused to sign up to Tuesday's statement, the Slovak presidency said it "notes the absence of a consensus" but that there was an "overwhelming majority" on the course of action.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said that Turkey "is moving away from the EU" and that the Netherlands and Bulgaria backed Vienna's call for a complete freeze.

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"The text developed in the right direction, but it was not yet enough from my point of view," Kurz told reporters.

But he said the statement is "definitely positive", adding: "New chapters cannot be opened. That is at least a step in the right direction."

However, German Minister of State Michael Roth warned that "we shouldn't slam the doors in this difficult phase" despite "a regression" in the rule of law and media freedom in Turkey.

But at the same time, he said: "There has to be a clear signal of the European Union to... the citizens in Turkey who share our European values."

Turkey formally applied to become an EU member in 1987 and accession talks only began in 2005, even though Ankara's aspirations to become part of the bloc date back to the 1960s.
BRUSSELS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - European Union countries agreed on Tuesday to reforms giving the bloc the possibility of imposing higher duties on excessively cheap imports that would help shore up its defences under a new trading relationship with China.

After three years of wrangling, representatives of the 28 EU members voted by a qualified majority to allow higher tariffs than might normally apply if exporters are benefiting from artificially low raw material costs.

Peter Ziga, Slovakia's minister in charge of trade, hailed the move on Tuesday as a "major breakthrough".

"Europe cannot be naive and has to defend its interests, especially in case of dumping. This is a crucial step towards a solid solution that would help EU producers cope with unfair competition and practices," he said.

Duties are currently limited by the EU's "lesser duty rule", under which the import duty should be set at a level to remove the injury to EU producers rather than at a higher rate required to push the exporter's price to what is fair and normal - known as the "dumping margin".

Duties could in future be set at up to the full dumping margin rate if there are state-induced distortions of raw material and energy costs for exporting companies.

For cold-rolled steel from China, for example, the dumping margin was over 50 percent, but the injury margin only around 20 percent, so the lesser duty of about 20 percent was set. For the same steel grade from China, the United States has imposed duties of more than 200 percent.

Britain and other more liberal free trade nations had blocked any changes.

Slovakia, which holds the six-month rotating presidency, in the end secured backing for a compromise which would allow higher duties if the raw materials in question accounted for more than 27 percent of the cost of production and more than 7 percent individually.

Other reforms include shortening the period, currently of up nine months, that the European Commission can take to set provisional import duties and allowing the Commission to initiate its own investigations without an industry complaint.

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The reform of the EU's "trade defence instruments" is seen as a counterbalance to EU proposals to change the way it assesses whether Chinese manufacturers are exporting at unfairly low prices. Critics say it will be harder to impose duties.

The reform will need backing by the European Parliament.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Catherine Evans)
(Adds senior French diplomat, detail)

By Gabriela Baczynska and John Irish

BRUSSELS/PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The European Union will not pay towards rebuilding a post-war Syria if Moscow and Damascus leave no space in the future for opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, according to sources and EU documents.

For weeks, Syrian, Russian and Iranian firepower has pounded rebels - including those backed by the West and Turkey - in what was their main urban stronghold of Aleppo. On Tuesday, thousands of people fled the city where defeat of the rebels seemed imminent.

Establishing full control over Aleppo would mark government forces' biggest battlefield victory yet in the conflict, which has raged for nearly six years, killing more than 300,000 people.

But, even if the rebels are defeated, the EU says the prospects for peace are poor as Damascus would face years of guerrilla warfare and the country could fall apart if power is not decentralised or devolved to give the opposition a role.

"The EU will provide support for Syria's reconstruction only once a credible political transition is firmly under way," the EU leaders will say on Thursday, according to a draft statement prepared for their meeting in Brussels and seen by Reuters.

The EU is the world's largest aid donor and both the World Bank and the United Nations have said reconstruction of Syria will cost billions - something that would be extremely difficult for Russia to handle alone.

"It is out of the question to finance a Syria under the control of Assad ... The EU and France will not pay for the Russians ... We will not pay for a false peace," said a senior French diplomat.

"This is one of our few pressure levers on the Russians."

The bloc's top diplomat Federica Mogherini has been delivering this message to Middle Eastern regional players - some of which are waging proxy wars in Syria - for several weeks, sources say.

The EU has already signalled it will press for more sanctions on Damascus. But it is not ready to impose any on Russia over the war in Syria.

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"The EU would normally have a key role in reconstruction. But if they create this monster there, we just won't pay for it. It'll be their responsibility," one EU official said, referring to Damascus, Moscow and their allies in the war.

Encouraged by November's U.S. presidential election victory by Donald Trump, who has vowed to improve Washington's ties with Moscow, the Kremlin has intensified its campaign in Syria.

An internal document prepared by Mogherini's service, which was also seen by Reuters, for her contacts with top officials from countries including Qatar, Iran and Turkey sticks to the same message: that Assad's opponents must have a role in the future of Syria.

Its stipulations include an "inclusive" political system to ensure "broad social and political representation".

(Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Louise Ireland and Richard Lough)
BRUSSELS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The euro zone's ESM bailout fund criticised the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday after senior IMF staff used a blog to criticise the euro zone's demand that Athens commit to a large primary surplus in 2018.

An ESM spokesman said the European institutions were surprised to discover a blog posting on negotiations with the Greek government as new talks were starting in Athens.

"We hope that we can return to the practice of conducting programme negotiations with the Greek government in private," the spokesman said.

The head of the IMF's European Department Poul Thomsen and chief economist Maury Obstfeld wrote in an article the Fund believed that euro zone insistence on a Greek primary surplus of 3.5 percent in 2018 was wrong and 1.5 percent would be enough.

The IMF is instead calling for the creation of a reformed welfare system financed with cash from an adjustment of the Greek tax system and far too generous pensions.

(Reporting by Tom Koerkemeier and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
(Adds Commission comments, background)

BRUSSELS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Euro zone officials hit back at the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday for publishing an article on the way forward for Greece's fiscal and economic policy that thrust into the open a row between the lenders over Athens' bailout.

"The European institutions were surprised that the IMF staff published a blog post on the ongoing negotiations with the Greek government as new talks in Athens are starting with the aim of concluding the second review," said a spokesman for the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism.

"We hope that we can return to the practice of conducting programme negotiations with the Greek government in private."

The IMF article appeared as the Fund and the euro zone struggle to find common ground on Greek policies that would allow the IMF to take part in the latest bailout, the third one since 2010 and now fully financed by the euro zone.

The IMF, which a group of countries led by Germany very much want to join the latest programme for credibility reasons, says euro zone targets set for Greece are too ambitious and assumptions on reform implementation too optimistic.

It said it was against further austerity in Greece and that a primary surplus target of 3.5 percent of GDP in 2018, on which the euro zone insists, risks damaging the nascent recovery.

The head of the European Department Poul Thomsen and chief economist Maury Obstfeld said a Greek primary surplus of 1.5 percent in 2018 would be enough and stood a better chance of being sustained for several years.

The IMF said the Greek government, with the consent of the euro zone, has already cut investment and discretionary spending too much, while not being able to tackle the more politically sensitive areas like pensions or income tax.

Instead of more austerity which the 3.5 percent primary surplus target would imply, Greece should focus on the creation of a modern welfare system financed with cash from a rebalancing of the Greek tax system and too generous pensions, the IMF said.

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The European Commission, which represents euro zone lenders alongside the ESM and the European Central Bank, said there was nothing wrong with the actions envisaged for Greece by the current ESM bailout.

"The European institutions consider that the policies of the ESM programme are sound and if fully implemented can return Greece to sustainable growth and can allow Greece to regain market access," European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt told a news briefing.

"Greece has already implemented major reforms under the ESM programme and is on track to reach the agreed fiscal targets. It is important that all institutions recognise these achievements of the Greek programme," she said.

The size of the Greek primary surplus is directly linked to the scale of possible debt relief that Greece is likely to need.

Germany wants a higher primary surplus target because it means lower, or even no need for debt relief for Athens -- an important factor in an election year in Germany where public opinion is suffering from bailout fatigue.

Berlin believes that, if Greece carries out all the agreed structural reforms, there would be no need to grant it any relief on its debt mountain of almost 180 percent of GDP, now mainly owned by euro zone governments.

The IMF has a different view.

"Greece's debt is highly unsustainable and no amount of structural reforms will make it sustainable again without significant debt relief," the IMF said.

Euro zone finance ministers agreed earlier this month that they would only discuss the details of a possible reprofiling of existing loans to Greece and lengthening their maturities in 2018, when the current bailout comes to an end and well after German elections in autumn 2017.

(Reporting by Tom Koerkemeier and Philip Blenkinsop, writing by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - The European Parliament on Monday decided to impose stricter conditions on financing for the European wing of Britain's anti-EU UKIP party, which has previously been penalised for misspending EU funds.

The Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE), a European political grouping dominated by nationalist UKIP, is among six organisations -- four political parties and two foundations linked to them -- which will only be entitled to a 33 percent advance in 2017, compared to the usual 80 percent, parliament said in a statement.

The six organisations will also have to provide a "first-call" bank guarantee for the equivalent sum, it said.

At its meeting in Strasbourg, the parliament's bureau, its president and 14 vice-presidents also decided to suspend funding for the ADDE-affiliated Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe, "in view of allegations about the practices of collecting donations in order to create or increase the IDDE's required own resources, in order to be eligible for a parliament grant."

The ADDE had earlier come under scrutiny for soliciting European funds to finance "non-eligible expenses" linked in particular to campaigning in Britain by Nigel Farage's party, including for surveys ahead of the 2015 general elections and the referendum in June this year in which the country voted to leave the EU.

It has had to renounce 420,000 euros ($446,000) in funds allocated for 2015.

The three other European parties targeted by the stricter rules are the Alliance for Peace and Freedom, the Coalition pour la Vie (CVF) and the Europeans United for Democracy (EUD).

Since July 2004, European political parties can receive annual funding from the European Parliament, which can cover up to 85 percent of eligible party expenses.
(Reuters) - A former U.S. representative whose lavish Washington office raised questions about use of taxpayer money pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of defrauding the federal government and campaign committees, then trying to cover it up. Aaron Schock, a 35-year-old former Republican congressman from Illinois, was indicted in November by the U.S. Department of Justice on 24 counts, including wire fraud, theft of government funds and filing false federal income tax returns. He entered his plea in a federal court in Springfield, Illinois. "I look forward to the truth and all the facts coming out in this case. I have complete faith in my legal team, the good people of this community, and that justice will ultimately prevail," Schock said in an emailed statement. Schock, elected to the, U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 at the age of 27, gained a following by posting flashy photos on social media of himself traveling around the world. But he was hounded with questions after The Washington Post reported last year about lavish decorations in his Capitol Hill office based on the PBS period melodrama "Downton Abbey." Although staff told the Post that the interior design work had been done for free, the story prompted more investigations into Schock's spending habits, with several media outlets reporting he failed to disclose some expenditures and had to repay others after improperly using taxpayer funds. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Military pomp and Christmas shared the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday.

More than a hundred uniformed members of the Nebraska National Guard gathered to celebrate the 380th national anniversary of the founding of the citizen Guard, with the 43rd Army Band playing Christmas carols before focusing on the National Anthem and military marches.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, civilian commander of the Nebraska Guard, saluted the troops for "protecting our freedom and liberties" as a giant Christmas tree towered over the proceedings.

Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac, Nebraska's adjutant general, said citizen-soldiers continue to answer "a call to duty" and are ready to serve "wherever and whenever needed."

In addition to providing assistance in the state in response to disasters and emergencies, including floods, tornadoes and wildfires, and during other times of need, members of both the Army Guard and Air Guard have been regularly deployed overseas on military missions.

The Nebraska Guard will mark its own 162nd birthday on Dec. 23.

"You are willing to volunteer and stand up for your country," Ricketts told the soldiers. "So, thank you.

"Your fellow citizens are grateful for your service."

Bohac said the Guard has a presence in 23 Nebraska communities today.

The Nebraska National Guard was founded in 1854 when acting Territorial Gov. Thomas Cuming issued a proclamation recommending that citizens of the territory organize volunteer companies.

The territory's first authorized militia consisted of two regiments, one north and one south of the Platte River.
By Ruma Paul

DHAKA (Reuters) - Some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal $81 million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, a top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters on Monday.

The comments by Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh police's criminal investigation department, are the first sign that investigators have got a firm lead in one of the world's biggest cyber heists, which had prompted months of international finger-pointing. Arrests are soon likely, he said.

On Thursday, the head of a Bangladesh government panel that investigated the heist said five bank officials were guilty of negligence but that they were only unwitting accomplices.

Alam told Reuters his investigations had discovered that some bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the bank's connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

"Bangladesh Bank's SWIFT network was made insecure by some bank employees in connivance with some foreign people," he said. "They knew what they were doing."

He declined to name the suspects or say how many there were.

Alam said investigators were now trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. Asked if the officials would be arrested, he said: "We are very close to it."

The apparent momentum comes after months of trading blame among Bangladesh Bank, the New York Fed, SWIFT, and a Philippine lender that received much of the stolen funds before they disappeared. The heist prompted an international probe headed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Separately SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, told Reuters its messaging system has been targeted in a "meaningful" number of other attacks this year using a similar approach as the Bangladesh incident.

Story continues

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to comment on Alam's comments. A New York Fed spokeswoman also declined comment.

Another investigator in Dhaka, who declined to be named, said more than 100 Bangladesh Bank employees had been interviewed in connection with the heist, and some were barred from leaving the country.

In early February, the hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed.

Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed but, after a series of oversights and miscommunications, the New York Fed ultimately sent $81 million to four fake accounts in a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) (RCB.PS) in the Philippines. Most of the funds then disappeared into Manila's loosely regulated casino industry.

(Additional reporting and writing by Krishna N. Das and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Phil Berlowitz)
By Ruma Paul

DHAKA (Reuters) - Some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal $81 million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, a top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters on Monday.

The comments by Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh police's criminal investigation department, are the first sign that investigators have got a firm lead in one of the world's biggest cyber heists, which had prompted months of international finger-pointing. Arrests are soon likely, he said.

On Thursday, the head of a Bangladesh government panel that investigated the heist said five bank officials were guilty of negligence but that they were only unwitting accomplices.

Alam told Reuters his investigations had discovered that some bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the bank's connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

"Bangladesh Bank's SWIFT network was made insecure by some bank employees in connivance with some foreign people," he said. "They knew what they were doing."

He declined to name the suspects or say how many there were.

Alam said investigators were now trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. Asked if the officials would be arrested, he said: "We are very close to it."

The apparent momentum comes after months of trading blame among Bangladesh Bank, the New York Fed, SWIFT, and a Philippine lender that received much of the stolen funds before they disappeared. The heist prompted an international probe headed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Separately SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, told Reuters its messaging system has been targeted in a "meaningful" number of other attacks this year using a similar approach as the Bangladesh incident.

Story continues

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to comment on Alam's comments. A New York Fed spokeswoman also declined comment.

Another investigator in Dhaka, who declined to be named, said more than 100 Bangladesh Bank employees had been interviewed in connection with the heist, and some were barred from leaving the country.

In early February, the hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed.

Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed but, after a series of oversights and miscommunications, the New York Fed ultimately sent $81 million to four fake accounts in a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) in the Philippines. Most of the funds then disappeared into Manila's loosely regulated casino industry.

(Additional reporting and writing by Krishna N. Das and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Phil Berlowitz)
By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar, who fled to Democratic Republic of Congo in August after fierce fighting, is being held in South Africa to stop him stirring up trouble, diplomatic and political sources said on Tuesday. Removing Machar from circulation would be a blow to his rebel SPLA-IO faction in its three-year war with President Salva Kiir's mainstream SPLA, and could sway a conflict the United Nations fears is tilting towards genocide. Over a million people have fled the world's youngest nation since conflict erupted in late 2013 when Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, fired Machar, a Nuer, as his deputy. The cross-border exodus is the largest in central Africa since the 1994 Rwanda genocide. In South Africa, a well-connected regional political consultant said Machar was being held "basically under house arrest" near Pretoria with his movements restricted and his phone calls monitored and controlled. "If he wants to go to the toilet, he has to hand over his phone and a guy stands outside the cubicle," the source said. Foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela denied Machar was being held against his will, describing him instead as a "guest" of Pretoria as South Africa tried to prevent the civil war sliding into genocide. "Him being our guest here is part of our responsibility as a mediator," Monyela said, adding that it was "difficult to predict" the duration of his stay. "It's very hard to put timelines on these peace and security situations." Dickson Gatluak, a Machar spokesman in Ethiopia, denied there were any restrictions on Machar and dismissed the reports as misinformation. "This is not true. It's baseless and unfounded," Gatluak told Reuters in Juba. "Dr. Machar is safe and doing his normal duties as usual. He is communicating to us daily, including his field commanders in the entire country." Attempts by Reuters to speak to Machar in South Africa via his spokesman there were unsuccessful. Kiir visited his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, on Dec. 2 to "review... the latest regional political and security developments on the continent", according to a South African statement that gave no further details. Refugee accounts and human rights reports point to both sides in South Sudan targeting civilians along ethnic lines. JUBA OR JOBURG - YOU DECIDE Machar reached a peace deal in 2015 with Kiir but the agreement fell apart in July, leading to several days of intense fighting in Juba, the capital of the five-year-old nation. Machar himself was wounded and after fleeing to Congo went to Sudan - a long-term supporter of his rebel faction - for medical treatment. He then turned up in South Africa in October for more treatment. A diplomatic source said the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an eight-country East African group, had asked Pretoria to make sure Machar did not leave. The United States, Britain and Norway had supported that request, the source added. "He keeps going back and mobilising his people and stirring up problems," the source said. "It's best to keep him here for a while." Machar flew two weeks ago to Ethiopia, which has also tried and failed as a mediator, but was refused entry and given a stark choice: go back to South Africa or get dumped in Juba, to be left at the mercy of Kiir's troops, two of the sources said. "The Ethiopians told him there were two planes sitting on the tarmac - one heading to Juba and one heading to Joburg - and told him he had 10 minutes to decide," the political source said. "It didn't take long." (Additional reporting by Peter Fabricius and Denis Dumo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Tom Bergin and Jim Finkle

LONDON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Cyber attacks targeting the global bank transfer system have succeeded in stealing funds since Februarys heist of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank as hackers have become more sophisticated in their tactics, according to a SWIFT official and a previously undisclosed letter the organization sent to banks worldwide.

The messaging network in a Nov. 2 letter seen by Reuters warned banks of the escalating threat to their systems, according to the SWIFT letter. The attacks and new hacking tactics underscore the continuing vulnerability of the SWIFT messaging network, which handles trillions of dollars in fund transfers daily.

"The threat is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated  and it is here to stay," SWIFT said in the November letter to client banks, seen by Reuters.

The disclosures provide fresh evidence that SWIFT remains at risk of attacks nearly a year after funds were stolen from a Bangladesh Bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The unprecedented cyber theft prompted regulators around the globe to tighten bank security requirements, amidst a global investigation by the FBI, Bangladesh authorities and Interpol.

Banks using the SWIFT network, which include both central banks and commercial banks, have been hit with a "meaningful" number of attacks - about a fifth of them resulting in stolen funds, since the Bangladesh heist, Stephen Gilderdale, head of SWIFTs Customer Security Programme, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

SWIFT, a Belgium-based co-operative owned by its user banks, had previously disclosed hacks of three SWIFT users since February but said those did not lead to the loss of funds.

SWIFT's letter to customers warned that hackers have refined their methods for compromising local bank systems. One new tactic, the letter said, involved using software that allows technicians to access computers to provide technical support.

Story continues

"We unfortunately continue to see cases in which some of our customers environments are being compromised" by thieves who then send fraudulent payment instructions through the SWIFT network - the same kind of messages used to steal Bangladesh Bank funds, the letter said without elaborating further.

On Monday, a top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters that some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled the theft. He declined to identify those officials by name or say how many there were. The comments by Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh police's criminal investigation department, are the first sign that investigators have got a firm lead in one of the world's biggest cyber heists. Arrests are likely soon, he said.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to comment on Alam's comments. A New York Fed spokeswoman also declined comment.

INFORMATION SHARING

SWIFT's Gilderdale declined to provide further details about more recent attacks or to name victims or amounts stolen. Asked how many heists had been attempted, he said only that it was "a meaningful number of cases.

In all of these cases attackers are suspected of trying to replicate the modus operandi of the Bangladesh attackers, he added.

The intrusions had been detected in a variety of ways, Gilderdale said. In some cases, clients' antivirus software had identified malware.

In others, a new feature on software SWIFT provides to clients alerted SWIFT directly of an attempted manipulation of a client's system. In one case, a financial regulator had notified SWIFT of an attempted attack.

Gilderdale said despite the new thefts, SWIFT believed the system was becoming more secure.

"In 80 percent of the cases that we are aware of and where we have completed investigations, a fraud has not actually ended up taking place, he said.

"I personally am very pleased with the progress that we are making," he added.

Successful bank hackings were too rare to say whether an 80 percent success rate was good or bad, Ben Caudill, a cyber security consultant with Rhino Security Labs in Seattle, said.

SWIFT said in its letter to clients that the cyber threats were evolving.

"There are likely to be multiple groups of cyber attackers attempting to compromise customer environments," it said.

"There has been an evolution in the modus operandi, signifying that attackers are further adapting their methods," it added.

Gilderdale said it was impossible to say for sure whether the rate of attacks was increasing because previously SWIFT did not track or receive information from clients about incidents.

SWIFT said that in all cases, the infiltrations involved customers SWIFT interfaces and that its own central communications network had not been compromised.

The additional attacks SWIFT disclosed to Reuters do not include others that have already come to light since the Bangladesh Bank heist.

Thieves stole $250,000 from Bangladesh's Sonali bank in 2013. More than $12 million was stolen from Ecuador's Banco del Austro in 2015. Vietnam's Tien Phong Bank said in May that it foiled an attempt to steal money via SWIFT.

(Editing by Brian Thevenot and Matthew Lewis)
By Mark Hosenball and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The overseers of the U.S. intelligence community have not embraced a CIA assessment that Russian cyber attacks were aimed at helping Republican President-elect Donald Trump win the 2016 election, three American officials said on Monday. While the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) does not dispute the CIA's analysis of Russian hacking operations, it has not endorsed their assessment because of a lack of conclusive evidence that Moscow intended to boost Trump over Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, said the officials, who declined to be named. The position of the ODNI, which oversees the 17 agency-strong U.S. intelligence community, could give Trump fresh ammunition to dispute the CIA assessment, which he rejected as "ridiculous" in weekend remarks, and press his assertion that no evidence implicates Russia in the cyber attacks. Trump's rejection of the CIA's judgment marks the latest in a string of disputes over Russia's international conduct that have erupted between the president-elect and the intelligence community he will soon command. An ODNI spokesman declined to comment on the issue. "ODNI is not arguing that the agency (CIA) is wrong, only that they can't prove intent," said one of the three U.S. officials. "Of course they can't, absent agents in on the decision-making in Moscow." The Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose evidentiary standards require it to make cases that can stand up in court, declined to accept the CIA's analysis - a deductive assessment of the available intelligence - for the same reason, the three officials said. The ODNI, headed by James Clapper, was established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the recommendation of the commission that investigated the attacks. The commission, which identified major intelligence failures, recommended the office's creation to improve coordination among U.S. intelligence agencies. In October, the U.S. government formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against American political organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. Democratic President Barack Obama has said he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin about consequences for the attacks. Reports of the assessment by the CIA, which has not publicly disclosed its findings, have prompted congressional leaders to call for an investigation. Obama last week ordered intelligence agencies to review the cyber attacks and foreign intervention in the presidential election and to deliver a report before he turns power over to Trump on Jan. 20. The CIA assessed after the election that the attacks on political organizations were aimed at swaying the vote for Trump because the targeting of Republican organizations diminished toward the end of the summer and focused on Democratic groups, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. Moreover, only materials filched from Democratic groups - such as emails stolen from John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman - were made public via WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization, and other outlets, U.S. officials said. "THIN REED" The CIA conclusion was a "judgment based on the fact that Russian entities hacked both Democrats and Republicans and only the Democratic information was leaked," one of the three officials said on Monday. "(It was) a thin reed upon which to base an analytical judgment," the official added. Republican Senator John McCain said on Monday there was "no information" that Russian hacking of American political organizations was aimed at swaying the outcome of the election. "It's obvious that the Russians hacked into our campaigns," McCain said. "But there is no information that they were intending to affect the outcome of our election and that's why we need a congressional investigation," he told Reuters. McCain questioned an assertion made on Sunday by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, tapped by Trump to be his White House chief of staff, that there were no hacks of computers belonging to Republican organizations. "Actually, because Mr. Priebus said that doesn't mean it's true," said McCain. "We need a thorough investigation of it, whether both (Democratic and Republican organizations) were hacked into, what the Russian intentions were. We cannot draw a conclusion yet. That's why we need a thorough investigation." In an angry letter sent to ODNI chief Clapper on Monday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said he was dismayed that the top U.S. intelligence official had not informed the panel of the CIAs analysis and the difference between its judgment and the FBIs assessment. Noting that Clapper in November testified that intelligence agencies lacked strong evidence linking Russian cyber attacks to the WikiLeaks disclosures, Nunes asked that Clapper, together with CIA and FBI counterparts, brief the panel by Friday on the latest intelligence assessment of Russian hacking during the election campaign. (Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Jonathan Oatis)
By Phil Stewart and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, U.S. officials told Reuters. The United States will also revamp future training of the kingdom's air force to focus on improving Saudi targeting practices, a persistent source of concern for Washington. The decision reflects deep frustration within President Barack Obama's government over Saudi Arabia's practices in Yemen's 20-month-old war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and sparked humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Middle East. It could also further strain ties between Washington and Riyadh in the remaining days of Obama's administration and put the question of Saudi-U.S. relations squarely before the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20. Still, the decision was not the cut-off in support that Saudi Arabia's biggest critics had hoped for and much of the U.S. military relationship will remain intact. For example, the United States will keep refueling Saudi-led coalition aircraft involved in the campaign, and it is not cutting off all arms sales to the kingdom. And, in a nod to Saudi Arabia's security concerns, Washington will share more intelligence on the Saudi border with Yemen. The kingdom has been subject to cross-border attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi movement. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015 and has launched thousands of air strikes against the Houthis. Rights groups say Saudi-led coalition attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes. Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas and has said it has tried to reduce civilian casualties. "I think its a signal but too weak of a signal," said William Hartung of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, responding to the U.S. decision. "As long as theyre going to refueling aircraft which is central to the bombing campaign, its hard to see that theyre using all the leverage they have," said Hartung, who authored a report earlier this year on U.S. arms offers to Saudi Arabia during Obama's tenure. An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "systemic, endemic" problems in Saudi Arabia's targeting drove the U.S. decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions. "We've decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs (precision-guided munitions)," the official said. "That's obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties," the official said. A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry. The officials declined to offer details. But a specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon Co that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets. A Raytheon spokesman referred questions to the Pentagon and State Department. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told a news briefing he was unaware of the Reuters report. There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials. REFUELING TO CONTINUE The White House launched a review of U.S. assistance for the Saudi-led coalition after planes struck mourners at a funeral in the capital, Sanaa, in October, killing 140 people, according to one U.N. estimate. The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for roughly 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015. Human rights groups, which have criticized the United States for supporting the Saudi war effort by selling the kingdom arms and refueling coalition jets, said the move by Washington was not enough. "This move falls far short of what is needed to end civilian bloodshed and alleviate suffering in Yemen," said Amnesty International's Samah Hadid in Beirut. The rights groups pointed to the continued refueling of coalition planes, which the Obama administration official said for now was "not going to be touched." Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California and a leading advocate in Congress for a suspension of U.S. cooperation with the Saudi-led coalition, said he was pleased the Obama administration had moved to cut off some arms sales, but he also felt the administration had not gone far enough. It is completely bizarre that they are continuing to refuel Saudi jets that drop bombs on civilians in Yemen, Lieu said. SMART VERSUS DUMB BOMBS The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration. Officials have long argued that supplying so-called "smart weapons" helped in reducing civilian casualties. But that argument ultimately failed to convince the Obama administration during its review, which the first official said was still ongoing. "It's not a matter of how smart or dumb the bombs are, it's that they're not picking the right targets. The case in point ... is the one on the funeral," the official said. The airstrikes on the funeral took place after the Saudi-led coalition received incorrect information from Yemeni military figures that armed Houthi leaders were in the area, an investigative body set up by the coalition said in October. Earlier this year, the U.S. military reduced the number of U.S. military personnel coordinating with the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign, slashing it to six people from a peak of 45 personnel. "Their responsibilities are being adjusted and limited so that they are less enmeshed in some of the offensive operations in Yemen," the official said. Reuters reported earlier on concerns by some U.S. officials that the United States could be implicated in possible Saudi violations of the laws of war. In May, Washington suspended sales to Riyadh of cluster munitions, which release dozens of bomblets and are considered particularly dangerous to civilians. Last week, the State Department announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51 billion. U.S. officials said the weaponry would help Saudi defend its border, not conduct offensive operations in Yemen. (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Ross Colvin)
The last thing Silicon Valley needed was interference from Washington. I think its clear that thats one of the reasons why the tech elite backed the status quo candidate, Hillary Clinton, and denounced Donald Trump as a would-be disaster for innovation. Oblivious to the needs of working class Americans, they talked big, bet big, and lost big.

Not that Trump treated them kindly. On the contrary, he complained that Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post to keep the government off Amazons back on antitrust and tax issues. He chided Apple CEO Tim Cook over offshoring jobs and sided with the FBI over his refusal to unlock an iPhone owned by a terrorist.

And now, Bezos and Cook are supposed to sit around a conference room table sipping Starbucks and having a friendly chat with the man they desperately wanted to keep out of the White House. One word: Awkward.

ICYMI, a whos who of tech titans were invited to attend a summit Wednesday with the President-elect. Top executives of Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and others are expected to attend. What I wouldnt give to be a fly on a gold-painted wall at Trump Tower. Therell be fireworks for sure, at least thats what youd expect.

Strangely enough, I dont think thats going to happen. While the media cant seem to stop themselves from repeatedly hyping the heated rhetoric of a hotly contested campaign, I think the tech bosses will soon learn that Trump is not the big bad boogeyman hes been made out to be.

If everyone shows up with an open mind and the interests of the American people at heart, theyll come to realize theres far more that unites them than divides them.

The cornerstone of Trumponomics is lower taxes, fewer regulations and better trade deals. By lowering barriers to business, Trumps economic plan will benefit big corporations, small businesses and the American people alike. And that means itll be good for the tech industry and its customers.

Simplifying and lowering the corporate tax rate to a flat 15% with a one-time repatriation tax of 10% is itself a cause for celebration. Apple alone has more than $200 billion in capital parked offshore. If it brought even half of that back, imagine what a boon it could be  especially if the tech giant reinvested some of it in U.S. manufacturing.

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Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz said in a statement, I plan to tell the president-elect that we are with him and will help in any way we can. If he can reform the tax code, reduce regulation and negotiate better trade deals, the U.S. technology industry will be stronger and more competitive than ever. Now thats the right attitude.

Dont get me wrong; I dont expect everyone to lock arms and sing Kumbaya. There are legitimate concerns on both sides. But I do see this as an opportunity for Trump to clarify some of his incendiary campaign rhetoric, discuss major policy initiatives and listen to the perspective of some of the nations most powerful leaders.

The stickiest issue is likely to be immigration. Trump means to seal the border, deport or imprison felons who are here illegally and return a chaotic system to the rule of law. But the notion of rounding up and deporting millions of illegal immigrants rubs left-leaning coastal elites the wrong way. And the tech industry depends on a steady influx of immigrants through the H1-B visa program.

Then theres the question of free trade. Trump has threatened to slap a tariff on Chinese imports if Beijing doesnt start playing fair. China countered with its own threat to make it harder for Apple and Detroit automakers to reach its growing middle class. Thats got to be unsettling for Cook et al, to say the least.

Some say that tech leaders are looking for stability. That may come eventually, but not on Wednesday. If the former real-estate mogul stands by his campaign promises, Trump plans to upend a dysfunctional system thats been run by incompetent leaders for far too long. And the price of change is always instability, at least for a time.

The great irony is that entrepreneurs whose success was built on disrupting markets cant see that the status quo they seek to maintain is not working for working class Americans who also happen to be their customers. Funny that it falls on Trump to open their eyes and see their own users in a new light. Godspeed.

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Theyve met each Thursday for more than a year now in a conference room near 26th and P streets, the same item on their agenda appearing week after week: Identify and help the most vulnerable people in Lincoln.

A dozen representatives from the agencies and offices that work with homeless people all turn to the same screen displaying a database of risky behavior and sad situations. The men and women on this list had, at some point, answered a series of uniform questions about their habits and health designed to quantify the danger they're facing.

Among them:

How long have you been homeless?

Have you ever been beaten?

Do you share needles?

How often have you checked into an emergency room?

Are you wanted by the law?

Have you resorted to prostitution?

Do you have anything that brings you enjoyment, or are you just getting through the day?

The higher you score, the more vulnerable you are, said John Turner of Region V Systems, one of the agencies at the table every week. And really, the more likely you are to die on the streets.

The Most Vulnerable Review Teams goal has been to get Lincoln's most chronically homeless off of the street, under a roof and receiving the services they need. For their drug and alcohol abuse. For their mental and physical health problems. For their inability to find and keep jobs.

When you look at the list, the goal is to decide a housing strategy for each person, Turner said. What's our plan? Does anybody have any openings? Does anybody have any beds?"

But money has been tight, apartments scarce, and some weeks, those at the meetings have been able to help only the most vulnerable and chronically homeless person on the list, the others having to wait until the next meeting, or the meeting after.

That's changing. Last month, Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach announced a $200,000 federal grant to pay for 15 apartments. And this week, CenterPointe, Region V and the Mental Health Association provided details on about a $1.9 million grant for services to support those they intend to place in 60 additional homes.

So the hope now is to officially end chronic homelessness in Lincoln, something known as functional zero -- where the city has more beds available than it does chronically homeless people.

Thats the goal, Turner said. We know everyone, weve assessed everyone and we have a plan for everyone.

Housing first, then help

The list of Lincolns most vulnerable contained 63 people last week -- but the effort is focused on those also considered chronically homeless.

That means they have a disability and have been continuously homeless for the past 12 months or were homeless four times for a total of 12 months over three years.

Last week, 38 people met that description, said Jeff Chambers, director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center on Children, Families, and the Law.

Most were men, most were white. Their average age was 47, though they were as young as 21 and as old as 62. Their periods of homelessness ranged from one month to 132. Nearly 85 percent were sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, like apartment laundry rooms, abandoned porches or their cars.

Theyre often the least desirable renters. They have a history of evictions. They've run up unpaid utility bills. Theyve left damaged apartments in their wakes.

But those who serve Lincolns homeless are embracing whats known as the Housing First approach: Put a roof over someones head -- without requiring their commitment to recovery or sobriety, without a credit check or background check -- and theyre more likely to then get the intensive support they need, to take better care of themselves.

CenterPointe, which has long offered behavioral health and substance abuse help, has provided homes with a Housing First approach since the 1990s. Last year, 373 people were housed through CenterPointe programs, and 97 percent of them had been homeless, said Director Topher Hansen.

People arent going to get better if theyre living on the streets, Hansen said. We see this as a critical link to help the people we serve get better.

Some will still drink, said Turner. But instead of killing a bottle of vodka and crashing in an alley, maybe theyll have a few drinks before going to bed.

If you put me in an apartment, Im going to like the fact Im not on the streets anymore, he said. Im going to work a little harder.

Always new names

The $1.9 million, three-year grant will pay for the support homeless people need to stay in their new homes.

It paid for CenterPointe to hire two peer support workers and two case managers. It paid for Region V to add a housing coordinator and an assistant. And it paid for the Mental Health Association to hire a supported employment worker and a half-time benefit analysis expert.

Together, theyll help people find and keep apartments and jobs, get them enrolled in treatment programs and provide the health and support services they need.

The focus is retention. The system talks a lot about housing people, which is what were doing, Turner said. But its really hard to keep them housed.

Still, he said, its worth it to try. The most chronically homeless people can tax the system. Several years ago, providers calculated the cost of the 13 highest users of Lincolns emergency system, like ambulances, the jail and detox. The total: $700,000.

The grant cant pay for rent, so Region V is allocating 60 housing vouchers -- 30 in 2017, then 15 each of the next two years -- to put people in apartments. The vouchers cover rent, security deposit, utilities and furniture.

In some cases, Region V will also help ease the fears of reluctant landlords by promising to pay for damages.

Were coming to the table and saying, 'If theres a problem, call us. Well take care of it, Turner said. Thats something that I offer to landlords so they answer my phone when I call.

And that can be the tricky part of Housing First initiatives.

Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach is just starting to fill 15 apartments -- its first tenant moved into a place Monday -- and has been meeting with potential property owners.

I wont say weve been rejected, said Director Susanne Blue. Theres just been a lot of caution expressed.

So far, Matt Talbot has verbal agreements with seven landlords and property managers to work with the nonprofit as it fills its next 14 apartments, which it hopes to do by March.

Turner has found larger property management companies to be the least cooperative. But hes been able to build relationships with private landlords, like Jack Irons.

There is a risk of Housing First tenants falling off the wagon and damaging an apartment, Irons said. Still, theres a risk with any tenant.

Anybody in the real estate business understands youre going to have good and bad tenants.

But theres also a reward with these tenants and lots of success stories. Hes watched some kick their addictions and reunite with their families.

I think everybody comes across hard times one way or another. I believe in their program, and I believe in helping people that need help.

The groups will begin filling the next 30 apartments in January. The list of Lincolns chronically homeless will get shorter as providers shoot for functional zero, the official end of chronic homelessness.

But the Thursday meetings at CenterPointe will continue.

New names are going to come in, Turner said. Theres always new names.
By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox is racing to agree the final terms of a $14 billion (11.03 billion pound) takeover of European pay-TV company Sky , triggering what is likely to be the start of a politically charged regulatory process. The media mogul failed in a 2010/11 attempt to buy the 61 percent of Sky that his group did not already own when a phone-hacking scandal at his News of the World tabloid derailed the bid and reignited claims he held too much influence in Britain. Below is an outline of the regulatory and political hurdles that a successful bid would need to overcome. FIRST STEPS If the terms are agreed, the British Secretary of State for Media, Karen Bradley, will have 10 days to decide whether the case triggers public interest concerns. Analysts and commercial lawyers expect Bradley to ask media regulator Ofcom to examine whether the deal would damage media plurality in Britain. The European Commission will also be notified to see whether the deal could hinder competition. The Commission approved the deal last time it was proposed in 2010/11. Since then Sky has acquired Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland. ALL-CONQUERING MURDOCH In 2011 critics balked at the prospect of Murdoch combining his Sun and Times newspapers with Sky's award-winning and politically neutral Sky News, forcing him to draw up a plan to put the rolling news channel into a separate company - a proposal that was accepted by officials at the time. Since then the 85-year-old has split his group into two separately listed companies - with News Corp housing the newspapers and Fox the home of his TV business. Critics will argue that Murdoch and his two sons James and Lachlan still run both firms. But Howard Cartlidge, head of EU and competition law at DWF, said Murdoch's move to split his two businesses had effectively created the same structure as the original plan to spin off Sky News. "This is still the country's second-biggest commercial broadcaster being taken over by a company that has family ownership connections to the biggest newspaper publisher. "There is still something to look at, but my sense is it would get cleared after an initial investigation." Critics had warned in 2010 that Murdoch could integrate the newsrooms of his newspapers and Sky News, but the division between the two firms would prevent this now. Broadcasters in Britain also have to abide by rules of "due impartiality and due accuracy" when providing news, meaning Sky News could not go down the path of Murdoch's Fox News channel in the United States and pursue a particular political agenda. IT'S A NEW WORLD Murdoch executives will argue that the media landscape has changed enormously since they last bid for Sky in 2010, with social media and online news sites such as the Huffington Post, VICE and BuzzFeed all adding to the range of sources available. Circulation figures for Murdoch's papers have also fallen in that time, with the Sun tabloid's circulation down about 44 percent and the Times down around 13 percent. But there is no exact science behind how a regulator measures the provision of news, and in 2015 Ofcom said it considered social media sites such as Facebook to be aggregators of news, not sources, when measuring media plurality. "It's difficult because, how do you measure it?" said a senior competition lawyer in London, asking not to be named due to company policy. "How do you empirically evaluate and compare five minutes reading the newspaper with five minutes looking at Facebook or five minutes watching the News at Ten (TV bulletin)? It is about influence and credibility and it raises new questions." ARE THEY FIT AND PROPER? As part of its role, Ofcom must ensure that holders of broadcast licences are "fit and proper" - and some politicians and campaigners have questioned whether Murdoch and his family fit the bill since the phone-hacking scandal exploded in 2011. Murdoch has held a unique position in Britain in years gone by, with former prime ministers such as Tony Blair and David Cameron lining up to secure the blessing of the media mogul and the backing of his newspapers. Critics say this has given him too much say over public and political life in Britain. The phone-hacking scandal prompted Ofcom to investigate whether Sky was still a fit and proper broadcast licensee due to its links to James and Rupert Murdoch. James Murdoch was at the time a former CEO and chairman of Sky while Rupert Murdoch was linked due to his role at biggest shareholder News Corp. While it found that James Murdoch "repeatedly fell short of the conduct to be expected of him" during his time running News Corp's newspaper business, it did not conclude that he had deliberately engaged in any wrongdoing. Sky was found to be fit and proper. The test is an ongoing requirement facing all broadcast licensees, and lawyers said they did not expect it to feature in any new Ofcom probe. "Not being fit and proper means being a criminal or a dictatorial regime," said DWF's Cartlidge. POLITICAL PERSUASION British Prime Minister Theresa May will be aware of the need to stick strictly to the rules if her government has to scrutinise the bid. But her government has also been championing foreign takeovers of British firms after the June Brexit vote as a sign that the "country is open for business". Fox has already alluded to this, saying a deal for Sky would reinforce Britain's standing as a top global hub for content generation and technological innovation. A person familiar with the situation said Fox was also weighing whether to commit to a pledge over jobs and investment, an approach that helped Japan's SoftBank <9984.T> win political backing in its bid to buy tech firm ARM. Sky, which has 22 million customers, says it supports 130,000 jobs across its five European markets of Britain, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Austria, investing 5.2 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) in content a year. ($1 = 0.7859 pounds) (Editing by Pravin Char)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From Syria's bloody civil war and the slow-burning crisis in eastern Ukraine to perennial diplomatic headaches such as the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs, Rex Tillerson would face a messy, complex world as the chief U.S. diplomat. Below are brief descriptions of some of the problems that will land on his plate if he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 69th U.S. secretary of state after a career spent at Exxon Mobil Corp , where he rose to be chief executive. SYRIA Tillerson will inherit an increasingly complex conflict in Syria, where the rebel-held eastern portion of Aleppo is on the verge of falling to Syrian government forces backed by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias from Lebanon and Iraq. The civil war, now well into its sixth year, pits President Bashar al-Assad against a range of rebel groups, many supported by outside powers including the United States, Turkey and Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. During the U.S. presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump suggested his top priority was defeating the Islamic State militant group that has launched attacks in Europe and inspired mass-casualty attacks in the United States. If Trump cooperates with Russia against Islamic State, which holds a swath of northeastern Syria, there is a risk that moderate rebels, angered by what they viewed as abandonment by the United States, could gravitate toward militant Islamist factions that pose a potential threat to Western interests. Moreover, the persistent bloodshed could unleash new and destabilising waves of refugees into neighbouring nations from which they could then attempt to reach Europe. Earlier refugee flows triggered a backlash that has bolstered far-right nationalist parties in Europe. Cooperating with Russia would cause other complications for the new U.S. administration. For one thing, it could, by extension, align the United States with Iran and its Lebanese proxy militia, Hezbollah. Iran has used its ties to Syria to project force in the region, a troubling fact for Israeli officials not eager to see Tehran extend its influence. IRAQ Next door in Iraq, Tillerson will confront a country struggling to overcome deep ethnic and sectarian divisions as it fights to stamp out the Islamic State insurgency with the help of some 6,000 U.S. support troops and military advisers. Even if Iraqi security forces prevail in retaking the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, the countrys second-largest city, the extremist group is expected to revert to waging a guerrilla war against the Shi'ite-dominated central government. If so, that could force Trump and Tillerson to decide whether the United States should remain engaged - and attempt to counterbalance the powerful influence of neighbouring Shi'ite-led Iran  or play a diminished role. Tillerson also may face a renewed drive by Iraqs minority Kurds, trained and armed by the United States to fight Islamic State, for independence for their oil-rich autonomous northern region. Such a move, which the United States has opposed, would raise the threat of a conflict between the Kurds and Baghdad that could affect the international petroleum market. It could also fuel demands by Kurds in Syria and in Turkey for greater autonomy, a prospect that Turkish officials bitterly oppose. NORTH KOREA North Korea's secretive, authoritarian government has conducted five nuclear tests over the past decade, four of them during the Obama administration and two this year alone, along with an unprecedented flurry of ballistic missile tests. The North's tests have brought tighter U.N. Security Council sanctions, including some passed last month that aim to cut its export earnings by a quarter, but no sign that Pyongyang's young leader, Kim Jong-un, is willing to restrain its nuclear and missile programs. Reclusive, impoverished North Korea poses a direct threat to rich, democratic South Korea, a U.S. treaty ally that technically remains in a state of war with Pyongyang because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy the South and the United States, which maintains about 28,000 troops in South Korea as a tripwire to deter North Korean from attacking. North Korea said after its September nuclear test that it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile. If it developed an effective intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, it could strike the continental United States. IRAN Trump has harshly criticized the agreement struck on July 14, 2015, between Iran and six major powers under which Tehran agreed to restrain its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. Many Republicans, particularly in the U.S. Congress, have argued that the deal, negotiated by the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, should be torn up. While Trump has been critical of the agreement, it is not certain he would actually abrogate it. For one thing, Israeli officials quietly say that they prefer to have Iran live under the deal's restraints and subject to its transparency measures, than totally freed from both, which could allow them to race to acquire nuclear weapons. Further, if the United States were to be blamed for the agreement's collapse, it would be unlikely to find much sympathy among its European allies to reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Even if the deal holds, Tillerson may have his hands full trying to find ways to counter Iranian support for Syria's Assad, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis, the militia fighting the Saudi-backed government in Yemen. CHINA Tillerson may quickly find himself dealing with a crisis of Trump's own making with China given Beijing's angry response to the Republican president-elect's view that Washington did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of "one China." If he were to upend some four decades of settled U.S. policy, Trump risks antagonizing Beijing, which could decide to restrict cooperation with the United States or, if truly pushed, seek to subvert U.S. policy aims around the world. The United States has a vast array of interests with China, which is the third-largest destination for exports of U.S. goods and the largest source of goods imported into the U.S. market. China is also the largest holder of U.S. government debt. Among the areas where the two sides have worked together under the Obama administration are maintaining growth in the world economy, reining in the Iranian nuclear program and seeking to combat climate change. They have also had disagreements over North Korea and China's maritime claims. UKRAINE Russia seized the majority Russian-speaking Crimea from Ukraine on March 16, 2014, after an uprising toppled Ukraine's pro-Russian president. Ukraine, the United States and many governments in Western Europe also say that Moscow has armed and encouraged pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, and covertly infiltrated Russian military personnel. The conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists has cost nearly 10,000 lives since 2014. Germany and France have tried with little success to convince both sides to implement a peace deal agreed to in Minsk last year. The Kremlin denies Western charges that it is stoking the separatist movement and aiding the rebels and accuses Ukraine of perpetuating the violence and violating the Minsk deal. The United States and the European Union have imposed a range of economic sanctions on Russia as a result of its annexation of Crimea and its actions in eastern Ukraine. Trump has said that better relations with Russia could be a great benefit to the United States and there are suspicions that he and his nominee for secretary of state might be inclined to ease the Western sanctions on Russia. One U.S. official said there might be a deal to be done if Russian President Vladimir Putin were willing to abide by the Minsk peace deal, or to agree to something similar under a different name, in return for sanctions relief. AFGHANISTAN Trump has given few specifics on his plans for Afghanistan, where nearly 10,000 U.S. troops remain more than 15 years after the Islamist Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces. Trump has said, however, that the United States should stop carrying out "nation building," something it has been seeking to do for a decade and a half in the southwestern Asian nation. One of the most important questions facing Trump on Afghanistan, former officials and experts say, is how many U.S. troops will stay on there. Acknowledging that Afghan security remained precarious and Taliban forces had gained ground in some places, President Barack Obama shelved plans to cut the U.S. presence almost in half by year's end, opting instead to keep 8,400 troops there through to the end of his presidency in January. A number of provincial capitals have been under pressure from the Taliban, while Afghan forces have been suffering high casualty rates, with more than 5,500 killed in the first eight months of 2016. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Phil Stewart in Washington; Additional reporting by Madeline Chambers, Michael Nienaber and Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris; Writing by Arshad Mohammed and Jonathan Landay; Editing by Peter Cooney)
(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the U.S. Department of Energy, a transition official said, putting him in charge of the agency he proposed eliminating during his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The following is a list of Republican Trump's selections for top jobs in his administration. All the posts but that of national security adviser, the White House chief of staff, White House director of the National Economic Council and White House strategist require Senate confirmation. U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: JEFF SESSIONS Sessions, 69, was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump's presidential bid and has been a close ally since. Son of a country store owner, the Alabama senator and former federal prosecutor has long taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, opposing any path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. CIA DIRECTOR: MIKE POMPEO U.S. Representative Pompeo, 52, is a third-term congressman from Kansas who serves on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which oversees the CIA, National Security Agency and cyber security. A retired Army officer and Harvard Law School graduate, Pompeo supports the U.S. government's sweeping collection of Americans' communications data and wants to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran. COMMERCE SECRETARY: WILBUR ROSS Ross, 78, heads the private equity firm W.L. Ross & Co. His net worth was pegged by Forbes at about $2.9 billion. A staunch supporter of Trump and an economic adviser, Ross helped shape the Trump campaign's views on trade policy. He blames the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which went into force in 1994, and the 2001 entry of China into the World Trade Organization for causing massive U.S. factory job losses. DEFENSE SECRETARY: JAMES MATTIS Mattis is a retired Marine general known for his tough talk, distrust of Iran and battlefield experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. A former leader of Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and South Asia, Mattis, 66, is known by many U.S. forces by his nickname "Mad Dog." He was once rebuked for saying in 2005: "It's fun to shoot some people." EDUCATION SECRETARY: BETSY DEVOS DeVos, 58, is a billionaire Republican donor, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and an advocate for the privatization of education. As chair of the American Federation for Children, she has pushed at the state level for vouchers that families can use to send their children to private schools and for the expansion of charter schools. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: SCOTT PRUITT An ardent opponent of President Barack Obama's measures to stem climate change, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt, 48, has enraged environmental activists. But he fits with the president-elect's promise to cut the agency back and eliminate regulation that he says is stifling oil and gas drilling. Pruitt became the top state prosecutor for Oklahoma, which has extensive oil reserves, in 2011, and has challenged the EPA multiple times since. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: TOM PRICE U.S. Representative Price, 62, is an orthopedic surgeon who heads the House Budget Committee. A representative from Georgia since 2005, Price has criticized Obamacare and has championed a plan of tax credits, expanded health savings accounts and lawsuit reforms to replace it. He is opposed to abortion. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: JOHN KELLY The final leadership role of Kelly's 45-year career was head of the U.S. Southern Command, responsible for U.S. military activities and relationships in Latin America and the Caribbean. The 66-year-old retired Marine general differed with Democratic President Barack Obama on key issues and has warned of vulnerabilities along the United States' southern border with Mexico. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY: BEN CARSON Carson, 65, is a retired neurosurgeon who dropped out of the Republican presidential nominating race in March and threw his support to Trump. A popular writer and speaker in conservative circles, Carson previously indicated reluctance to take a position in the incoming administration because of his lack of experience in the federal government. Carson is the first African-American picked for a Cabinet spot by Trump. INTERIOR SECRETARY: CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS McMorris Rodgers, a 47-year-old U.S. congresswoman from Washington state, is the fourth most senior member of the House of Representatives leadership. A member of the House Energy Committee, she has supported efforts to expand the U.S. energy industry such as the recent repeal of the decades-old ban on oil exports and efforts to reject the Environmental Protection Agency's Waters of the United States Act. She has also expressed skepticism about climate change. Before joining Congress in 2004, McMorris Rodgers served for a decades in the Washington state legislature, eventually becoming the first woman there to serve as minority leader. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: GARY COHN Cohn, 56, president and chief operating officer of investment bank Goldman Sachs, had widely been considered heir apparent to Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of the Wall Street firm. Trump hammered Goldman and Blankfein during the presidential campaign, releasing a television ad that called Blankfein part of a "global power structure" that had robbed America's working class. LABOR SECRETARY: ANDREW PUZDER Puzder, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Inc [APOLOT.UL], which runs the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast-food chains [APOLOT.UL], has been a vociferous critic of government regulation of the workplace and the National Labor Relations Board. Puzder, 66, has argued that higher minimum wages would hurt workers by forcing restaurants to close, and praises the benefits of automation, so his appointment is likely to antagonize organized labor. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: MICHAEL FLYNN Retired Lieutenant General Flynn, 57, was an early Trump supporter and serves as vice chairman on his transition team. He began his Army career in 1981 and was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Flynn became head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012 under President Barack Obama but retired a year earlier than expected, according to media reports, and became a fierce critic of Obama's foreign policy. SECRETARY OF STATE: REX TILLERSON Tillerson, 64, has spent his entire career at Exxon Mobil Corp, where he rose to serve as its chairman and CEO in 2006. A civil engineer by training, the Texan joined the world's largest energy company in 1975 and led several of its operations in the United States as well as in Yemen, Thailand and Russia. As Exxon's chief executive, he maintained close ties with Moscow and opposed U.S. sanctions against Russia for its incursion into Crimea. ENERGY SECRETARY: RICK PERRY Perry, 66, adds to the list of oil drilling advocates skeptical about climate change who have been picked for senior positions in Trump's Cabinet. The selections have worried environmentalists but cheered an industry eager for expansion. Perry, who also briefly ran in the 2016 presidential race, would have to be confirmed by the Senate to head the Energy Department, which is responsible for U.S. energy policy and oversees the nation's nuclear weapons program. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR: LINDA MCMAHON McMahon, 68, is a co-founder and former chief executive of the professional wrestling franchise WWE, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. She ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, and was an early supporter of Trump's presidential campaign. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: ELAINE CHAO Chao, 63, was labor secretary under President George W. Bush for eight years and the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. She is a director at Ingersoll Rand, News Corp and Vulcan Materials Company. She is married to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. TREASURY SECRETARY: STEVEN MNUCHIN Mnuchin, 53, is a successful private equity investor, hedge fund manager and Hollywood financier who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002. He assembled an investor group to buy a failed California mortgage lender in 2009, rebranded it as OneWest Bank and built it into Southern California's largest bank. Housing advocacy groups criticized the bank for its foreclosure practices, accusing it of being too quick to foreclose on struggling homeowners. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: NIKKI HALEY Haley, 44, has been the Republican governor of South Carolina since 2011 and has little experience in foreign policy or the federal government. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she led a successful push last year to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol after the killing of nine black churchgoers in Charleston by a white gunman. WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: REINCE PRIEBUS Recently re-elected to serve as Republican National Committee chairman, Priebus will give up his party post to join Trump in the White House, where the low-key Washington operative could help forge ties with Congress to advance Trump's agenda. The 44-year-old was a steadfast supporter of Trump during the presidential campaign even as the party fractured amid the choice. CHIEF WHITE HOUSE STRATEGIST, SENIOR COUNSELOR: STEVE BANNON The former head of the conservative website Breitbart News came aboard as Trump's campaign chairman in August. A rabble-rousing conservative media figure, he helped shift Breitbart's into a forum for the alt-right, a loose confederation of those who reject mainstream politics and includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. His hiring signals Trump's dedication to operating outside the norms of Washington. As White House chief of staff, Bannon, 63, will serve as Trump's gatekeeper and agenda-setter. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, W Simon and Meredith Mazzilli)
(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump named Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive Gary Cohn on Monday to head his White House National Economic Council, a group tasked with coordinating economic policy across federal agencies. The following is a list of Republican Trump's selections for top jobs in his administration. All the posts but that of national security adviser, the White House chief of staff, White House director of the National Economic Council and White House strategist require Senate confirmation: U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: JEFF SESSIONS Sessions, 69, was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump's presidential bid and has been a close ally since. Son of a country-store owner, the Alabama senator and former federal prosecutor has long taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, opposing any path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. CIA DIRECTOR: MIKE POMPEO U.S. Representative Pompeo, 52, is a third-term congressman from Kansas who serves on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which oversees the CIA, National Security Agency and cyber security. A retired Army officer and Harvard Law School graduate, Pompeo supports the U.S. government's sweeping collection of Americans' communications data and wants to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran. COMMERCE SECRETARY: WILBUR ROSS Ross, 78, heads the private equity firm W.L. Ross & Co. His net worth was pegged by Forbes at about $2.9 billion. A staunch supporter of Trump and an economic adviser, Ross helped shape the Trump campaign's views on trade policy. He blames the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which went into force in 1994, and the 2001 entry of China into the World Trade Organization for causing massive U.S. factory job losses. DEFENSE SECRETARY: JAMES MATTIS Mattis is a retired Marine general known for his tough talk, distrust of Iran and battlefield experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. A former leader of Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and South Asia, Mattis, 66, is known by many U.S. forces by his nickname "Mad Dog." He was once rebuked for saying in 2005: "It's fun to shoot some people." EDUCATION SECRETARY: BETSY DEVOS DeVos, 58, is a billionaire Republican donor, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and an advocate for the privatisation of education. As chair of the American Federation for Children, she has pushed at the state level for vouchers that families can use to send their children to private schools and for the expansion of charter schools. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: SCOTT PRUITT An ardent opponent of President Barack Obama's measures to stem climate change, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt, 48, has enraged environmental activists. But he fits with the president-elect's promise to cut the agency back and eliminate regulation that he says is stifling oil and gas drilling. Pruitt became the top state prosecutor for Oklahoma, which has extensive oil reserves, in 2011, and has challenged the EPA multiple times since. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: TOM PRICE U.S. Representative Price, 62, is an orthopaedic surgeon who heads the House Budget Committee. A representative from Georgia since 2005, Price has criticized Obamacare and has championed a plan of tax credits, expanded health savings accounts and lawsuit reforms to replace it. He is opposed to abortion. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: JOHN KELLY The final leadership role of Kelly's 45-year career was head of the U.S. Southern Command, responsible for U.S. military activities and relationships in Latin America and the Caribbean. The 66-year-old retired Marine general differed with Democratic President Barack Obama on key issues and has warned of vulnerabilities along the United States' southern border with Mexico. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY: BEN CARSON Carson, 65, is a retired neurosurgeon who dropped out of the Republican presidential nominating race in March and threw his support to Trump. A popular writer and speaker in conservative circles, Carson previously indicated reluctance to take a position in the incoming administration because of his lack of experience in the federal government. Carson is the first African-American picked for a Cabinet spot by Trump. INTERIOR SECRETARY: CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS McMorris Rodgers, a 47-year-old U.S. congresswoman from Washington state, is the fourth most senior member of the House of Representatives leadership. A member of the House Energy Committee, she has supported efforts to expand the U.S. energy industry such as the recent repeal of the decades-old ban on oil exports and efforts to reject the Environmental Protection Agency's Waters of the United States Act. She has also expressed scepticism about climate change. Before joining Congress in 2004, McMorris Rodgers served for a decades in the Washington state legislature, eventually becoming the first woman there to serve as minority leader. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: GARY COHN Cohn, 56, president and chief operating officer of investment bank Goldman Sachs , had widely been considered heir apparent to Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of the Wall Street firm. Trump hammered Goldman and Blankfein during the presidential campaign, releasing a television ad that called Blankfein part of a "global power structure" that had robbed America's working class. LABOR SECRETARY: ANDREW PUZDER Puzder, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Inc [APOLOT.UL], which runs the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast-food chains [APOLOT.UL], has been a vociferous critic of government regulation of the workplace and the National Labor Relations Board. Puzder, 66, has argued that higher minimum wages would hurt workers by forcing restaurants to close, and praises the benefits of automation, so his appointment is likely to antagonize organised labour. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: MICHAEL FLYNN Retired Lieutenant General Flynn, 57, was an early Trump supporter and serves as vice chairman on his transition team. He began his Army career in 1981 and was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Flynn became head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012 under President Barack Obama but retired a year earlier than expected, according to media reports, and became a fierce critic of Obama's foreign policy. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR: LINDA MCMAHON McMahon, 68, is a co-founder and former chief executive of the professional wrestling franchise WWE, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. She ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, and was an early supporter of Trump's presidential campaign. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: ELAINE CHAO Chao, 63, was labour secretary under President George W. Bush for eight years and the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. She is a director at Ingersoll Rand, News Corp and Vulcan Materials Company. She is married to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. TREASURY SECRETARY: STEVEN MNUCHIN Mnuchin, 53, is a successful private equity investor, hedge fund manager and Hollywood financier who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002. He assembled an investor group to buy a failed California mortgage lender in 2009, rebranded it as OneWest Bank and built it into Southern California's largest bank. Housing advocacy groups criticized the bank for its foreclosure practices, accusing it of being too quick to foreclose on struggling homeowners. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: NIKKI HALEY Haley, 44, has been the Republican governor of South Carolina since 2011 and has little experience in foreign policy or the federal government. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she led a successful push last year to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol after the killing of nine black churchgoers in Charleston by a white gunman. WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: REINCE PRIEBUS Recently re-elected to serve as Republican National Committee chairman, Priebus will give up his party post to join Trump in the White House, where the low-key Washington operative could help forge ties with Congress to advance Trump's agenda. The 44-year-old was a steadfast supporter of Trump during the presidential campaign even as the party fractured amid the choice. CHIEF WHITE HOUSE STRATEGIST, SENIOR COUNSELOR: STEVE BANNON, The former head of the conservative website Breitbart News came aboard as Trump's campaign chairman in August. A rabble-rousing conservative media figure, he helped shift Breitbart's into a forum for the alt-right, a loose confederation of those who reject mainstream politics and includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. His hiring signals Trump's dedication to operating outside the norms of Washington. As White House chief of staff, Bannon, 63, will serve as Trump's gatekeeper and agenda-setter. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
(Reuters) - In the more than four decades since President Richard Nixons historic trip to China, the United States has become Chinas largest export and China is one of the largest markets for U.S. exporters and a source of supply for everything from smartphones to spark plugs.

The following are some examples of the deep economic ties between China and U.S. corporations:

* General Motors Co - More than one-third of the 9.96 million vehicles GM sold globally in 2015 were delivered to Chinese customers. Profits from Chinese operations, including joint ventures, accounted for about 20 percent of GMs global net income of $9.7 billion in 2015.

* Caterpillar Inc - Asia, including China, accounts for 20 percent of the heavy equipment makers revenue.

* Wal-Mart Stores Inc  The retail giant has 432 stores in China, and has invested in online properties there. CEO Doug McMillon calls China "clearly a strategic market for us."

* Starbucks  The coffee chain has 2,500 stores in China, and outgoing CEO Howard Schultz told investors China will one day be a bigger market for Starbucks than the United States.

* Boeing  The Chicago aircraft maker plans to build a "completion" factory in China, anticipating that the country will need 6,800 new jetliners worth $1 trillion over the next 20 years.

* Macy's - It said last year that it expects sales of about $50 million from China in 2016, and holds a 65 percent stake in an online retailing venture with Hong Kongs Fung Retailing Limited.

(Compiled by Siddharth Cavale; editing by Joseph White and Grant McCool)
PARIS (AP)  A French association of people affected by an epilepsy drug that caused birth defects launched a class action against pharmaceutical company Sanofi on Tuesday.

APESAC President Marine Martin told The Associated Press that Sanofi now has four months to acknowledge its responsibility before a judge takes up the case.

The global drug company has been selling Depakine, the anticonvulsant drug at the center of the class action, in France since 1967.

Depakine, which contains sodium valproate, is usually prescribed to treat epilepsy.

Sanofi said in an email to the AP that it had received notification of the proceedings. The company declined to comment further.

A study revealed by Le Canard Enchaine newspaper found that Depakine was prescribed to more than 10,000 pregnant women in France between 2007 and 2014. Another report published in February estimated that around 450 children in France who were exposed to the drug while in the womb were born with congenital defects.

The class action alleges that Sanofi failed to properly inform users about the drug's potential risks for developing fetuses, said Martin, whose association represents about 2,900 families.

"We want Sanofi to be condemned because it will be very important for the victims' families," she said. "It would be recognition that they suffered harm."

Martin added she is hopeful the class action, which seeks financial compensation, will help the cases of several families who also have filed individual lawsuits against the company. Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation in September.

The Depakine case is the first class action to be brought in France dealing with a health issue, a milestone made possible by a new health law that took effect in September.
DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than 2,000 people may have died of famine this year in parts of northeast Nigeria which cannot be reached by aid agencies due to an insurgency by Islamic militant group Boko Haram, hunger experts said on Tuesday. The deaths occurred in the town of Bama in Nigeria's Borno state, the jihadists' former stronghold, a report by the U.S.-based Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said. While food aid is staving off famine for people uprooted by conflict who can be reached, the outlook is bleak for those in parts of the northeast cut off from help, according to FEWS NET. "The risk of famine in inaccessible areas of Borno State will remain high over the coming year," the report said. "In a worst-case scenario, where conflict cuts off areas that are currently accessible and dependent on assistance, the likelihood of famine in these areas would be high," it added. Around 4.7 million people are in need of emergency food aid in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states - nearly two-thirds of them in Borno alone - according to FEWS NET. Some 400,000 children are at risk from famine in the three states, 75,000 of whom could die from hunger within months, the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF) said in September. Yet the current humanitarian response is insufficient amid extreme levels of food insecurity, and only one million people have received food aid this year, FEWS NET said. Almost four in five of the 1.4 million displaced Nigerians in Borno state are living in local communities, where tensions are rising in many families as food runs short. Improving security has enabled aid agencies this year to reach some areas that were previously cut off, but many remain unreachable due to the ongoing violence and lack of security. Boko Haram militants have killed about 15,000 people and displaced 2.4 million across Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria during a seven-year campaign to create an Islamist caliphate. Nigeria's army has pushed the Islamist group back to its base in Sambisa forest in the past few months, but the militants still often stage raids and suicide bombings. (Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Katie Nguyen. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
From Town & Country

Chicago-based fashion expert Ikram Goldman had never sung professionally before this year. But when members of the jazzy orchestra band Pink Martini asked her to perform lead vocals on their latest album, she immediately agreed. It seems the same confidence that propelled the success of her meticulously curated store Ikram transferred to her new gig. Three months of vocal training later, she debuted with Pink Martini at Paris Fashion week in October.

"I think what's really remarkable to me is that, in the Pink Martini world, it's not necessarily about just singing songs," says Goldman. "It's about the universe that they create with the songs. There's a message that's so powerful, and so united, and so clear. Everybody is one.

The high-fashion guru - a long-time friend of the band's leader Thomas Lauderdale - had initially suggested the group add an Arabic song to their repertoire. Lauderdale nodded in agreement and never mentioned it further. Five years later he asked her to help with background (and eventually lead) vocals for "Girl from Shallabiya," originally sung by Lebanese star Fairouz and featured on Pink Martini's new album, Je Dis Oui, released November 18th.

Photo credit: C Brandon

Its Goldman's risk-taking boldness that has made her one of the most best-connected buyers in the industry. While fashion is something she can "do with her eyes closed," she said, the experience of performing for over 1,700 people at Paris Fashion Week was surreal.

But how do the nerves compare with dressing the First Lady?

"Well, no, [dressing Obama] wasn't intimidating," Goldman said. "To me that's my job; she's no different than any other client or anybody else I have worked with. I know what I do in terms of fashion, but singing in front of all of my friends? It was a different sound, a different voice, it was a different moment, and I think that's what was really, really exciting - and nerve-racking."

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For her premiere performance, Goldman wore a red and gold coat by Duro Olowu, who was in attendance. Her outfit was chosen to be respectful and also represent the fashion industry, she explained, noting its cultural references and Olowu's "artistic soul."

Though she has no plans to "go rogue," Goldman will continue to perform with Pink Martini at various upcoming concerts.

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Why not join the S.S.? And he had replied, Why not? That was how it happened, and that was about all there was to it.

These are the most haunting few sentences of the whole book, the controversial book by Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem, detailing the career of Adolf Eichmann, bureaucratic manager of the Holocaust. It is a book seeking out the how if not the why of such historic horror.

Subtitled A Report on the Banality of Evil, Arendt found that many Nazis, such as Eichmann, were neither perverted nor sadistic but instead terribly and terrifyingly normal. Eichmann in particular was but a leaf in the whirlwind, she said, a man who simply had no time and less desire to be properly informed.

He was a man all too credulous of the rhetoric of the Reich, the language rules as they were called, the unique idioms of Nazi governance. Instead of extermination and killing, they used words like evacuation and final solution, special verbiage used not to keep these people ignorant of what they were doing, but to prevent them from equating it with their old, normal knowledge of murder and lies. Eichmann was especially suited to this linguistic trick, she said, unreflective, shallow and wayward as he was. He was a perfect cog in the machinery of Nazi evil  unthinking, uncritical, sophisticatedly stupid.

It was thoughtlessness that was the problem, she said elsewhere. Cliches, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression, all of which in the aggregate numbed and blinded so many to an evil that began small, an evil begun with only words and which then became normal, and then moral. And then the question, Why not join the S.S.? Why not?

Thats how it happened, how it happens. And its how it can happen again.

And now to our own unsettled age; enter Richard Spencer, founder of that abbreviated asininity known as the alt-right. Plainly a fool, plainly a bigot, plainly a pathetic Frankenstein monster of privilege and racism.

A fool, as I said, but articulate just enough, mentally agile just enough, to give the leaden demonic ideas of the past a frightful new life  and with a horrific sort of normalcy, almost a banality. A banality that was in the past, and may be in our own day yet again, the better cover of evil.

And enter again the phenomenon of fake news, the advent of the post-factual. This is nothing new, of course, but never has it been so perfectly mediated and so perfectly believed by so many, all our little screens such efficient instruments of untruth. Images altered just so, half-facts gone viral as well as bald-faced lies, all of them made ready every day for us lazy readers, many of us as credulous as medieval peasants, ready to believe anything but the truth. Such is the prefatory confusion of tyranny and violence. Its just the sort of habitat in which people like Richard Spencer thrive like flies among rotting fruit.

This is how it happens, and its happening again.

Which is why the good and colorful masses of our more humane society must stand together, despite our differences and against him and all who think like him. Too many are the voices of hatred, too few the voices of love. Thats why we must stand together, whatever our disagreements, against him. Spencer is a fool, but we would be wise to be frightened. Weve seen all this before, the rise of fools, and so we know what they can do, what sort of evil.

So lets stand together, all of us, and speak loudly the loud word of love.
The Hague (AFP) - A global watchdog raised fears Tuesday that chemical weapons may have been used in air strikes by Syrian regime loyalists near Palmyra, in an area controlled by the Islamic State group.

"The allegations regarding the use of chemical weapons in the area of (Oqayrabat), in the Hama governorate in Syria, reported by the media recently are of serious concern," the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement.

At least 53 civilians, including 16 children, were killed Monday in air strikes targeting IS-held Oqayrabat and a string of villages nearby, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said there were cases of suffocation but could not confirm accusations of a chemical attack.

The strikes came a day after IS took back control of the ancient desert city of Palmyra, in the neighbouring province of Homs.

Abdel Rahman said he could not confirm if the strikes on the east of Hama province were carried out by Syrian or Russian warplanes.

"The OPCW through its ongoing Fact-Finding Mission continues to examine any credible reports it receives including pertinent information that might be shared by States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention," the group said.

A panel set up by the United Nations, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism, has determined during a year-long probe that Syrian government forces carried out three chlorine gas attacks on villages in 2014 and 2015.

It also found that IS -- which seized a large swathe of Iraq and Syria in 2014 -- was behind a mustard gas attack in Syria in August 2015.

Oqayrabat lies northwest of Palmyra. Syrian government forces, backed by their Russian ally, had driven IS from Palmyra in May.

The war raging in Syria erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

But it has since morphed into a multi-front conflict that has drawn in world powers and witnessed the rise of jihadist groups.

More than 300,000 people have been killed and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
Paris (AFP) - A French court on Wednesday rejected claims that the subversive US cartoon "Sausage Party" aimed to corrupt children with scenes of frolicking fruit and vegetables and sex-crazed cereal packets.

After poring over the film, which follows the adventures of a bunch of foul-mouthed foodstuffs, the judge dismissed a bid by two Christian groups to have the 12-rated feature classified as an adult comedy.

"The film does not send a message of violence and the scenes of a sexual nature do not aim to corrupt minors," said the judge, who found the film "humorous".

The Promouvoir and Action for Human Dignity groups argued that the cartoon was designed to trick children into seeing things that were not suitable for them.

The case raised a "question of civilisation", a lawyer for Promouvoir argued Tuesday in a Paris court, calling for it to be pulled from cinemas and then given a 16 rating.

In the US, the film which features the voices of Seth Rogen, James Franco, Salma Hayek and Jonah Hill received an 'R' rating, making it off-limits to unaccompanied children under 17.

Promouvoir's lawyer Andre Bonnet argued that France should follow suit.

He was particularly critical of "a staggering orgy" at the end of the film featuring a sausage, hot dog bun, pear and other comestibles performing sex acts.

In one shot, a pack of cornflakes can be seen making "brutal back-and-forth motions" and heard exclaiming "You like that, slut?", the lawyer protested.

A representative for the culture ministry objected, saying the cartoon was intended as a humorous indictment of consumer society and that no one was forced to watch it.

Sausage Party opened in France on November 30 to rave reviews.

Promouvoir has cited public morals in taking other films to court in the past, including French lesbian love story "Blue is the Warmest Colour" and controversial Danish director Lars von Trier's "Antichrist".
Donald Trump

A federal judge has rejected a move by two Colorado electors who sought to get out of casting their votes for President-elect Donald Trump, the Denver Post reported on Monday.

The two electors, Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich, are among the many voices calling for an uprising, of sorts, in the Electoral College to keep Trump out of the White House.

In the case of Baca and Nemanich, who are both Democrats, they sought to encourage Republican electors nationwide to pick a third-party candidate, and offered to cast their Democratic votes for a consensus candidate, the Denver Post said.

Democrat Hillary Clinton won the state of Colorado in the presidential election.

Though Hillary Clinton and Timothy Kaine won the majority vote in Colorado and are qualified for office, plaintiffs cannot be constitutionally compelled to vote for them, the lawsuit states.

During a hearing in a Denver court, Judge Wiley Daniel slammed Baca and Nemanich's lawsuit as a "a political stunt."

Colorado's scretary of state Wayne Williams, a Republican, also criticized the effort:

"Make no mistake, this is not some noble effort to fight some unjust or unconstitutional law; rather, this is an arrogant attempt by two faithless electors to elevate their personal desires over the entire will of the people of Colorado. And in so doing, they seek to violate Colorado law and their own pledges."

Trump beat Clinton in the Electoral College 306 to 232. Candidates need 270 to win.



Still, the outcome has been under scrutiny since the election ended, as Clinton's popular vote lead has grown to more than 2.6 million votes and counting.

A number of so-called "faithless electors" nationwide have threatened to refuse to vote for Trump when all 538 electors meet on December 19 to certify him as the winner.

NOW WATCH: Why Ivanka can't serve in a Trump cabinet





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Well, that was a pretty lively movie, said one viewer on leaving a Monday screening of La La Land at the Landmark theater in West Los Angeles. Lively. Charming. Original. Heart-warming. Even inspiring.

But is Damien Chazelles tribute to show business romance and ambition the stuff of an Oscar-winning Best Picture? Many in the media seem to think so. Earlier on Monday, the intrepid correspondents of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association showered the film with seven Golden Globes nominations, the most of any film this year, including one for best musical or comedy. The song-and-dance musical had just won the Critics Choice Award for best picture from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

Soon, however, La La Land will have to turn, or twirl, or something, to face a very different set of judges: Those 7,000 or so members of the increasingly international Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, many of whom still are smarting the #OscarsSoWhite campaign and are eager to re-establish their socially conscious bona fides. Guild nominations and awards likely will settle whether La La Land is artful enough to qualify for the Oscars. But whether it is serious enough remains a question for a post-election cultural future that is still taking shape.

If escapism is the Trump-era order of the day, La La Land is home free. No other film in contention even pretends to lift us quite so far above the dreary realities of over-clogged streets and under-fed job prospects. If Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling can dance past it, dammit, so can we!

Still, its hard to remember any film quite so slight coming up the winner on Oscar night. The closest recent comp, of course, is The Artist, another show business romance that won Best Picture in 2012. But that film had two covert advantages. One was its cagey approach to casting: The movie was deliberately populated with beloved character actors whose presence was detected and honored by show business voters. The other was its subtle but real subtext: The screen story, about a silent film star weathering the transition to talkies, was seen as lesson for the contemporary movie business, as it struggled with its shift to digital values.

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Birdman, which won the top Oscar in 2015, was, like La La Land, a show business fable without much in the way of grand social consequence. But it struck a little deeper into the wonderfully twisted psychology of the actors craft  questions about sanity, suicide and survival were all on the table. By contrast, La La Land cuts about as deep as one of its airy role models, An American in Paris, which danced to a Best Picture Oscar in 1952.

Since then, Oscar voters generally have required at least a bit of weight in their winners. Spotlight, 12 Years A Slave, Argo, The Departed, The Hurt Locker, No Country for Old Men, The Kings Speech, and even Slumdog Millionaire had gravitas, to one degree or another. La La Land is content to float above it all; and the next two months will tell whether that is what these times, in Hollywoods view, require.

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Even though the womans skirt was conservative, she was barred. (Photo: Chaloner Woods/Getty Images)

Cultural customs and dress codes vary by geographical region, and so womens dress in the workplace is often largely affected by standards within a given region. In Israel, a female aide was recently denied entry into the Knesset, a parliament building located in Jerusalem, because security guards deemed her dress too short.

Moria Silfen, aide to Israeli politician MK Eli Alaluf, told Haaretz that guards stopped her for 40 minutes and refused to allow her to enter the building  at one point even offering a pair of pants for her to change into. However, Silfen declined and was instructed to change if she wished to be allowed entry.

The woman received a call later in the day from the commander of the Knesset Guard in which he asked that she not cause them such anguish again, according to Haaretz.

Her husband posted a link to a news story about the matter and commended his wife for speaking up.

This is the second incident in one week in which a woman was denied entry to the building because of the way she was dressed.

Shaked Hasson, an aide to MK Merav Michaeli, was also held by security for an hour and prohibited entry because her dress  that she was wearing with leggings  was deemed too short by guards. Michaeli posted about her assistants ordeal on Facebook, calling it humiliating for the woman.

Michaeli asserted that a dress code should be appropriately instituted at parliament, but she was not OK with the way her assistant was treated.

I cannot agree with having modesty police stationed at the entrance to the Knesset, she said in the post, according to the Times of Israel. It is not acceptable that my assistant should have to stand at the entrance to the Knesset while her clothes are examined, being humiliated by guards who are checking her legs and deciding on the length of her dress. And it goes without saying that men dont have to go through such checks on their bodies.

On the dress code violation involving Hasson, Knesset spokeperson Yotam Yakir said, Having a dress code to enter the Knesset is normal practice, and [similar codes] apply in parliaments all around the world, according to the Times of Israel.

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The incidents come on the heels of the dress code being recently updated  with miniskirts and short dresses being banned from the government building. Refreshing the dress code a few weeks ago was intended, as much as is possible, to clarify the existing rules, but it did not include any significant changes to previous policy, Yakir said. Moreover, members of the Knesset Guard were instructed to approach infringements with minimum damage to the sensitivities of visitors coming to the building.

Israeli politician MK Shelly Yachimovich also spoke out about the incident, posting an image of three women working in parliament in July 2016 to illustrate how the dress code has changed.

Her caption loosely translates: This is not a dress code  its policing of women; this imposing moralistic standards is damaging our freedom. Take us out of the closet. Things deteriorate very quickly if you do not stop them in time. Here is a picture from another era. July 2016, my parliamentary assistant Naama Gills, Light Zamir and Two Granot wander freely in the Knesset of the Israeli girls wearing ordinary [dress].

Despite the backlash, it is unlikely the Knesset will revise the dress code.

Another woman, Joaninne Nanyange, in Kampala, Uganda, was also recently denied access into a school campus because of the length of her skirt. She was stopped by two women guards outside the schools Law Development Centre, who informed her that she could not enter the building because her skirt would be too distracting to males.

She posted a lengthy response to the incident on her Facebook page in which she admonished the school for perpetuating a culture discriminatory to women.

Our bodies have been so sexualized to points of madness, and like all cases of marginalization, the victim pays the price. Why should I miss my classes because men cannot control their sexual urges (that is, if they are as bad as they are portrayed)? How is that my problem? Patriarchy has been so grossly institutionalized we all feel the need to legislate and pass rules controlling womens bodies, by among other things creating de facto dress codes for them, she said.

Her post was met with mixed responses. One man asserted that the standard would be similar if a man had shown up dressed improperly. If you turned up without a suit and you were stopped, would you complain? Boby Kisakye wrote. Others were quick to side with Nanyange, shocked that her skirt could be considered inappropriate.





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By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Funding shortfalls and fragile health systems are undermining progress against malaria and could jeopardize efforts to reach globally agreed targets on the way to eventual elimination, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Publishing its annual report on how the world is tackling the often deadly mosquito-borne disease, the WHO said achieving sustained and sufficient funding for malaria control was becoming a serious problem. Despite a steep rise in global investment for malaria between 2000 and 2010, funding has since flatlined, the WHO said, and in 2015 totaled $2.9 billion - almost the same as in 2010. And while deaths from the disease have fallen dramatically in the past 15 years - since 2000 malaria deaths in Africa have dropped by 62 percent - to 429,000 in 2015, there are big gaps in progress, with the poorest countries faring the worst. Sub-Saharan Africa carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden and last year was home to 90 percent of malaria cases and 92 percent of malaria deaths. "We still have a child dying from malaria every two minutes," said Richard Cibulskis, who coordinates the WHO's malaria strategy, evidence and economics unit. "And at the same time, funding for malaria has stagnated." Global health specialists say the money needed to sustain progress in the fight against malaria is $3.8 billion for 2016, and needs to rise each year to reach $6.4 billion for 2020. The WHO's report showed that of last year's $2.9 billion, governments of malaria-endemic countries provided about 32 percent, with the rest from international donors. Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO's global malaria program said if global targets are to be met, funding from both domestic and international sources "must increase substantially". The United States and Britain are the largest international malaria funders, accounting for 35 and 16 percent respectively of 2015's total. The report also found worrying gaps in use of vital malaria control tools such as bednets or indoor spraying. In 2015, an estimated 43 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was not protected by either of these, and in many countries, health systems were underresourced and inaccessible to people who become infected with malaria. (Editing by Louise Ireland)
A short time before Star Wars, in a galaxy far, far away, the Rebel heroes featured in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story took the first step that led to the Death Stars destruction. No spoilers there, since earthlings first saw that glorious explosion nearly 40 years ago. Be warned, though: Every detail that follows could dilute the surprise factor of whats coyly being billed as a Jedi-free spinoff, but might more accurately be described as Star Wars: Episode 3.9, so perfectly does it set up George Lucas 1977 original.

Not only does Rogue One overlap ever so slightly with A New Hope, but it takes that blockbusters biggest weakness  that a small one-man fighter can blow up a battlestation the size of a class-four moon  and actually turns this egregious design flaw into an asset. Now we know why the Death Star has an Achilles heel and how that information fell into Princess Leias hands. Plus (and heres the aspect that should send longtime Star Wars fans into ecstatic orbit), director Gareth Edwards has finally made the first Star Wars movie for grown-ups.

There are no Ewoks or Jar Jar Binks-like characters here, thrown in just to appeal to pre-school-aged audiences. The plot is designed less like a flashy video game, and more like a down-and-dirty war movie (think documentaries about the conflict in Syria, rather than stodgy World War II films). And quite a few of the principal characters die, which would be upsetting for young viewers, but provides fans old enough to remember seeing Star Wars in theaters with a heroic sacrifice designed to inspire a Remember the Alamo!-style rallying cry when it comes time for the Red Squadron to do its business. With all due respect to comic-book devotees, this is the Suicide Squad audiences have been waiting for this year.

If this all sounds dauntingly technical, thats because it is. At the risk of being sacrilegious, Star Wars  with its notions of Jedis and the Force  has become one of the worlds favorite myths, bypassing a number of traditional belief systems in its increasingly cult-like appeal (give it another century, and fandom could well crystallize into worship). As such, any new addition to the canon demands more than just a passing familiarity with the previously established lore, while the slightest infidelity on the filmmakers part threatens to upset its followers.

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Rogue One is loaded with allusions to other films in the franchise, and though thats fun for the faithful, it also makes this the Battlefield Earth of the series: an elaborate, complex-to-the-point-of-confusing space opera that will earn few converts, while appealing primarily to the already-converted. Except, as for-profit religions go, there are a whole lot more Star Wars followers out there than there are Scientologists. (By sheer coincidence, both movies feature Forest Whitaker in outrageous wig-and-costume combinations.)

In all fairness, while Rogue One is complicated, it isnt any more so than the elaborate trade-and-taxation backstory of The Phantom Menace. Beginning on a volcanic-soil planet that looks suspiciously like Iceland, where Imperial-scientist-turned-farmer Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) has retired to raise crops  and his daughter, Jyn  in relative peace, the movie is the second to center on a female protagonist, after last years more traditionally fun The Force Awakens. The young Jyn is traumatized after seeing her mother murdered and her father taken into custody by white-caped Imperial baddie Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). Skip forward 20 or so years, and Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) has gone from playing with dolls to wielding a blaster  allowing the Oscar nominee a kind of take-charge attitude absent from her previous dramatic roles.

In a series of mostly-generic scenes credited to A-list studio writers Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy (the latter was reportedly pulled in to consult on reshoots), director Edwards cycles between a number of different planets, introducing members of what will become the films crew: Theres shifty Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna, Y Tu Mama Tambien), who wont hesitate to shoot someone in the back, and his pragmatic reprogrammed Imperial security droid, K-2SO (voiced by versatile Disney regular Alan Tudyk); theres scruffy pilot  and Imperial defector  Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed, Four Lions); theres milky-eyed monk Chirrut Imwe (Hong Kong martial arts star Donnie Yen), and his long-haired, Rambo-like bodyguard, Baze Malbus (Chinese auteur Wen Jiang, Let the Bullets Fly).

While all of these eccentrically named Rebels fall within well-established character types, the ensemble is diverse enough that viewers will surely gravitate toward their own favorites. K-2SO gets the best lines, though the blind Chirrut earned the loudest applause at the films premiere, every time he switched from mild-mannered Buddhist monk mode to his impressive Zatoichi-esque fighting style (as a result, Rogue One should be huge in China). The film has a fair amount of boilerplate plot to get through before the mission itself can get underway, and apart from its elegantly stark prologue, feels eye-crossingly hard to follow for nearly its first hour, finally picking up once Jyn is ordered to locate her father.

Jyns dad has become the lead engineer on the Death Star since she last saw him, and he holds the key to its destruction  and we all know how that turns out. Still, for this batch of characters (none of whom have been so much as referenced in the subsequent episodes), the subsequent mission to steal the blueprints and beam them to the Rebels will be a Pyrrhic victory at best. In their effort to second-guess the films secrets, Star Wars obsessives have been citing Mon Mothmas line, Many Bothans died to bring us this information, from Return of the Jedi, though in that case, the Senator was talking about the Death Star II (there are no Bothans in Rogue One).

Fans may know what comes next, but most of the Rebel history in Rogue One is being revealed for the first time (its clever connective plot hatched by Star Wars insider  and ILM visual effects supervisor  John Knoll himself). Still, the sequences that met with the most raucous approval at the world premiere screening were those featuring actions or characters audiences recognized from earlier films (a couple of whom are convincing computer-rendered performances, since the original actors have either died or aged too much to reprise their roles).

So the faithful enthusiastically approve, but does that make Rogue One a good movie? Or is it merely exploiting its connection to a well-loved and widely known phenomenon, the way that Ben-Hur integrated Jesus cameos into a less compelling parallel narrative? The answer is neither one nor the other, or a little of both. But at least its not the crass cash-grab skeptics may have feared. If this is your first Star Wars movie, you will be compelled to immediately follow it with A New Hope, since the film doesnt end so much as abruptly roll credits after delivering a long-delayed payoff no other 2016 release can possibly rival.

The films tangential approach is precisely why Edwards was such a perfect choice to direct. While Godzilla proved that he could handle a blockbuster of this scale (and Rogue One feels every bit as big as The Force Awakens), its actually Edwards low-budget debut, Monsters, that suggested whats so effective about this spinoff  that film spoke of an alien invasion from the perspective of a couple dealing with other concerns, playing a familiar genre from a fresh angle. The same could be said for Rogue One, which is an effective war movie in its own right, but focuses on the kind of characters who tend to get a single scene or line in the other seven films. Its a reminder of the hilarious Star Wars debate in Kevin Smiths Clerks, in which fans consider the fate of all the contractors hired to rebuild the Death Star  suggesting a level of interest in every character in the Star Wars universe, no matter how minor.

That said, Rogue One could fairly be accused of speciesism, since it features disappointingly few aliens. Theres actually quite a bit of the Star Wars formula missing here: no Jedis, no light sabers (until Darth Vader finally shows up), no iconic villain (Mendelsohns sneering, John Hurt-ful performance suggests a mid-rank Nazi functionary), and no chemistry, despite a half-hearted attempt to suggest Jyn and Cassian could be a couple.

Still, between epic battles featuring scores of familiar spaceships and the genuine thrill of hearing composer Michael Giacchino riff on John Williams classic score, theres no denying that the film belongs to the creative universe Lucas established. This is the rebellion as it is experienced in the trenches. Younger audiences will be bored, confused, or both. But for the original generation of Star Wars fans who werent sure what to make of episodes one, two, and three, Rogue One is the prequel theyve always wanted.

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It asks a lot of an audience to sit through a drama about a parent grieving over the loss of a child. The subject is rough  and beyond that, it has a vast potential for programmed pathos and fake sentiment. Thats part of the miracle of Manchester by the Sea. It leads us through one mans life of locked-in sorrow with a sculptured emotional elegance that is never false; at the same time, the cathartic honesty of its journey allows the audience to touch a nerve of desolation and still breathe free. So its telling, in a way, that in an awards season thats been tilting away from major-studio releases and toward independent works like Manchester, along comes Collateral Beauty, the big soppy whimsical lump-in-the-throat commercial version of a drama of parental grief. It feels like a Hollywood awards movie from 30 years ago, laced with the kind of four-hankie strategies  hugs, buckets of tears, New Age greeting-card sentiments  that Manchester transcended. By the end of Collateral Beauty, youd have to have a heart of stone for the film not to get to you a bit, but even if it does, you may still feel like youve been played.

The movie opens with Will Smith, in vintage Will Smith mode  brash, ageless, a superhero of confidence  giving a pep talk to the New York advertising agency he owns and presides over, but then, moments later, the image of Smith literally melts three years ahead. Smiths Howard, now haggard and morose, with thinning gray hair, has stopped talking to anyone. The closest he comes to a constructive activity is setting up intricate arrays of multi-colored dominoes in his office, which he then lets topple as if to demonstrate an existential law: Whatever you create is destined to come falling down.

Howard, we learn, lost his six-year-old daughter to cancer, and the agony imprisons and consumes him daily. He rides his bike against the New York traffic. He writes letters  not to other human beings, but to the spirits of Death, Love, and Time. He sleeps six or seven hours a week. Hes a zombie, a man who has left life utterly behind. Yet theres something undeniably a little Will Smithian about his suffering. Hes like the Olympic world champion of Holding It All Inside, and Smith  unlike, you know, Casey Affleck  doesnt give off bitter waves of doubt or dysfunction. The message is that Howard cant recover because his love is that pure and strong. Hes holding onto his grief because hes holding onto his love. He wont lead an existence that compromises it.

Hed likely stay that way were it not for his trusty trio of executive partners, played by Edward Norton (divorced and broke, with a daughter who resents him), Kate Winslet (a workaholic who waited too long to start a family), and Michael Pena (whos got one of those tell-tale coughs  nuff said). Theyve decided to sell the faltering agency so they can receive a large payout, which each of them is in dire need of. A company called OmniCorp is offering $17 a share  but Howard wont even have a conversation about it. And so, out of desperation more than disloyalty, the three decide to cut him out of the deal by recording evidence that he is mentally unsound.

How, exactly, will they manage that? By hiring a trio of actors from a local theater company to impersonate  you guessed it  Death, Love, and Time. The actors are played by a sprightly Helen Mirren, a saucy Keira Knightley, and a TV-gentle street-smart Jacob Latimore. All three stalk Howard in public places, starting with Mirrens Brigitte, who takes on the role of Death. She sits down with Howard on a park bench and quotes from his letter, and shes just impish and knowing enough to suck this devastated man into the illusion that hes talking to a metaphysical sprite. The other two, following suit, become his self-help recovery gurus (Knightley is Love, and Latimore is Time), dispensing platitudes and soft-hearted philosophical nuggets. That includes the films title, a phrase whose supposedly soothing meaning gets explained several times, though it may still leave you scratching your head.

What do you get when you cross Manchester by the Sea with Touched by an Angel? A strenuously uplifting Christmas awards-bait tearjerker. Collateral Beauty was directed by David Frankel, who has sometimes brought his work a real snap (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley & Me), but this time, working from a script by Allan Loeb, he falls into a treacly zone of wan cute feeling. Ive long thought that Helen Mirren doesnt have a cloying bone in her body, but there are moments here where shes a little too adorably elfin. The trouble with Collateral Beauty, though, isnt the actors. Its the movie itself, which keeps piling on the devices until it becomes top-heavy. A decade ago, in The Pursuit of Happyness, Smith proved he had the stuff to make a down-and-out character stingingly authentic, but in Collateral Beauty, when he gets all red-rimmed and teary, it feels like the actors showcase it is, because the films whole experience of suffering is engineered. Instead of using its metaphysical-deception plot as a conduit to genuine emotion, it just pushes the gimmickry further, suggesting that theres a secret reason why Mirren, Knightley, and Latimore are so good at leading Smiths wounded hero to a better place.

Theres one other major character, the head of a support group for grieving parents, played by Naomie Harris, whos as serene and comforting here as she is distressed in Moonlight. She and Smith create a real connection, but its part of the design of Collateral Beauty that no encounter can be free of its place in the grand scheme. Thats supposed to be what makes the movie satisfying, and on some prefab level it works, but theres something suspect about a drama of broken lives that snaps together this neatly.

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Its encouraging that Senate Mitch McConnell said Monday that he supports Senate efforts to investigate Russian breach of emails of American political organizations.

A few months ago the Republican senator seemed suspicious of claims that Russian hackers were behind the release of emails from the Democratic National Committee.

But after CIA officials briefed key senators last week, McConnell gave full support to Senate investigation, saying that he agreed that This simply cannot be a partisan issue.

Russian hackers are believed to have some email accounts associated with the Republican National Committee, but that breach of a few outdated accounts no longer linked to the RNC was not viewed as serious by Republican officials.

Government officials briefed by CIA said the consensus of the intelligence community was that the Russian goal was to get Trump elected.

McConnells support for a deeper probe into Russian involvement in the election is important in part because president-elect Donald Trump has been so dismissive and contemptuous of evidence that Russians the DNC.

On Friday the Trump transition team said, These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. Last week Trump said the hacking could be Russia. And it could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey. On Sunday Trump told Fox News that the idea was ridiculous.

Theres no doubt that Trumps victor touched off celebrations in Russia. In fact the governor of Omsk, Russia, said in a radio interview, It turns out United Russian won the elections in America.

Trump has praised the leadership of Russian strongman, and some of Trumps leading contenders for cabinet and advisory posts have ties with Russia. For example, Rex Tillerson, the ExxonMobil executive being eyed for secretary of state, was awarded Russias Order of Friendship by Putin in 2012.

On Monday McConnell said something else that needed to be said: The Russians are not our friends.

His words are an encouraging sign that Republican leaders may be willing to stand up to Trump when he veers in a dangerous direction. And there are others who seem willing to oppose Trump. Sen. Marco Rubio said, Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a secretary of state. (It would take only three Republicans senators to deny Tillerson the nomination.)

That Russia or any foreign country would try to intervene in a U.S. election is something that should concern every American, regardless of political affiliation. Russias activities certainly deserve exactly what McConnell called for  a nonpartisan investigation. It should be deep and thorough, with a full report to the public.
Getty Image/Shutterstock

State-sponsored hacking is back in the news, this time courtesy of accusations that Russias cyber maneuvers influenced the 2016 US election through the notorious DNC email leaks and a cyberattack against the Clinton campaign. Trump has repeatedly denied that Russian interference was a factor, to the point of loudly rejecting the CIAs claims. He also wondered, on Twitter, where these claims were before the election (they were mentioned in the second Presidential debate and he publicly asked Russia to hack Clinton).

Unless you catch "hackers" in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

Additionally, Trump has stated that its impossible to figure out which flags hackers fly unless you catch them in the act, but the exact opposite is true. If you know what to look for and where to look, its very easy to guess who a hacker is working for. Proving it, though, is another matter.

This isnt a new phenomenon: Currently, several Chinese generals (including well-known hacker/instant internet meme Wang Dong) on the FBIs Most Wanted list for that crime, North Korea attacked Sony over its movie The Interview, and the United States government got in hot water itself for doing just that with PRISM. But how do we know the difference between state-sponsored hacking and kids screwing around?

Can You Spot A State-Sponsored Attack?

The short answer is, theres rarely a smoking gun. In theory, most hacking that happens to convenience one state while hurting another is the result of people at the keyboard independently deciding to execute complex mathematical attacks on infrastructural targets that can take months and millions of dollars to pull off. To give you an idea of just how much spies cling to this idea, China didnt admit it had state-employed hackers until last year, despite those aforementioned generals being on the FBIs list since 2014

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Still, for intelligence agencies and even the man on the street, spotting a state-sponsored hack is fairly easy in a number of ways. Sometimes, the identities of the culprits can be glaringly obvious, with the Sony data dump being a prime example. The Interview, you may remember, was a comedy from Seth Rogen and James Franco about a frivolous Andy-Cohen-esque chat show host scoring an interview with Kim Jong-Un, and promptly recruited by the CIA in an attempt to assassinate him.

In response, supposedly some patriots from North Korea stole all of Sonys emails and dumped them on the internet. North Korea is a country that cant even provide its citizens with food, let alone modern computers, so the idea that the hack was anything other than a government action is patently ridiculous. Granted, Sony cant prove this legally, but unless a shocking revelation arrives at some point, common sense tells us who did it and why.

A Hackers Motives Can Lead To The Source

Following that is the simplest question in politics: Who profits? A good example is the attack Fancy Bear, a supposedly independent hacking group, committed against the World Anti-Doping Agency. On the heels of a massive doping scandal involving Russian athletes (which is still unfolding), by total coincidence, a bunch of embarrassing documents about British and American athletes was dumped onto the internet. Yes, they think youre dumb.

The next place to look at when spotting state-sponsored hacking is the target. Your typical computer criminal isnt interested in lifting state secrets or dumping some organizations emails on the internet because thats a lot of risk for little financial reward. Theyre interested in stealing your credit cards or other financial data, so they look for bulk databases they can breach and use a lot of numbers at once. While thieving hackers can show undeniable complexity and ambition, they are, at root, mercenaries. Unless somebodys paying them to show up, theyre not going to be there.

Then theres the question of complexity. Attacking your typical consumer PC is the equivalent of busting into a Little Tykes playset castle. Attacking a government computer network is more akin to raiding Castle Greyskull, with Battlecat lurking in the moat to eat you. Most would-be hackers wont dare go near the Pentagon unless they were convinced WarGames was a documentary, so anybody showing up has to be highly motivated in the first place.

That complexity also tends, over time, to create a certain fingerprint. The reality is that state-sponsored hacking is a job, like any other job, and breaching a computer system is hard. So, if a spy comes up with one solution, theyll tend to repeat it until somebody fixes the problem. A just-revealed cyber attack against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has many similarities to attacks on the Ukraine and other states that Russia has been angry at for not acting like theyre a part of the USSR.

Like we said, none of this is a smoking gun. Any spy agency is smart enough to create layers of anonymity between them and their employees. But state-sponsored hacking is simple to spot, and should be a point of concern no matter who does it.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland is planning to loosen rules on hunting wild boar and impose restrictions on keeping domestic pigs outdoors to combat African swine fever, which has been found in neighboring Russia, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said on Tuesday. The ministry said it hoped to halve the country's free-roaming wild boar population to about 500 to 600 animals by easing regulations on hunting the animals. It did not say how the rules would change, but it has previously extended the hunting season. The southern region of Krasnodar, an area of Russia near the Black Sea, has imposed restrictions on the movement of live pigs. Authorities there found 10 outbreaks of the fever, a highly contagious disease in pigs. Finland is also preparing to restrict how pigs are raised on farms. The authorities may require that in eastern Finland they be kept indoors or within double fences, to prevent contact with wild boar. "If the disease spreads to Finland, this would be a serious setback to Finnish pork exports," the ministry said. African swine fever is not transmitted to humans. (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl)
Helsinki (AFP) - Iraqi twin brothers went on trial Tuesday in Finland over their alleged role in a 2014 massacre of up to 1,700 unarmed recruits by the Islamic State group in Iraq.

The 24-year-old brothers, who came to Finland as asylum seekers in September 2015 and were arrested a few months later, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial began on Tuesday with procedural matters, and the defendants were not in the courtroom.

The prosecution is seeking life in prison for the brothers' alleged role in the massacre of unarmed, mostly Shiite military recruits captured outside the Speicher military base in Tikrit.

The highest estimates put the total number of executed cadets at 1,700.

One of the two brothers is believed to appear in a propaganda video later released by the Islamic State group (IS), shooting dead at least 11 prisoners who had been forced to lay down in a hole on the ground for execution.

The twins look so much alike that the prosecutor has been unable to identify which of the two may appear in the video, opting instead to charge them both for an unspecified number of murders.

Deputy state prosecutor Raija Toiviainen said the murder charges covered the twin's active role in the massacre as a whole, for capturing and transporting the victims, all the while knowing it would result in their execution.

"In the same way that if a murder takes place on the street in which several people participate, one by firing the gun and another one by holding the victim still for example... they can all be sentenced for murder," she explained to AFP.

The twins have also been charged with committing a war crime for allegedly killing unarmed cadets, as well as for "aggravated assault with terrorist aims".

One of the prosecution witnesses has claimed that the brothers, together with other IS fighters, captured and beat him up in his apartment and then took him by force to a former palace of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein where the assault continued.

A life sentence in Finland usually consists of 14 years in prison before the prisoner is paroled.
Flip or Flop star Christina El Moussa was crying and shaking during the May incident that preceded her split from husband and costar Tarek El Moussa, the Orange County Sheriffs Department told TheWrap on Monday.

A summary of the May 23 event said El Moussa came running to the residence and she was crying and shaking after sheriffs deputies arrived at the scene in Orange County, California.

The summary noted that sheriffs office personnel responded to a call of a possibly suicidal male with a gun at approximately 3:45 p.m. on May 23. Upon arriving a witness told the deputies that he had been working at a house next door when he saw Tarek El Moussa run out of his back door, jump over his fence and walk northbound into the hiking trails of the Chino Hills State Park.

Also Read: 'Flip or Flop' Stars Tarek and Christina El Moussa Split Up After Police Incident

According to the sheriffs department, Christina El Moussa told deputies that a friend of hers called her and told the reality TV star that she was in Christinas bedroom when she saw Tarek take a handgun from the gun safe, place it in his backpack and leave the room.

She asked him what he was doing but he did not answer, the sheriff department summary said.

Christina El Moussa also told detectives that her husband did not make any threatening statements to her and he did not make any comments about hurting himself or anyone else. She also denied that Tarek had ever been suicidal.

Also Read: 'Flip or Flop' Stars Tarek and Christina El Moussa Break Up: What Does This Mean for the Show?

According to the summary provided to TheWrap, Tarek El Moussa told deputies that he did not have any intentions of hurting himself and that he wanted to blow off some steam, so he decided to go hiking. The gun, he said, was for safety, because of mountain lions and rattlesnakes in the area.

Nonetheless, El Moussa agreed to voluntarily relinquish all of his firearms for 30 days, a stash that included a Kahr K9 handgun; Pietro Beretta; Springfield EMP 9mm; Stag Arms AR15; and a Ruger GP 100 .357.

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The El Moussas announced their split after seven years of marriage in a statement to People on Monday that referenced the incident.

Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage, the statement read. We had an unfortunate misunderstanding about six months ago and the police were called to our house in an abundance of caution. There was no violence and no charges were filed.

Also Read: 'Property Brothers' Star Jonathan Scott Avoids Charges in Fargo Bar Fight

While the El Moussas sought counseling, they have chosen to separate as they determine the fate of their marriage.

The El Moussas, who wed in 2009, have two children, daughter Taylor and son Brayden.

Flip or Flop, which premiered in 2013, revolves around the El Moussas, real-estate agents who buy distressed properties and renovate them.

In a statement to TheWrap, HGTV, which airs the series, said that the show will continue production as scheduled.

We admire and appreciate Tarek and Christinas great work on Flip or Flop,' HGTV said. When it comes to matters related to their own family, we respect their privacy and honor any decision that works best for them and their children. HGTV is currently airing episodes of Flip or Flop and the series will continue production as scheduled.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

Related stories from TheWrap:

'Flip or Flop' Stars Tarek and Christina El Moussa Break Up: What Does This Mean for the Show?

'Flip or Flop' Stars Tarek and Christina El Moussa Split Up After Police Incident

'Flip or Flop' Co-Host Tarek el Moussa Saved by Fan Who Spotted Cancerous Lump
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) Chief Executive Rex Tillerson as his choice for Secretary of State. But Mr. Tillerson may face bipartisan resistance from Congress over his ties to the Middle East and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, others see Tillersons global relations as a positive. Robert Jordan, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said Tillersons worldwide experience as CEO of Exxon is the type of leadership needed to run the State Department.

I think its important to remember that Exxon is a massive company. They have about as many employees as the State Department, but their annual revenue is about four times what the budget is of the State Department. Rex knows how to run a complex organization and I think the State Department is in great need of a management overhaul, Ambassador Jordan said during an interview on FOX Business Network Countdown to the Closing Bell.

Tillerson has received support from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. But, how do Tillersons close ties with gulf oil producers and Exxon Mobils operations in Saudi Arabia square up with Trumps support for Israel?

The gulf oil producing states are increasingly closer with Israel because of their common enemy in Iran. So, I think that issue is almost a nonissue at this stage, Jordan told host Liz Claman.

The Ambassador said Tillerson can handle the continued conflict in the Middle East and clearly understands American foreign policy priorities.

I think Rex Tillerson is completely capable of dealing with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, you name it. And I think he will understand and has clearly understood through his career the importance of our relationship with Israel, he said.

Related Articles
Ronald Reagan was a market-driving president-elect, but after he was inaugurated, the market adjusted to how long it would take to push his policies through, former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told CNBC on Tuesday.

"Ronald Reagan gets elected. The market, S&P 500, up 8.5 percent until he gets inaugurated. Next year, down 20 percent," Fisher said on " Squawk Box ," cautioning viewers that the excitement surrounding Donald Trump 's election and pro-growth agenda may come with pitfalls.

"What it illustrates to me is expectations are very important, optimism runs strong, but then the reality sets in how long it takes to get things done," Fisher said.

Fisher spoke as Fed policymakers were gathering in Washington for a two-day meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting Wednesday, they are expected to announce their first interest rate hike in a year and the second in a decade.

Fisher predicted the Fed will announce a quarter-point interest rate hike on Wednesday. He said he would be watching for whether Fed Chair Janet Yellen would repeat one key phrase with regards to future hikes: "slow and gradual."





If he were still a Federal Reserve official, Fisher said he would be upping his rate, growth and inflation forecasts, but not altering anything too radically until real policy change could be seen.

"I would be certainly discounting the fact that we're going to have, for the first time since Ronald Reagan, the opportunity to bring about real change. And what that means is breaking out of the secular stagnation," Fisher said.

"If we're able to break out of that channel, then you're going to see faster rate rises," he said.

With growing investor optimism about the Trump administration's policies like tax reform, deregulation and revamping the Affordable Care Act, Fisher wondered when rates would "catch up with" the stock market rally.



"They have some cover to move a little more quickly than the market had assumed," Fisher said, referring to the Fed.




Mexico City (AFP) - Mexican senator and former Olympic medalist Ana Gabriela Guevara said Tuesday she was severely beaten by four men after her motorcycle was knocked over by their car.

Guevara, a silver medalist in the 400-meter race in Athens in 2004, wept as she recounted her ordeal at a press conference, removing sunglasses to show her blackened right eye nearly shut.

The leftist politician denounced the attack as "an act of cowardice" and pleaded for an end to violence in Mexico.

"No to violence against women. This is an act of violence against my gender, against me," she said, flanked by Senate colleagues at the upper chamber.

Guevara, 39, said she was on a highway heading back to Mexico City on Sunday when she overtook a sport utility vehicle, which then struck her bike.

Guevara, who had a passenger on her motorcycle, said she had a shouting match with the driver when four men got out of the SUV and attacked her.

"I fell to the ground and the four began to kick me. One of the first blows is the one in my face. I went into a fetal position to try to protect myself," she said.

She was hurt to the degree that she needed surgery to put a plate on the right side of her face. She also had a fracture in her chest area.

She posted a picture of her facial injuries on Twitter.

The woman who was riding with her was also assaulted by the men, but not as severely.

The Senate called on authorities to find the assailants.

"I feared for my life," Guevara said, adding that she would post more pictures of her injuries every day.

Mexico is struggling to contain violence against women in some areas of the country. A "gender alert" was issued in the State of Mexico, which surrounds the capital, due to a wave of killings targeting women.

An average of six women are killed every day in Mexico, according to UN figures.
jpn f35

Lockheed Martin announced the F-35 program in 2001. Since then, hundreds of billions of dollars and 15 years of testing have brought the program to where it is today  on the verge of becoming the world's premier fighter/bomber and the future of the US Air Force, Marines, and Navy.

But while the idea of launching a single advanced stealthy plane for multiple service branches seemed good on paper, and ultimately won approval from US military planners at the highest level, it was never the only option.

Former US Navy commander and aviator Chris Harmer, also a senior naval analyst for the Middle East Security Project at the Institute for the Study of War, told Business Insider that the F-35 only really held a single advantage over the Cold War-era legacy aircraft it's set to replace: stealth.

"The F-35 is very capable in a very specific way," Harmer said. "The only thing it does that legacy can't do is stealth."

Indeed, the F-35's low observability and integrated stealth design are central to the plane's mission and tactics. Throughout its development, the F-35 notoriously lost to older legacy fighters in up-close dogfights. Combat-aviation expert Justin Bronk told Business Insider flat-out that the F-35 could "never in a million years" win a dogfight with an advanced Russian or British plane.

F 15 Eagle AIM 9 Sidewinder air to air

Defense officials never planned for the F-35 to revolutionize dogfighting, however; they instead wanted to change aerial combat as a whole. The F-35, nearly impossible for enemy aircraft to spot, is designed to shoot down foes from long distance before they're ever close enough to really dogfight.

But according to Harmer, who has spent much of his life around carrier-based aircraft, the F-35's advantages begin and end with stealth. Harmer suggests that instead of building the F-35, the US simply should have updated existing aircraft, like the F-15, the F-16, and the F-18.

These platforms  proven, legacy aircraft  could be retrofit with the advanced avionics and helmet for targeting that set the F-35 apart.

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"For a fraction of the cost for F-35 development, we could have updated legacy aircraft and gotten a significant portion of the F-35 capabilities." Harmer said. The F-18 for example, has already undergone extensive reworkings, and the F-18 Super Hornet, which is 25% larger than the original F-18, has a smaller radar cross section than its predecessor and is one of the US's cheaper planes to buy and operate.

Navy aircraft carrier

But an F-15, the Air Force's air-dominance fighter, with fifth-generation avionics and targeting capability, still lacks the integrated stealth design of an F-35. Stealth must be worked into the geometry of the plane and simply won't do as an afterthought. In today's contested battle spaces, a legacy fighter, no matter how you update it, still lights up brightly and clearly on an enemy radar and is therefore less survivable to the pilots  something US military planners have refused to accept.

"The only advantage of the F-35 is to go into highly contested airspace," Harmer said, adding that the US had "literally never done that." Additionally, the US already has another fifth-generation aircraft with an even better stealth in its inventory: the F-22. In fact, when the US does discuss operations in the world's most contested airspaces, it's the F-22 it talks about sending.

f-22 f22 raptor inherent resolve arabian sea

"There are other, less expensive ways to address highly contested airspace  cruise missiles, standoff weapons, radar jamming," Harmer added.

But the F-35 ship has sailed. Despite a very troublesome development, the program is now at or very near readiness with all three branches.

"As a practical matter, the F-35 is a done deal; we've incurred the 'sunk cost' of the R & D, and neither the USAF or USMC has any intentions of buying any more legacy airframes."





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Jarred Kessler

Jarred Kessler, a 15-year Wall Street veteran and former head of US equities at financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, came up with his big idea when a friend lost his job.

His friend was in a tough spot and thought about putting his house on the market, but didn't want the associated "public scrutiny" of a "For Sale" sign on his lawn or neighbors talking.

He wanted to keep it discreet, and he wanted to know the value of his home in case he needed to sell. He wanted to test the market without being in the market, Kessler told Business Insider.

Kessler realized that no other services currently on the market offered potential sellers a chance to quietly assess the value of their homes. Then, trouble with regulators at his Wall Street job pushed him to leave Cantor and create one.

Enter EasyKnock.

EasyKnock is a residential real estate technology startup on a mission to change the process of listing and selling ones home. It should be up and running by February.

"What's going on in the real estate market is what happened 35 years ago on Wall Street," Kessler told Business Insider. "People said this is how business is done, things are never going to change."

"I think finance is in the seventh inning," he said, "and the residential real estate market is still in the first inning."

Broker free

People normally turn to a professional real estate broker to list their homes, and the broker's goals aren't always aligned with the seller, according to Kessler.

"Once the pressure is on, the buyer, seller and broker will all have competing agendas, and it's hard to know if you are getting the right price, or just the 'right now' price," the EasyKnock website reads.

He aims to connect buyers and owners directly and create a platform that's broker-free. "We think there's a place for empowering people to do it themselves," said Kessler to Business Insider. "We don't see it as a matter of if but a matter of when. And we want to be the first to do it."

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The direct sales platform pulls in real-time market data on homes that are both listed and not yet listed. On the site, homeowners can set a price and "test the waters," and buyers can potentially gain access to a large number of homes that are not currently on the market, "but might be if the price was right."

Screen Shot 2016 12 09 at 1.32.53 PM

"We think because of obstacles like public scrutiny and days on the market, a lot of people would love to know if people are interested in their houses but don't want to go all into the commitment," said Kessler. "So we started with the question: what would compel you to sell your house?"

EasyKnock takes buyers though an intent-based search, or a series of tailored questions to match them with their dream houses. If a buyer and seller connect, EasyKnock aims to streamline the process by providing third party referrals of surveyors, inspectors, mortgage advisors and lawyers. Kessler says buyers are vetted and that there is a "policing process" where bad actors are kicked out.

Leaving Cantor

Kessler resigned from his position as head of US equities at Cantor Fitzgerald in December 2015 after the firm faced allegations over the sale of unregistered microcap stocks. The brokerage industry's regulator, Finra, said he had failed to set up a system of properly overseeing the sales in his role there. He settled the case without admission of guilt, and was fined and subject to a principal capacity suspension.

Although he had come up with the idea of EasyKnock while he was still at Cantor, he doesn't know if he would have otherwise left to pursue this opportunity. Kessler previously served as an executive director in global credit strategy at Credit Suisse, head of credit focused equities at Morgan Stanley and a VP in risk and portfolio management at Goldman Sachs.



"I left the firm because I felt like that the regulatory and technology environment was impacting the promise of business and that it's harder to make money in finance," he said.

Kessler and co-founder Ben Black have raised an angel round and are in the process of closing a seed round. EasyKnock will charge a transaction fee in the range of 1.5-2.5%, third party referrals fees and advertising fees. The duo aim to pilot the app in New York, starting in Long Island in June.

NOW WATCH: How the SEC chooses to target people on Wall Street





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An open letter from an unabashed and unashamed deplorable who is also irredeemable. It is these two words, enunciated by the worst presidential candidate in history, that really began the final galvanization of the Trump voter.

Prior to this Clinton speech there were tons of us on the fence who felt connected to many, not all, of the things Trump was saying but just hadn't or couldn't commit to him. But these two words and the hateful manner in which they were said gave us the "trigger" to support Trump. We have, these past eight years, sat on our hands and had to listen to an ideology, no not race, but an ideology that is not ours.

Let me tell all of you on the left who and what and why we are: You attacked religious liberty, marriage and cake bakers, you attacked our christian beliefs and the first and second amendments, you called us racists, nazis' and xenophobes at a whim, you forced us to buy health insurance, we lost jobs and wages to other countries, you attacked the police unmercifully, you did not follow the law of the land when dealing with illegal immigrants, sanctuary cities and drugs and you allowed this president to use executive orders in an unconstitutional manner with no regard for congress. Then to top it all off you are still using every means at your disposal to marginalize and to harm our duly elected president after a duly held election.

You and your progressive/liberal ideals made us. So when you ask how could this have happened you need to look no further than your mirror. We are not nazis, nor white supremacists nor angry white men or women nor do we wish any harm to come to anyone from this election. We are just your ordinary deplorable and irredeemable, trying to get our country back, Americans.

David Stempson, Lincoln
Wendy Kopp

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the results of its 2015 global rankings on student performance in mathematics, reading, and science, on the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA.

Once again, the United States did poorly compared to other countries and territories, outranked by 38 countries in math, 24 in science, and 22 in reading, reinvigorating debate over what the US should do to improve its educational system.

Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America, believes part of the problem lies in the unwillingness of the US to travel to foreign countries to learn best practices.

"You know, having listened to the people who have led the charge on improving the school systems in, say, Finland or in Shanghai, I mean, some of the  you know, who have moved their systems from mediocre to the best in the world  the first thing they will say is we sent our educators abroad to learn, to open their minds about what is possible," Kopp said on Fareed Zakaria, GPS on Monday.

"I actually think one of our biggest challenges in the United States is that we're not doing that; we're not actually going out and seeing what are these countries that are doing so well doing differently," she continued.

Finland outperformed the US across the board on the most recent PISA exam. This year, Shanghai was grouped with other provinces in China, but it continues to be a top-performing area within the country. China outperformed the US in math and science.

The PISA exam is a worldwide study administered every three years by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and it measures 15-year-olds from different countries in math, science, and reading.

While the results could seem disheartening to Americans, Jon Schnur, the executive chairman of America Achieves, says there are factors that should provide some optimism for the US. The US was No. 1 in the world in closing the achievement gap in between wealthy and disadvantaged students, Schnur said on a press call last week.

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You can watch the entire video of Kopp discussing PISA results below.

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Four suspected members of al Qaeda's Yemen branch, including a local commander, were killed on Tuesday by a drone strike on their vehicle east of the capital Sanaa, local officials said. It was the latest in a series of strikes by pilotless planes, believed to be operated by the United States, in war-torn Yemen. The officials said the vehicle was traveling on a main road between the Marib governorate and al-Jawf when it was attacked. Two senior al Qaeda members were killed in September in a suspected U.S. drone strike in the central province of al-Bayda, the third of its kind in central Yemen in one week. The United States acknowledges using drones to combat the Islamist militant group in Yemen, regarded as one of al Qaeda's most dangerous branches, but does not comment publicly on attacks. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has exploited Yemen's civil war to carve out a foothold there. Several leaders of the group have been killed by drone strikes in recent years. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari,; Writing by Sami Aboudi,; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
In a new lawsuit, reporter Lidia Curanaj discusses "misogynistic culture" at 21st Century Fox and recounts sexual harassment claims made in the past year by Gretchen Carlson and others against former Fox News boss Roger Ailes. Then, Curanaj recounts her own experience from 2011 after she allegedly met Ailes at a dinner and applied for a position.

According to the complaint filed in New York federal court, Curanaj (real name: Lidija Ujkic) had a group interview with multiple Fox News employees before being invited by Ailes for a private interview. There, Ailes allegedly launched a tirade that President Barack Obama was a Muslim "working with the terrorists" before shifting the discussion to the cable news network's "recipe for success."

"Specifically, Ailes told Ms. Curanaj that he always made sure that the women on FNC were shown 'from the feet up,' meaning that their legs would be visible to the television audience," states the lawsuit. "Ailes stated that, for this reason, it is 'important [for female talent] to look good from head to toe.'"

Ailes allegedly asked Curanaj to stand up and turn around so that he could see her from behind. She complied, and Ailes commented, "I like what I see," according to the complaint.

But Curanaj claims she didn't get the job after Ailes reached out to New York State Senator Gregory Ball - who she says she dated - to inquire whether she "put out."

According to the lawsuit, "Based on the temporal proximity between her private interview with Ailes, the call from Ailes to Senator Ball and Ailes' subsequent decision to not hire her, it was clear to Ms. Curanaj that she was 'not ready' for FNC because of Ailes' discovery that she would be unwilling to submit to him, sexually."

Ailes is not a defendant, and the the complaint largely takes aim at alleged discrimination Curanaj claims to have suffered as a freelance reporter for New York affiliate Fox 5 after being hired in November 2011. There, she worked under Byron Harmon, the station's news director.

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Harmon allegedly told Curanaj, 38, that she was "not attractive enough" to be an anchor, and on another occasion, that she looked "sick." He also allegedly repeatedly referred to her as "Ms. Albania," in reference to her national roots. (Her family is actually from Montenegro.) The lawsuit says that since Curanaj joined the station, eight individuals younger than her were hired for full-time positions.

The plaintiff says she informed an assistant news director that she had become pregnant this past July and was denied a request for a schedule upon return from maternity leave. She later says her hours were cut after she put the station on notice of claims of unlawful discrimination.

Represented by attorneys at Wigdor LLP, she's now asserting multiple claims of discrimination and retaliation and demanding an unspecified amount of monetary damages. Here's the complaint. Fox hasn't yet responded to an opportunity to comment.
PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - France on Tuesday called on the United Nations to use all its mechanisms to determine what was happening in the besieged city of Aleppo, warning Russia that it risked being complicit in acts of "vengeance and terror" taking place in the Syrian city.

With growing unverified reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, carried out by Syrian-government backed forces, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was more urgent than ever to establish a cessation of hostilities.

"The backers of the regime, starting with Russia, cannot allow this logic of vengeance and terror without taking the risk of being complicit," Ayrault said.

"I call on the United Nations to use without delay all the mechanisms to establish the truth of what is happening in Aleppo so that the international community does not let these crimes remain unpunished," he said.

(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Leigh Thomas)
The election recount effort in three crucial states that critics claimed was doomed from the start came to an end Monday. Just one state, Wisconsin, actually conducted a recount, with Donald Trump ending up improving his lead there by a modest number of votes. The president-elect soon tweeted away about the results.

Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have just certified my wins in those states, Trump wrote on Twitter Monday night. I actually picked up additional votes!

Federal judges in both Pennsylvania and Michigan rejected the efforts led by former presidential candidate Jill Stein to recount their votes, citing a lack of standing from Stein. The Green Party candidate, they reasoned, was not personally injured by the election results and no reevaluation of the ballots could conceivably lead to her winning either state.

Trump wound up with 131 more votes in Wisconsin than he had before the recount. Recounts in the other two states would likely neither have changed the outcome of the election nor the results in those states. Democrat Hillary Clinton, who beat Trump in the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes but came up short in the Electoral College, trailed by a significant enough number of votes in those states. Clintons popular vote tally is one of the largest in American history for a presidential candidate who ended up losing the general election.

Clintons losses in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania were devastating for her candidacy. The three states have traditionally been Democratic strongholds and made up an important part of the former secretary of state's so-called firewall to keep Trump from reaching a majority of Electoral College votes. The breakdown of that firewall has been blamed in part by Clinton and the Democratic Partys inability to attract working class voters there who felt left behind in the modern American economy.

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By Emmanuel Jarry and Andrew Callus

PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - France's far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who wants to become president in next spring's elections, celebrated Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

"Victory for freedom!" she said on her Twitter page in June after Britons voted for Brexit. "We now need to hold the same referendum in France and in (other) EU countries."

But unlike Britain, France has a written constitution, which states that "the Republic is part of the European Union". So a "Frexit" would require a constitutional change which experts say is difficult, but not impossible.

Pollsters say Le Pen is unlikely to become president, but if she does, she has promised to seek revised terms for France's EU membership, and then ask in a referendum if voters want to leave. She says EU membership has stripped France of autonomy, including on immigration, monetary and fiscal policy.

Given surging support for populists worldwide, the chance of an electoral upset in the euro zone's second largest economy is being taken seriously by financial market participants concerned about the future of the euro and the EU.

France's constitution says that proposed laws on the organisation of state powers, reforms relating to economic, social and environmental policy, or a request for authority to ratify a treaty can be decided by referendums.

But it stops short of providing the power to withdraw France from an existing international agreement.

"So if a government or a president wants France to get out of the European Union, the constitution would have to be modified," said Alain Lamassoure, a former French European Affairs Minister.

PARLIAMENTARY PERMISSION

Article 89 of the constitution says that to make any such change must first be approved the National Assembly and the Senate.

Then, a president can either put it to a referendum, or seek approval from a three-fifths majority in Congress - a combined sitting of both houses of parliament.

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That would be a big ask for the National Front.

France's two-round electoral system has so far ensured there are only two far-right members of parliament and two senators among France's roughly 900 federal lawmakers.

This is despite a popular vote for Le Pen's party of 13 percent in the 2012 legislative elections' first round, and despite backing for it among over a quarter of the population in the first round of local elections last year.

"If Marine Le Pen wants to use article 89 she would need a very strong parliamentary majority... and she would not get that on such a subject," said Philippe Cossalter, a professor of government law.

However, governments have not always followed these rules. In 1962, President Charles de Gaulle proposed an electoral reform that was backed by a majority of voters and became law. He did not get the required parliamentary approval for it.

"He went straight to the French people. It was a revision of the constitution but he did not use the revision procedure because he knew the two chambers would be against it," said Agnes Roblot-Troizier, a specialist in constitutional and European law at the Sorbonne's Paris 1 university.

"The legal community is agreed that this was illegal in constitutional terms. Marine Le Pen could be tempted to do the same thing."

LEGAL QUESTION

The first barrier to a "Frexit", though, is presidential power itself for Le Pen.

Polls in past months have shown her reaching the second round run-off next May, but they have also consistently shown her losing that run-off vote by a big margin.

The latest ones show centre-right candidate Francois Fillon, who will likely face her, winning with a two-thirds majority.

Assuming she does get power, and can dodge the parliamentary vote as de Gaulle did, there is the referendum result itself to consider.

A poll published by Ifop in July found that 67 percent of French voters who expressed a view would vote to stay in the EU. Only 33 percent were against.

However, 21 percent did not offer a view. Taking these into account, the majority in favour of staying was slimmer, at 53 percent.

Whatever the constitutional technicalities, in the final analysis, a popular vote for or against "Frexit" would prove difficult for lawmakers and judges to ignore, according to Paris 1's Roblot-Troizier, "because it is the expression of national sovereignty expressed directly, and that has such political weight that in the end, strict legal logic must give way".

(Additional reporting by Michel Rose, Yves Clarisse and Jean-Michel Belot; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Anna Willard)
PARIS (Reuters) - Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate currently seen as most likely to win next year's French Presidential election, said in a newspaper column on Tuesday that he had no plans to privatize parts of the French health system. His column, published in Le Figaro newspaper, comes after French Socialist would-be presidential candidate Manuel Valls criticized Fillon's plans to slash the public payroll and health spending, saying they threatened the foundations of a welfare state dear to voters. "Instead of looking at the facts, my detractors suspect me of wanting to 'privatize' health insurance and cut down on spending there. This is quite clearly not true," Fillon wrote in his column. At issue are a few lines in Fillon's election program that drew little attention until he became the candidate for Les Republicains at the end of November. In the manifesto, the former prime minister says that the public healthcare system has scarcely changed since it took shape in 1945, and cannot continue to operate under debts of 110 billion euros ($117 billion). Recent opinion polls have put Fillon as most likely to beat the far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen in next year's elections, which will be held in April and May. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Mathieu Rosemain)
Travel experts at Frommer's have released their picks for the top destinations to visit in 2017, a list of 17 honorees singled out for enjoying a booming resurgence, for becoming an emerging destination or for marking a milestone anniversary.

The list highlights 17 destinations around the world that span North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Here's a look at some of the places that made the Frommer's honor roll for 2017.

Montreal, Quebec

While Canada fetes its 150th anniversary next year, 2017 will also mark Montreal's 375th birthday, in what's sure to make the city "party central" for much of the year, says Frommer's. A total of 175 events are planned over the next 12 months, including multimedia light shows and the premiere of a new opera based on music from Pink Floyd called "Another Brick in the Wall."

Nashville, Tennessee

Editors at Frommer's point to the city's dynamic dining landscape, legendary music scene and college town vibes for inspiring an estimated 85 people to move to the city a day. Visitors will also want to bookmark August 21 on their calendar, when the city becomes the only US city in direct viewing line for the solar eclipse.

Paris, France

In the aftermath of the terror attacks that besieged the city in 2015, the crowds have thinned, making traditionally one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world far less crowded. In fact, with hotel occupancy rates down 30 percent and a competitive currency exchange between the euro and the US dollar, "Paris is suddenly affordable" and its high temples of gastronomy no longer merely pipe dreams.

Sulawesi, Indonesia

Indonesia is not just Bali. For travelers who've already done Bali and bought the T-shirt to prove it, editors recommend checking out the island of Sulawesi, home to verdant rice paddies, mountains, beaches and forests that hold the world's smallest monkeys.

Karasjok, Norway

The year 2017 is predicted to be the peak of an 11-year cycle for Northern Lights watching. And for the best view of the celestial light show, editors recommend hitting up Karasjok in Norway, an area that's void of light pollution and offers a higher chance of clear skies thanks to its inland location.

Doha, Qatar

Long overshadowed by its flashier neighbors Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Doha is hoping to squeeze into the Middle East's tourism market with expansion projects that will improve city infrastructure, bring a state-of-the-art subway system to the city and build new bridges. At least 14 new hotels are expected to open in 2017 alone. Aside from Pearl Qatar, the artificial island that houses luxury hotels, residences and retail spaces, the city is also working to become a cultural destination, with the Museum of Islamic Art, opera house and Souk Waqif, a traditional marketplace.

The other destinations to make the list include San Francisco and the Bay area; Bermuda; The Pantanal; The Mississippi River; The Panama Canal; Nan Madol, Micronesia; Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda; Martin Luther's Germany; Katahdin Woods and Waters, Maine; Fatima, Portugal and Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.
Fungal infections can show up in some pretty unusual ways, and a neat, "maze-like" pattern of concentric rings on the skin is one of them.

Such was the case for a young woman in Fiji, whose rash, typified by a distinctive, swirling pattern, was caused by the fungus Trichophyton concentricum, according to a recent report of her case.

The 18-year-old woman told doctors that she had had the itchy rash for three years, according to the brief report, which was published Dec. 7 in The New England Journal of Medicine. When she saw the doctors, the rash covered about 70 percent of her body.

The fungus, which causes an infection called tinea imbricata, is rare in the United States, said Dr. Carrick Burns, a dermatologist at the United States Naval Hospital Yokosuka in Japan and the lead author of the report. Burns treated the woman in Fiji. [Here's a Giant List of the Strangest Medical Cases We've Covered]

The fungus is usually found in regions such as the South Pacific and Central America, however, Burns said. He noted that he had never seen a case of tinea imbricata before working in the South Pacific in 2015.

The infection is rare, but has some common cousins, including athlete's foot and ringworm. Indeed, the medical term for a ringworm infection is "tinea," according to the National Library of Medicine, and athlete's foot, or "tinea pedis," is also known as "ringworm of the foot." Both fungal infections can be caused by fungi of the same genus as the one that causes the tinea imbricata infection,Trichophyton.

Though these infections' appearances differ, a T. concentricum infection has similarities to those that are caused by other Trichophyton species, Burns told Live Science.

As with athlete's foot or ringworm, for example, the infection is noninvasive, Burns said. In other words, the infection doesn't spread beyond a person's skin. The biggest risk to a person is that the fungus causes the outermost layer of the skin to break down, providing a route for bacteria to enter. This can lead to bacterial infections, Burns said.

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The woman in Fiji told the doctors that she had taken anti-fungal medications in the past, and they temporarily cleared up the rash, according to the report. Burns noted that it can be difficult to completely get rid of the infection when patients live in remote areas, because the medications are expensive and hard to get access to. And in some cases, the rash comes back simply because the person becomes re-infected, he said.

When the doctors saw the woman, they gave her more anti-fungal medications to get rid of her "active infection," they wrote in the report. They also advised her to soak her skin in a diluted vinegar to prevent the infection from coming back, they wrote. [7 Home Remedies That Actually Work (and the Science Behind Them)]

Vinegar, or acetic acid, "is an excellent antimicrobial that can treat and prevent superficial bacterial and fungal infections," Burns said. It's particularly useful in areas of the world where other options, such as medicated creams, are not available, he said. Vinegar tends to be available in "even the most remote locations," he added.

In addition to helping prevent infections, vinegar also has a "keratolytic effect," meaning that it helps remove excess skin, Burns said. Rashes such as tinea imbricata can lead to a buildup of flaky, scaling skin, and vinegar can help remove it.

Originally published on Live Science.

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With the technology used to conduct elections in Nebraska aging and replacement funding difficult to obtain at both the state and county levels, eyes are turning toward the possibility of moving toward all-mail elections.

"I'm open to just about anything," Sen. John Murante of Gretna said Monday after hearing testimony pointing in that direction during a meeting conducted by a special legislative committee on election technology.

"I'm not hearing any opposition from the counties, but I would want to make sure the people of Nebraska are on board," he said. "If we make that drastic a change, we need a lot of public input."

Election technology, including machines that count the votes, is approaching its life span and no longer will be functional within a number of years.

Replacement of that technology by counties that conduct the elections would be costly and add pressure to local property taxes. Funding by the state has grown increasingly challenging with a sharp decline in state revenue forecasts.

Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln raised the possibility of combining a vote-by-mail system with a limited number of voting centers where people could still cast their ballots in the traditional way.

After a 2016 election in which faith in the nation's election system has "fallen to an all-time low," Murante said, Nebraska's decision on how to proceed needs to be fashioned in a manner that "builds confidence" in the fairness and accuracy of elections.

Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse told the committee his counting machines are near the end of their life cycles and he has heard some support for mail elections in his county.

Hall County Election Commissioner Dale Baker said all-mail voting would be "more manageable for a county my size," and she would be open to pairing it with a voting center.

Lancaster County Election Commissioner Dave Shively said the time is approaching to replace the county's vote-tabulating machines.

"Some counties can't even afford maintenance" of their aging machines, Deputy Secretary of State Neal Erickson told the committee.

Murante said a decision on how to move forward needs to be collaborative with participation by the governor, the Legislature and the counties.

"We have to do something," he said. "We cannot do nothing."

If a decision is made to move to an all-mail vote, Murante said, he believes the state needs to pay the postage required. Placing a cost on the right to vote "sounds like a poll tax to me," he said.
African leaders are calling on Gambia's president to accept the nation's election results and step down from office. Yahya Jammeh, who became the president in a coup in 1994 and is known as a repressive leader, has refused to accept his defeat in elections earlier this month.

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari joined other world leaders Tuesday on calling on Jammeh to accept his loss to opponent Adama Barrow in the Dec. 1 presidential race. Barrow campaigned on a promise to annul Jammeh's declaration of Gambia as an Islamic Republic, among other policy overhauls in the nation of 1.8 million people.

"We will be asking President Jammeh to respect his country's Constitution, and to maintain the inviolability of the electoral process," Buhari wrote on Twitter.

Jammeh, however, has said there were irregularities in the official results. His party has pledged to challenge the results with the nation's highest court.

Jammeh has previously vowed to rule Gambia for a "billion years."

Gambian security forces took control of the Independent Electoral Commission headquarters Tuesday, giving Jammeh's government control over the original poll records.

"The military came to my office and said I am not to touch anything and told me to leave," said Alieu Momarr Njai, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission. "I am worried for my safety."

He added: "If it goes to court, we can prove every vote cast. The results are there for everyone to see."

A delegation of West African presidents traveled to the capital Banjul Tuesday to urge Jammeh to step down. The group included Buhari, Nobel peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's John Mahama, who conceded defeat after losing his own election last week.

Jammeh has 60 days to vacate his post after the election. He has survived several attempted coups, including most recently in December 2014, and won four elections.

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"I support the commander in chief, whoever it may be. I support the commander in chief Jammeh," Army chief General Ousman Badjie told Reuters Tuesday.

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Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Liberia's president said Tuesday no deal has yet been reached by a heavyweight delegation for Yahya Jammeh to transition power to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who was declared the victor of a recent presidential election.

A day of talks with Jammeh and Barrow yielded constructive conversations but no resolution.

The situation was further complicated by Jammeh's political party filing a legal challenge to the result in the afternoon.

"We come to help Gambians find their way through a transition. That's not something that can happen in one day. It's something that one has to work on," said Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, acting as the head of a delegation of four West African heads of state visiting the country.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama all flew in with Sirleaf in an attempt to find common ground between the two sides.

The Liberian leader said Jammeh had "expressed some concerns" on the same day his party filed the petition with the country's Supreme Court.

"The ECOWAS mission was here to meet with him to understand the status quo a bit better," Sirleaf added, referring to a West African regional bloc.

The ECOWAS community would now consider the results of the visit on Saturday, she said.

Nigeria's Buhari had said earlier the longtime ruler had been "receptive" to their pleas, but president-elect Barrow said the talks were in gridlock.

"There has not been an agreement so far," said Barrow, who also met the delegation.

The leader of the opposition described a "standoff" with the government. Referring to the court challenge filed by the ruling party, he said Jammeh "doesn't have the authority" to annul the result.

The lack of a deal will come as a blow to the opposition, who had hoped Jammeh would leave power within a month under international pressure.

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That transition will be all the more complicated given the legal petition, seen by AFP, claimed the country's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had violated the law, that Barrow was not the elected president and the result was void.

The ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) said it was not present when the IEC issued a recount on December 5, claimed there were irregularities in the process and alleged voter intimidation.

- Sanctions threat? -

A top ECOWAS official had said that if Jammeh and the delegation do not reach an agreement, West African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", but the quartet would not elaborate on this Tuesday.

Jammeh had surprised observers by initially conceding defeat in the poll but then reversed his stand last Friday, triggering an avalanche of international condemnation and a multitude of calls for him to cede power peacefully.

His decision was triggered in part by a readjustment of the votes counted in the election was made by the IEC on Monday last week, reducing the number of ballots for all three candidates but ultimately confirming Barrow's victory.

Earlier on Tuesday, police locked down the offices of the electoral commission, raising fresh fears Jammeh might not leave office without a fight.

The electoral commission chairman, Alieu Momar Njie, told AFP that when he went to work riot police prevented him from entering the premises.

Later Tuesday Njie maintained the results still stood, and questioned Jammeh's ability to bring a legal challenge.

Jammeh in mid-2015 dismissed a string of Supreme Court judges after criticising the court's move to commute several death sentences.

"The only recourse when you have any problems with the results of the elections, one has to appeal to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has been dormant since May 2015," Njie said.

A group of the country's most influential lawyers has said there is "no legitimate legal mechanism available in The Gambia to hear and determine the election petition", as Jammeh would have to stuff the court with his own appointees.

- Army loyalty -

Earlier in the day, opposition coalition members had been more confident of a breakthrough.

"Remember President Buhari is from the military. Jammeh is from the military. I think that will make a difference," said Hamat Bah, a senior coalition official.

Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his regional peers but has never threatened peace in the area.

The situation has dramatically shifted, however, since Jammeh's move to void the election.

Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie also seemed to reverse a previous declaration of support for Barrow and arrived at delegation preparation talks wearing a badge that featured Jammeh's face on his uniform.

Badjie said he supported the "commander in chief, President Yahya Jammeh" in brief comments to journalists.
One former Russian world chess champion agrees with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agencys conclusion that Russia did aim cyber-attacks to help President-elect Donald Trump win the 2016 general election.

Garry Kasparov joined the FOX Business Network to weigh in.

Of course they did it. The entire Putins global propaganda machine worked to help Donald Trump, he said. And I have no doubt that Russians hacked GOP servers and obviously had something with Donald Trump. So Putin wanted Trump to win. Now whether this influence was decisiveI dont know, and we dont have the ultimate proof.

Kasparov added that President Obama had many opportunities to stop Putin, specifically in Ukraine and Syria, and that now Americans should ask questions about Trumps foreign policy.

The fact is that he nominated [ExxonMobil CEO] Rex Tillerson [as Secretary of State] tells that Putins calculation of Trump could play the ballPutin was correct. So we dont know whats happening on the hearings. But clearly Putin is expecting Trump to be a good counterpart in rebuildingif not destroyingthe global security infrastructure.

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BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will on Wednesday carry out its first group deportation of Afghans whose asylum applications have been rejected, in line with an agreement with Kabul, the news magazine Der Spiegel said on Tuesday, citing government sources. More than a million migrants from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere have arrived in Germany this year and last, prompting concerns about security and integration and boosting support for anti-immigrant groups such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. In 2016, Afghans are the second biggest group of asylum seekers in Germany after Syrians, according to data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry did not confirm the exact date but said there would be a repatriation flight to Afghanistan by the end of the year, although details would not be announced in advance to avoid jeopardising it. She said the deportations were taking place on the basis of an agreement made with the Afghan government in October. Der Spiegel said on its website that the Afghans would be flown from Frankfurt to Kabul and then ultimately sent back to their home regions as long as these were reasonably safe. It said the next plane had already been chartered for the beginning of January. Germany has seen protests against the planned deportations in recent weeks; critics say much of Afghanistan is not safe and that returnees might face reprisals. Last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) toughened their tone on migrants, and Deputy Finance Minister Jens Spahn said the legal barriers to deportation must be lowered. (Reporting by Thorsten Severin; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
BERLIN (AP)  The leaders of Germany and France say European Union sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine will need to be extended.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Tuesday that the implementation of last year's Minsk peace accord in eastern Ukraine is "very sluggish." She added "it will be necessary to extend the sanctions against Russia once again."

French President Francois Hollande says he also favors extending the sanctions, which were placed against Russia for backing separatists in eastern Ukraine. Fighting there has killed 9,600 people since April 2014.

The EU's 28 leaders are holding a summit Thursday in Brussels. Economic sanctions against Russia are set to expire Jan. 31.
BERLIN (Reuters) - France and Germany said on Tuesday they planned to set up a 1 billion euro fund to support start-ups in a bid to boost Europe's digital economy and help it narrow the gap with the United States.

In the second Franco-German conference on digitalisation, President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel, who were joined by top ministers, pledged to transform their economies together.

"We want to create a large digital economy on a Europe-wide scale," Hollande said. "We must be pioneers, Germany and France, digital pioneers," he added.

There were few concrete steps announced, however.

"Growth capital is still something that we are lacking," said German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, noting how much easier it was to raise funds in the United States.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said the fund would include credit from European countries and private investment.

They also highlighted the importance of improving cyber security cooperation, especially for cloud services that are crucial for small firms.

Berlin has been trying to lure start-ups to move to the German capital and one in eight jobs in Berlin is created by the digital sector, according to the city's government.

($1 = 0.9427 euros)

(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Paul Carrel and Madeline Chambers; Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
By Andrea Shalal

BERLIN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A sixth new Airbus A400M military transporter plane is due to arrive in Germany on Wednesday, with another likely to follow before the year's end, but Airbus faces penalties for the late deliveries, the German defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The European multinational A400M programme is years behind schedule, with Germany's share of the costs having risen to 9.6 billion euros ($10.2 billion) from an initial estimate of 8.1 billion euros, according to a ministry report to parliament.

Each of the planes are now estimated to cost 181 million euros, up from an initial 153 million, the report said.

In August the ministry asked Airbus for 12.7 million euros in damages for delays in delivering another A400M aircraft it received in July, and a ministry spokesman said it would seek damages for delays in subsquent deliveries as well.

According to the original delivery plan, Germany should have received 11 A400Ms in 2016, and should have a total of 17 planes altogether. Instead, it will have seven at year's end.

In addition, the ministry plans to withhold an unspecified amount due in payment to Airbus given certain "shortfalls" in the radar and defensive capabilities of the first tactical A400 airlifter, a defence ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, without providing details.

Those funds would be paid to Airbus once the capabilities on the aircraft reached required levels, he said.

The first tactical aircraft, which Germany formally accepted in Seville, Spain on Monday, is due to arrive at an air base in northern Germany late on Wednesday, with a seventh A400M likely to arrive on Friday, a spokesman for the German air force said.

Airbus spokesman Kieran Daly declined to comment on any penalties or shortfalls and said the company remained in "lengthy and complex" discussions about its contracts with participating countries.

Meanwhile, experts from the German and French defence ministries are due to complete plans to jointly operate a fleet of smaller Lockheed Martin Corp C-130J Super Hercules transport planes by the end of the year, according to a ministry source.

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German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced plans in October to acquire four to six C-130Js and operate them jointly with France as a complement to the expected fleet of 40 A400M aircraft.

Germany has modified its military procurement process in the wake of the A400M problems and now insists on companies assuming more responsibility for delays and technical issues.

However that approach has led to delays in two key multi-billion-dollar projects - the MKS 180 multi-role warships programme and a new missile defence system to be developed and built by Lockheed and the multinational European missiles joint venture company MBDA, owned by Airbus, Britain's BAE Systems Plc and Italy's Leonardo Finmeccanica SpA ). ($1 = 0.9383 euros) (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Country Living

The giraffe, the tallest land animal, is now at risk of extinction, biologists say.

Because the giraffe population has shrunk nearly 40 percent in just 30 years, scientists put it on the official watch list of threatened and endangered species worldwide, calling it "vulnerable." That's two steps up the danger ladder from its previous designation of being a species of least concern. In 1985, there were between 151,000 and 163,000 giraffes but in 2015 the number was down to 97,562, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

At a biodiversity meeting Wednesday in Mexico, the IUCN increased the threat level for 35 species and lowered the threat level for seven species on its "Red List" of threatened species, considered by scientists the official list of what animals and plants are in danger of disappearing.

The giraffe is the only mammal whose status changed on the list this year. Scientists blame habitat loss.

While everyone worries about elephants, Earth has four times as many pachyderms as giraffes, said Julian Fennessy and Noelle Kumpel, co-chairs of the specialty group of biologists that put the giraffe on the IUCN Red List. They both called what's happening to giraffes a "silent extinction."

"Everyone assumes giraffes are everywhere," said Fennessy, co-director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

But they're not, Fennessy said. Until recently, biologists hadn't done a good job assessing giraffes' numbers and where they can be found, and they have been lumped into one broad species instead of nine separate subspecies.

"There's a strong tendency to think that familiar species (such as giraffes, chimps, etc.) must be OK because they are familiar and we see them in zoos," said Duke University conservation biologist Stuart Pimm, who wasn't part of the work and has criticized the IUCN for not putting enough species on the threat list. "This is dangerous."

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Fennessy blamed shrinking living space as the main culprit in the declining giraffe population, worsened by poaching and disease. People are moving into giraffe areas especially in central and eastern Africa. Giraffenumbers are plunging most in central and eastern Africa and are being offset by increases in southern Africa, he said.

This has fragmented giraffe populations, making them shrink in size with wild giraffes gone from seven countries - Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal, said Kumpel of the Zoological Society of London.

The IUCN says 860 plant and animal species are extinct, and another 68 are extinct in the wild. Nearly 13,000 are endangered or critically endangered. The next level is vulnerable, where giraffes were placed, followed by near threatened and least concerned.

The status of two snake species worsened. The ornate ground snake, which lives on the tiny island of Saint Lucia, deteriorated from endangered to critically endangered. The Lacepede's ground snake of Martinique, which was already critically endangered, is now considered possibly extinct, pending confirmation, as is the trondo mainty, a river fish in Madagascar.

But there is also good news for some species. The Victoria stonebasher, a freshwater fish in Africa, went from being considered endangered to least concerned with a stable population. And an African plant, the acmadenia candida, which was declared extinct, has been rediscovered and is now considered endangered. Another freshwater fish, ptychochromoides itasy, which hadn't been seen since the 1960s, has been rediscovered in small numbers in Africa's Sakay River and is now considered critically endangered.

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One of Whiteclay's four beer stores has been fined $600 for selling alcohol to a teenager from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in October.

A Nebraska State Patrol trooper found a 24-ounce can of Corona beer and a six-pack of Budweiser in the teenager's car after stopping him as he left Whiteclay about 9 p.m. on Oct. 1.

The 19-year-old, who had a tribal identification card, said he bought the beer from Arrowhead Inn.

Owner Jason Schwarting pleaded guilty to selling to a minor, and Tuesday, the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission suspended the store's license for 12 days. Licensees can avoid suspension by paying a fine of $50 per day instead, and virtually all liquor stores do.

Schwarting did not attend Tuesday's commission meeting in Lincoln and didn't respond to a message left at his store.

The violation could be a factor as the Liquor Commission weighs whether to let the Whiteclay stores remain open, said Hobe Rupe, the commission's executive director.

Last month, citing questions about law enforcement, commissioners ordered all four stores to reapply for their licenses if they want to continue selling beer in the unincorporated village about 200 yards from South Dakota's Pine Ridge, where alcohol is banned.

Sheridan County plans to hold a public hearing on the licenses in early January. A hearing before the state liquor board is expected to follow in February or March, Rupe said.

Many Sheridan County residents feel ending beer sales in Whiteclay will lead to more violence and vagrancy in nearby Gordon and Rushville.

But activists say shutting down Whiteclay is a key step toward ending rampant alcoholism on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Arrowhead Inn admitted to selling alcohol to a minor in 2010, too long ago for that violation to count along with the more recent incident.

Activist John Maisch said Arrowhead Inn sold the equivalent of 3,650 cans of beer each day last year, so suspending the store's license for 12 days would have cost it much more than the fine.

"This wasn't even a sting operation. This was a real kid who was allowed to buy beer at Arrowhead Inn in Whiteclay," said Maisch, a former Oklahoma liquor prosecutor who produced a documentary about Whiteclay. "I can't imagine one parent or grandparent in the state of Nebraska who would think today's penalty was even remotely sufficient."
By Nate Raymond

Dec 13 (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an appellate court's ruling that the automaker's 2009 bankruptcy does not shield it from lawsuits over a faulty ignition switch linked to 124 deaths and 275 injuries.

The petition marked a last-ditch effort by GM to block hundreds of customer lawsuits over faulty ignition switches, and other vehicles components, on grounds that they were barred by the automaker's 2009 bankruptcy sale to a new corporate entity.

In its petition, GM said the federal bankruptcy code permits a purchaser, in this case a newly formed company, to obtain a debtor's rapidly deteriorating assets and be "free and clear" of its liabilities.

GM said that if the July 2016 ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York was left standing, it would undermine a key component of its corporate rescue and make future such deals more difficult.

"In short, this case presents exceptionally important questions, and the Second Circuit's answers were exceptionally wrong," GM's lawyers said in the petition. "The Court should grant review."

The case related to an ignition switch that could slip out of place, causing engines to stall and cutting power to the brake, steering and air bag systems. The defect prompted GM to begin recalling 2.6 million vehicles in 2014.

GM has already paid roughly $2 billion in criminal and civil penalties and settlements in connection with the switch. The company previously acknowledged that some of its employees knew about the switch defect for years before a recall was initiated.

The 2nd Circuit's decision affected injury and death cases stemming from pre-bankruptcy crashes, as well as claims from customers who say their vehicles lost value as a result of the ignition switch and recalls involving other parts.

The three-judge panel at that time held that barring plaintiffs from suing GM over the faulty switch would violate their constitutional rights to due process, since they had not been notified of the defect prior to GM's bankruptcy.

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The 2nd Circuit appeal stemmed from a 2015 decision from the judge who oversaw GM's 2009 bankruptcy, which created "New GM" to contain valuable assets while leaving behind most of its burdensome liabilities with "Old GM."

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber, now retired, ruled in 2015 that New GM was shielded from liability over Old GM's pre-bankruptcy actions, but he allowed some "independent" claims based solely on New GM's conduct to proceed.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
New York (AFP) - General Motors began deliveries Tuesday of the first all-electric car model aimed at the middle market, getting a head start on Tesla Motors and other competitors.

GM delivered the Chevrolet Bolt EV to three customers in California, including one in Fremont, where Tesla has a big factory.

The Bolt can travel up to 238 miles on a full charge. It lists for $37,495, but consumers are eligible for clean fuel tax credits of up to $7,500, GM said.

GM plans to accelerate deliveries of the Bolt next year as part of its campaign to reposition itself as a mobility company of the 21st century.

Tesla also is working on an all-electric Model 3 aimed at the middle market, but it is not expected to hit the market until the end of 2017. Tesla's higher-end Model S already is available but the price starts at $68,000.

Other manufacturers also are working on comparable all-electric models, including Ford, whose sedan is called the "Model E" and Fisker, led by Henrik Fisker, who previously designed cars for BMW and Aston Martin.
Photo credit: Focus Features

From Harper's BAZAAR

Awards season campaigning is a delicate process, and the rules about what's kosher and what's not get murky very quickly. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a gift sent to Golden Globe voters on behalf of Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals crossed the line, violating a new rule which forbids overly pricey swag.

Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who vote for the Globes, were each sent two bottles of Tom Ford-branded fragrance-one for men, one for women-which have a combined market value of several hundred dollars. The HFPA, which historically has a reputation for accepting more gifts and general glad-handing than other awards bodies like the Academy, recently introduced a new rule forbidding gifts worth more than $95.

Nocturnal Animals did earn three nominations this morning: Best Director and Best Screenplay for Ford himself, and Best Supporting Actor for Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

"The policy is a little hard to police because you have both retail and discount prices," HFPA president Lorenzo Soria told THR. "But we keep an eye on it as much as possible and that was the only clear violation we had this season."

Read the full list of Golden Globe nominations here.

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John Krafcik google hyundai

Don't expect a Google-built car anytime soon.

The company, which has been developing self driving car technology for years, made it clear on Tuesday that it has no plans to actually build cars itself.

We are a self-driving technology company. Weve made it pretty clear we are not a car company," said John Krafcik, the CEO of Waymo, which Google officially spun out as an independent company on Tuesday.

"Were not in the business of making better cars, were in the business of making better drivers. Were a self-driving technology company.

The comments were the strongest and clearest so far by the group, which has built its own pod-shaped prototype cars, that it does not intend to manufacture and sell its own line of vehicles.

While Google has never explicitly ruled out making its own self-driving car, it has frequently talked of partnering with automakers to bring autonomous driving technology to market.

Manufacturing cars is an expensive business, requiring giant facilities and complex supply chains, in which Google has no experience. Google's new Waymo company may also believe it has a better chance of getting Detroit's automakers to use its technology if it is not seen as competing directly with them by selling its own vehicle.

Controls required

Google built its first self-driving car prototype in 2014, the "Koala" car, that has no steering wheel and brake pedals. Google co-founder Larry Page has been a vocal proponent of pursuing a fully self-driving car that doesn't require a steering wheel or brake pedal, despite some pushback from members of the self-driving team.

Google car

As of June 30, Google's fleet has consisted of 34 of the Koala vehicles as well as 24 Lexus SUVs retrofitted with Google's autonomous tech.

Krafcik said that Waymo won't initially focus on cars without a steering wheel or brake pedals due to the regulatory environment.

"Its a regulatory-driven reason," Krafcik said about keeping the driver controls. "As weve demonstrated with Steves first ride, our goal to get there without those controls. We don't think the human should be asked to monitor the self-driving system. As it turns out... it is a requirement to have those controls."

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The Information's Amir Efrati first reported Monday that Waymo is partnering with Fiat Chrysler to introduce a line of self-driving vehicles that could be used in a taxi setting by the end of 2017.

Krafcik said that Google was still in the "build phase" on Tuesday but did not provide further details about the partnership with Fiat.

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Google Is Working on VR Short Film From Book of Life Director Jorge Gutierrez

Googles Spotlight Stories team has begun to work on a new animated virtual reality short film called Son of Jaguar from Book of Life director Jorge Gutierrez. The short, which is being produced in cooperation with Dallas-based Reel FX, is slated to be released next summer. It will feature a story about Mexican wrestling and Day of the Dead, Gutierrez told Variety. Its gonna be really funny and really emotional.

Google has been using Spotlight Stories for the last three years to push the boundaries on 360-degree and VR storytelling with the help from animation legends like Glen Keane, Doug Sweetland and Jan Pinkava as well as award-winning animation studios like Aardman Animations, which is best known for creating Wallace and Gromit. Gutierrez said that all of his heroes in the animation world were working with Google on Spotlight Stories. It felt like this was the Justice League for animators.

Jorge Gutierrez (third from left) with the Spotlight Stories team. Photo courtesy of Google

Spotlight Stories began as a way to explore storytelling for mobile devices, with short films like Duet and Special Delivery inviting viewers to pan back and forth with their phone and use it as a kind of magic window to an invisible stage around them. Pearl, which was unveiled at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, for the first time also came with a virtual reality-optimized version for the HTC Vive headset.

With this new project, Spotlight Stories is now moving even further into VR, with plans to release a version for headsets first. Thats despite the fact that Gutierrez had long been intimidated by the medium. VR terrified me, he said, largely because it has been so much of an uncharted territory for filmmakers.

At the same time, Gutierrez was intrigued by the idea of being able to step inside of one of his stories. You always want to get inside, he said. You want to get into the world that you created.

With its upcoming short film, viewers will be able to do just that. It will let viewers step into the shoes of a character by putting on a headset, much in the same way Mexican wrestlers become a character when they put on their mask. At least thats the idea for now, during the very first weeks of the collaboration. Said Gutierrez: We are going to do it, or die trying.

Story continues

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President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republican leaders are preparing to merge their proposals on tax reform next year and then ramming them through Congress with a budget process that would defy Democratic resistance.

Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) have both devised detailed descriptions of what they want to achieve. And while they are not identical, both approaches would provide massive tax cuts for individuals and businesses  especially for the wealthiest Americans -- and contribute substantially to the long-term debt absent real offsetting cuts and savings.

Related: Dueling Trump and GOP Tax Plans Would Both Cause Much Larger Deficits

As a foretaste of what they have in mind, Republicans intend to use arcane budget reconciliation rules in the Senate and House to push through legislation dismantling the Affordable Care Act next month. Their idea is to repeal Obamacare now wait for at least two years to come up with a suitable replacement.

And because of the special budget rules invoked, they will be able to pass the legislation with a simple majority vote instead of the 60-vote super majority typically required to get anything passed in the Senate. They will essentially be hijacking a fiscal 2018 budget bill and using it as the vehicle for the expedited process.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) confirmed that the Republicans intend to use that same expedited budget process to attempt to pass comprehensive tax reform legislation next spring.

The Congressional Budget Act permits lawmakers to use reconciliation for legislation that changes spending, revenues, and the federal debt limit. However, reconciliation has traditionally been viewed as mostly a means of enacting deficit-reduction legislation, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Related: Ryan Declares GOP Has a Mandate to Enact Sweeping Changes

Congress has used it on occasion to expedite passage of tax cuts that have increased deficits  as the Republicans did in passing major tax cuts proposed by GOP President George W. Bush.

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This time around, the reconciliation bill will include specific instructions to the House and Senate tax-writing committees to technically change the tax code to reduce the deficit. They would do this, presumably, by projecting accelerated economic growth from the tax cuts that would generate new revenues to offset the total cost of the plan.

I think using reconciliation for long-term tax cuts violates the spirit of reconciliation, although it does not violate the letter of the law, William G. Gale, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said in an interview Monday.

While the Republicans technically can use reconciliation to adopt a major change in the federal tax code, he added, it might turn out to be a strategic mistake. Thats because it would preclude the possibility of some Democrats joining with them to give the legislation a bipartisan sheen.

Related: Say Goodbye to These 4 Tax Breaks Next Year

And if they rely strictly on Republican support to push the bill through the Senate, they could be running the risk of a small handful of GOP senators defecting and stopping the legislation in its tracks. The Republicans will hold a narrow 52 to 48 seat majority beginning in January. While the GOP appears near unanimous on the need to make good on its pledge to repeal Obamacare, there is far less unity on the issues of tax reform.

If they only get Republican support, theyre going to need near-unanimous Republican support, added Gale, the co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. So a [Trump-promoted] tax on imports and denial of interest deductions from the right  makes it hard for me to believe that the bill will pass on a party-line basis.

Whats more, incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other Democrats in the Senate and House have voiced interest in working on rewriting the tax code on a bipartisan basis. McConnell and Ryan may have a tough time slamming the door on Democratic input considering the complexity and controversial nature of reworking tax code.

McConnell said he prefers a revenue-neutral tax package  meaning it would neither add to nor subtract from the deficit. But that would seem improbable in light of independent analyses of the plans tentatively offered by Trump and Ryan.

Related: 8 Changes Coming to Your Taxes in 2017

The sheer magnitude of the proposed tax cuts and the highly optimistic economic assumption that accompany the plans have deficit hawks uneasy. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center says the House plan would cut taxes at every income level in 2017, but high-income taxpayers would receive the biggest cuts, both in dollar terms and as a percentage of income.

The Trump proposal, by comparison, would cut the average tax bill in 2017 by $2,940, increasing after-tax income by 4.1 percent. Yet the wealthiest taxpayers with incomes over $3.7 million in 2016 dollars would receive an average tax cut of nearly $1.1 million, or over 14 percent of after-tax income.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a prominent anti-deficit organization, has complained that Trumps overall policy agenda is far from fiscally responsible. And on the subject of tax cuts in particular, our estimate shows his tax policies would cost about $4.5 trillion over a decade.

In his remarks to reporters at the Capitol, McConnell raised the possibility of using budget reconciliation for other GOP priorities as well -- such as undoing financial regulations imposed by executive order of President Obama or under the Dodd-Frank law. Trump made tax cuts and the slashing of government red tape high priorities throughout his campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The President-elect has made it very clear hes going to move on as many regulatory changes as he can make as soon as he takes office, McConnell said according to the Morning Consult.

The two biggest impediments to growth in our country are overregulation and the tax structure, McConnell continued. And the President-elect seems to be committed to addressing both of those. And the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate are as well.

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PHOENIX (AP)  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is set to visit a border crossing in Nogales and inspect the facility with the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Ducey's visit to the Mariposa Port of Entry on Tuesday includes a tour of the facility and a briefing on its new cargo inspection process with Ambassador Roberta Jacobson.

The governor also is set to dedicate a new international welcome center sponsored by the Tucson Chamber of Commerce in Nogales and attend a luncheon with Jacobson and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Director William Brooks.

The governor then plans to travel to Sierra Vista to tour Fort Huachuca.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich vetoed one controversial abortion bill and signed another on Tuesday, putting into law strict measures on reproductive rights in the state.

The law Kasich signed will ban abortion after 20 weeks into pregnancy. The second, known as the heartbeat bill because it bans abortion after the fetus's heartbeat can be detected, he vetoed.

Kasich explained in his veto of the heartbeat bill that it was "clearly contrary to the Supreme Court of the United States' current rulings on abortion," and that signing it into law would ensure the "State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars" in a losing lawsuit.

.@JohnKasich vetoed the Heartbeat Bill provision of HB493, this is what Kasich wrote in his explanation of the veto #ohio #heartbeatbill pic.twitter.com/H2ghFea1Ic  Andy Chow (@andy_chow) December 13, 2016

The ACLU of Ohio has threatened to sue if either bill became law. Other abortions-rights advocates would most likely join their suit.

The brewing national debate on abortion

Abortion-rights advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, decried the bill, calling it unconstitutional and saying it violates the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade granting women a constitutional right to safe, legal abortions.

"The 20-week ban will force women to travel long distances and cross state lines in order to access safe, legal abortion  a barrier that many women simply cannot afford," Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement on Kasich's actions sent to Business Insider. "This is just another shameful attempt by John Kasich to make abortion illegal."

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President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to appoint justices who oppose abortion and would overturn the landmark case, leaving reproductive rights up to the states.

Republican Keith Faber, the president of the Ohio Senate, told The Associated Press after the heartbeat bill passed that Trump's victory emboldened the Legislature to pass it with the hope that the courts would uphold the bill.

"I think it has a better chance than it did before" to survive a legal challenge, Faber said.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of the abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said in a statement on Kasich's actions Tuesday that the 20-week ban "callously disregards the unique circumstances that surround a woman's pregnancy."

"Kasich's actions today will fall hardest on low-income women, women of color, and young women," Copeland said. "History will not judge Gov. Kasichs disregard for womens health kindly."

Kasich tweeted shortly after signing the bill that he "appreciate[s] the support of Ohio Right to Life," linking to the antiabortion group's statement on his actions:

"By signing S.B. 127, the 20-week ban, Governor Kasich will save hundreds of unborn lives each year and he positioned the state of Ohio to directly challenge Roe v. Wade," Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said in the statement. "The 20-week ban was nationally designed to be the vehicle to end abortion in America."

Teresa Fedor ohio leg

Both bills allowed for an exception if the mother's health is endangered, but not for cases of rape or incest. Rep. Teresa Fedor, a Democrat from Toledo, who told the Legislature last year that she had an abortion after she was raped while in the military, called the ban an "attack on women."

The evidence

Research has found that most women who get abortions at or after 20 weeks wanted to get one sooner but couldn't because they couldn't travel to get one, were victims of domestic violence, were depressed or had substance abuse problems, or couldn't afford it.

Another reason to terminate a pregnancy after 20 weeks is severe birth defects  such as trisomy 18  in which the fetus wouldn't survive if the woman carried it to term. On Wednesday, a couple who lost two pregnancies because of trisomy 18 testified before the House, encouraging the committee to reject the 20-week bill.

Only 478 of the 20,976 abortions reported in Ohio in 2015 involved pregnancies of more than 19 weeks, according to the state Department of Health. Fewer than 1% of abortions in the state occurred after 21 weeks into the pregnancy.

Ohio joins 24 other states that have laws on the books banning abortion after 20 weeks into pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Doctors can detect a fetus's heartbeat as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Women usually don't find out they're pregnant until four to seven weeks in  meaning the heartbeat bill would most likely have left many women unable to get a safe, legal abortion in the state.

Abortion-rights advocates protested outside the governor's mansion after the state legislature passed the heartbeat bill on December 6, encouraging Kasich to veto the bill:

HAPPENING NOW: Pro-choice protesters are outside of the governors mansion urging him to veto the heartbeat bill if it comes to his desk. pic.twitter.com/0QSkgCPG7F  Bryant Maddrick (@Bryantwsyx6) December 6, 2016

Abortion rights supporters protesting at Governor's residence where event is being held, just hours after Ohio Senate passed Heartbeat bill pic.twitter.com/Ze4SYM4F2A  Jo Ingles (@joingles) December 7, 2016

NOW WATCH: TRUMP: Women who want abortions may have to 'go to another state'





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Washington (AFP) - Islamic State jihadists seized abandoned war-fighting gear after they recaptured the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra from the Russia-backed Damascus regime, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

IS overran Palmyra on Sunday, nine months after being expelled by Russian air strikes and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad.

It was "probably one of the most significant counter-attacks we've seen by ISIL," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said, using an IS acronym.

"It resulted in ISIL taking whatever material the regime left behind. That could include armored vehicles, it could include artillery."

When IS first swept across neighboring Iraq in 2014, local security forces fled with scant resistance, dumping their weapons and gear -- much of it provided by the United States.

IS first seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics.

The Pentagon and coalition partners have accused Moscow and Damascus of taking their eye off Palmyra to focus on bombing the former rebel bastion of Aleppo.

"There could certainly be an argument made that the regime, which is backed by Russia, had been so singly focused on Aleppo that they failed to watch their six," Davis said.

He said regime troops had departed from Palmyra "very quickly" as IS moved in.

Moscow has accused the United States of failing to coordinate military efforts, thus enabling the IS counter-attack on Palmyra.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said neither Russia nor Assad had ever been committed to fighting IS inside Syria.

The effort "has been to violently crush the opposition, and even at the cost of so many innocent lives," he said, amid mounting global outrage over reports of atrocities as forces loyal to Assad closed in on the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo.
NORTH PLATTE  Investigators are working to determine who shot and killed one of a North Platte couple's Rottweilers while they were out of town.

The 4-year-old dog named Taylor was shot on Saturday while Michael and Amy Lee were in Lincoln for a work Christmas party.

Taylor and the couple's other Rottweiler, Sadi, were staying with Michael Lee's parents for the weekend. Sadi was inside the home when Taylor was shot Saturday morning.

Amy Lee said the dogs had stayed there before without problems although they may have barked more than at home.

North Platte Police Investigator John Deal declined to comment on the investigation.

Amy Lee said investigators took a bullet for evidence and may know who shot Taylor.
With an opioid abuse epidemic raging, many children of parents addicted to prescription painkillers or heroin, or whose parents have died from overdosing on the powerful drugs, are now being cared for by their grandparents. That's contributed significantly to a rise in so-called grandfamilies: As of last year, 2.9 million children in the U.S. were living with grandparents who were responsible for their care, according to a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts' news service Stateline. That's up from 2.5 million in 2005.

There are many other reasons a grandparent may end up needing to be a full-time caretaker for a grandchild, too. They include parental death from any cause, incarceration, mental illness, physical illness, divorce, homelessness, military deployment or having teenage parents, says Jaia Peterson Lent, deputy executive director at District of Columbia-based Generations United, a national nonprofit that seeks to improve the lives of children and older people, with an emphasis on connecting the generations. "There are also cases where parents need to move elsewhere for employment but do not have resources to bring the children with them," she says.

[See: 14 Ways Caregivers Can Care for Themselves.]

The Loss of a Parent

While some children experience the permanent loss of a parent though death, many others suffer trauma and loss in another way: They've lost access to their parents in their day-to-day lives for reasons ranging from imprisonment to addiction, says Susan Neely-Barnes, a professor and interim chair of the department of social work at the University of Memphis. Often, children dealing with the difficult transition face mental health challenges, such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse. "The grandparents are taking on more responsibility than what we as biological parents have to deal with often," says Neely-Barnes, who has studied the health-related quality of life impact of grandparents taking on a custodial, or parenting, role.

Grandparents are also often grieving the loss of their own adult child -- or the life they'd envisioned for their son or daughter -- Lent says, and struggling with having to forgo the traditional grandparent role. "Whenever you envision a grandparent, you get to spoil a child, you get to provide the cookies and the candy, not be the disciplinarian," she says.

The demands of parenting can take a toll on grandparents' well-being, according to research on custodial grandparents. Custodial grandparents experience increased stress and depression, compared with non-custodial grandparents, and physical health problems as well, Neely-Barnes says. "For most relative caregivers, kinship care is usually unplanned, it's in a crisis and it's by default," says Joseph Crumbley, a family therapist in private practice specializing in kinship care who is based in Philadelphia, since the birth parents aren't around or able to take care of their children. That can lead many relative caregivers to feel overwhelmed, Crumbley says. While grandparent caregivers are usually under age 65, they're still older than typical biological parents, so the physical and mental rigors of parenting can be harder to handle, he adds.

[See: The 5 Latest Poison Control Threats Kids Face.]

A Healthy Family

The range of stressors ranges from financial difficulty to housing concerns -- is there enough space for a child? -- and challenging relationship dynamics with parents can add to the strain, Crumbley says. To lessen the burden, experts advise grandparents take the following steps to preserve their health, while improving their ability to care for a child:

Be open in discussing challenges. Some grandparents may be embarrassed to acknowledge that they're taking care of their children's children, says Carolyn Graff, chief of nursing at the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis -- such as in circumstances where a grown child is incarcerated or facing other potentially sensitive issues. But by acknowledging it, she says, grandparents can more clearly communicate their needs.

Find support and get answers. You may find family or someone you're just getting to know who's also raising a grandchild provides a sympathetic ear and helpful counsel. "There's a wonderful network of support groups across the country of other grandparents and other relatives that have stepped into this role," Lent says. Connect online, or for local options to access grandfamily support groups, call Generations United: 202-289-3979. In some states, you can also access kinship navigator programs through which caregivers can connect with advocates, such as a social worker or trained case manager, who provide relatives caring for children with information, resources and referrals to other experts. This can help in navigating an array of areas, from making health care- and education-related decisions to understanding the implications of having legal custody, or not having custody, of a child. Generations United provides a list of kinship navigator programs.

Access financial resources. Grandparents and other family can serve a critical role in caring for kids when parents aren't able to. But caregivers often neglect their own needs to take care of the child, Lent says. When children come into the care of relatives, along with chronic stress and depression, some relative caregivers experience physical illness that goes unchecked, like high blood pressure, she says. Particularly when money and time are tight, grandparent caregivers are more likely to forgo filling prescriptions or seeing the doctor, says Graff, who's done research on custodial caregivers. Experts say that makes it all the more important that they access available support and financial resources, as needed.

In some instances, where a child has been removed from a parent's custody by the state, a relative may consider applying to become a licensed foster parent for the child -- though that's not an option in all states. "It's an extensive process," Lent says. But those who are licensed foster parents receive a foster care payment to help with the cost of caring for a child, as well as getting connected with support services, while agreeing to state involvement, like home inspections. In the majority of instances, grandparents caring for grandkids do so outside the formal foster care system. Those in financial need may consider applying for community support or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; though significantly less than foster care payments, this governmental funding is available in all states. "Some states take the relative's income into consideration," Lent says, regarding TANF funding. "Most states, however, provide the 'child-only' grant, which does not consider the relative's income."

Talk to your doctor. Whether you've put your health on the back burner or are concerned you can't afford your own pricey medication given the high cost of caring for a child, Graff recommends telling your health provider about your role as a caregiver. That way you can discuss your constraints and concerns to find workable solutions -- from taking a generic medication, where a safe effective alternative to an expensive brand-name drug is available, to making sensible lifestyle changes that fit within a busy schedule to accommodate time-intensive caretaking responsibilities.

Crumbley emphasizes that relative caregivers prioritize their mental and physical health not only for themselves, but to properly care for children. "One of the things that we have to constantly remind relative caregivers is that they've got be OK for the children to be OK," he says. "We're starting to see some research that's suggesting that the more depressed relative caregivers are, the more difficult it is for them to access services and to meet the needs of the children. So we're definitely seeing a correlation between mental health of the relative caregivers with the quality in care and access of services for the children that are in their care."

[See: Apps for Kids with Chronic Conditions.]

Take a beat for yourself. Whether you contact a professional or organization that provides respite care, or get a hand from a family member or friend, find someone you trust who can care for the child occasionally, so that you can take a break. Just as downtime is good for a child, experts say it's equally crucial for caregivers. "It can be just a couple of hours," Lent says. "But that needs to be something that you prioritize and plan for as a caregiver to make sure that you're preserving your own health."

Michael Schroeder is a health editor at U.S. News. He covers a wide array of topics ranging from cancer to depression and prevention to overtreatment. He's been reporting on health since 2005. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at mschroeder@usnews.com.
(Reuters) - Greece said on Tuesday it can conclude the latest review of its bailout with its international lenders by early next year but reiterated that its position on fiscal targets and labor reforms remains "unchanged." Representatives from the country's EU and International Monetary Fund lenders resume talks with Athens later on Tuesday in an effort to break an impasse in negotiations. Government Spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told reporters it was possible, if there is will on all sides, for a timely conclusion of the review "if not by the end of the year, in the first days of 2017." He said Athens wanted to conclude the assessment without new austerity measures after the country's latest bailout ends in 2018. (Reporting By Renee Maltezou and Michele Kambas)
Glasgow (AFP) - Runaway leaders Celtic further extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a 1-0 defeat of Hamilton at Celtic Park on Tuesday.

A first-half strike from Leigh Griffiths was enough to claim Celtic's 10th consecutive victory and condemn Hamilton to their first defeat in six games.

The Hoops now hold an 11-point advantage over Rangers, having played two games less than their fierce Glasgow rivals.

Aberdeen missed the chance to narrow the gap to second-place Rangers when their game against Motherwell at Pittodrie was abandoned due to floodlight failure.

Despite the victory, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers thought his side had not been at their usual standard.

"I think throughout most of this season we've performed at a really high level, but some games we haven't," the former Liverpool manager said.

"Tonight was one of those games that we didn't quite hit those heights, but we showed a great desire and persistence to keep going and we got the job done in the end."

Hamilton manager Martin Canning thought his side had been excellent.

"I thought their work-rate was different class and they did what they were asked to do," he said.

"It is a difficult place to come and it would've been nice to get something from it. But to come here and perform that way, I think the boys deserve some credit."

Celtic had gone into the first of three consecutive home games on the back of three comfortable away wins where they had racked up nine goals.

- Dembele and Griffiths combine -

Hamilton were well aware of the threat the Glasgow giants could pose, having been thrashed 8-1 on their last visit to Celtic Park in January.

However, the visitors have shown themselves hard to beat this season following five consecutive draws, and proved disciplined in defence in the early stages.

Griffiths had grabbed a hat-trick on Hamilton's last visit on his way to clocking up 40 goals last season, only to find his opportunities more limited this season under Rodgers.

Story continues

But a goal in his last run-out against Partick Thistle saw him keep his place in the starting line-up as he partnered the in-form Moussa Demble up front.

It was only the second time the pair had featured together from the start and the gamble paid off as they combined for the only goal in the 36th minute.

Australian international Tom Rogic threaded a through ball for Dembele to chase and the French forward squared to Griffiths, who held off the challenge of Grant Gillespie to fire into the empty net.

The Scotland international nearly had a second before the break as he raced onto a ball in the box, only to arrow a shot narrowly wide from a tight angle.

The chances began to come for Celtic at the start of the second half, with Griffiths blasting over from a Roberts cut-back before Dembele was off-target with a header as he blocked an attempted clearance.

Stuart Armstrong then scuffed a shot wide after racing into the box to collect a pass as the Hoops continued to be frustrated in front of goal.

Substitute Eamonn Brophy squandered a late chance for Hamilton when he fired wide after electing to shoot when team-mate Ali Crawford appeared to be in a better position.
A letter from the Swift network to member banks warns hackers are refining their cyberattack tools and the global bank transfer system remains vulnerable.

Reuters reported Monday the letter, dated Nov. 2, warned the threat is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated  and it is here to stay.

Reuters said the letter is evidence the Belgium-based cooperative  Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication  remains vulnerable a year after $81 million was stolen from Bangladeshs central bank.

Among the tactics now being used by hackers is software allowing technicians access to computers for technical support.

"We unfortunately continue to see cases in which some of our customers environments are being compromised," the letter said, noting a meaningful number of attacks have been made on both central and commercial banks, and 20 percent of them have resulted in stolen funds.

Bangladeshi officials told Reuters several central bank officials enabled the theft, which was the result of malware inserted into the banks system.

Bitcoin News Service reported the central bank has managed to recoup a portion of the stolen funds from a casino in the Philippines. Investigators determined the money was sold on the black market to a foreign exchange broker who transferred the funds to three casinos.

A Philippines court ordered the Solaire Resort and casino to surrender the money to Bangladesh. Some $10 million was handed over.

A commercial bank in Ecuador said it was held up for $12 million last year. In Vietnam thieves tried and failed to make off with $1.1 million in what investigators said may have been a practice run for the attack on Bangladesh.

Russia security services warned earlier this month that foreign spy agencies were preparing attacks on Russian banks in dozens of cities to destabilize the financial system of the Russian Federation. The Federal Security Bureau didnt specify who was preparing the attack.

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On Dec 12, we issued an updated research report on Braintree, MA-based Haemonetics Corporation HAE. The company offers blood management solutions to customers, including blood and plasma collectors, hospitals and health care providers, globally.

Heamonetics has been performing well in recent times, supported by its strong fundamentals and progress in strategic executions. In this regard, we note that the companys revenues and earnings have improved at a five-year CAGR of 5.7% and 1.9%, respectively. In fact, the company recently reported impressive results for the second quarter of fiscal 2017, wherein both earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

For the majority of the last six months, Haemonetics has surpassed the Zacks categorized Medical Products Industry in terms of price performance. Per the latest price chart, the stock has gained 37.8%, whereas the broader industry has declined 6.6%. Additionally, the companys estimates for the full year reflect a favorable trend. The company has seen six upward revisions with no downward revision in the last couple of months. Over the same period, current-year estimates have increased by 5 cents from $1.44 to $1.49.

Of late, the company has successfully delivered robust growth in its two franchises  Plasma and TEG hemostasis management. Haemonetics is currently enjoying half of the North American disposables growth in the end market for plasma-derived biopharmaceuticals.

Currently, management is engaged in innovations to differentiate its product offering, which along with proper coordination with its customers, will help optimize collection productivity and yield. Haemonetics claims that its next generation plasma collection software in the U.S. has seen strong customer interest. Recently, the company launched an advanced version of NextGen DMS 4 to enhance plasma collection center operations.

Reportedly, Haemonetics has taken up a strategic initiative to restructure itself in three phases  stabilize, transform, and accelerate growth. The company aims to achieve successful implementation of this initiative through increased focus and committed leadership.

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Despite the encouraging growth in Plasma and Haemonetics Management franchises, the underperformance at the other two franchises  Blood Center and Cell Processing  was quite a disappointment in the last reported quarter. Haemonetics witnessed a significant decline in the BloodCenter franchise due to the advancement of double dose platelet collections in Japan, pricing and volume declines in double red cell collections and persistent decline in overall whole blood market. This trend is expected to continue in the upcoming quarters as well.

Also, gross margin decline is a major concern. The product recall of leukoreduction filter hurt Hameonetics earnings in the second quarter, the effect of which is expected to linger. Macroeconomic uncertainties and stiff market competition add to the woes.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Haemonetics carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other well-ranked medical stocks are NxStage Medical Inc. NXTM, Baxter International Inc. BAX and Bovie Medical Corporation BVX. NxStage Medical and Baxter International sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Bovie Medical carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NxStage Medical surged 33.9% over the last one year compared with the S&P 500s 11.6% over the same period. The company has a four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 46.3%.

Baxter International rallied 23.2% over the last one year, much higher than the S&P 500. It has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 27%.

Bovie Medical recorded a 103.2% gain in the past one year, way better than the S&P 500. The company has a trailing four-quarter positive average earnings surprise of 28.7%.

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London (AFP) - A rare collection of fairytales handwritten by J.K. Rowling as a gift to her "Harry Potter" publisher sold for nearly 370,000 at a UK auction on Tuesday.

The copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" reached 368,750 ($467,000, 439,700 euros) in the sale at Sotheby's auction house in London.

The collection of fairytales was created within the "Harry Potter" series and helped the young wizard and his friends defeat his nemesis Lord Voldemort.

The copy auctioned this week was given in 2007 to publisher Barry Cunningham, who gave his backing to the first "Harry Potter" book and thus launched a global literary craze.

"To Barry, the man who thought an overlong novel about a boy wizard in glasses might just sell... THANK YOU," Rowling wrote at the front of the book.

The collection is bejewelled with semi-precious stones and features a sterling silver mounted skull on the cover.

Rowling wrote a total of six copies of the tales by hand, which were given to those most closely connected to the "Harry Potter" series, while a seventh book was written for sale at a charity auction.

That copy raised 1.95 million at the Sotheby's auction in 2007, which was donated to Rowling's children's charity Lumos.

Intense interest in the wizarding world continues nearly two decades after Rowling's first of seven volumes, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", was published in 1997.

Earlier this year a 1930s-era oak chair on which Rowling sat while writing the first two "Harry Potter" books sold for $394,000 through Heritage Auctions.

Rowling received the chair -- one of a mismatched set of four -- free when she was a young single mother living in subsidised housing in the Scottish city of Edinburgh.
By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - A quarter of a century after the collapse of the Soviet Union, life satisfaction in Russia and other ex-Soviet states remains stubbornly low, and enthusiasm for democracy and open market economics is wavering, a survey published on Tuesday showed. The study found that only 15 percent of Russians think their households have a better quality of life, compared with 30 percent in 2010 when respondents were last asked, and only 9 percent see their finances as better than four years ago. Just over half the respondents from former Soviet states also thought a return to a more authoritarian system would be a plus in some circumstances, the study by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank said. The EBRD, created 25 years ago to invest in former communist countries, questioned households across ex-Soviet bloc for more than a decade for its "Life in Transition" project, polling 51,000 households in 34 countries from Estonia to Mongolia. They did find the "happiness gap" with Western Europe had narrowed, thanks to improvements in central Asia, the Baltic states and central Europe but also because of less satisfaction in parts of Europe, including Germany and Italy. The findings resonated with increasing evidence this year, ranging from Britain's vote to quit the European Union and Donald Trump's U.S. election win, of dissatisfaction with some of the effects of globalization. EBRD chief economist Sergei Guriev said the study also showed countries could only successfully transition from command economies to more open market systems if that process is "perceived by the public as being fair and of benefit to the majority". "If the public does not see the benefits of the reforms, they will ultimately not be successful," he said. Guriev said one of the biggest factors in people's lower life satisfaction was losing their jobs. Governments therefore needed to make sure workers learned new skills, he said. He also said the survey showed people's appreciation of democracy and open market economics was wavering. "Right now in most of our countries the majority doesn't seem to prefer democracy over authoritarian rule, whereas in Germany 80 percent do," Guriev told Reuters. "That raises big, big questions. What has gone wrong and what should be done?" (Editing by Louise Ireland)
As forces loyal to the Syrian government went into Aleppo to retake areas of the city from the rebels in the ongoing war this week, the United Nations raised concerns about the human rights of the civilians trapped there. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, put out a news release Tuesday asking leaders to protect Aleppo's residents amid reports that 82 people had been killed by troops backing Bashar Assad.

"The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," Hussein said in the release. "What can happen next, if the international community continues to collectively wring its hands, can be much more dangerous."

Syrian soldiers have rejected the allegations that they're killing civilians, with their Russian allies accusing the rebels of using people as human shields, Reuters reported.

As a layperson reading the news, you may feel helpless  but you're not. The situation in Aleppo has prevented aid workers from being able to access much of the city, but Tuesday the two sides brokered a ceasefire to evacuate civilians, the Associated Press reported.

If you've been looking for a way to help, now may be your chance to explore these options:

Donate here to Mercy-USA, which is planning a health clinic outside of Aleppo "in the very near future" as it continues to give stoves to internally displaced families, according to its website.

Give here to the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations. The international coalition of medical organizations pools "their resources and coordinate joint projects to provide independent and impartial relief and medical care to victims of war in Syria," according to its website. Every $1 given to the delivers about $10 in medicine, and if you pledge $200 or more a month, you can sponsor a medical worker in the field.

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Send money directly here to the UN human rights office, which helps about 85,000 people whose rights have been violated every year.

Give here to the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue organization in Syria with people who "deal with the aftermath of government air attacks," searching through rubble for survivors and helping civilians recover by fixing up buildings and giving them medical care. Donating $4.68 gets someone a pair of safety goggles, while $93.34 could provide a fire extinguisher.

If you're nearby, donate goods to student groups like this one at Marmara University in Istanbul, which this week sent 250,000 outfits and 125 packages of food in a three-truck convoy to Aleppo.

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A 41-year-old Grand Island woman died after a Sunday accident on the edge of town.

Melissa Brown was driving a 2001 Ford Expedition east on Husker Highway when she was hit by a 2008 Kia minivan headed south, according to police.

Sheri Jindra, 35, of Lincoln, was driving the minivan and failed to stop at a stop sign, hitting the SUV on the driver's side just before noon, police said.

Brown was taken to CHI Health St. Francis, where she was pronounced dead. Her husband, Roger, suffered minor injuries, as did Jindra, police said.
ted sarandos netflix

Netflix is well known for using algorithms to determine what shows and movies people want to watch.

It turns out that the streaming giant also uses an algorithm to determine what it pays for exclusive content deals, according to a recent report from Business Insider's Jason Guerrasio.

Filmmaker Craig Atkinson told Guerrasio that Netflix offered to buy the exclusive rights to his new documentary "Do Not Resist," which examines the militarization of the police in the U.S. and the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, with an offer that was generated by an algorithm.

During the negotiation process earlier this year, Atkinson's lawyer was told by a Netflix lawyer that there was "no discussion to be had" about the price Netflix was offering because an "algorithm determined how much the film should be worth."

Atkinson ended up declining the offer from Netflix because of the alleged full creative control it wanted over editing and renaming the documentary.

NOW WATCH: How to see if someone is mooching off your Netflix account





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By Anya George Tharakan

(Reuters) - U.S. car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ.N) said on Tuesday it would replace its chief executive and reduce its board size in January, moves backed by its biggest shareholder Carl Icahn.

Hertz said CEO John Tague would retire on Jan. 2, a little over two years after he got the role with backing from Icahn, and be replaced by Kathryn Marinello, who sits on the boards of AB Volvo (VOLVb.ST) and General Motors Co (GM.N).

"Kathy has a history as a proven CEO and I believe she is the right person to lead Hertz as we move forward," Icahn, who has a 35.3 percent stake in Hertz, said in a statement issued by the company.

Hertz also said its three longest serving directors, Linda Fayne Levinson, Carl Berquist and Michael Durham, would leave the board, effective Jan. 2. The company did not say why the trio had decided to step down.

That would leave the company with seven directors, including three who were nominated by Icahn in September 2014 in return for not running a proxy contest. He had a roughly 9 percent stake in Hertz at the time and has been boosting his holding since.

The billionaire investor disclosed he had doubled his stake in Hertz on Nov. 8, the same day the stock plunged nearly 23 percent after the company cut its full-year profit forecast following a write down in the value of some of its cars.

Hertz, facing stiff competition from the likes of Uber [UBER.UL], has been gradually reducing the size of its big fleet, which it operates under brands such as Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty. It has rental agreements with Uber and Lyft.

Icahn-backed Tague was named Hertz's CEO in November 2014, fending off a challenge from Dollar Thrifty CEO Scott Thomson, who was backed by activist investor Jana Partners.

Marinello has been a senior advisor of Ares Management LLC since March 2014 and was CEO of customer management services provider Stream Global Services Inc from 2010 to March 2014.

She has worked for more than 10 years at General Electric Co (GE.N).

Hertz's shares were down about 1.5 percent at $24.75 in extended trading on Tuesday. They closed up 10.6 percent in the regular session, but are still down more than 55 percent this year.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
This history professor mapped out a route to thousands of historical destinations in the U.S., and we know what were doing for our next road trip

Listen up, history enthusiasts, because the vacation of your dreams has officially arrived. A professor has mapped out a route to thousands of American historical destinations  and this road trip will allow you to hit up nearly 50,000 of the sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A team of researchers led by William Cook, a professor at the University of Waterloo, spent two years mapping out the most efficient route to visit a wide variety of historic parks, archeological sites, and famous landmarks across the country.

This was a chance to connect people with whats normally a dry field, Cook told Travel + Leisure, because the map covers so much of the United States.

The route covers 217,605 miles of terrain and its basically the stuff of a history buffs dreams. But, the road trip also has plenty to offer for those of us who didnt necessarily love history class and simply appreciate taking in Americas beautiful sights.

The National Register of Historic Places has a beautiful collection of data to work with, and you can really get to see all of America ranging from city points to monuments, farmhouses, and bridges with it, Cook says.

As road trippers explore the country, the interactive map created by Cooks team provides the perfect way to easily pull images and information from the National Register of Historic Places  because well probably need help as we prioritize which of the 50,000 locations we cant miss.

Earlier this year, Cook mapped out a journey to visit nearly 25,000 pubs in the United Kingdom. We know hes super busy and all, but perhaps his next project could be adding a few amazing bars and restaurants to the history road trip? Just a friendly suggestion  either way, were already packing our bags and preparing to hit the road.

See the map here!

The post This history professor mapped out a route to thousands of historical destinations in the U.S., and we know what were doing for our next road trip appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Beirut (AFP) - The agreement reached on Tuesday for Syrian rebels to withdraw from their one-time bastion of east Aleppo is the latest by opposition forces surrounded by government forces.

For much of the conflict in Syria, the government has promoted "local reconciliation" deals that have often involved the evacuation from opposition territory of civilians and rebels who have surrendered.

The government says such deals are the best way to end the conflict that began with anti-regime protests in March 2011, before spiralling into civil war.

But the opposition says they are forced into these agreements after months or years of siege and army bombardment.

The tactic has attracted international concern, with allegations that the government is pursuing a "starve or surrender" policy against opposition areas.

More than 800,000 Syrians live under siege, according to the United Nations, with most encircled by regime forces, although rebels also use the tactic.

- 'Revolution capital' Homs -

Probably the most well-known evacuation deal produced the 2014 withdrawal of rebels from the Old City of Homs after a two-year government siege.

Homs was dubbed the "capital of the revolution" after vast protests there early in the uprising.

Assad's forces later blockaded and bombarded insurgents holed up in the historic quarter.

Most were finally evacuated in May 2014 under a deal involving a major rebel coalition and regime backer Iran.

But the regime continued to besiege Waer, the last remaining opposition-held district in Homs, until a local deal was agreed in December 2015.

Over the next several months, hundreds of rebels and their families were bussed out of Waer and taken to rural areas of Homs province.

- Safe passage to Idlib -

In August 2016, all rebels and civilians from Daraya near Damascus were evacuated under a local agreement that followed a four-year government siege.

The opposition fighters and their families were given safe passage to rebel-held Idlib in the northwest, and regime troops moved back into the town, once a symbol of Syria's peaceful uprising.

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In September, a further 300 Syrians living in rebel-held Moadimayet al-Sham near Damascus were evacuated under the same accord.

Opposition fighters said they were forced to accept the deal, as a blockade and constant bombardment by the army had made the humanitarian situation untenable.

- The four towns deal -

A UN-backed agreement saw hundreds of people evacuated from the government-controlled towns of Fuaa and Kafraya and rebel-held Zabadani in December 2015.

Fuaa and Kafraya, in northwestern Idlib province, are Shiite towns besieged by hardline Sunni Islamists.

And Zabadani, along with Madaya, are two rebel-held towns near Damascus that are surrounded by government forces.

The elaborate deal involving Lebanon and Turkey as transit countries has also led to humanitarian deliveries to both rebel and regime areas, most recently in September 2016.

- Aleppo rebels -

Remaining rebels in east Aleppo appear to have little leverage to force regime concessions, and even though the agreement has been reached, there is no guarantee an evacuation will go ahead.

Russia previously announced several "humanitarian corridors" that would allow safe passage for rebels and civilians out of the city, but few took advantage of them.

In October, the UN and key medical groups held days of talks to try to secure safe passage out of Aleppo for the sick and wounded, but the effort collapsed when fighting resumed.

In early November, a unilateral Russian-declared ceasefire in the city was marred by rebel fire on evacuation routes, and there was no sign that any civilians or rebels left besieged districts.
HELSINKI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - HMD Global, the Finnish company that owns the rights to use the Nokia brand on mobile phones, announced its first new products on Tuesday - two basic handsets without internet access priced at $26 before local taxes and subsidies.

HMD said the Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual SIM would go on sale in selected markets early next year.

The company, led by former Nokia executives, earlier this month took over the Nokia basic phone business from Microsoft and has struck a licensing deal with Nokia Oyj to bring the brand back to the smartphone market next year.

The basic phone business currently makes most of its sales in India, elsewhere in Asia and eastern Europe.

Nokia was once the world's dominant cellphone maker but missed the shift to smartphones. It sold all the handset activities to Microsoft in 2014 and is now focused on telecom network equipment.

Microsoft struggled to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung in smartphones and has largely quit the phones business.

(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Mark Potter)
Billboard.Madonna

Sire Records

Franklin Leonard and Dino Sijamic have released this years Black List, a ranking of the most-liked (not necessarily best) unproduced screenplays compiled from the votes of over 250 film executives. More than 300 Black List scripts have been greenlit, including Oscar winners like The Revenant, Spotlight, Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, The Kings Speech, and Argo. Some are currently in development, like Mindy Kalings script about a talk show host played by Emma Thompson.

On 2016s list, the most-liked script by far (with 48 votes) was a biopic about Madonna, hence the banner picture. But were going to focus on sci-fi and supernatural scripts again this year, which is partly my own bias and partly because those are often greenlit, recent examples being Passengers, Looper, Chronicle, and Transcendence.

One writer, Mike Makowsky, made the list twice this year, which is a rare achievement.

Several patterns emerged, including the old pattern of two scripts about the same subject making the list. Prior years had competing scripts about the making of The Godfather, the making of Jaws, and Mr. Rogers biopics. This years list includes two different biopics about Stephen King. It was a biopic-heavy year, all around. This years list included biopics about Donald Trump, Boudica, inventor Marvin Glass, Revolutionary War soldier Deborah Sampson, Dutch assassin Johanna Hannie Schaft, Eric Clapton/George Harrison/Pattie Boyd, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (sculptor of the Statue of Liberty), Monica Lewinsky/Linda Tripp, Katharine Graham/Ben Bradlee, fashion designer Alexander McQueen, Rosemary Kennedy, Carl Sagan/Ann Druyan, Thomas Edison/George Westinghouse, experimental aircraft test pilot David Steeves, sailor Tami Ashcraft, and the already-in-development Tonya Harding biopic starring Margot Robbie.

Another more upsetting pattern was the dozen or so scripts about corruption which made the list. It is, after all, an election year. Black List founder Franklin Leonard told The Wrap, There are many true stories about systematic corruption. From the DEA to a church accountant to a local school, and thats pretty prevalent in our times.

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At least the sci-fi entries were more numerous and interesting than last years disappointing fare. Here are the fourteen sci-fi and supernatural Black List 2016 screenplays:

O2 (22 votes)

Christie LeBlanc

Waking up inside a cryogenic chamber with no memory of how she got there, Charlie must somehow escape the chamber before her air runs out.

FREE GUY (15 votes)

Matt Lieberman

A bank teller stuck in his routine discovers hes a background character in a realistic, open world action-adventure video game and he is the only one capable of saving the city.

I THINK WERE ALONE NOW (14 votes)

Mike Makowsky

The apocalypse proves a blessing in disguise for one lucky recluse  until a second survivor arrives with the threat of companionship.

MAN ALIVE (14 votes)

Joe Greenberg

After an alien invasion takes over the minds of humankind, one survivor known as Man must make peace with the alien force to fight a greater evil.

MOTHER (14 votes)

Michael Lloyd Green

A teenage girl is raised underground by a robot Mother  designed to repopulate the earths surface following an extinction-level event. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news.

TURNED ON (9 votes)

Charlie Kesslering

When a socially awkward engineer creates an android to fill in for her, things go awry when it becomes self actualized.

BOYFRIEND MATERIAL (8 votes)

Mackenzie Dohr

In the near future, a heartbroken girl who hates technology participates in an experiment that allows you to program a robot into your dream man.

CONTINGENCY PROTOCOL (8 votes)

Mark Townend

When futuristic technology renders the Federal Witness Protection Program obsolete, the U.S. Government begins using time travel to hide high-profile witnesses in the past. When a security breach occurs, a U.S. Marshal and her witness struggle to find their way back to the present day while evading assassins.

A DECONSTRUCTION OF REALITY (8 votes)

Mattson Tomlin

Tasked with finding a game changing take for the sixth Jason Bourne movie, Tom Milton goes deep down the rabbit hole of cracking the story. With the guidance (and abuse) of a professor from his past and Bourne himself, Tom begins workshopping scenes that begin to bleed into real life in unexpected ways.

ORB (8 votes)

Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman

Inspired by actual events from a phenomenon that occurred in 1974, a young married couple discover a mysterious metallic orb in the woods near their house following a meteor shower. While the unusual object dazzles the couple by exhibiting some awe-inspiring properties, its true purposes are revealed to be far more sinister than they could ever imagine.

THE FALL (7 votes)

Pete Bridges

Finding themselves in the middle of an alien invasion, a newly divorced couple must survive a dangerous real-time journey on foot from downtown Atlanta to the suburbs, where their young children are home alone.

HUMMINGBIRD (7 votes)

John Tyler Mclain

A black-ops assassins latest mark forces her to question the truth of her identity and ultimately confront the unsettling fact that shes more than a hired gun, shes an entirely new breed of weapon.

CAPTAIN INFINITY (6 votes)

Harry Tarre

When his comic book obsessed five-year-old brother is diagnosed with cancer, Oscar Ruiz attempts to shield him from the truth by convincing him that his treatment is all part of a top secret program to become a superhero.

SPACE ODDITY (6 votes)

Rebecca Banner

A young man obsessed with taking a one-way trip to Mars begins to question his motives when he starts to fall in love with the insurance agent underwriting his trip.

The full list of unproduced screenplays is available at The Black List.

(Via The Black List, Coming Soon, Deadline, and The Wrap)
Warner Bros, Disney and 20th Century Fox have scored a significant legal success by convincing a California federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against VIdAngel. The order from U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. came late Monday and represents a huge setback for an upstart tech service that has rallied many in the social conservative community and raised about $10 million for its legal costs from thousands of investors.

VidAngel has touted itself as being a family-friendly streamer that gives users the ability to filter language, nudity and violence from films and television shows. But its business model - selling new movies to customers for $20, buying them back for $19 - caught the attention and wrath of big studios who asserted that VidAngel was operating as an "unlicensed VOD streaming service." Worse, because some of its films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens weren't yet on Netflix, the studios feared VidAngel could undercut its windowing system.

The defendant reacted aggressively to the studios' lawsuit filed in June. It hired a Hollywood insider as its general counsel, and brought counterclaims alleging antitrust violations on the part of the studios.

On Monday, Birotte concludes that the studios have demonstrated a likelihood of prevailing on their claims as well as shown the prospect of irreparable harm. The judge also finds that a preliminary injunction would also serve the public interest.

In coming to his conclusions, Birotte analyzes the provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that prohibits circumvention of access-control along with VidAngel's acknowledgement of using software to remove restrictions on DVDs and Blu-Rays. The judge finds no support to the argument that all VidAngel is doing is "space-shifting" or "format-shifting" in a fair use way.

He writes that multiple courts as well as the Librarian of Congress have declined to adopt exemptions allowing for circumvention for the purpose of allowing viewership of lawfully acquired works on different platforms. The judge also doesn't think the Family Home Movie Act of 2005 provides an exemption to essentially hack DVDs and Blu-Rays.

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As for the copyright claims, the analysis gets most interesting on the topic of public performance rights - an issue that recently went to the Supreme Court in the Aereo case.

"Assuming arguendo that VidAngel's buy/sellback service creates a valid ownership interest in a DVD, this ownership would only apply to the physical DVD, not the digital content that VidAngel streams to paying subscribers," writes Birotte. "Subscribers view a stream from a master copy stored on a server, not a DVD temporarily 'owned' by the user. Furthermore, lawful ownership of a DVD only conveys authorization to view the DVD, not to decrypt it for the purpose of viewing it on an alternative platform. Therefore, VidAngel's customers are not lawful 'owners or possessors' of the digital content that is streamed via VidAngel's service. Finally, VidAngel's argument that Aereo holds that the public performance right is not infringed when the user pays for something other than the transmission of copyrighted works, is unsupported."

The judge later returns to the Family Home Movie Act and explains why it doesn't give VidAngel a pass.

"The statute clearly requires that a performance or transmission of filtered content must come from an 'authorized copy' of the motion picture," writes the judge. "The digital content that VidAngel streams to its customers is not from an authorized copy."

Here's the full ruling where Birotte also explores the contention that filtering naughty bits from Hollywood films is a fair use of copyrighted material. That proposition is rejected as the judge says that omitting objectionable portions is hardly the same as adding something in a transformative way.

Birotte orders the plaintiffs to put up a $250,000 bond, and in return, enjoins VidAngel from the circumvention, copying, streaming activity that has prompted the lawsuit.

In reaction to the ruling, VidAngel implies it is prepared to go the distance.

"Hollywood studios have followed a repeated pattern in their decades-long campaign to put movie filtering services out of business by seeking a shut-down decision in trial court," said VidAngel chief Neal Harmon. "Previously, such a decision has signaled the end of the legal battle. As such, while we are extremely disappointed - for the countless people who rely on our service regularly to enjoy movies using filters - our customers have given us not just the mandate to fight this battle all the way to the Supreme Court, but the financial resources as well. We will aggressively pursue an appeal and take this case to a higher level where we have always believed we will ultimately prevail."
HAMILTON, Ohio (AP)  The owner of property where a house fire led to an Ohio firefighter's death nearly a year ago pleaded not guilty Tuesday to aggravated arson and murder.

A Butler County judge Tuesday set bond at $500,000 for Lester Parker, 66. Hamilton police arrested him Monday at a home near the one that went up in flames last December. Hamilton firefighter Patrick Wolterman, 28, crashed through a floor soon after entering the smoke-filled house and died.

A coroner ruled the case a homicide.

Parker denied responsibility. He told WLWT-TV of Cincinnati on Monday that authorities need to "find the person that done it."

His attorney, Richard Hyde, said in court that Parker is a lifelong resident of Hamilton who has health issues. Members of Wolterman's family and some of his fellow firefighters were in the courtroom for Tuesday's arraignment. Wolterman was the first Hamilton firefighter killed in the line of duty since 1971.

Wolterman "died in the line of duty fighting to save lives believed at risk," county prosecutor Mike Gmoser said in a statement Monday after Parker's arrest. Firefighters had thought there could be people trapped inside but later were told the residents were on vacation.

Hamilton Police Chief Craig Bucheit said the investigation continues and he expects more arrests. He declined to discuss a motive in the case.

There will be pretrial hearing Dec. 19.

The murder charge carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life upon conviction. Aggravated arson carries a maximum of 11 years.
LA VISTA  A shopping center is finally being redeveloped eight years after Wal-Mart moved out of a suburban Omaha shopping center and other tenants followed.

Plans call for the City Centre redevelopment to bring apartments, restaurants, offices, retailers and green space to the La Vista property.

The project was slowed because city officials had trouble reaching the property's out-of-state owner Stan Kroenke, who also owns the Los Angeles Rams and other businesses, including malls in Lincoln.

Developer City Ventures co-founder Chris Erickson said the demolition process is expected to take four to six months. Work on the first buildings is to begin in the spring, and City Centre is scheduled to open in summer 2018.

Erickson, who is redeveloping a shopping center at 48th Street and Leighton Avenue in Lincoln, said he hopes to name the expected tenants for the development project soon.
Small businesses in America are feeling good about president-elect Donald Trump.

And the reasons arent so different from why investors are excited about big businesses in America, too: taxes and regulation.

On Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business small business optimism index showed a 3.5 point rise in November to 98.4, just above the readings 42-year average of 98. Novembers reading was the highest since the index hit 100.3 in December 2014 and is the second-highest print since the financial crisis.

Source: NFIB

But the most important commentary inside the report addressed the optimism surrounding a less regulated, and less taxed, corporate environment under the Trump administration.

The question as to whether or not uncertainty, and political uncertainty in particular, matters was clearly answered by the November survey  it does! the NFIBs Bill Dunkelberg wrote.

Owners clearly expect a different, and better from their perspective, set of economic policies to help the economy shed the growing number of obstacles of the last eight years in tax and regulatory policies that have depressed growth.

The NFIB, when counting Obamacare as a tax on small businesses, lists six of the top 10 small business owner concerns as dealing directly with taxes. And the potential rollback of some regulations, or at least the loosening of some, has optimism on the rise.

(Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)

This economy has grown in spite of, not because of, Obamas economic policies, Dunkelberg wrote. (Emphasis added.)

Population growth explains most, if not all, of our progress. The prospective impact of expected policy changes was translated into very positive views of economic activity which will translate into more spending and hiring if maintained.

This report adds to the growing evidence that Main Street is, if not explicitly excited about Trumps election, certainly relieved that the political drama of the last almost two years is over.

Recent consumer confidence surveys have shown a rise in confidence following the election, and other business surveys  notably the Dallas Feds reading on Texas business conditions  also indicate an improvement following Trumps win.

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And of course, Trumps win doesnt mean all of his major economic campaign pledges will come through. Many promises were made in the heat of the election, but delivering will, as always, be a challenge, Dunkelberg wrote.

But after the last six years gridlock in Washington, D.C., even the possibility of something changing has business and consumers feeling good.



Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland

Read more from Myles here:
(Reuters) - IBM Chief Executive Ginni Rometty pledged to hire and train workers in the United States ahead of a Wednesday gathering where she and other technology executives will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

"We have thousands of open positions at any given moment, and we intend to hire about 25,000 professionals in the next four years in the United States," Rometty said in a USA Today editorial published on Tuesday afternoon.

IBM spokesman Adam Pratt declined to say how that hiring might be offset by staff reductions or disclose how many people IBM employs in the United States.

We expect to end 2016 with our U.S. workforce about the same size as it was at the beginning of the year. By 2020, we expect it to be larger than it is today," Pratt said.

Rometty also said that IBM intends to invest $1 billion in training and development of its U.S. employees over the next four years. Pratt declined to say if that represented an increase over spending in the prior four years.

Rometty is one of more than a dozen U.S. executives serving on an advisory council that Trump has formed to consult him on job creation.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Andrew Hay)
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's president has urged party leaders to come up with a plan to form a majority government after talks on building a coalition failed for the third time following the October election and concerns grew that a new vote could be called. Failure to form a government could delay the gradual lifting of capital controls imposed after the 2008 financial crisis - seen as key by investors to reinserting the economy into global financial markets. "I reminded the party leaders of their responsibility to reach an agreement on the forming of a government," President Gudni Johannesson said in a statement. Iceland's anti-establishment Pirate Party became the third party to fail to form a government on Monday after trying to build a center-left coalition with the Left Greens and three other parties. Previous talks led by the Left Greens and the center-right Independence Party also failed. "Right now it's free for all negotiations. We are going to pull out a little bit to see how things unfold, if other parties are going to show willingness to move ahead in some direction," Pirate Party leader Birgitta Jonsdottir told Reuters. One possible step could be talks to form a grand coalition of parties across the political spectrum after the Oct. 29 election, said Gretar Thor Eythorsson, politics professor at the University of Akureyri. If all else fails, the president could ask the current coalition of the Progressive and Independence parties to continue as a temporary government with new elections next year, Eythorsson said. "If we would have this kind of minority government and an election maybe in April, that will probably delay some of the issues that I think need be done sooner rather than later, such as capital controls," he said. Pawel Bartoszek, a member of parliament for the Reform Party that has been part of all three attempts to form a coalition, said he hoped talks would finally succeed. "I still believe we have a responsibility trying to form a majority before we try different options like new elections," Bartoszek told Reuters. While a minority government cannot be ruled out, Iceland has no such tradition, unlike some of its Nordic neighbors. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen in Oslo, Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir in Reykjavik and Daniel Dickson in Stockholm,; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Ed Osmond)
GENEVA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stands ready to act as a neutral intermediary in an evacuation from eastern Aleppo being negotiated by various parties, a spokeswoman told Reuters on Tuesday.

ICRC spokeswoman Krista Armstrong said in Geneva: "At the moment, the different parties are still discussing the details of this agreement and how it will be implemented. We hope it will materialise and - most importantly - that it will take into consideration the interests of the civilians.

"If the basic humanitarian principles are met, and if the parties are all in favour, we stand ready to act as a neutral humanitarian intermediary and to assist civilians who are in need. We are therefore preparing contingency plans, so we can be able to act fast, if needed," she said.

Civilians being evacuated must be protected and any choosing to stay behind also must be protected, she said, noting that the ICRC was not directly involved in the negotiations.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Louise Ireland)
MAPUTO (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund cut its 2016 growth forecast for Mozambique by nearly half on Tuesday, saying it would require fiscal policy adjustments to pave the way for financial assistance and a recovery program. The Fund and other donors suspended aid earlier this year after the emergence of loans that were not approved by parliament or disclosed publicly and which the IMF said on Tuesday amounted to $1.4 billion. In a statement after aid talks with government officials on Tuesday, the lender said it now expected economic growth of 3.4 percent compared with the 6.6 percent forecast in June. "The outlook remains challenging," it said, adding that total public debt, mostly denominated in foreign currency, had increased to "distressed levels" in 2016 owing to the addition of the previously undisclosed loans. "While good progress was achieved on a number of technical questions, additional policy adjustments are required to further consolidate macroeconomic and financial stability, and pave the way for a Fund-supported program," it added. A medium-term budget plan for the next three years, posted on the finance ministry website, slashed the Mozambican government's own growth estimate for this year to 3.9 percent this year from 4.5 percent. The government cited the impact of drought, high levels of public indebtedness and exchange rate shocks. [nJ8N1DI022] The document said the budget deficit, projected at 11 percent of GDP for this year, would narrow to 8.2 percent by 2019. (Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Writing by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Ed Cropley)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Global and domestic factors, including perceptions of weakening governance and rising uncertainty regarding policy direction are likely to weigh on South Africa's economic growth next year, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. However, in a statement after a visit from members of its staff, the IMF said that improved electricity supply would help the economy and noted that wage agreements had been reached with limited strike action. (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Indian police have reportedly arrested theatergoers for not standing during the national anthem, which the country's Supreme Court recently mandated must be played before film screenings.

Several local reports say that seven people were booked by police in the southern city of Chennai on Sunday for "disrespecting" the anthem. A group of six men and one woman allegedly took selfies when the national anthem was being played in a cinema, leading to a fracas when another group objected to their behavior. A case was registered against the group, making it the first such case following the Supreme Court order.

Similarly, there are reports that at least six people were taken into custody for refusing to stand up during the national anthem ahead of a screening at the International Film Festival in Kerala. The group did not stand up even after festival personnel and some policemen, who were present in the cinema, asked them to do so. The incident took place at an open air theater where Egyptian film Clash was being screened. The group was arrested and later released on bail.

The Supreme Court order, designed to foster "love and respect of the motherland," has divided opinion in India. While some prominent people have welcomed the move, others, such as best-selling author Chetan Bhagat, have called the order "ridiculous."

Playing the national anthem in cinemas was first made mandatory in 1962 when India fought a war with China, but the practice was discontinued by the 1970s. However, a couple of states, such as Maharashtra - of which film hub Mumbai is the capital - still enforced the rule. The Supreme Court ruling has made it mandatory for the anthem to be played nationwide.

Read more: India Makes it Mandatory for National Anthem to Be Played in Theaters
A town in Indiana was forced to remove a cross that was placed atop the town squares Christmas tree after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Sunday against the town for violating the Frist Amendment. Kingston, Indiana, a town located about 40 miles from the city of Indianapolis, issued a statement Monday after the ACLU sued the town for displaying the Latin style cross in the towns central square, the IndyStar reported.

The suit was brought to the ACLU from Joseph Tomkins, a Kingston resident who complained the public cross violated the First Amendment and he was against his tax dollars going to the upkeep and lighting of the religious decoration. According to the complaint, no other holiday decorations were displayed in the square.

The cross is the best known symbol of Christianity and Kingstowns prominent display of this symbol represents an establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, read the complaint, according to the IndyStar.

According to the First Amendment, the Establishment clause states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, which has been used, most notably, to ensure that public institutions like school cannot promote religious practices or beliefs.

The town of Kingston relented to the complaint, citing that it was not prepared to pay the legal fees of the ACLU lawyer and monetary damage to the plaintiff, according to a statement, which was issued by the Kingstown Town Council on the citys news and event Facebook page.

It is with regret and sadness that the Kingstown Town Council has had the cross removed from the Christmas tree on the town square and is expected to approve a resolution at the next council meeting stating they will not return the cross to the tree. We could not win the court case brought by the ACLU.

Related Articles
(Corrects to clarify quote in sixth paragraph to "let alone to insult Islam or the ulema", rather than "moreover to insult Islam or the ulema")

By Kanupriya Kapoor

JAKARTA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A tearful governor of Jakarta denied on Tuesday he had intended to insult the Koran at the start of his blasphemy trial in the Indonesian capital, which is seen as a test of religious freedom in the world largest Muslim-majority nation.

Around 100 Muslim protesters calling for the jailing of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, chanted "God is great" outside the court.

Authorities have pledged tight security for the trial after tens of thousands of Muslims, led by hardliners, took to the streets in December and November, to call for Purnama's arrest and to urge voters not to re-elect him in February.

The rallies, with over 150,000 participants each, were the biggest Jakarta has seen in nearly two decades.

Purnama told the court that he had not intended any insult when he made comments about his opponents' use of the Koran in political campaigning. He denies wrongdoing but has apologised for the remarks.

"It is clear what I said in the Thousand Islands was not intended to interpret the (Koran), let alone to insult Islam or the ulema," said the governor, who was dressed in a batik shirt.

Purnama said that his comments were targeted at rival politicians trying to get an unfair advantage in the election by saying that voters should not support a non-Muslim.

Purnama is running for re-election against two Muslim candidates.

The trial was aired live on television and there were also supporters of the governor, whose nickname is Ahok, outside the court.

"He is absolutely suited to be governor. The city has come a long way in terms of development...," said Charles Simanjuntak, 46, a supporter of the governor who does not believe he committed blasphemy.

Among the protesters opposed to the governor, one group held a placard reading "Jailing Ahok = fair government"

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President Joko Widodo, seen as an ally to Purnama, has blamed "political actors" for fuelling the protests, but declined to elaborate. Widodo has faced widespread criticism for not doing enough to protect the country's religious minorities.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but the country of 250 million also has sizeable Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities and dozens of groups that adhere to traditional beliefs.

Purnama, if found guilty, faces up to five years in prison. Almost all blasphemy cases in recent years have ended in conviction.

As Jakarta's first ethnic Chinese governor, Purnama won kudos for shaking up the city's sleepy bureaucracy and for taking steps to ease the city's notorious traffic. But his abrasive language and insistence on clearing the city's slums has alienated many voters.

Recent opinion polls showed Purnama, once the frontrunner in the race to lead Jakarta, has now slipped to second place, behind Agus Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

(Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen and Agustinus da Costa; Editing by Michael Perry)
By Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - A tearful governor of Jakarta denied on Tuesday he had intended to insult the Koran at the start of his blasphemy trial in the Indonesian capital, which is seen as a test of religious freedom in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation. Around 100 Muslim protesters calling for the jailing of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama chanted "God is great" outside the court, while supporters of the ethnic Chinese Christian sang the national anthem. A cordon of police stood guard outside the court after Muslims, led by hardliners, took to the streets in December and November, to call for Purnama's arrest and to urge voters not to re-elect him in February. The rallies, with over 150,000 participants each, were the biggest Jakarta has seen in nearly two decades. Purnama told the court he had not intended any insult during a trip to islands off Jakarta when he commented on opponents use of the Koran in political campaigning. "It is clear what I said in the Thousand Islands was not intended to interpret the (Koran), let alone to insult Islam or the ulema," said Purnama, who was responding after the prosecutor read out the charges. The governor said that his comments were targeted at rival politicians trying to get an unfair advantage in the election by saying that voters should not support a non-Muslim. Purnama, who is running for re-election against two Muslim candidates, described a loving relationship with his adoptive Muslim parents on the remote Bangka island. "I am very saddened that I have been accused of insulting Islam because this accusation is the same as saying that I am insulting my adoptive parents and siblings." During the hearing, Purnama sounded typically defiant at times. Quoting from his book "Hiding behind holy verses", he said many in the country's political elite were "cowards" who sought to divide Indonesians to gain power. Purnama, if found guilty, faces up to five years in prison. Almost all blasphemy cases in recent years have ended in conviction. RELIGIOUS MINORITIES Supporters of the governor, whose nickname is Ahok, were also outside the trial, which was aired live on television. "He is absolutely suited to be governor," said Charles Simanjuntak, 46, who praised the development of the city under Purnama and said he did not believe the governor had committed blasphemy. Among the protesters opposed to the governor, one group held a placard reading "Jailing Ahok = fair government" President Joko Widodo, seen as an ally to Purnama, has blamed "political actors" for fuelling the protests, but declined to elaborate. Widodo has faced widespread criticism for not doing enough to protect the country's religious minorities. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but the country of 250 million also has sizeable Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities and dozens of groups that adhere to traditional beliefs. As governor, Purnama won kudos for shaking up the city's sleepy bureaucracy and for taking steps to ease Jakarta's notorious traffic. But his abrasive language and insistence on clearing the city's slums has alienated many voters. Recent opinion polls showed Purnama, once the frontrunner in the race to lead Jakarta, has now slipped to second place, behind Agus Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. At the end of the first day of the trial Purnama appeared to be whisked away from the court in an armored police truck. The trial will resume on Dec. 20. (Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen and Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Editing by Michael Perry)
Sofia (AFP) - Bulgarian investigators said on Tuesday that speeding, not deliberate action, was the most likely cause of a gas train derailment and explosion that left seven people dead.

The blast early on Saturday devastated the small northeastern village of Hitrino, leaving another 29 people needing hospital treatment and ruining dozens of nearby houses.

"Our main lead is high speed, greatly surpassing the limit for entering the train station," Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov told journalists in Shumen, the nearest town to Hitrino.

"At this stage we rule out the (possibility of)... deliberate action."

Prosecutors will have the results from the train's two speed boxes by December 19, he added.

They will then be matched against other evidence to determine the cause of the accident.

The tail of the train of over 20 tankers of highly flammable propylene and propane butane gases derailed and one tanker exploded, ripping through the village and flattening houses, while fires then raged for several hours.

So far investigators have not established any deviations from the usual procedure and the signals issued by station officials to an incoming train, Tsatsarov said.

But he noted that the train had arrived ahead of schedule at the station, where it was due to wait in a bypass for a passenger train coming from the opposite direction.

Firefighters were meanwhile continuing the risky operation of pumping out the gas from the damaged tankers in order to be able to pull them from the area of the blast.

Hitrino's over 1,000 inhabitants, who were evacuated from their homes on Saturday, were still barred from returning to their ravaged village as authorities promised to help rebuild the ruined houses.

The interior ministry on Monday revised the number of victims from eight back to seven.

Several of those wounded in the blast were still battling life-threatening injuries, hospital authorities said.
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 12, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit against Pilgrim's Pride Corporation ("Pilgrim's Pride" or the "Company") (PPC). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between February 21, 2014 and October 6, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the December 19, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

If you purchased Pilgrim's Pride shares during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

There has been no class certification in this case yet. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Pilgrim's Pride made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: the Company systematically colluded with several of its industry peers to fix prices in the market for broiler chickens; that the foregoing conduct constituted a violation of federal antitrust laws; that Pilgrim's Pride's revenues during the class period were the result of illegal conduct; that as a result of the above, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On October 7, 2016, Pivotal Research downgraded its peer company Tyson Foods, Inc. from "buy" to "sell," due to fears of a class action against Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, and other peers over price collusion in the broiler-chicken market. Allegedly, in 2008, Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, and several other companies conspired by sharing proprietary data and reducing production to support prices. When this news was announced to the public, the stock price of Pilgrim's Pride decreased, causing investors harm.

If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, at no charge to you, or if you have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

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This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions.

Contact:

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 12, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against StoneMor Partners L.P. ("StoneMor" or the "Company") (STON). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired StoneMor shares between January 19, 2012 and October 27, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the firm prior to the January 20, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

If you purchased StoneMor shares during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

There has been no class certification in this case. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member.

According to the complaint, during the Class Period StoneMor made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that the Company's reported non-GAAP financial metrics were materially misleading and concealed the truth about the Company's true financial condition; that the main purpose of StoneMor's regular debt and equity offerings were to pay distributions to unitholders instead of pay down indebtedness under the Company's revolving credit facility as publicly stated; and that as a result of the above stated, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. On September 2, 2016, the Company announced that it would restate its financials to correct various errors. On October 27, 2016, StoneMor cut its distribution by half. On November 9, 2016, the Company announced that it needed to "amend its Form 10-K for [the] fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and its Forms 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended June 30, 2016 and March 31, 2016." When this news was released to the public, shares of StoneMor fell in value, causing investors harm.

If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, or if you have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions.

Contact:

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit against Sanderson Farms, Inc. ("Sanderson Farms" or the "Company") (SAFM). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between December 17, 2013 and October 6, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the December 27, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

If you purchased shares of Sanderson Farms during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang LLP, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

There has been no class certification in this case yet. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Sanderson Farms made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose material information. On September 2, 2016, some media outlets reported the filing of an antitrust class action lawsuit against Sanderson Farms and some of its peers for conspiring to manipulate the price of broiler-chickens. Allegedly, in 2008, Sanderson Farms, along with Tyson Foods and several other companies, conspired by sharing proprietary data and reducing production to support prices. On October 4, 2016, a group of consumers filed an antitrust class action complaint against Sanderson Farms and several of its industry peers for violations of the Sherman Act. On October 7, 2016, Pivotal Research downgraded peer company Tyson Foods from "buy" to "sell," due to fears over the class action against the Company and its peers, which it called "powerfully convincing." When this information was disclosed to the public, the stock price of Sanderson Farms declined, causing investors harm.

If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, at no charge, or if you have any questions regarding this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

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This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions.

Contact:

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2016 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. ("Zimmer" or the "Company") (NYSE: ZBH) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between September 7, 2016 and October 31, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired Tenet shares during the Class Period, are encouraged to contact the firm in advance of the January 31, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here. You can also call Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

Per the complaint, during the Class Period, Zimmer made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about its business, operations, and prospects. The complaint is as follows: that issues within the supply chain caused a decline in order fulfillment, particularly within the knee and hip portfolios; that, because of this, Zimmer would not achieve its revenues and profit as anticipated and; that as a result of the above, the Company's statements regarding its business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

On October 31, 2016, the Company issued a press release reporting third quarter 2016 financial results. Zimmer reported net sales of $1.83 billion, and lowered guidance for the full year 2016 at $7.630 billion to $7.650 billion, a decline from the $7.68 billion to $7.715 billion estimated in July. Zimmer maintains that weak sales are due to a change in the supply chain, leading to a lack of available implants and instrument sets during the quarter.

In a conference with investors following the above release, the Company stated: "Third quarter revenue was below our expectations, primarily due to execution issues within our large joint supply chain, which led to a degradation in order fulfillment rates late in the quarter as well as our performance in dental As a consequence, we underestimated demand for certain key cross-sell brands within our existing customer base, leading to a depletion of our safety stocks and also affecting our ability to capitalize on new customer opportunities."

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Following this, shares of Zimmer fell $17.15 per share, or nearly 14%, to close on October 31, 2016 at $105.40 per share, causing investors harm.

No class has been certified in the above action. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member.

Lundin Law PC was established by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 12, 2016 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Pattern Energy Group Inc. ("Pattern" or the "Company") (PEGI) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between May 9, 2016 and November 4, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Pattern shares during the Class Period are encouraged to contact the firm prior to the January 10, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here. You can also call Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, Pattern made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that Pattern's operations were deficient with respect to various transaction, process level, and monitoring controls; that Pattern lacked effective internal financial controls; and that as a result of the above, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On November 7, 2016, the Company announced that it had a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting. Pattern stated that its internal controls were "not effective as of September 30, 2016, due to the aggregation of internal control deficiencies related to the implementation, design, maintenance, and operating effectiveness of various transaction, process level, and monitoring controls." When this information was disclosed to the public, the value of Pattern fell, causing investors harm.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding shareholders' rights.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Story continues

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
The investing world can be an extremely complicated place, full of complex ideas, unique and convoluted jargon and enough advanced metrics to give anyone a headache. It would take an intellectual genius to understand everything happening on Wall Street.

Fortunately, for the majority of Americans that didn't make a perfect score on the SATs, a high IQ may not be the most important part of successful investing.

Most people are familiar with IQ, or intelligence quotient, as a measure of how smart a person is. An IQ is measured by tests that assess the ability to understand and apply information, perform logical reasoning, think abstractly and spatially, solve mathematical problems and excel in other complex cognitive tasks. This type of intelligence is typically associated with strong performance in school, or "book smarts."

[See: 7 Notable Quotes From Warren Buffett.]

However, in recent decades, psychologists have increasingly recognized that there is more to intelligence than answering complicated test questions. In 1983, Howard Gardner first discussed the idea that there are different types of intelligence outside of IQ that help explain why other people excel in areas where people with high IQs sometimes struggle. One of Gardner's proposed intelligence types, "intrapersonal intelligence," is the precursor to what psychologists today call emotional intelligence, or EI.

EI is a measure of a person's ability to recognize, assess, control and even manipulate emotions within themselves and others. The skills involved in EI are not typically the kinds of things that show up in a textbook or on a standardized test. They are the type of skills needed for introspection, self-awareness and empathy. EI is the type of intelligence that can play a large role in making someone a good parent. If you need someone to talk to about a personal problem, you probably don't think to talk to your friend with the highest IQ. Those situations typically require EI instead.

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EI and investing. What does any of this have to do with the number-fueled investing world? According to Michael Batnick, director of research at Ritholtz Wealth Management, EI plays a central role in successful investing.

"Emotions are a far more important driver of success than IQ. What made Warren Buffett such a great investor was not just superior intellect, but emotional fortitude to stay true to his strategy during deep drawdowns," Batnick says.

IQ may be useful when it comes to analyzing complicated investments. However, patience, discipline and perspective are all more closely-tied to EI than IQ. Batnick says these traits are far more important than IQ when it comes to investing success.

In fact, he has repeatedly seen extremely smart investors fall victim to deficiencies in EI.

[See: 13 Ways to Take the Emotions Out of Investing.]

"There are a lot of ways that smart people lose money. One of the most common ways is venturing outside their circle of competence after seeing other investors make money faster than they do," Batnick says.

Martyn Newman, executive director at RocheMartin, has witnessed similar investing struggles among people with high IQs. "Those that lack emotional intelligence tend to lack self-control and self-reliance and can be impulsive in their nature, all of which can lead to bad investment decisions," Newman says.

Newman believes the most iconic investors of all time, including Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn, George Soros and Benjamin Graham, have all demonstrated emotional intelligence in their investment decisions.

"All of the above can be described as having good self-control and high self-confidence that allows them to act boldly and be as successful as they have been in the financial markets," Newman says.

There are plenty of things investors can do to improve EI. Machel Strahilevitz, a visiting associate professor at Duke University's Center for Advanced Hindsight, researches the role emotions play in investing and how investors can harness their emotions to improve portfolio performance. She says that good emotional decisions begin with good emotional health.

"Taking care of yourself makes it easier to maintain emotional balance and curb impulsive behavior you may later regret," she says. "This includes sleep, exercise, eating healthfully, spending time with loved ones, doing things for others and making time for fun."

Strahilevitz's research at Duke suggests that emotional stability, frequency of pleasant emotions and social support often correlate with superior investing decision-making.

Batnick says improving investing EI requires more than self-awareness.

"One thing that investors can do, and I'd guess less than 1 percent actually do this, is have a written plan before they make any investment. Having an exit plan on the way up and on the way down beforehand is a good way to minimize emotional involvement," he says.

Sometimes it doesn't matter how much complex quantitative analysis you perform on a stock. At the end of the day, share price is determined by the market, not by a number that a supercomputer algorithm spits out.

Financial markets are made up of millions of people around the world. Understanding how other investors are feeling, identifying why they are buying and selling and anticipating what they will be doing next all involve emotional intelligence.

Instead of succumbing to frustration, investors that have consistently struggled in the market should first try to take personal inventory of what types of behaviors seem to be driving the poor performance.

[See: The 25 Best Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for 2017.]

Look for patterns of behavior that might include impatience, impulsive decisions, stubbornness, anger, fear and indecisiveness. If these emotions are often part of your investing decision-making process, it may be time to work on improving your emotional intelligence.





More From US News & World Report


By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

BEIRUT (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA) and Iran Air will finalise a deal to buy aircraft in two weeks, the head of Iran's flag carrier said on Tuesday, adding Airbus has agreed to provide financing for 17 planes.

Uncertainty over financing of the deal and political opposition in the United States against Iran have slowed down Tehran's efforts to import aircraft following the lifting of sanctions this year.

Iran signed a $16.6 billion deal for 80 Boeing (BA.N) passenger jets on Sunday, the biggest package of firm contracts with Western companies since Iran's 1979 revolution.

Iran Air Chief Executive Farhad Parvaresh said he was hopeful to finalise the deal with Airbus in two weeks.

"There are only few small remaining issues like financing. Airbus has agreed to provide financing for 17 planes," he was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Iranian officials told Reuters in November that they have reached a deal with a foreign leasing company to finance the first 17 jets from Airbus but declined to name the lessor involved.

Parvaresh said Iran Air was trying to get first five Airbus planes before March 2017.

During a visit by President Hassan Rouhani to Paris in January 2016, Iran provisionally ordered 118 Airbus jets worth $27 billion.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Irans President Hassan Rouhani has retaliated to the United States alleged violation of the nuclear deal by calling on the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to start planning the development of nuclear marine propulsion on Tuesday.

Such propulsion would to be in marine transportation, Rouhani said in a letter published by state news agency IRNA. Nuclear marine propulsion uses a nuclear reactor to generate electricity on a vessel.

Under a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., a number of sanctions against the nation were lifted in exchange for restrictions on the countrys nuclear program.

The U.S., however, maintained a separate set of sanctions, which were to expire at the end of the year. Earlier this month, the Republican-led Senate voted to extend the Iran Sanctions Act by 10 years, which is a breach of trust, according to Iran.

This is a developing story...

Related Articles
* Rouhani reacts to U.S. Congress's extension of sanctions

* 2015 nuclear pact with powers gave Iran sanctions relief

* Rouhani's plan itself could violate nuclear deal -experts

* Hardliners have rapped lack of economic payoff from deal (Adds U.S. State Department reaction, paragraphs 6-7)

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Shadia Nasralla

BEIRUT/VIENNA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Iran ordered its scientists on Tuesday to start developing systems for nuclear-powered marine vessels in response to what it calls a U.S. violation of its landmark 2015 atomic deal with world powers.

Nuclear experts said that President Hassan Rouhani's move, if carried out, would probably require Iran to enrich uranium to a fissile purity above the maximum level set in the nuclear deal to allay fears of Tehran building an atomic bomb.

Rouhani's announcement marked Tehran's first concrete reaction to a decision by the U.S. Congress last month to extend some sanctions on Tehran that would also make it easier to reimpose others lifted under the nuclear pact.

The White House said it was aware of Iran's order and noted that Rouhani had said any such work on the vessels would be done within the framework of Iran's commitments.

"The announcement from the Iranians today does not run counter to the international agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a news briefing.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was confident the International Atomic Energy Agency, which inspects Iran's nuclear sites, would be able to analyze Iran's compliance with the deal.

"There's a lot we don't know about it, what it means," Kirby said, referring to Rouhani's announcement, at a news briefing on Tuesday. A marine nuclear propulsion program is a "massive undertaking for any nation" and would likely take decades to realize, he added.

Rouhani described the technology as a "nuclear propeller to be used in marine transportation," but did not say whether that meant just ships or possibly also submarines. Iran said in 2012 that it was working on its first nuclear-powered sub. (http://reut.rs/2gVr80g)

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Rouhani's words could stoke tensions with Washington, already heightened by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's vow to scrap the deal, under which Iran curbed its nuclear fuel production activities in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Rouhani also ordered planning for production of fuel for nuclear-powered marine vessels "in line with the development of a peaceful nuclear programme of Iran."

But under the nuclear settlement Iran reached with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China, it is not allowed to enrich uranium above a 3.67 percent purity for 15 years, a level unlikely to be enough to run such vessels.

"On the basis of international experience, were Iran to go ahead with such a (nuclear propulsion) project, it would have to increase its enrichment level," said Mark Hibbs, nuclear expert and senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

CIVILIAN VERSUS MILITARY ENRICHMENT

"That's the point, because Iran would be looking for a non-weapons rationale to provocatively increase its enrichment level in the case that the deal with the powers comes unstuck."

He pointed out that countries with more advanced navies and nuclear programmes have been working on propulsion reactors for decades. Such technology might need uranium enriched to around 20 percent purity.

A Russian Foreign Ministry source told RIA news agency that a careful reading of Rouhani's order showed he was talking only about developing power-supply units for nuclear-powered marine vessels, but not higher-enriched uranium itself, so "strictly speaking" this would not contravene the nuclear deal.

But the source acknowledged that such vessels typically ran on higher-enriched uranium prohibited by the accord.

Edwin Lyman, a nuclear expert at the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists, said developing a reactor suited for higher-grade nuclear vessel fuel would take at least a decade.

"(But) these are unfortunate developments. We are very concerned about the future of the (nuclear deal) under the Trump administration and any signs of erosion ... must be taken very seriously and immediately addressed by the international community," Lyman told Reuters.

Rouhani accused the United States in a letter published by state news agency IRNA of not fully meeting its commitments under the nuclear deal.

"With regard to recent (U.S. congressional) legislation to extend the Iran Sanctions Act ... I order the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to ... plan the design and construction of a nuclear propeller to be used in marine transportation."

Members of the U.S. Congress have said the extension of the bill does not violate the nuclear deal that was struck last year to assuage Western fears that Iran was working to develop a nuclear bomb. The act, Congress added, only gave Washington the power to reimpose sanctions on Iran if it violated the pact.

Washington says it has lifted all the sanctions it needs to under the July 2015 deal between major powers and Iran.

Rouhani's move followed recent remarks by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his hardline allies harshly criticizing the deal's failure to yield any swift economic improvements in Iran. Khamenei said last month the U.S. Congress's prolongation of some sanctions was a clear breach and the Islamic Republic would "definitely react to it."

There was no immediate comment from the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran's nuclear programme.

(Additional reporting by Alexander Winning in Moscow, Parisa Hafezi in Ankara, Ayesha Rascoe, Timothy Gardner and Yeganeh Torbati in Washington; Editing by Andrew Hay and Richard Chang)
Tehran (AFP) - Iran signed preliminary agreements with Russia's Gazprom on Tuesday to develop two major oil fields in the latest of a flurry of deals with foreign firms, local media reported.

The deals open the way for Gazprom to carry out studies at the Cheshmekosh and Changouleh fields near the border with Iraq, according to the Shana news agency, which is linked to the oil ministry.

That adds to five other oil fields that have already been earmarked for Russian firms Lukoil, Tatneft and Zarubezhneft.

The latest deal was signed by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who is visiting Tehran with a 500-strong business delegation.

Russia and Iran have had difficult relations in the past, but now find themselves close military allies in their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and keen to deepen their economic relationship.

Iran has announced a slew of energy deals with foreign firms in recent weeks, despite uncertainty around the incoming US administration of Donald Trump, who has vowed to take a more confrontational stance towards Tehran.

Last week, Anglo-Dutch giant Shell signed an initial accord to explore two of Iran's largest oil fields at South Azadegan and Yadavaran, as well as the Kish gas field.

That followed an initial deal with France's Total last month to develop part of the South Pars gas field -- a project worth an estimated $4.8 billion.

But doubts persist over how these deals will be financed so long as Iran remains frozen out of the international finance system by continuing US sanctions.

The Iranian government also faces push-back at home from hardliners opposed to handing major energy deals to foreigners.

The paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, which controls vast swathes of the energy sector, said in October that it was shameful for Iranian firms to be subordinated to foreigners.

The government has countered that Iran's dilapidated energy infrastructure urgently needs an infusion of foreign cash, technology and know-how.
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

BEIRUT (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus <AIR.PA> and IranAir will finalize a deal to buy aircraft in two weeks, the head of Iran's flag carrier said on Tuesday, adding Airbus has agreed to arrange financing for the first 17 planes.

Uncertainty over financing of the deal and political opposition in the United States against Iran have slowed down Tehran's efforts to import aircraft following the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions this year.

Iran signed a $16.6 billion deal for 80 Boeing <BA.N> passenger jets on Sunday and was said to be close to a deal with Airbus, in the biggest package of firm contracts with Western companies since Iran's 1979 revolution.

IranAir Chief Executive Farhad Parvaresh said he hoped to finalize the deal with Airbus in two weeks.

"There are only a few small remaining issues like financing. Airbus has agreed to provide financing for 17 planes," he was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

The first contract is expected to involve some 50-60 jets out of 118 provisionally ordered during a visit to France by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in January.

An Iranian official told Reuters in November that IranAir had reached a deal with a foreign leasing company to finance the first 17 jets from Airbus, boosting the prospects of finalizing a deal to buy European aircraft.

Dubai's DAE Capital has been closely involved in the talks in coordination with Airbus, according to industry sources, but the leasing company has declined to comment.

Parvaresh said IranAir was trying to get first five Airbus planes before March 2017, the end of the financial year.

Such a timetable would mean the first new passenger jets reaching Iran ahead of presidential elections in May, widely considered a key objective for pragmatist president Rouhani who has faced hardline opposition to the aircraft deals.

Further details meanwhile emerged of Iran's deal with Boeing, which depends partly on further financing agreements.

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Parvaresh was quoted by Fars news agency as saying Boeing had agreed to finance the first six planes it sells to Iran.

He also said Iran would pay for 15 percent of the value of the jets from its development fund, with the rest to be financed externally.

Industry sources expect Boeing, which faces Republican criticism over trade with Iran, to deal with Iran via foreign lessors or other financiers in order to avoid infringing core U.S. sanctions restricting use of the U.S. financial system.

(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Tom Heneghan/Keith Weir)
By Ahmed Rasheed and Dominic Evans BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Several thousand Iraqi federal police are ready to join the assault against Islamic State in east Mosul, a spokesman said on Monday, reinforcing troops who have faced weeks of fierce counter-attacks from the militants. The extra forces are being deployed as the grueling U.S.-backed campaign to crush Islamic State in its Iraqi stronghold enters its ninth week. Elite army troops have retaken a quarter of the city, but their advance has been slow and punishing. The federal police units, around 4,000 strong, have been moved to an area southeast of the city, near where an army tank division last week made the deepest incursion into Mosul so far, briefly seizing a hospital used as a base by the militants. The troops were forced to pull back from the Salam hospital, less than a mile (about 1 km) from the Tigris river which runs through the center of Mosul, when they were attacked by suicide car bombs, mortar volleys and machine gun fire. A spokesman for Iraq's federal police commander, Lieutenant-General Raed Shakir Jawdat, said the police units were near Qaraqosh, about 15 km (10 miles) from the southeast edge of Mosul, and were ready to mobilize. However, he said they were waiting for advances elsewhere on the eastern front, where elite Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) have made steady street-by-street progress, unlike last week's dramatic push by the armored division towards the hospital. "We are waiting for orders from the supreme commanders to start the offensive to defeat Daesh (Islamic State) and clear the eastern part (of Mosul)," he said. The CTS forces said on Sunday they had captured another district of east Mosul, al-Nour neighborhood. Accounts from Mosul are difficult to confirm since authorities have increasingly restricted international media access to the battlefronts and areas retaken from Islamic State in and around the city. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi tried to play down concerns over the slow pace of progress, saying the recapture of cities such as Ramadi and Baiji from Islamic State had taken four times longer than the Mosul campaign so far. Visiting commanders near Mosul on Monday, a day after a trip by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Abadi also said the United States and other allies must continue to support Iraq's battle against what he said was a global threat posed by the militants. Defeating Islamic State "requires cooperation with all countries... and this is why we appeal to the new U.S. presidency to take this into consideration," Abadi said. The prime minister, who spoke to Donald Trump last month, said the president-elect promised "not just to continue American support but to increase it". Carter told reporters on Sunday the battle for Mosul "hasn't been an easy fight (and) won't be an easy fight", but said it was going to plan. He was speaking to reporters after meeting U.S. Lieutenant-General Steve Townsend, commander of the U.S.-led coalition supporting Iraqi forces in Mosul, who said that more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters had been killed or badly wounded. POLICE DIVERTED The police and CTS troops are part of a 100,000-strong Iraqi alliance which launched the campaign to retake Mosul on Oct. 17. It includes soldiers, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga fighters and mainly Shi'ite Popular Mobilisation forces. Defeating Islamic State in Mosul, the biggest city it controls in Iraq or Syria, would be a crushing blow to the self-styled caliphate it declared in large parts of both countries two years ago, and might see it revert to more covert militant operations in Iraq. Iraqi commanders say progress has been slowed by the fierce defence waged by the jihadists, who they say have used a network of tunnels under the eastern half of the city and exploited more than 1 million civilians as human shields. The fight in crowded residential areas has also restricted the use of heavy weapons and air strikes from the coalition. For weeks, commanders have talked about opening a new front in southwest Mosul to stretch Islamic State defences. But the despatch of the units to the southeast may delay that plan. The forces in Qaraqosh had been due to join other police units who have reached within 3 or 4 km (2 or 3 miles) of the airport on Mosul's southwestern edge, and were expected to open the new front inside the city on the west bank of the Tigris. Nearly two months into the campaign, the United Nations says 91,000 people have been registered as displaced from Mosul and nearby towns and villages. That figure excludes thousands more forced as human shields back into Mosul by retreating militants. Most people though have stayed put, and 1 million are likely to be still living in remaining Islamic State-held areas of the city. With the militants largely sealed off, civilians are enduring increasingly siege-like conditions, with shortages of fuel, food and water as winter sets in. (Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Trevelyan)
By Ahmed Rasheed and Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Shi'ite forces fighting Islamic State west of Mosul aim to clear a large strip of land on the border with Syria to prevent the militants melting into the remote desert region and using it as a base for counter attacks, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The Popular Mobilisation fighters - mainly Shi'ite, Iranian-backed paramilitary groups who form part of a wider Iraqi force waging the eight-week Mosul campaign - have deployed west of the city to cut the route to Islamic State-held territory in Syria. They have taken an air base south of the town of Tal Afar, about 60 km (40 miles) west of Mosul, and linked up with Kurdish peshmerga fighters to seal off the town's western flank. Jafaar Hussaini said the Kata'ib Hezbollah, one of the Shi'ite armed groups, would advance further west to clear the border region where he said the militants had hidden many weapons stores for future use. "The key objective is to ... make sure that the terrorists lose the ability to regroup and launch counter attacks against advancing forces," said Hussaini, speaking by telephone from a desert area near Tal Afar. Kata'ib Hezbollah is one of the two main Shi'ite groups fighting west of Mosul. A spokesman for the Badr militia, the other group, said it was targeting villages around Tal Afar to "surround Daesh (Islamic State) and tighten the noose around them". While the army advance in east Mosul, where soldiers have been constrained by street-by-street fighting and a built-up urban battlefield, Hussaini said progress in the western region was slow because the Popular Mobilisation forces had to clear dozens of villages scattered over a wide area. The forces are still 60 km from the frontier with Syria, he said. "We are targeting full control of the desert areas along the Syrian border". Defeating Islamic State in Mosul, the largest city under its control in Syria or Iraq, would deal a heavy blow to its self-styled caliphate covering parts of both countries, and could see it return to more covert militant operations. Clearing the remote border region, which has long been a stronghold of the ultra-hardline Sunni militants, would make it more difficult for them to continue operating in northern Iraq. FOOD AND FUEL SHORTAGES Since the Popular Mobilisation forces closed off Mosul from Syria, residents in Islamic State-held districts of the city say fresh food has become scarce and prices have soared. Fuel prices have also risen, leading aid groups to warn of increasing winter hardship for the 1 million residents. "The city has never seen these prices," a resident from the west side of the city, which is still completely under Islamic State control, told Reuters by telephone. "For a barrel of heating fuel the price has reached a million dinars ($850) - it used to be sold for 150,000 dinars," he said, adding that food prices had risen four or five fold, despite efforts by the militants to punish traders they accuse of hiking prices purely for profit. One trader said that no fresh fruit or vegetables other than potatoes and onions had reached the city in the past week. "Residents are worried how they can get bread. If the siege continues at this level many people will die from lack of food," he said. In the east of the city, where Iraq's elite Counter Terrorism Services have made slow progress in a grueling fight, some civilians fled the front lines and sought sanctuary in areas now under army control. "We are very happy even though we have left behind us everything we own. The house, the car and our possessions," said one resident of Muthanna district, who escaped with his family to stay with a relative in the nearby Zahra neighborhood. "What's important is that we escaped death and hell". He said many people in Muthanna had been killed. "An explosive-rigged car blew up in front of one of the houses, which collapsed on top of the residents. There was a family of seven inside, including three children," he said. "We worked for two days to dig out the bodies". (Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Alison Williams)
Hundreds of Islamic hardliners gathered near the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday, December 13, to demand the prosecution of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama during the first hearing of a blasphemy trial.

Prosecutors have accused the Christian governor of blasphemy after he referred to a verse in the Koran on the campaign trail in September, according to the Jakarta Globe. Basuki faces a maximum sentence of five years if convicted.

Three mass rallies have taken place in protest against the governor since October, with over half a million Muslims giving their support for jailing Basuki.

The videos shows protesters near the Central Jakarta District Court chanting. Credit: Facebook/Front Pembela Islam via Storyful
* Suicide bomber said to be linked to banned Islamist movement

* Mother says he has been abused in custody

* Video footage purportedly shows moments before blast (Recasts with Islamic State claim of responsibility)

By Lin Noueihed and Ahmed Mohammed Hassan

CAIRO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a suicide bombing at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral on Sunday that killed at least 25 people.

The militant group said in a statement carried by its news agency Amaq that a suicide bomber whom it identified as Abu Abdallah al-Masri had detonated his explosive belt inside the church.

"Every infidel and apostate in Egypt and everywhere should know that our war ... continues," it said.

The Interior Ministry identified the bomber on Monday as 22-year-old student Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa, and said he was a supporter of the banned Muslim Brotherhood political movement who had joined a militant cell while on the run from police.

In an interview with Reuters, Mostafa's mother said he had been sexually abused in police custody in 2014, but that she had seen no sign that he had been radicalised.

In addition to the dead, at least 49 people were wounded when the bomb went off in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic Christian papacy.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said four people had been detained and two were on the run.

PREVIOUS ARREST

Sisi took power in 2013, deposing the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, and has since outlawed the Islamist movement as part of a crackdown in which hundreds of its supporters have been killed and thousands jailed.

The Interior Ministry said Mahmoud had been arrested in March 2014 for carrying arms during a protest, and freed on bail after two months. It said he had joined a cell led by Mohab Mostafa Sayyed Qassem, a militant with links to Islamic State fighters in Northern Sinai and exiled Brotherhood officials in Qatar, and was wanted in two other cases.

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His mother, Umm Bilal, said Mahmoud had fled to Sudan shortly after being released.

"Mahmoud would not do this ... he would not kill anyone," she shouted as she listened to a news report on the bombing.

She said Mahmoud's father had died two years ago, and that Mahmoud called her regularly from abroad, most recently about a week ago.

"He said he would not return because security forces would detain him again ... He was asking after me and his sisters ... I didn't notice any change in his voice or anything to suggest he would blow himself up."

"HE CRIED ALL NIGHT"

Umm Bilal, who wore an Islamic face-covering or niqab, said her son had returned broken from police custody, and had confided in his brother that he had been sexually assaulted.

"He kept crying all night ... He wasn't crying because he was beaten or tortured, though the scars were still visible on his face and body," she said. "I believe they broke him at the station, they violated his honour."

But she said Mahmoud had not been radicalised.

She said his two brothers had also been arrested, one of them after the bombing.

The Muslim Brotherhood won Egypt's first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Mursi became president, but was toppled two years later after mass protests.

Egypt's oldest Islamist organisation says it is peaceful, but has split into rival wings since the crackdown, while some erstwhile supporters have formed splinter groups that have carried out attacks on police and judicial officials.

Disillusioned by its ill-fated flirtation with democracy, some younger Brotherhood supporters have gone to fight in Syria or joined the local arm of Islamic State, Sinai Province.

Since 2013, the group has killed hundreds of soldiers and police in the Sinai Peninsula, and it has started to attack Western targets within Egypt. The army has responded with air strikes and by bulldozing entire villages.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Ali Abdelaty; writing by Lin Noueihed and Amina Ismail; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
By Lin Noueihed and Ahmed Mohammed Hassan CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a suicide bombing at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral on Sunday that killed at least 25 people. The militant group said in a statement carried by its news agency Amaq that a suicide bomber whom it identified as Abu Abdallah al-Masri had detonated his explosive belt inside the church. "Every infidel and apostate in Egypt and everywhere should know that our war ... continues," it said. The Interior Ministry identified the bomber on Monday as 22-year-old student Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa, and said he was a supporter of the banned Muslim Brotherhood political movement who had joined a militant cell while on the run from police. In an interview with Reuters, Mostafa's mother said he had been sexually abused in police custody in 2014, but that she had seen no sign that he had been radicalized. In addition to the dead, at least 49 people were wounded when the bomb went off in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic Christian papacy. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said four people had been detained and two were on the run. PREVIOUS ARREST Sisi took power in 2013, deposing the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, and has since outlawed the Islamist movement as part of a crackdown in which hundreds of its supporters have been killed and thousands jailed. The Interior Ministry said Mahmoud had been arrested in March 2014 for carrying arms during a protest, and freed on bail after two months. It said he had joined a cell led by Mohab Mostafa Sayyed Qassem, a militant with links to Islamic State fighters in Northern Sinai and exiled Brotherhood officials in Qatar, and was wanted in two other cases. His mother, Umm Bilal, said Mahmoud had fled to Sudan shortly after being released. "Mahmoud would not do this ... he would not kill anyone," she shouted as she listened to a news report on the bombing. She said Mahmoud's father had died two years ago, and that Mahmoud called her regularly from abroad, most recently about a week ago. "He said he would not return because security forces would detain him again ... He was asking after me and his sisters ... I didn't notice any change in his voice or anything to suggest he would blow himself up." "HE CRIED ALL NIGHT" Umm Bilal, who wore an Islamic face-covering or niqab, said her son had returned broken from police custody, and had confided in his brother that he had been sexually assaulted. "He kept crying all night ... He wasn't crying because he was beaten or tortured, though the scars were still visible on his face and body," she said. "I believe they broke him at the station, they violated his honor." But she said Mahmoud had not been radicalized. She said his two brothers had also been arrested, one of them after the bombing. The Muslim Brotherhood won Egypt's first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Mursi became president, but was toppled two years later after mass protests. Egypt's oldest Islamist organization says it is peaceful, but has split into rival wings since the crackdown, while some erstwhile supporters have formed splinter groups that have carried out attacks on police and judicial officials. Disillusioned by its ill-fated flirtation with democracy, some younger Brotherhood supporters have gone to fight in Syria or joined the local arm of Islamic State, Sinai Province. Since 2013, the group has killed hundreds of soldiers and police in the Sinai Peninsula, and it has started to attack Western targets within Egypt. The army has responded with air strikes and by bulldozing entire villages. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Ali Abdelaty; writing by Lin Noueihed and Amina Ismail; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli police opened an investigation on Tuesday after a poster showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a hangman's noose was displayed at an art school in Jerusalem.

The poster, designed to look like the iconic "Hope" picture of US President Barack Obama but instead reading "Rope", drew sharp condemnation from Culture Minister Miri Regev and led to debate over freedom of expression.

Copies of the poster, which showed a noose dangling in front of Netanyahu's face, hung briefly in a stairwell at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design before it was taken down, Israeli media reported.

Police said they opened an investigation over "suspicions of incitement".

The academy said the poster was "part of an ongoing conversation on what constitutes incitement through art".

"The work in question is an expression by an individual student and in no way, shape or form reflects the views of our institution, our faculty or administration," Michal Turgeman, Bezalel spokeswoman, said in a statement.

"We plan to cooperate fully in the ongoing investigation."

Regev, who has frequently clashed with left-leaning Israeli artists, called for state funding to the academy to be cut.

"Artistic freedom is not freedom to incite," she wrote on her Facebook page.

The academy's student union said "we certainly do not support messages calling for violence and incitement of any kind whatever and even oppose that."

"However, as a design institution, we believe in the freedom of expression and art and are for providing an expression for the entire rainbow of opinions, within the boundaries of the law," it said, quoted by the Ynet news website.

The poster was the second work of art to raise Regev's ire in a week.

On December 6, a four-metre-high golden statue of Netanyahu was raised secretly in a Tel Aviv square in a free speech protest and was later toppled by a member of the public.

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Regev criticised the artist and said such moves were driven by "hatred of Netanyahu".

Left-leaning artists have accused Netanyahu's government of seeking to muzzle them, particularly with Regev's promotion of a bill to cut subsidies to cultural institutions deemed not "loyal" to the state.

Former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995 by a Jewish extremist has made the country particularly sensitive to incitement against its leaders.

Netanyahu has faced criticism that he helped feed anger toward Rabin over the Oslo peace accords with inflammatory rhetoric before the assassination.

The premier has strongly denied such accusations and pointed out occasions in which he condemned incitement against Rabin.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Monday the arrival of high-tech F-35 stealth fighter jets in Israel, the first country other than the U.S. to receive the advanced warplanes, as President-elect Donald Trump slammed the expensive and oft-delayed Pentagon jet program, Reuters reported.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter joined Netanyahu and a number of Israel's top military brass at the ceremony for the first two planes that arrived at the Nevatim air base, located in the country's southern Negev Desert. Carter said that the jets were necessary for maintaining Israeli military dominance in the region, while Netanyahu told those in attendance that the F-35 jets would expand the effective sphere of his country's already powerful air force.

"Our long arm has now become longer and mightier," Netanyahu said.

The planes were the first of 50, each estimated at around $100 million dollars, expected to be flown to Israel by U.S. pilots. The program is part of a costly and controversial Pentagon initiative to put the F-35 into service, with delays and problems pushing costs up to $400 billion. Apparent weather-related delays in getting the planes from Italy to Israel and a harsh Tweet from President-elect Donald Trump brought further heat on the program.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20," Trump wrote, reportedly sending the shares of the jet's developer, Lockheed Martin, down at least 5 percent.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who once supported the jet and has criticized Trump, backed the president-elect's criticism of the F-35. Back in April, he called the Pentagon's effort "both a scandal and a tragedy with respect to cost, schedule and performance."

Political opponent Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) fired back against Trump's comments, calling the President-elect "just plain wrong" and urged him to "learn more about the facts" before taking action office next month. Lockheed Martin's F-35 program head Jeff Babione also defended the project, saying the company took as many cost-saving measures as possible. As president, Trump cannot cancel the deal with Israel but he can scale it down.

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Earlier this year, the U.S. signed a record $38 billion military aid deal with Israel, vowing protection for the next decade. Although Israel is not engaged in any declared wars, it occasionally bombs groups it deems threatening in neighboring Palestine, Syria and Lebanon such as the Lebanese-based Shiite paramilitary movement Hezbollah, who enjoys backing from Iran. Israel considers Iran a threat to its existence and the two have vowed military action against one another should the situation escalate.

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SOUTH SIOUX CITY  South Sioux City residents who were forced to leave their homes by a horrible odor from a nearby energy plant said they're concerned that one resident was recently sent back to his home before levels of hydrogen sulfide gas were deemed safe.

Chris Cornell was among the residents displaced from his home on Oct. 28 due to the odor from Big Ox Energy. City administrator Lance Hedquist told Cornell he could return to his home last week, before initial tests results had been processed.

"I was shocked," Cornell told the City Council on Monday.

Hedquist said he thought the home was safe based on discussion with other people working on the home, but Cornell said alarms in his home showed gas levels were more than double the recommended range.

Other residents also expressed frustration to the City Council on Monday, saying they feared their hotel stays could be cut short like Cornell's situation, even though the odor problem hasn't been resolved. About 14 residents are still staying at hotels.

Mayor Rod Koch assured residents they would not be asked to leave their hotels until their homes were "rock-solid safe."

City officials aren't sure how the smell has persisted, but homes near the plant share a sewer line with Big Ox Energy. The company has temporarily halted flows from the plant into the sewer line until the odor problem can be solved.

The city has resumed paying for Cornell's hotel accommodations in Sioux City. Big Ox will reimburse the city for hotel bills and other out-of-pocket living expenses for residents who needed to vacate their homes.
JERUSALEM (AP)  In an apparent diplomatic snub, Israel said Tuesday that none of its officials will meet with the Swedish foreign minister during a visit this week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon cited a "scheduling issue" for the decision not to meet with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom. It is highly unusual for a visiting high-level dignitary not to meet any Israeli officials.

Wallstrom arrives Thursday and is expected to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Sweden's relations with Israel have been strained since the Social Democratic-led government in 2014 recognized Palestinian statehood, and Wallstrom's comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have elicited angry responses from Israeli officials.

"I would have liked to visit Israel as well, but unfortunately they couldn't confirm it," Wallstrom said in a statement.

As foreign minister, Wallstrom has been outspoken on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Her statements have riled not just Israel but also Saudi Arabia, which temporarily recalled its ambassador from Sweden last year after Wallstrom criticized the kingdom's human rights record.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Several hundred residents and supporters of an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday rallied outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem.

Around 500 mostly young protesters danced, played music and listened to speeches outside Netanyahu's official residence, calling for the Amona outpost not to be demolished.

The fate of the outpost, where around 400 Israelis live near the Ofra settlement, has become a major issue in Israeli politics.

It was originally meant to be included in a bill which seeks to legalise around 4,000 homes across the West Bank but was later excluded after parliamentary discussion.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has said attempts to legalise it would violate both Israeli and international law.

At Tuesday's protest, 16-year-old protester Haim Goldberg said Amona symbolised the "slowing down" of the settlement process.

"If you take away one (outpost), it shows you can take away more and more," said the Israeli-American.

"If we give in to this now, that shows there will be no stopping them later," said Goldberg, who is from a settlement like Amona in the northern West Bank.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the far-right Jewish Home party, has opposed any attempt to make around 40 families move from Amona.

Israeli media reported on Tuesday he was close to agreeing on a deal with Netanyahu that would relocate the outpost to a nearby site on the same hill.

Israel Evenchen, a 61-year-old at the protest, said he wanted to see the supreme court replaced as it had a "left-wing bias" against settlements.

The supreme court has ordered the evacuation of settlers from Amona and the demolition of their homes by December 25 since the outpost was built on Palestinian land.

Some 400,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank, excluding annexed east Jerusalem, along with 2.6 million Palestinian.

The United Nations and most of the international community considers all such settlements illegal while Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not.
* Faces more difficult confidence vote in Senate

* Says will push EU for less austerity

* Opposition to walk out in protest (Updates after winning lower house vote)

By Gavin Jones and Crispian Balmer

ROME, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni won an initial vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday after laying out a limited programme for his new government, which might only survive a few months.

Gentiloni has taken over from former premier Matteo Renzi, who resigned last week after Italians rejected his proposed reform of the constitution in a referendum.

Making his maiden speech to parliament in his new role, the softly spoken Gentiloni said he was prepared to support Italy's ailing banks and demanded more help from the European Union in coping with an influx of migrants.

"I want to say very clearly that the government ... is ready to intervene in order to guarantee the stability of banks and the savings of our citizens," he told the Chamber of Deputies, a day after being sworn in by President Sergio Mattarella.

To take office, he needs to win votes of confidence in both houses of parliament and easily won the first in the lower chamber by 368 to 105.

Many opposition lawmakers did not take part in the ballot, in protest at the fact that Gentiloni had re-appointed almost all the ministers who served under Renzi.

Gentiloni faces a more difficult vote in the upper house Senate on Wednesday, where his majority is likely to be much smaller following a decision by a former Renzi ally not to support the new administration.

He is widely expected to scrape through, but his limited support underscores the low expectations for this government, with many politicians predicting national elections in the first half of 2017, a year ahead of schedule.

BAD LOANS

His fragile support also means his administration has limited ambitions and is likely to spend its first weeks trying to defuse a long-running crisis in the banking sector.

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Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third-biggest lender, is pressing on with efforts to tap the market for 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) of fresh cash that it needs to stay afloat. However, its chances of success appear slim and the state is likely to have to step in, bankers say.

A failure of the world's oldest bank would threaten the savings of thousands of Italians and could have repercussions for Italy's wider banking sector, which is saddled with 360 billion euros of bad loans - a third of the euro zone's total.

In Tuesday's speech Gentiloni said he would continue Renzi's battles with the EU, pushing for flexible fiscal rules and more cooperation in sharing out the thousands of migrants who land on Italy's shores from Africa and the Middle East.

Pledging "a very clear position" at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, he said it was "not acceptable" that the EU is "too severe on some aspects of austerity and too tolerant with countries that don't show common responsibility on immigration".

Foreign minister in the previous government, Gentiloni has defended his decision to bring most of his old colleagues with him in the new cabinet, including Renzi's two closest allies - Maria Elena Boschi and Luca Lotti - saying he had to act quickly to prevent instability.

The main opposition parties, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing Northern League, have both promised street demonstrations in the coming weeks to denounce the new executive, which they have dismissed as a "photocopy".

"They are digging their grave with their own hands," said Luigi Di Maio, a 5-Star deputy widely expected to be the party's candidate for prime minister at the next election.

(Additional reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by Andrew Roche)
By Antonio Parrinello CATANIA, Sicily (Reuters) - A Tunisian man accused of being the captain of a migrant boat that sank killing almost 700 people was found guilty of multiple manslaughter and people-smuggling on Tuesday and sentenced to 18 years in jail. Only 28 people survived the disaster in April last year, when the small fishing boat capsized off the coast of Libya, with hundreds trapped in the hold. Mohammed Ali Malek, 28, was one of those rescued and denied being the captain, saying he had paid for passage like everyone else, but a court in the city of Catania dismissed his defense. The court also sentenced 26-year-old Syrian Mahmud Bikhit to five years in prison on charges of people-smuggling. Survivors said Bikhit had been Malek's cabin boy. He had denied any wrongdoing. Both men were also handed fines of nine million euros ($9.5 million). Their lawyers said they would appeal the convictions. "We think we have some strong arguments and we will try and work on some of the weaker points of our defense," said Massimo Ferrante, representing Malek. Outrage over the incident prompted European Union leaders to bolster its own search-and-rescue mission in the Mediterranean days after the boat went down. In the past three years, roughly half a million boat migrants have arrived on Italian shores and almost 12,000 have died in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration. Prosecutors had told the court that Malek mishandled the grossly overloaded fishing boat, which left from Darabli, Libya, carrying men, women and children from Algeria, Somalia, Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, Mali, Bangladesh and Ghana. They say he caused the vessel to collide with a Portuguese merchant ship that was coming to its aid. As passengers rushed away from the side of the boat which had struck the ship, it capsized and sank within minutes. State prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro said in a statement that the case showed Italy had the right to press smuggling charges over incidents in international waters. The Italian justice system got involved this time because the survivors were brought to Italy. Italy's navy raised the boat in June and 675 bodies were recovered. Earlier this year another migrant boat sank in the Mediterranean killing around 500 people, with the survivors taken to Greece. A Reuters investigation found that no official body, national or multinational, has held anyone to account for the deaths or even opened an inquiry. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Philip Pullella and Andrew Roche)
By Gavin Jones and Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni won an initial vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday after laying out a limited program for his new government, which might only survive a few months. Gentiloni has taken over from former premier Matteo Renzi, who resigned last week after Italians rejected his proposed reform of the constitution in a referendum. Making his maiden speech to parliament in his new role, the softly spoken Gentiloni said he was prepared to support Italy's ailing banks and demanded more help from the European Union in coping with an influx of migrants. "I want to say very clearly that the government ... is ready to intervene in order to guarantee the stability of banks and the savings of our citizens," he told the Chamber of Deputies, a day after being sworn in by President Sergio Mattarella. To take office, he needs to win votes of confidence in both houses of parliament and easily won the first in the lower chamber by 368 to 105. Many opposition lawmakers did not take part in the ballot, in protest at the fact that Gentiloni had re-appointed almost all the ministers who served under Renzi. Gentiloni faces a more difficult vote in the upper house Senate on Wednesday, where his majority is likely to be much smaller following a decision by a former Renzi ally not to support the new administration. He is widely expected to scrape through, but his limited support underscores the low expectations for this government, with many politicians predicting national elections in the first half of 2017, a year ahead of schedule. BAD LOANS His fragile support also means his administration has limited ambitions and is likely to spend its first weeks trying to defuse a long-running crisis in the banking sector. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third-biggest lender, is pressing on with efforts to tap the market for 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) of fresh cash that it needs to stay afloat. However, its chances of success appear slim and the state is likely to have to step in, bankers say. A failure of the world's oldest bank would threaten the savings of thousands of Italians and could have repercussions for Italy's wider banking sector, which is saddled with 360 billion euros of bad loans - a third of the euro zone's total. In Tuesday's speech Gentiloni said he would continue Renzi's battles with the EU, pushing for flexible fiscal rules and more cooperation in sharing out the thousands of migrants who land on Italy's shores from Africa and the Middle East. Pledging "a very clear position" at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, he said it was "not acceptable" that the EU is "too severe on some aspects of austerity and too tolerant with countries that don't show common responsibility on immigration". Foreign minister in the previous government, Gentiloni has defended his decision to bring most of his old colleagues with him in the new cabinet, including Renzi's two closest allies - Maria Elena Boschi and Luca Lotti - saying he had to act quickly to prevent instability. The main opposition parties, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing Northern League, have both promised street demonstrations in the coming weeks to denounce the new executive, which they have dismissed as a "photocopy". "They are digging their grave with their own hands," said Luigi Di Maio, a 5-Star deputy widely expected to be the party's candidate for prime minister at the next election. (Additional reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by Andrew Roche)
ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni won an initial vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday after laying out a limited program for his new government. The former foreign minister was asked by the president to form an administration after Matteo Renzi resigned as premier last week following his heavy defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. To take office, Gentiloni needs to win votes of confidence in both houses of parliament and easily won the first in the chamber of deputies by 368 to 105, with many opposition parliamentarians not taking part in the ballot in protest. Gentiloni faces a sterner test in the upper house Senate on Wednesday, where his majority is likely to be much smaller following a decision by a former Renzi ally not to support the new administration. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; editing by Gavin Jones)
Now, more than ever, Italy looks like a big, fat mess for investors.

On Dec. 4, Italian voters roundly rejected constitutional reform. The immediate impact was the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

He had promised to do so if the result went against him. That means at least one campaign promise has been kept. Still, the move creates other issues.

The resignation is "likely paving the way within the next few weeks for the formation of an interim government with a limited mandate," states a recent report from Eurasia Group, which also downgraded its outlook for the country from neutral to negative after Renzi stepped down. Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will replace Renzi -- assuming he wins a confidence vote in Parliament as early as next week -- but it's also likely that Italy will have early elections next year.

[See: 9 Psychological Biases That Hurt Investors.]

Whenever the next election comes there is an increasing threat of a win by populist anti-European Union factions.

"The risk of a eurosceptic Five Star Movement government emerging from the next election and in turn posing a direct threat to Italy's eurozone membership is still low, but increasingly realistic," states the same Eurasia Group report.

Already, Europe has seen a massive rise in anti-EU sentiment, most notably with last June's vote for Britain to leave the trade area. Don't rule out the anti-EU contingent just yet.

Italy's shaky banks. As a group, these financial institutions have more than their fair share of what are euphemistically called "non-performing loans." The more appropriate name is "bad debts," which are having a similar effect on the Italian banks as subprime debt had on U.S. banks in the recent financial crisis -- it's weakening them.

"Given the latest developments on the matter, now it seems increasingly more likely that the Italian government will be involved in the recapitalization of the Italian banks and that this scenario might pose some concerns to investors," says Ivo Pezzuto, professor of business economics at the Catholic University of Milan.

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In short, it's the combination of bad banks and political uncertainty that has investors concerned that the Italian problem might spread further and engulf other countries.

"One cannot rule out an avalanche developing, but policy makers will be doing their best to make sure it doesn't," says Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh.

The investment implications. Hopefully, the broader European economy doesn't get a case of Italian contagion. But the matter does raise the issue of why invest in Europe at all. Italy is just one member-state of the EU and it has big problems. Other countries have their own issues.

[See: The 10 Best European Stock ETFs on the Market.]

"The difficulty with investing in European assets is that there are so many moving parts," Milligan says pointing to a host of issues, including national elections, policy decisions by the European Central Bank, how Turkey might choose to deal with its influx of refugees and the solvency of Italian banks. "Some are positive and some are negative," he says.

With all investing decisions it comes down to the relative merits of the available choices, or more simply, which investments look better than others. In the end, you take the best alternative.

"Why invest in Europe? You need to do a lot of work to understand the potential negatives," Milligan says. "The difficulty when considering Europe is that when you step back from it there are some easy 'yesses [elsewhere in the world]."

Where? Milligan says it's easy to like U.S. and Japanese assets.

The practical matter. On a practical level that may mean staying away not just from Italian stocks but from all European stocks and favoring those in other parts of the world. Or alternatively, it may mean trying to profit from the potential for declines in European stocks. Or perhaps do both.

"I'd be shorting European stocks and buying cyclical stocks in the U.S.," says Victor Sperandeo, CEO of EAM Partners in Dallas. In other words, he'd sell borrowed European stocks hoping to profit from a fall in the price, and separately he'd buy those U.S. stocks which tend to fluctuate in price in line with the business cycle. Such cyclical stocks would include commodity producers and industrial companies.

A potentially dire outlook. Longer term, Sperandeo sees bigger problems for the EU. "There is no way the EU can continue," he says. "The big question is which country will elect its version of Marine Le Pen and then opt out," referring to the ultra-right wing nationalist politician from France.

[See: These IPOs May Be Huge Hits in 2017.]

Many European countries have seen a rise in the popularity of right-wing nationalist parties who now threaten the political status quo. A burning question on the minds of many investors has been whether other countries will follow Britain's lead and decide to quit the EU -- and if so, how many such moves will it take to make the whole experiment collapse.

Simon Constable is a columnist and author. In addition to following the financial markets, he likes to watch his cat play with string. You can follow him on Twitter @simonconstable.
BROOKLYN, NY  OCTOBER 25: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) helmets belonging to the New York Riveters of the National Womens Hockey League are placed on the boards prior to the game against the Connecticut Whale at the Aviator Sports and Event Center on October 25, 2015 in Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Connecticut Whale held their home opener this past weekend, and it would end up being defenseman Ivana Bilics last as a member of the team.

On Monday the NWHL announced Bilic has opted to leave the league in the wake of the salary cuts.

We hoped every player would stay with us, but we knew there could be departures after the announcement of necessary salary reductions, and we respect and understand those decisions, said Commissioner Dani Rylan in a press release. Ivana is an outstanding player and person and was a welcome addition to our league this season. We wish her all the best.

This was Bilics first season in the NWHL after playing four years at Bemidji State. She signed a one-year, $14,000 contract with the Connecticut Whale in July.

The Coquitlam, B.C. natives future plans are unknown.

Bilic is the second player to leave the NWHL due to salary cuts. Morgan Fritz-Ward was the first to retire.

The Whale and New York Riveters play one final game this coming Sunday before the league goes on a planned four week hiatus.

What most appear to be waiting for is seeing who will return to the NWHL following the break in play.

      

Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
Jakarta's Christian governor choked back tears as he gave an impassioned defence against blasphemy charges on Tuesday, in a court case that has stoked fears of growing intolerance in the Muslim-majority nation.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama -- the first Christian to govern the capital in more than 50 years -- is standing trial accused of insulting the Koran, an offence that carries a five-year jail term.

The governor has apologised for his controversial remarks, which angered Muslims across Indonesia and drew hundreds of thousands to the streets of Jakarta in protests larger than any seen in nearly two decades.

Facing court for the first time, the governor gave an emotionally charged defence against the charges, pausing several times to compose himself as he maintained his innocence.

"I know I have to respect the holy verses of the Koran. I do not understand how I can be said to have offended Islam," Purnama said, occasionally dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, ignited a firestorm of criticism in September when he quoted the Islamic holy text while campaigning ahead of elections for the Jakarta governorship.

The governor accused his opponents of using a Koranic verse, which suggests Muslims should not choose non-Muslims as leaders, in order to trick people into voting against him.

- Politics at play -

Prosecutor Ali Mukartono said the governor had "spoken a lie" and insulted Muslims, adding Indonesia's top clerical council had declared his remarks blasphemous.

But lawyers for the governor said their client never intended to commit blasphemy, and expressed concern that Purnama's case was being rushed.

President Joko Widodo and police, under pressure as protesters massed in November, promised to resolve the case quickly.

Critics say the controversy is as much about politics as religion, as the governor's foes whip up anger to reduce his support ahead of a hotly contested poll in February.

Story continues

Purnama is running against two Muslim candidates in elections for city hall.

He had long been the favourite to win the election owing to the popularity of his no-nonsense style and determination to clean up Jakarta, a crowded, polluted metropolis of 10 million.

But the scandal has eroded his chances of victory, with his opponents gaining ground since Purnama was named a suspect for blasphemy in November.

Purnama said he was raised a Christian but surrounded by Muslims, including family friends, who had played an enormous mentorship role in his life from when he was a child to adulthood.

The allegations that he had offended their religion hurt him very deeply.

"I am very sad," he said, his voice cracking.

"This accusation is the same as saying I have offended my god parents and siblings, whom I love and they love me back."

He also listed the many services he had provided for his Islamic constituents, including the construction of mosques, support for religious schools and donation of sacrificial cows on sacred days.

A small band of his supporters kept vigil outside the court as a larger congregation of hardline Islamists chanted "Jail Ahok" and held signs depicting Purnama in prison garb behind bars.

"We will continue to fight this, and won't be provoked or influenced," one of Purnama's supporters said.

The high-profile case has gripped the country. The courtroom was surrounded by police on Tuesday, with the proceedings being broadcast live on national television.

The case has emboldened hardliners, analysts say, who have long opposed a Christian as governor and have used the blasphemy scandal to push their conservative agenda.

Rights groups want Indonesia's archaic blasphemy laws overhauled, arguing they are exploited to persecute minorities.

The case has adjourned until December 20.
By Thomas Wilson

TOKYO (Reuters) - A contentious bill to legalise casinos in Japan cleared a key parliamentary panel on Tuesday, paving the way for high-stakes gambling in the world's third-biggest economy.

Brushing off concerns - even from within Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition - over gambling addiction and other social ills, lawmakers in an upper house committee approved the bill, which essentially assures its enactment into law. It had failed repeatedly in previous parliaments to come up for a vote.

Domestic and international companies from MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) to Japanese game-machine maker Sega Sammy Holdings Inc could benefit from legalised casinos in Japan, a market that brokerage CLSA estimates could be worth up to $40 billion a year.

Abe coalition has a strong majority in the upper house, so the bill is almost certain to be approved by the full chamber on Wednesday, the last day of this parliamentary session. It has already cleared the lower house.

Vocal criticism of the bill from both the ruling coalition and opposition parties had centred on concerns about gambling-related social ills such as addiction and organised crime.

An opinion poll this week by public broadcaster NHK found opposition at 44 percent and support at just 12 percent, with 34 percent of respondents undecided.

"Whether casinos will be a plus or not for society is not only a question of making money," said Masaaki Machida of gambling addiction support group Hopehill.

"Costs for treating, imprisoning, or hospitalising (addicts) would be a spiritual, economic and social loss for Japan."

Supporters of the bill, which allows for large-scale projects that combine casinos with hotel, shopping and conference space, see casinos as a way to boost tourism - a key success of Abe's economic growth policies.

Proponents hope to submit legislation next year to set out full details of the construction, regulation and location of these "integrated resorts."

Story continues

Tokyo, neighbouring Yokohama and the western city of Osaka are in the running as potential locations for casinos. Smaller places on the islands of Kyushu and Hokkaido are also hopeful of being selected.

Japan is already home to government-backed gambling in the form of betting on horse, boat and bicycle races.

"Pachinko" pinball parlours, ubiquitous in Japanese towns and cities, are also tolerated despite their legally grey status.

(Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by William Mallard and Neil Fullick)
* Bill would allow high-stakes gambling for first time

* Market estimated at up to $40 bln a year

* PM Abe's coalition has the votes to enact bill Wednesday (Adds picture available)

By Thomas Wilson

TOKYO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A contentious bill to legalise casinos in Japan cleared a key parliamentary panel on Tuesday, paving the way for high-stakes gambling in the world's third-biggest economy.

Brushing off concerns - even from within Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition - over gambling addiction and other social ills, lawmakers in an upper house committee approved the bill, which essentially assures its enactment into law. It had failed repeatedly in previous parliaments to come up for a vote.

Domestic and international companies from MGM Resorts International to Japanese game-machine maker Sega Sammy Holdings Inc could benefit from legalised casinos in Japan, a market that brokerage CLSA estimates could be worth up to $40 billion a year.

Abe coalition has a strong majority in the upper house, so the bill is almost certain to be approved by the full chamber on Wednesday, the last day of this parliamentary session. It has already cleared the lower house.

Vocal criticism of the bill from both the ruling coalition and opposition parties had centred on concerns about gambling-related social ills such as addiction and organised crime.

An opinion poll this week by public broadcaster NHK found opposition at 44 percent and support at just 12 percent, with 34 percent of respondents undecided.

"Whether casinos will be a plus or not for society is not only a question of making money," said Masaaki Machida of gambling addiction support group Hopehill.

"Costs for treating, imprisoning, or hospitalising (addicts) would be a spiritual, economic and social loss for Japan."

Supporters of the bill, which allows for large-scale projects that combine casinos with hotel, shopping and conference space, see casinos as a way to boost tourism - a key success of Abe's economic growth policies.

Story continues

Proponents hope to submit legislation next year to set out full details of the construction, regulation and location of these "integrated resorts."

Tokyo, neighbouring Yokohama and the western city of Osaka are in the running as potential locations for casinos. Smaller places on the islands of Kyushu and Hokkaido are also hopeful of being selected.

Japan is already home to government-backed gambling in the form of betting on horse, boat and bicycle races.

"Pachinko" pinball parlours, ubiquitous in Japanese towns and cities, are also tolerated despite their legally grey status. ($1=115.37 yen) (Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by William Mallard and Neil Fullick)
Japan is postponing a summit with China and South Korea, the government said Tuesday, after the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

The Asian powers were planning to hold an annual trilateral gathering this month in Japan, which is the rotating chair.

South Korea's parliament voted Friday to impeach Park, who is engulfed in a scandal over her friendship with a long-time confidante charged with meddling in state affairs.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, while not directly mentioning Park's impeachment, said "various factors" were behind the decision.

"We decided to re-arrange it and hold the summit at an appropriate time next year," he told reporters after a regular cabinet meeting.

South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed the postponement, with a spokesperson in Seoul saying only that the three sides "had difficulty setting a date this year".

China, meanwhile, said it was important to keep up the "momentum" of three-way cooperation.

"We believe that the summit should be held when the timing and conditions are convenient for all three countries and should be able to reach positive outcomes," said Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesman.

Park has been relieved of official duties as president and is awaiting a decision by the country's Constitutional Court -- a process that could take months -- on whether she will have to permanently step down.

She has been replaced in the interim by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn.

Leaders of the three countries met in November last year in South Korea, marking the first trilateral summit since 2012.

The meetings had been on ice due largely to Tokyo's often thorny relations with Beijing and Seoul over territorial issues and history.
Jimmy Kimmel offered Jennifer Lawrence some assistance in getting revenge on Chris Pratt.

On Monday's Jimmy Kimmel Live, the ABC host showed Lawrence pictures that were posted by her Passengers costar on social media, where Pratt jokingly crops Lawrence out of the frame.

"It's always a bad sign when Chris seems sincere about something," laughed Lawrence.

"Are you the kind of person who's going to take this?" asked Kimmel.

"F - it," the actress replied. "I'm going to do something about it." She then grabbed one of the spray paint cans sidekick Guillermo had ready to go and walked outside as a bus with a Passengers poster drove up.

"We're all angry," proclaimed Kimmel. Lawrence went straight for the eyes, blacking them out as Kimmel focused on making the Passengers title appear as only the word "ass" with an arrow pointing to Pratt. Kimmel and Lawrence also changed his name to "Chris Rat."

"I feel better," said Lawrence, before drawing last-minute devil eyes and a pitchfork onto Pratt's face.

During her interview Lawrence talked about her hypochondriac tendencies, saying her current anxiety is over fears she'll get appendicitis while visiting China on her press tour. She also showed Kimmel a picture of bacteria that she finds to be really cute as they bonded over their constant medical-inspired Googling.

Read more: 'Passengers' Trailer: Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt Are "Stranded on a Sinking Ship"
(Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge rejected on Monday a move by family members of Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho to claim assets seized by the U.S. government in its probe into the scandal-tainted 1MDB fund. Dale Fischer, a judge in Los Angeles federal court, ruled against a motion by the family members to intervene and lay claim to real estate and other assets seized in a U.S. government lawsuit, a court filing shows. Fischer also ruled against their motion for additional time to submit claims. The family members did not have direct control over the assets and were seeking to remove the Swiss trustees which control the assets and who have not filed their own claims, she said. The family members' objective was to replace the trustees "with people or entities who, for reasons undisclosed, movants believe will file claims. But movants have no standing to request an extension on behalf of companies they do not control," Fischer said in a memo after Monday's hearing. The ruling marks the latest setback for the family members, which last week had a motion to delay the hearing denied, squashing plans to try courts in New Zealand and the Cayman Islands, seen as potentially more hospitable to their claims. Low Taek Jho, commonly referred to as Jho Low, is among the people named in civil lawsuits filed in July by the U.S. Department of Justice, which alleged that more than $3.5 billion was misappropriated from the One Malaysia Development Berhad fund. The lawsuits seek to seize $1 billion in assets allegedly siphoned off from 1MDB and diverted into luxury real estate in New York, Beverly Hills and London, valuable paintings, and a private jet. Singapore police have named Jho Low a key person of interest in a money laundering investigation linked to 1MDB, according to testimony last month in the trial of a former BSI SA banker charged with obstruction of justice. Jho Low has not been available for comment through his Hong Kong private equity company and his whereabouts are unknown. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak established the fund in 2009 and chaired the advisory board until recently. Najib has denied any wrongdoing and said Malaysia will cooperate in the international investigations. (Corrects "he" to "she" in third paragraph) (Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York.; Editing by Bill Tarrant.)
LONDON (Reuters) - A rare book hand-written and -illustrated by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling sold for 368,750 at auction in London on Tuesday, at the lower end of its estimated price range. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is one of six copies that Rowling made as presents to those who helped bring her magical world of wizards and witches to life. The copy sold on Tuesday, bound in brown Morocco leather and adorned with silver, was presented to editor Barry Cunningham, who published Rowling's spellbinding debut, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", and carries a personal dedication from her. The volume of five wizarding fairy tales - left to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - had a price estimate of 300,000-500,000 pounds. Sotheby's auction house said in a statement that it had been sold for 368,750 pounds to an anonymous telephone bidder. A seventh copy, made for an auction in 2007 to raise money for the author's charity, Lumos, raised 1.95 million pounds. (Reporting By Sara Hemrajani and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Joaquin Phoenix is taking a stand against wool for PETA's latest campaign.

The 42-year-old actor was outfitted in a maroon wool-alternative suit by vegan brand Brave GentleMan for the new PSA, photographed at The Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita, Calif., which will make its debut on a billboard at the intersection of Fairfax and Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. The text reads, "Cruelty doesn't suit me. Please leave wool out of your wardrobe."

Read more: Rebecca Minkoff Is Staging Her Next Fashion Show in L.A.

The usually interview-averse actor also spoke of how the results from PETA's undercover investigation into abusive shearing practices prompted him to take a stand.

"It was really eye-opening," said Phoenix of the graphic videos. "I think it's something we don't think about a lot.... It's a trade that I certainly don't feel comfortable being involved in anymore." The PETA report also motivated Patagonia and Stella McCartney to sever relationships with certain wool suppliers.

Read more: Makeup Monday: Celeb Favorite Smith & Cult Glams Up Traditional Holiday Beauty

Phoenix continued, "It's easy for us to sympathize with the animals, but the workers are incentivized to move as quickly as possible.... It's apparent that for the quantity that they're trying to gather, it's impossible to do that in a humane way. The only option is to not use wool. That's become abundantly clear."

Phoneix joins a long list of celebrities, including Olivia Munn, Eva Mendes and Alicia Silverstone, who have worked with PETA to create awareness of animal cruelty in fashion.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers and fiancee Mara Lane are expecting their first child together!

Lane, a British film producer, made the announcement on social media on Sunday.

#IncomingPackage best present. #ThankYouLord  #SantaBelly  A photo posted by Mara &Toca Lane Rhys Meyers (@thelionandthelambchop) on Dec 11, 2016 at 9:12pm PST

"#IncomingPackage best present," she captioned an Instagram pic showing her burgeoning baby bump. "#ThankYouLord #SantaBelly."

In the photo, Lane does a side-by-side split, comparing bellies with Santa Claus.

After breaking the baby news, Lane went on to post two more photos of herself in maternity dresses.

"My official pregnancy dress," she wrote. "I have worn this 1-2x a week every week for past 5 months. It was 3 euros in a charity shop in Ireland. I love #recycled clothes."

She also showed off her "other official prego wego dress," which she bought in Amsterdam for 15 euros.

"Every other day I dunno as I have other dresses but Baby likes these ones ... is super conscious, connected & aware," she wrote. "Has not let me eat much meat entire pregnancy either ... has me thinking about things I'd rather live in ignorance to."

On Monday, Lane posted a sweet note to her fiance.

Story continues

"Thank you for the opportunity to be a Mummy, Sweetheart! #ILoveYou #ManCrushMonday #MCM every day for me," she captioned a black-and-white photo taken by a Vikings set photographer. "I was 6 months and barely showing but thought I was m-a-s-s-i-v-e. I will share later as you may fall over laughing am sticking out a non-belly not knowing what was in store for me in just a couple months #firsttimemom #firsttimepregnant #everydayanadventure when you're #largeandincharge."

Lane and Meyers have reportedly been engaged since 2014.

PICS: Celeb Pregnancy Style

In 2007, Meyers told People he was looking forward to fatherhood after watching fellow actors Tom Cruise and Will Smith interact with their children.

"I'm very broody, but I'm not ready to be a father," he reportedly said at the time. "I do love children, though. When I was on the set of Mission: Impossible 3, Will Smith and his wife came down, and he's got a little girl and a little boy. They were so beautiful and it was lovely to see that family unit. It's the same with Tom. He has a great family unit."

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A judge on Monday dealt a severe blow to VidAngel, ordering the family-friendly streaming service to shut down pending a copyright infringement trial.

VidAngel offers customers the ability to rent movies online, and to screen out various types of offensive material. VidAngel does this without agreements with content producers. Instead, the company purchases DVDs and uses software to defeat copy-protection measures. It allows users to filter out nudity, violence, and other objectionable material.

Several major studios  Disney, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros.  filed suit in June, accusing VidAngel of violating their copyrights. On Monday, Judge Andre Birotte granted the studios request for an injunction, finding there is a strong likelihood that they will prevail on the merits at trial. In the ruling, Birotte slapped down each of VidAngels arguments for its own legality.

VidAngel has not offered any evidence that the Plaintiffs have either explicitly or implicitly authorized DVD buyers to circumvent encryption technology in order to view the DVD on a different platform such as VidAngels streaming service, the judge wrote.

Though the ruling does not end the case, it could be a death blow for VidAngel, leaving it without the ability to conduct business or raise money. But in a statement, VidAngel CEO Neal Harmon vowed to appeal the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court.

Hollywood studios have followed a repeated pattern in their decades-long campaign to put movie filtering services out of business by seeking a shut-down decision in trial court, Harmon said. Previously, such a decision has signaled the end of the legal battle. As such, while we are extremely disappointed  for the countless people who rely on our service regularly to enjoy movies using filters  our customers have given us not just the mandate to fight this battle all the way to the Supreme Court, but the financial resources as well. We will aggressively pursue an appeal and take this case to a higher level where we have always believed we will ultimately prevail.

Story continues

In his ruling, Birotte noted that users who wish to filter objectionable content can make use of ClearPlay, an authorized service that works with Google Play.

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Kanye West arrived at Trump Tower on Tuesday morning, avoiding questions from reporters about why he was headed up the elevator of Donald Trump's Manhattan headquarters.

The newly blonde rapper smiled and offered only a "Hey" when asked what he and Trump planned to talk about during his presumed meeting with the president-elect. The moment can be seen on video below.

No further details of the meeting were immediately available, as a rep for West did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hollywood Reporter's sister publication Billboard.

This is one of the rapper's first public appearances since being hospitalized three weeks ago for exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Ahead of his hospitalization, West told a crowd at his California concert that he would have voted for Trump, if he had voted.

The statement came amid a lengthy political rant during his show, where West discussed his own policy points and compared them to Trump's while doubling down on his vow to run for president. Days later, he canceled the rest of his Saint Pablo tour.

The hip hop star had famously announced his decision to run in 2020 during the 2015 VMAs.

Read more: Kanye West Released From Hospital
During one of his concerts last month, Kanye West told the crowd that if he had actually voted during this year's presidential election, that he would have given his vote to Donald Trump. While these comments immediately shocked many of his fansmainly because he had already given donations to Hillary Clinton's campaignit seems Kanye meant what he said.

Just a few short weeks after being released from the hospital, Kanye has slowly but surely started to make public appearances again. The now-blonde rapper returned to New York City this week and was spotted walking into Trump Tower early this morning alongside his entourage. He was reportedly there to have a meeting with the President-elect, however it's not certain what the two discussed.

Donald Trump has been searching for someone to perform during his inauguration without much luck as of yet, so there is a chance that the duo's meeting could have involved a conversation about this. However, Kanye refused to answer any questions as to why he was meeting with Trump, or even if he'd really consider running for President in 2020 like he promised.

"We've been friends for a long time": Kanye West and President-elect Trump appear together at Trump Tower https://t.co/QoofBJzY1x pic.twitter.com/DK6z1P9LhG  CNN (@CNN) December 13, 2016





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Trump Kanye West

Kanye West sent the political universe into overdrive Tuesday morning when he entered Trump Tower in New York City.

West, accompanied by his entourage, including a videographer, walked into the lobby shortly after 9 a.m. ET.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed to Business Insider that West was meeting with Trump. The pair later descended down to Trump Tower's lobby for a photo op.

"We've been friends for a long time," Trump said, adding that the two discussed "life."

Asked by reporters whether he had anything to say about his meeting, West said only that he wanted to take a photo.

The pair then shared a surreal handshake before parting ways:

Here you go, Internet pic.twitter.com/kzDu4T0ACx  Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 13, 2016

West said at a recent concert that he would have cast his ballot for Trump had he voted in the 2016 presidential election.

Soon after his pro-Trump outburst, which was widely covered in the news, West canceled the remaining shows on his tour and was checked into a Los Angeles area hospital for exhaustion. He checked out in late November.

Here's video of West meeting with Trump:





More From Business Insider


Kanye West met with Donald Trump at his Trump Tower on Tuesday morning.

When arriving at the lobby of the president-elect's Manhattan headquarters, West avoided questions from reporters about why he was headed up the elevators.

After a reported 15-minute meeting, the pair returned to the lobby.

When asked what they discussed by reporters, Trump said only, "We've been friends for a long time."

When asked if they discussed plans for West to perform at Trump's upcoming Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump said simple that they discussed "life."

West, now newly blonde, remained nearly silent and stood with his arms crossed. When pressed for comment, the rapper said, "I just wanted to take a picture right now" with a smile.

The pair smiled at each other and when saying goodbye, Trump told West to take care of himself and that he would "see him soon."

"We've been friends for a long time": Kanye West and President-elect Trump appear together at Trump Tower https://t.co/QoofBJzY1x pic.twitter.com/DK6z1P9LhG

- CNN (@CNN) December 13, 2016

No further details of the meeting were immediately available, as a rep for West did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hollywood Reporter's sister publication Billboard.

This is one of the rapper's first public appearances since being hospitalized three weeks ago for exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Ahead of his hospitalization, West told a crowd at his California concert that he would have voted for Trump, if he had voted.

The statement came amid a lengthy political rant during his show, where West discussed his own policy points and compared them to Trump's while doubling down on his vow to run for president. Days later, he canceled the rest of his Saint Pablo tour.

The hip hop star had famously announced his decision to run in 2020 during the 2015 VMAs.

Read more: Kanye West Released From Hospital
UPDATE: Donald Trump's spokesperson Hope Hicks confirmed to Billboard that the meeting took place at Kanye West's request but did not respond to reports about Trump possibly offering the rapper a leadership role.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Trump's communications director Jason Miller said the pair met because Trump "is going to be president for all Americans," Miller added, "[Kanye] has had positive things to say about the president-elect," and Trump is interested in "putting together coalitions" and wants to "reach out to people both from traditional and nontraditional political viewpoints."

--

Nearly three weeks since he was hospitalized after suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation, rapper Kanye West appeared with a new blonde 'do at the Trump Tower in New York City on Tuesday morning (Dec. 13).

CSpan footage showed West strutting into the hotel, offering a "hey" to reporters asking for the purpose of his trip. A rep for West did not immediately respond to Billboard's request for comment.

WATCH: @KanyeWest at Trump Tower #elevatorcam pic.twitter.com/I4FpM57S1x

- CSPAN (@cspan) December 13, 2016

CNN also showed a clip of the two posing for photos. "We've been friends for a long time," offered Trump. "We were discussing life."

"We've been friends for a long time," Donald Trump says as he stands next to Kanye West. https://t.co/pgnHGJru9p

- CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) December 13, 2016

When asked about the "Kanye 2020" movement and if he's still considering a presidential run in light of his meeting with the President-elect or if he's considering performing at next month's inauguration, West just smiled and declined to comment. "I just want to take a picture right now," he replied.

The odd exchange ended with Trump putting his arm around West and pulling him in, then walking away and coming back for a handshake. "You take care of yourself, I'll see you soon," Trump said, pulling the rapper in for an embrace.

Story continues

The hip-hop star recently offered his support for the President-elect. Before canceling the 21 remaining dates of his Saint Pablo tour last month following his hospitalization, West was met with a chorus of boos at his San Jose, Calif., show after he revealed that he would have voted for Trump had he headed to the polls.

"I told y'all I didn't vote, right? But if I were to vote, I would have voted on Trump," he said.

West continued, "I just said that I would have voted for Donald Trump and then I did a song and y'all sang it at the top of your lungs. That doesn't mean that you're a Trump supporter. That just means you OK with a celebrity having their own opinion. Or that someone else is OK to have their own opinion. That might not be your opinion but you can still like that person or still like that person's music."

In September 2015, Trump reacted to West's announcement that he would run for president in 2020. "He's said very nice things about me in the past... extremely positive things," the then-presidential candidate told Rolling Stone. "He's actually a different kind of person than people think. He's a nice guy. I hope to run against him someday."

West also included a wax figure of Trump in his controversial "Famous" video, which also included nude wax figures of his wife, Kim Kardashian, in bed with Bill Cosby, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ray J and Caitlyn Jenner.
Kanye West is back on Twitter.

The Life of Pablo rapper broke his social media silence to address his Tuesday meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.

WATCH: Kanye West and Donald Trump's Meeting: New Details Emerge as Anna Wintour Also Visits the President-Elect

"I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues," the 39-year-old musician tweeted. "These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago."

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

"I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change," West added.

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

EXCLUSIVE: Kardashian Family Films Scenes About Kanye West's Hospitalization for Keeping Up With the Kardashians

After the explanation, West seemingly hinted that the two may have made headway in their discussion, with an apparent reference to his previously announced 2020 presidential run, tweeting simply, "#2024."

#2024  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

A source tells ET that the incoming president also met Tuesday with Vogue's Anna Wintour, who has criticized him in the past and was an outspoken Hillary Clinton supporter during the campaign.

Story continues

MORE: Kanye West's Difficult 2016: A Timeline From 'Life of Pablo' to Kim Kardashian's Robbery to His Breakdown

One has to wonder if Trump has finally found someone willing to perform during his presidential inauguration.

Watch the video below for more.

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This morning Kanye West visited the Trump Tower in New York City to have a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. As expected, this meeting left many people with too many unanswered questions. With no real answers, some began to make their own assumptions, predicting that Kanye might perform at the inauguration next month.

In an attempt to silence all of this confusion, Kanye took to his Twitter account for the first time since October to address this reasoning for this morning's unexpected meeting between him and Trump. "I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues," he explained. "These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago." Kanye carried on to say that he finds it important to open up conversation with President-elect Trump if we have any hope to start making serious changes.

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016





These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016





I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016





#2024  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016





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Is Kanye West looking for a position in President-elect Donald Trumps cabinet? Okay, thats a big reach, but the rapper, who was just released from the hospital following a mental breakdown, was spotted looking healthy and happy while walking into Trump Tower in New York early Tuesday morning. Kanye didnt answer any questions when asked about his visit as he and his entourage made their way to the elevator.

Later, Kanye was spotted taking pictures with Donald Trump and avoided all questions because he just wanted to take a picture with Donald Trump right now. Trump also revealed theyve been friends for a long time and talked about life.

"We've been friends for a long time": Kanye West and President-elect Trump appear together at Trump Tower https://t.co/QoofBJzY1x pic.twitter.com/DK6z1P9LhG  CNN (@CNN) December 13, 2016

Its the 39-year-old rappers first trip to the Big Apple since being released from UCLA Medical Center two weeks ago following concerns over his mental health. Just before being admitted, Kanye revealed that he wouldve voted for Donald Trump had he actually voted. According to angry concert-goers, the controversial entertainer called Trumps circus-like approach to the election absolutely genius even though he didnt necessarily agree with the President-elects views.

Last year, Kanye expressed interest in running for president in 2020.

I dont know what I finna lose after this. It dont matter, though, because its not about me. Its about ideas, bro, new ideas, people with ideas, people who believe in truth. And yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020, to run for president.

Given President-elect Trumps recent cabinet picks, it isnt too crazy to think Kanye just secured himself a position in the White House. Either way, Trump ended his brief meeting with Kanye with an awkward embrace and promises to see him soon.
Kanye West was looking healthy in New York City on Monday, following his recent hospitalization.

The 39-year-old GRAMMY winner, who is apparently feeling well enough to travel, was snapped in New York City's SoHo neighborhood, still wearing his new bleach blond hairdo.

A source close to Kanye tells ET that, "Kanye is in [New York] for meetings about his fashion line. They are looking for a new studio for his line as well."



Splash News

West first displayed the new 'do in a photo shared on Instagram last week, showing the Life of Pablo rapper attending the Rick Owens "Furniture" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

#KanyeWest at the "Rick Owens: Furniture" exhibition at the MOCA PDC. December 8. (: @giovannileonardobassan) A photo posted by Kanye West (@kanyewest_daily) on Dec 8, 2016 at 5:48pm PST

The Instagram pic was the first time West had been spotted in public since he was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center on Nov. 21.

Though the Kardashian family has stayed relatively tight-lipped about West since his hospitalization, ET recently learned that the topic will be discussed on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

PIC: Kanye West Resurfaces After Hospitalization

West's wife, Kim Kardashian, is also slowly returning to the spotlight. The 36-year-old reality star has made few appearances since being the victim of a terrifying robbery in Paris two months ago.

#loveadvent @kimkardashian #jameslima @simonrobins100 @coach @agentprovocateur @cesar4styles @makeupbyariel  A video posted by LOVE MAGAZINE (@thelovemagazine) on Dec 11, 2016 at 11:07pm PST

The mother of two strutted her stuff in a lace-up bra for day 12 of Love magazine's online advent calendar in a video that was released Monday.

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It looks like Kanye West wants to "Watch the Throne" as he visited Donald Trump for a meeting in New York City Tuesday morning.

Read: 'SNL' Gets Last Laugh as Alec Baldwin Wins Critics' Choice Award for Donald Trump Impression

The duo embraced in the lobby of Trump Tower, where the president-elect told reporters that he and the Famous rapper have been friends for a long time."

Trump was then asked, what he and the musician talked about, he replied: "Life.

As the press peppered the pair with questions, the Made in America rapper smiled and nodded but said nothing. Instead, the real estate mogul did the talking.

But as reporters persisted with inquiries, including whether he would perform at Trump's inauguration, West finally opened his mouth to say, I just want to take a picture right now.

On Tuesday afternoon, hours after West visited Trump, he took to Twitter for the first time since October 21 and explained why he visited the billionaire.

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

#2024  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

Prior to his recent hospitalization, West went on a rant during a performance in Sacramento last month where he said he didnt vote in the election but if he did it would have been for Donald Trump.

Story continues

West also famously stated during a bizarre appearance at the 2015 MTV VMAs that he would run for president in 2020. He did not comment on those remarks during the photo-op with Trump.

His shocking appearance at Trump Tower with his entourage and camera crew comes as Trump will reportedly personally ask blind tenor Andrea Bocelli to perform at his inauguration, which has reportedly been having trouble attracting A-list performers.

For Trump, Tuesday morning was a busy one. At 6:44 a.m. the soon-to-be 45th president of the United States tweeted out his choice for top diplomat, ExxonMobil honcho Rex Tillerson.

I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016

The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016

Tillerson's nomination is certain to be contentious. He has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who awarded him the order of friendship.

Read: Donald Trump Vs. CIA: The War of Words About Russia's Alleged Involvement in U.S. Election

Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway tamped down the ties on Good Morning America Monday: It's not like he's pounding down vodka with Vladimir Putin at the local bar, but he's dealt with him in a business context.

Former Texas Governor and one time Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry was all smiles as he left Trump Tower Monday afternoon before the president-elect named him energy secretary.

Another former Trump rival, Carly Fiorina, was also spotted at Trump Tower Monday. She is reportedly being considered for national intelligence director.

Watch: Ms. Trump Goes to Washington? Ivanka Reportedly Planning to Relocate Family to D.C.

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Kanye West has returned to Twitter to explain why he made a controversial visit to Trump Tower this morning.

West says he discussed "multicultural issues" with Trump and wrote, "I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change."

Actually voting has been known to cause change, if you're looking for more suggestions, Kanye.

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

SEE ALSO: People are using Kanye West lyrics to diss Kanye West in the wake of his Trump Tower visit

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

The tweets, though far from a disavowal of the future Trump administration, are possibly more encouraging than anything fans have heard from West lately.

Prior to his hospitalization, he famously said on stage that Trump would have been his choice if he voted at all and made alarming statements like, "I hope they build the wall, I hope they get rid of them all." Not a great start on multicultural issues!

West declined to comment when facing the press at Trump Tower this morning and simply said, "I'm just here to take a picture right now."

Trump, meanwhile, characterized their visit in a chummy way, stating that the "longtime friends" discussed "life."

Story continues

And in case you're wondering, it looks like #Kanye2020 is out.

#2024  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

And no, fans aren't feeling his explanation.

Unlike Donald Trump, West has been pretty quiet on Twitter lately. His most recent tweet before today was a birthday video dedicated to Kim Kardashian West back in October.

BONUS: 'Longtime friends' Kanye West and Donald Trump meet up
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday condemned Russia for its treatment of former world chess champion turned Kremlin foe Garry Kasparov, the second such ruling in two months.

The latest judgement said his arrest and that of fellow activist Aleksandr Averin en route to a 2007 opposition rally in Moscow was unjustified and designed to discourage other such protests.

Riot police arrested Kasparov, Averin and five other campaigners on their way to the peaceful protest on November 24, 2007.

They were accused of marching without authorisation and refusing to disperse and eventually sentenced to five days' detention without getting a chance to present a defence, said the court.

As with several similar cases before the court, Kasparov and Averin were arrested at an "undeniably peaceful" procession and sentenced "without any assessment of the disturbance they had caused", said the ruling.

"The chilling effect of the sanctions had been amplified by the fact that they had targeted Mr Kasparov, a well-known public figure, whose deprivation of liberty had been bound to attract wide media coverage," the court added.

Kasparov and Averin tried unsuccessfully to get their sentences overturned through the Russian courts before turning to the ECHR, based in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.

In an earlier October 11 ruling, the court ruled that Kasparov had also been illegally detained ahead of another opposition rally, on May 18, 2007.

Kasparov was one of the founder members of the opposition Other Russia movement in 2006.

He now lives in the United States after trying to mount a rival bid to Vladimir Putin in the 2008 Russian presidential election.

The ECHR was set up in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.
Katrina Pierson, who is serving as national policy director on President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, could be angling for a more permanent position in the White House. Trump has yet to name his press secretary, and Pierson could want the job, according to unverified media reports.

"Katrina Pierson is at Trump Tower to make her pitch for press secretary, I'm told," wrote Jim Acosta, CNN's senior White House correspondent, Tuesday on Twitter.

While Pierson's future status within the Trump administration is unknown, the Republican operation has been a key player in Trump's inner-circle for some time. Here are 10 facts about the woman who could become the next White House spokeswoman.

1. Pierson served as Trump's national spokeswoman during the campaign.

2. She also serves on Trumps presidential transition team vice chairs and executive committee.

3. She once backed Republican Sen. Ted Cruz before joining the Trump campaign in November 2015.

4. Pierson is a former Democrat.

5. She has said she wants to start her own fashion line.

6. She has said of Trump: Hes sort of not politically correct. He sort of calls it like he sees it. Im kind of that way, too.

7. She once served as a spokeswoman for the Tea Party Leadership Fund.

8. At one point she was made fun of for misusing the word "literally" after she claimed reporters had "literally beat Trump supporters into submission."

9. Pierson in August claimed Trump's rival, Hillary Clinton, had the medical condition dysphasia without any evidence to back up her claim. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post wrote at the time: "It's merely the latest counterfactual claim Pierson has made this month and this campaign. While Pierson's comments have long been controversial, they have taken a particularly strange turn in recent weeks."

Story continues

10. Pierson has claimed President Barack Obama launched the war in Afghanistan, which began when he was still a state senator in Illinois.

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Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours.

The three major stock market indexes hit record highs in trading on Tuesday, with the Dow getting even closer to the 20,000 milestone.

There are two factors that would allow this streak of record-setting market days to continue, according to Jonathan Golub, chief equity strategist at RBC Capital Markets. Meanwhile, Bill Gates thinks the stock market is a little pricey.

One of the Fed's most controversial charts may become great again in 2017. And here's how a Fed rate hike will impact mortgage payments in 12 major US cities.

A hot $1 billion hedge fund is building computers to predict how human traders will act. Here's what Point72 President Doug Haynes looks for when hiring young people. A small hedge fund that is killing it on the back of Trump's win just won the backing of a big-name investor.

And a scathing open letter urged activist Bill Ackman to fix Chipotle's "grave failures."

JPMorgan is not going back to proprietary trading, according to investment bank CEO Daniel Pinto. He also warned against the unintended consequences of cutting trading businesses.

"When you start trying to cut costs in this type of business, you don't know when you'll stop," he said.

Here's what it's like to work at Bain & Company, the best workplace of 2017.

A former Tesla and BMW exec says self-driving cars will start to kill car ownership in just five years. Here are all the coolest bikes and gear at the 2016 New York Motorcycle Show.

And lastly, the Acura NSX is Business Insider's 2016 Car of the Year.

Here are the top Wall Street headlines at midday

"This spot in my heart, in my mind, will be here for a long time": Gary Cohn says goodbye to Goldman Sachs - President-elect Donald Trump on Monday announced that Goldman Sachs' COO and president, Gary Cohn, would be joining his administration.

A former Wall Street exec is trying to do to real-estate what technology did to stock trading - Jarred Kessler, a 15-year Wall Street veteran and former head of US equities at financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, came up with his big idea when a friend lost his job.

Story continues

Japanese beer giant Asahi is buying 5 European beer brands for $7.8bn - Asahi Group Holdings will buy a group of eastern European beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev for 7.3 billion euros ($7.8 billion), boosting its presence in the region in the largest international beer deal by a Japanese brewer.

Qatar plans to invest $10 billion in US infrastructure - The head of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has told US officials it will invest $10 billion in infrastructure projects inside the US, sources said, in an apparent boost to the economic plans of President-elect Donald Trump.

SeaWorld is opening its first park without its signature killer whales - SeaWorld is planning on launching a new park in Abu Dhabi, according to a release from the company.

15 of the most luxurious mansions you can rent in Aspen - Aspen, Colorado, with its four surrounding ski areas, has long been a destination for the wealthy.





More From Business Insider


Looks like its time for Kobe Bryant to one-up his dad game!

The retired Los Angeles Laker and his wife Vanessa welcomed their third daughter on Monday, Dec. 5, a birth certificate obtained by TMZ reveals.

Bianka Bella Bryant arrived at 4:09 p.m. at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, California, joining big sisters Gianna, 10, and Natalia, 13.

A rep for Bryant did not immediately return request for comment.

Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Babies newsletter.

Bryant, 38, and his wife shared the news of their third daughter on the way in July with matching Instagram photos of a onesie reading Baby Mamba, accompanied by a glittery red bow and a pair of tiny Nike Kobe sneakers.

Beyond blessed and excited to share that we are expecting our third baby girl!!! #Blessed #BabyMamba #Thankful, Bryant captioned his shot.

The couple has made several event appearances since the announcement, with Vanessa looking chic wearing dresses in various shades of red to show off her growing bump.

In September, the Bryants enjoyed a baby shower among family and friends in Los Angeles, with the mom-to-be taking to Instagram again to share a sweet picture of the couple from the event.

Thank you to everyone that came to celebrate our baby girl with us yesterday! Vanessa, 34, wrote next to the snap in which Bryant is cradling his wifes baby bump lovingly while the two smile widely in front of a gorgeous background of white and pink flowers.

Vanessa added, We had such an amazing time and we are truly thankful for each and every one of you.




* Seoul pools KEPCO, Samsung, others in renewables drive

* Sees batteries, smart grids opening new global business

* Questions over future of clean energy in U.S., China

* S. Korea seeks to double home green power supply by 2021

By Jane Chung

SEOUL, Dec 14 (Reuters) - South Korea aims to vault from laggard to leader in the renewable energy industry, as Seoul prepares to hook the country's tech giants up to nearly $40 billion in public funds in a bold plan to become a new global leader in green power.

Amid questions over the future of clean energy in the United States under President-elect Donald Trump, as well as China's appetite for cutting fossil fuel reliance, Seoul is accelerating into battery and 'smart' grid technology - vital to store and transmit power whose generation changes with the weather.

Fresh from unveiling a 42 trillion won ($37 billion) support package, Seoul said last month it now aims to double the amount of green energy it produces by 2025 - 10 years ahead of previous plans. As well as cutting overwhelming reliance on coal and nuclear power, the plan aims to tap into the prowess of Korean tech leaders like Samsung - previously focused on consumer electronics - to build a major new export industry.

"South Korea definitely has the potential when it comes to clean tech because of government incentives but also the already established companies there," said Vishal Sapru, Program Manager, Power Quality/Power Supplies at consultancy Frost & Sullivan. "They are strong contenders when it comes to utility-scale storage...They have the bandwidth to meet aggressive demand."

The push by Asia's 4th-largest economy comes as global climate change treaty commitments dovetail with a race among the world's tech firms for new revenue streams while growth in goods like smartphones slows. The International Energy Agency now sees 28 percent of the world's power being generated from renewable sources by 2021, up from 23 percent in 2015.

Story continues

THE KEPCO CONNECTION

Firms from General Electric to Europe's ABB are eyeing growth in smart grids and batteries - and have a head start. But by combining the power transmission know-how of its state utilities with private sector expertise in batteries and power controls, South Korea is well placed to gain ground, industry executives say.

"One of Korea's strengths is IT technology, particularly semiconductors and battery," said Lee Jeong-min, a senior manager of energy storage systems sales team at Hyosung Corp . "If we link them together with new energy business, we can catch up."

Hyosung is among several private firms partnering with state utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) to develop smart grid and energy storage systems at home and in international markets.

KEPCO is now working on some 40 overseas energy and power distribution projects. It agreed in November with the U.S. state of Virginia to develop 10 energy projects, echoing similar deals it has agreed with Canada's Ontario state as well as Dubai.

"We play our role in operating the power grid and leading new businesses, while private sector partners do their part by making products and supplying them," Hwang Woohyun, vice president of KEPCO, told Reuters in an interview.

BOOST FOR SAMSUNG SDI

To help extend Korean companies' global reach, KEPCO plans to invest 8.3 trillion won in collaborative programmes by 2020. Meanwhile partner Samsung SDI is eying 3 trillion won in investments on battery development by 2020.

LG Chem is also bullish on energy storage as solar panel costs drop and government support rises.

"This year energy storage system revenue is expected to grow over 60 percent to 270 billion won and to increase further next year, about 80 percent to more than 500 billion won," Kang Chang-Beom, LG Chem vice president said in a recent conference call.

For SDI, part of the Samsung empire and the world's top maker of handset batteries, the government push offers a way to help it further expand into energy storage systems.

That could help SDI not only sidestep slowing smartphone growth: as the supplier of batteries to Samsung Electronics Co's fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 handset, it has been hit hard by the scrapping of the device.

($1 = 1,167.1800 won)

(Reporting by Jane Chung; Additional reporting by Nina Chestney in LONDON; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
In a year that seemed to draw complaints from just about everyone except Chicago Cubs fans, at least 2016 brought us Wisconsinites a whole bunch of new-to-us breweries.

The imports of 2016 included those from near and far that have already become comfortable fixtures on our shelves: Stone and Shorts, Revolution and Almanac.

That class grew again in November, with one of the East Coasts most established craft brewers: Harpoon Brewery.

Harpoon was founded in 1986 in Boston and added a brewery in Windsor, Vermont, in 2000. It brewed 205,000 barrels of beer in 2014, the most recent figure disclosed publicly, and its 2015 production was good for No. 19 in the Brewers Associations list of top-selling craft breweries  just ahead of Wisconsins own New Glarus Brewing.

The launches in Wisconsin and Minnesota last month represented the first additions to Harpoons distribution footprint in eight years  a near lifetime in the dynamic craft beer business.

Harpoon introduced itself to Wisconsin with two year-round beers and a winter seasonal in six-packs.

The simply named IPA, the brewerys flagship and best-seller introduced in 1993, is in the English vein of the style. Balanced and smooth at a low-for-the-style 5.9 percent ABV, it showcases a floral, herbal and citrusy hop profile on a relatively light body before a dry finish with a touch of resinous bitterness.

Sweet Spot blonde ale, meanwhile, belies its name with a crisp profile and moderate bitterness. The hop bouquet again speaks of European-ish spicy-herbal character, while the malt bill seems to draw inspiration from a light lager like a pilsner. Light and refreshing at 4.8 percent ABV, it would seem to do well in warm weather alongside beers such as session IPAs and macro lagers.

Wisconsins current seasonal six-pack offering is Winter Warmer, a spiced ale that rounds out a mixed 12-pack with IPA and Sweet Spot and another seasonal, Vanilla Bean Porter. Lets take a look at what pairs with Christmas cookies in New England.

Winter Warmer

Style: Spiced ale

Brewed by: Harpoon Brewery, Boston

What its like: Traditional spiced winter warmers like Great Lakes Christmas Ale or Southern Tier 2XMAS tend to lean a bit heavier and sweeter than this entry in the style.

Where, how much: Harpoons six-packs are hitting Wisconsin at the moderate price point of $9, and remain plentiful this close to the launch.

The beer: A lovely garnet, Winter Warmer declares its intent right upfront with a bold aroma of nutmeg and cinnamon. Those spices run the flavor, too, alongside a slightly nutty character, and the beer finishes a kind of dry that seems to be a Harpoon signature and befits a beer that speaks of this much cinnamon. The malt doesnt really distinguish itself as much as you might expect in a winter seasonal; the spices do most of the warming here.

Booze factor: Holiday beers often climb well past the 7 percent ABV mark, but Winter Warmer lingers at a more repeatable 5.9 percent ABV.

The buzz: One of the key things a brewery must overcome the farther it sells beer from home is that its selling beer farther from home. For a host of good reasons, people tend to prefer beer from their own neck of the woods.

In announcing its Wisconsin opening, Harpoon noted that brewery co-founder and current CEO Dan Kenary, a Massachusetts native who spent part of his career in the Midwest, is no stranger to Wisconsin. Ive been lucky enough to have spent many vacations in the North Woods of Wisconsin and have grown to love the state and its people, he said.

But thats different than beer thats actually brewed here, by people who live here  and also might spend a holiday or two up north. Thats not a knock on Harpoon for wanting to sell here, but beer from this far away needs to distinguish itself to stand out from a crowded field.

Harpoons beers are all good, but I found nothing remarkable in this opening salvo, and Im not sure a New England bent to its beer will be enough to hold the attention of Wisconsinites for long before their dollars go to something new from New Glarus, Central Waters, Lakefront, Oso, 3 Sheeps, Surly, Founders, Bells, Two Brothers, Toppling Goliath ...

Bottom line: 3 stars (out of five)
Kuwait City (AFP) - Opposition MPs in Kuwait urged Gulf Cooperation Council nations Tuesday to expel Russian ambassadors over what they called Moscow's role in "genocide" against civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

The lawmakers also signed a motion calling on the newly elected parliament to hold an emergency meeting next week in support of the city.

"There is a genocide being committed against civilians in Aleppo amid total international negligence," Islamist MP Jamaan al-Harbash told a small rally in the parliament building.

"We call on the Gulf states to expel Russian ambassadors... and to open fund-raising campaigns at mosques," he said.

The GCC groups energy-rich Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, all of which have diplomatic ties with Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Abdullah Fahhad, another Islamist MP, demanded the expulsion of the envoys of both Russia and Iran, another Assad ally.

MP Waleed al-Tabtabai said that a protest will be staged on Wednesday outside the Russian embassy in Kuwait City over its military backing for Assad.

The Islamist-dominated opposition in Kuwait won nearly half of the 50 seats in a snap general election last month.

The United Nations said on Tuesday it had credible reports of pro-government forces in Aleppo executing dozens of civilians including women and children as the crucial battle for the city neared its end.

The UN human rights office said at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, were reported to have been killed in recent days.
A guard stands among Japanese nationals en route to Ellis Island on a harbor boat after they arrived in New York, Aug. 11, 1945, on the S.S. Santa Rosa from Europe. They are part of 158 Japanese nationals slated for internment as enemy aliens. (Photo: Matty Zimmerman/AP)

The leadership of the Los Angeles Times said two letters to the editor that the paper published on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II should never have been published and did not meet their standards of civil, fact-based discourse.

Deirdre Edgar, who is the papers readers representative, explained Monday that many readers took issue with the letters that appeared in the travel section on Dec. 11.

The letters employed cultural stereotypes to suggest that the mass internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was justified, and sought to minimize the hardships they endured, Edgar wrote in an article posted Monday.

The controversial letters were written in response to a Nov. 27 article about the Tule Lake and Manzanar relocation camps in California, where thousands of Japanese-Americans were detained. The majority were U.S. citizens.

Times staff writer Carolina A. Mirandas story, titled Our national parks can also be reminders of Americas history of race and civil rights, depicts the National Park Service as dedicated to preserving the full American story  not just the feel-good moments.

Davan Maharaj, the Times editor in chief, addressed the letters in the daily news meeting Monday morning and in letters distributed to staff, according to Edgar.

A sign at the entrance to Manzanar National Historic Site near Independence, Calif. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Letters in The Times are the opinions of the writers, and editors strive to include a range of voices. But the goal is to present readers with civil, intelligent, fact-based opinions that enlarge their understanding of the world, Maharaj said, Edgar reported. These letters did not meet that standard.

In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act officially apologizing to the internees and establishing a trust to pay reparations. And though the U.S. government acknowledges the forced internment as a dark chapter in the nations history, Times readers Steve Hawes and Dick Venn accused Miranda of rewriting American history and lacking balance. Their letters contained various passages that the Times denounced for promoting racial stereotypes and minimizing the overall injustice and horror of internment. Hawes wrote:

Story continues

Japanese have an extremely strong attachment to family, and even more so back then. First- generation and, to a lesser extent, Japanese here would have been expected to follow the wishes of their elders in Japan.

 Virtually everyone in the U.S. was assigned jobs to help the war effort. The Japanese were assigned the job of staying out of the way and not causing complications. Millions of Americans were assigned far worse jobs.

The interned Japanese were housed, fed, protected and cared for. Many who now complain would not even be alive if the internment had not been done.

The Times denounced the letters for containing racial stereotypes and minimizing the injustice and horror of internment.

Slideshow: World War II Japanese internment camps in the U.S. >>>

Catharine Hamm, the editor of the Times travel section, said she approved the publication of the provocative letters because she thought subsequent responses would provide balance, but that this was a mistake. In retrospect, she said, the letters did not lend themselves to reasoned discussion.

Some of the Times readers sharply criticized the newspaper for publishing the letters.

Karin Wang of Los Angeles accused the Times of contributing to the normalization of the so-called alt-right and white supremacists by publishing letters that argue Japanese-Americans should have been grateful that the U.S. government imprisoned them without due process.

Another reader, Matthieu Boblet of Washington state, wrote that framing the internment as the Japanese-Americans contribution to the war effort is frankly, disgusting.

Many lost their homes, livelihoods, ways of life and childhoods as they spent years locked away, forced to live in rickety shacks out in the desert due to knee-jerk reactionary xenophobia, he wrote. Framing it as anything different is a disgrace and outright falsehood.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Labor Secretary Tom Perez is telling senior Democratic officials that he plans to mount a bid for the head of the Democratic National Committee.

Perez, who was urged to run by White House officials, will challenge Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, the early front-runner for the post, according to a Democratic strategist familiar with the conversations who requested anonymity to discuss private plans.

Ellison has faced mounting opposition from top Democrats, labor leaders and some Jewish groups, who've raised questions about his comments about Israel, his defense of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and his commitment to his own party.

Perez, who was considering a run for Maryland governor, has been contacting top Democrats including governors up for reelection in 2018, according to the strategist, and plans to make his intentions public this week. Representatives of Perez did not respond to requests for comment.

Having spent most of his career in appointed government posts, Perez has little experience as a political candidate.

But supporters say his Dominican-American background and Rust Belt childhood in Buffalo, New York could help him attract support from Latino leaders and speak to white-working class voters.

"He is a leader whose character and visions are a strong addition to the conversation around where Democrats need to head," said Henry Munoz, the DNC Finance Chairman, who's stressed that Latinos must play a major role in discussions about the party's future.

Hoping to assuage some concerns, Ellison said last week that he would resign his seat in Congress if he were picked as chairman by DNC members at the late February elections.

"Whoever wins the DNC chair race faces a lot of work, travel, planning and resource raising," Ellison said in a statement. "I will be 'all in' to meet the challenge."

Even before Perez jumped into the race, the contest has divided Democratic leaders, placing Obama's team at odds with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada and his replacement, New York's Chuck Schumer, whose early support for Ellison was seen as an effort to shore up the liberal flank in Congress. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are also backing Ellison.

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While White House aides say that Obama is unlikely to comment publicly on the race, behind the scenes his backers have been speaking with Democratic donors and potential candidates to see who else might be persuaded to run, according to several Democrats familiar with the discussions. These Democrats were not authorized to publicly discuss those private discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity.

They tried to draft Vice President Joe Biden and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, both of whom have ruled out a bid.

South Carolina's party chairman, Jaime Harrison, and the party head in New Hampshire, Ray Buckley, have announced bids, though they haven't gotten much traction.

Missouri's secretary of state, Jason Kander, who attracted attention for running a surprisingly competitive Senate race this year, says he's gotten calls exploring his interest in the post.

Ellison backers argue that the party must take a more populist approach after the 2016 losses, saying Democratic leaders did too little to address the economic pain of working-class voters.
London (AFP) - Global progress on controlling malaria risks stalling due to an "urgent need" for more funding, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its annual report on Tuesday.

Overall, the number of new cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, and mortality rates fell by 29 percent -- 31 percent in the African region.

But globally there were still 212 million new cases and 429,000 deaths last year -- which could be prevented.

For example, 43 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was not protected by treated nets or indoor spraying.

"The unprecedented progress in malaria is one of the biggest successes in healthcare history," Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, told reporters in London.

"But still, every two minutes a child dies of malaria.

"There's no room for complacency -- a lot more needs to be done. We need to see more domestic resources from the countries affected."

He added: "We need new drugs, drugs that allow us to do more than treatment" and actually prevent the disease.

The report said that "sustained and sufficient funding for malaria control is a serious challenge", noting that after a steep increase between 2000 and 2010, investment had "flat-lined".

"In 2015, malaria funding totalled $2.9 billion, representing only 45 percent of the funding milestone for 2020 ($6.4 billion)," it said.

The United States provided about 35 percent of all malaria funding in 2015, while governments of countries with malaria stumped up about 32 percent, and Britain 16 percent.

Resistance to anti-malarial drugs is also a challenge, as is growing mosquito resistance to insecticides, the report said.

However, it highlighted improvements in sub-Saharan Africa over the past year in providing help for pregnant women and children against malaria.

"Malaria-related deaths among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa are at their lowest point in history," said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for malaria.

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"This is largely attributable to the nearly 500 million insecticide-treated bed nets delivered over the past three years, the highest ever, along with significant expansion of diagnosis and treatment."

Deaths from malaria among the under fives globally have fallen by 69 percent since 2000 to 303,000 last year.

Sub-Saharan Africa was home to 90 percent of global malarial cases and 92 percent of deaths in 2015.
The thought of leaving my obituary to chance is completely unreasonable to me. So says Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine), a very successful retired businesswoman who needs to control everything. So she goes to her local newspapers obit writer (Amanda Seyfried) with a plan: Lauler basically will co-write her own death notice  you know, to be sure it gets done the right way. But theres a catch: She isnt exactly the towns most popular resident.

Here is the first trailer for The Last Word, a dramedy from director Mark Pellington and writer Stuart Fink. Young Anne Sherman faces a monumental task: Glean some positives from a life peppered with negatives. I hated her, Father Piper confides. If I want your opinion, I will give it to you, Laulers gynecologist quotes her as saying. This is what you young writer is up against  that and others looking forward to reading the obituary  for the sole reason that it would mean Lauler had gone to join the choir invisible. Or its more southerly equivalent. Anne sums it up nicely: She puts the bitch in obituary.

So Lauler sets out to find someone whose life she will touch. Enter young Brenda (AnnJewel Lee Dixon)  and a job as a disc jockey, where her penance is playing the likes of the Kinks on the unconverted. Soon, the multigenerational trio finds they have plenty to learn from one another.

Bleecker Street acquired the dramedy in November and will release it March 3. Have a look at the trailer and tell us what you think.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaRroK_qVeg&w=605&h=340]

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Libreville (AFP) - A lawyer for opposition leader Jean Ping thought to have gone missing is hiding in a "friendly" country's embassy, the Gabonese politician said on Tuesday.

Ping's party had said on Sunday that Eric Iga Iga, one of two lawyers who represented Ping in a Constitutional Court challenge to President Ali Bongo's controversial election victory in August, had been missing for three days.

But Ping said Iga Iga, who fled after feeling "in danger", is safe and well.

"Late during the night of Thursday, one of my lawyers, Mr Eric Iga Iga, received a visit from elements presenting themselves as belonging to the defence and security services -- more specifically the military police -- in the most completely illegal way," Ping said in a statement.

"Feeling in danger, Mr Iga Iga chose to hide by going to look for protection from the embassy of a big, friendly country which was happy to host him until now."

Ping's spokesman, Jean-Gaspard Ntoutoume Ayi told AFP that Iga Iga remains in the embassy, but declined to reveal which country was hosting the lawyer.

"Mr Iga Iga has deliberately chosen to break the silence to allow this embassy to let his family know where he is," added Ping's statement, which thanked the embassy for offering his lawyer protection.

"I ask all those around me in this battle to remain vigilant," warned Ping.

Ping has been calling himself the president-elect of Gabon since contesting the official results of the August 27 election that gave Bongo victory.

He called for a recount but that was rejected by Gabon's top court.

On Monday, EU observers questioned the "integrity" of the election results noting the barely credible official figures from Bongo's Haut-Ogooue heartland.

He took 95 percent of the vote there from a 99 percent turnout, compared to a 54.24 percent turnout across the rest of the country.

Bongo, whose family has ruled the tiny oil-rich nation since 1967, won the election by a tiny 6,000 votes.

The election result sparked two days of rioting and protests in which the government said three people died, while the opposition claimed the true toll was 26.

More than 800 people were arrested following the disorder.
Lena Headey just shared her first Game of Thrones Season 7 images and they will make you LOL

Season 7 of Game of Thrones is only months away now (technically, SIX months) and, we cant even begin to explain how excited we are for it to return. And now we have some hilarious images courtesy of Cersei Lannister herself, Lena Headey. But we also have a lot of questions about them. Obviously, we dont know what the storyline will be for the penultimate season, but from what weve seen so farshits about to get SERIOUS. Weve had glimpses of our favorite Stark girls Arya and Sansa and weve even had a look at what Daenerys is up to for at least part of Season 7. However, its been a while since weve seen our favorite villainCersei Lannister.

Of course, when we last saw Cersei, things were looking pretty good for her (although terrible for others).

cersei gif

But IRL Cersei, the incomparable Lena Headey, has been pretty silent while filming Season 7 of Thrones. That is, of course, until now. Because here are Lena Headeys first images from making Game of Thrones Season 7:

These LEGS

They even fly together pic.twitter.com/oY88xByisw  lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) December 13, 2016

and these HANDS.

OBVIOUSLY those monstrous appendages belong to Thor Bjornsson, aka The Mountain from Game of Thrones. Because, who the heck else is gonna be traveling alongside Lena with hands and feet as big as that? Oh yeah, NO ONE except The Mountain. (Also, that is definitely his leg tattoo.)

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And can we say were loving how Lena is playing up Cersei and The Mountains relationship? They even fly together. HA! We wonder if he carried her onto the plain a la the end of Season 5? JK.

But what ARE Cersei and The Mountain getting up to in Season 7?

As you can see, the two are on a Croatia Airlines flight. And according to Watchers on the Wall, Dubrovnik, Croatia served mainly as Kings Landing through Season 5 (for Season 6, they moved to Spain). However, they did return to Dubrovnik last season for just ONE scene (when Myrcellas corpse returned to Kings Landing). So what does this mean for Season 7? What is IMPORTANT ENOUGH to require Lena and Thor to return to Croatia?

Guess well find out the answers soon

At least in six months or so when Game of Thrones returns.

The post Lena Headey just shared her first Game of Thrones Season 7 images and they will make you LOL appeared first on HelloGiggles.
BURLINGTON  A Kenosha man was charged Monday after reportedly overdosing while at work earlier this month.

According to a criminal complaint, Martin M. Black, 44, of the 6800 block of 14th Avenue, was found after he crashed a yard truck into a trailer at about 6:24 p.m. Thursday in the 400 block of West Market Street.

Police officers allegedly found Black unresponsive but breathing and had to pull him out of the vehicle before administering aid. Later, Black was found to be not breathing; two doses of Narcan, which restored Blacks breathing, were administered by Burlington Rescue personnel.

Black denied taking drugs, though there was a note in his wallet that identified him as a drug user, the complaint said.

A yard supervisor informed officers that Black operates a truck at the work site with a 53-foot trailer, which often has items that weigh 90,000 pounds. At the time of the incident, there were as many as seven workers on the property.

Black faces a felony charge for second-degree recklessly endangering safety and amisdemeanor charge for bail jumping. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 21 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave.

Black remained in custody as of Monday at the Racine County Jail, online records showed.
samantha power

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power directly confronted Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies during a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday with a fierce address.

"To the Assad regime, Russia, and Iran, your forces and proxies are carrying out these crimes. Your barrel bombs and mortars and airstrikes have allowed the militia in Aleppo to encircle tens of thousands of civilians in your ever tightening noose," Power said.

The UN Security Council meeting was called amid reports that pro-government forces, on the brink of fully recapturing the city of Aleppo from opposition fighters after a month of intense bombing and a ferocious ground offensive, had summarily executed dozens of civilians as they moved to clear rebel-held areas on Monday.

"It is your noose," Power said. "Three member states of the UN contributing to a noose around civilians. It should shame you. Instead, by all appearances, it is emboldening you. You are plotting your next assault. Are you truly incapable of shame?"

Many of the civilians executed by pro-government forces were injured and awaiting treatment in the city's makeshift medical facilities, according to reports from the scene. Others were trying to flee their homes.

It's "a complete meltdown of humanity," UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said.

The pro-government forces also reportedly set fire to a building used to house people who had been displaced in the fighting, with possibly more than 100 children trapped inside.

"Is there literally nothing that can shame you?" Power said. "Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child, that gets under your skin? That just creeps you out a little bit? Is there nothing you will not lie about or justify?"

afp syria rebels say battle to break aleppo siege has begun

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The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that stories of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Aleppo were "Russophobic chatter" and that any civilians remaining in the city were being used by rebels as human shields.

The operation to take Aleppo back from the rebels was "successful and humane in every sense in regard to civilians," Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

Russia's envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said on Tuesday that "nobody is going to harm the civilians."

"The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places, they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground," he said en route to the Security Council meeting.

But Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force and political director of the nonprofit, pro-opposition organization United for a Free Syria, said that "horrendous war crimes" were being perpetrated against civilians as neighborhoods fell, one by one, to regime troops.

"And it's all being done with Russian aerial cover, including cluster bombs and barrel bombs," he told Business Insider on Monday.

Watch a portion of Power's speech:

NOW WATCH: Trump's pick for secretary of state has a personal relationship with Putin that's been called a 'matter of concern'





More From Business Insider


Vilnius (AFP) - Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis' new cabinet of political outsiders was sworn in Tuesday, with rising defence fears over Russia and social woes topping the agenda in the eurozone and NATO member.

Former police chief and interior minister Skvernelis, 46, leads a cabinet formed by his Peasants and Green Union (LPGU) and the junior Social Democrats, following his party's surprise election win in October.

The LPGU, previously an outsider party with only one seat in parliament, ended two decades of domination by Social Democrats and conservatives when it swept to victory with pledges to invest in the regions and abandon controversial labour reforms.

The party, popular among rural voters, has also vowed to fight high levels of alcoholism and approve a child subsidy scheme.

The new government won a confidence vote Tuesday with the support of 86 lawmakers in the 141-seat parliament, while three voted against and 40 abstained.

The cabinet faces growing concerns over Russia, which has heavily militarised the neighbouring Kaliningrad exclave.

Skvernelis has pledged to meet NATO's two-percent-of-GDP funding target by 2018, a point that US President-elect Donald Trump said he would press with European allies.

The new premier has also left Social Democrat Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, a vocal critic of Moscow, in his post.

The cabinet has pledged to fight social inequality and halt emigration to richer Western European nations.

"We want our social inequality index to reach the EU average at least," Skvernelis told lawmakers, adding Lithuania was third or fourth worst within the bloc in this respect.

The exodus from Lithuania -- much of it to Britain -- became a major campaign issue after the population shrank from 3.5 million in 2001 to 2.9 million in 2015, with further declines feared.

Skvernelis led the LPGU list into the election but has not joined the party, and many of his ministers are not party members either.

Conservatives and liberals, who remain in opposition, have accused Skvernelis of lacking a strategy to boost much-needed investment in the newest eurozone member.

"The lack of ambition poses the threat that the Lithuanian economy will fall into the middle-income trap," said conservative ex-premier Andrius Kubilius.
Could the little blue pill, Sildenafil  known to most as Viagra, help save the life of a young girl with a rare life-threatening lymphatic condition?

The Doctors welcome Annie, whose daughter Elodie suffers from intestinal lymphangiectasia, which makes breaking down food and nutrients extremely difficult. The condition is so rare that most doctors the family has seen have never even heard of it.

To make matters worse, many of the things Elodie needs  her formula that she lives on, a monthly injection and the drug Sildenafil  have been denied by the familys insurance. Doctors believe the drug, which is widely given to people with non-life-threating conditions, could help slow Elodies possibly deadly disease.

Watch: Little Blue Pill Side Effects?

Its devastating, her mother Annie says. Elodie means everything to us. Shes our whole life With this disease every day is a new challenge, were just fighting and fighting and fighting.

In order to cope with the unthinkable stress, Annie says she and her husband try to focus on their daughter in the moment.

Watch: Should Expectant Moms Take Viagra?

The Doctors believe it is important that we note the amount of drugs used as off-label, meaning they are used to treat conditions other than what they were created for, when we examine Elodies case. With children with rare diseases, this is all weve got, these off-label uses, Annie explains.

In an effort to help Elodie, The Doctors and Jersey Shore Cosmetics donate to help the family get the medications and care their daughter desperately needs. If you would like to donate, visit the familys website HopeForElodie.com and also sign two of the Change.org petitions to help get Elodies medications covered by insurance.

Update: Since The Doctors reached out to Blue Shield California, the insurance company has agreed to cover the medications for Elodie.
The growing list of people who have walked down the same, now-familiar path to the golden Trump Tower elevators on their way up to meet with Donald Trump can now include Kanye West. The all-world pop star visited with the president-elect to discuss  what else?  a role in Trump's presidential administration.

The appearances of many who have paraded down the well-trodden Trump Tower path were mostly expected, but others, such as West, largely caught the hordes of media members there off guard. Because of the great interest in who Trump has been considering and ultimately appoints to advisory roles and cabinet positions, C-SPAN has set up its own official live stream from the Trump Tower lobby to make sure not a moment is missed.

From foreign dignitaries and investors to establishment politicians jockeying for a position in Trump's cabinet, each person's footsteps from the moment they enter the midtown Manhattan skyscraper to the instant they step in and then vanish behind the gleaming elevator doors are seemingly documented with an omnipresent video camera.

The Washington Post suggested the 24-7 live stream of Trump Tower's elevator banks was a fitting treatment for the president-elect who has also made a career in reality television.

While there have been individuals meeting with Trump at the Tower in an official government capacity, there have also been several moments of levity, including when the so-called Naked Cowboy rode up in the elevator with North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.

C-SPAN's live stream from Trump Tower is "to let our audience see who is coming and going to meet with the Trump transition team, and watch them speak to the media located in the lobby," the cable network's Director of Communications Howard Mortman told the Verge.

In order to not miss a moment of seeing who will be the next person to take strides toward the Trump Tower elevator, click here to watch C-SPAN's live stream from Trump Tower's lobby.

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Yutaka Takaoka | Senior Research Fellow, Middle East Institute of Japan

The original Japanese article was published on 15:05, July 9, 2016

Criminal declaration of the shootings in Bangladesh. There was not one mention of Japan.

On July 2, 2016 (Japan time), there was an attack on a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with over twenty victims, including nine Italians and seven Japanese nationals. Members of the Islamic State of Bangladesh claimed responsibility for the attacks. The attacks by Islamic extremist groups in which Japanese nationals fell victim to, follow similar attacks in 2013 in Algeria, in January of 2015 in Syria, and in February of the same year in Tunisia. In this respect, securing the safety of Japanese nationals and Japanese interests is becoming a major problem that should be addressed immediately, from day-to-day collection of information, analysis, and warnings to how each individual should behave at site. In addition, there are also many aspects that we hope each and every Japanese person will think about in reaction to these types of incidents.

Who would be targeted, and why?

On the other hand, there is also a need to consider the questions and debates, such as Why were Japanese nationals attacked? and Why Japanese are the targets of such attacks that come up repeatedly in Japan whenever there are victims of such incidents. In short, Japanese nationals have long been considered enemies by Islamic extremists and there are absolutely no grounds for believing that people wont be targeted and attacked by Islamic extremists because they are Japanese. The reasons why Japan and Japanese nationals are classified as enemies by Islamic extremists are not due to the policies and actions of the Japanese government or the activities of individuals or corporations. Rather, they are rooted in the beliefs and actions of the Islamic extremists that solely divide the world by dichotomy between correct Muslims and non-believers. According to this dichotomy, the average Japanese national would never be considered an ally, and if individuals or groups did conduct activities that would classify them as allies, they would either be sanctioned under the context of counter-terrorism or regulated under Japanese laws. From the perspective of Islamic extremists, the idea of: who is considered the enemy; which group to prioritize when making attacks; and which groups hold the most interest to them, changes depending on the situation. So it is not as if they are constantly targeting the same enemy (for example, Japan in the aforementioned question) regardless of any sacrifice they may face. Currently, the Islamic State is hardly paying any attention to Israel, which should be its biggest target, but is instead targeting Western countries, Shiite Muslims, and apostates. And this is a clear reflection of the current situation of the Islamic extremists. During the kidnapping and beheading of two Japanese nationals in January 2015, these Islamic extremists made powerful threats specifically against Japan. However, they knew that nothing would happen by mentioning the evil crimes of the United States and Shiite Muslims when killing these Japanese nationals. It was quite natural that they dug up reasons to attack Japan and decided to emphasize them instead, in order to rationalize and increase the advertising effect of killing Japanese.

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In the Bangladesh attacks, the only nationality of the victims that was raised by those who claimed responsibility for the attacks was Italian, and there were absolutely no explanations or reasons on why these victims were chosen in their criminal declaration. In other words, the Islamic State has not provided any explanation on the targets of their raids or the reasons at this point, and the declaration can be deemed as far from complete. Of course, the Islamic State may give their reasoning on their attack targets in the future, but most editorials released by the Islamic State long after the incidents occur, are meant to take advantage of and quote existing coverage, in order to increase the propaganda effects. If those belonging to the public relations department of the Islamic State believe that discussing about Japan would increase their publicity effects, there would probably be more mentions and threats against Japan. If they believed that they would attract more attention by mentioning Italy or other targets, there would probably be less mentions of Japan. Ultimately, if the Islamic extremists adopt violence or terrorism as a behavioral pattern to achieve their political purposes or to spread their message, areas that would be more valuable as targets to them are those that are easily affected by such attacks and that easily succumb to intimidation.

How can we reduce the risks?

So how can we reduce the risks of attacks by Islamic extremist groups? We may be able to determine that Japanese nationals were not the targets during the Bangladesh attacks depending on how the Islamic State propagates in the future. However, strongly believing that Japanese people will not be subject to attacks, or having an attitude as if to say, I dont care how many Syrians or Iraqis die (as long as they are not Japanese), and its only natural that the people and rights of Western countries are targeted, will ruin the rustic sense of trust and intimacy felt against Japanese people, which has been the basis of belief that Japanese people are safe from attacks.

First, it is important to listen to information transmitted from different areas, and to observe the advices on the actions to be taken on-site. In the extreme sense, the possibility of facing danger even when youre in your own home in Japan is not zero. Thus, there are many advices on how to avoid and reduce the risks of becoming a victim of a criminal incident overseas, which can be regarded at the same level as our day-to-day awareness towards disaster and crime preventions. For example, securing and confirming an evacuation route is one way to be safe regardless of whether it is an earthquake, a fire, or a shooting.

When thinking about the possibility of Japanese nationals falling victim to or Japan being attacked by Islamic extremists, its important to take daily information and analysis into consideration. Countries where incidents by Islamic States have occurred, including Tunisia, France, Belgium, and Indonesia, have a record of sending many personnel to the Islamic State over the past five years. In other words, these countries were not attacked because the Islamic State has suddenly increased their strength or influence there, but because the force of the Islamic State had existed in these areas from before. While the government of Bangladesh has denied the existence of the Islamic State in their country, in reality, there is a high possibility that it had enough activities within the country to send out a certain amount of personnel to the Islamic State. From this perspective, it is hard to say that Japan, that does not have a history of having nationals sent out to become members of the Islamic State, has a base of carrying out immediate attacks, nor does it have the environment of the operatives and combatants permeating from foreign areas in a short period of time in the near future. On the other hand, what should be repetitively commented whenever such attacks occur, is that the collection and analysis of information and transmission of such information regarding safety are meant to help prevent incidents before they occur, and are not for commentary and explanations after the incidents occur. These activities are conducted to maintain a safe state which is much like activities to prevent crime or disaster, thus the public and individuals must pay attention to them especially during peaceful times and the activities must be nurtured by investing resources to them.

In order to reduce the possibility of Japanese nationals or Japans interests from being attacked, it is important to reduce the value of Japan and Japanese nationals as target subjects. I recall that I was perplexed when I was asked to explain why the Islamic State caused the attacks in Bangladesh and the prior shootings that occurred in Florida, even before the Islamic State declared its intent. Providing an inaccurate or poor commentary at such point in time, could give readers the illusion that there was legitimacy to the attacks from the view of the Islamic State and that the victims were at fault. In fact, advance commentaries are often referred to and used by the Islamic State. In other words, advance commentaries end up only fueling threats and attacks to the Islamic State. Countries that have a lot of these fuels and give more coverage regarding the claims and requests of the Islamic State become more lucrative as targets. The less response there is regarding the threats or attacks, the lower the value of the country becomes as attack targets. Thus, I believe that, including myself, there is still room for improvement regarding the response to not only the terrorist attacks caused by the Islamic State, but to all terrorist acts.

Lastly, Id like to take a look at responses such as it is better not to travel abroad because its dangerous, especially to Middle Eastern or Muslim regions. These could be the right reactions that people come up with when simply trying to avoid risks that are imminent. However, it should be remembered that these types of reclusive safety measures including not traveling anywhere or having minimum interactions with locals even if you do travel, have their own disadvantages as well. The number of Japanese people traveling abroad is increasing each year, and the country also has a considerable budget set aside each year for Japanese researchers to travel overseas for research or for educational purposes. As a result, more and more experiences are actually being accumulated on the Middle East and the Islamic world in the Japanese society. If people begin to take safety measures of simply not going, or not letting people travel overseas, the experiences and knowledge that can be gained by interacting with people around the world will become severely limited. These types of knowledge and experiences should continue to be spread and succeeded widely not only within institutions to which the person belongs to, but through travel guides and specialized literature as well. We may lose more in the long term by cutting off the channels to acquire and succeed these knowledges and experiences as a result of safety precautions. Researchers and specialists will also be required not to turn a blind eye to the regions that they specialize in. Rather, they are expected to disseminate information and spread their hands-on experiences to the rest of society as well.
LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of London commuters faced travel misery on Tuesday as a strike by train drivers bought services from southern England and Gatwick Airport to a standstill in the worst rail disruption in Britain for two decades. Drivers working for Southern Rail, which runs trains from central London to Gatwick and Brighton on the south coast, began a 48-hours stoppage over a long-running dispute about whose job it should be to open and close the train doors. Southern, run by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), a joint venture owned by London-listed Go-Ahead and France's Keolis and Britain's largest train operator, said none of its 2,284 services would run as a result of the action. "Travel Update: ASLEF and RMT Industrial action. No trains today," Southern's website said. Local media said the impact would be the worst since a strike by signal workers in the mid-1990s. Southern users have already endured months of cancellations and delays because of high levels of staff sickness which were then followed by strikes by conductors, staff who currently have responsibility for the carriage doors. Unions argue Southern wants to extend the use of driver-only operated trains and so reduce the safety role the conductors play. Southern says its modernisation plans would not cost any jobs but would lead to fewer train cancellations as services would no longer require both drivers and conductors. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the action by ASLEF, the union which represents the drivers, was politically motivated. "When I met the General Secretary of ASLEF soon after my appointment, with virtually his first breath he promised me '10 years of industrial action'," he said in a letter to lawmakers and Southern passengers to explain why he had not got directly involved in the dispute. The operator, which handles 620,000 passenger journeys every day and failed in a court bid on Monday to prevent the strike going ahead, said the company was partly to blame for the "complex" problem. "The way this will come to a resolution is to sit down with the trade unions and to thrash out what the answer is," Nick Brown, Southern's Chief Operating Officer told BBC radio. "By continuing with this strike actions, we will continue to inflict pain and suffering on our passengers." Another 24-hour strike is due on Friday, with more walkouts planned by conductors this month and a five-day stoppage by both from Jan. 9. (Reporting by Michael Holden)
London (AFP) - A London translation agency said Tuesday that it is advertising for its first "emoji translator" to help meet the "challenges posed by the world's fastest-growing language".

Based in the City of London financial district, Today Translations advertised on its website for a translator whose job will consist of interpreting the miniature images, from smiley faces to pizzas, beloved of smartphone users the world over.

"Emoji translation is itself an emerging field a- but one dominated to date by software, which is often insensitive to the many cultural differences in usage and interpretation," said the advert.

"We are therefore seeking an exceptional individual to provide the human touch needed where translation software is inadequate."

Chief executive Jurga Zilinskiene said the company decided to create the freelance position after being approached by a client to translate a family diary from English into emoticons.

"We started looking into it and decided we had to do much more work to understand the culture of emojis across the globe," she told AFP.

The recruit will be required to write monthly reports on emoji trends and research cultural differences in usage, as well as carry out translations.

"In the absence of any native speakers, the successful candidate should be able to demonstrate a passion for emojis, combined with cutting-edge knowledge and awareness of areas of confusion and cultural/international differences," the advert added.

Zilinskiene is confident that demand for emoji translation is set to grow.

"We are already seeing a professional use for legal cases where text messages are used as evidence," she said, adding that interpreting emojis was "even more complex than the written word".

The winning candidate will join a company that works with 3,000 linguists who speak some 200 languages, according to the job posting.
BEIRUT (AP)  The Syrian government's capture of eastern Aleppo, held for more than four years by rebels, marks a horrific new chapter for Syria's largest city. Here's a look at key events in Aleppo since the start of Syria's uprising nearly six years ago:

March 2011: Protests erupt in the southern city of Daraa over the detention of a group of boys accused of painting anti-government graffiti on the walls of their school. On March 18, security forces open fire on a protest in Daraa, killing four people in what activists regard as the first deaths of the uprising. Demonstrations spread, as does the crackdown by President Bashar Assad's forces, eventually igniting a full-scale civil war.

July 2012: Rebel fighters seize eastern Aleppo, dividing the city. The intense fighting that follows, including almost daily barrel bombs dropped on the poorer and more densely populated rebel-held east, causes an estimated 1 million civilians to flee. Another half million are displaced inside the eastern part of the city in the first year of the conflict.

October 2012: The U.N. negotiates a short-lived truce for the whole city during the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. Fighting destroys cultural and historic sites, including the Grand Umayyad mosque, which both sides fought to control.

December 2012: Rebels launch an offensive that expands their presence in Aleppo province and secures supply lines to the Turkish border. They seize a number of military and air bases, increasingly isolating government forces. All flights from Aleppo airport are suspended after al-Qaida-linked fighters threaten to shoot down civilian planes.

 January 2013: Bodies begin washing up on the banks of Aleppo's Queiq River, in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood. Human Rights Watch says at least 147 bodies were retrieved from the river between January and March. It says the victims were most likely killed in government-controlled areas.

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April 2013: Aleppo's ancient Citadel, used by government forces as a base, comes under rebel fire. The government targets the Umayyad mosque minaret, suspecting rebels were using it as a base. Amid the fighting, passageways between the two sides of the divided city emerge, allowing an informal link for residents, but also turning deadly at times, as sniper fire kills many.

August 2013: Insurgents gain control of the Aleppo-Damascus highway, tightening the siege on the government part of the city. Residents of eastern Aleppo take food and vegetables through illicit passageways to their relatives in western Aleppo.

October 2013: Poor coordination and infighting weaken the rebels' ranks. That winter, Islamic State militants clash with the rebels, establishing a presence in the eastern part of the city.

December 2013: The government begins an unprecedented campaign of dropping barrel bombs on Aleppo city and surrounding areas, driving more people out of eastern Aleppo. IS expands its presence in the eastern part of city.

January 2014: Rebels unite against IS, driving the extremists out of Aleppo city. Government forces exploit the fighting to push the rebels back.

May 2014: Using a new tactic, rebels tunnel beneath a hotel used as a government command and control center and blow it up. The government's barrel bomb campaign on eastern Aleppo intensifies.

March 2015: Insurgents blow up the Air Force Intelligence building in Aleppo after digging a tunnel, a symbolic victory. The newly formed Army of Conquest, which brings together rebels and al-Qaida-linked fighters, seizes Idlib city to the northwest.

October 2015: Russia begins launching airstrikes to bolster Assad's forces. Syrian troops launch an offensive around Aleppo. Iraqi, Lebanese and Iranian militias also throw their weight behind the government, setting the stage for a wider offensive against Aleppo that would continue until the following year.

February 2016: Russia and the U.S. broker a cease-fire that excludes extremists. Signs of normal life return to Aleppo.

April 2016: The cease-fire collapses, bombing resumes, and the Castello road, the only road out of eastern Aleppo, becomes a death trap.

July 2016: The government and allied forces impose a full siege on eastern Aleppo, home to an estimated 250,000 people. Rebel fighters break the siege for a couple of weeks from the southern front, but it is re-imposed by August.

September 2016: A cease-fire negotiated by Russia and the United States holds for a few days, but talks to bring in aid go nowhere, and an airstrike hits a humanitarian aid convoy north of the city.

October 2016: Russia announces it is suspending its airstrikes on eastern Aleppo and designates humanitarian corridors, urging the rebels and residents to leave the eastern enclave. The rebels reject the offer, no one uses the corridors and the U.N. says it cannot carry out medical evacuations due to security concerns. The government continues its air raids on eastern Aleppo.

November 2016: The government launches a renewed and intensified aerial campaign. In late November, Syrian troops and allied forces launch a major ground offensive, rebel defenses crumble and thousands flee.

December 14, 2016: A cease-fire, brokered by Turkey and Russia, is announced to allow the evacuation of rebels and civilians and effectively surrendering the city to the government. But it never truly takes hold on the ground and government shelling on the tiny remaining rebel-held sliver of eastern Aleppo continues.
Donald Trump and Kanye West seem to have different fan bases, to say the least. When the president-elect praised the Chicago rapper at a campaign rally in September, he was met with applause and laughter. But when West admitted he didnt vote in the 2016 presidential election, but would have cast a ballot for the New York billionaire if he did, fans at his November concert began booing in disdain.

The two entertainers have had a seemingly cordial relationship ever since Trump announced his campaign for presidency in 2015. Though West never officially endorsed a candidate for the White House, his wife Kim Kardashian-West was a supporter of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (though she did consider flipping her support for Trump after speaking with Caitlyn Jenner at one point). Trumps unannounced meeting with West Tuesday morning at the Trump Towers in New York City immediately became national news, as photos and video of the two men dabbing inside the luxury lobby went viral on Twitter.

When asked what the pair discussed in their meeting, Trump replied, "just friends, just friends and, uh, hes a good man weve been friends for a long time. Life. We discussed life." West would not respond, telling reporters, "I just want to take a picture right now."

Trump and West are different in many ways, from their upbringings to their professional careers. While West grew up in Chicagos south side and moved to New York to launch his career in 2001, Trump had already accrued a massive empire in the Big Apple after his father gave him a multimillion dollar loan decades before. But the two are also inextricably linked through Hollywoods limelight and the pressures of fame and wealth. Both men have faced public media scandals; each have garnered massive online followings, often through controversial tweetstorms. Trump and West regularly condemn the mainstream media, declaring theyre fundamentally misunderstood by the press.

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But the two only seemed to begin directly referencing each other during the latest election season, one of the most polarizing in modern American history.

"Kanye West, you know what, I'll never say bad about him, you know why? Because he loves Trump!" Trump said at a September campaign rally, noting the rapper's apparent announcement that he'd run for president at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. "He loves Trump, he goes around saying, Trump is my all-time hero! He says it to everybody. So Kanye West, I love him. Maybe in a few years Ill have to run against him, I dont know, so Ill take that back, but you know what, hes been so nice to me."

Meanwhile, West only recently discussed Trump after the president-elect's shocking Election Day victory, picking up 306 votes in the Electoral College to Clinton's 232.

"If I were to vote, I would have voted on Trump," West told a stadium of fans in San Jose, California in November. "Everybody told me not to say that I loved the debates. I loved his approach I think that Hillary Clinton should still be a consultant. I still think that Bill Clinton should be a consultant. Like Obama said, I think that Obama should still be a consultant, its not, Oh, I dont fuck with your president so Im not going to give you information that will help you help all of us.'" The comments were made during one of Wests last shows before the rapper cancelled the remainder of his Life of Pablo tour after being hospitalized for exhaustion.

It's unclear what comments Trump was referring to when he said West said he "loves Trump"  though there were reports which seemed to confirm Wests support for the GOP candidate  or whether the two had any previous dialogue prior to Tuesday's meeting at the Trump Towers.

West has continued to reaffirm his commitment to his 2020 presidential bid, however. Perhaps the rapper is planning to lean on the president-elect as a "consultant," should he decide to continue with his election pursuits.

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The fall of Palmyra to ISIS over the weekend, months after the ancient city was retaken by Syrian forces and their allies, has blown the lid off the misconception that the jihadist group is being defeated, analysts say.

The desert oasis was first captured by ISIS in May 2015. Militants blew up the historic 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and publicly executed anyone who deviated from their restrictive worldview. Almost exactly a year later, forces led by the Syrian regime, including Russia and Hezbollah, retook the UNESCO World Heritage site. The victory for the regime was followed by a triumphant concert, organized by Moscow, in the amphitheater of the citys Roman ruins.

However on Sunday, Palmyra returned to the hands of ISIS after a weeklong offensive  showing it remains a formidable fighting force despite being on retreat, according to Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow and specialist on ISIS at the The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence in London.

Military and political pressure on the groups heartlands in Iraq, Syria and Libya have withered the numbers of fighters, Winter says, but not its potency. [ISIS] has been fighting this war for many years now, he says. It is replenishing its ranks by conscription and bringing in children and I think it is an organization that is more resilient than some reports suggest.

The militant group has been preparing for an incursion of this sort for a number of months; in November, an unnamed head of ISISs war command gave an interview for ISIS newspaper Al-Naba, telling followers to prepare for more raids, which are geared towards buoying the morale of supporters and showing that the group is still a potent force Winter says.

The ISIS retaking of Palmyra underlies a key deficiency of the Syrian regime: Assads overstretched forces have been eroded by a multi-fronted civil war that has lasted nearly six years. To help make inroads in ISIS or rebel-held territories, Assad has compensated by indiscriminate air and artillery attacks as well as a reliance on Iranian-backed militias and Russian air support.

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The loss of Palmyra suggests that the regime might have also withdrawn resources in the city to help facilitate the attack on Aleppo. The primary lessonit that while they have a lot of military momentum in Syrias northwest, primarily Aleppo, the fact they dedicated such resources leaves them vulnerable elsewhere, says Noah Bonsey, International Crisis Group senior analyst for Syria. Even with all the Russian and Iranian support, and all the foreign fighters that have joined their side, the regime still struggles to gain additional territory in opposition strongholds while maintaining what they already have.

Theres a lesson here for the Trump administration, as it ponders a new approach in the region  the Assad regime appears to be a poor partner for the West to fight jihadis, whatever Russia may say to the contrary. Their approach of basically bombing people into submission, civilians and armed men alike, it is not something most western analysts would not view as an effective way to deal with insurgent problem, Bonsey says. The regime lacks the capacity to fully eradicate jihadists, he adds, relying on punishing tactics that include bombings and foreign sectarian militias, tools that lead the mass displacement of peoplemany of which end up as refugees heading to Europeand the radicalization of locals.

Western analysts agree that eliminating ISIS is a long way off even if the regime does regain Palmyra for the second time and recaptures all of its territory in the country. According to a recent study by the United States Institute of Peace, dislodging them from their territory will not defang the allure of jihadist ideology, which allowed groups like ISIS to gain traction in the first place.

In order to solve the geopolitical Rubiks cube that is Syria and curb ISISs appeal, a new level of strategic thinking and engagement is needed from Western powers something that seems far off, analysts say. I dont think there is any point in talking about a post-ISIS world, Winter says.
RACINE  The Red Cross of Wisconsin will be installing free smoke alarms at homes in Racine on Saturday.

But those who are interested in having one of the alarms installed must first sign up to participate, either by filling out a quick online form at getasmokealarm.org, or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.

Representatives from the nonprofit and volunteers will be in Racine completing the installations between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Those who register online in advance may be able to set a specific time for their installation.

The Red Cross is also looking for people interested in helping with the installations.

Those interested in volunteering on Saturday can register at redcross.org/HFPCRacine.

Volunteers will go door-to door with a team, speak with residents about the importance of smoke alarms, install free smoke alarms, replace batteries and teach residents how to test and maintain their smoke alarms. They may also help residents develop a fire escape plan and complete a fire-safety checklist.
Cardi B wasnt playing when she told new Love & Hip Hop: New York cast member Swift on Demand that she would fight his girlfriend if they ever met. On Mondays Season 7, episode 4 Cardi and Asia got into an altercation. However, in episode 5, Cardi ended up apologizing to Swift for her actions.

Cardi is in the studio working with Swift on some music. The rapper is using his phone to write down lyrics, but she keeps seeing text messages pop up from someone named wifey. At first, Cardi ignores the messages but when wifey starts trash talking Cardi, she loses her cool. Cardi asks Swift who wifey is, and he tells her that hes been in a relationship with a woman named Asia for a few years. Swift says Asia lives in London, but shes coming to visit him in New York soon. Cardi warns Swift that he better keep Asia away from her.

Later, Cardi meets up with Swift and in walks Asia. Cardi tries to attack Asia, but security rushes forward to separate them. Asia starts yelling at Swift, and Cardi snatches her wig off and tries to lung at Asia again but security is still between them. Cardi also gets upset with Swift because he didnt defend her against Asia.

After the fight, Asia tells Swift that shes done with the relationship and storms off. Cardi comes in and tells Swift that he should have never let Asia think that they were sleeping together because its disrespectful to her boyfriend, Tommie. Cardi is still angry and tries to fight Swift, but again, security pulls her away. Cardi tells Swift that hes no longer on her tour, and she doesnt want to work with him anymore.

New cast member J Adrienne is also going through some relationship drama on episode 4. Shes still mad that her girlfriend, Snoop, was being too flirtatious with Sofi Green and decides to pop up on Sofi during an audition. Sofi and J start arguing in front of the other ladies who are waiting to audition. J tells Sofi that she doesnt want her having a friendship with Snoop, and when Sofi starts talking trash, J tries to lunge at her. Security guards rush forward to keep the ladies from fighting.

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J later meets with Snoop for drinks and Snoop tries to explain that things between her and Sofi are strictly business. J starts bawling her eyes out and tells Snoop that shes on probation and has 30 days to get it together.

Another big feud on episode 4, is the showdown between Yandy Smith, Samantha Harris and Erika. The ladies  who all have children by Mendeecees Harris  meet at Erikas sons graduation party and things quickly go downhill. Yandy says that before Mendeecees went to prison, he asked them to keep the kids together, but she thinks they havent been doing a good job at it.

Samantha asks Yandy why shes been talking about her parenting skills behind her back and starts yelling at Yandy that she does take care of her child. Erika chimes in telling Yandy that she needs to learn her place. Erika is also still mad that Yandy refereed to her and Mendeecees son as a break baby and claims she was in a relationship with Mendeecees when she got pregnant. According to Yandy, Mendeecees never claimed Erika. Yandy also points out that shes the only one who made it to wife status and got a ring. Samantha eventually leaves when they keep arguing, and Erika leaves soon after.

Meanwhile, Rich Dollaz is in a new relationship and grabs lunch with his daughter Ashley and her mom to tell them about his new love. He reveals that hes been dating a 24-year-old woman named Jade, but Ashley doesnt seem onboard with the relationship. She wants her dad to spend the summer with her and not get distracted by another woman.

To prove that Jade is different, Rich invites her to join him and his daughter for dinner at his house. Ashley is unimpressed and tells her dad that she doesnt see it working.

On episode 5, JuJu makes her first appearance and meets up with Kimbella and J Adrienne for lunch. J shares her relationship troubles with the ladies and tells Kimbella that Snoop wants Sofi to work with Juelz Santana. Kimbella says there is no way Sofi is working with her boyfriend.

Elsewhere, Cardi meets up with her sister Hennessy and tells her about the fight she had with Swift and Asia. Hennessy tells Cardi that she shouldnt have let Asia get her so upset and advises her to call Swift and apologize to him. Cardi eventually does apologize to the producer, but hes not ready to forgive her because Asia broke up with him.

Later in the episode, MariahLynn shows up to DJ Selfs event for his company Gwinnin. Self wants Mariah to sign to his label, and Mariah brings her contract with her because shes ready to become the first lady of Gwinin. Thats all shattered when Self introduces another female artist to perform during his event. As the girl is performing, she refers to herself as the first lady of Gwinnin. Mariah is mad and approaches Self about it. She rips up her contract in his face and says she no longer wants to sign with him. Mariah then makes a beeline for her ex, Rich Dollaz, and they start arguing before she eventually storms out of the event.

Love & Hip Hop New York recap

Photo: VH1

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) warned that it could move some of its flights away from Frankfurt airport because of a fee structure that it argues favours rivals such as Ryanair (RYA.I).

Lufthansa, which accounts for two thirds of passenger volume at Frankfurt, has criticised airport operator Fraport (FRAG.DE) for its new fee structure which offers incentives to airlines that increase their passenger numbers by opening up a new route or increasing capacity.

The new fees are being introduced just as Ryanair plans to move into Lufthansa's home hub of Frankfurt, stepping up its push into bigger airports and ratcheting up pressure on the German carrier, which is expanding its own budget flights.

"One of the consequences could be that we give up some routes," Lufthansa board member Harry Hohmeister told journalists on Tuesday, adding that the carrier was considering legal steps against the fee structure.

He did not specify which airport Lufthansa might use as an alternative were it to move some flights. Lufthansa would hold talks with Fraport about the matter in January, he added.

The dispute adds to Lufthansa's problems as it struggles to resolve a long-running dispute with pilots which has cost the airline hundreds of millions of euros in lost profit since 2014.

(Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Keith Weir)
KENOSHA  The town hall had finished, but Bernie Sanders had one last message for the audience at United Auto Workers Local 72.

Its time to move past the personality-driven 2016 campaign, Sanders said, and into serious discussions on how to tackle health care, college affordability, income inequality and any number of other issues facing the country.

People will disagree on all of those issues, said Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont and former Democratic presidential candidate. But you know what? It makes more sense to debate those issues than to be attacking each other for what you did 30 years ago.

Mondays town hall at the UAW, 3615 Washington Road, qualified as such a discussion. The event was filmed as an episode of MSNBCs All In with Chris Hayes, which aired later Monday night under the billing All in America: Bernie Sanders in Trump Country.

Sanders echoed themes from his own presidential bid, relating them to Trumps victory. Trump won because people are weary of normal politics and wanted someone who would take on the establishment, Sanders said.

His main success story is ... I will stand up to the establishment, whether its the political establishment, the media establishment, he said. I think that was his major argument. People are tired of status-quo politics.

While most in the crowd were Sanders backers, Trump voters had a presence. Four such supporters sat on a panel with Sanders, explaining why they voted for the president-elect and batting around issues.

Trump is someone who could shake things up, one panelist said, and they were unconcerned about some of Trumps more incendiary campaign promises, like a ban on Muslims. Most said they didnt agree with it and doubted Trump would actually pursue it.

Hes just starting a dialogue, said Matt Augustine, one of the panelists. Theres not one person in this room, Democrat or Republican or independent, that would allow anything to happen like that.

Sanders drives message

Sanders used the forum to drive home his economic message, reiterating calls to raise the minimum wage, tax wealthy Americans more and rethink trade policy. He often contrasted the United States status as the wealthiest country on Earth with struggles of the countrys middle class.

He found a lot of support, though also some push-back. Audience member Mary Magdalen Moser, for one, challenged Sanders on his push for free college tuition.

Thats the moment I stop listening to anything coming out of your mouth, Moser said. It is so absurd. Who is going to pay for it?

Why Kenosha?

Until Trump, a Republican presidential candidate hadnt won Kenosha County since 1972. Thats a fact Hayes highlighted at the beginning of the show and said afterward was a driving factor in holding the town hall there.

Hayes said he also wanted to hold a town hall outside the parameters of a campaign and not get bogged down in the daily news cycle.

Campaign town halls are so campaign-driven that they can be confining in that respect, Hayes told reporters after the event. Part of what I think made this distinct from the kind of thing we might do before Election Day is that we were able to really just sort of talk to folks about where theyre coming from.
By Heart is a series in which authors share and discuss their all-time favorite passages in literature. See entries from Karl Ove Knausgaard, Jonathan Franzen, Amy Tan, Michael Chabon, and more.

Doug McLean

For three years, the writer Laurie Sheck suffered from an undiagnosed illness, an agonizing facial pain that put normal life out of reach. She sought medical attention, but the doctors couldnt seem to determine what was wrong; some even suggested her symptoms were stress-induced, psychosomatic, a sign of madness. Meanwhile, the agony continued. I would just sit at the dinner table with my husband and my daughter, thinking: If I could just have three minutes of normal lifeif I could just sit here like a normal mother, I would be so happy, she told me, in a phone interview.

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Ultimately, she found a doctor who recognized her condition: trigeminal neuralgia, an excruciating disorder of a cranial nerve. Sheck now takes medication that manages the pain, which, according to the National Institutes for Health, can be extreme enough to be physically and mentally incapacitating. The experience seems to have influenced the composition of Shecks most recent books, which feature characters made into outcasts as a result of their disordered bodies. In 2009, she published a hybrid novel that reimagines Mary Shelleys Frankenstein from the monsters perspective. Her new novel, Island of the Mad, also has the ailing, unattended body at its core: The hunchbacked narrator travels to Venice to search for something that may lessen a friends sufferinga lost notebook with clues about her own, mysterious malady.

In a contribution for this series, Sheck wrote about Dostoyevskys novel The Idiot, a book disordered and nearly destroyed by illness. (His extreme form of epilepsy, in which racking seizures are prefaced by brief, visionary states of bliss, is sometimes called Dostoyevsky Syndrome.) Sheck looks at the novels shattering climax, which challenges us to take on a more radically empathetic form of compassion.

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Sheck is the author of five books of poetry, including The Willow Grove, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. A faculty member at The New Schools MFA in Writing, she has had her work featured in venues like The New Yorker and The Paris Review.

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Laurie Sheck: Worldlessness, Hannah Arendt calls itthis state of radical isolation and loneliness that is so often a condition of the ill, the feared, the shunned, the stateless, the despised, the misunderstood, the powerless, the afflicted. What is taken away is a shared language, a sense of trust in being seen, the stability of genuine connection. As far back as childhood, long before I ever came across this word, I sought from books a way of drawing close to this realm of feeling. I wasnt looking for consolation, much less explanation, but for the complex, textured presence of the uncomforted, the rawly vulnerable, the disruptedhurt bodies and minds that in their radiance and affliction might lead me, as the jolt of illness sometimes does, toward a less protected, more open questioning.

To love these hurt minds and bodies is a way of touching, however lightly, the unknowable, hurt world and of struggling, as much as possible, to feel its ungovernable reality.

This world of feeling is brought searingly to life in Dostoyevskys great novel The Idiot, a book that manages like no other to plunge fearlessly into suffering while at the same time illuminating the enduring, almost unspeakable beauty of the human. It opens with a young, epileptic man, Prince Myshkin, returning to St. Petersburg after years away for treatment in a sanitarium in Switzerland. The train windows are covered with fogalready there is an indication of the limits of human seeing.

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This initial scene, with the frail, displaced stranger returning home to a city in many ways now unfamiliar, haunts and informs the entire book. Every aspect of the novel, even its structure, conveys a sense of precariousness and instability much like the epilepsy that alternately tightens and loosens its grip on Prince Myshkin but never lets go. It is his bodys truth, this thrashing and upheaval he experiences in his deepest being and can never fully decode. His illness instills in him an intuitive awareness of others suffering, and a certain apartness anchored in shame and a built-in mistrust of stability. But this sense of apartness derives also from an aspect of the epilepsy less dark but no less troubling or difficultthe lightning-flash of ecstasy, almost unbearable, that seizes him in the few seconds before the convulsion. This flood of sudden joy and ultimate well-being exists utterly apart from the civic, ordered world, its freedom like no other. Though indelible, it lasts only a few seconds before the brutal, excruciating swerve into seizure.

Instability leads to an odd radiance, an almost-wild breaking free.

The book itself can be seen as one long seizure or series of seizures: At the beginning its movement is calm, patient, but soon it complicates itselfaccruing minute, precarious edges, hazardous turns. It surges forward with wrenching intensity, then suddenly halts as if distracted, almost frozen, blanking out. Or it trembles, teetering on the thinnest edge of structural integrity and coherence. Falls, darkens, gets up, falls again, darkens. Fills with sudden, almost unbearable light and beauty. Trembles againits whole world contingent, in doubt, a body of oscillations, restiveness, vulnerability.

This instability leads to an odd radiance, an almost-wild breaking free from the strictures of received categories and dichotomous thinking. Everything is up for grabs, nothing taken for granted. As the book progresses, received notions of the real are thrashed, bruised, stunned, knocked down, changed. And so what is unsafe and crumbling also shines with lacerated promise.

Toward the end of the book there is a passage a few pages long so uncompromising and haunting in its transgressive beauty and honesty, that it, too, upends like an epileptic seizure. This passage, enacting a series of violent breakages as it carves fissure after fissure into anything taken for granted or familiar, becomes the opening through which the novels final, disconcerting light can entera light that makes possible no less than a radical re-envisioning of human tenderness.

The passage comes shortly after Prince Myshkins discovery that the young Rogozhin has murdered Nastasya Philippova, the beautiful, troubled woman who compels both men. Myshkin has arrived at Rogozhins room fearing the worst, and he has found it. A white marble-like foot protrudes from under the bed sheet. On the floor is a white dress, flowers, white ribbons. Rogozhin readily confesses to the murder.

Instead of fleeing, summoning the police, or lashing out at Rogozhin, Myshkin, trembling and in an almost dream-like state, does what Rogozhin requests and stays through the night with him. On and off for hours he comforts and strokes him. It is a scene of astonishing bravery and power, deeply weird and at the same time utterly believable. As the night goes on, Rogozhin grows increasingly delirious. And in those hours, Myshkin, as recounted by the books un-named narrator, stretched out his trembling hand to him and softly touched his head, his hair, stroking them and stroking his cheekshe could do nothing else!

This is radical tenderness of the most disturbing, challenging, and uncharted nature.

Its not that Myshkin doesnt realize the horror of Rogozhins act, doesnt feel it. My legs wont moveits from the terror, I know, he observes. And later, Quite a new sensation gnawed at his heart with infinite anguish. This new, unnamed feeling is part of what keeps him beside Rogozhin. At last he lay down on the pillow as though utterly helpless and despairing and put his face close to the pale, motionless face of Rogozhin; tears flowed from his eyes onto Rogozhins cheeks.

By morning, when the police arrive, Myshkins eyes appear unseeing. He doesnt answer any of their questions. Theres no indication he will ever speak again. Shortly afterwards, hes sent back to the sanitarium in Switzerland.

All that we can truly know is that Myshkin felt the reality of a suffering, delirious being and didnt turn away from that being.

I love how, with one devastating passage, Dostoyevsky breaks open the accepted, meaning of tenderness and reveals its stark impurities and contradictions. It doesnt hold itself apart from the perverse, the ugly, the tormented, the conflicted. A fissure opens, and Dostoyevsky finds within it the baffling, irreducible and to many, unacceptable, textures of the real. Like the relentless progression of a seizure, there is no pulling back.

By the time Dostoyevsky wrote his transcendent passageso close to the books endhe had been through a period of enormous upheaval, less dramatic than his prison years though in its own way no less devastating or demanding. His notebooks for The Idiot show the many ways his book confused and eluded him from the beginning. For nearly a half year, having fled his creditors and living abroad in Geneva, hed been filling notebooks with at least eight divergent, often wildly contradictory plans and character studies. His epileptic attacks had grown increasingly frequent and severe. Two days ago I had a most violent attack, but yesterday nevertheless, I worked in a state verging on madness. Partway through the writing, his first child, Sonya, was born and then, to his and his wifes devastation, died that May, 1868, a mere three months later. Despairing, he somehow continued writing. In a late summer letter to his friend A.N. Maikov, he wrote I am dissatisfied with my novel to the point of disgust. I have desperately tried to work but I havent been able toMy mind is sick. Now I shall put the finishing touches on Part 3. If I straighten out the novel, I will straighten out myself, if notI am finished.

The body is a site of tenderness, but also a problem that cant be solved.

This edge he walked is everywhere palpable in the finished novel. Although he found his doubts hard to shake, in the end he came to feel the scene of Myshkins and Rogozhins final night together is the books justification and defining moment.

For me, part of the particular uncanniness of Dostoyevskys work lies in how even as he delves without hesitation or pity into the miserable, cruel, violent, extreme, his books enact a kind of tender holding of those who suffer and live on the margins, each cruel or violent act backlit by the human capacity for tenderness and wonder.

After the initial serial publication of The Idiot, Dostoyevsky could find no publishing house to issue the book in its entirety. It, too, was consigned to the margin. This is not surprising, given its deeply idiosyncratic form and the way it accommodates its own particular necessities, which can be too easily dismissible as sloppiness, confusion, insufficient focus, failed narrative. Yet part of what makes it so indelible and radiantly moving, and its scene between Myshkin and Rogozhin so masterfully and oddly beautiful, is the way in which the book itself becomes the very embodiment of the complexities and challenges of the margin. The Idiot sees and breathes from many margins, not least among them the margin of illness. It holds close the heartbreaking vulnerability of the unprotected body that seizes as Myshkins does, or wastes away like the despised peasant girl Marie, or sickens with tuberculosis like the frightened, embittered teenager Ippolit. The body is a site of tenderness, but also a problem that cant be solved, a fraught place of ongoing crises, wars, injustices, failures. The desire for comfort and the reality of isolation pull and are unresolved.

Dostoyevsky knew this liminal realm all too well. Imprisoned at 28, first in solitary confinement in the Peter and Paul Fortress on the Neva, then in Siberia for four years followed by five years of enforced service in the military, also in Siberia, he lived far from the center of power, moving among the despised, the degraded, the punished. His epilepsy, too, repeatedly brought him into an abrupt state of intense, demanding removal, during which the world shattered, turned alien, his mind and body opening to an unspeakable otherness, then closing off again, darkening. Stability, steadiness, trust, self-control could no longer be relied on. He lived each day knowing that within a split second his brain could suddenly catch fire and hed be thrashing on the floor, his eyes dilated, mouth foaming. While his wife was in labor with their first child, he experienced an attack that left him feeling deeply inadequate and ashamed. Often for weeks afterward he lived in a kind of mental darkness and devoid of his facility with words.

But the margin also gave Dostoyevsky his books. Its from there that Myshkin cradles Rogozhin and comforts Marie, and thinks about the horrors of state-sanctioned execution, and the integrity and usefulness of donkeys. Its from there that Myshkin intuits the hurt, violated being within Nastasyas storminess and provocations.

In a letter to Maikov dated March 14, 1968, Dostoyevsky writes of his work-in-progress, As regards The Idiot, Im so afraid, so afraidthat you cant even imagine.

Each time I return to his bookmy copys spine long broken, the pages bound together with rubber bandsIm reminded of how all great books destabilize both reader and writer in one way or another. Dostoyevskys brave, unprotected tenderness of the margin, for one, demands of itself nothing less than a radical re-seeing of the world.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
By Joseph Sipalan KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's highest court is due to decide on Wednesday whether to uphold opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's conviction and a five-year jail term for sodomy, or overturn it and set him free. Anwar, once a rising star in the ruling party, is the greatest threat to Prime Minister Najib Razak and his coalition, having led a three-party opposition alliance to stunning electoral gains in 2013. Wednesday's case is Anwar's last legal avenue to challenge his 2014 conviction for sodomizing a former aide - a charge that Anwar and his supporters say was a politically motivated attempt to end his political career. He has already spent more than 20 months in jail after the Federal Court rejected an appeal against the conviction in February last year. His lawyers asked for a review of the decision. "We are hoping for a miracle," said Saifuddin Nasution, the secretary-general of Anwar's People's Justice Party. "We are holding on to whatever little hope we have, but we still have to accept the fact that the judiciary is not fully independent in cases like this," Saifuddin said. Security was stepped up around the court, as hundreds of demonstrators were expected to gather to show support for the 69-year-old Anwar. The conviction disqualifies Anwar from political office and from contesting the next election that must be held by 2018. A former ruling party deputy prime minister, Anwar's legal troubles began soon after he fell out with then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in the late 1990s, and was sacked. He then campaigned against corruption and nepotism and led a nationwide "reformasi", or reform, protest movement. He was later jailed for the first time on charges of sodomy and graft. In a 2013 election, Anwar led an opposition alliance that posed the first genuine challenge to the coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. But the opposition fell apart after Anwar's imprisonment, and the ruling coalition took advantage to coast to victory in several by-elections this year, despite pressure on Prime Minister Najib to resign over a graft scandal involving a state investment fund. In July, Anwar endorsed a political compact spearheaded by his old enemy Mahathir, as they joined hands to fight against Najib. [nL4N1A716M] Four opposition parties aligned with Anwar and Mahathir signed a pact on Tuesday to work out a common strategy against the ruling coalition in the next general election. (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Praveen Menon and Robert Birsel)
(Corrects in para 5 to say will help cut Axiata's debt, not edotco's debt)

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian mobile network operator Axiata said that sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) will take stakes in its telecom infrastructure services unit, edotco, as part of a $600 mln deal.

Announcing the plan on Tuesday, Axiata said it would remain the majority shareholder in edotco group. It also said it could list edotco on the stock market, but not until late 2018 at the earliest, dismissing media reports that it was considering an IPO next year.

"We will look at any plans maybe late 2018 or after," edotco Chief Executive Suresh Sidhu told a news conference.

It was not immediately clear what size stakes Khazanah and INCJ, a Japanese investment firm that is partially publicly owned, will take in edotco, which prior to this deal was 100 percent owned by Axiata.

Under the agreement, edotco will raise up to $400 million in a private placement of new ordinary shares to INCJ. Axiata said it had also reached agreement for Khazanah to purchase $200 million worth of existing edotco shares and that the money raised would help cut Axiata's debt.

edotco operates and manages a regional portfolio of over 25,000 telecom towers across Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, directly operating 17,000 of the towers.

Suresh said final stake sizes would be announced in January.

"Axiata will retain more than 50 percent in the company in the foreseeable future as well," Axiata President and Group CEO Jamaludin Ibrahim told the same news conference.

Axiata is Malaysia's largest mobile operator by market value.

In June, edotco launched a maiden $100 million three-year term loan, for refinancing, working capital and capital expenditure purposes.

In October 2015, edotco acquired a 75 percent stake in Digicel Group's Myanmar venture for $221 million cash, part of its long-term strategy to create new revenue streams away from the core mobile business. (Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f30727%2fr_u_mad_at_me_viral_tweet

LONDON  Sometimes, the best types of apology are the ones that make you laugh.

SEE ALSO: This man's flirty exchange with a customer service rep escalated hilariously

Scottish teenager Jodie Duncan discovered this first-hand recently, when her boyfriend Kieron Cameron came back drunk from a party on a night the two of them were meant to be staying in together.

Here's a pic of Jodie and Kieron together at Halloween.

Image: jodie duncan

Duncan told BuzzFeed she went downstairs to get a drink and came back up to find her phone swamped with notifications.

when ur boyfriend comes home drunk when ur meant to be 'staying in' together pic.twitter.com/jHBEbdWJxi  jodie (@_jodieduncan) December 10, 2016

Here's a closeup of that first screengrab.

Image: twitter/@_jodieduncan

Yep. Cameron had messaged her on every single platform he could think of.

This was the icing on the cake, though.

Image: twitter/@_jodieduncan

To be fair to Cameron, you can't fault his dedication: he's really ticked every box there.

The gift card says "R u angry at me" I'm out  https://t.co/mfAJPG6S2X  That's so Reagan (@ReaganIsAPotato) December 12, 2016

THIS BOY IS A KEEPER!!!! TREAT HIM GOOD GIRL  https://t.co/nO7qVbBAml  chelsea (@SheSpeakDaTruth) December 12, 2016

At the time of writing, Duncan's tweet has been shared over 43,000 times.

"We've both been so surprised, I only posted it expecting our friends to see it but it's got so popular so quickly, it's crazy!" Duncan told Mashable.

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"He [Cameron] finds it funny but he's starting to get annoyed about the hundreds of comments on his Instagram photos saying 'are u angry at me' hahaha."

Luckily, Duncan clearly wasn't that angry after all.

@kirstymacIeod aw tell me about it x  jodie (@_jodieduncan) December 10, 2016

And Cameron continued to use his phone to help him through the situation...

Splendid work, Cameron.

BONUS: Guy emotionally proposes to GF at Coldplay gig and we sense a theme
It's really hard to see when there's a bucket over your head.

Surveillance video captured a hapless burglar grabbing expensive racing pigeons while wearing a pail over his face in an apparent attempt to elude surveillance cameras at a Florida store.

Read: Brazen Female Jewel Thief Believed to Have Robbed at Least 6 Stores Arrested in Georgia

The man is seen reeling around cages, pulling out birds and stuffing them in a box. He climbs a ladder leaning against a high fence, drops the birds to the ground, then falls off the ladder, the video shows.

"He's just like a lazy guy. Stupid, you know?" Nelson Hernandez, owner of El Viejo Lazaro Botanica in Miami, told InsideEdition.com Tuesday.

Hernandez runs a religious icon business and also buys and sells racing pigeons. He says the birds can cost as much as $1,000 each.

Read: Close Encounters of the Criminal Kind: Video Captures Burglars in Home - as Kids Sleep Nearby

It's not the first time his store has been hit.

"This is the second time in six months," he said. The first burglar was caught by police and is now in jail, Hernandez said.

The newest thief is not someone he recognizes, he said.

If he keeps getting broken into, Hernandez says, "I lose everything."

Watch: Watch Brazen Robbers Make Off with $300,000 Worth of Watches in Smash-and-Grab

Related Articles:
Marco Polos voyages have ended: Netflix has cancelled the globe-spanning drama after two seasons.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the cancellation, which makes Polo the first Netflix original series not to reach a third season. Lorenzo Richelmy starred as the legendary merchant who travelled from Italy to China and eventually served in the court of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong).

RELATEDCable/Streaming Renewal Scorecard 2016: Whats Coming Back? Whats Cancelled? Whats On the Bubble?

Marco Polo debuted in 2014, and had a reported budget of $90 million for its first season, rivaling HBOs Game of Thrones. But reviews were mixed, and a second season debuted this past summer to little fanfare. The combined budget for both seasons topped $200 million, according to THR, and the ultimate decision to axe the show was a mutual one between Netflix and producers The Weinstein Company.

We want to thank and are grateful to our partners on Marco Polo, Netflix original content VP Cindy Holland said in a statement, from the actors, whose performances were enthralling and top-notch; to the committed producers, including John Fusco, Dan Minahan, Patrick Macmanus, and their crew, who poured their hearts into the series; and of course Harvey, David and our friends at TWC, who were great collaborators from start to finish.

Marco Polo fans, let us know what youll miss most in the comments.

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A tough statement from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Tuesday suggests that Rex Tillerson could face a rocky confirmation hearing for secretary of state.

Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will preside over Tillersons hearing, took a number of implicit shots against the CEOs record at ExxonMobil. President-elect Donald Trump officially announced Tillersons nomination for the nations top diplomatic post early Tuesday morning.

While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination, Rubio said. The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of Americas interests and will be a forceful advocate for Americas foreign policy goals to the president, within the administration and on the world stage.

He added that he would do my part to ensure he receives a fair but also thorough confirmation hearing.

While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination https://t.co/gnE5xDj012 pic.twitter.com/t37jSy27Iz  Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) December 13, 2016

Rubio had previously expressed reservations about Tillersonss ties to Russia. In 2013, the business mogul won Russias Order of Friendship award after signing deals with a Kremlin-owned oil company, according to the Washington Post.

Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState, Rubio tweeted Sunday.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Rubios statement is also a sign that he may be among the Republican senators willing to confront Trump on areas in which they disagree.

Rubio ran against Trump in the GOP primaries, and the two rivals fiercely condemned each other. But Rubio ultimately endorsed Trump, who in turn encouraged him to run for reelection.

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By taking on his own partys figurehead, the senator could be setting himself up for another presidential campaign. During his 2016 White House bid, Rubio was criticized by some Republicans for caving too quickly to political expedience.

See also: These maps show that Exxons Rex Tillerson already heads a vast global empire
The ready-to-wear label has announced that it has chosen American models Martha Hunt and Jasmine Tookes for its spring/summer 2017 campaign, keeping the "#StrongTogether" concept running for another season.

Launched for the fall/winter 2016-2017 season, the "#StrongTogether" campaign is set to return for spring/summer 2017 with a new pair of stars. Martha Hunt and Jasmine Tookes -- who are friends in real life -- have been signed up to take over from the lovely Jourdan Dunn and Karlie Kloss, who starred as last season's double act for the brand.

Channeling femininity, authenticity, complicity and independence, this spring/summer 2017 campaign is fronted by two internationally renowned models, both high-flying faces of fashion and also businesswomen.

Physically very different, Martha Hunt and Jasmine Tookes are seen as close and complementary allies in the first shots released by Liu Jo. The models are pictured side by side in head-to-toe looks of white or black with gold, floral or pink details, for example, forming a matching pair.

Martha Hunt models for some of the biggest names in couture and ready-to-wear fashion, and is one of the select models to be named a Victoria's Secret Angel. Jasmine Tookes recently took to the catwalk for Chanel, DKNY and Carolina Herrera. She's also a Victoria's Secret regular, recently honored with wearing the Bright Night Fantasy Bra at the brand's latest fashion show in Paris.
It surely isnt a Mary Christmas.

On a cardboard sign next to the nativity scene on the front lawn of a New Hampshire home, the owners have written: "Please help! Mary missing, Joseph doesnt want to be a single dad."

Read: Check Out the World's Most Expensive Christmas Tree... And It Can Be Yours for $1,000

The scenes Mary figurine was stolen last week according to Shirley Kula, the owner of the set.

Last week I came around the corner and I noticed Marys was missing. I figured it was a prank. There are lots of colleges around, Kula told InsideEdition.com. My husband and I talked about what we wanted to do and we decided the best way to get her back was to let people know she was missing in a way to get people talking about it.

The couple has been putting up the scene for the last 15 Christmases, and are hoping someone will bring her back.

The family, however, didnt file a police report because they believe the theft occurred as a joke.

Its has more of a sentimental value than monetary value, Kula said. Im hoping if anyone knows where she is they just slip her back into the [stable] when I turn the lights out after 12 a.m.," Kula said.

Read: Montreal Put Up a 70-Foot-Tall 'Charlie Brown' Christmas Tree, and Locals Are Furious

If they dont get the mother of Jesus back, they wont be doing the display next year.

We haven't seen Mary yet but were hopeful, Kula said.

Watch: Man Creates Epic Christmas Light Display on Home Set to Prince's 'Purple Rain'

Related Articles:
Babson College in Massachusetts was threatened with a defamation lawsuit Sunday after two students were accused of shouting racial and homophobic slurs on a drive through neighboring Wellesley College on Nov. 9.

Babson originally banned students Edward Tomasso and Parker Rand-Ricciard, who are both Donald Trump supporters, from its campus 16 miles west of Boston for shouting obscenities on a post-election victory lap through the campus of Wellesley College, where Hillary Clinton went to school.

The initial report submitted to Babson administrators accused Tomasso and Rand-Ricciard of yelling racial slurs and spitting at Wellesley students while driving a Chevy Silverado pickup truck and yelling Make America Great Again! the Boston Herald reported Monday.

Babson received roughly 90 reports detailing the two students racially motivated actions on Nov. 9, but only six of them came from actually witnesses, with the rest coming from Facebook posts from non-witnesses. The initial report said Tomasso and Rand-Ricciard made many students feel very unsafe and terrorized.

The students were scheduled to attend a campus disciplinary hearing Friday on harassment and disorderly conduct charges. Babson President Kerry Healey defended the school's actions.

Our protocols are designed to ensure a fair process for all parties involved and to deliver an appropriate resolution based on evidence, not conjecture, Healey said in a statement.

But because the Babson College investigation failed to find hard evidence linking the boys to any specific allegations, Rand-Ricciardi's lawyer, Jeffrey Robbins, demanded a public apology from school administrators and asked for the harassment and disorderly conduct charges to be dropped against both boys, the Boston Globe reported Monday. He threatened Babson College with a defamation lawsuit unless school administrators retract their previous statements about the students' alleged actions.

Story continues

Contrary to published news reports and comments made on Facebook, no racial slurs, no homophobic slurs nor any other offensive symbols or flags were reported by anyone. Robbins wrote in a letter to Babson College's lawyer Sunday.

Related Articles
MILAN (Reuters) - Mediaset's (MS.MI) top shareholder, Finivest, said on Tuesday it had bought 27.6 million shares in the Italian broadcaster and had rights to buy 14 million more on Wednesday to reach 39.775 percent of the group's voting capital.

French tycoon Vincent Bollore raised the stakes in a battle with Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset on Monday by saying the French media company Vivendi (VIV.PA), which he chairs, could buy up to a fifth of the Italian broadcaster, stirring talk of a hostile takeover bid.

Vivendi said on Tuesday it had raised its Mediaset stake to 12.3 percent. Bollore is Vivendi's biggest shareholder.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Nearly all species of sea turtles are endangered, but Tortuguero, a small island on the eastern coast of Costa Rica, offers a safe place for nesting green and leatherback sea turtles. It was here in 1959 that Dr. Archie Carr opened the world's first turtle conservancy. To this day, the island is one of the world's most important breeding grounds for these turtles. We made the arduous journey there to watch the next generation hit the waves. Go baby sea turtles, go!
Quarterly AI Funding

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

On Monday, Microsoft announced a new Microsoft Ventures fund dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) investments, according to TechCrunch.

The fund, part of the companys investment arm that launched in May, will back startups developing AI technology and includes Element AI, a Montreal-based incubator that helps other companies embrace AI.

The fund further supports Microsofts focus on AI. The company has been steadily announcing major initiatives in support of the technology. For example, in September, it announced a major restructuring and formed a new group dedicated to AI products. And in mid-November, it partnered with OpenAI, an AI research nonprofit backed by Elon Musk, to further its AI research and development efforts.

Investment in AI has ramped up dramatically in the past year, as major tech companies are devoting significant resources to its AI initiatives. AI is a hot-button topic, largely because of a number of emerging technologies being brought to market, including chatbots, virtual assistants, and AI platforms such as IBM Watson. The use of AI programs is set to rise rapidly across nearly every sector of the economy over the next few years.

The global market for AI systems will reach $70 billion in 2020, up from $14.9 billion in 2014, Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicted last year. These AI systems span a broad category of solutions, including digital assistants like Siri and Amazons Alexa, machine-learning algorithms that identify objects in images and detect cybercrime, and software that helps self-driving cars and drones avoid obstacles.

Advancements in artificial intelligence, coupled with the proliferation of messaging apps, are fueling the development of chatbots  software programs that use messaging as the interface through which to carry out any number of tasks, from scheduling a meeting, to reporting weather, to helping users buy a pair of shoes.

Story continues

Foreseeing immense potential, businesses are starting to invest heavily in the burgeoning bot economy. A number of brands and publishers have already deployed bots on messaging and collaboration channels, including HP, 1-800-Flowers, and CNN. While the bot revolution is still in the early phase, many believe 2016 will be the year these conversational interactions take off.

Laurie Beaver, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on chatbots that explores the growing and disruptive bot landscape by investigating what bots are, how businesses are leveraging them, and where they will have the biggest impact.

The report outlines the burgeoning bot ecosystem by segment, looks at companies that offer bot-enabling technology, distribution channels, and some of the key third-party bots already on offer. The report also forecasts the potential annual savings that businesses could realize if chatbots replace some of their customer service and sales reps. Finally, it compares the potential of chatbot monetization on a platform like Facebook Messenger against the iOS App Store and Google Play store.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

AI has reached a stage in which chatbots can have increasingly engaging and human conversations, allowing businesses to leverage the inexpensive and wide-reaching technology to engage with more consumers.

Chatbots are particularly well suited for mobile  perhaps more so than apps. Messaging is at the heart of the mobile experience, as the rapid adoption of chat apps demonstrates.

The chatbot ecosystem is already robust, encompassing many different third-party chat bots, native bots, distribution channels, and enabling technology companies.

Chatbots could be lucrative for messaging apps and the developers who build bots for these platforms, similar to how app stores have developed into moneymaking ecosystems.

In full, the report:

Breaks down the pros and cons of chatbots.

Explains the different ways businesses can access, utilize, and distribute content via chatbots.

Forecasts the potential impact chatbots could have for businesses.

Looks at the potential barriers that could limit the growth, adoption, and use of chatbots.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, youve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of chatbots.





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A continuing trend

India resorts to protectionist measures again even in a sector it has much to gain from
Reportedly, Microsoft Corporation MSFT owned Microsoft Ventures has announced the formation of a new investment fund that is dedicated toward the betterment of artificial intelligence (AI) companies worldwide.

Initially the fund will invest in Element AI, an AI startup in Montreal. Later on, the fund will target other AI companies spread across the globe that are focused on making people and machines work in tandem so as to make education more accessible, create new jobs, empower the existing workforce and enhance treatments for various diseases.

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Microsoft and AI

With Satya Nadella at its helm, Microsoft is taking AI seriously. The company has already undertaken an initiative to integrate AI within Cortana (virtual assistant), Office 365 (cloud-enabled enterprise service) and Azure (the companys flagship cloud platform).

Notably, the company also acquired SwiftKet, an AI startup earlier in 2016 for $250 million.

What this Means for Microsoft?

As per an IDC report, worldwide spending on artificial intelligence and cognitive systems is estimated to be over $47 billion by 2020, which is currently growing at a CAGR of 55.1%.

Given the huge scope the segment offers, it is no surprise that Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned to make its presence felt. However, with the presence of major players in the market such as Alphabets GOOGL DeepMind, IBMs IBM Watson and NVIDIAs NVDA DGX-1, competition is intense and Microsoft needs more such initiatives and mergers and acquisitions to stay ahead of the curve.

Stock Performance Overview

Notably, shares of Microsoft have outperformed the broader Zacks Computer Software Services industry over the last three months. While the stock has returned 10.5%, the industry generated a return of only 1.3%.

The bullish behavior of the stock could be primarily attributed to strong cloud growth. The continuing enterprise strength, benefits from the Office 365 subscription model, strong growth prospects of Azure and promising new products will continue to generate top-line growth in the remainder of 2016.

Story continues

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

At present, Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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PARIS (AP)  Funded by Britain, a wall has been built to stop migrants from jumping onto trucks in the northern French city of Calais heading across the English Channel.

The threat, however, appears to have already receded.

Regional spokesman Steve Barbet says no migrants have been reported trying to hop a truck since French authorities dismantled Calais' refugee slum in October. He says Tuesday that police scouring the city and the surrounding area daily have found no new camps, though a handful of migrants still gather at the Calais port.

He says the new 4 meter-high (13 foot-high) concrete wall along a Calais highway aims to deter future migrants.

Thousands of migrants from the Mideast and Africa, who had converged on Calais after fleeing conflict and poverty, have now been dispersed across France.
Glenn Pannell, known as "Mike Hot-Pence", a look-alike for Vice President-elect Mike Pence, takes a collection for causes, including LGBT rights, in Times Square, New York, December 3, 2016. Courtesy Howard Sherman/Handout via REUTERS

By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - New York City's Times Square has long been famous for its neon advertising, giant billboards and characters dressed up as anything from Mickey Mouse to the Statue of Liberty. But in the past couple of weeks a look-alike of Vice President-elect Mike Pence has been attracting the attention of passersby in one of the city's busiest areas. New Yorker Glenn Pannell has been using his striking resemblance to Pence to ask for donations for causes including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights - in a show of opposition to the politician's conservative track record against gay rights and abortion. Dressed in a red-striped tie, shirt and dark blue blazer on top and nothing but short shorts below, Pannell has dubbed his alter-ego "Mike Hot-Pence". The openly gay graphic designer said he has collected some $2,300 over the last two weekends while staging his one-man protest. "The charities that I am choosing to raise money for have definitely been based on Pence's track record," Pannell, 51, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview. "Those charities will really need a lot of help (with Pence as vice president) ... and so I am hitting back now with Mike Hot-Pence." Recipients of the funds have included the Trevor Project, a nationwide suicide prevention hotline for LGBT youth, as well as women's healthcare provider Planned Parenthood. Many LGBT rights activists are wary of Pence's years of opposition to gay rights, including as governor of Indiana. And as a vocal abortion opponent, Pence has pushed for Congress to stop funding Planned Parenthood, which performs some abortions. Friends first noticed Pannell's resemblance to Pence last summer, a coincidence that became cause for laughter with the campaign for the U.S. presidency then in full swing, he said. "And then the election happened and laughing stopped." Pannell said the results of the Nov. 8 presidential election, which Republican Donald Trump won with Pence as his running mate, spurred him into action. "After a few weeks of seeing ... the despair and the disillusion among my friends, I really felt like I needed to do something," said Pannell, who has also set up a website for donations. (Reporting by Sebastien Malo, Editing by Katie Nguyen. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
A military aircraft that was seen circling midtown Manhattan in New York City on Tuesday afternoon was taking part in a routine exercise, an official for the National Guard says.

That was a standard military training flight from the New York Air National Guard from the 106th Rescue Wing, and they are based at Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton in Long Island, Col. Rich Goldenberg, public information officer for the New York National Guard, told Yahoo News.

A military exercise involving training flights flying this low over Manhattan is more of a rare occurrence, Goldenberg said, but it does occur from time to time.

When #C138 #CargoPlane circles #Manhattan, and nobody know why, people understandably start to freak out A video posted by Michael Maier (@nycmrm) on Dec 13, 2016 at 1:29pm PST

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the air space had been cleared for use by the National Guard.

U.S. military aircraft are currently conducting authorized flights over New York City in coordination with FAA air traffic control, the FAA said.

Since 9/11, the city of New York generally alerts residents of test flights in advance to avoid panics.

.@NYCParks Update: Aerial wildlife survey to occur this evening until approx 3:00 AM (2/22). Expect low-flying plane over various SI parks.  NYCEM  Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) February 22, 2016

A spokesman for the NYPD, though, told Yahoo News that he did not know whether the department had been informed of Tuesdays planned training exercise ahead of time, but we know about it now.

A C-130 is a pretty mundane aircraft by military standards, but if you were to test sensors put up on a Tower of sorts pic.twitter.com/zecajazH3A  MattHardigree (@MattHardigree) December 13, 2016

Trump Tower, where President-elect Donald Trump lives and has been holding transition meetings since his election, is located in midtown.

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To the best of my knowledge, we would clear it with the FAA, and the FAA would notify the NYPD, Goldenberg said.

I assume the USAF likes to believe that Manhattanites are so used to constant air traffic that a quick visit from a C-130 will go unnoticed.  Andrew Poure (@apoure25) December 13, 2016

Goldenberg said the military has coordinated with New York law enforcement in the past for special flying missions, like when the Air Force has done flyovers to take photos of the Statue of Liberty. But that a simple crew training flight does not trigger that level of coordination.

The plane, accompanied by several helicopters, made loops in midtown around 4 p.m. local time, sparking a mini-frenzy, as witnesses posted images of the unusual sight to social media.

We are watching a C-138 military plane circle over Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/VEhpdySA82  Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) December 13, 2016

A video of the plane that's been circling Manhattan pic.twitter.com/Bsj5ANEeW1  Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) December 13, 2016

Seeing multiple reports of a USAF C-130 and several Black Hawk helicopters circling low (3,000 feet) over Manhattan. No, that is not normal pic.twitter.com/DaFByrAX3O  Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) December 13, 2016

The four-engine C-130 Hercules is a versatile, workhorse used by all branches of the military, primarily for cargo transport and aerial refueling. Produced by Lockheed, the Hercules has been in production and service for over 60 years.

Asked whether the Secret Service was aware of the flight, spokeswoman Cathy Milhoan told Yahoo News: The flight was coordinated with the FAA, and all parties were in constant communication with air traffic control.

Asked for details of any Secret Service involvement, Milhoan replied: As a matter of policy, were not going to comment on our protective operations.

An official for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment.

 Yahoo News Liz Goodwin, Olivier Knox and Everett Starling contributed to this report.
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A military plane that flew over Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon briefly caused widespread confusion as New Yorkers wondered why the aircraft was circling so low over the city.

A spokesman for the FAA told Business Insider in a statement that the C-130 spotted overhead was conducting authorized flights over New York City in coordination with FAA air traffic control.

Col. Nicholas Broccoli of the 160th Rescue Wing added to The Washington Post that the plane was simply carrying out standard military training.

Aviation writer Jason Rabinowitz, however, said on Twitter that it is not normal for military aircraft to circle so low over Manhattan.

New Yorkers turned to Twitter to wonder what the C-130 was doing:

@liamstack Some are loaded with electronic surveillance equipment. Deeply weird.  Dan Murphy (@bungdan) December 13, 2016

A video of the plane that's been circling Manhattan pic.twitter.com/Bsj5ANEeW1  Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) December 13, 2016

The C-130 has departed Manhattan skies and, still, nobody has any idea what it was doing. pic.twitter.com/YrQUtUKC78  Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) December 13, 2016

Matt Hardigree, executive editor of publishing partnerships at Gizmodo Media, speculated on Twitter that perhaps the military exercise was in relation to setting up increased security around Trump Tower.

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A C-130 is a pretty mundane aircraft by military standards, but if you were to test sensors put up on a Tower of sorts... pic.twitter.com/zecajazH3A  MattHardigree (@MattHardigree) December 13, 2016

While it was not clear exactly what exercise the aircraft was carrying out, the New York Police Department appeared initially unaware of it.

An NYPD spokesperson later told a WCBS journalist that he would "have to call either the Secret Service or the military" for more information on the exercises.

A spokesperson for the Air National Guard did not respond return a request for comment.

NOW WATCH: Donald Trump's 'strange' morning habit tells you everything you need to know about him





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Relatives and friends of a 28-year-old Michigan woman who vanished more than two weeks ago say they are heartbroken shes missing and tell PEOPLE they fear her outgoing nature may have played a part in her mysterious disappearance.

Danielle Stislicki hasnt been seen since she left her office in Southfield, Michigan, the night of Dec. 2. Those who know her say she isnt the type to up and leave without notice. Instead, they describe her as friendly and a people person  traits someone may have taken advantage of.

If she would have gotten out of her car at her apartment building and if someone was there and asked her for help, she would have been that outgoing person who would give someone directions or help someone find a lost pet, explains Holly Juip, Danielles cousin. Its just heartbreaking to think about  I cant even imagine the terror her parents must be feeling, not knowing whats happened to her.

Danielle is white with brown, wavy hair, stands 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 123 pounds, according to police.

Authorities in Farmington Hills, Michigan, say Stislicki was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black zip-up shirt, a blue Eddie Bauer coat and burgundy boots. After work, Stislicki was supposed to stop home before meeting a friend for dinner.

Police say she never made the dinner and failed to show up for work the next morning. She has not been seen or heard from since.

Her Jeep was found the morning after she went missing, parked outside her residence in Farmington Hills. Inside the vehicle was her purse with all of her credit cards.

Jessica Hunter-Shively, who has known Stislicki since high school, says the Danielle she knows would never purposely disappear.

Even if she were to just runaway, why would she leave all of her stuff behind?, Hunter-Shively asks. It doesnt make sense. Shes such a family person and a people person. Shes got a big family. She was always with friends and family  she was outgoing. I hope she wasnt too outgoing and someone snatched her up.

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 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Hunter-Shively tells PEOPLE Stislicki doesnt have a bad bone in her body and says that worries her.

Shes not a fighter, and that just makes me nervous, Hunter-Shively explains. This has obviously shattered my heart.

Juip tells PEOPLE there was nothing that would have driven her cousin to run away.

She loved her job, she was training people there  she had plans to buy a house, just plans for the future, Juip says. Hopefully, we find out what happened.

More than $125,000 in reward money is being offered for information leading to Stislickis safe return.

The Farmington Hills Police Department wants anyone who may have observed Danielle and/or her vehicle the night of Dec. 2 to call (248) 871-2610.

Police are also interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen Stislicki arriving at her residence between 5 p.m. on Dec. 2 and 6 p.m. on Dec. 3, and anyone who may have observed her during this time span.

 Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America,on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more.

Police continue to search for Stislickis Samsung Galaxy Core Prime phone, which has a rose-colored case. Theyre also looking for her key chain, which features a unique charm  a smiling yellow figure with a green body and yellow legs  and two keys.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help finance efforts to locate Danielle.




THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  Gen. Ratko Mladic's defense team called on United Nations judges Tuesday to acquit the former Bosnian Serb military chief, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove he orchestrated atrocities by Serb forces under his command during the 1992-95 Bosnian War.

Defense lawyer Dragan Ivetic told the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia that prosecutors at Mladic's long-running trial wanted to make the 74-year-old former general "the symbolic sacrificial lamb for the perceived guilt" of Serbs during the war that left 100,000 dead.

Prosecutors last week asked for Mladic to be convicted and sentenced to life in prison, telling judges that a sentence any shorter would be "an insult to the victims, living and dead, and an affront to justice."

Mladic is facing 11 charges, including two counts of genocide for his alleged role in the deadly siege of Sarajevo and the massacre in July 1995 of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, the worst mass slaying in Europe since World War II. He insists he is innocent.

Verdicts in the trial, the U.N. Yugoslavia tribunal's final case, are expected late next year. Several of Mladic's subordinate officers already have been convicted by the court for their roles in the crimes.

Over three days, Mladic's defense team sought to pick apart the prosecution case.

Ivetic claimed that Bosnian Muslim forces were responsible for many of the sniping and shelling deaths in Sarajevo and that they had used human shields in the Bosnian capital. Bosnian Serbs have been found guilty in other cases at the tribunal of indiscriminate shelling and sniping in the city.

Ivetic also insisted Mladic was not responsible for the Srebrenica massacre. He said the general was in Belgrade on July 14-15, 1995  the days when some of the biggest mass executions of Muslim prisoners took place  and blamed the killings on "others, including avengers, locals and rogue members of the security forces."

Closing his statement, Ivetic said Mladic wanted the court to hold a minute's silence "to remember and commemorate all the victims of the senseless war in Bosnia- Herzegovina," and mentioning in particular some 1,300 Serbs he said were killed by Muslim forces in Srebrenica during the war "and whose voice has not often been heard in this place."

Presiding Judge Alphons Orie denied the request, saying "It doesn't fall within the scope of our task."
The Hague (AFP) - Lawyers defending former Serb military chief Ratko Mladic on Tuesday asked war crimes judges to acquit him, saying their client considered every life lost during Bosnia's bloody war "a tragedy".

Once dubbed "the Butcher of Bosnia", Mladic, 74, has denied 11 charges including two of genocide, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the cruel 1992-95 Bosnian conflict.

"General Mladic wishes me to specify that he and the defence team considers every life lost in the war, every Bosniak, Serb, Croat, Roma, Albanian, every man, woman and child, a tragedy," Dragan Ivetic told the Hague-based Yugoslav war crimes court.

But presiding Judge Alphons Orie quickly slapped down a request for one minute's silence from Mladic, who sat nodding in agreement in the dock as his lawyer read a closing statement.

Ivetic said he hoped an acquittal would send a "strong and enduring message as to the legacy" of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) "as one of justice".

Prosecutors "failed to meet the... burden of proof... to any of the counts and charges of the indictment", Ivetic added, finishing the defence's case in a trial that opened in May 2012.

Mladic's case is the last before the UN's ICTY which closes next year, and a verdict is expected sometime before late November 2017.

Prosecutors urged the judges last week to jail Mladic for life, accusing him of leading a ruthless campaign of ethnic cleansing during the 1990s Balkan wars to create a Greater Serbia.

"The time has come for General Mladic to be held accountable for those crimes against each of his victims and the communities he destroyed," prosecutor Alan Tieger told the tribunal.

Mladic is notably accused of being behind the punishing 44-month siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, which claimed an estimated 10,000 lives in a relentless campaign of shelling and sniping.

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He is also charged with genocide for his role in the 1995 killing of almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, Europe's worst bloodshed since World War II.

More than 100,000 people died and 2.2 million others were left homeless during the Bosnian war, one of several conflicts which erupted in the death throes of the former Yugoslavia.

After living openly in Serbia despite an international arrest warrant against him, Mladic was finally captured in 2011 after 16 years on the run and transferred to a UN detention centre in The Hague.
Air service talks get Cabinet nod

The Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the government to hold talks with India for negotiation on air service. The talks are scheduled on December 20 in New Delhi.
By Beth Pinsker

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - It is a sad story when seniors' pets show up at an animal shelter: they are often abandoned when their owners become infirm or die without insuring that the pets will be taken in by someone else.

Wills and estate plans are hard enough for most people to fathom. Only 67 percent of Americans over 55 have any sort of written testament, according to FindLaw, a unit of Thomson Reuters.

Legal planning for pets is rare.

That is because provisions for pets are considered a fancy of the ultra-rich. Much of the negative association is due to the 2007 lawsuit over real estate tycoon Leona Helmsley's attempt to leave $12 million to her dog. (It was cut to $2 million.)

Setting up a trust for pets such as cats, dogs and horses has evolved since then, and now there are ways for pet owners to prepare simple and inexpensive documents that can insure their beloved companions do not end up abandoned.

One place to start is the ASPCA's pet planning website(http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-planning). There are also ways to download pet protection agreements, such as at the online service LegalZoom (http://bit.ly/2hm4Po9), which start at $39.

Reuters spoke with Rachel Hirschfeld (http://www.pettrustlawyer.com/), the attorney who developed LegalZoom's agreement, about why animal owners need to think about their pets' futures.

Q: What happens to a pet when the owner is incapacitated or dies and there is no plan for them?

A: If animals have been abandoned, by law, they are required to go to a city shelter. They are property.

Q: How many people in your experience make a provision for their pets in their wills?

A: It's about 25 percent. Putting a sentence in the will is the cheapest. There's not really any added cost to what you are doing. You just say, 'I leave my dog to...'

You might want to add more, and say, 'my dog only eats this kind of food, please take him to this vet.'

Q: What if you want to leave funds for the care of the pet and more detailed instructions in a formal document?

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A: You go to an attorney and pay the price. Some people do it for $750. I've heard of more than $2,500.

Choose wisely. It's not the cost that makes a good agreement; it's the talent. I caution people to only go to a lawyer who has done them successfully. If you don't know what you are doing, you can get sued.

Q: Do you have to provide funds to care for your pets when you die?

A: You don't have to leave a dime, or leave as much as you want. The average person that I've dealt with leaves $25,000. But funds are not required.

The most important thing is to leave beneficiaries in percentiles that equal 100 percent, not exact dollar amounts. Because if you say you are leaving $1,000.00, and there's $1000.01 in the account (or less than the exact amount), you could have problems because then a court would have to decide what to do about the excess (or deficit). The goal is to keep it out of court.

Q: You have adopted abandoned elderly dogs at the shelter. Does you use your own agreement for them?

A: I wrote the agreement for my own animals. It started off with different pets, but the agreement is for all the pets that I have when I need this to be enacted.

I just adopted two dogs. I was at a shelter helping somebody, and there were these two dogs there that had been left by a woman whose father had just died and her mother had died a few years earlier.

I saw them there huddled and scared to death. Two weeks later, I came back, and they were still there. If that man and his wife were looking down, can you imagine? So I adopted them.

(Editing by Lauren Young and Dan Grebler)
By Karl Plume

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shareholders of U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto Co (MON.N) approved the company's $66 billion acquisition by Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) on Tuesday, a deal that still requires regulatory approval to close as expected in late 2017.

Increased research and development spending by the combined companies and plans to develop a global seeds and biotechnology hub in St. Louis fuel hopes regulators will not block the deal, which was agreed upon in September, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said.

"I think those augur well for the deal," he told Reuters in an interview.

If the deal closes, it will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry.

Uncertainty about whether President-elect Donald Trump would stand in the way of large mergers after taking office in January has clouded the outlook of some deals. Trump vowed during his campaign to block AT&T Inc's (T.N) purchase of Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) and look to break up Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) deal to buy NBC Universal, citing too much concentration of power.

The president does not directly decide if a merger is illegal under antitrust law. That is done by the U.S. Justice Department or Federal Trade Commission, which divide up the work of assessing mergers. If one of the agencies decides to stop a deal, it must convince a judge to agree.

Grant said he has not met with Trump or any of his transition team and did not elaborate on how the company was working to secure the deal.

The acquisition came after a string of large mergers that have roiled the agribusiness sector in the last year or so, including ChemChina's purchase of Swiss chemicals company Syngenta AG (SYNN.S) and a merger of Dow Chemical (DOW.N) and DuPont (DD.N).

DuPont's chief executive, Ed Breen, said last week the incoming Trump administration is not likely to have an impact on his company's merger with Dow Chemical.

Monsanto shares were up 0.4 percent at $105.00 on Tuesday afternoon, down from the $106.76 closing price on Sept. 14 when the Bayer deal was announced and well below the $128-per-share acquisition price.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
By Karl Plume

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shareholders of U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto Co <MON.N> approved the company's $66 billion acquisition by Bayer AG <BAYGn.DE> on Tuesday, a deal that still requires regulatory approval to close as expected in late 2017.

Increased research and development spending by the combined companies and plans to develop a global seeds and biotechnology hub in St. Louis fuel hopes regulators will not block the deal, which was agreed upon in September, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said.

"I think those augur well for the deal," he told Reuters in an interview.

If the deal closes, it will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry.

Uncertainty about whether President-elect Donald Trump would stand in the way of large mergers after taking office in January has clouded the outlook of some deals. Trump vowed during his campaign to block AT&T Inc's <T.N> purchase of Time Warner Inc <TWX.N> and look to break up Comcast Corp's <CMCSA.O> deal to buy NBC Universal, citing too much concentration of power.

The president does not directly decide if a merger is illegal under antitrust law. That is done by the U.S. Justice Department or Federal Trade Commission, which divide up the work of assessing mergers. If one of the agencies decides to stop a deal, it must convince a judge to agree.

Grant said he has not met with Trump or any of his transition team and did not elaborate on how the company was working to secure the deal.

The acquisition came after a string of large mergers that have roiled the agribusiness sector in the last year or so, including ChemChina's purchase of Swiss chemicals company Syngenta AG <SYNN.S> and a merger of Dow Chemical <DOW.N> and DuPont <DD.N>.

DuPont's chief executive, Ed Breen, said last week the incoming Trump administration is not likely to have an impact on his company's merger with Dow Chemical.

Monsanto shares were up 0.4 percent at $105.00 on Tuesday afternoon, down from the $106.76 closing price on Sept. 14 when the Bayer deal was announced and well below the $128-per-share acquisition price.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
MILAN (Reuters) - Troubled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) confirmed on Tuesday that the European Central Bank had rejected its request for more time to raise capital, a move that piles pressure on the Italian government to inject money into the bank.

Italy's third-largest bank had asked the ECB for a three-week extension to Jan. 20 to raise 5 billion euros (4.2 billion pounds), citing political turmoil following the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in the wake of his heavy defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform on Dec. 4.

However, the ECB told the Monte dei Paschi such a delay could cause a further deterioration in its liquidity position and a worsening of its capital base, Monte dei Paschi said in a statement.

This could, in turn, threaten the lender's survival, the ECB said in its draft decision, according to the statement from the bank.

Monte dei Paschi's board meets on Wednesday to assess whether the conditions are in place for it to launch a last-ditch privately-funded attempt as early as Thursday to raise the cash it needs to stay in business.

The board meeting's outcome is uncertain, two sources close to the matter said, as the bank has yet to receive the go-ahead from market watchdog Consob to reopen a debt swap offer to subordinated bondholders.

The debt swap should help it raise more cash, while the bank is hoping Qatar's sovereign wealth fund will stump up 1 billion euros. Under the plan, a banking consortium will also sell shares in the lender on the market, but without underwriting the stock issue.

With the clock ticking, the chances of the bank pulling off the fundraising appear increasingly slim, and bankers and analysts say state intervention appears to be the most likely option.

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, sworn in on Monday to succeed Renzi, will likely hold his first Cabinet meeting on Friday or at the weekend and commentators say the new leader's first step might be to sign off on a decree to prop up the bank.

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Government sources have said the state is ready to intervene if the private sector rescue fails, but this would come with unpopular losses imposed on the bank's junior debt holders, in line with European rules for dealing with bank crises.

Monte dei Paschi's statement confirmed a Reuters report on Friday, which said the ECB had rejected the bank's request for more time to wrap up its private rescue plan, citing a source close to the matter.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Jonathan Oatis)
Wall Streets record breaking streak looks ready to keep on rolling. The Dow Industrials (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) record highs as the Fed gets set to kick off its two-day policy meeting.

Here are some of the other stories the Yahoo Finance team is covering for you today.

Apple eyes $1B investment in tech fund: reports

Apple (AAPL) has reportedly held talks about investing in a $100 billion technology fund being raised by SoftBank. The Wall Street Journal says Apple has discussed a $1 billion investment with the Japanese mobile phone provider that owns Sprint (S). The new fund will invest in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and the so-called Internet of Things. Whats motivating Apples interest?

Faster Gmail and YouTube in Cuba

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), signed a deal on Monday with Cubas state telecom company to place computer servers on the island to speed up Google services in Cuba. The equipment could make Google websites like YouTube or Gmail up to 10 times faster for Cubans. The deal will not broaden access to the Internet in Cuba. How might President-elect Trump affect US businesses that want to do deals in Cuba?

Walmarts play for procrastinators

Walmart (WMT) is trying to boost sales by making life easier for last-minute shoppers. The retailer announced that customers can order items online as late as 6 p.m. on December 23 and pick them up at Walmart Supercenters anytime on Christmas Eve. Walmart has also launched a dedicated online website for customers to view a last-minute gift inventory available at their local store. Will all this help Walmart do battle with Amazon (AMZN)?
(Reuters) - Numerous voting machines in heavily Democratic Detroit showed a greater number of ballots than poll workers records said were cast in the Nov. 8 presidential election, the Detroit News reported on Tuesday. About 37 percent of precincts in Wayne County, Michigan, where Detroit is located, showed such discrepancies, the newspaper reported, citing records prepared at its request by the county. Voting irregularities in Detroit have prompted the state to audit the election results in the city, the newspaper said. Michigan was one of three rust belt states in which the campaign of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein requested a recount of the presidential election. Those efforts came to an end in Michigan on Friday when the Michigan Supreme Court refused to review an appeal of a lower court order barring a recount. On Monday, all three efforts were suspended after weeks of legal wrangling yielded a recount in Wisconsin only, and it favored Republican winner Donald Trump. A federal judge in Pennsylvania rejected Stein's request for a recount and an examination of that state's voting machines for evidence of hacking in the election. Meanwhile, Wisconsin election officials said on Monday they had completed a 10-day recount that found Trump's margin of victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton had increased by 131 votes. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
London (AFP) - Jose Mourinho has warned Wayne Rooney he cannot be sure of being involved in Manchester United's clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday despite Henrikh Mkhitaryan's injury.

The United and England captain has been relegated to the bench by both this season and has started just one league game since being left out against Leicester at the end of September.

Rooney is one goal short of the 249 career United goals scored by the legendary Bobby Charlton, but with just three goals this season, and only one in the league, the striker might have to wait a while longer to make history.

And although an injury to Mkhitaryan in Sunday's win against Tottenham will keep the Armenian forward out of United's next two games, Mourinho insists Rooney, 31, is just one of five players battling to start at Selhurst Park.

"I knew that was coming," joked Mourinho when asked if Rooney would start.

"Rooney, (Marcus) Rashford, (Jesse) Lingard, Ashley Young, Memphis Depay -- that's a position where we have lots of players so that will not be another problem, to choose a player to play.

"The problem is Mkhitaryan was playing so, so well and now he's not there."

Mourinho paid tribute to his central defensive pairing of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, two players whose United careers have been blighted by injuries and inconsistent form.

With that duo impressing and Eric Bailly returning to full fitness, Mourinho is confident about his defensive options.

"I am surprised with Phil because even with me he had this injury which stopped him for a long time," said Mourinho.

"Now he looks fresh and looks sharp and fast. I think he had a big evolution and I think he played already six matches. Six matches, Phil Jones? I don't remember when he did that.

"A little bit like Marcos because Marcos also had lots of problems with injuries and he also looks free of it.

"In a period without Bailly and (Chris) Smalling, when people could be scared, they stepped up and both played so many matches already -- six without defeat, I think -- playing well and solid so I'm really happy for that."

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There will be one enforced change in United's defence at Palace as right-back Antonio Valencia is suspended.

That could mean Matteo Darmian moving to right-back and Daley Blind stepping in on the left.

- Zaha threat -

For struggling Palace winger Wilfried Zaha will face his former club convinced he is now proving his critics wrong.

Zaha returned to Selhurst Park after an unsuccessful stint at Old Trafford two years ago and his form this season has prompted Eagles manager Alan Pardew to bemoan the fact Zaha may be lost to England if the player takes up an offer to play for Ivory Coast.

The 24-year-old made the second of his two friendly appearances for England three years ago but has since been overlooked and is still eligible to change the country he represents.

He sparkled in Palace's 3-3 draw at Hull on Saturday when he scored, won a penalty and provided an assist.

"Before I was known as the Wilf that just does tricks," Zaha said.

"On Saturday I managed to add a shot at the end and it was on target as well! I am happy with my progress.

"Everyone talks about my stats so I am just trying to give them a reason not to talk. I just do what I need to do on the pitch and see who laughs last."
An artists conception shows SpaceXs crew-capable Dragon approaching a port on the International Space Station with a cargo Dragon in the foreground. (NASA Photo)

NASA has confirmed that the commercial space taxis being developed by SpaceX and the Boeing Co. will start carrying astronauts to the International Space Station no earlier than 2018, and theres a chance the schedule could slip even further.

Any further schedule delays could create further complications, considering that NASA hasnt purchased seats aboard Russias Soyuz spacecraft for flights past 2018. In September, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said NASA wasnt presently looking at any additional seats beyond those that we have already purchased.

Until SpaceXs Crew Dragon and Boeings CST-100 Starliner enter service, the Soyuz vehicles provide the only approved way to get astronauts to and from the space station. NASAs most recent reservation with the Russians sets aside seats through the end of 2018, at a cost of $81.7 million per round trip.

In a blog posting, NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Martin said the current schedule calls for uncrewed test flights to the space station in November 2017 for SpaceX and June 2018 for Boeing.

After the uncrewed flight tests, both companies will execute a flight test with crew prior to being certified by NASA for crew rotation mission, Martin wrote.

She said SpaceX has targeted May 2018 for its crewed flight test, while Boeing is aiming to launch the first crew in August of that year.

In a statement, SpaceX said it was planning to fly the crewed demonstration flight in the second quarter of 2018 with two crew members.

NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing as commercial crew carriers in 2014 under the terms of $6.8 billion in contracts. Previously, SpaceX had held out hope that its first crewed flight might take place in 2017.

Boeing announced its revised development schedule in October.

In a Sept. 1 report, NASAs inspector general said multiple challenges  will likely delay the first routine flight carrying NASA astronauts to the ISS until late 2018. That report blamed the delays on issues relating to vehicle mass and vibrations during launch in Boeings case, and on the design changes required to enable a splashdown at sea in SpaceXs case.

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On the same day that report was issued, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and its payload were destroyed in a launch-pad explosion, forcing a months-long suspension of SpaceX launches.

We are carefully assessing our designs, systems and processes, taking into account the lessons learned and corrective actions identified, SpaceX said in todays statement. Our schedule reflects the additional time needed for this assessment and implementation.

The Falcon 9 is expected to return to service next month, but there are lingering questions about the planned fueling procedure for crewed Dragon flights.

Today SpaceX said that it has designed a reliable fueling and launch process that minimizes the duration and number of personnel exposed to the hazards of launch a rocket. The process calls for the crew to board the Dragon, followed by the departure of ground personnel and propellant loading. Throughout the process leading up to liftoff, the Dragons launch abort system would be enabled.

Last month, advisers to NASA said that putting the crew on board before loading the rockets oxidizer was contrary to booster safety criteria that has been in place for over 50 years. In todays statement, SpaceX said that the procedure had been worked out with NASAs safety review board, but would be carefully evaluated and revised as needed in light of the investigation into the Sept. 1 explosion.

Some observers have said privately that even the updated schedule is optimistic  which is almost always the case for spaceship development. The bigger issue has to do with keeping NASAs options open with the Russians if the delays mount and additional Soyuz seats are needed.

Boeing and SpaceX both say they can send astronauts into orbit at a lower per-seat cost than the Russians, but theres more than money at stake: Policymakers say flights of the Dragon and the Starliner are essential to making American spaceflight great again.

Theres even a prize waiting for the winner: During the final space shuttle flight in 2011, astronauts left a small U.S. flag on the space station, to be claimed by the first team to return on a U.S.-made spaceship.

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Aleppo civilians 'shot on the spot' - UN

Syrian pro-government forces have been entering homes in eastern Aleppo and killing those inside, including women and children, the UN says.
Newell Brands Inc. NWL is in the limelight once again. This consumer goods behemoth, which concluded Jarden Corp.s buyout in April this year, is back on an acquisition spree. In an attempt to solidify its portfolio further, the company inked a couple of deals to acquire Sistema Plastics for approximately NZ$660 million (US$470 million), and Smith Mountain Industries for roughly $100 million.



While the New Zealand  based Sistema Plastics offers exclusive food storage containers, Smith Mountain Industries is a leading provider of superior home fragrance goods, which mainly operates through its WoodWick Candle brand. Newell stated that it anticipates closing these buyouts by the second and first quarters of 2017, respectively.



Notably, Sistema Plastics generates annual sales of about $145 million, and is one of the fastest-growing names in the Food Storage space. Further, Sistemas strong global network and presence in regions where Newell doesnt currently operate, is likely to improve Newells geographic reach.



WoodWick Candle is another fast growing brand in its own category, with annual sales of around $65 million. The buyout of this unique scented candles brand is likely to be an appropriate fit for Newells Home Fragrance space, as it will complement the latters Yankee Candle brand, part of Jardens portfolio.



Clearly, the twin buyout will enhance Newells leadership footprint in three most significant categories, also termed as the Win Bigger categories that include Beverage, Home Fragrance and Food Storage. Notably, both Sistema Plastics and WoodWick Candle are currently growing at rates which clearly surpasses Newells core sales growth rate. Also, the acquisition of these businesses is anticipated to augment Newells normalized earnings with immediate effect.



Newell has been committed toward growing its higher-margin businesses. These acquisitions are part of the companys portfolio reorganization plan, which aims to transform Newell from a holding company into an operating company with fresh investment plans and new ideas for its combined portfolio with Jarden.



In this regard, the company announced plans of sell nearly 10% of its current portfolio, including a major chunk of its Tools segment and thereafter, aligning its resources to more profitable areas like Writing; Home Fragrance; Baby, Food Storage & Preparation; Appliances & Cookware; and Outdoor & Recreation. This in turn is likely to shape the company for a better future with stronger prospects.



Progressing on these lines, Newell already inked a deal to sell its Irwin, Lenox and Hilmor brands of the Tools segment, to Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. SWK, which is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2017. With that being taken care of, the company is back to its acquisition track, with the aforementioned announcements marking its first set of buyouts since its merger with Jarden.



Finally, the company announced that it plans to fund these purchases with cash on hand only, and has no intentions to touch proceeds from the divestitures of its held for sale units. This is because it plans to utilize the divestiture proceeds to free up the companys debt, and thus remain committed to achieving its leverage ratio target of 33.5 times EBITDA, by the end of 2018.



All said, Newell has once again testified to its practice of sharpening focus on creating a faster growing, higher margin and more profitable company. Closing trade at $46.48 on the last trading day, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock jumped 2.1% yesterday. In fact, the companys shares have jumped 5.4% on a year-to-date basis, against the Zacks categorized Consumer Products  Miscellaneous Staples industrys downside of 3.8%.



Story continues





Stocks to Consider



Some better-ranked stocks in the same industry include Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. OLLI, with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Blue Buffalo Pet Products, Inc. BUFF, with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Ollie's Bargain has to its credit a spectacular earnings trend as the company delivered a positive earnings surprise over the past four quarters. Moreover, its long-term EPS growth rate of 20.6% and positive estimate revisions over the past 7 days help it stand strong against the industry.



Blue Buffalo, with a long-term EPS growth rate of 14% has seen positive estimate revisions for 2016, over the past 30 days. The company also flaunts a solid earnings surprise history.



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Nearly three weeks since he was hospitalized after suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation, rapper Kanye West appeared with a new blonde 'do at the Trump Tower in New York City on Tuesday morning (Dec. 13).

CSpan footage showed West strutting into the hotel, offering a "hey" to reporters asking for the purpose of his trip. A rep for West did not immediately respond to Billboard's request for comment.

When asked about the "Kanye 2020" movement and if he's still considering a presidential run in light of his meeting with the president-elect or if he's considering performing at next month's inauguration, West just smiled and declined to comment. "I just want to take a picture right now," he replied.

The odd exchange ended with Trump putting his arm around West and pulling him in, then walking away and coming back for a handshake. "You take care of yourself, I'll see you soon," Trump said, pulling the rapper in for an embrace.

The hip-hop star recently offered his support for the president elect. Before canceling the 21 remaining dates of his Saint Pablo tour last month following his hospitalization, West was met with a chorus of boos at his San Jose, Calif., show after he revealed that he would have voted for Trump had he headed to the polls.

"I told y'all I didn't vote, right? But if I were to vote, I would have voted on Trump," he said.

West continued, "I just said that I would have voted for Donald Trump and then I did a song and y'all sang it at the top of your lungs. That doesn't mean that you're a Trump supporter. That just means you OK with a celebrity having their own opinion. Or that someone else is OK to have their own opinion. That might not be your opinion but you can still like that person or still like that person's music."

In September 2015, Trump reacted to West's announcement that he would run for president in 2020. "He's said very nice things about me in the past... extremely positive things," the then-presidential candidate told Rolling Stone. "He's actually a different kind of person than people think. He's a nice guy. I hope to run against him someday."

West also included a wax figure of Trump in his controversial "Famous" video, which also included nude wax figures of his wife, Kim Kardashian, in bed with Bill Cosby, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ray J and Caitlyn Jenner.
By Chijioke Ohuocha

LAGOS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Nigeria's government has found unrecorded debts of 2.2 trillion naira ($7.22 billion) left over from the previous administration, which turned up after an audit aimed at improving transparency, it said in a tweet.

"2.2 trillion unrecorded debt owed contractors/private sector found on federal government books, inherited from previous administration," said the message posted on twitter.

The debts were owed to contractors, oil marketers, exporters and electricity distribution companies, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said on Sunday in a statement. They will be settled by issuing a 10-year promissory note, Adeosun said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, elected last year on a promise to end corruption and mismanagement, has vowed to restore financial "sanity" in Nigeria, accusing previous governments of throwing the rule books "to the dogs".

The debts amount to 2.3 percent of Nigeria's gross domestic product, analysts at Ecobank said. Nigeria has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 16.6 percent.

Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in 25 years, brought on by low oil prices, which have slashed government revenue, hammered its currency and caused chronic dollar shortages, frustrating businesses.

Investors may worry about the potential of more debt to emerge, with oil receipts and foreign inflows declining, which could push up Nigeria bond yields and increase the government's cost of servicing its debt, analysts at Ecobank said.

Nigeria planned a record 6.06 trillion naira budget for this year, but it has struggled to fund it. It now plans to increase the 2016 amount by 20 percent for next year's budget, to help lift the economy out of recession.

Nigeria last week named Citigroup, Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank to manage a planned $1 billion Eurobond sale and hopes to start the issuance process in January.

($1 = 304.50 naira) (Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram, editing by Larry King)
By Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The European Union will not pay towards rebuilding post-war Syria if Moscow and Damascus leave no space in the future for opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to a draft joint statement from the EU's 28 leaders.

For weeks, Syrian, Russian and Iranian firepower has pounded rebels - including those backed by the West and Turkey - in what was their main urban stronghold of Aleppo. On Tuesday, thousands of people fled the city with rebel defeat seemingly imminent.

Establishing full control over Aleppo would mark government forces' biggest battlefield victory yet in the conflict that has raged for nearly six years, killing more than 300,000 people.

But, even if the rebels are defeated, the EU says no peace can hold in Syria as Damascus would face years of guerrilla warfare and the country could fall apart if power is not decentralised or devolved to give the opposition a role.

"The EU will provide support for Syria's reconstruction only once a credible political transition is firmly under way," the EU leaders will say on Thursday, according to the statement prepared for their meeting in Brussels and seen by Reuters.

The bloc's top diplomat Federica Mogherini has been delivering this message to Middle Eastern regional players - some of which are waging proxy wars in Syria - for several weeks, sources say.

The EU has already signalled it would press for more sanctions on Damascus but is not ready to impose any on Russia.

"The EU would normally have a key role in reconstruction. But if they create this monster there, we just won't pay for it. It'll be their responsibility," one EU official said, referring to Damascus, Moscow and their allies in the war.

Encouraged by November's U.S. presidential election victory by Donald Trump, who has vowed to improve Washington's ties with Moscow, the Kremlin has intensified its campaign in Syria.

An internal document prepared by Mogherini's service, which was also seen by Reuters, informing her contacts with top officials from Qatar, to Iran to Turkey of the same message: that Assad critics must have a role in the future of Syria.

Its stipulations include an "inclusive" political system to ensure "broad social and political representation".

(Editing by Louise Ireland)
DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 13, 2016 / North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: USMJ) today announced that it has scheduled to close on the acquisition of a controlling interest in Alternet Systems, Inc. (ALYI) next week on December 20, 2016. The two Companies have been working together since the beginning of the year on a retail cannabis payment system pilot. In conjunction with the acquisition anticipated to close next week, Alternet will begin to commercialize a cannabis retail payment system. Similar to the dividend USMJ shareholders received in conjunction with USMJ's acquisition of a controlling interest in Puration, Inc. (PURA), the anticipated transaction between USMJ and ALYI includes a plan to issue ALYI common stock to USMJ shareholders through a dividend distribution.

USMJ entered the cannabis sector in 2013 with a strategy to pilot various cannabis sector enterprises. The Company planned to facilitate the financing necessary to expand successful pilot projects by spinning graduating projects off into standalone public companies. The first spinoff was executed last year when PURA acquired graduating pilot project assets from USMJ in exchange for PURA preferred stock. A portion of the PURA preferred stock was designated for conversion into common stock and issuance to USMJ shareholders. On October 25th, USMJ announced entering discussions with ALYI on a deal that could lead to a second spinoff and dividend for North American Cannabis Holdings shareholders.

To learn more about North American Cannabis Holdings: www.growusmj.com

Follow the Company on Twitter: twitter.com/US_HEMP

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and as such, may involve risks and uncertainties. These forward looking statements relate to, amongst other things, current expectation of the business environment in which the company operates, potential future performance, projections of future performance and the perceived opportunities in the market. The company's actual performance, results and achievements may differ materially from the expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements as a result of a wide range of factors.

Story continues

USMJ Contact:

Steven Rash

Phone: +1-972-528-0162

SOURCE: North American Cannabis Holdings
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea protested on Tuesday against a U.N. report on alleged abductions of foreign nationals by Pyongyang and the many Korean families forcibly separated across the divided peninsula since the 1950s war. So Se Pyong, the North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said he would lodge the complaint to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Tuesday. Zeid's spokesman confirmed that the meeting was scheduled but would not comment further. "It's really nonsense. We didn't make that kind of abductions," So told Reuters at the Geneva mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). "This is not fair and also not impartial, it is just against the (U.N.) office's mission in principle," he said. The report, issued last week by Zeid's office, referred to international abductions as a "well-documented practice" by the North, targeting nationals of South Korea and Japan. It said that since the Korean war ended in 1953, an estimated 129,616 people had registered for reunion with their families in North Korea, but that more than half have now died without being reunited. Tensions between North and South Korea have been particularly high since the North's fourth nuclear test in January. For the latest reunion after more than six decades of separation, nearly 400 South Koreans crossed the heavily armed border into North Korea in October 2015. The reunions remain suspended due to joint military exercises conducted by South Korea and the United States, So said. "If the situation is okay, and it's peaceful and all the tension is calmed down, it will happen, this reunion. Because we are always open for those reunions of the separated families." So called on the United Nations to help secure the return of 13 young North Korean restaurant workers whom his government says were abducted in China last year by South Korean agents. "They seduced and finally abducted them to South Korea," he said. "We...asked the (U.N.) office just if you really want to do something for the human rights case, ask South Korean authorities to release these abducted girls." So, asked if their release was a condition for resuming family visits, said: "It is not the condition, it is their duty, their mission to do instead of doing this kind of report." (Editing by Mark Heinrich)
- By Harsh Jain





NVIDIA (NVDA) performed amazingly well in 2015 as the stock surged over 63%. On top of that, the company has also displayed huge growth this year, recently trading at a market price of $92.20, which signifies a surge of approximately 180% year over year.

Currently, NVIDIA holds a market share of 70%, down from 80% before the launch of its new architecture. Despite losing 10% market share to its foremost rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the company reported robust third-quarter results.





In the third quarter, the company shared earnings per share of 94 cents, effortlessly surpassing analyst estimates by 37 cents whereas revenue came in at $2 billion, beating the consensus estimates by $310 million and representing an increment of 53.8% year over year.

As a matter of fact, the company's key strength is in its core gaming business, which accounted for 64% of its overall revenue in the third quarter. Revenue generated from the gaming segment escalated 63% on the back of its new GPU architecture, Pascal, as well as sturdy demand for its desktop and notebook gaming cards.

Moving onward, it looks like the company's stellar run will endure as the gaming industry in the U.S is projected to rise at a compound yearly growth of 3.6% from 2015 to 2020. On the other hand, the worldwide video game industry is expected to reach $90 billion, which signifies a CAGR of 4.8%.

Apart from the gaming segment, NVIDIA is also putting a lot of effort into diversifyngi its revenue stream. The chips manufactured by the company are also being used in several other rapidly growing markets such as virtual reality (VR), self-driving cars, the IoT and artificial intelligence.

Keeping in mind the company's long-time dominance amid hard-core video game fans, it has belligerently focused more on the VR as VR appears to be a huge platform for the gaming industry.

Story continues

Moving toward the self-driving car segment, the company's latest Drive PX 2 semiautonomous system is formerly used by 80 auto manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers, and Tesla (TSLA) recently detailed that it has plans to use the artificial intelligence platform from Drive PX 2 for new versions of its Model X and Model S.

It is true that the autonomous cars market is still in its infancy, but it is projected to grow at a rapid pace, and NVIDIA's Drive PX 2 platform is a strong plus for the company, bearing in mind the long-term prospects of the automotive industry.

Summing up

NVIDIA currently trades at a price-earnings (P/E) ratio of 46.91, which suggests that the company is overvalued at its present levels. However, the company has successfully proved its bears wrong by delivering consecutive robust quarter results. Despite losing 10% market share back to Advanced Micro Devices, there is still a lot of room for growth moving forward. As a result, investors should continue to hold the stock for more gains in the future.

Disclosure: No position in the stocks mentioned in this article.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






Big 3 agreed on holding local body election on old structures, says Deuba

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has revealed that three big political parties have agreed to hold local body election on the old structure.
President Barack Obama doesnt expect hell suddenly just vanish once Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. He also doesnt expect to keep quiet if his successors administration impedes on the core values of the United States.

RELATEDDonald Trump Will Continue to Be Celebrity Apprentice EP

Remarking on Trumps proposed ban on Muslims, Obama on Mondays The Daily Show told Trevor Noah that he will have to say something if Trump follows through on his campaign promise, or insists on a registry of all Muslims currently living the United States.

If I thought a Muslim registry was being set up that violates the Constitution, violates who we are, and would make us less safe because it would make it easier for groups like [ISIS] to recruit and radicalize homegrown terrorists, I might have to say something about that, he said.

VIDEOSSeth Meyers to News Media: Alt-Right Is a Nazi Movement, Dont Normalize It

Obamas first Daily Show interview since Jon Stewarts departure also touched on Russias alleged election tampering, the future of the Affordable Care Act and attempting to navigate the nations racial divide. An extended cut, clocking in at 22 minutes, can be seen its entirety here.

Watch Obama discuss Trumps potential Muslim registry below (beginning at the 5:28 mark), then drop a comment with your thoughts.

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Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama will not declassify a comprehensive Senate report on the CIA's use of torture but he will preserve a copy in his presidential library, according to a White House letter released Monday.

Obama stipulated that the material remain classified for 12 years, said the letter from White House Counsel Neil Eggleston to Senator Dianne Feinstein, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Amid worries the incoming Trump administration could move to have all copies of the report destroyed, Eggleston said that the full 6,700-page study will be preserved under the Presidential Records Act.

"At this time, we are not pursuing declassification of the full study," the letter said.

The Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program, completed in 2014, detailed brutal torture methods like waterboarding used by the agency on detainees following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

It also reportedly deeply questioned the effectiveness of the techniques, since banned by the Obama administration.

Several copies were distributed to key parts of the US intelligence community, which has kept them under wraps.

In 2015, when Republicans took the lead of the Intelligence Committee, the new Chair Richard Burr sought to collect them all back.

Since then, some Democrats have pressed for the release of the full report, fearing Republicans aim to destroy it.

Obama's move guarantees at least one copy will survive, if not made public before 2029.

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democratic member of the committee, urged Obama to put the classified study on the public record and to direct that a redacted version be declassified, pointing to the possibility that President-elect Donald Trump could revive the use of torture.

"President Obama has made his opposition to torture a central part of his legacy," Wyden said in a statement.

"The American people deserve the opportunity to read this history rather than see it locked away in a safe for 12 years.

"It is also more critical than ever that the study be made available to cleared personnel throughout the federal government who are responsible for authorizing and implementing our country's detention and interrogation policies," Wyden said.
President Obama says no one should be shocked by the Central Intelligence Agencys assessment that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election in an effort to help Donald Trump win the White House.

None of this should be a big surprise, Obama told Daily Show host Trevor Noah in an interview that aired Monday night. This was reported on before the election. I dont think there was any doubt among anybody in the media or among members of Congress as to who was being advantaged or disadvantaged by the political gossip that was being put out in drip, drip, drip fashion up to the election.

The president argued that the more important issue  the perpetrator of the cyberattack that led to the emails being leaked  went under the radar in the medias coverage of the race.

What is it about the state of our democracy where the leaks of what were, frankly, not very interesting emails, that didnt have any explosive information in them, ended up being an obsession? And the fact that the Russians were doing this was not an obsession? Obama said.

President Obama talks with Daily Show host Trevor Noah at the White House. (Comedy Central)

In the weeks leading up to the November election, WikiLeaks published a series of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and others.

In October, 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, officially concluded that Russia was behind the hack that officials characterized as an attempt to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that the CIA says it is now quite clear that electing Trump was Russias goal.

President-elect Donald Trump trashed the reported assessment, calling it just another excuse pushed by the Democrats to undercut his stunning victory.

I think its ridiculous, Trump said on Fox News Sunday. I dont believe it.

On Monday, Trump doubled down.

Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card, Trump tweeted on Monday. It would be called conspiracy theory!

Story continues

Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

During the campaign, it was Trump who invited such a conspiracy by publicly encouraging Russia to hack Clintons emails to locate messages from the personal server she used while she was secretary of state.

I will tell you this, Russia: If youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, Trump said at a news conference in July. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.

In his Daily Show interview, Obama seized on Trumps Russian outreach.

The president-elect, in some of his political events, specifically said to the Russians, Hack Hillarys emails so that we can finally find out whats going on and confirm our conspiracy theories, Obama said. You had what was very clear relationships between members of the president-elects campaign team and Russians, and a professed shared view on a bunch of issues.

Obama continued: The real question that I think we all have to reflect on is whats happened to our political system where some emails that were hacked and released ended up being the overwhelming story and the constant source of coverage, breathless coverage, that was depicted as somehow damning in all sorts of ways  when the truth of the matter was it was fairly routine stuff.

The White House has faced bipartisan criticism for its apparent reluctance to respond forcefully to the Russian cyberattack. According to the Post, administration officials were concerned about escalating tensions with Moscow and being accused of trying to boost Clintons campaign and ultimately advised against a counterattack.

The president also addressed Trumps assertion that he doesnt need daily intelligence briefings because hes a smart person who doesnt have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years.

Well, I think the president-elect may say one thing and do another once hes here, Obama said. Because the truth of the matter is that its a big, complicated world. It doesnt matter how smart you are, you have to have the best information possible to make the best decisions possible.
You can practically smell the man-sweat dripping off director Sam Golds radical revision of Othello, whose high-profile actors, Daniel Craig and David Oyelowo, appear in a limited (and sold-out) Off Broadway run  produced by New York Theater Workshop with the additional backing of James Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli. The high-concept treatment updates the classic drama by transporting the action to a modern-day army camp. In this barracks setting, Shakespeares great military hero, Othello (Oyelowo), is unmanned and undone by the treacherous Iago (Craig) in full view of beefed-up soldiers wearing army-issue camo and big, black boots.

New York Theater Workshop has transformed itself to accommodate Golds innovative vision. The theater has been sheathed in rough, unfinished pine, and the auditorium seats replaced with steep, wooden bleachers  the better for an audience of voyeurs to peer down on the dozen or so soldiers preparing to crawl onto their floor mattresses for the night. Everybodys in tip-top shape (including the women), bulging with muscles and oozing testosterone as they have one last drink, play one more hand of cards, do a few more reps with the free weights, and playfully knock each other around. (Props master Kathy Fabian earns a military salute for all the realistic junk strewn about the barracks.)

But when the lights go out, they literally go out, and the entire first scene is played in the dark (which goes on too long). Into this darkness creeps Iago (Craig, in velvety voice), to inform Brabantio (Glenn Fitzgerald), an influential Venetian senator, that his daughter, Desdemona (Rachel Brosnahan), is making the beast with two backs with the Moorish army general. That, of course, is the beginning of the end for these fabled lovers, who come to a tragic end when the traitorous Iago convinces Othello that his loyal, loving wife has been unfaithful with his top lieutenant, Cassio (a sympathetic performance from Finn Wittrock).

Drawing on the productions powerful military vibe, both stars take their characters into primitive territory. Oyelowo makes a fierce Othello, using his imposing physical presence and resonant voice to reduce this noble character to a more primal state. But even after Othello is reduced to a murderous rage, Oyelowo tempers his brutality with remnants of his gentler spirit, drawing him to his tragic end  and the immortal dictate to speak of me as I am  of one that loved not wisely, but too well.

Craig, meanwhile, takes advantage of his military surroundings to add another dimension to Iagos character. Hes still the sly villain who takes abstract delight in the destruction of his victims. He certainly works his cunning ways on Desdemonas hopeless suitor, Roderigo (Matthew Maher, perfect), turning the poor gullible dupe into a bloody murderer. And in Craigs performance, the character has acquired a powerful physical presence  and a steely stare  that also makes him physically threatening.

Craigs Iago has a manner of detachment that underscores his outsider status. But while his subtle mind is too complex for the military life, he seems to envy the soldier mentality in Othello, to the point of identifying with the man he will destroy. In following him, I follow but myself, he says. I am not what I am.

The female characters  dressed (by David Zinn) in present-day duds and speaking with the careless diction of present-day youth  are the only ones not well-served in the productions military environment. Brosnahan is as sweet as she can be as the innocent Desdemona; but in the guise of a modern young woman, she comes across as an incredible fool.

In the same way, Marsha Stephanie Blakes rousing feminist take on Emilia (Lay you down and roar! she commands Othello) is a real pick-me-up at the end of the play; but it feels completely out of character. Not that this should matter to the youthful audience being courted by NYTW with this novel production  that they probably cant get into, anyway.

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Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f316088%2f32533df141204b998bc18abec4aab2ed

Some days you just can't win.

Police officers in Melbourne, Australia were left red faced Monday after engaging in a standoff with absolutely no one.

The officers attended the residence in Melton South at 9:30 a.m. following a tip-off, a Victoria Police spokesperson told Mashable via email. Apparently, they were responding to "information regarding a person of interest in regard to an ongoing investigation."

SEE ALSO: Canadian police officers want to prevent drunk driving with Nickelback

Armed police took "every precaution and attempted to call out to anyone inside the house," but after hours of waiting for someone, anyone to respond, officers made their way into the home.

JUST IN: Police are currently at an address in Melton South attempting to communicate with a man who is refusing to come out of a house. pic.twitter.com/k8mboM7qaB  7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) December 12, 2016

Just, there was no-one actually inside.

"After no response from the property the house was entered and cleared about 4.30 p.m. and no occupants were located inside," the spokesperson said.

It wasn't a completely fruitless operation, however, as police seized a vehicle and a motorcycle believed to be stolen. "As the investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage," he added.

Better safe than sorry, we guess.
By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Republican Governor John Kasich signed a 20-week abortion ban into law on Tuesday but vetoed stricter legislation that would have forbidden the procedure once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks after conception. Kasich, an abortion opponent, said in a statement that the proposed six-week legislation would be contrary to U.S. Supreme Court rulings on abortion, opening the state to potentially costly legal battles, and the veto was "in the public interest." "I agree with Ohio Right to Life and other leading, pro-life advocates that SB 127 is the best, most legally sound and sustainable approach to protecting the sanctity of human life," Kasich said in a statement on the 20-week law, which lawmakers approved last week. Neither of the measures made exceptions for rape or incest, although both allow for abortions that would save the mother's life. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide more than four decades ago, but states were allowed to permit restrictions once a fetus was viable. Some states, particularly those governed by Republicans such as Ohio, have sought to restrict abortion. More than 10 states have put 20-week abortion bans in place, but federal courts in Arizona and Idaho have ruled them unconstitutional. Under current law, Ohio prohibits abortion once a fetus is considered viable outside the womb, which is from 24 to 26 weeks of gestation. Lower courts have struck down stricter "heartbeat" laws, like the one Kasich vetoed on Tuesday, in North Dakota and Arkansas. The Supreme Court refused to hear appeals on those rulings in January. Kasich's decisions quickly drew criticism from both anti-abortion and abortion rights organizations. "John Kasich is treating womens health care like a game," Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said in a statement after the signing. "He thinks that by vetoing one abortion ban Ohioans will not notice that he has signed another. The 20-week abortion ban callously disregards the unique circumstances that surround a womans pregnancy." Meanwhile, anti-abortion group Faith2Action, called Kasich's veto of the six-week ban a "betrayal of life," and urged supporters to call lawmakers to try to persuade them to override Kasich's veto. At least three-fifths of the members of both the Republican-led state House of Representatives and the state Senate would have to vote in favor of overriding the governor's veto in order to overturn it. (Writing by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; editing by Dan Grebler and Jonathan Oatis)
An Ohio man arrested in 2015 for pouring gasoline on his then-girlfriend and lighting her on fire was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison after being convicted of aggravated arson, possession of criminal tools and assault, PEOPLE confirms.

Michael Slager, 41, pleaded no contest to all three criminal counts just before his sentencing, according to a statement from Ron OBrien, the prosecutor for Ohios Franklin County.

OBrien said in his statement, which was obtained by PEOPLE, that Slager received the maximum sentence for his crimes.

On Aug. 2, 2015, police responded to a gas station in Gahanna, Ohio, after dispatchers received reports from several witnesses claiming a woman was engulfed in flames, set ablaze by a man who was later identified as Slager.

Authorities say the victim  Slagers girlfriend, Judith Malinowski  was rushed to Ohio State Universitys Wexner Medical Center in critical condition. According to OBrien, Malinowski, 33, still remains in the hospitals care and her condition remains unchanged.

A majority of her body bears scarring and she has undergone innumerable surgeries to keep her alive, OBrien said. The attack left 90 percent of her body covered in third- or fourth-degree burns, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Would she want to be like this? Would she want to go on? Malinowskis mother told the paper. She would.

Shed want to stay to help someone  anyone, Malinowskis mother said. Do you want to know why she was Miss New Albany? Because she was the sweetest kid there was. She had the nicest personality. (Her family could not immediately be reached by PEOPLE.)

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Slager was also treated for burns hed sustained in the altercation, authorities said.

Police said he initially characterized the conflagration as a horrible accident, but investigators learned from witnesses that the couple had been arguing just before Malinowski was set on fire.

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At least one witness told police that Slager used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the flames.

Slagers attorney, Robert Krapenc, could not immediately be reached for comment following the sentencing, and it was not immediately clear if he plans to appeal.

Krapenc has denied Slager intended to start the fire. But Malinowskis family told the Dispatch she was afraid of him.

Before Slagers plea and sentencing Monday, Malinowskis mom told the Dispatch her daughter planned to testify  remotely, if she had to: Shes fighting.




By Amanda Cooper

LONDON (Reuters) - Global oil demand will rise more strongly than expected next year, although it is too soon to assess fully the impact of a joint cut in supply by the world's largest producers, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

In its monthly oil market report, the IEA said revisions to its estimate of Chinese and Russian consumption had prompted it to raise its forecast for global oil demand growth this year by 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4 million bpd, and to lift its forecast for 2017 by 110,000 bpd to 1.3 million bpd.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Nov. 30 to cut output by 1.2 million bpd to 32.5 million bpd for the first six months of 2017, together with another 558,000 bpd in cuts from the likes of Russia, Oman and Mexico.

The IEA said the market could show a shortfall of 600,000 bpd early next year if all parties complied with the agreement

"If OPEC and its non-OPEC partners stick to their pledges, global inventories could start to draw in the first half of 2017," the IEA said, adding that this was not its own forecast, but was based on the agreement.

"The deal is for six months and we should allow time for it to be implemented before re-assessing our market outlook. Success means the reinforcement of prices and revenue stability for producers after two difficult years; failure risks starting a fourth year of stock builds and a possible return to lower prices," the Paris-based organisation said.

The IEA raised its estimate of Chinese consumption by 135,000 bpd to 11.9 million bpd for 2016, thanks to sharp rises in imports of mixed aromatics in the first half of this year and better coverage of the independent, or "teapot" refineries.

The IEA said it had more than halved its forecast for non-OPEC supply growth for next year to 220,000 bpd, marking a cut of 255,000 bpd, following the agreement of Russia and 10 other non-OPEC producers to join OPEC's effort to reduce output and speed up the rebalancing of the market.

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The agency said global oil supply rose to a record 98.2 million bpd in November, as OPEC production offset declines elsewhere.

Non-OPEC oil production fell by 160,000 bpd in November to 57.1 million bpd, while OPEC crude output rose by 300,000 bpd to a new record high of 34.2 million bpd, the IEA said.

In its last monthly report in November, the IEA warned that without any sort of cut, 2017 could witness another year of "relentless supply growth" from non-OPEC producers.

Crude inventories across the world's richest nations fell for a third month in a row in October, marking their longest stretch of declines since 2011, and falling by 74.5 million barrels from July's record 3.102 billion barrels, the IEA said.

"Total OECD stocks of crude and refined products fell (28 million barrels) on downwardly revised (by 13 million barrels) Sept. 16 levels," energy consultant Tudor Pickering Holt said in a research note, referring to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which groups developed countries.

"Over the past three months (July through October), total stocks fell (72 million barrels) versus (the) normal (2 million barrels). According to this arithmetic, the oil market has already rebalanced . . . before OPEC cuts effective Jan. 1."

IEA chief Fatih Birol told a conference in Prague that higher oil prices would weaken global demand.

"If the price goes up to around $60, we will see investments from the U.S. and elsewhere and we will see a lot of oil coming from the U.S. and other regions," he said. "Global oil demand growth, with high prices, will be weaker."

(Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Louise Heavens)
Citizenship provision

Constitution is already discriminatory, but with this amendment, it will also become patriarchal
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Several surveys show that President-elect Donald Trump's win was a confidence boost for business owners. However, they're not immediately planning to invest more.

On Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business' report on small businesses continued this trend.

"What a difference a day makes," said Juanita Duggan, the NFIB CEO, in the release. "Before election day small business owners optimism was flat, and after election day it soared."

The headline Small Business Optimism Index jumped by 3.5 points to 98.4. Like Wall Street, small business owners are betting that Trump's promises to ease regulations and cut taxes would support their bottom lines.

In fact, compared to the bigger companies  whose shares have rallied since the election  small business owners are likely more excited about these prospects because they have less muscle to cope in the current environment.

"Federal taxes, regulations, and Obamacare are the three biggest impediments to running a small business in America," Duggan said, highlighting three key ingredients of Trump's policy proposals.

"Small business owners have high expectations that those problems will be addressed."

But the one thing businesses are not saying post-election is that they want to spend more.

The improvement in sentiment "doesnt seem to have been enough to convince small firms to step up their plans for investment," said Andrew Hunter, a US economist with Capital Economics. "The investment intentions sub-index actually declined to 24, from 27, leaving it consistent with a stagnation in business equipment investment."

The charts below show that while optimism has improved ...

Screen Shot 2016 12 13 at 1.15.55 PM

... spending plans have declined (overall business-equipment investment has declined for the past four quarters):

Screen Shot 2016 12 13 at 1.14.42 PM

Frances Donald, a senior economist at Manulife Asset Management, tweeted details from the NFIB survey, which show that companies are also not planning to raise wages:

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Odd that small businesses are more optimistic after election but dropped expectations of higher wages and capital spending cc: @economistmeg pic.twitter.com/hYJFStsPJ5  Frances Donald (@francesdonald) December 13, 2016

It's likely that business owners are waiting for more clarity on the timeline for when Trump's promises will be actualized, and if they ever will.

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The Onward Struggle Hundreds of Sudanese refugees wait to get solar lamps and other badly needed assistance at Pagirinya settlement in Adjumani District in Gulu, Uganda, September 2016. (Photograph by Paula Bronstein)



Photography by Paula Bronstein and Story by Karen Coates for Yahoo News.

___

The journey takes days, sometimes weeks, often on foot. The roads are too risky, so they hike through the bush, fleeing gunfire and bombs, and the widespread threats of rape, torture, kidnapping and death. Everything they bring, they carry or wear: a T-shirt and jeans, a dress, a cooking pot, a few photos or family heirlooms. By the time they reach the border, many have lost track of their spouses and children. Many have watched their loved ones die.

Every day, on average, more than 2,400 South Sudanese refugees cross the border into Uganda, escaping violence at home. Last week, a UN human rights commission warned that South Sudan is showing signs of "impending genocide" with the potential for a repeat of Rwanda, circa 1994. South Sudan, the world's youngest country, gained independence in 2011, but conflict flared in 2013 between President Salva Kiir and then-Vice President Riek Machar. A peace deal was struck in 2015, but violence reignited this past July. More than 1 million South Sudanese have sought refuge in other countries; Uganda shelters the most, with nearly 600,000.

Aid agencies struggle to keep pace. "The scale of the influx is unprecedented," says Lydia Wamala, communications officer for the U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) in Uganda. "Eighty-six percent of the new arrivals are women and children, with few or no resources to start their lives anew."

The WFP is constantly recalculating its needs. In recent months, the organization has faced funding shortfalls in the tens of millions, and in August it cut food rations in half for all but the newest and neediest arrivals. Since then, acute malnutrition rates have risen, according to the UN refugee agency. And that leaves refugees more susceptible to other conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and respiratory disease. The WFP needs $72 million for its operations between now and May. "If we do not receive new funding," Wamala says, "we will have a significant shortfall in March." And that could mean further cuts in food rations.

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"The majority of the people are underfed in this settlement," says Veronica Mesiko Simon, a 40-year-old South Sudanese tailor and mother of six who fled her home in July and now lives in Pagirinya Settlement in northern Uganda. Yet, like thousands of others, she sees Uganda as her family's only hope. "I would love to go back to my country when there is peace. But now, if there is constant fighting, it is becoming unbearable."

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Reporting for this story was made possible by the International Women's Media Foundation African Great Lakes Reporting Initiative.

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See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.
Once again, we have a popular vote loser taking the White House, and once again we have criticism and fights over the existence of the Electoral College. The reason for why we have the Electoral College is poorly understood  supporters usually make the argument that it was designed to ensure that smaller states weren't swamped in a presidential vote.

A look at the contemporary discussions in the 1780s and James Madison's notes on the debate in the Constitutional Convention shows that this is incorrect  the Electoral College was actually created to both separate the powers and combat corruption from both foreign and domestic sources.

It is important to look at how the Convention arrived at an Electoral College. With the exception of the Pennsylvania delegates, popular election of the president didn't have much support. Instead, the first plan presented  the Virginia or Randolph Plan  proposed that the Executive be elected by the new legislature, which would eventually be called Congress.

This would have made perfect sense to the conventioneers. At the time, in eight of the 13 states, Governors were selected by the state legislature, not the voters, and in two others states, the legislature made the choice if no candidate received an absolute majority.

Early on, the Conventioneers adopted this view  on June 2, the convention voted to have the legislature elect the president. Pennsylvania Delegate and future Supreme Court Justice James Wilson, the leading proponent of the popular election of the president, first proposed a prototype of the Electoral College, which was rejected 8-2.

On June 9, they rejected an idea that the state Governors would choose the president, and Alexander Hamilton proposal for an Electoral College-type plan was rejected on June 18. On July 17, they returned to the issue and rejected both a popular vote method and a quasi-Electoral College approach, and reapproved the idea that the legislature would choose the president.

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They reversed this action on July 19 and adopted a nascent Electoral College plan, but then reversed that on July 24. An Electoral College plan was defeated again on August 24. It was at only at the very end of the Convention on September 4-8, that a Committee of 11 put the Electoral College fully into play and the idea was adopted for good.

A look at Madison's notes shows that the Convention kept considering an Electoral College for specific reasons, one that was not focused on helping small states or ensuring that every part of the country was heard from  that was what the Senate was for.





Instead, the ideal of separation of powers between the branches and a desire to minimize corruption were the constant concerns of the Founding Fathers. At the Convention, Pennsylvania delegate Gouverneur Morris, who is credited with literally writing the Constitution, was concerned that "corruption and cabals" would be used to choose the president if Congress was given that direct power.

South Carolina's Pierce Butler also said that in choosing a president "[t]he two great evils to be avoided are cabal at home, & influence from abroad."

After the Convention, the major work in defense of the Electoral College, Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Papers #68, hit hard on the corruption angle. Hamilton claimed that the Electoral College was "almost the only part of the system, of any consequence, which has escaped without severe censure."

But his defense of the Electoral College method was not about fairness, but rather about not "corrupting the body of the people" or causing "[T]he business of corruption." Hamilton goes a step further as he states that in creating the Electoral College, a series of bodies that would meet in different states throughout the country, the convention was trying to prevent the desire of "foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?"

But the creation of the Electoral College was not thought to be the final answer in choosing a president. The delegates wanted Congress to be limited in who they chose, but in many ways, Congress was ultimately expected to make the choice.

There was a clear belief that the Electoral College, meeting in 13 separate states, would regularly not be able to settle on one candidate to get an absolute majority, and the election itself would be thrown to the House  where ultimately the smaller states would have a larger role to play. The Electoral College would therefore operate as a nominating convention for the top five candidates.

A look at the record shows this was considered a very likely possibility in most elections. Delegate George Mason thought that "nineteen times out of twenty" the presidential choice would be thrown to Congress. The Anti-Federalist Paper #72 thought this was the arrangement, as it criticizes the Constitution: "And, after all (excepting some such change as is not likely to happen twice in the same century) to intrust Congress with the final decision at last?"

The Founding Fathers' ability to gauge the future failed them here in two respects. For one, they simply did not anticipate how quickly national political parties could form. By 1796, the first election without the unifying presence of George Washington, clear lines had formed. By 1800, Congress was deciding the presidency.

They also did not anticipate that the creation of the vice presidential position would complicate matters to such a degree that a 12th Amendment was deemed necessary. The 12th Amendment changed the Electoral College in numerous ways, most notably by completely rethinking the vice president as a running mate largely subservient to the president rather than a competitor and runner-up.

Following this amendment, Congress actually took on the role of presidential nominator with the rise of the "Congressional Caucus" system in the first decades of the 19th Century. But following the election of 1824, the second and final time that Congress actually decided the presidency (in favor of second place finisher John Quincy Adams instead of Andrew Jackson), the role of Congress in choosing presidents has been, with the exception of the disputed election of 1876, effectively theoretical.

There have been attempts to get rid of the Electoral College over the years, but barring a massive change of heart by Republicans, the Electoral College is here to stay. But it is important to understand its actual, widely ignored, roots.

The Electoral College wasn't really intended to replace popular vote; it was put in place instead of election by Congress. And the reason was not to help small states; it was to combat potential corruption in the election of a president.

Commentary by Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York. He blogs at The Recall Elections Blog. Follow him on Twitter @recallelections.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.




Investors in shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. ZIOP need to pay close attention to the stock based on moves in the options market lately. That is because the Call which expires on Dec 16, 2016 for the $13 strike price had some of the highest implied volatility of all equity options today.

What is Implied Volatility?

Implied volatility shows how much movement the market is expecting in the future. Options with high levels of implied volatility could mean that investors in the underlying stocks are expecting a big move in one direction or the other. It could also mean there is an event coming up soon that could cause a big rally or a huge sell off. However, implied volatility is only one piece of the puzzle when putting together an options trading strategy.

What do the Analysts Think?

Clearly, options traders are pricing in a big move for ZIOPHARM Oncology shares, but what is the fundamental picture for the company? Currently, ZIOPHARM Oncology is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) in the Medical-Biomedical and Genetics Industry that ranks in the top 24% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Over the last 60 days, one analyst has increased their earnings estimates for the current quarter, while two have dropped their estimates. The net effect has taken our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter from a loss of 12 cents to a loss of 11 cents in that period.

Given the way analysts feel about ZIOPHARM Oncology right now, this huge implied volatility could mean theres a trade developing. Often times, options traders look for options with high levels of implied volatility to sell premium. This is a strategy many seasoned traders use because it captures decay. At expiration, the hope for these traders is that the underlying stock does not move as much as originally expected.

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Moscow (AFP) - As head of US oil major ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson signed deals worth billions of dollars with Russia's state oil giant and received an award for "friendship" from President Vladimir Putin.

Now Tillerson's close ties with Moscow are raising concerns in Washington after President-Elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the oilman as his pick for secretary of state.

Here is what you need to know about Tillerson's relationship with Russia:

- Strictly business... -

A veteran company man of over 40 years, Tillerson helped drive his firm's presence on the lucrative Russian market as international oil majors flocked to try to tap into Moscow's reserves after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the late 1990s, as the head of the company's Russia Unit, the Texan spearheaded the push to get a multi-billion dollar project on the far eastern island of Sakhalin that went on to become one of ExxonMobil's most vaunted overseas ventures.

After becoming CEO in 2006, Tillerson oversaw the agreement of a potentially even more profitable opportunity with the signing in 2011 of a cooperation deal with Russia's biggest oil company Rosneft, headed by close Putin ally Igor Sechin.

The pact opened up the vast riches of Russia's Arctic region to ExxonMobil where Rosneft -- which rose from mediocrity under Putin by snapping up the assets of defunct firm Yukos -- badly needed foreign expertise.

In 2014 the two firms drilled their first joint exploration well in the Arctic.

- Or is it personal? -

After the sealing of the Rosneft deal, Putin in 2012 awarded Tillerson Russia's Order of Friendship medal for his "major contribution to the development and strengthening of cooperation with Russia."

Following Trump's announcement, Russian state television were building Tillerson up by saying that "few Americans have as good relations with the Russian president" and the Kremlin hailed the pair's "good, businesslike relations" ties.

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Tillerson's personal acquaintance with Putin goes back to 1999 when the Russian leader was serving as prime minister under then-President Boris Yeltsin.

While Tillerson might have spent more time in the years since dealing with ex-KGB officer Putin than almost any other American, it does not mean that the two have necessarily developed any close personal bond.

In the Kremlin Putin has personally supervised Russia's strategic hydrocarbon sector that has provided the major crux for his rule since he came to power in 2000.

The Russian leader has developed a close working relationship with the bosses of other international oil majors who sought to tap into Russia and handed out state awards to others as well.

- Shadow of sanctions -

In 2014, just as ExxonMobil and Rosneft were cranking up their business cooperation, the geopolitical situation was fast heading in the other direction.

Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine after the ouster of its Kremlin-backed leader saw ties between Washington and Moscow slump to their lowest since the end of the Cold War, with the West beginning to impose sanctions.

As the US cranked up its economic punishment in the summer of 2014 over the pro-Moscow rebellion in east Ukraine -- including sanctions against Rosneft -- the brake was applied to relations between the two giants.

While cooperation did not entirely stop, work was wound down and ExxonMobil said that the sanctions had cost the firm some $1 billion ($940 million) as progress froze on the Arctic projects and stopped the firm picking up its income from Sakhalin.

Tillerson has spoken out against the sanctions and encouraged the White House to consider the "very broad collateral damage" that they inflict on business interests.

In 2014 at the urging of the US government he skipped Putin's flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg -- Russia's answer to Davos -- but he was back at the glitzy event this year.
Production designers, as they craft the world where directors lay their scenes, often start a project by hitting the books. Its a job that requires solid research skills (especially for the period lms that garner the most awards attention in the category) as well as massive amounts of imagination.

You have to do your research and know your history, but at one point you also need to know when to close the books and be creative, says production designer Patrice Vermette, recalling the extensive research required for The Young Victoria, which earned him an Oscar nomination in 2010.

Vermette is back in contention this year, for sci-fi drama Arrival. He and two other production designersRules Dont Applys Jeannine Oppewall and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Thems Stuart Craigshared with Deadline how both research and creativity were key to their films.

Arrival had Vermette spending less time with the Royal Archives and more studying photos of spaceships and sea creatures. Real-world squids partially inspired the look of the films massive, seven-legged aliens, called heptapods, but Vermette strove to make their ship look nothing like any spacecraft ever seen before.

I started looking at a number of science fiction movies, he says, and I realized very quickly that since 2001: A Space Odyssey, except some very rare occasions, most of these spaceships all look very similar. Everybody has a very specific idea now how a spaceship and how alien spaceships should look. And I wanted to get out of that.

After director Denis Villeneuve told Vermette about an oval-shaped exoplanet, the Canadian production designer decided to make the heptapods shipdubbed the Shelloblong and like a stone, all black, no windows, no little antennas.

A crucial part of Vermettes work on the film was designing the heptapods written language. Screenwriter Eric Heisserer included an early version of the language in his screenplay, and then Villeneuve tasked his production designer with creating a less techy-looking version of the language and determining its mechanics; what each blot, curl, and squiggle meant. He built a dictionary of about 100 logogramscircular coffee stain-esque inscriptions produced with the heptapods ink.

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It was Heisserer who determined that the heptapods language must have circular logograms. And circles subtly permeated other parts of the production designVermette found a location for the hospital at the beginning of the film that has a circular corridor, and for Amy Adams characters classroom, he made sure to secure a lecture hall with curved rows of desks.

Oppewall comes to this awards season after having spent nine years on the Academys Board of Governors, where she got to know Annette Bening. Warren Beatty ran Oppewalls name by his wife when he was searching for a production designer for Rules Dont Apply, and Bening vouched for my ability to stand up to people, says Oppewall, whose credits include Pleasantville, L.A. Confidential, and Catch Me If You Can.

For a production designer, speaking up for your own ideas is just as important as dutifully realizing a directors vision, Oppewell contends. You have to try your best to protect directors from going off the rails. When you see that theyre headed for the cliff, you have to be able to say No, no, no, boss, dont go over thereits dangerous.

On Rules Dont Apply (starring, written, and directed by Beatty), about Howard Hughes and a young aspiring actress new to Hollywood, one area where Oppewell pushed back was Beattys initial idea to have the many hotels Hughes occupies all be part of the same hotel chain with the same furniture.

That wasnt really going to work because you cant confuse the audience by making them think that they are always staying in the same place, she says. Plus, the design of a hotel in Acapulco is gonna be different from the design of a hotel in Las Vegas, or one in London, because theyre all different climates with different history and different types of construction. The Acapulco hotel suite that bookends the film particularly stands out, with its aqua blue and lime yellow, a fun-in-the-sun avor, as Oppewell describes it.

Beattys mysterious Hughes prefers to conduct business in darkened rooms. But the minimal amount of lighting on much of Oppewells work didnt keep her from paying attention to period-accurate detail inspired by research online and in books.

Its not just about what the camera sees. Its about what the actors see, she says. Its an acting space, and the actors have to get in there, into the nest, make it their own, and respond physically and emotionally to the environment that we create for them.

For Fantastic Beasts, Craig returned to the magical world hed crafted in all eight Harry Potter films, though this time, to a different continent of that world, in a story set seven decades before Harry defeats Lord Voldemort.

Craig set out to distinguish the home base for the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) from the British Ministry of Magic headquarters located

deep underground. J.K. Rowling determined MACUSA would be housed within the Woolworth Building, and Craig designed a multi-level, glimmering, art deco atrium for Eddie Redmaynes Newt Scamander to walk into in awe.

The look of the titular beasts began in the art department, with drawings by concept artists, before being turned over to visual effects houses. The most challenging beast to get right, Craig recalls, was the Occamy, a feathered, two-legged creature with a serpentine body that expands to fill the space it occupies.

Its the most exotic creature because of its vivid colors and its extraordinary part snake-, part bird-like movement and behavior, Craig says.

The Fantastic Beasts art departments collective imagination ran wild with the design of magical creatures and buildings, but they had to also create, a very authentic-looking, very credible New York, Craig explains,  because we learned on the Potter films that the magic works really well when its born out of something that seems completely real; something you accept and believe.

Craig stayed committed to a realistic look for the Big Apple by not miniaturizing the street sets built at Leavesden Studios. Its a typical practice to reduce the size of streets and buildings on backlots to t more in frame. We stuck to wide streets and wide sidewalks, Craig says. Though Craig was tasked with crafting the Wizarding World of 1926, Fantastic Beasts oddly felt more modern to him than the eight Harry Potter films. Because its set in New York with skyscrapers, it feels more like a contemporary film than Harry Potter because theyre going to school in this medieval castle. It feels period because the setting is period. So theres a strange contradiction there.

Fantastic Beasts, Rules Dont Apply and Arrival are vying for the attention of Oscar voters who have long favored period films in the Best Production Design category. Wins for Avatar, Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars are notable otherworldly exceptions, while All the Presidents Men managed to capture attention for its contemporary D.C. By contrast, the Art Directors Guild Awards have separate categories for Contemporary, Fantasy, and Period.

Craigwhose three Oscars are for period films The English Patient, Dangerous Liaisons and Gandhisays, Its perceived, I suppose, as if [period films] were more work and required a bigger effort, and I think that absolutely is not true. Contemporary films are more difficult because the choices are endless. In a period film, youre restricted by the period, the clothes available, the detail that you discover in research. There are fewer choices. Contemporary filmsthe fact that theres a profusion of choices makes it harder.

Come Feb. 26, 2017, well know whether the Academy has again awarded a production designers recreation of the past, or imagined present or future.

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In Hollywood, a reputation is hard to shake. The #OscarsSoWhite protests of the past two years have been beneficial, raising the consciousness of the studios and agencies in Hollywood. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is trying to help make changes as well  but is simultaneously trying to shake the perception that it was the source of the problem.

Oscar voting runs Jan. 5-13, and nominations will be announced Jan. 24. Some AMPAS choices (e.g., surprises and omissions) will undoubtedly be criticized in the coming months, which is fine, but criticism should be based on fact. So here are a few reminders:

Oscars have a secret ballot.

When Spotlight wins best picture or Idris Elba does not get an acting nomination, there are no tallies revealed. So the public assumes these were the unanimous choices of every Oscar voter. In many cases, the votes were probably very close, but well never know. Some critics groups actually do sit in a room together when voting, but the Academy doesnt. The org consists of 7,000 individuals in 17 branches (directors, cinematographers, etc.) and each branch makes its own nominations. Many pundits talk about how they voted and who they ignored, without acknowledging that people and films may have come in sixth or seventh. Snub is awards-season shorthand for didnt get enough votes, but it doesnt mean that nobody voted for it. In other words, Straight Outta Compton and Ridley Scott probably got more votes than we realized.

The Academy doesnt make greenlight decisions.

Yes, most studio heads are in the Academy. But the majority of members are workers in the trenches. The execs (and crucially, film financiers) make decisions about what film will get made based on past successes (mistakenly believing that these are safe choices). Last year, out of 305 eligible films, only a handful came from women and/or minority filmmakers. So when Oscar voters didnt nominate a lot of diverse films, it could be because there were not enough choices.

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Dont focus too much on acting categories.

This year, there will certainly be some black actors nominated for their knockout work. But dont think the industry has solved its diversity/inclusion problem. There are still not enough films from blacks behind the camera, as well as Latino/Hispanic filmmakers, Asians, women, Muslims, people with disabilities, LGBT individuals, etc. And no, this is not about quotas or affirmative action. When people aim for industry diversity, theyre talking about more opportunities for the under-represented, and expanding executives mindset to hire someone not exactly like them.

White and 62 doesnt mean senile.

Academy membership has traditionally been for people with lots of experience  and the harsh reality of the industry is that this often means white men. Ever since the L.A. Times survey of February 2012, pundits have cited Academy demographics as alleged proof of incompetence or out-of-touch-ness. The assumption was that if youre over 60 and white, youre a dopey bigot with boring taste. But Tom Hanks, James Cameron, George Miller, Steven Spielberg, Ian McKellen and Jeff Bridges (aka The Dude), to name just a few, are over 60, but no one would think to describe them as doddering. Academy demographics are expanding, which is a good thing. Inclusion means broadening the demographics  it also means respecting the ones who are already there.

The film industry has a lot of work to do.

The TV and music industries are further along, but there is still room for improvement. With films, the protests were a wakeup call to the industry, which is great. Knock wood, we are already seeing signs of progress. But as a final reminder: AMPAS is a reflection of film industry imbalance, not the cause of it.

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Control power leakage, says PM

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the Energy Ministry to take firm action to control electricity leakage and bring it down to 15 percent from the current 25 percent.
London (AFP) - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has asked Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes to step in and help them secure over $3million they are owed from the organisers of the Rio Games the BBC revealed on Tuesday.

IPC spokesman Craig Spence told the BBC his body was 'hugely disappointed' the Rio organisers had missed a payment deadline for travel grants just as they had done for the first instalment.

The IPC had paid this money to smaller countries competing at the Paralympics to cover loans they had taken out to ensure their athletes were able to compete in Rio.

As a result the IPC is presently $3.7million (2.9m, 3.4m euros) out of pocket -- the organisers should have paid the latest instalment a fortnight ago -- and hoping Paes will come to their aid.

"We're hugely disappointed that the second instalment of the travel grants, just like the first set, have not been paid on time by Rio 2016 and are urgently seeking a resolution to this issue from all parties concerned," Spence said.

"The IPC has stepped in to keep these smaller NPCs (national Paralympic committees) afloat.

"The longer this situation goes on, the more likely it is that other NPCs come forward asking for financial support from the IPC."

Further complicating the issue is the organisers are believed to have told the IPC they cannot pay them the money because they are owed money by the city authorities and their accounts have been frozen because of two law suits by suppliers for other unpaid bills.

Spence said the IPC had sent a letter to Paes, who was responsible for raising crucial funds at a late stage so the Paralympics could go ahead smoothly, overnight Monday seeking his help in the matter.

"Overnight we have sent a letter to Rio mayor Paes, who was hugely supportive of the Paralympic Games, asking him to step in and intervene" Spence said.
The parents of twin infants have been arrested after police found the babies looking like skeletons.

Police were called to an urgent care center in Oklahoma where Kevin Fowler, 25, and Aislyn Miller, 24, had brought the children.

Read: Body Of Woman Who Family Said Fled Domestic Abuse Found, Husband Arrested: Cops

Medical staff called police because they said the babies were so skinny that they reportedly looked "like skeletons," had bed sores and were suffering from severe diaper rash.

According to reports, both of them had infections. One of the babies reportedly had a maggot crawl out of one of her wounds and another had feces in their ear.

Due to their condition, the babies were transported to the hospital, according to reports, and the parents were taken into custody.

After seeing the state the infants were in, an Owasso police sergeant said it was the worst child abuse case hes ever seen.

Miller reportedly told police that she knew there were issues but that they are new parents and dont have experience taking care of infants.

Read: Man Charged With Assault, Endangerment After Girlfriend's Toddler Is Found Brain Dead: Cops

She also reportedly told police that the fact the twins were born premature contributed to their condition.

Miller had no photos of the twins on her Facebook page, but did have pictures with another young baby boy.

Miller and Fowler were both booked on two counts of child abuse, according to court records, and remain in jail on $100,000 bail.

Watch: Teacher Charged With Child Sex Abuse After Being Impregnated by Student

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PARIS (AP)  Days after the Islamic State group seized back control of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, a prescient exhibit was inaugurated in Paris on Tuesday that aims to educate the public on the wounded wonder that Syrians affectionately call the "Bride of the Desert."

Its organizers said the display opening Wednesday is designed to be an "emotional" experience that takes visitors to Palmyra and other endangered world heritage sites in the Middle East. It's also meant to show how much of the Syrian site's heritage so far has been spared.

The exhibit at the Grand Palais plunges visitors into a three-dimensional, 360-degree projection using never-before-seen images of Palmyra. They were taken by a drone in April days after the city was liberated from Islamic State group fighters.

But just as the exhibit opens, the threat to the city it honors is ratcheting up.

Islamic State group militants on Sunday re-occupied the site, from which they had been expelled earlier this year, in a surprise attack that took advantage of the Russian and Syrian governments' preoccupation with the front in Aleppo.

French President Francois Hollande, who inaugurated the exhibit alongside UNESCO chief Irina Bokova, spoke about the "terrible, tragic coincidence" of the exhibit's timing.

"At the time we inaugurate this exhibition, there are bombings over Aleppo....Civil populations are being held hostages and martyrized," Hollande said. "And there is the return of Daesh in Palmyra."

Last year, the militants destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to A.D. 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a stone block structure fronted by six towering columns  viewing them as monuments to idolatry. They also blew up a non-religious ancient monument, the Arch of Triumph.

Despite the loss of such archaeological treasures, the researcher behind the 3-D imagery, Yves Ubelmann, called the previously unseen photos he collated "positive" because they illustrate how much of Palmyra remains intact. Experts estimate that some 80 percent of the city's ancient ruins are still unharmed, for now.

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A UNESCO world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. Before the war, it was Syria's top tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.

"Instead of responding to extremists with guns, we're fighting to show that heritage and culture matter," Bokova said. "They want to destroy our very understanding of humanity, and this shared understanding is the very spirit of this exhibit."

Ubelmann founded the France-based organization Iconem whose state-of-the art technology is showcased in the exhibit and maps out with arresting realism every nook and cranny of the sites that are found among the Middle East's most hostile places.

As well as Palmyra, they include Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Khorsabad in Iraq, the Umayyad Mosque in Syria and Kerak Castle in Jordan.

Ubelmann was the first person Syria's heritage authority sent to Palmyra following its liberation from militants in March because of his expertise and familiarity with the site.

It's unclear whether President Bashar al-Assad will prioritize retaking the old city and what's left of its archaeological treasure.

"At least we have these photos in April that can be an archive for the memory of humanity," Ubelmann said.

Marielle Pic, the curator of the exhibit and director of the Oriental Antiquities Department in the Louvre Museum, expressed remarkable sangfroid at the prospect of Palmyra's further destruction at the hands of militants.

Archaeologists, she said, must simply "accept it."

"We know that each era can be a new chapter for a site. Now, Palmyra has entered a dark period," Pic said. "But for us the destruction is part of the story of an archaeological site. We need to accept it."

The exhibition, "Eternal Sites, From Bamiyan to Palmyra," runs until Jan. 9.

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP
Patrick Starrr talks meeting his beauty idol, the weirdest makeup look hes tried, and what will be the big beauty trend for 2017

We are in a makeup revolution. Boys in beauty are taking the world by storm with their fierce fashion, mesmerizing looks, and incredible fearlessness. Theyre proving that men can do makeup, and they can do it damn well.

Patrick Simondac, known as Patrick Starrr, is one of the boys in beauty leading the cosmetic world. One minute he looks like Mariah Careys equally fabulous twin and the next thing you know, hes embracing his natural beauty. Hes #GOALS!

Even though Patrick is one of the top beauty gurus on YouTube, he still keeps it real online with his relatable video posts, authentic reviews, and charming personality. He makes you feel like youre one of his besties!

The 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards - Arrivals

For Patrick, everything has come full circle  from buying a foundation from MAC with his own hard-earned money to getting products from the iconic brand sent to him! Not to mention, he gets to attend meet and greets in MAC stores. Hes living his dream, and we couldnt be more inspired.

NEW VLOG link in bio! Thanks @tartecosmetics for Bora Bora!! VLOG is LIT! Photo by @copaceticwanderer !! A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Nov 9, 2016 at 6:06pm PST

We were lucky enough to chat with the social media starrr about stealing beauty products from his mom, meeting Tyra Banks, and doing his craziest, and most creative looks at Pulse nightclub.

Hello Giggles: How did you first get into makeup?

Patrick Starrr: I was that teenager that was always photoshopping makeup and growing up in high school, I was that kid that was doing photography for senior pictures, birthday parties, and quinceaneras. I was doing headshots and I started photoshopping makeup on these people, and I figured one day, why dont I just do the makeup instead of photoshopping it so it will be easier? So that was my first brush with makeup at the time, and this was in like 2008/2009. I didnt start actively pursuing makeup until 2011.

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HG: What was your favorite part about makeup in the beginning and what did you learn?

PS: I think my favorite part was understanding the face shape, and I think thats why my personal transformations are just so zero to 100. Theyre just insane to people because I look like a completely different gender to people or a completely different race when I do my makeup. So I guess understanding the face shape through Photoshop was looking at faces from afar to really, really looking at faces up close. I learned to highlight and contour.

When you used to hoe for free... but now you charge a fee... #transformation #patrickstarrr A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Nov 29, 2016 at 8:06pm PST

HG: Do you remember what the first makeup product you ever bought was?

PS: The first product that I stole from my mother was the CoverGirl whipped foundation. The first product that I bought was MAC. I went in, right away, into MAC and I bought the Studio Sculpt foundation from them.

Big. Blonde. Bootyful. Makeup and hair by @glamtechstevent #patrickstarrr A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Dec 5, 2016 at 7:20pm PST

HG: How does it feel buying your first product with your own money at MAC, and now you get to do cool collaborations with them? I mean, you just had a glam sleepover with Mariah Carey for her MAC collection?

PS: Its been insane! Its been so full circle, like even just getting products sent. I was told to wipe off my makeup when I worked at Macys with MAC  and that was that was like my first year working there  and now being praised to wear makeup, to meeting celebrities like Mariah Carey or Selenas family, or to do a meet and greet at their store in New York City. It has been so surreal to me.

I wake up and Im just like what did I do yesterday? I feel like its a dream every time I wake up. Ive been blessed with amazing opportunities with the company that Ive admired [since] day one.

Ummmmm! @MariahCarey watched my snapchat!! She called me GORGEOUS! Queen is slaying this sleepover with @maccosmetics !!! Thanks MAC!! #patrickstarrr A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Dec 3, 2016 at 8:44pm PST

HG: Do you think youll ever want to start your own beauty brand? If so, what products would you for definitely have?

PS: I would love to start a beauty brand. I dont know, so much has been done, I would just want to do it all! Lipsticks, highlighters, foundation, concealers, like its hard to say! I learn a lot from these brands like Benefit and Tarte that I would want to send people on a trip. But I dont think it would be anytime soon. I would want to do lots of color for sure.

HG: What is an obscure or odd beauty tip that you still use?

PS: I would say there is one this one pro tip that I have that no one really knows about. So theres this waterproof mixing medium by Make Up For Ever called Aqua Seal. I put it on the Q-tip, and I rub it in my water line. It stops you from tearing. If you have that day where your eyes just wont stop watering, its not you crying or anything, itll stop you from actually involuntarily tearing up. And Ive had that in my back pocket for a while.

Saying bye to my hoe like ways... #newyear #newME Jumpsuit- @asos Shoes- @byashleystewart A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Nov 12, 2016 at 6:34pm PST

HG: Who are some of your beauty idols in all of history?

PS: Oh my God! Ive said it time and time again, I am obsessed with Tyra Banks. She is my idol. Tyra has been my number one for me. And I met her two months ago and she was amazing.

I just love people with a good business and a good brain. Tyra Banks has been the ultimate! She actually DMed me on Twitter and we arranged to meet in Vegas! I got to meet her, and do a YouTube video with her, which I have yet to post.

My idol @tyrabanks  A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Aug 22, 2016 at 6:47pm PDT

HG: What do most people not know about your job as a beauty vlogger?

PS: Theres not enough time in the day. Its like you wake up and then your day is gone. I think there isnt enough personal time. Not a lot of people know that because we present this character online, and you know, I wish there was just a day where you can just do nothing. I think today is that day for me. Im just gonna post a video, kick back and chill, be in my slippers, and a little robe. Theres not enough time in the day, theres not enough patience in the day, too. Theres always something going wrong.

Happy Birthday @MAMASTARRR !! Go show her some love!!!! A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Nov 15, 2016 at 7:25pm PST

HG: What advice would you give your 13-year-old self if you could?

PS: I would have told my 13-year-old self to get your ass on YouTube. I started so late, I wish I started YouTube earlier. And just say, you know, just to make other friends online. And dont be scared, be yourself.

So happy I made it to Paris! I've always wanted to come to Australia! Thanks @jouercosmetics #awaywithjouer#ad#jouer #patrickstarrr A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Sep 6, 2016 at 6:36pm PDT

HG: Whats the weirdest makeup trend you ever tried out?

PS: It is trying this Avante Garde lime green and pinkI remember I was trying to do a color wash on my face. I thought it was like going to be editorial. My friend took a picture of me and uses it as blackmail every time I get sassy. Ironically, this was in Florida, where I wanted to bring fashion and it was at the famous Pulse nightclub, and that was the club that I would go to and express myself. A little bit of history behind Patrick is, I grew up going to Pulse [in] Orlando, like learning from drag queens, and thats why its so close to my heart.

But yeah, I think just doing colorful editorial makeup was a big mistake. It is bad, its BAD! I literally got ready in the car, in the dark, right across the street from Pulse at the Wendys! Like, Im about to go in with my little 180-color eBay palette. It wasoh my God. And I matched my shirt, too. Its really bad.

That one time...... TAG @irisbeilin she needs to see this. #PatrickStarrr A photo posted by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Jan 4, 2015 at 11:08pm PST

What beauty trends do you see happening in 2017?

I feel like its going to be about beautiful skin. I feel like skincare is gonna be a good thing because like you see everything now in HD and YouTube, the technology now, its just insane.

You can get the latest beauty tips and trick on Patricks YouTube channel.

Make sure to tune in to HelloGiggles Facebook Live today at 4 p.m. to watch us hang with the beauty guru himself!

The post Patrick Starrr talks meeting his beauty idol, the weirdest makeup look hes tried, and what will be the big beauty trend for 2017 appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Famed Dutch director Paul Verhoeven told a packed audience of Oscar and key Guild voters at our awards-season event The Contenders Presented By Deadline that had Isabelle Huppert not chosen to make his controversial rape drama Elle , the film would not  and should not  have gone forward.

Speaking last month during Sony Pictures Classics segment of annual awards-season event at the DGA theater, Verhoeven also expressed his thanks to the French selection committee that chose Elle as their countrys official Oscar submission to the Foreign Language Film race, even though it was directed by a Dutch man and that it was Verhoevens first film shot in French. Discussing the origins of the film, he said at one point it was going to be an American film in English, but no A-list actress he took the film to would consider playing the role. For Verhoeven it was all a big adventure  both he and Huppert , who has won several critics awards so far, were nominated for Golden Globes today.

Check out our conversation above.

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MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's allies in Congress on Tuesday filed a criminal complaint against a senator who has been an outspoken critic of a surge of extrajudicial killings unleashed by the president's campaign against drugs. The legal complaint against Senator Leila de Lima, who was justice minister in a previous administration, is the latest government action against her since she led an inquiry into the killings. She has denounced the government attacks on her as "madness" and "harassment" and she has appealed to Duterte to stop the string of bizarre accusations and insults. Senators loyal to Duterte ousted her from the leadership of the investigation in September. Congressmen then accused her of disrespect in connection with criticism she made of her treatment and the fate of the inquiry. That led to a criminal complaint. "Senator de Lima has shown disrespect to the House of Representatives," said Congressman Reynaldo Umali, head of the lower house's justice panel. "We cannot allow this incident to pass, how can we earn the respect of the people when a senator insults us by calling the inquiry a sham and a kangaroo court." De Lima is on an official trip to the United States and Europe and was not available for comment. Duterte's war on drugs, the key plank of his campaign for a May election, has claimed about 5,000 lives since July 1. The high toll and mysterious circumstances of some of the killings have alarmed rights groups, the United States and United Nations, whose concerns have drawn angry rebukes from Duterte. Umali said de Lima faced imprisonment of up six months if found guilty. A small group of opposition politicians in Congress said the case against de Lima would have a chilling effect on critics of Duterte's war on drugs. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Robert Birsel)
(Reuters) - The Philippines bank through which $81 million stolen from Bangladesh's central bank was channeled in February said on Tuesday that the central bank was responsible for the heist, and so any liability should not be passed on.

Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) was responding to comments by a Bangladeshi investigator that some Bangladesh Bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal the money from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Bangladesh Bank had been demanding that RCBC compensate it for the loss, blaming it for ignoring red flags.

RCBC said it did nothing wrong.

"The statement of the Bangladesh investigator indicating acts of criminal negligence on the part of certain Bangladesh Bank officials validates what RCBC had been saying all along, and that is that Bangladesh Bank's own acts are the cause of its own loss," RCBC's lawyer Thea Daep told Reuters.

"They cannot pass on liability to RCBC that had nothing to do with the theft of the funds."

Daep said RCBC would study legal options to see if Bangladesh Bank can be sued in court for making the accusations.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha could not be reached for comment on a public holiday.

Senior Bangladesh police officer Mohammad Shah Alam, who is leading Bangladesh's investigation into one of the world's biggest cyber heists, told Reuters on Monday some central bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the bank's connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

They had worked with some foreigners, Alam said, without giving details.

Alam said investigators were trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. He said arrests were likely soon.

In early February, the unidentified hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed.

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Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed, but, after a series of oversights and miscommunications, the New York Fed ultimately sent $81 million to four fake accounts in a branch of RCBC.

Most of the funds then disappeared into Manila's loosely regulated casino industry.

Only around $15 million of the loot has been returned to Bangladesh.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Karen Lema; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that he might not "be around" until the end of his term, and that, after winning the presidency at 71, he had found out late in the day that "I don't need it at my age". The previous day he had told a gathering of business leaders in the Philippines that he suffered from back pains, migraines and Buerger's disease, a cause of blockages in the blood vessels, associated with smoking during his youth. On Tuesday, Duterte told a cheering crowd of a few thousand expatriate Filipinos in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh: "I am old ... This is my last hurrah -- after this, 77 -- I am not sure if I will still be around by the end of my term." Duterte, who will be 77 at the end of his six-year term in 2022, is the oldest person to be elected president in the Philippines since the post-war period. He added that he had "found out very late" that he did not need the presidency at his age. "It's not a question of having regrets, none at all, because I entered into it," he said, before adding: "I realize now - I do not need it at this time of my life. But I tell you, I take pleasure at the end of the day, that's the only consolation, I have a job, I am doing something right." Duterte had told the business leaders on Monday that he had no fear of being removed from power or assassinated because of opposition to the rising death toll in his anti-drugs campaign. Since July 1, about 5,000 people have died in his crackdown, a key plank of his May election campaign. Police say 2,004 have been killed by officers in self-defence, with another 3,060 killings "under investigation". "Oust me - good; assassinate me - better; I have this migraine every day," he said. "I have a lot of issues with my spine. What I have is really Buerger's disease. It's an acquired thing that you get from smoking, because of nicotine." Doctors had advised surgery on his spine, he said, but his wife, a nurse who used to work in the United States, did not agree because "a lot of operations for the spine went wrong". He added: "If you guys see me always in a sad mood, I am actually pushing a nerve here to relieve the pain," and touched the right side of his face. Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the health issues had not affected Duterte's work, dismissing the remarks as "Nothing serious". Duterte no longer smokes or drinks alcohol. But Duterte missed some events during meetings of the ASEAN grouping of South East Asian nations in Laos in September and last month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, due to migraine attacks and a bad stomach. Duterte on Tuesday announced the distribution of 2 billion pesos' ($40 million) worth of medicines to poor families afflicted by illness, and to drug-dependent individuals at rehabilitation centers. He told drug users to stay indoors or face arrest. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila and Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Demonstrators seek justice for Laxmi Pariyar [Photo feature]

A demonstration was held at Maitighar Mandala in Kathmandu demanding action against suspects accused in the murder of Laxmi Pariyar of Sano Bangthali-7, Kavre, who was physically assaulted and allegedly force-fed human faeces over witchcraft allegation.
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte suffers from back pains and migraine headaches, he has said in comments about his health, but a spokesman was quick to dismiss the ailments as not being serious. Duterte also said he suffered from Buerger's disease, a cause of blockages in the blood vessels, associated with smoking during his youth. He no longer smokes and drinks. The 71 year-old leader, the oldest to be elected president in the Philippines since the post-war period, said he did not fear being removed from power, or assassinated, because of opposition to the rising death toll in his anti-drugs campaign. Since July 1, about 5,000 people have died in Duterte's war on drugs, a key plank of his May election campaign. Police say 2,004 have been killed by officers in self-defense, with another 3,060 killings "under investigation". "Oust me, good, assassinate me, better, I have this migraine everyday," he told a meeting of business leaders late on Monday. "I have a lot of issues with my spine. What I have is really Buerger's disease. It's an acquired thing that you get from smoking, because of nicotine." Doctors had advised surgery on his spine, he said, but his wife, a nurse who used to work in the United States, did not agree because "a lot of operations for the spine went wrong". He added, "If you guys see me always in a sad mood, I am actually pushing a nerve here to relieve the pain," and touched the right side of his face. The health issues have not affected Duterte's work, however, said presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella. "Nothing serious," he told reporters, when asked to comment on Duterte's remarks. But Duterte missed some events during meetings of the ASEAN grouping of South East Asian nations in Laos in September and last month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, due to migraine attacks and a bad stomach. Duterte on Tuesday announced the distribution of 2 billion pesos ($40 million) worth of medicines to poor families plagued by illness, and to drug dependent individuals at rehabilitation centers. He told drug users to stay indoors or face arrest. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Jackfruit, Buddha bowls and empanadas are among the top 10 foods predicted to trend in 2017 according to Pinterest.

After looking at some of the year's most popular pins and what influencers were pinning in 2016, the social media platform released their picks for the top foods to try in 2017.

At the top of the list is jackfruit, the largest tree-borne fruit that saw a 420 percent rise in interest among Pinterest users, thanks in large part to the vegan and vegetarian community which discovered its use as a convincing meat substitute.

The national fruit of Bangladesh, young unripened jackfruit has become a popular meat-free stand-in for shredded beef, thanks to its texture.

Pinterest searches for jackfruit call up several recipes like vegan nachos, Korean bulgogi barbecue and even ribs.

The fruit is also a good source of vitamin C, while its seeds are rich in protein, potassium, calcium and iron, and it has been hailed as a "miracle food crop" that could help offset global food insecurities.

Other trending foods for 2017 include the ever-popular virtuous, plant-based Buddha bowl -- typically made with quinoa, avocados, sweet potatoes and grilled vegetables -- and clean-eating chips.

Here are the 10 food trends to try in 2017, according to Pinterest:

Jackfruit

Sous-vide

Clean-eating chips

Buddha Bowls

Octopus

Craft Beer

Empanadas

Naan pizza

Sauerkraut

Olive oil alternatives
The following material contains mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.

In the last 20 years, the number of seniors getting plastic surgery has doubled, but is going under the knife for cosmetic reasons after 60 a good idea? The Doctors examine the trend that shows no sign of slowing down!

In addition to Botox and face lifts, seniors are getting all the latest procedures including Brazilian butt lifts and breast augmentations. The Doctors welcome plastic surgeon Dr. Sheila Nazarian and her patient Laura, who at 61 spent an impressive $55,000 on numerous procedures including a tummy tuck, breast lift, facelift, liposuction in numerous area and eyelid lift.

Watch: Intervention for Woman Obsessed with Surgery

Laura explains that she waited until she was 62 because she was busy with her family and focused most of her attention on raising her kids. I wanted to live my life, I didnt want to sit home anymore Im very happy. I lost 40 pounds before I did this. I did it to be healthier too, she says.

Dr. Nazarian stresses that regardless of the age of a patient, that safety is of the utmost importance and each person needs to be deemed a viable candidate for surgery and be given medical clearance.

Watch: Is Your Plastic Surgeon Qualified?

Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon adds, If it makes you happy and youre healthy enough to undergo it, why not?

The Doctors remind anyone thinking of having elective surgery to see a board-certified plastic surgeon with hospital privileges at an accredited facility.
(Adds details)

Dec 13 (Reuters) - A blank-check company backed by private equity firm TPG, Pace Holdings Corp, is buying resort owner Playa Hotels & Resorts BV, creating a publicly listed firm with an enterprise value of about $1.75 billion, the companies said.

Playa owns and operates 13 resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, under brands including The Royal and Gran. The company also operates six Hyatt Hotels resorts in Mexico and Jamaica.

The combined company will retain the Playa name and will continue to be led by Playa Chief Executive Bruce Wardinski.

The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, will provide $500 million of capital to Playa, allowing it to strength its balance sheet, pursue acquisitions, and enhance distribution, the companies said.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP)  Police in a Southern California suburb are still seeking a man suspected of a hate crime for stabbing a worshipper near a mosque, authorities said, while his alleged accomplice has denied his role in the attack.

John Matteson, 29, was involved in the crime, but he was not the one who wielded the knife and stabbed a worshipper from the mosque in Simi Valley, police and prosecutors said.

Matteson on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the charges, including disturbing the peace by fighting and violating civil rights. Hate-crime enhancements added to the charges make them felonies.

The two men approached a group of people who had just left the mosque late Saturday night and yelled slurs at them, police spokesman Sgt. Travis Coffey said.

That escalated to a physical fight when the suspect stabbed the man, whose injuries were not life-threatening, Coffey said.

It does not appear that the men had planned the attack or staked out the mosque, but they had merely run across the group of Muslims, police said.
Photo credit: Chevrolet

From Road & Track

The muscle car world has seen quite a few stories involving stolen classics. Specifically, cars that were stolen long ago have been getting returned to the owners they were taken from, but at the expense of an owner that purchased the stolen car legally and had no involvement in the original robbery. It's a sticky situation.

Most recently, a man brought his Corvette to a car show only to have someone point out a discrepancy with the Vehicle Identification Number. The oddity led authorities to discover the car was stolen decades earlier. The current "owner" was forced to return the car to its rightful owner. And a couple years ago, a man whose car was stolenagain, many years earlierfound that a man nearby had it but claimed he had bought it legally and would not give it back. After some legal wrangling, he surrendered the car but not before it was stripped.

I have represented a man caught in the middle of something like this: The car he had bought was "cloned." That is, someone had put the VIN tag from a wrecked vehicle onto a stolen car and then sold it to him. The car's title matched the VIN you could see through the windshield, but it did not match the VINs stashed elsewhere on the car. First important note: the VIN can always be found in more than one spot on a car these days. When in doubt, check the other VINs.

One day my client found a state trooper on his doorstep and another under his car who announced, "This is the one we're looking for." They took his car away and we were forced to sue the seller, an action in which we were successful. But not all ugly stories have happy endings. Let's examine the two stories from the first paragraph.

The 1964 Corvette was brought to a car show by its purported owner from Red Bluff, California. Someone noticed that the VIN was not correct for a Corvette. One wonders how this had escaped the attention of the owner since most classic car folks know how VINs work and all of the great info you can get from decoding the VIN. The owner decided to look into the matter and brought the Corvette to the local police department and asked them for help. They quickly located the proper VIN and traced it, revealing that the car had been stolen in 1976 from its owner in Anaheim. Someone swapped out the VIN tag and resold it. Eventually, the car was bought for the current "owner" by his wife from a now-defunct dealer. The police broke the news to the man that the car had to be returned to its rightful owner who had since moved to Arizona and had long since given up all hope of ever seeing her car again.

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That story reminded me of Rick White, a man whose 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda had been stolen from his garage in 2001. He was the original owner of the car and had used it for drag racing. That is, until it was stolen. In 2014, he received a cryptic letter saying his car's storage bill was unpaid. He quickly followed up but found out that whoever had his car had paid the bill, retrieved the car, and it was gone again. He called the police but they told him they could not intervene because the statute of limitations had run on the theft claim. To make the story weirder, the man who had the car was contacted by local media outlets and he gave strange statements to them about how he "owned" the car because he had a bill of sale. After White filed another police report, someone realized the police COULD act. Even if the theft was outdated, the car was still stolen property. The police seized the car but by this point, it had been stripped.

A thief cannot transfer title to a car he has stolen.

There are a couple of takeaways here. First: A thief cannot transfer title to a car he has stolen. If I stole it, I do not own it. So, if you "buy" a car from a thief, you are not acquiring title to the car even if you gain possession of it. And, even if you get a Certificate of Title to the car, you still do not have "legal" title to the car. This point confuses many people but the Certificate of Title is merely a piece of paper showing you who the state THINKS is the owner of the car. But the state did not investigate the claim made by the title applicant. They merely saw an application for title and issued a piece of paper. In Michigan, and most states, the Certificate of Title is merely "evidence of ownership." It might help you in proving ownership but it is not definitive. And if you did not have good title to the car when you applied for your title, the Certificate of Title gives you nothing.

This goes back to a concept called Warranty of Title. A seller who sells a car (or any good for that matter) to a buyer does not need to say, "I own this and guarantee that my ownership rights are good and are transferred to you." Simply selling you the car means that I am warrantingguaranteeingthat I had legal ownership and that I was transferring that to you. But, if I do not own what I am selling (i.e., it is stolen) then I cannot give you a good warrantable title. All you are getting from me when I give you the car is possession. And good luck with that.

But wait, you ask. Isn't possession nine-tenths of the law? The adage, which is not a law, speaks to situations where there is little or no evidence other than two bickering parties fighting over who owns something. He saidshe said, but neither party can prove ownership.

In the two cases above, each of the original owners of the cars could prove their ownership. They had Certificates of Title and, presumably, other evidence of how they had acquired the title and so on when they first got the cars. The later possessors of the cars in question had shaky arguments at best. The Corvette "owner" had a title with the wrong VIN on it. The 'Cuda guy claimed he had a "Bill of Sale" but admitted he had no title. And why didn't the 'Cuda's guy have a title? Because the 'Cuda was stolen.

The Corvette "owner" who had to give up the car got shafted here. Not by the original owner and not by the police but by the defunct dealer who appeared to miss or ignore the mis-matched VIN. The 'Cuda ownerat bestshould have been on notice that he had a problem when someone offered to sell him a 1970 'Cuda without a title. Or, for all we know, he is the one who stole it. And anyone who steals a Mopar from a man's own garage deserves a spot in a very dark corner of Hell.

How to avoid such a situation? Easy. Before you buy a collector car of this sort, do your homework. If you are not an expert on the car you are buying, find someone who is and ask them to check the car out for you. It's called an "inspection." Some attorneys on the internet mention this from time to time. Most people assume the inspection is for mechanical issues but part of it should always involve checking the VINs under the car against the one under the windshield.

My client did not inspect his cloned vehicle because he was buying from one of the largest dealers in Metropolitan Detroit. It was also a late-model vehicle with no other warning flags so I am not sure how many people would have caught it in that instance. But the Corvette buyer should certainly have checked the VIN to see that if it was correct for a Corvette. And the buyer of the 'Cuda? We don't know enough about his story to feel sorry for him.

Steve Lehto is a writer and attorney from Michigan. He specializes in Lemon Law and frequently writes about cars and the law. His most recent books include Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow, and Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird: Design, Development, Production and Competition. He also has a podcast where he talks about these things.

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JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel launched an investigation Tuesday into a poster bearing the image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind a noose, sparking a debate over the limits of freedom of expression in an increasingly polarized society.

The poster, a riff on the "hope" poster from U.S. President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, was plastered in the hallway at Jerusalem's prestigious Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, apparently by a student, and swiftly removed. The word "hope" in the original poster was replaced by the word "rope."

Noam Sharvit, a Justice Ministry spokesman, said the probe was launched to look into suspicions that the poster incited to violence.

Israel's Culture Minister Miri Regev, a staunch Netanyahu supporter, wrote on Facebook that "artistic freedom is not freedom to incite," and called for Bezalel's funding to be cut. Dovish opposition legislators said such a move would trample on the right to free expression, while acknowledging the poster was in bad taste.

"What disturbs me in this context is the immediate lashing out that calls for denying funding to Bezalel," Zehava Galon, from the opposition Meretz party, told Israeli Army Radio. "We need to leave wide margins for freedom of expression unless it borders on bloodshed."

Israel has a flourishing arts scene bolstered by world class academies, galleries and museums.

Last week an artist erected a golden statue of Netanyahu in a central Tel Aviv square that drew a stream of selfie-taking passersby before being toppled by a bystander. The statue was interpreted as a commentary on his lengthy rule and reputation for a lavish lifestyle.

But critics say that dissent is being stifled under the current government, the most nationalistic in the country's history.

Regev has been one of the prime targets of that criticism, with many liberal Israelis saying she expects their artistic output to conform to her nationalistic worldview. Regev has publicly clashed with liberal actors and entertainers, and has threatened to cut funding for institutions that refuse to perform in West Bank settlements.

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Adi Stern, the president of Bezalel, told Army Radio that the poster had been taken out of context. He said it appeared with a poster of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin with the word "traitor" printed underneath. Such posters were common ahead of Rabin's 1995 assassination, part of a climate of incitement that many say inspired the killing. Another sign on display at the academy read: "It's called incitement."

Stern said he interpreted the display as a general commentary on incitement.

Ahead of Rabin's assassination, Netanyahu, who served as opposition leader at the time, addressed a protest in downtown Jerusalem where demonstrators held posters portraying Rabin in an Arab headscarf or Nazi uniform. Netanyahu denies he incited against Rabin in the months leading up to his death, claiming he didn't see the banners or hear violent chants.
Eight parties to continue House obstruction until amendment bill withdrawn

A joint meeting of eight political parties including the main opposition CPN-UML that are against the constitution amendment bill decided to continue the House obstruction and intensify their protests until the bill is withdrawn.
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah visited the White House to interview President Barack Obama. The first topic of conversation was the recent review that President Obama requested from all the intelligence agencies regarding attempts by Russian intelligence agencies to influence the presidential election. President Obama wanted to remind everyone that while he just requested this review, the investigation has been going on ever since the Democratic National Committee was hacked. Obama said, We determined and announced in October that it was the consensus of all the intelligence agencies in law enforcement that organizations affiliated with Russian intelligence were responsible for the hacking of the D.N.C. materials that were being leaked. So that was a month before the election. This was not a secret.  The president wasnt too concerned with hacking emails, but he did say that leading up to the election, there was concern about vote tampering, but added, which we did not see evidence of and were confident we could guard against. President Obama told Trevor that the reason he requested the review was to gather all the threads of the investigations, the intelligence work that has been done over many months so that the public and our elected representatives going forward can find ways to prevent this kind of interference from having an impact on the elections in the future.
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah interviewed President Obama at the White House. Noah asked about Obamas recent request for the U.S. intelligence community to review Russias attempt to influence the presidential election.

Obama reminded Noah that the investigation has been going on ever since the Democratic National Committee was hacked. He said, We determined and announced in October that it was the consensus of all the intelligence agencies in law enforcement that organizations affiliated with Russian intelligence were responsible for the hacking of the DNC materials that were being leaked. So that was a month before the election. This was not a secret.

The president wasnt too concerned with the hacking of the emails. But leading up to the election, he said, there was concern about vote tampering, which we did not see evidence of and were confident we could guard against.

Obama told Noah that the reason he requested the review was to gather all the threads of the investigations, the intelligence work that has been done over many months, so that the public and our elected representatives going forward can find ways to prevent this kind of interference from having an impact on the elections in the future.

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Trevor Noah confronts Tomi Lahren over Black Lives Matter and Colin Kaepernick comments:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram  or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Cynthia LuCiette, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
President Barack Obama has offered a thinly veiled warning to President-elect Donald Trump about the importance of getting regular intelligence briefings.

It doesnt matter how smart you are, you have to have the best information possible to make the best decision possible, President Obama said. If youre not getting [the intelligence communitys] perspective, their detailed perspective, then you are flying blind.

President Obama appeared on the Daily Show With Trevor Noah on Monday, addressing both his own legacy and the possible future of the country under a Trump Administration with the Comedy Central host. Trump has shunned the daily intelligence briefings that have been made available for him, telling Fox News Sunday hes a smart person who does not have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day.

Every morning  same words. Sir, nothing has changed. Lets go over it again. I dont need that, Trump said.

Obama also suggested Trump may change once his presidency begins. I think the President-elect may say one thing and do another once hes here because the truth of the matter is, its a big complicated world, he said, before stating the importance of a nonpartisan intelligence-gathering and reporting process. The message that Ive sent to every intelligence agency is, I want it straight, he said.

On the subject of Russian interference in the 2016 election, which Trump vigorously denies, President Obama said there was widespread consensus that Russian hackers had breached emails of the Democratic National Committee. This was not a secret running up to the election, Obama said.

Obama also tried to use the appearance on The Daily Show to urge people to sign up for insurance in the health care marketplace. Noah pointed out the fact that Trump and other Republican leaders are eager to repeal Obamacare, but the President brushed it off as a bit of an empty threat.

It will be interesting to watch Republicans, who now actually have to produce, come up with a replacement that works better, Obama said. I dont think they will.

The wide-ranging interview ran on Comedy Central on Monday evening. It was the first interview Obama has held with the mixed-raced South African Noah  similarities the comedian-presenter pointed out during the interview.
(WASHINGTON)  On a bittersweet day that brought back memories of loved ones lost, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation that makes new investments in cancer research and battling drug abuse.

Obama signed the bill Tuesday at a ceremony on the White House campus flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and key lawmakers from both parties. The 55-year-old president recounted that his own mother did not even reach his age, dying of cancer in her early 50s.

Its not always easy to remember, but being able to honor those weve lost in this way and to know that we may be able to prevent other families from feeling that same loss, that makes it a good day, Obama said. Its a good day to see us doing our jobs.

The 21st Century Cures Act invests $1.8 billion for a cancer research moonshot that is strongly supported by Biden. The vice presidents son, Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015.

The bill also authorizes giving states $1 billion over two years to prevent and treat the abuse of heroin and other opioids and addictive drugs.

Overall, the measure plans $6.3 billion in new spending over the coming decade. The bill also streamlines the approval process for drugs and medical devices at the Food and Drug Administration, which some patient advocacy groups opposed.

Public Citizen said the bill pressures the FDA to approve new medical products and new uses for drugs based on weaker evidence of safety and efficacy.

This bill remains a bad deal for patient safety, offering a small, temporary and non-guaranteed increase in public research funding at the expense of permanently weakening oversight by the Food and Drug Administration, Public Citizen said.

The signing ceremony represented a rare day in Obamas presidency, where lawmakers from both parties gathered to celebrate bipartisan joy over the passage of consequential legislation.

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I hope this bodes well for what will come next year  that were back working together Biden said.

Biden said he believed the bill would inject new urgency into fighting cancer and would give millions of Americans hope that they will be able to have their lives extended through research that will bring about new cures and treatments.

Every day, millions of people are praying, praying for hope, praying for time, Biden said.

Obama also used the ceremony to make a pitch for his signature health insurance law that expanded coverage for 20 million Americans, but also faces the prospect of repeal in the next administration.

Im hopeful in the years ahead that Congress keeps working together in a bipartisan fashion to move us forward, rather than backward in support of the health of our people, Obama said.

Obama was introduced by David and Kate Grubb of West Virginia who lost their daughter Jessica in March to a drug overdose. David Grubb shared his daughters struggle with addiction when Obama visited the state in October 2015. He said Jessica wanted treatment, but the closest place they could find for treatment was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Grubb said the funding would make it possible for communities to have the resources, to build the facilities, to do the kind of education thats absolutely needed so we can address this problem.
An advocacy group founded by families of the Sandy Hook massacre victims is celebrating the passing of a new bill that will overhaul the nations mental health system.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which includes Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphys Mental Health Reform Act of 2016. The bi-partisan legislation aims to help the estimated more than half of all American adults and children with mental health problems who end up going untreated.

Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was one of the 20 first-graders killed in the 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, is one of the founders of the Sandy Hook Promise group, which worked with Murphy on the Mental Health Reform Act over the past few years.

Barden tells PEOPLE of the bill, It is going to bring some much-needed, valuable mental health legislation and reauthorization of existing programs that are going to do a lot of good and are going to be a good companion piece to our programs when people are identified as being in need of services.

He adds, We have been working closely with Sen. Murphy and other members of Congress  and with a coalition of mental health agencies and with the prevention community  acting as almost a broker between all these organizations to help craft this and to help make sure it gets across the finish line.

Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old gunman who killed 20 children, six school staffers and his mother before taking his own life in the Sandy Hook massacre, reportedly showed signs of severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems in the years before the shooting, according to a 2014 report based on a comprehensive examination of his medical and school histories. According to The New York Times, the study concluded that Lanza was completely untreated for ailments like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and was also deprived of recommended services and drugs  despite medical experts at Yale University calling for drastic measures to help Lanza in the years leading up to the shooting.

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According to WTNH.com, Sen. Murphy on Tuesday summed up the troubling status of mental heath care in the U.S. by saying, If your body is broken below the neck you are more likely to get good care than if your body is broken above the neck.

RELATED VIDEO: Filibuster Ends at Nearly 15 Hours With Passionate Speech About Sandy Hook Shooting

The Democratic senator, who was in Washington on Tuesday to witness Obama signing his mental health legislation into law, made headlines last June when he launched a nearly 15-hour gun-control filibuster on the Senate floor. His efforts culminated in the majority Republicans allowance of votes on two Democratic gun-control measures  one to ban people on the governments terrorist watch list from obtaining gun licenses, the other to expand background checks to gun shows and Internet sales.

Though the Senate ultimately voted down both measures, Murphy moved many with his emotional Senate-floor speech about the Sandy Hook shooting in his home state of Connecticut.

For those of us who represent Connecticut, the failure of this body to do anything, anything at all in the face of that continued slaughter isnt just painful to us, its unconscionable, Murphy said at the time. I cant tell you how hard it is to look into the eyes of the families of those little boys and girls who were killed in Sandy Hook and tell them that almost four years later weve done nothing, nothing at all to reduce the likelihood that that will happen again to another family.

Now, the Sandy Hook Promise group is hailing the passing of Murphys mental health bill as a major step in the right direction for their cause.

Mark Barden says hes heard the bill called the most significant piece of mental health legislation to pass through our federal government in decades  and the most significant legislation to pass through our Congress since the Affordable Care Act.

It could also be the last piece of legislation President Obama signs into law, he adds. So we are very excited to be a part of all of this.

Reporting by K.C. BAKER


Dec 13 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The federal government has unveiled a series of measures aimed at curtailing Canada's booming underground market in fentanyl, just as the death toll climbs and more communities sound the alarm about illicit drugs. https://tgam.ca/2gGAsHI

** Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged Monday that people lobby him at Liberal Party cash-for-access fundraisers, but said he ultimately makes up his own mind on what is good for Canada. It is the first time he has admitted that government business is being discussed at partisan Liberal money-raising events. https://tgam.ca/2hr5S3B

** Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau has agreed to remove controversial changes to the Bank Act from his latest budget bill in response to strong objections from Quebec and some senators. https://tgam.ca/2hIjuGH

NATIONAL POST

** The New Democratic Party said they want the Liberals to turn their party's ethics guidelines into law, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted on Monday that people attending Liberal Party fundraising events bend his ear about "things that are important to them." http://bit.ly/2hsHbEd

** The Bank of Montreal is the latest Canadian bank seeking a settlement with regulators after discovering some retail fund clients were charged "excess" fees over a period of years. http://bit.ly/2hhLUuf (Compiled by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru)
Dec 13 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

* IMF denies it is trying to force more austerity in Greece http://on.ft.com/2gAoWiP

* The EU and the U.S. impose sanctions on DRC officials http://on.ft.com/2gAzuys

* Redstone family calls off Viacom-CBS merger talks http://on.ft.com/2gACOtb

* Prudential suspends insurance sales through Wells Fargo branches http://on.ft.com/2gAzzlw

Overview

- Senior International Monetary Fund officials rejected claims that the organisation is seeking to impose more austerity on Greece. Director of the IMF's European department Poul Thomsen and the fund's Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld said in a blog post that their main worries are that Greece is pursuing policies that are "unfriendly to growth" and that country's debt is "highly unsustainable."

- The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on senior Congolese security and intelligence officials following a violent suppression of anti-government protests in September in which dozens of people died. EU diplomats said the move is also meant to act as a deterrent ahead of big demonstrations planned for Monday next week against President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down despite his second and final term ending that day.

- Sumner Redstone and daughter Shari scrapped Viacom-CBS merger plans amid disagreements about the valuation and management of both media companies. The companies were unable to agree on a valuation for Viacom, owner of Paramount Pictures and MTV.

- Prudential Financial said it would reimburse any customers concerned they were charged for policies they did not ask for as it reviews how Wells Fargo had sold the coverage. Prudential's move came after three of its former employees alleged in a lawsuit that low-income Wells customers, mainly with Hispanic surnames, had been signed up for policies without their consent.

(Compiled by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Things are still going well for Prince Harry and his new girlfriend Meghan Markle. In fact, the happy couple got into the holiday spirit by doing a little Christmas shopping together during Markles visit to London.

On Monday night, the Suits actress and Prince Harry were spotted at the Pines and Needles store buying a Christmas tree. E! Online reported that the couple browsed around for a little bit before settling on a Nordmann Fir tree, which typically costs around $65. A source told the outlet that Harry and Markle were in good spirits while out shopping.

Zaqia Crawford, the woman who sold the British royal and his girlfriend the Christmas tree, told People magazine that Prince Harry and Markle were both very nice to her and definitely acted like a couple. They were really cool. It was a really casual situation. I had no idea who they were, so it was just like an ordinary customer conversation, she said. It was totally clear that they were a couple. It wasnt overly affectionate of anything like that  they were just doing cute, couple-y stuff, like making each other laugh and being excited. Just lots of touching and laughing. They were just like any other couple.

Last month, Prince Harry released a statement via Kensington Palace confirming that he was dating Markle but also asked the media to pause on their intense coverage of her. Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markles safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her, the statement read. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm.

Despite the continued interest in Prince Harry and Markles relationship, the pair has continued to put their love on display. After spending a few days together in Toronto, the 35-year-old actress was spotted wearing a $240 Maya Brenner gold necklace with the letters M and H. Prince Harry and Markle have also stepped out wearing matching bracelets.

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Prince Harry Meghan Markle update

Photo: Getty Images

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are getting into the holiday spirit!

The couple was spotted shopping for the perfect Christmas tree together on Monday night at the Pines and Needles store in London, PEOPLE confirms.

After browsing for about 15 minutes, they settled on a 6-foot non-drop Nordmann Fir. Harry then tucked the $70 tree under his arm, and the duo left the outdoor shop.

Sam Lyle, who co-founded the Christmas tree business with his brother, told The Mirror: They were completely charming together and blissfully unaware that our jaws had hit the floor.

They chose a gorgeous Nordmann Fir and walked away after exchanging Christmas pleasantries.

The jet-setting couple has plenty of frequent flyer miles between them in recent weeks. Harry made a 1,700-mile detour from the Caribbean to see Markle at her Toronto home last week. After the whirlwind two-day visit, he flew back to Britain for a royal appearance.

RELATED VIDEO: Meghan Markle Stylishly Declares Her Love For Prince Harry With Customized Necklace

Now that theyre both in London, they can prepare for the festive season together. Markle already got a head start on the celebrations with friends in L.A. during a tree-trimming party.

And no doubt shell be putting some of her Tig holiday decorating tips to good use during her stay with Harry at his cottage in Kensington Palace.

And if Harry is still searching for the perfect gift for his new girlfriend, here are a few hints!

For more celebrity videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.
Excavations begin at two monuments

Unesco has commissioned post-disaster rescue excavations at some of Kathmandu Valleys World Heritage Sites which were damaged by the devastating earthquake last year.
Prince Harry is feeling festive!

The 32-year-old royal took his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, Christmas tree shopping at Pines in Needles in London's Battersea Park on Monday, ET confirms.

WATCH: Prince Harry's Girlfriend Meghan Markle Describes Struggles Growing Up Biracial

Zaqia Crawford, an employee at the Christmas tree shop, told ET that at the time, she didn't realize she was waiting on Prince Harry and the Suits star.

"It was super casual. They were really nice," she explained. "It was one of those when you get a sale and you talk to really nice people and it's like, 'Ah, this is refreshing.' It was super casual. I had no clue."

"I didn't see any [security] unless they're like ninjas hiding in the trees," she added. "They just looked like two people chilling on a date who picked up a tree. They weren't overly affectionate, but you know that air you get when you know that you're dating? You got the vibe, but it wasn't mushy."

Zaqia revealed that the two selected a Nordmann Fir for 65, approximately $82.47.

ETONLINE

"[Prince Harry] did shake my hand, which was kind of odd because I'm usually the one being overly affectionate to people," Zaqia continued. "[Meghan] was really dope. She was from America, so she heard my accent, I heard hers and I was like, 'Hey, where you from?' And she was like, 'Cali!'"

Others in the shop, like Zaqia's co-worker, Ollie Wilkinson, knew right away who they were serving.

WATCH: Meghan Markle Wears 'M' and 'H' Initial Necklace as Prince Harry Romance Heats Up

"It was a big tree and we were struggling to get it through and then we looked up and realized that Zaqia had been serving this couple," he dished. "They'd picked their tree and when I looked up I realized it was Prince Harry. Zaqia's an American, so she didn't know who it was, so she was serving them. He was with his girlfriend. They were discussing America."

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According to Ollie, Prince Harry, dressed casually in a winter hat, paid for the tree with Meghan by his side. "They asked how many trees we sold," he explained. "Then I gave them a bunch of mistletoe [and] they walked off holding hands with Harry carrying the tree."

"They seemed like they were getting on well," he added. "They walked off hand in hand and he was carrying a tree on his shoulder."

Sam Lyle, who co-founded the Christmas tree business with his brother, echoed those statements while chatting with The Mirror. "We have looked after some of Britain's highest profile names for nearly 20 years, but you could have heard a pin drop -- or a needle -- when Prince Harry and Meghan walked into the store," he said. "They were completely charming together and blissfully unaware that our jaws had hit the floor."

"We hope we can add them to our list of illustrious names who buy from us each and every year," he continued. "There would certainly be a rush from our staff should they ask us to decorate it too."

Meghan's trip to London comes a week after Prince Harry flew to Toronto, Canada, to visit the 35-year-old actress following his Caribbean Royal Tour. Royal expert Kate Nicholl told ET at the time that the two wanting to spend time together was understandable, as Meghan wouldn't be joining her beau for the holidays.

WATCH: Prince Harry All Smiles as He Returns to London for Charity Event Following Trip to See Meghan Markle

"[Harry] knows the rules of the royal family and he knows that until they get engaged, Meghan will not have a place around that Christmas dinner table," she explained. "If you think about all those years that Prince William was courting Kate Middleton, she had to wait 10 years until she was invited to Sandringham."

On Monday, ET caught up with Meghan's close pal, Priyanka Chopra, at UNICEF's 70th Anniversary event, where she discussed how the two keep in touch and the possibility of a royal wedding.

"I think whatever they need to know, she'll tell them. It's not my place to say," she said of Meghan and Prince Harry's relationship.

"Whatever relationship I share with her is completely private," she continued, adding that she and Meghan support each other by "answer[ing] my texts and pick[ing] up my phone."

WATCH: Priyanka Chopra Dishes on Possible Royal Wedding Between Prince Harry & Meghan Markle!

As for the possibility of a royal wedding? "Not my place to say, at all, but listen -- I like Buckingham Palace, so if the queen invites me, I will be there," she joked.

Hear more in the video below.

-Additional Reporting by Rachel McRady and Rande Iaboni

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Princess Sofia is upping her tiara game once again.

The Swedish royal family always brings out the glitz for the countrys annual Nobel Prize ceremony, and on Saturday Sofia looked extra glam in a green dress by House of Dagmar. (Her mother-in-law, Queen Silvia, went for head-to-toe sequins.)

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

But it was Sofias choice of tiara that really stood out: the smaller steel-cut tiara, which only her sister-in-law Crown Princess Victoria has worn out in public prior to the ceremony. Instead of glittering gems on top, its dotted with steel circles, polished to (literal) gleaming perfection.

Her other jewels, however, were a royal rewear. You may recognize the emerald and diamond earrings from last years Nobel Prize banquet  she wore them then, too!

RELATED VIDEO: Is Princess Sophia Stealing Kim Kardashians Look?

The day after the banquet, Sofia and her husband, Prince Carl Philip, attended a dinner for the Nobel laureates, where she wore a long-sleeved pink dress as well as a tiara with a bit more gemstone sparkle: the Diamond Four Button Tiara. Her diamond earrings have a bit of royal history, as well: Theyre made from pieces of Queen Josephines (who lived during the mid-1800s) diamond stomacher. (Yes, thats a real style term referring to a triangular panel that fills in the opening of a womans bodice.)

Jessica Gow/TT/Kod 10070

Which of the two tiaras is your favorite: steel or diamond?




CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)  Prosecutors have cleared two North Carolina police officers who shot and killed a man wanted for shooting and wounding a bus passenger.

District Attorney Andrew Murray said in a report Monday that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officers Garret Tryon and Michael Bell were justified in shooting 18-year-old Rodney Rodriguez Smith on June 2. Police say Smith fired at them first as they pursued him for allegedly shooting a man on the bus who he thought had robbed his grandmother's house.

Police said Tryon had told Smith to show his hands, but Smith instead fired at the officers, who returned fire, killing him.

Murray concluded the officers shot in self-defense.
Moscow (AFP) - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday announced he would run for president in 2018 after a court victory allowed the outspoken Kremlin critic to be a candidate.

In an email sent to supporters, the 40-year-old anti-corruption campaigner said: "Presidential polls will take place in our country in 2018 and I have decided to take part in them."

President Vladimir Putin has not yet confirmed his candidacy but is widely expected to stand in March 2018 for a fourth term. If he wins, he could rule until 2024, when he would turn 72.

The Levada independent polling agency in November gave Putin an 86 percent approval rating.

Navalny swept to prominence as a punchy orator at mass protests against Putin's re-election in 2011 and 2012, with slogans such as "Putin is a thief!"

Russia needs to hold elections that are competitive and have a "confrontation of ideas," he said in a campaign video posted on YouTube.

"Those in power have already been there 17 years and have stopped reacting to any criticism."

He vowed to tackle issues including unfair distribution of wealth, selective justice and costly participation in military conflicts, with a particular focus on Russia's rampant corruption.

The lawyer leads a group of anti-corruption whistleblowers that has published embarrassing revelations about state officials luxuriating in vast mansions and flying pets in private jets.

In a campaign video, he asks: "How long will we see ministers who keep suitcases of money at home?" -- an apparent reference to last month's arrest of disgraced economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev on suspicion of taking a $2 million (1.88-million-euro) bribe.

Russia's oil and gas revenues should be used "to create modern infrastructure -- hospitals, schools and roads -- not to build luxurious palaces for officials," he said in his campaign statement.

He also promised to stop Russia "throwing away" money on conflicts in Syria and Ukraine -- where Russia denies its troops have backed pro-Moscow separatists.

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Navalny's nationalist views have alienated some liberals and his presidential programme calls for tighter visa controls on migrant workers from ex-Soviet Central Asia.

- Legal ban lifted -

Navalny had been barred from standing for office under Russian law as he was handed a five-year suspended term in 2013 on fraud charges. He and his supporters dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.

But in November Russia's Supreme Court quashed the conviction following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that he had not received a fair trial, freeing him up to run.

However, instead of dropping the case entirely, the Supreme Court sent it back for retrial in the provincial city of Kirov and proceedings have already begun in a trial that could see him banned again.

The secretary of the Central Electoral Commission Maya Grishina told RIA Novosti state news agency that Navalny's eligibility to run would "depend on the result of the readjudication."

Lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky, who has represented opposition activists, told RIA Novosti that Navalny's chances of standing were "minimal" since he will almost certainly be found guilty again.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Navalny's bid.

Navalny already has experience of campaigning for high office.

He stood for Moscow mayor in 2012 with a Western-style campaign against a Kremlin-backed incumbent and scored a surprise second place with 27 percent of the vote.

His presidential bid was trending on Russian Twitter on Tuesday afternoon and his campaign video had been viewed more than 122,000 times.
By Vladimir Soldatkin and Denis Pinchuk

MOSCOW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russian officials on Tuesday cautioned against expecting a breakthrough in its territorial dispute with Tokyo when President Vladimir Putin visits Japan this week, and proposed focusing instead on commercial deals.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to resolve the dispute over who has sovereignty over a string of islands in the Pacific Ocean, and said he hoped for progress when he hosts Putin.

But a deal to end the row, which has soured relations since the end of World War Two, carries political risks for Putin, who does not want to tarnish his image at home as a staunch defender of Russian sovereignty.

"The president has already said that our country is not only ready but interested in resolving this long-running problem," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told a briefing. "But we believe this is quite a long process, which requires scrupulous work aimed at building trust."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed that sentiment, and cautioned against limiting the agenda between Moscow and Tokyo to just the islands dispute.

Russia is hoping to land deals with Japanese companies as part of a pivot towards Asia in response to the decision by Western governments to impose sanctions over Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict.

"The potential in our relations is so rich, and the desire is so great to develop our relations to the level where they meet their potential, that we don't want to concentrate on one issue but on the wider substance ... of our relations," Peskov said.

The territorial feud has blocked Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War Two hostilities.

The dispute stems from the Soviet Union's seizure at the end of the war of four islands off Hokkaido, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kuriles.

Putin's visit is his first in years. Abe and Putin meet on Dec. 15-16, first in Abe's constituency in southwest Japan and then in Tokyo the next day.

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In an interview with Japan's Yomiuri newspaper in advance of the visit, Putin said that Moscow and Tokyo needed to agree on conditions for a peace treaty based on trust and joint economic activities.

"The absence of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan is an anachronism left over from the past, and that anachronism should be removed. But how to do that is a difficult question," Putin said, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin.

He said the task was made harder if Russia remained subject to Japanese sanctions, imposed on Russia in tandem with the Western sanctions over Ukraine.

"How can we further develop our economic relations ... to a much higher level when there is a sanctions regime?" Putin was quoted as saying.

(Writing by Christian Lowe; editing by Richard Lough)
The chief executive of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund pledged Monday $10 billion to assist the United States' ailing infrastructure, validating a key grievance raised by President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign, Reuters reported.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, head of the Qatar Investment Authority and chairman of international telecommunications company Ooredoo, sent a message to U.S. officials including Charles Rivkin, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, saying he would allocate money from the country's massive sovereign wealth fund, one of the world's largest, but did not provide a timetable.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund is estimated at around $335 billion, based on surpluses from the country's oil and gas sector. Last September, Thani announced he would give the U.S. $35 billion to strengthen "existing relationships and promote new partnerships" in a move seen as intending to shift the focus of Doha's traditional investments in Europe. It was unclear whether the $10 billion proposed Monday would be a part of the figure already promised last year.

During his presidential campaign, Trump often criticized infrastructure, which received a D+ rating from the Society of Civil Engineers. The organization found the majority of categories to be "poor" including vital social and economic institutions such as schools, dams and roads. The estimated cost to bring the nation's infrastructure up to par was $3.6 trillion.

Another D-rated category, aviation, was a specific talking point for Trump who referred to major airports in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles as "Third World." The billionaire businessman-turned-politician went on to praise airports in some foreign countries, including Qatar.

While Trump admired the infrastructure of oil-rich Arab Gulf countries, his political relationship with the region has been more complicated. The president-elect has worried states such as Saudi Arabia with his talk of energy independence and has raised the possibility of cutting aid to Syrian rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, favoring cooperation with the Syrian government and its Russian allies. The Gulf, including Qatar, has been a primary sponsor of the beleaguered Syrian opposition, which was on the verge Tuesday of being driven out of its stronghold in Aleppo by the Syrian army and its supporters.

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By Tom Finn

DOHA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The head of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has told U.S. officials it will invest $10 billion in infrastructure projects inside the United States, sources said, in an apparent boost to the economic plans of president-elect Donald Trump.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, chief executive of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), delivered the message to officials including Charles Rivkin, U.S. assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, in Doha on Monday, a Qatari official and another source close to the QIA told Reuters.

No time frame was given for the investment. Both the QIA, one of the world's largest sovereign funds, and a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Qatar declined to comment.

The QIA had previously said it intended to invest $35 billion in unspecified projects in the United States between 2016 and 2021, and it was not clear if the $10 billion would form part of that larger amount, the official said.

Trump has said his economic plans include a major boost to infrastructure investment. In one of the presidential debates against Hillary Clinton, Trump contrasted the gleaming airports of Qatar and Dubai with more shabby U.S. facilities such as LaGuardia and Newark.

The investment by Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, could help to cement ties with the Trump administration at a time of uncertainty in the Gulf, where Arab states fear any retreat of U.S. power could benefit regional foe Iran.

Trump has signalled he may halt U.S. support to Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, has been among the top backers of the rebels.

(Reporting by Tom Finn; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Alison Williams)
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LONDON  If there's one thing we've learned from 2016, it's that you don't mess with Queen Cersei. Not ever.

That goes for the actor as well as the character, by the way.

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones' star Lena Headey hints Cersei is headed to an even darker place

It's been awhile since Game of Thrones star Lena Headey last slammed Donald Trump on Twitter, but on Tuesday morning she clearly couldn't resist responding to this tweet from Mark Duplass.

What's it called when one gets impeached before one actually takes office?  Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) December 12, 2016

Headey's reply was fairly no-nonsense.

I think it's called a stroke of necessary GENIUS at this point https://t.co/99Eo94B1MZ  lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) December 13, 2016

If you get on the bad side of the current ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, you'd better be prepared for winter to come early.

BONUS: Breaking down the brilliance of 'Battle of the Bastards'
By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A West Virginia nonprofit has reinstated a director who stepped down last month after calling first lady Michelle Obama "an ape in heels," prompting the state government to review its contracts with the group, the governor's office said on Tuesday.

Pamela Taylor resigned her position last month as director of social services group Clay County Development Corp, after her comment about the first lady on Facebook went viral online and sparked outrage.

"The State of West Virginia vehemently opposes any discriminatory and harassing sentiments, language or actions, the office of Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Because of Taylor's comments, "we have been and continue to review those contracts to determine any alternatives the state might have," it said.

The Clay County Development Corp provides financial assistance and senior services to low-income and elderly residents.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that the nonprofit received about $1.5 million in federal funding and $363,000 in state funding in 2014. A spokesman for Clay County Development Corp could not be reached for comment.

After the Nov. 8 election, Taylor had praised the change from Obama to former model Melania Trump, the wife of President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican.

"It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified first lady back in the White House. I'm tired of seeing an ape in heels," she wrote.

Beverly Whaling, the mayor of tiny Clay, West Virginia, resigned after coming under fire for replying to Taylor's Facebook comment, "Just made my day Pam."

The state medical and senior services bureaus said in a Dec. 7 letter to Clay County Development Corp that they needed assurances that harassment and discrimination would be not be tolerated.

The agencies also sought guarantees that Taylor and other employees had not discriminated against people getting state services. A copy of the letter was provided to Reuters by the Bureau of Senior Services.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Howard is the UN Resident Coordinator ad interim in Nepal and is the Director of ILO Nepal.
Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) celebrates with game ball after a NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Panthers 45-42. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

When you have a team filled with as much young talent as the Oakland Raiders, you always have to keep one eye on the horizon. Sure, I want them to win it all this year and they still have a chance to do that. As Ive said all year, make it to the tourney and you never know whats going to happen.

But one thing I could do without this year? Derek Carr winning the MVP award.

AROUND COVER32

QB Rankings: The QB position is as strong as its ever been

Winners and Losers:: The playoff picture narrows

Mailbag:: Is it fair to worry about Gronks long-term future?

Raiders News: Oakland still ahead of schedule despite loss to Kansas City.

Raiders News: Five things we saw from Oakland in week 14.

Now before anyone tries to kill me for saying such a seemingly blasphemous thing, hear me out. I want Derek Carr to win an MVP award and I think theres a good chance it happens. I just dont want it to happen this season.

Whether or not Carr wins the MVP award will have no impact on how far the Raiders go this season. I want the Raiders to win the Super Bowl, like I do every season, but I want them to do it without Derek Carr winning the MVP award. Hell, for that matter I could do without Khalil Mack winning the Defensive Player of the Year award as well.

Do you see where Im going with this? The Raiders will have difficult personnel decisions ahead of them as the time to sign these two studs gets closer. There will be no question about whether or not the Raiders re-sign Mack or Carr, but there may be other players who see their time in Silver and Black come to an end because of the money being spent on Mack and Carr.

No matter what, those two are going to command high price tags. But those price tags will be a whole lot higher. Competing for MVP and DPOY awards this early in their careers was not expected and winning them would put the Raiders in a more difficult position than theyre already in.

Its a good problem to have two players who are so good that re-signing them and still building a good team wont be an easy task. Im confident that Reggie McKenzie will be able to walk that tight rope, but would prefer his job be easier if at all possible.

The post The Raiders are better off if Derek Carr doesnt win the MVP appeared first on Cover32.
By Gina Cherelus NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kanye West met Republican President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to discuss what he said were "multicultural issues" including bullying, education and violence. West's meeting at Manhattan's Trump Tower sent social media into a frenzy and fueled speculation about a possible performance at Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration or an informal administration role for the rapper. West, 39, said on Twitter he had wanted to meet Trump "to discuss multicultural issues." "These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago," tweeted the singer who was raised in Chicago. "I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change." The 15-minute meeting was the first major outing by West and generated his first tweets since he was released on Nov. 30 after a week in a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital with an unexplained condition. It quickly became the top trending topic on Twitter. The "Jesus Walks" singer again teased the prospect of running for president himself, adding a last tweet that said simply #2024. Last year, West declared he was planning to run in 2020, but has given no details. Asked about the purpose of the meeting, Trump told reporters afterward: "Friends, just friends. He's a good man. Long time. Friends for a long time." Trump added that the two had "discussed life." West, sporting a new blond hairdo, was without his wife, reality television star Kim Kardashian. He made headlines in November when he was booed at a concert for declaring his support for Trump, although he said he had not voted in the Nov. 8 presidential election. E! News, whose E! network broadcasts reality show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," said earlier that Trump reached out to West. "Trump thinks he's a great role model when it comes to business," E! quoted a source close to the rapper as saying. Asked by reporters whether he was considering performing at the inauguration, West did not respond. Music stars including Beyonce, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the election and no celebrities have yet been announced as taking part in the inauguration, although country singer Garth Brooks is in discussions to perform. West was hospitalized last month following a series of rants and after he abruptly canceled the rest of his U.S. tour. No official explanation has been given about his condition, which was initially attributed to exhaustion. (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Jill Serjeant; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Peter Cooney)
After a particularly bleak year, millions in the English-speaking world and beyond will seek some comfort by watching a converted miser in a nightshirt, skipping about as light as a feather. Whoop! Hallo! Whats to-day my fine fellow?

Published 173 years ago this month, Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol was an instant bestseller, followed by countless print, stage and screen productions. Victorians called it a new gospel, and reading or watching it became a sacred ritual for many, without which the Christmas season cannot materialize.

But A Christmas Carols seemingly timeless transcendence hides the fact that it was very much the product of a particular moment in history, its author meaning to weigh in on specific issues of the day. Dickens first conceived of his project as a pamphlet, which he planned on calling, An Appeal to the People of England on behalf of the Poor Mans Child. But in less than a week of thinking about it, he decided instead to embody his arguments in a story, with a main character of pitiable depth. So what might have been a polemic to harangue, instead became a story for which audiences hungered.

Dickens set out to write his pamphlet-turned-book in spring 1843, having just read government report on child labor in the United Kingdom. The report took the form of a compilation of interviews with childrencompiled by a journalist friend of Dickensthat detailed their crushing labors.

Dickens read the testimony of girls who sewed dresses for the expanding market of middle class consumers; they regularly worked 16 hours a day, six days a week, roominglike Martha Cratchitabove the factory floor. He read of 8-year-old children who dragged coal carts through tiny subterranean passages over a standard 11-hour workday. These were not exceptional stories, but ordinary. Dickens wrote to one of the government investigators that the descriptions left him stricken.

This new, brutal reality of child labor was the result of revolutionary changes in British society. The population of England had grown 64% between Dickens birth in 1812 and the year of the child labor report. Workers were leaving the countryside to crowd into new manufacturing centers and cities. Meanwhile, there was a revolution in the way goods were manufactured: cottage industry was upended by a trend towards workers serving as unskilled cogs laboring in the pre-cursor of the assembly line, hammering the same nail or gluing the same pieceas an 11-year-old Dickens had to dohour after hour, day after day.

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More and more, employers thought of their workers as tools as interchangeable as any nail or gluepot. Workers were becoming like commodities: not individual humans, but mere resources, their value measured to the ha-penny by how many nails they could hammer in an hour. But in a time of dearththe 1840s earned the nickname The Hungry 40sthe poor took what work they could arrange. And who worked for the lowest wages? Children.

Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter

Popular theories about howor whetherto help the poor often made things worse. The first was the widespread sense that poor people tended to be so because they were lazy and immoral, and that helping them would only encourage their malingering. If they were to be helped, it should be under conditions so awful as to discouraged people from seeking that help. The new workhouses were seen as the perfect solutionwhere families were split up, food was minimal and work painful. Those who are badly off, says the unreformed Scrooge, must go there.

Associated with this concept were the ideas of Rev. Thomas Malthus, who cautioned against intervening when people were hungry because it would only lead to an untenable population size. Better that the poor should starve and thus decrease the surplus population.

If Dickens found these solutions cruel, what did he offer? Friedrich Engels read the same report on child labor that Dickens did and, with his collaborator Karl Marx, envisioned an eventual revolution. Dickens was very much an anti-revolutionary. In fact, he implied that revolutionary was the fearsome consequence of not solving the problem some other way.

This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.

Thomas Paine, in the foregoing generation, had argued in Rights of Man for a kind of system of welfare, including tax credits for help raising children, old age pensions and national disability insurance. But Dickens wasnt a systems thinker, nor was he proto-socialist.

Yet what Dickens did propose in A Christmas Carol, which he scribbled out in less than two months in the fall of 1843intending it, in his words, as a sledge hammer blowwas still radical, in that it rejected the modern ideas about work and the economy.

What he wrote was that employers are responsible for the well-being of their employees. Their workers are not of value only to the extent to which they contribute to a product for the cheapest possible labor cost. They are of value as fellow-passengers to the grave, in the words of Scrooges nephew, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. Employers owe their employees as human beingsno better, but no worse, than themselves.

And, yes, that might mean a prize Turkey at Christmas. (Dickens could not resist a description of food in sensuous detail.) But the real salvation that Scrooge gives to the Cratchit family is a raise.

As Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past watch Tim, his father holding his lame hand, the miser pleads, say he will be spared. The ghost reminds readers of Scrooges Malthusian quote. If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.

Oh God! the ghost growls, to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust! In other words, Dickens reminded his 19th-century readersand todaysnot to mistake their good fortune of landing in a high place for their worth.

The Long View

Historians explain how the past informs the present

John Broich is an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University where he teaches British Empire history.
Athens (AFP) - As the battle for Aleppo enters its final phase, Syrians now living in Greece feel utterly consumed by the human cost of the four-year rebel fight for the traumatised city.

"For these years, Aleppo was free," says Majd Ahmad, a 26-year-old, currently living in a squatters apartment in the bohemian Athens district of Exarchia.

"We fought for the revolution and now everything is collapsing. Every person who wanted more liberty in Syria is either dead or had to flee."

Having arrived in Greece nine months ago, like the majority of the 62,000 exiles stuck here since the closure of the country's northern borders, Ahmad feels helpless.

"What was the purpose of our fight?" asks the former university student, exhaling the smoke of one cigarette before lighting another, while scouring his smartphone for the latest news updates.

"I have lost so many loved ones. I do not want to lose more."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces now hold more than 90 percent of the onetime opposition stronghold of east Aleppo, and appear on the verge of retaking the entire city.

Its fall would deal the rebels their worst defeat since the beginning of Syria's conflict in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities.

"I cannot describe my sorrow," says another exile, a 24-year-old former student now in Athens speaking under the pseudonym of Abu Habib.

"My entire city has been destroyed, so many children died, and for what?" says Habib, who fled Syria to avoid forced conscription.

The rebels seized control of east Aleppo in 2012, a year into an uprising that began with anti-government protests but spiralled into a civil war after a regime crackdown.

An estimated 120,000 people have fled rebel-held districts, many heading towards displacement centres in government-controlled areas to the west.

In the three-week assault by the Russian-backed Assad's forces to retake east Aleppo, the country's biggest city, observers described air strikes and regime rocket fire so intense that windows in the west rattled.

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Many crushed under rubble have been left to die because rescue crews cannot reach them.

- 'Pray to stay alive' -

Lodged in squats or flats rented by the UN refugee agency, the young men in Athens spend most of their time on Twitter and Facebook, trying to stay in touch with loved ones in the city.

"My grandparents and cousins are still in the city," says Habib.

"They cannot go out, they are running low on food and medicine and each time they hear a plane fly overhead they pray to stay alive," he adds.

Abu Rmosh -- another pseudonym -- lost his wife and two children, aged one and three, in the bombardments.

After having fled the country to escape forced military service, the 30-year-old regrets leaving his parents and other relatives behind.

"I lost everything. My family, my life," the blue-eyed Syrian says, adding that there was "no sense" in the fight for Aleppo, with both sides guilty of killings and theft of humanitarian aid.

Like many fellow Syrian refugees, Abu Rmosh is also seething at the apparent inaction of the international community.

"Why did the United States and other great powers allow a massacre of this scale to happen," he asks.

Radoslaw Rzehak, UNICEF's field office chief in Aleppo, estimates that half a million children in Aleppo need some kind of psychological and social support, including 100,000 who need more specialised assistance.

"I have never seen in my life such a dramatic situation (as) what is happening to children in Aleppo," Rzehak, who has been working for UNICEF for the past 15 years, told AFP.

Some Western observers say the fall of Aleppo will be a pivotal turning point akin to Stalingrad in World War II, while others question whether Assad can still prevail in a country where he is widely despised.
The World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations' weather agency, announced Tuesday it had measured a massive wave that crushed the record for the tallest in history. The wave was 62.3 feet, or 19 meters, tall. For context, that equates to about six stories.

The massive wave was measured by a buoy in the North Atlantic in 2013. The height is defined as the distance from the crest  or top  of one wave to the trough  or bottom  of the other. A commission of experts for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) officially classified the record-breaker as "the highest significant wave height as measured by a buoy." A significant wave is defined as "the average of the highest one-third of waves measured by an instrument," which means the record-breaker was actually a series of waves.

The wave, which took place south of Iceland and North of the United Kingdom, flew past the previous record set in 2007 of 59.96 feet, also measured in the North Atlantic, a hotbed for massive waves.

"This is the first time we have ever measured a wave of 19 meters. It is a remarkable record," said WMO Assistant Secretary-General Wenjian Zhang in a statement. "It highlights the importance of meteorological and ocean observations and forecasts to ensure the safety of the global maritime industry and to protect the lives of crew and passengers on busy shipping lanes."

It's, of course, unlikely anyone is surfing this sort of wave anytime soon. But for comparison's sake, it makes a number of the world's tallest waves look tiny. The Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, which Smithsonian Magazine called "the most dangerous surf wave" in the world rises up to about 30 feet.

Other one-off waves, however, have actually reportedly been taller than the 60-foot series measured by the buoy in the North Atlantic. An earthquake caused in 1958 in Alaskas Lituya Bay caused a tsunami that led to wave that reached 100 feet in height, according to the Smithsonian. Tsunamis are different from wind-blown waves, however, since they are much longer and more destructive.

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Reese Witherspoon and some of her closest celebrity girlfriends came out in full force Monday afternoon for a great cause.

Baby2Baby  an organization founded by Kelly Sawyer and Norah Weinstein that provides low-income children with necessities like diapers and clothing  held a holiday party (presented by Tiny Prints) for a group of students at The Grove in Los Angeles.

The 30 children were joined by Witherspoon, who hosted the bash, and longtime celebrity Baby2Baby supporters Selma Blair, Jaime King and Jessica Capshaw. (Tiny Prints is currently offering an exclusive Baby2Baby Collection including holiday cards, birthday invites and birth announcements. A portion of every birth announcement purchased will go to support the organization).

Baby2Baby always has a holiday vibe, even when its not the holidays, Blair told PEOPLE at the event. There is never a time where the kids arent happy when theyre here for any Baby2Baby event.

Getty Images for Baby2Baby

For King, the thought of children not having basic necessities makes her emotional. As a mother, it completely changed my life when you realize the possibility of what would it be like if you didnt have a diaper for your child, what would it be like if you didnt have a crib, if you didnt have a toothbrush, she told PEOPLE. It makes me want to cry. It gets me really emotional, and thats what a lot of these kids are dealing with.

Capshaw told PEOPLE she was happy to be there to support Baby2Baby and realizes the holidays can be more stressful than cheerful for some families.

People who are struggling to make normal ends meet, like diapers, at a time where its all about gifts, its all about giving, its all about receiving  its all about all the stuff that we love but is very sort of material, she reflected. So the idea that you could come together during the holidays and give people an experience and give them things that they might not normally have was really, really clear and a brilliant idea.

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In addition to a day of fun activities, each child received his or her own personalized bag filled not only with toys but with some of the necessities they will need for the winter months like warm pajamas, a coat, clothes, underwear, socks and shoes, Sawyer explained.

The children delighted in opening their gifts and Witherspoon excitedly watched them tear the wrapping paper off their presents while Blair even got on the floor to help.




Iconic astronaut John Glenn, who died Thursday (Dec. 8) at the age of 95, flew on two space missions during his long and eventful life. Both of them set records.

On the first, which launched on Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. On the second  the STS-95 mission of the space shuttle Discovery, which lifted off in October 1998  he became, at 77, the oldest person to slip Earth's bonds.

One of his crewmates on STS-95 was Stephen Robinson, who developed a close friendship with Glenn and came to regard him as a mentor. Space.com caught up with Robinson  a four-time shuttle astronaut who now chairs the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of California, Davis  on Thursday to discuss John Glenn's life and legacy. [John Glenn: An American Hero's Greatest Moments]

Space.com: Obviously, this is a pretty sad day. How are you feeling?

Stephen Robinson: I think an awful lot of people share what I'm thinking right now, which is, "The world's a smaller place without John Glenn in it." But we were fortunate to have him for 95 years. And I think so many of us were inspired not just by what he did, but by the person that he was.

Space.com: I never met him. Could you tell me a little about what kind of person he was?

Robinson: I think everybody who ever met him probably went away thinking, "This is the definition of a gentleman." Here's a person who could easily have considered himself above most other people, but he never did that. I saw him with royalty, presidents, and all manner of powerful people; I was in the room with him in many of those places. And I saw him with schoolkids and bus drivers and waiters. He treated everyone the same  with respect and curiosity about what they thought. And, to me, that was the most inspirational thing of all about him.

Space.com: There probably aren't many people who would stay grounded like that after becoming a hero and an icon.

Robinson: Yeah, and he really did. It was just his nature  and, I have to say, it wasn't just him. He and his wife Annie were as close and intertwined as any two people I've ever seen, and there wouldn't have been the John Glenn that we knew without Annie Glenn.

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Space.com: How did he inspire you personally?

Robinson: When I was growing up, I was one of millions of kids for whom the early astronauts were completely our heroes. So when he first flew, I was around 7 years old  right around when you start developing heroes in your mind. I was John Glenn for Halloween once [laughs]. And then, 35 or so years later, I was strapped in on the shuttle Discovery, with him strapped in right next to me. That was a science-fiction moment [laughs].

Space.com: Is it true that President John F. Kennedy essentially grounded Glenn after his first flight, like the Soviets grounded [first person in space Yuri] Gagarin, out of fear of losing an icon?

Robinson: I don't know; I actually never talked to him [Glenn] about that. I figured that was history, and he was an interesting guy; he didn't care to talk about history as much as he wanted to talk about the future. He was always forward-looking, and so during our STS-95 mission  of course, it was a very intense mission; there was not a moment to spare in training, or the mission itself, or even after the mission. It was extremely busy, and he kept up with the pace, no problem. [In Photos: John Glenn, First American in Orbit]

I stayed his close friend, and he's been kind of a mentor and adviser ever since.

Space.com: Some people may think Glenn's involvement in STS-95 was some kind of a stunt. But it wasn't a stunt, right? He was a full-fledged member of that crew.

Robinson: Oh, yeah. He had to be. When he was assigned to the mission  my job on the mission was called payload commander, which meant I was in charge of the science on the mission. And up to that point it was I think the biggest science mission that NASA had ever flown; it was just absolutely packed with experiments and things to do. And so when he arrived, I told him, a little bit recklessly [laughs], "You know, you're going to have to carry your load on this crew, because we can't do anything else. We need you to do as much work as anybody else." And he just basically said, "Well, of course! That's why I'm here. What do we do? Where do we get started?" And that's the way it was.

Space.com: Did he talk at all about what it was like being in space again, 36 years later, on a different vehicle? What did he say about STS-95?

Robinson: You know, what he said he liked the most was being able to move around  because in the Mercury, in Friendship 7, he was strapped in the whole time, so he could only do what his spacecraft did. And he didn't have a whole lot in the way of windows, either, whereas on the shuttle, you could float freely and move around, and you had your choice of a number of different windows. He said he really experienced the microgravity part of spaceflight [on STS-95] in a way that he never had before. [Watch John Glenn's Historic Friendship 7 Launch (Video)]

Space.com: How do you think John Glenn will be remembered by future generations?

Robinson: From my point of view, what was really special about John Glenn, and the impact he made on the American self-image with the space program, was that he was one of us. He seemed to be accessible and not distant; you could imagine him living down the street. And so, especially in the '60s, when spaceflight seemed unimaginable, just absolutely science fiction, I think he brought it home to all of us and made it seem like  I think a lot of people could see a little bit of themselves in John Glenn. By doing that, he made the space program something that we could all participate in, and I think he did that in a way that no one else ever did.

Space.com: Was it his demeanor that differentiated him? What made him so much more approachable or relatable?

Robinson: I don't know. It certainly came naturally to him. Again, it was part of the team between John Glenn and Annie Glenn  that's just the way they were. Annie was a little bit behind-the-curtain, but together they were very strong, magnetic, wonderful people to be around. Everybody wanted to be around them, and every minute I've been around them I've enjoyed. And I've been inspired, from the time I was 7, until now, in his old age.

Space.com: Is there anything else that you think people should know about John Glenn?

Robinson: Here's a man who will never be forgotten, and his inspiration probably changed millions of lives one way or another. In my mind, he wasn't a great man because of his accomplishments. He accomplished so much because he was a great man. That really came first.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

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The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is not sold on the CIA assessment that Russian cyber attacks were aimed to help president-elect Donald Trump win in November, sources told Reuters Monday.

The ODNI, which oversees a coalition of 17 U.S. intelligence agencies and organizations, does not dispute the CIAs analysis of Russian hacking operations. However, the ODNI does not endorse the assessment because of a lack of conclusive evidence that Moscow intended to help Trump win over Hillary Clinton, three officials told Reuters.

"ODNI is not arguing that the agency (CIA) is wrong, only that they can't prove intent," one of the three U.S. officials told Reuters. "Of course they can't, absent agents in on the decision-making in Moscow."

The FBI also declined to accept the CIAs assessment for the same reason, the three sources said.

The CIA conclusion was a "judgment based on the fact that Russian entities hacked both Democrats and Republicans and only the Democratic information was leaked," one of the three officials said.

"[It was] a thin reed upon which to base an analytical judgment," the official added.

The ODNIs position on the CIAs analysis can boost Trump. The president-elect says the notion that Russia would intervene to help him win is "ridiculous." He also said he refused to believe the outcome of the CIA assessment.

After the analysis, bipartisan senators, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Jack Reed, D-R.l., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called for a congressional investigation.

However, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Ky (who serves on the Trump transition team), rejected on Monday the bipartisan calls for an investigation.

The House Intelligence Committee is conducting vigorous oversight of the investigations into election-related cyber attacks, said Nunes in a statement. Seeing as cyber attacks, including Russian attacks, have been one of the committees top priorities for many years, weve held extensive briefings and hearings on the topic. At this time I do not see any benefit in opening further investigations, which would duplicate current committee oversight efforts and Intelligence Community inquiries.

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Group of teenage girls foils underage marriage

A group of teenage girls have stopped a marriage between an underage couple at Syadi VDC-3 in Bajhang.
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From Esquire

A Republican candidate for Virginia governor is giving away an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle as part of his campaign. In an email to supporters on Saturday, Prince William Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart described it as a sign of his dedication to the Second Amendment.

"If elected to be your next Governor, you can be 100% CERTAIN I will never compromise on your God-given right to keep and bear arms," Stewart wrote. "In fact, even though I'm sure it's certain to send the liberal media into a frenzy, to show my dedication to the Second Amendment my campaign is GIVING AWAY an AR-15 to one lucky supporter."

"That's right," he continued. "Corey Stewart for Governor is giving away an AR-15."

AR-15-style weapons and other assault-style rifles have been the subject of fierce debate because of their use in mass shootings across the United States, including the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and the Orlando club massacre this summer.

Photo credit: undefined

In an interview with The Washington Post, Stewart said that he doesn't see this as a controversial contest."Look, this is a rifle that people are permitted to own in the United States. There's nothing wrong with that," Stewart said. "It's a semiautomatic rifle. It is not an assault rifle. This is a great hunting rifle, and it's also great for recreation use."

Stewart said that winners will have to undergo a background check and that he's giving away the weapon through a dealer to adhere to state and federal regulations.

According to contest rules, the drawing for a winner will be Dec. 21, but Stewart said he hopes to give the gun away in January to highlight his hopes for overturning a state gun law.

The Virginia gubernatorial election will take place next November.

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Photo credit: Getty

From Cosmopolitan

The 2016 campaign season has finally ended, with Louisiana's runoff election cementing Republican control of the U.S. Senate. The GOP also is holding onto the two U.S. House seats that were undecided going into the state's runoff election.

Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy's victory Saturday gives the GOP a 5248 edge in the Senate starting in January. His runoff campaign focused on his support for President-elect Donald Trump and opposition to the Affordable Care Act.

Voters also chose Republican Clay Higgins, a former sheriff's captain known as the "Cajun John Wayne," in the 3rd District representing southwest and south central Louisiana. Republican state Rep. Mike Johnson won the 4th District, covering northwest Louisiana.

Kennedy entered as the front-runner and never relinquished the position, even when the field swelled to two dozen contenders in November. In the runoff, he defeated Democrat Foster Campbell, a state utility regulator who was such a long-shot that national Democratic organizations gave him little help.

It was Kennedy's third U.S. Senate run since 2004 and this time he won in a landslide, taking 61 percent to Campbell's 39 percent in the low-turnout election.

"With 52 seats in the U.S. Senate, we are excited for Republicans to confirm a conservative Supreme Court justice and begin working with President-elect Trump to pass an agenda of change for the American people," a statement from Republican National Committee co-chair Sharon Day said.

Kennedy declared that he represents change in Washington.

"I believe that our future can be better than our present, but not if we keep going in the direction the Washington insiders have taken us the last eight years," he said. "That's about to change, folks."

Louisiana's open primary system pits all candidates against each other and sends the top two vote-getters into a runoff when no one gets more than 50 percent.

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Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence both traveled to Louisiana to rally for Kennedy, and despite Campbell's slim chances, he did get donations from around the country, aimed at bolstering resistance to the Trump presidency.

"We worked as hard as possible. We left no stone unturned," Campbell said in his concession speech. "I make no excuses. We did everything humanly possible."

The results keep Louisiana with one Democratic representative among its six congressman and two senators.

The Senate seat was open because Republican David Vitter decided against running for a third term after losing the governor's race last year. Both Kennedy and Campbell have been involved in Louisiana politics for decades.

Kennedy, an Oxford-educated lawyer from south Louisiana, is in his fifth term as treasurer and has repeatedly been in the headlines while clashing with Louisiana's governors over state finances.

He sprinkled campaign speeches with examples of government-financed contracts he considered outrageous, like money "to study the effects of Swedish massage on bunny rabbits."

Campbell, a cattle farmer and populist former state senator from north Louisiana who railed against "Big Oil," talked openly about man-made climate change and argued for increasing the minimum wage. Though a Democrat, he opposed abortion and ran as supportive of gun rights.

Two House seats were open because Republicans Charles Boustany and John Fleming unsuccessfully sought the Senate seat instead of re-election.

The 3rd District race's presumed front-runner had been Scott Angelle, a Republican member of the Public Service Commission and well-known public official for nearly 30 years. But Higgins - who made attention-grabbing Crime Stoppers videos as a sheriff's captain - capitalized on disenchantment with career politicians to trounce Angelle with only a fraction of his money and a bare-bones organization.

In the 4th District, Johnson defeated Democrat Marshall Jones in a competition that largely steered clear of attacks.

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Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, two-time presidential candidate, and one-time Dancing With the Stars contestant, is reportedly President-elect Donald Trumps pick to run the Department of Energy  an agency that in 2012 he forgot existed before vowing to dismantle it.

Perry was governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. He ran two failed bids for president: in 2012 and again in 2016, during which he donned a great pair of glasses. The president-elect, unfortunately, wasnt a fan of them. He put on glasses so people will think hes smart. And it just doesnt work, you know, people can see through the glasses, Trump said of Perry while stumping in July 2015.

Apparently Trump was right; Perry dropped out of the presidential race two months later  but not before calling Trump a cancer on conservatism.

But it would seem Perry has changed his tune on Trump, the glasses, and, for that matter, the Department of Energy.

The department declares its mission is to ensure Americas security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.

By contrast, Perrys 2016 presidential campaign website touted his Texas policies that economic and population growth and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive, thanks to smart regulations and state-specific solutions. The campaign website also said Texas leads U.S. production of crude oil, natural gas and electricity; some say Perrys economic successes as governor were largely tied to the oil sectors strength during that time. Oil markets have since tanked.

Perry has championed the oil industry, an important element of the Texas economy, which aligns with Trumps campaign promises to revive the countrys fossil fuel industry and lift oil and gas regulations once in office. In 2011, Perry accused scientists of manipulating climate change data for their own financial gain  a view that climate change-skeptic Trump shares. Perry was, however, governor when Texas became a leader in wind power.

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Perry would take over the Energy Department as the government grapples with how to modernize an aging nuclear weapons program. The National Nuclear Security Administration, which comprises roughly 60 percent of the Energy Departments overall budget, estimates the United States will have to spend nearly $300 billion in the next 25 years to modernize its nuclear weapons stockpile.

The current Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz, played an important role in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump has said he would tear up. Perry agrees: Even before announcing his 2016 presidential run, he said he would eliminate the Iran deal as one of his first acts if elected.

In addition to having amazing hair, Moniz used to teach as a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after receiving a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Stanford University. His predecessor, Steven Chu, was the first cabinet secretary member who was a Nobel Prize winner. Rick Perry has a bachelors degree in animal science from Texas A&M University.

Photo credit: Mike Stone/Getty Images
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Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas, once said the U.S. Department of Energy "needs to be done away with."

Now, Perry is poised to lead that same agency.

President-elect Donald Trump plans to name the Texas Republican as his secretary of energy, transition officials told reporters Tuesday.

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump's anti-climate science shakedown just started

Perry would fit right in with Trump's other cabinet picks, a fact that climate scientists and environmentalists say they find particularly troubling.

The former governor has said he doesn't think carbon emissions  a main driver of climate change  are harmful pollutants, and Trump's nominee for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions from Alabama agrees.

Rick Perry gives a thumbs up to supporters on June 4, 2015, after announcing that he would run for president in 2016.

Image: Ron jenkins/Getty Images

Perry also champions increased production of oil and natural gas. So does Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil Corp.  the biggest oil company in the world.

And like Perry, Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency opposes the very agency Trump wants him to run. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has a long record of suing the EPA and has described himself as a "leading advocate" against the EPA's "activist agenda."

Perry previously vowed to eliminate the Energy Department in 2011, when he was seeking the Republican nomination in the 2012 presidential race. The cut was part of Perry's broader plan to shrink the federal budget and revamp the tax code.

Before he said any of that, however, he forgot what the agency was even named.

During a televised debate, Perry turned to Ron Paul and proclaimed he would list off the three federal agencies he wanted to cut: "Commerce, Education and, uh, um, what's the third one there?"

Trump has chosen @GovernorPerry to lead the department he forgot in a list of agencies he wanted to abolish in 2012 https://t.co/t6JU9ajRiE pic.twitter.com/FlOxKLLhaI  POLITICO (@politico) December 13, 2016

After the debate, Perry met with reporters and clarified what he had intended to say on stage.

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"Those three agencies of government  Education and Energy and Commerce are part of it, and the bottom line is, I may have forgotten Energy, but I haven't forgotten my conservative principles," Perry told reporters.

"Everybody tomorrow will understand that the Energy Department needs to be done away with," he said.

The Energy Department, with a budget of $29.6 billion, has a broad and complex mandate.

An engineer walks through the biofuels testing center at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, March 3, 2009.

Image: john moore/Getty Images

The agency manages the country's nuclear weapons stockpile and oversees cleanup of nuclear waste. The department also funds research and development for clean and fossil energy technologies, electric vehicles and basic energy research.

Its 17 national laboratories serve as the nation's leading institutions for scientific research in areas such as climate change, computer science, biology and the origins of the universe.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist, has jokingly referred to his agency as the "department of everything."

Despite its varied roles, the department remains one of the most important drivers of low- and zero-emissions energy technologies in the U.S. and around the world.

For instance, the department's Loan Programs Office helped finance early-stage solar projects that ushered in a massive expansion of large-scale solar farms across the U.S.

Perry isn't necessarily opposed to clean energy. During his tenure as Texas governor, the Lone Star State became one of the world's top producers of wind energy, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Wind turbines spin in Colorado City, Texas, Jan. 21, 2016.

Image: Spencer platt/Getty Images

But Perry is a major proponent of fossil fuels. The former governor sits on the board of Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company building the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline through North Dakota.

If Perry revives his plans to slash Energy Department spending, the nation's progress on clean energy research and development could slow, leaving other countries  like China or India  to pick up America's slack, said Jonathan Levy, a former deputy chief of staff to Secretary Moniz who is now a director at Vision Ridge Partners, an investment firm focused on sustainable technologies.

"The choice that the next administration has is, do you want to keep pushing hard on this trillion-dollar clean energy market opportunity, or step aside?" Levy told Mashable. "Do we want to lead, or do we want to follow?"

A panel-washing robot cleans a row of solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Feb. 16, 2016.

Image: ethan miller/Getty Images

Geoffrey Supran, a renewable energy researcher and activist, said he was disheartened by the "climate-denying cabinet" that Trump is seeking to build.

Supran said his doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was funded entirely by the Energy Department. He is now a post-doctoral researcher at MIT and Harvard University, and one of the labs he works in recently received a large federal grant to model future energy systems.

"Now there's huge uncertainty as to whether we can use that money" in the next administration, Supran told Mashable. He noted that Trump has vowed to slash funding for other major science agencies such as NASA and the EPA.

"All of us work every day to invent these solutions and bring them to the market, and these policies threaten to completely undermine America's ability to contribute to global decarbonization," he said.

BONUS: 'Longtime friends' Kanye West and Donald Trump meet up
By Piya Sinha-Roy and Rollo Ross

LOS ANGELES, Dec 13 (Reuters) - From the moment "Rogue One" begins, "Star Wars" fans will notice a glaring difference from previous films in the franchise: the lack of a scrolling text that tells what led up to the upcoming action set long ago in a galaxy far away.

"Rogue One," in theaters starting Wednesday, offers a new perspective into the events that kicked off the "Star Wars" phenomenon in George Lucas' 1977 "Episode IV - A New Hope."

"It's bold. It's different from the other 'Star Wars' movies. It sets out its own different aesthetic and energy," Riz Ahmed, who plays Imperial fighter pilot-turned-defector Bodhi Rook, told Reuters.

Disney's "Rogue One" centers on new lead Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), daughter of a weapons specialist for the villainous Darth Vader's Imperial Army.

Director Gareth Edwards said he needed little persuasion from Lucasfilm executives to take on a prequel story that ties to the Rebel Alliance mission at the beginning of "A New Hope."

"(I) was like, 'wait a minute, hang on, this is going to connect directly to my favorite film of all time, like this is sacred ground. You can't make this movie, this is wrong. No one should do this,'" he said.

"Five seconds later, I was writing 'Please let me do this.'"

The film sees Erso tracked down by the Rebel Alliance and embarking on a dangerous mission with rebels to new planets to find a way to stop Darth Vader.

Humor during the tense journey comes courtesy of dry-witted new droid K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk.

"He's not like C-3PO who is super scared and following orders, he's the opposite. K-2SO is an enforcer droid and no one can tell him anything," Ahmed said.

Early reviews on Tuesday have been positive and the film is expected to gross more than $300 million worldwide this weekend.

At Tuesday's "Rogue One" London premiere, cast members said they were relieved they could finally talk about the film.

"We were all nervous beforehand. These films are not screen-tested or shown. The first audience was on Saturday and it was reassuring particularly that the true die-hard 'Star Wars' fans have given it their seal of approval," Jones said.

"There are characters making cameos from the past," said Forest Whitaker, who plays the rebel fighter Saw Gerrera. "That was a big secret, so it's great to be free to talk about what was going on in the movie itself," he added.

(Additional reporting by Reuters TV in Los Angeles and London; Editing by David Gregorio)
Rogue One's place in the Star Wars cannon may prove slightly confusing to those who aren't bigger fans: It comes before Episodes IV-VI (which were actually released first) but after Episodes I - III (the ones with Hayden Christensen, which were released decades later) and has little connection to The Force Awakens (aka Episode VII, which was released almost exactly one year ago to the day). It is a sequel and a prequel and an anthology film and A Star Wars Story.

This particular story follows Jyn Erso (the wonderful Felicity Jones) and her ragtag group of Rebels on an inter-galactic heist to steal plans for the Imperial Forces' new planet-destroying weapon, the Death Star. That's about all you need to know, as it is best to go in as unspoiled as possible.

Which could prove a double-edged sword for the more casual Star Wars fans among us. Whereas The Force Awakens was steeped in the franchise's most universally-recognizable lore -- Chewbacca and Han Solo and Jedis and Leia -- Rogue One seems catered towards the die-hard fans, with a lot of heavy mythology set up in the beginning. (You could also argue the movie only exists to fix a plot hole Star Wars fans have been pointing out since '83.)

EXCLUSIVE: New 'Rogue One' Featurette Reveals Nods to 'Episode IV,' Unfinished Footage

Lucasfilm Ltd

The first half of Rogue One can at times feel like a slog to get through, the plotting often overly and needlessly convoluted -- Forest Whitaker delivers perhaps the most bonkers performances in the galaxy far, far away, but you could excise him from the film completely without losing much. It is chock full of big, Apocalypse Now-esque set pieces, with loads of explosions and rubble and indistinct shooting, but they work to make you miss the more personal feeling of a classic lightsaber-on-lightsaber duel. These are just symptoms of a larger problem with the film, though: You never come to deeply care about these characters like we do Luke, Rey and Finn.

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Despite a great performance by Jones, who has a knack for making any line of dialogue sound natural (a special talent in the Star Wars verse) none of the interpersonal connections here, even Jyn's own "I am your father" situation, feel as crucial to the core of the movie -- or as emotionally moving.

Jyn's misfit band of brothers (played by Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Wen Jiang and Donnie Yen) has murky motivations which bleed into their murky characterizations which bleed into their murky point of being in the movie. Yeah, the blind guy who does martial arts is cool, but...who is he? The stand-out is K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk), a reprogrammed Imperial droid who always says whatever he's thinking without filter and provides some much-needed levity in what is perhaps the darkest and grittiest Star Wars film yet. (It's certainly scarier than Force Awakens).

Any faults are redeemed in the third act, however, when the team finally, you know, goes rogue. It is the most Star Wars-ian chunk of the film, becoming something closer to an Episode-like space opera. Mostly it works because there are stakes -- something missing from our current era of franchises, when you know everyone will survive for the sequel. Yes, because of the unique book-ending of Rogue One, we know that ultimately the Rebels will succeed in stealing the plans to the Death Star and Princess Leia will eventually put them into R2-D2. But since there will be no Rogue Two, we do not already know what will happen to these characters or who will make it out alive, which makes for a truly thrilling climax, leading to an ending that prompted someone in my theater to shout, "Oh my GOD!"

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Bucharest (AFP) - Romania's president reiterated his refusal Tuesday to appoint a prime minister with legal problems, in an apparent swipe at convicted Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea whose party scored a resounding election win on the weekend.

"I've listed the (prime ministerial) criteria before the election campaign began so there wouldn't be any discussions afterwards, and they remain the same," Klaus Iohannis said at a press conference in the capital Bucharest.

Dragnea's corruption-tainted Social Democrats (PSD) staged a thumping comeback on Sunday by sweeping 45.3 percent of the vote, a year after anger over a deadly nightclub fire drove them from office.

Their centre-right rivals National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, newly created by a mathematician-turned-activist, trailed on a combined 29.5 percent.

As chief of the biggest party, Dragnea would be the logical choice for prime minister.

However the 54-year-old is serving a suspended jail sentence for electoral fraud, which in theory under Romanian law bars him from office.

He nonetheless suggested Sunday that he wanted the top job.

"I do not intend to gift my votes to someone else, whether it be a person or an institution. I ran the campaign, the party, it was an enormous responsibility," he said.

Analysts said the PSD may seek a way around the issue by trying to amend the law.

But the president warned he would stick to his guns even if legislation was changed.

He added that he would hold talks with all elected parties on Wednesday.

The new government will be sworn in at the earliest on December 19.

Mass protests in the EU's second-poorest country after the disco blaze on October 30, 2015 that claimed 64 lives drove premier Victor Ponta and his Social Democrats to resign.
BUCHAREST, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Romania's leftist Social Democrat Party (PSD), which won national elections, will not attend political consultations with the country's president on Wednesday, its leader said.

"We had a discussion in the party. We cannot honour the president's invitation for tomorrow ... while the old parliament is still in place," Liviu Dragnea told reporters on Tuesday.

"We cannot come up with a proposal for prime minister until the new parliament is validated."

President Klaus Iohannis strongly suggested earlier on Tuesday he would not accept Dragnea as prime minister due to his criminal record.

(Reporting by Radu Marinas and Luiza lie; editing by John Stonestreet)
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's leftist Social Democrat Party (PSD) won Sunday's parliamentary election with just under 46 percent of votes in both houses of parliament, official results from more than 99 percent of polling stations showed on Tuesday. Long-time PSD ally ALDE scored about 6 percent, the Central Electoral Bureau said. The center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) was on about 20 percent, the Save Romania Union party just under 9 percent and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party about 6 percent. The Electoral Bureau said it will announce the new parliament seat distribution later this week. President Klaus Iohannis is due to make a statement at 1000 GMT. (Reporting by Luiza Ilie; editing by John Stonestreet)
As Christies UK celebrates 250 years in business, its chairman reflects on the importance of heritage and the dynamic future of collecting.

David Armstrong-Jones is known more formally as Viscount Linley, the son of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, the first Earl of Snowdon. All this puts him 18th in line to the British throne. But Linley is royal only by default: He is far more interested in pursuing his calling as a tastemaker. After studying furniture making at the Parnham House School, he set up his own furniture company, now called Linley, in 1985. In 2006 he joined the auction house Christies and is now its chairman for Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and India. At 55 he keeps a busy schedule, crossing the world in search of objets dart for the auction house while still maintaining a creative role and financial stake in Linley, which designs upholstery and accessories as well as furniture. Outside work, he lives with his wife, Serena, and two children in London, the Cotswolds, and Provence. Robb Report met Linley at his Christies office: a green-wallpapered room presided over by a portrait of his mother (painted by Pietro Annigoni) and two Damien Hirst paintings.

Christies celebrates an important anniversary this year. How did you become involved with this heritage brand?

I joined 10 years ago, but my association began a long time before. I had my first exhibition here in 1985, so we go right back, and it gave me the impetus to form my company, then David Linley Furniture. Ive always had friends here, including Orlando Rock, the UK chairman and my sons godfather. Its a very collegial place to work, from the porters to the clients, and having been brought up by my parents to drift in many worlds, I particularly enjoy the places it takes me. Last week I went to New York to talk to writer Walter Isaacson. I really enjoy the whole art-world milieu. Its a meeting place of amazing personalities.

How does Christies help shape todays auction marketplace?

Three years ago we sponsored an exhibition at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, showing pictures sold to Catherine the Great 350 years ago by our founder James Christieand we found the original drawings. To me thats a very exciting illustration of how Christies has evolved, and its fascinating to see how collections have been made over the years. I also enjoy taking people on studio visits: Damien Hirst very kindly showed us around recently. It gives collectors a fresh idea on what creativity entails, and I personally love to see people making things.

What are some of the changes in the worlds of art and collecting that you have witnessed?

The shifts in taste amaze me. There are so many new collectors, and their confidence in putting out their collections is happening in a way that has never previously happened. Look at the Broad [in Los Angeles] and the wonderful [Long Museum] in [Shanghai,] China, with the most magnificent impressionist pictures in it. Who would have guessed 20 years ago where that buyer [Liu Yiqian] would come from? His fascination with culture, his hunger for educationand the coffers to build a magnificent museumis inspirational.

In a society so focused on youth and technological novelty, what role will heritage hold for subsequent generations?

I think its incredibly importantmore so than ever. Christies is bringing together younger collectors who often have limited experience of the art world for dinners, lectures, social occasions to meet artists, architects, craftspeople. Its about immediacy as well as heritage. It involves all parts of the world, and we find peoples appetites have really broadened.

Was the art world always this accessible?

No. About 30 years ago, I remember not being allowed into the Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair. Eyebrows were raised: What was a furniture maker doing there? But its changed. A few years ago, I introduced our old-master expert Noel Annesley to a Chinese artist called Chen Tianzhuo, and he was surprised to be having a conversation with a contemporary artist about an old-master drawing. You cant pigeonhole people so easily any more.

What about selling objects that are not fine art?

Personally, I find the world of memorabilia fascinating: how people get so focused on one genre, music, or person. But the trend is that our typical collector is now interested in seven to 10 categories. You dont say of someone, Hes an old-master collector anymore. Theres all sorts of cross-category buying.

We hear constantly that artificial intelligence and robotics will make us obsolete. What of the human touch?

I think theres a revolution going on. More and more our world is made up for us. Our computer tells us what to do, and theres a sense of frustration. With my Linley hat on, we ran a crafts school in the West Country this summer, and it was oversubscribed with second-careerists, people straight out of school and collectors, all wanting to know about making. In the last 5 years weve become disconnected in this extraordinary way, and theres a huge desire for tactile knowledge.

Im fortunate. I spent 2 happy years in Dorset learning my craft. But I think theres a growing group of people who have achieved a lot business-wise but have lost that sense of achievement. Is time at a workbench a luxury? I think theres a growing feeling it might be.

What makes an item produced by hand and imaginationa table, a drawing, a piece of jewelryso special?

Theres a real hunger to understand where objects come from, how artists show their understanding of materials. And theres something fascinating about watching people work, whether its someone engraving a gun or sewing beautiful clothes together. I know that myself; Ill make a piece of furniture and feel the woods grain talking to me. That may sound weird, but I remember selling some pieces to a very well-known interior designer who, before buying furniture, said, Ill wait to see the grain. That sense of surface texture and line is more vital in our mechanical world. In Sicily the other day to see the ruins, I found it unbelievable that those columns were made by eye and hand.

Who are some of the artists and craftspeople you most admire, and what have you bought lately?

I love collecting, but it has to be small like this Sergey Chekhonin [illustration], as I have very little space at home. Mostly, I collect artists who are very dear to meand students. Ill never forget someone buying something of mine when I started. I do like watches, too. The way a mechanical object works is an indulgence that I find delicious, and I bought this Nautilus Patek from Christies Dubai about 4 years agoa watch now celebrating its 40th birthday. I have a Fiat 500 thats wonderful: a very humbling object. And I like collecting guitars and old records, because they remind me of parties at home with my parents. I play three chordsall you need for rock and roll.

What about emerging markets? Are there any stones left unturned?

Definitely. As the world matures, there are really exciting changes. In new markets like Africa there are enormous opportunities, and we just hosted a wonderful exhibition of African art at 1:54 art fair. Were helping the collector Jochen Zeitz with his museum of contemporary African art in Cape Town, designed by [UK architect] Thomas Heatherwick.

What compelled you to become an artist yourself? What was your inspiration?

Firstly, my school, Bedales. I had my first exhibition there in 1976it was very much the turning point. Then John Makepeace. He was a wood designer leading the Parnham House School, which I attended from 1980 to 1982, and he gave me the opportunity to make furniture in the 18th-century manner and was clear that a machine can be used but that its the part you touch where the emotion happens.

Were your parents an influence?

Yes. I remember my father making many things. Once we made a shed, and a man in the village came along to help. After a couple of glasses of beer, he said, Give me a tape measure and Ill make it by eye, and the result was so beautiful. My father made the cooker hood to be seen in Kensington Palace. I was very lucky to be brought up in that era, where my father designed the Snowdon Aviary [at London Zoo] and the Prince of Waless investiture where my father painted all the chairs red and made the canopy for Her Majesty from Perspex. It flew away the night beforethere was quite a lot of swearing going on. I owe my work ethic to him.

When you think of your personal legacy, what would you like it to be? And do you make any work now?

A lot of my pieces have involved teamwork, but hopefully theyve inspired people to make thingsthat inspiration would be a great legacy. Also, the way we treat customers is memorable, part of the very process of luxury. As to my own work, I tend to do restoration jobs at present.

As it is the holiday season, what do you like to giveor receive?

Every year, Linley makes boxes that make great gifts. We also put in a couple of items we like because theyre funny and inexpensive, like a little doorstop. As for me, world peace would be wonderful.

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Gulmi sees no respite from banda

Tamghas, the district headquarters of Gulmi, remained shut for the 13th consecutive day on Monday due to the indefinite banda enforced to protest the constitution amendment bill that proposes splitting Province 5.
RTL Group is planning to bundle its French broadcasting activities, comprising TV and radio operations, into Groupe M6 with the aim to become a fully-integrated company and better compete in the digital media landscape.

As part of the reorganization, Groupe M6 will acquire full ownership of RTL Groups French radio stations  which includes RTL, RTL 2, Fun Radio, advertising sales house IP France  for 216 million Euros.

The idea behind the pact is to build synergies in advertising sales and investments within Groupe M6, as well as ramp up the production of local content in France.

The operation will also allow Groupe M6 to expand its portfolio of TV channels, radio stations, digital services, and increase its content production, rights acquisitions and diversification.

As part of the strategic shift, the company will launch an integrated sales division dedicated to TV, radio and digital advertising.

RTL Group, which currently has a controlling share of 48.26% in Groupe M6, plans to clinch a licensing deal with Groupe M6 to allow the outfit to use the RTL trademark.

RTL Radio in France has been the iconic cornerstone of RTL Groups success story in commercial broadcasting across Europe. This transaction aims to open a new, very promising chapter for RTL Radio as convergence and consolidation continue to shape our industry  not only in North America, but also across our European footprint, said Guillaume de Posch and Anke Schaferkordt, co-CEOs of RTL Group.

Groupe M6 has a great track record of building and growing strong media brands, nurturing a culture of creative freedom and innovation. The combination of RTL Radio and M6 will be a force for plurality and creativity in the French media landscape, added the execs.

The transaction was approved by RTL Groups board of directors and Groupe M6s supervisory board on Dec. 7 and Dec. 12, respectively; and has to be greenlit by the French media authority CSA.

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EXCLUSIVE: Ruben Fleischer has been set by Lionsgate to direct Chris Evans in Jekyll, the feature based on the 2007 BBC One series. Evans came attached in July, to play the lead role of Tom Jackman. This sets up a couple of potential competitive situations, one of them involving the rival project at Universal that is being built around Russell Crowe. The other: which movie will Fleischer next direct? After all, hes in the middle of Sonys effort to sequelize Zombieland, which has now become a cult classic that launched not only Fleischer but Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin, and gave a second wind to Woody Harrelson. As a result, all of those stars are more expensive, and Sony is working on the deals. The movie wasnt a blockbuster  $102 million WW on a $23 million budget  but it is the kind of clever film that has aged favorably and the post apocalyptic world can be expanded.

Marc Platt is producing with Ellen DeGeneres and Jeff Kleeman, through through their A Very Good Production banner, and scribe team Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry have written a script based on the Steven Moffat-scripted six-episode miniseries. Bagarozzi & Mondry teamed on the Shane Black-directed The Nice Guys and Doc Savage, as well as the remake of Death Note. The BBC miniseries wasnt a straight adaptation of the Stevenson novella; rather, the lit classic was a jumping-off point for a sequel. In the miniseries, James Nesbitt played Jackman, a modern-day descendant of Jekyll who is beginning to exhibit the trademark split personality. The father and husband abandons his family, without explaining why, and lives in a fortified basement with a psychiatric nurse as his ally. When they strap the doctor to a metal chair, she watches him transform into an alter ego who rages, shows heightened strength and speed and can be a charming, flirtatious scoundrel as well. The two personalities try to co-exist, even though one doesnt remember what the other does while in control of the body. They use a microcassette to leave messages for each other. Unable to stay away from the family he left behind for their own safety, he visits his wife, Hyde assumes control and learns about them, and things grow very complicated.

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Fleischer will work with the scribes, and some of the timing here depends on Evans duties as Captain America in the back to back sequels to The Avengers which Joe and Anthony Russo are directing. As for Universal, it too is developing a film based on the Robert Louis Stevenson public-domain novel about the doctor with the split personality. Crowe will appear first in The Mummy opposite Tom Cruise and presumably as a stand-alone in a later film.

CAA, Management 360 and attorney Warren Dern rep Fleischer.

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Gangster Squad director Ruben Fleischer is set to direct Lionsgates Jekyll, the studios new take on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Chris Evans is attached to star.

Based on the six-episode BBC One Television mini-series from 2007, the show followed a modern-day descendant of Jekyll who begins to exhibit the trademark split personality. The father and husband abandons his family, without explaining why, and lives in a fortified basement with a psychiatric nurse as his ally. When they strap the doctor to a metal chair, she watches him transform into an alter ego who rages, shows heightened strength and speed, and can also be a charming, flirtatious scoundrel as well. The two personalities try to coexist, even though one doesnt remember what the other does while in control of the body.

Marc Platt is producing with Ellen DeGeneres and Jeff Kleeman, through their A Very Good Production banner. Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry have written a script.

Fleischer is currently a producer on Brie Larsons directorial debut, Unicorn Store. He is also developing a sequel to the cult hit Zombieland which starred Emma Stone and Woody Harrelson.

Fleischer is repped by CAA and Management 360. Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.

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Many Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have a good relationship with Exxon Mobil Corps Rex Tillerson, the Kremlin told reporters on Tuesday.

Tillerson was selected by President-elect Donald Trump as Secretary of State on Monday night, his transition team confirmed. Tillerson, whom Trump called a world class player during a Fox News Sunday interview, has maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded the Order of Friendship in 2013 by Putin, an honor for a foreign citizen.

According to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, Tillerson has actively assisted business cooperation and is known to many Russian officials. AFP also reported that Putin has good, businesslike relations with the new U.S. Secretary of State, along with many other Russian officials.

When Ushakov was asked whether Tillersons new role could help mend U.S.-Russian ties, he told Reuters: We want to get out of the crisis state [of our relations], which does not satisfy neither the Russian nor the American side.

A 40-year employee of the energy giant, Tillerson is the first person in at least a century to be elevated to the post of Secretary of State without prior government experience. He appears to share Trumps desire to dramatically reshape the U.S.s relationship with Russia and is also an opponent of U.S. sanctions on the Russian regime after its annexation of Crimea and involvement in Eastern Ukraine.
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Russia again rejected calls for an immediately ceasefire in Aleppo, where the United Nations has reported summary executions of civilians and a mass flight from the city as the Syrian military advances on the final pocket of rebel resistance. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said evacuation corridors would first have to be established before fighting could stop. "We hear the calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Russian side wants to do that only when the corridors are established," Lavrov told a news conference after a meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization in Belgrade on Tuesday. Asked whether parallel talks with Turkey and the United States could succeed, Lavrov replied: "We are working with everybody who influences the situation." (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan)
BELGRADE, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russia again rejected calls for an immediately ceasefire in Aleppo, where the United Nations has reported summary executions of civilians and a mass flight from the city as the Syrian military advances on the final pocket of rebel resistance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said evacuation corridors would first have to be established before fighting could stop.

"We hear the calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Russian side wants to do that only when the corridors are established," Lavrov told a news conference after a meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organisation in Belgrade on Tuesday.

Asked whether parallel talks with Turkey and the United States could succeed, Lavrov replied: "We are working with everybody who influences the situation." (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have urged the imposition of new sanctions against Russia for the inability to maintain a ceasefire in the conflict with Kiev. The two leaders spoke two days ahead of a European Union meeting establishing Ukraines association with the EU.

It will be necessary to extend the sanctions against Russia again, although we would have wished for better progress in the implementation of this process, Merkel said at a Franco-German conference in Berlin, where she was joined by Hollande on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The establishment of a ceasefire between the Russia and Ukraine has been very sluggish, the German leader added.

Separatist leaders near Ukraines border with Russia declared a unilateral ceasefire on Sept. 1, the first of such efforts by the rebels  a group known as the Donetsk Peoples Republic, for the border town where pro-Moscow sentiment is strong  since the 2014 Minsk agreement. Russia backed the weeklong peace declaration, while French and German foreign ministers praised the conflicts temporary halt, which was intended to coincide with the start of the Ukrainian school year.

Still, just five days after the ceasefire, Kiev officials said one soldier and one rebel had been killed. Rebels had fired mortars at Ukrainian troops near the city of Mariupol, the Associated Press reported. More recently, late November peace talks between German, French, Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, ended unsuccessfully.

We must continue to apply the terms of the Minsk agreement, and when they are not carried out, we must continue with sanctions, Hollande said at the conference Tuesday.

The French leader and his German counterpart were not alone in advocating for a harsher Russia stance.

In a Wednesday press conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg lambasted Russia for massive ceasefire violations and Moscows inability to help broker a peace deal at the end of the previous month.

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The international community must keep pressuring Russia to respect its obligations, especially while the security situation in eastern Ukraine remains so serious, Stoltenberg said. Its important that economic sanctions be maintained.

The European Council, the EUs executive governing body, has scheduled a meeting Wednesday with Ukraines relationship with the bloc on the agenda.

The conflict in Ukraine, which began when citizens ejected a pro-Russian prime minister from office in the spring of 2014, has resulted in the deaths of close to 10,000 people, a fifth of whom were civilians, according to a Thursday United Nations report.

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Although Vladimir Putin has no shortage of energy executives on his payroll, the Russian President likes to negotiate oil and gas deals personally. He seems to get a kick out of it. He has been known to discuss the minutiae of drilling rigs and pipeline routes with foreign delegates until their eyes glaze over. Call it a hobby, or an obsession. But it was this keen interest in energy politics that brought Putin into contact with Rex Tillerson, the American oil executive who, as of Tuesday, is in line to become the next U.S. Secretary of State.

For Putin, the news of the latest nomination to the Cabinet of President-elect Donald Trump could hardly have been more perfect if the Kremlin itself had scripted it. Tillerson, who has served as chief executive of ExxonMobil since 2006, has been a friend to Russia even during the lowest points in its relations with the West. He has called for the U.S. to lift the sanctions imposed on Moscow in 2014 for its military assault against Ukraine. And his name is the one that officials in Moscow have tended to mention as a sign of hope that pragmatic relations with the U.S. would one day return.

Read More: TIMEs Person of the Year: Donald Trump

But what makes Tillerson especially attractive to Putin is not just his pragmatism or his support for the lifting of sanctions. Nor is it his close relationship with some of Putins top lieutenants in the energy industry. It is rather Tillersons reputation as an unsentimental dealmaker  which also happens to be the quality that endeared him to Trump. Rex Tillersons career is the embodiment of the American dream, Trump said in a statement on Tuesday, a dream he achieved at the worlds largest energy company through hard work, dedication and smart dealmaking.

One of the most impressive deals of Tillersons career was a 2011 agreement to drill for oil in the Arctic along with Rosneft, Russias state-run energy conglomerate. Though Tillersons formal partner in those talks was Igor Sechin, the Rosneft chief executive, Putin personally oversaw the negotiations, which were finalized at his residence in Sochi that summer. In exchange for Arctic drilling rights, Tillerson gave Russia unprecedented access to oil fields in his home state of Texas and in the Gulf of Mexico, allowing Putin to feel like an equal and long-term partner, rather than another one of the worlds many oil-rich autocrats who sells chunks of his country to global corporations. Two years later, Putin rewarded Tillerson with the Order of Friendship, one of the highest civilian honors that Russia can grant a foreigner.

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But the alliance didnt last. The Russian annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014 provoked sanctions from the U.S. and Europe that effectively blocked the deal. ExxonMobil faced losses estimated at $1 billion by the following year, and without the aid of American technology, Russia was forced to stop drilling in its northernmost wells. Putin and his oil czar were furious. Sanctions are a kind of war, Sechin told Germanys Der Spiegel magazine in September 2014. That is how hatred is sown and it produces vengefulness.

Read More: Why Angela Merkel Isnt Ready to Be the Leader of the Free World

It also didnt do much to change Russias behavior. Though some Western leaders have argued that the sanctions kept Russia from seizing any more Ukrainian territory, Putin still refused to give up Crimea or to abide by the terms of a peace deal in eastern Ukraine. Instead the Kremlin became even more aggressive on the global stage, especially with its bombing campaign in Syria. Moscows hope was that the West would grow divided, lose its nerve and lift the sanctions soon enough. That would be the perfect scenario for Russia, says Joerg Forbrig, an expert on Eastern Europe at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin. If the West comes around to the understanding that sanctions dont work, that we cant muster the unity, then Russia would show that they can basically wait it out.

This strategy now appears to be working. Though Tillerson has not yet outlined his position on the Russia sanctions, Reince Priebus, the incoming White House chief of staff, said on Tuesday that they might be lifted. You have to just wait and see, he said during a morning show on MSNBC.

What the Russians want from Tillerson, however, is bigger than sanctions relief. They want to see a whole new approach to American diplomacy, one that stops putting principles ahead of profits, focuses instead on getting the best political bargain available  and treats Russia as an equal on the global stage. For the next four years, we can forget about America as the bearer of values, said Vladimir Milov, a former Russian Energy Minister who went on to join the opposition. America is going to play the deal game under Trump. And for Putin thats a very comfortable environment, he told a radio host this week in Moscow.

It is an environment where statesmen sit before a map of the world and haggle over the pieces available to them, much like Putin and Tillerson did while weighing the oil fields of Texas against Russias reserves in the Arctic. Through the canny eyes of a political dealmaker, many of Washingtons oldest commitments in Europe and the Middle East could come to be seen in much the same way  as a stack of bargaining chips to be traded rather than principles to be upheld.

Read More: Marco Rubio Raises Serious Concerns About Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State

By bringing this worldview with him to the State Department, Tillerson could be tempted to renegotiate the balance of power in many regions of the world. Certainly in Ukraine they are terrified that they are going to be the loser in this deal, says Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. He is quick to add, however, that many Republicans on Capitol Hill would resist any move to throw Ukraine under the bus and pursue a better relationship with Russia. Chief among them would be Senator John McCain, who expressed his concern on Monday that Tillerson had received a friendship award from a butcher  meaning Putin.

Still, Trumps pick for Secretary of State would have broad leverage to ease U.S. sanctions if he chooses. What the Kremlin would offer in response is anybodys guess. One option would be a military coalition against terrorist groups in Syria and elsewhere. Another would be a Russian promise to respect the NATO alliance, stop violating its airspace and pull its troops away from NATO borders. Back home, Trump and Tillerson could likely package all of these small concessions and sell them on Twitter as a diplomatic victory.

But over time, any deal with Russia would bring serious risks if it does not have the support of U.S. allies. That would send a terrible shockwave through Western Europe, says Marvin Kalb, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. It would mean that Europes borders are not as sacred as the Europeans might have thought. For the first time in at least a generation, they would start to look like mere lines on a map, erasable with just a bit of force and a few years of patience.

With reporting by Tessa Berenson / Washington
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Ryan Gosling thinks he must be dreaming-that's how happy he is with his girlfriend Eva Mendes and their two daughters. The La La Land actor recently opens up to GQ about his family, and it seems he couldn't be happier.

"Eva's the dream mother, and they're dream babies, and it's like a dream that I'm having right now. I'm dreaming it all," Gosling told the magazine.

The 36-year-old met his current girlfriend Eva Mendes when they co-starred in the 2012 drama, The Place Beyond the Pines. After five years of dating, the two haven't wed (although it was rumored that they did this year), however, they welcomed their first child together, Esmeralda, in 2014. The now-two-year-old became a big sister to Gosling and Mendes' second child Amada in April this year.

The actor said of the importance of parenting, "When you meet your kids you realize that they deserve great parents. And then you have your marching orders and you have to try and become the person that they deserve."

Similarly, his new buddy Ryan Reynolds also recently gushed over his wife, Blake Lively, and two little girls. They both welcomed their second daughters this year. Lots of common ground for the new friends to bro over.

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Salems spell has been broken.

WGN America has announced that the current third season of the witch-themed drama will be its last. The series finale is slated to air in early 2017. And, yes, there will be closure.

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We knew this would be the third and final season and were able to craft an exciting climax to Marys transformational saga, series creators Brannon Braga and Adam Simon told our sister site Deadline. We are grateful to WGN America and Fox 21 for being terrific partners and giving us free reign to create a satisfying conclusion  one we believe respects our love of storytelling and the shows passionate fans.

The pair went on to call working on the show a magical experience, adding, We want to thank every producer, writer, director, actor and crew member, for all they have done to help us bring the world of Salem to life.

Salem has been averaging between 200K-300K viewers per episode, down sharply from the record-breaking 1.5 million that tuned in for the shows debut back in 2014.

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The movement sprung from Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign finds itself with an unlikely ally on two of its top post-election issues: Donald Trump.

Our Revolution, the political action organization spun out of the Vermont Senator's insurgent White House bid, aims to carry Sanders' vision forward and support the next generation of progressive leaders. The group has racked up what it counts as two major wins since the election -- the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline project and what is likely to be the defeat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which it opposes.

"Those are two things we were able to do since we began, and we want to continue to have these shared large progressive coalition fights," said Shannon Jackson, executive director of Our Revolution and long-time Sanders adviser.

The situation is a bit ironic, given that future victories on both fronts will hinge on Trump.

The president-elect said he plans to withdraw from the TPP soon after his inauguration in a video released by his transition team on November 21, and most consider the deal now dead in the water. (Some have noted he is staffing his administration with pro-TPP picks.)

On the Dakota pipeline, it's not entirely clear what Trump will do. He has expressed support for the project in the past but in an interview Fox News' Chris Wallace aired on Sunday balked at addressing the issue.

"Perhaps that'll be solved by the time I get there, so I don't have to create enemies on one side or the other," he said.

Trump and the Sanders coalition have found themselves on the same side before.

The president-elect and the Vermont Senator found a common cause in Carrier for a time, with both pressuring the air conditioning and heating systems maker from moving jobs to Mexico from Indiana. Sanders criticized Trump once a deal was struck.

Trump called for a 21st Century version of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall law while campaigning, and the Republican National Convention's platform included a call for reinstating the legislation. Many saw it as a ploy to appeal to supporters of Sanders, a fierce proponent of reinstating the law.

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Our Revolution has gone through some rough patches since starting in August, including staff exoduses and internal turmoil. Post-election, it has identified new purposes and set itself on a focused track.

In mid-November, leaders of Our Revolution gathered to in Washington to identify its next steps. It laid out a set of five commitments, some of which were rather general -- working for economic justice and defending vulnerable communities -- and others that were much more specific -- stopping the Dakota pipeline and supporting Keith Ellison's bid to head the Democratic National Committee.

"We're trying to create an economy that works for all of us," said Jackson, invoking a message the 75-year-old Senator often used on the campaign trail and in Washington, D.C.

Our Revolution supported 106 candidates and 34 ballot initiatives ahead of Election Day and ultimately racked up 58 candidate victories and 23 initiative wins.

It backed successful bids by Pramila Jayapal, Nanette Barragan and Rick Nolan to the House of Representatives from Washington, California and Minnesota, respectively, as well as Carmen Yulin Cruz's reelection as mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The group backed winning ballot initiatives in Washington and California calling on state officials to work on overturning the Citizens United decision that paved the way for super PACs.

The organization also experienced some hard losses, including Zephyr Teachout's U.S. House of Representatives run in New York and Deborah Ross' unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid in North Carolina.

Support for Ellison, a U.S. Representative from Minnesota, signals part of Our Revolution's overarching goal to transform the DNC from top to bottom. It is working at the local level to get Sanders-inspired progressives to run to become precinct committee officers.

"We're doing a top-down approach to really infiltrate and really change the Democratic Party," said Jackson.

Sanders' team and supporters clashed with the DNC during and after the election, often accusing the committee of trying to sway the election for Hillary Clinton.

Our Revolution is inspired by Sanders and inherited his highly-coveted email list of millions of supporters and donors to his presidential campaign. It cannot, however, coordinate with the Vermont Senator.

The group is registered as a 501(c)(4) entity, which means Sanders cannot, by law, be involved. What it does mean is that it can accept unlimited contributions without having to reveal its donors.

The setup was one of the catalysts for turmoil at Our Revolution over the summer. The group hired a lawyer who did not fully comprehend the implications of the setup, and Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager, saw an avenue for Our Revolution to solicit high-dollar donors instead of relying on the small-dollar contributions from the email list. Conversations between Weaver and billionaire activist Tom Steyer regarding areas for collaboration and donations broke down around the time the group was launched.

The unlimited, undisclosed contributions setup was a factor contributing to the exit of several of the group's staffers who perceived a tactical and generational gap between Weaver and themselves.

Our Revolution has since taken steps to remedy some of the issues in play.

It has set up a board of directors to decentralize power. Membership includes former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, actress Shailene Woodley and civil rights leader Ben Jealous. The board has devised a set of rules on donations and has pledged to disclose all contributions of over $250 on a quarterly basis.

"They've decided they want to run this as similar morals to the campaign," Jackson said. "We're raising the standard."

The group is currently in the process of setting up a federal PAC, Jackson said. Tax law limits 501(c)(4) entities to spending up to 49% of their budgets on resources on politics (the rest has to go toward "social welfare"); federal PACs face no such limitations.

"With a PAC, you can have more of a standing to work with candidate and to create change with elections," he said, estimating the organization process should be complete within the next one to two months.

Achieving PAC status would allow Our Revolution to coordinate with candidates running for office, including Sanders should he stand for reelection in 2018.

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Say what you will about Satan, but the Satanic Temple has slowly morphed into one of America's most progressive religions.

Earlier this week, the group's leader, Lucien Graves, released a statement announcing that the Satanic Temple was religiously exempt from Ohio's proposed Heartbeat Bill. The bill, which was passed by the state's legislature but has yet to be signed by Governor John Kasich, would ban all abortions after six weeks.

SEE ALSO: The internet sees Donald Trump as the Devil on new Time cover

Pro-choice advocates are concerned that the Heartbeat Bill is both unconstitutional and would put many women seeking abortions at great risk.

We do not advocate for a belief in the soul, therefore we feel that complex cerebral functions necessary for perception are what makes a person a person," Lucien Greaves, a spokesperson for the Temple said. "The non-viable fetus (a fetus that cannot survive outside the womans body) is, we feel, a part of the womans own body, and it is her choice whether or not she continues the pregnancy."

To be fair, "we do not advocate for a belief in the soul" would probably not stand up on its own in the Supreme Court, and Governor Jon Kasich may not be sympathetic to the claims of Satanists. Still, for many concerned pro-choice advocates, it's a powerful voice of dissent.

The Temple is confident that their religious exemption would hold up in court:

"Our tenets assert bodily autonomy and uphold Science as the arbiter of claims over what is true, to which we give deference in our decisions. As the Ohio Bill is imposed for no medical purpose and presents no compelling state interest, it is simply a violation of our free exercise, we will fight back against it, and we will very likely prevail."

Last week, The Satanic Temple declared exemption from Texas' new rule requiring that all fetuses be buried or cremated after abortions on the grounds that they believe, "burial rites are a well-established component of religious practice."

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In the past, the group has used the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, which allowed organizations to refuse emergency contraceptives for religious reasons, to defend their own initiatives.

Satan has never looked so good.

BONUS: Watch this little girl bravely share her truth at an anti-Trump rally
Arabs have "wronged Islam and distorted the image of Muslims," Saudi Prince Khaled Al-Faisal warned in a speech this week. The prince said Muslims should "not allow colonialism to return, or for divisions to prevail."

The prince's remarks were brief and did not reference any recent events in the Arab world. It's unclear what he was referring to, but his comments come as the Islamic State group has carried out terror attacks against Muslims across the Middle East and as Saudi Arabia is locked in a struggle against Iran for influence over the region.

"I do not envy anyone who stands to speak on behalf of Arabs today. We have wronged Islam and distorted the image of Muslims," Prince Saud, who has served as foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, said during the opening remarks at the 15th Arab Thought Foundation conference in Abu Dhabi. The theme of the event was: "Arab Integration: The Gulf Cooperation Council and the United Arab Emirates."

"Excuse me if my candor is painful, but the wounds are glaring," he added. "Arise Arabs, wake up Muslims, do not allow colonialism to return, or for divisions to prevail."

In July, Saudi officials accused the Islamic State group of bombing the holy city of Medina, the site of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad's tomb and his house, in an attack that killed four security officers and injured five others.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has urged Muslims to unite against an epidemic of "extremism." But earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, said Iran's leaders were not Muslims. Saudi Arabia and Iran represent opposite sides in Syria's civil war and other Middle East conflicts, including Yemen. Saudi Arabia cut off relations with Iran in January after its embassy was attacked in Tehran.

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Scientists are starting to copy down U.S. climate data onto independent servers to save it from a hostile Donald Trump administration, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

To save federal scientific data, scientists will hold a guerrilla archiving event in Toronto on Dec. 17, where experts will copy irreplaceable public data.

Our event is focused on preserving information and data from the Environmental Protection Agency, which has programs and data at high risk of being removed from online public access or even deleted, the event page says. This includes climate change, water, air, toxics programs. This project is urgent because the Trump transition team has identified the EPA and other environmental programs as priorities for the chopping block.

Meetings were held at the University of Pennsylvania with researchers and members of groups like Open Data Philly and the software company Azavea. The discussions were focused on how to download as much data as possible in the upcoming weeks, the Post reported.

Scientists have also created a Google spreadsheet to gather important data that needs to be protected and will move to archive them for the public.

Something that seemed a little paranoid to me before all of a sudden seems potentially realistic, or at least something youd want to hedge against, Nick Santos, an environmental researcher at the University of California at Davis, told the Washington Post.

Over the weekend, Santos started copying federal climate data onto an independent server so it can remain available to the public.

Doing this can only be a good thing. Hopefully they leave everything in place. But if not, were planning for that, said Santos.

Although Trump has not said he will erase scientific data, scientists are not taking any chances. The president-elect has previously said he plans to back out of President Barack Obamas Paris climate agreement, and has previously tweeted global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese.

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Most recently, Trump has ignited concerns of a type of witch hunt at the Energy Department. Trumps transition team has requested the agency to identify those who have worked on climate change with the Obama administration. In another threat to climate, Trump has picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a strong critic of the Environmental Protection Agency with close ties to energy companies, to run that very same agency.

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The last ship, still looking for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370, left an Australian port Monday night for what may be its final search. If the missing flight is not found in the next few weeks, the search will be suspended by late January or early February.

The Dutch-owned search vessel MV Fugro Equator left Fremantle to conduct a sweep of a 3,000-kilometer (1,864-miles) search area southwest of Perth. The Fugro Equator will be the sole ship reexamining certain portions of the over 46,000 square mile search area in hopes of finding the missing flight, which crashed into the South Indian Ocean in 2014.

The Chinese vessel, Dong Hai Jiu 101, is heading back to Shanghai after completing its mission. Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester thanked China for its help in the search for MH370.

It has been an heroic undertaking but we have to prepare ourselves for the prospect that we may not find MH370 in the coming weeks, although we remain hopeful, Chester told the West Australian newspaper.

Meanwhile, relatives of the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight went to Madagascar early December to lobby for an extension in the search for the plane. Before their departure, they added that if needed, they would take the search into their own hands.

Last week, one of the relatives found a possible piece of wreckage from the missing plane on a beach in Madagascar. Several pieces of debris have washed up on the east African coast over the last few months.

The Boeing 777-200 went missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. A multimillion-dollar search for the missing plane has not yielded any concrete clues about the planes location. If no credible clues are found in the underwater search, expected to be completed by early 2017, the search will be suspended.

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seaworld mist entrance orca

SeaWorld is planning on launching a new park in Abu Dhabi, according to a release from the company.

Most notably, however, may be the fact that the new park will be lacking the signature feature of SeaWorld's past parks: orcas.

According to a release from the company, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi will be the first new park without orcas and the first park to be announced since the company decided to phase out its ownership of the whales.

"SeaWorld Abu Dhabi will be the first new SeaWorld without orcas, and will integrate up-close animal experiences, mega attractions and a world class aquarium, bringing the latest technology in visitor engagement," said the release from the company.

SeaWorld has slowly phased out its emphasis on the killer whales, announcing in November 2015 that it would stop using the animals for theatrical shows at some locations and announcing in March it would no longer breed the animals, thus phasing out their ownership as the current generation dies.

The moves come as the theme park company has received public backlash following the release of the documentary "Blackfish" in 2013. Following the film, profits have fallen, attendance has dropped, and the company has had to launch as massive image overhaul.

The new park will be developed with Miral Asset Management, a developer based in the United Arab Emirates, and will be the "first dedicated marine life research, rescue, rehabilitation and return center" in the UAE according to SeaWorld.

Following the news, SeaWorld's stock has ticked up just shy of 2% in pre-market trading as of 9:10 a.m. ET.

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(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has upset China by speaking to the president of self-ruled Taiwan and saying the United States did not necessarily have to be bound by its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan is arguably the most sensitive part of the China-U.S. relationship, and China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island it regards as a renegade province under its control. Here are 10 things China could do to retaliate against the Trump administration if he continues to push the Taiwan issue. - Cutting ties with Washington If Trump offers any type of formal diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, China would likely severe its own diplomatic ties with the United States, in what would be an extreme and highly disruptive move. China refuses to have diplomatic ties with any nation that also has diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Cutting ties with Washington would likely be a final resort by Beijing. - War games near Taiwan China could signal its resolve over Taiwan by holding war games close to the island, for example by effectively closing off air and shipping routes by lobbing missiles into waters close to Taiwan's densely populated western coast, a move that would deeply unsettle the region. Chinese state media have even suggested military means may now be needed to settle the Taiwan issue once and for all. - South China Sea face-off China has been angered by U.S. freedom-of-navigation patrols in the disputed South China Sea, where China has been reclaiming land on the islands and reefs it occupies and building airfields and other facilities. So far, China has responded to U.S. patrols by shadowing them and issuing verbal warnings. China may take more forceful measures to future U.S. patrols. In 2001, a U.S. spy plane was forced to land in China after colliding with a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea. Beijing would be reluctant to see a military clash as China needs a peaceful South China Sea to keep its trade lanes open. - Sanctioning U.S. companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan In 2010, Beijing reacted with fury to the Obama administration plans for a new round of weapons sales to Taiwan, threatening to sanction the U.S. companies involved. The threats ultimately did not come to fruition. - Cut its holdings of U.S. Treasuries China is America's biggest creditor, holding $1.16 trillion dollars worth of U.S. Treasuries as of September. If Beijing decided to suddenly liquidate a big chunk of its holdings, it could do severe damage to U.S. debt markets, forcing the United States to scramble for funds. A big retaliatory sell-off of U.S. government debt by China would not be a precision strike, though. Such a move would roil global markets and likely even rebound on China's own, making this, in some analysts' minds, a worst case scenario short of war. - Ease up pressure on North Korea The United States has repeatedly urged China to "get tough" on nuclear-armed North Korea, and while China is Pyongyang's most important economic and diplomatic backer, it has also been infuriated by its nuclear and missile tests. While China could ease up on United Nations sanctions on North Korea to express displeasure with the United States, it could boomerang and end up giving succor to Pyongyang and its missile and nuclear programs, something Beijing does not want. - Pressure on U.S. companies Indirect levers exist for hitting companies via state-run media and consumer organizations, or just stoking popular sentiment. After China lost an international ruling earlier this year over its claims in the South China Sea, several U.S. brands became targets for short-lived anti-U.S. protests and boycott calls, including Apple Inc and KFC-parent Yum Brands Inc . U.S. companies could also face higher tariffs as well as outright substitution of their products, such as aircraft, in favor of Chinese or other foreign competitors. China might throw bureaucratic obstacles in the way of U.S. firms in the country. A senior executive in China at a large American consumer goods firm told Reuters any strike back against U.S. firms would likely involve local authorities clogging up approval processes or slowing down paperwork, rather than a loud and brash response. - Alternative agricultural supplies China, the world's top consumer of commodities from copper, to corn to crude oil, could hit the United States if it sought alternative supplies of agricultural products. Volumes of U.S. agricultural imports from corn to soybeans into China hit a record 47.9 million tonnes in 2015. - Kill momentum for market access A Trump departure from a one China policy would almost certainly undermine bilateral investment treaty talks. Trump may not be a fan of those to begin with, but greater market access under a Bilateral Investment Treaty tops the U.S. business community's wish list for China. The U.S.-China BIT had long been viewed within the broader foreign business community to be the vanguard of liberalizing investment deals with China. If those talks stall, it's possible China will promote investment treaty talks with Europe. - Undermining the consensus on cyber issues If Trump goes back on One China, it's possible there could be a Chinese reversal on cyber security commitments made between Xi and Obama in 2015, which U.S. government advisers and security experts have credited with reducing China-led cyber-espionage. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard, Michael Martina, John Ruwitch, Jo Mason and Adam Jourdan; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
Jakarta govorner weeps at blasphemy trial

There were emotional scenes in court on the first day of the blasphemy trial of Jakarta's governor, a Christian of Chinese descent.
There are plenty of celebrities who are ready to say good riddance to 2016  and Selma Blair can be added to that list.

In June, following an outburst on an airplane, Blair, 44, was rushed to the hospital after being taken off the aircraft on a stretcher on her return flight from Cancun, Mexico. Blair had been on a trip with her son, Arthur Saint, 5, and his father.

Now, almost six months after the incident, Blair is in a much better place. Im fully recovered, she told PEOPLE of the incident at the Baby2Baby Holiday Party presented by Tiny Prints at The Grove in Los Angeles on Monday.  very embarrassing, she admitted.

Blair continued, I can only say that sometimes you just have a moment that you wish you didnt have, and you do whatever you can to rise above that and get through it and be a better person.

The incident was attributed to a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol. And while Blair takes full responsibility for the episode, shes not looking back  shes looking towards the future and 2017.

Im looking forward to how everyone can come together and make this world better and really see the things that make people struggle, and empathy, and helping people, and that we will all have a better 2017 than 2016, she said, and added, Im ready to put it behind me.

But before she puts 2016 completely behind her, she does have one thing to say aloha to: a Hawaiian vacation with her son for the holidays.

Im going to go away  a special trip, just me and my son, she gushed. Were going to go to Hawaii  hes really into volcanoes. So were going to go check all that out.

Aside from a helicopter ride to check out the volcanoes, Arthur has other outdoor interests, which mostly includes little critters.

Bugs. Still bugs, and now hes hugely into tide pools. Like, he can give a tour himself. He knows what nudibranchs are, and all of the starfish and the different types, and the sea hares. Hes really a genius with all forms of aquatic life.




Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said Donald Trumps choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, as well as his Tuesday meeting with Kanye West raise concerns about the president-elects commitment to serving the American people.

The American public has to understand, has to know that his sole motivation is the benefit of the American people and the interest of the United States and nothing else, Reed told Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga on Tuesday.

First, its essential that the president-elect clarify his business dealings, Reed said, suggesting that Trumps decision to meet with West instead of delivering his scheduled press conference about plans to separate himself from his businesses raises the possibility that he will focus on things that are not central to the needs of the American public.

Reed added that its also very disconcerting to hear that Trump is reportedly forgoing daily intelligence briefings.

Trump brushed off such concerns during an interview that aired last weekend, telling Fox News Chris Wallace that hes a smart person who doesnt need daily updates. Trump said gets the briefings when theres critical new information.

Reed is a member of the Senates Select Committee on Intelligence and one of four bipartisan senators who recently called for a congressional investigation of Russias reported meddling in the recent presidential election.

Reed said Trumps choice to nominate Tillerson once again raises the issue of the relationship of this administration with Russia. Tillerson has received the Order of Friendship award from Russia.

When you appoint someone who has very close dealings with Putin personally, he continued, it suggests that theyre not properly taking into consideration the demonstrative behavior of the Russian government.

As secretary of state, Reed argued, Tillerson would need to lay out a very serious agenda of how he and the president are going to confront the provocations that the Russians seem more and more intent on presenting, not just to the United States but to Europe and to our allies.
Tensions between Israeli settlers and Palestinians on the West Bank remain high, but Israelis are rarely challenged when they enter Palestinian villages despite signs saying no Israelis allowed. At the same time, a pro-Palestinian organization in Scotland has accused Israel of ethnic-cleansing in the West Bank to try to establish a Jewish-only community.

We usually urge Palestinians who have Israelis visiting them to report this to the Palestinian security forces to provide them with protection if needed, but for the most part, the suggestion is ignored, a security officer said in the Wednesday edition of Gulf News.

Some Palestinians want the Palestinian Authority to treat Israelis the same way Israel treats Palestinian visitors, requiring them to get permits before they can enter Palestinian cities. Palestinians caught without permits inside Israels 1948 borders are held until the end of the work day and then required to sign a pledge now to enter illegally again before they are released at a border crossing.

The gates of Palestinian cities are wide open, welcoming Israelis to enter at any moment, but this is not the case for Palestinians entering Israel, said Ahmad Abu Shaar, a Palestinian who has been trying to win a work permit.

Signs are posted at the entrances to Palestinian cities banning entry of Israeli citizens, but they generally are ignored.

Some 200,000 Palestinians cross into Israel daily to work, shop or seek medical treatment.

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign last week accused Israel of trying to shift the demographic balance in the West Bank. Mick Napier, an activist with the campaign told Irans state-owned Press TV Israel is demolishing Palestinian homes to make way for Jewish settlements.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in 230 West Bank settlements built since 1967. The Israeli Knesset currently is considering legislation that would legalize 4,000 settler homes on private Palestinian lands along with compensation for the landowners.

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Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary-General Saeb Erekat has warned there will be consequences of the bill is adopted.

west bank

Photo: Mohamad Torokman/Reuters

Not all settlements would be legalized, however. The Supreme Court has ordered the settlement of Amona evacuated on Christmas. It is the largest of 100 settlements erected without government permission across the West Bank and has become a symbol of settler defiance.

The settlement was built in the 1990s on private Palestinian land and consists of 50 mobile homes on a grassy hilltop.

We are working overtime to find a responsible solution to the issue of Amona and for similar cases in the future, Netanyahu told the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday. We must act responsibly and prudently here for a common goal: to defend settlements, and to defend the court.

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It's been a rough couple of months for New Zealand. The country had a seabed raising-earthquake, and now it's dealing with the surprise exit of its prime minister.

SEE ALSO: Creepy 'monster'-like object washes up onto New Zealand beach

To welcome this period of change, it only seems fitting that New Zealand's infamous "Beached Az" whale toss himself back onto cartoon shores.

Like the music at the Oscars, the cartoon played off New Zealand's outgoing Prime Minister John Key in a new post with a cheeky parody of Elton John's "Candle In The Wind."

Key announced his resignation quite unexpectedly on Dec. 5, citing a desire to spend more time with family. He was replaced by self-proclaimed purveyor of boring Bill English, who was officially sworn in as prime minister Monday morning.

The fresh face of New Zealand told a reporter from The New Zealand Herald, "I specialise in being boring." Such self assurance in a socially unacceptable personality trait is almost admirable.

Since the announcement of his leadership, social media has been flooded by people a little amused that New Zealand's new leader is as interesting as a soggy cardboard box.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHHA Bill English is already boring me to tears & I like politics. pic.twitter.com/ip7WKx32pq  Foxy Claus (@FoxyLustyGrover) December 5, 2016

I'm going to be the 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand. Tonight I'm going to celebrate with a nice cup of Milo and a Cameo Creme biscuit.  Bore Me Bill English (@PrimeMinister39) December 8, 2016

I turned the radio on to listen to the Bill English interview, 2 minutes in and I fell asleephe should bottle his boring & sell it  Bounder (@DawgBelly) December 8, 2016

It's only been 40 minutes but Bill English's New Zealand is already way worse. My toaster won't eject the toast and it's just burning.  Ben Uffindell (@BenUffindell) December 12, 2016

bill english is literally the most boring human name ever, sorry nz https://t.co/3Bkrv7ZLwf  Maddison Connaughton (@madconnaughton) December 12, 2016

did some 'BIll English isn't boring' material at an open mic last night and the crowd was v. actively bored by it  Brendan Kelly (@brendankellol) December 12, 2016

Some thought that being boring may actually be an advantage, given the absolute political circus 2016 has become globally.

Story continues

Why is the media so obsessed with the fact that Bill English quoted some poetry? Rather he quoted poetry than some of the garbage Trump says  Charlotte (@charaustin) December 12, 2016

not a fan of Bill English but being boring isn't a bad thing. Kind of prefer PM's to be boring otherwise you might get someone like... Trump  Christmasly Badger (@Michael_J_Parry) December 7, 2016

People whinging about how Bill English is "too boring."



Oh. That's the priority? Bet you all are loving Trump then   Hilary (@hilarymcam) December 12, 2016

"Bill English is soooo boring."



Please STFU because that's how nations end up with "entertaining" wank buckets like this in power. pic.twitter.com/Ax75ORs6Ar  Craig Ranapia (@CMRanapia) December 8, 2016

If all world leaders could be farewelled with viral videos and meme throwbacks, surely the world would be a better, or at least a dank-er, place.

BONUS: New Zealand's earthquake literally cracked the Earth open
Its official. President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson to be his Secretary of State. The nod to Tillerson, who comes to the table with no diplomatic experience but decades of forging business deals with foreign countries, raises questions over how well he will manage to separate U.S. interests from those of the only company he has ever worked for.

Exxon has business interests in Russian worth billions, and Tillerson has long opposed U.S. sanctions against Russia for its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. In particular, he struck in 2011 deal with Moscow giving Exxon access to critical Arctic resources, which also allows Russian state oil company OAO Rosneft  currently under sanction by the U.S.  to invest in Exxon projects around the world.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that European and American sanctions against Russia should be extended due to lack of progress in implementing the Minsk ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.

Hill reacts? It remains to be seen what Senate Republicans will make of the Tillerson nomination, but many lawmakers have rejected Trumps willingness to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Republicans such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) have already hinted that Tillersons personal ties to Putin could be a stumbling block in the confirmation process. In Russia, however, word of the appointment is going over well. Putin spokesman Dmirti Peskov praised Tillerson on Monday, saying he carried out his work in Russia in a highly professional manner.

Exxon. Journalist Steve Coll, who literally wrote the book on Exxon, wrote recently that as Exxon chief, Tillerson has already managed a parallel quasi-state, where he was tasked with absorbing complex political analysis, evaluating foreign leaders, attending ceremonial events, and negotiating with friends and adversaries. But many of the Exxon exes Coll interviewed thought of the State Department as generally unhelpful, a bureaucracy of liberal career diplomats who were biased against oil and incompetent when it came to sensitive and complex oil-deal negotiations.

Story continues

Trump on China, China on Trump. A Monday editorial in the Global Times, a Chinese state-run newspaper, said President-elect Donald Trump was like a child in his ignorance of foreign policy, for his comments questioning decades of U.S. policy over the one China policy. The paper went on, the One China policy cannot be bought and sold. Trump, it seems, only understands business and believes that everything has a price.

On Sunday, Trump unnerved both Beijing and Taiwan when he told Fox News, I fully understand the one China policy, but I dont know why we have to be bound by a one China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.

Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told SitRep that officials in Beijing are likely scrambling to figure out what Trump is trying to accomplish, how much is serious, and how much is posturing.

In Taiwan, Trumps apparent willingness to use the island as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Beijing over trade deals is also a cause for concern. Taiwan has always been fearful that the U.S. would abandon it, Glaser said. For Taiwan this is real, we have a mutual defense treaty with Taiwan, and from their perspective we abandoned them in 1979 when Washington instituted the one China policy.

Intel wars. Not all U.S. intelligence agencies are on board with the CIAs assertion that Moscow was actively working to elect Trump, Reuters Mark Hosenball and Jonathan Landay report.

Several intel officials tell them that while the Office of the Director of National Intelligence does not dispute the CIAs analysis of Russian hacking operations, it has not endorsed their assessment because of a lack of conclusive evidence that Moscow intended to boost Trump over Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, said the officials, who declined to be named. Specifically, one official said that while ODNI is not arguing that the agency (CIA) is wrong, only that they cant prove intent.

Russia hit both Dems and Repubs. The Washington Posts Greg Miller and Adam Entous write that U.S. officials said that both parties were repeatedly targeted as part of a months-long cyber-operation linked to Moscow, but that Democratic institutions and operatives came under a more sustained and determined online assault. One of the things that is hard to determine is how much information was lifted from Republican servers, however.

Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley

Syria

The opposition enclave in eastern Aleppo has fallen to the Assad regime and now reports are coming out of the city citing war crimes against those trapped inside. The BBC reports on comments from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who cited reports from Aleppo of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including one incident where 82 civilians were shot on sight by government troops. In a statement, Ban said the U.N. has yet to verify the reports but special advisor to U.N. Syria envoy Mr. Jan Egeland said Russia and the Assad regime should be held accountable for any atrocities committed in the wake of their operation to take the city.

A Syrian human rights groups says its getting reports of chemical weapons use in Palmyra where the Islamic State recently returned and forced a retreat of Assad regime forces, according to Reuters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said locals saw piles of dead bodies without visible wounds on them with some 28 dead in total. An Islamic State propaganda outlet issued a statement claiming that Russia carried out an air attack with nerve agent. The Assad regime and Islamic State have both used chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war, according to investigations by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

PEOTUS

Congressional Republicans are moving fast to make sure retired Marine Gen. James Mattis could become Secretary of Defense on inauguration day. Military Times reports that Republican leaders are attaching a waiver to the budget extension in order to create a loophole for Mattis within rules designed to ensure civilian control of the military. The rules would allow Congress to request a waiver within the first 30 days after the 115th Congress is sworn in, allowing ample time for a waiver vote and confirmation hearings before the Trump administration is sworn in on January 20.

China

The defense consultancy Janes predicts in a new report that Chinese defense spending in 2020 will climb to just shy of twice the size of what its defense budget was in 2010. The uptick in spending, from $123 billion in 2010 to $233 in 2020, will place Chinas defense spending above the combined spending of western European military powers. The increased spending, experts say, is likely driven by regional tensions over Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea and a desire by China to project its power beyond the confines that a more limited military would allow.

Israel

Israel is now officially the owner of two shiny, new stealth aircraft. The Washington Post reports that Israels first two F-35 fighter jets touched down at Nevatim Air Force base in Israel on Monday. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were on hand to welcome the jets, flown in from Texas by American pilots. Israel plans to purchase 50 of the jets, including the two that arrived on Monday, at a cost of $110 million with the help of U.S. military aid.

Drones

The Marine Corps wants an armed vertical take-off and landing drone to escort its V-22 Ospreys, Breaking Defense reports. The Corps says the Marine Air Ground Task Force Unmanned Expeditionary (mercifully shortened to MUX) should be fast enough to keep up with the Osprey. Marine Col. John Barranco Jr. told Breaking Defense that the service envisions the MUX scouting ahead of Ospreys for threats near landing zones, loitering as they drop off troops, and providing cover as the V-22 returns.

Photo Credit: MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images
* 'Inadequate management' cause of 75 incidents reviewed

* BP trails other rivals in safety risk mitigation

* 2015 internal report says 'highly material safety risks' remain

By Ron Bousso

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - BP's refining operations are exposed to high safety risks that can lead to deadly accidents and pollution as a result of slack management and a lack of investment, according to a leaked internal report from 2015.

The report, co-authored by BP, IBM and industry consultancy WorleyParsons, states that the British company's refining and petrochemical business, known as downstream, is trailing rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell by up to seven years in managing information to reduce safety risks and financial losses.

"Inadequate management and use of engineering information has been a root cause or contributing factor" in 15 percent of 500 high-risk incidents reviewed in the report, which was provided by Greenpeace.

BP has strived to improve its safety record since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico where 11 people were killed and which led to the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.

In comments on the leaked report, BP said it was "committed to safe, reliable and compliant operations. With that in mind, BP regularly conducts internal assessments in an effort to make improvements to its operations".

"This particular report focused on potential enhancements to how BP manages engineering data. It is not an analysis of any operational incidents, and any suggestion that this report indicates BP is wavering from its safety commitment is wrong," a company spokesman said.

The most significant incident recorded by the authors occurred in January 2014 at the 413,500 barrels per day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana refinery which cost BP $258 million in lost production. The incident at the gasoil hydrotreater unit, which removes sulphur from oil, was due to "multiple deficiencies in engineering information management".

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At the Hull petrochemical plant in northern England equipment that was not operated correctly led to losses of $35 million to $45 million.

BP's safety record came in to focus in 2005 when a blast at its Texas City refinery killed 15 workers and injured 180 others. BP was fined $84.6 million by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration between 2005 and 2012 for safety rules violations found at the refinery in investigations following the blast.

The report said highly material safety risk and financial performance issues remained due to "the lack of refining and petrochemicals-wide direction, governance, coordination and investment".

The upstream segment, which produces oil and gas, has further work to do but is however significantly ahead of downstream, the report said, reflecting the big focus BP has placed on safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Greenpeace UK's senior climate adviser Charlie Kronick said in a statement that "BP's sloppy approach to a crucial aspect of safety hasn't changed".

"The same happy-go-lucky attitude that played a role in major accidents in the past is seemingly still reflected in the management of safety information across the oil giant's operations from rig to refinery." (Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Susan Thomas)
If somebody refuses to leave Aleppo on good terms, he will be eliminated  there is no other way out. So said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last Tuesday. And it is what seemed to be coming true Monday, as the Syrian government, with help from Russia and Iran, came close to retaking complete control of Aleppo. There were reports of organized killings as the regime of Bashar al-Assad retook parts of the city. Some 100 children were said to be trapped in a building. Tens of civilians were said to have been executed.

Three member states of the U.N. contributing to a noose around civilians, said American ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power at the U.N., addressing Syria, Iran, and Russia on Tuesday. Are you truly incapable of shame? she asked. Is there literally nothing that can shame you?

As if in response, Russian ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin said on Tuesday that a deal has been reached that will allow rebels to leave the city; rebels have apparently confirmed the deal. They are to begin leaving on Wednesday. The agreement is for the fighters to leave, Churkin said. The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places, they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground. Nobody is going to harm the civilians.

But somebody already had. According to the U.N., 82 civilians, including women and children, were executed in the fighting on Monday, adding another few score tragic digits to a death toll thats approaching 450,000.

Photo credit: KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images
Sleeping Beautys castle is gone?! These are the biggest changes coming to Disneyland Parks in 2017

The year is quickly coming to a close, which means its time to start focusing on 2017! Big thanks to E! Online for rounding up the biggest changes coming to Disneyland Parks next year, so get excited.

All Disney fans know that nothing can ever stay the same in your favorite Disneyland park. In fact, something is always changing. Whether its Tower of Terror closing in Disney California Adventure, or your number one churro spot moving, Disneyland is always evolving.

The good news is, with change comes exciting new lands, adventures and attractions. Okay, so whats on schedule for Disney World and Disneyland parks all over the globe? Heres whats happening, and not all of them are badthank goodness.

I Do!

Come 2017 you will be able to actually tie the knot at Disney World in Florida. You need a fiancee, obviously, most likely a LOT of dough, and a pretty wedding dress and then youre all set. According to Disneys Fairytale Weddings & Honeymoons site, the bride gets to arrive in Cinderellas pumpkin carriage and say her vows in front of Cinderellas castle. Oh, and its all after the park closes, so no crazy crowds around you when you say, I do, to your very own Prince Charming.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Takeover

While we will have to say goodbye forever to the Tower of Terror, in return, Disney fans will be getting the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. The Tower of Terror ride will be there in spirit  and in exterior  as the new ride will use it as part of The Collectors Fortress. The free-falling experience will also be included, so no giant corndog or turkey leg before blasting off into this new realm.

Disney Dollars are Dunzo

Despite our best efforts to bring back the Disney Dollars  you know the money that only works in Disney parks  they are officially out of circulation. Since they technically dont ever expire, if you were to find some in an old fanny back, you could cash them in, which is a bonus.

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Hello, Frozen!

In the New Year, Frozen: Ever After will finally be up and running. You will be able to see Elsa and Anna sing and dance on wooden boats as they float by you, without any complications, like the ones that happened during the soft opening. The lines however, may still be a problem, but youll just have to let that go.

Sleeping Beauty is Taking a Long Nap

Sadly, Sleeping Beautys castle is going bye-bye, well at least in Hong Kong. In order to make way for new attractions, E! Online reported, Hong Kong is doing away with Sleeping Beautys pretty castle. Its so sad, but at least her castle is at other Disneyland parks so you can imagine Princess Aurora waking up to Prince Philip and falling in love forever.

The Main Street Electrical Parade is a Thing of the Past

In Florida, you will no longer be able to witness the legendary Main Street Electrical Parade, which is a total bummer. It had its last parade in October, but you can see it  for a limited time  in Disneyland in Anaheim next year.

Which Disney World or Disneyland attraction are you most excited about in 2017?

The post Sleeping Beautys castle is gone?! These are the biggest changes coming to Disneyland Parks in 2017 appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Svetlana Lee

A small hedge fund that is having a knockout year just gained the backing of a big-name investor.

Svetlana Lee's $25 million fund, New York-based Varna Capital, is receiving an investment from Paul Leff, cofounder of Perry Capital.

"Svet is going to do fantastic," Leff told Business Insider in a phone interview. "She is a very, very good investor. I'm hoping this is going to be a long-term relationship."

Leff declined to say how much money he was investing with Varna, which runs a long-short equity special situations strategy.

Leff, a minority owner in the Oakland Raiders, left Perry Capital in 2014. He has since been managing his own money within a family office.

Perry Capital is an iconic name in the hedge fund industry, with a 28-year run that ended this year when the firm announced it would shut down after suffering poor performance and management changes.

Leff knows Lee from the late 1990s and early 2000s when Lee worked as an analyst at Perry. Lee later worked at Seth Klarman's Baupost Group and David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital before launching Varna Capital in 2008.

Varna is up about 34.4% net of fees through the end of November, bolstered by a knockout November. Varna gained about 16% on the back of President-elect Trump's win.

"We are in a good place now," Lee said.

The fund was already having a good year before the election, but Trump's win bumped performance.

"I owned a number of companies in coal mining and industrials that were suffering from regulation that was put in place by the Obama administration that I thought was unlikely to continue to be implemented in its current form, regardless of who won the election," she said. "It just so happened that when Trump won the election, he was very clear that deregulation was going to be part of his presidency."

Donald Trump

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Lee had long positions in Arch Coal, a coal producer which recently emerged from bankruptcy, and EnPro, which makes parts for chemical plants and pipelines, she said.

A position in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, meanwhile, was the biggest winner for Varna in November, she said. The stocks got a big bump after Trump's election, with his Treasury secretary pick Steven Mnuchin supporting privatizing the mortgage giants.

"At the end of the day, I like to invest in US-based small cap companies," she added. "A lot of the things that the incoming president is talking about favor US based smaller companies via deregulation."

Her investments would have also worked if Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won, she said.

"I didn't know for sure who would be the president, but there were certain areas I stayed out of, namely healthcare," she said, adding that such stocks would have had a much more binary reaction.

Lee is also one of the few women who run hedge funds, and Varna has been around since 2008.

"I've had my ups and downs on the business side more so than the portfolio side," Lee said.

One of the firm's seed investors, FRM Holdings Group, left the seeding business after it was aquired by Man Group in 2012, for instance.

Performance has also been rocky in the past, with 20% plus losses in 2011 and 2015. Still, the firm has also posted strong returns, notably in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

2014: 5.1%

2013: 19.5%

2012: 5.6%

2011: - 21.5%

2010: 10.3%

2009: 16%

2008: 0.10%

NOW WATCH: This is what will happen when the Fed raises rates





More From Business Insider


The mummy of a child discovered in a crypt beneath a Lithuanian church harbors the oldest sample found to date of the virus that causes smallpox, a new report said.

But the researchers' analysis of the virus, called the variola virus, suggests that smallpox first appeared in humans much more recently than thought, the researchers said. Scientists had thought that smallpox was an ancient disease that plagued humanity for millennia.

The researchers drew their conclusion by taking virus from the mummy of the child, who lived between 1643 and 1665, and comparing that strain against variola viruses that date to the mid-1900s. The differences, or mutations, that the researchers found suggest that the strains shared a common ancestor that first arose between 1588 and 1645, the researchers said. That time period was filled with human exploration, migration and colonization  activities that could have spread the virus worldwide, the researchers noted. [Tiny & Nasty: Images of Things That Make Us Sick]

More studies are needed to confirm that the smallpox virus indeed arose that recently, but if it did, this would cast doubt on the previously suggested idea that people in ancient Egypt had smallpox. Although 3,000- to 4,000-year-old Egyptian mummies have pockmark scarring, a symptom of smallpox, these scars could have also come from measles or chickenpox, said the study's first author, Ana Duggan, a postdoctoral fellow at the McMaster University Ancient DNA Centre in Canada.

The child mummy, dated to 1654, was found in Vilnius, Lithuania, (red star) in the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit. The black dates indicate when smallpox outbreaks happened in other countries during the 17th century. Duggan, A.T. et al. Current Biology (2016)

If smallpox had arisen thousands of years ago, the researchers would have seen a high degree of diversity between the viruses that they compared, Duggan said. "We don't see that," she told Live Science.

In addition, the researchers' analysis of the mummy's virus also suggests that the two known forms of the virus  variola major and variola minor  likely split from each other after the English doctor Edward Jenner famously developed the first smallpox vaccine, in the late 1700s, the researchers said.

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The finding about the major-minor split is "by no means conclusive, but it opens the idea that maybe this split between the major and the less virulent, minor strain was an evolutionary response to the vaccine," Duggan said.

Child mummy

The Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania, (top) and the crypt in the church where the child mummy was uncovered (bottom). Duggan, A.T. et al. Current Biology (2016)

Researchers have been studying several mummies found in the crypt of the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania, since the 1930s. But the authors of the new study are the first to figure out that one mummy, of a child between ages 2 and 4, contained the smallpox virus.

It's unclear whether the child was male or female, but the researchers did establish, through radiocarbon dating, that the child lived about 360 years ago. Smallpox outbreaks were happening across Europe at that time.

Smallpox once killed about three out of every 10 people who got it. The illness could also lead to disfigurement and blindness. Smallpox is the first and so far only human disease eradicated by vaccination, Duggan said.

The researchers' sample of the variola virus taken from the mummy was badly disintegrated, but the scientists rebuilt it by comparing it to existing variola sequences, and also using DNA sequences from the mummy's skin, the scientists said.

Smallpox origins

The scientists said they are hopeful that the findings will help virologists trace the background of smallpox and other viruses. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

"We still don't know when smallpox first appeared in humans, and we don't know what animal it came from. And we don't know that because we don't have any older historical samples to work with" study co-author Edward Holmes, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Sydney in Australia, said in the statement.

The new study puts "a new perspective on this very important disease, but it's also showing us that our historical knowledge of viruses is just the tip of the iceberg," Holmes said.

The study was published online today (Dec. 8) in the journal Current Biology.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
Binod Ghimire covers parliamentary affairs and human rights for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2010, he has reported primarily on social issues, focusing on education and transitional justice.
Shazam is teaming up with Snapchat on a brand new feature.

The music recognition app is joining forces with the social media platform to users to access Shazam directly from Snapchat. By pressing and holding on the Snapchat camera screen when music is playing in the vicinity, the app will identify the music for users and offer them the chance to share their discoveries to friends as snaps.

Shazam has seen over one billion app downloads since its debut in 2008, and has hundreds of millions of active users worldwide.
Tony Perkins, an influential conservative voice on social issues, published a scathing attack on Rex Tillerson on Monday, just before President-elect Donald Trump officially chose the ExxonMobil CEO to be his secretary of state.

The Left, which doesnt usually need a reason to oppose Trumps choices, wont find many here, since the ExxonMobil executive may be the greatest ally liberals have in the Cabinet for their abortion and LGBT agendas, Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, wrote in his column on the socially conservative groups website.

He continued: That should be particularly alarming to conservatives, whove spent the last eight years watching the State Department lead the global parade for the slaughter of innocent unborn children and the intimidation of nations with natural views on marriage and sexuality.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council leads the Pledge of Allegiance at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters)

Perkins took exception to Tillersons record at the Boy Scouts of America, where he served as president. The Dallas Morning News reported that Tillerson played a key role in convincing the group to accept gay youths. Perkins also blasted Tillerson for allowing ExxonMobils money to flow to Planned Parenthood, though the company told BuzzFeed that the giving was part of a company program matching voluntary charitable donations by its employees.

To hear that Donald Trump may be appointing a man who not only led the charge to open the Boy Scouts to gay troop leaders but whose company directly gives to Planned Parenthood is upsetting at best, Perkins wrote.

Tillerson may also face resistance from conservatives on other issues.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a key member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, issued a statement on Tuesday saying he had serious concerns about Tillersons ties to Russia, which once gave him its Order of Friendship Award. And Breitbart News, a right-wing news site affiliated with Trump, criticized Tillersons stance on Common Core educational standards.
While members of Cirque du Soleil were in Buenos Aires this week rehearsing their acts for Sep7imo Dia -- the show inspired by the music and story of Argentine rock band Soda Stereo -- Charly Alberti and Zeta Bosio were in a studio in Los Angeles working with Grammy-winning engineer Gustavo Borner on the mixes of the music that will be heard both in the show and on an album set to be released to coincide with its March 9, 2017 premiere.

"The songs that people want to hear will be there," assures Alberti. For now, he names just two: "Primavera Cero," and the song that gives the Cirque show its name, "(En) El Septimo Dia." The album (and recorded music for the show, as there will be no live band), represents a year of work by Alberti and Soda bassist Zeta Bosio, who have gone through Soda's legacy, to "take apart the songs and then totally rebuild them."

Cirque has staged few productions dedicated to musical artists; its performers have paid tribute to The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. The collaboration between Cirque and the Latin American rock heroes has proved to be as anticipated as it was unlikely: 50,000 tickets were sold in the first day of sales for the Buenos Aires shows, breaking a record in Argentina. Twenty-six of 65 consecutive over 5,000-capacity performances at Buenos Aires' Luna Park are sold out.

Sep7imo Dia comes ten years after Soda Stereo, who sowed their fame in the 1980s, first in Buenos Aires and then by forging a path in Latin America, played a reunion tour attended by over a million people in nine countries, including the US.

Since then, the artists, and Soda's now multigenerational fans, have mourned the loss of Gustavo Cerati, the trio's frontman, who died in 2014 at age 55.

"If this wasn't about the music we wouldn't have done it," says Alberti. During an early morning phone conversation earlier this week in which his voice revealed a rollercoaster of emotions, he deemed the Cirque show both an homage and "a fantasy."

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BILLBOARD: Would you call the new album a soundtrack?

ALBERTI: Yes, basically it's a soundtrack. It represents almost the entire show. The show is 90 minutes long and you can't put 90 minutes on an album, so possibly what will be left out is, more than anything, the intervals that come between each song; the incidental music that allows for scene changes or preparing for a new act. The important thing is that the songs are there, and the album will respect the set list of the show...it will allow you to navigate through your memories of one act after another as experienced in the show.

For a concert, we consider each song and we put together a set list according to the emotions that you want to keep following with that music during the length of the concert. This has that too, but obviously it's led by visual concerns and by the artistic interpretations you see in the show.

So the set list might not be exactly in the order that we would have put together, but the songs themselves are the ones that we would have chosen. And that really makes it even more interesting, because it breaks with the norm for what we would have done.

How closely does Sep7imo Dia follow the Soda Stereo story?

Basically, it is a fantasy. It takes you to a place where listening to Soda Stereo takes you.

Michel [Laprise, Cirque du Soleil's Creative Director] understood that Soda Stereo was a band whose career was driven by creativity and by going further. He and other people from Cirque du Soleil spent months and months of being immersed in our world, interviewing us, interviewing people around us, interviewing our fans, going to my house where we had started rehearsing. They went to Buenos Aires several times, and they experienced Latin America. In creating the show they were immersed in what it was that made this world of Soda Stereo. And that's what it's based on. But it's not chronological, it doesn't respect time.

So you wouldn't call it biographical?

Maybe you would expect something more of a story, something that documents historic moments. But it's nothing like that. It's much more about fantasy, and that makes it much more amazing for me; incredible things happen.

You and Zeta worked together in the studio for the past year. How did you approach the project?

What we basically did was take the multi-tracks of the [Soda] albums, digitize them, take apart the songs and then totally rebuild them. New mixes, new versions, things that people have never heard, different takes...technology has allowed us to do incredible things. What was always a priority for us, and for Cirque also, was that the musical parameters were set by Zeta and I. It's not like all of a sudden a song is going to cut off after two minutes. If this wasn't about the music, we wouldn't have done it.

Two things will come out of this mix - the album and the music for the show. The album will be in stereo, and the music for the show will be have surround, it wil have effects; There are incredible things that happen with the music in the show that you can't do on an album.

How did you feel about re-visiting Soda's past, especially after Gustavo's death?

There were so many different emotions, because listening to the albums, listening to Gustavo's voice, listening to the three of us laughing, it makes you sad. But the same way that we would have done with Gustavo, we respected the process. This work has the same characteristics as it would have if Gustavo had been with us.

People may say, 'well Gustavo isn't here and it's not the same'. No, he's not, and obviously we wish he were. But the truth is that we worked the same way as if he were. We always worked as a band in the studio. It was the three of us in the rehearsal room. We had to get used to not working as a trio. It was always so great, because if two of us didn't agree, there was always someone who would make the decision. When Zeta and I were together, there was no one to break the tie. So that was a little conflict for us, but it also made us work on our personal relationship.

Is there a moment in the show when there is a specific memorial or homage to Gustavo?

We're sure that in each country a lot of amazing things are going to happen, because it's not about one specific moment that's a tribute to Gustavo. The whole thing is the moment. From the moment you come in until the moment that you leave, it's an homage to the band, and the fact that one of us is no longer here makes it much more emotional. And you're going to think about him and you're going to envision him. We wanted to avoid that sometimes kitsch element of a tribute. It is implicit in the show.

When we first got together to talk with the people from Cirque du Soleil, it was a very delicate moment because it was just after Gustavo had passed. And the first thing that we said was, 'we're going to celebrate the story of the band.'

Have you been going to the rehearsals?

No. I want to give them time to rehearse and see the show when it's ready. Because you can get really anxious about it, and really we haven't had time. I've been with Zeta this whole time preparing the album. But soon will come the moment for us to see everything. They have been rehearsing for the last two months in Buenos Aires, and January 1 they'll be moving to Luna Park to rehearse there until the show premieres. Once they are there, we will have to prepare the music with the sound system we'll have at Luna Park.

Will you and Zeta actually be present at the shows?

We wil be at the premiere, and at the premieres in each country. The first year, the show will go to Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. Then after, other countries in Latin America and the United States. There's a lot of demand, the tickets are selling fast. Maybe it will do a tour of Latin America and then come back to Buenos Aires for more shows. Or maybe it will be installed permanently there. It remains to be seen. At this point, we know when it starts, but not when it ends.
CAPE TOWN/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Improved electricity supply, an easing drought and a depreciation of the rand currency are underpinning a recovery in the South African economy, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Monday. Gordhan's comments echo the view of analysts who in a Reuters poll published last week forecast that rising commodity prices would also provide a fillip to South African growth, though they cautioned it was still short of the investor confidence needed to expand faster. "We believe we are in the process of recovering as an economy," he said on Monday at a conference of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) in Cape Town. The finance minister pressed the need for macroeconomic stability to cushion the economy from potentially volatile capital flows amid an uncertain global environment. In his October mid term budget statement to parliament, Gordhan slashed the 2016 economic expansion forecast to 0.5 percent from the 0.9 percent predicted earlier by the Treasury, but said GDP growth would recover to 1.3 percent next year. In a sign of the challenges ahead, however, data last week that Africa's second biggest economy expanded an anemic 0.2 percent in the third quarter as manufacturing contracted sharply. At a separate event, Treasury director-general Lungisa Fuzile said Africa's most industrialised country needed to "fix its politics" in order to boost growth. South Africa held on to its investment grade credit ratings with Moody's, S&P and Fitch, but all three warned that political turmoil could hurt growth. "The world is seeing what's happening within our borders," Fuzile told a business forum. President Jacob Zuma has faced several corruption scandals, more recently when the nation's anti-graft watchdog this month asked for a judge to investigate alleged influence-peddling by a wealthy family Zuma has called his friends. Zuma denies any wrongdoing. The state prosecutor dropped fraud charges in late October against Gordhan, executing a U-turn in a case that rocked financial markets and drew accusations of political meddling. But he is still under investigation for his role in setting up a unit at the tax department which police say illegally spied on politicians. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Writing by Stella Mapenzauswa)
By Nataly Pak

Vodka advert stirs debate in South Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - An advertisement featuring historic South Korean protests against President Park Geun-hye, with the crowd seen from above in the shape of a vodka bottle, has stirred debate over whether it is right to use such a sober movement to sell alcohol. Park was impeached in a Friday parliamentary vote over an influence-peddling scandal that has drawn hundreds of thousands to festive candle-lit protests every Saturday, calling for her ouster. The advertisement captures a time-lapse image of night-time protesters in Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square with a slogan, "Absolut Korea: The Future is Yours to Create." Pernod Ricard Korea, which imports the vodka, did not respond to a request for comment. The ad was posted on Absolut Vodka Korea's Facebook page. "Do not commercialize our democracy," one reader posted on the page, where the comments were mostly negative. "Our candlelight demonstrations have been peaceful and festive but it's not a happy moment," photographer Kang Young-ho, whose website includes pictures of Park, told Reuters. "It is a spectacular view but using someone's trouble for commercial purposes is wrong," he said. Some saw the advert as clever recognition of the peaceful demonstrations. "The ad compliments our citizens as a model for democracy and non-violence," Kim Young-jun commented in a Facebook post. Park remains in the presidential Blue House, not far from the protest site, stripped of her powers while she waits for the Constitutional Court to deliberate on the parliamentary vote, and rule whether to uphold it or not. That could take the up to 180 days. Another protest was scheduled for this coming Saturday. (Reporting by Nataly Pak; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel)
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish opposition parties have stepped up their challenge to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's minority government, passing a motion in parliament urging him to reverse a labor reform which cheapened the cost of hiring and firing. The proposal voted on by lawmakers late on Tuesday is not binding. Yet less than two months after conservative Rajoy was reinstated for a second term, the motion is a show of force by opposition parties who together hold a majority in parliament and are teaming up to fight his policies. The labor market overhaul from 2012 - passed by Rajoy during his last mandate when his People's Party (PP) enjoyed an absolute majority - is credited by economists with helping to bring down an eye-wateringly high unemployment rate. But it was deeply unpopular with left-wing parties and unions, who argued it weakened workers' rights in collective bargaining too much and made it easier for companies to slash salaries. "We're asking for the support of parliament to undo the labor reform that brought precariousness, exploitation and poverty so that we can usher in dialogue," said Rafael Simancas, a lawmaker with the Socialists, the second-placed party in parliament, who put forward the motion. It wants to design a new bill of workers' rights and reduce employers' reliance on temporary contracts, which is far greater than in most other European countries. Lawmakers from anti-austerity Podemos ("We Can") and far-left Izquierda Unida ("United Left") backed the motion, while centrists Ciudadanos ("Citizens") abstained, helping it to pass. The PP voted against it, and Rajoy has warned his rivals not to undo his landmark economic reforms. Emboldened by this success, opposition parties could try to table a binding law proposal with labor market changes, though Rajoy's government has the power to veto such bills if it can argue they affect the budget. In the most fragmented parliament of Spain's modern history, parties last month managed to paralyze the implementation of an unpopular education reform. Spain's jobless rate has fallen to just under 19 percent from nearly 27 percent three years ago, but remains second-highest in the European Union after Greece. (Reporting by Blanca Rodriguez and Rodrigo de Miguel; Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Sony-Marvels Spider-Man: Homecoming dominated social media buzz last week with an impressive 612,000 new conversations, according to media-measurement firm comScore and its PreAct service.

The figure represented a nearly four-fold increase over the previous week, when Rogue One: A Star Wars Story led with 159,000 conversations. Sonys sixth Spider-Man movie, which sees Tom Holland replacing Andrew Garfield as the lead, released domestic and international trailers and an official image on Dec. 9, preceded by a trailer announcement video.

The new conversations number is the highest recorded by PreAct since the weeks before Disney-Marvels Captain America: Civil War opened in early May. PreAct reported 749,129 new conversations in the April 25-May 1 week. Spider-Man: Homecoming will open on July 7.

Rogue One, starring Felicity Jones and Diego Luna, also scored impressive numbers with more than 201,000 new conversations. The first spinoff of the new Star Wars franchise, which opens Dec. 16 amid sky-high expectations, has generated more than 2.6 million cumulative conversations on social media.

The plot centers on a group of unlikely heroes who band together to steal the plans to the Death Star  the Empires ultimate weapon of destruction. Rogue One scored the second-highest day-of first-day sales last week and is expected to take in $130 million on its opening weekend.

Disney released new international trailers on Dec. 6 and 7, and held its red carpet premiere (complete with an X-Wing on Hollywood Blvd) on Dec 10.

Universal generated nearly 179,000 new conversations last week for its romance sequel Fifty Shades Darker with a new trailer on Dec. 7, along with Taylor Swift and Zayn Maliks soundtrack collaboration I Dont Wanna Live Forever two days later. Fifty Shades Darker, which opens Feb. 10, brings back Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as the leads.

The sequel has already generated more than 720,000 new conversations. The original Fifty Shades of Grey was a strong performer last year with more than $540 million in worldwide grosses.

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Paramounts Baywatch saw more than 61,000 new conversations last week in the wake of a trailer on Dec. 8, preceded by a trailer announcement video. The studio also moved the release date for the Dwayne Johnson action-comedy back a week to May 26, the start of the Memorial Day weekend.

Paramount also generated a significant response with nearly 60,000 new conversations about its fifth Transformers movie  Transformers: The Last Knight  as director Michael Bay released a teaser trailer on Dec. 5.

The Last Knight stars Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Hopkins, who also narrates the first footage, which will screen in front of holiday releases like Rogue One and Sonys Passengers.

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In case you hadnt heard, the Los Angeles Rams fired head coach Jeff Fisher on Monday, a day after a dreadful 42-14 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

And in case you also hadnt heard, the good people of St. Louis were rightfully upset that the Rams left them high and dry earlier this year, leaving for Los Angeles and leaving taxpayers in Missouri and St. Louis to repay the millions of dollars in bonds used to build a now-abandoned stadium.

And at least one local television station is not yet ready to forgive or forget how the Rams treated the city it called home for 21 years.

We present Fox 2s graphics department (look at the yellow strip under Kevin Demoffs name):

If you cant quite read it, it says, Rams Chief Operating Officer/Professional Liar.

Pretty sure thats what the kids call savage. Bravo, Fox 2. Bravo.
* Kimanis crude exports to rise 25 pct to 193,000 bpd in Feb

* Malikai output to peak at 60,000 bpd (Adds details, quote)

By Florence Tan

SINGAPORE, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Malaysia is expected to start oil production at the end of December at a deepwater field that could lift February export volumes of key grade Kimanis by 25 percent from January, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

Operated by Royal Dutch Shell, the Malikai field off the East Malaysian state of Sabah could boost exports of Kimanis to 193,000 barrels per day in February, or nine 600,000-barrel cargoes, they said, meeting crude demand from Australia and India.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to media. Shell and its partner, Malaysia's state-owned energy company Petronas, declined to comment.

The new production will come after Malaysia joined producers from outside of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Sunday to cut output along with its OPEC counterparts. News of the agreement boosted global oil prices by more than 6 percent to 18-month highs on Monday.

"Malaysia will benefit from the oil price increase as they have maintained production levels and can maintain it till 2024 at least," said Subramanya Bettadapura, a Frost & Sullivan analyst in Kuala Lumpur.

The Malikai oilfield is expected to keep the country's overall crude output steady at 700,000 bpd in 2017 from 2016 as it will replace declining output at mature fields such as former flagship field Tapis, the sources said.

Malikai lies around 100 kilometres (60 miles) off Sabah in waters about 500 metres deep and comprises two main reservoirs that will produce 60,000 barrels per day at their peak.

The oil will be blended with oil from another Shell-operated field, Gumusut-Kakap, and exported as Kimanis, a medium-sweet crude with an API gravity of 38.61 degrees and a sulphur content of 0.06 percent. Production at the Gumusut-Kakap field has reached about 160,000 bpd after it started up in late 2014.

ConocoPhillips is the third shareholder in the two fields.

(Additional reporting by Emily Chow in KUALA LUMPUR and Mark Tay in SINGAPORE; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Beirut (AFP) - Here are the latest developments on the main battle fronts in Syria and Iraq, as of 1730 GMT on Tuesday:

SYRIA

- Battle for Aleppo

Fears grew for tens of thousands of civilians in a shrinking pocket of rebel-held eastern Aleppo Tuesday as the UN said it had received credible reports that pro-regime forces executed dozens of civilians.

After weeks of heavy artillery fire and air strikes, regime forces control more than 90 percent of former opposition-held territory in Syria's second city.

Rebel are reportedly confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods including Mashhad and part of Sukkari.

Witnesses there described scenes of carnage in rebel areas, with bodies lying amid the rubble.

The UN said it had seen reports that at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, were killed in recent days.

Rebel sources said Tuesday evening that civilians and opposition fighters would start evacuating east Aleppo within hours under a deal with the regime.

An estimated 130,000 people have fled east Aleppo since late November, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The government assault on Aleppo has killed at least 463 civilians including 62 children since it began in mid-November, according to the Observatory.

Another 130 civilians have been killed by rebel fire into the city's west during the same period, it says.

- Palmyra -

With regime forces focused on taking Aleppo, the Islamic State group has re-seized the ancient city of Palmyra, from which it was driven out by a Russian-backed operation in March.

"We regret that we have yet to completely neutralise their offensive," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

Retaking the UNESCO World Heritage site on Sunday gave the jihadist group an important propaganda boost as it faces assaults on two key bastions -- Syria's Raqa and Iraq's Mosul.

- Raqa -

A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance is fighting to seize IS's de facto Syrian capital of Raqa, east of Aleppo.

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Backed by US troops and air strikes from a US-led coalition, members of the Syrian Democratic Forces have advanced to within 25 kilometres (15 miles) of the city.

IRAQ

- Battle for Mosul -

Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary forces said Tuesday they retook three more villages southwest of Mosul, completing another phase in operations aimed at cutting the jihadists' link to Syria.

Pro-government forces launched an assault on October 17 to eject IS from its last Iraqi stronghold. They have taken almost half of eastern Mosul.

The elite Counter-Terrorism Service now controls several eastern neighbourhoods and is closing in on the river Tigris that divides the city.

Federal police and interior ministry forces have mostly been fighting on a southern front, stalled within striking distance of Mosul airport south of the city.

The United Nations says a total of 90,000 people have been displaced as a result of the Mosul operation.
Morcha decides to change tack

The Madhes-based parties have said they are open to the idea of holding local level elections under the existing set-up, provided that the government guarantees endorsement of the constitution amendment bill in Parliament with necessary revisions.
Its been quite a year, with many wondering if 2016 was simply the worst year ever. Cambridge University professor and physicist Stephen Hawking, however, sees a much darker future ahead. Read on for the famed cosmologist's insight on the future.

Were headed for disaster. Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years, Hawking, who is 73 and has been living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for more than half a decade, told BBC News in January. By that time, we should have spread out in space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.

But, he added, until humanity can live somewhere other than this planet, were walking on eggshells: We will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next hundred years, so we have to be very careful in this period.

Unless we "transcend our limits." In one of Hawkings more optimistic philosophical musings, the physicist contemplated the power of humans to go beyond our potential while speaking at the April launch of a space exploration in partnership with Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner.

What makes humans unique? I believe that what makes us unique is transcending our limits, Hawking said at the launch of the $100 million so-called Breakthrough Starshot project, which intends to send iPhone-sized robots to Alpha Centauri, the closest star to our solar systemjust 4.3 light years away. Today we commit to the next great leap in the cosmos, because we are human and our nature is to fly.

And stay united. The cosmologist hasnt shied away from politics this year, assailing the populist movements taste for isolationism and calling President-elect Donald Trump a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator in a May interview with ITVs Good Morning Britain.

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Hawking had some harsh words for his own countrys politics, and worries for its future, as well, warning that a U.K. detached from the European Union would stymie the flow of students and researchers across borders, isolating countries off intellectually.

Gone are the days when we could stand on our own, against the world, he said. We need to be part of a larger group of nations, both for our security, and our trade.

Black holes might lead to other universes. Turning popular cosmological theory on its head, Hawking co-authored a paper published in the June issue of the Physical Review of Letters that described black holes as fountains, rather than prisons. It also described them as hairy.

If you feel you are in a black hole, dont give up. Theres a way out, he said at an August conference in Stockholm. The message of this lecture is that black holes aint as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once thought. Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possible come out in another universe.

Still, Hawking said, while hes keen on space flight, hes not going to try that.

But aliens might lead to our deaths. In a 25-minute film called Stephen Hawkings Favorite Places, which became available on the streaming platform CuriosityStream at the end of September, Hawking predicted the meeting between humans and alien life forms would not be unlike the Native Americans early contact with Christopher Columbus.

As I grow older, I am more convinced than ever that we are not alone, he said in the film, which catalogues the beginning of the universe and describing his latest project with Zuckerberg and Milner, Breakthrough Listen, which, like its Starshot counterpart, is also expected to cost $100 million. After a lifetime of wondering, I am helping to lead a new global effort to find out. The Breakthrough Listen project will scan the nearest million stars for signs of life, but I just the place to start looking. One day we might receive a signal from a planet like Gliese 832C, but we should be wary of answering back.

So will robots. In short, the rise of powerful AI will be either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to humanity, Hawking said in a speech at the launch of Cambridge Universitys new Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence in October. We do not know which.

More recently, hes been a bit more blunt: The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race, Hawking told BBC News in early December.

The deaths of our jobs, at least. In a Dec.1 op-ed for The Guardian, while reflecting on the populist and nativist political climate, Hawking warned of the more immediate, less Terminator-reminiscent ramifications of artificial intelligence.

The automation of factories has already decimated jobs in traditional manufacturing, and the rise of artificial intelligence is likely to extend this job destruction deep into the middle classes, with only the most caring, creative and supervisory roles remaining, he wrote. This in turn will accelerate the already widening economic inequality around the world. The internet and platforms that it makes possible allow very small groups of individuals to make enormous profits while employing very few people. This is inevitable, it is progress, but it is also socially destructive.

Related Articles
Look-alikes of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Donald Trump, and others pose for a new take on the iconic Nativity scene. (Photo: Alison Jackson)

In a fitting end to a year of celebrity news in which reality star Donald Trump was elected president, Kim Kardashian became the subject of real news when she was robbed in Paris, and one of the most eligible bachelors in the world seems to have settled down, shopping site Lyst has staged a Nativity scene featuring celebrities.

Photographer Alison Jackson, known for her work using look-alikes to spoof celebrities and celebrity culture, shot the photographs. In September, Jackson unveiled photos of Trump alone that imagined what the then presidential candidate did in his spare time. The artists latest work, just in time for Christmas, features Trump as well as one of the most watched couples in the world of celebrity  Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, of course  and their son, Saint, as well as Prince Harry and Simon Cowell, while a Victorias Secret Angel hovers overhead.

Related: Kanye West Meets With President-Elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in NYC

Adam and Eve aside, Mary and Joseph are the original celebrity power couple, Rory Scott, a Lyst spokesman said. Over 2,000 years later, what better way to remember them this Christmas than a celebrity-busting homage in their honor. While the requirements for global fame might have changed since the Old Testament days, we wanted to reimagine the scene in todays world and redefine how stars are born.

No doubt about it  2016 was a crazy year. (Photo: Alison Jackson)

Related: Stars With Santa 2016

The reimaginings include everything from Kim taking a selfie (naturally) to Kanye celebrating with champagne. A halo sits above the head of Saint, who is wearing a silly Born to Rule onesie. Meanwhile, the three wise men (or not-so-wise ones, according to the companys press release) are bearing ridiculous gifts. Prince Harry has a DVD box set of Suits  the show his new girlfriend, Meghan Markle, appears on  and Cowell has the music of one of his former contestants on the British X Factor, Olly Murs, to promote. As for Trump, well, he has come bearing a briefcase holding cash, gold bars, and a can of his trusty spray tan.

Bring it on, 2017!




Students at a high school in Plum, Penn., are protesting a ban on apparel featuring the Confederate flag. The prohibition was recently put in place after a 16-year-old African-American student complained that a fellow student was wearing a hoodie bearing the battle insignia.

The student was initially reprimanded for wearing the clothing  but was then allowed to put it on later in the day.

Robert Williams, the father of the student who made the complaint, told CBS Pittsburgh, My daughter shouldnt have to endure or be subjected to hatred, bigotry, or any kind of racial animus. He continued, First Amendment rights arent absolute. I cant run around and go into a movie theater and yell Fire!

To wear the Confederate flag in a classroom environment, in a school environment, it was very disruptive and upsetting to my child, he added.

At the time of the complaint, Plum Borough School District Superintendent Dr. Timothy Glasspool told the news outlet KDKA that the Plum school district can only discipline students speech if it constitutes a substantial disruption to the schools activities.

A ban was placed on clothing showing the Confederate flag after three more students wore similar items to class the day after the reported incident. Two were sent home after refusing to take them off.

As an educational institution, we view this as a learning opportunity for our children and encourage all families to discuss how these symbols can cause fear or anxiety in others, Glasspool wrote in a statement. The practice of ethnic, religious, racial or gender-charged symbols that profess hatred, bigotry, or oppression has no place in any learning institution and will not be tolerated in Plum schools.

Noah Leech was one of the students dismissed from school. They basically told me I have to go home and there is a possibility I may be expelled for wearing my hoodie to school, he told NEWS10. When asked why he felt so strongly about the hoodie and what it represents, Leech said he has worn the jacket to school many times before without an issue and doesnt believe it presents a problem. Our bloodline comes from West Virginia, he said. They were helping move slaves from the South into the North under the Confederate flag, so thats what I stand for.

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Two freshman female students so strongly disapproved of the schools ban that they held a protest in front of the high school and held up Confederate flags before classes started.

Kelsey Evans, one of the students, shared why she felt inclined to protest the ban. Im sitting out here today because Im fighting for my rights to wear this Confederate flag to school, because it should be allowed. Its not racist. It doesnt mean slavery. Its just simply a Southern flag. She added, Im fighting for what I believe in, because so many people think its racist, but its not.

Well, as far as Im concerned, its our freedom. If youre from America  you were born in America  this is part of your history, the other student in the video commented.

Evans also argued that the Confederate flag is no different from the U.S. flag. This is what shapes America to be how it is today. Its the exact same thing as the American flag, she said.

Some parents were so disturbed by the students support of the Confederate flag that they escorted their children to school. This is more than a statement of: I cant wear what I want to wear. When you wear something that is racially insensitive, its not appropriate, Dr. Troy Lyons, a parent who had walked his child to school, told CBS. The Confederate flag represents oppression and slavery in the South, and we are not going to stand for that.

When asked about other students feeling unsafe, one of the girls protesting said that she felt taking students out of class was more disruptive than wearing clothing displaying the flag.

The girls leading the protest both said that their parents fully supported them in taking a stand for the Confederate flag, and that they also planned to not attend classes that day. The principal eventually asked the girls to leave the site where they were staging the protest and told them they would be arrested if they refused, according to CBS.

While some students supported the flag, many voiced their disapproval. Theres absolutely no place for bigotry at all, and it just doesnt have a place, student Josh Kirkpatrick told NEWS10. If you want to wear a flag, it should be the American flag.

The Plum school district incidents were not the first time that students have provoked debate by wearing apparel carrying the Confederate insignia to school. In March, a student at a Michigan high school was asked to change or go home because he was wearing a shirt bearing the flag.

The legal requirements for schools considering disciplining students for wearing clothing showing the Confederate flag are far from straightforward. The Tinker vs. Des Moines U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the subject established that there must be proof that the apparel in question will result in substantial disruption of the school environment before a school may reprimand a student.

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An 18-year-old photographer is resisting Donald Trump's sexism with her powerful series #SignedByTrump.

Aria Watson, a student at Clatsop Community College, painted quotes that Trump has said about women on several women's bodies, which she then photographed for her photography class.

The pictures were taken down from Instagram and Facebook due to nudity, but are still making a huge impact on Tumblr and Twitter .

SEE ALSO: Why Trump's presidency will require absolutely all your courage

Image: ARIA WATSON

"I started creating #SignedByTrump a few weeks before the election. However, once the election happened and I saw that Donald Trump had won, I knew I had to work harder on this project and spread my message," Watson, who was 17 at the time of the election and couldn't vote, wrote to Mashable.

"Like many other Americans, at first I thought the campaign was a joke. I couldnt believe he was running for president! I dont think anyone knew he was going to win. I for sure didnt. I was, and still am, completely shocked at the fact that Hillary Clinton didnt win," she said.

Image: aria watson

Image: ARIA WATSON

"As a proud feminist, hearing Trump say 'grab them by the pussy' and talk about how he could do anything he wanted made me absolutely sick. Women are not objects. The fact that he has said this, and other things like this, but still won scares me. Im afraid that words, and even actions, like this will become a social norm," she told Mashable.

Image: ARIA WATSON

Image: ARIA WATSON

Watson has chosen not to disclose the identities of her models.

She said she has been criticized for only photographing one woman of color. She explained why that happened, and how she would have loved to have more diversity in the project.

However, most of the feedback has been positive.

Image: ARIA WATSON

Image: ARIA WATSON

Watson, who wants to become a health teacher after college, has a message for people who identify with her project.

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"To everyone who has supported me and #SignedByTrump, dont let anyone silence you. Dont be afraid to speak up about what you are passionate about," she told Mashable. "I dont know why Donald Trump is in office, or how this even happened, but he is. What we need now more than ever is to come together. We are stronger together."

Watson also partnered with clothing company The Outrage to create postcards, shirts, sweatshirts and more featuring her #SignedByTrump art. Fifteen percent of proceeds is being donated to the ACLU in Donald Trump's name.

BONUS: Trump and Kanye. Just watch.
In an essay that was recently published on Elle UK's website, Meghan Markle talked about about growing up biracial and how that has impacted her career.

"Being biracial paints a blurred line that is equal parts staggering and illuminating," wrote Markle, admitting that she was scared when she first was asked to share her story.

Markle, whose father is Caucasian and mother is African-American, shared anecdotes about life in Los Angeles, including having her mother be mistaken for her nanny and an instance when her mom was called the n-word in a parking lot.

The Suits actress said her parents "crafted the world around her" to make sure she felt special rather than different. She recalls wanting a boxed set of Barbie dolls for Christmas; the sets came in black or white dolls and included a mom, father and two children. "On Christmas morning, swathed in glitter-flecked wrapping paper, there I found my Heart Family: a black mom doll, a white dad doll, and a child in each color. My dad had taken the sets apart and customized my family," said Markle.

Markle also remembered struggling to know which box to check on a census, when the options were white, black, Hispanic or Asian. A teacher told her to identify as Caucasian since she had pale skin. Her father instead said, "If that happens again, you draw your own box."

Read more: 2011 SAG Awards: Natalie Portman Wears $2 Million in Tiffany Jewels

"It's either ironic or apropos that in this world of not fitting in, and of harboring my emotions so tightly under my ethnically nondescript (and not so thick) skin, that I would decide to become an actress," wrote Markle. "There couldn't possibly be a more label-driven industry than acting, seeing as every audition comes with a character breakdown: 'Beautiful, sassy, Latina, 20s'; 'African American, urban, pretty, early 30s'; 'Caucasian, blonde, modern girl next door'. Every role has a label; every casting is for something specific. But perhaps it is through this craft that I found my voice."

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Often pegged in Hollywood as "ethnically ambiguous" Markle remembered auditioning for a variety of ethnically diverse roles but being dubbed not black enough for the black roles or white enough for the white ones.

She credits her series Suits as the Goldilocks of her acting career. "The show's producers weren't looking for someone mixed, nor someone white or black for that matter. They were simply looking for Rachel. In making a choice like that, the Suits producers helped shift the way pop culture defines beauty," said Markle.

Speaking about the racial unrest in Ferguson and Baltimore, Markle spoke about the tensions that have boiled over in the U.S. "As a biracial woman, I watch in horror as both sides of a culture I define as my own become victims of spin in the media, perpetuating stereotypes and reminding us that the States has perhaps only placed bandages over the problems that have never healed at the root."

Markle said that she has made a decision to find her identity independent of "this abyss of self-misunderstanding."

"You push for colorblind casting, you draw your own box," wrote Markle.

After news broke that she was dating Prince Harry, Markle received a backlash of racist and sexist criticism on social media. Prince Harry released a rare public statement against the "wave of abuse and harassment" she experienced. "Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her," read the statement.

Markle originally wrote her essay for Elle UK in July 2015. She reposted it on her blog, The Tig, in November and Elle UK published it on its website on Dec. 11.

Read more: 'Suits' Creator Discusses Surprise Exit and Details Scrapped Character Death
syria

Syrian rebel officials announced late Tuesday morning that they had reached a cease-fire deal with Russia to evacuate some opposition forces and civilians from the besieged city of eastern Aleppo.

The talks, which were moderated by Turkish officials in Ankara, appeared to culminate in a deal that would allow 40,000 civilians to leave the city, a source within the opposition with knowledge of the talks told Business Insider.

The UN's envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said in a press conference on Tuesday that the process to evacuate civilians from the city had already begun. Rebels with light arms would be allowed to evacuate the city as well.

"The opposition's armed groups also can leave Aleppo, following the civilian population," a Turkish official tweeted. "They may go to Idlib, according to the agreement."

Russia's envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday that "the military activities in east Aleppo have stopped" and that the government "has established control over east Aleppo."

The cease-fire deal came amid reports that pro-government forces, including regime troops and Shiite militias backed by Iran  another Assad ally  had summarily executed dozens of civilians, including women and children, as they moved to clear rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Monday.

Many of the civilians executed by pro-government forces were injured and awaiting treatment in the city's makeshift medical facilities, reports from the scene said. Others were trying to flee their homes.

It's "a complete meltdown of humanity," United Nations humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said.

Syria

The government forces also reportedly set fire to a building used to house people who had been displaced in the fighting, with possibly more than 100 children trapped inside.

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"According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo," Unicef said in a statement. "We urge all parties to the conflict to allow the safe and immediate evacuation of all children."

Civilians being treated at the underground Hayat Medical Center in Aleppo, run by the Syrian American Medical Society, were also executed by pro-government forces on Monday, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Business Insider.

Reports initially indicated that the medical center staff had been executed as well, but they managed to escape in time.

Assad's forces were also using forced conscription to take over and clear areas of the besieged half of the city. Images circulated by pro-government sources on Monday showed Syrian men and boys from east Aleppo standing in front of government forces inside a detention camp.

syria

An estimated 100,000 people are still trapped in a "hellish corner" of less than one mile of territory in eastern Aleppo that hasn't yet fallen to government forces, said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations' human-rights office. He said in a press conference that the UN had received reports of pro-government forces killing least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, in four different neighborhoods.

Civilians trying to flee their homes were also being shot in the street by pro-Assad forces, said Laerke, the UN humanitarian spokesman.

"We're seeing the most cruel form of savagery in Aleppo, and the regime and its supporters are responsible for this," Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said in a press conference from Ankara. "The wounded are not being let out, and people are dying of starvation."

A nurse living in eastern Aleppo told The New York Times that some rebels, too, had threatened those trying to flee the city.

"Why do you want to go to those who are bombing you?" the nurse said one fighter asked her family as they were trying to flee to government-held territory.

"We are dead either way," one civilian replied.

syria

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that "tales" of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Aleppo were "Russophobic chatter" and that any civilians remaining in the city were being used by rebels as human shields.

The operation to take Aleppo back from the rebels was "successful and humane in every sense in regard to civilians," the Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

But Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force and political director of the nonprofit, pro-opposition organization United for a Free Syria, said that "horrendous war crimes" were being perpetrated against civilians as neighborhoods fell, one by one, to regime troops.

"And it's all being done with Russian aerial cover, including cluster bombs and barrel bombs," he told Business Insider on Monday.

"Aleppo will fall," he added. "I don't understand how it lasted this long. I just fear for the men, women, and children who will be slaughtered in the process."

Moustafa said he had received reports that the regime was also using chemical weapons, such as chlorine and white phosphorus, to clear the rebel-held areas. Those reports are unconfirmed.

"We are people, are being deleted from the human map," Malek, an activist inside Aleppo, told The New York Times. "We have two neighborhoods and one street, and the regime will keep bombing this small area."

syria

The US was shut out of the new round of negotiations hosted in Ankara, two sources close to the opposition have told Business Insider.

The talks were initially aimed at securing a deal to deliver humanitarian aid to eastern Aleppo in exchange for the evacuation of extremists groups like the former Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. Separate negotiations between Russia and the US were apparently underway simultaneously to evacuate rebel groups from Aleppo, allowing civilians to stay and receive humanitarian aid.

The rebels proposed instead that civilians be evacuated from the city.

Arizona Senator John McCain and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham released a joint statement on Tuesday saying that news of a cease-fire deal in Aleppo was "not a cause to celebrate, but a sure sign of the fate that awaits other Syrian cities."

"Having consolidated its power in Aleppo and paid no price for its war crimes, the Assad regime will use the ceasefire to reset its war machine and prepare to slaughter its way to victory across the rest of the country," the statement read.

"It is heartbreaking that we've reached this point," it continued. "The cold logic of mass graves confronts us yet again, and the name Aleppo will echo through history, like Srebrenica and Rwanda, as a testament to our moral failure and everlasting shame."

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By Brendan Pierson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case over whether companies that make copycat versions of biologic drugs must wait six months after winning federal approval before bringing them to the market. The justices opted not to take up Apotex Inc's appeal of a July federal appeals court ruling that could delay the Canadian generic drug maker's launch of so-called biosimilar versions of California-based Amgen Inc's Neulasta, used to fight infection in cancer patients. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002, Neulasta is one of Amgen's top-selling products, accounting for $4.7 billion of its nearly $21 billion in sales last year. Biologic drugs like Neulasta are made using living cells. Unlike traditional drugs, biologic drugs cannot be copied exactly to make generic versions. A 2010 federal law, the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, allows companies to seek approval to sell near-copies called biosimilars. Novartis AG's Sandoz unit also has applied to make biosimilar versions of Neulasta and of Amgen's Neupogen, an older and less popular drug that works similarly but must be given more often. Neither application has yet been approved. The biosimilars law gives the maker of a biologic drug 12 years of exclusive rights before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can approve a biosimilar. It also states that a biosimilar maker must give the original biologic drug maker 180 days' notice before launching its copycat version. Amgen has argued that the 180-day period cannot begin until the biosimilar is approved. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed in July, barring Apotex from launching its biosimilar until 180 days after approval. In its petition asking the Supreme Court to review that decision, Apotex said the Federal Circuit wrongly added an extra six months to the law's 12-year exclusivity period. It also argued that it should be exempt from the 180-day notice requirement entirely, because it voluntarily took part in a patent dispute resolution process under the biosimilars law. A federal judge in Florida rejected patent infringement claims by Amgen over Apotex's biosimilars in September. The Obama administration's solicitor general has weighed in on a Supreme Court petition from Sandoz unit in its similar dispute with Amgen, coming down against the 180-day wait.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A court on Tuesday sentenced three men for organizing the smuggling of 80 migrants into Sweden, hiring drivers to bring them in minibuses across the EU's open-border zone from northern Italy. Two of the smugglers have both Swedish and Iraqi citizenship and the third is a Syrian citizen, according to a statement by the court. Most of the migrants, brought from Milan railway station in 2014, were Syrian. One smuggler was sentenced to two years in prison, a second to 1-1/2 years and a third given a suspended sentence. They had originally been accused of smuggling 170 people into Sweden but the court said some journeys may have ended in Denmark. According to prosecutors, the three men earned around 150,000 Swedish crowns ($16,300) in total after typically charging migrants around 500 euros ($530) per person, while often letting children travel free. After a wave of more than a million migrants entered Europe in 2015, countries in the European Union's Schengen passport-free travel zone, including Sweden and Germany, reintroduced selective border controls to stem the influx. (Reporting by Daniel Dickson; editing by Andrew Roche)
By Anna Irrera and Olivia Oran (Reuters) - Symphony Communications Services LLC is relocating its chief executive to Singapore and targeting Asian investors as it looks to expand its Wall Street chat technology into the region. David Gurle, who is currently based in the companys Palo Alto headquarters, will move to the Southeast Asian city-state in the first quarter of next year, a Symphony spokeswoman said. Gurles relocation comes as Symphony is in talks to raise between $100 million to $150 million in funding from new and existing backers, according to people familiar with the deal. The company has held discussions with potential investors based in Asia for the new round, which would value it at just over $1 billion, one of the people said. The sources asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Symphony spokeswoman Samantha Singh declined to comment on the funding round, saying the messaging company was already well-funded. She said Gurle was moving to Singapore, "to help spearhead" the company's push into the region, but that Asia had always been a "key market from day one." The Asian market for messaging technology is dominated by Tencent Holdings Ltd's popular Chinese WeChat app. Many Chinese traders already use WeChat as the preferred way to communicate and say moving over to another messaging platform would require convincing their investor clients to do the same. Using mobile messaging and social media apps for trading is not unlawful in China. The proliferation of WeChat users at banks has attracted the attention of Asian regulators, but they have historically tended to be less stringent than their U.S. counterparts. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission code of conduct does not prohibit the use of social messaging apps, but encourages the strict recording and time stamping of all communications and says the use of mobile phones for orders is "strongly discouraged." This has created an opportunity in Asia for Symphony, which touts the security of its messaging service, some of the people said. Prior to launching Symphonys predecessor Perzo, Gurle spent several years in Singapore working for Thomson Reuters Corp, the parent company of Reuters. Symphony was created in 2014 when a consortium of 14 financial institutions led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc acquired Perzo, in a joint effort to change the way their traders communicate. The Symphony service is a rival to financial market messaging services offered by Bloomberg LP and Thomson Reuters. The system allows financial firms, corporate customers and individuals to put all their digital communications - chats, texts, tweets and emails - on one centralized platform, aimed at creating a flexible and secure messaging service. While traction for Symphony is not yet widespread across Wall Street trading floors, there are signs that may be changing. Money manager BlackRock Inc, also an investor, is moving its internal chat for employees to Symphony. Symphony has 116,000 users, and expects the number to grow to 130,000 before the end of the year, Singh said. The companys Asia push comes about a year after it raised $100 million from investors including technology giant Alphabet Inc, banking groups UBS, Societe Generale and Natixis and European VC firm Lakestar. The Wall Street Journal has previously reported that Symphony is looking at a new round of funding. (Reporting by Anna Irrera and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
By Matt Spetalnick and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fall of the last rebel-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo could seal the fate of the "Obama Doctrine," deepening the worlds worst humanitarian crisis in decades and staining U.S. President Barack Obama's legacy. With the U.S.-aligned rebels facing defeat by government forces backed by Russia and Iran, Obamas light-footprint approach to the Syrian conflict will suffer a serious blow weeks before he hands power to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20. The rebel loss would underscore the failure of U.S. efforts to stem the carnage from Syrias nearly six-year-old civil war, leading some critics to predict that Obamas record will be tarnished just as President Bill Clintons was by his refusal to intervene to halt the 1994 Rwandan genocide. There is no doubt he will be hammered in historical terms, said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations. The question will be why he didnt do more. While the war is expected to grind on, Syrian President Bashar al-Assads victory in Aleppo would provide fresh fodder for Trump, who has argued the insurgency has collapsed, and the United States should revamp its fight against Islamic State by joining up with Russia, and by extension, Assad. Syria has been one of the main testing grounds for Obamas doctrine of relying on local proxy fighters instead of large-scale U.S. military deployments, reflecting his reluctance to be drawn back into unpopular ground conflicts like the Iraq war. The approach has faltered in Syria, where on Tuesday the Syrian army said it could declare full control over eastern Aleppo by Wednesday. [nL5N1E84D1] A deal was struck to allow the remaining rebel fighters to evacuate their last enclave there, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. [nL5N1E85FR] "Leading from behind leaves a vacuum that is filled by the Bashar Assads and Vladimir Putins of the world," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, referring to how an Obama aide described his strategy. "I think history will judge that these are unintended results that are going to cause great challenges to the United States for years to come." Obama has been criticized for refusing to provide sufficient arms and other support to moderate rebel groups to compel Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers to negotiate an end to his authoritarian rule. Obama has pursued a policy of calculated dithering in Syria, just agonizing over the choices until they no longer existed, said Emile Hokayem, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. The Democratic president has defended his policy as judicious. His spokesman, Josh Earnest, said it was Obamas overriding responsibility to protect the interests and safety of the American people first. A Republican, Trump has vowed a dramatic shift from Obama's cautious strategy toward a more aggressive approach - although exactly how he will proceed remains unclear. He will inherit an increasingly complicated conflict in Syria, and many analysts fear his lack of foreign policy experience could lead to dangerous miscalculations. If Trump follows through after Aleppos fall on his pledge to cooperate with Russia, Assads military patron, there is a risk that frustrated moderate rebels could gravitate toward militant factions that pose a potential threat to Western interests. As Assad himself turns from the wreckage of Aleppo to assert his authority over a fractured Syria, he will have to contend with the loss of swaths of his country for the time being and tough pockets of resistance still to crush. [nL5N1E20ZN] The war has taken some 400,000 lives and made more than 11 million people homeless, driving many into neighboring countries or on a long perilous trek to Europe. COST OF INACTION The imminent fall of rebel-held eastern Aleppo  and the sense of U.S. powerlessness as it unfolds  suggests that Obama likely will be judged by history as much for what he did not do as for what he did. He first called on Assad to leave power in 2011. But Obama never supplied moderate rebels with enough firepower to topple him or force him to the negotiating table. His failure to carry out threatened air strikes to enforce his 2012 red line over Assad's use of banned chemical weapons dealt a heavy blow to U.S. standing, including by some of his staunchest regional allies. Obama also rejected recommendations, as recently as October, by members of his national security team for tougher action against Assad. Instead, he gave priority to striking Islamic State with a U.S.-led bombing campaign and local allies assisted by relatively small numbers of U.S. special forces. The strategy hewed to a prescription Obama laid out in a 2014 West Point speech in which he made clear he would intervene in foreign conflicts only when he believed U.S. interests were threatened. That led to the return of thousands of U.S. military personnel to Iraq to support Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State. But in Syria, despite providing billions of dollars in relief aid for refugees, Obamas approach has failed to quell what some have called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two. Obama recently told an interviewer that the grim situation in Syria haunts me constantly - although he insisted there was not much he would have done differently. James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, said Obamas risk-averse approach had not only allowed Assad to attack the opposition with impunity but also opened the door to greater Russian and Iranian influence in the Middle East. But Paul Pillar, a former top U.S. intelligence analyst on the Middle East, said Obama was right to hold back in Syria because it was no place to commit U.S. prestige and resources for regime change. Earnest said on Thursday that historians may end up quibbling about Obamas Syria policy, when he was asked about a Syrian opposition leader who told the Wall Street Journal that history will never forgive Obama for what he has done to the Syrian people. White House aides privately acknowledge that Syria  and other Arab countries in turmoil, such as Libya and Yemen  could leave a black mark on his legacy. But they hope his record will be buoyed in other areas, including the landmark Iran nuclear deal, diplomatic openings to Cuba and Myanmar, the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the prevention of a 9/11-style attack on U.S. soil on his watch. Still, reflecting deep unease in Washington over the bloodshed in Aleppo, Robert Ford, who resigned in 2014 as U.S. ambassador to Syria over policy disagreements, and is now at the Middle East Institute, said: Im personally sad that after we thought we had learned lessons in places like Sarajevo, Srebrenica and Rwanda, it's in fact very clear that this administration doesn't really care. (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Peter Cooney)
Washington (AFP) - A coalition drone strike in Syria killed three Islamic State group leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men who helped facilitate last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

They were killed in a December 4 airstrike in Raqa, an IS group stronghold in Syria.

Two of those killed -- Salah-Eddine Gourmat and Sammy Djedou -- were involved in facilitating the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died, Cook said.

Gourmat was a French national and Djedou, Belgian.

Both of them were "close associates" of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, an IS spokesman and external operations leader who was killed in a coalition airstrike in August.

The third person killed was Walid Hamman, a Frenchman who Cook said was a suicide-attack planner convicted in absentia in Belgium for a terror plot disrupted in 2015.

They were riding together in a vehicle at the time of the drone strike, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

All three belonged to a network led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, a Tunisian killed in an airstrike last month, officials said.

During last year's IS-claimed attacks in Paris, suicide bombers and gunmen launched a coordinated assault across the French capital, including at the Bataclan, a concert hall where three attackers killed 90 people during a rock gig.

Gourmat had worked on external attacks in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and was involved in the "financial facilitation" of the Paris attacks, Davis said.

Djedou took part in plotting Europe attacks, Davis added without giving details about his role in the Paris attacks.

Djedou was a close associate of Abdelhamid Abaaoud who led the deadly November 13 attacks in Paris before police gunned him down during a raid days later, according to Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

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Djedou had left Belgium in 2012 for Syria, where he eventually rose up the Islamic State ranks and helped plan the Paris attacks as well as the attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people in March, RTBF added.

Hamman was a "longtime French terrorist" who helped the IS group seize Mosul, among other operations, Davis said.

A French court sentenced an absent Gourmat, then 24, to four years in prison in March 2014 on charges including trying to conduct jihad in Syria.

He had been arrested with two other men in May 2012 at an airport near Saint-Etienne in central France carrying a revolver, night-vision goggles, camouflage clothing and tactical vests.

They had been trying to fly to Gaziantep in southeast Turkey.

Gourmat and another of the arrested men claimed they were going on a humanitarian trip.

Gourmat, who was not kept in custody ahead of his trial, later fled France.

The US-led coalition has been striking IS targets in Iraq and Syria since 2014, pushing the extremist group out of vast areas and forcing it to try to cling to two remaining power centers, Mosul in Iraq and Raqa in Syria.
GENEVA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Tuesday it had reports of Syrian government troops and allied Iraqi militia killing civilians in eastern Aleppo, including 82 people in four different neighbourhoods in the last few days.

Rupert Colville, spokesman of the U.N. human rights office, voiced deep fear of retribution against thousands of civilians still believed to be holed up in a "hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre of opposition-held areas.

"In all as of yesterday (Monday) evening we have received reports of pro-government forces killing least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, in 4 different neighbourhoods," Colville told a news briefing, adding that there could be "many more".

"The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes."

Jens Laerke, U.N. humanitarian spokesman said that it looked like "a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo".

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles)
ALEPPO, Syria, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Syrian army said it could declare full control over eastern Aleppo "at any moment" as it advanced against rebels holed up just a handful of neighbourhoods, predicting those districts would fall on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"The army continues to advance towards ... Sukkari, what remains of Seif al-Dawla, part of al-Amiriya and Tel al-Zarazir," a military spokesman told Reuters during a tour of recaptured parts of Aleppo.

"When the army regains control of these areas, its operation in the eastern areas of the city ...will have finished," he said.

The spokesman added that rebels were continuing to reject withdrawing from the city.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo; writing by John Davison in Beirut; editing by John Stonestreet)
ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - The Syrian army said it could declare full control over eastern Aleppo "at any moment" as it advanced against rebels holed up just a handful of neighborhoods, predicting those districts would fall on Tuesday or Wednesday. "The army continues to advance towards ... Sukkari, what remains of Seif al-Dawla, part of al-Amiriya and Tel al-Zarazir," a military spokesman told Reuters during a tour of recaptured parts of Aleppo. "When the army regains control of these areas, its operation in the eastern areas of the city ...will have finished," he said. The spokesman added that rebels were continuing to reject withdrawing from the city. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo; writing by John Davison in Beirut; editing by John Stonestreet)
(Adds Observatory report, state television on civilians)

By Laila Bassam

ALEPPO, Syria, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies have taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday.

Rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leading to a broad army advance across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket in Aleppo and a retreat of opposition fighters to a few districts on the west bank of the Queiq River.

Recapturing the entire rebel pocket of Aleppo will constitute the biggest battlefield victory yet for President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Syrian troops, the Russian air force, Iran, and Shi'ite militias.

Its loss will leave the rebels without a significant presence in any of Syria's main cities. They still hold much of the countryside west of Aleppo and the province of Idlib, also in northwest Syria.

After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night, a Reuters reporter in the city said.

However, rocket fire continued on rebel-held areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, reported. Rebels and government force still fought at points around the reduced enclave, the Observatory said.

The military official said the rebels were fleeing "in a state of panic", but a Turkish-based official with the Jabha Shamiya insurgent group in Aleppo said on Monday night that they had established a new frontline along the river.

Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night, with fighters shooting into the air in triumph.

As the frontlines quickly shifted on Monday, however, thousands more people fled the fighting, carrying what possessions they could carry and some pushing relatives in wheelchairs, before a heavy rainstorm began in the night.

REFUGEES

A daily bulletin issued by the Russian Defence Ministry's "reconciliation centre" from the Hmeimin airbase used by its war planes, reported that more than 8,000 civilians, more than half of them children, had left east Aleppo in 24 hours.

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State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings.

One man was shown pushing a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a small cart on which sat an elderly woman, and another carried a small girl wearing a pink hat on his back.

At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo long held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic.

The International Committee for the Red Cross appealed on Monday for all sides to spare civilian life.

"As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run," the ICRC statement said.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was alarmed by unverified reports of atrocities in the wake of the army's advance, his spokesman said.

Zakaria Malahifji, another Turkish-based official for the Fastaqim rebel group, said on Tuesday that there had been no further international contacts over a proposal to spare the city by allowing fighters to withdraw.

(Reporting By Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Many Syrian children separated from their families are trapped in a building under heavy attack in east Aleppo, the UN children's agency said Tuesday, quoting a doctor in a city.

UNICEF said it was deeply concerned by reports that Syrian forces executed dozens of civilians including children as the battle for Aleppo neared its end, in a turning point in the six-year war.

"According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo," said a UNICEF statement.

The UN agency urged all sides to allow the "safe and immediate evacuation of all children" and said it stood ready to provide help to ensure their safety.

"UNICEF is deeply concerned by reports of extra judicial killings of civilians including children and reminds all parties of their responsibilities under international law," it added.

"It is time for the world to stand up for the children of Aleppo and bring their living nightmare to an end."

The UN Security Council was due to meet on Tuesday to address the crisis in Aleppo following reports of murders of families, summary executions and targeting of medical staff in the final hours of the battle.
By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies are in the "last moments before declaring victory" in Aleppo, a Syrian military source said, after rebel defenses collapsed on Monday, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground. A Reuters journalist in the government-held zone said the bombardment of rebel areas of the city continued non-stop on Monday, and a civilian trapped there described the situation as resembling "Doomsday". "The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly. They (rebels) don't have much time. They either have to surrender or die," Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the government's Aleppo security committee, told reporters in the recaptured Sheikh Saeed district of the city. Rebels withdrew from all districts on the east side of the Aleppo river on Monday afternoon after losing Sheikh Saeed in the south of their pocket in overnight fighting, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. In government-held districts, soldiers started to fire into the air in celebration, carving tracer bullets into Aleppo's night sky, and car drivers honked their horns at what they believed was imminent victory, state television showed. The rebels' rapidly diminishing enclave had halved in only a few hours and Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman described the battle for Aleppo as having reached its end. "The situation is extremely difficult today," said Zakaria Malahifji of the Fastaqim rebel group fighting in Aleppo. An official from Jabha Shamiya, a rebel faction that is also present in Aleppo, said the insurgents might make a new stand along the west bank of the river. "It is expected there will be a new front line," said the official, who is based in Turkey. The White Helmets civil defense organization and three other trapped aid groups made a desperate appeal for the international community to arrange safe passage for 100,000 civilians across a 4-km (2.5-mile) stretch of government-held territory. "If we stay, we fear for our lives. The women may be taken to camps, the men disappeared and anyone who is known to have supported civilians will face detention or execution," they said in a statement time stamped 9 p.m. (1900 GMT). Activists and two residents inside the remaining rebel enclave said at least 79 civilians were summarily executed in the Fardous and Saliheen districts by pro-government militias. "There are more than 100 corpses and others who could be still alive under the rubble whom no one is able to get to," said civil defense chief Ammar al Selmo. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was alarmed by unverified reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, Ban's spokesman said. Jan Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian adviser on Syria, tweeted that Russia's and Syria's governments would be responsible for any such abuses. "The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!," Egeland wrote. The rebels' sudden retreat represented a "big collapse in terrorist morale", a Syrian military source said. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, is now close to taking back full control of Aleppo, which was Syria's most populous city before the war and would be his greatest prize so far after nearly six years of conflict. "We are in the final moments before declaring the victory of the Arab Syrian army in the battle of East Aleppo. We could announce this any moment," the military source told Reuters. The Russian Defence Ministry said that since the start of the Aleppo battle, more than 2,200 rebels had surrendered and 100,000 civilians had left areas of the city that were controlled by militants. "People run from one shelling to another to escape death and just to save their souls. ... It's doomsday in Aleppo, yes doomsday in Aleppo," said Abu Amer Iqab, a former government employee in the Sukkari district in the heart of the rebel enclave. State television footage from Saliheen, one of the districts that had just fallen to the army, showed mounds of rubble and half-collapsed buildings, with bodies still lying on the ground and a few bewildered civilians carrying children or suitcases. REBELS While Aleppo's fall would deal a stunning blow to rebels trying to remove Assad from power, he would still be far from restoring control across Syria. Swathes of the country remain in rebel hands, and Islamic State retook Palmyra on Sunday. Tens of thousands of civilians remain in rebel-held areas, hemmed in by ever-changing front lines, pounded by air strikes and shelling, and without basic supplies, according to the Observatory, a British-based monitoring group. In the Sheikh Saeed district, an elderly couple stood lamenting their fate. "May every son return to his mother. I have suffered that loss. May other women not endure the same," said the woman, her arms raised to the sky. "I have lost my three children. Two died in battle and the third is kidnapped," she added, as an army officer attempted to calm her. Rebel groups in Aleppo received a U.S.-Russian proposal on Sunday for a withdrawal of fighters and civilians from the city's opposition areas, but Moscow said no agreement had been reached yet in talks in Geneva to end the crisis peacefully. The U.S. State Department said Russia had turned down the U.S. proposal for an immediate ceasefire and said it could not start for several days. The U.N. mediator for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other State Department officials on Monday, State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said. "During their discussions, Department officials stressed the U.S.' unwavering commitment to a de-escalation of violence, the safe departure of Aleppo for all who want to leave, delivery of critical humanitarian aid and future inta-Syrian talks for a political solution to the crisis," Toner said. FIGHTING The Syrian army is backed by Russian war planes and Lebanese and Iraqi Shi'ite militias supported by Iran. Its advances on Monday were aided by a militia of Palestinian refugees in Syria, the Liwa al-Quds or Jerusalem Brigade, the general said. The mostly Sunni rebels include groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies as well as hardline jihadists who are not supported by the West. A correspondent for Syria's official SANA news agency said the army had taken control of Sheikh Saeed, and more than 3,500 people had left at dawn. A Syrian official told Reuters: "We managed to take full control of the Sheikh Saeed district. This area is very important because it facilitates access to al-Amariya and allows us to secure a greater part of the Aleppo-Ramousah road." The road is the main entry point to the city from the south. Riad Hijab, Syria's chief opposition coordinator, said the rebels' defeat in Aleppo would not weaken the resolve of Assad's opponents, or push them to water down the demand that he quit. "If Assad and his allies think that a military advance in certain quarters of Aleppo will signify that we make concessions, then (I say) that will not happen," he told reporters after meeting French President Francois Hollande. The loss of Palmyra, an ancient desert city whose recapture from Islamic State in March was heralded by Damascus and Moscow as vindicating Russia's entry into the war, was an embarrassing setback to Assad. The Observatory reported that the jihadist group carried out eight executions of Syrian soldiers and allied militiamen in Palmyra on Monday while warplanes bombarded their positions around the city. Still, Islamic State made further advances around Palmyra, it and the Observatory said on Monday, including coming close to a military air base. Four other people, including two children, were shot dead while the jihadists cleared the city, the Observatory said. It said at least 34 people had died in air raids on an Islamic State-held village north of Palmyra, and that local officials said poison gas had been used. Islamic State accused Russia of the attack. Both Russia and Syria's military deny using chemical weapons. The Observatory said that four weeks into the army offensive in Aleppo, at least 415 civilians, including 47 children, had been killed in rebel-held parts of the city. It added that 364 rebel fighters had been killed in the eastern sector. It said rebel shelling of government-held west Aleppo had killed 130 civilians including 40 children. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo, Lisa Barrington and Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles in Geneva, Yeganeh Torbati in Washington, Michelle Nichols in New York and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Grant McCool and Peter Cooney)
NFC acts to evict tenants overstaying their lease

Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has moved to evict two private companies operating their businesses illegally on its property at Bhadrakali even though their rental agreement has expired.
(Updates with more sources)

BEIRUT, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A Syrian rebel official said a ceasefire between government forces and insurgents in Aleppo was due to begin late on Tuesday after talks between rebels and Damascus's ally, Russia.

A second rebel source said a deal had been reached to evacuate civilians and fighters from the small part of the city where rebels remain in control, as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and their allies stand on the verge of recapturing the city in its entirety.

The first official said rebel factions had agreed with Moscow that air strikes by the government side would cease in the city from early on Tuesday.

"There was negotiation with the Russians last night ... the first thing (agreed) was that (aerial) bombardments should stop today, so today the bombardment stopped in the morning, but clashes continued," Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters.

"There's (currently) a cessation of bombardments," he said.

"Now ... a ceasefire is being discussed, so tonight ... a ceasefire should happen," he said.

He said Russia, Turkey, which supports the opposition, the United Nations and rebel groups were involved in negotiations.

Another Syrian rebel group, Nour Din al-Zinki, which has a strong presence in the city of Aleppo, said separately that an agreement had been reached over evacuations.

Spokesman Yasser al Yousef said the deal would allow the rebels to leave with their light weapons. He gave no further details. A Syrian military source said the army had no information about a ceasefire deal in Aleppo.

An official with a third rebel group fighting in Aleppo, Jabha Shamiya, said that "there are signs of a breakthrough in the coming hours".

(Reporting by John Davison, Tom Perry, Suleiman al-Khalidi; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Russia and Syrian rebel groups said on Tuesday that a deal has been reached to evacuate fighters from a besieged pocket of the city of Aleppo, an agreement that would conclude a more than four-year battle for one of Syrias most important cities.

If implemented, the last-minute agreement would mark a turning point in more than five years of revolt and civil war in Syria, dealing a defeat to the opposition in a central battlefield of the conflict. The arrangement could save the lives of rebel fighters who have defended a portion of the city since 2012.

The fate of civilians trapped in the besieged rebel sector remains unclear. Rebel groups say the agreement will also permit civilians to exit the city. But speaking at the United Nations on Tuesday, Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin said, The agreement is for the fighters to leave. The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places, they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground, according to Reuters.

If it does not apply to civilian activists and ordinary residents, the deal could raise concerns. According to the U.N. hundreds of men have gone missing after fleeing to government-held parts of Aleppo, triggering fears that they had been detained or forcibly disappeared by the regime.

First responders said an evacuation was intended to save the lives of the civilians in the besieged enclave. Raed al-Saleh, the head of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets said on Twitter that Russian and Syrian regime violence forced the group to request safe exit for civilians. Better, he said, than leaving them to the Regime.

The announcement of an agreement followed reports of extreme violence on the ground in Aleppo. Earlier on Tuesday, the U.N. Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement on Tuesday that at least 82 civilians had reportedly been killed by forces supporting the regime of President Bashar Assad in four neighborhoods in the besieged section of Aleppo.

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Those reports heightened fears of a grisly endgame in Aleppo, where pro-Assad forces have been sweeping into areas held by armed opposition groups in recent days, approaching a victory that eluded them for more than four years. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that he was alarmed by reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in Aleppo.

As the regime and its allies advanced in recent days, civilians fled for their lives. Some of them have been forced to turn to government-controlled areas, others to what remains of the rebel sector, where an estimated tens of thousands of civilians remain, many of them believing that they are simply waiting for death.

We hope one can help at least the children and women. They are in a great danger. Where is the UNICEF?, says Abdulkafi Al-Hamdo, an activist and teacher living in the rebel-held section, in a text message to TIME. This regime doesnt differentiate between women children or men.

The U.N. human rights office said that 11 women and 13 children had been killed, and that pro-government forces had reportedly entered civilians homes and killed those inside. We hope, profoundly, that these reports are wrong, or exaggerated, as the situation is extremely fluid and it is very challenging to verify reports. However, they have been corroborated by multiple reliable sources.

The reported killings came as pro-government forces, including militias from Iraq, squeezed the besieged rebel-held pocket of the city. There were no results. Russia refuses everything. The regime refuses everything, said Col. Abdul Jabbar Akaidi of the Free Syrian Army, a loose alliance of opposition groups. They want to kill everyone, he added in a phone interview.

The current crisis is a crescendo of more than four years of armed struggle over Aleppo since rebels seized part of the city in 2012. The Assad regime and allied militias have encroached on rebel territory since late September 2015 when Russia unleashed an intense campaign of airstrikes that devastated the opposition held section of the city.

On Nov. 28, pro-Assad forces staged a lightning advance, and recaptured all but a handful of surrounded neighborhoods. According to the U.N., an estimated 37,000 people fled into government-controlled areas during the most recent offensive.
AMMAN (Reuters) - A main Syrian rebel group, Nour Din al-Zinki, which has a strong presence in the city of Aleppo, said an agreement had been reached to evacuate civilians and fighters from the small part of the city where they remain in control. Spokesperson Yasser al Yousef said the deal would allow the rebels to leave with their light weapons. He gave no further details. A Syrian military source said the army had no information about a ceasefire deal in Aleppo. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
(Adds quotes, close of first day of trial)

By Kanupriya Kapoor

JAKARTA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A tearful governor of Jakarta denied on Tuesday he had intended to insult the Koran at the start of his blasphemy trial in the Indonesian capital, which is seen as a test of religious freedom in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.

Around 100 Muslim protesters calling for the jailing of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama chanted "God is great" outside the court, while supporters of the ethnic Chinese Christian sang the national anthem.

A cordon of police stood guard outside the court after Muslims, led by hardliners, took to the streets in December and November, to call for Purnama's arrest and to urge voters not to re-elect him in February.

The rallies, with over 150,000 participants each, were the biggest Jakarta has seen in nearly two decades.

Purnama told the court he had not intended any insult during a trip to islands off Jakarta when he commented on opponents use of the Koran in political campaigning.

"It is clear what I said in the Thousand Islands was not intended to interpret the (Koran), let alone to insult Islam or the ulema," said Purnama, who was responding after the prosecutor read out the charges.

The governor said that his comments were targeted at rival politicians trying to get an unfair advantage in the election by saying that voters should not support a non-Muslim.

Purnama, who is running for re-election against two Muslim candidates, described a loving relationship with his adoptive Muslim parents on the remote Bangka island.

"I am very saddened that I have been accused of insulting Islam because this accusation is the same as saying that I am insulting my adoptive parents and siblings."

During the hearing, Purnama sounded typically defiant at times. Quoting from his book "Hiding behind holy verses", he said many in the country's political elite were "cowards" who sought to divide Indonesians to gain power.

Purnama, if found guilty, faces up to five years in prison. Almost all blasphemy cases in recent years have ended in conviction.

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RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Supporters of the governor, whose nickname is Ahok, were also outside the trial, which was aired live on television.

"He is absolutely suited to be governor," said Charles Simanjuntak, 46, who praised the development of the city under Purnama and said he did not believe the governor had committed blasphemy.

Among the protesters opposed to the governor, one group held a placard reading "Jailing Ahok = fair government"

President Joko Widodo, seen as an ally to Purnama, has blamed "political actors" for fuelling the protests, but declined to elaborate. Widodo has faced widespread criticism for not doing enough to protect the country's religious minorities.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but the country of 250 million also has sizeable Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities and dozens of groups that adhere to traditional beliefs.

As governor, Purnama won kudos for shaking up the city's sleepy bureaucracy and for taking steps to ease Jakarta's notorious traffic. But his abrasive language and insistence on clearing the city's slums has alienated many voters.

Recent opinion polls showed Purnama, once the frontrunner in the race to lead Jakarta, has now slipped to second place, behind Agus Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

At the end of the first day of the trial Purnama appeared to be whisked away from the court in an armoured police truck. The trial will resume on Dec. 20.

(Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen and Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Editing by Michael Perry)
By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 200 employees of technology companies including Alphabet Inc's Google, Twitter Inc and Salesforce pledged on Tuesday to not help U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's administration build a data registry to track people based on their religion or assist in mass deportations. Drawing comparisons to the Holocaust and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the employees signed an open letter at neveragain.tech rebuking ideas floated by Trump during the campaign trail. The protest, which began with about 60 signatures but had more than tripled within hours of publication, comes a day before several technology company executives are due to meet with the real-estate developer in New York City. "We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administrations proposed data collection policies," reads the letter, signed by a mix of engineers, designers and business executives. It continues: "We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs. We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable." The letter vows to not participate in creating databases of identifying information for the U.S. government on the basis of race, religion or national origin, to minimize the collection or retention of data that could facilitate such targeting and to oppose any misuse of data at their respective organizations considered illegal or unethical. Trump clashed with Silicon Valley on several issues during the campaign, including immigration, government surveillance and encryption, and his victory last month alarmed many companies who feared he might follow through on his pledges. Those concerns have not been assuaged in recent weeks, as Trump has said he intends to nominate individuals to senior posts in his administration who favor expanding surveillance programs. Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Larry Page, Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Amazon.com Inc CEO Jeff Bezos and Oracle Corp CEO Safra Catz are among those expected to attend the summit with Trump's transition team, according to two technology industry sources. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment regarding the open letter. (Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
This case was featured on Monday nights People Magazine Investigates. Learn more with PEOPLEs complete digital coverage.

David Graham and Diane Zamora were only teenagers when they were arrested for a brutal crime: the beating and shooting death of 16-year-old Adrianne Jones, a well-like girl in Mansfield, Texas, who fell between Graham and Zamora with deadly consequences.

Graham and Zamora were convicted of Adriannes murder in the 90s and have spent two decades behind bars  where they will remain at least until they are eligible for parole in 2036. Their arrests and conviction were featured on Monday nights episode of People Magazine Investigates, on Investigation Discovery.

In their years in prison, the formerly inseparable couple, who were engaged before their murder arrests and later split, have had some similar experiences. Heres a look at their lives now.

David Graham

In an early 2008 interview, Graham  like Zamora did before him and would do after him  struck a publicly remorseful tone about Adriannes December 1995.

I wish I hadve pled guilty from day one, he told the Dallas Morning News. If I had it to do over, Id plead guilty to murder and let a judge sentence me and thats it. And, like Zamora, Graham blamed the driving force for the murder on the other person involved  in this case, her.

She was the motivator, but I went through with it and thats all that really matters, he said.

 Watch our new true crime show, People Magazine Investigates, which continues on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery.

Adrianne JonesKEATON DOYLE/CORBIS/Getty

Regrets? I start with the simple fact of killing Adrianne and everything that surrounded that, Graham said. I dont see the two of us being any different in our culpability. 

In 2010, he said he had gotten married. Earlier that year, he started a blog from prison with a fellow inmate called Prison News Exposed and he plan to debate prison issues, according to the Morning News. Without access to the Internet, Graham said he posted to the site via mail to a third party.

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Graham also said he earned a bachelors degree in criminology.

And while he has previously recanted his confession, which was the centerpiece of the prosecution against him, he told the Morning News it was accurate: Im not going to tell people who love Adrianne that we dont deserve life in prison.

From left: David Graham and Diane Zamora in 1996.Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Robert J. Ruiz/AP

Diane Zamora

Like Graham, Zamora wed in prison: She married inmate Steven Mora in 2003. She was also featured in a 2007 episode of NBCs Dateline, where she went public for the first time from prison with her claims of innocence.

Im not a killer and that Im not some witch, she said then. Im not some evil-hearted person, not even close.

Her comments to Dateline echo what she tells People Magazine Investigates in Monday nights episode on the Adrianne Jones murder: That she witnessed the girls death, and helped hide it, but did not help kill her. (Graham could not immediately be reached by PEOPLE.)

I think I remember seeing one time, just noticing her, Zamora says on PMIs upcoming episode. I have a vague recollection, but Id never heard her name, anything about her. Id never seen a picture.  I didnt know anything of her at all.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

It wasnt her fault, but she wouldnt have been in that position had I not lost my temper, Zamora says.

She says she is no longer in contact with Graham, either: He reportedly sent her a Christmas in 2001, to no avail.

Adriannes family, meanwhile has kept private since her killers were convicted. They have not forgotten their daughter, and have asked the same of others.

The end of this day is not the end of my life or our familys life, Adriannes mother said as Graham and Zamora were convicted. But I hope that everyone remembers our daughter with the integrity that she has  cause shee still among us, watching us. I remember her eyes with joy.

People Magazine Investigates airs Mondays (1o p.m. ET) on Investigation Discovery.




By Shereen Lehman (Reuters Health) - Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who have difficulties making it to in-person therapy sessions may be able to get treatment thats just as good by videoconference. Researchers compared home-delivered prolonged exposure therapy - which helps patients confront memories and situations that trigger their symptoms - to the same treatment given in U.S. Veterans Affairs clinics, and found no difference in effectiveness. The best treatment for PTSD, with the most empirical support, can be delivered at no loss of effectiveness, directly into a veteran's home, rather than having the veteran come into clinic, lead study author Ron Acierno told Reuters Health by email. We can now save the travel time and bring the treatment right to them if a veteran lives too far away to attend 12 to 15 weekly sessions, cant take off work or feels stigmatized coming into the clinic, said Acierno, a psychologist and researcher with the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina. For the study, published in Behaviour Research and Therapy, Acierno and colleagues recruited 132 veterans who had been diagnosed with PTSD, 127 of them men. All the participants were assessed with standard PTSD scales designed to measure symptom severity and depression. They were then randomly assigned to two groups  each would receive 10 to 12 prolonged exposure therapy sessions, but one group would attend sessions at a VA medical center while the other would have sessions at home by video conference. The participants who got treatment at home were provided with videoconferencing software to use on their own computers, tablets or smartphones. Videophones or tablets were provided to participants who didnt own the proper equipment. The researchers repeated the PTSD scales after three months of treatment and again three months later. They found that at both time points, the vets who were treated at home showed similar improvements in PTSD symptom severity as those treated in the clinic. The at-home treatment scores for depression were not as good at three months, but by six months they were similar to the scores of the group treated in the clinic. Our effects with PTSD were just as good in person vs. home based telehealth, Acierno said, however, people doing the treatment via home-based telehealth did report more difficulty. About 33 percent of the at-home group did not complete the program compared to 19 percent of the clinic group. Acierno said participants who dropped out reported difficulties such as feeling worried about losing control during exposures, the feeling they couldnt tolerate assignments to go out in public and that imagined exposures made them feel bad. Acierno said he and his collaborator Dr. Melba Hernandez-Tejada are exploring the idea of pairing peers who have been through prolonged exposure therapy and no longer meet criteria for PTSD with veterans currently receiving the treatment via telehealth to help them through the difficult parts of the therapy. Acierno said the Charleston VA currently offers the home-based therapy to patients. We have had tremendous response combining home telehealth with peer support during exposure, which is new, Acierno said, adding that in the past peers were involved only to encourage people to get into treatment, not actually helping to perform the treatment. Peter Kane, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison said the study was able to show that, at least in the VA health system, effective PTSD treatments can be successfully delivered in multiple ways. Patients with PTSD could be treated effectively in the clinic or by using home based telehealth, Kane said. The findings are especially important given the common barriers that make it harder for those who need these services to access them, he noted. Studies such as this one may change how mental health services are delivered in general, not just for PTSD or within the VA system, Kane said. It may be the case at some point in the future that mental health clinics may offer home based telehealth as an alternative to traditionally clinic-based care. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2h6TQfs Behaviour Research and Therapy, online November 22, 2016.
NHRC probes death of Dalit woman in Kavre

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has started its investigation into an alleged murder of Laxmi Pariyar of Sano Bangthali-7, Kavre.
Dec 12 (Reuters) - A Lufthansa flight headed to Germany from Texas was diverted to a New York City airport after a threat was called in, ABC News reported on Monday night.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told the news outlet that flight 441 to Frankfurt from Houston was taken to a remote area of John F. Kennedy International Airport and was set to be searched.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department directed questions to the Port Authority. Representatives for the Port Authority could not be immediately reached.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Matthew Perry joined Ellen on Monday, and he told a story of mistaken identity and the night he thought his life was about to change forever. Perry had briefly met the hottest director in Hollywood at the time, M. Night Shyamalan, when he presented Bruce Willis with the award for Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Drama. Willis won the award for his role in Shyamalans The Sixth Sense. About six months later, Perry was out with some friends when a man approached him and said hello.

Perry thought the man was M. Night Shyamalan and invited him to join the group. After his friends left, Perry found himself hanging out with the man for what ended up being a few hours, all the while making him laugh and thinking this could be his chance to become a major movie star.

I was convinced that this night was going to be a life-changing night for me and I was going to become a gigantic movie star as a result of this night. Like M. Night Shyamalan will make the next movie and the trick ending will be me, Perry said.

It wasnt until later when he finally worked up the courage to talk business that he found out the man was in fact not M. Night Shyamalan.

Watch Amy Schumer recount the time she and her boyfriend got violent food poisoning in Paris:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter.
(Adds U.S. State Department)

* Syrian rebels say full truce should be in place Tuesday night

* Russia's U.N. envoy says Syrian government controls east Aleppo

* Assad forces on cusp of big victory, guns fall silent

* Reports of civilians shot in their homes, trying to flee, U.N.

* Civil war far from over with fall of Aleppo

* Graphics on fall of Aleppo: http://tmsnrt.rs/2gfboV9

By Laila Bassam, Angus McDowall and Stephanie Nebehay

ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT/GENEVA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Rebel resistance in the Syrian city of Aleppo ended on Tuesday after years of fighting and months of bitter siege and bombardment that culminated in a bloody retreat, as insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire.

The battle of Aleppo, one of the worst of a civil war that has drawn in global and regional powers, has ended with victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and regional Shi'ite militias.

For rebels, their expected departure with light weapons starting on Wednesday morning for opposition-held regions west of the city is a crushing blow to their hopes of ousting Assad after revolting against him during the 2011 Arab uprisings.

However, the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining major strongholds elsewhere in Syria, and the jihadist Islamic State group holding swathes of the east and recapturing the ancient city of Palmyra this week.

"Over the last hour we have received information that the military activities in east Aleppo have stopped, it has stopped," Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told a heated U.N. Security Council meeting. "The Syrian government has established control over east Aleppo."

Rebel officials said fighting would end on Tuesday night and a source in the pro-Assad military alliance said the evacuation of fighters would begin at around dawn on Wednesday. A Reuters reporter in Aleppo said late on Tuesday that the booms of the bombardment could no longer be heard.

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Fighters and their families, along with civilians who have thrown in their lot with the rebels, will have until Wednesday evening to quit the city, a Turkish government source said. The ceasefire was negotiated by Turkey and Russia, without U.S. involvement.

A commander with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said that Aleppo was a moral victory for the insurgents. "We were steadfast ... but unfortunately nobody stood with us at all", the commander, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

"UNCOMPROMISING VICTORY"

The plight of civilians has caused global outrage in the wake of a sudden series of advances by the Syrian army and its allies across the rebel enclave over the past two weeks.

"We appear to be witnessing nothing less than ... a total uncompromising military victory," U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

The rout of rebels from their ever-shrinking territory in Aleppo sparked a mass flight of terrified civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity". There were food and water shortages in rebel areas with all hospitals closed.

The United Nations earlier on Tuesday voiced deep concern about reports it had received of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people in recaptured east Aleppo districts. It accused them of "slaughter".

"The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said Rupert Colville, a U.N. spokesman. "There could be many more."

"They have gone from siege to slaughter," British U.N. ambassador Matthew Rycroft said. "Aleppo will join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later - Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica and now Aleppo," said U.S. ambassador Samantha Power.

The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, and its main ally Russia said on Tuesday rebels had "kept over 100,000 people in east Aleppo as human shields".

An official with an Aleppo rebel group said the bulk of about 50,000 people was expected to be evacuated.

Fear stalked the city's streets. Some survivors trudged in the rain past dead bodies to the government-held west or the few districts still in rebel hands. Others stayed in their homes and awaited the Syrian army's arrival.

For all of them, fear of arrest, conscription or summary execution added to the daily terror of bombardment. "People are saying the troops have lists of families of fighters and are asking them if they had sons with the terrorists. (They are) then either left or shot and left to die," said Abu Malek al-Shamali in Seif al-Dawla, one of the last rebel-held districts.

WASTELAND OF RUBBLE

A Syrian military source said the evacuation of fighters would start at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Wednesday. The source said fighters' families would also leave, but did not mention other civilian evacuations.

"We're going to watch this closely," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said. "Obviously if it is true and there has been a ceasefire arrangement reached that not only stops the bombing and the violence but allows people to safely leave Aleppo, we would welcome it."

Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed.

The once-flourishing economic centre with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverised during the war which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State.

The U.N.'s Colville said the rebel-held area had become "a hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre. Its capture was imminent, he added.

The Syrian army and its allies could declare victory at any moment, a Syrian military source had said earlier, predicting the final fall of the rebel enclave on Tuesday or Wednesday, after insurgent defences collapsed on Monday.

Terrible conditions were described by city residents.

Abu Malek al-Shamali, a resident in the rebel area, said dead bodies lay in the streets. "There are many corpses in Fardous and Bustan al-Qasr with no one to bury them," he said.

"Last night people slept in the streets and in buildings where every flat has several families crowded in," he added.

TIDE OF REFUGEES

State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings.

One man pushed a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a cart on which sat an elderly woman. Another man carried on his back a small girl wearing a pink hat.

At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic.

In some recaptured areas, people were returning to their shattered homes. A woman in her sixties, who identified herself as Umm Ali, or "Ali's mother", said that she, her husband and her disabled daughter had no water.

They were looking after the orphaned children of another daughter killed in the bombing, she said, and were reduced to putting pots and pans in the street to collect rainwater.

In another building near al-Shaar district, which was taken by the army last week, a man was fixing the balcony of his house with his children. "No matter the circumstances, our home is better than displacement," he said.

"The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction - and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement.

(Reporting By Laila Bassam in Aleppo, Orhan Coskun in Ankara, Lisa Barrington, John Davison and Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Peter Millership)
SEOUL (Reuters) - Thousands of survivors of floods that hit a remote corner of North Korea in August are in need of urgent aid as winter sets in, a senior international aid official said on Tuesday. The floods, the worst in North Korea for 70 years, hit near its northeast borders with China and Russia and affected 600,000 people and left 70,000 homeless, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said. "There is still much to do. Many people lost everything," IFRC president Tadateru Konoe said in a news release following a 10-day visit to the isolated country. "They need basic relief supplies to get through the winter months and more investment is needed to restore health services, water supply and sanitation systems together with mass awareness campaigns to guard against the spread of communicable diseases". Underdeveloped rural North Korea suffers from a lack of proper infrastructure and much of its mountainous terrain has been deforested to provide farm land, removing a natural flood barrier. The country also suffers from very cold winters, meaning people made homeless by the floods are particularly vulnerable. In September, the IFRC made a $15.5 million emergency appeal to help North Korea's Red Cross Society reach more people with aid, but only 25 percent of the target had been met, the IFRC said. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in September that, according to figures based on government data, 133 people were killed in the floods and 395 were missing. (This version of the story was refiled to remove extraneous word in paragraph five) (Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Thousands of Kurdish peshmerga fighters demonstrated in Erbil, in Kurdish Iraq on Tuesday, December 13, in response to comments made by Srwa Abdulwahih, a Kurdish MP in the Iraqi Parliament, which have been described as offensive.

Baghdad is punishing the peshmerga, the ordinary peshmerga, Abdulwahid said in an interview on on Iraqs Dijlah TV on December 6.

I swear by God there are tragic cases  there are women who sell themselves to provide for their children after the martyrdom of their husbands, she said.

Abdulwahihs comments have been seen as offensive towards Kurdish women, according to reports.

An estimated 15,000 demonstrators were in attendance at Mondays protest, according to Rudaw Arabic. The rally was staged outside an Erbil courthouse in order to file a lawsuit against Abdulwahid for her comments, according to Kurdistan 24.

Abdulwahid has said that she is the target of a media campaign orchestrated against her for political reasons by the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) . Credit: Facebook/Rudaw Arabic via Storyful
In selecting ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of state Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump is facing his first major test with Senate Republicans who are wary of his warming relations with Russia  and have warned his cabinet pick is far from assured.

Trump is betting Tillersons corporate management experience and support from former GOP statesmen will ease the concerns of a handful of Republican hawks over the oilmans extensive business dealings with Moscow.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who lost the Republican presidential primary to Trump after being repeatedly belittled as Little Marco, said he had serious doubts about the nomination, and alluded to Exxons vast global assets.

The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, Rubio said in a Tuesday statement.

The Republicans slim 52-48 majority in the Senate doesnt give Trump a lot of breathing room.

Rubio sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, which must first clear Tillersons nomination before a floor vote. Republicans outnumber Democrats on the panel by just one vote, making Rubio a critical power player if Democrats unanimously seek to block Tillersons nomination.

Democrats have already criticized Tillersons credentials, including Exxons opposition to greenhouse gas regulations, questioning of climate change science, and ties to abusive governments in Indonesia and Equatorial Guinea.

The nomination also comes amid reports that the CIA has concluded that Russia interfered in the U.S. election in order to boost Trumps chances over Hillary Clinton. Lawmakers in both parties have pledged to investigate the matter.

Four Republican senators who have needled Tillersons Russia ties  Rubio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain  are now the focus of an expected and concerted lobbying push by Trumps allies and aides.

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Graham, who also challenged Trump for the presidential nomination, called it unnerving that Tillerson received the Russian governments Order of Friendship award in 2013. McCain, meanwhile, has openly questioned the Texas oilmans loyalties.

I dont see how anybody could be a friend of this old-time KGB agent, McCain told CNN Monday, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump, however, has a powerful ally in Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, whom the president-elect also reportedly considered for the role of top U.S. diplomat. In a statement, Corker called Tillerson a very impressive individual [who] has an extraordinary working knowledge of the world.

But the committees Democrats already are gearing up for a fight. Sen. Ben Cardin, the panels ranking Democrat, has said hes deeply troubled by Tillersons close personal ties with Vladimir Putin and vocal opposition to U.S. sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea. Those sanctions gummed up a few of Exxons largest deals in Russia, including a Siberia agreement with the state oil company potentially worth tens of billions of dollars.

Cardin  who said Tuesday he will give Tillerson a fair nomination hearing  is expected to drill down into the businessmans views on Russia, Ukraine, and Exxons stance on global warming. And other Democrats have made clear they will call out Republicans for hypocrisy if Tillerson is easily approved after years of GOP lawmakers accusing the Obama administration of going soft on Putin.

For years, Ive listened to my Republican colleagues in the Senate eviscerate President Obama for being too weak on Russia, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a statement. No Republican who has called for a tougher line against Russia should ever be taken seriously again if they vote to put a Putin ally at the top of the State Department.

Democratic attacks, however, must contend with a flood of support for Tillerson by GOP House and Senate leaders and elder statesmen, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and former Secretary of State James Baker.

Tillerson would bring to the position vast knowledge, experience and success in dealing with dozens of governments and leaders in every corner of the world, Gates said in a statement. He is a person of great integrity whose only goal in office would be to protect and advance the interests of the United States.

Critics were quick to point out that Baker is a partner at a law firm whose clients include Exxon and its Russian business partner, the Rosneft state oil company. Rice and Gates also have connections to Exxon through their consulting firm, Rice Hadley Gates.

But their names still resonated with some of Trumps most prominent critics. The fact that former Secretaries of State James Baker, Condoleezza Rice, and Robert Gates are recommending Mr. Tillerson carries considerable weight, said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Tillersons nomination will also face a tough campaign from liberals and Democratic pressure groups active on climate change issues.

He and other company executives led ExxonMobil in funding outside groups to create an illusion of scientific uncertainty around the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, Neera Tanden, president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said in a statement.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump promised to draw on top private sector talent to run the country, and on Tuesday said Tillersons skills are exactly what Foggy Bottom needs.

His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for secretary of state, Trump said in a statement. Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none.
The transition team of President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Rex Tillerson, the longtime CEO of Exxon Mobil, would be the future presidents nominee to become secretary of state come January. Tillerson would be taking over one of the highest-profile jobs in American government and would be tasked with leading U.S. diplomacy worldwide.

His announced nomination has not been without controversy as some have questioned whether his close ties to the oil giant  and the close relationship he has developed with Russian President Vladimir Putin while chasing profit for that company  might pose significant conflicts of interest for him when attempting to represent American interests abroad.

Heres what you need to know about Tillerson:

His experience has been entirely in the private sector and he is known for working with foreign leaders to advance Exxon interests abroad. Thats a trait that Trumps team wants to emphasize and says will help Tillerson as he works for the State Department. Tillerson, Trump said in a Medium post, knows how to manage a global enterprise, which I crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none.

Tillerson has been CEO of Exxon since 2006.

He has received a high honor from Putin. Tillerson has become known recently for cleverly maneuvering within Russia for Exxon as the United States has looked to punish its former Cold War foe with economic sanctions for an aggressive annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Tillerson, who has pushed to extract more and more oil from Russian soil, was named by Putin as a friend of the country.

The company hes leaving has billions of dollars in interest in Russian oil. Exxon has billions of dollars worth of deals that are currently tied up by those sanctions. The sanctions have halted some of the companys biggest projects and those would only get the green light to continue should the U.S. government and Russia reach some level of resolve.

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Tillersons stake in those deals could lead to real or perceived conflicts of interest. Tillerson owned $218 million in company stock, company filings this year said, and his pension was worth $70 million, according to the New York Times.

Tillerson pushed for allowing openly gay young men in the Boy Scouts. His presidency of the organization was on the side while still at Exxon and spanned from 2010 to 2012. During that time he reportedly pushed for inclusion of gay youth in the group. It wasnt until 2015 that Exxon changed its Equal Employment Opportunity policy to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The Boy Scouts lifted their ban on gay adults in 2015.

His Senate confirmation may be difficult. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns with Tillersons close ties to Russia, according to Reuters. For instance, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is known as a major foreign policy voice in the capitol, said of Tillerson: I have concerns. It's very well-known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin.

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Washington (AFP) - Rex Tillerson, named by Donald Trump as his pick for secretary of state, has spent his four-decade career with oil giant ExxonMobil, of which he has been chairman and CEO since 2006.

Tyson Slocum -- director of the energy program at Washington's consumer-rights advocacy Public Citizen -- believes the Texan would find it virtually impossible to cut his longstanding ties to his employer in a governmental post and avoid conflicts of interest over the multinational company with operations in some fifty countries including Russia.

What conflicts of interest could arise?

Tyson Slocum: "It's not just about him owning stocks. It's unclear whether he can adequately divest all of that. Tillerson only has one employer on his resume, Exxon, he's worked there more than 40 years, it's the only real job he's ever known.

"Extractive industries often have to obtain close personal financial and political ties with a number of questionable governments in order to get access to a nation's natural resources. So Tillerson has been very aggressive in establishing close ties with countries and situations that have often been directly at odds with US interests

"Being the CEO should not automatically disqualify one from a cabinet position. But the oil and gas company is very unique... Exxon has essentially operated as a type of independent fiefdom, negotiating deals with foreign governments, and so that's a problem."

What's the risk for US interests?

Slocum: "When you look at his role in Russia... Tillerson had at least 20 White House visits to talk about sanctions. He's publicly said that he does not believe that sanctions are an effective tool because that's his view as a corporate CEO, that sanctions restrict the economic opportunities.

"This isn't just about Russia, this is about Iran, this is about any sort of dictatorship in Africa or Asia. The question is what is Tillerson's role going to be?"

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If he sold his shares, would that help alleviate his conflicts of interest?

Slocum: "He's a senior executive who owes his entire fortune to Exxon. How do you financially dissociate yourself from that? (...) You can't put (your stocks) into a blind trust, because you know where the money is. Blind trusts work when you have a diversified economic portfolio.

"When he leaves, there's going to be a golden parachute waiting for him. I don't know all the details of his pension, but he's going to have a lifetime pension. You can't blind trust that.

"Even assuming he can fully financially divest himself, he's conflicted, there are too many conflicts of interests. Because his responsibilities at Exxon inserted him into a number of different international relationships that often were at odds with US interests.

"So when he is going around the world as US secretary of state, there are going to be questions as to what interests exactly he will be pursuing."
Top 5 Bike-uriosities - Week of December 12 2016

At Bike-urious, were spending all of our time finding the most interesting motorcycles that are currently for sale for you to drool over (and maybe empty your wallet for).

1. 4 Kilometers in Australia  1976 Ducati 900SS

This bike is about to have as many owners as it does kilometers on the odometer...Four. The first owner bought FIVE bikes and then proceeded to keep them in excellent condition in climate controlled storage. It's never been started since the factory put on test mileage.

The engine is full of oil and doesn't leak, and the seller says it kicks over "perfectly." It's claimed to be in almost perfect condition - the only thing that shows the symptoms of age are the grips, which have seriously deteriorated. The tires are also original and somehow said to still be perfect. I'd be stunned if they haven't flat spotted. The bike found a second owner in 2013, and it comes with the original hand-written invoice.

So, what's such a low mileage example worth? If you said $71,000, the congrats! You and the seller are on the same page - and you can find this impressively-original 900SS for sale in Australia for $71,000 here on Bevel Heaven.

2. Mini Chopper  1979 Suzuki OR50

suzuki-or50-right-side

"Whopper of a chopper." That what Suzuki's tongue-in-cheek branding for the OR50 (called the Mame-Tan in Japan). It's a rare mini chopper with a two-stroke, 49cc engine that put down 5.5 horsepower.

For more information, check out Suzuki Cycles.org - my main takeaway is that the bike weighs just 148 pounds. Suzuki said this "mini-chopper is maximum roadster" with the back rest, high-rise handlebars, and even optional flame decals.

This example is said to be in excellent condition despite a dent in the top of the gas tank, a small separation of the stitching of the seat, pitting on the chrome, and some issues with the headlight and turn signals. So maybe the seller and I have different definitions of "excellent", but most of those are easy fixes and this is a cute rare find. Plus it comes with some extras - owner's manual, shop manual, warranty paperwork, Assembly/Pre-Delivery Service Guide, tool kit, and an advertisement from 1979. Find this little Zook for sale in Inverness, Florida with bidding up to $395 and the reserve not yet met here on eBay.

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3. Unexpected Scrambler - 2001 BMW R1150GS Custom

bmw-r1150gs-scrambler-left-side

Starting with a R1150GS, the seller of this bike has turned it into a scrambler that can actually tackle some trails. He calls it a proven performer that has completed several Iron Butt rides and big bike Woods Trials. You may not like the way it looks but it's definitely a different take on the popular big enduro.

The bike has 50,000 miles though it's unclear how many miles have passed since the bike was customized. It features the tank from a BMW /7 and "custom everything" - obvious work includes the seat/subframe, exhaust, air filters, headlight, windscreen, and hand guards. What do you think of this - would you ride it? Find this GS-based scrambler for sale in Springfield, Missouri for $3,000 here on ADVRider (registration required).

4. 4 Bikes - Classic BMW Collection

classic-bmw-collection-front-right

An electrical engineer in New Hampshire has unfortunately passed away and his wife wants his interesting classic BMW collection to be sold off as a package. We've got a 1956 BMW engine in a Norton Frame, 2 1966 R27s (one black and one white), and a 1969 R69S.

They're all rider quality with varying levels of patina. Mileages vary between 20K and 66K. In addition, there's quite a few boxes of new and used parts. The R69S looks particularly tasty as it's setup for long distance travel with the big tank, deluxe seat, luggage racks, and soft bags. The Norton/BMW hybrid is also interesting for obvious reasons.

Find this collection for sale in Milford, New Hampshire for $45,000 or best offer here on Craigslist.

5. Built for the Army  Harley-Davidson 42 WLA

harley-davidson-42-wla-right-side

In 1939 Harley Davidson produced two 39WLA models as prototypes for the US Army to test (along with models from Indian and Delco) at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After the war broke out in Europe the Army bought 400 WLAs designated 40WLA. By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the next generation 41WLAs were common in the US Military. Between January 1942 and September 1945, H-D delivered over 90,000 42WLAs to the US Military and Allies.

Though there were several configurations of 42WLA (each service had separate requirements in those days) the primary customer was the US Army. Though the Soviet Union steadfastly refused to acknowledge that they received any WLAs through Lend Lease, it turns out that Russia is now the primary source of parts for restorers. In 1942 H-D built 1000 42XA models at the insistence of the US Army powered by a 45 CID horizontally opposed Twin and shaft driven based on the BMW of the time.

The Harley Davidson 42WLA used a 45 CID (740cc) air-cooled side valve V-Twin motor with a three speed transmission that was good for a top speed of 65 MPH. Front suspension was girder and springs while the rear was rigid. There were a large number of options for the WLA based on unit requirements. Bags or Ammo Racks for the rear, scabbard for a Thompson Submachine Gun for the front fork. Almost all were issued with blackout lights fore and aft.

This particular 1942 Harley Davidson WLA is in Washington state and is listed as an original running survivor that was in a private collection for 40 years. Since no numbers are given it is impossible to know how correct this claim is. It almost certainly should have had a blackout headlight installed. There is no picture of the military service plate or the top of the tank and instruments. I would certainly ask the seller about that and those omissions leave me somewhat skeptical. The bike is currently priced at $7,995.00 with reserve not met here on eBay.

Which was your favorite?
BEIJING (AP)  China says any change in U.S. policy favoring formal recognition of Taiwan will "seriously" damage peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and undermine relations between Beijing and Washington. The comments from the spokesman for the Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office Wednesday follow President-elect Donald Trump's remarks over the weekend that he didn't feel "bound by a one-China policy" unless the U.S. could gain benefits from China in trade and other areas. Under the one-China policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as China's government and maintains only unofficial relations with Taiwan, which broke from the Chinese mainland in 1949. Spokesman An Fengshan said breaching the one-China principle "will seriously affect peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

BEIJING (AP)  President-elect Donald Trump's questioning of long-established U.S. policy toward Taiwan is sparking a growing backlash in China and warnings about a potentially dangerous disruption in relations between the world's two largest economies. Trump broke diplomatic precedent by talking on the phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2. Then, this past weekend, he said he might use America's recognition of Beijing as leverage for gaining advantages in trade and other areas. That is placing him perilously close to touching on China's bottom line that brooks no formal recognition of Taiwan or challenge to its claim to sovereignty over the island.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  The minority Christian governor of Indonesia's capital sobbed in court Tuesday on the first day of his blasphemy trial as he recalled the role of Muslim godparents in his childhood and said he would never intentionally insult Islam. The national upheaval over the governor's alleged blasphemy has challenged Indonesia's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam, shaken the government and exposed religious and racial fault lines in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Protests against Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, led by hard-liners and which drew hundreds of thousands of people, have kept Jakarta, the capital, on edge in the past six weeks.

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea's conservative ruling party is on the verge of a split following President Park Geun-hye's parliamentary impeachment last week. Kim Moo-sung, leader of anti-Park lawmakers in the Saenuri Party, on Tuesday called Park loyalists her "political slaves" in an escalation of harsh rhetoric between rival factions in the largest political party in South Korea. He told a televised conference that he and fellow lawmakers are considering leaving the party to create a new political group. The feuding has intensified after dozens of Saenuri Party lawmakers aligned with a coalition of liberal opposition lawmakers to impeach Park on Friday because of a scandal involving her longtime, shadowy confidante.

SYDNEY (AP)  Sydney residents sweltered through the city's second hottest night on record and its hottest December night in 148 years, with many cooling off at beaches long after dark. A minimum of 27.1 degrees Celsius (80.8 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded in Australia's largest city early Wednesday, Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jordan Notara said. The only hotter overnight minimum temperature recorded in this city of 5 million people was 27.6 degrees Celsius (81.7 degrees Fahrenheit) on Feb. 6, 2011. The hottest December minimum nighttime temperature on record had been Christmas Day in 1868, when the temperature dipped to 26.3 degrees Celsius (79.3 degrees Fahrenheit).

WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S.-allied Asian ambassadors on Tuesday urged President-elect Donald Trump to reconsider his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and keep the U.S. engaged in Asia. Ambassadors from Australia, South Korean and Singapore made the appeal at a Washington think tank. The Obama administration championed the trade pact which was signed by 12 nations in February but has run into a wall of congressional and public opposition. Trump has vowed to withdraw from TPP on his first day in office, calling it a "disaster" for American jobs. Australian Ambassador Joe Hockey said, "America has to engage with Asia if it is going to be great," because that's where most global economic growth is happening.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  A humble barbequed sausage on a slice of bread sold at polling booths around Australia has been picked as the country's official word of the year  "democracy sausage." Despite being two words, Australian National Dictionary Center director Amanda Laugesen said on Wednesday that democracy sausage qualified as Australia's word for 2016 because it was essentially a compound word. The term was first recorded in 2012 to describe the ubiquitous beef sausage sandwiches served with onions, ketchup, barbeque sauce or mustard, which are sold at fundraising stalls outside polling booths. But it gathered momentum in 2016 when Australia had an extraordinarily long two-month federal election campaign that was so close that the result was not known for days.

TOKYO (AP)  U.S. military Osprey aircraft has crash-landed off Japan's southern island of Okinawa, but its five crewmembers were safely rescued. The U.S. Marine Corps. said Wednesday that an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft landed in shallow water off Okinawa's east coast late Tuesday. They said in a statement that the crewmembers were airlifted to a Navy hospital at the Kadena Air Base for treatment. Japanese defense officials said two of them sustained injuries that were not life-threatening. It also comes one week after a Marine Corps pilot died after his F/A-18 fighter jet crashed off western Japan. The crash just off Nago City triggered protests on Okinawa, where anti-U.S.

MOSCOW (AP)  Russian President Vladimir Putin tried a bit of dog diplomacy ahead of his trip to Japan, and then gave a glimmer of hope that a 70-year territorial dispute with Tokyo could be resolved. Japanese journalists met with Putin at the Kremlin, days before Putin heads to Tokyo. The interview began with the Russian leader showing off the Akita given to him by Japan in 2012. Putin fed the massive dog, called Yume, which was just a puppy when she came to Russia. Now, the canine is almost as big as Putin when she stands up on her hind legs to receive a treat from her master.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan pledged Tuesday to implement new sanctions against North Korea, including capping the country's coal exports to choke off cash flowing into its nuclear weapons program. After meeting in Seoul, the envoys said the countries agreed to maintain an around-the-clock information sharing system to monitor how sanctions are working. Responding to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests this year, the United Nations Security Council recently voted to tighten sanctions by limiting the country's coal exports, one of its major sources of foreign currency. The effectiveness of the sanctions is dependent on the commitment of China, North Korea's most important ally and its biggest buyer of coal.
Pakistan ready to help Nepal: Ambassador Javed

Pakistani ambassador to Nepal Mazhar Javed has said that development cannot take place as expected only by depending on a single country.
MANCHESTER, England (AP)  Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has been banned from driving for 18 months after admitting to drunk-driving, despite saying he hadn't "intentionally consumed alcohol."

Toure, who was arrested in east London on Nov. 28, appeared in court on Monday. He was also fined 54,000 pounds ($70,000).

The 33-year-old Toure is a Muslim and said Tuesday in a statement on his Facebook page that he has "always refused alcohol."

The former Ivory Coast international said "as I was above the permitted limit when tested on the night, I decided not to challenge the charge. However, it was important to me that I told the court that I had not intentionally consumed alcohol."

Toure added that "the judge in his sentencing remarks accepted that I had not been intentionally drinking."
President-elect Donald Trump late Monday said he would announce his choice for secretary of state Tuesday.

The appointment is seen as the key to defining the direction the Trump administration will take.

Recent speculation has centered on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has extensive business ties to Russia and a personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin  something Trump and his spokesmen see as an asset.

Tillerson never has served in any elective office like many of the other people Trump has named so far to administration posts.

Rex Tillerson is a very Trumpian-inspired pick because it's somebody who, like Donald Trump, has a career outside of politics and he's somebody who is accustomed to making big deals and making  translating that into big impact, Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told MSNBC Monday.

The prospect of Tillerson has raised flags among the senators who will have to confirm him.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on CBSs Face the Nation Sunday he thinks Tillersons relationship with Putin would color his approach to the threat Russia poses.

"It is a matter of concern to me that he has such a close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin," McCain said.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted his doubts.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., called the possible nomination of Tillerson alarming and absurd.

"With Rex Tillerson as our Secretary of State, the Trump administration would be guaranteeing Russia has a willing accomplice in the President's Cabinet guiding our nation's foreign policy," Menendez wrote on his Facebook page.

"The role of secretary of state should not be bestowed upon someone whose only notable experience with foreign governments involve multimillion-dollar deals with Russia and whose experience with the federal government seems to be limited to campaigns against the effects of climate change."

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Tillerson, 64, spearheaded ExxonMobils partnership with Russian oil giant Rosneft. In 2014,

tillerson

Photo: Alexsey Druginyn/RIA Novosti/Reuters

Putin gave him the Order of Friendship, one of the highest honors Russia gives foreign citizens.

Trump interviewed a number of people for the cabinet post since the election. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani took his name out of the running last week. Also under consideration were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John Corker, R-Tenn.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton was said to be a leading contender for deputy secretary of state. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on ABCs This Week Sunday he would oppose that nomination.

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Donald Trump Mitt Romney

President-elect Donald Trump's multiweek search for a secretary of state is apparently over, and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts will not be nominated.

Romney indicated as much Monday night in a Facebook post, saying, "It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country."

"I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace," Romney added.

Trump appears set to nominate Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the nation's top diplomat, The New York Times and other news outlets reported Monday night.

Word of Tillerson's candidacy first surfaced via Trump transition officials on Saturday. The 64-year-old Texas native has no governing or diplomatic experience, and he has spent his entire career at Exxon.

Other candidates under consideration included former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York, former CIA Director David Petraeus, and retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly.

But no other candidate received as much attention as Romney, who at one point was the leading candidate for the position despite his strong opposition to Trump throughout the presidential race.

romney-trump

Last month, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee had dinner with Trump  his second of at least two meetings with the president-elect, amid a flurry of headlines that pegged Romney as the frontrunner for the post.

After that meeting on November 29, Romney called Trump "the man who can lead us to that better future.

News of Trump's pending secretary of state announcement also comes on the same day the president-elect postponed a much-anticipated press conference that was meant to detail how he will address his many foreign business interests before taking office.

That press conference was scheduled for December 15, but has been moved to an as-yet-unannounced date in January.

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NOW WATCH: 'If 43% of eligible voters do not vote, then Democracy is weakened': Obama reacts to protests against Trump





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(Fixes typographical error in "Yosemite" in 3rd paragraph)

Dec 13 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump will name first-term Republican U.S Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Navy SEAL commander, as his interior secretary, according to media reports on Tuesday.

A senior transition official described Zinke, 55, as a leading candidate for the job.

Zinke will be nominated to head the Interior Department, which employs more than 70,000 people across the United States and oversees more than 20 percent of federal land, including National Parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite.

Trump's decision to pick Zinke was first reported by Politico. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal also said Zinke had been tapped for the post.

Zinke is a proponent of keeping public lands under federal ownership, putting him at odds with some in his Republican Party who are more favorable to privatization or placing them under the control of states.

But it remains unclear where Zinke would stand on opening up more federal lands to increased drilling and mining, something Trump promised he would do as president.

A Trump aide told Reuters last week that another Republican U.S. representative, Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, had been picked for the post. On Tuesday, a source close to the congresswoman said she had never been offered the job.

Politico reported earlier on Tuesday that Trump had expanded his search to include Zinke and Republican U.S. Representative Raul Labrador of Idaho as well as McMorris Rodgers.

Zinke was an early Trump supporter, backing the New York City businessman for president in May.

His nomination must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

"Congressman Zinke is a strong advocate for American energy independence, and he supports an all-encompassing energy policy that includes renewables, fossil fuels and alternative energy," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said ahead of a meeting on Monday between Zinke and Trump at Trump Tower in New York.

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Zinke, a member of the House of Representatives subcommittee on natural resources, has voted for legislation that would weaken environmental safeguards on public land.

But unlike other candidates who were on the short list for the interior secretary job, Zinke opposes the transfer of public lands to the states, a position that echoes Trump's.

PUBLIC LANDS

Trump has said he does not think public land should be turned over to the states and should be protected.

"I don't like the idea because I want to keep the lands great, and you don't know what the state is going to do," Trump said in an interview with Field & Stream magazine in January.

Trump said that putting states in control of public land would make it easier to sell it off for energy or commercial development. He thinks the federal government needs to focus on conservation.

"I mean, are they going to sell (states) if they get into a little bit of trouble? I don't think it's something that should be sold," he said. "We have to be great stewards of this land. This is magnificent land. And we have to be great stewards of this land."

In July, Zinke resigned as a delegate to the Republican nominating convention because the party platform called for transferring public lands to the states.

"What I saw was a platform that was more divisive than uniting," Zinke told the Billings Gazette. "At this point, I think it's better to show leadership."

Public land comprises more than 30 percent of Montana, according to the Montana Wilderness Association.

The League of Conservation Voters, which ranks lawmakers on their environmental record, gave Zinke an extremely low lifetime score of 3 percent.

The Wilderness Society, a leading conservation group, said it was concerned by Zinke's support for logging, drilling and mining on public lands.

"His overall record and the backdrop of Cabinet nominations with close ties to the fossil fuel industry cause us grave concern," Wilderness Society President Jamie Williams said in a statement.

The Interior Department also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and handles tribal policy.

Under Obama, the department played a big role in efforts to curb the effects of climate change by limiting fossil fuel development in some areas.

Outgoing Interior Secretary Sally Jewell banned coal mining on public lands, canceled leases for drilling on the Arctic and Atlantic coasts, expanded wildlife protection and cracked down on methane emissions.

(Reporting by Eric Beech, Valerie Volcovici, Susan Cornwell and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Alistair Bell and Jonathan Oatis)
Washington (AFP) - Rick Perry, the former governor of oil-rich Texas who once vowed to eradicate the Energy Department if elected president, is Donald Trump's pick for energy secretary, US media reported.

The Texas native, who participated in the Republican primary but was crushed by President-elect Trump early on, was seen Monday afternoon entering and exiting Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Perry once assailed Trump as a "cancer on conservatism" and threw his support behind Texas Senator Ted Cruz after dropping out of the race in September 2015, but he has long been rumored to be one of Trump's main contenders for the energy post.

NBC and CBS news both reported late Monday that Trump had chosen Perry for the job, citing two sources familiar with the transition process.

The 66-year-old former governor, who also ran for the Republican party's 2012 nomination, famously fumbled a debate when he vowed to abolish three US departments -- but could only remember the names of two.

"The third agency of government I would do away with -- the education, the commerce. And let's see. I can't. The third one I can't. Sorry. Ooops," he told a tittering crowd in 2011, only to remember later in the debate that it was the Energy Department.

The longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry was the first casualty in a crowded battle for the Republican Party nomination in 2016.
Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson has been picked by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for the post of Secretary of State, NBC News reported Monday, capping weeks of speculation that included a close political ally and a sharp critic.

Trump took again to Twitter to state he would announce the choice on Tuesday.

But two sources familiar with the process told NBC News that Trump has already picked Tillerson. The 64-year old Tillerson has negotiated business deals in Russia that led to a working relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has spent his entire career at the company now known as Exxon Mobil.

Late Monday, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared to bow out of the running in posts on social media, ending speculation that Trump would welcome a previously sharp critic into his administration. During the campaign Romney said Trump was a poor choice for the presidency.

Last week, close Trump ally and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he had taken his name out of consideration. President Barack Obama picked his nomination rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and she left after his first term to prepare for her 2016 run for the White House.



The U.S. Senate must confirm the cabinet-level position, with rumblings that some members of Trump's Republican party are uneasy about the business leader as the nation's top diplomat. Upon taking office, Trump would formally nominate Tillerson for confirmation by the Senate. If confirmed, Tillerson would be fourth in line to the presidency.

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Trump's latest tweet follows news that he is delaying his announcement until January about how he plans to leave his business , NBC confirmed Monday.

NBC News contributed to this article

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In a media call Tuesday morning, Donald Trumps transition team spokesman, Jason Miller, was asked how the president-elect stays up to date on national security issues, given that by his own admission he isnt interested in taking daily security briefings. Miller said that Trump is kept informed by the man he has designated to be his National Security Adviser, retired Army general Michael Flynn.

While there would normally be nothing surprising about a soon-to-be National Security Adviser briefing a president-elect, there is very little thats normal about the incoming Trump administration, and Flynn is no exception. The former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Flynn was forced out of the job amid reports of a chaotic management style and an unwillingness to listen to dissenting voices.

Related: Why the Russia Hacking Scandal Could Cost Trump His Pick for Secretary of State

Since then, he has become a vocal critic of the U.S. intelligence establishment, particularly the Central Intelligence Agency, which he claims has become highly politicized and has strayed from its role as a strictly apolitical agency.

On its face, Flynns history seems to leave him ill-suited for the NSA role. The job requires a willingness to not just tolerate facts and opinions that dont mesh with ones own, but to embrace them as part of an effort to gather the fullest possible picture of threats facing the country. And it would seem to go without saying that having at least minimal respect for the agencies making up the Intelligence Community is a prerequisite for the job. (Flynn also has unusual connections to the Russian government, having accepted payment from the Kremlin-owned propaganda outlet RT to speak at an event in Moscow last year.)

Flynn has been criticized for a seeming willingness to traffic in conspiracy theories and to trust dubious information sources -- neither a confidence-inspiring trait for a National Security Adviser.

In November, for example, in remarks to a group of students, he said, So its being reported now and its flying around on social media that [Trump] also won the popular vote in a big way. Probably somewhere close to, were looking at 70 maybe to 90 thousand overall. But it could even go higher.

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While there is no question that Trump won the election, it is equally beyond doubt that he lost the popular vote decisively, by nearly three million votes.

Related: Trump Says No to Daily Redundant Intel Briefings Because He's a 'Smart Person'

Under any circumstances, it would troubling to learn that a president-elect is not receiving his intelligence briefings in person, but is instead having them filtered through an adviser who mistrusts intelligence agencies in general and repeats fake news reports.

But Trumps detachment and Flynns antipathy toward the CIA could be a particular problem at a time when the CIA and its counterparts in the Intelligence Community have been delivering unpleasant news about the just-completed presidential election.

Specifically, the intelligence services believe that Russia played a role in computer hacking that damaged the campaign of Trumps opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton -- possibly with an eye to helping Trump win the election.

Trump, who has an obvious vested interest in claiming that there was no assist from the Kremlin in his victory last month, has rejected the findings as ridiculous and has questioned the integrity of the intelligence agencies reporting it.

Under the circumstance, it could be very convenient to Trump to have a National Security Adviser like Flynn, who is highly skeptical of the CIA and its motives, and appears disposed to maintain friendly ties with Russia. Its just unclear whether its in the best interests of the country.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
On Dec. 13, 2016, Donald Trump officially announced Rex Tillerson as his pick to be the next pick for Secretary of State. Tillerson is the CEO of ExxonMobil and is known for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was also a whos who at Trump Tower, with everyone from Kanye West to Bill Gates stopping by to meet with the president-elect. Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric gives the latest in the Trump transition in 60 seconds or less.
Power trading guideline does not debar pvt firms

The Indian government, which has been criticised for trying to discourage private power producers in Nepal from exporting energy to India,
Washington (AFP) - US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state -- the most coveted cabinet position, and the one that generated the most contentious search.

The following is a list of key cabinet and other nominations made so far by Trump, who takes office on January 20:

- Cabinet -

State: Rex Tillerson, 64

The silver-haired president and CEO of ExxonMobil, who has never worked in government, could face a difficult confirmation battle due to his close ties to Russia's Vladimir Putin. Tillerson has spent his entire career at Exxon, working his way up from being a production engineer to running the massive company.

Treasury: Steven Mnuchin, 53

The Wall Street veteran was a partner at Goldman Sachs before he launched an investment fund backed by Democratic Party supporter George Soros and financed Hollywood blockbusters like "Avatar" and "Suicide Squad."

Defense: James Mattis, 66

A retired four star Marine general, Mattis commanded US forces in the Middle East and Southwest Asia from 2010 to 2013, capping a career as a combat commander that earned him the nickname "Mad Dog." A scholar of warfare, he is said to have a particular interest in the challenge posed by Iran. To become secretary of defense, Mattis would have to get a congressional waiver from a law that bars generals from serving as defense secretary for seven years after leaving active duty.

Attorney General: Jeff Sessions, 69

One of Trump's earliest supporters during the campaign, the anti-immigration senator from Alabama has a much criticized record on race relations and was once denied a judgeship amid concerns over past comments about blacks. The attorney general heads the department of justice.

Homeland Security: John Kelly, 66

The retired Marine general most recently led the US Southern Command, which covers US military operations in Central and South America. He is expected to be very tough on illegal immigration and the illicit drugs trade. He also has been shaped by the death of his son, a Marine, in Afghanistan in 2010.

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Commerce: Wilbur Ross, 79

A US investor and billionaire, Ross is best known for buying failing steel and coal firms and selling them for profit. He was once known as the "king of bankruptcy" for his history of investing in such businesses.

Education: Betsy DeVos, 58

A wealthy activist and Republican megadonor from Michigan, DeVos is a champion of alternatives to local government schools, backing a movement that advocates the use of tax credits and vouchers to allow parents to opt out of the public school system.

Health and Human Services: Tom Price, 62

The Georgia lawmaker and former orthopedic surgeon is a robust critic of President Barack Obama's signature health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, which has provided health coverage to 20 million Americans.

Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson, 65

The retired neurosurgeon and onetime rival to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination is so far the only African American named to Trump's cabinet. The religious conservative with no experience in elective office, who grew up poor in Detroit, will be tasked with turning around America's troubled inner cities.

Labor: Andrew Puzder, 66

The chief executive of CKE Restaurants, which owns fast food chains Carl's Jr and Hardee's, is opposed to raising the national minimum wage. He also backs the increasing use of automated technology to keep labor costs down.

Transportation: Elaine Chao, 63

The Taiwan-born former US labor secretary under president George W. Bush also served as the deputy secretary of transportation in his administration. She was the first Asian-American woman to serve in the cabinet and is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

- Top positions with Cabinet-rank status -

Ambassador to the United Nations: Nikki Haley, 44

As South Carolina's governor, Haley rose to prominence when she led efforts for the divisive Confederate flag to be pulled from the state's capitol following a 2015 massacre at a historic black church in Charleston. The daughter of Indian immigrants was sharply critical of Trump during the election campaign.

White House Chief of Staff: Reince Priebus, 44

Head of the Republican National Committee, Priebus is a seasoned political operative who can build bridges between Trump and a skittish Republican leadership, particularly House Speaker Paul Ryan, a longtime ally.

Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt, 48

The attorney general for the state of Oklahoma is a known climate change skeptic, and an ally of the fossil fuel industry. Before accepting the nomination, Pruitt spent much time battling the agency he is tapped to lead.

Small Business Administration: Linda McMahon, 68

The wrestling tycoon and two-time Republican candidate for the US Senate from Connecticut, will now be responsible for supporting America's 28 million small businesses, which employ around half the country's private-sector workforce.

- Non-cabinet positions -

Chief Strategist: Steve Bannon, 63

A key figure in Trump's victorious election campaign, Bannon served as executive chairman of conservative news platform Breitbart, a favorite news source of the so-called "alt-right," an offshoot conservative movement that embraces a mixture of populism, racism and white nationalism. His appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, has been controversial.

National Security Advisor: Michael Flynn, 57

A top military counsel to Trump, the retired three-star general, a veteran of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has courted controversy with extreme statements that critics say border on Islamophobia, but has taken a more flexible line on Russia and China. The national security advisor is not formally part of the cabinet but is usually one of the president's most influential advisors.

CIA Director: Mike Pompeo, 52

A strident critic of the Iran nuclear deal, the hawkish Kansas congressman was elected in 2010 to the House of Representatives, where he was a member of the hardline Tea Party faction and one of the leaders of the controversial Benghazi Committee that targeted Trump's Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

White House Counsel: Donald McGahn, late 40s

A former commissioner and chairman of the Federal Election Commission, McGahn represents "elected officials, candidates, national state parties, political consultants, and others on political law issues," as a partner at the Jones Day law firm in Washington.

- Key positions still outstanding -

Energy

Reports say former Texas governor Rick Perry, who once vowed to eliminate the Energy Department, is in line for the position. Perry, a onetime rival of Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, took part this autumn in the latest season of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

Other positions still open: Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs
Rex Tillerson

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state  Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson  once praised the trade agreement Trump lambasted along the campaign trail as a "promising development" regarding trade relations in the Asia-Pacific region.

In a 2013 speech to the Asia Society Global Forum, Tillerson, whose company has global investments, argued for open markets and free trade to help produce energy for some of the world's emerging markets.

"Even when a nation does not have a rich endowment of resources, we have learned that open markets and free trade can bring nations the energy supplies they need," he said, in comments first reported by The Daily Beast. "But only governments can open the avenues of free trade."

Tillerson followed that up by insisting the governments of the US and Asian nations must create policies supporting "international cooperation and energy trade."

"One of the most promising developments on this front is the ongoing effort for the Trans-Pacific Partnership," he continued, adding that the countries "that have been working to lower trade barriers and end protectionist policies under this partnership are a diverse mix of developed and developing economies. But all of them understand the value of open markets to growth and progress for every nation."

Additionally, in a 2007 speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, he critiqued such things as "trade barriers, punitive taxes, artificial subsidies, and other market manipulations" that "may appear to some to be in the interest of US energy security."

He also advocated for "a global free market for energy."

His past statements stand in slight contrast to Trump's position on trade. He has recently proposed stiff tariffs for American companies that ship jobs overseas and export their products back into the states, and he has called the potential TPP "a continuing rape of our country" while promising to end the agreement.

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Last week at a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rally as a part of his "Thank You Tour," Trump said the US has "stupid trade."

"Stupid trade. Stupid. It's dumb," he said.

In a statement to Business Insider, a prominent trade reform advocate expressed hope that Tillerson's past position was based on his role as the head of Exxon Mobil, and that he will be supportive of Trump's stated position now that Tillerson is a top administration official.

"Working-class voters made clear that stupid trade policies like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Chinas entry into the World Trade Organization made them poorer, not richer," Michael Stumo, the CEO of Coalition for a Prosperous America, told Business Insider. "Mr. Tillerson is a bright man with admirable management and deal-making skills which he used to support Exxon Mobil. His prior support for the TPP did not reflect an understanding that trade deficits contract our economy and cost jobs while trade surpluses expand the economy and create jobs."

"We hope, given the role of the State Department in trade issues," Stumo continued, "that Mr. Tillerson will serve the interests and goals of his new boss as ably as he did his old boss."

Serving on the board of Coalition for a Prosperous America is Dan DiMicco, the former CEO of Nucor who is leading Trump's trade transition team and is considered to be a frontrunner for the post of US trade representative.

As secretary of state, Tillerson will have a big voice in US trade policy, although the negotiation of such deals will be under the purview of the trade representative.

Wilbur Ross, Trump's nominee for Commerce Secretary and another past supporter of TPP, will apparently lead the effort to shape the trade agenda to be in line with Trump's vision, Politico reported Tuesday. House Republicans have also expressed confidence that a Trump administration will focus on stricter enforcement of trade agreements, while not seeking to limit trade between the US and other nations.

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Rex Tillerson

Up until now, a good number of the prominent appointees to the Trump administration have been flat-out climate change deniers.

So it's perhaps a bit of a surprise then that the oil company executive who Trump has nominated for Secretary of State, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, is someone who is openly willing to admit that climate change is a real problem.

"We believe that addressing the risk of climate change is a global issue," Tillerson told company shareholders at an annual meeting last May.

Under Tillerson, Exxon has started to steer away from the climate denial groups supported by his predecessor, according to The New York Times; Tillerson has said the company supports a carbon tax (both in the past and as recently as October); and under Tillerson, ExxonMobil has expressed support for the Paris Agreement.

Still, Tillerson's record on climate issues has not necessarily lived up to those statements, and environmental advocates have expressed serious concerns about the appointment.

In 2015, two separate bombshell investigative reports  one by InsideClimate News and the other by The Los Angeles Times  described how Exxon has conducted cutting-edge climate science for decades. Both reports allege that since the 1970s, internal documents have clearly shown that the company is fully aware of the risks of climate change. Yet publicly, they dismissed climate science until much more recently. In 2015 and 2016, states including New York, Massachusetts, and California have launched investigations to see if the company withheld information from shareholders.

ExxonMobil under Tillerson has vigorously denied that this is the case.

"We unequivocally reject allegations that ExxonMobil suppressed climate change research contained in media reports that are inaccurate distortions of ExxonMobils nearly 40-year history of climate research," the company says in a statement.

At the same time, environmental groups have said that even if ExxonMobil under Tillerson has readily acknowledged that global warming is an issue, the company has continued to lobby against climate policies in countries around the world.

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"Tillerson argues that uncertainties over specific model projections justify inaction," writes Kathy Mulvey, accountability campaign manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"The idea that Rex Tillerson may be supportive of ambitious climate policy is not at all consistent with our forensic analysis of the activities of his company ExxonMobil and its trade associations," says Dylan Tanner, executive director of the UK-based nonprofit group InfluenceMap, in a statement emailed to Business Insider. InfluenceMap has analyzed ExxonMobil's climate lobbying actions under Tillerson, and argues that the company has a "systematic pattern of opposing climate policy on a worldwide scale."

These are serious concerns. And they are far from the only questions about Tillerson.

Yet at least some open acknowledgment that climate change is a serious problem would be welcome. If Tillerson is confirmed by the Senate, we'll have a chance to see if that conviction turns into action.

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Donald Trump is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against a famed chef who refused to open a restaurant in his Washington, D.C., hotel after controversial comments the president-elect said about Mexicans and other minorities during the kickoff of his presidential campaign. Meanwhile, as Trump prepares for a deposition set just weeks before he assumes the Oval Office on Inauguration Day, the next First Lady Melania Trump is fighting her own legal battles from along the campaign trail.

Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Topo Atrio restaurant in the District of Columbia, which celebrity chef Jose Andres would have operated in the real estate moguls newly opened luxury hotel. His lawyers demanded the upcoming deposition take place inside of Trump Towers rather than the previously agreed upon location of Washington, D.C. in a filing last week, citing security concerns, as well as a limit on the amount of time Trump can be questioned from seven hours to two.

Alan Garten, Trumps general counsel, said the president-elects team wants to minimize his deposition as much as possible. "We think the deposition is completely unnecessary," Garten told USA Today. "So we asked for there to be some reasonable limits. We dont think its necessary, the issues that concern the president-elect are statements he made at the commencement of the campaign. Theres no dispute about them. So we dont see what a deposition would accomplish."

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Photo: Reuters

The defendants in Trumps lawsuit agreed to relocate the deposition to the Trump Towers last week, though attorneys noted it was odd the president-elect couldnt garner security to visit the nations capital for a scheduled meeting.

"It seems dubious that the president-elect cannot be afforded adequate security in the capital of the United States, but defendants are willing to accommodate that demand," the lawyers wrote in a letter to the presiding judge, though they urged the court to keep Trumps deposition time limit to seven hours. "Defendants cannot, however, accept Trump LLCs attempt to hamstring defendants questioning of the man who directed the bringing of this lawsuit."

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Meanwhile, Trumps wife appeared in a Maryland court Monday for a defamation lawsuit she filed against The Daily Mail Online and a writer. "Mrs. Trump was not required to attend the court conference, but chose to do so, to meet the Judge, meet opposing counsel, and show her commitment to the case," her attorneys office said in a statement. "Mrs. Trump looks forward to seeing the case to a successful conclusion."

These arent the only cases the Trumps will continue to battle after becoming the first family: the president-elect has at least 75 pending lawsuits pending, each extending after he takes office Jan. 20. Recently, the president-elect paid $25 million to settle fraud lawsuits over Trump University, a for-profit education company he established in 2005 and closed in 2010.

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Note: Rex Tillersons confirmation hearing will begin at 9:15 ET on Wednesday, January 11.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants few things more than the removal of Western sanctions that are restricting outside investment in Russia, hurting his friends, and generally hampering the countrys economy.

President-elect Donald Trumps choice for secretary of state, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, feels Putins economic pain.

Then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobils chief executive, smile during a signing ceremony in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia on Aug. 30, 2011.

ExxonMobil, Americas largest oil company, saw business in Russia largely stall as the US implemented increasingly strict sanctions after Russia annexed Ukraines Crimea peninsula in March 2014 and fomented civil war in the country. While Exxon can still operate some projects in Russia, other lucrative deals worth billions of dollars can only go forward if US sanctions are lifted.

A career Exxon employee, Tillerson helped establish the oil giants presence in Russia during the 1990s and became ExxonMobils CEO in 2006. Company filings from this year state that Tillerson, who is set to retire from Exxon next year, owned $218 million in ExxonMobil stock while his pension plan was worth nearly $70 million. The Wall Street Journal recently noted that Tillerson could benefit from such potential department actions as the lifting of sanctions on Russia.

Tillerson, 64, visited the White House several times to discuss the sanctions. As the nations top diplomat  and the first oil executive to lead the State Department  Tillerson would have significant leverage over whether the Trump administration keeps current sanctions and how sanctions are implemented.

The chances that he will view Russia with ExxonMobil DNA are close to 100 percent, Robert Weissman, president of the public interest group Public Citizen, told The New York Times.

The effect of sanctions imposed on Russia.

Mr. Tillerson, I am very happy to see you

Sanctioned individuals include Igor Sechin, president of the oil company Rosneft and a close confidant of Putin, who has served as a primary negotiating partner for Tillerson over the years. Konstantin von Eggert, a former Exxon vice president in Russia, told Bloomberg that Putin and Sechin both consider Tillerson a quintessential no-nonsense Texan with a very businesslike attitude.

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In April 2012, Tillerson met with Sechin and Putin to unveil a now-stalled deal between Rosneft and Exxon to explore vast Russian energy reserves in the Arctic and the Black sea. A couple of months later, Putin hosted Tillerson again for another Rosneft deal signing and offered rare public praise for an American.

Mr. Tillerson, I am very happy to see you, Putin said. This is already our second meeting in a short span of time, and there is a good explanation for this: increasingly close relations are being forged between your company and Russian market players.

During the meeting, Tillerson stated: I agree, as you point out, that nothing strengthens relationships between countries better than business enterprise. And these agreements will serve to strengthen our relationship between our two countries and obviously our two companies.

Putin subsequently presented Tillerson with Russias Order of Friendship, an award presented to foreign nationals whose work improves relations with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson shake hands at a signing ceremony of an agreement between state-controlled Russian oil company Rosneft and Exxon Mobil corporation at the Black Sea port of Tuapse, southern Russia, Friday, June 15, 2012. At left is CEO of state-controlled Russian oil company Rosneft Igor Sechin. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)

Tillerson against sanctions

In May 2014, as the initial sanctions on the personal dealings of Sechin and others kicked in, Exxon signed another deal with Rosneft involving several more joint projects.

A few days later, while addressing Exxons annual meeting, Tillerson said: We do not support sanctions, generally, because we dont find them to be effective unless they are very well implemented comprehensibly, and thats a very hard thing to do. So we always encourage the people who are making those decisions to consider the very broad collateral damage of who are they really harming.

The Obama administration has consistently stated that sanctions will remain in place as long as Russia does not meet its commitments under the Minsk agreements, which are meant to end fighting in eastern Ukraine.

In October Putin pulled out of a plutonium disposal treaty with the US and demanded that sanctions be lifted, among other stipulations, to restore the pact.

From Russias point of view, sanctions represent the same threat to national security as nuclear weapons, Andrei Frolov, a defense specialist at the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, told Bloomberg.

Consequently, the lifting of restrictions on exports of technology, software, things that really help their energy industry extract oil and gas, would be a top priority, Boris Zilberman, a Russia expert at the Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the AP.

Trump has indicated that he would consider recognizing Russias annexation of Crimea and lifting sanctions. Trump also said that the people of Crimea, from what Ive heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.

Screenshot 2016-12-13 08.01.34

Russia, which the CIA accuses of attempting to tip the US presidential election in Trumps favor, kept contacts with Trumps campaign and generally welcomed Trumps election.

Putin was seriously impacted by the sanctions because it targeted his closest friends and now they think Trump is going to change that, Robert Amsterdam, an international attorney with Russian clients, told AP.

Trump and Putin subsequently spoke over the phone, and on Dec. 1 Putin stated that he hoped to normalize relations with the US under the Trump administration.

We are ready for cooperation with the new American administration, Putin said. Its important to normalize and develop our bilateral ties on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.

Trump continues to amaze

All things considered, the possibility of sanctions being lifted will come up under the Trump administration.

We would therefore see a subjective 35% probability of Russia sanctions being lifted by the US in 2017/18, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a Nov. 11 note. Note that US sanctions were imposed by the Executive Order and do not require legislation to lift them. And without US support, we think it would be harder to keep the parallel EU sanctions in place.

The EU is expected to review sanctions against Russia by Jan. 31, 2017.

In another note, Morgan Stanley analysts stated that the Trump presidency may weaken the EU consensus to keep Russian sanctions in place. Still, we expect economic sanctions to be extended by six months in January 2017 and assume sanctions in place through the whole of 2016-17.

Preident-elect Donald Trump. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Importantly, for the US, it is surprisingly easy to remove sanctions on Russia should President-elect Trump choose to do so, Deutsche Bank economist Elina Ribakova said.

And if Tillersons nomination is confirmed by the Senate  which is not a given  the prospect of the Trump administration eventually lifting sanctions looks even better for Putins Russia.

The choice of Tillerson is sensational. Trump continues to amaze, Russian senator Alexei Pushkov tweeted over the weekend. This choice confirms the seriousness of Trumps intentions.

See more:
(Adds detail from Chinese foreign ministry statement in paragraph 6)

MEXICO CITY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - China and Mexico pledged on Monday to deepen ties at a meeting between their top diplomats following last month's U.S. presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has tested Washington's relationship with both countries.

Before arriving in Mexico on Sunday, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met with members of Trump's team in New York, including his pick for national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn.

Mexico has been exploring ways to lessen its economic dependence on the United States out of fear that access to its No. 1 trade partner will be restricted by policies under Trump, who promises to protect American jobs from going outside the country.

Yang's meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu included discussions of enhancing trade and investment ties, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, as well as improving flight connections between the two countries.

"They agreed to deepen mutual trust and develop the bilateral dialogue about subjects of mutual interest via the Mexico-China Strategic Dialogue," the ministry said, without giving more details.

Yang said in the meeting that China's comprehensive partnership with Mexico was "flourishing" day by day, adding that China wishes to deepen cooperation on trade, investment, resources, infrastructure and financial services, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website.

After his meeting with Ruiz Massieu, Yang had a "courtesy visit" with President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trump's moves in recent days, protesting his decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan's president and voicing concern after a weekend interview on "Fox News Sunday" in which Trump questioned whether the United States had to stick with a "one China" policy. China considers Taiwan a renegade province.

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Mexico's relationship with China appeared to cool after Pena Nieto scrapped high-profile rail and retail projects that were supposed to usher in a new era of business between the manufacturing rivals.

But Mexico last week awarded two deepwater oil blocks to China's Offshore Oil Corporation during a historic auction that was part of the country's energy reform.

"The China-Mexico relationship is back on again," said Evan Ellis, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College who specializes in China's presence in Latin America.

"The election of President Trump and the associated threat to NAFTA probably was one driver for (Pena Nieto) to position Mexico to diversify its foreign economic engagements," Ellis added.

Trump has vowed to renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trade deal important to Mexico, which includes the United States and Canada.

(Reporting by Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein and Frank Jack Daniel; Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd in Beijing; Editing by Peter Cooney and Lincoln Feast)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - China and Mexico pledged on Monday to deepen ties at a meeting between their top diplomats following last month's U.S. presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has tested Washington's relationship with both countries. Before arriving in Mexico on Sunday, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met with members of Trump's team in New York, including his pick for national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn. Mexico has been exploring ways to lessen its economic dependence on the United States out of fear that access to its No. 1 trade partner will be restricted by policies under Trump, who promises to protect American jobs from going outside the country. Yang's meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu included discussions of enhancing trade and investment ties, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, as well as improving flight connections between the two countries. "They agreed to deepen mutual trust and develop the bilateral dialogue about subjects of mutual interest via the Mexico-China Strategic Dialogue," the ministry said, without giving more details. Yang said in the meeting that China's comprehensive partnership with Mexico was "flourishing" day by day, adding that China wishes to deepen cooperation on trade, investment, resources, infrastructure and financial services, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website. After his meeting with Ruiz Massieu, Yang had a "courtesy visit" with President Enrique Pena Nieto. The Chinese government has bristled at Trump's moves in recent days, protesting his decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan's president and voicing concern after a weekend interview on "Fox News Sunday" in which Trump questioned whether the United States had to stick with a "one China" policy. China considers Taiwan a renegade province. Mexico's relationship with China appeared to cool after Pena Nieto scrapped high-profile rail and retail projects that were supposed to usher in a new era of business between the manufacturing rivals. But Mexico last week awarded two deepwater oil blocks to China's Offshore Oil Corporation during a historic auction that was part of the country's energy reform. "The China-Mexico relationship is back on again," said Evan Ellis, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College who specializes in China's presence in Latin America. "The election of President Trump and the associated threat to NAFTA probably was one driver for (Pena Nieto) to position Mexico to diversify its foreign economic engagements," Ellis added. Trump has vowed to renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trade deal important to Mexico, which includes the United States and Canada. (Reporting by Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein and Frank Jack Daniel; Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd in Beijing; Editing by Peter Cooney and Lincoln Feast)
Tunis (AFP) - A Tunisian court has approved the marriage of a 13-year-old girl to a relative who made her pregnant, an official said Tuesday.

The judgement triggered anger from non-governmental organisations which said the girl had been raped.

The girl, from the northwestern region of Kef, had a sexual relationship with the brother of her brother-in-law.

She was 13 years and 11 months old and "was not raped", said Chokri Mejri, the court official.

"We interviewed the girl and after verifying all the details, we considered her fit for marriage. As proof, she is pregnant," he said.

Under Tunisian law, sex with a girl under 15 without the use of force is punishable by six years in prison, but the culprit can halt proceedings by marrying the victim.

"The two families demanded marriage to avoid a scandal," Mejri said.

The court gave its green light on December 1 and the marriage agreement was signed on December 5, he said.

A wedding party had been planned for Sunday but was cancelled after the government's child protection office called for the marriage to be annulled.

"When it's a 13-year-old child, we can't talk of a sexual relation with consent. It's a rape," the agency's representative Houda Abboudi said.

"The court's decision didn't take into account the interests of this child... who will marry her rapist," she said.

The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) rights group said the decision was "scandalous".

"Judges think that at the age of 13... she can give consent," said ATFD head Monia Ben Jemia.

"At 13 years old, one can't give free and enlightened judgement, especially since there is no sex education at school," she said.

Tunisia is viewed as being ahead of most Arab countries on women's rights.

A bill to counter violence against women, proposed in 2014, is still waiting to be discussed in parliament.
Ankara (AFP) - Turkish police detained two female pro-Kurdish lawmakers Tuesday, as Ankara intensified its crackdown after twin bombings in Istanbul that killed 44 people.

Saturday's bombings, which left 37 police officers among the dead and hundreds more injured, were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), seen as a radical offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is itself considered a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Police launched a vast operation on Monday rounding up people accused of PKK links or of producing propaganda for the group, whose three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

A total of 568 people have been detained in 28 cities in less than 48 hours, the interior ministry said Tuesday.

The leftwing pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said late Monday that at least 291 of its members had been rounded up -- and on Tuesday announced that two female MPs had been detained.

"(The) head of the party's parliamentary group Caglar Demirel and Siirt MP Besime Konca were unlawfully detained in front of our (Ankara) headquarters," the party said on Twitter.

Konca was taken to court in the southeastern province of Batman, Dogan news agency said.

She was released under "judicial control", the equivalent of being freed under supervision, but Dogan said she was detained again in the evening while watching Demirel's court hearing in Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city, Diyarbakir, which Demirel represents.

Konca became the target of an investigation after she allegedly spoke at the funeral of a man killed during security operations against Kurdish rebels in Diyarbakir, Dogan said.

Demirel was charged late Tuesday with "being a member of an armed terror organisation", "producing propaganda for a terror organisation" and allegedly taking part in illegal gatherings despite being warned and not dispersing, state news agency Anadolu said.

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She faces up to 23 years in prison.

- 'Full-speed' crackdown -

Last month, 10 HDP MPs -- including co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag -- were arrested, sparking international condemnation. They are currently in pre-trial detention over alleged links to the PKK.

In May, the Turkish parliament adopted a bill that lifted immunity for dozens of MPs, which government critics feared would see HDP MPs face criminal prosecution and lose parliamentary seats.

Natalie Martin, an expert on Turkish politics at Nottingham Trent University, said she suspected the crackdown and arrests would continue.

"It is a continuation of a pattern that has been going full-speed since July," she told AFP, referring to widespread purges after the July 15 failed coup.

Over 100,000 people have been detained, suspended or sacked from the judiciary, media and civil service over suspected links to Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed for the attempted putsch. He denies the charges.

But among those suspended are thousands accused of PKK links and this latest crackdown on the HDP is about "muting the opposition", Martin said.

- 'We want democracy to win' -

The Kurdish conflict surged last year after the collapse of a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire, sparking almost daily clashes between the PKK and Turkish security forces, mainly in the southeast.

The Turkish air force hit PKK targets again in the Zap region of northern Iraq on Monday where the group has bases, Anadolu reported.

The government accuses the HDP of links to the PKK, a charge the party denies.

Cabbar Leygara, the party's co-president in Diyarbakir, said Kurdish people wanted to be a part of peaceful parliamentary politics.

"We want democracy to win in Turkey," he said.

German MPs demonstrated in Berlin in support of the HDP on Tuesday, holding photographs of the detained lawmakers and urging Turkey to release them.
Paris (AFP) - The number of journalists detained worldwide rose in 2016, an increase related to Turkey where more than 100 journalists and media contributors are in jail, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Tuesday.

"A total of 348 journalists are currently detained worldwide - six percent more than were detained at this time last year," RSF said in its annual report. The figure includes bloggers and freelance contributors.

"The number of detained professional journalists in Turkey has risen 22 percent after quadrupling in the wake of the failed coup d'etat in July," it said.

The number of women journalists imprisoned more than quadrupled over the period (from five to 21).

"This reflects in part the growing role of women in journalism but above all the disastrous situation in Turkey, which currently accounts for a third of the world's detained women journalists," RSF said.

"The persecution of journalists around the world is growing at a shocking rate," RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

"At the gateway to Europe, an all-out witch-hunt has jailed dozens of journalists and has turned Turkey into the world's biggest prison for the media profession. In the space of a year, the Erdogan regime has crushed all media pluralism while the European Union has said virtually nothing."

Aside from Turkey, between them China, Iran and Egypt account for more than two-thirds of journalists imprisoned, RSF said, calling for the creation of a special representative for the safety of journalists directly attached to the office of the UN secretary general.

The number of journalists held hostage has however fallen this year, with 52, mostly locals, held around the world compared with 61 last year, although RSF said the 2015 number was particularly high.

This year all the hostages are in the Middle East -- Syria, Yemen and Iraq -- with 21 held by the Islamic State group alone.

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RSF said it had identified just one missing journalist in 2016, Burundian Jean Bigirimana, compared with eight last year.

The group considers journalists missing when there is insufficient evidence of their death or kidnapping and no credible claim of responsibility for their death or abduction.

In a separate report released Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that 259 journalists were imprisoned around the world in 2016, 81 of them in Turkey.

Its number is lower because the CPJ only counts journalists detained by the state, while RSF also reports on those held hostage by non-state groups.

The CPJ said the top five countries for jailing journalists are Turkey, followed by China, Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

For the first time since 2008 Iran does not appear in the top five.
Pushpa Basnet is CNN Superhero

Nepals Pushpa Basnet, who established a child care centre to provide housing, education, healthy meals and medical services to children forced to live inside prisons with their convicted parents, has been declared the CNN Superhero.
* Rebel defences collapsed in Aleppo

* Turkey trying to broker ceasefire, evacuation

* Rebel officials say Syrian offers are insincere (Adds Turkish foreign minister, rebel officials)

By Orhan Coskun and Humeyra Pamuk

ANKARA/ISTANBUL, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Turkey is negotiating with Russia to open a corridor to evacuate Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from the remaining opposition-held districts of Aleppo, but no agreement has yet been reached, a senior Turkish official said.

Rebel defences in Aleppo collapsed on Monday, leading to a broad advance by the Syrian army across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket in the city and a retreat of opposition fighters to a few districts.

"Efforts are still underway to open a corridor for the rebels and civilians in Aleppo, and evacuate them from the region. There has been no agreement on this issue yet," the Turkish official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Turkish and Russian officials are expected to meet in Turkey tomorrow and evaluate the situation. The meeting will put the issue of opening a corridor, as well as a ceasefire, on the table," the official said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said a ceasefire was needed to allow civilians to be evacuated and Ankara would intensify talks in coming days with Russia and other countries, although he said they were already in constant contact.

"We're seeing the most cruel form of savagery in Aleppo, and the regime and its supporters are responsible for this. The wounded are not being let out and people are dying of starvation," he told a news conference in Ankara.

"However, we will continue our efforts. Even if everyone remains silent, we will not be silenced...We always come up with concrete proposals, but we saw that many countries were not sincere," Cavusoglu said.

A fighter with an opposition group inside Aleppo confirmed that there were talks between Russia and Turkey but had little hope they would succeed.

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"They are talking and they are failing because Russia is not really offering anything," he said from inside Syria by phone.

An official from the rebel Turkmen Sultan Murad brigade said there was little incentive for them to accept anything that had been discussed so far.

"They keep coming back with the same unacceptable demands and present it as an offer. These are not real offers," said the official, based in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

Rebel factions did not want to leave Aleppo, he said.

(Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Nick Tattersall, Editing by David Dolan and Angus MacSwan)
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey will intensify talks with Russia and other countries for a ceasefire to end the "humanitarian tragedy" in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.

"Today, tomorrow, everyday, we will intensify our talks with Russia and other countries so we can find a solution to this humanitarian tragedy," Cavusoglu said at a press conference with his Czech counterpart in Ankara.

"Our efforts continue in particular for civilians to be able to leave and for a ceasefire," he said.

Asked about possible Aleppo talks with Moscow on Wednesday, Cavusoglu said Turkish officials often met with their Russian counterparts, insisting it was "not a special meeting".

Cavusoglu also denounced the deliberate targeting of hospitals.

Last week, six western powers said hospitals and schools appeared to have been targeted in the bombardments.

"We have seen Aleppo left alone and despite promising a ceasefire, we see Aleppo then continues to be cruelly bombed... Even if everyone is quiet, Turkey will not be quiet," he said.

Ankara has repeatedly called for Assad's departure, accusing Damascus of massacres in Aleppo and elsewhere but its criticism of actions by Moscow, a close ally of the Syrian leader, has been noticeably muted following a recent rapprochement between the two countries.

Russia has been engaged in an air campaign over Syria since September 2015 in support of Assad, with its actions helping change the fortunes of the regime which now appears on the cusp of recapturing all of Aleppo.

Forces loyal to Assad have said the offensive in Syria's second city is in its "final phase" after they seized more than 90 percent of the eastern districts which had been held by the rebels since 2012.
In todays TV news, Cartoon Network will premiere a special Adventure Time miniseries, Netflixs Atypical adds another recurring player, and more.

DATES

Cartoon Network will premiere an Adventure Time miniseries starting Jan. 30 at 7:30/6:30c and finishing on Feb. 2. Adventure Time: Islands is an eight-part journey into Finn the Humans mysterious past. The four-night special event will answer one of the series most-asked questions: What happened to the humans?

National Geographics The Story of God with Morgan Freeman will return for its second season on Jan. 16 at 9/8c. Season 2 of the series, which is part travel documentary, part exploration of faith, will see host Morgan Freeman continue to meet with faith leaders, scientists, and other experts to unravel some of lifes deepest questions. The first episode will feature a 9-year-old boy in Minnesota who Tibetan monks believe is the reincarnation of a lama, a Buddhist spiritual teacher.

Comedian Josh Denny will host Food Networks newest series Ginormous Food, premiering Friday, Jan. 6 at 8/7c. The six-episode travelogue follows Denny throughout the United States, including Baltimore, Nashville and Philadelphia, as he finds ambitious chefs creating the most gigantic entrees. Ginormous Food is produced by Lusid Media.

CASTING

Jenna Boyd (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Code Black) has joined Netflixs Atypical in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively. Boyd will play Paige, the classic Type-A overachiever whos the girlfriend of autistic 18-year-old Sam (Keir Gilchrist). Boyd is repped by Berwick & Kovacik and TalentWorks.

Brendan Bradley, a.k.a. The Staples Guy, has booked guest roles on CBSs new legal drama Doubt and OWNs The Haves and the Have Nots. He will appear in episode 12 of Doubt, alongside Katherine Heigl and Laverne Cox, playing Hayden, a nervous young lawyer preparing for a character and fitness interview. On Tyler Perrys OWN series, he will play a police officer in the third episode of the fourth season, which airs in Jan. 17.

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SPECIALS

History will commemorate 2016 with the end-of-year special This is History: 2016, set to air Monday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. The program will extract public feedback from a Pew Research Center poll on the 10 most significant historic events of the year, and will look back on the most surprising and controversial moments from 2016. This is History: 2016 is produced by A+E Networks, with Paul Cabana, Steve Ascher and Kristy Sabat serving as executive producers.

EXECUTIVES

Adult Swim has promoted Chris Hartley to vice president, on-air production and Ollie Green to vice president of animated production. Hartley is responsible for show launches, overseeing the on-air operating budget, planning, and supervising the production staff. She joined as a freelance producer in 2007. Green, who started in 2005 as a line producer, is responsible for leading all facets of animated production, including working with the network development team, series creators and partner studios.

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Netflix Losing Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel Shows at End of 2016

HGTV, Advertising Gains Power Scripps Networks Interactive's Q3 Earnings
Almost a month after Twitter deleted numerous alt-right accounts from its platform, including that of white nationalist/activist Richard Spencer, the company reinstated his account over the weekend --with its verified status-- the Guardian reported.

Spencer leads the National Policy Institute (NPI), which was launched in 2005 and is dedicated to the heritage, identity, and future of people of European descent in the United States, according to its website. Spencer has previously said he wants blacks, Asians, Hispanics and Jews ejected from the country.

On Nov. 15, Twitter announced new steps to curb online abuse and removed numerous alt-right accounts, including Spencers account and the accounts for NPI, Spencers publishing company Washington Summit Publishers and his magazine Radix Journal.

But it seems that Spencers account was deleted for other reasons. An email Twitter sent to Spencer suggests the white nationalist leader was banned for running multiple accounts with too much overlap.

 Our rules explicitly prohibit creating multiple accounts with overlapping uses. When we temporarily suspend multiple accounts for this violation, the account owner can designate one account for reinstatement, a Twitter rep told the Guardian .

The email Twitter sent Spencer says:

As referenced in our November 18, 2016 communication, creating serial and/or multiple accounts with overlapping use is a violation of the Twitter Rules ( https://twitter.com/rules ).

Please select one account for restoration; the others will remain suspended. This account will need to comply fully with the Twitter Rules ( https://twitter.com/rules ). Please reply to this email with the username of the account you would like reinstated and we will make sure to answer your request in a timely manner.

Spencer returned to Twitter on Dec. 10 with a tweet saying, Im back.

He then tweeted, I worked on getting my personal reinstated first. Next will be Radix, NPI, _AltRight_ and WSP.

Related Articles
By Edward McAllister and Michelle Nichols BANJUL/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday Gambia had reached "a very dangerous moment" as West African leaders prepared to travel there to tell long-ruling leader Yahya Jammeh to accept his election defeat and step down. Jammeh had quickly conceded defeat to Adama Barrow, his challenger in the Dec. 1 presidential election. But in a volte-face that drew international condemnation he rejected the poll results on Friday. His ruling party said he would challenge the election outcome at the Supreme Court, raising the prospect that Barrow's victory, which was poised to end 22 years of Jammeh's authoritarian rule, could be overturned. "It is a very dangerous moment," Samantha Power, U.S. ambassdor to the United Nations, told reporters following a closed-door briefing of the 15-member Security Council on the situation in the tiny riverside nation. She said some military officers had sided with Jammeh following his shock reversal. But she added that the Council was unified in its condemnation of the former coup leader's actions. "Everybody is singing from the same sheet of music and the song is clear: you have lost the election, President Jammeh, and you must give up power peacefully," Power said. Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate and current chair of the West African regional body ECOWAS, is due to travel to Gambia on Tuesday. She will head a delegation of West African heads of state including Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari, John Mahama of Ghana and Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma. "These heads of state will ask him to leave power," the foreign ministry of Gambia's neighbour, Senegal, which has taken a particularly aggressive stance towards Jammeh, said in a statement. It called the trip "a last chance mission" for Gambia's president. The United States, European Union, African Union, United Nations and ECOWAS have all pressed Jammeh to respect the election result. Gambia's Communications Minister Sheriff Bojang was not reachable for comment on Monday. "WE WANT PEACE" Barrow told Reuters in the capital Banjul that he expected Johnson Sirleaf's delegation to ensure an "expedited transitional period" that would pave the way for a transfer of power. "We are not talking about a military option. We want to safeguard our democracy and we want peace," he said, but added that he was concerned for his own safety. "I have no official security. As president-elect, I should not be exposed in the way I am today," he said. Barrow said he had not had any communication with Jammeh's government since the president's televised announcement on Friday. Unarmed supporters surround his residence in the capital Banjul as protection and move with him when he leaves his home. Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 when he was an army lieutenant and went on to win four elections that were criticised by rights monitors. International human rights groups accuse him of widespread violations and repression. He declared Gambia an Islamic Republic last year and in October announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. Rights groups say Jammeh exerts strong influence over the Supreme Court, which has not held session in a year and a half. There is currently only a sitting chief justice. And so in order to hear Jammeh's complaint, legal experts believe at least four more judges must be appointed. Gambia's bar association on Monday rejected the prospect of a Supreme Court staffed with new appointees to hear Jammeh's challenge and called on its members to boycott the country's courts until he hands over power to president-elect Barrow. "In the present circumstances, any Supreme Court empanelled by the outgoing President Jammeh for the purpose of hearing his election petition would be fundamentally tainted," it said. (Reporting by Edward McAllister; Additional reporting by Diadie Ba and Emma Farge in Dakar, Kwasi Kpodo in Accra, Felix Onuah in Abuja, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Joe Bavier in Abidjan; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
By Andrew M. Seaman Death rates - and causes of death - vary widely across the U.S., according to a new study that looked at thousands of individual counties. The county-specific findings, available online (http://bit.ly/1nUtNEw), may illuminate areas and issues needing attention, the research team says. "Within any individual county, knowing how big of a problem a condition is" can help counties know which conditions need attention, resources and policies, said the study's lead author Laura Dwyer-Lindgren, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle. Also, she told Reuters Health, knowing how causes of death change over time in one county may help identify ways to address that same issue in another. For the new study, the researchers used data on more than 60 million deaths in 3,110 U.S. counties or groups of counties from 1980 through 2014. As reported in JAMA, rates of death, and causes of death, varied widely. For example, death rates from cardiovascular disease tended to be highest in counties near the southern half of the Mississippi river. Also, death rates from self-harm and interpersonal violence were highest in southwestern counties, while the highest rates of death from chronic respiratory issues were in eastern Kentucky and western Virginia. Death rates and causes also changed over time, according to the researchers. The study can't say why death rates and causes of death fluctuate and vary so widely by county. "Its probably reasonable to guess that part of the variation is to due to variations in risk factors," said Dwyer-Lindgren, such as obesity, social and economic status and access to healthcare. In an editorial, Dr. Cheryl Clark of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston and David Williams of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health write that the researchers "have provided powerful tools with which to examine geographic inequalities in health." Dwyer-Lindgren hopes the data will be used by public health officials and clinicians. Also, she said, "Were hoping lay people will make use of these estimates in their own communities to possibly advocate for policies they think would be most beneficial based on that information."
(Adds White House comment)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department said on Tuesday it will not comply with a request from President-elect Donald Trump's Energy Department transition team for the names of people who have worked on climate change and the professional society memberships of lab workers.

The Energy Department's response could signal a rocky transition for the president-elect's energy team and potential friction between the new leadership and the staffers who remain in place.

The memo sent to the Energy Department on Tuesday and reviewed by Reuters last week contains 74 questions, including a request for a list of all department employees and contractors who attended the annual global climate talks hosted by the United Nations within the last five years.

Energy Department spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder said Tuesday the department will not comply.

"Our career workforce, including our contractors and employees at our labs, comprise the backbone of (the Energy Department) and the important work our department does to benefit the American people," Burnham-Snyder said.

"We are going to respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department," he added. "We will be forthcoming with all publicly available information with the transition team. We will not be providing any individual names to the transition team."

He added that the request "left many in our workforce unsettled."

Andrew Rosenberg, an official at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the Energy Department "made the right choice in refusing this absurd and dangerous request. Federal agencies need the best available science to respond to the growing risk of climate change."

Reuters reported late Monday that former Texas Governor Rick Perry is expected to be named by Trump to run the Energy Department. The agency employs more than 90,000 people working on nuclear weapons maintenance and research labs, nuclear energy, advanced renewable energy, batteries and climate science.

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The memo sought a list of all department employees or contractors who have attended any meetings on the social cost of carbon, a measurement that federal agencies use to weigh the costs and benefits of new energy and environmental regulations. It also asked for all publications written by employees at the department's 17 national laboratories for the past three years.

Trump transition officials declined to comment on the memo.

"This feels like the first draft of an eventual political enemies list," a Department of Energy employee, who asked not to be identified because he feared a reprisal by the Trump transition team, had told Reuters.

Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, said in a news briefing on Tuesday that the queries "could have been an attempt to target civil servants," including "scientists and lawyers and other experts who are critical to the success of the federal government's ability to make policy."

By design, their work transcends the term of any one president, Earnest said.

Trump, a Republican, said during his election campaign that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by China to damage U.S. manufacturing. He said he would rip up last year's landmark global climate deal struck in Paris that was signed by President Barack Obama.

Since winning the Nov. 8 election, however, Trump has said he will keep an "open mind" about the Paris deal. He also met with former Vice President Al Gore, a strong advocate for action on climate change.

After that meeting, he picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate change skeptic, to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

(Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis)
By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday directed federal prosecutors to show him the search warrant application used to enable the FBI to access emails related to Hillary Clinton's private server that were discovered shortly before the Nov. 8 presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan ordered prosecutors by Thursday to turn over the application, which investigators obtained shortly after FBI Director James Comey informed Congress of newly discovered emails on Oct. 28, 11 days before the election won by her Republican opponent Donald Trump.

Castel made the order as he considered whether any portion of the search warrant materials could be made public in response to a lawsuit filed by Randol Schoenberg, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who specializes in cases to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis, seeking to force the release of the documents.

In court papers, Schoenberg said the public had a "strong interest" in the disclosure of the search warrant materials, saying transparency was "crucial" given the potential influence the probe had on the election's outcome.

The search warrant was obtained after Comey issued a letter to top U.S. lawmakers disclosing that emails potentially related to the Clinton server probe had been discovered in an "unrelated case." Comey's Oct. 28 announcement roiled the campaign and drew new attention to a damaging issue for Clinton.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, used the server while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Comey in July had recommended to the Justice Department that no criminal charges be brought against Clinton over her handing of classified information in the emails.

Only two days before the election, Comey disclosed that the newly reviewed emails did nothing to change his earlier recommendation after all.

Clinton days after her loss blamed Comey's letter, so close to the election, as a reason she lost to Trump.

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Sources close to the investigation have said the emails were discovered during an unrelated probe into former Democratic U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

In court, Castel said he would not be surprised if prosecutors, in submitting the materials to him, cited the presence of an ongoing probe in a case unrelated to Clinton as a reason to keep the search warrant application confidential.

"It could be potentially terribly unfair to a person who ultimately winds up not being charged," Castel said, apparently referring to Weiner.

Castel said it was possible information unrelated to the Clinton email probe could be redacted, and noted that in Clinton's case, Comey later indicated in a subsequent letter that the server probe was closed.

Castel invited prosecutors to propose redactions in case he decides to release the search warrant application.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
Getting to spend a year working in industry while still a student motivated Indian national Oishi Deb to join the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Deb spent her year as an intern writing software for aircraft engines at the auto and aero-engine manufacturing company Rolls-Royce.

"To be able to get involved with the development process of safety-critical software for the aircraft's engine electronics controller has been a great experience," says Deb, who is pursuing a bachelor's in software and electronic engineering.

A year in industry, also called a placement or sandwich year, allows students to spend up to 12 months of their three- or four-year degree program gaining work experience in their field, instead of in the classroom. A placement year is included in many U.K. degree programs or students can add it.

In the 2014-15 academic year, 153,535 first-degree undergraduate students were enrolled in placement courses at U.K. universities, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Already a familiar option to U.K. students, the placement year has several potential benefits for interested prospective international students.

1. Real-world industry experience: A placement year can be good for first-time job seekers as well as for those looking for international work exposure or to strengthen their CVs.

A placement year can put a student's knowledge into practice, says Joanne Hopkins, international and European recruitment officer for the University of South Wales.

That has been the experience so far for Aston University undergraduate student and Thai national Kunjika Saluja, who is currently doing her placement year at Xerox on the global procurement team. Her duties include managing live, electronic auctions for Europe and the U.S. and handling vendor accounts.

"My placement experience has been amazing," says Saluja, an economics and management major. "I have developed immensely as an individual, mastering in time management, relationship building and leadership skills."

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[Discover steps for U.S. students applying to U.K. universities.]

Aston University is one of four universities -- including the University of Bath, the University of Surrey and Ulster University -- where more than 50 percent of students participate in a placement year, according to the school's website.

Students are typically responsible for finding and applying to placements; however, many university career centers provide assistance with CVs and cover letters plus other support services.

And there are no special requirements for international students, since a student visa covers full-time work in placements, says Benjamin Smith, head of placements, projects and international studies at the University of Bath School of Management.

2. Salaries or reduced tuition: Many placements pay a salary. And tuition fees during the placement year may be reduced.

Student salaries typically range between 12,000-24,000 pounds, or roughly $15,000-$30,000, "depending on the type of work they have been able to secure," Hopkins, of the University of South Wales, said via email.

During his placement, Polish national and University of South Wales student Konrad Ciechanowski worked at GE Aircraft Engine Services as a quality engineer in the quality control department.

"I got paid a competitive salary during my placement," says Ciechanowski, whose earnings were in the upper range.

But tuition fees can vary between schools. At the University of South Wales, international students pay a reduced fee of 2,380 pounds or roughly $3,000 during the placement year, instead of the annual 11,900 pounds (around $15,000) for degree courses, according to the school's website.

"I got to save during the year," says Nigerian national Theresa Olloh, a University of Surrey student pursuing an electronic engineering with communications major.

Regular tuition this year for that major is 17,500 pounds or around $22,000 for international students. Tuition during the placement year is 1,800 pounds or around $2,250, according to the University of Surrey website.

Olloh completed her paid placement year at telecommunications provider O2, part of Telefonica U.K. Ltd. As a junior radio engineer, she served as a system tester on smart meters, which provide consumers with data on their energy consumption.

[Understand how to calculate the cost of an overseas degree.]

3. Better postgraduation job prospects: A placement year can put international students on the fast track to regular employment, particularly those who are interested in remaining in the U.K.

Recruiters that High Fliers Research Ltd. surveyed in 2015 said that 32 percent of entry-level positions in the U.K. in 2016 would be filled by graduates who previously worked for their companies. For students who completed a placement year, the report said that recruiters often offer a position a full year before students graduate and months before other employers that typically only recruit grads in their last year of study.

"A high number of our students that undertake a sandwich year will secure a job with that same company before they have completed their final year," said Hopkins of the University of South Wales.

Regardless of whether a student chooses to remain in the U.K., the skills learned can translate well for any job market. University of South Wales student Ciechanowski says his GE placement taught him technical, business and soft skills.

"It showed me the business inside out, so I am sure that when I get my postgraduate job, I will feel comfortable in the work environment," says Ciechanowski, who plans to get his master's and rejoin GE in Poland.

University of Surrey student Olloh says her placement gave her "a more grounded idea of what life after university would be like." She says it gave her exposure to actual work environments, "which is something that cannot be taught in lectures."

See the complete rankings of the Best Global Universities.

Anayat Durrani is a Los Angeles-based freelance education reporter for U.S. News, covering global universities, including those in the Arab region.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed grave concern over the humanitarian situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo Monday, as troops supporting the regime of President Bashar Assad stand poised to retake the remaining neighborhoods from rebel fighters.

A spokesperson for Ban said in a statement that the outgoing U.N. chief is alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children. Ban also stressed that all participants in the conflict are obliged to protect civilians and abide by international humanitarian and human rights law, and in particular called on the Assad regime and its allies to do so.

Thousands of civilians and rebel fighters remain trapped in the besieged eastern part of the city, which has been a key battleground in the Syrian civil war, as Syrian troops prepare to close in.

Read More: We Are About to Die: The End Comes for Aleppo

The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly. They [rebels] dont have much time. They either have to surrender or die, said Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the governments Aleppo security committee, according to the Guardian.

Bans statement comes as U.N. senior advisor Jan Egeland tweeted that Russia and Syria were accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing, according to the BBC.

The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!  Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) December 12, 2016

Last week, Egeland said that cooperation from all actors in the Syrian conflict would be necessary for the U.N. to provide humanitarian help in Aleppo, but the different sides were poles apart in talks. Last week, Russia and China blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding a seven day truce in Aleppo.

Read More: The White Helmets of Syria

Ban will step down as General-Secretary at the end of the year, completing a 10-year tenure, and will be replaced by former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, who was sworn in to the U.N. top job on Monday.
Quake victims request second batch of aid

The office of Kushadevi VDC in Kavre has received 35 applications seeking second instalment of the housing reconstruction aid.
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will brief the U.N. Security Council on Syria's under-siege city of Aleppo on Tuesday amid accusations by western countries of atrocities against civilians as the Syrian army advances. Ban is scheduled to brief the 15-member council at about 12 p.m. (1700 GMT), diplomats said, at the request of Britain and France. A Syrian military source said the last rebel pocket could fall "at any moment". "In these darkest hours for Aleppo it's never too late to do anything we can to save lives," French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters. "We have credible reports of brutal murders of families and summary executions, including women and children." The United Nations said on Tuesday it had reports that Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters had summarily shot dead 82 civilians in recaptured districts of Aleppo, which was Syria's largest city before the civil war began nearly six years ago. The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured. Its main ally Russia said that it was rebels who had "kept over 100,000 people as human shields". Russia has vetoed six Security Council resolutions on Syria. China joined Moscow in vetoing five of those resolutions. "We must do all we can to stop the carnage," Ban said ahead of the council meeting. "All fighters, particularly government forces and their allies, must honor their obligation to respect civilians and abide by the laws of war and human rights." British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said it was a grave day for the Security Council. "It demonstrates that when it is not united, when one or even two permanent members of the Security Council use their vetoes in such an abusive way you see what happens," Rycroft told reporters. A crackdown by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on pro-democracy protesters in 2011 led to civil war and Islamic State militants have used the chaos to seize territory in Syria and Iraq. Half of Syria's 22 million people have been uprooted and more than 400,000 killed. A surrender or withdrawal of the rebels from Aleppo would mean the end of the rebellion in the city, delivering Assad his biggest battlefield victory. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)
By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The top Republican on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee criticized Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White on Tuesday, after she told lawmakers she intends to try to complete new rules before Donald Trump becomes president.

"Such midnight rulemaking is neither conducive to sound policy nor consistent with the principles of democratic accountability," Chairman Jeb Hensarling said in a statement provided to Reuters.

"As the clock runs down on the Obama Administration, Chair White and all other regulators who may be tempted to hastily impose another pile of complicated regulations on our economy should know that Congress will scrutinize their actions and - if appropriate - overturn them." (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday blacklisted two Iraqi and Syrian money service businesses for helping Islamic State move its money, along with a Syrian man it said was a financier for the jihadist group.

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Selselat al Thahab Money Exchange based in Iraq, Hanifa Currency Exchange based in Syria, and Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi, a Syrian man it said owned Hanifa Currency Exchange and has served as a senior Islamic State finance official, Treasury said in a statement.

Between April 2015 and March 2016, Selselat al Thahab conducted more than 100 transfers into Islamic State territory, Treasury said.

"These are the first U.S. actions specifically targeting ISIL-affiliated money services businesses, and we will continue to work aggressively to deny ISIL access to the international financial system," said Adam Szubin, the acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Ayesha Rascoe and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday insisted that Washingtons one China policy should not be used as a bargaining chip with Beijing after President-elect Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to be bound by its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of China. Signaling further resistance Trump will face in Washington if he tries to overturn a principle that has underpinned more than four decades of U.S.-China relations, Republican U.S. Senator John McCain said he personally backed the China policy and no one should leap to conclusions that the president-elect would abandon it. I do not respond to every comment by the president-elect because it may be reversed the next day, McCain told Reuters when asked about Trumps statement in an interview broadcast over the weekend. Trump set off a diplomatic firestorm when he told Fox News: I dont know why we have to be bound by a one China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade. This followed an earlier protest from China over the Republican president-elect's decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2. The issue is highly sensitive for China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province, and Beijing expressed "serious concern" about Trumps latest remarks. It called the "one China" policy the basis for relations, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned against moves to damage China's core interests, saying that in the end, they are lifting a rock only to drop it on their feet." Some U.S. analysts warn that Trump could provoke a military confrontation if he presses the Taiwan issue too far. Scott Kennedy, director of the Project on Chinese Business & Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington called Taiwan the third rail of U.S.-China relations. "DISRUPTIVE EFFECT" White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the United States is committed to the one China" principle and will not use the Taiwan issue to gain leverage in any dealings with Beijing. The United States does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip, he told a daily briefing, calling Taiwan a close partner. "And bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is our best interest. Disrupting this policy, he said, could have a disruptive effect on our ability to work with China in those areas where our interests do align. That reflects the high priority that China puts on the policy and on Taiwan. While saying the one China policy should remain intact, McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and an outspoken critic of Democratic President Barack Obama's foreign policy, said that somebody should hold China responsible for its behavior with regard to Taiwan, Hong Kong, island building in the South China Sea and propping up North Korea. After Trump's phone conversation with Taiwan's president, the Obama administration said senior White House aides had spoken with Chinese officials to insist that Washingtons one China policy remained unchanged. China's official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary on Tuesday it was clear Trump did not understand the policy. "The one-China policy is the cornerstone for any country, including the United States, to engage with China diplomatically, and is simply non-negotiable: no exceptions," Xinhua said. The State Departments senior diplomat for Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, was due to speak to Chinas ambassador to Washington on Monday, the State Department said. Trump has tempered his strong criticisms of China and call to Taiwans president by announcing plans last week to nominate a long-standing friend of Beijing, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, as the next U.S. ambassador to China. However, he is also considering John Bolton, a former Bush administration official who has urged a tougher line on Beijing, for the No. 2 job at the U.S. State Department, according to a source familiar with the matter. Bolton has said the next U.S. president should take bolder steps to halt China' military aggressiveness in the South and East China seas and consider a "diplomatic ladder of escalation" that could lead to restoring full diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Jonathan Landay, Doina Chiacu, Eric Walsh, and Michael Martina; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Lincoln Feast)
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had seen reports of a ceasefire for the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo brokered by Turkey and Russia and would welcome that development if it led to a halt in bombing and allowed people to leave the area.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said he had no reason to believe the ceasefire reports were not true but could not independently confirm them. He said a ceasefire in Aleppo would not mean an end to bloodshed in Syria and he urged the various factions to return to the political talks to end the war.

"We're going to watch this closely," Kirby told a daily briefing. "Obviously if it is true and there has been a ceasefire arrangement reached that not only stops the bombing and the violence but allows people to safely leave Aleppo, we would welcome it." (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Eric Walsh)
(Adds CNN report that Romney told he is out of running)

By Doina Chiacu and Gina Cherelus

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, the front-runner to be named secretary of state in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, faces a struggle getting confirmed by U.S. senators concerned about his close ties to Russia.

Trump says he will name his pick as secretary of state on Tuesday morning, and Fox News, citing unnamed sources, said it would be Tillerson. Trump called Republican Mitt Romney, another candidate for the top diplomatic job, to tell him he would not get it, CNN reported.

Lawmakers from both major parties have raised questions about Tillerson and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 State Department official and has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran.

Republicans and Democrats said Tillerson, who is also president of Exxon Mobil Corp, would be asked about his ties to Russia, having met President Vladimir Putin several times. He won fresh praise from Moscow on Monday.

In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honor, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."

Senator John McCain, a leading foreign policy voice and 2008 Republican candidate for president, told Reuters in an interview: "I have concerns. It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin."

Calling Putin "a KGB agent who is bent on restoring the Russian Empire," McCain said he would await confirmation hearings if Tillerson is nominated before making a judgment on the nomination.

Another Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that would review a Tillerson nomination, has voiced similar worries.

Renewed allegations of Russian hackers meddling in the Nov. 8 election, coupled with Trump's stated admiration of Putin, have stoked concern. Washington is at odds with Moscow over a range of issues that include Syria, Ukraine and NATO's presence in Eastern Europe.

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Trump, a Republican, is due to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. During Trump's presidential campaign, Democrats and longtime government officials voiced alarm when Trump repeatedly praised Putin.

BOLTON ALSO A CONCERN

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was optimistic Trump's nominees would be confirmed by the Senate, but he declined to comment on any future nominees such as Tillerson.

McConnell called all of Trump's choices so far "pretty impressive."

Senator Charles Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader, told CBS "This Morning" that "the bottom line is, every one of these nominees, particularly a guy like Tillerson, needs a thorough, thorough hearing."

"Talks about his closeness with Putin will come forward," Schumer said.

Bolton has also generated bipartisan concern. On Sunday, Republican Senator Rand Paul said he would work to stop Bolton from being confirmed to any Trump administration post.

"His worldview is naive," Paul said on ABC's "This Week." "He still believes in regime change. He's still a big cheerleader for the Iraq war. He's promoted a nuclear attack by Israel on Iran. He wants to do regime change in Iran."

In 2005, then-President George W. Bush installed Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in a temporary "recess appointment" that sidestepped U.S. Senate confirmation. He took that step after Democrats used procedural rules in place at the time to block the nomination.

Bolton left the job at the end of 2006 when the temporary appointment was ending.

Senate rules have since changed, making it harder for a minority of senators to stop judicial and executive branch nominations. Republicans will hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate session that begins on Jan. 3.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Matt Spetalnick and Jonathan Landay in Washington and Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)
By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense spending in Taiwan has not kept pace with the threat posed by China and should be increased, a senior U.S. defense official said on Tuesday, days after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump touched off a storm by questioning American policy over the island. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Abraham Denmark said the Obama administration's "One China" policy remained unchanged, but he could not predict Trump's intentions when he takes office on Jan. 20. Trump set off a diplomatic firestorm over the weekend when he questioned why the United States should be bound by the long-standing policy under which Washington recognizes Beijing rather than Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. This followed an earlier Chinese protest over Trump's telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2, the first involving a U.S. President-elect or president since 1979. Some U.S. analysts warn that Trump could provoke a military confrontation if he presses the Taiwan issue too far. Denmark told the Project 2049 Forum in Washington that the main focus of China's military modernization program was to achieve reunification with Taiwan, by force if necessary. "This makes it incumbent on Taiwan to prepare and invest in capabilities to deter aggression and mount an effective defense if deterrence fails," he said. "Defense resourcing is critical," he said. "Taiwans defense budget has not kept pace with the threat developments and should be increased." The United States is the main political ally and sole arms supplier to diplomatically isolated Taiwan. Denmark said the administration had notified Congress of more than $14 billion of arms sales to Taiwan since 2010 but declined to say whether any further sales were possible before President Barack Obama leaves office. He said the United States was committed under the Taiwan Relations Act to ensuring it had the capability to defend Taiwan. But he stressed that any decision to do so was up to the resident and the primary responsibility remained with Taiwan itself. Taiwan has been working to develop its own defense equipment and last year allocated an initial budget for a submarine program, but technology transfer is critical to the success of such projects and it has yet to receive key foreign technological support. Trump adviser and China hawk Peter Navarro, who has produced books and multipart television documentaries warning of the dangers of China's rise, has suggested stepped up engagement with Taiwan, including assistance with its submarine development program. The Obama administration notified Congress a year ago of a $1.83 billion arms sale package for Taiwan, including two frigates, antitank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and other equipment, drawing an angry response from China. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
(Reuters) - A college student from the United Arab Emirates was unarmed when an Ohio police officer shot him to death this month after a traffic accident, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general said on Tuesday.

Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri, a 26-year-old student at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University, was shot in the head on Dec. 4 in a struggle with a Hudson, Ohio, police officer. His death has been ruled a homicide.

"No weapon," Jill Del Greco, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Mike DeWine, replied when asked if Alameri was armed.

She said the probe by the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation probably would take months before the findings could be turned over to a special prosecutor in DeWine's office.

Officials in Hudson, which is about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Cleveland, asked for the state to take over the investigation.

The officer in the shooting, Ryan Doran, has been with the Hudson Police Department since 2004 and has been placed on paid administrative leave, a city spokeswoman said.

Police have said officers responded to a call about an erratic driver on the Ohio Turnpike in Hudson. Alameri, who was driving, lost control of his vehicle, which flipped, and he fled into nearby woods.

Doran found Alameri and shot him after a scuffle, according to police accounts.

A Washington Post database said 902 people had died in U.S. police shootings this year.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Von Ahn)
* Cuts Murban, Upper Zakum supplies by 5 pct

* Das supplies to fall by 3 pct

* Refiners to use Saudi, Iraqi oil to replace Abu Dhabi supplies

* Kuwait says to implement its share of the reduction (Adds detail, quotes)

By Florence Tan and Rania El Gamal

SINGAPORE/DUBAI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Tuesday said it would cut crude supplies by 3-5 percent across its three export grades to meet commitments under an OPEC deal to curb production.

The move is among the first visible indicators that oil markets could be physically tighter next year as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers cut output to ease a supply glut and prop up prices.

Still, traders said ADNOC's cut is unlikely to have a large impact on the market as it is within operational tolerance limits and buyers have extra oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq to replace lost Abu Dhabi supplies.

"I think it's manageable. Many (refiners) received incremental Arab Extra Light in January to cover," said a North Asian refinery official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In a notice to term lifters, ADNOC said it would reduce Murban and Upper Zakum crude supplies by 5 percent and would cut Das crude exports by 3 percent.

"In line with OPEC's latest decision to cut production, we regret to advise you that crude oil allocation for the month of January 2017 will be reduced," the producer said.

Separately, Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has also notified at least one customer in Asia that it "will implement its share of the reduction, which shall take effect January 2017", the North Asian refinery official said.

ADNOC's supply cuts will mostly hit Asia although they remain within operational tolerance limits of 5 percent. The contract clause allows either the seller or buyer to adjust actual oil loading volumes based on logistics.

ADNOC's production hit a record 3.1 million bpd in November, according to a Reuters survey. The producer's flagship crude is light sour Murban with an API gravity of about 40 degrees and its production is about 1.6 million bpd.

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Besides state-controlled ADNOC, France's Total, South Korea's GS Energy and Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and the Japan Oil Development Company (Jodco) are partners in producing onshore crude. Key Murban crude buyers are in Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Thailand.

The UAE's main offshore oils are Upper Zakum and Das crude.

Upper Zakum, owned to 28 percent by U.S. oil major ExxonMobil, and 12 percent Jodco, is a medium grade crude.

Das, a blend from the Umm Shaif and Lower Zakum oilfields, is a relatively light crude grade. Beyond ADNOC's 60 percent share, Britain's BP, France's Total and Japan's Jodco are also partners in producing Das crude.

(Additional reporting by Jane Chung in SEOUL and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; Editing by Richard Pullin)
UML will assist for the sake of polls: Deuba

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has expressed his belief that the main opposition CPN-UML will assist in the governments quest to amend the constitution for the sake of its broader acceptance.
By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - A Ugandan traditional leader was charged with terrorism on Tuesday after clashes between his guards and Ugandan security forces last month left at least 62 people dead, court papers seen by Reuters showed. Charles Wesley Mumbere was initially charged with murder on November 29, two days after a combined army and police force assaulted his palatial residence after a stand-off with his guards who authorities said had refused an order to disarm and surrender. Uganda has several so-called traditional leaders, local aristocrats who play ceremonial and cultural roles in their regions. They also often wield considerable political influence. Mumbere's home region is located near the east African country's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The area has been the scene of intermittent skirmishes between security personnel and gunmen. Officials have accused Mumbere and his officials of fomenting unrest to create an independent republic. Court papers seen by Reuters showed Mumbere, who was appearing in court on the initial murder charge, faced added charges of terrorism, aggravated robbery and attempted murder. Mumbere and 12 others who did not appear with him in court were accused of perpetrating attacks on police stations "with intent to intimidate the public or a section of the public," and conducting such attacks "indiscriminately". Long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, 72, who was declared winner of the country's disputed presidential election in February, performed dismally in Mumbere's Rwenzori region in the poll. The area heavily favored Museveni's rival, Kizza Besigye, and opposition officials have accused the government of deliberately fomenting violence in the region as punishment for its rejection of the ruling party. The government denies the accusations. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Tom Heneghan)
By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will need a transitional trade agreement with the European Union, and the government should set out plans for it before beginning formal divorce talks with the bloc, members of parliament's upper house said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Theresa May plans to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, beginning the two-year withdrawal period, by the end of March and wants to seek a unique deal with the EU rather replicate any existing third-country agreements. Banks and businesses have repeatedly argued the government should agree a transition period to avoid a damaging "cliff edge" or abrupt exit from the bloc before Britain has finalised its future trading terms. "It is unlikely that a bespoke EU trade agreement can be agreed within Article 50's two-year period, so a transitional deal is vital for protecting UK trade, and jobs that rely on trade," said Sandip Verma, chair of the House of Lords' EU External Affairs Sub-Committee. The committee said in a report the government should set out at the start of negotiations a clear plan for a transitional agreement, which it said would allow talks to be carried out in a less pressured environment. The government should consider remaining a member of the EU's customs union as an interim arrangement, it added. The committee said it had seen no evidence that trade on terms equivalent to full membership of the EU's single market could be achieved by Britain, particularly in services, which account for around 80 percent of Britain's economic output. May and her trade secretary Liam Fox have said they want to agree new trade agreements with countries around the world as soon as possible after Brexit and have begun informal talks with several. But the committee said the government should prioritise securing its future relationship with the EU and its new membership terms, or "schedules" at the World Trade Organisation. "Deals with non-EU countries are contingent on the outcome of these negotiations, and need to be sequenced accordingly," said Verma. (Editing by Stephen Addison)
London (AFP) - Child pornography found on the computer of Soviet-era dissident Vladimir Bukovsky was not planted, his British trial heard on Tuesday, after a defence lawyer suggested Moscow may have been involved.

Bukovsky, a 73-year-old author and activist who has been exiled from Russia since 1976 and now lives in Britain, is accused of accessing thousands of indecent images of children over a 15-year period.

On the second day of his trial in Cambridge, eastern England, Bukovsky's lawyer Francis FitzGibbon questioned a computer expert about the possibility of third party involvement.

"Can you completely exclude the possibility that some, if not all, of the indecent image files that were on Mr Bukovsky's computer were planted by somebody else without his knowledge?" he asked.

"I believe I can," replied Howard Chivers, a university lecturer who has worked with intelligence monitoring agency GCHQ and who examined five discs of files recovered from Bukovsky's Cambridge home.

FitzGibbon asked if Chivers was aware that "the Russian state or organs of the Russian state use computer hacking in various forms to advance their interests in other parts of the world". The expert said it had been widely reported.

The lawyer continued: "Are you aware that much of the child pornography and child sexual abuse imagery that appears online is controlled by crime gangs in Russia and Eastern Europe?"

Chivers said such material was controlled by gangs all over the world, not just in those regions.

Bukovsky spent 12 years in Soviet prisons, forced-labour camps and psychiatric hospitals and was one of the first to detail the use of such places by the former Soviet Union to punish political prisoners.

He was arrested by British police in 2014 and charged with five counts of making indecent images of children, five of possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child. He denies them all.
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's defence ministry said on Tuesday its website was down due to cyber attacks that appeared aimed at disrupting it giving updates on the pro-Russian separatist conflict in eastern regions.

"The purpose of the attacks was to prevent Ukraine's defence ministry from being able to inform the public," spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said.

The website was regularly targeted by denial-of-service attacks, but not all managed to affect its operations, he said.

Ukraine's Finance Ministry and State Treasury websites were attacked last week, with the Finance Ministry blaming hackers seeking to discredit the government's reform drive.

Motuzyanyk said it was not clear who was responsible for the latest attack, but the situation was now under control.

At the end of 2015, Ukraine's State Security Service said Russia was responsible for a cyber attack on its power grid that left part of western Ukraine temporarily without electricity.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
UPDATE: 6:30 a.m. EST  An Al Jazeera journalist reported a Russia-backed agreement had been reached to allow safe passage to civilians from east Aleppo through the citys Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood.

Original story:

Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad entered homes in the last rebel-held areas of east Aleppo and shot civilians dead, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) said Tuesday. The organization said it had reliable evidence proving pro-government troops killed 82 civilians on the spot.

Yesterday evening, we received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets, UNHRC spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva. The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight.

He added there was a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo.

Tens of thousands of Syrians have been killed and nearly 11 million displaced after five and a half years of war. Part of the Arab Spring movement, the conflict began as a peaceful protest against the Syrian government but soon descended into civil war, which has since spiralled into war with other countries, including the United States, being involved.

Aleppo, once Syrias industrial and financial center, was largely untouched by the 2011 protests but became an important battleground in 2012 when rebel forces launched an attack on the government. The result divided Syrias largest city in two, with the eastern portion of the city under rebel control and the west under Assad.

In 2016, pro-government forces backed by Russian airstrikes launched an offensive to retake the entire city. The besieged eastern Aleppo was continuously bombarded with airstrikes that destroyed majority of its hospitals and prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid while its civilians were trapped with dwindling food, water and medical supplies.

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The Syrian military said Monday troops had regained control of 98 percent of rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh said the battle for Aleppo had entered its final steps and told the rebel fighters still in the city to surrender or die.

Assad told state media last week that recapturing eastern Aleppo from the rebels would be a milestone in the Syrian war but would not end the ongoing conflict.

To be realistic, this does not mean the end of the war in Syria, but a huge step toward that end, Assad told Syrian newspaper Al Watan. It does not end until all terrorists have been completely eliminated... and we will continue the war against them.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for UN secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday evening Ban was alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in Aleppo.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reportedly said people had literally nowhere safe to run.

Speaking from Aleppo, ICRC communications head Pawel Krzysiek, said: We need to depoliticize the process of protecting civilians. We need to put their lives first. And we need to do it now before it is not too late.

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United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to urgently address the crisis in Aleppo following reports that Syrian forces executed dozens of civilians in the city.

France and Britain requested the meeting scheduled for midday (1700 GMT) as the battle for Syria's second city neared the end, in a turning point for the six-year war.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre called for action to confront "the worst humanitarian tragedy of the 21st century unfolding before our eyes."

"Aleppo is experiencing its darkest days," he told reporters.

"We have credible reports of brutal murders of families, summary executions, including women and children, houses put on fire with people trapped inside, continuing targeting of hospitals and medical staff, and the list goes on and on," he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to brief council members after UN rights officials said forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had entered homes and killed civilians inside.

Some civilians managed to flee the advancing forces but others "were reportedly caught and killed on the spot and others were arrested," said a UN spokesman in Geneva.

Delattre said Russia, Assad's ally, "holds the key of an exit strategy, a way out" of the crisis in Aleppo and stressed that Moscow "can't let this happen."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in Paris that if the allegations of targeting of civilians were true, they would amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

"An investigation must be opened as soon as possible, carried out by the United Nations," said Ayrault.

Syria's army has taken more than 90 percent of the territory once held by rebels in east Aleppo, after launching an all-out offensive last month to seize control of the entire city.

"What a tragic day for Aleppo," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

"Even wars have laws, even wars have rules and every single rule, every single law of war has been broken by the regime," he said.
An unarmed white Hispanic man was fatally shot nine times by police in California Monday as he walked outside his home before sunrise. Francisco Serna, 73, suffered from dementia and was standing in a driveway when he was killed by Bakersfield Police officers.

The man's son, Rogelio Serna, said in a Facebook post his father had been murdered and the family wanted the truth to be told. Right across the street is where the police shot my father with nine bullets to his body, Sernas son said in a video on Facebook. My dad was not armed  theres false reports about my father having weapons, he was never armed.

Police were responding to reports of an armed man in Serna's neighborhood. Sgt Gary Carruesco, Bakersfield police spokesman, told the Guardian a weapon was not found at the shooting site. The officer who killed Serna has not been named.

"During the contact, one officer fired several rounds, striking the subject," police said in a statement.

Serna's family scheduled a vigil Tuesday night to honor his life. His son wrote on Facebook: HE TOOK HIS LAST WALK,AND WAS KILLED IN A 15 MIN WINDOW FRAME RITE [sic] ACROSS THE STREET FROM HIS HOME.

The Black Lives Matter social justice movement has stroked national debate about police force in recent years. While it is true that police kill more white people than black people, when adjusted for population, black people are disproportionately killed in police shootings, a Washington Post investigation found. The report concluded that 1,502 people were shot and killed by on-duty police officers in 2015. Of those, 732 were white, and just 381 were black. Another 382 were of another or unknown race. Whites represent 62 percent of the nation's population, while blacks make up 13 percent of the population but 24 percent of those shot.

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Urban Development Minister KC off to New Delhi

Minister for Urban Development Arjun Narsingh KC on Tuesday left for India today morning to take part in the 6th Asia-Pacific Ministers Conference on Housing and Urban Development slated for December 14 to 16.
A California grandfather suffering from dementia was shot dead by police this week.

An officer fatally shot Francisco Serna, 73, while responding to a call about an armed man in Southwest Bakersfield Monday.

Read: Prosecutor Announces Cop Who Shot Keith Lamont Scott Won't Be Charged

According to reports, police had arrived to Serna's neighborhood after midnight, where they found the father of five standing in a neighbor's driveway.

When a witness pointed to Serna, the Bakersfield Police Department said an officer shot an unknown number of rounds, striking Serna, who was declared dead at the scene at 1:15 a.m.

Officers searched the scene but no weapon was found.

Serna's son told the Los Angeles Times that his father was a retiree with no intention to hurt anyone.

"My dad did not own a gun. He was a 73-year-old retired grandpa, just living life," Rogelio Serna said. "He should have been surrounded by family at old age, not surrounded by bullets."

According to the son, Francisco Serna was in the initial stages of dementia and had been suffering from delusions in recent weeks. It was unclear why he was in the driveway.

Watch: High School Officer Who Allegedly Punched Student On Leave Pending Investigation

Coroners said they will perform an autopsy.

The officer who fired the shots, whose name has not been made public, is on administrative leave.

Watch: Girl, 9, Tearfully Appeals for Peace Following Fatal Police Shooting: 'I Can't Stand How We're Treated'

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Paris (AFP) - France on Tuesday denied reports that Britain has stopped taking in migrant children relocated from Calais, saying London has taken in over 450 minors since the "Jungle" camp was razed and that the transfers were "going well".

The French interior ministry said Britain had accepted 866 unaccompanied minors since the start of 2016, 468 of whom were whisked across the Channel after the sprawling Jungle was demolished in late October.

"The cooperation is going well," the ministry said, denying reports that Britain had pulled up the drawbridge on children who had travelled to Calais in the hope of reaching England.

French authorities in October cleared the squalid camp near Calais port and moved the thousands of migrants -- mostly Afghans, Eritreans and Sudanese -- who had been living there to shelters nationwide. They included around 1,900 minors.

Britain, which had already begun taking some of the children, assured at the time it would take hundreds more, without committing to an exact figure.

Last week, British immigration minister Robert Goodwill said his government had welcomed over 750 children -- a figure lower than that given by the French.

A spokeswoman for Britain's Home Office interior ministry told AFP Tuesday the transfer of Calais children was "continuing" but declined to say how many would be admitted.

"The first phase of transfers has concluded but that is not the end of the process. More eligible children will be transferred from across Europe in the coming months," she said.

Of those children given shelter so far, "many" had joined family members, she said.

- 'Child-by-child basis' -

Last month, Britain tightened the admission criteria for unaccompanied migrant children without family in Britain, saying the child must be 12 or under, or run a high risk of sexual exploitation.

The threshold for Syrian and Sudanese children was lower, with children of up to 15 years declared eligible.

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A spokeswoman for Safe Passage, a charity that supports refugees coming to Britain, said: "Our understanding is that the transfers have stopped at 750."

Although the government said the transfers are ongoing, these are on a "child-by-child" basis, the spokeswoman said, with each case potentially taking "months" to process.

Before the Jungle was cleared, French President Francois Hollande had appealed to Britain to fulfil its "moral duty" towards migrants trying to reach Britain, where many have contacts or speak the language.

Dozens of migrants have died trying to climb onto trucks heading to Calais port to cross to England. French charities have warned that a closure of Britain's asylum channels could see children once again put their lives on the line.

Genevieve Jacques, head of the migrant charity Cimade, said she feared they would run away from the migrant shelters back to Calais and called on France to "take a tougher tone" with Britain.

France and Britain have tried to make the Calais site less attractive for migrants, erecting a wall that officials said late Monday had been completed.

The four-metre-high (13-foot) wall runs along a kilometre-long stretch of the main road leading to Calais port, next to the area that used to house the sprawling camp.

The concrete barrier -- estimated to cost 2.7 million euros ($3 million) -- aims to prevent new arrivals stowing away on trucks bound for Britain.
Shiri Appleby (Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

For cool girls with binge-watching tendencies, Shiri Appleby is the gift that keeps on giving. From her tour-de-trainwreck performance in Unreal to the Roswell reruns on Netflix, the 38-year-old actress is an onscreen addiction for millions of fans.

This month, she is also a fairy godmother, thanks to Birchbox. The company granted Appleby the power to gift its hit beauty boxes to friends and family, which means along with Unreal Season 3 spoilers, you might get some free lip gloss or skin cream too.

We called Appleby at her home in Los Angeles to talk about her favorite products  and that time she was on Xena: Warrior Princess. (Oh, yes. That happened. Twice.)

Birchbox recruited you because youre an avid subscriber. Whats a beauty product you discovered from Birchbox deliveries?

I get obsessed with stuff from my Birchbox deliveries all the time. Im obsessed right now with this stuff from Milk Makeup, and I use it religiously. Its called Lip + Cheek, and it comes in a little tube. Its so easy.

On Unreal, your character, Rachel, has a breakdown in nearly every episode. When crying every day is literally your job, how do you protect your skin between takes?

Thats funny! I thought you were going to ask how I make myself cry. This question is way better. Well, I do use a ton of moisturizer. La Prairie  also obsessed with it. Its been really good for my skin. And then [Unreal co-star] Constance [Zimmer] gave me a Kiehls clay mask, which I love. Shiseido has great hydrating masks. Im one of those women who loves hard clay masks or hydrating masks. They make me feel so good. To be honest, Ive been doing masks and scrubs religiously ever since I can remember, maybe even in junior high. I also use a ton of eye cream. I do as much [skin care] as I can while Im working, because people are constantly touching my face and putting makeup on me.

Shiri Appleby as producer Rachel Goldberg on Unreal. (Photo: A + E Studios)

Your daughter Natalie is 3. Does she understand your job?

I think shes starting to get it. She said to me the other day, Mommy, youre a great artist! But then she said to someone else, Mommys on Unreal.

Story continues

Thats hysterical. A 3-year-old talking about Unreal.

She comes to work with me all the time. The kids hang out in hair and makeup. They have their own trailer. I try to make where I work very happy, so they think Im in this really happy place every day.

Even though the show is about the most damaged people on earth  wait until theyre older and they see what you really do on TV!

Or when theyre finally like, Oh my God  the real worlds not as fun as Mommy said!

You directed an episode last season. Are you doing more work behind the camera?

Yes! I am directing another episode, plus Im directing a Funny Or Die piece next week too. And I just left a meeting with the executive producers of The Fosters, which I think is such an incredible show. So I might get an opportunity to work on one of their episodes too  strictly behind the camera!

Whats the last piece of clothing you bought for yourself?

I love to go to Aritzia! I go in there all the time and buy whole wardrobes. Its well priced. Its well made. But the last thing? Hmm  oh, I did just buy shoes. I bought really beautiful flats from the Row.

Before you starred on Roswell, you were on Xena: Warrior Princess. What was that like?

For me, it was such a big deal! It was such a big career bump! I thought I was onto something big. It was my freshman year of college, and they flew me to New Zealand to shoot the show. I was across the world, and it shattered my life. I remember thinking, I cant believe someones paying me and flying me across the world to act. This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. It definitely made me realize what kind of possibilities existed in the TV world. And I had so much fun.

Did you have a fight scene with Xena?

Yeah, I had fight scenes and dancing scenes. My episode was about a town where people arent allowed to dance, and my character was trying to bring dancing back to their lives.

Like Greek mythology Footloose.

Pretty much! And I got to do two episodes, which felt like a huge deal to me. I loved being on the set because everyone was so nice to me. They couldnt have been sweeter. Lucy [Lawless] was so kind to me, and she was a huge star in my eyes. I was a total fangirl.
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Tuesday announced financial sanctions against money exchanges in Iraq and Syria and an individual financier, all accused by US authorities of funneling cash to the Islamic State group.

Iraqi authorities have also moved to freeze assets tied to the individual and two companies accused of moving large volumes of cash to the militant organization and its fighters, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

"These are the first US actions specifically targeting ISIL-affiliated money services businesses and we will continue to work aggressively to deny ISIL access to the international financial system," acting Under-Secretary Adam Szubin, the Treasury's top counter-terrorism official, said in the statement, using an acronym for IS.

The sanctioned entities include Selselat al-Thahab Money Exchange Company of Iraq, which allegedly moved IS money from last year until at least April.

The company processed money transfers for a known IS financier and conducted more than 100 transfers into IS territory, according to the Treasury.

Washington also slapped sanctions on Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi, an alleged senior IS financier, and Hanifa Currency Exchange, the company he owned and operated near his home in Albu Kamal, Syria.

Active as recently as May, Al-Rawi allegedly used the company solely for IS-related transactions and is suspected of facilitating payments to IS fighters as well as hosting IS leaders at his farm.

The Treasury announcement followed Defense Department reports on Tuesday that a coalition drone strike in Syria had killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks.

Treasury last month also announced sanctions, taken in concert with UAE authorities, on a Yemeni money exchange company accused of supporting Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked President Obama and the American Congress after receiving two state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jets on Monday. Israel has ordered 50 aircrafts, each costing more than $100 million, according to reports.

Israel is your best and your most reliable ally in the Middle East and beyond the Middle East. We will always remain so, Netanyahu said in reference to the United States.

Turning to his countries enemies, he said:

Whoever thinks to attack us  will be attacked. Whoever thinks to destroy us puts himself in existential danger. Credit: Facebook/The Prime Minister of Israel via Storyful
By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington

ALEPPO, Syria / BEIRUT, Dec 13 (Reuters) - As the four-month siege of eastern Aleppo neared its end, some survivors trudged in the rain past dead bodies to the government-held west or the few districts still in rebel hands.

Others stayed in their homes and awaited the Syrian army's arrival.

For all of them, fear of arrest, conscription or summary execution had added to the daily terror of bombardment.

"People are saying the troops have lists of families of fighters and are asking them if they had sons with the terrorists. (They are) then either left or shot and left to die," said Abu Malek al-Shamali in Seif al-Dawla, one of the last rebel-held neighbourhoods.

The United Nations said it had reports that Syrian government troops and their Iraqi militia allies had killed civilians in eastern Aleppo, including 82 people in four different neighbourhoods in the last few days.

Speaking from a small area still under rebel control, father of five Abu Ibrahim, said he knew of two families executed by the advancing militias that have formed the vanguard of the assault on Syria's second city.

The United Nations also said it was concerned about reports that hundreds of young men leaving rebel-held territory had been detained.

President Bashar al-Assad's opponents have accused the government of mass arrests and forced conscription. The government has denied this and accused rebels of compelling men to fight in their ranks.

On Sunday foreign journalists were invited to a ceremony where Syria's army enlisted 220 men, including former rebels and others from areas captured by the government.

"You have been recalled to obligatory service," Brigadier Habib Safia told the men in the military police headquarters in a government-held Aleppo district.

One of the men, Mohammed Hilal, in his 20s, said he and some comrades had escaped from the east along with more than 60 families and that he was ready to join the army.

Story continues

WIPED OFF THE WORLD

Those still trapped in eastern Aleppo have been using social media to distribute messages they feared would be their last.

"This is a message from someone saying farewell and who could face death or arrest at any time," a medic working in Aleppo wrote via the Whatsapp messaging service.

"Trapped from all sides, death comes from the sky in barrels ... Remember what you had in Aleppo, that there was a city called Aleppo wiped off the map and from history by the world."

Abu Yousef, in his thirties, said he and his family fled bombardments, tanks and executions in his home neighbourhood of Bustan al-Qasr.

"Thanks to god, we are still alive ... the regime is constantly bombing us. My two children are injured, I am injured. The regime wants to kill us all. We are very afraid," he said.

"You tell me 'may God protect you'. I don't want God to protect us, we want a solution! We want a cessation of hostilities. We want someone to get us out of here. It's enough. People are dying," he said.

The UN has called for international oversight for civilians and rebel fighters as the government takes over.

"The only way to alleviate the deep foreboding and suspicion that massive crimes may be under way both within Aleppo, and in relation to some of those who fled or were captured, whether fighters or civilians, is for there to be monitoring by external bodies, such as the UN," UN human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said.

Children's charity War Child said: "What we are witnessing in Aleppo is a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions, bearing comparison to infamous disasters of the past - such as Srebrenica and Guernica."

IT'S HELL

East Aleppo's civil defence rescue organisation, which pulled many hundreds of dead and injured from rubble over years of the war, told Reuters rescue services had stopped.

"Our machinery and equipment is all broken. We have nothing left ... We are working with our hands just to get people from under the rubble," said Ibrahim Abu Laith, an official from the civil defence group also known as the White Helmets.

The civil defence wrote on its Twitter account on Tuesday it could no longer keep track of the numbers of dead.

"There is no total number of casualties in besieged Aleppo today, all streets and destroyed buildings are full with dead bodies. It's hell."

With hospitals bombed out of service, aid stocks exhausted and a brutal bombing campaign in recent weeks, people in east Aleppo are desperate.

"People, even those wanted (by the regime) have started to flee to the regime from the intensity of the shelling, hunger, cold and amount of injuries which are not treated, in addition to the corpses in the streets ... Planes and artillery are hitting strongly places where civilians are gathering," the medic said in his message.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein warned that what we are seeing now in Aleppo could happen to populations of other towns outside government control such as Douma, Raqqa and Idlib.

"The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction - and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," Zeid said.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington, John Davison, Ellen Francis and Angus McDowall in Beirut, Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Editing by Janet McBride)
World

U.S. halts some Saudi arms sales over civilian deaths in Yemen campaign

The White House has blocked the transfer of precision munitions to ally Saudi Arabia amid anger about the civilian death toll from the kingdoms bombing campaign in Yemen. The decision to pull back planned sales of precision-guided munitions stems from a review ordered by the White House in October following the bombing of a funeral hall in Yemen that killed more than 140 people, thrusting longstanding concerns about civilian casualties into the spotlight. Human rights groups, claiming the Saudis have targeted houses, hospitals and schools, have pressured the U.S. to withdraw support for the Saudi coalition, which is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

We have made clear that U.S. security cooperation is not a blank check.  This reflects our continued, strong concerns with the flaws in the coalitions targeting practices and overall prosecution of the air campaign in Yemen. A senior White House official

In addition to halting the sale of munitions, the Obama administration is curbing some intelligence sharing with Saudi Arabia that could be used in ways that would lead to civilian casualties, the official said, while declining to provide details. The U.S. also is looking to refocus the training it conducts for Saudi Arabias air force to address concerns about how the Saudis choose their targets. Still, other U.S. support for Saudis coalition will continue unimpeded, including helicopters to boost the nations homeland security. The mixed approach illustrates the complex military relationship between the two countries. The White House has long struggled to balance its unease over the prosecution of the Saudi campaign with risking a broader feud with a key Middle Eastern partner. The war in Yemen has also coincided with the Obama administrations assiduous courting of Saudi support for the nuclear deal with Iran. Since then ties have been further strained by Congress recent passage of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (AP)  Linked by the Gulf of Mexico, scientists in Mississippi and Cuba are fostering a relationship and sharing research.

Six scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi and its Gulf Coast Research Laboratory traveled last month to the Cuban Center for Coastal Ecosystems Research, which is on an island on the northern part of the country, about an eight-hour drive from Havana, The Sun Herald reported (http://bit.ly/2gVLVkB).

Each scientist presented a scientific research paper, and both groups shared research they hoped will benefit both countries. The topics included oyster restoration as well as a type of brown algae that scientists said has been recently seen in record levels in the Caribbean.

Last year, USM hosted four Cuban colleagues, including the center's director, after inviting them to visit South Mississippi for a week.

The Mississippi scientists said they can work with the Cuban scientists to share information about reacting to and recovering from hurricanes and oil spills, just as their communities share aquatic species. Billfish, tuna, large dolphins and tarpon swim between Cuba and the U.S.

During the group's recent visit, Harriet Perry, senior research scientist and professor emeritus, spoke to the Cubans about the aquaculture of blue crabs.

"They have the same blue crab that we have but they don't eat them," she said, adding that it could become a future industry for Cuba.

Perry said she stood on the beach in Cuba and looked out over the Straits of Florida to the United States. Soon after she returned from Cuba, she went to Key West, Florida, and looked toward Cuba. It's a relatively short distance, she said, which could be connected by science.

___

Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan opposition lawmakers relaunched efforts to drive President Nicolas Maduro from power on Tuesday after negotiations to ease the country's political and economic crisis stalled.

Deputies in the National Assembly made a declaration ruling that the socialist president bore "political responsibility" for the crisis and urged state attorneys to investigate him with a view to prosecution.

The opposition MUD coalition has been divided over whether to pursue talks with Maduro's government.

Maduro has consistently blocked efforts by the legislature to challenge his power since the opposition took over the assembly in January.

He retains the support of the military and key state institutions including the Supreme Court, which has frequently overruled the legislative assembly.

Maduro's allies in the assembly boycotted Tuesday's session, branding the motion a "coup d'etat."

Tuesday's move "is a blow from the legislature, but it does not mean the president will be deposed," legal expert Pedro Afonso Del Pino told AFP earlier, anticipating the lawmakers' declaration.

An economic crisis fueled by falling prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports has led to food shortages and riots over recent months.

The socialist president says the crisis is a US-backed conspiracy. The opposition blames his economic management.

"This is going to heat up the political process in Venezuela," said political scientist Carlos Romero of Tuesday's move.

"It is going to make the situation worse."
Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela is shutting down its western border with Colombia for 72 hours in order combat currency smuggling, President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday evening.

On Sunday, the Venezuelan government gave 72-hour notice that it would pull the 100-bolivar bank note from circulation in an effort to fight smuggling and food scarcity.

Maduro warned that people would not be able to bring those notes back into the country to trade for new bills.

Maduro said on Sunday that part of his plan was to prevent notes from being brought back into Venezuela in order to undercut the gangs hoarding them.

"I have given the orders to close all land, maritime and air possibilities so those bills taken out can't be returned and they're stuck with their fraud abroad," he said on television on Sunday, according to the BBC.

"There has been a scam and smuggling of the one-hundred bills on the border with Colombia," Maduro said at the time. "We have tried the diplomatic way to deal with this problem with Colombias government; there are huge mafias."

"On the border with Colombia all the exchange houses are in the hands of mafias linked to the right-wing," Maduro said on Monday evening during the announcement.

"I have taken the decision to close the border with Colombia for 72 hours," the leftist leader said, calling it a "hard" but "inevitable" choice. He added that his country was the victim of an international plot to destabilize the economy, led by a group "contracted by the US Department of Treasury," according to AFP.

A cashier counts bolivars at money exchange in Caracas, Febreuary 24, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Maduro also said his government had intercepted 64 million bolivars from people trying to sneak back into the country with them. He added an investigation had found billions in bolivars had been stashed by US-backed "mafias" in Colombian and Brazilian cities.

Story continues

The 100-bolivar note, Venezuela's highest denomination, has fallen to about $0.02 on the black market. Central-bank data indicates there are about 6 billion of them in circulation, which would make it nearly half of all the country's currency.

Maduro said gangs held more than 300 billion bolivares worth of currency, most of it in 100-bolivar notes.

Venezuelans were given just 10 days to exchange 100-bolivar notes for new coins and bills that would range in value from 500 to 20,000 bolivars. Those currencies are slated to be introduced on December 15. An estimated one-third of Venezuelans have no bank account and keep their savings in the soon-to-be-worthless bills.

The border with Colombia has come to be a flash point amid Venezuela's political and economic crises. In August last year, Maduro shuttered the border in what he said was an effort to crack down on paramilitaries, smugglers, and other criminals active in the area.

In August this year, facing pressure from Venezuelans trying to cross into Colombia to buy goods they couldn't find at home, Maduro's government reopened the border. Since the reopening, Venezuelans have crossed regularly, looking for relief from their country's bleak conditions.

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Vice-President Pun urges parties for implementation of constitution

Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun has suggested political parties that they accelerated the preparations for elections so that constitution could be implemented effectively. He further said holding elections in time would help avoid constitutional crisis.
Rome (AFP) - An Italian court ruled Tuesday that the captain of a migrant boat that sank in 2015, killing up to 900 people, was responsible for the disaster, the Mediterranean's worst since World War II.

Judges in the Sicilian port city of Catania ordered Mohammed Ali Malek, a Tunisian national, to serve 18 years in jail for multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the tragedy after the packed boat capsized after colliding with a freighter coming to its aid.

Syrian Mahmoud Bikhit, accused of being his first mate, was handed a five-year sentence for his role in the tragedy off the Libyan coast. Italian forensic scientists spent months sorting through decomposed body parts to count the victims.

The men were ordered to pay nine million euros ($9.5 million) each in compensation.

Both had claimed they were simple migrants and had been made to steer the boat by the real traffickers.

But survivors told investigators that Malek, who had lived in Italy in the past, was the captain. And that it was his lack of sailing skills that caused the deadly collision.

"I spent two years and six months in Italy and I have a young son with an Italian woman: I want to marry her and recognise the baby," Malek told the court in a plea before the verdict.

"It's the truth. I've always told the truth. Just as I immediately gave (police) my real name, and told them I was a passenger," he said.

The boat was carrying people largely from The Gambia, Senegal and Mali, as well as Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia. Only 28 survived.

- 'Scapegoat' -

Up to 900 people were packed into the 27-metre (90-foot) boat when it left Libya.

While prosecutors have put the number of victims at around 700 because there are 700 body bags, forensic scientists who examined the remains put the number at closer to 900, saying many bags contained pieces of more than one person.

Malek's lawyer Massimo Ferrante told AFP his client had been "naturally shocked by the verdict, but told me he wants to fight".

Story continues

They will be appealing, he said.

Firefighters who recovered the mangled bodies from the rotting ship said they had been "packed in like on the trains for Auschwitz".

The Sicilian court heard from a survivor who lost relatives on the night of the April 18-19 wreck.

The vessel sank in pitch darkness after running into the Portuguese freighter King Jacob which had raced to its rescue, the collision sending its passengers over to one side and causing the vessel to tip over.

The King Jacob's captain, Abdullah Ambrousi, said he saw the migrant boat sailing erratically and cut his engines to avoid a crash, but the smaller vessel sped up and rammed into the freighter.

Malek has claimed the real captain died in the wreck and he is being scapegoated by the other survivors because he is Tunisian.

Italy's navy had the grisly task of raising the corpse-packed trawler from the seabed this year after the government promised to give the victims decent burials as a symbol of respect for all the migrants who have died trying to reach Europe's shores. The salvage cost 10 million euros.

- Desperate fight to escape -

Italian firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari has said the decomposing migrant bodies were found everywhere, from the well of the anchor chain to the tiny underfloor compartment where the bilge pump sits, to the engine room.

It was clear from their positions that many had fought desperately, but in vain, to get out when the boat rolled.

Fingerprints, DNA samples and distinguishing body marks were collected on file from the corpses in the hope the data may helping relatives seeking lost loved ones.

Over 12,000 people are known to have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since the current migrant crisis erupted in 2013. Aid agencies say it is likely many more disappeared without trace.

The departures have not stopped despite the turn in the weather as winter sets in. A record number of 175,000 people have arrived on Italy's shores this year.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f316441%2fgettyimages-460586472

A peculiar nativity scene is causing outraged reactions in Spain.

SEE ALSO: Watch an NFL official awkwardly kick a dildo off the football field

Three ceramic dildos have been painted as Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus before going on display in the Non Sit Peccatum sex shop in Talavera de la Reina, near Toledo.

Image: Non Sit Peccatum / Facebook

That naturally didn't sit well with Catholics in the town.

Hector Valdivielso, owner of the shop, said on his Facebook account that he was subjected to threats by people claiming to be offended by the artwork.

"A man with his wife ordered me to remove the offending scene and said that if I didnt he would remove it himself," he said.

A recent threat, also reposted on Facebook, said: "Learn the word 'respect. There will be no more warnings. Heed my words if you want to see 2017."

After the shop sign was vandalised with the word "pecadores" (sinners), a crowd gathered around the shop to harass customers and Valdivielso was forced to withdraw the nativity scene, according to local reports.

He decided instead to hold a poll asking passerby to say whether it should be reinstated.

An overwhelming majority  78.5%  voted for the artwork to be reinstated.

"People asked me not to give in to blackmail," Valdivielso said. "So its going back in the window."

BONUS: The story behind the viral Polish Christmas ad that stole our hearts
Viacom Inc.s VIAB stock tanked 9.40% at the close of business on Monday following media reports that its proposed merger with CBS Corp. CBS has been called off. The merger would have given Viacom a much-needed boost after a plethora of management and performance issues that have been affecting it over the past few months.

The merger had been proposed by National Amusement Inc. (NAI), this September. NAI owns the majority of voting shares of both Viacom and CBS and is run by the Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone. Viacom had also formed a special committee to evaluate the merger earlier.

Reason Behind Cancellation

Viacom had been embroiled in a corporate battle over the past few months, primarily between the Redstones and former CEO Paul Dauman. The corporate issues were ultimately resolved with Paul Dauman resigning from the company. After Daumans exit, the company reshuffled its board of directors. Per a recent announcement, the acting CEO  Bob Bakish  has been appointed as the permanent president and CEO of the company.

Additionally, Viacom has been struggling to perform well in a rapidly changing industry. We note that the companys movie wing, Paramount Pictures, and cable channels have not been performing up to the mark.

This apart, the company faces tough competition from peers like Time Warner Inc. TWX and Discovery Communications DISCA.

Per media reports, the Redstones believe that with the change in management at Viacom and the strong business of CBS, the companies should continue to function as separate entities.

CBS has been highly successful in adapting to the concept of online streaming with its channel Showtime. The company is also likely to provide some of its most popular shows for streaming. The company is in a strong position at present and scrapping of the merger might actually work well for it.

Looking Ahead for Viacom

Viacom has underperformed the Zacks categorized Media Conglomerates industry over the last three months. The stock has declined 4.92% compared with the industry, which has advanced 14.41% over the same period.

Story continues

The deal would have worked positively for Viacom with cost synergies and integration. Hence, it goes without saying that the latest development does not bode that well for the company. Moreover, with the Paramount Pictures minority stake sale being called off earlier and a changing media landscape with viewers shifting to online streaming, Viacom appears to be in a tough spot for now. However, with a reshuffled board and management, the company might be poised for a turnaround and in turn, deliver better performance.

Zack Rank

Viacom carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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By Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Out-of-favour corporate jet ownership is fuelling growing demand for flights offered by business aircraft operator VistaJet, the founder and chairman of the Malta-based firm said.

"The purchase of a business jet is not necessarily seen favourably by the boards or by the shareholders," Thomas Flohr told Reuters during a visit to Dubai on Tuesday.

However, executives still want the flexibility to "travel to more destinations in the shortest period of time," he added.

VistaJet will carry 50,000 passengers and operate 20,000 flights this year, which Flohr said represents growth of between 20 and 25 percent. In the U.S. and the Middle East and Asia regions growth is as high as 50 percent, he said.

And it expects to increase annual aircraft usage by 50 per cent to 1,200 hours by 2019, more than three times today's industry average, Flohr said.

This year, average business jet usage is around 340 hours, according to according to New York-based aviation research firm JetNet, while VistaJet, which operates a fleet of 72 Bombardier aircraft, is on track to reach 800 hours.

VistaJet, which launched in 2004 and originally registered in Switzerland, charges customers on average between $11,000 and $16,000 per flight hour.

It competes with NetJets, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, who pioneered the "fractional" ownership model in the U.S. in the 1980s, where customers buy a share of a plane in return for guaranteed access for a fixed number of hours or days in a year.

Flohr, a former asset finance executive, said VistaJet is making money, but declined to comment on revenue or profit.

VistaJet's fleet is made up of Bombardier Global 5000s and Challenger 350s, with ten of its jets based in the U.S. and operated and managed by General Dynamics unit Jet Aviation. A single jet in China is managed and operated by Apex Air.

Two new planes will be added this year and a third in 2017, fulfilling a firm order for 75 Bombardier jets, Flohr said, adding that VistaJet is unlikely to need new aircraft until 2020.

(Editing by Alexander Smith)
A county official in West Virginia, who was suspended for making racist remarks about Michelle Obama that drew nationwide outrage, will be getting that job back.

Pamela Ramsey Taylor, director of the Clay County Development Corp., was suspended in November after writing on her Facebook page: "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. Im tired of seeing an ape in heels."

Read: Melania Trump Makes First Stump Speech Since Disastrous RNC Remarks

While not a government agency, the Clay Development Corp. is a non-profit that runs on state and federal grants. Taylor was suspended for her comment and the town's then-mayor, Beverly Whaling, lost her job for replying that Taylor's post "made my day."

Both women apologized online, saying they did not intend to sound racist. They also both took down their Facebook pages.

In the ensuing weeks, even with a petition of nearly 200,000 calling for her termination, Taylor's job was somehow saved.

In a December 7 letter to the development corporations board of directors, the acting commissioner for the West Virginia Bureau for Medical Services, Cynthia Beane, said the bureau had learned Taylor had been reinstated, according to WCHS.

"It has been brought to our attention that Pam Taylor has been reinstated with the Clay Development Corp.," Beane wrote. "In light of recent events surrounding Ms. Taylor that made national media, it is incumbent on both the Bureau of Medical Services and the Bureau of Senior Services to receive specific assurances that no actions of discrimination/harassment will be conducted or viewed as acceptable practices within the work of environment for the Clay County Development Corp.

Read: The World Reacts: Gasps, Applause and Protests Erupt After Surprise Trump Victory

"Furthermore, please provide specific guarantees that neither Ms. Taylor, nor any other employee, has in any way conducted themselves in a discriminatory manner with any recipient, or potential recipient receiving state services that your organization administers."

Story continues

The nonprofit provides services to elderly and low-income residents of rural Clay County. A message left with officials at Clay County Development was not immediately returned.

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Vladimir Putins tenure as Russias dictator has been dedicated to twin interlocking goals: to enhance his own power and wealth and that of the country he controls. The more powerful Russia becomes, after all, the more powerful its president becomes, too. In pursuit of more influence, Putin has tried to rebuild the Russian armed forces from a force of low-quality conscripts equipped with weapons that dont work to a high-quality professional force with cutting-edge weapons. That transformation, only partially complete, has been shown off in Syria, which Putin has used as a showcase for systems including sleek Kalibr cruise missiles and the smoke-belching aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. But as befits an old KGB man, Putins heart appears to lie more with deniable covert operations rather than with overt muscle-flexing.

Putin has become notorious for using little green men  Russian intelligence operatives and Spetsnaz (special forces) in civilian clothing  to infiltrate Ukrainian territory and start an uprising among the Russian-speaking population. And it worked: Russia annexed Crimea and has gained de facto control over much of eastern Ukraine. This tactic of undertaking barely disguised aggression has become known as hybrid warfare, and it has consistently left the West wrong-footed because Putin is careful to avoid crossing the normal red lines.

The West has been even more flummoxed by Putins campaign of political warfare designed to subvert anti-Russian regimes and replace them with more pliable leaders. The most high-profile manifestation of this effort was the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other Democratic targets in an attempt, as the CIA has now concluded, to swing the U.S. presidential election toward Donald Trump, the most pro-Russian politician in America since the heyday of Franklin D. Roosevelts agriculture secretary, Henry Wallace. Russian internet trolls were also busy putting out anti-Clinton, pro-Trump stories, many of them demonstrably false.

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Putins interference in the election was probably not the decisive factor (for that, blame FBI Director James Comeys diligent efforts), but in an election decided by 100,000 votes in three states it is impossible to say what made a difference and what did not. Certainly Trump, who once called on Putin to hack his opponent, acts like a man with a guilty conscience, furiously denying not only that the hacks were designed to help him but that they were the work of the Kremlin at all. Putin will get his payoff if the new administration decides to lift the sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine  something that is more likely if ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, to whom Putin awarded an Order of Friendship, is confirmed as secretary of state.

Putins campaign of subversion and disinformation is hardly limited to the United States, however. It has been playing out across Europe for years, with Moscow supporting far-left and far-right parties that are united by their loathing for the European Union and NATO, the two institutions that Putin rightly sees as the chief impediments to his hopes of resurrecting the Russian Empire or at least a Russian sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

Russia has been most blatant in supporting Frances far-right National Front, which received an 11 million euro loan in 2014 from a Moscow-based bank and wants another 27 million euros to fight next years elections. The French presidential election in the spring is a cant-lose proposition for Putin since both of the leading candidates  Marine Le Pen of the National Front and the mainstream conservative nominee, former Prime Minister Francois Fillon  favor closer ties with Moscow.

In Germany, Angela Merkel looks likely to win re-election and maintain a relatively hard line against the Kremlin, but WikiLeaks has just come out with a massive leak of German intelligence documents, many of them relating to controversial cooperation with U.S. intelligence agencies. This is widely seen as a Russian attempt to undermine Merkel, as WikiLeaks has long been a favorite bulletin board for Russias intelligence services. In Montenegro, the Russians are accused of going even further in orchestrating a political campaign against the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic prior to the Oct. 16 election. When that didnt work, the Russians apparently tried to launch a coup to overthrow the government, employing Serbian operatives with close ties to the Kremlin.

Little wonder that Alex Younger, the typically secretive head of Britains MI6 intelligence service, just gave an unusual speech warning that hostile powers such as Russia, which are utilizing means as varied as cyberattacks, propaganda, or subversion of democratic process  represent a fundamental threat to our sovereignty. They should be a concern to all those who share democratic values. His words are echoed by Maj. Gen. Gunnar Karlson, the chief of Swedens main foreign intelligence agency, who warns that Russian subversion is a serious threat because in different ways [the Russians] can push themselves into the very foundations of a democracy and influence democratic decision-making. Russia is currently running a pressure campaign to dissuade Sweden, which is alarmed by growing Russian intrusions into its sovereign waters and airspace, from joining NATO.

Its easy enough to decry Russian interference, but its hard to know what to do about it. As a first step, it is imperative to document and expose Kremlin machinations, which is why its important to probe the hacking of the U.S. election. Congressional investigations, as called for by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, would be one possible approach, but the failed Benghazi committee shows the dangers of congressional grandstanding and partisanship. A better approach, because it would be more serious and nonpartisan, would be an independent commission modeled on the one that probed 9/11; it could be headed by former CIA Directors Michael Hayden and Leon Panetta.

But public exposure alone is not enough to make Putin cease and desist; indeed, documenting Russias schemes could actually enhance his aura of power by showing how cleverly he manipulates his adversaries. President Barack Obama has been shamefully derelict in making Putin pay a price for his aggression. Although his administration has threatened retaliation against Russia, he has not, insofar as we know, delivered. Wed have all these circular meetings, one senior State Department official told the New York Times, in which everyone agreed you had to push back at the Russians and push back hard. But it didnt happen. Among reasons for inaction, the Times cites the presidents fear of escalating a cyberwar, and concern that the United States needed Russias cooperation in negotiations over Syria. (As if Russia had any intention of cooperating with the United States in Syria!) His failure to more actively oppose Russian efforts during the campaign may have cost Hillary Clinton the election. Its hard to imagine Donald Trump, the beneficiary of Russias cyberattacks, doing much about it, but Obama still has a few weeks in office to act.

Possible responses can run the gamut from further sanctions  including financial and travel freezes on individuals responsible for the hacking  to retaliation in kind. Putin likes leaking Western emails. How would he like it if the National Security Agency leaked the communications between him and his cronies? Or if the U.S. intelligence community released details about his widely rumored overseas bank accounts? This could undermine his hold on power by puncturing his aura of self-righteousness and could even lead to asset freezes that would punish him in the pocketbook.

Beyond all of that, the West in general and the United States in particular will have to figure out how to wage political warfare on its own. That is something that we did in the early days of the Cold War when the CIA was busy helping anti-communists win elections around the world from Italy to the Philippines  and funding Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Encounter magazine, and other organizations to win the battle for hearts and minds. Today, Russia, Iran, China, and other closed societies are potentially vulnerable to a campaign designed to empower dissidents, discredit the ruling elite, and help ordinary people get accurate and uncensored news.

Putin suspects the United States of waging just such a campaign against himself and his allies; he holds the CIA responsible for the 2005 and 2014 uprisings in Ukraine that defeated pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych and the 2003 uprising in Georgia, which brought Mikheil Saakashvili to power. The irony is that, beyond the overt and benign democracy promotion efforts of the National Endowment for Democracy, Washington has done little to undermine anti-Western leaders or to promote pro-Western alternatives.

It is high time for that to change. The United States needs to revive the political warfare skills it once possessed and that have since atrophied, as Michael Doran and I argued in a 2013 Policy Innovation Memorandum for the Council on Foreign Relations. Putin has shown himself to be a master of this game; other adversaries, including Iran and the Islamic State, also actively wage political warfare. We dont have the luxury of saying that its beneath us to play that game. Nothing less than the future of democracy is at stake.

Photo credit: ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images
By Francesco Guarascio STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The right-left coalition that has controlled the European Parliament for more than a decade may be on the verge of collapse after the socialist leader declined to support a centre-right candidate as speaker of the chamber. The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and the centre-left socialists have shared the five-year presidency of the EU legislature since 2004 under an informal deal meant to strengthen the Parliament's powers and streamline legislation. But with euroscepticism growing and anti-system parties emerging across Europe, the socialist group said it would not renew the alliance when the Parliament elects a new speaker in January, when Martin Schulz, a socialist, formally steps down. "Dear Weber, the cooperation is over," socialist leader Gianni Pittella told a news conference in Strasbourg, replying to a letter from EPP head Manfred Weber, who had proposed a renewal of the alliance before the January vote. Pittella said breaking up the grand coalition would help reduce the appeal of anti-establishment parties that gain votes in part by depicting moderate parties of all political hues as pursuing the same agenda. Pittella, whose socialists are the second biggest grouping in the Parliament, is himself a candidate for the presidency. The EPP is the largest of eight blocs in the chamber but holds only 215, or 29 percent, of the 751 seats, meaning it needs support from other parties to get its candidate elected. Its members include parties such as France's Les Republicains and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. The deal with the socialists saw the EPP support Schulz in his bid for the presidency in 2014, on the understanding that he would serve for 2-1/2 years then hand over to an EPP candidate in the second half of the legislature's term. Weber urged Pittella and other pro-EU parties to join the EPP in electing the new president to show cohesion against eurosceptic parties such as Britain's UKIP, France's Front National or Italy's Five-Star movement. Weber told a news conference that the right-left alliance had been crucial to passing all major legislation in the Parliament in recent years, and without that cooperation the socialists would become irrelevant. The head of the Greens in the Parliament, Philippe Lamberts, said it was "hard to believe" the grand coalition will effectively collapse. The EPP will choose its candidate later on Tuesday. The other main parties have not yet declared who they will support for Schulz's job. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Watch supermoon live

According to NASA, 2016 is closing out the year with a series of supermoons. The last of which can be seen in the night sky between Dec. 13, 2016, and Dec. 14, 2016. During a supermoon, the full moon is in close proximity to earth, making it appear larger, brighter, and more voluminous. The three supermoons that will close out 2016 occurred or are occurring on Oct. 16, 2016, Nov. 14, 2016, and on Dec. 14. Some people might see the moon at its brightest on Dec. 13, 2016. Science at NASA released a video discussing the three supermoons. You may see that video below. Check the video above for footage from Virtual Telescopes live streaming coverage of the Nov. 14, 2016, supermoon. Virtual Telescope will live stream the Dec. 14, 2016, supermoon that coincides with the Geminid meteor shower.

Skywatchers will find that Dec. 13, is a great time to break out the telescope and do a bit of gazing. However; if you wanted to view the Geminid meteor shower, youre likely to be disappointed. The December supermoon will be approximately 30 percent brighter than a typical moon, and the meteor shower will most likely be obscured by moonlight. You might see a falling star or two to make a wish upon, but the main attraction in the night sky will undoubtedly be the December supermoon. Check the video below for footage from Virtual Telescopes Nov. 14, supermoon filmed over St. Peters Basilica in Rome.

A brief glimpse of the moon  at 97%  through a break in the clouds off Sth Tyneside, UK just now, final #supermoon this Wed #Stormhour pic.twitter.com/WNhaWRu4jw  PAUL KINGSTON ???? (@PaulKingstonNNP) December 12, 2016

Click here to continue and read more...

Watch December Supermoon, Geminid Meteor Shower Streaming Live Online [Video] is an article from: The Inquisitr News
The annual Geminids Meteor shower could be the final opportunity of the year to see such an astronomical event. The meteor shower, which gets its name from the Gemini constellation, can be found by first locating Orions belt in the northeastern area of the sky and by then looking up and to the right of the belt to find Gemini, according to Space.com.

Technically, the meteor shower has already begun, having started Dec. 4. It will continue through Friday. This year, the peak activity will take place from Tuesday to early Wednesday morning, according to NASA, which deems the annual event to be one of the most reliable showers of the year. It is expected to be most active and visible beginning at about 9 or 10 p.m. EST. Typically, stargazers can catch around 120 meteors per hour during the peak hours of activity, according to NASA.

However, not too many meteors are expected to be seen this year. The full moon of December, a supermoon, is slated to coincide with the meteor shower and the moons light is expected to obstruct the view.

The moon should reach its full size by around 7 p.m. EST Tuesday, the same time the Geminids shower will be expected to hit its peak, according to Space.com.

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Photo: REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Although the December supermoons light should make the shower more difficult to see, viewers could still be able to witness some shooting stars  about 40 meteors an hour, according to Space.com.

For those looking to really increase their odds of seeing the showers, heading out of town and traveling to an area with less light pollution will better the odds.

To watch a live stream of the event, head to the NASA's UStream channel beginning Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. The live stream has been scheduled to run through Wednesday at 6 a.m. EST.

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On Tuesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump confirmed the rumors that ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson would be his choice for secretary of state. Tillerson, 64, is a lifelong employee of the energy giant and was described by Trump as one of the truly great business leaders in the world.

He is also one who has close business ties to Russia and to its president, Vladimir Putin.

He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States, Trump said in a statement. Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none.

Tillersons role as the head of ExxonMobil essentially made him the head of a large international force independent from the U.S. government. In the book Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, journalist Steve Coll wrote about how the massive company had its own foreign policy, dedicated to maximizing shareholder returns.

Coll summarized the ExxonMobil position in a New Yorker story Sunday:

The goal of ExxonMobils independent foreign policy has been to promote a world that is good for oil and gas production. Because oil projects require huge amounts of capital and only pay off fully over decades, Tillerson has favored doing business in countries that offer political stability, even if this stability was achieved through authoritarian rule.

As one example of ExxonMobils foreign entanglements, the company began pumping oil in the African nation of Chad in 2003, working closely with its authoritarian president, Idriss Deby, who has ruled since 1990 and has been described by Foreign Policy magazine as a paranoid tyrant. Chad has issued a $74 billion fine to Exxon in a dispute over the royalties from that deal, a number that is five times the countrys GDP.

Coll also has detailed how Exxon circumvented U.S. policy in the Middle East:

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In Kurdistan, during the Obama Administration, Tillerson defied State Department policy and cut an independent oil deal with the Kurdish Regional Government, undermining the national Iraqi government in Baghdad. ExxonMobil did not ask permission. After the fact, Tillerson arranged a conference call with State Department officials and explained his actions, according to my sources, by saying, I had to do what was best for my shareholders.

My philosophy is to make money, Tillerson said in a 2013 interview with Charlie Rose when he was asked whether his philosophy was Drill, baby, drill. And so if I can drill, and make money, then thats what I want to do. But it really is, for us, its about making quality investments for our shareholders, and its not a quality investment if you cannot manage the risk around it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson shake hands after signing an agreement between Russian oil company Rosneft and ExxonMobil at the Black Sea port of Tuapse in 2012. (Photo: AP/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)

But most of the focus in Tillersons confirmation hearings will likely be on his dealings with Russia, a relationship that caused Sen. Marco Rubio  a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, which will preside over the oil CEOs confirmation hearing  to announce that he has serious concerns about his nomination.

Tillersons dealing with Russia go back to 1998, when he was put in charge of Exxon operations there and in the Caspian Sea, after serving as president of Exxon Yemen Inc. He rose to CEO in 2006, and five years later he took steps to further the companys relationship with Russia, striking a deal with Rosneft, the state-owned oil giant. The deal gave Exxon the opportunity to explore for oil in the Arctic Sea and Siberia while giving Rosneft access to fracking technology and Exxon holdings in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. The head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, is one of Putins top lieutenants.

The signing of the deal was attended by then-Prime Minister Putin, who personally awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship in 2013. The award is given to citizens of foreign countries for special merits in strengthening peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding between peoples and for contributions to mutual enrichment of cultures, large-scale economic projects and/or extensive charity work.

The deal was put on hold in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea, which brought sanctions from the United States and the European Union on certain types of business deals with the county, including with Rosneft.

We are very anxious to get back to work there, said Tillerson at an Exxon analyst panel in March of their deal with Russia. Its a really an interesting, exciting area. We are very interested to get back to work in the deepwater Black Sea.

They understand the situation. We understand the situation, continued Tillerson. We are going to remain in full compliance with the sanctions. Ill tell you, we are in constant conversation with the U.S. government around ensuring that we are able to protect our rights in Russia while we have to stand still, and theyve been very supportive of that. So Im thankful that they have never done anything to try and make the situation worse. In fact theyve done things to help us hang on to the rights we have. Weve been through sanctions in countries before, and thats something governments have to work out. We would just like to make sure we can maintain our position, and when a new time comes, we are ready to go back to work.

In addition to his Russia ties, Tillerson is being targeted from the right for his support of the Common Core education program and for allowing gays into the Boy Scouts. (Tillerson, a former Eagle Scout, served as president of the Boy Scouts of America from 2010 to 2011 and was a member of the board in 2013 when the ban on gays was lifted.) Tillerson and Exxon have also been attacked for donations to Planned Parenthood, but the company has said it was just following its policy in matching donations from employees.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have both come out in support of the Tillerson pick. They both work for Exxon through their international consulting firm, Rice Hadley Gates. James Baker, secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, also came out in favor of Tillerson. He is a partner at a law firm that has represented both Exxon and Rosneft.

I am honored by President-elect Trumps nomination and share his vision for restoring the credibility of the United States foreign relations and advancing our countrys national security, Tillerson said in a statement released after Trumps announcement Tuesday. We must focus on strengthening our alliances, pursuing shared national interests and enhancing the strength, security and sovereignty of the United States.
Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo's plan for how it would resolve its business in the event of a crisis was again rejected by regulators on Tuesday, putting it closer to serious sanctions under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Both the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation rejected Wells' so-called living will for a second time, even after the bank made adjustments to the plan.

The original draft was rejected in April.

The regulators found that two of the three areas that had been cited for "deficiencies" in the original plan had not been fixed. Due to the failure, the bank will now be restricted in its ability to perform international operations and acquire certain types of businesses.

"In light of the nature of the deficiencies and the resolvability risks posed by Wells Fargo's failure to remedy them, the agencies have jointly determined to impose restrictions on the growth of international and non-bank activities of Wells Fargo and its subsidiaries," said a press release from the Fed. "In particular, Wells Fargo is prohibited from establishing international bank entities or acquiring any non-bank subsidiary."

The failure comes just two months after Wells was hit by a fake accounts scandal that led to a Congressional investigation and the departure of its then-CEO John Stumpf.

If the bank does not resolve the issues by March 31, 2017, it will be subject to more sanctions that will "limit the size of the firm's non-bank and broker-dealer assets" at the amount it held on September 30, 2016.

Four other banks that had initially failed  State Street, Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, and JPMorgan Chase  had their plans approved by regulators.

The living wills are designed to make banks evaluate how they would wind down their business in the event of another financial crisis without hurting the broader economy.

UPDATE: Wells Fargo provided the following statement to Business Insider in response to the Fed and FDIC decision:

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In October 2016, Wells Fargo submitted a response to the Federal Reserve and FDIC regarding certain deficiencies cited in our 2015 Resolution Plan submission. We took feedback from our 2015 submission very seriously and took several steps to address it, including creating a program office dedicated to this effort, committing significant additional resources, and working deliberately to address these concerns.



As we disclosed in our public filing in October, we believe that we substantially enhanced our capabilities in each of these areas identified. However, we were informed today that we did not adequately remediate certain deficiencies.



Wells Fargo is committed to strengthening and enhancing its resolution planning processes, and we will continue to work closely with the agencies to better understand their concerns so that we can bring our resolution planning processes in line with their expectations. While we are disappointed with the determination issued by the agencies, we continue to be dedicated to sound resolution planning and preparedness. We believe we will be able to address the concerns raised today in the March 2017 revised submission.

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Paul Ryan

House Republicans have dropped hints recently as to how the GOP will market its replacement for the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement  and it's in the form of a simple analogy.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told Business Insider last week that Republicans in Congress hope to replace the ACA, commonly known as Obamacare, with what he likened to a "healthcare backpack."

The "backpack" analogy has been employed a number of times over the past year. For example, Brady used the metaphor ahead of Obama's 2016 State of the Union address and continued to do so in various interviews over the summer and in recent days.

The metaphor even made its way into House Speaker Paul Ryan's "Better Way" plan.

"I'm absolutely confident that unlike Obamacare, we're not going to be ripping healthcare out of the hands of the American people," Brady told Business Insider. "We're going to give them options that are tailored to them with plenty of time and plenty of transition so they can pick a plan that's right for them."

"And our concept is to replace that huge bureaucracy of Obamacare with the concept of a healthcare backpack," the congressman added.

That backpack, he said, will center on the establishment of a healthcare savings account, easier access to electronic medical records, individual tax credits, and the elimination of Obamacare's mandates.

"A backpack that is tailored to the needs of patients and demands of families, that can go with them throughout their lifetime," Brady said. "From job to job and state to state and home to start a business or a family."

The Texas Republican said he was "thrilled" with the nomination of Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, a physician and staunch Obamacare critic, to head President-elect Donald Trump's administration's Department of Health and Human Services.

"We know to that Americans wanted change," Brady said of Trump's election. "So the opportunity to provide that backpack that's tailored and travels with you ... that type of unprecedented freedom and choice, all focused on the patient, is the biggest change we're proposing."

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Repealing and replacing Obama's signature healthcare law will be an uphill climb, even as Republicans control both branches of Congress and the presidency.

There will likely be a transition period of roughly three years, as some Republican senators have said, between when the bill is repealed and when the replacement is implemented. And Republicans will face strong opposition from Democrats, who've said repealing and replacing the healthcare law would lead to millions of Americans losing their health insurance.

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By Ned Randolph

CORONADO, Calif., Dec 13 (Reuters) - The governors of the three U.S. West Coast states on Tuesday vowed to step up their efforts to fight climate change in the face of the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has dismissed global warming as a hoax.

Democratic governors Jerry Brown of California, Jay Inslee of Washington and Katherine Brown of Oregon made stark warnings that climate change was already harming the Pacific Ocean along which their states lie.

"Our waters are at mortal risk," said Inslee, speaking via video-conference at a meeting of the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification, in advance of the winter meeting of the Western Governors Association in Coronado near San Diego.

The three governors said they had joined the alliance, a group of U.S. states and countries including Chile and France dedicated to reducing rising acidity in the oceans, a phenomenon tied to climate change that threatens fish, coral reefs and other marine life.

Jerry Brown also said that he had sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, asking him to make permanent a recent five-year-ban on oil drilling off the coast of the most populous U.S. state.

The actions marked the latest in a series of moves by Democrats, led by California, to position themselves to fight efforts by Trump to undo progressive policies on the environment, immigration, healthcare and other issues.

The three coastal states are also among eight U.S. states and the District of Columbia to have recently legalized the recreational use of marijuana, actions that may also conflict with the agenda of the incoming Republican administration.

A conservative populist who campaigned against illegal immigration, expressed skepticism of the science behind climate change and vowed to repeal Obama's signature healthcare law, Trump has said he wants Cabinet members with similar beliefs.

Earlier this month, the California governor nominated Xavier Becerra, a lawyer and longtime California congressman to be attorney general in a move widely viewed as preparation to defend state policies against a Trump Administration.

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On Tuesday, Jerry Brown said that despite whatever obstruction the incoming Trump Administration poses to efforts to combat climate change, California would do everything possible to prevent catastrophic global warming and ocean acidification.

The oceans absorb 90 percent of the world's greenhouse gases, and supply much of the world's food.

"Whatever problems we have today, they will pale to the stresses that we are going to have by rising sea levels, the threat of tropical diseases, and all manner of extreme weather events," Jerry Brown said.

(Writing by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The West Virginia official who was removed from her position last month after calling First Lady Michelle Obama a ape in heels in a Facebook post will reportedly return to work later this month.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that Pamela Ramsey Taylor will be reinstated at the Clay County Development Corp. after her suspension ends on Friday, Dec. 23, according to a letter from the agencys acting director, Leslie McGlothin, to the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services.

Taylors Facebook message  which was written after Donald Trump was elected president  reportedly read, It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. Im tired of seeing a (sic) ape in heels.

Taylor deleted the post after it went viral, initially replacing it with an apology. She later told WSAZ-TV that she received threats of violence due to the post, and she felt the situation turned into a hate crime against me.

Taylor has worked as director of the non-profit, which receives state and federal funds, since 2007, according to the Gazette-Mail.

Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling also responded to Taylors since-deleted post, reportedly writing, Just made my day Pam. Whaling resigned amid the ensuing controversy, the Washington Post reported.

RELATED VIDEO: Michelle Obama Kicks Off Holiday Season as First Christmas Tree Arrives at the White House

In an earlier statement to the Post, Whaling apologized, saying, My comment was not intended to be racist at all. I was referring to my day being made for change in the White House!

She added, I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused! Those who know me know that Im not of any way racist! Again, I would like to apologize for this getting out of hand!




20K Watch!

The markets continue to soar since the presidential election! Dont miss Liz Claman, live from the NYSE today at 3pm ET, for the very latest on Wall Street as the Dow nears 20,000.

Trump Transition Watch

Trump officially announced Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his pick for Secretary of State Tuesday morning. As Trumps cabinet continues to take shape, the focus shifts to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the rumors around his possible nomination for Secretary of Energy.

Watch the Intelligence Report with Trish Regan, beginning today at 2pm ET for expert insight and analysis on Trumps pick for Secretary of State!

Russian Hack Probe

Republicans are joining in on the call for an investigation into the alleged Russian hacking during the presidential election. However, President-elect Trump continues to dismiss allegations that Russia stole emails from the Clinton campaign and that the country played a role in influencing the election outcome.

Risk & Reward with Deirdre Bolton dives into the rigged election controversy, beginning today at 5pm ET.

Eyes on the Fed

Today the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting. An announcement is expected Wednesday and investors are expecting the Fed to raise rates between 0.50% to 0.75%

Trumps Thank You tour continues tonight in Wisconsin and Dobbs has you covered! Dont miss a special Lou Dobbs Tonight, with special guest, Senior Trump Advisor Kellyanne Conway, beginning tonight at 7pm ET for all the coverage!

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By Julia Fioretti

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Messaging services such as Microsoft's (MSFT.O) Skype and Facebook's (FB.O) WhatsApp face stricter rules on the way they handle customer data under new privacy laws due to be proposed by the European Union, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

The EU executive wants to extend some rules that now only apply to telecom operators to web companies offering calls and messages using the internet, known as "Over-The-Top" (OTT) services, according to the draft.

Web services will have to guarantee the confidentiality of communications and obtain users' consent to process their location data, mirroring similar provisions included in a separate data protection law due to come into force in 2018.

Online advertisers will also face strict rules on how they can target ads at web users based on their browsing history.

Telecoms companies have long complained that groups such as Alphabet Inc's Google, Microsoft and Facebook are more lightly regulated, even though they offer similar services.

The phone companies have called for European Union rules specific to telecoms firms  known as the e-privacy directive - either to be repealed or extended to everyone.

"If Europe wants a Silicon Valley, it needs radical regulatory simplification. We wont get new digital services unless we overhaul e-Privacy," Lise Fuhr, director general of ETNO, the European telecoms operators association, said.

The draft proposals would prohibit the automatic processing of people's data without their consent. Advertisers say such automatic processing is low risk as it involves data that can not identify the user.

Fines for breaking the new law will be steep at up to 4 percent of a company's global turnover.

A Commission spokeswoman declined to comment on the draft but said the aim of the review was to adapt the rules to the data protection regulation which will come into force in 2018 and simplify the provisions for cookies.

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Cookies are placed on web surfers' computers and contain bits of information about the user, such as what other sites they have visited or where they are logging in from. They are widely used by companies to deliver targeted ads to users.

Telecom companies, barred by current rules from using customer data to provide additional services and make more money, will be able to use customer data with their consent, according to the proposal.

It would also remove the obligation on websites to ask visitors for permission to place cookies on their browsers via a banner if the user has already consented through the privacy settings of the web browser.

"If browsers are equipped with such functionality, websites that want to set cookies for behavioral advertising purposes may not need to put in place banners requesting their consent insofar as users may provide their consent by selecting the right settings in their browser," the draft said.

Many have questioned the effectiveness of such cookie banners which appear every time a user lands on a website because people tend to accept them without necessarily reading what that entails.

"While such banners serve to empower users, at the same time, they may cause irritation because users are forced to read the notices and click on the boxes, thus impairing internet browsing experience," the draft said.

The proposal is set to be unveiled in January and may still undergo changes.

(Editing by David Clarke and Jane Merriman)
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"Gabriela" P. is just two semesters and one miserable biochemistry exam away from doing what she's spent the last decade of her life trying to do: graduate from college.

But even though she's closer than ever before, Gabriela, a 28-year-old undocumented student at Florida International University, is worried that the Trump administration will repeal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), leaving her without a degree and without a home.

"I don't want to go back into the shadows," Gabriela said. "When we applied for DACA we gave them all our information. They know where I live, they know where I work, they know where I go to school. They're going to start coming for us now."

DACA temporarily spared undocumented immigrants like Gabriela who entered this country as minors from deportation for a two-year-period, making them eligible for work permits and in-state tuition. While GOP Senator Lindsey Graham has been quietly leading the fight for undocumented students on a national scale, Gabriela has been busy petitioning her school to declare itself a "sanctuary campus" and pledge not to turn undocumented students over to federal immigration officials.

She hopes this label will potentially protect her and her fellow undocumented students on campus from deportation.

So far, Florida International University  home to close to 54,000 students, 61 percent of whom are Latino  has said rejected the label. And there are dozens of other schools, many of with progressive administrations, who've given the exact same answer: No.

SEE ALSO: Bumbling Trump adviser Kris Kobach's secret plan for America, revealed

It's a heartbreaking answer for students like Gabriela to hear, who spent almost a decade trying to get into school before Obama created DACA with executive action in 2012. Universities like Florida International University are supposed to be "safe spaces," spaces where undocumented students like her can go and pursue their education in (relative) peace.

Story continues

But school administrators in places like Florida International University remain unclear how much sanctuary campus status can protect students like her. And some institutions worry about the cost to them if they do accept the label.

Sanctuary campuses are largely without legal precedent

Sanctuary campuses take their cue from sanctuary cities, cities that attempt to protect their undocumented residents by limiting their cooperation with federal immigration authorities unless compelled by court order and state law.

Neither sanctuary campuses nor sanctuary cities have standard legal definitions. Still, organizers hope sanctuary campuses can provide relatively safe havens for undocumented and immigrant students by minimizing their collaboration with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Movimiento Cosecha, an organization helping to lead the sanctuary campus movement, wants universities and colleges to refuse, "all voluntary information sharing with ICE/U.S. Customs and Border Protection across all aspects of the college/university to the fullest extent possible under the law." Movimiento Cosecha would have schools refuse ICE access, prohibit campus security from collaborating with ICE and continue to provide DACA students with in-state tuition, regardless of whether its repealed.

Some activists have even gone so far to ask that their university chapel serve as a physical sanctuary for undocumented students.

Yale students and organizers speak out about the Donald Trump presidency

Image: peter hvidzak/new haven register via AP

For American universities, this is largely unprecedented territory:

"There has never been large-scale immigration enforcement on U.S. campuses," Stephen Yale-Loehr, Professor of Immigration Practice at Cornell University told Mashable, citing a yet-to-be-published article he wrote with Dan Berger. "There have been individual actions. Therefore, it is not clear what form such action might take, and what kind of court challenges would be successful."

Though a petition to make Florida International University a sanctuary campus has received over 400 signatures, Gabriela is worried that many people at her school still don't get it:

"Some of the faculty and some students don't know what DACA is," she said. "They have no idea... How do you tell people that DACA is important?"

Some schools are afraid of making empty promises

Though students at over 100 schools all across the country  from the Ivy League to some of America's largest public universities  have petitioned and protested on behalf of sanctuary campuses, only 28 schools so far have chosen to adopt the label. Connecticut College, Wesleyan University, Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania are part of a very small list of schools that now identify as sanctuary schools. Even school that have historically progressive reputations, like Brown, have rejected the status:

"What we have not done is to declare that we would bar law enforcement or ICE officers from our campus . . . As much as wed like to offer absolute protection to our students, we feel that it would be irresponsible to promise that particular form of restriction, which we cannot legally offer," the school recently said in a press release.

A statement recently released by Florida International University echoed Brown's language, offering affected students counseling and supportive services, just not sanctuary status:

"We want to reassure you that our values of diversity and inclusion remain unchanged, and we are committed to supporting all of our students  including dreamers  while we follow the law," the statement reads.

It's a deeply disappointing conclusion for many undocumented students and their allies on campus  and for some, an illogical one. Since sanctuary campuses are new, it's unclear whether or not universities would, in fact, be breaking any laws by harboring undocumented immigrants, and what that term harboring even means in this context.

"There are serious and unresolved legal issues about whether federal funding or the ability to operate a student visa could be affected by various pieces of sanctuary campus plans and what role federal law on 'harboring' undocumented immigrants plays in all this," Yale-Loehr writes. "No court has provided clear guidance for interpreting the meaning of harboring an undocumented immigrant."

Image: nathan lambrecht/the monitor via AP

Moreover, students note, campus security officials are employees of the school, not ICE officers. They are not trained to remove undocumented immigrants from campus. As Yale-Loehr explains, unlike criminal warrants, immigration warrants "only allows an immigration enforcement officer to make an arrest in a public place."

Despite legal ambiguities, some campuses have nonetheless embraced the label. Daisy Romero is an undocumented student at University of Pennsylvania, which recently declared itself a sanctuary campus. For Romero, feeling safe is fundamental not just to her life, but to the university's very mission:

"Every student student at a university wants it to be a safe space for learning," Romero said. "If we can't do that, then the university is not doing its main job . . . To have all of what you've gained so far taken away from you, it's un-American."

Symbolism matters

Both Daisy and Gabriela emphasized that they knew the limits of the sanctuary campus model. A school may refuse to collaborate with ICE authorities, but the federal government was given their information when they voluntarily signed up for DACA. ICE  and soon to be Trump  has access to their information. They know where they eat and live, where they go to school. Universities have power, but so too (and with much greater force) does their government.

Still, many undocumented students want to hear that their campus is not only in support of the DREAM Act and DACA, but that they're committed to the sanctuary model. In the first 10 days after the election, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that there were almost 900 incidents of hate across the nation. Of those incidents, 32 percent were determined to be attacks against immigrants.

More than ever, students like Daisy and Gabriela have asked their campuses to demonstrate their allyship by concretizing their solidarity. The sanctuary campus label may only end up being a symbol of dissent, but it still holds power and value  a bulwark of defense against an administration seemingly intent on destroying it.

"I'm not asking for the moon and the stars, I'm asking for my degree," Gabriela said. "Right now I'm just hoping that they'll protect us . . . They won't give our information out. They won't charge us out of state fees. I don't get financial aid . . . Before DACA I couldn't work or go to school. I was so depressed. I was a ghost of a person walking around . . . I don't want to go back to the shadows."

It's more than just sanctuary campuses

Despite the direness of their situation, Gabriela and Daisy both stressed that the issue is larger and more complex than sanctuary campuses. Some leaders in Congress, most notably GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, have been actively pushing to build a bridge from DACA and protect the 740,000 undocumented immigrants who benefited from it.

"The worst outcome is to repeal the legal status that these kids have, Graham recently told Politico. Whether you agree with them having it or not, theyve come out of the shadows."

There are so other undocumented immigrants, Gabriela and Daisy noted, who are more vulnerable than these students. They're adults who may not be in school  and less seemingly worth of protection  but who are working and paying their taxes. Though Trump has promised to deport undocumented immigrants who've committed crimes first, he's also pledged to build a massive deportation force, which could lead to the exodus of some 11 million immigrants.

"We can't forget about the rest of the undocumented immigrants," Daisy said. "We have our parents and our friends... I don't how my family and friends will be affected. Detention facilities are not the best places to be in if you're an immigrant. That's what scares me the most."

Daisy is thrilled that her campus has declared itself a sanctuary campus, and is hoping to keep pushing the campus to extend its outreach into the community. Gabriella has continued to push her school to do more, as have students at Harvard, University of Illinois, University of Nevada and at a schools all across the country. Even as some campuses push back  Governor Greg Abbott of Texas declared in a tweet that he would defund any state university that declares itself a sanctuary campus  the movement appears to have only grown.

"Before DACA... I feel into a huge depression at that time, so I started volunteering at a wildlife center," Gabriella said. "I took care of raptors of birds of prey. They tell me I'm not American but I rehabilitated injured american eagles. . . I work. I go to school. And I want to help  What's more American than that?"
(Repeats to add dropped word to headline)

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday it would be "very damaging" to both Cubans as well as the United States' standing in Latin America if the next administration reverses President Barack Obama's normalization of relations with Cuba.

"We're seeing real progress that is making life better for Cubans right now. Sustaining this policy will allow for further opening ... further U.S. business opportunities," Ben Rhodes, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, said in a call with reporters.

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to end Obama's detente with Cuba which includes the easing of some restrictions on travel, trade and finance.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Ayesha Rascoe, Matt Spetalnick; editing by G Crosse)
The White House Special Envoy for the operation to counter the terrorist network ISIS said the ongoing campaign has momentum at a White House press briefing on Tuesday.

Brett McGurk addressed reporters at the White House shortly after meeting with President Obama and other national security officials about the ongoing counter-ISIS operations. Earlier on Tuesday, the Pentagon announced that three ISIS leaders, including two who were involved in the 2015 attacks in Paris, had been killed. At the White House, McGurk touted diminished ISIS territory, reductions in the number of foreign fighters flowing into ISIS-controlled areas, and efforts of the counter-ISIS coalition to reduce the amount of ISIS propaganda that lives online. He also said ISIS has the fewest battle-ready fighters on hand now than ever before, 12,000 down from 15,000.

We are having tremendous success against this enemy. We are killing their leaders we are taking out their ability to finance themselves , McGurk said before adding there was work to be done to counter the terrorist network. This will be a multi-year effort, he said.

McGurks statements came amid the ongoing battle for Aleppo in Syria, a battle that has been particularly brutal for citizens, many of whom have said they are just waiting to die.

The Obama administration will soon bow out, but the counter-ISIS campaign will be left for the next administration to continue. McGurk would not share details about meetings with President-elect Donald Trumps transition team, but he said the two teams have been in contact. Transitions in times of war, he said, are complex, but added the officials in the Obama administration are doing all we can to make sure that it is a seamless transition.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel knows what its like to be underestimated. Her political party, the Christian Democratic Union, was a stodgy old boys club when she first joined in the early 1990s, and most of her rivals tended to dismiss or ignore her, the pastors daughter with the chemistry degree  even as she passed them on her way to the top. What bothers her now, more than a decade into her tenure, is the opposite problem  the burden of being overestimated.

Merkel has President Barack Obama to thank for much of that. During his last official visit to Europe in mid-November, about a week after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential race, Obama spent hours preparing Merkel for the likely consequences of Trumps victory. Intentionally or not, the outgoing U.S. President also gave the impression of passing the baton to the woman he called his closest foreign ally, leaving her to defend the liberal establishment that Trump and his cohorts in Europe had set out to dismantle. Many commentators even began referring to Merkel as the new leader of the free world, a title that she dismissed as grotesque and absurd.

Read More: Person of the Year 2015: Angela Merkel

This was not false modesty. The problems that her government faces at home  from the integration of refugees to the rise of right-wing populism  do not leave the Chancellor with much strength to keep the West united. Merely staying in power beyond next year will be enough of a challenge for Merkel, and even some of her closest allies tell TIME that their government lacks the means and the mentality to lead. But whether she is prepared for it or not, this role may fall to Merkel by default.

The wave of popular revolts against the establishment has been picking off her Western allies like ducks in a shooting gallery. Four of them have fallen in the past six month alone: French President Francois Hollande, with an approval rating in the single digits, announced this month that he would not seek re-election in the spring; British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned in June after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union; Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi pledged to do the same after voters rejected his constitutional reforms this month; and, in the most astounding upset of the year, Trumps victory has left Obamas liberal legacy in tatters.

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Read More: These 5 Facts Explain Angela Merkels Tough 2016  and Tougher 2017

That leaves Merkel to pick up the pieces, but even her friends have serious doubts about her ability to lead the free world. Thats stupid, says Elmar Brok, the German chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the European Parliament, who has known Merkel since she was just starting out in politics in the 1990s. Germany does not have the critical mass of power to play the role of leader.

Nor is it clear that Merkel is strong enough, even within her own country, to uphold the liberal values that many people now expect her to defend. Her decision last summer to welcome hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Muslim world was, in many ways, a triumph of moral leadership over political expedience, and it was part of the reason TIME picked her as Person of the Year in 2015.

But that act of courage came at a devastating price. Conservatives within her ruling coalition went into revolt over her refugee policy. Many of her supporters fled to the far-right party Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), whose platform claims that Islam is not a part of Germany and calls for a ban on minarets and burqas, the traditional veils that some Muslim women use to cover their faces. During a local election held in September, the AfD even defeated Merkels party in her own home district in the north of Germany.

Read More: Donald Trump Called Germanys Angela Merkel the Greatest Last Year

That humiliation helped persuade her to claw back the ground she had lost to the radical right. During her speech on Dec. 6 at the national convention of the Christian Democratic Union, the party she has led for nearly 16 years, Merkel said that Muslim women should be prohibited, whenever legally possible, from fully veiling their faces in public. It was a stunning reversal for a leader whose name has become synonymous with her countrys Willkommenskultur, or welcome culture, toward Muslims and refugees, and whom some grateful Syrian asylum seekers called Mother.

But it was also, in many ways, a return to Merkels conservative roots. After the defeat of Nazism and the end of World War II, the entire right wing of German politics was occupied for decades by the Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union; its late figurehead, Franz-Josef Strauss, famously declared in 1986 that, There must be no democratically legitimate party to right of the CSU.

That status quo  and the narrowly centrist political spectrum of allowable German politics  held until the AfD was founded in 2013. Its populist message against immigration has since seen a surge in support across Germany. Even in Berlin, the nations diverse and cosmopolitan capital, the AfD won 14.2% of the vote during Septembers election to the local legislature. Merkels party was not too far ahead with only 17.6%.

So the Chancellors tactical swing to the right last week was no surprise. Her base of support had demanded it, and her call to ban the burqa during the party convention got more applause than any other line in her 80-minute speech. Among the delegates who gathered in the industrial city of Essen for the convention, some felt a renewed affection for Merkel after that speech. She said a lot of things the party wanted to hear, that we all wanted to hear, Andreas Weber, a delegate from the working-class town of Helmstedt, told me after the speech. With Obama leaving the stage, he added, of course she is the leader of the free world.

Her party is still the most popular in the country by far, with 33% support in the latest polls; 64% of respondents backed Merkels decision to run for another term as Chancellor. In a separate survey published last month by the Koerber Foundation, a Berlin policy institute, 59% of Germans said they want their country to take an even more active leadership role in Europe. But Merkels allies do not seem keen to expand that role to other parts of the world. This is not our mentality, says Norbert Roettgen, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the German Parliament. This is beyond our ways, he told me, beyond what we can do.

It was only in 2014, when Russia defied the West by redrawing the borders of Ukraine by force, that Berlin stepped up for the first time to lead the E.U. through a foreign policy crisis. But that was done in lockstep with Washington, and with ample encouragement from President Obama. Now that Trump is on his way to the White House with a promise to get along with Russia, the world will soon look a lot lonelier to Merkel than it did a year ago.

For most leaders, that would seem like a demoralizing prospect. But it may have helped inspire Merkel to run for another term in office  a decision she announced 11 days after Trumps election victory. If we still had a President in the U.S. who was caring for the liberal order, I could easily imagine her stepping aside, says Sylke Tempel, the editor of the Berlin Policy Journal. But now it would go totally against her sense of duty. That doesnt mean Merkel has the clout or the resources to lead the Western world, or even survive the next elections. It just means she feels the need to try.
Photo credit: Dom Vetro

From Esquire

When Ashley Bezamat created his luxury eyewear label Dom Vetro, his obsession with quality led him to the Italian Alps and a centuries-old tradition of crafting exceptional glasses. "People thought I was crazy," he says, "moving to Italy and learning the language so I could apprentice and become a frame-maker myself. But I wanted to delve into the heart and soul of the craft-to fully immerse myself in it."

Photo credit: Dom Vetro

The result of all that hard work is Dom Vetro's new Base Zero collection, which blends modern, minimalist design with old-school manufacturing techniques executed entirely in Dom Vetro's own factory. "To achieve the level of perfection I wanted, I needed to bring everything in-house and create a culture of quality," Bezamat explains. "Dom Vetro is a return to the old designer/maker way of doing things-where everything happens under one roof-our roof. The mass-produced, licensed brand approach is dated. We are serving a new generation of people who are more conscious and more informed about what they acquire. I'm selling to people who care less about brands and status, and more about filling their lives with quality and beauty."

Photo credit: Dom Vetro

In Base Zero, that translates to sleek frames in high-end acetate with flat crystal lenses similar to those used by the 17th Century opticians who still serve as inspiration for the Dom Vetro line. "We're striving to preserve the legacy of The Maestri-artisans who have dedicated their lives to the art of fine eyewear," Bezamat says. "The Maestri are the direct descendants of the optometrists and frame-makers who birthed the modern eyewear industry centuries ago, and we still use many of the same production methods and techniques today. Our way of doing things is the opposite of mass-produced. And while that may be a turnoff for bigger, corporate brands, for us, we consider it to be one of our greatest assets. To have such unparalleled skill and expertise behind every pair of glasses we sell."

The Base Zero collection is available now on Dom Vetro's website.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="Dom%20Vetro's%20Collaboration%20with%20Ernest%20Alexander" customimages="" content="article.38777"]

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This is why Joshua Jackson is not down for a Dawsons Creek reboot and its making us sad

Say it isnt so! The Affair star Joshua Jackson shoots down a Dawsons Creek reunion, but Ellen DeGeneres isnt taking no for an answer.

On Tuesdays episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the shows host had a serious question to ask Jackson. Is a Dawsons Creek revival a possibility? With shows like Fuller House and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life taking over our lives  in a good way  a Dawsons Creek reunion doesnt seem so far fetched.

Sadly, the 38-year-old actor shot down that idea pretty quickly, especially because the show killed off Michelle Williams character Jen Lindley. Of course, DeGeneres had an answer to that problem. She could come back as the evil twin or something, DeGeneres said.

Jackson, who played the cutest and most charming guy in Capeside, Pacey Witter, wasnt opposed to that idea saying, Thats actually a great idea.

Unfortunately that was the only positive note the Canadian actor talked about when addressing the possible revival.

The other thing is, its been a very long time, Jackson told DeGeneres. And I think, for anybody who was a fan of Dawsons, to actually see the four of us on camera again might be a little bit shocking and kinda heartbreaking.

Okay, it might be a little strange seeing Capesides finest grown up, but we are totally okay with it, we swear!

Were not cute kids anymore, he further explained. I mean, were holding up OK, but I think if you put the four of us now next to the four of us then, it might be a little shocking.

I disagree, DeGeneres said. We also disagree  strongly disagree. Come on Pacey, err, we mean Joshua, a Dawsons Creek reboot would be epic.

Plus, wouldnt it be amazing to see what actually happened to Pacey and Joey Potter (Katie Holmes)?

That finale left us with just a taste of their lives together and weve been wanting more for years now.

We do agree however that it wouldnt be the same without Jen, so theyd have to do like a flashback or vision type thing, but other than that, bring on the Dawsons Creek revival!

The post This is why Joshua Jackson is not down for a Dawsons Creek reboot and its making us sad appeared first on HelloGiggles.
On Dec 9, 2016, we issued an updated research report on Lazard Ltd. LAZ. Shares of this financial advisory and asset management firm have gained more than 30% in the last six months, outperforming the 14% growth for the Zacks categorized Investment Management industry. This solid performance was backed by the companys strength in improving business despite lingering revenue concerns.



Here are the factors that helped the stock to outperform the broader industry so far and should continue to do so:



First, the company remains focused on cost containment initiatives adopted to enhance its profitability.



Second, Lazards consistent efforts toward fortifying its key business segments, driven by a strong team of indigenous professionals in the Financial Advisory segment and diversified assets under management (AUM) mix in the Asset Management segment is commendable. This strengthens its organic growth as reflected by its revenue improvement.



Third, Lazards investment strategies in both equities and fixed income segment, across global, local and emerging markets, have resulted in improving its assets under management (AUM). The company witnessed a 12% rise in AUM during the first nine months of 2016. With anticipated improvement in the market conditions, this uptrend in AUM is likely to continue over the coming quarters.



Fourth, over the last 60 days, the company has witnessed upward Zacks Consensus Estimate revision of 4.3% to $2.94 per share for the current year. Driven by strong fundamentals and a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), momentum in the stocks performance is expected to continue.





Key Picks



Woori Bank Co., Ltd. WF and Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. VRTS are two better-ranked stocks in the same space, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock moved upward 52.3% to $5.04 per share and 9.3% to $5.75 per share, respectively, for the current year, over the last 60 days. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Fifth Street Asset Management Inc. FSAM is another stock that holds the same rank as Lazard. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock improved nearly 13% to 71 cents per share for the current year, over the same time frame.



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L Brands, Inc. LB has exhibited a bearish run so far this year. The stock has plunged nearly 24% year to date compared with the Zacks categorized Retail-Wholesale industry which has witnessed a gain of roughly 6%. Dismal earnings view, top-line miss and foreign currency headwinds are hurting the stock.

The companys top-line has missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing five out of seven quarters. Foreign currency headwinds along with higher operating and interest expenses hurt third-quarter fiscal 2016 bottom-line results. The company now foresees short-term challenges on account of its decision to exit the swimwear category, which according to analysts have failed to generate desired results.

Management hinted that this is likely to negatively affect comparable sales at the Victorias Secret brand by low-single digits in fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 and high-single digits in first-half fiscal 2017.

Moreover, macroeconomic conditions in the Middle East and Turkey are likely to affect the companys performance. Further, L brands informed that sales across its airport stores and other premium cities globally were adversely impacted by a fall in travel by consumers from Russia, the Middle East and China.

All these compelled management to lower its fiscal 2016 earnings projection. The company now projects earnings in the band of $3.56$3.71 per share (including $0.07 per share impact from foreign currency headwinds) for fiscal 2016, down from the previous guidance of $3.70$3.85 per share. On the other hand, the company expects fiscal fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $1.85$2.00.

Lets look at earnings estimate revisions of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company in order to get a clear picture of what analysts are thinking about the company. In the past 30 days, the companys earnings estimates for fiscal 2016 have declined to $3.68 from $3.73. Moreover, its earnings estimates for fiscal 2017 have moved down by 7 cents to $3.86 in the same time period.

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Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks include Burlington Stores, Inc. BURL, Zumiez, Inc. ZUMZ, both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while The Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. TTS carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Burlington Stores delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 25.6% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 19.9%.

Zumiez delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 30.9% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%.

Tile Shop Holdings delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 15.1% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 25%.

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December 13 marks a big deadline in the current presidential race, as 50 states and the District of Columbia file certificates confirming Donald Trump as the candidate with the most pledged electors heading into the December 19 electoral college meetings.

trumpaccepts456

The states are required to file certificates of ascertainment six days prior to the Electoral College voting. Each certificate confirms the presidential election results within a state and lists the slates of electors representing each candidate. Seven copies are made of each state certificate signed by a governor or chief executive and embossed with the states seal.

As of Tuesday morning, 23 states had filed their certificates of ascertainment. For example, Michigans certificate from its governor, Rick Snyder, confirms that 16 electors from the Republican Party were chosen on Election Day in Michigan, since the GOP had the most votes in that states presidential campaign. (The names of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton arent listed on the certificate of ascertainment, just the names of the electors.)

Under federal law 3 U.S. Code  5, known as the safe harbor provision, each state must determine, or ascertain, its electors and its election results six days before the Electoral College members meet in person. If there is a dispute within a state over electors and election results, and an approved list isnt sent to Congress by December 13, then Congress would get involved in determining the electors voting for President and Vice President for that state.

The safe harbor deadline was created by the Electoral Count Act of 1887 after the disputed Hayes-Tilden election of 1876. In that election, disputed electors were sent to Congress from four states. Without a law or constitutional provision to determine such a dispute, a special commission of congressional members and Supreme Court Justices chose Hays over Tilden, even though Tilden won the popular vote.

The 1887 law says that Congress must initially accept electors approved by the state before the safe-harbor deadline. If there is no certificate of ascertainment from a state, the House and Senate must agree on a slate of electors to accept. If they dont agree, then the governor of the state in question makes the final decision.

Story continues

On December 19 of this election year, electors will meet at each state capital to cast their votes. Each state then sends its endorsed, official vote count certificate to the Vice President (acting as President of the Senate), state officials, the federal court that had jurisdiction over the state capital area, and the federal Archivist. The vote certificates must be received in Washington by December 28.

On January 6, 2017, the new Congress convenes in Washington, D.C., for the official Electoral College vote count. The Vice President will open the vote certificates and pass them to four members of Congress, who count the votes. If there is a majority winner with at least 270 electoral votes and there are no objections filed by members of Congress, the Presidential election is certified and over.

As of today, Trump is expected to have 306 electoral votes, compared with 232 votes for Hillary Clinton. A winning candidate needs 270 votes. Unless there are an unprecedented number of faithless electors who switch votes on December 19, the certificates of ascertainment finalized on December 13 are the first official acts of communication between the states and Congress confirming the winner of a presidential election.

Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.

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Vatican City (AFP) - Want to wish Pope Francis many happy returns on his 80th birthday this week?

Now you can, with special email addresses set up by the Vatican in eight languages, including Latin.

The Argentine turns 80 on Saturday, though the Vatican said he won't be spending the day unwrapping presents and eating cake.

After a birthday morning mass with cardinals in the Pauline Chapel, he will get on with his day job, from a meeting with the Maltese president to talks with the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, the Vatican said Tuesday.

The pontiff celebrated last year by blowing out 79 candles on a giant "biodynamic" lemon cake -- made with organic and ethically-sourced ingredients -- and hundreds of tango dancers put on a show in Saint Peter's square for him the year before.

He also marked his 78th by ordering the distribution of sleeping bags across Rome for the destitute, and had four homeless people over for his birthday breakfast on his 77th in 2013, just months after his election.

This year well-wishes can say a quick "felicem diem natalem" with the hashtag #Pontifex80, or write to these email addresses:

Papafranciscus80@vatican.va (Latin)

PapaFrancesco80@vatican.va (Italian)

PapaFrancisco80@vatican.va (Spanish and Portugese)

PopeFrancis80@vatican.va (English)

PapeFrancois80@vatican.va (French)

PapstFranziskus80@vatican.va (German)

PapiezFranciszek80@vatican.va (Polish)
Shaked Hasson was denied entry to parliament after dress was deemed too short. (Photo: Merav Michaeli/Facebook).

A woman was reportedly denied entry to her workplace at Israels parliament (the Knesset) after guards said her dress was immodestly short.

Parliamentary aide Shaked Hasson was refused entry until her boss, Zionist Union lawmaker Merav Michaeli, protested on her behalf.

Hasson was reportedly held for an hour while five guards examined her clothes.

By government standards, Hassons knee-skimming dress was a violation of the official dress-code, which the Knessets website specifies as: No tank/spaghetti tops, cropped tops, shorts or  length trousers, ripped trousers, shirts with political slogans, short skirts and shorts dresses, flip-flops or open-back clogs.

These standards, recently implicated by Knesset director general Albert Saharovich, went into effect last month.

Israeli politicians use Hassons photo to protest dress standards that oppress women. (Photo: Shelly Yachimovich/Facebook).

According to The Times of Israel, the guards were apologetic towards Hasson but said they were obliged to restrict entry in accordance with the Knessets new rules.

Hassons superior, MK Merav Michaeli, took to Facebook to publish her thoughts on the matter:  I do not approve of the modesty squads guarding the entrance to the Knesset, the translated text reads.

The Knesset dress code cannot be used as a means to oppress women, and I hope that we wont have to engage in a struggle over this issue, she wrote.

This comes just two weeks after a law student in Uganda was denied entry to her schools campus because her short was deemed too short.

Let us know what you think by tweeting us @YahooStyleCA.
Women are showing their granny panties for an inspiring reason

As we all (sadly) know, this world is excellent at shaming women for just about any and everything. From wearing too much makeup to not enough, from having too much plastic surgery to, again, not enough, it seems like we cant make a single choice about our bodies without public scrutiny. Its overwhelming, and frankly quite exhausting.

Only now, thanks largely to the power of the interwebs, were clapping back louder than ever. And this week, its about our freedom to wear comfortable underwear.

No. Seriously.

On Sunday, Daily Mail Australia published an article shaming Sunrise host Samantha Armytage for having visible panty lines while casually shopping in Sydney. That was literally all that this article was about.

Sam Armytage's giant granny panties show a visible line https://t.co/ACda8eDJbq pic.twitter.com/NsYuLhvsGo  Daily Mail Australia (@DailyMailAU) December 11, 2016

The nerve she has, right?

Women in Australia and all over the world were outraged on Armytages behalf, and to show their solidarity with the journalist and news presenter, many began posting photos of their own granny panties with hashtags like #UndiesOutForSam, #PutOutYourGrannyPanties, and #BigUndiesOutForSam.

A call to arms for Sam Arms! #PutOutYourGrannyPanties @sam_armytage  Diana DJ (@DianaDJ7) December 12, 2016

Must suck having so much male privelage and all you have to show for it is a pic of Sam Armytages undies. #BigUndiesOutForSam @sam_armytage pic.twitter.com/SjIhcTgTEi  Ruby (@RubySaysSo) December 12, 2016

Some Twitter users, like journalist Lauren Day, are calling for feminists everywhere to stop reading Daily Mail Australia, period.

Story continues

And as Julia Morris points out, even Carrie Bradshaw rocked a granny panty or two in her day.

The style Queen never gets it wrong... @sam_armytage neither do you jx pic.twitter.com/TDS9VqIqzi  Julia Morris (@Ladyjmo) December 12, 2016

Armytage herself is yet to comment on the Daily Mail article or the overwhelmingly negative response to it, but either way, its heartwarming to see Twitter rally behind an important, lady-friendly cause.

The post Women are showing their granny panties for an inspiring reason appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Its the holiday season and kids around the country will soon be hanging up stockings for Santa Claus to leave them gifts in. However, Santas ride may be facing problems because its beast of burden, the reindeer, is facing something of an existentialist crisis.

Scientists at a meeting Monday in England spoke about how the Svalbard herd of reindeer in Norway has lost 12 percent of body mass in 21 years, or about seven generations. And at another meeting in San Francisco, also on Monday, scientists presented data from Russia that showed a 40 percent decline in reindeer numbers over the last 15 years.

The Taimyr Peninsula in the northern edge of Russia is home to the largest wild reindeer herd in the world which has been regularly monitored for about 50 years now. Based on data from the year 2000, the herd had about 1 million individuals, its peak population. And according to the latest data, collected using aerial surveys and satellite imagery, the population of the herd has fallen to about 600,000, which still accounts for 24 percent of the worlds reindeer population.

Speaking at a session called How animals will fare in a changing climate at the 49th annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco on Monday, Andrey Petrov from the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, said: In the last two decades, we see a dramatic shift in migration mostly because of climate change as well as human activity.

Mentioning more specific reasons, Petrov said the reindeer were moving further north and east to get away from increasing human development in the western parts of their range.

We see they deviate further away from historical locations, moving primarily east and north, as a result of moving away from warmer temperatures and avoiding mosquito harassment. They are also utilizing smaller percentage of the range.

As the reindeer move further north, they go further away from their summer grounds which are further south. After birth of the calves, when they move to the summer grounds, the young reindeer now have a higher mortality rate because of the toll the longer walk takes on their bodies, as well as due to crossing rivers, which were frozen in the colder temperatures earlier and could be just walked across.

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Last month, news emerged from Russia that the same weather event had caused the deaths of some 80,000 reindeer. Those deaths occurred in two episodes, one in 2006 and the other in 2013.

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Forget about the stork  it's the albatross that should be in charge of baby delivery. That's because the world's oldest wild breeding bird mother, a 66-year-old albatross named Wisdom, is incubating another egg, likely her 41st one, experts say.

Wisdom's new chick is unexpected; many albatrosses don't breed for two consecutive years, and Wisdom had a chick last year. Rather, most lay an egg one year and then take a break the next, instead investing their time and energy into molting their feathers, said researchers at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial, located about 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) northwest of Hawaii.

Having healthy feathers is important because albatrosses spend almost 90 percent of their time flying, often covering thousands of miles as they search for food in the north Pacific Ocean, the researchers said. [Adorable Photos of Baby Shorebirds]

For whatever reason, Wisdom chose to lay an egg this year. The last time researchers saw the famous mom, she was sitting on her egg, waiting for the return of her mate, Akeakamai (a Hawaiian word that means "a love of wisdom, scholar"). Albatrosses often tag-team, with one parent incubating the egg while the other goes out to sea to hunt for food.

Wisdom caring for her last chick, named Kukini (the Hawaiian word for messenger), in February 2016. Kiah Walker

Every year, the duo returns to the wildlife refuge at Midway Atoll, an albatross hotspot.

Kristina McOmber, the refuge's biology program volunteer crew leader, discovered the expecting bird on Dec. 3. McOmber spotted Wisdom thanks to the bird's bright-red leg band placed there by scientists. Akeakamai was seen by the nest on Nov. 23, refuge volunteers said.

"I find it impressive that not only has Wisdom returned for over six decades as the oldest living, breeding bird in the wild, but also that biologists here on Midway have been keeping records that have allowed us to keep track of her over the years," Charlie Pelizza, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's acting project leader for Midway Atoll Refuge and Memorial, said in a statement. "The staff was abuzz with the news that Wisdom was back and incubating. It's amazing what a bit of good news can do to brighten the day."

Story continues

Biologist Chandler Robbins first banded Wisdom in 1956. Robbins, who is now 98, has kept abreast of Wisdom's travels over the years  an estimated 3 million miles (5 million km) in her lifetime  and heralded in the nine chicks she's laid since 2006, including Kukini, who hatched in February 2016.

Wisdom may be a celebrity, but she's not a prima donna. Instead, she shares the National Wildlife Refuge with about 70 percent of the world's Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) population, and almost 40 percent of the world's black-footed albatrosses (Phoebastria nigripes). The short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus), which the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies as a vulnerable species, also occasionally nests on the Sand and Eastern islands within the refuge.

The birds typically arrive at the refuge in late October, and they number in the hundreds of thousands by the end of November, the biologists said.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
Yankee Candle announced Thursday it was recalling tens of thousands of candles in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission after the company received multiple reports of a potential safety hazard in connection with one of its new product lines just around the height of the holiday shopping season.

The company reportedly received about 16 complaints from customers who bought one of the new Luminous Collection candles saying, when lit, the candle's encasing cracked from the heat, exposing sharp shards of glass. In an online statement attributed to Yankee Candle President and CEO Hope Margala, the company urged those who bought one of six candles in the particular collection to return the product for a full refund and free additional candle of their choice.

The affected fragrances include Sea Salt & Coral, Blackberry & Sage, Apple Blossom & Melon, Sugarcane & Honey, Pine & Sandalwood and Cinnamon & Cedar. On its official website, the CPSC estimated the recall would affect about 31,000 units in the U.S. with about 300 more sold in Canada between September and November. No injuries have yet been reported as a result of the defect.

The CPSC maintains a searchable database of recalled products on its website. Recent items on the extensive list include the Cusinart food processor, of which the blade has been reported to crack and cause metal fragments to enter food, the Barnett Outdoors crossbow, which has been known to fire unexpectedly and the Lexibook Baby Bath Seat and Chair, which the agency said posed an injury and drowning risk. The full database contains nearly 7,000 recalled products dating back to 1973.

The agency also uses its National Electronic Injury Surveillance System to record product-related injuries by gathering medical data from emergency rooms across the nation. The system logged 359,130 product-related injuries between May 2015 and April.

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The Obama years are coming to a close, and nothing drives that home more than the release of the final Obama White House Christmas card  and its a totally different approach to the first seven seasons greetings. For the first time ever, the Obama family is pictured on the front of the card. Its a photo taken at the state dinner for Canada in March, and the family looks radiant. Heres a look back at the Obama Christmas cards through the years.

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Be it through the conventional method of a friend setting it up, or the modern swipe of Tinder, many of us have been on a first date that didnt go well. And for just those situations, people often tell a friend to call them a few minutes into the date, giving them a polite excuse to leave.

But the friend could be busy or forgetful, or their phone battery could die. They could also be more inquisitive about your dating life than you might like, and so on. Not really an ideal scenario. So what is one to do?

Enter PhonyCall.

Developed by Evegny Cherpak, it is an app that allows users to receive automated calls at times of their choosing. Each call lasts up to two minutes, enough time to come up with a plausible-sounding excuse if you need one. The calls come from a fixed number, letting users saving it as a customized name of their choice, one that would fit with their excuse of choice.

Cherpak told International Business Times his reason to develop PhonyCall: I have been going on quite a few blind dates lately using Tinder, and even though a picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes those thousand words are all lies. This leads me to ask friends to give me a call 5 or 10 minutes after I went into the date, to give me an excuse to bail out if needed. Eventually I got tired of explaining, asking, and waiting for the call to arrive.

How exactly to use the app? Download it from the App Store, save the incoming number as a contact (you can customize it with its own picture and ringtone), enter your own number where you will receive the rescue call, put in a verification code (that the app will send to your device) to confirm your number and you are all set up. Next, depending on how often you think you will use the app, you need to purchase calling bundles which start at 99 cents for two calls and go up to $4.99 for 20 calls. Then you set the time when you want your phone to ring, and you are good for your date.

PhonyCallSchedule

Photo: Evgeny Cherpak

Story continues

Currently, the app, released Tuesday, is only available for iOS, but Cherpak plans to launch an Android version in a few months. Prodded by IBT, he said he will also consider introducing the option of pre-scheduling multiple calls in an update.

Cherpak is an independent app maker from Israel who has worked for software companies in the past as an IOS developer. Like PhonyCall, he chooses what apps to make based on his needs.

Related Articles
Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod may have revolutionised the technological world but Steve Jobs faced a backlash when his name was put forward to be honoured in the hub (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN) (Getty/AFP/File)

Paris (AFP) - Steve Jobs may have been a technological revolutionary, but his legacy will not be remembered in a Paris street name.

Jobs's name was one of several famous figures from the technology industry proposed to adorn new roads in the French capital's soon to be launched tech startup campus in the southeastern 13th district.

The socialist local district mayor Jerome Coumet had proposed naming one of the new roads "Rue Steve Jobs" but the former American entrepreneur, who died in 2011, didn't even make it to the voting booths after objections from communists and ecologists.

Instead, the likes of British World War II hero mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, whose work helped the Allies defeat the Nazis, and American computer scientist and former Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hooper, who pioneered computer coding, have both been chosen.

Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod may have revolutionised the technological world but Jobs faced a backlash when his name was put forward to be honoured in the hub.

The suggestion of Jobs had not received "unanimous" backing, according to socialist Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo's first deputy Bruno Julliard, who explained the American's name was dropped from the Paris Council vote in the spirit of "a tradition of compromise".

When news that Jobs was up for consideration came to light, communist opponents hit out at his "legacy" of "insufficient wages", "forced overtime" for Apple subcontractors and "use of illegal tax arrangements".

Instead, roads will be named after Ada Lovelace, widely regarded as the first computer programmer, computer scientist Karen Sparck Jones, computer programmer Betty Holberton and Eugene Freyssinet, the structural and civil engineer whose name adorned the Halle Freyssinet events centre where the hub has been built.

It is due to open in March next year.
Fox News/Shutterstock

One of Trumps trademarks has been his Twitter feed. As the source of power struggles, celebrity news, and memes, Trump is relentlessly on Twitter. But theres a very hard wall between Trump the private citizen and President Trump, and his Twitter feed might slam into it.

As Obama so famously discussed, the official Presidential smartphone is so terrible, it cant even text. And Trumps beloved Android doesnt make the grade, according to NPR:

I dont think itd be possible to do that on a secured phone, at least with the security policy that they had for Obamas phone, says Martin Alderson, co-founder of mobile security company Codified Security. I think that the Twitter app would be too hard to lock down. Thats especially true, he said, with Android phones, where gaps in mobile app security take longer to patch than on Apple devices.

True, Trump could demand revisions to the security policy, but that would take time, and he wouldnt be allowed on Twitter in the meantime. One way around it would be that Trump could dictate tweets to a staffer who uses a secure laptop or desktop to tweet, but that would more or less filter what he has to say and prevent him from immediately reacting to events. One doubts the White House Tweet Supervisor would agree to be on 24-hour call and near a secured terminal at all times.

Trump could also just tweet from another smartphone; the President is also still a private citizen, of course. Its worth noting, however, that doing this is a dicey proposition for those in office, even if they arent elected. Hillarys Blackberry use when she was Secretary of State helped touch off the ongoing coverage of emails that dogged her campaign. Trumps personal smartphone would be seen as a security risk; the author of NPRs piece notes that even just accidentally leaving geolocation on would be a massive security problem. This is especially true as Twitters app has had a litany of security issues in the past. The President walking around with a personal smartphone would just be too juicy a target, and dont forget, the FBI can easily activate a smartphones microphone covertly, so other countries likely have that capability and would love to listen in on the Presidents private conversations.

Then, of course, theres the larger security risk. The one-two punch of a phone call to Taiwan and some tweets led to China making a show of military force. Politicians on both sides of the aisle tend to be very careful in their tweets for exactly this reason; they dont want to be misinterpreted. Trump, as a private citizen at the moment, has no such concerns just yet. Come January 20th, however, he may be tweeting, or not tweeting, a very different tune.
Today, Google announced that its killing plans to build its own self-driving car. Instead, the car project is being spun out of Google into its own company, called Waymo. It will focus on putting the self-driving hardware and software into vehicles built by other companies, rather than trying to manufacture a Google-branded autonomous car.

Don't Miss: The 5 best new iPhone features in iOS 10.2

We will continue to have access to infrastructure and resources Alphabet provides, but in this new world as Waymo we also have this feeling like we are a venture backed startup, CEO John Krafcik told Business Insider. We can imagine our self-driving technology being used in a lot of different areas, in the ride sharing business, trucking, logistics, even personally used vehicle and licensing with automakers.

The announcement follows a report from The Information, which said that Google was killing plans for a self-driving car, but would continue work on an Uber alternative using autonomous vehicles. Google apparently found the concept of building its own vehicles impractical.

Google has been working on driverless technology for years, both in modified Lexus SUVs and its own tiny pods. After Google debuted its cute, control-free pods to move people around cities, most people assumed that Google envisaged those as the future, and would seek to put them into production. Now, that doesnt look so likely.

However, Krafcik did confirm that before Google killed plans to bring the pods to market, it did conduct a fully self-driving trip on public roads in Austin, Texas. A blind passenger was in the front seat of the vehicle, which didnt have a steering wheel.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL Google is moving full steam ahead with its objective to improve Internet connectivity across the world.

Internet search giant recently signed an agreement with Cubas state telecommunications company, granting the Cuban users a speedy access to the Google Global Cache network.

Per the deal, Google will place computer servers on the Cuban island which will store content from sites like Gmail and YouTube, allowing it to be delivered more quickly to Cuban users. This initiative will help Google to speed up its services in the island, enabling the company to sell more ads in the coming days.

Also, shares of Alphabet have been steadily treading higher on a year-to-date basis. The stock has returned 4.04% compared with the Zacks Internet Services industrys gain of 3.63%.

Why Cuba?

Cuba is predominantly one of the worlds most isolated nations with a population of around 11.2 million. At present, less than 10% of the inhabitants have free access to global Internet connection through government institutions, high-end hotels and the black market.

However, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, mobile phones, Wi-Fi hotspots and broadband connections to homes are all increasing rapidly in Cuba. Notably, approximately 150,000 people accessed the internet daily last year, more than double the year ago.

Given Cubas growth potential and the signs of spreading internet use in the island, Google is exploring expansion options here to generate more online customers.

Outlook

Google has been exploring new areas of business in the last few years as its core advertising business is up against increasing competition. Internet access is a pet area and the company has several initiatives targeted at this. Some of its other efforts include high-altitude hot-air balloons called Project Loon, satellites and solar-powered drones.

As a vast portion of the global population still remains to be connected, the technology giant has been offering more affordable wireless data plans and slashing prices to ensure that its services such as Gmail and YouTube can be easily accessed, thereby leading to the expansion of its user base and driving its advertising revenues.

Story continues

A Google spokesman said This deal allows Cubans to use our technology to reduce latency by caching some of our most popular high bandwidth content like YouTube videos at a local level.

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Cognex Corporation delivered a positive earnings surprise of 24.92% in the trailing four quarters.

Itron, Inc. delivered a positive earnings surprise of 30.55%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Fortive Corporation delivered a positive earnings surprise of 8.42% in the trailing four quarters.

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(Reuters) - The chief executive of Oculus, Facebook Inc's virtual reality business, said on Tuesday he would step down to head a newly created personal computer-focused VR division within Oculus. Brendan Iribe said in a blog post that Oculus is also creating a unit focused on mobile VR, which will be led by software head, Jon Thomason. "With this new role, I can dive back into engineering and product development ... pushing the state of VR forward with Rift, research and computer vision," Iribe said. Oculus started shipping its highly awaited Rift headset, which retails for $599, in March. It competes with Sony Corp's PlayStation VR headset and HTC Corp's Vive. Iribe said he and Thomason would work with Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer to find a new leader for Oculus. Facebook paid $2 billion for Oculus in 2014, believing it to be the next major computing platform. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in October that Oculus would spend $500 million to fund VR content development. Oculus is working on an affordable standalone VR headset not tethered to PCs or consoles. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
Syria's ancient city of Palmyra and its ruins, designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1980, have traded hands several times during the civil war (AFP Photo/Maher AL MOUNES) (AFP/File)

Paris (AFP) - Palmyra may just have fallen yet again to the Islamic State group, but a new "immersive" 3D show in Paris lets you walk through the Syrian city's classical colonnades as they were before the jihadists blew them to bits.

The "Eternal Sites" exhibition uses high-definition images often shot by drones to allow the public to visit four of the most threatened heritage sites in the world in war-torn Syria and Iraq.

The eighth-century Umayyad Mosque in Damascus -- regarded by many as the fourth holiest place in Islam -- and the Krak des Chevaliers Crusader castle near the ravaged city of Homs have also been virtually recreated under the dome of the Grand Palais in Paris.

The show, which has been organised with the nearby Louvre museum, is part of a global push to digitalise spectacular archaeological sites that are at risk.

The remains of the ancient Iraqi city of Khorsabad, which dates from the 7th century BC, has also been recreated using images captured by French company Iconem.

Like the other three sites, the 3D images are matched with real artefacts from the city from the Louvre's collections.

The museum's director Jean-Luc Martinez, who curated the show, said that they wanted to "show sites that are no longer accessible and the beauty of their art."

Palmyra fell for a second time to the jihadists at the weekend despite heavy Russian bombing to prevent the extremists entering the city.

- Temples razed -

Islamic State fighters ravaged the Roman-era ruins during the 10 months it held the ancient oasis city from May 2015 to March 2016, systematically blowing up temples and columns in attacks that provoked worldwide outrage.

Photogrammetric technology developed by Iconem has also been used to record the Roman theatre in the Syrian coastal city of Jableh and the Phoenician site in the ancient port of Ugarit, where evidence of the world's oldest alphabet was found.

Its technicians have also been working alongside 15 specialists from the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) to digitalise some of the country's major museum collections.

Story continues

Hundreds of important heritage sites have been sacked or destroyed during the five-year conflict, with the destruction of the first-century temples of Bel and Baalshamin in Palmyra making most headlines.

IS has made a point of razing ancient shrines and statues it considers as idolatry and is also suspected of involvement in the illegal sale of antiquities.

Work on the "Syrian Heritage" database, the biggest 3D record of the country's monuments and treasures, began last December and includes a large number of Ottoman-era buildings in Damascus as well as its 11th-century citadel, which looms over the city.

The head of DGAM, Maamoun Abdulkarim, said the operation was essential to "avoid an irreplaceable loss to humanity" given "the dramatic situation in our country".

The drive, carried out with the help of the French grande ecole ENS and the research institute INRIA, is one of a number trying to catalogue sites in danger of falling into the line of fire.

The Institute for Digital Archaeology, created by Oxford and Harvard universities and Dubai's Museum of the Future, is also compiling a record of many vulnerable sites in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

It has handed out 5,000 low-cost 3D cameras to archaeologists and NGOs with the hope of gathering a million images of threatened sites.

A two-thirds scale replica of Palmyra's destroyed triumphal arch was unveiled in New York's Times Square and London's Trafalgar Square in April before being displayed in Dubai.
TipRanks

With the Federal Reserve holding its November FOMC meeting now, theres plenty of speculation on the central banks next move. The conventional wisdom says the Fed will hike rates again, by another 75 basis points  the fourth such hike in a row this year. But after that, no one knows. Inflation remains above 8%, so the Feds tighter monetary policies have clearly not reined in high prices  yet. According to Fundstrat, however, the Fed has moved far enough in that direction, and well start to
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By Samuel Ssebuliba

74% of Ugandans want president Museveni to retire after his current term of office that expires in 2021 while 11 per cent want him to rule for life.

This is according to the latest household survey conducted by Research World International

The survey shows that Ugandans have a negative opinion towards Social, Political, Economic and cultural issues in Uganda.

The research shows that out of 2,253 people interviewed 32% agree that the countrys socio- economic status is very bad while 23% say its fairly good.

32% of respondents said that since the 2016 General election their living conditions have not improved while only 3% have seen an improvement in their living conditions improving.

In the governance sector, 88% of respondents know their member of parliament but only 72% say they been consulted by their legislators.

When it comes to corruption, 54% of respondents say police is still the most corrupt institution; judiciary comes in second at 13%, parliament at 10% and KCCA at 2%.

On the hand the army is the most trusted institution with 26% of respondents saying they trust the countrys military. The judiciary comes in second at 24% followed by parliament at 10% and others.

While releasing the findings of the survey dubbed citizens perception on Ugandas governance, the executive director research word international

Dr Patrick Wakida said respondents were drawn from 60 districts and the research was conducted between September and October 2016.
By Ruth Anderah

Former FDC presidential candidate Dr. Kiiza Besigye has dragged the Civil Aviation Authority to the High Court for allegedly conniving with security agencies to pull him off the aircraft on 3rd October 2016 while at Entebbe Airport.

Through his lawyer Ladislus Rwakafuuzi Besigye accuses the Aviation Authority of diverting his planned movements and droving him against his will through remote routes from Entebbe Airport to his home in Kasangati.

Besigye says he was also denied the right to meet and move from the Airport in company of his waiting family, friends, associates and supporters hence violating his freedom of Association.

Besigye in his supporting sworn affidavit states that on 22th August he left Uganda and addressed conferences in London, Geneva and Boston and returned on 3rd October using Kenya Airways aircraft which landed at Entebbe.

Court has given CAA only 15 days within which to file a response before Justice Patricia Basaza can fix it for hearing.
Jailed Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere appeared at Jinja Magistrates Court for mention of his case where he was informed he faces 11 more charges has been freshly charged with 11 counts including terrorism, attempted murder, and aggravated robbery All these related to the recent Kasese clashes where up to 100 civilians and police officers were killed.

Earlier, there was heavy security deployment in Jinja Town ahead of Mumberes appearance at the Jinja Chief Magistrates Court.

Mumbere was arrested on 26th November 2016 from his palace in Kasese following clashes between his royal guards and the police that claimed over 100 lives.

Several other people including his royal guards were also arrested and are being held in unknown detention facilities.

His lawyer Caleb Alaka on Tuesday argued that the Rwenzururu Kings health was fragile and he deserved special treatment even in remand.
With an aging population and shrinking workforce, Wisconsin is facing a perfect storm that could send employers packing and leave even fewer wage earners to fund the schools, roads and other amenities needed to make the state an attractive place for young people to settle.

Competitive Wisconsin Inc., a consortium of business, labor and education interests, is urging employers to help develop new ways of recruiting, educating and retaining new workers.

CWI adviser Jim Wood outlined the problem Tuesday before a group of local leaders.

As with many states, Wisconsins residents are living longer and having fewer children. With little net immigration, that makes for an aging population whose tax contributions decline as they enter retirement. On top of that, fewer young people are working today, in part because the available jobs require skills and degrees they dont have.

By 2040, one study has projected Wisconsin will see a more than 5 percent reduction in the number of workers between the ages of 25 and 54. At the states current average per capita wage, that adds up to a loss of more than $5 billion in earnings and more than $450 million in tax revenue.

Demand for public services is going up at the same time as our capacity to pay for it is going down, Wood said. If we cant figure out how to get the workers we need, we cant get the tax base we need.  These things are inextricably linked.

Formed in 1981, CWI uses strategic policy analysis to focus attention on economic growth and prosperity. Since 2010 the group has developed a series of job growth initiatives under the Be Bold brand.

Over the next year, Wood said, CWI aims to put together committees to develop research-based policy recommendations to frame public discussion during the 2018 election cycle. The group is looking to businesses to commit time and expertise toward crafting those recommendations.

We cant get where we need to go if the private sector doesnt engage differently, Wood said.
Every Christmastime, I reflect on the autumn I lived in London (1981) as part of the Missouri-London Reporting Program. I had to return to the University of Missouri early that December, missing Christmas in England, and have not been able to return since.

John Whale was our groups moderator-editor. He and his wife, Judy, hosted a welcoming party when our group arrived. Many of my peers and I lived in Londons Canonbury, Islington District, arranged for by Mrs. Whale. As part of our coursework, we were required to write 12 feature articles. I didnt; a lifelong writer, I was new to photography, and I couldnt resist walking and photographing the streets of London daily.

Our intern group of nine had a big office atop the Sunday Times building. I typed a bit there and used the phone. Cal Lawrence, my roommate, used my Olivetti in our flat often. Cal would become national editor for Newsday and a coordinating producer for abc.com. Eight articles I wrote reached Whales desk, but as a graduate student, my C grade didnt cut it. Id later be forced to downshift to a second bachelors degree. Near the semesters end, the Whales joined our group at our flat for a going-away meal. It was elegant, yet homey.

London was very enjoyable, grades notwithstanding. I wrote about and photographed fascinating people and events, and Whale answered questions and edited, always fair and kind. Whale didnt criticize me for taking pictures. He knew I was doing good work, just not much writing then. Since, Ive been able to author books relating to my 1981 interviews of Picture Post magazine staffers Bert Hardy and James Cameron. And for 27 years, until his death a decade ago, Whale corresponded with me, encouraging my journalism, my books and my family activities. He even said a modest 1998 pamphlet I did on Hardy and Camerons Korean War reporting was the best thing Id ever written.

Whale was born in 1931 and graduated from Oxford. His father was a nonconformist minister who lived to 100 years old. Whale acted in Shakespearean plays early on, and he studied and taught a year at the University of Minnesota. Later, he and Judy read plays on BBC Radio.

Though not a large man, Whale had a commanding voice, and his tongue-in-cheek humor was superb. He was a politics and religion editor for the paper; he and Judy were made its chief proofreaders. He wrote 30 essays for the Sunday Times Magazine that became the style book Put It in Writing, his quintessential book. Earlier, hed been a British Journalist of the Year for covering the masked IRA.

Christmases after 1981, I received beautiful art cards showing stained glass windows in various churches in Normandy, where he and Judy had a vacation cottage. Cancer coincided with his retirement, but Whale still loved hiking in the countryside.

Wherever the Whales of this world and heaven are today, I hope memories of good Christmases are with them and all of us. Whale wrote in his style book, The written word is immensely precious. As Tiny Tim said in the Dickens classic: God bless us, every one!
Sen. Ron Johnson would not say Monday whether he would direct the Senate's homeland security committee to review allegations that Russia meddled in the presidential election.

As head of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Johnson said he would investigate general cybersecurity threats from other countries, but would not comment on whether he specifically supports a Congressional investigation into whether or how Russia may have interfered in the presidential election.

"These are serious challenges, and they should not be politicized or viewed through a partisan lens," Johnson said in a statement. "I will continue to investigate and hold hearings based on fact  not innuendo  for the sole purpose of informing effective policy and appropriate countermeasures.

Several Republican lawmakers have endorsed multiple Congressional reviews into reports from U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the presidential election.

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday responded specifically to a recent CIA report that showed Russia had interfered, calling it "ridiculous" on a Fox News talk show and saying that reports were attempts to undermine his victory.

Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, along with Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Jack Reed of Rhode Island said the Congressional national security committees should do more.

"Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American," they wrote in a statement. Congresss national security committees have worked diligently to address the complex challenge of cybersecurity, but recent events show that more must be done."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill Monday that the Senate intelligence committee headed by Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina will investigate Russian interference in the U.S. election.

House Speaker Paul Ryan also issued a statement Monday saying that he will continue to support an ongoing House Intelligence Committee probe of cyber threats by other countries and terrorist groups.

Johnson said Russian threats broadly are a "real and growing threat" to U.S. security.

Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns are well known and pervasive throughout Europe and other countries around the world. The cyberattack capabilities of Americas rivals and adversaries are significant and represent a real and growing threat to our security and to world peace and stability," Johnson said.
President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin expanded by an additional 131 votes after the results of a statewide recount were certified Monday afternoon.

The state's final election results changed by less than 1 percent after the recount, requested late last month by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Trump's lead over Clinton is now 22,748 votes, up from 22,617.

In total, Trump gained 844 votes and Clinton gained 713 votes, according to the official canvass.

Elections officials worked around the clock starting Dec. 1 to complete the recount by the federal Dec. 13 deadline. The Wisconsin Elections Commissions certified the results late Monday afternoon, about 24 hours earlier than expected.

"This was really a remarkable achievement by the county clerks, the canvassing boards, the tabulators, the municipal clerks," said elections administrator Michael Haas.

The recount revealed some problems with older machines, said commission chairman Mark Thomsen and commissioner Don Millis. An old machine in the city of Marinette, for instance, failed to count votes unless the ink on the ballot was dark enough.

The commission would like to see machines like the one in Marinette updated, Millis said.

"The vast majority of the changes were due to either writing in the wrong number or some sort of human error. There were virtually no changes that had to do with tabulators," Millis said.

In her recount petition, Stein alleged some electronic voting machines in Wisconsin are "susceptible to compromise." She suggested there were "irregularities" in the state's vote totals that "indicate potential tampering with electronic voting systems."

"We found no evidence of any hack, in terms of our computer infrastructure system," Thomsen said.

In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Stein lamented that every county in the state had not conducted its recount by hand. Each of the state's 72 counties had the option of counting manually or by machine. The majority counted by hand.

"This recount was never about changing the outcome; it was about validating the vote and restoring confidence in our voting system to Americans across the country who have doubts," Stein said. "The recount in Wisconsin raised a number of important election integrity issues that bear further assessment and serious action to ensure we have integrity and confidence in our electoral system."

Gov. Scott Walker said earlier this month he would consider passing a law that would prevent a fourth-place candidate like Stein from requesting a presidential recount in Wisconsin.

Neither Thomsen nor Millis offered an opinion on whether the commission would support such a change, but Millis said he believes the recount was an "abuse of the system" that served to bolster Stein's fundraising network.

Thomsen disagreed, arguing the recount offered a "complete audit of our complete state system to identify where the weaknesses are."

Stein's campaign paid a $3.5 million fee assessed by county clerks and the state Elections Commission to cover costs. Clerks are required to submit the actual costs to the state by Dec. 30. If a refund to the Stein campaign is necessary, it must be given by Jan. 12, Haas said.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed a murder conviction

The central disputed issue at the defendants trial concerned the circumstances of the victims death. The State contended that the defendant, enraged by the victims refusal to participate in a sexual encounter with him and his girlfriend, attacked the victim from behind while she was watching a movie, strangling her with a rope. The State further asserted that, after the victim had died, the defendant sexually assaulted her.

By contrast, the defense theory was that the victim died during a consensual sexual encounter with the defendant and his girlfriend. According to that theory, the victim allowed the defendant and his girlfriend to put a "harness" around her and then had consensual sexual intercourse with the defendant, while his girlfriend accidently smothered her. The defense theory was based upon the story that the defendants girlfriend had initially told the defense team in October 2012.

Before trial, the defendant filed a motion to introduce evidence alleging that the victim, then a 19-year-old college student, had previously expressed interest in bondage-related sexual activities. The defense sought to admit evidence alleging that the victim had expressed interest in such activities to her prior sexual partner in May 2010, approximately two and one-half years before her murder. The defense also sought to admit evidence alleging that she had expressed the same interest more recently to her then-current sexual partner.

The defendant argued that, without the evidence alleging that the victim had previously expressed interest in bondage-related sexual activity, "any claims that [the victim] would consent" to bondage-related activities with the defendant and his girlfriend "would seem objectively counterintuitive and implausible." The defendants pretrial motion also sought to introduce evidence of specific instances of the victims alleged prior sexual conduct. However, at the trial court hearing on the motion, defense counsel clarified that counsel sought only to introduce evidence of the victims alleged "openness" to bondage-related sexual activities and would not seek to introduce evidence alleging specific instances of her prior consensual sexual conduct.

The trial court denied the motion, pursuant to New Hampshire Rule of Evidence 412. See N.H. R. Ev. 412. The court explained that, under Rule 412, "inquiry into the prior consensual activities of victims is generally prohibited," but that "[i]n certain instances, . . . protection of the victim and her privacy rights must yield to a defendants right to due process and to confront accusers." (Quotation and brackets omitted.) "Thus," the court further explained, "a defendant must be given the opportunity to demonstrate that due process requires admission of a victims prior sexual conduct," by demonstrating that the evidence "is relevant" and that "its probative value outweighs its prejudicial effect on the victim." (Quotations omitted.)

The court first found that the evidence alleging the victims prior expressions of interest in bondage-related sexual activities was not relevant to show that the victim consented to engage in such activities with the defendant and his girlfriend. The court also determined that, even if it were to accept the defendants theory that the evidence had some relevance to show that the victim would consent to engage in bondage-related sexual activities with the defendant and his girlfriend, its probative value was outweighed by prejudice to the victim and her family.

On four occasions during the trial, the defendant argued that the State had opened the door to the evidence alleging that the victim had previously expressed interest in bondage-related sexual activities. On each occasion, the trial court disagreed and precluded the defendant from introducing the challenged evidence. Ultimately, the jury convicted the defendant on both alternative theory first degree murder charges, and he was sentenced on one. This appeal followed.

Holding

Based upon our review of the record, we conclude that the trial court was not compelled to interpret the evidence as the defendant interprets it. Rather, it was reasonable for the trial court to have found, in each of the instances upon which the defendant relies, that the State did not create the misimpression that the victim was repelled by bondage-related activities. Accordingly, we uphold the trial courts determination that the State did not open the door to the challenged evidence. All issues that the defendant raised in his notice of appeal, but did not brief, are deemed waived.

48 Hours covered the crime. (Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2016/12/the-new-hampshire-supreme-court-affirmed-a-murder-conviction-48-hours-covered-the-crime.html
Tuesday, December 13, 2016

A legal battle between Sofia Vergara and her ex-fiance Nick Loeb over their frozen embryos has perpetuated for quite some time and has now taken on another twist. A new lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the embryos, giving the embryos the rights of people. This new lawsuit comes at the heels of Loeb dropping his 2015 case, which sought to bring the embryos to term. However, Loeb seems to have nothing to do with this new lawsuit as the documents reference a trust suing on behalf of the embryos. The lawsuit finds its grounds under Louisiana law, which designates two types of persons: natural and juridicalnatural are obviously human beings, and juridical are entities which the law attributes personality. This law grants embryos the right to sue, prohibits their ownership or destruction, and requires disputes to be resolved in their best interest. In Louisiana, these juridical persons have the right to life itself. This new lawsuit has the potential to open the floodgates for future cases, but as of right now, the lawsuit is just seeking to gain Louisiana jurisdiction.

See Brandy Zadrozny, Sofia Vergara Embryo Case Could Open Floodgates, Daily Beast, December 8, 2016.

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2016/12/sofia-vergara-embryo-case-takes-a-new-turn.html
China just marked 15 years since it became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

But on Monday, China launched a complaint at the WTO. Chinese officials are protesting the way the United States and European Union calculate prices for exported goods in trade disputes with their country.

China joined the WTO on December 11, 2001. On Sunday, part of Chinas agreement with the trade group came to an end.

Chinese officials say this means the nation, led by the Chinese Communist Party, should have market economy status, also known as MES. The term MES means that trade partners would have to accept prices reported by Chinas exporters.

For the past 15 years, Chinas trade partners have used what are called surrogate prices. These prices are believed to take the real cost of Chinese exports into consideration. This may include government assistance that makes prices lower.

Market economy status makes it harder for other countries to punish a WTO trade partner with high tariffs.

However, the European Union, the United States and some other countries do not agree that China should be given MES. Japan and India also are unlikely to immediately consider China a market economy.

Concerns about selling products below the cost of production

Chinas economy is slowing now after expanding for about 25 years at a rate of 10 percent or more. This year, the worlds second largest economy is expected to grow by less than seven percent.

China considers market economy status important to its efforts to increase or at least support trade levels.

But many experts say China heavily supports state-owned businesses by letting them cut prices and dump goods in foreign markets. The word dumping describes selling exports for a lower price than they are sold in their home market or below the cost of production.

Scott Kennedy is director of the Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

He says, The most neutral judge of whether China is complying with its WTO commitments is the WTO.

Out of 24 trade disputes, Kennedy says, decisions have been reached in 16. Of those cases, he notes, China has lost 13.

However, a recent editorial in the Communist Partys Peoples Daily said it is not an issue of letting China receive market economy status. The newspaper said it is the obligation of the EU and other WTO members to give China MES.

Free trade less popular around the world

The disagreement over Chinas position in the WTO adds to growing concerns about free trade around the world.

Ideas that some people consider protectionist have been voiced in Europe. They became widely reported after Britain voted to leave the European Union. U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has also threatened to place heavy import taxes on some Chinese goods.

Eli Friedman is an associate professor at Cornell Universitys Industrial and Labor Relations School. He says the possibility of protectionist measures in the West could be really bad news for Chinas exporters.

He says, Many countries are now looking to China to push forward on free tradean agenda that is increasingly unpopular among voters globally.

The WTO is expected to release more information about Chinas recent case in the coming days.

Im Mario Ritter.

Bill Ide and Saibal Dasbupta reported on this story for VOANews.com. Mario Ritter adapted their reports for Learning English with additional material from the Reuter news service and the WTO. George Grow was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

complaint n. a formal statement of dissatisfaction seeking to correct a problem

calculate v. to get a general idea about the value, size or cost of something

status  n. the state, rank or position of something when compared to something else

surrogate  n. a person or thing that takes the place of another

tariffs  n. taxes placed on imports or exports

obligation  n. something that is not voluntary but required

globally  adj. of or related to the world
Irans main air travel company Iran Air has signed an agreement with American manufacturer Boeing to buy 80 passenger airplanes.

The two companies announced the $16.6 billion deal Sunday after a signing ceremony in Irans capital,Tehran.

The agreement calls for Boeing to provide 50 737 planes and 30 777 aircraft to Iran Air over the next 10 years. Boeing said the first planes would start arriving in 2018.

It is the biggest agreement to be signed between an Iranian and American company since Irans revolution in 1979.

Iran had previously been barred from buying planes from U.S.-based Boeing because of economic sanctions against the country. The U.S. government approved the deal in September.

The approval was the result of an international nuclear agreement signed by Iran and six world powers in July 2015. The agreement eased restrictions on Iran in exchange for limits on Irans nuclear program.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted last month to block aircraft sales to Iran possibly affecting the Boeing deal. The measure must still pass the Senate. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will veto the bill if it reaches his desk before he leaves office on January 20.

Boeing said in a statement the deal would support tens of thousands of U.S. jobs directly related to production of the planes.

Irans transport minister said the agreement represented a historic day for Iran. He added that the deal would create 8,000 jobs in Iran.

The official indirectly noted the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. We hope that despite changes in the U.S. administration, the country will remain loyal to its commitments, he said.

During his campaign for president, Trump strongly criticized the nuclear agreement. He called it a disaster and the worst deal ever negotiated. Trump also threatened to end the deal if elected president.

The president-elect recently criticized Boeing for out of control costs related to another contract. Boeing has an agreement to build new airplanes for the president, known as Air Force One.

Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!" Trump tweeted.

The U.S. Air Force has agreed with Boeing to build two new Air Force One planes expected to go into service by 2024. The deal for the Air Force One contract is expected to cost about $3 billion, but costs have reportedly been rising.

In response to Trump, Boeing said in a statement that it was currently under contract with the Air Force for $170 million for the projects first phase. It said that amount would be spent to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft.

We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer, the statement said.

Boeing is not the only defense company that Trump has criticized.

On Monday, the president-elect said the cost is out of control on the F-35 fighter jet program of aerospace company Lockheed Martin. The $400 billion program has been called the most costly in the history of the U.S. Defense Department.

Im Anne Ball.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

sanctions  n. restrictions imposed on a country as a way to try to get it to obey international laws

phase  n. stage or period that is part of a longer period

subsequent  adj. happening after something else

deliver  v. take something to a person or place
As he sentenced a former Nebraska probation employee last week, a U.S. District Court judge said the prison term he had decided on was, more than anything else, an admonition.

The former employee, Victor Ramirez, 25, of Lexington, had accepted cash in exchange for falsely documenting urine drug test results for a man under the agencys supervision, and for passing to him information that Ramirez found in law enforcement computer databases.

It marked the second time in recent weeks that Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf had punished a state probation employee for criminal wrongdoing. Last month the judge sentenced former probation officer Thomas Peterson, who was convicted of deprivation of civil rights for engaging in sex acts with four women under his probation supervision.

The judge said last week that he had seen enough.

He warned agency employees who might be tempted to stray from their duties monitoring criminals to committing crimes themselves.

This is the second state

probation employee thats come before me who has violated, grievously violated, the trust of the state probation system, Kopf said from the bench in Lincoln. It ought to be considered to be an enormous embarrassment to the State of Nebraska.

Kopf said he intended to send a signal to every damn state probation office employee that youre going to get hammered if convicted of similar crimes.

Probation officials acted swiftly to address the violations and cooperated fully with law enforcement investigators, said Janet Bancroft, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts, which administers probation.

On the two occasions noted in the federal court, these employees were relieved of their duties immediately upon discovery of their wrongdoings and investigations commenced, Bancroft said in an email on Monday. Mr. Peterson was terminated and Mr. Ramirez resigned his position upon being confronted by his supervisor.

The Nebraska Office of Probation consists of about 800 employees, each of whom undergoes professional reference checks and criminal history screenings before being hired, Bancroft added.

Kopf sentenced Ramirez to 18 months in prison  he recommended the federal camp in Yankton, South Dakota  on his conviction for taking bribes. In an agreement with prosecutors, Ramirez had pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce under color of official right.

The sentence is six months longer than the one prosecutors sought and is at the top end of advisory guidelines that called for 12 to 18 months. A federal probation officer suggested a sentence of 30 months.

The man on probation had paid Ramirez between $2,000 and $2,400 between August 2015 and December 2015, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Ramirez was a drug technician for the Nebraska probation system office in Lexington whose duties largely consisted of collecting urine samples. He was a longtime friend of a drug dealer who was on probation after being convicted of violating the state sex offender registration law.

Ramirez reported on several occasions that the man on probation had passed a drug screening test when no test had been administered, according to a synopsis of Ramirezs crime. The synopsis, which was prepared by law enforcement authorities, was read by Kopf during the sentencing hearing.

Ramirez checked Department of Motor Vehicles records for license numbers that the man on probation asked about.

Ramirez conducted about 100 NationalCrimeInformationCenter database inquiries, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. It appeared that the man who was paying Ramirez was interested in what law enforcement authorities knew about drug sales that he and associates were involved in.

Ramirez searched for arrest warrants for people who were facing state and federal drug charges. Ramirez sometimes searched the databases to satisfy his own curiosity.

The information could have been used to cause considerable harm, Kopf said.

The man paying Ramirez reported the arrangement to law enforcement.

The man wore a wire during two meetings with Ramirez that were monitored by the FBI and the Nebraska State Patrol.

Ramirez will serve two years on supervised release after he leaves prison.

Ramirez told the FBI he needed the money to take care of relatives.

I think his sole motivation was to, in fact, help his parents, his attorney, Bill Eustice, said during the sentencing hearing.

In the other case Kopf handled, Peterson, a Nebraska probation officer for 20 years who worked in the agencys Kearney office, was accused of having sexual contact with four women he supervised on probation in BuffaloCounty between October 2010 and January 2014.

Peterson, 57, also told probationers about planned drug tests and actions of law enforcement, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Kopf sentenced Peterson to nine years in prison, the maximum term under the guidelines.
It is often asserted that the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 proved that HWA was right and he really did see the future.

This of course is nonsense. Herbert W. Armstrong said that Christ would return within twenty years in his book Mystery of the Ages. (PCG has since deleted those words so someone in there knows HWA spoke nonsense.) How convenient for them to forget this.

Also Herbert W. Armstrong never said the Soviet Union would collapse. He thought it would survive intact until a few years after Christ's return. It shows how biased some many in the COGs are that they never seem to notice this. This inconvenient truth is just tossed into the memory hole.

It is true that HWA said that some Eastern European states would break away from Moscow's orbit and join the European Empire he said would arise at any moment. But he never talked of the Soviet Union collapsing. He did not teach that. Also he portrayed the rise of the European Empire to be far quicker then what has actually happened. In Mystery of the Ages Christ was supposed to return by 2005 at the most.

So assertions that the fall of the Berlin Wall somehow prove that HWA was right is just complete nonsense spread by people who, for whatever reason, are still in denial that HWA was a false prophet who merely talked out of his own "human reasoning".
Florida lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow grocery stores to sell liquor.

Workers say large chain stores could buy in bulk

Bill would also allow gas stations to sell liquor



"It's a one stop shop. You dont have to go to more places and waste gas that way," said shopper Jovanni Cruz.



But not everyone is ready to pop the cork.



Stores like Carrollwood Fine Wine and Spirits say if the bill passes into law, it could cripple business.



Workers said large chain stores can buy in bulk and give much lower prices to consumers.



"Obviously we can't compete on our prices. Over time that pushes out boutique shops like this that have collections that are world-renowned," said John Fischer with Carrollwood Fine Wine and Spirits.



The bill, as written, would also allow gas stations to sell liquor.



Opponents of the bill also say it gives easier access to alcohol for minors.



This will be the fourth year lawmakers try to pass this type of bill.
Tampa police are investigating the murder of a 53-year-old Tampa man who was found dead in his home late Monday, Dec. 12.

William McGoff, 53, found dead inside home on Monday

Police say murder doesn't appear random

Police search for victim's missing car; 2013 black Hyundai, with a Florida tag 113VFT

Police responded to William McGoff's home after receiving a call to check on his welfare.

Police say the murder doesn't appear to be random and the murderer may have been known to the victim.

McGoff's car was also missing from his home, police said. They are searching for a 2013 black Hyundai, with a Florida tag 113VFT.

Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.
Once upon a time, film awards were mostly about celebrating great performances. While that largely remains the same, film awards today have also become a thing about celebrating the ones that got overlooked.

One such performance that deserves as many awards as the accolades that it has garnered is Sonam Kapoor's riveting portrayal of brave heart air hostess Neeraj Bhanot in Neerja (2016). Kapoor was overlooked at a recent award function where Alia Bhatt ended up winning the Best Actress nod for her role in Udta Punjab (2016) and while one cannot say that the latter was undeserving, looking at both the films and the actress' respective roles, it would not be incorrect to say that the former was robbed.

Ideally, film awards are given as an acknowledgement of a particular performance but for a long time, awards have come to be seen as recognition of an artist as opposed to one specific role.

One of the best examples of this notion can be seen in Martin Scorsese's Oscar nominations and subsequent win. When Scorsese was in the running for The Gangs of New York (2002) most editorials and commentators believed that while the film was not in the same league as a Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) or Goodfellas (1990) he deserved it nonetheless as it would be a salute to a career. And, when Scorsese ultimately won the Oscar for The Departed (2006) the same talk of how the remake of a Hong Kong film, Infernal Affairs (2002) might not be a befitting film to applaud the master but it was a well-deserved win for it summarised one of the greatest filmmaking odysseys of our times, did the rounds.

Sonam Kapoor might not be a great actor yet, and she is not even the best amongst her generation  but she is an intriguing actor. The manner in which Sonam picks up her roles is a testimony of how an actor should look for chances that allow them to make best of what they are good at.

In this context, Sonam's Aisha (2010) and Khoobsurat (2014) are two examples of how a project was centered around her but at the same time not expecting her to rewrite cinematic history. Aisha might have ended up falling short of expectations  both critical as well as commercial  but Khoobsurat managed to hit the bulls-eye. While these were projects that were produced by her family, her sister Rhea and father Anil Kapoor both seemed to have played a major role, even her role in Raanjhanaa (2013) was an outing that suited her. It is a different story that Sonam's Zoya appeared to be the weakest link in the grander scheme of things when one looked at Kundan played by Dhanush or the 'other' two characters in the narrative, namely Murari and Bindiya played by Zeeshan Ayyub and Swara Bhaskar respectively, but this was also a result of the screenplay that perhaps somewhere did not develop Zoya as much as Kundan.

At first glance, Neerja could have been mistaken for a sort of a vanity project largely due to Sonam Kapoor's presence. But the manner in which the narrative unfolded and the finesse with which Kapoor managed to steer the film allowed the viewer to look beyond the lead actor.

If Aisha and Khoobsurat were about Kapoor trying to play to her advantage, Neerja can be seen as an actors true adventure  to go where people might not expect to see you. Moreover, in Hindi films where a film has the heroine as the lead is often categorised as woman-centric and undeservingly judged by harsher parameters. But much like a Queen (2013), Neerja, too, overcame such trappings. Some have also commented that Kapoor's ability to 'shoulder the film alone', a term unique to popular Hindi films, is also a reason enough to award the performance. The argument is furthered amplified with details like the presence of a bunch of 'stars' in addition to Alia Bhatt in Udta Punjab somewhere ought to diminish her claim. Bhatt's portrayal might be one of the best things about Udta Punjab, a film that otherwise made waves for all the wrong reasons and the presence of a Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, and Dilijit Dosanjh does not lessen her performance but the point is being missed. The reason why Sonam Kapoor's Neerja deserved an award is simply her performance creates a stronger bond with the audience. If the presence of other stars were criteria then a Benicio del Toro might not stand half a chance in front of a Michael Douglas or a Catherine Zeta-Jones in Traffic (2000), when in fact, his was the most heartfelt and award worthy performance.

The thing with acting awards is that they, unfortunately, appear to work on schematics rather than merit or other such things.

An Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) is not even a serious contender for any major acting awards even though she brilliantly got the nuances of an entire generation eager to please but not trade their truthfulness at the altar. Similarly, a Judi Dench is not even nominated for an Oscar for her Notes on a Scandal (2006), which has come to be seen as the role of a lifetime. Closer home, in the 1950s when a Dilip Kumar or a Meena Kumari were nominated they were automatically believed to be the best. Sometimes an actor is nominated for the same role in different categories  Kamal Haasan in Saagar (1985) was nominated in the Best Actor as well as the Best Supporting Actor categories! At times, the symbolic and the actual meet like in the case of Julia Roberts and her much-deserved Oscar win for Erin Brockovich (2000). That year the nominees included Joan Allen for The Contender (2000) and Ellen Burstyn for her tour de force performance in Requiem for a Dream (2000) and while many critics still believe that both Allen and Burstyn were practically robbed of the glory of a lifetime, no one believes that Roberts ought not to have won.

Much like Julia Roberts' superstardom not hampering her chances of a win, which was also a foregone conclusion, the aura surrounding an actor, in this case, Sonam Kapoor, ought not to be misleading when it comes to rewarding a performance.
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Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations are equal to piece of paper from tonight midnight (8 November 2016).

"You have 50 days to return the old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 to your respective bank from 10 November 2016 to 30 December 2016. The banks, however, will have a cap on how much cash can be withdrawn  Rs 10,000 daily and Rs 20,000 weekly."

New Rs 2,000 note that will be soon issued

New Rs 2,000 note that will be soon issued

"And no one should blame me if I take tough decisions after the 30th. This money belongs to the countrys poor. No one has the right to loot this. This is my commitment. I am working with full force and will continue the effort," he had said.

Apparently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a fair warning to all the black money hoarders in this interview with CNN-News18 in September this year. Replying to a question on if he intended to carry forward his tough line on curbing black money, Modi had urged those with undeclared wealth to take advantage of the disclosure scheme before the deadline of September 30 and return to into the mainstream.

A lawyer by profession, Kamboj said that he understands the legal consequences of doing any such thing. "I know I can land up in big trouble if I do something so foolish. What Kejriwal is doing is nothing more than dirty politics. He will see what will happen to him in Punjab."

There were various news reports about the probable introduction of new notes. What was new in that? Kamboj added.

Rubbishing Kejriwal's claims, Kejriwal said: I had only written that new notes would soon be introduced. But nowhere I had talked about or even mentioned banning of the old notes.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that BJP had informed its 'friends' beforehand about its decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, to help them fix their black money.

Firstpost reporter Amitesh Singh spoke to Sanjeev Kamboj, co-convener of BJP's law and legal affairs department in Punjab, who had tweeted the picture of Rs 2,000 notes on 6 November.

Only tweeted about new notes, not ban on Rs 500, Rs 1,000: BJP leader Sanjeev Kamboj tells Firstpost

The step is being taken after it was observed that same people have been withdrawing money, again and again, misusing the facility and not giving a chance to others to exchange their money. 

The government has decided to use indelible ink to mark people who exchange cash over the counter in the banks.

Indelible ink to be used to mark people who exchange cash in the banks: Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das

Are you willing to give PM Modi 50 days to make good on his promise?

"Government should allow old Rs 500 notes to remain in circulation along with the new notes. Also, Rs 100/50/10 notes must be made easily available. Rs 1,000 notes may be withdrawn when circulation improves by 30 December, or at your discretion. No need for anymore faltu, action-less announcements. Sometimes blunders lead to more more blunders," says the West Bengal Chief Minister.

In a series of tweets on Friday, Mamata Banerjee said that there are ways that the government can restore normalcy and help people.

"Such tax evasion activities can be made subject to income tax and penalty," ANI reported. The ministry added that thos who allow their accounts to be misused will be prosecuted."However, genuine people having their own household savings in cash and depositing the same will not be questioned," the ministry was quoted as saying by ANI.

Announcing that small deposits made in banks of artisans, workers, housewives will not be questioned by Income Tax Department, the finance ministry said that there are reports that a few people were "using other's accounts to convert their black money into new denomination notes."

The Opposition parties are not wrong  this could have been planned better and the government is not giving us all the facts. The truth is the government did have a plan. Not for recalibration  for which it has come under severe attack  but for the preemptive calibration of ATMs. If this plan had run its course, it could have considerably smoothened the currency exchange at ATMs. But the plan ground to a halt even before it took off. But more on that later.

And the answer is yes and no.

An entire population of 1.25 billion is living in misery, craving something they already have: A strange contradiction of shortage in abundance. The only question that everyone is asking is: Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi send a country into war against black money without planning?

"What is the difficulty? " the bench asked Rohatgi. The AG explained the situation by stating that after printing, the currency has to be moved to thousands of centres across the country and ATMs have to be re-calibrated. "There is no shortage of funds," he said.

At the outset, the bench questioned the relief measures undertaken by the Centre by saying, "Last time you said there will be relief for people in the coming days but you have squeezed the exchange limit to Rs 2,000 only."

"It's a political attempt in the court. I have seen your (Sibal's) press conference also. You are not appearing for a political party, but for an advocate. You are turning the apex court into a political platform," Rohatgi said.

The Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi in his response, said there is no dispute, but the queues are getting shorter and even suggested that the Chief Justice of India can go out during lunch and himself look at the queue. "Kindly go in the lunch time," the AG told the bench and took objection to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for a private party, for allegedly exaggerating the situation.

"We have also come to know that corruption through new notes has already started. Such reports are surfacing in newspapers and especially on the social media," he said, claiming the goal of unearthing black money and weeding out fake currency notes will not be achieved.

On the Centre's stand that demonetisation will check corruption, Akhilesh said cases of graft involving new currency notes are already making news in some parts of the country.

Talking to reporters in Lucknow on Friday after presiding over a Cabinet meeting, Akhilesh Yadav said, "The meeting was of the opinion that farmers should get relaxation in use of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes...cooperative banks to which farmers are directly linked should get relaxation as money is not promptly reaching bank branches."

SC made the remarks as Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi submitted that any matter relating to challenge to the demonetisation issue be heard by the apex court only.

"Some measures are required. See the kind of problems people are facing. People have to go to the high court. If we shut them from going to the high court, how can we know the magnitude of the problem. People going to different courts indicates the magnitude of the problem," the bench said.

"It is a serious issue which requires consideration," a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A R Dave said, while asking the parties to be ready with data and other issues in writing. The apex court also refused Centre's request to put on hold petitions pending in various high courts challenging the decision to demonetise.

Coming down heavily on the Narendra Modi government for not taking the issue seriously, the Supreme Court on Friday questioned the move to reduce the exchange limit of old notes from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000. The apex court added that the situation was serious and there are possibilities of riots breaking out.

"We are not against demonetisation. We are against the hardships being faced by poor people due to mismanagement in implementing this scheme," Ravat said, when he was detained and taken away by police.

Those who have been detained include Vadodara Congress president Prashant Patel and General Secretary of Gujarat Congress Narendra Ravat.

In Vadodara, at least 100 Congress workers were detained from different parts for trying to block the roads. While two Congress workers were detained for setting fire to tyres on Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway on the city outskirts, around 100 have been detained for blocking an internal city road at Dandiya Bazar area.

Slamming the Centre over faulty implementation of the demonetisation drive, Mayawati said that the government has unleashed an Economic Emergency on the nation and the party does not care how people of the nation are suffering.

Just like Samajwadi Party, BJP is digging its own grave before Uttar Pradesh elections: Mayawati

He then said that India trusts its citizens who will make the country emerge successful after "this test of fire".

"But I see your support. Despite so many attempts to dissuade you, you have understood this move for the welfare of this nation," said the Prime Minister. "The entire world is watching this move. Every economist is analysing this move. The world is watching whether 1.25 crore Indians, despite difficulties, will achieve success."

"But for 70 years, we have been tolerating the disease of corruption and black money. The cure to that disease cannot be simple," he said.

"When I had taken this decision, I had said that this is full of difficulties. And the implementation of this decision was also bound to be difficult. I knew about the kind of difficulties people would have to face," Modi said. "I knew that it will definitely take 50 days to come out of the effect [of demonetisation]," he added.

"A lot of people have asked me to talk more about the currency ban," said the Prime Minister, as he began talking about demonetisation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday talked about the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on the radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' and appealed to the people of India to help him create a "less-cash society".

Sources have told CNN-News18 that the central government has stepped up the printing of the new Rs 500 notes. The news channel also reported that the shortage in Rs 500 notes will be over by the end of December.

Old Rs 500 notes at petrol pumps and for airline tickets will be accepted till 2 December as against 15 December announced earlier, reports PTI.

Exactly a month ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced scrapping of high denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. On Thursday, Opposition parties and Members of Parliament protested outside the Parliament House.

Modi said, "The government's decision has several gains for farmers, traders, labourers, who are the economic backbone of our nation. I always said that the government's measure will bring a degree of inconvenience but this short term pain will pave way for long term gains. No longer will the progress and prosperity of rural India be curtailed by corruption and black money. Our villages must get their due. We also have a historic opportunity to embrace increased cashless payments and integrate latest technology in economic transactions."

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government never denied that the demonetisation drive will not be inconvenient, but "this short term pain will pave way for long term gains."

I always said that the Government's measure will bring a degree of inconvenience: Modi

Slamming the government, West Bengal Chief Minister on her Facebook page slammed the move and said, "One month of harassment, pain, hopelessness, financial insecurity and utter chaos."

Leading members of Opposition took to social media to speak on demonetisation. 8 December marks one month since the Modi government scrapped high-denomination notes and introduced the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes.

The Opposition parties will meet with BJP leaders as well at around 12 pm on Thursday to discuss demonetisation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced that it will hold a party meet at 9.30 am on Thursday. According to CNN-News18, the party meet will discuss demonetisation and will be broadcast live. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation as well, the news channel said.

PM said Congress had chance to clean the system in 1971, but it didnt | ANI

'It's a pity that this opposition party, who fought against the Congres both inside the Congress and outside the Congress are ready to work with Congress. Trinamool Congress, CPI (M) are with Congress. Even DMK who had taken talaq from Congress are rallying behind it. They don't even know what their leader is going to talk about. The congress regime was filled with scams. They will have to explain it to the people," he added.

'It's ironic to see that government is fighting corruption, and the opposition is opposing it. Many people are shaken because vested interests are shaken. They are trying to create panic in the public. And therefore, they are trying to tarnish Prime Minster's image,' Venkaiah Naidu said.

It's ironic that parties which opposed Congress are now supporting it: Venkaiah Naidu

Unlike Gandhi, who in a letter dated 24 August, 1974, to all chief ministers, sought selective action against bigger people that could be publicised to counter the perception in the public mind and in Parliament, Modi and his officers were well prepared in advance to scrutinise the shades of unaccounted stash in the country, even if that meant severe criticism of his government.

Modi is not Indira Gandhi and 2016 is not 1974 when TA Pai, the then Union Minister for heavy industry told Gandhi: "Currency has no complexion and it is neither white nor black." (Declassified black money files of prime ministers office, no 37 (465)/74 PMS).

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised address on 8 November, told the nation that the existing Rs 500 and 1,000 notes can no longer be used for transactions and they are now mere pieces of papers, he very well knew that a huge number of zero-balance accounts were going to witness sudden activity from the very next morning.

Narendra Modi did what Indira suggested was not for her to do

This means that these notes will not be acceptable for transactions from midnight onwards. The 500 and 1,000 rupee notes hoarded by anti-national and anti-social elements will become just worthless pieces of paper.

To break the grip of corruption and black money, we have decided that the 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight tonight, that is 8th November 2016.

As (Narendra) Modi gets ready to address the nation on 31 December in a stock-taking speech, sober watchers of the game may find no nail-biting finish or clear winner. We might need to use something resembling the Duckworth-Lewis method that cricket scorers use when rains or disruptions mar a match.

As time to submit demonetised notes comes to a close today, people queue up outside RBI offices across India

The government is also planning to come out with an Ordinance making possession of old Rs 500/1,000 notes beyond a specified limit for numismatic purposes illegal and punishable.

People, however, will still have time to exchange the currency notes at designated RBI counters till 31 March after giving valid reasons for not depositing defunct notes in their accounts by 30 December.

The 50-day deadline to deposit the old Rs 500/1,000 notes in banks comes to an end today, but the cash crunch and queues before ATMs are likely to continue for some more time as currency printing presses have failed to meet the huge demand for new bills.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the nation on Saturday after his self-imposed deadline of 50-days for the situation to return to normal ends. While some people are hoping for an extension in the deadline, the government maintained it had no plans to do so.

The deadline to deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in banks ends today. From next week onward, those still holding the scrapped currency can deposit it only with the Reserve Bank of India till 31 March, 2017. After 31 March, holding demonetised notes would be illegal and could invite hefty fines and even jail, according to an ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.

Post #DeMonetisation Govt. to roll out massive campaign. PM's address to the nation on Dec 31st will be beginning of this campaign: Sources

PM Modi could launch massive campaign in his address on New Year

Meanwhile, the RBI's image seems to have been dented significantly during the period. Post the announcement, the action mostly happened in Delhi and the central bank was relegated to the background. Moreover, the frequent rule changes, mostly dictated by the political bosses in Delhi, unfairly affected the central bank's image.

The man who is complaining the most is the one who is affected and that is not the common man, believes Bijoor. He places Modis popularity on a ratio of 80:20 with 80 percent having welcomed the bold move of the PM.

The common man is in the mood to forgive the prime minister as he realises that demonetisation is a big task that irritants like more than 60 policy flip-flops after the announcement of the scheme can be tolerated, says Harish Bijoor, chief executive officer of brand and business strategy firm Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.

The brand Modi might have received a good boost after the demonetisation drive, however, the brand RBI, the monetary authority in charge of the Indian currency, may have taken a huge drubbing, brand experts told Firstpost's Sulekha Nair .

The cash crunch in cities seems to be easing. Just for a lark i went to 5-10 different ATMs on diff days and all yielded cash Queues shorter

(Cont) to deposit the same in any Issue Office of Reserve Bank or a currency chest on December 31, 2016 itself: RBI

SBNs (Specified bank notes) cannot form part of banks cash balances from the close of business as on December 31, 2016: RBI

Specified bank notes (SBNs) cannot form part of banks' cash balances from the close of business as on 31 December, 2016 to deposit the same in any Issue Office of Reserve Bank or a currency chest on 31 December, 2016 itself, RBI said.

Bihar: Tattered demonetised notes of Rs 500 found by locals in Gopalganj. Police on the spot for further investigation #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/QmYMDbFRsF

As time to submit demonetised notes comes to a close today, people queue up outside Reserve Bank of India's Kolkata branch #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/Ct3HHxhoMP

Delhi: Today being the last day to submit demonetised notes, people seen queuing up outside RBI #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/LjhkeRdacC

As time to submit demonetised notes comes to a close today, people queue up outside RBI offices across India

Fearing a jump in footfalls to deposit or withdraw cash following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and 1,000 banknotes, banks will remain open this Saturday and Sunday and its staff will do overtime till 9 pm for the next three days to clear the rush.

Banks also announced a slew of measures, including extension of banking hours, doing away with ATM charges and expanding credit limits to handle the expected huge rush to tender now defunct Rs 500 and 1000 notes.

Bankers have also been advised not to take additional leaves for the next one month, during which the government has asked holders of over 22 billion currency notes that are no longer legal tender, to deposit them in bank accounts.

For public convenience, banks will remain open on coming Saturday and Sunday, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das tweeted.

The Reserve Bank also came out with an order instructing all the banks to be open for business on the coming weekend, including Sunday. RBI also said ATMs will remain shut tomorrow as well.

The nation's largest lender State Bank of India was among the first to announce an extension in banking hours, till 6 pm tomorrow and also said each of its branches will be having a dedicated 'exchange counter' to change the currency notes.

ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar said the bank's branches will be open till 8 pm on Thursday and Friday. The bank also introduced a slew of relaxations on the electronic payments or withdrawals front.

All charges pertaining to cash deposit into one's accounts will be waived till 30 November and the fees for

transacting at ATMs will also be scrapped till 31 December, ICICI Bank said in a statement.

It has also doubled the daily usage limit of debit cards for use at merchant ends as well as online transactions.

Axis Bank has also waived cash handling charges, and done away with the five free transactions a month limit on its own ATMs and extended banking hours, its president Rajiv Anand told PTI.

While making the announcement to discontinue Rs 500 and 1,000 banknotes yesterday, the government had also announced closure of bank branches and ATMs today. It also announced the launch of newer notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 from 10 November.

People holding to the older notes will be very keen to do away with them and also get the newer series banknotes of higher denomination when the bank branches reopen tomorrow. ICICI Bank said it is ensuring that Rs 2000 and the existing notes of Rs 100 notes are available at its 'main branches' from tomorrow.

It also announced an expansion of up to 20 per cent in the credit limits for 'worthy' customers using its credit cards.

Anand said there is no need for the customers to panic and appealed them to defer their visits to branches, pointing out that there is a 50-day limit to change the older notes.

Anand said the bank also expects a significant jump in alternate channels like the newly introduced UPI, points of sale terminals and mobile and online banking because of the RBI moves.

Kotak Mahindra Bank joint managing director Dipak Gupta said apart from the cultural change in adopting digital faster, we should also see a surge in activation of new bank accounts.

In the biggest-ever move to curb black money, and crime funding Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last night announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes would become illegal tenders from last midnight and massively curbed cash withdrawals through ATMs and from bank counters.

"In order to meet the anticipated heavy demand from members of the public to conduct their banking transactions, it has been decided that banks shall remain open for public transactions on Saturday, 12 November, and Sunday, 13 November, 2016," RBI said in a statement.

Banks are advised to keep all their branches open on 12 and 13 November, 2016, as regular working days for

transacting all business, it said.

RBI also asked banks to give due publicity to the availability of banking services on these days.

As per the normal schedule, the coming Saturday being the second would have been an holiday, but keeping in view the expected rush at the branches, it was decided otherwise. It is, however, not clear whether post offices would be open or not on the weekend. There are about 1.25 lakh post offices across the country.

At the same time, the government and RBI are yet to take a call on keeping banks open on Monday, 14 November, which is a holiday.

There are about 149 scheduled commercial banks, including 56 regional rural banks, with branch network of about 1.30 lakh across the country. Besides, the cooperative banks have also been asked to take deposit and exchange the old with the new one.

The first demonetisation happened under the British rule in 1946 and the first one after the Independence on 16-17 January, 1978 when the Morarji Desai government demonetised bank notes of Rs 1000, 5000 and 10,000 notes.

The news triggered panic and people started queueing up at all ATMs or CDMs to either withdraw money or deposit Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

The banned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes account for over 86 per cent of the total Rs 16.42 lakh crore value of bank notes in circulation as of 31 March, 2016, according to Reserve Bank's latest annual report.

For convenience of customers, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal said banks will be working extra hours.

Meanwhile, SBI said all branches will remain open tomorrow with extended business hours up to 6 pm.

Kochhar said branch timings will be extended by two hours on 10-11 November and branches at prominent locations will remain open from 8 am to 8 pm.

Many other banks like HSBC and PNB has also announced extension of working hours.
Mumbai: RBI today said banks have garnered Rs 12.44 trillion (Rs 12.44 lakh crore) in banned notes till 10 December, while they have issued Rs 4.61 trillion to them since the demonetisation drive began 35 days ago.

"The old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, which have been returned to the Reserve Bank and the currency chest, amounted Rs to 12.44 trillion as of December 10," RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi told reporters here.

The money that various banks have issued through their counters and ATMs since 10 November and up to 10 December stood at Rs 4.61 trillion, he added.

In volume terms the number stood at 21.8 billion pieces of notes of various denominations, of which 20.1 billion pieces were of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100. The number of higher denomination of new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes stood at 1.7 billion, he said.

Hence, while the notes surrendered have risen by almost Rs 1 trillion, cash disbursal has risen only a little since 7 December, when RBI had said that banks had issued Rs 4.27 trillion of new notes post demonetisation through ATMs and bank counters, the banned notes collected stood at Rs 11.55 trillion.

"The entire system is continuously gearing up for supporting the circulation of notes in the hands of the public. Daily, we are issuing more and more notes, getting it printed and issuing it and this will be a continuous affair. The public are requested to freely use the notes that they have in their hands rather than hoard it," Gandhi said.
New Delhi: Retirement fund body EPFO is likely to approve a proposal to hike wage ceiling for coverage under its social security schemes to Rs 25,000 per month from the existing Rs 15,000 on 19 December.

The move can bring in 50 lakh more formal sector workers into the social security net of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in addition to its existing subscriber base of around 4 crore organised sector workers.

The apex decision making body of the EPFO -- the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), headed by the Labour Minister -- is scheduled to meet on Monday (December 19).

"The CBT is likely to discuss and approve the proposal to increase the monthly wage ceiling to 25,000 for coverage under social security schemes for providing provident fund, group insurance and pension in the its trustees' meet at Bengaluru on 19 December, 2016," a source said.

The source added that back of the envelop calculations suggest that 50 lakh additional formal sector workers would be covered after the ceiling is hiked to Rs 25,000 per month.

The source also said that the wage ceiling hike is imminent because Employees State Insurance Corp (ESIC) which provides health insurance to formal sector workers has already increased the monthly wage ceiling to Rs 21,000 from Rs 15,000 from 1 October, 2016.

The EPFO and ESIC run social security schemes for formal sector workers and are under administrative control of the Labour Ministry.

Earlier this month, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya had told the Lok Sabha, "A proposal for increase in the wage ceiling from Rs 15,000 per month to Rs 25,000 per month for coverage under the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 has been submitted by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). No decision in this regard has been taken."

EPFO had increased the wage ceiling to Rs 15,000 per month from Rs 6,500 on 1 September, 2014 in view of price rise and pay revisions in the formal sector.

Besides the wage ceiling, the issue of exempting textile sector from meeting mandatory EPFO norms could come up for discussion.

On 7 December, the Union Cabinet had given its approval to reforms to boost employment generation and exports in the made-ups sector (part of the textile sector).

The Union Cabinet made it optional for employees earning less than Rs 15,000 per month to contribute towards EPFO schemes.

At present, employees are required to contribute 12 percent of their basic wages towards social security schemes run by the EPFO.
Shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services will today vote on a resolution to remove Cyrus Mistry as the company's director. The crucial voting is expected to happen around 3:30 pm.

The outcome of the extraordinary general meeting would influence the fate of Mistry, who was on Monday removed as director and chairman of Tata Industries following shareholders' vote, first such instance of the embattled executive being ousted from the board since his removal as Tata Group chairman on 24 October.

Today's voting by TCS shareholders is the first of six such EGMs called by major listed firms of the Tata group -- Indian Hotels Co Ltd (20 December), Tata Steel (21 December), Tata Motors (22 December), Tata Chemicals (23 December) and Tata Power (26 December) -- to seek Mistry's ouster as director.

In the run-up to the EGMs, both Ratan Tata camp and Mistry camp have been preparing them selves for the big showdown.

Here's a low-down on the key allegations and counters:

Mistry wanted to control the group: Tata Sons had first alleged that Mistry betrayed trust and tried to gain control of major operating firms of the group, concentrating powers and using free-hand given to him to weaken management structures of the Tata Group. Last week, in a letter to shareholders of the companies, Tata stated that the continued presence of Mistry in their respective boards was a serious "disruptive influence" and could make the companies "dysfunctional".

The Mistry camp countered the last week's letter saying Tata is repeating a lie a thousand times hoping to make it a truth. "The allegation of concentration of power is new-found wisdom being written after seven weeks of failure to come up with any reason for upstaging Mr. Mistry. On almost all Tata Boards there was Tata Group representation," a statement from Mistry's office said.

Tata wanted to sell TCS to IBM: The Mistry camp had earlier lashed out at his removal as Chairman of TCS on 17 November calling it as a reflection of "cloak and dagger" machinations that define "the angry strategy of the Ratan Tata camp". He had even alleged that Tata once tried to sell the IT firm to IBM and his "ego" led to bad business decisions like Corus acquisition at double the original cost.

FC Kohli, the first chief executive of TCS, however, rebutted Mistry's claim. "Mistry's comments regarding the sale of TCS to IBM at some 'unspecified point in time' are not correct," said Kohli, widely considered as father of Indian IT industry. "At no point at that time was there ever an intention of the Tata Group to sell TCS to IBM," he said in a statement.

Mistry later changed his stance, stating his statement was based on "information from sources who were close to JRD Tata who informed him that it was Ratan Tata's intention, and not the group's intention, to sell TCS".

Charges on AugustaWestland scam: The Mistry camp over the last weekend alleged that Vijay Singh, a independent director on Tata Sons board, had a role in the AgustaWestland chopper scam as it happened when he was the Defence Secretary in 2010.

"As Defence Secretary, Singh was a key official involved in award of Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter contract to AugustaWestland in 2010," Mistry's office said in a statement.

However, Singh on Sunday vehemently denied the charge. "I was defence secretary from 2007-2009 and the present cases being prosecuted by CBI pertain to 2004-2005. The AgustaWestland acquisition was approved by the Cabinet well after my retirement," he said.

With PTI
New Delhi - There is little doubt that the shareholders of TCS are likely to side with Ratan Tata and oust Cyrus Mistry as their chairman at the EGM today. TCS is the crown jewel in the salt-to-software Tata Group, bringing in a lions share of the entire groups profits. And in this company, the Tatas own over 70 percent stake.

Some reports have said electronic voting for the resolution seeking Mistrys removal has been ongoing and the result may not throw up any surprises. One will have to wait for a few hours more to know the outcome and whether shareholders throw up a surprise verdict.

As per Section 169 of the Companies Act 2013, a director may be removed by passing an ordinary resolution at a general meeting. For this, a shareholder (with >1 percent stake) needs to submit a special notice to the board, which will then call a meeting. Alternatively, shareholders holding more than 10 perecent stake can proceed to call a shareholder meeting on their own. In the case of TCS, Tata Sons has asserted its legal right and called for the meeting to remove Cyrus Mistry as a director.

According to proxy advisory firm IiAS, TCS is one of the few Tata companies where the Articles of Association gives Tata Sons a direct right to nominate the chairperson of the board. Therefore, following Cyrus Mistrys ouster at Tata Sons, TCS was the first of the operating companies to replace its chairperson. The current chairperson is Ishaat Hussain, an old Tata hand.

According to Article 90: Nomination of Chairperson: so long as Tata Sons Limited and its associates hold at least 26% of the paid-up equity share capital of the company, Tata Sons Limited will have the right to nominate the chairperson of the board of directors. In the absence of a nomination by Tata Sons Limited, for any period, the Directors may elect from amongst themselves a Chairperson of their meetings and determine the period for which he is to hold such office.

This could mean Mistrys fate is already sealed. Some media reports have suggested that Mistry may challenge the EGMs that the Tatas have called for group companies to oust Mistry as chairman but it remains to be seen if a legal challenge is actually made and whether it holds.

In this all-out battle to retain control of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata is already ahead  shareholders of Tata Industries have ousted Mistry by removing him from the post of director yesterday. Now, there are indications that the Tatas are game for investing large sums of money to shore up stakes in other group companies so that they get their way each time and Mistry is removed from the directorship of each company in the Group.

As the battle rages on, not all shareholders are perhaps aware about all the nuances, all the intrigues and subsequent name calling by both sides. IiAS has listed out some questions that shareholders would do well to keep in mind before deciding on their vote:

1) What are the performance metrics for the Chairperson of Tata Sons? Remember, this entire episode of claims and counter claims began after the Tata Sons board sacked Mistry from chairmanship in a sudden move in October. IiAS has noted that one of the reasons cited for Mistrys departure was non-performance. However, shareholders remain unclear on what were the performance metrics and the timeline to achieve those. Mistrys attempts at reducing debt and getting rid of bleeding parts of the business appear to be rather obvious and practical decisions, given the debt overhang. If this strategic re-orientation is not acceptable to the Tata Trusts and Tata Sons, then the Tatas must clearly articulate the deliverables of the chairperson and the timelines within which the goals are to be achieved.

2) How will the dual power structure work, going forward? With Ratan Tata remaining Chairperson of the Tata Trusts and Cyrus Mistry chairing Tata Sons, there was a dual power structure. Such duality blurs the lines of accountability and creates confusion in the rank and file. Going forward, the group needs to communicate how it proposes to handle the disconnect between the two roles (of leading the trusts and Tata Sons). The group must put in places well-articulated roles, responsibilities and rights for the structure to work seamlessly. Also, how will the succession planning for the Tata Sons board and Tata Trusts plays out now, needs articulation by the Tatas.
LONDON A rare book hand-written and -illustrated by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling sold for $467,000 at auction in London on Tuesday, at the lower end of its estimated price range."The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is one of six copies that Rowling made as presents to those who helped bring her magical world of wizards and witches to life. The copy sold on Tuesday, bound in brown Morocco leather and adorned with silver, was presented to editor Barry Cunningham, who published Rowling's spellbinding debut, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", and carries a personal dedication from her.

The volume of five wizarding fairy tales - left to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - had a price estimate of 300,000-500,000 pounds ($380,000-634,000). Sotheby's auction house said in a statement that it had been sold for 368,750 pounds ($467,400) to an anonymous telephone bidder.

A seventh copy, made for an auction in 2007 to raise money for the author's charity, Lumos, raised 1.95 million pounds.

(Reporting By Sara Hemrajani and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Steve Holland

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump named the head of Exxon Mobil Corp, Rex Tillerson, as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and won backing from some Republican foreign policy figures for the oilman despite his ties to Russia.The Exxon CEO potentially faces a tough fight to be confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Some lawmakers worry about his links to Moscow and opposition to U.S. sanctions on Russia, which awarded him a friendship medal in 2013. But several Republican establishment figures, including former secretaries of state James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates vouched for Tillerson, 64, who has spent more than 40 years at the oil company. Rice and Gates, who have worked for Exxon as consultants, both issued statements of support on Tuesday. Their backing could be crucial for Tillerson getting approved by the Senate, where Republicans will have a slim majority when Trump takes office on Jan 20. The fact that Condi Rice, James Baker and Bob Gates are recommending Tillerson carries considerable weight, said Senator Jeff Flake, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.By choosing Tillerson, Trump adds another person to his Cabinet and circle of advisers who may favor a soft line toward Moscow, which is under U.S. sanctions for its 2014 annexation of Crimea and at the center of allegations that it launched cyber attacks to disrupt the U.S. presidential election. Republican foreign policy hawks in the Senate like John McCain and Lindsey Graham are likely to give Tillerson a rough time at a confirmation hearing in early January."It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin," said McCain, the Republican party's 2008 nominee for president. Republicans will have a majority of just 52-48 in the Senate, and only a few defections from their ranks would block Tillerson if every Democrat also opposed him.

'CLEAR-EYED ADVOCATE'

Trump said in a statement that Tillerson will reverse policies that left America less safe. "He will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests," Trump said.Tillerson has foreign experience from years of cutting deals with foreign countries for his company, the world's largest energy firm, but like Trump he has never held public office.He has been chief executive of Exxon Mobil since 2006. He said in a statement that he shared the president-elect's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States."Exxon Mobil's board will meet soon regarding its transition, CNBC reported citing a company statement.

Trump was also poised to add another figure with close ties to the oil industry to his Cabinet.A source close to the transition said Trump had chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry, whose state is a leading oil producer, as his nominee for energy secretary, with an announcement expected soon. Perry met Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, part of a series of meetings that included Rapper Kanye West on Tuesday.In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honor, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."There also has been controversy over alleged Russian interference in the Nov. 8 presidential election, with the CIA concluding that Moscow had intervened to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.Tillerson's "cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department," Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.

Trump is confident Tillerson can get past questions about his ties to Russia, a transition official said."His relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none," Trump said.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump and Tillerson were "pragmatic people" who could help America and Russia build a mutually beneficial relationship. There also are concerns among lawmakers about former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 in the State Department and who has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran, as well as on China and Taiwan.Republicans and Democrats said they would ask Tillerson, who has met Putin several times, about his contacts with Russia. A Kremlin foreign policy aide said Tillerson has good relations with Putin and many other Russian officials.The U.S. business community welcomed Trump's choice of Tillerson, with GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt calling him "a great negotiator.""We are pleased that Rex will bring a business perspective to the State Department," the National Association of Manufacturers added.Global Witness, an international group that focuses on natural-resource related conflict and corruption, urged the Senate to reject Tillerson, citing Exxon deals with governments in Nigeria and other countries, which the group said contributed to corruption. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart in Washington and by Georgina Prodhan in Belgrade; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: The recent notification issued by the Assam government to keep all schools open on Fridays has resulted in a stand-off between the education department and Islamic organisations of the region.

The stand-off has provided the Congress with an opportunity which has been seen trying its best to flare the issue up by infusing secular versus communal debate.

A meeting held among Islamic leaders at Badarpur in Assam last Sunday, decided to defy the order that they perceive as infringing upon the rights of Muslims. The meeting decided to keep madrassas closed on Fridays and open on Sundays in contravention to the government order on the weekly holiday of schools.

The government of Assam in an order issued last week said that all schools under the state government are to remain open on Fridays and closed on Sundays in a bid to bring in uniformity in the weekly holiday system in all the schools under the government.

The order on holidays did not go down well with the Islamic organisations as madrassas have been following the tradition of remaining closed on Fridays to perform mass prayers.

Ataur Rahman Majharbhuyan, secretary of North East India Naduwa Tu Tamir, an Islamic organisation of the region told Firstpost that the meeting decided that madrassa students will not attend classes on Fridays and will sit in classes on Sundays.

"Even if the government opens the madrassas on Fridays no student will attend classes. If no madrassa teacher turns up on Sundays given the government order to remain closed on Sundays, the senior students of madrassas will teach the junior ones and will continue the classes defying the order," he said.

In the sidelines of the meeting, some students of a madrassa in Badarpur on Sunday flung open the doors of Deorail Title Madrassa marking the beginning of the movement.

Siddek Ahmed, former Congress minister, who was also present at the meeting threatened to take the issue to the high court if the government of Assam did not roll back its decision.

"In the last six months of BJP rule in Assam, we have noticed that Muslims have been denied the right to do business and get appointed in government jobs turning them into second class citizens of the country," he said without stating any empirical evidence as to which jobs and businesses have Muslims been denied and how.

Ahmed further added, "Now trampling upon the right to religious education of the Muslims the government has issued the weird notification to keep madrassas open on Fridays."

Maulana Fazlul Karim, general secretary of Jamiyat Ulema E Hind said that the BJP-led Assam government has issued this blanket order in violation of existing rule which says that madrassas will remain closed on Fridays.

The order is passed to appear anti-Muslim. Madrassas remain closed on Fridays even in Gujarat, the home state of the Prime Minister, let alone Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, he said.

Like madrassas even Sanskrit schools have a different rule for weekly holidays. Why the government is not compelling the Sanskrit schools to follow the same notification? Karim asked.

Pranab Goswami, principal of a Sanskrit School in Assam informed told Firstpost that Sanskrit Schools do not follow the rule of having weekly holidays like other schools.

"We have holidays on every eighth day after full moon and new moon and next day after full moon and new moon. That way we have two holidays every fourth week, he informed when asked about the holiday system followed by Sanskrit schools.

But the resistance from the Islamic organisations did not go down well with the government that is keen to implement the order.

Ramesh Chandra Jain, secretary to the department of education in Assam said, "We have ordered the madrassa teachers that it will be difficult for them if they do not follow the order. So they have to fall in line."

When asked since Sanskrit schools have different rules for weekly holidays whether the new order is applicable to them also he said, "The rule is applicable to all schools. But Sanskrit schools do not remain closed on Fridays."

The stand-off between the weekly holiday of madrassas is likely to make an impact on the Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

Haider Hussain Bora, secretary, All India United Democratic Front said, "The question is not about politicising the issue, but about the rights of our fellow citizens to practice their religion."

He further questioned, We are asking when Himanta Biswa Sarma was the education minister in the Congress regime he did not find any flaw about the weekly holiday system of madrassas. He found fault only after joining BJP. Does not this very fact signify that there is an intention to create differences in communal lines behind the order?"
Follow Cyclone Vardah LIVE here

Cyclone Vardah crossed the Chennai coast and ripped through the city killing three and leaving a trail of destruction in the form of 4,000 uprooted trees, damaged roof sheets and more.

More than 10,000 people were rescued and sheltered by the National Disaster Response Force in nearly 300 relief camps after cyclonic storm, the most intense to have hit the Tamil Nadu capital in two decades made a landfall.

The cyclone flattened homes, snapped communication lines and threw into disarray rail, road and air traffic as it crossed the coast near the Tamil Nadu capital, pounding Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram with heavy rain and squall.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam in a statement said three persons were killed and around 4,000 trees were uprooted in the city.

He announced a solatium of Rs 4,00,000 to the families of the dead.

"The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has deployed 4,000 personnel to set right power lines damaged due to high speed winds that blew at a speed of 130 kmph when the cyclone Vardah crossed coast near Chennai Port," Panneerselvam said.

While all efforts would be taken to restore power supply at the earliest, it will take couple of days for that to happen in some places in North Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts, Panneerselvam said.

Advertisement hoardings and name boards of offices and shops were damaged and glass panes on windows and buildings shattered due to the strong wind. Water-logging was reported from in several roads, and sewage overflows in many areas.

The National Disaster Management Authority said that a total of 10,432 people were rescued by 19 NDRF teams in different parts of Tamil Nadu as the severe cyclone hit the state.

As many as 296 relief camps were set up of which 97 have become operational, the NDMA said in a statement.

Altogether 11,857 food packets were also distributed by the NDRF. As many as 297 roads were blocked in Tamil Nadu after the cyclone's landfall of which 89 were cleared so far.

30 electric Transformers were also damaged. The NDMA said the cyclone will slow down by midnight and weaken by Tuesday.

However, it asked people in cyclone-hit areas to remain indoors and not to venture out besides remaining calm. Cyclone helpline numbers are  044-25619206, 25619511, 25384965, 25383694. WhatsApp number  9445477207, 9445477203.

A government release said schools and colleges in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur districts would be remained closed tomorrow as well.

With inputs from agencies
Mumbai/New Delhi: Ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry created a stir in his battle with the Tatas when he linked one of its directors Vijay Singh to the VVIP chopper scam, a charge vehemently denied by the latter.

Mistry, who is locked in a boardroom tussle with the Tatas, alleged Singh had a role in the AgustaWestland chopper scam as it happened when he was the Defence Secretary in 2010.

"As Defence Secretary, Singh was a key official involved in award of Rs 3600 crore VVIP helicopter contract to AugustaWestland in 2010," Mistry's office said in a statement in Mumbai.

Singh, however, rejected the charge, saying the deal was approved by the Union Cabinet well after he had retired from government service.

"I was defence secretary from 2007-2009 and the present cases being prosecuted by CBI pertain to 2004-2005. The AugustaWestland acquisition was approved by the Cabinet well after my retirement," Singh said in an emailed statement.

"To connect me with this matter is slanderous and malicious," Singh, an independent director on Tata Sons board,

said.
Despite the Opposition claims that demonetisation has failed to make the desired impact on terrorist groups, Meghalaya Police has successfully used it as a tool to fight the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), one of the dreaded outfits in the state.

The Meghalaya Police has not only contained regrouping of the terrorist outfit but also made one of its top leaders, Nikam C Momin alias Baichung C, surrender using demonetisation as part of its strategy. Momin, who is the second in command of the outfit surrendered on last Friday after failing to convert old currency notes amounting to Rs 27 lakh.

Anand Mishra, Superintendent of Police, South Garo Hills District told Firstpost, Due to incessant operations by the Meghalaya Police, the group had already become weaker than earlier. Demonetisation came as a bolt from the blue for the outfit. It was like a final blow to the GNLA. 

Soon after Momin, another aide of the group, Lingdho N Sangma, surrendered on the same night. The Meghalaya Police expect the entire group to surrender soon along with its commander-in-chief Sohan D Shira.

"We have to wait for a month or so before the entire GNLA winds up," says Mishra.

The surrender by the two GNLA members has happened after repeated claims in the media that demonetisation has failed to create the desired impact on north eastern terrorist outfits since a large number of tribes in the region are exempted from income tax.

"It is true that many tribes in the region are free from the legal compulsion to file income tax returns. Hence, it is often believed that money deposited in the bank accounts of the tax exempted region are not subject to scrutiny," said an official in Assam Police, posted in the Assam-Meghalaya border of the region.

But it is clearly not the case. A person suspected to be transacting terror money can be subjected to investigation and interrogation," he added.

Rather than waiting for the terrorist groups to get frustrated on account of failure in currency conversion, the Meghalaya Police prepared a pro-active counter-terrorism strategy tailored to take advantage of the situation created by demonetisation.

"We learnt from sources that the GNLA has enough old currency notes to convert into the new ones. Since the leaders could not come to the banks themselves to convert the currency, we had every reason to believe that they will employ conduits to do the same," said Mishra. The Meghalaya Police kept an eye on the over-ground cadres of the terrorist outfit.

"Since effective sensitisation has been made among the people about the risk of converting currency derived from doubtful sources, people have become cautious. So, terror groups are now left with no other option but to send their over-ground cadres to exchange the currency," says a police official in Assam.

The strategy helped the police arrest three conduits who deposited Rs 27 lakhs of terror money in a bank, thus leading to the surrender of Baichung.

Mishra also informed that the Meghalaya Police has seized one crore rupees terror money after demonetisaion.

Normally, the extortion money that the GNLA collects is kept in the form of cash by the militant outfit. "The group wraps the currency notes with polythene and put them in a dry moulded plastic water tank. These tanks are then buried in the forest," Mishra said, explaining the money hiding method used by the GNLA.

Earlier, the north-eastern terrorist groups had the option to convert Indian Rupee to Bangladeshi currency. However, Mishra says that this option is closed for them after demonetisation because old Indian currency notes are also not accepted in Bangladesh eiher.

The GNLA has also been debilitated by repeated counter-insurgency measures launched by the Meghalaya Police. "Now the group is left with only 20 to 25 cadres. After the final blow of demonetisation, we hope all of them will surrender soon," said Mishra.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, India's Law and Information Technology Minister, has an unenviable task cut out for him: To maintain a delicate balance at a time when the 'Judiciary versus Executive' debate has become sharper than ever.

In addition to this, Prasad, as one of the most articulate leaders in ruling BJP's ranks, is also expected to pitch for the party to counter the Opposition's narratives and to try and build a positive public opinion of the party.

In a free-wheeling chat with Firstpost's Sanjay Singh, Prasad spoke on a wide array of subjects including demonetisation, judicial overreach, government's conflict with the Judiciary over appointment of judges, triple talaq, and Rahul Gandhi's earthquake statement.

FP: The Supreme Court had asked the government whether it had a plan on demonetisation at all. Did the government anticipate that the apex court could take such a serious stand on the move?

RSP: The Attorney General is explaining the government's position. It will not be proper for me to comment on the case, as it is still pending.

FP: Confrontations between the Judiciary and the Executive have become more frequent recently. How do you, as Law Minister of India, see it?

RSP: Our (BJP's) commitment to the independence of the Judiciary is complete and total. This government is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and there are four-five senior ministers in the government  Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Ravi Shankar Prasad. More or less, all leaders, some senior in age while some juniors who were prominent student activists, have fought against the emergency in one form or another. I myself began with the Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) movement. In Bihar, we started the movement much earlier with JP. In the fight against emergency, we fought for three freedoms  individual, media and independence of the Judiciary.

FP: Judiciary is blasting the government on appointment...

(cuts across) RSP: I'm coming to that. Therefore, we belong to a government where we have suffered for the cause of independence of Judiciary. Now you must understand the broader framework...70 years down the line, India has become independent. Some constitutional issues have become well settled. India will always be governed by democracy and popular franchise. Elections have to be free and fair. People know that they can unseat any leader or any party at the Centre, howsoever popular.

Number two, individual freedom, media freedom, freedom of speech and expression are sacrosanct in the country, subject to limitations under the Constitution. Number three, the Judiciary has got the power of judicial review, which means that they can satisfy any government order, they can annul any law passed by the Legislature, and they can give any direction.

But, there is also an ethos of the Constitution, which I personally articulated on Constitution Day before the Supreme Court lecture by MN Venkatachaliah  Governance must be left in the realm of those elected by the people of India and legislation must be left to the realm of those elected to legislate by the people of India. These constitutional parameters are also well settled.

FP: This is a very loaded statement...do you mean that there is a settled parameter for the Judiciary and that it should understand that?

RSP: I'm not saying anything more than what I feel as a student of India's Constitution.

FP: Recently, the Supreme Court asked high courts to not encroach in the domain of the Executive and Legislature. As a student of the Indian Constitution, and as the law minister of the country, do you think that judicial overreach in the Executive domain is creating tensions?

RSP: No. The Supreme Court itself keeps cautioning about certain things; as you saw in the case of Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court said that 'don't go for judicial overreach seeking legislation'. I'll leave it to them. We trust the Judiciary completely. But we also uphold the institution very dearly in the growth of Indian constitutional democracy.

And I speak because you know my background in the fight against the fodder scam, and in seeking accountability for loot of public money in the bitumen scam. I know the Supreme Court and have great respect for the Judiciary. But acknowledgement of the constitutional ecosystem is also required.

FP: If you recall the Chief Justice of India crying, choking with emotions over the appointment of judges...

(cuts across) RSP: I would not like to make any comment except for flagging two or three things. We passed the order in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and it was unanimously passed in both Houses of Parliament, without a single dissenting point. It was also unanimously passed by 50 percent of state legislatures, without a single dissenting note. The Supreme Court chose to set it aside. We respected the judgment.

I have two comments on that. Since 1990, on an average, 80 judges are appointed every year. In the year 2016, we made about 125 appointments, the highest in a year. The previous high was 121 appointments, in the year 2013.

FP: Where is the problem then?

RSP: We have made four Supreme Court judges' appointment, and 124 additional judges have been confirmed. Many high court chief justices have also been appointed and transferred. As of 30 June, 2016, there are about 5,000 vacancies in the district courts of India (4937 to be exact). The Centre or state governments have no role to play in the appointment of the subordinate Judiciary.

As a senior journalist, you would know that it is done by the high courts themselves, or on their recommendations by the public service commission. Of the 430 vacancies in high courts, names have not been given for 280 seats. When the high courts will give the names, we will recommend them...we'll surely expedite.

The same Supreme Court judgment had also held that the Collegium system needs improvement, as it lacks transparency. There has to be fairness, objectivity, some degree of screening appraisal etc. It's all part of the 15 December judgment. They had asked us to submit the Memorandum of procedure (MOP), which was to be decided by the Supreme Court chief justice, in consultation with the four-member Collegium unanimously.

The government's stand is pending before the Supreme Court since 3 August. Therefore, if the judgment is binding on us, it is equally binding there, due to the mechanism. About 4,000 suggestions were requested by the people of India, as per the Supreme court and 1,200 were filtered by a community...so I think there is a need to improve the Collegium system as well. There is a judicial mandate and we have done our best.

FP: Now lets turn to the issue of triple talaq. The Allahabad High Court had called the practice 'unconstitutional' and 'unfair to rights of Muslim women'. What are your views on the matter?

RSP: The Supreme Court had asked the government of India to explain its position on triple talaq, in a pending case. Our stand is basically three-pronged. First and foremost, various parts of the Constitution, particularly the fundamental rights, highlight the abiding values of gender justice, gender equality and gender dignity. Our founding fathers chose to give the right to vote to women, the right to live with dignity, and the barrier against non-discrimination, even before other parts of the world thought of including these provisions.

Triple talaq squarely fails on the benchmark of gender justice. How can you, in a constitutional India, allow such a discriminatory practice to survive?

The second point is that we respect the freedom of religion and the freedom of conscience. That's a part of fundamental rights as well. But every undesirable or pernicious practice does not form the core of religion, or the right to freedom of conscience. Can anyone say that I can practice untouchability against the Dalits because my religion tells me to do that?

(cuts across) FP: Do you mean that the Allahabad High Court judge was right in his observation?

RSP: My affidavit has been filed earlier and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. I'm speaking on a larger issue. The third point is that about 20 Islamic countries have either regulated triple talaq or have completely prohibited it  like in Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The point is that if in acknowledged Islamic Republics or countries, regulation of triple talaq through state action has not been found to be in violation of Sharia law, then how can this argument be raised in a secular country like India?

FP: Why do you think triple talaq has become a huge political issue?

RSP: I think it is a question of redrawing the whole minority narrative in the country.

FP: Why, in your opinion, have Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party refrained from taking a position on triple talaq?

RSP: The minority are equally a part of India. The prime minister had said, quoting Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, in the BJP National Council Meeting that, "you neither over-patronise them, nor you over-ignore them. You just adopt them. Unko Apnao."

FP: Modi had come out strongly against triple talaq in a rally in Mahoba, Bundelkhand. Is the BJP trying to play triple talaq as an excuse to push for Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?

RSP: No. First of all, UCC covers a much larger canvas. UCC is being debated in the Law Commission and we have instructed that anyone should be allowed to weigh in on the subject. Once the debate and consultations are over, the government will see how to go about it.

FP: Are you going to ask Congress and other political parties for their position on UCC?

RSP: The Law Commission will enquire, not the government. Even the BJP may be required to explain its stand before the Law Commission. In our view, there should be a wide and open debate on the matter.

FP: When Rahul Gandhi said that the earth would shake if he was allowed to speak in Parliament, how did you respond. Are you not letting him speak? Are you, as Gandhi says, afraid of his speech?

RSP: He (Rahul) has already shaken the roots of his party under his leadership. I think the more he speaks the more there will be earthquake in his own party. But I can understand his frustration. Since the day he took over the leadership of his party, there has been nothing for him to comment on; except for the 22 Vidhaan Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Congress is struggling pan-India, from Lok Sabha to state elections; even in Arunachal Pradesh BJP is winning...Assam we are winning. The people of India don't find Congress worthy enough for even Municipality elections  as you saw in Maharashtra,Gujarat and Rajasthan.

FP: What do you make of it then when Gandhi says that Modi will be rendered speechless when he speaks?

RSP: I'm not supposed to sit in judgement over his arrogant self-certification. But I am very keen to hear him speak and I have said so publicly as well. Let him read his speech...no problem.

FP: Will you then give him an opportunity to speak?

RSP: The question is over the kind of language he uses in political discourse and in criticising the prime minister. Is he living up to the legacy he claims to represent with this kind of language?

FP: So does that mean that you will not let him speak?

RSP: Why not. But on the condition that he must also hear our reply. This can't happen...

(cuts across) FP: Which means that you will not allow him to speak until a structured debate takes place?

RSP: It cannot be that you speak and when our turn comes, you start creating disorder in the House...not even heeding to sage advice of the honourable President. Let it be on record that when the 16 November debate had started, Anand Sharma, Sitaram Yechury, Ram Gopal Yadav, Mayawati...everybody had spoken. We even heard pearls of wisdom from former prime minister Manmohan Singh after a long time. And even though he didn't take a single step against black money in his tenure and a series of scams had completely overpowered his government, he still spoke.

FP: Why do you think....

(cuts across) RSP: No, first listen to me. What happened thereafter? They said let the prime minister come; he came. They said let him come beyond the question hour; he came beyond the question hour. Then they again gharoed him. So who is running away from the debate? We are very clear...we have heard you. And in spite of the fact that you showered abuse on the prime minister, we will hear you again...but, be reasonable and hear our side as well.

FP: Why do you think all parties are against you on the issue of demonetisation?

RSP: Not everyone. The people are with us. Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik and some other chief ministers are also with us. The major issue here is that how the BJP is perceived, how Modi is perceived. He is seen as someone who is standing for the rights of the poor in the fight against black money and dishonesty. We have redefined the political architecture of the country. It used to be Congress versus the rest; now it's BJP, plus the BJP allies, versus the rest.

Their opposition is a result of the great metamorphosis we have brought to the Indian polity. There were certain common factors that we used in our fight against the Congress; now they have gone to the Congress in their fight against the BJP. Good luck to them.

FP: Do you think that the cash flow restriction is going to hurt the BJP, as people are now getting agitated?

RSP: People are whole-heartedly supporting demonetisation. The prime minister had earlier said that there will be 50 days of inconvenience to implement an initiative of this magnitude. Even today, people are appreciating his move. I can assure you as the IT minister of India. I will talk to you separately about how India is making big strides towards becoming a cashless economy in detail.
Come New Year, India will have a new Chief of Army Staff (COAS), as the incumbent, General Dalbir Singh, is due for retirement. The very fact that the central government is yet to announce his successor has already made news. In fact, the issue will only get further politicised, just the same way Dalbir Singh's appointment was, two years ago. And it's all because of a convention that the incoming COAS (or for that matter, the new chief of Indian Navy or Indian Air Force) be announced two months in advance, in order to make the transition smooth.

Invariably, the vice-chief of army staff, who in turn is the senior-most in the service after the COAS, is promoted to the chief's post (normally a term of three years or the age of 62, whichever is earlier), provided he is not superannuated (turning 60) before the day of assumption (if he is made chief on his last day in office, then he automatically gets an additional two years as chief).

This convention, it seems, has been broken by the government. Only a fortnight remains for the new COAS to take charge, but as The Indian Express reported, the Modi government has not yet appointed Lt Gen. Praveen Bakshi, who heads Kolkata-headquartered Eastern Command, and the senior most General to succeed Dalbir Singh as the vice-chief (that post had gone to a relatively junior officer). Nor has the government officially announced Bakshi as India's next COAS. The newspaper speculates that Bakshi's background as an armoured corps officer is being held against him, as the post of COAS usually goes to those coming from infantry. The only armored corps officer to have made COAS was General Krishnaswami Sunderji, more than two decades ago.

However, all this is not to suggest that General Bakshi will not be made COAS. The point is that the delay by the government in announcing a name is giving rise to all sorts of speculation. In case Bakshi is being ignored or superseded by a junior for the post of COAS, he will be the next such officer to suffer this fate, starting with General SK Sinha in 1983.

But, fact remains that the previous Manmohan Singh government had also raised many an eyebrow when it announced General Dalbir Singh as COAS in 2014. The then incumbent, General Bikram Singh, was to retire only on 31 July, 2014. But the outgoing government of Manmohan Singh announced the then vice-army chief, Lt Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, as next Army Chief in March, 90 days ahead of schedule, well before the standard two months. Going by convention, the announcement on the next COAS should have been made on or around 31 May, by which time there would have been a new government at the Centre. So why did the Manmohan Singh government make an announcement that should have been made by the Modi government? Why was the outgoing government in such a hurry? There has been no answer to this question.

Of course, the Modi government has more or less followed convention, by announcing the appointment of Indian Navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba, 40 days ahead of schedule (it should have been 60 days). Incidentally, his predecessor, Admiral Robin Kumar Dhowan's appointment by the previous UPA government in 2014, also didn't stick to the norms; his appointment came after an unprecedented gap of almost two months, after the equally unprecedented and untimely resignation of Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi. For two months, India did not a have a navy chief.

Going by convention, a serving chief has to not only be the senior most officer, but he also needs to possess experience of being a commander. Not all Lt Generals, Vice-Admirals and Air Marshalls are "commanders". Unfortunately, the UPA government was not consistent in sticking to these established norms. While it wanted General Suhag, the senior most in the Indian Army having command experience, to succeed General Bikram Singh, it conveniently overlooked these norms in appointing Admiral Dhowan, who was not the senior most Vice-Admiral, and nor did he have any command experience. The Indian Navy has two operational commands  the Western Naval Command in Mumbai and the Eastern Naval Command in Vishakhapatnam. There is also the Southern Naval Command headquartered in Kochi, but it is a training command without real operational jurisdiction on high seas.

With the possible exception of Admiral Sushil Kumar, who was controversially made chief after the dismissal of Admiral V Bhagwat under the NDA regime in 1998, nobody heading the Southern Command has become chief. But in Admiral Dhowan's case, this fundamental requirement of becoming a commander as perquisite for the consideration of the post of Naval chief was given a go by.

After the resignation of Admiral Joshi and Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, the flag officer commander-in-chief of the Western Naval Command was the senior most. As per established norms, he should have become the new navy chief. Predictably, however, he too resigned in protest, claiming being overlooked. The government reportedly overlooked him because quite a few naval accidents happened under his leadership of the Western Command, the reason for which Admiral Joshi had resigned earlier, under "moral grounds".

This logic is dubious, to speak the least. First of all, as the armed forces in India are strictly under civilian control, any moral responsibility for the lapses should have been with the real leaders, which, in this case, was the defence minister. As Railways Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri once had resigned from the Union Cabinet after an accident; he did not ask the chairman of the Railway Board to quit. But then no Cabinet minister resigns under moral ground anymore.

So, could the government have turned down Admiral Joshi's resignation, something Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had done in the case of General KS Thimayya, who had offered to quit following his souring of relations with the then Defence Minister Krishna Menon? Ships had sunk, aircraft had crashed and soldiers were killed in the past in peace time; but no chief had been punished. Nor for that matter do these mishaps affect the careers of the officers directly in charge, not adversely. So, why should these incidents have gone, first against Admiral Joshi and then Vice-Admiral Sinha?

It is this inconsistency on the part of the government of the day that unnecessarily makes senior military appointments a political issue. All the more so when confidential military matters are selectively leaked to the media from the South Block, as has been the norm in the last few years. See how documents regarding former Army Chief VK Singh's actions in Jammu and Kashmir came to the political domain? There was nothing illegal on the part of VK Singh to launch "hearts and minds" campaigns in Kashmir to promote what he called "stability", and another ex-army chief Shankar Roychowdhury called "sadbhavana". But more importantly, General Singh's actions had the complete approval of the then Defence Minister AK Antony. But Antony did not protest when his colleague, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, demanded a CBI inquiry against General Singh.

But for these partisan considerations, it's anybody's guess what the government of the day can do about the appointments. I, personally, do not believe the principle of seniority is a must in determining a service chief. When in December 2011, US President Barak Obama nominated General Martin Dempsey as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in place of Admiral Michael Glenn Mullen, he hadn't even completed one year of his four-year term that had begun in April. In fact, Obama picked him as Admiral Mullen's successor just one month after making him Army Chief. Besides, he was not the senior most four-star officer in the US when his new job was announced.

Now, could General Dempsey have achieved the top military position in India, had he been an Indian officer? Our system, and factors such as age and political considerations play a more decisive role in an officer's career than his competence. I think India needs competent service chiefs irrespective of age. And when one talks of age, I do not necessarily buy the logic that one should give positions to those who are relatively young on a platter. General Martin Dempsey may have been young, but then the fact also remains that the United States recalled General Douglas MacArthur back to active duty three years after he had retired as the Chief of the US Army Staff in 1938. General Peter Jan Schoomaker, who had retired in December 2000, was recalled to head the US Army in August 2003. The point to be reiterated is that it is ability that alone should matter.

India is one of the few democratic countries in this part of the world where the armed forces are strictly under civilian control. We should be proud of our armed forces that they have always treated the principle of civilian control as sacrosanct. It is therefore unfortunate to see the appointments of the chiefs of our military services becoming partisan issues with political overtones.
Closer maritime cooperation between India and Indonesia is the key takeaway from President Joko Widodo first visit to Delhi.

Though China was not mentioned, the stock diplomatic phrases used in a statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting dignitary, is a clear give away. The same language was used when Modi and US President Barack Obama issued a joint statement on the South China Sea after his 2015 visit. Freedom of navigation, reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), are all there.

Clearly all Asian countries, including Indonesia which does not have a maritime dispute with China, (unlike Japan, Phillipines, Vietnam, Taiwan), are wary of Beijings growing overreach in the East and South China Seas and the larger Pacific and Indian Ocean region. Land reclamation and fortifications to ensure that airstrips are available for Chinese fighter jets have alarmed the world.

"Both leaders committed to maintaining a maritime legal order based on principles of international law, as reflected notably in the UNCLOS, a statement on maritime cooperation released after talks in Hyderabad House on Monday said. The references cannot be missed.

Like every nation, India and Indonesia want to ensure that the sea lanes of the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region, through which trillions of dollars worth of trade passes must run smoothly. "Both leaders recognised the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas, unimpeded lawful commerce, as well as resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means, the statement went on to add.

This emphasis on peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for international law comes in the face of Chinas refusal of an international arbitration tribunal which had earlier this year ruled against China in a case with the Phillipines about Chinese fishermen landing in what the tribunal ruled was Filipino waters. Beijing refused to accept the arbitration ruling.

The fear of an economic powerhouse like China, which now has both the funds and the naval and military might to coerce smaller neighbours is making Asian nations look to building a network of maritime alliances among themselves. This is why, Asians generally had welcomed Obamas pivot to Asia policy. A strong American presence could act as a confidence booster for small Asian nations.

India on its part is looking to build maritime cooperation with all its Indian Ocean neighbours as well as countries like Vietnam. In 2015, Modi visited Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Mauritius in an attempt to shore up naval ties with these island nations.

After talks with Widodo, Modi in his media address, said: "We agreed to prioritise defence and security cooperation. As two important maritime nations that are also neighbours, we agreed to cooperate to ensure the safety and security of the sea lanes, in disaster response and environmental protection.

"The joint statement on maritime cooperation outlines the agenda of our engagement in this field, the prime minister added.

Modi and Widodo directed their respective defence ministers to upgrade the existing defence cooperation to a substantive bilateral defence cooperation pact. At present, the Indian and Indonesian Army and Naval officers of both nations meet regularly for talks. Now the Airforce officers will also be included. There will also be increased defence exercises, including among special forces as well preliminary work on joint production of defence equipment and technology transfer, obviously from the Indian side.

Modi as prime minister has been paying a lot of attention to naval cooperation and the Indian Navy now holds regular exercises with more and more countries. Indian ships are now regularly visiting ports across Aisa, Africa and Europe. The highlight of defence cooperation are the Malabar exercises between India and the US Navies which started in 2002. Japan had once been part of the exercises, but stayed out after Chinas vehement protests. But from 2016, Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) have joined the US and Indian Navies for trilateral manouevres at sea. Malabar exercises will be held annually between the three navies, alternately in the Western Pacific (near Japan) and the Indian Ocean. This decision not to heed Chinese protests was taken by the Modi government.

Since 2002, India and Indonesia have been expanding maritime cooperation by holding joint coordinated naval patrols biannually. This got a much needed political boost on Monday with Modi and Widodo calling for greater closer maritime cooperation.

"Maritime cooperation has a wider reach than mere naval strategy," said Gautam Mukhopadhya, former ambassador to Myanmar, who was also MEAs representative in the Defence Ministry. "Widodo is completey geared to boosting Indonesia's economic potential. Strategically he wants to make sure that the scattered smaller islands of the country are well protected and so cooperation with the Indian Navy will also help in capacity building, the former envoy added.

"Our partnership will also extend to combating terrorism, organised crime, drugs and human trafficking, Modi said, signaling the cooperation is not just limited to defence.

A memorandum of understanding between India and Indonesia is on the cards to accelerate maritime cooperation in maritime safety and security, and promotion of maritime industries, as one of the important pillars towards enhancing the bilateral relationship. The two nations also spoke of the need to combat and eliminate "illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing" and recognised transnational organised fisheries crime as one of the emerging crimes, which has become an ever-growing threat to the world.
It has now been over two months since the Jammu and Kashmir government banned Kashmir Reader, a Srinagarbased English daily. But barring a few and rare voices of protest that have been audible  coming primarily from the staff at the daily itself  an oppressive silence has prevailed in most quarters. The muted, almost absent, protest at such a blatant and audacious infringement on media freedom, reveals mainstream Indias problematic attitude towards the state. This silence further tells us why large sections of Kashmiris are racked by such a deep feeling of alienation.

Tragically, even left-liberal sections of society (including political parties in opposition), have chosen to ignore the censorship of Kashmir Reader. These same people were, not so long ago, up in arms aggressively protesting the governments eventually unsuccessful move to slap a one-day ban on NDTV India. Such double standards  even if unconscious  dont help lessen the us and them sentiment expressed by many Kashmiris today. If anything, the failure to raise a hue and cry over the attack on a newspaper validates many of the grievances shared by them.

Consider the dichotomy: even before the one-day ban on NDTV India could be enforced, strident opposition, slamming the order, was mounted from within media circles (especially social media). Political parties and commentators also weighed in. Faced by such fierce criticism, perhaps coupled with back room conversations, the central government finally decided to rescind the order. In contrast, when the ban was slapped on Kashmir Reader, a popular newspaper in Jammu and Kashmir, barely any noise was made in the public sphere. On 4 December, even as the ban continues to be in effect, the police detained a reporter of the paper before releasing him in the evening.

In his report in The Indian Express, Bashaarat Masood quotes what Mohammad, a reporter with the Kashmir Reader, had to say about the postban situation. Underlining the aforementioned double standard, Mohammad said: This is an attack on the freedom of the press. It has happened in other states too and in the case of NDTV. He went on to add: While the media from mainland India strongly backed NDTV, they have not done so in our case. When NDTV (India) was banned for a day, the Editors Guild of India issued a forceful statement but in our case, they issued a statement after a week and it was mild and balancing. I think it is because of our location and name.

Apparently, what drew the ire of the PDP-BJP state government was the Kashmir Readers focussed reportage on human rights violations and its growing profile among readers. Unfortunately, political parties, particularly rightwing Hindutva parties like the BJP, have always tended to underplay human rights violations in insurgencyaffected regions, particularly Kashmir. Even centrist and left parties fight shy of acknowledging the ground situation or explicitly tackling the issue of azaadi.

The government ban was based on the allegation that the material published by Kashmir Reader threatened to incite violence and disrupt peace. Even though the order has not specifically drawn attention to the published material that is inflammatory in nature. Two months after the ban, one is bound to wonder and ask aloud if the gag order helped the government to usher peace in Kashmir? Even the blind and the faithful would be hard pressed to reply in the affirmative.

The BJP government at the Centre tries to project the state of conflict as nothing but purely an issue of economic well-being and jobs. Unfortunately, this is not the case. But even if we accept that argument, we are left wondering if the government has pondered how such a prolonged ban would affect the staff of Kashmir Reader. As the article in The Indian Express informed readers: The paper has over 50 employees on its rolls: its editorial staff consists of 20 journalists based out of Srinagar and a few reporters in the districts while another 30 people are enrolled with its marketing, circulation and design departments.

In such a situation we could rightfully ask the BJP and PDP whether the ban  which makes journalists lives economically precarious and starves the public of news, has any positive contribution to make in terms of combating the suspicious attitude of Kashmiri people. Does a ban of this sort help in any way in any context?

In an article in Firstpost last month, Mir Hilal, editor of the banned newspaper had this to say: As editor, I feel proud when a man walked into our office a couple of days ago and offered his entire saving of Rs 10,000 if that can help us. At the same time I feel sad each time a reporter, itching to sit down in front of a computer to file his story, walks into the office and asks, once again, Any development on the ban front?

Until the government wakes up to the counter productive nature of its actions, the least we can hope for is less silence about the issue in the mainstream discourse of the country.
The Chief Vigilance Officer of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has alleged that the Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, his cousin Goboi Rijiju  a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh  and several top officials of NEEPCO are involved in a multi-crore scam in the construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project, one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

According to The Indian Express, in a 129-page report, CVO Satish Verma alleged an "elaborate conspiracy" involving contractors, NEEPCO officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds that "may extend up to Rs 450 crore." Rijiju had written a letter to Ministry of Power to release funds to the contractor and his cousin Goboi Rijiju, News18 reported.

Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was pulled up by NEEPCO for "unauthorised absence," and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report. The Indian Express quoted him as attributing the "absence" to his investigation.

On the other hand, Congress alleged Rijiju's role in "450-crore scam" in Arunachal is under cloud and demanded his removal till independent probe is conducted.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "PM Modi's claim of transparency now under question, people are

watching what action he takes in 'Arunachal scam'."

Meanwhile, Rijiju said that those who "planted" the news that he has been named along with a few others in a vigilance report on corruption at NEEPCO will get beaten up with shoes if they come to Arunachal Pradesh. "Jhoothe khayenge hamare yahan," ANI quoted him as saying reacting to the report that appeared in The Indian Express on Tuesday. According to the paper, Verma's report alleges many fake and "inflated bills" by contractors to embezzle money "in the name of transporting rocks".

Ye jo plant kar rhe hain news,hamare yahan ayenge to joote khaynge,logon ki sewa krna corruption hai?:Kiren Rjiju on Arunachal Hydro Project pic.twitter.com/eNQWLf2ttg  ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

Ye khabar kisi ne badmaashi kar ke plant ki hai, haan letter maine likha hai par usme aisa kuch nahi hai. Non issue hai: Kiren Rijiju pic.twitter.com/Ch6XzL6c89  ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

Reacting to the news, a Congress member of Arunachal Pradesh said.

There should be an investigation into this, then only truth will come out: Ninong Ering,Congress on Kiren Rijiju/ Arunachal Hydro Project pic.twitter.com/4VDgaXaEA8  ANI (@ANI_news) December 13, 2016

Rijiju represents Arunachal Pradesh in the Lok Sabha. CVO Verma is a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer who assisted on the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, and in a petition to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) alleged that his role as a CVO was curtailed since he flagged off the multi-crore scam. "In the affidavit, Mr. Verma said that all his outstation visits were accounted for and were done to investigate the fraudulent activities," The Hindu reported.

Speaking to The Hindu, Rijiju, however, said, "He (Goboi) is a distant cousin. Be it anyone, whether distant cousins or friends, will not tolerate if my name is used to get their works done. Anyway I will always ensure that my people dont face hardship."
Twelve persons, including two women, were detained by police for not standing up while the national anthem was in progress at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, said a report. That was a day after eight youths were beaten up in a Chennai cinema hall for not standing up during the anthem.

These are the first such instances since a recent Supreme Court interim order made it mandatory to play the national anthem in theatres before movies are screened. The Kerala and Tamil Nadu incidents would surely help to instill fear in the minds of anyone at a public place listening to the anthem either by choice or by accident. These would offer them one more valid reason to display their patriotism besides the feeling of patriotism itself  the fear of being prosecuted.

The Chennai incident gives us hope of the emergence of a new breed of vigilantes, lets call this group, national anthem vigilantes. Remember those days, when self-appointed gaurakshaks went berserk, days when people were beaten up at several places for either eating beef or harming the cow. Even tanners who made a modest living skinning abandoned dead cow carcasses werent spared. That uncomfortable phase prevailed for a while and of late one doesnt hear much about cow vigilantes.

But, that void will now be filled by a different kind of vigilantes. Here too, the mode of employment is self-appointment. The job profile is to guard the nationalist cause. The mandate is to beat up people who are found (to the discretionary power of vigilantes) to disrespect the national anthem. The places of their postings are theatres and international film festival venues. They have begun the job self-appointing themselves for the role after the Supreme Court order. It does not matter that you are at the air-conditioned, dark hall to unwind after a hectic week of work to watch that long-awaited film or even to watch your favorite adult movie, you are supposed to stand up first and remember your nationalist commitments.

Enjoyment later, patriotism first.

If not, you are likely to get heckled, abused and manhandled by the new breed of vigilantes. Thats what happened in Chennai when youths were assaulted for not standing up during the national anthem and even taking selfies. Lets get one thing clear. There is no question about how we all should respect the mother nation, not just the anthem  all ideals it stands for. If the youths in question were taking selfies with the intention of insulting the nation, their action is questionable.

But, come on, they were students, who came for a movie  not to attend a republic day parade. Why in the world should someone be forced to show display of patriotism in a theatre of all places? Or, why only in theater, shouldnt this be forced on people on bus stands, railway stations, offices and even bars (Why not?). If this brings on the true patriot in every Indian, shouldnt this be done first in the august house of Parliament and state assemblies at the beginning of every day of Parliament session, where public representatives often behave worse than street thugs? But, then of course, there is a court order for cinema theaters. And you must follow the rule. No questions asked. But, of course, questions will keep coming. Questions that have been already asked and questions that will be asked again, till answers come. Here goes some of them.

One, should the feeling of patriotism come from within or forced upon by someone else? Should one do it fearing the crowd around? Two, how do citizen or police measure the feeling of patriotism in his fellow citizen? Three, how different is display of patriotism from the feeling of patriotism? Four, how does one decide the show of display is indeed a display of patriotism or a dishonest action? For instance, is someone technically standing up in a theater during the national anthem but makes a face, would they still be tagged as an honest patriot? And, how on earth would the vigilantes or police standing around him even know that he is making a face unless then cease to display their respect to the anthem and start looking at the subject in question? Unless a movie theatre fixes CCTVs all around the hall that capture the faces during the anthem and an ethics committee in theatres inspects the footage during the movie so that the fake patriots can be booked by the end of the show, implementing this rule isnt possible.

Can we, thus, conclude that checking patriotism isnt an easy task unless vigilantes turn out to be the investigators, the judge and the executioners? Last month, there was an incident reported from Goa where a wheelchair-bound man who couldn't rise up during the national anthem was reportedly attacked at a multiplex. The Supreme Court later clarified that the disabled doesnt need to stand up and the doors neednt be bolted.

But, the Supreme Court order to make the national anthem mandatory alone is sufficient to embolden the self-appointed guardians of national anthem in cinema theaters. The Supreme Court order, though an interim one, lacked logic. Make it mandatory to respect the national anthem wouldnt alone safe guard the symbols the constitution bestows respect. If Supreme Court is so determined to force patriotism on citizens, shouldnt it also ask zoos in the country take out peacocks and tigers (national bird and animal) out of their confinements too. Arent we insulting the national symbols by putting them in cage?

Like mentioned earlier, as the next step, to ensure theaters do follow the rule, the Supreme Court should also ask theater owners to install CCTV cameras in all theaters and constitution of an ethics committee to ensure movie-goers pay real respect to national anthem. If these measures arent possible, the other way is to simply let the citizen use his individual freedom and discretion to fulfill his moral and constitutional responsibilities to the motherland.

Within us, each of us cherish being an Indian and feel lucky to be born here. Fear of prosecution shouldnt necessarily be the motivating reason to bow to the mother and feeling of patriotism and fear of being watched and prosecuted shouldnt come in the same breath.

Makes sense my Lord?
Mumbai: RBI has asked banks to preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests to help law enforcement agencies in identifying people engaged in hoarding of new notes post demonetisation.

The Reserve Bank, in a notification issued today, said banks should "preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from 8 November to 30 December, 2016, until further instructions".

The central bank said the move will "facilitate coordinated and effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes".

Earlier in October, the RBI had asked banks to cover the banking hall/area and counters under CCTV surveillance and recording and preserve the recording to help identify people abetting circulation of counterfeit notes.

After demonetisation, there have been reports of hoarding of new currency notes by unscrupulous elements at various bank branches across the country.

The Income-Tax Department is carrying out raids across the country on a regular basis since demonetisation to nab new currency hoarders and several people, both individuals as well as bank officials, have been booked so far for carrying out such illegal activities.

The government has said abolishment of these high denomination banknotes is intended to bring back unaccounted money into the system, curb fake currency circulation as well as to deter terror financing.
It might be fashionable to beat one's chest in public about corruption, and undertake financial lynching pogroms like the demonetisation scheme, but in reality, much of the government's back room activity, drafted by the powerful and highly corrupt IAS lobby, continues to prioritise protecting  or even empowering  the corrupt.

A strong whiff of this comes from the NDA government's decision to back the passage of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Bill, 2013, a ludicrously whittled down version of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which has been carefully designed to make the accused in the 2G, CWG, Coalgate and AgustaWestland scams look like saints.

Offences defined by the existing Act fall into three broad categories: Trap cases in which corrupt public servants, middlemen, etc, are caught red-handed taking bribes; abuse of official position which targets corruption at higher places; and disproportionate assets.

The proposed amendments, which have been cleared by a Rajya Sabha select committee on the PC Act, severely limit the probability of corrupt public servants being caught taking bribes red handed, restrict the capacity of investigating agencies to prosecute corrupt public servants accused of owning disproportionate assets, and severely dilute the offence of abuse of official position. As a result, senior government officials will have fewer chances of getting caught or being punished.

It further emasculates the Lokpal Act, which is supposed to fight corruption at higher levels. However, if acts of commission and omission by senior government officials are sought to be blatantly decriminalised through these proposed amendments, what can the Lokpal be expected to do?

What is most curious is how the entire Rajya Sabha committee, including Members of Parliament of varying political colour  who are often heard lending high decibel disapproval towards big corruption in the media  have consented to this damning piece of legislation.

The committee on corruption:

The most damning feature of the PC Bill:

The biggest giveaway of the real intent behind the redrafting of the PC Act is the deletion of Section 13(1)(d) in its entirety, despite it being the only provision which made senior government officials liable for criminal action in a multitude of big ticket corruption scandals like Bofors, 2G spectrum, CWG, Coalgate, AgustaWestland, etc. This section defines 'Abuse of Official Position' under the overall category of Criminal misconduct by a public servant.

It's inexplicable that the entire section has been deleted, despite the fact that criticism from the bureaucracy has been limited to sub-clause (iii) relating to "public interest": A public servant is said to commit the offense of criminal misconduct, if he, while holding office as a public servant, obtains for any person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage without any public interest.

Although even criticism of this sub-clause is misplaced, considering that data shows that not many public servants have actually been charged on this count. Maximum cases involving 'Abuse of Official Position' have been registered under the first two sub-clauses of section 13(1)(d), which have attracted no dispute. And yet, strangely, the bill proposes to delete all three sub-clauses, ie the entire Section 13(1)(d) of the PC Act.

The government's likely defence will be that Section 13(1)(d) has been merged with Section 7, not deleted. The argument is specious considering that the expanded Section 7 of the new bill relates to the offence of direct bribing (like bribing a traffic policeman, revenue official or junior engineer). The bigger offense of 'Abuse of Official Position' has been relegated to a small clause, hanging weakly to Section 7 by the slender rope of Explanation 2 Clause (i).

Explanations in law are meant to clear doubts, not to define substantive offences. Merging a bigger offence like a sub-clause with a smaller one is like clubbing murder (Section 302 IPC) with causing hurt/injury (Section 323 IPC). The move affords multiple complications without any gains whatsoever.

Presently, in order to prove abuse of official position (criminal misconduct) as defined in Section 13(1)(d), of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, all that an investigating officer has to do is to prove violation of legal provisions, rules, guidelines or procedures and resultant undue pecuniary advantage accrued to anyone, including a third party (not necessarily the accused himself). There is no need to prove any bribery or direct quid pro quo in the transaction. This provision was inserted to deal with corruption in high places, where a public servant may receive illegal gratification in a clandestine manner (off-shore transactions or non-monetary considerations, like a better posting, post-retirement benefits, etc).

Delinking acts of abuse of official position (criminal misconduct) from Section 13, and clubbing it with Section 7 (bribery) only serves to place the additional burden of proving bribery or direct quid pro quo on the investigating officer.

Further, the amendments have purportedly been introduced for the purpose of compliance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Article 19 of the UNCAC relating to "Abuse of Functions" is the same as "Criminal Misconduct" as defined under Section 13(1)(d). Deletion of this provision, therefore, is in violation of the UNCAC as well.

Multiple getaway options scripted for the corrupt:

Section 7 (Public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) has been completely rephrased under the guise of drafting a "comprehensive definition of bribery". The inherent danger in changing the language is that it opens it up to fresh legal interpretation, which had been settled though several court judgements over the years.

Sections 8, 9 and 10 (Offences relating to public servant(s) being bribed; to bribing a public servant; and bribing a public servant by a commercial organisation, respectively) were all deleted on grounds that these are covered under the new definition of bribery.

The existing Sections 8 and 9 are very important provisions in the PC Act, as they are meant to penalise middlemen who act as conduits for dishonest civil servants. Since middlemen are rampant in most public offices, taking bribes from them was made a substantive offence. The proposed amendments ensure that these undesirable elements are only dealt with indirectly, under Section 12, which deals with abetment. This will also make it harder to deal with the menace of touts.

In summary, no effective substitutes for these three offences are spelled out in the proposed bill, especially Section 10, since while abetment of an offence is an offence, the abetment of abetment is not.

Section 11 (Public servant obtaining a valuable thing without consideration from person concerned in proceeding or business transacted by such public servant) has also been deleted without providing any substitute, contrary to claims made in the statement of objects and reasons. Therefore, corruption/misconduct of this nature will now only be dealt with under the conduct rules, which have long become defunct, with no action taken for violations despite detailed media exposes, as in the case of NABARD's former chairman, Prakash Bakshi.

The proposed Bill extends the benefit of Section 19 (previous sanction necessary for prosecution) to retired public servants as well. In addition, it makes seeking of prosecution sanction by private persons more difficult by putting in a requirement of a court order to that effect. This is aimed at discouraging anti-corruption crusaders from petitioning the government seeking prosecution sanction against political bigwigs.

If the new bill is enacted, disproportionate assets (DA) cases, which are already hard to prove, will be hit harder vide two major changes:

In addition to proving disproportion (excess assets acquired by the public servant over known sources of his income over a period of time), the investigator will now also have to prove that the said disproportion is on account of "intentional enrichment by the public servant in an illicit manner". The term "known sources of income" in the existing act is very specific and means income received from any lawful source, and such receipt has been intimated in accordance with the provisions of any law, rules or orders for the time being applicable to a public servant.

However, the new Bill restricts this definition of "known sources of income" only to income received from any lawful source. This permits the accused public servant to claim lawful income from a variety of sources which he may not even have intimated to the government as per conduct rules and amounts going back to pre-1988 days, which saw a large number of acquittals in DA cases. The PC Act, 1988, had brought in the requirement of aforesaid intimation to prevent unscrupulous public servants from claiming incomes from sundry sources.

On account of these two changes, the investigation of DA cases and framing of charges may become more difficult, leading to the conviction rate dipping drastically.

Deleting Section 24 of the PC Act (Statement by bribe giver not to subject him to prosecution) provides protection to bribe givers against prosecution if they make a statement against an accused public servant, carries serious consequences for trap cases.

In trap cases, complainants are actually required to bribe the public servant to enable the investigating officer to catch him red-handed. The statement of the complainant in court is crucial to securing conviction of the accused public servant. With Section 24 gone, complainants might hesitate to come forward and depose against bribe seekers, as the moment they make a statement stating that they actually bribed the public servant, they expose themselves to prosecution under Section 8.

The fresh protection added vide the proviso to Section 8 requires evidence of "being compelled to give a bribe", which is not going to be easy. It will further provide a handle to the defence to bully the complainant. Therefore, protection under Section 24 should have been continued in trap cases. This is particularly important in view of Article 33 of the UNCAC, which required signatory states to provide protection to reporting persons.

A new Chapter IV-A is being inserted in the act, to provide for attachment of property of tainted public servants using the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944. This provision is redundant, since it is not new and it already applies to offences under the PC Act. The biggest constraint with the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944, is that the investigating officer needs to seek prior approval of the state or central government, as the case may be, before moving an application in the court for attachment of property. As a result, its provisions could rarely be used by investigating agencies, since the approval of the government is hard to come by. A similar fate awaits this.

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, also has provisions for attachment of property. However, under the PMLA, prior approval of the government before filing application for the attachment of property is not needed. Additionally, officers of the rank of deputy director in the Enforcement Directorate are empowered to issue the order of provisional attachment. In the case of the revised PC Act, the order of attachment will be issued by the special judge, who being independent of the investigating agency, is expected to take a more objective view. Retaining the rider of taking prior approval of the central/state government, therefore, carries no justification whatsoever.

Fixing of a time limit for according prosecution sanction vide Section 19 is a welcome step, albeit half-hearted, given that no provision for "deemed sanction" has been made in case the competent authority delays decision making beyond four months.

The proposed Section 17A (earlier known as single directive, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in the Vineet Narain case and later brought back as Section 6A of the DSPE Act, which was also annulled by the Supreme Court in 2014), severely curtails the powers of the investigating agencies and bars them from looking into the role of public servants without prior permission of the government. Evidence cannot be gathered without a preliminary enquiry and unless there is evidence to establish a prima facie case, the government will not be able to give prior permission. This Catch 22 situation works in favour of corrupt babus.

While the time limit for according prosecution sanction has been fixed at a maximum of four months, no such deadline has been fixed for prior permission under Section 17A.

Doubtful political intent:

Even with the right laws, the list of failures in reigning in corruption in India and elsewhere is far longer than the successes. The Modi government's decision to allow the passage of the Prevention of Corruption Bill, 2013, a ludicrously watered down version of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, casts a shadow on its real intent and long term vision on reigning in corruption.

It's not the first time this has happened. Before this, the Black Money Act and the GST Bill were were also found to be wanting, with their effectiveness or efficiency in nailing the corrupt, or even with correcting the existing anomalies in alarming variance with the advertised objectives of the government.

Transparency in government functioning, which is key to eliminating corruption, has also not been addressed, which is evident from its handling of the coal auctions nor the rot in the financial sector, presided over by the Reserve Band of India through its opaque CDR cell and inaction over other consumer unfriendly schemes, like the force-selling of life insurance policies by the State Bank of India.
New Delhi: On Tuesday, Congress demanded the sacking of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju alleging his "involvement" in the 'Rs 450-crore Arunachal power scam' and said the Prime Minister's "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat".

Stating that Rijiju's role in the matter is under cloud, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also released an audio tape of a purported conversation of his cousin, a contractor in the 600 MW power project, and Rijiju's letter recommending that held up payments be released.

"The role of Kiren Rijiju in this issue is under cloud. Kiren Rijiju has no right to stay in office. He should either be dismissed by the Prime Minister or asked to resign till an independent probe is complete," he told reporters.

Surjewala trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat" as had happened with several other scandals in the past including Vyapam, Lalitgate and the Vijay Mallya issue.

"Mr Modi's claims of transparency ad honesty is now under question. People of India are looking at what action he takes on this issue," he said.

Payments were stopped after a letter by the Chief Vigilance Officer of North East Power Corporation (NEPCO), who conducted a probe into the issue, the Congress spokesperson said and alleged that there is a scam to the extent of Rs 450 crore in the form of false and inflated transportation bills by Goboi Rijiju, who is said to be a relative of Kiren Rijiju.

"This is a very serious issue. The Prime Minister should speak out on this issue....

"If PM has courage of conviction, he must either sack Kiren Rijiju or ask him to resign and conduct a fair and free probe so that truth comes out...Till then, Rijiju should be divested of his post."

"The Prime in the run up to elections used to say that he will neither do or allow corruption to happen. But there have been a series of charges of corruption that came to light in the Modi government, be it scams in Rajasthan mining, Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh or Lalit Modi or Vijay Mallya," he said.

Targeting the CBI, Surjewala alleged that the premier investigation agency has become a "puppet" in the hands of the Modi government and has not even registered an FIR in the matter despite a 128-page report by the vigilance officer.

Surjewala also played out a purported audio conversation between Goboi and the NEPCO Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma and the opposition party claimed it also had a mention of the goings on that led to pulling down of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed Rijiju's brother was clearly attempting to influence the CVO in the 28-minute tape and was using his Minister brother's name to seek his help in getting the bills cleared and was also enticing him with a promotion.

"There seems to be a connection with making of these payments and were some of these payments used to buy and sell legislators is a matter that needs to be seriously probed," he said.

Alleging that "inflated" bills were put up for bringing boulders for the dam construction, he said some of the huge boulders were shown to be carried on scooters, motorcyles and cars by a single driver at the same time.

Rijiju today denied allegations of wrongdoing.
The debate on whether demonetisation is a boon or blunder for 125 crore Indians is turning intense with former finance minister P Chidambaram and noted economist Jagdish Bhagwati joining with their views and allegations.

Chidambaram on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modis currency ban is the biggest scam of the year and an absurd, thoughtless move that must be probed while Bhagwati, in a Times of India column co-authored with Pravin Krishna and Suresh Sundaresan has said demonetisation is a courageous and substantive economic reform that, despite the significant transition costs, has the potential to generate large future benefits.

Lets take a look at these arguments.

Chidambarams allegation that currency ban is a scam with an ill-intent may be bit of a far-fetched statement that is a clear political line, but the former FM has also asked some right, pointed questions too.

For instance, Chidambaram questions the large-scale leakage of new Rs 2,000 notes to hoarders at a time when new currency is scarce even at bank branches. The incidents of new Rs 2,000 note bundles surfacing across the country to the tune of crores of rupees point to major lapses in implementation. These instances must be investigated and the likely involvement of bank officials needs to be probed.

Chidambaram is again bang on when he says what calculations went to the government decision of setting the Rs 24,000 weekly withdrawal limit from bank branches when enough isn't cash available. Similarly, his point that blanket ban on district cooperative banks has hurt the farmers is true given the experience in rural areas, especially in states like Kerala where cooperative sector plays a key role. The Modi government owes an explanation on these and has faced severe criticism for lack of planning, in turn, causing difficulties to public.

Third, Chidambaram defending the Congress opposition strategy in Parliament  the PM should be present and speak on the issueisnt an unreasonable demand. Given the critical nature of demonetisation for Indias economy and the hardships it has caused to its common people. There is no excuse for PM Modi or BJP for not taking the Parliament into confidence, stating the objectives, progress and rationale of the demonetisation scheme.

As against this, Bhagwati has fully endorsed the move saying Modis radical move to invalidate the high denomination notes, in which the black economy primarily transacts, is a daring step.

Bhagwati and his co-authors highlight the following points to support demonetisation, some of which can, however, be countered by experts in the past. For instance, Bhagwati notes that around 80 percent of the currency in higher denominations has now been deposited back into bank accounts. Since individual deposits will now be matched with their tax returns and unaccounted deposits will be taxed, this will yield a windfall for the government, permitting large increases in social expenditures.

But this is something many other economists have questioned cautioning one should wait and watch as to how much of the unaccounted deposits the tax department is able to recover ultimately. For instance, take a look at what another world-renowned economist and former RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan, said on demonetisation.

Black money hoarders find ways to divide their hoard into many smaller pieces. You find that people who havent thought of a way to convert black to white, throw it into the hundi in some temples. I think there are ways around demonetisation. It is not that easy to flush out the black money. Bhagwatis another argument that demonetisation will result in an impressive switch into digital transactions is again something that is up for debate.

While it is a fact that the demonetisation has nudged several hesitant people to start using electronic payment tools, and it is a good thing in an economy, the idea of using large scale demonetisation (sucking out 86 percent of currency by value all of a sudden), is contested by experts, who have been saying that such a push should have happened over a period of few years, rather than through a shock-treatment such as this putting lives at difficulty. Also, India needs to have strong laws to ensure customers are protected in the event of losing money while making payment through mobile or laptop. As of now, that isnt the case.

Bhagwatis third argument, that the currency ban will check counterfeit notes with the new notes being much less prone to counterfeiting doesnt have much support of evidence on the ground since there are already reports that fake Rs 2,000 notes are in circulation. Given the past experience, it is just a matter of time before fake notes enter the scene again in a major way.

Both Bhagwati and Chidambaram have raised certain important points on demonetisation. Bhagwatis optimistic views on the currency ban is a booster dose to the Narendra Modi-government currently struggling to face criticism on the massive, overnight currency ban, while Chidambarams posers exposes the governments implementation flaws and immediate challenges on making the transition process smooth to end the cash-crunch.
Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling CPM-led LDF in Kerala will organise a 'human chain' across the state on 29 December as part of its plans to intensify protests against hardships faced by people due to the demonetisation scheme.

The 'human chain' would be formed from northern district Kasaragod to state capital in the south, Thiruvananthapuram, LDF convener Vaikom Viswan said.

"Not only party workers and sympathisers but everybody who share the same sentiments on the issue can participate in the human-chain protest," he said.

Before organising the 'human chain', the front would conduct conventions in all panchayats across the state on 20 December while 'Padayatras' would be held on 22 December to create awareness among people about the drawbacks of withdrawing high denomination notes, he said.

Party volunteers would also conduct house visits at the booth level on 27 and 28 December in this regard, he said.

Alleging that only corporates have benefited from the demonetisation, Viswan said the decision to withdraw currency was taken by the Centre with "political motives."
After some controversial hacks into Twitter accounts and emails of popular Indian journalists, businessmen and politicians, the latest entrants in hack-town, Legion, has said that it will be releasing new data containing emails hosted on the government-owned Sansad.nic.in.

The hacker group revealed its next target while speaking to the tech website, FactorDaily.com, via an encrypted chat platform on Monday.

In the interview, the hacker group revealed that the data of emails hosted on Sansad.nic.in, includes a lot of big fish. "Next is a dump of Sansad.nic.in emails, which is quite big. It includes a lot of big fish," the interview quoted a member of the hacker group as saying.

Sansad.nic.in is a government run free email service, which offers email IDs with @gov.in address to government employees (central or state). The email service is provided by National Informatics Centre, which designs, builds and manages all the information and communication technology systems used by the Government of India.

Although the group didn't clearly indicate its motive behind hacking Sansad.nic.in, when the tech website asked the member of Legion whether it's worried about innocent that may get affected in the process, the hacker group justified its hack of the email platform by calling it a punishment for using an insecure platform like Sansad.nic.in. "If it does damage innocents  its their problem for using an insecure mail service," it told FactorDaily.com.

It also said that the data revealed will be interesting considering only government-affiliated people get email addresses from Sansad.nic.in.

There's not much known about the origins of the hacker group, however contradicting information has been revealed about the location of the hacker group. While The Washington Post, stated that the group is based out of India, in FactorDaily.com interview, a member of the Legion claimed to be based somewhere in eastern Europe.

Interestingly, some reports claimed that the hackers are contracted by the Modi government, but the Legion member rejected the theory in the interview with FactorDaily.com.

The group has also shown its displeasure in the Narendra Modi government's push for digital currency and #DigitalIndia campaign stating the Indian banking system is too easy to hack, and that the government should think about it.
Nagpur: Perhaps history will be made in Nagpur on Wednesday. The Maratha Kunbi Kranti Muk Morcha, on 14 December, will start from Yashwant stadium, Dhantoli and end at Vidhan Bhavan. The organisers as well as the Nagpur police have made their preparations for the day. It is for the first time in Maharashtra that MLAs and MLCs from all parties have come together to take part in a morcha. Over 150 Maratha MLAs, MLCs and ministers are expected to take part to demand reservation for the Maratha community.

In 1960, all-party MLAs had come together for the cause of 'Sanyukta Maharashtra' (United Maharashtra). Since 2010, MLAs have staged agitations at Azad Maidan and Hutatma Chowk over the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue, however, the number of legislative members taking part were less than 50. Political observer and senior journalist Abhay Deshpande pointed out that those were only agitations, but this time, over 150 MLAs, MLCs and ministers will take part in the march.

There are 288 MLAs in the state Assembly and 78 MLCs are in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Of the 366 MLAs in the Lower and Upper Houses, 169 are from the Maratha community. Congress has 29 MLAs and MLCs from the Maratha community, BJP has 53, Shiv Sena 44 and NCP 43. The MLAs from all political parties attended the preparations for the morcha recently and finalised the programme.

More than 40 silent morchas have been successfully organised in 30 districts, neighbouring states and abroad. The morchas have received international recognition because of their discipline, cleanliness and non-violent method. More than 3-crore members of the Maratha community have taken part to voice their demand of 16 percent reservation in education and employment.

The statewide Maratha agitation started on 9 August from Aurangabad and this will be the last one. If their demands are not met by the state government, there will be a maha-morcha in Mumbai, although the date for it is not fixed.

Talking to Firstpost, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik confirmed that all party MLAs will be participating in the morcha. Cabinet Minister Eknath Shinde will also join. Earlier, Sena MLAs had participated in the morchas that were organised in the districts. Sena has always been supportive of the cause of the Maratha community, he added.

Ashish Deshmukh, BJP MLA from Katol constituency, Nagpur told Firstpost that his party is with the Maratha community. "Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already taken a positive stand. I appeal to all Maratha MLAs across the party to participate in the morcha," he said.

Congress MLA from Kankavali, Sindhudurg Nitish Rane said that he will be joining the morcha along with former chief minister Narayan Rane. "The Congress government had given 16 percent reservation to the community, but the current BJP government could not provide proper documents to the court. It is the failure of the BJP government. They are only giving assurances to the community but are not serious about the Maratha reservation," he alleged.

Aashish Shelar, BJP MLA from Bandra who belongs to the Maratha community and is close to Fadnavis, told Firstpost that the party and the Fadnavis government are committed to the Maratha cause. Two months back, the BJP executive committee had passed a resolution in support of the Maratha community's demand of 16 percent reservation. He added that members of the Kunbi community from Vidarbha will also join the morcha.

Madhukar Mehkar and Dilip Khodke, two of the organisers, told Firstpost that over 25 lakh people joined the movement in March. On Wednesday, five girls will present the memorandum to the state government. Two special trains of 18 bogies each, thousands of buses and private vehicles from across Maharashtra will reach Nagpur on Wednesday morning. There are 18 cameras installed enroute and 25 community halls and marriage halls have been booked for the convenience of the women participants.
On 31 March, 1997, Chandrashekhar Prasad, affectionately called Chandu by his fellow comrades, was gunned down in broad daylight in Siwan, Bihar. Chandu was a student leader and former president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU).

Student politics for many is undeniably the stepping stone for bigger roles in national politics. Many student leaders from JNU and Delhi University took the route of student politics to drive to the highest echelons of power.

Chandu choose a different path and followed a different trajectory. After his stint as a student activist, he returned back to Bihar and started a campaign against the criminalisation of politics in Lalu Prasad Yadav-ruled Bihar, and in doing so he lost his life.

But in this pursuit he gave a new dimension and respect to the student union, its politics and activism. Massive protests took place all over the country following his murder and Comrade Chandu became a metaphor of student activism.

Some two decades later, early this year, when former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on sedition charges, student politics and post of president of the student union again asserted its clout.

His comparison with Chandu came handy for those analysing his rise. But bigger questions remained to be answered that has surfaced again with the ongoing protest in JNU over the disappearance of an MSc student.

Was Kumar an accidental leader? Can his transformation from a little-known student union president to young 'revolutionary' incidental to what happened post 9 February?

Or was the massive protest that followed Kumars arrest a hint at the return of the student movement? Or the truth was that Kumars sudden elevation to the status of a leader was caused because of attack on free speech and autonomy of the university, that Kumars arrest to a greater extent hinted at.

The answer to these questions to some extent lies in the protest that was organised following the mysterious disappearance of Najeeb Ahmad, an MSc student, two months ago from JNU campus, following a alleged scuffle with a group of students canvassing for hostel elections.

Following Ahmad's disappearance, protests were staged against the alleged lackadaisical attitude of JNU administration in finding Ahmad. On 19 October, JNU vice-chancellor M Jagdeesh Kumar and other top university officials were confined in their office for an entire day by the protesting students.

After some lull, following Kanhaiyas return, dharna pradarshans again made headway in JNU campus, human chains were again seen lining up campus avenues and solidarity marches were held with full vigour, loaded with fascinating slogans, raised in full tempo: "Zulmi jab jab zulm karega satta ke hathiyaron se chappa chappa goonj uthe ga Najeeb Najeeb ke naaron se.

Following the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar (in relation to 9 February incident), the protests that followed garnered support from different quarters as it had an underlying logic to it. The support that poured in was for a student leader, who allegedly participated in "anti-India" programme and was arrested like a local thug and slapped with a sedition charge, without any concrete evidence hinting at his culpability.

Merely nine months after that incident, protests demanding 'justice for Najeeb' is being held at the JNU campus, demanding quick action against the alleged culprits and against the "lackadaisical attitude of the JNU administration" in dealing with the issue of a missing student. However this time, the support it attracted is nothing in comparison to the post 9 February incident.

What was the reason for this lack of support this time? It could have been conveniently assumed that it was because the person for whom justice was demanded was a common student and not the president of the student union. Similarly, it could have been easily assumed that the change of guard in student union was the reason for the lack of support. After all the current JNUSU president Mohit Pandey is not as dynamic a leader as Kumar was or current vice-president Amal Pullarkkat is not as 'charismatic' as Shehla Rashid was.

While this argument can be widely taken as true it would be extremely erroneous to do so. It does not take much to understand that Kumar's metamorphosis into a national leader was purely accidental. It was caused because of the immense support that JNU student union and protesting student got from civil society, intelligentsia and academic world, from across the world. Again it could be erroneous to assume that the support was for Kumar or Rashid.

From the onset it was clear that the support poured in for a university which is of great repute and was presumed to be under attack. The support was for free speech and against an attack on it. Kumar incidentally became the symbol of this attack and resistance.

In an interview with Firstpost published last month, Kanhaiya Kumar, while responding to a question on why this issue had not received the same support from the student community as his arrest had said, "This time around, there are many versions of the issue. My arrest was seen as a crackdown and an attack on the university, and that united the students. On this particular issue, the current student union has not been able to forge a unity."

It was an honest confession on Kumars part. In the current case there were actually many versions of truth. The reason for the scuffle provided by both the sides seemed implausible and laughable to some extent. In spite of all the efforts by the Left and Right in the campus to project it as a communal issue, the narrative was rejected by the majority. It was mostly seen as an attack on an individual or at most a scuffle between two groups.

While serious questions are being raised against the credentials of the current student union in failing to lead the movement to any desirable conclusion, any comparison with former office bearers of the JNUSU would be wrong. As the fact remains that before the arrest of Kumar, all the people who shot to public imagination for their 'fiery speech and exuberant oratory' were confined to the walls of the lush green campus of JNU and would have remained so if the government would not have acted in the manner it did by arresting Kumar without any concrete evidence. And in this misadventure of government rests the rise of Kumar and his compatriots.
Dadri (Uttar Pradesh): Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday dumped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's narrative behind the note ban and said it was done to waive off loans to big industrialists.

Interacting with traders and commoners in Dadri, Gandhi accused Modi of continuously changing his narrative on withdrawing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and ridiculed his ambitious plan of creating a cashless economy.

"The poor and honest queuing up outside banks and ATMs" continued to suffer he said, adding "you will not find a single rich or black money hoarder there", as they were completely unaffected by the exercise.

A few big businessmen have taken Rs 8 lakh crore loans from banks, which they are not paying back: Rahul Gandhi #demonetisation pic.twitter.com/AyOVR9hg7e  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 13, 2016

Gandhi said: "While you struggle to get your own money, the black money hoarders are getting their money converted into white in the banks through the back doors."

He accused Modi of waging a war against the poor through demonetisation.

Gandhi said the real motive behind the exercise was to enable the banks collect enough money so they could waive off the loans given to the big corporates and industrialists.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi interacts with locals in Dadri #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/nYLqb3lGm4  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 13, 2016

"The motive is to flush the banks with your money. These banks have given out loans to the tune of Rs 8 lakh crore to corporate and industrialists," Gandhi said.

"If your money remains in these banks for eight to 10 months, they will be able to waive off these loans owed by the industrialists who actually marketed Modi and made him the Prime Minister," said Gandhi.

"The Prime Minister's narrative has changed over time, first it was fight against black money, then terrorism and now it's about making society cashless.

Jaise raja hota hai na, jo sirf bolna chahta hai; vaise hi hamare Pradhanmantri hain vo bas bolna chahte hain: Rahul Gandhi #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/cHTSmkVAEw  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 13, 2016

"Modi has really made the economy cashless because the people don't have any cash. The whole country is crying," he said.

Gandhi said the demonetisation was carried out to suit the interests of the corporates and industrialists who were "running the government de facto".
The Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh has approved the recommendations of the seventh pay commission, and said it will be implemented from 17 January. According to a report on CNN News18, the entry salary of a person joining at the lowest rung will be around Rs 18,000, while pay for highest office of chief second will be around Rs 2.25 lakh.

The move comes just months before the key political state goes in for Assembly elections, and Yadav was confident of electoral success. "We will win, and if the alliance happens, we will cross 300 plus seats," he said, referring to a possible alliance with the Congress party.

The decision to hike salaries was taken after a committee, headed by retired bureaucrat GB Pattnaik, submitted its interim report to Yadav on 7 December, reported The Pioneer.

It could mean that state government employees will get at least a 20 percent hike in their salaries, which would bring about parity between state and central government employees.

As per statistics, the state government will incur an additional burden of Rs 26,573 crore annually in the first year of implementation while in the second year, the expenditure would come down to Rs 22,778 crore annually. Presently, the state government spends around Rs 95,000 crore annually on salary and perks for state employees, the publication noted.

Yadav, while speaking to CNN-News18, claimed that the pay hike is a people friendly move and will help more than 24 lakh employees.

The Central Cabinet gave its nod to the seventh pay commission recommendations in June 2016, allowing an overall 23.55 percent hike in salaries, allowances and pensions of central government employees. The pay panel, in November last year, had recommended a 14.27 percent hike in basic pay at junior levels  the lowest in 70 years. The previous 6th Pay Commission had recommended a 20 percent hike, which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.

The seventh pay commission's recommendations will have bearing on the remuneration of nearly 50 lakh central government employees and 58 lakh pensioners. This is estimated to put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, or nearly 0.7 percent of the GDP, on the central government.

The process to introduce the latest pay commission began in January this year, when the central government set up a high-powered panel headed by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha to process the recommendations.

However, after the government approved the recommendations, there were widespread protests by employees, with many unions threatening to go on strike. Even RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and other trade unions rejected the recommendations, contending that it would increase disparity between the minimum and maximum pay. To placate the grievances, the central government promised to set up a high level committee to look into the issues.

With inputs from PTI
KABUL Afghanistan's First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum denied on Tuesday accusations that he had beaten and abducted a political rival and threatened him with sexual violence, in a case that sparked Western calls for a full and fair investigation.Dostum, a former warring faction commander with a fearsome reputation and a lingering power base in northern Afghanistan, was witnessed by hundreds of people, according to The New York Times, beating and then ordering his men to detain Ahmad Ishchi at a public sporting event in late November.Ishchi was once a member of the same political faction as Dostum but later fell out with him.Reuters has been unable to confirm independently the accusations made by Ishchi against Dostum."He (Ishchi) was detained by Afghan security forces for allegations of funding the opposition and having a hand in repeated security issues," a spokesperson for Dostum said in a statement, denying any physical or sexual abuse had taken place."For some time there has been a destructive movement by some unknown circles against the First Vice President," it added.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office promised a thorough investigation of Ishchi's accusations.While imprisoned by Dostum's men, Ishchi told Reuters he was repeatedly beaten, including by rifles, and threatened with sexual violence.

After being held by men loyal to Dostum for five days, Ishchi said he remained for another 10 days with security forces who provided medical aid."NOBODY IS ABOVE THE LAW"

Pledging an investigation into Ishchi's claims, Afghan presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansori said: "For the Afghan government nobody is above the law. Rule of law and accountability begins in the government itself and we are committed to it."

Western embassies in Kabul expressed concern over the accusations."The unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr Ishchi by the First Vice President raises serious concerns," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. "We would welcome the Afghan governments move to swiftly investigate these allegations."The European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway echoed its call.

Dostum joined Afghanistan's National Unity Government in 2014 in a bid by Ghani to attract the support of his mostly ethnic Uzbek constituency, but has been dogged by accusations of past human rights violations.Warring factions brought bloody chaos to Afghanistan after they forced the withdrawal of Soviet occupying forces in 1989.In the 1990s, many Afghans initially welcomed the rise of the Taliban who defeated and largely banished the "warlord" factions.But some old faction commanders have made a comeback to positions of influence since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, to the dismay of many ordinary Afghans. (Writing by Josh Smith,; Editing by Gareth Jones)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: Rick Perry, the former governor of oil-rich Texas who once vowed to eradicate the Energy Department if elected president, is Donald Trump's pick for energy secretary, US media reported.

The Texas native, who participated in the Republican primary but was crushed by President-elect Trump early on, was seen Monday afternoon entering and exiting Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Perry once assailed Trump as a "cancer on conservatism" and threw his support behind Texas Senator Ted Cruz after dropping out of the race in September 2015, but he has long been rumored to be one of Trump's main contenders for the energy post.

NBC and CBS news both reported late Monday that Trump had chosen Perry for the job, citing two sources familiar with the transition process.

The 66-year-old former governor, who also ran for the Republican party's 2012 nomination, famously fumbled a debate when he vowed to abolish three US departments  but could only remember the names of two.

"The third agency of government I would do away with  the education, the commerce. And let's see. I can't. The third one I can't. Sorry. Ooops," he told a tittering crowd in 2011, only to remember later in the debate that it was the Energy Department.

The longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry was the first casualty in a crowded battle for the Republican Party nomination in 2016.
Moscow: ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's apparent choice to lead the State Department, has ample experience in dealing with other nations, but strictly as a businessman, not a diplomat.

Exxon has operations in dozens of countries, some of them politically volatile or estranged from the U.S. First among them is Russia, which has leaned heavily on Western companies for technology and know-how to tap its vast oil and gas resources.

The prospect of Tillerson's nomination for secretary of state has raised concerns, given intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.

Two people close to Trump's transition team said late Monday that Trump had selected Tillerson to be America's top diplomat. They insisted on anonymity because they were not authorised to disclose the pick ahead of that announcement.

Tillerson has argued against sanctions that the US and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. He also has backed free trade and an expansive U.S. presence in the Middle East, stances at odds with the more isolationist approach Trump has pitched to his supporters.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, 64-year-old Tillerson is a career Exxon employee, having joined the company after graduating from the University of Texas in 1975 with an engineering degree. Groomed for an executive position, he spent years in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, working in Exxon's central US, Yemen and Russian operations.

By the 1990s, Tillerson was overseeing many of Exxon's foreign operations. He played a key role in Exxon's involvement in the huge Sakhalin oil and natural gas project on Russia's eastern coast. That was a warm-up for a $3.2 billion deal in which Exxon and Russian state-controlled Rosneft announced they would work together to explore for oil in Russia's Arctic region. Production is expected to begin in the next decade.

In 2011, Tillerson flew to the Russian resort town of Sochi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the announcement. As news photographers recorded the scene, the men shook hands and smiled broadly at each other.

"This project promises to be highly interesting and ambitious," Putin said, according to a Rosneft press release. Exxon exploration in Russia, he said, "will open new horizons."

Success in Russia required aligning the company's interests with those of the Russian government, mettle and good relations with Putin. Exxon steadily expanded its Russian business while its rivals faced expropriation and regulatory obstacles. In 2013 Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, an honor given to foreigners who improve relations with Russia.

"My relationship with Vladimir Putin, which dates back almost 15 years now, I've known him since 1999 and have a very close relationship with him," Tillerson said in a speech a few years ago at the University of Texas-Austin.

The sanctions against Russia, if they remain in place for an extended time, could threaten the joint venture with Rosneft, and at Exxon's annual meeting in 2014, Tillerson urged Western political leaders "to consider the very broad collateral damage of who are they really harming with sanctions."

Exxon also has operations in Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and many other countries. Africa and Asia were its leading sources of oil production in 2015. The company says its diverse global portfolio of oil and gas projects helps mitigate risks.

Tillerson became Exxon's CEO on 1 January 2006, and is expected to retire next year. His heir apparent, Darren Woods, has been in place for a year, so there would be virtually no disruption to Exxon's succession plans if Tillerson were to become secretary of state.

In 2015, Exxon paid Tillerson compensation that the company valued at $27.3 million, most of it in stock awards. At the end of 2015, he held awards that had not yet vested that were worth $149.2 million.

If he becomes secretary of state, by law, he would have to either sell his Exxon shares and stock options or recuse himself from government matters that have a "direct and predictable" effect on his financial interests, said Richard W Painter, a University of Minnesota corporate law professor who served as President George W Bush's chief ethics lawyer. Failure to do one or the other would likely result in criminal charges, since Cabinet members, unlike the president and vice-president, are covered by statutes designed to prevent conflicts of interest.

If Tillerson didn't sell the stock, he would have to stay out of decisions for a wide swath of the secretary's job including climate change matters, the oil industry or many dealings with Russia. "There are going to have to be some pretty broad recusals in the State Department on anything that involves oil," Painter said. "In my view personally it's unacceptable to have a secretary of state who has a lot of oil company stock or stock options."

Putting the stock in a blind trust would not be allowed because it would remain a financial interest for Tillerson, Painter said. "You can't put it into a blind trust and pretend you don't own it," he said.

Still, it's not unheard of for a high-profile businessman to serve as secretary of state.

Bechtel, the big, privately held San Francisco engineering and construction firm, gained stature and prestige  and likely an advantage in bidding for foreign contracts  when President Ronald Reagan picked George Shultz as secretary of state and Caspar Weinberger as secretary of defense. Both had been top Bechtel executives.

At the time, critics said Bechtel had its own foreign policy, especially in the Middle East and didn't particularly care if its objectives were not aligned with those of the US.
By Ed Cropley

| JOHANNESBURG

JOHANNESBURG South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar, who fled to Democratic Republic of Congo in August after fierce fighting, is being held in South Africa to stop him stirring up trouble, diplomatic and political sources said on Tuesday.Removing Machar from circulation would be a blow to his rebel SPLA-IO faction in its three-year war with President Salva Kiir's mainstream SPLA, and could sway a conflict the United Nations fears is tilting towards genocide.Over a million people have fled the world's youngest nation since conflict erupted in late 2013 when Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, fired Machar, a Nuer, as his deputy. The cross-border exodus is the largest in central Africa since the 1994 Rwanda genocide.In South Africa, a well-connected regional political consultant said Machar was being held "basically under house arrest" near Pretoria with his movements restricted and his phone calls monitored and controlled."If he wants to go to the toilet, he has to hand over his phone and a guy stands outside the cubicle," the source said.Foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela denied Machar was being held against his will, describing him instead as a "guest" of Pretoria as South Africa tried to prevent the civil war sliding into genocide."Him being our guest here is part of our responsibility as a mediator," Monyela said, adding that it was "difficult to predict" the duration of his stay. "It's very hard to put timelines on these peace and security situations."

Dickson Gatluak, a Machar spokesman in Ethiopia, denied there were any restrictions on Machar and dismissed the reports as misinformation. "This is not true. It's baseless and unfounded," Gatluak told Reuters in Juba."Dr. Machar is safe and doing his normal duties as usual. He is communicating to us daily, including his field commanders in the entire country."Attempts by Reuters to speak to Machar in South Africa via his spokesman there were unsuccessful. Kiir visited his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, on Dec. 2 to "review... the latest regional political and security developments on the continent", according to a South African statement that gave no further details.

Refugee accounts and human rights reports point to both sides in South Sudan targeting civilians along ethnic lines.JUBA OR JOBURG - YOU DECIDE

Machar reached a peace deal in 2015 with Kiir but the agreement fell apart in July, leading to several days of intense fighting in Juba, the capital of the five-year-old nation.

Machar himself was wounded and after fleeing to Congo went to Sudan - a long-term supporter of his rebel faction - for medical treatment. He then turned up in South Africa in October for more treatment.A diplomatic source said the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an eight-country East African group, had asked Pretoria to make sure Machar did not leave. The United States, Britain and Norway had supported that request, the source added."He keeps going back and mobilising his people and stirring up problems," the source said. "It's best to keep him here for a while."Machar flew two weeks ago to Ethiopia, which has also tried and failed as a mediator, but was refused entry and given a stark choice: go back to South Africa or get dumped in Juba, to be left at the mercy of Kiir's troops, two of the sources said."The Ethiopians told him there were two planes sitting on the tarmac - one heading to Juba and one heading to Joburg - and told him he had 10 minutes to decide," the political source said. "It didn't take long." (Additional reporting by Peter Fabricius and Denis Dumo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Washington: In a significant development, the World Bank has paused the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said.

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan. It was also emphasised that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty.

Pausing the process for now, the Bank would hold off from appointing the Chairman for the Court of Arbitration or the Neutral Expert  appointments that had been expected on 12 December as earlier communicated by the Bank.

India had taken strong exception last month to the World Bank's decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistan's complaint against it over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

Surprised at the World Bank's decision to appoint a Neutral Expert, as sought by the Indian government and at the same time establish a Court of Arbitration as wanted by Pakistan, India had said proceeding with both the steps simultaneously was "legally untenable".

Both processes initiated by the respective countries were advancing at the same time, creating a risk of contradictory outcomes that could potentially endanger the Treaty, the Bank noted.

"This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January," Kim said. The current processes under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants. The power plants are being built by India on, respectively, the Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers. Neither of the two plants are being financed by the World Bank.

The bank said the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

In September, the World Bank, which had mediated the Indus Water Treaty, had said it was approached by India and Pakistan and it is "responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the treaty".

"India and Pakistan have informed the World Bank that each has initiated proceedings pursuant to the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and the World Bank Group is responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the Treaty," it had said.

The Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries.

It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties.
Berlin: The German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande criticised Russia on Tuesday over its role in Syria and the situation in Ukraine, advocating the extension of sanctions against Moscow while there is no progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreements.

Speaking at a press conference along with President Hollande, Chancellor Merkel said the situation in Syria was heartbreaking and stressed it was the government regime that was responsible, along with Russia and Iran, reports Efe.

Hollande said he did not see much difference between the roles of the Syrian regime and Russia, emphasising the need to "act now".

The two leaders also touched on the Ukrainian conflict and came out in favour of maintaining sanctions against Russia over it if there is no progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Hollande and Merkel met in Berlin on the occasion of the first bilateral congress to promote digitisation.

The European leaders also used the meeting to prepare for the next European Council to identify common topics ahead of upcoming European Union summits.

Merkel and Hollande agreed that Syria and Ukraine are the topics which will be addressed with the other EU leaders, as would the migration crisis and the need to promote agreements with African countries.
By Gavin Jones and Crispian Balmer

| ROME

ROME Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni won an initial vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday after laying out a limited programme for his new government, which might only survive a few months.Gentiloni has taken over from former premier Matteo Renzi, who resigned last week after Italians rejected his proposed reform of the constitution in a referendum.Making his maiden speech to parliament in his new role, the softly spoken Gentiloni said he was prepared to support Italy's ailing banks and demanded more help from the European Union in coping with an influx of migrants."I want to say very clearly that the government ... is ready to intervene in order to guarantee the stability of banks and the savings of our citizens," he told the Chamber of Deputies, a day after being sworn in by President Sergio Mattarella.To take office, he needs to win votes of confidence in both houses of parliament and easily won the first in the lower chamber by 368 to 105. Many opposition lawmakers did not take part in the ballot, in protest at the fact that Gentiloni had re-appointed almost all the ministers who served under Renzi. Gentiloni faces a more difficult vote in the upper house Senate on Wednesday, where his majority is likely to be much smaller following a decision by a former Renzi ally not to support the new administration.

He is widely expected to scrape through, but his limited support underscores the low expectations for this government, with many politicians predicting national elections in the first half of 2017, a year ahead of schedule.BAD LOANS

His fragile support also means his administration has limited ambitions and is likely to spend its first weeks trying to defuse a long-running crisis in the banking sector.Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI), Italy's third-biggest lender, is pressing on with efforts to tap the market for 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) of fresh cash that it needs to stay afloat. However, its chances of success appear slim and the state is likely to have to step in, bankers say.A failure of the world's oldest bank would threaten the savings of thousands of Italians and could have repercussions for Italy's wider banking sector, which is saddled with 360 billion euros of bad loans - a third of the euro zone's total.In Tuesday's speech Gentiloni said he would continue Renzi's battles with the EU, pushing for flexible fiscal rules and more cooperation in sharing out the thousands of migrants who land on Italy's shores from Africa and the Middle East.

Pledging "a very clear position" at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, he said it was "not acceptable" that the EU is "too severe on some aspects of austerity and too tolerant with countries that don't show common responsibility on immigration".Foreign minister in the previous government, Gentiloni has defended his decision to bring most of his old colleagues with him in the new cabinet, including Renzi's two closest allies - Maria Elena Boschi and Luca Lotti - saying he had to act quickly to prevent instability.The main opposition parties, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing Northern League, have both promised street demonstrations in the coming weeks to denounce the new executive, which they have dismissed as a "photocopy"."They are digging their grave with their own hands," said Luigi Di Maio, a 5-Star deputy widely expected to be the party's candidate for prime minister at the next election. (Additional reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by Andrew Roche)

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By Stephanie Nebehay

| GENEVA

GENEVA North Korea protested on Tuesday against a U.N. report on alleged abductions of foreign nationals by Pyongyang and the many Korean families forcibly separated across the divided peninsula since the 1950s war.So Se Pyong, the North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said he would lodge the complaint to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Tuesday. Zeid's spokesman confirmed that the meeting was scheduled but would not comment further."It's really nonsense. We didn't make that kind of abductions," So told Reuters at the Geneva mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)."This is not fair and also not impartial, it is just against the (U.N.) office's mission in principle," he said.The report, issued last week by Zeid's office, referred to international abductions as a "well-documented practice" by the North, targeting nationals of South Korea and Japan.

It said that since the Korean war ended in 1953, an estimated 129,616 people had registered for reunion with their families in North Korea, but that more than half have now died without being reunited.Tensions between North and South Korea have been particularly high since the North's fourth nuclear test in January. For the latest reunion after more than six decades of separation, nearly 400 South Koreans crossed the heavily armed border into North Korea in October 2015.

The reunions remain suspended due to joint military exercises conducted by South Korea and the United States, So said."If the situation is okay, and it's peaceful and all the tension is calmed down, it will happen, this reunion. Because we are always open for those reunions of the separated families."

So called on the United Nations to help secure the return of 13 young North Korean restaurant workers whom his government says were abducted in China last year by South Korean agents."They seduced and finally abducted them to South Korea," he said. "We...asked the (U.N.) office just if you really want to do something for the human rights case, ask South Korean authorities to release these abducted girls."So, asked if their release was a condition for resuming family visits, said: "It is not the condition, it is their duty, their mission to do instead of doing this kind of report." (Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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PHNOM PENH Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that he might not "be around" until the end of his term, and that, after winning the presidency at 71, he had found out late in the day that "I don't need it at my age".The previous day he had told a gathering of business leaders in the Philippines that he suffered from back pains, migraines and Buerger's disease, a cause of blockages in the blood vessels, associated with smoking during his youth.On Tuesday, Duterte told a cheering crowd of a few thousand expatriate Filipinos in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh: "I am old ... This is my last hurrah -- after this, 77 -- I am not sure if I will still be around by the end of my term."Duterte, who will be 77 at the end of his six-year term in 2022, is the oldest person to be elected president in the Philippines since the post-war period.He added that he had "found out very late" that he did not need the presidency at his age."It's not a question of having regrets, none at all, because I entered into it," he said, before adding: "I realize now - I do not need it at this time of my life. But I tell you, I take pleasure at the end of the day, that's the only consolation, I have a job, I am doing something right."

Duterte had told the business leaders on Monday that he had no fear of being removed from power or assassinated because of opposition to the rising death toll in his anti-drugs campaign.Since July 1, about 5,000 people have died in his crackdown, a key plank of his May election campaign. Police say 2,004 have been killed by officers in self-defence, with another 3,060 killings "under investigation"."Oust me - good; assassinate me - better; I have this migraine every day," he said. "I have a lot of issues with my spine. What I have is really Buerger's disease. It's an acquired thing that you get from smoking, because of nicotine."

Doctors had advised surgery on his spine, he said, but his wife, a nurse who used to work in the United States, did not agree because "a lot of operations for the spine went wrong". He added: "If you guys see me always in a sad mood, I am actually pushing a nerve here to relieve the pain," and touched the right side of his face.Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the health issues had not affected Duterte's work, dismissing the remarks as "Nothing serious". Duterte no longer smokes or drinks alcohol.

But Duterte missed some events during meetings of the ASEAN grouping of South East Asian nations in Laos in September and last month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, due to migraine attacks and a bad stomach.Duterte on Tuesday announced the distribution of 2 billion pesos' ($40 million) worth of medicines to poor families afflicted by illness, and to drug-dependent individuals at rehabilitation centres.He told drug users to stay indoors or face arrest. ($1=49.7850 Philippine pesos) (Reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila and Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Japan on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the latest bid to reach an elusive deal on a territorial dispute that has prevented their nations signing a formal treaty to end World War II.

Abe will host Putin at the hot springs in his ancestral city of Nagato in the hope of breaking the ice on an agreement over the Kuril Islands, seized by Soviet troops in 1945 and demanded back by Tokyo ever since.

But despite months of preparatory negotiations, hope is scant that the leaders can finally hammer out the differences over the four islands  known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan  during Putin's first visit in more than a decade.

"The absence of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan is an anachronism inherited from the past and this anachronism should be eliminated," Putin said in an interview with Japan's Nippon TV and Yomiuri newspaper published on the Kremlin's website on Tuesday. "But how to do this is a difficult question."

The Kremlin strongman added that Russia would strive to conclude the treaty because it wants the "full normalisation" of its relations with Japan.

Putin's two-day trip, including a forum in Tokyo, has been long in the pipeline and follows two visits by Abe to Russia this year  one to the Black Sea resort of Sochi and another in September to the far-eastern city of Vladivostok.

Abe has looked to eke out concessions on the Kurils by dangling the prospect of major Japanese investment in front of Moscow, still mired in economic crisis.

"This new approach is very bold," said James Brown, assistant professor in political science at Temple University, Japan. "He is determined to try to make a breakthrough."

But few believe that Putin is likely to cave in to Japanese demands to hand back at least some control over the islands, especially after the election of Donald Trump in the US gave him an unexpected fillip.

In the run-up to the meeting, officials have been careful to roll back any expectation of a deal.

"It's not simple to bring the two sides' positions closer," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida this month.

And while Tokyo might have been hoping that the mood could be changing, Russia pointedly fired off a timely message of strength ahead of Putin's visit by bolstering its might on the Kurils.

Last month, Moscow reportedly deployed coastal defence missiles to two of the four islands, heightening Japanese anger already piqued by the construction of two modern military compounds.

'Don't trade in territories'

The meeting between Putin and Abe is just the latest attempt to draw a line finally under World War II since Japan and the Soviet Union began talks in 1956.

Experts view recent rapprochement efforts as a positive development for Moscow's trade ties with a stalwart US ally but doubt that either side will budge on the territorial issue.

Bilateral trade fell last year by 31 percent to $21.3 billion (19 billion euros), in part due to Japan signing up to Western sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine.

But some 30 agreements between Russian and Japanese companies are expected to be signed during Putin's visit, including in the fields of energy, agriculture and technology.

Analyst Fyodor Lukyanov said that under its current difficult economic circumstances, Moscow is "highly interested in attracting Japanese investments to Russia's far-east".

But Japanese experts doubt that Tokyo will be able to use its economic leverage to force Moscow to make compromises over the islands.

"It's too optimistic to expect that economic cooperation will help win Russian concessions on the territorial row," said Shigeki Hakamada, a political science professor at Japan's University of Niigata Prefecture.

Although Russia is seeking to thaw relations on the economic front, Putin insisted that "we don't trade in territories" in an interview with Bloomberg News in September.

"Throughout this year there have been clear indications that the Russian side is delighted to talk about economic cooperation," analyst Brown said.

"They are willing to build closer relations but they have never really given any sign that a major breakthrough on the territorial issue was a possibility."
By Steve Holland

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump named the head of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Rex Tillerson, as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and won backing from some Republican foreign policy figures ahead of a possible Senate fight over the oilman and his ties to Russia.The Exxon CEO potentially faces difficulties getting confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Some lawmakers worry about his links to Moscow and opposition to U.S. sanctions on Russia, which awarded him a friendship medal in 2013. But several Republican establishment figures, including former secretaries of state James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates vouched for Tillerson, 64, who has spent more than 40 years at the oil company. Rice and Gates, who have worked for Exxon as consultants, both issued statements of support on Tuesday. Their backing could be crucial for Tillerson receiving the approval he needs in the Senate, where Republicans will have a slim majority when Trump takes office on Jan 20. "The fact that Condi Rice, James Baker and Bob Gates are recommending Tillerson carries considerable weight," said Senator Jeff Flake, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.By choosing Tillerson, Trump adds another person to his Cabinet and circle of advisers who may favour a soft line toward Moscow, which is under U.S. sanctions for its 2014 annexation of Crimea and at the centre of allegations that it launched cyber attacks to disrupt the U.S. presidential election. Republican foreign policy hawks in the Senate like John McCain and Lindsey Graham are likely to give Tillerson a rough time at a confirmation hearing in early January."It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin," said McCain, the Republican party's 2008 nominee for president. Republicans will have a majority of just 52-48 in the Senate, and only a few defections from their ranks would block Tillerson if every Democrat also opposed him.

'CLEAR-EYED ADVOCATE'

Trump said in a statement that Tillerson will reverse policies that left America less safe. "He will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests," Trump said.Trump upset U.S. allies during his campaign by calling for a better relationship with Russia and questioning the usefulness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the U.S.-led military bloc created after World War II to counter the Soviet Union. Trump has also pledged to confront China on trade and territorial issues and temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, angering many Islamic countries.Tillerson has foreign experience from years of cutting deals with foreign countries for his company, the world's largest energy firm. In 2012, Tillerson signed a deal with Russian state oil giant Rosneft to jointly develop oil fields in western Siberia.He has been chief executive of Exxon Mobil since 2006 but like Trump he has never held public office.

Tillerson said in a statement that he shared the president-elect's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States."Exxon Mobil said its board will meet soon regarding its transition.Trump was also poised to add another figure with close ties to the oil industry to his Cabinet.A source close to the transition said Trump had chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry, whose state is a leading oil producer, as his nominee for energy secretary, with an announcement expected soon. Perry met Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, part of a series of meetings that included Rapper Kanye West on Tuesday.In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honour, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."

There also has been controversy over alleged Russian interference in the Nov. 8 presidential election, with the CIA concluding that Moscow had intervened to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.Tillerson's "cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department," Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump and Tillerson were "pragmatic people" who could help America and Russia build a mutually beneficial relationship. A group of U.S. state attorneys general is investigating Exxon for allegedly misleading the public about climate change and some environmental groups are alarmed Exxon's CEO could be America's top diplomat.Exxon has said it has acknowledged the reality of climate change for years. Tillerson told a congressional hearing in 2010 he thought humanity contributed to climate change but the science was unclear about the size of the contribution. "It is extremely complicated," he told the hearing.After Trump's election, Exxon came out in support of the Paris Climate Agreement to combat climate change. Global Witness, an international group that focuses on natural-resource related conflict and corruption, urged the Senate to reject Tillerson, citing Exxon deals with governments in Nigeria and other countries, which the group said contributed to corruption.There also are concerns among lawmakers about former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who an adviser to the Trump's transition team said was still under consideration for the deputy secretary of state role.Bolton has urged Washington to do more to counter China's assertiveness in East Asia. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart in Washington and by Georgina Prodhan in Belgrade; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell)

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Aleppo: Syrian troops were poised to recapture all of second city Aleppo on Tuesday, in what would be the biggest blow to rebels since they launched their uprising in 2011.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon voiced alarm at reports of atrocities against civilians in Aleppo, where entire districts are in ruins and unclaimed bodies lie in the streets.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have said the battle for the city is in its "final phase" after they seized more than 90 percent of the eastern districts which had been held by the rebels since 2012.

The turnaround in the government's fortunes has come through decisive support from its allies Iran and Russia, which has waged a bombing campaign in support of Assad since September last year.

Early on Tuesday, troops were conducting searches in newly-recaptured neighbourhoods around Aleppo's Old City, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The regime is combing the districts of Bustan al-Qasr, Kalasseh, Fardaws, and other neighbourhoods it seized yesterday (Monday)," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

He said the regime was consolidating its control over those areas but had not made any fresh advances on Tuesday morning.

The fall of Aleppo would be the rebel's worst defeat of the civil war and put the government in control of all five of Syria's main cities.

An AFP correspondent in government-held west Aleppo said bombardment was heard overnight but had quietened by morning, when thick fog shrouded the city.

Residents of the sector gathered in the streets late into the night despite the rain, launching celebratory gunfire in a show of support for the army.

'Last chance'

UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over reports of atrocities against "a large number of civilians, including women and children" in Aleppo, his spokesman Stephan Dujarric said Monday.

"While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties."

The east of the city had been under army siege almost continuously since July.

On 15 November, the army launched a blistering offensive to retake it with the support of Iran-backed militias.

A Syrian military official in Aleppo said late Monday: "We're living the final moments before victory. "

Rebel fighters withdrew from six residential districts on Monday after government forces overran the key Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood on the city's southeastern outskirts.

The pullout leaves the rebels confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in the southeast of the city, including Mashhad and part of Sukkari.

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned Tuesday that thousands of civilians were at risk "as front lines close in around them in eastern Aleppo."

"As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run.

"This may be the last chance to save lives," it said.

'It's hell'

The government assault on east Aleppo has killed at least 415 civilians since mid-November, the Observatory says. Another 130 civilians have been killed by rebel fire on the west.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have repeatedly failed, and weekend talks between Russia and the United States on a ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians made no breakthrough.

The White Helmets emergency service, which operates in rebel-held areas across Syria, said it had been unable to pull bodies out from under collapsed buildings because of the ferocity of the bombardment.

"It's hell," it said on Twitter on Tuesday.

According to the Observatory, an estimated 130,000 people have poured out of rebel-held neighbourhoods as the army has advanced.

In the rebel-held Mashhad neighbourhood, residents fleeing the army advance crowded the streets on Monday, witnesses said.

Displaced civilians  many hungry after fleeing without food  sat on pavements or lay on the street with nowhere else to go.

The government's lightning advance in Aleppo has not come without cost.

While the army's firepower has been focused on recapturing it, the Islamic State group has retaken the ancient city of Palmyra from which it was driven out in a high-profile Russian-backed offensive in March.

More than 3,00,000 people have been killed in nearly six years of civil war. Millions more have fled their homes.
Washington: The Obama administration has made it clear that Taiwan was not a "bargaining chip" and America was firmly committed to the decades-old "One-China" policy, an assertion that came after President-elect Donald Trump questioned the policy's relevance.

"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy. That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

"One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip," he said, adding that Taiwan is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US.

Earnest made the remarks after Trump questioned the relevance of continuing with the "One-China" policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. He had said that China was "very badly" hurting the US by devaluing its currecy and accused the communist nation of not helping in reigning in North Korea.

Trump has suggested he can leverage Taiwan by questioning the "One China" policy and force China to "make a deal". Trump's "One China" rhetoric prompted the strongest public warning from China yesterday that bilateral ties will be damaged.

"Adherence to one-China principle is the political bedrock of the China-US relations. If it is compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relationship as well as bilateral cooperation in major field would be out of question," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

The US since 1979 has respected China's stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province. But Trump said, without concessions from China, he did not see why it should continue.

"Bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is in our best interest. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to make the case that it's in the interest of Taiwan," Earnest said.

Under Obama administration, the US has been able to lower tensions around cyber issues and they have been able to work effectively with the Chinese to ramp up pressure on the North.

"We certainly don't agree with the Chinese on everything, but where common ground does exist, we've been able to make progress in a way that benefits the American people and benefits the Chinese people... That kind of progress is much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our one-China policy," Earnest said.

Obama, he noted, has worked hard to manage relationships with China and Russia in a way that gives the US the opportunity to capitalise on common ground where it exists.

"In each case, our differences are substantial, but in each case effective diplomacy resulted in both those countries bolstering our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and further isolate the North Korean regime for their destabilising activities on the (Korean) peninsula," he said.
By Nate Raymond

| NEW YORK

NEW YORK A U.S. judge on Tuesday directed federal prosecutors to show him the search warrant application used to enable the FBI to access emails related to Hillary Clinton's private server that were discovered shortly before the Nov. 8 presidential election.U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan ordered prosecutors by Thursday to turn over the application, which investigators obtained shortly after FBI Director James Comey informed Congress of newly discovered emails on Oct. 28, 11 days before the election won by her Republican opponent Donald Trump.Castel made the order as he considered whether any portion of the search warrant materials could be made public in response to a lawsuit filed by Randol Schoenberg, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who specializes in cases to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis, seeking to force the release of the documents.In court papers, Schoenberg said the public had a "strong interest" in the disclosure of the search warrant materials, saying transparency was "crucial" given the potential influence the probe had on the election's outcome.The search warrant was obtained after Comey issued a letter to top U.S. lawmakers disclosing that emails potentially related to the Clinton server probe had been discovered in an "unrelated case." Comey's Oct. 28 announcement roiled the campaign and drew new attention to a damaging issue for Clinton.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, used the server while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Comey in July had recommended to the Justice Department that no criminal charges be brought against Clinton over her handing of classified information in the emails.Only two days before the election, Comey disclosed that the newly reviewed emails did nothing to change his earlier recommendation after all.Clinton days after her loss blamed Comey's letter, so close to the election, as a reason she lost to Trump.

Sources close to the investigation have said the emails were discovered during an unrelated probe into former Democratic U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.In court, Castel said he would not be surprised if prosecutors, in submitting the materials to him, cited the presence of an ongoing probe in a case unrelated to Clinton as a reason to keep the search warrant application confidential.

"It could be potentially terribly unfair to a person who ultimately winds up not being charged," Castel said, apparently referring to Weiner.Castel said it was possible information unrelated to the Clinton email probe could be redacted, and noted that in Clinton's case, Comey later indicated in a subsequent letter that the server probe was closed.Castel invited prosecutors to propose redactions in case he decides to release the search warrant application. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Kylie MacLellan

| LONDON

LONDON Britain will need a transitional trade agreement with the European Union, and the government should set out plans for it before beginning formal divorce talks with the bloc, members of parliament's upper house said on Tuesday.Prime Minister Theresa May plans to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, beginning the two-year withdrawal period, by the end of March and wants to seek a unique deal with the EU rather replicate any existing third-country agreements. Banks and businesses have repeatedly argued the government should agree a transition period to avoid a damaging "cliff edge" or abrupt exit from the bloc before Britain has finalised its future trading terms."It is unlikely that a bespoke EU trade agreement can be agreed within Article 50's two-year period, so a transitional deal is vital for protecting UK trade, and jobs that rely on trade," said Sandip Verma, chair of the House of Lords' EU External Affairs Sub-Committee.

The committee said in a report the government should set out at the start of negotiations a clear plan for a transitional agreement, which it said would allow talks to be carried out in a less pressured environment.The government should consider remaining a member of the EU's customs union as an interim arrangement, it added.

The committee said it had seen no evidence that trade on terms equivalent to full membership of the EU's single market could be achieved by Britain, particularly in services, which account for around 80 percent of Britain's economic output. May and her trade minister Liam Fox have said they want to agree new trade agreements with countries around the world as soon as possible after Brexit and have begun informal talks with several.

But the committee said the government should prioritise securing its future relationship with the EU and its new membership terms, or "schedules" at the World Trade Organisation."Deals with non-EU countries are contingent on the outcome of these negotiations, and need to be sequenced accordingly," said Verma. (Editing by Stephen Addison)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON The White House said on Tuesday it would be "very damaging" to both Cubans as well as the United States' standing in Latin America if the next administration reverses President Barack Obama's normalization of relations with Cuba."We're seeing real progress that is making life better for Cubans right now. Sustaining this policy will allow for further opening ... further U.S. business opportunities," Ben Rhodes, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, said in a call with reporters.

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to end Obama's detente with Cuba which includes the easing of some restrictions on travel, trade and finance.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Ayesha Rascoe, Matt Spetalnick; editing by G Crosse)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
NEW YORK, NY  Renowned hotel brand and management company Dream Hotel Group signed its first hotel in Vietnam with locally owned Beegreen Group to develop Dream Oceanami Villas & Spa in Long Hai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, the country's top tourist destination.

Set to open in June 2017, Dream Oceanami Villas & Spa will be the first of four new resort hotels developed by Beegreen Group and managed by Dream Hotel Group in Vietnam over the next two years. Future locations include Vung Tau City, Hoi An, Ho Tram and Con Dao.

"We are thrilled to see the Dream brand of hospitality resonate so widely abroad," said Dream Hotel Group CEO Jay Stein. "With eleven new hotels on the horizon, Dream boasts the strongest portfolio ever in its 12-year history, and the opening of Dream Oceanami Villas & Spa, the first of four new properties in Vietnam, marks another key milestone in our continued growth and evolution."

The 347-villa resort destination, featuring eight dining and nightlife venues, including its signature Dream Beach Club fronting the South China Sea on a one-kilometer stretch of pristine beach in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, is the first Vietnam development for the brand and a pivotal step in the group's global expansion strategy. Joining Dream Phuket Hotel & Spa and Dream Bangkok in Thailand, Dream Oceanami Villas & Spa marks the third Asia-Pacific property for the group.

"We at Beegreen Group are excited and pleased to join forces in a long term relationship with the rapidly expanding Dream Hotel Group to manage our first integrated resort project in Vietnam located at Long Hai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province," said Nguyen Son Kim, President of Beegreen Group.

"Working with the talented team at Beegreen Group, we have the potential to create something truly remarkable in Vietnam," added Kevin Wallace, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Dream Hotel Group. "The opening of Dream Oceanami is just the beginning."

Dream Hotel Group plans to open more than 30 hotels and resorts in Asia over the next four years across all its hotel brandsDream, Time, The Chatwal and Unscriptedcontinuing to solidify its burgeoning portfolio.

Earlier this year, Dream Hotel Group announced $1.5 billion in new hotel development for the Dream Hotels brand, including Doha in Qatar, the company's first foray into the Middle East, and five other U.S. locations, all with independent hotel development partners. Future U.S. locations include Nashville, Dallas, Palm Springs, and two additional New York properties in Times Square and Long Island City.

The news follows that of the highly anticipated David Rockwell-designed Dream Hollywood opening at 6417 Selma Avenue in January 2017, and the first location of Dream Hotel Group's new Unscripted brand, set to open in Durham, North Carolina in May 2017. Located in the heart of downtown Durham, the 74-room property will breathe new life into the old Jack Tar Motor Lodge, a mid-century design icon reimagined.

Born in 2004, Dream Hotels are rooted in the insatiable human need to explore the other side of oneself, and the provision of a playground to do just that. With strong foundations in delivering the maximum and highest level experience to guests, each property has upscale amenities, obsessive-meets-compulsive service, built-in nightlife that seems to come naturally, and rare raw energy drawn from some of the most stimulating cities in the world. A far cry from just another bed to lay your head on for a night or two, Dream Hotels offer an introduction to another you. The creation of a new persona for all who experience their properties, Dream Hotels' visitors push the boundaries of their expectations for hotel stays. For more information, please visit www.dreamhotels.com.

About Beegreen Group

Founded in 2008, Beegreen is the leading landscape company in Vietnam and a leading property developer with planned hotel and Resort developments across Vietnam in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Hoi An, Con Dao Island , Phan Thiet and Ho Tram. Vietnam is Asia's fastest growing hotel and tourism market with over 10 million foreign visitors and over 60 million domestic visitors expected this in 2016. www.beegreen.vn

About Dream Hotel Group

Dream Hotel Group is a hotel brand and management company with a rich, 30-year history of managing properties in some of the world's most highly competitive hotel environments. Home to its Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, The Chatwal and Unscripted Hotels brands, Dream Hotel Group encompasses three business lines: Proprietary Brands, Hotel Management and Dining & Nightlife. The Company is committed to the philosophy that forward-thinking design, service and guest experiences should be available across market segments. Dream Hotel Group is dedicated to offering travelers an authentic connection to their chosen destination through a truly original approach. For more information, please visit www.dreamhotelgroup.com and follow @dreamhotelgroup on Twitter.

Katie Fontana

Dream Hotel Group

212.474.9890

Dream Hotel Group
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People take photos as an Ariane 5 space rocket with a payload of four Galileo satellites lifts off from ESA's European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on November 17, 2016

Seventeen years and more than 10 billion euros ($11 billion) later, Europe's Galileo satnav system is set to go live on Thursday, promising to outperform US and Russian rivals while boosting regional self-reliance.

Initial services, free to use worldwide, will be available only on smartphones and navigation boxes already fitted with Galileo-compatible microchips.

Some devices may only need a software update to start using the new technology, and European Commission spokeswoman Mirna Talko said several smartphone giants were already making chips compatible with it.

"It will be the first time that users around the world will be able to be guided by Galileo satellites," said Lucia Caudet of the Commission, which funds the project.

Somewhat fuzzy at first, the signal will be boosted with help from satellites in the US military-run GPS system, growing stronger over time as orbiters are added to the now 18-strong Galileo network circling 23,222 kilometres (14,430 miles) above Earth.

According to its proud parents, the Commission and European Space Agency (ESA), Galileo should be fully operational by 2020, providing time and positioning data of unprecedented accuracy.

"GPS allows a train to know which area it is inGalileo will allow it to identify the track it is on," according to Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of France's CNES space agency, one of ESA's 22 country members.

Such precision would also be invaluable for safer driverless cars and nuclear power plants, as well as better telecommunications.

Setbacks

The civil-controlled service is also of great strategic importance for Europe, which relies on two military-run servicesGPS and Russia's GLONASS, which provide no guarantee of uninterrupted service.

It will be interoperable with these, but also completely autonomous.

"Having a system that is somewhat independent of the US system that is controlled by the military is probably a good thing," explained George Abbey, a senior fellow in space policy at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

This would be especially pertinent "if there were some conflicts or disagreements... that would cause the United States to have to limit GPS," he told AFP.

Named after Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, the project was first approved with an initial budget of around three billion euros and plans to be operational by 2008.

But it has suffered several technical and budgetary setbacks, including the launch of two satellites into the wrong orbit in 2014.

The European Commission expects the project will ultimately be an important commercial venture.

Galileo project has suffered several technical and budgetary setbacks, including the launch of two satellites into the wrong orbit in 2014

Almost 10 percent of Europe's gross domestic product is thought to depend on satellite navigation todaya figure projected to grow to about 30 percent by 2030.

By 2020, says the commission, the global satnav market will be valued at about 244 billion euros.

Billionth of a second

Galileo itself is expected to add some 90 billion euros to the EU economy in its first 20 years.

The system's groundbreaking accuracy is the result of best atomic clocks ever flown for navigationone per satelliteaccurate to one second in three million years.

A mere billionth-of-a-second clock error can mean a positioning error of up to 30 centimetres (12 inches).

Galileo also has more satellites than either GPS or GLONASS, and better signals which carry more information.

With these features, Galileo's free Open Service will be able to track positions to within a metre (3.3 feet), compared to several metres for GPS and GLONASS.

Its signal will eventually reach areas where none is possible todayinside traffic tunnels and on roads where high buildings shield radio waves from some satellites.

A paying service will allow clients to track locations even closer, to within centimetres, and governments will have access to an encrypted continued service for use in times of crisis.

Faster rescue

Another key feature is a service allowing rescuers to locate people lost at sea or in the mountains much faster than before.

Currently, satnav technology can take up to three hours to track a person to within a 10-kilometre (six-mile) range.

"With Galileo's Search and Rescue Service, the detection time is reduced to 10 minutes and the localisation is reduced to less than five kilometres," Caudet told AFP.

Satellite navigation works by ultra-precise clocks in orbit broadcasting their time and position to Earth via radio waves travelling at the speed of light.

Anyone with a receiver can combine data from at least three satellites to determine their position, speed and local time on Earth.

Europe's Galileo satnav: a rocky road

Europe's Galileo satnav system, first approved in 1999, had a difficult birthtaking 17 years and more than triple the original budget to get to the point of going live.

Here's a look at the bumpy road to this week's expected launch of Galileo's initial services:

- December 1999: The European Commission formally approves Galileo, a joint project with the European Space Agency, with a budget of between 2.2 billion and 2.95 billion euros ($2.34-3.14 billion). The project "to safeguard European strategic needs" is set for completion in 2008.

- April 2008: After failing to raise private sector funding, the Commissionthe European Union's executivetakes over the project with a new estimated budget, entirely taxpayer-funded, of 3.4 billion euros until 2013. A further 7 billion euros is budgeted for the 2014-2020 period, according to France's CNES space agency, an ESA member.

- October 2011: The two first Galileo satellites are launched into orbit, followed by two more in 2012.

- March 2013: The four satellites pinpoint the system's first-ever ground location, with an accuracy of between 10 and 15 metres (32 to 49 feet). One of the orbiters develops antenna problems, but can still transmit on one frequency.

- August 2014: After a more than year-long delay over "technical difficulties", satellites five and six are launched into a lopsided, elliptical orbit of little use for satellite navigation. Subsequent launches are delayed to investigate the causefrozen fuel pipes onboard the Russian Soyuz rocket.

- December 2016: With 18 satellites in orbit, Galileo is set to go live with initial services on Thursday. The commission has already ordered eight more orbiters, for launch in 2017 and 2018, with the last four in the 30-satellite constellation yet to be confirmed.

 2016 AFP
Candida albicans has evolved to 'hide' from our immune system. Credit: Graham Beard

Experts from the University of Aberdeen have discovered how the fungus which causes thrush tries to hide from our body's defences.

Candida albicans can be deadly when it takes advantage of the weakened immune systems of cancer or transplant patients, and is also a common cause of thrush.

The fungus lives in most of us and is relatively harmless most of the time.

However, Candida can take hold and cause conditions such as thrush in babies, or the yeast infections that many women suffer after antibiotic treatments. If our defences become weakened, as can happen in cancer or transplant patients, the fungus can be deadly.

In a significant new study, published today in Nature Microbiology, researchers from the University of Aberdeen's world-leading Aberdeen Fungal Group and Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology have revealed ways in which the fungus can 'hide' from our immune system.

Our body's immune system normally detects the fungus by interacting with specific molecules on its cell surface and then kills the fungal invader. Meanwhile, when the fungus senses the lactic acid we produce as part of a normal, healthy lifestyle, it changes its cell surface to make it more difficult for our immune system to detect and kill it.

The research, led by Professor Al Brown from the Aberdeen Fungal Group and funded by the European, Medical, and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Councils, identifies the mechanisms that help the fungus mask itself from our immune detection system.

"We've discovered that this fungus is a moving target for our immune defences. It is very good at adapting to the environments within us and, through evolution, it has developed new ways to avoid being detected by our defences, said Professor Brown. "The fungus is playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek."

He continued: "Whilst for many healthy individuals Candida albicans is not a problem, and thrush infections are generally straightforward to treat, Candida can be a major health concern for some hospitalised patients. So it is important to work out how this fungus survives inside us so that we can develop ways to tip the balance back in favour of the patient.

"Thanks to funding from the Medical Research Council and with the help of our partners at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, we are now starting to define how these discoveries, which were made under well-defined laboratory conditions, relate to infections in real patients."

More information: Elizabeth R. Ballou et al. Lactate signalling regulates fungal -glucan masking and immune evasion, Nature Microbiology (2016). DOI: 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.238 Journal information: Nature Microbiology
Top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan pledged yesterday to implement new sanctions against North Korea, including capping the countrys coal exports to choke off cash flowing into its nuclear weapons program.

After meeting in Seoul, the envoys said the countries agreed to maintain an around-the-clock information sharing system to monitor how sanctions are working.

Responding to North Koreas nuclear and missile tests this year, the United Nations Security Council recently voted to tighten sanctions by limiting the countrys coal exports, one of its major sources of foreign currency.

The effectiveness of the sanctions is dependent on the commitment of China, North Koreas most important ally and its biggest buyer of coal. Joseph Yun, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, said Chinas announcement over the weekend that it would freeze imports of North Korean coal until the end of the year was an encouraging sign.
Leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia have signed the Dayton Accord in Paris to end three-and-a-half years of war in the Balkans. Under the deal Bosnia is preserved as a single state but it is divided into two parts.

It will be made up of a Muslim-Croat federation representing 51% of the countrys territory and a Serb republic holding the remaining 49%. Sarajevo will become a unified city with Serbs giving up some suburbs which they currently control.

The so-called safe-enclave of Gorazde will remain under Muslim control but it will be linked by a land corridor to Sarajevo. The three leaders signed the deal surrounded by European heads of state in a Parisian palace before 50 world leaders and international organization chiefs.

Serbias Slobodan Milosevic said the country had been an outcast for too long. He said: As to the implementation of the peace agreement and the role of the international peace force, the key of the success of its mission is even-handedness, just as partiality is the key of failure.

Croatias Franjo Tudjman spoke of his aim for closer ties between his people and the European Union. And Bosnias Alija Izetbegovic, referring to his dream of a multi-ethnic Bosnia said he felt he was drinking a bitter but useful medicine.

The deal was driven by President Clintons team and Nato will move into protect the area  with overriding power  as a temporary measure. The success of maintaining the deal will determine aid for the war-torn country where at least 200,000 people have died in the bloodiest conflict seen in Europe since World War II.

Several million people have been left homeless  some the result of so-called ethnic cleansing operations. Many other refugees fled the country rather than get caught up in the fighting.

The American president told the summit that it was up to the three leaders and their people to ensure peace. No one outside can guarantee that Muslims, Croats and Serbs in Bosnia can come together and stay together as free citizens in a united country sharing a common destiny, President Clinton said. Only the Bosnian people can do that.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

Despite the Dayton Summit which formally ended the conflict, tensions remain between the three Balkan neighbors.

But things improved when the political landscape of the region changed.

Alija Izetbegovic stepped down in 2001, Slobodan Milosevic was put on trial at The Hague a year later for atrocities in the Balkans over a 10 year period and Franjo Tudjman died in 1999.

The countries new government leaders are described as moderate.

They met for the first time since their predecessors signed the peace accords in 2002.

Many problems of the war persist  most importantly the fate of around 1.5m refugees and displaced persons.

An EU peacekeeping force replaced NATO in December 2004.

Official statistics released in 2005 revealed the number of dead in the Bosnian war was lower than first thought. An interim report said the death toll was probably nearer 100,000 than 200,000.
Hong Kongs financial chief John Tsang resigned, signaling that hell run to become the citys chief executive in the first leadership contest since mass pro-democracy protests two years ago.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-

ying said yesterday that he received Tsangs resignation and submitted it to authorities in Beijing. Tsang, whose office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment, planned to address the media at 6:30 p.m. local time. K C Chan, secretary for financial services and the treasury, will be acting financial secretary when Tsang goes on leave today, the statement said.

Leung unexpectedly announced last week that he wouldnt seek a second term because of pressure on his family. His departure cleared the field for rivals who might have been reluctant to challenge the incumbent chief executive in March, when a committee of political insiders meets to select his successor.

Leungs tenure has been marred by escalating protests against Chinas stewardship over the Asian financial hub, which guaranteed independent courts and a free press under a one country, two systems framework. In recent weeks, Leung outraged democracy advocates by successfully suing to oust two elected pro-independence advocates from the citys legislature and moving to purge four more in a campaign supported by Beijing.

Tsang, 65, has served as finance secretary since 2007. He has long enjoyed the highest approval ratings among the citys top officials, scoring 63.1 out of 100 according to a Dec. 7 survey by the University of Hong Kongs Public Opinion Program.

In recent comments on his blog, Tsang said values such as freedom, openness, diversity and rule of law were the foundation of Hong Kongs success and should be defended. He called on Hongkongers to bridge escalating social and political divisions.

If we have a peaceful atmosphere and a harmonious environment, we can seek common ground while reserving differences on the basis of mutual trust and honesty, he wrote.

The chief executive will be selected by a committee of 1,200 electors, who themselves were elected from various industries and interest groups on Sunday. Pro-democracy groups won a quarter of the seats  a record amount  with the remainder going to pro-establishment candidates, according to the South China Morning Post. The winner of the chief executive election in March will be subject to approval by the National Peoples Congress in China.

Other potential candidates include Carrie Lam, Leungs chief deputy, who said Saturday she would reconsider her decision to retire when her current term ends in June. Her office wasnt immediately available for comment.

Regina Ip, a lawmaker who more than a decade ago led a failed effort to pass a strict national security law, is expected to announce her candidacy Thursday. Former judge Woo Kwok-hing, 70, threw his hat into the ring in October.

Lam actively campaigned to get Chinas electoral reform package through the Legislative Council in 2014, a move that wouldve earned her goodwill in Beijing despite its failure to pass, according to Danny Gittings, an associate law professor at HKU Space and author of Introduction to the Hong Kong Basic Law. Her refusal to consider running while Leung was weighing his decision showed her loyalty, he said.

She would be Chinas favorite because she is perceived as being tough but also reasonably popular, whereas John Tsang might be popular, but not considered hard line enough, Gittings said. David Tweed, Bloomberg
Irans flag carrier finalized a major deal with U.S. plane maker Boeing Co. to buy USD16.6 billion worth of passenger planes in one of the most tangible benefits yet for the Islamic Republic from last years landmark nuclear agreement.

Iran Airs deal for 80 jetliners is the biggest agreement Iran has struck with an American company since the 1979 revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover. It has the potential to transform Irans creaking and accident-

prone aviation industry, which has been hobbled by years of sanctions.

Those curbs have prevented the country from buying new planes from Chicago-based Boeing and European rival Airbus, and in many cases made it difficult for Iranian airlines to secure much-needed spare parts.

The deal covers 50 single-aisle 737 Max 8s, a soon-to-be-introduced version of Boeings existing narrow-body 737 line.

It also includes 30 777s, a wide-body, twin-engine plane typically used on long-haul routes that is popular with other Persian Gulf carriers such as Dubai-based Emirates. Half of the order will cover the 777-300ER version, while the rest will be of the 777-9 model still under development.

Irans state-run IRNA news agency said the planes would be delivered over the next decade. The first will start to arrive in 2018, Boeing said.

In September, Washington granted permission to Boeing and Toulouse, France-based Airbus to sell billions of dollars worth of aircraft to Iran. Airbus needed U.S. approval because at least 10 percent of its planes components are of American origin.

The U.S. and other world powers agreed last year to lift crippling sanctions on Iran in exchange for it curbing its nuclear activities. The U.S. still maintains extensive sanctions on Iran for activities unrelated to its nuclear program.

President-elect Donald Trump and several Republican lawmakers have criticized the nuclear deal, but its unclear whether they would scrap the agreement, which was reached with Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi, who attended the signing ceremony, said it was a historic day for Iranian aviation and that the deal would create 8,000 jobs for Iranians.

The deal has a clear message for the world: we support peace and security as well as the growth of Iran based on a win-win policy, he was quoted as saying. We hope that despite changes in the U.S. administration, the country will remain loyal to its commitments.

The Republican-led House of Representatives last month voted to bar commercial aircraft sales to Iran in a move that could block the Boeing deal. That legislation must still pass the Senate, where it will likely face opposition from Democrats. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will veto the bill if it reaches his desk before he leaves office on Jan. 20.

Boeing made a point of saying it worked closely with the U.S. government throughout the deal-making process and will continue to follow all license requirements. The Iran Air deal will support tens of thousands of U.S. jobs linked to the 777s alone, it said. AP
Many Chinese news agencies have lately reported that the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, located in Shenzhen, Guangdong, has experienced a leak.

The Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, commented on this news last Sunday, saying that he had contacted the department of the Chinese central government which is responsible for regulations over nuclear safety issues. However, in his understanding, no leak had occurred.

When asked about whether the mainland had been late in clarifying the incident this time, Wong said I cant comment [on that], because, at the moment, I am not aware of the situation, according to a report by All About Macau.

Wong claims that, since there was no leak, the mainland is not obliged to declare the non-occurrence to Macau. He hopes that, in the future, when similar news is available, the related department could give timely clarification with regard to what may or may not have happened.

Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Co. Ltd (HKNIC), one of the investors of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, issued a clarification on December 10, stating that no leak had occurred at the plant.

According to an announcement published by the Government Information Bureau, the local government is working closely with relevant ministries and departments of the central government in order to establish a Guangdong-Macau nuclear safety reporting mechanism.

Wong also said that four separate bodies linked to the central government had already given their approval for the establishment of such a reporting mechanism. Currently, the Guangdong Government is going through the necessary procedures in order to set up the mechanism.

The government pays great attention to the publics interest in safety issues regarding the nuclear facility in Taishan Prefecture, Guangdong Province. Macau is 67 kilometres away from Taishan. According to the authorities in Macau and mainland China, this distance means that no evacuation measures would be necessary even if an incident of the most serious type were to occur.
The Patane Library was inaugurated on Friday during a ceremony officiated by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, and the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Ung Vai Meng, among others.

The Patane Library is comprised of a group of seven buildings with a history going back more than 80 years. Built in the 1930s, the buildings are typical arcade structures along the coast of the Inner Harbor. Arcade buildings feature an architectural form that combines features from both European and Southeast Asian architectural traditions.

The renovated library aims to provide more reading space to local residents, according to an IC statement, as well as imbuing special value and significance in the [local] urban development, transforming the buildings into a place for the transmission of culture and knowledge.

According to the statement issued by the IC, after the opening ceremony, Ung exchanged views with the first batch of readers in the library, some of which are elderly residents living in the Patane district.

The three-story Patane Library covers an area of around 1,130 square meters and provides approximately 150 seats for readers. In addition to the provision of newspapers and magazines, the library will also offer other basic services such as access to the general collection of texts on Macau and a childrens collection.

However, according to the IC, the primary focus of the library will be film and music. The area will feature a multimedia zone for regular film screenings, concerts and other activities.

It is currently home to some 20,000 volumes, 7,000 audiovisual materials, 80 types of newspapers and 600 types of magazines.

The library, located at No. 69-81, Rua da Ribeira do Patane, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. from Tuesdays to Sundays, and from 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, except on public holidays.
When you think of Singapore Airlines Ltd., visions appear of cushy premium cabins, bespoke leather seats, and free-flowing Champagne poured by the carriers throwback Singapore girls flight attendants.

Its all that, yes. But the luxury carrier is working hard to diversify with budget airlines under its corporate banner. It owns low-cost carrier Scoot; 49 percent of Vistara, a joint venture in India with Tata Sons Ltd.; and NokScoot, a low-cost Thai airline Singapore owns in a joint venture with Nok Airlines Co. Ltd. This collection of airlinesplus a new ultra long range Airbus A350 variant scheduled to arrive in 2018enables Singapore to explore a range of expansion plans, many of which are currently focused on North America.

Its no coincidence that the region continues to be the runaway success story of airline profitability. It will provide roughly two-thirds of the industrys projected USD29 billion net income next year, according to estimates released Dec. 8 by the International Air Transport Association.

Singapores portfolio of carriers offers a lot more nimbleness and flexibility in addressing the needs of the markets, Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong said during an interview Dec. 6 in New York.

Last month, Singapore reported a 70 percent drop in net income and warned that 2017 could be challenging as well. The airline has struggled amid the expansion of low-cost carriers in its home region, and moves by a trio of Middle East-based full-service airlines to encroach on its core franchise of premium business travelers.

Its not going to be business as usual, said Goh, an M.I.T.-trained engineer in computer science who chose an airline career over academia. These are structural changes; these are changes that are not going to go away.

Into this environment, the CEO has prescribed a diversification of revenue, a renewed focus on cabin comforts for big spenders, and new markets.

A chief pillar of the companys expansion rests on further long-haul expansion, driven by firm orders for 67 new Airbus A350s and 30 of Boeing Co.s largest 787 variant, the 

10. The newest 787 is scheduled to enter commercial service in 2018. Of its A350s, Singapore will take seven from Airbus in an ultra long range configuration, which includes software changes and modest modifications to the landing gear. Other A350-900s can be altered to the ULR version, which is able to fly 8,700 nautical miles.

We have called it a game changer for us and theres a reason for that, Goh said, alluding to the growth opportunities the A350 affords.

With these new, more fuel-

efficient planes, Singapore executives have been keen to resume the nonstop flights from the city state to New York and Los Angeles, which operated for nine years before ending in 2013 because of the routes extreme fuel costs. The airline is also considering the potential for new U.S. destinations, having for years studied traffic flows in places like Boston, Chicago, and Miami, Goh said. Many werent feasible, given the mix of large seat counts and the range limits of its existing aircraft. But the new, more fuel-miserly A350 may well change the math for such an expansion. (In March, for example, Singapore is swapping the 777 it flies to Houston with an A350.)

The U.S. is an important market for us, Goh said, but technological limitations required a stop between American cities and Singapore. No more.

The airline is envisioning a day when the new fleet allows its hub at Singapores Changi Airport to become a connection for U.S. and Canadian corporate travelers bound for places such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. It sees a precedent in the operations Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways Ltd. have built at their hubs in the Persian Gulf, particularly for traffic to and from India.

Yet beyond the moneyed travelers who want frills on long flights, Singapores Scoot budget airline is also keen to expand. In June, Scoot will commence its longest flight to date, to Athens, a city where Singapore has ended service with its flagship. Scoot is increasing its all-787 fleet to 20 over the next few years, and is likely to look to markets where premium-cabin traffic is insufficient for flights by the flagship Singapore brand, Goh said.

Scoot might also look to some kind of operation to the U.S, Goh said. At some point in time they will look at the U.S. to see if it makes sense.

On the premium side of their house, Singapore executives have been cagey about the cabin configuration for the A350-ULRs to be deployed on the new U.S. nonstops to Los Angeles and New York. The latter will reclaim its title as the worlds longest route, at 19 hours or more, depending on winds. The airline plans a two-class service, but has declined to reveal the cabin mix or how many seats the planes will carry. They will have fewer than the 253 seats now on the three-cabin aircraft Singapore currently flies, with a stop in Asia, en route to Singapore, Goh said.

The beauty of it is that this aircraft is not too big, he said. We can size it to best fit the traffic number that makes sense.

Beyond the U.S., Singapore has identified India as a top priority in terms of greater market access. Within a decade, the nation is projected to become the No. 3 international travel market after China and America. Singapores Vistara venture will benefit from the Indian governments recently altered 5-20 regulation that required local carriers to fly at least 20 aircraft for five years before they could offer international service. The change abolished the five-year flight period, and should help Vistara expand internationally sooner. It now has 13 Airbus A320s, with plans to reach 20 by 2018.

Some day, if it makes sense for Vistara, Goh says, the airline may acquire long-haul aircraft and set out for Europe and North America with nonstop routes. Thats a proposition that Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad cant offer. Logically speaking, Goh says, you can imagine Vistara should have a lot of potential for growth. Justin Bachman, Bloomberg
South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who had a largely ceremonial job until President Park Geun-hyes impeachment last week, now must face off against North Korea and deal with edgy relations with Japan as the countrys interim leader.

Hwang visited the Joint Chiefs of Staff and told fellow Cabinet members yesterday that there are no unusual security or economic developments. But he will soon face a slew of thorny issues that will test his leadership while the Constitutional Court reviews whether to endorse Parks impeachment to formally end her rule.

NORTH KOREA

Hwangs first move as interim leader was to tell his defense minister to bolster readiness for any possible provocation by North Korea.

North Korea hasnt made international headlines since its fifth and biggest-ever nuclear test in September. That could be in line with its nuclear development timetable, but given that Park and North Korea had terrible relations, the North might want to avoid doing anything that could unite conservatives in South Korea behind her.

In a sign of the ongoing tensions, North Koreas state media on Sunday released photos of its smiling leader, Kim Jong Un, watching a practice attack on a replica of Parks presidential Blue House. A team of commandoes parachuted, shot at the Blue House model with rifles, leaving it engulfed in flames and black smoke.

HISTORY TEXTBOOKS

Its probably the first major, hot-button issue that Hwang will face.

Parks government had been pushing to require schools to use state-authored history textbooks starting next year, saying current textbooks published by private companies are too left-leaning and sympathize with North Korea. But in the wake of the massive anti-government protests touched off by a political scandal involving Parks longtime confidante, the government took a step back, saying it wants to hear various opinions by Dec. 23 before making a final decision.

The liberal opposition is pressuring the government to scrap the textbook plan, calling it a move to beautify past authoritarian leaders, including Parks late father, Park Chung-hee. The elder Park is a deeply divisive figure, with critics calling him a horrible human rights abuser who imprisoned and tortured dissidents, while supporters call him a national hero who guided the country out of poverty.

JAPAN DEALS

The opposition also wants to scrap two key agreements Park signed with Japan, calling them diplomatic fiascoes.

One settled a decades-

long impasse over Korean women forced to be sex slaves in Japanese military-run brothels during World War II, with an apology from Japans prime minister and a pledge of more than USD8 million in compensation. The other is about sharing military intelligence with Japan to better cope with North Korea.

The 2015 sex slave deal triggered criticism in South Korea because it was announced without getting approval from victims. The intelligence-sharing pact went into effect last month, and liberal critics accuse the Park government of trying to use the agreement to divert attention from the political scandal. AP
The top contender to lead U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump is known for his longstanding support of free trade, international law and an expansive presence in the Middle East that doesnt fit with Trumps pitch to supporters.

Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson also is known for his Russia connections and would be the Trumps most concrete outreach yet to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Success in Russia required aligning the companys interests with those of the Russian government, mettle and good relations with Putin. Exxon steadily expanded its Russian business even as its rivals faced expropriation and regulatory obstacles, and in 2013 Putin bestowed the Order of Friendship on Tillerson.

Hes a world-class player, Trump said on Fox News Sunday. To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia, he does massive deals, not for himself, for the company.

Trumps own relationship with Russia was an issue through much of the campaign. The CIA has concluded with high confidence that Russia sought to influence the U.S. election on behalf of the Republican, an assessment Trump has rejected.

Trump called that assessment ridiculous.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, Tillerson came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the companys central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

In 2006, Tillerson won the battle to succeed former Exxon CEO Lee Raymond. Under the Texans leadership, oil prices broke records and Exxons profits helped make it the most valuable public company in the world, with a security force totaling thousands of employees, direct channels with governments worldwide and a strong aversion to American sanctions or limitations on where it could operate.

Tillerson has used Exxons enormous profits to explore new regions for oil and gas and to invest in new acquisitions like XTO Resources, a company that had helped pioneer drilling for natural gas in formations of shale in the United States. But over the years oil has become more difficult and expensive to find as large, easy-to-tap reservoirs in stable countries were slowly depleted. Exxon and other giant oil corporations found it ever more difficult to replace the oil they sold every day with new resources, and they were forced to look in every more difficult and hostile regions for oil and gas.

Energy made in America is not as important as energy simply made wherever it is most economic, he said in 2007 in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. We are free-

market, free-trade advocates, he said in another speech to the group five years later, declaring that the greatest boon for American energy security would be support for oil production and trading worldwide.

While Tillerson advocates for a hands-off approach to markets, hes backed continued American engagement in the Middle East. After the Iraq war, Exxon agreed to develop a large project in still-unstable southern Iraq at terms that less favorable to Exxon than most deals. In 2011, Tillerson announced an expansive relationship with Russias Rosneft that will spend years and billions of dollars developing technology to explore and produce oil and gas in icy waters in the Russian Arctic.

While the revolutionary gains from shale fracking have poised the U.S. to supply far more of its own energy, Tillerson has said it would be a mistake to step back.

The question you have to ask is, Well then, who steps into that void, he said, suggesting it would be a large consuming country such as China.

While his predecessor was a firm skeptic about the link between fossil fuel combustion and climate change, Tillerson has softened the companys position on the issue, even if hes unconvinced by the most dire predictions of the consequences.

At an industry conference in 2007, Tillerson acknowledged Earths climate is changing, the average temperature is rising and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. He also noted that climate remains a complex area of scientific study. Exxon remains under fire for its past efforts to undercut climate change  even as recently exposed internal documents show the companys own scientists recognized climate changes legitimacy as early as the 1970s.

But he said its clear the risks of climate change to society and ecosystems could be significant, and its prudent to develop and implement sensible strategies that address these risks while not reducing our ability to progress other global priorities such as economic development, poverty eradication and public health.

Tillerson was slated to retire in March at age 65 under the companys mandatory retirement policy. Paid USD27.3 million last year, Tillerson has accumulated roughly $160 million in Exxon stock along with $149 million of unvested stock options, according a proxy statement the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Jeff Horwitz, Washington,AP
LAS VEGAS (AP)  A judge has set a trio of trials for 17 men accused of conspiring together in an armed standoff against federal agents near Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy's property in April 2014.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen, in a ruling on Monday, reversed the order proposed by federal prosecutors who wanted to try Bundy, sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and two other defendants first. Instead, they'll go last.

The judge set trial to begin Feb. 6 for six defendants who the government has characterized as "followers and gunmen" and least responsible for planning the tense showdown that blocked a federal Bureau of Land Management round-up of Bundy cattle from public land.

"It made no sense to keep the least culpable in custody the longest," Todd Leventhal, attorney for Orville Scott Drexler, said Tuesday. Drexler is in the Feb. 6 group, with co-defendants Gregory Burleson, Todd Engel, Ricky Lovelien, Eric Parker and Steven Stewart.

Leventhal said he thought the judge may have been swayed by a request from Cliven Bundy, through his attorney Bret Whipple, to let other defendants stand trial first so they could return to their families.

Jury summonses have gone out saying trial could take up to five months. Meanwhile, the defendants remain in federal custody in southern Nevada.

Thirty days after the first trial ends, six alleged "mid-level" standoff leaders and organizers will stand trial, Leen decided. They are Bundy sons Dave and Mel Bundy, Brian Cavalier, Micah McGuire, Joseph O'Shaughnessy and Jason Woods.

The judge said that 30 days after that trial ends, proceedings will begin for Cliven, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and co-defendants Peter Santilli and Ryan Payne.

Federal prosecutors allege the Bundy family patriarch, now 70, and his two sons led the conspiracy, obstruction, weapon, threat and assault offenses against federal officers.

Santilli's lawyer, Chris Rasmussen, said his client wanted to be tried first and will challenge Leen's order.

Bundy and family members maintain that the federal government has no authority in the public land near the Bunkerville-area ranch where he grazes cattle.

The dispute has roots in a nearly half-century fight over grazing policies in Nevada and the West, where the U.S. government controls vast expanses of property.

No one was hurt, and no shots were fired in the standoff about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

But images of Bundy backers with assault rifles forcing federal agents to retreat have become iconic in the battle over states' rights and federal authority.

The dispute has gained momentum with bloggers protesting federal agency decisions to designate protected areas for endangered species and set aside tracts for mining, wind farms and natural gas exploration.

Nineteen defendants were originally charged in the Bunkerville case. Two have pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges, while maintaining they weren't physically present for the standoff. Their plea deals call for sentences of six years in federal prison.

Ammon and Ryan Bundy were among seven defendants acquitted by a U.S. District Court jury in Portland, Oregon, of conspiracy and other charges stemming from a 41-day occupation earlier this year of federal wildlife refuge.
U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador met with president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City on Monday.

Labrador, who represents Idaho's First Congressional District and has gotten media attention beyond Idaho due to his prominent role in the House Freedom Caucus, told reporters after the meeting that he and the president-elect talked about Western issues and said he would help the new administration "in any way that I can," while not answering directly as to whether they discussed a cabinet appointment or other role for Labrador.

"I'm excited for America that we're going to have a new administration that is, that has, hit the ground running, and I think we, there's a lot of things where I can help, but if I can help him in the administration, I can help him in Congress. I'm very excited to do that," Labrador said.

Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller told McClatchy that Trump was interested in Labrador's record as a national leader on immigration and criminal justice reform and his great familiarity with Interior issues."

Trump had a full schedule of meetings Monday, including with Westerners Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke and Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, who is believed to be the top contender to lead the Department of the Interior, apparently having beaten out some other candidates who were considered including Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter.

Labrador backed first Rand Paul and then Ted Cruz in the Republican primary; at times, Labrador was publicly critical of his party's eventual nominee.

However, Labrador has backed Trump consistently since Trump sewed up the nomination, sticking by him after a tape came out in October of Trump bragging about committing sexual assault and traveling to Utah, Arizona and even Florida to campaign for Trump.
BURLEY  Joel Brown, who has a doctorate of physical therapy, is a Twin Falls local who joined Wright Physical Therapy in November. He has outpatient orthopedics experience, and will be primarily treating patients at the Burley clinic, 1945 Hiland Ave., over the next year.
Barlow Road house fire still under investigation

KETCHUM  The Ketchum Fire Department on Tuesday said it is still investigating the cause of a Friday house fire.

A Ketchum fire engine was dispatched in response to a report of a fire alarm at 114 Barlow Road, near North Fork Canyon.

Response time was affected by heavy snowfall and snowy roads, the city said in a release.

A carbon monoxide detector was activated as well as a smoke detector. Light smoke was visible throughout the house when the engine arrived.

Because of the buildings large size, engines were requested from the Hailey and Bellevue fire departments. Fire crews gained entry to the house and searched for occupants in the smoke-filled building  finding none  as other crews searched for the fire.

Firefighters in the crawlspace found the fire under the mechanical room.
HAILEY  Blaine County sheriffs deputies are now enforcing the county ordinance banning cellphone use while driving.

County commissioners passed an ordinance in November banning any use of a hand-held electronic mobile device while driving, making it an infraction punishable by a $100 fine.

State law bans texting while driving but not other uses of an electronic device.

Distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on Americas roadways, said Chief Deputy Steve Harkins, who was elected sheriff in the November election and will step into his new role in January. In 2014 alone, 3,179 people were killed in distracted driving crashes. Clearly, there is no phone call, text or email worth your life or the lives of others.

Harkins said deputies have started to stop drivers breaking the law, educating them on it but also writing tickets if necessary. Using a hands-free device is still legal.

Drivers are asked to put down your phone and focus on driving for everyones safety, he said.

Idaho banned texting while driving in 2012. A few cities in Blaine County had ordinances banning talking on a cellphone while driving that were passed before the countys, but state law doesnt prohibit talking on a cellphone while driving. A bill to ban talking on a cellphone while driving was brought forth during the 2016 legislative session, but it came after the deadline where a bill can be introduced into most committees and it died without getting printed.
TWIN FALLS  The citys guiding document for future parks and park improvements has been approved, with some tweaks.

The Twin Falls Parks and Recreation Master Plan identifies existing service and potential parks, but members of the City Council on Monday disagreed with how service was measured in the document. After a lengthy discussion, the plan was approved with a recommendation to include figures for regional and county parks, and trail systems, as well.

The plan should help the department with decisions about upcoming developments.

It gives us a good basis to set goals, Parks and Recreation Director Wendy Davis said. It gives me the tools to back up the kinds of recommendations we can make.

Greg Graves with JUB Engineers said the current level of service in the plan was determined by acres of neighborhood and community parks divided by population. The level of service is 3.42 acres of parks per 1,000 residents.

But recreational attractions such as Shoshone Falls, Auger Falls and the Canyon Rim Trail were not included in those numbers.

It blows me away a little bit that they werent involved, Councilman Don Hall said. We have invested heavily for our citizens in those parks.  I think were underselling what we have in our community. These are world-class parks.

The argument for excluding those parks from the calculations for future needs, Deputy City Manager Mitch Humble said, was that they dont change those needs.

Were not ever going to recreate Shoshone Falls Park, but we do need community parks to serve future neighborhoods, Humble said.

City Manager Travis Rothweiler, however, agreed that showing service of 3.42 acres per 1,000 people was a disservice to the overall park system. He suggested including two numbers  one with the regional and county parks and trails, and one without  in the master plan.

The council voted unanimously to adopt the plan, but to add the regional parks and trails information to the document. Mayor Shawn Barigar was not present.

Ive never seen so much controversy over Parks and Recreation, Councilman Chris Talkington commented after the decision. But its all for the good.

The master plan took into account public comment and recommendations from a citizens survey. It included a map showing a handful of proposed community parks and about a dozen proposed neighborhood parks on the outskirts of the city.

Also at the meeting, the City Council voted to allow the public works department to defer its master plan for pressurized irrigation in order to construct a $250,000 pressurized irrigation station off of Grandview Drive North to fulfill immediate development needs.

The Council also approved a request for a rezone by Oasis Stop N Go to expand its parking lot north of Filer Avenue West and west of Washington Street North.
TWIN FALLS  A former Twin Falls County sheriffs deputy who ran for sheriff in the 2008 Republican primary is facing a misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute.

Ronald Louis Kirtland, 57, was due in court Tuesday for a pretrial conference, court records show. But the hearing was postponed because Kirtland is in Utah receiving treatment for his addictions, Lynn Dunlap, his attorney, wrote in a sworn affidavit requesting the hearing be delayed.

A Twin Falls Police officer issued Kirtland a citation for soliciting a prostitute Oct. 21 at the Red Lion Hotel on Blue Lakes Boulevard North, after police were tipped off by a suspicious housekeeper. The misdemeanor charge was later amended to patronizing a prostitute.

(I) have personally verified that Mr. Kirtland is in the Phoenix Recovery Center in Salt Lake City receiving treatment for his addictions, Dunlap wrote in the affidavit filed Nov. 28. He was admitted on or about November 21, and is anticipated he will be released sometime shortly after the New Year.

Kirtland worked at the Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office from 1992 to 2004, when he resigned and began selling real estate. In December 2003, while employed as a senior sheriffs deputy, he was ticketed by a Kimberly police officer for misdemeanor trespassing, an incident he later told the Times-News was a family matter involving a divorce. The case was dismissed in June 2004.

Kirtland ran for sheriff in 2008, losing the Republican primary to Tom Carter, another former deputy running to unseat then-Sheriff Wayne Tousley. Carter went on to beat Tousley in the general election. When Carter ran for re-election in 2012, Kirtland wrote a letter of support urging voters to choose Carter over Jack Johnson.

A mentor for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program during his time as a deputy, Kirtland campaigned in 2008 on promises of expanding the D.A.R.E. program in schools, improving the offices relationship with the community and improving budget management. He also said being sheriff would have been a big pay cut, but he was willing to take the cut to serve the public.

He faces up to six months in jail and a fine up to $1,000 if convicted. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Jan. 4.
RUPERT  A Heyburn man is charged with felony aggravated battery after police say he pulled a knife out of his pocket, opened and locked the blade while resisting arrest.

The incident happened Thursday when deputies went to a Minidoka County home to arrest Tarin on outstanding warrants, court records said.

Tarin is also charged with two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor resisting arrest or obstructing an officer, possession of a controlled substance and possessing drug paraphernalia.

When a deputy arrived at the home, he was met by a woman with a small child at her side who quietly said Tarin was at the home and pointed to a back bedroom.

Tarin was in the room with some other people, and when the deputy entered the room, Tarin pushed something underneath the bed, court records said.

The deputy escorted the people in the room to an area by the homes back door, and Tarin took off running across the yard. The deputy caught up, but said Tarin began to fight with him. Deputies said Tarin may have been under the influence of narcotics because he was very combative, and continued to swing at the deputy.

The deputy reported seeing that Tarin had a black folding knife in his pocket and tried to keep Tarins arm and hands away from it.

By the time another deputy arrived to assist the first one, Tarin had managed to get the knife out of his pocket, unfold it and lock it into the open position in an attempt to use the weapon, police said.

The knife was found on the ground next to Tarin when the other deputy arrived.

When deputies searched under the bed in the room where Tarin had been, they found an Arizona Green Tea tin with marijuana in it along with a glass meth pipe and some heroin.

A court date was not on file in the states court repository on Monday.

Tarin is being held at the Mini-Cassia jail on a $100,000 bond.
Q: About 4 1/2 miles north of the Nevada-Idaho border on the Bruneau River is an area known as Black Rock Crossing. At this point an old road crosses the river. There are several buildings there, one of them being a very well-constructed rock building with an iron door on one end and a window with bars on the other. I am curious as to what the purpose of this settlement and in particular why this very sturdy secure well-constructed building is there?

A: Stone buildings like that are not uncommon along the Snake River, said Amy Johnson, Owyhee County Historical Society Museum Director and Historic Preservation Officer. Many of them have fallen or crumbled over the years, but their foundations can still be seen by boat from the Snake River. I am sure the same goes for the Bruneau River although I have not taken a boat trip in that area and cannot be certain that the foundations can be seen. The reason these stone buildings are so common is because settlers often needed a quick shelter and rocks were readily available. Building a cabin out of rocks was not an easy task, but it was cheap and sturdy. When I use the word cheap I do not mean solely in terms of monetary value but also in terms of labor and time. Building a home like that was labor intensive to an extent but so would finding appropriate trees, cutting them and dragging them to the required location. Settlers also ran the risk of not having enough lumber to build a home within walking distance whereas there was no shortage of rocks.

The building at Black Rock Crossing is likely one of the remaining buildings of the freighting operation there, Johnson said. It was established and run by Bill Murphy in 1896. Murphy and his associates improved the roads, established some hay grounds, and built rock buildings, she said. They serviced the Diamond A and Jarbidge areas. They abandoned this venture in 1900.

While it is pure conjecture and speculation, some think that Butch Cassidy and his gang may have buried their loot at Black Rock after a hold up at the Winnemucca bank, Johnson said. They crossed at Black Rock and turned their horses loose. Some of the horses were recovered and the gang was found at Diamond A. The loot was likely recovered later.

The land was then homesteaded by Frank Turner. He filed a claim on 640 acres at the crossing and another 480 at Black Rock Pasture, she said. In 1922 the land was sold to Benton Conner. Later in 1922 it was sold to George Rizzi. In 1946 the Alzola brothers purchased the land and in 1990 the land was sold to J.R. Simplot Company.

ATV riders use the trails and geocache in this area.

According to the website Find A Grave, Local history, unconfirmed, relates that one of the graves belongs to a man who contracted rabies and was left to die in the stone barn. The other grave was of a man who contracted botulism after eating a bad can of tomatoes. The burials consist of two rough stones located on a small knoll across the Bruneau River from the stone barn at Black Rock Crossing.

It is in the Bruneau River Canyon in Owyhee County.
TWIN FALLS  Jen Blair was a Mama Dragon before she even knew what that name meant.

Blair was always outspoken, supportive and fiercely protective of her children. Those feelings only intensified when her son, Jaxson, came out to her as gay.

But she also felt terrified, confused and isolated.

Four years later, Blair wants to make sure other Mormon mothers dont feel secluded like she did the day she held her sobbing son on his bedroom floor.

That desire to protect him that first day, and not try to change him, empowered me to fight for him and silence the other feelings I had inside, she said.

Blair is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the mother to an openly gay son. She is also a member of the Mama Dragons, a group of mostly traditional LDS wives and mothers who support their gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans-gendered children. Its stance that often pits them against their family, friends, community and faith.

In Twin Falls, Blair is one of four Mama Dragon members. They are a part of the western Idaho chapter of the Mama Dragons, but most of the members live in Boise.

You dont have to do anything to be a member, Blair said. It happens in your heart more than anything you do.

The name Mama Dragon came from a 2012 blog post written by Meg Abhau, who wrote it shortly after her 13-year-old son came out as gay. The Mama Dragons started as a private Facebook group in 2014.

There are now more than 1,000 members in the official Mama Dragon Facebook closed group and the groups public Facebook page has more than 4,500 likes.

Next year, Mama Dragon members are focusing on developing local chapters formed in Facebook groups, Blair said.

The Magic Valleys chapter is small but growing.

Ray Parrish, an LDS spokesman in Twin Falls, said Monday that he was not familiar with the Mama Dragons group, but the LDS church has a website called mormonandgay.org to guide parents who have children who are LGBTQIA. The website shares peoples stories, tips for parents and the churchs beliefs.

While same-sex attraction is not a sin, it can be a challenge, the website says. While one may not have chosen to have these feelings, he or she can commit to keep Gods commandments. The parent of a child who experiences same-sex attraction or identifies as gay should choose to love and embrace that child. As a community of Church members, we should choose to create a welcoming community.

Coming out

Blairs son Jaxson, 20, is a senior at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He is studying anthropology and expects to graduate next year. While he admits his self esteem isnt the greatest, he is in a better place than he was five years ago. He contributes it to the decision to come out as a gay man, the support of his family and growing a bit older.

Jaxson was 16 when he told his mother he was gay. It was a secret he carried for a couple of years.

Im definitely a lot happier, he said. Its almost hard to remember how things were before and how I was before. It seemed like back then I was super worried about myself. I was kind of focused on my own flaws. Of course, I considered being gay a flaw.

Jaxson described himself as very angsty at 16. Blair thought her son had an addiction to video games. He was always grumpy and despondent. She home-schooled Jaxson and his three sisters, and he would hide in his room all day.

I just got this feeling I had to talk to him about video games, Blair said Thursday at her Twin Falls home.

She said she plopped herself on his floor to have the talk. He started pacing back and forth.

It feels like you are trying to rebel, Blair recalled telling him.

Thats exactly how I feel, he replied.

Then she just blurted out the question, Are you gay?

And Jaxson stared at her wide-eyed.

Blair said she instantly felt horrible was about to apologize, when he went to his desk and wrote down a response. By this time, Jaxson was bawling.

Yes.

I feel so much better now

Susan Flores was cooking when her 14-year-old daughter told her they needed to talk.

Flores said she was extremely nervous and wouldnt make eye contact. She told her mother to keep cooking. Days earlier, she asked to cut her shoulder length hair short.

Thats when she told her mother she identified as a male. That was this summer.

I gave him a big hug and told him it would be just fine, Flores said. I am glad because he was in a really dark depressed state. I knew there was something up. He was in his room all the time. Not doing stuff with friends. I knew something was up.

And after her son told her his secret he hid for nearly two years, a weight lifted.

I should have done this a long time ago, Flores said he told her. Because I feel so much better now.

Flores is also a member of the Mama Dragons. She met Blair at a Magic Valley Pride Youth Group, where she was introduced to the group for Mormon mothers.

But not all of her sons family is supportive.

Because they are LDS, and that is taboo, she said.

She stopped attending the Mormon church in June and said her childs coming out was a contributing factor.

However, Flores and her son have found a new support system with the youth group and Mama Dragons. Her son even accompanied Blair to a conference in Provo.

That was a huge difference in him, Flores said. Theres other kids out there like him and it just made his world whole.

Mother and son now attend counseling. Things arent perfect, Flores said, but her son is now more active and involved.

Hell at least get up and go to the store with me and do something, she said. That burden really lifted and I could sense that in him.

He wants to do hormone suppression therapy, but Flores shares custody and treatments are expensive. So her son will have to wait until he is 18.

Im very grateful that there is a community within our community that can identify and help everyone, she said. Its not just kids, its also adults and theres mentors. Im just extremely grateful to have this community I can rely on.

A life we can celebrate

After Jaxson came out four years ago, Blair started looking anywhere and everywhere online for support.

I knew I wanted to support my son, she said. There wasnt a lot online, and my church wasnt offering much and that wasnt helping either. I had been sold this narrative of how homosexuality was so physical and lusty. He was 17 when he had his first date. My whole life I heard all these stories about how they just want to have sex all the time. He just wanted to sit on the couch and cuddle with someone.

She searched gay and Mormon on Facebook. She accidentally stumbled across a hook up site. A gay Mormon psychiatrist named Daniel Parkinson, who watches these type of sites to make sure people dont get preyed upon, told her she was looking for information in the wrong place.

The two are now good friends, but through the process she has also lost a lot of people she thought were friends. Blair said one of the most hurtful things a former friend said to her was that she could support her in private, but not in public.

Because of her advocacy work, she still receives a lot of hateful letters from Mormons across the country.

The LDS church does not support gay marriage, and marriage between a man and woman is considered an integral teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will not change, the churchs website says.

The intensity of your attractions may not be in your control; however, you can choose how to respond, the website says. Asking the Lord what you can learn from this experience can focus your faith on an outcome you can control. Turning your life over to God is an important act of faith that brings great blessings now and even greater blessings in the world to come.

Sexual relations are proper only between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully wedded as husband and wife. Any other sexual relations, including those between persons of the same gender, are sinful and undermine the divinely created institution of the family.

Blair and her family no longer attend the LDS church.

For us, its very different, she said. We lost our community. We are Mormon, technically, but we havent attended church in years.

Blair said she had been asked by church leaders to stop her advocacy work before, but she cant.

She was terrified in the beginning and doesnt want other women and children feel the same.

I think that tells me that we are doing it wrong, she said.

Now, she is a mentor to 105 teenagers in an online group. Many are millennials, and some are on the brink of suicide, she said. She is also active in Affirmation, an organization that serves thousands of LBGT/same sex attracted Mormon families and friends worldwide. She is involved with Magic Valley Pride and Magic Valley Youth Pride. The youth group is organizing an event Friday where participants will play video games and do art projects.

Blair has come a long way from the mother who tried to keep it together as she held her sons shaking body.

Blair remembers holding Jaxsons head on her lap as she caressed his hair.

How physical it was for him to carry it for all that time, she said. His head and his heart had to carry this secret. Then I spend a lot of time crying. I just wanted to protect him.

Jaxson left the Mormon church when he was 18.

I felt out of place. I was an evil sinner on the inside and nobody knew it, Jaxson said. After I came out, I was just kind of tired of it all. I wanted to go to church not because I was sure I believed in it, but I wanted a force in my life to help me become a better person.

He said he didnt lose any of his friends after coming out. Sometimes theyll say ridiculous things, but he corrects them. On friend told him, God commanded us to have children. You have to try to have children.

It comes from a place of caring and we still hang out, he said. They were all really nice about it, which was good. You spend so many years being afraid of telling people its both a relief and a let down. I was filled with anger and despair and youre like, OK.

Jaxson is not an LGBT activist like his mother. There is a LGBT group at school, and he likes to study where they meet. But, he said, he doesnt have other LGBT friends.

Somehow my mom ended up being a bigger supporter of gay people than the gay person in the family, Jaxson said. Watching her do all this stuff, Im like Wow, my mom is actually really cool. But dont tell her that because moms arent suppose to know theyre cool.

A framed picture of the Salt Lake City Temple decorates Blairs mantle in her house. Underneath the picture Thursday were stockings, and nearby, a sculpture of Jesus Christ. For her, the picture is not so much a Mormon symbol as much as a representation of where her family started.

I definitely believe in God, she said. Im not positive I care that much for the name. Ive had a lot of spiritual experiences in the past year and they have increased as Ive stepped away from religion. We have our deepest spiritual experiences when we are face down in the mud.

I genuinely believe they are good people who have to protect the church and the other members, she said. I need to face God. Even if Im facing away from the church. They have to do what they have to do. And I have to do what I have to do.
September 10, 1923 - December 10, 2016

WENDELL - Fay M. Fuqua, 93, a resident of Wendell passed away peacefully, yet reluctantly, at his daughter's home in Twin Falls on Saturday, December 10, 2016. Even after 93 years he didn't want to leave us!

Dad was born on September 10, 1923 in Steele City, Nebraska the son of James and Amy Fuqua, the youngest of 10 children. He was raised and educated in Nebraska and graduated high school at the young age of 15 when he headed to Idaho to join his older brothers. Shortly after arriving in Idaho he enlisted in the Army and served in France during WWII. After the war, he returned to Wendell and fell in love with Charlotte Robinson. They were married on January 11, 1947 and had six children. They enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping together. He lost the love of his life earlier this year when Charlotte passed away in April. Dad worked as a steel fabricator for most of his life and retired from K & T Steel.

He is survived by his six children; Forrest (Charlie) Fuqua, Teresa (Butch) Rankin, Melody Finley and Lynn Fuqua, all of Wendell, Lilis Jolene (Rich) George of Deland, FL and Lisa (Scott) Roberts of Twin Falls. Dad always had the biggest smile when surrounded by his 16 grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren and one great great-grandchild whom he was able to hold weeks before his passing. You made it to 93 dad! You will be missed more than you can ever imagine.

Fay was preceded in death by his wife Charlotte, son-in-law Ron Finley, his brothers, sisters and parents. A special thanks to Larie, Amy and Bobbie for the care and kindness you shared with our Dad these last couple of years.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am, on Thursday, December 15, 2016 at Demaray Funeral Service  Wendell Chapel with visitation beginning at 10:00 am. Burial with military honors will follow at the Wendell Cemetery in Wendell.

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Demaray Funeral Service  Wendell Chapel.

Condolences and memories may be shared with the family by visiting the obituary link at www.demarayfuneralservice.com.
June 12, 1953 - December 8, 2016

GOODING - Philip White, 63, of Gooding passed away Thursday, December 8, 2016 following a brief illness.

Phil was born in 1953 to Frank and Audrey White in La Jolla, California the youngest of five children. The family relocated to Mountain Home, Idaho where Phil grew up and graduated.

After high school Phil traveled extensively finding a second home in the Caribbean where he was a charter member of a sailing club. He returned to Idaho and went to work for the Idaho Transportation Department. Phil was highly respected in his work by coworkers, other agencies, and the contracting community. He quickly gained a reputation for playing practical jokes on his co-workers and family. It was also at ITD that he met his wife Lynn whom he married in 1987. They had two daughters who he was very proud to watch grow into adult women. The family moved to Gooding in 1999.

Phil will always be remembered as a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend to all who knew him. His loss is felt deeply by them.

Phil is preceded in death by his father, Frank and brother Gene. He is survived by his wife, Lynn White (Gooding, ID), two daughters, Amelia (Moscow, ID) and Grace (Boise, ID), mother, Audrey (Phoenix, AZ), siblings Kathy Albert (Phoenix, AZ), Lorraine White (Phoenix, AZ) and Frank White (Henderson, TN.)

A family service will be held in El Cajon, California on December 16, 2016 under the direction of Paris Frederick Mortuary. A celebration of Phil's life will be held in Gooding, Idaho at a date to be determined.

Local arrangements are under the care and direction of Demaray Funeral Service  Gooding Chapel.

Condolences and memories may be shared with the family by visiting the obituary link at www.demarayfuneralservice.com.
When we had freezing rain across southern Idaho on Friday, it left a lot of people scratching their head. I even heard one local radio disc jockey say raining while it was below freezing defied physics. No laws of physics were broken on Friday, and as you can see, meteorologists clearly have a term for rain when it is below freezing, freezing rain. But how does this happen?

It is true from what you learned in your elementary science classes that water freezes at 32 degrees. But when thinking of rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain, you must consider weather and temperatures from the ground up to the clouds.

What happened Thursday and Friday was a warm front that moved into southern Idaho on Thursday afternoon. Initially, all the precipitation fell as snow. The reason for this was that the majority of the atmosphere the precipitation fell through was below freezing, so the moisture falling from the cloud had time to freeze and fall as snow. Cold air is much more dense than warm air. Thats why youve never heard of a cold air balloon. As the warm air approached southern Idaho, the cold air started to act as a wedge, and the warm air started to go up and over the cold air.

Slowly through the afternoon and evening, the warmer air was eroding the colder below it. From 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, I noticed more sleet mixing in with the snow. Sleet is more of a harder ice pellet compared with the snow flakes and crystals. This occurs when the precipitation starts to fall as rain as it is warmer at the cloud base than it is at the surface. The rain falls but enters the colder, below-freezing level near the surface. It refreezes but as more of an ice pellet than snow.

By midnight on Friday, most of the atmosphere from the clouds to just above the ground surface was above freezing. Thursday evening, temperatures in Jackpot, Nev., were already in the upper 30s to near 40 above 4,000 feet. Early Friday morning, with temperatures above freezing through most of the atmosphere, and the precipitation was falling as rain, but as it got close to the surface it encountered a very shallow layer of temperatures below freezing. This layer was so shallow, probably around 25 to 40 feet, so the rain had no time to refreeze turned to ice as it hit objects like the road, railings, cars and sidewalks that were all below freezing. That is how you get freezing rain.
I, like many Idahoans, depend upon our public lands for my livelihood. As a representative of the timber industry, I understand how important it is to have healthy forests that produce wood for products that we all use in our homes, jobs, and hobbies. But I also understand how critical it is to preserve our wildest lands  the lands that keep our water and air clean and serve as a home for wildlife. That is why I was pleased to hear that Sen. Jim Risch introduced the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Act. This legislation will safeguard roughly 13,900 acres of public lands in Bonner County as wilderness.

My love and respect for our nations wild places began long before I worked in timber. I was born in Montana, but have lived all over the northwest. As a kid, I spent a lot of time outdoors with my dad. He was in the Air Force near Spokane, and we would hunt for pheasants in the fall and hike and fish in the mountains during the summer. The time I spent in the forest made me realize that I never wanted leave. After I graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in forestry, I started working in the timber industry.

A lot of people dont see the connection between conservation and the timber industry. However, over the past 30 years, conservationists and timber representatives have slowly come together to find solutions to preserve the wildest areas that we all love to hike, hunt, fish, and horseback ride in while also providing people with the wood they need.

One such place is the Scotchman Peaks. Idahos northern nine counties contain many roadless areas, but none are protected as wilderness. The Scotchman Peaks proposal is a posterchild for an inclusive, collaborative effort to preserve certain areas as wilderness.

People from all walks of life  including hunters and anglers, local business owners, elected officials, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, have come together to craft a proposal that worked for everyone. The supporters also include Bonner County Commissioners, Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, and the Idaho Forest Group.

The area is home to grizzly bears, bull trout, Canada lynx, wolverines, moose, and our world-famous mountain goats. People come to hike, camp, snowshoe, cross-country ski, hunt, fish, forage for wild foods, and enjoy the solitude. Visitors travel here to experience all that northern Idaho has to offer, thanks to our outstanding wildlife and outdoor recreation opportunities. And with these visitors comes economic growth in the outdoor recreation, tourism, and hospitality industries. In fact, outdoor recreation and forest products generate thousands of direct jobs in Idaho alone.

The Scotchman Peaks and other public lands dont just draw visitors  they also attract people who choose to move and build their lives here. More and more we are seeing businesses opt to locate near places where their employees have access to the great outdoors. These growing communities spur more economic opportunities for grocery stores, libraries, health care providers, and more. In fact, several studies have shown a strong link between protected public lands and diverse, vibrant western economies.

Public lands like the Scotchman Peaks is one reason why I chose to make Bonner County my home. Today, I have hunting dogs and still hunt pheasants like I did with my dad. The Scotchman Peaks take your breath away. One only needs to hike and see the beautiful views to understand why this special place needs to be protected. In short, this area brings people together.

I want to thank Sen. Risch for listening to his constituents and introducing the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Act. I urge Congress to pass this common-sense bill.
Here is the background:

The Venezuelan government has announced it will remove the countrys highest-denomination banknote from circulation within 72 hours to combat contraband.

Central bank data suggests there are more than six billion 100-bolivar notes in circulation, making up almost half of all currency.

Venezuelans will have 10 days from Wednesday to exchange the notes for coins and new, higher-value bills.

President Nicolas Maduro said the move would stop gangs hoarding the notes.
As the media is awash with reports on summary deportations in Algeria, Morocco stands out once again setting the example with the launch of the second phase of its genuine solidarity-based policy regarding sub-Saharan migrants, a ground breaking experience of migrant regularization and integration in Africa.

The second phase of the regularization of undocumented migrants will be launched upon directives from King Mohammed VI, said the commission in charge of the regularization and integration of migrants on Monday.

This second phase is meant to treat the remaining cases of migrants seeking regularization. The first phase ended in February 2015 with the regularization of over 25,000 migrants.

The sovereigns decision is part of a comprehensive African policy that attaches particular importance to the human dimension alongside economic and political cooperation.

Before embarking on his African tour which led him to strengthen old friendships and establish new ones with west and eastern African countries, King Mohammed VI set out an African strategy where the human dimension takes pride of place.

We attach as much importance to improving the livelihood of Africans in their countries as we do to African migrants in Morocco. As a result, they do not suffer the same hardships endured in many parts of the world, the Moroccan Monarch made it clear in a speech last August.

The king added that Morocco regularized the situation of migrants using fair and reasonable standards. It has provided the conditions needed for migrants to reside, work and lead a dignified life within our community.
Algerian journalist Mohamed Tamalt has died after staging a hunger strike in protest against a two-year jail term sentence he was handed for offending Algerias president in a poem posted online.

The news of the death the Algerian journalist prompted widespread dismay, sadness and indignation by international rights watchdogs over the loss of the 42-year-old blogger and freelance journalist.

Algerian authorities said Tamalt died of a lung infection. This new victim of the Algerian regime started the hunger strike on the day of his arrest near his parents house in Algiers on June 27.

The 42-year-old blogger and freelance journalist, who ran a website from London where he lived, was charged with offending President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and defaming a public authority, in the poem he shared on Facebook.

A court in Algiers sentenced him to two years in prison and a fine of about 1780 dollars on July 11. An appeals court upheld the ruling a month later.

Amnesty International urged Algerian authorities to open an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the journalists death.

Media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) said it was shocked by Tamalts death which had dealt a blow to freedom of information in Algeria. Why was there such a conviction just for words on Facebook which did no harm to anyone? said Yasmine Kacha, head of the North Africa department of RSF.

HRW had urged Algerian authorities to release him in August when he was reportedly in critical condition. The Algerian authorities should quash the case against Tamalt and send the message that free speech will be respected in Algeria, it said at the time.
President al-Sisi announced Monday while attending funerals of those killed in Sunday bombing of a Coptic church that four suspects including a woman have been arrested and that two other are still hunted down.

The Egyptian President also named the suicide bomber who he identified as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa. Mostafa who was wearing a suicide belt blew himself up inside the church. According to preliminary indication, a 12 kg TNT bomb was used for the carnage that left 24 dead, mostly women and children.

The attack has not been claimed.

The Sunday attack is the latest deadliest attack on the small Christian Egyptian population. The Copts represent 10 per cent of the Egyptian population.

In 2011, more than 20 Coptic Christians were killed in a suicide bombing in Alexandria.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
Rights watchdog, Amnesty International, on Sunday urged authorities in Cameroon to investigate the use of excessive and unnecessary force that led to the death of between two and four people during a protest in the north western city of Bamenda.

At least two people were killed in clashes between police and protesters from the English-speaking minority in the countrys northwest on Thursday, state television had reported.

The North West and South West provinces, Cameroons only English-speaking areas, have been witnessing protests in recent days with people calling for an end to the use of French and perceived disenfranchisement.

Some groups have been calling for a return to a federal state system. Others have called for the breakaway of the North West and South West provinces and the restoration of the so-called Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia, which was under British mandate during the colonization era.

According to Amnesty International, excessive and unnecessary force was used in quelling the protests.

Authorities in Cameroon must shed light on the circumstances of these killings and injuries by immediately conducting thorough, impartial and effective investigations. Those reasonably suspected of criminal responsibility for these deaths must be brought to justice, said Ilaria Allegrozzi, Amnesty Internationals Central Africa Researcher.

We call on the Cameroonian authorities to refrain from the use of unlawful force in their response to the protests. Responding to incidents of violence during protests with unnecessary or excessive force threatens to further enflame an already tense situation and could put more lives at risk, Amnesty International added in a statement.
Campaigning began this weekend for the legislative elections in Cote dIvoire where some 1,337 candidates are vying for a seat in the 255-member National Assembly.

The Parliamentary elections will be held on 18 December, 2016 following the approval of a new constitution in an October referendum.

The opposition plans to use the legislative election to change the balance of power in the national assembly, where its 2011 boycott left 90% of seats in the presidents camp.

The Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party which boycotted the last legislative elections is fielding 187 candidates with the hope of getting an absolute majority in the legislature.

The battle to mobilize to win the National Assembly has come, said Nguessan, whose FPI party was founded by former president Laurent Gbagbo, now on trial for war crimes at the International Criminal Court

There is however a breakaway faction of the FPI which maintains it will boycott this election as well.

The 255 members of the National Assembly are elected from 154 single and multi-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting.

Some 30,000 security forces will be deployed to provide security for the December 18 poll.
As the President of the Republic of Liberia and the actual Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has expressed deep concern about current developments in the Islamic Republic of the Gambia. Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf released this position in a communique on Sunday, referring to the call for new elections by President Jammeh on grounds of alleged abnormalities in the electoral process.

This reversal of position by President Jammeh was unacceptable and threatened peace not only in the Gambia but also the entire West african sub-region, emphasized the Head of State of Liberia.

The ECOWAS Chairperson supports the joint statement issued by the African Union, ECOWAS and the United Nations, said the communique, noting that it leaves no doubt that the reversal in the position of President Jammeh is totally unacceptable.

The communique stated further that in this twenty-first century, leaders have no room for selectivity -to accept only outcomes which give them a mandate to lead and deny a result which withdraws that mandate, especially when election procedures and modalities are similarly applied.

The Liberian President concluded her communique with a vibrant plea to President Jammeh to do the right thing and take actions to facilitate a smooth and peaceful transition in the Gambia, respecting the election results which reflect the freely expressed will of the Gambian people. Jammehs initial and principled position of acceptance of these results have already been lauded by all in the global community, including myself as the mark of enlightened leadership and patriotism, insisted the Statewoman.

Last Saturday, Gambian authorities prevented from landing in Gambia an airplane which had on board Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf. She then sent a special message to President Jammeh.

Meanwhile, Gambias ruling party this weekend said its leader, outgoing President Yahya Jammeh, would contest the election results in the Supreme Court per the countrys constitution.

The partys statement follows a televised address on Friday night by Jammeh who said he has rejected the election results, and called for a new election.

The televised statement was a prelude to the appeal the APRC (Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction) is preparing before the Supreme Court against the fraudulent decision of the Independent Electoral Commission, the partys statement read.

The Supreme Court has not sat in more than a year, so judges will have to be appointed before they can consider the presidents legal complaint, potentially delaying the new elected Adama Barrows inauguration.

The United Nations and African Union have called on Jammeh to step aside while the regional body ECOWAS called on the armed forces to stay neutral.

President-elect Adama Barrow also called on Jammeh to accept his defeat in the December 1 presidential election, rejecting his request for a new vote, and urged his supporters to remain calm.

A massive number of Gambian security forces have been deployed in the capital Banjul, which remained calm since the dramatic u-turn by long time ruler Yahya Jammeh.

Jammeh who has ruled Gambia with an iron fist for 22 years caught many by surprise after he acknowledged his defeat last week after the electoral commission announced Barrow had won the vote. But he later retracted and called for new elections.
Moroccan authorities have launched a new campaign to regularize the legal status of undocumented migrants showing the North African countrys hospitality, attachment to international law and respect of the dignity and rights of migrants.

The announcement of this new royal initiative, welcomed by the African illegal migrants and international community, was made by Moroccos National Commission in charge of Illegal Immigrants Regularization

During King Mohammed VI visits to sub-Saharan African countries, several Heads of State have thanked the Sovereign and hailed Morocco for its migration policy which aims at promoting the economic and social integration of illegal immigrants mainly those from Sub-Saharan African countries, says the press release issued by the Commission.

Following the success of the first phase of the regularization campaign of 2014, the Moroccan Monarch ordered another campaign to solve the pending issues of the undocumented migrants to enable them live in dignity and enjoy the rights to work, to medical care, to education as their fellow Moroccan brethren.

The situation of about twenty-five thousand African illegal immigrants was regularized during the first campaign making Morocco one of the first countries of the South to adopt a genuine solidarity-based policy regarding sub-Saharan migrants.

In a speech made on the occasion of the anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People in August this year, King Mohammed VI had said, This integrated policy, which is rooted in humanitarian values, is designed to make sure migrants rights and dignity are safeguarded.

As part of the implementation of this policy, my country has, without any arrogance, pomposity or discrimination, regularized the situation of migrants using fair and reasonable standards. It has provided the conditions needed for migrants to reside, work and lead a dignified life within our community, added the Sovereign.

He also said that this is hardly surprising on the part of Moroccans, considering the way they always treat their guests. Generosity, hospitality and the warmth of their welcome have long been deep-rooted features of our identity and culture.

I am deeply satisfied to note that migrants are hardworking people, who are known for their good behavior, their commitment to the rule of law and their respect for Moroccan values and sanctities, the Monarch had pointed out, stressing that Morocco is only fulfilling its duty towards these people, whose circumstances have led them to risk their lives and leave their families and homeland.

Morocco, which has long rejected the methods adopted by some to address migration issues and which have turned out to be a failure, is proud of what it is doing in terms of receiving and integrating migrants. It will keep up this practical, humanitarian approach, underlined the Sovereign.
Kenyas President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday said his country will have to think seriously about its membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The comment comes a year after Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have both faced charges at The Hague based court over their alleged roles in the deadly inter-ethnic violence after Kenyas 2007 elections.

South Africa, Burundi and Gambia have officially notified the United Nations of their intent to pull out of the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing The Hague-based court. Those withdrawals will take effect in 2017.

We have sought the changes that will align the ICC to respect national sovereignty. Those changes have not been forthcoming. We will therefore need to give serious thought to our membership, President Kenyatta said in a televised speech to mark the establishment of Kenya as a republic in 1964.

Kenyas parliament has already passed two resolutions since 2010 calling for the country to withdraw from the court.

Kenyatta, who is standing for re-election in the elections scheduled for August next year, cautioned against foreign interference, citing unnamed foreign actors whom he said were already bringing money into the country to influence the vote.
The European Union signed an agreement with the aimed at enabling the return of migrants whose asylum requests have been rejected.

A statement from the Dutch foreign ministry, which signed the agreement on the EUs behalf, noted that it is the first time the EU establishes such a precise mechanism with an African country with regards to returning failed asylum seekers.

The accord seeks to fight the root causes of illegal migration and to enable the return from Europe of Malian migrants, the statement said.

Under the deal, Malian civil servants will travel to EU member states to help determine the identity of migrants, in order to accelerate their return, the statement said.

Young Malians have so much to give to their country. We must help stop Malians travelling to North Africa or Europe from losing their lives or falling into the hands of smugglers, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country will hold the EUs rotating presidency from January 2017, said.

The International Organization for Migration said Mali is in the top 10 countries of origin for migrants arriving in Europe this year, and is home to extensive smuggling routes which are used by people traffickers.

Despite a peace deal being signed last year, the Malian army is mostly absent in the desert north  a key route smugglers use to traffic migrants.
Ghanas president-elect Akufo-Addo on Monday said that his government will set up a special prosecutors office to fight corruption in the West African nation.

Speaking to the BBC, Akufo-Addo said he did not want to give an impression that he was carrying out a witch-hunt against his rivals.

As a matter of principle, we have decided to take the politics out of it, so that screams of witch-hunting  dont arise, by establishing an office of special prosecutor, Akufo-Addo said.

He said the prosecutor would be somebody who will be independent of the executive and whose remit will be to investigate and tackle issues of corruption.

The President-elect further vowed to tackle challenges confronting Ghana in relation to unemployment, high cost of living, and health care among others.

My goal is to provide effective leadership, which is honest, competent and determined to deliver, and address these challenges, so that we can put our nation onto the path of progress and prosperity, and, thereby, improve rapidly the standards of living of Ghanaians, he added.

Akufo-Addos assurance comes on the back of fears expressed by former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Ativor who had prior to the December 7 polls called on Ghanaians in the Volta Region not to vote for the NPP since most NDC members would be jailed if Akufo-Addo becomes President of Ghana.

Akufo-Addo won the presidential election with 53% of votes cast.

The erudite 72-year-old rights lawyers victory tapped into an electorate fed up with economic fiascos and corruption scandals, on a platform promising to boost growth and deliver jobs.
The European Union on Monday called into question the outcome of August presidential election in Gabon which saw President Ali Bongo re-elected.

In a report released on Monday, the EU points out to anomalies which occurred during the vote count, notably in Bongos stronghold of Haut-Ogooue.

Our observation highlighted significant weaknesses in the electoral process, particularly in terms of lack of transparency in crucial phases and the lack of independence of some key institutions, said EU Observer-in-Chief, Mariya Gabriel, at a press conference.

The mission has challenged the results, which underline that they reversed the trend observed by the mission on the basis of the results announced by the governors of the other eight provinces of the country.

Election monitors have focused on the south-eastern Haut-Ogooue province, a Bongo stronghold where official figures showed he won 95.46 percent of the vote on a 99.9 percent turnout.

The EU observer mission said the number of non-voters and blank or invalid ballots were at variance with the reported participation rate, adding turnout in other regions was around 54.24 percent.

Gabons Foreign Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya welcomed the report, saying it will be used by the president as tool to reflect. Boubeya said the cabinet would make time to study the recommendations.

Presidential challenger Jean Ping says the report undeniably demonstrates his victory in the election.
Algerian freelance journalist Mohamed Tamalt died Monday in hospital while serving his two-year prison sentence after he was charged for insulting the president on his blog.

Tamalt died of health complications caused by long months of hunger strike, an official statement announced.

The freelance journalist and blogger who also holds British citizenship was arrested in June this year at Algiers airport as he was coming back from a trip. He was arrested and jailed for offense against the President after he posted a critical poem on facebook. He was handed two-year jail sentence in July and fined 200,000 Algerian dinars.

Tamalt has written several critical articles against the Algerian regime whose relations with media and journalists have always been tense and unfriendly.

Tamalts family has rejected the states announcement. For the journalists brother Algerian authorities are responsible for his death. The family argued that the journalist suffering from diabetes could have been alive had he not been sent to prison. The family also suggested that Tamalts head showed some marks of beatings. He was beaten before his transfer to the hospital, the family noted.

The familys accusations were relayed by the Algerian Human Rights league. The league also denounced Algerian authorities refusal to grant visit access to the sick at the hospital.

London-based Amnesty International and New York Based Human Right Watch denounced at the time Tamalts arbitrary arrest and demanded his immediate release.
Continuing PLOS Medicine's special issue on cancer genomics, Christos Hatzis of Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA and colleagues describe a new subtype of triple negative breast cancer that may be more amenable to treatment than other cases of this difficult-to-treat disease.

Triple negative breast cancer is so called because it lacks molecular characteristics that are associated with response to modern targeted treatments. Hatzis and colleagues selected individual tumors from patients who had exhibited either good or poor sensitivity to cytotoxic chemotherapy, and characterized 29 cases of the disease by whole exome sequencing, with validation in further groups of patients. Patients with a newly-defined "BRCA deficient" subtype experienced better survival with chemotherapy, and had a higher burden of mutations and neoantigens that could be targeted by the immune system. Based on these findings, the authors suggest that immunotherapies might be tested in patients with BRCA deficient, triple negative breast cancer.

In a commissioned Perspective article, Mack Su and David Fisher of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA discuss developments in cancer immunotherapy, an area which has had a long history. During the past decade there have been notable advances in the treatment of melanoma, an aggressive tumor type which is increasing in incidence in some populations.

Alongside development of drugs which target the BRAF mutations that are common in melanoma, therapies have been discovered that stimulate the immune response to tumorsblocking so-called checkpoints, or inhibitors of the immune response. Su and Fisher describe the potential for use of different combinations of immune and targeted therapies and conclude that, as new immunotherapies are developed and tested in different tumor types, "deeper mechanistic insight will be required to inform clinical decisions."

More information: Tingting Jiang et al, Predictors of Chemosensitivity in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: An Integrated Genomic Analysis, PLOS Medicine (2016). Journal information: PLoS Medicine Tingting Jiang et al, Predictors of Chemosensitivity in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: An Integrated Genomic Analysis,(2016). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002193
From Vienna to the Democratic Republic of Congo, fake medicines have threatened citizens across the board  and borders  in wartime as well as peacetime.

Falsified medicines have sadly probably been with us since the first manufacture of medicines and their producers may be the world's third oldest profession after prostitution and spying. Last year falsified ampicillin was discovered circulating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in bottles of 1,000 capsules and containing no detectable ampicillin.

The post Second World War trade of fake penicillin inspired The Third Man, a fascinating film written by Graham Greene and set in Vienna. Many of the characters, including the protagonist, fake penicillin smuggler Harry Lime, were inspired by real spies and criminals who used penicillin  both falsified and genuine  to bribe, lure and get rich in the chaos of post-war Germany and Austria. Greene later turned the script into a novel.

Unfortunately, the problem is not yet consigned to history. There are probably thousands of Third Men hidden in today's world, for example, a Parisian who 'manufactured' falsified antimalarials containing laxatives, international trade in falsified medicines especially from Asia into Africa, and emergency contraceptives containing antimalarials in South America.

But falsification is not the only problem. There are also severe issues with substandard medicines, poor quality medicines produced due to negligence, sometimes gross, in the manufacturing processes, but not deliberately to defraud patients and health systems. Their consequences are also very harmful; they are likely to be under-recognised drivers of antimicrobial resistance, as they often contain less than the stated amount of active ingredient.

For both falsified and substandard medicines objective prevalence data are few and poor quality, as there has been remarkably little research or surveillance. The data are insufficient to reliably estimate the extent of the problem. Much more investment is needed to understand the epidemiology of poor quality medicines and guide interventions.

Considered a 'miracle' medicine, penicillin was highly effective to treat gonorrhoea and syphilis, common venereal diseases among soldiers. During the Second World War and shortly after, the drug supply was controlled by the authorities and primarily reserved for the Army, but as often happens with prohibitions, the illegal trade flourished.

Penicillin was so scarce but so sought after, as an innovative cure of many important bacterial infections, that it became a currency in post-war Europe.

The drug was also at the centre of Operation Claptrap, conducted by US Major Peter Chambers in the first years of the Cold War in Vienna. He offered genuine penicillin to Russian soldiers, in exchange for secrets and defection. It was an attractive offer, as venereal diseases were a court-martial offence in the Red Army.

Austria and France cooperated in 1946 to manufacture penicillin in the Alps to facilitate availability. In 1951, they developed the first oral version of the drug, as Penicillin V. The V referred to vertraulich, the German word for confidential.

In the 21st century, government action remains key to fighting both falsified and substandard medicines. Although there has been an enormous increase in global pharmaceutical manufacturing, there has been a grossly inadequate parallel investment in support for national medicine regulatory authorities (MRAs) in many countries. A key intervention to protect the drug supply in Low- and Middle-Income Countries will be investment in MRAs, the national keystones of medicine regulation.

IDDO works to strengthen knowledge of the scale of the problem of poor quality medicines and the most affected areas, and raise awareness among key stakeholders by sharing global expertise and collating information. The Antimalarial Quality Literature Surveyor, available through the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN), is an interactive tool that visualises summaries of published reports of antimalarial medicine quality, displaying their geographical distribution across regions and over time.

The full article, 'Fake Penicillin, The Third Man and Operation Claptrap', can be read in the BMJ.
Credit: xiaphias/Wikipedia

If we sleep in the first 24 hours after a traumatic experience, this may help process and integrate the distressing memories more effectively, as researchers from the University of Zurich and the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich demonstrate in a new study. Sleep could thus be used as an early prevention strategy for posttraumatic stress disorders.

Does sleep help process stress and trauma? Or does it actually intensify emotional reactions and memories of the event? This previously unanswered question is highly relevant for the prevention of trauma-related disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). How extremely distressing experiences are processed right at the outset can influence the further course and development of posttraumatic stress disorders. PTSD patients experience highly emotional and distressing memories or even flashbacks where they feel as if they are experiencing their trauma all over again. Sleep could play a key role in processing what they have suffered.

A study conducted by a team from the Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich and the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich has now tackled the question as to whether sleep during the first 24 hours after a trauma has a positive impact on highly emotional distress and memories related to traumatic events. In the lab, the researchers showed test subjects a traumatic video. The recurring memories of the images in the film that haunted the test subjects for a few days were recorded in detail in a diary. Virtually out of the blue, the test subjects would see a snapshot of what they had seen in their mind's eye, reawakening the unpleasant feelings and thoughts they had experienced during the film. The quality of these memories resembles those of patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorders. Other than after a traumatic event, however, they reliably disappear after a few days.

Fewer Distressing Emotional Memories

Study participants were randomly assigned to two groups. One slept in the lab for a night after the video while their sleep was recorded via an electroencephalograph (EEG); the other group remained awake. "Our results reveal that people who slept after the film had fewer and less distressing recurring emotional memories than those who were awake," explains first author Birgit Kleim from the Department of Experimental Psychopathology and Psychotherapy at the University of Zurich. "This supports the assumption that sleep may have a protective effect in the aftermath of traumatic experiences."

On the one hand, sleep can help weaken emotions connected to an existing memory, such as fear caused by traumatic experiences, for instance. On the other hand, it also helps contextualize the recollections, process them informationally and store these memories. However, this process presumably takes several nights.

According to the authors of the study, recommendations on early treatments and dealing with traumatized people in the early phase are few and far between. "Our approach offers an important non-invasive alternative to the current attempts to erase traumatic memories or treat them with medication," says Birgit Kleim. "The use of sleep might prove to be a suitable and natural early prevention strategy.

More information: Birgit Kleim et al. Effects of Sleep after Experimental Trauma on Intrusive Emotional Memories, SLEEP (2016). Journal information: Sleep Birgit Kleim et al. Effects of Sleep after Experimental Trauma on Intrusive Emotional Memories,(2016). DOI: 10.5665/sleep.6310
Killing in war often triggers a moral conflict in veterans that can damage their self-image, relationships and spirituality, according to a study by UCSF researchers at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

For many of these veteranssome of whom may already suffer from post-traumatic stress (PTSD)the guilt, shame, anger and isolation they suffer compound psychological trauma related to their war experiences. Shira Maguen, PhD, UCSF associate professor of psychiatry and mental health director of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System Integrated Care Clinic, which treats Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, said these emotional scars sometimes last for decades.

Maguen's earlier researchsupported by the Veterans Health Research Institute-NCIREhas linked killing in combat with PTSD, depression and suicide. The new study, published in the October 2016 issue of Counseling Psychologist, further investigates the moral injury suffered by veterans who have killed and the stigma they carry.

Although not all veterans who have taken a life suffer guilt or mental health consequences, Maguen said the growing number of veterans seeking mental health services suggest that high numbers of veterans are experiencing moral injury. The researchers urged the public and health care workers to allow veterans to express themselves to help them work through these conflicts.

"Civilians, including mental health professionals, have an opportunity and an obligation to better understand veterans' experiences and to join them in confronting difficult truths about the violence of war, its meaning and its consequences," they stated in the paper. "In doing so, we can begin to break through the postwar silence that masks moral injury, sustains isolation and reinforces trauma."

Maguen and the study's first author Natalie Purcell, PhD, who directs the Patient Centered Care Program at the SFVAHCS, have initiated research, outreach and model therapies for veterans with moral injury. These are coordinated with PTSD and general psychiatry programs.

Their Impact of Killing (IOK) treatment program emphasizes self-forgiveness and helping veterans make amends, heal relationships, plan for their future and move forward. Exercises include discussion groups with fellow veterans and writing letters to the person they killed. Veterans and their advocates are also encouraged to build bridges especially to the spiritual community, which is increasingly concerned and sympathetic to the veterans' plight and moral injury.

"It's clear that helping veterans work through their experiences calls for tremendous sensitivity, empathy and patience," said Purcell, assistant adjunct professor of social and behavioral sciences in the UCSF School of Nursing.

The study was based on focus group and individual interviews with 26 war veterans who had killed or believed that their combat actions caused the death of others. Eighteen were Vietnam veterans and eight were deployed in Iraq. They described how they felt after killing in combat and some opened up about hidden agonies.

One veteran put it this way: "All I knew is I hurt inside and I didn't know why, you know? I didn't know why I should feel so bad if I didn't do anything wrong. I was not a baby killer. I was notI did my job. I did what everybody else did. But always that nagging question, why do I hurt like this?"

Researchers categorized the way that veterans described their experiences across five domains: talking, feeling, identifying, relating and coping.

Most veterans said that killing was the most challenging war experience to talk about, but it was the topic they were asked about most frequently by others.

"Many veterans feared that, if they talked about killing, they would be judged or mischaracterized by other people's notions of what it means to be a combat veteran," Purcell said. "Being asked about killing left many veterans feeling anxious, isolated and even angry because most felt that someone who did not serve in war could not possibly understand what it was like to kill."

She said many veterans also described feeling guilt and shame about their experiences, while others felt numb after being exposed to so much killing and death in combat.

Many described confronting a "dark side" of themselves that they did not know existed before they had killed in combat. Purcell said that for some veterans, this disrupted their sense of identity, making it difficult for them to see themselves as good.

Isolation was a common theme, as many veterans felt civilians could not understand or relate their experiences. Some found it hard to get close to others because they had to hide that they killed in combat.

Commenting on these feelings, one veteran said, "Getting close to peoplebeen a big issue forcaused me to get a divorce, the agitation, irritability through all those years and not really talking to my ex-wife or kids at that time."

Many veterans wanted to avoid any reminders of their combat experience, and they turned to alcohol or isolated themselves from others.

Despite the depths of their wounds, Purcell said that many veterans found, especially when they were able to connect with other veterans, that talking about their experiences eventually became a source of healing, as did volunteering to help others.
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.






@JeremySWallace

The Speaker of the Florida House is suing music star Pitbull's production company to force the company to allow the state to publicly disclose what the state's tourism agency is paying the Miami celebrity to promote Florida's beaches.

In Pitbull's Sexy Beaches music video and on social media, he promotes Florida destinations and uses the hashtag #ILoveFL. But how much the state is paying him to do so has been a mystery. Visit Florida's CEO Will Seccombe said under terms of the contract with PDR Productions, they are not allowed to discuss the deal because it contains "trade secrets"

But in the lawsuit filed in the 2nd Judicial Circuit in Leon County, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, argues that the terms of the contract with Pitbull should not be considered a trade secret and should not be protected from public view.

In a sternly worded email sent to the Florida House last week, an attorney for Pitbull, whose real name is Armando C. Perez, warned that disclosing the contract would violate trade secret protections, which is a felony in Florida.

"In the event of a violation of the trade secrets provision of this Agreement and the confidentiality provision under which the legislature is reviewing this, we reserve all rights against any individuals violating this," attorney Leslie Jose Zigel of Greenspoon Marder wrote.

Corcoran however is pressing on.

"We operate from fundamental and immovable principles in the House," he said in a statement to the media. "Two of those principles are that taxpayers have a right to hold those who spend their money accountable and that when asked, those responsible for that spending are transparent. This suit is not about Pitbull or his compensation. This is about the audacity of government entities who are under the false impression that they are above the law or believe somehow that taxpayer money is a never ending river of riches they get to play with. The House will protect the taxpayers and will utilize all means at our disposal to hold government accountable.

Seccombe told the Times/Herald last week that he doesn't regret the contract with Pitbull but has vowed never to do another deal where terms of the agreement cannot be released publicly.

Im never going to do another deal where they say I cant release that, Seccombe said. Its not worth it in the environment we live in.

Seccombe said hes gone back to Pitbulls attorneys to get them to reconsider the confidentiality of the deal, but was rebuffed.

We cut a great deal, it was a such a good deal, Pitbull wouldnt allow us to release it, Seccombe said. Hes a smart businessman and doesnt want that to be his market rate.

It all comes at a time that Corcoran has vowed to scrutinize spending at Visit Florida, which has seen its budget grow from $29 million to $78 million since 2009. Corcoran said while the state has seen record tourism, the number of visitors has grown slower than the amount of money put toward the part public, part private agency.

Seccombe said Visit Florida is trying to reach future travelers, like Pitbull fans, who are not easily influenced by traditional media. Seccombe said marketing studies show the millennial generation gravitating more toward places like California than previous generations. Seccombe said long term, Florida has to do more to attract younger vacationers.

Gov. Rick Scott has been a defender of Visit Florida and its mission to attract tourists. But Scott has also questioned the secrecy around some of the deals.

"Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is spent," Scott said Twitter earlier today after a speech in Tampa.
Mark Johnson, Miami University alumnus and general partner at TTV Capital, is giving back to his alma mater with a nearly $500 thousand endowment of a new scholarship fund.

The Mark Johnson Analytics Scholarship Fund will support Information Systems & Analytics majors, co-majors and students participating in the Center for Analytics and Data Science (CADS) who wish to participate in study abroad and study away programs.

The scholarship fund will help to advance one of the centers key initiatives: to develop and support hands-on learning opportunities related to analytics and data science.

The CADS initiative provides opportunities for students and faculty to engage in research and experiential learning that broadens their understanding of analytics and data science, said Allison Farmer-Jones, Van Andel Professor of Business Analytics and CADS director. Were very excited about this gift, because it will allow students - who may not normally have the opportunity - to gain critical experience through study abroad and away programs.

Matt Myers, Farmer School dean and Mitchell P. Rales Chair of Business Leadership, added, This gift is especially meaningful because it will allow more students to benefit from things that companies value highly in candidates  analytical literacy and a global perspective.

Through CADS, students and faculty have collaborative and innovative environments to conduct research and apply their analytics and data science skills. Whats more, the hands-on learning experiences supported by CADS are ways for students to network with fellow data analytics majors and working professionals in a variety of industries.
A Community Newsblog written by Community Members

Middletown's a big place, with a lot going on. We need your help to keep your neighbors informed.

Come write or just give us a tip on your news, sports, arts, politics or events at - middletowneye@gmail.com

Help us to make the Middletown Eye the third eye people open every morning!


Coming soon

Red Cross blood drives  The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to give blood to help ensure a readily available blood supply for emergencies. Donors of all blood types are needed. To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767. Donors are encouraged to make appointments and complete the RapidPass online health history questionnaire at redcrossblood.org/rapidpass to help reduce wait times. Upcoming blood drives:

THOMPSON FALLS: Tuesday, Dec. 13 (sponsor code tfalls).

HAMILTON: Tuesday, Dec. 13 (sponsor code Hamilton).

PLAINS: Wednesday, Dec. 14 (sponsor code plains).

CHARLO: Thursday, Dec. 15 (sponsor code charlo).

RONAN: Monday, Dec. 19, 11 a.m.-3:15 p.m. (sponsor code RMT).

Red Willow Center  For more information on the following classes at the learning center, 825 W. Kent, call 406-721-0033 or visit redwillowlearning.org:

Ongoing classes include "Yoga for Wellness" at noon Mondays, $12 or $40 for four weeks; "Mindfulness Meditation" at 12:10 p.m. Tuesdays, $12 or $40 for four weeks; "Yoga Beyond Cancer" at 4 p.m. Tuesdays, $40 for four weeks; "Yoga for Wellness" at 10 a.m. Wednesdays, $12 or $40 for four weeks; "Yoga for Chronic Pain" at 5 p.m. Wednesdays, $40 for four weeks plus $50 for prerequisite screening' "Meditation for Veterans" at 1:15 p.m. Thursdays at Missoula Vet Center, 910 Brooks, free.

Ongoing programs

AA and Al-Anon  For the latest Alcoholics Anonymous meetings list, visit aa-montana.org or call the Missoula hotline at 406-543-0011. For more information on Al-Anon and Alateen, which are 12-step recovery programs for relatives and friends whose lives have been affected by alcoholism, visit mt.al-anon.alateen.org.

Acupuncture for cancer caregivers  Missoula Community Acupuncture, located in the Radio Central Building, 127 E Main St., Suite 314, offers free acupuncture treatments for friends, family, nurses, doctors or anyone who takes care of cancer patients 5-7 p.m. Wednesdays. No appointment is necessary. For more information, call Michael Peluso at 406-926-1611.

Adult Asperger's support group  An open meeting for those with Asperger's as well as their family and friends is held 6-7:30 p.m. every Thursday at the University Center, Room 215, on campus. Contact Monique Casbeer at 406-721-3947 or Cindy Bacon Janego at cjanego@communitymed.org for more information.

Alzheimers support  Meets the second Wednesday of each month at noon at the Summit Independent Living conference room, 700 S.W. Higgins Ave. Another group meets the fourth Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Missoula Senior Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave. For more information, contact Jackie Johnson at 406-549-3433 or jackiej45@yahoo.com.

Alzheimers caregivers support group  Meets the fourth Monday at 6:30 p.m. of each month at the Missoula Senior Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave. For more information, call Jackie Johnson at 406-549-3433.

Arthritis programs  The Montana Arthritis Program offers physical activity and self-management education programs, such as the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, Walk with Ease and Stanfords Chronic Disease Self-Management Program. Classes are available in several communities including Florence, Hamilton, Kalispell, Libby, Missoula, Plains and Polson. To find a class or for more information, visit dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/arthritis.

Bereavement support groups  Frontier Hospice offers open door meetings 6-7 p.m. Thursdays at the following locations: The Springs at Whitefish on the first Thursday; Rising Mountains Assisted Living Community in Bigfork on the third Thursday; and Frontier Hospice in Kalispell on the second and fourth Thursdays. Call 406-755-4923 for more information.

Breast cancer support group  Meets the first and third Wednesday of the month from 11 a.m. to noon at the Montana Cancer Center, St. Patrick Hospital Broadway Building, second floor. Call 406-329-5656.

Cancer Center support group  Meets noon-1:30 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the Montana Cancer Center, 500 W. Broadway. For more information, call Bonnie at 406-240-0996.

Cancer Resource Guide  The online guide covers resources including support groups, treatment centers, camps and retreats, in Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli counties. It is available at cancerresourcesMT.org.

Cancer support group  A support group for anyone affected by cancer meets noon-1 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays at the Polson United Methodist Church, 301 16th Ave. For more information, call Tammy at 406-883-7284 or 406-824-2868.

Celebrate Recovery  The Christian-based 12-step recovery program meets 6-9:30 p.m. every Friday at Christian Assembly Foursquare Church, 1001 Cleveland St. Dinner is available from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and child care is provided for ages birth to 11. For more information, call 406-721-6884 or email cafc@4bible.com.

Cheerful Heart  Lake County cancer patients in treatment can receive a massage and help with hair and skin problems, free of charge, from local therapists and cosmetologists. Other non-medical services include transportation to treatment and doctor appointments, running errands, yard work and meal preparation. Appointments may be scheduled by calling 406-883-3070.

Colorectal Cancer Support Group  Meets 1-2 p.m. the third Friday of every month through March 20, Community Cancer Care Conference Room, 2827 Fort Missoula Road.

"Coping, Education & Support for Women with All Cancer Types"  The support group for women in all stages of cancer treatment or survivorship will be held noon-1:30 p.m. the second Monday of every month through March 14, 2016, at the Community Cancer Care Conference Room, 2837 Fort Missoula Road. For more information, call Deb Rivey at 327-3912, Terri Paxinos at 406-327-3957 or Kimberly Hardwick at 406-327-3906.

Diabetes program  At 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, there will be a short presentation on a topic related to the management of Type 1 diabetes at the YMCA, 3000 S. Russell St. It will be followed by the option for socializing in the foyer or being active together at the Y. A fee of $5 per person will be collected at the door for those choosing to use the facility. Designed for ages 14 and older, children are welcome but must be accompanied by a parent/caregiver.

Double Trouble in Recovery  The 12-step program for people with mental health and addiction issues meets 3-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Winds of Change Recovery Mall, 2685 Palmer St., No. C (second floor). Coffee is provided. For more information, call Veronica at 406-721-2038.

Epilepsy support group  Meets the first Monday of the month from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Summit Independent Living Center, 700 S.W. Higgins Ave., Suite 101. Patients, friends, family and caregivers welcome. Call Debbie at 406-721-0707 for more information.

Free health exams  Women ages 30 to 64 who meet necessary income guidelines and either have no health insurance or have insurance that will not pay for breast and cervical health exams can receive free exams through Partnership Health Centers Montana Cancer Screening Program. Call 406-258-4162 for more information.

Gentle yoga class  The Missoula Senior Citizen Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave., offers a class that focuses on balance training, back strength and core conditioning through gentle yoga matwork every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 9 a.m. Fee is $4 per class. All ages welcome. For more information, call 406-543-7154.

Health Insurance Assistance Service  Montana cancer patients can call the American Cancer Societys 24-hour toll-free number to be connected to a health insurance specialist to ask about coverage and insurance programs specific to the state. The number is 800-227-2345.

Mens cancer support group  Open to men in all phases of testing, treatment and followup, the group meets the fourth Tuesday of the month from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Montana Cancer Center, 500 W. Broadway. It is facilitated by Gary Weisbrich and Tom King. Call 406-329-5628 or email gary.weisbrich@providence.org for more information.

Narcotics Anonymous  Meets at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Alano Club, 8 Third Ave. W., Polson. Call 406-883-4135.

National Alliance on Mental Illness  NAMI Missoula meets every Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon in the lower level (behind the cafeteria) of the Providence Center. It is open to anyone affected by mental illness or interested in learning more about the group. The NAMI Connection group for adults living with mental illness meets 1:30-3 p.m. Thursdays at the NAMI offices, 202 Brooks St., Room 210. Call 406-880-1013 with questions.

NAMI Family Support Group  National Alliance on Mental Illness Missoula meets Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 Brooks St., in Room 210. The peer-led support for adult family members, caregivers and loved ones of individuals with mental illness is free. For more information, call 406-880-1013 or email namimissoula@gmail.com.

My No-Nonsense Nutrition Program  A seven-week webinar course to improve your nutrition and fitness. Faith-based approach to better health. Free initial consult with Judy Gilman, registered nurse, diabetes and wellness educator. mynononsensenutrition.com or 406-546-7819.

Overeaters Anonymous  Local meetings include 7 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 Brooks St. A meeting for newcomers is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday followed by a "Back to Basics" meeting at 7 p.m. at St. Paul's. Everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively is welcome. There are no dues, weigh-ins or lectures. For more meeting information, visit oa.org.

SAA  For the latest Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting list visit saa-recovery.org, call the Missoula hotline at 406-241-4005 or email MissoulaBetterway@yahoo.com. SAA is a 12-step fellowship of men and women who share experience, strength and hope for the purpose of finding freedom from addictive sexual behavior and helping others recover from sex addiction.

S-Anon  Local meetings are held weekly for this recovery program for people affected by another persons sexual behavior. Visit sanonmontana.org or call 406-544-1271 to learn more.

Stroke and Brain Injury Support Group  Meets the second Thursday of each month from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Providence Center, 902 N. Orange St., in the dining area on the fourth floor. For details, call 406-329-5784.

Tai Chi for Arthritis  Class offered 9:15 a.m. Mondays at the Missoula Senior Citizens Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave. $4 per class. All ages welcome.

Tai Chi Chih  Classes are offered at the following locations: Missoula Senior Citizens Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave., 9:15 a.m. Wednesdays, $4 per class; PEAK Health & Wellness Center, 5000 Blue Mountain Road, 11 a.m. Tuesdays, call 251-3344; and The Womens Club, 2105 Bow St., 9 a.m. Fridays, call 406-728-4410.

TOPS  Take Off Pounds Sensibly, an affordable, nonprofit, weight-loss support and wellness organization, meets at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the First Christian Church, 2701 S. Russell St. Another TOPS meeting is 6:30 p.m. Monday at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 2512 Sunset Lane. For additional meetings, go to tops.org, click on "Find a Meeting" and enter your ZIP code or call 800-932-8677.
Though Helena Civic Television has agreed to provide video coverage of Montana's 2017 legislative session, a bill is being drafted that would give state officials control of the cameras in future years.

In August, the nonprofit HCTV halted its TV broadcast and online video coverage of the Capitol during the legislative interim. Although Montana law requires programming to cover each branch of government as thoroughly as possible, HCTV was not contractually obligated to provide coverage outside of the biennium. When HCTV requested $21,000 for the work it did outside of its contract, state officials offered to pay $11,000. An agreement could not be reached, and HCTV vacated its office in the Capitol.

Stephen Maly, the special projects director at HCTV, said the station signed a contract for the 2017 legislative session and resumed coverage on Nov. 14. He declined to say how the conflict was resolved, but said the contract is straightforward and will ensure coverage of the legislature is as reliable and comprehensive as in the past.

Montana law requires the provider to be a private, 501(c) nonprofit organization, which strictly limits who is eligible to bid. The bill will amend the law to say if a qualified operator is not found, the division may become the operator and operate within the existing appropriation.

Despite Legislative Services being a nonpartisan agency for the Montana Legislature, Helena Civic Television said the bill, if passed, will philosophically change how the session is covered, and worries that Legislative Services wont provide the same independent coverage that HCTV has provided since 2001.

Essentially theyre in charge of their own transparency, said Kirsten Faubion, executive director at HCTV. I see them as part of the state of Montana, so theyre an agency within that. I dont think that makes them independent as far as operating at arms length.

Faubions definition of operating at arms length comes from a set of best practices released by the National Alliance for Public Affairs Network, a nonprofit supporting the independence of State Civic Networks. To operate free of political influence, NAPAN recommends a structure with an independent governing body.

But Susan Fox, executive director of Legislative Services, said her agency is independent and nonpartisan. Legislative Services is responsible for supervising the state-funded public affairs broadcasting program that makes sure the public is connected to state government proceedings. When the contract dispute with HCTV threatened the publics access to legislative proceedings, Fox said she decided to draft a bill to change the law.

When we were in contract negotiations this summer, we werent able to come to an agreement, Fox said. The council felt that it was in our best interest that if a qualified operator could not be found, we were able to operate ourselves.

The Legislative Services Division is also the agency that determines whether a proposal is acceptable, but Fox said the law would still prevent coverage from being influenced.

I think the statutes are pretty clear that it would be transparent, Fox said. The preferred thing is to find a qualified operator.

In addition to allowing Legislative Services to provide its own coverage, the draft bill would allow a public or private Montana institution of higher education that has a program related to video production or broadcast or a related field to bid.

Gene Rose, a NAPAN spokesperson, said each state has its own model of providing legislative coverage. He said its not unusual for a state to contract coverage to an independent agency, but some states do monitor themselves.

Having independence is ideal, but not having any proceedings is not acceptable, he said. There are very few examples of where the Legislature has tried to influence broadcast. Most legislatures allow broadcast so that the public has greater access to them.
The state of Montana is returning $120 million in federal transportation money because it didn't have the adequate 13.9 percent match, said Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss.

Local projects are delayed.

"How are you going to budget for that? Because that is money we could have used," said Curtiss, who learned about the return of federal money at a meeting last week with the Montana Department of Transportation.

The commissioner posed the question Monday to local Reps. Nate McConnell and Brad Tschida, who shared their priorities at City Club Missoula for the upcoming 2017 Montana Legislature.

Tschida, a Republican, said the match dollars were appropriated, and he has asked the state why the fund didn't have enough money.

"When we're taking 13 or 14 cents and not parlaying that into a full dollar, that is a waste on our part, and we need to ensure those dollars are available," Tschida said.

Democrat McConnell said he wasn't sure what could be done in the short term: "It's frustrating for all of us."

The House majority and minority whips answered questions and shared their legislative goals at the sold-out City Club luncheon at the Hilton DoubleTree Edgewater. City Club has a mission to inform and inspire citizens on vital community issues through its public forums.

***

Both legislators said infrastructure is a priority, but they differed on the types of projects they consider appropriate for state spending.

Tschida said he would limit infrastructure spending to water, sewer, roads and bridge projects; he does not support state buildings projects. He also said he believes bonding for infrastructure should be on the table.

Although the 2015 legislature didn't approve a major infrastructure bill, he said it did approve $162 million for infrastructure overall.

"The session wasn't void of spending. It was targeted to areas that specifically needed it," Tschida said.

McConnell, on the other hand, said he does see justification for state spending on buildings, such as Romney Hall at Montana State University in Bozeman.

McConnell pointed to construction underway at Missoula College as an example of a solid investment of state dollars. The school will turn out productive Montanans who are creating businesses in the state, he said.

"I think it's every bit as important as a road or a bridge," McConnell said.

He also underscored the importance of funding the Montana Heritage Center in Helena, quoting fellow local Democrat Sen. Tom Facey: "The history of our state is its soul."

***

Missoulian editor Kathy Best moderated the forum, and she asked the representatives if it was time to talk about raising the gas tax. Montana hasn't raised the tax since the 1990s, she said, and in that time, cars have gotten more efficient, and people are asking how to pay for infrastructure.

"Has the time come for Montana to revisit that issue because of what has happened in the last two decades?" Best said.

Although the gas tax has remained flat, McConnell said more people are using Montana's roads, and he believes it's fair to consider an increase.

"It is important for us to have that option available," he said.

Tschida, though, said he would not support a gas tax increase because he believes the state can find those dollars elsewhere.

"There's enough waste in our government where we can probably find enough savings to compensate," he said.

Commissioner Curtiss also pointed out that voting equipment is a necessary piece of infrastructure, and it's aging across Montana. Curtiss was a spokeswoman for a table at the forum, which is set up to elicit questions from participants to speakers.

"In order to carry out a good voting system, we're going to need more equipment statewide," Curtiss said.

The accuracy and integrity of elections are paramount, Tschida said. He said the state needs to look at ways to fund the equipment, "if it is the responsibility of the state."

Voting and access to voting is of the highest priority, McConnell said. The voice of the people is critical, he said, and as such, he would support infrastructure dollars for voting equipment.

"We have to ensure the machines and the mechanisms by which people vote are up to date and accurately reflect the will of the people," he said.

***

In January, Republican President-elect Donald Trump gets sworn into office, and Best said it is likely he and the new Congress will do away with the Affordable Care Act. She asked the lawmakers what they'd like to see at the federal and state level to ensure Montanans can still access health care.

Tschida said repeal isn't necessarily an answer without an alternative program. He also said he would like to see creative ways to get more money from the patient to the provider, and he suggested cutting out the insurance companies and regulations that eat into the cost of care.

"I don't think it's a wise move that we get rid of a program unless we have something to replace it," Tschida said.

McConnell agreed. He said one challenge is that the legislature meets for just 90 days, and he isn't convinced the Trump administration will have an initiative underway in time for the 2017 legislature to take action.

In the meantime, though, he said 60,000 people in Montana who were uninsured before now have insurance.

"I certainly hope that we're able to work together with the federal government to make sure the gains we've made continue," McConnell said.

***

The legislators kicked off the session with a rundown of their own priorities. McConnell said he wants to see the state establish an office of outdoor recreation, and he touted the "second biggest industry in the state of Montana."

He said the outdoor recreation economy creates $5.8 billion in consumer spending, 64,000 jobs, $1.5 billion in wages and salary, and $400 million in state and local revenue.

Some 71 percent of Montanans recreate outside, he said, and an office of outdoor recreation would protect access to public lands.

"As we know, that's been a huge issue in our state for the last couple election cycles," McConnell said.

Tschida said one of his priorities, along with infrastructure, is the economic growth of the state of Montana.

"Contrary to the belief of some, the government does not promote economic growth. We get out of the way," Tschida said.

As such, he would like to see a reduction in taxes and regulations. Some business owners are hiring employees full time only to deal with paperwork related to regulatory requirements, he said.

"That does not promote business growth," Tschida said.
Obamacare will go through some serious changes early in the new Trump presidency, Montana Sen. Steve Daines predicted on Monday.

Now were playing with live ammunition, Daines said during a visit to the Missoulian. Its a very real discussion. This time, it needs to be thoughtful and not jammed down.

Officially known as the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare was targeted for complete repeal by Republican congressional candidates and President-elect Donald Trump. While thats likely to happen, Daines said it would go through a transition process to keep some of the popular parts of Obamas healthcare program.

Those include expanded access to preventive care, allowing parents to keep children on the family plan up to age 26, and protection for those with pre-existing medical conditions. Congressional repeal efforts will probably focus on removing the individual mandate requiring everyone to have insurance coverage.

We paid an awfully large price for that, and weve seen staggering increases in the cost of premiums, Daines said. It was a problem in 08, and its a crisis today.

But the repeal would have to provide a soft landing for states like Montana that expanded their Medicaid programs to cover previously uninsured people. Daines said getting more states to bring tested local healthcare ideas to the table would be a key part of creating a new system.

One big mistake they made with Obamacare was it had zero bipartisan support, but it did have bipartisan opposition, Daines said. What youre seeing this time is for the first time in eight years is the ability for states to come to the table and offer solutions.

Daines noted that while this is the third time since 1945 that Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency, major change would still require participation of both political parties. Despite some national speculation that the Senate filibuster rule might be doomed, Daines said that likely would only apply to presidential initiatives such as judicial nominations for the federal court system. Senators were unlikely to give up that tool on their own congressional legislation battlefield, he said.

On the other hand, Daines impression of Trumps incoming administration was to brace for fast action.

Donald Trump didnt run on an ideological platform, Daines said. He was really pragmatic. Hes not a respecter of political parties, and he doesnt owe anybody much except the people who elected him. Hes shaken up both parties.

Its two or three miles from Capitol Hill to the White House. It might as well be 2,000 miles. The American people want to see the place sharpen up. They want to see results. Donald Trump has a track record of hiring good people, delegating responsibility to them and getting things done.

So far, Daines has been pleased with the communications hes had with Trumps transition team members. His chief of staff, Jason Thielman added that several key administration personnel have been working with Senate staffers on transition matters and he was impressed with their participation.

But the Senate also plays a large role in shaping Trumps administrative leadership through the cabinet and department head vetting process. Particularly regarding the Veterans Administration cabinet post, Daines said cabinet secretaries need experience and demonstrated results running a large organization. Being a veteran would be an added bonus in the VA office, he said.

Daines said hed met with Elaine Chao, Trumps proposed Transportation secretary, and discussed Montanas needs on highway, railroad and airport infrastructure. Chao was previously Labor secretary and is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Daines also had good things to say about potential Interior Department choice Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington.

I think Cathy would be a very good choice, Daines said. We have a great relationship. Ive worked with her for four years. She understands my position opposing transfers of federal public lands to the states.
The mission: Write code to make the Angry Bird catch the naughty pig. The programmers: Lewis and Clark fourth- and fifth-graders.

The after-school event was part of Hour of Code, an international effort to encourage one-hour coding tutorials during Computer Science Education Week in December.

A recent $1,500 grant from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation helped with Hour of Code, and will expand coding even further in Missoula County Public Schools.

ChickTech, a nonprofit that encourages girls to pursue careers in technology, received the grant. The money will be used to work with MCPS' Flagship program this winter to start after-school coding clubs at Lewis and Clark, Franklin, Lowell and Hawthorne elementary schools.

Lewis and Clark's first Hour of Code two years ago pulled in 40 children. Last week, about 110 children packed computer labs at the four schools.

It's another opportunity for students to try their hands at technology early on in their education, adding to coding clubs, computer science classes at middle schools and the ever-expanding computer science program at Sentinel High.

Coding caught Kathryn Grady's attention because of her daughter, Elizabeth Franzon.

"When she was in second grade, in fall 2014, she was trying different extracurriculars and not really enjoying them," Grady said. "She was concerned."

Franzon had tried coding on her Dad's iPad and loved it. But there wasn't a coding club at Lewis and Clark.

"I said 'Why don't we start one?' and she said, 'None of my friends would do it because they don't think it's a girl thing,'" Grady said.

So they created a girls' coding club. Eight girls joined that fall, and it was a hit. Grady doesn't code, but found free online curricula with code.org and Google's Made with Code that let students learn at their own pace.

"My goal is to make sure kids walk away from this initial hour with a positive feeling about coding," Grady said. "I don't care what program they do or how far they get. I want them to feel like it's something that's not scary to them.

"I think the future is this."

***

That's the idea behind a growing number of coding opportunities in Missoula for students of all ages, and Montana companies focused solely on teaching people to code.

There's ikuw Solution's Apprentice Hive, Montana Code School, and Big Sky Code Academy (and within that, Montana Code Girls).

Greg Gianforte called for computer science in every high school during his campaign for Montana governor this year.

Statewide and nationally, coding has been encouraged alongside the broader STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math. President Barack Obama launched a "Computer Science for All" initiative earlier this year. Coding even got a shout-out in his State of the Union Address in January.

Sentinel is the first high school in the world to partner with Juniper Networks' Academic Alliance program. Juniper gave Sentinel materials, online training and equipment (routers and switches that are slightly older models of MCPS' equipment). Students are working on configuring that equipment.

On Thursday morning, Dan Lande's networking students were debating which operating system was best to use on Juniper's equipment.

Senior Alex Earling had a simple reason for taking computer science classes: "I wanted to learn how the internet works."

Lande said it was largely student demand that led to the creation of three new computer science classes this fall.

Joy and Beauty of Computing, a partnership with UM and the result of a National Science Foundation grant, covers computing fundamentals. Computer Science A builds on those skills, teaching students to build apps for Android phones and tablets using Java. Networking is the Juniper class; at the end, its students will have the opportunity to earn Juniper certification.

"Our ethos at Sentinel, regardless of the educational program, is to lead from the front, so to speak," said Principal Ted Fuller. "We want to be ahead of the curve, an organization other people look to and say, 'What are they doing? We need to emulate that.'

"I think our computer science and IT programs are great manifestations of that ethos."

Computer science classes came to C.S. Porter and Meadow Hill middle schools last year, and Washington this year.

Sentinel's Computer Science Principles is for students who already have some coding under their belt, as well as high-schoolers who feel up to the task.

Next year, they'll pilot a cyber security course. The year after that, Lande said they'll probably add a capstone computer science course for seniors.

Lande has a master's degree in computer science. He's the co-founder of Missoula software company Orbital Shift. After working there four years, he turned to teaching and is now in his second year.

He also advises Sentinel's computer science club, whose teams took the top four spots in Montana in last year's CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. Six Sentinel teams  including one all-girls team  are competing this year. They're currently in the qualifying rounds.

The kids in his classes today had few coding opportunities in school when they were growing up. That's changing with efforts like Hour of Code, coding clubs and coding modules built into Project Lead The Way, MCPS' STEM initiative.

"The old paradigm was in high school, because of their age, it's not a level of work they can take on," Fuller said. "We're trying to bust through that. No, it's really based on competency. We have students as young as ninth grade earning college credit in computer science because they have the competency and capability. We shouldn't limit them because they're 14 years old."

Last summer, Sentinel's team won the University of Montana Cyber Triathlon. They were the only high school, and beat all of the university teams.

"If they get interested in it when they're young, we hope they'll stick with it," Lande said.

***

At Lewis and Clark on Wednesday, about 20 fourth- and fifth-graders filed into the school's computer lab after school. They wolfed down some Goldfish, watched a short video and got to work.

"Did you guys know a computer doesn't know what to do?" Grady told the group. "They have to be told by someone."

That's where the kids came in, using a "drag and drop" form of coding to create situations for Angry Birds, Moana and Minecraft.

"My mom signed me up and I really liked it," said 10-year-old Kaylee Macholz. "I decided to keep going and going.

"You get to sit at a computer all day and control something. You can make it do whatever you want."

Grady, previously a development officer, worked with companies like Google. She was in awe of the working conditions there.

"Why wouldn't I want my kids to have the opportunity to choose that career path? And if I want that, why wouldn't I want that for all kids?" she said. "If they don't choose that, that's fine, but I at least want it to be an option.

"I see a future in Missoula for this kind of industry."

***

Sentinel business teacher Maria Bray is leading the Joy and Beauty of Computing this year alongside UM computer science professor Yolanda Reimer. Next year, Bray will take over solo.

"I've watched kids blossom in this program," Bray said as one student created a scene of snowflakes of different sizes and placements on the screen. "They start with real simple things, then the class questions it. If I can do this, how can I get it to do this other thing?"

There are two girls in her class, and she hopes more will join as word spreads. Lande's networking class is all boys.

Grady has seen that gender disparity at Lewis and Clark.

"In first through third grade, we tend to get an equal number of boys and girls," she said. "But by fourth and fifth grade the last few years, we've had 60 to 70 percent boys."

Lewis and Clark librarian and technologist Scott Nordtome popped in to watch Hour of Code, and said opportunities like this make it so coding "doesn't seem so completely overwhelming" for students.

"It's feasible," he said. "It's not something they should shy away from or be scared of."

Rowen Moore, 7, dropped in the last line of code, and it worked. The Angry Bird caught the naughty pig.

She squealed with delight, grinning minus her front teeth.

Then she adjusted her headphones and got back to work.
A 20-year-old Idaho man who allegedly pointed a gun at another driver during an apparent road rage incident near Missoula has been charged with a felony.

Miguel Moises Maldonado made his initial Missoula County Justice Court appearance Monday on a count of assault.

According to a court affidavit, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper was contacted by a man who said he was driving on U.S. Highway 93 north of the Wye on Sunday when a vehicle began tailgating him. The man said he put on his brakes, and the other driver, Maldonado, drove around and past him, pointing a gun toward him, his girlfriend and an 11-year-old child in the car.

The man told the trooper Maldonado then rubbed the barrel of the gun to his temple, the affidavit said.

A tribal police officer located the vehicle Maldonado was driving. In an interview with the highway patrol trooper, Maldonado allegedly said the other man had brake-checked him, and so he changed lanes, drove up next to him and pulled out his handgun. He said he had stayed next to the other car for about 30 seconds before driving off.

Maldonado said he understood why the people in the other car felt threatened by his actions, according to the affidavit.

On Monday, Justice of the Peace Landee Holloway set his bail at the $5,000 requested by prosecutors and said if Maldonado were released, he cannot possess weapons.
Cody Marble headed back to Conrad on Monday after yet another court hearing in Missoula left him not knowing whether he will get a new trial for a 2002 rape he maintains never happened.

The hearing ended with retired District Court Judge Ed McLean asking both sides  as well as former county attorney Fred Van Valkenburg, who was also allowed to cross-examine witnesses and provide statements in court  to submit proposed orders by next week for McLean to consider in resolving the matter.

Maybe it will be a Christmas present, Marble said.

In 2002, Marble was sent to prison after being convicted of raping a 13-year-old boy when the pair were in juvenile detention in Missoula County. He has maintained his innocence, and made a series of efforts to overturn his conviction, the most recent of which made it to the Montana Supreme Court.

In summer 2015, the high court sent the case back to Missoula, instructing the district court to re-examine its decision to deny Marble a new trial, and to use a broader interpretation of evidence that had come to light since his initial conviction, including recantation by witnesses.

Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst personally conducted a complete review of the case after the Supreme Court sent it back, and this April filed a motion asking that the conviction be dismissed, saying she had concluded it lacked integrity. At a news conference announcing the decision, Pabst said it is never too late to do the right thing.

McLean didnt sign Pabsts motion, but did allow Marble to be released from custody while he considers the matter. In that consideration process, McLean invited Van Valkenburg  who has been adamant that Marbles conviction should stand  to provide his opinion and input in the case. Van Valkenburg was county attorney when Marble was convicted.

Mondays hearing was the latest in the Marble saga, meant to allow all sides  including Van Valkenburg, who sat at the table with deputy county attorney Matt Jennings  to present evidence to the judge.

Larry Mansch, legal director for the Montana Innocence Project  which has supported Marbles push for a new trial  detailed Monday the steps his organization took after receiving a letter from Marble in 2008 asking them to take up his case.

In particular, he went over the four meetings he had with Marbles accuser Robert Thomas, during each of which Mansch said Thomas told him the story of being raped wasnt true. In one of those meetings, Thomas wrote a letter saying the story was fabricated, part of a plot cooked up by other inmates in juvenile detention who had bullied Thomas, the youngest and smallest among them, into playing Marbles victim.

After Thomas wrote the letter, Mansch returned to the prison where he was being held in July 2010 with a formal statement about the recantation, which Thomas signed.

He said he was sorry it happened, he never thought it was going to go this far, Mansch said.

When asked, Mansch said none of the interviews were recorded because it was difficult to get a recorder into the prison and such recordings sometimes made people nervous and unwilling to speak. He added that Thomas told him he wouldnt take part in a sworn affidavit of his recantation.

In addition to cross-examining witnesses, Van Valkenburg himself was also called to the stand to testify about a January 2012 deposition he held with Thomas, where Marbles accuser went back on his recantation and reverted to his original story of being raped by Marble.

During that deposition, Van Valkenburg told Thomas that despite him having immunity for what he was saying that day, the prosecutor would seek to charge him with perjury for lying at the trial if he continued to recant that version of events. Thomas has since died.

On Monday, Van Valkenburg asserted that he had meant that statement as a fact of law, and that insinuated Pabst  who had been at the 2012 deposition  was now terming the statement as a threat in court filings.

It is offensive that the county attorney would claim so when she personally was sitting there, he said.

As he had done two months earlier, McLean cautioned the courtroom against turning Marbles case into a proxy battle between the former prosecutor and Pabst  who was not present.

We have to be very, very careful and sure not to let it evolve into a contest between Mr. Van Valkenburg and Ms. Pabst, McLean said.

Jessie McQuillan, former executive director of the Montana Innocence Project, was also asked about that deposition. Marble's attorney Colin Stephens said when he took back his recantation, Thomas said he felt threatened by her and Manschs visit, and that they had called him a liar in their interviews.

Absolutely not, McQuillan said.

In his closing remarks, Stephens said Marbles case deserves a new trial, a sentiment repeated by Jennings, the deputy county attorney. Stephens said Thomas is the only one who testified at trial about the nature of the alleged attack, with no other witnesses or video evidence to prove what happened.

He has recanted that testimony four times, twice in writing, Stephens said.
Dave Keehner addressed his wifes killer directly in court on Monday morning, his voice wavering between anger and sadness.

He looked directly at Scott Austin Price, who was about to be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for murdering 56-year-old Lonette Keehner last Dec. 21 in a Missoula motel room.

In just nine days it will be one year since Lonette took her final breath in life,'' Dave Keehner said. Lonette had all the Christmas decorations out and our home had the holiday look. It was her favorite time of year. But before the day is over, she is dead, lying in a pool of blood.

Keehner said he has been trying to control his anger over what happened to his wife.

The manner in which she lost her life, what must have been her final thoughts when you stabbed her over and over and over, those last few seconds of life, what a horrible way to die, Keehner said.

"Never again will the family get to enjoy the holidays with Lonette. You had the car keys and could have left. But no. You had to murder her just in a very violent way just like you did to the elderly man in Miles City the week before.

"Hopefully you will get life in prison, but this will never end the pain and suffering our family is going through. But hopefully tomorrow will be a little easier than today. And this year for Christmas we will think of all the lovely memories that Lonette has left us with.

***

In handing down a life sentence without parole a few moments later, Missoula County District Court Judge Robert Dusty Deschamps told Price, 38, that he was a "bad, evil man" who appeared to show no remorse during the emotional testimony of Lonette Keehners family members.

Youre sitting there as cold and cool as anybody Ive ever seen, Deschamps said. I heard what people were saying to you, and Im not sure you really do regret this. Im not convinced that youre not proud of yourself for your accomplishments and that youll do just fine in prison. Youve spent most of your life there and you have 10 felonies under your belt.''

Price and his accomplice, Sarah Rae McKnight, both pleaded guilty to five felonies earlier this year, including deliberate homicide. They admitted to police that they were high on meth when they found Keehner in the Super 8 motel where she worked. Price attacked Keehner, forcing her into a bathtub and stabbing her even after she handed over her car keys.

They were arrested in Idaho shortly after. In early December, Price was given another life sentence for murdering his 78-year-old landlord, Ed Martin, in Miles City the week before Keehners death.

On Monday, Deschamps also handed down a pair of consecutive life sentences to McKnight, but left open the possibility of parole, meaning she could be eligible to be released in 60 years. Her lawyer argued that she suffered from severe mental health problems and drug addiction.

Price and McKnight pleaded guilty to all of their charges earlier this year without any agreement from prosecutors, leaving Deschamps authority to sentence them however he chose. Since May, McKnight has been at the Montana State Womens Prison, where she is serving a sentence for a 2014 burglary from Powell County.

***

Before the sentencing, Missoula police detective Jamie Merifield testified that McKnight told her that she believed Price had killed Keehner because she was an Indian. Price has white supremacist ties, including swastika tattoos.

Merifield also said she found notes in the couples Idaho motel room written by McKnight referring to herself as an Aryan Queen and referring to them both as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde.

Merifield testified that the couple had spent all their money on gambling and drugs, and they had slept in a car in Missoula for the two nights before Keehner was killed. She also said that they both had been using massive amounts of meth. The couple had duct tape and zip ties, and had planned on kidnapping someone and forcing them to withdraw money at a cash machine.

They did not like the car they had purchased, because it kept getting stuck in the snow, Merifield said.

Price showed little emotion when he was allowed to address the court.

I would do anything to make it right, he said. It wasnt a hate crime. It had nothing to do with her being Native. It was just a meth-fueled, bad deal. I apologize and I also agree that I should probably have a life sentence with no possibility of parole. Im not disputing any of that.

McKnight also apologized, saying that her life had come crashing down around her in the weeks before Price picked her up in Great Falls.

Lonelle Lytle, Keehners twin sister, broke down in tears as she addressed Price and McKnight.

You had no reason to kill my twin sister Lonette, she said. It was a senseless and selfish act.

"I struggle with Lonette being gone every day,'' Lytle said.. Ive gone through the various stages of grief. She did not deserve to be taken away in such a brutal and heartless manner. Lonette was loved and respected by her family, friends and coworkers. She was taken away a devoted wife and loving mother and grandmother.

Lytle said one day she will forgive her sister's killers because she refuses to hold on to the anger and hate they caused.

Your intentions were to kidnap, harm and kill and get what you wanted, she said. Was it really worth it? I hope you never go a day without forgetting why you dont have your freedom. The people that you have harmed never did anything to you.

Nash Sangsland, one of Keehners daughters, first addressed McKnight.

You deserve to lie in the bed you have made for the hearts you have broken, she said. You are a mouse in the shadow of such despicable acts and know you deserve the loneliness and sadness you feel.

She then turned to Price.

You are so despicable, she said. I can hardly stand to be in your presence. You have utter disregard for human life. You stole a woman from this planet with your selfish intentions. Lonette was a wonderful woman with a heart and a soul that I had the privilege of calling my mother and the grandmother to my son. She taught me strength and love like I have never experienced. She taught me that darkness also existed, and always tried to draw me into safety and happiness. I know that darkness exists inside of you.

Sangsland went on to say that both Price and McKnight will think about the damage they caused for the rest of their lives.

I pity the reality that you face everyday: The mirror you looked in while you were a nobody, and now the mirror you look in as a killer, she told Price. Its the empty spaces like you that never consider the empty spaces you leave behind.

Jayden Sangsland, Keehners 10-year-old grandson, addressed his grandmothers killer directly.

Sometimes, I feel like you are a broken soul inside of your heart, he said. You brought sadness to others and affected a lot of people. You have hurt my grandmother and you made my Grandpa really sad and my great aunt really sad. You deserve to be in jail for life.

Nicole Walksalong, Keehners daughter, said explaining what happened to her four children was the hardest thing shes ever done.

I had to explain that there are evil people in this world, she said. The day of the funeral, my six-year-old daughter laid her head on my mothers arm, and rubbed her arm. As parents, thats a great feeling. But that was the last interaction my daughter had with her grandmother. You are empty people. You are evil.

Walksalong said despite them being responsible for her mothers murder, she has found a way to forgive Price and McKnight.

I forgive you guys, she said. I have to forgive you for my children, my husband and myself. I cannot live with anger in my heart like you live with anger in your heart.

***

Susan Ledger, the Missoula woman who was stabbed by Price in a botched attempt to steal her car in a grocery store parking lot before he killed Keehner, also testified.

I am the lucky one, Ledger said. I survived your attempts to kill me. My family did not have to plan a funeral or figure out how to live without me or have their lives forever changed.

Before McKnight was sentenced, a clinical/forensic psychologist testified that she exhibited bipolar disorder symptoms and extensive drug addiction.

A pre-sentence report prepared by a probation officer recommended two consecutive life sentences for McKnight. Deputy County Attorney Jason Marks asked for the judge to impose that, but wanted the sentences to also be without the possibility of parole.

I certainly do not think a lesser sentence would be appropriate, he said, adding that despite the drug use, she had been responsible for her actions. Ms. McKnight could say no when she wanted to. This isnt a helpless woman under the thrall of an evil man.

McKnights lawyer, Lisa Kauffman, asked for an exception to mandatory minimum sentencing laws for McKnight due to her impaired mental state and drug use, and requested a 40-year sentence with 30 years suspended in the Department of Corrections. That sentence, Kauffman said, would allow McKnight to receive drug and mental health treatment she wouldnt have access to at the prison, and serve the interest of justice and fairness.

Kauffman pushed back against the idea of a life sentence, saying the country shouldnt be in the practice of warehousing people in cages like animals and that a criminal sentence shouldnt be given out of revenge.

Your client maybe picked a bad country to commit her crime in, Deschamps answered, suggesting that McKnight should move to Canada where maximum sentences are more lenient.

In answer to a question from Kauffman, Deschamps said he wasnt taking connections between McKnight and the white supremacy movement into account in his sentence.

Your role in this was definitely not minor, Deschamps told McKnight.

Both McKnight and Price were also given 356 days of credit for time already served in custody, and must repay $4,214 in restitution to the victims.
Our founders put together a wonderful country, and a government that has lasted over 200 years. They labored over our great Constitution but, admittedly, made a few glaring errors that have taken time and effort to correct: African slaves were each acknowledged to be only three-fifths of a person for census purposes, but even after they were emancipated, were not allowed to vote until 1870 (men only, of course). No American woman could vote until 1920.

Another really big blunder by the founders was the creation of the Electoral College. The result of that error is that, contrary to our republic operating on democratic principles, no fewer than five presidents who lost the popular vote have won the Electoral College, starting with John Quincy Adams and continuing with Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, George W. Bush and last month, Donald Trump. Thats over 10 percent of our presidents not elected by the will of the people!

In a Missoulian guest column on Nov. 9, University of Miami Associate Professor Joseph Uscinski acknowledges the grievance of many Americans that the current system allows the loser of the popular vote to be elected by the Electoral College. He then justifies it, claiming that the Electoral College makes election rigging difficult, while a straight popular vote would enable rigging to take place anywhere in the country. (He offers no explanation as to how or why this absurd assumption would happen.)

He also claims the the Electoral College provides decisive victories, giving electoral counts far out of proportion to actual popular votes, thus providing newly elected presidents with the legitimacy they need to govern. This is hogwash. A mandate of millions of popular votes offers the only legitimacyand being the loser by millions of votes, but still being elected by a majority in the Electoral College, actually denies voters their legitimacy, and offers no legitimacy whatsoever to the falsely elected president.

Another guest column in the Missoulian on Nov. 29, by Nick Chickering, is titled Understanding the Electoral College. The writer then displays no understanding of it. He claims the United States was purposely founded as a republic and not a democracy, and then gives his own definition of a republic as distinct from a democracy, claiming that the laws of a republic are inviolable even by the majority. He fails to note that the same is true of a democracy, and that our republic is and has always been governed on democratic principles. Truth is, a republic and a democracy are not mutually exclusive, but share most of the same governmental qualities. (The essential feature they share is that neither is headed by a monarch, but by a democratically elected president or chief executive.)

An excellent guest column (Missoulian, Dec. 6) is by state Sen. Sue Malek of Missoula. She describes a practical way, without the need for a constitutional amendment, to assure that every citizens vote really counts, and that the winner of the national popular vote is rightly elected president. The various states laws provide for selecting and instructing their electors to the Electoral College in any way they choose, as the Constitution stipulates.

Montana does this as most other states do, and directs its delegates to cast all three of their votes for the candidate who receives the majority of votes in Montana. The alternate plan is for each state to instruct its electors to cast their votes in favor of the candidate who has, over a month earlier, already won the majority of the national popular votes.

This approach has been organized and agreed to among a number of states, in what is named the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Its a nationwide movement that is gaining ground, and worthy of everyones support. Who would not support electing our president by the popular vote of all our citizens? And why?

There is a full description and discussion of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact on the internet, with excellent coverage by Wikipedia, among others, and I strongly recommend it to every Montanan. The current method of selecting a president has proven faulty, with disastrous results, too often to let this method continue to soil our democracy.
Recently Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian announced Royce Engstrom will be stepping down as president of the University of Montana, effective Dec. 31. I read this news with sadness  sadness for the state of my alma mater and sadness for Royce and his wife Mary, whom I hold as dear friends and mentors.

The Montana Kaimin called president Engstroms legacy at Montanas flagship university complicated, a characterization I cannot refute. As President Engstrom transitions out, there will be many opinions on his legacy/tenure, some complimentary to his leadership decisions, and others less so. Regardless, it is irrefutable that his presidency was marked with relentless obstacles, difficult decisions, numerous controversies, and fundamentally, a shifting economic landscape that has left many in the higher education community looking for new answers (or solutions). In light of those dynamics, I write to add my perspective on this growing dialogue. I write to share my perspective, as a young Montanan engaged in public service, on the leadership legacy that Royce and Mary Engstrom will leave behind them at the University of Montana.

I first met Royce as an undergraduate student senator at UM. I was in the middle of my undergraduate career, and he was in his first year as president, inheriting an institution ripe with opportunities as well as chronic issues. We worked through many of those opportunities and challenges in conjunction, as I led the student body during his third year, a time which brought a massive overhaul of his cabinet, controversies with the legislature, and of course, the infamous NCAA, Department of Education and Department of Justice investigations. I watched closely as he deliberated during some of his most distressing and difficult times. I met with him one-on-one every week. Sometimes I agreed with his actions. More than once, I disagreed with his ultimate decisions. In almost every decision, I wrestled with the complicated dynamics at play.

Throughout the two years we spent working together side by side, above all else I came to respect Royce Engstrom for his integrity. He imparted a model of ethical leadership at UM that will have lasting impact. Unlike other academic or political leaders I have observed and worked alongside, I saw in Royce an openness to diverse viewpoints, and a commitment to democratic decision-making. Royce created a model of leadership dependent on surrounding himself with people he respected and trusted. People who had different experiences than him, or had differing values or perspectives  people he could learn from! Then, when faced with a controversy or difficult decision, he honestly and openly consulted with these trusted advisers. There were no yes men in the Engstrom cabinet. There were leaders and independent thinkers whom he trusted, listened to, and together, he made difficult decisions with his leadership team.

The other quality I consistently observed in Royce and Mary during their tenure leading UM was a deep commitment to lifelong learning. Even as president, Royce remained the consummate educator. For example, he responded to pressure from Republican legislators to support the coal industry by reading everything he could get his hands on regarding the future of our energy economy. He traveled to eastern Montana to meet with coal miners and his critics. And back home, he held regular seminars in his office with Climate Change Studies students. He listened genuinely and consistently considered both sides of contentious issues.

Royce Engstrom led the University of Montana with integrity and grit. He dedicated his entire self to our university community, often at the expense of his own career advancement and professional reputation. After much reflection over recent days, I believe that the Engstroms are leaving the University of Montana better than they found it. For that  and for their grace, optimism, fortitude and genuine good nature  Royce and Mary Engstrom have earned my deepest gratitude.
I read with interest Rob Chaneys article in the Dec. 8 Missoulian on how the Lake County Conservation District is suggesting that somehow it can legally take over management of portions of National Forest System lands in Lake County.

Initially, as a taxpayer, I am bemused why $25,000 of Montana tax dollars, in these tight financial times, are being wasted on this legally meritless study. As former counsel for the USDA Forest Service, I also can tell you that the reason the Forest Service is not participating in this unilateral effort is that it has absolutely no legal authority to delegate any or all of its management authority to county conservation districts, and so to participate would be a waste of federal tax dollars.

National Forest System lands are held in trust by the United States for all Americans, not just Lake County residents. Indeed, the law is very clear that, absent congressional approval, federal land management agencies cannot delegate their land management responsibilities. See, Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, v. U.S. Forest Service, 689 F.Supp.2d 891 (D.D.C. 2010) citing Selkirk conservation Alliance v. Forsgren 336 F.3d 944 (9th Cir., 2003). If the Lake County Conservation District is receiving legal counsel suggesting otherwise, it is getting what I suspect is probably agenda-driven, and clearly erroneous legal advice.

I concur with the comments of Trout Unlimited that: Enough time and money has been spent on this dead-end study. Its time to let it die and get back to (Lake County Conservation Districts) current responsibilities.

Kenneth P. Pitt,

Polson
Nov. 25, 2016, was the best Thanksgiving Day ever in my life, because I had more to be thankful for.

Hallelujah, what a wonderful, great victory of true Americans over the hostile elites who have ruled this great nation for decades.

Donald Trump accomplished a hostile takeover of the Republican Party and won without the support of the of the GOP elite.

What we witnessed, in one election: a common man completely demolished the neocons and leftist snakes of both major parties; the media establishment; the globalist establishment; Wall Street; the political machine of an incumbent president; and the Clinton/Bush political/criminal empires. The odds of anyone being able to overcome the combined wealth and power of the above elites was absolutely zero, in my view.

That Trump was able to beat them all was truly incredible  maybe even miraculous. And he not only beat them; he trounced them. It was wonderful.

What I saw, the biggest loser was the mainstream media. Never in history had the MSM banded together so tightly with one goal in mind of completely destroying Trump's political campaign. They were relentless and ruthless. They used every dastardly and devilish trick in the book to defeat Trump.

People in America have been growing increasingly fed up with the overbearing, arrogant and lying government at every level, but not enough in Montana to get rid of our liberal leftist governor.

Hopefully Trump will unleash the forces of innovation that have been buried for many decades by an overbearing bureaucracy staffed by millions of leftists and Socialists since the 1930s.

Arthur Hollowell,

Joliet
The United States will proceed with the prosecution of seven more defendants from this years armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, including one from western Montana, despite the acquittal of seven others in October.

U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said in a status report filed with Judge Anna J. Brown late Monday that several misdemeanor charges will also be added to felony counts against the seven.

Jake Ryan of Plains is one of those facing charges. His attorney, Jesse Merrithew of Portland, Oregon, said early hopes that charges against Ryan and the others would be dropped after the Oct. 27 acquittals of occupation leader Aamon Bundy and six more defendants had dissipated in the last few weeks.

It became apparent the government was not going to let the case go, Merrithew said.

The prosecution had previously asked for a delay so it could evaluate its position after the not guilty verdicts against more prominent figures in the armed occupation were handed down.

Ryan has pleaded not guilty to felony gun and conspiracy to impede law enforcement charges, as well a charge that he violated a Native American archaeological site by using heavy equipment to dig a latrine at the refuge.

Williams said the government will add misdemeanor charges of trespassing, tampering with vehicles and equipment, and destruction of property by Friday, and will also ask to delay the trial, now scheduled for Feb. 14, for another 60 days.

The defendants will oppose the motion, Merrithew told the Missoulian.

We see no reason well need 60 days to defend some misdemeanors, he said.

Also scheduled to be tried at the same time are Jason Patrick, Duane Leo Ehmer, Dylan Anderson, Sean Anderson, Sandra Lynn Anderson and Darryl William Thorn.

Attorneys for the second set of defendants have asked for a pool of 2,000 potential jurors to be summoned, saying it will be harder to seat an impartial jury after Bundy and the others were acquitted  verdicts that drew negative public reactions from many people.

In his status report, Williams said he would dismiss a charge of depredation of government property against Sean Anderson, but would proceed with the charge against Ryan and seek the same felony charge for Ehmer from a grand jury.

The status report indicated the trial for the next seven alleged occupiers would last one month. The armed occupation of the Oregon refuge lasted 41 days.
BOZEMAN  A Belgrade woman who told law enforcement officers that she gave permission for her 15-year-old daughter to have a sexual relationship with a registered sex offender faces a charge of felony accountability to sexual intercourse without consent.

The sex offender, 28-year-old Aliea Rose Brown, has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent. Brown, a transgender woman previously known as Albert Brown, was convicted of a sexual offense as a juvenile.

Gallatin County prosecutors say the mother told investigators that she believed it was OK for her daughter and Brown to have a sexual relationship as long as they had parental consent.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports (bit.ly/2hr5e5O) the 39-year-old mother has not been arrested, but was ordered to appear in court on Jan. 4. The Associated Press is not identifying her to avoid identifying the girl.

___

Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com
BILLINGS  A man was arrested for abusing a woman by using duct tape to bind her wrists and ankles, and cover her mouth.

Desmon Lavern Turner, 35, appeared Monday in Yellowstone County Justice Court and was charged with felony partner or family member assault.

Turner's criminal record includes one previous felony conviction and two misdemeanor convictions for domestic abuse in Nevada, according to court records.

Yellowstone County Justice of the Peace David Carter ordered Turner held in jail on a $25,000 bond and ordered he be placed on GPS monitoring should he post bail.

The woman who reported the abuse to deputies, texted her daughter on Dec. 11 to tell her Turner had taped her wrists and ankles together, according to court documents. Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputies responded to the woman's house in Shepherd. The woman's daughter let the deputies in, where they spoke with Turner and the woman.

The woman had marks on her wrists and deputies found a ball of duct tape with black hairs stuck to it in the garbage, according to court documents. The woman told deputies Turner had taped her hands together, then her wrists and then placed a piece of tape over her mouth, before setting up a phone on the night stand, according to court documents.

Turner told the woman he was live streaming the attack on Facebook, according to court documents. The woman was able to get to the phone after Turner left the room, and believed he lied about videoing the attack, according to the court documents.

The woman told deputies she feared for her life.

Turner denied being involved in the attack. At his appearance before Carter, Turner's public defender said Turner had a mental health diagnosis and was worried he would not have access to his medications in jail.
BILLINGS  The petition for an order of protection and the temporary order of protection against Barry Beach were both dismissed Monday in Yellowstone County District Court.

Yellowstone County Judge Ingrid Gustafson dismissed a request for the orders.

Gustafson sealed the case information. Her order dismissing the petition when it is filed will not be sealed.

A woman filed for a protection order against Beach on Oct. 28, saying she was the mother of a child she had with Beach following his brief release from prison in 2011. In filing for the protection order, she said Beach had repeatedly contacted her to have a relationship, which the woman refused.

The woman later told police that on Nov. 5, Beach had parked outside her home and followed her to other locations. A GPS monitoring unit worn by Beach as part of his probation backed up those claims, according to court documents.

Beach faces a misdemeanor charge in Billings Municipal Court for violating the protection order. His hearing was set for Tuesday.

State prosecutors filed last week to revoke the suspended sentence of Beach after his arrest in early November for allegedly violating the temporary protection order.

The revocation petition was filed in the 15th District Court, which includes Roosevelt County, where Beach was sentenced for deliberate homicide for the 1979 beating death of 17-year-old Kim Nees.

Gov. Steve Bullock granted Beach clemency in November 2015 after he had served more than 30 years in prison for the murder.

Beach has long maintained his innocence in Nees' death, and a campaign to release him attracted widespread support from elected officials in Montana. In his clemency order, Bullock cited Beach's good behavior while in prison and the fact that he was 17 at the time of the murder.

Since November 2015, Beach has been serving a 10-year suspended sentence. A revocation could send him back to prison.

If the suspended sentence ultimately is revoked, the state is "recommending that he be sent back to prison," said Justice Department spokesman Eric Sell. That recommendation is in line with a probation officer's referral that he be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Let me say that I have the highest confidence in the intelligence community, Mr. McConnell said, and especially the Central Intelligence Agency. The C.I.A. is filled with selfless patriots, many of whom anonymously risk their lives for the American people.

The top Republican in the House, Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, said he supported a continuing investigation by Representative Devin Nunes of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In a statement, Mr. Ryan said: As Ive said before, any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable. And any intervention by Russia is especially problematic because, under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests.

Congressional Republicans announced their support for inquiries after Mr. Trump railed for much of the weekend against the intelligence findings. But their remarks, especially Mr. Ryans, were far from fiery, reflecting both a fear of offending Mr. Trump, who has taken many positions against traditional Republican orthodoxy, and the Republicans belief that Democrats have selectively leaked intelligence information for political gain.

Critics from both parties are questioning Mr. Trumps apparent choice of Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, as secretary of state, particularly because of his longstanding business connections with Russia and his close relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin, whom he has known for two decades. Mr. Trump said in a Twitter post on Monday night that he would make a formal announcement on the job on Tuesday morning.

Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida, both Republicans, have expressed concern about the reports of cyberattacks, as have numerous Democrats. But Mr. Rubio, in an apparent reference to Mr. Tillerson, went a step further on Monday, writing on Twitter, Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a definition for environmental justice: The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies. In its definition, here is what the EPA means by fair treatment  No group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies.

Our little town, forever bearing its disproportionate share, has in the past few days made international news, as more than 3,000 snow geese, on their late-autumn migratory flight, took refuge and rest upon on the toxic waters of the Berkeley Pit (what comprises toxicity we in Butte now know by heart  waters teeming with arsenic, lead, cadmium and other toxic heavy metals). The quick fate of the snow geese: death.

The landing of the snow geese about 10 days ago on the Pit was news, particularly since 21 years prior, almost to the day, more than 300 snow geese had landed on Lake Berkeley and also died. Ten days ago, people from throughout the globe learned anew about Butte  once again, beautiful migratory birds were killed shortly after they landed on the Pits waters. A simple poke of the Google button  Butte and snow geese  provided information that was readily and forever retrievable (consumers of the Russian Times, the BBC, the Guardian, the Washington Post, CNN, Smithsonian Magazine, National Public Radio and so many other outlets had ready and lasting information). One helpful related post on Facebook was titled: Not Fake News!

Try now to recruit a physician or a small business person or a company or a happening millennial to Butte.

Unfortunately, this is how Ive traditionally viewed environmental justice  we human beings in Butte have perennially been screwed by environmental ruin that has severely and negatively impacted our hard-fought brand  a brand touting our town as  believe us!  a livable and likable locale.

But there it is, my anthropocentrism kicking in. Alas, there is so much more to it than this, the assumption that we as humans alone have been affected by the environmental ruin  that we alone suffer from the dead geese that were poisoned and drowned.

 Humans tends to assume that their own stories are the most important  wrote Montana State University history professor Timothy LaCain in an article published prior to the second snow geese debacle, a 2013 academic piece titled An Impure Nature: Memory and the Neo-Materialist Flip at Americas Biggest Toxic Superfund Site. Indeed, when humans have thought about the bizarre deaths of the Butte snow geese, they have been quick to see the tragedy as symbolic of their own concerns. For many, the beautiful white snow geese seemed an apt symbol of a pure and unsullied nature done in by the corrupting artifice of humankind.

The truth, writes LaCain, is that humans are not distinct from our environment. In reality, hey man, we are at one with nature  what LaCain refers to as the material  even if the material is comprised of the corrupting artifice of humankind. In neo-materialism theory, humans are far from being in charge. The snow geese arent in charge either. Neither is nature.

Simplistically, were all one big ball of wax.

Not that the snow geese, when they landed at the Pit, would ever be able to convey that they were duped (the neo-materialists would likely disagree with me). LaCain says that geese are highly intelligent  on their migratory trip two weeks ago, the elder of the geese were scouting terrain theyd traveled before, the younger of the geese were counting on their old folks to come to rest in a safe space.

Though the geese were likely smart enough to figure out their mistake once they landed, their innards burning, only we as humans can count on a federal agency that focuses on justice only as it pertains to people.

Because federal policy allows for only anthropocentric retribution, Butte must demand, on behalf of its people, environmental justice. We. Are. Standing. Rock.

Policy does not allow for a neo-materialistic approach. The snow geese, unfortunately, must be a byproduct of our outrage.
ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH

Police patrolling in Uptown Butte on Saturday at 3 a.m. found an idling car pointed uphill on Montana Street at Granite at a green traffic light. Officers said they awoke the driver, Andrew Howery, 18, who was asleep with his head against the steering wheel. Police said the vehicle was in drive, but Howerys foot was on the brake, which is why the car did not roll backwards down the hill. Police said Howery seemed drunk; he failed field sobriety tests at the scene and at the detention center. According to police, Howery refused a Breathalyzer test, and was booked for DUI refusal.
A new documentary series called Her Exiled Children will bring to light an almost forgotten figure in Irish American history  and he happens to be from Butte.

As part of an ongoing project spearheaded by the University of Montana and director of Irish Studies Traolach O'Riordain, the series will feature three notable Irish Montanans: Copper King Marcus Daly, former acting Montana territorial governor Thomas Francis Meagher, and Sean OSullivan of Butte.

According to Irish Studies Ph.D. student Ciara Ni Riain, OSullivan is an unsung hero who made an important contribution to the 1916 Easter Rising.

Ni Riain  whos writing her dissertation on OSullivan  described the Butte resident as a self-educated poet and scholar who followed his family from Ireland to the United States with only a grade-school education.

Ni Riain said OSullivans lack of education is something that always bothered him, so when we he came to the Mining City in 1905 he spent a majority of his evenings studying in the public library.

He taught himself when he came to Butte, Montana, said Ni Riain.

While his nights were spent in quiet, patient study, OSullivans days were filled with a working-class life.

Throughout his time in Butte he held a variety of jobs, including as a miner, stationary engineer, day laborer and janitor at Butte Central High School.

Of the subjects OSullivan studied, the one he was perhaps most passionate about was Irish culture.

A fluent speaker of Irish and English, he wrote poems in both languages and catalogued Irish folk songs from memory, writing them down in his many notebooks and earning a reputation as a prominent Irish scholar, Ni Riain said.

Today O Sullivans notebooks are housed in the Father Sarsfield O Sullivan Collection in the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, 17 W. Quartz St.

Its a massive collection, said Ni Riain, who said over 40 boxes in the archive are filled with OSullivans writings, correspondences and poems.

However, OSullivan wasnt just a self-made scholar and folklorist  he was also a fierce Irish nationalist, Ni Rian said.

OSullivan was a member of several nationalist organizations, such as the Robert Emmet Literary Association, Sarsfield Social Club and Thomas Ashe Council and helped raised funds for the Irish rebellion effort, which eventually gave rise to the Easter Rising.

OSullivan was also a close personal friend of Eamon de Valera, an Irish politician, and housed leading nationalists who came through Butte.

As for the documentary series, OSullivans portion will be the third and last film in the sequence, O'Riordain said. Up first will be a film on Thomas Francis Meagher.

O'Riordain said the idea for the documentary series rose out of a proposal the Irish Studies Department submitted to the American Conference for Irish Studies last year and which brought the conference to the University of Montana in October.

The point of the project, O'Riordain said, is to commemorate the Easter Rising and highlight the role that Butte and Anaconda played, which is often underrepresented.

(We want to) focus national and international attention on the critical role that the Irish of Montana, particularly Butte and Anaconda, played in the movement that culminated in rebellion and, ultimately, the independence of Ireland, O'Riordain said in an email to The Montana Standard.

O'Riordain said he and others involved in the project are currently raising money for the series through grants and an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign; ultimately they want to distribute copies of the documentary series to every library and school in the state.

Should everything go according to plan, O'Riordain said, the Meagher film will be completed in Fall 2017.
The state achieved a "major milestone" Tuesday when it signed a long-awaited agreement with Montana Resources, paving the way for removal of the Parrot tailings mine and smelter waste behind the Butte Civic Center by summer 2017.

The waste will be relocated to Montana Resources property, about a mile away.

Gov. Steve Bullock had hoped removal would begin this past summer. But various obstacles  including where to put the excavated contaminated dirt  halted the project.

Bullock said Tuesday via email that he welcomes the news.

Harley Harrison, director, Natural Resource Damage Program, called the agreement a major milestone as it now gives certainty to where the state will put the dirty dirt.

About 350,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil will be relocated to behind MRs main office off 600 Shields Ave., said Mark Thompson, the mines manager of environmental affairs. MR will then move it to wherever the mine can use it. That could mean a waste rock dump, a leach pad or wherever its convenient to take it.

The contractor who wins the contract will dig 40 feet below the surface to remove the source of the contamination; the tailings have been there for over 100 years.

The Parrot Tailings will become part of MRs reclamation responsibility when the mining company eventually shuts down. MRs mining permit with the Department of Environmental Quality runs through 2040. Thompson said the liability issue that held up talks in September got resolved because the company is taking responsibility for the waste under Montana's Metal Mine Reclamation Act.

Kristi Ponozzo, DEQ spokesperson, said agency does not yet know if MRs taking the contaminated waste will affect MRs financial bond with the state. That bond  set at $57.5 million  is insurance to ensure the mine will clean the Continental Pit when the mine closes.

MR believes the cost to the mining company to take the dirty dirt will be about $1.2 million.

Harris said the state hasnt quantified the financial savings to the state. But, he said, We do think it provides cost savings and hopefully they are significant.

The state has about $18.5 million set aside to spend on removing the Parrot tailings.

The Environmental Protection Agency has long argued the mine waste does not require removal and will not order responsible party Atlantic Richfield Company to clean it. The state has consistently countered that to leave the tailings in place endangers the states $125 million cleanup on lower Silver Bow Creek.

The $18.5 million comes from money the state won through its lawsuit against ARCO due to more than 100 years of damaged land and waterways from mining and smelting. The final piece of that lawsuit was settled in 2008.

The final obstacle to the Parrot Tailings removal wont get decided until next year. Butte-Silver Bow Countys vehicle-maintenance shops sit over about half of the removal site. An attempt to move the shops to the north side of Civic Center Road last summer ignited an outcry that the county needed to include the public more in this decision. So far, the location for the county shops is still up in the air.

Incoming BSB chief executive Dave Palmer told The Standard in an interview last week that more community input is needed before a decision can be reached.

Harris said he could not speculate on how long the removal will take. But the initial phase  excavating at the ball field behind the Civic Center  could be completed by the end of construction season 2017. The wild card is the county shops.
Trying to improve the interface between the criminal justice and mental illness treatment system has some parallels between touching two hot electrical wires while chewing on batteries. Even if youre successful, its going to be an incredibly difficult and painful process. However, this interface is critically important to public safety and civil liberties. Its a life and death issue with millions upon millions of dollars at stake in both taxpayer investment and potential legal liabilities. The only option more painful than doing something is doing nothing.

Lee Newspapers published a front-page article last week describing the lawsuit filed in District Court in Helena. In that suit seeking $1.5 million in damages, a woman who was criminally committed to Montana State Hospital alleges that she was sexually assaulted and impregnated in late 2011 by another patient at the psychiatric facility.

While I do not have any details on this womans allegations, Montana State Hospitals forensic unit was dangerously overcrowded and underfunded for years. At the same time period, the state of Montana was also sued by the ACLU for failing to properly care for the psychiatric needs of offenders at Montana State Prison who should have been in the overcapacity forensic unit of Montana State Hospital.

In the fall of 2013, NAMI Montana presented a buffet of potential options to revise the existing Montana institution infrastructure to safely and effectively care for those with mental illness who have been incarcerated. The options included building a forensic hospital in Boulder and converting the existing Montana State Hospital into a forensic facility. None of these options got any traction with the Legislature, community leaders, union representatives or anyone else involved.

Gov. Steve Bullock tackled the issue by asking the 2015 Legislature to expand Montana State Hospitals existing forensic unit. The operations of the expanded unit were funded, but the new construction was not. The legislative session ended without a workable option and it appeared the dangerous overcrowding would continue until something even more horrible happened.

Fortunately, Governor Bullocks administration figured out a way to rent a facility from Community, Counseling, and Correctional Services, Inc., a nonprofit based in Butte, and convert it into a forensic unit. It would be an understatement to call that solution controversial, but every other plan had failed. There is already a lawsuit for the new forensic facility, but we are somewhere around Plan F on this issue and no one has a workable Plan G.

Legislative leaders have threatened to unravel Bullocks solution to the overcrowded forensic unit. I understand their frustration. I also wish that state and community leaders had found a workable, consensus solution to this controversial issue. However, Ive worked on this issue for years and I think the probability of finding that solution is lower than the probability of finding Bigfoot taking selfies with tourists at Yellowstone Park.

The time and resources going into examining fixes for Montanas public institutions should be focused on the current festering problem that is threatening to become a crisis  the burgeoning population of people with Alzheimers and dementia patients. Thats the problem that we will be reading horror stories about three years from now if our leaders do not begin working on a solution today.
Yellowstone National Park annually announces the need to kill hundreds of buffalo to placate ranchers' unfounded fears and prejudices. Assisted by the media, they manipulate facts and language, attempting to persuade the public to believe their lies. For example, see the recent Associated Press article, Yellowstone Park looks at large bison cull to trim herds (Dec. 1). This damaging propaganda is loaded with false premises supporting their buffalo-killing agenda.

Premise 1: Bison herd size needs to be reduced. Why do the herds of ecologically extinct wild bison need to be reduced? Scientists acknowledge that Yellowstone can support more than 6,500 individuals, and wild, migratory buffalo also create their own habitat. Gallatin National Forest, surrounding the north and west boundaries of Yellowstone, encompasses an additional 3 million acres that could support thousands more buffalo, while the whole of the Greater Yellowstone bio-community is around 20 million acres. The continent can support tens of millions of bison, yet today, a few thousand is deemed too many. Compared to what? The 23 who saved themselves from extinction in Yellowstones remote Pelican Valley? The politics of competition is using declining baselines to define populations; instead we should compare them to those before European invasion and exploitation.

Premise 2: Bison are spilling into neighboring Montana. When did seasonal migration become an accident? Do elk and deer spill over park boundaries? This is just more livestock rhetoric. Wild buffalo arent park animals that should stay put within artificial, ecologically meaningless boundaries for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. Migration is not some error that humans should correct.

Premise 3: 5,500 bison is a high number. Declining baselines again (see Premise 1). Interestingly, Yellowstone now claims they underestimated the population last year. How did these professionals miss counting over 1,000 of Americas largest land mammals? Whos to say they arent overestimating now to serve livestock agendas? Yellowstones Central Herd, which migrates north and west, is doubly impacted by management actions; they havent recovered from the 2008 slaughter. In spring, our field patrols typically see 400-600 buffalo in the Hebgen Basin, but last spring we saw fewer than 250 total. Recons into the park, to places suggested by Yellowstones bison biologist, also failed to reveal where these buffalo were. In what corner of Yellowstone were a thousand buffalo hiding? How convenient that this mistake is revealed when its time for them to kill again.

Premise 4: Bison pose a brucellosis threat to cattle. What threat? There has never been a single documented case of wild bison transmitting brucellosis back to cattle, even where they co-exist, even decades prior to the Interagency Bison Management Plan. Cattle brought brucellosis here when they were imported. Brucellosis entered the bison population by human error. Meanwhile elk, who have been implicated dozens of times (and as recently as last week) in transmitting brucellosis to cattle are free to spill into neighboring Montana without consequence.

Premise 5: Yellowstones neighboring communities are concerned about property damage and threats to human safety. Who? Not communities who actually live with wild buffalo. In the Hebgen Basin, where year-round habitat for wild bison finally exists, residents are celebrating. These communities are teeming with Buffalo Safe Zone signs and the residents fiercely defend their shaggy neighbors. For many years Horse Butte residents have demonstrated a living classroom of co-existence with wild buffalo. Gardiner residents are waiting for the same chance. As to safety, an average of two Yellowstone tourists per summer are charged by bull bison during the rut. Compared to the hundreds of buffalo who are killed by humans each year, whos dangerous?

Montanans are tired of the political games being played with the countrys treasured buffalo. We are through being bullied by cattle ranchers and lied to by the governments who serve them. Current management schemes threaten the evolutionary potential of wild bison, violate treaties with and autonomy of indigenous sovereign nations, and undermine the will of Montanas citizen majority. Contact your legislators and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and urge them to defend Americas national mammal. Urge them to repeal or amend MCA 81-2-120 to remove Department of Livestock authority over wild bison, and to support a new plan that respects wild buffalo like wild elk in Montana.
BILLINGS  An active-duty Army sergeant facing trial for the rape of a 17-year-old girl was granted permission to travel to Mexico for Christmas.

Marcial Mejia Jr., 34, was charged last year with sexual intercourse without consent. His trial is set for March 2017.

Mejia appeared Monday before Yellowstone County District Court Judge Russell Fagg and requested he be allowed to travel to Mexico for Christmas. Mejia will sign an international extradition waiver prior to traveling out of the country.

Mejia will face serious charges for going AWOL from the military if he does not return, Fagg said. For that reason, Fagg granted the request.

Mejia will be in Mexico from Dec. 20 through Dec. 28.

According to court documents, Mejia was arrested after a 17-year-old girl said Mejia had raped her three years previously and from that encounter, she had contracted chlamydia.

The girl said shed never reported the incident, but Mejia had contacted her sister over Facebook, and she was concerned he was assaulting other women.

The girl said Mejia had messaged her over Facebook three years ago and told her he was new in town and wanted to meet people. He gave her his number, and one evening when she needed a ride she called him and he picked her up.

Mejia, employed by the military as a supply sergeant, was wearing his military uniform when he arrived, and the girl said she felt like he was trustworthy because of this, so when he invited her into his house instead of taking her home, she accepted the invite.

According to documents, the girl said Mejia told her he wasnt going to take her home until she took care of him. Mejia then allegedly raped her.

The detectives investigating the case confirmed the girl was treated for chlamydia in 2013.
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While the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall has been one of the most publicized and costliest product recalls of the year, it is far from the largest.
ORIGINAL NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION

OneWest Bank N.A.

Plaintiff,

vs.

Parties in Possession; Unknown spouse, if any, of Verne Hanft; United States of America - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; United States of America - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; All Unknown Heirs, Devisees, or Claimants with an interest in Property of Vern R. Hanft, deceased; State of Iowa - Department of Revenue; State of Iowa - Department of Revenue; Parkview Condominium Association, et al.

Defendants.

You are notified that a petition has been filed in the office of this court naming you as a defendant in this action. The petition was filed on September 9, 2016, and prays for foreclosure of Plaintiffs mortgage in favor of the Plaintiff on the property described in this notice and judgment for the unpaid principal amount of $137,981.25, with 1.39% per annum interest thereon from June 25, 2007, together with late charges, advances and the costs of the action including (but not limited to) title costs and reasonable attorney's fees, as well as a request that said sums be declared a lien upon the following described premises from June 20, 2007, located in Muscatine county, Iowa:

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED REAL ESTATE IN MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA:

UNIT B-2, OF PARKVIEW CONDOMINIUM, A HORIZONTAL PROPERTY REGIME IN MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA, ESTABLISHED BY A CONDOMINIUM DECLARATION DATED MARCH 5, 1980, AND RECORDED IN THE OFFICE OF THE RECORDER OF MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA, IN BOOK 290 OF LOTS, AT PAGE 977,

AND, AN UNDIVIDED 1/18TH INTEREST IN AND TO THE COMMON ELEMENTS AND LIMITED COMMON ELEMENTS APPURTENANT TO SAID UNIT, AS DESCRIBED IN THE CONDOMINIUM DECLARATION, AND SUBJECT TO THE EASEMENTS, RESTRICTIONS, COVENANTS, RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS, ENCUMBRANCES, AND ALL OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONDOMINIUM DECLARATION, AS AMENDED, AND THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION AND BY-LAWS OF PARKVIEW CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, AN IOWA NONPROFIT CORPORATION

, commonly known as 2051 Heatherlynn Drive Apt B2, Muscatine, IA 52761 (the "Property")

The petition further prays that the mortgage on the above described real estate be foreclosed, that a special execution issue for the sale of as much of the mortgaged premises as is necessary to satisfy the judgment and for other relief as the Court deems just and equitable. For further details, please review the petition on file in the clerk's office. The Plaintiffs attorney is Emily Bartekoske, of SouthLaw, P.C.; whose address is 1401 50th Street, Suite 100, West Des Moines, IA 50266.

NOTICE

THE PLAINTIFF HAS ELECTED FORECLOSURE WITHOUT REDEMPTION. THIS MEANS THAT THE SALE OF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY WILL OCCUR PROMPTLY AFTER ENTRY OF JUDGMENT UNLESS YOU FILE WITH THE COURT A WRITTEN DEMAND TO DELAY THE SALE. IF YOU FILE A WRITTEN DEMAND, THE SALE WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL TWELVE MONTHS (OR SIX MONTHS IF THE PETITION INCLUDES A WAIVER OF DEFICIENCY JUDGMENT) FROM THE ENTRY OF JUDGMENT IF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY IS YOUR RESIDENCE AND IS A ONE-FAMILY OR TWO-FAMILY DWELLING OR UNTIL TWO MONTHS FROM ENTRY OF JUDGMENT IF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY IS NOT YOUR RESIDENCE OR IS YOUR RESIDENCE BUT NOT A ONE-FAMILY OR TWO-FAMILY DWELLING. YOU WILL HAVE NO RIGHT OF REDEMPTION AFTER THE SALE. THE PURCHASER AT THE SALE WILL BE ENTITLED TO IMMEDIATE POSSESSION OF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY. YOU MAY PURCHASE AT THE SALE.

You must serve a motion or answer on or before 17th day of January, 2017, and within a reasonable time thereafter file your motion or answer with the Clerk of Court for Muscatine County, at the county courthouse in Muscatine, Iowa. If you do not, judgment by default may be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the petition.

If you require the assistance of auxiliary aids or services to participate in a court action because of a disability, immediately call your District ADA Coordinator at 563-326-8783. If you are hearing impaired, call Relay Iowa TTY at 1-800-735-2942.

This case has been filed in a county that utilizes electronic filing. You may find more information and general rules governing electronic filing in Iowa Court Rules Chapter 16. You may find information concerning protection of personal information in court filings in Iowa Court Rules Chapter 16, Division VI.

By: Jeff Tollenaer

CLERK OF THE ABOVE COURT

Muscatine County Courthouse

401 East 3rd Street,

Muscatine, IA 52761

IMPORTANT:

YOU ARE ADVISED TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE AT ONCE TO PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  The Muscatine Police Department continues to ask the public's assistance in the investigation of an incident of vandalism at McKinley Elementary School that occurred in November.

Racial and anti-gay slurs, as well as the words "KKK" and "Trump" were discovered spray-painted on and near the McKinley school building Saturday, Nov. 26.

An investigation is ongoing, and the Muscatine Police Department is is asking for the public's help in identifying the perpetrators, according to Lt. Jeff Jirak. Anyone with more information can contact 563-263-9922 ext. 217.

Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal
ATALISSA, Iowa  The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is asking for the public's help in identifying the person responsible for shooting a trumpeter swan.

The swan was found on Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Wiese Slough near the boat ramp. Joe Fourdyce, a conservation officer with the Iowa DNR, said it was most likely killed sometime between 8:30 and 11 a.m.

A black Chevy pickup pulling a boat was seen at the slough around the time the swan was discovered.

Swans like the one that was shot are a protected species, and the fine for killing a swan is $1,500, Fourdyce said.

Anyone with information, or who was at the slough on Saturday morning, is asked to call Fourdyce at 563-260-1223.

Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal
Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi []
Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
By

by Wallace Wyss 

Now, in my golden years, I can scarcely remember when I was a newbie in the car world, but there was a time there in the Sixties when I met a Chevrolet dealer, a Mr. Bill Markley, who had a stable of exotic cars, including a Miura and a Ferrari 410 Superamerica.

If Id played my cards right, maybe I could have got a part time jobs as a parts washer, that would have led to a story like thisthe Markowski Ferrari 275S.

That particular Ferrari came along in 1950. Only two 275S Barchettas were made. They would sport bodies fashioned by Milans Carrozzeria Touring over the chassis of the new frame powered by the 3.3-liter Lampredi V-12. Most Ferrari engines were designed by Colombo but these were the more complicated Lampredi engines. These two cars were built for racing and went right to the big time for their first race, the Mille Miglia.

Maybe they bit off more than they could chew, because neither car finished the thousand mile-long race. They went back to the shop and were refitted with the 4.1-liter V-12 rated at 220 bhp, an engine developed for Ferraris Formula One cars.

The new name, based on engine displacement, was Ferrari 340 America. One of the two chassis was 0030MT, the first of the two 275S models to carry the Lampredi engine. This time around the famed driver Alberto Ascari was chosen to pilot it in the Mille Miglia. It was also the display car at the 1950 Salon de lAutomobile held at Grand Palais in Paris.

The following year, it was sold by the factory to a racing team, Scuderia Marzotto. But the new 275S Barchettas both DNFd in the 1950 Mille Miglia. Not that Ferrari was worried, there were other Ferraris in the race and Giannino Marzotto won the event in a Ferrari 195S Berlinetta.

That win solidified his friendship with Enzo Ferrari and he was given a good deal on buying a 275S and bought 0030MT for his team Scuderia Marzotto.

They didnt have much success, the only notable one being a 2nd place in the Coppa della Toscana in 1951.

Following the Grand Prix of Bari, in which was piloted by Giovanni Bracco, the Ferrari 340 America began to metamorphose as various owners had it rebodied and changed by Scaglietti, the shop that built most Ferrari race cars.

COMING TO AMERICA

In 1958, an American, Carroll Mills, traded a Maserati and some cash for the Ferrari 340 America and shipped it to the United States.

You have to credit the fact that Vermont is not the state you think of when you think old Ferraris and thats why it wasnt immediately bought by Ferrari hunters of the time.

Instead the car stayed in a Mills Vermont garage. And wouldnt cha know a local kid, 12 years old at the time, took an interest in the car. Mills thought, well, hell, give the kid some work and if he worked long enough, he could buy that ol red Ferrari.

Hey, a kid can dream, right? The trade-for-work deal was worked out when Peter Markowski was 15.

After working on a number of the other cars, Peter got around to the Ferrari 340 America, which was not an easy car to work on. One account says it took years to get the car running.

Now trouble was he didnt have enough money to buy another car so he toodled around it it to the grocery store and even drove it to races, raced it and drove home.

He clocked 110,000 miles in the Ferrari, where most race car owners only drove their cars from the trailer to the track grid.

He became so adept at maintaining it that he opened a shop to service exotic cars. But eventually, with the rise in popularity of old Ferraris coincident with the growth in vintage racing, he sold it in 1999 becoming the property of William Jacobs of Joliet, Illinois.

Only two years later it was sold back to Europe, to Michael Willms of Aachen, Germany. Willms was a real enthusiast. The first thing he did with the car was enter it in the 2005 Mille Miglia.

In fact, he went everywhere with the car: Modena Motorsport Track Days, the Shell Historic Ferrari Maserati Challenge World Finals and events at Spa-Francorchamps, Valencia and, of course, Monza.

It competed at the Mille Miglia in 2006, 2007 and 2010. The Ferrari 340 America also appeared in the 2008 Monaco Historic Grand Prix.

Now came the big hurdle: getting the coveted Ferrari Classiche certification.

You could object to it being so awarded on the grounds it was not the engine it was built with or not the body it was built with but you had to also acknowledge its pedigreea mile long competition history and being raced by a significant Scuderia.

It got the Certificate.

Ferrari 340 America at Auction

The car finally came up for sale at the RM Sothebys 2015 Monterey auction. Before the auction the RM company said it would sell between $7,500,000 and $10,000,000. It hammered down for $7,975,000, and probably today would sell for more.

But I like the $500 story. A boy learned the value of hard work, and more importantly it led to a career for him. I wished now I had further befriended Mr. Markley

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss is the author of the Incredible Barn Finds series of books, which can be ordered directly from the publisher at (715) 381 9755
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NEW YORK  President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has picked Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, calling the oil executive with close to ties to Russia one of the most accomplished international dealmakers in the world.

Tillersons business relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are certain to draw scrutiny and could fuel a Senate confirmation fight. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.

Separately, the president-elect has selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department, according to people with knowledge of the decision. Perry, who ran two unsuccessful presidential campaigns, is on the board of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the company that is trying to build a 1,200-mile pipeline that would carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois and has sparked protests.

The people with knowledge of Perrys pending nomination insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision ahead of an official announcement

As for Tillerson, Trump says he sees the business leaders ties with Moscow as a selling point, along with his vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.

Rex Tillersons career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart dealmaking, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of Exxon Mobil, one of the worlds largest and most respected companies, the billionaire real estate mogul said in a pre-dawn news release from Trump Tower in New York.

In an accompanying statement, Tillerson said he was honored by his selection and shares Trumps vision for restoring the credibility of the United States foreign relations and advancing our countrys national security.

Trumps team has voiced confidence about its ability to get the president-elects nominees confirmed. But Tillerson appears likely to pose the toughest challenge.

In a bid to fend off Republican opposition, Trumps team is lining up support for Tillerson from high-profile national security experts. Condoleezza Rice, who served as secretary of state under President George W. Bush, called Tillerson a successful businessman and a patriot who will represent the interests and the values of the United States with resolve and commitment.

Exxon is a client of the consulting firm run by Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who also endorsed Tillersons nomination Tuesday.

Still, some Republicans are voicing doubts, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who said he had serious concerns about the nomination. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he expected the U.S.-Russia relationship to be front and center in Tillersons confirmation hearings.

Reince Priebus, Trumps incoming chief of staff, said Tuesday that Tillerson was chosen because he is a diplomat that happens to be able to drill oil. Priebus said on MSNBC, The good Lord didnt put oil in all freedom-loving democracies across the world and yet Rex Tillerson was able to make this work. Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson, they hit it off and they have a similar vision of how to get things done.

For weeks, Trump has teased out the secretary of state decision process publicly, often exposing rifts in his organization. Prospects included Mitt Romney, a one-time vocal Trump critic who wrote on Facebook Monday that it was an honor to have been considered for the job.

Trumps unconventional Cabinet vetting procedures are in keeping with his presidential style thus far, unconcerned with traditions. In recent weeks, hes attacked CIA intelligence, spoken to the leader of Taiwan  irritating China  and continued his late-night Twitter tirades.

Beijing is looking forward to working with the new secretary of state to push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point, Chinas foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Tuesday.

In Washington, a congressional investigation is in the works over a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on Trumps behalf, a conclusion he has called ridiculous.

The issue is raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about protecting the U.S. voting system.

On Twitter Monday, Trump pushed back, saying: Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to meet with Trump at any moment.

In the transcript of his interview with journalists which was released Tuesday in Moscow, Putin said its widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this. Putin added that he thought a meeting with Trump would be more likely after Trumps January inauguration.

If confirmed, Tillerson would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages, and in China, given Trumps recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, he has held posts in the companys central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

Early in the companys efforts to gain access to the Russian market, Tillerson cut a deal with state-owned Rosneft. The neglected post-Soviet company didnt have a tremendous amount to offer, but Exxon partnered with it to be on the same side of the table, Tillerson said, according to Private Empire, an investigative history of Exxon by Steve Coll.
Byllee Kairy said his first experience of working with people with disabilities came when he was just 10 years old.

It wasnt a great start.

My father took me to Camarillo State Hospital to play guitar for some really disabled kids, he recalled.

They were so profoundly disabled that it was hard for me to process everything. I remember running outside and vomiting.

However, I sucked it up and went back in. I soon realized that when I played my guitar and sang to those kids, they lit up with happiness. Since then Ive always wanted to champion those with special needs.

Kairy recently started his own business in Napa called All About Ability.

The company is a support service that helps young disabled adults learn living skills they need to be independent. It is usually fully funded through North Bay Regional Center, he said.

1. How do you pronounce your first name?

Billy.

I was in rock bands in the 80s and my band members and manager came up with that spelling.

2. What was your first job?

I was the Wiener Dog in Huntington Beach at 15 years old. I wore a very hot Wiener Dog suit in the Southern California heat and handed out free hot dog coupons one summer.

3. What kinds of social service jobs have you had?

Ive been a counselor, house manager, program director, on-call crisis response person, teacher and program developer.

Ive worked with kids in group homes, mental health facilities, juvenile halls, probation departments and after-school programs. I used to run the After School of Rock in Napa.

4. Whats a common misconception about disabled people?

That people with disabilities are weird or crazy or violent. Its just not true. They are just as much a member of this community as you and I. Disabled people want the same things we want  a girlfriend, a boyfriend, relationships, to hang out with friends, earn a paycheck, go to a movie

5. What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?

Getting the word out to all those families that have children that have either graduated high school or aged-out of high school that there are support services like ours available to them. Most parents are thrilled and surprised when we meet them for the first time.

6. What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime that you havent yet?

I want to provide more jobs for disabled people.

I mean, we live in Napa, California where agriculture, wineries and hospitality thrive. I want to partner with a local winery that would allow us to train our clients to do the jobs that they need done at their wineries.

7. Whats on your to-do list?

I want to travel the world. Id love to go into space. I would like to record an album with all my friends and family on it. My daughter Attison and I have worked on some tunes together so it may be produced sooner than I think.

8. Who do you most admire in the business world?

(Businessman and investor) Marcus Lemonis.

I am amazed at how Marcus makes it look so simple but he saves thousands of jobs, helps small businesses get on track and has an amazing heart and work ethic.

All About Ability is hoping to be on the next season of The Profit on NBC so I am crossing my fingers that I get to meet and work with him. That would be awesome!

9. What was your childhood ambition?

To be a rock star. I taught myself guitar at 9 years old and was playing in my first band by 13. I love rock music!

10. Top three favorite bands?

I love Van Halen, Zeppelin and Motley Crue.
Dan Stephens has joined the California Veterans Home in Yountville as public information officer.

Stephens, an Army infantry war veteran, will lead a program to expand and elevate the Homes public affairs and community relations efforts.

Im thrilled, said Stephens, whose Marine mother spent the last eight years of her life at the Veterans Home in Yountville.

"I am an unapologetic fan of this veterans home," he said.

Before coming to Yountville, Stephens was an information officer with the California Employment Department in Sacramento. Prior to that, he was a newspaper reporter and magazine editor who wrote about everything from drip irrigation in Amman, Jordan, to profiling Mohammad Ali in San Luis Obispo.

The Veterans Home is home to 1,200 aged or disabled veterans and employs 1,000 staff members.
The Napa Valley Unified School Districts Board of Trustees elected new officers and welcomed three new members, generating one of the more significant shakeups in membership in recent school board history.

The swearing in of three new trustees, all women, on Thursday marked what one longtime school board member called the biggest change hes seen on the seven-member NVUSD governing body.

This is the largest turnover Ive seen in my 14 years on the board, said Thomas Kensok, trustee for Area 3 since 2002. Board Secretary Fran Carpenter confirmed Kensoks assertion after the meeting that this year was the first time since at least 2002 that three seats changed hands at once.

Joining the board were farmworker safety consultant Icela Martin, nonprofit executive Elba Gonzalez-Mares, and yoga instructor and community volunteer Stacy Bratlien.

Childrens health and nutrition, as well as educational opportunities, are key concerns of all three trustees.

Only one of the new trustees, Martin, had to compete for her seat. She defeated three other candidates in the November election for Area 5.

Gonzalez-Mares and Bratlien were the sole candidates to file for their seats, Areas 2 and 1, respectively.

All three newcomers received high praise from outgoing board President Robb Felder.

These three women are remarkable, said Felder, whose term as president expired Thursday. He will continue to represent Area 6 as a trustee.

After the new and returning trustees took the oaths of office, the board elected new officers for the next year.

Area 7 Trustee Jose Hurtado, who previously served as vice president, was elected president.

Area 4 Trustee Joe Schunk, the boards previous clerk, was elected vice president.

Kensok was elected clerk.

Martin won a contested four-way race in the November election to succeed longtime Trustee Frances Ortiz-Chavez, who retired after 13 years on the school board.

A single mother of two boys attending Vintage High School, Martins professional background is in human resources, safety and health consulting for the Napa Valley farming community. She launched her company, Agricultura Safety Training, in May 2015.

Martin moved to Napa County 10 years ago.

Her trustee area covers the southwest part of Napa, including the neighborhoods of Coventry Manor, Westwood, and a portion of Browns Valley.

During her campaign, Martin said her work with the agricultural community gave her the perspective that all children in our community should have equal opportunities for education.

It is important for our teachers to feel appreciated by providing financial support for the classroom. Parents need to be supported as well, so the educational path of their children will be a positive one, she said.

Gonzalez-Mares took over Area 2, formerly represented by educator Carlos Hagedorn, who chose not to run for re-election.

She is the executive director of Childrens Health Initiative (CHI) Napa County, which helps low-income children receive subsidized health insurance.

Originally from the state of Puebla, Mexico, her family moved to Napa when she was 12 years old. She attended Silverado Middle School and Napa High School, receiving her diploma in 2000.

Gonzalez-Mares attended U.C. Davis, where she earned her bachelors degree in international relations in 2005.

After college, she moved back to Napa and joined CHI as health services manager.

Inside her district are Alta Heights and McPherson elementary schools, Napa High School, New Technology High School, Valley Oak High School and the Adult Education program.

Bratlien, a 16-year resident of Napa, took over Area 1 from Helen Busby, who decided to not run in November after being appointed to the school board in 2015.

Health and wellness are big concerns of Bratliens, both on the school board and in the school district.

The yoga instructor helped found Free Yoga in the Park at Fuller Park, along with Jessica De Lasaux, who ran unsuccessfully for the Area 5 seat against Martin.

In her spare time, Bratlien mentors female students at Redwood Middle School as part of Mariposa, a Napa County Office of Education program designed to keep teen girls out of trouble.

As a trustee, she wants NVUSD to strengthen its wellness and nutrition programs by improving food choices and expanding physical activity and other health needs of students.

Her seat covers areas of east Napa, including Vichy Elementary, plus Vintage High School and the town of Yountville.
Starting this month, the future of Yountville Elementary School will be the subject of a series of talks to find ways to bolster its declining enrollment  possibly including the construction of housing at the nearby Veterans Home of California to bring more families and school-age children to the Upvalley town.

The committee, which will include more than a dozen members, is expected to hold its first meeting Dec. 15 and continue talks at least through February, according to Elizabeth Emmett, spokeswoman for the Napa Valley Unified School District.

Among the members will be two school board trustees, school parents, Mayor John Dunbar, Yountville residents and representatives of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, which oversees the Veterans Home.

Officials will ponder the options for keeping up attendance at Yountville Elementary, located in a town of only about 3,000 full-time residents  a third of them residents of the Veterans Home  where rising housing costs threaten to squeeze out younger families. Among the likely proposals will be the idea of building homes west of town on the Veterans Home campus in hopes of allowing more employees to live near their work  and send their younger children to the local school, which currently teaches about 120 students.

Its a challenge throughout the valley for the folks who work here and cant afford to live here, said Mayor Dunbar, who floated the workforce housing idea after a late-November meeting with CalVet officials.

The land surrounding the Veterans Home, which has operated in Yountville since 1884, may be one of the few realistic options for a compact and largely built-out town, Dunbar suggested.

The No. 1 issue here is availability of land; Yountville is so small and so completely built out that we have very limited potential for any additional housing units, especially for the numbers we are talking about, he said. CalVet recognizes there is open space there, and an opportunity to repurpose certain areas to use its potential more.

In an email last week, Veterans Home spokesman Dan Stephens described on-site housing as among the options to renovate and usher in a new era of care and comfort for current and future generations of veterans who will live in our home, though he added that it remains too early to even discuss details like what kind of housing would be built or how any project will be funded.

About 1,200 people  military veterans and their spouses  reside at the Yountville home, the states oldest and largest. Stephens put the number of staff members at about 1,000, most of whom are commuters and many of whom travel from Solano County.

School district leaders for years have sought ways to reverse falling enrollment and offset the cost of running the Yountville campus, its smallest.

This fall, Napa Valley Unified explored using the Yountville campus as a new home for the Stone Bridge School, which the district seeks to move out of Carneros for safety reasons because of the current sites nearness to the West Napa Fault  the trigger for the 2014 earthquake  and a PG&E natural gas pipeline. However, district leaders backed off after opposition from Stone Bridge parents, who questioned whether the low-technology, Waldorf-inspired school could coexist with Yountville Elementarys more modern program.
California annually hosts some 800 "charreadas" (Mexican-style rodeos). Most feature "steer tailing," one of the most brutal events in all of rodeo: a mounted cowboy grabs a running steer by the tail, wraps the tail around his leg, then drags or slams the hapless steer to the ground.

Bruises and contusions are routine. Tails may be stripped to the bone ("degloved"), even torn off. Horses sometimes suffer broken legs when the steers run the wrong way.

Both Alameda and Contra Costa counties banned this cruelty in 1993. It was outlawed in Nebraska in 2009, and throughout Brazil in 2016.

"Steer tailing" is not a standard ranching practice anywhere in the U.S., nor is it sanctioned by any Western-style rodeo association. Even Cesar Chavez was an outspoken critic.

A statewide ban is needed. Relatedly, state rodeo law (Penal Code 596.7) should be amended so as to require on-site veterinary care. The "on call" option isn't working. All legislators may be written c/o The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. Let them hear from you!

Eric Mills, coordinator

Action for Animals
Let me start with a response to the guest editorial "Trump is like Woodrow Wilson by Jonathan Bernstein (Dec. 3). First off, Hillary Clinton lost - Donald Trump won - get over it.

Second, the entire article failed to point out a very simple fact. Every law passed by Congress pertaining to public officials and or the president owning business interests (anywhere) specifically exempts the president from having to do so. Any other public official must divest himself, or herself, of all business interests, before they can serve. The president does not have to do so.

Scream all they want about it, the corrupt Left Liberal Media don't have a clue. Trump has stated, however, his lawyers are drawing up the documentation he wishes to adhere to that will set him apart from his business interests - so he can go about the focused task of being president.

In response the to guest editorial by Thomas Elias "Where would you rather live? (Dec. 2). It would appear the educated voters answered this one already. Look at the electoral map. It is now almost entirely red. Thirty-three out of 50 states voted Republican red. Only a couple of states on the West Coast and East Coast voted Democrat blue, and a few small states in the middle of the country. These primarily make up the so-called majority popular vote.

Three or four large-population states like California, New York, and Pennsylvania clearly does not express the true voter choice. Our republic democracy is not governed by a mere three or four states. That is why our Constitution established the Electoral College so all states count equally. And a majority of the states voted red. "Popular Vote" is totally irrelevant.

Further, Mr. Elias, Many of the bue states governments are now Red. So much for your totally bogus assertions that "Blue States Democrats contend poor people, minorities and women are better off in blue states". If this were true, those states would still be blue - and not now red. The 'voters" in those states have clearly rejected your misguided premise. They have awakened to the false narrative you and my totally lost Democrat Party has been spreading for decades.

As to "Help Wanted: No Experience needed" political BS by John Anderson (Dec. 2), perhaps he might try giving the Constitution a read. The qualifications to become President are clearly defined in that document. For very good reason, the misconception that experience of some kind is not mentioned. That is totally a subjective political argument and would beg the question: Experience based on whose criteria?

However, that said, lets examine the "moral character" issue -shall we? How moral is it for a secretary of state to lie to the families of four murdered diplomats in Benghazi and tell them their deaths were due to a video. And then continued to spread this same lie, along with the president, to the United Nations and the American people - and the rest of the entire world, for weeks after the attack for purely political purposes because it fit with their lying narrative and political speaking points. This to win an election.

Likewise, what "moral character" does one possesses that puts an entire nation and the American people at dire risk by conducting all of the state's highly classified business on an un-secured private server for purely political reasons? And then claims "I never sent or received classified documents on my emails."

Now lets discuss the Ku Klux Klan allegations- shall we? Donald Trump denounced the Ku Klux Klan over and over again. He likewise denounced white supremacists on his thank-you tour rally in Ohio. The corrupt Liberal Left Media continues to spew this lie. Clearly, politicians of any party have no control of who chooses to endorse them. However, they do have a choice though as to who they choose as their mentor and adviser. For years, Sen. Robert Byrd was a high official of the Ku Klux Klan. Hillary Clinton said herself, she admired and respected her mentor and adviser Robert Byrd in the Senate. She further said she counted on his guidance and advice constantly.

Now then, as to evangelicals voting for Trump. When did the evangelicals take over almost the entire country? Seems Mr. Anderson has a religious bias. But then that is a malady of much of the far liberal left. Religious choice has been under attack by the left for decades. Further, evangelicals comprise many ethnic groups, not merely the white ethnic persuasion.

The Napa Valley Register is still in their "presidential campaign" mode of one-sided unbalanced coverage. No surprise there. The American People don't buy your political bias BS anymore either. Didn't you learn anything from the election? But perhaps while you are still in your fact-based denial state this might help. Get over it. Donald Trump won.

Robert Wilkinson

Napa
On behalf of the students and staff at McPherson Elementary School, I would like to thank all the members of the Noon-Time Rotary Club of Napa for their recent donation of student dictionaries to all of our third-grade students.

I would like to personally thank Ann Cash (daughter of Dr. Harry McPherson), Larry Wolle, Jill Barwick, Phil Champlin, and Tom LeMasters for presenting these beautiful, hard-bound dictionaries to our students. I learned during their visit that this organization has been giving dictionaries to all Napa third-grade students for the past 15 years.

We are fortunate to have generous and honorable citizens in our community such as the Noon-time Rotary to support our young learners.

Troy Knox, Principal

McPherson Elementary School
A St. Helena OB/GYN, Bryan Henry, M.D., could face disciplinary action by the Medical Board of California after being accused of negligence and unprofessional conduct.

The charges, filed on Nov. 28, stem from the August 2013 death of an infant boy following a cesarean delivery performed on one of Henrys patients.

According to board documents, Henry, who works at the St. Helena Womens Center, first treated his patient, referred to by initials of NJ, in December 2012.

The 26-year-old woman was six weeks pregnant at the time. She had pre-existing health issues including high blood pressure and obesity.

On Aug. 3, NJ was in labor and went to St. Helena Hospital. She labored for several hours. Toward the end of her labor, the infants heart beat could not be heard. A cesarean delivery was performed but the baby boy was delivered stillborn.

The accusation states that Henry acted negligently and with unprofessional conduct when he failed to perform continuous fetal monitoring while preparing for the cesarean section. Henry did not confirm a viable fetus before proceeding with the c-section, the complaint states.

Henry also failed to maintain adequate and accurate medical records, the accusation stated.

The doctor neglected to document his findings to help explain the babys death, the report states.

The report also states that Henry didnt document that the patient was counseled about the risks of obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy.

The doctor allegedly didnt document that issues regarding anesthesia were discussed with the patient before labor.

While this accusation was only just filed, a civil case about the death was settled in December 2014 for a reported $117,500, said the documents.

Henry did not respond to an interview request this past week.

According to the St. Helena Hospital website, Henry attended medical school at the Universidad Autonoma De Guadalajara. His residency program was at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center. The California state board issued his physicians and surgeons certificate in 1981.

Board-certified in OB/GYN, Henry has practiced at St. Helena Hospital for more than 20 years. In a 2008 interview with the St. Helena star, Henry said he had delivered more than 6,000 babies.

The physician has not had a hearing or been found guilty of any charges, noted the board.

However, if he is found guilty, possible disciplinary actions include revoking or suspending Henrys license, revoking his authority to supervise physician assistants or probation.

The California Medical Board oversees doctors licenses in the state, including the more than 400 medical doctors in Napa County.
Sunday, Dec. 4

1324 -- Report of a woman screaming and talking to herself on a bench on Railroad Avenue.

1358 -- Report of a man stumbling and punching traffic cones on Highway 29 near Whitehall Lane. Police arrested the 25-year-old Woodland man on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.

Monday, Dec. 5

0949 -- Report of drug activity on Grayson Avenue.

1230 -- Report of a very agitated woman screaming in Lyman Park.

2310 -- Following a traffic stop at Main/Grayson, police arrested a 44-year-old Davis woman on suspicion of DUI.

Tuesday, Dec. 6

1132 -- A citizen reported fraudulent charges on her credit card.

1410 -- Report of a suspicious black Cadillac parked on Chiles Avenue for the last few weeks. Police confirmed it belonged to someone in the area.

1413 -- Police took a petty theft report.

1457 -- Police on Adams Street arrested a 65-year-old St. Helena man on suspicion of public intoxication.

Wednesday, Dec. 7

0120 -- Following a traffic stop at Main/Elmhurst, police arrested a 26-year-old St. Helena man on suspicion of DUI.

0123 -- Medical aid for a sick person on McCorkle Avenue.

0605 -- Non-injury accident at Pope/College.

0658 -- A citizen reported that someone fraudulently ordered a cell phone in their name. The phone was shipped to San Jose.

1118 -- A suspicious woman who was not a student was seen acting strangely in a girls locker room on Grayson Avenue. Police searched the area and took a report.

1807 -- Police arrested a 22-year-old St. Helena woman for an outstanding Napa County warrant.

1953 -- Report of dogs barking on Chiles Avenue for the last few hours.

Thursday, Dec. 8

0623 -- Police responded to a two-car accident at Main/Pratt.

1600 -- Report of a rental truck parked in the wrong direction on Stockton Street and blocking a bus that was trying to drop off students. The truck was moved out of the way.

Friday, Dec. 9

0740 -- Police went to the primary school for Bagels and Buddies.

0810 -- Report of a suspicious man on Fulton Lane.

0830 -- Report of a suspicious man in City Hall rambling to the staff about Taylor Swift. He left before police arrived.

0950 -- Report of a car blocking a driveway on Main Street.

1114 -- Non-injury hit-and-run in the 1800 block of Main Street.

1220 -- A man who had threatened an employee at an Adams Street business the other day had reportedly just returned to the business. He left, but the caller wanted police to be aware in case he comes back.

1603 -- An Allison Avenue resident was receiving fraudulent calls from people claiming to be debt collectors and threatening that immigration officers will come out if the debt is not paid.

1626 -- A parked car was vandalized on Grayson Avenue.

Saturday, Dec. 10

0745 -- Packages were reported missing from Madrona Avenue around Thanksgiving.

0749 -- A suspicious man was seen at an empty house on Friday.

0947 -- Police assisted with a child custody exchange.

1223 -- A Grayson Avenue resident said his mother came back to his house last night even though she is not welcome there. Police talked to him about getting a restraining order, and advised them to call them right away if she comes back.

1345 -- Police cited a car that was blocking a driveway on Edwards Street.

2357 -- Police responded to a loud party in a garage on Brown Street.

Sunday, Dec. 11

0523 -- A Grayson Avenue resident reported that someone is ringing his doorbell. He suspected it was his mother, who was not welcome at his house. Police arrested the 43-year-old Napa woman on suspicion of public intoxication.

1158 -- Report of a silver Porsche speeding on Spring Street.

1233 -- Report of an older black lab roaming around the Vineyard/Hillview area.

1316 -- A caller reported capturing a brown Chihuahua that had been running around near Main Street.

1437 -- A yellow lab was reported missing from Chiles Avenue.

2029 -- Report of someone trespassing on a Main Street property. Police arrested a 17-year-old St. Helena resident on suspicion of trespassing and possession of marijuana.

Monday, Dec. 12

0056 -- Report of a golden retriever running loose on Grayson Avenue.

0953 -- A package was reported stolen from Spring Street on Dec. 5.

1433 -- A Scott Street resident said a suspicious man dressed in orange came into his yard and told him he had to move his play structure for some kind of survey. The man could not produce a business card or identification, and he soon left in a silver Ford SUV.
With hundreds of wineries in the Napa Valley, many on either Highway 29 or Silverado Trail between Napa in the south and Calistoga in the north, its probably hard for first-time visitors to decide which wineries to visit.

Below is a handful of wineries, all on Highway 29, from south to north, that will make your visit memorable. Just dont try to visit all in the same day. You want to make sure you have plenty of time to enjoy each of these special places. A good rule of thumb is to visit one winery in the morning, have lunch and then visit either one or two in the afternoon.

Be sure to do your homework before you come to the Napa Valley, as most wineries require advance reservations and many offer more experiences than just a winery tour and tasting of their latest release wines.

Most of all, remember to bring your attitude of fun to make this an adventure and a trip to remember.

Robert Mondavi Winery

7801 St. Helena Highway, Oakville

888-766-6328, ext. 2

The late Robert Mondavi established his namesake winery in 1966 with a vision to create Napa Valley wines that would stand in the company of the worlds finest. He chose To Kalon Vineyard in the heart of the Napa Valley as the home for Robert Mondavi Winery. This first-growth vineyard, located in Oakville, is renowned for producing some of the finest cabernet sauvignon wines in the world, as well as for its sauvignon blanc grapes, from which Mondavi crafted his signature wine, Fume Blanc.

Director of Winemaking is Genevieve Janssens, whose relationship with the winery began in 1978. She was selected Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast in 2010.

According to the website, The Robert Mondavi Winery was one of the first wineries to offer tours, tastings, culinary and art programs  our commitment to education continues with our world-renowned visitor programs. We offer three different types of wine tasting experience, for everyone from the novice to the most discriminating aficionado.

Besides winery tours and wine tasting experiences, the winery staff also offers wine and food programs and lunch and dinner experiences.

Its Discovery Tour and Tasting, a family-friendly walking tour with a taste of two wines is offered daily from May through October with no reservations required. The tour takes 30 minutes and costs $20 per person. Children are welcome.

The winery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., store is open until 6 p.m.

Louis M. Martini Winery

254 St. Helena Highway South, St. Helena

707-968-9403

The Martini family has been crafting world-class cabernet sauvignon from Napa and Sonoma's finest vineyards since 1933. According to its website, Our historic winery was among the first to open its doors in the Napa Valley after Prohibition. Our founder Louis M. Martini started with this simple premise: the best grapes make the best wines. Today, this tradition carries on at our historic winery in the Napa Valley with a range of unforgettable cabernet sauvignon wines. Located in the heart of the Napa Valley, our tasting room celebrates our storied history and acclaimed winemaking in every glass of wine we pour.

Daily offerings at Louis M. Martini Winery include curated tasting flights of award-winning wines, many of which are exclusively available through the winery. Again from the website, For first-time Napa visitors and collectors alike, our team will make every effort to make yours a memorable Napa Valley wine tasting experience.

Two of the curated tasting flights include The Celebrated Reds Tasting Experience ($25) and Our Good Life flight ($50).

The first celebrates the time-honored tradition of blending a selection of grape varieties to create a single harmonious wine. Explore the distinctions between a cabernet-driven Bordeaux-style blend  the Meritage  and a blend that builds on non-cabernet varieties  the Mountain Red. Included are two of the staffs other cabernet favorites.

The Good Life flight pairs some of Martinis most sought-after wines with a curated selection of seasonal, local dishes that elevate and enhance the depth and flavor of the wines.

Please allow 30 minutes for either of these curated tasting experiences.

Merryvale Vineyards

1000 Main St., St. Helena

707-963-7777

Nestled in the heart of the Napa Valley, St. Helena has long been established as the heart and soul of California winemaking. Ideally located at the southern entrance to town, Merryvale Vineyards, built in 1933, supports this rich history. As St. Helenas hometown winery, Merryvale Vineyards offers guests the opportunity to walk to restaurants, shopping, lodging, and even other wine tasting locations.

In 2007, the Merryvale Vineyards winery building was renovated to become a luxury-class facility with small temperature controlled fermentors, intensive sorting equipment, a basket press, a cold room and other resources to produce great wine.

Merryvale Vineyards welcomes guests daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations are not required for its Merryvale Vineyards Tasting. Seated tastings at the bar or in the tasting room are $30 per person.

For those interested in enjoying an elevated experience, winery staff also offers two unique experiences that are privately hosted by our wine education team: Merryvales Artisanal Wine & Cheese Tasting and its Profile Library Tasting. Both of those experiences require advance reservations and can be made online or by calling 707-963-7777.

If you are in St. Helena at lunch time, make reservations for the winerys Burger Butler Tasting Experience. If youve ever ventured into St. Helena on a sunny day, no doubt youve noticed the line of folks waiting to order at what has become the Napa Valleys best burger joint  Gotts Roadside. The Burger Experience will allow guests to skip the line and get right to the burger and fries paired with Merryvale wines, of course. Cost is $95 per guest or $35 per winery club member.

To reserve Burger Butler, email the tasting room at tastingroom@merryvale.com.

Beringer Vineyards

2000 Main St., St. Helena

866-708-9463 or 707-257-5771

In 1876, brothers Jacob and Frederick Beringer established Beringer Vineyards with a dream of making wines that would rival the finest in Europe. Today, Jacobs great-great-grandson, Chief Winemaker Mark Beringer, guides what is now Californias longest continually operating winery and one of Napas finest producers. With more than 1,600 acres farmed across Napa's best appellations, as well as Sonoma County and Paso Robles, Beringer is recognized as one of the regions preeminent producers with a rich portfolio of wines.

After spending years working at Benzinger, Duckhorn and Artesa, in 2015, Mark Beringer came home to Beringer Vineyards, joining as Chief Winemaker and following in the footsteps of acclaimed Winemaker Emeritus Laurie Hook. He said, I'm absolutely thrilled to be making wines for the very winery that my ancestor built, and be part of the next chapter in this important story of Beringer and of the Napa Valley.

Two tours are of interest, the Taste of Beringer Tour, $50 per person plus tax; and the Legacy Cave Tour, $30 per person plus tax. Tours are offered throughout the day, and reservations are recommended.

In the one-hour Taste of Beringer Tour, guests will be introduced to Beringer Vineyard's rich winemaking and culinary arts history. Following a brief walking tour of the property and demonstration vineyard, guests will be seated in the historic Rhine House family kitchen to explore the art of wine and food pairing and to enjoy a specially selected flight of Reserve wines paired with seasonal culinary treats prepared by Beringer's own Hudson House chefs.

Guests of all ages are welcome for the 30-minute Legacy Cave Tour that guides you through the Old Winery and historic tunnels, while exploring Beringer's long history and commitment to quality. Guests 21 and older will taste a selection of three wines during the tour.

The winery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

Castello di Amorosa

4045 St. Helena Highway, Calistoga

707-967-6272

Visit Calistogas authentically built, 13th-century Tuscan castle and winery. You can visit for tasting only or take a guided tour.

By spending $25 for general admission, you may enjoy roaming access on two levels of the winery and a five-wine premium tasting in the winerys main tasting room. No reservations are necessary for groups up to 14 guests. General admission pricing includes a map of the winery, wine tasting, and access to the upper levels of the Castello, including the Main Tasting Bar and Knight's Hall.

Reserve a guided tour ($40 per person) and learn more about the Castello, including the lower levels which feature the torture chamber, armory, and Grand Barrel Room, followed by either a standard tasting of five premium wines in one of the winery's private tasting bars or a reserve tasting with a private tasting of six wines, including low-production, elegant reserve wines. All tours feature a barrel tasting and a complimentary tasting of current releases. The walking tour takes an hour and the tasting takes 45 minutes. Reservations are recommended.

In March 2011, owner Dario Sattui reflected on the history of Castello di Amorosa.

Nearly 20 years ago, I purchased the spectacular property upon which I built Castello di Amorosa. It sat on a 170-acres of forest and hills with a stream, a lake, one of the first houses built in Napa County and a great Victorian home where I chose to live. It was my dream property, culminating a search of many years. The purchase also came with a great building permit for a large winery building which had taken the previous owner 13 years to obtain.

At first, I had no intention of starting another winery -- I already had V. Sattui (in St. Helena). My plan was only to replant historic vineyards there. However, throughout my adult life, I had been fascinated with Italian medieval architecture; and, because of my passion -- some would say obsession -- I had already bought a handful of ancient properties in Italy, including a small castle near Florence (now sold), a medieval monastery near Siena (now being refurbished) and a Medici palace in southern Tuscany, which we are remodeling into a period hotel.

My ideas began to crystallize. I would specialize in making small lots of primarily Italian-style wines, showcase them in an authentic, medieval castle setting and sell them directly to the public, not in stores or restaurants. Since I have never had a television, I had a lot of time on my hands. In early 1994, I embarked on my project. Concurrently with replanting 30 acres of vineyard on the property to sangiovese, cabernet and merlot, I began drawing plans for the winery building.

My initial intent was to build an 8,500 square-foot building without cellars. Gradually it morphed into 121,000 square feet with 107 rooms with four separate levels underground and four levels above!

Calistogas Tuscan castle opened in April 2007.

The winery is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., March through October and from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., November through February.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivered a keynote address at Norway House in Brussels on Tuesday (13 December 2016) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the landmark Three Wise Men Report. Speaking at a conference organised by Carnegie Europe, the Secretary General outlined the importance of political consultation and non-military cooperation in strengthening NATOs unity and cohesion.

Mr. Stoltenberg explained that the Three Wise Men Report  produced by the foreign ministers of Canada, Italy and Norway in December 1956  paved the way for the Alliance we see today: a forum for political consultation and open discussion, as well as a military alliance. The Report put forward a blueprint for more political consultation, as well as increased cultural, economic and scientific relationships within the Alliance. It reinforced NATOs political role and introduced a more cooperative approach to security issues.

The Report helped to change NATO from being almost entirely a military alliance into a political-military alliance, said the Secretary General. The Three Wise Men recognised that Alliance unity is the backbone of NATOs collective defence and deterrence, and that greater unity could only be achieved through increased political consultation and non-military cooperation. Non-military cooperation can be as important for the security of a nation or an alliance as the building of a battleship or the equipping of an army, said Mr. Stoltenberg.
(As delivered)

Norway House, I will start by saying : God morgen alle sammen. That is Norwegian.

And, thanks to the Permanent Representatives of Norway, Canada and Italy for taking the initiative to this event.

And also many thanks to Carnegie Europe for organizing it and for being a think tank which is constantly so focused on the Transatlantic relationship. And as you all know we are now approaching Christmas, so I found it extremely natural that we focused on the three wise men.

But today it is not Caspar, Melchior and Baltazar.

But it is Martino, Pearson and Lange.

And even if I heard a lot of nice things about the report they presented 60 years ago, I think its too much to call it a miracle.

So its not fully or possible to compare it to what happened more than 2000 years ago

but at least it was an important event. But even though the report was not a miracle it has had a great influence on the Alliance and the influence on the alliance cannot be overestimated.

The report in many ways paved the way for the Alliance as we know it today, a political and military alliance, and not just the latter.

Let me just start by a short, brief, personal note or reflection and that is back in 1987 I was the chairman of the Young Labour Party back in Norway. And the young Labour party Norway was strongly against NATO and very much in favour of Norway leaving NATO and that was a very fierce debate going on in Norway, it was probably what we today would have called the NOxit debate in Norway.

But one of the things that I am most proud of from my time, as leader of the Young Labour Party was I was actually able to change the position of the Young Labour Party from being strongly against to actually being in favour. Not knowing, that I would end up as Secretary General, but knowing that one of the most important arguments I used back then was that NATO was not only a military alliance but NATO was also a political alliance where, 20, not 28 or I think it was 16 or something allies, met regularly and also developed common policies and common political positions on many different issues. So, without really knowing it, I was, back in 1987, echoing the message from the report that NATO was not only a military alliance but NATO is also a political Alliance and I used that as one of my strongest arguments for turning the Young Labour Party from being against to being in favour to NATO.

As you have already heard in Norwegian politics, Herve Lange is one of the giants.

He was foreign minister for almost 20 years.

He signed the NATO treaty for Norway.

And like the other Wise Men, he is honored with his own room at NATO headquarters.

In that room I sometimes, hold, sometimes have press conferences and meet the press and I think about the 3 wise men, but I also think of about the fact that I lived in another room which is named after Lange because the residence where he lived for 20 years as Foreign Minister was upgraded to become the permanent residence of the Norwegian Prime Minister so I also lived in that house of Herve Lange for many years until 2013. And it was a nice house but it is sometimes, it is hard to get in there.

So, so, yeah but lets be honest reports from NATO Committees dont generally receive a great deal of public attention. Certainly not 60 years after they were published. Yet this report proved its enduring value.

It deserves to be read and re-read. Studied and re-studied.

Not as history.

But as a living document with a great deal to offer us in our own time.

NATO itself deserves credit for launching this report.

The North Atlantic Council knew something was missing, something had to be done to strengthen the organization.

It took courage -- and wisdom  to embark on this internal review process.

To ask the necessary questions.

The report helped to change NATO from being almost entirely a military alliance into a political-military alliance.

That might sound like a subtle difference.

But it has made a profound difference.

The Three Wise Men helped to ensure that NATO is what it is today.

That our Alliance has continued to adapt.

And remains as important as ever.

We are first and foremost a defence alliance dedicated to the security of our nations and our people.

But the long-term cohesion and durability of our alliance goes far beyond military matters.

In reference to NATOs Article 5 commitment, the Report makes clear that there must be a whole-hearted acceptance by all members in the political commitment to collective defence.

And there must be confidence in the will and ability that all members will honor that commitment in response to aggression.

These words are important and they are relevant and important also today.

Our commitment to Article 5 remains as strong today as it was 60 years ago.

And, as the Three Wise Men wisely recognized, Alliance unity is the backbone of our deterrence and defence.

They also saw that greater unity could only come about through increased political consultation.

Increased cultural, economic and scientific relationships.

And increased public understanding and support for the Alliance.

A culture of political consultation on a wide range of non-military issues and military challenges combined with a wide range of non-military relationships have helped the Alliance adapt to changing security challenges.

Consultation leads to more listening and learning.

And to greater political understanding among Allies and partners.

This has also contributed to consensus-building within the Alliance.

And this strengthens NATOs unity and cohesion.

And you can see this in our engagement from the Western Balkans to Afghanistan.

When NATO makes a political commitment, we keep our word.

We do what we promise to do.

Over the past few years, NATO has responded with unity and determination to the most serious challenges in a generation.

We are undertaking the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War.

These are political decisions, reached by consensus, by NATO political leadership.

In close consultation with our military commanders.

We remain firmly committed to a two-track approach to Russia.

Strong deterrence and defence coupled with meaningful political dialogue.

And Allies have committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence within a decade.

Again, this is a political commitment, based on a strong consensus within NATO.

And we are now implementing that commitment.

And let me just underline for a moment, the importance of delivering on the defence investment pledge, because the reality is that we need capabilities that we can finance by more investments in defence, but we also need the cohesion and the strengthening of the Transatlantic Bond that will follow when European allies and Canada invest more in defence and, we have a long way to go but, I am actually impressed by the fact that we have turned a corner.

And after many years of decline in defence spending across Europe and Canada, we are now seeing that, at least on average, that defence spending in Europe has started to increase again and this year expect 3% real increase in defence spending which is an important step in the right direction.

The picture is still mixed but is better than it was just 2 years ago when it comes to defence spending.

We also made a commitment to step up efforts to project stability beyond our borders.

Through more capacity building, training and political dialogue for partners.

And we have the momentum for closer NATO-EU cooperation.

All of this shows the positive role of NATOs culture of political consultation and consensus decision-making.

Consensus is not always easy. And sometimes it may take a lot of time;

And I can see a lot of people in the room that knows everything about that.

But consensus is the basis for the strength of the Alliance and when 28 democracies come to consensus, we can move forward and take action as a strong Alliance.

So consensus and unity are two sides of the same coin.

Thanks to the insights and the recommendations of the Three Wise Men, NATO became a more adaptive political organization.

The essence of the Committees wisdom boils down to this:

Non-military cooperation can be as important for the security of a nation or an alliance as the building of a battleship or the equipping of an army.

***

We are all grateful that the Three Wise Men put forward a blueprint for more consultation to achieve greater unity in the Alliance.

By recognizing the importance of non-military cooperation.

By building on the core values that unite members of the Alliance.

And by pointing the way toward creating a true Atlantic community.

Our duty is to carry out that work.

To keep this unique political and military Alliance between Europe and North America strong, flexible and united.

So we can preserve peace and security for our nations for the next decades.

JUDY DEMPSEY (MODERATOR): If you look ahead how do you really see the NATO-EU relationship developing?

JENS STOLTENBERG (NATO Secretary General): I see the NATO-EU relationship really developing in a positive way. I think thats something that we have achieved together, NATO and the European Union, on many different levels from the top political leadership in EU, working with the leadership in NATO, with me, and staff-to-staff talks.

We have really been able to strengthen that political cooperation between NATO and the European Union. We have just agreed, last week, on a package, we endorsed, a package for more than 40 concrete measures on how to further strengthen our cooperation on a wide range of different topics. And NATO-EU cooperation has always been important but, in many ways I think its even more important now, because we face new kinds of security threats which, which are this combination of military and non-military means of aggression, hybrid cyber threats, really calls upon the joint efforts of NATO and European Union so we work there and we also have seen the will in the European Union to strengthen European defense. We welcome that but, of course, it has to be done in a way which is not competing with NATO, but complimentary, so all this calls upon more NATO-EU cooperation and, we are really delivering and, Im quite impressed by the way we have been able to move forward.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Do you, you brought up this issue, I mean, do you worry about the competitiveness, I mean, frankly, both, both organizations do compete with each other in some ways, whether nobody wants to say this inside NATO or EU, but theyre both completely different culture mindsets, but do you really think that, I mean how would you work in detail, would one do the soft part, would the other do the hard part, how would, whats the nature of this complementarity?

JENS STOLTENBERG: EU has its own capabilities and NATO has some capabilities but none, but none of us have all the tools to respond to all the different security challenges we are faced with. So, therefore, if we combine we are able to provide a formidable force and thats exactly what we do. For instance, when we address hybrid threats, one of the things we have done is to develop a playbook describing whos going to do what. If one of our member countries are under hybrid attacks, we need to defend infrastructure, we need to look at energy security, we need to defend our cyber networks. EU has some capabilities, we have some capabilities, we have to make sure that they work together. NATO has some unique capabilities for instance, when it comes to collective defense, major military operations, we have the command structure, which the European Union do not have; but I think that we have a much more relaxed relationship to these issues now, than my impression was the case, ten or twenty years ago.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Indeed.

JENS STOLTENBERG: So its easier to work together.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Do you think the EU should have its own command structure?

JENS STOLTENBERG: The EU should not develop command structures which are shaped-like or, compete with, NATO. They need of course the ability to plan and to conduct a kind of military presence which we have seen. The EU has, for instance, in parts of Africa, but its absolutely possible to do that without competing or establishing something which is competing with, or parallel structures of, NATO. And my impression after attending several NATO, sorry EU Ministerial meetings, but also Im going to make, on Thursday I will attend a NATO, sorry the European Union Summit and I and I have what they have told me, again and again, the EU leaders, is that this is not about creating a European Army; this is not about competing with NATO; this is not about creating parallel command structures; but this is about strengthening European defense and strong European defense that is something NATO is in favour of because we have asked the Europeans to invest more in capabilities, to increase defense spending, to coordinate more their efforts, that will strengthen Europe, the European Union and NATO, and therefore, I welcome it as long as we avoid the pitfalls where the European Union start to compete with NATO.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Now Im intrigued by this answer. Now, imagine if you told a teenager this, having EU defense ambitions, you have NATO, imagine if a teenager said to you, well why dont you just join together.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Well, I have tried twice to convince Norway to join the European Union and that was not a success. [laughter]

So thats the problem with democracy, so there is that, you cannot just decide in Brussels. There are some people out there and they have different views on, for instance, both NATO and the European Union.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Oh yes. Oh yes.

JENS STOLTENBERG: So, so the reality is that, reality is that Canada and the United States, theyll never become members of the European Union, but they of course contribute to Europe, the security of Europe. Norway well, [chuckles] we can try, good luck but Ive lost two referendums so I know exactly how to lose and not to win them.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yes.

JENS STOLTENBERG: And then, and then, you have Turkey. So the thing is, that there are 6 allies, Norway, Iceland in the north, Canada, United States in the west, Albania and Turkey in the southeast, which all are essential for the security of Europe. Eighty percent of NATOs defense spending after Brexit

JUDY DEMPSEY: After Brexit.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Will be non-EU. The EU four battalions which well have in the Eastern part of the alliance will be led by non-EU allies, so there is no way we cannot, we have to work together to protect Europe.

JUDY DEMPSEY: But just before we end this discussion on the EU nation and I see our Turkish Ambassador here, I wasnt actually thinking of those not in EU joining the EU, those in NATO or those not in the EU, joining NATO; I was thinking of maybe a different kind of Atlanticist construction. Im just, just throwing out the idea before my next (inaudible) question.

JENS STOLTENBERG: But what we said last week when we agreed at the NATO Foreign Ministerial meeting on this 40 more than 42 concrete measures was that this is the beginning.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Okay.

JENS STOLTENBERG: This is not the end. So now we have delivered the package, we will implement that package and you have to remember that just this year we have been able to agree on a technical arrangement when it comes to cyber cooperation between NATO and the EU. We have reached agreement on how to work together with the European Union in the Aegean Sea, this is two formal arrangements this year and that is more than agreed with the European Union over the last decade. So we are making progress in NATO-EU cooperation and maybe that we should create big Council sometime in the future but so so so so that will be later on.

JUDY DEMPSEY: By the way you never, you never did mention, you were quite modest, you never did mention that you negotiated the Norwegian border deal with Russia.

JENS STOLTENBERG: No, but Russia is not member of the European Union. So

JUDY DEMPSEY: No. [laughter] No, NATO, no NATO. But it was about; it brings me to my next question.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Yeah, yeah yeah.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Now its interesting, the Warsaw Summit and the Global, the EU Global Plan, the Global Action Plan, both of them make references to resilience and resilience has different meanings but, as an EU citizen and, although my country is not in NATO, but thats another story, I mean resilience is not just about outside our neighbourhood, its about being able to recover quickly in an event, not it it doesnt even have to be a terrorist attack but an explosion of some sort, the degradation of the railway system, what the enormous effect would have on Western democracies. Is NATO ready for this resilience?

JENS STOLTENBERG: Yes, and we are stepping up our efforts because we see more threats and challenges related to, for instance, civilian infrastructure and again, this is an area where we work closely together with the European Union, but recently we we, we agreed on guidelines for how to have this necessary resilience and and, and sustainability of our different kinds of civilian infrastructure, energy, the continuation of government and cyber and so on. So these, these are issues which we are now also doing more to address. Resilience was one of the key issues we addressed at the Warsaw Summit, so we are ready, but we also understand that we need to do more, so thats something we are working on.

JUDY DEMPSEY: But you brought up this this consensus thing, I dont mean to call it a thing.

JENS STOLTENBERG: No, no.

JUDY DEMPSEY: But this consensus, you know, you know how debilitating

JENS STOLTENBERG: Yeah, yeah.

JUDY DEMPSEY: You know how debilitating it is but, imagine if if part of the railway or airport system was destroyed, wheres, how, how could NATO and the EU, particularly NATO, kick in really quickly to respond to this?

JENS STOLTENBERG: So, first of all the first responders is always the nation and the whole idea is to enable them to take care of their own railway systems or ports or whatever it is. So, and and but then, of course, both NATO and the EU have different capabilities to assist and help different member nations, partly by providing guidelines to set some kind of standards for what kind of quality and what kind of systems the different nations have to have in place, to to protect their systems and to re-establish them if they are under attack.

And thats especially when it comes to cyber. We have developed that by also having teams in NATO being able to deploy quickly (inaudible) to member State and help them to protect their cyber systems if they are under attack. But the main focus is always what can we do to enable nations to protect their own systems and to have the quality on the infrastructure which which is good enough.

JUDY DEMPSEY: This is really interesting; you mentioned the cyber security issue. Given the whole, the constant worries by the Baltic States particularly, but weve seen it with the German Bundesbank, we have seen what has happened to the communication system there, last week the Deutsche telecom was attacked, do you think Article 5 should be updated to include this idea of cyber security because these nations are threatened and they are coming under a new kind of modern attack. Should Article 5 be updated?

JENS STOLTENBERG: Article 5 is already updated because NATO is a modern alliance and we have agreed that a cyber-attack can trigger our collected defense. So actually cyber-attack is now regarded as serious, as a conventional or other kind of military attack, because we know that cyber-attack can destroy infrastructure, it can also cause

JUDY DEMPSEY: Absolutely.

JENS STOLTENBERG: It can also cause the casualties, human casualties, so we have already defined cyber as a, that cyber-attacks can trigger Article 5. But more than that, we also decided at the Warsaw Summit in July that we will establish cyber as a military domain, we have sea, land and air and now we also have cyber because its impossible to imagine a military conflict without the cyber dimension. And we have to be able to protect our own networks being when we are in operations in Afghanistan or in Kosovo and any military conflict will have a cyber-dimension. So so cyber is part of Article 5.

JUDY DEMPSEY: But to have, thats interesting you dont have to change the text of Article 5, clearly, but its implied.

JENS STOLTENBERG: No.

JUDY DEMPSEY: If you, if you say that NATO is prepared for this and updating it, I wonder about this, what about the interoperability issue because one of the weaknesses of NATO is in fact the, not the lack, thats far to strong, but interoperability is a problem, not only between the European allies but particularly between some of the European allies and the United States. I mean dont, this all plays into resilience and cyber-security, do you worry about the lack of or the this issue of interoperability?

JENS STOLTENBERG: I will not say Im worried, but I am, we are focused and we are very much aware of the importance of interoperability and as I said interoperability is perhaps is one of the most important tasks of NATO to make sure that forces from 28 nations soon to be 29

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yes.

JENS STOLTENBERG: And also with partner nations are able to really work together and to fight together and that needs a very high degree of interoperability both when it comes to equipment that equipment can work together

JUDY DEMPSEY: Thats right.

JENS STOLTENBERG: But also command, control that we understand when we talk to each other and and of course we always have, what should I say, room for improvements, but I think that one of the lessons we learned for instance in Afghanistan, a big military operation where hundreds of thousands of soldiers from European or from NATO allied countries and partners participated, we learned that we we we had to develop better interoperability and actually have been able to do so, partly based on big military operations like Afghanistan, but also more and more training. So one of the reasons why we are now doing more exercises is to increase our ability to, to work very closely together.

JUDY DEMPSEY: But interoperability is just not about military capabilities and making things click together, its also about, I suppose, the interoperability of trust, I mean, and intelligence sharing, and lets leave aside the EU intelligence as a different matter. I mean the intelligence sharing is a problem inside NATO?

JENS STOLTENBERG: So, of course we can be better, and thats the reason why we have just established a new division in NATO and a division which is only going to be working with intelligence; and we and we are just appointed a new Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and the reason that we have established a new division and the reason why we are going to have a new Assistant Secretary General, already appointed him, is that we can do more when it comes to both improve the way we collect intelligence, but also the way we share and understand and analyze intelligence. And thats that again has always been important, but in the more unpredictable and more uncertain security environment with all the instability we see in Iraq, Syria, North Africa and and around NATO, of course the importance of early warning, the importance of situational awareness, the importance of sharing intelligence has just become even more important.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yes, but I mean this where the Three Wise Men report is still relevant because they they discussed in detail the idea of trust and the lack of trust, but intelligence requires trust and you know frankly it would be hard to see, I see Ambassador Luc there, hello Ambassador it would be hard to imagine you know maybe the Americans sharing intelligence with certain other NATO countries. I mean this this this isnt there yet the full, trust is a very difficult commodity in any case but you, a little bit more trust is needed inside NATO.

JENS STOLTENBERG: But you know, NATO is the most successful military alliance in history and that is because we have made the strong political commitment to defend each other, to stand together and to provide the necessary deterrence to prevent the conflict. The reason for NATO to be strong, is not because we want to provoke a conflict, but because we know that as long as we are strong, as long as we are united we, we prevent the conflict and of course if we trust each other to fight together, then we should also trust each other to share intelligence and we are sharing intelligence and also some big allies, which of course have more intelligence than smaller allies, actually I know about one small ally which has a lot of intelligence up North.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yes. [laughter] And youre not going to share it.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Oh I think(inaudible)

JUDY DEMPSEY: It depends, case by case.

JENS STOLTENBERG: sharing it too, yeah. But but but so we have mechanisms and assistance for sharing intelligence but of course always some nations would perhaps keep some intelligence just for themselves, but but we have developed, we have long history of sharing intelligence much more than any other international institution or organization.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Well thats not much of a comparison because other international organizations are different.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Thats true.

JUDY DEMPSEY: You know so

JENS STOLTENBERG: But I just used an example

JUDY DEMPSEY: So I mean I cant let you

JENS STOLTENBERG: but of course it sounded good. [laughter]

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yes, now since you bring in this the North and the intelligence it brings us to Russia because this all feeds into resilience, cyber warfare, hybrid warfare. First of all the easy question inside NATO is there now a common threat perception about Russia?

JENS STOLTENBERG: Yes, and more important it is a common agreement on how to approach Russia based on the strong message from Warsaw that we want a strong, firm alliance delivering the necessary defense and deterrence but at the same time striving for more constructive and cooperative relationship with Russia, keeping the channels for political dialogue open and and and trying to keep tensions down, avoid escalating the situation and and avoiding a new Cold War or a new arms race. This is a balance, this is a this is not always easy but we have a very strong united position in NATO that that is what we are working for and and I have many times used my own experience as a Norwegian politician but even during the coldest period of the Cold War Norway bordering Soviet Union and then later Russia were able to have a pragmatic working relationship with Russia on energy, on border relations, on military matters, on on vis-a-vis travel, on fishing quotas and a lot of things and that was not not despite of Norways membership in in NATO but it was because of NATO, Norways membership in NATO because that provided the predictability, the platform for a small nation as NATO to engage with with Russia. That benefitted Norway, but it also benefitted Russia and, for instance, when we agreed on the borderline up in the Baron Sea now both, Russia and Norway, is exploring for oil up there which would not have been possible without a borderline. So this is good for Russia and Norway, good for everyone.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yes. Well since you bring up Norway, I mean then it brings up the whole Arctic issue which I presume will become a political discussion inside NATO.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Yeah, but the Arctic issue is I think you have to remember that in the Arctic area we have seen more military presence we have seen also more Russian military presence.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yes.

JENS STOLTENBERG: But at the same time I think the Arctic issue is also an area or an area where we have been able to maintain cooperation and maintain maintain a relatively low level of tensions. I know that several NATO allies, Canada and the United States, Norway, Denmark work closely with Russia in the Arctic Council.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yeah, yeah.

JENS STOLTENBERG: The Norwegian Army meet every week with the Russian Army the 6th Fleet up in the North and discuss search and rescue and other issues so in the Arctic area we have managed, in close cooperation with Russia, to at least avoid the same tensions and problems we have seen in other parts of Europe.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Umm Secretary General Im going to stop now because Im sure everybody wants to ask you questions and I didnt mention the T-word by the way, no doubt somebody will want, Trans-Atlanticism, Trump-Atlanticism. So, if anybody likes, we have five minutes were going to stick to a very tight schedule. One question identifies a first year, second year, third year, yes please. Keep it, yes you and keep it, identify yourself, keep it very direct we have very little time. Thank you. Yeah, over there Marie back at the back. And the question here, raise your hand again.

Q: Thank you very much my name is Mohammad Raje-Baraquette (sic). What do you think about the liberation of Aleppo by Syrian Army, Russians? Dont you think that as Europeans we have to be happy that Russia and Syrian Army are fighting against ISIS, ISIS and the others are our enemies, but I noticed that its not the case, thank you very much?

JUDY DEMPSEY: Okay, next well take Secretary, well take the next question please identify yourself.

Q: Hi, thank you very much. My name is Doctor (inaudible) and Im happy to bring up the T-word.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Yeah.

Q: As you mentioned. There is some anxiety about the incoming Trump administration and thats U.S. ties to its European allies might weaken. So since the topic was civil non-military cooperation so what can NATO do to ensure that unity among its European allies will be strong, despite of what happens across the Atlantic?

JUDY DEMPSEY: Thank you. And the third question here then we go on to another group of questions. Thank you.

Q: Julian Barnes with the Wall Street Journal. To follow up on your cyber question: could interference in a political election by a foreign power constitute an Article 5 situation?

JUDY DEMPSEY: Great, thank you Julian. Thank you very much. [laughter, talking] So, Secretary General I think we should work backwards, the cyber security Article 5.

JENS STOLTENBERG: So first of all, any any interference, outside interference in a democratic election is of course unacceptable and its important that all facts will also will also will have all facts on the table but it is up to the United States and the U.S. authorities now to decide the next steps on how to look into the alleged meddling or interference in the U.S. elections. What I can say is that we have seen more and more reports about States being behind cyber-attacks against NATO allies and thats one of the reasons why we are stepping up our efforts to strengthen our cyber defenses to strengthen the cyber defenses of NATO networks but also help allies to strengthen their defenses. And one important part of that is of course to develop the techniques to make sure that we are able to attribute whos behind, because thats one of the important and difficult challenges related to cyber-attacks is that not, not always known whos attacking you so attribution is a key issue and one of the key challenges we are addressing.

JUDY DEMPSEY: And youre reassuring the, the European allies reassuring the other side.

JENS STOLTENBERG: The Trans-Atlantic bond, yeah. First of all, we are an alliance of democracies and in democracies people elect different political leaders, coming from different political parties that has always been the case in NATO and we have seen different political leaders from different political families disagreeing on many different issues and that will always be the case in an alliance of 28 democracies. So, different views, open debates, discussions, disagreements is not a sign of weakness it is a sign of strength as long as we are able to agree on the most important thing and that is that we stand together and defend each other. And that has been the case and Im absolutely, for almost seven decades and Im absolutely certain that will continue to be the case. Yes there are different views, different opinions but yes we are always able to agree on the core task of NATO to defend each other and Im absolutely certain that the U.S. will continue to maintain its NATO commitments.

JUDY DEMPSEY: May we look forward to the Brussels, look forward to the Brussels Summit. Question, the ISIS question please.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Ah, sorry, Aleppo. Aleppo is a humanitarian catastrophe which has become even worse because of the new offensive by the Assad regime supported by Russia. The important thing now is to do whatever possible to have a cease-fire a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible and then enable resumption of humanitarian aid and have a cease-fire which can be then the first step towards a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Would you have time for another set, to be very brief I promise?

JENS STOLTENBERG: Yeah, very brief.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Thank you, okay. Three more questions. One here, second and okay theres only two, I think thats probably (inaudible) yes.

Q: Thank you Im Pauline Massaud from Friends of Europe (sic). Secretary General you mentioned resilience obviously, and you mentioned that we are 28 democracies but were seeing very, very dangerous path being taken throughout several allies, it would be too easy to focus only on Turkey, does NATO have a plan for resilience for when we are still 28 but not all democracies?

JUDY DEMPSEY: Okay, and there was a question near you Pauline, somebody put up their hand, yes please.

Q: Tom Savard (sic) Professor from University of Antwerp here in Belgium. About nuclear weapons policy also more political than military maybe. Now all NATO member States are also members of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, they have the obligations to start negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons. Now in 2017 unilateral negotiations will be started up for Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty first step towards elimination in the United Nations. How do you explain that all NATO member States except the Netherlands voted against the proposal a couple of weeks ago?

JUDY DEMPSEY: Thank you. No, okay Im going to stop here. Will you take the nuclear question then

JENS STOLTENBERG: Yeah, because we believe that the best way to address the important issue of nuclear disarmament is to use existing tools like for instance Non-Proliferation Treaty. We think to establish other as I say platforms will only undermine the important work which takes place in the NPT. So, so NATO has clearly stated that we will remain a nuclear alliance as long as there are nuclear weapons in the world but we have also stated that our long term goal is a world without nuclear weapons, but we dont believe, but we do not believe that a world becomes safer if we have unilateral nuclear disarmament so NATO and the NATO allies especially the United States have actually been able to agree on substantial reductions in the number of nuclear warheads and we are, and the United States has also clearly conveyed the message that theyre ready to continue to reduce but it has to be a balanced reduction. So we dont believe that to establish other platforms for addressing the same issue will make it easier, actually it will make that work more difficult.

JUDY DEMPSEY: And we want to get the last question, resilience and democracies.

JENS STOLTENBERG: So we are always in favour of resilience among all NATO allies and and, I dont know exactly what you are hinting at, but, democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty are core values for NATO and I have stressed the importance of respecting these core values in my meetings with many NATO leaders and they are important because, Im absolutely certain that in the long run, open democratic societies are more resilient than closed autocratic societies. So, I really believe that democracy will win because we are stronger when we are open and democratic than we try to be autocratic and not respect democratic values.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Your time is up, thank you for giving us an extra round. Everybody will remain seated. Thank you very much Secretary General. [applause]

JENS STOLTENBERG: Thank you.

JUDY DEMPSEY: Thank you Secretary, thank you, thank you. [applause]
The Norwegian Ministry of Defence announced in April 2016 that DCNS was shortlisted as one of the two potential candidates for the replacement of its submarine fleet. As historical partner of Norway, DCNS proposes the sea proven design of its Scorpene submarine as a possible option to replace the in-service Ula-class submarines of the Norwegian Navy. The Group benefits from the strong support of French authorities. As a NATO ally, France is committed to strengthening its strategic cooperation with Norway. The sea proven Scorpene Norway represents the state-of-the-art in submarine design and construction. It benefits from the latest technologies developed for submarines operated by the French Navy, including the latest Barracuda technologies to ensure to the Royal Norwegian Navy an acoustic advantage for the challenges it has to face in the High North.



Norwegian and French Companies from the defense sector have been invited to deepen the discussions already ongoing regarding a various scope of Land, Air and Sea systems. The organization of thematic workshops has been the occasion to focus on technological partnerships around specific projects and technical areas. Those following working meetings are part of the Industrial Cooperation Plan process and a key step to reach the signature of fruitful partnerships between French and Norwegian companies in 2017, in continuation of the intense networking that started in 2016.



DCNS has a long and strong experience in designing and building advanced submarines for the French Navy and international clients, including when it comes to industrial participation and is fully aware of the Norwegian Stortinget expectations. DCNS and its French partners are proposing a high value cooperation plan to Norwegian Industry that will allow to address the international market together on a long term partnership based on the eight technological axis defined by the Norwegian Ministry of defence.



The successful partnership between Norway and DCNS started in the 1980s with the Hauk program, maneuverable patrol boats. In 2003, the Royal Norwegian Navy selected DCNS in partnership with Norwegian KDA and UMOE Mandal to build the new Skjold-class FPBs vessels As a supplier of NATO forces,, the Group provided Norway with wider opportunities and improved naval capabilities.



With Scorpene Norway, DCNS hopes to build a new step in its successful cooperation track record with the Royal Norwegian Navy and with the Norwegian industry.
Complexities Some of the complexities that can shape a woman's encounter with breast cancer: Youth

Breast cancer in women younger than 40 makes up less than five percent of all cases diagnosed in the United States, but this group has made up nine percent of Winship breast cancer patients in the last two years. Breast cancer treatment in younger women also brings with it unique concerns, including its affect on family planning. Chemotherapy and Pregnancy

Pregnancy has a complex relationship with breast cancer risk. The hormones of pregnancy, such as estrogen, are thought to speed up breast cancer growth, although having children early in life also lowers the risk of developing breast cancer later. Sometimes a breast cancer diagnosis interrupts a woman's family planning in a more direct way, such as when a woman is diagnosed while pregnant. Recurrence

Once estrogen-responsive breast cancers relapse, they can be difficult to treat. The FDA recently approved a drug combination that attacks such cancer a different way may keep it at bay. Racial Disparities

Black women diagnosed with breast cancer in Georgia are 29 to 32 percent more likely to die from this disease than white women diagnosed with breast cancer in Georgia. This disparity can be attributed to some biological factors, such as black women being diagnosed with more aggressive subtypes of breast cancer, but access to screening and quality care may play a role.

Kristen Sheubrooks was 34 years old, the mother of a boy in preschool and a baby girl, when she received a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. She knew she was at high risk for the disease, but the timing seemed especially horrible, she says. "We had to explain that Mommy would be tired a lot, and that my hair would look different," Sheubrooks says. Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50 are usually recommended to undergo genetic testing. Sheubrooks did not need to struggle with this decision. Since her mother had breast cancer twice, Sheubrooks and her sister had been tested already and both were found to be BRCA carriers.

She had been having regular preventive screenings, alternating MRI and mammogram, every six months since her 20s. A second pregnancy in 2014 broke up that routine. When her daughter was five months old, she felt a lump in her breast. While getting it checked, she learned that a spot also had been detected on her liver.



Her local Georgia doctors recommended that she come to the Glenn Family Breast Center at Winship Cancer Institute and enroll on a clinical trial designed specifically for BRCA carriers with metastatic breast cancer. Doctors she consulted in New York advised the same thing. The trial is testing an experimental drug called veliparib, in combination with two standard chemotherapy drugs, carboplatin and paclitaxel. Researchers think that BRCA-linked cancers, in particular, may be more sensitive to this drug.



When Sheubrooks started on chemotherapy, it felt like "the worst stomach flu you can imagine, times ten," she says. But anti-nausea medications helped and later her drug regimen was adjusted to allow for the least toxicity while she remains on the study.



Sheubrooks does not know whether she has been receiving veliparib, rather than placebo, but she is willing to guess that she has, because her response to the medication regimen was so dramatic. The lump in her breast is now undetectable, while the spot on her liver has been barely detectable for a few months, she reports.



Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40 tend to develop more aggressive cancers. And BRCA1 carriers are more likely to develop triple negative breast cancer (see definition in sidebar). These are complicating factors doctors know about. But every woman fighting breast cancer faces choices.



The care teams at Winship's Glenn Family Breast Center have the experience and training to advise women on the choices they must make, and to design treatment regimens for their unique circumstances.

Youth

One of those "unique circumstances," breaking any sort of "one size fits all" approach, is that of young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer in women younger than 40 makes up less than five percent of all cases diagnosed in the United States, but this group has made up nine percent of Winship breast cancer patients in the last two years. Most young women do not get annual mammograms, so these cancers tend to be more advanced due in part to the fact that they go undetected until a patient or physician feels a lump during a physical exam. Even when comparing cancers at the same stage, breast cancers that occur in younger women tend to be less likely to be treatable with hormone therapy, and have a higher risk of recurrence and metastasis.

Breast cancer treatment in younger women also brings with it unique concerns. Chemotherapy as well as endocrine therapy (such as tamoxifen) can affect ovarian function, resulting in irregular periods and contributing to early menopause. That cuts into time a woman may have planned for pregnancy and childbirth. Early menopause can affect a younger woman's health in other ways, such as reduced bone density.



"Our team approach can provide benefits to women who have these needs," says Mylin Torres, a radiation oncologist and director of the Glenn Family Breast Center at Winship. "We make sure they have quick access to fertility consultation, genetic counseling, or a plastic surgeon, so there's minimal delay in starting their cancer treatment."

Winship oncologist Jane Meisel describes a patient in her 20s, whom she advised to consider measures to preserve fertility. The patient began crying and said that two other doctors she had visited had not brought up the topic.

"These are the patients who keep me up at night," Meisel says.

Winship patients who need a consultation on fertility can usually obtain an appointment within 24 hours, says Jessica Spencer, medical director of Emory's Reproductive Center. Options include egg or embryo preservation, drugs that may be able to reduce the ovaries' exposure to chemotherapy, and alternatives such as adoption or surrogacy.

In addition, younger women diagnosed with breast cancer are advised that they should undergo genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. While BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are rare in the general population (estimated at 1/400 to 1/800 women), the relative likelihood goes up when someone has breast cancer at a young age.



For Tracey Monday, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was just 26, the question of genetic risk had some sharp teeth, because her mother had undergone treatment for ovarian cancer just a couple of years before. As Monday was preparing to start chemotherapy, her mother's cancer came back. Her genetic testing did turn up a BRCA variant, but it was not identified as a contributor to breast cancer risk.



A recent survey of young breast cancer survivors throughout Georgia, conducted by Winship genetic researcher Cecelia Bellcross and colleagues, found that only half reported being referred or recommended for genetic counseling. A companion survey of Georgia doctors also found gaps in health providers' understanding of breast cancer genetic risk, says Bellcross, who has developed online tools to help women decide whether to undergo genetic testing.



"Many women think: 'I've already had breast cancer. What difference does it make?'" says Bellcross. "What they don't realize is that with BRCA, there's an increased risk of a second breast cancer, or ovarian cancer. They don't want to have to go through this a second time."
21:49

India's decision to ban old Rs 500/1000 banknotes from circulation is likely to have a negative impact on Nepal's economy, with the country being heavily reliant on India for remittances and trade, said a report.

"With the landlocked nation struggling to rebuild following the devastating earthquake and aftershocks in 2015, the disruption in funds from India is likely to weigh on ongoing reconstruction efforts," the report by BMI Research said.

The Fitch group company also downgraded its growth forecast for Nepal for 2016-17 (July 16 2016-July 15 2017) to 2.2 per cent from 2.5 per cent previously.

The report further said that India's sudden decision to remove its Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will continue to have a negative impact on ordinary Nepalese with Nepal being heavily reliant on India for trade, jobs, and foreign aid.

"With many Nepalese having part of their savings in rupees and the Nepalese rupee being pegged to the INR, the removal of 86 per cent of the total bills in circulation in India will likely continue to have spillover effects on its

smaller neighbour," it said.

The demonetisation move by India has led to considerable uncertainty in Nepal as only those in India are eligible to exchange their old banknotes for new ones, it said.

This will undermine economic growth in the nation that is dependent on external funding as it seeks to rebuild homes and buildings destroyed in the massive 2015 earthquake and aftershocks, the report added.
NEW DELHI: In a bid to digitally transform the Indian manufacturing industry, Microsoft on Monday showcased three Internet of Things (IoT) solutions here.

The three solutions that are powered by Microsoft Azure Cloud are offered by three startups -- Precimetrix, Teramatrix and Covacsis Technologies -- to help manufacturing industries develop digital and predictive insights.

"Our complete suite of technology solutions including Azure Machine Learning, Cortana Intelligence Suite and IoT solutions suite as well as our partners are capable of supporting any manufacturer of any size transform digitally," Narendra Bhandari, General Manager (Developer Experience) Microsoft, told reporters here.

Covacsis helps build tailor-made customer experiences by harnessing data and draw actionable insights to achieve a segment of one.

"Our solution is agnostic to sectors and automation profile of manufacturers. Covacsis's Integrated Plant Framework (IPF) transforms a factory into digital factory in less than six weeks without any capital expenditure," said Tarun Mishra, CEO, Covacsis Technologies.

Precimetrix offers IoT and analytics to enable real-time process management and actionable analytics to improve productivity.

To enable companies to connect with their fixed or mobile infrastructure and analyse the data streams emanating from them, Teramatrix offers an IoT software platform.

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Burundi edges closer to the abyss in 2016

UF emeritus professor of political science Rene Lemarchand explains why the overpopulated and corrupt state of Burundi, which shares an ethnic map similar to Rwanda, appears on a collision course toward increased political instability.

Burundis President Pierre Nkurunziza was hardly a household name. That was before he turned his country into a hellhole following his unconstitutional decision in 2015 to run for a third term.

Burundi is an overpopulated and immensely corrupt state. It shares much the same ethnic map as Rwanda. But it hardly attracted a fraction of the attention claimed by its neighbour to the north during and after the 1994 genocide. If anything, its principal claim to fame was that it successfully managed its transition to multi-party democracy after a vicious 10-year civil war.

The key to this remarkable achievement was a power-sharing arrangement. The arrangement gave a share of executive and legislative power to the two principal, and once bitterly antagonistic, ethnic communities, the Hutu and Tutsi. The Tutsi account for approximately 30%  this is a guesstimate as no reliable recent census figures are available  of a population of some ten million.

At first, the experiment seemed highly promising. It was formalised in the Arusha accords of 2000, and later enshrined in the 2005 constitution. It offered a striking counter-example to Rwandas tragic destinies. It all went well until the failed coup of May 13 2015. The coup was a desperate attempt by a group of dissident officers to seize power by force. The light was shone on the regimes savagery. The precipitating factor was Nkurunzizas decision to run for a third term, in violation of the constitution.

The Burundi enigma

Burundi today seems dangerously close to a Rwanda-like scenario. The Tutsi minority was targeted once again as a potential victim of genocidal violence. On closer inspection, the events of 2016 reveal a more ambivalent state of affairs. A significant number of Tutsi elites, civil servants, army men, journalists and human rights activists have been killed by pro-regime elements. Scores of Tutsi women have been raped.

But the same could be said of the hundreds of Hutu victims. One cant ignore the large number of extra-judicial killings committed by anti-Nkurunziza rebels. These are opponents of Nkurunziza and both Hutu or Tutsi are targets.

Since 2015, at least 1,000 people have been killed. Thousands of others have been arbitrarily arrested and tortured. An estimated 330,000 have fled their homeland to neighbouring states.

But we have to be cautious in speaking of a straight Hutu-Tutsi confrontation. The conflict is not strictly speaking ethnic. Its political. It revolves around the pro- and anti-Nkurunzizas third term option.

At the heart of the Burundi enigma lies a paradox. This is the power-sharing formula devised in the Arusha accords  the critical element behind the transition to democracy  and it still holds. Nonetheless, everything points to a diffuse yet distinctly anti-Tutsi political climate.

Hutu takeover

Today 60% of government positions and parliamentary seats are controlled by Hutu and 40% by Tutsi. The army, as prescribed by the constitution, is evenly split between Hutu and Tutsi, each accounting for 50% of the officer corps and troops. Left out of the accounting, however, is:

The growing number of Hutu hard-liners in positions of authority

The presence of parallel security organisations under tight Hutu control

The systematic clamping down on civil society organisations, and

The climate of pervasive fear created by the omnipresent Hutu-dominated youth militia known as imbonerakure.

Burundi is seen by many as alarmingly close to the edge of the abyss. Given the salience of such informal control mechanisms this is hardly surprising. Such is the consensus of most Burundi experts. Their views are corroborated by the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues report, the 2016 report of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, many Human Rights Watch reports and the international media.

A bleak future

But what adds to the sense of pessimism is such actions as the appointment of notorious hard-liners to key positions.

For example, General Evariste Ndayishimiyes appointment as the secretary general of the Conseil National pour la Defense de la Democratie-Forces pour la Defense de la Democratie  the current ruling party in Burundi. This leaves few doubts about the intransigence of the regime. He is known to be a tough-minded general and viscerally anti-Tutsi.

Ethnicity is becoming more noticeable as a policy issue. A growing number of Tutsi elements have been excluded from key government positions. In February of 2016 some 700 Tutsi troops were forced into early retirement. The police force and the ruling partys youth wing, now undergoing regular military training, have become virtually mono-ethnic, and so too the security units operating alongside the normal channels.

Perhaps even more ominous is the outrageous language used by the president of the Senate, Reverien Ndikuriyo. Some of his utterances have been reminiscent of the coded euphemisms employed during the Rwanda genocide as synonyms for killing Tutsi. He even made reference to going to work, a metaphor for killing.

It is easy to see why the thinly veiled anti-Tutsi posturings of the Nkurunziza regime should be seen by many as payback for the 1972 tragedy. Some 200,000 Hutu were killed at the hands of a predominantly Tutsi army. Hundreds if not thousands of Tutsi civilians were killed by Hutu insurgents.

The prospects for reconciliation are bleak. Formal gestures by the government to nudge the legitimate opposition parties to join an intra-Burundi dialogue have consistently failed. As for the weak and fragmented rebel forces in exile, nothing short of a miracle would enable them to capture power in the foreseeable future.

There have been repeated attempts by organisations like the African Union to impose sanctions aimed at stopping atrocities and prepare the ground for the presence of an international protection force. These efforts have not been successful. Internal rifts in the UN Security Council between supporters of Nkurunziza, like China and Russia, and their opponents ensured the failure of a concerted diplomatic initiative.

Burundis planned withdrawal from the international criminal court in response to pressure to investigate the countrys human rights situation stands as another ill omen for the future.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
On the day of the first Extraordinary General Meeting of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), business tycoon Nusli Wadia, an independent director on the board of three Tata Group companies, on Tuesday wrote a 15-page long letter to Tata Steel against the special notice moved by Tata Sons Ltd seeking his removal as an independent director. Wadia has denied all allegations levelled against him and written a letter to the shareholders under the Representation Act and Section 49 of the Companies Act, 2013. He had also challenged his removal from Tata Steel and the Tata Chemical boards. The move for Wadia's ouster came after he had backed Cyrus Mistry to continue as the chairman of Tata Group. The group has called for the removal of both Mistry and Wadia from its various company boards by getting shareholders to vote for their removal. Wadia, the chief of the Wadia group, has been a director of Tata Motors since 1998. His association with Ratan Tata goes back many years. Mr. Tata had served on the board of Bombay Dyeing, the flagship company of the Wadia group, for 33 years before stepping down in 2013. On November 10, Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, sacked Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), bringing in Ishaat Hussain as the new chairman of the software services firm. (ANI)
Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has appealed to its members and industrialists to come to the aid of thousands of people evacuated following the devastation caused by tropical cyclone Vardah which has struck Chennai. ASSOCHAM has recommended the industry both in the public and private sectors to set up rapid response units under the aegis of their respective CSR (corporate social responsibility) divisions to collect donations to provide vital supplies (food, clothing, beds, blankets and other essential relief items like tarpaulins, water purification equipment and medicines) for people who have been evacuated and shifted to relief shelters. "The hurricane-strength storm caused by cyclone Vardah uprooted trees, overturned cars and caused extensive damage to buildings, besides it has also significantly hit agricultural sector, destroying banana plantations, papaya groves, rice paddies and others thereby causing widespread destruction worth up to $1 billion," said Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM. "Local Fishery trade, poor supply of power and supplies due to logistics crunch in both urban and rural areas, extensive damage to crops due to incessant rains, loss of livestock, damage to private property, problems in ferrying passengers and transporting goods owing to cancellation of flights, trains, road blockades may significantly hit the region's economy," said Mr Rawat. "The cyclone might also have a short-term impact on the tourism industry of southern India, a leading economic activity, especially in Tamil Nadu which accounts for a good 10 per cent share in total investments attracted by hospitality sector across India," he added. "Though total cost of damage resulting from output lost as a result of disruption to economic activity and the cost of rebuilding homes and infrastructure, remains unclear, arriving at a clearer assessment could be reached within a couple of months' time," further said Mr Rawat. ASSOCHAM has also appealed to the insurance industry to constitute special teams to expedite settlement of claims of people hit by the cyclone. (ANI)
Hours ahead of an extraordinary general meeting in the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) where a resolution to remove Cyrus.P. Mistry will be put to vote, the ousted Tata Sons Chairman on Tuesday called on the company's shareholders to vote "with conscience" and "save the very fabric of the values " that have been inherited in the company. Acknowledging that the outcome of the meeting is a foregone conclusion as the Tata Sons stake on the company is over 73 percent, Mistry sought to defend himself saying that over several weeks, many have tried to mischaracterize his refusal to go without resistance. "The very future of TCS hinges on good governance and ethical practices. That can flow only from the promoter and needs to permeate into the board and management. In the past several weeks, we have seen good governance being thrown to the wind in every sense of the term, replaced by whims, fancies and personal agenda. We have witnessed an unmatched erosion of ethical values and the very foundation of the institution being put to grave risk by the conduct of a few," he said. "What I am fighting for is to save the soul of the Tata Group. Whatever be the decibel level of the voice that would drown your vote, I call on you to vote with your conscience and send a signal that catalyses a larger discussion on governance reform, to save the very fabric of what we have all inherited -- the Tata Values that our Founders handed us," he added. On November 10, Tata Sons sacked Mistry as the chairman of the IT firm and brought in Ishaat Hussain as the new chairman of the software services firm. Tata Sons then issued a special notice and a requisition for convening an extraordinary general meeting of TCS to consider a resolution for the removal of Mistry as director of the company. Mistry was removed as the chairman of TCS under the Articles of Association which state that as long as Tata Sons and its associates hold at least 26 per cent of the paid up equity capital of the company, Tata Sons - which holds over 73 per cent stake in TCS - will have the right to nominate the chairman of the board of directors. (ANI)
Amid a special premiere event with the cast at New York City's Time Square that was streamed on Facebook Live, Universal released the official trailer for 'The Fate of the Furious', the eighth installment to the 'Fast & Furious' franchise.

In the three-minute long trailer, terrorist villain Cipher (Charlize Theron) is heard manipulating Toretto to go up against his family.

"You know what I Like about you Dom?" Cipher asks Dom, "You're an ingenuine outlaw. But your family is about to go up against the only thing that it can't handle-you!"

Then, Dwayne Johnson is seen joining forces with Shaw's brother (Jason Statham), who was sealed away in an underground prison in the previous installment after he went rogue.

However, the combined effort does not seem to beat any driving skills of Toretto, who is seen getting away more than once.

The first in the franchise without late co-star Paul Walker, the movie also stars returning actors such as Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, as well as newcomers like Scott Eastwood, Theron and Helen Mirren.

Helmed by F. Gary Gray, 'The Fate of the Furious' is set to release on April 14, 2017.(ANI)
As one of the important pillars towards enhancing the bilateral relationship, India and Indonesia on Monday agreed to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding on Maritime Cooperation between them in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to further strengthen and accelerate maritime cooperation inter alia in maritime safety and security, and promotion of maritime industries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesia President Joko Widodo recognised that India and Indonesia share common interests in ensuring maritime security and the safety of sea lines of communication. They recognised the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas, unimpeded lawful commerce as well as resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means in accordance the UNCLOS. Both the leaders affirmed the need to combat, prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing. They recognised transnational organised fisheries crime as one of the emerging crimes, which has become an ever-growing threat to the world. Both leaders affirmed their deep respect for each other's contribution to promoting peace, stability and development in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and beyond. (ANI)
The Patiala House Court on Monday sent Khalistani Liberation Force chief Harminder Singh Mintoo to judicial custody till December 14. The court has also decided to consider the Punjab court's plea seeking the transit remand of Mintoo on December 14. Mintoo was nabbed on November 28 from New Delhi railway station, a day after he escaped with five other inmates from Punjab's Narbha Jail. During his interrogation the self-styled KLF chief had reportedly told interrogators about expansion plans of the KLF through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Days before the Nabha jailbreak, he had his last Skype chat with his Pakistan handler Harmeet, a KLF militant who managed to flee to Pakistan, and is living in a safe house under protection of the ISI at Dera Chall village in Lahore. The ISI had plans to bring militancy in Punjab through the KLF under Mintoo's leadership, said sources. Mintoo has bases in countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand and ISI had plans to bring back militancy through these sleepers said sources, adding that Mintoo made these contacts during 2009-14. Germany based KLF sympathisers were sending money to Mintoo through Western Union Money Transfer. On the day of jailbreak, lakhs of rupees were deposited in a bank account, which was supposed to be handed over to Mintoo by Shagun Sweets owner, who was arrested by the Punjab Police, but Mintoo managed to flee, so he couldn't get the money, said sources Sources said a KLF sympathiser, Sandeep, who is based in England, has also sent him money through Hawala channel. He was staying in Malaysia with a fake passport in the name of Bakshish Singh. "Harminder has accepted of being a Mastermind of the jailbreak. Six months back, he first contacted an inmate Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, who later contacted Vicky to arrange his local criminals to wait for the day suitable for the attack. Parminder being close to Satnam Kaur, Daughter of KLF militant, was given responsibility to arrange the arms. The Punjab police are probing arms trail with assistance of UP police," said sources. "Mintoo has revealed of having strong base in Goa. His family shifted to Goa in 1989 and raids are being carried out in Punjab to look for Satnam Kaur. Police teams will also be going to Goa to look for Mintoo's aide," sources added. (ANI)
Representatives of the Greenfield Airport Land Affected Peoples Forum of Hollongi (GALAPFH) on Monday warned the Arunachal Pradesh government of legal consequences if plans are afoot to move the greenfield airport from Hollongi to Banderdewa are true. The GALAPFH demanded immediate compensation to landowners by the state government for causing a loss for a period of five years amounting to Rs 190.00 crore. "If at all government wants to shift the airport again, they should first pay for lost damage period of five years , If the government fails to fulfil the demands, GALAPFH will go for series of democratic movement and legal options," said GALAPFH members at a conference held at the Press Club in state capital Itanagar. It is almost 10 years since the first inspection of Greenfield Airport (GFA) site in Itanagar and the ordeal of where to build the Airport continues till today. GFA project has been often believed to be manipulated and hived off by the political class, Bureaucrats, legal notices and the land affected people. Lately a new technical team from Airport Authority of India (AAI) made an unannounced aerial survey of Hollongi and Banderdewa site. The forum alleged that the state government is deliberately attempting to shift the proposed Green Field Airport from Hollongi, thus prolonging the airport project in Itanagar. The proposed Greenfield Airport at Hollongi has been at the centre of controversy ever since the Centre decided to shift it from Banderdewa (Karsingsa) to Hollongi. Then Governor J P Rajkhowa allegedly had written to Prime Minister's Office favoring Lilabari airport's (Assam) upgrade instead building an airport at Hollongi. (ANI)
India Meteorological Department (IMD) Additional Director General (Services) M. Mohapatra on Monday said the landfall process of the severe cyclonic storm 'Vardah' near Chennai commenced from 14:00 hrs IST and it is still in the process of falling over land and is very close to the cost. Divulging the present status of Vardah, the IMD ADG told ANI that it would take one-two hours more for the complete central part of the cyclone to go inside the land. So far, he said, the wind speed has been 100-110 km per hour (kmph), while Chennai has reported the maximum wind speed of 92 kmph with gustiness up to 100 kmph. Taking about the measures taken by the IMD to tackle the situation, Mohapatra said, "As and when there is a cyclone, there is a standard operating procedure and as per this procedure, we issue bulletin at the interval of every three hours with all suggested actions and damages and also the forecast parameters of cyclone are provided to the disaster managers to the Central and state levels and all actions taken by the Centre and the states also." IMD Director General (DG) K.G.Ramesh too confirmed that the complete landfall of Vardah to take another couple of hours and as a result the conditions between Chennai and Nellore will remain severe. Heavy rains and high-velocity wind expected to continue for the next 8-12 hours as northern prong of the cyclone hits north of Chennai 20 minutes back. Meanwhile, trees uprooted and damage reported as heavy rains and strong winds hit Mahabalipuram in Kancheepuram district. Heavy rains and strong wind also hit Tada village in Andhra Pradesh, uprooting many trees. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said Chennai Suburban network has been suspended till further notice, while some trains coming to Chennai, and also moving out of the city, have been diverted and cancelled. Andhra Pradesh Coast Guard DIG Haribola told ANI that ship that was sent to rescue two fishermen off Kakinada (AP) couldn't reach them due to rough sea. (ANI)
Ghosh had earlier trained his guns on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo for her protest against the Centre's demonetisation drive and said that she could have been pulled and dragged by 'his police' had the party wanted to do so.

He further said that Banerjee is crying after losing thousands of crores of rupees because of demonetisation.

"That's why she (Banerjee) is visiting Delhi and Patna. And failing to achieve anything, she is sitting in Nabanna (state secretariat). We had thought that she would ultimately jump in the Ganga. this person (Banerjee) has lost her mind. The state's people have realised their mistake of bringing in change in West Bengal," Ghosh alleged while speaking at a meeting of the party's youth wing held at Paschim Medinipore district's Jhargram on Saturday.

Ghosh's derogatory remark drew a quick reaction from the ruling TMC in West Bengal with senior party leader Derek O'Brien stating that politics has touched a new low.

Asserting that this is third class politics, he said these threats are dangerous and personal. (ANI)
It all started on the night of November 8th. Billed as the biggest attack on corruption and ill gotten money, demonetisation was hailed as one such action which no one had dared to take since India's independence in 1947. We conveniently forget that corruption was not an issue during India's struggle for independence. It is a disease that hit India and her economy post-independence with the adoption of Fabian Socialism, which advanced principles of democratic socialism via a gradualist and reformist effort, rather than by means of a revolutionary overthrow. There are no two opinions on India's economy and growth being severely sapped by corruption. Corruption has perpetuated poverty. The rich and the powerful aided and abetted by politicians and bureaucrats, cornered India's natural resources. The license permit raj and other regulatory measures ensured that young entrepreneurs or start ups have no chance against established huge cartels. The Communist-style economy ushered in with socialist patterns, the nationalisation of banks and the prevalence of a license permit raj, etc. ensured that a corrupt bureaucracy took control of the government's revenue departments and the country's banking system. It was only when the nation was almost going bankrupt, and had to mortgage a part of its gold reserves abroad (With India's foreign exchange reserves at USD1.2 billion in January 1991 and depleted by half by June, barely enough to last for roughly three weeks of essential imports, the nation was only weeks way from defaulting on its external balance of payment obligations), the nation woke up to the reality of what had been done. Terrified politicians ushered in the so-called economic liberalisation in the 90s under the World Bank's diktat that not going ahead with reforms, would halt further loan support for India. Liberalisation was introduced, but no effort was made to dismantle the Communist-style economic structure. It must be acknowledged that key revenue departments of the government, including income tax, customs and excise and bank managements, are riddled with corruption. Most nationalised banks are close to being broke under the pressure of bad and dubious irrecoverable loans that they extended to Indian industrialists. Why? Surely under some consideration, or else, why were the loan documents weak, making it almost impossible to recover the money. Politicians too have played a major role in facilitating all of these murky dealings. India has a leader in Prime Minister Modi who dares to go where no one else would dream to. The demonetisation of high value currency notes is a major attack on India's cash economy, which feeds the evasion of taxes. Confident of the popular support, only Prime Minister Modi could have taken such a step. This move, aimed at ferreting out hoarded cash or invested black money, could also lead to clues as to where the money is stashed abroad. It is a bold move by a popular leader. But who were tasked with the responsibility to implement this great action? None other than the same banks, the same revenue departments that have helped create the black economy. Let us not forget that the biggest chunk of black money today lies with politicians and their parties, with corrupt bureaucrats and bankers, and their allies. The Prime Minister and his government expect bankers, bureaucrats and revenue department officials to implement this scheme! This expectation has turned out to be ill-founded. The bureaucracy has failed to foresee the fallout of demonetisation and its implementation, causing a huge inconvenience to the people. Where do we stand today, a month after demonetisation was announced? A huge amount of "black money" has been converted into white, aided and abetted by the corrupt among the bankers. How else do you explain the seizure of huge sums of new currency notes running into not just tens, but hundreds of crores? This seizure of new currency notes proves that these came out of the banks. How? Gold and jewellery sales sky rocketed on the night of November 8 and even for several days following that. Where were the great income tax and enforcement department officers? They allowed all sales to take place right under their noses, and now, are making a great show of raids and seizures. Why did they fail to move in when the kill was taking place? Has this bold step of the Prime Minister turned into a kind of "Hara Kiri" (Japanese definition for ritual suicide by disembowelment), for his government? The people of India are braving the inconvenience; businesses have suffered; the hospitality industry is in shambles and tourists are unable to exchange foreign currency. The result -- smaller shop keepers, taxi drivers and auto-rickshaw drivers have now got used to accepting dollars or any other type of foreign currency. Surely, this is undesirable. The man in the street is backing demonetisation completely, ready to stand in long queues, not knowing that some bankers have been siphoning off money from the proverbial back door or in the dark of the night. Has all this harassment caused to the people of India by an inefficient bureaucracy failed to fight the scourge of black economy? A big YES is the answer. The government bureaucracy has miserably failed to foresee the impact demonetisation would have on daily retail trade, wholesale markets, daily wage earners, and the agriculture and tourism sectors. It has failed the Prime Minister .It is the bureaucracy's responsibility to implement government policy, and this regard, officers of the finance ministry and related departments, besides the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have failed the government. Where do we go from here? The government may have to consider course correction on demonetisation to neutralise or tone down the huge damage done by poor bureaucratic implementation. The government must ensure revenue and enforcement officials do not harass the people from January 1. If India's bureaucracy is waiting for January 1 to start their ugly work, this should not be allowed. The government needs to come out with a budget on February 1 that provides great relief to the people and kick starts a grounded economy suffering currently from faulty implementation. It must prove wrong the belief that India's economy would be in downturn for the next two quarters, or else, let it be understood that demonetisation may well turn into a "hara kiri" - suicide by a government that has been doing well. Mr. Prem Prakash is an eminent journalist and Chairman of ANI Media (P) Ltd. (ANI)
The Holy Prophet was born on the twelfth day of Rabee-ul-Awwal in 570 CE in Mecca.

Devotees in large numbers participated in the biggest congregation to spread the message of peace and development of their revered "Messenger of Allah".

"We hope and pray for the development, peace and prosperity of the people of the state and so that we can stay together in this mix-cultured society," said Md Abdul Hasem, a Muslim leader.

Thousands of people also offered prayers at Mosques and Shrines and took part in procession taken out at various places. (ANI)
With Cyclone Vardah making a landfall near Chennai, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday said that the entire party stands with the people of Chennai and Tamil Nadu and pray as the city braces itself to withstand the force of nature's fury. Gandhi, in her message, said she is sure the people of Chennai and Tamil Nadu will show the nation the same courage with which they faced a similar calamity last year. "As Cyclone Vardah crosses the coast and hits Chennai, we watch anxiously and pray as the city braces itself to withstand the force of Nature's fury. We trust the Administration will take all precautions for the safety of the citizens during this time of hardship," she said. "I am sure the people of Chennai and Tamil Nadu will show the nation the same courage with which they faced a similar calamity last year. Entire Congress Party stands firmly by them," she added. In the wake of cyclone Vardah, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has advised the fishermen not to venture into the sea during the next 36 hours. The chief minister said that food and other essential commodities have been kept ready in adequate quantities. Naidu is monitoring the situation through teleconference with top officials. Meanwhile, all operations at the Chennai airport have been suspended till 3 p.m. today. The Indian Navy said a survey ship has been kept on standby to undertake harbour survey in case of requirement. "Naval aircraft also standing-by at the Naval Air Stations Rajali and Dega to be pressed into action to augment HADR operation," the Navy added. About 22 diving teams have been kept on standby at Visakhapatnam for immediate deployment. As many as 19 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam earlier in the day reviewed the state government's preparation to counter Cyclone Vardah. The chief minister also requested the people not to venture out of their houses between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The state government has reportedly evacuated at least 7,357 people to 54 relief centres. As per sources, seven army columns have been placed on standby to carry out rescue and relief operations. The latest bulletin released by the Meteorological Department said the cyclone is likely to move west wards and weaken gradually while moving towards north Tamil Nadu and adjoining south Andhra coast and is likely to cross the coasts, close to Chennai as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 80 to 90 kmph to 100 kmph by this afternoon. At the time of the landfall, squally wind warning has been predicted for Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. (ANI)
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in a statement released on Monday, has assured of the government's commitment towards maintaining rule of law in Manipur, in view of the ongoing blockade on National Highway (NH) 37 and the shortage of essential commodities consequently faced by the people. "It considers blockades anywhere in India a gross violation of law and a crime against humanity causing untold suffering to countless humans. No individual or organisation will be allowed to take the law into their own hands," read a ministry statement. The government has ensured that routes to Manipur remain open and supplies of petroleum products and essential commodities such as food items remain accessible to people there. Last week, 15 companies of central forces were made available to the state government to enable them to get the blockade lifted, in addition to 15 more already stationed in the state. The MHA has shown its hope in state government to act responsibly and ensure social harmony in Manipur. "It is hoped that the state government will act with responsibility and maturity to ensure both maintenance of supplies to Manipur as well as social harmony. MHA will provide additional forces to the state government if necessary," read the statement. The government, in the letter, has also appealed to the United Naga Council (UGC) to remove its illegal blockade seeing the difficulties people of Manipur are facing. It also urged for a peaceful settlement. "All contentious issues need to be settled peacefully by democratic and lawful means," the letter read. (ANI)
Describing Indonesia as one of the most valued partners in India's Act East Policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the two important maritime nations have agreed to prioritise defence and maritime cooperation to ensure the safety and security of the sea lanes, in disaster response and environmental protection. "My extensive conversation with President Widodo focused on the full range of our cooperation. The Joint Statement on Maritime Cooperation outlines the agenda of our engagement in this field. Our partnership will also extend to combating terrorism, organized crime, drugs and human trafficking," Prime Minister Modi said during a joint media address with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo. To sustain the momentum of India-Indonesia relations, Prime Minister Modi said both the countries have agreed for the early implementation of India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Services and Investment, and finalization of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). "I agreed with President Widodo to encourage Indian companies to work closely with Indonesia in the fields of pharmaceuticals, IT and software, and skill development. As two developing countries we also decided to move on infrastructure development two-way investment flows leveraging our respective capabilities. We also underscored the importance of deepening our two decades old valuable cooperation in the field of space," he said. Prime Minister Modi also said the CEOs' Forum should take the lead in identifying new avenues of wider and deeper industry to industry engagement. In this regard, the Prime Minister and President Widodo have directed for an early meeting of the existing Ministerial-level mechanisms to carry forward the bilateral cooperation agenda. Noting the historical and cultural links between India and Indonesia which shares a common heritage, Prime Minister Modi agrees with Widodo for setting up of Indian and Indonesian Studies in each other's universities. "The President and I agreed on the importance of stimulating research on our historical linkages. We also agreed to expand our scholarship and training programmes," Prime Minister Modi said. Prime Minister Modi also welcomed Garuda Indonesia's decision to commence direct flights to Mumbai. (ANI)
The Indonesian President and his wife H.J. Iriana were welcomed by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day during the ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The visiting dignitary was accorded a Guard of Honour.

The Indonesian President, who is presently in India on a two-day official visit, will meet President Mukherjee and Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari this evening.

President Widodo is accompanied by a high-level delegation including several Cabinet ministers, senior officials and a 22-member business delegation. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday wrote to the Acting Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe into the role of former defence secretary Vijay Singh and Tata Sons interim chairman Ratan Tata in the Agusta Westland chopper scam. Talking to ANI about his letter, Swamy stated that he has urged the CBI acting Director to look into the matter of how Ratan Tata appointed Vijay Singh to the board of Tata Trusts, which in itself is illegal. "Ratan Tata went and deposed in Italy in the trial in the Agusta scam, so that itself makes it necessary to interrogate Mr Tata, because how is he involved? If he can obey a summons from Italy, he can obey one from India also," Swamy said. Further stating that all allegations made by sacked Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry so far have been proven true, the senior BJP leader added, "For instance the Air Asia scandal has been proved by records and Delhi High Court has taken notice of it. So, here also it is necessary for the CBI to summon both Vijay Singh who was defence Secretary and also Ratan Tata and interrogate them." Accusing Ratan Tata of conspiring with Singh, Swamy states in his letter that the ex defence secretary had engaged in corrupt practices in the Agusta Westland scam, which the CBI is currently probing. "Ratan Tata thereafter rewarded Vijay Singh with a directorship in Tata Sons by the dubious route of being a nominee in the Tata Trusts which in itself are illegal since the Tata Trusts are Trusts for philanthropy and owned by the public and not by the Tatas," the letter said. Asserting that a complaint has been filed in this regard with Securities and Exchange Bank of India (SEBI), Swamy added that such Trusts cannot engage in commercial business even if under the name of Tata and Sons Ltd. (ANI)
The Centre on Monday shrugged off the opposition's charge of cashless transactions not being possible for all in a country like India, saying it will, via its programme 'Cashless Chaupals', ensure that all people are easily able to switch from a cash to a cashless economy. Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi informed that after the conclusion of winter session of Parliament, the government will hold 'Cashless Chaupals', under which people would be introduced to the concept of cashless system. "After the winter session of parliament, our officials and myself are going to organise 'Cashless Chaupals', under which we are going to make the minorities aware of how easily can they become a part of the cashless system and make their lives even more convenient," Naqvi said. Rubbishing the claims made the opposition alleging that the new currency is not reaching Muslim-dominated areas, he said, "Currency is being circulated in all the areas and it has nothing to do with any caste putting up in the region." "If there is some complain regarding money not reaching any area, then people should approach the government," he added. Since the time the Centre announced ban on high-denomination currency of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000, it has been receiving flak from the opposition for its unpreparedness and wrong implementation of the move. (ANI)
The chief minister also requested the people not to venture out of their houses between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The state government has reportedly evacuated at least 7357 people to 54 relief centres.

As per army sources, seven army columns have been placed on standby to carry out rescue and relief operations.

Meanwhile the Director of the Meteorological Department (MeT), S. Balachandran, said that the landfall in coastal area are expected to occur at around 2 pm and 4 pm.

"Vardah, which is lying 87 kilometres east of Bay of Bengal and moving in a westward direction, is expected to make a land fall close to Chennai between 2 to 4 pm," said Met director.

"North region of Tamil Nadu and South of Andhra expected to receive heavy rainfall and winds," he added.

Navy chief PRO Captain DK Sharma also said that the Cyclone Vardah is expected to make a landfall by 2.30 pm.

"Massive uprooting of trees are being reported, Cyclone Vardah is likely to make a landfall by 2:30 pm," Sharma said, adding that two ships of the Navy, Shivalik and Kadmatt are already deployed in north area to render immediate assistance if required.

'Cyclone Vardah' is centered over west central and adjoining Southewest Bay of Bengal at about 180 km east north east of Chennai and 250 km east southeast of Nellore.

The latest bulletin released by the meteorological department says the cyclone is likely to move west wards and weaken gradually while moving towards north Tamil Nadu and adjoining south Andhra coast and is likely to cross the coasts, close to Chennai as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 80 to 90 kmph to 100 kmph by this afternoon.

At the time of the landfall, squally wind warning has been predicted for Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Nellore districts of Andhra Pradesh. (ANI)
The Congress on Monday expressed its concern over the recent statement of Sardar Raees Inqlabi, a leader of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir-based Jammu and Kashmir Aman Forum, stating that Pakistan pays Rs. 1 crore to each terrorist to cross the Line of Control (LoC), and said if this is proved, then, Pakistan would be shamed and exposed worldwide. "We must use this opportunity to highlight what this gentleman has said and tell the world how Pakistan in PoK is not only sending terrorists with money across in the Indian borders but also encouraging those terrorist organisations that have been banned worldwide," Dikshit said. "If we are able to prove this, then it will shame Pakistan and hopefully make them change their strategy," he added. Urging the government to take cognizance of the matter and take some stringent action, the Congress leader said, "This information is very serious. I hope the government and security agencies take full note of this, cognizance of the fact and the first thing should be that in case there is some actionable intelligence in this (then) we should see that our borders are not breached.nor these people are allowed to cross the border." Inqlabi said, "You (Pakistan) are hiring killers and murderers; you pay them one crore rupees and turn them into a bomb and make them cross LoC, which is the main reason of tension. We condemn this terrorism. If you are so fond of firing, you must fight army to army." (ANI)
New Delhi [India], Dec. 12 ANI): Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju has dedicated the New Civil Air Terminal at the Bathinda Airport to the nation. It was done in the presence of Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sardar Sukhbir Singh Badal, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, AAI chairman Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, CMD Air India Ashwani Lohani and other dignitaries. The Union Minister of Civil Aviation took a walk through along with the other dignitaries and unveiled plaque in the Civil Air Terminal. Speaking on the occasion, Raju said that the new terminal and the flight connectivity will not only boost passenger travel but also be a multiplier for the overall economic growth of the region. "These new facilities are a fitting tribute to the indomitable Punjabi spirit," he added. The New Civil Air Terminal is spread in the area of 1,200 sq. mtrs. The terminal has been constructed at a total cost of Rs. 2,500 crores. The terminal is equipped to handle 100 passengers (50 Departure + 50 Arrival) with modern passenger facilities such as two (2) Check-in-counters, one (1) Security Check X-Ray Machine, one (1) Arrival Baggage Conveyor Belt, one (1) Reserved VIP Lounge with Car Parking and Apron for two (2) ATR-72-600 type aircraft. The terminal is made of glass and steel structure with facilities such as Public Address System, CCTV for surveillance, Fire Fighting System, Dedicated Power Supply with standby DG Sets, etc. Canopy on the city side integrate seamlessly with the main building giving due protection to the passengers from adverse weather conditions. The facility will immensely contribute towards the connectivity in the State in particular and give impetus to economic development of the region. The Alliance Air (a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India) had launched its first flight on Delhi-Bathinda-Delhi sectors with brand new ATR72-600 type of aircraft having 70 seats. The flight will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The Alliance Air has ensured that flights are operated regularly on this sector. The Alliance Air will increase the flight frequency once the current flight operations stabilized and fog conditions abate. The Alliance Air is also looking at starting flights from Ludhiana and Pathankot in the near future. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata party leader Sambit Patra on Monday said all acts of corruption, scams and scandals took during the time of UPA regime (2004-2014). "In the two and a half years of the Modi government, we haven't heard of a single scam or scandal, not even an act of corruption. Today also, if an act of corruption or a scam or a scandal is being discussed, it is of the tenure of Mr.Manmohan Singh, tenure of the UPA. That was a humongous act of corruption during the Congress rule," he told ANI. Patra's statement comes in the backdrop of AugustaWestland chopper scam, involving former Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi. "As far as AgustaWestland is concerned the law is taking its own course and it should take its own course," said Patra. "The premise of this whole investigation is that bribe givers have been punished and are behind bars. We should be reminded of the fact that the then defence minister Mr. A.K. Antony had conceded to the fact that bribe had been received by India. Investigation is on" he added. Air Chief Marshal Tyagi was arrested on Friday over committing alleged irregularities in the Rs. 3,600 crore AgustaWestland deal to acquire a dozen VVIP choppers, such as changing the specifications of the helicopters, and stating that the decision was taken at the behest of the PMO. Tyagi, who headed the Indian Air Force between 2005 and 2007, has been accused by investigators in Italy and India of abusing his official position to swing the contract in favour of Finnmeccanica tender, the parent company of the UK-based helicopter maker AgustaWestland, by tailoring specifications.(ANI)
Backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'gunda raj' remarks made during the latest Parivartan rally in Uttar Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party leader S. Prakash said on Monday that multiple power centers within the Samajwadi Party have left the northern state in a complete state of lawlessness. "In UP, with too many power centers in the party, law and order has gone for a toss. Large scale violence, communal violence, kidnappings and extortion have been on the rise. In this background, the Prime Minister rightly said that the BJP would establish a 'legal raaj' and law and order will be given priority," S. Prakash told ANI. Prime Minister Modi on Sunday told a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district that 'gunda raj' will end in the state if his party is voted to power. "If you have to take your state forward, you will have to throw out those backing these gundas. And the Bharatiya Janata Party will do that," Modi said, targeting the ruling Samajwadi Party. He said he could not understand the discomfort of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) at the central government's fight against black money. (ANI)
Nationalist Congress Party general secretary Devi Prasad Tripathi on Tuesday said strict action should be taken against West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Ghosh for his anti-women comment against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. "We all have asked for strict action against West Bengal BJP president for his statement. It was not just anti-democracy and anti-humanity, but was an anti-woman statement as well, and for that, stringent action should be taken against him," Tripathi told ANI. However, reprimanding the 'fatwa' issued Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Mosque imam Maulana Noor-ur Rahman Barkati against Ghosh, the NCP general secretary said, "There was no need at all for the Tipu Sultan Mosque imam to act foolishly." The BJP state chief had said, "When Mamata was doing her theatrics in Delhi, we could have dragged her away by her hair if we wanted to. Our police were there, but we didn't do it." As BJP leader and Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the Centre was ready for a debate, and therefore, the opposition parties should allow in Parliament to function, Tripathi said, "The opposition parties had said a few days back to resume the debate without any rule, then why did not they do it? Even if Venkaiah Naidu and the BJP start the debate now, it will be good because only few days are left for it." When asked about China's statement where its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that its position on India's entry to the NSG as well as designating Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as terrorist by the United Nations remains unchanged, the NCP leader said, "China should not take such a stand, because it is not just ant-India, but also against international relations. On the one hand, China is supporting terrorism (by supporting Pakistan), and on the other, it is against India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, even as the entire world is backing India's bid." Shuang said, "As for India's application to join the NSG and the listing matter of the UN Security Council 1267 Committee, China's position is very clear and unchanged." The spokesperson added that in recent years, the strategic partnership for cooperation between India and China has made all-around progress and that it is normal for the two big countries who are also close neighbours to differ on some issues. "But the main theme for the bilateral relationship is friendship and cooperation, while differences are secondary," he added. He made the remark when asked about Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's statement that both China and India should respect each other's legitimate aspirations, and that China should not give political colour to India's efforts to access civilian nuclear technology. (ANI)
The Congress Party on Tuesday said the government is avoiding a discussion on demonetisation in parliament till the anger of the common subsides. "They want to avoid a discussion in parliament till the time the anger of the common man melts down. That is why they are trying to delay it," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI. Kharge said the government wants to hide its mistakes from the people and doesn't want to be exposed in parliament. "It is not us, but they (ruling party) who are stopping the debate from taking place. They do not want their mistakes to be counted in parliament and want to hide their mistakes from the people. That is why they are delaying debate in parliament," he said. Kharge said the opposition has been ready for a debate since the beginning. "On Friday, when the parliament began, we were ready for the discussion but members of the ruling party created a chaos. So, the obstruction in the debate was held by the people of BJP, and not by us" he said. Kharge said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not ready to listen. "Prime Minister gives numerous speeches outside. He should come in parliament and discuss. We want him to listen to us and then reply, but he is not ready to listen," he said. "In order to prove his wrong things right, he is speaking outside parliament because, if he speaks something misleading in parliament, it will lead to a privilege (motion) against him," he added. (ANI)
Gravity of galaxies bends space, such that the light travelling through this space is bent, as through a lens. Background galaxies that are situated far behind a foreground galaxy (the lens), thereby seem slightly distorted. This effect can be measured in order to determine the distribution of gravity around a foreground galaxy. Astronomers have measured, however, that at distances up to a hundred times the radius of the galaxy, the force of gravity is much stronger than Einstein's theory of gravity predicts. The existing theory only works when invisible particles, the so-called dark matter, are added. Theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde at University of Amsterdam claims that he not only explains the mechanism behind gravity with his alternative to Einstein's theory, but also the origin of the mysterious extra gravity, which astronomers currently attribute to dark matter. Verlinde's new theory predicts how much gravity there must be, based only on the mass of the visible matter.A team led by astronomer Margot Brouwer (Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands) has tested the new theory of theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde (University of Amsterdam) for the first time through the lensing effect of gravity. Brouwer and her team measured the distribution of gravity around more than 33,000 galaxies to put Verlinde's prediction to the test. She concludes that Verlinde's theory agrees well with the measured gravity distribution.The results have been accepted for publication in the British journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Brouwer calculated Verlinde's prediction for the gravity of 33,613 galaxies, based only on their visible mass.She compared this prediction to the distribution of gravity measured by gravitational lensing, in order to test Verlinde's theory. Her conclusion is that his prediction agrees well with the observed gravity distribution, but she emphasizes that dark matter could also explain the extra gravitational force.However, the mass of the dark matter is a free parameter, which must be adjusted to the observation.Verlinde's theory provides a direct prediction, without free parameters.The new theory is currently only applicable to isolated, spherical and static systems, while the universe is dynamic and complex.Many observations cannot yet be explained by the new theory, so dark matter is still in the race. "The question now is how the theory develops, and how it can be further tested. But the result of this first test definitely looks interesting," Brouwer said.The research is based on observations of GAMA (Galaxy And Mass Assembly) and KiDS (Kilo-Degree Survey), with scientists from the Netherlands (University of Leiden, University of Groningen), Germany, Scotland, England and Australia.The KiDS observations were performed with the Dutch OmegaCAM camera on ESO's VLT Survey Telescope on Cerro Paranal in northern Chile.UNI YSG SV 0900 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0139-1062950.Xml
Chief Minister T R Zeliang has informed that the state cabinet would be meeting to discuss the recent 15-day ultimatum issued jointly by Naga Hoho and ENPO to restore the September 22, 2012 resolution adopted by the 11th Nagaland Legislative Assembly, which exempted Part IX A (2) (3) on 33 per cent women reservation, under Article 371A (1) (a) of the Constitution of India. Interacting with media persons on the side lines of the advent Christmas programme for legislators held at the State Banquet Hall at Kohima last night, Mr Zeliang appeared determined to chase after the political and financial benefits of holding civic polls despite strong opposition against the hasty decision from apex tribal bodies of Nagaland. He sought to question the decision of the Naga Hoho over the ultimatum by saying that it should be unanimous along with its other constituent tribes from the United Naga Council (UNC) of Manipur. He further questioned the locus standi of the Naga Hoho comprising of only five tribal Hohos (Angami, Chakhesang, Rengma, Zeliang and Pochury) in making the decision without inviting all constituent tribes under UNC since the latter was part of the Hoho. With the exclusion of three tribes of Nagaland, Lotha Hoho, Ao Senden and Sumi Hoho, Mr Zeliang said Naga Hoho with only five tribes without UNC did not even constitute one-third of the total. He, therefore, termed it as "Naga Hoho of Nagaland" and that it could not be a decision of Naga Hoho. When asked if the same applied to Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organization, Mr Zeliang said ENPO should invite all constituent units after which they should pass such a resolution. He, however, claimed that most towns in eastern Nagaland were willing to hold civic polls. Mr Zeliang said ENPO has to seek the consent of village units who constitute the tribal Hoho and so without their consent, no such decision can be taken. He also disclosed that the Government had tried on many occasions to convince the Naga Mother's Association (NMA) to withdraw its SLP in the Supreme Court but failed. He said Naga Hoho was also going to meet NMA on this issue. On the other hand, if NMA withdrew its case then there would be no issue but unless the Supreme Court pass an order, "we cannot move an inch", he said. The chief minister also said if notification for civic polls was issued than NMA was prepared to withdraw its case, but even if it does not and since the state has agreed to conduct polls, the case would be in fructuous.When asked why had the government taken a hasty step in pre-empting the court decision by agreeing to conduct civic polls with 33 per cent women reservation, Mr Zeliang said after the SLP was admitted, the hearing would take place "sooner or later and our contention was, why wait for the directive from the court?" Mr Zeliang pointed out that following the directive of the court in 2005 on the state government to include women reservation, the Legislative assembly had in 2006 passed an amendment to the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001. However, in 2012 the Legislative Assembly passed a resolution against implementing 33 per cent women reservation, which was then challenged in court by the NMA. He explained the volte face by saying "we could not touch, cannot amend neither go ahead. That was why we decided to go ahead with the election with reservation." UNI AS AD1210 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0108-1063060.Xml
Two people were killed and three others injured, when their jeep overturned on the Indore-Jaipur National Highway-27 near Khajuri Jod village, police said. The jeep was conveying passengers, while returning from Uttar Pradesh's Agra. Maharashtra's Aurangabad-residents jeep driver Bhagwan Kale and Kishore Damke died on the spot. The injured were rushed to Ujjain for treatment. UNI XC-PS CJ RJ 1208 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-1063027.Xml
A suspicious movement on the side of Pakistan was noticed by the Intelligence Bureau which alerted the BSF troops deployed in Ramgarh sector.

The BSF fired few rounds but due to fog and wild growth nothing could be traced.

Later, the Intelligence Bureau again noticed some suspicious movement of a person ahead of fence on Indian side.

Alert BSF person deployed at Naka mound forced the Pakistani Army personnel to surrender.

On interrogation, he revealed that he was a retired person from the Pakistan Army. (ANI)
"Late last evening, a suspicious movement on Pakistan side was noticed at IB by alert BSF troops, ahead of fence in Ramgarh Sector following which they fired few rounds," BSF official here today said.

He said that due to fog and wild growth further it could not be observed, adding, "later again after some distance alert BSF person on duty at Naka mound again observed suspicious movement of a person ahead of fence on indian side of IB".

"Alert BSF person forced him to surrender and he was arrested," said an official adding that he was identified as Mohammed Baksh,65, S/O Firozdin, vill-Gandyal,Tehsil -Pasroor, Distt-Syalkot, Punjab (Pakistan).

"Arrested person disclosed that he had retired from Pakistan army," the BSF officer said and added that the matter is being investigated.UNI VBH RJ 1319

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah todaystressed the need for reforms in school science education to attracttalent to science through better teaching reforms, science curriculaand motivate science teachers besides offering schemes to studens. Speaking at the 43rd Jawaharlal Nehru National ScienceMathematics Environment Exhibition-2016, conducted by the stateGovernment in partnership with National Council of EducationalResearch and Training (NCERT) and benefit secondary and seniorsecondary school children he said such mega events offer greaterenthusiasm among students to take up science study. He said children with scientific temper will never stopquestioning, observing physical reality, testing, analyzing andcommunicating. ''It is our duty to create such platforms'' he added. Quoting late president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam he said ''all of usdo not have equal talent. But all of us have an equal opportunity todevelop our talent''. He said many distinguished and eminent scientists like Sir C VRaman, Sir M. Visvesvaraya, Dr Raja Ramanna, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam,Prof. C N R Rao, Dr U R Rao, mathematicians like Aryabhatta,Bhaskaracharya, Srinivasa Ramanujam, and environmentalists like Dr KShivarama Karanth, Sundarlal Bahuguna, Medha Patkar, Vandana Shiva,Baba Amte have contributed immensely to innovation, research andsustainable development. Indian born astronauts like Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams,Rakesh Sharma, Ravish Malhotra continue to inspire and motivatemillions of children to seek adventurous careers in the pursuit ofspace sciences he said. He said innovation and research both in basic and appliedsciences could be fostered and developed to its full potential withthe academia, industry and Government working in tandem. He urged the academia and industry to step forward andcollaborate with Government for research, for continuing educationand develop a strong producer-consumer interaction between theacademia and industry. He also called for creation of a robust national innovationsystem as innovation has become increasingly resource intensive andrequired the participation of international consortia. There wasneed for evolving various Public Private Partnership (PPP) Modelsand facilitating private sector investment to trigger innovation He said Science should not remain within the confines of alaboratory and brought to the people to make their daily life betterand efficient with affordable technology. He said India is blessed with a huge talent pool. Hence, it isimperative to develop the requisite knowledge, competence andcapacity to innovate among children. He said his Government is committed to give a boost to learningof science and mathematics in schools using technology.''We arefunding many research projects to encourage innovation andcreativity, which helps foster, promote and sustain cultivation ofscience and scientific research''.UNI CNR RJ 1343 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-1063209.Xml
CPI(M) General Secretary and MP Sitaram Yechury has voiced serious concern over India and the US inking a deeper Defence partnership, and expressed serious apprehensions that the NDA Government was ''compromising India's sovereignty and strategic autonomy''. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, regarding finalisation of the 'Major Defence Partner' designation bringing India to ''a level at par with that of the United States' closest allies and partners," which it described as ''a significant departure from India's long standing policy on defence relations'' and done without taking Parliament into confidence. India-US relationship is expected to take giant strides after the US Senate cleared a Bill, which characterises India as a "major defence partner". While details of the designation had been placed by the US Government for approval of the US Senate as part of FY 2017 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), he pointed out that Modi Government ''has not even made a statement in Parliament about such a significant deal,'' leaving the country ignorant of the Indian commitment as a 'Major Defence Partner' of the US. He demanded that both texts must be tabled in Parliament and made public immediately. ''I hope that as part of your Government's responsibilities towards Parliament, you will place the full text of LEMOA and the list of commitments, made as part of the "Major Defence Partner" designation, before both the Houses of Parliament, immediately before this current Winter session adjourns.''MORE UNI SD RJ SNU 1510 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0005-1063336.Xml
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat (Community) in India will hold its 122nd annual convention at its headquarters at Quadian in Gurdaspur district of Punjab beginning 26th of December. The three-day convention will conclude on 28th of December. The key address of the annual convention will be delivered by the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Khalifa of Islam Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. Addressing a press conference here, Shriaz Ahmad, Additional Chief Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in India, and Tariq Ahmad Ahmadiyya, Spokesperson of the Community, said that thousands of the followers are expected to attend the three-day "spiritual event". Leaders of all religions have been invited to take part in the convention. "We have invited the President, the Prime Minister, all Central Ministers to the Jalsa Salana (annual convention). The Prime Minister was kind enough to acknowledge the invitation and has extended his good wishes for the convention," said Mr Shriaz Ahmad. A large number of the community members are expected from Pakistan as well. According to them, more than five thousand Ahmadiyya Sect followers had attended the last year's convention. There are approximately 1.5-lakh members of the Ahmadiyya community in the country and few millions worldwide. The Ahmadiyya leaders said that the main purpose of the annual convention was to present the pure, pristine ad peaceful teachings of Islam. The Ahmadiyya leaders said that the annual convention was totally a spiritual gathering in which people from all over the country will take part. UNI SNU1447 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0443-1063236.Xml
Three people were killed when Katihar-Patna Intercity Express ran over them near Tilrath station on Barauni-Katihar section of East Central railway today.Rail police said here that the speeding train ran over three people when they were crossing tracks, leading to their instantaneous death. While the woman deceased was around 30 year old, male deceased were in the age group of 50 to 55. Identity of the deceased could not be established immediately. Bodies have been sent to local Sadar Hospital for the post mortem examination. Further investigation is on, police added.UNI XC DH RN 1529 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-1063419.Xml
'Jagriti Yatra' is a journey of awakening and enlightening, taken out as part of 350th birth anniversary celebrations of 10th and last Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singhji and make people aware about the Guru, his sacrifices and contribution to the nation.

The 'Jagriti Yatra' will traverse through all the Districts of Telangana like Nalgonda, Hanamakonda, Warangal, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nizamabad and Karimnagar and other districts and culminate in Hyderabad on December 18.

Scores of Sikh devotees thronged the streets of Hyderabad to get a glimpse of Jagriti Yatra, a state-of-the-art decorated bus carrying the different weapons including sword, spear, arrow and dagger and a Guru Granth Sahib.

For the benefit of the devotees, it will be kept for display at the Gurudwaras in the state.

It was flagged off from Central Gurudwara Sahib Gowliguda, ahead of Prakash Purab to celebrate Guru Gobind Singh's 350th birth anniversary on January 5, 2017.

The 'yatra' is being organised by Central Gurudwara Sahib Gowliguda with cooperation of all the Prabhandak Committees of Sikh Gurudwaras in the twin cities and districts.

Specially decorated chariot vehicle is displayed with arms and Shastras (weapons) of ancient age.

The 'Jagriti Yatra' in the form of Nagar Kirtan (Holy Procession) is travelling across length and breadth of the state. The yatra already evoked overwhelming response from the community members along the journey.

The Sikh community is going to celebrate the Prakash Purab of Guru Gobind Singh' on a very large scale from January 3 to 5, 2017.

Major celebrations will be held on January 5 at Nizam's College Grounds in which 50,000 Sikh devotees from across the state will participate in ''Vishal Deewan'' (Mass Congregation) from 1000 hrs to 1600 hrs.UNI KNR PY SHK 1630

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Three people were today killed when their motorcycle collided with a truck head-on near a petrol pump close to Tendunala in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, police said. Girish Mahar (18), Bharat Mahar (18) and Dinesh Mahar (20) were going to bank when the incident occurred. Girish died on the spot while Bharat and Dinesh were rushed to hospital where they succumbed while receiving treatment. UNI XC-PS SW 1700 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-1063514.Xml
Police said here today that in Navi Mumbai two persons were held after seizure of Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 23.70 lakh.

Three people were detained from Ulhasnagar for having Rs 9.76 lakh of Rs 2,000 note, last evening.

The interrogation of all of them is going on, in Navi Mumbai case, while those detained were unable to give satisfactory reply to a question raised by the police, sources added. UNI ST AE SHK 1645

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Claiming that the problem of demonetisation would not end in 50 days as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it will take around one year to normalise, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today claimed that those who were in queues at the banks and ATMs today would soon be in lines again at the polling booth to teach a lesson to those who brought demonetisation". "The situation is very bad. The labourers who were working in the cities have returned to the villages and the demonetisation move has impacted the economy. The people are standing in the queues even in the fog and now everyone including me were waiting for the elections to teach them a lesson," he said talking to the mediapersons after the state cabinet meeting here. "We all want black money to end. But demonetisation without adequate preparation had thrown people in trouble. Farmers are in distress those who were talking of 50 days are now talking of 50 more days," he said. The Chief Minister, without taking any name, said the person who was seeking 50 days to end the miseries of the people of the country was now seeking another 50 days. "Demonetisation without any preparation is a conspiracy against the people," he added. Claiming that Samajwadi Party would again form Government in UP with majority and if opting for pre-poll alliance then the numbers of winning seat could be over 300, Mr Yadav said, making it clear that the changes in the candidates of the party was being done to ensure the party's win in the elections." The Chief Minister downplayed the ticket distribution rift in the party after some criminals like Atiq Ahmed were given ticket. "You know my viewpoint, who wants that those who will lose get ticket. Such issues keep coming up in the party and I will give my views to party president Mulayam Singh Yadav," he said. He indirectly expressed that he was not pleased with Shivpal's distribution of tickets to Atiq Ahmad and some others. But the CM doesn't wish to escalate the fight in public at present and he has indicated his displeasure by saying that he will raise his concerns with the party president. "We will create a history by a landslide victory in the elections as now people want us back in power," the Chief Minister claimed. Attacking Bahujan Samaj Party and its leader Mayawati on her allegation that SP was in nexus with the BJP, Mr Yadav said everyone knows why BSP did not won even a single seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. "We have all records how BSP shifted its votes to the BJP in the elections and now they are trying to cover up their own conspiracy," he alleged. He questioned that who stopped BSP in constructing Metro rail in Lucknow and the expressway but now when we have done the work they are criticising us by claiming it as their projects. He announced that Metro rails would be introduced in more cities of the state.UNI MB AE SNU 1632 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1063351.Xml
At least eleven people, including four children, were killed on the spot when their auto-rickshaw collided with a speeding bus near Kishangarh Ghati on the Jaipur-Jabalpur National Highway about four km from this district headquarters today. Police said the accident occurred when the private bus was coming from Rajgarh hit the auto-rickshaw, which was carrying 16 people of Hirankhedi village. Five critically injured were admitted to District Hospital.More UNI XC-BDG AKC SHK 1842 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-1063807.Xml
The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry isorganizing an "Export Financing Roundtable" with Business DevelopmentOfficer for Asia at the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the UnitedStates Richard Pearson on December 16 . Mr Pearson is expected to be joined by his colleague Ms RezaNikfarjam from the Bank's structured finance division who specializesin Information Technology. Mr Jonathan T. Ward, Principal CommercialOfficer and U.S. Consulate General Kolkata will also be present. This is the first visit by Ex-Im Bank to Kolkata in severalyears: This indicates a positive graph of Kolkata in US Businessparadigm.. The objective of the Roundtable is to discuss the bank's programson loan guarantees and direct loans as well as structured finance. The Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the UnitedStates, which supports the purchase of U.S. capital goods and servicesby creditworthy Indian buyers that may have some difficulty obtainingcredit through traditional financing sources. Ex-Im Bank was first active in India in the 1950s and todaysupports a significant volume of U.S. exports to this market.UNI BM SJC -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1064096.Xml
Contrary to reports appearing in a section of pressabout growing proximity of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar withBJP, following his support for demonetisation, Akhil BhartiyaNavnirman Sena Chief Hardik Patel today personally invited him toaddress joint rallies in Gujarat which could have far reachingrepercussion on Assembly elections to be held in the state next year. Mr Patel who had hogged the limelight last year for spearheadingagitation in Gujarat for reservation of Patel community in governmentservices, was supported by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but later hedeveloped cold feet as Mr Patel went on demanding withdrawal ofreservation for all castes if Patel community was not given the samebenefits. Soon after arrival in Patna for a meeting with Mr Kumar, the firebrand leader of the Patel community said that he was forimplementation of all recommendations of Madal Commission. There was no requirement for giving reservation on the basis ofeconomic criteria and only social and economic factor should beconsidered for giving benefits of reservation in government services,he added. With his conviction for implementation of all recommendations ofMandal Commission, Mr Patel called on Mr Kumar and invited him toaddress rallies in Gujarat where assembly elections was scheduled tobe held next year.MORE UNI KKS SJC -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1064114.Xml
Eyeing to tap growing air passengers market in the IT hub, India's premier international airline Jet Airways will be introducing a daily direct flight to Singapore from the city from tomorrow and a direct flight to Colombo on January 5. The day flight will leave Bengaluru at 1110 hrs and arrive in Singapore at 1610 hrs local time. On the return journey it will leave at 1915 hrs local time and arrive in Bengaluru at 2115 hrs. The return journey fares will be Rs 23,000 for economy class and Rs 99,000 for business class. Briefing reporters, Praveen Iyer, Vice-President commercial and India sales said the city, known as IT/BT hub of the country provides vast opportunity for Jet Airways in this sector and those travelling in this flight will have seamless connectivity to travel beyond -- to Asian and Australian destinations like Jakartha,Kaula Lumpur, Manila, Penang, Shanghai, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisband and Perth. Starting January 5, Jet Airways would also introduce daily flights to Colombo. Bengaluru will be the second Indian city, after Mumbai, to be linked to Colombo and its third daily service to the Sri Lankan capital, he said. The Colombo flight will leave the city at 0040 hrs and arrive in Colombo at 0210 local time. The return flight will leave Colombo at 0310 hrs local time and arrive in the city at 0435 hrs local time. The airliner will be using next-gen Boeing 737-800 aircraft in both these two routes. Mr Iyer said Bengaluru had the highest ratio of population to air traffic at 1:6. The city with 1.2 million population had witnessed great spurt in air traffic with Kempegowda International Airport cloaking 19 million passengers per annum. ''Bengaluru-Singapore connectivity may be saturated with a number of foreign airliners operating many flights, but we are confident of good footfall. On the first day tomorrow we have 174 confirmed passengers booking tickets while on the second and third day the bookings are full. Competition is there but key is to identify the potential. Bengaluru is the fastest growing metropolis in the country and has the third busiest airport after Delhi and Mumbai,'' he said.UNI RS AE SHK 1925 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-1063715.Xml
Charging Opposition parties with continuously "shifting the goal post" vis-a-vis the public discourse on demonetisation, the government today asserted that it was always ready for a debate in Parliament under any rule as agreed upon by the Chair and insisted that transition to digital economy is must to fight corruption at high level. "We are ready for debate under any rule as agreed by the Speaker (Sumitra Mahajan)... Government is not changing goal post. It is the Opposition that is changing the goal post," Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told a news channel. Mr Naidu said, Congress and it senior leader P Chidambaram have changed the stance after welcoming the demonetisation drive initially. "Now they are making baseless statement," he said adding the government has been sincere about fighting black money menace and has taken a series of steps since 2014 including setting up of an SIT, enacting a new law on Benami transaction and also working out required agreements with countries like Mauritius and the US. The ongoing Winter Session of Parliament which began on November 16 but could not transact much business enters the last leg tomorrow. The BJP today issued whip to all its MPs to be present in both Houses of Parliament till December 16. In Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be present during Question Hour tomorrow while by convention he is to make himself available in Rajya Sabha on Thursday for question time. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said he was prevented from speaking in Lok Sabha by the Treasury Benches- a charge denied by the ruling BJP. More UNI RBE-DEVN SHK 2014 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0427-1064136.Xml
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that some of its staff members arrested in Bengaluru on the charge of alleged money laundering were the junior employees of RBI and not a senior special assistant as reported by a section of media. In a statement issued here today, RBI deputy governor S S Mundra confimed that the officials were arrested on the charges of money laundering and clarified that it was a junior functionary in RBI. He said that appropriate action would be taken after investigation. It was reported that K Micheal, a senior special assistant of RBI, was arrested earlier in the day in Bengaluru for an alleged conversion of banned notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. Micheal along with other RBI officials were arrested in a series of raids by Income Tax authorities for coversion of notes. Mr Mundra further said that in an operation of the magnitude of demonetisation there would always be certain elements that would have behaved otherwise than expected of them, although RBI remainedvigilant in their efforts. He said that RBI had issued elaborate instructions to all bank managements to do the checking and whenever they find any inconsistency it should be pursued further through their internal audit mechanisms. Mr Mundra said that RBI supervisors had also been carrying out similar exercises on various data points of banks, and whenever any untoward transaction/ action is noticed, due investigation would be done, he added. On the raids on branches of Axis Bank and a large amount of money that had been deposited into fake bank accounts, Mr Mundra stated that no action has yet been taken against the bank. ''As of now, no show-cause notice has been issued to Axis Bank,'' he noted.UNI ST SS SB 2054 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-1064153.Xml
As soon as a bank employees opened the gate this morning at 1030 hrs after a three-day holiday, people waiting outside the Bhokar branch of SBI rushed through it in an attempt to enter the bank, resulting in breaking the glass of entry door.

This caused serious injuries to a woman customer, Lalita Yellya Murade (58).

She was immediately rushed to the government hospital. Following the incident, policemen were put in place outside the branch office to monitor the crowd.UNI XR SS SM SDR 2046

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Jammu and Kashmir government today issued clarification against the backdrop of protest staged by the students and wards of a high school which is under the proposal of demolition to raise parking space in the heart of the city here. Protests sparked in the winter capital here for the last one-week when the government announced demolition of government high school, city chowk. The locals however, lashed out at the decision of demolishing the school building for constructing parking lot. ''It is one of the oldest schools of old city and many people including those who are presently serving at prominent posts, are passed out from this school,'' a shopkeeper said. Meanwhile, protestors including local residents and students raised anti-government slogans and demonstrated in from of the school gate. However, the Education Department said that clubbing of schools is an ongoing process aimed at ensuring quality education to the students by making best possible use of the available resources. ''Clubbing of Government Girls High School City Chowk and Government Girls High School Dogra Hall Jammu is a part of the same process,'' Director School Education Jammu, Babila Rakwal in a statement issued here this evening said. She said the clubbing of these two schools is in no way going to affect the studies of the students since the students will be taught by the same teachers and thereby maintaining the continuity. ''Also sufficient teachers will be available to run the remedial classes/evening classes thereby benefitting the students of 9th and 10th classes of both the schools,'' she said and added that the students have also the option to going to Central Basic, HSS, Purani Mandi Jammu or any other school in the vicinity. The Director Education said that as per the records there are only 134 students enrolled in Government Girls High School Dogra Hall with 22 teachers while there are 208 students enrolled Government Girls High School City Chowk with 33 teachers. She said given the disproportionate teacher: pupil ratio, the government decided that from the next year, the classes of 9th and 10th of GGHS Dogra Hall shall be shifted to Government Sri Ranbir Memorial Higher Secondary School, Jammu and the Government Girls High School, Dogra hall will be converted to that of a Model Elementary School while the surplus teaching staff shall be rationalized and deployed in the peripheral school where there is acute shortage. The recommendations were made by a Committee of officers headed by DSEK and comprising Chief Education Officer, Jammu, Deputy CEO, Jammu, Principal, SRML, HSS, Jammu who is also the cluster head of Government Girls HS Dogra Hall, GGHS City Chowk, HS Kachi Chawni and MS Tangewali Gali, Headmaster, GGHS City Chowk and Senior Teacher in charge of GGHS Dogra Hall. The Committee visited the school along with the staff and recommended that shifting of students from Government Girls High School City Chowk will ensure increase in class strength to a more optimum level, she added. Pertinent to mention here that the Education Department has already brought around 3000 schools in the State under rationalization process with 331 such schools having been co-located in Jammu district.UNI VBH SB 2122 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1064237.Xml
The money belonged to three people, including a businessman from Kottagudem in Bhadradri district of Telangana who came to the a guest house located at Filmnagar in Jubilee Hills for exchange of the notes.

According to a complaint lodged in the Banjara Hills police station by the businessman Laxman Agarwal while he was trying to work out the exchange of the money through a mediator, seven people including one in police uniform stormed into the guest house room threatened him and decamped with Rs.30 lakhs.

After Agarwal lodged the complaint,two more persons Mankaya Reddy from Jogulamba Gadwal district and Venkatesh babu from Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh) also complained with the police that the same gang robbed them of Rs 25 lakhs and Rs.13 lakhs respectively.

Police said Rs 52 lakhs in Rs 2,000 notes besides two cars ,a toy pistol,police uniform and seven mobile phones were recovered from the gang.UNI SMS SDR 2231

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Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Luizinho Faleiro informed this while interacting with reporters.

Mr Gandhi is expected participate in the 'Padyatra' organised by the party in the state.

He is also likely to hold meetings with office-bearers of the party during his visit.

The state is expected to go to polls early next year.UNI AKM SS SB 2242

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While heading towards asteroid Bennu, NASA said its first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to the Earth will also search for elusive "Trojan" asteroids that share our home planet's orbit. In mid-February 2017, the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security- Regolith Explorer) spacecraft will activate its onboard camera suite and commence a search for the elusive "Trojan" asteroids, NASA said. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is currently on a seven-year journey to rendezvous with, study, and bring a sample of Bennu to the Earth. This sample of a primitive asteroid will help scientists understand the formation of our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. "The Earth-Trojan asteroid search provides a substantial advantage to the OSIRIS-REx mission," said OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "Not only do we have the opportunity to discover new members of an asteroid class, but more importantly, we are practicing critical mission operations in advance of our arrival at Bennu, which ultimately reduces mission risk," Lauretta said. Trojans are asteroids that are constant companions to planets in our solar system as they orbit the sun, remaining near a stable point 60 degree in front of or behind the planet. Because they constantly lead or follow in the same orbit, they will never collide with their companion planet. There are six planets in our solar system with known Trojan asteroids?Jupiter, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Uranus and, even Earth. The Earth Trojan is elusive. To date, scientists have only discovered one Earth Trojan asteroid -- 2010 TK7 -- found by NASA's NEOWISE project in 2010. Between February 9 and 20, however, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will be positioned in an ideal spot to undertake a survey, NASA said. Over 12 days, the OSIRIS-REx Earth-Trojan asteroid search will employ the spacecraft's MapCam imager to methodically scan the space where Earth Trojans are expected to exist. Many of these observations will closely resemble MapCam's planned activities during its upcoming search for satellites of asteroid Bennu, so the Trojan asteroid search serves as an early rehearsal for the mission's primary science operations, the US space agency noted. --IANS gb/py/ ( 367 Words) 2016-12-13-10:48:12 (IANS)
US President-elect Donald Trump returned to Twitter on Monday to pour additional scorn on an ostensible CIA report accusing Russia of interfering in the US election to benefit the Republican real estate magnate. "Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election," EFE news quoted Trump as asking in a tweet. A story on Friday in The Washington Post about the purported CIA document has prompted calls for a bipartisan investigation of a possible Russian role in the election. The President-elect quickly labelled the story "ridiculous". "Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory," Trump tweeted on Monday. The claim of Russian meddling arose following the publication by WikiLeaks of e-mails from the Democratic National Committee and from John Podesta, the chair of Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. The DNC communications showed that that supposedly neutral body was anxious to ensure that Clinton defeated Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries. The government and the Democrats said the e-mails were obtained through hacking carried out by groups aligned with Moscow. After the Post reported on the CIA's conclusions, Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina joined Democrats Charles Schumer of New York and Jack Reed in demand of an in-depth probe of "recent incidents" and moves to prevent "future cyber attacks". The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said on Monday that he supports the idea of a bipartisan investigation. The "Russians are not our friends," said the Kentucky Republican, whose wife, Elaine Chao, is Trump's choice to serve as Transportation Secretary. President Barack Obama's administration announced last week that the intelligence agencies were in the process of putting together a report on the hacking to be submitted to Congress, EFE news added. On Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that a separate congressional investigation "is certainly warranted when you consider the stakes and the consequences". Ten members of the Electoral College sent an open letter to National Intelligence Director James Clapper asking for a briefing on the probe of alleged Russian interference. Meanwhile, a close associate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said of the CIA assertions that "they are absolutely making it up". Craig Murray, a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, told Britain's Guardian newspaper that WikiLeaks obtained the DNC e-mails via a leak, not a hack. "I know who leaked them. I've met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian and it's an insider. It's a leak, not a hack. The two are different things," Murray said. --IANS lok/ ( 465 Words) 2016-12-13-04:22:12 (IANS)
Baloch activists held demonstrations in Canada to protest against the current situation of human rights violations in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. The protests were organised on Saturday to mark International Human Rights Day. On the occasion, Baloch Activist Latif Johar, Central Committee member of Baloch Students Organisation, said, "We are protesting here to urge the United Nations to intervene in Balochistan and stop human rights violations by Pakistani forces and our struggle based on international laws. We hope the United Nations and other champions of democracy will take immediate action against Pakistani barbarism and also Chinese barbarism in Balochistan." Another activist, Zaffar Baloch, organiser of Baloch National Movement, North America, said, "Today we are here to peacefully protest against human rights in Balochistan on the occasion of Human Rights Day. This protest over here in Canada as well as elsewhere in Europe has been called by a joint Baloch national movement." "This is to bring world's attention to what is happening to Balochistan; genocide being conducted by the Pakistani Army, the intelligence forces and sponsored escorts. Thousands have disappeared and we are still struggling for our rights for the sovereignty of the Baloch people over their natural resources over their lands and for their freedom," he added. Baloch leaders and activists have repeatedly blamed the Pakistani government and military for mass killings and forced disappearances of Balochistan natives. As per the activists, most of the attacks in Balochistan bore sectarian mark and often is handiworks of Punjab-based terror outfits, which are thriving on funding by the Pakistani army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). They also said that atrocities on Baloch people have increased after Islamabad and Beijing signed a multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The people in Balochistan, who are championing the cause of the Free Balochistan Movement, are opposing the project, which they say will lead to exploitation of their resources. On International Human Rights Day, Baloch activists across the globe held similar protests condemning Pakistan.(ANI)
The protest was jointly held by members of Baloch Republican Party, Baloch National Movement, Baloch Republican Students' Organisation and Baloch Students' Organisation to mark International Human Rights Day on Saturday.

The protesters raised slogans such as 'stop human rights violations', 'stop disappearances' and 'terrorist country Pakistan'.

Amir Baloch president of BRP, South Korea Chapter, said "The aim of our demonstration here is to highlight the atrocities and violations in Balochistan on the occasion of Human Rights Day. Every individual has human rights irrespective of where they live and these rights should be respected."

He added that Balochi people are a victim of genocide and forced disappearance, which is known to all.

"Today, there is mourning in every home of Balochistan. From every home, someone is missing or their disfigured bodies have been found," he said.

Baloch leaders and activists have repeatedly blamed the Pakistani government and military for mass killings and forced disappearances of Balochistan natives.

As per the activists, most of the attacks in Balochistan bore sectarian mark and often is handiworks of Punjab-based terror outfits, which are thriving on funding by the Pakistani army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

They also said that atrocities on Baloch people have increased after Islamabad and Beijing signed a multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The people in Balochistan, who are championing the cause of the Free Balochistan Movement, are opposing the project, which they say will lead to exploitation of their resources.

On International Human Rights Day, Baloch activists across the globe held similar protests condemning Pakistan.(ANI)
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked religious scholars to play their role in eliminating extremism from society. Addressing the National Seerat Conference in Lahore today, Sharif said the way forward to fight this menace lies in the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Asserting Islam to be a religion of peace and tolerance, he said that certain elements by spreading anarchy and bloodshed have distorted this very image. Sharif said the hideouts of the terrorists have almost been eliminated due to the efforts and sacrifices of the national leadership, religious scholars, armed forces and police. Sharif was quoted by Radio Pakistan, as saying that it is now the responsibility of the religious scholars to reestablish the link between Islam and peace by taking guidance from the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet. Citing respect for humanity and human life to be an integral part of Islamic teachings, Sharif said holy Prophet Muhammad in fact laid the foundation of a society based on high moral values. He said reviving these very values and norms in the daily life and conduct is the responsibility of all Muslims as they were the heirs of the last prophet. Sharif said the first written constitution in the form of the Misaq-e-Madina and also the first charter of human rights was given by the last prophet in his last Hajj Sermon. He added that the two documents served as a beacon of light for people to develop relations with followers of other faiths and religions. (ANI)
National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Tawab Ghorzang said that the formal letter by the Afghan government was sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs adding that the letter was sent to the sanctions committee of the Security Council, reports Khaama Press.

The move comes as part of one of the promises made by President Ashraf Ghani while signing a draft peace agreement with the armed group Hezb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

The peace agreement was signed around two months ago after intense negotiations.

The Afghan officials signed the agreement with optimisms that the accord will open door for peace talks with the other militant groups.

Once branded the "butcher of Kabul", Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s. He is accused of killing thousands of people when his fighters fired on civilian areas of the capital city during the 1992-1996 civil war.

Human Right Watch, the New York-based watchdog, branded Hekmatyar "one of Afghanistan's most notorious war crimes suspects".

The 25-point peace agreement between the Afghan Government and the terror group gives Hekmatyar and his followers' immunity for past actions and grants them full political rights. (ANI)
At a rally in front of the White House, they said the minorities in Bangladesh were facing "serious militant threats", reports the Dhaka Tribune.

After the rally, the activists also submitted a memorandum at the White House seeking the US President's intervention.

This comes as on October 30, over a 100 people were injured when a mob of around 3,000 local Muslims demolished at least 10 temples and vandalised hundreds of houses of the Hindu community. The two-hour mayhem followed a Facebook post from the account of a local Hindu youth, which the attackers said did "hurt the religious sentiment" of the Muslims.

Minorities have frequently been attacked in Bangladesh raising concerns that the authorities are not taking steps to curb the rising religious tensions. (ANI)
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the executing agency for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded project, officially issued a 'notice of termination' to Constructora Sanjose on Saturday, reports the Kathmandu Post.

"We have seized the Rs 600-million performance bond deposited by the contractor as it failed to perform its obligations under the contract," said CAAN director general Sanjiv Gautam.

The Spanish company had been given two deadline extensions and a number of 'notice to correct letters', but it showed no interest in moving the project forward.

A CAAN board of directors meeting last Friday had recommended that the agreement with Constructora Sanjose be cancelled as the project had achieved only 17 percent physical progress in the last six years.

The decision was forwarded to the ADB for its consent before the deal was cancelled. "The official termination was done after receiving the go-ahead from ADB headquarters," said Gautam.

The ADB has provided USD 80 million in loan and grant and the government has put up USD 12 million for the scheme which has since been renamed as air transport capacity enhancement project.

Gautam said that CAAN had decided to invite fresh tenders to resume the runway extension and terminal building works within one and a half months.

After the completion of the project, TIA will be able to handle more than 5.85 million passengers annually and accommodate bigger aircrafts. (ANI)
According to a Japanese legislator, the government had planned to present Putin, who is known as a dog lover, with a male Akita as a companion to Yume, a female of the same breed that Japan gifted him in 2012, reports Xinhua.

"Unfortunately, we heard from our counterparts, and our hope to present a bridegroom was dashed," Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said in a blog post on Friday.

Putin will visit Japan on December 15-16 during which both leaders are expected to work towards reviving security talks and joint naval rescue training exercises that were halted after Russia's takeover of Crimea in 2014.

Russia and Japan have yet not signed a peace treaty formalizing the end of World War II due to a territorial row over four small Pacific islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

Japan is hoping to make progress on the territorial dispute during Putin's visit.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said on Saturday that there should be no high expectations for any immediate progress on the signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan, as they still have difficulties in ironing out their differences. (ANI)
A resident in Basnettar, outside the ring road of capital Kathmandu, Niraj Ghimire, goes through a loan agreement paper in his tin barred house. It's been over a month that he made grant agreement with the government, but hasn't received a single rupee from the government, which had promised to give two lakh rupees to rebuild his house. But the victims of the earthquake claim the amount is insufficient to rebuild their homes. "The amount allocated by the government to give 2 lakhs rupees to victims of earthquake for reconstruction is not sufficient because, from that amount, we cannot even dig the foundation of our house." said Niraj. The International Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction held in capital Kathmandu on June 2015 witnessed the pledge of 4.4 billion dollars help in the form of a loan and a grant. Out of the pledged amount Nepal has made an agreement of about 80 percent with the donors till the month of September. India was the country which pledged the highest amount of aid and loans of 1 billion dollars at the donors' summit. In later months, India extended the amount to help Nepal in reconstruction which now has reached 140 crore Dollar. According to the data of the National Reconstruction Authority an agreement of one billion US Dollars has been inked with the Indian government. Along with it, India also has clarified that the pledged amount also includes the regular assistance which it gives to Nepal. "In terms of the agreement, India, our friendly nation and India has been helping us with one billion US dollar and the modality of the expenditures and the project selection is underway" Ram Prasad Thapaliya, Spokesperson of National Reconstruction Authority Confirmed. Nepal which was jolted by earthquake of 7.8 Richter Scale claimed nearly 9,000 lives and left more than 22, 000 injured, some with permanent disabilities and over half a million houses fully or partially damaged, and three million people rendered homeless. Though it's been more than 19 months since destruction, the reconstruction work is yet to take place. "In the grant amount, until today, discussions are made and the pledged amount is being materialized from both the sides. From the government side we are selecting, we are choosing the projects from the donors side we are finalizing the funds flow mechanism, how can the NRA spend the money? The NRA is willing to strengthen its CLPIU's- Central Level Project Implementing Unit, which we already have set up as per our aids and the policies for the reconstruction activities. But some donors are still asking for other modalities and going to the district level and not using this (C) LPIU's" Spokesperson of NRA Thapaliya said. Though Nepal has seen two new Prime Ministers after the April 2015's devastating quake the survey of the affected areas is yet to be completed. With one year having already passed, the victims of Earthquake are sure to bear the brunt of coldness. (ANI)
The Khamma Press quoted the local security officials, as saying that the airstrike was carried out using an unmanned aerial vehicle in Haska Mina district and the militants were targeted in Langari Kand area.

There has been no comment by the anti-government armed militant regarding the report so far.

Regular raids are being conducted by Afghan and the US forces in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgents and ISIS loyalist in the districts where they are conducting insurgency activities. (ANI)
President-elect Donald Trump has questioned as to why the United States should continue to abide by its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of "one China" policy. "I fully understand the 'one China' policy, but I don't know why we have to be bound by a 'one China' policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," CNN quoted Trump, as saying on a local news channel. Trump's remark comes weeks after he had taken a congratulatory call from the President of Taiwan which had angered the Chinese officials. Trump said the U.S. is being hurt very badly by China with devaluation. He said that China was taxing the U.S. heavily at the borders which is quite contrast to Washington's stand. The President-elect said that Chinese should not be building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea. Asserting that China was not helping the U.S. at all with regard to North Korea, Trump insisted that he won't falter to anger Beijing unless the country comes to the bargaining table on trade and severs ties with North Korea. "You have North Korea. You have nuclear weapons, and China could solve that problem, and they're not helping us at all," Trump said. (ANI)
Former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres is set to be sworn in as the next United Nations Secretary-General today. Guterres, 67, was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. He will become the world's top diplomat on 1 January 2017, and hold that post for the next five years. He was formally appointed by the General Assembly on October 13 in what was the culmination of a historic process member states set in motion late last year: the selection of a new United Nations Secretary-General, traditionally decided behind closed-doors by a few powerful countries, for the first time in history, involved public discussions with each candidate campaigning for the Organization's ninth chief. These so-called 'informal briefings' between the candidates, UN member states and civil society representatives kicked off on 12 April, when the first three candidates presented their 'vision statements' and answered questions on how they would promote sustainable development, improve efforts to create peace, protect human rights, and deal with huge humanitarian catastrophes should they be selected to lead the Organization. In October, thanking the Assembly for appointing him as the next Secretary-General, Guterres said he was grateful to the member states for their trust in him as well as for the transparent and open selection process they undertook. "I believe this process means that the true winner today is the credibility of the UN. And it also made very clear to me that, as Secretary-General, having been chosen by all Member States, I must be at the service of them all equally and with no agenda but the one enshrined in the UN Charter," he said. The ceremony, at which Guterres will take the oath of office, will also see the 193-member General Assembly pay tribute to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his exceptional contribution to the work of the Organization over the past decade. (ANI)
"Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have lost their loved ones. We extend our profound sympathies and condolences to the brotherly people and Government of Turkey. We also pray for the speedy recovery of those injured," a press statement by Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

Pakistan expressed complete solidarity with Turkey in its fight against terrorism and reaffirmed the belief that those seeking to disturb Turkey's peace, stability and internal harmony would never succeed.

"We have no doubt that the brotherly people of Turkey would decisively defeat the scourge of terrorism with their unshakable resolve and continue on the path of peace, security and prosperity," the statement read.

Pakistan also reiterated its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Turkey has declared a one-day morning after twin blasts ripped through the heart of Istanbul killing 29 people and wounding 166 others.

The first bomb went off just outside the facility known popularly as Besiktas Stadium. The second blast that came moments later was attributed by authorities to a suicide bomber. (ANI)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a phone call to his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims.

Kerry also made clear that the United States will continue to stand with the people of Egypt as they face threats from terrorist organizations and work to achieve a stable, secure, and prosperous future.

Earlier, the U.S. embassy in Cairo condemned the attack and said that it mourns those killed in the attack on the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo.

"We strongly condemn this hateful act of violence, which targeted Egypt's Christian community. We stand with Egypt in opposing all acts of terrorism as we support a stable, secure, prosperous future for all Egyptians," the Embassy said in a press statement.

UN Security Council also strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Egyptian state TV reported that the bomb exploded in a chapel close to the outer wall of St Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Egypt's Orthodox Christian church and home to the office of its spiritual leader, Pope Tawadros II.

There were conflicting reports as to the nature of the attack. Egypt's official Mena news agency said an assailant threw a bomb into a chapel close to the outer wall of the cathedral, but some witnesses suggested an explosive device had been planted inside the building.

On 14 August 2013, mobs attacks dozens of churches across the country after police killed hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters in Cairo.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's attack. (ANI)
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Western sanctions imposed after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea are an obstacle to talks on a peace treaty with Japan, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.Putin, in an interview with the newspaper ahead of a Dec. 15-16 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan, said Russia was willing to discuss joint economic activity with Japan on disputed islands at the core of a decades old territorial feud, the newspaper said.But Putin said any such activity must be under Russian sovereignty. Putin also said Japan's proposal for economic cooperation in eight areas had helped the atmosphere for talks with Japan, the Yomiuri saidREUTERS CJ PM1335 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1063210.Xml
German engineers expect muted growth in 2017, with an uncertain outlook for business in the United States and China offsetting a recovery in exports to some markets such as Russia and India, industry body VDMA said today."A broad-based economic recovery would look different, and no real impulses for growth are in sight," VDMA President Carl Martin Welcker said, affirming a forecast for 1 percent sector output growth in 2017 after a flat 2016.Welcker warned it was unclear what path the United States, German engineers' biggest export market, would take after Donald Trump replaces Barack Obama as president in January."The designated President's comments don't make us optimistic," he said.In China, meanwhile, there are still numerous risks such as overcapacity and high debt levels, the VDMA said, adding it could not rule out a continued decline in exports to the world's second-biggest economy.In the first nine months of 2016, the value of exports to the United States eased by 2.4 per cent to 12.9 billion dollars, while those to China dropped 11.5 per cent to 10.6 billion.Exports to Russia could return to slight growth in 2017, after a 7.3 per cent slide in the first nine months of 2016, the VDMA said, adding demand from Brazil could bottom out next year and that from India could recover.The VDMA, which represents large engineering companies such as Siemens as well as thousands of medium-sized industrial goods makers, sees sector sales edging up to 224 billion euros in 2017 from 220 billion this year.The engineering sector is Germany's largest industrial employer, with 1.02 million workers.REUTERS PY AS1449 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1063310.Xml
France today called on the United Nations to use all its mechanisms to determine what was happening in the besieged city of Aleppo, warning Russia that it risked being complicit in acts of "vengeance and terror" taking place in the Syrian city.With growing unverified reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, carried out by Syrian-government backed forces, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was more urgent than ever to establish a cessation of hostilities."The backers of the regime, starting with Russia, cannot allow this logic of vengeance and terror without taking the risk of being complicit," Ayrault said."I call on the United Nations to use without delay all the mechanisms to establish the truth of what is happening in Aleppo so that the international community does not let these crimes remain unpunished," he said.REUTERS PY BL1529 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1063399.Xml
Turkey will intensify talks with Russia and other countries on Syria's Aleppo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, adding that a ceasefire was needed to allow civilians to be evacuated.Speaking at a joint news conference with his Czech counterpart in Ankara, Cavusoglu confirmed a planned meeting between Russian and Turkish officials but said it was one of many such meetings between Turkey and the international community on Syria crisis.A senior Turkish official said Turkey was negotiating with Russia to open a corridor to evacuate Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from the remaining opposition-held districts of Aleppo, but no agreement had yet been reached.REUTERS PY BL1530 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1063400.Xml
EU foreign ministers said today the bloc would not push ahead with membership talks with Turkey but rejected calls by Austria and European lawmakers to freeze the process because of Ankara's security crackdown.The bloc has criticised Ankara's sweeping dismissals and arrests over a failed July putsch but is wary of upsetting Turkey too much as it needs its cooperation on curbing immigration to the bloc and dealing with the conflict in Syria.Turkey has jailed some 36,000 people pending trial and sacked or suspended more than 100,000 over their alleged support of the coup plotters. The EU worries that Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to go after his critics.Several foreign ministers arriving for a meeting in Brussels argued against calls from Austria for a tough stand against Ankara. The European Parliament has also passed a resolution calling for a freeze in talks."It is needed to go further on some collaboration with Turkey, it is true for fight against terrorism, capacity to exchange information on fighters, also to manage together the migration issue," Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said."About the accession process, it is true that it's impossible now to go further with such a very difficult situation in Turkey ... we will say certainly that it is impossible to open new chapters for the accession process."France's Europe Minister Harlem Desir agreed, adding he wanted "a demanding, clear and firm dialogue on the principles and values which are those of Europe".Arguing for a tougher line, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said: "Accession talks with Turkey have to be put on hold ... Turkey has drifted away from Europe more and more and, over the past months, this development has increased in terms of drama and speed."The Netherlands is also with the hawkish camp. But EU leaders are not likely to agree a formal halt of the accession process, which would be a slap in the face of Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, when they meet in Brussels on Thursday.Diplomats said the EU is instead mulling shifting pre-accession funds that it is giving to Ankara, directing them instead more firmly at Turkish civil society.It has also said the accession process would come to an automatic end should Ankara reinstate the death penalty.Germany has also spoken clearly against a formal freeze of the accession talks of Turkey, a mainly Muslim country of 79 million people.The talks have made relatively little progress in over a decade and the latest souring of relations between the EU and Turkey makes any new advancement politically impossible now."The accession negotiations have come to a standstill for months and I don't see any movement in the next couple of months," said EU enlargement chief Johannes Hahn.REUTERS SDR BL1720 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1063635.Xml
In an interview to Tass news agency to mark the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mr Gorbachev said he accepted his role in the nation's collapse, but maintained that he "fought for the union until the end."

"Reforming the Soviet Union was both possible and necessary," he said.

Mr Gorbachev said the August coup by the Soviet Communist Party hardliners to stop his reforms, stopped him from saving the the USSR from collapse.

He also accused former Russian President Boris Yeltsin as an "exceedingly power-hungry" man who misunderstood his role as leader.

Yeltsin "just started battling with the union's central government" after failing to gain a place on the Politburo, he said.

"My credo is democracy, decisive change in support of democracy, banishing totalitarianism and without blood being spilled," Mr Gorbachev said, adding "I left office willingly to avoid bloodletting."UNI XC PY SHK 1757

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1063739.Xml
Qatar called today for an emergency Arab League meeting to discuss the situation in Aleppo, where Syrian government and allied forces were making a final push to capture the city from rebels, Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported.Qatar is a main supporter of rebels who have been fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran.Thousands fled the front lines of fighting in bitter weather as the Syrian military hammered the final pocket of rebel resistance in Aleppo and Russia rejected an immediate ceasefire. The United Nations described the situation as a "complete meltdown of humanity".The Qatar-based satellite channel said the request was made for a meeting at the level of representatives to the Cairo-based Arab League, but gave no further information.Egypt's state news agency also reported that a request had been made by Qatar's delegation to the Arab League "to discuss the tragic situation in Aleppo".REUTERS SDR BL1932 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1064046.Xml
A suicide bomber who killed at least 25 people in Cairo's main cathedral today was a Muslim Brotherhood supporter who joined a militant cell while on the run from police, the Interior Ministry said.In an interview with Reuters, the mother of the alleged bomber said he had been sexually abused in police custody in 2014, but she had seen no sign he had been radicalised.At least 49 people were wounded when the bomb went off in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic Christian papacy.The interior ministry named the attacker yesterday as Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa, a 22-year-old student. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said four people had been detained and two were on the run.Sisi took power in 2013, deposing Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has since outlawed the Islamist movement as part of a crackdown in which hundreds of its supporters have been killed and thousands jailed.The Interior Ministry said Mahmoud was arrested in March 2014 for carrying arms during a protest, and was freed on bail after two months. It said he had joined a cell led by Mohab Mostafa Sayyed Qassem, a militant with links to Islamic State fighters in Northern Sinai and exiled Brotherhood officials in Qatar, and was wanted in two other cases."MAHMOUD WOULD NOT DO THIS"Sitting in a two-storey house with her four daughters, his mother, Umm Bilal, said Mahmoud fled to Sudan shortly after being released."Mahmoud would not do this... he would not kill anyone," she shouted as she listened to a news report on the bombing.Mahmoud's father died two years ago, said Umm Bilal, who wore a robe and Islamic face covering, or niqab. The young man called his mother regularly from abroad."He said he would not return because security forces would detain him again," Umm Bilal said, adding that the last call came about a week ago."He was asking after me and his sisters... I didn't notice any change in his voice or anything to suggest he would blow himself up."Umm Bilal said her son was not radicalised, but had returned broken from police custody. Mahmoud had confided in his brother, she said, that he was sexually assaulted."He kept crying all night... He wasn't crying because he was beaten or tortured, though the scars were still visible on his face and body," she said. "I believe they broke him at the station, they violated his honour."She said his two brothers had also been arrested, one of them after the bombing.SPLINTERED MOVEMENTThe Muslim Brotherhood won Egypt's first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Mursi became president but was toppled two years later after mass protests.Egypt's oldest Islamist organisation says it is peaceful, but has split into rival wings since the crackdown, while some erstwhile supporters have formed splinter groups that carry out targeted attacks on police and judicial officials.Disillusioned by its ill-fated flirtation with democracy, some younger Brotherhood supporters have gone to fight in Syria or joined the local arm of Islamic State, which since 2013 has killed hundreds of soldiers and police in Egypt's Sinai peninsula. The army has responded by conducting air strikes and bulldozing entire villages.No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing, but Islamic State supporters celebrated online. The group has urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds.CCTV footage surfaced overnight showing a man walking briskly out of the church and another walking in seconds before the blast. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the footage.REUTERS AKC AN2103 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1064220.Xml
Francois Fillon, tipped to win France's presidential election next year, sought today to dispel fears over his plans to reform public healthcare as opponents accused him of backtracking and sowing confusion.Fillon, 62, has raised concern even within his centre-right Les Republicains party with an election manifesto that foresees limiting public health insurance to serious or long-term illnesses, with everything else covered privately.Signs that he favours a radical redrawing of a system largely unchanged since 1945, but which French citizens do not want to lose, have handed the opposition a stick to beat him with and suddenly made healthcare a hot-button election issue.Though the system operates with debts of 110 billion euros (117 billion dollars), an opinion poll showed that 90 per cent of people are opposed to cutting spending on public healthcare.Aiming to counter criticism from political rivals and head off possible revolt in his own party on the way to the election next April and May, Fillon denied today that he harboured plans to privatise parts of the health system."Instead of looking at the facts, my detractors suspect me of wanting to 'privatise' health insurance and cut down on spending there. This is quite clearly not true," he wrote in an article in Le Figaro, flagship newspaper of the centre-right.The general public insurance now in force would continue to cover treatment as it does now, and people would actually be better reimbursed for glasses and dental care, he said.Fillon's camp denied suggestions he was back-pedalling. But critics accused him of failing to clarify where he stood on his written manifesto pledge that only serious illnesses would be covered by the state."He is trying purely and simply to confuse the French," said Marisol Touraine, health minister in the Socialist government.A spokesman for Fillon did little to help when asked whether common colds would qualify for state insurance cover or not."It depends on what kind of cold," the spokesman replied to France Inter public radio."He (Fillon) wants to calibrate reimbursement according to the level of sneezing," Touraine responded in a sarcastic tweet.The far-right National Front (FN), whose leader Marine Le Pen is tipped in polls to face Fillon in the run-off vote next May, also weighed in."It's either deliberately fuzzy and he is hiding his real plan, which is to privatise the social security system ... or he is genuinely back-pedalling and that means we could, if Fillon is elected, be condemned to five years of immobility," said Florian Philippot, a leading FN official.Fillon, a former prime minister, won his party's nomination with a programme in which he proposes slashing public spending by 100 billion euros, cutting half a million public sector jobs and extending the working week to 39 hours from 35.But his healthcare plans have clearly worried people in his own party who fear he might squander the big lead he apparently holds over Le Pen.Bernard Accoyer, secretary general of Les Republicains, has called for clarification, and Fillon was due to meet leading lights in the party later today. REUTERS AKC AN2150 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1064264.Xml
Yu Zhengsheng (C, rear), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, speaks at a seminar commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Xi'an Incident in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 12, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng on Monday called for constant efforts to promote the "great patriotic spirit of the Chinese nation."

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at a seminar commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Xi'an Incident.

On Dec. 12, 1936, the Xi'an incident took place in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, when Kuomintang (KMT) generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng took Chiang Kai-shek hostage and demanded that he stop the civil war and unite with the Communist Party of China (CPC) in a national war against Japanese aggression.

The incident and its peaceful settlement ended a decade of civil war, resulting in the second round of cooperation between the KMT and the CPC, the turning point for national resistance against Japanese aggression, according to Yu.

Yu hailed the spirit of patriotism and solidarity displayed by the two generals, the CPC and the Chinese people in the incident as a precious treasure and a source encouragement for overcoming difficulties.

Yu stressed carrying forward the spirit of patriotism, the strengthening of confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and adherence to the socialist road with Chinese characteristics to defend and build the country.

He called for upholding the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle and opposition to "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and their activities. "Efforts should be made to promote the integrated social and economic development across the Strait and strengthen the national and cultural identity of compatriots on both sides," according to Yu.

Yu also called for cherishing the hard-earned development achievements, safeguarding the political situation of stability and unity, and further consolidating and developing the broadest possible patriotic united front.

The will, wisdom and power of all parties, organizations, ethnic groups and segments of society and all the people who love the Chinese nation should be pooled for the country's "two centenary goals" and the Chinese dream of great national renewal, Yu said.

The two centenary goals refer to: completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the CPC's centenary in 2021, and building a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious country by the centenary of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 2049.
BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- China has launched dispute settlement procedures at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by requesting consultations with the United States and the European Union (EU) regarding the surrogate country approach when calculating anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports, the Ministry of Commerce said Monday.

In a statement on its website, the ministry said in accordance with Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001, the surrogate country approach expires on December 11, 2016.

All WTO members should live up to their international obligations to abandon the surrogate country approach when calculating anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports, it said.

Unfortunately, the United States and the European Union have not fulfilled this obligation yet, said the ministry.

Under the surrogate country approach, WTO members use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from countries on its "non-market economy" list, which includes China. The practice allows countries to levy high tariffs easily in trade disputes.

In November, the U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said the time was "not ripe" for the U.S. to grant China market economy status, suggesting old anti-dumping practices would be retained.

Meanwhile, to cut the link with the "non-market economy" list, the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, last month presented a new methodology for its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy calculations, replacing the concept with those of "market distortion."

Although the surrogate country approach has been dropped, the EU left open the option to use "international" prices and cost reference in further anti-dumping cases if "market distortion" was found, which analysts said is simply another way of extending the previous practices.

The United States and the EU's use of the surrogate country approach has seriously affected exports and employment in some Chinese industries, said the commerce ministry.

The ministry stressed that filing litigation is a normal way for WTO members to settle disputes under WTO rules. By lodging the case at the WTO, China is protecting its rights and the seriousness of international trade rules.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said in an article published earlier Monday that all WTO members should fulfil the obligation enshrined in the accession protocol, which is clear and unquestionable.

"China's lawful rights must be protected," he said, adding that China will "firmly defend its lawful rights and reserves the right of further action."

China firmly opposes the distortion of WTO rules and the dismemberment of a multilateral trade mechanism, the minister said in the article.

Gao said protecting the seriousness of rules and obligations, as well as the authority of the multilateral trade mechanism is a shared duty of all WTO members and is in line with their common interests.

China urges all WTO members to keep their commitment, comply with international laws and fulfill their obligations, he said.

China is willing to work with other WTO members to fight trade protectionism, protect multilateral trade mechanism, revive trade and investment as world economic engines, and build an open global economy that is more dynamic, more inclusive and more sustainable, said Gao.

Official data from the first 11 months of this year showed that the EU is China's biggest trading partner, with a trading volume of 3.26 trillion yuan (472.4 billion U.S. dollars), followed by the U.S. with a trade volume of 3.08 trillion yuan.
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (C), who is also head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, attends a plenary session of the leading group in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 12, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Vice Premier Wang Yang on Monday urged local governments to implement central government measures on poverty alleviation.

Wang, head of the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development, told a meeting that the country's poverty relief got off to a good start this year, but more must be done in 2017, a significant year in China's fight against poverty.

China aims to eliminate poverty by 2020 when its 13th Five-Year Plan is completed. As of the end of 2015, China still had 55.75 million people living in poverty.

According to a poverty alleviation plan for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) released by the central government earlier this month, China continues to carry out its precision-poverty relief measures while implementing regional development strategies.

Wang stressed industrial development and employment as important ways to create development momentum for the poor. He also pledged to strengthen supervision and increase spending in poverty alleviation with better management of funds.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Monday the United States remains "firmly committed" to one-China policy.

"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest at the daily briefing.

"That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," he added.

It is universally recognized by the international community that there is only one China in the world, and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has made clear that adherence to one-China policy is the prerequisite for Taiwan to conduct contacts with foreign countries or participate in international activities.

Related:

Commentary: Respecting each other's core interests key to healthy China-U.S. relations

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- If history offers any guide, respecting each other's core interests is a fundamental principle for the healthy development of China-U.S. relations.

In a world that considers secessionism as a common enemy, the Taiwan issue is one of China's core interests, making the one-China policy a bedrock for Sino-U.S. relations, the most important bilateral ties of the international community. Full story

China urges U.S. president-elect to adhere to one-China policy

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- China said on Monday that it is "gravely concerned" about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's latest remarks suggesting he is reconsidering the one-China policy, urging the new administration to adhere to the policy.
Antonio Guterres (R) and retiring UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gesture after an oath of office ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 12, 2016. UN Secretary-General-designate AntonioGuterres was sworn in as the new secretary-general of the world body at an oath of office ceremony here on Monday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres was sworn in as the new secretary-general of the United Nations at an oath of office ceremony here on Monday.

Witnessed by senior diplomats of member states and senior UN officials, Guterres repeated the oath after current General Assembly President Peter Thomson.

With his left hand putting on a copy of UN Charter and his right hand up in the air, Guterres pledged as follows.

"I, Antonio Guterres, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions entrusted to me as Secretary-General of the United Nations, to discharge these functions and regulate my conduct with the interests of the United Nations only in view, and not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the performance of my duties from any government or other authority external to the organization."

UN Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres (C-L) attends an oath of office ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 12, 2016. UN Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres was sworn in as the new secretary-general of the world body at an oath of office ceremony here on Monday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

On Oct. 13, the UN General Assembly appointed Guterres as the 9th secretary-general of the United Nations to succeed retiring Ban Ki-moon who is to step down at the end of this year.

The five-year term for Guterres will start on Jan. 1, 2017 and end on Dec.31, 2021.

Guterres, a 67-year-old politician, served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

After swearing-in, Guterres told the 193-member UN General Assembly that he is deeply honored by the trust and confidence member states have placed in him, and is "determined to be guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter."

Guterres said the priority for the United Nations is to address root causes of multiple global challenges through three pillars -- peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.

He pledged that he will lead the UN to reform its system to better support the world's sustainable development agenda as well as the Paris climate deal.

He also promised to conduct a management reform to make the United Nations "nimble, efficient and effective, adding that the organization" must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy."

Antonio Guterres (R) is greeted by retiring UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after an oath of office ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 12, 2016. UN Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres was sworn in as the new secretary-general of the world body at an oath of office ceremony here on Monday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

Speaking of China's role in UN affairs, Guterres told reporters here that "China is strongly engaged in creating or helping creating conditions for an effective multi-lateral approach to global development."

Noting his recent visit to China, Guterres said it was very clear that China has committed a lot to strengthening multilateralism around the world by creating a new bank and relative funds as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Guterres' swearing in came after the UN General Assembly paid tribute to Ban for his decade-long service for the largest international organization.

Ban said he has been honored to serve alongside many courageous and talented women and men of the United Nations over the past ten years and he has seen "the power of international cooperation in taking on the most pressing challenges."

Ban wished the new secretary-general and all the UN member states "peace, prosperity and every success and concluded his speech with saying "thank you" in six UN official languages.

Ban served two five-year terms since 2007.
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (R) hands over the cabinet minister bell to Italy's newly-appointed Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni at the handover ceremony at Chigi Palace in Rome, capital of Italy, on Dec. 12, 2016. Italy's newly-appointed Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni announced the formation of a new cabinet on Monday. (Xinhua/Jin Yu)

ROME, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Italy's newly-appointed Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni announced the formation of a new cabinet on Monday.

He handed in his list of 18 new ministers to Italian President Sergio Mattarella late afternoon on Monday, thus drawing to a swift close to the government crisis set off by the resignation of former prime minister Matteo Renzi on Dec. 7.

Renzi stepped down after losing a key constitutional referendum, and, on Sunday, 62-year-old Gentiloni was asked by Mattarella to replace him and form a new government.

The newly-appointed prime minister went through a quick round of consultations with parliamentary groups until Monday morning, before presenting the new team.

"I did my best to form the government in the shortest possible time in order to answer the call of the president, and to safeguard the stability of our institutions," Gentiloni told a press conference.

As announced, he moved within the framework of the previous center-left government's majority in parliament, since all opposition forces were not available to take part in the new cabinet.

Most key figures were confirmed in their office, including Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, Justice Minister Andrea Orlando, Labor Minister Giuliano Poletti, and Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda.

Angelino Alfano -- outgoing interior minister -- has been named as foreign affairs minister, which was Gentiloni's previous office.

He will be replaced at the interior ministry by Marco Minniti from the center-left Democratic Party (PD), the largest force in the parliament and party to which Gentiloni and Renzi both belong.

The visible continuity with outgoing Renzi's center-left cabinet was meant to be a reassuring message for international and European observers, and for financial markets.

"As it is clear, the government will continue with the innovative action so far carried out by the cabinet led by Matteo Renzi," Gentiloni acknowledged.

"At the same time, it will strive to facilitate the parliamentary forces' task of identifying new rules for the electoral law."

Changing, or amending, the electoral system would in fact be a priority over the next months, in order to allow the country to eventually face early elections. Currently, two different laws govern the election of the Senate and the Lower House of parliament, and the president has stressed they need to be "harmonized."

The legislature term ends in February 2018. Yet, all opposition forces have been pressing for snap elections since the cabinet-backed constitutional reform was rejected in the referendum, and a general vote might be called as early as spring 2017.

The new cabinet was to be sworn in at the president's Quirinal Palace at 8:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.

Then, it will ask for a confidence vote in both the senate and the lower house.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. researchers have proposed a new solar geoengineering method that would inject a material called calcite high into the atmosphere to help fight global warming while simultaneously healing the ozone layer.

Solar geoengineering is the idea that humans might deliberately increase the reflection of sunlight back to space, for example, by injecting light-reflecting sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere.

But these sulfate aerosols carry significant risks, since they can produce sulfuric acid in the stratosphere, which damages ozone, according to the study published in the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"In solar geoengineering research, introducing sulfuric acid into the atmosphere has been the only idea that had any serious traction until now," said first author David Keith, professor at the Harvard University.

"This research is a turning point and an important step in analyzing and reducing certain risks of solar geoengineering."

Previous research focused on ways to limit the ozone-damaging reactions produced by nonreactive aerosols. But Keith and colleagues took a completely different approach, targeting aerosols that are highly reactive.

"Anytime you introduce even initially unreactive surfaces into the stratosphere, you get reactions that ultimately result in ozone destruction as they are coated with sulfuric acid," said coauthor Frank Keutsch, professor at the Harvard University.

"Instead of trying to minimize the reactivity of the aerosol, we wanted a material that is highly reactive but in a way that would avoid ozone destruction."

In order to keep aerosols from harming the ozone, the particles would need to neutralize sulfuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acid on their surface.

Through extensive modeling of stratospheric chemistry, the team eventually found that calcite, a constituent of limestone, could counter ozone loss by neutralizing emissions-borne acids in the atmosphere, while also reflecting light and cooling the planet.

"Calcite is one of the most common compounds found in the earth's crust," said Keith. "The amounts that would be used in a solar geoengineering application are small compared to what's found in surface dust."

The researchers have already begun testing calcite in lab experiments that mimic stratospheric conditions.

Keith and Keutsch cautioned that anything introduced into the atmosphere may have unanticipated consequences and that even if all the attendant risks could be reduced to acceptable levels, solar geoengineering is not a solution to climate change.

"Geoengineering is like taking painkillers," said Keutsch. "When things are really bad, painkillers can help but they don't address the cause of a disease and they may cause more harm than good. We really don't know the effects of geoengineering but that is why we're doing this research."

"Although both unpalatable and sub-optimal, I'm afraid the time has come to start looking at these techniques more seriously," Matt Watson of the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the study, said in a statement.

"Recent political events, especially those in the U.S., strongly indicate that we are becoming ever less likely to solve this problem through conventional mitigation alone. That therefore requires us to think about a range of potential solutions no matter how politically, socially or technologically challenging they may be."
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann in Bern, Switzerland, on Dec. 12, 2016. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

GENEVA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday said that both Switzerland and China should jointly voice their opposition to protectionism, and actively explore more efforts to safeguard the world's free trade mechanism.

Meeting with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann on Monday, Wang said that the two sides should play their respective advantages so as to provide a new impetus to the world economic growth.

The Chinese foreign minister paid an official visit to Switzerland from Dec. 10 to 12 at the invitation of his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter.

Calling Switzerland an important cooperation partner of China in Europe, Wang said China has long considered that its ties with Switzerland takes the lead in the development of China-Europe relations.

Earlier in April this year, during the state visit of Schneider-Ammann to China, both countries confirmed to establish an innovative strategic partnership, the first of its kind China has ever developed with a foreign country.

The Sino-Swiss relations have become a successful win-win model for different social systems, different stages of development and different sizes of countries in terms of peaceful coexistence and cooperation, Wang said.

He added that in the future China is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with the Swiss side, and deepen all-round cooperation in various fields.

During their talks, Schneider-Ammann spoke about the initial effects of the free-trade agreement with China and noted that there had been a promising increase in Swiss exports to the Chinese market since the agreement's entry into force.

According to the latest figures provided by the Swiss government, in the economic domain, China is Switzerland's biggest trading partner in Asia.

During the visit, Wang also met with Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter on Monday and discussed bilateral relations and issues of common concern.

He also met with the top officials of the United Nations Office at Geneva, the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee.
File photo taken on Oct. 19, 2016 shows Donald Trump participating in the third and final presidential debate at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted on Monday that the cost of F-35 fighter plane is too high, saying the "program and cost is out of control."

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Lockheed Martin builds the F-35. It is the second time within two weeks that the President-elect has slammed a military contractor.

"Cancel order!" he tweeted last week, slamming Boeing for the cost of its new Air Force One, asserting it is "too expensive".

Market value of Lockheed Martin drops 4 billion dollars after Trump's tweet in early trading on Monday, a similar occurrence where stocks in Boeing dropped last week.

F-35's cost has risen to 400 billion dollars to produce 2,457 planes -- nearly twice the estimated cost, according to a CNN report issued earlier this year. More than 1,000 planes were to have been delivered by 2016, but only 179 had been sent as of April this year.
Civilians evacuated from the rebel-held areas of Aleppo wait to be sent to temporary shelters, in the Old City of Aleppo, northen Syria, on Dec. 9, 2016. (Xinhua/Yang Zhen)

DAMASCUS, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian military's recapture of the rebel-held part of Aleppo city could be the trigger behind the Islamic State (IS) recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra, analysts say.

Aleppo, the strategic city in northern Syria, has grabbed the headlines recently, as well as the attention and efforts of the Western countries and Russia.

In cooperation with Moscow, the Syrian government forces have almost dislodged the rebels from the eastern part of Aleppo, local media said Monday.

This comes after a month of intense battles, and negotiations between Moscow and Washington, the later wanted the Syrian army to halt its attacks in Aleppo and establish a ceasefire.

UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan De Mistura recently proposed allowing the rebels in eastern Aleppo to maintain a local administration, in tandem with establishing a ceasefire in the city and the entry of aid to the besieged part of Aleppo.

The envoy's proposition was declined by Damascus, whose officials said the decision to retake all of Aleppo had been taken.

Afterwards, Russia and China vetoed a resolution proposed by the Western country at the UN Security Council about a truce in Aleppo.

Damascus, while tanking both countries for the veto, said that the resolution for a truce aims to give the rebels a chance to regroup and empower themselves against the military offensive of the Syrian army.

The Syrian government has offered the rebels in eastern Aleppo several chances to hand over their weapons and leave the city, but in vain.

And now, as the Syrian army is close to declare the city of Aleppo clear of rebels, the ancient oasis city of Palmyra in central Syria has jumped to the headlines again.

The IS has waged a major offensive on Thursday, succeeding to capture Palmyra on Sunday.

The IS entry is the second to Palmyra, as the group had captured the city in 2015 and lost to the Syrian army in March 2016.

Maher Ihsan, a political analyst and journalist, told Xinhua that the United States hasn't done much to prevent IS from reaching Palmyra again.

"I think they (the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition) wanted to distract the Syrian army from the battles in Aleppo by luring it into sending reinforcement to Palmyra. They also wanted to strip the government of the victory euphoria in Aleppo," he said.

Ahmad Ashkar, another analyst, said the wide-scale attack by the IS on Palmyra is the result of a U.S.-Turkish push to limit the effects of the Syrian military's victory in Aleppo.

"But I think that the major turnaround in Aleppo indicates that the Syrian army has the possibility to quickly retrieve Palmyra," he said.

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the IS attack on Palmyra could be "orchestrated" to divert the attention of Syrian government forces from Aleppo and spare the militants entrenched in the city.

The fact that IS militants launched their offensive on Palmyra from Iraq and "apparently from Mosul" and marched through "the territories patrolled by the aircraft of the U.S.-led coalition makes one think that -- and I really hope to be wrong here - that it was orchestrated and coordinated to give a respite to those thugs, who are entrenched in eastern Aleppo," Lavrov said, according to Russia Today.

Lavrov also charged that Washington deals in double standards with the issue of the terrorist groups in Syria.
Retiring UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon bows at an oath of office ceremony of UN Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres (not seen in the picture) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 12, 2016. UN Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres was sworn in as the new secretary-general of the world body at an oath of office ceremony here on Monday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

by William M. Reilly

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly passed by acclamation a resolution on Monday, honoring retiring Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and then speakers representing major geo-political groups rang out praises to a man who grew up during the Korean war with help from the world organization.

"On behalf of the General Assembly, I offer profound thanks to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his service to the United Nations," said Peter Thomson, president of the General Assembly. "I wish also to thank Mrs. Ban Soon-taek on behalf of you all, for the steadfast support she gave throughout the decade of her husband's work and for her own dedication to the good works of the United Nations."

"I also seize this opportunity to pay tribute to Deputy-Secretary-General Jan Eliasson for his long service to the United Nations," continued Thomson. "He will ever serve as an exemplar for young diplomats, and all those who amidst the tortuous struggles, conflicts and strife of difficult days, hold fast to belief in the universal rights, infinite potential and the beauty of humanity."

"On behalf of you all, I wish the deputy secretary-general and Mrs. Kerstin Eliasson many years of happiness upon their return to Sweden," the Assembly president added during his tribute remarks before the 193-member body.

Maythong Thammavongsa, deputy permanent representative of Laos, on behalf of the Asia Pacific Group, introduced the draft resolution to the assembly.

"The draft takes tradition into account, since the Assembly generally honors the outgoing Secretary-General," he said. "But it is also logical because it reflects the reality, of an outgoing Secretary-General who has displayed such great professional and personal qualities and who has contributed, through many initiatives that have been welcomed ... to make progress towards modernization and democratization."

"Ban Ki-moon has made many sacrifices and undertaken extraordinary efforts, often under very difficult circumstances," the Vientiane envoy said. "It is with gratitude for those efforts that this draft resolution has been submitted."

After the brief measure was passed, representatives of the 193 member nations and other officials of UN organizations and observer entities stood and applauded the quiet-spoken diplomat from South Korea for nearly a minute before he bowed before them and took his seat at the top of the green-marble dais alongside Thomson.

Although last to speak, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, representing the Host Country of the world organization, reached back to Ban's early days in war-torn South Korea, but not before also thanking his wife and deputy for their services.

"If one were to have bet on the likelihood of a child becoming secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon would have been a long shot at best," she said, relating how he had to move from his tiny village to the safety of his grandfather's home shortly after the Korean War broke out when he was five-year-old old.

Ambassador Jynis Mayeiks of Latvia, on behalf of the Eastern European Group, expressed "deep and sincere gratitude" to Ban "for your excellent service as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations. Your calm and steady hand at the helm of the United Nations charted a stable course for the Organization through, at times, a turbulent decade."

"When you entered the office in 2007, the world was a quieter place yet to face the challenges of the economic recession and crises in many parts of the world," he said. "Conflicts, poverty, natural disasters and climate change, the unprecedented large movements of refugees and migrants, humanitarian crises, as well as the growing threat of violent extremism which can be conducive to terrorism have contributed immensely to the current global challenges; all of them have been on your agenda," Mayeiks said.

In response, Ban said that his role "has been a great privilege for me of a lifetime. As some of you said, I am a child of the United Nations. After the Korean War, UN aid fed us. UN textbooks taught us. UN global solidarity showed us we were not alone. For me, the power of the United Nations was never abstract or academic."

"It is the story of my life, and many Korean people," he said. "It is a story of many millions, and millions of people around the world, many children, young boys and girls. This profound appreciation grew even stronger every day during my service with the United Nations."

"For the past ten years, I have been honored to serve alongside the many courageous, dedicated and talented women and men of the United Nations," said Ban, whose last day in office is Dec. 31.
BERLIN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Wolfsburg and its sporting director Klaus Allofs have agreed to part ways with immediate effect, the struggling Bundesliga club announced in an official statement on Monday.

After a situation analysis by the supervisory board and talks between the two parties, Wolfsburg decided to bring its cooperation with the sporting director to an end.

"After a thorough analysis over the last few weeks, we have decided to make a new start in this current difficult situation," chairman of the supervisory board Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz said.

"This step was carefully considered and not an easy decision due to Klaus's efforts for the club and our good personal relationship," he added.

Allofs joined Wolfsburg in November 2012 when the "Wolves" were sitting on a relegation play-off spot. After securing their top-flight status, the Bundesliga club qualified for the UEFA Europa League. The greatest highlight of his term was the side's triumph in the German Cup and its Champions League performance, which allowed it to reach the quarterfinals.

However, things have changed in Wolfsburg as the side's poor performance in recent months dropped them into the relegation zone of the Bundesliga standings. After losing 5-0 to Bayern Munich on Saturday, Wolfsburg extended their winless streak to four games. They reaped only two wins and four draws, but suffered eight defeats in 14 games.

"It is a sad day for me personally," Allofs said. "After intensive talks we have come to this decision for the benefit of Wolfsburg. It was a great honour for me to work with Wolfsburg."

Allofs is a well-known sporting director in the German Bundesliga. The 60-year-old former German international controlled Werder Bremen's fate from 1999 until November 2012 before he joined league rivals Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg occupy the 15th place in the standings. They will clash with 5th-placed Eintracht Frankfurt in the 15th round of Bundesliga action on Saturday.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- A senior aide to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem would be a major focus for Trump.

"That is very big priority for this president-elect," said Kellyanne Conway, former Trump campaign manager, in a radio interview. "He made it very clear during the campaign, and as president-elect, I've heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly."

Despite the passage of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 by the U.S. Congress, which required the relocation of U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, former and current U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, consistently renewed a presidential waiver to delay the relocation on national security interests.

The status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So far, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and not a single foreign country has based their embassies in Jerusalem.

So far, no comment from the Palestinian side available on the remarks.
by Xinhua writer Wang Zichen

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- As a veteran businessman who prides himself on his ability to make deals, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump should be well familiar with the phrase "deal-breaker."

Let's try to make this issue crystal clear for the coming new administration of the United States: any deviation from the one-China policy will be a "deal-breaker."

And just to make things even more clear, let's reiterate the policy. There is only one China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents China.

The U.S. president-elect claims to fully understand the one-China policy, but the fact that he is so eager to play with fire shows he clearly does not.

The one-China policy is the cornerstone for any country, including the United States, to engage with China diplomatically, and is simply non-negotiable: no exceptions.

Every president since Richard Nixon, Republican and Democratic alike, have understood exactly what the one-China policy means, regardless of their differences in other aspects of domestic and foreign policy. The new administration will be held to exactly the same standards.

The president-elect has vowed to make America great again and we wish him well in that regard, but we see no benefit for the United States if he unilaterally and single-handedly puts the world's two largest economies on a collision course.

Taiwan sits in the center of China's core interests. It is difficult to overstate how serious an affront to Beijing it would be if the incoming U.S. administration recklessly shook the foundations of bilateral ties.

Alarm signals aside, China and the U.S. bear great responsibilities and have broad common interests in peace, stability, development and prosperity.

The long-term, stable and healthy growth of China-U.S. ties is in the fundamental interests of everyone, and no more than the international community expects.

Related:

Commentary: Respecting each other's core interests key to healthy China-U.S. relations

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- If history offers any guide, respecting each other's core interests is a fundamental principle for the healthy development of China-U.S. relations.

In a world that considers secessionism as a common enemy, the Taiwan issue is one of China's core interests, making the one-China policy a bedrock for Sino-U.S. relations, the most important bilateral ties of the international community. Full story

China urges U.S. president-elect to adhere to one-China policy

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- China said on Monday that it is "gravely concerned" about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's latest remarks suggesting he is reconsidering the one-China policy, urging the new administration to adhere to the policy.
Yi Cuilan stands in front of the house she rented in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 25, 2016. Yi Cuilan, born on May 6, 1923, survived from the invasion of Japanese troops by pretending to be a boy, seeking asylum from different refugee camps. Although she escaped from death, she suffered from severe pains all these years due to the brutal assault by Japanese invaders. Japanese troops occupied eastern China's Nanjing on Dec. 13, 1937, and began a six-week massacre. Chinese records show more than 300,000 people -- not only disarmed soldiers but also civilians -- were brutally murdered and thousands of women raped. In the past 79 years, the number of survivors decreases. After Zhang Fuzhi, 89, passed away on Nov. 26, 2016, the number of the registered survivors reduced to 108. With hurt that are unable to heal and tragic memory of suffering, survivors are the witnesses of the massacre. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

by Xinhua writer Zhu Dongyang

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- It remains a crowning shame to mankind that the 107 survivors of the appalling carnage conducted by Tokyo in 1937 in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing may never live to get their deserved official apology from the island country, even 79 years after it was defeated in World War II.

But their excruciating fate and that of other 300,000 innocent lives slaughtered by Japan merely in that one Chinese city still trigger cries for justice in and out of China. Upon the arrival of the third National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims on Tuesday, local authorities and multinational institutions released a trove of new information and historical evidences confirming Japan's undeniable atrocities.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's response, to the outrage of all, has been merely "deep remorse." In his speech to the U.S. Congress last year and his announcement last week to pay a "reconciliatory" visit to Pearl Harbor, he again declined to issue an unequivocal apology even to the victims of Japan's most important post-war ally.

Although this rightist politician has been given to understatements on historical issues, it is alarmingly familiar to see him claim Japan a trustworthy "peacemaker" on one hand, and buck for the erasion of the country's war shame and the boosting of its military expansion on the other.

Knowing such maneuvers may hurt his "peace-making" credibility and ratchet up the chances of conflict, Abe increased his hostility with various shenanigans toward China, a country victimized by Japan's brutality 70 years ago and scapegoated now for the island's tepid recovery and the region's raging instability.

And due to the absence -- or at least the lack -- of timely and collective responses of the international community to Abe's historical revisionism and denialism, massive efforts to seek righteousness have been squandered, and numerous rumors spawned, repeatedly racking the nerves of the victims and their families.

No matter how much he wants to shake Japan off its historical duty and "normalize" the nation, Abe bears an inescapable responsibility to apologize. Other parties that once fought together to defeat fascism should also have done a better job to wrest an apology from Japan and help secure the hard-won post-war order.

No excuses or calculation for selfish interests should be put before the lives of the 300,000 Nanjing victims. Compromises over the identified historical truth for whatever reasons are implausible offenses to the dead and the living. The blood and tears shed 79 years ago are just way too poignant to tolerate any distortion or denial of history.

The 300,000 lives deserve no less.
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the United States have blamed each other for the recent fall of the ancient Syrian city Palmyra into the hands of the Islamic State (IS) militants.

Kremlin Spokesman Dimitry Peskov on Monday regretted the failure to stop the IS offensive in Palmyra, as well as the lack of coordinated action and real cooperation with other states that are unwilling to cooperate, the United States first and foremost.

"This cooperation was likely to enable us to avoid similar attacks of terrorists," Tass news agency quoted the spokesman as saying. Peskov also expressed the hope that the IS would be forced out of Palmyra soon.

"What is happening around Palmyra is further evidence that the threat from the IS is serious," Peskov said and reaffirmed that Russia would continue its anti-terrorist operations in Syria. ' Later in the day Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the IS attack on Palmyra might be part of a conspiracy to recharge Syrian rebels.

"It makes me think, and I hope I am wrong, that it is all orchestrated in order to give a respite to the bandits still in eastern Aleppo," Lavrov said during a press conference as he visited Serbia.

The minister also accused the United States of its "dead-end position" and double standards in negotiations on Syrian issues, urging Washington to persuade armed rebels to lay down weapons and leave Aleppo.

The U.S. side however blamed Russia for its failure to sustain the "singular gain" against IS since Moscow's military intervention started in September 2015.

"This is a further demonstration of why, as we have long advocated, Russia must change its focus," the AFP quoted a Pentagon spokesman as saying.

The IS succeeded in retaking Palmyra on Sunday in a major offensive that had started Thursday. The historical sites in the city had been largely destroyed as the terrorist group had controlled the city in 2015 but was driven out by the Syrian army this March.

Russia and the United States have long been at odds over the peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis.

Recently Western countries proposed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council regarding a truce in Aleppo, which was vetoed by Russia and China and criticized by Damascus as a so-called humanitarian pause would only give rebels a chance to regroup and empower themselves.
BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) fails to quit the "analogue country" practice on China as required by the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, as proposed changes to its existing anti-dumping laws are but a disguise to maintain it.

According to the Article 15 of the Protocol on China's accession to the WTO in 2001, members should cease the surrogate country approach in anti-dumping investigations on China after Dec. 11, which expires exactly 15 years after China's admission.

However, the proposal the European Commission, EU's executive arm, last month submitted to the European Council and the European Parliament for approval, in order to update its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy methodologies, will not put an end to using cost data of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from China.

While doing away with listing "non-market economy," a status it has denied China, the bill proposes to use "international" price and cost references in further anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases where "market distortion" is found.

This is a concept unilaterally put forward and defined by the EU and not found in WTO rules, experts said.

The EU's proposal law, if approved, will be a disguise to allow it to continue the analogue country practice, and so with more options,McGuirewoods international trade lawyer Yongqing Bao told Xinhua.

This will represent a failure to conform to the WTO rules, and so does the EU proposed new way to use data that involves "international" references, according to Bao.

The new methods will enable the EU not to base its anti-dumping investigations on the price and cost of Chinese products, said Renato Antonini, who focuses on EU trade and WTO laws and is a partner in Jones Day, another American law firm.

In the eyes of Edwin Vermulst, a partner of the VVGB Advocate law firm in Brussels, the EU proposals amount to a new version of its "non-market economy" practice.

They appear to be non-discriminatory, but would in fact continue targeting China, he said.

Moreover, it is expected to take a year before the new EU anti-dumping law takes effect. To continue the current analogue country practice on China before that, as EU has said, "breaches EU's related WTO obligations," said Bao, who was echoed on the point by Antonini.

Experts believe resorting to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism would be the most effective countermeasure as far as the EU breaches are concerned.

Chinese Commerce Ministry initiated on Dec. 12 the WTO mechanism against both the EU and the United States to defend China's lawful rights and interests and the world's multilateral trade system.

In the long-term interests of both China and the EU as well as their economic and trade cooperation, analysts believe it is the time for the EU to dump protectionism and lift bilateral cooperation to a higher level.

The EU has become China's biggest trade partner and the two sides have enjoyed sound development of economic and trade cooperation in recent years.

Data from Chinese customs authorities showed bilateral trade grew between January and October this year to total 2.94 trillion yuan, or some 427 billion U.S. dollars.

Also, anti-dumping cases account for less than 2 percent of the total EU-China trade and it is not worth it for Brussels to compromise bilateral trade, said Pierre Defraigne, executive director of the Brussels-based think tank the Madariaga-College of Europe Foundation.

In recent years, the world economy has undergone enormous challenges with a slow recovery and a surge of protectionism in global trade.

The EU and China, both major economies in the world and important partners to each other, should bolster their cooperation and jointly deal with the anti-globalization trend.
A woman prays on a street after the return of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Oct. 9, 2014. Uhuru Kenyatta attended a hearing on his case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2014. (Xinhua/Simbi Kusimba)

NAIROBI, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Monday that his government is considering pulling out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which indicted him and his deputy following the 2007/8 post-election violence.

Kenyatta said the government will consider two motions passed by the parliament for Kenya's withdrawal from the court.

"Twice, our Parliament has passed motions to withdraw. We have sought the changes that will align the ICC to respect for national sovereignty. Those changes have not been forthcoming. We will therefore need to give serious thought to our membership," Kenyatta said during his address to the nation at the 53rd Independence Day celebrations in Nairobi.

The president, whose case at the ICC was terminated in March 2015 due to lack of sufficient evidence, said the government will not allow the international court to continue "tormenting innocent Kenyans".

The president and his deputy William Ruto, whose case was also abandoned by the ICC in April this year, had been facing crimes against humanity charges over the 2007/8 post-election violence.

Kenyatta said the ICC has become a tool of global power politics who wanted to undermine Kenya's sovereignty and not pursuit of justice for which it was set up to dispense.

"Our experience at the ICC demonstrated a glaring lack of impartiality in this institution. We have started to see many more nations openly recognizing that the ICC is not impartial," Kenyatta said.

His remarks come as a number of African countries have in recent years threatened to pull out of the ICC.

Already, Burundi and South Africa have signed memorandums to pave way for the exit from the court in October this year. Gambia in the same month also followed and became the third African country in announcing membership withdrawal from the ICC.

Kenyatta said that Kenya's latest decision is informed by the failure by the ICC to reform so that it can have respect for national sovereignty of member countries.

He said the ICC showed an open lack of impartiality when it dealt with Kenya and many more nations have recognized the same.

"We are not the world's richest or most powerful nation, but we are entitled to an equal share of respect for our nationhood, our sovereignty, and our laws," Kenyatta said.

He said Kenya has been a champion of global institutions grounded in fairness and respect for national sovereignty as part of its pursuit of a more stable and just world.

"The Kenyan cases at the ICC have ended but the experience has given us cause to observe that this institution has become a tool of global power politics and not the justice it was built to dispense," Kenyatta said.

He said the choices Kenyans make are the basis for how Kenya will steer its destiny as a sovereign state. "Our founders fought bravely to have the right to make choices free of external interference," he said.

Ex-President Mwai Kibaki and his close rival, ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga, fiercely contested the 2007 presidential elections which resulted into a two-month long post-election violence.

The violence was blamed on election malpractices and the fierce competition for a share of the national wealth between the various tribal groups. Most of it had to do with the distribution of land and access to State power.

Kenyatta and Ruto who were on opposite sides of the political divide in 2007-2008 were accused of organizing attacks against one another's supporters. They were elected in March 2013 on a joint ticket.
People march to protest against terrorist attack outside Besiktas' Vodafone Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, on Dec. 13, 2016. Turkey's largest city Istanbul was rocked Saturday night by twin bombings, killing at least 44 people, including 30 police personnel, and injuring some 155 others. (Xinhua/He Canling)

by Zhu Junqing, Yi Aijun

ISTANBUL, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's largest city Istanbul was rocked Saturday night by twin bombings, killing at least 44 people, including 30 police personnel, and injuring some 155 others.

Turkey has now come under 10 major deadly attacks this year, in which at least 270 people were killed. The attacks were mostly blamed on the Islamic State (IS) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Pundits believed that such frequent terrorist attacks were closely linked to the regional situation and Turkish domestic policy.

ROOT CAUSES

During the past years, the Middle East region has been engulfed in turmoil, war and terrorist activities.

Countries like Libya, Syria and Iraq have been dragged into war after Western powers intervened for their own interests. Thousands of refugees had to flee their homeland to Europe, resulting in the largest refugee crisis on the continent since World War II.

Turkey overvalued its strength and tried to dominate the regional circumstances as they developed, which sowed the seeds of rampant terrorist activities.

Turkish retired diplomat Faruk Logoglu said the country's policy based on religious sects not only harms its ties with Europe and the United States, but also leads to a deterioration of its relationship with neighboring countries, like Syria and Iraq.

Moreover, some of the Turkish government's moves have invited terrorist retaliation, such as renewed fighting with the PKK after last year's election, which tore up the peace process that has lasted for two years, and opening an airbase to the United States and European countries for striking IS targets in Syria.

INFLUENCE ON TURKEY, REGION

Yusuf Kanli, a columnist for the Hurriyet daily, pointed out that the current situation will be used by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as an excuse to promote the transition from the current parliamentarism to a super-presidency, in the name of better governance, a higher level of security and effectiveness in justice. Naturally, a security-thirsty nation will succumb to the push for "secure governance."

However, some analysts said imposing presidentialism by force will inevitably increase the already serious social divergence and antagonism.

Murat Yetkin, another columnist with the newspaper, said "new acts of terror are likely to create new fault lines in society, that will jeopardize not only security and democracy in Turkey, but also security in Europe."

The emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria, if not an independent state, is a nightmare scenario for Turkey as it fears the formation of such an entity would whet the appetite of its own Kurds.

To prevent such things from happening, the country launched a military action coded Operation Euphrates Shield in August, and dispatched a special force of 300 soldiers to northern Syria.

Pundits predicted rising risks of confrontation between the Turkish military and Syrian forces as well as Russia and Iran behind the scenes.

Moreover, some did not rule out a possible dispatch of troops to Iraq. If the PKK sets up a base there, Turkey will face more terrorist threats.

The Turkish Armed Forces began deploying tanks and armored vehicles near the town of Silopi in Sirnak province on the Iraqi border on Nov. 1.

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik has described the deployment of tanks on the border as a preparation in view of the important developments in the region, warning "Turkey has redlines. If those redlines are violated, Turkey will do what it must do."
SEATTLE, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Billionaire philanthropist and technologist Bill Gates and a group of high-profile entrepreneurs announced on Monday the launch of a new fund worth more than 1 billion U.S. dollars to invest in technologies aimed at addressing climate change.

The Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is an investor-led fund that will "finance emerging energy breakthroughs to deliver affordable and reliable energy with the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to near-zero," said a statement by the investor group known as the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

"It is extremely exciting for us to launch this fund as the next step in the commitment made by the Breakthrough Energy Coalition last year," said BEV Chairman Bill Gates.

"I am honored to work along with these investors to build on the powerful foundation of public investment in basic research. Our goal is to build companies that will help deliver the next generation of reliable, affordable, and emissions-free energy to the world," Gates said.

The announcement of the fund comes a year after the United Nations climate change talks in Paris, where Gates unveiled the Breakthrough Energy Coalition -- a group of some 20 billionaire business leaders from around the world, as well as institutional investors, who have committed to investing in new technologies.

Among the investors are Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma, former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, and SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, among others.

"This effort will combine technological innovation and scientific knowledge with the investment expertise needed to transform energy markets," said Ma of Alibaba in the statement. "Together, we'll remind the world that visionary ideas make wonderful realities."

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, a long-term skeptic of climate change who has pledged to cancel the Paris Climate Agreement during the presidential campaign, is backtracking on his campaign position recently.

In an interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, Trump said he has an "open mind" on climate change and is "studying" whether the United States should withdraw from the Paris deal.

"The dialogue with the new administration as it comes in about how they see energy research will be important," Gates told online magazine Quartz. "The general idea that research is a good deal fortunately is not a partisan thing."

Gates was quoted by Reuters as saying that coalition members would continue to push the message to Trump that "even if you don't look at the climate change piece of this, investing makes sense."
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec. 13(Xinhua) -- Royal Brunei Airlines (RB), the sultanate's national airline, has signed an agreement for direct charter flights connecting Bandar Seri Begawan to Xi'an, China, the airline said on its website Tuesday.

Starting from January 21, 2017, RB will operate a weekly flight from Bandar Seri Begawan to Xi'an (and vice versa) until January 13, 2018.

"We are delighted to partner with Beijing Longway for these flights from and to Xi'an to boost tourism traffic between Brunei and China," said Brett McDougall, RB's Executive General Manager in Sales and Marketing.

"Xi'an, a city in Central China most famous for having the largest mosque in China and for the Terracotta Warriors, will enhance RB's route network and provide more choices to our customers," Brett McDougall said.

RB first commenced scheduled services to China with flights to Beijing in 1993, followed by Shanghai in 2002. Ever since, it has been operating flights between the two countries to develop tourism to Brunei from the world's largest market.

Brunei has plenty to offer to visitors from China, the statement on RB website stated. It is the gateway to Borneo, where tourist can experience Brunei's and Borneo's pristine environment.
SHANGHAI, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Although China's market economy status is yet to be recognized by some of the world's major economies, executives of multinationals and China's domestic companies attribute their rapid growth to China's market reform.

French cosmetics manufacturer L'Oreal has been a witness to the country's economic transformation from a centrally-planned to a free market economy in the past 15 years as China became a WTO member.

"In the next 15 years, L'Oreal will strive to tap deeper into China's huge market to let every Chinese woman have a lipstick," said Stephane Rinderknech, L'Oreal China CEO.

China on Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of its accession to the WTO, ending its 15 year protection period to prepare the market for global competition.

Rinderknech said the company has benefitted as China's economy opened up, and the country slashed its import tariffs.

The company acquired two Chinese cosmetic firms in 2014, a Shenzhen-based firm producing local skincare brand "Mininurse" and Magic Holdings International, a Hong Kong-listed Chinese facial care company.

Rinderknech said that since entering China in 1997, L'Oreal has witnessed rapid growth. China surpassed France to become the second largest market for the brand in 2015.

China has been a favored destination for foreign investment since entering the WTO 15 years ago.

In 2015, foreign capital in China reached 126.3 billion U.S. dollars, 2.7 times greater than 2001. During the first ten months of this year, foreign capital reached 666.3 billion yuan in China, year-on-year growth of 4.2 percent, amid a sluggish global economy.

Alongside attracting foreign money, China's WTO entry has also helped Chinese products go global.

Mei Xinyu, a researcher with the Ministry of Commerce, said that China's cargo trade export volume was 266.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2001, accounting for 4.3 percent of the global volume. While in 2015, the figure exceeded 2.27 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 13.8 percent of the global volume.

Mei said that China has fully stood by its WTO commitments in such terms as tariff-reduction and the opening of the service trade sector. China has lowered its tariff from 15.3 percent to 9.8 percent.

The Newland Group based in eastern China's Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, is an export-oriented firm founded in 1994.

Xu Han, manager of international business department of Newland's computer subsidiary, said the company started by doing processing trade for German-made chips in the 1990s. In 2001 the business earned the company 8 million U.S. dollars, making the company an important exporter in Fujian.

"As an IT exporter, Newland used to enjoy the country's support policies, including export subsidies in the form of a tax rebate. However, five years after the country entered the WTO, the government called off the protection measures to push domestic firms and confront global market competition," Xu said.

In 2001, China granted zero tariffs to imports of IT parts such as computer chips. This has benefitted both foreign producers and Chinese firms like Newland.

"About 30 percent of components in our electronic products depended on the imports of foreign products. The zero-tariff lowered our production cost," Xu said.

He said Chinese firms today are fully aware that "no towering trees can grow in a greenhouse environment."

"China's experience tells the world that trade protection only creates a greenhouse in which people cannot learn to adjust their clothes as the temperature changes," Xu said.

From assembling and processing products for foreign companies to developing its own products, Newland has become China's leading exporter of POS machines, and is the third largest POS machine supplier in Europe.

Related:

Interview: China's achievements lauded as it marks 15 years of WTO membership

GENEVA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- As China marks on Sunday 15 years since becoming a World Trade Organization (WTO) member, a WTO official applauded not only the progress made since 2001 but also Beijing's active role within the global trade body and increasing leadership and vision on multilateral platforms. Full story

China Voice: China's WTO entry benefits world

BEIJING, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Since entering the World Trade Organization (WTO) 15 years ago, China has witnessed robust economic growth, and an increasingly prosperous China has created significant opportunities for countries around the world. Full story

China urges WTO members to abandon surrogate country approach
by Peter Mertz

DENVER, the United States, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- With Shinzo Abe's visit to Pearl Harbor two weeks away, American pundits kept suspicion to see if the Japanese prime minister would apologize directly to China for the barbaric atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers against Chinese civilians in World War II (WWII).

That direct apology has never happened since the end of the war.

Abe's historic meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama scheduled for Dec. 26, to commemorate Japan's Dec. 6, 1941 surprise bombing raid that left 2,500 Americans dead will be the first visit by a Japanese leader to the site since the attack.

Abe was expected to be apologetic in his remarks, especially to his American hosts, and recently named countries attacked by Japan in WWII, saying "We must never repeat the atrocities of war."

"This is a great opportunity for Japan to come clean -- to apologize to both the USA and China for their WWII atrocities," said retired Denver history professor John Yee, 95.

According to Yee, Japan's atrocities in the war were considered some of the most barbaric acts in world history, with the Nanjing Massacre in which more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed by Japanese invaders between Dec. 13, 1937 to Jan. 1938, called the worst.

"They (the Japanese aggressor troops) had contests flipping Chinese babies in the air and bayoneting them on the way down; at knife-point they forced fathers to rape daughters and sons to rape mothers; and they had contests to see how many Chinese heads they could cut off," Yee said.

Iris Chang, the best-selling, Princeton-educated journalist who wrote the "Rape of Nanking" in 1997, killed herself in 2004 from depression triggered by writing the book, Yee cited.

"Germans have been much more transparent about their WWII role; and there are museums dedicated to the Holocaust in Germany, while Japan has done no such thing," said Denver political analyst James Ryder.

Japanese media and teachers still denied the historical data of the Nanjing massacre, Ryder told Xinhua Monday, and Japan held back its UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) funding after the organization's decision to inscribe documents related to the Nanjing massacre in its Memory of the World register.

"Japan's failure to acknowledge what the rest of the world knows to be true is really beneath the modern, sophisticated Japanese state," said Seattle attorney and former Washington foreign policy analyst Dave Richardson.

"Everyone knows it happened, Japan knows it happened. I don't know what Japan thinks it is achieving by its failure to recognize history," said Richardson. "It should step up to the plate, acknowledge what happened, and apologize to each country individually, especially China."

Last week, regarding opinions in Japan that Abe should visit the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said that if the Japanese side wishes to reflect on its history and offer a sincere apology, there are many places in China for them to do so.

Abe had a chance to start the healing process, Richardson thinks.
Photo taken on Dec. 13, 2016 shows the scene of state memorial ceremony for China's National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims at the memorial hall for the massacre victims in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)

NANJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The third national memorial day was held in eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on Tuesday to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people slaughtered during the Japanese invasion almost eight decades ago.

On Dec. 13, 1937, Nanjing, the Chinese capital for six dynasties, fell to Japanese invaders who went on to slaughter civilians for more than a month. About 300,000 Chinese were killed, and 20,000 women raped.

The Nanjing Massacre left a deep psychological scar on the Chinese for generations to come.

On Tuesday morning, in a chilly wind and drizzle, more than 8,000 people, dressed in black with white flowers pinned to their chests, gathered at a square in front of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Sirens blared for one minute throughout the city. Doves were released, traffic came to standstill, and pedestrians paused to mourn the deceased in silence. The ceremony was broadcast live in Nanjing's public venues, including subway stations where commuters stopped to watch.

Addressing the event, Zhao Leji, head of the organization department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said the massacre, which blatantly violated and trampled on international treaties, was a very dark page in the history of mankind.

The Chinese people will never forget history and will always treasure peace, said Zhao, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Drivers honked their horns to echo the siren. One of them, a 36-year-old man surnamed Xu, gestured to a roadside electronic screen with the slogan "Victory for Justice, Victory for the People, Victory for Peace," saying, "That is our common aspiration."

Among those attending the ceremony were several survivors of the war, now in their 80s. Xia Shuqin, 87, wept. She and her younger sister were the only survivors of a family of nine. Xia said she had attended every memorial day and would continue to do so.

The number of registered survivors of the massacre has fallen to 107.

In the evening, over 500 attendees from China, Germany, Canada, the Republic of Korea and Japan held a virgil for the deceased.

Forty school children, held candles and circled the square slowly. "We are all moved," said Jiang Xiaojie.

Chen Deshou, 85, a survivor, stared at the 1,500 candles in silence. Chen, then a six-year-old boy, saw his aunt stabbed to death by a Japanese soldier. Over the past decades, he has flown to Japan numerous times to testify on his painful history. "We should let more people know the truth," he said.

Besides Nanjing, other cities have also held memorial events.

Over 400 soldiers, 300 students, and relatives of veterans laid flowers for victims at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing.

The 9.18 Historical Museum in Shenyang, built in 1999 to remember the invasion of Japanese troops into the northeastern China city on September 18, 1931, opened an exhibition on the brutalities of war.

The Nanjing Massacre is seen in China as the nadir of an era in which it was bullied and humiliated by foreign powers. In February 2014, China's top legislature designated December 13 as national memorial day for the victims of Nanjing Massacre.

"Without a strong army and a powerful state, Chinese people would have never stood up," said Shi Jianwei, a Nanjing retiree who attended the ceremony. "We should turn the lessons of humiliation into a motive for the nation's rejuvenation."
By Matt Burgess

SYDNEY, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Almost a year on from the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), it is clear that the landmark deal is helping to underpin the bilateral relations amid an increasingly uncertain world.

Speaking in Parliament just before the summer recess, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the national interest is best served by developing strong relationships with major allies and partners, particularly on the economic front, such as the ChAFTA.

"China is Australia's largest trading partner and the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will play an important role in diversifying our bilateral trade and investment, bringing substantial benefits to both countries," Bishop told Xinhua.

"Greater economic cooperation between our two countries will deepen political and other ties and create a stronger platform for future strategic and security cooperation."

The future is indeed very bright for the two economies that are natural, highly complementary economic partners, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye said.

As more dividends from the ChAFTA come to fruition and greater synergy is being built between China-proposed Belt and Road initiative and the Northern Australia development strategy, China-Australia investment and business cooperation will be surely taken to a new high, Cheng said.

ChAFTA's growing contributions to China-Australia ties form a bright spot in the past year that has been hit by uncertainty from events such as Brexit.

CHAFTA REWARDS REBUKE ANTI-GLOBALISATION

After entering into force on December 20, 2015, more than 85 percent of Australia's goods exports to China (by value in 2015) now enter duty free or at preferential rates thanks to the agreement, and that percentage is expected to continue to rise in the coming years.

Australia's imports from China have also grown by 7.9 percent between the 2014/15 and the 2015/16 Australian financial years to account for 18.4 percent of all imported goods, far ahead of second placed Japan at 13.6 percent, Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) deputy director and professor of economics James Laurenceson told Xinhua.

Despite the value of Australia's exports declining due to global pressures on key commodities over the past two years, services exports have surged 20 percent in the 12 months to June 30, 2016. Currently, Australia's education sector ranks third, while tourism exports rank fifth for a combined 35-billion-Australian dollar (26.14 billion U.S. dollar) revenue boon.

As China's middle class grows, those two sectors in particular are expected to grow further. In the year to September 2016, Chinese inbound tourists accounted for 1.1 million arrivals, up 22 percent on 2015, spending a staggering 9.1 billion Australian dollars (6.80 billion U.S. dollars).

"China is expected in the 2017/18 year to overtake NZ as our largest source of tourist arrivals and some numbers might even suggest that's already happened," Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) Asia practice leader Andrew Parker said.

"So whichever way you look at it, Chinese tourists are an extremely important component of (the Australian) economy."

FURTHER GAINS

Tourism offers the best advertisement for Australian goods and services into the Chinese market. With Air China and other Chinese airlines increasing services into Australia, there's no doubt merchants are eyeing more customers.

What's better news for newcomer to the Chinese market Kooks Wine, China surpassed Britain and the United States to be Australia's largest market for wine in 2016.

Kooks, a social enterprise that contributes at least one percent of turnover to a charity or social program, is eyeing to export their Wild Reserve label - which features the face of a Giant Panda - into Chengdu in 2017.

"From a wine point of view, it's more of an entry level, starting point to meet with the Chinese demand for value pricing," Kooks director Chris Tucker told Xinhua, adding that at least one percent of sales turnover in China will go towards protecting endangered animals.

RELATIONSHIP FOR THE LONGER TERM

While there are concerns in the Asia-Pacific over uncertainty, Parker, like Bishop, argues that "the best security bet we have is a strong economic relationship with our largest trading partner."

"In fact, the economic growth that's happening in the whole southeast Asia corridor, much of it with Chinese and Japanese money now being invested into those regions, is actually a good thing for those economies but it's also a good thing for Australia," Parker said.

"And so the investment that China is making in infrastructure in the region ... at the end of the day, that infrastructure is absolutely vital to the economic development of the countries concerned, and that economic development is absolutely in Australia's interests to see that it happens."
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang (Source: fmprc.gov.cn)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- China Tuesday voiced hope for stable development of relations with the United States after reports that Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson would become secretary of state.

"It is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples to maintain healthy and stable bilateral relations," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a daily press briefing.

Geng said he had noticed reports that President-elect Donald Trump has selected Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department.

China hopes to work with the person to promote bilateral relations for further development no matter who becomes the new secretary of state, Geng added.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang (Source: fmprc.gov.cn)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with attempts to shirk World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations to abandon the surrogate country approach when calculating anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports.

"WTO members should live up to their obligations," said ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a press briefing, when asked to comment on dispute settlement procedures.

Geng said that in accordance with Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the surrogate country approach expired on December 11, 2016.

Geng said that "market economy status" is unrelated to whether WTO members fulfill the commitment in Article 15, but some parties are intentionally "confusing" the two unrelated concepts.

China's launch of dispute settlement procedures at the WTO demonstrates that China is determined to defend its lawful rights.

"China appreciates those WTO members who have abandoned the surrogate country approach and honored their obligations on time," he added.

Under the surrogate country approach, WTO members use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products.
BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday congratulated Bill English on his new role as prime minister of New Zealand.

In a message, Li said that as important countries in the Asia-Pacific region, China and New Zealand have broad common interests.

In recent years, China-New Zealand relations have developed smoothly and their fruitful cooperation in various fields has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, said Li.

Next year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, Li noted.

The Chinese premier said he looked forward to working with his New Zealand counterpart to expand friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between the two nations on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, so as to lift the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his dog named Yume, which was presented to Putin by Japan's northern Akita Prefecture in July 2012, welcome Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe upon Abe's arrival for their meeting in Sochi, Russia, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 8, 2014. (Reuters Photo)

MOSCOW, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The solution to the long-held territorial dispute between Russia-Japan cannot be agreed "in one go," the Kremlin said Tuesday.

Before coming closer to any solution, there will be rounds of painstaking and complex talks, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to Japan from Thursday.

The presidential spokesman said Putin would come to Japan "with a bunch of concrete topics on social and economic cooperation between the two countries."

Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty since the end of World War II due to a territory row over four small islands in the Pacific -- the Southern Kurils called by Russia and the Northern Territories called by Japan.

Peskov added that the Russian leader, in an interview with Japanese media, had expressed readiness to discuss the issue of the disputed islands.

Moscow has the political will to develop relations with Tokyo in all possible areas, thus creating a solid foundation and an appropriate atmosphere, which will help reaching a decision on this complex issue, Peskov said.

But he urged not to reduce the entire agenda of Putin's visit to the discussion of the territorial issue, since it would be "wrong, short-sighted and could negatively affect the whole discussion of this problem."
GENEVA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 354,804 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe so far this year, down from some 933,000 arrivals over the same period in 2015, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday.

While migrant entries by sea are significantly lower in 2016, IOM revealed that this year has been considerably more dangerous for those seeking to reach European shores.

According to latest figures, 4,742 men, women and children have drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean, compared with 3,665 deaths recorded over the same period last year.

Most fatalities since January have been documented on the central Mediterranean route linking North Africa with Italy, where 4,244 people have lost their lives.

A further 429 individuals have perished on the eastern Mediterranean passage between Turkey and Greece, while 69 have died on western routes.

Italy has received the most maritime migrant entries this year (176,678), followed closely by Greece (172,681), with Spain and Cyprus accounting for the remaining arrivals.
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt (L) and Cuban national telecom provider (ETECSA) president executive Mayra Arevich shake hands after the signing of a bilateral agreement in Havana, on December 12, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / YAMIL LAGE)

HAVANA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's state-run telecommunications company ETECSA and U.S. Internet giant Google signed an agreement on Monday designed to speed up local access to Google's online content.

The deal, signed by Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google parent company Alphabet, and ETECSA Director Mayra Arevich, allows Cuba's telecom to use Google's Global Cache service, meaning content can be stored locally, making it easier to retrieve.

"This in turn means Cubans who already have Internet access and want to use our services can expect to see an improvement of quality of service and reduced latency for cached content," Google said in a statement.

"All these projects are tied to Google's core values to make the world's information useful and accessible to everyone regardless of cost, connectivity and language barriers," it added.

The two sides reached the agreement on Nov. 23, but made it public on Monday at a signing ceremony in Havana.

Google products include YouTube, Blogger and Google News.

In 2014, Google first launched a number of products in Cuba that had been previously blocked due to U.S. sanctions. It opened a technology center in the capital earlier this year as part of a White House initiative to expand Internet access in Cuba.

After the two nations restored diplomatic ties last year, several U.S. companies signed agreements with Cuban government-run enterprises in such sectors as tourism, telecommunications, infrastructure and energy.

Other U.S. firms are expected to announce deals with their Cuban counterparts before president-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Trump has criticized the White House rapprochement with Havana as "weak" in terms of securing concessions from Cuba, leading to speculation he may try to backtrack on the bilateral progress made to date.
File photo taken on July 18, 2013 shows the first direct cargo train leaving from Zhengzhou to Europe at the railway container center in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

KIEV, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine sees good prospects for deepening its cooperation with Latvia within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said here on Tuesday.

"We are focusing on the cooperation to develop links between the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea within the Trans-Caspian transport corridor," Klympush-Tsintsadze told reporters after the meeting of the Ukrainian-Latvian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.



The partnership will offer new opportunities for the two countries to intensify agriculture cooperation, investment and tourism, she said.

Ukraine, which has a freight train connection with Latvia, plans to launch a cargo train to China via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) next year, traversing Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

The TITR corridor, part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, uses railway, maritime and road transport for transportation of goods.
BEIRUT, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon signed Tuesday an agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) an agreement to set up a regional bureau for the international organization in Lebanon.

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb signed on behalf of the Lebanese government with the Director General of (FAO), Jose Graziano da Silva, an agreement relevant to setting up in Lebanon a regional bureau for FAO for countries of the Levant, According to the National News Agency (NNA).

"It is not the first cooperation between Lebanon and the FAO and it won't be the last," Shehayeb said.

He thanked all the efforts that have been made by the organization and the constant cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture.

"Today we sign the agreement of establishing the regional office for the Levant and we also sign two projects on this occasion," he said.
TEHRAN, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran and South Africa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to boost defense and military cooperation and promote regional and international peace and stability, Tasnim news agency reported.

The agreement was signed by Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan and South African Minister of Defense and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula in Pretoria.

According to the agreement, the two countries would also bolster cooperation in the fields of marine security and organized crimes.

The two countries have agreed to make efforts to promote regional and international peace, stability and security and engage in a firm and all-out campaign against terrorism, both ministers told reporters.

The Iranian defense minister said all countries across the world must cooperate to root out terrorism.

"Had it not been for the resistance of countries such as Iran, Russia, Iraq and Syria, terrorists would have spilled over into other parts of the world after establishing and reinforcing their presence in this region," Dehqan was quoted as saying.

He urged friendly countries to boost their cooperation in order to counter crises and bring security and prosperity to their nations.

Also, Mapisa-Nqakula said South Africa would never forget Iran's influential support for her country in its fight against the apartheid regime.

The implementation of the MoU signed between Iran and South Africa would lead to a great leap in bilateral defense and military cooperation, she added.
Photo taken by the author shows the base part of a timepiece displayed at the Palace Museum. (Photo provided by the author)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- More and more Chinese have begun to value the superb craftsmanship of historical relics restorers in the Palace Museum, the former imperial court, in Beijing.

This happened especially after Chinese Director Xiao Han's three-episode TV series was released in January.

From this Friday, his documentary film "Masters in Forbidden City" is set to hit the big screen.

Similar to the TV series, this film also tells the stories of the restorers in the Palace Museum, but with fresh scenes of their daily work and daily life in meticulous details.

When first screened, the TV series went viral, given a 9.4 rating of 10 by users of douban.com, the Chinese film and music website.

It vividly demonstrated the excellent restoration and moreover how the neat skills and deft craftsmanship are passed down from generation to generation. Of all, the restoration art requires extremely huge patience and smarts, said Wang Jin, a timepiece restorer, who is now widely recognized on and off lines.

Telling little about the former owners, the emperors and empresses, the new film more exclusively focuses on the restorers of the very old, delicate, valuable articles, calling them surgeons for cultural relics.

Four years ago, the documentary series "A Bite of China," produced by China Central Television (CCTV), stirred the country's hearts and sensationalized people's taste bud with foods from across China.

Indeed, cultural relics, especially a lot of those in the Palace Museum, are in dire need of restoration.

But what is more urgent and fundamental is their excelling restoration as well as the ever lasting heritage of the craftsmanship.

As is said in the TV series, cultural relics are things of the "past tense, " while restoring them is a thing of the "present tense."

It is these restorers who are doing the work linking both.
Scotia facilitates TGU US$600M bond

The fixed bond, which will reach final maturity in November 2027, is amortised with six equal, semi-annual instalments due leading to maturity; principal payments to begin in year nine. The bond, which does not have a government guarantee, was priced on October 27, 2016 and issued in New York in 144A/ Reg S market. Funding took place on November 4, 2016.

On October 27, 2016, Scotiabank in a strategic partnership with TGU, and working alongside Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets and CIBC Capital Markets, successfully closed a Rule 144A / Regulation S Bond offering, raising US$600 million in the international capital markets. Scotiabank said the deal facilitates a fast, non-recourse financing for the liquidation of the debt to The Government of Trinidad and Tobago for construction of the La Brea power plant.

The Rule 144A / Regulation S Bond is a very unique type of financing and required the expertise of a local and international team that focused on professional standards and efficiency. The proceeds were ultimately used to refinance in full the companys construction cost debt and facilitate the rationalisation of the companys balance sheet and capital structure. Scotiabanks Senior Vice President and Head, Caribbean East and South, Anya Schnoor said, This transaction is an affirmation of the breadth and strength of Scotiabanks international footprint to expand the range of financing solutions available to our clients. TGU Chairman David DAndrade, also commented on the bond transaction.

TGU is now poised to leverage opportunities for growth outside TT, earning valuable foreign exchange and providing more high quality jobs for our citizens, DAndrade stated.

Describing TGU as an important asset for the continued growth of TT, Scotiabank said the TGU business model saves millions of dollars in overall operating cost but particularly in fuel cost.

By using less fuel for greater power output, the plant has a smaller carbon footprint when compared to simple cycle gas turbine plants. This is part of TGUs tenyear strategy to bring power production in TT up to international standards of efficiency, cost and sustainability, Scotiabank stated.

Ahead of the transaction, TGU obtained a BBB rating from S&P and a BBB - rating from Fitch, in which Scotiabank acted as rating agency advisor.

Investor confidence was so high, the bond was oversubscribed by four times and peaked at approximately US $2.4 billion. The deal benefited greatly from Caribbean investor demand, which was assisted by Scotiabanks local distribution capabilities and institutional investor relationships.

Based on final allocations, North American investors received 49 percent of allocations, while the balance was allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean (33 percent), Europe (17 percent) and Asia (one percent
18 months jail for drunk driver

Barry Dabie, 48, of Debe, near Penal, received the sentences after it was discovered that he had two previous convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol

In fact, as recently as August, Dabie had been fined and banned by a magistrate from driving for three years. Prior to that, in November 2015, Dabie was fined $8,000 by a magistrate for driving while intoxicated, which was his first such offence. On Sunday Dabie was arrested along the SS Erin Road and charged __ his third such offence. He pleaded guilty yesterday before Magistrate Natalie Diop who was told by prosecutor, Sgt Kasieram Lutchman, that it was at about 7 pm when Police Constable Guerra was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Dabie along the SS Erin Road

Guerra detected a strong scent of alcohol emanating from Dabie

Guerra identified himself as a police officer. Diop was told that Guerra asked Dabie to drive to the Debe Police Post where he was asked to produce his drivers permit. However, Dabie replied, Officer, I was banned from driving. I does pay somebody to drive. Questioned further, he said he had been drinking beers

A breathalyser test revealed that Dabies breath contained 50 microgrammes of alcohol which was 15 mg over the legal limit

Lutchman told the court that on November 23, 2015, Dabie was slapped with the $8,000 fine which he paid to avoid a sixmonth jail term

Then on August 25, a magistrate fined Dabie $15,000 and he was also disqualified from driving for two years and his drivers permit taken away

Asked yesterday by Diop what he had to say for himself, Dabie said, Im very sorry for my actions

I am unemployed and my only income is from driving

Since I was expelled, somebody else does drive for me but I take a chance on Sunday because I needed some money to pay a debt. In passing sentence, Diop told Dabie that the law becomes harsh in circumstances where a person registers his or her third conviction since the intention is to send a strong message to that person that their conduct cannot be tolerated. In addition to the jail sentence, Dabie was also permanently disqualified from driving
Retired cop, wanted for sexual assault, surrenders

The man is scheduled to appear before a Sangre Grande magistrate today following which the matter is expected to be transferred to the Rio Claro Magistrates Court.

Last week, the child reported to her mother that the ex-officer sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions.
Tobago woman raped, suspect held

The victim claimed that she recognised the person and attempted to ward him off. However, the man held down both her hands and proceeded to rape her .

Following the act, the woman made a report to police and the 36-year-old suspect was detained .
Teacher charged with drunk driving

Selwyn Ragoonanan, 44, of Hermitage Road, Debe, pleaded guilty to the offence in which a breathalyser test revealed that he was over the prescribed legal limit by 50 microgrames per 100 milliliters of breath.

Magistrate Natalie Diop read the charge to Ragoonanan who pleaded guilty.

However, the police prosecutor, Sergeant Kasieram Lutchman, told the court that he did not have the file containing the statement which outlined the circumstances surrounding Ragoonanans arrest at Palmiste, near San Fernando.

The charge was laid by PC Sujeet Ramcharan.

Ragoonanan is a Standard Two teacher at the Macaulay Government Primary School.

Diop postponed the hearing to January 9, 2017
O Christmas Tree!

Designer Kemal Manickchand, creative director of Kemal Design Studio explained the concept he had in mind when creating the display.

He told Newsday: Each Christmas tree was intricately designed with the magic and the aspects of Christmas that makes this celebration so auspicious. Different types of local fauna were utilised, specifically with wings, to exemplify a Trinbagonian Christmas and to fall in line with the setting of an airport. He explained that each tree carried its own colour and theme to create an individual attraction within itself, and colours used were chosen because of their vibrancy and association with each winged representation.

Manickchand also indicated that some of the ornaments were handmade to give a more natural look such as the Scarlet Ibis.

Each of the seven trees was designed to incorporate various elements of our local flora and fauna.

The essence - the glory of creation; the merging of the ethereal with the natural; the depiction of heaven touching earth, he said. Manickchand explained that the representations in flight and their colours are as follows: gold - angels; white - doves; green - parakeets; orange - butterflies; purple - dragonflies; sapphire - hummingbirds; and red - Scarlet Ibis.

Manickchand added: Presents under the trees were wrapped in bright attractive paper and each labelled with names from various cultures throughout the world, especially from our own Trinidad and Tobago, with an effort to create a personal connection with the airports visitors. He also explained that the cr?che was built to recreate the humble birth of Jesus Christ with the tension sculpture hanging above with brilliant beams of light protruding to show the glory of the Saviour as well as to depict his protection and guidance over us.

The entire display is meant to tell a story of the Lords birth while creating a local feel for its viewers, he said. Manickchand had special commendations for the Airports Authority: The Airport Authority has been very supportive throughout the execution of this display with their knowledge of creativity and their very accommodating and hospitable attributes.
Shannon smothered

An initial autopsy last Friday, done by Dr Des Vignes, was inconclusive and the pathologist asked police for more time to carry out further tests.

On Sunday evening, Des Vignes returned to the Forensic Science Centre and spent several hours conducting another autopsy following which, he determined that Banfields cause of death was a homicide and she was smothered. It is believed the killer/s blocked the nose and mouth of the 20-year-old, resulting in her death due to a lack of oxygen. Yesterday, a team of Homicide Investigations Bureau officers went to the centre, where they also spent several hours with Des Vignes where he explained to them what he had discovered in his second autopsy.

A report on the findings of the second autopsy was handed over to officers. Investigators approached Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard shortly before 6 pm yesterday and were advised that even with the new autopsy report, they needed to tie up a few loose ends before contemplating criminal charges. Banfields funeral will be held today. Banfield left her workplace - Republic Banks Independence Square branch two Mondays ago - to shop at Pennywise and IAM & Co Ltd before boarding a taxi to be taken to her Santa Cruz home. She never made it home alive.

On Thursday last, her body was found on a shelf in a store-room on the third floor of IAM & Co Ltds Charlotte Street, Port-of- Spain outlet. Cardboard boxes were used to conceal the body.

Two men were detained with one of them, an 18-year-old, being released from police custody at about 8.45 pm on Saturday.

The DPP ordered the mans release after it was determined he could not be linked to Banfields murder. Police apologised to the teen who is now trying to recover from his experience of being labelled a person of interest. However, the second suspect who was interviewed by police on Saturday night and again on Sunday, steadfastly refuses to cooperate with investigators. This suspect has since retained attorney Larry Williams to seek his legal interests.

According to sources, it is believed Banfield asked to use the washroom at IAM and Company and was escorted to the washroom area located on the third floor. It is believed she was attacked and murdered.
Govt: FATCA helps against crime

This declaration was contained in a statement, from the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, released ahead of yesterdays sitting of the House of Representatives where Finance Minister Colm Imbert was in the process of winding up the debate last Friday after the Opposition staged a walk out. The walkout by Opposition MPs occurred after Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George rejected a request by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to adjourn the House to debate, what Persad-Bissessar described as, Governments failure to address an unprecedented number of murders and missing persons in TT. Persad-Bissessar stood up and protested Annisette-Georges decision. Other Opposition MPs left the Parliament Chamber after Persad-Bissessar obeyed Annisette-Georges instruction to leave the Chamber.

In the statement, the ministry declared, The Government is adamant that the greatest impact on the scourge of crime will be made by following and stopping the profit of crime.

No other Government has focused so significantly on taking the profit out of crime. The ministry further stated the passage of this legislation, is critical in our fight against the illicit movement of funds and the financing of criminal activity, as it allows for an exchange of account information between tax authorities. With the bill being a critical aspect of this part of the battle against crime, the ministry declared, The Oppositions refusal to agree to expose foreign accounts as proposed by this law is inexplicable and intolerable.

The ministry reiterated positions articulated last Friday by Attorney General Faris Al Rawi and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young that in 2013, the former Persad-Bissessar administration had an international legal obligation to enact this legislation but failed to do so.

Recalling that the Opposition raised concerns about six clauses in the bill, the ministry said only one clause remains to be dealt with.

The ministry said contrary to claims from the Opposition, yesterdays sitting was the fifth time the Opposition had an opportunity in the last four months to voice its concerns and propose amendments.
Lee: UNC unafraid of FATCA

The Opposition collectively left the House last Friday after Speaker Bridgid Annisette- George declined their call to debate crime on the heels of the recent murder of bank clerk, Shannon Banfield, but instead debated FATCA the latter which the Opposition deemed to be less important.

Lee yesterday bemoaned that Finance Minister, Colm Imbert, has been on his legs, currently winding up the FATCA debate. Lee said, Theres no longer a debate. He said things now depend on whether Imbert accedes to the Oppositions long-standing call to send the Bill to a joint select committee (JSC) for a lengthier treatment than merely by the House sitting in committee on the Bill.

We hope good sense prevails. The JSC is a win-win for Government and Opposition, and for the country and the stakeholders. Saying a JSC allows for input from consultations and Independent Senators, Lee asked Imbert to state his concerns about a JSC.

He said the Government needs Opposition votes, the bill can only be passed by a special majority. The Bill contains some draconian measures and so it first needs stakeholder input.
AG: Hanging is the law

Of that 32, none of them are in a position to meet the hangman. Underscoring that, under the laws of TT, the punishment for murder...a conviction of murder is that you shall hang until you are dead, Al Rawi cited various reasons why none of these persons can be executed at this time. Some because of the application of the rule in Pratt and Morgan which says five years after your sentencing, you are going to have it commuted to murder punishable by hanging being off the books and youre now moving to life imprisonment, he stated.

Al Rawi explained other persons are, not ready to face the hangman because their appellate process is still ongoing. He said their processes are taking place before the Court of Appeal in TT, the Privy Council in London and the Inter-American Committee on Human Rights. Those three courts sit on the appellate function and we are tracking each and every one of them. So I can guarantee you that those 32 files are on the desk and constantly reviewed to see what the position is, he said.

Noting this was an urgent question which Chaguanas West MP Ganga Singh has posed to him to answer at yesterdays sitting but did not because the Opposition boycotted the sitting, Al Rawi found it strange that the Opposition was talking about crime when Government was dealing with the Tax Information Exchange Agreement Bill 2016 which deals with taking the profit out of crime. Disclosing that this bill will join others directed at the same objective in January in Parliament, Al Rawi said Government believes, the larger more effective medicine to be applied to combat crime is, to chase the money...
Young: PNM unchanged on Grande

The PNM and United National Congress (UNC) each won four elected seats and each was subsequently allotted two aldermen, maintaining the tie.

Young alluded that the party seemed unswayed by a letter from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, for a collaborative approach to ending the deadlock so as to reflect the fundamental pillars of democracy.

Our position remains the same.

Well follow the letter of the law, he said. We sought and obtained advice from eminent senior council.

We dont see any legal difficulties. Re-stating his previous view that incumbent chairman, Terry Rondon, has a casting vote to resolve the tied corporation, Young reasoned, Until a new chairman is elected an incumbent chairman remains in place.
Stories against me planted, says Rijiju

Delhi,National,Politics, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed a a daily newspaper for "planting" story about his alleged involvement in a power project and said if they visit Arunachal Pradesh they will be "thrashed with shoes".

"It is a planted story. And if they shall come to Arunachal Pradesh they would be thrashed with shoes," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told reporters here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's comment came after a newspaper claimed that he has written letters to clear payments of the contractors in the construction of two dams for the 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Does serving people means corruption," Rijiju asked.

--IANS

aks/in/vm
IAF chief to inaugurate state commanders meet in Allahabad

Uttar Pradesh,National,Defence/Security, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Lucknow, Dec 13 (IANS) IAF chief Arup Raha would inaugurate the Central Air Command's station commanders conference in Allahabad on Wednesday, a defence spokesperson said.

Air Chief Marshal Raha would also be addressing air warriors and civilian employees of the command headqurters on his vision of Indian Air Force (IAF).

The conference, chaired by Central Air Command chief, Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha, will be attended by the commanders of all the IAF establishments within the command's jurisdiction and provide a forum for them to exchange views on operation, maintenance and administrative matters requiring deliberations with senior command officials.

On the sidelines of the conference, the IAF chief's wife Lily Raha, who is also president of Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA), would also preside over the regional chapter's Board of Management meeting where she would review various welfare measures undertaken for the benefit of the air warriors' spouses and their family members to improve the quality of life.

--IANS

md/vgu/vd
Congress demands Rijiju's resignation

Delhi,National,Politics, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju for his alleged involvement in an Arunachal Pradesh hydro project scam.

Surjewala said: "The minister has no right to remain on his post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who talks of transparency and honesty, should get this (Rijiju's involvement in scam) investigated by an independent agency.

"Till that time, the Prime Minister should either dismiss the Minister of State or ask for his resignation."

Surjewala also demanded an investigation against all the senior officials associated with the project.

Rijiju on Tuesday slammed a daily newspaper for "planting" a story about his alleged involvement in a power project and said if they visit Arunachal Pradesh, they will be "thrashed with shoes".

The newspaper claimed that he had written letters to clear payments of the contractors in the construction of two dams for the 600MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

--IANS

rs/nir/bg
Jaitley slams Congress, reminds about corruption in UPA regime

Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday slammed the Congress for calling demonetisation the "biggest scam", and ridiculed it for not taking any steps against corruption in its decade- long rule till 2014.

"There were two striking features of the two Congress regimes. No steps against corruption or black money; and corruption, scams peaked during UPA regime.

"It is not surprising that Congress is uncomfortable with NDA campaign against black money," Jaitley told media persons here.

Jaitley also urged the opposition parties to join the campaign against black money, and assured them of a debate on the issue in Parliament.

"Urge my opposition friends, we are ready to debate this issue in Parliament. Please rise above slogans and join this campaign," he said.

Earlier, Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that demonetisation was "the biggest scam of the year" and demanded an investigation into how some people were managing to get bundles of new Rs 2,000 notes while the masses struggled to withdraw even one Rs 2,000 note.

--IANS

bns/in/dg
PM behaving like king who knows how to speak, not to listen: Rahul Gandhi

Dadri, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 NI Wire

After the announcement of demonetisation of old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was earlier called as dictator by the Chief Minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee and now Congress Vice-President called him king who only knows how to speak and not to listen.

Rahul Gandhi said the chaotic conditions post-demonetisation would not end within 50 days and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he was behaving like a king who only knows how to speak and not listen.

While interacting with media, Rahul Gandhi attacked the government over its November 8 demonetisation and said, This condition won't improve in 50 days and the country will feel its pinch for years.

Hitting out at Modi, Rahul said, I am not being allowed to speak in Parliament. If I am allowed, then I shall explain what was the planning and what was the motive behind demonetisation.

Rahul Gandhi compared the Prime Minister with a king and said that he does not allow anyone to speak.

The Congress leader blamed Modi about the adjournments of Lok Sabha proceedings and said, Our Prime Minister doesn't want to listen to anyone, he doesn't want to allow anyone to speak. He behaves like a king who only knows to speak.

Rahul said that the opposition wanted Modi to speak in Parliament over demonetisation and hitting out at Modi he said why he is not coming for debate.

He said, We want him to speak in the Lok Sabha and also allow the Opposition to speak. If he does this, then everything shall be proved.

Earlier, the former Finance Minister P. Chidambaran in Nagpur termed demonetisation as the biggest scam in the history of India and demanded an investigation.

He also said that the government should have consulted their own former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha before implementing the decision.

The opposition members wanted debate over the issue and demanded Prime Minister to come into the Parliament and discuss with them. Due to protest held by the Opposition Lok Sabha is facing continuous ruckus and continuously adjournment.

--with agency inputs
Nicole Kidman's early parenting dream

United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Los Angeles, Dec 13 (IANS) Actress Nicole Kidman says that she wanted to have children from a very early age.

The 49-year-old, who adopted Isabella and Connor with her former husband Tom Cruise, and has biological daughters Faith and Sunday Rose with her husband Keith Urban, says that her maternal instincts kicked in early, and she "always knew" she was going to have a child, reports mirror.co.uk.

"Because I always knew I'd adopt, I just always wanted a child. I think from a very early age, I wanted a child," Kidman told Vogue Australia magazine.

"I knew that I was going to have a child and that it didn't matter (how), I actually didn't know if I was ever going to give birth to a child. So that was the least of it for me. And what I did first was adopt," she added.

--IANS

sas/nn/
BT named 'Leader' for cybersecurity growth in Asia Pacific

United Kingdom,Technology,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

London, Dec 13 (IANS) For its growth in the Asia Pacific cybersecurity market and "cloud of clouds for security" strategy, telecom company British Telecommunications (BT) was on Tuesday named a "Leader" by the market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

In the "IDC MarketScape: Asia Pacific Managed Security Services 2016 Vendor Assessment report," BT moved from the major player category to the "Leaders" category, making progress in terms of security business execution over the past 12 months.

"The result also demonstrates the success of our 'cloud of clouds' strategy and BT's ability to offer its customers scalability, flexibility and performance within a secure environment," said Kevin Taylor, President Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), BT.

According to the report, BT has consolidated its security services and assigned a strong management team to run the security business at a global level.

"BT claims a staggering triple digit year-on-year growth in Asia Pacific, with a high proportion of its sales coming from newly-acquired customers over the last year," the report noted.

BT is establishing a security operations centre in Asia Pacific that will cover both mature and fast developing markets in the region.

--IANS

qd/na/bg
Hyundai Motor India to raise vehicle prices

Delhi,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Automobile major Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) on Tuesday announced a proposed price increase across all its models up to Rs 1,00,000.

The price increase will be effective from January, 2017.

"In these challenging year-end market conditions, we are constrained to consider price increase on account of factors like increased input costs, fluctuating exchange rates and increasing marketing expenses," Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, HMIL was quoted as saying in a statement.

"The proposed price increase will be up to Rs 1,00,000 and will be effective from January 2017 across all models from Eon to Santa Fe."

On Monday, Tata Motors had informed that it will hike the prices of its passenger vehicles by Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 due to the impact of various macro-economic factors.

--IANS

rv/dg
Trump picks Texas ex-Governor as Energy Secretary

United States,Politics, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Washington, Dec 13 (IANS) United States President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Texas former Governor and ex-contender for the White House Rick Perry, as the new Energy Secretary, media reports said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Perry held a 90-minute meeting with the President-designate at Trump Tower in New York, reports Efe.

Perry, 66, had participated in the recent Republican primaries, and was a fierce Trump critic who compared his candidacy to "a cancer on conservatism".

A poor outlook in opinion polls made Perry pull out from the running early on, choosing to instead back Senator Ted Cruz in the race.

However, when Trump's victory became inevitable, he opted to root for the New York-based business tycoon.

An Air Force veteran, Perry served as Texas governor for over 14 years (2000-2015) and had also participated in the 2012 Republican primaries.

His campaign had nosedived when during a debate with other Republican aspirants in Michigan, he could not recall the name of one of the three departments he was planning to shut down if chosen President.

Ironically, the department he could not name was Energy, which he is now set to take charge of beginning January 20.

An opponent of state intervention, Perry turned Texas into an anti-establishment force with constant face-offs with President Barack Obama and a fluctuating stand on immigration.

--IANS

vgu/bg
Criminals with political patronage can't escape from law: Nitish

Bihar,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Patna, Dec 13 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday that criminals associated with political parties cannot escape from law and reiterated his government's resolve not to compromise on rule of law and justice in the state.

"It is my government's duty to ensure punishment to criminals, howsoever powerful they may be. The Grand Alliance government in Bihar is taking all measures to control crime," the Chief Minister said.

"There is rule of law in Bihar and it will continue," he said at a function here.

Nitish Kumar said the crime graph in Bihar has gone down but even a single crime incident gets a lot of attention.

He said the Bihar government is committed to social justice. "We have given 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchayati Raj institutions and Bihar is the first state in the country to do so," he said.

The Chief Minister said, "The government in the last 10 years has worked on ground to increase literacy among women and helped them become self-reliant."

Nitish Kumar said he had publicly supported demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 but will now wait and watch till the completion of 50-day time that Modi asked for to normalise the cash crunch situation.

--IANS

ik/tsb/vt
Russia rejects US call for truce in Syrian city of Aleppo

Serbia And Montenegro,Politics,Defence/Security,Diplomacy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Belgrade, Dec 13 (IANS) The US proposal for implementing a ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo is not acceptable to Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here on Monday.

Russia, which is assisting the Syrian government's offensive to expel rebels from East Aleppo, thinks it is necessary to define in advance the corridors to be used by the rebels in leaving the besieged city, EFE news quoted Lavrov as saying in Serbian capital.

"We can coordinate this with Americans very quickly. We undertake commitments to guarantee that these corridors won't be attacked by Syrian armed forces, while Americans undertake commitments together with their regional allies to get militants' consent to leave eastern Aleppo via these safe corridors," he said.

But the US, after initially endorsing the Russian plan, subsequently insisted on implementing the truce immediately without prior coordination, the Foreign Minister said.

"We have already gone through this. This will mean that militants will once again get a respite," Lavrov said.

"I hope they will stop sparing gunmen, that the United States as a serious power will use its influence on militants and on those who control gunmen apart from Washington, and that we will finally be able to solve this problem, honestly and caring first of all for the civilian population," he added.

Lavrov travelled to Belgrade for bilateral talks with the Serbian government and for a meeting on Tuesday of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council.

--IANS

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Will make Smita Patil proud, won't rest till I do: Prateik Babbar

Maharashtra,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS) On Smita Patil's 30th death anniversary on Tuesday, her son and actor Prateik vowed to "make her proud".

Smita was married to veteran actor and politician Raj Babbar, with whom she had Prateik. She died at the age of 31 due to childbirth complications.

Remembering his mother, Prateik took to Instagram to share her photograph and wrote: "My mother died today! 30 years ago on the 13th of December... Smita's spirit still lives on, and lives on with pride and honour and dignity."

"30 years later, Smita still manages to make an entire country miss her, be proud of who she was and what she achieved. And the wonderful things she did for people," he added.

Prateik says his mother was "God's child".

"But then the Gods got greedy and wanted to keep her for themselves. Yes, they got the better of her. She always made us so proud and will continue to make us proud and continue to inspire so many," he said.

"R.I.P. Smita Patil 1955-1986. I love her... As much as I hate her for never being there," Prateik said. "A son of a great woman! A true icon! A legend! I will make her proud! And I will not rest till I do!"

During her career, Smita featured in films like "Manthan", "Bhumika", "Aakrosh", "Chakra", "Chidambaram" and "Mirch Masala", carving her niche as an actress with a nose for parallel cinema. She was the recipient of the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.

Over ten of her films were released after her death.

--IANS

dc/rb/vt
Iran to develop n-propulsion, cites US 'violation' of deal

Turkey,Politics,Technology,Defence/Security, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Tehran, Dec 13 (IANS) Responding to the recent violation of a multilateral nuclear deal by the US, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday ordered the national nuclear agency to start planning nuclear propulsion devices to be used in sea transport.

In a directive issued to the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), the Iranian chief executive demanded that the organisation draw appropriate plans to design and manufacture nuclear propulsion devices as well as the fuel required for them, the state-owned Press TV reported.

Rouhani instructed AEOI chief Ali Akbar Salehi to report back to him on the issue within a maximum period of three months.

The President said the measures were warranted in light of the US dragging its feet in fulfilling its commitments under the multilateral nuclear deal -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- and the recent ratification of anti-Iran legislation in the US Congress known as the Iran Sanctions Act.

President Rouhani said Iran warned that the approval of the sanctions would amount to a breach of the deal.

He said the directives were now being given in implementation of the decisions made by Iran's Supreme National Security Council and the committee tasked monitoring the implementation of the JCPOA.

In a separate directive issued to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, President Rouhani instructed Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to take action to follow up on the US violations of the JCPOA as per the provisions of the deal and to take other legal and international measures necessary in that regard.

The JCPOA involves a total of seven sides, namely Iran, the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China. It was reached in July 2015. The deal stipulates that nuclear-related sanctions against Iran be terminated and no such sanctions be imposed as long as Iran meets its side of the bargain, including certain limits to its nuclear program.

However, the US Congress recently reauthorised the sanctions, extending the US President's authority to potentially impose sanctions on US entities that do business with Iran.

Iran had warned it would take reciprocal action if the ISA was approved. The Islamic Republic has written a letter of complaint to the United Nations over the vote on the legislation at the US Congress.

--IANS

ahm/dg
New notes' seizures: Diversion likely before reaching banks, say some stakeholders

Delhi,National,Business/Economy,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) While the cash-starved country continues to queue up outside banks and ATMs even a month after demonetisation, the never-ending bulk seizure of new currency notes from across India has put a question mark on the efficacy of the whole exercise.

It has also got many to point fingers at the ambitious demonetisation move itself that has been touted to be a war on the parallel black economy and corruption.

The seizure of new currency notes running into several crores from across the country has continued unabated since the November 8 announcement of the demonetisation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with officials of the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department and the police nabbing several people, including officials of private banks and the Reserve Bank of India.

The seizures have been across the country, including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, Odisha, Punjab and Delhi.

On Tuesday, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said demonetisation was "the biggest scam of the year" and demanded an investigation into how some people were managing to get bundles of new Rs 2,000 notes while the masses struggle to withdraw even one.

"I can't get a Rs 2,000 note, yet crores in Rs 2,000 notes found their way to individuals being raided all over the country," Chidambaram told reporters in Nagpur.

On Saturday, raids across the country yielded a haul of over Rs 32 crore ($4.8 million) in new currency notes that included Rs 2.6 crore from a law firm in Delhi, Rs 5.7 crore from the bathroom of hawala operator in Karnataka's Challakere and Rs 24 crore in new notes in Vellore of Tamil Nadu.

On Monday, the authorities seized Rs 1.55 crore from a cooperative bank in Jaipur while Rs 1.5 crore were confiscated from a businessman's house in Assam.

On Tuesday, Rs 93 lakh in new currency notes were seized in Karnataka and Rs 13 lakh from a house in Gujarat's Vadodara.

While the opposition has been up in arms against the Modi government over the suffering of the commoners due to demonetisation, the "leakage" of the new currency notes from the system has led to accusations of a scam.

"A very big level scam is going on. The government should immediately call a CBI probe on this. In the normal course, small bank managers cannot give such huge amount of new notes," All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told IANS.

He said that such huge amounts cannot get diverted without "the connivance of some top people".

Venkatachalam also pointed to the possibility of the money being siphoned off before entering the banking system. "If the money is being procured directly from printing presses, then it is shameful," he added.

A senior bank official in the national capital too asserted the leakage was not from the banks.

"The flow of this kind of money from the banks is not possible. From where the money is leaking is a thing that needs to be found out but it cannot be without the involvement of some big players, including bank officials," the official, on the condition of anonymity, told IANS.

However, Bank Employees' Federation of India General Secretary Pradip Kumar Biswas attributed the leaks to a "nexus" between bank officials and customers and ruled out the possibility of the new notes getting diverted before entering the banking system.

"It is highly unlikely, if there were incidents of money going out directly form the printing press without entering the system, we would have reports of that," Biswas told IANS.

"ATMs have been running dry, banks have been rationing withdrawal due to inadequate supply of money, so it is very hard to believe that some people have actually managed to get huge amounts of new notes," Biswas contended.

Some did not rule out the possibility of counterfeit versions of the new notes having already infiltrated the system.

"There is a likelihood of counterfeit notes of Rs 2000 having already come into circulation," an All India Reserve Bank Employees Association official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Within a month of their release, police have seized some counterfeit of the highest-denomination Rs 2,000 notes. But many on examination have been found to be colour photocopies of the real ones.

--IANS

and-mm-bdc/sac
Bodos warn of rail-road blockades, hunger strikes

Delhi,National,Politics,Immigration/Law/Rights, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Members of the Bodo community from Assam on Tuesday warned the central government of road and rail blockades and hunger strikes for indefinite period if the tribal community's demand for a new state of Bodoland is not fulfilled.

Over 5,000 Bodos are assembled in the national capital for a three-day long agitation, and said the demand for a separate Bodoland was a "political problem", and the central government's attitude towards the tribe should change.

They said the problem would not get resolved till the central government creates Bodoland -- a promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party during the campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to seek the Bodos' support.

"Now, the government has started rejecting all those reasons for creating new states just to deny many aspirants for new state," said a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister's Office.

"The present NDA government is seen to be trying to befool the people" by offering economic development as an option to solve political problem, the memorandum said.

Stating that the Bodo people are being subjected to socio-economic exploitation, suppression, oppression and political domination, the memorandum stated there is a threat of total extinction to the community.

"Even after 70 years of India's independence, the state has failed to protect, preserve and safeguard the land, identity, language and culture of the Bodo people. Bodo people are very much part of the great Indian community and are loyal to the Constitution of India."

"The Bodo people want to live with dignity and honour under the provision of the Constitution of India. For that purpose, the Bodo people launched their movement for socio-political rights in 1967," said the memorandum.

The Bodo community also demanded that the Prime Minister should ensure political rights of the Bodos living outside the proposed Bodoland area.

The Bodos -- Assam's largest tribal community -- currently have Bodo Territorial Area Districts comprising of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang in Assam.

Currently, two factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland -- NDFB (P) led by Gobinda Basumatary, and NDFB led by Ranjan Daimary -- are holding peace talks with the central government, while NDFB (S) led by Songibijit I.K. is opposed to holding talks with the government under the constitutional framework.

The Songibijit faction was responsible for the recent killing of 14 civilians in an attack in Assam's Kokrajhar in August this year, which also left 20 injured.

--IANS

rup/pgh/vt
Sushma Swaraj recovering fast: Doctor

Delhi,National,Politics,Health/Medicine, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj continues to recover fast after a kidney transplant at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, a senior doctor said on Tuesday.

"The minister is recovering fast. However, it will take at least a week or so to discharge her. Our team of doctors is monitoring her condition," the senior doctor, who was on the team that performed a kidney transplant on the senior BJP leader, told IANS.

Swaraj underwent the kidney transplant from an unrelated donor on December 10 at AIIMS by a dedicated team of 50 medical staff, including several senior doctors like M. Minz, V.K. Bansal and Preet Mohinder Singh led by AIIMS Director M.C. Misra.

The three-hour surgery was performed at the Cardio Thoracic and Neuro Sciences Centre.

The 64-year-old minister, who has been in and out of AIIMS for the last few months, was admitted to the hospital on November 7.

--IANS

rup/tsb/bg
Pakistan says India developing atomic stockpile day by day

Islamabad, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 NI Wire

Indias neighboring country Pakistan alleged that India was developing atomic submarines. Pakistan also said that it is maintaining minimum deterrence while India was developing atomic stockpile day by day, which can be dangerous for world.

According to the Radio Pakistan, the Pakistans Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary Tasnim Aslam alleged that India was developing atomic submarines.

While addressing a seminar in Islamabad, Aslam claimed that India was building its atomic stockpile day by day. She also said, In these circumstances, Pakistan has no option but to keep itself ready for defence, and added that Pakistan was maintaining minimum deterrence.

Aslam also said the Indian leadership's "irresponsible statements" pose a threat to regional peace.

Tasnim warned that the regional balance of power would be disrupted if India was granted membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

She alleged that the Indian government has been found involved in terror activities, although India accuses Pakistan of terrorism by means of non-state elements.

The Foreign Affairs functionary emphasised that Pakistan's participation in Amritsar's Heart of Asia Conference was a manifestation of its commitment to Afghan peace and stability and its decision to participate in the conference had also foiled an Indian attempt to hijack the process.

The Foreign Office spokesman of Pakistan Nafees Zakaria said dialogue should not be just for the sake of dialogue, rather it should be sustainable and result oriented.

Earlier, the Foreign Office said Pakistan wanted result-oriented, sustainable dialogue with India and welcomed mediation by the international community on Kashmir.

--with agency inputs
All sides must comply with n-deal, Iranian envoy tell UN

United States,Politics,Diplomacy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

United Nations, Dec 13 (IANS) Iran's envoy to the United Nations Gholam-Ali Khoshroo has said that the nuclear deal between the country and five world powers would last only if all sides comply with their contractual obligations.

Khoshroo made the remark on Monday during a UN General Assembly meeting to discuss an annual report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, Press TV reported on Tuesday.

IAEA's chief Yukiya Amano submitted the report to the General Assembly, detailing its activities over the past year.

The IAEA was tasked to monitor the technical implementation of the Iran deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was struck between Iran and the US, Britain, Russia, France and China plus Germany in 2015.

"At a time when the Agency and all sides to the JCPOA have verified that Iran has fully lived up to its JCPOA obligations, other sides (too) are obligated to fulfil their commitments in a real sense," Khoshroo said in his General Assembly address.

The US Congress recently voted to extend the Iran Sanctions Act, extending the US President's authority to impose potential sanctions on Iran for another 10 years.

In his speech on Monday, Khoshroo said the congressional vote was in contravention of US commitments under the 2015 deal.

Khoshroo earlier submitted an official letter of complaint about the US Congress vote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

--IANS

soni/ahm/vt
Relive Mumbai lanes with HDFC RED's new campaign

Maharashtra,National,Art/Culture/Books, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS) The love for the lost lanes in Mumbai will now be revived through the eyes of those who cherish them the most, its residents with an Instagram campaign by the digital marketplace HDFC RED.

The campaign, called #LanesByLens, started with a photo walk on Saturday. The Instawalk witnessed more than 200 photo enthusiasts going around Mumbai lanes capturing the various landmarks.

The campaign is now open for everyone to participate by posting picture on Instagram and stand a chance to win exciting prizes. The contest has received more than 400 entries.

Those who click the winning photographs will be awarded with prizes such as a MacbookAir, smart phones and Amazon/Flipkart vouchers worth Rs. 10,000.

"One's love for their neighbourhood is almost as deeply-entrenched as that for their home," HDFC RED CEO Sohel I.S. said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"Every person who lives and grows up in a locality has a different perspective and shares something special with their vicinity, something that can be captured only with the lens of their mind," Sohel said.

"With the creative campaign #LanesByLens, we want to celebrate the various facets of the lanes of Mumbai through the eyes of the people who call this city their home," he added.

Participants aged 16 and above, residing in Mumbai and possessing a valid Mumbai delivery address with a valid ID proof can enter the contest.

The contest will close on December 14 and the results will be announced on December 25.

--IANS

mg/vm
Merkel, Hollande calls for extension of EU sanctions against Russia

Germany,Politics,Diplomacy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Berlin, Dec 13 (IANS) The German Chancellor and French President criticised Russia on Tuesday over its role in Syria and the situation in Ukraine, advocating the extension of sanctions against Moscow while there is no progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreements.

Speaking at a press conference along with President Francois Hollande, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the situation in Syria was heartbreaking and stressed it was the government regime that was responsible, along with Russia and Iran, reports Efe.

Hollande said he did not see much difference between the roles of the Syrian regime and Russia, emphasising the need to "act now".

The two leaders also touched on the Ukrainian conflict and came out in favour of maintaining sanctions against Russia over it if there is no progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Hollande and Merkel met in Berlin on the occasion of the first bilateral congress to promote digitisation.

The European leaders also used the meeting to prepare for the next European Council to identify common topics ahead of upcoming European Union summits.

Merkel and Hollande agreed that Syria and Ukraine are the topics which will be addressed with the other EU leaders, as would the migration crisis and the need to promote agreements with African countries.

--IANS

vgu/vt
India, Maldives to conduct joint army exercise

Delhi,National,Defence/Security,Diplomacy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) India and the Maldives will conduct joint military exercise 'Ekuverin' from December 15, focusing on counter terrorism and amphibious operations, an official statement said.

This is the seventh edition of the exercise and will be held from December 15 to 28 at Kadhdhoo, Laamu atoll in the Maldives.

"The exercise is a 14-day platoon level joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force conducted on a yearly basis," an official statement from the Indian Army said.

"The aim of the exercise is to conduct military training with emphasis on amphibious and counter-terrorism operations with a view to enhance inter-operability between the two armies," it said.

The contingents comprise platoon strength from Bihar Regiment and a similar strength of the Maldivian National Defence Force.

The previous edition of the exercise was held in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

--IANS

ao/vgu/vt
Australia risks losing its share of Antarctica

Australia,Business/Economy,Environment/Wildlife, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Sydney, Dec 13 (IANS) Australia is in danger of losing its position as an Antarctic leader, as well as its claim over the frozen continent, unless it maintains funding for its scientific research program, experts said.

Countries including China and Russia were seeking to broaden their share and exert more power, ABC news reported on Tuesday.

The Australian program was currently "well-funded" but it's crucial resources continued to feed the work scientists were doing.

Australia asserts sovereignty over 42 per cent of Antarctica, and has deep historic ties to the continent, but new players were emerging and challenging the traditional arrangements.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Anthony Bergin fears countries like China and Russia were playing for the long haul.

Bergin said both were up-front in their desire to exploit the continent.

"If the Antarctic Treaty were to collapse, then obviously all bets would be off in terms of countries legally being able to pursue a military presence in Antarctica," Bergin said.

Australia was one of the 12 original signatories to the Treaty which ensures Antarctica remains a conservation zone: free from mining, exploration and crucially, military bases.

While the economic value of Antarctica cannot be measured, there could be massive mineral, oil and gas reserves beneath the surface, and a virtually untouched krill fishery off the coast.

Australian Labor MP and a keen Antarctic observer, David Feeney said the global rules governing Antarctica could be re-written in a few decades.

He said Australia needed to maintain its influence around the negotiating table to ensure the status quo remained.

While Australia has three scientific research bases and a replacement ice-breaker on the way, China is searching for a site for its fifth research base and building a new class of ice-breaker vessels.

According to Feeney, years of under-funding have eroded Australia's standing in Antarctica and "we need to take far more seriously our presence there and investment in our presence there".

--IANS

in/
Trump picks Rex Tillerson as secretary of state

United States,Politics, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Washington, Dec 13 (IANS) US President-elect Donald Trump has settled on Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil CEO, to be his secretary of state, transition officials said on Tuesday.

Trump planned to announce the selection on Tuesday morning, finally bringing to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over choosing the nation's top diplomat, New York Times reported.

His choices veered from Rudolph Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.

It also included an endlessly changing list that at times included Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee; David Petraeus, the former Army general and C.I.A. director; and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor and presidential candidate in 2012.

Romney, Petraeus and Corker - the three leading runners-up for the diplomatic post - all received calls late Monday informing them of Trump's decision, according to people familiar with the final choice.

Trump teased his imminent announcement of Tillerson on Monday night on Twitter, saying that "I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning."

He settled on Tillerson, a deal maker who spent the past four decades at Exxon, much of it in search of oil and gas agreements in troubled parts of the world.

Tillerson, 64, is from Wichita Falls, Texas, who speaks with a strong Texan twang, and runs a company with operations in about 50 countries, cutting deals to expand business in Venezuela, Qatar, Kurdistan and elsewhere.

If confirmed as Secretary of State, Tillerson would face a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.

--IANS

in/
India ready to talk on Indus waters issue

Delhi,National,Diplomacy,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) India on Tuesday said that it is ready to engage in further consultations on matters relating to the waters of the Indus river basin in relation to Pakistan after the World Bank took a decision that is seemingly in New Delhi's favour.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that "India remains fully conscious of its international obligations and is ready to engage in further consultations on the matter of resolving current differences" regarding the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power projects.

The World Bank Group announced a pause in the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

According to a statement issued by the World Bank, the announcement temporarily halts the appointment of a neutral expert, as requested by India, and the chairman of the Court of Arbitration as requested by Pakistan, to resolve issues regarding the two power plants under construction by India along the Indus rivers system.

"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

"This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January," he added.

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the Finance Ministers of India and Pakistan, stressing that the Bank was acting to safeguard the treaty.

Following the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of 19 Indian soldiers, New Delhi said that it would consider revisiting the Indus Waters Treaty that was brokered by the World Bank. India has blamed the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed for the Uri attack.

According to the agreement, India has control over three eastern rivers -- Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- all flowing from Punjab.

Pakistan, as per the treaty, controls the western rivers of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum that flow from Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir has been demanding a review of the treaty as it robs the state of its rights to use the water of the rivers.

The current processes under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 MW) and Ratle (850 MW) hydroelectric power plants, being built by India on the Kishenganga and Chenab rivers respectively.

The Indus Waters Treaty was seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries.

It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties.

"The government had pointed out on November 10 the legal untenability of the World Bank launching two simultaneous processes for appointment of a Neutral Expert - requested by India - and establishment of a Court of Arbitration - requested by Pakistan - to adjudicate technical differences between India and a Pakistan on Kishenganga and Ralte projects, Swarup said.

"By temporarily halting both the processes now, the Bank has confirmed that pursuing the two concurrent processes can render the treaty unworkable over time," he stated.

--IANS

ab/vd
Government hopeful of debate, business in three days of winter session

Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) With only three days left for the winter session of Parliament to end, the government on Tuesday said it hopes for the normal functioning of the two houses and a debate on demonetisation.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley urged the opposition to help in the normal functioning of Parliament.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is keen on holding the demonetisation debate as well as passage of key bills.

"Bills should get passed; but we also want Parliament to function smoothly so that a proper debate on demonitisation can be held," Naqvi told IANS.

"We hope the debate can take place in these three days," the minister said.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been witnessing ruckus and repeated disruption over demonetisation and other issues like presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate, since the beginning of the winter session on November 16.

In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition wants Modi's presence during the debate while in the Lok Sabha they have sought a debate under the rule entailing voting.

On Tuesday, the Congress said they will also raise the issue of alleged involvement of Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju in a scam relating to an Arunachal Pradesh hydroelectricity project being executed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited.

"We will not only raise the issue in Parliament, but also question Modi on his promise of transparency and honesty, both inside and outside Parliament," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

Naqvi, however, said the Congress has just been shifting the goalposts.

"The Congress is looking for a new reason every day. As far as the charge against Rijiju is concerned, it is a non-issue. They are making a mountain out of a molehill," Naqvi told IANS.

"Let us see how the opposition parties behave tomorrow (Wednesday) in Parliament. We still have hope," the minister added.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "I urge my friends in the Congress, and the entire opposition, (that) we are ready to debate this issue in Parliament. Rise above slogans and look at the positive advantages that these changes in system (demonetisation) are going to bring to the economy as a whole in the long-run."

The Lok Sabha has so far only passed the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, and Supplementary Demands for Grants, both of which were passed by voice vote amid a din.

The Rajya Sabha has not passed any bill so far in this session, which is scheduled to end on December 16.

Among the bills pending are the Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2016, to facilitate levy of tax on supply of goods or services; the Integrated GST Bill, 2016, to levy tax on inter-state supply of goods or services; and the GST (Compensation for Loss of Revenue) Bill, 2016, to facilitates payment of compensation to states for any loss of revenue arising under the GST regime.

--IANS

ao/tsb/vt
Jaipur Literature Festival to travel to Melbourne

Delhi,National,Art/Culture/Books,Diaspora, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) In collaboration with the Melbourne Writers Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival will host 'JLF@Melbourne', an exciting pop-up festival with a difference which will be a celebration of the written and spoken word.

Australia's High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu, at a curtain-raiser event here on Tuesday evening, announced the Melbourne edition of the festival, which will feature internationally acclaimed writers and thinkers from India and Australia.

"In an extraordinary presentation of talks, performances, music and poetry at Fed Square, JLF@Melbourne will be an exploration of culture, migration, identity and gender issues, politics, environment, travel and history," the organisers of the lit fest said.

--IANS

ss/vgu/vt
Odisha asks banks to provide Rs 500, Rs 100 notes in rural areas

Orissa,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Bhubaneswar, Dec 13 (IANS) Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday asked Reserve Bank of India and other banks to provide adequate Rs 500 and Rs 100 denominations in rural areas to facilitate agricultural activities in the state.

The Chief Minister also directed the Chief Secretary to review the demonetisation impact on agriculture and on people in rural areas at regular intervals and take steps accordingly.

Patnaik took a review meeting on demonetisation impact through videoconferencing with district collectors of Ganjam, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Balangir.

He said he would draw the attention of the central government to take remedial measures to overcome the situation in rural areas so that farmers would not suffer due to the demonetisation move, and asked the district collectors to provide drought assistance to the affected farmers by December 17.

The state government has already distributed Rs 72 crore to the drought-affected farmers in the state.

He also directed the collectors to ensure that the farmers would participate in the paddy procurement process.

The Chief Minister directed to distribute crop insurance to farmers by December 20.

--IANS

cd/vd
Bengal BJP to file PIL against Mamata for her Army comments

West Bengal,National,Politics,Religion,Defence/Security, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Kolkata, Dec 13 (IANS) The West Bengal BJP on Tuesday said it will file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Calcutta High Court against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her alleged derogatory remarks against the Indian Army while it was deployed at toll plazas in the state.

"She has maligned the Army's image in the eyes of millions of citizens through her uncorroborated allegations. We will file a PIL against her derogatory remarks," said state BJP Vice-President and spokesperson Jay Prakash Majumdar.

Banerjee stayed at the state Secretariat for over 30 hours to protest the deployment of the Army at 19 highway toll plazas in West Bengal between Deember 1 and 3. She claimed er government was kept "in the dark" about the Army movement.

She accused the Army of collecting money from civilians at the toll plazas.

Dismissing Banerjee's comments as "serious and baseless allegations", the state BJP leder claimed her acts should be considered a breach of the Constitution under which she had taken oath as the Chief Minister.

"Never before has an elected Chief Minister tried to denounce the Army like she did. Such action should be considered a breach of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act," Majumdar said.

The BJP leader accused the state police of inclination towards the ruling Trinamool Congress and refusing to accept complaints against alleged threats to life to state BJP President Dilip Ghosh.

"The officer in charge of Jorasanko police station in Kolkata today (Tuesday) refused to lodge an FIR against Janab (Maulana Noor-ur RahmanA) Barkati, the Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, who threatened BJP state President of dire consequences. This shows how police administration in the state is whipped by the ruling party," Majumdar said.

"When someone close to the ruling party is convicted, police is afraid to take action. But they are hyperactive when even a small case is lodged against someone from the opposition parties," he said, referring to the FIR lodged against Dilip Ghosh in Jhargram on Monday.

Barkati on Monday issued a 'fatwa' against Ghosh over his "derogatory" remarks against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The cleric demanded Ghosh and other Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members be "pelted with stones and thrown out of the country".

--IANS

mgr/ssp/tsb/vt
IIM Directors discuss hiring more SC/ST faculties

Gujarat,National,Education, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Ahmedabad, Dec 13 (IANS) Directors of 19 of the 20 prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) on Tuesday discussed ways to hire more people from the socio-economically weaker sections of the society in faculty positions.

"We want to make sure that people who are socio-economically on the margins have the opportunity to be in the classroom (as faculty). We are very much aware that we should have diverse faculty with different life experiences to teach our students," Ashish Nanda, Director of IIM-Ahmedabad, said.

He told reporters: "Each IIM is committed to having people from the weaker backgrounds and under-represented minorities, at the same time maintaining the highest quality standards."

The deliberations were held at a meeting of Directors of IIMs and Dean of IIM-Kozhikode at IIM-Ahmedabad at the three-day 4th Pan IIM World Management Conference.

The Directors discussed an instance of this presented by their counterpart in IIM-Kashipur. The institute has begun a special drive to enrol SC/ST doctoral students into fellowship programmes.

"We are in the middle of this special drive to bring in SC/ST doctoral students in the FPM (fellowship programme in management) programme where we will also train them to become IIM faculties. Five years down the line, we will find out whether the experiment is successful or not," said Gautam Sinha, Director, IIM-Kashipur.

IIM-Raipur recently advertised for the special FPM programme for SC/ST candidates.

The other IIM Directors appreciated this and said they would wait to know from the learnings of the newer B-schools' experiments.

This move from IIMs comes after their meeting with Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar in September.

Meanwhile, talking about the other key challenge faced by IIMs in the country, Saibal Chattopadhyay, Director, IIM-Kolkata, said availability of quality faculty in right numbers across IIMs continues to be a big issue.

"There are innovative ways to collaborate programmes across IIMs and there are certain things we are discussing. We have to be careful about the quality and over time ensure that education and research from IIMs are of the highest quality," Chattopadhyay said.

One of the solutions discussed at the meeting included looking at expanding the FPM programmes. "FPM is a resource-intensive programme. Hence, if we can collaborate, we should be able to produce more number of doctorates, which can be the next pool of faculty for the institutions," Rishikesha T Krishnan, IIM-Indore Director, said.

--IANS

dd/vt
Tata Sons hikes stake in Tata Motors

Maharashtra,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS) Tata Sons on Tuesday hiked its stake in automobile major Tata Motors.

According to information with stock exchanges, Tata Sons bought five crore shares worth Rs 486.13 per share.

At the end of the last quarter on September 30, Tata Sons held 26.98 per cent stake in the company, while the complete promoter group had a holding of 33.01 per cent in Tata Motors.

The shares of Tata Motors on the BSE gained 3.48 per cent to close at Rs 470.35 from previous close of Rs 454.55.

The consolidation in Tata Sons stake in its automobile subsidiary comes after Tata Motors called an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) on December 22 to decide whether or not to remove Tata Sons ousted Chairman Mistry as a Director from its board.

Tata Sons had earlier asked Mistry to follow his own assertions on corporate governance and step down from the boards of Tata companies.

Tata Sons board ousted Mistry on October 24 and appointed Ratan Tata as the interim Chairman.

--IANS

rv/vt
Congress charge against Rijiju baseless, then CVO political fixer: BJP

Delhi,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) The BJP on Tuesday made light of corruption charge against Union Minister Kiren Rijiju vis-a-vis hydro electricity project in Arunachal Pradesh and questioned the credentials of the then Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) who brought the matter out.

"The Congress has made a wild allegation... The entire contract for the main project and for transportation of boulders were allotted when the Congress was in power," Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao said.

Earlier, the Congress demanded the resignation of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju for his alleged involvement in a scam pertaining to the Kameng hydro electricity project, being executed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO).

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, quoting the then Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of Neepco, said the scam would be to the tune of Rs 450 crore and demanded a thorough investigation into it.

Giving details, Rao said in November 2015, villagers from the project area engaged by the contractor for transportation of boulders approached Rijiju, who is the local member of parliament, and submitted a memorandum for help to get their rightful dues for the work done by them.

Rao said as the local MP, Rijiju intervened "to redress people's grievances purely on merit", and forwarded the petition received from the affected villagers to the Ministry of Power.

"CVO Satish Verma, who has made these baseless allegations against Rijiju, has submitted these so-called vigilance reports after he was removed from the post under the orders of the Central Vigilance Commission for misdemeanour and dereliction of duty," Rao said.

"Verma has a dubious track record and continues to work as a political fixer for the Congress," the BJP leader alleged.

The Congress claimed fake and inflated bills were submitted by the contractors for transportation of rocks for the construction of dams and the methodology brought out by the CVO was very clear.

--IANS

mak/tsb/vt
TCS shareholders oust Mistry as Director

Maharashtra,National,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS) The shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday ousted Cyrus Mistry as a Director of the company.

According to a regulatory filing to stock exchanges, 93.11 per cent of TCS shareholders voted Mistry out of its board of Directors in an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Tuesday.

Tata Sons had earlier asked Mistry to step down from the boards of Tata companies after it removed Mistry as its chairman on October 24 and appointed Ratan Tata as the interim Chairman.

--IANS

rv/vd
Work on world's largest Hindu temple to begin soon in Bihar

Bihar,National,Religion, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Patna, Dec 13 (IANS) Work is set to start soon to build what could well be the world's largest Hindu temple -- in Bihar.

Those behind the idea say no more hurdles are left for the construction to begin after Holi festival next year, now that the original plan was modified following objections from the Cambodian government.

"We modified our original plan after Cambodia raised objection to our Viraat Ramayan Mandir, saying it is a replica of Angkor Wat," Acharya Kishore Kunal of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust told IANS.

"We are set to start work after Holi, which will be an auspicious time," he said.

A former Indian Police Service officer, Kunal said the design or architecture of the proposed temple will have nothing to do with Angkor Wat, visited by millions every year.The Cambodian temple complex was built in the 12th century during king Suryavarman's rule and is now a Unesco World Heritage site.

The proposed temple will come up over 165 acres at Janki Nagar near Kesaria in West Champaran district, about 150 km from Patna. It will cost over Rs 200 crore in the first phase.

That is when the Ramayan Mandir and a Shiv and Mahavir temple each would be built.

Its main attraction will be its 405-feet-high octangular spires. It will be taller than the Angkor Wat temple, which is 215 feet high. The complex will comprise 18 temples.

It will have a Shiva Linga, 44 feet tall and 33 feet in circumference -- proposed to be the tallest in the world.

Kunal said when work on the temple was to start last year, the Cambodian government raised objections with New Delhi, saying it was a copy of Angkor Wat.

Kunal and his team then re-exmained their plan. The modified plan was sent to Phnom Penh last year and again early this year through the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Cambodian embassy in New Delhi reportedly indicated that in case of any objection, it will suggest modifications.

"I have been informed by our government that there is no response from the Cambodian embassy," Kunal said. "So, a decision has been taken to start the construction work."

He said the temple design has been influenced by over a dozen famous temples in India and abroad, particularly Thailand and Indonesia.

Many Muslims have provided land at a nominal rate for the temple. "Without their help, it would have been difficult to take up this dream project," Kunal said.

The temple would have a seating capacity of 20,000 in a hall facing the main temple having the idols of Rama, Sita, Luv and Kush.

L&T, India's leading construction company, will build the temple.

(Imran Khan can cbe contacted at imran.k@ians.in)

--IANS

ik/nir/mr/sac
News report 'planted', says Rijiju; opposition seeks his ouster (Intro Roundup)

Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 14 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed a daily for "planting" story about his alleged involvement in a power project scam even as the opposition demanded his resignation and thorough probe into the matter.

The union Power Ministry later issued a statement saying the report had made "totally false and baseless allegations".

"It is a planted story. If they visit Arunachal Pradesh, they would be thrashed with shoes," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told reporters here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's comment came after a newspaper claimed that he had written letters to clear payments of contractors constructing two dams for the 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh, being executed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (Neepco).

The newspaper also quoted a report of the Chief Vigilence Officer of the Neepco, who claimed that there was a scam relating to an Arunachal Pradesh hydro project.

"Does serving people mean corruption," Rijiju asked.

However, soon after stirring the controversy, Rijiju took to Twitter and said that the allegation was "really cheap", and posted photographs of the letters he received from the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

"Really cheap! This is the copy of representation I received and forwarding letter to the Power Minister. Is it a corruption helping poor tribal folk?" Rijiju said.

He also said the Congress must apologise to the nation as all contract works and payments were made during its regime.

"Now the Congress must apologise to the nation. All contract works & payments were made during their regime. I just forwarded a memorandum," he said in a series of tweets.

In a letter to Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Rijiju had requested release of pending payment for boulder transportation for the Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Congress and the Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Tuesday demanded Rijiju's resignation.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said: "The minister has no right to remain on his post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who talks of transparency and honesty, should get this (Rijiju's involvement in the scam) investigated by an independent agency."

"Until that time, the Prime Minister should either dismiss the Minister of State or ask for his resignation."

Surjewala also demanded an investigation against all the senior officials associated with the project.

The Congress claimed that fake and inflated bills were submitted by contractors for the transportation of rocks for construction of dams and the methodology brought out by the CVO was very clear.

Quoting newspaper reports, AAP leader Ashish Khetan accused Rijiju of using his influence as a minister to help his cousin in what he called a "Rs 450-crore scam".

"This is a serious matter. Kiren Rijiju has no right to remain a minister after being exposed in this scam. He should immediately resign from his post," Khetan said.

He also urged the Prime Minister to order an independent probe into the alleged scam.

"We also request the Prime Minister to ensure that Rijiju and his family do not influence the probe," he said.

Meanwhile, the union Power Ministry said in a release here that at no point did Rijiju recommend that payment be released.

"Hence, the letter written by MoS Home Affairs has no bearing on any payments released by NEEPCO as the payment had already been released before his letter under authorization of Shri Verma (then Chief Vigilence Officer of the Neepco)," the statement said.

In this connection, the statement clarified that the government does not interfere in the operational matters of public sector units.

"No instructions or directions by the Government were given to NEEPCO at any time for making any payments," it added.

--IANS

sid-aks-am-bc-vd


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      1  2022    2  290,9  ,   18%     2021    36,6%       .
4,000 US troops to be deployed in Poland in 2017: US commander

Poland,Defence/Security, Wed, 14 Dec 2016 IANS

Warsaw, Dec 14 (IANS) Some 4,000 US soldiers along with vehicles and other equipment will be deployed in Poland in 2017, a US senior commander said on Tuesday.

Xinhua news agency quoted Lieutenant General Frederick Hodges, commander of the United States Army Europe, as saying that at the start of next year, the troops would arrive in Germany from where they would continue on to Poland.

Hodges gave this speech at a German armed forces logistics school in Osterholz-Scharmbeck in northern Germany. He said northern Germany would be a logistical hub for transferring US troops to Central and Eastern Europe.

The aim of the deployment was to secure peace in Europe and provide a demonstration of strength aimed at Russia, Hodges added.

Polish News Agency reported that as part of the Atlantic Resolve NATO operation, these soldiers would strengthen US forces in NATO's eastern countries.

At the Warsaw summit in July, NATO leaders agreed to deploy four battalions with a size of up to 1,000 each to the three Baltic states and Poland.

--IANS

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DOES THE CONSTITUTION NEED TO BE INTERPRETED?

By Gary Alder

December 13, 2016

NewsWithViews.com

Ever since the US Constitution was ratified the question asked over and over is: who has the prerogative and responsibility to interpret the Constitution? Early on, the Supreme Court assumed the right to exercise this function but nowhere in the words of the Constitution (the document itself) is this practice authorized.

Before jumping to the conclusion that the Constitution requires interpreting and accepting anyones interpretation, I would ask what I consider a much more pertinent question and its corollary: Does the Constitution need to be interpreted, and if so why?

I can think of only three possible reasons why our Constitution would need interpreting which I will list and examine in the increasing level of likelihood and incidence of interpretation.

 The way a clause is worded doesnt make sense.

 The way a clause is worded is ambiguous or imprecise.

 Part of the Constitution doesnt say what we want it to say.

As I will demonstrate, interpret generally is used as a euphemism for disregard or make the Constitution say what its actual words don't.

Case 1  The way a clause is worded doesnt make sense.

I cant think of an example of such gross incompetence in the original Constitution, but the Twelfth Amendment states that a presidential Elector cant vote for a presidential and vice-presidential candidate both from his own state.

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves;

If you assume that the Electors were designed to cast a final vote, (which I dont), that means that if the Electors are given a list of candidates and one presidential and one vice-presidential candidate are from Delaware, all of the Electors except those from Delaware could vote for both. What sense does that make? Someone needs to interpret some sense into that one.

Case 2  The way a clause is worded is ambiguous or imprecise.

Probably the most glaring example of this concerns the issue of slavery, the worst blight in our history as a nation. This ambiguity allowed a practice to continue beyond the 20 year period that barred the federal government from interfering, while giving time for the states to get rid of that abhorrent practice. (see Article I Section 9, also Article V)

The migration, or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

Even though they couldnt bring themselves to write the words slave or slavery in the Constitution, by dancing around the issue with euphemisms, a conversion time was allotted. The only part of the system that ended up being addressed was the foreign slave trade which to the credit of congress was abolished in January of 1808. It took a horrible war which devastated the nation and claimed the lives of 620,000 Americans to finally resolve the issue.

Case 3  Part of the Constitution doesnt say what we want it to say.

Now we come to the part of the issue that seems both most pervasive and most perversive. This is the problem with most interpretations and interpreters. Rather than studying the Constitution and trying to figure out what it is saying, we usually try to find a way to make it say what we want it to say. By our cut and paste methodologytaking a piece here, ignoring a piece there, and interpreting a piece somewhere else, we arrive at a system of government that is a modified democracy rather than the modified federation that the original Constitution defined.

To illustrate this point, we can look at the First Amendment and the way that it has been interpreted.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

This amendment contains a list of things that congress may not do. Rather than follow the Constitution, our government has declared a wall of separation between church and state and made themselves the arbiter of that separation. Freedom of speech is now interpreted to include disruption of the daily activities of others and even destruction of property, and not only are we free to petition government but the First Amendment supposedly allows rowdy gathering and protesting of any entity or organization that seems to be doing or not doing things the particular mob assembled wants them to do or quit doing. How does that become peaceably assembling? What freedom of speech and freedom of religion do not include are things like prayer in schools and expressions like Merry Christmas or God Bless You. If Congress can make no law concerning these things, where did all this nonsense come from?

Probably the most common interpretation given to the Constitution by educated people who should know better, is the notion that it defines a two-party (or any party) system of government. Unfortunately the two-party system is the system that supplanted Constitutional Federalism when America turned its collective back on the original Constitution. It happened so early in our history that Americans almost without exception assume that party politics is constitutional. It led to replacing the recommendations of the best presidential candidates by independent Electors to the confirmation of the least-worst options as determined by a party-controlled popular vote between self-nominated and self-interested demagogues who bribe the people with legislative promises which they have no constitutional authority to fulfill if they do get elected.

Most of the time the popular vote for President coincides with the party manipulated electoral votes, but the election of 2016 was an exception. Now there are many who are trying to manipulate the vote of the Electors in different directions. It will be interesting to see how this works out. There is some hope that this confusion will lead to a study of the actual words of the Constitution and the concepts that those words convey. Time will tell.

Article VI of the Constitution reads:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution;

which invites this rhetorical question: when the officers take the oath to support this Constitution, are they bound by the words of the Constitution or by some interpretation; and if so which one?

Having analyzed the reasons why the Constitution could need some interpretation, I conclude that what is needed most is careful study of the actual words of the Constitution by both the elected officials and all Americans. This study must include a look at the whole picture not just a few select pieces. If the incumbents do not follow the Constitution, they must be replaced. If after careful study, changes seem appropriate, let them be made by amendment not by interpretation.

As George Washington said in his farewell address:

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.

Please, click on "Mass E-mailing" below and send this article to all your friends .

 2016 Gary Alder - All Rights Reserved

E-Mail: gary@freedomformula.us

Website: Freedomformula.us
Following a great initial response to the accompanying Mattel toy line both in the UK and across the pond in the USA, Nickelodeon's hit preschool propertyis expected to make an even bigger splash at retail in 2017 with a wider product roll-out!is to set a precedent as a leader in the pre-school market, a sector that has never been more competitive.Initial response to Nickelodeon'stoy line from Mattel has been incredible, with toy lines launched in early October 2016 already securing a strong presence in the latest NPD data.Expectations are now high for the Nickelodeon property as product enters its 2017 roll out amid high demand among key retailers for the brand including the likes of Tesco.Targeting what has been billed as until now an under-served pre-school girls market,follows the adventures of two genies as they journey across the world of Zahramav Falls.The series has been favoured for its use of imagination, magic fun and music to tell stories with a strong base in the emotional-intelligence curriculum.The UK pre-school market has never been as competitive as it is currently, all fighting for the shelf space at retail, but there is definitely space for a strong TV driven pre-school girls property, Marianne James, Nickelodeon's Vice President (VP), Commercial Partnerships, Consumer Products and Experiences UK and Ireland, told ToyNews The unique look ofwill ensure that it has the stand out that is required to make its mark in the pre-school marketplace.Meanwhile, Mattel has championed the property as among those in its portfolio of younger years brands to be the focus of a major push for the UK business next year.Dominic Geddes, Mattels VP and country manager, UK and Nordics, added: is going to be a huge one for 2017.We always thought it was going to be strong and it got off to a great start in the US.We are already seeing FSDU out there with no stock on it, so this is a clear indication that there is something very special here inand what it is bringing to the pre-school girls market.airs daily on Nick Jr. UK and Ireland and regularly on Channel 5's Milkshake strand.
The 16th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival wrapped up with the two main awards going to two Chinese directors.

The Festivals Grand Prix, the Golden Star, was awarded to Zang Qiwus The Donor while the best director prize went to Wang Xuebo for his film, Knife in the Clear Water.

The Donor sheds light on the phenomenon of organ donation in modern China. The movie depicts the life a Chinese peasant whose life turned into tragedy after transplantation surgery failed. He decides to sell one of his kidneys in order to make some money to meet the needs of his family. The movie shows the exploitation of poor classes in modern China.

The best actress award was received by Afghanistans Fereshteh Hosseini who stars in the Irani-Afghan co-production Parting about a young Afghani couple risking their lives to find refuge and a better life in Europe.

The jury led by Hungarian veteran director Bela Tarr awarded the Best Actor Prize ex aequo to Baldur Einarsson and Blaer Hinriksson for their performances in Heartstone.

Italian Tizza Covi and Austrian Rainer Frimmel received the jury prize for Mister Universo about a circus lion-tamer in search of his lost lucky charm.

The Festival, held December 2-10, paid a country tribute to Russian cinema.

Faithful to its tradition of championing quality cinema and shunning commercialism and mediocrity, the festival featured a selection of 14 movies from different countries.

The Festival paid career tributes to Elle director Paul Verhoeven, French star Isabelle Adjani, Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto and Moroccan actor Abderrahim Tounsi, known as Abderraouf. It also paid tribute in memoriam to Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami, who passed away this year.

As part of efforts to showcase the attractiveness of Morocco as a hub for filmmaking, the festival managed to draw a U.S. delegation of industry players, including Gary French, senior VP of production at Touchstone Television Productions, and Gary Goodman, executive VP of productions at Lionsgate.
Sound Energy PLC has won regulatory approval from Moroccan authorities to take control of 75% interest in the Sidi Mokhtar onshore licenses.

Sound Energy, the African and European focused upstream gas company, said in a statement that the deal consists of three onshore gas permits (the Sidi Moktar Licenses) covering 2,700 square kilometres in the Essaouira basin, central Morocco, and contains a material existing gas discovery in the Lower Liassic (Kechoula), where two wells have already been drilled, and significant Triassic exploration potential.

The statement adds that the acquisitions consisted of a 50% operated interest in the Sidi Mokhtar Licenses from PetroMaroc Corporation Plc (PetroMaroc) and the acquisition of a 25% working interest in the Sidi Mokhtar Licenses from Maghreb Petroleum Exploration S.A. (MPE).

Following the Acquisitions, the remaining 25% interest in the Sidi Mokhtar Licenses is held by Moroccos Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the statement notes.

Recently, Sound Energy confirmed the success of a second TE-7 gas well lying only 1.6 kilometres away from its TE-6 first well.
British-Algerian journalist Mohamed Tamalt passed away in coma following a hunger strike that he started in July 2006 after being jailed for sharing a poem about the Algerian President on Facebook.

Tamalt was handed a two-year jail term on charges of offending the president and defaming a public authority, accusations that are typical of authoritarian states that violate freedom of expression.

The death of the freelance journalist and blogger stirred the condemnation and outrage of international rights watchdogs. The Algerian authorities prosecution of Mohamed Tamalt symbolizes their determination to punish peaceful dissent, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Amnesty International urged Algerian authorities on Sunday to open an independent and transparent investigation into the

Why was there such a conviction just for words on Facebook which did no harm to anyone? said Yasmine Kacha, head of the North Africa department of Reporters without Borders.
Two British citizens have been condemned to jail for allegedly funding the March Brussels attacks which caused the death of 32 people.

Kingston Crown Court in London Monday sentenced Zakaria Boufassil and Mohammed Ali Ahmed respectively to three and eight years in prison for giving secretly 3,000 in cash to Mohamed Abrini in a Birmingham park last year, British Sky news reports.

Abrini, a 31-year old Belgian, has been linked to Brussels March attacks after CCTV footage showed him wearing a hat. He has been arrested and accused of helping attackers at Brussels airport and metro.

The secret meeting reportedly took place months before Paris November attacks which killed 130 people. According to the court, Abrini was sent to collect the money on behalf of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks.

Police and court believe that money was used to buy guns used in the Brussels attacks.

Boussafil, aged 26, was handed an additional one year on silence. The court accused him of engaging in preparation of acts of terrorism.

Ali Ahmed, 27 also was sentenced extra one year on silence. He pleaded guilty. The court also found him guilty of attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group (IS). According to the court, Ahmed also engaged his sister Soumaya in his secret trip to Syria.

British authorities were able to identify Boussafil and Ahmed after Abrini admitted to Belgian police he met both men to collect money.

Abrini also admitted he had taken a picture of Manchester Uniteds ground at Old Trafford, as well as shopping centers and casinos around Birmingham. However, he denied to have taken the picture for potential terrorist plans.

He reportedly told police that the British capital is too well protected for attacks.

I think England has a more developed secret service, better observation techniques. And its therefore more difficult to attack.
Chinese Polytechnology company, specialized in defense equipment, which has been under fire in Africa and around the world for bribery and money laundering, will build a military and commercial port at the Mauritanian city of NDiago, sitting on the bank of Senegal River, few miles from the Senegalese city of St. Louis, reports say.

The project will cost some $325 million fully funded by the Mauritania government.

The Chinese company won the contract thanks to the good ties between Nouakchott and Beijing.

According to online media africatime.com, the Chinese company has been blacklisted in Nigeria, Namibia and Zimbabwe. In Nigeria the company was accused by the media of being connected to a money laundry case involving a Nigerian official under former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan.

In Namibia and Zimbabwe, it was accused of bribery and corruption of state officials.

The project includes a military port, a naval port, a fishing harbor and seven docks that could serve for commercial purpose. The complex, according to Mauritanian authorities, will change the image of the city and revolutionize the region.

The project, after completion, will open a trade and transport route from the Senegal River bank stretching all the way down to Mali.

The new project will also endow Mauritania with a shipyard capable of producing 70 vessels per year, reports say.
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Trump Tower. Photo: Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images

A 19-year-old college student set off the metal detector trying to get into Trump Tower Monday evening. The Secret Service searched him and found quite the cache of weapons in his backpack. According to the New York Daily News, the stash included a hunting knife, an M-100 firework, a Swiss Army knife, a flashlight, handcuffs, an 8-foot black rope, a clear water gun, a laptop and a wire typically used to strangle someone called a garrote.

The student  identified as Alexander Wang, who is a finance student at Baruch College  reportedly told police that hes actually a big Donald Trump fan, and just likes to hit the books in the president-elects skyscraper. He also mentioned to authorities that he always lugs around this stockpile in his knapsack, and that hes visited Trump Tower about ten times after Election Day with said hoard, and, rather troublingly, never had an issue before.

Cops searched Wangs apartment  which he shares with a roommate  on the Upper East Side, and found some more fireworks and an ammunition box. Hes been charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon and illegal possession of fireworks. Police do not believe he has ties to any terror groups. According to the News, Wang allegedly called himself a survivalist who occasionally shoots off fireworks over the East River.
Rex Tillerson, one of Putins favorite Americans. Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

After a lengthy audition process for the role of Donald Trumps secretary of State  which even the president-elect compared to a reality show  Trumps team floated Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for the job over the weekend. Coming just a day after a report that the CIA concluded Russia meddled in the U.S. election in an attempt to help Trump, even some Republicans were quick to push back against Tillerson, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

If the leak was meant to gauge reaction to Tillerson, Trump isnt worried about yet another possible confirmation battle on Capitol Hill. On Monday night, Trump tweeted that hell announce his pick for secretary of State in the morning, and according to multiple outlets, he wants Tillerson for the job.

The latest reports came after the two most high-profile politicians seeking the job were eliminated from the contest. On Friday, Trump announced that Rudy Giuliani  who had many potential conflicts of interest  removed himself from consideration weeks earlier. And shortly before the Tillerson reveal on Monday night, Mitt Romney posted this on Facebook:

It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. My discussions with President-elect... Posted by Mitt Romney on Monday, December 12, 2016

Trump adviser Roger Stone claimed on Sunday that Trump only interviewed Romney to toy with him after the GOP nominee stood up to him during the election. While Trump sources deny that, many are still convinced that Trump had Romney publicly praise him and share a meme-worthy meal of frogs legs in an effort to neutralize one of his biggest critics  or just humiliate him.

Trump passed over a number of other candidates  including Senator Bob Corker, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr., and former CIA director David Petraeus  before settling on the 64-year-old Tillerson, who started at Exxon in 1975 as an engineer and spent his entire career at the oil company. Exxon does business on six continents, and Trump was said to be impressed by Tillerson because hes a deal-making businessman like himself (also two of Trumps closest advisers, Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner, were reportedly pushing for him). The president-elect tweeted on Sunday:

Whether I choose him or not for "State"- Rex Tillerson, the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil, is a world class player and dealmaker. Stay tuned!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2016

While his personal foreign-policy views are unclear, he has remarkably strong ties to Russia through his work for Exxon. Hes known Putin for nearly two decades, and in 2013 he was awarded the nations Order of Friendship after striking a deal that gave Exxon access to a Russian-controlled area of the Arctic Ocean.

The agreement stalled after the United States imposed sanctions on Moscow over Russias intervention in Ukraine and occupation of Crimea. Tillerson has spoken out against the sanctions, which are costing Exxon billions. While Tillerson is set to retire next year, he has 2.5 million shares of Exxon stock, including 1.8 million that are not vested and cannot be sold now, according to CBS News.

In addition to his Russia ties and business conflicts, Tillerson is likely to face opposition from environmentalists over recent revelations that Exxon knew climate change was real for decades but expressed skepticism publicly. (While Tillerson had previously doubted that global warming exists, in recent years he said the threat is serious and called for a carbon tax.)

But the most serious roadblock to confirmation is Tillersons relationship with Russia, which prompted a number of GOP senators to speak out against him. When he gets the friendship award from a butcher, frankly, its an issue that I think needs to be examined, Senator John McCain said on Monday. On Sunday Senator Marco Rubio tweeted:

Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState - MR  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 11, 2016

Another Republican, Senator James Lankford, is not ready to vote for Rex Tillerson, according to D.J. Jordan, his communications director. He added that the senator has a lot of questions about Mr. Tillerson and his ties to Russia, and his ability to be Americas top diplomat.

Republicans have 52 seats in the Senate, so if Democrats vote together it would only take a few Republican votes to deny Tillerson the majority needed for confirmation. Democratic Senator Ben Cardin tweeted on Monday night:

If Tillerson is the nom, I look forward to a meeting & hearing process. But anyone who has opposed our Russia sanctions is problematic  Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) December 12, 2016

I dont know if [Tillerson] can get 50 votes or not, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told CNN. I think it may be a little hard for him to do that.

While the Senate hasnt rejected a Cabinet nominee since 1989, next year we could see Giuliani, Romney, and all the rest of the contestants return for season two of The Apprentice: Secretary of State.
The signs are there. Photo: Jen Kirby

MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast said Monday he was cautiously optimistic that the Second Avenue Subway would meet its December 31 deadline. Thats less than three weeks away.

Prendergast delivered the hopeful words at an MTA board update on the long-, long-, long-awaited infrastructure project. Construction is done, but the MTA still needs to complete some key tests, which the agency estimates will be finished up by December 23, reports the New York Times. And that, for those who are counting, leaves just a bit more than week to get that subway rolling.



Some good news on Second Ave. Subway from independent engineer - all testing to be done by December pic.twitter.com/uZSSQEFMTZ  Dan Rivoli (@danrivoli) December 12, 2016

Independent engineer Kent Haggas  who warned the board in October that crews needed to ramp up efforts if the agency wanted to have a shot at meeting its 2016 deadline  indicated that the agency took his admonitions seriously, and the MTAs work has paid off. I feel its now on track to finish before the end of the year, Haggas said.

Prendergast also said crews will be working to fix the aboveground situation along Second Avenue on the Upper East Side, which remains a maze of construction under whose tyranny some residents and businesses have lived for the better part of a decade.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, who toured two of the stations over the weekend, said in a radio interview Sunday: We have a few weeks, and if I had to bet  and it was even money, I would bet that we make it.

And now for the caveat, despite all this relatively rosy news: The MTA has not set a public date for the subways grand opening. So no guarantees yet  and whats a few days or weeks when New York has been waiting nearly 100 years?
The F-35. Photo: U.S. Navy/Getty Images

Since winning the White House, Donald Trump has evinced little enthusiasm for taking on well-heeled special interests. Rather than drain the swamp of Wall Street lobbyists (as hed once promised), hes filled his administration with billionaire investors and Goldman Sachs alums. And instead of challenging the GOP Establishments desiccated orthodoxy, hes given movement conservatives their ideal appointees to the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services.

But while Trump has sought to ingratiate himself with the finance industry and his partys donor class, he has singled-out one powerful interest group for populist browbeating  defense contractors.

Last week, the president-elect shot down Boeings stock price, by canceling the governments $4 billion order for new Air Force One jets.

Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016

Trumps apparent claim  that Boeing went well over budget while developing Air Force One planes  was baseless. (The U.S. Government Accountability Office has estimated that the entire Air Force One program will cost $3.2 billion between 2010 and 2020. However, Boeing has not even been awarded a contract to assemble the planes, only multimillion-dollar deals to design certain aspects of the aircrafts. If costs are out of control, Boeing has little to do with it  and there is no $4 billion contract to be canceled.)

The emptiness of Trumps accusation  combined with the fact that his tweet was immediately preceded by the publication of an article in which Boeings CEO criticized Trumps trade policies  suggested that the president-elect might have been more concerned with punishing dissent than reducing wasteful defense spending.

But on Monday, Trump once again launched a share-price-shrinking attack on a defense contractor  and this time, he had a real point.

The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

The F-35 program is, indeed, out of control. The militarys beautiful dream of a universal jet fighter long ago turned into an insanely expensive nightmare. The program is years behind schedule and tens of billions of dollars over budget. Even the Pentagon recognizes the F-35 for the boondoggle that is, as David Axe observed in the Daily Beast last spring:

Officials previously admitted that the new jet lacks maneuverability, that its testing is way behind schedule and that its software is still incomplete.



More recently, military leaders revealed that the three versions of the F-35 jet arent nearly as compatible as the military had promised they would be. Plus, one official conceded that the planes are so expensive that re-equipping all of the Air Forces fighter squadrons with them would compel the flying branch to first cut a fifth of the squadrons.



And the kickertwo generals confessed that the whole idea of a do-it-all jet is, in fact, so conceptually flawed that its unlikely the Pentagon will attempt it again. Right now the Air Force and Navy are laying plans for so-called sixth-generation jets to eventually supersede the F-35.

So, the case for going back in time and canceling the F-35 program at its outset is exceptionally strong. But canceling it at this point  after billions have been spent, and roughly 133,00 Americans (across 45 states) have been hired to work on the program  is widely seen as politically impossible.

A week before Trumps election, the Defense Department awarded Lockheed Martin their ninth contract for 90 F-35 fighter jets, a deal valued at up to $7.18 billion, according to Reuters.

Considering the sums at stake, its less than surprising that Trumps tweet caused Lockheeds stock to quickly tumble 5.1 percent (it has since recovered, and, as of this writing, is down a mere 2.5 percent).

The tweet also forced Lockheed executive vice-president Jeff Babione to amend his remarks at a ceremony in Israel Monday morning. Babione, who was in the Jewish state to oversee the delivery of Israels first F-35 aircraft, told reporters that his company welcomes the opportunity to address any questions the president-elect has about the program. Its an amazing program. Lockheed Martin and its industry partners understand the importance of affordability for the F-35 program.

Babione went on to call the plane a great value, claiming that Lockheed had invested hundreds of millions of dollars to cut the price of the airplane by more than 60 percent.

Its hard to believe that Donald Trump is a sincere opponent of Defense Department bloat (and not just because the only belief hes shown long-term fidelity to is faith in his own entitlement to power).

In September, Trump called for a massive increase in military spending, so as to fund an additional 50,000 Army troops, nearly 100 Air Force planes, 70 Navy warships and 13 Marine battalions.

Theres no inherent contradiction between the goals of cutting wasteful military programs and radically increasing our investment in defense. But Trumps plan  with its abundance of new spending commitments and dearth of details about funding mechanisms  doesnt signal dedication to fiscal prudence in military matters.

During his campaign, Trump made a point of voicing his opposition to virtually every deal signed by a Democratic president  often making no substantive argument against the agreement in question, beyond the claim that his unique talents would allow him to negotiate a better one.

Its possible that this habit  and the president-elects sudden interest in the contracting process  both derive from a desire to advertise his (supposed) mastery at his chosen art.
Vladimir Putins hostility to Muslims and LGBTQ folk has earned him some street cred from Trumps conservative Christian supporters. Photo: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images

There are all sorts of theories about Donald Trumps affinity for Vladimir Putins Russia, ranging from shadowy business dealings with Putin or pro-Putin entities, to Russias alleged material aid in promoting Trumps presidential candidacy, to the personal affinity between two men who yearn for recognition as world-historical figures. A related question is why so many Republicans  who four years ago were cheering Mitt Romneys prophecies of a new Cold War struggle with Russia  have accepted Trumps Russophilia.

But as Peter Beinart points out at The Atlantic, there is actually a strain of conservatism in which a fondness for post-communist Russia and its leader are not at all out of place:

Civilizational conservatives like Jerry Falwell and Pat Buchanan saw the cold war as a struggle between two countries defined primarily by their view of God: The Judeo-Christian United States versus the atheistic Soviet Union. Ideological conservatives like Paul Wolfowitz and Elliot Abrams, by contrast, saw the cold war as a conflict between two countries defined primarily by their view of government: the liberty-loving United States versus the totalitarian USSR 

In the 1990s, after the Soviet Union collapsed, ideological conservatives and civilizational conservatives parted ways. The clearest example was the former Yugoslavia. In the 1990s, Serbs brutalized the largely Muslim breakaway republic of Bosnia. Ideological conservatives like Robert Kagan urged NATO to intervene in the name of human rights. Cultural conservatives like Buchanan wondered why the U.S. was going to war to defend Muslims against Christians.

Thats right, Donald Trump and his alt-right fanbase are hardly the only Americans who deeply admire Vladimir Putin: He has a fairly large fan club among politically active U.S. Christian conservatives.

It includes some pretty big names, like conservative Evangelical leader Franklin Graham, National Organization for Marriage leader Brian Brown, and American Family Association spokesperson Bryan Fischer. In almost every case it has been his distinctive combination of homophobia and Islamophobia that has made Putin one of the Christian rights favorite international figures. The cultural conservative preference for authoritarian Christian Slavs who are fighting Muslims has, as Beinart notes, carried over from the Serbs to their traditional sponsors in Moscow, and most especially to the former KGB officer who has revived Russias pre-communist tradition of militantly traditionalist Christianity.

Putins attacks on gay propaganda have been particularly heartwarming to Christian-right folk, probably because of echoes they hear of their own longtime warnings about a sinister homosexual agenda pervading U.S. politics and culture. Heres Franklin Graham gushing about this during a trip to Russia:



I very much appreciate that President Putin is protecting Russian young people against homosexual propaganda. If only to give them the opportunity to grow up and make a decision for themselves. Again, homosexuals cannot have children, they can take other peoples children. I believe that President Obama (and Ill repeat, hes a very nice person) is leading America down the wrong road. Hes taking a stand against God.

Meanwhile, Putins long war with Chechen Muslim separatists has earned him Christian admiration along the lines Beinart is talking about. And Russias long-standing partnership with Syrias Assad regime  regarded as the protector of the countrys ancient if dwindling Christian minority, threatened by virtually every Islamic group in the region  has recently given Putin some additional Western Christian street cred. Putins own association with end-times speculation hasnt hurt, either.

So the cultural conservative affinity with Putins Russia goes a little deeper, and is more religious in nature, than Beinarts analysis suggests. But there is one problem in Russia that could drive a wedge between Trump and his conservative Evangelical fans: the tradition of Russian Orthodox Church intolerance toward competing Christian faith communities, which very recently popped back up in a law on proselytization signed by Putin in July:

Russian evangelicals are expressing alarm in light of President Vladmir Putins signing of a so-called anti-terrorism law last Thursday that imposes harsh restrictions on religious freedom by banning religious gatherings in homes as well as evangelism and missionary activities.

This law is one of the reasons conservative Evangelical writer Eric Metaxas, who got a lot of attention this fall for claiming that like-minded people had a religious obligation to vote for Donald Trump, isnt buying into any man-crush when it comes to Putin:

It should be clear that the law has little, if anything, to do with defending Christianity and everything to do with Russian nationalism. As author David Aikman told Christianity Today, The Russian Orthodox church is part of a bulwark of Russian nationalism stirred up by Vladimir Putin  Everything that undermines that action is a real threat, whether thats evangelical Protestant missionaries or anything else.

So there is a paradox at the center of Christian-right attitudes toward Putins Russia: His own conspicuous traditionalist Christianity, which makes him an ally against gay and Muslim agendas, makes him an enemy of conservative Evangelicals in his own country. Since Putins not likely to abandon his position favoring a near-monopoly for the Russian Orthodox Church, that makes him disappointing as a heartthrob for the Focus on Family crowd. But theres still Donald Trump.


A torture-y scene from 24, a show that is not real life. Photo: FOX

Yesterday, Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic wrote a very depressing blog post about how the United States may, with the election of Donald Trump, be on the verge of re-adopting torture. As Friedersdorf pointed out, Donald Trump has openly stated that he thinks the country needs to bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding to deal with detainees suspected of involvement in terrorism, and while a loud chorus of voices from across the political spectrum is outspoken in their opposition to torture, Trump is also being urged by people with ties to the CIA to bring back waterboarding.

In defending acts many people find to be morally abhorrent, torture apologists frequently point to the so-called ticking-time-bomb scenario: A terrorist has been captured and is in possession of vital information to prevent a bomb going off in a major population center, killing and injuring untold scores. The only way to get him to give up the information, the thinking goes, is by torturing him. Isnt it the only moral choice?

As Friedersdorf rightly points out, this is not a scenario that comes up in real life. There is no known instance of torture preventing a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack, though the practice has been perpetrated throughout human history, he writes. One neednt summon any particular degree of insight or wisdom to see that if the Trump administration chooses to torture, it will inevitably be used in the absence of a ticking time bomb, on prisoners with no information that would save city blocks from WMDs. Thats precisely what happened during the Bush administration. For a veteran of the Bush-era CIA to invoke ticking time bombs is misdirection.

Its interesting that so many years after Bush, we are still arguing over ticking time bombs. Way back in 2007, The New Yorkers Jane Mayer wrote a fascinating and disturbing piece about the influential politics of 24, at the time a hit show, and its co-creator and executive producer Joel Surnow. She also explained the dark history of the ticking-time-bomb conceit:

The shows appeal, however, lies less in its violence than in its giddily literal rendering of a classic thriller trope: the ticking time bomb plot. Each hour-long episode represents an hour in the life of the characters, and every minute that passes onscreen brings the United States a minute closer to doomsday. (Surnow came up with this concept, which he calls the shows trick.) As many as half a dozen interlocking stories unfold simultaneouslyfrequently on a split screenand a digital clock appears before and after every commercial break, marking each second with an ominous clang. The result is a riveting sensation of narrative velocity.



Bob Cochran, who created the show with Surnow, admitted, Most terrorism experts will tell you that the ticking time bomb situation never occurs in real life, or very rarely. But on our show it happens every week. According to Darius Rejali, a professor of political science at Reed College and the author of the forthcoming book Torture and Democracy, the conceit of the ticking time bomb first appeared in Jean Larteguys 1960 novel Les Centurions, written during the brutal French occupation of Algeria. The books hero, after beating a female Arab dissident into submission, uncovers an imminent plot to explode bombs all over Algeria and must race against the clock to stop it. Rejali, who has examined the available records of the conflict, told me that the story has no basis in fact. In his view, the story line of Les Centurions provided French liberals a more palatable rationale for torture than the racist explanations supplied by others (such as the notion that the Algerians, inherently simpleminded, understood only brute force). Larteguys scenario exploited an insecurity shared by many liberal societiesthat their enlightened legal systems had made them vulnerable to security threats.

Given that the ticking time bomb was captivating audiences in 1960 and 2007 and, apparently, still is in 2016, theres little reason to think this trope is going anywhere. Why is it so persistent? A few common human heuristics, or mental shortcuts, can help explain. One of them is the availability heuristic, which states, in effect, that the easier it is for us to conjure an example of something, the more that example will sway our thinking or decision-making. If its very easy for you to think of examples of plane crashes, you will likely overestimate their frequency. In ticking-time-bomb scenarios, the scenarios raised by pro-torture advocates  entire city blocks going up in smoke  are so vivid that they emotionally hijack people, likely affecting their ability to accurately gauge the likelihood of these scenarios taking place. Along those same lines, humans are known to be loss averse  all else being equal, we focus more on potential losses than potential gains; theyre more salient to us and do more to nudge our decision-making. The possibilities of people being tortured unjustly, or of torture policies simply violating values we hold dear, often just dont pack the same emotional wallop as those visions of terrorist devastation.

Overall, whats striking about the ticking-time-bomb example is how potent a tool it is for shifting people from so-called System 2 thinking  cool, rational, calculating costs and benefits  to System 1 thinking, which is more characterized by gut impulses and knee-jerk reactions. This model, first proposed by the pioneering Israeli psychologist Danny Kahneman and laid out wonderfully in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, is an oversimplification of human cognition, of course, but its quite useful nonetheless, especially in a situation like this one.

From a System-2 perspective, its easier to focus on the long-term effects of enacting a torture regime, on the near-inevitability of innocent people getting tortured given, well, the entire known history of torture, on the sheer unlikelihood of one of those 24-style scenarios actually taking place. From a System-1 perspective, its all panic, its all, Oh my God we are all going to die we need to do WHATEVER WE CAN to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Theres an underlying lesson here: Whether the subject is torture or anything else, if someone is trying very hard to make you afraid, stop to ask yourself if theyre trying to knock you into System-1 thinking and make a decision that you may, in the cold light of System-2 thinking, come to regret dearly.
Photo: Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump is planning to meet with tech industry leaders on Wednesday, the latest in a series of meetings in which famous people are photographed entering the lobby of Trump Tower, 20 minutes pass, and then Trump is photographed giving the thumbs-up.

The twist here is that unlike many of the sycophants, repentant #NeverTrumpers, and randos that Trump has been meeting with over the last few weeks, this groups relationship with Trump is, at best, ambivalent (Trump transition member Peter Thiel notwithstanding). Among the group meeting with him in Manhattan on Wednesday are, according to Recode, Alphabet CEO Larry Page and chairman Eric Schmidt, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz. Elon Musk was added to the list yesterday, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos  whom Trump has explicitly criticized for wielding the Washington Post against the Republican campaign  was also invited and is likely to attend.

Its a fascinating meeting in part because over the last eight years the tech industry has acted in many ways as an extension of the Obama administration  not just in the extralegal ways revealed by Edward Snowdens NSA leaks, but in its role as an economic powerhouse and center of innovation frequently pointed at by the president during his two terms. Obama has frequently pushed coding as an essential skill for young people to possess and held up those crazy dreamers in Silicon Valley as the future of American industry; he met regularly with the tech industry, which, in turn, donated substantial sums of money to Obama and the Democrats.

Trumps relationship with the tech industry is likely to be very different. On the issues Trump is most known for  limiting immigration and expanding manufacturing jobs  the tech industry stands in exact opposition. Getting Apple, for example, to move its manufacturing stateside would be costly on a number of levels. That the tech industry is even fielding calls from Trump shows slight capitulation, but its unclear what lobbying will be done and which concessions will be made by either side. The last thing any of these companies wants is public castigation from the incoming president (though its unclear what effect, if any, Trumps boycott of Apple earlier this year had on sales). One gets the sense of two dogs sniffing each others butts for the first time.

The makeup of this group gives some indication of the tech-industry sector that Trump plans on making nice with: The guest list tends toward enterprise and infrastructure businesses rather than the more popular and visible consumer apps, like Snapchat, or, apparently, Twitter. (Leaders from both Airbnb and Uber were reportedly invited, but declined to attend). Enterprise leaders like IBM, Oracle, and Cisco have seen Trump deal with Carrier and SoftBank, and likely imagine that there is good publicity  if not tax breaks  to be had in meeting with the president-elect and making vague promises about jobs.

For more data-driven and consumer-facing companies, like Facebook and Google, the issue is national security and surveillance operations, more so than the economy or jobs. The Trump camp will probably press for access to their proprietary information. Trump himself might not have a clear understanding of how information technology works (yesterday morning on Twitter: Unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking.) but he knows which companies hell need to butter up (or alternatively, intimidate) to get what his national-security team is looking for.

At the end of the meeting, both sides will walk out with a slightly less fuzzy idea of the other. The tech guys will say that it was an interesting and fruitful discussion and they look forward to the future. Maybe Trump will get angry and fire off a tweet about fake news. Then, most of the executives will fly back to the West Coast, hoping that they dont hear from the White House for the foreseeable future.
Photo: Instagram

Stars and stars of the social media, in constant pursuit of virality, are always looking for new ways to extend their reach. They individually DM fans. They come to Brazil. And now, some have started geotagging their Instagram posts from Singapore, Singapore despite never having set foot on the island nation  because it allegedly helps their photos and videos appear on the Instagram explore page where they can be seen by a wider range of users.

Why do people put Singapore, Singapore for their geo tags on Instagram. I honestly don't get it?   Kaleb Mitchell (@makmitchell__) December 12, 2016

The trend was first spotted by Taylor Lorenz over at Mic who says that some of the cybers biggest stars  Lele Pons, King Bach, Logan Paul, King of Instagram Dan Bilzerian  have tried the hack in recent weeks. But none of the stars and verified users she spoke to could give a reason as to why the Singapore trick seems to work or where it started.

From Mic:

Some guessed that Instagram has been slower to roll out the algorithmic feed in certain Asian countries such as Singapore, and that by geotagging their posts there, theyre able to reach the top of users feeds more easily. The slow rollout explanation might not be the case, though: Instagram actually released its new algorithm-based feed in Singapore in April.

Despite claims the trick  which specifically involves taking the Singapore tag off after 24 hours, making it difficult to track after the fact  works, the larger effect seems to be confused fans rather than a massive influx of likes or new followers. If you Instagram from Singapore, Singapore, you probably shouldnt be standing with a friend wearing Mickey Mouse ears and captioning your photo about how much you love Disneyland. Select All has reached out to Instagram about the trend and will update this post if we hear back.
Anna Wintour. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Marc Jacobs

If youve been spending the past month and change talking about the election results whenever and wherever  at dinner, to your cat, on a crowded train  youre not alone. But after Anna Wintour, a slightly more conspicuous public figure, was reportedly overheard criticizing President-elect Donald Trump in the latter location, she issued an apology.



Per the Mirror, the Vogue editor-in-chief reportedly criticized the Trump Foundation specifically, saying, Trumps foundation has done nothing. She also reportedly said that he would use his presidency to profit personally for himself and his family.



After she was contacted by the tabloid, Wintour, a notable Hillary Clinton supporter, said, I immediately regretted my comments, and I apologise. I hope that President-elect Trump will be a successful president for us all. A spokesperson for Vogue confirmed that quote.



Ever since Trump won the election, many have speculated about how the fashion industry would deal with his presidency. Now were starting to find out.
Ohio Governor John Kasich. Photo: Leigh Vogel/WireImage

Ohio Governor John Kasich has just signed a bill that will ban abortions after 20 weeks, the Associated Press reports. Many fetal abnormalities, including microcephaly from the Zika virus, are not diagnosed until after this point in a pregnancy. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, just in the event that the mothers life is in danger. A Democratic amendment to add those exceptions was rejected.



Such a ban is unconstitutional per Roe v. Wade, which established a nationwide right to abortion before fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks. Ohio now joins 15 other anti-choice states that already have 20-week bans; two other states have had such laws blocked from enforcement. Anti-choice lawmakers have based this kind of legislation on the idea that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks, even though such claims are totally unfounded.



Kasich also vetoed the portion of another bill that would have banned abortions at six weeks gestational age, or when fetal cardiac activity can first be detected, making him look somewhat reasonable by comparison. Perhaps this was the strategy all along.


Activists at the U.S. Supreme Court for Whole Womens Health v. Hellerstedt in June. Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a law that requires doctors at abortion clinics in the state to have hospital-admitting privileges, finding that the regulation places an undue burden on women seeking lawful abortions.

Oklahoma Senate Bill 1848, which was signed by Republican governor Mary Fallin in May 2014, required reproductive-health clinics to have doctors with hospital-admitting privileges onsite whenever abortions were performed. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit challenging the law, and on Tuesday, the states high court found that the law is unconstitutional. The court also said that the law goes against the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Whole Womens Health v. Hellerstedt, which threw out a similar abortion-clinic shutdown law in Texas.

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement, Whether in Oklahoma, Texas or elsewhere, allowing politicians to trample womens rights by shutting down clinics is not only wrong  its dangerous. Todays decision is a victory for Oklahoma women and another rebuke to politicians pushing underhanded laws that attack a womans constitutionally guaranteed right to safe, legal abortion.

Earlier in the year, the Oklahoma legislature passed a bill that would have made it a felony for anyone to perform or induce an abortion, and would thereby completely block abortion access in the state. However, Governor Fallin vetoed the ban in May, saying that it was vague and unconstitutional.
This image reportedly got a woman arrested in Saudi Arabia. Photo: dontcarebut/Twitter

A woman in Saudi Arabia was arrested and imprisoned for posting a picture of herself on Twitter without a hijab, in violation of the countrys moral code, a spokesperson for the police in the capital of Riyadh said Monday. The woman, who is in her mid-20s, is seen in the picture in a colorful dress, black coat, and ankle boots, with her hair down.

The Washington Post reports that the picture was posted when the woman went out for breakfast in November. Her tweet then circulated throughout the country, prompting death threats and calls for her imprisonment or execution, as women in Saudi Arabia are expected to wear loose-fitting clothes and headscarves. AFP reports that in addition to posting the picture, police spokesperson Fawaz al-Maiman accused the woman of speaking openly about prohibited relations with unrelated men.

Riyadh police stress that the action of this woman violates the laws applied in this country, Maiman said.

A Saudi woman went out yesterday without an Abaya or a hijab in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and many Saudis are now demanding her execution. pic.twitter.com/gPMOz5bRAr  Anon (@dontcarebut) November 29, 2016

The woman hasnt formally been named by police, but as the Post reports, many websites have identified her as Malak al-Shehri. She reportedly tweeted that she was going to breakfast without an abaya or headscarf and asked her followers to tweet a picture to her account @AngelQShe, which has since been deleted, according to the International Business Times.
Photo: Ken Tannenbaum/iStockphoto/Getty Images

What do you get for the woman who literally hates everything and everyone and maybe always will? Finding the proper holiday gift for your liberated lady friend is no small feat, even in the best of times. (The Le Creuset pan you bought her supposedly condemns her to a life of indentured servitude? That sexy lingerie is itchy bullshit that perpetuates the patriarchy? Who fucking knew?) So what do you buy for that saucy feminist after maybe the most alarming and disappointing presidential election of her lifetime? How do you please an emancipated broad whos spent the past few weeks swearing and pacing and sobbing about the impending apocalypse? Read on and find out!

1. A very fragile and beautiful Christmas ornament! Trust me, this is the perfect gift for your special gal right now. Just dont be alarmed when she crushes it into a million splintery shards with her bare hands. Thats what you want to happen. You just made your dame feel a little bit more festive for half a second there. Didnt you notice that half-almost-smile/grimace that glimmered at the edges of her lips? She appreciates the thought, see? Just dont ask her to say so out loud, or thatll be your sad little skull getting crushed by her ferocious hands.

2. A lovely framed picture of the two of you together! Sure, at first shell stare blankly at the photo. Nothing will register. It will almost seem like shes forgotten who you are or why she ever touched you with casual affection. But then shell spot the pretty green leaves on the trees behind you, and shell remember that the photo was taken in July, when hope was high and life worth living, as Fantine sings in Les Miserables. (Thats a story about plucky French gals who get screwed over by a gaggle of hotheaded, shortsighted men, sound familiar?) Sure, once she realizes its not July anymore and shes not even a charming street waif, fighting the good fight against corrupt megarich bastards, your dame will chuck your pointless photo across the room. But for a moment there, shell feel a deep sense of nostalgia for the not-so-distant past, a gift that is well-nigh irreplaceable!

3. Something packed in bubble wrap, that you ordered online! It doesnt matter what it is, just make sure it comes covered in lots and lots of bubble wrap. Your headstrong doll will attempt to unravel or un-tape the bubble wrap, but shell get frustrated in about five seconds  remember, she hasnt slept well in weeks  and then shell start yelling FUCK THIS FUCK THIS. Then shell pick up the bubble-wrapped whatever it is and smash it onto the floor over and over again, hopefully until it caves in or starts oozing some kind of toxic chemical or bursts into flames. This act of unfocused violence will raise your ladys heart rate and give her a glow that she hasnt had since the whole world transformed into a hellscape, right before her very eyes!

4. A really overpriced luxury gift that only upper-middle-class humans can afford! Take out a small personal loan and get your feisty broad that Eames chair or that $700 cashmere throw she wants. It will remind her of that wealthy white libertarian classmate of hers who materialized on her Facebook page in order to mansplain Hillarys inability to grasp the needs of the white working class. An incredulous smile will spread across your gals face, but can you blame her? Just think of the kind of privilege it takes to vote for a hapless know-nothing like Gary Johnson in a swing state, knowing that every single human being whos not white or a man or richer than fuck will suffer for it for 1,424 days straight  assuming there are still free elections at the end of that long stretch of unmitigated fucking purgatory.

5. A ham sandwich! Your lady hasnt eaten in maybe two or three days now  actually shes not sure what day it is or even where she is, or what has transpired in her physical environment since a deeply corrupt, lying, hate-spewing circus peanut ballooned to Godzilla size and began actively menacing the populace.

Watch as your lady stares incredulously at the ham sandwich she just unwrapped. Watch as she gazes up at you, confused. Then her eyes start to focus. Whoa, she actually sees you! And look, some of the hard lines around her mouth, formed by scowling for 552 hours straight  theyre starting to soften!

She looks down at the sandwich again. She recognizes suddenly that the ham sandwich represents hope. As long as we are alive and we can still scream at the top of our fucking lungs, she thinks, there is still hope.

She says, Thank you, baby. (And shes not even being facetious!!!)

She eats the ham sandwich.

Then, she pulls up Twitter again.

Dont forget those three minutes of joy you gave her, though. Dont forget. Thats the best youre going to do for a while, trust me. Savor it as much as you can. Savor it like theres no tomorrow. There might be no tomorrow, for all we know. JUST SAVOR IT.
Actress Lynda Carter speaks during a ceremony as the U.N. names Wonder Woman its Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls during a ceremony on October 21, 2016. Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

Its just under two months since the United Nations gave Wonder Woman the role of Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, but the superhero is already out of a job. Or, shes at least not a part of any future gender-equality campaign for the U.N., according to NBC. The much-hyped and much-contested appointment has come to an unceremonious end.



In October, the Amazonian woman with the golden Lasso of Truth was granted an honorary ambassador role, which is reserved for fictional characters championing particular causes. (In case you were wondering, Winnie the Pooh and Tinker Bell have earned the title before.) The trouble this time around, though, was that Wonder Womans selection was challenged from the very beginning by much of the U.N.s own staff. Many called the selection of Wonder Woman  an arguably sexual depiction of a busty woman in thigh-high boots  as a tone-deaf selection for an organization that works to combat the sexual exploitation and abuse of women and girls worldwide.

Things were so heated from day one, in fact, that around 50 U.N. staffers turned their backs in a silent protest during an October ceremony when the role was announced. Their protest didnt go unnoticed, since the announcement of Wonder Womans role as an Honorary Ambassador was performed with much fanfare. Actresses Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot, whove both played the role of Wonder Woman on TV and film, were in attendance, and many young girls showed up to the event dressed as the iconic superhero, according to NBC. An online petition by Concerned United Nations staff members soon went up, asking the secretary-general to reconsider the choice. The petition, now with almost 45,000 signatures, calls out the overtly sexualized and pin-up image of Wonder Woman that would then be promoted as part of the U.N. Sexual politics aside, though, the petitions writers also call out the cultural insensitivity of presenting Wonder Woman as the global face of a campaign for gender equality. 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 petition reads, adding that they would be happy to offer other suggestions.



In the meantime, it looks like 2017 is going to be a better year for Wonder Woman (lest we forget that upcoming blockbuster summer debut). Oh, and DC Comics will still be debuting a special comic in honor of her Honorary Ambassadorship. So, theres that.


Oil jumped by more than 4 percent on Monday, with WTI moving up to $53 per barrel and Brent topping $56 per barrel. It is very possible that we could see oil prices break the $60-per-barrel threshold in short order, and some people are even wondering if $70 oil is not too far off.

The oil market received its second jolt from OPEC discussions in as many weeks, with non-OPEC producers agreeing over the weekend to cut 558,000 barrels per day beginning in January, a bit shy of the original proposal, but an agreement that is nonetheless bullish for the market. It was the first major OPEC/non-OPEC coordination in a decade and a half, and the additional cuts from non-OPEC will come on top of the 1.2 million-barrel-per-day (mb/d) reduction promised in Vienna on November 30. Together, the pledges will go a long way to rapidly tightening the oil market, which is why oil prices are up more than 20 percent in two weeks.

This is an unprecedented event, Thomas Finlon, director of Energy Analytics Group, told Bloomberg in an interview. The 558,000 barrel decline from non-OPEC together with the OPEC agreement will total 1.8 million barrels a day of cuts, which is about 2 percent of global production. This is enough to have an impact.

Heading into this weekends meeting, there were a lot of reasons to doubt that something meaningful would come of it. However, the deal came together because of some surprisingly assertive pledges from Mexico (a cut of 100,000 bpd), Azerbaijan (35,000 bpd), Oman (40,000 bpd) and Kazakhstan (20,000 bpd). It should be noted that Mexicos reductions, for example, are cuts by attrition  Mexico wont actually cut production; its oil fields are in long-term decline, so the expected drop off in output in 2017 is simply being counted as a cut. Related: Are Airlines The Real Losers Of The OPEC Deal?

Moreover, the potential for cheating has raised questions about the integrity of the deal announced in Vienna a few weeks ago. Oil analysts differ on whether or not OPEC will honor its commitments. Given the long track record of cheating on production quotas, there are good reasons to remain skeptical. Russias reputation for cooperation is no better.

But Saudi Arabias energy minister Khalid al-Falih sounded more determined than ever to erase the global supply surplus. After the meeting with non-OPEC producers this past weekend, he delivered an unanticipated statement.

"I can tell you with absolute certainty that effective Jan. 1 were going to cut and cut substantially to be below the level that we have committed to on Nov. 30," al-Falih told reporters, suggesting that Riyadh would be willing to cut well below the 10.06 mb/d level that it promised in Vienna. Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets LLC, likened it to a seminal moment on the part of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who assured the worried global financial markets in 2012 that he would do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. In other words, Saudi Arabia would act as the central banker of the oil world, cutting output when it sees fit in order to balance the market. If he is serious  and he appeared to be  al-Falih suggested that Saudi Arabia would take on additional cuts to be certain that the supply surplus ended. Related: A Real Opportunity For An Oil Price Recovery

Skepticism can still be heard in many corners of the oil world. "As things stand today, no cuts have been made and production is in fact still rising...from a fundamental point of view, it is difficult to justify the front-end price surge other than that is where the liquidity is and where speculative players, moving in herds, always prefer to place their bets, PVM Oil Associates strategist David Hufton said, according to Reuters.

Nevertheless, the promised cuts of nearly 1.8 mb/d are enormous. Global supplies only exceed demand by a few hundred thousand barrels per day, so even partial compliance with the OPEC deal would mean that the oil market would quickly flip from a glut into a deficit in early 2017. Goldman Sachs offered a scenario in which actual cuts come in at about 1.0 mb/d instead of the 1.6-1.8 mb/d. In that scenario, the bank estimates WTI will average $55 per barrel in the first half of 2017. In a more bullish scenario in which OPEC and non-OPEC fully comply with the promised cuts, an additional $6 per barrel could be added to the oil price, taking WTI over $60 per barrel in the first half of next year.

Of course, higher prices could spark a resurgence in U.S. shale production. The rig count is already up about 50 percent over the past six months. But al-Falih said that shale wouldnt have an impact right away. "[T]here is a significant time lag with U.S. shale, he said. A strong response from U.S. shale could take up to a year, which, at that point, the oil market would be in much better shape.

$60 oil is not far off.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Oil prices skyrocketed yet again at the start of this week on news that non-OPEC countries agreed to cut production. Is this OPEC rally sustainable?

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

Chart of the Week

(Click to enlarge)

 The EIA released its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, which contained some bearish predictions for oil prices.

 The agency projects WTI to average $51 per barrel and Brent to average $52 per barrel over the course of 2017, figures that are only slightly up from the previous month. The small upward revision is surprising given that the latest estimate incorporates the OPEC deal.

 But the EIA remains unimpressed by the OPEC agreement. The agency kept its price projections relatively flat, citing the possibility of OPEC cheating, as well as a possible strong response of U.S. shale.

 It should be noted, however, that the EIA figures do not reflect the non-OPEC agreement this past weekend (more on that below).

Market Movers

 Eni (NYSE: E) is set to sell 30 percent of its giant Zohr gas field off the coast of Egypt to Rosneft for an estimated $1.575 billion. Zohr is the largest gas field ever found in the Mediterranean and the first gas flows could come online by the end of 2017.

 Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) could sell $10 billion worth of Permian oil and gas assets. Potential buyers include Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Windy Cove Energy, and Fleur de Lis Energy.

 TransCanadas (NYSE: TRP) Keystone XL Pipeline is slated for revival if the Trump administration has anything to do with it. The President-elect said in an interview this past weekend that he would make a decision on Keystone XL fairly quickly.

Tuesday December 13, 2016

Oil prices skyrocketed yet again at the start of this week on news that non-OPEC countries agreed to cut production. Russia agreed to cut 300,000 barrels per day as expected, and a handful of other non-OPEC countries all chipped in an additional 258,000 bpd in reductions:

 Mexico -100,000 bpd

 Azerbaijan -35,000 bpd

 Oman -40,000 bpd

 Kazakhstan -20,000 bpd

 Malaysia -20,000 bpd

 And the remainder will come from Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and South Sudan.

Oil prices jump. WTI and Brent surged more than 3 percent on Monday, taking prices up to $53 and $56 per barrel, respectively. Those prices are the highest in a year and a half.

Saudi Arabia could cut deeper. Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said over the weekend that his country would be prepared to take production below its promised 10 million barrels per day in an effort to cut into global supplies and ensure that the deal works. "I can tell you with absolute certainty that effective Jan. 1 were going to cut and cut substantially to be below the level that we have committed to on Nov. 30," he told reporters after meeting with non-OPEC countries. The comments indicate a level of seriousness on behalf of Saudi Arabia not seen in more than two years  for Saudi Arabia to go beyond what it promised in Vienna is hugely positive for crude oil prices. It also suggests that despite fears over non-compliance and cheating, OPEC might actually deliver.

Hedge funds build up bullish position on oil. The liquidation of short bets following the OPEC deal continues. Reuters reports that hedge funds and other money managers have established the most bullish position on record, adding 94 million barrels of long positions and cutting WTI and Brent futures and options short positions by 134 million barrels. The net-long position stood at 728 million barrels, according to the most recent data, the most bullish on record. It is not a coincidence that this has occurred at a time when oil prices have rallied more than 20 percent. Related: Are Airlines The Real Losers Of The OPEC Deal?

IEA: supply deficit near. In the IEAs latest Oil Market Report, it concludes that the OPEC/non-OPEC deal will tip the global supply balance into deficit as soon as the first half of 2017. The agency expects the deficit to widen to about 600,000 barrels per day. But the IEA cautioned that the deal might not be precisely implemented on time, due to contractual reasons. So the agency said that it would allow time for it to be implemented before re-assessing our market outlook.

Shale response? U.S. shale is expected to rebound in 2017 on higher oil prices. The question is how quickly and how forcefully production will rise, which could ultimately put downward pressure on oil once again. The combined OPEC/non-OPEC cuts of nearly 1.8 mb/d will tip the global supply balance into deficit pretty quickly, if fully implemented. That should see oil prices rise above $60 per barrel as inventories draw down. At $60 per barrel, the U.S. could add 500,000 bpd next year, according to Macquarie. For its part, OPEC is hopeful that $60 per barrel is not enough for a U.S. shale revival. Sixty I think would be ideal, Emmanuel Kachikwu, Nigerias oil minister, told Bloomberg TV. Once you begin to trend past the mid-$60s, youre going to have a surfeit of shale producers jump back into the market. Technology is improving with shale every day, and so the cost of production is continuing to drop.

Billionaires pledge clean energy fund. Bill Gates and a handful of other prominent businessmen and investors announced the Breakthrough Energy Ventures Fund, which will invest in commercializing promising clean energy technologies. The fund will target technologies that have made it out of the laboratory but need help reaching the commercialization phase. Sectors of interest include electricity generation and storage, transportation, industrial processes, agriculture, and energy-system efficiency. Bill Gates will personally lend $1 billion to the fund, and other contributors include SAP cofounder Hasso Plattner, energy hedge fund manager John Arnold, as well as VC icons John Doerr and Vinod Khosla. The combined net worth of the companies, according to Quartz, is almost $170 billion.

Trumps transition picks. On Tuesday Trump announced that he has chosen ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson to head the State Department, a man whose company has major investments on the line in Russia. Tillersons selection has led to speculation that the U.S. would remove sanctions on Russia, which would allow Exxon to drill in the Russian Arctic again. Trump is also rumored to be considering Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) to head the Department of Interior, a selection that would likely lead to more drilling on public lands. As of now, a leading candidate for Department of Energy is former Texas Governor Rick Perry. The Energy Department, despite its name, has much less to do with fossil fuel production than many believe. Most of the agencys mission is related to the stewardship of the nations stockpile of nuclear weapons and nuclear waste. The Interior Department will be much more crucial to the oil and gas industry.

By Evan Kelly of Oilprice.com

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A recent study from the University of Texas Austins Energy Institute has made it easier than ever to see how the American energy landscape has changed in the last decade. The study, which includes an interactive map of the U.S. broken down country by county, shows relative cost at $/kw and $/MMBtu in order to illustrate which forms of power are most competitive in different parts of the country.

The map makes one thing clear: in current market conditions, wind and natural gas are far and away the most cost-effective means of generating electricity in most parts of the country. Wind dominates the Great Plains, from Kansas to North Dakota, as well as western Pennsylvania. Natural gas is predominant nearly everywhere else, though parts of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and the East Coast could be well served by nuclear power plants, once possible carbon prices are taken into account.

The study measures externalities, including the potential price of carbon, as well as availability zones, which measures whether certain energy sources could be built in a cost-effective fashion. Factoring this in, its clear that solar power could be effectively built up throughout the American southwest while nuclear power could expand in the Eastern United States.

The UT study uses the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) model, in order to measure both direct and indirect costs. In this way, the study attempts to measure what energy sources are cheapest in current conditions and over the long-term: coal, which remains cheaper than natural gas when measured in $/MMBtu terms ($3.17 and $5.07, respectively) is nearly five times more expensive when measured in dollars to kilowatts ($4861.80 and $1021). Wind, which has no measurable $/MMBtu, given that no fuel is actually involved, is the cheapest overall, but the study estimates that wind power is only cost effective in areas where solar power is un-competitive and where population density is lower. Related: After Burning Himself On The OPEC Deal: Gartman Says Buy Oil

The study comes as no surprise, given that wind, solar and natural gas are likely to make up the majority of new energy additions in 2016 and 2017, according to the EIA. While the UT study doesnt take into account state regulations, such as subsidies for wind and solar power, as well as recent regulations passed to limit carbon emissions from coal plants, it paints a fairly accurate compelling picture of future US energy infrastructure. Coal, for instance, looks particularly uncompetitive when measured against its rivals. As one analyst has noted, should several restrictions to coal be lifted and natural gas use limited (neither of which are very likely to happen), coal would still be unable to compete with natural gas.

The study is still a work in progress, and it doesnt take existing energy facilities into account. Rather, the UT analysis measures how cheap existing sources of energy would be in current conditions, without impediments. Related: OPEC Jump Starts Oil Bull Market

Renewable energy advocates have reason to be excited about the future, given that recent data suggest economic growth in the U.S. may finally be decoupling from carbon emissions. A study from the Brookings Institute found that the US has successfully decoupled since 2014, and that major increases in GDP within states where the shale boom has been most notable, such as North Dakota and Texas, came with only small increases in carbon emissions. Other states saw significant decreases in carbon emissions while GDP continued to grow along steady, acceptable lines.

Among large nations, the United States has been most successful in decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions, according to the World Resource Institute. The International Energy Agency, which examines energy trends worldwide, found that carbon emissions were steady in 2014 and 2015, while global GDP increased at around 3%. The Brookings study highlights the importance of individual states, and illustrates that once trends are in place (increased use of renewables, growth of natural gas, greater energy efficiency, slower growth in energy consumption), it will be up to states and cities to emphasize policies which further such trends.

By Gregory Brew for Oilprice.com

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The Bibles book of Galatians, VI teaches, as you sow, so shall you reap. And for Saudi Arabia, which has overtly and covertly supported rebellions in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Ethiopia, Philippines, and Lebanon that have led to civil wars and inter-religious strife, the day of reckoning may soon be at hand. The present Saudi king, Salman bin Abdul Aziz, is the last of the sons of the first Saudi king, Abdul Aziz al Saud, who will ever sit on the Saudi throne. After Salman dies, Saudi leadership will pass to a new generation of Saudi royals. But not all the descendants of the first Saudi king are happy about how the future succession may turn out.

Salman named his nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef, as crown prince after firing his half-brother, Mugrin bin Abdul Aziz, as crown prince after the death of King Abdullah in 2015. For good measure, Salman also named his son, Mohammad bin Salman, who is little-known outside the kingdom, as deputy prime minister. The 30-year old Mohammad bin Salman is seen by some as the eventual crown prince after King Salman figures out some way to ease Mohammad bin Nayef, the Interior Minister and close friend of the United States, out of the position of heir apparent to the throne.

More and more power has been concentrated into Mohammad bin Salmans hands, including control over the Defense Ministry, the Council of Economy and Development, and the Saudi government-owned Arabian-American oil company (ARAMCO). The deputy crown prince and defense minister is the architect of Saudi Arabias genocidal military campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen and continued Saudi support for jihadist guerrillas in Syria and Iraq, as well as military support for the Wahhabist royal regime in Bahrain in its bloody suppression of the Shia Muslim majority population. Mohammad bin Salman is also the major force in Saudi Arabia seeking a military confrontation with Iran.

There is a schism within the Saudi royal family that has created a real-life Game of Thrones within the kingdom. The first Saudi king had between 37 and 44 sons from a harem of 22 wives. One of these sons, 85-year old Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz, also known as the Red Prince for his support for a national constitution and Western-style rule of law separated from Muslim sharia law, is suspicious about the concentration of power in the hands of Salmans family, which comes at the expense of the other princes with a political claim inside the monarchy. Prince Talal is not alone.

Related: Erasing The Glut: Is 1.8 Million Bpd Enough?

Power in Saudi Arabia has generally resided with the seven sons of King Abdulaziz and Hassa bin Ahmed, which include present King Salman. These sons are commonly known as the Sudairi Seven. They included the late King Fahd; the late Crown Princes Sultan and Nayef; the former deputy defense ministers Abdul Rahman and Turki and Interior Minister Ahmed, all removed from succession; and King Salman. In addition to the families of the other sons of the Saudi founder, the families of the Sudairi Six, minus Salmans family, are intensely jealous of the power being conveyed to deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. When Salman dies, many observers of secretive Saudi royal politics expect to see a succession battle that might even result in a royal civil war.

And a civil war among competing Saudi royals can easily become one between various Saudi regions. Thus, the fracturing of Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen brought about by Saudi adventurism may come back to haunt the Saudis in a major way.

The first Saudi region that can be expected to take advantage of a Saudi royal family split is the Eastern Region, which is known formally as the Eastern Province and is ruled by Saud bin Nayef, a son of the late Crown Prince Nayef from the provincial capital of Dammam. When King Abdullah died in 2015, Saud bin Nayef was passed over for Crown Prince by his younger brother, Mohammad bin Nayef. Although both brothers are nephews of King Salman, Saud may still harbor a resentment against his uncle for stripping him of the chance to become king. A full-blown Saudi civil war may begin in the Eastern Region, which is not only the center of Saudi Arabias oil industry with thousands of expatriate workers, but also the home to what may be either a slim majority or very significant minority of Shia Muslims.

The Saudi government has never wanted to conduct a religious census of the country because it might not like the results, especially in the Eastern Province. In 2009, popular Shia leader Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was arrested by Saudi authorities for advancing the idea that the Eastern Region should secede from Saudi Arabia. In 2015, amid an international outcry of condemnation for its action, Saudi Arabia executed al-Nimr. Expect the Eastern Region to the first to openly revolt against the Saudi government in the event the current Game of Thrones turns into a War of Thrones.

The next region to revolt against the monarchy would be Asir, the southwest area that borders northern Yemen, in addition to two neighboring Saudi regions. Asir is the home to a significant minority of Zaidi Muslims. The Saudi regime has been waging a genocidal campaign against the Asir Zaidis cousins on the Yemeni side of the border, the Houthi rebels, who are also Zaidis.

Houthi rebels have launched several military attacks, including missile barrages, on Saudi targets in Asir, as well as the Saudi border regions of Jizan and Najran, in the hope that they might ignite a Zaidi uprising in the southern Saudi regions. There have been reports during the Yemeni civil war that Houthi forces seized, at least temporarily, a few Saudi villages in Asir, Najran, and Jizan. Open rebellions by Zaidis in Asir, Najran, and Jizan, along with a Shia rebellion in the Eastern region, may be too much for the Saudi armed forces to handle, especially if it is split along competing allegiances to rival princes and throne claimants.

Related: Can OPEC Send Oil To $70?

Intervention in a Saudi civil war by the United States and NATO would be guaranteed to result in a costly outcome for the West in terms of body bags, sabotage of oil installations, and a multi-billion-dollar financial drain. The probability that Yemen would see the restoral of an independent South Yemen and a battle for control of northern Yemen between Houthis and remnants of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government would entail Western troops also engaging in a protracted civil war in another huge chunk of the Arabian Peninsula. Even the most-warlike members of the Donald Trump administration would likely not want to become mired in a major Arabian imbroglio.

Widespread conflict in Saudi Arabia might also result in the regions of Mecca and Medina becoming an independent entity with the primary responsibility of protecting the Islamic holy places and ensuring safe access for Muslim pilgrims. The Organization of Islamic Conference and other non-Wahhabi influenced Islamic organizations may become vehicles by which the two holy cities are governed as a neutral zone unaffected by Saudi turmoil and Wahhabist religious radicalism.

Other regions of Saudi Arabia that would likely spin off include the Northern Borders region adjacent to Iraq and Tabuk, which lies along the southern Jordanian border and the Gulf of Aqaba. Tabuk might seek some form of security protection from both Jordan and Israel to remain aloof from armed confrontation between Saudi factions. The Northern Borders region might seek a similar accommodation with Iraq.

The real battle for control of Saudi Arabia would be mostly centered in Riyadh province, for the keys to the kingdom, or what remains of it, would be found in control of the Saudi capital city of Riyadh. In any event, a Saudi civil war would be best left to the regional actors to sort things out. Any outside intervention would certainly make matters much worse and could develop into a wider regional or world war.

By Zerohedge

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In a first visible sign that at least some OPEC cuts are underway, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has said that it will reduce crude oil supplies, and although the move is expected to hit Asia, it is not viewed as seriously affecting the Asian market because cuts are within the tolerance limits of the contracts.

ADNOC said on Tuesday that it would cut deliveries by 3 to 5 percent for three export grades, Reuters reports, quoting a company notice to traders. The UAE company plans to cut supplies of the Murban and Upper Zakum grades by 5 percent, and the Das grade crude oil supplies by 3 percent.

In line with OPEC's latest decision to cut production, we regret to advise you that crude oil allocation for the month of January 2017 will be reduced, ADNOC said, as quoted by Reuters.

According to traders, the cut is manageable, and Saudi Arabian and Iraqi supplies will cover ADNOCc cuts in January.

I think it's manageable. Many (refiners) received incremental Arab Extra Light in January to cover, an official at a North Asian refinery told Reuters.

Under the OPEC deal from November 30, UAE pledges to cut 139,000 bpd from a reference production level of 3.013 million bpd.



Related: Rex Tillersons Impact On European Energy

A Reuters survey has shown that ADNOCs output reached a record 3.1 million bpd last month.

Another supplier from the Gulf Arab states, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), is also preparing to implement the cuts, and according to refining sources quoted by Reuters, KPC will implement its share of the reduction, which shall take effect January 2017.

In OPECs output cut deal, Kuwait is committing to cut 131,000 bpd from a reference production level of 2.838 million bpd.

Oman, a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) but not of OPEC, was expected to notify customers today that it planned to cut production by 45,000 bpd. According to a Reuters source, Oman  which is part of the group of non-OPEC producers that agreed to a collective 558,000-bpd cut  would notify each of its customers on the specifics later.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is sitting at the top of Trumps shortlist for United States Energy Secretary, according to people familiar with the president-elects selection process.

Other contenders for the top spot at the US Department of Energy are Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp, N.D.; Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, W.V.; and Ray Washburne, former chairman of the RNC.

Trumps appointee for the cabinet position would be the United States fourteenth Secretary of Energya position that has typically been filled by scientists, such as MIT professor and nuclear physicist Ernest Moniz, Nobel-prize-winning physicist Steven Chu, and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT Samuel Bodmanthe last three Energy Secretaries.

While former Texas Governor Rick Perry doesnt share the same credentials as some of his predecessors, President-Elect Donald Trump has already shown his propensity for an establishment-be-damned attitude with regards to almost everything, and as such, Perry shouldnt be written off just yet.

Rick Perry would be an extremely ironic choice that promises to give critics a bit of fodder. And no, not just for his cha-cha-ing to God Bless Texas on Dancing with the Stars. And not just for rockin the turntable in his sequel performance of Ice Ice Baby. During the 2012 Presidential primary debates, presidential-hopeful Rick Perry rattled off three government departments that he felt should get the ax entirelythe Department of Education, the Department of Commerce and the Department of well, he couldnt remember the third department at the time. Fifteen minutes later, Perry was able to recall that he meant the Department of Energythe agency which he may now be asked to head.

Related: The Venezuelan Crisis Continues To Spiral Out Of Control

Rick Perry also serves on the board of Energy Transfer Partnersthe company responsible for the hotly contested Dakota Access Pipeline. Although he may give up his seat on the board, the conflict of interest, whether perceived or real, may sour his appointmentif not with the Senate confirmation hearings, then certainly with the media.

Rick Perry, the longest serving Texas governor in history, was one of the first to jump on the Trump bandwagon in May, after Trump took the Indiana primary over Ted Cruz, but not before Perry, during the 2015 primaries, lashed out at Trump, referring to Trump as a cancer on conservatism and a barking carnival actsomething that not everyone on the transition team is likely to forget anytime soon, even though it came after a true-to-form Trump Tweet:

I guess now is the time for letting bygones be bygones.

As for Rick Perrys credentials, he holds a bachelors degree in animal science, and served five years in the Air Force flying C-130s during the Cold War 70s, eventually holding the rank of captain. His unit flew disaster-relief missions, including to Chad and Mali.

Until 1989, Rick Perry was affiliated with the Democratic party, serving as a Democratic representative in the house, and vigorously backing climate change advocate Al Gore in his Democratic primaries in 1988.

Perry is now dancing to a different beat. In a 2015 interview with The National Review, Perry spoke of some striking geopolitical similarities he sees between when he served in the Air Force and today.

Related: The Bulls Are Back: Oil Spikes As Non-OPEC Pledges 558,000 Bpd Cut

Carter came into office and started to hollow out the military, the economic malaise, our hostages in Iran  you see this parallel of whats going on today. A bit more than a decade later, the Berlin Wall fell and Soviet Communism was defeated because a president came along who understood how important it was to have a strong economy that in turn allows you to afford a strong military, and strong diplomatic influence in the world.

This understanding closely aligns with Trump, and in Perrys 2012 presidential campaign, Perry spoke of the need for a smaller federal government and stood on a platform of developing US energy securityanother cause that Trump has been passionate about all along the campaign trail.

Although Trump has not yet decided who will be Energy Secretary, these views likely put him near the top of the list.

If tapped, Perry would be the first Texan to be appointed to Trumps cabinetthat is, unless Texan Rex Tillerson gets the nod for Secretary of State first.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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Sinopec, the worlds biggest oil refiner, has agreed to sell 50 percent in its unit Sichuan to East China Gas Pipeline Co. for a total amount of around US$3.3 billion (22.8 billion yuan). The proceeds from the sale will be used to expand the capacity and operations of the pipeline.

The buyers are China Life Insurance Co, which will pay the bulk of the total, US$3.1 billion (20 bln yuan), in exchange for a 43.86 percent in the company, and ADIC Communications, a unit of the State Development & Investment Corp., will supply the remained of the money and receive a 6.14-percent stake.

In its announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sinopec said after the deal is finalized, the capital of the pipeline company will be doubled to US$29 million (200 mln yuan) and it will no longer be included in the financial reports of the parent company.

One local energy analyst told Bloomberg that the deal is part of Beijings efforts to spur greater use of natural gas in China, building more storage capacity for the fuel and more pipelines, both of which are currently in short supply in the country.

The deal, first announced in August, is also part of Chinas energy giants efforts to raise capital by opening the doors for private investors. It followed a similar announcement from peer PetroChina, which said it had plans to restructure its midstream assets and sell parts of them.

Related: Erasing The Glut: Is 1.8 Million Bpd Enough?

Private investment is also now welcome in upstream operations. In late November, Xinhua reported that Beijing plans to start commercial production at between five and eight new oil megafields and 5-10 gas fields with the help of external, private investors.

The news about an opening-up of the upstream sector to private investors seems to indicate that China is dissatisfied with its place as the worlds number-two importer, and is also unhappy with how its state-owned giants are exploiting its domestic resources. The reform could see an influx of foreign energy investment in China, despite the low prices.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Bay Views hunger for sushi will soon be satiated in spades. Hungry Sumo Sushi Bar & Asian Bistro is slated to open at 2663 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in the former home of Cream City Swirl.

A lease has been signed for the building, and construction is expected to begin on the space relatively soon. In fact, if all goes as planned, restaurant owners Pimrapas Lertprasert and Thitichai Rukchon say they are aiming to open the restaurant by late spring or early summer.

According to Pimrapas and Rukchon, Hungry Sumo will offer a full range of sushi options  including nigiri, maki and sashimi  along with specialty rolls, many of which will feature a fusion of both Japanese and Thai flavors. Thai entrees will also be available, along with a selection of sake, wine and both domestic and specialty beers. Rukchon says they also hope to roll out ramen offerings starting next fall.

"We plan to offer options that are affordable for everyone," says Rukchon. "And on weekends, we will offer different sushi options featuring a variety of specialty fish that go beyond the typical tuna and salmon."

Natives of Thailand, Lertprasert and Rukchon came to the U.S. in 2009 by way of Chicago, where both have been working in restaurants. Rukchon, a chef whose family operates a street food business in northern Thailand, went to school in Bangkok where he worked under a Japanese chef to master the art of sushi.

Lertprasert, who earned her degree in hotel management and tourism, has years of experience with front of house management. Shes also a self-proclaimed food lover who says the Hungry Sumo menu will contain some items that are inspired by dishes shes eaten in a variety of restaurants in both Chicago and New York.

"We love Milwaukee," she says, noting that they have been scouting locations for the restaurant for over a year. "The idea is to make Hungry Sumo unique. We are excited to bring this new concept and options to Bay View, and were excited to be a part of the neighborhood."

Once open, Hungry Sumo plans to be open for both lunch and dinner. Watch OnMilwaukee for additional details as they become available.
The public announcement that the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is working to renovate the former Warner Grand Theatre, 212 W. Wisconsin Ave.  an idea thats been swirling around, on and off, since it was first floated in 2001  is big news.

Its big news for the MSO, which says that having its own home would allow it to grow.

Its big news for Marcus Theatres, which Id think would be happy to move on from the theater, which closed in 1995 and has been moribund ever since, staring at us as a constant reminder that Milwaukees once, ahem, grand Downtown movie tradition is as faint and flickery as an old talkie.

Its big news for Westown, which could use a jolt across from the struggling mall.

Its big news for me, because I have many fond memories of the place  and judging from reaction to this story, you do, too.

The history

What many of us remember as the two-screen Grand was built as a huge single-screen theater by Warner Brothers in 1930.

Designed by architects Rapp and Rapp  who had drawn the Uptown four years earlier and the Modjeska on Mitchell Street and the Wisconsin on 6th and Wisconsin in 1924  the Warner could seat just shy of 2,500 patrons in its stunning French Renaissance theater.

Brothers Cornelius and George Rapp hailed from Carbondale, Illinois, but worked in Chicago, where they made their names building a slew of gorgeous theaters  some of which you can still see now, like the Chicago Theater on State Street, the Oriental Theater and Cadillac Palace Theatre on Randolph, the Riviera on Racine and the Uptown on Broadway.

These guys knew a thing or two about designing theaters. Its interesting the way they blended styles at the Warner, which, despite its elaborate retro French vibe in the theater itself, has an Art Deco lobby that relies on a much simpler, cleaner approach. The exterior of the building is also executed in the Moderne style that was all the rage at the time.

An advertisement for the Warner boasted that "within the dreamlike portals of this enchanted playhouse, is imparted a breath of the medieval French and the ultra modernistic where patrons will glory in the beauty of its inspiring environment."

The brothers used the same approach for Chicagos Oriental, which draws on both extravagant European court decor and Art Deco styles  with a dash of Eastern flavor in homage to the name. The Warner was apparently quite similar to the design the brothers did in 1927 for the Portland Publix Theater (later the Paramount and now the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall).

The theater boasted a 28-rank Kimball pipe organ. That organ  restored by the Kimball Theatre Organ Society  can now be seen and heard at the Oriental on the East Side.

According to Cinema Treasures, an encyclopedic online cinema history resource, the Depression did cause Warner Brothers to scale back on some  but not all  features.

"The blueprints show that provision was made for a motorized orchestra pit elevator, but along with other amenities, it was omitted as a cost conservation as the Great Depression made itself felt. They did find money, however, for a display fountain in the basement lounge, as well as on the next three levels above."

The exterior of the 13-story office and theater building is pure Deco, with dark polished granite and hints of pink on the first-through-third floors, narrowing in steps on the fourth and fifth. Above that, in the four center vertical rows  or Empire Lines  each window's capped with a decorative cast metal panel. Look closely and you can still see the hardware that held the old vertical sign between the fifth and sixth and the eighth and ninth floors.

Unsurprisingly, the opening of such a place in Milwaukee at the time drew much attention.

"In 1931, as if to defy the Depression that gripped Americas purse strings, the grandest of Milwaukees movie palaces, the Warner, opened on the site previously occupied by the Butterfly Theater," wrote Larry Widen and Judi Anderson in their book, "Silver Screens."

"Opening night at the $2.5 million ($34.4 million today) Warner Theatre was an extravagant, sold-out affair attended by thousands," Widen continues. "Milwaukee photographer Albert Kuhli was hired by Warner Brothers to photograph the inaugural festivities. Kuhli recalled how he was told to make a lot of noise and explode flash powder at various intervals, even if he was not really taking a picture, to add to the glamour of the evening.

"Newly arriving guests were greeted by 44 blue-clad ushers who provided curbside service and assistance into the foyer, where a classical string quartet played. The program for the evening began with the 'Star Spangled Banner,' followed by an address by Mayor Daniel Hoan. Next on the bill was a newsreel, two comedy shorts, and a solo performance by Giovanni Martinelli, leading tenor of New Yorks Metropolitan Opera Company. The evenings feature film was Sit Tight, a comedy starring Joe E. Brown."

The new theater was to be the shining star, the jewel in the 10-theater Warner crown in Milwaukee, which also included the Venetian, Egyptian, State, Downer, Kosciuszko, Granada, Riviera, Juneau and Lake Theatres.

Widen and Anderson also noted what it meant to work at a place like The Warner, quoting veteran projectionist Gilbert Freundl:

"When you worked at the Warner, you werent allowed to make mistakes. They expected the best. You learned your craft in one of Warners smaller houses, like the State, or the Downer, out in the neighborhoods, and slowly worked your way to Downtown. You had to prove yourself before working there."

The Warner, however, would be the last for a while. While a couple more would trickle through, Widen and Anderson say that the Warner was the "beginning of the end of theater building in Milwaukee. ... The Great Depression effectively ended Milwaukees seven-year theater construction boom."

But the Warner would remain active for another 60 years. According to "Silver Screens," Marcus bought it in 1964 and, two years later, renamed it the Centre. In 1973, a ceiling was built about halfway up the theater  along the bottom of the balcony  to create two cinemas: one on the main level and one that used the balcony seats as an upper theater. That divider has since been removed.

In 1981, artist Richard Haas painted a mural on the side of the building that depicts the Pabst Building, which was soon to disappear from the Downtown landscape.

In 1982, the theater was renamed The Grand in conjunction with the gala opening of the sparkling new Grand Avenue Mall across the street. Just 13 years later, in June 1995, the doors were locked, and the story appeared to end there.

When I moved here in 1983, it was the first place I saw films. Ill always remember it as the place I saw a double feature of "48 Hours" and the then-new "Trading Places." Where I stood in line to see Princes exciting "Purple Rain." Where I saw "Dune." And "Beat Street" and "Breakin'." Where I hung out with Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five before and after their performance there. The last time I was in the building was to see a press screening of a film in the basement screening room sometime in the early 2000s.

Like a lot of you, Ive been eager to see inside again. This week, thanks to the MSO and Marcus Theatres, I finally got the opportunity.

Enter the MSO

Though in recent years there had been at least one initiative to get the Warner Grand Theatre opened again, it would appear that the MSOs plan has the longest, strongest legs and offers the most hope for fans of this place.

"Here we are 15 years later, hopefully going to see this thing come through," says Mark Niehaus, president and executive director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. "The stars are kind of aligning for all this. Its really neat."

A key driver for the project is the fact that the MSO currently performs at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, which is a heavily utilized facility.

"I dont fault the Marcus Center at all," says Niehaus. "They should be doing Broadway. Thats part of what our city should have: great Broadway. We should have great ballet. We should have great opera, and we should have a great symphony. Trying to think that all four of those things should co-exist in one room, Uihlein Hall ... were busting at the seams.

"We do enough that another building could live off of us."

In recent years, there had been talk of a new MSO performance space as part of the upcoming Couture development at the lakefront.

"That was great because it started the conversation," Niehaus says. "If we couldve raised the money, we wouldve done it. I thought it was a pretty thoughtful design. The idea of a condominium symphony hall attached to somebody elses building, and they heat it and clean it for you. That was very interesting to us. That, however, still wouldve been more expensive than what were doing here.

"I love the idea of the symphony activating the lakefront as a destination, I think even more the idea of the symphony activating West Wisconsin Avenue as a destination. We talk internally about our triple bottom line here. Were rationalizing the symphonys business model, were saving a historic gem and were activating West Wisconsin Avenue. All in one shot. Thats the kind of case you want as a fundraiser. Maybe youre not so into the symphony, but you really love architecture and you really love economic development Downtown. Boy, have we got a project for you."

Inside the theater

Stepping into the lobby is a revelation. All glass and bright aluminum Art Deco decoration, this is clearly the entrance to a classic movie palace. To the right is a long staircase up to the balcony. Just a little further in is another one and behind it the stairs to the lower level restrooms. Further along on the right are more entrances to the theater  a couple old phone booths, the lights of which turn on automatically when you shut the doors  and to the left a pair of men's and women's lounges.

Inside the theater itself, there is, again, decoration everywhere. Panels painted by Chicago's Louis Grell depict idyllic scenes  a man playing the flute, a man pushing a woman on a swing, a woman playing a long-necked lute, a man lounging and reading a book. Every surface is covered, and your eye hardly knows where to go first.

In front of the stage is an orchestra pit, the border of which is traced with a low rail. The back of the stage wall is the exterior wall facing 2nd Street. There is no backstage because this was built as a movie house.

The room is extremely live, acoustically speaking.

"The symphony built a plywood stage in 2001 and did acoustical testing in here; I actually was playing in the orchestra at that point, and I remember playing on the stage and the sound was amazing," Niehaus recalls. "We know its amazing."

Fortunately, Marcus had the foresight when splitting the theater in two to not do much damage, and what damage has been done can likely be repaired according to Niehaus. Changes to the front of the balcony appear to be the biggest issue, but Niehaus believes that can be restored. Most other changes, like removing the projection booth added on the first floor, can be done without any damage to the original decoration.

Whether or all of this will be restored and renewed remains in question, but it sounds like the prospects for the theater's revival are good. The MSO is in the midst of a campaign to raise the $120 million it estimates would be required to buy the building and prep it for re-opening (that figure, says Niehaus also includes an endowment and eliminating a pension liability) and Niehaus says it has already raised more than half that amount.

The MSO has brought in Conrad Schmitt to discuss restoration possibilities and is working with Kahler Slater Architects  which initially became involved in 2011  on the plans, which include making the building ADA accessible.

What this means for the MSO

"The MSO is the only major orchestra in the United States without control over its own performance venue," says Niehaus. "The symphony hall in St. Louis is a Rapp & Rapp theater. Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh is a Rapp & Rapp theater; the Warner Theatre in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the same thing. So we're not the first to do this. It's kind of a no-brainer. This thing has been sitting here just waiting for us."

Having its own home would allow the MSO to create new sources of revenue, Niehaus says, from things like facility rental fees  something it has discussed informally with The Pabst, Riverside and Turner Hall operators  and concession sales.

"Theres absolutely no reason those (Pabst) guys cant be in here on the nights the symphony arent playing," Niehaus says. "Theyve developed an amazing business model, and its at capacity. We dont have an agreement, but there is interest by them and others to fill our empty dates."

The Symphony estimates it could boost its revenue by as much as 60 percent. Plus, the orchestra would have complete control over its own scheduling, something it does not have in its current home, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, which it shares with a number of other arts groups and events.

The tower above the theater is empty and has long been so, according to Niehaus, who says that part of the building isn't the focus for the MSO, which might consider moving its offices there, but that's a discussion for later.

"I believe it's been empty just about as long," he says. "It's class B office space, and there's a glut of that in Milwaukee. We don't have any income in our revenue model from the tower. The last money we will invest will be for administrative office space."

Considering the impact it could have in its immediate neighborhood, too, in terms of restaurants and the like, I think its an exciting idea. But, I admit, what Im most excited about is the preservation of Milwaukees last great movie palace, and of memories we all made there.


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As we descend into the hell that Trump is creating, by deconstructing the regulatory agencies that were created to protect the planet, humanity and the middle class, you may feel hopeless. Don't! It is true that the Democrats have abandoned their loyalty and responsibility to the middle class, that politics has been almost totally taken over by corporations, foreign nations and plutocrats.

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Remember, the big changes in American history were not wrought by politicians.

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Rob Kall Social Media Pages:

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media. Check out his platform at RobKall.com He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com more detailed bio: Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet (more...)



The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.





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From entrepreneur.com/article/223325: Banking corporations should not be the source to fund infrastructure need.

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"Rogue One" is not simply the title of the latest Star War film due out this week. It's also a dead-on accurate description of the institution being suggested as the go-to source to fund President-elect Trump's $1 trillion proposal to repair, modernize and expand our nation's infrastructure. The institutional Rogue, Darth Vader, Death Star or Dark Side (take your pick among Star Wars metaphors) that some are seriously suggesting to provide the stimulus to our economy are super duper big banking corporations directly responsible for the financial implosion a few years ago, instead of We the People and our public power to create debt-free and interest-free money to meet our basic needs.

There's no debate on the following:

- Our roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, public transit systems, schools and other basic physical public structures are rapidly crumbling,

- Bi-partisan political will exists to address infrastructure needs across the country, and,

- President-elect Trump and his advisors, specifically Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin and chief advisor Stephen Bannon say they are open to exploring literally all solutions to fund the program over 10 years -- an approach described by Bannon as "We're just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks."

Many claim, including the prestigious American Society of Civil Engineers, that $3.6 trillion (as estimated in 2013) is needed by 2020 to serious address our infrastructure needs. Whatever the amount, the question of how it's going to be paid for is central.

No one supports raising taxes. This is a political non-starter.

Several of Trump's economic advisors proposed several months ago providing tax credits to private investors. This and other ideas fall into the category of Public-Private Partnerships, which have a demonstrated history of being ineffective and expensive.

Ellen Brown in a recent article commenting on Trump's infrastructure plan correctly asserts, "net new spending requires net new money." There simply isn't enough money in the current money or monetary system to fund even $1 trillion without taking it from somewhere else and, thus, causing economic pain -- a "robbing Peter to pay Paul" dilemma.

The question is who, or what, should create the needed new money? That would be money created "out of this air," which is how most new money in our society is created -- not simply by printing paper notes, but by crediting a sum to a borrower in their account by computer key strokes (97% of our nation's money is created in this way).

The U.S. Constitution allows for the public creation of money. President Lincoln took this very step to pay for the Civil War. Several hundred prominent economists urged the same strategy in their "Chicago Plan" during the 1930's to President Roosevelt as a means to stimulate the economy out of the depression/recession (sound familiar?).

A more up-to-date and complete version of the Chicago Plan was introduced twice in Congress over the last few years -- the National Emergency Employment Defense (NEED) Act, which has three critical and inter-related components:

- Making the Federal Reserve a public agency and no longer influenced by banking corporations,

- Ending the ability of banks to create money "out of thin air" -- only able to lend what they have in their vault or able to borrow (called "fractional reserve lending"),

- Empowering the federal government as affirmed in Article I of the U.S. Constitution to create and distribute U.S. money -- specifically several trillion dollars to repair, modernize and expand our nation's physical and human infrastructure, which would result in the employment of millions of people and paid with interest- and debt-free money.

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Irfan Alvi

Indo-Pak border currently depicts as the shimmering volcano of trans-border exchange of fire. This exchange of fire is said to involve not only the heavy machine guns, but also the medium artillery and the manoeuvres of unmanned Ariel vehicle (UAV) equipped with anti-material missiles.

This situation heralds vulnerability in the subject of the regional stability mainly because the two rivals Pakistan and India have nuclear arsenal even in a deployed form that is hazardous to the lives of more than 140 billion people, living across the borders. That is why firing even a single bullet in the violation of the declared ceasefire along LOC is the harbinger of the apprehension and requires the decision-making pundits to pay a sensible and conscientious attention.

The current border standoff is the direct upshot of the both sides' realistic cognizance against each other's respective policy pursuits in their vested regions. The areas where both are locked into fighting proxies are two. First, Kashmir where the LOC exists and separates its two parts and bloody skirmishes occur time and again is the overt arena between Islamabad and New Delhi.

In this region, both sides maintain their respective stances. According to Pakistani perspective, India plans to divert all western rivers, such as The Indus, Jhelum and Chenab of Pakistan, which flow from Kashmir and are the latter's right according to the Indus Basin Water Treaty 1960. Recently, the Indian Prime Minister has affirmed this posture, threatening to divert every drop of Bias, Sutlej and Ravi Rivers for the usage of Indian peasants.

This development derails the two sides' explicit commitment to cease fire, concluded in 2003. Simply, the divergences are to widen when one party is not letting its rival to enjoy the right. Whereas Indians believe that Kashmir valley is being ignited for the execution of jihad by Pakistani Intelligence Agencies. That is why huge bands of fighters are to intrude in Kashmir through the LOC. Thus, they are bound to prevent them from intrusion, which leads to clashes with the Pakistani troops.

These two perspectives in fact help the cognizant of the geopolitics to penetrate the deep saga of the two sides' military engagements. The relevance of both sides' perceived approaches is lucid. Let us believe that India has set on to divert the Pakistani rivers. Islamabad reacts and perceives this diversion will be difficult to sustain. Obviously, it undertakes a variety of countermeasures to prevent India from this sneaky pathway. Therefore, the fighters may be sent to stimulate the ongoing movement in Kashmir.

This deployment of fighters gives rise to the skirmishes between Pakistani and Indian troops. Accordingly, the Indians avow to accomplish their plans of water diversion. On the other hand, Pakistanis' response remains highly dependent on the countermeasures, aimed at the prevention of the diversion plans. Accordingly, the two sides ongoing trend results in action reaction phenomena and kindles the bleeding clashes.

Secondly, CPEC, passing through Baluchistan and FANA specifically, grabs the premeditated involvement of India into disruptions that cannot be gainsaid. Kulbhushan Yadav was arrested on March 3, 2016; he confessed to involve in spying in Balushistan and disclosed the Indian plan of CPEC suppression. This has proven as solid evidence against the Indians' secret plans for the disruption. In fact, India has invested massively in Afghanistan and wanted to build its major role in the region.

The said proxy wars were fought in Swat and FATA to destabilise the said area. However, Operations Rah e Najat and Zerb e Azb have destroyed the strong bastion of the militants, hiding in SWAT and FATA. It restored almost the state writ in the said areas and the thrust of violence was diminished. This security improvement was followed by the renowned CPEC mega project, considered by many rationales and analysts as a game changer in Pakistan economy and image.

Coherently speaking, the clearance of FANA and nearly Blochistan from militancy and the improvement of the security situation in Pakistan led the Indians to think alternatively for the sake of disturbing the project. The reason is that India perceives China as a threat and is engaged in security competition partnership, led by USA against China. India also thinks Pakistan as sole hurdle that can challenge it in South Asia.

On the other hand, China shall ensure its energy security and supply through CPEC routes whereas Pakistan shall enhance its derailed economy through the collectable levies and taxes. Given the competition with Sino-Pak and the beginning of the CPEC project, it is not recondite to assess that the disturbance on the eastern border is the extension of the plans, chalked out by the Indians to disturb CPEC. Similarly, Pakistan seems to respond in the same way, the Indians are undergoing. That is why the Kashmiri movement may be considered as the viable option which is already on the rise.

These policy choices lead the two states to confrontation along the LOC. Therefore, the implementation of an urgent solution under the ongoing circumstances is abstruse. In fact, the obdurate stance of the two jingoists is unlikely to pacify in the near future. There are many reasons. First, the Indians' ambitions to par with China geopolitically, economically and militarily is the foremost obstacle in the way India cannot be predicted to show flexibility in its stances on Kashmir specifically and the whole region commonly.

Second, Indians are locked into security concerns against Pakistan. Therefore, the continuity of armed confrontation between Islamabad and New Delhi on the LOC is eloquent. Third, Pakistan is also realistically behaving and is engaged in the execution of the measures, aimed at subsiding Indians policy pursuits in Afghanistan and Balochistan. Thus, the infiltration of the likely fighters through the LOC is seen as a workable strategy and a reasoned option.

Under such scenario, the workable options can be observed. However, the above-said realities cannot be denied. The two antagonistic sides have to withdraw from their perceived approaches.
From To The Point Analyses

There is little doubt that white racism played a role in the U.S. presidential election of 2016. As Zach Beauchamp demonstrates in a 10 November 2016 article at Vox.com, white voters in mostly white geographic areas supported Trump at a rate of about 25%. However, in areas of growing ethnic and racial diversity, the percentage goes way up. Beauchamp quotes the research of the University of London scholar Eric Kaufmann, who surveyed Trump's white supporters. Kaufmann's original findings are reported in the policy blog of the London School of Economics. One result was that in areas that had experienced a 30% rise in Latino population, the number of whites who supported Trump rose to 70%.

Trump's own racism had been on public display during his entire campaign and often (although erroneously) merged the phenomena of immigration and violence. Here he found a ready and responsive audience. Beauchamp goes on to demonstrate that white supporters of Donald Trump saw immigration and terrorism as the country's major problems. Moreover, they connected these two issues to their fear of the country's growing diversity. Of course, economic woes were also a concern, but they too were exacerbated by fear of the fact that the country was then under the leadership of a black man, Barack Obama.

Then, to broaden their outlook of the xenophobic and sectarian impact on politics, both Beauchamp and Kaufmann point out that the racist underpinning of Trump's electoral success parallels the Brexit voting patterns in the United Kingdom in June 2016. There too, ethnocentric "anxiety over a changing society" appears to have spurred on the vote to leave the European Union.

Netanyahu stood for reelection in March 2015. His main opponent was Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog. During the election campaign, one of Herzog's consultants was the American political adviser Paul Begala -- a long-time political ally of the Clintons. Soon after Netanyahu's reelection Begala explained how Netanyahu had won. "He won because of race. ... In the U.S. you could never get away with those kind of racist appeals. But, man, did it work [in Israel]." He went on, "I have never seen anything like Bibi's furious surge to the right in the last 4 days [of the campaign]. He had robo-calls calling the [U.S.] President 'Hussein Obama, the Muslim,' he had ads saying the Arabs will vote in droves. He accused Herzog of wanting to divide Jerusalem."

The fact that "man, did it [this racist approach] work" in Israel should have been no surprise. A year later, in March 2016, a Pew Research Center survey of Israeli society reported that "that nearly half of Jews in the country [48%] say they support the ethnic cleansing of Arabs." The Israeli prime minister and fellow travelers certainly knew this ahead of the Pew report.

As it turned out, Netanyahu's appeal to fear of the Arabs was roughly equivalent to Trump's appeal to fear of immigrants in the United States. Bagala readily recognized the importance of the racist factor in Netanyahu's success. Where he was wrong was to think that "in the U.S. you could never get away with those kind of racist appeals." It turned out that many white U.S. voters were as receptive to such a race-based fear campaign as were Israeli Jews. As with Netanyahu, racism helped Trump win.

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How the hatred for Catholic Rome in the 14th century would establish a life and death struggle within the European deep-state; and how this conflict would lead to the rise of a crypto-Cathar counter church, whose apocalyptic world-ending goals would complete its cycle on November 22, 1963 in the Anglo/Norman America of the present era.



By Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould



On Friday October 13, 1307 the French King Philip IV, who was deeply indebted to the Knights Templar, ordered them arrested and charged with heretical practices and on November 22 of that year under pressure from Philip, Pope Clement V issued the papal bull Pastoralis Praeeminentiae instructing all the monarchs of Europe to seize their assets.

Whether or not the Knights Templar practiced heretical beliefs as charged, the immolation of Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay at the hands of the Pope's Inquisitors in 1314 would serve as an inspiration to generations of people who did. Pope Innocent III's brutal Albigensian Crusade of 1209-29 against the powerful dualist Cathar movement pitted Northern France's Catholic nobility against the lesser nobility of the south who were tolerant and supportive of it.

As a pre-Christian faith deeply rooted in the ancient world and spread by Rome's legions through Mithraism to the four corners of the pagan Roman Empire, Catharism represented an old and powerful belief system which refused to be suppressed by the sterile and often contradictory doctrines of Rome's Christian Empire. As describe by Reverend V.A. Demant, Canon of London's St. Paul's Cathedral in a preface to a 1947 book on the subject titled The Arrow and the Sword, "To mention only its roots in Mithraism, its links with the Gnostics, its theological dualism, its asceticism, the ritual of life and death as cosmic mysteries, the appeal of the troubadours, Arthurian legends and the cult of the Holy Grail, the passions aroused for and against witchcraft, the intimate connection between sex and religion--all these things are sufficient testimony to the deep rooted vitality of a stream of religious consciousness which cannot be superciliously dismissed by rationalists and moralists."

Writing on the heels of World War II with Europe still in ruins from the rise of an irrational and immoral pagan faith called Nazism, Demant feared that such a vital apocalyptic belief system with its "robust religiousness" and commitment to a struggle against an evil material world was bound to rise again as it had so many times in the past. Yet he might not have been surprised to know that his own "Protestant" faith of which he was a senior officer as the Canon of St. Paul's, had its own roots in the same heresy. Now lost in the cross weaves of history, Britain's version of the heresy represented a new and far more dangerous version of life-denying Catharism than was ever imagined by the Templars, Bernard of Clairvaux or Jacques DeMolay.

A Grudge that lasted through the Centuries

Much has been speculated about the survival of the Templars following their dissolution in 1312. Today's popular fiction about their life as a secret society rests not on any particular historical accounting but mainly on 18th century Masonic myth-making and Sir Walter Scotts early 19thcentury stories that romanticized the Templar Knighthood.

The 18th century men of the Enlightenment found great interest in mystical illumination through Masonic rituals. To these men, the newly industrializing West needed a new prophetic tradition to anchor it in history. Rediscovery of the ancient world as a result of imperial interventions in the Near East and Egypt spawned a renewed interest in Renaissance Neo-Platonism and Cabbalism and their roots in a life-denying Gnostic creed. In fact, the very act of returning in victory to the origin of these Gnostic beliefs was in itself proof that they had been chosen to fulfill a cosmic cycle as prophesied by the ancients. Bestowing the Templars with occult mystical powers fit neatly into the early Romantic Movement and helped to promote Enlightenment thinking as part of God's plan for mankind. But the ravages of the Inquisition and the growing anger over a corrupt Roman Catholic Church were anything but myth to those living in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. As a military order of religious warriors responsible only to the Pope the Templars and their Cathar backers in France and England represented a powerful autonomous deep-state within medieval society. In many ways orthodox Christianity was no match for the life-denying dualist doctrine of the Cathars. Catharism's simple focus on the cosmic battle between a spiritual good and a material evil and its promise of a time-ending apocalypse in which the material world would be consumed in fire was an extreme seduction. Driven to ground by a corrupted Roman Catholic Church and greedy French King, "the heresy" appeared to have been trampled out by the middle of the 14th century. But with the onset of the Reformation in the early 16th century, Rome's authority faced a new challenge and as it spread to Ireland, the old Anglo/Norman warlords like the Fitzgeralds, would face their own apocalypse.

The Protestant Reformation represented a heresy that was at once secular and religious. Martin Luther and John Calvin confronted a Papacy that claimed a material domain as well as a spiritual one. In 1534 the English Parliament's Act of Supremacy solved that problem by declaring Henry VIII "Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England" and in 1559 his daughter Queen Elizabeth I became the Church's "Supreme Governor."

Cathar territory remained fertile ground for insurrection against the church and that insurrection came with the Protestant Reformation. The French Calvinist Huguenot movement of the late 16th century grew from exactly the same ground in France where 200 years earlier the Cathars had been brutally suppressed by the Papal Crusade. In England Queen Elizabeth I's deep-state, Sir Francis Walsingham, the Earl of Leicester and Sir Philip Sydney found common cause with the Huguenots and supported them with soldiers, guns and money. Their armies waged holy war against the Papacy across Europe and in Catholic Ireland where they targeted the last visible threat to Elizabeth's supremacy at home, the Fitzgeralds.

16th Century deep-state competition

The Fitzgerald family had drawn their original power from France and Italy in the 11th century as the muscle for the Cather-friendly Anglo/Norman royals. They had clearly performed their duties well enough to be rewarded by their feudal lords with lands and titles but when they came to Ireland their paths diverged. Gerald of Wales makes clear in his book that by 1170 this family of Anglo/Norman Samurai was fed up with royal excess and wanted to strike out on their own under their own banner. But three centuries of the Fitzgerald family's immersion in Irish culture transformed them. Forsaking the English language, English customs and English law, the Anglo/Normans married the land and became "more Irish than the Irish themselves". Known as the "Old English" (Seanghaill), their ongoing intermarriage with Irish clans produced furious resentment from London while the coming of the Protestant Reformation produced outright hatred. Known for their love of Ireland and their willingness to renounce their loyalty to England, the Fitzgerald family were feared and hated as representatives of a Roman Catholic deep-state bent on reversing the Reformation. On the other hand the Sidney Circle represented a very old deep-state of its own; that "stream of religious consciousness," that had been suppressed for centuries, had risen in rebellion and was committed to ridding the world of evil.

The Sidney Circle and its primary operatives Francis Walsingham, Edmund Spencer, Sir Walter Raleigh and John Dee represented the militarized edge of Renaissance Neoplatonism, bent on establishing England not just as a global empire to rival Catholic Spain, but as a spiritual empire headed by Queen Elizabeth I that would cleanse the material world and restore its spiritual destiny.

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Go to the Verified Voting website for the complete articles:

https://www.verifiedvoting. org/





The Voting News for 12/13/2016

National: Electors demand intelligence briefing before Electoral College vote | Politico

In its first show of public support for efforts questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump's victory, Hillary Clinton's campaign said it is supporting a request by members of the Electoral College for an intelligence briefing on foreign intervention in the presidential election. "The bipartisan electors' letter raises very grave issues involving our national security," Clinton's former campaign chairman John Podesta said in a statement on Monday. "Electors have a solemn responsibility under the Constitution and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed. Each day in October, our campaign decried the interference of Russia in our campaign and its evident goal of hurting our campaign to aid Donald Trump," he said. "Despite our protestations, this matter did not receive the attention it deserved by the media in the campaign. We now know that the CIA has determined Russia's interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump. This should distress every American."

National: Senate and House Leaders Call for Inquiry of Russian Hacking in Election | The New York Times

The top two Republicans in Congress said on Monday that they supported investigations into possible Russian cyberattacks to influence the American election, setting up a potential confrontation with President-elect Donald J. Trump in his first days in office. "Any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing, and I strongly condemn any such efforts," said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, adding, "The Russians are not our friends." Mr. McConnell's support for investigating American intelligence findings that Moscow intervened in the election on Mr. Trump's behalf could presage friction between the Republicans who control Congress, and who have long taken a hard line against Russia, and the president-elect, who has mocked the findings. Mr. McConnell also went out of his way to address Mr. Trump's claim that the C.I.A. could not be trusted because of flawed intelligence before the Iraq war. "Let me say that I have the highest confidence in the intelligence community," Mr. McConnell said, "and especially the Central Intelligence Agency. The C.I.A. is filled with selfless patriots, many of whom anonymously risk their lives for the American people."

National: Green Party U.S. election recount bid comes to a close | Reuters

The recount effort by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in three U.S. states came to an end on Monday, after weeks of legal wrangling yielded only one electoral review in Wisconsin that favored Republican winner Donald Trump. A federal judge in Pennsylvania rejected Stein's request for a recount and an examination of that state's voting machines for evidence of hacking in the Nov. 8 election won by Trump. Meanwhile, Wisconsin election officials said on Monday they had completed their 10-day recount after finding that Trump's margin of victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton had increased by 131 votes, bringing Trump's total lead to 22,748. "The final Wisconsin vote is in and guess what - we just picked up an additional 131 votes. The Dems and Green Party can now rest. Scam!" Trump said on Twitter. Stein, who finished fourth, challenged the results in those two states as well as Michigan, where the state's top court on Friday denied Stein's last-ditch appeal to keep a recount going. All of those traditionally Democratic strongholds supported Trump over Clinton. Even if all three recounts had taken place, they were unlikely to change the outcome.

Editorials: Recounts should be the norm, not the exception | Carsten Schurmann & Jari Kickbusch/Los Angeles Times

Jill Stein, her supporters and a group of experts struggled mightily to get proper recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. They were accused of paranoia and of simply wasting time. Why is it so difficult, and so controversial, to get the results of a U.S. presidential election inspected and verified? Audits should be mandatory in all states; in fact, they're part of the foundation of a healthy democracy. Recounts not only are important for finding proof that voting machines were misconfigured or hacked. In a meaningful recount, evidence representing the voter's intent is compared against the published vote totals. Even if a recount proves that everything went as intended, it's a way to reassure the public -- especially the losing side -- that the announced winner of the election is legitimate. A recount is comparable to checking the receipt before leaving the local grocery store. Some check, some don't, but overall, we all agree that the ability to check a receipt is worth the paper it is printed on.

Colorado: Motion rejected in Electoral College suit in Colorado | Politico

A federal judge has rejected a request for an immediate injunction in lawsuit by two presidential electors in Colorado filed as part of a strategy to block Donald Trump's election. The ruling -- by Bill Clinton appointee Wiley Daniel -- delivers a crushing blow to the Hamilton Electors, a group of Electoral College members pursuing a strategy to convince presidential electors across the country to unite behind an alternative candidate to Trump. Daniel's ruling rejected an effort by Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich -- two Democratic electors in Colorado -- to immediately prevent the enforcement of a state law that forces them to cast their electoral votes for Hillary Clinton when the Electoral College meets next week. Baca and Nemanich hoped that a favorable ruling would undermine similar statutes in 28 other states, including 14 where Trump won. The attorney for the electors, Jason Wesoky, has signaled to the court that he'll still pursue litigation in the matter.

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Election exit polls tell us the typical Trump voter was white (non-Hispanic), male, older, rural, and had no college degree. But that doesn't explain why they voted for Trump. There were four types of Trump voters; each having different expectations.

The 2014 Pew Research Political Typology (http://www.people-press.org/2014/06/26/the-political-typology-beyond-red-vs-blue/ ) provides the best categorization of American Voters. Pew described three categories of conservative voters: "Steadfast Conservatives" (15 percent of registered voters), "Business Conservatives" (12 percent), and "Young Outsiders" (15 percent). Since these make up 42 percent of the electorate, and Trump received 46 percent of the vote, let's add a fourth group: "Hard-pressed Skeptics" (13 percent), assuming Trump got some of these -- traditionally Democratic -- voters.

1.Steadfast Conservatives: Pew says, "This overwhelmingly Republican group holds very conservative attitudes across most issues, including social policy and the size and scope of government. However, they are critical of business and Wall Street. Steadfast Conservatives also express highly negative attitudes toward immigrants and take a skeptical view of U.S. global involvement." Many of these are Tea-Party voters.

Steadfast conservatives saw Trump as their last chance to "save" America. They operated under a common narrative where they saw America's promise slipping from their reach and believed the opportunities that once belonged to them had been usurped by the undeserving: immigrants, people of color, homosexuals, feminists... Trump spoke to them when he said, "I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves."

Key Trump message: I will make America great again. Key constituent expectation: White Power.

2. Business Conservatives: Pew says, "Business Conservatives are traditional small-government Republicans. [They] think that government is almost always wasteful and it does too much better left to businesses and individuals. Business Conservatives differ from Steadfast Conservatives in their strong support for Wall Street and business more generally."

If the Steadfast Conservatives are "the 99 percent," the Business Conservatives represent "the one percent." They share a disdain for Washington and "the liberate elite." They venerate capitalism and believe the US would be better off in the hands off business leaders.

Key Trump message: I will get government out of your way by lowering taxes and eliminating regulations. Key constituent expectation: neutered government.

At the beginning of the Republican presidential nomination process, Ted Cruz was the champion of the Steadfast Conservatives, while Jeb Bush was the champion of the Business Conservatives. In the end, Trump defeated them both and managed to unite the disparate wings of the GOP; Trump convinced Republican voters he was an outsider who would "blow up" Washington.

3. Young Outsiders:Pew says, "This relatively young, largely independent group holds a mix of conservative and liberal views. And while more lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, Young Outsiders express unfavorable opinions of both major parties. They are skeptical of activist government; a substantial majority views government as wasteful and inefficient... A large majority of Young Outsiders (81%) think 'poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return'."

Key Trump message: I understand you because I am an outsider. Key constituent expectation: good jobs.

What unites Steadfast Conservatives, Business Conservatives, and Young Outsiders is their disdain for government. Beyond that, they have somewhat different objectives. Trump, with his rambling often inconsistent rhetoric was able to convince each group that he represented their interests.

4. Hard-Pressed Skeptics: Trump built his winning coalition by including just enough Hard-Pressed Skeptics. Pew says, "Deeply financially-stressed and distrustful of government, Hard-Pressed Skeptics lean toward the Democratic Party but have reservations about both political parties... Hard-Pressed Skeptics are dissatisfied with conditions in the country and their communities... [They] have the lowest family incomes of any of the typology groups."

Trump reached these workers with the promise he would bring their jobs back by cancelling bad trade deals and penalizing companies who move good jobs out of America.

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President John Mahama will Tuesday join other West African leaders to mediate the current political situation in The Gambia.



President Mahama will join Chair of ECOWAS, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to meet with and persuade President Yahya Jammeh to hand power over to Adama Barrow, the president-elect of the West African country.



Jammeh conceded after losing the Presidential election earlier this month to Barrow, a real estate mogul who has never held a political office.



Im calling you to wish you all the best, the Gambian people have spoken and I have no reason to contest the will of Almighty Allah, Jammeh had said at the time.



The December 1 vote saw Barrow win 222,708 votes (43.3%), while Jammeh polled 208,487 (39.6%).



Jammeh made an about-turn on Friday, December 9, 2016, addressing the country in a televised broadcast in which he announced the annulment of the election and alluded to foreign influence on the electoral body.



After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election, President Jammeh said.



I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process. I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a god-fearing and independent electoral commission.



The UN Security Council has asked outgoing Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to carry out a peaceful and orderly transition of power to the president-elect, Adama Barrow, the opposition leader who was declared the winner of the December 1 election.



In a press statement issued on Saturday, December 10, 2016, the 15-member Council strongly condemned the outgoing Gambian Presidents rejection of the official election results proclaimed by the countrys Independent Electoral Commission.



The UN Council asked Jammeh to respect the choice of the sovereign people of Gambia, as he did on December 2, and to transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the President-elect, Mr Adama Barrow.

Source: myjoyonline.com









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Credit: University of Lincoln

Researchers from the University of Lincoln are embarking on a major new study to work out the true economic cost of coastal flooding and how farmland damaged by saltwater can best be brought back into use to support Lincolnshire's agricultural industry.

The study, delivered in collaboration with farmers operating in and around the Lincolnshire Wash, is funded by the University of Lincoln with a grant of 72,000 from its Research Investment Fund.

The project will be led by Dr Gary Bosworth, a leading specialist in the resilience of rural economies based in Lincoln's new School of Geography. He will be supported by Dr Iain Gould, a soil scientist from the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology based at the University's Riseholme Campus and Dr Zhongwei Xing, an economist from Lincoln International Business School.

The team of scientists and economists will consider the potential economic impact caused by coastal flooding, including the long-term effects of increased levels of soil salinity on agricultural land. This will include modelling future scenarios of potential sea level rises and resultant impact on soil salinity levels in England's east coast. The results will be freely available and be used to engage policy stakeholders to provide an independent assessment of flood defence strategies and potential mitigation strategies in the Wash region of the county.

Dr Gary Bosworth said: "The threat posed to British agriculture by climate change and rising sea levels cannot be underestimated. Three years ago storm surges breached some of the coastal defences along England's east coast. Thankfully the damage to life and property was not comparable to earlier floods in 1953, but the hidden impact on the quality of our prime agricultural soils is still being felt by farmers today. One of the primary climate change forecasts is that sea levels may well rise and this, combined with potential changes in storm intensity, may increase flood risk.

"We hope by setting out the economic costs of saltwater contamination of farmland we can make the case for a greater policy focus on mitigation and adaptation strategies. We are also optimistic that we can offer practical solutions by improving scientific and industry understanding the most effective mitigation and adaptation measures."

The East of England was struck by devastating coastal flooding from a huge storm tide on the night of 31st January 1953. More than 300 people were killed in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex with many more fatalities at sea and in the Netherlands. It is considered one of 20th century Europe's worst natural disasters.

The impact on the prime agricultural lands of Lincolnshire and the Eastern Counties was felt for decades after the floods receded, with around 160,000 acres of English farmland contaminated by saltwater.

Three years ago (December 2013) the east of England experienced the most severe tidal surge since the 1953 flood with sea levels rising by almost six metres in places. More than 2,000 acres of farmland was flooded with some of the most serious breaches south of the Humber and around Boston.

Dr Iain Gould said: "Seawater inundation leaves residues of salts, such as sodium, on the soil  high concentrations of which can damage soil structure for years. Although farmland can recover over time and various mitigation measures, in the worst cases, deep soil structure is so badly damaged farmland can be left unable to support commercially-viable production for sustained periods."
Credit: Virginia Commonwealth University

When a Southern chorus frog calls in the night from its wetland home, its voice sounds like a thumb being drawn across a fine toothed comb. At least that's how it's described by James Vonesh, Ph.D., associate professor of biology. The sound of a spring peeper frog can sometimes be heard under that of its fellow amphibian. It has a quieter call; a succession of small beeps.

Undergraduate researchers in Vonesh's Amphibian Landscape Ecology class, through VCU Biology in the College of Humanities and Sciences, have worked to ensure that these and other amphibian species can continue to be heard on spring nights.

Students from the ecology class teamed with peer researchers at 11 other universities across the country in a semesterlong project, "Toads, Roads and Nodes," which investigated land use impacts on amphibians in the United States. This is the second year the class had undertaken the project, and it has produced further findings on the dangers of roadways to frogs.

Vonesh stressed that this and similar studies are essential to the protection of amphibians, the survival of which play a role in maintaining functioning ecosystems, on which people rely. Globally, there are more than 7,000 known amphibian species. Nearly one-third are extinct.

"Amphibians are both important prey and predators in food webs. They can be indicators of environmental degradation, like pollution, that may be of concern for human health," Vonesh said. "They have served and modeled systems across multiple fields of scientific research, and have been the source of natural chemicals with important medical properties."

The most recent cadre of researchers investigated how close roads across the Eastern and Central U.S. must be to wetlands and forested areas to affect multiple species of frogs. Researchers found the impact of roads on amphibians varies widely across regions, even among those with similar frog species. Both investigations have been published in peer-reviewed journalsthe latest project was featured in Diversity and Distributions this year.

The paper provided three undergraduatesMiranda Foster, Joseph Neale and Nate Stearretthe opportunity to be published in peer reviewed scientific literature. The students were mentored by Ph.D. student Julie Charbonnier.

The initial study, conducted in 2013, is one of the first distributed undergraduate research projects in the country.

David Marsh, Ph.D., a professor of biology at Washington & Lee University, developed the projects, funded by the National Science Foundation's Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science program and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.

Vonesh said the findings have the potential to be used by ecologists to facilitate amphibian conservation.

"Not surprisingly, perhaps, we see that the effects of nearby large roads might be the most important to focus on. But there are management options available to us to address this if society chooses to," Vonesh said. "For example, corridors or tunnels for small animals under roads might address this kind of road effect."

In order to form observations, researchers merged information from databases detailing geography, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetlands inventory, with data from call surveys conducted by citizen scientists across the Eastern United States for the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program. The students were able to quantify what percentage of land surrounding NAAMP survey sites was devoted to agriculture, wetland, forest, agriculture and development.

Students found roads are sometimes huge barriers between two distinct types of land areas that frogs need to survive.

"We tend to think about [amphibians] being around aquatic habitats, but they use those habitats to breed and often use the upland habitats for the rest of their lives. Roads and barriers between these two spaces can stop them from completing their life cycle," Vonesh said.

Researchers also found the closeness of roadways to amphibian habitats in the Northeast had a more negative impact on amphibian numbers than in many other regions. Vonesh said this could be because of the use of road salts in those areas, which often run off into wetlands.

In April 2014, student representatives from each institution traveled to the NCEAS in Santa Barbara, California, to combine data and proof the research to be submitted to a conservation biology journal.

Joey Neale, a VCU graduate who attended the conference, said he jumped at the opportunity to partake in real-world research.

"The most valuable component of the class was my first experience participating in a real experiment that contributed to building upon our understanding of science," Neale said. "The most enjoyable part was meeting representatives from the other schools participating in the study and seeing our efforts come together to answer questions that our work alone would not have answered."
Credit: Delft University of Technology

Autonomous shipping is a hot, yet hugely significant topic. According to researchers at TU Delft, this is the first time that we have really had to completely rethink the design of ships since we made the jump from wooden sailing vessels to steel steamships. From 12 - 14 December, the university will be devoting extra attention to this issue with two PhD ceremonies, a colloquium and an autonomous shipping demonstration.

The captain is on dry land instead of aboard his ship. From his impressive control room, which is comparable to the inside of an air traffic control tower, he can monitor all ships wanting to call at the port of Rotterdam. He no longer needs to be involved with the logistical side of things because the vessels plan their own schedules with container terminals, locks and bridges. Just as sailors are no longer required on board, a captain is no longer required at the helm of the ship. However, the vessels do contact their on-shore captain if a component is broken, for example.

This is the future of autonomous shipping. It could be an answer to the looming labour shortage in the shipping sector, which is arising partly due to the tremendous increase in the amount of cargo being transported by sea around the world.

Cheaper

'Another big advantage of unmanned shipping is that the transportation of goods becomes considerably cheaper. As a result, cargo will be transported by water more often than over land,' says associate professor Rudy Negenborn. 'The costs are also reduced in another way: since ships, container terminals, bridges, locks and other facilities within the harbours can automatically exchange information with each other, they can efficiently coordinate how quickly and which route the vessels need to sail to reach a specific location in order to collect and deliver their cargo.'

Scientists at TU Delft also think that autonomous shipping is safer. 'At the moment, 75 to 95 percent of all accidents at sea are partly caused by human error,' said Robert Hekkenberg, a researcher in the Marine Technology programme.

Credit: Delft University of Technology

Obstacles

Of course, there's still a long way to go, and there are numerous obstacles to overcome - technical as well as legal. Hekkenberg thinks that the legal framework will be adjusted by 2030. 'On the technical side, there is still a lot to do, but the concept is really gaining momentum. For example, Rolls-Royce, a major player in the shipping industry, has unshakeable confidence in the future of autonomous shipping. We are expecting the first pilot projects to get underway soon.'

'The important thing to remember is that it's not a question of all or nothing,' says Hekkenberg. 'We can automate parts of the process step by step, just like automation in cars progressed. A key intermediate step towards real autonomous shipping is, for example, unmanned shipping; so there is no crew on board, but humans are still in control from dry land.'

Complete redesign

For Hekkenberg, completely redesigning vessels poses a great challenge because existing ships were designed to work with the help of crew. 'On board, people can walk between the complex machine installations, touch them, listen to what's going on, replace a filter or make a few small adjustments. If there is no longer a crew on board, today's vessels will soon come to a standstill. This is the first time that we have really had to completely rethink the design of ships since we made the jump from wooden sailing vessels to steel steamships. Our current framework for designing ships is irrelevant for autonomous shipping. We are actually in the midst of a major system change.'

Demo in Delft

In the Netherlands, TU Delft is at the forefront of research into autonomous shipping. The university works closely with the international shipping community. From 12 - 14 December, a number of activities devoted to this topic will be held in Delft. Huarong Zheng will be awarded her doctorate on 12 December following her research into the possibilities of a new type of container carrier that can autonomously navigate between the various terminals in a port, and on 13 December Shijie Li will be defending her dissertation on improved and more flexible planning for maritime transportation.

'Besides these two ceremonies, which are primarily theoretical, we also want to try to establish a link with reality,' says Negenborn. 'So on Wednesday, 14 December, we will be holding the colloquium "Towards autonomous ship systems", followed by a quick demonstration of autonomous shipping.'
Researchers at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics used the location of seismic refraction data (circles) and mantle hotspots (white stars) to examine whether mid-plate volcanism substantially influenced the thickness of aged ocean crust. The modern mid-ocean ridge system is marked by a yellow line. Areas in violet outline large igneous provinces. Credit: The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

The oceanic crust produced by the Earth today is significantly thinner than crust made 170 million years ago during the time of the supercontinent Pangea, according to University of Texas at Austin researchers.

The thinning is related to the cooling of Earth's interior prompted by the splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea, which broke up into the continents that we have today, said Harm Van Avendonk, the lead author of the study and a senior research scientist at The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. The findings, published in Nature Geosciences on Dec. 12, shed light on how plate tectonics has influenced the cooling of the Earth's mantle throughout geologic history.

"What we think is happening is that the supercontinent was like an insulating blanket," Van Avendonk said. "So when these continents started opening up and the deeper mantle was exposed, more or less, to the atmosphere and the ocean it started cooling much faster."

All authors are from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), a research unit of the Jackson School of Geosciences.

The mantle is the very hot, but mostly solid, layer of rock between the Earth's crust and core. Magma from the mantle forms oceanic crust when it rises from the mantle to the surface at spreading centers and cools into the rock that forms the very bottom of the seafloor. Since about 2.5 billion years ago, the mantle has been cooling a phenomenon that doesn't influence the climate on the surface of the Earth and has nothing to do with the issue of short-term man-made climate change. This study suggests that since the breakup of Pangea, the cooling rate of the mantle has increased from 6-11 degrees Celsius per 100 million years to 15-20 degrees per 100 million years. Since cooler mantle temperatures generally produce less magma, it's a trend that's making modern day ocean crust thinner.

"It's important to note the Earth seems to be cooling a lot faster now than it has been over its lifetime," Van Avendonk said. "The current state of the Earth, where we have a lot of plate tectonic events, this allows the Earth to cool much more efficiently than it did in the past."

The research that led to the connection between the splitting of the supercontinent and crust thickness started when Van Avendock and Ph.D. student Jennifer Harding, a study co-author, noticed an unexpected trend when studying existing data from young and old seafloor. They analyzed 234 measurements of crustal thickness from around the world and found that, on a global scale, the oldest ocean crust examined170 million year old rock created in the Jurassicis about one mile thicker than the crust that's being produced today.

"It's something that Jenny and I found, more or less, by accident," Van Avendonk said.

The link between crust thickness and age prompted two possible explanationsboth related to the fact that hotter mantle tends to make more magma: Mantle hot spotshighly volcanic regions, such as the Hawaiian Islands and Icelandcould have thickened the old crust by covering it in layers of lava at a later time. Or, the mantle was hotter in the Jurassic than it is now.

Van Avendonk mentioned this problem during a casual conversation with Joshua "Bud" Davis, a Ph.D. student in UTIG's plate tectonics research group and co-author, who said that the group could investigate both of the explanations using computer models of plate movement since the Jurassic and a global database of hotspots.

The analysis ruled out the hot spot theorythick layers of old crust formed just as easily at distances greater than 600 miles from hotspots, a distance that the researchers judged was outside the influence of the hotspots. In contrast, the analysis supported the hypothesis of mantle heating during the age of Pangea, and mantle cooling after the breakup of the supercontinent.

The finding that splitting up Pangea cooled the mantle is important because it gives a more nuanced view of the mantle temperature that influences tectonics on Earth, Van Avendonk said. The researchers also note that the study illustrates the success that can come from spontaneous collaboration and leveraging basic research on a global scale.

"A cool part of this study is that it didn't need funding," Harding said. "We went through all the literature, and collected all the data ourselves. There's always more information out there."

More information: Harm J. A. Van Avendonk et al, Decrease in oceanic crustal thickness since the breakup of Pangaea, Nature Geoscience (2016). DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2849 Journal information: Nature Geoscience
Credit: WIkimedia Commons

In the first study to track the detailed movements of cheetahs in a coalition, researchers from the Royal Veterinary College, UK, and Cheetah Conservation Botswana explored how the cats meet up again after becoming separated.

Tatjana Hubel and her colleagues did not set out to study cheetah reunions. The researchers were following the movements of three cheetahs, most likely brothers, in a bonded coalition. The cats were captured and fitted with GPS collars. As they looked at the GPS data, the researchers realized that one of the cheetahs had been separated from his brothers for a period of 31 days.

"Looking at the large area they used, we started to wonder how they managed to reunite," says Hubel. "It is one thing to find a fixed location, but another for two moving groups to find one another."

The high resolution GPS data gave the researchers very detailed information about the position of each of the three cheetahs at any point in time. One by one, Hubel and her colleagues explored different possibilities for how the brothers found each other after a month of separation.

First, the researchers calculated the chance of the cheetahs finding each other by coincidence within their large home range (estimated to be 819 km2). Within such a vast territory, the likelihood of a purely coincidental reunion was extremely small.

Next, Hubel and her colleagues ruled out the possibility that the cheetahs called to one another, like lions or wolves do when separated. The soft chirps of cheetahs do not carry over long distances. Plus, cheetahs are vulnerable to other predators, so walking around and calling for four weeks would draw unwanted attention to them.

Then the researchers asked whether the cheetahs met up in a location that they frequented often.

"The cheetahs had preferred areas within their home range, so a reasonable assumption would have been that they might reunite in one of those areas," says Hubel. "But in our case, this was not true. They met at a spot that was far away from frequently used areas, and neither group spent much time there before the reunion."

So how did the cheetah brothers find each other?

The reunion occurred after both groups had spent only hours in the region, and within hours of the lone cheetah encountering the route traveled by his two brothers. The separated cheetah crossed the trail of his brothers and then appeared to execute a looping search pattern until they were reunited.

Hubel and her colleagues suggest that the lone cheetah picked up on scent markings left by his brothers and then searched until he found them. Cats have a keen sense of smell, and cheetahs, like other cats, can identify individuals by their unique smell. They also spend a great deal of time and effort scent marking on landmarks in their territories.

"There may be other explanations, but considering that we know cheetahs use scent marks to avoid running into predators and find females in heat, the idea that scent marks can aid their reunions is a reasonable one," says Hubel.

Hubel cautions that this is one example and there is still a lot to learn about cheetah reunions.

"We know they use scent marks, but we really don't know how long they are able to detect the scent or if cheetahs can follow a scent trail like a dog, or has been observed in lions once or twice," she says.

The researchers still have a lot of questions about cheetah behavior, but these data are not easy to obtain. The 31-day separation was the only such event that occurred during the six months that Hubel and her colleagues were following the cheetah brothers.

"This type of work is quite often like a roller coaster, since the data that can be collected are amazing but the setbacks are frequent," says Hubel. "I hope this is a small contribution in a field that undoubtedly will be able to gain important insights into animal interactions using increasingly affordable and accurate GPS technology."

More information: Tatjana Y. Hubel et al. Cheetah Reunion  The Challenge of Finding Your Friends Again, PLOS ONE (2016). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166864 Journal information: PLoS ONE

This story is republished courtesy of PLOS Blogs: blogs.plos.org.
This photo provided by NASA TV shows a Japanese cargo ship before it arrives with Christmas gifts to the International Space Station on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. The capsulecalled Kounotori, or white storkcontains nearly 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other supplies. NASA said there also are Christmas presents for the two Americans, three Russians and one Frenchman on board. (NASA TV via AP)

Christmas gifts arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday, courtesy of Japan.

A Japanese cargo ship pulled up at the orbiting lab four days after launching. The capsulecalled Kounotori, or white storkcontains nearly 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other supplies. NASA said there also are Christmas presents for the two Americans, three Russians and one Frenchman on board.

Commander Shane Kimbrough, an American, and France's Thomas Pesquet used the robot arm to grab the capsule 250 miles above Chile. Flight controllers in Japan and Houston applaudedand some of the Japanese even bowed.

Kimbrough said the crew was "really excited" to accept delivery and radioed thanks to all.

"The vehicle is beautiful, and it performed flawlessly," he said.

Barely two weeks ago, a Russian supply ship was destroyed shortly after liftoff. At the same time, one of NASA's main suppliers, SpaceX, is grounded. So the Japanese delivery is especially welcome.

The astronauts need the six new lithium-ion batteries for next month's spacewalks. They will replace the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that store energy generated by the station's big solar panels.

 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Zika virus: top EU-groups join forces in quest for vaccine

Details Category: Vaccines Published on Tuesday, 13 December 2016 11:12 Hits: 6561

Themis measles vector technology central to action plan

VIENNA, Austria I December 13, 2016 I Leading European research groups pool their expertise for the fast development of an effective and affordable vaccine against the Zika virus. Supported with very substantial funding by the EU, the ZIKAVAX consortium consists of Themis, the European Vaccine Initiative, Institut Pasteur and the Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives. Pivotal to the joint development initiative is Themis' propietary technology platform based on a well-established measles vaccine vector.

A safe, effective and affordable vaccine for the prevention of Zika virus infections is the aim of the newly established ZIKAVAX consortium. To this end, the consortium received 5 M EUR funding from the EU's Horizon 2020 program which supports combating this emerging infectious disease that rapidly spreads to previously unaffected regions of the world. Partners in the consortium are the nonprofit product development partnership European Vaccine Initiative (ZIKAVAX coordinator), the world renowned Institut Pasteur in Paris, the successful vaccine developer Themis from Vienna, Austria and the Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA), a french public government-funded research organization.

At the heart of the joint effort will be the Themaxyn platform of Themis, a vector technology with a preclinical and clinical track record of adaptability and effectiveness for the development of vaccines. This successful technology uses a standard measles virus vaccine as a vector, developed at Institut Pasteur in Paris. It has proven its excellent safety profile and clear advantages in terms of a validated, low-cost production process in hundreds of millions of people globally who have received measle vaccinations. Dr. Erich Tauber, CEO and co-founder of Themis comments: "The recently phase 1 clinical trial results of our lead product, a Chikungunya vaccine, which is now tested in a phase 2 trial, have proven the suitability of the vector for other indications and we will now pursue the adaption of the technology for developing a Zika vaccine. The exceptional expertise combined in ZIKAVAX will guarantee quick progress and we are happy to be part of this consortium."

"Developing an effective Zika vaccine has become a global health priority for preventing the further spread of the virus. We are convinced that the use of the measles vaccine delivery platform, one of the safest and most efficacious vaccines available to date, will allow for a rapid and cost-effective development of a Zika vaccine", says Dr. Odile Leroy, Executive Director of the European Vaccine Initiative and coordinator of the ZIKAVAX project.

The work of the ZIKAVAX consortium will compliment Themis' internal Zika R&D project, with the common goal of developing a Zika vaccine rapidly. Themis has tested a number of candidate vaccines in animal models, initiated a toxicity study and established GMP manufacturing with the goal to start phase 1 trials early next year. This expertise and progress is very welcome by the consortium and has additionally been acknowledged by the United Kingdom's innovation agency, Innovate UK, with a 1 M GBP grant to Themis for the development of a Zika vaccine.

Quick Facts about ZIKAVAX:

Start Date: 1 October 2016

End Date: 30 September 2020

Coordinator: Odile LEROY, European Vaccine Initiative Project Funding: EU H2020

Contact:

Dr. Odile Leroy

European Vaccine Initiative (EVI)

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone: +49 / 6221 / 565 974

About Themis (December 2016):

Themis develops prophylactic vaccines from the preclinical to the early clinical phase, focusing on emerging tropical infectious diseases, with initial vaccine candidates currently being developed against Chikungunya and Zika. The company's highly innovative and fully patent-protected measles virus vaccine vector technology platform, licensed from the internationally respected Institut Pasteur in Paris, forms the basis for all current vaccine candidates of the Vienna-based company. www.themisbio.com

About the vaccine technology (December 2016):

The scientific basis for Themis' measles vector Themaxyn platform has been developed at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and is licensed to Themis. It relies on the use of the standard measles vaccine as a vaccination vector. Genes coding for selected antigens from the chikungunya virus have been inserted into the genome of this well-established vaccine. The measles-chikungunya vaccine delivers the chikungunya antigens directly to macrophages and dendritic cells  the most potent and effective antigen-presenting cells, thereby triggering a specific immune response to chikungunya virus. This results in a powerful, antigen-focused immune response, which is most likely to confer long-term immunity as does the measles vaccine.

SOURCE: Themis
QUEENSBURY  Relocating, replacing and reducing the frequency of blasts are among the options Queensbury officials are exploring to lessen the disturbance of the Queensbury Central Fire Department Station No. 2 siren.

But the action neighborhood residents wanted  silencing the alarm  will not be considered.

Were just trying to be neighborly, considerate. Thats all, said Roman Jarosh, a neighborhood resident, expressing frustration that officials will not consider silencing the siren which the department began using again last spring after it was out of order for seven years.

Jarosh was part of a group of about 15 neighborhood residents that met with town and fire department officials Monday to discuss their concerns and potential solutions.

Neighborhood residents have said the siren is piercing and disturbing and wakes children and senior citizens from naps.

I would never have bought my home two years ago (if the siren had been operating), said Tara Rowland, a resident.

One woman abruptly played an audio recording of the siren on her cellphone twice, at different times during the meeting, to demonstrate the intensity of the sound.

Fire department and town officials said not using a siren is a violation of a National Fire Protection Standard, which could lead to the Insurance Services Office downgrading the departments fire safety rating, which insurance companies use to set property insurance premiums.

A lower rating could result in higher premiums, explained Queensbury 3rd Ward Councilman Doug Irish, who has worked in the automotive insurance field.

If our ISO rating drops, every home in the towns insurance rates go up, he said.

Residents questioned why the rating did not change when the siren was inoperable for seven years.

For seven years it didnt go off, and now, for some reason, the firemen got hard of hearing and it has to go off, said George Winters, a neighborhood resident.

Fire Department President Joe Mali said the department voted seven years ago to turn the siren off for 30 days, and, when the department attempted to turn it back on, the siren would not work.

The department repaired the siren last spring.

Irish said the reason the siren was not used the past seven years and why it apparently did not affect insurance premiums during the time are not pertinent.

I dont know, and to be honest with you, I dont think it does a lot of good to go back and talk about what happened in the past, he said.

Fourth Ward Councilman William VanNess said the Town Board cannot order the fire department to silence the siren.

These volunteer fire departments are subcontractors of the town. We dont own them, he said. Were here as mediators.

Town officials discussed three options to lessen the disturbance of the siren, which could be implemented individually or in combination.

One is to relocate the siren from the station on Aviation Road to another location.

Glens Falls watershed property in the town might be viable, if city officials are agreeable, Irish said.

If were going to move it, Id prefer to move it to where its not going to be another neighborhoods problem, Irish said.

Another option is to replace the vintage Civil Defense style siren with a modern electronic siren that has a less piercing tone.

The new electronic sirens dont have the wind down, VanNess said.

A third option is to alter the sequence of sounding the siren.

Now, when the department is dispatched for a fire call, the siren sounds every three minutes for an indefinite period of time.

Officials discussed sounding the siren only once, with no repetition other than a possible second blast nine minutes later only if another fire department was being called out to assist.

This option would require approval of Warren County Sheriffs Department and all fire departments in Warren County that are dispatched through the countys dispatch center.

The daily noon test blast also is standard throughout the county, said Adam Norton, the fire departments chief.

Norton said the department has taken measures already to reduce the disturbance.

In July, the department agreed to only use the siren between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., instead of previous use between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The department has shortened the duration of the peak volume of the blast from 15 seconds to five seconds.

Norton said 14 firefighters live within the sound of the siren and rely on it to alert them of calls if they are in the shower or outside mowing grass, or otherwise cannot hear pagers.

Weve had several situations over the course of that initial month after we turned it back on, he said. Thats a huge thing to us to be able to grab someones attention when a building is burning down.

Irish said another neighborhood meeting will be scheduled after the first of the year.

In the meantime, he will ask the towns insurance consultant to advise officials on whether, in fact, insurance rates would increase if the siren is silenced.
Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether 

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With her long black hair and bright red lipstick, Hser Ku Htoo (pronounced Suh-Koo-Too) looks like a model. She dreams of becoming a fashion designer, and she already has designed a wardrobe of tight skirts and bright dresses that make her look like she stepped out of the pages of Vogue.

A woman that knows her worth doesnt measure herself against another woman, but stands strong, calm and self-confident, she wrote on her Facebook page in April.

That attitude and hard work carried her past a lot of hard times.

Hser Ku Htoo and her family fled Burma when she was 8 after the Burmese army, at war with Karen ethnic rebels, burned their village. She remembers her father and a friend carrying her mother, sick with uterine cancer, on a stretcher from their farmhouse to a refugee camp in Thailand miles away.

There, Hser Ku Htoo watched her mother die. She grieved for what seemed like forever, even after the family left for Buffalo when she was 12.

Shy and scared, Hser Ku Htoo enrolled in the sixth grade at Buffalos School 6. She did not understand a word her teacher said.

Every day when I would go home, I would just always cry, she recalled.

But she was determined to learn English. She started, as many refugees do, by watching TV. She watched Clifford the Big Red Dog and other cartoons for an hour or two a day, listening and learning the language.

She still struggled at Riverside High School, which was filled with young refugees like her who spoke their native Karen language. Knowing that wasnt helping, she transferred to the Math Science Technology Preparatory School, where she knew there would be fewer Karen refugees.

I never would have learned English so well if I had stayed at Riverside, she said.

Her dad  a skinny, sweet-faced refugee named Too Plae  encouraged her every step of the way. And she summoned the strength to ignore the bullies who mocked her for being Chinese.

By the spring of last year, she graduated from high school. Her hardest lessons were yet to come.

Hser Ku Htoo enrolled at SUNY Buffalo State to study fashion. But she struggled to keep up.

I dont really want to give up, she said last spring. I want to succeed. But its really, really hard.
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In a report titled Beyond 2016 Elections, Energy Sector Priorities, ACEP warned the return in April 2017 of the much dreaded electricity crisis, popularly known as dumsor.

According to ACEP, dumsors comeback will be as a result of the inadequacy of fuel to power Ghanas generation plants.

"Fuel supply has become more challenging as thermal generation will continue to dominate the sector, the report said.

The power sector is regularly saddled with fuel shortages, especially gas, as the country struggles in order to pay its debts.

However, John Jinapor, the deputy minister of power has downplayed the report retorting that the country has made significant preparations for future deficit.
According to the report, 6,397 people are living with the disease with 3,886 persons, only about a half of the infected numbers, said to be on antiretroviral therapy.

The development follows earlier claims by the regional directorate that the HIV prevalence rate has dropped in the region with antiretroviral treatment clinics established in all thirteen municipalities and districts.

Speaking at the regional commemoration of the World AIDS Day at Navrongo, the regional director of health, Dr. Kofi Issah said the Upper East region has continued to register a consistent decline in HIV prevalence rate from 2.1% in 2012 to 1.5% in 2015. The proportion of HIV-positive pregnant women put on antiretroviral treatment increased from 35.1% in 2013 to 94.9% in 2015. There has been reduction in HIV infection vertical transmission among babies from 7.3% in 2012 to 5.7% in 2015.

He said in spite of the positive consistent reduction in HIV prevalence our region has recorded over the past three years, there is a cause to worry as the situation is on the reverse in Navrongo where records show a consistent increase in prevalence rate in the past three years- 1.2% in 2013, 1.6% in 2014 and 1.8% in 2015.

He also feared that the limited number of midwives in the region could increase the risk of babies contracting the disease.

The region is faced with limited midwives who play [a] pivotal role in the comprehensive prevention from mother to child transmission and general HIV testing intervention services. This situation has the tendency to compromise the delivery of quality services since the limited midwives are overwhelmed with work as they run both static and outreach services. Due to dwindling financial support, our quest to build the staff capacity to offer the service is affected, Dr. Issah pointed out.

He added: The number of midwives and community health nurses trained on comprehensive HIV testing services is far below the target of at least 2 per facility. Stigma and discrimination exhibited towards people living with HIV from the society, poor family support for affected persons and lack of NGOs and philanthropists in the region to support in the HIV fight are also a cause for worry. Coupled with this is transportation constraint. Motorbikes and cars to facilitate outreach services and antiretroviral delivery to lower-level facilities are also not readily available- which has become a major bottleneck in all service delivery facilities.

The Ghana AIDS Commission who was also present at the event called on the people to go for voluntary HIV testing, breast cancer screening and blood pressure measurement.

It also announced that it will not relent on punishing individuals who inflicted any form of stigma or discrimination on people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Upper East Regional Technical Coordinator of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Gifty Apiung Aninanya said the HIV-related sanctions are backed by a new Act.
Indeed, in modern music, a sampling of beats - that is, using a part of someone elses beat for your own  is allowed only if permission is sought and clearance acquired from the owner of the original beat. But when a producer samples wholly and presents it as his original work without proper credit, not only is it completely unacceptable, it is illegal as well.

This is plagiarism, and this is exactly what happened with Sarkodies recently released Hip-hop jam Trumpet. The 9-minute song, which features new school rappers TeePhlow, Medikal, Strongman, Koo Ntakra, Donzy and Pappy Kojo was accompanied on its release by a fine music video directed by industry wiz kid Prince Dovlo.

But sadly, the songs exquisiteness has been ruined by the copyright infringement that underpins its production. This issue was raised by a Facebook user today. The rapper was quick to identify the source of the original beat, subsequently tagging a few industry players in his post to deal with the issue.

The Trumpet beat was originally produced by American beat maker SuperStar O  an engineer who has worked with superstars such as Ray J, Wiz Khalifa, T-Pain, Jim Jones. The original beat is titled "My Destiny", a Dirty South Anthem type beat which has SuperStar Os signature embossed on it.

But on Sarkodies version, which was mixed by Fortune Dane, the beat was totally ripped, with SuperStar Os signature being replaced by that of UK-based Ghanaian producer Def Clef. Disappointingly, the bar, melody, snare, and the progression sound exactly the same.

Listen to the original beat My Destiny here.

And listen to SarkodiesTrumpet here.

Notice the difference? There seems to be none.

In order to get an insight into the copyrights law binding the arts industry, we contacted multiple award-winning producer Appietus.

Even if SuperStar O had sold his beat, it still couldnt have been presented as an original work by a fellow producer who bought it, says Appietus. Even when a beat is sold, he adds, the producer is still entitled to royalties when the beat goes on to earn money. Basically, the original producer of a beat will always own the beat one way or the other because it is his intellectual property.

Basically, you cannot buy an intellectual property  its impossible. Intellectual property has to do with someones creativity so it cant be bought  it can only be recreated or sampled, he said.

To make it clearer, Appietus continued, if I use the recipe of Coca-Cola and sell in a different bottle, I will be arrested. Also, I cannot make my own drink and sell in their bottles and call it Coca-Cola. The act is against copyright.

He further stated that when sampling. Copyright laws dictate that only 4 bars can be sampled and looped but not the entire song. Also, the rules of sampling demand that credit be given to the original producer but on Trumpet, the beat was completely lifted and SuperStar Os signature was replaced by Fortune Danes.

Pulse.com.ghschecks reveal that Def Clef sent the beat to Sarkodie, who greenlit it oblivious of the fact that it wasnt original, going on to forward it to Fortune Dane for mixing.
A week after conceding defeat, Jammeh on Friday declared he no longer accepted the results of the December 1 vote, upending hopes for a peaceful political transition after his 22 years in power.

In a speech broadcast late Friday, Jammeh, 51, cited "unacceptable errors" by election authorities and called for new polls.

"In the same way that I accepted the results faithfully believing that the Independent Electoral Commission was independent and honest and reliable, I hereby reject the results in totality," he said.

"Let me repeat: I will not accept the results based on what has happened," he added.

Jammeh pointed to that polling error, claiming that numerous voters had not been able to cast their ballots.

"We will go back to the polls because I want to make sure every Gambian votes under an electoral commission that is impartial, independent, neutral and free from foreign influence," he said.
President Jammeh conceded defeat earlier in December when he lost the elections to opposition leader Adama Barrow. However, on December 9, 2016 he announced that he had changed his mind.

He annulled the results and called for fresh elections; which has led to outcry from the opposition and international world.

READ ALSO: NPP paraphernalia set Makola Market ablaze

The regional body, ECOWAS has since then sent the presidents of the four English speaking West African countries (led by Liberia's Ellen Sirleaf) to mediate Jammehs exit.
It is rather unfortunate that after a national exercise of this nature of an election when one party wins, then supporters of one party will say that our government is in power so they have to be indisciplined. I think that both our president and the president-elect have all addressed this issue that nobody should take the law into his hands and nobody should use the outcome of this election as a means to undermine our national development, he told Accra-based Class FM.
At a formal ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, Guterres was sworn in by Peter Thomson, the president of the 71st Assembly of the United Nations.

At the swearing-in ceremony, he said; "

"

Guterres, however, formally takes over from South Koreas Ban Ki-moon in January 1, 2017 as the ninth leader of the club of sovereign nations. He beat five other candidates, including Helen Clark (former Prime Minister of New Zealand) and Irina Bokova (the director-general of the UNs cultural and scientific organisation, UNESCO) in the rigorous selection process.

Guterres was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and is the former head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Mr Anthony Nukpenu argues that the founders absence from the campaign seriously affected the partys chances at the polls.

Nana Addo of the New Patriotic Party polled 5, 716,026 million votes representing 53.85 % to beat the incumbent president John Dramani Mahama who had 4, 713,277 million votes representing 44.40 %.

Many have already indicated that the absence of Mr Rawlings in the NDCs campaign shows the level of disagreement between him and leaders of the party.

Minister for Communications, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah had claimed in August this year that President Mahama does not need the endorsement of former President Jerry John Rawlings to win the December 7 elections.

READ ALSO: Election 2016

But the NDC Greater Accra Regional Organiser Anthony Nukpenu has stressed that Mr Rawlings could have increased the votes of the NDC, particularly, in the Volta region.

He [Rawlings] deliberately worked against the party in so many ways to undermine the integrity of the NDC and its flagbearer to make sure we were defeated at the polls," he told Accra-based Adom FM.
Deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Commission Yusif Ayuba explained that they realised they needed to provide more than one BVD at every polling station to help make the process a smooth one.

In 2012 we had never used it so that was the first time we were deploying such a device on a very wide scale and it was also only one per polling station so if it developed a problem getting one to replace it was difficult.

So we had enough backups this time and after 2012 we used it in the district level elections, we also used it in all our by-elections so we knew how it will work and the problems associated with it.

He also mentioned that the efficiency of the scanner which was used was enhanced making it easy to read the fingers of electorates.

Many Ghanaians had earlier expressed fear of a poor electoral process using the BVDs. This was because of all the issues that came with the use of BVDs in the 2012 election. In 2012 one needed to only be verified by the BVD before you are allowed to vote.
He said Kofi Adams must be blamed and punished for the NDCs defeat in the just ended elections.

Speaking on Kumasi-based Abusua FM Ponko, said the incompetence of the camoaign team played a key role in their defeat.

I laughed it off when I heard Kofi Adams saying he should be blamed for our defeat, he should stop irritating our ears; why should he accept the blame, why did he accept to be the National Campaign Coordinator when he knew that he was going to fail us? I mean why it is an unforgivable sin. Andy Okrah and Kofi Adams need to be hanged for our defeat. They should have humbly rejected the offers when they were appointed. They have no excuse to give.

He said the campaign team has handed them a serious blow which they least expected.

READ ALSO: NDC Director of elections killed in road accident

"This defeat is a serious blow to us, we are now going to feel the impact of our loss, our supporters are being vilified, killed, beaten everyday by New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters, watch the space, the harassment will be worst after the President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is sworn in office," he lamented.
The country, since 1992 has had presidents with the name John, leading some Ghanaians to doubt whether presidential candidates without such a name can emerge as a winner. However, President John Mahama's loss ended the reign of Johns in Ghanaian politics.

Former president Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufour, late John Evans Atta Mills as well as incumbent John Dramani Mahama are all names of presidents with "John" who has ruled the country for the past 24 years on the tickets of the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party.

However, as of Friday evening, the Johns are out, with Nana Akuffo Addo, 72, named the president-elect of Ghana.

Here is the history of Johns leading Ghana.

The Junior Officers and the ranks set Rawlings free from prison, and installed him as head of the new government - the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).The AFRC handed over power to Dr. Hilla Limann who won the popular vote in the election to establish the Third Republic. Less than two years later, Dr. Limann's civilian and constitutional government was overthrown again by Jerry Rawlings on December 31, 1981. He then installed the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime.

After two terms in office, barred by the constitution from standing in any election, he anointed his vice-president John Atta-Mills as his choice to replace him as President. Ghanaians rejected his choice in the 2000 election by voting for the opposition NPP's candidate, John Kufuor. He was on the field working, brought about equality, the prices of commodities became lower than before, there was discipline, there was accountability and there was peace.

Kufuor has proven to be a good diplomat, and the West African nation has seen a period of peace since his election. Ghana has managed to improve its economy as well, and much of the improvement seems due to Kufuor's policies, which have been applauded by many leaders around the world. Kufuor spent a long time in business before he returned to politics. It was not until 1992 that he ran for the office of chairman for the New Patriotic Party.

Kufuor was indeed elected president in 2000.

These include: Taxation of Periodical or Deferred Payments arising from the Sale of Fixed Capital (1974), Exemption of Dividends from Income taxation: A critical Appraisal (1977), Report of the Tax Review Commission, Ghana, parts 1,2&3, (1977) and Ghana's Income Tax laws and the Investor. (An inter-faculty lecture published by the University of Ghana).

He revealed and demonstrated God to leaders all over the world. He spoke about the father of all nations, the better Ghana Agenda and was finally named ASOMDWEHENE.

More here: Five incumbent presidents who conceded defeat in Africa

He is the first vice president to have ascended to the presidency due to the death of his predecessor. He was elected to serve his first full term as President in the December 2012 election. He ran for re-election to a second full term in the 2016 election, but was defeated in the first round by NPP candidate Nana Addo, who he had defeated four years before.

This makes him the first president in the history of Ghana to not have won a second term. A communication expert, historian, and writer, Mahama was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2009 and Minister of Communications from 1998 to 2001.
This was revealed after the paper together with the online publication, The Intercept, sifted through the revelations of Edward Snowden, a former intelligence officer of the United States National Intelligence Agency.

According to the revelations, the British wiretapped (listened) Mr Kufour and his colleagues phones.

The revelations were overshadowed by media coverage of Ghanas general elections which saw Mr Kufours Foreign Minister emerging as the winner with over 53 percent of the votes.

Ghanas presidency was not the only victim of British espionage according to Le Monde, as many other allies and former leaders of former colonies were also surveillance.

Other African leaders that were also spied on included Nigerias former presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru YarAdua; Kenyas Mwai Kibaki, Sierra Leones current president Ernest Koroma and Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than a dozen African presidents and diplomats were also revealed to have been spied on.
A week after conceding defeat, Jammeh on Friday declared he no longer accepted the results of the December 1 vote, upending hopes for a peaceful political transition after his 22 years in power.

President Mahama is part of a delegation headed by the chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Liberian leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Sierra Leonian President Ernest Bai Koroma.

Read more: Five incumbent presidents who conceded defeat in Africa

The President tweeted confirming his arrival. He said, "In Banjul, with other colleague Heads of State from the subregion, to help mediate post election issues in The Gambia."

See also: Mahama off to Gambia for Jammeh mediation talks

Jammeh, who came to power in 1994 as a 29-year-old army officer following a military coup, had won four previous polls. Barrow received 263,515 votes while Jammeh won 212,099, Alieu Momarr Njai, the electoral commission head, said in the capital Banjul.

He declared Gambia an Islamic Republic last year.

Eight opposition parties united behind Barrow and the election campaign period featured large opposition rallies and unprecedented expressions of frustration with Jammeh's rule.

The UN Security Council demanded that Gambia's leader Yahya Jammeh hand over power.
A statement issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid tribute to Ghana's democratic tradition as well as the outgoing President John Mahama.

It assured of continued support to Nana Addo and that Ghana can count on France as an active and committed partner for the countrys economic and social development.

The statement added that France hopes to expand its partnership with Ghana under Akufo-Addo's leadership.

Below is the full statement:

Ghana  Election of Nana Akufo-Addo as President of the Republic  Statement by the Ministry spokesperson (December 10, 2016)

France warmly congratulates Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo on his election as President of the Republic of Ghana.

Read also: Five incumbent presidents who conceded defeat in Africa
The model, who was attending Lagos Fashion Awards at Bespoke Centre in Lekki when the incident happened, was robbed of his brand new Louboutin shoes valued at about N40,000, clothes, a phone, his wallet, wristwatches and other valuables.

He took to Instagram on December 11, 2016, writing, "Brethren, Pls be very careful with where you park your cars. This happened to me last night while i was attending the LAGOS FASHION AWARDS at the BESPOKE CENTRE in lekki Lagos.

I parked my car just opposite the HOUSE ON THE ROCK CHURCH. They smashed the rear window of my car and took away a lot of valuables. As a matter of fact, they stole my bag containing clothes, shoes, a phone, my wallet, wrist watches, accessories, perfumes and so many other valuables. They even stole my brand new Louboutin shoes that I just picked up.

All the same, I still thank God cos it could have easily been worse.

I'm putting up this post to alert and remind you to be mindful and careful in other to avoid situations like this.

May God continue to guide and protect us in our everyday lives.

Anyways, Am off to Benin for #UtiLeadsTheStars with @siruti

If you are in Benin, Pls come through. Let's show some love to the less privileged.
1. Psquare

And then musical duo Psquare threatened fans with a breakup. The pop group had its biggest challenge when Peter Okoye said he wanted out of the group because of manager Jude Okoye.

This new info saw fans crying their eyes out so that the group wont split. After much pressure Peter, Paul and Jude Okoye agreed to stop attacking each other publicly.

2. Tiwa Savage and Tee Billz

On April 28, 2016, Tee Billz blasted his wife Tiwa Savage on his Instagram page and accused her of sleeping with her label mates Dr. Sid, Don Jazzy and Nigerian pop legend 2face Idibia.

A day later Pulse exclusively obtained a Tiwa Savage interview where she spoke explicitly about her damaged marriage with Tee Billz.

3. Toyin Aimakhu and Seun Egbegbe

Toyin Aimakhu and Seun Egbegbe get featured again.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
Punch reports that the incident happened at the familys home at the Magodo Phase 2 GRA in the state after the suspect killed his father and injured his mother identified as Adijat, following an argument.

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the incident, said Babalola who was recently deported from the UK following his addiction, fled the scene of the crime and has remained elusive.

The mother, it was gathered, had been in a coma since the attack on Sunday, December 5, 2016, and was receiving treatment in a general hospital in the state.

It was learned that Babalola who is popularly called Junior, had been living with his parents on Ibitayo Street, Magodo, after returning from the UK.

The parents had reportedly got him an apartment in the Ketu, Ikosi area, where he relocated to but a day to the incident, he had reportedly paid a visit to his parents and stayed over till Sunday when he committed the dastardly act.

A security guard on the estate explained that Junior fled after he had killed his father and left his mother for dead.

Most of the security guards on the estate were not around and many residents had gone to church. By the time we returned, we heard a noise from the womans room as she cried out for help.

We rushed there and met her in a pool of blood. She had been stabbed in the cheek and even in the eye area. There was a lot of blood in the house. We took her to the emergency centre in the Ojota area.

A family source added that the runaway suspect had arrived in the house on Saturday.

The man just returned from the United Kingdom and we observed that he was always alone. He was living with his parents until recently when they got him an apartment in Ikosi, Ketu.

But on Saturday, he came to pay them a visit and he slept over. He had an argument with the father that morning and he stabbed him to death. When the mother tried to intervene, he also stabbed her.
This happened after the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ado Ekiti hired the deceased, Akinola Emmanuel, to take him to a village in the state.

He reportedly murdered Emmanuel in a bush before absconding with the vehicle.

Calls for justice have been sounded by residents of Ajowa Akoko community of Ekiti, who demanded that the suspect be made to face the consequences of his crime.

One of the agitators of this demand named Emmanuel said:

"He (suspect) must not be spared.

This notorious murderer, who terminated the promising life of Akinola should be brought to book by the power of the law of the land.

He (suspect) is now in the custody of the police. The world is waiting for the police not to be smeared by injustice, the power of money and influence.

"The world should hear about this nefarious, wicked, merciless and man to man calculated cruelty meant on this innocent boy. This young boy must not die in vain. His killer must be brought to book.

ALSO READ: NSCDC rescue pregnant teenager who attempted suicide

Femi Joseph, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Command revealed that the police are awaiting reports from the Ekiti State Command of the NSCDC.
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!
This occurred on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 in Otukpo, Benue State, according to the Daily Post News.

The incident had every complexion of wrong timing as it was gathered that Adakole was preparing to have his wedding on December 28, 2016.

He reportedly invested a sum of N300,000 into the scheme with the hope of getting a thirty percent return before the big occasion.

ALSO READ: Fear grips millions of Nigerians as Ponzi scheme freezes

According to the Daily Post, a source close to the man said:

Kole is my childhood friend, we all grew up in Ugbokolo but when he traveled to Abuja to meet with the pastor of his fiancee, he said someone introduced him into the MMM thing but I and his babe warned him but he told us the scheme was not a scam.

He invested the 300k he was saving for his wedding into the thing and was expecting to get the 30 per cent before his wedding on 28 of this month.

This early morning, he called me to check the internet if the story of the alleged crashed of the scheme was true, I told him so I heard and he screamed and hung up.

When I heard him, I knew it was no longer funny, so I had to rush to his house around Sabon Gari to discover that he had taken Raid insecticide. I had to call the fiancee to inform her.

I had to take him to the clinic where he is currently battling for his life. The babe is already on her way from Abuja."

On Twitter, the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have joined in the trolling of many Nigerians who naively invested funds into the MMM scheme.
According to Daily Post, El-Rufai revealed that it has received its share of the Paris Club refund from the Federal Government.

The Governor said the refund will be used to pay the backlog of pension, gratuity and death benefits of retired and dead civil servants in Kaduna state.

Reports say the Kaduna state House of Assembly also made history by being the first legislature to pass the 2017 budget.

Shedding more light on the N214b budget, El-Rufai said he will continue projects aimed at helping the poor in the state.

He also added that the 2017 budget puts the needs and interests of our people first. In 2017, Kaduna State will spend N44.84bn on Education; N10.49bn on Health; N24.50bn on Infrastructure and N8.1bn on Water. Agriculture, one of our areas of comparative advantage, will get N4.58b.

The Governor also said I wish to inform our legislators that we shall be submitting a Supplementary Budget to enable us capture the debt refunds we have just received from the Federal Government. Fifty-five percent of these funds belong to the state government, and the balance is for the local governments.

We propose to apply 50% of the funds to settling the inherited arrears of gratuity and death benefits for state and local government workers. Some of these unpaid arrears date from as far back as 2010.

Mr. Dan Ndackson, the Executive Secretary of the Bureau of Pension, has done a great job of sorting out these records and we will be ready to pay once the supplementary budget is passed.

This is unprecedented, but we are happy to clear the problems created by those before us. The balance of the funds will be dedicated to rural and urban roads.

El-Rufai also commended the Kaduna state House of Assembly for not padding the budget.

He said Our legislators actually reduced the draft estimates we presented by N1bn when the temptation might have been to pad it. We welcome their commitment to a partnership in the interest of our people, and the hard work they have demonstrated in passing 20 laws in 19 months.

The B+ Fitch Ratings Kaduna State recently got owes a lot to the policy and legal framework created by legislation such as the Tax Codification, Public Procurement, Fiscal Responsibility and Public Finance Management laws.
Umar told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Dutse that the special salary structure would be called the Consolidated Magistrates Salary Structure (CONMGSS).

According to him, the proposal will soon be submitted to both the national and state houses of assembly.

He stressed the need to adequately remunerate magistrates in line with the duties they perform.

The president appealed to the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, to assist in ensuring provision of conducive working environment for magistrates.

Umar lamented a situation where magistrates live in rented houses, adding that they are expected to live in secluded areas with necessary conveniences.

The president urged the CJN to review the 2014 Revised National Judicial Council Guideline and Procedural Rules for appointment of officers of superior courts, which allows the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to recommend its members.

He complained that the guideline did not extend the same opportunity to the Magistrate Association of Nigeria to recommend its members in the same manner.

He urged the CJN to address the issue so that magistrates too can be appointed to the higher bench as a means of encouraging hard work at the lower bench.
The group made the comments via a statement released by spokesman, Emma Powerful.

The statement reads in part:

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, worldwide and its leadership condemn those opposed to this new found courage of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. The opposers are all evil men whose intent is to perpetuate the master-slave relationship between Abuja and Enugu.

People like Chris Ngige and other political jobbers feeding off the crumbs from the masters table should be ashamed of themselves and should know that the day of reckoning is fast approaching.

Anybody or group of persons against the new found courage of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in supporting the quest for freedom for all must examine his or her conscience before offering an opinion.

Nevertheless, we, IPOB members, have gone beyond the rent-boy era of politics in Igbo-speaking part of Biafra; that is something these no hopers should know. This is the time to embolden the few good men left in Igboland not to pander to the interest of political vultures, who have brought nothing tangible to the emancipation discourse championed by our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB members worldwide.

Our goal remains the attainment of absolute freedom indeed, not just in mere words for all oppressed peoples of Biafra and beyond. We also commend the Ohanaeze leadership for demonstrating the leadership charisma for once throughout their period in office as executive in Igboland.

As long as the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other groups and social cultural organizations in Biafra land remain on the side of the truth without fear or favour, IPOB and its leadership will continue to support every of their initiatives aimed at liberating, emancipating or promotion of our people.
Not to bore with the dark history of MMM, but basic knowledge says participants will receive 30% of their initial investments, registration and referral bonus. How nice!

What is more surprising is the fact that most Nigerians have turned deaf ears to the warning on the website. The MMM Nigeria is even more popular than Facebook in Nigeria.

With several testimonials from participants, some critics have joined the bandwagon. The scheme currently has about three million participants (and still counting) in Nigeria.

With growing rate of unemployment, retrenchments, lack of enabling environment for small-scale businesses to thrive, most Nigerians have turned to Ponzi schemes such as MMM, Ultimate Cycler, iCharity etc.

"Before now, I said I will never do MMM but when my friend did with N250,000 and got N340,000 after 30days, I changed my mind," said 43-year-old teacher,Chidera Anyawu.

She continued: "Which bank will give you N90,000 interest? The banks cannot even pay their workers. See, MMM has helped me pay my children's' school fees, my house rent and we now eat very well unlike before. MMM is the change we have always prayed for; the change this APC government promised but they won't deliver even till 2019. You better come so that I can register you," she told in Abuja.

So far, the federal government's basic concern is how to investigate and shut down the operations of MMM and other similar Ponzi schemes in Nigeria. But this has failed to yield the desired result.

While the federal government may just be trying to protect her citizens from what most Nigerians have described as an "impending doom", others have described these actions as indirect ways of encouraging Nigerians to participate in these schemes.

Ayodele Philips, an accountant said: "These negative news the federal government, it's arms and agencies have been churning out has helped MMM and other Ponzi schemes grow. Truth is, more people joined MMM after FG drew the attention of the public to it; my colleagues at the bank would encourage customers to register under him.

"Secondly, how would the federal government ask people to stop participating in MMM, Ultimate cycler etc without creating jobs? My colleagues were sacked for obvious reasons like the (TSA).

"For the first time in decades, people are stealing from the fire, children are reportedly been exchanged for bags of rice. I only see it as the case of a pot calling a kettle black," he said.

A live poll on shows that most Nigerians have totally lost confidence in the federal government with more people supporting popular Ponzi scheme, MMM.

A civil servant who spoke on the condition of anonymity said he invests 70% of his salary every month.

"Life is a risk. As a civil servant, my salary cannot cater for the needs of my family. So, I invest 70% of my monthly income and spend the bonus. That is the only way I can pay the fees of my two sons in the university," he added.

The federal government needs to get her acts together - create jobs, make policies and provide an enabling environment for small and medium scale businesses to thrive or else, more and more Nigerians will keep signing up to these Ponzi schemes.
The groups also described the Dame Jonathans probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as politically motivated.

They also called on President Buhari to order the anti-graft agency to stop persecuting the former first lady.

According to Punch, the spokesman of the groups, Ali Abatcha said "Statistics are there that nobody persecuted Dr. Mrs Victoria Azikiwe, Hajiya Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Mrs. Aguiyi Ironsi, Mrs Victoria Yakubu Gowon, Mrs Murtala Mohammed, Mrs. Olusegun Obasanjo, Hajia Shehu Shagari, Hajiya Muhammadu Buhari of Blessed Memory, Mrs. Maryam Babangida of Blessed memory, Mrs. Ernest Shonekan, Mrs. Mariam Abacha, Hon. Justice Mrs. Fati Abubakar, Late Mrs. Stella Obasanjo and Hajiya Turai YarAdua.

None of these First Ladies or their husbands were ever investigated, harassed, embarrassed, and persecuted by their husbands successor governments in the unfortunate manner that we are witnessing today by the EFCC under the current administration.

It is against this background that we, as concerned Nigerians, call on President Buhari to quickly intervene and halt this unnecessary persecution of Jonathan through his wife by the EFCC.

Mr. President should quickly direct the immediate unblocking and de-freezing of all personal accounts of Mrs. Jonathan from No withdrawal status they have been placed by EFCC.

The groups include: Coalition of Democracy, Centre for Policy Advocacy, Civil Society Group for Leadership, Northern Socio-cultural Initiative, Civil Society for Good Government, Northern Patriotic Forum, Women Arise Organisation, Association for Unity and Progress, Better Foundation for Humanity, National Committee of Patriots, Movement for National Unity and Zikaratu NGO for Better Nigeria.

South East Peoples Assembly, South East Development Initiative, South-East South-South Coalition, Nigeria Renaissance Group, New Nigeria Initiative, Odua Youths Convention, South West Forum for Change, Progressive Market Women of Nigeria, Patriots for Democracy and Nigeria Without Borders Organisation.
THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Vervelde becomes Forte Oil non-executive director

Forte oil plc has announced the appointment of. Nicolaas Vervelde as an independent non-executive director of the company.

Senate cuts down Presidents control of Nigeria Police Force

Nigerias Senate is stepping up efforts at saving democracy from executive abuse. It plans to amend the Constitution to decentralise the police force, whittle down the powers of the President over commissioners of police by giving state governors the power of the last command.

Wike, others foil alleged plot to stop declaration of results

Governor Nyesom Wike and hundreds of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members yesterday resisted alleged attempt by security agencies to prevent the declaration of George Sekibo as the winner of the Rivers East senatorial election.

VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Budget 2017 gets boost as oil price hits $58

Nigerias hope of returning to economic recovery brightened, yesterday, as crude oil price hits an 18-month high of $58 per barrel.

Death in NYSC Camp: My daughter nursed no ailment  Father of deceased

Mr. Olawale Oladepo, a retired Sanitary Inspector and the father of late Ifedolapo Oladepo, a youth corps member, who died in Kano while undergoing orientation at the National Youth Service Camp, NYSC camp, insisted that the untimely death of his daughter was allegedly caused by negligence of the NYSC.

Rivers rerun: PDP, APC dispute polls result

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, released more results of the three senatorial, eight House of Representatives and 10 state House of Assembly re-run elections held in Rivers State.

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Rivers: PDP wins two seats

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the rerun election in Rivers East Senatorial District and Rivers West.

Buhari, Mahama, others for Gambia to tell Jammeh: go

President Muhammadu Buhari is visiting The Gambia today.

12-man EFCC, NEITI panel to find NNPCs missing $12.9b

Investigators are battling to locate a $12.9 billion payment to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

Police begin manhunt for killers, who beheaded DSP, orderly

The Rivers State Police Command said on Monday it had begun a manhunt for the killers of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Alkali Mohammed, and his orderly, both of the Mobile Police, Unit 48.

We contested against Army, INEC, FG, APC in Rivers rerun  PDP

The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples Democratic Party has declared Saturdays rerun elections in Rivers State as a rape of democracy.

Troops may leave NEast in 2017, says Buratai
President Muhammadu Buhari, while campaigning, promised among many other things, to rid the country of corruption and expose financial atrocities in government.

In a statement that seemed to warn crooked politicians, during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2015, Buhari said I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions.

True to his word, the man sent by God, in the words of Fr. Ejike Mbaka, armed with his customised APC broom, embarked on a thorough cleansing of many government rooms.

The startling revelations and mind boggling sums of money either discovered or reportedly stolen has left most Nigerians in shock.

Here are some of the corruption stories that made headlines in 2016, in no particular order.

1. Diezani Alison Madueke:

In what could arguably be the mother of all headlines, the former minister of petroleum constantly graced Pulse Nigerias frontpage with heavy captions, bearing the weight of the whopping sums of money she and her associates allegedly stole.

Some Nigerians who could not stomach the amount of money which she reportedly stole, even called her a Jezebel.

The former minister of petroleum was alleged to have looted over $20b, which was part of the proceeds from Nigerias main income generator, crude oil.

2.Patrick Akpobolokemi:

The former boss of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) also made his mark as one of the most reported former government officials who stole money.

Akpobolokemi reportedly looted over N12b from NIMASA, using various companies to perfect his trade or practice if you like.

3. Sambo Dasuki:

The news that funds meant for the purchase of arms for the Army to prosecute the war against Boko Haram was allegedly misappropriated, was heart rending, because of the number of soldiers that died as a result of poor military equipment.

The former National Security Adviser (NSA) was said to have diverted and supervised the disbursement of over $2.1b to various individuals and also sponsor GEJs second term bid.

4. Olisa Metuh:

The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman could not find his voice anymore, after it was revealed that he allegedly got N400m from the Dasuki loot.

Metuh, according to reports said the money was given to him by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as payment for a job he did.

5. Musiliu Obanikoro:

Reports have it that the former minister of state for defence ate part of Dasukis forbidden fruit.

Obanikoro reportedly got N4.7b which he claimed to have shared amongst some individuals notably, the Governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose and serving Senator, Iyiola Omisore.

The former minister has also returned over N100m to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of his plea deal.

6. Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko:

This civil servant reportedly dikkoed N40b from the coffers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

News of his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was another shocker.

The former NCS boss however returned N1b to the Federal Government and is on bail.

7. Alex Badeh:

Hmmmmm! The former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) bought a N320m house for his 28 year-old son and another N260m for his first son in the highbrow area of Wuse in Abuja.

The houses are just part of the many properties Badeh used the over N800m which he siphoned from the military coffers, to purchase.

The former CDS also used his church mind to forfeit $1m to the Federal Government so it doesnt look like he is too greedy.

8. Femi Fani-Kayode:

The former minister of aviation was arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside a former minister of state for finance, Senator Nenadi Usman over an alleged N1.5b fraud.

The anti-graft agency later filed a fresh charge against FFK bordering on another fraud amounting to N4.7b.

The former minister, who was the spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign organisation, allegedly collected money from Dasuki for GEJs re-election bid.

9. Patience Jonathan:

Nigerians really agreed that there is God oh when news emerged that the former first lady claimed ownership of five Skye Bank accounts with billions of Naira in them.

She even went to court to order the EFCC to un-freeze the bank accounts, adding that it was a violation of her fundamental human rights. Seriously?

On further investigation, it was also discovered that Mrs. Jonathan had several properties worth billions of Naira in choice locations across Nigeria.

10. Raymond Dokpesi:

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also picked up the Chairman of Africa Independent Television (AIT) for partaking in Dasukis juicy loot.

According to reports, N2.1b was paid to Dokpesi by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the orders of the former National Security Adviser (NSA).

11. Supreme Court Judges:

This year will not forgive anyone who refuses to mention the massive outcry that followed the mid-night raid carried out by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the homes of some alleged corrupt judges.

Some of the senior judicial officers were accused of fraud and professional misconduct.

Also, several sums of money in different foreign currencies were reportedly recovered from the homes of the judges.

It has been an eventful 2016, and Nigerians are looking forward to seeing the Federal Government actually convict someone for stealing government money.

Enough of the media trials and mentioning of mind boggling sums of money.
Mohammed was reportedly beheaded by unknown assailants who ambushed his team during the election.

The group also blamed politicians for spilling the blood of innocent Nigerians, adding that they have turned politics into war.

According to Daily Post, the groups spokesman, Usman Abubakar also called on the Federal Government to bring Mohammeds killers to book.

Abubakar also issued a statement saying Our attention has been drawn to the reports of violence in some areas of Rivers state during the election rerun on Saturday the 10th of November, 2016 which the Nigerian army in its official report stated that a police officer, DSP Alkali Mohammed was beheaded during the election.

This sadistic act is alien to democracy in any part of the world where a police officer will be killed mercilessly. Nigeria as the most populous black race on earth ought not to be known for such barbaric acts where law enforcement officers will be murdered in cold blood.

Adding that Elections in Nigeria has become a matter of war. This is because of the politicians who forcefully foist themselves against the wishes of the electorates. It is sad that in forcefully foisting and imposing themselves on the people, innocent people who are carrying out their diligent service to the nation become the victims of such heinous acts.

We condemn these horrendous acts, display and demonstrations by the politicians and urge them to desist from electoral violence, and the take it by force attitude in every election in Nigeria.

Politicians must not continue to spill the blood of innocent Nigerians just to attain powers and positions at all cost. We also to reiterate that all those that incited violence before the elections should be held responsible and must face the law no matter how highly placed in position or affiliated to the ruling party or in opposition party, because, they were also part of those that aggravated the tension and violence in the state during the elections which has led to the death of our law enforcers and rivers citizens.

The Nigerian Wailers, condemn the brutal and wicked killing of DSP Alkali Mohammed in strong terms. The act is not just wicked but regrettably sad. The act has sent sorrow to the family of the slain officer who was reported to be one of our best hands in the Nigerian police.

The Nigerian people must rise up and condemn this wicked act to forestall its reoccurrences because, the police are meant to secure and protect the people and should not be killed by hooligans and political thugs.
Odhiambo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, that the governments needed to go back to the basis by investing in agriculture.

The Maputo Declaration was launched in 2003 as a response to the stagnation of African agriculture.

The signatories to the declaration agreed that 10 per cent of public expenditure should be spent on agriculture in an effort to increase agricultural productivity.

He said that the continent needed to put its money where its mouth is.

African governments under Muputo Declaration agree that countries should invest at least 10 per cent of their budgets into agricultural sector.

On average, only three per cent of the budget goes into the agriculture. Today, only 13 countries out of over 40 Sub-Sahara countries have exceeded that 10 per cent.

From the policy point of view, we need to allocate more resources to agriculture sector.

In addition, the official urged the governments to invest in research and development.

He said they should also provide incentives for farmers to adopt new technologies, expand irrigation, intensify the use of fertiliser and improved seedlings.

A lot of farmers still use old farming practices, they dont have improved seeds, they dont use fertiliser and as a result of this; productivity is very low.

There is a disconnect; there is paradox between what we see as the number of people that are employed in the agricultural sector, the proportion which is around 70 per cent.

The sector contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is so low, almost 25 per cent.

So, we must bridge the gap between the level of employment in the sector and the rate of contribution of the sector to GDP.

This, he said, the continent should move towards high productive in the agriculture sector through the use of technology.

For example, the continent must take the advantage of current technology like Mobile telephony platforms.

How can we provide extension services.

It is just like people walking to go to the farm but also use mobile telephony platforms.
It's that time of the year when Pulse Movies recognizes actresses who gave us the year's best screen performances that thrilled us, made us laugh and presented interpretations that were emotionally, mentally and visually captivating.

From Bimbo Akintola to Somkele Idhalama, check out 10 best actors of 2016, in no particular order.

1. Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama as Ada in "93 Days" and Omawumi in "The Arbitration"

Somkele didn't just stroll into the Nigerian film industry. We remember her from "Gidi Up." It's 2016, and there has been no stopping for the actress who has featured in three 2016 big movies. The actress alongside OC Ukeje, were selected as the first ever TIFF International Rising Stars from the City to City spotlight programme.

Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama kicked off her 2016 cinematic experience with "Arbitration," where she thrilled viewers as the confident lawyer, Omawumi Horsfall.

She continued to exhibit her craft with her interpretation of the character Ada in "93 Days." Idhalama owns the character Ada with so much heart and soul in one performance.

Idhalama's performances in "93 Days" is an undeniable highlight of the year in Nollywood.

ALSO READ: undefined

2. Bimbo Akintola as Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh in "93 Days."

In what can be termed the best performance of the year, Akintola as the late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh in "93 Days" is captivating, charming and powerful.

Watching the actress as the late doctor of First Consultant Hospital, who prevented the spread of deadly Ebola virus disease in Nigeria, would remind every movie lover why she is a veteran, and a talented one.

You could watch "93 Days" on mute and still feel the emotions play out on Akintola's face as she delivers a powerful performance.

3. Sola Sobowale as Tinuade Coker in "The Wedding Party"

Sola Sobowale is most certainly the life of the movie and is at the top of her game playing the viewers favourite Tinuade Coker.

Nobody else could bring this much life to this character as she did. As a typical caring and protective Nigerian or particularly Yoruba mother, Sobowale nails the act.

Her performance is so authentic and awe-inspiring, it's easy to get drawn into the reality of her character in every conceivable way.

She uses her face to convey several emotions and messages. Sola Sobowale is the engine that keeps "The Wedding Party" running in its genre.

4. Ireti Doyle as Funlayo Johnson in "The Arbitration"

Doyle defined class and talent in the 2016 Niyi Akinmolayan movie, "The Arbitration."

Currently in her golden phase, Doyle plays Funlayo with incredible emotional depth, grace and quiet dignity worth applauding.

The actress featured in quite a number of movies this year, but none of them takes away how absolutely riveting she is in the well-made movie "The Arbitration."

5. Memry Savanhu as Eunicein "76"

The actress doesn't grab your attention with her dialogue, rather she mesmerizes with her mannerism. She introduces her mastery in acting with an outstanding interpretation of Eunice, Captain Dewa's neighbour whose hobby is without doubt, dancing.

Savanhu as Eunice is an absolute delight to watch. She is funny and charming. It feels like she is playing several characters, and it is impossible not to be attracted to them all.

ALSO READ: undefined

6. Rita Dominic as Suzy in "76"

Rita returns in a quietly impressive movie star performance in "76." She draws the viewers in with her emotional and flawless interpretation of the character Suzy.

Her performance in "76 has earned her an encore of the 2013/2014 awards season where she led nominations with her performance in "The Meeting."

7. Kehinde Bankole as Moji in "Beyond Blood"

Her portrayal of Moji, who after a series of uncontrollable events, decides to run away from her fears, is worth applauding.

Bankole effortlessly projects a tender and aggressive young woman set out to discover herself and overcome her fears.

The most beautiful thing about her performance is her ability to communicate so expressively with little more than a glance or a look.

ALSO READ: undefined

8. Adesua Etomi as Dara Olujobi in "The Arbitration"

Adesua Etomi as Dara Olujobi brings in the complete Etomi quotient to the film and acts her part very well. She is just as brilliant as the Etomi movie lovers are accustomed to.

She switches between emotional, confused, manipulative, strong and weak, and she switches just convincingly fine.

9. Nansy Isime as Carmen in "Gidi Blues"

Isime takes a supporting role in the Femi Odugbemi movie, and then she steals the whole film out from under the lead character.

Her character Carmen is one of the most beautiful, engaging part of the movie. She is charming, realistic and authentic as Carmen.

She impresses in her role, introducing an actor to watch out for in 2017.

ALSO READ: undefined

10. Ngozi Nwosu as Mama Tiwa in "Skinny Girl in Transit"

Comfortably in her zone as Mama Tiwa, Ngozi Nwosu delivers a flat-out killer comic performance in "Skinny Girl in Transit."
The faction made the accusation in a statement signed by Sheriffs faction National Deputy Chairman, Dr Cairo Ojougboh, on Monday in Abuja.

Ojougboh said that his attention has been drawn to an interview granted by Makarfi where he said that Sheriff was planning a one party state.

He said that Makarfi in the interview was also claiming victory in the party leadership tussle with a pending case at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt.

We thank God that the truth eventually is emerging. We have consistently told the world that the problem of PDP is Sen. Makarfi.

He pleaded with Sen. Sheriff that both should continue in office till 2017 and work together into the Convention.

Mr Chairman told him that he has legitimate mandate till 2017 while Makarfi has none, Ojougboh said.

He added that Sheriff proposed everything humanly possible to achieve peace including relinquishing his mandate but the people that are infested with impunity would not allow PDP to have peace.

He said that the Makarfi-faction National Publicity Secretary was quoted in a national daily when he announced that they would finish off Sheriff in the Court of Appeal.

It is very obvious from that statement that Adeyeye was quoting his masters who have assured them that they have secured judgment at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Ojogboh said that there is nothing Makarfi-led committee would not say or do to lay claim to the headship of PDP which they plan to annihilate.

It is interesting to note that the Board of Trustees of the Party has stated that the Party will not change name nor join a mega Party.

Makarfi and his illegal Caretaker Committee is free to form their Party. They should kindly exit the Party with their impunity and corruption.

He said that the Justice Ashis judgment that Makarfi was making reference to has nothing to do with Sheriff.

It is against the illegal Caretaker Committee and Makarfi.

If the Judgment is implemented, all State Governors and Members of NASS produced by the Party will vacate their respective Offices.

Cairo pleaded with Makarfi and his people to exit the PDP quietly to allow for repositioning of the party.

Responding to the statement, Adeyeye insisted that Sheriff and his group were agents of the All Progressives Congress.

He alleged that the Sheriff-led faction were paid agents to destabilize PDP.

It is evident that they are all profiting from the crisis.

We all are concerned about the massive rigging of the election in Rivers state by the APC. These agents of the devil are careless about that.

If they are true members of the party will they be gloating over the open robbery of our party in Edo, Ondo and now Rivers?

Their latest outburst no doubt must be at the prompting of their sponsors who want to use them to divert attention from the electoral heist in Rivers.
According to Adewale, whos the factional chairman of the Lagos PDP, the party has been split in two because of Atikus 2019 presidential ambition.

These agents are working towards the nomination Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as our presidential flag bearer in the 2019 general election, he said via a statement.

They have resorted to cheap blackmail as it is becoming obvious that the efforts of Ali Modu Sheriff at frustrating every attempt to impose a non-party member as our presidential nominee is beginning to gain the attention of well-meaning members.

If you x-ray recent activities in the party and comments of the Makarfi led illegal faction, its obvious who is working against the general interest of our party. Everything is about Abubakar Atikus ambition to be President in 2019. There is no point going through the back door as there is room within the party for every genuine member seeking elective office.

It is unfortunate that it seems while Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is all about rebuilding PDP to a formidable opposition party that can stand against the current charade and political ineptitude of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), the other faction is busy negotiating a mega party deal with some aggrieved members of the ruling APC, he added.

ALSO READ:Buhari felicitates with Atiku Abubakar as he turns 70
The Senator made the comments while speaking in an interview with Peace Hyde of Forbes Africa.

Buhari is the president today; he is my president. I must respect him regardless of what I feel. In 2019 we can fight but right now I want the economy to grow. If I take the position that I want to destroy APC and destroy Nigeria, will there be any Nigeria for me to fix in 2019? he said.

So its a dumb move to try to destroy your president or somebody you hate and destroy your country in the process. Ill fight Buhari in 2019 but today he is my president; I will support him.

My greatest goal in life is to support the poor and I support them for two reasons. One, they are poor and they need help. Second is that if you dont support them, they will kill you. The rich uses the poor to kill the rich. They kidnap, rape and maim you. We have a serious problem in this country," he added.

ALSO READ:Fayose dares Buhari to stop him from travelling abroad
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tributefollowed the adoption of a resolution by which the 193-member body acknowledged Bans contributions to the work of the UN and noteworthy achievements.

The Assembly, by acclamation, adopted a resolution placing on special record his many bold initiatives politically, diplomatically and organisational.

The resolution also placed on record, his exceptional contribution to the work of the organisation, and his noteworthy achievements inimproving peoples lives and protecting our planet for future generations.

Over the last 10 years, Secretary-General Ban has led the United Nations with unwavering principles for the good, with dedicated professionalism, and with never-tiring service to humanity.

Whether it was shifting international dynamics, a rebalancing of economic influence, rapid technological advances, or the rising interconnectivity and mobility of people, secretary-general Ban was always in the vanguard, General Assembly President Peter Thomson, said.

Among the list of Bans accomplishments, Thomson cited in particular, his unceasing efforts on the issue of climate change, which ultimately led to the adoption and entry into force of the Paris Agreement.

The General Assembly president also lauded his vision and determination to realise a more just, prosperous and secure world through the adoption of the 2030 Agendafor Sustainable Development.

In addition, he commended the outgoing secretary-general for his support for gender equality, including the establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women.

Also paying tribute to Ban were the representatives of Burkina Faso (on behalf of the African States), Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (on behalf of the Asia-Pacific States), and Latvia (on behalf of the Eastern European States).

Others were Costa Rica (on behalf of Latin American and Caribbean States), Sweden (on behalf of the Western European and other States) and the U.S. (as the host country).

In response, Ban said serving as the UN scribe was a great privilege of a lifetime for him, recalling his childhood and the impact of the UN, adding even as I prepare to leave, my heart will stay as it has since I was a child; right here with the United Nations.

After the Korean War, UN aid fed us. UN textbooks taught us. UN global solidarity showed us we were not alone. For me, the power of the United Nations was never abstract or academic, he said.

NAN reports that the General Assembly rose in prolonged applause at the end of Bans speech.

NAN also reports that the outgoing secretary-general assumed office as the UN scribe on Jan. 1, 2007, serving two terms.
Bashir's warning came as opposition activists issued a new call to hold a two-day nationwide strike next week against a government decision to cut fuel subsidies that has led to rising prices for goods including medicines.

"In the past few days we have heard some people, who are hiding behind their keyboards, calling for the overthrow of the regime," Bashir told supporters gathered in the eastern town of Kasala.

"We want to tell them that if you want to overthrow the regime, then face us directly on the streets. I challenge you to come out onto the streets.

"But we know you will not come because you know what happened in the past... This regime will not be overthrown by keyboards and WhatsApp," Bashir said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

In 2013, dozens of people were killed in a government crackdown on street protests against to a similar round of subsidy cuts.

In recent weeks, groups of people have staged sporadic demonstrations against the latest cuts, but they were swiftly dispersed by anti-riot police.

Opposition activists have now taken to social media networks like Facebook and Twitter as well as WhatsApp messenger to call for a new nationwide "sit-at-home" strike on December 19 and 20, urging the people to stage street protests in Khartoum and other cities to "overthrow the regime".

A similar three-day strike in late November saw a mixed response, with some private sector employees abstaining from work but government employees reporting for duty.
They are the latest in a series of accusations threatening to destabilize the country's President Michel Temer as he seeks to fix Latin America's biggest economy.

Senate speaker Renan Calheiros, 61, Brazil's third-most powerful official, already faces trial on embezzlement charges in a case that nearly saw him suspended from his post last week.

In a new case, state prosecutors said Monday that they suspect him and another lawmaker of receiving bribes worth some $242,000 from the construction firm Serveng in return for helping it win contracts.

The prosecutors suspect Serveng made donations to the ruling PMDB party that ended up going into Calheiros's pocket, they said in a statement.

Calheiros denied the allegation in his own statement.

He is considered Temer's most powerful ally. Together they led impeachment procedures that ended in the removal of Temer's predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, from office in August.

He has denied accusations in that case that he used public money to make child support payments to a woman with whom he had a baby.

Temer himself was forced on Saturday to deny allegations implicating him in the Petrobras scandal.

He denied asking the construction firm Odebrecht for nearly $3 million in campaign funds for a party candidate, as suspects reportedly told investigators.

Current and former executives of the company have signed plea deals and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in return for lighter sentences.

The Petrobras scandal has implicated numerous top politicians.
Darcy, 32, is one of about 200 Burundians who gathered to commemorate those killed when an attack on military installations by gunmen opposed to President Pierre Nkurunziza lead to a violent crackdown by security forces against those seen as "enemies" of the state.

"They entered homes, killing anything that moved inside. They raped the women they found inside, even though they were state police, soldiers who should have protected the population," said Darcy, who fled Burundi two weeks after the violence of December 11 and 12 last year.

In the church, a weeping woman recounts how her brother was killed in the crackdown.

The rampage of violence in which several witnesses described door-to-door killings in opposition strongholds of the capital Bujumbura, left 87 dead according to the government.

The United Nations estimates the figure could be as high as 200.

"When you see someone you know dead, it is like a nightmare," said Carmel, 19, who fled Burundi with her family in October 2015.

Burundi was plunged into crisis in April 2015 when Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term in office, sparking a failed coup attempt and months of protests that led to a government crackdown, armed attacks and assassinations.

A September report by UN rights experts recounted spine-chilling cases of torture and horrific sexual violence, mass arrests and disappearances and warned that "the crime of genocide also looms large".

Burundi has a long history of violence between its Hutu and Tutsi communities, which led to a 12-year civil war that ended in 2006.

Bujumbura has reacted to the mounting criticism by cutting ties with the UN's main human rights body and pulling out of the International Criminal Court (ICC), while slamming a "foreign plot" to destabilise the country.

-'Forgotten' -

The latest effort to get peace talks off the ground ran into trouble on Friday when mediator Benjamin Mkapa -- a former Tanzanian president -- urged the opposition to focus on 2020 polls and not those in 2015, which he said had come to a "legitimate conclusion".

The main umbrella opposition movement, the National Council for the Restoration of Arusha Agreement and Rule of Law (CNARED) -- which is exiled in Brussels -- was furious and asked the United Nations to take over as mediator.

"It really hurts me. I think that the international community, the region, has forgotten Burundi," said former bank employee Serge Barahinduka, 52.
The criticisms were not as stinging as defeated opposition chief Jean Ping, who disputes the result and styles himself as "president-elect", might have hoped, but he hailed the report as proof he had won.

"This report... shows unquestionably that it is I, Jean Ping, who am the winner of the presidential election," Ping told reporters on Monday after meeting the EU's chief observer for the poll Mariya Gabriel.

He has demanded a recount but that move was blocked by Gabon's top court.

The observers' 11 recommendations will likely put pressure on Bongo to ensure that forthcoming legislative elections, originally scheduled for this month but now delayed until July 2017, are seen to have greater integrity.

Bongo won by a slim margin of around 6,000 votes, sparking two days of rioting and protests. The government say that at least three people were killed in the violence but the opposition put the toll at 26.

More than 800 people were arrested following the disorder in the oil-rich central African nation.

In the immediate aftermath of the vote, the EU mission said it had observed "anomalies" during the vote count, notably in Bongo's stronghold of Haut-Ogooue, one of Gabon's nine provinces, and those doubts were echoed in the observers' report.

"These anomalies call into question the integrity of the process of consolidating the results and the final result of the election," said the investigation conducted by the European Union's Election Observer Mission (EU EOM) in Gabon.

Integrity questioned

Ping, a career diplomat and a former top official at the African Union, had asked for a recount in Haut-Ogooue where Bongo was reported by authorities to have won more than 95 percent of the vote on a turnout of more than 99 percent.

But the report noted that the nationwide turnout figure, excluding Haut-Ogooue, was just 54.24 percent.

"It must be stated that the results of this province reversed the trend noted by the mission," the observers said.

What's more, individual tallies from the province's local committees were inconsistent with the overall figures.

"The number of abstentions, blank ballots and spoilt ballots in just one of this province's 15 local elections committees was higher than the figure for the whole province," the report said.

"This observation raises questions about the integrity of the results from the province" and thus for the overall result of the election, it added.

The mission again expressed regret over the verdict reached by Gabon's top court in September, which dismissed Ping's appeal for a recount, officially confirming Bongo's victory.

An initial report by the observers expressing concern about the vote sparked an angry reaction from the Gabonese government, with a spokesman saying the mission was "neither neutral nor impartial".
Hundreds of women that night described being mugged and groped in a crowd of men of mainly Arab and north African appearance, incidents that shocked Germany and fuelled criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal refugee policy.

Cologne police chief Juergen Mathies said 1,500 officers would be deployed on the streets of the western city this year, up from some 140 last year, when police came under fire for failing to properly respond to the chaotic events.

"This must never happen again," he said at a presentation of the city's security plan for New Year's Eve.

The city will also be stepping up its video surveillance, with hundreds more CCTV cameras and more officers wearing bodycams, Mathies said.

Much of the increased security will focus on the square between the city's iconic Dom cathedral and the train station where most of the assaults took place.

Cologne mayor Henriette Reker said access to the square this year would be tightly controlled, with no firecrackers or other pyrotechnics allowed in the safety zone.

The square will also be flooded with light as part of a video and light installation by German artist Philipp Geist that will be projected onto the Dom.

Of the roughly 1,200 criminal complaints filed about last year's New Year's Eve incidents, more than 500 were for sexual assault, Cologne police reports showed.

The majority of the perpetrators were never caught. Of the suspects who were identified, many were migrants from Morocco and Algeria.

Similar assaults were reported during end-of-year festivities in other German cities.
Prosecutors in the Sicilian port city of Catania have called for Tunisian Mohammed Ali Malek, 27, to serve 18 years for multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the tragedy after the packed boat capsized following a collision with a freighter coming to its aid.

They have also demanded he pay three million euros ($3.18 million) in compensation for a tragedy that saw Italian forensic scientists spend months sorting through decomposed body parts to count the victims.

Syrian Mahmoud Bikhit, 25, the alleged first mate, faces six years behind bars for his role in the tragedy off the coast of Libya.

Both have claimed they were simple migrants and had been made to steer the boat by the real traffickers.

But survivors told investigators not only was Bikhit the captain, it was his lack of sailing skills that caused the deadly collision.

The boat was carrying people largely from the Gambia, Senegal and Mali, as well as Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.

Only 28 people survived.

'Scapegoat'

Up to 900 people were packed into the 27-metre (90-foot) boat when it left Libya, according to forensic scientists who spent months examining body bags only to discover many contained the remains of more than one person.

Firefighters who recovered the mangled bodies from the rotting ship said they had been "packed in like on the trains for Auschwitz".

The Sicilian court will hear from a survivor who lost relatives on the night of the April 18-19 wreck before the judges retire to consider the verdict.

The vessel sank in the pitch darkness after running into the Portuguese freighter King Jacob which had raced to its rescue, the collision sending its passengers over to one side and causing the vessel to tip over.

The freighter's captain, Abdullah Ambrousi, said he saw the migrant boat sailing erratically and cut the freighter's engines to avoid a crash, but the smaller vessel speed up and rammed into the King Jacob.

Malek has claimed the real captain died in the wreck and he is being scapegoated by the other survivors because he is Tunisian.

Italy's navy had the grisly task of raising the corpse-packed trawler from the seabed this year after the government promised to give the victims decent burials as a symbol of respect for all the migrants who have died trying to reach Europe's shores.

Tooth and nail

Italian firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari said the decomposing migrant bodies were found everywhere, from the well of the anchor chain to the tiny underfloor compartment where the bilge pump sits, to the engine room.

It was clear from their positions that many had fought tooth and nail to get out when the boat rolled -- a struggle which proved futile.

Fingerprints, DNA samples and distinguishing body marks were collected on file from the corpses in the hope the data may helping relatives seeking lost loved ones.

Over 12,000 people are known to have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since the current migrant crisis erupted in 2013. Aid agencies say it is likely many more disappeared without trace after being abandoned on the high seas by traffickers.
Former police chief and interior minister Skvernelis, 46, leads a cabinet formed by his Peasants and Green Union (LPGU) and the junior Social Democrats, following his party's surprise election win in October.

The LPGU, previously an outsider party with only one seat in parliament, ended two decades of domination by Social Democrats and conservatives when it swept to victory with pledges to invest in the regions and abandon controversial labour reforms.

The new government won a confidence vote Tuesday with the support of 86 lawmakers in the 141-seat parliament, while three voted against and 40 abstained.

The cabinet faces growing concerns over Russia, which has heavily militarised the neighbouring Kaliningrad exclave.

Skvernelis has pledged to meet NATO's two-percent-of-GDP funding target by 2018, a point that US President-elect Donald Trump said he would press with European allies.

The new premier has also left Social Democrat Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, a vocal critic of Moscow, in his post.

The cabinet has pledged to fight social inequality and halt emigration to richer Western European nations.

"We want our social inequality index to reach the EU average at least," Skvernelis told lawmakers, adding Lithuania was third or fourth worst within the bloc in this respect.

The exodus from Lithuania -- much of it to Britain -- became a major campaign issue after the population shrank from 3.5 million in 2001 to 2.9 million in 2015, with further declines feared.

Skvernelis led the LPGU list into the election but has not joined the party, and many of his ministers are not party members either.

Conservatives and liberals, who remain in opposition, have accused Skvernelis of lacking a strategy to boost much-needed investment in the newest eurozone member.
Jammeh's party has vowed to challenge the result of a presidential election in court, unleashing an avalanche of calls at home and abroad for him to cede power to opponent Adama Barrow, who was officially declared the winner.

After arriving in Banjul, Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari, Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama convened at a luxury hotel before heading for talks with Jammeh around 1330 GMT.

They were to be joined later by UN West Africa envoy Mohamed Ibn Chambas, whom Jammeh has refused to meet on several occasions in the past, a spokesman confirmed to AFP.

Jammeh sent his deputy Isatou Njie-Saidy to meet the delegation on the tarmac, reportedly due to security fears for the longtime leader's safety.

"We hope we can talk and that the will of the people will prevail," President Sirleaf, who heads the delegation, told journalists after arrival.

After meeting Jammeh the African leaders will hold separate negotiations with Barrow, several sources told AFP.

Influential opposition coalition members were gathering by afternoon in preparation for their round of talks, and were confident of a breakthrough.

"Remember President Buhari is from the military. Jammeh is from the military. I think that will make a difference," said Hamat Bah, a senior coalition official.

Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his regional peers but has never threatened peace in the sub-region, a situation that has dramatically shifted since Jammeh's move to void the election.

In a sign that Jammeh may be serious regarding a legal dispute over the vote, the staff of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) were locked out of their premises on Tuesday, their chairman told AFP.

"I went to work this morning, but personnel of the Police Intervention Unit (riot police) did not allow me to enter the headquarters," IEC chief Alieu Momar Njie told AFP.

No reason was given, he added. The premises remained locked down and surrounded by police by early afternoon.

A readjustment of the votes counted in the election was made by the IEC on Monday last week, reducing the number of ballots for all three candidates but ultimately confirming Barrow's victory.

Army loyalty

Meanwhile Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie seemed to reverse a previous declaration of support for Barrow and arrived at delegation preparation talks wearing a badge that featured Jammeh's face on his uniform.

Badjie said he supported the "commander in chief, President Yahya Jammeh" in brief comments to journalists.

This followed comments by the US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, warning that The Gambia faced "a very dangerous moment" if the military continued to side with the president.

If Jammeh and the delegation does not reach an agreement, west African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", a top official with the regional ECOWAS bloc headed by Sirleaf told French radio station RFI late Monday.

Despite the IEC incident, Jammeh's party had not filed a complaint with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, thought to be constitutionally the last day possible to contest the election result, but they have until 6pm to do so.

A group of the country's most influential lawyers has said there is "no legitimate legal mechanism available in The Gambia to hear and determine the election petition", as Jammeh would have to stuff the court with his own appointees.

The legal body has lain dormant since May 2015 as Jammeh himself sacked many of its judges.

'Go now'

Jammeh has led The Gambia for 22 years since taking power in a coup.

President-elect Barrow has told AFP he wants Jammeh to step down "now", though the longtime leader has the legal right to stay in office until mid-January.
"A total of 348 journalists are currently detained worldwide ?- six percent more than were detained at this time last year," RSF said in its annual report. The figure includes bloggers and freelance contributors.

"The number of detained professional journalists in Turkey has risen 22 percent after quadrupling in the wake of the failed coup d'etat in July," it said.

"This reflects in part the growing role of women in journalism but above all the disastrous situation in Turkey, which currently accounts for a third of the world's detained women journalists," RSF said.

"The persecution of journalists around the world is growing at a shocking rate," RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

"At the gateway to Europe, an all-out witch-hunt has jailed dozens of journalists and has turned Turkey into the world's biggest prison for the media profession. In the space of a year, the Erdogan regime has crushed all media pluralism while the European Union has said virtually nothing."

Aside from Turkey, between them China, Iran and Egypt account for more than two-thirds of journalists imprisoned, RSF said, calling for the creation of a special representative for the safety of journalists directly attached to the office of the UN secretary general.

The number of journalists held hostage has however fallen this year, with 52, mostly locals, held around the world compared with 61 last year, although RSF said the 2015 number was particularly high.

This year all the hostages are in the Middle East -- Syria, Yemen and Iraq -- with 21 held by the Islamic State group alone.

RSF said it had identified just one missing journalist in 2016, Burundian Jean Bigirimana, compared with eight last year.

The group considers journalists missing when there is insufficient evidence of their death or kidnapping and no credible claim of responsibility for their death or abduction.

In a separate report released Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that 259 journalists were imprisoned around the world in 2016, 81 of them in Turkey.

Its number is lower because the CPJ only counts journalists detained by the state, while RSF also reports on those held hostage by non-state groups.

The CPJ said the top five countries for jailing journalists are Turkey, followed by China, Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Merkel said that -- given grave shortcomings in the Ukraine peace process, which has been marred by regular ceasefire violations -- "it will be necessary to extend sanctions against Russia once more".

Hollande, speaking at a joint Berlin press conference with Merkel, agreed there had been insufficient progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement.

"Since there hasn't been an effort made, no progress, and the same blockages remain, I, like the chancellor, am in favour of extending sanctions," he said.

Neither the Ukrainian government nor the pro-Russian rebels waging an insurgency in the country's east have fully implemented the agreements -- designed to bring an end to a conflict that has claimed 10,000 lives since 2014 -- and low-level fighting continues.

In Brussels, a European official said last week that Merkel and Hollande would recommend extending the sanctions to EU leaders at the summit on Thursday.

"But for some member states, it's important to listen to Merkel and Hollande first," this official added.

Imposed in July 2014 after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over rebel-held eastern Ukraine, the EU sanctions target the Russian energy, defence and finance sectors.
WATERLOO  The John Deere Engine Works can now hang a sign that says More than 2 Million Served.

Deeres Waterloo engine plant, which began production 40 years ago, built engine No. 2 million last month, produced for a Waterloo-made Deere tractor. On Monday the company marked that milestone as it completed assembly of that tractor, an 8345R model, at the Deeres East Donald Street plant. The customer watched the final assembly as part of Deeres Gold Key customer program.

In 1918 we purchased the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co., so our history with engines in the Cedar Valley goes back nearly 100 years, said Curt Cline, factory manager of the engine works. The partnership with the community is most significant. In that period of time, our employees have retained a commitment to building high-quality products in here. So we continue to be a strong partner with the community. It is a milestone for production here in Waterloo.

It isnt all about tractors. The engine works also has produced engines for external customers, Kline said.

That diversified customer base helps the company and the community when the agricultural economy is down, said Darren Treptow, manager of worldwide marketing support for John Deere Power Systems. That includes engines for generators that heat buildings, air compressors, portable industrial equipment, wood chippers, specialty equipment used for harvesting fruits and nuts, as well as marine engines.

The 2 millionth engine is a big deal for employees at the engine works, said Kenny Hager of Cedar Falls, a 20-year Deere employee and member of United Auto Workers Local 838.

Every engine is important, Hager said, but this one is of historic significance.

Its a milestone for all of us. Its a really neat thing, because its big for the community, Hager said. A lot of people asked me over the years, does this affect you? Well its brought up three or four generations of my family, working here. They told me the quality of the engine is what made that tractor green. So I take it real seriously. And the fact that its under one brand all these years is wonderful, the tractor and the engine. Im the third generation. My son is the fourth generation; hes an electrician at the foundry.

Its as much a milestone for Local 838 as it is Deere, Hager said.

Any time we can reach something like that, especially with the economies the way they are and the world the way it is ... Never lose sight of that. These people are our lifeline, Hager said.

Local 838 member and 12-year employee Kim Elliott doesnt just build Deere equipment, he uses it. He farms south of Waterloo. I use all John Deere equipment on the farm, he said.

Of the 2 millionth engine, Elliott said, Its pretty exciting to come and see it put in the actual tractor after you build it. Everyone in engine works has a lot of pride in what they do. I was proud of being a part of building the 2 millionth engine. And Ive been proud of the work that Ive done there for the last 12 years too.
After sitting vacant for a year, the former Riefes restaurant in Davenport will get a makeover beginning Thursday and will become the Fuji Sushi Grill.

Jessie Chen and her cousin, Michelle Zheng, are co-owners of Fuji LLC, which owns both the Great Wall restaurant across the street from the Riefes building at 1417 W. Locust St., and Sakura Express Japanese Restaurant on 53rd Avenue in Bettendorf. They said they immediately began thinking about buying the Riefes building when they heard that brothers Rick and Dan Riefe were closing the restaurant and retiring.

Sakura has been very popular, Zheng said. Weve also had a lot of people come into Great Wall and ask us when were going to put sushi on the menu. So this is a good location to put it.

We were thinking of places where we could open another restaurant and serve sushi when this building became available, Chen said. This area already is like a food court, with Taco Bell, Wendys, Hungry Hobo and other restaurants. Now we can give people another choice, and it will be totally different from the other restaurants.

Chen said her brother, Ivan, has more than 20 years of experience as a Japanese and sushi chef.

While construction is expected to begin Thursday, Chen said there will be a lot of tearing out before things get put back together.

For one thing, most of the kitchen will be gutted, she said. All of the booths and chairs that were used in the back of Riefes restaurant will be sold.

The kitchen and basement are full of plates, cups, saucers, cooking and eating utensils, mixers and many other things that Riefes needed to operate. There are even several Christmas wreaths hanging in the basement that once were used as decoration during the holiday season.

We may need to have a garage sale, Chen said.

Zheng said construction should take at least two months, barring any unseen obstacles.

Fuji LLC purchased the building from the Riefes in April.

Rick and Dan Riefe closed their third-generation family restaurant Dec. 23, 2015, ending a 66-year run.

Their grandfather and father, Orville and Delmar, opened their first restaurant in 1946 in Bettendorf. In 1949, Riefe's moved into an existing drive-in restaurant. In 1961, a new building was constructed at the site to offer seated dining and a drive-through window.

Chen and Zheng also are part of an extended family of relatives in the restaurant business. They have Chinese restaurants throughout the Quad-City region including Bettendorf, Davenport, Rock Island as well as Geneseo, Illinois, and Maquoketa, Iowa.
The pet carrier had an inch of ice on top when two cats arrived Tuesday at Kings Harvest Pet Rescue, Davenport.

The shelters director, Terri Gleize, said someone had left the cats out in the cold by a local church Dumpster when a woman walking by happened to find them. The cats are now safe and available for adoption.

Somebody threw them out to the trash, Gleize said. They were frozen, covered with ice. They looked like somebody ripped out all their teeth. Theyre really young.

She said the cats were found in the parking lot outside Newcomb Presbyterian Church, 2619 N. Division St., Davenport.

The church pastor could not be reached for comment.

The no-kill pet shelter that King's Harvest operates at 2504 W. Central Park Ave., has been closed since a spreading fungus in September caused all of the cats there to get sick. Gleize said the shelter hasnt been taking in new animals lately, but Tuesday was an emergency.

Normally we dont take them, but when somebody walks in with frozen animals, you do, she said.

King's Harvest also operates a homeless shelter and meal site at 824 W. 3rd St., Davenport.

The temperature Tuesday morning went from a low of 9 degrees to about the low teens by noon, the National Weather Service reports.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is asking for the public's help in identifying the person responsible for shooting a trumpeter swan in Muscatine County.
DES MOINES  Davenport's line in the sand on the fairness of school funding did not sway the Iowa School Budget Review Committee on Tuesday, as the committee flatly denied the district's request to use about $1.6 million from its reserve fund to offset inequity in the state school funding formula.

The denial is unusual, according to committee member Dave Roederer. It hasn't happened during his six years on the panel. The committee was created by the legislature to be a nonpartisan, independent body that reviews school budgets and hears requests for funding modifications.

The Davenport Community School District has openly broken state law in recent months by using district reserve funds to pay for programming costs, even though the district does not have the spending authority to make distributions from that fund. For more than two years, Superintendent Art Tate and board members have done so, citing a funding inequity in the state's system that allows some districts, including Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley, to spend more per pupil. The districts with the highest spending authority can spend $175 more per pupil.

Davenport was asked to appear before the state committee because it has so far spent about $1.6 million of the estimated $20 million reserve fund to make up the $175 per student difference. That creates a "negative unspent balance," which is not allowed. Over three years, the district planned to use up to $2.7 million from its fund balance.

It was the largest spending request from the districts taking part in hearings held Tuesday at the Iowa Department of Education, about one block from the state capitol in Des Moines. Other districts included Camanche, Harmony and Olin.

Tate told a packed meeting room he deeply believes his district's students deserve equal treatment from the state. "This is not about seeking notoriety. This is about fairness," he said.

He talked about district programs that exist because of his decision: Maintaining small class sizes, reading initiatives, a support system for African American boys, attendance programs for chronic absences, and full-time nurses for at-risk students.

"Knowing how this money is helping students, it's immoral not to use our reserve fund," he said.

Davenport School Board President Ralph Johanson said he knows the district's actions are "extremely risky," and as a result, Tate may ultimately lose his professional license. If that happened, the Davenport board would be forced to fire him, Johanson said.

Johanson said the district has talked with legal counsel about the implications of Tate's decision.

Committee members said they sympathize to an extent, but the topic is not their responsibility. They directed the district to do more to encourage changes in state laws, through the Iowa Legislature. Davenport officials have been doing that for about three years.

"We have to work with the laws we have now," said committee member Gretchen Tegeler, who suggested Davenport think out the risks involved, especially to students.

Committee member Gina Primmer has been a school board member whose board once considered a lawsuit against the state, but backed off. "I have great empathy for your position," she told Davenport representatives, who included Tate, Johanson and Marsha Tangen, the district's chief financial officer.

In general, however, committee members agreed that allowing Davenport to move forward would be siding with a district that is deliberately breaking state law, and that was impossible for a state panel to do.

School officials expressed no surprise at the outcome.

According to state officials, the district cannot return to the review committee to make the same argument.
DES MOINES  Gov. Terry Branstad and state lawmakers likely will have to cut $100 million in spending from the current state general fund budget after a state panel Monday lowered the rate it expects state tax collections will grow between now and June 30, officials said Monday.

Members of the state Revenue Estimating Conference lowered its October tax collection target for the current fiscal year by $96.2 million to nearly $7.212 billion, which still represents 4.2 percent growth for the year but less than previously expected as farm income and other Iowa economic sectors lag.

The three-member panel also shaved $51 million from its fiscal 2018 projection, meaning the governor and GOP-led Legislature can expect $7.556 billion, or 4.8 percent growth, in revenue when they meet in January to chart a new state general-fund spending plan that takes effect July 1.

"We're still having positive growth," said David Roederer, director of the state Department of Management who also serves as Branstad's budget director and leader of the revenue panel. "It's just not at the rate that was anticipated."

With the state's ending balance depleted but its cash reserves full at $730 million, state budget-makers already were looking at a fiscal 2017 shortfall before Monday's lower tax collection projections exacerbated the problem.

Branstad, meeting with representatives of the Older Iowans' Legislature earlier in the day in his Capitol office, said he anticipated he would have to recommend a "modest de-appropriation" for the current fiscal year when he presents his budget plan to state lawmakers on Jan. 10 with his Condition of the State address.

"We probably have to cut about $100 million out of the current budget," Roederer told reporters after the Revenue Estimating Conference meeting in which he pushed for higher tax growth projections than conferees Holly Lyons and David Underwood supported. Lyons had recommended lowering the growth projections by nearly $200 million through June 30, 2018, but the panel agreed to trim $147.2 million from its October estimates.

"We have been looking at the possibility that we would have some reductions," Roederer said, but added it was premature to detail what selective spending cuts might be proposed. He ruled out the governor ordering an across-the-board reduction, and he said the plan would not call for reducing the level of state supplemental aid that K-12 school districts are receiving this year.

"There's a difference between the economy growing and then government needing more than what the economy is currently growing at in order to honor the commitments that have been made," said Roederer, who noted 4 percent yearly growth is still healthy. But he called plans by GOP legislators to cut taxes next session "challenging" unless they find a "revenue-neutral" way to accomplish the changes.

Sen. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, who will take over as the Senate's majority leader in January, said Monday's numbers underscore the need for economic growth in Iowa and reform in state government.

"Senate Republicans are committed to implementing pro-growth policies which will provide confidence to job creators and reform government to protect the taxpayers," Dix said. "These policies will put Iowa on a strong path to address the current budget situation."

Across the Capitol rotunda, Rep. Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said state revenue so far this fiscal year has been flat, noting that "a sluggish agricultural economy, driven by low commodity prices, continues to have a ripple effect in other industries throughout the state. This challenge will require us to closely examine the effectiveness of every program to find areas of efficiency and duplication."

During Monday's conference meeting, Underwood said there is still uncertainty in Iowa's economy, with industrial sales and manufacturing sectors weak and sales taxes lagging even though wages and employment are up slightly.
1. Bundle up, cold temps with nasty wind-chills for Q-C

A good Tuesday to all. Today's forecast in a nutshell  cold. The extended forecast? Colder. On that bright note, here's the latest from the National Weather Service.

Today will be mostly cloudy then gradually becoming sunny and cold with temperatures falling to around 6 degrees by 5 p.m. Wind-chill values will be as low as -5 degrees.

Tonight will be partly cloudy with temperatures rising to around 10 degrees by 3 a.m. Wind-chill values will be as low as -5 degrees.

Wednesday will be mostly sunny with a high near 15 degrees with wind-chill values as low as -5 degrees. West winds between 10 to 15 mph will gust as high as 25 mph.

Wednesday night will be mostly clear with a low around -1 degrees. Wind-chill values will be as low as -15 degrees.

2. Riefe's remodel will turn landmark restaurant into sushi grill

After sitting vacant for a year, the former Riefes restaurant in Davenport will get a makeover beginning Thursday and will become the Fuji Sushi Grill.

Jessie Chen and her cousin, Michelle Zheng, are co-owners of Fuji LLC, which owns both the Great Wall restaurant across the street from the Riefes building at 1417 W. Locust St., and Sakura Express Japanese Restaurant on 53rd Avenue in Bettendorf. Read more.

3. Ickes: Moline's 'Can Man' was well-known on the streets

If he had survived Monday's accident, no one could have told "The Can Man" the collision was an accident. Robert Moldenhauer was convinced someone was trying to kill him. He lived on the streets of Moline, he said, because an imposter was living in his house.

On his regular can-collection route Monday, shortly before 8 a.m., Robert was walking his bike as he did every day. Passersby could count on seeing him somewhere between the eastern edge of Moline's downtown and the East Moline border. Not anymore.

Witnesses said Robert appeared to quicken his steps in the seconds before he was fatally struck by a van in the 2600 block of 6th Avenue. Read more.

4. Future still unclear for Niabi Zoo, fundraising duties

While Niabi Zoo has the money to handle day-to-day operations, some stakeholders say the Coal Valley institution isn't receiving the public donations it needs to fund major attractions because of its association with Rock Island County government.

At a meeting at the zoo on Monday, John Ferrell, president of the Niabi Zoological Society, said the zoo's nonprofit fundraising arm can't secure funds for long-term, multi-million dollar projects under the current framework. Read more.

5. Davenport crash involves school bus

Davenport police are investigating a Monday afternoon crash that involved two cars and a school bus carrying six children. The incident occurred at 3:51 p.m. Monday at Central Park and Grand avenues.

Police say a Buick LeSabre traveling northbound on Grand Avenue when it was struck by a Chrysler 200 which was westbound on Central Park causing the vehicles to hit a stopped school bus.

The bus contained six children. The children were checked out by Medic EMS as a precaution. None sustained injuries. The driver of the Chrysler 200 was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the Buick LeSabre had a minor injury and sought their own treatment.

The crash is still under investigation and is being conducted by the Davenport Police Department Traffic Safety Unit.

6. Wundram: Who still sends Christmas cards?

Bill Wundram asks that burning holiday question  who still sends Christmas cards? According to recent trends, fewer of us are. Read more.
Scott County Health Department Deputy Director Amy Thoreson took the wraps off an unexpected gift of support for community health education at Tuesdays Board of Supervisors committee of the whole meeting.

Thoreson reported a $100,000 federal grant received and allocated by the state of Iowa will mean Scott County can add a disease intervention specialist position. The grant will pay for related program costs, such as travel and supplies, for up to three years. Scott County is one of nine alternative HIV testing sites across the state designated to receive grant dollars, according to Thoreson.

The extra money will allow us to work on encouraging HIV testing and early intervention through outreach, marketing and advertising, Thoreson said.

Supervisors also were briefed on a recommended bid from Napa Premier Parts of DeWitt to acquire an alignment machine, tire changers and wheel balancer so the county can maintain tires on its fleet vehicles in-house. Fleet Manager Barbara Branscom reported that of four bids submitted, Napa Premiers low bid included free staff training and installation with the $27,688.78 equipment purchase.

Branscom said the county spends $180 to change and align the four tires on each of the 98 vehicles in the fleet. The life expectancy of the alignment machine is 15 to 20 years, Branscom said, citing a potential savings of $114,660 in outsourced labor costs over 15 years.

County Director of Budget and Administrative Services David Farmer estimated the investment would pay for itself in just over three years, especially with 42 high-mileage vehicles.

Board Chairman Jim Hancock recommended accepting the bid. Outgoing Sheriff Dennis Conard and Sheriff-elect Tim Lane have questioned the projected cost savings.

David and Barb know their credibility is on the line and they are 100 percent confident that this will save the county money, Hancock said.

Supervisors set a public hearing on a construction permit application to expand the hog confinement operation of Grandview Farms at 12090 and 11872 240th Street west of Eldridge. Planning and Development Director Tim Huey reported no objections were received regarding the proposal, submitted by owner Thomas Dittmer. The hearing will be held during the Board of Supervisors regular meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday.

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Free speech is under assault  from the right, left and middle alike.

Conservatives love to assail lefties and their so-called "PC culture." Make no mistake, the very concept of political correctness centers on some form of repression of speech and, by proxy, thought itself. But the right touts its own form of political correctness, and it's no less threatening.

Remember when outgoing President Barack Obama saluted a Marine with a cup of coffee in his hand? You'd have thought he handed the nuclear launch codes over to ISIS. The Dixie Chicks were driven from the airwaves after simply questioning the Iraq invasion. Both are examples of the right's own PC war, one that adopts an astoundingly limited scope on issues of nationalism. It's a jingoistic credo that claims a monopoly on patriotism. And anything outside of that myopic list of phrases and actions is, in a very real sense, deemed unAmerican.

Take Donald Trump's recent comments on flag burning. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that burning the U.S. flag is, in perhaps the purest sense, protected political speech. The litigatory highway is littered with what's left of prior attempts to undermine protection of speech.

And yet, here's Trump at a North Carolina victory rally:

"We love our flag. And we don't like it when we see people ripping up our flag and burning our flag. We don't like it. And we'll see what we're going to do about that. OK? We're going to see, he said, after claiming to "love free speech."

It's just a part of a troubling pattern for the president-elect, who uses Twitter as a hammer to bludgeon individual citizens who dissent. In essence, Trump's version of PC is broken by anyone who questions him.

Ask union leader Chuck Jones from Indiana, who called bull on that whole "saving jobs" claim at manufacturer Carrier. Trump blasted his protest in a Twitter rant. In so doing, Trump unleashed an angry mob that took to harassing and threatening Jones.

Jones wasn't the first to feel the weight of Trump's PC goon squad.

The left, too  here and abroad  certainly owns a part of the demands for group-think. Academic careers have ended for questioning its dogma. And it's not just limited to the U.S.

Last week, anti-Muslim right-wing Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders was convicted of "hate speech" for his constant criticism of Islam and immigrants who follow the religious tradition. One can find Wilders hateful and dangerous while still being troubled by the use of courts to suppress language. Holland, mind you, doesn't offer a constitutional guarantee of free speech. In much of Europe, it's simply a legal norm.

But the PC problem doesn't live and die with bleeding-heart liberals, nationalistic conservatives, the president-elect or Europeans. The American political establishment is wrapped up in it.

Late last month, the U.S. Senate passed the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, legislation that would dictate the Education Department's view of hate speech targeting Jewish students. In effect, the bill adopts Justice Department language that considers criticism of Israel, a nation, as anti-semitic, setting into motion rules that could, in a very real sense quash political speech on campuses throughout the country. Kenneth Stern, who helped write the Justice Department language, blasted the legislation in an op-ed in The New York Times.

"Whats next? Should Congress define what speech is Islamophobic? Anti-Palestinian? Racist? Anti-white? How about defining 'anti-United States' speech? We could dust off the files of the House Un-American Activities Committee," Stern wrote.

Such protections for a foreign power  friend or foe  are unprecedented and basically exclusive to Israel, largely because of its religious significance as much as its geopolitical sway. Earlier this year, Iowa Legislature joined several other states in banning the state from doing business with firms that boycott Israel. In so doing, Iowa caught a wave that's sole focus is the repression of political speech.

Conservatives have one thing right: Political correctness is a threat. And it's a danger that lurks in all corners of politics.
Whatever became of the conservative mantra we have heard for the last eight years about how liberals are destroying the free market economy? If President Obama or Hillary Clinton had stood before a crowd and announced American corporations would not be allowed to leave the U.S., you could have heard the roar all the way to China.

Donald Trump is praised by these same people for making a deal with Carrier Corporation at taxpayer expense to save 1,000 jobs, but eight years ago, when the Obama administration loaned funds to General Motors, which prevented it from going bankrupt, saving thousands of manufacturing jobs, he was roundly criticized. Hypocrisy at its finest seems to be prevailing here.

Very little is being said about the fact that far more jobs have been lost to technology than to jobs being shipped overseas. We have a great example of that right here in the Quad-Cities with the loss of 900 jobs when Kraft replaces the old Oscar Mayer plant with a new automated facility.

A new steel plant recently opened in Mississippi that employs 600 highly paid workers. According to the company that owns it, 4,000 workers would have been required to produce the same output without automation. Those people hoping for the resurgence of a 1965 economy are going to be greatly disappointed.

Perhaps a good start would be for the president-elect to move his manufacturing back to the U.S. and commit to no longer purchasing Chinese steel which is dumped into our country.

Rex Hutchison

Davenport
DES MOINES  Renewable fuel leaders in Iowa are uneasy with individuals that President-elect Donald Trump has nominated for key administration positions, but are resting their faith on the assurances of the man himself.

Trump expressed support for renewable fuels, and in particular the federal mandate for corn-based ethanol to be blended into the nations fuel supply, during the presidential campaign.

But in the past week, Trump has declared he will nominate two men who have, in the past, not supported policies that promote or support renewable fuels, to head two federal agencies that deal heavily with energy policy.

Trump has said he will nominate Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt, attorney general of Oklahoma, in 2013 argued to the U.S. Supreme Court against the federal Renewable Standard, arguing ethanol damages vehicles fuel systems and drives up food prices.

And the president-elect has said he will nominate Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy. Perry, a former Texas governor who ran for president in 2012 and 2016, also in the past has been critical of the ethanol mandate.

An EPA administrator from Oklahoma with a long anti-RFS track record was obviously not on the top of our wish list, said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. It would send a strong signal to rural America if a pro-RFS person filled one of the other EPA top leadership posts to provide some internal balance.

Shaw and other renewable fuel leaders in Iowa, including Gov. Terry Branstad, said they take Trump at his word that the next administration will support ethanol and other renewable fuels.

Branstad said he received such an assurance from Trump during the president-elects recent victory tour event in Iowa, which came after the announcement of Pruitt as his choice to lead the EPA.

(Pruitt) is from an oil state, so obviously that gives us a little concern, Branstad said. The first thing Trump told me is, Dont worry about him, hes going to be for ethanol. I think that was a condition Trump laid out when he appointed him. Trumps a pretty blunt guy, so that was reassuring to me and obviously to my son, who worked very hard on those issues.

Eric Branstad, the governors son, spearheaded the advocacy group Iowas Renewable Future during the Iowa caucuses. The group pressed presidential candidates for and graded them on their positions on renewable fuel policy.

During the general election, Eric Branstad worked as the Trump campaigns state director in Iowa. Trump said during the campaign that he would support the ethanol mandate as president.

He made the same pledge to Shaws group, Shaw said.

President-elect Trump made a very detailed commitment to the RFS last January when he spoke at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, Shaw said. He also mentioned his RFS support many times on the campaign trail leading up to Nov. 8 (Election Day). So we look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration to implement the RFS along the lines President-elect Trump embraced during the election.

Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors in Galvia, Iowa, heard those same campaign promises from President-elect Trump, but wants to hear them again.

Johnson was hoping to hear Trump address ethanol and renewable fuels during that victory tour event in Des Moines; Trump did not mention them.

I think those in my industry are just wanting to hear him restate those things, Johnson said.

Democrats criticized Trumps selection of Pruitt, accusing him of being cozy with oil companies and pointing out his skepticism of scientists findings regarding climate change and humans role in exacerbating the issue.

Its clear by now that Donald Trump lied to voters about draining the swamp, and his selection of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA puts a giant oil rig right in the middle of it, Democratic National Committee spokesman Eric Walker said in a statement. By putting a puppet of Big Oil in charge of the EPA, Trump shows he doesnt think much of protecting the environment, combating climate change, or draining the swamp.
Q. My coworker enrolled in a debt-relief program where the company was supposed to negotiate her debt down to 50 percent. But she said none of her payments are going to her creditors, and now shes being sued. Is this service legal? What can my co-worker do now?

A. Yes, this kind of debt-relief service is completely legal. What you described is known as debt settlement. In this kind of agreement, a company promises to reduce your debt by 50 percent by offering your creditors settlements. Unfortunately, many consumers dont understand how the process works.

When you sign up for a debt-settlement service, you send monthly payments to the debt-settlement company, but they do not forward your payments to your creditors. Instead, they hold your money in an account until you have enough money to offer a single creditor a settlement. Depending on the size of your debts, it can take months for just one creditor to be offered a settlement.

Because your creditors are not being paid monthly, you go further delinquent. And because they are not receiving payments, your creditors will charge you late fees and interest, consequently raising your balance. In the meantime, your credit report is negatively impacted when you do not make monthly payments.

Once you have enough money to make a settlement, the debt-settlement company pays the creditor. Even after a creditor gets paid, however, you will still suffer the ripple effects of debt settlement. You will already have paid a fee for the debt-settlement company to pay your creditor, but then the IRS will tax you on the amount of forgiven debt. The payment will show up on your credit report as a settlement, which negatively influences your credit score. And to make matters worse, those creditors that have not received any payments may opt to sue you since you have not paid them.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) releases a monthly snapshot detailing consumer complaints that pertain to financial services. The November 2016 report revealed that debt settlement received more complaints than any other financial services, including check cashing, credit repair and money orders. In fact, problems with debt-settlement companies made up 50 percent of the complaints submitted to the CFPB.

I would suggest that your friend review her debt-settlement paperwork so that she can find out how much of her money can be refunded to her. If she cannot find her paperwork, she should call the debt-settlement company and ask them to send or email her a copy. She needs to find the cancellation clause in the paperwork and follow it.

If your friend still needs legitimate debt help (and she probably will after using a debt-settlement service,) she should contact a nonprofit accredited credit counseling agency.
SIOUX FALLS  South Dakotas average price for regular self-serve gasoline was at $2.147 per gallon on Monday, up one cent over last week and up nine cents year over year.

Globally, oil producers appear committed to reducing over-supply and rebalance the market, said Marilyn Buskohl, spokeswoman for AAA South Dakota. Over the weekend, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to limit oil output. This follows OPECs agreement in November to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day starting next month.

The national average has increased for 14 days in a row following the OPEC oil production agreement on Nov. 30. Todays average of $2.21 per gallon is up three cents per gallon on the week and two cents per gallon on the month. The national average is up 20 cents compared to the same date last year.

Last month, OPEC agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day beginning January 2017 and markets have continued to react to the production cut agreement with crude oil prices hitting an 18 month high.
BISMARCK, N.D. | A pipeline protester accused of firing a gun three times toward police officers had three spent shell casings in her revolver and additional bullets in her pockets, a federal agent testified Monday.

The testimony was among the evidence U.S. District Court Magistrate Charles Miller considered in finding probable cause for a criminal charge against Red Fawn Fallis in U.S. District Court in Bismarck.

The 37-year-old Denver woman is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the incident on Oct. 27, when she was arrested as police pushed protesters from a northern "front line" camp atop the Dakota Access pipeline route.

Fallis is being held in custody; if convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison.

Fallis' case has drawn national attention with a movement to "Free Red Fawn." A website started for her says she was working as a medic on Oct. 27 and that while she was arrested, "one officer pulled his weapon and placed it against her back. While she was pinned to the ground, shots were fired."

Her case has been endorsed by the actor Mark Ruffalo, and an online fundraiser has solicited nearly $38,000 on her behalf.

During the preliminary hearing, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Derek Hill provided testimony based on reports from law enforcement involved in the arrest.

Hill said police targeted Fallis for arrest on Oct. 27, because she was acting as an "instigator" and "agitator" by walking up to police and yelling at them, then turning around to get others riled up. He said officers waited for her to separate from the group, then brought her behind the police line for arrest.

It was during the arrest, as two officers tried to pin her down and force her into handcuffs, that she fired three shots from a gun in her left hand, Hill testified. He said the revolver removed from her hand had three spent casings and two live rounds in it.

Hill also testified that Fallis made comments to law enforcement following her arrest along the lines of, "everyone has a right to a firearm" and "if I wanted to shoot or kill you law enforcement, I would've."

Fallis has a prior felony conviction for being an accessory to a crime in Colorado, Hill testified. He said the gun, which was at one point at a shop in Mobridge, S.D., is the product of interstate commerce.
HOT SPRINGS  South Dakotas Congressional delegation  U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), and Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.)  followed through with their promise to meet with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald following his Nov. 30 visit to Hot Springss Battle Mountain VA facility.

Meeting talks

During this meeting, the delegation encouraged McDonald to carefully consider input he received from veterans, staff and other community stakeholders before making any final decision on the future of the Hot Springs campus, according to a joint press release from all three members of the delegation.

Also, the delegation reiterated to McDonald that any reconfiguration of the Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS) should be made within the construct of a national realignment strategy for the Veterans Health Administration, as prescribed by law.

Making sure veterans in the Hot Springs area have access to quality health care remains my top priority, said Rounds, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. While I would have preferred to join Secretary McDonald on his trip to Hot Springs, I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet with him today to hear about his visit and seek assurances that a decision on the future of Hot Springs has not been predetermined. The VA must continue to focus on what is best for South Dakota veterans and the Hot Springs community.

I was encouraged by Secretary McDonalds willingness to listen to the delegations perspective about how we view the future of the Hot Springs VA and by his commitment to continue engaging with the community it serves, said Thune. My recommendation to the secretary hasnt changed. I still believe our veterans would be best served if the Hot Springs VA remained open and operational, especially the facilitys PTSD care, which is credited with saving countless veterans lives. Its my hope that after todays meeting and Secretary McDonalds visit to South Dakota last week that hell make the right decision for our veterans.

There is something very special about the Veterans Town, both for the veterans it serves but also for the community of Hot Springs itself, said Noem. With so much at stake, it is essential the VA Secretary approach this decision with accurate information, a nonbiased perspective, and the shared goal of delivering the best quality healthcare to our nations veterans. These are items weve insisted upon from the beginning and areas in which we will continue to hold the VA accountable going forward. Our veterans deserve nothing less.

VA response

According to the VA, McDonald shared his impressions about his Hot Springs visit with the delegation and continues VAs effort to hear first-hand from those served by the facility.

He assured the delegation that any decision on the future of the Hot Springs VA facility would be made with an analysis of how to provide high-quality, safe and accessible care for Veterans in the area while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, says a VA news release that followed the delegation meeting.

Local voices

At the Fall River County commissioners meeting on Dec. 6, county Veteran Services Officer Dan Cullen noted that his office served 300 veterans in the last six months, and generated some $500,000 in new compensation for veterans in the area. This did not include transient vets, Cullen said. Part of his job involves assisting the Battle Mountain VA domiciliary, which has been very helpful for treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to accept patients, including those from other states, sometimes as far away as New Jersey and California.

Cullen described McDonald as not very forthcoming about the VAs future. With any luck, well be able to keep the VA, he said.

Cullen also said that many more veterans were coming to Hot Springs than the VAs service area maps show, many from as far away as Valentine, Neb. and Cheyenne, Wyo.

Cullen also said that the death of 1,000 cuts operations by the VA at Battle Mountain continue to hamstring what the facility offers. For example, the facility is losing its contract for doctor exams for compensation and pensions.

This was a robust effort, with four doctors doing the examinations, Cullen said. But the VA is moving the contracts for this and this will affect us.

Cullen also talked to South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Larry Zimmerman, who hopes McDonald will remain as head of the VA under the Trump administration. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was being considered for this job, according to some news reports.

County Commissioner Joe Allen agreed, saying, Regardless of the criticism, he (McDonald) came here.

Also, County Commissioner Mike Ortner said that members of the Congressional delegation  Thune in particular  would be getting back to him about the future of the VA following their meetings with McDonald.

Ortner said he stressed to the congressional delegation that if the Battle Mountian VA is closed, and a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) is instituted, that the VA keep the dialysis unit, a money-maker, and contract with local hospitals for inpatient care. Ortner also urged the congressional to push for urgent care and CBOC.

Veterans are a different patient than John Q. Public, who was not in the military, said Ortner. An initial assessment of veterans should be done by VA personnel.

Ortner would like to see a National Center for Excellence for PTSD treatment at the Battle Mountain VA remain and be expanded.

He also talked about how the VA could trim down staff to cut some expenses. He claimed unions are an issue, with five people doing the same job  four are playing computer solitaire, while one is working his rump off. The bureaucracy is ingrained, and getting rid of it is going to be tougher than biting 10-penny nails.
Ag decline, tax issues could spark serious trouble says Henderson

HOT SPRINGS  Edgemont area rancher and activist Susan Henderson sees tough times ahead for Fall River County and she wants to know how the county will handle this, so she can make plans for riding the storm out. She told the county commissioners  Mike Ortner, Joe Allen, Deb Russell and Joe Falkenburg; Ann Abbott was absent  this at their Tuesday, Dec. 5, regular meeting.

Henderson shared Rapid City Journal articles about statewide revenues dropping, and how agricultural income has declined by 76 percent statewide. She talked about how despite beef exports being up 8 percent, cattle prices fell hard in 2016, the result of the big boys speculating on commodities, she believes.

How will Fall River County respond to these things, she wanted to know?

We need visibility on costs, she said. Where are property taxes going on ranches? Ive heard twice the current tax from the state Revenue Department. I need to know this 20 minutes ago, so I can plan for my ranch. Where are we at?

She pointed to increasing costs imposed by the passage of Marsys Law, the victim rights amendment voters approved during the election.

Producers cant do much about it, but we pay for it, she said. My bottom line is that we need visibility on where were going, our costs. I see you are making an effort to control costs. There is only a portion of your budget that is discretionary, 10 percent, which is not much leeway unless you do something dramatic.

During the 2008 crack-up, she said, the Dodd-Frank bill put regulations on banking and mortgages. Thanks to this bill, agriculture is now required to collateralize loans on the short period. This is affecting agriculture. Many are under-collateralized and will have to sell their cattle, or their collateral is not in line with what they have borrowed. Im one of the best capitalized ranches, but I have to plan for the disaster. Others are just going out of business. We need to sit down and talk about costs, about visibility.

Henderson also urged the commissioners to look at the 1,400 delinquent properties on tax role. She claimed 900 of these properties could be taken back by the county, and that 400 were four years into unpaid taxes. (She didnt say where she got this information.)

In the past you could roll loans over, but you cant do that anymore, she said. This is a complete wreck. The cost of this (the county taking delinquent tax buildings) is enormous, then you sell it for $5. This only encourages things you dont want. Ive seen cities where whole tracts are abandoned for lack of tax payments, they get turned into crack houses. Its a terrible business.

Henderson suggested sending a committee from Fall River County to Pierre, to talk to Gov. Daugaard, state legislators, the majority and minority leaders, the Departments of Revenue and Commerce, to tell the state bureaucrats the county cant handle more taxes.

Were a poorer county, she said. We have no fancy sources of income. They need to get this message. Talk to Thune, Daugaard.

She also encouraged the commissioners to look at the $1.7 million jail fund, and not build a jail until were the coming tough times are over, if they ever get over.

This is a massive problem, she said. It could force the county to lay off half of its courthouse staff, all sorts of wild things.

Russell noted the county had created a task force to study this.

Falkenburg said he was working on an article about taxes to share with county residents, noting how a state tax bill sunsets 2018, something he said will be very serious for us.

Falkenburg also reminded Henderson of the time county people, including himself, visited Pierre to see the governor about corn ground being valued at the same rate as rangelands.

You dont just get the governor or legislators to talk to you, he said. They dont care what Fall River County does. No one will see you.

Henderson said she got in to see all the big guns, and listened to their drivel write letters. We need to look at budget holes, plan. Are taxes going up? We need to plan for this.

Allen and Falkenburg both said letters and people going to the school district would help. They talked about how the schools basically tell the county what to do in terms of taxes.

We dont have the ability to say, Falkenburg noted, we dont have control over their budget.

Allen lamented how it cost $28,000 per student to educate kids in Sioux County, Neb. and encouraged those concerned about the issue to visit the school board, get on that agenda.

Henderson said she would do this.

In a related matter, Director of Equalization Suzy Simkins, during her quarterly departmental update, noted that her office will be reassessing commercial properties across the county this year.

Simkins said that all the values used to evaluate commercial properties are in place now, but could not say where things stood with commercial property valuations yet, although she noted that some are close; some are, oh my gosh.

By the time the commercial reassessment is completed, the total county reassessment will be complete. From henceforth forward, all properties will be physically visited at least once every seven years by assessors from her office, with changes to most properties monitored in other ways, including taxpayers who identify changes in their property.

Simkins lauded the changes going on in Hot Springs, saying that she was seeing a lot of properties improving, although commercial properties are a somewhat different story. Edgemont, she said is in sadder shape in terms of personal properties and market values.

Henderson pointed out that the county recently put a moratorium on the sale of delinquent tax certificates for properties, and Falkenburg noted that taking homes must be done on a case-by-case basis to avoid another mold house issue where the county paid for a clean-up and didnt receive any money back from the sale of a tax delinquent property.

Falkenburg also noted that Fall River County and the state require assessments to be at least 80 percent of their value, and bemoaned the fact that the county didnt set this figure. In surrounding states, he said, the values are different: Nebraska requires 80 percent of valuations, but uses a 21 percent personal income tax to add to state coffers. Montana is a 23 percent of value state, he said, and Wyoming is only 10 percent, also with no personal income tax.

In other business:

*Edgemont pays $86,000 sheriffs bill  Edgemont Mayor Carl Shaw attended the meeting, promising a decision on the $86,000 his city owes the county at that evenings Edgemont city council meeting. The city did approve this, and sent a check with Sheriff Bob Evans to the county Tuesday evening.

*Courthouse panic button - Building Supervisor Lyle Jenson applied for a Homeland Security grant in June for a $9,000 panic button security system in the courthouse. Jensen said this grant was approved, however, the county must pay for the installation of this, then it will be reimbursed by the grant.

Another part of the grant is a $1,400, magnetic, hold-open door control system in the dispatch area. The door stays open until the dispatcher hits the panic button, then the door closes and jail inmates cant get into the dispatch area.

Both must be installed by December of 2017 to continue to be eligible for the grant money.

Allen suggested taking a close look at all security threat issues for some longer term planning before installing this. States Attorney Jim Sword agreed, noting that the county has discussed increased security for the courthouse in the past.

Henderson talking about how Mexican drug cartels were now ensconced in Pine Ridge  judging from the recent murder of two people gunned down outside the Sue Ann Big Crow Youth Center, a public polling place agreed, calling security another huge concern for the county. Sword said Hendersons characterization of the seriousness of this issue was pretty close.

Russell, however, said the county shouldnt wait too long to do this. Paying for the panic button system was approved, with no installation date set.

*Jail water pipes - Jensen also noted some jail maintenance issues: how the main sewer line got plugged, how a water heater required a new valve, and how the copper water pipes buried in the concrete of the 40-year-old jail are starting to corrode and break down. Four water lines have already rotted off and Jensen anticipated more trouble with this as time continues.

Im afraid that were not too far away from a major disaster out there, he said, when well have to spend some pretty serious money.

The commissioners took no action on this.

*Battle Mountain Road  Highway Superintendent Randy Seiler told the commissioners that work on creating a better road up Battle Mountain, to the communication towers there, has been completed at a cost of $5,000 to the county. Seiler and Emergency Manager Frank Maynard said two tower owners and Game, Fish & Parks may kick in money to augment the costs of this since it benefits them.

*Weed & Pest Supervisor Nina Steinmetz said weed control will bring $34,000 to the county from the state, for 80 landowners who permitted weed and pest control on their lands; another $48,000 reimbursement for spraying; and $10,000 for mosquito control. She also has a watch list of 20 properties to keep and eye on during green-up for weed infestations. She will be contacting these properties in April.
BISMARCK, N.D. | A housing activist from the Pine Ridge Reservation accused of locking himself to construction equipment at the Dakota Access pipeline protest will go to trial on a felony reckless endangerment charge.

South Central District Judge James Hill found probable cause Monday that Nicholas Tilsen, 34, of Porcupine, S.D., recklessly endangered the lives of police officers who sawed through the pipe contraption attaching him to equipment on Sept. 14.

"It is very clear in this case from both officers' testimony that the dangers existed of fire hazard, electrical hazard, individual falling," Hill said in court Monday afternoon, adding that he believed Tilsen had been informed of the potential for harm.

Tilsen's attorney, Bruce Ellison of Rapid City, had argued that the risk was exaggerated, that officers did not take all precautions to protect themselves and that Tilsen could not have known the extent of the danger.

Tilsen, founder of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. on the Pine Ridge Reservation, allegedly used a "sleeping dragon"  a device made of metal pipe that activists use to hook themselves to equipment  to lock onto a track hoe at a Dakota Access pipeline work site near New Salem. A person can usually detach him- or herself from equipment by undoing a carabiner inside.

To remove him, a law enforcement officer stood on a platform 3 to 4 feet from the ground and used a grinder to cut open the pipe around his arms, Mandan Police Lt. Scott Stromstodt, leader of the "cut team," testified. To keep Tilsen from being burned, another officer sprayed water continuously on the pipe. Stromstodt said the officers involved were at risk of sparks, shards, falling and electrocution.

"Anytime you combine water and electricity can be a recipe for disaster," Stromstodt said.

Morton County Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Moll testified that he had warned Tilsen of the danger in which he placed himself and the officers by not self-releasing from the equipment. Moll said he could not recall if he detailed the dangers of the cutting.

In his questioning of the officers, Ellison challenged whether police could not have put on more protective gear, which would have reduced the risks of cutting Tilsen loose. Firetrucks were on the scene, and Ellison suggested the officers could have borrowed fire-resistant clothing or helmets with visors.

"We have officers who made a decision to act in haste," Ellison said in his closing statement. "They had every piece of equipment that would've protected them."

Stromstodt suggested the extra protections might have been large, impractical and bulky.

Ellison also challenged the extent to which Tilsen may have shown "extreme indifference to the value of human life," which is required to prove a felony reckless endangerment charge. The officers both testified to using similar grinders at home, sometimes without goggles. Also, Tilsen's face and ears were covered to protect him from sparks and hearing damage.

"We know that Mr. Tilsen's ears were covered. His eyes were covered. He couldn't see any of the process that was going on, so he would be unaware of any injury or even the potential to the officers before they started doing the extraction," Ellison said.

Several protesters face reckless endangerment charges on similar allegations. For the most part, judges have upheld those charges after preliminary hearings, with the exception of Judge Bruce Romanick, who threw out a similar felony charge against protester Wanikiyewin Wi Loud Hawk in November.

Tilsen also faces three misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass, obstruction of a government function and disorderly conduct.

Hill set March 22 as the trial date.
U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., was contacted about potentially serving in the Trump administration but has chosen instead to stay in the House of Representatives, according to her spokeswoman.

New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters tweeted Monday that Noem was being considered for U.S. secretary of agriculture by President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump is vetting Kristi Noem, South Dakota's lone member of Congress, for Agriculture secretary, Peters tweeted. She'll be visiting Trump Tower this week.

The Journal asked Noems office about the report, and spokeswoman Brittany Comins said the tweet was inaccurate. Comins said Noem was contacted about an administration post, but Noem is not headed to New York for a meeting with Trump and is committed to serving in the House.

Comins additionally provided a written statement from Noem. The statement said, in part, that while it is an honor to be considered by President-elect Trump to join his administration, Noem is convinced the best way for me to help President Trump succeed while also producing the greatest impact for South Dakota is to serve out my two-year term in the House of Representatives.

Noem was elected Nov. 8 to her fourth consecutive two-year term in the House. Six days later, on Nov. 14, she announced that she intends to run for governor of South Dakota in 2018, when current Gov. Dennis Daugaard will be term-limited.
Only 18 of 90 eligible city employees took Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender's retirement incentive, aimed to save the city money in future payrolls.

The idea was to drop some of the more highly paid retirement-eligible positions off the payroll. The city offered the employees three months of pay if they chose to retire by the end of this year.

The incentive payout totaled $330,220.80 with an expected annual payroll savings of $300,000 starting in 2018, according to a letter Allender wrote to members of the Rapid City Council on Monday.

Allender said it would take about one year to recoup the cost of the incentives. The savings are calculated based on the "assumption that when a senior employee leaves a city department, the opportunity for upward mobility is created," he wrote.

That would result in the replacement being a line-level employee at the lowest starting wage, he said. The only exception would be if someone were brought in from the outside to fill a position, but Allender said that is not expected to be the case with the replacements for any of the 18 who accepted the deal.

The employees who accepted had a total of 487 years of service to the city, an average of 27 years each. The longest-serving employee spent 41 years in city government and retired at age 64, making more than $101,600 per year, according to data from the mayor.

The highest paid employee taking advantage of the retirement plan was making $122,187 a year and retired at age 48 after 26 years of city service.

The second-highest paid was a nonunion employee making $110,797 per year who retired at age 65 after 31 years.

The youngest retiree was a 46-year-old employee of the Fire Department who made $65,703 per year after 24 years of service.

Allender had hoped the incentive would result in about half the 90 eligible employees leaving but said the program was still a savings win.

"I believe the retirement incentive was a success even with the lower than expected number of employees taking advantage of it," Allender wrote. He said he may offer the incentive again later, "but at this point, I have no intention of doing so."

"I tend to believe there are no single issues within city operations that can be cut resulting in tens of millions of dollars in savings," the mayor wrote. "However, I do believe there are a number of opportunities, such as in this case, that allow us to save tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars."
This past weekend in Prescott, Arizona, the Eric Marsh Foundation for Wildland Firefighters held its first annual gala dinner to raise money to help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty. Eric was the superintendent of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a city-sponsored Type 1 crew.

The story of the Yarnell Hill Fire and that horrific moment when 19 members of the 20-member crew died dominated the news for a while. And it dominated the thoughts of firefighters, young and old, long after. Its not over. Wont ever be over. Its the nature of those seminal events to stay at the top of mind in our lives ever after, especially for those who wake up to it every day, like families and friends.

Of course, people are moving on with life. The gala hall was filled with related survivors and people who supported them in those terrible days and lonely nights and officers who secured the scene and fellow firefighters who mopped up after it was over.

Lots of things change at warp speed, but in the wake of horror, things change in ways we couldnt imagine. Tears came easily, emotions still raw. Many were silent, thoughtful, humbled. I sat with the public information officer who handled the aftershock. He wasnt supposed to be on duty that day. The number one PIO was on vacation. Luck of the draw. He got out of the wildfire business after it was over. But the Yarnell Fire is etched in his mind and on his spirit, and theres no way to make it different.

We stayed with Erics wife, Amanda. She now lives in a lovely quiet home on four acres with lots of horses and a new love, a man who went through those dreadful days as a responding police officer, and a man who accepts the presence of the other man who was, and always will be, in the shadows of Amandas life.

On a whim, Amanda showed me a beautiful handmade saddle and chaps in the tack room. What do you think, she asked? Theyre beautiful, I said. Nice work. Eric made them, she said.

He was a real man who left a real life.

Thats about to change in some ways. Actor Josh Brolin will star as Eric in an upcoming Hollywood epic about the fire. John Maclean is writing a book. The families are thinking of it all as art, like a novel, not to be taken at face value but rather as a sort of imperfect monument to their brave men.

Filmed in the kinder gentler country around Santa Fe, New Mexico, the film cannot begin to approximate the conditions in the decomposing granite boulder fields of central Arizona, or the 12-foot-high chaparral that burned with such fury that 20th day in June, never to be forgotten.

Arizonas governor dedicated the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park three days before the gala. Visitors hike a moderate-to-difficult trail built in six months this year by 30 people. Its somehow fitting and right that we must work so hard to get to the hallowed ground, just like the hotshots did, in a world where there is no downhill and the objective is always just a hundred yards further on, further on.

Sadly, the crew ended that day. Too much liability for a small town. Cant blame them. The park is recognition that something noble died, but wont be forgotten.

Between the Foundation, the film, the book and the park, the Granite Mountain crew will live on  a testament to real lives given freely in service to others.
GOOD: The Legislature should support changes recommended for the South Dakota Retirement System that its trustees say will prevent it from being exploited at the expense of others. Now, a government workers retirement benefits are based on the average compensation received during the 12 highest consecutive quarters, which has apparently led to some employees getting pay raises at the end of their careers to boost their pension. The trustees want that changed to 20 consecutive quarters as those who have taken advantage of the current rules are receiving more in benefits than they have contributed, which could impact the solvency of a program for those who work for state government, cities, counties and schools. This is a fix that is long overdue.

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BAD: Theres something fishy going on in Rapid City, according to the owners of Dakota Seafood Co. on Jackson Boulevard. Eric Sharpe, a co-owner of the business, told the Journal last week that someone is going door to door with frozen seafood claiming to represent the business. He wants everyone to know the company doesnt send representatives out to sell their goods. It was a customer of the fresh seafood business that notified management of the ploy. More importantly, however, is that residents need to be cautious when they open a door and greet a smiling sales representative. For starters, you should ask for the salespersons sales tax license, which is required by state law. Then, consider calling the company the person says he or she is representing to make sure they are telling the truth. The best advice, however, might be to decline to answer the door if a stranger is on the other side.

UGLY: The saga of the malnourished and starving wild horses discovered on a ranch in northwestern South Dakota took a disturbing turn last week in an exercise of misdirected anger. Dewey County Sheriff Les Mayer announced that a sale scheduled at the livestock barn in Philip had been canceled due to threats directed at the auction business. This is the latest in what has become difficult ordeal for Ziebach and Dewey counties where the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros is located. After giving the organization time to prove it could care for the horses or find new owners for them, the counties decided to hold an auction, which has led to threats that law enforcement takes seriously. Any auction barn that holds the horse sale is doing nothing wrong. The same can't be said about those making the threats.
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Russian Border Agency embezzlement case brought back to court

MOSCOW, December 13 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  The Moscow City Court overturned a lower court ruling to send a criminal case over embezzlement at the Federal Border Development Agency back to prosecutors for further investigation, a court official told RAPSI on Tuesday.

Dmitry Bezdelov, former head of the Federal Border Development Agency, is one of the suspects in the case.

Investigators claim that in 2009, Bezdelov, then head of the Federal Border Development Agency, conspired with a number of other people to embezzle public funds allocated for the construction of checkpoints on the state border. From September 2009 to May 2013, they allegedly stole and laundered up to 490 million rubles ($7.5 million).

Bezdelov resigned from his post in October 2013 after a probe had revealed inappropriate use of budget funds by the agency. He was arrested in Rome in October 2014 after he had been put on the international wanted list. Italy's court of appeals upheld the decision to extradite Bezdelov to Russia in October 2015. The Supreme Court left the judgment intact.

Bezdelov's lawyers insisted that the case should be send back to prosecutors. Moscow's Meshchansky District Court sided with the lawyers on December 1.

Two defendants in the case were sentenced earlier to long prison terms. Another one absconded during the trial and was put on the federal wanted list.
Russia ordered to pay Garry Kasparov 5,000 for violation of rights

MOSCOW, December 13 (RAPSI)  The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that rights of Garry Kasparov, a Russian opposition leader and former world chess champion, were violated during a 2007 anti-government rally in Moscow.

The ECHR ordered Russia to pay Kasparov and another applicant 5,000 euros each in respect of non-pecuniary damage. Kasparov should be payed extra 3,000 euros in respect of costs and expenses.

Kasparov was arrested on November 24, 2007 together with six other political activists at the demonstration and brought to the police station. He was charged with a breach of the regulations on holding demonstrations and disobeying police orders. He was later found guilty of both charges. A court ruled that Kasparov marched among some 1,500 people in what had constituted an unauthorised demonstration.

Kasparov denied that there was an organised demonstration or that he called out to anyone to follow him. Nevertheless, he was sentenced to five days administrative detention.

Kasparov lodged a complaint with the ECHR along with six other political activists, including Lev Ponomaryov.

The ECHR ruled that there was a violation of article 11 (Freedom of assembly and association) and article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as regards two applicants, including Kasparov.

Complaints of other activists were deemed inadmissible.
MISSOULA  Dave Keehner addressed his wifes killer directly in court on Monday morning, his voice wavering between anger and sadness.

He looked directly at Scott Austin Price, who was about to be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for murdering 56-year-old Lonette Keehner last Dec. 21 in a Missoula motel room.

In just nine days it will be one year since Lonette took her final breath in life,'' Dave Keehner said. Lonette had all the Christmas decorations out and our home had the holiday look. It was her favorite time of year. But before the day is over, she is dead, lying in a pool of blood.

Keehner said he has been trying to control his anger over what happened to his wife.

The manner in which she lost her life, what must have been her final thoughts when you stabbed her over and over and over, those last few seconds of life, what a horrible way to die, Keehner said.

"Never again will the family get to enjoy the holidays with Lonette. You had the car keys and could have left. But no. You had to murder her just in a very violent way just like you did to the elderly man in Miles City the week before.

"Hopefully you will get life in prison, but this will never end the pain and suffering our family is going through. But hopefully tomorrow will be a little easier than today. And this year for Christmas we will think of all the lovely memories that Lonette has left us with. 

In handing down a life sentence without parole a few moments later, Missoula County District Court Judge Robert Dusty Deschamps told Price, 38, that he was a "bad, evil man'' who appeared to show no remorse during the emotional testimony of Lonette Keehners family members.

Youre sitting there as cold and cool as anybody Ive ever seen, Deschamps said. I heard what people were saying to you, and Im not sure you really do regret this. Im not convinced that youre not proud of yourself for your accomplishments and that youll do just fine in prison. Youve spent most of your life there and you have 10 felonies under your belt.''

Price and his accomplice, Sarah Rae McKnight, both pleaded guilty to five felonies earlier this year, including deliberate homicide. They admitted to police that they were high on meth when they found Keehner in the Super 8 motel where she worked. Price attacked Keehner, forcing her into a bathtub and stabbing her even after she handed over her car keys.

They were arrested in Idaho shortly after. In early December, Price was given another life sentence for murdering his 78-year-old landlord, Ed Martin, in Miles City the week before Keehners death.

On Monday, Deschamps also handed down a pair of consecutive life sentences to McKnight, but left open the possibility of parole, meaning she could be eligible to be released in 60 years. Her lawyer argued that she suffered from severe mental health problems and drug addiction.

Price and McKnight pleaded guilty to all of their charges earlier this year without any agreement from prosecutors, leaving Deschamps authority to sentence them however he chose. Since May, McKnight has been at the Montana State Womens Prison, where she is serving a sentence for a 2014 burglary from Powell County.

Before the sentencing, Missoula police detective Jamie Merifield testified that McKnight told her that she believed Price had killed Keehner because she was an Indian. Price has white supremacist ties, including swastika tattoos.

Merifield also said she found notes in the couples Idaho motel room written by McKnight referring to herself as an Aryan Queen and referring to them both as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde.

Merifield testified that the couple had spent all their money on gambling and drugs, and they had slept in a car in Missoula for the two nights before Keehner was killed. She also said that they both had been using massive amounts of meth. The couple had duct tape and zip ties, and had planned on kidnapping someone and forcing them to withdraw money at a cash machine.

They did not like the car they had purchased, because it kept getting stuck in the snow, Merifield said.

Price showed little emotion when he was allowed to address the court.

I would do anything to make it right, he said. It wasnt a hate crime. It had nothing to do with her being Native. It was just a meth-fueled, bad deal. I apologize and I also agree that I should probably have a life sentence with no possibility of parole. Im not disputing any of that.

McKnight also apologized, saying that her life had come crashing down around her in the weeks before Price picked her up in Great Falls.

Lonelle Lytle, Keehners twin sister, broke down in tears as she addressed Price and McKnight.

You had no reason to kill my twin sister Lonette, she said. It was a senseless and selfish act.

"I struggle with Lonette being gone every day,'' Lytle said.. Ive gone through the various stages of grief. She did not deserve to be taken away in such a brutal and heartless manner. Lonette was loved and respected by her family, friends and coworkers.'' She was taken away a devoted wife and loving mother and grandmother.

Lytle said one day she will forgive her sister's killers because she refuses to hold on to the anger and hate they caused.

Your intentions were to kidnap, harm and kill and get what you wanted, she said. Was it really worth it? I hope you never go a day without forgetting why you dont have your freedom. The people that you have harmed never did anything to you.

Nash Sangsland, one of Keehners daughters, first addressed McKnight.

You deserve to lie in the bed you have made for the hearts you have broken, she said. You are a mouse in the shadow of such despicable acts and know you deserve the loneliness and sadness you feel.

She then turned to Price.

You are so despicable, she said. I can hardly stand to be in your presence. You have utter disregard for human life. You stole a woman from this planet with your selfish intentions. Lonette was a wonderful woman with a heart and a soul that I had the privilege of calling my mother and the grandmother to my son. She taught me strength and love like I have never experienced. She taught me that darkness also existed, and always tried to draw me into safety and happiness. I know that darkness exists inside of you.

Sangsland went on to say that both Price and McKnight will think about the damage they caused for the rest of their lives.

I pity the reality that you face everyday: The mirror you looked in while you were a nobody, and now the mirror you look in as a killer, she told Price. Its the empty spaces like you that never consider the empty spaces you leave behind.

Jayden Sangsland, Keehners 10-year-old grandson, addressed his grandmothers killer directly.

Sometimes, I feel like you are a broken soul inside of your heart, he said. You brought sadness to others and affected a lot of people. You have hurt my grandmother and you made my Grandpa really sad and my great aunt really sad. You deserve to be in jail for life.

Nicole Walksalong, Keehners daughter, said explaining what happened to her four children was the hardest thing shes ever done.

I had to explain that there are evil people in this world, she said. The day of the funeral, my six-year-old daughter laid her head on my mothers arm, and rubbed her arm. As parents, thats a great feeling. But that was the last interaction my daughter had with her grandmother. You are empty people. You are evil.

Walksalong said despite them being responsible for her mothers murder, she has found a way to forgive Price and McKnight.

I forgive you guys, she said. I have to forgive you for my children, my husband and myself. I cannot live with anger in my heart like you live with anger in your heart.

Susan Ledger, the Missoula woman who was stabbed by Price in a botched attempt to steal her car in a grocery store parking lot before he killed Keehner, also testified.

I am the lucky one, Ledger said. I survived your attempts to kill me. My family did not have to plan a funeral or figure out how to live without me or have their lives forever changed.

Before McKnight was sentenced, a clinical/forensic psychologist testified that she exhibited bipolar disorder symptoms and extensive drug addiction.

A pre-sentence report prepared by a probation officer recommended two consecutive life sentences for McKnight. Deputy County Attorney Jason Marks asked for the judge to impose that, but wanted the sentences to also be without the possibility of parole.

I certainly do not think a lesser sentence would be appropriate, he said, adding that despite the drug use, she had been responsible for her actions. Ms. McKnight could say no when she wanted to. This isnt a helpless woman under the thrall of an evil man.

McKnights lawyer, Lisa Kauffman, asked for an exception to mandatory minimum sentencing laws for McKnight due to her impaired mental state and drug use, and requested a 40 year sentence with 30 years suspended in the Department of Corrections. That sentence, Kauffman said, would allow McKnight to receive drug and mental health treatment she wouldnt have access to at the prison, and serve the interest of justice and fairness.

Kauffman pushed back against the idea of a life sentence, saying the country shouldnt be in the practice of warehousing people in cages like animals and that a criminal sentence shouldnt be given out of revenge.

Your client maybe picked a bad country to commit her crime in, Deschamps answered, suggesting that McKnight should move to Canada where maximum sentences are more lenient.

In answer to a question from Kauffman, Deschamps said he wasnt taking connections between McKnight and the white supremacy movement into account in his sentence.

Your role in this was definitely not minor, Deschamps told McKnight.

Both McKnight and Price were also given 356 days of credit for time already served in custody, and must repay $4,214 in restitution to the victims.
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Guwahati, December 12 : Troops of Assam Rifles on Monday had busted a camp of the Khaplang faction of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-K) in Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang district, officials said.

Following a tip-off, the troops of Assam Rifles had launched operation in the dense forest area near Phenbiro in Changlang district along Myanmar border and busted the core activity camp of NSCN-K.

A top official of Assam Rifles said that, the operation named Op Phenbiro, in which security personnel had destroyed three huts used by the militants for shelter, a sentry post and recovered 18 rounds live ammunition of AK series rifle, two I-Com radio set, rations, four pair Naga army uniform, medicines and other war like stores.

The top Assam Rifles official said that, when the troops launched operation at the remote area, at least 10-12 militants were presented in the camp, but they had managed to escape taking advantage of dense jungle.

We had located the camp on Sunday evening, but the troops took time to reach the exact location and by the time the militants had managed to escape,'A the official said.

On December 4, NSCN-K militants had ambushed on two vehicle convoy of 16th Assam Rifles at Nignu area in Arunachal Pradesh's Longding district killing two jawans and injuring eight others.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
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If someone on your list is a collector of unusual cookbooks, heres a suggestion. New Yorks great cookbook store, Kitchen Arts and Letters, stocks every current cookbook and food magazine, along with a fine array of food history and out of print books. They also scour the world for unusual foreign cookbooks which are available nowhere else in this country.

At the moment Im taken with this series, which they import directly from Singapore, about the great ethnic cuisines of that country. The Peranakan recipes are from the descendants of the early Chinese migrants who settled in Singapore and intermarried, creating an original (and utterly delicious) cuisine with names like otak otak and gado gado.

The Hokkien recipes are from the Fujianese people who came to Singapore from southeastern China. The book contains a number of fascinating recipes, including one for kong pak bau  braised pork belly buns with lettuce..

The South Indian recipes offers dishes like vinegar chicken, stuffed squid in black ink gravy and tomatoes in yogurt. Theres also a great recipe for vaduvam, the exotic spice that swept Paris a few years ago. A little bottle of vaduvam, come to think of it, would also make a great gift.

Should these not be unusual enough, you might want to consider this rather mad volume:

Nobody planning a trip to Shanghai should consider leaving home without it.

Categorised in: Gift Guide
hindustantimes.com

In major philosophical systems, there was incessant argument whether the world had an eternal existence or had been created at one time or another.

The recent event in Mathura, where an old swami-turned-atheist, Balendu Swami, wished to organise a private conclave for discussion of his (un)belief was manhandled because he had hurt the religious sentiments of the believers, both Hindu and Muslim, is, apart from being a violation of oneas constitutional rights, also brings to the fore the very long history and persistence of atheism in human civilisation. Chinese civilisation has done without god for much of its durable life, although it has evolved the notion of Heaven. Indeed, the Catholic missionaries who arrived in China from Europe had to translate god as the Lord of Heaven. Several Greek philosophers from the sixth century BCE were self-proclaimed atheists. In the world of Islam, if the existence of god was not denied, some prominent philosophers like al-Razi questioned the legitimacy of prophethood in general, including that of Muhammad and even the divinity of the Quranic verses. In the Hindu realm, only the Vedanta, especially the later version of Nyaya-Vaisesika, were theistic; by contrast Buddhism, Jainism, Purva-Mimansa, Samkhya, Lokayata and the original Nyaya-Vaisesika were philosophies of committed atheism, to cite from late Debiprasad Chattopadhyayaas book Indian Atheism.

In major philosophical systems, there was incessant argument whether the world had an eternal existence or had been created at one time or another. In the first case, nature had so evolved through its own internal dynamism as to form the planets, the earth, the stars, the universe with no intervention from an extraneous source. In the second, a Creator was envisaged who created the universe of his (sic!) own will and gave it a functional, regulatory order. The need for a Creator stands on the weakest ground, for if the universe could not come into existence without the helping hand of a Creator, then logically the Creator would also have been created. The materialists in the Hindu pantheon of philosophy like the Charvakas argued that it is the interaction of various matters which resulted in the creation of a phenomenon which is different from all its individual constituents. The examples they gave were two, among several: no individual ingredient of pan (betel) is capable of yielding the red colour on oneas lips; the colour emerges from the mixture of all elements of the pan. Similarly, no ingredient of liquor can produce intoxication by itself; it is the process of mixture of all the elements that creates the effect. The universe was similarly formed as various gases interacted and consolidated over hundreds of millennia and it became self-regulating. Did we hear the early echoes of the Big Bang here?

Even as the issues were widely disputed and discussed among theists and atheists and within each group, a major social transformation had occurred around two millennia ago. While the ancient societies everywhere were marked by multiplicity of beliefs as well as unbeliefs, hosting polytheistic, pantheistic, animist, anthropomorphic, naturalist forms of deities and beliefs as well as denial of beliefs, thus creating a wide spectrum with ample space for all, the assertion of a single truth in the monotheistic representation of god completely changed the scenario. The intervention of a monotheistic god with Christianity altered the very terms of debate as it were. Judaism too is monotheistic, for sure, but unlike Christianity, it is not a proselytising religion even as voluntary conversion to it by individuals under some strict conditions is permissible. As a proselytising religion, Christianity laid claims to monopoly of the singularity of truth revealed to humanity through Jesus, son of god. Implicit in it was also the falsity of all other faiths, an inevitable and irreconcilable conflict with them and its own ultimate universal triumph. This premise was later inherited by Islam with the same characteristics. Interestingly, these are also integral to the inveterate adversary of all religions, i.e. Marxism. Conflict with others and victory over them is inescapable in the claims over the monopoly of the single truth. It is thus that the whole of humanity must turn Christian, Muslim or socialist, depending on oneas partiality. A major agency in the enforcement of the singularity of truth has been State power. However, history has led humanity even within the respective spheres in different directions. Diversity and plurality have asserted themselves incessantly through the established and enforced prisms. Today, acceptance of plurality in lieu of singularity of vision is the norm.

It is therefore imperative that we in India all the more cherish and celebrate plurality, whether of faiths or cultures or assertion of absence of faith in god or religion. That is the essence of true Indian-ness, which has for ages upheld the right of freedom of thought without postulating the triumph of one opinion over another, one single truth over all others. This is also the premise of the Indian Constitutionas guarantee of civil rights. Denial of this freedom is the very anti-thesis of the great legacy of Indian civilisation. But then, this denial is being premised on the assertion of one truth as the single Truth, which is backed by the political dispensation that ironically seeks legitimacy in upholding ancient values!

Harbans Mukhia is former professor of history, JNU
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Spoiler Alert! The Death Star plans, so intensely pursued for the entirety of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, do in fact reach their proper destination, allowing Luke Skywalker to destroy the imposing monolithic super-weapon. (End of Spoiler)

But you knew that already - Rogue One is assuredly one Star Wars movie where a Death Star will not be destroyed.

Director Gareth Edwards, helming only his third feature film, delivers a bold, high stakes down-to-the-minute prequel. With this, far more than 2014's Godzilla, he has a blockbuster calling card for the ages. Of course, many are quick to point out the Star Wars franchise's track record when it comes to prequels. In this case, an entire movie is built around the notion of a macguffin making its way to a designated location that we know it will in fact reach, and how everything plays out from there.

It should be said, though, that this is the darkly toned Star Wars film that veteran fans have been clamoring for since the original prequel, The Phantom Menace, was announced a long time ago. For them, satisfaction is all but assured. There is moral complexity, conflicted characters, visceral combat and Stormtrooper deaths galore. Younger, newer fans' milage may vary. But this being a film of such quality, they will grow into it. Just as original fans grew into appreciating The Empire Strikes Back.

After the tight-lipped protection that all of fandom bestowed upon last year's resurrection of the Star Wars franchise, the hyper-managed yet miraculously satisfying The Force Awakens, it's kind of nice to be able to just blurt out how things go in the new one, and not have to worry about sending anyone into convulsions. (That said, fear not  the remainder of this review will dutifully be spoiler free. I would expect no less myself.)

Granted, there will always be those who dismiss an effort such as this merely as the latest and greatest in galactic shoe leather. But truth be told, Rogue One, as predictable as it may or may not be, nevertheless still has a few new surprises. Sure, its a song we all know. But theres plenty of room in the arrangement to surprise us. (To make that analogy literal, Michael Giacchino's score, the first non-John Williams of the series, strikes the right chords, going familiar only in brief and proper moments.)

The underlying raison d'etre of Rogue One is that it's a different kind of film than any previous Star Wars movie. It must be said, though, that every Star Wars movie is unique unto itself, from a certain point of view. But until now, they've all been official "episodes"; that is, interrelated tales of the ever-troubled Skywalker family, each one in keeping with a rigidly followed stylistic template of screen-wipe scene transitions, John Williams music, and opening crawls. But Lucasfilm, now revitalized in their Disney takeover, has no intension of sticking strictly to the numbered episodes. In order to meet a quota of one new Star Wars movie each year for the foreseeable future, there must also be "stand-alone" entries. Rogue One is the first of numerous such proposed films.

At every turn, there's more sand, dirt and debris to dodge and dirty up our ragtag heroes. (To quote David Bowie, Rebel Rebel, your face is a mess!) It's the height of Imperial rule, meaning that the galaxy is at an all-time low point. The gleam and sharpness of the Old Republic is but a forgotten dream in this doom-laden, planet--hopping mission film. Numerous new (to us) planets and territories are visited, each one of them a desolate place, a war torn battleground. The characters are adorned in layered plates of pieced together armor and tricked-out goggles. If not for the perpetual (and, it must be said, quite welcome) interjection of Star Wars iconography circa 1977, this could be mistaken for a space-faring Mad Max film.

Besides the usual British and American contingents, Rogue One makes pronounced inclusions of characters from previously lesser-seen Chinese, Mexican and Dutch corners of the galaxy. All work together in a spectacular effort to set the stage for A New Hope's more beloved if less diverse heroes. This is the tale of the freedom fighters forgotten by history, their sacrifices and struggles setting the stage for those whom time will, and in this case, already does remember.

Felicity Jones is the newest protagonist Jyn Erso, the second young brown-haired Caucasian female in a row to anchor the cast of a Star Wars film. That aside, there's no known connection between the rebellious and broken Erso and Daisy Ridley's budding would-be Jedi, Rey. Having been sent away as a young girl by her brilliant father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) to dodge an attack on her remote home by the evil Imperial up-and-comer Orson Krennic (a seething Ben Mendelsohn), she hides and maintains a valuable object. Her family had gone into hiding so that Galen could avoid being forced to spearhead the construction of the Death Star. Yet, that's exactly what he's made to do.

After being raised a warrior by the enigmatic and mysterious Saw Gerrera (whom originated on The Clone Wars animated series, and is played here by the great Forest Whitaker), Jyn sets out to learn the truth of the sins of her father. She is aided by several rebels of varying devotion to the Alliance itself, including sharpshooter Cassian Andor (Diego Luna, in leading man form), a blind, Force sensitive martial arts master (Donnie Yen, touching and spectacular) and his heavily weaponized cohort Baze Malbus (a wild-haired and beefy Wen Jiang), and a former Imperial droid reprogrammed effectively for hilarious sarcasm (voice of Alan Tudyk; watch for a minor nod to Firefly). They are all terrific, more than worthy additions to this galaxy far, far away.

Not so far away are the realities of how muddied the waters of morality can get when combating an oppressor such as the Empire. A shoot-first/ask-questions-later mentality can arise from desperation, and once-fundamental tenants of any organized rebellion, such as hope and listening to reason become kneejerkingly dismissive. Rogue One is candid in its portrayal of a flawed and difficult Rebel Alliance. Although it is led by familiar faces Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) and Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), and stationed in the established Yavin 4 secret base (recreated to a tee), this Rebel Alliance is not always easy to root for. This courageous depiction is much to the film's credit. Good and evil remain, but basic interactions with them are humanly cloudy as ever. This aspect of Rogue One is just one such factor that places it alongside of 2005's Revenge of the Sith in terms of dark, less kid friendly visions of Star Wars.

Just as long-lingering, nitpicked details of George Lucas' original 1977 film are finally addressed and laid to rest, Rogue One also releases a whole host of new debate fodder into the universe, just to restore balance. Because, if everything were all perfectly explained and crystal clear, it just wouldn't be the Star Wars we love so much.

But Rogue One's got it where it counts: The battle scenes, when they finally do roll around, are spectacular. Several cameos by past characters are impressive, most impressive. And the tactile quality of the film never feels like anything less than returning home again. Don't expect it to mesh perfectly with the stylistic template of all previous entires, but that's the point: This is the stand-alone debut; the rogue one. And a welcome first of many.
Someday someone somewhere will thank me for turning them on to the pure joy that comes from watching Telugu action star Manchu Manoj burn up the screen. Manchu is not the biggest star in Tollywood, he probably wouldn't even crack the A-list, but among his B-list compatriots he is king.

The king of balls out action/comedy/romance returns in SK Satya's Gunturodu. I have no idea what's going on in the trailer, but it's pretty clear that Manchu Manoj is having none of it as he throughly thrashes anyone who dares to step up to him. One of the great things about watching Manchu is that he does the vast majority of his own stunts, and he isn't terribly graceful about it, but you can tell that he is - as the Canadians say - givin'er!

Watching a Manchu Manoj film is like watching the credits of a Jackie Chan movie. You know, where Jackie continually screws up stunts and breaks bones? Manchu is fearless, and not afraid to laugh at himself. It's that kind of enthusiasm that makes his films so entertaining, even when they aren't particularly good.

Anyway, I can't find a solid release date for Gunturodu, but I know I'll be there to cheer on my favorite hero! Check the 53 seconds of madness below and give yourself a smile.
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Because our next Attorney General (and perhaps also our next Supreme Court justice) emerged from and still have roots in the Alabama legal system, I thought it timely and valuable to spotlight this lengthy local article about Alabama sentencing reforms headlined "How has prison reform impacted Alabama?" Here are excerpts:

The criminal justice system has historically relied on human judgment for sentencing, but Alabamas recent criminal justice reforms are attempting to equate human error to a quantifiable number. Crimes now equal a score that effectively decides an offenders punishment. A similar score sheet labels parolees as high, medium or low risk.

Alabama is a bit of a trendsetter  for better or for worse  on the criminal justice front, said Bennet Wright, executive director of the Alabama Sentencing Commission tasked with both implementing the 2013 and 2015 reforms as well as crunching the data. With the passage of the 2015 reforms, I think youre seeing Alabama acknowledge for the first time that data driven decisions need to be the driving force of all criminal justice policy, Wright said. Thats a huge shift in policy. Obviously thats not something everybody will jump on board with, but I think its important to make decisions, particularly ones that have huge price tags attached to them, to much more of a data driven process.

The reforms are not without controversy. Attorneys remain critical of the sentencing guidelines, and judges are split on whether or not the score sheets rob them of their ability to adjudicate, but the reforms have shown promising returns in popping the balloon on Alabamas prison population and the data collected over the next few years could continue to spur progressive criminal reform.

The two-pronged reform began with the implementation of presumptive sentencing guidelines in 2013 that essentially reduced sentencing decisions to a score sheet in an effort to be more selective and consistent about who gets locked away. For drug offenses, eight or more points  perhaps a distribution of marijuana charge (6 points) and a possession with intent to distribute charge (5 points)  will land that person in prison barring mitigating factors. For property crimes, 15 points is required for a prison sentence. Both sheets also add points for prior adult convictions, incarcerations, probation revocations and juvenile delinquencies, but the idea was  and still is  to send fewer non-violent offenders to prison to relieve the burden on a prison system that, at the time the guidelines were implemented, housed nearly twice the inmate population (25,299) than it was designed for (13,318).

The guidelines also made sentencing consistent across the state. A possession of marijuana charge, for instance, no longer relies on the presiding judges views of the drug. Some judges are heavy on possession of marijuana. They detest it and (before the guidelines) would give harsher sentences than other judges would, said former Montgomery County Circuit Judge William Shashy who retired this past month.

The 2015 prison reform, also known as Senate Bill 67 sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, focused more on fighting the bloated prison system. A new class of felony, Class D, was created for sentencing guidelines to include non-violent offenses such as minor drug possession and third-degree theft. Those crimes now carry the lowest point totals as legislators are more concerned with locking up violent offenders. Theyre focused on felony offenses the Alabama Legislature has deemed non-violent. Mostly drug and property offenses, Wright said.

If fewer non-violent offenders are going to prison, more are naturally going to parole and probation. The bill accounted for that by injecting funding into the state parole system to hire 100 more parole officers. Darrell Morgan, assistant executive director of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, said they have hired 71 additional parole officers as of the end of October. Seventeen more are currently being interviewed, and Morgan said more officers will be added using their general fund in an effort to reduce parole officers caseloads. When this began we were around 200 cases per officer. Our target is to have everybody down to 100 offenders per officer by the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30), Morgan said. That was one of the biggest issues with previous parole boards was we didnt have the adequate staff. Now that these numbers have increased were able to better manage our caseloads and we can manage more people....

Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Ben McGough said the sheets and implementation of Class D felonies have incentivized crime and taken the teeth out of the justice system. When a defendant looks at their sheet and their score is two and it takes 15 to go to prison, theyre guaranteed from the beginning. Youre not going to prison no matter what happens, McGough said. Then they look at the sheet and think, Ive got 13 points to burn. they can look at the sheet, do the math, and think, I can do four more non-violent offenses before the judge even has the option to send me to prison. And were literally giving them the figures.

On the defense side, Public Defenders Office Director Aliya McKee said the sheets reduce her clients to a figure instead of treating each case as a unique situation. Our clients, from my perspective, get reduced to a number, McKee said. Im somewhat comfortable with that being the starting point, but its not the solution. We want the court to see the person behind the charge. The name, not the case number....

As judges and attorneys feel their way through the reforms, all eyes are keen to judge what impact reforms have had on key statistics such as prison population, crime rate, parole caseload and recidivism. Its still too soon to make definitive claims, but Wright said some early data returns are promising. State prison population, for example, has dropped from 25,299 in 2013 (189.9 percent capacity) to 23,318 this year (175 percent). I think the initial results of the presumptive sentencing standards are promising, Wright said. There has been a steady decrease in the prison population averaging 80-100 fewer inmates per month.

State crime rate has also dropped during the period going from nearly 174,000 total crimes in 2013 (about 3,586 crimes per 100,000 people) to just over 162,000 this year, however, that rate was already falling from 191,318 in 2011 and 181,752 in 2012, according to Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Parole caseload has also begun to dip slightly. Morgan said it took longer than expected to hire new officers but active caseload is down to about 145 cases per officer. When adding inactive cases, that decline looks much smaller (about 215 per officer to about 195), but Morgan said the reform has had a noticeable impact. (Adding inactive cases) makes the numbers still look high, but the hiring of the officers have gotten our active caseload down to a manageable level, which is lower than it was. But we still have to hire more people, Morgan said....

On a local level, one particular statistic has the District Attorneys Office concerned that the guidelines may be doing more harm than good for public safety. Montgomery has seen 530 more thefts this year than last year, and many in the DAs office, including Chief Deputy District Attorney Lloria James, see the lenient sentencing guidelines as the blame.

Those statistics dont surprise us at all. Its almost like a revolving door, James said. The problem is sort of like word travels fast on a college campus or neighborhood or things like that, in the criminal community word travels fast, and I think its gotten out there that pretty much if its non-violent  thefts, burglaries things like that  theres almost zero chance youre going to see some prison time, so its worth it to them.

Whether or not there is a connection remains up for debate, but that hasnt stopped District Attorney Daryl Bailey from reaching out to Sen. Ward in recent weeks about possibly making some changes. Well continue looking at it, but weve done a lot of reform already, Ward said. Obviously thats a point being made by the district attorneys, but if there's any changes needed to be made in the guidelines we need to do that. We need to make sure it's prudent for the safety of the public.

The reforms have shown themselves not to be perfect, but Wright said that should engender further study and support in his ideal scenario. The reforms were put in place after studying prison reform in other Republican states such as Texas and North Carolina, but implementing front-to-back change is trendsetting, Wright said.

For now, the state must wait and see what the numbers hold. Its a little daunting, but thats trendsetting to have this big of a process going on at one time, Wright said. Thats also why I tell people both for it and against it to take a deep breath and lets do our best to implement it. I think with a lot of things, people get in the way of things before they implement it. We owe it to ourselves to embrace what the Legislature passed and what the intent was. Lets give it our best good faith effort, wait a while and then sit around the table and talk about it then.
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December 12, 2016

"Adversarial Asymmetry in the Criminal Process"

The title of this post is the title of this interesting looking new article that I just noticed via SSRN and that is authored by Daniel Epps. Based on the abstract, this article seems both provocative and somewhat counter-intuitive. But I think current and former prosecutors might have particular insights concerning the article's claims. Here is the abstract:

It is a common lament that prosecutors in our criminal justice system are too adversarial. This Article argues that in a deeper sense, prosecutors may not be adversarial enough. The issue  which I call adversarial asymmetry  is that, as political actors, prosecutors have no inherent desire to seek maximal punishment, at least in any consistent way. While commentators tend to see this as a good thing, adversarial asymmetry helps explain a range of seemingly disparate pathologies in the criminal process. A number of problems  including the coerciveness of plea bargaining; pretextual prosecution; discriminatory charging practices; the proliferation of overly broad criminal statutes; the difficulty in deterring prosecutorial misconduct; and use of the grand jury as political cover for unpopular decisions  would not exist, or at least could be more easily solved, in a world where prosecutors were more single mindedly focused on maximizing victory in the criminal process. In fact, a more consistently adversarial system might have surprising advantages over our own, providing more accountability for prosecutors while being more consistent with the rule of law. And while heightened adversarialism unquestionably poses risks, alternative institutional structures could minimize those dangers. Even if actually implementing such a system is unrealistic or unappealing, the proposal has value as a thought experiment, for it exposes deep fault lines in the theoretical foundation of our system of criminal prosecution. Our current approach combines an adversarial process with politically accountable prosecutors  yet we lack a compelling account of what precise level of adversarialism is optimal or why political accountability is the right tool for producing good behavior from prosecutors. It should thus be unsurprising that our system often works poorly in practice. Absent a better reason to think that our current approach is the only option, we should be more willing to reconsider basic structural arrangements in criminal justice.

December 12, 2016 at 06:14 PM | Permalink

Comments

The adversarial system originated in the disputation methodology of a church based philosophy. It was a method to arrive at some truth or conclusion on difficult questions.

1) It violates the Establishment Clause because of its religious origin;

2) it is an atavistic and ridiculous 13th Century method;

3) it has no external validation as a proper method; it does not even have established rates of inter-rater reliability nor test-retest reliability; these do not establish validity, but are necessary before testing validation;

4) it puts the verdict in the hands of fresh grads from law school, who know very little, and excludes the brightest and most experienced person in the court from participating in verdict finding, the judge;

5) empirically, it results in both unacceptably elevated rates of false positives and false negatives, contributing to our sky high crime rates;

6) it is expensive and turns a trial into a theater production, mostly to generate lawyer fees for worthless services, defrauding the tax payer;

7) it brings opprobrium on the lawyer profession, their looking like argumentative jackasses;

8) its stentorian tones, its location in a room that resembles a church, alienates the process from its owners, the tax payer, stupid people putting on a stupid show (bring back wigs);

9) it is probably irrelevant to the jury, as likely to decide a verdict on the likability of a chesty female lawyer as on the complicated facts;

10) it adds further delay in the legal system filled with lazy, do nothing, big government worthless tax sucking parasites, moving the cases ever so slowly.

Lawless, outdated, worthless, lawyer quackery, expensive, stealing of tax money. The adversarial system just sucks and should be scrapped entirely.

Inquisitorial judges, trained as judges, not as lawyers, should lead the investigation, with judge values, not lawyer values. They should be liable for their mistakes in professional tort liability, and judged according to professional standards of due care. The lazy and slow should be fired.

Posted by: David Behar | Dec 13, 2016 5:00:34 AM

David. I have a lot of empathy with your analysis though some of the following are more akin to the expressions used by federalist .... and are therefore not to be recommended.

"Lawless, outdated, worthless, lawyer quackery, expensive, stealing of tax money."

I would absolutely agree with Daniel Epps that "Our current approach combines an adversarial process with politically accountable prosecutors  yet we lack a compelling account of what precise level of adversarialism is optimal or why political accountability is the right tool for producing good behavior from prosecutors. It should thus be unsurprising that our system often works poorly in practice. Absent a better reason to think that our current approach is the only option, we should be more willing to reconsider basic structural arrangements in criminal justice."

Posted by: peter | Dec 13, 2016 8:44:29 AM

Peter. Prosecutors are at will employees. Does everyone know that? Politically accountable means, the political appointee decides. The prosecutor complies, or gets fired without recourse.

So, spend $2 million to prosecute Martha Stewart for lying about a phone call in an informal visit by the FBI to her home, not under oath, to get the political appointee in the papers. Do not prosecute Hillary Clinton for massive lying to the FBI and to Congress, nor for the selling of her office.

Is that OK?

You did not like my characterization, its being overly blunt or rude. But which element do you find inaccurate?

Posted by: David Behar | Dec 13, 2016 9:38:06 AM

David. Yes, the often strong prosecutor link to partisan sponsors is both dangerous and misguided for any system of fair and unbiased justice to prevail. Prosecutors aught to be independent and politically neutral, in their professional lives at least. Too many perhaps see the role as a stepping stone to higher office or political career, believing that the highest number of successful prosecutions, and the strongest sentences, give them an edge to achieve their ambitions. They consciously or unconsciously forget the over-riding responsibility to protect the innocent and indeed all those they prosecute, from miscarriage of justice. They limit their efforts to ensure a prosecution succeeds rather than to survey the entirety of the evidence in a balanced and fair manner - not all I grant, but more than a significant majority from the evidence before us. So yes, the balance of power entrusted to prosecutors is wrong and produces bad outcomes for justice. Their influence on juries is worrisome and is not limited to the fair presentation of evidence. All this I agree with and of your condemnation of it. Language is important both for conveying accurately a point of view, and for credibility. You and one or two others should think more about that if you wish to maximize your influence on the thinking of others.

Posted by: peter | Dec 14, 2016 4:53:25 AM

Peter. Thanks for the advice. If you ever tried to take candy from a baby, you know it is very difficult, not easy. If you try to take the rent from a lawyer, it is impossible to do by argument of fact or of logic. I expect victims to rise up, and to crush the profession. I am providing the intellectual justification for such a movement.

The public came close in the 1980's. The profession showed itself to be very smart, by enacting Mandatory Sentencing Guidelines, saving itself from the wrath of the crime fed up public. The Guidelines delivered a 40% drop in crime, across the board. The biggest beneficiaries were black victims or non-victims. The profession is not only worthless, and selfish, it is racist, herding crime into minority areas, dumping toxic human beings into those areas. The lawyers are smart, and will find a way to weasel out of their certain doom, the next time around, too.

I like President Duterte of the Philippines. He is a lawyer but understands only public self help is effective. He cleaned up his town, one of the worst, as Mayor. He was given a mandate to take his act national. U.S. friends from there love him. They report an immediate difference, even upon arriving at the airport.

Trump will be weak. The guy after Trump is whom the lawyers need to worry about.

Posted by: David Behar | Dec 14, 2016 6:36:48 AM

David. I am sorry to say that our thinking diverges absolutely and irrevocably regarding the actions of President Duerte who is no more than a despot and thug. Vigilante actions and any form of state sponsored killings are abhorrent, break all codes of humanity and Human Rights, and are contrary to International Law. He should be hauled before the International Criminal Court for his crimes against Humanity, and one day might.

Posted by: peter | Dec 14, 2016 9:06:07 AM

Endless and pointless procedures for the criminal. Lawyer fees.

Immediate death for the criminal's victims. No lawyer fees.

Posted by: David Behar | Dec 15, 2016 12:16:16 AM

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 With only two dissenters, SCOTUS refuses to hear Ohio death row defendant's arguments against a second execution attempt | Main | Remembering Eighth Circuit Judge Myron Bright, a first-ballot "Sentencing Hall of Famer" 

December 12, 2016

Another unanimous SCOTUS win for feds in bank fraud case

Last week, as blogged here, the Supreme Court handed down its first significant criminal justice ruling of the Term via a unanimous decision against a white-collar defendant in Salman v. US, No. 15-628 (S. Ct. Dec. 6, 2016) (available here). Today, brought another such ruling in Shaw v. US, No. 15-5991 (S. Ct. Dec. 12, 2016) (available here), which gets started this way:

A federal statute makes it a crime knowingly [to] execut[e] a scheme . . . to defraud a financial institution, 18 U.S.C. 1344(1), for example, a federally insured bank,18 U. S. C. 20. The petitioner, Lawrence Shaw, was convicted of violating this provision. He argues here that the provision does not apply to him because he intended tocheat only a bank depositor, not a bank. We do not accept his arguments.

Here is part of the substantive heart of the opinion for the Court and its closing flourish via Justice Breyer:

[F]or purposes of the bank fraud statute, a scheme fraudulently to obtain funds from a bank depositors account normally is also a scheme fraudulently to obtain property from a financial institution, at least where, as here, the defendant knew that the bank held the deposits, the funds obtained came from the deposit account, and the defendant misled the bank in order to obtain those funds.... The statute is clear enough that we need not rely on the rule of lenity. As we have said, a deposit account at a bank counts as bank property for purposes of subsection (1). Supra, at 23. The defendant, in circumstances such as those present here, need not know that the deposit account is, as a legal matter, characterized as bank property. Supra, at 45. Moreover, in those circumstances, the Government need not prove that the defendant intended that the bank ultimately suffer monetary loss. Supra, at 34. Finally, the statute asapplied here requires a state of mind equivalent to knowledge, not purpose. Supra, at 56.

December 12, 2016 at 04:42 PM | Permalink

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 "Adversarial Asymmetry in the Criminal Process" | Main | A deep look into Alabama's new sentencing systems and their impacts 

This new Business Insider article, headlined "Prisoners set free by President Obama are urging him to expand his clemency program before he leaves office," reports on the latest interesting pitch to Prez Obama concerning his clemency work. Here are the basics:

The day Ramona Brant walked out of prison after serving 21 years of what was supposed to be a life sentence, she felt an overwhelming mixture of emotions  elation and gratitude for her freedom, and sadness for the inmates she was leaving behind. Many of them had stories like hers. They had in one way or another gotten involved in selling drugs, often through boyfriends or husbands who would eventually testify against them in conspiracy trials. L

ike Brant, many were there to serve decades, or even life sentences without the possibility of parole. I was not comfortable being free knowing that there were so many people who werent free to experience the same opportunities that I was experiencing, Brant told Business Insider. Im not saying I want to go back to prison  what Im saying is my heart is still with my sisters that I left behind, and my brothers.

Brant was granted a sentence commutation by President Obama last February, as part of an unprecedented clemency initiative that has now reduced more than 1,000 federal inmates sentences. She is one of more than 40 clemency recipients who signed an open letter sent to the president on Monday pleading for mercy for nonviolent drug offenders serving lengthy sentences who have demonstrated clear conduct in prison. We ask for your immediate intervention for thousands more prisoners who will continue to suffer needlessly unless a broader clemency plan is implemented, the letter said.

We have remained largely silent in appreciation of your compassion to many suffering under draconian sentencing laws passed during the crack hysteria of the late 1980s and 1990s. But with only six weeks of your presidency left, we must speak out.

The letter, also signed by dozens of clemency advocates and former inmates, recommends the president adopt a broad amnesty program in place of the current case-by-case review of inmates petitions. It suggests that all nonviolent drug offenders with clear conduct have their sentences reduced to five, 10, or 15 years for first-, second-, and third-time offenders, respectively. It also specifically asks that clemency be granted to female inmates, who the letter argues are more likely than men to be serving lengthy sentences because of drugs their partners or spouses sold, and who make up less than 10% of the inmates to whom Obama has granted clemency....

The Office of the Pardon Attorney, which reviews clemency applications and recommends them to the president, the White House, and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Business Insiders requests for comment on the letter....

Although Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates has previously said every single drug petition received before Aug. 31 will be reviewed by the Obama administration, activists and clemency advocates have been urging the president for months to quicken the pace of approvals.

Last months presidential election, too, has only added to the pressure. President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously called the inmates released by Obama bad dudes, has not expressed interest in continuing his clemency initiative. Nor has Jeff Sessions, Trumps nominee for Attorney General, who supports harsh drug laws and mandatory minimum sentencing.

It is estimated that at least 2,000 federal prisoners serving nonviolent drug offenses were eligible for sentence reductions under the requirements laid out under Obamas program, which stipulate that inmates have served at least 10 years of their sentences. Even more could be eligible should the Obama administration consider inmates who have served less than a decade, as it has already done in some cases.
I've struggled mightily, as most of us have in the Bay Area, with how to address the close of this terrible year, and the aftermath of a suicide-inducing election, and to make some sense of it that is not just a cliche-filled rant about one accidental politician who will hopefully be more comical footnote than tragic turning point for our nation. (And John Oliver, along with many celebrities, have already said their fuck yous to 2016 weeks ago.) Taken as a whole, though, this year has been punctuated by more than just campaign speeches and misleading poll numbers. It was riddled with death. Lots of it untimely, unexpected death. Say what you will, if you're feeling spiritual, about everyone having their time and going to a better place and blah blah, but 2016 has been a year of relentless, numbing waves of grief, and stupors of disbelief. It's a year awful enough and draped with sadness that hopefully it doesn't presage another one that will be much worse  because at moments, for many of us, it hasn't felt like it could get much worse, but of course it could.

It's been ten days since 36 people, most of them in their 20s and 30s, died suddenly and tragically in a warehouse fire in Oakland, during an underground music event in an unsanctioned venue that was not unlike thousands of other such events that have happened around the Bay Area over the last two decades. This is, after all, the birthplace of Burning Man and a nexus of both electronic music making and the DIY spirit, and what might have been a late-night gathering of like-minded souls in a unique space ended in disaster and mass casualty. Many of us who have gone to parties just like that over the years, maybe morbidly joking on our way in that it looked like a fire trap, felt shaken knowing it could easily have been us in there. And, indeed, many of us around the same age either directly knew one of the dead, or are separated from them by just one degree of Facebook friendship.

I've been struck by how disproportionately the fire gutted one particular niche community, with many of the early arrivers at that Friday party the close friends and electronic music peers of the performers themselves, with only one of the listed headliners that night even making it out alive. This was a community of passionate, talented friends and weirdos that is not going to recover from this loss anytime soon.

But that wasn't even the worst mass casualty event to happen in 2016. If you're good at ignoring the international news you might have missed the estimated 46,000 people who died in the Syrian civil war this year  most likely an underestimate according to most sources, with those only being the documented deaths.

Meanwhile just two days ago 38 people were killed and 155 wounded in a pair of terrorist bombings in Istanbul, one of them a suicide bombing. Another 44 were killed in a terrorist attack at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport in June, likely the work of ISIS, and two months later, in August, 54 (or more) were killed during a wedding in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border. Another 300 people (or more) were killed during the failed coup attempt in Turkey in July.

In Nice, France, during Bastille Day celebrations on July 14, 86 were killed when an apparent Tunisian terrorist, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, drove a van through crowds of revelers, injuring another 434.

Add to that the 49 people fatally gunned down at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando on June 12, most of them in their 20s and 30s, in what can only be described as a religiously motivated hate crime, and one that possibly had terrorist aspirations.

Add to that the shootings of civilians by police, many of them people of color, several of them captured on video, all over the country, with two notable and fatal shootings here in San Francisco that brought down our chief of police.

The list could go on, and I'm not even touching on natural disasters (673 dead in an April earthquake in Ecuador, 300 dead in an earthquake in Italy in August, another 300 dead in quakes in Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Tanzania, and India, 43 dead in Hurricane Matthew in October, and 14 dead in wildfires in Tennessee, 13 dead in Louisiana floods, just to name a selection).

Then there was the death of Prince, which came as a shock to many around the country, some of whom had just seen him performing live in the days and weeks before his untimely passing. His death has been linked to the consumption of counterfeit painkillers made from Fentanyl which Prince likely believed to be a different drug, perhaps Percocet, to which he'd allegedly developed an addiction over several years. Fentanyl has also been killing people on the streets of multiple American cities this year, and nearly killing hundreds more.

Alan Rickman and David Bowie, both of whom succumbed to aggressive cancers this year at the age of 69, were also surprising losses for their millions of fans, because none of them knew that either man was ill. But 69 arguably isn't an untimely death, even though modern medicine has tended to make us believe otherwise. Also, the great Sharon Jones recently succumbed to cancer at age 60, and the great Gene Wilder and Leonard Cohen each made it to the ripe old ages of 83 and 82 respectively, before giving up the ghost.

That latter group of celebrities, taken on their own, would not have necessarily made for an unusual list of "in memoriams" for one year's Oscars or Grammys, though the loss of Bowie and Prince within a few months was a double doozy for music fans  not to mention the LGBT community, for whom both were considered heroes of gender norm destruction.

But that brings me back to the unique pain of this dreadful year, in particular for minority communities in the US, of which a not insignificant number call the Bay Area home.

I and many of my friends marched through the streets of San Francisco this year to commemorate the LGBT lives lost in Orlando in June, and to protest shootings by police, and demonstrate against the election of Donald Trump, which many of us feel viscerally, like a stab to the gut  something I feel certain that the rage-filled and (arguably) racist Republican voters who voted against Obama twice did not feel in the same way after those two elections, as a personal affront, because hate directed outwards is a puny and pathetic thing compared to hate felt from without, pressing in on one's psyche from an entire swath of one's own country. Sure, you could say that most of those voters did not cast votes out of hate, but out of a short-sighted and self-serving frustration about their own economic reality, and out of an ignorance for the hateful impact that their votes, and a Trump administration's subsequent actions, would have on people like me and millions of other of their fellow Americans.

Don't even get me started on the actual, physical violence, both threatened and perpetrated, by the rage-filled maniacs of the alt-right emboldened by each others' rage and ignorance on Reddit and Twitter, and further emboldened by Trump's victory, which they sincerely believe is a victory for rage, intolerance, and for the forces that would like to turn back the clock on women's rights, LGBT rights (such as they are), and civil rights for all minorities. It is the kind of toxic crowd-thinking that fuels horrors the likes of which we haven't yet seen  but the gunman who showed up at a DC pizzeria that some conspiracy-mad corner of the internet decided was home to a Hillary Clinton-condoned child pornography ring is perhaps only the tip of the iceberg.

These all add up to a cacophony of voices of war, a chorus of faceless people  only some of whom are hateful and destructive enough to say the same things on camera  who seem, at least in theory, hellbent on creating chaos, spewing vitriol, and fomenting a culture of fear among brown people, gay people, trans people, black people, Jews, queer people, and everyone with a vagina, the most unhinged of whose ranks are more than ready to take up arms against us.

Many have been joking about a civil war between the nation's urban centers  almost all of which voted overwhelmingly for Clinton  and our rural and suburban neighbors, but the pernicious civil war of words made possible and fed by the explosion of uncensored social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit may have real-life manifestations sooner than we think. That lunatic who went to shoot up a Planned Parenthood last November, and the armed moron who showed up at Comet Ping Pong last week are not, it seems, outliers anymore  or at least that is how it feels when I read a few threads on Reddit or write something negative about Trump and someone who disagrees finds me on Twitter.

And that brings me back to the senseless deaths, both purposeful and preventable-if-accidental, that have turned 2016 into the kind of bloodbath that sends many of us into therapy, onto medications, or back to bed for indefinite periods. By most counts, these death tolls don't compare to wars, disasters, and atrocities of decades' past. Every year is a bloodbath in its own way, depending on where you look and how thoroughly you're paying attention  and the hyper-aggressive bros and old codgers who dominate the pro-Trump conversation would probably tell me I'm a whining, liberal pussy SJW (that's social justice warrior) and a cuck, and I'd better man up and arm myself, because this is the world of Thomas Hobbes and Dick Cheney, of lives that are and always have been solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Unless you're rich, heterosexual, and white, that is, and/or the CEO of a planet-raping corporation, and I'm willing to bet that most of those spewing their hate only have race in common, and sometimes sexuality, and their rage stems in part from their never being rich. Donald Trump is not going to change that for them, but we are all guilty of believing things against all logic, and hoping against hope that the next guy is going to change everything once and for all.

Last week, speaking to the surviving loved one of one of the LGBT victims of the Oakland fire, who I won't name here just out of respect, this person said, after an exhausting several days of being hounded by mainstream media outlets for comments and quotes, "Hashtag 2016. We're just a bunch of fucking queers over here. It's not like you gave a shit about us before."

I'm vowing next year not to feel scared, if that's possible, and not to go numb amidst what is sure to be a bizarre and depressing era in American politics. But what I'm left with this December is an emotional exhaustion that is only partly about political discord. It comes after too many mornings of waking up to news on my cellphone that hits me with brutish force, or news from a friend that they were brutishly punched on the street, or that someone they knew just burned alive.

Even if this is the equivalent of praying to a god, or rubbing crystals and casting runes, I'm asking whatever forces will listen to slow down with the onslaught of death. We all could use some time to breathe. And some years (like 2001, and 2003, and 2016, just to name three) are meant to be remembered with a quiet shake of a downturned head, and a sigh of relief that they are finally fucking over.




As announced the other week, noted local scribe David Talbot of Season of the Witch fame is temporarily taking over columnist duties for now retired Chronicle curmudgeon C.W. Nevius. And, as expected, Talbot's first column, published Sunday, strikes a very different and more liberal tone than the best of Nevius.

Also, as he explains, Talbot's block in Bernal Heights is home to an eclectic and influential cast of SF characters who are certain to be making some repeat appearances in his thrice weekly columns: Human Rights Commission staffer Bayard Fong; Bert Feuss, senior vice president of investments for the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; new SF "homeless czar" Jeff Kositsky and his wife Aileen; and leader of the Frisco Five hunger strikers earlier this year, community activist Cristina Gutierrez, who also runs a preschool.

Per Talbot:

Now Mama Cristina, as she was known during the strike, is preparing for an even bigger battle, against the Trump-led federal government. The kids at my school are just 3 and 4 years old, but they bring to school with them the fears of their families, who come from Mexico and Central America. The parents are always asking me, What do we do, Cristina? I tell them, Organize and fight.

This is the spirit that animates much of my neighborhood, and that makes me feel San Francisco will always be home. We need this spirit more than ever now.

Look for more from Talbot on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, for the next three months or so.
A pool of blood belonging to Lisa Williams, 21, who was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Wednesday December 7 on South Van Ness Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets, lingered into the daytime until a family that lived near the crime scene cleaned it up themselves. That's was the complaint of a letter published by Mission Local and written by one of the residents, Erin Perusse.

"I am not writing to you however with the purpose of describing our fear, or the first responders, who were all were very quick, respectful, and thorough," she wrote. Instead, she explained that she was "very disturbed by the conduct and disrespect of our emergency responders after the crime." From her letter:

In the parking space in front of our house was a pile of bloodied gloves and a very large pool of blood. I have two young children and I was very alarmed that a hazardous materials unit was not dispatched to clean this up. To our horror, and very disrespectful to the victim, the blood was just left there as we all left for our day.

The shooting occurred just after 2:45 a.m., and Perusse writes that her husband was one of the first people to find Williams' body. By about 8 a.m. he was calling the police to clean up the blood, and "The response was a fire truck  they just came by and dumped a bucket of bleach water. I will repeat this was not a small spot  it was a pool." Perusse writes that, instead of helping, this made the situation worse. At around 9 a.m.,

My husband went out with a hose and cleaned it up himself. He is horribly upset by the entire episode and disgusted with our emergency services and with the citys disrespect to the victim and our neighborhood. I cannot imagine another area, or individual, would be handled with such thoughtless disregard, as if it were mere roadkill.

In addition to city services, Perusse seems to blame another group for the situation, one to which she imagines Williams may have belonged: Prostitutes. As she writes:

I see these girls all the time around our block. We all know they are prostitutes. Directly around our block are actually very large numbers out pretty much all day but increasing the later at night it gets. I dont see the city doing anything for these young girls trafficked for sex and exploitation, nor for the negative externalities brought by their constant presence. The Mission is full of families, yet the police allow it to be a dumping ground for drugs and crime.

Although this could be read as some kind of victim-blaming or a lack of sympathy generally, it seems that Perusse's point is about a general lack of policing and services in her district. "San Francisco has disgusted me many many, many times," she writes, "with its corruption and political pandering at the expense of residents (especially in the Mission) but this was inexcusable!"

A memorial vigil for Williams was installed the following night. No arrests have been made related to her death. In the case, police described the shooter as an unknown male suspect in a black vehicle.

Mission resident left to clean blood stain off street following shooting death of 21 y/o Lisa Williams on SVN: https://t.co/9cZUASrBqy pic.twitter.com/rFbiEHSim6  Joe Rivano Barros (@jrivanob) December 9, 2016

Previously: Woman Shot To Death On South Van Ness
After two years in business at 234 Townsend, Les Clos is going to close in January and get a major makeover at the hands of Anna Weinberg and her Big Night Restaurant Group, which now operates four successful restaurants in the city  Marlowe, Park Tavern, The Cavalier, and Leo's Oyster Bar. The idea is to take the Paris wine bar/cafe concept that Saison wine director Mark Bright already established and zhuzh it up in even more Parisian fashion, reopening it by March as Petit Marlowe Wine & Oysterette, according to Inside Scoop.

Weinberg will, as she has with all her restaurants, be working with designer Ken Fulk, and she tells Eater, "Its going to be a gorgeous French wine bar menu, plus raw bar because it went so well at Leos. Its going to be adorable. We went to the [Les Puces de Saint-Ouen flea market in Paris] with Ken Fulk and bought all the furniture there, back bar, chairs and everything. Also, reportedly, they brought back crystal chandeliers, brass cocktail tables, and they'll be replacing the single-plank wood bar with a marble one.

Bright opened Les Clos in 2014 with the intention of making it a casual, neighborhood hangout with a focus on fine (primarily French) wine, and Michael Bauer in reviewing the place in May wrote, "Few places channel the ambience of a casual French cafe better than Les Clos." And, reportedly, Bright will remain in a consulting role on the wine  and indeed, as a buyer and collector who originally had the vision for the place, he's probably the best person for the job. He intends to bring some even rarer Burgundy into the mix as the place becomes Petit Marlowe.

Bright tells Eater, "I never had plans to close the space, but theyve been approaching me for a while. [And] I have a lot of other projects going on and a great relationship with them, so it felt like the right time for them to take over.

Chef-partner Jennifer Puccio, who's been behind the menus at all of the group's restaurants, will be adding raw bar selections in addition to a wine-friendly but light sounding menu of charcuterie, cheese, salads, and steak tartare. But it sounds like the larger, hot, bistro-style dishes like coq au vin will be going away, making this more of a wine-and-snack destination like Leo's Oyster Bar.

Les Clos will shutter on January 15 and reopen after what sounds like a six- to eight-week remodel. Look for Petit Marlowe to debut in March 2017  and possibly win some design awards.



Petit Marlowe Wine & Oysterette - 234 Townsend between 3rd and 4th Streets - Opening March 2017
Solange Knowles, sister to Queen Bey and royalty in her own right, will perform a trio of songs from her masterful album A Seat At The Table at an intimate performance in Oakland this Friday. Knowles joined the bill for this week's performance at the last minute according to website EliteMusik, and will play after local acts including Fantastic Negrito, whose album The Last Days of Oakland was just nominated for a grammy in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. For her part, Knowles scored her own Grammy nod, her first, with the track "Cranes in the Sky" in the Best R&B Performance category.

The Oakland performance will be held at the 400-person restaurant, bar, and venue Starline Social Club and is part of a series of performances nationally called GOODFest. That's held by GOOD Worldwide, the ten-year-old "global media brand and social impact company" and magazine founded by Al Gore III and college pal Ben Goldhirsh (son of the founder of Inc. Magazine) in a new partnership with Google that was announced in November. It's a series of five shows in five cities, each with a different cause and beneficiary.

Those include "Earth," and "Love," elsewhere while Solange and Fantastic Negrito will play for "Equality." Proceeds from the $35 general admissions tickets as well as additional donations will go to Oakland nonprofit Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a group that works to reinvest in communities with the goal of ending mass-incarceration and criminalization. Proceeds will also go to Son of a Saint, a Louisiana program for boys with fathers who have passed away, been incarcerated, or are otherwise absent.

In the verbiage of GOOD, "GOODFest redefines benefit concert into a new social impact platform connecting artists and people around causes through music, culture, and technology." Google is using the opportunity to advertise its Pixel phone, and as the owner of YouTube, they'll also be livestreaming all the concerts there.

That's a relief, because although 50 more tickets will be released for the show at Starline Social Club every day, none remain today.

Related: 25th Annual Noisepop Festival Lineup Includes Ty Segall, Vince Staples, Radio Dept., And More
Fresh on the heels of an update allowing Uber to track users' location data for up to five minutes after they've been dropped off, the ride-hail giant now faces allegations that some of its employees willfully abused the privacy of its customers  looking up the trip histories of celebrities like Beyonce and helping friends stalk ex-girlfriends and ex-spouses. According to The Center for Investigative Reporting, the explosive claim was made, under penalty of perjury, by a former security forensic investigator with the company.

What's more, despite broad assurances by Uber that it had cleaned up its act following the 2014 revelation of an internal feature dubbed "God View" which projected high-profile users' location in real time on a map for employees to see, five former employees told CIR that the abuses continued unabated.

Ubers lack of security regarding its customer data was resulting in Uber employees being able to track high profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances of Uber employees, including ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, and ex-spouses, Samuel Ward Spangenberg, a former Uber security employee, explained in a court document from October.

He put it simply to CIR. When I was at the company, you could stalk an ex or look up anyones ride with the flimsiest of justifications. It didnt require anyones approval. Spangenberg was employed by Uber for 11 months, starting in March of 2015.

Spangenberg, 45, is suing Uber  alleging age discrimination and whistle-blower retaliation. He claims in the court document that he was fired after repeatedly bringing up concerns about Uber's security practices. "I also reported that Uber's lack of security, and allowing all employees to access this information (as opposed to a small security team) was resulting in a violation of governmental regulations regarding data protection and consumer privacy rights," he writes.

The information in question reportedly included "data regarding every ride a user requested, their user name, the location the ride was requested from, the amount they paid, the device used to request the ride (i.e., iPhone, Droid, etc.), the name and email of the customer, and a myriad of other data that the user may or may not know they were even providing to Uber by requesting a ride."

Interestingly, according to Spangenberg, the lax attitude regarding data security did not apply to government attempts to access data. For example, Cnet notes that he claims the company would remotely encrypt its computers during raids of foreign offices by government officials to prevent law enforcement access. I would be called when governmental agencies raided Ubers offices due to concerns regarding noncompliance with governmental regulations, he explains. In those instances, Uber would lock down the office and immediately cut all connectivity so that law enforcement could not access Ubers information. I would then be tasked with purchasing all new equipment for the office within the day, which I did when Ubers Montreal office was raided.

Uber, for its part, denies all the claims. "It's absolutely untrue that 'all' or 'nearly all' employees have access to customer data, with or without approval," the company said in a statement provided to CNet. "And this is based on more than simply the 'honor system': we have built entire system to implement technical and administrative controls to limit access to customer data to employees who require it to perform their jobs."

However, because the remainder of the case will be heard in private arbitration, we are unlikely to learn more about this from any of the involved parties. But those who wish to continue to use Uber can take heart that at least their payment information is safe. The only information, truthfully, that I ever felt was safe inside of Uber is your credit card information, Spangenberg told CIR. Because its not stored by Uber.

Enjoy your rides.

Related: Uber Assures Worried Customers It Will Not 'Publicly Display' Your Ride History
SPENCER, Iowa | A Spencer man was arrested on drug charges Thursday after a Clay County Sheriff's deputy smelled marijuana while attempting to serve a civil paper at a home.

With the assistance of the Spencer Police Department, a search warrant was executed at 611 Third Ave. S.E., where officers located drug paraphernalia and marijuana.

The owner of the residence, David Garnjobst, 56, was charged with possession with intent to deliver (class D felony), failure to affix a drug stamp (class D felony) and possession of drug paraphernalia (simple misdemeanor) and taken to the Clay County Jail.

The sheriff's office said the case is still under investigation.
SIOUX CITY | A Woodbury County jury has failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the murder trail of Elias Wanatee.

Declaring a hung jury after more than 11 hours of deliberations, Iowa District Judge Duane Hoffmeyer ordered a mistrial.

Attorneys for the state and defense will meet Wednesday to decide when in the next 90 days they can have a new trial. Wanatee, 47, of Sioux City, will remain in custody while awaiting the new trial.

Wanatee was accused of the Feb. 17 fatal stabbing of Vernon Mace, 50, of Sioux City, near West First and Turner streets.

Jurors received the case at about 11:30 a.m. Monday and deliberated five hours before leaving. They resumed at 10 a.m. Tuesday and discussed the case until about 4 p.m., at which time the jury foreman sent Hoffmeyer a note telling the judge that the jurors "will never be able to come to a decision on this case."

Their action came after three days of testimony, in which Assistant Woodbury County Attorney Drew Bockenstedt called witnesses who testified they had heard an argument in the street in the 1900 block of West First Street at about 2 a.m.

Mace had visited Tom Abbe's house in that block. Wanatee also showed up, but left without speaking to Mace. Shortly after both men left, Abbe testified he heard yelling outside. As he got to his front door to check out the racket, a blood-covered Mace came through the door and asked Abbe and Anna Edwards to call 911. Both said Mace told them that Wanatee had stabbed them. Mace left Abbe's house and flagged down Kim Stahle, who testified that as she drove Mace to the hospital, she asked him who had done this to him. Mace told her that Wanatee had, she said.

Mace, 50, of Sioux City, died a short time after arriving at Mercy Medical Center.

Medical examiners testified that Mace was stabbed nine times, the fatal wound puncturing his diaphragm and slicing his liver, causing massive internal bleeding. Another serious wound punctured Mace's diaphragm and sliced his spleen. Mace also received a deep slice across his scalp and some other superficial wounds.

There were no eyewitnesses to the stabbing, and police never were able to find a weapon. Wanatee was arrested about nine hours without incident. In an interview with police shown to jurors, he denied killing Mace.

Defense attorney Jason Dunn had told jurors during his closing argument that the state's case had holes in it, and little was known about what happened that night. He suggested that Wanatee had acted in self-defense because Mace had threatened Wanatee with a gun two weeks earlier.

After the jury was dismissed, Bockenstedt met with Mace's family members, many of whom had sat through the trial, and explained what to them what happens next in the case. Bockenstedt declined to comment about the mistrial.

Dunn left before he could be asked for comment.
SIOUX CITY | Over and over, District Judge Duane Hoffmeyer asked the same question of the 12 jurors seated before him late Tuesday afternoon.

"Do you believe a unanimous verdict can be reached?"

The seven women and five men all gave him variations of the same answer: No.

No, they would not be able to decide if Elias Wanatee was guilty or not guilty of first-degree murder for the Feb. 17 stabbing death of Vernon Mace.

After hearing their answers, Hoffmeyer said it was his finding that after more than 11 hours of deliberations, the jury was hung, and he declared a mistrial.

Attorneys for the state and defense will meet Wednesday to decide when in the next 90 days they can have a new trial. Wanatee, 47, of Sioux City, will remain in custody while awaiting the new trial.

Jurors received the case at about 11:30 a.m. Monday and deliberated five hours before leaving. They resumed at 10 a.m. Tuesday and discussed the case until about 4 p.m., at which time the jury foreman sent Hoffmeyer a note telling the judge that the jurors "will never be able to come to a decision on this case."

Their action came after three days of testimony, in which Assistant Woodbury County Attorney Drew Bockenstedt called witnesses who testified they had heard an argument in the street in the 1900 block of West First Street at about 2 a.m.

Mace had visited Tom Abbe's house in that block. Wanatee also showed up, but left without speaking to Mace. Shortly after both men left, Abbe testified he heard yelling outside. As he got to his front door to check out the racket, a blood-covered Mace came through the door and asked Abbe and Anna Edwards to call 911. Both said Mace told them that Wanatee had stabbed them. Mace left Abbe's house and flagged down Kim Stahle, who testified that as she drove Mace to the hospital, she asked him who had done this to him. Mace told her that Wanatee had, she said.

Mace, 50, of Sioux City, died a short time after arriving at Mercy Medical Center.

Medical examiners testified that Mace was stabbed nine times, the fatal wound puncturing his diaphragm and slicing his liver, causing massive internal bleeding. Another serious wound punctured Mace's diaphragm and sliced his spleen. Mace also received a deep slice across his scalp and some other superficial wounds.

There were no eyewitnesses to the stabbing, and police never were able to find a weapon. Wanatee was arrested about nine hours later without incident. In an interview with police shown to jurors, he denied killing Mace.

Defense attorney Jason Dunn had told jurors during his closing argument that the state's case had holes in it, and little was known about what happened that night. He suggested that Wanatee had acted in self-defense because Mace had threatened Wanatee with a gun two weeks earlier.

After the jury was dismissed, Bockenstedt met with Mace's family members, many of whom had sat through the trial, and explained what to them what happens next in the case. Bockenstedt declined to comment about the mistrial.

Dunn left before he could be asked for comment.
SIOUX CITY | The driver in a hit-and-run accident that injured two men in Sioux City has been sentenced to 15 days in jail.

Thomas Farrens, 32, of Sioux City, entered an Alford plea Friday in Woodbury County District Court to one count of leaving the scene of a serious injury accident, an aggravated misdemeanor. Under an Alford plea, a defendant admits no guilt, but a guilty plea is entered into the court record.

In addition to the jail sentence, District Associate Judge Timothy Jarman fined Farrens $625 and placed him on probation for two years. Farrens also must continue to undergo substance abuse treatment, Jarman ordered.

According to court documents, Farrens did not stop after striking two pedestrians and sideswiping a vehicle on April 4 near 18th Street and Grandview Boulevard. His car was later found abandoned in Grandview Park.

Farrens, a Sioux City attorney, was found at his home later in the evening after the accident.

A blood test done that evening after the accident showed that Farrens' blood-alcohol percentage was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Farrens had been at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City prior to the accident. First Assistant Woodbury County Attorney Mark Campbell said he and police reviewed security video obtained from the casino and determined that Farrens did not consume enough alcohol while there to become intoxicated. Campbell said the security video ended three minutes before the 911 call reporting the accident. Those three minutes would not have provided enough time for Farrens to reach the legal limit if he drank more alcohol after leaving the casino, Campbell said.

The alcohol test was performed later in the evening, Campbell said, at which point the alcohol could have entered Farrens' system.

Dean Williams and Ryan Hogue were both taken to Mercy Medical Center after the accident. Williams has sued Farrens for negligence. That case is pending.
MOVILLE, Iowa | Iowa 4th District Rep. Steve King said Monday he supports a return of earmarks in 2017, when Republicans will control the levers of power in Washington in even greater levels.

"I thought eliminating earmarks was a bad idea," King said in a Journal interview.

Also Monday, the Kiron Republican King again did not rule out the possibility of running for governor in 2018.

"I am not making plans. But I know that from the time that I've been involved in public life, as soon as you say 'no,' there is something you didn't anticipate. And so, you have to give the straight-up, honest answer, and it would catch my interest," King said.

Earmarks are the common term for lawmakers slipping pet projects into appropriations bills.

When King first entered the House in 2003, earmarks were still a top way for lawmakers to deliver money to home districts. Early in his career, King delivered earmarks of about $1 million to the widening of Highway 20 in western Iowa.

King was in Moville on Monday to see the ongoing construction of the highway, where the final miles of two-lane highway are scheduled to be four-laned by 2018.

"They've made a lot, a lot of progress in this construction season," he said.

Republicans in 2010 put an end to the practice of setting earmarks, which have been both derided as pork that doesn't address national needs and praised as a key way for securing federal funds for area projects with strong support back home. Some discussion of bringing back a limited form of earmarks was raised after the November general election, but Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan threw cold water on the idea.

However, King asserted Ryan is more open to the idea than he may have publicly said so far, and King said it is possible Republicans could agree that the earmarks ban will be lifted.

"The more seasoned ones do and the ones that are more constitutionalist," King said.

King, who was re-elected to his eighth term in November, said authorizing spending amounts by the federal government is a power that was given to the legislative branch in the First Article of the U.S. Constitution.

"I want responsible earmarks and I have written legislation that fixes that," he said.

King said his plan would involve earmarks getting analysis every three months through a thorough vetting process by House members to pass the most defensible options. He said any such process should not be blocked by House leaders.

Highway 20

King has long advocated for the need to widen Highway 20. The latest modernization project will be completed in two years, once 40 miles are completed from east of Moville to near Early in Sac County in a project that will cost $215 million over the last months.

King said he has boosted the highway project by having staff members routinely attending Iowa Highway Commission meetings, working with the U.S. 20 Association advocacy group and setting an earmark that resulted in an environmental study into highway work west of Early from U.S. Highway 71.

"I wanted to lay the foundation that pulled this highway west," King said. "...In the scope of the project, it is not a big percentage, but that earmark laid it down, so this stretch from (Highway) 71 to Moville was shovel-ready."

Gubernatorial run

On Monday, King declined to close the door on the possibility that he could run for Iowa governor in 2018.

"You never know what your calling could be. You never say never," King said.

Gov. Terry Branstad, the longest serving governor in U.S. history, will step down early next month to become the U.S. ambassador to China. Kim Reynolds, who has been lieutenant governor alongside Branstad since he won a fifth term in 2010, will automatically ascend to governor.

Reynolds, who will fill the last two years of Branstad's term, is expected to run for her first term as governor in 2018.

Just before Branstad officially selected Trump as ambassador, King in a Wednesday interview with The Hill said "the thought is in my mind" to run for governor.

On Monday, King said his goal is to help Reynolds become a top functioning governor.
STORM LAKE, Iowa | A Storm Lake man was arrested Monday on domestic abuse assault and other charges after a dispute in which police said he destroyed kitchen utensils and caused damage to a home.

Police were dispatched to the home in the 600 block of West Eighth Street after receiving a 911 call from a woman who said a man was coming to get her.

According to a police press release, when officers arrived, the woman told them that she and Nee Htoo, 28, had argued over his supervision of their infant child while intoxicated. Htoo became upset and destroyed the utensils, causing damage to the home. He also threw a pot of food, splattering it on the child, who was not injured, police said. The woman fled the home and called 911.
During the election campaign, we were continually told that there was no way the Russians could have hacked Hillary Clinton's private, unprotected email server -- yet now we're being told by those same sources that the Russians hacked the election. So which one is a "fake news story"?
SIOUX CITY | Riverside Pool is in line for some sprucing up and possibly a bit more shade thanks to a series of facility upgrades passed by the Sioux City Council Monday.

The council voted 4-0 to approve construction documents for the Riverside Pool Improvement project, which include the removal and replacement of pedestrian areas, clearing and grubbing and storm sewer improvements by the 2017 pool season. Mayor Bob Scott was absent from the meeting.

"It's giving it a little bit of a facelift," said Matt Salvatore, Sioux City's Parks and Recreation director. "We're cleaning up some of the vegetation, removing a tree, adding deck space and hopefully adding some shade."

The project has an estimated base cost of $117,500, with an alternate bid for shade structures with an estimated cost of $52,500. The project will go out for bid Tuesday and is expected to be complete by the beginning of the 2017 pool season.

Salvatore said the shade structures, or canopies, will help fill a lack of shade out at the pool. He said the Parks and Recreation Department hopes to continue making improvements at the pool over the next five years.

The pool is one of three run by the city. Pools at Leeds and Cook Park closed at the end of the 2016 pool season.

Ride-hailing regulations

In other action Monday, the council approved the first reading of amendments to city code regarding transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft, putting it in line with a new state law taking effect in January. Under the new law, the state will have full regulatory responsibility for the transportation network companies.

The ordinance change will also modify how the city relates to taxi and other vehicle for hire companies. While city currently performs background screenings for taxi drivers, it will no longer have those responsibilities.

The second and third readings will be conducted at a later date.

Land purchase

The council also approved a transaction that will result in the purchase of a tract of green space at 3900 Floyd Boulevard owned by the Mary C. Hettinger Living Trust. The city has identified the space as a future trailhead and possible pocket park in Leeds.

Rezoning near monument



The council also passed an ordinance rezoning a tract of land at 2627 1/2 S. Rustin St. and 2819 Lincoln Way near theSergeant Floyd Monument from residential to commercial to allow a local developer to erect storage units on the premises through an approval process.

The ordinance had been deferred since late July in order to give the developer time to remedy drainage issues on the property.

The council voted three votes in favor to zero opposed. Councilman Dan Moore abstained, citing a conflict of personal interest.

Journal reporter Greg Forbes contributed to this story.
DES MOINES -- Gov. Terry Branstad and state lawmakers likely will have to cut about $100 million in spending from the current state general fund budget after a state panel Monday lowered the rate it expects state tax collections will grow between now and June 30, officials said Monday.

Members of the state Revenue Estimating Conference lowered its October tax collection target for the current fiscal year by $96.2 million to nearly $7.212 billion -- which still represents 4.2 percent growth for the year but less than previously expected as farm income and other Iowa economic sectors lag.

The three-member panel also shaved about $51 million from its fiscal 2018 projection, meaning the governor and GOP-led Legislature can expect about $7.556 billion, or 4.8 percent growth, in revenue when they meet in January to chart a new state general-fund spending plan.

"We're still having positive growth," said David Roederer, director of the state Department of Management who also serves as Branstad's budget director and leader of the revenue panel, "it's just not at the rate that was anticipated."

With the state's ending balance depleted but its cash reserves full at about $730 million, state budget-makers already were looking at a fiscal 2017 shortfall before Monday's lower tax collection projections exacerbated the problem.

Branstad, meeting with representatives of the Older Iowans' Legislature earlier in the day in his Capitol office, said he anticipated he would have to recommend a "modest de-appropriation" for the current fiscal year when he presents his budget plan to state lawmakers on Jan. 10 with his Condition of the State address.

"We probably have to cut about $100 million out of the current budget," Roederer told reporters after the REC meeting in which he pushed for higher tax growth projections than conferees Holly Lyons and David Underwood supported. Lyons had recommended lowering the growth projections by nearly $200 million through June 30, 2018, but the panel agreed to trim $147.2 million from its October estimates.

"We have been looking at the possibility that we would have some reductions," Roederer said, but added it was premature to detail what selective spending cuts might be proposed. He ruled out the governor ordering an across-the-board reduction and he said the plan would not call for reducing the level of state supplemental aid that K-12 school districts are receiving this year.

"There's a difference between the economy growing, and then government needing more than what the economy is currently growing at in order to honor the commitments that have been made," said Roederer, who noted 4 percent yearly growth is still healthy but he called plans by GOP legislators to cut taxes next session "challenging" unless they find a "revenue-neutral" way to accomplish the changes.

Sen. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, who will take over as the Senate's majority leader in January, said Monday's REC numbers underscore the need for economic growth in Iowa and reform in state government.

"Senate Republicans are committed to implementing pro-growth policies which will provide confidence to job creators and reform government to protect the taxpayers," Dix said. "These policies will put Iowa on a strong path to address the current budget situation."

Across the Capitol rotunda, Rep. Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said state revenue so far this fiscal year has been flat, noting that "a sluggish agricultural economy, driven by low commodity prices, continues to have a ripple effect in other industries throughout the state. This challenge will require us to closely examine the effectiveness of every program to find areas of efficiency and duplication."

During Monday's REC meeting, Underwood noted there is still uncertainty in Iowa's economy, with industrial sales and manufacturing sectors weak and sales taxes lagging even though wages and employment are up slightly.

Lyons said Iowa's growth continues but at a "decelerating or flattening" rate that is "perplexing." Roederer said Iowa's economic indicators have "been a mixed bag," but he was optimistic about fiscal 2018 when he expects to see more positive news out of Iowa's agricultural sector.

Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City, ranking member of House Appropriations Committee, accused the Branstad/Reynolds administration and House Republicans of putting the state general fund budget "$135 million in the red and stalled the state's economy."

"It's clear their unsustainable tax giveaways to out-of-state corporations have not produced good jobs, skilled workers, rising incomes for hard-working Iowans, or a stronger economy like they promised," Hall said in a statement.

"I hope Republicans and Lt. Gov. (Kim) Reynolds will heed the warning from our non-partisan budget experts," he added. "We must recognize that short-changing schools again to make way for massive corporate tax giveaways will not help working families or grow Iowa's economy."
Amid reports that Russian-backed cyberattacks sought to influence the U.S. election, Iowas two U.S. senators supported investigations into the matter Monday. Still, neither would venture to say whether they believed that such attacks were aimed at benefiting President-elect Donald Trump.

The Washington Post, citing officials it did not identify, reported last Friday that the CIA had concluded Russian intervention was aimed at helping Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump has dismissed the notion that the Russians intervened on his behalf. The Post also reported the FBI was ambiguous about the Russians' intent.

The allegations have roiled Washington, D.C., and sparked calls for investigations.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Monday said he backed an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Both he and incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have said any inquiry should steer clear of partisanship.

"Any threat to our nation's cybersecurity is totally unacceptable and must be fully investigated, which includes bipartisan congressional investigations," Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a statement Monday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he already has been asking questions of intelligence officials. But in a separate statement, he turned to criticism of the Obama administration and Democrats.

"We need to get to the bottom of the Obama administration's failure to stop these attacks and determine accountability," Grassley said.

Iowa's senior senator also added that cyberattacks shouldn't be confused with influence.

"Did exposing inappropriate and unethical actions on the part of Democratic officials actually change votes, let alone change the election?" Grassley asked. "Congressional oversight can be an effective tool to understand what may or may not have occurred by Russian hackers."

Neither said whether they believed reports that the CIA concluded the Russian actions were aimed at helping Trump win.

Meanwhile, Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, said there should be a bipartisan commission formed to look into the matter.

"This issue is paramount and should not fall victim to the partisan games that normally consume Washington," Loebsack said in a statement. "Congress must act swiftly and hold accountable any actor who played a role in influencing or otherwise compromising the recent election."

Loebsack also did not say whether he believed whether Russia was seeking to help Trump.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY | South Sioux City residents displaced by hydrogen sulfide gas in their homes expressed their concern to the City Council Monday that a resident last week had been sent back to his home before levels were deemed safe by state standards.

Chris Cornell, who lives on Redbird Lane, was displaced from his home on Oct. 28 due to the gas emanating from the sewer line and had been staying at Candlewood Inn and Suites, an extended stay hotel in Sioux City.

Cornell said he was alarmed when he received a call from City Administrator Lance Hedquist Wednesday, stating that his house was clean and that night would be his last in the hotel.

"I was shocked," he told the council Monday.

According to the state, official lab test results should show hydrogen sulfide readings of lower than 7.17 parts per billion before residents can safely return to their homes. A first batch of test results will be returned later this week, but none had been processed at the time of the call.

Hedquist told residents Monday that he had thought the home was safe based on discussions with other people working on the home but that he did not call the person who had been conducting the official tests prior to calling Cornell.

Funding for Cornell's accommodations has since resumed after another resident initially covered the cost of one of his night's bills. Cornell said on Saturday, alarms in his home were still registering gas levels more than double the state recommended range.

The city has been paying hotel bills and other out-of-pocket living expenses for residents forced to flee unsafe homes. City officials have said Big Ox Energy has agreed to reimburse the city for those costs.

Residents told the council Monday they were frustrated with the lack of progress on resolving the odor problems and fear the company-funded stays would be cut short.

"Im literally scared that youre going to pick up the phone and youre going to call me and youre going to tell me, 'Oh we were in your house and it doesnt smell bad so tonights your last night that youre staying at the Marina,'" said South Sioux City resident Angela Campbell.

Mayor Rod Koch assured the residents that they will not be sent home until their homes are "rock-solid safe," but he said city officials are still perplexed by the main problem: how the gas levels and the smells continue to persist.

The more we talk about this, its two issues. One is weve got to stop it. We dont know what it is," Koch said. The other thing is what is the process of fixing the houses?"

South Sioux City resident Mike Klassen said residents want third-party experts who have no conflict of interest with the city or Big Ox Energy to test residents' wiring, plumbing, HVAC systems and their personal health.

Koch said the city will begin locating experts to help.

It's been about two months since the odors entered several homes in the vicinity of Red Bird Lane to Lemasa Drive to 39th and 32nd streets, which share a sewer line with the facility.

The odors have been tied to hydrogen sulfide gas from Big Ox Energy, a renewable energy plant that recently started up in South Sioux City's Roth Industrial Park. The company has halted flows from the plant, which converts various waste into methane, into the sewer line until a permanent solution is found.
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.


Geert Wilders during his March 2014 speech, where he asked "Do you want more or fewer Moroccans?" (Image source: nos.nl video screenshot)

"We also have sh*t Moroccans over here." -- Rob Oudkerk, a Dutch Labour Party (PvDA) politician.

"We must humiliate Moroccans." -- Hans Spekman, PvDA politician.

"Moroccans have the ethnic monopoly on trouble-making." -- Diederik Samsom, PvDA politician.

There is nothing to be regulated here, nothing for the law to concern itself with, nothing that a good society should use its legislative apparatus to suppress or disown. The people who are targeted should just learn to live with it.





...there is a sort of public good of inclusiveness that our society sponsors and that it is committed to. We are diverse ... And we are embarked on a grand experiment of living and working together despite these sorts of differences. ... And each person, each member of each group, should be able to go about his or her business, with the assurance that there will be no need to face hostility, violence, discrimination, or exclusion by others.



This sense of security in the space we all inhabit is a public good ... Hate speech undermines this public good, or it makes the task of sustaining it much more difficult than it would otherwise be.

George Igler, between 2010 and 2016, aided those facing death across Europe for criticizing Islam.

Much has been made of the 2016 populist revolt in the West, beginning with Britain's June 23 decision to leave the European Union, and culminating with the victory of president-elect Donald Trump on November 8. The narrative of change is understandably seductive, but has recently been dealt successive blows by the domestic circumstances that so characterize European politics.Despite traditions of liberty being placed at the heart of the successful Trump campaign, the promise of a new economic approach also enabled him to cross the line on election day.The Brexit vote similarly took place under a referendum that allowed Britain's voting populace to defy the stated preference of the majority of their elected parliamentarians.The most disturbing recent development on the European continent, however, was Friday's conviction of Geert Wilders on two charges, "inciting discrimination and insulting a minority group," for asking supporters whether they wanted "fewer Moroccans" in the Netherlands, at a small public rally in a bar in The Hague, on March 19, 2014.This "hate speech" case against Wilders similarly pits popular alarm over the consequences of mass migration plus a principled politician who for years -- in the face of threats against his life, has agitated for genuine change -- against an untrustworthy, politicized legal system which appears at odds with both Wilders and popular alarm. Several Dutch Labour Party politicians, who said far more damaging things about Moroccans than Wilders did, yet were never prosecuted:Although Wilders's trial clearly appears an orchestrated miscarriage of justice, it is arguably not helpful to view the basis for his prosecution through an absolutist defense of freedom of speech, intuitively understandable to Americans. No constitutional equivalent of the First Amendment, which prohibits Congress from passing laws abridging the freedom of speech, exists in Europe.This right, however, even in the U.S. is somewhat qualified, as laid out in Brandenberg vs. Ohio, but none of those exceptions would apply to Wilders (imminent danger and individual personalization).Under the strictures of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), freedom of expression is a "qualified" right in much broader terms -- from which "left-wing" members of the Dutch Labour Party issuing the far more objectionable statements quoted above are apparently excluded: "the state may lawfully interfere with the right to freedom of expression in certain defined and limited circumstances."[1]The arguments qualifying the conviction of Wilders, in the courtroom of the military base at Schiphol Airport, according to the presiding jurist Hendrik Steenhuis, were that the PVV leader's comments were "unworthy" of an elected member of parliament -- as Judge Steenhuis denied any assertion that the trial was politically motivated. Yet, are not elected Members of Parliament even more responsible to for the safety of the public than are other citizens? If elected officials are criminalized for speaking out, at what point do such restrictions start posing a national security problem?Submitting to the questionable tenets of the ECHR, however, is a condition of EU membership. Dutch prosecutors expressed themselves "very satisfied" with the verdict, a spokeswoman adding , "the standard is set."If Europeans are ever to stand a chance of unravelling the coils of laws constricting their throats, preventing their ability to speak out against the demographic redrawing of their countries or any other potential danger they may note, it may prove helpful understanding how this slow strangulation took shape.The most compelling defense of hate speech laws was articulated by Prof. Jeremy Waldron, in 2012, who took issue with those believing that, "the bigoted invective that defiles our public environment, should be of no concern of the law."[2]In a passage dedicated to expressions of opposition to Muslim immigration, inthe NYU School of Law professor questioned those who maintain that:He counters:Although the gross unfairness of Geert Wilders's prosecution is clear when compared with other Dutch politicians who have articulated far worse, there is also compelling evidence that much that is preached from the Koran in mosques daily would clearly fall under such a definition of "hate speech" -- also remaining curiously outside the attention of public prosecutors.Given that "hate speech" damages the maintenance of dignity between groups and public safety, can a compelling case therefore not be made that "hate speech" laws mandated by the European Union are doing considerably more harm than good?Is it not high time that lawmakers grasp how mass Muslim immigration, and the importation of the sectarianism unfortunately inherent in Islamic doctrine, undermine even more significantly these noble principles of "public good"?How exactly are the terrorism rape and crime waves that have accompanied such migration into Europe, likely to be addressed by the democratic process -- within the confines of such originally benign legislation -- when across the continent fundamental notions of security are already being so comprehensively undermined How are ordinary, decent, native Europeans ever likely socially and politically to articulate how they never consented to being part of a "grand experiment," without incurring the stain of bigotry accompanying this reasonable assertion, from friends and co-workers alike?Are loyal citizens being cowed into silence, as in the world's most totalitarian nations, by prosecutions that can justifiably be seen as "making an example" of those who fail to toe whatever is the current political line?More sinisterly, with three months until the polls open in the Netherlands, the verdict against Wilders may have had little to do with either incitement or "hate speech," and everything to do with a desire to curtail precisely the sort of public rallies which were hallmarks of both victories led by Nigel Farage in Great Britain and Donald Trump in the United States.It is precisely these kind of public gatherings that do so much to convince those with entirely legitimate grievances that they are not alone Would it not be a remarkable irony if, rather than burying Wilders as the trial seemed intended to do, it instead propels him to victory?[1] p.69  Hare, I. (2009) "Extreme Speech Under International Human Rights Standards," in Hare, I. & Weinstein, J. eds. (2009), Oxford University Press.[2] pp. 3-5  Waldron, J. (2012)Harvard University Press.
PRINCE FREDERICK, Md.

Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at so.md/expungeme.

(Dec. 13, 2016)The Prince Frederick Barrack of the Maryland State Police (MSP) today released the following incident and arrest reports.THEFT: On 12/8/2016 at 4:53 pm, Trooper First Class Warrick responded to the Ledo's Restaurant in Prince Frederick for a theft of service (food) complaint. Robert A. Rice, 50, of Port Republic, left the restaurant before paying for his meal. While on scene, the manager of Outback Restaurant approached TFC Warrick and explained that Rice had also previously been observed leaving the Outback Restaurant without paying for his meal. Rice was located and arrested. He was issued a Uniform Criminal Citation for Theft and received No Trespass Orders for both T/A Ledo Pizza and T/A Outback Steakhouse.BURGLARY AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: On 12/9/2016 at 11:31 am, Trooper First Class Rowe responded to the 3200 block of Ben Oak Road in Huntingtown for a reported burglary and malicious destruction of property. The owner advised that numerous personal items had been removed and damage to the inside of the home had been observed. A suspect has been developed and charges are pending against Gilbert Zalc, 75, of Huntingtown. Investigation continues.BURGLARY: On 12/9/2016 at 2:24 pm, Trooper First Class Rowe responded to the 5900 block of Stephen Reid Road in Huntingtown for a reported burglary. Unknown suspect(s) removed a large amount of miscellaneous jewelry and a Ruger handgun (Ser. 38022025) from the residence. Pawn shops are been contacted and investigation continues.Ronald A. Setorie, 30, of Lusby, arrested on 12/07/2016 @ 02:13 am by TFC N. RuckerWilliam P. Hurst, 38, of Pr. Frederick, arrested on 12/09/2016 @ 09:58 pm by TFC W. CostelloJohn W. Hansell, 52, of Peoria, AZ, arrested on 12/11/2016 @ 11:33 pm by TFC J. WarrickDavid A. Sorrels, 39, of Florence, AL, arrested on 12/12/2016 @ 01:34 am by TPR. J. Jones
The Loffler Senior Activity Center's phone number has changed. To reach the Loffler Senior Activity Center or the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) the new phone number is 301-475-4200. The extensions have not changed and but you must dial a star (*) before the desired extension. For more information, call the Department of Aging & Human Services at 301-475-4200, ext. *1050.The St. Mary's County Health Department's Division of Environmental Health announces regulatory changes to Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) Title 26, Maryland Department of the Environment, Subtitle 04: Regulation of Water Supply, Sewage Disposal and Solid Waste. These regulations relate to the installation and maintenance of septic systems for homes and businesses not utilizing public sewage systems.Effective November 24, 2016, properties located outside of the 1000-foot Critical Area buffer are no longer required to install the Best Available Technology (BAT) for nitrogen removal. The BAT may be required on properties with existing homes or businesses outside of the Critical Area in situations where soil conditions prohibit the installation of a conventional septic system. Other regulatory changes are being issued and anyone planning to install a septic system should visit the COMAR website to learn more.If the owner of a property outside the 1000-foot Critical Area is preparing to install a septic system and plans call for the installation of a BAT, please call the Division of Environmental Health at 301-475-4321 to discuss possible options.For more information about septic system installation, repair or to download an application, please visit the St. Mary's County Health Department's website at www.smchd.org The St. Mary's County Regional Airport is preparing for a multi-year program of expansion funded by the Commissioners of St. Mary's County, the Maryland Aviation Administration and the FAA. The Airport is actively soliciting community input for the development of its proposed Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program goals for FY 2017-2019.The county will host a teleconference to describe the proposed projects, request input on the availability of both DBE and non-DBE's in the Market Area, and discuss any effects of discrimination on opportunities for DBE's to participate in the proposed capital improvements. The teleconference will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. The dial-in phone number is 515-604-9308, and the access code is 796971.Interested parties may also submit comments and requests for information about the DBE program to the Department of Public Works and Transportation's office addressed to St. Mary's County Regional Airport, Attn: DBE Program, 44825 St. Andrews Church Road, California, MD 20619 or gary.whipple@stmarysmd.com.For additional information and questions about the airport, please contact George A. Erichsen, P.E., Director, Department of Public Works and Transportation and Airport Manager at 301-863-8400, during normal business hours.During the months of January, February and March 2017, Family Skate Night will be moved to Sundays beginning January 8.Event Details:Time: 25 p.m.Cost: $5 per person; skate rentals available for $2.50 per personBring the family and have some fun!For more information call 301-475-4200, ext. *1800.What's a kid to do when school is closed? Come to the Leonard Hall Recreation Center from 24 p.m. and join the fun during open skate! Admission is just $5 per person. Skate rental is an additional $2.50 or bring your own.Open Skate Dates: January 26 February 7 March 1 March 31 April 12For more information, please call 301-475-4200, ext. *1800.Call for 2017 Women's History Month Award NominationsOne of the most rewarding aspects of members serving on the Commission for Women is honoring St. Mary's County women and girls who exemplify the best of the best. Each year the commission solicits nominations for the Woman of the Year. This award recognizes a woman for her outstanding charitable and civic service to the St. Mary's County community.The commission also honors Tomorrow's Womana young woman who is a current high school student (in grades 9-12) and is already making a difference through her advocacy, leadership, or service.The commission seeks the help of the public by submitting nominations of an exceptional woman or girl known through your community or workplace, place of worship or through school or community activities.To request a nomination packet visit the Commission's website at www.co.saint-marys.md.us/voluntr.women.asp . You may also email the commission at commissionforwomen@stmarysmd.com or call 301-475-4200, ext. *1849. The awards criteria are straightforward. Winners must have made a positive impact on our community, be a current St. Mary's County resident, have a completed Nomination Form submitted by January 25, 2017, and commit to attend the Women's History Month banquet on March 15, 2017 to receive the award in person. The theme for the 2017 dinner is "Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor & Business."The commission asks members of the public to share this information and Nomination Form with friends and family, neighbors, coworkers, faith community and on social networks. Knowing how many talented and effective women and girls there are in St. Mary's County, the commission looks forward to receiving many nominations for Woman of the Year and Tomorrow's Woman.Members of the St. Mary's County Commission for Women are appointed by the Commissioners of St. Mary's County and champions women's issues and concerns.At a joint meeting with the St. Mary's County Board of Education, the Commissioners of St. Mary's County pledged their commitment to the White House Library Card Challenge.Part of the ConnectED Library initiative, the goal of the challenge is to ensure every K-12 student across St. Mary's County has a library card and knows how to use it to access learning resources available at the public libraries. The initiative calls upon library directors to work with their elected officials, school leaders and school librarians.The St. Mary's County Library will introduce Kids Cards. Available to young people up to the age of 18, they allow up to 5 books to be checked out. A/V materials, such as DVDs, audiobooks, music discs, are not included. The cards allow access to all of the Library's online resources, including eBooks, music, movies and digital audiobooks and magazines.Items which are overdue will not incur fines. Card holders who lose an item will not be charged for the item, however the number of items available to check out will be reduced.Children may have this new type of card plus a regular library card. Because the Kids Cards are fine free and involve no cost, kids may sign up for them without parental consent."The Commissioners of St. Mary's County are proud to sign on to this challenge," said Commissioner President Randy Guy. "We're hopeful all students in the county take advantage and obtain a Kids Card and explore everything our wonderful libraries have to offer."Karin Bailey, St. Mary's County Board of Education Chair, J. Scott Smith, St. Mary's County Public Schools Superintendent and Michael Blackwell, St. Mary's County Public Library director joined Commissioner President Guy in formally signing on to the challenge statement.In signing the challenge, all parties pledge to strengthen partnerships to wider access of learning resources, begin to close the achievement gaps and build a foundation for sustained collaboration to improve educational outcomes for all students in the community.
In a classic case of confusing root causes with symptoms, an environmental report on the United States' rising contribution to climate change over a recent 15-year period was titled The Carbon Boom.



It should have been titled The Population Boom, as virtually the whole increase measured in carbon dioxide emissions came from more people, not from burning more fossil fuel per capita.



This remains, approaching every environmental solution in terms of reducing our carbon (or nitrogen or land-use) "footprint," lowering our per-capita impactsseldom even discussing the other major part of the solution, the size of the population.



It is a big reason a sustainable Chesapeake Bay and a sustainable planet may always elude us. Around the Chesapeake, where we're adding more than a million people a decade to the watershed, failure to even discuss our numbers is a huge missing piece of the cleanup.



So it's good to see well-reasoned research published this month in the Journal of Social Theory and Practice that makes the case that reducing population growth to prevent a climate disaster is both necessary and morally justified.



In their paper, Population Engineering and the Fight Against Climate Change, Travis N. Rieder, a Johns Hopkins bioethicist, and his colleagues Jake Earl and Colin Hickey, of Georgetown University, examine a range of techniques societies could use, or use more widely, to stabilize population. The authors, all moral philosophers, rule out the most coercive policies such as sterilization and mandated family sizes. They would aim stronger population-slowing measures at wealthier,more developed countries to avoid unfairly targeting poorer, more desperate and less educated people.



"The right to a family size of your choice," Rieder said in an interview, "is like most absolute rightstempered by the well-being of family, community and society." An estimated 250,000 additional people will die globally by mid-century if climate change is not soon held in check, Earl noted, "so this is not anti-people."



Modest changes in the number of children per couple would make for big climate change progress, the authors say. If couples worldwide averaged producing half a child fewer than they do now, it would cut carbon emissions by 2100 by about 5 billion tons (more than half of all the CO2 emitted globally in 2013).



Even by around 2050, we'd get at least as much bang for the buck from that lowered birthrate as from doubling the miles per gallon for all cars, increasing wind energy 50-fold, or tripling nuclear energy (which emits no carbon).



Conversely, if we go add billions more people, as projected by the United Nations, we'll have to shrink our carbon footprints by up to 70 percent in the next few decades, and become a virtually carbonless society by century's end, if we are to meet world goals for avoiding the worst of climate change.



The authorsand most scientiststhink doing that ranges from unlikely to impossible. This illustrates another flaw in relying on reducing per-capita environmental impacts. To the extent we assume that is our only choice, we don't analyze the likelihood and costs of making the often-huge footprint reductions that sustainability would require.



The authors point out that our reproductive choices have a "carbon legacy," as every child's contribution to climate change continues for generations and expands with that child's children and grandchildren, and so on. It's enough to utterly swamp all the reductions one might make in their own impacts.



Rieder, who has one child, age 2, and has written previously about the ethics of small families and adoption versus having babies, said that a recent airing of the paper on National Public Radio elicited hate mail"baby haters use global warming" said a correspondent in The Federalistand tweets like this one: "he and his family should just kill themselves."



"But we also received more than 100 "thank you" emails," Rieder noted, as well as a more mixed response. "Several women said, 'Empower women, don't focus on our reproductive rights,'" he said. This reflects a split that has persisted for a decades between feminists and population reduction activists.



A widespread criticism that the authors said they take seriously was the concern that a world with fewer people won't be able to maintain prosperity in a world economy based on growth. "That will be the subject of our next paper," Rieder said.



It struck me that many ecological economists, an established subset of economics that is all about prosperity without endless growth, might see that next paper as the re-invention of the wheel. I know veteran population activists feel that way about the recently published research of Rieder, Earl and Hickey.



But bring it on. Their research can only increase the willingness to discuss population as part of the sustainability puzzle. It's a conversation too often missing from the environmental movement.



Tom Horton has written about the Chesapeake Bay for more than 40 years, including eight books. He lives in Salisbury, where he is also a professor of environmental studies at Salisbury University.
For openly gay "Star Trek" icon George Takei, the unexpected rise of Donald Trump to the Presidency has taken on a deeper and more personal meaning. In his youth Takei, who is of Japanese descent, spent several years in an internment camp  during WWII the United States government kept countless Japanese Americans, none of whom had committed any crimes, under lock and key in the aftermath of the bombing of Hawaii's Pearl Harbor by the Japanese government.

During his controversial campaign, Trump spoke of building a wall between the United States and Mexico. The President-elect has also suggested a ban on Muslims entering the country and a possible "Muslim registry". Trump continues to promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants as soon as he takes office.

"I was hoping Trump would moderate his words and behavior with the thought of the Presidency becoming reality but now with his selection of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General I sense something ominous beginning to rise," Takei told SFGN, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. "Im worried. And he has done little to quell many of his own supporters actions, which also has me worried. The sight of neo-nazis sieg heiling in victory, just blocks away from the White House, was chilling."

The President-elect has since made a few brief comments in which he denounced hate, but Takei feels that these statements weren't enough. "Trump must do more to distance himself from such hate groups and to moderate his own rhetoric and actions that seem always to divide and point blame rather than bring us together," the actor said.

On December 13 Takei's recent show "Allegiance", was was performed in San Diego and New York, will screen in cinemas nationwide. The show was taped before a live audience. "Allegiance" might resonate even more intensely for audiences who see it today--"Allegiance" is a musical which recalls the Japanese internment camps.

"'Allegiance' follows the story of a Japanese American family caught up in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and the internment," Takei explained. "The storyline centers around a brother and a sister who choose fatefully different paths in response to their unjust incarceration. "Allegiance" involves two love stories that blossomed behind those barbed wire fences. The fracturing of the family in "Allegiance" metaphorically represents the rupture of the Japanese American community under the strains of the internment years."

Takei plays dual roles in the show. "In the beginning, I am the older version of Sam Kimura, in the present, looking back on his life," he said. "I am an old veteran with a big chip on my shoulder over what transpired those many decades ago. But once we go back in time, to the story that took place just before, during and just after the war, I play another character, Ojii-chan, which means grandfather in Japanese. Ojii-chan is a jovial old farmer who helps anchor the Kimura family in their Japanese culture and traditions."

Takei, now an "elder-statesman" for both the acting profession and for the LGBT community, spoke warmly of Telly Leung, the young openly gay Asian actor who co-stars in "Allegiance".

"Telly is an enormously gifted and disciplined artist who has the promise of becoming a commanding star," Takei said. "He is my hope for the future of Asian Americans in theater, film, television and the performing arts generally  a multi-talented star. And he also happens to be a great friend."

Both actors share their admiration for each other.

"George is one of the hardest working men in show business," Leung told SFGN. "At 78, he did eight shows a week, he never missed a show, and his stamina and dedication to the story we were telling, his story, was an inspiration to the entire company. He also found the time and energy to be a top-notch, warm, generous human being."

Leung shares many of Takei's concerns for the future under a Trump presidency. "Trump's surrogates have suggested that the Japanese-American internment was a lawful and justified precedent for the intense vetting of Muslims entering the US," Leung said. "This eerily echoes the kind of speech and rhetoric of 1942, when Executive Order 9066 forced thousands of Japanese-Americans to relocate to camps because of prejudice, fear, war hysteria and poor political leadership."

The actors also expressed their concern for the future of gay rights, as Mr. Trump has appointed a number of openly anti-LGBT people to his cabinet.

"No one, not a single appointment, is an advocate for the LGBTQ community," Leung pointed out. "In fact, many of them have been vocal about their opposition to marriage equality. Trump has said he, himself, is a supporter of LGBT rights, but actions speak louder than words."

But Leung isn't giving up. "I am confident that the LGBTQ community will fight relentlessly for equality," he said. "The spirit of those first, feisty, brave brothers and sisters at Stonewall, the spirit of Harvey Milk, the spirit of Edith Windsor, it is something we have in our DNA as a community, and we will not have our rights taken away without a good fight."

"We need to be ever vigilant," added Takei. "He (Trump) has begun to appoint very troubling people to his cabinet, with the transition team headed by the most anti-LGBT Vice President in our history. Many of his short list picks for the Supreme Court are publicly anti-LGBT, some even saying that consensual gay sex should be criminalized."

These are some of the messages which Takei hopes people will take from Allegiance. "We live in a time when we again hear the chilling words of irrational fear and hatred against Muslims, as well as Mexicans and trans people," he said. "We must never allow the mass hysteria and racism that happened to Japanese Americans during WWII to ever be inflicted again on other minorities. If there is any takeaway from our show, it is to demonstrate that this type of massive tragedy not only did happen, but could happen again to another group if we are not vigilant against the excesses of our own democracy."

"Allegiance" will screen on December 13 at the Cypress Creek 16 in Ft Lauderdale, the Broward 18 in Pompano Beach, and the Silverspot Cinema in Coconut Creek.

Ticket Info: http://fathomevents.com/event/allegiance
Do you know what Glutathione is?

Chances are you dont so here is a crash course. Glutathione is an antioxidant that counteracts bad things that happen to the human body. When the body shows signs of deterioration, humans can take steps to counteract failing health.

Glutathione is part of the equation.

Emmanuel Trenche, spokesman for Fort Lauderdale based Liquivida Lounge, said glutathione is essential to a healthy immune system.

Not having enough glutathione contributes to oxidative stress, which plays a major role in the mechanics of complex disorders, Trenche said. In other words, oxidative stress affects the composition and strength of your cell exposing you to disease.

At Liquivida Lounge, IV infusion with glutathione is available. The antioxidant is administered intravenously providing needed amino acids for the human body.

Doctor Howard Newman oversees the Liquivida Lounge operations in Coconut Creek in northwestern Broward County. Newman swears by the therapys results. Aside from IV infusion being the fastest way to restore health, glutathione, Newman says, is an effective remedy.

Were getting good results with it, Newman said. It works well in women and men.

The Mirror Magazine visited three different Liquivida Lounge locations to observe and participate in the therapy. Prices vary depending on your selection. There are drips for many different conditions. During our visit to the Pompano Beach location, a Liquivida Lounge staff member pinched the arm of a reporter to determine a level of dehydration.

A lot of the patients are dehydrated, Newman said.

Patients, Newman said, come in through referrals. Cash and credit cards are accepted, Newman said, but because Liquivida Lounge is classified as a wellness spa, standard health insurance, does not apply.

Thats just for catastrophic [insurance], Newman said of the health care coverage offered in Florida under the Affordable Care Act.

A Lounge For Rejuvenation.

Tucked away in a shopping plaza off A-1-A in Fort Lauderdales Galt Mile is a lounge where drinks are served in untraditional methods. This lounge focuses on wellness and nutrition and the drip comes intravenously.

Welcome to the future of healing.

We created the Liquivida Lounge concept to bring nutrient IV therapy to the masses, says founder Samuel Tejada, a Broward County firefighter and paramedic.

Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tejada now calls Coconut Creek home. He launched his premium wellness spa setting earlier this year after hearing a lot of positive buzz from similar startups in Los Angeles.

The idea of voluntarily sticking a needle in your arm is still a bit daunting for some so Tejada and his investors have made every effort to ensure a relaxed ambiance for the lounge experience.

Tejada describes the lounge  with similar models in Broward and Palm Beach Counties  as offering concierge-like service the moment guests walk through its doors.

We teamed up with a leading group of medical experts to create the best IV nutrient infusions in a high-end lounge setting, Tejada said.

The lounge offers seven nutrient IV drips, giving guests a variety of options to improve their wellness. Executives seeking to sharpen performance and relieve stress have their brand while other drips are offered that improve the appearance of skin, nails and hair; power cell defenses and even cure hangovers.

All with the help of glutathione.

Its one of the best anti-aging nutrients out there, said Newman.

Explaining how glutathione works in lay terms, Newman said: It grabs free radicals and makes them inactive.

Free radicals cause cell damage and interfere with normal cell function, Newman said. Smoking, he said, causes free radicals.

When the body has certain stresses, it needs more glutathione, Newman said.

A normal session takes anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes for the IV to be administered, Newman said. Patients typically kick back in a reclining massage chair with flat screen televisions to watch during therapy.

In addition to rehydrating the body, glutathione helps with skin lightening, said Newman, giving some patients a glow and more energetic feel.

Celebrities such as Rhianna, Kim Kardashian and Simon Cowell have successfully used IV therapy, said Newman. On its website, the lounge lists several VIP testimonials.

Those IV drips were amazing. I cant even begin to describe in words how great I felt after leaving Liquivida Lounge, especially 2-3 days later. That massage chair sure didnt hurt either, said MMA fighter Steve Montgomery.

Flight attendants, professional athletes and busy corporate executives fit the usual profile of an IV therapy patient, said Emmanuel Trenche, marketing and public relations manager at Liquivida Lounge. The important thing to remember, Trenche said, is glutathione IV treatments slow down the aging process.

While glutathione is a naturally occurring molecule that is found inside every cell of the body, levels decrease with age and low levels can cause many serious diseases, Trenche said. It has been found to act as an antioxidant to other antioxidants as it has the ability to maximize the activity of vitamin C and vitamin E.

Not to be left out, Millennials, have a drip targeted for their lifestyle. Labeled Rise and Shine, this drip is customized for society scene stealers recovering from a party hangover.

Hungover? Bounce back and get moving quickly, reads a page in a promotional Liquivida Lounge brochure.

What makes the Rise & Shine drip so effective? Liquivida officials point to Taurine, the drips most powerful ingredient. Taurine is an amino acid that works with electrolytes and Magnesium, a metal, and Chloride, a halogen, to detoxify cells.

Visit LiquividaLounge.com for more information.
The Human Rights Campaign teamed up with two national pediatrics groups to produce a comprehensive guide on transgender children to help family, friends, and physicians.

The 24-page guide, Supporting and Caring for Transgender Children, was produced with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP). It goes over basic definitions of gender, the benefits of affirming a childs gender identity, debunks myths, and provides support and tips for those who care for transgender children.

As weve made more and more progress with transgender rights and our society is getting a deeper understanding of what it means to be transgender, more and more people are comfortable in coming out at younger ages, said Sarah McBride, the national press secretary at HRC.

Youngsters like Jazz Jennings, who just celebrated her 16th birthday, have served as trailblazers in the advocacy world by sharing their stories with the world. In TLCs I Am Jazz, the Jennings family shows how raising a transgender teenager includes run of the mill problems, as well as unique issues that arise.

McBride said that Jazz has helped propel the dialogue in communities about transgender people, especially children. With the guide, she hopes that grandparents, parents, doctors, teachers, and mentors will be able support, affirm, and care for that child as they would want to do for anyone that they love.

In fact, it was those very people who made the guide come to fruition, McBride said. Families and friends of transgender people approached the HRC with questions, so the agency reached out to experts in the field to put together the guide. Plus, with two pediatric groups on board, it shows that the wellbeing of transgender children is not just important for an advocacy group or in politics, but because its the right thing to do.

Its a testament to the fact that this is not a political issue. This is about science, this is about medicine, and this is about who transgender people say they are and what transgender people say they need, McBride said.

Over time, the groups hope that the guide will expand as more information is garnered and more people participate.

A transgender woman herself, McBride said she didnt come out until she was 21  seeing the guide come together shows progress for the transgender community.

Its empowering and inspiring and heartening to see more and more people coming out early. Its a testament to some of the progress that were making. Until we live in a world where every person feels comfortable coming out and living their truth and where everyone who does that is met with support and affirmation, we have a lot of work to do, she said.

Its about kindness, its about respect, and its about allowing every person, including young people, to live their full selves and to spend every day living their life to the fullest.

To access the guide, click here.
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.




Empress Deo will look to repeat in Tuesdays $20,000 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap pace at Dover Downs.

An impressive 1:52.3 winner last week, Legacy Racings Empress Deo has won this event two of the previous three weeks with a just-missed second by a nose in-between. Allan Davis has been her regular driver.

There is plenty of talent among the opposition. Elliesjet N, racing for Josh Parker, B Spedden, K Evans and Nanticoke Racing was a fast finishing second last week for Jonathan Roberts while Tim Tetrick-driven Scandalicious cut out the early pace and had to settle for third beaten a length.

Two former Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) champions who have gone on to more success are rival distaffs in the weeks top event for female pacers.

Mike Pagonas Inititowinafortune, trained by Mike Russo, is a $637,097 career winner while Purrfect Bags, a major stakes winner while a juvenile, is owned by JoAnn Looney-King and is driven by Vic Kirby. Fashion Showdown, owned by trainer Chris White leaves from the rail with Jim Morand. The only three-year-old in the line-up, David Banks and Layfield Horses sharp Sayulita with Tony Morgan, is alongside. Veteran Matinee Dragon driven by Part Berry completes the hard-hitting field.

Ed Maas, Arlene Paisley and Nanticoke Racings Terror At Night (Morand) and L&L Stables Velocity Lana (Yannick Gingras) lead a $15,000 distaff pace on a strong undercard.

(Dover Downs)
Christianity Today Receives $2 Million Capacity-Building Grant from Lilly Endowment

Contact: Cory Whitehead, Christianity Today , 630-384-7223, cwhitehead@christianitytoday.com CAROL STREAM, Ill., Dec. 13, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a $2 million grant to the nonprofit, global media ministry Christianity Today in support of Christian thought journalism and to help sustain meaningful discourse in the digital age."This generous gift will work to expand CT's ministry capacity and our cause of Beautiful Orthodoxy beyond the four million readers we reach monthly," said President and CEO Harold Smith. "We are humbled and grateful by Lilly Endowment's generosity and thankful for how we've seen God at work through this entire grant process."The capacity-building grant will strengthen CT's core journalistic calling for years to come, fulfilling the ministry's two-part vision to (1) Build a digital-first technological foundation upon which content can be expanded, and (2) Support an ongoing fundraising infrastructure important to CT's future."The print magazine remains an integral part of CT's publishing strategy," said Publisher Jake Walsh, "but the reality is that millions more read our content online, and a growing number are mobile-first.""This grant will help us adapt our publishing strategy and better serve those readers across all platforms."CT plans to expand online content in areas like news and reporting, and digitally package the complete 60-year history of CT magazine.Christianity Today will also build on its fundraising vision."The church needs CT more than ever," said Cory Whitehead, executive director of development. "And yet the economics of publishing quality, thoughtful, and balanced content is perhaps greater today than ever before.""With this grant, we can more fully share our ministry's story with potential partners and fulfill our mission to Christian leaders globally."To learn more or partner with Christianity Today, visit here Christianity Today is a nonprofit, global media ministry centered on Beautiful Orthodoxystrengthening the church by richly communicating the breadth of the true, good, and beautiful gospel. Reaching over four million people monthly with various digital and print resources, the ministry equips Christians to renew their minds, serve the church, and create culture to the glory of God. Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family  J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli  through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business. The Endowment supports causes in religion, education and community development. Lilly Endowments religion grantmaking is designed to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes.
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My crystal ball CB said that the war in Ukraine will end by March 2023. Why? - Ukraine does not want to continue fighting, as most of thei...
Another bout of snow, sleet and freezing temperatures is forecast for later this week over a broad portion of the region, prompting a Kelso church to open an emergency cold weather shelter.

Snow is expected to start after 10 a.m. Wednesday, but most of it will come that night, with one to two inches accumulation expected in the Kelso-Longview area. Theres a 50 percent chance of snow on Thursday, with new snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Snow showers will continue into the weekend but no significant lowland accumulations are expected.

Temperatures will be colder than they were last week, with overnight lows in the mid 20s forecast into Saturday morning. Daytime highs will not escape into the 40s until Monday, according to the Weather Service.

As far as snow accumulation, the Weather Service said Monday that there is still a lot of uncertainty about precipitation type and amounts.

The Kelso Christian Assembly will host a cold weather shelter for all nights this winter in which temperatures are expected to be 32 degrees or below.

The church, located at 403 Academy St., will host the shelter in its upper building from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. On Wednesday evenings the shelter will open later, likely around 9 p.m., because the church holds services that night.

Local organizations such as Love Overwhelming, Love Inc., Feed the Need, Stone Soup, Belly Brigade and Mountain Ministries are partnering to help with food, supplies and volunteers for the shelter. The capacity of the shelter is unknown at this time.

Donations can be dropped off at the Kelso church after 8 p.m. or at Love Overwhelming, 304 Cowlitz Way in Kelso, during the day. Monetary donations can be mailed to Love. Inc., 1105 D 15th Ave., No. 432, Longview, WA 98632.
The news of Nokia coming back to the market with its own-branded smartphone has taken the market by storm and marketers are super-duper excited to experience a new smartphone. As per the official reports, Nokia with its new Android-based smartphone is said to hit the market in the early of 2017, may be at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, which is slated for 27th February 2017.

From the day of launching its first fully portable mobile in 1987 to its partnership with Microsoft in 2011 to launch Windows-based Lumia Phones, Nokia has always stayed ahead of the line. However, after the complete acquisition of Nokia Brand by Microsoft in 2014, the company lost its signature from the market and the tech world missed Nokia branded phones. However, with the announcement of Nokia to make a comeback to the market with new Android-based smartphone and tablets, a new flow of enthusiasm is found among the shoppers and Nokia fans. The Finnish Multinational is now getting up to make an impressive and robust return to the mobile market with the new line-up of smartphones and tablets in early next year, and we can expect a new Nokia-branded phone in our hand by the end of February 2017.

HMD, the commercial arm of Foxconn manufacturing has taken charge of designing and developing Nokia Phones for the next ten years. Though no official announcements are yet made about the title of the upcoming Nokia smartphone, some rumours are strongly suggesting the phone be called Nokia D1C. Some leaked images have suggested the Nokia D1C will be a premium quality phone with a mid-range price tag. However, the official announcement from Nokia or HMD is still awaited.

However, apart from all the excitements and expectations, the matter of challenges and competition for Nokia cant be denied. The extreme rivalry in the smartphone market and late entry of the brand can be the primary source of problems for Nokia phones in coming days. However, Nokia has a tonne of trust this time around its Nokia D1C and expects it to good business in the market. Lets have a look at how the Nokia D1C will work for its parental company and its Brand:

1. A Great comeback for Nokia Brand

No matter how long it is, Nokia still is considered among the most respectable and much-loved mobile brand. Even if after the acquirement by Microsoft, the brand lost its significance in the market, yet it is still going on with a decent value. Now, the Android-based smartphone, Nokia D1C is expected to make the company enjoy a robust comeback after years and get the authentic value of its Brand name. The revival of a brand always leads to great success and with Nokia, we can expect the same.

2. Yes!!! Finally, it is Android

A decade ago, Android OS on Nokia Phones was alleged to be a daydream. However, still, the marketers are expecting the phone to integrate with Android OS one day and this one day is going to appear in February. After so many decades, Nokia is finally going to revive its smartphone features with the Google-powered Android Operating System. Moreover, HMD is reported to be working directly with Google which means Android on Nokia can be completely personalised.

3. Challenges and Competition

Well, since years, Samsung and Nokia are considered to be the greatest rivalry of each other, and this time, the expectation is no different. If you take a gander at Nokias competition, the first name that will hit the mind is Samsung. At some point, the success of Samsung was somewhat liable for the downfall of Nokia. But 2016 is proved not-so-lucky for Samsung especially after the disaster of Galaxy Note 7, and now the brand is quite down in the market. And the comeback of Nokia in such time could bring great business opportunity for the brand.

4. Nokia D1C  Great value for Money or Not

Well, this is the most asked question about the upcoming phone of Nokia. Nokia, with its phones and gadgets, always has maintained a budget-friendly approach and this time, with its comeback smartphone, the market is expecting the same. Regarding features, design, hardware and price, Nokia did a great job in the past, and with the new one, it is believed to repeat the history. It is the price which will decide the make or break of the brand in coming days.

5. A hard-hitting opposition with Chinese brands

When it comes to budget-friendly smartphones with excellent specifications, Chinese Brands always heads the line. And this time, the Chinese brands are also expected to give Nokia the toughest competition in the budget segment. With the high-end specs and features, it may win millions of hearts, but in price segment, the brand will undoubtedly face some brawl with the Chinese smartphone makers. With the impeccable hardware, smoothness of the gadget, and a value-added price tag, Nokia is expected to trigger its magic once again.

Well, these are the top 5 factors that are supposed to dominate the Finnish Multinational in coming days. With the yet-to-be-announced smartphone, the brand has high hopes. But the aggressive competition regarding price and specification may cause some major challenges for the brand. However, lets hope for the best and wait for the commercial launch of Nokia D1C
The US space agency NASAs first ever mission to bring samples of soil from an asteroid back to Earth is working well. Scientists are planning for multitasking and do more than one mission with the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft simultaneously. Apart from scanning the asteroid Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will also scan the elusive Trojan asteroids through its onboard camera.

Trojan asteroids are elusive asteroids that are constant companions to planets in our solar system as they orbit the sun, remaining near a stable point 60 degrees in front of or behind the planet. These asteroids cannot collide with the companion planet because they move in the same orbit of the planet.

Scientists are planning to start scanning of Trojan asteroids from Feb 9 to Feb 20 next year. NASA scientists explained that only six planets in our solar system have trojan asteroids Jupiter, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Uranus and, yes, even Earth. The Earth Trojan is elusive; to date, scientists have only discovered one Earth trojan asteroid  2010 TK7  found by NASAs NEOWISE project in 2010. Yet there are more than 6,000 known Trojans that are co-orbiting the sun with the gas giant Jupiter.

According to researchers, there might more than one trojan asteroid sharing Earths orbit. However, these asteroids are elusive and difficult to detect may be thats why astronomers have failed to discover more such asteroids and with further study, researchers will be able to discover more trojan asteroids.

In mid-February 2017, however, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will be positioned in an ideal spot to undertake a survey. Over 12 days, the OSIRIS-REx Earth-Trojan asteroid search will employ the spacecrafts MapCam imager to methodically scan the space where Earth Trojans are expected to exist. Many of these observations will closely resemble MapCams planned activities during its upcoming search for satellites of asteroid Bennu, so the Trojan asteroid search serves as an early rehearsal for the missions primary science operations.

The Earth-Trojan asteroid search provides a substantial advantage to the OSIRIS-REx mission, said OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Not only do we have the opportunity to discover new members of an asteroid class, but more importantly, we are practicing critical mission operations in advance of our arrival at Bennu, which ultimately reduces mission risk.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is currently on a seven-year journey to rendezvous with, study, and bring a sample of Bennu to Earth. This sample of a primitive asteroid will help scientists understand the formation of our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago.

NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the missions science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASAs New Frontiers Program. NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the agencys New Frontiers Program for its Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
tech2 News Staff

Cyclone Vardah has been wreaking havoc in Tamil Nadu, and internet service providers are now sending out alerts to their customers about disruptions in service. The connectivity problems are apparently caused because of the Cyclone affecting two major internet gateways in India. Apart from the gateway located at Chennai itself, the other major gateway affected seems to be the one in Agartala, which opened earlier this year, to boost the capacity and improve speeds.

You Broadband, a leading supplier of internet services in South India has sent out a message to customers alerting them of a problem of slow speeds. The alert acknowledges a slow down in services, and attributes the slow speeds to internet gateways affected by the cyclone. In replies to queries by customers on slow speeds, Vodafone has replied that services are disrupted because of the cyclone. Many customers who reached out to Vodafone over Twitter are getting similar responses.

https://twitter.com/VodafoneIN/status/808598672086798336

https://twitter.com/VodafoneIN/status/808598673710055424

https://twitter.com/VodafoneIN/status/808598675253579777

Users have taken to Twitter to point out the slow speeds. Connectivity for both wired and wireless broadband services seem to be affected.

https://twitter.com/itsdamslife/status/808594130804752384

https://twitter.com/roshanpolekar/status/808371163315531777

Other service providers, including Airtel and Hathway have alerted their subscribers to potential issues with internet speeds. It's also been reported that banking sites were unable to process transactions for many hours and that Air India struggled with MasterCard transactions.

A disruption in internet services can slow down the recovery process. If you are experiencing slow internet connections, particularly in South India, then Cyclone Vardah is the reason.
hidden

Some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal $81 million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, a top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters on Monday. The comments by Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh police's criminal investigation department, are the first sign that investigators have got a firm lead in one of the world's biggest cyber heists, which had prompted months of international finger-pointing. Arrests are soon likely, he said.

On Thursday, the head of a Bangladesh government panel that investigated the heist said five bank officials were guilty of negligence but that they were only unwitting accomplices. Alam told Reuters his investigations had discovered that some bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the bank's connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

"Bangladesh Bank's SWIFT network was made insecure by some bank employees in connivance with some foreign people," he said. "They knew what they were doing." He declined to name the suspects or say how many there were.

Alam said investigators were now trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. Asked if the officials would be arrested, he said: "We are very close to it." The apparent momentum comes after months of trading blame among Bangladesh Bank, the New York Fed, SWIFT, and a Philippine lender that received much of the stolen funds before they disappeared. The heist prompted an international probe headed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Separately SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, told Reuters its messaging system has been targeted in a "meaningful" number of other attacks this year using a similar approach as the Bangladesh incident. Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to comment on Alam's comments. A New York Fed spokeswoman also declined comment.

Another investigator in Dhaka, who declined to be named, said more than 100 Bangladesh Bank employees had been interviewed in connection with the heist, and some were barred from leaving the country.

In early February, the hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed. Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed but, after a series of oversights and miscommunications, the New York Fed ultimately sent $81 million to four fake accounts in a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp in the Philippines. Most of the funds then disappeared into Manila's loosely regulated casino industry.

Reuters
Aditya Madanapalle

The interview of an India based Legion member, in the Washington Post reveals a lot about how the hacking collective calling itself Legion operates. There is a display of juvenile bravado over their technical skills. Legion apparently have a trove of data, and that data is choosing the targets for them. Legion are not deliberately going after targets. They are not vigilantes, they do not have a purpose. Legion is hacking these accounts because they can. They can be called cyberdacoits, if you feel so inclined.

Examples of data breaches and campaigns that try to be altruistic include Julian Assange continuously releasing new material on Wikileaks and Edward Snowden who spied on the US spy agencies and found that they were spying on US citizens. Legion is not known to be associated with the loosely organised hacking collective known as Anonymous, but its name features in the tagline of Anonymous, "we are Legion." One of the reasons Anonymous hacks things is "because we can."

Groups associated with Anonymous have executed a few altruistic campaigns, with an operation against pedophiles and a sustained vendetta against ISIS. These efforts are known as hacktivism, where hacking is used to bring about social transformation. A hacktivist associated with anonymous was improving twitter profiles associated with extremism by compromising the accounts and spamming the feeds with gay porn. Legion aren't exactly hacktivists, but that doesn't mean we dismiss their efforts outright.

https://twitter.com/WauchulaGhost/status/743236586058489856

The work that Legion is doing is important, however random it might be. They are exposing serious security flaws in our system, and shortcomings in the steps that prominent people take to protect their accounts. Compromised data dumps might be languishing in the back alleys of the dark web, but by cherry picking prominent compromised personalities, Legion is bringing to the forefront the weakest links in the security chain.

Legion is merely pointing out the holes in the system that would allow threat actors and malicious agents to compromise the data of people. At least they are not serious cybercriminals. They are not compromising networks that have real world repercussions. Legion is not holding people for ransom. They are not executing a series of high profile hacks as promotions for peddling dubious security services, which is something that the hacking collective OurMine does.

Information security is important, and a series of high profile compromises by amateurs is just the right thing to make people take notice and secure themselves. If you want to protect your accounts from attacks by groups such as Legion, here is how to do it.
tech2 News Staff

Legion, the hacking group responsible for the Twitter hacks of Rahul Gandhi, Congress, Vijay Mallya, Barkha Dutt and Ravish Kumar have given interviews to The Washington Post and FactorDaily. According to the conversation, the group is planning to release a lot of information pertaining to Apollo Hospitals which is likely to cause 'chaos' in the country.

They also pointed out that they will target Lalit Modi next as a target. Furthermore, they are planning to an email dump from the e-mail domain 'sansad.nic.in' which is hosted by National Informatics Centre. The group did not go into specifics of how they got their hands on the information or the email dumps but they did point out that the group has root access to a lot of servers across the country.

The sansad.nic.in emails is a large dump and it contains e-mails received and sent by all the government-affiliated civil servants or the ministers themselves. Legion emphasised that the e-mail dump has a lot of prominent people termed as '_BIG FISH_'. Legion took its time to criticise the banking system of India saying that the banks in India need to secure their systems and they have obtained critical data like the encryption keys and certificates used by some of the banks in India.

The group has made it clear that the group is not affiliated to any political party and they have no agenda by hacking Twitter accounts of NDTV journalists. The only reason they hacked the accounts was because it only took 30 seconds for them to hack the insecure accounts.
Kunal Khullar

Lenovo has a wide range of laptops in the market ranging from the Thinkpad to the Yoga. The company has been pushing strongly in the PC market and has gained a good position globally. Their latest addition to the Yoga family was the Yoga Book which was unveiled back at IFA 2016 which came in Windows and Android flavours.

The 2-in-1 has finally made its way to India, although only the Windows 10 version has been announced here. I got to use the machine for a bit at the launch event and here is what I think about it.

Design and build

The Yoga Book has a small footprint and it's very easy to carry around thanks to its 10.1-inch form factor. It's quite thin too, having 9.6mm of thickness when closed. It actually feels like carrying around a thin, paper notebook.

More than a laptop it feels like a tablet. Probably because there is no physical keyboard. Instead, there's a flat, touch-sensitive panel with a matte finish which is backlit. A keyboard layout and a trackpad show up when you open it. The device also doubles as a Wacom digitizer, so you can write and draw using the Real Pen bundled with the machine.

The build quality is solid and Lenovo says that it has used a magnesium alloy shell which has a matte finish. It somehow felt like plastic to me. Holding the two flat slabs is Lenovo's signature watchband hinge which can bend all the way. This truly makes the Yoga Book a convertible as you can fold it all the way, prop it up in a tent mode or use it like a traditional laptop with the keyboard.

As for the ports and buttons, on the right side you will find a power button, a speaker grill, volume rocker, and headphone jack. On the other side there is a microUSB charging port, microHDMI port, and a microSD card slot. Unlike a traditional laptop, the Yoga Book doesn't offer any full sized USB ports neither the new USB Type-C port which was quite dissapointing.

Lenovo also offers a stylus accessory called the 'Real Pen'. The name is aptly put as it definitely feels like a real pen. You can use it draw or take notes by scribbling on the area where the keyboard lights up. You also get the Book Pad, which is just a simple notepad on which you can write with the Real Pen. As you write on the Book Pad, the same text and strokes directly get recorded on the Yoga Book itself.

Display

The laptop features a 10.1-inch display with a 1920x1200 resolution. It is an IPS touchscreen which is said to offer a brightness of up to 400 nits. It looks pretty good in terms of sharpness and colour reproduction. Even the touch response seemed pretty good although I was a bit put off with the glossy finish as I could see a lot of reflections. Also the bezels seem quite thick which could've seen some trimming.

Hardware

Lenovo's Yoga Book is powered by a 1.44GHz Intel Atom x5-Z8550 processor with Intel HD 400 graphics, 4GB of RAM and 64GB onboard storage. The storage is expandable using a microSD card of up to 128GB. This hardware is just sufficient for a bare-bones Windows 10 experience, but I would have been happier to see an Intel Core M chip rather than an Atom. That said, the Atom is compatible with Android, which is probably why this device ships with that platform.

Verdict

I have mixed reactions about the product. The 2-in-1 seems very interesting. The Halo Keyboard makes it look like a futuristic product. Even the bundled Real Pen along with the Book Pad makes it quite an attractive offering. But once you start using the Yoga Book, it feels difficult to maneuver.

I am sure after a couple of weeks of usage one can get used to the flat keyboard, but a price tag of Rs 49,990 seems to be too much. I cannot say how powerful or how capable it will be but considering it has an Atom processor, I believe it will be good for light tasks like typing, basic internet browsing and so on. Whether unique design and lightweight can make up for limited processing power remains to be seen.

Keep an eye on this space for more information and a full review as soon as we can get our hands on the device.
tech2 News Staff

Jack Dorsey will conduct an interview with Edward Snowden on Periscope. Jack Dorsey is a known supporter of the Pardon Snowden movement, an initiative that aims to get a presidential pardon for Snowden.

Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA spying on US citizens without democratic consent, and pushed the tech industry towards taking more steps to safeguard the privacy of their users. Other known supporters of the Pardon Snowden campaign include Steve Wozniak, Tim Berners-Lee, Neil Gaiman and Mark Ruffalo.

https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/808461120415612928

Edward Snowden famously exposed the illegal surveillance of US citizens by agencies. He has been on the run since then, and there has been a campaign to bring him back to the United States after being granted a pardon for spying on the spy agencies spying on the citizens. Snowden describes himself succinctly on Twitter as someone who worked for the government and now works for the public.

Snowden is popular all over the world for defending the right of privacy, particularly in Europe, which has much stronger privacy laws as compared to the United States. In Germany, fans of Snowden asked President Barack Obama if he could pardon Snowden, but Obama ruled out the possibility as the proper procedures were not initiated in the courts in the first place for the pardon to be granted.

Snowden is reportedly working on an iPhone case that prevents any kind of surveillance. He has also warned users against using Google's instant messaging application, Allo, for holding secure and confidential conversations.

In India, the time for the interview works out to around 10:30 PM, tonight. The live Periscope interview will be hosted by the @PardonSnowden Twitter account. Users can submit questions for Dorsey to pose to Snowden using the #AskSnowden hashtag.
There is a lot of buzz everywhere about solar power, its future potential and the way it is going to change the entire dynamics of energy production in India. But how exactly an investor /individual or a company reaps benefits from this infinite source of energy which nature has endowed us is still not very clear. Here is a laymans guide to invest in solar power in India and before going into the financials it is important to understand some salient features of a solar power plant (SPP). A SPP produces the same energy just like any other source coal, gas, hydel-based power plants and it can be used in your house, factory, offices etc. The only difference is it uses an infinite source of energy being wasted every second of the day i.e Sun.

The overall objective of setting up the Solar Park is to promote the development of the solar power projects for electricity generation. Solar cells have been used commercially since last 50 years and more than 50,000 MW of solar power panels are installed all over the world. The technology has passed all stringent tests and certifications of international standard and is completely proven.

Solar is the most secure of all energy sources, since it is abundantly available in India. There are different ideal locations to set up solar park such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. But currently the favorable policies to set up solar park are in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy the policy was amended in January 2011 to prescribe solar-specific RPO be increased from a minimum of 0.25 per cent in 2012 to 3 per cent by 2022. Further, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) suggests increasing the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix at-least up to 15 percent by 2020.

The government took a major step in promoting solar power in India by announcing the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in November 2009. The objective is to establish India as a global leader in solar power generation. The mission also aims to achieve grid parity and feed 20000 MW of solar power by 2022.

Power produced from a SPP is very costly. The SPP costs around Rs.5.5-6 */unit to produce solar power which is very close or even less in some cases than what we use in our daily lives. A SPP can be set up on any low cost barren land anywhere barring some hilly areas where sunlight is low as it will not make commercial sense there.

This is a myth that solar plants cannot be set up by small investors. A SPP can actually be setup at any scale from small to big; in fact smaller systems are very much viable as they can cater to the local demand in the area very well. A SPP can be as low as 0.25MW and can be started with an investment of as low as 200 lacs. And this is only valid on for large solar parks and not standalone projects.

An investor can acquire government incentives for setting up a solar plant. Accelerated depreciation benefit is available if one invests Rs.100/- in solar, one can save Rs.30/- as tax from exiting income, hence net investment is only Rs 70/-. Investor can acquire tax holiday for ten years and Carbon credits can be availed as well as investors will be eligible for Renewable Energy certificates.

A SPP gives a fixed monthly income like a pension through sale of power without much effort as cost of maintenance of a SPP is negligible. The best way to invest is by taking space in an existing solar park where all infrastructure, land etc. is common and arranged by the park owner. Cost of a 1MW SPP is Rs.6.25 crores per MW, it has warrantee life of 25 years and minimum generation of units in 1MW is 15 lacs per year. Power produced can be sold to industries, offices, malls, banks; hotel etc. at levelized average rate (over the life) of Rs.7.25 per unit with the average running cost of solar plant is Rs.10 lacs per MW Per year.
Malta  18 November 2014  InfiNet Wireless, the global leader in fixed broadband wireless connectivity, has recently appointed Vision Systems as a distributor for the Lebanese market, an action which is in line with the companys overall strategy to expand its presence in all corners of the Middle East. Vision Systems have been in business for a number of years and have recently created a new team which will focus primarily on providing wireless solutions to various market verticals in the country.

Vision Systems offering will be based on InfiNets tailored solutions and will enable it to cater for a wide range of applications, and for service providers of all types, ultimately providing its customers with optimized network design, along with high reliability, scalability and unsurpassed robustness.

InfiNets high-performance solutions operate in both LOS (line-of-sight) and NLOS (non-line-of-sight) environments, across both licensed and unlicensed frequency bands, a flexibility which is bound to have a major impact on the Lebanese wireless marketplace.

In the past, Lebanon had been a focus of various initiatives and discussions in terms of connectivity and low internet speeds. Many business owners in the country had plagued its various telecoms ministers with complaints on business development and innovation, spelling out the poor and limited available connectivity as the main culprits.

Kamal Mokrani, Global Vice President of InfiNet Wireless, said, Lebanon is without a doubt a rapidly growing market for us and we are looking forward to working with Vision Systems, a major wireless service provider in the country. Combining our efforts and experiences, we will very quickly have a major impact on the economy in general by providing businesses of all kinds with reliable and state of the art networks for high capacity connectivity.

Its really great to work with intelligent and energetic people like InfiNets, bringing with them a vast experience from many parts of the world as well as a range of solutions that are not only cost effective but extremely reliable. InfiNet provides high capacity solutions and very fast deliveries, which is exactly what is required in Lebanon today commented Ali Chamseddine, Director of the Vision ECTC group.

 Technuter.com News Service
Bangalore, India, April 01, 2015: ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, (www.acm.org) and the Infosys Foundation announced today that Dan Boneh is the recipient of the 2014 ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences for his contributions to the ground-breaking development of pairing-based cryptography and its application in identity-based encryption. His work helped establish the field of pairing-based cryptography, a dominant area in cryptography for the last decade, by demonstrating the use of pairing functions to solve wide variety of problems in cryptography. Boneh, with Matt Franklin, showed how pairings could be used to develop a fully functional identity-based encryption scheme (IBE). This ushered in a new area of cryptography research to which Bonehs contributions have been central. Pairing-based cryptography makes security mechanisms easier to use and deploy, and improves computer security to keep data, devices and critical systems safe, private and accessible.

The ACM-Infosys Foundation Award recognizes the finest recent innovations by young scientists and system developers in the computing field. An endowment from the Infosys Foundation provides financial support for the $175,000 annual award. ACM will present the ACM Infosys Foundation Award at its annual awards banquet on June 20 in San Francisco.

ACM President Alexander L. Wolf said, Bonehs work on pairing functions and their application to identity-based encryption has revolutionized cryptography. He has added greatly to our understanding of important problems underlying modern cryptography systems. Boneh has produced new directions and given the field a fresh start.

Vishal Sikka, CEO and Managing Director, Infosys, said, Boneh has helped forge connections between academic and commercial cryptography, helping improve commercial products while increasing the relevance of academic research. His innovations made foundational contributions to both theoretical cryptography and cybersecurity.

Boneh pioneered the use of new computational problems based on pairings to solve a broad range of problems in cryptography. This approach, called pairing-based cryptography, relies on complex problems arising from algebraic geometry (bilinear maps based on elliptic curves). Pairing-based cryptography has had tremendous academic and commercial impact.

Boneh demonstrated how pairings could be used to solve long-standing open problems in cryptography. Pairing-based cryptography, now a mainstream tool in cryptography, has generated a large volume of research activity showing entirely new capabilities as well as solutions that are superior in functionality to ones already in use.

Identity-based encryption is a type of public-key encryption in which any arbitrary string (such as a users email address) can be used as a public key, enabling data to be protected without the need for long, randomly generated keys or certificates. Today, there are numerous standards for IBE based on Bonehs work, including IEEE P1363.3 and several IETF RFCs.

In addition to pairing-based cryptography, Boneh developed cryptosystems with novel properties, mechanisms for enhancing Web security and security for mobile devices. He developed new privacy tools, contributed to the study of cryptographic watermarking and runs a popular MOOC on cryptography.
Martyred Intellectuals Day Wednesday

UNB, Dhaka: The nation is set to observe the Martyred Intellectuals' Day on Wednesday by paying rich tributes to the intellectuals killed systematically by the Pakistan occupation army and their local collaborators at the fag end of the country's Liberation War in 1971.



Renowned academics, doctors, engineers, journalists, teachers and other eminent personalities were dragged out of their homes, blindfolded, and taken to unknown places and then brutally tortured and slaughtered.



Their bodies were later dumped at Rayerbazar, Mirpur and some other killing fields in the capital.



Sensing an imminent defeat, the Pakistani occupation army and their local collaborators carried out the cold-blooded mass murders under a carefully thought-out plan to cripple the emerging Bangladesh intellectually.



Among the martyred intellectuals are Prof Muneir Chowdhury, Dr Alim Chowdhury, Prof Muniruzzaman, Dr Fazle Rabbi, Sirajuddin Hossain, Shahidullah Kaiser, Prof GC Dev, JC Guha Thakurta, Prof Santosh Bhattacharya, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury, journalists Khandaker Abu Taleb, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan (Ladu Bhai), ANM Golam Mustafa, Syed Nazmul Haq and Selina Parvin.



The government has taken elaborate programmes to observe the day to commemorate the December 14 tragedy with due respect.



Besides, different socio-cultural and political organisations have also chalked out various programmes that include seminars, discussions and wreath-laying at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard and Intellectuals Memorial at Rayerbazar.



President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will lead the nation in paying homage to the martyred intellectuals by placing wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Mausoleum at Mirpur at 7:05am.



People from different walks of life will also place wreaths at the Mausoleum paying rich tributes to the martyrs.



To mark the day, Awami League will hoist black flags and keep the national and party flags at half-mast at Bangabandhu Bhaban, its central and all other party offices across the country early in the morning.



The party leaders and activists will lay wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Mausoleum at 7:15 am and at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of Bangabandhu Bhaban at 7:45 am.



It will also arrange a discussion at Krishibid Institution auditorium in the afternoon. Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina will address the programme.



BNP will pay homage to martyred intellectuals, led by party Chairperson Khaleda Zia, at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in the morning. It will also keep the national flag at half-mast and hoist black flags atop its all offices, including the Nayapaltan central one on the occasion.



Besides, the party arranged discussions at the Jatiya Press Club on Tuesday, marking the day.


Now that Justice Jimmy Genovese is headed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, the race to claim his seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal has begun.

Candyce Perret

Now that Justice Jimmy Genovese is headed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, the race to claim his seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal has begun.

The special election has been called for March 25.

The first candidate out of the gate is Candyce Perret, general counsel for The Perret Group, which specializes in real estate, health care and oil/gas. A former city attorney for Arnaudville, former city prosecutor in Marksville and also a small business owner, she already has a campaign structure.

Former state Sen. Mike Michot will serve as her campaign chair, Marie Centanni has been tapped as campaign manager, Jared Arsement is handling media and Nicole DesOrmeaux is on fundraising.

Perret's father-in-law is well-known Lafayette attorney Hank Perret.
Home >Police Enforcement > Checkpoints and Stops > North Carolina Court Says Drivers Can Ignore Police Signals To Stop
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John Coulter is a journalist for the Daily Star







The two main Unionist parties have so far snubbed the Brexit Forum set up by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to prepare the island for when the UK pulls out of the EU. This will undoubtedly leave the Republic geographically and economically isolated within the EU, and Irexit is the only way forward financially if it is not to once again witness the collapse of its so-called Celtic Tiger economy.



For 800 years, the native Irish have literally fought against English rule in Ireland. But Irish nationalism must now face a very bitter pill. Does it put principle first first and watch the 26 counties of the Republic become nothing more than a third-rate banana state more akin to a struggling African nation by doggedly trying to retain its political independence from the UK post-Brexit? Or, does it show maturity and put people first by guaranteeing a good standard of living for all Irish citizens by following the UK out of the EU?



And speaking of political maturity, this is where Unionism has to wise up. It made serious tactical errors in 1985 after the then Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement with Dublin. That agreement gave the Republic its first major say in the running of Northern affairs since partition in the 1920s. Dublin set up the Maryfield Secretariat, near Belfast, and staffed it with civil servants. And how did Unionists respond? The sensible thing would have been to return the serve politically and establish a Unionist Embassy in the Dublin parliament, Leinster House, with the long-term aim of bringing the Republic back into the British Commonwealth. But no, Unionism chose to tramp the streets and roads of Northern Ireland on an ill-fated crusade known as the Ulster Says No campaign; a highlight being Ian Paisley seniors notorious Never, never, never speech at a mammoth rally at Belfast City Hall.



The Ulster Says No campaign rumbled on to the Ulster Still Says No facade before finally descending into the usual Unionist luxury of internecine squabbling and street rioting. Now Unionism appears to be tumbling headlong into the same pit. Unionist politicians and parties should be tripping over each other to get into Kennys Brexit Forum and persuade Dublin of the merits of the maxim  Brexit Means Irexit!



A joint Brexit/Irexit solution is also the only way to survive a looming Trump Presidency, especially if The Donald sticks to his economic guns and urges American companies to relocate their jobs on home turf.



In this respect, socialist unity will take on another dimension  the unity of the British Isles as an economic success story. Trump claims he will make America great again  but at what cost to the USs traditional allies?



At the very least, the British Isles will have to compete with four years of the Trump Triumph and New American Capitalism, which will make the US Tea Party look like a rural Biblical Ulster Sunday School picnic.



Taoiseach Kenny must expand his Brexit Forum into a British Isles Forum, where all the parliaments on these islands can work together to establish a socialist agenda which can cope with Trumps America First mentality. We already have the British Irish Council which represents eight parliaments across the British Isles; surely that would be sufficient a forum to prepare Ireland for Brexit? The Unionists attend that Council, so why bother with Kennys project? Simple, in the BIC, Ireland (north and south) is a very junior partner. In Kennys forum, Ireland will be the leading player.



If the Brexit/Irexit joint strategy is to become a viable reality, it will require massive cross-border co-operation. And it has already been noted by Irelands various politicians how British Prime Minister Theresa May chose not to attend the recent BIC meeting in Wales to discuss Brexit. Unionism looks set to tumble into the same quagmire over Brexit as it did three decades ago during protests against the then Anglo-Irish Agreement.The two main Unionist parties have so far snubbed the Brexit Forum set up by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to prepare the island for when the UK pulls out of the EU. This will undoubtedly leave the Republic geographically and economically isolated within the EU, and Irexit is the only way forward financially if it is not to once again witness the collapse of its so-called Celtic Tiger economy.For 800 years, the native Irish have literally fought against English rule in Ireland. But Irish nationalism must now face a very bitter pill. Does it put principle first first and watch the 26 counties of the Republic become nothing more than a third-rate banana state more akin to a struggling African nation by doggedly trying to retain its political independence from the UK post-Brexit? Or, does it show maturity and put people first by guaranteeing a good standard of living for all Irish citizens by following the UK out of the EU?And speaking of political maturity, this is where Unionism has to wise up. It made serious tactical errors in 1985 after the then Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement with Dublin. That agreement gave the Republic its first major say in the running of Northern affairs since partition in the 1920s. Dublin set up the Maryfield Secretariat, near Belfast, and staffed it with civil servants. And how did Unionists respond? The sensible thing would have been to return the serve politically and establish a Unionist Embassy in the Dublin parliament, Leinster House, with the long-term aim of bringing the Republic back into the British Commonwealth. But no, Unionism chose to tramp the streets and roads of Northern Ireland on an ill-fated crusade known as the Ulster Says No campaign; a highlight being Ian Paisley seniors notorious Never, never, never speech at a mammoth rally at Belfast City Hall.The Ulster Says No campaign rumbled on to the Ulster Still Says No facade before finally descending into the usual Unionist luxury of internecine squabbling and street rioting. Now Unionism appears to be tumbling headlong into the same pit. Unionist politicians and parties should be tripping over each other to get into Kennys Brexit Forum and persuade Dublin of the merits of the maxim  Brexit Means Irexit!A joint Brexit/Irexit solution is also the only way to survive a looming Trump Presidency, especially if The Donald sticks to his economic guns and urges American companies to relocate their jobs on home turf.In this respect, socialist unity will take on another dimension  the unity of the British Isles as an economic success story. Trump claims he will make America great again  but at what cost to the USs traditional allies?At the very least, the British Isles will have to compete with four years of the Trump Triumph and New American Capitalism, which will make the US Tea Party look like a rural Biblical Ulster Sunday School picnic.Taoiseach Kenny must expand his Brexit Forum into a British Isles Forum, where all the parliaments on these islands can work together to establish a socialist agenda which can cope with Trumps America First mentality. We already have the British Irish Council which represents eight parliaments across the British Isles; surely that would be sufficient a forum to prepare Ireland for Brexit? The Unionists attend that Council, so why bother with Kennys project? Simple, in the BIC, Ireland (north and south) is a very junior partner. In Kennys forum, Ireland will be the leading player.If the Brexit/Irexit joint strategy is to become a viable reality, it will require massive cross-border co-operation. And it has already been noted by Irelands various politicians how British Prime Minister Theresa May chose not to attend the recent BIC meeting in Wales to discuss Brexit.



The post conference press conference appeared dominated by the close political body language between Sinn Feins Stormont deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Scotlands nationalist First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. There can be no doubting that Sinn Fein and the Scottish National Party are singing from the same hymn sheet over Brexit, especially if the Scots get a second independence referendum and vote to leave the UK.



Attending the Kenny forum becomes more vital for Unionism if an independent Scotland and an Irish Republic form a Celtic Alliance of nations to remain in the EU. And it must not be forgotten that Unionism is itself divided over Brexit  the DUP recommended leave with the rival UUP recommending remain.



British Labours Jeremy Corbyn can deflect attention away from his party woes by embarking on a crusade to get Unionists involved in the Kenny project.
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The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
CARBONDALE  City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss a city-commissioned report on governmental and public safety operations.

City leaders voted to authorize the organizational and management review, conducted by Novak Consulting Group, at a City Council meeting in June.

During the informational work session on Tuesday, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based management consulting group will give a presentation of its findings. Those findings are based on interviews with city staff, council members and citizens, along with quantitative data.

This is the first such review that the city has undertaken, according to City Manager Gary Williams.

I think initially the Councils main strategy in doing the work was to get a third-party opinion of the overall health of the organization, Williams said. They wanted to get objective opinion of the things the city may be doing well and the things we could improve.

The report includes analysis of and recommendations for several city departments, including administrative services, finance, police, fire, public works and development services, as well as general government.

Overall Im very pleased with the report, and I think that this study will provide a good road map on how we can move the organization forward and make it better, Williams said.

Many of the groups recommendations, which are based on how Carbondale compares to other cities, revolve around improving technology and bringing systems in line with national trends, Williams said.

But I think most importantly, if you distill all the findings down, I think it reveals that current city staff is doing a lot with resources we have, he said.

Although no formal action can be taken during a work session meeting, the City Council can be polled to gauge support for future action.

The meeting will be held in the Council chambers of the Carbondale Civic Center at 200 S. Illinois Ave. The next regular city council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 20.
If you are looking for some faith-based holiday events to attend this season here are some local happenings leading up to Christmas:

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Aglow International, Carbondale Lighthouse: 9 a.m., Carbondale Civic Center, 200 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale. Refreshments and 9:30 a.m. meeting. Treena Wicoff will present special Christmas music program. Treena has recorded and debuted her first album, Testify, and is currently releasing it to radio. She is a live radio host and can be heard at 4 p.m. every Tuesday on 102.9 FM, WXAN Radio; 618-568-1200 or 618-964-1838

Wednesday, Dec. 14

Holiday Open House: 1-8 p.m., Faith Temple, 604 N. Marion St., Carbondale. Gifts, food, fun.

Friday, Dec. 15

God Bless Us, Every One: 7 p.m. Dec. 15-18 / 2 p.m. Dec. 17 & 18, Marion Civic Center, 800 Tower Plaza, Marion. Whatever happened to Tiny Tim? A Christmas musical by Robert Sterling. This production is a sequel to the classic novel, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. As Tim searches to discover his true life calling, he wonders if he can truly make a difference in his corner of the world, Whitechapel. Produced and cast by the music & drama ministries of Marion's First Baptist Church. Directed by Tom Herman & Brian Summers. Free; 618-997-9386; www.fbmarion.org

Saturday, Dec. 17

21st annual Cookie Walk: 8:30-11:30 a.m., First Christian Church, 306 W Monroe St., Carbondale. Buyers may choose their own assortments of cookies for the holidays from dozens of kinds of homemade goodies, at $6 per pound. Boxes will be provided; holiday craft and gift items will also be available for purchase. Proceeds will support the ministry and mission of First Christian Church; 618-521-0613

The Christ Event 2016  Live Nativity Tour: 5:30-9 p.m. Dec. 17 & 18, Walker's Bluff, 326 Vermont Road, Carterville. The Christ Event is a 20-minute outdoor multi-scene live Nativity presentation that has group tours led by shepherd guides running approximately every 15 minutes. The six panoramic scenes retell the Christ Story through dramatization, live music performances, and pageantry. After the tour, guests are invited for free holiday desserts and hot beverages. Free, but any donations will support work of the Hands of Hope Foundation around the globe; 618-956-9900; walkersbluff.com

"Christmas at the Cross": 12 p.m., Bald Knob Cross of Peace, 3630 Bald Knob Road, Alto Pass. Christmas and gospel music. Homemade cookies, snacks and soft drinks available. Display of nativity scenes. Music by Smoky Hollow String Band from 12-2 p.m. Christmas story time for children at 2 p.m.; director@baldknobcross.com

Cookie Walk: 9 a.m.-12 p.m., St. Francis Xavier Hall, 303 South Poplar, Carbondale. Selection of cookies. Also gently used Christmas items for sale.

Coming Home: A Tale of Reunion, Redemption and Love: 7 p.m. Dec. 17 / 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. Dec. 18, Christian Life Church, 1901 N. Park Ave., Herrin. A play written all by Christian Life Church drama team members. The drama is about three adult children who have wandered from the faith come home for Christmas, only to learn their parents' past and find their own future; news@clcherrin.com; 618-942-7369

God Bless Us, Every One: 2 & 7 p.m. Dec. 17 & 18, Marion Civic Center, 800 Tower Plaza, Marion. Whatever happened to Tiny Tim? A Christmas musical by Robert Sterling. This production is a sequel to the classic novel, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. As Tim searches to discover his true life calling, he wonders if he can truly make a difference in his corner of the world, Whitechapel. Produced and cast by the music & drama ministries of Marion's First Baptist Church. Directed by Tom Herman & Brian Summers; 618-997-9386; www.fbmarion.org

Whiter than Snow Christmas Giveaway: 11 a.m., Drury Christian Church, 781 Drury Road, Carbondale. All are welcome. Toys for children up to 14 year old. Free food, crafts for kids, and clothing. Gifts for children and parents.Donations of food and toys must be received at the church no later than 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17; 618-521-0191

Yule Ritual: 6 p.m., Gaia House, 913 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale. Join the Southern Illinois Pagan Alliance as it celebrates the longest night and the shortest day, as the wheel of time winds slowly back toward warmer days ahead. All are welcome. The gathering starts at 6 p.m. Ritual starts at 7 p.m. For ritual, participants are encouraged to bring in something from an oak or holly tree; leaves, bark, branches or berries. After ritual, there will be a gift exchange. Bring a small wrapped gift to participate. Potluck will follow. The Southern Illinois Pagan Alliance will also hold a raffle to raise funds for its other annual rituals. No purchase required, but contributions appreciated; taracatgirl@yahoo.com; 618-924-0263; www.sipagan.com

Sunday, Dec. 18

Advent Bible Study: 9:30 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main, Carbondale. Bible study will take place in the Heritage Room/Parlor, led by Pastor Alan Rhein. The study is titled "Because of Bethlehem" by Max Lucado; 618-457-2416; www.fumc-cdale.org

Advent Music Vespers: 5 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main St., Carbondale. Please join in celebration of the Advent Season, which will feature 5 p.m. Vespers services. Take a break from your busy holiday schedule to enjoy 30 minutes of meditative music of the season at 5 p.m. in our sanctuary each Sunday in Advent. Anita Hutton will play piano on the 18th. Followed by Soup/Chili supper in fellowship hall -- $5 for those over 10 years old and $3 for those 5-10; 618-457-2416; www.fumc-cdale.org

Christmas Cantata: 10:30 a.m., Lake of Egypt Christian Church, 12102 Malibu, Marion. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the year," under the direction of Sylvia Kerley, will be featured this Sunday. The Public is invited.

Christmas! We Remember, Rejoice, Worship: 6 p.m., First Baptist Church, 105 S. Mill St., Pinckneyville. Christmas musical created by Mike Speck, bringing into focus three elements of Christmas -- the biblical account of the birth of Christ; the festive spirit of rejoicing; and true worship. Presented by the Pinckneyville Community Choir; 618-357-2255; pvillefbc.com

Hanukkah items for sale: 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Congregation Beth Jacob, 904 N. Norwest Drive, Carbondale. Hanukkah candles, menorahs, dreidels, gelt, books, toys, jewelry, and gift wrap will be available; 618-529-6026

"Mary had a Little Lamb": 10:30 a.m., Crainville Baptist Church, 806 Marion St., Carterville. Christmas musical; 618-985-2574

Service of Lessons and Carols: 8:15 a.m. & 10:45 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main, Carbondale. The Sanctuary Choir, accompanied by a full orchestra, will lead a music filled worship service with varied anthems, readings and congregational carols. This inspiring presentation is always one of the highlights of the season. The Candle of Joy will also be lit for the 4th Sunday of Advent; 618-457-2416; www.fumc-cdale.org

"The Story": 10 a.m., Liberty Church, 680 W Main St., Du Quoin. Liberty Kids and Liberty Youth Present their Christmas Program; 618-542-2618; www.libertydq.org

Monday, Dec. 19

An Evening with Madeline and Lydia Rogers: 7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 34 West Poplar, Harrisburg. First Presbyterian Church 2016 Concert Series. Madeline and Lydia have created original arrangements of classic Christmas carols and hymns for this performance. Refreshments to follow. All proceeds from a freewill offering will be for Madeline's graduate school expenses.

Saturday, Dec. 24

Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service: 6 p.m., Liberty Church, 680 W Main St., Du Quoin. One-hour service; 618-542-2618; www.libertydq.org

Christmas Eve Candlelight Services: 5 p.m. & 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main, Carbondale. Come and be lifted by the familiar carols, moved by the special music, and inspired by the message of Christ's birth. The Christ Candle will be lit for Advent; 618-457-2416; www.fumc-cdale.org

Christmas Eve Service: 6:30 p.m., Immanuel Luthern Church, 1915 Pine St., Murphysboro.

Sunday, Dec. 25

23rd annual Murphysboro Community Christmas Dinner: 12:30-2 p.m., Knights of Columbus Hall, 606 Plum St., Murphysboro. Free and open to all. Volunteers needed from Dec. 23-25, call 618-534-3822 or 618-534-4971. Shut-in deliveries to elderly & disabled; for a delivery, call 618-534-3822 by Dec. 21.

Christmas service: 9:30 a.m., Pate Chapel Church, 3416 W. Grange Hall Road, Murphysboro.

Christmas Day Service: 9 a.m., Immanuel Luthern Church, 1915 Pine St., Murphysboro.

Christmas Day Service: 10 a.m., Liberty Church, 680 W Main St., Du Quoin; 618-542-2618; www.libertydq.org

Christmas Day Worship: 10 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main St., Carbondale. There will only be one worship service at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day. Come join the celebration of the birth of the Christ child. 618-457-8283. http://www.fumc-cdale.org

Meetings

CARBONDALE

Celebrate Recovery: 6-8 p.m., New Beginnings Community Church of the Nazarene, 2605 W Striegel Road, Carbondale. Meets every week, even on holidays. Child care provided. New Beginnings Community Church of the Nazarene, 618-549-7110

Grief support group: 2 p.m. every other Sunday, Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carbondale, 700 S. University Ave.; group is non-denominational and led by people who have experienced grief; 618-549-1694

REALITY Youth Group: 5:30-8:45 p.m. Wednesdays, Victory Dream Center, 880 W. High St.; grades 6-10; 618-525-2025

ENERGY

Energy Live Wires: 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Energy Baptist Church; children, kindergarten through fifth grade; 618-942-4121

JOHNSTON CITY

Celebrate Recovery: 7-9 p.m. Fridays, Redemption Church, 17466 N. Illinois 37; celebrating God's healing power in one's life through the eight recovery principles found in the Bible, a 12-step program that gives one freedom from life's hurt, hang-ups and habits; 618-983-5237; bsapp@redemptionnow.com; redemptionnow.com

MARION

Grief Support group: Mondays from 6:30-8 p.m., New Hope Church of God, Grief Support, 2201 W. Main St., Marion; 618-694-5447 or at louiseharrelson1@yahoo.com; newhopechurchmarion.org; 618-694-5447

Stonecroft Bible study Christ in the Psalms: 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Mackies Pizza in Marion. Women's bible study. Group will be ordering books quickly so anyone interested should call 618-534-4195 to confirm the date and to get a book.

Pantries/Donations

Feed My Sheep Community Kitchen: Noon, Monday-Friday, Bethel A.M.E. Church, 316 E. Jackson St., Carbondale. All meals are free to community members. Donations and volunteers welcome; 618-529-5278

Food Pantry: Open 9-11 a.m., Thursdays, Second Baptist Church, 308 South Russell St., Marion; 618-993-2338; secondbaptistmarion.com

Furniture Giveaway: Donations accepted by calling 618-998-9342; leave a message; a family or individual in need of donated furniture may contact the Marion Ministerial Alliance, 203 E. Calvert St.

Good Samaritan Food Pantry: Serves Jackson County residents, 9-11 a.m. Mondays and Fridays, University Baptist Church, 700 S. Oakland Ave., Carbondale; part of Good Samaritan Ministries, a project of the Carbondale Interfaith Council. Donations of canned goods, non-perishables, staple goods, laundry/dish soap, and trash bags welcome; 618-457-5794

Least of the Brethren Food Pantry: Open 9 a.m.-noon, Mondays and Fridays, 407 S. Douglas St., Pinckneyville; 618-357-9530; www.youtube.com/user/georgebettyculley; www.facebook.com/blc.leastofthebrethren

Matthew 25 Ministries Food Pantry: Carbondale Church of God, 1461 County Line Road; food distribution, 9 a.m.-noon, first and third Thursdays; 618-457-6634 or www.carbondalechurchofgod.org

Murphysboro Food Pantry: 906 N. 14 St., Murphysboro. Open Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m., serving residents of Jackson County. Donations welcome and appreciated; 618-684-8258; murphysborofoodpantry.org

Victory Food Pantry: 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednedays and noon to 1 p.m. Sundays, Victory Dream Center, 607 E. College St., Carbondale; 618-525-2025

Ongoing

Bible Study: "Christ in the Psalms": 10 a.m. every Tuesday, Mackie's Pizza, 2704 Walton Way, Marion. A ladies Stonecroft Bible study. Come and join for great discussions in the Word, be uplifted, make new friends and stay for lunch when you can; 618-534-4195

The Daniel Plan Five Essentials Series: 9-10 a.m. on Tuesdays, First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main St., Carbondale. Explores spirituality and health benefits of a lifestyle based on faith, food, fitness, focus and friends.
SPRINGFIELD  Gov. Bruce Rauner did little during a live Facebook video chat Tuesday afternoon to advance the conversation on Illinois budget standoff even as the Dec. 31 expiration date on the states stopgap spending plan looms ever closer.

As he has several times in recent months, the first-term Republican governor took to social media to answer prescreened questions in front of what appeared to be a largely supportive virtual audience.

Rauner used the half-hour question-and-answer session to lay the blame for the impasse at the feet of the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly, whom he once again accused of stalling negotiations to create a crisis, (a) meltdown of our human services and our important social service agencies, and then try to force a stopgap plan or a tax hike with no reforms.

That would be a tragic failure and a mistake, Rauner said. They should be here negotiating a balanced budget with reforms.

Beginning Jan. 1, the state will no longer have spending authority for higher education, social services or most day-to-day government operations.

Since Rauner took office nearly two years ago, the crux of his disagreement with the Democratic leaders, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, has been whether passage of the state budget should be tied to portions of his pro-business, union-weakening turnaround agenda.

While his list of priorities has been pared down over time and various issues have been given precedence at different points, Rauner continues to insist that the Democratic-controlled Legislature approve some of his policy proposals.

Most recently, hes said hell only sign another short-term spending plan if lawmakers approve a permanent freeze for local property taxes and a referendum on amending the Illinois Constitution to create term limits for elected officials.

Rauner and the legislative leaders had been meeting somewhat regularly last month and early this month, but the governor pulled the plug last week after House Democrats declined to present a budget proposal he had requested.

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said Rauner shouldnt expect such a proposal anytime soon. He noted that its the executive branch that actually spends the states money.

The logic would dictate that the people who are going to spend the money should tell everyone how theyre going to spend it and how much, Brown said.

Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said the Senate president continues to be disappointed that the meetings were called off.

Were hopeful that the governor will come back to the table and we can resume negotiations, Patterson said.

While the leaders arent currently meeting, groups of rank-and-file lawmakers have resumed discussions on areas of the governors policy agenda, including workers compensation, an issue Rauner addressed on Facebook. Although Republican leaders publicly criticized restarting the so-called working groups, members of both parties and both chambers are participating.

During his Facebook session, Rauner argued, as he has repeatedly, that there should be stricter requirements for workers who apply for benefits to prove that they were injured on the job. Democrats have said insurance companies should pass on to customers savings that have been achieved through previous reforms.

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, is among the group of lawmakers discussing workers compensation. The group, which also includes representatives from the governors office, met Friday and is scheduled to meet again this week.

While the two sides remain far apart on the issue, Brady said, lawmakers are attempting to find common ground that can provide some savings for businesses while also protecting injured workers.

Whenever youre talking, I think its productive because youre communicating, he said. Did a lot get solved? No.  Its a very big, complex issue.

But Brady noted that it was negotiation among rank-and-file lawmakers in the spring that led to the current stopgap spending deal.

The rank and file has always been ready for compromise and has tried to present ideas, he said.
A Cordova mother and her three sons lost their home to a fire on Sunday, according to the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety.

The family lived at 115 Scarlet Drive in a mobile home park off of Cannon Bridge Road.

ODPS firefighters and the Cordova Fire Department responded to the blaze at 2:47 a.m.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, the home was fully involved.

The last fire truck left the scene at 5:22 a.m. after it extinguished hot spots.

The fire damaged a nearby red Chevrolet and melted some of the vinyl siding from a nearby home.

An ODPS report states that cause of the fire has not been determined, but it appears to have been unintentional.

The American Red Cross is providing financial assistance for food, lodging and other essentials, such as comfort kits with personal hygiene items.

The American Red Cross lists the following safety tips to prevent fire during the holiday season:

Keep children, pets and decorations away from candles.

If using a real Christmas tree, remember to water it daily. Consider using a flame-resistant tree and decorations. Place the Christmas tree and all decorations away from heat sources. Never hang stockings over a lit fireplace.

Never leave a lit fireplace or heater unattended. Keep anything that is flammable at least three feet away from any heat source.

Check all electrical wires before placing decorations. If a wire is broken or loose, throw it away. Consider upgrading to newer LED lights, which will save money on electricity and lower the risk of a fire.

To contribute to the efforts of the Red Cross, visit redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
There's been talk among some conservatives and Republicans that Democrats are plotting to "Bork" the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general. That's not right. What Democrats really hope to do is to "Ashcroft" the man soon-to-be Minority Leader Charles Schumer likes to call "my good friend from Alabama." Sessions' supporters have expected it from the moment President-elect Trump made the Alabama senator his first Cabinet pick.

Sixteen years ago, John Ashcroft was a Republican senator nominated by a Republican president who lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College after a particularly contentious election.

The 2000 race also left the Senate split 50-50, with Republican Vice President Dick Cheney breaking ties. In a power-sharing arrangement, the Judiciary Committee was evenly split, 9-to-9, with a Republican chairman. If Democrats could stick together, they could hold Ashcroft to a 9-9 tie in committee, which would have allowed the nomination to go on to the full Senate, but would also have allowed Democrats to portray it as a vote of no confidence in a top George W. Bush appointee.

In Judiciary Committee hearings, Democrats attacked Ashcroft furiously. They extended the hearings to four days, called a long slate of outside witnesses, and attempted to portray Ashcroft as a kind of neo-Confederate, hyper-religious abortion fanatic who was, in the perennial favorite formulation of Democratic attacks on Republican nominees, "insensitive" on issues of race.

In the end, Ashcroft won the committee vote, 10 to 8, only because Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, a friend of Ashcroft's, voted to move the nomination to the floor as an "olive branch" to the new administration. Democrats hated Feingold's apostasy, while Ashcroft, damaged but alive, eventually won confirmation.

Now, Republicans have a 52-48 advantage in the Senate and will likely have a one-vote advantage when the Judiciary Committee is formally organized in January. A party-line vote would win for Sessions. But that hasn't stopped Democrats from looking back to the Ashcroft precedent when, without a majority, they managed to beat up one of the new president's nominees.

In a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, eight Democrats currently on the committee argued that Sessions' hearings should be at least as long and involved as Ashcroft's.

The Democrats -- Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, Richard Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken, Chris Coons and Richard Blumenthal -- demanded that the committee hear from witnesses who will discuss Sessions' views on "immigration; violence against women; civil rights, including LGBT protections; racial justice and hate crimes; workers' rights; national security and civil liberties; voting rights; criminal justice; and government conflicts of interest, transparency and oversight."

Sessions will receive a "tough vetting," promised Schumer, Sessions' good friend from New York who has taken part in many confirmation hearings on the Judiciary Committee but will leave the panel when he becomes minority leader in January.

Grassley is not ready to go along. "The confirmation process of John Ashcroft to be attorney general turned into a reckless campaign that snowballed into an avalanche of innuendo, rumor and spin," the chairman said in a statement after meeting Sessions on Tuesday. "That will not happen here."

"The hearings for the four most recent attorneys general lasted one to two days each," Grassley continued.

The bottom line from Republicans: No Ashcrofting.

Sessions has, of course, seen it all, from both sides. He was famously rejected by the committee in 1986 when he was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court in Alabama. (Many Republicans believe that Sessions' confirmation fight was a Democratic trial run for attacking the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork the next year, meaning Sessions was borked before Bork.)

Sessions went on to win a Senate seat in 1996, took a place on the Judiciary Committee, and was a vocal advocate for Ashcroft in the committee in 2001. He knows what is coming. But he also knows votes, and this time Republicans on the committee will have more votes than Democrats. The GOP can exercise more control over the hearing and witnesses than they could in the 9-to-9 days of the Ashcroft nomination. If Sessions can keep the support of all the Republicans on the committee -- and there is no indication so far that any will defect -- he won't face a repeat of the Ashcroft experience.
Its incredibly depressing that barely more than a decade after the utter disaster of Abu Ghraib, where disgusting images of torture at the hands of American troops shocked the world, America is once again debating whether it should resume torture.

In addition to being illegal and immoral, Americas experience with torture during the George W. Bush administration showed that torture was both ineffective and counterproductive. In response, both President Barack Obama and Congress took steps to strengthen the pre-existing legal prohibitions on torture. Even former defenders of the Bush administrations record on torture are now rejecting a return to waterboarding and other torture techniques.

Even if President-elect Donald Trump wants to resume the use of torture  though he has expressed some doubts of doing so since the election  the United States cannot and will not return to torture.

Trump made waves during the campaign with his calls for a return to waterboarding and a hell of a lot worse. His surprise election victory sparked a great deal of concern that a Trump administration would, at the very least, attempt to resume the worst practices of the Bush administration. Those fears may have receded a bit after Trump interviewed retired Gen. James Mattis about possibly becoming the next secretary of defense. Trump says he was surprised that Mattis told him that waterboarding was not effective and that interrogation based on rapport building was much better.

Its impossible to predict what Trump will want to do once he assumes the presidency, but at least there is a sign that he may be backing away from one of his most extreme campaign proposals.

Mattis view is backed up by the evidence of torture throughout history and, importantly, by Americas recent experience with it during the Bush administration. An exhaustive report released two years ago by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the Bush administrations detention and interrogation program concluded that the program was not an effective means of acquiring intelligence or gaining cooperation from detainees and that it damaged the United States standing in the world.

Furthermore, the Bush administrations use of torture also helped fuel terrorist recruitment. One former military intelligence officer who served in Iraq wrote, I learned in Iraq that the No. 1 reason foreign fighters flocked there were the abuses carried out at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Why anyone would want to resume a program that did not work and only helped our enemies is beyond me.

Torture has been illegal in the United States since 1948. The Bush administration got around this prohibition by putting forward extremely flawed legal justifications that waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques were not actually torture.

In response to the experience of the Bush administration, Obama explicitly banned those specific techniques by executive order on his first full day in office. Congress followed up that ban with legislation that restricted the interrogation techniques that any U.S. government employee or contractor may use to those in the Army Field Manual on Interrogation. Congress also established a strict review process for any changes to the field manual to ensure that prohibited interrogation techniques are not snuck in through the back door.

In addition to these new legal constraints, other practical obstacles exist to reinstating the use of torture. Former Bush administration CIA Director Michael Hayden said about Trumps proposal to resume waterboarding, if you want somebody waterboarded, bring your own damn bucket. Hayden went on to say that multiple investigations, grand juries, presidential condemnations and congressional reviews will dissuade the CIA from returning to torture.

Even if the Trump administration gets the recent laws changed, any lawyer in a Trump Justice Department will have to address the legacy of the Bush program that clearly resulted in lasting psychological harm to the detainees. According to Alex Whiting of Harvard Law School, that reality will make it much more difficult for future lawyers to sanction these techniques as not amounting to torture, and running afoul of the pre-existing prohibitions on torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

No system of laws can entirely restrain an individual determined to break them. But the president-elect and anyone in his administration should know that if they do engage in waterboarding or other torture techniques, they will be in unequivocal violation of the law and will likely end up in jail. The United States should not and will not resume torture.
The T&D Region has yet to experience the true boom from South Carolinas manufacturing renaissance  at least not in a way sufficient to reduce the level of unemployment, particularly in Orangeburg and Bamberg counties.

The most recent numbers for the state show Orangeburg and Bamberg counties with the states highest jobless rates among 46 counties: 9.3 percent in October for Orangeburg and 9.1 percent in Bamberg.

If for no other reason than optimism that those numbers will be on the decline in 2017, the annual economic forecast by the University of South Carolina economists with the Darla Moore School of Business is welcome news.

Steady economic gains are expected for South Carolina in 2017 despite the political uncertainty that comes with a new governor and U.S. president, the economists stated this past week.

Doug Woodward, director of research, and Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist, says the state is poised to build on its existing momentum and to continue generating new jobs and rising incomes for South Carolinians.

They expect job creation -- the single best predictor of economic performance -- to grow 2.6 percent in 2017.

The Moore School forecast outlines an unemployment rate over the next 12 months that will drop slightly from its current rate of 4.7 percent to approximately 4.5 percent.

But there are warning signs.

Von Nessen said the states economy also is in the midst of a paradigm shift, which will bring new challenges in 2017.

For the last several years our rate of economic growth has been accelerating, but in 2016 it leveled off and is now growing at a constant rate, Von Nessen said. In addition, the labor market has strengthened considerably. Our unemployment rate has dropped to 4.7 percent. And although this is good news for workers, it also means that employers are now struggling to find qualified employees to fill new positions. Going forward, if we want to achieve a higher rate of economic growth, this skills gap will have to be addressed.

Tackling a skills gap will likely be an important part of the next governors mission.

Gov. (Nikki) Haley came into office with a priority to generate employment opportunities for South Carolinians during a period of high unemployment following the Great Recession, Von Nessen said. Lt. Gov. McMaster, by contrast, will likely inherit a healthier economy in which unemployment is relatively low, and a skills gap that prevents many workers from being hired.

The economists anticipate the size of the labor force to continue to grow in 2017 as job opportunities continue to rise, which implies marginal decreases in the unemployment rate over the next year.

With bridging the skills gap, attracting development and creating new jobs high on the agenda here, The T&D Region will welcome even those marginal decreases in joblessness.
CONCORD, N.H.The Concord Community Music School is pleased to welcome Zoia Bologovsky to the String Department faculty. Ms. Bologovsky, who is concertmaster of several orchestras in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, brings a wealth of teaching and performance experience to the Music School, where she will teach private lessons in violin and viola.

Zoia Bologovsky is an active musician in the New England area. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she toured as First Violinist with the Arden String Quartet around America and Europe. She has held positions with the Portland and Springfield Symphonies and Rhode Island Philharmonic. Currently, she is Concertmaster of North Shore Philharmonic, MetroWest Symphony, and the Portsmouth Symphony. She is also Principal Second Violin of Symphony New Hampshire and PORTOpera.

In addition to teaching at the Concord Community Music School, Ms. Bologovsky teaches St. Pauls School in Concord, New Hampshire, the Cooperative Middle School in Stratham, New Hampshire, and in her private studio in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

The Music School is home to a string program that includes lessons in violin, fiddle, viola, cello, bass, and more. A range of private lesson and ensemble opportunities are available to string players, and all students are invited to participate in frequent student workshops and performances.

For more information about the String Department at the Concord Community Music School, please call 603-228-1196 or visit www.ccmusicschool.org.

About the Concord Community Music School

Concord Community Music School is a full member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education and is recognized nationally for program innovation and management excellence. Welcoming adults, teens, and children of all musical abilities, 50 artist teachers reach more than 33,000 people in four states with educational programs, concerts, workshops, and community partnerships. CCMS has received major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hearst Foundation, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, Janes Trust, and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The Music School is the 2005 recipient of the NH Governors Arts Award for Cultural Access Leadership.
Malia Zaidi is the author of A POISONOUS JOURNEY. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, and studied at English at Oxford University. Having grown up in Germany, she currently lives in Washington DC, though through her love of reading, she resides, vicariously in countries throughout the world. A POISONOUS JOURNEY is her first book in the Lady Evelyn mysteries series. The sequel, A DARKER SHORE , is her latest novel.









About the Book:





1926: A year has passed since the events of "A Poisonous Journey" and Lady Evelyn has made a home for herself in Greece, living with her cousin, Briony, her husband, Jeffrey and Daniel Harper. Disturbing this island idyll is a letter, which arrives from France with troubling information about the Daniels long-believed-dead brother, Henry. A new journey awaits! With the shadows of the Great War reaching out, Lady Evelyn and Daniel voyage to Amiens in Northern France with the aim of discovering the truth behind the ominous letter. Upon their arrival, they are met not with clarity but rather with crime. Murder, to be precise. Is it linked to their presence in France, or even worse, to Henry himself? Evelyn and Daniel must confront their history as they try to make sense of the present before the killer can strike again, and the secrets of the past are lost forever.





PURCHASE AT:





Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, wed love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? Where did you come up with the idea to write your book?





The idea of the Lady Evelyn Mysteries really started with the character. I had an idea of this amateur sleuth in my mind, but wanted to give her depth and a story that would make her someone people could root for and identify with. The idea of setting the first novel in Greece came after a trip I took to the country in 2010. It left a great impression, and I felt it would serve almost as a character in





Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?





With a mystery, there are always challenges in planning. I didnt want people to guess easily at the resolution, and yet I needed it to be logical once the whole truth was revealed. To do this, I tend to make a rough outline for the plot and the direction the story should go, however the characters often take on a life of their own and changes need to be made. Added to that, parts of the research for this book could be a little emotionally draining. Reading about the First World War, the lives of soldiers and those left behind was absolutely invaluable, and yet so sad it was hard to shake them, which is really as it should be. History must be remembered, and for me, historical fiction has always been a useful teacher in this regard. I hope, with A Poisonous Journey and A Darker Shore I can offer my own small contribution to this cause.





Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?





I self-published with Bookbaby. It was a process in which I feel I learned quite a lot about publishing and what goes into turning a Word Doc on my computer into a book I can hold in my hands. Ive found it to be a challenging, but ultimately rewarding process.





Q: Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?





The fact that people wanted to read it! In all seriousness, I think as a writer, I underestimated how much work would go into the book, even when it was already published. The marketing aspects are more complex than I initially assumed, but Ive been very pleasantly surprised by the wonderful community of readers I found on Goodreads, where I was active long before I was an author.





Q: What other books (if any) are you working on and when will they be published?





I am working on the next Lady Evelyn Mystery, which should be published in late autumn next year.





Q: Whats one fact about your book that would surprise people?





I think it is that Lady Evelyn, the protagonist, is more introspective than people may have guessed. She has a past and is trying to reconcile that with her present, which for her, as for many of us, can be difficult.





Q: Finally, what message (if any) are you trying to get across with your book?





The mysteries in A Darker Shore like those in A Poisonous Journey are not black and white. I suppose if there were a message to focus on in these books it would be to look deeper, not to underestimate the motives behind what people do and to try to understand the world around you. These are the challenges Lady Evelyn often contends with and considers, and though she is like me, and has not arrived at any definitive answers, she keeps looking and exploring in the hope to be a more compassionate, interested person.





Q: Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?





Thank you, and I hope everyone enjoys A Darker Shore!

itself. My new book, the second in this series, A Darker Shore, takes Lady Evelyn away from Greece to Northern France. The books are set in the 1920s, which was a time still touched by the ghosts of the First World War. Northern France played a tremendous and tragic role during this time, and I knew there was a story to explore there.
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By Azernews





By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan and Ukraine has agreed to jointly design ships, as Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company and Ukrainian Marine Engineering Bureau will create a joint venture -- Caspian Engineering Bureau.

The relevant document was undersigned by heads of the two companies Rauf Valiyev and Genadiy Yegorov, respectively.

The new joint venture will be engaged in design work, creation of ships projects of different directions, technical documentation for the repair, modernization and operation of ships, training of specialists in this field and conducting research projects.

In October, the two companies have signed a contract worth 132 million manats ($80 million) for construction of two new unique Ro-Pax (roll-on/roll-off passenger) ferries.

The ferry to be built at Baku Shipyard LLC is designed for freight and passenger traffic. The vessel with deadweight of 5,540 tons will be able to carry up to 56 tanks, 46 gondola cars, 44 freight cars, 50 trucks and will have 100 passenger seats.

Currently, Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company has 13 ferries, two of which are Ro-Ro type ferries. Seven of those ferries can carry up to 28 cars, while other six ferries can carry 52-54 cars

Azerbaijan is highly prioritizing the development of the shipping industry and improvement of the maritime infrastructure. The government has already approved the State Program on Development of Shipping in Azerbaijan for 2016-2020.

The program envisages wide range of obligations including renewal of the transport and specialized offshore fleet, expansion of activities outside the Caspian Sea, increase of the volume of freight transportation through the territory of the country, modernization of shipbuilding and maintenance yards and improvement of the academic base of marine education, as well as implementation of certain measures to turn the country into major transport-logistics hub of international importance.

The country is now negotiating with a number of European, Chinese and South Korean, as well as domestic companies, for building ships. Moreover, international firms have also made commitments to increase shipping ties with Iran.

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company plays a connecting role in the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), provides marine transportation of goods and passengers, as well as offshore support services for oil and gas operations.












By Trend





Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 30 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on December 13.

The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Munjuglu village of Azerbaijans Tovuz district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located on nameless heights of Armenias Berd district.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were also shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Goyarkh village of the Tartar district, Shikhlar, Sarijali, Yusifjanli villages of the Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Horadiz, Garakhanbayli villages of the Fuzuli district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Khojavand, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Stephane Visconti paid a visit to Azerbaijan on December 11-12, the French embassy in Baku reported on December 12.

This is Viscontis first visit to the region after his participation with other two co-chairs in the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Hamburg and starting to fulfill his duties.

The co-chair was received by Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev on December 12 and also met with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

During the visit to Baku, Visconti reiterated his countrys commitment to continue the efforts, together with the U.S. and Russia, to facilitate an unbiased and fair settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the embassy said.

The newly appointed French co-chair assumed the office on November 3. His predecessor Pierre Andrieu has held the position since June 2014.

The OSCE Minsk Group, the activities of which have become known as the Minsk Process, works to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for over two decades, but in vain.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.
By Azernews





Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Baku with a diplomatic visit on December 13.

A guard of honor was arranged for the Israeli PM at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport decorated with the national flags of Azerbaijan and Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his spouse Sara Netanyahu were welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov and other officials.

Netanyahu will meet with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in the presidential Zagulba Palace in Baku, where agreements will be signed  by Environmental Protection, Jerusalem and Heritage Minister Zeev Elkin  on standardization, double taxation and agricultural cooperation.

The Prime Minister will pay respects to fallen soldiers and lay a wreath at the memorial. He will then visit the 'Or Avner' Jewish education complex, along with Azerbaijan Education Minister Mikhayil Jabbarov, and meet with members of the local Jewish community.

"Today I am leaving on a two-day visit to two important countries, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Netanyahu said before leaving his country, the PM's office reported.

These are two large and significant countries in the Islamic world and our goal is to strengthen diplomatic, security and economic relations with them. In complete contrast to what is heard from time to time, not only is Israel not suffering from diplomatic isolation, Israel is a country that is coming back. These countries want very much to strengthen ties with Israel and following the strengthening of our relations with the major powers of Asia, with countries in Africa and with countries in Latin America, now come ties with important countries in the Islamic world.
Ooredoo, a major telecom group in the region, said its senior management team was recognised with the Best Executive Team Award for the Telecom Sector at the Arab Best Awards 2016, held in Marrakesh, Morocco.



The Arab Best Awards aim to celebrate leadership and excellence in three main areas  government and leadership; business excellence; and sports, social and community contribution.



The general secretary Mohammed Mubarak Al Mohannadi opened the awards with a speech praising the winners for their on-going efforts in improving lives and opening opportunities across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.



Ooredoo received the award for its decisive management style that has seen the company transform itself over the past three years since its launch in 2013. In particular, the company was recognised for its data experience leadership across its footprint in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, said a statement from Ooredoo.



The company today offers 4G services in eight markets around the world, supported by incredible content and easy-to-use apps, it said.



After receiving the award, Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, group CEO, Ooredoo, said: "We are proud to win the award, as a recognition of the hard work and clear vision that Ooredoo has delivered over the past few years."



Al Thani attended the Morocco event as part of a delegation that included Waleed Al Sayed, deputy CEO, Ooredoo Group.



I dedicate this award to our hard-working colleagues operating everywhere, and give our customers a firm commitment that this award will push us to greater heights, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
UK-based what3words, a leading technology company, has joined hands with Saudi Arabias Moqam company to launch what3words global address system in the country.



What3words has completely re-engineered global geographical mapping by dividing the surface of the world into 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares, each identified with a fixed tag of three words, said the company in a statement.



Currently available through mobile apps, sites and platforms in over 170 countries, what3words offline and local language map offers users the benefits of memorable and exclusive addresses, said Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO of what3words at the signing ceremony held in Jeddah.



"Any delivery person could locate an exact point on the world's map even when a country does not have an adequate addressing system. Instead of road names and zip codes, the companys system has divided the earth into 57 million three-by-three meter squares and assigned each square a three-word identifier," he explained.



The what3words app is free, works on even the most basic smartphones, has built-in error detection and can work in places with poor or no mobile reception, said the statement.



Sheldrick said its system was more accurate than a postcode besides being easier to remember and share than co-ordinates. "It is now helping to improve addressing for the 4 billion people across the globe who are unable to get deliveries or receive aid and unable to exercise their rights as citizens," he stated.



Ziad Al Qawasmi, CEO of Moqam, said: The technology provided by our partner gives Saudis and expatriates an opportunity to own an address for their residency and we are thrilled to be announcing this unique partnership.  TradeArabia News Service
The cyber landscape changes dramatically year after year. If you blink, you may miss something; whether thats a noteworthy hack, a new attack vector or new solutions to protect your business. Sound cyber security means trying to stay one step ahead of threat actors.



In the spirit of looking toward the future, I wanted to grab my crystal ball and take my best guess at what will be the big story lines in cyber security in 2017.



1. IoT continues to pose a major threat. In late2016, all eyes were on IoT-borne attacks. Threat actors were using Internet of Things devices to build botnets to launch massive distrusted denial of service (DDoS) attacks. In two instances, these botnets collected unsecured smart cameras. As IoT devices proliferate, and everything has a Web connectionrefrigerators, medical devices, cameras, cars, tires, you name itthis problem will continue to grow unless proper precautions like two-factor authentication, strong password protection and others are taken.



Device manufactures must also change behaviour. They must scrap default passwords and either assign unique credentials to each device or apply modern password configuration techniques for the end user during setup.



2. DDoS attacks get even bigger. We recently saw some of the largest DDoS attacks on record, in some instances topping 1 Tbps. Thats absolutely massive, and it shows no sign of slowing. Through 2015, the largest attacks on record were in the 65 Gbps range.



Going into 2017, we can expect to see DDoS attacks grow in size, further fueling the need for solutions tailored to protect against and mitigate these colossal attacks.



3. Predictive analytics gains ground. Math, machine learning and artificial intelligence will be baked more into security solutions. Security solutions will learn from the past, and essentially predict attack vectors and behaviour based on that historical data. This means security solutions will be able to more accurately and intelligently identify and predict attacks by using event data and marrying it to real-world attacks.



4. Attack attempts on industrial control systems. Similar to the IoT attacks, its only due time until we see major industrial control system (ICS) attacks. Attacks on ecommerce stores, social media platforms and others have become so commonplace that weve almost grown cold to them. Bad guys will move onto bigger targets: dams, water treatment facilities and other critical systems to gain recognition.



5. Upstream providers become targets. The DDoS attack launched against DNS provider Dyn, which resulted in knocking out many major sites that use Dyn for DNS services, made headlines because it highlighted what can happen when threat actors target a service provider as opposed to just the end customers.



These types of attacks on upstream providers causes a ripple effect that interrupts service not only for the provider, but all of their customers and users. The attack on Dyn set a dangerous precedent and will likely be emulated several times over in the coming year.



6. Physical security grows in importance. Cyber security is just one part of the puzzle. Strong physical security is also necessary. In 2017, companies will take notice, and will implement stronger physical security measures and policies to protect against internal threats and theft and unwanted devices coming in and infecting systems.



7. Automobiles become a target. With autonomous vehicles on the way and the massive success of sophisticated electric cars like Teslas, the automobile industry will become a much more attractive target for attackers. Taking control of an automobile isnt fantasy, and it could be a real threat next year.



8. Point solutions no longer do the job. The days of Frankensteining together a set of security solutions has to stop. Instead of buying a single solution for each issue, businesses must trust security solutions from best-of-breed vendors and partnerships that answer a number of security needs. Why have 12 solutions when you can have three? In 2017, your security footprint will get smaller, but will be much more powerful.



9. The threat of ransomware grows. Ransomware was one of the fastest growing online threats in 2016, and it will become more serious and more frequent in 2017. Weve seen businesses and individuals pay thousands of dollars to free their data from the grip of threat actors. The growth of ransomware means we must be more diligent to protect against it by not clicking on anything suspicious. Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.



10. Security teams are 24/7. The days of security teams working 9-to-5 are long gone. Now is the dawn of the 24/7 security team. As more security solutions become services-based, consumers and businesses will demand the security teams and their vendors be available around the clock. While monitoring tools do some of the work, threats dont stop just because its midnight, and security teams need to be ready to do battle all day, every day.



Those are 10 things we see happening in the cyber security space next year.



About the author

Mohammed Al-Moneer has recently been appointed as regional director, Mena at A10 Networks. He has held various sales leadership positions at networking and other high tech companies. Most recently at Infoblox, he served as regional manager for Saudi Arabia.




Fire which broke out at an upmarket block on the artificial island the Palm in Dubai, UAE on Monday has been completely extinguished, the emirate's media office reported.



The building has been safely evacuated and no injuries were reported, the Dubai Media Office said on its Twitter account.



Earlier, the media office said on its Twitter account that civil defence teams were battling the blaze which broke out at the Oceana, a residential compound on the palm-shaped island.








State oil giant Saudi Aramco is set to host the second iktva (In-Kingdom Total Value Add Program) Forum 2016 on December 14 in the city of Dammam which will highlight the major localisation initiative and its benefits to Saudi Arabias economy.



The event will provide an opportunity for two-way dialogue between the company and its key and strategic suppliers as the kingdom commemorates the first anniversary of the launch of its localization initiative.



Saudi Aramco will share its vision for the future of the energy sector with an update on major projects and initiatives that support iktva, such as local manufacturing, training and development, and attracting increased investment to the Kingdom.



Saudi Aramco president and chief executive Amin H. Nasser said the upcoming forum will mark a major milestone in the trajectory to accelerate localisation amongst Saudi Aramcos supplier community.



Iktva 2016 will provide a clear path towards a diversified and sustainable Saudi energy sector as envisioned by Saudi Vision 2030. Through a collaborative win-win approach with the private sector, distinguished suppliers and service providers are recognized with Saudi Aramco iktva Excellence Awards.



"Our aim is to enable tangible opportunities in engineering, manufacturing, innovation, technology, human capital development, job creation and also serve to strengthen the culture of entrepreneurship in the Kingdom," he noted.



The event will also include the first annual iktva Excellence Awards which will be presented in recognition of the most significant commitment, investment, and progress in localization.



Abdulaziz AbdulKarim, the VP (Procurement & Supply Chain Management) said: "Tthe forum will recognize excellence and commitment to value creation in the kingdom by eligible suppliers from within its network as demonstrated in five categories to honour those suppliers success and commitment towards localization, local workface development and value creation."-TradeArabia News Service
Oman Air, the national carrier of Oman, launched its inaugural flight to Guangzhou, China from its hub in Muscat on December 9, making it the airline's first destination in China.



The chief guest for the event was Yahya Al Jabri, chairman of Duqum Special Economic Zone.



The four times weekly flights will open up easy access to Oman Airs outstanding range of destinations for customers from China as well as helping to strengthen political, economic and social links between Oman and China.



The invited guests on the inaugural flight were treated to a day of celebrations with a cake cutting ceremony at Muscat International Airport before proceeding to Oman Airs First and Business Class lounge. The flight departed at 10.15 and arrived just over six hours later in Guangzhou at 21.00 where there was an arrival ceremony before proceeding to the Four Seasons Hotel.



There was a press conference the following morning, where the invited media from Oman and China interacted with the senior management team of Oman Air. This was followed by a lunch and a gala dinner later in the evening at the Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel where Oman Air CEO Paul Gregorowitsch, besides other high-ranking dignitaries from both Oman and China gave short speeches to mark the occasion before an exchange of gifts with officials from Guangzhou.



The launch of the new route is in response to significant customer demand and also demonstrates Oman Airs commitment to continuing its ambitious and dynamic programme of fleet and network expansion and on board service developments. This has seen the company take delivery of outstanding new aircraft, introduce a range of exciting new destinations and launch new products and services which contribute to a seamless passenger experience.



The return flight departed Guangzhou at 06.25 and arrived in Muscat at 11.00.



Oman Air will run flights to Guangzhou from Muscat on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays using its wide-body A330. The planes take off from Muscat International Airport, Oman, at 10.15 and reach Guangzhou at 21.00. Oman Air flights depart Guangzhou to Muscat on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 06.25 and land in Muscat at 11.00. - TradeArabia News Service


Movenpick Hotels & Resorts has finalised a deal to operate the hospitality firms first property in Ras Al Khaimah  one of the UAEs most popular holiday destinations.



The 550-key Movenpick Resort Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah, which is slated to open in 2019, will boast a prime beachfront location, offering guests unrivalled views of the Arabian Gulf and the picturesque Ras Al Khaimah coastline.



Al Marjan Island is Ras Al Khaimahs first man-made project, built to the tune of $1.8 billion, and featuring a cluster of coral-shaped islands, creating a destination that is fast emerging as a top Middle East holiday hotspot.



Movenpicks upcoming five-star resort, which comprises 430 rooms and suites and 120 serviced apartments, will cater to the increasing number of local and global leisure travellers heading to this idyllic beach destination.



Visitor numbers to Ras Al Khaimah are expected to surge 11 per cent to reach more than 820,000 in 2016, according to the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, which has set a target of one million arrivals by the end of 2018.



Movenpick Resort Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah is a valuable addition to our portfolio and will provide leisure travellers with another compelling reason to visit one of the UAEs most stunning holiday destinations, said Andreas Mattmuller, Chief Operating Officer, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, Middle East and South Asia.



Al Marjan Island is close to RAK International Airport, served by scheduled carriers such as Qatar Airways, Air Arabia and Air India Express, as well as numerous European and Russian charter airlines, while the worlds busiest airport, Dubai International, is just 45 minutes by road. - TradeArabia News Service
Turkish Airlines is expanding its presence in Africa with direct flights launched between Istanbul and Zanzibar.



Following the addition of Zanzibar, Turkish Airlines will now be flying to 293 destinations worldwide; 50 of which are in Africa. These include the east African city hubs of Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Nairobi, Mogadishu, Djibouti, Asmara, Addis Ababa, Kigali, Entebbe and Zanzibar.



Ahmet Olmustur, chief marketing officer at Turkish Airlines, said: Turkish Airlines is proud to transport people around the globe to experience new cultures, share ideas and create memories that will stay with them for a lifetime. We are delighted to open the new route to Zanzibar, a truly remarkable destination. We continually seek out opportunities to expand our network and look forward to welcoming our passengers on their way to Zanzibar in the near future.



Beginning from today Zanzibar flights will be operated three times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, in both directions.



Introductory round trip fares from Istanbul to Zanzibar start at $636 (including taxes and fees).



Additionally, for operations to Zanzibar  till June 12, 2017 - Miles&Smiles members will be able to earn 25 per cent extra status miles. - TradeArabia News Service
Minor Hotel Group (MHG), a hotel owner, operator and investor, has unveiled plans to debut its luxury Anantara brand in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.



Scheduled to open in 2019, Anantara Jeddah Resort will be located on the waterfront in Obhur in the citys upmarket northern district and will offer 226 guest rooms and 102 two to five bedroom villas. The property is owned by SAB Group and was previously a luxury residential compound which will undergo a renovation and transformation led by cutting edge international design architects.



Facilities will include a selection of dining options with both indoor and outdoor seating, fitness and swimming pool areas, a kids and teens club and a library. For business guests, there is a 500-sq-m meeting room which is divisible by two, plus two further meeting rooms. The resort has two receptions and lobbies, one dedicated for VIP arrivals.



Spa and wellness will be a major focus of the resort, which will offer a female and male Anantara Spa and an impressive wellness centre. An extensive selection of wellness journeys will be available, as part of Anantaras Balance programme. These will include detox, de-stress, weight management, anti-aging and rejuvenation, along with therapies such as Ayurveda, hammam and reflexology. Guests will be able to enjoy wellness cuisine and healthy cooking classes, with activities including yoga, pilates and Tai Chi. In addition, the resort will offer a regular programme of wellness-focused educational workshops and special events.



The Obhur area is undergoing a significant transformation anchored by the development of the 1km high Kingdom Tower which will open in 2020 and will become Jeddahs new city centre. The Anantara Jeddah will offer stunning views of the nearby Kingdom Tower.



Jeddah is one of the preferred destinations among domestic leisure tourists and religious pilgrims as it is the gateway to the holy cities. The areas transport and airport infrastructure is currently being enhanced, including a new high speed rail access scheduled to open in 2018 which will connect Jeddah to the airport, Makkah and Medina.



William E. Heinecke, chairman and CEO of Minor International, said: We are delighted to announce Anantara Jeddah which represents Minor Hotels debut in Saudi Arabia and grows our presence in the GCC to four countries. Minor Hotels has been looking for the right opportunity to expand into Saudi Arabia and we are pleased to be partnering with SAB Group to launch our luxury Anantara brand in this key strategic market.



Sheikh Salah al Belawi, chairman of SAB Group, added: We are excited to bring the concept, experience and legacy of Minor Hotels through their flagship Anantara Hotels and Resorts to Jeddah. The concept of a health and wellness resort is long overdue in Saudi Arabia and our Obhor property lends itself to such a concept. We, at SAB Group, are very delighted to partner with Minor Hotels and host the Anantara brand. This venture subscribes to our Think Ahead philosophy and to our futuristic steps towards achieving Saudi Arabias Vision 2030.



Minor Hotels currently operates nine Anantara properties in the Middle East and has a further strong pipeline in the region with new resorts under development in the UAE (in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah), Bahrain, Morocco and Tunisia. Overall Minor Hotels currently operates 14 properties in the Middle East across four of its brands  Anantara, Avani, Oaks and Per Aquum. - TradeArabia News Service


DALLAS  ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the State Department, has close ties to Russia through years of deal-making that will serve as valuable experience  but also raise concerns.

Tillerson has claimed to have a "very close relationship" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and will have deep knowledge of the country's power structure, having led ExxonMobil into a rare oil exploration deal with Russia's state-owned energy company.

His ties, however, could cast a shadow over important decisions on relations with Russia, from whether to extend sanctions to the handling of intelligence reports that Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.

As an oil executive, Tillerson has argued against sanctions that the U.S. and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

The sanctions are aimed against key sectors of the Russian economy, including financial services, energy, mining and defense, but also individuals in Putin's inner circle. Experts say that if they remain in the long term, the sanctions could affect Exxon's joint venture with Russia's state oil company.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, 64-year-old Tillerson is a career Exxon employee, having joined the company after graduating from the University of Texas in 1975 with an engineering degree. Groomed for an executive position, he spent years in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, working in Exxon's central U.S., Yemen and Russian operations.

By the 1990s, Tillerson was overseeing many of Exxon's foreign operations. He played a key role in Exxon's involvement in the huge Sakhalin oil and natural gas project on Russia's eastern coast. That was a warm-up for a $3.2 billion deal in which Exxon and Russian state-controlled Rosneft announced they would work together to explore for oil in Russia's Arctic region.

In 2011, Tillerson flew to the Russian resort town of Sochi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the announcement. As news photographers recorded the scene, the men shook hands and smiled broadly at each other.

"This project promises to be highly interesting and ambitious," Putin said at the time.

Success in Russia required aligning the company's interests with those of the Russian government, mettle, and good relations with Putin. Exxon steadily expanded its Russian business while its rivals faced expropriation and regulatory obstacles. In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, an honor given to foreigners who improve relations with Russia.

"My relationship with Vladimir Putin, which dates back almost 15 years now, I've known him since 1999 and have a very close relationship with him," Tillerson said in a speech a few years ago.

Like other oil companies, Exxon has had to develop its own diplomacy and foreign relations, so many skills Tillerson honed at Exxon could help in his new role, said Antoine Halff, head of the global oil markets program at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.

Exxon also has operations in Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and many other countries, from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of Australia. Africa and Asia were its leading sources of oil production in 2015.

Tillerson became Exxon's CEO on Jan. 1, 2006, and is expected to retire next year. His heir apparent, Darren Woods, has been in place for a year, so there would be virtually no disruption to Exxon's succession plans.

In 2015, Exxon valued Tillerson's compensation at $27.3 million, most of it in stock. At the end of 2015, he held awards that had not yet vested that were worth $149.2 million.

As secretary of state, by law, he would have to either sell his Exxon shares and stock options or recuse himself from government matters that have a "direct and predictable" effect on his financial interests, said Richard W. Painter, a University of Minnesota corporate law professor who served as President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer. Failure to do one or the other would likely result in criminal charges, since Cabinet members, unlike the president and vice-president, are covered by statutes designed to prevent conflicts of interest.

If Tillerson didn't sell the stock, he would have to stay out of decisions for a wide swath of the secretary's job including climate change matters, the oil industry or many dealings with Russia. "There are going to have to be some pretty broad recusals in the State Department on anything that involves oil," Painter said. "In my view, personally, it's unacceptable to have a secretary of state who has a lot of oil company stock or stock options."

Putting the stock in a blind trust would not be allowed because it would remain a financial interest for Tillerson, Painter said.

Still, it's not unheard of for a high-profile businessman to serve as secretary of state.

Bechtel, the big, privately held San Francisco engineering and construction firm, gained stature and prestige when President Ronald Reagan picked George Shultz as secretary of state and Caspar Weinberger as secretary of defense. Both had been top Bechtel executives.

At the time, critics said Bechtel had its own foreign policy, especially in the Middle East and didn't particularly care if its objectives were not aligned with those of the U.S.

___

Tom Krisher in Detroit and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Tuesdays Highlights</&h1>

Tuesday support meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 1124 Elma, Imitate the Image Church; 5:30 p.m., 328 E. A; 7 p.m., 520 CY; 8 p.m., 328-1/2 E. A; 8 p.m., 328 E. A; 8 p.m., 917 N. Beech. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back). Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688.

Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 7 p.m., 15th and Melrose, at the church. Web site: http://www.urmrna.org.

Stuff the Van Toy Drive

Help to Stuff the Van this holiday season with toys for kids in need here in Casper. Townsquare Media and Wyoming Food for Thought Project spend 12 hours a day for a week in front of the east-side Walmart collecting toys and monetary donations. The drive is daily through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is a need to collect approximately 1,000 toys or gifts for children from babies to age 18.

Monetary donations will be used to buy food for kids who participate in the Food for Thought Food Bag Program, to supply children in need with food bags over weekends and extended holiday breaks away from school.

If you are interested in volunteering, give us a call at 337.1703 or visit www.wyfftp.org for more information.

Beyond the Inbox

The Natrona County Library will offer a Beyond the Inbox class at 10 a.m. We will cover the four Ds of mailbox management: Do, Defer (or Delay), Delegate and Delete. Well go over everything you need to keep your inbox clean, including spam reporting, unsubscribing, aliases, and secondary email addresses. Well also discuss the basics of setting up rules and filters in Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information.

Info meetings for kinder dual immersion

It is time to begin thinking about kindergarten enrollment (enrollment window will not open until the first part of January). If you are interested in learning more about the districts two dual-language immersion programs (Spanish at Park and Mandarin at Paradise Valley), please attend an informational meeting at noon (lunch provided) or 6 p.m. Dec. 13 at Central Services Facility, 970 North Glenn Road. Please RSVP to Beth Millay, 253-5450.

Dem men meet

The Democratic mens luncheon will be Tuesday in the Gourmet Room at the Parkway Plaza at noon. Jimmy Simmons, local president of the NAACP, will be the guest speaker. The public is welcome. For info: Robert, 702-0546.

Food for Thought packing day

The Food for Thought Project is packing bags at 4 p.m. at 900 St. John, with enough food to feed 700 food-insecure school children in Natrona County over the 18-day Christmas break. Organizers estimate that it will take $13,866 to fill those 700 bags with 54 meals, not including snacks. Thats 37,800 meals.

Volunteers are welcome anytime from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. to help set up and prepare for the packing.

Each bag will include one box of cereal, one shelf-stable milk, six granola bars, five instant oatmeal containers, three bagel with jelly packs, two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, nine ramen noodles, four canned soup, nine Easy Mac, five ravioli, three tuna and crackers, one chili and five fruit cups.

If you would like to donate or volunteer, call 337-1703 or email info@wyfftp.org.

Virtual reality demo

The library hosts a virtual reality demo from 4 to 8 p.m. Choose from over 40 virtual reality games and apps while being taken through a guided experience with the HTC Vive. Free and open to the public. Gameplay will last for approximately 10 minutes per player. Tickets will be handed out at the beginning of the event. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to the first 25 attendees. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information.

Parkinsons support

Rocky Mountain Therapy is offering a Parkinsons support group. Join us at 5:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Rocky Mountain Therapy, 2546 E. Second St., Building 500.

This support group is open to anyone with Parkinsons or caring for someone with Parkinsons. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. The guest speaker will be Dr. Cozier, with Wyoming Neurologic Assoc. To RSVP, call 577-5204 and ask for Jerri or Shannon. To find out more about Rocky Mountain Therapy, please visit www.rockymountaintherapy.org.

Its a Wrap event

From 5 to 9 p.m., we will host our new Its a Wrap event at St. Anthony School, at 1145 W. 20th in Casper. Attendees will enjoy an evening of music, seasonal beverages, treats and more while the crew wraps Christmas gifts with expert style and finesse. All proceeds will go directly to the school. Admission is free. Wrapping prices are based on size. Food and beverage items priced individually.

Never Too Old

Book Club

A book discussion of young adult novel Challenger Deep, by Neal Shusterman will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Metro Coffee Co. The Never Too Old Book Club, sponsored by the Natrona County Library, discusses young adult literature with adult appeal. The group is open to both teens and adults, with parent-teen pairs especially encouraged. Pick up your free copy of Challenger Deep at the Librarys second-floor reference desk. Call 577-READ ext. 101 for more information.

Christmas light

show open

The free light show at 3148 Whispering Springs is up and will run nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is collecting items for Joshuas Storehouse. Approximately 50,000 lights are choreographed to popular Christmas music. Just tune the radio to 98.1 FM.
Almost everyone has heard of Yellowstone. But not everyone associates it with the Cowboy State.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation hopes to change that with a license plate connecting Wyoming to one of the nations most popular national parks.

While 97 percent of Yellowstone National Park is within the state of Wyoming, WYDOT Director Bill Panos said the state has not done as much to publicly associate itself with the park as its northern neighbor.

Montana actually has a specialty plate to cover their 2 percent of the park, Panos told the Legislatures Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee during its Monday meeting in Casper.

The committee voted to sponsor a bill creating the plate, sending it to the full Legislature for discussion in January.

Panos said both Gov. Matt Mead and U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi had requested the transportation department present a new Yellowstone-themed license plate to the Legislature.

The proposed plate features Old Faithful geyser shooting up between the states trademark bucking horse image and the standard letters and numbers.

The top of the plate reads Wyoming and Yellowstone is printed at the bottom.

Itll actually be embossed, Panos said. We went away from embossing plates and we heard a lot about that.

If approved, the plate will cost $150 initially and then $30 each subsequent year, with the money going toward the Department of Transportations tourism efforts and Wyoming Game and Fish conservation efforts.

It truly is a conservation plate, Panos said. This is a choice someone makes ... they choose it because it helps conservation and tourism in our state  and its pretty cool.

The only other so-called vanity plate that Wyoming currently offers is a brown and yellow University of Wyoming-themed plate that costs $130.

Panos said the proposed model for the Yellowstone plate, which combined an initial fee with annual payments, would bring Wyoming in line with best practices from other states that offer specialty license plates, which make for a steady stream of revenue from drivers who apply for the plate.

The initial $150 fee would cover the $50 cost of embossing a license plate. Eighty percent of the remaining sum would be earmarked for the transportation department  with a focus on improving rest areas  with the remainder going toward Game and Fish conservation efforts.

For many, including myself, the first time I have ever seen Wyoming is through a rest area, Panos said. But he noted that many of the rest stops were in disrepair or periodically closed due to a lack of funding, a problem that money from the new plates could help solve.

More plates to come?

The department expects to sell 1,000 Yellowstone plates in the first year they are available and generate approximately $150,000 in the initial year and $30,000 each year after.

These numbers arent going to solve the budget problem in the state of Wyoming, Panos acknowledged.

But he said that if approved, the Yellowstone plates fee model could be used to promote other notable sites in Wyoming like Grand Teton National Park and Devils Tower.

There are times when our citizens would want to have the name Wyoming connected with these other entities so (our goal is) to set a precedent ... (and) set a business model that works, Panos said.

Lawmakers on the committee were largely supportive of the proposed Yellowstone plate.

Thats pretty cool, Rep. Jim Allen, R-Fremont, said as he looked at a sample plate passed out to the legislators.

Rep. Stan Blake, D-Sweetwater, also liked the plate.

Blake had previously complained to Panos that the geyser was oddly aimed at the horse icon, concerns WYDOT addressed in the amended plate design presented Monday.

He remained jovially occupied with the plate artwork. The current design does not include a county designation and Blake worried about adding a number to indicate county while also keeping the Bucking Horse.

There wont be no place to see, like, Grand Prismatic Pool or Old Faithful, Blake said. Youd kind of muck it up.

Were not Colorado

While the draft bill brought by the Department of Transportation easily passed the committee, not everyone was in favor.

Rep. Bunky Loucks, R-Natrona, said he opposed the new plate on principle.

Were not Colorado, he said in an interview. We should just have one Wyoming plate, just like we have.

Loucks fellow representative from Natrona County, Republican Tom Reeder, also opposed the draft bill. Despite the plate being pitched as a revenue generator, he believed there would be unanticipated implementation costs.

Loucks questioned Panos on whether his department was actually involved in promoting tourism in the state.

WYDOT, in its 100-year history, has always been involved in tourism, Panos responded. Tourists have to travel our roads to get to where they need to be.

If the Legislature votes to create the Yellowstone plate it would be rolled out to the public sometime before 2024.
Frolicking among vast Times Square billboards advertising underwear, Broadway musicals and cellphones are hundreds of Wyoming sheep.

The ovine appear at 11:57 each night in a landscape of dark red cliffs and sprawling prairies and disappear three minutes later. Chimes sound in the background. Its a touch of western pastoral ushering people to sleep in the most populated city center in the country.

The show, called Counting Sheep, was shot and produced by New York visual artist Tal Yarden. The films stars are Wyoming range ewes, courtesy of Kaycees Meike brothers.

This video man from New York came out three summers ago and wanted to do some background work on sheep, so he took some pictures of our sheep in various places, said Don Meike, an 87-year-old central Wyoming rancher whose grandfather homesteaded the area in 1901.

If New York City couldnt seem farther from the red cliffs of Kaycee, Yarden arrived on the Meikes doorstep intending to shoot backdrop for a Spanish opera of the Annie Proulx story Brokeback Mountain.

He fell in love with the landscape and decided he would continue filming the brothers and their ewes for a documentary. In the process, he also put together the film for Times Square.

I wanted to do something for year end that was peaceful and hopeful and something that would contrast to the more urban environment, Yarden said. People think it really stands out.

The video stretches across 20 massive screens, showing sheep jumping, running and herding together. It is part of a project called Midnight Moments done by the Times Square Advertising Coalition and Times Square Arts.

The Meikes sheep will lead New Yorkers into the midnight hour for the month of December.

Im hoping that what these images do, Yarden said, is get people to pause and stop and reflect and think about their place in the universe and have positive thoughts to their future.

As for Don Meike, he wants the big-city video to bring more awareness to his familys mountain business.

Hopefully, something good for the sheep industry comes out of this, letting people know whats happening, he said. There are sheep around yet. We are still ranching.
Casper police arrested a couple Friday on suspicion of grooming the underage daughter of a family friend to perform sexual acts.

Lenard Smiley, 45, and his wife, Sonya Smiley, 50, were arrested Friday. Lenard Smiley was charged Monday in Natrona County Circuit Court with five counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Sonya Smiley was charged with one count of accessory to second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and three counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

The girl told her parents that the Smileys had been sexually abusing her while she lived with them in their house on the 900 block of East 13th Street intermittently between May 2015 and May 2016, according to court documents.

The girl, who was born in 2000, told police that she met the couple through a group in Casper that re-enacts 16th-century European history and considered them family friends. The girl told police that the Smileys would buy her gifts when she stayed with them. After several months, the couple told her she needed to do something for them in exchange for the gifts, the documents say.

The couple allegedly forced the girl to perform sexual acts on Lenard Smiley and herself, many of which caused the girl serious pain. A Casper police detective later linked the techniques and tools the couple used to sadomasochism, which connects sexual pleasure to inflicting or enduring physical pain.

At one point, the pain from the techniques was so severe that the girl passed out and was taken to the hospital, according to the documents. Sonya Smiley told the girl to lie to medical staff about what had caused the unconsciousness, the documents state.

Lenard Smiley also forced the girl to perform oral sex on him, according to the documents.

The girl was forced to model lingerie and swimsuits for the couple, who would take pictures with their cellphones, the documents state. Another girl was sometimes forced to model along with the victim.

The Smileys actions were consistent with techniques used by sex offenders to groom and control child victims, according to the court documents.

Casper police searched the couples home Friday and found multiple sex toys that matched the description the girl gave them. The Smileys were taken to the Casper Police Department to be interviewed.

Lenard Smiley refused to speak with investigators and asked for an attorney. He registered as a sex offender after he was convicted in 2001 of second-degree abuse of a minor in Alaska, according to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation online database. He allegedly told people he had been framed by police and that the charges were false.

Sonya Smiley initially told the detective that there was no inappropriate sexual activities happening in her house. After the detective revealed some of the evidence that investigators had collected, the woman changed her story and said it was the girls fault and that the girl begged to engage in the sexual acts, the documents state.

Sonya Smiley then said she witnessed her husband perform sexual acts on the girl multiple times, but said the girl always begged for the acts to happen and her husband reluctantly complied.

At the end of the interview, Sonya Smiley said she shouldnt have allowed any of the alleged sexual acts to take place because the girl was a minor, the documents state. She said she knew what took place was wrong.

Lenard Smiley faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine for each of the five charges against him. Sonya Smiley faces up to 20 years in prison for the charge of accessory to second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and up to 15 years for each of the three charges of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

A Circuit Court Judge set Lenard Smileys bond at $500,000 and Sonya Smileys bond at $100,000. They both remained in custody Monday afternoon.
Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies will distribute groceries for holiday meals on Dec. 20 in Sheridan and Dec. 22 in Gillette. The food bank also distributed meals in Casper before Thanksgiving.

A grant from WYO Coal and Powder River Energy Corporation will pay for groceries to prepare holiday dinners for 300 families in need in Sheridan. Holiday meal boxes will be distributed from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at 1095 E. Brundage Lane, on a first come, first served basis. Fresh fruits and vegetables will be available.

In Gillette, the organization has partnered with Council of Community Services and I:61 Community Church to hold a holiday meal box distribution from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 22 at the Central Pavilion in the Cam-plex. These meal boxes will also be distributed on a first come, first served basis, with fresh fruits and vegetables available. Another grant from the WYO Coal and Powder River Energy Corporation plans to cover 600 families.

Food Bank of the Rockies is seeking financial help from the Sheridan and Gillette communities to go toward the purchase of hams, turkeys, or roasts for the dinners. Meat donations can be dropped off from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Powder River Energy Corporation in Sheridan, or from 9 to 11 a.m. on Dec. 22 at the Central Pavilion in the Cam-plex, before the start of the distribution.

Anyone interested in donating can call Ashley Nickolai at Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies at 307-265-2172.
President-elect Donald Trump has asked Montanas lone congressman, Ryan Zinke, to be interior secretary, per the news website Politico.

Zinke met with Trump on Monday in New York City. He was reportedly in the mix for one of a handful of Cabinet positions that include the departments of the Interior and Veterans Affairs.

Zinke, a Republican, was flying back to Whitefish, Montana, on Tuesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said he was pleased Trump had chosen a Westerner.

The Department of Interior has a significant impact on our state, and Im glad (Trump) has selected a Montanan, Daines said.

Three Wyomingites were discussed as possible candidates for the job. U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis said last week that she had an hour-long interview with Trump. Jackson investor Bob Grady was also said to be a contender. Gov. Matt Meads names was floated, but he told the Star-Tribune last week that he wasnt interested in moving his family to Washington.

On Monday, the Trump transition team communications director, Jason Miller, described Zinke as an early Trump supporter and mentioned the congressmans 22 years as a Navy SEAL and experience as a former state legislator.

Congressman Zinke is a strong advocate for American energy independence. And he supports an all-encompassing energy policy that includes renewables, fossil fuels and alternative energy, Miller said. Additionally, Congressman Zinke believes we need to find a way to cut through bureaucracy to ensure our nations parks, forests, and other public areas are properly maintained and used effectively.

Zinke is a member of the House Natural Resources Committee.

The congressman recently said he was considering challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. By accepting President-elect Trumps offer, Zinke would put the Montana GOP in search mode for a 2018 Senate candidate.

Zinke, a Republican, won a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives in November, defeating Democratic challenger Denise Juneau, the current Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction.

If Zinke becomes Interior secretary, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock would appoint a replacement congressman from a list of three nominees selected by the Republican Party.

A special election open to candidates from all parties would then follow within 85 to 100 days of Zinkes departure.
RAWLINS  A Wyoming man has pleaded not guilty in connection to the death of his infant child.

Pete Archuleta, 32, on Monday pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, child endangerment, and possession of a controlled substance.

The charges stem from the July 31 death of Archuleta's child. Police were called to a gas station for the report of a baby not breathing.

The infant has been in the care of its mother, Meagan Lubbers, and suffered breathing problems as a result of Lubbers' drug use during her pregnancy. Archuleta told police he found the baby face down on the ground and drove the child to the gas station to get help.

Lubbers pleaded guilty in November to involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death.
REXBURG, Idaho  A wolf that escaped from a drive-thru wildlife tourist attraction in southeastern Idaho has been shot and killed by the owner of the business, Idaho officials said.

Courtney Ferguson, the owner of Yellowstone Bear World near Yellowstone National Park, tracked the wolf through snow and shot it about an hour after it escaped from the facility that also has bears, elk, bison and deer.

Courtney saw the tracks in the snow, tracked the wolf down and shot it, Doug Peterson of Idaho Fish and Game said. He took care of it all by himself and relatively quickly and easily.

Peterson said the wolf was owned by Ferguson so the states hunting rules did not apply to the killing of the wolf.

The wolves we hunt belong to the citizens of Idaho, Peterson said. This particular wolf of Courtneys belonged to him.

All the animals at the facility that is now closed for the winter were born and raised there, the company said.

Yellowstone National Park has drawn a record of more than 4 million visitors this year, many hoping to spot wolves and grizzly bears in the wild. Fergusons wildlife park sits on one of the major routes into the park, with a selling point that visitors can see the animals up close.

Its a different setting than the park but they do get to see what those animals look like, said Jim White, regional supervisor for Idaho Fish and Game.

Yellowstone Bear World operates with a license issued by the Idaho Department of Agriculture and its animals are permitted by Idaho Fish and Game.

White called the escape of the wolf an unusual, isolated incident.

Ferguson did not immediately respond Tuesday to telephone and email messages seeking comment.
The very first scene of-- African natives viewing an airplane -- a new documentary about the bush people of Namibia, may have us elders recalling a very popular, though to my mind rather heavy-handed and condescending movie called, which detailed a Bushman's interface with modernity in a highly comic manner. This new movie, while having its funny moments, is much more even-handed (the earlier film was a narrative, in any case), as it shows us a bush tribe undergoing some change and adaptation to the world of today.As co-written (with) and directed by Simon Stadler (the latter shown at right) -- this is a first film for each of them -- the movie makes up in simplicity, honesty and feeling what it may lack in slick professionalism. It captures the character -- individually and as a group -- of this unusual Ju'Hoansi tribe in ways that range from funny and charming to quietly compelling. The movie also makes its points without condescension -- to both those natives and the western world with which they must increasingly interact.Initially, it's the western world that comes to them. "The first time we saw the white man, we thought it was a ghost," one of them explains (hence the movie's title), and even when the tribe gets to know the western world and its discontents, it still remains unconvinced. "Sometimes white people are crazy," one explains. "They want too much and work too much, and it seems they never sleep. Amen.Seeing a homeless man begging in a German city, "It seems white people can also be poor." Still, the tribe is indeed learning the ropes of "civilization." As one of them notes, "We have to work with the tourists to survive." First the whites and their crew get to know the natives (and so, of course, do we) and then they take them on a kind of "field trip" to the modern world. Seeing the tribe and its first experiece in a supermarket is as much of a wonder to us as the supermarket is to them.Perhaps the most interesting part of the film takes our tribe into the world of another African tribe, the Himbas (that's a Himba woman, above), and the interplay is fascinating. Then the opportunity arises for four of the natives to take an extended trip to Germany where they will mix and even "teach." From being up in that airplane they watched at the film's beginning to taking a trip in the subway ("We are under the earth!"), the four tribe members take in our modern world in wonder but with irony and intelligence. And yes, they do teach.The update we learn in the end credits is both helpful and sad. One wishes to know why certain events occurred. In fact, there is a lot more we might have learned here. But the filmmakers obviously preferred to simply watch and listen, rather than do a lot of questioning. Even so, what we see, hear and feel should make budding anthropologists thrill, and folk who love documentaries just happy to have experienced the film.Fromandopens tomorrow, Wednesday, December 14, in New York City for a two-week run at, Elsewhere? Not sure. But you can at least learn more via the film's
Authorities arrested the man believed to have stolen three cars and 30 sets of keys from a Tucson car dealership.

Detectives with the Tucson Vehicle Theft Task Force arrested Ernesto Garcia, a 20-year-old Tucson resident, in connection with the burglary, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which administers the task force, said in a news release Monday.

Police electronically located one of the vehicles reported stolen, a 2008 BMW, at a nearby apartment complex. Detectives found the two other stolen vehicles, a 2012 Ford F250 and a 2008 Dodge Ram, in the area.

Police surveilling the BMW saw Garcia move the vehicle and arrested him. The 30 sets of keys were recovered.

Garcia was charged with one count of burglary in the third degree for the burglary of the car dealership, three counts of theft of means of transportation, and three counts of burglary in the third degree for the vehicles.

Garcia was free on bond for a pending Tucson Police Department auto-theft case involving a firearm and aggravated assault, DPS said.
Tucson police arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with child abuse charges after a 2-year-old girl was found unresponsive in the bathtub Saturday night.

Shortly before 11 p.m., Tucson firefighters called for police to assist with a near-drowning at an apartment, located at 1700 West Prince Road, near Romero Road, according to a Tucson Police Department news release.

Paramedics found an unresponsive girl inside the apartment and immediately transported her to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Officers spoke with the girl's caretaker, identified as Warren Gastelum, who was the boyfriend of the child's mother. He told police that he was alone that night with four kids under the age of eight while his girlfriend was at work, and put the 2-year-old in the bathtub before stepping away for a few minutes. He said that when he returned, she was unresponsive and he called 911, according to the release.

Detectives with the child abuse unit spoke to the girl's doctor, who said that her injuries weren't consistent with drowning or a fall in the bathtub, the release said.

Detectives continued the investigation over the next two days, serving a search warrant, collecting evidence and conducting multiple interviews.

Gastelum was arrested Monday and booked into the Pima County jail in connection with one count of child abuse. He's being held on a $100,000 bond.
PHOENIX  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is set to visit a border crossing in Nogales and inspect the facility with the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Ducey's visit to the Mariposa Port of Entry on Tuesday includes a tour of the facility and a briefing on its new cargo inspection process with Ambassador Roberta Jacobson.

The governor also is set to dedicate a new international welcome center sponsored by the Tucson Chamber of Commerce in Nogales and attend a luncheon with Jacobson and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Director William Brooks.

The governor then plans to travel to Sierra Vista to tour Fort Huachuca.
How to help

Holiday Gifts for Seniors and Veterans

What: The Marshall Home For Men donation drive.

When: Through Saturday, Dec. 31.

The Marshall Home For Men is in need of in-kind donations of hams for Christmas dinner and prime rib for New Years Even for 45 low-income seniors and veterans. Donations of tissue, paper towels, body wash and hygiene items, alcohol prep pads, slippers, bathrobes, coats, long sleeve shirts, beanies, gloves, blankets and bedding for twin size beds are also needed. Donations can be dropped off from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at The Marshall Home for Men, 3314 S. 16th Ave. Cash contributions are also welcome and can be made online at www.marshallhomeformen.org/ or by calling 624-5193.

The Marshall Home For Men is also eligible for the Qualifying Charitable Organizations Tax Credit for 2016. Formerly known as the Working Poor Credit, the QCO has doubled and allows a dollar-for-dollar credit of up to $400 for single or head of households or $800 for married taxpayers filing jointly on 2016 Arizona income taxes. Contributions can be made online at www.marshallhomeformen.org/ by April 17, 2017 to be credited to the 2016 tax year.

Donations can also be mailed to: The Marshall Home For Men, 3314 S. 16th Ave., Tucson, AZ 85713.

What: Catalina Village Wishing Tree for Seniors and Disabled Residents

When: Through Dec. 23.

Catalina Village is seeking donations of new clothing and heavy jackets for men and women (sizes 1XL to 5XL), slippers and socks, toiletries and denture adhesive, microwaveable snack foods, diet soda and gift cards to Walgreens and Walmart for almost 100 seniors and disabled residents. A Wishing Tree detailing residents needs is available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the lobby at 5324 E. First St. To make a donation or for more information, call 327-4010.

What: Armory Park Senior Center Gift Card Drive

When: Through Dec. 21.

Armory Park Senior Centers nonprofit Club One is accepting donations of $10 gift cards to Furrs Fresh Buffet or Golden Corral to provide Christmas dinner for more than 100 low-income seniors. Donations of gift cards or cash can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m Monday through Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Armory Park Senior Center, 220 S. Fifth Ave. For more information, call Jerry Neely at 791-4865.
Calling the measure unconstitutionally punitive, attorneys for Tucson on Monday asked a judge to void the law that allows Attorney General Mark Brnovich to order the communitys revenue sharing withheld if it does not bend to the states will.

Lead attorney Rick Rollman said the legislation, approved earlier this year, amounts to illegal coercion of local officials to abandon measures they adopted in what they believe is the best interests of their residents.

More to the point, Rollman said that violates provisions in the Arizona Constitution that gives charter cities like Tucson and 17 other communities the right to set their own policies and establish their own laws on matters of strictly local concern.

In doing so, the Arizona Constitution intended to allow the charter city residents to elect officials to govern the city free from punitive threats from the legislature and state officials, Rollman wrote in his pleadings to Pima County Superior Court Judge Catherine Woods.

He said that right to govern includes the ability to decide that handguns and assault rifles that are seized or found should be destroyed.

And Rollman said if the law is not voided, it means elected officials are coerced into not supporting an action they believe to be lawful and in the citys best interests simply because the attorney general disagrees with that conclusion.

The city also is filing similar proceedings with the Arizona Supreme Court in a bid to block the lawsuit Brnovich filed last week seeking to deprive Tucson of its approximately $115 million a year in state revenue-sharing dollars.

Aside from seeking to void or limit the scope of the new state law, the lawsuit asks the court to specifically rule that how Tucson disposes of personal property, including guns, is a matter of local concern and as a result, is a lawful exercise of the citys charter authority and not a violation of state law. And Rollman wants the court to order state Treasurer Jeff DeWit to make the citys regular revenue-sharing payments without any withholding.

The fight surrounds a 2013 law that bars law enforcement agencies from destroying operable seized firearms. The statute spells out they must instead be sold.

Despite that, the city continued to follow its 2005 ordinance that says the Police Department shall dispose of such firearm by destroying the firearm.

So earlier this year, Senate President Andy Biggs pushed through a law that allows any legislator to ask the attorney general to investigate whether a city is violating any state law. And if the attorney general agrees, he or she is empowered to direct the treasurer to withhold state funds until the city comes into compliance.

Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, complained to Brnovich about Tucsons gun-destruction regulations. And when Brnovich concluded the ordinance probably violates state law, he asked the Supreme Court to step in and hear arguments  after the city puts up the bond.

Rollman, in his Superior Court lawsuit, said immediate action is necessary to stop Brnovich in his tracks, saying city residents and businesses will suffer irreparable harm unless the judge immediately stops further efforts to strip the city of its revenue-sharing dollars.

He said stripping the funds will result in longer response times for police and fire and the associated increased risk to the health and safety of the citys residents, including the risk of increased crime and property damages.

What also will happen, Rollman told the court, is transit services, including those for the disabled, will be cut, parks and pools will be closed and there will be dramatic reductions in criminal prosecutions.

Rollman most immediately wants the court to set aside the requirement that Tucson post a bond of half of its revenue-sharing funds as a condition of even being able to fight Brnovichs attempt to withhold all of it.

Put simply, Rollman said, the citys current fund balance is only about $51 million, less than the law requires Tucson to put up to fight what Brnovich is trying to do.

The bond is an unconstitutional filing fee, serving as a barrier to the citys access to judicial relief and is intended to prevent the city from presenting its positions and arguments in a special action brought by the attorney general, Rollman said.

Brnovich is arguing that the question of what happens to seized and found weapons is more than a local concern.

In his own legal briefs, he said allowing cities to destroy firearms is contrary to the public interest because it decreases the supply of guns and makes them more expensive.

He also said that allowing guns to be destroyed runs contrary to the Legislatures belief that increasing the supply of legal firearms is in the interest of public safety because it helps fight crime.

The Supreme Court will decide whether the justices will even look at Brnovichs complaint on Jan. 10.
The second in command at the Department of Veterans Affairs says hell hold staffers at the Southern VA Health Care System in Tucson accountable for alleged falsification of patient wait-time records that surfaced in a recent report.

But the broader remedy is to improve scheduling and staffing issues, Deputy Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson said during a visit to the Tucson VA hospital on Monday.

Gibsons visit comes as the Department of Veterans Affairs is still dealing with the fallout of a scandal over dishonest scheduling practices and dangerously long wait times for veterans seeking care, spawned by allegations against the Phoenix VA hospital about two years ago.

The Tucson VA hospital also has been criticized for long patient wait times, and last month a report released by the veterans agencys Office of Inspector General confirmed whistleblower complaints that some employees were prompted to falsify wait-time records in 2013 and 2014.

Citing inconsistencies in scheduling, Gibson said the agency is still looking to improve its scheduling processes and add staffing where needed to avoid long wait times.

Where there has been misconduct, we will hold people accountable for that, Gibson said during a brief news conference.

But he said holding staffers accountable for their misdeeds poses another issue for the VA, whose employees are protected by the federal merit system.

Gibson cited a recent ongoing case where the VA tried to remove a staffer, in which he personally gave four hours of testimony as part of a weeklong appeals hearing in the quasi-judicial process before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.

Gibson said he has read the Inspector Generals report on the Tucson records case and an investigation is ongoing.

He said he has been impressed with the staff and operations at the Tucson VA hospital, even though according to internal VA scoring it ranks relatively low on several key ratings, including mortality of acute-care patients and infections.

Gibson said the Tucson VA hospital is working to correct those problems.

Access has improved here in Tucson during the last two years  improved meaningfully, he said.

He cited an average four-day wait for primary care, six days for specialty care and two to three days for mental-health care, noting that a new 25-bed residential treatment center is scheduled to open at the Tucson VA hospital this spring.

He acknowledged the Tucson facility has had some problems filling certain positions, but noted that the job turnover for registered nurses here is relatively low, about 7 percent.

The VAs most recent monitoring report, called Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) shows a third-quarter 2016 nurse turnover rate here of 7.4 percent, which puts it in the middle of facility ratings.

Overall, the Tucson VA hospital has a rating of two out of a possible five stars, under an internal star rating system based on the publicly available SAIL data, according to data obtained by USA Today, which revealed the non-public star rating system this week. The Phoenix VA hospital carries a rating of one star.

Often wait times are made longer by staffing shortages in specific areas, Gibson said, citing the ongoing need for more radiology and echocardiogram technicians in Tucson.

The Tucson VA hospital has beefed up its primary-care staff, Gibson said, and the hospital has only three open primary-care positions, including one doctor.

Gibson acknowledged the system must improve and that the agency has been under intense scrutiny from Congress.

The VAs leadership has embarked on a dozen system-wide improvement initiatives and has pushed the 146 VA hospitals to share information on best practices like using local providers for gap care when staffing is short, double-scheduling for some routine visits while keeping a few appointment times open each day.

Gibson said he and other VA officials have been meeting with President-elect Donald Trumps transition team, and the team came away impressed with the scope of the agency and the improvement efforts.

This has changed the system as the VA has never done before, he said. Changing a culture doesnt happen overnight.
Browse volunteer opportunities on the Volunteer Center at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizonas website, volunteer.unitedwaytucson.org, click on find needs and search for agency name.

 Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness  The group is tasked by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to count those experiencing homelessness in our community. Community members needed to help assess the homelessness in Pima County through a variety of volunteer opportunities.

 Habitat for Humanity Tucson  Holiday helpers needed. Help build homes right now. We are building homes and need help in various phases of construction. Framers, painters and landscape experts needed.

 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance  Valet VITA interview specialists needed. Volunteers will conduct interviews with families and individuals needing tax preparation. Valet VITA is a tax preparation model intended to reduce wait times at busy VITA sites, ensure that all eligible taxpayers receive service without being turned away.

 Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona  Looking for volunteers to support the Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin-By World workshop for young mothers aged 16-28. In the workshop, the young mothers will examine the causes of poverty as well as create an actionable plan for a more stable future.

 Southern Arizona VA Health Care System  Licensed massage therapists are needed to provide therapeutic massages to veterans in the Community Living Center and outpatient mental health programs at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System. Monday-Friday positions available.
Help India!

By Amjad Suri for TwoCircles.net

The issue of establishing Islamic banking (bank based on Shariah) in India is not new. Various efforts have been made to see it come through by some concerned Indian Muslims and non-Muslims but faced all sorts of challenges and oppositions due to differences in culture and religion, and as a result of lack of awareness about the system.

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Growth

The global Islamic finance industry has been on an upward trajectory, evidenced by a compound annual growth rate of 17% for its assets between 2009 and 2013. The industrys assets were estimated to be worth $1.87 trillion in 2014 from $1.79 trillion in 2013. In many majority Muslim countries, Islamic banking assets have been growing faster than conventional banking assets. There has also been a surge of interest in Islamic finance from non-Muslim countries such as the UK, Luxembourg, South Africa, and Hong Kong.

An estimated $1.5 trillion in capital moves around the Middle East, largely from oil prices. Recently, IMF established an external advisory group, comprised of standard setters for Islamic finance and leading international experts, to assist in identifying policy issues to enhance coordination with difference stakeholders in Islamic finance.In July 2015, the World Bank and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help foster the development of Islamic finance globally and expand its use as an effective tool for financing development worldwide, including in non-Muslim countries. Many Middle Eastern investors are eager to capitalize on Indias growth story. Regulatory challenges and the governments unfocused approach to Islamic finance is working against Indias potential in becoming a leading investment destination for Middle East investors.

Islamic finance contracts

The Islamic finance industry has developed a wide range of shariah-compliant financial products. Ijarah (Islamic leasing) is a contract of exchange which is popular due to its similarity to a conventional lease. Ijara contracts are used in project finance as well as in Islamic bonds.Murabaha (cost plus profit) is a contract of exchange based on sale-and-purchase contracts with a predetermined cost and profit. These contracts are used extensively in car and infrastructure financing. Manufacturing based financing uses istisna contracts whereby the funding party agrees to deliver a commodity or an asset at a pre-determined future time at an agreed pre-determined future time at an agreed price. Similarly, mudarabah (profit and loss) contracts is a contract of participation, a partnership where capital is provided, in cash or assets (no debt is accepted) by one party  the fund provider.

Regulatory challenges

The Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reform (2008) also considered interest-free banking specifically for India. With all these challenges and oppositions, a careful consideration of the Indian banking law impedes the formation of Islamic banking with the Banking regulation act (1949) bars banks on a profit and loss basis(5b) , forbids murabaha, or, the buying, selling, or barter of goods (8), impedes ijara, or, bars the holding of immovable property for a period greater than seven years (9), and requires the payment of interest (21).

However, Islamic banking in India is feasible within the ambit of the Indian banking regulations act(1949) due to the fact that it has been generally accepted the world all over that there is need for a re  thinking in the operations of the current financial system that led to the current global financial crisis. The stigma of association Islamic banking with sharia principles and terror financing is discarded on the basis that devastating effect of the global financial crisis on the giant financial institutions all over, Islamic banking system was marginally or not affected. Despite these challenges, Islamic banking will make headway if and only if it can address these challenges objectively.

RBI committee headed by Deepak Mohanty recommends that commercial banks in India may be enabled to open specialised interest-free windows with simple products like demand deposits, agency and participation securities on their liability side and to offer products based on cost-plus financing and deferred payment, deferred delivery contracts on the asset side.The committee has also recommended that in the event that interest-free banking is allowed in India, the extant regulatory guidelines in respect of capital and liquidity as applicable in the case of commercial banks would have to be made applicable to those as well (Ch. 5: Interest free banking, p.40).

The way ahead

Furthermore, while the global financial crisis wreak havoc on financial institutions around the globe, the Islamic banking system increased in their reserves as well as attracting new clients. Islamic finance is considered to be the main alternative source of finance and in principle actual model is related with private equity investments in conventional finance.

The regulatory challenges that may likely prohibit the successful establishment and management of Islamic banking in India and will be hindered by the current regulatory framework that supports conventional banking. This is because the current banking regulations (1949) is structure in the line of conventional financial system which is against Islamic banking. The step forward is for Reserve Bank of India is to either modify the existing framework banking regulations (1949) or introduce special framework for Islamic banking in order to provide adequate support for the establishment and operation of Islamic banking in India. The Reserve Bank of India had in February this year also sent a copy of the inter-departmental group to the Finance Ministry. The RBI technical analysis report said that work on formulating suitability and appropriate criteria for Islamic products in addition to what would be determined under Sharia.

In its annual report for 2015-16, the Reserve Bank had said that some sections of Indian society have remained financially excluded for religious reasons that preclude them from using banking products with an element of interest.

Towards mainstreaming these excluded sections, it is proposed to explore the modalities of introducing interest- free banking products in the country in consultation with the government, mentioned the report.

Challenges to Islamic banking can be addressed only through the help of Reserve Bank of India, religious bodies, and Islamic banking institutions by creating adequate awareness about the needs, objectives and the advantages of the institutions. Majority Muslims only know that Islamic banking is based on non-interest basis, while the majority of the followers of other faiths have little or no knowledge about it at all. This is a serious setback to Islamic banking in India thereby leading to unnecessary oppositions and lack of public acceptance. The Reserve Bank of India is really doing great in this aspect but still needs to carry it to the grassroot level, and any potential Islamic banking in islamic should also assist in creating awareness to enhance public acceptance of the institution. Islamic banking can survive in India by increasing its efficiency and performance.

The writer is a doctoral researcher on financial literacy based in the UAE
Help India!

By Twocircles.net Staff Reporter

The Sudheer Commission on `Socio-economic and educational conditions of Muslims in Telangana, Indias newest state, has shown that the condition of Muslims in the state needs a lot of improvement, and recommended a maximum reservation of upto 12% and a minimum of 9% for vulnerable sections among Muslims in government jobs and professional educational institutions to address the same.

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Telangana has 12.68% Muslims (44.64 lakh). The highest population is registered at Bahadurpura Mandal in Hyderabad district, which has around 3.76 lakh Muslims. Other Mandals with over one lakh Muslim population are Asifnagar, Bandlaguda, Charminar, Saidabad, Golconda, Rajendranagar and Nizamabad. Except Nizamabad Mandal. It is important to point out that although Muslims are spread out in all the 10 districts of Telangana, over half of them are concentrated in the two districts namely of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy.

The commission, headed by former IAS officer G Sudheer, was appointed on March 3, 2015. It submitted its recommendations to the state government in August this year. The government on Saturday made the report public, and the full report can be accessed here.

The Commission analysed various studies that used Government data to show how Muslims have been left behind because the reservation policy has not included them.

Evidence from NSSO data shows that although Hindu OBCs started off marginally lower than the average citizen in 1999, they are almost on par with the upper castes now. However, Muslims who were on par with OBCs then have fallen way behindbetween 1999 and 2011, the least change in per capita incomes was seen among the Muslims. This is half the rate for SCs and STs and OBCs, the report says.

Educational levels

The report points out that the STs and Muslims top the list of large populations that have never attended any school. STs (17%) and Muslims with (16%) have never attended any educational institution. In the age groups of 18-20 years and 21-29 years, 7% and 9% of Muslims fall under the never attended category. The States literacy rate is lagging behind the national average.(the) dropout ratio is very high among Muslims and when it comes to higher education, Muslim proportions are abysmally smalldata collected from the Universities in Telangana shows a really low number of Muslim students across all courses, the report says.

Women

There is a huge gender disparity in education across all Socio Religious Categories (SRCs), the report points out, but gender disparity among Muslims is lower than among Hindus. Among Muslims, the drop-out rates for women are high within these two age groups 21-29 and 18-20 (71.5% and 52.8% respectively). But, the contrast is noticed that while male drop-out ratio outnumbers the female drop-out ratio in the age group of 21-29 years, the opposite happens in the age group of 18-20 years where female dropout ratio is greater than male drop-out ratio. In the age group of 21-29 years, the Muslims women top the list with 85.2 % of dropout ratio, followed by other minorities (82.3%). Muslim women drop out from educational institutions on a large scale. A majority of rural Muslim women are engaged in tailoring activities. Muslim female populations are engaged in craft and related trade, agriculture and fishery, etc. In the urban areas also craft and related trade works dominate the occupations for Muslim females. Very few of the female workforce are engaged as professionals and technicians. Access to housing, health facilities, to secondary and high schools and to institutions of higher learning are what Muslim women almost unanimously demand, the report says.

One positive in the report was that the health outcomes among Muslim children are definitely better than other Socio religious groups. This is primarily because of the better treatment of the girl child which means lower Infant Mortality Rates, lower Maternal Mortality Rates and better nutritional levels. However these early advantages get dissipated when adult health is analyzed.

This is on account of poor access to health facilities, poverty and slum like conditions of living.

As a result of these factors, anaemia among pregnant women is higher among Muslims (66 per cent) as compared to Hindus (62 per cent), Christians (49.6 per cent) respectively. The study found that Muslim women are more aware of family planning practices and contraception methods than others. Among children the level of wasting, stunting and malnutrition are lower among Muslims. Muslims prefer Government hospitals over private healthcare providers. Muslim males suffer more from high sugar conditions than other SRCs. It is in housing however where Muslims suffer the most. A large percentage (43%) lives in rented accommodation. There is a strong feeling of discrimination in the housing market and this is one policy aspect that needs to be looked at closely.

Employment and economic conditions

Work participation of urban male is lowest among Muslims as compared to all Hindus and other Minorities in urban Telangana, the report says. This is due to lowest participation rate among Muslim upper caste population. It is only 64% among Muslim upper caste. The female work participation is only 8 percent among Muslims, lowest among SRCs in urban areas. More than one third of female are participating in economic activity among SCs, STs and other Minorities, the report added.

While 61% of all Hindus work as regularly employed, 26.5% of the Muslim households members work as casual labour in the non-agriculture sector. 26.4% and 26.8% of the Muslim BCs and Muslim others respectively are casual workers. The proportion of male workers working in the public sector is lowest among all Muslims both in rural and urban areas. Only 19.2% of the Muslims are regular salaried and 16.4% of the Muslim workers are self-employed in non-agricultural activities.

Our survey shows that 40.6% of the Muslim households have no savings at all and this figure is far lower than any other group. The average asset value of a Muslim household (Rs 5479) in bank is relatively less than that of the Hindu (Rs 9937) at both state and all India levels. Loan amounts from the money lenders (agricultural and professional) are very high for the Muslims in Telangana in comparison to the National average. Muslim households in the state even when compared to Muslims in other states, receive relatively lesser amount of loan from institutional sources (banks, cooperatives, SHGs) and higher amount from noninstitutional sources (moneylender  agricultural & professional), the report said.

Key recommendations

The following are some of the recommendations that the committee believes must be done on an immediate basis:

1. Telangana state should be the first to appoint an Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) to oversee recruitment and training and other developmental programmes. This Commission will ensure that all communities in the state have equal opportunities in all fields, both in the private and the public sector. The Commission would be an independent body that would look into any possibility of bias or prejudice against any group, be it social, religious, caste, linguistic or any other. The Commission recommends that the EOC should cover all levels of education, employment, housing, healthcare and access to development schemes; all other issues and provide remedies. This will address the feeling that exists, of being discriminated in the credit, housing and the education markets, etc.

2. The Government should implement the diversity index already suggested by Sachar Committee (2006) and Kundu Committee (2014). The Telangana Government should be the first to set up a Committee to suggest how best the diversity index can be implemented. Any institution within the state would be evaluated for its diversity and given a ranking according to the diversity its human resource composition displays. The Commission recommends that the Diversity index should cover all institutions and establishments within the state. The Diversity index works in a secular fashion giving all vulnerable groups an assurance that their representation in various spheres will eventually be proportional to their population fi gures, without disturbing any existing scheme. Affi rmative actions have helped disadvantaged sections to develop fast and have contributed to greater diversity in the various institutions, places of work, etc.

3. Certain Muslim communities like Mehtar should be included in the Scheduled Castes (SCs) list and can be given reservation under the SC status. These communities continue to do work that is done by their SC Hindu counterparts and continue to be acutely discriminated in the society.

4. Urdu-medium schools are badly staffed. The quality of teaching is poor. Students in Urdu schools should be given the option of learning English as a language paper. This way a growing number of students who switch their medium of instruction at the high school level will not face severe problems they face today. A quick step that the Government can take is to fi ll all vacancies for Urdu language teachers and take steps to appoint Urdu teachers where posts are lying vacant on account of the inability to find teachers among the SC/ST category. These posts should then be filled through increasing numbers among teachers in other subjects.

5. The data gathered by the Commission shows that among the criteria the Indra Sawhney case looks at, Muslims are below the state average in many of them and are socially and educationally backward and severely deprived. Therefore, Government may provide reservation to them. Given that more than 81 per cent of the Muslim population is already categorized as backward, there may be an increase in the reservation percentage to 12 percent or a minimum of 9 per cent based on their social and educational backwardness and deprivation. The Government can do this quickly as about four fifths of the Muslim populations already have been placed in the BC-A, BC-B and BC-E categories.

6. Recognise madrasas as schools by inducting them into the mainstream school systems without interference in their core syllabi in collaboration with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan on a voluntary basis. A Madarsa Board could be set up. Mid-day meals schemes must be rigorously implemented and monitored. Mid-day meals must be provided to all students, whether in recognized or non-recognised schools, mainstream or community institutions.
Nostradamus, who has been dead since 1566, supposedly predicted the presidency of Donald Trump, which didnt happen until just last week (meaning hes reliable), and now it has been revealed that he predicted a World War to break out sometime in 2016 or 2017, led by trump. If this prediction is to be believed, it will likely be in 2017 as opposed to 2016, as Trump isnt inaugurated until January.

Nostradamus was a famed seer in 16th century France. Seers are people who claim to have a supernatural insight, kind of a third eye that can see into the future, and they tell people their predictions, and theyre mostly ignored until five hundred years later they come true.

He is known for having also correctly predicted the Great Fire of London, the rise of Napoleon, the rise of Hitler, and the fall of the World Trade Center (in not so many words, but he sure predicted them).

Nostradamus predicts Trump will order a military operation

As reported by The Inquistr, Nostradamus prediction was that there is going to be a military operation ordered, which suggests new commander-in-chief Donald Trump as he now has the authority to order military operations, not to mention his aggressive campaign speeches suggested that if elected, which surprisingly he has been, he would be ordering many a military operation.

Nostradamus followers believe WWIII will be a nuclear war

Followers of Nostradamus believe that, based on this prediction, Trump will lead America and later the rest of the world into an all-out nuclear war, which will be World War II.

They also say that Nostradamus predicted the outcome of the election, even when no one living today could and we all thought Hillary would win. They believe that Donald Trump was the great, shameless, audacious brawler who would be elected governor of the army predicted by Nostradamus.

The Nostradamus World War III prediction was worded as follows: The false trumpet concealing madness will cause Byzantium to change its laws.

From Egypt, there will go forth a man who wants the edict withdrawn, changing money and standards. Along with the word Trump being in the world trumpet, there are many other mentions of the potential effects of a Trump presidency in this prediction: changing money could refer to the downfall of the economy that many believe will happen with Trump in the White House, and concealing madness could refer to how Trump manipulated working-class voters into supporting him without seeing him as the megalomaniac he is.

Nostradamus also predicted Hillarys involvement

Other elements of the 2016 Presidential election appear in Nostradamus prediction, with one part claiming women will attack Trump, which they did during his campaign when he was accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment, as well as mention of a masculine woman who will exert herself to the north (Hillary).

Whether or not Nostradamus prediction of a World War III caused by Donald Trump is true will come to light in January when he becomes leader of the free world, but lets hope its not.
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The South Inda city Chennai is on high alert as cyclone 'Vardah' which is blowing at 100 Kmph is expected to make a landfall on the shores of the city on December 12, 2016, Monday evening. According to experts, the coasts of North Tamil Nadu and South Andhra are likely to be most affected due to this cyclone.

S Balachandran, the Director in Charge of Area Cyclone Warning Centre, Chennai told that torrential rains would happen in and around Chennai on Monday, and it will create heavy showers even in the northern districts of Chennai, Tiruvallurn and Kanchipuram.

Rains measuring more than 20 cms are expected.

Experts believe that during the landfall on December 12, 2016, places like Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Puducherry will witness heavy rain, and after the cyclone crosses, showers will happen in Vellore and Dharmapuri.

Chennai on high alert

O Panneerselvam, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, conducted an urgent meeting yesterday, and after the discussion, the Government has sanctioned holiday for all schools and professional colleges in the above cities and some other districts close to the affected areas.

@IMD_Weather BREAKING WEATHER: All East Coasts of India Get Ready for Action Packed Super Cyclone #VARDAH

TN, PDC, AP, ODISHA & WB pic.twitter.com/8jSwndULSY  (((I'md Weather))) (@IMD_Weather) December 2, 2016

The Government has also asked private organisations and IT companies to give their employees an opportunity to work from home on Monday.

The State Government has also made necessary measures to combat the situation, and a battalion of National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the city.

ALERT: Cyclone landfall may happen during 12 Noon to 5 pm as per current forecast #Vardah #Chennai. Very heavy rain with wind to lash us.  Chennai Weather (@chennaiweather) December 12, 2016

Watch Sun News live updates on Cyclone Vardah

The Indian Air Force base located in Tambaram has also been asked to stay on high alert, as the cyclone is pretty deadly in nature.

The IAF group Captain Ravinder Singh told that his boys are ready to meet any contingencies which may arise due to cyclone Vardah.

#Vardah Cyclone Helpline Numbers: 044- 2561 9206, 2561 9511, 2538 4965, 2538 3694, 044-2536 7823, 2538 7570 #CycloneVardah  Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) December 11, 2016

S Thampi, the Deputy General of Meteorology said that the seas would be very rough on December 12, and he has warned fishermen to stay away from the sea at any cost.

AAj Tak live updates:

On the other hand, N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra met with scientists in ISRO and had discussed the course of the cyclone in the state.
The US Secretary of State shall establish a "Center for Information Analysis and Response", in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to counter foreign propaganda directed not only to the US but even to US allies and partners: it will aim also a coordination with the Nato and with detailed European task forces.

The "Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act" providing it, firstly introduced by the Congressmen Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Chris Murphy in March, was passed by the Senate on Thursday the 8th of December.

The goal is to point ou the sources of disinformation, to analyse the data and mainly to "develop and disseminate fact-based narratives". Grants are provided by the Center to organisations, journalists, institutions which achieve these purposes. Zerohedges.com called it a "de facto Ministry of Truth".

Russian covered actions

In fact, US law 50 U.S. Code 3093 (f) forbids the government to conduct any covered action "intended to influence United States political process, public opinion, policies, or media".

For respect to this, the question posed by the Senators is what to do if foreign governments plan to affect internal public opinion, as it could happen using the worldwide web. It's no longer an abstract issue: apparently, foreign influences have intervened in the last electoral campaign, fought between Mrs Hillary Clinton and Mr Donald Trump, who was elected president.

Rumours supposed the Fbi was induced, ten days before the vote, to re-open an investigation on Mrs Clinton emails because of the fears for new revelations about these (in part already disclosed by Wikileaks). If new bolts from the blue have happened, the Fbi could be charged with hiding the trouble, with effects also for Mrs Clinton's campaign.

Then, it decided to publicise new investigations, influencing even so public opinion. Cia claims, a few days ago, confirmed the interference of Russian hackers in the presidential campaign, even if the president-elect Trump branded it as "ridiculous".

The #Pizzagate and the misleading interpretation

However, beyond the problem of transparency and the leaks, another big issue on sensitive emails is displayed by "pizzagate conspiracy" as NYT named it on the 10th of December.

The misleading interpretation of some Clinton's chairman's John Podesta's emails (revealed by Wikileaks) was spread by social media. A text speaking of cooking was connected to paedophilia. Someone suggested the phrase "cheese pizza" is a code for "child pornography": the deconstructive interpretation had success. An armed North Carolina was pressed to investigate the condition of a Pizza Place on Sunday the 4th of December.

The emails were real, as their texts, which haven't been altered. The interpretation vitiated by a circular reasoning was hardly convincing if face up to a rational analysis. But, most of the times, audience's emotional appeals overlay rationality, as stated by various researchers in a Nov.

9 meeting at the Pentagon.

The problem is so perceived that the Senate passed the bill against propaganda and disinformation by a tally of 92-7. It's an open query if the government's intervention is a good choice. Mr Michael Lumpkin, who lead interagency entity "Global Engagement Center" (established in March), which coordinates counterterrorism messaging, told website "Defense One" that some organisations, although have a good message, could be not "the most credible messengers to deliver it". The right solution is a networked approach guessed Mr Lumpkin. As a conclusion, the government should increase his networks, not fight against the desires of transparency or the phantoms of misreading.
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Altigen Recognized for its Microsoft and UC Services

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By Michael Guta

Contributing Writer By Michael GutaContributing Writer

The evolution of networking and computing technologies is allowing service providers in the ICT sector to completely eliminate or dramatically reduce propriety hardware-based services. Not being limited with the restrictions of on premises deployments has increased the scalability and flexibility service providers are able to deliver. AltiGen Communications is one of the companies that has developed an all software IP PBX and contact center solution, along with the integration of software communications solutions with Microsoft (News - Alert) Skype for Business and Office 365 in its unified communications or UC Cloud platform.





For these and other innovations, The Silicon Review, an online and print community for business and technology professionals, has just named AltiGen (News - Alert) in its 30 Fastest Growing Microsoft Solution Providers for the fully managed unified communications services it provides.

In recognizing the company, Silicon Review said, AltiGen has evolved to become a complete cloud communications solutions provider. By integrating its IP PBX and contact center solutions with Microsoft's Skype (News - Alert) for Business and Office 365, AltiGen is now able to uniquely deliver a comprehensive suite of enterprise-class unified communications solutions as a fully managed cloud service.

The approach AltiGen and has taken in order to address the highly competitive Unified Communications (News - Alert) as a Service (UCaaS) segment is by leveraging the full capabilities of Microsoft's Skype for Business and Office 365 Cloud PBX to provide a comprehensive and integrated solution for its clients. Silicon Review highlighted the AltiGen's Hosted Skype for Business, MaxACD Cloud Contact Center, Enterprise Cloud PBX (News - Alert), and MaxUC Cloud solutions to deliver value and simplified integration.

Our all-software solution offers businesses the flexibility to deploy on-premises, in the Cloud, or in a hybrid environment, said Jeremiah Fleming, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of AltiGen.

When it was originally founded in 1994, AltiGen's objective was to design, develop and distribute PBX telephone systems for the SMB market while at the same time manufacturing purpose-built computer servers, computer telephony boards for voice processing and telephone handsets to support the operation of its core IP PBX software. However, developments in networking and computing technologies has led the company to migrate to all software IP PBX contact center solutions, supporting enterprises such as Avis Budget, Fiserv and Dollar General along SMBs.

The cloud deployment of its technology lets Altigen deliver hosted PBX and contact center services with Skype for Business and Office 365 to companies with thousands, or as few as 10 employees.

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Edited by Alicia Young
The customer is always wrong if she's black in an Alabama Victoria's Secret store. A VS manager kicked several African-American women out of the store after a black woman, unknown to them, was found shoplifting. No white shoppers were asked to leave. Kimberly Houzah, 27, filmed and posted the racist clerk booting her out. That viral video got the bigoted manager booted from her job.

Black Victoria's Secret shopper humiliated

At the Quintard Mall in Oxford, Alabama, a VS manager named "Faith" singled out the only women of color to eject from the store after an unrelated shoplifting incident.

Houzah, a nurse, videotaped the Dec. 7 exchange. She explained that she and another African-American woman were asked to leave even though the manager had no reason to suspect them. "Faith" didn't check their bags or accuse them of anything. She just told the women who also weren't together that "I need ya'll to leave." Houzah says the manager couldn't say why they had to go. None of the dozen or so white shoppers were accosted or made to leave. Color was the only common denominator. The young shopper is visibly hurt. The other shopper, an older woman is shown trying to calmly reason with the clerk. The frantic employee gives no answers and gets more heated and rude.

Victoria's Secret racist?

The head clerk found herself on the other end of the boot after summarily removing the innocent Christmas shoppers. Houzah uploaded her video to social media and Youtube where the video got over a million views in a short time. When word reached victoria's secret headquarters, the lingerie store apologized all over itself.

A spokesperson said that this behavior in no way reflects VS policy or business ethic. They posted an apology on Facebook. VS made a show of welcoming Houzah back to the store when she returned on Dec. 8. She says she never meant to get anyone in trouble. The young woman was just so shocked by the incident that she wanted to warn others. Is the lingerie chain racist? There are few black VS models shown in ads. VS is prejudiced against big women, as plus-sized model Ashley Graham is finding out.
WASHINGTON - Americans doing business with China expressed concerns over the US President-elect Donald Trump's recent remarks on Taiwan, fearing they might lead to a souring China-US relations and be detrimental to trade, media reports said on Monday.

The sources who didn't want to be named stressed the importance of the ties between the United States and China, the biggest developing economy with colossal market potential.

They noted that they were unsettled by any suggestion of abandoning the one-China policy, which they said had served the business community well for several decades.

According to them, China is not only a critical source of revenue and profits for the United States, but also a vital link in global supply chains.

More than 30 US states have over $1 billion in exports to China and there is over $500 billion in commercial engagements by US companies in China, they said.

On "Fox News Sunday," Trump said he does not feel "bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."

The inappropriate rhetoric came just days after Trump had a phone call with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen, breaking decades of US diplomatic policy.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang noted on Monday at a daily press briefing that China is "gravely concerned" about Trump's latest remarks. He cautioned that the Taiwan issue, concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, involves China's core interest.
After US president-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Chinese experts are discussing whether Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, also known as FTAAP, would be a potential area for China and the United States to cooperate in the future.

"Only when China and US agree on the future global economic rules and jointly promote the establishment of the FTAAP will it be possible for the Asia-Pacific to achieve the goal of global economic growth," Wang Huiyao, director of the Center for China Globalization center, said during a recent forum.

FTAAP first made its appearance in 2006 at APEC summit in Hanoi. It devotes to creating a free trade zone that will considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region. At the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing, APEC leaders agreed to launch "a collective strategic study" on the FTAAP.

It is also the first regional free trade agreement that includes both China and US, which will boost the development of economy not only within Asia-Pacific, but also on a global scale.

According to a report released by the center, whether US and China, as the world's first and second largest economy entities, will cooperate in the field of global economy and trade can directly determine if the world economy is turning to a more open and more integrated future, or isolationism. Thus, the lack of the participation of both China and US in any Asia-Pacific free trade agreement may not be as efficient for the growth of economy.

The absence of the US makes TPP no longer have the potential of being "21st century trading rules". Although the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, known as RCEP, would probably become a preferred free trade area in the Asia-Pacific in short term, it might not be able to replace TPP, the report said.

"Even Trump who strongly opposed the TPP hasn't said anything negative about FTAAP yet," Wang said. "If it's really good for US's economy, I can't see why Trump will not have a second thought."
The legislature in the Canadian province of Ontario is considering designating Dec 13 as Nanjing Massacre Remembrance Day.

Bill 79, the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day Act, passed a second reading last Thursday in the Ontario Legislature. The bill received a unanimous voice vote from all three parties and will now be referred to the standing committee of justice policy.

The act would be the first legislation across North America or Europe that commemorates the Nanjing Massacre. As a private members' public bill introduced by members who are not ministers, it needs to pass the first reading, second reading, committee, report to the House, third reading and royal assent before coming into force.

If passed, Dec 13 will be designated Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day in Ontario.

"It's about a day to remember, to honor the victims and families affected by the Nanjing Massacre, to make sure this history cannot be repeated itself," said Soo Wong, member of provincial parliament who led the motion. "It is also to make sure Ontarians, especially the 2.6 million Asian Ontarians, are familiar with the history."

Wong said that most Ontarians are quite familiar with World War II in Europe, but few, especially among the youth of Asian heritage, are familiar with the war's history in Asia.

"We hope to provide the education through establishing Nanjing Massacre Remembrance Day," Wong said.

As one of the most diverse provinces in Canada, Ontario is recognized as an inclusive society. Ontario is also the home of one of the largest Asian populations in Canada. Some current Ontarians have direct relationships with victims and survivors of the Nanjing Massacre.

"I have been a supporter of the efforts made over the years to improve the awareness in Canada," said Bob Rae, member of the House of Commons. "World War II was a world war, it involved Europe and Asia. We Canadians need to bring understanding and awareness of the tragedy that took place in Asia."

"In 2007, when the former New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Olivia Chow made a motion in Ottawa to urge the Japanese government not to deny history and to apologize for 'comfort women 'victims, [Japanese factions] lobbied MPs in Ottawa. But the bill was passed by all the MPs in the end," said Joseph Wong, founder of ALPHA Education, an educational organization that promotes investigation of the events of World War II in Asia.

"It will always be controversial," said Rae. "We shouldn't be afraid of it. We have to do everything we can to promote awareness and understanding of what took place."

"An Ontario calendar day to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre will bring well-deserved attention to this poorly known historical event and in doing so, serve the interests of all Ontarians," said author Erna Paris, a member of the Order of Canada.

On Dec 13, 1937, Japanese Imperial forces invaded the Chinese city of Nanjing, initiating a six-week-long massacre that has become infamous among historians as one of the most horrific atrocities of modern history. The death toll reached 300,000.

Those who survived continued to suffer psychologically and physically.

renali@chinadailyusa.com
As the excitement from Trumps phone conversation with Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen wears off, the Taiwanese are beginning to become apprehensive that the island risks becoming a pawn in a wider game between the two superpower nations.

On Sunday, President-elect Trump suggested that US support for the renegade province was negotiable and the one China policy that has governed relations between the three governments for decades could be a source of leverage to force concessions from China on other issues.

Leader of the Chung Hua 21th Century Think Tank in Taipei said, Being the lever isnt a good place for Taiwan. China cant make a hasty move on the US or Donald Trump, but China can easily make a move on Taiwan, so if China is going to lean, which side are they going to lean on? Of course they will lean on Taiwan.

China has reportedly stepped up air patrols around Taiwan and the wider region, and Chinese military aircraft circled the international airspace surrounding Taiwan, prompting Japans military to scramble fighter jets over an alleged trespass on Saturday.

Last week, China flew nuclear-capable bombers over its claims in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. On Tuesday, the Taipei Times read: Although all parties maintained their cool and avoided a clash, a war of nerves in the Asia-Pacific region is under way,

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that President Barack Obama doesnt view the US relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip, and said that agreements on climate change and North Korea could prove to be more difficult if there is a change in that policy.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Trump suggested that his administration would not be constrained by the one China policy. I fully understand the one China policy, but I dont know why we have to be bound by a one China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade, he said. Trump went on to comment that the US has been hurt very badly by China with devaluation, with heavy taxation at the borders when they are not taxed by the US, with building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea, and with not helping the US with North Korea. So does the Trump administration intend to use Taiwan as a bargaining chip?
According to two senior officials on Thursday, the Trump administration told four top State Department management officials that their services were no longer needed as part of an effort to clean house at the White House.

Sources reported that Patrick Kennedy, who served for nine years as the undersecretary for management, Assistant Secretaries for Administration and Consular Affairs Joyce Anne Barr and Michele Bond, and Ambassador Gentry Smith, director of the Office for Foreign Missions, were sent letters by the White House that their service was no longer required. All four career officers, who were serving in positions appointed by the President, submitted letters of resignation per tradition at the beginning of a new administration.

The letters from the White House said that their resignations were accepted and they were thanked for their service. However, the White House usually asks career officials in such positions to remain for a few months until their successors are confirmed.

Any implication that that these four people quit is wrong, one senior State Department official said. These people are loyal to the secretary, the President and to the State Department. There is just not any attempt here to dis the President. People are not quitting and running away in disgust. This is the White House cleaning house.

JUST IN: The Trump administration has asked 4 top State Department management officials to leave, officials say https://t.co/PUnyJnWJB1  CNN (@CNN) January 26, 2017

These positions are political appointments, and require the President to nominate and the Senate to confirm them in these roles. They are not career appointments but of limited term, said the State Departments acting spokesman, Mark Toner.

He continued, Of the officers whose resignations were accepted, some will continue in the Foreign Service in other positions, and others will retire by choice or because they have exceeded the time limits of their grade in service.

There is now a huge management hole at the State Department, with a combined 150 years of institutional experience among all of the named officials. Victoria Nuland, the State Departments assistant secretary for Europe, left on her own.

The department will not collapse, said one official. Everyone has good deputies. Its a huge institutional loss, but the department has excellent subordinates and the career people will step up. They will take up the responsibility.

In her parting letter, Bond told her colleagues, It has been an honor to serve with you as the Assistant Secretary for the past 17 months, and to have represented the United States as a Foreign Service officer for 40 years. What a privilege it has been.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf recounts his mission to withdraw Rs 500 notes from the bank.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Mission: To withdraw Rs 500 notes.

Accessories: Water bottle and chocolate to tackle low blood pressure.

Book to keep me going: The Book of Embraces by Eduardo Galeano.

This was the fourth time I was standing in a bank queue after demonetisation.

I desperately needed change for Rs 2,000. I had a few Rs 2,000 notes, but I was yet to see the new Rs 500 note.

All essential work was being stalled because of my non-digital lifestyle.

Except occasionally using a credit card, I have never engaged in cashless transactions, whether through Internet banking, mobile banking or even via a debit card.

Since November 8, I have been feeling like a dinosaur in a modern day Jurassic Park.

My wife asked me to get Rs 500 notes from the bank because all those Rs 2,000 notes I had were of no use. No one was willing to part with change.

So once again, I did what I have been doing for the last three weeks: Stand in a queue at the bank to withdraw money -- but this time, Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes only.

Three weeks after the note ban, I realised there is no fatigue factor while standing in a queue at the bank.

The nation demands it, so everybody obeys it, and that includes me.

After all, nation first, as BJP leaders will tell you.

After standing for more than an hour in the queue, I realised the story of every Indian is like that of the passengers in the film, Bombay to Goa.

We stand in a queue for three hours, scream, shout, laugh, drink and sometimes eat to kill time.

I was the only person busy reading a book in the queue, just like the villain in Bombay to Goa who was shown reading a newspaper while hiding a gun behind it.

The villain gets bashed up in the bus by Amitabh Bachchan -- and any person in the queue who vents his anger against the Modi government will surely meet the same fate.

Know, why? 'Nation First,' silly.

So it's best to keep quiet and read a book.

The man behind me asked, "What book are you reading?"

"Book of Embraces by Eduardo Galeano," I replied.

He asked what the book was about. "The politics of Latin America," I said.

"Where is this country?" the man asked.

I was surprised he had no idea where Latin America was, that it was not a country but a continent.

I asked him, "Have you heard of a banana republic?"

"No," he said. "What is it?"

I made him read a page from the book:

Functionaries don't function.

Politicians speak, but say nothing.

Voters vote but don't elect.

The information media disinform.

Schools teach ignorance.

Judges punish the victims.

The military makes war against its compatriots.

The police don't fight crime because they are too busy committing it.

And, most importantly, a statement which seemed like a prophecy about Indian conditions:

Bankruptcies are socialised while profits are privatised.

The man appeared not to understand a word of it, smiled at me and kept quiet.

Galeano also mentions the paradoxes of nationalism.

Napoleon Bonaparte, the most French of Frenchmen, was not French. Josef Stalin, the most Russian of Russians, was not Russian, and the most German of Germans, Adolf Hitler, was born in Austria.

(Napoleon was born in Corsica, the island located 1,000 km from France; Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia, while Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, a town in present day Austria.)

Taking a break from my book, I spoke to a gentleman ahead of me who seemed to be a supporter of demonetisation.

Modi, he felt, had taken a big political gamble.

I nodded silently, the preferred option these days, especially outside banks.

As the queue approached the bank's doors, pushing and shoving around began. One man shouted at another, "Why are you making me a sandwich in the queue?"

But, of course, the sandwich! Whose invention is credited to the fourth earl of Sandwich who in the early 18th century is said to have created the convenience food so that he would not have to leave the table when he was gambling.

I understood the correlation -- Modi was taking a political gamble and we Indians have become the sandwich.

A bank staffer asked me to come inside.

I went in eagerly, hoping to get the Rs 500 notes, but the staffers said they had not got any Rs 500 notes.

"Take the Rs 2,000 notes or leave," was the curt answer when I tried reasoning with them.

My gamble to stand in the queue and get Rs 500 notes had failed. And only the months ahead will tell us if Modi's gamble will succeed or not.
'Farmers are like a living corpse in India.'

P Chengal Reddy, secretary general, Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting the adverse impact that the Bharatiya Janata Party government's demonetisation policy has had on the agriculture sector.

Reddy tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf why he sent Modi an SOS from farmers.

You told Prime Minister Modi that the cashless concept is turning out to be as difficult as creating a caste-less society in India. What do you mean by that?

As my guru (the late Shetkari Sanghatna founder) Sharad Joshi said the country is virtually divided into India and Bharat. The division is evident even now when Modi speaks about so many things.

90% of farmers are dependent on food, vegetables, diary, goats and fish.

Now, who are these people? They are small farmers; they are women and family labour. They own hardly half an acre or small plots where they grow vegetables.

They sell their produce and earn money (in cash).

The same is the case with small fishermen who are a century behind compared to the rest of Indian society.

But demonetisation will bring these farmers and fishermen into the banking system...

When there are no schools and hospitals in villages, how do you expect banks to reach such places?

How will banks reach the deserts of Rajasthan or the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and the North-East?

What people in villages want is education for their children, health facilities, and these things are not available in many villages.

Modi or even (Congress President) Sonia Gandhi never went to a farm and did farming.

Agriculture is not a cultural activity.

Look at Denmark and Israel. They are booming (in agriculture) because of four fundamental things -- technology, investment, markets and management of agriculture by the best people.

Today, agriculture is an enterprise.

When India claims to be achieving 8% to 10% growth consistently in the service industry after 26 years of liberalisation, why is the farm sector struggling day and night to grow by 1%? They have no answers.

The problem is that the politicians and bureaucrats in Delhi are not exposed to agriculture.

Do you feel the Modi government is city-centric and does not understand the problems faced by India's villages?

It is not just about Modi or Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi. The moment they occupy the chair they are surrounded by bureaucrats, industrialists and so-called city-based experts who join the coterie.

Look at the Prime Minister's Office. It has the same IAS officers for the last 20 years. How will they change their mindset just because Modi has become prime minister?

Modi looks to be very smart, but he is not. He has clarity (only) on Pakistan and foreign affairs.

You also mentioned in your letter to PM Modi that the Kharif crop is sold immediately after the harvest to repay borrowings and reinvest in the Rabi crop.

Both are not likely to happen after demonetisation.

Will this lead to a food shortage?

This is my assessment. I am not an economist or scientist, but a social worker. I call this common sense.

Today, even if farmers have got their harvest there are no buyers.

Earlier, there used to be an informal sector that used to buy (the harvest), but today everything has stalled at every point.

Why are there no buyers? Is it because there is a shortage of cash or lack of demand from consumers?

To an extent currency yes, but more than that Modi is trying to operate this entire system through banking.

Legally speaking, it is good, but you should have done this over a period of 5 to 10 years.

In a village, people used to lend money or take loans from each other; that was the system. It was an unaccounted system.

Now, Modi, through demonetisation, wants to channelise this through the banking system and bring in an accounting system.

The moment an accounting system comes in, everything follows like sales tax, income tax, rules and regulations.

The first reaction is that of shock.

Everybody is scared and they have run away. They are not visible.

They have not come to purchase my wheat and rice, and I am not sure when I am going to get them back.

Have the traders run away?

Yes, you call them traders or middlemen. They are not coming to the farmers to purchase wheat and rice.

And I am not sure when I am going to get them.

At least 86% of our farmers are small and marginal. These farmers have less than two acres of land. They have no education.

Can't the farmers go to government mandis (markets) and sell their produce?

You are very right. In 1996, I was one of the members who worked vigorously on marketing reforms (from the government side). Where are we now?

Market reforms have not come. It is the middlemen who have the monopoly.

It is the government which needs to be efficient. I am not supporting or opposing anybody.

I am only telling Modi that these are not practical things; you have to do this a little slowly.

The very concept of Modi has gone wrong because black money control does not mean demonetisation.

Modi has gone completely wrong on demonetisation.

Black money is generated through corruption and tax evasion.

Instead of controlling that, he took the other way.

Now, tell me how many people with Swiss bank accounts or those named in the Panama Papers were caught?

How many corrupt people were caught in the last two-and-a-half years of Modi's rule?

Since you say the traders have run away, are there not enough government mandis where farmers can sell their produce?

There are government mandis, but they have been taken over by commission agents.

There are some officers who are supposed to supervise the transactions, but 90% of them do not do anything.

They are corrupt, they exploit and cheat.

How many government mandis are there in India?

There are 7,000 to 8,000 government mandis.

So has agricultural activity completely stopped in all these mandis?

Never use the word, completely stopped. It is slow and steady deterioration.

In Hyderabad, 28 trucks of pomegranates used to arrive in a week. Now that has reduced to 5 trucks.

Now you have to understand that 28 trucks of pomegranates were consumed by 'X' number of people and 'Y' number of people used to produce that much quantity.

So why is there a fall in the number of trucks? There is nobody to purchase pomegranates.

Instead of harvesting pomegranates worth 28 truckloads, farmers are harvesting only 5 truckloads.

This is happening because there is nobody to purchase the pomegranates.

The same is happening for every food item, especially perishable food.

But there is no outrage among the farmers.

In the last 70 years, have you ever seen farmers revolting in India?

They do not because they are the living-dead people.

Farmers are like living corpses in India. There is no life for them in India.

So will there be a food shortage in the future?

The production of onion, tomato and other crops is slowly reducing because there are no buyers.

If you look at this (demonetisation) from the farmer's point of view, he feels that his income has reduced and there is a cash shortage.

So he will invest less and produce less.

These rascals in Delhi are not duffers; they have already announced that there will be zero tax if you import wheat.

The whole problem is that they are not interested in sustaining agriculture or safeguarding the interest of the farmers.

They are manipulating things, but not solving things for farmers. That is a big problem.

You told PM Modi that his government does not understand the fundamentals of agriculture.

Certainly! The Modi government does not understand agriculture.

If they did, they would have not made someone like Radha Mohan Singh agriculture minister.

He does not understand anything about agriculture.

Cooperative banks were not allowed to function post demonetisation. How do you view that move?

It was a wrong move. The Modi government felt that cooperative banks are not trustworthy. That is absolutely nonsense.

Farmers in villages depend more on cooperative banks than nationalised banks.

Today, there is no money in the cooperative banks. The government is not pumping any money into them.

I thought one could withdraw Rs 2,000 from cooperative banks.

If I am hungry and go to the temple for food, I don't need prasad. I want a full meal.
A large number of people using cards at PoS

Cards being used more frequently

Small-ticket transactions

Mastercard South Asia head Porush Singh calls these the three key trends for a cashless future. And post-demonetization India, he believes, is steadily moving towards it.

IMAGE: The government has ensured the right kind of incentives for people to make digital payments by lowering the cost of PoS, tax exemptions, and waiver of merchant discount rate, says Porush Singh. Photograph: Jonathan Bainbridge/Reuters .

As the government focuses on digitisation, Mastercard Country Corporate Officer, India, and Division President, South Asia, Porush Singh tells Indivjal Dhasmana/Business Standard that after demonetisation, more and more people are making digital payments.

Expectations are digitisation will pick pace after demonetisation, but is it really happening?

There has been a constant increase in the number of electronic transactions since demonetisation started (on November 8). Out of the 700 million debit card users in the country, 450 million earlier used the facility only at ATMs. Now, they are swiping cards at PoS (point-of-sale) terminals. This is encouraging for a move to a cashless economy.

Three key trends for a cashless future are: A large number of people using cards at PoS; cards being used more frequently; and small-ticket transactions.

But isn't it difficult to make society such as India go less-cash?

The government's first idea was distribution; consumer behaviour did not initially change. Terminals were set up in smaller cities, but people did not take to them. It became unprofitable.

Now, with demonetisation, there is a disruption, and more and more people are adopting electronic transactions. This is going to help many migrate to e-transactions, as they experience the benefits of going cashless.

There are 200,000 ATMs and 1.44 million PoS in the country. But, there are not enough devices in the rural areas. Hence, electronic payments are a challenge. The important thing is to bring down the cost of PoS devices -- the government has removed taxes.

Innovations such as Mastercard's launch of QR codes will drive electronic transactions. Competition will eventually move towards the same.

India currently has 250 million smartphones; in three years, it is expected to be 500 million. QR code allows use of any card -- it is brand agnostic.

Do you think consumer behaviour will really change?

The move (demonetisation) is a catalyst, triggering change in consumer behaviour. Tax evasion -- a lingering problem -- is being checked. Going cashless will boost electronic payments.

The government has announced incentives for digitisation. Will it help?

The government has ensured the right kind of incentives for people to come forward. Lowering the cost of PoS, tax exemptions, and waiver of MDR (merchant discount rate) will all help.
Since payment alternatives such as UPI, e-wallets and USSD - based mobile banking through different platforms are directly or indirectly linked to the users bank account one needs to be extra careful to keep hackers at bay, explains Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar.

Just a few days before the Indian government initiated the demonetisation drive, pushing people to carry out banking transactions through Internet or plastic cards, the country had seen a big financial data security breach compromising ATM pins of millions of debit card holders.

While the reason for the breach was not known, banks came to the rescue after the incident broke out by asking customers to change passwords and blocking accounts on request.

With the advancement of technology, the ease of banking, from checking balance to transferring funds, using smartphones or tablets has driven people to go online more than ever.

According to Reserve Bank of India data, 85 per cent of all reported transactions at banks between 2015 and 2016 were through the Internet in terms of volume. In 2014-15, the figure stood at 75 per cent.

And, now that the wind is blowing towards going completely cashless, people are increasingly exploring payment alternatives such as UPI, e-wallets and USSD - based mobile banking through different platforms, which are directly or indirectly linked to the users bank account.

While you enjoy this newly-acquired convenience, we want you to remember that cyber security is something you must consider at every step you take online. Here are some of the steps you could take to ensure your financial data is safe.

Create strong password & PIN, change them frequently: A PIN which is easily guessable is capable of turning your account dry, so avoid using your date of birth, wedding anniversary, birth date of children etc as PIN for your debit/credit cards.

While setting passwords, long combinations of alphabets, numbers, and alphanumeric and special characters with mixed casing are advisable.

Words that cant be found in dictionaries or that are deliberately misspelt can potentially be stronger passwords. You must memorise a strong password which is unique in nature and cant be guessed by anyone.

Avoid writing down your password and PIN anywhere except a secure location. This would prevent this information from being shared and leaked. While using your debit card at ATMs or at stores, beware of shoulder surfing in order to safeguard your financial details from getting stolen.

Enable two-factor authentication: With the recent RBI mandate of two-factor authentication, the card industry has adopted 3-D secure methodology enabling you to register your smart phone for authentication.

So, each time you try to make a transaction using your cards, you receive a text with a one-time security password which needs to be keyed in to prevent misuse of identity.

If you receive any such texts or notifications without your trying to log in, you must immediately notify the bank.

Careful where you swipe: Scammers can steal your card data through skimmers on bugged ATMs and point-of-sale machines.

As the process only takes a few seconds, it often goes unnoticed by the card-holder. Make sure you use your cards at secure ATMs and shopping outlets only.

When transacting with your card, always be aware of where the card is. Indian banks have been mandated to upgrade all cards to chipped cards.

If you are still using a chip-less card, youre at higher risk. The old cards, which only have a magnetic strip at the back, can easily be duplicated through unauthorised swipes. Once duplicated, they can be used to carry out illegal transactions.

Beware of malware; use the latest software and anti-virus: Considering that you are in an era wherein all your financial information is stored on your computer, phone or tablet, you have to be careful about the websites you visit and download from.

Before you click on any link that pops up on your device, make sure it is an authentic one, because if you unknowingly download or install a malware link, it could potentially spy on you and steal your personal data.

In order to stay away from such risks download items from legitimate websites and app market places only. Make sure youre using the most up-to-date operating system since this would protect you from digital vulnerabilities.

Also employ the most up-to-date anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spyware program. This would keep your data safe from infections and security threats.

If youre logging on to your bank from a public computer, use the virtual keyboard in order to thwart keyloggers that may be used on public computers to steal keyboard inputs for logins and passwords.

Careful which apps you install: E-wallets are tapping into the growing demand for alternative modes of payment. The well-known apps have strong security features.

But beware of the ones that dont. So before you pick your e-wallet or any financial app go to the app store, check its reviews and ratings, and be assured that its a genuine app.

Dont decide to install an app simply based on the offers and discounts it is providing. Security features matter: e-wallets may store your credit or debit card details on your account. This data could be compromised in case of a security breach.

Use passwords to protect apps: Loading your e-wallet requires you to input passwords and authenticate transactions. While such actions may be protected by two-factor authentications, spending from your e-wallet may not have such checks and balances.

Payments happen instantly, and often without checks and balances. Once a payment has been completed, it cant be reversed.

Should your unlocked phone with a loaded e-wallet land in the wrong hands, you could lose your money quickly. It may be wise to use password protection for your phone as well as for your apps. You can download and install app locks to prevent misuse.

Wipe data if phone gets stolen: In this age, losing your phone is like losing your wallet - you could lose a lot of money through your apps.

While chasing the thief can be one way of getting it back, remotely wiping off the data on your phone can help prevent monetary and data loss.

Both Android as well as Apple devices let you do this. However, your phone would have to be connected to the Internet for this to happen.

The right way to dispose of documents: If you think documents containing your personal or financial details need protection only when they are in use, you are not doing enough to ensure financial safety.

Your old bank statements, credit card bills and insurance premium details carry a good deal of sensitive information and can pose a threat to your financial data security, if they land in wrong hands.

Your identity can be easily compromised from an old piece of paper lying in a paper bin. Make sure you shred such documents once you are done using them.

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Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was in the eye of a political storm on Tuesday over an alleged Rs 450-crore scam in a power project in Arunachal Pradesh after he wrote a letter to power ministry to clear the bills of contractors, provoking Opposition to demand his ouster but he denied any wrongdoing.

The controversy erupted over news reports that the chief vigilance officer of North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Satish Verma, an Indian Police Service officer of Gujarat cadre who probed the Ishrat Jahan encounter case as part of the Special Investigation Team, had sent a report to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the CVC and power ministry highlighting alleged corruption in construction of two dams as part of the 600 MW Kameng Hydel project.

In his report, Verma was said to have named Kiren Rijiju and Goboi Rijiju, who he claimed was the ministers cousin, while alleging an elaborate conspiracy involving contractors, NEEPCO officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud the state-run company and the government of funds that may extend up to Rs 450 crore.

Alleging that it was a Rs 450-crore scam committed by using false and inflated transportation bills, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala released an audio tape of a purported conversation of the ministers claimed cousin with Verma, and Rijijus letter recommending that held up payments be released.

Jo news plant kar rahe hain wo hamare yehan ayyenge to joote khayenge (Those who planted the story will be beaten up with shoes when they will come to our area).

Kiren Rijiju has no right to stay in office. He should either be dismissed by the prime minister or asked to resign till an independent probe is complete, he said.

The Opposition party also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his tall claims of bringing transparency have fallen flat as had happened with several other scandals in the past including Vyapam, Lalitgate and the Vijay Mallya issue.

Mr Modis claims of transparency and honesty is now under question. People of India are looking at what action he takes on this issue, Surjewala said.

Rejecting Congress charge of his complicity in the alleged scam, Rijiju said he had only forwarded a memorandum received from petty contractors from his village to Power Minister Piyush Goyal on November 4, 2015 to get their petition considered on a priority.

I have written the letter to the Power Minister after I received representations from some people in my constituency in Arunachal West regarding pending bills. I have done no wrong and there is no corruption.

Peeved at the allegations, the Minister said, Those who planted the story will be beaten up with shoes when they will come to our area.

He also denied that Goboi Rijiju was related to him, saying, Among tribals in a village, everybody is a cousin. He is not related to me by blood. I have no brothers. Both my elder and younger brothers have expired.

Small pending bills, pending since 2012, 2013, 2014 before we came to power, the contracts were awarded when we were not in the government, the payments were paid when we were not in the government. Only I was told that some 20-30 per cent of payments were remaining which NEEPCO is not releasing. So I wrote a letter to the Power Minister that just look into the matter, thats it, Rijiju said.

He also insisted that the pending dues of individual small-time contractors ran into a few thousands of rupees.

The hydel project is being constructed by NEEPCO, which comes under the Union power ministry.

Rijiju said Power Minister Piyush Goyal wrote back to him saying the delay in clearing the dues of the contractors was on account of incomplete submission of bills. The matter ended there, Rijiju said.

Surjewala also played out a purported audio conversation between Goboi and Verma, claiming it had a mention of the goings on that led to the pulling down of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed Rijiju's relative was clearly attempting to influence the CVO in the 28-minute tape and was using his ministers name to seek his help in getting the bills cleared and was also enticing him with a promotion.

There seems to be a connection with making of these payments and were some of these payments used to buy and sell legislators is a matter that needs to be seriously probed, he said.

Alleging that inflated bills were put up for bringing boulders for the dam construction, he said some of the huge boulders were shown to be carried on scooters, motorcyles and cars by a single driver at the same time.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, sprang to Rijijus defence, calling the charge against him as reflective of Congress political desperation.

It also trained its guns on Satish Verma, calling him a political fixer for Congress.

Verma, who was also associated with the CBI team which probed the Ishrat Jahan case and had reportedly called it a cold blooded murder, was shifted out as NEEPCOs chief vigilance officer earlier this year on charge of unauthorised absence.

He was shifted to Central Reserve Police Force in Tripura, an order which he has reportedly challenged in the Central Administrative Tribunal.

BJP spokesman G V L Narasimha Rao claimed Verma was transferred from NEEPCO on the direction of the Central Vigilance Commission over misdemeanours and dereliction of duty.

The Congress party is incriminating itself by referring to any irregularities in these projects. Under Rahul Gandhi, it and its media department have scored many self goals and this is one of such instances, Rao said in a statement.

The MP forwarded the petition received from the affected villagers to the ministry of power for getting the matter examined. As a public representative, Kiren Rijiju intervened as a local MP to redress people's grievances purely on merit, Rao said.

The allegations made by the CVO against Kiren Rijiju are baseless, mala fide and reinforce his shady past. For the Congress party to make allegations based on such flimsy reports reflects its political pusillanimity and desperation. The BJP categorically rejects these motivated allegations with the contempt they deserve, Rao said.

Congress demands Rijiju's sacking

Congress has demanded the sacking of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju alleging his "involvement" in the 'Rs 450-crore Arunachal power scam' and said the Prime Minister's "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat".

Stating that Rijiju's role in the matter is under cloud, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also released an audio tape of a purported conversation of his cousin, a contractor in the 600 MW power project, and Rijiju's letter recommending that held up payments be released.

"The role of Kiren Rijiju in this issue is under cloud. Kiren Rijiju has no right to stay in office. He should either be dismissed by the Prime Minister or asked to resign till an independent probe is complete," he told reporters.

Surjewala trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat" as had happened with several other scandals in the past including Vyapam, Lalitgate and the Vijay Mallya issue.

"Mr Modi's claims of transparency ad honesty is now under question. People of India are looking at what action he takes on this issue," he said.

Payments were stopped after a letter by the Chief Vigilance Officer of North East Power Corporation, who conducted a probe into the issue, the Congress spokesperson said and alleged that there is a scam to the extent of Rs 450 crore in the form of false and inflated transportation bills by Goboi Rijiju, who is said to be a relative of Kiren Rijiju.

"This is a very serious issue. The Prime Minister should speak out on this issue....

"If PM has courage of conviction, he must either sack Kiren Rijiju or ask him to resign and conduct a fair and free probe so that truth comes out...Till then, Rijiju should be divested of his post."

"The Prime in the run up to elections used to say that he will neither do or allow corruption to happen. But there have been a series of charges of corruption that came to light in the Modi government, be it scams in Rajasthan mining, Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh or Lalit Modi or Vijay Mallya," he said.

Targeting the CBI, Surjewala alleged that the premier investigation agency has become a "puppet" in the hands of the Modi government and has not even registered an FIR in the matter despite a 128-page report by the vigilance officer.

Surjewala also played out a purported audio conversation between Goboi and the NEPCO Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma and the opposition party claimed it also had a mention of the goings on that led to pulling down of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed Rijiju's brother was clearly attempting to influence the CVO in the 28-minute tape and was using his Minister brother's name to seek his help in getting the bills cleared and was also enticing him with a promotion.

"There seems to be a connection with making of these payments and were some of these payments used to buy and sell legislators is a matter that needs to be seriously probed," he said.

Alleging that "inflated" bills were put up for bringing boulders for the dam construction, he said some of the huge boulders were shown to be carried on scooters, motorcyles and cars by a single driver at the same time.
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CAN THO  Representatives from Can Tho City Peoples Committee and the Korean Food and Rice Association met in the Mekong Delta city on December 12.

They discussed ways to expand co-operation in rice processing and export.

The meeting took place ahead of the inauguration of the associations representative office in the Viet Nam-Korea Incubator Park in the Tra Noc 2 Industrial Park on December 13.

According to Truong Quang Hoai Nam, vice chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee, Can Tho has become a potential destination for enterprises from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and many firms have decided to invest in the locality.

Notably, Tae Kwang Industrial Co Ltd constructed a US$171.48 million plant to produce semi-finished sport shoes in the Hung Phu 2B Industrial Park in Cai Rang District.

The RoK government also invested in many large projects in Can Tho, such as the Viet Nam-Korea Incubator Park in the Tra Noc 2 Industrial Park and a water supply plant in Vinh Thanh District, Nam said.



For his part, Kim Nam Doo, chairman of the Korean Food and Rice Association, said the establishment of the associations representative office in Can Tho was a strategic decision as the city is a food and rice centre in the Mekong Delta region.

The office would serve as a bridge promoting partnership between Vietnamese food firms and member enterprises of the association in the future, he affirmed.

Can Tho boasts of having 115,000ha of agricultural land, 90,000 ha of which is for rice cultivation. Can Tho produces 1.4 million tonnes of rice, with over one million tonnes being shipped abroad every year through 26 rice export enterprises.

The citys export turnover to the RoK is estimated to hit $30.3 million in 2016, while import value will be $4.2 million.  VNS
HA NOI - Vietnam Electrical Equipment Joint Stock Corporation (Gelex) has announced its plan to purchase 21.3 million shares of South Logistics Joint Stock Company (Sotrans).

The shares are equal to 24.93 per cent of Sotranss charter capital.

The purchase is due from December 15, 2016 to January 14, 2017.

Previously, in its annual general meeting this August, Gelex declared it was expanding its manufacturing operations into the field of logistics business by acquiring stake in Sotran.

Besides, Gelex is also expected to further invest VN812 billion into logistics.

To implement this investment plan, Gelex is scheduled to release 77.25 million shares at VN18,000 per share to mobilise over VN1.39 trillion and increase charter capital from VN1.55 trillion to VN2.322 trillion.

Gelex was originally established in 1995 with initial charter capital of VN177 billion. The company operates in the electrical engineering industry. Its main products are electrical equipment, electrical cables and power metres. - VNS
HA NOI  The Peoples Committee of the southern province of Khanh Hoa has approved the construction of a major fisheries centre for the coastal south central region.

Covering 65ha at the a Bac fishing port in Cam Ranh City, the VN1.2 trillion (US$53 million) centre is set to be the largest and most modern in the central region once it is operational.

Some VN276 billion, which was mobilised from the State budget and through Japanese loans, will be used to upgrade the a Bac fishing port as part of the project.

Meanwhile, the French Development Agency has agreed to Khanh Hoas proposal on a loan of VN423 billion to build a dynamic fishing port.The centre is expected to house 120,000 tonnes of seafood via the seaports when it becomes operational in 2018.

It will also accommodate vessels with capacity up to 2,000CV and provide storm shelter for over 2,000 fishing boats.

Export turnover

Export value of the province is expected to reach $1.21 billion in 2016, an eight per cent increase from last year, marking the fifth consecutive year Khanh Hoas export value has surpassed $1 billion.

Khanh Hoas main export commodities include new vessels, processed seafood, coffee and salanganes, as well as garments, textiles and sand.

The provinces import value is estimated at $720 million, producing a surplus of nearly $500 million.

In 2017, the locality aims to fetch $1.32 billion from exports.  VNS
HA NOI  Tape Art Collective, a group of young German artists based in Berlin, will introduce their unique performances in HCM City and Ha Noi from December 14 to 18.

Inspired by the possibility to create something new out of an everyday object, the group mostly works with tape as a medium since 2011. With roots in the urban art movement, their work ranges from complex and colourful tape and light installations to minimalist black and white murals.

Their tape artworks can be found in a variety of places, such as underground nightclubs, abandoned buildings, showrooms and galleries.

While focused on Berlin, Tape is active in many other cities, nationally and internationally, with recent and ongoing projects in Egypt, Spain, Qatar, Bulgaria and the UK.

"We create artworks made solely out of adhesive tape - tapes of all colours, sizes and materials. Our artworks range from room-filling installations to abstract structures combined with light projections and classical tape art murals. We strive to push the boundaries of what most people perceive possible to do with ordinary tape, the artists say on their website.

Since tape art is a very young art form, people are amazed by the idea itself and the ability to witness the creative process first hand. The group often creates artworks in live performances with the audience given a chance to interact with the artists and to follow the progress of the work.

Only three of its six members are in Viet Nam - Stephan Meissner, Stefan Busch and Nicolas Lawin. Yesterday they organised a workshop with 30 participants at Ha Noi Creative City, showing them how to develop ideas and create artworks.

An exhibition of artworks created by the Berlin-based Tape That centre and by participants of the workshops will open on December 14 at the German Embassy in Ha Noi. The event will also include a performance of DJs Jane Leilas and Linh Su.

The group will then move to HCM City to organise workshops at Mais Gallery (3A Ton uc Thang Street) and at the International German School on December 15 and 16.

The last day of the event will consist of an exhibition at Mais Gallery where the best artworks produced at the two workshops will be shown.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam attaches importance to the friendship with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)  one of its leading partners in trade, investment and labour in the Middle East, said National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

The top Vietnamese legislator made the statement at a meeting yesterday with Sheikha Lubna Khalid Al- Qasimi, the UAEs Minister of State for Tolerance, in Abu Dhabi where she is attending the 11th Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament.

The NA Chairwoman congratulated Al-Qasimi the host on her election as the UAEs Minister of State for Tolerance, saying the appointment shows the countrys determination to improve the lives of its people and promote tolerance  a basic value that is highly valued in the UAE.

Ngan also briefed her host on the Vietnamese NAs duties, and expressed her hope that the two countries will share their experience in law-making and implementing policies to better peoples living conditions.

She expressed her belief that Sheikha Lubna Khalid Al-Qasimi will work to further promote the Viet Nam-UAE co-operation.

For her part, the UAE official said her countrys policy aims to promote tolerance and prevent extremism in society.

NA Chairwoman Ngan also highlighted the spirit of tolerance in Viet Nams policies. She said that in its foreign policy, Viet Nam plans to wrap up the past and look toward the future, and wants to be a friend with all countries around the world.

Regarding social policies, the country often grants clemency to prisoners and all religions in Viet Nam are equal before the law, she added.  VNS
HCM CITY  Most enterprises at industrial parks in HCM City are lax about providing their workers with completely safe and nutritious meals.

In October, some 100 factory workers at a clothing manufacturing company in Cu Chi District in HCM City were hospitalised after falling ill with food poisoning symptoms.

Another food poisoning incident had taken at the same company in May, during which 96 workers were hospitalised.

Eighty per cent of the food poisoning cases at industrial parks and public schools were caused by catered meals, according to am Trung Hieu, deputy head of the labour management department under the Industrial Parks Management Board in HCM City.

There are roughly 285,000 workers at 21 industrial parks in the city, he said.

Some 100 enterprises have set up collective kitchens and hired cooks. More than 400 enterprises buy food cooked elsewhere, and some 450 enterprises give workers money to buy their own meals.

Over the last month, the citys food safety branch imposed fines on several enterprises that violated food safety regulations, ranging from VN6-66 million (US$265-2,900).

The food safety department said most the food poisonings are caused by micro-organisms, toxins and chemicals in mixed foods and seafood.

The departments testing of the caterers that provided the unsafe food showed that most did not have food safety certificates. Their cooking areas did not meet hygiene requirements and were using ingredients of unclear origin.

Surveys by the National Institute of Nutrition under the health ministry showed that there is little nutritional value in workers meals, with only 12 per cent of calories from protein and 16 per cent from fat, with the rest from carbohydrates such as rice, corn and potato. The real value of each portion is only VN10,000 ($0.4).

There are roughly 260 industrial and manufacturing zones in 61 provinces and cities throughout the country, creating jobs for more than one million direct workers and 1,5 million indirect workers.

Eight mass food poisonings occurred at industrial parks nationwide during the first half of this year, affecting some 550 workers, according to the Department of Food Safety under the Ministry of Health. Nearly 8,000 workers had food poisoning during the 2011-15 period.

Nearly 200 workers of Shin Dong Textile Company in HCM Citys District 12 were hospitalised after having dinner at their workplace in 2015.  Photo dantri.com.vn

Management loopholes

The low quality of the meals is attributed to cost cutting of ingredients and lack of strict supervision over the cooks.

Despite a resolution by the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour last February, which empowered local labour unions to sue directors of enterprises where food poisonings occurred and threatened the lives of workers, no lawsuits were recorded in a recent report on the implementation of this resolution.

The report showed that 60 per cent of the local labour unions had not negotiated with enterprises on providing workers with meals that cost at least VN15,000 ($0.7) each. More than 40 per cent of the local labour unions either gave workers money to buy meals or covered only a part of the cost.

Some experts say one of the reasons authorities are unable to control the quality of workers meals is a lack of regulation on the amount of energy and nutritional content each meal should contain. The Department of Food Safety and the National Institute of Nutrition should collaborate to research and set the nutritional content needed in meals for industrial workers.

Local labour unions should collaborate more effectively with concerned authorities to increase supervision and examination of kitchens and food preparation at industrial parks, the experts said.

Tran Thi Thanh Ha, deputy chief of the labour relations department of the labour confederation, said that it is not enough to talk about safe meals and promote safe meal resolutions.

We proposed to incorporate the safe meal issue into the Labour Code, she told the Nhan Dan (People). That way it will have a legal foundation, which will make it difficult for enterprises to overlook.

Enterprises where food poisonings occurred should compensate the victims as regulated in Article 53 of the Food Safety Law, she said.  VNS
HA NOI  Sai Gon Railway Transport Joint Stocks Company, a subsidiary of Viet Nam Railway Corporation, has warned passengers about fake websites offering train tickets, particularly those for trips on the occasion of the Tet (Lunar New Year) celebration.

Le Quoc Trung, vice director of the company, said the fake websites usually offered tickets that were four or five times more expensive than the authentic fares.

People who buy e-tickets via fake websites would be barred from boarding trains, he said.

Trung highly recommended people use authentic websites to purchase train tickets, including vr.com.vn, saigonrailway.com.vn, vantaiduongsathanoi.vn or dsvn.vn.

The Ha Noi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company (HARACO), another subsidiary of Viet Nam Railway Corporation, has decided to add 21 train trips on the Ha Noi-Vinh, Ha Noi-Hai Phong and Ha Noi-a Nang routes.

It will operate more trains on the Ha Noi-HCM City, Ha Noi-Vinh, Ha Noi-Lao Cai and Ha Noi-Yen Bai, as well as Ha Noi-Hai Phong and Yen Vien-Ha Long routes, to accommodate more people just before and after Tet.

VNR said it would run these additional routes from January 17 to February 12, 2017. This year, state employees and workers will get Tet holidays from January 26 to February 1. They will get two more days off  January 31 and February 1  as compensation for the previous weekends.  VNS
HUNG YEN  A branch of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (VINATEX) in Hung Yen Province was fined for violating regulations on environmental protection.

The centre for wastewater treatment for the Pho Noi textile industrial park, located in the provinces Yen My District, was asked to pay a fine of VN550 million (US$24,300) for discharging wastewater that exceeded the national technical regulation on industrial wastewater.

The exceeded technical specifications include biochemical oxygen demand (1.9 times) and wastewater colour (1.32 times), according to the wastewater analysis conducted by the centre for environmental monitoring portal under the provinces Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Apart from imposing fines, the provinces Peoples Committee requested the centre to address the issue and conduct proper treatment before discharging wastewater into the environment.

In December 2014, the centre was fined for discharging untreated wastewater, which was foul-smelling and black in colour, as discovered by the Viet Nam Environment Administration during an unexpected examination visit, along with other wrongdoings.

The centre began operations in 2005. Locals said it continuously discharged untreated wastewater into the Tran Thanh Ngo canal over the years, causing serious environmental pollution.  VNS
AK LAK  Three police officers died and three others were seriously injured in an explosion that occurred at a chemical storehouse of the ak Lak Police in this Central Highland province last night.

This was announced by the police this morning.

Tran Ky Roi, director of the provinces police, yesterday said the explosion occurred in a room that is used to store material evidence.

The walls of several surrounding houses on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street developed cracks and many things were broken.

As soon as the explosion occurred, ak Lak Police, firefighters and the provinces Military Command jointly protected the screen, collected information about the victims and the damage to map out detailed solutions.

Senior lieutenant-colonel Bui Trong Tuan, spokesman of the province police, confirmed that the explosion was an accident and dismissed the rumour that it was a terrorist action.  VNS
QUANG TRI  Thirteen people were rescued yesterday by the local army after their ship broke down and was in high danger of sinking off the central province of Quang Tri.

Quang Tri Provinces Command of Border Guard reported that the rescue ended successfully at 10am yesterday and all those rescued were being looked after by health workers at Cua Viet Ports army station in Gio Linh District.

At about 2pm on Sunday, the provincial border guard received news that the machine shaft of fishing ship QT21126TS, captained by 39-year-old Tran Trung Tan, was fractured and at risk of sinking due to the strong wind and waves in the area some 10 nautical miles off the Cua Viet Port coast.

There were four crewmen and nine passengers -- scientists of Ha Noi University of Science and Technology, under Ha Noi-based Viet Nam National University -- who were on a trip to collect sea water samples in the area around Con Co Island for the purpose of scientific research.

Rescue ship CN09 with 13 solders led by Lieutenant Colonel Tran Tuan Anh, deputy chief of Quang Tri Provinces Command of Border Guard, was ordered to reach the accident site.

The rescue force faced difficulty due to the heavy rainfall, strong wind and waves, even as the ship had broken down and was in high danger of sinking, the rescue forces chief said.

The rescue ship only found the site of the incident after three hours of searching, but was unable to approach the accident vessel at that time because of fog, high winds and darkness.

Early morning the next day, when the weather stabilised, the rescue force approached the site and rescued the passengers. It also attempted to tow the fishing vessel ashore.

However, the old fishing vessel sank due to the strong waves. All four crewmen were moved to the rescue ship safely.  VNS
CANBERRA  Australia and Viet Nam have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides a formal framework for the return of Vietnamese nationals with no legal right to be in Australia.

The agreement was signed in Canberra on Monday by Colonel General To Lam, Viet Nams public security minister, and Peter Dutton, Australias minister for immigration and border protection. It takes into account not just Vietnamese citizens already in Australia but also those trying to enter it, including those intercepted at sea.

Dutton said this was a significant milestone in Australias bilateral relationship with Viet Nam and an important part of its broader efforts to counter irregular migration in the region. The coalition government is committed to protecting our borders, stamping out smuggling of people and preventing people from risking their lives at sea, he said.

Since 2015, the two governments have been working together to return 113 Vietnamese nationals travelling in three vessels intercepted by the Australian Border Force under Operation Sovereign Borders. Australias borders are stronger than ever and our tough border protection policies are here to stay, Dutton said.

He said that both countries look forward to strengthening bilateral immigration and their border protection relationship, which is underpinned by shared interests in facilitating trade and migration in the region. Currently, bilateral cooperation includes regular dialogues, training and capacity-building initiatives.  VNS
HUNG YEN  Strong emotions welled up in Colonel Hoang ang Vinh as he stood under a 200-year-old banyan tree.

This was no ordinary tree.

Standing in La Tien Hamlet, Hung Yen Province, the tree helped Vinh recall the plight of his brethren 70 years ago as they suffered the brutality of French occupation.

Between 1949 and 1954, the tree had witnessed some 1,145 resistance soldiers and people, including 121 local villagers, being tortured and executed by the French and their henchmen at their detention camp in Nguyen Hoa Commune, Phu Cu District.

To reinforce their reoccupation of Viet Nam from 1946, the French had set up a camp in the commune in 1949 to stamp out the Vietnamese peoples resistance in the region.

Vinhs elder brother was among those who were captured and killed by the French near the tree. Vinh was also arrested and tortured by the enemy in La Tien. However, he managed to escape from the prison.

Vinh later became one of the soldiers who captured French General De Castries during the famous ien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954, which played a crucial role in ending French rule.

I was honoured as President Ho Chi Minh awarded me his badge when I was only 19 years old. I consider it the biggest achievement in my life. It is the motivation for me to continue to live a life worthy of our nation and people, Vinh said at a ceremony held last Saturday to commemorate the local army and peoples spirit during the resistance against French colonialism.

The 200 year old banyan tree in La Tien Hamlet. Photo hungyentourism.vn

The La Tien Banyan Tree and temple were recognised as national revolutionary relic sites last year.

Last Saturdays ceremony was organised by Hung Yen authorities, in collaboration with Quan oi Nhan Dan (Peoples Army) newspaper, ai oan Ket (Great Unity) newspaper, and Viet Nam Television.

The event highlighted the sacrifice of female guerrilla leader Tran Thi Khang, then secretary of the Phu Cu District Womens Union for National Salvation, and leader of the Hoang Ngan Female Guerrilla Squad.

On June 8, 1950, Khang was caught by French troops. They tortured her for five days until she died, but failed to get any information from her. Her body was thrown into the Luoc River. She was just 21 then.

The French colonialists tortured and massacred soldiers and citizens, but they could not destroy the peoples patriotism and desire for independence.

Nguyen Thi Doan, former Vice President of Viet Nam, who was attending the event, said that her father was also killed by the French at La Tien and his body thrown into the Luoc River.

My fathers and other soldiers deaths demonstrate the faith of the Vietnamese army and people in the cause of national independence, she said.

Thinking about him, I am determined to continue to strive and overcome difficulties to fulfill my duty, she said.

In January 1954, Vietnamese resistance fighters along with local guerrillas overran the French post in La Tien Village, and liberated the whole province.

The tree also witnessed the blossoming of love between revolutionary soldiers and local women. One such couple is veteran Nguyen uc Khoat and his wife Tran Thi Khuyen.

When the French were stationed in La Tien, Khoat was among the locals gathering intelligence for the resistance, while Khuyen was forced by the enemy to build their fortifications. They joined a campaign against the colonialists and fell in love. In August 1955, they got married in the newly-liberated province of Hung Yen.

Every inch of La Tien is permeated by the sacrifice of fighters and local people. In order to uphold this tradition, Hung Yens leadership and people will do their best to further develop the province, said o Tien Sy, the provinces Party Committee Secretary.

The provincial Party, authorities and people would stay united, develop the economy, ensure social security and improve local residents living standards, he said.

The province has seen major advancements in industrialisation, urbanisation and building new style rural areas.

In the last 20 years its public budget has increased 100-fold, reaching nearly VN9 trillion (US$400 million). It is expected to be among the provinces earning enough to cover their own needs next year.  VNS
JAKARTA  Hardline Muslims rallied Tuesday under heavy police guard outside an Indonesian courthouse where Jakartas Christian governor is standing trial in a high-profile blasphemy case that has gripped national attention.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama -- the first Christian to govern the capital in more than 50 years -- arrived at court flanked by lawyers and police for the first day of his trial on charges of insulting the Koran.

The governor bowed to the panel of five judges before being seated alone in the centre of the courtroom as proceedings began.

Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, could be jailed for up to five years if found guilty of breaking Indonesias tough blasphemy laws.

He ignited a firestorm of criticism in September when he controversially quoted a Koranic verse while campaigning in elections for the Jakarta governorship.

Purnama apologised but his remarks angered Muslims -- both moderate and conservative -- who marched against the governor in rallies larger than any seen in Indonesia in many years.

Outside the courthouse, dozens of hardline Islamists chanted "God is Great" and waved signs depicting Purnama behind bars in prison garb.

"The Koran is our guide. Jail Ahok right away!" they yelled, pumping their fists in the air.

Police guarded the courthouse in heavy numbers, vowing to ensure there was no repeat of the violence seen at some protests against the governor.

The blasphemy saga has generated huge interest across Indonesia, with the proceedings being broadcast live on national television.

Indonesia is home to 255 million people, roughly 90 per cent of whom follow Islam.

President Joko Widodo has been criticised for failing to prevent attacks on minorities which have eroded Indonesias reputation for tolerance and diversity.

Purnama, known for his outspoken style, is trying to retain city hall in elections slated for February.

He was on track to win but has been watching his lead crumble as the blasphemy scandal has dragged on.

His two opponents are both Muslims with strong political connections.  AFP
ALEPPO, Syria  UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over reports of atrocities against civilians Monday, as the battle for Aleppo entered its final phase with Syrian government forces on the verge of retaking rebel-held areas of the city.

"The secretary-general is alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in Aleppo," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary-general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties."

Syrian government forces said the battle for the key northern city was in its "final phase" after rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances.

President Bashar al-Assads forces held more than 90 per cent of the onetime opposition stronghold of east Aleppo, a monitor and military official said.

The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syrias conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the countrys five major cities.

A Syrian military official in Aleppo said late Monday: "Were living the final moments before victory."

"The operation in eastern neighbourhoods is entering its final phase", he said earlier, as fierce clashes were reported in the few districts still under rebel control.

An AFP correspondent in government-held west Aleppo said celebratory gunfire could be heard late Monday.

State television showed people celebrating, holding up portraits of Assad and Syrian flags.

"Aleppo residents express their joy at the victory against the terrorists", read a caption beneath the footage, referring to the rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported the army had captured southeast Aleppos large Sheikh Saeed district.

Syrian official media confirmed Sheikh Saeed had been retaken, with state television showing what it said was live footage from the neighbourhood.

The rebels withdrew from six more districts as government troops advanced, the Britain-based Observatory said.

The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad.

"A total collapse"

"The battle of Aleppo has reached its end. It is just a matter of a small period of time... its a total collapse," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

In the Mashhad neighbourhood, residents fleeing the army advance crowded the streets earlier Monday, witnesses said.

Displaced civilians -- many hungry after fleeing without food -- sat on pavements or lay on the street with nowhere else to go, they said.

The AFP reporter said the bombardment of rebel areas was among the heaviest in recent days.

"The regime is advancing in east Aleppo under gunfire, missiles and shelling," Bassam Mustafa from the political office of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group in Aleppo said.

"The fighters (rebels) are retreating under pressure and the situation is very bad," he said.

State television also aired live footage from inside Salhin district, one of the areas fully retaken on Monday, showing widespread destruction.

Terrified residents have poured out of rebel-held neighbourhoods as the army advanced since beginning its operation on November 15.

The Observatory said Monday another 10,000 people had fled rebel areas in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of those who have left -- mostly to government-held territory -- to 130,000.

Syrias rebels seized control of east Aleppo in 2012, a year into an uprising that began with anti-government protests but spiralled into a complex multi-front conflict, drawing in proxy powers and jihadists such as the Islamic State group.

IS retakes Palmyra

On Sunday, IS retook the symbolically important city of Palmyra nine months after being expelled from the UNESCO World Heritage site, despite heavy Russian air strikes and the arrival of Syrian reinforcements.

On Monday, the jihadists were advancing south and west of Palmyra, the Observatory said.

Meanwhile, air strikes on the groups de facto Syrian capital of Raqa killed at least 21 civilians, while raids on IS-held villages in Hama province left at least 53 dead.

More than 300,000 people have been killed in Syrias war, and more than half the population displaced.

The government assault on Aleppo has killed at least 415 civilians since mid-November, the Observatory says, while another 130 civilians have been slain in rebel fire on the citys west over the same period.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have repeatedly failed.

Russia last week said talks were under way with US officials on securing a ceasefire and the withdrawal of all rebel forces from Aleppo.

But despite several high-level meetings there was no progress in halting the fighting.

Moscow is a key Assad ally and launched an air war in support of his forces last year, while Washington and other Western nations have backed rebel forces.  AFP
CAIRO  Egypt said Monday it had arrested four people suspected of involvement in a devastating bombing of a Cairo Coptic church, as grief-stricken mourners gathered for the funeral of the dead.

The health ministry said 25 people had been killed in the bombing at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church on Sunday.

It was the deadliest attack in recent memory on the Christian minority, who make up about 10 per cent of Egypts population.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at the funeral, said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who had been identified as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa.

One of the four people arrested was a woman, Sisi said, and authorities were looking for two other suspects he did not identify.

Most of the victims were women, authorities have said.

The attack occurred during Sunday service at the church adjacent to Saint Marks Cathedral, the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Coptic Christians have been previously targeted in Egypt.

Wooden coffins, each bearing a cross, were covered with the countrys flag and lined up at the Saint Mary and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in the Nasr City district on Monday.

A woman who lost two daughters in the attack cried and fell to the ground next to their coffins as other mourners prayed silently.  AFP
DIYARBAKIR  A Turkish fighter jet crashed near an airport in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Monday, the military said, but the pilot was able to safely eject from the plane.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known but the government said an investigation had been launched.

The F-16 warplane was on its way to an air base in Diyarbakir during a training mission when it fell in a village nearby, the armed forces said on its website.

Before the crash, the pilot escaped using the ejector seat, the military added.

The armed forces said the pilot was in "good health" after the crash at 7.30pm (1630 GMT).

The warplane crashed five kilometres (3.1 miles) from the air base next to the airport, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters in Ankara late Monday.

He said the cause would be known "shortly" after an investigation but did not want to speculate.

Diyabakir is Turkeys biggest Kurdish-majority city and has seen regular clashes between Kurdish militants and security forces since the collapse of a two-and-a-half year ceasefire in the conflict in July 2015.

The base has been used previously for air raids on Islamic State jihadist targets inside Syria and against outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq.

The PKK has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is proscribed as a terror group by Ankara, the United States and the European Union, but not by the United Nations.  AFP
SimpliVity's OmniStack hyperconverged infrastructure platform now supports Epic Hyperspace in virtual desktop environments. SimpliVity has invested heavily in creating a hyperconverged platform for VDI that delivers a superior user experience that is simple, scalable and manageable for IT - all while containing and reducing capital and operational expenses. This latest support delivers a simple way for healthcare institutions to improve efficiency while meeting the stringent performance requirements of end-users. As one of the leading application providers for the healthcare industry, Epic supports 190 million patients around the globe with electronic records. The SimpliVity solution for Epic Hyperspace features an unmatched user experience, scale-out architecture, ultra-fast desktop provisioning, simplified management and a choice of VDI platform.

"Epic Hyperspace is a powerful application used by healthcare institutions all over the world, in community hospitals, children's organizations, retail clinics, integrated delivery networks, independent practices, academic medical centers, rehab centers, and patients' homes," said Jesse St. Laurent, vice president of product strategy, SimpliVity. "All data center functions are mission-critical in a healthcare environment. Patients, doctors, and healthcare providers can't afford to have operations be slowed or stalled because of an IT problem or a poor desktop experience. SimpliVity's support for Epic and other mission-critical applications is incredibly important because the stakes are so high at healthcare institutions, and these organizations expect and deserve their virtual desktops and applications to be functioning at peak and predictable performance at all times."

All data center functions are mission-critical in a healthcare institution. Doctors, patients and healthcare providers cannot afford to have IT operations slowed or down, and especially cannot afford any lost patient data, as lives are at stake. SimpliVity's hyperconverged environment, coupled with the new third-party application support, offers an improved data protection and disaster recovery solution, and improves efficiencies while meeting stringent performance requirements of healthcare organizations.

As such, healthcare organizations across the globe have already witnessed the advantages of SimpliVity's unique capabilities. Organizations such as Synernet Maine Health, Neil Medical Group, Penobscot Community Health Care, Weeks Medical Center, and Namibia Institute of Pathology, have deployed SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure and are benefiting from the improved operational efficiency, increased data efficiency, and reduced total cost of ownership the solution delivers. Details on each are below:

Synernet Maine Health Revolutionizes its Data Center

Dealing with a costly and complex mix of servers and storage arrays, Synernet Maine Health was finding it difficult to scale its environment. To avoid any further investments in legacy infrastructure, Synernet began investigating alternative options for its next-generation data center. After considering a number of options, including hyperconverged and converged offerings, the outsourced provider of administrative services for the healthcare industry chose SimpliVity as its data center solution. Synernet was able to eliminate IT sprawl while driving out cost and complexity with SimpliVity and is now able to provide peak and predictable performance for its mission-critical applications such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, IIS servers, and Citrix XenApp.

"The SimpliVity solution was just so unique and more complete than the other options we were exploring. It's something we can use for every workload, all the way up to our most business-critical workloads," said Michael Michaud, senior director information technology, Synernet. "SimpliVity is a company we feel very comfortable putting our trust in as they have an outstanding team. Our relationship with SimpliVity is a true partnership. They know about our business, they care about our business, and they want to keep our business. Vendors are a dime a dozen. Partners are hard to come by."

Neil Medical Group Achieves True Business Continuity

Neil Medical Group, a long-term-care pharmacy services provider and medical supply distributor, found its legacy infrastructure had become performance-constrained as it grew older. In addition to the problem of meeting increased capacity, the IT team found that use of tape backups was inefficient and incapable of providing true business continuity in the case of a disaster. With the outdated legacy infrastructure no longer an option, Neil Medical Group began exploring solutions that offered a data-center-in-a-box approach. As the only hyperconverged vendor to offer built-in data protection, SimpliVity was a perfect fit for Neil Medical Group. With SimpliVity, the healthcare institution has realized seamless operations and drastically improved data center efficiency.

"The hyperconverged solutions werewere immediately attractive to our IT team, but we found that many of themwere lacking in key areas, mainly in their ability to safeguard company data," said Chad Benfield, director of IT, Neil Medical Group. "It was like we found the missing piece when we evaluated SimpliVity because it was clear that data protection was a core feature of the solution. Now, if we find ourselves in a disaster scenario, we don't have to worry about our mission-critical applications because SimpliVity enables us to have a business continuity plan that we can count on no matter the circumstances."

Penobscot Community Health Care Improves Backup and Recovery Operations

The largest and most comprehensive federally qualified health center in Maine, Penobscot Community Health Care was exploring various options in order to refresh its legacy IT infrastructure, improve its disaster recovery stature, and increase its system availability. After vetting a number of vendors, the organization decided to replace its legacy multivendor IT environment with SimpliVity. Post-implementation, Penobscot Community Health Care has been able to streamline backup and recovery functions, expedite system administration, and ensure high performance and availability for mission-critical applications and core IT services.

"Backup and recovery operations used to be a real struggle with our previous solution. We were waiting upwards of 12 hours for local backups to complete. And waiting on backups for our mission-critical applications had a slowing effect on the entire IT team," said Jason Lewis, director of IT infrastructure and security, Penobscot Community Health Care. "Now, with SimpliVity, I can do a remote backup of a one terabyte SQL appappand it only takes one minute. It's been a night and day difference and this kind of improvement is helping our team do more with the time we have available."

Weeks Medical Center Saves on Expenses While Improving Performance

Located in northern New Hampshire, Weeks Medical Center was looking to replace its fragmented and quickly deteriorating legacy IT systems. The healthcare provider's infrastructure was struggling to meet the demanding recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) windows necessary to ensure HIPAA compliance. During the technology refresh process, Weeks Medical Center came across SimpliVity and was impressed by not only the solution's ability to meet the required RPOs and RTOs, but the improved performance that the center was able to achieve because of SimpliVity's data efficiency capabilities.

"The performance of our SimpliVity OmniCubes has been incredible. Our ability to roll out and upgrade applications has been much improved with SimpliVity because the system is so simple to manage," said Darrell Bodnar, director of information services, Weeks Medical Center. "In addition, we have been able to save big both from capital and operational expenditure perspectives. Our IT team loves the performance of SimpliVity and our CFO appreciates the financial benefits."

Namibia Institute of Pathology Regains Control of its IT

With all IT operations outsourced, Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) Limited found that it wasn't able to achieve the agility or scalability it required to reliably provide IT services to its 450 employees and 40 labs. As the largest diagnostic pathology service provider in the country, NIP wanted more control of its IT operations so it could better aid the private and public health sectors it assisted with testing and disease monitoring services. NIP chose SimpliVity as its data center solution because of the ease of management and simplicity of the platform as it need to migrate from the outsourced site to an in-house environment and needed to do so with the team in place on a strict budget that didn't include specialists or outside consultants. With SimpliVity, NIP noticed the benefits almost immediately, consolidating from 40U of rack space down to just 6U and realizing a data efficiency ratio of 94:1. Furthermore, SimpliVity provided the healthcare organization with critical disaster recovery and offsite replication capabilities that it was lacking prior to deploying hyperconverged infrastructure.

"We have many sites under the banner of NIP and all of them need to have data protected and available in the case of a disaster. Not only has SimpliVity provided us with these abilities, but they are also very easy to manage," said Valerie Garises, chief technology officer, Namibia Institute of Pathology. "Our core team of IT generalists can handle all operations from a single interface for our entire SimpliVity implementation across the country. This simplicity and ease of use was exactly what we were looking for and was exactly what we achieved with SimpliVity."
David A. Brown has been named associate professor of human nutrition, foods, and exercise in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

He is one of eight faculty members recently hired in the college. New positions were identified to bring talent to its focus areas, including food and health, infectious disease, biodesign and processing, and agricultural profitability and environmental sustainability. The new faculty members are distributed across teaching, research, and Extension.

Brown directs a laboratory that combines disciplines in cardiac physiology and mitochondrial biology. Development of novel therapeutics to improve mitochondrial function is a major focus of his research program.

Browns research is supported by several extramural grants, and he has presented his work all over the world. He is a member of the American Heart Association, American Physiological Society, and Mitochondrial Physiology Society. He serves as a reviewer for numerous grant agencies and scientific journals.

Brown received his bachelor's degree in human nutrition, foods, and exercise from Virginia Tech, his doctorate in integrative physiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and served as a post-doctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Institute of Molecular Cardiobiology.



Prior to returning home to Virginia Tech, Brown was faculty at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, where he was course director for medical physiology and received multiple teaching awards for his lectures on cardiac and cell physiology.

Written by Amy Loeffler
Virginia Tech is collaborating with the University of Nebraska and Colorado State University on a $750,000 Department of Defense contract to initiate research in cyberbiosecurity, a new crosscutting discipline that leverages systems biology, chemical engineering, cyber-physical systems analysis, and biosecurity.

This research will establish and develop the foundations of cyberbiosecurity as a new specialty at the interface between biosecurity and cybersecurity, said Randall Murch, research leader for Biosecurity and Forensics, Virginia Tech National Capital Region Research Development Team, and the projects principal investigator.



For the first time in a defined construct, we will begin to tackle the security of life science big data by conducting a structured analysis of a complex bioproduction facility within the nations biomanufacturing infrastructure, he said.



Murch explained that biomanufacturing relies on systems biology and chemical engineering infrastructure to design, test, and produce biopharmaceuticals of critical value to human and animal health. Some biopharmaceuticals generated in such facilities are critical not only for public health and military force health protection, but for national resilience in the face of infectious disease outbreaks and bioterrorism, as well.



Critical data on medical countermeasures can be stolen and exploited by other parties for their own gain, such as theft of intellectual property for financial benefit or competitive advantage to include industrial espionage and sabotage, Murch continued.



For example, he said, data can be used to mutate or alter biological agents to cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines, or increase their ability to be spread into and resist the environment.



Our work could launch a broad community of interest to design and implement technical and nontechnical measures to protect and secure critical life sciences information that could be misappropriated or misused, Murch said.



The National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska is working with the U.S. Strategic Command and the performer team to meet contractual requirements and manage administrative and financial aspects of the project.



This institute is one of 13 University Affiliated Research Centers across the nation that deliver relevant and timely research solutions directly impacting Department of Defense operations and national security. The University of Nebraska is providing its Biological Process Development Facility as a testbed crucial to the research and its associated experts.



The biosecurity and biodefense fields are continually evolving, said Wally Buchholz, director of the Biological Process Development Facility and research professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, who is leading the team at the University of Nebraska.



We will identify all critical information that is essential to a biomanufacturing facilitys successful operation and outcome. The results will help us to understand the tolerances and vulnerabilities that can be exploited for various nefarious purposes and specific methods that could be used, Buchholz said. Our aim is to provide specific recommendations to the DoD for advancing security in biodefense and biosecurity.



Virginia Tech is drawing members of its research team from faculty and staff from the National Capital Region and Blacksburg whose combined expertise spans the areas of complex systems analysis, biosecurity, operational context, forensic science, and cyber-physical systems.



They include Sanjay Raman, associate vice president of the National Capital Region, director of the Research Development Team, and professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Ahmed Abdelhadi and Joseph Ernst, research assistant professors at the Hume Center.



Jean Peccoud, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Abel Endowed Chair in Synthetic Biology at Colorado State University, will bring relevant expertise from several life science disciplines and biosecurity to the multi-institutional research team. Murch, Peccoud, and Raman were the originators of the cyberbiosecurity concept; Peccoud was a professor at Virginia Tech when the concept was being created.



In addition to conceptualizing and developing the research project, Virginia Tech also explored and obtained funding and sponsorship opportunities, said Murch. We are pleased to lead this multidisciplinary team effort to help develop defenses against the emerging cyberbiosecurity challenge.


No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Rather than leaving you to wade through the Dworkin Report, I'll give you a link to an article that spells out at least the gist of the problem in one simple, easy-to-understand page. It even has a short video.isn't one of my favorite news sites. Ever since it declared years ago that it was abandoning journalistic objectivity on climate issues because they were "too important," I have distrusted it. In recent years its flagrant left-wing bias was a factor in its demise as a print medium (admittedly the rise of electronic journalism also has driven so many great newspapers out of business probably played a bigger role).orc But the evidence this article sets forth is not only clear but in its factual contentPhilippine President Duarte is hunting down and killing drug addicts without trial. He says that Trump has told him on the phone that this is "the right thing to do." Trump won't comment on Duarte's crimes publicly despite our national commitment to the rule of law and the right to a fair trial, That he also stands to make a great deal of money from a deal with Duarte, as documented in the article and video, may be a coincidence, but once again The Donald has at the very least put himself in the worst possible light.This is just an example of the kind of compromising situation Trump's foreign investments- many in Russia, China, Iran and North Korea- put him in. Our foreign policy cannot be determined by the president's business interests, Trump's promised "solutions" to the problems only make it worse, and the risk to American security and interests are extreme.In fact, I will say this bluntly: if Trump is unable to satisfactorily deal with these conflicts of interest prior to taking office, they will indisputably be grounds for impeachment under Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution:While in modern English the term "emolument" means part of the pay or compensation for holding a job or office, it also had a now-archaic meaning which at the time the Constitution was adopted includedThe intent of the Founders is clarified by Alexander Hamilton inNo.22: "One of the weak sides of republics, among their numerous advantages, is that they afford too easy an inlet to foreign corruption." AndThe only solution is for Trump to rid himself of these financial interests. Putting his investments in trust, as Trump has suggested, simply doesn't solve the problem. As long as Trump continues to hold these interests, which are inherently corrupting and would create the appearance of impropriety even if he did not allow him to influence his foreign policy in any way, he will govern under a cloud and arguably in violation of Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution. He would have the advantage whether he used it or not.As it happens, his bizarre tilt toward Russia's murderous strongman, his appointment of Putin's closest American crony as Secretary of State, and his appointment of a strong Putin fan as National Security Advisor are already raising the eyebrows of those who are even paying attention.The vote on the confirmation of Tillerson at State will be a test of whether the congressional Republican party has been completely castrated. Three Republicans- Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, and John McCain of Arizona- have publicly expressed grave reservations about Tillerson in view of his closeness to Putin, If only two of them vote against him, the same scenario will arise which formed the denouement of Allen Drury's famous novel, whose subject was the confirmation of a secretary of state: the Vice-President would cast the tie-breaking vote.One doubts that Mike Pence will have the courage of Drury's fictional Harley Hudson.
Recount efforts end: Trump wins

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Presidential election recount efforts came to an end Monday in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with both states certifying Republican Donald Trump as the winner in contests that helped put him over the top in the Electoral College stakes.

Trumps victory in Wisconsin was reaffirmed following a statewide vote recount that showed him defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 23,000 votes. Meanwhile, a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvanias presidential election and scan some counties election systems for signs of hacking.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein successfully requested and paid for the Wisconsin recount while her attempts for similar statewide recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were blocked by the courts.

Sick boy, 5, dies in Santas arms

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  A Tennessee Santa Claus says a terminally ill 5-year-old boy died in his arms after he gave the child a present in the hospital.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, who does about 80 events a year as Santa, was asked a few weeks ago to visit the dying boy.

He said he gave the child a toy. The boy gave him a big hug, asked Santa, can you help me? and died in his arms.

Schmitt-Matzen said it took him days to recover, but hes continuing to play Santa.

Details about the boy or the hospital were unavailable to The Associated Press.

Ex-congressman going to prison

PHILADELPHIA (TNS)  Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison, one of the longest terms of incarceration ever imposed on a member of Congress convicted of federal corruption crimes.

The congressmans misdeeds centered on money he owed creditors after a disastrous 2007 bid to become mayor of Philadelphia. He stole from some of the same causes he espoused, including the education nonprofit he raided to repay an illegal $1 million campaign loan from the mayoral campaign.

College lifts ban on 2 Trump fans

WELLESLEY, Mass. (AP)  A lawyer for one of two college students barred from their campus for taunting students at Hillary Clintons alma mater in Massachusetts is demanding an apology after the ban was removed.

Babson College students Edward Tomasso and Parker Rand-Ricciardi were accused of driving around the nearby all-womens Wellesley College the day after the election, shouting racial and homophobic slurs and waving a Donald Trump flag.

Babson told the students Sunday the ban had been lifted.

General tabbed for Homeland Security job

WASHINGTON (TNS)  Donald Trump picked John F. Kelly on Monday to lead the Homeland Security Department, putting an outspoken retired Marine general in charge of delivering Trumps promised crackdown on illegal immigration.

Kelly, who lost a son in combat in Afghanistan, is the third recently retired general to join Trumps Cabinet. Like the others, he clashed at times with the Obama administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Kelly will be tasked with carrying out some of Trumps most controversial campaign pledges, including building a wall along the border with Mexico, boosting deportations of immigrants in the country illegally and vetting visitors from Muslim-majority nations.
TAMA  Tamas former police chief has been indicted for allegedly stealing guns from the police department and selling them.

Jeffrey Filloon also is accused of pocketing proceeds from the sale of unclaimed vehicles the police department had impounded.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Filloon with two counts each of making false statements and selling a stolen firearm. The charge was issued Dec. 6 and unsealed Monday as Filloon was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

Authorities allege Filloon took at least three firearms and four vehicles between August 2013 and March 2015.

One of the weapons, a Mossberg 12-gauge pump shotgun, had been held as evidence and was sold to General Store Pawn and Gun in Marshalltown for $200 in August 2013.

Later that same month, Filloon sold a .45-caliber Keckler and Hoch UPS pistol to the same shop for $450, court records state. That weapon had been the duty gun of a Tama officer who surrendered it to the department when he retired in 2012.

Another firearm that was being held as evidence, a .44-caliber black powder revolver, was sold to the Marshalltown shop for $75 in Mach 2014.

Also in March 2014, Filloon allegedly sold a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix, a 1994 Ford Econoline F150 van and a 1994 Ford Explorer to Sandhill Auto Salvage of Tama for $650, court records state. He allegedly requested the check be made out to him instead of the city, records state.

That same month, he returned with a 1996 Chevrolet Silverado pickup and sold it for $250, claiming it was his personal vehicle, record state.

The false statement charges stem from statements Filloon allegedly made to an FBI agent who was investigating the weapons and vehicles in May. He allegedly told the agent a relative of the shotguns owner told him he could keep the firearm instead of returning it to a family member, court records state. He also allegedly told the agent he had purchased the Silverado before selling it to the salvage company, records state.

Filloon was appointed police chief in May 2013 and had been with the department as an officer since 2004. Before that, he had been a full-time Toledo police officer and a reserve officer with Tama.

He resigned as police chief in August 2015.

Filloon also served one term on the Toledo City Council before opting not to seek reelection in 2015.

Man arrested

on gun charge

WATERLOO  A Waterloo man has been arrested after police found drugs and a pistol during a traffic stop Friday night.

Waterloo police arrested Eric Cortez Sallis, 26, of Waterloo, for felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and violation of the drug tax stamp act. He also was arrested on a probation violation warrant and a bench warrant for allegedly missing a court date on a domestic assault charge.

Bond was set at $25,000.

According to court records, officers had been seeking Sallis on the warrants when they spotted him exiting a vehicle at the Pineview Apartments around 10:10 p.m. Friday. Police found marijuana and cash on his person and in the vehicle, and a search of an apartment at 3860 Pineview Place turned up more marijuana and cash and a loaded 9mm Sig Sauer handgun.

Sallis is prohibited from handling firearms because of a 2007 willful injury and weapons conviction in connection with an incident where he allegedly opened fire at people attending a party, striking two teenagers in the legs, according to court records.

Court records show police searched a home for Sallis in the hours following a Nov. 27 shooting in the 700 block of Kern Street.

Tyran Collins, 17, had arrived at the house at 749 Kern St. during a domestic disturbance and was shot in the hand and side and fled the residence. He was taken to UnityPoint-Allen Hospital by private vehicle. During the investigation, police found an Oldsmobile Alero belonging to a relative of Sallis parked outside with what appeared to be two bullet holes in the hood, and witnesses told officers Sallis and others had been in the house during the shooting.

Officers surrounded the home, which was then shot with tear gas canisters before the SWAT team found it was unoccupied. No one has been arrested in the shooting.

Teenager hurt

in Friday crash

FAYETTE  A teenager was injured in a crash Friday night near Fayette.

The accident was reported about 10 p.m. on Iowa Highway just south of 175th Street about a mile north of Fayette, the Fayette County Sheriffs Office reported.

It was determined a 16-year-old male of West Union, whose name was not released, was driving a Black 2001 Chevrolet Malibu LS 4D southbound when he lost control and entered the east side ditch. The male was transported to Palmer Hospital for his injuries. The accident remains under investigation.

Man arrested for harboring teen

CHARLES CITY  A Charles City man accused of harboring a runaway was jailed without bond for authorities in Ohio.

Mark Lynch, 34, was charged with one misdemeanor count harboring a runaway child.

He was arrested Saturday in Charles City after police found a 14-year-old Ohio girl who was listed as a runaway or missing child, according to a Charles City Police Department statement.

Police from Pickerington, Ohio, a city southeast of Columbus, had notified Charles City investigators the girl and Lynch might be in the Charles City area.

They were found Saturday morning in the 500 block of Clinton Street.

Police say additional charges are pending. Floyd County sheriffs deputies assisted with the case.

An official at the Floyd County Jail said Lynch was being held Monday for authorities in Ohio. There is no bond allowed on the hold.
Officers were called to gunfire in the area of East Fourth and Anita streets around 5:40 a.m. Sunday but were unable to find any evidence, according to the police report. Later that day, a resident at 2535 E. Fourth St. discovered damage to her home and called police.
DAVENPORT -- Amid reports Russian-backed cyberattacks sought to influence the U.S. election, Iowas two senators supported investigations into the matter Monday. Still, neither would venture to say whether they believed such attacks were meant to benefit President-elect Donald Trump.

The Washington Post, citing officials it did not identify, reported Friday the CIA had concluded Russian intervention was aimed at helping Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump has dismissed the notion the Russians intervened on his behalf. The Post also reported the FBI was ambiguous about the Russians intent.

The allegations have roiled Washington, D.C., and sparked calls for investigations.

The Senate Intelligence Committee plans to investigate Russias suspected election interference, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Monday. Both he and incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have said any inquiry should steer clear of partisanship.

Any threat to our nations cybersecurity is totally unacceptable and must be fully investigated, which includes bipartisan congressional investigations, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a statement Monday.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he already has been asking questions of intelligence officials. But in a separate statement, he turned to criticism of the Obama administration and Democrats.

We need to get to the bottom of the Obama administrations failure to stop these attacks and determine accountability, Grassley said.

Iowas senior senator also added cyberattacks shouldnt be confused with influence.

Did exposing inappropriate and unethical actions on the part of Democratic officials actually change votes, let alone change the election? Grassley asked. Congressional oversight can be an effective tool to understand what may or may not have occurred by Russian hackers.

Neither said whether they believed reports the CIA concluded the Russian actions were aimed at helping Trump win.

Meanwhile, Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, said there should be a bipartisan commission formed to look into the matter.

This issue is paramount and should not fall victim to the partisan games that normally consume Washington, Loebsack said in a statement. Congress must act swiftly and hold accountable any actor who played a role in influencing or otherwise compromising the recent election.

Loebsack also did not say whether he believed whether Russia was seeking to help Trump.
Donald Trump is about to lead the West into the third and darkest phase of its 15-year quest to neutralize the threat of Islamic extremism. The first was George W. Bushs freedom initiative, which posited political liberalization in the Middle Easts rotting autocracies would dry up terrorist recruiting. The second was the engagement policy of Barack Obama, who bet respectful dialogue and attention to Muslim demands for justice  above all for the Palestinians  would make the West a less compelling target.

Both were widely judged to be failures. Now the new president will embrace the approach both Bush and Obama explicitly ruled out as morally wrong and practically counterproductive: civilizational conflict.

The outlines of what might well be called the Trump crusade are easily located in the rhetoric of Stephen Bannon, Michael Flynn, Jeff Sessions and other Trump appointees. They describe a long history of the Judeo-Christian West struggle against Islam, as Bannon put it, or a world war against a messianic mass movement of evil people, as Flynn, the incoming national security adviser, has written.

Bush and Obama were careful to distinguish the terrorists of al-Qaida and the Islamic State from Islam itself, which they described as a great religion worthy of respect. Not Flynn. Islam, he has said, is a cancer, a political movement masquerading as a religion and the product of an inferior culture. I dont believe that all cultures are morally equivalent, and I think the West, and especially America, is far more civilized, far more ethical and moral, he argued in a book published this year.

What might this mean in practice? On the battlefields of the Middle East, very little. Trumps team is certain to continue the ongoing offensives against the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and Libya. Given they appear to be slowly succeeding, Flynn and incoming defense secretary James Mattis are unlikely to alter Obamas approach of backing local forces rather than committing large numbers of U.S. troops. The new administration will look for showy ways to challenge Iran, but it is unlikely to do so in the place where it would matter most: Syria.

Trumps civilizational conflict will be experienced not by Shiite militias or Sunni terrorists  who will surely welcome it  but by average citizens across the Muslim world. They will see it in the extreme vetting, if not an outright ban, they will be subjected to in seeking to enter the United States. And they will feel it in the ramping up of U.S. support for dictators and monarchs who are judged by Trump to be tactical allies in the civilizational war.

First among these will be Egypts Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, who has been lionized by Trump and his aides for supposedly battling jihadists while seeking the reform of Islam. In three years of the harshest rule his country has known in at least half a century, Sissi has wrecked the economy and all but destroyed a once-vibrant secular civil society. Yet the increasingly unpopular dictator is quickly emerging as the foremost Trump ally in the region, already invited for the White House visit Obama denied him.

Other autocratic regimes may quietly fall in behind Trumps strategy, despite its anti-Islamic cast. Saudi Arabia and other monarchies will welcome heightened U.S. hostility to Iran as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood; Bahrain, the base for the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf, quickly signaled its obeisance by staging a national day celebration in Trumps new Pennsylvania Avenue hotel.

Europeans, too, will follow along. Rightist governments in Hungary and Poland already are cheering Trumps anti-Muslim rhetoric. The more moderate of the two leading candidates to become Frances next president, Francois Fillon, authored a book titled Conquering Islamic Totalitarianism. Even Germanys Angela Merkel, the most prominent remaining defender of liberal democratic values, felt obliged to strike an anti-Islamic pose last week, proposing a crackdown on the minuscule number of German women who wear a burqa.

Its not hard to foresee the consequences of this movement. Muslims who despise jihadists and long to modernize their countries with free markets and democratic institutions will be alienated from their potential Western partners. The Islamic State and al-Qaida, which all along have promoted the idea of civilizational war with the West, will gain new recruits, both in the Middle East and among Western Muslims. Sissis regime will eventually crumble from corruption and incompetence if it avoids a popular rebellion.

Bush and Obama tried to transform the Muslim Middle East, or U.S. relations with it, and failed. Trumps aim will be to quarantine and repress the region and its religion. The worst foreseeable outcome is he will succeed.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 12, 2016 | 10:53 AM | MARSHALL COUNTY, KY

A Marshall County man faces a long list of charges after his arrest over the weekend.

According to the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, deputies were dispatched to Slaughter Road on Saturday in reference to a man with a gun at a home trying to get inside. When they arrived, deputies saw a man outside the garage with a woman next to his truck.

The man, 35-year-old Shawn Sparks of Benton, was placed under arrest. The gun was found in the truck, loaded with a round in the chamber. Also found in the truck was a methamphetamine pipe with residue in it.

While deputies were searching for the gun, Sparks allegedly became belligerent and started yelling. Sparks was charged with wanton endangerment, possession of methamphetamine, disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The woman, 38-year-old Buffey Silva of Karnak, IL, was also arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and public intoxication controlled substance.

When he arrived at the Marshall County Detention Center, police said Sparks became belligerent and started resisting. While having to detain Sparks, a deputy sustained a cut from the handcuffs and was threatened. Sparks was additionally charged with disorderly conduct, assault of a police officer and terroristic threatening.
By The Associated Press Dec. 12, 2016 | 10:23 AM | WASHINGTON, DC

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has strongly condemned any foreign meddling to influence the U.S. election. McConnell spoke to reporters Monday, a day after President-elect Donald Trump said the recent CIA assertion that Russian hacking had sought to help his candidacy was "ridiculous."

McConnell says that the "Russians are not our friends" and condemned Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other "U.S. political organizations."

The Kentucky Republican says the Senate Intelligence Committee will investigate. He made his remarks as Trump continues to downplay the CIA's confidential assessment that the Russian government hacked into the DNC and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta's email account.
Press conference/prayer service videos added below.)Filling the last of three openings atop US dioceses of a million or more  and two within four days  at Roman Noon this Tuesday, the Pope named Bishop Edward Burns, the 59 year-old head of Alaska's Juneau church since 2008, to lead the 1.3 million-member diocese of Dallas in succession to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who Francis tapped as founding prefect of the new Roman Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in August.Burns' installation as Big D's eighth bishop is scheduled for Thursday, February 9th, in the Catedral Santuario de Guadalupe.For the figure who's invariably the happiest, most contagiously-beaming member of the Stateside bench (with perpetually off-the-chart levels of enthusiasm, to boot), the move brings a daunting shift of scale that is hard to recall in any instance: going from a 10,000-member Alaska fold to what's now become one of the US church's ten largest outposts. But given Burns' premium on an intimate, hyper-relational style of ministry in Juneau  where, every Monday morning, the bishop and his 12-man presbyterate log into Skype to share Morning Prayer and a group chat  the message here is Rome's hope for that kind of engagement to be translated on the massive stage of what's now the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area, its lead local church now almost seven times its 1990 size and in need of an ongoing institutional build-out to manage the growth.A son of Pittsburgh  where he served as vocation director and clergy-personnel chief under now-Cardinal Donald Wuerl  the Dallas pick first carved a wider profile at the USCCB, overseeing the national church's recruitment efforts as priest-director of the conference's vocations secretariat. Amid his new charge's years-long push to increase its number of seminarians  not to mention Dallas being home to Texas' growing college-level formation house, Holy Trinity in Irving  that priority is highlighted by the Pope's choice, as is Burns' even broader strong suit of ministry to young people given above all the presence of the University of Dallas, which is affiliated with the diocese.All in all, when it comes to energizing people in general, simply put, among this bench nobody does it better. That said, however, if there's one area where Burns' skill-set hasn't yet been tested in depth, it's in ministry to Hispanics, who comprise roughly half the Dallas fold.With the Big D pick, a long year of uncertainty ends  according to credible tracking reports, Burns' name came up in the process for practically every major US appointment on deck, from the Twin Cities and Newark to Anchorage and Arlington, and was seen in early buzz as figuring big again for the vacant archdiocese of Indianapolis. It is curious, however, that the one option that was never raised was the one to which he's now been sent... but as Dallas is far closer than the others to his Mom in Arizona  and arguably the plum opening of the current Stateside docket  nobody's complaining.In any case, upon settling in to his new life of I-30 and 35 traffic and apocalyptic summer heat, one of the key calls awaiting Burns will be his recommendations for a second auxiliary to replace Bishop Doug Deshotel, who was named head of Louisiana's Lafayette diocese (his birthplace) early this year. Considering the new North Texan's black-and-gold roots, however, the more pressing question on Day One lies instead with another choice of team  namely, is he a Cowboys fan now? In any case, it is a remarkable confluence that the chief shepherds of Texas' two largest cities are now both natives of Pittsburgh  the other, of course, being Houston's Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, now the USCCB President.A 2pm presser is scheduled to introduce the eighth bishop to his new charge. With today's move, seven Stateside Latin sees remain vacant, with another four led by (arch)bishops serving past the retirement age of 75.Featuring pieces of everything laid out above  included the much-anticipated answer on NFL loyalties  here's fullvid of Burns' ever-happy first meeting with the Dallas press.......and in a unique turn for an Appointment Day, the evening preach Burns delivered during a specially-held Holy Hour at St Rita's, one of the city's largest parishes (whose last pastor, Msgr Bob Coerver, was sent cross-Texas by the Pope earlier this fall as bishop of Lubbock ):
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Tim Johnson, associate professor of public management and public policy at Willamette Universitys Atkinson Graduate School of Management, has been named by President Thorsett the third recipient of the Grace and Elmer Goudy Professorship in Public Management and Policy Analysis effective June 1, 2017. On that same date, Johnson will become director of Willamette Universitys Center for Governance and Public Policy.

Over the past decade, Johnsons interdisciplinary research has answered questions about the social and psychological drivers of cooperation, the political values of unelected public officials, and the consequences of public policies that facilitate military veterans transitions into the civilian labor market.

Due to this research and his work in the classroom, Johnson was named a finalist for the Aspen Institutes Faculty Pioneer Award in 2014, along with other top business school faculty in the world who study and teach about interactions between the public and private sectors. Johnson also received Willamette Universitys Jerry E. Hudson Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2013 and was named the Atkinson Graduate School of Managements Faculty Member of the Year in 2015.

The original Elmer and Grace Goudy Professorship of Public Administration was established by the Collins Foundation to honor Elmer R. Goudy and Grace Collins Goudy. A graduate of Willamette University, Grace Collins Goudy served as president of the Collins Holding Company and was a devoted Willamette University trustee.

William A. Medina (19811985) and G. Frederick Thompson (19862015) precede Johnson in this professorship. Both exemplified the ideals of the Goudy and Collins families  a commitment to the improvement of public service, excellence in teaching and impactful research.

Johnson is originally from Butte, Montana, and was raised in Portland. He holds a BA with honors from the University of Oregon and a PhD from Stanford University.
Aton wants the Pharaohs Gold

Bob Moriarty

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Dec 13, 2016

Egypt has a 6000-year history of good mining that pretty much came to an abrupt end when Colonel Nasser staged a revolution in 1952 and nationalized the mining industry in 1962. Coups and counter coups continue with an attack on police in Cairo last week killing six at the same time as I was flying out of Cairo after a trip to a mining company. There have been more attacks since I left including an attack on a Coptic church that killed 27 Christians at a service in Cairo on Sunday. In a strange way, these constant attacks may well help gold mining in Egypt over the long-term.

Americans want to believe that coups or revolutions and the threat of constant violence is something that only happens in other countries but all the signs are there that say we are due a revolution soon or at least a coup. I wrote a book in November of last year I called The Art of Peace about my reflections on being at war and what comes our way soon. This is part of how I summed it up on the very last page,

The banking system is collapsing. I dont mean to say its going to collapse, its collapsing as I write. Only few recognize it today but when the system grinds to a halt after the banks steal all the deposits of their customers, the world will get it. We may well have our first worldwide revolution as a result. We have already seen just how thrilled the populations were when the banks closed in Argentina, Greece, Italy and Spain. The popularity of Trump and Sanders is a monument to just how pissed Americans are at their government, with recent polls showing 81 per cent of those polled were unhappy with the Federal government. When the banks close, the 99 per cent are going to be some kind of pissed.

Bear in mind that was written over a year ago. To anyone with an open mind, certainly Sanders was screwed by the leadership of his own party and proved more popular than HRC ever gleamed possible. And despite all the fake news from the NYT and WP with their claim of a 98% chance of HRC winning the election, those voting chose the 2nd most despised candidate in US history as our next president because he claimed he was going to change things.

How close is the US to revolution? Pretty damned close. In what will go down in history as the most perfect example of FAKE NEWS to ever come down the pike, the Washington Post fired a shot across the bows of anyone in the alternative media who dared question The Official Party Line. A no-name meaningless site that no one ever heard of before called PropOrNot listed 200 alternative news sites as being stooges of the Russians or useful idiots and demanded the FBI investigate them. I cannot tell you how disappointed I was not to have made the cut. If I could apply for membership I would hand them my credit card for the fee in an instant.

November 24, 2016 will mark the date of the death of the Washington Post. Like a scorpion in the last stages of dying, the rag will continue thrashing around stinging anything in reach until finally it stings itself.

But more importantly, the WP may have set in motion a planned false flag operation on behalf of the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex to reverse the election and keep power in the hands of the elite in the person of Hillary Rodham Clinton who has long proved that she spreads her legs for everyone. If you want to buy her, bring your quarters. HRC lost the election because she was the most despised presidential candidate in US history. Now shes whining how the Russians did it.

The card-carrying members of the MIC Complex including useful idiots even from the Republican side such as John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell are claiming the Russians hacked the DNC and John Podesta emails. They are calling for a Bi-Partisan investigation.

Guys, how about getting someone not bought and paid for by the MIC Complex to put in their two cents?

Lest the NYT and WP admit they are nothing more than paper tigers, the pair of masters at fake news is supporting the investigation while using weasel words to admit that actually the evidence is not conclusive. Those are weasel words and we know it because evidence is evidence and non-conclusive is always non-conclusive. You cant have evidence that is non-conclusive because it wouldnt be evidence then. Evidence has to be conclusive.

Actually we know the Russians didnt do the hack of either the DNC or John Podesta because real intelligence experts have told us the Russians were not behind the hack. That article points out that the NSA knows for certain the Russians were not behind the hack. Another piece from a real news source points out that if the FBI had evidence of someone participating in the hack on behalf of the Russians, he or she would be under arrest or at least charged no matter where they might be in the world.

When governments fail to protect the economic well-being of their citizens, revolution becomes inevitable. If economic change can be made peacefully, that happens and the citizens quiet down. If on the other hand a government fails to allow for peaceful change, chaos and bombs follow naturally.

The coup in Egypt in 2013 ousted one elected government that the people were unhappy with and installed an equally unpopular military government. It also killed the tourist industry, long a mainstay of the Egyptian economic. When the worldwide price of oil collapsed by 70% from June of 2014 another leg supporting the Egyptian economy tumbled with it.

Egypt was a third world country when the oil tap was flowing and tourists mobbed the souk daily. With both under siege, the government needs to do something to bring in revenue. For a time it looked like Centamin might help. Using the well documented maps showing just where the Pharaohs found their gold; the company found a giant deposit and outlined fourteen million ounces of gold. Their Sukari Gold mine went into production in 2010 and produces almost 500,000 ounces of gold yearly at a cash cost of about $700.

In Egypt when a gold company goes from exploration to exploitation prior to actual mining, the government sits down with them and hashes out a deal. The same people who administer the oil industry in Egypt just took the standard oil industry agreement and filled in the name of Centamin. That current agreement calls for a 50-50 split of all profits after the initial investment is recouped. That might make sense for the oil industry were all of the costs are up front. Basically once you have drilled an oil well and set your casing and piping to a storage facility, you have spent all the money you are going to spend.

Mining doesnt work that way. Expenses are constant and you can always upgrade your equipment and search for more ore. Centamin has a 28-year source of gold at todays production but is still drilling for more. Why not? If you dont spend the money, you end up giving it to the government. So while Centamin generates a giant cash flow of over $600 million a year, they dont report any profit and pay no share to the government of Egypt. Its a stupid agreement that hurts both Egypt and Centamin. If the government of Egypt had just looked at how other countries in the world handle revenue from mining, they would have taken a piece of the company or a NSR. If they had done that they would be collecting tens of millions of dollars. Instead, they get nothing and Centamin is selling for perhaps 30% of what they should be selling for.

The company I went to visit is named Aton Resources (AAN-V) and they have a major trend some 40 km long in a 738 square km concession. A number of mines have been located on the trend with workings going back to the Bronze Age. The last mining took place in 1958 when two British companies bailed out when Nasser started making noises about nationalizing the industry. There has been next to no modern exploration or drilling done prior to Aton. The company was formerly named Alexander Nubia International.

The company started in 2007. Total drilling on the project by the company is just short of 10,000 meters. There is an inferred resource of 397,000 ounces gold equivalent at the Abu Marawat gold deposit. There were management issues in the past and the Board of Directors changed riders at the end of December 2015. And there was a 5 for 1 rollback in January of 2015.

Ive been to the project last week. There is a lot of gold there. The drill results are exceptional and they will add ounces in a hurry. The company hoped to be releasing an initial 43-101 for the Hamama Deposit this month but late assay results and the Xmas chaos has forced a delay in the resource until early January. Aton recognized a need to be fully capitalized so conducted a major fund raising including participating with Rick Rule from Sprott. Rick Rule only loosens the purse strings when he sees a big potential but he takes his pound of flesh in return. The company just finished a $4.6 million dollar placement at $.065 with a full warrant at $.08.

Its put up or shut up time for Aton. They have the deposit, Egypt needs the revenue, their technical staff is excellent and they have over $4.5 million in the piggy bank with a market cap of under $12 million. What I saw could easily become a mine. How big? Nobody knows today but the company is fully funded for a major exploration and drilling program in 2017. Expect constant news flow starting early in the year.

Egypt has a lot of potential for mining. Atons ground could support half a dozen junior mining companies. They have far more ground than they can ever explore. But the country needs to bring their mining code into the 21st century. The best way to do that would be to get in touch with other mining countries in Africa and see how they share revenue participation. What they have today simply doesnt work. When that happens, both Centamin and Aton will have an immediate revaluation of their share price.

I thought Aton shares were cheap at $.065 so I bought some in the open market and I participated in the just announced PP. Aton is an advertiser and naturally I am biased. The website could use a do-over but the basic information you need to know about the company is there. I expect to see a lot of progress in the coming year from this management team. Do your own due diligence.

Aton Resources

AAN-V $.065 (Dec 12, 2016)

ANLBF-OTCBB 183 million shares

Aton Resources website

###

Bob Moriarty

President: 321gold

Archives
Dec 13, 2016 | By Tess

3D bioprinting company Organovo Holdings, Inc. has just presented data that demonstrates how its 3D bioprinted human liver tissue is surviving and sustaining functionality implanted in animals. According to the company, the pre-clinical data shows the potentials of their bioprinted tissues and the benefits of advancing its technology. Organovo is presenting its data at the TERMIS-Americas Meeting in San Diego, which is running until Dec. 14, 2016.

Not long ago, the 3D bioprinting company implanted its bioprinted human liver tissue patches into NOD/SCID mice. The liver tissue patches, which are made up of human hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells, have so far been tolerated by the mices bodies, and have remained in place and in tact on the animals livers. According to the data, Organovo was able to detect key human proteins such as albumin, alpha-1-anti-trypsin and fibrinogen in the mices blood within 7 days of implanting the liver tissue. After 28 days, these same human proteins and substances were still in the animals circulation.

Eric Michael David, M.D., J.D., chief strategy officer and executive vice president of preclinical development, Organovo, said of the development: With a critical shortage of donor organs and few alternatives to transplantation, Organovo is using its 3D bioprinting technology to develop novel therapeutic tissues for direct surgical implantation. Our preclinical data show rapid vascularization and tissue engraftment, and evidence of function and durability of our 3D bioprinted human liver tissue over several weeks. Most importantly, we see evidence of stable production of key human liver proteins in the animal bloodstream, and tissue staining for key human metabolic enzymes. The presence of these enzymes provides an important first step in demonstrating the capability of this tissue to treat inborn errors of metabolism, a key indication we are targeting.

The data from the mouse implants certainly shows promise for Organovos 3D bioprinted tissues. And while it may still be awhile before humans can be implanted with the 3D printed liver tissue, the technology does seem to be advancing towards that reality. Currently, Organovo is focusing its bioprinted liver patches for use in two areas: for acute-on-chronic liver failure and pediatric inborn metabolism errors. Down the line, Organovo plans to apply for an Investigational New Drug (IND) certificate through the FDA in the hopes that it will be able to apply its bioprinting technology for therapeutic purposes within the next three to five years.

According to Organovos press release, the total addressable market opportunity for its first two focus areas for the liver tissue is worth more than $3 billion in the U.S. alone. Organovo has also been developing other 3D bioprinted tissues: the ExVive Human Kidney tissue service launched in September, and in October the company announced it was beginning to develop a 3D bioprinted liver for direct transplantation.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Dec 13, 2016 | By Tess

NASAs Space Technology Research Grants Program recently awarded grants to a number of university-led Early Stage Innovations (ESI) project proposals. Among those given grants were simulation software company ANSYS, Inc., a team of additive manufacturing researchers from the University of Pittsburghs Swanson School of Engineering, and several more. The research team from Pitt was awarded $500,000 for three years to move forward their additive manufacturing research and development.

Laser interacting with Inconel powder inside an EOS DMLS M290 3D printer

at ANSYS Additive Manufacturing Research Lab

The teams proposal, called Prediction of Microstructure Evolution in DMLM (Direct Material Laser Melting) process Inconel 718 with Part Scale Simulation, was funded through the ESIs Modeling and Simulation-Based Certification of Additive Manufacturing Processing Parameters category. If that sounds like a mouthful, it essentially means that the teams research project revolves around developing a simulation process for 3D printed metal parts.

More specifically, the research team is hoping to develop a simulation method for metal 3D printing so that structural elements of 3D printed parts used for high-temperature applications, like for jet engines, can be virtually visualized, and elements like creep and strength can be determined before printing. The research is being headed by Albert To, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and director of the ANSYS Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory, as well as Wei Xiong, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science.

David Conover, chief technologist for mechanical products at ANSYS and the projects co-investigator, explained of the research: Currently, the only way to certify an AM part for space missions is to perform extensive microstructure and property characterization experiments on it, which is both time-consuming and expensive. The outcome of this research will potentially enable simulation-based certification of both AM parts and substantially lower the expense of certification.

NASA, which is understandably very interested in the ability to simulate and determine the properties of 3D printed metal parts, is hoping to help accelerate and advance the Pitt teams research project. The overall goal of the Space Technology Research Grants program is to push forward technologies for space that are in their early stages so they can eventually be implemented by NASA, government agencies, and the commercial space sector.

"NASA's Early Stage Innovations grants provide U.S. universities the opportunity to conduct research and technology development to advance NASA's scientific discovery and exploration goals," commented Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. "Partnering with academia in advancing these critical areas of research ensures we are engaging the best and brightest minds in enabling the agency's future robotic and human space flight missions."

As mentioned, the Pitt-based research project for developing simulation technology for crucial metal 3D printed parts will receive $500,000 in funding over the next three years. The Space Technology Research Grants program, which allotted the award, was itself funded by NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate, a branch of NASA charged with developing state-of-the-art and boundary pushing technologies.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Dec 13, 2016 | By Benedict

Demetris Zavorotnitsienko, founder of Cypriot 3D printer developer Ilios 3D, has announced the imminent closure of the company, citing a lack of funding and general operational difficulties. Zavorotnitsienko is now putting the company and its intellectual property up for sale.

Just two months after the launch of the Ilios Beam 3D printer, the creator of that Stereolithography (SLA) machine has announced the immediate closure of his company due to a lack of funding, difficulty finding investors, and constant personal stress. In a heartfelt message posted on the Ilios 3D website, founder and CEO Demetris Zavorotnitsienko explained how attempting to keep the young company operational had driven him to despair.

I can't keep hoping for the best at the end of each month, Zavorotnitsienko writes. 18 hour workdays, constant stress, and lack of any sort of funding has drove me to bare minimum at the workshop and in my personal life in general since [I had poured everything] into Ilios including my heart [and] soul, making sacrifices, and [losing] gradually what i built over the course of time.

According to Zavorotnitsienko, those with outstanding orders from Ilios 3D will receive their SLA 3D printers in due time, and the company founder has even suggested that extra accessories and upgrades may be thrown in with the last few orders as he looks to clear inventory of the now-defunct 3D printing company.

Ilios 3D unveiled the Ilios Beam SLA 3D printer earlier this year

In order to recoup some of his losses, Zavorotnitsienko is looking to sell the company in its entirety. This package would include mechanical designs for each Ilios 3D printer, electronic designs for boards and printer controls, assembled printers (if needed), Windows software and its source code, as well as Ilios firmware. The founder hopes that a new owner might still be able to make a success of the Ilios concept.

So where did it go wrong for Ilios 3D? According to Zavorotnitsienko, the company was founded to fill a gap in the market for an affordable SLA 3D printer, and to establish an additive manufacturing presence in the founders home country of Cyprus. By the founders own admission, however, that plan has failed.

Around four years ago, Ilios 3D ran a successful Indiegogo campaign for the Ilios HD SLA 3D printer, raising almost 18,000. That 3D printer was followed by the Ilios Ray, a personal 3D printing laboratory, after which Zavorotnitsienko teased the introduction of the Ilios Beam in April 2016.

Ilios 3D kept the Beam under wraps for a while, offering a big discount to customers choosing to preorder that machine. The SLA 3D printer was revealed a few months later, but it seems that an insufficient number of customers saw value in the 2,386 3D printer, despite its being around $800 cheaper than the Formlabs Form 2.

In his lengthy farewell message, Zavorotnitsienko explains that the funds raised from the initital Indiegogo campaign for the Ilios HD remained virtually the sum total of his finances, adding that several meetings with potential investors proved unsuccessful.

The founder of Ilios 3D also reserved a few words of criticism for the 3D printing industry as a whole, blaming too much competition, Chinese knockoffs, cheap quick builds, [and] pointless identical crowdfunding campaigns for creating a market that seems unable to sustain independent developers of 3D printers like Ilios 3D.

Ilios 3D is for sale, along with its intellectual property

According to Zavorotnitsienko, funds raised from the sale of Ilios 3D will be used to pay outstanding invoices and fulfill any remaining obligations to customers and suppliers.

Zavorotnitsienko concludes his message with the following statement: I apologize to everyone for not reaching your expectations. I really tried to create something of value with the knowledge I have and perhaps make the world a bit better in my own way.

Parties interested in purchasing Ilios 3D are encouraged to contact Zavorotnitsienko with their enquiries.

Posted in 3D Printer

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Ayush Bagla wrote at 12/14/2016 5:27:05 PM:Im happy your xxxxxxxx.. I along with 3 other users got scammed by you and trusted you. Your blaming competition and cheap stuff.. You made garbage and sold garbage. Investors wont back you cause your not a nice person to even talk to. You have no professional experitise in this subject your business was smoke and mirrorsI.AM.Magic wrote at 12/14/2016 7:36:29 AM:I wish you the best buddy. I know exactly what you have been through. Everything will be alright.




It's that time of year when the cat decides to scale-up the freshly decorated Christmas tree and the family dog rekindles his infatuation with holiday gift wrapping. Regardless of their, shall we say, amusing episodes of curiosity, we'd be hard pressed to leave them a lump of coal in their stockings. Here's a ways to help spread some holiday cheer to your four-legged friends.







Wolf & Lion Pet Supplies (San Francisco)

With a wide array of naturally derived wet and dry foods that cater to nearly every canine and feline, Wolf and Lion Pet Supplies actually is "the biggest little pet shop is San Francisco." Sure, their assortment of organic and whole-meat foods are incomparable, but they also showcase seasonally available novelties from local vendors too. They carry handmade stockings in the shape of dog bones from the Foggy Dog, which are perfect for stuffing with treats and toys. // 2460 Lombard St (Marina), wolfandlionpet.com





Pro Canine Tip: Jerkies are a low-fat, high-protein treat and can also help remove built-up tartar from around your dog's gum line. But be sure to read the labels: More "affordable" jerkies made in China have been known to have toxic chemicals that can wreak havoc on your dog's digestive tract.





Pro Feline Tip: Because cats have thinner, more delicate teeth than dogs, dry foods may not always be ideal. Wet foods and the occasional piece of malleable salmon jerky would be ideal.





Canine Comforts (Oakland)

From Lucky Dogs Barkery treats to laser pointers for your cat, there is little you won't find at Canine Comforts. With an ever-rotating stock of dog-safe plush and BPA-free frisbees, wet and dry treatsfrom respected brands such as Lotus and Taste of The Wild, and all-natural grooming supplies, you'll probably find everything for your fur baby. (They also have a great collection of training collars and harnesses from top-name brands such as Ecollar and Timberwolf for the more rambunctious pup.) // 308 Jackson St # 2 (Oakland), k9comfortsoakland.com





Pro Canine Tip: This is the go-to store for anything and everything harnesses or leashes, active-wear and otherwise. (We recommend investing in one of their soft-fleece running vests if your dog's nylon-strapped harness is causing under arm irritation.)





Pro Feline Tip: Primarily a dog-speciality shop, you won't find a ton of novelties for your felinebut they do have cat essentials such as organically grown catnip and scratch posts made from 100-percent recycled materials.





(via celebrations.com)





Paws and Claws (Oakland)

Above any other pet shop in the Bay Area, Paws and Claws is the Toys-R-Us of pet shops with squeakers and plush toys and frisbees as far as the eye can see. (They also carry one of the widest selections of full-bodied fleece and trench coats for dogs.) Since they offer anesthesia-free teeth cleaning for both cats and dogs, it might be worth giving the gift of healthy gums. "We're seeing a lot of positive results from feeding dogs organ-based foods such as lungs and livers," says a team member of Paws and Claws. "We also carry 'bully sticks,' which are great for keeping your dog's teeth clean and free of tartar build up." // 3436 Dimond Ave. (Oakland), pawsandclawsoakland.com





Pro Canine Tip: Grooved treats such as rawhides can help keep tartar buildup under control. However, once it sets, it's notoriously hard to remove; yearly cleanings can do wonders for your dog's bad breath and oral health. (Most Bay Area vets offer both anesthesia-assisted and anesthesia -free cleanings.)





Pro Feline Tip: Cats are far more prone to gum disease and tooth decay than dogs because of their more delicate, clustered teeth, capable of hoarding bits of leftover food for days on end. If your cat's got "kitty breath," it might be time for a cleaning or vet check-up.





Andy's Pet Shop (San Jose)

At Andy's Pet Shop, 100 percent of the animals are for sale, from dogs and cats to snakes and turtles, which have all been either surrendered, rescued, or taken in from the streets. So when you're buying your dog food or cat litter, not only are you supporting American-made brands (which is what the shop primarily stocks), you're also helping fund their adoption center and rehoming costs. // 51 Notre Dame Ave (San Jose), andyspetshop.com





Pro Canine Tip: Small dogs such as dachshunds and toy poodles can benefit greatly from wearing fleece coats and sweaters during cold spells.





Pro Feline Tip: Because of the acrobatic nature of cats, vests, harnesses, and loose-fitting collars can prove to be hazardous.
In Courageous Wives, a feature article published in The Weekly Challenger last April, Indhira Suero Acosta tells the story of 12 African American police officers who sued for the right to patrol the entire city.It was 1965 and segregation still had a tight grip on the City of St. Petersburg.Rather than writing from the officers perspective, Acosta interviewed their wives, who recalled their fears, concerns and hopes about the brave and potentially dangerous stand their husbands took some 50 years ago.For many people, its a little known time in the history of St. Petersburg. But through the Neighborhood News Bureau , a newsroom run by journalism students from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, these stories and more are being told.In 2006, Professors Michael Killenberg and the late Robert Dardenne, founding directors of the USFSP Department of Journalism and Media Studies , launched what was then a novel initiative -- a newsroom embedded in Midtown, the citys traditionally African-American community.The goal for the program was twofold: to give USFSP students a real experience in community-based journalism, and to provide better coverage of Midtown by reporting on stories that the mainstream media might otherwise miss.For years the news bureau was located at the James B. Sanderlin Neighborhood Family Center, but it moved to expanded offices at the Enoch Davis Community Center earlier this year (2016).This is USFSP Assistant Professor Bernardo Mottas second year overseeing the Neighborhood News Bureau. A former lawyer who grew up in Brazil and then went back to school to become a journalist, Motta teaches classes in theory, media law and community journalism.The Neighborhood News Bureau is a semester-long class that senior journalism students are required to take, but its also a newsroom focused on covering community news in Midtown, which historically has not been covered, says Motta.Although students stories are published to the Neighborhood News Bureau website, were not in the business of publishing the stories ourselves, says Motta. We operate more like a news wire service.The goal is for students to get their work published in other media outlets, such as Creative Loafing, The Weekly Challenger, the Tampa Bay Times, WUSF Public Media and StPeteTV , the citys cable television channel.Its all about learning to be better journalists, photographers, videographers and layout artists -- this is a full newsroom, says Motta. We are focused on getting and giving community-based news about Midtown.Lyn Johnson, editor of The Weekly Challenger , welcomes the collaboration between her paper and the Neighborhood News Bureau.The Weekly Challenger is an African-American owned newspaper that covers the Midtown community and has been in operation since 1967.We are a small paper and a small staff, says Johnson. Working with the students has been the best thing for us. We cant cover everything wed like to and the students can move all over the city and cover what we cant get to.In late September, The Weekly Challenge and the Neighborhood News Bureau organized a community forum in which local leaders were invited to discuss issues relevant to Midtown residents.Indhira Suero Acosta came from the Dominican Republic to get her masters degree in journalism and media studies at USFSP. The Courageous Wives is one of many stories about Midtown that she has written.She says the Neighborhood News Bureau provides a hands-on experience students cant get in the classroom.Students feel the pressure of deadlines, do the work and then can see their stories posted online or in print, says Acosta.This semester is Devon Bonnells first experience in a news bureau setting. Every college has a newspaper, but not every college has a news bureau program, she says. Its all new to me; Im just getting my feet wet. But I like the idea of having a positive impact on the Midtown community.(Read Bonnells article about the denial of an additional early voting sites in South St. Petersburg.)Shawn Leung Kiu Fok is a USFSP graduate student from Hong Kong who worked in video production before enrolling in the masters program here.He hopes to use his video multimedia background to produce video stories about Midtown as part of his daily news beat with the Neighborhood News Bureau.Its only been a month since the program started and Ive already learned a lot, says Fok, who is a graduate teaching assistant in the USFSP Department of Journalism and Media Studies and a student in the Neighborhood News Bureau program.I had been hearing a lot about the Neighborhood News Bureau from my classmates and how it was focused primarily on a predominantly black community in the city, says Fok. I felt it would be interesting and meaningful to be in the program.His experience so far has been excellent, he says. Ive had a chance to talk to residents and really hear what they care about. People outside Midtown dont always hear what is happening here and I feel like it is our mission to provide that platform.A 5.5-square-mile area bordered by 4th Street South and 34th Street South and 2nd Avenue North and 30th Avenue South in St. Petersburg, Midtown was once considered the heart of the African-American community.At one time, neighborhoods such as Methodist Town, the Gas Plant neighborhood, the Deuces and Pepper Town were successful and thriving, with dozens of African-American-owned businesses.But starting in the late 1960s and through the 70s, the community began a steady decline for a variety of reasons, including the desegregation of schools, neighborhoods and businesses.In the past decade, there has been a concerted effort through public and private investment to rebuild and revitalize the area.One example of successful private investment is Carla Bristols Gallerie 909 . Located on 22nd Street South in the Warehouse Arts District, Bristols gallery regularly hosts community events and art shows.Neighborhood News Bureau students Katie Callihan and Marla Korenich reported on Bristols success in an article about the gallerys second anniversary celebration Having the opportunity to participate in community-based journalism was both awesome and eye opening, says Callihan. It was challenging at first to establish my credibility and I had to fight for interviews and to get my foot in the door.But the effort paid off.I loved learning how to juggle a camera, conduct on-the-spot interviews and take notes. It helped amp up my resume and beef up my portfolio which eventually led to an internship with Creative Loafing, says Callihan.In addition to daily beat reporting, collecting multimedia stories and oral histories about Midtown is an important objective for the Neighborhood News Bureau, says Motta.Midtown Stories and Voices of Midtown are two ongoing projects that the students oversee. Those stories are published to the Neighborhood News Bureau website.The students are also collaborating with WUSF Public Media journalists on Telling Tampa Bay Stories. This WUSF-sponsored storytelling project records interviews with residents of the regions lesser-known communities, starting with Midtown.Earlier this year, WUSF journalists and Neighborhood News Bureau students spent a day at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African-American Museum in Midtown interviewing residents talking about their experiences of growing up in the community.We did 19 interviews that day, says Mary Shedden, news director of WUSF Public Media. It was a great opportunity to hear the voices of members of our community who are not often heard, and also a chance for professional journalists to work with students to help them hone their skills.The stories were broadcast on WUSFs Florida Matters Radio Show in April and showcased again in early October during Tampa Bays third annual storytelling festival.The Neighborhood News Bureau is also reaching out to a much younger crowd of student journalists.Lorien Mattiacci is a former Hillsborough County high school teacher who is pursuing a masters degree in journalism at USFSP. Shes working with the Neighborhood News Bureau on a K-12 outreach project with local South Pinellas County Schools.My big focus is educational journalism, says Mattiacci.The News Bureaus K-12 outreach project serves as a resource for journalism and multimedia programs at several South Pinellas County Schools -- Melrose Elementary, John Hopkins Middle and Lakewood High School, as well as the private Academy Prep and a youth group at Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church.Last year Mattiacci was a volunteer and intern with the K-12 outreach program. This year shes been asked to take the program to the next level by developing a more formalized structure. She hopes to be able to expand the program to additional South Pinellas County schools.My job is to create a program that gives everyone what they need -- both the students at the K-12 schools and USFSP journalism students, says Mattiacci.The idea is to pair a student with a specific school to meet the schools needs, while enhancing students journalism education by allowing them to work onsite teaching journalism to kids, says Mattiacci. Were working hard to make it a positive educational experience for everyone.This story is part of a series -- supported by USFSP -- about innovative programs and talented people working and studying at the public university based in downtown St. Petersburg.
James Devaney/Getty Images

We are in a golden age of television, a movable, streaming feast of prestige programming. We watch, we fall asleep, we resume watching, we move on. But will any of these cerebral, plot-twisty series have the zeitgeist-seizing gusto to fill the Manolos of Sex and the City?

I couldnt help but wonder

Sarah Jessica Parkers Carrie Bradshaw careened into our lives in 1998, with her cosmos and cigarettes, fashion-editor fever-dream wardrobe, excruciating puns, Alice Cooper eye makeup and quest for true love in a city stricken with romantic-deficit disorder. The unapologetically superficial show revealed raw truths about sex, love, friendship and, most poignantly, aging.

From Carries existential birthdays (Im 35. Thirty-five is not 25.) to the seminal Twentysomethings episode that eerily predicted the rise of the selfie-obsessed millennial, the subject of aging creeps through the candy-colored series. In Season 5 the girls travel to Atlantic City, and Carrie finds herself asking a craps dealer what happens after 38. You fall off the table, he replies with a dealers shrug.

Now, almost 20 years later, star and executive producer Sarah Jessica Parker returns to HBO with Divorce, for another look at life and love, sex and aging, in a later decade and a less fabulous locale: upstate New York. And like her or not, youve got to respect the lady cojones it takes to tackle such a high-profile role. Like the rest of us, shes aging, and well aware of the scrutiny she was under in her early 30s.
Central, Herreid-Selby, Warner just 1 win away from state title games

Aberdeen Central, Warner, Herreid-Selby and Hitchcock-Tulare are all just one win away from high school football championship games.
LOS ANGELES  At an awards gala held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on the evening of December 6, 2016, the Building Industry Association (BIA) Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter presented Manny Gonzalez, FAIA, LEED AP, managing principal of the Los Angeles office of KTGY Architecture + Planning, with its TED Humanitarian Award. This award is bestowed upon a BIA member, public official or an exceptional industry leader who invests their time, energy and resources to help others obtain basic life necessities, food, and/or shelter and for their contributions to the industry.

I am honored and humbled to accept this award, said Gonzalez. I am grateful to the BIA and for Tom DiPrima of The Chadmar Group for nominating me. Los Angeles tops the nation in the number of chronically homeless people and nearly all of them sleep on the streets. I know that it the BIAs hope that we can shine a brighter light on this issue and together we can make a difference.

Earlier this year, Gonzalez was elected to The College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects for his work in senior housing. Election to Fellowship recognizes not only his achievements as an individual architect but also his significant contributions to architecture and society on a national level. Gonzalez also received the NAHB 55+ Housing Councils inaugural Associate of the Year Award, which recognizes an active NAHB 55+ Housing Council member who supports the building industry with exceptional service and/or a quality product; and has achieved success through innovation, financial success and integrity.

Last year, as a tribute to his lifetime body of work, Gonzalez was inducted into the Wm. S. Marvin Hall of Fame for Design Excellence in Washington, D.C., awarded by Hanley Woods Builder magazine. Gonzalez architectural achievements are also known internationally and he was recently invited to speak at the International Symposium on Development, Design and Planning of Senior Living Communities in Qingdao, China to introduce new design concepts for Chinas ever-growing and underserved senior population. He was also a speaker on housing at the 1st International Conference of the Americas in Mexico City.

Throughout his career, Gonzalez has held a variety of leadership positions in industry associations including BIA, National Association of Home Building (NAHB), and American Institute of Architects (AIA). Currently, Gonzalez serves on the NAHBs Multifamily Leadership Board and is a trustee on the NAHBs 55+ Housing Council Board. Additionally, Gonzalez holds the position of Vice-Chair of ULIs Lifestyle Residential Development Council-55+. He has served on the Board of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and was the Design Trends Forum Chair for PCBC. He has also chaired the Senior Housing Symposium in both New Orleans and Philadelphia, which attracted over 1,200 attendees.

Some of the local organizations that he has assisted include the Union Rescue Mission, Habitat For Humanity, Wounded Warrior, Homeboy Industries, Red Cross, California School for the Blind, and Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child. He has also been a personal sponsor of The Painted Turtle events, which provides opportunities for children to attend a camp, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, and Boyle Heights Dolores Mission, among other charities.

KTGY has a culture of giving back and is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary in business by highlighting 25 Acts of Gratitude. Highlights from KTGYs 25th Anniversary Acts of Gratitude include Habitat for Humanity build days where staff members from various offices had the opportunity to spend a day working to build a home for a family in need. The firms Making a Difference Program invites staff members to apply for funds to support organizations that are near and dear to team members hearts. This year, through the Making a Difference Program, KTGY supported employees commitments to feeding the homeless at Thanksgiving time, building parks on vacant lots, and educating girls in need. Several team members volunteer with the ACE mentor program, inspiring high school students to pursue careers in the architecture-construction-engineering field. In India, KTGYs Pune office supports an orphanage and school for girls, assisting in making higher education possible for some. To learn more about KTGYs Act of Gratitude, click here.

Founded in 1991, KTGY Architecture + Planning is an international award-winning full-service architecture and planning firm delivering innovation, artistry and attention to detail across multiple offices and studios, ensuring that clients and communities get the best the firm has to offer no matter the building type or location. KTGYs architects and planners combine big picture opportunities, leading-edge sustainable practices and impeccable design standards to help create developments of enduring value. KTGY serves clients worldwide from offices located in Chicago, Denver, Irvine, Los Angeles, Oakland, Pune and Tysons. Call 888.456.KTGY or visit ktgy.com

Media Contact

Company Name: KTGY Architecture + Planning

Contact Person: Anne Monaghan / Monaghan Communications

Email: anne@MonaghanPR.com

Phone: 888-456-KTGY

City: Los Angeles

State: California

Country: United States

Website: http://www.ktgy.com
Hong Kong While one of the main principles of yoga is getting in touch with ones environment, and respecting nature, there is one ever-present component used throughout yoga practice that comes in direct conflict with these beliefs: the yoga mat.

Made from toxic, bio-accumulative PVC, the majority of yoga mats are unhealthy, unhygienic, and a veritable danger to the environment.

Understanding the need for a sustainable alternative, clesign created a yoga mat, using natural rubber and cork. Inherently free of PVC and PU, the clesign Yoga Mat makes for a pioneering product in the fitness accessory industry, as it caters to the needs of the ever-growing audience of environmentally conscious consumers and yoga enthusiasts.

Commenting on the creation of the clesign Yoga Mat, the companys founder said My inspiration came from my memories of my grandparents beautiful backyard in Taiwan. However, it wasnt until 40 years later that we started researching how to create what came to be the clesign Yoga Mat. We sourced materials from three countries  Morocco, Southern Italy and Portugal  and performed testing for over 5 years. We even had professional yoga instructors try out our mat during their sessions, to assure its endurance during actual workout conditions. Were proud to say that the final result, has exceeded our expectations, and has gained a large following by yogis around the world.

In line with its environmentally-friendly principles, clesign plants a tree for every 2 clesign natural rubber mat sold, and a palm tree in Morocco for every 10 eco-polyurethane clesign professional yoga mat sold.

So far, the company has planted a total of 20,601 tress, while, the booming sales of its cornerstone products are sure to lead to even more tree plantings in the near future.

To learn more about Clesign, please visit: http://www.clesignyoga.com/

Media Contact

Company Name: CHARLOTTELIN INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED

Contact Person: CLESIGN Sustainable

Email: info@clesign.com.hk

Phone: +85235280807

Country: HongKong

Website: http://www.clesignyoga.com/
Thomas R. Cutler announced the proprietary Manufacturing Media Consortium met in Washington DC on December 9th. Thomas R. Cutler founded the organization seventeen years ago. Cutler led the meeting to identify 2017 manufacturing Over 240 members of the Manufacturing Media Consortium attended the meeting. The professional organization includes journalists, editors, economists, and other industrial leaders worldwide. Members write about trends, data, case studies, and profiles, in the manufacturing, industrial, and distribution sectors. Cutler works with thousands of media outlets to expand manufacturing media coverage.

Cutler is ranked as the leading manufacturing journalist worldwide and a contributing editor for hundreds of publications annually. Thomas R. Cutler has been writing extensively about manufacturing and industry for more than twenty years. According to Cutler, The dynamic stories of global manufacturers and best-practices create a never-ending stream of feature articles and important, newsworthy content. There are challenges to be sure along with opportunities for growth and worthy of media attention which is the purpose of the global Manufacturing Media Consortium.

About TR Cutler, Inc. and Thomas R. Cutler

TR Cutler, Inc. (www.trcutlerinc.com) was founded by Thomas R. Cutler seventeen years ago. Maintaining extraordinary relationships with clients, journalists, editors, trendsetters, and key business leaders worldwide, TR Cutler, Inc. has become a key resource for those writing about the manufacturing sector. Cutler founded Manufacturing Media Consortium in the 1999. Cutler is the author of several books and has become the go to resource among those who write about manufacturing and distribution. Cutler is the author of more than five hundred feature articles annually regarding the manufacturing, distribution, industrial, and material handling sectors. Follow on Twitter @ThomasRCutler.

Media Contact

Company Name: TR Cutler Inc.

Contact Person: Thomas R. Cutler

Email: trcutler@trcutlerinc.com

Phone: 954-682-6200

Address:3032 S. Oakland Forest Dr. S-2803

City: Fort Lauderdale

State: FLORIDA

Country: United States

Website: http://www.trcutlerinc.com
Globalization needs to be managed and not abandoned. We need to pay greater attention to those who have been disadvantaged in globalization. We need world leadership who see that the advantages of globalization far outweigh the disadvantages. This is the

Globalization has historically been considered a positive attribute for world economic success. Unfortunately, in todays ever-changing economic and political climate, many Western populations have lost faith in the benefits of globalization, making it harder for executives to conduct business in the usual ways.

Students, who will become the next generation of global leaders, will need to adapt to these challenges, and begin to achieve a more complex understanding of the culture of doing business in Asia.

At the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) within the National University of Singapore, a new Master in International Affairs program was created to meet the needs of students internationally, to enable them to study the relationships between regions, countries and nations. LKY Schools faculty encourages the world to accept globalization, while it may appear difficult in the light of Brexit, the results of the U.S. presidential election, and the rise of right wing movements in Europe.

Globalization needs to be managed and not abandoned. We need to pay greater attention to those who have been disadvantaged in globalization. We need world leadership who see that the advantages of globalization far outweigh the disadvantages. This is the core of what it will take for students to become successful business leaders in this new world climate  to acknowledge the challenges of this new world and constantly reinvent themselves, said Prof Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor of Economics at LKY School.

Prof Khong Yuen Foong, Li Ka Shing Professor of Political Science at the LKY School who returned to Asia after 27 years abroad as a professor at Oxford and Harvard advises students on the importance of gaining international perspectives.

According to Professor Khong, Studying foreign policy in Asia exposes you to a debate of diverse views from people of different nationalities who have been at the receiving end of U.S. foreign policy. This diversity instills in students an ability to learn new skills and adapt to different dynamics which is crucial in todays changing world.

Asias imprint on the global economy, politics, trade and security are tremendous and growing. It is important to step out of your comfort zone into Asia, a completely different region to decipher its changing economic-security dynamics and implications on the rest of the world, added Prof Khong.

The LKY School has extensive collaborations within the global academic community and has strategic partnerships with the Harvard Kennedy School, as well as with the Global Public Policy Network (GPPN), which includes Columbia University, London School of Economics and Political Science and Sciences Po. LKY School is located at the National University of Singapore. Located in the heart of Asia, Singapore is one of the most economically competitive countries with public policies studied by governments all over the world.

For more information on the Lee Kuan Yew Schools Master in International Relations program, visit http://lkyspp.sg/MIAProgUS.

###

About the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

The LKY School is an autonomous, professional graduate school of the National University of Singapore. Its mission is to educate and train policy-makers and leaders, with the objective of raising the standards of governance throughout the region, improving the lives of its people, and, in so doing, contributing to the transformation of Asia and beyond. In addition to Masters and PhD programs, the LKY School offers high quality customized Executive Programs that cater to the needs of time-constrained senior managers and professionals, with the aim of delivering creative solutions to real management and leadership challenges.

Media Contact

Company Name: CATHY CALLEGARI PUBLIC RELATIONS INC

Contact Person: Cathy Callegari

Email: cathy@callprinc.com

Phone: 2125791370

Address:220 Riverside Boulevard  14G

City: New York

State: NY

Country: United States

Website: www.callprinc.com
Alvogen is a global, privately owned pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and selling generic, brand, over-the-counter brands (OTC) and biosimilar products for patients around the world. The company has commercial operations in 35 countries with 2,300 employees and operates four manufacturing and development hubs in the U.S., Romania, Korea and Taiwan. North America is Alvogen's single largest market and other key markets include: South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Japan and China.


Matilda Resource Grows to 6Moz

Perth, Dec 13, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Blackham Resources Ltd ( ASX:BLK ) ("Blackham") is pleased to provide a revised Mineral Resource estimate for the Matilda/Wiluna Gold Operation. This is the first resource associated with the Stage 2 expansion study aimed at growing production beyond 200,000ozpa.



- Combined Matilda/Wiluna Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources have grown to 6.0Moz (58Mt @ 3.2g/t)



- Open pit resources now 33Mt @ 2.0g/t for 2.1Moz



-- includes a Maiden East-West open pit resource of 8.6Mt @ 2.5g/t for 700koz (59% indicated)



-- Happy Jack - Creek Shear - Moonlight shear resources to be revised to include recently completed drill program



- Underground resources grow to 25Mt @ 4.9g/t for 3.9Moz



-- Golden Age Resource grows by 21%



-- Bulletin Resource now extends over 600m strike



-- High grade Essex Resource increases



- Growth in the open pit resources will underpin the base load feed and growth in the underground resources will provide important grade profile for Wiluna processing plant



- The significant growth in Mineral Resources confirms the need to expand the Wiluna plant gold production beyond 200kozpa.



Blackham's Managing Director, Bryan Dixon, said "The latest Wiluna resource upgrade is likely to add significant base load open pit and underground feed for the Wiluna expansion study currently underway. Very few gold operations in first class jurisdictions have the scale to be +200,000ozpa operations. Projects of this size generally sit in billion or multi-billion dollar producers."



Following successful drilling campaigns, Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource estimates have been updated at several open pit deposits at Matilda, as well as at the East and West pits and the Bulletin, Golden Age and Essex underground deposits at Wiluna. Total resources at Matilda and Wiluna are now 58Mt @ 3.2g/t for 6.0Moz up from 48Mt @3.3g/t for 5.1Moz Au (ASX release 27th June 2016). All resources are within a 20km radius of the Wiluna Gold Plant. A breakdown of resources is given below in Table 1 (refer to link below).



Wiluna Resource Updates



East and West Lodes



A new open pit resource model has been completed for the East and West Lodes based on historic and recent drilling. Mineralisation was previously modelled using a 4.0g/t lower-cut focusing on high grade underground mining opportunities. However, significant lower grade mineralisation which potentially can be extracted from an open pit was not captured by the previous interpretation. This mineralisation has been re-modelled above a 0.3g/t lower-cut and incorporated into an updated resource and reported within an A$1,800/oz optimised pit shell. Total Indicated and Inferred (JORC 2012) open pit resources for the East and West Lodes within this shell comprise 8.6Mt @ 2.5g/t for 700,000oz (Table 2, refer to link below).



Underground resources have been modelled using a 4.0g/t lower cut and reported above a 2.0g/t outside the A$1800/oz shell.



The re-evaluation of the East and West lodes using open pit parameters has resulted in a significant increase in Mineral Resources at Wiluna. Pit optimisations using current open pit mining costs and historical sulphide ore processing costs (760,000tpa) indicates the potential for large pit cut backs on both the East and West pits (Figure 1, refer to link below). As outlined in an ASX release dated 7th December 2016, potentially economic mineralisation has been identified between the East and West pits during the latest drilling program.



This mineralisation has not been included in the current Mineral Resource Estimate. It is likely to that this mineralisation will have a positive economic impact as it will lower the strip ratio and potential allow the East and West lodes to be mined further to the north encompassing the currently separate North pit. The areas shaded in pink in Figure 2 (refer to link below) show the mineralised intercepts within 300m of surface which have not been included in the latest Mineral Resource.



A Mineral Resource estimate is currently underway for the Happy Jack to Bulletin pits (Figure 1) and it is anticipated that this will result in additional open pit resources.



It is anticipated that both mining and processing costs per tonne will reduce if Blackham proceeds with its Stage 2 expansion plans which would potentially make more resources amenable to open pit mining. As part of the Expansion Study these mining and operating costs are being re-estimated.



Bulletin



Following the latest drilling program at Bulletin, the results of which were reported to the ASX on 16th August 2016, the Upper Bulletin resource estimate has been updated to 2.8Mt @ 4.3 g/t for 392,000oz Au (45% Indicated) (Table 3, refer to link below). This represents an increase of 81,000oz and includes new estimates for Bulletin, Bulletin South and Lennon. Indicated Resources for Bulletin are now 1.5 Mt @ 3.7 g/t for 180,000oz Au which represents an increase of 39,000oz over the previous resource. A long section through Bulletin showing existing development and average block model grades is shown in Figure 5 (refer to link below).



The Bulletin open pit was mined to a depth of approximately 70m during the 1990's, producing 70,000 ounces (660Kt of oxide ore at 2.8g/t and 83Kt of sulphide ore at 3.7 g/t); by 1994 the focus shifted to the high grade underground discovery underneath the pit. Mining studies are in progress which will focus on the Upper Bulletin underground with a view to revising the Mine Plan and Reserves in this area. As with the East and West Lodes significant mineralisation above a 0.3g/t lower-cut which could potentially be extracted from an open pit was not captured by the previous interpretations. Remodelling of this mineralisation is underway and could potentially result in open pit resources being defined for Bulletin.



Golden Age Resource



Golden Age mineralisation is free milling ore with gold mineralisation located within a quartz reef. Results from an additional 39 underground drill holes completed since the previous Mineral Resource estimate has resulted in an increase in JORC 2012 Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources (JORC 2012) for Golden Age to 1.4Mt @ 4.3g/t for 191,000oz Au (previously 1.3Mt @ 3.8g/t for 158,000 oz Au). The high grade Golden Age middle resource of 290,000t @ 9.1g/t for 85,000oz is currently being mined. The Golden Age surface resource is currently being revised to include the latest drill program with a view to open pit mining.



A breakdown of the Golden Age Resource is given in Table 4 (refer to link below).



Essex Resource



A resource update has been completed for the Essex deposit based on a re-evaluation of the previous model and 3 new drill-holes completed by Blackham. Previously a resource of 148,000 t @ 7.4g/t for 35,000 ounces was reported at a 2g/t topcut.



The updated resource now has a total of 666,000 t @ 4.52g/t for 97,000oz. A breakdown of the resources is given in Table 5 (refer to link below). Mining studies are underway on the Essex open pit and underground which has an existing exploration drive within 15m of the underground deposit.



The current resource appears to have some continuity at depth with a number of the main shear structures associated with the Essex mineralisation continuing at depth to potentially interact with the Golden Age middle zone. Further drilling at depth, immediately below the resource is necessary to identify these structures as currently there is no drilling in this area. Along strike it Essex mineralisation has less continuity as a fault appears to truncate and/or shear the lodes to the north and mineralisation merges with the East Lode Shear to the south.



Matilda Resource Update



Recent exploration holes have targeted new resource areas due to improved access to the existing Matilda M3 and M4 Pits as well as along strike from the M6 deposit and between the M1 and M5 deposits. This drilling has enabled updates to existing resource estimates at the M1 to M5 and M6 deposits.



- Matilda Resource M1 to M5 now stands at 11,310,000t @ 1.74g/t for 631,000oz.



- M6 resource updated to include new drilling now stands at 536,000t @ 1.7g/t for 29,000oz Au Indicated and Inferred.



A breakdown of the Matilda Mineral Resources is given in Table 6 (refer to link below).



The resource for the M6 deposit has also been updated to include recent infill drilling and now stands at 536,000t @ 1.7g/t for 29,000oz Au Indicated and Inferred. The exploration team is still investigating the potential of the M6 deposits both along strike and down plunge.



The Matilda M1 to M5 resource is now being reported at a 0.6g/t cut-off above 950mRL and 2g/t below 950mRL. The 950mRL represents the depth of the current pit design. Below this is considered the UG portion of the deposit. Previously resources were reported above and below the 900mRL.



Wiluna Gold Deposit Summary



The Wiluna and Matilda gold deposits are located within the Wiluna Goldfield, close to the town of Wiluna at latitude 26deg 38'S, longitude 120deg 15'E on the Wiluna (SG 51-9)1:250 000 scale map. Perth, the nearest capital city, lies 750km to the southeast. The closest regional centres are Kalgoorlie, 540km to the south and Meekatharra, 183km to the west.



The gold deposits are categorised as orogenic gold deposits, with similarities to many other gold deposits in the Yilgarn region. The deposits are hosted within the Wiluna Domain of the Wiluna Greenstone Belt. Rocks in the Wiluna Domain have experienced greenschist-facies regional metamorphism and brittle deformation. The Wiluna Domain is comprised of a fairly monotonous sequence of foliated basalts and high-magnesium basalts, with intercalated felsic intrusions, lamprophyre dykes, metasediments, and dolerites.



Wiluna ores are typically oxide, refractory or free milling quartz mineralisation. The refractory ore has most gold occurring in either solid solution or as sub-microscopic particles within fine-grained sulphides. Mineralisation at Wiluna is principally controlled by the shear zones which have variable strike and dip orientations and typically flex along strike and down dip. These flexures in conjunction with favourable host rock composition act to form the best ore zones.



Gold mineralisation in the East and West lode is predominantly hosted within a series of theoletic and high magnesium basalts and generally strikes north-west. In East Lode there is one dominant shear with numerous hangwall splays which are north to north-northeast striking and easterly dipping (80DEG ). These mineralised shear zones range in thickness from approximately 5m to 40m. Mineralisation at West Lode is hosted within a wide (up to 70m), steeply dipping, north-south striking anastomosing shear zone. This is characterised by two main shears linked by cross cutting shears of varying orientations.



The interpretation of the mineralisation was carried out using a methodical approach to ensure continuity of the geology and estimated mineral resource using Surpac software. For the East and West Lode open pit resource a lower cut-off grade of 0.3g/t was used where previous models had focused on the high grade underground mineralisation and was modelled to a 4g/t lower cut.



All available geological data was used in the interpretation including mapping, drilling, oxidation surfaces and interpretations of high grade ore shoots. Only diamond and reverse circulation drilling samples were used in the final estimate however all available grade control data was used in the geological assessment.



A range of criteria were considered when addressing the suitability of the classification boundaries to the resource estimate.



- Geological continuity and volume models;



- Drill spacing and available mining information;



- Modelling technique



- Estimation properties including search strategy, number of informing composites, average distance of composites from blocks, number of drillholes used and kriging quality parameters.



The classification for this model was predominantly based on the estimation pass. With the first pass relating to an indicated resource and the second pass being inferred. The classification of the blocks was also visually checked and adjusted to remove any "spotted dog" effects. No measured resources were calculated. Estimated blocks that have been informed by predominantly historical drilling where QA/QC data has not been reviewed were assigned as inferred.



To view tables and figures, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/DY9UES6Y





About Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd





Wiluna Mining Corporation (ASX:WMC) (OTCMKTS:WMXCF) is a Perth based, ASX listed gold mining company that controls over 1,600 square kilometres of the Yilgarn Craton in the Northern Goldfields of WA. The Yilgarn Craton has a historic and current gold endowment of over 380 million ounces, making it one of most prolific gold regions in the world. The Company owns 100% of the Wiluna Gold Operation which has a defined resource of 8.04M oz at 1.67 g/t au. In May 2019, a new highly skilled management team took control of the Company with a clear plan to leverage the Wiluna Gold Operation's multi-million-ounce potential.
Some non-GAAP financial measures are more kosher than others, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to provide better guidance on which types are sanctified or sanctioned.

At last weeks AICPA conference on current SEC and PCAOB developments in Washington, D.C., Mark Kronforst, chief accountant of the SECs Division of Corporate Finance, explained some of the commissions priorities. In May, the SEC issued guidance in question and answer format in its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations on non-GAAP financial measures. It has since followed up with comment letters to companies. Companies are finally getting the message they shouldnt highlight the non-GAAP numbers over the GAAP numbers in their earning releases to investors.

Christine Davine, deputy managing partner of Deloitte & Touche LLPs National Office, put together a panel discussion at the AICPA conference that included Kronforst, along with Microsoft chief accounting officer Frank Brod, Morrison & Foerster partner Martin Dunn, and CLSA Americas equity analyst Christopher Spahr, to get the perspectives of various types of constituents on non-GAAP metrics.

If I think about what were the takeaways from the panel, its that non-GAAP measures are not prohibited, said Davine. Youre allowed to use them, and investors and analysts and registrants find quite a bit of value in non-GAAP measures, but they need to be high quality.

The SEC is now trying to focus on what constitutes a high-quality non-GAAP measure.

I think of a high-quality non-GAAP measure as one that has a well-defined policy, and that policy would describe what non-GAAP measures are appropriate for the company to use based on that companys specific facts and circumstances and what adjustments would be permitted for that non-GAAP measure, said Davine. Another key for a quality non-GAAP measure is to consider strong disclosure controls and procedures around that non-GAAP measure. Another aspect of a high-quality non-GAAP measure is strong disclosures that explain the measure. That would include: how does management use the measure, why is it useful, a clear reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP that clearly outlines the adjustments and describes the adjustments, and a consistent application of the companys policy from quarter to quarter.

The next phase of the SECs project on non-GAAP measures will be trying to assure companies are using high-quality non-GAAP measures that are also clearer and more concise.

One thing we discussed on the panel was the SEC acknowledged that good progress has been made by registrants, particularly in the prominence area, said Davine. Notwithstanding that, were still expecting more comment letters. Theyll continue to focus on prominence issues, but where theyre evolving now in this next phase is looking more at the troublesome practices.

Those troublesome practices include the use of non-GAAP measures that are not considered appropriate, and whether there are any adjustments that might not be appropriate. We did talk quite a bit on this panel about the nature of the adjustments and where the SEC was deciding and coming down on some of these adjustments, Davine recalled. Mark Kronforst, the chief accountant, gave his views of certain types of adjustments. He mentioned that currently theyre not objecting to stock compensation adjustments, or adjustments to a non-GAAP measure for purchase accounting. They are asking in some comments about restructuring charges and legal expenses, but he was clear that the staff wasnt going to object as long as those restructuring and legal expense type adjustments are not constantly recurring every quarter. Some of the other adjustments we talked about were pension adjustments and derivative adjustments. For those adjustments, the staff is thinking about them, but theyre not actively commenting on those adjustments either.

The SEC wants companies to avoid the use of any misleading non-GAAP measures. Examples of that would be adjusted revenue or changes in your consolidation methodology, said Davine. Thats common in real estate, although the staff has been clear and has conveyed quite a bit of messaging that those types of adjustments would not be appropriate because they would be considered misleading. Then theyre also looking for normal recurring cash type operating expenses that might be adjusted.

Davine believes non-GAAP measures will remain a focus for the SEC in the near term, even though there has been some good progress by companies since the guidance came out in May. More of them are now avoiding what the SEC clearly sees as inappropriate use and prominence of non-GAAP measures and prohibited adjustments.

To help companies assess the appropriateness of their non-GAAP measures, Deloitte has recently issued its own guidance, A Roadmap to Non-GAAP Financial Measures, which combines the SECs guidance on non-GAAP measures with Deloittes interpretation and examples.


PKF OConnor Davies has added 16 professionals, including three partners, from Scialo, Reimann & Varley CPA, effective Jan. 1, 2017.

SRV CPA, based in Suffern, N.Y., specializes in servicing real estate businesses, broker-dealers and manufacturers. The deal is the latest in a series of mergers for PKF OConnor Davies as the New York-based firm expands across the Northeast and Washington, D.C. PKF OConnor Davies ranked 26th on Accounting Todays 2016 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $126 million in annual revenue.

We are thrilled to welcome each of these new members to the PKF OConnor Davies team, said managing partner Kevin J. Keane in a statement. We continually look to add to the depth of expertise in key specialty areas so that we can meet the changing demands of our clients and maintain our position as a valued business partner. These new professionals bring a tremendous level of ability and experience, and theyre also a great culture fit. This is an exciting day for our firm, these professionals and, most importantly, our clients.

The firm has added more than 160 professionals in the past two years. In January, OConnor Davies merged in Flackman, Goodman & Potter, a New Jersey-based firm, and in February it rebranded as PKF OConnor Davies to reflect the name of its accounting network. Last year, OConnor Davies acquired Daniel J. McMahon Company in Chappaqua, N.Y., and merged in McEnerney, Brady & Co. of Livingston, N.J., and Stanley Marks & Company of Newburgh, N.Y.

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SRV sees advantages in joining forces with the fast-growing firm. Joining forces with PKF OConnor Davies was a natural move, said SRV CPA partner and president Joseph Scialo in a statement. We share a commitment to providing the highest levels of client service and now, as a part of PKF OConnor Davies, we are able to bring that dedication to a larger and more diverse group of clients.
Dipshika Ravi is a postgraduate from MICA, currently managing the Social Media team at Hungama Digital Services. She began her career eight years ago as a Google AdWords expert.

Over the years, Dipshika has worked on award-winning campaigns and solutions for brands like Mahindra, Godrej, Microsoft, Intel, Times Now and Hyundai among others, across various digital platforms. She has worked with more than 150 brands.

Very recently, she was handpicked as one of 50 JWT High Potential Employees, from a network of more than 12,000+ global employees, to attend a prestigious leadership training programme in New York.

When she is not working, she is either perfecting her moves at Zumba, hitting the road less travelled, blogging about fashion or going on food tasting rambles with likeminded friends.

What does it takes to climb up the ladder in advertising? Heres Dipshika Ravi in her own words...

How did you get into the role you are serving?

Well, I consider this as a fortunate stroke of serendipity! Working for a digital agency was never on the list. Branding, consumer behaviour, making jingles and ads  I used to love these. Fortunately (and coincidentally), I happened to get through a company (iProspect) through my campus placement, and thats where I learnt about Hungama Digital Media. Cracked the interview (Thanks, Rama), got mentored well, and here I am! Been doing Hungama for seven years!

What particular skill sets do you think you bring to the table?

Thank you for letting me boast of my skills here!

Jokes apart, I think I am someone who believes in lateral thinking. I like working as a team, listening to people and considering their viewpoints. Above all, I have an immense love for consumer behaviour and brand building, which helps me make the process of ideation all the more fun and exciting.

One campaign that you have worked on that you are particularly proud of? Please take us through the making of the campaign.

I have a list of campaigns to be proud of, and its not just because of me, its because of team-work. I have been really fortunate to be a part of some award-winning campaigns that we have done for Godrej, Mahindra, Hyundai, Microsoft, and Times Now, to name a few. The one that I cherish the most is the Godrej  Myth-o-logic campaign. It started off as a simple consumer insight on how people are naive about securing their valuables. We listed down a couple of household security myths and put logic to each, and articulated a campaign called Myth-O-Logic  which became a well-known property in the social space. Right from coming up with the idea to seeing it come out alive as a motion comic campaign  every stage was special for me.

While working on the creatives how do you prepare yourself? What goes on in your mind?

First thing I ask while working on the creatives/ pitch  Deadline kab hai? (when is the deadline?).

Followed by, these ideas are great, hope it gets through.

Icons in advertising you look up to and how they have influenced you and your work?

I look up to a lot of people from our industry. I do have a long list. There are hundreds of people who influence me every day. My seniors, my team, interns in the company  everyone inspires me in their own way. If I see my team finishing a three-hour job in half an hour, he/she inspires me. If I see something cool done by someone, that inspires me. Basically, good work and hard work inspire me.

What are the five most productive things that you do in your everyday routine?

First off, I need a cup of chai or coffee for me to get productive!

This is followed by (I think I have more than 5 things).

A to-do list for the day (to be organised in the head).

Another cup of coffee (and then many more after that).

Interact with the team, and figure out their lives and deadlines.

Read. Analyse. Implement.

Document everything on email.

Keep a track of deliverables/ deadlines and follow up with the team.

Look at other campaigns and wonder  hey, why didnt I think about that?!

Think of people and wonder  hey, when am I going to reach that level.

End the day with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee.

Do you think a career in advertising is a viable one in the long term?

This question reminds me of this quote  "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." - Confucius

I have been in Advertising for seven years. Some of my seniors in the organisation have been in this field for over 15 years. Sounds viable? It does, right?

But, think about it. Which other field gives you the same amount of pleasure and joy when you see your work GO LIVE, or which other job lets you do brainstorming at a local chaitappri, or which other industry lets you walk into your office in shorts (or whatever you want). Advertising does!

What does it take to succeed in a career like advertising?

There is no mantra as such. May be the below tips could help:

Have Patience  Because, your ideas dont get approved at one go!

Lateral Thinking is important  Because, your clients dont pay you to give them mediocre ideas

Be Crazy  Because, the best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible (Quote courtesy: David Ogilvy)

Have Passion  Because, when you see your work GO LIVE, thats the best feeling ever!

Be ready for Late nights  Because, its advertising

Most importantly, have Courage  To take NO as an answer.

What would be your advice to youngsters planning to enter this industry?

1. Do it with passion or not at all.

2. Keep getting inspired.

3. Keep learning (never say you know it all).

4. Push yourself. Dont settle.

5. Work hard, party harder.

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Just Google my name after five years to find out!

Is there any agency/ organisation that you would like to work with in the future?

Can we discuss this offline, please? #JustKidding.

On a serious note, my future plans depend a lot on what I am doing right now and how content I am right now. For now, I am just going with the flow, and I am loving it!
Government of India has launched Digishala, a 24x7 TV channel committed to educate the masses on various digital payment modes.

In this crucial hour of demonetization, when businesses, consumers and common man are battling tough times to stand up to the test of doing cashless transactions, governments initiative to come up with a channel for the purpose is an innovative and commendable step.

Dish TV, the countrys largest pay digital platform for distribution of television channels, welcomes the step by placing the channel on its platform. The channel Digishala was placed on Dish TVs LCN number 2036 as soon as it was dedicated to the people of the nation by Shri Ravishankar Prasad, honourable Minister of Electronics & IT & Shri P.P. Choudhary, MoS, Electronics & IT.

With the placement of the channel on its platform, DishTV became the countrys only pay DTH provider to offer access to Digishala to television viewers across the country. DishTV has a subscriber base of more than 15 million.

Digishala, is a free to air channel that aims to introduce the use of cashless, paperless and faceless digital payment transactions to rural and semi-urban people across villages and small towns, that is areas where DishTV enjoys a unique reach and top-of-the-mind recall.

DishTV, the leader in Direct-to-home space in the country had way back in 2003, pioneered the introduction of digital modes of revenue collection and to further harness that, had introduced prepaid cards for its trade partners.

As online transactions, credit cards and a cash less society become buzz words today, Dish TV takes pride in having a subscriber base wherein more than 40% of its customers do online recharge transactions. As far as B2B transactions are concerned, DishTV have them all as cashless.
Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, has said that a new dedicated Doordarshan channel  Arun Prabha  would be launched in the first part of January 2017. The channel would show the richness, variety and diversity of local culture and would seamlessly integrate North East with the entire country.

The Minister has also announced 90 per cent subsidy for North Eastern states and 75 per cent subsidy for other states to set up community radio stations to help disseminate information in localised content.

Speaking further at the 28th State Information Ministers Conference held in New Delhi, Naidu mentioned that the Government of India would formulate a National Information & Communication Policy in consultation with states for a comprehensive and integrated approach toward communication and information dissemination.

Speaking about the role of Public Broadcaster in the information dissemination process, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, said that Doordarshan and AIR needed to establish connect with the people not only geographically, but also focus on the content and programmes. He also touched upon the activities carried out by media units and training institutes under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
Opera Mediaworks today announced its new company name will be AdColony with the goal of unifying the brand, performance and publishing business under a single name, while continuing its commitment to quality mobile advertising experiences that deliver outcomes fueled by creativity and data science-driven automation and artificial intelligence.

The name change will become effective starting in January 2017, and the company will continue to stay independent, with the corporate entity listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under Opera ASA.

I am excited to unify the advertising business under the AdColony brand globally, said CEO Will Kassoy. We are passionate about brand experiences that evoke emotion and drive real outcomes by combining both creativity with the next generation of advertising technologies like data science-driven automation and artificial intelligence. We look forward to building the AdColony brand around this positioning and hope to help elevate the state of mobile advertising.

AdColony is the mobile video ad platform that the parent company Opera ASA acquired in 2014. After the acquisition, AdColony remained an integral part of and major revenue driver for the Opera Mediaworks business. It felt natural to turn to that established name and to continue the momentum and reputation the brand already had in the mobile ecosystem.

As such, this rebrand will not bring any changes to the companys customers and partners, and they will simply continue to receive the very best mobile advertising products and services from us. Although the former AdColony business was mainly associated with mobile video advertising, the new AdColony in 2017 will encompass all areas of the former Opera Mediaworks and AdColony business, including rich media/display, streaming video, Instant-Play video, and all associated technologies and ad formats across our programmatic marketplace.

The reason for the change is the recent acquisition of Opera ASAs namesake consumer browser by a Chinese consortium of companies. As part of the deal, acquirers are retaining the Opera name and brand, which required a shift away from the name Opera Mediaworks, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Opera ASA.

Second-largest SDK footprint in top 1000 apps

The company will continue to leverage its deep SDK footprint among the worlds best mobile app publishers, second only to Google in the top 1000 apps. These popular apps, which AdColony is lauding as Todays Primetime include fast-risers in the charts like DraftKings, Musical.ly, Shazam, Wattpad, Wishbone, Zynga and many other next-generation media companies. Mobile users are spending more than 37 minutes a day in the top 100 apps, and in other metrics such as session time they often exceed the norm for mobile app use.

Outcomes driven by mobile creativity

AdColonys market-leading technology unlocks mobile creativity to drive results for brands and publishers. With a dedication to purpose-built, high-performing mobile creative formats, AdColony has been a leader in innovating new, immersive design to leverage the native hardware of mobile devices. The company will be launching new creative formats across video and rich media in 2017 to drive levels of creativity that arent possible on other platforms. The company garnered more than 40 awards for its creative work across the globe in 2016 alone.

Data Science and AI: Key initiatives for 2017

The strong SDK footprint also allows AdColony to have access to stronger data signals than other players for better data and targeting, resulting in optimal outcomes for customers. AdColony continues to invest in data science and machine learning, and one of the key initiatives for the company in 2016 has been to unify all of the mobile advertising technology platforms that have been acquired over the years into one powerful and integrated platform.

Over the past several months, the company has invested in state-of-the-art technology and data scientists to work on this unified platform, called Apollo, which will be launched in various phases throughout 2017.

The company plans to launch a new, refreshed website in 2017 which will reflect the new, unified offerings of the global mobile ad platform and the combined businesses as part of the corporate rebranding.
Pass Pass Pulse introduces a new exciting flavor; Pulse orange. Orange is one of the most popular flavours enjoyed across all age groups and Pulse Orange with a tangy powder filled center is all set to make a mark with its tangy orangey experience. The new candy will be available in a pillow pack at the cost of Rs.1.

Pulse orange promises a thrill to the taste buds that begins with the fruity orange flavor and peaks with a tangy surprise to amplify the total candy experience. Category breaker Pass Pass Pulse orange will surely take you on a nostalgic journey of eating Orange with tangy masala.

The cue of Pulse Orange will be in line with its umbrella brand Pass Pass Pulse of coming closer by sharing happiness in our lives. Be it making new friends or maintaining existing friendship; the brand seeks to be the reason behind it.

'Pulse Orange' has received an encouraging response to the test marketing undertaken in key cities of the country, in the last few months. The candy is being launched pan India leveraging on the distribution network of DS Group to reach out to the target group. The launch of pulse orange will be supported with activities like in-shop display, exclusive merchandise promotion and focused sampling through various consumer contact activities to garner visibility and reach. Orange is the third flavor from Pulse, the first two being Kachcha Aam and Guava.

DS Group entered the Confectionary business in 2012 with the launch of 'Pass Pass Chingles' -mini chewing gums. One of the company's leading brands Pass Pass was repositioned to encompass a broader portfolio of pioneering products in Confectionary business. From traditional after mints to the fun-filled mini chewing gums 'Chingles', DS confections offer the choicest innovative flavours in Mint, Nimbu, Saunf ,and Tutti Frutti flavours that are available in Rs. 1 sachet, Rs. 5 zipper and Rs 10 Fliptop packs.
Cadini has appointed social media agency , Utopian Media, to manage their digital and social media mandate. Utopian Media won this account following a m ulti-agency pitch. The agency will handle the brand's digital, creative and media du ties, and also manage its soci al media presence.

Incepted in 1970 in Italy, Cad ini is Siyarams global ventur e. Since then, Cadini has cont inuously sustained a great passion for style, quality and research and has evolved as one of the most sought after brands from Italy with its presence across 40 exclusive franchising stores worldwide.

Commenting on this development , N. Gangadhar, Vice President , Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd., said, "We are delighted to partner with Utopian Media for the promotion of our premium Italian brand Cadini across all the digital platforms. We believe Utopian Media will bring their strategic vision and creative clarity to further drive traction and business growth for the brand. 

Speaking on the win, Preksha S eth, Business Head, Utopian Me dia, added, We are delighted to work with one of Indias ic onic brands, Siyaram. The life style space enables exciting opportunities for consumer engagement on digital platforms, and we are thrilled to board on this journey with Cadini.

With its foray in India as par t of Siyarams Global Ventures , Cadini is trying to touch up on the expectations of the dis cerning Indian, who is closely identical to an Italian in terms of giving importance to their respective heritage, values and beliefs.
Fitch Ratings has recalibrated its Dominican Republic National Ratings scale following upgrades of the sovereign rating. The recalibration has resulted in several national scale rating revisions for issuers in corporate sector. Revision ratings are used to modify ratings for reasons that are not related to credit quality in order to reflect changes in the national rating scale.

National scale ratings are a risk ranking of issuers in a particular market designed to help local investors differentiate risk. The Dominican Republic's national scale ratings are denoted by the unique identifier '(dom)'. Fitch adds this identifier to reflect the unique nature of the Dominican national scale. National scales are not comparable to Fitch's international ratings scales or to other countries' national rating scales.

Fitch has revised Dominican national scale ratings and Outlooks as follows:

AES Andres B.V.

--National Long-Term rating revised to 'AA(dom)' from 'A+(dom)'; Outlook revised to Stable from Positive.

Dominican Power Partners

--National Long-Term rating revised to 'AA(dom)' from 'A+(dom)'; Outlook revised to Stable from Positive.

Empresa Generadora de Electricidad Haina, S.A.

--National Long-Term rating revised to 'AA-(dom)' from 'A(dom)'; Outlook Stable.

--Senior unsecured Corporate Bonds 2011 for USD50 million revised to 'AA-(dom)' from 'A(dom)';

--Senior unsecured Corporate Bonds 2013 for USD100 million revised to 'AA-(dom)' from 'A(dom)';

--Senior unsecured Corporate Bonds 2014 for USD100 million revised to 'AA-(dom)' from 'A(dom)';

--Senior unsecured Corporate Bonds 2016 for USD100 million equivalent to Dominican Pesos revised to 'AA-(dom)' from 'A(dom)'.

Gerdau Metaldom, S.A.

--National Long-Term rating revised to 'A+(dom)' from 'A(dom)'; Outlook Stable.

Refineria Dominicana de Petroleo, S.A.

--National Long-Term rating revised to 'AA(dom)' from 'A+(dom)'; Outlook Stable;

--National Short-Term rating revised to 'F1+(dom)' from 'F1(dom)'.

Regional Group Head

Latin American Corporates

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

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Metodologia de Calificacion de Empresas no Financieras (pub. 19 Dec 2014)

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MIDDLEBURY, Conn., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BillMo, LLC, a US based company that provides a low cost money transfer application, announced today a new, innovative and proven means for US based individuals to safely and quickly send money to family and friends in Mexico through smartphones. The BillMo application also serves as a mobile wallet for money transfer recipients in Mexico, where it can be used to receive funds, top up prepaid mobile phones, pay for retail purchases and common bills, and withdraw cash at thousands of locations across Mexico, including all BBVA Bancomer, BanCoppel, Elektra, Pagos Intermex, Telecomm Telegrafos y Waldo's locations.

"Through BillMo, we are utilizing the latest smartphone technology to provide a better way for US users to send money to Mexico while broadening the financial reach of the more than 44 million smartphone users in Mexico today," said Steve LaBella, BillMo's CEO. "Great opportunity and freedom come with BillMo's cashless financial services for those whose spending remains primarily or entirely cash-based by making the process of sending money faster and easier while keeping US sender costs low. And through our mobile wallet, we've vastly extended the financial reach for thousands of Mexican recipients who now have greater control of the money sent to them. We anticipate that BillMo will set a new standard for low cost money transfer and mobile wallet applications around the world."

With BillMo, the US sender needs only a smartphone, debit card and the beneficiary's mobile number to send money, or they can walk in to an authorized BillMo agent location and use cash.

The cost for US smartphone senders to send money to Mexico is $0.99. Further, BillMo's exchange rate is extremely competitive and higher than most within the industry.

For Mexican money transfer recipients, the BillMo application turns their smartphone into a mobile wallet, enabling users to perform a variety of financial transactions within Mexico. There is no cost to the Mexican beneficiary to receive funds from the US and the funds arrive within seconds.

The BillMo application was released in Q1 2016 and has a four+ rating in the Google App store. The application is currently available in Mexico with plans to make it accessible throughout all Latin America.

BillMo is currently running a promotion for new beneficiaries: Upon receiving their first BillMo app transfer of $USD10 or greater, recipients will receive 100 bonus pesos.

BillMo is available in both Google Play and iTunes Stores. For more information, visit www.billmo.com/apps.

The BillMo application is a service of CBW Bank, Member FDIC.

About BillMo

BillMo (short for Billetera Movil) is a US based company that offers a low cost money transfer and mobile wallet application. The BillMo application allows US senders to send money to individuals in Mexico using just their smartphone and debit card, while turning the smartphones of Mexican beneficiaries into mobile wallets that can be used to receive funds, top up mobile phones, pay for retail purchases and common bills, and withdraw cash at thousands of locations across Mexico, including all BBVA Bancomer, BanCoppel, Elektra, Pagos Intermex, Telecomm Telegrafos y Waldo's. The cost for US smartphone senders to send money to Mexico is $0.99. For more information, visit www.billmo.com.

BillMo is a trademark of BillMo, LLC.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-billmo-money-transfer--mobile-wallet-application-offers-us-senders-a-fast-low-cost-money-transfer-option-to-mexico-300376744.html

SOURCE BillMo, LLC
MACOMB, Ill., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 8,638 acres of Illinois farmland sold as an entirety Monday for $55,311,000 in a Schrader auction that came down to a battle of two entirety bidders, each of whom sought to purchase all of the land. Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company marketed the land and conducted the auction.

The land -- part of the extensive Wilder Farms holdings -- was offered in 46 tracts, ranging from 15 acres to 597 acres, but it soon became clear that the most interested parties would be the large investors, according to R.D. Schrader, president of the auction company.

"The operators were in the room, but the investors won out. It was just a question of whether we had one buyer or a few," said Schrader. The auction attracted 64 registered bidders, who packed the Union Grand Ballroom at Western Illinois University in Macomb.

The auction included approximately 4,869 acres in Mercer County and more than 3,769 acres in Fulton County.

"I felt that this would be an interesting test of the market for this type of land, because there had not been an offering on this scale in quite some time. The price per acre of just over $6,400 exceeded the expectations of many of the observers for the predominantly levee-assessed river bottom land. It's evident that major investors continue to regard midwestern farmland as a sound long-term investment," said Schrader.

"We're continuing to see good demand for cropland as operators and investors alike look ahead to the 2017 crop year," said Schrader.

Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company, based in Columbia City, Indiana, is a leading auctioneer of agricultural land throughout the United States and is a five-time USA Today/National Auctioneers Association Auction of the Year winner. Individuals interested in additional information may visit schraderauction.com or call 800-451-2709.

For more information:

Carl Carter, 205-823-3273

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/schrader-sells-illinois-farmland-for-553-million-300377586.html

SOURCE Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company
SHANGHAI, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 10, the National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China) hosted a press conference in Shanghai to announce its inaugural summer training residency and concert tour, as well as the commencement of its application season for the Class of 2017. The event was joined by several esteemed guests and supporters of the program, including the Honorable Gary Locke  the former US Ambassador to China, Secretary of Commerce, and Governor of Washington. Mr Locke helped introduce the program, voicing his belief that, "Just as ping pong diplomacy helped bring [China and the United States] together, so will NYO-China."

Several others also voiced their support of the program. "The growth of music in China is astounding; it is going to be a central part of what defines music in the 21st century. NYO-China will be a beacon of excellence and something that everyone aspires to," commented Sir Clive Gillinson, the Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall and the principal architect behind NYO-USA. Deputy Consul General Meifang Zhang from the Consulate General of China in New York, which had previously served as an enthusiastic proponent of NYO-USA during its 2015 China Tour, mentioned how, "Through its music, NYO-China will continue to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of China and the United States."

Created in 2016, NYO-China was inspired by the myriad National Youth Orchestras of the world and their collective mission to nurture and promote young classical musicians. "There is tremendous musical talent rising in China, and it is our hope that the the best instruction and performance opportunities are available to the student musicians living there," says Vincent Accettola, NYO-China's Managing and Creative Director.

Approximately 100 high school-aged musicians will be selected from a projected pool of thousands applying from all across China to join the upcoming Class of 2017. The group will convene on the campus of Western Connecticut State University for an intensive two-week training residency. They will be joined by a suite of extraordinary teaching artists recruited from among the principal members of the world's finest orchestras, led by NYO-China's Guest Conductor Ludovic Morlot  the Grammy Award-winning Music Director of the Seattle Symphony  and NYO-China's Music Director Jindong Cai  the Music Director of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra.

Robert Blocker, the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale University, who also serves as NYO-China's Senior Global Advisor for Artistic Affairs, mentioned how "[this] is a venture that will inspire, educate, and prepare China's most gifted young orchestral musicians for their future roles as leading arts and cultural leaders across the globe."

NYO-China will debut at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, July 22 featuring Musical America's 2017 Artist of the Year Yuja Wang, followed by an international concert tour of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou featuring Olga Kern, the winner of the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Both internationally acclaimed pianists are Steinway Artists. NYO-China's premiere in New York will take place one day after that of Carnegie Hall's own NYO-USA.

Ronald Losby, the CEO of Steinway & Sons, also offered his support: "NYO-China gives students an opportunity to perform for large audiences what they have practiced for so long. There's nothing quite like a concert experience, and it will live within them for many years to come."

NYO-China is committed to ensuring educational opportunities for students regardless of their financial capacity. To that end, the entire program  including tuition, travel, and housing  is entirely free, underwritten by NYO-China's generous sponsors. Members will be selected via a meritorious online audition process, overseen by a panel of professional musicians in the United States. All Chinese citizens aged 14 to 19 (strings, percussion, and harp) or 14 to 20 (woodwinds and brass) at the time of the program's conclusion (July 30, 2017) are eligible. The online application portal and additional program details are available at www.nyochina.org.

ABOUT NYO-CHINA

The National Youth Orchestra of China was founded and developed by Athena Education Group, an education development corporation based in Midtown Manhattan that is dedicated to delivering superior learning solutions for our next generation of global citizens. It is made possible thanks to the generous financial and institutional assistance of the US-China YES Foundation, an organization based in New York and Shanghai that is known for its support of internationally oriented education projects for young people living in either the United States and China.

Press Contact

Eric Ashenberg (English)

Peggie Zhong (Chinese)

press@nyochina.org

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British-Algerian Mohamed Tamalt, convicted of insulting President Bouteflika, dies after three months in coma.

Tamalt, 42, fell into a coma three months ago following his hunger strike in protest of his arrest [Creative Commons]

A British-Algerian journalist has died after being on hunger strike in protest against his arrest and two-year jail term, which put him in a coma, according to his lawyer.

Mohamed Tamalt was convicted in an Algerian court of defaming a public authority and offending Algerias President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in a poem he posted on Facebook.

I can confirm the death of the journalist Mohamed Tamalt in Bab el-Oued hospital after a hunger strike of more than three months and a three-month coma, Amine Sidhoum, Tamalts lawyer, wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

Tamalt, 42, died of a lung infection while in a coma. Before his arrest, he ran a blog and was a freelance journalist based in London.

He was reportedly arrested near his parents house in Algiers on June 27 and began his hunger strike the same day.

On July 11, he was sentenced to two years in prison and given a $1,800 fine. An appellate court upheld the sentence a month later.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders had urged the Algerian government to drop the charges and release Tamalt, expressing particular concern over his health after he had fallen into a coma in August.

Brahim Mahdid, spokesman for Amnesty International in Algeria, called for a full, transparent, and independent investigation into Mohamed Tamalts death.

So far, we cant say for sure what the cause of his death was, Mahdid told Al Jazeera. Nor are we sure if Tamalt received the proper treatment during his hunger strike.

According to Mahdid: Tamalts detention occurred while Algerias media companies were facing increasing pressure. The situation has [since] not improved, as the countrys independent media organisations still [operate in] a hostile environment.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Tamalts lawyer Amine Sidhoum said that Tamalts death was the first time since Algeria gained its independence from France that a journalist died in jail because of what he wrote on the Internet.

Mohameds death is a shame for our country, Sidhoum added. I am also really sad at the lack of support from his fellow Algerian journalists, who left him and abandoned him.

According to Sidhoum, Tamalt is set to be buried in Algiers on Monday.

It is time to say a last goodbye and pray. We are in mourning, but we, his family and lawyers, will figure out in the following days what we can do to find out exactly what happened to him [while he was] in prison.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch called the death of Tamalt tragic.

It is tragic that a journalist in Algeria died on a hunger strike protesting his unjust imprisonment. Sarah Leah Whitson, the rights groups Middle East and North Africa director said in a statement
NOTE: The moment I read this story I said, "This young man was restrained and choked out." Now, we don't know that this is the case. However, 18 year olds with autism are as strong as oxen, and can make even Mom and Dad ballistic when in a rage or fear-based outburst. So how are school personnel, or bus personnel to react? Often with a heavy, deadly hand. Our bus staff does not have PMT training - that's how to defend and safely restrain.



I teach self-defense. I am a black belt in two martial arts. I know how to block and put someone into a submission. Most do not. Most who work with your kids DO NOT. Let the story unfold. Pray for the family. Pray for the staff. And pray for a CURE to be a top priority of this administration. We need it. Cure by death doesn't work. KIM



###



From NBC San Diego - read the full article here.



An 18-year-old autistic student died Friday while on his way home from school.

San Bernardino resident Anthony Corona died after losing consciousness when school employees "restrained" him following an "altercation," according to the San Bernardino Police Department.

Corona, who attended Bright Futures Academy, a Riverside school serving special-needs students, got into an altercation with another student and school employees on the bus, police said.

The employees and the bus driver, who had exited the freeway to assist the employees, restrained Corona, who at "one point" lost consciousness, according to police.

School employees performed CPR and called for "emergency medical aid." Corona was taken to St. Bernadine's Hospital, where he later died.

The school issued a statement expressing its "deepest sympathy" to Corona's family, but said signs indicate its employees followed guidelines.
Aiken County Council is set to discuss three fee-in-lieu of tax, or FILOT, agreements today 
Remaining Iraqi Assyrians Prepare for Christmas in Lands Liberated From ISIS

In one of the oldest lands of Christianity, Assyrian Christians are awaiting their third Christmas since extremists from Islamic State made hundreds of thousands into refugees in 2014. "Around Nineveh [in northern Iraq] the only people are the soldiers and the clergy," says Juliana Taimoorazy of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council. "They want to go back and return to their homes and rebuild in the spring." In 2003 on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq which toppled Saddam Hussein there were around 1.6 million Christians in Iraq. Most of these were Assyrian Christian members of the Assyrian Church of the East or Chaldean Catholic Church. They lived throughout Iraq but were concentrated in Baghdad and in the area of Nineveh Plains around Mosul in northern Iraq which borders the Kurdish region. In 2014 when ISIS took Mosul they expelled the Christians. Over the last two years it mined Christian towns such as Bakhdida and Tel Keppe, digging tunnels under the houses and damaging the churches. It dynamited the 1,400 year old St. Elijah's monastery. Christians fled to refugee camps in the Kurdistan Regional Government and many left for other countries, joining an Assyrian diaspora that lives throughout the Middle East and the United States. Taimoorazy, who fled Iran as a teenager in 1989, says that there are less than 150,000 Christians in Iraq today. But they are determined not to let ISIS have the final say. "I've noticed dedication among the generation after ISIS. Young people want to return and help rebuild it and they want to be equipped to fight." In northern Iraq today there are Assyrian Christian units that fight alongside the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga. This includes Nineveh Plains Protection Units (NPU) and Nineveh Plains Forces. They were instrumental in protecting Christian villages such as Teleskof, and in liberating Bakhdida and Bartella, where the bells of the Church rang for the first time on October 22 after two years. Taimoorazy, who is also a senior fellow at the Philos Project, an organization which works for "Christian engagement in the Middle East," says Assyrians deserve tangible power on the ground after ISIS is gone. "The Iraqi constitution says minorities can have their own province...the only way it will be done is when our boys and girls can protect their own [community], if we have the support of the international community and the Iraqi government equips and trains these [Assyrian] soldiers." Nineveh plains are a complex mosaic of minorities. Before the rise of ISIS there were calls for greater autonomy for Turkmen, Yazidis and Sunni Arabs, modeled on what the Kurds have created. ISIS destroyed all that. Although most Assyrians sought shelter as refugees either in the Kurdish region or in Jordan, where 30,000 live, she says they are concerned about living under Kurdish rule. "We live on our knees," says Taimoorazy. Feuds with Kurds and Muslims that go back hundreds of years and resulted in the massacre of Assyrians in 1917, 1933 and the 1940s leave their mark today. The rise of Al Qaeda in Iraq between 2004 and 2010 also saw numerous massacres and church bombings, similar in scale to the one in Cairo on Monday. For Taimoorazy a rebirth of Assyrian patriotism is needed that she says can be modeled on Zionism. "We can make 'aliyah' to Nineveh; we need friends in high places, we need the pride of the language; like Eliezer Ben-Yehuda who revived spoken Hebrew." Some Assyrians speak their native language which is similar to Aramaic, but modern times have seen a decline in favor of Arabic. Recently Father Yukoub Babawe of the Oum El-Nour Relief Committee of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Erbil spoke in Beirut about the plight of the church. At a seminar organized by the World Council of Churches and Middle East Council of Churches he "underlined that cooperation and networking among the church and Church-related relief and development organizations needs improving," according to a report at Al-Bushra.org. In Iraq the optimism about the defeat of ISIS in Mosul is wearing off. In Erbil last year many Christians told me they were concerned that 2015 was their last year in Iraq. Now another year has passed and the Iraqi army is still battling over Mosul and Christian residents often cannot stay in liberated areas like Bakhdida after dark. A town of 50,000 is still uninhabited. "We think Iraq is like a black whole where people have suffered and will continue to suffer," says Taimoorazy. After her organization sent financial support for 1,000 children over the Christmas holiday, she hopes the new US administration will care about groups like the Assyrians and their attempt to rebuild their lives after ISIS.
Mideast Christians, Especially Those Displaced, Face Mounting Challenges

A displaced Iraqi Assyrian child walks outside tents Dec. 9 at the Hassan Sham camp near Mosul. As Christians in the Middle East look back on 2016, they wonder if there will be much to celebrate amid mounting challenges, particularly for those displaced by conflicts in Iraq and Syria. ( Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters) As Christians in the Middle East look back on 2016, they wonder if there will be much to celebrate amid mounting challenges, particularly for those displaced by conflicts in Iraq and Syria. "As much as we are pleased that our homelands from which thousands of Christians were forced to flee from the extremists have been retaken, we are very concerned about what lies ahead," Father Emanuel Youkhana told Catholic News Service by phone. He referred to Iraq's Christian towns of Qaraqosh, Batnayeh and Bartella, recently regained by the Iraqi military from Islamic State. The archimandrite is a member of the Assyrian Church of the East and heads the Christian Aid Program Northern Iraq, CAPNI. Father Youkhana and others have expressed concerns that Iraq's Christians may once again be caught in the country's sectarian violence, this time by Shiite Muslims. If this happens, it will impede the Christians' ability to return home. Iraq's majority Shiite population comprises the bulk of the country's reconstituted national army, and as it liberates areas from extremist Sunni militants, Iraqi Christians have seen worrying Shiite slogans scrawled on places and property that have always been "100 percent Christian," Father Youkana noted. The Ninevah Plain, a region rich in oil and the breadbasket of Iraq, has drawn interest from regional and local powers seeking to exert influence there. Christians are challenged by the widespread devastation Islamic State militants have wrought to the area that has been their ancestral homeland for the past 14 centuries. The trail of death and destruction left by Islamic State was being fully revealed as the militants were flushed out. There were accounts that some Christians were tortured and crucified. Among the militants' threatening words still visible in red on the wall of a plundered electrical shop: "By God, we will break your cross." "The volume of destruction carried out by Islamic State militants throughout the Ninevah Plain is hindering my people from returning to their family properties. Infrastructure, including drinking water and electricity, has been badly damaged, and what can we then say about the paramount need for security," Father Youkhana said. He urged the international community to help Christians and other religious minorities to return home after their forced displacement by the Islamic State. The militants invaded the Ninevah Plain in the summer of 2014, imposing an extremist and violent form of Sunni Islam and forcing tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians to flee for their lives. Many escaped with just the clothes on their backs, losing their homes, property and their livelihoods. A number of displaced Christians venturing back to Qaraqosh to assess the damage told CNS that they could not live there again unless they get compensation and guarantees of protection from the international community. Houses have been burned, either to create a smokescreen against coalition aircraft bombing Islamic State in support of Iraqi forces, or apparently out of spite, while beloved churches have been violently ransacked. "It's worse than we expected," said teacher Wisam Rafou Poli, trying to exorcise the presence of the militants who occupied his house by emptying its entire contents onto the street to be burned. "I cried when we entered the house," his wife Zeena said, comforting their young daughter, who was mourning her favorite doll, found filthy and ripped. Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan told CNS he was horrified to see the terrible devastation and what he called "ghost towns" during a visit to northern Iraq in late November. He celebrated the Eucharist "on an improvised small altar" in the incinerated sanctuary of the vandalized Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh for the few who could attend the liturgy. "I just wanted to strengthen their faith in the redeemer's altar and cross, although both were half broken behind us," the patriarch said. "I reminded them that we Christians are the descendants of martyrs and confessors, with a long history dating back to the evangelization of the apostles." Patriarch Younan called for a "stable, law-abiding and strong government" to support the establishment of an eventual self-administrative province in the area under the central government in Baghdad. Meanwhile, about 5 million Syrians have fled the nearly six-year-old conflict, seeking refuge mainly in Europe. But the European Union tightened its external borders this year, overwhelmed by the arrival of more than a million refugees and migrants in 2015. Pope Francis made a dramatic gesture by taking 12 Syrian refugees back to Rome with him from his visit to Lesbos, Greece, in April to see the conditions and perils experienced by thousands of refugees fleeing across the Mediterranean. The Vatican also assisted other Syrian refugees arriving in Rome in mid-June. While the Vatican is covering the living costs of about 21 refugees, they are being housed and resettled by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a lay Catholic community based in Rome. The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, reported that the number of people fleeing war and persecution have soared four times over the past decade, to 24 people per minute or more than 65 million people forcibly displaced worldwide. Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, the new custos of the Holy Land, who is provincial minister of the Franciscans in almost all of the Middle East, told CNS in November Christians in Aleppo, Syria, believe the world is unconcerned about their situation. "They feel often abandoned by the other Christians," he told CNS. "They feel that many Christians are not interested in their suffering or what they are doing to remain Christian there. Many of them have lost everything. The only thing they haven't lost is the faith." Father Patton warned that Aleppo's Christian population has sharply declined from 250,000-300,000 to 30,000-40,000 during the Syrian civil war. The Franciscan friars and other Catholic religious orders and aid agencies have worked tirelessly to help the local communities with food, electricity, water, gas, diesel, restoring houses after bombardments, regardless of their religious background. Father Patton said the Franciscans also try to build the bridges necessary to one day have lasting peace in the region, and it starts with children. Still despite these challenges, the custos said, "there are many, many signs of hope, but we need eyes to see the signs of hope. If we are blind, we cannot see signs of hope."

Contributing to this story were Doreen Abi Raad in Beirut, Rhina Guidos in Washington and Cindy Wooden in Vatican City.
December 13, 2016

The Syrian army operation to retake the last opposition-controlled eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo received full coverage by Iranian media in recent days. Most conservative and official outlets in Tehran showed their support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in covering the news.

Iran's Press TV reported Dec. 12 that the residents of Aleppo took to the streets to celebrate the official announcement of the citys full liberation. On its website, Press TV posted videos of Syrian people showing the "V" sign, waving flags and dancing in the streets. The semi-official Fars News Agency on Dec. 13 quoted anonymous sources from the ground saying only 2% of eastern neighborhoods have not been freed yet in Aleppo.

Iranian print media also hailed the news of the Syrian army retaking control of eastern Aleppo. On Dec. 13, the Iranian state broadcasters newspaper Jam-e Jam on its front page carried a large photo of pro-Assad militants wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles and holding a Syrian flag. Under the headline Countdown to freedom of Aleppo, the daily wrote, It started by 95%, then it increased to 96% and 97%, and now it is at 98%. This is the percentage of the land in Aleppo [that has] been freed, according to regional media. Jam-e Jam continued, If the news is true, then the ecocultural heart of Syria and the countrys second-biggest city will soon be entirely free from the terrorists grip.

The conservative daily Javan chose the headline One more assault to conquer Aleppo for its front page. The daily also analyzed the move by [the Islamic State] to recapture the ancient city of Palmyra. By echoing Russian authorities' remarks, Javan put the blame on Americans for the fall of the city. The daily added, Syrian politicians have stressed that they will keep focus on Aleppo, despite the attack on Palmyra, which took place with the green light of Western powers.

Khorasan daily led its coverage of the news with the headline Aleppo Freed, and celebrated the latest development in Syria as the greatest victory of the Syrian army against the takfiris, referring to Syrian opposition groups by an Arabic term. "Takfiri" in Arabic means a Muslim who accuses another Muslim of apostasy. Moreover, the daily reported that the Syrian army evacuated over 4,000 civilians from the battleground and provided shelters to accommodate them.

The moderate center-right newspaper Jomhouri-e Eslami chose the same headline as Khorasan daily and said, As the sounds of [President] Barack Obamas steps leaving the White House turn louder, the sound of Obamas moderate terrorists being crushed in Aleppo is booming. The daily suggested, Resistance is the only way to fight back against takfiri terrorists, who have swept across Syria. Jomhouri-e Eslami continued, Negotiating with the supporters of terrorism without resistance on the ground gets [us] nowhere. What has happened in Aleppo could be a model for how to handle terrorists in Syria.

Resalat, another conservative daily, put the percentage of freed territory in eastern Aleppo at 97%. With the headline Wests bones crushed in Syria, the daily said, Victories of the Syrian army over takfiri terrorists have cut off the breath of the West, Saudis and Turkey.
December 12, 2016

CAIRO  Egyptian officials said today they have arrested four suspects and identified a man they believe to be the suicide bomber responsible for a blast that ripped through a Coptic church in Cairo Dec. 10, killing 25 people and wounding dozens of others.

On Dec. 12, the authorities said they had arrested three men and a woman and were searching for two more people in connection with the bombing. No group as of yet has accepted responsibility for the attack.

During a state funeral ceremony for the victims Dec. 12, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said a terrorist identified as Mahmoud Mostafa wore an explosives-laden vest in the attack.

That account differs from earlier security and eyewitness reports that a woman had carried a bomb containing 12 kilograms (26.4 pounds) of TNT inside her bag and placed it under womens chairs in the prayer hall. That would have explained why most of the victims were women and children, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Health.

The incident occurred despite officials ongoing security and political reassurances to protect Copts, who held protests over the security situation in this specific case. Some survivors told Reuters that police had not performed the usual security inspections at St. Peter and St. Paul Church Dec. 10, which is adjacent to St. Marks Cathedral  the residence of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

The state of security alert declared by the Ministry of Interior to find the perpetrators did not quench the thirst of Copts and the bereaved families. They gathered all day Saturday in front of the blast location and condemned the terrible slackening of the security forces in protecting the church.

The feelings of rage and tension were relayed in conflicting chants that Copts repeated. Some condemned Interior Minister Majdi Abdul Ghaffar and demanded his departure, calling his agency the Ministry of Thuggery. Dozens called on Sisi to step down, while others repeated slogans of national unity such as Muslims and Christians stand united. Some protesters rejected such unity slogans. Churches and mosques are on the same page, but Copts do not burn down mosques, they shouted.

Church leaders tried to calm protesters. Rev. Makary Younan, the pastor of St. Marks Church in Azbakeya, called on the crowds to end the protests, while he stood among them surrounded by officials and guards. He said, We must not protest. We should rather show love to Muslims to protect Egypt.

He added, People of the church, obey the president and listen to his wisdom so that he gives us our rights. He condemned calls for protest, saying, It is our religious duty to obey our presidents and sultans.

But all pleas for calm went downhill. Protesters grew all the more angry and called for punishing the culprits. They blamed the state and security apparatus completely for failing to protect Copts. Some clashed with police.

The church asks us to forgive and love all the time. But with such loving behavior, we will only reap more pain, bloodshed and endless crimes, Mary Hanna, a Copt, told Al-Monitor. We want answers about how such an amount of explosives got through to the prayer hall.  Why has the state allowed the proliferation of centers spreading anti-Christian thought in Egypt?

Many analysts believe the Muslim Brotherhood and its followers target Copts to retaliate against the stance Copts took on June 30, 2013, when they supported Sisi and backed the ouster of Mohammed Morsi and isolation of the Muslim Brotherhood from political life. Analysts say these reasons are behind repeated Muslim Brotherhood affiliates bombings of churches after Morsis ouster on Aug. 14, 2013, and following the dispersion of the Rabia al-Adawiya sit-in, when more than a hundred churches were either burned or destroyed in sectarian attacks.

Copt Kamal Zakher, founder of the Coptic Secular Current, told Al-Monitor, The incident is a political crime  and the [Brotherhood] cannot forget that Copts were a focal element of the state on June 30 when they supported Sisi. There are constant endeavors to disintegrate this axis and shake security by targeting Copts.

Zakher said, The feelings of anger toward security leaders and officials are only normal and in line with the heinousness of this [current] calamity. The states attempts to contain the situation will not be accepted, no matter what the compensations and regardless of all the talk about national unity or the traditional and old methods of appeasement. He added, The only way to buffer the Copts anger is by handing over the real culprits. He did say he expects the church itself to react calmly.

Ishac Ibrahim, a researcher on freedom of religion and belief in the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told Al-Monitor, Repeating expressions of love will not silence anger, which is gaining momentum among Copts.

He added, The clear security instability and extremism against Copts is an old story. Yet the security apparatus has failed to end it.

Questions remain about the states political stance and silence regarding the provocative rhetoric of some Salafi leaders against Copts. The Coptic issue has been considered a national security matter since former President Hosni Mubaraks days. Many observers dispute the claim that terrorists target Egyptians without discrimination, not just Copts. They say the issue will not be settled until the political administration steps in to protect the rights of Copts and contain Christians growing rage.
December 12, 2016

Egyptian security forces arrested prominent human rights lawyer Azza Soliman at her home in Cairo on Dec. 7. An investigative judge interrogated Soliman, the founder of the Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance, a nonprofit that provides legal and social services to women, before she was released on bail of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (around $1,100).

According to Soliman's lawyer, Mahmoud Belal, Soliman was charged with "receiving foreign funding to harm the states interest; tax evasion; and establishment of an entity that conducts activities similar to those of a [nongovernmental organization]."

At least 12 civil society representatives are facing prosecution in Egypt's NGO foreign-funding case  as dubbed by the Egyptian media  on charges of receiving illegal foreign funding "to harm national security and sow chaos," and Soliman is the first of the 12 to be arrested. Like those prosecuted in similar cases before her, she has been banned from traveling, and all her assets, as well as those of her organization, have been frozen.

On Nov. 19, airport security prevented Soliman from boarding a flight to Jordan to participate in a human rights training session and was told that her name was on a travel ban list. I was not shown any official documents supporting this claim, nor was I informed of the travel ban prior to my trip, she told Al-Monitor. Soliman said that she had actually been a lawyer representing a defendant in the NGO foreign funding case before discovering she was one of the defendants herself. Later that same day, she learned that her assets had been frozen, a fate suffered by at least six other prominent rights defenders and three civil society organizations accused in the foreign-funding case.

On Sept. 17, a Cairo criminal court froze the assets of the following civil society members: Gamal Eid, the founder of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information; Hossam Bahgat, the founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights; Bahey Eldin Hassan, the founder of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies; Mostafa al-Hassan, the director of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center; and Abdel Hafez Tayel, the director of the Egyptian Center for the Right to Education. Amnesty International called the decision "a reprehensible blow to Egypts human rights movement.

Then, in early November, the Egyptian Central Bank issued directives to freeze the bank account of Al Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence. Authorities forcibly shut down the center in April for allegedly violating the law by shifting its focus from medical activities to human rights issues," but the center has continued to document alleged rights violations against detainees by the Interior Ministry.

The crackdown on Egypts rights defenders has intensified in recent months amid increased government fears of another popular revolt, similar to the one in 2011 that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down as president. The crackdown also takes place amid painful austerity measures imposed by the government in November that are intended to secure a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. In early November, some Egyptian opposition figures based in Turkey (believed to be Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers) called for a revolution of the poor to take place in Egypt that same month. The anticipated protests failed to materialize, but the anger on the street became palpable, as food prices increased and basic commodities were out of stock. Rights groups warned that the government repression of civil society organizations would only fuel the anger and could prompt a fresh outbreak of civil unrest. But the warnings have thus far gone unheeded.

Travel bans and asset freezes are not the only measures of intimidation used by the regime to stifle the activities of human rights activists. On Dec. 1, the authorities shut down with no explanation two Al-Karama libraries in the impoverished districts of Tora and Dar al-Salam. The libraries were among five branches  all in impoverished neighborhoods  established by rights lawyer Gamal Eid with the funds he received from winning the Roland Berger Human Dignity Award in 2011. Eid wanted to give children in underprivileged districts access to books that they otherwise could not afford. A third branch in the Zagazig district has been threatened with closure after employees received interrogation summons by prosecutors following the closure of the other two branches.

The library closures came on the heels of parliaments approval in November of a controversial bill regulating the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The draft law, which has been sent to the Council of State for review, calls for jail terms of up to five years and fines of up to a million Egyptian pounds ($63,000) for NGOs that carry out their activities without prior authorization from security agencies. The bill also stipulates the creation of a national authority comprising representatives of the intelligence branch, the army and the security services to oversee the funds and the activities of foreign NGOs. Currently, foreign NGOs are required to obtain a permit and to pay up to 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($16,400) to have a presence in the country. Moreover, the bill prohibits all NGOs from conducting research studies or public surveys without government approval and requires the NGOs to obtain state authorization before publishing any such polls or studies.

The draft law has drawn condemnation from local and international rights advocates as a step backward for the country. Mohamed Zaree, the head of the Egypt program at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (whose assets have been frozen by court order), slammed the bill. "It was drafted by counter-revolutionary forces who want to make sure there can be no repeat of the January 25, 2011, uprising, said Zaree. He further called the bill unconstitutional, noting that it violates Article 75 of the constitution, which merely requires registration of NGOs by notifying the Ministry of Social Solidarity, without any government interference.

Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of the Middle East and North Africa Division at Human Rights Watch, said the bill effectively bans "what remains of the countrys independent civil society groups."

If this law passes, it would be a farce to say that Egypt allows nongovernmental organizations, since all would be subject to the security agencies control," Whitson said in a statement on the Human Rights Watch website.

Lawmaker Mohamed Abu Hamed, a member of the parliamentary committee that drafted the law, insisted that the draft law was compatible with the constitution, which stipulates that NGO activities should not threaten national security. Abu Hamed accused Human Rights Watch of being politicized and seeking to spread chaos and disrupt national security in statements to Ahram Online.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also rejected foreign criticism of the law, saying that Egypt does not accept the guardianship of foreign countries.

The government clearly has no intentions of backtracking or of easing its crackdown on rights defenders.

Its all-out revenge, Eid told Al-Monitor. They are out to get anyone who had a role in the January 25 Revolution, especially human rights activists whom they believe led the movement for change."
December 12, 2016

Irans national carrier Iran Air and US aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed a $16.6 billion deal for the sale of 80 passenger jets Dec. 11, despite strong opposition from the US House of Representatives. However, right-wing Americans have not been the only opponents of the deal; conservative Iranians have also voiced their objections against buying aircraft from the United States.

The deal was made possible by a Sept. 21 authorization from the US Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control. The two companies' agreements are a result of the July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lifted nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. With the goal of renewing its aging fleet, Iran will import Boeing airplanes, including 50 narrow-body 737 MAX aircraft and 30 long-haul 777s. Boeing said that deliveries will begin in 2018.

While Reformist outlets in Iran hailed the agreement to purchase a fleet of passenger jets from the United States, conservative media denounced the deal. On Dec. 12, Iranian media supporting President Hassan Rouhani celebrated the agreement on their front pages with headlines such as Boeings historical landing in Iran, Spell on Iran-US economic relations removed, Flight of Boeing over wall of sanctions and Boeing in Tehran hangar.

Meanwhile, Sobh-e No, a daily close to the Principlists, highlighted a Boeing statement that stressed the deal will support tens of thousands of US jobs directly associated with production and delivery of the 777-300ERs and nearly 100,000 US jobs in the US. Sobh-e No covered the agreement under the headline A deal to create 100,000 jobs in US.

The semi-official Fars News Agency also reported on criticism of the deal by Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi, the cultural deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to Fars, Naghdi said, They [the Rouhani administration] had promised to force the United States to return the $2 billion they owe us [as part of Irans frozen assets in the United States], but now they have poured another $16 billion in their [Americans] mouths.

Meanwhile, another agreement with an international firm received harsh criticism from conservatives in Tehran. On Dec. 9, the official IRNA news agency reported that Irans state-owned shipping company finalized an agreement with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries for a $650 million order of container ships and tankers. Hyundai Heavy Industries is the worlds largest shipbuilder by revenue, and this is Irans first deal to modernize its fleet since 2006.

In a reaction to the deal, the conservative newspaper Kayhan on Dec. 12 quoted Abdollah Abdollahi, the head of Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters  the main economic arm of the IRGC  as stressing that the deal contradicts Rouhanis promises to reduce the unemployment rate in Iran. Under the headline Dont give it to Koreans, we can do it ourselves, Kayhan said, It is alarming that despite having millions of unemployed youths in the country, the government gives away all our [economic] capacities to the sworn enemies of Iran.

IRNA quoted Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on Dec. 12 as declaring that the initial agreement with South Koreas Hyundai was reached under previous conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran had paid 25% of the final fee for the deal, but due to [nuclear-related] international sanctions it was impossible to make the other installments, Jahangiri said. After the JCPOA, we renewed the deal and they [Hyundai] agreed to reduce the price by 25%.
December 13, 2016

Knesset member and coalition chairman David Bitan (Likud) kicked off another storm over the weekend when he echoed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus controversial statements during the last Knesset elections. Bitan went even further. At a public event on Dec. 10, Bitan defamed Israeli Arab citizens when he said, If they werent able to come [to vote], that would be preferable.

A similar sentiment about the vote of Israeli Arabs first appeared in a video clip disseminated by Netanyahu last election day, when the prime minister was afraid of losing the government. He used a scare technique on his constituents by saying "the right-wing government is in danger" and "Arab voters are coming out in droves to the polls.

It is difficult to determine the effects of the clip on the election results, because no scientific study has been published to date on the subject. However, most political commentators agree that Netanyahus desperate plea to his voters on election day went a long way toward sealing his victory in the election.

Netanyahu apologized twice for his words. The first time was about a week after the elections, when he hosted a group of Arab and Druze mayors in his Jerusalem residence. They applauded when Netanyahu apologized to them and said, I view myself as the prime minister of each and every citizen of Israel, without any prejudice based on religion, ethnicity or gender. The Arab Knesset members, who were not invited to the meeting, rejected Netanyahus apology.

The second apology, in July 2016, generated a wave of speculation as to why the prime minister apologized again and at that specific point in time, a year and a half after the elections. Joint List Knesset members claimed in a conversation with Al-Monitor that the second apology followed international pressure that forced Netanyahu to publicize a video clip in which he called on Israel's Arab citizens to thrive in droves.

The prime minister has a very active Facebook page on which he posts a number of statuses a day on a broad variety of issues. He also attacks his rivals as well as the media, and sometimes he reports decisions he makes. Nevertheless, despite his own apologies, Netanyahu did not see fit to reprimand the coalition chairman over the latters negative statements directed at one-fifth of the states citizens. Netanyahu's ominous silence has been interpreted by Israeli Arabs as tacit agreement with Bitan, a politician viewed as the prime ministers associate and yes-man, who clearly stated that he would prefer that Arab citizens not participate in Israels democratic process.

The reactions were not long in coming. Knesset member Yousef Jibrin of the Joint List called on the prime minister to fire Bitan from his present position. Jibrin also made the obvious comparison, asking, How would the political system in France react if a high-level politician said that hed prefer if Jews wouldnt come to the polling booth? Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh tweeted, Racism  only serves to fuel our drive to increase our political power. He expressed what most of the Joint List members had long thought: that the political pressures on them and the unremitting attempts of right-wing parties to excommunicate them only strengthen their electoral power within Israels Arab community.

In talks with Al-Monitor, Joint List Knesset members explained that they had come under harsh criticism and even boycott following their decision to refrain from participating in the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres. That and other criticism as well as Netanyahus statements after the wave of wildfires in late November (hinting that most of the fires were Palestinian-nationalist motivated) created a sense of civil emergency among many of their constituents and unified their ranks.

The Joint List was established before the March 2015 elections, merging the various existing Arab parties. Its Knesset members, who are well-aware that their party loosely connects several subgroups that hold diverse positions, recently passed a resolution to hide the disputes and differences of opinion among them. Instead, all disagreements are to be resolved behind closed doors.

In essence, we have no commonalities to keep us together, one of the Joint Lists people told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, except for the fact that we can maintain our position and our force via unity and solidarity.

It's been about a year and a half since the Joint List became the third-largest faction in the Knesset. Initially, much criticism was heard from large swathes of the Israeli Arab public about being forced to vote for the Joint List because they were Arabs. But as time goes on, this criticism has been gradually waning.

Even the biggest critics of the Joint List within the Arab community have come to admit that the founding of the party was a no-brainer for Israels Arabs. This change was helped along by recurrent verbal attacks against the Joint List Knesset members and incendiary statements targeting large swathes of the Israeli Arab public, depicting them as supporters of terrorists and arsonists. This week, Hadash activists told Al-Monitor that they expect the Joint List Knesset members to do more than take action on discrimination against Arabs in comparison to the Jewish public in Israel. They feel that the Knesset members now must also shoulder the task of preserving the most basic civil rights for their constituents, rights that are being gradually eroded by Netanyahus right-wing government.

As far as they are concerned, Bitans actions are another step in the deterioration of relations between the official Israeli establishment and the Arab citizens of the state. After all, Bitan is not only a Knesset member for the Likud, but also chairman of Netanyahus coalition. And in contrast to Netanyahus words on election day, Bitan did not say what he said under the pressure of losing the government. Instead it was an explicit statement expressing a worldview that has penetrated the Israeli public under Netanyahus inspiration: that Israeli Arabs not only threaten the rule of the right, but also endanger from within the existence of the State of Israel. And in light of these threats, they should be distanced from the voting process.

So far, Bitan has not apologized nor been coerced to retract his statement. If anyone did believe Netanyahu's apologies, it should now be crystal clear that he was not sincere.
December 13, 2016

It appears that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has successfully refuted rumors that before assuming his important job, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu performed surgery on him to remove his spine. Mandelblit, who also serves as the governments legal adviser, stood up to the boss and declared that he would not be able to defend the proposed legislation legalizing wildcat West Bank settlements against a Supreme Court challenge. Coalition chairman David Bitan, Netanyahus yes-man, then announced that the government would retain private counsel to do the job. In fact, however, Mandelblits dissent plays a central role in Netanyahus strategic planning.

Netanyahus first move is to push the so-called regularization bill through the Knesset and steal the thunder of his coalition partner Naftali Bennett, chair of HaBayit HaYehudi. At that point, human rights and leftist groups will petition the nations top court in a challenge to the law. The court will rule that the law is unconstitutional, and the right wing will accuse the left and the court of betraying Zionism. Netanyahu will then hold up the Israeli legal system as a shining example of democracy and respect for the law. Most important, Israel will wriggle out of appearing in the defendants box at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for building settlements on private Palestinian land.

This devious plan has not escaped the attention of human rights organizations or Israels opposition parties. In recent days, party leaders have been arguing whether to take on the ungrateful task that Netanyahu has in store for them of petitioning the Supreme Court against the law. Al-Monitor has learned that many among them want to call Netanyahus bluff and remove the fig leaf they have been providing him.

The late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, also not a great fan of human rights organizations or the Supreme Court, famously said that the Palestinian police had an easier time than Israel fighting Hamas because they were not hampered by BTselem, the human rights group, or the Supreme Court. Similarly, without petitions to the High Court by organizations like BTselem or directly from Palestinians whose land has been confiscated, the incumbent prime minister will find himself exposed, facing the ICJ. He will be forced to explain to the judges that expropriating land from a Palestinian under Israeli occupation so that a Jew can build his home there is a legal, just and humane act.

A quick scan of the ICJs 2004 opinion regarding the separation fence built by Israel in part along the West Bank demarcation line will suffice to assess how the judges would rule on the regularization bill. Responding to a request by the UN General Assembly to render an advisory opinion, the court said that taking over private [Palestinian] land to build the fence is a breach of The Hague Regulations and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israel rejected the opinion at the time, claiming the fence was a self-defense measure against terror attacks. The US Congress condemned the courts opinion and expressed support for Israels right to build the barrier. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Israel had a right to defend itself. In the regularization case, Israel isn't even claiming that the bill, which essentially legalizes the theft of Palestinian land, stems from defense considerations.

For Bennett and his friends on the religious right, a Bible and anti-Arab prejudice are sufficient justification for taking land from Palestinians. Unlike Bennett, his party colleague Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is trying to provide the bill with legal grounds. She is relying on a 2010 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights concerning a petition filed by Greek Cypriot refugees demanding that Turkey restore the lands and assets they left behind when fleeing the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island. A majority of the judges in Strasbourg accepted the Turkish Cypriot position, according to which reality on the ground takes precedence over family roots. They ruled that tenant rights supersede those of house owners and that refugees can receive the compensation they deserve in cash rather than land.

Internationally renowned refugee expert Eyal Benvenisti told Al-Monitor that comparing the ruling on the Cypriot issue to the regularization bill is like likening a sheep and a wolf. True, both have four legs, a tail and a head.

Benvenisti, Whewell professor of international law at the University of Cambridge, explained, Theres a difference between a situation in which people took over the homes of neighbors who had become refugees as a result of a conflict and those who knowingly walked into an area of contested sovereignty under negotiation. In the latter situation, Benvenisti is also referring to the 2005 Israeli Supreme Court ruling on a petition submitted by settlers against the government's plan to withdraw from Gaza and evacuate the settlements there.

Ten of the 11 justices underscored that the petitioners had resided in the area temporarily by virtue of a military decree. The state itself argued at the time that the presence of the Israelis in the territories was subordinate to a peace agreement or to a unilateral decision to vacate the area. Unlike in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however, the senior jurist emphasized, complex negotiations were underway in Cyprus to resolve the Greek-Turkish conflict and return the refugees, including restoring lands to their owners and paying market value compensation to those not returning.

If Israel were willing to vacate West Bank settlements and conduct serious negotiations on the Palestinian refugee problem, it would have found in the European Courts decision reinforcement for its stand on the 1948 Palestinian refugees who were forced out of their homes or fled. Benvenisti noted that the court placed an obstacle in front of growing efforts to recognize refugees rights to return to their countries of origin. The judges set a legal precedent according to which UN General Assembly Resolution 194, on the issue of the 1948 refugees, does not grant each Palestinian refugee the right to return to his or her home. He also remarked that the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which refers to Resolution 194, in effect provided Israel with veto power over the way it is implemented.

Israel would rather ignore that historic initiative and place all its hopes in a US veto at the UN Security Council against measures on settlements or for Palestinian statehood, which would allow it to realize its vision of ruling the entire Land of Israel. Netanyahu is counting on BTselem and the Supreme Court to extricate him from The Hague. There is no guarantee that this time they will oblige and take on this ungrateful task for him.
December 13, 2016

Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's controversial former  and possibly future  prime minister, is the most influential player in Iraqs political process.

He heads the State of Law Coalition, the major player in the largely Shiite National Alliance, which in turn is the largest bloc in parliament. He also heads the Reform Front, which led a recent campaign that resulted in the firings of Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi and Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Maliki says he helped launch the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) after the Islamic State (IS) occupied Sunni-majority provinces during his terms as prime minister from 2006 to 2014. Observers have not ruled out his return to that position after parliamentary elections in 2018.

Al-Monitor met Maliki at his office in Baghdad for an exclusive interview. The text of the interview follows:

Al-Monitor: How would you describe the current relationship between Baghdad and the United States? Has the deal you reached with Washington been exploited? How do you see the US position on the recent crisis with Turkey?

Maliki: Our relationship with Washington is good, but we think the Strategic Framework Agreement [between the United States and Malikis government in 2008] was not correctly implemented. Thats what we said before Mosul fell, when we asked the United States to target the camps of terrorist gangs that were using the desert of Anbar province as a base and a refuge. But the US side refused on unrealistic pretexts, which led to Daesh [IS] taking over large areas of Iraq.

I believe that the relationship with the United States is important for the interests of Iraq and the region, and that it can be examined and developed by implementing the Status of Forces Agreement and dealing with any obstacles that get in the way.

America has rejected the logic of Turkish intervention in Iraq, but Turkish politicians think they can impose facts on the ground and expand in Iraq.

Al-Monitor: When President-elect Donald Trump takes office, do you expect a change in US policy in ways that will affect the ongoing struggle in the region?

Maliki: Washingtons general policy will stay the same, but the means and tools used to implement are different depending on who is in power. Its true that the Republicans are more concerned with Iraq, as they were the people who toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein and have stayed involved in the political process.

Their policy was good when they agreed to withdraw US troops and when they signed the Status of Forces Agreement. We hope that Mr. Trump when he takes office will implement the Strategic Framework Agreement that we signed, which covers the economy, politics, oil, trade and the military.

I say that Iraq needs this agreement with the United States and it needs US efforts and US expertise in many areas. I hope that President Trump implements the deal, because the Democrats didnt implement it in the past, despite our requests.

If they had responded to our requests, [IS] would not be here. We asked for weapons to strike [IS] in Jazeera [northwestern Iraq] that was an entry point for the terrorists from Syria. But unfortunately they did not cooperate with us, and later admitted that this was a mistake.

Al-Monitor: Did [IS] exploit long-running conflicts in the region, especially your differences with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and are there ways to solve these differences?

Maliki: In light of ongoing struggles and influential states greed for territory in the region, I believe that the crisis will continue and it will stir up new crises. That cannot be prevented except through dialogue, respect, good neighborliness and a commitment not to interfere in the business of others. Crises and conflicts cannot be solved through weapons and controlling other peoples territory. We are determined to solve the crises with Turkey and Saudi Arabia and to achieve the best, most positive ties on many levels, to be good neighbors and build interdependent interests and fates.

Al-Monitor: Will the PMU move into Syria after liberating Mosul from [IS]? If so, will that have major international costs for Iraq, especially for its relations with the United States?

Maliki: Talk of the PMU fighting in Syria is premature. I dont believe that it will happen now, because the situation in Syria at the moment does not require a PMU intervention. Also, we still need the PMU to finish the job of liberating Mosul and chasing down what remains of [IS] there. If we are able to impose security, get rid of [IS] and cleanse our territory of terrorism, it would be reasonable to respond and help Syria face [IS], because the group will come back to Iraq if we dont destroy it completely in Syria.

Al-Monitor: It appears that many Sunnis fear the PMU and have doubts about a national or historic compromise. How can the countrys problems be reset after [IS] has been defeated? Is there a clear vision or a comprehensive plan for reconciliation? Is there a place in the reconciliation plan for dividing the countrys wealth and drafting laws such as an oil and gas law?

Maliki: I dont see that Sunnis are afraid of the PMU, given that many of them are fighting alongside it on the front lines. Some of those who are trying to stir up fears are people who conspired to let [IS] in. Today, and after the defeat of [IS], those people will try to stir up new crises and create pretexts to prevent any rapprochement or any successful process of reconciliation or compromise.

The compromise that we are hoping for includes intellectual and organizational elements, the principles we want Iraq to be built on, national unity and a rejection of sectarianism. We want only the state to bear arms, respect the sovereignty of Iraq, an end to interference in the affairs of others and others interfering in our affairs, the countrys wealth to be invested in the best possible way and equality, along with other things that have all been completed and approved, which form the essence of the historic compromise.

Al-Monitor: If Sunni elements decided to turn the western provinces into a [self-governing] region, would you agree to that, given that it is provided for in the constitution? Or would you oppose it, perhaps due to its links to foreign agendas? What is your view on the unity of Iraq?

Maliki: While we support the unity of Iraq, we do not oppose the formation of regions, because it is provided for in the constitution. But given the current state of affairs, those regions cannot be created now because they would be created by force of arms in an atmosphere of political, military and sectarian tension, which is a bad basis for creating such regions.

Al-Monitor: What is the nature of the lists you will support in the coming election, especially given that most members of the State of Law Coalition are also in the Reform Front? Will the Reform Front run as an independent list or under the list of the State of Law Coalition? Will you support electoral lists that represent the PMU?

Maliki: The State of Law Coalition is the bloc that I will support going into the elections; we are currently reviewing and selecting allies who will run. There are many forces and well-known personalities who have asked to join the State of Law Coalition, and we welcome those who wish to join us  but according to regulations and conditions that fit the orientation and aims of the coalition.

As for the PMU, I believe that talk is premature, because the PMU is still busy with its military operations. Once the battle is over, then the PMU can decide whether or not to participate. But that does not mean that the PMU will not have a voice within the political scene, even if the majority of its units choose not to take part, because some units are already represented within the State of Law Coalition, especially the Badr Organization, the Jund al-Imam Brigades and the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades.

The Reform Front is not an electoral list but rather a grouping of parliamentarians from various blocs focusing on issues of shared concern, such as fighting corruption and supporting administrative reforms.

Al-Monitor: How did the recent pro-reform protests and the Reform Front impact on the work of the Haider al-Abadi government, and how would you describe his performance? Will he be on your electoral lists?

Maliki: First, it is up to the people to judge the work of the government. Regarding the reform movement and its impact on the government, I believe that anyone who wants to correct the path of the government will face challenges, and the prime minister has called for a reform process within the government  what happened in parliament is a result of that.

Al-Monitor: Do you still insist on the idea of a political majority? Is it possible to create a list that goes beyond sects, given that religious parties and sectarian bodies dominate Iraq?

Maliki: Yes, we believe that the best solution to salvage Iraq from its domestic crises is by creating a government of the political majority that is able to heal the situation and rebuild faith in the state, which was damaged by those calling for reform and anti-corruption measures. It is possible to create cross-sectarian blocs and lists, and I dont believe that religious parties are an obstacle to creating cross-sectarian entities.

Al-Monitor: Will those lists be an alternative to the State of Law Coalition? What will happen to the divisions and conflicts with it, especially between yourself and the Sadrists?

Maliki: The majority government has nothing to do with the National Alliance, because when we proposed forming a majority government that was not in isolation from the other elements of the National Alliance or anyone else. The issue is not limited to a particular party or a specific sect. We hope for a government that includes everyone who wants to build the nation and solve the problems Iraq suffers  through a strong government that is able to live up to its tasks and can tackle the challenges facing Iraq.

The National Alliance is made up entirely or mostly of groups that are able to be part of a political majority. Whoever wants to can take part, and I'm optimistic that all or most elements of the National Alliance will be part of that project.

Al-Monitor: Does that view fit with Muqtada al-Sadrs moves for reform and the establishment of a technocratic government and getting rid of the quota system? What is your view of Sadrs position on the PMU law?

Maliki: We stand with everyone who wants reform and to fight corruption, but their claims must be true and honest, not simply slogans and chants, or attacks on government institutions or damaging the prestige of the state.

Whoever wants reform and to fight corruption must respect the law and must not send out armed groups into Baghdad, show off their weapons and threaten those who oppose forming a technocratic government. Everyone must avoid the language of threats and use dialogue as a way to correct what they see as wrong, or not serving the interests of the people.

Concerning the PMU law, I believe that the law approved by parliament meets what is needed, although we hope for more  to do justice for those who have given their blood and their lives for Iraq and responded to the call after the conspiracy against the nation.

The first stage was passing the law, and the second stage will be drafting the orders, which is the responsibility of the commander in chief of the armed forces.

Al-Monitor: Will Sunni and Sadrist opposition to the law affect the future of the political process and the push for a historical compromise?

Maliki: The PMU law was passed by the parliament and it will proceed. I dont believe anything can happen to it.

As for the political compromise, we are waiting for a Sunni statement expressing views on what the National Alliance presented, and when that is agreed, we will move forward with fixing rules that can be a basis from which everyone can work. As soon as that is agreed, we will proceed together on issues such as rebuilding the cities, returning the displaced and compensating those who have been harmed, as well as reforms to the political and legislative systems.

Al-Monitor: What guarantee is there that the PMU will not become stronger than the state and its security apparatus? How can fighters be separated from their previous units? What is the difference between turning the PMU into an official body and integrating its fighters into the Iraqi armed forces?

Maliki: The PMU has become  by law  subordinate to the state security apparatus. Any force within that structure must support and assist the other organs of the armed forces. I believe that the PMU will be an effective organ  just like the Counter Terrorism Service  and that the leadership of the PMU are part of the political process and are committed to its stability and the rule of law.
December 12, 2016

RAMALLAH, West Bank  The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) will conduct an electronic population, housing and establishment census in 2017, across the 1967 Palestinian occupied territories, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

This census will be the third general census for population, housing and establishment to be carried out in the history of the Palestinian Authority (PA); the first was conducted in 1997 and the second in 2007.

The census will be held in 2017 in accordance with the recommendation of the United Nations to conduct a general census every 10 years, and as per the decision on Dec. 23, 2014, of the Council of Ministers to organize the next census in 2017.

Ola Awad, the president of the PCBS, told Al-Monitor, The census aims to determine the number of Palestinians and their geographic distribution, with the goal of planning economic and social development projects and updating the population, demographic, social and economic databases in the State of Palestine.

Awad said that the PCBS has been working for a year and a half to develop strategic plans for the census and to complete the necessary pre-census preparations, such as forming a national team to determine the built-up areas in the provinces and updating their digital field maps. She noted that the PCBS staff will receive information and training to conduct a pilot census before the official census, for which a date has not been set yet.

The 2017 general census will use e-forms rather than paper forms. A PCBS representative will help the head of household to answer the questions on a tablet; the official is there to assist especially the elderly and citizens who are illiterate. Subsequently, the PCBS staff will receive the citizens answers and store them in databases.

Awad said it is expected that the various stages  such as preparations, numbering of buildings, the pilot census and data collection  will provide 9,000 temporary jobs, and that dozens of software engineers have been recruited to update the digital maps of the residential areas across the various regions.

She added that conducting the general census using modern technologies and tablets is a quantum leap for the work of the PCBS and its future projects and plans, since it will save time and effort. She said, We will be able to publish the preliminary results of the census just two weeks after its execution, instead of having to wait a whole year like we did when we relied on papers. The updated digital maps of the residential areas will support the population and housing surveys that we will be conducting in the future.

On Nov. 22, the Palestinian government, represented by Awad, signed with the Swedish government, represented by the General Consul of Sweden in Palestine Ann-Sofie Nilsson, an agreement of just under $2.4 million to provide financial support for the 2017 general census.

Awad said that the estimated cost of the 2017 census is around $16 million. Financing agreements to conduct the 2017 census and to develop the capacity of the bureau's staff were signed with the governments of Sweden and Germany, in addition to written commitments by the representatives of the European Commission and the Norwegian and Swiss governments to provide financial assistance to the PCBS.

The total amount of funding [pledged by] donor countries has reached $11 million, while the Palestinian government will secure the remaining amount of $5 million, she noted.

Awad emphasized that she is relying on the cooperation of governmental institutions for the success of the census, saying, Although the PCBS staff will be executing the census, its success requires the cooperation of various ministries and government institutions, such as the Ministry of Local Government, as it is a partner in the census.

Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are the most prominent challenges for the staff in charge of the census, given the changes in these two areas since the 2007 census. Gaza witnessed three brutal wars (2008, 2012 and 2014) that led to changes in its population, housing and establishment maps, while Jerusalem has been witnessing a Judaization campaign, which started in 1967, in terms of population and housing.

Awad explained that the census will provide a clear picture of the magnitude of the changes brought about by the wars in the Gaza Strip. Some areas witnessed displacement and others were completely destroyed. The census will give us the data and facts necessary to determine the size of internal displacement in Gaza to provide information for researchers who will conduct analytical studies, she said.

She added, The study of population changes and internal displacement and its causes and circumstances is not limited to the Gaza Strip; it also covers the West Bank. In the last 10 years, the provinces in the north and south of the West Bank witnessed a wave of internal migration to Ramallah where there are employment opportunities and where the PAs institutions and ministries are located along with the international civil and private sector institutions.

Awad insisted that the PCBS will hold the 2017 census in Jerusalem despite the difficulties faced by the staff there, in light of Israel's tightened control over the province. She pointed out that the separation wall divides the Palestinian residential areas in the West Bank and makes it hard for the PCBS staff to perform their jobs.

She added, The census must cover all Palestinian territories without exception to be comprehensive and complete and to comply with international standards, which requires the noncoverage rate of the census not to exceed 5% of the covered areas  otherwise the results would be inaccurate.

Explaining how the census results may be used and their effect on social and economic planning, Awad said that in the Gaza Strip, for instance, the census will provide accurate population growth rate indicators. We will be able to know the socio-demographic and housing situation 20 years from now in the Gaza Strip, which currently accommodates around 2 million residents, as population density stands at 5,000 individuals per square kilometer [0.39 square mile]. We can only develop future social and economic plans if there is a comprehensive and general census, she said.

Awad added that, despite the improvement in the use of statistical data by Palestinian policymakers in governmental institutions and ministries, "statistical data we publish  such as those on education, for instance  is not being taken advantage of as required." She said that the census "is a great treasure of statistical data available for everyone.

Although the 2017 census will offer a comprehensive statistical database for Palestine  which presides over the International Association for Official Statistics until 2017  these databases will remain underexploited if they are not translated into policies and plans for sustainable development, which is the most prominent challenge for the government and its various ministries.
December 13, 2016

Turkeys efforts to take the critical town of al-Bab with the help of its rebel proxies is running into difficulties amid reports that Islamic State militants have dug hundreds of ditches and rigged incoming routes with mines and other explosives to halt their advance.

Turkey continues to pound IS positions near the town, but progress is slow. The number of Turkish casualties are mounting, and the fate of two Turkish soldiers recently captured by IS remains a matter of intense concern.

The English-language Hurriyet Daily News reported Dec. 13, [IS] dug ditches in the city center and environs and buried explosives in order to slow down the operation, according to the information gathered by unmanned drones, said [an] official, who asked to remain anonymous.

It also reported, Some of the ditches are almost two meters long and aim to block tanks and other armored vehicles, said the official. Several bomb-laden vehicles and suicide teams are wandering around the city, according to intelligence gathered by Turkey.

For more than a month now, the Turkish-led campaign aimed at liberating the town from the jihadists  and importantly to prevent Syrian Kurds from getting there first  has been frustrated by a lack of US support, Russian ambivalence and Syrian and Iranian opposition.

Coalition and Turkish officials who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject confirmed that Turkey had asked the United States to carry out airstrikes in support of their moves against al-Bab. They declined to comment further.

The formal US stance, however, has been that it will not help the Turkish-backed Operation Euphrates Shield coalition or the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), led by the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), capture al-Bab. It has refused to do so because it does not want to be dragged into Turkeys ongoing battle to prevent the Syrian Kurds from linking territories under their control. Al-Bab, a mainly Sunni Arab town, plays a significant part in those plans. The Turks and the Kurds are US allies in the fight against IS, but their bloody tussles are disrupting coalition operations to seize Raqqa, the capital of the jihadists so-called caliphate, and playing straight into the hands of Russia, the Syrian regime and Iran.

Although Ankara appears to have won Russias approval to advance on al-Bab, presumably in exchange for drawing down its support for opposition rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, deep distrust remains concerning Russias motives. Few believe Russia will relinquish its support for the YPG, because it gives Moscow leverage over Turkey and the regime alike.

There is widespread speculation that the US-led coalition might relent and help Turkey in al-Bab if only to assuage Ankara over its plans to supply the SDF with additional weapons and build more forward operating bases in the areas under the Kurds control, all as part of the bid to free Raqqa. While the YPG is open to the plan, it would further inflame Turkish fury over US support for a group that Ankara views as terrorists because of their close ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The PKKs urban terror offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, has claimed responsibility for the Dec. 10 twin bomb attacks in Istanbul. At least 44 people, mostly policemen, died in the blasts.

For as long as the PKK or its affiliates continue to strike Turkey, there remains little chance that Ankara will come to look favorably on US dealings with the YPG. Indeed, some Turkish officials suggested in off-the-record conversations with Al-Monitor that Ankara might even weigh sending its own troops to Raqqa if that is what it takes to squash the US-Kurdish alliance.
December 12, 2016

A few weeks before the devastating Dec. 10 twin bombings in Istanbul  for which Kurdish militants claimed responsibility  Al-Monitor spoke with several sources well-connected with Ankara about how Turkey might address Iran's intensified logistics support to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

For the past couple of months, different media outlets in Turkey and the region have been reporting that representatives of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, led by Gen. Qasem Soleimani, have held several meetings with senior PKK members in Baghdad and in Halabja and Rania in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a PKK offshoot, claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed 38 people and wounded 155.

Long gone are the days when Turkey and Iran cooperated against Kurdish guerrillas. Though today Kurdish groups make headlines about their internal divisions and feuds, they are still able to influence the behavior and decisions of both Iran and Turkey. Whether the two countries manage to keep their proxy war over northern Syria and Iraq contained or whether it could lead to direct confrontation between them remains to be seen. For now, Ankara has to face the immediate consequences of its ill-conceived policies in Syria and Iraq.

Turkeys battle against the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and the PKK has indeed changed the balance in the region. The PKK has become a crucial combat force (for organizing, as well as training units) for several groups in northern Syria and Iraq that have been trying to survive against the Islamic State (IS) and its offshoots. Indeed, the former Yazidi capital of Sinjar, Iraq, has become the new headquarters for the PKK, despite several statements from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he would not allow it. The PKKs overall influence in Iraq has expanded significantly over the past couple of years.

Turks believe this would not have happened without Iranian approval. Pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) news media claim Iran is now hosting three PKK camps in its territory and providing arms to Kurds through its proxy armed organizations such as Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units. Sources in Ankara have informed Al-Monitor that they suspect Iranian-made fertilizers and other dual-use materials are used in PKK bombs as well. After years of allegations that Turkey was enabling the flow of bomb-making fertilizers into IS territory, and after experiencing consecutive attacks on its own soil in June, Turkey banned the sale of ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers. However, news of bombs and explosive devices coming from eastern and southeastern parts of the country has become routine.

The roots of the problems go deeper than possible Iranian logistical support for the PKK or other Kurdish groups. It is instead the Iranian-Turkish tug of war over the Kurds.

For years, Turkey had a stable, profitable friendship with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. Now Ankara is pressuring the KRG to take its side against the Iraqi government. The latest announcements from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the Kurdish federal zone in Syria is viewed as only temporary generated enthusiasm in Ankara, another indication of how Ankara is desperately seeking allies against the PKK and YPG. However, at least for the foreseeable future, that seems like a slim possibility. We can explain this by analyzing Iranian interests.

Iran has always had an intriguing relationship with the Kurds, while engaging in ongoing attacks against the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) in Iran.

Yet before 2003, all Kurdish political parties had headquarters in Tehran, and the first planes to land in Erbil after the IS attack were Iranian transports, according to David Phillips, director of the Program on Peace-Building and Rights at Columbia Universitys Institute for the Study of Human Rights.

Aykan Erdemir, a former member of the Turkish parliament who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Al-Monitor, In Syria, Tehran is skeptical about the PKK-affiliated PYDs [Kurdish nationalist Democratic Union Party] attempts to carve a contiguous Kurdish-controlled territory, worrying that this entity could then provide a base for Western powers. In Iraq, Tehran sees the PKK as an asset in counterbalancing Turkish military presence in Bashiqa. As the tension between Ankara and Tehran over the future of Tal Afar climbs, both Iran and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units seem to be more willing to enter into tactical alliance with the PKK.

Others are more dubious about long-lasting PKK-Iran cooperation. Safak Bas, a doctoral candidate at Free University of Berlin and an associate fellow at CARPO-Bonn (Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient), has some reservations about the extent of support Iran provides. He told Al-Monitor, Supporting an organization that is being listed as a terrorist organization in order to destabilize a neighboring country is not a strategy Tehran pursues. Especially when looking at the various areas of cooperation Iran has with Turkey, antagonizing Ankara would complicate things for Tehran in the region.

Yet given the reality on the ground, that idea is not that far-fetched. Given the IS threat, the forces in the region could have prevented further loss of civilian life and turmoil if they had cooperated. But the established states failed to end the Syrian civil war and to resist IS in unison, so the PKK and other Kurdish factions emerged as the sole credible secular force. In a recent documentary, Bese Hozat, co-chair of the Kurdistan Communities Union, an umbrella organization of the PKK, said, We are not just defending Kurdish freedom. We have outgrown that mission. We are defending all groups in the region. So far, Erdogan's AKP government has not only been determined to exterminate the PKK, but also to replace the Kurdish civilian population with Sunni Arabs in its own territory and in northern Syria.

Much to the chagrin of the Iranian government, the AKPs support for Saudi- and Qatari-backed Islamists in Iraq and Syria has continued over the years. Now, Iran calculates it is in its best interest to cooperate with the PKK and the YPG to help end the IS threat. In addition, both Russia and the United States may extend their support of Kurds in the coming months; hence, the time is ripe to be on better working relations with the Kurds.

Also, for Iran to sustain a safe route to the Mediterranean, ideally connecting Tehran to the Syrian port city of Latakia, the Kurds' cooperation is essential. Major towns such as Kobani and Qamishli in northern Syria and Sinjar in Iraq are crucial connecting points on this projected Iranian corridor. Even if the Turkish government manages to militarily dominate these Kurdish towns, it will not be able to establish sustainable communities and governance. Calculating this, it is rational for Iran to provide for a stable Kurdish presence.

A few senior bureaucrats in Ankara foresee this grim future. One told Al-Monitor, We asked Iranians about their relations with the PKK and did not receive a straight answer, but we see how their interests align. For decades, Father Assad [Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad] held PKKs hand. It has again become our weakest point. However, Turkey still has options.

That is true, but with growing domestic economic and security vulnerabilities, its options in both the domestic and international arenas are decreasing in number and becoming much less pleasant. Worst of all, the Turkish grand strategy for Syria is still obscure, except for exterminate the PKK, and for the past four decades, military solutions alone have not been sufficient to accomplish that. Kurdish cooperation with Iran also signifies how little hope Kurds hold for any sort of functioning peace plan with AKP.

For now, there are mainly two arguments in the Kurdish press. One states that Kurds are becoming the collateral damage in the cold war between Turks and Iranians; the other argues that Kurds can influence the plans and actions of both Iranians and Turks, and they can indeed gain self-determination. The latter option could generate winning results for all parties. But unless Turks alter their game plan soon, only Iran and the Kurds will win.
Three of the groups who have filed opposition to Yellowhammer Creative's attempt to trademark "It's Nice to Have You in Birmingham" have had their claims dismissed.

The Birmingham Business Alliance and REV Birmingham filed jointly filed opposition to the trademark request. The United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has dismissed that opposition, as well as opposition filed by local artist Erin Bodden.

Yellowhammer applied for the trademark in April 2015, according to records found on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website. The case remains pending with the Trial and Appeal Board. The clothing company sells shirts featuring the stylized logo.

LIV Apartment Partners had planned to use the "It's Nice" logo on the 1928 Jemison Flats parking deck on 1st Avenue North. Yellowhammer asked LIV for $63,000 in order to use it, according to a proposed agreement sent to LIV. LIV filed opposition to the trademark, which still stands.

Yellowhammer filed a motion to dismiss LIV'S opposition, but the board ruled that LIV had sufficient standing to continue in proceedings.

"It's Nice to Have You in Birmingham" was first used in the 1950s to greet visitors to Birmingham. It's used everywhere from murals around the city, like those on the sides of John's City Diner and Trim Tab Brewing Co., to one of the area's Snapchat filters.

The Birmingham Business Alliance, LIV Apartment Partners and REV Birmingham have each declined to comment for this story.

Bodden and Yellowhammer's attorney Andrew Wheeler-Berliner did not respond to request for comment Monday.
Etowah County authorities say they have arrested four people on drug trafficking charges in the past week and they expect more as the result of an ongoing investigation.

Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit Deputy Commander Phil Sims announced four people arrested as the result of two operations on Dec. 8 and 9. The four were:

Corion Leshon Moore, 40, and Khadijah Nashone Byers, 22, both of Gadsden, charged with methamphetamine trafficking, heroin trafficking, possession of crack cocaine and first degree marijuana possession. Moore also has been charged with two counts of methamphetamine distribution.

Michael Lavonta McKinney, 30, and Carrie Fay Drake, 36, both of Gadsden, charged with meth and methadone trafficking. McKinney has also been charged with two counts of meth distribution.

All four are still being held in the Etowah County Detention Center.

Moore and Byers were arrested Dec. 8 after a search warrant was executed at a home at 100 Gregory Court in Gadsden. Agents found 40 grams of methamphetamine, 8 grams of heroin, along with three stolen handguns, marijuana and cocaine.

Moore, Sims said, has multiple drug convictions, as well as a gun charge.

On Dec. 9, agents searched a home at 474 Pulltight Road in the Coates Bend area of Etowah County and arrested McKinney and Drake. There, they found 6 ounces of methamphetamine and a "trafficking weight" of methadone, as well as $2,190 in cash and a 9mm handgun.

Drake was already on probation for a drug charge.

Commander Randall Johnson said the investigation started after a tip, and the arrests are connected to others over the last year involving the distribution of methamphetamine. Sheriff Todd Entrekin said while heroin use is nationally on the rise as well as in Etowah County, methamphetamine continues to be a priority.

"Here, in these arrests, you see two in Gadsden and two in the rural part of the county," Entrekin said. "No one is immune to these problems."

Also involved in the arrests were the Etowah County Sheriff's Office, Gadsden police's Special Projects Unit, FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Alabama National Guard Counterdrug Program.

Johnson said anyone with information on drug activity is asked to call the enforcement unit's anonymous tipline at (256) 546-3131 or (256) 549-5465.
Charles Edward Walker

A Birmingham City Schools employee arrested last week with $500,000 worth of heroin could face additional charges for an alleged dog-fighting ring.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Friday announced the arrest of 45-year-old Charles Edward Walker Jr. The suspected drug dealer was taken into custody Thursday, said Sr. State Trooper Chuck Daniel.

Birmingham police on Monday released more information about Walker's arrest, and said they found 22 pit bull dogs at his home - 17 adults and five puppies. "The dogs appeared to be in an unhealthy condition and were obviously used for dog-fighting operations,'' according to a statement released by the department.

Walker is an employee of the city school system, and works in technical services and computer support. Schools' spokeswoman Chanda Temple confirmed Walker's employment, but said because it is a personnel matter she could not further comment. He is currently on leave from his job.

Law enforcement officials who announced Walker's arrest did not mention any involvement related to schools or Walker's position with the system.

The arrest culminated a joint narcotics investigation by ALEA and its State Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Birmingham Police Department's Neighborhood Enforcement Team, Homeland Security Investigations and the Alabama Fusion Center. Daniel said investigators seized 1,700 grams of heroin with fentanyl that has a street value of $500,000, as well as 90 grams of crack cocaine valued at $9,000 on the streets. They also confiscated $55,000 in cash, a handgun and a vehicle.

Police said agents conducted a controlled delivery of a suspected drug package to Walker's home. Following a successful delivery, agents made contact with Walker, who tried to flee the scene on foot. He was captured following a short foot pursuit.

Once Walker was taken into custody, lawmen returned to Walker's home and secured it while they waited for a search warrant. That's when they found the drugs, money, and the nearly two dozen pit bulls.

Birmingham police then summoned animal cruelty deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office to the scene, who determined the dogs were in an unfit condition and had been used in fighting. All of the dogs were removed from home, and investigators said animal cruelty charges against Walker are likely.

The dogs were taken to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, where workers say they are treated the dogs and trying to socialize them. They will hold and care for the dogs until a judges decides what to do with them. For now, they are on "police hold."

Already, Walker is charged with trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in heroin and trafficking in a synthetic controlled substance. According to the Jefferson County Jail, Walker was booked in Thursday night and released early Friday on $15,000 bond.

"We know too well the cost of drug use and its effect on family,'' BPD said in a statement. "We are thankful as a department to be a part of this operation and thank the community for assisting us in the reduction of crime."
A group of students from Martha Gaskins Elementary School in Birmingham will visit the White House this week.

The students, including 40 from the school's Beta Club, have been studying government and elections for the last several months. This week the students will get to see some of the federal government in action, according to Birmingham City Schools.

"I think this will be the first time for all of my students to go to D.C,'' School Principal Elvirita Finley said. "This is an opportunity for them to experience American history as it is and to have a taste of what D.C. looks like.''

The students left Birmingham on Monday and will return on Friday. During the trip, the students will also visit national monuments, the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture and have lunch at a federal office, according to Birmingham City Schools.

"This is over the top,'' Finley said, of the trip. "We are bouncing off of the walls right now. My students are saying, 'Are we going to get to see Malia? Are we going to get to see Michelle Obama ... President Obama? They have no idea what we will see. And if you really want to know the truth, neither do I.' ''

"We are excited about this opportunity to visit the White House and D.C.," she added.

The Beta Club spent two months raising $16,000 for the trip. The trip came about after Beta Club Sponsor Traci Allen learned the students would have an opportunity to visit the White House during a proposed trip to the nation's capital.

"Students sold candy. Parents did fish fries and sold calendars. Politicians donated money. Huffman United Methodist Church and True Vine Community Church helped,'' Finley said. "We are thankful for them as well as state Reps. Linda Coleman and Oliver Robinson and Birmingham City Councilor LaShunda Scales.''

"I was running around, knocking on doors and shaking gates and praying a lot,'' she added. "I don't know how we did it but we did.''

Following the students' trip on the Martha Gaskins Elementary Facebook page.
The school offers respite from crowded refugee life and ensures the kids know how to write [and] to read now.

Skaramagas camp, Greece  The sun set behind a Syrian child pushing her friend on a small swing in the middle of a large, concrete yard, as others chased a small girl riding a bicycle through the narrow corridors between housing containers.





The Skaramagas refugee camp  near the port of Piraeus, not far from Athens  is home to nearly 3,000 Syrian Arabs and Kurds, Iraqis and Afghans, around half of whom are children.

Deyaa Orfali, 28, a Syrian from Homs, fled his homeland earlier this year after he was summoned for military service in the Syrian governments army.

Since April, he has worked as a teacher at the Hope School, a refugee-led initiative to provide classes for children between five and 13 years of age in Skaramagas.

Walking through the fenced-off camp, Orfali greeted children and parents as he made his way to the waterfront, where a row of makeshift stores has popped up in recent months and created an unwelcome feeling of permanence in the camp.

READ MORE: Greek leftists turn deserted hotel into refugee homes

Sometimes I see kids playing with mutts and rocks, Orfali told Al Jazeera, explaining that the challenging humanitarian conditions of the camp have rendered life more difficult for vulnerable groups like children.

Most of the people here are waiting for relocation or reunification [elsewhere in Europe].

Orfali and 21 other teachers give lessons in art, maths, English, Arabic and Farsi several times a week in a pair of small, cramped containers they have turned into classrooms.

He said the school has provided children with a welcome respite from playing in the streets or sitting in their families crowded containers all day. They have become more organised, he said. They know how to write [and] to read now.

Orfali said the Hope Schools role is doubly important. Many parents are hesitant to let their children attend Greek schools because they hope to move on elsewhere in Europe. If they send their kids to public school, it will take at least a year to teach them Greek. So, whats the point?

In September, there was strong backlash from many Greeks when the government announced a plan to allow up to 22,000 refugee children to attend local schools.

IN PICTURES: First school bell rings for refugee children in Greece

At the time, a group of parents in the western Greek town of Filippiada decried the Education Ministry in an open letter that stated they will not accept, under any circumstance and without any compromise, that the children of so-called irregular immigrants in their childrens schools.

Didnt even know how to pick up a pencil

Upwards of 62,000 refugees and migrants have been stranded in Greece since Macedonia sealed its borders in March, effectively closing the Western Balkan route to Western Europe.

More than a million refugees and migrants reached European shores by boat last year, according to the United Nation refugee agency UNHCR. More than 352,000 have arrived so far this year, while at least 4,773 people drowned at sea making the treacherous voyage.

Basel Shrayyef, 28, a former coordinator at the Hope School who has since relocated to France, said the largest challenge for teachers was working with children who have missed years of school because of the ongoing wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

With the Syrian government and Russian warplanes pummelling opposition-held parts of the country, many schools across the country have closed since the bloody civil war started more than five years ago. Syrian armed opposition groups have been accused of shelling schools, as well.

More than three decades of conflict has limited access to education in Afghanistan, while the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq  as well as the subsequent armed conflicts  has decimated much of the countrys educational system.

Many of them didnt even know how to pick up a pencil, Shrayyef told Al Jazeera, recalling that nearly 700 children registered for school when the initiative was launched six months ago.

READ MORE: Refugees in Greece  We are living in a prison here

This is about the children learning and doing something, rather than sitting around and doing nothing, he said. He added that the teachers divide students by education level rather than age because many children had never been to school or had missed several years.

Not all of us were teachers in our home countries. Some of them were teachers in their countries, some us came from university. I was an engineer, Shrayyef said, explaining that among the teachers are former journalists, researchers and medical professionals.

The Piraeus Open School for Immigrants, a local volunteer-administered school founded 11 years ago, has partnered with the Hope School to provide language courses for those who are at least 14 years old in the Skaramagas camp.

We came and saw the children  and we decided together we had to do something for the children here, Nikos Agapakis, of the Open School, told Al Jazeera.

We will stay here as long as we believe we have a reason to be here, he added. But we must also fight against the reasons that create refugees.

Worsening conditions

The humanitarian catastrophes many refugees and migrants were already enduring in Greece are now compounded by the onset of winter.

Although the UN and aid organisations have scrambled to move many residents of impromptu camps and tent cities into better camp sites, temporary apartments and other alternative residences, the UNHCR says many continue to dwell in substandard camps that lack proper protection from the cold, rain and snow.

IN PHOTOS: Refugee school gives respite to children in Greek camps

Among those in desperate need of improved housing are at least 1,200 unaccompanied children who the UN says lack appropriate accommodation.

Roland Schoenbauer, an Athens-based spokesman for the UNHCR, said there is an urgent need for action by European authorities.

The winter is here now. We urge all actors to find alternatives to camps, particularly where people and children are living in tents out in the open, he told Al Jazeera, adding that there are refugee centres on the Greek islands with as many as three times the number of residents they are designed to house.

These are horrible living conditions, and children are among the most vulnerable people enduring them.

Last week, the European Commission recommended sending some asylum seekers back to Greece from other EU countries starting in March. The announcement was condemned by rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Its astonishing that the European Commission thinks asylum seekers should be sent back to Greece, where thousands are already suffering as a direct consequence of the EUs policies, Eva Cosse, HRWs Greece researcher, said in a press release .

READ MORE: The refugee crisis and the Greeks one year on

Instead of adding to Greeces burden, EU governments and institutions should be working to alleviate it, by relocating asylum seekers from Greece to other EU countries, Cosse added.

Sitting in the Hope Schools administrative office back in the Skaramagas camp, Orfali admitted that the Hope School cannot be a substitute for an institutional education programme.

We are just filling the gap between the time they stay here and the time they move to their new life and get into real school, he said.

But sometimes when we open the school at 9:00am, the kids are waiting and solving their homework. Its nice.

Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_

Disclosure: Patrick Strickland moderated a panel discussion with Deyaa Orfali, Basel Shrayyef, the Piraeus Open School for Immigrants and UNICEF in Athens on September 21.
After the leaders death and before his entombment, a Cuban journalist travelled around the country to gauge the mood.

Santiago, Cuba  Images of Fidel Castros face flash on the giant screen as patriotic music plays in the background. The incessant stream of people walking along the boulevard comes to a standstill, as though time itself has stopped. Everyone looks at Fidel. An old man in a night guards uniform stands to attention, lifts his chin and salutes.

Along the length of the boulevard, there are five other screens. Fidel appears from them all; up close, full-length, dressed in military fatigues. Cubans and foreigners take selfies with his image.

But Fidel is no longer here. For the first time since 1959 he has left Cuba to walk alone.

READ MORE: In Cuba, a day without Fidel Castro

Some hours remain before the caravan, which is carrying the ashes of Fidel Castro across the island, arrives in Santiago de Cuba for its posthumous farewell. After a week of solemn vigil, the tension here is palpable.

The Santa Ifigenia cemetery, where the late Cuban leaders ashes will be interred, is patrolled by police.

Inside, workers toil under the sun  sweeping, painting, preparing. Like ants, they move constantly, side-to-side. Fidel Castros ashes will be entombed just a few metres away from the mausoleum of the 19th-century independence icon Jose Marti. But not even the workers know what Castros tomb will be like.

They have lowered a huge stone from the Sierra Maestra on a crane, but nobody knows what it looks like because it is covered with a tarp, explains one of the custodians, who is guarding the back entrance to the cemetery.

Julia Gonzalez lives nearby. These works did not begin with Fidels death, she explains. This started some time ago when they began to evict the people who lived here. They took a lot of people out of their houses, so that the front of the cemetery would look good.

A year and a half ago, Julia says the city government began to depopulate the area in front of the cemetery  run-down homes on the edge of the citys sewage drain  to beautify the area where Fidel would be laid to rest. The drain was covered  although the smell remains  and the residents were moved to apartments elsewhere.

Waiting for death

The only things that separate the cemetery from the poor neighbourhood of Aguero behind it are a wall and a dusty embankment. White marble angels peek over the wall. Sometimes, the cries of the bereaved drift across it.

Ninety-five-year-old Jose Perez sits in the doorway of his home, leaning on a metal cane, his gaze drifting off into his neighbourhood.

Im waiting for death, he says. I want to go to the hole already.

After the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, and the subsequent nationalisation of private enterprises, Jose lost his dry cleaning business.

I lost my business but Im with him [Fidel Castro] 100 percent, because that man got us out of capitalism, says Jose, who subsequently became a carpenter and opened his own workshop. He is the greatest thing nature has ever given.

In street C, a pig has just been killed. Its ribs lie exposed on a sheet of iron. Two men are squeezing the animals intestines. A broth cooks over a low heat.

I feel goosebumps when I say that Fidel is dead

Noelvis, a 52-year-old bricklayer, lives a few metres away. He built his house himself, without any help from the state. I have done nothing else because the government wants to extend the cemetery and has put the neighbourhood on a demolition plan, he explains after making some coffee.

All of the other houses in Aguero are made from wood and old, rusting zinc. But not Noelvis house. Inside it has a wall he designed that features a scene from Havana and a fish tank embedded in the masonry.

From the roof of his house you can see the whole cemetery. Climbing up there, he says: I feel goosebumps when I say that Fidel is dead.

Two medical students knock on the door to ask whether there are any children living in the house and if a resident has recently had a fever. There have been cases of dengue in the neighbourhood, they explain. Outside, a woman walks by, carrying a small pig wrapped in a blanket.

OPINION: The vivid life of Fidel Castro

This week, Santiago de Cuba is a different place during the night and the day. When it is light, everything is hustle and bustle. There are policemen everywhere and cars with loudspeakers that inform people about how they are to dress and behave when the caravan reaches the city. At the Moncada barracks, students from elementary and junior high schools practise the greetings they will give in a few hours.

State workers wear armbands commemorating the 26th of July Movement, the revolutionary movement led by Fidel.

But at night, it is as though the city is under curfew. The silence is total. There is nobody on the streets.

Gold statues for the Virgin

Twenty-one kilometres away from the centre of Santiago de Cuba, the Church of the Virgin of Charity, in the village of El Cobre, is quiet, aside from the birds that sing and the wind that rustles the leaves outside.

Candles burn, lips whisper prayers and Umberto Amaral sweeps the church floor. The day after his death, Fidel was given a mass here, he says.

Wilbert Moreno, who works at the church, explains: The village has felt it. We are all very sad.

We agreed to do the Catholic novena, which consists of praying and massing for nine days, so that God will welcome him, reward him for all the good he has done and forgive him all the mistakes he may have made, says Eugenio Castellano, the priest at the church.

Castellano says that Fidel never visited the church, but when he launched the revolution, his mother offered the Virgin gold statues in exchange for the safety of her three children. When Fidel was later released from prison, his mother returned to the church, leaving another gold statue, this one bearing the name of Fidel Castro Ruz.

Fidel is like Jesus

On the outskirts of Santiago de Cuba, a small island appears in the middle of the bay. It is called Cayo Granma and is home to some 2,000 people, a shop, a restaurant, a church, a cafe, a dining room for the elderly and two doctors offices. If someone dies here, they must be taken by boat to the mainland.

In the port, Alberto Rodriguez, a Jehovahs Witness, is waiting for a boat to take him across the Caribbean Sea to Santiago de Cuba. Fidel is like Jesus Christ. He helped the children, the poor, the dispossessed, so I appreciate what he did for this country, he says.

WATCH: Castros global legacy

Two old men  one is 70 and blind, the other is 69  are talking under the shade of a tree. They have lived here their whole lives, they say; it never occurred to them to leave.

I am sure that the tranquillity here will not be found anywhere, says the 69-year-old.

Not because we are isolated but because we have stopped feeling it. My wife is disconsolate, adds the 70-year-old.

I want to be buried here

Eighty-three-year-old Maria Caridad lives on the southern part of the island. My 11 children studied thanks to the revolution, she says. When my son called me to tell me the news [of Fidels death] I could not eat during that day. I had a tremor all over my body and had to lie in bed. She is holding her lunch  a plastic dish with rice, sweet potatoes and corn.

Her home is a dilapidated colonial mansion. The floors tremble as she walks across them, carefully avoiding the deep holes in the wooden floorboards.

Im not leaving here because all my ancestors are there in the cemetery. I want to be buried here, she says.

A few metres from her house is a sign, erected a few months ago, that declares: Happy 90th birthday Fidel! Its a message replicated on cartons, buildings and the walls of abandoned homes all over Cuba.
Al Jazeera speaks to head of local council on regimes victory and its implications for the Syrian revolution.

As the Syrian government forces, backed by allies, inch closer to a decisive victory in the ravaged rebel stronghold of east Aleppo, t he impending fall of the city to regime forces would be the biggest setback for rebels since the conflict broke out in 2011.

It could also mark the start of a wider military shift that sets the course of the war in the Syrian regimes favour.

In less than a month, Syrian troops, with unfettered Russian air support, were able to recapture 90 percent of the eastern part of Aleppo. On Monday, the Syrian army claimed that 98 percent of east Aleppo was in the hands of regime forces.

Reports also indicate a massive exodus of people to either remaining rebel-held districts or government-controlled areas in the western part of Aleppo. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that 13,346 civilians had left rebel-held areas in the past 24 hours, and 728 rebels laid down their arms and surrendered.

The United Nations human rights office had warned on Friday that hundreds of men have gone missing after crossing into regime-controlled areas of Aleppo as Russian and Syrian air strikes continue to pound the city.

The ground offensive and the intensive aerial bombing campaign, which began on November 26, left most medical facilities, civil defence and municipal centres and vehicles, as well as schools, completely destroyed. With key routes once securely connecting the city to Turkey chocked off, civilians found themselves trapped inside without food, medicine and water.

In 2012, rebels pushed to take Aleppo, once Syrias largest city and commercial capital, in the hope of turning it into a rival capital to Damascus and using it as a base to expand opposition control. Instead, the city had been roughly divided into two, with west Aleppo being under government control, ever since.

Brita Haji Hassan, head of the local council of Aleppo, says he refuses to call it the fall of Aleppo and contends that the revolution will continue. Haji Hassan was a communications engineer before he was elected to head the local council in once-liberated east Aleppo in November 2015.

Al Jazeera spoke with Haji Hassan on the regimes probable victory and its implications for the Syrian revolution.

READ MORE: Syrias Civil War Explained

Al Jazeera: East Aleppo had been a key rebel stronghold since 2012. How did the rebels lose control?

At the end of the day, the solution has to be political  one that doesnt allow for any killings. Assad lost legitimacy from the first time he ever killed a child. But any informed person will choose to get rid of arms. Violence breeds violence.

Brita Haji Hassan: In 2013, there were two million people living in eastern Aleppo. Aleppo was the first city to drive Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIL] out  exactly in December 2013. Simultaneously with the expulsion of ISIL, the barrel bombing [campaign by the regime] started. In September 2015, Russia intervened and launched an aerial bombing campaign on Aleppo city.

Their main objective was the expulsion of civilians from the city. Then, the siege began on July 8, 2016. There remained 325,000 people in Aleppo city [at that point]. Do you comprehend the kind of bombing and scorched-earth policy they applied that could drop the citys population from two million to 325,000 people in just three years?

Today, there are fewer than 100,000 people in Aleppo city, squeezed into a small area and are awaiting death. They want a safe passage so they could leave. But no one is listening and the whole world is silent.

The regime has control of 90 percent of the [once] liberated areas. They targeted hospitals, completely destroyed the citys infrastructure, rescue centres, schools, the councils services offices, the councils warehouses, etc.

Al Jazeera: Many analysts argue that the oppositions infightings and divisions are to blame for the current situation in Aleppo. What is your response to that?

Haji Hassan: On the contrary, the situation in Aleppo deteriorated due to the scorched-earth policy that is applied by the regime and Russias unwavering stance. This is what got us to this place. Russia wanted to drive al-Nusra Front out, and then started targeting the Free Syrian Army [FSA].

And now, they want to kill all civilians.

These civilians are basically hostages in the hands of Russia. Russia is the cause of this. Had Russia not intervened, Syria would have been liberated, not only Aleppo.





Al Jazeera: On Saturday, following the meeting with Western and Arab foreign ministers in Paris , the Syrian opposition announced that they were ready to negotiate with Assad without pre-conditions. How does that reflect on the revolution?

Haji Hassan: If the bombing stops, the opposition will sit with him  not to negotiate, but to expose him in front of the whole world. But we cant sit with him without preconditions when the bombing is ongoing. Any political process for a solution has to go together with ending the bombing. So, we cannot sit with Assad now.

Al Jazeera: Lets assume the regime is willing to grant amnesty and allow people to leave. Will people in eastern Aleppo accept such a deal?

Haji Hassan: There was a meeting of civilians and rebels in Aleppo city today [on Monday] and everyone unanimously agreed to [the need] to secure a safe passage for civilians. There have been many initiatives lately to make this happen but Russia wants to kill everybody.

Everyone wants to leave, including fighters. Russia is not responding. Many civilians left to government-controlled areas, but many people  anyone who was engaged in activism, or politics, or had any connection to the revolution  was arrested or even killed. Ordinary civilians between the age of 18 and 40 were conscripted to military duty.

This is why people want a free passage under international protection, so they dont get killed by the regime.

No one believes the regime; people want international protection.

Al Jazeera: Some news reports indicated that there are extremist groups inside the city. What is the makeup of the fighters inside the city?

Haji Hassan: In Aleppo city, 99 percent [of fighters] are from the Free Syrian Army and 1 percent is from al-Nusra Front. Al-Nusra Front does not have any influence in Aleppo. But the Russians claim they are fighting terrorists, while they are applying the worst kind of terrorism on civilians.

Al-Nusra Front does not have a big presence in Aleppo. Steffan de Mistura [the UN envoy in Syria] declared that there were 900 Nusra fighters in east Aleppo. According to our own estimates, as civilian councils, there are up to 300 Nusra fighters. The number that was submitted to the UN was 127. Meanwhile, the number of Iranian and Iraqi [backed] militiamen besieging Aleppo is 30,000.

READ MORE: Why Syrias Bashar al-Assad is still in power

Al Jazeera: Why doesnt the FSA drive out Nusra Front fighters?

Haji Hassan: There were negotiations between the Free Syrian Army and the Russians regarding this topic. But Russia now wants all fighters in besieged Aleppo and not just al-Nusra Front fighters. The proposed deal was [for FSA] to ask al-Nusra Front to leave Aleppo in exchange for a safe passage and humanitarian aid entering the city. They refused.





I spoke with the United Nations today and they said they couldnt do anything about it. I asked them to issue a statement about this but they refused. I demanded they hold a recorded session before the Russian media, in which they admit to their failure. They refused.

Al Jazeera: You were in France last week. Why did you go to France knowing very well that the international community is unable to stop Russia, as you say?

Haji Hassan: As a civilian and a representative of civilians, I came to convey the messages of the children and women who are being killed to the world. My trip was about exposing the crimes committed by the regime because ordinary people only see two sides to the war: ISIL and the regime. They dont see that there is a civilian side to this  one that is working to attain freedom and dignity.

Al Jazeera: In a recent public statement of yours, you said the revolution will continue. How so, when Assads imminent victory in east Aleppo is within hours?

Haji Hassan: There are many liberated areas in Syria and the revolution isnt only in Aleppo. I wont call it the fall of Aleppo, I will call it the invasion of Aleppo. The revolution is an idea against an oppressive dictator.

It is not about occupying land.

Even those who live in government-controlled areas could express their [solidarity with the] revolution. The dictator will fall and the people will win at the end.
The designation of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria as an insurgent group is a dangerous move for the Nigerian state.

Muslim Friday prayers can lead to traffic nightmares in many African cities. It is an inconvenience that has led most residents of these cities to come up with peaceful alternatives to circumvent this challenge.

However, in the city of Zaria, in the Nigerian Kaduna State, there was a growing animosity between the law enforcement agencies and the followers of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in this regard.

Every Friday followers of the IMN, which is led by the charismatic 63-year-old Shia cleric Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, used to gather outside their headquarters, Hussainiyya Baqiyatullah in Zaria, for prayers.





The police had accused them on a number of occasions of disregarding the state laws by blocking traffic, which the IMN believed was used as a pretext to disrupt their activities.

This was an ongoing bone of contention, when on December 12, 2015 the situation escalated after soldiers accused members of IMN of plotting to kill the Army Chief, Tukur Buratai. The intervention of the army in the gathering of the IMN led to deadly skirmishes which resulted in the deaths of 347 people.

Subsequently el-Zakazky and his wife were detained and have been in prison ever since. IMN have denied allegations of plotting to kill the army chief and have accused the army of using the plot accusations as a pretext to suppress their freedom and to kill and detain their members and leadership.

Following the massacre in Zaira the government instituted a Commission for Judicial Enquiry to investigate the incident.

In a rather shocking turn of events on December 5, the commission issued a White Paper or findings of its investigation. The White Paper basically absolved the soldiers of any wrongdoing and blamed the leader of the organisation, el-Zakzaky, for the massacre. It recommended that el-Zakzaky be prosecuted and the IMN declared an insurgent group  a dangerous move that can turn into a security nightmare for the Nigerian state.

Creating an insurgency

There is a leadership bankruptcy on the side of the Nigerian government in dealing with the challenge of radicalisation. Indeed, the radical rhetoric from certain Muslim pulpits in Nigeria threatens national security.

However, heavy-handedness should be used as the last resort in tackling such situations because past experiences suggest that it can result in further radicalisation.

The current challenge involving IMN is reminiscent of how the government dealt with Boko Haram in its infancy in Maiduguri. There is enough evidence that tactics used by the government at the time backfired.

The current discord between the authorities and the IMN is an extension of the global Shia/Sunni contestation. by

In 2009 the police stopped a group of Boko Haram members on motorbikes on their way to a funeral for not wearing helmets. The encounter resulted in police officers opening fire on the group, resulting in more than a dozen injured.

This eventually led to clashes between Boko Haram and the police, resulting in a number of deaths.

The subsequent arrest, torture and murder by the police of Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, further complicated the situation. Yusufs humiliation at the hands of the police was widely publicised.

OPINION: One year ago, Buhari promised to change Nigeria

Members of Boko Haram were angered by these actions and gradually adopted more violent tactics in defying state authorities in Nigeria.

Abubakar Shekau succeeded Mohammed Yusuf, and under his leadership Boko Haram became the one of the deadliest terrorist group in the world.

Nigeria cant afford another insurgency

The continued detention of el-Zakzaky and his wife, the death of three of his sons after a pro-Palestinian March in 2014 and the renewed suppression of IMN could culminate in a more dangerous situation.

It will all depend on how the federal government of Kaduna deals with the recommendations of the Commission of Judicial Enquiry.

The Nigerian government has a tendency to deal harshly with dissent, and there is little hope that it will relent on the recommendations this time around. The attitude of the government has always been that of digging in its heels in dealing with such matters.





The situation in Zaria seems set to get worse and the government doesnt seem as if it can afford to deal with another front of insurgency at this time.

The current discord between the authorities and the IMN is an extension of the global Shia/Sunni contestation. It is a phenomenon whose growth could be attributed to the steady flow of money from both Sunni and Shia sponsors into the African continent.

It has led to an entrenchment of schism and resentment between these sects whose members had coexisted peacefully over the years.

Nigerians must be cognizant of this entrapment and must resist all circumstances which could worsen the situation, including weak leadership. Relegating the decision on the future of the IMN solely to the ambit of the federal government of Kaduna could prove to be a fatal mistake in the long run.

Thembisa Fakude is a researcher at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
There is a renewed sense of civic participation in Italy and perhaps it can lead to a restart of its stale politics.

A few years ago, the Mayor of Naples, Luigi de Magistris, was told to fire 300 teachers to comply with strict austerity regulations imposed by the central government of Matteo Renzi. De Magistris, a former prosecutor, refused to comply and appealed to the constitutionally protected right to a quality education for all.

He was sued and brought to court, where he argued and won his case. The Italian constitution, the judges concluded, has precedence over regular legislation. The teachers  and the mayor  were reinstated in their place.

Naples came out en masse to defend that same constitution during the Italian referendum of December 4, with nearly 70 percent voting against the proposed reforms. This has happened in a city where the two parties that are often perceived to be the main driving forces behind the referendum victory are not even popular: Beppe Grillos Five Star Movement performed abysmally in the municipal elections, while Matteo Salvinis far-right Northern League is entirely absent.

In fact, all political parties appear marginal in Naples. De Magistris  recently re-elected with an overwhelming majority  is supported primarily by the civil society and social movements, very much like the experience of Ada Colau in Barcelona. The city of mafia movie Gomorrah has been transformed into an open-air laboratory for civic participation, with open-air assemblies debating city legislation and former squatters sitting in the city council voting on them.

It was neither Grillos fans nor Salvinis far-right thugs who won the vote in Naples. It was active citizenship. During the months of electoral campaign, self-organised citizens fitted vans with loud speakers and crossed the tortuous streets of the city centre, while marches and flash mobs filled its squares at night.

Grassroots organisation

This is true well beyond the Vesuvius. While all opposition parties are rushing to claim election victory, the truth is that the Italian referendum was driven predominantly by a renewed sense of participation and a new wave of political engagement well beyond existing party lines.

The turnout was extraordinary for a referendum at nearly 70 percent, showing signs that Italians have recovered a penchant for politics. Only a few days before the referendum, 200,000 joined a feminist march in Rome against gender violence and the deliverymen of multinational food delivery company, Foodora, organised the first Italian strike in the gig economy, in which independent workers take on short-term engagements

Is politics answering back? Following Renzis resignation, the newly appointed Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni faces the task of reforming the electoral law and taking the country to elections, most likely within 2017. More navel-gazing is in sight.

Italy's politicians are certainly a drag on the country with their exorbitant privileges and ridiculous pay cheques, but the country's economic ills will not be cured with a pay-cut for MPs, one of the movement's flagship policies by

But Italy, as much of Europe, is in dire straits. Its economy is forecast to return to pre-crisis levels only in the mid-2020s, while its industrial production has dropped 35 percent since 2008. New data from the National Statistics Office just showed nearly one third of Italians to be at risk of poverty.

Three years of Renzi government has done little to lift the country out of stagnation. His economic policy mix  bar a few attacks against austerity just before key elections  has scrupulously followed the mainstream neoliberal mantra of privatisations, cuts to the welfare state, and attacks on labour.

Suffice it to say that Italys centre-left government was the strongest backer of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and did not move a finger while Greece was being water-boarded by creditors for trying to resist suicidal austerity.

What lies ahead?

How much did these matter for the referendum? Apparently quite a lot. As recent analyses show, local results for the No vote directly correlate to regional unemployment numbers. It was the young, the poor and the unemployed who voted massively against the reforms. Beyond maintaining the existing constitution, the significance for the no vote is a demand for real democracy, for a fair economy, and for an end to austerity and the politics of business as usual.

That demand can be the base from which to build a new deal for Italy and for Europe. But is someone going to heed the call for change?

The Five Star Movement appears the most likely candidate to capture the demand for a new deal. It has young, mostly honest politicians. But its catch-all electoral tactics have, so far, hindered it from providing a clear set of alternatives.

From the economy to migration  and most notably its hazy calls for a referendum on the euro  Grillos movement still lacks a clear vision on change. Italys politicians are certainly a drag on the country with their exorbitant privileges and ridiculous pay cheques, but the countrys economic ills will not be cured with a pay-cut for MPs, one of the movements flagship policies. Will they manage to launch a groundbreaking government plan that can challenge inequalities and present a realistic European strategy of change?

OPINION: Why Matteo Renzi should vote no in the Italy referendum

The Democratic Party may very well decide it is not quite the right time to follow the rest of European social democracy into collective suicide, and attempt instead a profound transformation from within.

From former Territorial Cohesion Minister Fabrizio Barca, to Governor of Apulia region Michele Emiliano, several candidates might undo the partys pale imitation of Britains New Labour  20 years too late.

But Renzis grip remains powerful and divisions abound. The appointment of his ally Gentiloni as prime minister confirms that Renzi will not let go of the party and fully intends to run in the upcoming elections.

Will the referendum allow for the emergence of a new political space? New initiatives have already begun: On December 18 a large gathering to build the alternative will host representatives of leftist groups. Naples mayor, De Magistrisis, is also weighing his options.

It is unclear, though, whether this would lead anywhere. The country has a tradition of riotous, inconclusive left parties. It has no upstart political force such as Podemos in Spain or Razem in Poland. But in the words of one of Naples most internationally celebrated writers, Elena Ferrante, nowhere is it written that you cant do it. Especially when a country is on the move again.

Lorenzo Marsili is a writer, politic activist, and the founder of international NGO European Alternatives.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
ABC News(JERSEY CITY, N.J.) -- Writing and drawing utensils from General Pencil Company, Inc., have been helping to bring imaginations to paper for more than 125 years.



The U.S. company has been owned and operated by the Weissenborn family since 1889.



Katie Weissenborn, the company's president and a fifth-generation Weissenborn, said President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet had even sent letters to General Pencil, remarking on its products' quality.



The company's charcoal pencils were also used for presidential portraits, she said.



"Basically, when you're holding a General Pencil drawing pencil, you're holding a piece of history," Weissenborn said.



General Pencil calls Jersey City, New Jersey, its home and still operates out of a 100-year-old factory. Weissenborn said the company's pencil-making process has been around for more than 150 years. The product has not changed.



"[It's] pretty exciting, simple yet exciting," she said.



General Pencil currently employs 49 workers, some of whom have worked there for generations, and ships all over the world. It also owns 28 different patents for the pencil-making process. The paints are mixed in the Jersey City factory. Weissenborn said even the charcoal is a secret family formula.



Weissenborn said the company's pencils use sustained yield cedar wood from California, which has been harvested responsibly for more than a century. And, they also feature a semi-hexagonal shape to ensure they won't roll off the table.



While the holidays are really good for General Pencil, Weissenborn said the back-to-school season was big for the company, with everyone from parents and teachers to students and artists looking for pencils, and arts and crafts materials.



"We have one advantage being made in the USA -- besides the fact that we think we make a better product and it's good quality -- but one of the advantages is we're local in the USA so if a retail store in America needs something right away, we can turn on a dime [and] assemble product, manufacture product, and get it out the doors to stores quickly," she said. "We're a local, sustainable business right here in the USA."

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
UN chief expresses concern as thousands of civilians are trapped in last remaining opposition-held areas.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has expressed alarm over reports of atrocities against civilians, as the battle for Aleppo entered its final phase with Syrian government forces on the verge of retaking all remaining rebel-held areas of the city.

The secretary-general is alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in Aleppo, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.

While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary-general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties.

Activists in Aleppo have reported summary executions as pro-government forces enter districts once under control of the opposition.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 60 opposition members have been killed.

Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian adviser on Syria, tweeted that Russias and Syrias governments would be responsible for any abuses.

The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!  Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) December 12, 2016

The opposition is describing the situation in besieged areas as catastrophic, Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr, reporting from Antakya in southern Turkey, said.

They are issuing an urgent appeal to evacuate civilians who are trapped in besieged areas, she said. Tens of thousands of people are believed to be in a very small pocket of territory coming under intense bombardment.

There have been desperate messages from people trapped inside asking, Where is humanity?, Where is the world?, Why is nobody helping us?'

The fall of Aleppo would be the biggest rebel defeat since Syrias conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the countrys five major cities.

Government victory imminent

Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr reports from Antakya: The rebels in Aleppo have all but declared defeat. We understand that there is no agreement for any evacuation plan. The United States says negotiations in Geneva reached an impasse; Russia says it reached a dead end. Our sources in the Free Syrian Army say Russia is demanding the rebels surrender, hand themselves over to pro-government forces  that would be the condition for a ceasefire and to create a safe corridor for civilians to leave Opposition activists, citizen journalists, and White Helmet volunteers are also there [in opposition-held areas of Aleppo] and according to the government, engaging in treason. They fear for their safety  for their lives  if they are caught by government forces.

According to the AFP news agency, a Syrian military official in Aleppo said late on Monday: Were living the final moments before victory.

The operation in eastern neighbourhoods is entering its final phase, he said earlier, as fierce clashes were reported in the few districts still under rebel control.

The pro-government TV network Alikbariyah Syria broadcast footage of celebrations in the streets of west Aleppo, as people handed out chocolates and congratulated each other on the victory.

The joy of the people and the army are one, said one driver, wearing military fatigues.

READ MORE: Hundreds of men from east Aleppo go missing

In the Mashhad neighbourhood, residents fleeing the army advance crowded the streets earlier on Monday, AFP quoted witnesses as saying.

Displaced civilians  many hungry after fleeing without food  sat on pavements or lay on the street with nowhere else to go, they said.

The Syrian Observatory said on Monday that another 10,000 people had fled rebel areas in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of those who have left  mostly to government-held territory  to 130,000.

The Russian defence ministry also said that since the start of the Aleppo battle, more than 2,200 rebels had surrendered and 100,000 civilians had left areas of the city that were controlled by the opposition.

The battle of Aleppo has reached its end. It is just a matter of a small period of time  its a total collapse, said the director of the Syrian Observatory, Rami Abdul Rahman.

But while Aleppos fall would deal a stunning blow to opposition fighters trying to remove Assad from power, he would still be far from restoring control across Syria.

Swaths of the country remain in rebel hands, while the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, also known as ISIS) reportedly retook the ancient city of Palmyra on Sunday.
Reports of civilians summarily executed and trapped in buildings as Assad troops near takeover of Syrias biggest city.

Pro-government forces have reportedly executed scores of civilians in Aleppo, including women and children, according to the UN, as the battle for Syrias largest city nears its end.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have in some cases entered homes and killed those inside, and in others caught and killed on the spot fleeing civilians, Rupert Colville, the UN rights office spokesperson, said on Tuesday.

He called the situation a complete meltdown of humanity.

Colville said government forces on Monday killed 82 civilians  including 13 children and 11 women  in the neighbourhoods of Bustan al-Qasr, al-Kalleseh, al-Firdous and al-Salheen  taken over that day by government forces.

Fears have been growing for thousands of trapped civilians as the rebels make a desperate last stand in their remaining pocket of territory in the former opposition stronghold of east Aleppo.

DISPATCH FROM IMTIAZ TYAB, OUR CORRESPONDENT IN GAZIANTEP Some people may be wondering why so many thousands of Syrians chose to remain in whats left of this tiny area that has been so brutally bombarded by the Syrian military and its allies  Iranian-backed militias and Russia. They have for many years now lived in rebel-held territory. Over those years they have been subjected to chemical attacks, gas attacks, starvation tactics, air strikes, barrel bombs  all of this at the hands of the Syrian regime and its allies. Many of them fear that leaving this area will mean certain death for them, and at least according to the UN, for 82 people thats exactly what has happened.

After weeks of heavy fighting, government forces were poised on Tuesday to take full control of Aleppo, dealing the biggest blow to Syrias rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

The Syrian army said on Tuesday evening it could declare full control over east Aleppo at any moment as it advanced against rebels holed up in just a handful of neighbourhoods.

About 80,000 civilians are now trapped in the few square miles of east Aleppo that remain under opposition control.

In an alarming statement made on Tuesday, UNICEF said that nearly 100 unaccompanied children were trapped in a building under heavy attack in east Aleppo, citing an unnamed doctor in the city.

According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building under heavy attack in east Aleppo, said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF regional director.

Scenes of carnage

Witnesses described scenes of carnage in previously opposition-held areas, with bodies lying amid the rubble of eastern Aleppos streets as desperate residents sat on pavements with nowhere to shelter.

Our fate is sealed. Why would we hide? It wont do us any good. We will either die or be captured, said Ibrahim Abu al-Laith, a spokesman for the White Helmets rescue service.

Jan Egeland, UN special adviser for Syria, said the past 24 hours had been the most dramatic so far in the bloody, bitter, horrific battle for Aleppo.

He gave warning that those responsible would be held accountable for the bloodshed.

READ MORE: People want a safe passage but no one is listening

Lina al-Shami, an architect and well-known social media activist based in Aleppo, says dozens of people are trapped in the rubble and that civil defence forces can do nothing to extract them.

I know I may die or get arrested by this criminal regime, but I have to let the world know what is happening here in Aleppo, she told Al Jazeera by Skype on Tuesday.

We are facing genocide. There are people lying injured in the streets, still alive under the wreckage, and civil defence cant do anything to help them.



Lina al-Shami, an architect and activist in east Aleppo, speaks to Al Jazeera





Citizens and social media activists across Aleppos remaining opposition-held districts sent out last messages on social media late on Monday night as the bombing intensified and government forces continued to advance.

Dont believe any more in United Nations  dont believe any more in the international community. They are satisfied that we are being killed, that we are facing  the most horrible massacre in [recent] history, said Abdulkafi al-Hamdo, a well-known social media activist in east Aleppo.

Zeid Raad al Hussein, the UN human rights chief, appealed on Tuesday to the international community to demand that Syria allow monitoring of its treatment of people fleeing eastern Aleppo.

He gave warning that populations of other opposition-held towns could face the same fate.

The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict, Zeid said in a statement.

What is happening with Aleppo could repeat itself in Douma, in Raqqa, in Idlib. We cannot let this continue.

All-out offensive

Syrias army said it had taken 98 percent of the territory once held by opposition fighters in east Aleppo, after launching an all-out offensive last month to seize control of the entire city.

Scores of men who fled from the citys east to the west have been detained by the Syrian authorities and forced into military conscription, reports say.

The government assault has been backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes, with at least 463 civilians, including 62 children, killed in eastern Aleppo since mid-November, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Another 130 people, including 40 children, have been killed in the citys western districts by opposition rocket fire.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have repeatedly failed, with the latest talks between Russia and the US on a ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians making no breakthrough.

Russia, a crucial Assad ally, launched an air war in support of his forces last year, while the US and other Western nations backed the opposition.

Turkey, which has also supported opposition forces in Syria, said on Tuesday it would intensify talks with Russia on a ceasefire.





Today, tomorrow, every day, we will intensify our talks with Russia and other countries so we can find a solution to this humanitarian tragedy, Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said.

Our efforts continue in particular for civilians to be able to leave and for a ceasefire.

The UN estimates that nearly 400,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, and more than half the population has been displaced.

Additional reporting by Dylan Collins
Mass arrests in various countries have pushed number to 259 so far, says annual census of imprisoned journalists by CPJ.

More journalists have been jailed this year by governments around the world than at any time in nearly three decades, according to a media rights watchdog.

The report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonprofit group that works to defend press freedoms, says a total of 259 journalists have been jailed in 2016, compared with 199 at the same time last year.

That is the highest number since the group began keeping detailed records in 1990.

The numbers do not include journalists who have disappeared or are held captive by non-state groups.

After Turkey and China, Egypt, with 25 journalists incarcerated, is listed in third place by the report  the CPJs annual census of imprisoned journalists.

This year marked the first time since 2008 that Iran was not among the top five worst offenders.

The report says this is because many of those sentenced in a post-election crackdown in 2009 have served their sentences and been released.

Turkey in focus

The CPJ says that at least 81 journalists were imprisoned in Turkey as of December 1, all facing anti-state charges.

A state of emergency is still in force in Turkey following a July 15 coup attempt, with a resulting government action against alleged coup sympathisers landing thousands in jail and forcing tens of thousands of people from their jobs.

In Turkey, media freedom was already under siege in early 2016, with authorities arresting, harassing and expelling journalists and shutting down or taking over news outlets, the report says.





Responding to the CPJs charges, Saban Disli, deputy chairman of Turkeys ruling Justice and Development Party, told Al Jazeera the suspects in question were actually detained for committing crimes, not for doing their jobs.

Arrest of even one journalist doing his job is a high number for us and it should not happen, Disli said.

These people, who are employed as journalists, commit crimes or praise outlawed terrorists in their articles, such as a suicide bomber who killed scores of people. Anywhere in the world they would be arrested.

We dont support these people to be under arrest during their trials, but some ran away, so the judiciary keeps them detained. I believe these things will be evaluated in a less biased manner when the state of emergency comes to an end.

The CPJ report says that after Turkey, the worst offender in 2016 was China, where 38 journalists were in custody on December 1.

China had jailed the most journalists worldwide in the previous two years.

In recent weeks, Beijing deepened its crackdown on journalists who cover protests and human rights abuses, the report said.

Umut Uras contributed to this report








Agreement signed between Google and Cuba aimed at improving its internet speed  one of the slowest in the world.

Google and the Cuban government have signed a deal allowing the internet giant to provide faster access to its data by installing servers on the island that will store much of the companys most popular content.

Storing Google data in Cuba eliminates the long distances that signals must travel from the island through Venezuela to the nearest Google server. Washington has no direct data link to the communist island.

US has had virtually no economic ties with Cuba for more than five decades owing to Washington-imposed trade sanctions.

But hopes of better relations have been revived since 2015, when US President Barack Obama re-established diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Googles parent company Alphabet Inc, signed the deal with Mayra Arevich Marin, president of state telecommunications monopoly ETECSA, on Monday.

The deal removes one of the many obstacles to a normal internet in Cuba, which suffers from some of the worlds most limited and expensive access.

READ MORE: As a Cuban, I want the policies that began with Obama

But the move is not expected to help a significant number of Cubans to have internet access, at least in the short term.





Home connections remain illegal for most Cubans and the government charges the equivalent of a months average salary for 10 hours of access to public wi-fi spots with speeds frequently too slow to download files or watch streaming video.

The agreement does not affect Cubas antiquated communications infrastructure or broaden public access to the internet, but it could make Google websites such as YouTube or Gmail up to 10 times faster for users inside Cuba. Content hosted by other companies will not be affected.

Neither Google chairman Schmidt nor Cuban officials spoke to the press after the signing ceremony in Havana.

In a blog post, Marian Croak, Googles vice president for access strategy and emerging markets, and Brett Perlmutter, head of strategy and operations for Google Cuba and the lead negotiator of the deal, said: Cubans who already have access to the internet and want to use our services can expect to see an improvement in terms of quality of service and reduced latency for cached content.

READ MORE: Cuba after Castro  Staying the financial course

Cuban officials appear to be accelerating their approvals of deals with US companies in an attempt to build momentum behind US-Cuba normalisation before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.

The Google pact was announced less than a week after Cuba gave three US cruise companies permission to begin sailing to the island next year. Officials familiar with the negotiations say other deals, including one with General Electric, are in the works.

The US and Cuba have struck a series of bilateral deals on issues ranging from environmental protection to direct mail since the declaration of detente on December 2014, but business ties have failed to keep pace.

The Cuban government has blamed the US trade embargo on Cuba.

Many US businesses say Cuba has been moving on most proposals so slowly that some suspect the government has been deliberately limiting the development of economic ties.
US media say Donald Trump to name Exxon Mobil chief Rex Tillerson, known for his close ties to Russia, as top diplomat.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, US media reported, setting up what are likely to be contentious confirmation hearings over his ties to Russia.

I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning, Trump said on Twitter on Monday evening.

News outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post and NBC News cited sources as saying he had settled on Tillerson after a drawn-out and public search for the nations top diplomat.

INFOGRAPHIC: Whos who in Donald Trumps administration?

Trump met Tillerson in New York on Saturday.

Others being considered for secretary of state were former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani  who took himself out of the race last week  and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who posted on Monday evening that he would not be taking the position.

It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. https://t.co/FC9tB7rdoy  Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) December 13, 2016

Trump called Republican Mitt Romney to tell him he would not get it, CNN reported.

Politicians from both major parties have raised questions about Tillerson and former UN Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No 2 State Department official and has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran.





Republicans and Democrats said Tillerson, who is also president of Exxon Mobil Corp, would be asked about his ties to Russia, having met President Vladimir Putin several times.

In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honour, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work strengthening cooperation in the energy sector.

Friend of Vladimir

Senator John McCain, a leading foreign policy voice and 2008 Republican candidate for president, told Reuters in an interview: I have concerns. Its very well known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin.

Calling Putin a KGB agent who is bent on restoring the Russian Empire, McCain said in the interview that he would await confirmation hearings if Tillerson is nominated before making a judgment on the nomination.

Another Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which would review a Tillerson nomination, has voiced similar worries.

Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState  MR  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 11, 2016

Renewed allegations of Russian hackers meddling in the November 8 election, coupled with Trumps stated admiration of Putin, have stoked concern. Washington is at odds with Moscow over a range of issues that include Syria, Ukraine and NATOs presence in Eastern Europe.

During Trumps presidential campaign, Democrats and longtime government officials voiced alarm when Trump repeatedly praised Putin.

American intelligence previously linked Russia to damaging email leaks from the Clinton campaign, but saw it as a broad effort to undermine confidence in the US political process.





On Friday, however, The Washington Post reported that the CIA has since concluded that the aim of the cyber intrusions was to help Trump win.

The report came on the heels of President Barack Obamas order to review all cyberattacks that took place during the 2016 election cycle, amid growing calls from Congress for more information on the extent of Russian interference.

Separately, Trump is delaying a news conference originally planned for Thursday about his global business dealings until January, top adviser Kellyanne Conway told CNN, as critics point to myriad potential conflicts of interest.

She attributed the delay to how convoluted and complex many of these business holdings are, adding that Trump still intends to relinquish operational control of his company while serving as president.

Hes just a man whos been incredibly successful and has holdings all across the globe.
Independent Electoral Commission targeted in latest move following Jammehs rejection of defeat and call for new vote.

Gambias security forces have entered the building of the Independent Electoral Commission, instructed its chairman to leave and barred other employees from entering, according to the commission chairman.

Tuesdays developments came as West African heads of state began arriving in the country to try to convince long-term President Yahya Jammeh to relinquish power after losing an election this month.

The military came to my office and said I am not to touch anything and told me to leave, Alieu Momar Njie, the electoral commissions chairman, said.

I am worried for my safety.

The Independent Electoral Commission had announced the news of Jammehs defeat at the hands of Adama Barrow.





The delegation is headed by Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace laureate and the current chairwoman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The delegation also includes Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone leader Ernest Bai Koroma and outgoing Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.

The African Union said in a statement late on Monday that it also planned to send a high-level delegation, led by Chads long-ruling President Idriss Deby, to facilitate a peaceful and speedy transfer of power.

The streets of the Gambian capital Banjul were calm on Tuesday, with a high security presence, witnesses said.

Armed guards surrounded a hotel where the delegation was due to meet Barrow, Gambias president-elect , later on Tuesday.

Barrow has said that he will annul Jammehs declaration of Gambia as an Islamic republic.

Irregularities alleged

Jammeh initially conceded defeat after official results showed that Gambians voted in Barrow on December 1.

However, last week Jammeh said that he no longer accepted his election loss and called for another vote, saying there were irregularities.

Jammehs ruling party said late on Saturday that his statement was simply a prelude to the party challenging the results in a petition to the Supreme Court.

By law, election results can be contested up to 10 days after the vote.
Technocrats handling fiscal adjustment measures called silly by PM overseeing its implementation for last 16 months.

Athens, Greece  After 16 months of implementing austerity measures he had once railed against, Alexis Tsipras, Greek prime minister, has returned to his old, anti-austerity campaign rhetoric.

Speaking from the southeastern Aegean island of Nisyros on Tuesday, he called the technocrats overseeing Greeces fiscal adjustment programme silly for failing to agree on the level of austerity Greece needs to implement.

In theory, we have technocrats to tell us the right numbers, but they cant even get the numbers right, Tsipras said.

Theyve often admitted that theyve been wrong, but now theyre telling us again, Whats wrong is right.

Tsipras was alluding to the International Monetary Funds attempts to distance itself from the latest Greek bailout, which has been financed solely by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)  the eurozones sovereign distress fund.





In a blog post on Monday entitled The IMF is not asking Greece for more austerity, Poul Thomsen, once the IMFs overseer of the Greek programme, said that Greece needs to modernise its economy, not cut social spending further.

We think that these cuts have already gone too far, but the ESM programme assumes even more of them, Thomsen writes.

Thomsen highlights the IMFs chief disagreement with the ESM in calling for a major overhaul of Greek debt, to which eurozone hardliners, led by Germany, are adamantly opposed.

Greeces debt is highly unsustainable, and no amount of structural reforms will make it sustainable again without significant debt relief, Thomsen said.

READ MORE: Greeks strike against repressive austerity

Taking advantage of this rift, Tsipras has now fired a broadside against the programme in its entirety.

Last week, he promised to spend an additional half a million dollars on low-paid pensioners, although he promises to keep spending within limits agreed to with creditors.

On Nisyros, he promised to suspend a sales tax rise on Aegean islands, which creditors imposed on his government last year.

Im talking about all the islands of the North Aegean and the Dodecanese, Tsipras said, which are bearing the burden of the receiving and hosting [refugees].

Among those islands is Chios, which on November 30 held a one-day strike to protest against the increase of sales tax from 17 to 24 percent, in line with the rest of the country.

Costs and hardships

Islands have traditionally enjoyed a few benefits because of the additional costs and hardships of island life. The hoteliers association of Lesvos called the rise an unexpected gift to our competitors.

Tsipras says he will hire more than 1,500 teachers and 1,000 medical personnel on the islands. He also promises infrastructure works worth $64m until 2020.

Im waiting to see what, of all this, will actually get done, and whether it will be done in such a way as to be effective, Manolis Vournos, mayor of Chios, said.

The prime minister made a mistake in tying these things to the refugee issue, whereas he should have tied them to island status. Greece is the only country in the European Union without a recognition of island status.

Eastern Aegean islands have become increasingly restive over the presence of more than 16,000 migrants and refugees, who have been building up there since an EU-Turkey Statement in March.

A vast processing zone

Under its terms, Turkey will take back those who do not qualify for international protection in Europe, but applicants may not leave the islands for the Greek mainland and continental Europe.

This has turned places like Chios and Lesvos into a vast processing zone.

Last month, hoteliers on Lesvos refused a rent subsidy from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in return for putting up migrants, fearing that the refugee industry will replace the tourism industry.

Chioss municipal council went back on an agreement to allow the government to build a massive new refugee camp on the island, demanding the refugees removal instead.

The islands stance is changing national policy.

In a letter to the European Commission, Yannis Mouzalas, the migration minister, asked on Tuesday for permission for migrants from countries with low recognition rates to be temporarily transferred to pre-removal centres in the mainland.
Tunisian Mohammed Ali Malek given 18-year sentence for incident in which only 28 survived out of about 850 on board.

A boat captain who is held responsible for the April 2015 sinking of a boat that killed hundreds of people has been sentenced to 18 years in prison and a nine-million-euro ($9.5m) fine.

Judges in Catania in Sicily convicted the Tunisian man, Mohammed Ali Malek, on Tuesday of multiple manslaughter counts.

His Syrian crew mate, Mahmud Bikhit, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined nine million euros after being convicted of facilitating illegal immigration.

Prosecutors accused Malek of inadvertently ramming the overloaded fishing boat into the cargo ship that had come to its rescue on April 18, 2015, destabilising it.

The boat flipped after refugees rushed to one side.





Both had claimed they were simple migrants and had been made to steer the boat by the real traffickers.

But survivors told investigators that Malek, who had lived in Italy in the past, was the captain.

They also said it was his lack of sailing skills that caused the deadly collision.

I spent two years and six months in Italy and I have a young son with an Italian woman: I want to marry her and recognise the baby, Malek told the court in a plea before the verdict.

Its the truth. Ive always told the truth. Just as I immediately gave [police] my real name, and told them I was a passenger.

The boat was carrying people mainly from Gambia, Senegal and Mali, as well as Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.

Only 28 survived out of around 850 refugees on board.

Firefighters who recovered the mangled bodies from the rotting ship said they had been packed in like on the trains for Auschwitz.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian, denies he had intended to insult the Quran in case that has drawn mass protests.

The governor of the Indonesian capital Jakarta has denied at the start of his blasphemy trial that he intended to insult the Quran, as outside the court rival rallies were staged.

Tuesdays protests were under heavy police guard as Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the first Christian governor of Jakarta in more than 50 years, arrived at the court flanked by lawyers and police for the first day of his trial.

About 100 Muslim protesters, calling for him to be jailed, chanted God is great outside the court, while supporters of the ethnic Chinese Christian sang the national anthem.

INDONESIAS BLASPHEMY LAWS: Indonesias blasphemy law originated with a presidential decree in 1965, as a response to demands from majority Muslim organisations calling for a prohibition on deviant beliefs. It was made law in 1969. The law covers acts that deviate from the six officially recognised religions  Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism  as well as defamation of these religions and promotion of atheism. In theory, the law covers only actual deviation from set practices. However, there have been numerous cases of people being prosecuted under separate laws for voicing criticism of the faiths. Such offences are punishable by up to five years in prison.

Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, bowed to the panel of five judges before being seated alone in the centre of the courtroom as proceedings began.

It is clear what I said in the Thousand Islands was not intended to interpret the [Quran], let alone to insult Islam or the ulema, said Purnama, who was responding after the prosecutor read out the charges.

He said that his comments were directed at rival politicians trying to get an unfair advantage in the election by saying that voters should not support a non-Muslim.

Purnama, who is running for re-election against two Muslim candidates, described a loving relationship with his adoptive Muslim parents on the remote Bangka Island.

I am very saddened that I have been accused of insulting Islam because this accusation is the same as saying that I am insulting my adoptive parents and siblings, he said.

During the hearing, Purnama sounded typically defiant at times.

OPINION: Islam and politics  Indonesias identity crisis

Hiding behind holy verses, he said many in the countrys political elite were cowards who sought to divide Indonesians to gain power.

He could be jailed for up to five years if found guilty of breaking Indonesias tough blasphemy laws.

He ignited a storm of criticism in September when he controversially quoted a Quranic verse while campaigning in elections for the Jakarta governorship.





Purnama apologised, but his remarks angered many Muslim citizens, who marched against him in rallies larger than any seen in Indonesia in many years.

This trial is very political, Al Jazeeras Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta said. It has come right in the middle of [Ahoks] re-election campaign.

Outside the court, dozens of protesters called for Ahok to be jailed.

Police guarded the court in heavy numbers, pledging to ensure there was no repeat of the violence seen at some protests against the governor.

The blasphemy saga has generated huge interest across Indonesia, with the proceedings being broadcast live on national television.

The Muslim-majority nation is home to 255 million people, roughly 90 percent of whom follow Islam.
The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabias campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, US sources say.

An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency that systemic, endemic problems in Saudi Arabias targeting drove the US decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions.

Weve decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs [precision-guided munitions], the official said.

Thats obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties.

A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry.





There was no immediate comment from Saudi embassy officials.

A specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets.

The White House launched a review of US assistance for the Arab coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia after planes struck mourners at a funeral in the capital Sanaa in October, killing 140 people, according to one UN estimate.

Civilian casualties

The air strikes took place after the coalition received incorrect information from Yemeni military figures that armed Houthi leaders were in the area, an investigative body set up by the coalition said in October.

The UN human rights office said in August that the coalition was responsible for roughly 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015.

The US official said that the administration would not halt refuelling of the coalition planes.

READ MORE: UNICEF  One child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen

For now thats not going to be touched. Again, the review could continue and people could make a different decision in the coming weeks, the official said.

The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration.

Officials have long argued that supplying smart weapons helped in reducing civilian casualties.

Earlier this year, the US military reduced the number of military personnel coordinating with the coalitions air campaign, shrinking it to six people from a peak of 45 personnel.

In May, the US suspended sales to Saudi Arabia of cluster munitions, which release dozens of bomblets and are considered particularly dangerous to civilians.

Last week, the US state department announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51bn.

The US said the weaponry would help Saudi defend its border, not conduct offensive operations in Yemen.

The Arab coalition intervened in Yemens civil war in March 2015 and has launched thousands of air strikes against Iran-allied Houthi fighters.

For its part, the coalition has accused the fighters and their allies of firing ballistic missiles towards Saudi cities and border posts, as well as hampering aid operations in Yemen.
Buses expected to begin carrying fighters and civilians out of embattled Aleppo amid reports of summary executions.

An agreement for the imminent evacuation of civilians and opposition fighters from east Aleppo in Syria has been reached, according to rebel officials.

After weeks of heavy fighting, government forces took full control of Aleppo on Tuesday, dealing the biggest blow to Syrias rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

Russias UN ambasador announced late in the evening that all military action in east Aleppo had come to a halt and that the Syrian government was in control of the area.

Over the last hour we have received information that the military activities in east Aleppo have stopped, it has stopped, Vitaly Churkin told a heated emergency UN Security Council meeting.





The Syrian government has established control over east Aleppo.

Fears have been growing for thousands of trapped civilians as the opposition fighters make a desperate last stand in their remaining pocket of territory in their former stronghold.

An agreement has been reached for the evacuation of the residents of Aleppo, civilians and fighters with their light weapons, from the besieged districts of east Aleppo, Yasser al-Youssef, from the political office of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group, told the AFP news agency.

He said the deal was sponsored by Russia and Turkey and would be implemented within hours.

A Syrian military source confirmed the deal to the Reuters news agency and said evacuations would begin at 5am local time [03:00 GMT] on Wednesday.

The rebels would leave towards western Aleppo countryside, the source said.

Huseyin Muftuoglu, a Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the first civilians would be evacuated from Aleppo, followed by opposition fighters.

READ MORE: Aleppo  People want safe passage

They would move towards Idlib, according to the plan, he said. There is no plan to take them into Turkey.

News of the deal broke just minutes before the Security Council meeting on Aleppo began at UN headquarters in New York City.

When asked by reporters shortly after the meeting if the fall of Aleppo was the end of the peace process, Staffan de Mistura, UN Syria envoy, said it should be just the opposite.

We should be looking at this as a tragic opportunity to restart the political process.

A source in the powerful Ahrar al-Sham anti-government group also confirmed the deal, saying civilians and then fighters would be evacuated on buses to either western Aleppo province or Idlib.





Osama Abu Zayd, a legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, told the Associated Press news agency that the deal went into effect on Tuesday evening.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government or Russia on the reports.

Haid Haid, a Syrian researcher and associate fellow at Chatham House, said the deal was more of a surrender, not a ceasefire.

This situation will be similar to previous situations: rebels and civilians  would be allowed out, most likely to rural Aleppo or Idlib, and the Syrian regime will take over the rest of Aleppo, he told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Civilians killed on the spot as battle for Aleppo nears end

But with Syrian government and its allies making steady progress on the battlefield, many are unsure that any deal would take place, Haid said.

Negotiations have been ongoing for days now, and now the regime is sure that [it] is winning.

So unless there is serious pressure from the international community on Russia, on the regime, I think this deal might not even happen because they think theyre winning  why allow [the rebels] out if we can kill the rest of them there and now.
The mother of 13-year-old Renad Al Daaef, who was killed during an air strike on her school in October, speaks out.

Throughout the war in Syria, schools have been targeted by both rebel and regime forces.

According to UNICEF, there were 60 attacks on schools in Syria in 2015, killing a total of 591 children. This year, the United Nations has documented 84 attacks on schools across the country, with at least 69 children losing their lives and many others injured.

Here, Fatima Haji Suleiman, a Syrian mother, reflects on the death of her 13-year-old daughter who was killed during an aerial bombardment on the main Kamal school complex in the northern Syrian village of Haas in late October.

Every mothers dream is to watch her baby grow into a young person who contributes positively to the world. As you watch your baby develop, day-by-day, year-by-year, it gives you immense joy knowing that your dream is slowly becoming a reality.

As mothers, we lose sleep to keep them happy, we work hard to provide for them, we tire ourselves to give them a better life.

The moment the bombs fell, my heart instantly began to hurt like it was on fire. I frantically ran into the street screaming my daughters name: Renad, Renad, Renad!

Our children essentially become an extension of our own lives.

The first day my child went to school, I cried and so did she. I knew that this was going to be the day that she gained her independence and something so valuable: her education.

But the romantic part of this story dies here.

My name is Fatima Haji Suleiman and I am from al-Haas. Its a small village in the countryside of Idlib, in Syria. I was the mother of a beautiful 13-year-old girl named Renad.

Raising a family in Syria during the war means that there are always risks when going outside: snipers, bullets, bombs. But the sound of my daughters voice brought me joy and purpose, and helped me work towards her future in spite of the terror of six years of war.

On October 26, I dropped my daughter off at school and went to my centre in Kafr Nabl, close to my home. I am a psychosocial care specialist providing psychological and social support to children who are exposed to the traumas of war and people with special needs.

Just before noon on that Wednesday, our small town was attacked by an intense aerial bombardment. My daughters school was hit by eight air strikes. The moment the bombs fell, my heart instantly began to hurt like it was on fire. I ran frantically into the street screaming my daughters name: Renad, Renad, Renad!

My colleague offered to drive me home but I had to get to my daughter to see if she was safe. Others warned me that it was dangerous, but I could not stop. I had to find her.

READ MORE: Syrias war  Our children hate the word school

I pushed the people who tried to hold me back and we drove to the school. Once there, I ran out of the car and around what remained of my daughters school complex. All I could see were the faces of children  shocked, scared, covered in dust and blood. I asked everyone if they had seen my daughter.

But no one could answer me through their cries and screams.

Then, suddenly, we looked up to see another rocket above us. Everyone hide! The people scattered and fell to the ground like leaves, hiding behind whatever structures remained. The rocket landed a few blocks away. People re-emerged, and we returned to searching for our children.

I looked for Renad between the blood-covered bodies of the children. I looked among the books and the bags for her name. As I rummaged through the rubble, the school papers and the body parts, I heard myself crying and screaming. I talked to each arm or leg I pulled from among the concrete: Renad? Is this you? Oh God!

Extreme pain rolled over me, like the cold dead winter. I asked myself, what is the difference if this is my daughters or someone elses arm or leg? All children are my children. My heart broke and I could not stop weeping. As I stood there sobbing, a gentle hand grabbed my shoulder. My sister, Renad is at your house, said the person it belonged to. You swear to God? I replied. He did not say a word.

Then like a sword to my heart, I blurted out the words: Is she dead?

In a state of shock, I found myself in front of my home. There were many cars and people there. I yelled at the crowd: Where is she?

Shes in the living room, they replied.

Inside, I found Renad on the floor, her body covered. I fell to the ground, wailing. Terrified that her precious body was mangled, I lifted the cover and saw her face. It was a beautiful yellowish colour. There was dust and sand trapped in her fine hairs. I rubbed my hands across her body and thanked God that she was in one piece.

WARNING Some viewers may find this image disturbing CLICK TO VIEW

I examined my babys face like it was the first time I had seen her and found that a piece of shrapnel had cut through her neck next to her ear, sparing her a long painful death. I yelled: Why our children? How can humans be so cruel to kill our children? I prayed that God would bring justice to the perpetrators of our suffering.

My family and friends urged me to let go of her body and to let them take her to the cemetery while it was safe to go outside. But I wasnt ready. I needed more time to kiss and hold her.

My body and hands were covered with her blood.

Family and friends asked me: Do you love her?

Of course I do, she is my other half, she is my everything, I answered.

Then let her go, let her be with God, they told me. God will have mercy on her, and will love her more than we can here. She is returning home, and will have a much better life in heaven than she has here in Syria.

I will never forget her fragrance, her laughter, the delight of coming home to her voice. What is most difficult for me today, is calling out her name, knowing that she is not here to reply.

I still cannot pass by what is left of her school. The other mothers and I feel the same way, but we take comfort together. We talk about our great tragedy, and we wonder how the world can watch people murder children and do nothing.

My daughter was the best piece of me, and there is nothing harder than to experience losing that part of yourself, knowing that you will never see it again. I pray that God will have mercy on me, and any mother in the world who loses her child to any kind of harm.

The children of al-Haas school were not killed only by air strikes and bombs on October 26. They were killed by a lack of compassion, humanity and justice from the world.

This is my story. I had to share it through my great pain. I am the mother of the martyred 13-year-old girl, Renad Khaled Al Daaef. I ask for your support to help us stop the atrocities being committed against our children in Syria.
A flurry of diplomatic activity is trying to establish a truce in the city of Aleppo and stop the war in Syria, but it is a long shot amid growing divisions between the allies of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition supporters.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov hope to reach a deal soon, but major differences remain over the terms of the deal. For example, Russia insists that the rebels leave eastern Aleppo.

And the clock is ticking: Kerry will leave office next month, when Donald Trump is sworn in as US president. Atrocities are being committed every day as Aleppo is falling into the hands of the Syrian government.

If Aleppo falls into the government, into the regime's hands, this will be the end of the war? I don't think so. We believe that the Syrian people and the Syrian opposition are willing to resist, and to continue their efforts. This will not end the war. by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatari foreign minister

Along with its allies Qatar is now leading a diplomatic offensive to try to rally international support for an end to the bloodshed in Aleppo. Last weekend it participated in a Friends of Syria meeting in Paris.

Qatars Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has accused the Syrian government of committing crimes against humanity, adding that even if it takes over Aleppo, the rebels will continue to fight.

So what exactly would those who support the opposition do if Aleppo falls to Syrian forces? Will they be able to convince the United States to lift its ban on sending advanced weapons to the rebels? And what could diplomacy achieve when the Syrian army, backed by Russia, is so close to a decisive military victory?

We speak to Al Thani on Talk to Al Jazeera about the battle for Aleppo and why diplomacy hasnt made any progress in ending the bloodshed.

The problem here, we discuss the situation there and the escalation in Aleppo. We found that we have no alternative because we are not with the military solution, we are always insisting on the political solution, but it seems that the regime is betting on the military solution; thats why hes [President Assad] continuing what hes doing there, Al Thani says.

The humanitarian situation there is catastrophic, there is no hospitals operating now, people are wounded and there are dead bodies, that cannot be evacuated because it is besieged. We are trying our best to ensure some humanitarian corridors, to ensure humanitarian access to the civilians there in Aleppo. We need to do something to protect civilians there. And the problem is, the international communitys response to that appears that its failed.

He says: Its a shame on all of us, that we cannot do anything and we find ourselves handcuffed, that we cannot deliver anything for the Syrian people.

Al Thani says that he is committed to pursuing a peaceful end to the crisis, but with peace offers rejected by the Syrian government blocking peace talks and Russia and China recently blocking a UN resolution for a week-long truce in Aleppo, we ask about what he thinks the next step should be.

When we act, as [the] state of Qatar, as a small country within a group of other like-minded countries who are supporting the Syrian people for their desire and their demands to get rid of this brutal regime, we have to come up with a collective effort and collective decision to go for another option, he says. Right now we didnt see that the other partners within this group are ready for any Plan Bs or any other options.

Al Thani says at the moment they are exploring the different options for halting the ongoing violence for now and securing humanitarian access to trapped civilians.

When asked if he has received any indication from the Syrian or Russian governments whether they would agree to a temporary ceasefire, he responds that US Secretary of State Kerry will try to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire and the terms of evacuation for opposition in Aleppo.

The problem here we are facing every time that we dont have guarantees, that after this evacuation, whats going to happen? Is there a nationwide ceasefire or will we go back to the same dilemma? That the ceasefire excluding terrorist organisations and definition of terrorist organisations for the regime [is] just whoever is holding arms against him. So even the moderate opposition they are all under the same definition, he says.

With the Syrian army making significant gains in eastern Aleppo, we ask Al Thani whether they would consider the option of providing advanced weapons to the rebels if the city should fall under the Assad government.

If Aleppo falls into the government, into the regimes hands, this will be the end of the war? I dont think so. We believe that the Syrian people and the Syrian opposition are willing to resist, and to continue their efforts. This will not end the war.

You can talk to Al Jazeera, too. Join our Twitter conversation as we talk to world leaders and alternative voices shaping our times. You can also share your views and keep up to date with our latest interviews on Facebook.
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Comprehensive regulatory reform will no doubt be high on the agenda of Congress and the incoming Trump administration. One of the most controversial reform issues is whether the courts should review the quality of the economic analysis that accompanies an agency's major regulation when deciding whether that regulation should be upheld.

A high-quality economic analysis helps ensure that the regulation solves a real problem at a reasonable cost. Serious deficiencies in the analysis may signal that the agency doesn't really know whether the regulation will be effective or efficient. As I suggest in forthcoming research from the Mercatus Center on Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, judicial review could motivate agencies to improve their economic analysis substantially.

As an independent agency, the SEC is not subject to executive orders that require executive branch agencies to assess the need for a new regulation, alternatives, benefits and costs before regulating. But the SEC is required by law to conduct economic analysis when determining whether new regulations are in the public interest. Between 2005 and 2011, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down three major SEC regulations due to shoddy economic analysis.

The most extensive court examination of SEC analysis occurred in Business Roundtable vs. SEC, a 2011 case that vacated the SEC's first rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule would have required public companies to include information about shareholder-nominated board candidates in the proxy materials they sent to shareholders.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out seven distinct problems with the SEC's economic analysis. These included: failure to estimate some costs of the rule even though cost data was available; misattribution of costs that stem from the rule's encouragement of proxy contests to state laws that allow proxy contests; insufficient evidence supporting the SEC's claim that the rule would improve board performance; use of contradictory assumptions in calculating benefits and costs; and failure to consider whether the benefits and costs for mutual funds would be different from those for regular shareholder-owned companies.

The flaws that the court identified involve errors in reasoning, failure to consider evidence, contradictory assumptions and failure to consider relevant alternative versions of the regulation  all mistakes that judges ought to be able to assess competently.

After the Business Roundtable decision, Berkeley law professor Steven Davidoff commented disapprovingly. He wrote, The opinion appears to create an almost insurmountable barrier for the SEC by requiring that it provide empirical support amounting to proof that its rules would be effective.

But this is precisely what citizens deserve and should expect from their regulatory agencies. Better information about the factors identified in the court decisions could have helped the SEC determine whether a less burdensome regulation could have delivered most of the intended benefits, or whether the regulation was even necessary at all.

The SEC's general counsel and chief economist responded by issuing new guidance for economic analysis that reflects time-tested principles of regulatory analysis. New regulations should be accompanied by an analysis of the need for the regulation, identification of a clear baseline with which to compare the results of the regulation, identification of reasonable alternatives, and an assessment of the benefits and costs of the regulation and the alternatives.

The SEC also reorganized the process of developing regulations to involve economists at the outset. The number of financial economists with PhDs employed by the commission more than doubled between 2011 and 2015.

As a result, the quality of the SEC's economic analysis improved substantially on all of the factors the new guidance identified as important. Qualitative economic reasoning and quantitative estimates both improved. On average, the SEC's economic analysis of major regulations is about as good as the average analysis of financial regulations by executive branch agencies, such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This parity occurs even though these executive branch agencies have been required to conduct this kind of analysis much longer  since 1981.

Prior to the new guidance, the economic analysis section of SEC rulemakings read like a check-the-box compliance exercise conducted after decisions were actually made. More recent SEC regulations are accompanied by much more thorough explanations of how the economic analysis is related to decisions.

The D.C. Circuit's decisions on SEC regulations, along with subsequent improvement in the commission's economic analysis, bode well for comprehensive regulatory reform that includes judicial review of agency analysis. And the SEC's response shows that the prospect of judicial review can mightily motivate agencies to do their homework.

Jerry Ellig is a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
The payments messaging network Swift has told its client banks that the threat of cyberattacks "is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated  and it is here to stay."

The warning was part of a letter Swift sent to clients last month and reported on Monday by Reuters.

Cyberattacks carried out over the Swift network are said to have continued since the $81 million heist in February from the Bangladesh central bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Stephen Gilderdale, head of Swift's customer security program, was quoted by Reuters as saying that clients have been hit with a "meaningful" number of attacks. About a fifth of them resulted in stolen funds, while the vast majority were thwarted. Swift attributed nearly all of the intercepted attacks to its alerting mechanism and the customer security program it rolled out earlier this year.

Gilderdale did not disclose the names of the banks that have been attacked or say how much has been stolen.

Arrests tied to the Bangladeshi heist may soon occur, according to the Reuters story. Citing comments by Mohammad Shah Alam of the Dhaka police, the story said that some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled the theft.
Here's a New Year's resolution for bankers and data aggregators: end the screen-scraping imbroglio.

The past two years saw a lot of back-and-forth between banks and third-party personal financial management providers on the issue of screen scraping, the practice of the latter getting authorization from customers to log in to their online banking accounts on their behalf to obtain data, such as transaction history.

Banks argue that the practice is risky and can lead to identity theft and fraud. But data aggregators claim banks' opposition is self-serving  they want to stave off competition and are doing so by restricting customers' access to their own data.

Some financial institutions have found a middle ground, however. They are partnering with third-party PFM providers to offer their customers these tools, which tend to be popular, especially among millennials. Although this is not the same as allowing customers using any PFM tool they like, it is a compromise where customers can have access to such services while reducing the security risk since the aggregator is a formal partner of the bank.

"Anytime a customer shares banking credentials, there's risk involved, and Wells Fargo has consistently cautioned customers about sharing this information with third-parties," said Brett Pitts, head of digital for Wells Fargo virtual channels. "Because of this, it's imperative we work toward implementing ways to share information with third parties in ways that don't require our customers to provide their confidential login credentials."

That's a big reason why in June, Wells Fargo entered into a partnership with data-sharing platform Xero for Wells Fargo small business customers who use Xero's accounting software. The method of data sharing between Wells Fargo and Xero  driven by application-programming interfaces  gives small business owners enhanced online security and greater control over what bank information they choose to share with the accounting software firm, said Pitts.

It "gives small-business owners greater transparency in understanding exactly what data is being shared and with whom it is being shared," said Pitts. "It also gives them greater choice and control over which data they share with Xero, and the ability to manage their Wells Fargo-to-Xero data connection more easily."

It's the first partnership of its kind for Wells, Pitts said, but the bank is exploring similar partnerships with other aggregator firms as it seeks to create "a safer, more secure and reliable method of sharing customer data between financial institutions and third-party services."

Another bank that has gone down this route is TD Bank, with its partnership with Moven. In April, the Toronto-based bank went live with Moven's MySpend money management tool, making it available to its Canadian customers. Branded as TD Myspend, it is a companion app to the TD mobile banking app and allows users to track their spending habits and receive notifications in real time. TD appears to be pleased with its adoption.

"We have over 700,000 customers who love the way it helps them manage their financial well-being," Bharat Masrani, the chief executive of TD, said during a conference call earlier this month to discuss the company's fourth-quarter earnings.

In an emailed statement, a TD spokeswoman said that TD customers are free to use other PFM apps, "however users should always be aware of the risks and liabilities when sharing confidential banking account usernames and passwords with any third-party."

The spokeswoman added that the company is focused on "providing customers with the best and most secure digital experiences, and TD MySpend is an example of this."

Moven has told American Banker it is in discussions for similar partnerships with several banks globally.

Also, a few banks have established developer hubs where third-party companies can experiment with banks' APIs.

While bankers slowly move toward open APIs, regulators might add an extra push. In October at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas, Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau urged banks not to restrict access to data.

"We are gravely concerned by reports that some financial institutions are looking for ways to limit, or even shut off, access to financial data," Cordray said at the time. "We believe consumers should be able to access this information and give their permission for third-party companies to access this information as well."

The following month, the CFPB launched an inquiry seeking public comments on the dispute. The CFPB has rule-writing authority in this regard, a spokeswoman said, but added that the agency is still in the 90-day comment period and still weighing all sides of the matter.

"Through this inquiry the bureau is seeking to learn more about consumer access to financial records," the spokeswoman said. "The information we gather will help us evaluate whether any guidance or other action by the Bureau is appropriate to protect consumers."

Outside the U.S., regulators have already taken measures on this issue. For example, the EU's revised payments services directive calls on the industry to facilitate a way to securely allow for third parties to connect directly with consumer's bank accounts and retrieve information from them.

If this becomes the norm in the U.S., some think it should be facilitated by APIs  like Wells Fargo's project with Xero  and not via screen scraping.

Financial Innovation Now  a lobbying and advocacy group formed last year consisting of Google, Intuit, Amazon, Apple and PayPal  are already in discussions with banks to find better technological solutions that would allow consumers to share their financial data, said Brian Peters, the group's executive director.

"Data scraping should not be the way this works," he said. "Some of the services that our companies offer rely on preserving access for our customers If a financial institution blocks that, it makes the service work more slowly or it harms the customer experience that we're trying to provide."

Others agree.

"There's a lot of agreement between banks, data aggregators and customers on where we want to get to there are better ways forward than sharing login credentials," agreed Rob Morgan vice president of emerging technologies at the American Bankers Association. "Today when they share the login credentials they're sort of opening the barn doors and you can't put the horse back in."

Morgan believes banks and data aggregators actually are not that far apart on the issue and will come to some kind of compromise that will ultimately be beneficial for consumers without risking security.

"At the end of the day the customer needs to have the ability to share that data," he said. "Banks are really working to open up these systems and giving up access but doing it so in a safe way.

Still, given the size of the U.S. banking marketplace no one single solution may be the answer, said Zach Perret, CEO of financial technology infrastructure provider Plaid, which counts Venmo, Betterment and Wealthfront among its clients.

"The landscape of financial institutions is simply too diverse, and fundamentally we think financial institutions should have the freedom to find room for their own preferences and needs," he said. "So I'd be surprised if whatever regulation comes is overly prescriptive. Instead, I think we'll see a focus on the principles-based approach that gets at the spirit of the issues."

Lalita Clozel contributed to this story.
A former director at Pinnacle Financial Partners who pleaded guilty to insider trading agreed to pay a heftier fine after a judge rejected the initial penalty as being too low.

Judge Aleta Trauger on Friday accepted James Cope's amended plea deal to pay a $200,000 fine, according to court documents. Cope was to pay a $55,000 fine during his scheduled sentencing last month, but the judge determined that his $12 million in net worth and $37,000 monthly income qualified him for a steeper fine, according to The Murfreesboro Post.

The judge had ordered Cope's attorney, Aubrey Harwell Jr., and prosecutors to reach a new agreement. Harwell was unavailable for comment on Monday.

Cope in October reached an agreement in the U.S. District for the Middle District of Tennessee to plead guilty to one count of insider trading. He received a two-year probationary sentence that included nine months of home confinement. Cope faced up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $5 million fine.

In April, the $11 billion-asset Pinnacle said that an unnamed director bought stock in Avenue Financial Holdings in January after he learning the companies' merger talks during an executive meeting. Cope resigned from Pinnacle's board around the time that the company disclosed the dealings.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing a separate case against Cope, claiming he used information to buy about 10,000 Avenue shares and received more than $56,000 after the company agreed to be sold to Pinnacle. Pinnacle bought Avenue earlier this year.
Gene Bruyette, a co-founder of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, the investment bank that became one of the most prolific advisors on bank merger deals, has died. He was 90.

Bruyette died on Dec. 8, according to a statement from his family. A wake has been scheduled for Friday at St. Timothy's Church in West Hartford, Conn. A memorial service will also be scheduled for a later date at Mariner Sands Chapel in Stuart, Fla.

Bruyette founded KBW in June 1962 with partners Harry Keefe, a colleague from the investment firm R.L. Day, and Norbert Woods. Bruyette was the company's chairman and CEO from 1989 to 1991. He remained chairman emeritus following his retirement in 1991.

KBW grew to become one of the leading investment banks for the commercial banking industry. The firm was acquired in 2012 by Stifel Financial.

"Gene served as a constant reminder of the key values that are important to a leader, friend and person," Thomas Michaud, KBW's CEO, said in a statement. "He will be greatly missed."

Keefe left KBW in 1989 to start a hedge fund company, Keefe Managers; he died in 2002. Woods died in 1972.

Bruyette, who lived in Bloomfield, Conn., and Stuart, Fla., served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. During his professional life, Bruyette was a director of St. Francis Hospital in Hartford.

His family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Mariner Sands Foundation in Stuart and to the Presidential Fund at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Conn.
The California Department of Insurance launched an investigation Monday into allegations that Wells Fargo employees signed up consumers for Prudential Insurance policies without their authorization.

California investigators are looking into possible violations of California laws that require people selling insurance to have state licenses. California will also examine Prudential Insurance's practices through a joint investigation with the New Jersey Division of Insurance.

The New York Times reported Saturday that three former managers in Prudential's corporate investigations division alleged that Wells employees appeared to have signed up customers for insurance without their consent. The former Prudential employees filed a wrongful termination suit claiming they were fired in November for trying to escalate the issue internally.

"Investigators with the California Department of Insurance will investigate new allegations of fraud and misconduct made by former Prudential employees regarding Wells Fargo and its employees," California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a press release. "Former Prudential employees who filed a whistleblower lawsuit allege that Wells Fargo signed up consumers for Prudential insurance policies without consumer permission much as Wells Fargo admitted its employees illegally signed up consumers for bank products without permission."

Wells paid $190 million in September to settle allegations with regulators that 5,300 employees opened 2 million unauthorized accounts in order to meet sales goals.

Prudential has a partnership with Wells Fargo to sell insurance products to Prudential customers.

Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WASHINGTON  The Federal Reserve is accepting applications for a compliance extension for banks to divest or otherwise align certain proprietary illiquid assets with the Volcker Rule.

In a Monday announcement, the Fed said it would allow banks additional time to comply with the Dodd-Frank-mandated requirement that banks not engage in proprietary trading in the cases where those proprietary assets may be difficult to liquidate, divest or otherwise conform to the rule. The central bank said in a statement that it expects most banks experiencing such challenges will be granted an extension, but also said that banks must demonstrate a good-faith effort to comply.

"The Board expects that the illiquid funds of banking entities will generally qualify for extensions, though extensions may not be granted in certain cases--for example, where the banking entity has not demonstrated meaningful progress to conform or divest its illiquid funds, has a deficient compliance program under the Volcker Rule, or where the Board has concerns about evasion," the Fed said.

Banks will have to submit details on the funds for which they are seeking compliance extensions, as well as details on what efforts have been made to date to comply with the Volcker Rule and how much additional time will be required. The Fed said it can "provide up to an additional five years to conform investments in certain legacy illiquid funds" covered in the proposal.

The Volcker Rule was one of the most complex regulations to emerge from Dodd-Frank and, from banks' perspective, among the most difficult compliance exercises. The rule was finalized in December 2013 by five separate agencies: the Fed, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The agencies granted an extension for banks to comply with the Volcker rule with respect to certain covered funds last year, with the full compliance deadline currently set for July 2017. The Volcker Rule is among the most prominent targets for congressional Republicans, though President-elect Donald Trump has at times praised former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and his eponymous rule.
A recent Washington Post article claimed that states in America are a relic of its past and should be disposed of for the sake of greater economic and governing efficiency. We should expect such an argument coming from a D.C. newspaper. Of course, this is primarily a reaction against the existence of the Electoral College and yet another immature complaint about the election results, but it is something more than that; it is a full admission of complete ignorance about the nature of our country, these United States, and a willful forgetting of the purpose of federalism as a load-bearing wall that restrains tyrannical government in the architecture of our republic.

During the ratification debates, Anti-Federalists objected that the proposed constitution would consolidate the states into a single nation that could not but destroy their liberty. While the Federalists agreed that a consolidation of the states over such a large territory (then only thirteen states!) would destroy liberty, they argued forcefully that the proposed constitution would certainly not constitute a full consolidation of the states. Ours is famously neither a wholly national nor wholly federal constitution, according to James Madison. The Founders on both sides of the great debate agreed that a consolidation of the states would be detrimental to liberty, though they disagreed about whether the proposed constitution would accomplish such a consolidation.

After the Constitution was ratified, Madison expressed his fears that the federal government was in fact tending toward such a consolidation that would render popular movements for justice -- and therefore liberty -- ineffectual. In 1791, in an anonymous essay titled Consolidation, Madison wrote of two dangers that would necessarily follow consolidation: there must be first be,

so great an accumulation of powers in the hands of [the president] as might by degrees transform him into a monarch. The incompetency of one Legislature to regulate all the various objects belonging to the local governments, would evidently force a transfer of many of them to the executive department. Second, were the state governments abolished, the same space of country that would produce an undue growth of the executive power, would prevent that controul [sic] on the Legislative body, which is essential to a faithful discharge of its trust, neither the voice nor the sense of ten or twenty millions of people, spread through so many latitudes as are comprehended within the United States, could ever be combined or called into effect, if deprived of those local organs, through which both can now be conveyed.

Madison explains that if administrative centralization replaces local state governments, it will expand the prerogatives of the executive and render the peoples voice silenced and their consent reduced to a mere choice of administrators. He goes on to write that, though an administrative consolidation in the United States would be ruinous to liberty, the success of the federal republic depended on a consolidation of interests and affections. For the Founders, such common interests included the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence, signed by representatives from all the states, that imply a right to self-government and genuine consent. Moreover, such common affections are necessary, Madison writes, to consolidate their defence of the public liberty. So what is needed is a consolidation of interest in and affection for self-government, consent, and liberty -- not greater efficiency through centralization.

We have had sufficient evidence during the last eight years that there is a growing divide and breakdown of common interests and affections in the United States. The left seems to have been quite successful at replacing the idea of a common good, especially justice, with the idea of identity politics and opposing goods with its concomitant form of social justice. We have also had sufficient evidence of the attempt to centralize everything from immigration to education to bathrooms in the hands of the executive branch. But it is only with this election that we now see proof of an actual desire from the left to do away with states completely and a belief that states as intermediary powers are not pillars of support to liberty but actually anachronistic obstructions to it.

Montesquieu first articulated the modern idea of federalism as a fortification for liberty, and his thoughts greatly influenced both sides of the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate. Less than fifty years after American founding, Alexis de Tocqueville described what administrative centralization -- without the check of intermediary powers like states -- had been doing to liberty in France and would certainly do in America also if allowed; he famously described the effect that it had on the citizenry as soft despotism. No matter how dear or how sweet greater efficiency may seem to the consolidationists, they can only be purchased at the price of the chains of bureaucracy and administrative slavery.

To the plethora of hindsight explanations for the recent election of Donald Trump, I will add mine. In the 1790s, Madison and other Democratic-Republicans worried that the American people were losing their ability to govern themselves and were instead being ruled by a cadre of Federalist elites. The election of Thomas Jefferson, the Revolution of 1800, put these fears largely to rest, along with the viable existence of the Federalists as a political party. Whether rightly or wrongly time will tell, but the American people have spoken in this election, and they have declared that they will not be ruled by an oligarchy of elitists and an administrative state that calls injustice justice. Donald Trump is no Thomas Jefferson, but we should take comfort in the fact that large portions of the American people are apparently as liberty-loving today as they were in 1800. A Trump presidency may prove to be just as prone to federal overreach as Obamas, but one thing the left and the right need to understand is that a robust form of federalism is one of the best ways to limit the prerogatives of the executive by retaining to the states the powers granted to them by the Constitution.

Madison finishes Consolidation with a call for those who lean on either side of the confederate/national divide to work together to maintain the various authorities established by our complicated system, for he knew that liberty was in both of their interests. Writing in 1792, Madison proclaimed, partitions and internal checks of power can never be the chief palladium of constitutional liberty. The primary guardians of the republic must be the people, its authors, and their eyes must be ever ready to mark, their voice to pronounce, and their arm to repel or repair aggressions on the authority of their constitutions. As the people acted through their states to create the federal government, so also they must act through their states to control it.

To attach citizens more closely to liberty in this republic, they must become more attached to their states, and this involves partly a battle for the imagination. Alexander Hamilton assumed that citizens would always have a natural attachment to as well as be apt to feel a stronger bias toward their local governments, than towards the government of the union, calling such affection the great cement of society and a complete counterpoise to the power of the federal government. However, with deracination in modern times, this preference should no longer be assumed. In creative ways, federalism must somehow be made part of the music of our regime again. We should teach our children well to take pride in their home state and to understand that doing so makes them more, not less, American. Practical ways this can be accomplished are by studying and retelling our states history, constitution, and stories of heroes and by flying our state flag next to the stars and stripes, both on our lapels and our porches. All the while we should not neglect trying to rebuild the national consolidation of affection for our founding declaration about justice, that all men are created equal and therefore should stand equal before the law. This is not an encouragement to some kind of worship of the state but a commonsense acknowledgement that what is not secure in the imagination will neither be secure in reality.

We are not only kidding ourselves, but we are ignoring the arguments of the Founders if we think we can preserve liberty on such an extensive territory without robust federalism. It was part of a rallying cry this past election that if liberty and justice are to be restored and secured in these United States, the people must believe that their voice can be heard. But much more than that, they must also desire and believe that they can govern themselves better than a centralized administrative state can. To do that, they should reassert that ours is not a consolidated democracy but in fact a federal, constitutional republic.
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. - Joseph Goebbels

Paul Roderick Gregory wrote in Forbes, The Kremlin knows that repeated lies are eventually taken as truth, so that an unsourced narrative, repeated, will eventually become the truth. Of course Joseph Goebbels said it more concisely. The public is now being subjected to a barrage of reports that the Russians are in effect responsible for Donald Trump being elected president.

Naturally Donald Trump is denying this. California Rep. Eric Swalwell avers that Trumps denials are ridiculous. He claims, "He (Trump) is denying that the sun sets in the West." Rep. Elijah Cummings claims, "experts agree that there is overwhelming evidence that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election. Overwhelming. It is not disputed, it's overwhelming." If you disagree with this you are crazy.

The congressmen and media are basing their opinions on the October 07, 2016 Joint Statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security issued by the Director of National Intelligence. The various accounts of the meeting of the CIA with House and Senate leaders do not appear to support the claim that there was overwhelming evidence of Russian interference. The Washington Post quoted one official saying, "It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia's goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected." The article claims that the CIA has high confidence and that it believes the Russian were responsible several items. It also states, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government.

This does not sound overwhelming.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell questioned the veracity of the intelligence. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee stated, Ill be the first one to come out and point at Russia if theres clear evidence, but there is no clear evidence  even now. Theres a lot of innuendo, lots of circumstantial evidence, thats it. Julian Assange has stated the Russian government is not the source. The Russians have also denied it. Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, and a close associate of Assange, called the CIA claims bullshit, stating, They are absolutely making it up.

Naturally Donald Trump does not believe the Russians interfered in his favor. He criticized the CIA, saying, These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He pointed out that the hacking, could be Russia. And it could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey. The guy from New Jersey is a real possibility. During congressional hearings on the Clinton emails Congressman Chaffetz asked Director Comey, Are you implying in that statement that the private email servers of Secretary Clinton were perhaps less secure than a Gmail account? Comey responded, Yes. During the same hearing Congressman Blum claimed that, the going rate to hack into somebodys Gmail account: $129.

Donald Trump is being portrayed as not very bright and indifferent to intelligence matters. He is a man known to have a very short attention span and a dislike of reading. Michael V. Hayden, former N.S.A. director, stated, To have the president-elect of the United States simply reject the fact-based narrative that the intelligence community puts together because it conflicts with his a priori assumptions  wow. Politico reported, Trump's highly public rebukes of the U.S. intelligence apparatus will undermine morale in the spy agencies. They state, If the U.S. president doesn't believe his own intelligence officials, why should anyone else? and There is nothing more sacred to intelligence officers than their professionalism, honesty and non-partisanship.

Is there a problem with intelligence being misused? 50 intelligence analysts formally complained that their reports on ISIS were being inappropriately altered. The FBI went through 650,000 emails In 8 days and they failed to recommend prosecution for Clintons misuse of classified material. Trumps critics on the left have been joined by John McCain and Lindsey Graham who issued a joint statement with Chuck Schumer. It read, "This cannot become a partisan issue. The stakes are too high for our country."

McCain seems to have a particular problem with Trumps relationship with Putin, whom McCain calls a thug and a murderer and a killer and a KGB agent. What did Senator McCain say when President Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Tell Vald that Ill have more flexibility once I am re-elected. Senator McCain appears to have he own problems with intelligence. When he proclaims someone his hero they turn out to be ISIS or Al-Qaeda.

What is the purpose of this elaborate scheme? White House spokesman Eric Schultz announced, This is not an effort to challenge the outcome of the election. Senator Angus King commented, Im not trying to relitigate the election. Im just trying to prevent this from happening again. These comments will be repeated endlessly and they should concern us all. It should remind us of Otto von Bismarcks remark, "Nothing is proven until it is officially denied."
The election of Donald Trump to the presidency has shed a spotlight on our divisiveness. We are in the throes of a nonviolent civil war where members of families no longer speak to each other and long held friendships have been discarded. Although the Left would like to point the finger at Trump as the reason for the division, it actually began decades earlier with the takeover of the Democratic Party by socialists, communists, and multiculturalists. Their emphasis on what divides us instead of what unites us took root and blossomed at our universities, public school systems, unions, the media, and our universities. The election of Trump is a culmination bred from years of quiet resentment and silent frustration experienced by mainstream Middle America. In Trump, they saw a man who was willing to fight for their representation.

With no identity politics to cling to and no advocacy groups to lobby for them, white working/middle class stiffs who make up the masses, needed a leader who would take on the system that no longer included them. As the Left and their Democratic cohorts made race, gender, illegals, Hispanics, Muslims, and the Gay lobby the cornerstone of their political ideology and policy, mainstream white Christian working men and women began to question who was looking out for them and where was their voice in policy making decisions affecting their governance.

The emphasis on class warfare, open borders, secularism, and multiculturalism at the expense of Americanism by not only the Democratic Party, but by their cohorts in the media and universities has led to a very divided America with each having a separate vision for the United States. The Left as represented by the Democratic Party seeks an open-border stateless America where anyone who sets foot on our soil is free to practice their branch of identity within our borders and with no allegiance to American sovereignty. They seek an America where equality reigns supreme and a statism to ensure it. They view socialism as noble and resent free market capitalism as potentially damaging their quest for equality.

While the French were motivated by egalitarianism, our founding fathers had a different vision for America. They sought an America defined by three principles. Liberty, Faith, and E Pluribus Unum, the motto that shaped our republic and is responsible for its greatness. There are still Americans who cling to these principles and they are the people who reside in the vast territory that elitists on both coasts view as flyover country. It is they who cast their votes for Donald Trump. These free market capitalist Americans have a radically different vision for America than those of Socialist Egalitarian Democrats.

They seek an America where everyone has equal opportunities, but not necessarily equal outcomes. They seek an America where faith in G-d is restored in our schools and public sphere, and an America governed by our Constitution and not the rule of man. They seek an America where our sovereignty is restored and respected while the opportunity to immigrate is granted only to those who share our values and respect our customs.

On the other hand, the Left seeks a borderless America without boundaries. Social taboos that were once considered the norm and that held personal conduct in check are relegated as ancient and irrelevant by elitists in the media and in our universities. Be it the murder of the unborn, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, recreational drugs, alternative sexual lifestyles, illicit language, all is desired and permissible for the Left. They are defined by their feelings while conservatives on the right are defined by reason. They emote while we on the right think. Because they are guided by their feelings, they view conservatives as mean-spirited and lacking compassion for the common man while conservatives correctly view the Left as foolish, irrational and immature.

The election of Trump has led Californians to threaten to leave the union, and there are many Americans who are eager to see them leave. Their secession would end the flow of illegals from that state and the millions in federal grants they now receive. They would be free to run that state as a haven for criminals and entitlement seekers. Strict corporate regulations and high taxes will ensure the continuation of corporations fleeing a socialist bureaucracy, and in the end, California will become a morally and financially bankrupt state. "Let's see how long they will last" and "build a wall around them" is the sentiment expressed by the rest of America caught living between the Leftist East and West Coasts. With no funds and no defense, California would most likely shrivel and it wouldn't take long before regret set in.

It is difficult to fathom that a country so divided can unite for the common good when what is considered "good" is radically different for both camps. We have become a Disunited States and no amount of cajoling can unite us. It is time to admit that the differences are perhaps greater than the commonalities. Today, in these Disunited States, many view the enemy is not only from without, but from within.

Shari Goodman, educator and political activist, has written for World Net Daily, Israel Today, Family Security Matters, and Eagle Rising. She is a red dot in the blue state of California.
When I was a boy I swore an oath, one I take seriously to this day. It went like this:

On my honor, I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Inherent in this oath are not one, but two moral issues  my duty to God and my oath of remaining morally straight. These are inextricably linked, and both preclude sexual immorality, among other things. My duty to God is to obey the laws set down for us by Him.

And that was what Scouting was all about. While it was not sectarian in nature, it was deeply rooted in America and the Judeo-Christian heritage that informed our culture in bygone days. Lord Robert Baden-Powell, one of the founders of the Boy Scouts, stated:

Where does religion come in? Well, my reply is  it does not come in at all. It is already there. It is the fundamental factor underlying Scouting and Guiding.

And in his 1908 book Scouting for Boys said, "No man is any good unless he believes in God."

James West, who headed the organization in its early days, added:

Boy Scouts of America believes that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God.

While there is no litmus test on how one believes in God, there is that matter of duty to Him. Now, all three Abrahamic religions hold that morally straight means sexually pure, or at least sexually restrained, and all three consider homosexuality an abomination. So does the Baha'i faith. So too Zoroastrianism. Hinduism frowns on it, as do Buddhism and Sikhism. Unless one takes a "Progressive" view of his faith or adopts some fringe religion, homosexual activity is forbidden. If it is forbidden, how can one be "morally straight" or do one's duty to God while embracing it?

President-Elect Donald J. Trump recently announced he is considering Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department. Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, was, among other things, the former head of the Boy Scouts of America and one of the people responsible for opening the BSA to homosexuals.

It was Tillerson who lobbied to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the BSA. According to a Dallas News story:

Tillerson was instrumental in lobbying the Scouts board to accept openly gay youths, said John Hammer, president of the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, of which Tillerson is a board member. "I cant get into the intimacy of these conversations. But he agonized over this. He prayed on it, and ultimately he came to the conclusion the only thing that can guide him here is whats best for the young boys, he said. "I think he became a key leader in helping the group come to a consensus."

Tillerson pushed the change at the meeting.

Most of the reasons that organizations fail at change is pretty simple, he says. People dont understand why. They dont understand the mission. They dont understand what this means for them. They dont understand their role. Now, the most important job is to communicate with Scouting supporters back in each members home council, he says. As the CEO of ExxonMobil Corp., Tillerson is no stranger to the task of making tough decisions or venturing into uncharted territory because of a change in course. Regardless of where you were on this decision, its also very normal for people to feel like there are winners or losers. Im here to tell you thats not true.  There are neither winners nor losers. Whats left after we made the decision to change is the mission, and the mission has not changed. But how are we going to implement the change?

So resistance to change is tied not to a moral absolute, but rather to a lack of understanding, and there are no "winners or losers." The boys lost, but Tillerson fails to see it.

How is opening an organization that involves young boys in close proximity to open homosexuals in the former's best interest? Will Tillerson next seek to recruit hookers for them? These are boys in their early teenage years, after all, and as such, one must question their self-identification as homosexual. If they do fall into that category, the purpose of an organization like the Boy Scouts is to lead boys away from such things.

The gays and Tillerson got their demands met last year.

This is the classic slippery slope. The BSA pulled out a thread, and this is where it has led  and it is headed for far worse. The Canada Scouts followed this route back in the late 1990s with the result that membership dropped off 50%.

As Eagle Scout and former U.S. representative Richard T. Schulze stated:

... [w]hat kind of a message are we sending to our young people if the very leaders who are teaching Boy Scouts to be brave cannot even find the courage to stand firm and avoid caving in to peer pressure from Hollywood and political activists?

Indeed, the cowardice is worse than the original act. Doing one's duty to God requires moral courage  something that appears to be lacking in Rex Tillerson.

Tillerson is a committed Christian, which would normally be a happy development. However, Tillerson is a member of the notoriously left-wing Congregationalists. He is also known to be squishy on global warming, favoring some sort of carbon credit trading and having supported the 2015 Paris Agreement.

It also appears that Tillerson is a globalist. In a speech to the globalist Council on Foreign Relations Tillerson stated:

Should the United States seek so-called energy independence in an elusive effort to insulate this country from the impact of world events on the economy, or should Americans pursue the path of international engagement, seeking ways to better compete within the global market for energy? Like the Council's founders, I believe we must choose the course of greater international engagement... The central reality is this: The global free market for energy provides the most effective means of achieving U.S. energy security by promoting resource development, enabling diversification, multiplying our supply channels, encouraging efficiency, and spurring innovation.

Sounds more like Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump, doesn't he?

This, in many ways, explains Tillerson's support for opening the Boy Scouts to homosexuality. It is the international norm, and if he supports a largely borderless world, sacrifices in old-fashioned cultural norms are going to have to be made.

Trump says he wants to scale back these big international deals, and yet he wants to make a globalist his chief diplomat.

I fear that this pick leaves the stagnant water in the swampland. Tillerson strikes me as just another establishment type in cowboy boots.

Read more from Tim and friends at The Aviary (www.tbirdnow.mee.nu).
Liberals have always prided themselves as promoters of freedom of religion, expression, and equality. At face value, these concepts are the key ingredients to a thriving society. But as time has passed, there is an growing abyss stretching between the original ideals of the liberal movement and what it actually supports. When analyzing the goals and agenda of liberalism, one may become confounded at their faithful, unconditional support of Islamic culture. Islamic culture is the very opposite of what the liberals claim to celebrate and uphold. Instead of exposing and critiquing the components of Islamic culture that are in direct opposition to their core beliefs, liberals would quiet critics of the religion, despite facts and experiences. Muslim women are the silent majority in the matter and their experiences and voices are often dismissed. Their opinions and plight are largely met with harsh treatment and more oppression. This represents a paradox for those seeking to uphold the values of liberalism, while exposing their contradictory stance as well.

Liberals have built upon concepts such as freedom of expression, gender equality, and religious freedom. They relentlessly oppose and attack those whom they perceive as violators of these human rights. During the 2016 presidential election, there was a huge outcry against the statements that president-elect Donald Trump made about women. Many critics argued that his stance on women disqualified him from running a country that prides itself on being a progressive nation. Liberals used every media outlet they could to highlight this shortcoming, replaying sound-bites of Trumps comments repeatedly to garner support for their position. While Trumps indiscretion toward women may be alarming, it is not nearly as alarming as the culture of Islam that the liberals unconditionally support. More than any other major religion, Islam is closely associated with oppressive views toward women, violence and terrorism, and inequality. Even in moderate Islamic nations, such as Turkey, freedom for everyone is not necessarily thriving. Recently a Turkish girl was sentenced to two years in prison and 100 lashes for being raped by her neighbor. According to the Sharia courts, she was not accompanied by a male guardian, thus making herself more accessible to rape. Liberals largely ignore these common human rights violations and often refuse to speak out against these horrendous offenses. Instead, they attempt to separate the violence and oppression associated with Islam and label it as Islamic extremism. Outside of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, Sharia law is still the predominant influence and governing standard in many Islamic countries. Despite the numerous facts and experiences that are presented to the liberals, they still align themselves with support for Islam, which is not consistent with the values they vehemently strive to defend.

Liberals attempt to promote freedom of expression, religion, and equality by ignoring or harshly condemning any valid critics of Islam. For the sake of seeming non-discriminatory, they separate the very culture of Islam -- a culture that is steeped in oppressive thought and ideology -- and label those who carry out Sharia law as extremists. Liberals tell the masses that Islam is a peaceful religion and those who do not behave peacefully are not true Muslims, they are a radicalized faction of Islam. The fear of speaking out against the ills of this religion, in the name of being inclusive, is the very reason they have blindly sided with governments and ideas that support oppression and inequality.

Outspoken Muslim women often have a hard time fully supporting the liberals due to their inconsistencies. Liberals fail to capture the reality and experiences of countless Muslim women. As a Muslim woman, I am placed in the barren middle. I am in a unique position. My critique of the religion as a whole is born in a desire to see the religion flourish and thrive, where everyone can have human rights and liberties. As with all things we love, we must be able to share our grievances, expose shortcomings and persistent violators. To what group can Muslim women devote their allegiance? On one end, there is radical Islam, a sector of Muslims that regularly violates women. They persistently bully and terrorize religious minorities in Muslim-majority regions of the world. Violence is a means to garner attention, spread its influence globally, and strike fear into their opponents. Vocal opposition to this form of extremism often falls on deaf ears from members on the far right. In predominantly Muslim countries, women are met with harsh treatment or death when they criticize the shortcomings of Islam. On the opposite end, there are the liberals -- a group that has become so politically correct that they shun any constructive criticism of Islam. In the name of inclusiveness, they have muted any inkling of negative rhetoric regarding Islam. It is concerning that my experiences, along with those of myriads of other women, coupled with facts, are not enough to warrant a thorough examination of the unconditional support that liberals extend to Islamic states.

Liberalism's inability to truthfully reflect and admit that there are fundamental issues with Islam prevents it from ever thriving. The groups the liberals vow to represent are the same groups that are more vulnerable under the liberals agenda. As a Muslim woman, I am caught in a conundrum. Many liberals are morally and politically confused, despite their best intentions. When they align themselves with a group of individuals that practices oppressive routines on women and religious minorities, they are actively working against their fight for peace, inclusiveness, diversity, and liberty. It is a dangerous and regressive catch for those who identify as liberals, as they must fight for their voices and experiences to be heard, along with fighting radical Islamists and harsh components of the Sharia law.

Deeba Abedi is an Indian-American born to a Muslim family. Dr. Abedi wears multiple hats as a writer, a womens rights activist and a physician entrepreneur.

Twitter @drdeebabedi
Joseph Tompkins is an "irreparable harm" survivor. He's the guy who got the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to force a small Indiana town to remove a cross from atop its municipal Christmas tree on Monday.

Mr. Tompkins, who must be blessed with remarkably selective eyesight, was "forced to come into direct and unwelcome contact" with the cross on top of the tree in the public square as he drove through Knightstown, causing him "irreparable harm," said the ACLU lawsuit filed on Dec. 8 on his behalf.

While Mr. Tompkins may have won his legal battle, he's lost the culture war, as local residents have responded by displaying hundreds of crosses on everything from buildings to car antennas.

Now, instead of one cross on a stationary tree, an army of crosses is crisscrossing the city on public streets paid for with Mr. Tompkins's very own tax dollars. Plus, the town Christmas tree is still there, awash with lights and ornaments. City officials can "Christianize" it with a star on top or an angel if they're so inclined.

"I just thought we should rebel some way or let him know how we feel," Knightstown resident Patricia Hutson told FOX59, explaining the outbreak of cross displays. Hutson herself made 200 wooden crosses and gave them out during a Sunday night vigil for the cross.

"I hope they make people realize that we should speak up for what we believe in and stand up for it and not be pushed around," Hutson said.

In its lawsuit, the ACLU had demanded immediate removal of the cross, monetary damages, legal fees, and a ruling that the cross violated the First Amendment's establishment clause.

City officials in Knightstown, which has 2,100 residents and lies 40 miles east of Indianapolis, held out for a few days but relented on Monday, citing fear of exorbitant legal fees  the inevitable side effect of the ACLU browbeating communities into surrendering their customs.

According to the ACLU, Mr. Tompkins said he "objects to any of his tax dollars going to pay for the erection or maintenance of the display or the lighting of it."

Well, it looks as though Mr. Tompkins and the ACLU picked on the wrong town this time. Let's hope Knightstown's response to the bullies gets noticed and emulated far and wide.

Robert Knight is a senior fellow for the American Civil Rights Union.
Hey, Hillary: Heres what normally happens to corrupt pols who divert charitable foundation donations to personal and political use. Why, I remember former Representative Chaka Fattah before he was consigned to the memory hole. He used to be a powerful Democrat in Congress, but now hes a convict headed for a ten-year sentence to the federal pen. His crimes sound familiar to those of us who have been focused on the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundations hiring of political aides to Hillary in off-years since her previous run for the presidency. CBS News reports:

A federal judge has sentenced Former Pennsylvania Congressman Chaka Fattah to 10 years behind bars on charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering. Earlier this year, Fattah, 60, was convicted of misspending government grants and charity money to fund his campaign and personal expenses, even as he and his TV anchor wife earned more than $500,000 a year. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle called the Philadelphia Democrats crimes astonishing given that he and his wife had an annual income that put them at or near the top 1 percent.

Fattah, who changed to an African-sounding name from his birth name, Arthur Davenport, is maintaining:

Ive helped tens of millions of people, Fattah said. (That) has nothing to do with the fact that Ive been found on the wrong side of these questions by a jury.

Fattahs claim to have helped tens of millions of people apparently rests on his votes to spend taxpayers money on programs such as GEAR UP, which helps prepare students for college, presumably because their schools have utterly failed them, while taking care of the teachers union members who donate lavishly to the Democratic Party. Helping tens of millions by freeing them from the grip of the unions that care about dues-paying members but have noticed that the kids pay no dues to them was always off the table.

Nor does Fattah appear to have undergone a period of intense personal reflection on his failings:

A jury this year found that Fattah took an illegal $1 million loan from a wealthy friend to prop up his failed 2007 campaign for Philadelphia mayor. He then repaid some of it with federal grant money from NASA that he had steered to an education nonprofit run by loyal former staffers. The nonprofit efforts  including a NASA-funded mobile science classroom emblazoned with Fattahs name that roamed Philadelphia during the mayoral campaign  helped promote Fattahs political career, prosecutors said in their sentencing memo. The jury convicted him of leading a five-person racketeering enterprise that included the loyal aides and political consultants who did his bidding, comingling campaign, nonprofit and government funds and using them as directed for Fattahs personal and political needs. For example, Fattah used $23,000 in nonprofit funds to repay his sons college loans and took an $18,000 bribe to try to help a friend become an ambassador. He even lobbied President Barack Obama on the friends behalf, to no avail. Fattah and his wife used the $18,000 for a down payment on a Poconos vacation home. They told authorities the money covered the friends purchase of a Porsche owned by Fattahs wife, but the Porsche never left their garage. For someone so interested in advancing education for the disadvantaged, you had the temerity to steal from the Educational Advancement Alliance, a nonprofit supported by government funds, Bartle said.



The judge said it was equally astonishing that Fattah would steal money to cover his sons debts, to pay taxes and to buy a family vacation home.

Hmm...a politician already rich beyond the dreams of ordinary Americans, but still so greedy that charitable donations are diverted to luxuries and political uses. Sounds awfully familiar.

Double standards, anyone?
A federal judge has put the final nail in the Jill Stein recount campaign, denying Stein's motion for a court-ordered recount in Pennsylvania, citing, among other things, the "judicial fire drill" that ensued after Stein "inexcusably waited well past the eleventh hour" in her legal filings.

Judge Paul Diamond, a 2004 George W. Bush appointee, emphasizes in his 31-page opinion, which thoroughly dissects the Stein recount case, the consequential nature of the charges brought by Dr. Stein:

There can be no more serious challenge to an election than the suggestion that the votes cast were dishonestly recorded. Yet, "Plaintiffs have not made out even the possibility  much less the likelihood"  that any vote tampering occurred in Pennsylvania during the 2016 election.

The Stein recount group initially sought a complete count of all paper ballots and a "forensic examination" of a sample of voting machines, but during last Friday's hearing before the judge, their demands were scaled down to:

... a hand recount of all paper ballots of one precinct in each of the seventeen paper-ballot Counties and a forensic review of the election management systems of six Counties, including Philadelphia.

In his opinion, the judge holds that Stein lacks "standing" to file suit and notes further that "the only relevant fact unknown to Plaintiffs before the election was its outcome."

In denying the mandatory recount motion, the judge concludes:

Dr. Stein has repeatedly stated that she has sought a Pennsylvania recount to ensure that every vote counts. Granting her later than last minute request for relief, however, could well ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts. Such a result would be both outrageous and completely unnecessary; as I have found, suspicion of a "hacked" Pennsylvania election borders on the irrational.

In a telling comment regarding the state's argument that the Stein campaign does not have standing, the judge observes of Stein:

Remarkably, Plaintiffs did not respond. Even though Dr. Stein was present and could have testified as to why she is an aggrieved party with standing to seek a recount, she was not called.

In a further indication of amateur-hour legal work, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the judge says a Stein expert witness "knew virtually nothing" about the state's electoral practices and procedures.

The end of the statewide Pennsylvania recount (a handful of county- and precinct-level recounts are still pending), and the certification of the vote, follows the decision of the Michigan State Supreme Court last Friday to deny an appeal of an earlier court ruling that ended the Michigan recount last week.

In a sequence of state and federal court rulings last week, a Michigan state court had "found Stein had no legal standing to request the recount."

Michigan's high court on Friday ruled 3-2 against the Stein recount appeal, meaning that:

... [t]he Michigan Secretary of State said Friday that because the recount was halted before it was finished, the results certified on Nov. 28 stand.

Stein was required to pony up $973,000 for the Michigan recount, based on a formula in Michigan law, but the Michigan secretary of state "has said the actual cost could be $2 million or more." How that shakes out financially, now that the recount has been stopped, remains to be seen.

Michigan legislators have moved forward with the one way to stop interlopers like Jill Stein from usurping legitimate recount laws and procedures.

Jill Stein could be on the hook for millions of dollars to cover the cost of a Michigan election recount if a Republican-sponsored bill is enacted into law. HB 6097 would require candidates more than 5 percent of the vote behind the winner to pay the entire actual cost of a statewide recount, and it would be retroactive to the beginning of 2016.

The bill was passed out of a Michigan House committee last week, with the bill's sponsor commenting:

This legislation would protect taxpayers from frivolous recounts. Candidates should have the right to ask for a recount, but they should have the responsibility to pay for it, especially if the outcome is unlikely to change.

In Wisconsin, where Stein paid $3.5 million in advance to start the process, the recount was finished and the vote certified on Monday:

The numbers barely budged in Wisconsin after nearly 3 million votes were recounted. Trump picked up a net 131 votes and the final results changed just 0.06 percent.

Wisconsin Republican governor Scott Walker said the recount shows that it is "very clear the vote was legitimate." The governor added that "the recount placed a burden on local election clerks who were busy with other year-end duties."

With a Tuesday deadline looming for states to certify their votes in advance of the December 19 electoral college vote, the Jill Stein recount charade is finally over.

Dr. Stein clothed her self-centered recount in platitudes like "election integrity" and "representation for all," meanwhile fleecing vulnerable Democratic voters reeling from a devastating loss.

Stein walks away with a substantial fundraising stash, a valuable mailing list, and likely an IOU for carrying Hillary Clinton's water on the recount.

The hollowed out Democratic Party moves on from the recount con to Electoral College mischief-making and Russian hacker allegations.

The rest of us walk away from Dr. Stein's mockery of electoral fairness with a disconcerting sense that a fringe candidate has gamed the system to no good end.

As for the recount charade itself, a variation on T.S. Elliot's words comes to mind:

This is the way the recount ends

Not with a bang but with a whimper.
From the day it broke some thirteen years ago, I have had a real problem coming to grips with with the Allen West story. I mean, how does it happen that a battalion commander would decide, with criminal intent aforethought, to interpose himself in a low-level interrogation of a common detainee and commit a blatant violation of both the U. S. Military's Code of Conduct and the Geneva Conventions?

Furthermore, how does it then happen that, having done so, that battalion commander would decide to report himself to his superiors, confess, and then resign from the Army?

It made no sense then, and it does not now make sense! The first thing that came to mind then, and persists today, it that West did it to get out of the fighting ahead. But that makes no sense, either, given his history of impressive, brave, and exemplary service in the Army:

Bronze Star; Meritorious Service Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters, one Valor Device); Army Achievement Medal (one Oak Leaf Cluster); Valorous Unit Award; Air Assault Badge; and the Master Parachutist Badge.

That collection of medals doesn't come easily, nor without strong devotion to duty!

Well, incoming secretary of defense and war veteran Gen. James Mattis once made clear what he thought of the incident:

As he was preparing documents before his Marines deployed to Iraq, Mattis described West's case as "commander who has lost his moral balance or has watched too many Hollywood movies," according to author Thomas Ricks' 2006 book, "Fiasco."

I don't know if the general is correct in his assessment, but it makes about as much sense as anyone else can make in assessing the story.

Watching Col. West over the years as a member of Congress and as a commentator on things military and on many other matters, I have had nothing but the highest admiration, particularly because of his strong and unabashed positions on conservative issues. But I have never ceased to wonder: how does it happen...?

The author is retired, his profile may be found on LinkedIn, and he may be argued with at bilschan@hotmail.com.
On December 12, the useless Wisconsin recount confirmed what we all knew already: Trump won Wisconsin.

On December 9, the Michigan federal court dismissed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's suit for a recount in Michigan.

On December 12, as expected, the federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed Stein's suit to order a statewide recount.

Stein had filed suit in federal court after she withdrew her Pennsylvania state court suit because the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court had ordered her to post a one-million-dollar bond. Stein did not want to spend the money on the bond for what her lawyers knew was a losing case, so she tried in federal court instead.

The best part of Judge Diamond's opinion was the total rejection of Stein's "expert witness," who submitted an affidavit that the voting machines could be hacked because the emails of the DNC and John Podesta had been hacked. It is obvious that the emails are on the internet, while the Pennsylvania voting machines are not on the internet, so hacking would be impossible. Rejecting this absurd argument as "irrational," Judge Diamond stated:

Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any 'hack' occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania's voting system was not in any way compromised[.] ... Moreover, plaintiffs' lack of standing, the likely absence of federal jurisdiction, and plaintiffs' unexplained, highly prejudicial delay in seeking a recount are all fatal to their claims for immediate relief. Dr. Stein has repeatedly stated that she has sought a Pennsylvania recount to ensure that every vote counts[.] ... Granting her later-than-last-minute request for relief, however, could well ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts. Such a result would be both outrageous and completely unnecessary; as I have found, suspicion of a 'hacked' Pennsylvania election borders on the irrational.

Since the Democrats knew that Trump would win the recount in Wisconsin, and the lawsuits for a recount in Michigan and Pennsylvania would fail, they have switched their attack on Trump to blame the Russians for "interference."

At best, the Russians, or whoever did the hacking of the DNC and Podesta emails, provided information to the American voters that the MSM and Hillary failed to provide: the documentation that proves that Hillay and Obama lied and that Hillary sold access to the State Department. Moreover, if Hilary and Obama had not lied, and had Hillary not sold access to the State Department, then there would be no emails to hack and leak.

The charge that the Russians, or anyone else, interfered with the election to help Trump is as irrational as Stein's argument that the voting machines could have been hacked by the Russians because the DNC and Podesta emails were hacked.

How can there be interference with an election by providing truthful information about a candidate?

Harry Reid admittedly lied in 2012 that Romney had not paid his taxes for ten years. Hillary and Obama lied in 2012 that a video caused the Benghazi attack. All three lied to help Obama win. Is that interference?
Nowhere was the hysteria, panic, and fear-mongering attending Donald Trumps win in the 2016 presidential election felt more strongly than on college campuses  and Middle East studies academics were no exception. Rather than acknowledging that justified concern over increasing terrorism in the U.S. was a strong factor, they dismissed Trump voters as angry, fearful, ignorant, Islamophobic white supremacists.

This despite Trumps receiving more minority votes than did Mitt Romney in 2012, and the support of the same white working-class population that twice voted for biracial President Barack Obama.

It was not millions of American voters, but the professors themselves who exhibited bigotry, fear, and anger.

Admitting that the segment of society who voted for Trump frightens me, Muqtedar Khan, director of the University of Delawares Islamic Studies Program, ascribed his win to myopia and cultural insecurity. Accordingly, he announced that he was frightened for the future of minorities in this country. No word on whether Khan is frightened of his own shadow.

Similarly, Rhodes College Islamic studies professor Yasir Qadhi suddenly feared for the safety of my wife in a hijab, of my children in the streets, of minorities everywhere struggling to understand what happened. He maintained that white Americans racist, irrational fear of melanin content led them to support Trump.

Reza Aslan, University of California, Riverside creative writing professor, tweeted hysterically, Someone please tell me how I tell my kids that the president whose picture will soon be on their classroom wall hates them, wants them gone.

University of Denver Center for Middle East Studies director Nader Hashemi bemoaned the new white extremism in middle America, while accusing Trump of being so radical and so extreme that ISIS is celebrating his victory.

Meanwhile, University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole claimed that white Trump voters were motivated by rage, anti-immigrant sentiment, and the loss of cultural supremacy. He declared 2016 the equivalent of a red scare, only now it is a Muslim scare, and warned of the coming nativism and, ludicrously, the third big wave of the Klu [sic] Klux Klan. Curiously, Cole had no such concerns when Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton eulogized Robert Byrd, the late Democratic congressman and former Exalted Cyclops of the KKK, as her mentor.

Omid Safi, director of Duke Universitys Islamic Studies Center, insulted a significant percentage of the electorate by angrily demanding of white evangelical Christians, When you had to choose between your white privilege and your Jesus, how did you live with yourself putting Jesus on the bottom? Heres a rhetorical question: would Safi would have directed such ire at his fellow Muslims, let alone substituted Muhammed for Jesus, were the tables turned?

Hatem Bazian, director of the Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project at the University of California, Berkeley, encapsulated the arc of anti-populist hysteria in one sentence: Trumps victory will stand as Americas Brexit moment where Islamophobia, anti-immigrant discourses, economic dislocation, and nativist sentiments got masterfully mobilized to win an election.

Columbia University Iranian studies professor Hamid Dabashi, in the subtly titled op-ed I Refuse to Accept the US Election Results, blamed Trumps victory on a racist, misogynist, ignorant, paranoid, xenophobic, white supremacist America. He then likened Trump voters to an angry mob of white supremacist zombies shielding its wild fantasies behind democratic politics. The flesh-eating white supremacist zombies of televisions The Walking Dead could not be reached for comment.

Such was the reaction of a childish, insulated, arrogant professoriate to the results of a democratic election with which it did not agree. Instead of proffering scholarly or strategic analysis, Middle East studies academics indulged in America-bashing, race-baiting, and histrionics. That is, they exemplified the elite attitudes that doubtless drove many voters to support Trump.

Michael Lumish is an analyst on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the proprietor of Israel Thrives. He holds a Ph.D. in American history from the Pennsylvania State University and has taught at Penn State, San Francisco State University, and City College of San Francisco. He co-wrote this article with Cinnamon Stillwell (stillwell@meforum.org), the West Coast representative for Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum.
In the remote north of the Atlantic Ocean, right on the edge of the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean, lies a tiny speck of an island. Named after a 19th century Greenlandic Arctic traveller, the half-square-mile Hans Island is as barren as any uninhabited island could ever be a flat, exposed rocky knoll with no vegetation and no apparent natural resources. Yet, this nondescript piece of rock has been at the center of a territorial dispute between Canada and Denmark that has been raging for nearly half a century.

Hans Island lies in the middle of the Nares Strait, a 22-mile-wide channel of water that separates Canada from Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. International law dictates that all countries have the right to claim territory within 12 miles of their shore. This puts Hans Island in both Danish and Canadian waters.

Hans Island as seen from the air, with Ellesmere Island in the background. Photo credit: Toubletap/Wikimedia

The territorial dispute rose in 1973 when both countries were drawing up their maritime boundary. At that time, no agreement could be reached between the two governments, and so the issue was put off for later. The dispute began in earnest in 1984 when during a visit to the island the Danish Minister for Greenland planted the national flag and left a message saying Welcome to the Danish island along with a bottle of brandy. When Canada learned about it, they dispatched a troop to the island to replace the Danish flag with a Canadian flag and the bottle of Danish schnapps with Canadian whiskey.

And a light-hearted whiskey war was born. For decades now, Canadian and Danish troops alternately visit the island to change flags and leave a bottle of liquor. In 2005, Canadians upped the antic by installing a metal plaque on the island. The Danish didnt reciprocate, however, their Foreign Minister stated that to go ashore tearing down [the Canadian] flag and replacing it with a new onewould be a somewhat childish [behaviour] between two NATO allies.

As of 2016, the border issue is yet to be resolved.

Update (16 June 2022): Canada and Denmark have reached a settlement on the border dispute over Hans Island on June 2022. Under the agreement, a border will be drawn across the island, dividing it between the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.

Danish soldiers on Hans Island in 2002. Photo credit: Royal Danish Navy

The plaque left by Canadian Forces personnel on Hans Island in 2005.

Canadian Forces personnel raise Canada's flag on Hans Island in 2005.

Sources: NY Times / Wikipedia
Lenovos Moto Z Play became a favorite for users looking for outstanding battery life, due to its large battery and power efficient processor.

When it comes to smartphones, one of the most important features that users look at before buying a new phone is the battery. How good is the battery, and how fast does it charge, are the two features most people usually look at with the battery. Before smartphones, phones would last days and days before needing to be recharged. This was because most people werent on their phones the entire day like they are now. Smartphone battery life has gotten better over the years, but it could still use some help. In 2016, there were a few smartphones that had incredible battery life, like the Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Huawei Mate 9 and the Moto Z Play. But they all still have a long way to go.

Winner  Lenovo Moto Z Play

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The Moto Z Play from Lenovo is not a traditional flagship (meaning that its not a high-end device) but it did have the best battery life. Lenovo debuted the Moto Z series this year with the Moto Z, Moto Z Force and a few months later the Moto Z Play came along. The Moto Z Play dropped some of the more high-end specs, but kept a large battery inside. What we are looking at with the Moto Z Play is a 5.5-inch 1080p display, the Snapdragon 625 processor inside with 3GB of RAM powering the device. And there was a 3,510 mAh battery that was non-removable and kept users going for days on a single charge. That is just a hair larger than the Moto Z Forces battery, but it lasted far longed due to the lower-resolution display and less power-hungry display.

Battery life is important. Users dont want to spend parts of their day connected to an outlet so their smartphone can charge, and the Moto Z Play allowed users to be able to stay away from an outlet. On top of that, since it was part of the Moto Z lineup, it also had the Moto Mod battery packs that Incipio had made, and could increase the battery life even more. Remember that battery life is more than just your screen on-time, even though that is the metric that most people go by. Another big part of this is standby. If your smartphone is using a ton of power when its not in use, then your battery wont last as long. The Moto Z Play knew how to utilize Doze (new in Android 6.0 Marshmallow) and get pretty incredible standby times. In our review of the Moto Z Play, we found the battery life to be the number one selling point of this smartphone. And that was because the price wasnt much lower than the other Moto Z smartphones that Lenovo already announced, and the are loads of competitors in the space right now that are offering far more (spec and feature-wise) than the Moto Z Play at the same price or lower.

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Lenovo began debuting a Play version of Moto smartphones last year with the Moto X Play, but the Moto Z Play brought it to a whole new level this year. It was a smartphone that really flew under the radar, and part of that was due to the fact that it was only available at Verizon (as the Moto Z Play Droid Edition) or available unlocked through Motorola.com and other various retailers. Meaning that users from AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile couldnt walk into their local carrier store and pick one up, or even see that it is actually available. Luckily the device was compatible with both GSM and CDMA carriers, so the unlocked model did work great with any of the four US carriers.

Runner Up  Google Pixel XL

Googles Pixel XL has pretty impressive battery life as well. Like the Moto Z Play, a big part of the Pixel XLs amazing battery life is due to the software optimization that Google has done in Android 7.1. Optimizing software can go a long way in making a device even better, when it comes to battery life. Of course, the changes that Google made to Doze in Android 7.x Nougat definitely helped out, allowing the device to go into deep sleep sooner and use less power while inactive, therefore extending the battery life on the device. The Pixel XL has a somewhat small (when you compare its specs to the Moto Z Plays specs) battery, rated at 3,450 mAh  thats actually the exact same size battery as the Nexus 6P that Google made last year with Huawei. Remember that it does also have a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and 4GB of RAM. Obviously the Pixel XL did not give out the same type of battery life time as the Moto Z Play (hence why its a runner up and not the winner), but it did offer the best battery life among flagship smartphones, with the highest specs. Thats pretty impressive for Googles first crack at building their own smartphone. Not to mention the other aspects of the Pixel XL are pretty impressive in their own right.

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Honorable Mention  Samsung Galaxy Note 7

The Galaxy Note 7 had better battery life than the Pixel XL, no doubt. But since the Galaxy Note 7 was short lived, its hard to give it either the winner or runner up spots here. Which is pretty unfortunate, given how great of a smartphone it was. Those that did own it, and those that reviewed it, stated that the battery was pretty impressive on the Galaxy Note 7, giving most people a full day to a day and a half on a charge before needing to find an outlet. The Galaxy Note 7 had a battery that was similar in size to the Pixel XL and Moto Z Play, coming in at 3500mAh. That was powering a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display. Inside, there was also Qualcomms Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. If only the Galaxy Note 7 didnt have the flaw that required Samsung to recall the device twice, it could have easily beaten the Moto Z Play.
What a difference a couple of years have made under John Legere. Back in 2014 when Sprint was reportedly looking to merge with T-Mobile, they were reportedly going to spend around $32.4 billion to pick up the company from Deutsche Telekom. Now, about three years later, Wells Fargo analysts believe that Sprint would need to spend a whopping $93.4 billion to buy T-Mobile and merge the two companies. Thats nearly triple what they would have paid just three years earlier.

According to Wells Fargos Jennifer Fritzsche, this price tag would be about 8.5 times Sprints estimated EBTIDA for their 2017 fiscal year. Which also means that this deal would really no longer make financial sense for Sprint. She explained that this values T-Mobile equity at $72 a share, or a 28% premium to its latest closing price. Sprint could assume T-Mobiles $33 billion in net debt and would then need to raise $60 billion in debt and equity to fund the remaining purchase price. While the price tag is much higher than it was three years ago, and some analysts think that this wouldnt be a good deal for Sprint or SoftBank, Fritzsche believes it could still be a good deal. Considering the fact that the two companies could cut plenty of costs. Not to mention the fact that their spectrum portfolios compliment each other pretty well.

SoftBanks CEO and Sprint chairman, Masayoshi Son admitted recently that his plan after buying Sprint was to then purchase T-Mobile and merge the two together to compete with Verizon and AT&T, who are both twice the size of the smaller carriers. But the FCC did not want this to happen, as they continued to tell Son that they wanted at least four national carriers, and this obviously would leave them with just three. But many believe with a Republican FCC, that a merger could be on the table. Although we still wont know for sure until the new FCC takes office in January.

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SoftBank will have to do plenty of fundraising to get the $93.4 billion price for T-Mobile, considering they were borrowing from a slew of banks to pick them up in 2013 for just $32.4 billion. Looking back, that asking price seemed like an absolute steal. However, in those three years (Sprint reportedly began courting a T-Mobile merger in December of 2013), a lot has happened in the wireless industry. T-Mobile has switched positions with Sprint, moving to being third in the US. They have also added millions and millions of customers to their network. Which is what has drove up the price for T-Mobile. Additionally, Deutsche Telekom may not be looking to sell T-Mobile USA now, as they are their most lucrative company, at this point.
According to a user on Reddit, its possible to get support for Googles Daydream VR platform onto the Nexus 5X, and potentially other devices which are running on the Android 7.0 Nougat software. Having said that, this isnt official support from Google or the manufacturers so there is no guaranteeing that it will work for any phone or device that has Android 7.0 Nougat software installed. Its also worth mentioning that some users may have varied results compared to the original poster even if they are running the same device, although that is much less likely if all of the same steps are followed.

If youre interested in giving this a try, the first thing that will need to be noted is that root access is required for this to work, so if you dont have a rooted device, youre still stuck without Daydream VR support. For those that do have rooted devices, the next step is to open up any file explorer application that will let you see and navigate through the folders that are only visible with root access. The file that users should be looking for is /system/etc/permissions/handheld_core_hardware.xml without the quotes, then add <feature name=android.software.vr.mode /> and /> <feature name=android.hardware.vr.high_performance /> lines into the root permission tag

After that part of the file has been modified, all that should be required is a phone reboot to implement the changes, and from here you should be able to install the Daydream app, as well as apps that were designed specifically for Daydream VR and utilize the Daydream View headset. While the original poster on Reddit only mentions this working for the Nexus 5X, a user in the comments states that they were able to get it working on their LG V20 as well, which of course came running on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. That being said, users with the Nexus 6P, or any other device thats running on Android 7.0 Nougat can give the method a go as long as their device is rooted. Eventually other manufacturers will put out devices that come with Daydream support out of the box, but the selection of devices is a little bit limited at the moment.
Earlier this week, the European Commission fined Sony, Panasonic, and Sanyo for antitrust violations regarding their successful attempts to manipulate the phone and laptop battery market in Europe. The trio of Japanese tech giants was issued 166 million in fines, which amounts to approximately $176 million USD. These fines were issued after Sony, Panasonic, and Sanyo admitted to being guilty of fixing prices of batteries designed for various consumer electronics. Interestingly enough, Samsungs battery-making division Samsung SDI was also complicit in the scheme but avoided any fines because it uncovered the said plot. As Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition explained on Monday, this collusion directly affected the prices of various goods sold on the territory of the European Union.

As price fixing is a textbook example of anti-competitive collusion, this type of activity is subject to sanctions from the European Unions antitrust watchdog. An investigation conducted by the European Commission found that Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, and Sanyo were colluding for approximately four years and have often held meetings across Asia to plan their price fixing schemes. More specifically, the plot was related to the lithium-ion battery market which covers batteries manufactured for everything from smartphones, tablets, and laptops to notebooks, digital cameras, and camcorders. Its worth noting that this cartel wasnt broken recently. In fact, the fines stated above were primarily issued as sanctions for activities that took place between early 2004 and late 2007. Back then, these companies agreed to a temporary price increase of lithium-ion batteries which resulted in an increased price of cobalt, an important material used in the production of such batteries. In addition to that, the four South Eastern tech giants also shared sensitive commercial information among themselves, including market forecasts and plans related to competitive bids from other consumer electronics manufacturers.

Not surprisingly, no members of this former cartel were willing to comment on the European Commissions ruling. However, all of them admitted to their involvement and expressed willingness to settle the matter without going through judicial proceedings. While Samsung avoided the fine because it tipped off the European Commission about these antitrust violations, the Seoul-based conglomerate was supposed to receive a 57.7 million fine. Regarding other involved parties, Sanyo will pay more than half of the total fine, i.e. 97 million. Sony and Panasonic will pay 29 million and 38.9 million, respectively.
Over the past few years, Googles services and products like Chrome and Search have slowly been coming online in Cuba, but the state of their services hasnt been optimal. Data has to be transferred through international pipelines, and while some very quick ones have been built in recent years, at the moment, the pipelines between the United States and Cuba sport some fairly decent speeds, but not nearly fast enough to facilitate the full gamut of Google services. Googles services depend on a fast data transfer, so most nations that feature Googles services have local servers that cache Google data to allow for faster service. This arrangement is called Google Global Cache, and a blog post from Google says that it will be coming to Cuba soon.

A local telecom provider, ETECSA, has signed a deal with Google to help set up the Google Global Cache to keep the most popular and largest bits of data from Googles services on hand for quick and easy serving to the populace. The cached data will likely change over time, but will follow certain patterns of usage and how hard the data may be to transport otherwise. Data like popular YouTube videos, the Google Play Store, and Chromes integral services like the Chrome Web Store, for example, will now be stored locally so that theres less latency to compete with, allowing faster and easier access to Googles services. This comes hot on the heels of Google rolling out the full range of available extensions and themes for Chrome in Cuba.

Google first started a serious push into Cuba back in 2014. Though some of their products were available there before then, some in a less than official capacity, 2014 marked the rollout of Chrome, the Play Store, and Google Analytics in Cuba. This most recent move to speed up local data transfer for Google services in Cuba is not exactly the beginning of a new era, but it will give Cubans who are connected an experience with Googles products similar to what others across the globe have had, and will allow more services to begin rolling out as Google gathers more data on what services Cubans may want and how they may want them delivered.
Introduction

Do we have a good one for you today  the Google Pixel XL goes up against the Xiaomi Mi MIX. This flagship from Google has a polished glass and metal back where the fingerprint sensor resides. The Mi MIX is made entirely of zirconia ceramic, which is gorgeous to look at and is highly resistant to scratches and smudges. Both devices have a solid build and a nice, clean, design, although the Mi MIX would definitely win in the looks department. Lets look at some of the similarities between these two devices before we look at each one individually.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX and the Google Pixel XL have a few things in common. At 5.5-inches, the Google Pixel XL is considered a phablet but the Mi MIX is wielding a 6.4-inch display, and could be regarded as a small tablet. However, Xiaomi has made the Mi MIX without bezels on three sides, and the physical dimensions are close to the Pixel XLs. Besides the screen size, the Mi MIX uses IPS LCD technology and an FHD resolution, whereas the Pixel XL uses an AMOLED display and a QHD resolution. Both use a Snapdragon 821 processor and Adreno 530 GPU for graphics. They both pack 4GB of RAM and both offer non-expandable memory. The Pixel XL has a great camera area, and it will satisfy any photo buff, whereas the Mi MIX has a rather disappointing camera according to our review. They both have a large enough non-removable battery to get you through the entire day and both offer rapid charge. They both have a fingerprint sensor for unlocking your phone or authorizing mobile sales as well. The usual suspects are there  WiFi, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, NFC, and a reversible Type-C USB port for charging and data transfer.

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Please take a careful look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another  click on the View Full Comparison link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each device in greater depth and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information, we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.

Specifications

Google Pixel XL

The Google Pixel smartphones are the first to include Goggle Assistant in the device. The Google Pixel XL allows you to communicate directly with Googles new Home products. Google is hoping that if you buy one device, you will want them all. As Google leaves Nexus in the past, the new Pixel models add a newly polished glass and metal design with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The price is steep for both models, but sales seem to be doing well. For this comparison, we will be looking at how well the high-end Google Pixel XL stands up to the new Xiaomi Mi MIX.

The Google Pixel XL comes with a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels with 531 pixels-per-inch (PPI.) Google used the newly revised Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor with a dual-core clocked at 1.6GHz and a dual-core clocked at 2.15GHz. The Snapdragon 821 and the powerful Adreno 530 GPU work together to provide the device with great graphics capabilities. It packs 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 32GB or 128GB of the faster UFS memory. There are no means to expand the built-in memory on either of these devices. Google did include a large 3450mAh battery for power, and it has rapid charge capabilities.

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After the Nexus 6P, we were hoping that Google would include an excellent camera in the flagship Pixel XL  here, it turns out they included it in both models. The primary camera has a 12.3MP sensor, with an aperture of f/2.0, phase detection autofocus (PDAF,) a dual-tone LED flash, and opting to use EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization.) It all works as DxOMark tested the camera and awarded it the highest rating yet for a smartphone camera. Google also included an 8MP front-facing camera (FFC) that comes with a f/2.0 aperture, a 1.4m pixel size and 1080p video support that will give you some great social media selfies to share with your friends as well as video chatting.

Google Pixel smartphones are well received by the critics and public, but one thing they all agree on; they are not a great value. The pricing is rather high for a device without a lot of bells and whistles such as a heart rate monitor, waterproofing, or memory expansion. Google Assistant is built into the device that will work with other Google products such as Google Home. It will be running Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box and receive the fastest software updates. It does have an IP53 rating against dust and splashing water. The Pixel XL measures in at 154.7 x 75.7 x 8.6mm and weighs in at 168 grams. There are three different colors available: Quite Black, Very Silver, and Really Blue (a limited edition color.) The Pixel XL comes with either 32GB or 128GB of storage, and it will cost you about $770 for the 32GB model.

Xiaomi Mi MIX

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After being the Apple-Clone manufacturer for the past few years, Xiaomi has finally put out a design of their own. It is so different it will take you a moment to realize that there is only one bottom bezel on the Xiaomi Mi MIX. The display simply wraps around the top and the sides, leaving a bezel on only the lower portion of the device. The entire device is engulfed in ceramic, that adds both a toughness to the device, but also a slippery handle  and should it fall, it can be a little brittle-like. But kudos on the design as it looks beautiful and it allows Xiaomi to include a 6.4-inch display in the package size of the Googles Pixel XLwell, slightly larger. Lets see just how it holds up to the flagship Pixel XL.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX comes with a 6.4-inch FHD IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2040 x 1080 pixels with 362 PPI. Xiaomi waited to use the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor with a dual-core clocked at 2.19GHZ and a dual-core clocked at 2.35GHz that is said to increase performance by 10-percent. For graphic demands, the Mi MIX includes the powerful Adreno 530 GPU. It packs 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 128GB of the faster UFS memory, as there are no means to expand the built-in memory. Xiaomi also has a model listed with 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It packs a massive 4400mAh battery for power, and it has rapid charge capabilities.

We were optimistic for the camera on the Mi MIX but came away with mixed results in our test. It starts with a 16MP sensor for the primary camera along with an aperture of f/2.0, phase detection autofocus (PDAF,) a dual-tone LED flash, and opting to use EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization)  the same used on the Pixel XL. Xiaomi also included a 5MP FFC that should offer up some great selfies to share with your friends on social media as well as video chatting.

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The Xiaomi Mi MIX is a beautiful design and step forward for the company as they prep themselves to start selling globally. Even their new Mi Note 2 is a spitting imagine of the Galaxy Note 7. If they can refine them and make them US ready, they may give Samsung, Lenovo, and LG a run for their money. The Mi MIX offers 24-bit sound for the earphone, and the huge battery will easily last over a day. The Mi Mix measures in at 158.8 x 81.9 x 7.9mm and weighs in at 209 grams. It comes in our favorite color  Black  and it will cost you about $515 for the 128GB model and $590 for the 6GB/256 of internal storage.

And The Winner Is

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The Final Word

There are many good reasons to pick the Xiaomi Mi MIX as the winner, mostly based on design and pricing. However, with all of its good looks  and there are plenty of them  there is just something about a device not working on all the key US carriers in the US. This is another case of only GSM networks and bands, so I am picking the Google Pixel XL as the winner of this comparison.

While it is true, they both have the same processor, GPU, and RAM, the Pixel XL comes out on top by having a QHD AMOLED display, a much better camera, Google Assistant on board, IP53 Splash resistance, Android 7.1 Nougat and the fastest updates. Its drawback is a rather high pricing for only a base of 32GB of internal memory. The only option is to jump to 128GB for an added cost.

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Text messaging remains one of the greatest forms of communication. Whether it is between friends or colleagues from work, it is quick, precise, and you can do it on the go, riding on the bus, at lunch, or walking down the street. With something so popular, you can bet that there are many companies out there designing SMS messaging apps, with Chomp SMS, EvolveSMS, GO SMS Pro, Handcent Next SMS, being just a few examples. Of course, then there is also Googles own answerGoogle Messenger. With each version of the Android OS, the latest being Android 7.0 Nougat, Google Messenger gets even better.

The latest Google Messenger update brings RCS (Rich Communications Services) to its messaging services, which go beyond the simple voice and SMS messages. This platform provides users with instant messaging or chat, one-to-one chats, group chats and live video, as well as the ability for file sharing (photos, files, and locations), reading receipts, the capacity to see the other person typing and cross-device support on any network using data or Wi-Fi.

This is one of the reasons that Rogers is excited to announce that they have teamed up with Goggle and will be the first Canadian telecom to bring their customers the upgraded RCS Google Messenger. Starting today, you can download the app in the Google Play Store, but in the future, Rogers will include the Messenger for Android, as their default message app. In the coming weeks, Rogers will also be rolling out the enhanced features to both Rogers and Fido customers, and you will be notified when the enhanced features are working. No other announcements were made indicating if or when any other Canadian carrier would start handling Google Messenger.

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Google is pushing Messenger around the globe, in the US, some European carriers, and Canada. It really could be the closest thing to iMessage for the Android world. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is hoping that Apple users of iMessage will eventually be able to communicate directly with Android users on Messenger and visa verse. Messaging is an example of what might be possible in the future where everyone can communicate with each other, regardless of what platform they are using.
Samsung Electronics currently sell a range of Galaxy-branded smartphones, powered by Android. The flagship models of the range are the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S families, which offer the highest specification and a premium build quality. Lower down in the range, Samsung offers the Galaxy A family, which combines a mid-range specification with a premium build quality, plus less expensive models such as the Galaxy J series, offering progressively fewer features and less in terms of specs. Over the years, Samsung has consistently upgraded each family of phones, typically introducing new features into the flagship Galaxy Note or Galaxy S model, which subsequently trickle down into lower models of the range. Such features include both software functions, with Samsung Pay being one example, or hardware, as Samsung have introduced AMOLED panels into more and more devices of its overall range.

For 2017, Samsung is continuing this policy of a gradual improvement of its device families as the 2017 Galaxy A series of smartphones are set to gain IP68 environmental proofing: next years mid-range devices are likely to be both waterproof to a depth of 1.5 meters for at least half an hour, which is a similar level of protection applied to the 2016 flagship Samsung Galaxy S7 family. Elsewhere, the Galaxy A models are gaining a 16MP rear camera and batteries of up to an extra large 3,500mAh capacity  larger than each of the flagship Galaxy S7 models. As far as the Galaxy As premium design, the 2017 range is expected to look similar to the Galaxy S7 but without the curved dual edge design highlight, likely because this requires an expensive manufacturing process and because Samsung is reserving this feature for the flagship devices. As such, the Galaxy A range may well appeal to customers looking for a lifeproof smartphone with the potential of strong battery life, and who do not wish to spend quite as much as the flagship model.

When the 2017 family of Samsung Galaxy A smartphones are released, we are expecting at least three models: the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7, offering a different specification with the main difference being the size of the screen. Each model should be offered in silver, black, gold and rose gold colors. Although we do not yet know how much the smartphones will be, the devices will come with a number of Samsungs special features, including Samsung Pay and Samsung Cloud.
The Indian smartphone market is one of the most important smartphone markets in the world. India is still very much a developing market for consumer electronics, because device penetration remains relatively low. This means that there is currently a high and growing demand for smartphones, in contrast with many other regions of the world where demand is no longer growing. Furthermore, compared with the developed markets, the Indian smartphone market is expected to evolve rather differently. Much of rural India has patchy at best cellular coverage, often using an old 2G network and this means that customers experience the mobile internet using GPRS or perhaps EDGE speeds. However, whilst Indias rural cellular data coverage is patchy, in many places the power supply situation is less reliable. Simply put, the smartphone is a much easier way to bring the Internet to Indias massive population compared with trying to established fixed line broadband communications and desktop or laptop computers. As such, Indias carriers are busy rolling out infrastructure upgrades to include both 3G and LTE networks and there is a large and growing domestic and near-domestic smartphone market of local companies, or foreign companies with significant local investment, building devices for the home market.

Samsung are one such company, although the South Korean conglomerate has arguably less of a local presence compared with some of the smaller Chinese manufacturers. Back in October, Samsung agreed to expand its local manufacturing plant in Noida, Uttar Pradesh in order to double its local smartphone production. Samsungs investment is in the region of $300 million equivalent and the company currently employs approximately 45,000 Indians: this is a very important market for the South Korean company. However, according to unnamed industry sources, Samsung Electronics is planning to increase this number by recruiting over 300 local engineers before the end of the year to work in its Indian research and development units. By doing so, Samsung is expected to employ the largest number of graduates from the Indian Institute of Technology, known as the home to Indias best young engineers.

Samsung must be hoping that the additional local knowledge and talent will help the company grow its exposure to the Indian smartphone market, where for much of 2016 the business has released a large number of different smartphone models into the market. The company is facing stiff competition from local competitors, who have the advantage of operating in their home market. By raising their game, Samsung is keeping the pressure on the competition.
About a month ago, we wrote how President Elect Donald Trump had promised to introduce a special, lower rate of corporate tax for American businesses repatriating cash back in the USA. The tax would be reduced from 35% to 10% and although no details have emerged, such a move would likely include measures designed to encourage these businesses reintroducing cash into the US economy to do so in order to create American jobs as part of the Make America Great Again campaign. However, its important to put the scale of the cash held overseas into perspective because depending on what industry experts are asked the question, the figure is as high as $2 trillion worth held offshore. This is cash generated by businesses offshore interests but kept overseas in order to avoid the 35% corporate tax applied.

Last week, Bloomberg ran an article explaining that Americas most successful smartphone manufacturer, Apple, has received at least $6 per American taxpayer over the last five years. This payment has been received as interest receivable by Apple because of their investment of billions of dollars worth of US Treasury Bonds. Essentially, Apple has bought US Treasury Bonds using its overseas cash investment, essentially tax free. These bonds generate interest, which of course is payable to Apple and this forms the basis of the $6 or more calculation. Apple is not the only American business to hold significant cash, or near-cash, deposits away from American soil in order to avoid the 35% tax charge, but it is an easy target because of the amount of cash the business generates. The source website has reported that Apples effective tax rate on overseas profits is just 2.3% thanks to a number of tax schemes in operation across the world  in common with many other businesses including both Google and Microsoft.

A number of sources have reported that way Apple retains much of its overseas cash holdings is nothing new and has been around for decades. The US government is borrowing money by selling US Treasury Bonds, so when a company such as Apple uses overseas cash to buy the bonds, the US government ends up paying interest on borrowing money in which, theoretically, it has a 35% tax charge to be applied.

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Is Apple (and similar businesses) behaving unfairly and so effectively cheating the US government out of millions or billions of dollars of tax revenue by not repatriating cash back onto American soil? If we consider Apple to be cheating by holding this cash overseas, this also means that it is also cheating through earning interest from investing some of this cash into US Treasury Bonds. As it stands, however, the US economy is benefiting from a ready buyer of its debt instruments and, according to tax law professor Samuel Brunson from Chicagos Loyola University, seems to be making the best of a questionable, albeit legal, situation. Apple is effectively repatriating some of its overseas earnings back into the US economy without paying the tax charge through US government approved investment. It remains to be seen how President Elect Donald Trump will enact the repatriation tax cut to 10% and if it will encourage Apple, and other companies, to bring cash back to America.
EU draft calls for voluntary repatriation from Libya Strengthen support for Libyan Coast Guard

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 13 - Draft conclusions for an EU meeting on Tuesday called for initiatives to offer voluntary repatriation for migrants stuck in Libya and to reduce dangerous journeys. The recommendations came in the 'Migration' section, which added that support needed to be strengthened for the Libyan Coast Guard, including through the EU's Operation Sophia, to increase its ability to prevent deaths at sea and dismantle trafficking rings. (ANSAmed).




PARIS- Work on the so-called "Great Wall of Calais" is complete, after three months of construction on the reinforced concrete, four-metre-tall structure spanning one kilometre along the main thoroughfare that runs to the port at Calais, not far from the former Calais "jungle" refugee camp.



The UK funded the 2.7-million euro wall in an attempt to thwart migrants trying to cross the English Channel from France by hiding on lorries headed for Dover.



The wall has high symbolic value as a barrier between two countries of the same West that has criticized similar initiatives from the southeastern borders of the continent, from Hungary north.



The structure completes the iron and barbed wire fence that was already built in the area to block access to the port.
TEL AVIV - A survey conducted recently in the West Bank and Gaza by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey found that 65% think that the two-state solution is no longer feasible, in part due to the progressive spread of Jewish settlements. Two out of every three of the Palestinians respondents said that President Mahmoud Abbas should resign. If presidential elections were to be held in the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas would lose against Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh if only these two were included.



However, if other candidates were to stand as well, the winner would be Marwan Barghouti from the Fatah party. Barghouti is currently serving a sentence in an Israeli jail.



The results of the survey show that the situation in Gaza is verging on desperation, with 46% wanting to emigrate. Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu's policies against Palestinians and Arab citizens of Israel are strongly opposed: 85% say that his blaming of Arabs for setting fires last month that raged through Israeli territory was baseless, and 87% said that his government's initiative (under preparation) to prohibit the use of loudspeakers in mosques was tantamount to ''a war on Islam''.



Ninety percent of Palestinians condemn the Islamic State, according to the survey.
Syria: UN says at least 82 civilians executed in Aleppo Including women and children, killed by Syrian forces

(ANSAmed) - ROME, DECEMBER 13 - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have killed at least 82 civilians in their homes in eastern Aleppo, including women and children, according to the UN in Geneva, speaking of a "complete lack of humanity", reported by the BBC online.



"Yesterday evening, we received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets," said UN human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville.



He said a total of at least 82 civilians had been killed by pro-government forces in four different neighbourhoods, and of those, 11 were women and 13 were children.



"We hope, profoundly, that these reports are wrong, or exaggerated, as the situation is extremely fluid and it is very challenging to verify reports. However, they have been corroborated by multiple reliable sources," he said.



"Multiple sources have reports that tens of civilians were shot dead yesterday in al-Ahrar Square in al-Kallaseh neighbourhood, and also in Bustan al-Qasr, by Government forces and their allies".



"While some reportedly managed to flee yesterday, some were reportedly caught and killed on the spot and others were arrested," Colville said.



"We have also been informed that pro-Government forces have been entering civilian homes and killing those individuals found inside, including women and children".



The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also expressed profound alarm for the situation.



For more than a week, the ICRC has been in contact with all parties to try to prevent further suffering, but its efforts haven't yet produced results, it said.



It said it will remain available together with the Syrian Red Crescent, as a "neutral and impartial humanitarian intermediary".(ANSAmed).




ISTANBUL - Turkish police on Monday night arrested two more pro-Kurdish HDP party members of parliament - Caglar Demirel and Besime Konca - accused of "terrorism" for alleged ties to the PKK, according to state news agency Anadolu.



After Saturday's bombings in Istanbul, almost 400 people were arrested, the majority of whom were HDP militants.
ANSAmed - Tomorrow's events in the Mediterranean

(ANSAmed) - ROMA, 13 DECEMBER - The following are some of the main events scheduled for tomorrow in the Euro-Mediterranean area: ROME - seminar entitled 'Youth and Intercultural Dialogue: Italian and GCC Voices', organized by the Italian think tank IAI and the secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council.



STRASBOURG - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker meets with Francois Fillon, former prime minister and conservative candidate for presidential elections in France. (ANSAmed).




NEW YORK - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday that he was concerned over news of atrocities committed on civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have killed at least 82 civilians in their homes in eastern Aleppo, including women and children, the UN said on Tuesday. A statement issued by the UN chief called on ''all parties'' to the conflict to protect civilians and abide by international humanitarian law, stressing that the responsibility lay especially with the Syrian government and its allies. France and the UK have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the besieged Syrian city, reported diplomatic sources at the UN.



They added that the meeting was scheduled to begin at 12 PM in New York and that the UN chief would be taking part.


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 route, Oran's only known intercontinental service to date, will run from June 21 to September 16, 2017 and will operate on-board A330-200 equipment.
Charles Sykes/BravoCurtis "50 Cent" Jackson had some choice words for The Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Monday for not nominating his hit show, Power, for a Golden Globe award.

After learning that the popular Starz crime drama did not receive any nominations, Fif, who stars in and is executive producer of the series, took to Instagram to express his frustration.

Im on the move again, the Golden Globes can suck a d***, the Grammy-winning rapper captioned an Instagram photo that showed him sitting on a private plane. "I accept my series POWER was not intended to be a signature show for the network but it is the highest rated show."

The rapper-turned-actor continued, hinting that he's ready to leave the series as a result. "I know my audience very well, I'm done promoting this out side of contractual obligations. SEASON 4 KANAN MUST DIE, I got other s*** to do."

Several hours later, 50 wrote another Instagram message, claiming that he is "off the POWER train" for good, stating "champ is gonna do the show. Go to him for more info, I gotta do something different. #EFFENVODKA."

Despite record-breaking ratings, Jackson's crime drama has never been nominated for a major award. During season three of Power, Starz renewed the series for two more seasons.

According to Variety, 50 is under an overall deal at Starz via his G-Unit Film & Television, Inc., which reportedly lasts through September 2018.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Founded in 2010, Azman Air is a wholly-owned Nigerian airline operating scheduled passenger services from its main base in Kano, Nigeria. Azman Air now flies to five destinations in Nigeria and plans to commence international operations.

The scope of maintenance work to be performed by VD Gulf includes a heavy C-check, major modifications and accomplishment of Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins work. Several components will also be repaired during the maintenance period, including additional work on the aircrafts engines.

Victor Sherin, managing director of VD Gulf, said: As aviation is so key to Africas continued development, we see an opportunity to serve African airlines with efficient and value-for-money solutions. We are working closely with Azman Air as we see this airline as a great success story for the Nigerian aviation sector. We recognise Azman Air as our key partner in the West Africa region.




Emirates is reminding customers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before flight departure, and plan extra time to get to the airport to avoid heavy traffic during the holiday period. Passengers can physically check in at the airport as early as six hours before departing on their flight. Emirates has car park check-in facilities, which operate around the clock at Dubai International Airport. Equipped with 16 check-in counters, customers can check-in and drop their luggage at the car park check-in facilities from 24 hours to six hours prior to departure, easing their journey through the airport during peak travel periods. All passengers must be present at the time of check-in. Along with checked in baggage, passengers are strongly advised to adhere to carry-on baggage weight limits, which are 7kg for Economy Class and 14kg for Business and First Class. Staff will be checking the weight of carry-on bags at various touch points before passengers board their flights.



Customers are also urged to check-in online before departure. This was recently extended to 48 hours to 90 minutes before departure. Customers can check in on their desktops, mobile devices or use the Emirates App, in addition to convenient Self Service Kiosks at the airport. When checking in baggage, Emirates convenient online check-in baggage drop facilities at the airport will help passengers to expedite their airport experience. Customers who have checked in online are also required to check in their luggage 90 minutes before flight departure.



For families, Emirates has designated special check-in areas consisting of 20 economy check-in counters in Terminal 3 at Area 2, which are designed with their needs in mind.



In addition, all UAE Nationals and residents holding a valid Emirates ID card older than 18 years of age can take advantage of the automated immigration gates at departures in Terminal 3, ensuring a more efficient passenger experience. Families travelling with children below the age of 18 can approach the manned counters adjacent to the smart gates to complete their immigration formalities.



Passengers are requested to check in no later than 90 minutes prior to departure, regardless of class of travel. Customers who check in less than 60 minutes to their scheduled flight departure will not be accepted. Emirates passengers are also strongly advised to go through security checks no later than 60 minutes before their flight, as boarding on all flights begins 45 minutes prior to departure. Customers holding an e-boarding pass and travelling with carry-on bags only, can proceed directly to passport control and security clearance. Gates in all concourses close 20 minutes prior to departure. Check-in and gate closure timings will be strictly followed to ensure flights depart on schedule. These time checks will ensure minimal flight delays out of Dubai.




The 517-seater A380 aircraft will increase Qatar Airways current daily capacity by 44 per cent on this route to meet the growing travel and trade demand.



Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: As we continue to grow apace in Australia, we have seen a clear need to inject additional capacity on the Melbourne service. We are delighted to introduce our A380 aircraft to Melbourne after seven years of operation to the worlds most liveable city. Our expansive European network provides plenty of homecoming options for one of Australias most culturally diverse cities, which is home to many families from European heritage including the United Kingdom, Italy and Greece.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The liberation of Aleppo can have some impact on the further developments of the Syrian conflict, however the impact will not be decisive, expert on Arabic studies Sargis Grigoryan told ARMENPRESS, speaking on the liberation of Aleppo by Syrian governmental forces.

This entire process is leading not towards the resolution of the conflict, but rather we are stepping into the next phase of the conflict. The way that the liberation of Aleppo will contribute to us having a new reality, a Syrian leadership standing on better positions, which realizes its promises and liberates important provinces. If after this the Syrian government continues successful operations, then it will show President Bashar al Assads stable and strengthening positions, Grigoryan said, emphasizing it will enable the Syrian President to have better positions in the next phases of the conflict.

Speaking about the security of Aleppos Armenian community, Grigoryan mentioned from this point of view the liberation process is also important. The militants, who posed a large threat and regularly shelled the Armenian districts are in fact eliminated: the Armenian community is freed from that danger.

This has very important significance for us. I think the further process must be added to this. Now the danger is transferring to the West, the Idlib province, where the opposition potential is focused. If military operations in these areas continue and the governmental forces succeed, then the peaceful settlement process will benefit. The main dangerous terrorist structures are located in this area. It is close to Aleppo, Latakia. If the danger is eliminated there, definitely it will be an important step not only in terms of security of the Armenian community, but also in terms of the conflict settlement, he said.

Various Syrian sources confirmed on December 12 the liberation of Aleppo by Syrian governmental forces.

Aleppos Gandzasar weekly reports the locals are celebrating the liberation.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. As a result of the relaunch of Jermuk Group companys new factory, the production volumes increase by over 4 times, Director of companys production Daniel Ghevondyan told Armenpress.

Let me not mention numbers, but I will inform that we have two production lines, one of which is the water production with plastic bottles, and the other with glass bottles. If we take the production of these two lines together, the production power has increased by nearly 4 times compared to the power of our old factory, he said.

He stated that the major goal of increasing the companys production power is a desire to attract greater export markets. As much as we consume our production in Armenia, better for us, but our major goal is to expand the export market, Ghevondyan said.

To the question why it was decided to rebrand the companys production, as a result of which the bottles, the devices and even the company logo were changed, Ghevondyan said he is not a specialist in this field, however he presented his own opinion. If I look from the consumers point of view, the solution is very professional since now all bottles are in the same form. Now the bottles look better than previously, when the production of the same company had different design, he said.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Development Davit Lokyan attended the opening ceremony of the new factory of Jermuk Group company.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan says it is necessary to reveal the existing potential of Armenias tourism sector, reports Armenpress.

After the consultation in the city of Jermuk led by President Serzh Sargsyan, the Minister told reporters that the first step they are going to take is to reveal the existing potential in the tourism sector.

There is a great potential over the development of tourism in Armenia, however, unfortunately, I can state that a very small part of that potential is realized, the Minister said.

He brought Jermuk as an example, stating that this city has a great potential for tourism development, however, only very small part of it is utilized. We have presented certain proposals to President Sargsyan over the tourism development in Jermuk, he said.

Referring to the question of the economic result of the tourism development, the Minister said it is expected to host over 2 million 500 thousand tourists in Armenia after three years, which will enable to ensure addition revenue in the amount of 2.5 billion AMD.

Suren Karayan informed that this year Armenia hosted over 1 million 200 thousand tourists.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Russia supports the intention of US President-elect Donald Trump to improve Russian-American relations and ready to pass its part of the road, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Japans Nippon TV channel, TASS reported.

The US President-elect has publicly said he is in favor of normalizing Russian-American relations. Of course, we support this and are ready to cover our part of the way, Putin said.

We need to understand how he is going to reveal his idea to make US great again, Putin said. We hope this will not create problems for the development of our cooperation.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Parliament started to discuss at the first reading the amended draft laws on the bill on Compensation for the damages caused to life or health of the servicemen while defending the Republic of Armenia (1000 AMD bill conventional name) and the related bill packages, reports Armenpress.

Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said the legislative initiative has been amended by the draft laws on making changes and amendments in the laws on Armenias budgetary system, Compulsory Enforcement of Judicial Acts, Income Tax, Taxes, Funds, Profit Tax, State duty, Personal Data Protection and Bankruptcy.

The necessity of adopting the presented bills is associated with ensuring the complete application of law in case of adopting the bill on Compensation for the damages caused to life or health of the servicemen while defending the Republic of Armenia. As a result of the first reading discussions of the bill, we made a decision to make certain changes, the Defense Minister said.

The Minister clarified that the bill on making amendments in the draft law on State duty defines that compensation fund is being exempt from all types of state duties and taxes.

The Defense Minister stated that the adoption of bill package will ensure the application and integrity of legislative regulations of the bill on Compensation for the damages caused to life or health of the servicemen while defending the Republic of Armenia.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Moscow is ready to work with Rex Tillerson, whom US President-elect Donald Trump decided to appoint as new US Secretary of State, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, reports TASS.

Lavrov said ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is a pragmatic person and this enables to expect Russian-American cooperation development.

We accept it as the President-elects decision, we are ready to work with all partners who are interested in developing relations with Russia on equal basis, Lavrov said at a press conference. I think both President Trump and the next Secretary of State are pragmatic persons, we expect that this pragmatism will be a good base to establish mutually beneficial cooperation.
That, more or less, is what happened to Thaddee Prate, director of old master pictures at the Tajan auction house [in Paris]  In March, Mr. Prate recalled being in a bit of a rush when a retired doctor visited Tajan with 14 unframed drawings that had been collected by his bibliophile father.
RBI says in volume terms, the number stood at 21.8 billion pieces of notes of various denominations.

Mumbai: RBI today said banks have garnered Rs12.44 trillion (Rs 12.44 lakh crore) in banned notes till December 10, while they have issued Rs 4.61 trillion to them since the demonetisation drive began 35 days ago."The old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, which have been returned to the Reserve Bank and the currency chest, amounted Rs to 12.44 trillion as of December 10," RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi told reporters here.

The money that various banks have issued through their counters and ATMs since November 10 and up to December 10 stood at Rs 4.61 trillion, he added. In volume terms the number stood at 21.8 billion pieces of notes of various denominations, of which 20.1 billion pieces were of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100. The number of higher denomination of new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes stood at 1.7 billion, he said.

Hence, while the notes surrendered have risen by almost Rs 1 trillion, cash disbursal has risen only a little since December 7, when RBI had said that banks had issued Rs 4.27 trillion of new notes post demonetisation through ATMs and bank counters, the banned notes collected stood at Rs 11.55 trillion.

"The entire system is continuously gearing up for supporting the circulation of notes in the hands of the public. Daily, we are issuing more and more notes, getting it printed and issuing it and this will be a continuous affair. The public are requested to freely use the notes that they have in their hands rather than hoard it," Gandhi said.
The actor made the video to applaud women power and also introduce his on-screen daughters.

Aamir is returning on the big screen after a gap of two years.

Mumbai: After 'Aati kya khandala', Aamir Khan has recorded another song, 'Dhaakad', from his upcoming movie 'Dangal'.

The 51-year-old star has also shot a special video for the song where he is dressed like a rapper.

The video will be showcased for the first time at the Lux Golden Rose awards, to be telecast on December 18 on ZEE TV channel, a press release issued here said.

The actor made the video to applaud women power and also introduce his on-screen daughters Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra.

Arjun Kapoor, who will be hosting the awards alongside superstar Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Karan Johar, will unveil the video.
The actor had last week asked his fans not to celebrate his birthday on account of Jayalalithaa's death.

Superstar Rajinikanth turned 66 on Monday, but there was no birthday bash for the actor on account of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaas demise on December 5. The actor, whose fans ensure that the day is a big fat celebration, didnt indulge in revelry either, since the actor had asked his them last week not to celebrate the day on account of Jayalalithaa's death. He had skipped birthday celebrations last year too on account of the torrential rains that sparked a deluge in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallore districts. However, a host of leaders and celebrities including Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted him.
The director will helm the project and has roped in French star Kev Adams in the lead role.

Mumbai: Filmmaker Vikas Bahl is excited to direct a cross-culture movie tentatively titled 'Interpreter', which will be an Indo-French co-production.

The director will helm the project and has roped in French star Kev Adams in the lead role whereas the search for the leading lady, who will be a big name from India, is still on.

"We are still in the process of finishing the script but it seems like we will shoot here as well as in France. It'll be a co-production. With a big star from there and a good star from India...," Vikas told reporters last night.

"Its truly a collaboration... coming together whether it's the writing or the actors, production. It is not just about going to another country, getting funds from there and shooting. Usually there are part collaborations which happen but this will be a pure collaboration," he added.

The 'Queen' director was speaking at an event last night where he announced the film.

Vikas said it all started when he was working with the Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, who was on a trip to India for a movie.

The 'Shaandaar' director formed a good rapport with Majidi but the duo depended on an interpreter to talk.

One day, however, when the interpreter wasn't there, they couldn't communicate because there was no common language.

Thus, the idea for the film was born almost five years ago.

"It is about two families, cultures meeting and how they deal with each other. But primarily it's about the language. It is the language which enables and disables you at the same time. It's much more based on that," Vikas said.

Kev said he was highly impressed by the director's 'Queen' and is looking forward to working with him.

"This is an important project for me as it'll be my very first Bollywood movie, if we can call it like that. I really wanted to meet Vikas and we met. I loved the modernity and message he gave through Queen."

'Interpreter' will be backed by Phantom films and Reliance in India.
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Is Milo Yiannopoulos Gay? His Husband and Net Worth Milo Yiannopoulos is a popular writer, journalist, polemicist, public speaker, and political commentator who is also known as the founder of The Kernel, an online blog. He has been said to be among the list of 100 weird and influential people in the United Kingdom. He appeared on this list as a result of personal beliefs and ...

Does Ryan Seacrest Have A Wife Or Girlfriend, What Is His Net Worth? From radio to television, Ryan Seacrest is a household name and a force to be reckoned with in showbiz. The radio personality, television host, and producer is best recognized as the host of the popular TV talent search contest American Idol. Heres how the media personality who always knew what his lifes ambition was and diligently pursued ...

Is Anderson Cooper Gay, Who is The Boyfriend or Husband? For many, the thought of becoming a millionaire by writing and talking about other people appears unachievable but this is the reality of the prominent American journalist Anderson Cooper who gathered millions of dollars for conducting accurate political analysis and other vital reports on TV. He is the main anchor of the CNN news show Anderson ...

Is David Muir Gay or Does He Have A Wife, What Is His Salary? David Muir is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works for the ABC broadcast-television network and anchors the ABC World News Tonight with David Muir program while also co-anchoring the magazine program 20/20. The Ithaca College graduate, whose show has become the most-watched newscast in America, has covered stories from all across America and the world; reporting ...

Joel Osteen  Divorce Rumors, Net Worth & Family Members Joel Osteen is an American Televangelist, Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church based in Houston, Texas, a husband and a father of two. He is an author of many books, seven of which are New York Times Best Sellers and his televised sermons capture more than 7 million viewers per week and 20 million every month ...

Who Is Todd Chrisley? What To Know About His Children, Gay Rumors & Net Worth Premiered on the USA network in 2014, Chrisley Knows Best is one of the most watched family reality TV shows in the U.S. The series which is currently in its sixth season is centered around U.S real estate mogul Todd Chrisley and his family. The show reveals Todd the patriarch of the Chrisley family as a strict dad who rules ...

Who Is Shannon Bream Of Fox News? Her Husband, Children & Net Worth Shannon Bream who hosts the iconic primetime program started her journalism career in the late 1990s debuting as the evening and late-night news reporter for the CBS affiliate, WBTV. The beauty from America currently works for the Fox News Channel and she is best known for anchoring the primetime program. She also hosts Americas News ...

Is Troye Sivan Gay, Who Is His Boyfriend and What Is His Net Worth? Troye Sivan is an Australian singer and songwriter best known for songs like Happy Little Pill, Youth, Heaven (with Betty Who) and The Boyfriend Tag (with Tyler Oakley) which have all garnered him different awards and ranked on the Billboard Charts. Sivan, who was born in South Africa but now resides in the United States, is ...

Did iDubbbz Have Cancer, Is He Gay and Who Is His Girlfriend Now? iDubbbz is one YouTuber who has made a career out of courting controversy. Renowned for his absurdist channels and comedy video series, the Los Angeles based personality is the owner of two channels, iDubbzTV, and iDubbzTV2, as well as the brains behind comedy video series such as Content Cop, Kickstarter Crap, Gaming News Crap, and ...

Inside Greg Gutfelds Love Story With Wife Elena Moussa and Why Fans Thought He Was Gay Greg Gutfeld is a seasoned American television producer whose career in the media industry has spanned over a decade. He is a man of many talents who makes extra income through comedy, journalism, and editorial works. Gutfeld regularly appears on Fox News Channel as a panellist and co-host of the political talk show The Five ...

Works That Made Bo Burnham A Household Name and How Much He Is Worth Now One of YouTubes first viral stars and the worlds most exciting young comedian, Bo Burnham, has always amazed critics and comedy aficionados alike. Often regarded as the Justin Bieber of comedy, thanks to his fresh looks, floppy blond hair and hoodies, he has a multi-faceted career bigger than many comedians twice his age. It wouldnt ...

Is Louie Anderson Gay And What Is His Net Worth? Louie Anderson has one of the most abstract faces in the industry and equally knows how to use it to his advantage. He is not only a stand-up comedian but also an actor and television host who is known for his distinctive comic wits. Some of his notable projects include Family Feud, where he was ...

Is Don Lemon of CNN Gay, Who is His Partner and What Is His Salary? Don Lemon has risen to become one of the most recognizable faces on CNN over the past few years. The fiery journalist, who anchors CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, is liked and somewhat disliked for his strong and candid opinions on a variety of matters that do not just include politics but also race, significantly, matters that ...

Is Rachel Maddow Gay, Who is the Wife and How Much Does She Earn in Salary? Rachel Maddow is an award-winning American journalist, political commentator, and television news anchor. She is best known for hosting the popular nightly TV show The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Prior to this, she hosted a talk radio program on Air America Radio from 2005 to 2010. As of now, the TV sensation co-anchors MSNBCs ...

Demystifying Pokimane  Her Real Name, Ethnicity & Boyfriend Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Pokimane Thicc is one of those stars who took advantage of the internet to make a name for herself. Given the unlimited potentials which the social media space offers, many people have been instantly propelled to fame just by posting creative online contents. Not only has ...

A Breakdown of Kris Jenners Net Worth, Sources Of Income and Relationships Over The Years Standing outside and looking in, Kris Jenner looks like the oil that greases the wheels of the entire Kardashian/Jenner machine. She has been dubbed a momager and rightfully so because she seems to have had a part to play in the trajectory of each and every one of her daughters individually and the Kardashian brand ...

Pursuits That Brought Liza Koshys Fame To its Zenith and Her Love Life Since David Dobrik Liza Koshy is an American actress who has leveraged YouTube as a platform to promote her comedy while also serving as a television host on occasions. She is talented and funny and has gathered a lot of fans from around the world. Koshy started on Vine in high school and was able to get millions of ...

Alex Aiono Biography  Inside The Life Of The American Singer Not everyone who started from the streets has attained the heights where Alex Aiono is currently. His story could be referred to as the perfect definition of rising from Grass to Grace. He came into the limelight after he started out as a YouTuber, singer, and producer. One fascinating thing about the young YouTuber is ...

Virginia Vallejo Biography And Her Love Story With Pablo Escobar Virginia Vallejo can be referred to as one of the oldest whistleblowers in history after her involvement with Pablo Escobar which made her famous. Over the years, many questions have been raised about her relationship with the drug lord and why she endangered her life to be with him despite his notorious acts. The death ...

Princess Love Bio  Ethnicity, Real Name & Parents For many people, Princess Love is simply Ray Js wife but there is so much more to this feisty lady than meets the eye. She is a star in her own right and has many feathers on her cap. Princess Love is a reality TV star, a model, video vixen, and fashion designer. She and her ...

Who is Papa Franku Also Known As Filthy Frank or Joji, Where is He Now? The social media as we all know today has given people the opportunity to be creative and innovative and at the same time, make something of themselves. YouTube is one of the known social platforms we have today that makes it possible for people to express their God-given talents and post videos they created to ...

Who Is Molly Qerim, How Did She Become a Famous Sports Anchor and Who Is Her Husband? Molly Qerim is an American sports anchor popularly known for moderating First Take, a highly rated sports talk show, on ESPN. Prior to joining ESPN, Qerim hosted Fantasy Live and NFL AM on NFL Network. It is quite obvious that the widely acclaimed television personality is in a class of her own when it comes ...

Safiya Nygaard  Height, Parents & Net Worth Safiya Nygaard is an American YouTuber, writer, content producer, and director who is popular for posting makeup, beauty and fashion videos on YouTube. Her videos regularly top at least one million views, thanks to her lively character as well as her willingness to experiment with outrageous outfits and different beauty products. Here are the things to ...

The Rigors of Sunlen Serfatys Career Journey Until CNN and Fun Facts About Her Personal Life CNN correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty is an Emmy Award-winning journalist known for covering a broad range of breaking news stories, national news, and Washington politics. She has been able to garner widespread recognition for herself which even goes beyond the sphere of her work. Her profile also increased with the extensive work she did in covering ...

Demystifying Jazz Jennings Real Name, Boyfriend & Family Of One The Youngest Transgenders Jazz Jennings is an unusual personality who became famous as a transgender activist and was recorded as the youngest documented public figure to be seen as transgender. She is also a YouTube personality and spokesmodel for brands, her fans, and other transgenders. She fought for acceptance in her high school with her super supportive family for over ...

Inside Fred Armisens Life  Ethnicity, Romantic Relationships and Gay Rumors Fred Armisen is an award-winning American comedian, he is also a writer, an actor as well as a musician. He was a cast member of the legendary comedy show, Saturday Night Live for 13 years and also one of the brains behind the successful satirical show Portlandia. Find out more about this incredibly talented guy ...

Ed and Lorraine Warren Biography: Cases, Kids, and Family Life Have you ever woken up with fear you could not explain, or felt a strange presence that made the hair at your nape rise or even experienced strange occurrences around you? Well, these were some of the promptings that made the well-known paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren delve into trying to explain the ideas ...

Truth About Tony Romos Wife, Kids and Life Since His NFL Retirement Tony Romo grew from the field as a quarterback to the screens as an American Football Analyst. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the richest football league in the world (NFL) before retiring. As a junior, he was honored as an All-Ohio Conference Member, an Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and ...

Who is Brittany Venti, The Controversial Game Streamer and YouTuber? In recent times, many people live stream themselves playing video games. This has become a popular pastime on the internet and many highly skilled gamers have become internet celebrities through this means. However, some of them rather than becoming renowned for their gaming skills and great commentary, have become controversial and infamous. A good example ...

Rob Dyrdeks Family: His Kids And Relationship With Wife Bryiana Noelle Flores A multi-talented star and an elite pro skateboarder, Rob Dyrdeks success story began at a remarkably young age. Yet another proof that schooling doesnt always correlate with success, Rob has established himself not just as a phenomenal sportsman but also as a successful entrepreneur. Besides perfecting his skill as a natural talent on the board, ...

xChocobars  Biography and Everything You Should Know About Her Having distinguished herself and recorded massive successes in an industry notably dominated by men, it is very safe to say that Xchocobars deserves all the attention and cash she makes from her career. A household name on Twitch (a smart live streaming video platform), the online-gamer is popularly known for streaming classic games such as Stardew ...

Everything To Know About Mary Padian, Her Boyfriend and Net Worth Mary Padian is a famous American television reality personality best known for her involvements on the Reality show Storage Wars. She also has her own shop called Mary finds where she displays her antique collections. Since her childhood, Padian has been a creative learner. At the time, she used to create new items out of reusable ones and ...

Betsy Woodruffs Family Life: Is She Married or Related To Bob Woodruff? An old name in the world of journalism, Betsy Woodruff has warmed her way into the hearts of many with her impressive talents. Through hard work, Woodruff has carved a niche for herself in a very competitive field. Betsy has strong family and work values and is also an advocate for equal opportunities for everyone ...

Matpat (Matthew Patrick)  Wife, Height & Net Worth As far as internet business is concerned, Matpat remains one of the most dynamic and seasoned figures. He boasts a wealth of experience that has helped him in growing his business from one level of greatness to another. Like most successful people, MatPat started out small but today, he makes millions of dollars from his ...

Facts About Ricegum  His Girlfriend, Real Name & Net Worth Ricegum is an online gamer and YouTube sensation who ditched college; took advantage of the digital era, and made a name for himself on the internet. Though he began as a gaming YouTuber, Ricegum soon gained recognition as a controversial internet star following his many diss tracks. Here is everything you need to know about the youngster ...

Joy Taylor Once Married MLBs Richard Giannotti  Inside Look At Her Love Life and Family The erosion of the sexist idea that women have no business in sports broadcasting created a host of women celebrities who attained fame outside of modeling and acting. One of them, Joy Taylor, a radio personality and TV host for Fox Sports 1, has been in the industry since 2009, becoming one of the most ...

What To Know About Conan OBriens Wife, Kids & Family Today The name Conan OBrien is one that jumps right at you almost immediately you start talking about the most popular television hosts in the USA and this is no surprise because the man behind that name has risen to become one of the most admired men in the business. Known for hosting the late-night talk ...

David Letterman  Net Worth, Wife & Son In all of American, one man whose face has been seen frequently by late night TV talk show lovers is none but David Letterman. The comedian and TV show veteran has been hosting late night talk shows for more than three decades. His Late Night with David Letterman show began on February 1st, 1982 aired ...

Demystifying Sssniperwolfs Family Background And The Boyfriends Shes Had Since she launched her eponymously named channel in 2013, Sssniperwolf has been on the rise when it comes to video game influencers. She is one of the biggest names in the online gaming subgenre of YouTube videos. Real name Lia Shelesh, she started with Call of Duty: Black Ops II but has diversified with other ...

Lester Holt  Wife, Family & Net Worth Lester Holt is a multiple award-winning journalist, newscaster, reporter, and actor who has worked for notable media houses like WCBS TV, CBS, MSNBC and among others. His remarkable feat in journalism has endeared him to the hearts of many and earned him some awards and recognitions. Read on to get acquainted with his biography, ethnicity, ...

What Is Louis C.K. Doing Now, Where Are His Family And How Much Is His Net Worth? It is not easy to make it in comedy. It takes more than a funny bone and the ability to elicit a few giggles from a listening audience. For all the complexities that go into making a successful career in comedy, Louis C.K, the Washington D.C-born comedian, did it. For years, he was at the ...

The Progression of Hoda Kotbs Career, Her Ancestry and Family Life Hoda Kotb gained fame as a television host and news anchor for NBC. She anchors the shows signature show Today, and it has been an excellent vehicle for her skills in front of a camera. Kotb has won several awards, including Daytime Emmys and Peabody Awards. Simply put, she is one of the most successful ...

Jerry Seinfelds Family: All About The Amazing Comedians Wife and Kids Apparently one of the highly important entertainers in America, Jerry Seinfeld is a man of many talents. A very funny man, he is considered to be one of the most successful comedians in the USA who has been in the business as a professional rib-cracker for more than 40 years. As an actor, he has ...

The Rigors Of Sarah Silvermans Rise To Prominence And Rundown Of The Men She Has Dated A comedian, writer, and actress, Sarah Silvermans art and craft is as unique as you would ever find. Her poignant use of comedy to discuss social issues such as race, sexism, politics, and religion has gained her an impressive following. As unorthodox as her style is, so is her life experiences. She previously suffered from epiglottitis ...

Who Is Hannibal Buress, Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend & Why Was He Arrested? Making people laugh when they are tense or not in the mood is a tough order and to ply the trade, it must indeed take some guts and expertise, this is what the humor maker, Hannibal Buress has been able to achieve and sustain after his inital teething process. The African-American is a screen writer, stand-up ...

The Success of John Mulaneys Career Efforts Since His Work On Saturday Night Live and Facts About His Wife John Mulaney had been working as a professional comedian for years before Saturday Night Live changed his status for life and like many who are now his fans, you probably did not know of him then. However, that changed when he joined the sketch comedy show in 2008. Since then, he has been one of ...

Jeff Dunham  Wife, Children and Net Worth Ventriloquism is a very subtle method of making an inanimate object (like a puppet, doll or dummy) appear to be saying words which are actually coming from the person (holding the inanimate object). In effect, the individual throws his/her voice to the puppet and can even appear to be having a conversation with it. Not ...

Ellen DeGeneres  Net Worth, Wife  Portia de Rossi & Parents Ellen DeGeneres is an American female standup comedian who has proven that whatever a man can do, a woman can also do. Since her journey as a standup comedian started in 1981, she has held swirl as one of the finest comedians America and the world at large has seen. She is often referred to ...

Revisiting Joan Rivers Death  The Daughter, Husband & Net Worth She Left Behind Joan Rivers was a renowned American comedian, TV host, writer, and actress. Her brand of comedy consisted of scathing one-liners and no individual or topic is spared. She hosted her own talk shows in the 80s and 90s and was a pioneer for women in stand up comedy. She was the first woman to host a late night ...

The Struggles of Margaret Chos Childhood, How It Influenced Her Career Growth and Love Life Margaret Cho is best described as a comic star who knows how to maneuver everything related to life into a rib-cracking joke. She is also known to criticize every social and political problem, especially those involving race and sexuality. Apart from her talents as a comic actress, she does amazingly well as a singer and ...

Where Is Eric Bolling Today? Who Is His Son & What Is His Net Worth? Eric Bolling who was once a notable figure on Fox News, is an American TV personality, an author, and versatile Journalist. As a political and financial analyst/commentator, he anchored discussions bothering on finance for Fox Business Channel. Here is everything there is to know about his career, family, and allegations that led to his exit ...

Who Is Chelsea Handler and Does She Have A Husband or Boyfriend? Chelsea Handler is one of Americas top female comedians. She is also an actress, writer, television host, producer, and activist. She is known to be very outspoken even with things that are very personal. In separate interviews with The New York Times, Handler revealed that she had an abortion twice when she was 16. She has authored five books ...

How Did Laura Lee Achieve Fame, How Much is She Worth and Who is Her Husband? Laura Lee is a popular American YouTuber, make-up artist and beauty blogger. From posting videos of her makeup routines on Instagram, Lee has transformed into a beauty influencer and a YouTube sensation. Today, her YouTube Channel has over 630 million views and 4.5 million subscribers. Asides having millions of followers across all social media platforms, ...

Madison Gesiotto Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Measurements Madison Gesiotto is no ordinary woman; although she excelled in quite a number of pageants and competitions while she was in school, it is her views on politics and issues in America that has made her name known to most people. She possesses beauty and intelligence in a seemingly equal measure and has been able ...

Who Is Lil Tay? Parents, Brother, Sister, Age, Net Worth, Ethnicity Child stardom is nothing new in the entertainment world. With the advent of social media, we have seen more stars made from the internet than ever before, and Lil Tay is one of them. Her uploaded rap videos trademark is cursing, swearing, cash-throwing, and use of obscene languages. Her fame went wild after she dropped ...

What To Know About Tig Notaros Wife, Kids and Family Today Tig Notaro is an American stand-up comic star, writer, actress, and radio analyst. Since she started her career in 2001, she has become one of Americas best comedians, particularly when it comes to observational comedy. One prominent aspect of her routine involves her family, which includes a wife and two children. Interestingly, Tig Notaro is part ...

Who Is Chantel Jeffries? What To Know About Her Age, Ethnicity & Net Worth Chantel Jeffries is a lady of many talents. Beyond being celebrated as a DJ, she has fared well as a model, an actress, musician, and as an artist. She first rose to fame on Instagram where she has a large following. However, in recent times, she has hit the spotlight for her rumored relationships with some ...

Is Ellen DeGeneres Married, Who Is The Brother  Vance DeGeneres and Family Members? Ellen DeGeneres is one of a kind celebrity in todays world as she has used her wealth for the greater good for many people. She has served a host of famous awards shows like the Grammy, Primetime Emmy and Academy Awards. Moreso, she is probably one of the most decorated entertainment personalities around the world and ...

Carli Bybel Bio  Height, Boyfriend & Net Worth Video blogging is now on the rise and YouTube is the place where most of it happens. If you are a lady who cares about her looks or a guy who likes to help his woman out with her looks, then one person whose name rings a bell when it comes to giving beauty tips ...

Who Is Lexy Panterra? What To Know About Her Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth Lexy Panterra is one of the YouTube personalities whose breakout came through the Twerk dance videos she posted on her social media handles and YouTube which has so far generated over 13 million views for her. From there on, she created her LexTwerkOut workout program in 2014. She is sure very talented as she as moved ...

Who Is AnneMunition? What Is Her Ethnicity & Does She Have A Girlfriend or Boyfriend? AnneMunition is a professional gamer and content creator of American origin. She is one of the most sought-after streamers on Twitch  a popular online platform for watching and streaming videos, especially video games. AnneMunition has almost half a million followers on Twitch and her channel has accumulated at least 13 million views. Her favorite games ...

Norm MacDonald  Former Wife, Son & Net Worth Recently, 59-year-old former Saturday Night Live stand-up comic Norm MacDonald caused a not-so-funny stir when he expressed his personal opinion about the #MeToo movement speaking in defense of Louis CK and Roseanne Barr. Following the backlash of his actions, he is diligently doing damage control for his questionable opinion by posting a public apology on ...

Inside Iliza Shlesingers Life With Husband and How Much She is Worth Now Witty, spontaneous, and truly humorous, Iliza Shlesinger is an American comedian who is clearly proving that the stereotypical claim that women are not really funny is not only incredibly wrong but completely outrageous. Having been in the game for more than 10 years, Shlesinger has grown bigger with each step, stunning fans with her incredible ...

Who Is Nessa Diab? Details of her Parents, Ethnicity & Relationship With Colin Kaepernick Nessa Diab has gained more fame as the girlfriend of different footballers than in her career. She is currently with the popular National Football League (NFL) player, Colin Kaepernick, and has stood by his side during his most trying times. Also known for her mononym, Nessa, she recently engaged in a tweet battle with the ...

Samantha Bee  Inside the Life of Full Frontal Comedian and Presenter We have over the decades seen various brands of humor and personalities who have walked the ropes. One of the formidable forces in the world of comedy is no other than the iconic Samantha Bee of the Daily Show who now runs her own television show on TBS channel. She is a Canadian-American political commentator, ...

What Happened To Jessica Williamss Boyfriend And Which Are Her Best Works? Jessica Williams is a woman who has a lot of feathers in her cap  and keeps acquiring more. The former senior political correspondent of the comic Daily Show, who is also a comedian and actress whose recent movie appearance include starring as a playwright just recovering from a recent split with her boyfriend, Damon, and ...

Who is Nicole Byer? Here are 5 Facts You Need To Know About The Comedian Nicole Byer, an American comedian, actress, and writer, made a name for herself after she played supporting roles on MTVs prank show Ladylike and the reality show Girl Code. The latter was a series that featured comedians who analyzed in minute details, all the issues that young women deal with daily, from period to dating, to weird friendship dynamics and questions about sex. Currently, ...

A Closer Look At Bart Kwans Ethnicity, Height & Personal Life Bart Kwan is one of few Asians who is known for being successful in the comic industry at an international level. His fame broke out after the YouTube channel which he created with his close pal Joe Jo garnered up massive followings. The talented duo has been running the channel since 2007 and their success ...

Heres How VanossGaming Achieved Fame Online, His Worth and Other Facts About The Gamer For many years, the decision to drop out of college to pursue an online career was considered to be foolish and self-destructive by conventional wisdom. It was no different when Evan Fong, popularly known as VanossGaming, dropped out of college to pursue a YouTube career. However, that radical move paid off, and he stands shoulder to ...

Desi Perkins  Ethnicity, Net Worth & Husband YouTube is littered with videos of makeup tutorials by different people but if you are interested in learning how to do your makeup like a pro, there is just one person on that platform who you must follow. She is none other than Desi Perkins! She is a popular make-up artist, Instagram star, and vlogger. Desi, ...

The Phases of Casey Neistats Pursuits and His Love Story With Candice Pool YouTuber, vlogger, filmmaker, and creator extraordinaire; these are just a few hats that Casey Neistat wears and the story of how he got here is incredible. A native of Connecticut, Neistat started out by making refreshingly-authentic short films and videos that featured content that was based on everyday life and called attention to serious issues. He ...

Connor Franta  Inside The Life of American YouTuber YouTube has produced a lot of young celebrities in modern times and Connor Franta happens to be one of them. Apart from being a YouTuber, the young American is also an entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His journey to fame began almost a decade ago when he started a self-named YouTube channel where he uploads content ranging ...

Rhett and Link  Bio, Who are Their Wives, Net Worth and Family Facts Rhett and Link refer to an American comedy duo who are very popular on YouTube. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Good Mythical Morning is the most watched daily show online, averaging 100 million views in a month. The show has featured guests such ...

A Walk Through The Maze of Ryan Higas Career Pursuits And Relationship With Arden Cho Ryan Higa is not only celebrated as a YouTube star, but he is also famed for appearing on television screens as an actor and comedian. Nigahiga, his Youtube channel, has gathered over 20 million subscribers and billions of views with his different comic acts, short films, and music videos uploads. With the rise in his career, ...

What to Know About The Shows That Made Craig Ferguson a Star and His Family Ties Rising to the top of your profession can sometimes be a hard and difficult process. It requires days and nights of working consistently hard to be better than what you were yesterday. It requires not giving up when all of your experiences seem to be pushing you to quit. It is because of these challenges ...

David Dobrik Married Liza Koshy for One Month  Inside His Family and Relationships David Dobrik is a YouTube sensation who has garnered fame not just for his vlogs but his love life too. Given his career as a YouTuber, his channel is one place where he shares his romantic escapades. With a cute boyish look like his, this Slovakian young man is definitely a good catch, and not ...

Merrell Twins Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Boyfriend One of the beautiful things about modern life is social media. As rudimentary as it might seem, it could turn out to be the greatest thing that would be invented in the next 50 years because of its impact on human life. Very few tools have revolutionized human behavior and culture as much as social ...

Who Is Bunny Meyer, Is She Married & What Is Her Net Worth? Bunny Meyer is a YouTube celebrity who has amassed over 8.8 million subscribers with 1.5 million viewers on her channel. She is popularly known as Grav3yardgirl and is one of the highest-paid YouTubers in the world. She initially started out as a fashion designer and later chose the path of a YouTuber. Grav3yardgirl has used her knowledge on fashion, makeup, ...

Ninja  Inside The Life of The American YouTuber and Internet Personality Ninja is a talented video game player known for his mastery of Fortnite and other seemingly difficult games he plays with ease. The video gamer made a career out of what is ordinarily the hobby of many people and has since then amassed a huge online following. Find out about him here, including the controversies that ...

What Is Eva Gutowskis True Sexuality and How Did She Rise So Fast As an Influencer? Ever since Eva Gutowski joined YouTube in 2011, it has been an interesting journey for her, moving from one milestone to the other. Backed by an army of young women and teenage girl fans known as Evanators, she has risen to become one of the most-talked-about personalities in the digital stratosphere. She has also leveraged ...

Emma Chamberlain Biography  Age, Height & Net Worth Before now, people in the entertainment industry could only achieve popularity after many years of dedication and hard work but since social media came into the scene, massive success and overnight popularity became possible. That is the story of Emma Chamberlain who encountered fame as a fifteen-year-old. Emma is one of the many young people who became ...

Anna Akana  Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth There is a new crop of YouTubers known by their different contents with a very strong uniqueness that stands every one of them out, some upload video games, some fashion while some others have comedy video contents to showcase on their channels. Anna Akana has used her platform to showcase her comedy contents to the ...

Revealing Truths About Lilly Singhs Ethnic Background, Family and Her Relationship With Yousef Erakat Lilly Singh is an Indian-Canadian YouTube personality, actress, and comedian also known as Superwoman. She kicked off her YouTube career in 2010 with the launch of her channel IISuperwomanII and followed it up with a vlog channel in 2011. This paved the way for her fame and success which led to a world tour. The ...

Who Is Andrea Constand, Is She Married and What Is Her Connection With Bill Cosby? Many people got sexually molested but could not voice out due to the stigma victims suffer and what will become of them thereafter. Very few of the victims danm every consequence to seek justice and bring the perpetrator to the book, like Andrea Constand. She never got any media buzz, not until her friend cum molester; ...

Who Is Lazarbeam (Lannan Eacott)? Here Are Facts You Need To Know Lannan Eacott became a person of interest after his YouTube channel, LazarBeam pulled him to the limelight. Initially, he started with uploads of Madden Challenge videos before deciding to build his own channel in January 2015. Within the space of three years, his YouTube channel had gathered over 7 million loyal subscribers. Today, he has not ...

Puzzling Facts About Wengies YouTube Success and More About Her Fiance Among the many YouTubers who have succeeded in winning the hearts of millions of people is Wengie. She is a Chinese-Australian YouTube personality, vlogger, singer, and voice actress. Wengie is famous for a lot of things, from her simple life hacks, DIYs, craft ideas to fun experiments, tricks and pranks. Her content portfolio also includes hair tutorials, diet & fitness tips, lookbooks, ...

Is Jeffree Star A Billionaire and How Much Does He Make On YouTube? If looks can be deceptive then theres no other person who proves this maxim better than Jeffree Star. A quick look at Stars pictures would likely leave you wondering whether or not to tag him a male or female. But who says being controversial has to be a curse? For Star, his looks have caught ...

The Place of Rosanna Pansinos Career Hats In Her Rise To Fame and Facts About Her Personal Life There are a few phrases that could summarize Rosanna Pansinos rise to fame. None of them can do it better than the famous axiom, no knowledge is lost. Her popularity YouTube comes out of her foray into other professions, specifically acting. Although acting now occupies one of the major professional hats in Rosannas resume, it was ...

Muselk (Elliott Watkins) Biography  Age, Girlfriend and Net Worth The new and best in-thing in terms of career is video gaming and we have over time seen young men and women make massive income from an activity that was purportedly designed to serve as a hobby or a relaxation activity. One of such individuals is the Australian-born YouTube Celebrity and Twitch streamer, Muselk, whose ...

PopularMMOs Biography: 5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know We have over the years seen social media millionaires, especially on the YouTube social platform. These celebrities cum millionaires have made names for themselves after carving out niches on the internet, and a typical example of one of such exciting media personality on the YouTube is American Minecraft gamer and YouTube star, PopularMMOs whose channel ...

Jason Nash Once Married Marney Hochman  What To Know About His Ex-Wife and Kids The now-defunct video-sharing app Vine was the path that led Jason Nash to fame. With it, he built an audience of over two million followers, which he parlayed into a significant YouTube career. That move has seen him become one of the most popular personalities on the internet, with the cash income to go with ...

Where Does Dantdm Live? What Do We Know About His Net Worth, Wife and Brother? Most parents buy video games for their kids to occupy their time leisure, while other parents frown at their kids when they play video games. Despite the disparity, every parent would be proud of their child if he/she eventually turns a celebrity or millionaire through playing video games like Dantdm. Biography of Dantdm Dantdm was born Daniel ...

LaurDIY  Biography: 5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTuber LaurDIY is the YouTube channel of Lauren Riihimaki which she created on December 1, 2011, when she was still a college undergrad with the sole aim of giving Do It Yourself (DIY) as well as practical fashion and beauty tips to her followers. She has used the channel to establish herself as a YouTube personality ...

Lachlan Ross Power  Bio And Family Life Of Australian The YouTube Star It is amazing the varied sources of income that the internet has made possible in this day and age. Internet fame can get its holder a whole lot of monetary and social benefits, but it must be noted that it does not come easy or cheap. For those who desire fame, content is the sacrifice ...

Alfie Deyes  Bio and Net Worth: Everything You Need To Know Alfie Deyes is one internet personality you definitely would like to know about. He boasts of over 10 million subscribers on three of his YouTube channels and has three bestseller books to his name. He is probably the most renowned young personality on YouTube today and his vlogging empire continues to grow by the day. ...

Colleen Ballingers Love Story With Husband Erik Stocklin and How Much She Is Worth Now Colleen Ballinger is an American comedian and YouTuber who is a very funny, adventurous, and highly talented woman. She is also an actress, singer, and writer. Collen is widely known for her work on YouTube where she posts content on her channel, Miranda Sings. The comedian has gained many subscribers over the years and has ...

Who Are The Dude Perfect Members and How Much Are They Worth? Entertainment in the 21st century can be digested in many forms and with platforms like YouTube, the creators and purveyors of entertainment have been democratized. Today, one of the most popular platforms to exhibit ones creative talents is YouTube, even though there are other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, who suffer in comparison to YouTube because ...

Who Is Rudy Mancuso, What Is His Earning Power and What Do We Know About His Girlfriend? Rudy Mancuso started his internet journey on Vine. He would later transition to YouTube where he solidified his place among the internets most beloved comedic creators. He is now regarded as one of the renowned internet personalities in the world, with a presence in mainstream TV and film projects like Comedy Centrals Drunk History and ...

Vsauce (Michael Stevens) Biography and Net Worth: All You Need To Know The advent of YouTube and the internet as a whole revolutionized how human beings consume information. With each passing year, the percentage of learning that is done in a traditional classroom decrease as a seismic shift to internet-based learning happens in our education industry. From open courses online to YouTube classes and videos, there are ...

How did Jake Paul Make His YouTube Big Break and Who is His Wife? One of the most interesting Social Media personalities of the 21st century is the young and popular Jake Paul whose elder brother is the famed Vine star, Logan Paul. Jake has utilized the power of the internet to bring himself to the limelight with a channel named JakePaulProductions that has amassed up to six billion ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About Reaction Time (Tal Fishman)  The American YouTuber Before 2015, the leading meaning of reaction time was the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, until Tal Fishman started his channel, Reaction Time on YouTube and the dominant meaning changed. Today, a google search of Reaction Time would deliver Tal Fishmans videos and YouTube channel link with a few physics ...

Grace Helbig  Net Worth, Boyfriend and Family Life of The YouTuber Grace Helbig is an American internet personality, comedian, actress, and writer. She became popular due to her daily vlog series, DailyGrace, which ran on My Damn Channel from 2008 to 2013. Helbig is also popular for her own indie series on YouTube, ItsGrace, which she launched in 2014. Her vlogs which feature random stuff such as ...

Mark Wiens Bio  Ethnicity, Wife and Parents Food is a great way to connect with people. We all love to eat, if not for the pleasure of food, the satisfaction of quenching hunger, and the very process of providing and sharing that food is part of the strongest bonds that bind humanity together. Maybe it is our historical connection to food, where ...

Is Filthy Frank Dead, What Happened To Him and How Much Is He Worth? As George Kusunoki Miller, he was a nobody. However, as Filthy Frank, George was one of the most famous internet personalities on the planet. The Filthy Frank Show, a sketch series on his YouTube channel, TVFilthyFrank, was one of the platforms most influential creations. He is the reason a crazy dance song, Harlem Shake, made it ...

CaptainSparklez Bio  Net Worth, House and Cars of The Famous YouTuber Sometimes, what society wants from its citizens is quite different from what the citizens want for themselves. This is evident in the life and career of video blogger and American YouTube personality, Jordan Maron famous for his YouTube channel CaptainSparklez. He dropped out of school after discovering his talent in playing an online game called Minecraft. ...

Who is Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg)? Here are Facts You Must Know Canadian Youtube personality, Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg) originally started out polishing and designing nails even before it became a trendy culture in the social media. Simply Nailogica started out her showbiz career in her early days as a child actress, acting in commercials for game and toy companies. Aside from acting, she is blogger, vlogger, specializing ...

5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About Huda Beauty In the world of entrepreneurship, it is interesting when an individual has a mentor who he/she looks up to, this yield more productivity on the part of the individual. The iconic and rich American beautician and makeup artist Huda Kattan nicknamed Heida is the founder of the Huda Beauty blog which is number one Instagram beauty blog ...

Is Dino MasterChef Gay? Details About His Ethnicity, Girlfriend, Where He Is Now Food, for the better part of the early years of human life, was nothing more than what we needed for survival. There was no artistry or curation to the method of cooking. The scarcity of food left no room for artistic expression until we figured out agriculture and we could make as much as we ...

Who Is Gabbie Hanna And How Did She Become Famous? As the world shifts to digital media and depends more and more on streaming services for its news and entertainment content, YouTubers have become one of the leading creators in the new media world. Their understanding of the online audience: how to create, maintain, and increase followers, are all handy skills that have primed them ...

Jacksepticeye  Height, Girlfriend & Net Worth Jacksepticeye is a YouTuber and actor who gained popularity with a series of gaming videos he uploads on his channel to the delight of millions of his subscribers. He is Known primarily for his comic video game series titled Lets Play and his vlogs. His channel was formerly ranked 46th in the list of most subscribed ...

Chris Heria Personal Details: About His Wife, Height & Ethnicity Background In this generation, keeping fit has become one of the major criteria for being hale and hearty. In fact, most occupations these days are majorly concerned with ones body mass, weight and looks. Unlike the past where most people have to register in a gym to keep fit, social media has made it quite easy ...

Everything You Need To Know About Game Grumps Gaming is becoming incredibly popular on YouTube these days with game vloggers make millions of dollars out of them yearly. One of the most popular up-coming gaming YouTube channels is Game Grumps. The Lets Play series was created in 2012 and celebrated its fifth anniversary on July 18th, 2017. In six years of its existence, the ...

Daithi De Nogla Biography, Girlfriend and Net Worth YouTube has created an avenue for many to make wealth and become famous from the comfort of their homes while having fun. Many have built a career out of the platform, uploading numerous videos that have earned them the admiration of viewers across the globe. For Daithi De Nogla, he is loved for his humorous commentary on ...

Does Phoebe Robinson Have A Boyfriend or Husband and What Do We Know About Her Family? Phoebe Robinson is a New York-based comedian, writer, and actress. She is best known as the co-creator and co-host of the WNYC Studios podcast 2 Dope Queens. Just like some other female comedians, she never had any original plans of becoming a stand-up comedian even though, according to her, she took a class on a whim at Carolines on Broadway. After ...

Who Are Lex and Alana from Listed Sisters? What Is Their Ethnicity & Is the Show Cancelled? America is a country built on diversity. Everywhere you look all over the country, a countless number of immigrants or children of immigrants have become an integral part of the fabric of the country. From entertainment to business, immigrants are creating a niche for themselves and climbing to the summit of their respective professions. One ...

Riveting Facts About Danielle Lombard And What She Is Best Known For The American entertainment industry is one that provides many avenues for aspiring hopefuls to express their talents and become famous. From films to television shows and game shows, there is no shortage of ways for men and women who desire fame to pursue and earn it in the United States of America. Another tested medium ...

Unearthing New Details About The YouTube Success And Personal Life of Alex Burriss of Wassabi Productions Wildly hilarious and truly audacious, Alex Wassabi is an American YouTuber who has become a very popular face on the video-sharing platform after having garnered millions of subscribers over the years by keeping people glued to his channel with his witty parody video releases. If you have always loved parody videos, there is every chance ...

Everything You Need To Know About H2O Delirious H2O Delirious whose full birth name is reported to be Jonathan Gormon Dennis has successfully kept himself mystified by hiding his face behind the masks leaving his loyal fans speculating who he really is for many years. The American YouTube star is easily identified by the Jason Mask Style with make-up which he wears on his ...

Who Is HolaSoyGerman and What Happened To Him? German Garmendia has certainly seen it all when it comes to internet success. His channels, HolaSoyGerman and JuegaGerman are in the top twenty most subscribed channel on YouTube. The Chilean YouTuber found a way to tap into one of the worlds greatest inventions and make a living from it. He has been able to build ...

Who Are Glenn Becks Family, What Is His Net Worth And What Happened To Him? The American political commentary space is filled with different personalities. A few of them, through their rhetoric, charisma, and resources have been able to build a large following of men and women who listen to them for insight and direction for various political and social issues in the United States. For Conservatives, the story is ...

Following Charissa Thompsons Rise Through The Ranks Of Sports Casting and All About Her Boyfriend Superstar TV host and sportscaster, Charissa Thompson, has been hailed as one of the highest-profile women journalists in America, and the reason is there for all to see. She has worked for popular establishments such as Versus, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, GSN, and Big Ten Network. She currently hosts the popular pre-game show, Fox NFL Kickoff, ...

Is Chris Kattan Gay or Does He Have A Wife? What Is His Net Worth? Chris Kattan is a popular American comedian and actor. He has appeared in several comic movies and TV series such as The Middle, A Night at the Roxbury and Bunnicula. Kattan is, however, most popular for his six-year stint as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. During his time on the legendary show, he ...

Everything You Should Know About the Rise of Insta Star Claire Abbott and Why She Gave It All Up A lot of young Americans have shot into the limelight for uploading different kinds of videos on YouTube. Some of these young stars include Connor Franta, Desi Perkins, Emma Chamberlain, the Dolan Twins (Ethan and Grayson), and Claire Abbott. The latter became a social media celebrity for uploading sexy bikini pictures of herself on social media. Apart from ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTube Channel  h3h3Productions H3h3Productions is a YouTube channel that specializes on Comic responses or reactions of other contents or trendy stories. The celebrity couple that created the channel has over time racked up sizable views for their commentaries and contents. Even though they had their own fair share of copyright cases, thankfully they scored an unprecedented victory in all ...

Lilypichu Bio  Height, Brother and Love Story With Albert SleightlyMusical Chang Like most popular internet celebrities, Lilypichu is one of those Twitch streamers who spend their lives on camera. From daydreaming about the possibility of becoming a full-time professional streamer, she grew to live out her dreams on the popular live streaming platform where people play games, make crafts, and showcase their day-to-day activities. Given the rise of ...

KSI  What To Know About His Girlfriend, Brother  Deji Olatunji & Net Worth Assuredly, when Internet inventors Vint Cerf and Bob Khan created the technological masterpiece, they probably did not know how massive the creation will be harnessed by many for different purposes including as a platform for earning money through content creation. One of such person who smiles to the bank regularly today for spending time creating ...

The Interesting Progression and Highlights of Carrie Keagans Career as a Host and Actress Carrie Keagan has garnered huge fame through her various stints on television. She is not just your regular TV host but one with a difference. Keagan has hosted several high profile events and TV shows, including VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live and Fox News Channels Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. However, not many know she ...

The Gist On Elise Jordans Marriages And Her Rise To Prominence Political commentaries tend to be boring when it is handled by someone who does not have a knack for it. However, when you see the likes of Elise Jordan run the same commentary, you will have a lot of reasons to look forward to watching her again as the journalist is well-versed in the field ...

What Is Timmy Thick Best Known For and How Successful Is The Star? Thanks to the internet, many people whose talents would have ordinarily gone unnoticed have become famous. A very good example of this modern-day internet celebrity is Timmy Thick, an American social media star. He became popular on Instagram due to his penchant for posting raunchy pictures of himself. He also often posted videos of himself ...

What Does Heather Storm Do For a Living and Who Is She Dating? Reality Television is a great way to make a name for oneself as well as amass a fortune. Heather Storm can attest to this as she is one of those who have made a name and earned a lot from reality TV. She made her name appearing on shows like Car Fanatics, Awesome Autos, and, ...

Matt Carriker Biography  Net Worth, Wife & Height Unlike your regular veterinary doctor next door, Matt Carriker chose to spice up his noble profession with the unusual. Though he is known to many as a medical practitioner, Carriker is better renowned as a YouTube star and an animal lover. Having recorded huge successes on his various YouTube channels, the vet doctors name and ...

Jillian Mele of Fox News Career Achievements, Husband & Measurements There are quite a good number of presenters on radio and television who listeners and viewers may never wish to miss any of their shows because of their sensational golden voice, beauty or the special way or artistry they anchor their shows. Jillian Mele is one of such. She has been at the top of ...

Who is Gillian Turner of Fox News? Her Fiance or Husband and Net Worth Gillian Turner is well-known as a news correspondent for Fox News Channel but before she became a TV personality, she built an intimidating resume working for different institutions, including the American government. She served in different capacities at the White House National Security Council during the administration of former US Presidents  George W. Bush and Barack Obama. ...

Gloria Govan Bio  Age, Ethnicity & Height Even as Gloria Govan is famous as an American actress, author, a TV host, and reality television star, shes more popular as the wife of the former NBA player, Matt Barnes. She became known after appearing on the Florida version of the reality television series, Basketball Wives and later, Basketball Wives: LA  after Matt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sadly, ...

Michael Fishmans Interesting Start as an Actor and Why He Divorced His Wife of Many Years When one door closes, another one opens. As silly as that axiom may seem, it is the story of the resurgence of Michael Fishman, who plays D.J Conner on the popular show, Roseanne. Having played the character for several years as a child actor into his teenage years; when the show originally ended, Michael did ...

Who Is October Gonzalez  Tony Gonzalezs Wife? All You Need To Know October Gonzalez is a popular American TV host and media personality. Additionally, she is also a model. Gonzalez has hosted several TV shows such as Beat Shazam, Entertainment Tonight, and Rachel Ray. She has also featured in several reality TV shows. Gonzalezs fame is not just due to her profession but also because of her ...

Who Is Tony Berlin  Harris Faulkners Husband: His Children and Family Facts Tony Berlin is a popular American media guru. He has variously worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer for some of the biggest TV networks in America. They include CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC (where he hosted the popular Good Morning America). Berlin has now diversified into public relations and owns his own PR firm. ...

The Progression of Gianna Tobonis Journalism Career and Details About Her Marriage to Kyle Buckley Gianna Toboni may not be your ideal newscaster but her unusual reporting is what made her a household name. The American journalist is renowned for her hard-hitting and authentic reportage. A motivator and activist for total press freedom, Gianna loves to explore pervasive cultural issues. Not only does this unique and ambitious journalist call for all ...

Dog The Bounty Hunters Family Including Details of His Late Wife and Kids Popularly known as Dog, a name which he got from the television series, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Duane Chapman, an American bounty hunter, and one-time bail bondsman, went from being convicted for a felony to being a reality TV star. He was brought to the limelight following the capture of the convicted criminal, Andrew Luster in 2003 and this eventually made ...

Vicky Karayiannis, Chris Cornells Wifes Bio, Children and Family The world of showbiz is made up of different people who serve different roles, and function in a variety of capacities, and one of the most important people are those in the background. Publicists are undoubtedly one of these background people yet they are vital to the life and fame of most of our favorite ...

Joe Rogan Has A Step-Daughter and 2 Other Kids With Wife Jessica Ditzel  Meet His Family Joe Rogan is a popular American stand-up comedian and TV host. His journey to stardom began in the late 80s and has seen him host several shows, the most popular is the game show titled Fear Factor. The exciting show dares contestants to face some of their greatest fears and embark on challenging stunts. The ...

Josh Gates and Wife Hallie Gnatovich Have 2 Kids But Who Has the Higher Net Worth? Best known for his explorations and adventures, Josh Gates, is a television presenter with a voracious appetite for seeing the world and the beauties in it. Some of that beauty, however, is in his home, in the form of two children he shares with his wife, Hallie Gnatovich. Not excluded is their marriage which has lasted ...

Holly Sonders Wiki, Plastic Surgery & Why She Divorced Her Husband  Erik Kuselias After trying everything within her capacity to have a low key wedding, Holly Sonders was drawn to the public because of her husbands controversy at his workplace. Well, the two are rumored to be divorced but the article below will give more light on how true these rumors are. Meanwhile, Holly Sonders is yet to ...

Nadeska Alexis Bio  Age, Boyfriend & Net Worth Journalism is one diverse profession that allows the practitioners to choose their area of specialty, build a career on it by reporting the truth and facts which in the long run will distinguish them as deserving commendation and recognition among their peers. Some choose to specialize in political journalism, while to others it is sports ...

Media Platforms Charlamagne Tha God Has Explored and All The Controversies He Has Courted Charlamagne Tha God is an American on-air personality, radio presenter, and more recently, author. He is popularly known as a co-host on New York radios nationally syndicated show, The Breakfast Club, a program he has been hosting alongside DJ Envy and Angela Yee since 2010. However, his early years had no connection to his current career ...

A Look At Jimmy Fallons Net Worth and Family Including His Wife & Kids Sometimes, a childs passion for something is a pointer to what he/she would become in the future. As a child, Jimmy Fallon was literally obsessed with watching the late-night comedy program, Saturday Night Live (SNL). Then, his parents would tape the clean parts for him to watch and later, he and his sister would re-enact sketches from the ...

Kay Adams Biography  Does The Sportscaster Have A Husband or Boyfriend? When you hear the phrase sports enthusiast, women are hardly the first group that comes to mind. Well, thats changing pretty fast. Especially with the rise of female sports analysts and broadcasters like Kay Adams who is famed for knowing more about sports than most men do. And why not, shes paid handsomely for it ...

Ben Shapiros Family  Meet His Wife, Kids and Sister Who is Popular for the Wrong Reasons A multi-talented man, Ben Shapiro is a man of controversial nature, an attribute that has made him an unusual public figure. An intellectual whose career path was clearly defined even before he became a man, the Jewish conservative commentator has always had his way with words. He became popular by sharing his critical and often ...

QVC Shawn Killinger Bio  Husband, Net Worth & Facts To Know Shawn Killinger is a prominent TV personality who has worked her way to the top. Though not initially a journalist by training, she defied the odds and today has established herself as a household name, as well as, worked alongside some industry legends. More than just being a reporter, newscaster, and anchor, heres all you ...

Liv Lo  Dissecting the Ethnicity, Parents and Personal Life of Henry Goldings Wife While many are aware that Liv Lo is the better half to Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding, only a few understand why his beautiful wife appears increasingly endearing to fans. A former model turned TV personality, and fitness star, Liv has an impressive resume which when combined with that of her statuesque spouse is considered a perfect ...

Stpeach Age, Husband and Other Facts About The Twitch Streamer Lisa Vannatta, famously known by her online alias, STPeach is a Canadian video game streamer cum vlogger who has garnered fame through her appearances on different video-sharing/social networking platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Twitch, Reddit, and Twitter. The beautiful lady got her career to a start in August 2015 when she joined the live streaming video platform, Twitch. She rose to ...

Insights into Seth Meyers Wife, Family and What His Net Worth Is Celebrities are mostly remembered and known for the work they do. For Seth Meyers, his career as a comedian, writer, actor, TV host, and producer is his biggest identifier. He was on Saturday Night Live SNL show as a head writer and cast member for more than ten years during which he built a reputation ...

Who Is Jessica Gadsden  Age, Net Worth & All About Charlamagne tha Gods Wife Jessica Gadsden is an American fitness coach as well as a personal trainer. She is better known as the spouse of popular American media personality, Charlamagne Tha God. Charlamange Tha God is a well-known TV and radio personality in the U.S. He has featured in several shows (both on the radio and TV) and is ...

Who Is Collins Tuohy  Michael Ohers sister ? Her Wedding, Husband & Net Worth Collins Tuohy is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, blogger, and social media personality. She is also better known as the adoptive sister of NFL player, Michael Oher, whose life story inspired the Hollywood blockbuster The Blind Side. The Blind Side tells the true life story of Oher who grew up in an impoverished background consisting of a ...

Eye-Popping Facts About The Personal Life And Career Success Of Sportscaster Heidi Watney Heidi Watney is a media personality who has created a niche for herself as a sportscaster. Starting out as a radio presenter, the brilliant young lady has gone on to work for several prominent sports networks, and currently, she is with the MLB. The sportscaster is also known to have been an avid sports lady right ...

Marty Lagina Bio  Siblings (Martina and Rick Lagina), Net Worth and Wife Marty Lagina is an American engineer and businessman who has risen to fame as a reality TV star. This is thanks to his involvement in the adventure TV series, The Curse of Oak Island. The Curse of Oak Island is a long-running TV series which airs on the history channel. The show aims to solve ...

Is Jordan Schlansky Just A Character or a Real Life Person and What Does He Do? The world of late-night television is an interesting one. Shows during that time are geared towards giving viewers comedic relief from a long day at work through interviews and comedy sketches. The often charismatic host of this show requires the balancing talent of a producer whose primary job is to deliver great episodes. It is ...

Heres How Wealthy Jimmy Kimmel Is From All The Phases of His Career, Marriages and Sons Health Jimmy Kimmel is a renowned late-night talk show host known for his charm, wit, and the A-list guests he features on his show. As the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! On ABC, Jimmy has been serving comedy to television viewers for years which played a pivotal role in launching him into mainstream fame and enabled ...

Natasha Bertrand Biography  Is She Married? Who Is the Husband & What Is Her Age? Natasha Bertrand is not just a young prominent journalist but a first-rate investigative reporter. With her natural beauty and smile, Natashas sharp, insightful political commentary also makes her a thorough reporter. Her sound political perspective and coverage in the country have made her a force to be reckoned with in the profession. Renowned for her ...

What Happened to Shane Kilcher? His Injury Update, Net Worth and More Shane Kilcher is well-known thanks to the Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier. It is a show that documents the daily lives of the extended Kilcher family, people who live without plumbing or modern heating. The episodes follow their routines as they rely on hunting and farming for their nutritional needs as well as ...

Is Stephanie Gosk Gay or Lesbian, Who is the Wife or Partner  Jenna Wolfe? In August 2013, NBCs Today viewers were greeted with two shocking news. Today weekend anchor, Jenna Wolfe, announced that she was as a lesbian, introducing her partner as NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk, and said the two are expecting their first child. A long time has passed since then and certainly, a lot of things ...

Nikki Mudarris  Bio and Net Worth: 5 Interesting Facts You Need to Know Nikki Mudarris, also known as Miss Nikki Baby, is a reality television star, model and fashionista. Shes best known for VH1s reality TV series Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood. Her entrepreneurial skills enable her to create and run a successful lingerie line Nude by Nikki. Not only that, but Nikki has also successfully run the Las ...

5 Interesting Things You Need To Know About Kelly Nash Ever heard of the lady who gained national prominence for taking a selfie with a dangerous ball just a few inches away from hitting her? Its no other person than Kelly Nash, an American sports broadcaster currently working as host of The Rundown show which airs on MLB Network every weekday at 2 pm ET. ...

Understanding The Height of Fame John Oliver Achieved With The Daily Show and How He Met His Wife Without knowledge of who he is and his exemplary career, John Oliver cuts an unassuming figure of a regular man but he is one of the most influential personalities in America, especially on television. Since he began his career in 1998, he has been a loud and unapologetic agent of change, using his wit and ...

Why Did Big Chief Leave Street Outlaws, Where Is He Now And Why Did He Divorce His Wife? Justin Shearer, otherwise known by his professional name Big Chief is a famous street racer and television personality. He is famously known for being one of the main characters on the racing reality television series, Street Outlaws. Justin, who had been a significant part of the show since its premiere in 2013, appeared in a ...

Who is Josina Anderson of ESPN? Her Husband and Family Facts There has been a gradual paradigm shift in the world of sports which has today produced the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other female athletes that are pulling great feats in different sporting fields. Their achievements have also been followed by the emergence of female sports journalists such as Jillian Mele, Eboni Williams, ...

Is Brittany Wagner Married, Who Is The Husband, How Old Is She? Brittany Wagner has been an inspiration to a lot of sports youngster. She has won the hearts of many athletic students with her role as a life coach and an academic counselor. She is well groomed in her career and has worked over a decade for The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and The National ...

Tati Westbrook Bio  Age, Husband & Net Worth With five videos dished out every week, alongside running her own brand, beauty guru, and YouTube superstar Tati Westbrook has proved to the world that theres utterly no impossibility or limit to whatever one is passionate about. Tati is best known for being the owner and manager of the worlds most-viewed beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel, ...

Cathy Areus Long Road to Becoming a Freelance Journalist and What to Know About Her Kids An American freelance journalist, news analyst, and author, Cathy Areu has built a lasting reputation for herself on cable television. Popular for her skillful and sassy presentation of professional views on varying topics including cultural and feminist issues, Cathy is an inspiration to many women across the globe. In addition to being a journalist, she ...

Tucker Carlsons Love Story With Wife Susan Andrews, their Children and Net Worth Today On the TV screens, Tucker Carlson is that fiery fellow who passionately dishes out his conservative and often controversial views on issues of national importance. Such brazenness has fetched him many enemies, especially on the left-wing, but it has also helped him cement a reputation as one of the foremost broadcast journalists in America. His ...

Paige Wyatts Net Worth, Boyfriend and Where She Is Now Paige Wyatt became popular after the Wyatt family began running the reality television show, American Guns. The Wyatt family comprises Rich Wyatt (father), Renee Wyatt (mother), Paige and Kurt Wyatt (children). Rich Wyatt originally ran a gun shop, the Gunsmoke Guns in Wheat Ridge, Colorado which is outside of Denver. The business which he ran together ...

The Progression of Howard Sterns Career As A Media Personality And Why He Divorced His First Wife Howard Stern is a legendary American radio host, who has also done some notable work as an actor, producer, author, as well as photographer. The radio personality achieved worldwide fame as a result of his self-titled radio program, The Howard Stern Show. As a professional radio personality, he has worked in different radio stations. Since 2006, ...

Lisa Joyners Biography  Ethnicity, Net Worth and Other Key Facts Lisa Joyner is an American Journalist, TV talk show host, and actress. Some of her well-known works are her correspondences for the Los Angeles based TV KCBS, inFANity show, Find My Family Show including her film and television appearances in Brimstone, American Sweetheart, The Bold and The Beautiful among others. Lisas passion for reconnecting people with their biological families ...

Amanda Balionis Rise Through the Ranks of Sportscasting and the Identity of Her Boyfriend Amanda Balionis is an American sportscaster currently working as a golf broadcaster for CBS Sports. Among so many of her works in the field of sports reporting, Amandas PGA Tour coverage seems to be the most popular so far. She covered the Super Bowl working with CBS Sports social media team in Atlanta, where she ...

Dissecting Charles Paynes Sexual Allegations, Its After Effects and More About His Wife Charles Payne had a respectable career as an analyst on Wall Street before he made the transition to television and became a contributor and later a host on Fox. In that time, his expertise has come under scrutiny, and he has been at the center of at least one major controversy. The major controversy in question ...

Erik Asla And Tryra Banks Split: Everything You Need To Know Tyra Banks and Erik Asla have called it quits! The couple, who began dating in 2013 and have a son named York Banks Asla, has decided to end what everybody taught was the perfect relationship. Neither person has come out to give a reason for the breakup, but what is obvious right now is that ...

What to Note About Dr Terry Dubrows Qualifications, TV Works and Marriage to Heather Kent In the realm of people that we expect to see regularly on our screens, medical doctors are closer to the bottom of the list. Aside from the fact that their work has little correlation with TV, they are presumably too busy to pursue life as TV personalities. Yet, a few of them have usurped this ...

Jessica Goch  Bio: 5 Things You Didnt Know About Ninjas Wife Jessica Goch is the Schofield-born American Social Media Influencer who has worked as a model but is now better known as a host and interviewer of prominent Electronic sports celebrities at popular gaming events/tournaments. The screen queen also serves as the manager of her famous husband Ninja aka Tyler Blevins whose exploits on Twitch and Fortnite has ...

CNNs Chris Cuomo Biography  Wife, Family & Net worth Chris Cuomo needs no elaborate introduction as he has starred graced many prominent Television cable networks and his voice has been heard through acknowledged radio shows. He is a television journalist and Lawyer who has previously worked for ABC News as Chief law and justice correspondent as well as a co-anchor on 20/20. If you still ...

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MoS Home Kiren Rijiju has rejected the allegations, saying those who make false claims would be 'beaten up with shoes'.

New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday came under attack over allegations that he influenced Power Ministry to clear bills related to a power project in Arunachal Pradesh, with Congress demanding his sacking but the minister denied any wrongdoing.

Alleging that it was a Rs 450-crore scam in the form of false and inflated transportation bills, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala released an audio tape of a purported conversation of the minister's cousin, a contractor in the 600 MW power project, and Rijiju's letter recommending that held up payments be released.

"Kiren Rijiju has no right to stay in office. He should either be dismissed by the Prime Minister or asked to resign till an independent probe is complete," the Cogress spokesman said.

The Opposition party also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat" as had happened with several other scandals in the past including Vyapam, Lalitgate and the Vijay Mallya issue.

"Mr Modi's claims of transparency ad honesty is now under question. People of India are looking at what action he takes on this issue," Surjewala said.

Hitting back, Rijiju, who is Minister of State for Home, said, "I have written the letter to the Power Minister after I received representations from some people in my constituency in Arunachal West regarding pending bills. I have done no wrong and there is no corruption."

Peeved at the allegations, the Minister said, "Those who planted the story will be beaten up with shoes when they will come to our area."

Rijiju also tweeted copies of the representation he received and the letter he had sent to the Power Minister.

"Really cheap!... Is it a corruption helping poor Tribals," he said on twitter.

Stating that the contracts were given and most of the payments made during the Congress rule, he asked the opposition party to apologise.

Reports claimed that Rijiju, his cousin, a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh, Goboi Rijiju, and several top officials of the state-run NEEPCO, including its Chairman and Managing

Director, have been named in a 129-page report by the PSU's Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma that alleges corruption in construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project, one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in

Arunachal Pradesh. NEEPC comes under the Union Power Ministry.

"I pity Congress party ... I feel that Congress should apologise to the nation for creating an issue which is non-existent. If local people have approached me to tell me that bills are pending and the bills are of small amount and what they are saying of Rs 150 crores, it is not like that," Rijiju said.

"Small pending bills, pending since 2012, 2013, 2014 before we came to power, the contracts were awarded when we were not in the government, the payments were paid when we were not in the government. Only I was told that some 20-30 per cent of payments were remaining which NEEPCO is not releasing the money. So I wrote a letter to the Power Minister that just look into the matter, thats it," the Minister said.

Verma's report was sent to the CBI, CVC and the Ministry of Power in July this year. It alleges an "elaborate conspiracy" involving contractors, North East Power

Corporation (NEPCO) officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds that "may extend up to Rs 450 crore".

West Kameng, the site of the project, falls in Arunachal West which is the parliamentary constituency of Rijiju.

The CBI has made two "surprise checks" but no FIR has been registered yet, reports said.

Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was pulled up by NEEPCO for "unauthorised absence," and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report.

Verma was also part of the three-member SIT set up to probe the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat in 2004 when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister.

Verma had said Ishrat's killing was a "premeditated murder".

Surjewala said, "This is a very serious issue. The Prime Minister should speak out on this issue....

"If PM has courage of conviction, he must either sack Kiren Rijiju or ask him to resign and conduct a fair and free probe so that truth comes out...Till then, Rijiju should be divested of his post."

"The Prime in the run up to elections used to say that he will neither do or allow corruption to happen. But there have been a series of charges of corruption that came to light in the Modi government," he said.

Payments were stopped after a letter by the Chief Vigilance Officer conducted a probe into the issue, he claimed.

Targeting the CBI, Surjewala alleged that the premier investigation agency has become a "puppet" in the hands of the Modi government and has not even registered an FIR in the matter despite the report by the vigilance officer.

Surjewala also played out a purported audio conversation between Goboi and Verma and the opposition party claimed it also had a mention of the goings on that led to pulling down of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed Rijiju's relative was clearly attempting to influence the CVO in the 28-minute tape and was using his Minister brother's name to seek his help in getting the bills cleared and was also enticing him with a promotion.

"There seems to be a connection with making of these payments and were some of these payments used to buy and sell legislators is a matter that needs to be seriously probed," he said.

Alleging that "inflated" bills were put up for bringing boulders for the dam construction, he said some of the huge boulders were shown to be carried on scooters, motorcyles and cars by a single driver at the same time.

Meanwhile, rejecting graft charges against Kiren Rijiju as "baseless", BJP on Tuesday said Congress was trying to blame the Union Minister for its "sins" as it was in power at the Centre as well as in Arunachal Pradesh when the project under question was sanctioned.

The party said Congress and its "friend", a reference to the vigilance officer who has flagged the alleged corruption involving Rijiju, had conspired to smear its name as the Opposition party had not been able to find a single case of corruption in its two-and-a-half years of rule at the Centre.

BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma also insisted that the contractor, who is at the centre of allegations, is not Rijiju's cousin as alleged.

"It is a completely baseless charge. Congress and its friends have hatched a conspiracy to target BJP as they have not been able to find a single case of corruption against our government. "The said project was sanctioned in 2005 when Congress was in power at the Centre as well as in the state," he said.

The letter written by Rijiju to Power Minister Piyush Goyal was meant to help subcontractors involved in the project as their dues were not cleared, Sharma said.
New Delhi: Hitting back at the Congress, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the party is uncomfortable with the Modi governments demonetisation move because of its scandalous record during its 10 years in power from 2004 to 2014.

There were two striking features of the two Congress regimes. No steps against corruption and no steps against black money, the Finance Minister said.

Stating that corruption scandals peaked during the Congress regime, Jaitley said this was the reason the party was uncomfortable with demonetisation.

Read: Note ban biggest scam, confidence in Indian economy shaken: Chidambaram

In perhaps an assurance to those still facing inconvenience due to shortage of cash, Jaitley said the government is rapidly completing the process of demonetisation by injecting significant amounts of cash into the system within the next three weeks.

From 2004 to 2014, high denomination currency increased to 80% from 36% of total currency. Our goal is to move to a low cash economy, Jaitley said pushing for digitisation.

The Finance Minister claimed that future transactions in the country will be mostly digital, and this will in turn help catch black money hoarders in the tax net.

Speaking about the IT raids in the country which have unearthed crores stashed in cash of new denominations, Jaitley said that every person who indulges in such activities will be caught.

Jaitley also appealed to the Opposition to allow the Parliament to function as the government was ready for a debate on the issue of demonetisation, and asked them to look at the long-term advantages of demonetisation.

Earlier on Tuesday, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had called demonetisation the biggest scam of the year, while attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking the Opposition into his confidence over the move.

This is the biggest scam of the year and must be investigated, P Chidambaram said, while addressing a press conference in the national capital.

He wondered why Modi did not bother to consult eminent economists like Manmohan Singh on the issue.

Government should have consulted at least Yashwant Sinha, he is their own man. They could have consulted Mr Manmohan Singh. Are they suggesting that the former PM if consulted by the present Prime Minister will betray a secret? he said.

Chidambaram said the confidence in Indian economy has been severely dented by the number of measures undertaken by the current government and said demonetisation was the primary reason.

Even a natural calamity might not cause so much of trouble. This is an illusion that it is intended to hurt the rich and benefit poor. I don't see any rich man getting affected, he said.

He argued that just because people are not protesting the move does not mean they approve the step taken by the government. He also attacked the government for constantly changing the reasons for the move, the latest being that it was done to make India a cashless economy.

"To assume that India will go from 3% to 100% cashless in a matter of few months is an outlandish expectation. Which country has cashless economy? Does US? Does Singapore have it? Where is electricity in country? Where are the machines?" he asked.

"Every bank says no cash, so how does the govt say there is cash? This is why Dr Manmohan Singh said monumental mismanagement," he said.
AIADMK, DMK defer plans for organisational revamp.

Chennai: At a time when both the ruling AIADMK and Opposition DMK are bracing up for major changes in the leadership, cyclone Vardha, which has touched ground in Chennai, has also put a brake on all political activities, shifting the leaders attention quickly towards monsoon-related issues.

The AIADMK, which had begun making preparations for the elevation of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaas close aide V.K. Sasikala as the partys new general secretary, besides giving key posts to other senior leaders, restrained itself on Monday in the wake of the cyclone, which is fast emerging into a cyclonic storm, having claimed four lives and prompting the government to issue red alert.

Leaders of the ruling party have since turned their focus on precautionary measures and gearing up for relief efforts. The ministers, including chief minister O. Panneerselvam and revenue minister R.B. Udhayakumar, sent out a series of statements outlining government initiatives to protect the people, especially those living in low-lying areas.

The DMK, which had earlier announced that its general council meeting would be held on December 20, has commenced the negotiation for the elevation of party treasurer to the position of working president. On Monday, though, the cyclone deprived the party leaders from taking any major move in this regard. Stalin himself issued a statement asking people to follow the precautions suggested by the government and safeguard themselves.

Stalin said since strong winds were blowing along with heavy rain, peoples first priority should be safety. He advised the public against going out of their homes.

The Opposition parties also plan to soon assess the damage caused by the storm and then put forth their demands before the government.
MP records 31 big cat deaths this year, 3 in last one week.

Bhopal: A tiger, the star attraction among visitors to Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, died in a territorial dominance clash with another big cat, forest officials confirmed on Monday.

Bheema was injured in a clash with another tiger in the Mukki range of the reserve last week and succumbed to injuries on Sunday, the park superintendent P.K. Verma told reporters on Monday.

The tiger, originally named as T-28 but was later called Bheema due to his massive structure, was famous for his friendly behaviour towards tourists who used to take his photographs comfortably without facing any threats from him.

With his death, Kanha National Park has lost total 11 tigers this year so far for various reasons including poaching. Overall, 31 tigers died in MP in the current calendar year, with three in last one week.

The country has lost total 90 tigers in the current calendar year so far. In another incident, a female tiger in a zoo in Indore on Monday came out her enclosure creating a scare among the forest officials. Fortunately, there were no visitors in the zoo as it was closed on Monday.

The tigress, Yamuna, jumped off her enclosure and started loitering in the buffer zone for about one hour before being wooed back to her cage, a zoo official said.

This was the second time in a fortnight, she jumped out of it enclosure. On November 27, Yamuna escaped from its enclosure and entered into the buffer zone when the zoo was full of visitors.

It appears Yamuna was feeling restive. She has now been shifted to another enclosure, the zoo official said.
174-km trail of massive destruction between Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh.

A car is wrecked by a falling tree in Chennai on Monday as cyclone Vardah hit the city. (Photo: Asian Age)

Chennai/Hyderabad: Cyclonic storm Vardah claimed nine lives, flattened homes, snapped power, communication lines and threw into disarray rail, road and air traffic as it crossed Chennais coast, also pounding, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu with heavy rain and squall.

Seven deaths were reported from Chennai, while one person each died in Kancheepuram and Nagapattinam, officials said fearing that the death toll could increase even as nearly 10,000 people living in low-lying areas were moved to safety by authorities. A Union home ministry spokesperson said in Delhi that four people were killed in the storm in Tamil Nadu.

Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts plunged into darkness as Tamil Nadus capital resembled a ghost town on Monday, bringing back the scary memories of last years devastating floods that claimed around 300 lives. This is the most intense cyclonic storm to have hit Chennai in two decades.

Windspeed touched 150 kmph as the cyclone made its landfall near Chennais harbour on Monday evening, leaving a trail of destruction and devastation from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh to Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu, a distance of 174 km. In Andhra Pradesh, over 9,400 people living along the Bay of Bengal were evacuated to relief camps amid heavy rain.

The only domestic and international airport in Chennai shut operations from 11 am on Monday evening, and the runway was not opened for flight traffic till reports last came in. Suburban trains were cancelled due to gusty winds, and buses went off roads for most part of the day. The National Highways connecting Chennai with Bangalore, Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai suffered severe damages as powerful winds uprooted trees and signboards affecting traffic.

Vardah hit Chennais coast at 2.30 pm and made its landfall near the harbour at 6.30 pm. The maximum windspeed was 150 kmph at one point. After 1994, this is the first very severe cyclonic storm to hit Chennais coast. It has completely crossed the coast as expected, a senior MeT department official said.

The Army rushed its personnel to Pulicat and Puzhal in Tiruvallur district, the worst affected by the cyclonic storm, to immediately begin relief operations.

Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were also involved in rescue operations. The Met department said the intensity of wind and rainfall would recede. Coastal regions of northern Tamil Nadu  Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram  continue to be on high alert.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to the CMs of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to take stock of the situation and promised all help.

Tamil Nadu CM O Panneerselvam and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Nadu apprised the home minister of the damage caused by the cyclone and steps taken for rescue and relief.

Tamil Nadu chief minister O Pannerselvam said late on Monday night that restoration of electricity would begin midnight and complete restoration of power supply to all three districts would take one or two days. He also announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of those who died in the cyclone.
The former PM Manmohan Singhs visits to foreign countries had hardly been noticed, he added.

Bhopal: BJP national president Amit Shah on Monday said his party gave a prime minister who not only speaks but also considers national problems as personal.

Addressing party workers in Raipur at a rally to celebrate completion of 13 years in power by the BJP government in Chhattisgarh, Mr Shah said, We have a Prime Minister who speaks and whose presence in foreign soils is making impact.

In sharp contrast, the former PM Manmohan Singhs visits to foreign countries had hardly been noticed, he added.

He also lashed out at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for seeking performance record of two and half years old NDA government at the Centre, saying, We have waged a battle against corruption whereas mega scams amounting to `12 lakh crores had surfaced during the Congress-led UPA government.

The Opposition had constantly been questioning what the NDA government has done on the black money issue, but after November 8, when demonetisation was introduced, they started saying why we have done it. The demonetisation has rattled the Opposition, he said.

Describing the demonetisation move by the Centre as a major steps against corruption, he said the PM and BJP were pained at the hardships caused to the people due to scrapping of `500 and `1,000 notes.

But, the move was essential to tackle corruption and black money menace; he said, and added that the ill-gotten money recovered in the exercise would be used for welfare schemes for farmers, tribals and women.

Mr Shah said the UPA government, during its rule, had also tied down hands of the Army while dealing with Pakistan.
Naidu urges Opposition to end House logjam and prevent Winter Session washout.

New Delhi: Stating that the Modi government is ready for debate on any issue including demonetisation, Union information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday appealed to Opposition parties to allow the Parliament to function so that the remaining period of Winter session should be utilised.

We are ready for debate and discussion in Parliament. We hope that the last two or three days will be useful without any obstruction. And there would be proper discussion on all the issues, not only demonetisation but there are also other issues that the Members of Parliament want to raise. I appeal to Opposition parties to please come back to the discussion table, allow the House to function and see to it that the peoples aspirations are met in Parliament, Mr Naidu said.

The month-long winter session of Parliament is scheduled to end on December 16. We are ready to do anything but those people (Opposition) are not allowing the Parliament to function. Whether they have understood the reason (behind disruption) or not but we have really not understood, the I&B minister said.

I am always optimistic. Parliament should run and the remaining time of the session should be utilised. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is also not being allowed to speak so he had to go to peoples assembly, Mr Naidu said.

Citing the comments of President Pranab Mukherjee and veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani, the minister said,It is in everyones heart to see the Parliament runs smoothly.
RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundhra also said that the Bengaluru official held for converting black money had been suspended.

Mumbai: After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officer from Bengaluru for allegedly helping some individuals convert black money in demonetised notes, the central bank on Tuesday clarified that the official in question had been suspended.

RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundhra said that the accused was a junior official and not a senior one as had been reported in the media. He added that an investigation is on and action will be taken as soon as the facts become known.

Referring to media reports that suggested involvement of bank staff in fraudulent transactions after demonetisation, Mundhra said that given the size of the operation, some officials were bound to behave in a corrupt manner. In this regard, Mundhra asserted that notices have been issued to all banks for data checking. They have been told that whenever they find any inconsistency it should be pursued further through their internal audit mechanisms, he added.

Mundhra said that RBI supervisors were carrying out similar exercises on various data points of banks.

Assuring people in the wake of continuing cash crunch at bank branches and ATMs, RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi said that more and more notes are being issued daily by the central bank.

He asked people to freely use notes they have rather than holding them.

Providing some statistics on banking transactions since November 8, Gandhi said that till December 10, banks have issued notes worth 4,61,000 crore to the public over their counters and through ATMs.

Old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 which have been returned back to RBI and currency chest, amounted to be 12.44 lakh crore as of December 10, he added.

RBI has issued 21.8 billion pieces of banknotes of various denominations since demonetisation, he added.

Meanwhile, CBI has registered a total of 8 cases involving bank officials and post offices in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, seizing Rs 17.36 crores.
Former Defence Secretary Vijay Singh was accused of playing a key role in the multi-crore deal.

The CBI is set to question Tata Group director Vijay Singh in the VVIP choppers scam case. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will question Tata Group director Vijay Singh in connection with the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal case, just days after the group's ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry accused him of playing a key role in the Rs 3,600 crore scam.

According to an Indian Express report, the CBI is going to quiz Vijay Singh, who was the Defence Secretary when the deal transpired, and Shashi Kant Sharma, the current Comptroller and Auditor General of India in the case.

Singh was reportedly under CBI scanner for his alleged role and the agency may even question officers who were part of Manmohan Singhs office when he was the Prime Minister.

The former Defence Secretary had however vehemently denied having any role in the chopper deal and claimed that the deal was struck after he had retired from the government post.

"I was defence secretary from 2007-2009 and the present cases being prosecuted by CBI pertain to 2004-2005. The Augusta Westland acquisition was approved by the Cabinet well after my retirement," he said in an emailed statement. Singh in one of the directors of the Tata group.

Earlier on Sunday, Mistry had alleged: "As Defence Secretary, Singh was a key official involved in award of Rs 3600 crore VVIP helicopter contract to AugustaWestland in 2010".

"To connect me with this matter is slanderous and malicious," Singh, an independent director on Tata Sons board, said.
Police said the teacher, who allegedly raped the girl and impregnated her, is absconding.

Mumbai: A 13-year-old girl studying at a school in Navi Mumbai was raped allegedly by a teacher, after which her parents and local residents stormed the school premises on Tuesday, police said.

The school principal was arrested on Tuesday as she did not inform the police about the alleged offence after the girls parents told her about it, they said.

The minor was allegedly raped in the last couple of months. But, it came to light only recently after she complained of stomach pain to her mother.

The mother took her daughter to a private doctor, who informed her that the girl was four weeks pregnant. The mother then told about it to her husband, who works in Pune, police said.

The victim told her mother that her school teacher had allegedly raped her twice by threatening her with dire consequences, they said.

A case of rape was registered against the teacher at Nerul police station under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The school principal has been arrested while the teacher who allegedly raped the girl is absconding, police said.
Expressing their anguish, scores of disabled people aired their grievances and alleged that they have no access to the bank.

New Delhi: I have only Rs 10 in my purse. It has become difficult for me to carry out my daily chores as I have no money in hand. What am I supposed to do when people are not forthcoming in lending a helping hand to a disabled person like me to withdraw cash, said Suwarna, who is specially-abled. While a common man is baffled by the unease caused post demonetisation and people meeting a dead end with no cash available, the situation is worse for specially- abled people who allege that all the claims made by the government in regard to the facilities being provided for disabled people has fallen flat on the face.

Suwarna, an NGO worker, further charged that As the government promised that there will be separate lines for disabled people at banks or ATMs to withdraw money, nothing such has been materialised. Forget about the separate lines, when I queued-up in a regular line, I had to be seated on my wheel-chair for 2 hours. And when my turn came, the wheel-chair couldnt be taken on the flight of stairs ahead, she added.

Expressing their anguish, scores of disabled people aired their grievances and alleged that they have no access to the bank. No arrangements have been made for them. They have been asked to join the regular lines, allegedly being humiliated at the hands of police. Majority of them having no option left have to compromise on their ATM pins and ask someone else to withdraw money for them else they only have to wait for hours before they could withdraw Rs. 2,000 that they claim is not even sufficient for a day.

Javed Abidi convener, Disabled Right Group expressed his discontentment over the governments cold shoulder towards the disabled people and said, When we try and make our queues, the bank authorities tell us that join the regular queue as there is no separate line or quota for the disabled people. We have absolutely no accessibility to the ATMs.

For Rajat (name changed), another disabled person it was a humiliating experience to get into the line of a nationalised bank to withdraw money, recently. Rajat who uses creche and has polio had to undergo an ordeal to withdraw the money when a policeman deputed on duty not only misbehaved with him but also demanded him to produce his certificate that read that he has disability. Thanks to demonetisation that now a disabled person, who cant take steps properly now has to prove that he is disabled and cant walk. The governments promise to provide relief to disabled people in wake of money withdrawl was just a false promise. It didnt yield any result rather brought shame to us, rued Rajat.
Barkati was accompanied by TMC MP Idris Ali, who too condemned Mr Ghosh for his comments.

Kolkata: A Muslim cleric on Monday said he has issued a fatwa against Dilip Ghosh for making filthy comments against chief minister Mamata Banerjee, drawing a bitter reaction from the BJPs state president.

Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan mosque Maulana Noor-ur Rahman Barkati told a press conference that he has issued the fatwa against Mr Ghosh for making filthy comments against the chief minister.

From where does he get such audacity to make filthy comments against our beloved chief minister who is the most secular leader of our country? I issued the fatwa which states that he should be pelted with stones and then kicked out of Bengal. He does not deserve to stay in Bengal, Mr Barkati said.

Barkati was accompanied by TMC MP Idris Ali, who too condemned Mr Ghosh for his comments. Reacting to Mr Barkatis charges, Mr Ghosh said this country is neither Pakistan nor Bangladesh that he could issue a fatwa.

What does Barkati think, is this Bangladesh or Pakistan that he will issue a fatwa against me? He can issue fatwas against TMC; they will listen to him, but not BJP. It seems Barkati no longer wishes to stay in Bengal or India. I think he is planning to migrate to Pakistan or Bangladesh, he said. The TMC had Sunday condemned Mr Ghoshs abusive and goonda-like language against Ms Banerjee, while announcing a three-day protest against the Centres demonetisation decision.
Environmentalists in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) have also challenged the car depot.

Several environmentally-conscious citizens and locals from Aarey Colony protested against the MoEF's decision to clear trees and exclude 165 hectare from Aarey for economic developmental activities. (Photo: Shripad Naik)

Mumbai: Citizens and environmentalists on Monday formed a human chain at Aarey Colony in opposition to the Union governments decision to give clearance for the construction of a metro car depot there.

The Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) last week had issued a notification paving way for the state government to go ahead with the construction of metro car depot inside Aarey Colony.

Citizens and environmentalists have been opposing the depot, citing that it will disturb the wildlife and environment at large inside the colony, the only green lung left in the city.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is executing the Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 corridor, has been mired in controversy since the past few years from, as Girgaon residents said it would displace them. Environmentalists in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) have also challenged the car depot.

We have been saying for the two years that we are not against the project but the construction of metro car depot inside Aarey Colony, which is in the buffer area of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). The MoEF in its notification issued has said that it paid heed to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the MMRC, but it has failed to acknowledge thousands of letters it received from citizen and activists. It made a mockery of inviting suggestions and objections, said Stalin Dayanand, environmentalist from NGO Vanshakti.

In the wake of protests, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had, in 2015, formed a committee to review the location of the car depot.

The committee also gave few suggestions, however, Mr Fadnavis himself later ruled out the suggestions, citing that they were not feasible.

The environmentalists have also claimed that the MMRC is flouting the NGTs orders by going ahead with construction and not maintaining the status quo.

Meanwhile, MMRC chief Ashwini Bhide has said that construction work would be conducted by the book.
Teenagers in Macedonia and Georgia are making thousands of dollars per month creating fake news.

Edgar Maddison Welch, 28 of Salisbury, N.C., surrenders to police Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, in Washington. Welch, who said he was investigating a conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton running a child sex ring out of a pizza place, fired an assault rifle inside the restaurant on Sunday injuring no one, police and news reports said. (Photo: AP)

Goebbels would have loved Facebook. The Nazi minister for propaganda would have immediately realised the potential of this medium to spread lies, propaganda and misinformation  and you can be sure he would be an avid WhatsApper too, the Fuhrer of forward as received. That we now live in the era of fake news is undeniable, given that the venerable Oxford dictionary has chosen post-truth as its word of the year, defining it as relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

Theres nothing new about lies and misinformation; states, groups and individuals have throughout history bent, broken, rewritten and manufactured truth to suit their purposes, narratives and myths. Whats different now is the speed (enabled by the Internet and social media) at which such falsifications spread, and whats frightening is the sheer number of people who believe them.

It wasnt supposed to be this way; many believed that the information age would usher in a period of enlightenment in which we would be empowered to seek out and find truth with the same ease with which I type this sentence. Instead, lies have gone global, circling the world several times through fibre optic lines before the truth has even put its pants on. Nowhere was the impact of this felt more greatly than in the recent US election.

Yes, it is an industry: teenagers in Macedonia and Georgia are making thousands of dollars per month creating fake news and counting clicks and cash, and in a recent interview, Pal Horner, a famous manufacturer of fake news claimed to have made up to $10,000 a month during the run up to the US vote. Asked about the secret of his success, he replied: Theres nothing you cant write that people wont believe. To paraphrase P.T. Barnum, theres a sucker going online every minute.

But fake news can have real consequences, as we saw in Washington D.C. a few weeks back when a man named Edgar Welch walked into a Pizza Parlour armed with an automatic rifle claiming he was there to free children he believed were being held captive and sexually abused in secret chambers in the restaurant.

The basis for his beliefs was an outrageously false and widely shared story dubbed pizzagate, which alleges that Hillary Clinton is part of an elite devil-worshipping cabal which sexually abuses and murders children, usually in the secret chambers of the said restaurant.

He believed this because pizzagate was one of the most widely shared stories on Facebook, and was propagated by none other than the son of Trumps national security adviser pick, Gen. Flynn.

Debunking such stories takes a lot more energy than spreading them does. You have to backtrack, check sources, analyse any pics or videos that have been posted, while the person spreading it really only has to click a button. When sharing is easier than fact-checking, the odds are stacked against the truth.

After the tragic crash of PK661, an audio recording began circulating which purported to be of the last minutes of the ill-fated plane. It was heart-wrenching to listen to, was widely shared by laymen, politicians and journalists alike, and was a fake. Well not precisely a fake: the recording was from an Etihad Airways flight which encountered severe turbulence en route to Jakarta but which thankfully managed to reach its destination safely. Despite the fact that references to Jakarta can be heard in the audio, people continue to share it.

Another spurious video made it from WhatsApp to the TV screen. In this video (allegedly shot from a mobile phone) a plane is shown flying normally and then suddenly taking a 90-degree dive towards the ground. This too was fake, and the effect of crashing was created by the video-maker simply turning the phone sideways.

Detecting and debunking such stories is often a complex task, especially with fakers refining their techniques but there are tools and methods that can be found online. Ultimately though, the best defence is common sense, a healthy dose of scepticism, and the ability to recognise that while you may desperately want to believe something is true, that doesnt necessarily make it so.

By arrangement with Dawn
The list includes quotes from each of the national party conventions.

New Haven, Connecticut: Donald Trump's boast on the campaign trail that he could shoot somebody and not lose any voters tops a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2016.

Sound bites from the presidential campaign dominated the 11th annual "Yale Book of Quotations" list from Fred Shapiro, an associate director of the library. He chooses quotes that are famous or revealing of the spirit of the times, and not necessarily eloquent or admirable.

The list includes quotes from each of the national party conventions. At the Republicans' gathering in Cleveland, it was Trump saying: "I alone can fix it." At the Democrats' convention a week later, it was Khizr Khan, the father of an American soldier killed in Iraq, addressing Trump and saying: "Have you even read the United States Constitution? ... You have sacrificed nothing and no one."

The yearly list is an update to the "Yale Book of Quotations," which was first published in 2006.

The List

1. "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." - Donald Trump, speech at campaign rally, Sioux Center, Iowa, Jan. 23.

2. "When they go low, we go high." - Michelle Obama, commencement speech at Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, April 23.

3. "You could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the 'basket of deplorables.'" - Hillary Clinton, remarks at a fundraiser, New York, Sept. 9.

4. "And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside." - Lin-Manuel Miranda, poem about Orlando massacre read at Tony Awards ceremony, New York, June 12.

5. "(In politics) you need both a public and a private position." - Hillary Clinton, speech to National Multi-Housing Council released by WikiLeaks, Oct. 7.

6. "I alone can fix it." - Donald Trump, speech at Republican National Convention, Cleveland, July 21.

7. "Have you even read the United States Constitution? ... You have sacrificed nothing and no one." - Khizr Khan, addressing Donald Trump in speech at Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia, July 28.

8. "Lucifer in the flesh. ... I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life." - Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, describing Ted Cruz during talk at Stanford University, April 27.

9. "His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life." - Dan Turner, letter to judge prior to sentencing of his son, Brock Turner, after Brock's conviction for sexual assault of an unconscious woman, June.

10. "I'm not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I'm the first Simone Biles." - Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, interview, Rio de Janeiro, Aug. 11.
The trial threatens the credibility of the IMF, as Christine Lagarde is the third chief of the organisation to face trial.

Paris: IMF chief Christine Lagarde went on trial in France on Monday over a massive state payout to a flamboyant tycoon when she was finance minister, in a case that risks tarnishing her stellar career.

Ms Lagarde denies the charges of negligence, arguing she was acting in the states interest in approving the payment to Bernard Tapie, the former owner of sportswear giant Adidas.

If found guilty, the 60-year-old could receive a maximum one-year prison sentence and a 15,000 euro ($15,900) fine.

She arrived at the Court of Justice of the Republic, a tribunal that hears cases against ministers, wearing a dark suit and a patterned scarf. Her defence team is expected to push for an adjournment.

I dont plan to keep quiet, Ms Lagarde told the presiding judge, when advised of her right to remain silent.

In a documentary aired on French television on Sunday, Ms Lagarde said she was confident and determined.

Negligence is an unintentional offence. I think all of us have been a little bit negligent at some stage of our lives, she added.

Whatever the outcome, the case risks damaging the image of the former corporate lawyer who progressed through the finance ministry to become one of the worlds most powerful women.

It also threatens the credibility of the International Monetary Fund, as Ms Lagarde is the third IMF chief to face trial.
Recapturing the entire rebel pocket of Aleppo will constitute the biggest battlefield victory for President Assad and his coalition.

Rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leading to a broad army advance across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket in Aleppo. (Photo: AP)

Aleppo: The Syrian army and its allies have taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday.

Rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leading to a broad army advance across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket in Aleppo and a retreat of opposition fighters to a few districts on the west bank of the Queiq River.

Recapturing the entire rebel pocket of Aleppo will constitute the biggest battlefield victory yet for President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Syrian troops, the Russian air force, Iran, and Shi'ite militias.

Its loss will leave the rebels without a significant presence in any of Syria's main cities. They still hold much of the countryside west of Aleppo and the province of Idlib, also in northwest Syria.

After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night, a Reuters reporter in the city said.

However, rocket fire continued on rebel-held areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, reported. Rebels and government force still fought at points around the reduced enclave, the Observatory said.

The military official said the rebels were fleeing "in a state of panic", but a Turkish-based official with the Jabha Shamiya insurgent group in Aleppo said on Monday night that they had established a new frontline along the river.

Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night, with fighters shooting into the air in triumph.

As the frontlines quickly shifted on Monday, however, thousands more people fled the fighting, carrying what possessions they could carry and some pushing relatives in wheelchairs, before a heavy rainstorm began in the night.

Refugees

A daily bulletin issued by the Russian Defence Ministry's "reconciliation centre" from the Hmeimin airbase used by its war planes, reported that more than 8,000 civilians, more than half of them children, had left east Aleppo in 24 hours.

State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings.

One man was shown pushing a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a small cart on which sat an elderly woman, and another carried a small girl wearing a pink hat on his back.

At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo long held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic.

The International Committee for the Red Cross appealed on Monday for all sides to spare civilian life.

"As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run," the ICRC statement said.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was alarmed by unverified reports of atrocities in the wake of the army's advance, his spokesman said.

Zakaria Malahifji, another Turkish-based official for the Fastaqim rebel group, said on Tuesday that there had been no further international contacts over a proposal to spare the city by allowing fighters to withdraw.
by Hung Dao

Every 13th of the month, parishioners in Thu Thiem gather to celebrate the family, pray and eat together. This is a strong stand against the authorities who want to expropriate the parishs land. For years the government has been driving away families and religious congregations to make way for shopping malls and restaurants. Even though they live far away, some parishioners continue to come to church; for others, the government ought to respect the rights of religion."

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews)  On the 13th of every month, parishioners in Thu Thiem (District 2, Ho Chi Minh City) attend Mass, pray and have lunch together to celebrate the family on the day of Our Lady of Fatima.

"Parishioners gather to show respect to the Virgin Mary and at the same time they meet and pray for their dearly departed," said Fr James Le Jang Niem, the priest vicar.

The meeting on the 13th of each month attracts hundreds of people from far and wide (Bien Hoa, ong Nai province), some from places ten kilometres away. This represents a strong signal by the Catholic community against expropriation plans that have threatened the parish for several years.

The government in fact has incorporated the Thu Thiem area in its urban redevelopment plan, which includes shopping centres, tax offices, hotels and restaurants. As a result of this, many families have had to move away.

Although "we live far away from the church, said Mai Thi Thanh T, a mother of four evicted by the state, my children and I continue to come here to attend Mass and study the catechism. I am very angry with the authorities of District 2-Ho Chi Minh City who want to eliminate the parish". Some 1,200 people take part in the Sunday Mass.

The website dedicated to the government project reports in detail all the existing activities in the district that will be upgraded, without mentioning, however, places of worship and the activity of the Sisters Lovers of the Holy Cross who work in Thu Thiem parish.

The local church was established in 1848 and is the hub of charitable activities for about 20,000 local residents. Over the past 40 years, the Sisters have offered charity classes (Lop Tinh Thuong) and literature courses to help thousands and thousands of children who live in difficult conditions.

Last October, the Sisters were able to stop the demolition of the school they run. This was a small victory against the ongoing grab of properties owned by religious congregations, but it has not however limited the authorities ambition vis-a-vis the assets.

"The government ought to respect the rights of religion to serve the spiritual needs of the people instead of moving places of worship elsewhere, said Tam, a member of the parish pastoral council.
Caste discrimination is still evident, even in the Church. A country-wide policy recognises Dalits in their intrinsic human value. Twelve of Indias 19 million Catholics are Dalits. The State does not recognise them the same rights and privileges as other Dalits.

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) has approved a plan to improve the conditions of Dalits within the Catholic Church in India.

The lengthy document  the work of many priests and lay men and women of goodwill at the diocesan and local levels  seeks to end the centuries-old traditional caste discrimination against Dalits (untouchables). The issue deeply touches the Church in India as well. Most of its members are Dalit: 12 out of 19 million.

For the bishops, the starting point is the fact that the term Dalit does not indicate a negative connotation or a caste identity. It rather seeks to restore an affirmative, humanizing and empowering identity which is a demand of our faith.

For the prelates, Dalit Christians keep alive the vision of Gods reign for justice and love. They boldly call upon the Church to place justice and love, the core values of the Bible, at the heart of its mission.

The bishops historic plan was adopted at an meeting at the CBCI Centre, New Delhi, in the presence of CBCI President Card Baselios Cleemis, and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

In the forward to the document, Card Baselios Cleemis writes, India is a cradle of many civilizations and religions. Great sages envisaged a common human family and recognized the ray of the Divine in all human beings. Unfortunately, there are also blots in the Indian society such as casteism and untouchability.

In the context of the States social and transitional justice paradigm, the bishops believe in the ethical imperative to devise [a] vision-inspired roadmap in building the kingdom of God. This stems from the existence of many forms of discrimination that Dalits suffer in India, especially Christian Dalits.

In the papers acknowledgment, Mgr Anthonisamy Neethinathan, chairman of the CBCI Office for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, explains that whilst Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist Dalits benefit from Dalit-specific advantages and policies, Christian Dalits are deprived of means to livelihood such as economic benefits, job opportunities, denying political representation, shunning them legal protection given under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act (1989).

The latter is based on Presidential Order, 1950, in para 3, which stipulates that no person who professes a religion different from Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism shall be deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste.

Even though the Indian Constitution outlaws the caste system, the latter still underlies a widespread feeling of social superiority linked to origin. This is evinced by widespread anti-Dalit violence, like rape and murder.

Every 18 minutes a crime is committed against a Dalit. Every day, 3 Dalit women are raped, 11 are beaten, and 2 Dalit houses are burnt. Overall, 37 per cent of Dalits live below the poverty line; 54 per cent of their children are malnourished; 83 per thousand children born in Dalit community die before the first birthday; and 45 per cent of Dalits are illiterate.

When Dalits are admitted to higher educational institutions of repute, and this is hard to do, they commit suicide at a high rate.

Christian Dalits experience the same discrimination. Something far worse, the bishops acknowledge, is the discrimination that occurs even within the Church, especially at the level of the religious and lay leadership.

For the prelates, untouchability has remained widespread ever since the first Jesuit missionaries arrived. For the latter, Caste was considered to be a social factor to be tolerated in the effort for evangelization. Now however, there is need to address these issues urgently.

Changes must be made in education, access to economic resources, and jobs. This can be done through Caritas India, which can promote and finance works and projects.

What is more, the Church must be more welcoming to Dalits, and support the rising number of vocations and give them greater room in its higher echelons.

All this has to be done within one year of the promulgation of this policy, a deadline the bishops set for each diocese with respect to the plans application.

As part of this, the prelates suggest, local priests and believers ought to take advantage of the contribution of people and organisations "of goodwill", acknowledging the value of Dalit cultural heritage through a process of inculturation (including liturgical ceremonies).

The final goal, they stress, is to start a process of metanoia (repentance) and experience the Easter joy, radically transforming our minds and hearts individually, collectively and structurally.
China imposes economic sanctions on Mongolia for hosting the Dalai Lama in November. India is ready to help the country economically. Indias External Affairs minister announces a beneficial credit line.

Ulaan Baatar (AsiaNews)  India is ready to provide Mongolia with one billion US dollars in financial assistance to deal with Chinas decision to impose economic sanctions after the visit of the Dalai Lama between 18 and 21 November.

China did its utmost to discourage the visit to Mongolia by the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a political enemy.

A week after the visit, the Chinese government cancelled a biannual meeting with Mongolia, with negative repercussions on the latters economy.

Southern Mongolia, which borders China, has rich coal, copper, and natural gas deposits. Over the past 20 years, the country has based its economy on resource development and exports to China.

Every day about 900 lorries cross the border into China's autonomous province of Inner Mongolia. Now they are charged 10 yuan each (US$ 1,45), and 0.1% of the worth of the cargo if it is beyond 10,000 yuan (US$ 1,450).

This way, China can harm Mongolias mining sector, which is being developed with financial aid from the Chinese government.

In view of this, India wants to help. "We are ready to work with Mongolian people in this time of their difficulty, said a spokesman for Indias Ministry of External Affairs.

During the visit of the PM to Mongolia in May 2015, he added, the prime minister had conveyed to the Mongolian leadership that India will extend support in diverse fields. We had announced a credit line of US$ 1 billion.

At present, We are closely working with the Mongolian government to implement the credit line in a manner that is deemed beneficial to the friendly people of Mongolia".

Ties between the two countries are important. "We have a long spiritual relationship with India," noted Gonchig Ganbold, Mongolia's ambassador to India.

What is more, "It is important India raises its voice against China's unilateral measures which are hurting our people, specially when severe winter is upon us."
"There is still much to do. Many people lost everything," said the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "They need basic relief supplies to get through the winter months and more investment is needed to restore health services, water supply and sanitation systems together with mass awareness campaigns to guard against the spread of communicable diseases".

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Thousands of people who survived floods that hit a remote corner of North Korea in August need urgent aid as winter sets in, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.

As a result of the floods, which affected 600,000 people and left 70,000 homeless, "There is still much to do. Many people lost everything," IFRC president Tadateru Konoe said in a news release following a 10-day visit to the affected region.

Flood victims need basic relief supplies to get through the winter months and more investment is needed to restore health services, water supply and sanitation systems together with mass awareness campaigns to guard against the spread of communicable diseases".

In September, the IFRC made a US$ 15.5 million emergency appeal to help North Korea's Red Cross Society reach more people with aid, but only 25 per cent of the target had been met, the IFRC noted.
by Mathias Hariyadi

The Jakarta Court North, dismissed the charge against Ahok of insulting Islam during a rally. Thousands of onlookers flocked to the event. The defense claims that the governor had lashed out at Muslim politicians who wanted to hinder his re-election as governor, but his words were manipulated.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The first day of the trial for blasphemy that involves the Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama known as "Ahok" was held today. The Court of North Jakarta is hearing proceedings against the politician, a ethnic Chinese Christian, on charges of insulting the Koran and the Islamic faith.

During a rally held last September he allegedly quoted the 51st Surah Al Maidah (fifth chapter of the Koran), advising Muslims not to vote for a leader of a different faith, asking the Islamic faithful not "use" in the wrong way.

Through tears, Ahok explained that he had never meant to offend Islam and that his words were addressed to politicians who manipulate the Koran to prevent him being re-elected as governor in the elections of February 2017.



The defendant requested a video be shown portraying Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid (president of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001) while commenting a distribution of flyers that invite not to vote a political non-Muslim. The request was rejected by the judges and prosecution because "this will be done during the next hearing, when new forensic evidence will come to light."



Todays hearing was attended by thousands of spectators, curious to see the first chapter of a process that has resonance across the nation. Since the end of September, the words of the governor have generated protests by Islamists, moderates and radicals.

On November 4, nearly 100 thousand people took to the streets to demand the condemnation of Ahok and the withdrawal of his candidacy for governor. The protest, which resulted in violence, suffered the infiltration of political agitators with the aim of discrediting President Joko Widodo, an ally of the governor.



This generated the response of moderate movements, which marched in Jakarta November 30 defending Indonesia's values, of tolerance and unity in diversity.



Later it was discovered that Buni Yani, a former journalist and professor of communication at the London School of Central Jakarta, manipulated the words spoken by Ahok in the rally, making them offensive to Islam and sparking protests. Yani has been arrested and will go to trial.



Ahok is one of the few Indonesian political leaders to fight for freedom of conscience. Last June he opposed the obligation imposed on students from Jakarta to wear the Islamic veil. In July 2015, the governor of Jakarta promoted a fight for civil rights of the Ahmadi minority, considered heretical by the majority Sunni Muslims.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The humble and lowly faithful are victims of the "intellectuals of religion," "seduced by clericalism", which is "a very bad thing" and which is still present today in the Church. However, in the kingdom of heaven they will be preceded by the repentant sinners and prostitutes, said Pope Francis today at Mass in Santa Marta House - also attended by the Council of the nine cardinals - inspired by the Gospel passage in which Jesus addressed the chief priests and elders of the people, to dwell on their role.

On the day of the 47th anniversary of his priestly ordination, Francis warned pastors from becoming intellectuals of religion with a moral that is distant from the Revelation of God.



The priests and elders, said the Pope, "had legal, moral, religious authority," they "decided everything." Annas and Caiaphas, for example, " judged Jesus", it was the priests and leaders who "decided to kill Lazarus," and indeed went to Judas to "negotiate" and thus " Jesus was sold." A state of "arrogance and tyranny against the people" arrived at by exploiting the law. "But a law that they revised many times, so many times that they arrived at nearly 500 commandments. Everything was set, everything! A scientifically constructed law, because these people were wise, they knew well. They had all these nuances, no? But it was a law without memory: they had forgotten the first commandment that God gave to our father Abraham: 'Walk in my presence and be blameless'. They did not walk: they stood firm in their convictions. And they were not blameless! "

Therefore, continued Francis, "they had forgotten the Ten Commandments of Moses." "With their man made law, "intellectual, sophisticated, case studies", "they erased the law made by the Lord," they did not have they memory that glues the here and now together with Revelation." And their victim, as Jesus was, is the "humble and poor people who trust in the Lord", "those that are discarded", who know repentance even if they do not make the law, and suffer these injustices. They feel "condemned", "abused" by those who are "vain, arrogant, proud." The "difference of these people," the Pope said, was Judas. "Judas was a traitor, he sinned badly, eh! His was a grave sin. But then the Gospel says: "Repentant, he went to them to restore the coins." And what did they do? "But, you are our partner. Do not worry ... We have the power to forgive you everything! ". No! "Arrange it as you can! It's your problem! ". And they abandoned him: they discarded him! The poor repented traitor Judas was not accepted by the shepherds. Because they had forgotten how to be a pastor. They were the intellectuals of religion, those who had the power, who teach people catechesis according to an intellectual moral and not according to the Revelation of God. "



"A humble people, discarded and beaten by these people." Even today in the Church these things happen. "There's that spirit of clericalism", "the clerics who feel superior, they move away from people," do not have time to listen to the poor, the suffering, the imprisoned, the sick ". "The evil of clericalism is a very bad thing! Its a new edition of these people. And the victim is always the same: the poor and humble people, waiting on the Lord. The Father always tried to approach us: He sent His Son. We are waiting, waiting in anticipation, exultant. But the Son has not joined in these peoples game: the Son went with the sick, the poor, the rejected, the tax collectors, sinners - and outrageously ... - prostitutes. Even today Jesus says to all of us and also to those who are seduced by clericalism: The sinners and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the Kingdom of Heaven. "
Fun Holiday Party Ideas For Hosting

How To Throw The Best Holiday Party Your Friends Have Ever Been To

The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.

Hosting a party for the holiday sounds great. In theory. If done right, you are a king, a man beyond reproach. You sir, have provided a service to both friends and family and you may not know it yet, but you will be lauded for your efforts for months to come. But if you fail, you are a scampering madman, running back and forth through your home in a constant panic, fielding questions that you have no answers to. You will have no fun on this night. And its likely that your guest will not either.

But that will not be this night. We connected with experts in hosting, parties, image and etiquette to make sure you do this the right way. Its time to learn how to be a real host. Not just the guy that opens the door, demands people take off their shoes and put the beer over there.

The Guests

Thats what this whole thing is about anyway right? The invitations, decor, theme, food  none of it mean anything if the guests are a snore. With everything you do, you should keep your guests in mind, including who you actually invite in the first place, which brings us to our first point.

Limit your guest list: Theres no sense in sending out the bat signal if your apartment is cramped after 10 people walk through the door. Typically you dont want you holiday festivities to feel like an overcrowded pub. Its important to take into account the limits of your space and, even more important, to know what youre willing to budget. Patrick Kenger, a mens image consultant, suggested invited friends through Facebook, so you can see the active list of those planning to attend and the folks that cant make it. Evites are also an excellent option. Just no group texts. Invite the right people: You want a good mix of people who are already familiar with each other and people who have never met, said Patrick Kenger, a mens image consultant for Pivot Image. If you invite the whole office and then invite a bunch of your old college frat brothers, the party will even up looking like an awkward seventh grade dance. Put thought into this part and pick people from social groups who you think would click well together.

Relationship and etiquette expert April Masini says you should invite your guests like youre casting a movie. The guest list will determine the mood of the visit or the party  whether its a big gathering r an intimate one, a weekend of houseguests or a dinner party. If you fill the room with turn-up gawds, its likely that you more reserved guests  the ones that came for intellectual conversation and not a bass-filled twerkoff, will feel a little left out of the holiday spirit. If you only invite couples, your single friends are left to twiddle their thumbs. Just as youll be eyeball the male-female ratio are your gathering, keep a healthy mix of singles and couples.

Utilize your friends: Are your friends talented? Use them!: Is one of your friends a DJ? Do they happen to have a sick record collection or maybe theyre just that guy who happens to have all the appropriate playlists on deck in his iTunes folders. Use them! Do you have a friend thats a wine expert, a whiskey connoisseur, an expert storyteller?

Theres a saying that people normally tell their guests. You often remind your guests that they arent required to bring gifts, just bring themselves. Thats the gift. Well, enlist their talents too. That is also a gift. Those who help in this way are also more likely to be invested in the event and will often proudly share how they contributed, Kenger said.

Upon Arrival

The invites are out. Youve got the RSVPs. Now people are ready to pour through the door. Theres nothing wrong with having some of your closest friends and family over, mixing in a balance of fist-bumps and bear hugs at the door and then hanging out like its any given Saturday night. But you should step things up for the holiday. Give your guests an actual experience.

David Monn, an event design and lifestyle expert, believes an an experience occurs only when the senses are aroused sequentially. First scent, then sound, sight, touch, and then taste. Thats whether youre hosting a gala for hundreds or an intimate Friendsgiving dinner.

First, our sense of smell is engaged. Smell either evokes memories or creates new ones he wrote in his book The Art of Celebrating. Perfume, rain, a flower, salt spray from the ocean or mountain air  just hearing the words stirs memory Second, an experience is enriched by sound. Water in a brook, birdsong, plucked strings pull on into the journey Third, our eyes absorb the scene, but for this to occur there must be strict attention to proper lighting. I believe it is essential for light to come from an incandescent or natural source. As smell and sound have preceded sight, what we now observe becomes richer and more memorable. As the experience progresses, we ourselves become more intrigued, and we have a desire to touch and taste. Since taste cannot happen without a sense of smell, our senses engage in a continually interactive, rich dynamic. The whole experience becomes greater than the sum of its sensory parts.

Monn says to think about the order in which guests experience your home and your party. The minute they hit the doorstep, the smell of your place can transport them to another frame of mind, the music draws them in, the decor makes them feel more comfortable, they can touch and feel your space and the tastes food and drink will seal the deal.

None of that means that there party needs to be an aristocratic stuff-fest, simply that there should be a scene set. Decide if youre going to go with fluorescent lighting or candlelight. Are you going filling the room with balloons or flowers. You can even use your guests to set the scene. Masini suggested telling your guests to come dressed in their favorite Christmas ornament or Santas elf or you can go more sophisticated and host a black and white party. Or even better, a red and green one.

Decorating

Easily this could be the part that we guys forget about. But if you really want to step your game up to hosting this holiday season, the decor is the most obvious way to level up. Take these tips from Tori Toth, home stager, lifestyle expert and author of Feel at Home: Secrets For A Quick and Easy Sell.

White on White

Dare to embrace winter white by using all white decor this holiday season. The trick to using one main color in a decor scheme is to vary the tone, texture, pattern and height of the items being used in a room to create complex personality in one cohesive look.

Play Up Nature

Strategically accessorize an entryway with a seasonal arrangement that brings the outside in. Use birch, evergreens, twigs or winterberries to welcome guests into your home and make an easy transition from the outside. A design that utilizes nature or organic elements can instantly bring life into a dull space.

Mixed Metals

Bring in a few metallic accessories in finishes like gold, copper and silver to add that finishing touch to a rooms vignette. Just like adding a statement necklace with your favorite outfit, metallic accessories can attract the eye, so place some bling on a mantle, bar cart or as a dining room centerpiece to lure guests over.

Light Up The Holidays

Darkness quickly approaches on cold winter nights, so its important to set the mood with lighting. Create an elegant statement outside by decorating landscaping in white string lights or choose a colored flood light to highlight your homes exterior. Inside turn on chandeliers, table lamps, candles and spark those fireplaces to create a cozy space for lingering guests.

Faux Fur Accessories

This hot interior design trend is not only luxurious, but inviting. Although faux fur is cozy use it sparingly in a room. One or two pieces  like a throw, pillow or rug  is all you need to dress up a sophisticated space. This is one accessory that guests will want to wrap themselves in.

The Drinks

If the guests and decor are the framework of your party, the cocktails are the glue. If all else fails, if theres a killer mix of drinks at your gathering your event will almost surely be a success. Ive always thought that a cocktails true value was as an instrument of conviviality rather than something that gets you tipsy  which is certainly nice of course, said expert mixologist Tom Macy, co-owner of the famed Clover Club in Brooklyn, New York.

If youre looking for a theme, Macy said hot drinks are essential for a holiday theme, liked mulled wine and cider wit lots of baking spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove. This is your opportunity to bust out the brown, aged spirits like bourbon, brandy and aged rum. And if thats too harsh for some guests, Macy also suggested champagne or sparkling wine as lighter options for holiday libations. Macy said they go well with white spirits like gin and vodka where you can add things like berries  like cranberries and raspberries  and grapefruit or even a splash of Campari, a contemporary liqueur.

Is there anything you should not drink at your holiday party? The answer is no. Macy, an expert mixologist, said drink what you want. Theres no hardline donts. But you should be prepared. Youll definitely want to have a punch bowl and a ladle. All you have to do is measure and pour and people can serve themselves, he said. Making a large ice cube and putting in the bowel is a nice presentational touch too. Just fill a large plastic storage container or something like a bread pan and freeze it for a couple days.

The key, Macy said, to making large batch drinks is to choose something that isnt too strong, and to account for chilling and dilution that you would otherwise get from shaking or stirring with ice. You dont want to be bothered with playing bartender all night.

Tip: Add about 1-1  cups of ice each per 10 drinks to the batch and stir until the ice is melted in. Add more ice if you still think its too strong.

Heres a few recipes from Macy to get you started:

Mulled Wine

4 bottles Red Wine

2 cups aquavit, cognac, aged rum, apple brandy, bourbon or reposado/anejo tequila

2 cups sugar

10-15 cinnamon sticks

2 tablespoons whole cloves

1 tablespoon cardamom pods

zest of 1 orange

2 whole nutmeg

Method:

Combine all ingredients, excluding whichever spirit youre using, cheesecloth can be used to bundle the spices.

Cover and heat to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until the cinnamon sticks begin to unravel. Dont let it boil. Alcohol vaporizes at a lower temperature than water so even if the mixture isnt boiling you could loose some of the booze. You dont want to cook off all the fun.

Remove from heat and let it sit overnight for maximum flavor. Strain out solids, or remove bag of cheesecloth, and add your spirit.

Applejack Old Fashioned

This is simply an old fashioned with apple brandy and maple syrup. This one is easily in my top 10 cocktails of all time, not just for the holidays.

2 oz Apple Brandy - preferably Lairds Bonded Apple Brandy

 teaspoon (or barspoon) maple syrup - Grade B preferably

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 dash aromatic bitters - I recommend Fees Aromatic or Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice and serve on the rocks. Garnish with an orange peel.

Holly and the Ivy Punch

2 cups gin

1 1/2 cups raspberry syrup**

1 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup campari

1/2 cup soda water

2 bottles Chilled Brut Champagne

Raspberries and 1 long grapefruit peel for garnish.

Combine everything except the champagne in a punch bowl over one large cube and stir to mix. Add the Champagne only when the party is about to start. Garnish with the raspberries and grapefruit peel.

Raspberry Syrup [for the punch]**

1 cup raspberries

2 cups white superfine sugar

1 cup water

With a muddler crush the raspberries until they are the consistency of a thick soup. Stir in the sugar, then add the water. Stir to combine. Let sit, stirring occasionally.

After 30 minutes stir continuously until sugar dissolves.

To speed things along you can put it over low heat, but be very careful not to boil or you'll poach the raspberries and lose their nice bright flavor.

Here's a few things that make hosting easier:

Branche Serving Cart

Having a bar serving cart not only adds another piece of fine furniture to your space but it shows that you're prepared. It also takes out some of the work for you as a fully stocked cart means that guest can mix their own drinks or serve themselves. It's portable and it can be tucked away in a corner or alongside a table when you don't need it.

$88.99 at Wayfair.com

Italian Weighted Bottom Double Old Fashioned Whiskey Glasses (6-Piece Set)

A good host knows that details are everything and serving with these artistic high ball glasses add a little distinction to pouring out your large batch cocktails.

$14.99 at Amazon.com

Crate & Barrel Beck Tray

Whether you place it on the bar cart, out on it's own, or use it to carry drinks or food around the room a wooden bar tray is going to add another layer elevated hosting situation. A natural wood tray gives a touch more masculinity and uniqueness to your presentation.

$49.95 at CrateandBarrel.com

The Food

Finally, sitting down to eat might be one of the last things you present to guests but that only means its one of your last chances to make an impression. That is, before all the drinks that you made in batches start to settle in. As Monn pointed out, tastes is the last of the senses that you get to engage once guests enter your home. Jonathan Harris, a Washington, D.C.-based private chef, said you should want to give guests and experience they cant get anywhere else. You used to go out to eat for special occasions, he said. Now, these days you stay home and cook for special occasions.

Heres a few things to know:

Be Prepared

Preparation is going to save you tons of time, money and stress, said Masini, who authors an relationship advice column called Ask April. Shop in advance for the best selection and better prices. Youll be calm the day or weekend of the hosting event because youve crossed your Ts and dotted your Is. Whether its alcohol or produce, scoping your best vendors is key to successful hosting, she said.

Know Who Youre Feeding

Ask about allergies and other food or drink restrictions ahead of time. That way you wont need to worry about a vegan guest showing up with very little they can eat or serving a meal that results in an untimely allergic reaction. Because nothing spoils a party like having to bust out an EpiPen. Harris also suggested that, if youre the one cooking, prepare things that you know tastes good. Having guest over is not the time to experiment.

Dont Be Fussy

If youre not a chef, dont worry about being too fancy. Allow the guests, music, drinks and atmosphere to entertain the guest. Theres no need to decorate plates like guests are dining at a five-star restaurant. Its exponentially more important that the food tastes good rather than looks good. Give it a rustic, home-like feel, Harris said.

Harris provided a sample menu you can serve:

Pan Seared Pork Chops

6-10 1 center cut pork chops

1  tbsp Grape seed oil (per chop)

6 sprigs of thyme

4 sprigs of rosemary

6 cloves of garlic

4 tbsp of butter (salt free)

Salt & Pepper TT

Directions:

Season chops liberally on both sides. Heat pan with oil for 3 minutes Place chops in the pan for 4 minutes do not move in order to create a crust. Once you flip them turn the heat to medium add herbs and garlic. Add butter and once it starts foam begin basting with a spoon. After you cooked both sides for 4 minutes take out of pan and set aside to rest. Serve whole or sliced if doing a family style presentation.

Sweet Potato Mash

Directions:

8 sweet potatoes

 stick of unsalted butter

 cup of milk

2 tbsp of dark brown sugar

3 tbsp of maple syrup

Salt & Pepper tt

1 pack of marshmallows (for topping)

Cook sweet potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 45 min. Clean potatoes from skin and put into a bowl while still warm. Mix in butter and milk. Then mix in syrup and brown sugar. Add salt & pepper to taste. Once fully incorporated transfer to cast iron pan or half pan and top with marshmallows. Before serving put pan in 400 degree oven for 4 minutes or until marshmallows brown.

Butterscotch Bread Pudding

This recipe is inspired by the mid day sweet tooth. Nothing but sweet custardy greatness. The velvety bread topped with a sugary crunch can be eaten right out of the oven or room temperature.

Convection oven at 400 degrees

2 Stale baguette bread

4 Whole Eggs

1 Qt of heavy cream

1 Tsp of vanilla extract

1 Cup of butterscotch Chips

1 Cup of sugar

1 Tsp of brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut stale bread into 1 inch pieces. Mix cream, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a bowl until fully incorporated. Add bread and butterscotch chips to mixture let sit for 5 minutes and mix. Put mix into a greased half pan at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out turn oven on to convection at 400 degrees. Top prepared pudding with the brown sugar and cook for 8 minutes.

Goes best in a large bowl with a nice dollop of fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

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Leo AlmazoraLawyers interested in determining the return on their working hours and how much their work impacts on work-life balance, as well as their true worth, can now do so through a first-of-its-kind website.Launched by award-winning new-model firm Keypoint Law , the website is designed to help lawyers advance their careers, realise what options are available to them, and find out their value to a law firm. The site includes a Lifestyle Calculator that can help lawyers calculate the return they get for the hours the invested working, determine their work-life balance, and compare their current setup with a similar role elsewhere.The legal market is hotting up for lawyers who have portable practices, and they have increasing choice about the firm they choose to join, yet many still believe that the old model of billable hour targets and unpaid overtime is the norm, said Keypoint Law CEO Warren Kalinko. Its time that lawyers truly learned their worth to a firm and understand what options are out there to further their careers.The firm developed the site because it had observed a shift in the way lawyers looked at and shaped their careers. Many are seeking a bigger share of the fees they generate, more influence over business decisions that impact their practices, and increased flexibility and control over their working conditions.The aim of the Lifestyle Calculator is to start the conversation about issues like return on investment, and work-life balance, said Kalinko. Until now those conversations havent begun because most lawyers still think the hours they work, and the percentage of billings they earn, are stock-standard across the industry. But they arent  or at least they dont have to be  and its time lawyers took control of their careers and opened up a long-overdue dialogue about how law firms are structured.
Law firms can give their revenue a hefty boost with the right lateral hire but it seems that many firms fail to make the correct choices.A report from ALM Intelligence shows that 96 per cent of law firms rank lateral hires as moderately or very important but most of those hires do not deliver the expected book of business in year one.Twenty-one per cent deliver between 50 and 75 per cent of expected business while 30 per cent deliver less than half. The reason is often a lack of due diligence.The report Minimizing Risk in Lateral Partner Hiring: Effective Due Diligence says that most firms will fail at hiring sometimes but recommends defining the criteria for a lateral hire and scoring candidates against it.The co-head of Herbert Smith Freehills global energy practice has been hired by Latham & Watkins in London.John Balsdon will join the finance practice at Lathams, boosting the team with his 20-years of experience in the oil and gas and power sectors, including project financing, structured trade financing, reserve-based lending and restructuring matters.As well as his energy leadership role, Balsdon has been part of HSFs Africa practice and his knowledge of the regions burgeoning energy sector will bolster the firms capabilities.Two of the bodies representing lawyers in the UK have some united messages on the legal professions concerns about Brexit.The Law Society of England & Wales has welcomed the views of the Bar Council in what it says provides one voice for the profession."It is good to see the Bar reinforcing our common messages to government on the key issues that Brexit raises for the legal sector," said Law Society president Robert Bourns.In its Brexit Papers the Bar Council urges the UK government to protect the public interest as it negotiates the UKs split with the EU."EU law currently impacts nearly all areas of life. We need a plan to make sure that people do not suffer from uncertainty and ultimately end up worse off, said Hugh Mercer QC, who has lead the Bar Councils working group on Brexit.The Council has identified several key areas to be addressed including access to the EU legal market; criminal law; and laws and processes relating to competition, family, international arbitration, tax and IP."There has not been a more profound legal and constitutional challenge in living memory with which the UK Government has had to grapple, in terms of legal complexity, or significance for the long-term health and stability of the economy, said Chairman of the Bar, Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC.
More people in China are being encouraged to visit Australia with a new partnership agreement, which set to boost the number of tourists and create more jobs in the country.Next year has been declared Australia-China Year of Tourism and China is Australia's fastest growing and highest spending international visitor market. More than a million Chinese tourists visited Australia in 2015/2016, up 22.3% from the previous year and they spent almost $9 billion during their stay. In the past 12 months, China Southern Airlines has increased capacity to Australia by 35% with 56 weekly services now operating between Guangzhou and Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide, as well as Shenzhen to Sydney.Figures released by Tourism Australia indicate that spending by Chinese visitors to Australia could rise to $13 billion annually by 2020. Chinese visitors currently spend an average of $8,000 each on every visit to Australia, more than any other source market.Now Australia and China Southern Airlines have deepened their commercial relationship, signing a new partnership agreement that will accelerate their existing marketing activities in China.A three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will mean funding going towards a range of campaigns and joint promotional activities, according to John O'Sullivan, managing director of Tourism Australia.He explained that building a strong relationship with China Southern Airlines had been a top priority for Tourism Australia since its long-term, strategic plan for China was unveiled in 2010.'China Southern continues to invest significantly in its Australian network and in Australian tourism. The airline now carries a fifth of all Chinese arrivals into Australia, more than any other international carrier,' he added.According to China Southern Airlines president Tan Wan Geng, Australia is a market that is highly valued in China with opportunities to expand commercial relationships further.The new arrangements will remove all capacity restrictions between Australia and China for each country's airline. 'We have also liberalised traffic rights and code share arrangements, which are important for Australian airlines. This will enable Australian and Chinese airlines to service destinations between and beyond both countries, and will allow them to take full advantage of their cooperative arrangements with their commercial alliance partners,' said Australian Transport and Tourism Investment Minister Steven Ciobo.He added that the growth in visitors from China will boost the tourism and hospitality industries in Australia and create more jobs.
Introduced for the 2017 model year, the Value Edition Elantra slots above the entry-level SE, though below the fuel-sipping Eco trim level. Now on sale from $20,250 before destination and other charges, this version of the Hyundai Elantra ticks all the right boxes for those customers in the market for a cheap sedan that doesnt make you feel cheap for buying it.Its critically important to give our customers a wide variety of options so theres an Elantra to meet their needs explains Mike Evanoff, Product Planning Manager at Hyundai Motor America. The Value Edition lands at a real sweet spot on the spectrum of amenities and price tag, he concluded, and I couldnt agree more. The question is, what do you get for $20,250?Well, you get four wheels and leather on the steering wheel, for a start. Leather can also be found on the shifter, whereas the rest of the cabin boasts a tilt/slide sunroof, heated front seats, lumbar adjustment for the drivers seat, 7-inch Display Audio infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay , dual automatic temperature control, keyless entry, and push-button start. In addition to that, HomeLink also comes as standard.The Value Edition is propelled by a 2.0-liter inline-4 with 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. Drive goes to the front axle via a 6-speed automatic transmission that also helps with fuel economy: 28 mpg city, 37 mpg highway, and 32 mpg combined. When all is said and done, the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Value Edition is undoubtedly worthy of its name.The 2017 model years also brings more standard kit for the rest of the Elantra lineup. The SE now includes Bluetooth connectivity and cruise control, plus buttons on the steering wheel. The Limited, meanwhile, boasts high-intensity discharge headlights with Dynamic Bending Light technology.
TDI

FWD

The last one drove great but looked like an old warthog with wheels. Its replacement can compete in a beauty pageant and show the Tiguan that it's had one too many bratwursts, especially from the front angle.The only problem with the 3008 is that it's available in front-wheel drive until 2017. But the engines are more than up to our standard. Just take the lower output 2.0 BlueHDi, which matches the Tiguan's 2.0regarding power, 150 PS, but delivers 30 more Nm of torque.If both models are front-wheel drive and fitted with manual gearboxes, the 3008 is also a little lighter - 1,425 vs. 1,493 kg.In this independent acceleration test, YouTuber Sawomann was able to do 0 to 100 km/h in 9.6 seconds. Meanwhile, a 4Motion Tiguan was able to do it in 9.4 seconds, so theversion will take about 10s.On paper at least, the Peugeot 3008 is also about 8% more economical than its German rival. And because CO2 emissions only count "on paper," the French car is going to be cheaper to tax.The 2.0 BlueHDI is going to be one of the most popular engines, but there are alternatives. For example, you could save a lot of cash and go for the entry-level 1.2-liter turbo if you're going to spend most of your time around town. There is also a 1.6-liter turbo, though that one is thirsty and is only available with an automatic.Peugeot has even revealed a 3008 GT model, which will share its engines with the 308 GT hatchback and estate model. You're going to spend a lot of money on that, but it's even better looking.
Curiously, the YouTuber, who turned to his Facebook page to make the announcement, doesn't post any real world images of the car while trying to seek online help - we've asked for such photos and will return with an answer, if provided.Instead, Shmee offers the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) of the 911 R - don't bother worrying about the number plates, since those are probably long gone by now."A friend's Porsche 911R was stolen in Munich between the 10th and 11th of December 2016. The FIN [perhaps a typo, as FIN stands for Fleet Identification Number] of this car is: WP0ZZZ99ZGS194599," the Facebook post reads.We are told that the rear-engined coupe in question is dressed in GT Silver, coming with Black and Green stripes - the attached images, which seem to come from the Porsche configurator, do offer a pretty accurate view of the vehicle, though."The specs are GT Silver with black/green stripes. Please spread this and help us to find the car back. Many thanks in advance," the post goes on.With Zuffenhausen only building 991 units of the new-age 911 R, we don't expect the machine to show up for sale anytime soon. Instead, if the story is accurate, we could be dealing with a "special order" that will see the Porsche showing up in a country outside the European Union, or even on another continent, where it can be extremely difficult to track.After all, the financial motivation for the thieves could've easily been present, given the kind of prices the 911 R trades hands for on the speculation market.
Luckily, you're not the only one that has considered entering the Zuffenhausen realm with the help of an early Boxster. For instance, there's a YouTube channel called Road and Race, with the man behind it having welcomed such a sportscar into his garage two years ago.The YouTuber can now talk about the ownership costs, which is exactly what he does in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page. It's worth noting the man owns a first-gen Boxster S and that he likes to make full use of his Porsche.To be more precise, the guy enjoys using his 986-generation Boxster on the track. As a result, he likes to go for what we might call a proactive maintenance attitude, meaning that some of the parts he replaced could've been left in place.You shouldn't worry, though, as the clip delivers two financial conclusions. The first has to do with the guy's grand total, while the second only involves the items a "normal" owner would have to invest in.Such a notion is obviously relative, since no two cars have been used in identical conditions. For one thing, the video determined other 986 owners to deliver their financial tales and the numbers vary greatly. We'll mention the example of a Brit (the YouTuber mentioned above also comes from the UK) who's had to pay GBP6,000 ($7,600) for 30 months of ownership, despite claiming to have replaced most of the parts on his own."I replaced a few parts chasing annoying rattles and knocks that could have waited. Mileage is 80k, manual 6 speed 3.2S. Big ticket items were an alternator @ 500 inc fitting and replacement recon rack @ 200. Driveshafts are over 500 each so I saved a bunch by reconditioning mine. Despite getting OEM parts direct rather than from the dealer the costs mount up fast for pretty regular items like brakes and suspension components," the commenter explained.In our book, such mentions only mean that doing your homework before buying such a car and while running is an activity that simply can't be skipped.
However, all their efforts can so easily go to waste if we don't treat responsibly enough that small patch that connects our vehicles to the road surface. That's right, before any active or passive safety system in your car can have any chance of trying to keep you away from the ER, there's another one that has the first go.Tires are rarely regarded as safety features, but frankly, that's precisely what they are. Carmakers can only choose the brand and model of the ones your car comes fitted with as new, but after that, you're on your own. It's not unheard of for people with quite expensive cars to become cheap when choosing a new set of tires, even though that's like knowingly fitting a potentially faulty Takata airbag switch.The importance of having good tires cannot be stressed enough, and yet so often people forget about it. And it's not just about choosing the right model but also keeping an eye out for the wear and tear. Having inappropriate treads on your rubber can have dire consequences in certain circumstances - the kind you never know when they're coming.That's why Nokian , the Finnish winter tire specialist , is launching a service meant to inform drivers on the state of their tires. It's called SnapSkan, and it will have a look at the tires' health in the most unintrusive way, using 3D scanning technology.The device looks like your regular speed bump, but instead of simply having your body bouncing around, SnapSkan will also read the tread depth on your car's tires. Rather than keeping it to itself, the system uses a video camera to read the license number and can then relay the information via text message or email to the driver, if they so choose.The project is developed together with the Vianor tire and car service chain, a place where drivers can get quotations for new tires, if needed. "Too many people are unaware of the condition of their tires, and the threshold for replacing tires seems to be high. We want to use this new technology to raise drivers' awareness of the condition of their tires by making it as easy to access as possible," says Ville Nikkola, Head of Vianor's Retail Business Area.SnapSkan will be scattered around locations frequented by a large number of drivers such as carparks and will offer its services completely free of charge on an opt-in basis. And since this information is potentially life-saving, not opting in would simply be ridiculous. For now, the services is strictly available in Finland , but hopefully it will spread around quickly.
The rear-engined coupe, which comes with French plates (we'll tip our lens to Autogespot for the images), takes great pride in the Yellow hue covering its carbon-ceramic brake calipers - the color is also used for the "PORSCHE" decals on the doors.As for the rest of the vehicle, the dark shade mix only adds to the understated aura of the 500-pony 911 incarnation we have here. We could easily see an untrained eye mistaking this clutch special for your "average" 911 , which can be amusing when you consider the kind of prices these cars can trade hands for these days - here's the most recent speculation market example we talked about.Luckily, we also get to see 911 R owners who paid the right price for the cars (these were offered to customers of the 918 Spyder) taking delivery of their vehicles this season, with the most recent example coming from YouTuber Salomondrin , who fortunately has no issue with putting miles on his Porsche 911 R.We have to admit it's been a while since we last used the supercar spec game you can find below and we're glad a 911 R owner gave us this opportunity. Speaking of which, we're pretty sure the driver of this Zuffenhausen animal receives his fair share of appreciation for the hue mix he's chosen.The stripes on the car obviously remain as polarizing as ever, which means certain aficionados won't agree with the man. Nevertheless, when you're swapping cogs in one of these, such opinions are probably amusing...
During an award ceremony held inside the Tokyo International Exchange Center on Tokyo Bay, the Subaru Impreza was named the 2017 Car of the Year Japan (COTY). The Toyota Prius and the Audi A4 came in second and third respectively, with the A4 being named the Import Car of the Year ahead of the Volvo XC90. This win gives Subaru only its second COTY trophy, and its first in 13 years, according to the COTY organization.

Japans COTY organization is made up of 59 jurors who each start with 25 votes and must give their most highly rated vehicle 10 votes. Their remaining 15 votes are then spread across their next best 4 cars. Each juror must vote for 5 cars out of the final Top 10.

After 20 jurors votes had been read out, the difference between the Impreza and Prius was only 9 votes, 138 to 129 votes respectively. So a close finished was expected, according to the Japan COTY organization. However, when the 40th jurors votes were revealed, the Imprezas lead had jumped to 27 votes. In the end, the Subaru received 420 votes to the Prius 371.

Subaru Impreza chief engineer Kazuhiro Abe celebrates the Imprezas honor as Japan's COTY with designers, engineers, and PR communications staff. Photo: Japan COTY

The Nissan Serena captured the Innovation Award for its Propilot driver-assist, hands-free sliding door technology and seat arrangement, while the Daihatsu Move Canbus won the Small Mobility award for its packaging. Given high marks for its performance and handling, the BMW M2 triumphed in the Emotional Award, while the Honda NSX picked up the Car of the Year Japan steering committees Special Award for its revolutionary V-6 twin-turbo hybrid powertrain, according to the Japan COTY organization.
Finland is interested in promoting a project to lay an optical-fiber cable line along the Northern Sea Route that would link Europe and Asia via the Arctic, the country's Prime Minister Juha Sipila said on December 9 at a joint news conference with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

We've asked the experts to complete the project feasibility study, and we are discussing the issue with the concerned countries; Finland is ready to promote this project, Mr Sipila told TASS news agency.

Our Minister of Transport and Communications has invited our colleagues for a meeting next year, the Russian Minister of Communications is ready to attend, and the Prime Minister has voiced his preliminary consent; Finland finds it important that the project will hinge on wide-ranging international participation and will be implemented, the Prime Minister added.

"During the next two years, Finland will preside in the Arctic Council, and we are ready to assist them on this project," Dmitry Medvedev said.
With the election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the business community can almost certainly look forward to a new era.

Although many of Trumps policies on labor and employment-related laws and regulations have yet to be fully developed, there are many Obama-era initiatives that could face significant changes under the new Republican administration.

Regulations That May Be Rolled Back

Over the last eight years, the Obama administration has made a series of changes that have led to more economic and regulatory burdens for businesses while often strengthening unions. Many of those changes could be undone, rolled back, or at least revised.

Those might include:

 White Collar Salary Exemption

On Nov. 22, a federal judge blocked a U.S. Department of Labor rule that would have taken effect on Dec. 1 and extended mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas agreed with 21 states and an assortment of business groups that the rule was unlawful.

Many organizations had already changed employee salaries and job classifications to comply with the new rule. On a practical level, it could be difficult for employers who proactively instituted changes to cut salaries or rearrange work schedules for employees. However, if competitors did not adjust salary levels, some employers may find it necessary to roll back any salary changes.

The Department of Labor has appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

 The Persuader Rule

On Nov. 16, another federal judge in Texas issued a permanent nationwide injunction blocking the so-called persuader rule. The rule, which the Department of Labor put forward as part of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, would have required indirect service providers  such as consultants and law firms  to publicly disclose any work they do for employers that relate to union organizing activities.

The permanent injunction by U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings of the Northern District of Texas followed a preliminary injunction that he issued in June. The injunction has already been appealed to the Fifth Circuit.

 Changes by the National Labor Relations Board

Over the last eight years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has made significant rulings that have often been pro-union. Among the rulings that could be targeted for change:

Purple Communications Decision

In 2014, the NLRB ruled that employers could open their corporate email to union organizing by employees, except in very limited situations. The decision involving Purple Communications overturned a 2007 NLRB decision that found corporate email systems are the employers property, so employers could ban all non-business email communications. There is still some confusion over the ruling, so it could be one that the NLRB targets for reconsideration sooner rather than later.

Specialty Health care Decision

In August 2011, the NLRB adopted a new standard for determining appropriate union bargaining units: the NLRB would presume a union bargaining unit was appropriate. If an employer sought to argue that a unit should include more employees, the employer needed to show that employees in a larger unit share an overwhelming community of interest with those in the petitioned-for unit. This is likely to be rolled back.

Joint Employer Rulings

Recently, some of the most far-reaching actions by the NLRB have been around joint-employer standards.

In August 2015, in a ruling involving Browning-Ferris Industries, the NLRB found that in a relationship between two companies, an indirect relationship was enough to make both companies joint employers. The relationship between joint employers extends to temporary employees, franchisors, and franchisees.

Once Obama is out of office and the threat of his veto disappears, a Republican-controlled Congress could take action to pass legislation that revises the definition of a joint employer.

Arbitration Agreements

Under Obama, the NLRB has aggressively challenged agreements between companies and workers that require employment-related disputes to be settled in arbitration.

Appeals courts have been split over the NLRBs decisions regarding mandatory arbitration agreements  with three Circuit Courts finding such agreements enforceable and two Circuit Courts agreeing with the NLRB. The issue could end up being resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Conclusion

While there will be many changes in the regulatory, legislative, and enforcement environment under President Trump, employers need to be aware that changes may not come about immediately. Its likely that regulators will continue enforcement for the foreseeable future. However, over the next several years, many of the Obama-era administrative regulations may be subject to repeal and reversal.

Employers must be vigilant about the potential for enforcement actions and work carefully with legal and human resources experts until it becomes clear what a Trump administration will focus on and how regulations will be revised. There is no doubt that most employers are looking forward to less regulation and less red-tape.

About the Author

Richard D. Alaniz is senior partner at Alaniz Schraeder Linker Farris Mayes, L.L.P., a national labor and employment firm based in Houston. Alaniz has been involved in labor and employment law for over 30 years, including stints with the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board.

He can be reached at 281-833-2200 or ralaniz@alaniz-schraeder.com.
Photo via Wikimedia

Avis Budget Group Inc. has earned the 2017 Military Friendly Employer designation from Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse.

"Support for our military is part of the very fabric of our company," said Larry De Shon, chief executive officer, Avis Budget Group. "Our founder, Warren Avis, was a fighter pilot with the Army Air Corps during World War II, and we proudly continue to emphasize the recruitment and employment of military talent. We are honored to be recognized for our efforts."

Companies competing for the Military Friendly Employer designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from Victory Media's proprietary survey.

As an honoree, Avis Budget Group will be showcased, along with other 2017 Military Friendly Employers, in the December edition of G.I. Jobs magazine and online at MilitaryFriendly.com.

"Companies that have earned the 2017 Military Friendly Employer designation have exceptionally strong hiring programs and meaningful jobs for transitioning service members, veterans, and spouses," said Daniel Nichols, a Navy Reserve veteran and chief product officer at Victory Media. "Our Military Friendly Employers have moved beyond answering why hire military?' They are truly aligning their jobs and recruiting efforts with Military Friendly schools to translate military competencies into civilian careers."
Japans Honda Motor Co. has invested in Grab, a ride-hailing service in Southeast Asia, according to a report by Financial Express. Grab currently provides taxi and motorbike-hailing services, carpooling, delivery, and mobile payments in Southeast Asia.

The investment is part of a $750 million funding previously announced for the partnership, which will help develop ride-hailing technologies and driver education programs, according to the report.

We are in the planning stages on exactly what a full partnership will look like, and there are many different prongs of that, Ming Maa, president of Grab, told Financial Express. One prong would obviously include selling Honda motorbikes within the region.

Other investors in Grab include China Investment Corp., Didi Chuxing, and Vertex Ventures.

Click here for the full Financial Express report.
13 December 2016 10:18 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on December 13 that over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 30 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Munjuglu village of Azerbaijans Tovuz district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located on nameless heights of Armenias Berd district.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were also shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Goyarkh village of the Tartar district, Shikhlar, Sarijali, Yusifjanli villages of the Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Horadiz, Garakhanbayli villages of the Fuzuli district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Khojavand, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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13 December 2016 10:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) belonging to the Armenian Armed Forces on December 12, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported.

The UAV was destroyed over the line of contact between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops in Azerbaijans Talish village while attempting to perform reconnaissance over the countrys army positions, the ministry said.

This is the second Armenian drone downed by Azerbaijans Armed Forces on December 12. The first UAV was destroyed over the line of contact in Azerbaijans Fizuli region.

Last month, the Azerbaijani armed forces destroyed two drones of Armenia  one in Fizuli region, and the second on the line of contact in the direction of Azerbaijans Tartar region. The UAVs were doing reconnaissance flights over the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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13 December 2016 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan's enchanting and vivid carpets can re-enter the world markets soon as there are plans to expand carpet production indutry in the country.

Beauty and quality of the national carpets, known as a symbol of Azerbaijan, has praised many since ancient times. Representing a fantastic mixture of natural colors, reflecing the blue sky and green forests, dense shadows and the whiteness of snow on the slopes of the mountains, the national carpets are a desired ware for many houses.

The magically designed carpets absorb the ruby brightness of pomegranate seeds and the golden glow of quince, copper of saffron and lilac tints of grapes.

Azerbaijan used to export hand-made oriental silk and wool rugs to many countries and they still decorate many famous museums and private collections.

Historically, Azerbaijani carpets have been popular worldwide. The rich historical contribution to the development of the national carpet made by the carpets schools of Ganja, Karabakh, Guba, Shirvan, Absheron, Gazakh, and Tabriz, have left Azerbaijan with a profound history in carpet weaving.

And each school has different patterns and color palette.

Although carpet weaving remains a favorite handcrafting in regions, Azerbaijan has to import cheaper carpets from other countries due to low output.

MP Musa Guliyev proposes to increase the production of this ancient craft rather than importing them from China and Dubai.

He believes that the country should start with reactivating the carpet-weaving mill and textile factory in Ganja, which activity has been suspended years ago.

The MP said that the resumption of the activity of this plant, as well as weaving factory, would help to reduce the outflow of currency from the country.

"The development of light industry, of course, is one of the main areas of the economy. Ganja has the potential to support the development of economy and increase revenues [of state budget]. Once, a carpet weaving factory operated in Ganja, which employed more than 3,000 people. Every year the plant produced 2.5 million square meters of carpets," he said.

Guliyev emphasized that the country will be able to provide an additional 3,000 new jobs, adding that it would be good to provide financial support to these enterprises.

History of Eastern beauty

Arab historians described with surprise the unusual rugs, woven with gold and silver threads and decorated with precious stones. English travelers admired the quality of carpet dyes used by Azerbaijani weavers. European artists from different eras decorated" their paintings with Azerbaijani carpets, with Hans Holden the Younger and Hans Mumbling being among them.

Over many centuries, a carpet has been not only an accessory, but also a necessity for Azerbaijani people. In ancient times, no man married a girl, who could not weave a carpet. Families used to buy carpets as main part of their girls' dowry.

The countrys life has been closely related with carpets, as people lay them on the floor or hang them on the walls or sew with them clothes for themselves and blankets for their horses.

When someone wanted to give a big present to others, carpets were considered as an ideal option. Carpets were also used as taxes or tribute, and rulers took carpets as tax with great pleasure. In a nutshell, a mans wealth was defined by the number of carpets he had.

Carpet as Art

Azerbaijan is a leading country in the world in the field of carpet art. In 2010, the traditional art of Azerbaijani carpets was entered into the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Majestic Azerbaijani rugs are the honorary "residents" at the White House, State Department. National carpets are displayed in the world's most prestigious museums as Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Louvre, Victoria and Albert Museum, Vatican, and the Hermitage.

Azerbaijani carpets, admiring with their unusual beauty and colorfulness, increasingly become to attract attention.

To preserve this tradition the country aims to open ten carpet production enterprises.

The process is expected to start in the first half of 2017, according to the Economy Ministry, while the preparation of the State Program of the Development of Carpet Weaving Craft is over.

Experts say the realization of the state program will allow presenting the world production of new Azerbaijani kilims and carpets.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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13 December 2016 12:17 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) may render its support for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan.

A source told Trend that the assistance may be rendered by means of opening lines of credits for local banks.

"Thus, the ADB wants to provide support to banks in Azerbaijan and contribute to the development of SMEs," said the source, mentioning that the implementation of any concrete project is not currently on agenda and the government does not hold any discussions with the Bank in this regard.

Financing of SMEs in Azerbaijan is carried out by a number of organizations, including the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support, State Agency for Agricultural Credit, banks and non-bank credit organizations.

Moreover, a number of international financing organizations such as the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Cooperation allocate credits for the support of small and medium entrepreneurship in the country.

The ADB earlier approved a $500 million loan to help Azerbaijan maintain social spending, create jobs, and diversify its economy to mitigate the adverse impact of a crash in oil prices.

In addition to the loan, ADB will provide technical assistance of $1.2 million to help design reforms to macro-fiscal management, state-owned enterprises, and the finance sector. The capacity of government departments in implementing the reforms will also be strengthened.

Also, the Bank will provide $1 billion in private and public sector assistance to expand Azerbaijans Shah Deniz II, one of the worlds largest gas fields.

Azerbaijan became a member of ADB in 1999 while the countrys share in the banks capital amounts to 0.5 percent. The bank has so far allocated some $2.8 billion to finance different projects.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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13 December 2016 15:37 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

A total of 26 state-owned properties were sold on December 13 during the auction of Azerbaijans State Committee on Property Issues.

One small state object and two unused non-residential areas are located in Baku, one object in Ganja, two objects in Sheki, one object in Zagatala, two unused non-residential area in Sumgait, two in Goychay, one in Agdash and one in Fuzuli.

As a result of privatization of these facilities, the state budget will receive 4.3 million manats ($2.4 million).

At the next auction to be held on December 20, some 84 state property objects will be put on display for privatization.

The third stage of privatization started in the framework of the decree dated May 19, 2016 by the presidential decree. Under the decree, the acceleration of the state property privatization process has been defined as an important direction of the economic policy.

The portal for privatization  privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in two languages -

Azerbaijani and English. Why Azerbaijan is special section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country.

The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as improve the business environment of Azerbaijan.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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13 December 2016 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan and Ukraine has agreed to jointly design ships, as Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company and Ukrainian Marine Engineering Bureau will create a joint venture -- Caspian Engineering Bureau.

The relevant document was undersigned by heads of the two companies Rauf Valiyev and Genadiy Yegorov, respectively.

The new joint venture will be engaged in design work, creation of ships projects of different directions, technical documentation for the repair, modernization and operation of ships, training of specialists in this field and conducting research projects.

In October, the two companies have signed a contract worth 132 million manats ($80 million) for construction of two new unique Ro-Pax (roll-on/roll-off passenger) ferries.

The ferry to be built at Baku Shipyard LLC is designed for freight and passenger traffic. The vessel with deadweight of 5,540 tons will be able to carry up to 56 tanks, 46 gondola cars, 44 freight cars, 50 trucks and will have 100 passenger seats.

Currently, Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company has 13 ferries, two of which are Ro-Ro type ferries. Seven of those ferries can carry up to 28 cars, while other six ferries can carry 52-54 cars

Azerbaijan is highly prioritizing the development of the shipping industry and improvement of the maritime infrastructure. The government has already approved the State Program on Development of Shipping in Azerbaijan for 2016-2020.

The program envisages wide range of obligations including renewal of the transport and specialized offshore fleet, expansion of activities outside the Caspian Sea, increase of the volume of freight transportation through the territory of the country, modernization of shipbuilding and maintenance yards and improvement of the academic base of marine education, as well as implementation of certain measures to turn the country into major transport-logistics hub of international importance.

The country is now negotiating with a number of European, Chinese and South Korean, as well as domestic companies, for building ships. Moreover, international firms have also made commitments to increase shipping ties with Iran.

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company plays a connecting role in the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), provides marine transportation of goods and passengers, as well as offshore support services for oil and gas operations.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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Image Group LA/ABCGreen Day paid tribute to the victims of the Oakland warehouse fire during a show at the California city's Oracle Arena on Saturday night.

Before launching into a rendition of the band's hit "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong dedicated the performance to the 36 people who lost their lives at the Ghost Ship artists' space the night of December 2.

"What happened last week at Ghost Ship...it's shocking. But this is our own, this is our people," Armstrong told the crowd. "My heart just goes out to all the people that perished in that warehouse, because these are people just there looking for themselves, just trying to have a moment where they could all just celebrate just being artists and being weird and having fun."

You can watch fan-filmed footage of the performance now on YouTube.

Armstrong and Green Day obviously have a lot of close ties to the Oakland arts scene, as the band was founded in California's Bay Area.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan completed his visit to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and on December 12 paid a working visit to Vayots Dzor Province, press service of the Presidential administration told Armenpress.

The President held a consultation in the city of Jermuk to discuss issues related to the tourism development. The sectors development potential, the upcoming projects, the obstacles and problems of the tourism development, as well as their solution ways were presented at the consultation.

The consultation was attended by Vice Prime Minister, Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms Vache Gabrielyan, Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructures Suren Karayan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Development Davit Lokyan, Culture Minister Armen Amiryan, Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Harutyunyan, Chairman of the State Committee of Urban Development under the Government Narek Sargsyan, Acting Chairwoman of the Tourism State Committee Zarmine Zeytuntsyan, Head of the Toursim Development Policy Department Mekhak Apresyan, Governor of Vayots Dzor Province Harutyun Sargsyan, Jermuk community leader Vardan Hovhannisyan, Executive Director of the Development Foundation of Armena Karen Mkrtichyan, Executive Director of the Territorial Development Foundation of Armenia Ashot Kirakosyan. All presented reports to the President on a number of issues related to the tourism development.

At the beginning of the consultation, the President stated that despite certain positive results achieved in the tourism sector, there is still a great potential which is not fully revealed. He highlighted that the tourism sector cannot actively develop only through the efforts of the sector representatives.

This is an interrelated whole series of economic development, and all the rings of it must be firm, operate actively in order to be able to achieve final result. And all must take responsibility. We must understand that the sector can develop only through our joint efforts. Of course, there is a great potential, and expecting great results in a short period of time is not realistic. But every day we must see the pace of the development, every day we must record a success, perhaps small, aiming to conduct what we have signed, at least in five years to triple the volumes. This must be for us as a realistic issue in terms of solution.

It is not a coincidence that we are holding this consultation in Vayots Dzor Province where there are very good historically formed preconditions for tourism development, the President said, adding that the southern route is passing through this Province. He said this route has a great chance to become as part of greater projects, such as Iran-Armenia-Georgia regional tourism package.



I think that the local sefl-government bodies can play a key role in the development of this sector, and especially, the community leaders who are the integral parts of this chain. We must develop Jermuk and other tourism centers. Here we have a lot to do, and every community leader must always consider in his decisions how it contributes to the tourism development. And not only the community leaders: here all participants must think whether his/her activity is effective in this regard, the President said. He brought some examples on the sectors development opportunities, as well as the existing preconditions. He recalled Pope Francis visit to Armenia which was held under the slogan of Visit to the First Christian Nation. Moreover, Pope Francis publicly announced that he pays a pilgrimage to Armenia. President Sargsyan said all these were positive signs based on which the sector representatives must build Armenias competitive advantage in the tourism sector.

I think we pay a little attention to inter-republic tourism development. This not only solves economic development, but also other issues. There is no better patriotic propaganda, better military-patriotic education than recognizing your own country. Every young man understands without any word that he has an obligation to defend his country. Although it seems we record a great growth in the incoming tourism by the development of infrastructures of Tatev Wing, here we also have to work, especially when both Yerevan residents and the people of provinces have a great desire to visit those places, therefore, we must create opportunities, President Sargsyan stated.
13 December 2016 16:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) has so far paid compensations worth over 717.73 million manats ($411.77 million) to depositors of the recently closed Dekabank, Kredobank, Zaminbank, Parabank, Caucasus Development Bank, AtraBank, Bank of Azerbaijan, Ganjabank, Texnikabank and Bank Standard.

Banks Volume of paid compensations (million manats/ million USD) Volume of the insured deposits (million manats/ million USD) Bank Standard 430.28 ($ 246.86 ) 460($263.9) Zaminbank 52.38 ($30.05) 60($ 34.42) Dekabank 3.02 ($1.73) 5.59($3.20) Kredobank 27.76 ($ 15.92) 30.21($ 17.33) Caucasus Development Bank 1.94 ($ 1.11) 2($1.14) Atrabank 14.26 ($ 8.18) 14.55($ 8.34) Bank of Azerbaijan 24.16($ 13.86) 24.2($13.88) Gandjabank 0.98 ($ 0.56) 1($0.57) Texnikabank 120.05 ($ 68.87) 122.6($ 70.33) Parabank 42.91 ($ 24.61) 43.79($25.12)

Acceptance of applications from insured depositors of DekaBank, KredoBank, Zaminbank and Parabank began on August 1, 2016 and the payment of compensations has been carried out since that day.

Compensations to the depositors of Caucasus Development Bank and AtraBank are being paid starting from August 23.Payments are being carried out at the branches the banks.

Depositors of Caucasus Development Bank receive compensations at the banks main office.Payment of compensations to insured depositors of Bank of Azerbaijan has been carried out since January 29, 2016 at branches of Muganbank and Rabitabank, and since September 8 at ADIFs office.

Clients of Ganjabank receive compensations since February 4 at the branches of Rabitabank, Unibank and Kapital Bank.

ADIF launched payment of compensations to depositors of Texnikabank on February 12.

Payment of compensations to the insured depositors of Bank Standard started October 11, 2016 at the banks main office and its branches in the regions of Azerbaijan and will continue for one year.

The licenses of all the banks were revoked in 2016, as their assets were not classified in line with the law, and they didnt create adequate reserves and their aggregate capital did not meet the minimum requirements.

Some 32 banks are currently implementing their activities in the country.

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13 December 2016 18:27 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan is keen to bolster its cooperation with Fujairah, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.

Azerbaijan`s Ambassador to the UAE Dashgin Shikarov said that the country has good perspectives for strengthening of cooperation in such spheres as trade, tourism, agriculture, investment.

The envoy made the remark during his meeting with Ruler of the Emirate Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi. During the meeting the envoy gave thorough information about favorable business climate, economic indices and large regional projects in Azerbaijan and invited business circles of the Emirate to invest in the country.

He further mentioned that the opening of direct flights between Azerbaijan and Fujairah, particularly its regions, will give a stimulus for the development of the cooperation.

Mentioning facilitation of visa regime between Azerbaijan and the UAE, the envoy said that the measure allowed to increase tourist inflow to the country by 25-30 times, while the number of operated flights between the states grew up to 28 within a week.

Currently, there is a visa-free regime for persons with diplomatic and service passports, and since 2015, the UAE citizens has been visiting Azerbaijan on the basis of a simplified visa system. Citizens o f the UAE can obtain entry visa, valid for 30 days stay, at any international airport in Azerbaijan.

Shikarov said that Air Arabia will launch operation of flights en route Baku-Sharjah-Baku (the third largest and third most populous city in the UAE) in March 2017.

Some 223 UAE companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan. The trade turnover between the countries amounted to almost $58 million as of the end of the third quarter of 2016, with some $50 million falling to a share of import from the country. The figure is 24 percent higher as compared to the same period of 2015.

Recently, the two countries agreed to establish a joint investment fund to facilitate the implementation of joint investment in mutually beneficial projects.

The UAE recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on December 26, 1991, while diplomatic relations between the sides were established on September 01, 1992.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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13 December 2016 13:48 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Khojaly play has been staged at the Azerbaijan House in London, Azertac reported.

Created by Aloff Theatre the play is based on the words and testimony of the survivors of the Khojaly Genocide, committed by Armenian militaries back during the Karabakh War.

Local residents and members of the Azerbaijani community watched the play.

Written by Nick Awde, directed by Hannah Eidinow and produced by Sanan Aliyev, the 70-minute Khojaly is a play that gives a voice to the innocent Azerbaijanis whose lives were changed forever by the massacre that took place in February 1992 in Khojaly.

The play will be also staged in Baku, Berlin, Moscow and Scotland.

Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian armed forces in 1992.

About 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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13 December 2016 15:07 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The City of Winds continues to host a series of concerts in the framework of "Sound Waves" festival.

The Portuguese Trio Daniel Pereira will perform in Baku on December 16 together with Azerbaijani musicians. The etno-concert will take place at the International Mugham Centre.

Last spring, concerts were organized with Mediterranean countries, such as Italy, Greece, Spain and two weeks ago, also with Israel. Now, it is the turn for musicians from Portugal, a Southern European Atlantic country, to perform with Azerbaijani artists.

Daniel Pereira Cristo is a musician, who explores the potential of ancestral instruments from Northwest Portugal. For his music, Cristo uses ancient string-instruments such as the "Cavaquinho", the "Viola Braguesa", and the Mandolin. In his singing, he reclaims the Portuguese oral tradition, while his instrumental pieces perfectly illustrate the cultural significance of these particular sounds. . In this concert in Baku, he will be joined by Andre NO (percussions) and Helder Costa ("Viola Braguesa" and guitar).

The music residents and guests of Baku will enjoy to during this concert is characteristic of the city of Braga, in Northwest Portugal. It is interesting to note that several Azerbaijani students have recently studied in the Minho Region, attending universities both in the cities of Braga and Viana do Castelo.

Furthermore, Braga, exactly as Ganja this year, was in 2012 the European Capital of Youth and the two cities have recently been closely in contact. So, although it may come as a surprise, ties have already been developed between Azerbaijan and the region of Portugal where these musicians come from.

This year, the Mission of Portugal, together with local partners, has more than once brought Portuguese culture to Baku. In April, the works of three Portuguese artists were shown in the I Wanna be Adored exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and, in September, the ensemble Fad Nu played three concerts of the Portuguese traditional music Fado at Landmark.

Art is a bridge between cultures and a universal language, which enhances understanding, but above all proves that we are the same people everywhere in the world, with the same longings and the sa me emotions and the same need to be understood.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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13 December 2016 14:02 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

A solo exhibition by Azerbaijani cartoonist Bayram Hajizade opened in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Representatives of Ukrainian public, artists, mass media, officials as well as employees of Azerbaijan's Embassy in Ukraine attended the event, Azertac reported.

Being one of the eminent fine art masters in Turkey, Bayram Hajizade is in constant search for synthesis of East and West traditions, of national originality.

Preserving philosophical world view basis and poetry of Eastern classical art along with outlook of contemporary man distinguishes his paintings.

His cartoons are filled with deep philosophy easily accepted by the viewers.

Bayram Hajizade was elected chairman of Azerbaijan Cartoonists Union in 2006.

Since 2006, he is a president of Azerbaijan Group in International Federation of Cartoonists Organizations (FECO).

In 2007, he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Art Worker. In 2008, he defended thesis on the development of caricature , and has received the scientific degree of candidate of art criticism.

He is organizer of the International Cartoon Contest Molla Nasreddin held in Azerbaijan.

No wonder the artist's works awarded prizes at international competitions and festivals in Ukraine, USA and Cuba.

The artist's personal exhibitions have been successfully carried out in Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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13 December 2016 18:07 (UTC+04:00)

The 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg has failed to reach a clear progress on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. Armenia, as a party to the conflict, refused to sit at a negotiation table with Azerbaijan in an extended format.

The OSCE Minsk Group holding a mandate for mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks could not take any effective step so far to push out of the deadlock the conflict that emerged in late 1980s by force of Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

A proposal to hold a 3+2 (Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers and foreign ministers of Russia, U.S. and France) came from France, a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is frequently criticized for inactivity. In this regards, holding a meeting in the format of 3+2 on the sidelines of the Council in Hamburg seemed quite tempting and of utter importance.

However, this mediation effort backed by Baku was broken by Yerevan for the next time, clearly demonstrating lack of the will or interest of the Armenian side to tackle the problem.

The Hamburg meeting put a special emphasis on the necessity of solving the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh problem as a number of top officials repeatedly stated the necessity of finding a durable peace mechanism. Heads of delegations of the OSCE Minsk group co-chair countries  Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States John Kerry, and Foreign Minister of France Jean-Marc Ayrault  made a joint statement on the conflict where expressed full commitment to a negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In light of the dramatic escalation in violence along the line of contact in April, we express concern over continuing armed incidents, including reports on the use of heavy weapons, and strongly condemn the use of force or the threat of use of force," said the statement.

The Minsk Group co-chair countries also noted in the statement that they are prepared to host a meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan when they are ready. The statement expressed confidence in the need for early negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"Continuous and direct dialogue between the presidents, conducted under the auspices of the co-chairs, remains an essential element in building confidence and moving the peace process forward," the statement said.

Armenia tries to impede the negotiation process by all means. Last meetings between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents were held in Vienna in May and St. Petersburg in June. After that, the talks stalled, although, the Azerbaijani side and the country's president constantly said Baku is ready to come to the negotiating table with Yerevan. However, Armenia falls on deaf ears to these calls.

Furthermore, Yerevan remains loyal to its tradition to blackmail each meeting, making absurd statements. This time Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian took another attempt to deceive the public opinion.

However, Azerbaijan's just answer for Armenia was not long in coming. "Armenias statements are aimed at disrupting the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement as well as the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said.

Not accepting the OSCE principles Armenia worsens the situation violating the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. By this, the aggressor side tries to provoke Azerbaijans Armed Forces. Moreover, Armenians regularly try to carry out acts of sabotage on the contact line between the troops and by this aggravate the situation.

Preserving a fragile status quo Armenia tries to hamper the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Yerevan ignores international acts on the conflict, including the OSCE Madrid Principles presented almost a decade ago. The document underlines necessity of returning regions around Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, as well as returning more than a million of Azerbaijani international displaced persons to their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.

The illegal presence of the Armenian troops in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan remains the main cause of the escalation in the region, and it is an obstacle to peaceful settlement of the conflict.

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13 December 2016 11:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Stephane Visconti paid a visit to Azerbaijan on December 11-12, the French embassy in Baku reported on December 12.

This is Viscontis first visit to the region after his participation with other two co-chairs in the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Hamburg and starting to fulfill his duties.

The co-chair was received by Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev on December 12 and also met with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

During the visit to Baku, Visconti reiterated his countrys commitment to continue the efforts, together with the U.S. and Russia, to facilitate an unbiased and fair settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the embassy said.

The newly appointed French co-chair assumed the office on November 3. His predecessor Pierre Andrieu has held the position since June 2014.

The OSCE Minsk Group, the activities of which have become known as the Minsk Process, works to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for over two decades, but in vain.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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13 December 2016 12:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Gulgiz Muradova

Vladimir Rakhmanin, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia tells Azernews about the FAO-Azerbaijan cooperation, activity of the FAO, touching upon many other issues of global importance.

Question: How do you assess the FAO-Azerbaijan partnership? How can you evaluate the countrys role in addressing the challenges faced by FAO?

Answer: The partnership between Azerbaijan and FAO has steadily grown over the past two decades. Since last year, this partnership has entered into a new phase through signing agreements on FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Programme and Establishment of FAO Partnership and Liaison Office in Baku. Consequently, Azerbaijan has become a new resource partner to FAO and will fund FAO projects in Azerbaijan as well as other selected countries. In this regard, I am happy to acknowledge the important role of the FAO Goodwill Ambassador  Ms Leyla Aliyeva  in increasing public awareness on FAO's goals and policies and supporting FAO activities.

Q.: What are the FAO recommendations to countries in terms of securing their own food security? Can you please specifically speak of cooperation between your organization and the Azerbaijani government in this regard?

A.: We appreciate the fact that Azerbaijan is a food-secure country. The challenge in Azerbaijan is to make agriculture more competitive and resilient. FAOs cooperation with Azerbaijan is shaped by the 2016-2020 Country Programming Framework (CPF) which sets 6 priority areas including animal health and plant protection; supporting investments in agriculture; capacity development; strengthening the policy and institutional framework; improved crop, fisheries and livestock production; and sustainable, equitable and efficient forestry; land and water resource management. These are the areas where FAO and Azerbaijan plan their joint initiatives.

Q.: Recently, the Azerbaijani government took major steps to fight against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and prevent potential negative effects on the environment. What is FAO's position on this issue [approach towards GM technology from safety to benefits to impacts on food security]?

A.: Biotechnologies are often wrongly equated with GMOs. It is true that GMOs are among the biotechnologies available, but many biotechnologies have nothing to do with GMOs.

The production of vaccines and bio-pesticides, or the use of molecular markers to develop new plant varieties, all involve biotechnology without the use of GMOs. Processes ranging from fermentation and artificial insemination, on the low-tech end, to advanced DNA-based methods on the high-tech end, are all ways to help farmers improve plant and animal varieties and increase yields.

Earlier in 2016 FAO convened a three-day symposium on agricultural biotechnologies. About 500 scientists, along with representatives of government, civil society, the private sector, academia, farmers' associations and cooperatives participated in this forum.

We also published our model for ecosystem-based agriculture, called "Save and Grow in Practice."

At FAO, we believe that to eradicate hunger and build more sustainable food systems, we need to consider all tools at our disposal. Those tools include both agroecology and biotechnology. We believe that these approaches can work side by side and complement each other.

We recognize that genetic modification can help in some circumstances to increase production and productivity and thus contribute to food security. We are aware of peoples concerns about the potential risks that GMOs may pose for human and animal health and the environment. We promote careful evaluation on a case-by-case basis of the potential benefits and risks associated with the application of modern technologies to improve plant and animal production. But the final conclusion is left with the national governments.

Q.: Climate change is already affecting food security for tens of millions of people throughout the world, and it is getting worse due to weather-related disasters. Do you believe the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is achievable to prevent the global catastrophe?

A.: The Paris Agreement is a landmark: for the first time it brings all nations together to tackle climate change. The agreement will strengthen the global response and commitment of staying below a 2-degree Celsius temperature rise. It is certainly an ambitious goal and it is for this reason that the international community is putting in place the financial mechanisms, and the technology and knowledge transfer needed if these targets are to be met. As we are already seeing changes in climate, we must adequately address both mitigation and adaptation responses. For example, FAO is advocating an integrated approach through its Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) concept. The global Sustainable Development Goals are challenging. Since they are cross cutting, they actually provide us with an excellent opportunity to undertake actions  actions that take into consideration all three pillars of sustainability  social, economic and environmental. In 2016 FAO dedicated its flagship publication, The State of Food and Agriculture, to climate change, and how to handle its effects in agriculture. The report, issued on October 17, contains the latest assessments and practical recommendations.

Q.: How the global economic conditions affect the food security targets of the countries, and what are the responses from FAO to unpredictable changes?

A.: Since the main reason for falling poverty and hunger in this region has been economic growth, any changes in the economic environment which decreases growth can theoretically lead to falling living standards, thereby increasing risk of both poverty and food insecurity. However, households always have coping mechanisms in relation to food insecurity that they utilize in such conditions. This includes substituting cheaper foods for more expensive ones, cutting back on high cost foods, etc. Thus, a fall in incomes of 10 percent does not lead to an increase of hunger of such a magnitude. Moreover, only a relatively small portion of the population is in the high-risk zone where a decrease in living standards can lead to a substantial risk of food insecurity. For Azerbaijan, the portion of the population suffering from food insecurity is below 5 percent, according to FAO figures.

Q.: Could you give us a brief summary of the latest FAO report on world hunger? According to the last statistics brought in the FAO report 2015, there was actually a drop in the world hunger statistics. What were the major factors for such a descending figure? (Sedik, based on global SOFI 2015)

A.: The principal reason for the fall in poverty and hunger during the period measured by the MDGs in the Europe and Central Asian region (and not just this region) has been economic growth.

Q.: FAO reports that people annually waste more than 1.3 billion tons of food  enough to feed all the hungry people in the world. How can we prevent such enormous waste?

A.: Up to one third of all food is spoiled or squandered before it is consumed. Almost half of all fruits and vegetables are wasted. This is a shameful waste of the labour, water, energy, land and other inputs that go into producing our food. We cannot afford this level of loss and waste  particularly in a world where 780 million people do not get enough to eat.

We also need to consider the environmental costs. The production, processing and distribution of food that is lost or wasted accounts for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions. Additional emissions are linked to rotting food in landfills, which releases methane  a gas about 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

To understand the enormity of the problem, think about this: if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas-emitting country in the world.

Everyone has a role to play in reducing food waste and mitigating the effects of climate change. By being conscientious or ethical consumers and changing simple day-to-day decisions, for example by wasting less food or eating less meat and more nutritious pulses, we can reduce our food print and make a difference.

As an intergovernmental organization, FAO is in a position to play the role of a neutral and independent facilitator. We can coordinate, at global level, the initiatives, activities and projects on food losses and waste reduction by partnering with UN agencies, other international organizations, and worldwide stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society.

FAO supports 47 countries in the area of food loss and waste. It provides technical support to countries to help identify loss levels and promotes cooperation between national and regional organizations and public and private partners to reduce food loss and waste. This includes the Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction (SAVE FOOD), a unique partnership with the private sector, which comprises over 600 companies and organizations active in food losses and waste reduction. SAVE FOOD aims to drive innovations, promote interdisciplinary dialogue and spark debates to generate solutions across the entire value chain from field to fork.

Link: www.save-food.org

Link: www.fao.org/europe

Photo: FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto.

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13 December 2016 15:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan and Spain mulled issues of cooperation in field of public administration as the rector of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Urkhan Alakbarov, has paid a visit to Spain.

During the visit, Alakbarov has held meetings at the Ministry of Finance and Public Function and National Institute of Public Administration, Azertac reported.

Addressing the event, Alakbarov highlighted Azerbaijan`s history, as well as ongoing political, economic processes in the country.

Further, the rector also provided an insight into the activity and international bonds of the State Academy of Public Administration.

Director of international relations at the National Institute of Public Administration Marta Cimas Hernando, in turn, spoke about the public administration experience of Spain.

Marta Cimas Hernando stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation.

Spain recognized Azerbaijan's independence in December 1991. Diplomatic relations were established in February 1992.

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13 December 2016 18:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on December 13 to advance diplomatic relations, discuss regional issues as well as diplomatic, security and economic matters.

The visit caught huge international attention as being the second in turn high level trip of Mr. Netanyahu to Azerbaijan in the capacity of Israeli prime minister. Netanyahu first visited Baku to meet with the then President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev about 20 years ago -- in 1997.

Since then, the relations have progressively expanded and this high-level visit will surely become a serious momentum for strengthening and expanding relations between the two countries.

Azerbaijan, which has become a state-leader of the Transcaucasian region, is making great strides in its development, turning the current bilateral relations between the two countries into a two-way street.

Today, the two countries ties are an ideal sample of understanding between a Muslim country and the Jewish state. Azerbaijan is of strategic importance for Israel because of its geographic position and proximity to Iran.

The visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to Baku is considered historical for many reasons.

Israel is a country considered a superpower in the region, which has no diplomatic relations with most Arab countries and Iran, whereas Azerbaijan, being a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, enjoys warm relations with these countries.

Moreover, having very friendly relations with Ankara, Baku can assist in strengthening relationship between Turkey and Israel, who lately tend to improve after the crisis in 2010.

Azerbaijan is one of the few Muslim countries, which has deep political, diplomatic and economic ties with Israel. In this context, Azerbaijan plays a special role for Israel.

Being a Muslim majority country, Azerbaijan is a home to a large Jewish community. The countrys north region of Guba is home to Azerbaijan's largest community of Mountain Jews, who live in Krasnaya Sloboda (Red Town).

The two countries cooperate not only in trade and economic sphere (Israel imports Azerbaijani oil through the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline) but also had broad interaction in military and military-technical spheres.

During a short visit the Prime Minister met with President Ilham Aliyev. The last meeting between the two leaders was held in January 2015 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

President Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his spouse Sara Netanyahu.

During the meeting President Aliyev said that Jewish community is a very active part of Azerbaijani society and they contribute a lot to the development of the country.

"It is a very important factor in our bilateral relations," President Aliyev said.

In turn, Netanyahu said he was glad to be in Azerbaijan for the second time, adding that Israel and Azerbaijan have excellent relationship and also friendship between the two nations.

Netanyahu noted that the Jewish people feel very comfortable in Azerbaijan, adding that some 70,000 people from Azerbaijan, Jews, are living in Israel.

"We have a lot to talk about, including energy of course," he stressed.

"I look forward to discussing with you how we can increase prosperity of our nations and cooperation between our governments," he said.

Following the one-on-one meeting, the two countries signed agreements on standardization, double taxation and agricultural cooperation.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Jermuk Group is planning to significantly increase its export volumes. After the launch of its new factory, Jermuk Group increased its production 4 times. During President Serzh Sargsyans visit to the new factory, executive director of the company Vahagn Arsenyan emphasized the new factory has been built from scratch during just one year with the purpose of increasing exports.

We have to do everything to maximally increase export volumes. Our old factory was enough for domestic consumer production, but we also want to boost exports, Arsenyan said.

He said the production of Jermuk Group is being exported to more than 60 countries, however the main market is Russia. He added there is big potential to increase exports to Russia, which must be used.

In addition, the companys production has conquered new markets. Arsenyan said since 2015 they are exporting to China and even South Africa.

We are now working to increase exports to the US. In terms of exports, the US is our second important market after Russia. The main emphasis of the new factory is exports. We are currently actively engaged with China and we must significantly increase exports to that country by 2020, Arsenyan said.

Overall 5 hundred employees are working in the factory, with the majority being Jermuk locals. Arsenyan said they regularly send their employees abroad for trainings.

President Serzh Sargsyan, minister of economic development and investments Suren Karayan, minister of territorial administration and development Davit Lokyan attended the opening of the new factory.
13 December 2016 12:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Petkim, the leading petrochemical company of Turkey, is still in talks with SOCAR Turkey Energy (subsidiary of Azerbaijans state energy giant SOCAR) on the acquisition of a share in the Star oil refinery.

Turkeys Public Disclosure Platform (Kamuoyunu Aydnlatma Platformu - KAP) reported that the company intends to purchase a 12-14 percent share of Rafineri Holding from SOCAR Turkey Energy, thus becoming the owner of a 7-9 percent share in Star Refinery, which will be the first oil refinery built by the private sector in Turkey.

Petkims Board of Directors earlier gave permission for the launch of talks on the issue. Petkims newly-appointed CEO Anar Mammadov talking to reporters in Izmir said that talks on the issue are currently underway and no specific comments may be made at present.

For the time being the distribution of shares in the refinery is as follows: Rafineri Holding A.S., which operates as a subsidiary of SOCAR Turkey Energy, holds some 60 percent of shares, while SOCAR is an owner of a 40 percent share.

SOCAR Turkey Enerji is considered to be the most important representative of the ever-reinforcing economic collaboration between Azerbaijan and Turkey. SOCAR has been carrying out its activities in Turkey under the name of SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S. since 2012.

Petkim produces high quality petrochemical products in its integrated and high technology premises and it imports petrochemical products, compatible with international standards. The Star refinery will produce naphtha, diesel fuel with ultra-low sulfur, aviation kerosene, reformate, petroleum coke, liquefied gas, mixed xylene, olefin LPG, sulfur. The refinery will not produce petrol and fuel oil. It is planned to refine Azeri Light, Kerkuk and URALS oil grades at the plant.

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13 December 2016 11:32 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Antonio Guterres took the oath of office at the UN General Assembly, Sputnik reported.

Recently-elected UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took the oath of office in front of at a meeting of the UN General Assembly on Monday.

"I, Antinio Guterres, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and consciousness the functions entrusted to me as Secretary-General of the UN to discharge these functions and regulate my conduct with the interest of the United Nations only in view," he said.

Earlier during the meeting, UN General Assembly members representatives paid tribute to the outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ban said it was an honor for him to serve the United Nations and wished Guterres success.

Guterres, 67, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995-2002. Three years later, Guterres became UN High Commissioner for Refugees and served in that position until 2015.

Guterres will assume the functions of UN Secretary-General on January 1, and will hold that post for the next five years.

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13 December 2016 16:33 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The Islamic Republic of Iran which is keen to reinforce its economy and recover it from the negative effects of long-standing international sanctions, strengthens its all-round cooperation with Russia, one of the strategic allies of the Middle Eastern country.

Energy sphere

Tehran is determined to take its energy cooperation with Moscow to a new level following the removal of sanctions.

Russia's Gazprom Neft and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a memorandum of understanding on December 13 for feasibility studies on the development of two oil fields.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Iranian counterpart, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, were present at the signing ceremony in Tehran.

Under the agreement, Gazprom will study both Changouleh and Cheshmeh-Khosh oil fields, located in Western Iran.

Following the ceremony, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that the Islamic Republic plans to assign development of seven oil fields to Russian companies, mentioning that it would develop and increase the recovery rate of the fields. Irans oil fields recovery rate is about 25 percent on average, but some of giant fields like Yadavaran and Azadegan have about 6-7 percent recovery. Iran has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Lukoil on studying Ab-Teymour and Mansouri fields which contain over 5 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.

Zanganeh also said that Iran has signed MoUs with Russian Zarubezhneft on West Paydar and Aban oil fields as well as with Tatneft Company on Dehloran oil field. All fields are among those offered by Iran foreigners (total number of such fields is 49) based on the newly designed model contracts, also-known as the Iran Petroleum Contract or IPC. The sides earlier signed a memorandum on the cooperation in the sphere of oil and energy, which covered such spheres as oil exploration and extraction, development of oil fields and swap operations.

Visa regime

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei predicted that negotiations between Tehran and Moscow about the removal of visa requirements for nationals of the two countries could start next year, mentioning that the Islamic Republic is ready to cancel visa regime with Russia, while Moscow prefers not to be in a hurry and cancel the regime only for tourists on preliminary basis.

Sanaei earlier said the countries agreed to facilitate travel between the two countries in three stages.

Business cooperation

A major Russian trade delegation of around 600 business people arrived in Iran on December 11 for three days of talks with their Iranian counterparts to explore ways to boost trade relations between the two countries.

The current level of trade between the two countries stands at below $2 billion, while both countries are determined to double the index by the end of 2017.

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By Trend

Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson has been picked by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for the post of Secretary of State, NBC News reported Monday, capping weeks of speculation that included a close political ally and a sharp critic, CNBC reported.

Trump took again to Twitter to state he would announce the choice on Tuesday.

But two sources familiar with the process told NBC News that Trump has already picked Tillerson. The 64-year old Tillerson has negotiated business deals in Russia that led to a working relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has spent his entire career at the company now known as Exxon Mobil.

Late Monday, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared to bow out of the running in posts on social media, ending speculation that Trump would welcome a previously sharp critic into his administration. During the campaign Romney said Trump was a poor choice for the presidency.

Last week, close Trump ally and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he had taken his name out of consideration. President Barack Obama picked his nomination rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and she left after his first term to prepare for her 2016 run for the White House.

The U.S. Senate must confirm the cabinet-level position, with rumblings that some members of Trump's Republican party are uneasy about the business leader as the nation's top diplomat. Upon taking office, Trump would formally nominate Tillerson for confirmation by the Senate. If confirmed, Tillerson would be fourth in line to the presidency.

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13 December 2016 17:03 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The Senate, upper house of the Uzbek Parliament, dismissed the president-elect Shavkat Mirziyoyev as the countrys prime minister during a meeting on December 13.

Earlier, Chairman of the Senate Nigmatilla Yuldashev said he presented the draft resolution to dismiss Mirziyoyev as the prime minister, and urged the senators to vote.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected president of Uzbekistan on December 4.

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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani forces made over 60 ceasefire violations in the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact using various caliber small arms and firing more than 900 shots, the defense ministry of NKR told ARMENPRESS.

The ministry issued a statement, saying:

Overnight December 12-13 Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime in the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact more than 60 times, firing more than 900 shots from various caliber small arms. Intense violations occurred in the southern and eastern directions (Hadrut and Martuni), where in addition to heavy machine guns and assault rifles, Azerbaijani forces fired SVD and Istiglal sniper rifles (93 shots).

The Defense Army mainly refrained from responding to the ineffective Azerbaijani fire and confidently continued their service.

Regarding the latest Azerbaijani propaganda reports on downing two Armenian UAVs  it is nothing more than a regular false propaganda. 
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan instructed the tourism sector representatives to build Armenias competitive advantage based on the positive signs of the outside world, press service of the Presidential administration told Armenpress.

As an example, he recalled Pope Francis visit to Armenia and the wide coverage of the worlds oldest shoe discovered by archeologists in Areni by the international mass media.

I think that the local self-government bodies can play a key role in the development of this sector, and especially, the community leaders who are the integral parts of this chain. We must develop Jermuk and other tourism centers. Here we have a lot to do, and every community leader must always consider in his decisions how it contributes to the tourism development. And not only the community leaders: here all participants must think whether his/her activity is effective in this regard, the President said at the consultation held in the city of Jermuk, Vayots Dzor Province.

He brought some examples on the sectors development opportunities, as well as the existing preconditions. He recalled Pope Francis visit to Armenia which was held under the slogan of Visit to the First Christian Nation. Moreover, Pope Francis publicly announced that he pays a pilgrimage to Armenia. President Sargsyan said all these were positive signs based on which the sector representatives must build Armenias competitive advantage in the tourism sector.

Another example brought by the President was the international medias wide coverage of the worlds oldest shoe and wine production complex discovered by archeologists in Areni.

I think we pay a little attention to inter-republic tourism development. This not only solves economic development, but also other issues. There is no better patriotic propaganda, better military-patriotic education than recognizing your own country. Every young man understands without any word that he has an obligation to defend his country. Although it seems we record a great growth in the incoming tourism by the development of infrastructures of Tatev Wing, here we also have to work, especially when both Yerevan residents and the people of provinces have a great desire to visit those places, therefore, we must create opportunities, President Sargsyan stated.

The President stated that despite certain positive results achieved in the tourism sector, there is still a great potential which is not fully revealed. He highlighted that the tourism sector cannot actively develop only through the efforts of the sector representatives.

This is an interrelated whole series of economic development, and all the rings of it must be firm, operate actively in order to be able to achieve final result. And all must take responsibility. We must understand that the sector can develop only through our joint efforts. Of course, there is a great potential, and expecting great results in a short period of time is not realistic. But every day we must see the pace of the development, every day we must record a success, perhaps small, aiming to conduct what we have signed, at least in five years to triple the volumes. This must be for us as a realistic issue in terms of solution.

It is not a coincidence that we are holding this consultation in Vayots Dzor Province where there are very good historically formed preconditions for tourism development, the President said, adding that the southern route is passing through this Province. He said this route has a great chance to become as part of greater projects, such as Iran-Armenia-Georgia regional tourism package.

Based on the consultation results the President gave a number of instructions. Vice Prime Minister was instructed to form a tourism council operating by the Vice PMs coordination which aims to unite works of state bodies dealing with the tourism sector and territorial development and raise the competitiveness of the tourism result by jointly involving representatives of tourism private sector, international organizations, local-self government bodies and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The Vice PM also was instructed to discuss the upcoming large-scale infrastructure development projects of cities of provinces and separate rural communities with the Minister of Economic Development and Investments, Minister of Territorial Administration and Development, as well as Chairman of the State Committee of Urban Development and Director of Armenias Territorial Development Foundation.
















YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the working visit in Vayots Dzor Province, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan was introduced on the tourism development concept of Armenia for the upcoming three years, Acting Chairwoman of the Tourism State Committee of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments Zarmine Zeytuntsyan said by presenting the consultation results led by President Sargsyan, reports Armenpress.

We have presented the President the existing issues, their solution ways, our goals and the necessary measures to reach these goals, she said, adding that Jermuk Mayor Vardan Harutyunyan presented the tourism development program of the city to the President.

We are here since Jermuk is one of our most important tourism cities which presents an importance from a number of perspectives and has many opportunities for tourism. However, the main discussion was aimed at the general tourism development, Zeytuntsyan said.

To the question what is the major emphasis for the tourism development, she stated that first of all they will form a concept, then will take measures proposed for the first year.

As a priority step, Zeytuntsyan stressed the need to take measures aimed at raising the countrys recognition and stated that nearly 70% of the program expenses of the next year will be spent on the implementation of these works.

We want to create an interesting tourism product which is very right, however, the world is not aware of Armenia, there is no coordinated information on our country, thus it is meaningless to speak about increasing the number of visits to our country. Therefore, the major direction of our strategy is to raise the countrys recognition, she stated.

Moreover, infrastructure improvement works will be carried out as well. Zeytuntsyan said it is necessary to make the Armenian Diaspora get involved in the tourism development works of Armenia. At this moment only 10% of Diaspora-Armenians visited Armenia. This means that this we can consider as a targeted market which is completely ready, but faces information problem. There are a number of proposed measures through which we will raise the level of Armenias recognition, she said.

President Serzh Sargsyan held a consultation with the participation of tourism sector representatives within the framework of his working visit to Vayots Dzor Province. During the consultation Armenias tourism development prospects and the works carried out till now on this path were discussed.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Heads of CSTO member states will discuss the ways to counter the growing activeness of NATO within the military alliance in the upcoming summit on December 26, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha told Izvestia newspaper, reports TASS.

We must clearly understand what is happening around the borders, why NATO brings armaments, establishes infrastructure, he said.

Bordyuzha also said the Presidents of the CSTO member states will discuss various aspects of international agenda, including the Eurasian integration issues in the upcoming summit. Moreover, the issue of procedure of appointing new Secretary General is included in the summit agenda.

Russian Presidents spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the CSTO Summit at the Presidents level will be held on December 26 in St. Petersburg.

Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan are CSTO member states.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on December 13 hosted General Director of the State Hermitage of Russia Mikhail Piotrovsky who has arrived in Armenia by the invitation of Yerevan Mayor, press service of the Presidential administration told Armenpress.

His son Boris Piotrovsky also took part in the meeting.

The President welcomed Mikhail Piotrovskys in Yerevan.

President Sargsyan highly appreciated the readiness and efforts of the Hermitage leadership to develop the cooperation in the cultural sector, one of the evidence of which is the cooperation agreement on examining the archeological materials of the Red Hill to be signed today with the Ministry of Culture.

Serzh Sargsyan emphasized that a special importance is attached to the cultural component in the Armenian-Russian strategic inter-state relations, and he is happy that by such initiative these relations are strengthening year by year.

Mikhail Piotrovsky expressed gratitude for the invitation, warm reception and for the erection of memorial plague in Yerevan dedicated to the memory of his father Boris Piotrovsky.

Mikhail Piotrovsky introduced the President the upcoming events within the framework of cooperation with Armenias Culture Minister, including also the event of Hermitage Days to be held in Yerevan.








An armed suspect described as depressed and suicidal was shot by deputies overnight in Largo.

Man shot in leg after pointing rifle at deputies

Non-life threatening injuries to Logan I. Ullrich, 25

No deputies injured

The man was shot in the leg and will survive.

The shots were fired by deputies at a home in the 14000 block of Oliver Street in Largo at about 10:30 p.m.

Deputies said they initially responded to the home after a call about the welfare of Logan I. Ullrich.

Ullrich's girlfriend, who lives out of state, was worried that Logan was expressing suicidal thoughts, concerned that Logan may have a weapon and might hurt himself.

Deputies met with Ullrich, 25, and his mother and father. Deputies then determined that Ullrich did not meet the Baker Act criteria and left.

About an hour later, deputies were called back to the scene.

Officials said Ullrich had armed himself with a rifle and was running westward on Oliver Street.

Deputies said they repeatedly ordered Ullrich to drop the weapon as he ultimately ran towards them.

Authorities said Ullrich pointed the rifle towards deputies when Sergeant Paul Langlais and Deputy Benjamin Fisher fired multiple shots striking him once in the leg.

Ullrich was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg and treated.

No deputies were injured. Ullrich is facing two charges of aggravated assault.

"The deputies were parked at the corner of Hamlin Boulevard and Oliver Street when Logan came running down the street and he had a rifle in his hand," said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtierri. "The deputies challenged him, told him to drop the rifle several times, he refused and kept coming in the direction of the deputies."
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Ministry of Culture and Russias State Hermitage on December 13 signed a cooperation agreement on examining the archeological materials of the Red Hill, reports Armenpress.

The agreement was signed by Culture Minister Armen Amiryan and General Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky.

The agreement contains a serious content. The points included in it were approved by President Serzh Sargsyan. I am proud that I continue my fathers work, Mikhail Piotrovsky said.

Culture Minister Armen Amiryan stated that days before Mikhail Piotrovskys birthday was celebrated, he congratulated him and awarded him a memorial medal on that occasion.

Speaking about the Red Hill, Piotrovsky said nothing is possible to examine until the end, and as the example of the Red Hill showed, it is still possible to observe it and achieve interesting results. Today we have discussed with the President the issue of making the territory as a tourism zone, Piotrovsky said.

As for the agreement, Culture Minister Armen Amiryan stated that the cooperation layers are various. It was necessary to sign that agreement in order to carry out works in specific timeframes. At the moment I can only say that we have signed a scientific, cultural cooperation agreement which I think will serve for the recognition of the Armenian culture, the Minister said, adding that the agreement was signed for one year, but it can be extended. At this moment, the territory is not in good condition. Of course, the material received from excavations will be shown at various museums. Perhaps, there will be an opportunity to build a museum in that place, everything depends on what types findings will be discovered, the Minister said.

Director of Erebuni Historical and Archeological Museum-Reserve Gagik Gyurjyan said the Red Hill covers 40 hectares, from which only 4 hectares are excavated.

There is an opportunity to excavate its 80%. The anthropological data discovered there, the materials related to the wealthy people, the tombs are important, Gyurjyan said.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The Parliament is debating at second reading the bill package on compensation of servicemen for life/health damages inflicted during the defense of Armenia. Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said lawmakers have expressed their concern regarding several provisions and made some remarks about the legislative initiative, which have been clarified during the first reading.

Nevertheless, we have once again touched upon all written proposals, as a result of which a part of them have been accepted, and others were not accepted by corresponding argumentations, Sargsyan said.

The minister added he has held discussions with representatives of wide sectors of the society, in order to understand their stance, approach and proposals.

The presented proposals are mainly in regard to the retroactive effect of the law, use of the principle of progressive payment, as well as the idea of collecting the sum from other sources, Sargsyan said.

Speaking about the proposals on giving a retroactive effect to the law, the minister said the purpose of the bill is to introduce an insurance system, which must come into force on the relations which will occur after the laws initiation, and compensation for incidents which happened until the initiation of the law can only be made in the form of assistance  related to the financial resources of the fund.

Commenting on proposals regarding the principle of progressive payment, the minister said that according to the bill, the payment is a mandatory payment to the state budget, which must not have anything to do with the salary of the individuals.

The minister added, prior to making proposals on collecting the amount from other sources, it is necessary to take into account that the issue concerns introduction of an insurance system through a mandatory payment to the state budget and in this regard all other possible sources can only have additional auxiliary assistance.

He once again assured the lawmakers that as resulting of passing the bill, a transparent, trusted, simple and effective system will be introduced, as a result of which the amount of lump sum insurance payments compared to the currently provided amounts will increase multiple times. According to the minister, this factor will in its turn boost the moral-psychological condition of soldiers serving in risky conditions.

The defense minister also commented on the suggestions of adopting the bill on the voluntary principle. As a result of these discussions, the Martik Fund was always cited as an example, which with its activity, has seemingly overshadowed the idea to such an extent, that it is impossible to convince people in its efficiency and it must be done voluntarily. I have scrutinized the reports of Martik fund in all open sources. I have to say, the picture is pretty concerning, because during the long years of activities, the number of the funds donors hasnt exceeded 7 thousand. The majority of the donors were servicemen and their family members. The raised amount during all years comprised 1 million 200 AMD. All these amounts are intact in banks, on the funds accounts, not a single dime has been spent. Some assistance has been provided by the fund to socially vulnerable families of servicemen. I am saying this to show that not always is the solution which seems to be obvious the most effective. We chose this approach, when, highlighting this idea, we have enabled every citizen to give a legislative and organized solution to the will expressed during the April war, the minister said, emphasizing the compensation is exclusively for servicemen involved in military operations.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has sent a condolence letter to the Yeritsyans family on the occasion of the premature death of the Minister of Emergency Situations of Armenia, Police Major-General, prominent state figure Armen Yeritsyan.

As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, the condolence letter of the President reads as follows,

Armen Yeritsyan devoted his entire life to the reinforcement of statehood of the Fatherland. The long years of his impeccable activities contributed to the development of the law enforcement system of Armenia. His efforts aimed at the fundamental reconstruction and modernization of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia deserve high appreciation.

I extent my deep condolences to the family members, relatives, friends and colleagues of the state figure.
A Jefferson County jury will decide this week if Kristofer Garcia is responsible for the January 2015 death of Rhydan Bolton, a 20-year-old Lamar University student who was gunned down in what prosecutors say is a case of mistaken identity.

Garcia, 22, is one of three men charged in the killing, including his older brother Orlando Escuadra-Garcia, 24. The Garcia brothers are accused of fatally shooting Bolton, while Darren Javon Spikes is accused of driving the Chevrolet Avalanche carrying the brother to and from the South End crime scene.
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Ready or not, winter is here in Texas. Some could say the Lone Star State totally forewent the fall season and just jumped right into winter from summer, but hey, freezing temps blew in with a fury.

How did Texas respond? Not well, according to Twitter.

"Texas doesn't experience winter often, but when it does, it drops 55 degrees overnight," Feliz Navi-Paul shared.

"Texas: 'We just aren't going to have winter this year...' Also Texas: 'Oops jk it's snowing!'" Riley Fisher tweeted.

SOUTH'S WINTER FORECAST: What winter 2016-2017 will look like for the south

With many of the tweets whining abut the dramatic drop in temperature, some were quick to point out the complaining habits of Texans towards the weather.

"People in Texas complain when it's too hot all summer, then complain about being too cold in winter," $heff said on Twitter.

Yes, people complain, but Texas really jumped head first into winter this season without a gradual build-up.

And according to weather reports, these freezing temps aren't going anywhere. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning in effect from midnight Thursday night to 9 a.m. Friday. This means that after highs on Thursday being in the 50s for southern cities, like Houston, the temperatures will gradually decrease as the day goes on.

And if you're thinking the sun will help, think again. Clouds will occupy the skies for the majority of the day and very strong winds of 20 to 30 mph from the north will continue through Thursday, making the chilly temperatures feel even colder.

Time to pull both of your sweaters from your closet and start layering up!
Trae Patton/NBCJonathan Daniels had planned to take his girlfriend to Blake Sheltons October show at New York Citys Barclays Center to celebrate her 23rd birthday. But after buying the tickets, he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that left it looking doubtful he would live, much less be able to attend the concert.

After months of recovery, Daniels reached out to Blake on social media, recounting his story of how his girlfriend had been by his side as he battled back from the accident -- and the star of The Voice responded.

The A Guy with a Girl hitmaker not only invited the two to come to the show of their choice, but also extended an invitation for a backstage hang, so he can meet them. Jonathan was thrilled, responding that Blake is an amazing man with a huge heart!

The Oklahoma native kicks off his Doing It to Country Songs Tour February 16 in Bakersfield, California.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Armenias Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan hosted on Monday Argentinian-Armenian businessman Eduardo Eurnekian.

December 12, 2016, 15:04 Armenias premier hosts Argentinian-Armenian businessman Eduardo Eurnekian

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 12, ARTSAKHPRESS: Armenias premier highly commended Mr Eurnekians activities in Armenia as one of the major and most successful investors in Armenias economy. Armenias government is willing to continue effective cooperation, Mr Karapetyan said, Tert.am reports.



The two exchanged views on joint programs and prospects in various areas.



Specifically, Mr Karapetyan and Mr Eurnekian discussed such investments projects as a solar power station in Armavir, Meghri hydro-power station, infrastructure development at the Zvartnost and Shirak airports, tourism promotion and projects involving the former building of Armenias foreign office.



Mr Karapetyan informed Mr Eurnekian of the steps to ensure Armenias economic progress and of the governments plans to establish a center of strategic initiatives, which would serve as a platform for the governments cooperation with the private sector in implementing joint projects.



Armenias government highlights constant contacts with investors and businessmen and is open to discussing issues of mutual interest in forming a favorable business environment.



Mr Eurnekian welcomed the Armenian governments initiatives and announced his intention to continue investment projects in Armenia and willingness to be involved in activities of the center for strategic initiatives.
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An Alaska man who calls himself a preacher with Last Frontier Evangelism is complaining on Facebook about the reception he got when he yelled, "There is no Santa" to kids at a mall.

David Grisham posted a video of himself telling kids at an Amarillo mall Saturday afternoon that Christmas is about Jesus Christ.

"Kids, I wanted to tell you today there is no such thing as Santa Claus," Grisham said in the video. "Santa Claus does not exist....The man you're going to see today is just a man in a suit. He's dressed up like Santa but Santa does not exist."

REAL SANTA: This Santa is trying to find a lost wedding ring

Someone can be heard thanking Grisham and then asking him to leave.

Instead, Grisham persists in his message - "Parents, you need to stop lying to your children.... when you know in reality there are no flying reindeer and there is no workshop at the North Pole."

The exchange gets a bit testy before Grisham finally tells them to "have a nice day" and apparently leaves without further incident."

SANTA'S MINIONS: Hilarious, mischievous ideas for your Elf on a Shelf

Westgate Mall general manager Brian Giffin said Monday that Grisham left before mall security arrived.

In a prepared statement, Giffin said, "Westgate Mall is aware of the incident with Mr. Grisham Saturday at Westgate Mall. We want everyone who comes here to have an enjoyable shopping experience. All shoppers are expected to follow our code of conduct and will be asked to leave our premises if they can't follow our rules."

As far as he knew, Giffin said, no children were upset by Grisham's behavior. Nothing similar had ever happened at the mall, he said.

Reaction on Facebook ran the gamut from amusement to spluttering outrage.

"HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL FOR ETERNITY!" one person commented.

Another said, "All these threats? Wow. We talking about santa..."
Two things should have reduced - or erased - the strange obsession that some Texas officials have with a Convention of the States to drastically amend the U.S. Constitution: The election of Donald Trump as president and the coming biennial session of the Legislature.

Unfortunately, Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas legislators are still wasting time on this long-shot idea. Abbott recently spoke at an event supporting the convention, saying, "What is ailing America is a problem far bigger than what any one president can fix,"

In one sense, he's right. Our country has always been bigger and more important than one leader. Even those who criticized President Obama - the real trigger of the move for a Convention of the States - should realize that his effect on the country's policies was temporary in many ways.

Obama is about to be replaced by a Republican president and Congress who are vowing to undo much of what he did over the past eight years. That's the way the system is supposed to work, self-correcting any imprudent swing to the left or right.

This is what our founding fathers strived for when they wrote one of the greatest documents ever crafted - the U.S. Constitution. Even though conservatives routinely - and appropriately - praise the founders, a Convention of the States would unravel their vision by severely limiting the authority of the federal government.

It's also worth noting that any constitutional amendment approved by a Convention of the States would have to be approved by 38 states - if at least 34 states even agreed to hold the convention in the first place. Both of those requirements will be difficult, if not impossible to meet.

In Texas, the next session of the Legislature should be the clear priority for all state officials.

The Legislature meets only every two years, and then only for five months, from January to May. That's a narrow window of opportunity to fix any problems or come up with improvements to state government.

Every elected statewide official and every member of the Texas House and Senate should be focused on that job. Their constituents should demand it.
Lobbyist organizations from the hospital, insurance and actuary sectors are making it known that a repeal of the ACA could be disastrous, ABC News reports.

Republican leadership is considering repealing the law in 2017 but waiting a year to make the repeal effective to develop and implement a replacement plan.

Here's what you need to know.

1. Healthcare lobbyists and actuaries believe a repeal of the ACA without a plan already in place would be a disaster.

2. A full repeal would affect 20 million people covered through the exchanges.

3. The American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals issued statements saying repealing the ACA would results in more than $200 billion in losses to hospital systems.

4. America's Health Insurance Plans released a statement saying a repeal could create uncertainty and instability in the market, while the American Academy of Actuaries worry the promise of a replacement plan wouldn't sustain the healthcare market.

President of the National Coalition on Health Care, a consumer-rights lobbyist group, John Rother said public opinion is shifting from a full repeal to repealing the individual mandate.
The state auditor's office said Vermont has some work to do on healthcare price transparency, reports VT Digger.

Here are five things to know.

1. Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer released a non-audit report Monday, saying consumers often have trouble finding the cost of health services, particularly if they aren't tech savvy, according to the article.

2. The non-audit report follows a 2014 report from Mr. Hoffer's office. In the 2014 report, his office said that a years-old database called VHCURES  which Vermont's Green Mountain Care Board uses to perform analysis and generate regulation  had not lived up to its goal of providing consumers with healthcare pricing information, according to the report.

3. After the 2014 report, Vermont lawmakers passed language in Act 54 of 2015 requiring the GMCB to study whether it could use the VHCURES to set up a website with pricing information for consumers, reports VT Digger. Such a website never came to fruition.

4. Act 54 also required insurers Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP Health Care to establish databases to help customers find out the costs of procedures under their plans, according to the report. Mr. Hoffer's office said Monday it could only use Blue Cross' website, and while progress has been made, the information found there was incomplete, the report states.

5. Overall, Mr. Hoffer said in VT Digger, consumers should have all the information, and as a society, were all just spending too much money (on healthcare) not to have this information for everyone.

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President-elect Donald Trump is hosting an exclusive technology summit Wednesday at Trump Tower in Manhattan, according to Recode, a tech news website.

The website cites "numerous sources with knowledge of the situation." Invites were sent out by Reince Priebus, Mr. Trump's chief of staff, Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law, and Peter Thiel, a major tech investor, according to the report.

Recode reports that confirmed attendees include the following: Alphabet CEO Larry Page, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will likely attend, sources told Recode.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield and Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, as well as a handful of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, will not be attending the summit for various reasons, according to Recode.

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Urgent efforts by Republican lawmakers to follow through on a six-year campaign to repeal the ACA are shrouding major divisions within the GOP on what to replace the health law with and when, according to a feature in The Los Angeles Times.

So far, no major healthcare organization representing patients, physicians or hospitals has backed the GOP strategy to address the ACA. Many conservative health policy experts have also warned that the Republican plan being developed, which includes a vote in January to repeal the healthcare law followed by a long period of time to come up with a replacement, could be a disaster.

Here are five thoughts on the matter, according to The LA Times.

1. Patient advocacy groups have warned millions of Americans are in danger of losing healthcare benefits and protections afforded to them under the ACA and have called on Republicans to agree on a replacement plan before taking apart the current system.

"When people get cancer, they have to know that they are going to have insurance," Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society's advocacy arm, told the LA Times. "There have been and are problems with the ACA, but we have to make sure that what is done and the way it is done is not going to leave people who have cancer or who may get cancer  in the lurch."

2. Republican lawmakers are aiming to pass a bill in January that would repeal many key provisions of the ACA, including money for states to expand the Medicaid program and billions of dollars in federal funding that have provided premium subsidies to low- and middle-income Americans. To reduce disruptions, some senior Republicans want to delay when the cuts would come into effect, which would give them more time to agree on a replacement plan.

3. While this approach has gained the support of some conservative think tanks, most independent experts are weary of approving repeal without first having a replacement plan in place. The American Academy of Actuaries last week wrote a letter to House Republicans warning that many insurers will likely pull out of state marketplaces, even if the ACA isn't repealed right away.

4. Similar warnings have come from other Republican leaders, such as the insurance commissioner of Iowa, and some leading conservative critics of the current law, including James Capretta, resident fellow and Milton Friedman Chair of the American Enterprise Institute, and John Goodman, PhD, president and CEO of the Goodman Institute.

5. While Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) said the GOP's plan would maintain healthcare coverage for the millions of people who gained insurance under the ACA, current repeal plans would eliminate taxes that provide the hundreds of billions of dollars that finance that coverage. "If all Obamacare goes away, including its funding sources, where does the money come from to continue the insurance for the 20 million newly insured under the Affordable Care Act?" Dr. Goodman wrote in a recent Forbes column, according to The LA Times. President-elect Donald Trump and his congressional allies have yet to answer that question.
President-elect Donald Trump will enter the White House with lower approval ratings than many of his previous predecessors, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

For the survey, researchers polled 1,502 adults between Nov. 30 and Dec. 5 with a 2.9 percentage point margin of error, according to CBS News.

Here are six survey findings.

1. About 40 percent of respondents approve of Mr. Trump's picks for Cabinet positions and other higher-level roles, and 55 percent disapprove of Mr. Trump's explanation of future policies and plans.

2. A month after the 2008 presidential election, 71 percent of Americans approved

President Barack Obama's high-level appointments, and 72 percent approved of his explanation for future plans and policies, according to the report.

3. After the 2001 election, 58 percent of Americans approved of President George W. Bush's picks for Cabinet positions and high-level roles, and 50 percent approved of his ability to explain future plans.

4. Almost two-thirds of respondents think Mr. Trump is "reckless" and has "poor judgment."

5. Thirty-eight percent of respondents believe Mr. Trump will be a "poor or terrible" president, while 35 percent say he'll be a "good or great president," and 18 percent think he will be an "average president," according to the report.

6. Less than one-third said Mr. Trump is well qualified to serve as president.

To view the full report and more survey findings, click here.

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Hundreds of nurses and healthcare workers from Providence, R.I.-based Women & Infants Hospital and supporters demonstrated Wednesday over staffing cuts and employee benefits, reports The Providence Journal.

The informational picket took place outside the headquarters of the hospital's parent, Care New England, in Providence. According to organizers, the demonstration numbered 600 people.

The hospital workers, represented by District 1199 Service Employees International Union, have been in contract talks with management since September, union officials told The Providence Journal. The workers' current contract expired Dec. 1, and has been extended as negotiations continued, they said.

Carol Reuter, a 57-year-old registered nurse who has worked for 30 years at Women & Infants Hospital, told The Providence Journal among the key sticking points is staffing.

"They're dangerously short sometimes on the night shift,'' Ms. Reuter said in an interview with the publication. "You have three colleges who are turning out new (nursing) grads. We train them, work with them and then they can't get a job here.''

Hospital employees on Wednesday also presented Care New England management with a petition signed by 1,300 Women & Infants staff demanding "safe staffing levels," among other things, the union said in a statement, according to the report.

In response to the informational picketing, the hospital released a statement, saying that Women & Infants unionized staff "work in a superb environment and receive excellent compensation."

"In fact, in most every job category, the wages and benefits for Women & Infants employees are among the highest in hospitals across Rhode Island. We want to keep our staff at the top. Yet, we all know that healthcare has seen many changes. What we are asking for is some flexibility in the work rules, particularly related to scheduling. If we are able to achieve greater flexibility, it will help keep Women & Infants strong as a workplace and as the premier provider of care for women and newborn children," the hospital said.
Venezuela has closed its border with Colombia for 72 hours in the latest measure to combat smuggling gangs.

December 13, 2016, 09:50 Venezuela closes border with Colombia to combat mafia

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 13, ARTSAKHPRESS: President Nicolas Maduro said the "mafia" operating on border zones are causing huge damage to the economy, BBC News reports.

Many items subsidized by Venezuela's socialist government, including diesel and petrol, are sold at a huge profit over the border in Colombia.

On Sunday, he announced that the country's highest denomination bank note would be taken out of circulation.

President Maduro said the move would stop gangs hoarding the currency.

"Let's destroy the mafia before the mafia destroy our country and our economy," he said on national television.

"This measure was inevitable, it was necessary," he added. "The mafias will go bust."

Venezuela last closed most border crossings with Colombia in August 2015. The border was partially reopened a year later.

In 2015, the Colombian government complained that it had not been consulted or informed.

But both sides eventually reached an agreement to cooperate on tackling crime and smuggling along the 2,200km (1,370 miles) border.

The measure caused huge disruption for the people who live and work on border cities.

This time, Mr Maduro said the borders would be reopened after 72 hours, once the 100-bolivar notes ceased to be valid.
A union complaint against Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic is headed to federal court, according to a Post-Bulletin report.

The complaint centers on labor negotiations. Months ago, the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota filed paperwork contending Mayo "failed to bargain in good faith" with union members at its facility in Albert Lea, Minn., according to the article.

Now, the National Labor Relations Board has determined the union's complaint has merit, meaning the complaint will move forward to a hearing with an administrative law judge, reports the Post-Bulletin, citing a board decision released Friday. A date for the hearing has not been set.

Maintenance workers at Mayo's Albert Lea campus have been working without a contract for more than a year due to concerns about language in the contract negotiations with Mayo, according to the report. Two pickets were held as both sides have attempted to reach a labor deal.

"While I'm glad the NLRB General Counsel found in our favor, I really just wish Mayo would sit down and bargain fairly with us," Bill Johnson, who was present for oral arguments, told the Post-Bulletin. "Like many of my co-workers, I've worked for Mayo for over three decades, and I'm proud of our work making sure the Albert Lea hospital stays up and running. We aren't asking for executive salaries, just respect for our work and our dedication to the hospital after all these years. I hope Mayo finally sits down in good faith. It is time to bargain a fair contract so we can continue our work to make the hospital the best it can be for the Albert Lea community."

In response to the NLRB decision, Mayo spokeswoman Ginger Plumbo provided Becker's Hospital Review with a statement, noting that the hearing is part of the overall process.

"Regarding the NLRB General Counsel's referenced position on the Albert Lea maintenance employee contract negotiations, an administrative law judge will now hold a hearing to determine the validity of the union's allegations about contract bargaining. We are confident that Mayo Clinic Health System has bargained in good faith and await the outcome of the hearing," the statement reads.

In a separate issue, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota has also filed a complaint against Mayo over plans to outsource its food service department, according to the report.

For months, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota has fought Mayo's plan to switch from Sodexo to Morrison Healthcare for food and nutrition services.

The union has held at least two rallies to protest Mayo's plan. Additionally, more than 30 legislators signed a petition asking Mayo to reconsider its food service decision, with many expressing concerns it would result in reduced employee salaries, according to the Post-Bulletin.

Mayo has contended local employees will be offered jobs for the same pay, and that the change "will allow us to deliver consistent and enhanced food and nutrition options to our patients, visitors and staff."

Mayo said it had two negotiation sessions last week with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota regarding the food service contracts. "The discussions have been productive and we have set an additional future date for negotiations," Mayo added.
U.S. District Judge John Tharp Jr. has sentenced Banio Koroma, MD, a physician at now-shuttered Mobile Doctors in Chicago, to 40 months in prison, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

After a four-day trial in January, Dr. Koroma was convicted on federal fraud charges. Evidence at trial showed Dr. Koroma falsely certified patients as homebound while working for Mobile Doctors  a company that contracted with physicians to arrange in-home visits for patients in several states and closed in 2013.

A federal jury found Dr. Koroma guilty of two counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of making false statements related to healthcare matters.

In addition to his prison term, the judge also ordered Dr. Koroma to pay $1.5 million in restitution, according to the report.

More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits:

Fla. orthopedic medical group to pay $4.5M to settle false claims allegations

Rideout Health to pay $2.4M to settle drug mismanagement claims

South Miami Hospital settles whistle-blower suit for $12M
As Republicans pledge quick change to the ACA, health insurers are amplifying their lobbying efforts in an attempt to keep the individual market from folding  a reality some payers feel could occur with the removal of the ACA's individual mandate, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Some insurers warn a January decision to eliminate the ACA's individual mandate or alleviate federal subsidies on health plans for lower-income Americans would place more pressure on the individual health insurance market. The individual market is already weakened from major insurers exiting because of financial losses, according to the report.

Here are three ways some health insurers are lobbying in light of the potential changes.

1. Jeff Smedsrud, co-founder of HealthCare.com, said he spoke with legislators about considering a different compensation method for payers shouldering the cost of individuals with large claims. Mr. Smedsrud also said permitting tax filers to deduct all health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket healthcare costs more than $1,000 from their federal returns could boost the individual market.

2. If the individual mandate and subsidies are eliminated immediately without replacement changes, health insurers fear they will lose healthy policyholders who level the cost of covering unhealthy customers. "We'd have a difficult time staying in the marketplace with the elimination of subsidies or the elimination of the individual mandate," Kirk Zimmer, executive vice president at Sanford Health Plan, told The Wall Street Journal.

3. J. Mario Molina, MD, CEO of Molina Healthcare, said if the incoming administration moves forward in the wrong way, "we could see a situation where no carrier would want to offer insurance" through the individual market, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In October, the CDC warned hospitals that a device manufactured by LivaNova  the Stockert 3T heater-cooler device  was spreading bacterial infections to patients. Officials urged hospitals that use the device to alert potentially affected patients.

The following is a list of seven hospitals that have issued warnings to their patients about the risk of nontuberculous mycobacterium infections linked to the device, which is used during open-heart surgery. Some of these hospitals issued warnings prior to the CDC's announcement, as problems first surfaced in late 2015.

1. In October 2015, WellSpan York (Pa.) Hospital notified about 1,300 open-heart surgery patients. As of September 2016, 12 York Hospital patients contracted NTM infections.

2. In November 2015, Penn State Hershey Medical Center contacted about 2,300 open-heart surgery patients. Three hospital patients acquired NTM infections.

3. In August 2016, Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines (Iowa) notified about 2,600 patients who underwent open-heart surgery. At the time, two patients had been diagnosed with NTM infections.

4. In September 2016, Penn Medicine sent letters to hundreds of patients warning them of infection risk. Three patients at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia contracted NTM infections.

5. In November 2016, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., began notifying 17,000 open-heart surgery patients that they may be at risk of infection. One patient at the Rochester campus contracted an NTM infection.

6. In December 2016, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., started notifying roughly 1,500 to 1,800 cardiac patients of infection risk. As of Dec. 8, no hospital patients had a confirmed or suspected infection.

7. In December 2016, St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., notified approximately 3,000 open-heart surgery patients of infection risk. None of the hospital's patients had a confirmed or suspected infection as of Dec. 9.
A recent study conducted by researchers from Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah School of Medicine, both in Salt Lake City, found the rates of antibiotic use in community hospitals to be on par with academic medical centers, even though the smaller hospitals tend to treat less complex patients.

In addition to the comparable rates of antibiotic use, most community hospitals examined in the study did not have antibiotic stewardship programs.

Eddie Stenehjem, MD, the antibiotic stewardship medical director with Intermountain Medical Center and the lead author of the study, recently took time to answer some questions on antibiotic stewardship in community hospitals via email.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Question: What are the biggest challenges hindering the development of antibiotic stewardship programs in small community hospitals?

Dr. Eddie Stenenhjem: There are approximately 3,600 hospitals in the United States that have less than 200 beds, and the majority of those hospitals do not have antibiotic stewardship programs. However, all of those hospitals are required to have such programs in place by January 2017 to be in compliance with new Joint Commission and expected CMS guidelines.

The three biggest challenges those small community hospitals face are:

 Lack of trained infectious disease physicians and pharmacists to lead such programs

 Lack of a robust IT network that allows tracking of antibiotic use and resistance

 Lack of administrative support willing to allocate funding and resources for the development of these programs

Q: How can the infectious disease community do more to improve stewardship in small community hospitals?

ES: With so many hospitals in need of antibiotic stewardship programs, it is going to be a challenge. The possible solution lies in the development of new models that amplify the ability to reach the facilities in need.

One model that works here at Intermountain Healthcare is the centralization of these elements. We have a robust team of infectious disease physicians and pharmacists at Intermountain Medical Center that routinely consult with physicians at other smaller hospitals throughout our healthcare system via our TeleHealth program. This team also mentors the smaller hospitals in setting up their stewardship programs. We provide them the tools and data and support their efforts in an advisory role.

Other health systems are joining together with neighboring health systems to collaborate on antibiotic stewardship programs, thus sharing in the resources needed to effectively address antibiotic misuse.

Q: What are the dangers if this problem goes unresolved?

ES: Antibiotics have been misused for so many years that we are quickly approaching a post-antibiotic era. By working together to address the issue, we can improve our ability to fight life-threatening diseases like Clostridium difficile, reduce the number of superbugs that are immune to antibiotics, improve patient safety, reduce healthcare costs and improve overall quality in healthcare.

The CDC has been very keen on promoting antibiotic stewardship programs because letting it go unchecked is a major public health issue and threatens patient safety.

Q: What strategies/resources can small community hospitals take advantage of now to improve stewardship?

ES: There are a lot of things that have been done in terms of stewardship playbooks. For example, the CDC has put out their playbook and has the Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs. I recently presented the results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial that examined the impact of antibiotic stewardship in 15 small community hospitals. The results: The hospitals assigned to higher levels of antibiotic stewardship programs saw a total reduction in the types of antibiotics used, along with the totals of prescriptions written for antibiotics.

Other organizations have resources and online trainings available, too:

 The National Quality Forum's playbook: Antibiotic Stewardship in Acute Care

 Stanford University's online class: Antimicrobial Stewardship: Optimization of Antibiotic Practices

 The PEW Charitable Trust's playbook: A Path to Better Antibiotic Stewardship in Inpatient Settings

Organizations like the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America also provide training and resources at their conferences.

More articles on antibiotic stewardship:

Drug-resistant infections on the rise among US children

Education essential to effective antibiotic stewardship

Physicians prescribe wrong antibiotic half of the time
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When I was a little girl I lived in New Zealand in a house by the sea. My parents had emigrated to New Zealand in the dark days of 1947. Both my mother and my father had taken part in the Second World War. My mother had joined the WRNS, the Women's Royal Naval Service, and my father, Andy, from Greystones, was a doctor in the British Army. He was awarded the Military Cross for bravery, but was badly wounded and never fully recovered.

The Ireland they came home to was a bleak and hopeless place. Their wartime experiences had set them apart from those who honoured Ireland's neutrality.

The dark blue Pacific claimed my father in 1955 when I was four. A mystery, his body never found. My mother was forced to stay in New Zealand for seven more years until he could be declared dead.

In 1963, when the seven years were over, we returned to Ireland. It was still my mother's home, but it wasn't ours. Secular New Zealand was no preparation for Catholic Ireland. The bells proclaiming the Angelus three times a day. Holy statues everywhere. Crucifixes, Sacred Hearts, the Virgin Mary with her blue robes and crown of stars. The Mariners' Parish in Dun Laoghaire had dwindled to a handful and soon the church would close.

My mother still talked of the "old days" when life was good in Kingstown. But it was easy to see what the census figures confirm. The Church of Ireland population had dropped dramatically in Ireland from nearly a quarter of a million in 1911, to just over a hundred thousand in 1961. I began to wonder: What had happened to the people of the Mariners' Parish? Where did they go?

I was determined to find out.

I made my way to the Representative Church Body library in Churchtown, where hundreds of parish records are kept.

There I found 48 families who, between the years 1900 and 1939, had got married in the Mariners and had their children christened there too. These, I decided, were my Mariners' Families and these were the people whose lives I wanted to trace.

As I poked around in what were described as the parish's "loose papers", I found something else as well. A description in the parish magazine dated June 1916, of the arrival of the troops who came to put down the Easter Rising; the Kingstown people, rich and poor, vied with each other in trying to make the troops comfortable and showing them every possible kindness.

Many of the men had come over at such short notice minus their kit bags and their pay and it well behoved us to come to their help in their hour of need... Miss Bell and Mrs Mitchell organised a tea for some 250 of the troops in the Royal Marine Hotel and it was gratefully appreciated... our company of the Boys Brigade and the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides were most useful in running messages, etc all through the crisis.

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A different world, this world of the Mariners' Parish 100 years ago. So what more might my Mariners' Families tell me?

But first of all, how to find them. I picked up the phone book and there I found many of the names of my chosen families and I wrote to them.

There was a deluge of replies. Most were from people who had no connection with the Mariners. And many described a situation which I realised was extremely significant.

Some explained that, because of marrying a Catholic, the family had divided.

As I found more of the Mariners' families - some still living locally, others who had emigrated - the importance of the Ne Temere decree, issued by the Roman Catholic church in 1907, became clear. Ne Temere was an attempt to regulate marriages between Catholics and non-Catholics. Permission to marry was needed from a priest and the non-Catholic partner was required to endeavour to raise any children from the marriage as Catholics. Many Protestants considered this a coercive measure. It had a huge effect on their lives and the choices they made.

As one woman told me: "You'd only go to the dances organised by the Church of Ireland or Methodist, Presbyterian... it wasn't that long after Ireland became independent and the Protestant community here was very fearful for a long time."

Another woman put it this way: "My own sister, she was doing a line with a very nice Catholic fellow... and they went out for two years and then, of course, at that time it was a terrible thing for a Catholic to marry a Protestant, so they broke it off. It just wasn't on."

Another woman who married a Catholic told me that her own family were accepting of it, but her husband's were not happy. She described how her children when they were born were all, as she put it, "whipped off straight away to be baptised and, of course, I was the worst eejit when I think back".

My family was not immune to the effect of Ne Temere. My mother had told us that when she was a teenager she had fallen in love with a boy who was a Catholic. Her mother took a strong line. She was forbidden to see him. The young lovers wrote to each other, but his letters had to be sent secretly to her best friend.

So what had happened to my families when Ireland became independent, what did their parents and grandparents make of it?

One respondent said to me: "There was talk of times before Ireland gained independence and how good things were under English rule for the Church of Ireland community... I feel that my parents' generation kept a Union Jack in the attic in case things might change back to the 'good old days'."

The late Audrey Drakeford, nee Stephens, widow of Bill Drakeford, from Clarinda Park, said referring to 1916: "I remember my mother saying that when the Rising started most people regarded the guys in the Rising as a lot of gangsters. They really had no respect for them and they didn't want to have anything to do with it and then, later on, when the British took all the ringleaders and shot them, when they did that it was the biggest mistake they ever made."

But the Monsells, of Mulgrave Terrace, noticed it. In 1904 Clarendon Monsell married Maud Neville in the Mariners' Church. They had four children, all christened there too: Clarendon, William, Fortescue and Meriel. Clarendon senior was a civil servant. In 1925, after independence and the civil war, the Monsells, Maud's family, the Nevilles from Bray and their friends the Crawleys, linen people from Rostrevor, decided to leave Ireland.

According to Fortescue Monsell, his father was determined to remain loyal to the British Government and he refused to work for the rebels. He was therefore forced to retire early on a reduced pension.

They moved to Muswell Hill in London, where Clarendon got a job in the British civil service.

Of course many of the Mariners' people emigrated, like my parents, for the same reasons as their Catholic neighbours - lack of opportunity, lack of work, escaping from a society which was inward looking and whose economy could no longer support them. But there was one woman who left because Catholic Ireland couldn't give her what she wanted.

In 1918 Ethel Knight, from Crofton Road, married Rowland Crossley, a sergeant in the Signals Corps of the British Army based in Dublin. They had four children but this was a marriage which was unhappy in the extreme, so unhappy that Ethel could bear it no longer. She wanted a divorce.

Divorce was technically legal in 1935 but, within two years, De Valera's constitution would ban it outright.

Ethel wasn't going to be forced to stay in her unhappy marriage. So, in 1935, she and her children, the oldest aged 15 and the youngest aged four, took the mail boat and went to London. She knew no one there, had nowhere to live and no means of support.

Her late daughter, Liz Whitehouse, told me their story.

When they got off the train in Euston station, each child holding a suitcase, they didn't know where to go. Ethel walked the streets until she found a flat. But what were they to live on? Ethel was very musical and could play the piano well. So she went from pub to pub, until she got a job as a pub pianist. When war came in 1939 she still did not go back to Dun Laoghaire. As the Blitz raged across London, the family was bombed out of four flats. Liz and her brother were evacuated to the countryside. It was hard and often the families who took them in did not treat them well. But they survived. And Ethel had never been so busy. As Liz said, "the phone never stopped ringing. Everyone was having parties and they all wanted Mum to play for them. You never knew when it'd be your turn to die."

Some of the Mariners' families didn't go to the ends of the earth the way my parents did. They just went up the road to Northern Ireland. Like Alan Knight, who graduated from Trinity College in 1954 and went to live there soon afterwards.

Alan told me the story of his grandfather, Andrew. He lived in Clarinda Park with wife Lily and their four children, Richard, Herbert, Albert and Florrie. On July 7, 1921, Andrew, an inspector on the Dalkey tram, was at work. Two men boarded his tram. They were followed by a policeman who asked Andrew who were his last passengers. Andrew pointed them out. The men were arrested as members of the IRA.

That evening Andrew didn't come home. Two days later, a boy herding cattle on Castlepark Road outside Dalkey village found a man's body under a hedge. He was wearing the uniform of tram inspector. He had been shot through the jaw.

A statement made to the Bureau of Military History by Patrick Mannix, of the IRA, alleged that Andrew Knight was a very active anti-IRA man, supplying information about IRA activities to the British Military.

Alan Knight said his grandfather was a loyalist, but not an informer. After Andrew's death, his neighbours and in-laws, Edwin and Annie Farrell, left Dun Laoghaire immediately and went to Belfast.

It is easy to imagine the shock and fear that reverberated through the small tightly-knit Church of Ireland community which lived then in Dun Laoghaire's streets and squares and who worshipped in the Mariners.

The Mariners' Church is now the Maritime Museum. It has its place in modern-day Dun Laoghaire. Its people are scattered across the world, but some still live locally. They remember Canon Chamberlain and his family with affection. They also remember their way of life - the church, the school next door, the dances where they went to meet their own kind, those whom they could safely marry. It is a way of life which has now largely disappeared.

Julie's new thriller The Therapy House will be published next spring
More than 17.5 billion has been returned to Government coffers since Lloyds Banking Group's 20.3 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis

Another chunk of taxpayers' stake in Lloyds Banking Group has been sold, potentially paving the way for the lender to be fully returned to private hands within six months.

UK Financial Investments, which manages the Government's stake in Lloyds, cut its holding in the lender to 6.93% from 7.99% less than a month after the last share sale.

The Government said in October it hoped to offload its remaining shares in Lloyds within a year, but experts said the pace of share sales suggests it could sell down the stake in its entirety far sooner.

Investec banking analyst Ian Gordon predicts the Government will have sold off its Lloyds stake as early as May or June.

The Government has progressively sold down its original 43% stake in Lloyds and Chancellor Philip Hammond ditched plans for a share sale to the public in October, opting instead to offload the holding to institutional investors.

Mr Gordon said the latest announcement of more share sales meant the Government "could be out in full by May or June time, if not sooner".

Mr Hammond has insisted taxpayer cash will be recouped in full even though shares are trading below the 73.6p average price paid at the time of the rescue.

Shares in Lloyds were hit hard in the stock market volatility caused by the Brexit vote and have yet to fully recover - trading at around 62p at current prices.

But Mr Gordon said given that the Government sold shares in Lloyds previously at far higher levels - around 80p last year - and with the possibility of further rises to come, the Government could even make a small profit.

More than 17.5 billion has already been returned to Government coffers since the lender's 20.3 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

All proceeds from the sales are being used to reduce the national debt.

On announcing the latest share sale, e conomic secretary to the Treasury Simon Kirby said: "Selling our shares in Lloyds Banking Group and making sure that we get back all the cash taxpayers injected into it during the financial crisis is a key government priority."

A Lloyds spokesman said the sale " reflects the hard work undertaken over the last five years to transform the group".

Lloyds said in October it had set aside another 1 billion to meet compensation claims for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI), which left statutory pre-tax profits 15% lower year-on-year in the third quarter at 811 million.

Underlying profit for the third quarter came in 3% down at just under 2 billion.
Two technology firms are creating 32 new jobs for Belfast.Birmingham firm TerraQuest Solutions Ltd is creating 22 new jobs for the city. TerraQuest is the UK's largest specialist provider of land referencing services, which deal with the research of ownership, occupation and rights over land subject to development.

The company has experience of working in Northern Ireland, providing contract services to Land Registry Northern Ireland.

Economy Minister Simon Hamilton said the company "considered a number of locations across the UK and Ireland for their centre of excellence".

"The decision to locate in Belfast was greatly influenced by their very positive experience of operating, here in Northern Ireland, as well as the availability of high quality geography and planning graduates."

The new jobs will pay an average salary of 25,000.

"The 22 new jobs will offer opportunities to both graduates and experienced professionals and will be recruited over the next three years. Positions will range from project managers to land technicians and will generate annual salaries of over 560,000 for the local economy," Mr Hamilton said.

"I am pleased Invest NI helped to secure this investment and is supporting the creation of these jobs with an 88,000 employment grant."

Geoff Keal, TerraQuest's managing director, said: "We foresee many opportunities over the next few years for our land referencing services as major transport infrastructure projects get under way across the UK.

"We have chosen to create a centre of excellence in Belfast because we know from experience that we can recruit high quality staff there who will ensure excellent service delivery. Belfast is also a cost-effective business environment and this will help us achieve our profitability targets."

Meanwhile, a Northern Ireland start-up business is creating 10 new jobs after securing a fresh 200,000 cash injection.

CADshare, which is based at the Ulster Bank-powered Entrepreneurial Spark Hatchery in Belfast, has raised over 200,000, including investment from techstart NI, private investors based in Northern Ireland and the US, and support from Invest NI.

It was founded by mechanical engineer Chris Acheson, and is a platform that allows manufacturers of heavy machinery to bring their after-market customer service online.

"I am delighted to secure the new investment, which will really help bring the vision for the business to reality," Mr Acheson said.

"I am also very grateful to Entrepreneurial Spark for the mentoring and support, which has been invaluable in terms of really focusing our technology on its best application.

"We plan to begin recruiting for some jobs immediately, and plan to recruit 10 over the next couple of years."
Armenia should not allow Azerbaijan and Israel to further deepen bilateral cooperation.

December 13, 2016, 13:17 Armenia analyst: We felt Azerbaijan-Israel cooperation effects, during 4-day war

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 13, ARTSAKHPRESS: Founder and Director of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs, political analyst Styopa Safaryan, told the abovementioned to Armenian NEWS.am, as he commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to Azerbaijan.

In his words, Armenia suffered the consequences of this cooperation during the four-day war in April, when Azerbaijan made use of the drones it had purchased from Israel.

Armenia had many opportunities for improving relations with Israel, said Safaryan. But we didnt take advantage of them, since we just dont have a foreign policy.

As per the analyst, the deterioration of Turkish-Israeli relations was one such opportunity.

Armenia could have reaped many benefits in this context, added Safaryan. But it didnt make use of this opportunity.

Furthermore, Styopa Safaryan expressed a view that, aside from the inaction by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, several regional factors, including the Russian-Iranian factor, also impact on the absence of relations.
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Margaret Canning Opinion Conservatives have gone back to traditional territory with a mini-budget that just might cost the party the next election

Many of the measures in Kwasi Kwartengs first big statement as Chancellor had been trailed in advance  changes to stamp duty, the cancellation of both the rise in National Insurance and the rise in corporation tax, and bringing forward a cut in the basic rate of income tax to 19 pence.
Game of Thrones - the hit fantasy drama filmed in Northern Ireland - faces some tough competition at the Golden Globes.

Lena Headey - who stars as the scheming Queen Cersei - is up against The Night Manager's Olivia Colman in the best supporting TV actress category.

Thandie Newton is nominated in the same section for her role as a Westworld android.

Game Of Thrones will battle it out for best TV drama series against Netflix's royal biopic The Crown, 1980s nostalgia series Stranger Things, US drama This Is Us, and sci-fi hit Westworld.

The Night Manager scored four nominations, including best limited series. As well as Colman, Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie received nods in the acting categories. Hiddleston will compete for best TV actor along with fellow Briton Riz Ahmed, who is nominated for his role in The Night Of. John Lithgow was nominated in the best supporting actor category for his portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill in The Crown.
Arlene Foster batted away allegations that she did not act appropriately when concerns were raised about the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive

The establishment of a renewable heat scheme was the right thing to do. Supporters of renewable energy and others were telling me at that time it did not go far enough.

We all know of the demand to increase usage of renewable energy and this scheme was aimed at helping meet those targets. RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) was a good idea, but was very poorly implemented.

The scheme was established to encourage a move away from fossil fuel heating and provide those who did so with a fair return on investment. It was not to waste heat or allow profit from running a heating system.

Our scheme was different to that implemented in Great Britain because of the differing natures of the market. The market in GB has a high usage of gas, with ours more dominated by oil. The need for a separate scheme was scrutinised and agreed by the Assembly's ETI (Enterprise, Trade and Investment) Committee.

It is a matter of deep regret to me that the goals of this scheme were not achieved. The outcome has been one of shocking failure with serious shortcomings in the design, management and delivery.

These have significant potential pressures to our public finances going into the future, but also have damaged public confidence in the stewardship of public money.

This is wholly unacceptable.

I am sorry that concerns raised by the whistleblower were not dealt with as they should have been when raised with officials in the department.

Without the benefit of hindsight, I did what ministers are supposed to do in such circumstances and passed the matter on to officials to investigate, establish the details and to address.

Had any proposals for action been relayed to me, or had I known of the whistleblower's dissatisfaction with replies she received from officials, then I would have taken immediate action. I entirely accept that I am accountable to the Assembly for my past and present ministerial roles. But that does not mean I am responsible for every action within departments.

It is perhaps not a coincidence that those leading the charge on suggesting this have never been ministers.

There are a number of investigations and inquiries ongoing that I want to assist in whatever way possible, mindful of different roles and responsibilities held by various committees.

It is vital these investigations, including by the Public Accounts Committee, conclude their work.

The mark of a politician is not how they act during the good times, but how they deal with difficulties and challenges.

Others have a history of walking away when problems lie ahead. However, I have a duty to deal with the issues which have been presented by the design of this scheme by experts in the field. I do not seek to underplay the significant problems associated with the renewable heat scheme, but there is a pressing need for action looking to the future.

If action is not taken, the public purse will face significant future costs associated with the scheme. Whilst 400million is regularly associated with the scheme, that is an estimate of potential future costs but is a level of loss that cannot be tolerated.

Work has been ongoing within the Department for the Economy on proposals to make a significant reduction on that future burden the Executive would face. This detailed work is the top priority for the department and for my colleague Simon Hamilton.

A firm proposal will be brought to the Assembly and if supported, a consultation document will be issued. This will happen as early as possible in the New Year.

Other steps are also being taken to further boost public confidence and allay concerns that have been aired.

Every installation within the RHI scheme will be inspected. There are many genuine applicants using RHI in the way it was intended, but there are serious accusations about abuse of the scheme.

This is unacceptable and the Executive will do all in its power to bring it to an end. The inspection process will determine that appropriate use is being made of the systems in each of the installations. Action will be taken anywhere where this is not the case.

Similarly, the department is writing to all applicants seeking consent for publication of full information, including names.

The demand by others to publish details without consent ignores applicants' legal rights of privacy and confidentiality. I hope there will be a positive response and that all those who are legitimate recipients will be treated respectfully given they have done absolutely nothing wrong.

These steps can deliver a significant benefit for our public finances and I would hope can boost public confidence. I look forward to the findings of the Public Accounts Committee and the Department for the Economy's fact-finding investigation.

The lessons learned must be spliced into the DNA of every department and government body so there can never be a repeat of this failure.

We owe that to the people of Northern Ireland.
Arlene Foster has come out fighting after pressure to quit as First Minister over her role in the growing controversy over a botched 400m 'green scheme'.

Writing for the Belfast Telegraph, the DUP leader admitted the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme had been a "shocking failure with serious shortcomings in the design, management and delivery".

But a defiant Mrs Foster insisted she would not step down as she announced that every RHI installation will be inspected to end abuse of the scheme. She also said Stormont is writing to all applicants for permission to publish their identity in a bid to boost public confidence after some were linked to the DUP.

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The scheme - set up when Mrs Foster was Enterprise Minister - "was a good idea, but was very poorly implemented".

The RHI was designed to assist businesses shift over to eco-friendly heating systems.

But the tariff system used was critically flawed and had no cap or payment tiers, meaning businesses earned more money for burning their biomass boilers for longer.

It could cost Northern Ireland more than 400m in the long term.

Yesterday, it emerged that RHI grants were even used - completely legitimately - to heat a Charles Hurst Ferrari showroom.

Mrs Foster wrote: "It is a matter of deep regret to me that the goals of this scheme were not achieved. The outcome has been one of shocking failure with serious shortcomings in the design, management and delivery.

"These have significant potential pressures to our public finances going into the future, but also have damaged public confidence in the stewardship of public money.

"This is wholly unacceptable."

Returning to her Stormont desk yesterday after a week-long trade mission to China, Mrs Foster said she was sorry that concerns raised by a whistleblower who approached her "were not dealt with as they should have been when raised with officials in the Department".

But she did not directly apologise to the woman who raised concerns.

"Without the benefit of hindsight, I did what Ministers are supposed to do in such circumstances and passed the matter on to officials to investigate, establish the details and to address," she wrote.

"Had any proposals for action been relayed to me, or had I known of the whistleblower's dissatisfaction with replies she received from officials, then I would have taken immediate action."

However, Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt said that "Mrs Foster remains in denial" and interviews she gave yesterday "were all about blaming everyone but herself".

"The fact remains she presided over a series of policy choices which have created a 400m debt that is her legacy to the people of Northern Ireland."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was now calling for Stormont's spending watchdog, the Public Account Committee (PAC), to convene an urgent meeting. "It seems that everyone was to blame except Arlene. She needs to come before the PAC and give a full account of her actions," he said.

"Another week cannot pass by with an absence of answers - public faith and trust in our politics simply can't afford it.

"The DUP and, in particular Sinn Fein, must now face up to the fact that Arlene Foster's credibility is draining away by the hour."

Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy said there were still questions that needed to be answered, "particularly in relation to the whistleblower and who in the department decided her concerns did not need to be taken up".

"I do think she (the whistleblower) is owed an apology," he said.

TUV leader Jim Allister said: "Given the public dismay over the handing of this scheme it is now very much in the public interest that all beneficiaries are identified.

"The public money paid to individual local farmers and lawyers is published every year, so there is no sustainable basis upon which this RHI information is being withheld.

"Political embarrassment is not an adequate reason. Has the DUP got something to hide?"

Alliance MLA Stephen Farry said: "Questions persist as to what role she had in the original design of the scheme. Even more crucially, once she knew there was a problem, indeed a potentially massive problem identified by the whistleblower, why she didn't persistently pursue her officials for updates.

"Why did she not understand the implications and therefore risks of what had been provided to her.

"There is a failure to provide leadership, and even an absence of simple curiosity."

the amount the Renewable Heating Incentive scheme could cost Northern Ireland in the long-term
A Ferrari showroom in Belfast displaying 150,000 luxury supercars was a beneficiary of Stormont's heat incentive scheme - totally legitimately.

Charles Hurst, which owns the Boucher Road showroom, yesterday defended its position after the disclosure on the BBC's Stephen Nolan radio show.

The firm said as a responsible business with 1,000 employees across several locations, reducing its carbon footprint under the scheme had been a "key priority".

The firm said it had entered the scheme "entirely in good faith" and at no stage sought to disadvantage taxpayers.

"Like many businesses and organisations across Northern Ireland, Charles Hurst legitimately and fairly engaged with the RHI scheme based on the information which was provided and which was publicly available at the time," a statement to the Belfast Telegraph said. "At no stage did we seek to disadvantage taxpayers and we were not in receipt of any knowledge at the time that this might be the case.

"It was our understanding when we invested in the equipment required to support our participation in the RHI scheme that the funding available was ring-fenced by the Northern Ireland government to support the overall objectives of the scheme, to ensure its success and to promote legitimate take-up from businesses across a variety of sectors.

"Given the information that has come to light over the past few weeks, we will be undertaking a review of the scheme and how it applies to our business."

In an interview with Mr Nolan, a spokesman for the company added: "It was cost effective for us to install it and we did not consider it free heating. Nobody said this was not an unethical heating grant - we were not heating empty sheds."
The PSNI chief constable was quizzed by a committee as part of its inquiry into the future of the post-Brexit Irish border

Weaker immigration checks in the Irish Republic are providing a route for international criminals to enter the UK, Northern Ireland's police chief has told MPs.

George Hamilton said controls in the Republic of Ireland did not have the same "resource or focus" as those operating in Northern Ireland.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable was being questioned by members of a Westminster committee as part of its inquiry into the future of the Irish border post-Brexit.

Mr Hamilton told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that a growing number of criminals operating on the island of Ireland were from abroad.

That prompted a question from committee chairman Laurence Robertson on how international gangsters were entering the UK and Ireland.

"How are these people able to access the countries?" he asked. "What is going wrong with border control?"

Mr Hamilton replied: "Access into the Republic of Ireland may not have the resource assigned to it or the immigration checks we would have in Northern Ireland or indeed more broadly into the United Kingdom."

He highlighted that 775 people had been detained at Northern Ireland ports in the last year.

He continued: "I think it would be fair to say that immigration controls into the Republic of Ireland may not have the same resource or focus that we would be seeing in Northern Ireland."

Mr Robertson said his claim was of "wider concern than just over Brexit". He noted the committee had examined the possibility of developing common UK and Ireland travel visas post-Brexit.

"We did so on the basis that checks in Ireland were of the same level and same quality," he added.

"Are you saying that's not the case?"

Mr Hamilton said the PSNI and Irish Garda were "jointly managing" risks around extremism and "radicalised" individuals returning from war-torn countries like Syria.

He added: "We would be seeking to maximise the security right across the island of Ireland in terms of immigration and access into these islands - north, south and into the UK."

On the threat posed by dissident republicans, the chief constable said if police checkpoints were set up on the Irish border in the wake of Brexit they would provide a "static and obvious" target for the violent extremists.

However, he went on to express doubt whether such checkpoints would be staffed by police, given their function was more likely to relate to customs matters.

Mr Hamilton said regardless of the shape of the Brexit deal, the Irish border would always remain "porous", given its size.

He said his priority was ensuring that policing arrangements, such as the European Arrest Warrant, and cross border information sharing facilities were maintained, perhaps via a new bilateral treaty, when the UK leaves the EU.
Appeal: Anne Doughty wants shoppers to assist those going hungry in our society

A Belfast author has made a heartfelt Christmas appeal for shoppers to add an extra item to their festive shopping list for one of the province's growing number of food banks.

Anne Doughty (76), who is currently writing her second novel set around the time of the Irish Famine, has taken the lead in fighting hunger by buying a trolley load of groceries from her local supermarket.

Anne - renowned for her much-loved Hamilton series of historical Irish fiction - is horrified that in 2016 thousands of people are still going hungry.

The widow, whose latest work is The Blacksmith's Wife, has given to charity every Christmas for the past 46 years instead of buying festive gifts.

As well as supporting the food banks this year, she has donated to the Quakers to help fill hampers for single mothers.

She says: "We have 14 food banks in Belfast alone. I am writing a second novel about the Irish Famine in 1845 and it just seems wrong that people are going hungry in this day and age.

"If only more people would consider how relatively rich they are. There's no famine in Marks & Spencer or Tesco.

"I've got 100 to donate and I then raided my piggy bank and little jars I collect coins in and now have a total of 140.

"My local Tesco is giving 4 for every 30 spent so I hope to do four shops and get an extra 16 in vouchers to buy more for the food bank.

"When I go into the supermarket, it shocks me at the people pushing trolleys piled high with food which is excessively rich and I can't bear the fact that people are going hungry in our affluent society.

"I would just ask people reading this to please put some extra food in their Christmas trolley and donate it to the food bank. Most supermarkets have a food bank trolley which people can put donations into."

Research carried out earlier this year showed that demand for food banks in Northern Ireland has hit an all time high.

And at Christmas, while most of us are feasting on turkey and all the trimmings, many men, women and children will be relying on food donations to get them through the festive season as they face a stark choice between heating and eating.

The Trussell Trust which runs a UK-wide network of food banks including 37 in Northern Ireland says December is the busiest month of the year.

Last December the food bank network saw a dramatic 45% increase in the number of three day emergency food supplies provided to people in crisis with over 7,412 people receiving donations.

This Christmas, the charity expects to see a 20% rise on last year, due to the opening of three new centres in areas of high child deprivation - two in west Belfast and one in Londonderry.

Last December, 82.5 tons of food was donated by the public and this Christmas, donations are expected to top 90 tons.

The 37 food bank centres across Northern Ireland not only support people with food. They also provide cookery and budgeting courses, debt and welfare advice, work alongside holiday clubs to help deal with child hunger during school holidays, and signposting services to help resolve the underlying cause of the crisis.

Susanne Downey, NI Regional Development Officer with the Trust, said: "December is the busiest month of the year for the Northern Ireland Trussell Trust food bank network and we are very grateful to the public for their ongoing donations, with people generously choosing to help feed their hungry neighbours.

"The Trussell Trust operates on the goodwill and generosity of the public to stop hunger across Northern Ireland and the UK.

"We would like to say thanks to the public for their ongoing support which ensures people using a food bank this Christmas won't have to go hungry.

"Over the winter period multiple pressures hit families and the reality is that people on low incomes across Northern Ireland have to face a stark choice between heating and eating. The generosity of the public means we can help even more people this Christmas."

In the past year the total number of emergency food parcels provided by the Trust to people going hungry in Northern Ireland has increased by 48%.

Some 25,755 were packages given out during the 2015/2016 financial year, 11,155 of which went to children.

Donations will be gratefully received at your nearest food bank centre, or food bank collection points can be found at your nearest participating Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Ulster Bank branch and local churches.
A man has been found guilty of attempting to murder a woman from Northern Ireland by plunging a knife into her neck during a frenzied attack in the US.

Gillian McCann-Johnston escaped with her life by pretending to be dead until her former partner passed out due to blood loss after then slashing his own throat.

Martin Mahon, who is originally from Dublin, was convicted of the stabbing horror that left the Lisburn woman fighting for her life in Florida.

Mahon broke into the single mum's Fort Lauderdale apartment and repeatedly knifed her before trying to take his own life.

However both were saved after a neighbour heard the Co Antrim woman's screams for help.

Mahon, previously of Mountdown Road, Walkingstown, was found guilty of second degree attempted murder and violation of a restraining order at Broward County Court on Friday.

He will be sentenced in the new year.

Ms McCann-Johnston, who was in a relationship with Mahon for a number of years, declined to speak about the verdict last night.

However, a friend of the 50-year-old told the Belfast Telegraph: "Gillian is glad this very dangerous man is no longer walking the streets and she sincerely hopes he will never be released again."

Brave Gillian suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck, back, face and hands on October 28, 2014.

During a five-day trial last week, a jury at the Florida court heard how the attack happened after the Irish couple split following a two-year relationship.

Mahon, who emigrated to America 30 years previously, had been visiting family in the Walkingstown area of Dublin when he met Gillian in 2012.

After a whirlwind romance, Ms McCann-Johnston decided to leave Northern Ireland and returned to Florida with Mahon. However they split in the summer of 2014.

In September of the same year, she was forced to obtain a restraining order against the brute, who has multiple criminal convictions in the US, after he threatened to kill her.

On the afternoon of October 27, 2014, Mahon called to her Fort Lauderdale apartment to pick up personal property.

He also tried to convince his ex-girlfriend to drop the restraining order against him, telling her it would "look bad" for an upcoming drink-driving trial.

After his ex-partner refused, Mahon left her apartment.

Shorty before 6am the next day, Ms McCann-Johnston was awoken from her sleep by a light coming from the next room.

When she got up to investigate, Mahon grabbed her and "stuck the knife straight into" her neck.

As he repeatedly stabbed her, he said: "I have nothing to live for."

In an attempt to get the beast to stop, Ms McCann-Johnston pretended she was dead.

It was then the grandfather turned the knife on himself.

As he sat on top of her motionless body, Mahon repeatedly "sliced open" his own neck.

During two days of cross examination in the witness box last week, the terrified Lisburn woman revealed how she was only able to escape after her attacker succumbed to blood loss.

At the same time, neighbour Catherine Loughan heard her screams and ran to the apartment where she was met by a blood soaked Ms McCann-Johnston. Bleeding profusely from her neck, her neighbour was able to stem the blood flow until emergency services arrived.

Officers from Broward County Sheriff's Office found Mahon in a pool of his own blood inside the house. Both were rushed to hospital before Mahon was arrested.

He was found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict of second degree attempted murder and violation of a restraining order and faces more than 15 years behind bars.

Ms McCann-Johnston, who left her Co Antrim home just six years ago, had been running a cleaning business - A1 Keltic Cleaning - in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Ms McCann-Johnston still lives there and, according to friends, has happily moved on with her life.

After miraculously surviving the attack she told pals on Facebook: "I'm so happy to be alive.

"Guess it wasn't my time to go... and the scars will heal."
More than one child a week from Northern Ireland seeks professional help because they are confused about whether they are male or female, it has emerged.

The startling figures were revealed by Childline which said it held 59 counselling sessions last year with local children who said they were unhappy with their birth gender.

Childline is contacted for its services by kids as young as primary school age up to late teens.

The true number of children from Northern Ireland who seek help about transgender and gender dysphoria issues is thought to be much higher, as often young people don't record where they are from.

Young trans-people frequently told the NSPCC's 24-hour service that they had suicidal thoughts, had self-harmed or suffered from mental health issues, which often stemmed from abuse, bullying and a lack of support.

One 16-year-old boy who identified as a girl told Childline: "I hate my body and feel hopeless and frustrated by mental health services.

"It's really difficult to talk to my parents as they just don't understand. I can't cope with another year like this one."

Young people described feeling "trapped in the wrong body", and how they felt frustrated that they could not escape their biological sex.

Transphobic bullying often stopped the children from speaking out.

Many young people who were honest about their gender identity complained they received cruel abuse which left them feeling desperate.

Neil Anderson, head of the NSPCC in Northern Ireland, said: "We cannot call ourselves a modern society if we stigmatise children just because they feel different.

"It is vital that children have support, otherwise, as they tell us all too often, they suffer.

"When a child is made to feel ashamed about who they are, it can trigger serious mental health issues and crippling shame.

"It's vital young people are confident that if they speak out they will be able to try and navigate these confusing and complex feelings without also having to fight prejudice and abuse," he added.
Russias Hermitage Museum will host an exhibition dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the foundation of the Armenian Diocese of Russia and New Nakhijevan in 2017.

December 13, 2016, 15:58 Russian Hermitage Museum to host exhibition dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Armenian Diocese of Russia and New Nakhijevan

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 13, ARTSAKHPRESS: The matter has been discussed on Tuesday at a meeting between His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians and General Director of the State Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky on a visit to Armenia.
James Seamus McGuigan, from North Street in Lurgan, is due to stand trial in January on a charge of possessing articles for use in terrorism in October 2013.

A 46-year-old Co Armagh man facing trial in the new year for a terrorist offence had his bail varied on Tuesday to allow him to go to Spain for a week.

James Seamus McGuigan, from North Street in Lurgan, is due to stand trial in January on a charge of possessing articles for use in terrorism in October 2013.

McGuigan has been charged with - and denies - possessing a mobile phone and SIM card "in circumstances which gave rise to a reasonable suspicion their possession was for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism" between October 8 and 18, 2013.

Although no details of the alleged offence were given during today's bail variation application at Belfast Crown Court, a previous hearing was told that police believe the mobile phone was allegedly used by dissident republicans when they tried to remotely detonate a bomb left outside a primary school in Lurgan.

During today's application, a barrister acting on behalf of McGuigan revealed the variation on his client's terms of bail was to allow him to go to Spain for a week with his wife.

The barrister told Judge Geoffrey Miller QC that McGuigan and his wife had been together for 25 years, and to mark this anniversary, the couple's two grown-up children wanted to buy them a week's holiday in January as a Christmas present.

The barrister pointed out that after being granted bail in February of this year, McGuigan "has adhered to all the conditions of bail".

He also said that McGuigan has already had the terms varied to allow him to go to Donegal for a week earlier this year, which "went without an incident."

A prosecuting barrister informed Judge Miller that the Crown was opposed to the bail variation - but said if the court was minded to grant the application, police would be seeking a number of stringent conditions. These included reporting to local police twice during his week-long stay, remaining in Spain, providing his wife's mobile number and not attending, participating or speaking at any political meetings.

The Crown also asked that the two people who offered cash sureties - one for 2,000 and another for 2,500 - be ordered to resign the relevant papers "to acknowledge they will stand over" their sureties whilst McGuigan is in Spain.

When asked why the bail variation was being opposed, the Crown barrister expressed concerns that McGuigan "may take the opportunity not to return, and disrupt the trial" which is listed to commence on January 25, 2017.

The prosecutor also told the court: "There is a fear he may, once outside the jurisdiction, have contact with other people involved in this offending."

Judge Miller spoke of the proximity of the holiday to the start of the trial, and said that whilst "the concerns raised by the Crown are not just genuine, but reasonable," he was prepared to vary the bail conditions.

Setting out the conditions suggested by the Crown, the Judge addressed McGuigan's barrister and said: "If your client is content with these terms, the application will be granted. If he isn't, it will be refused."

When the barrister confirmed his client's consent, the variation was granted.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has indicated she would be prepared to attend a hearing.

A Stormont committee is to convene a special meeting to consider whether to call the first minister to give evidence on her role in a botched renewable energy scheme.

Arlene Foster has faced intense public scrutiny over her role in the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) when she was economy minister.

The DUP leader has rejected calls for her resignation over her handling of an error-ridden scheme that has left Stormont facing a 400 million overspend in the next 20 years.

The Assembly's Public Accounts Committee is currently investigating the RHI furore.

Ministers do not usually appear before the PAC under Assembly conventions but, such is the scale of the fall-out from the RHI, its members are to discuss a proposal from SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan that Mrs Foster gives evidence.

The first minister, who has been accused of not doing enough to pursue whistleblower allegations that sought to expose flaws in the system, has indicated a willingness to answer questions on the matter.

Mrs Foster's acknowledgement that one of her former special advisers - Stephen Brimstone - was an RHI applicant, and confirmation from the DUP that the brother of Andrew Crawford, another of her former special advisers, was also on the scheme has led political rivals to assert that the first minister must have had an intimate knowledge of its workings.

There is no suggestion Mr Brimstone or Mr Crawford's brother were anything other than legitimate claimants.

The RHI aimed to cut the cost of green energy to encourage people to move off fossil fuels but ended up landing ministers with a massive overspend.

It incentivised the installation of costly eco-friendly heating systems by paying a tariff per kilowatt of heat burned over a 20-year period.

However, unlike in the rest of the UK, in Northern Ireland no cap or payment tier system was placed on the money that could be claimed in proportion to the size of boiler and the hours it was operated.

That resulted in the RHI tariff paid out being higher than the cost of fuel needed to run the boilers - meaning the more businesses burnt, the more they earned.

Thousands signed up to the RHI - a deluge that ultimately forced its closure, but not before Stormont had been left with a huge future bill.

Overall, more than 1 billion of public money will be paid by 2036 to Northern Ireland-based businesses which signed up to the scheme. Around 400 million of that will be paid out by the Stormont Executive.

On Monday Mrs Foster made clear she would not be standing down.

"I take the view that a mark of a politician is not made when times are good but when you are faced with challenges," she said.

"I intend to face this challenge and to deal with the issues in front of me and to bring about cost reduction for the scheme."

The PAC will meet at Parliament Buildings on Thursday.
UUP leader Mike Nesbitt has called for Mrs Foster to consider her position.

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt claims his party has "uncovered proof" that First Minister Arlene Foster played a key role in the heating scandal that is set to cost Northern Irelands public services 400m over the next 20 years.

Mr Nesbitt said Mrs Foster's decision not to employ a crucial safeguard, while she was in charge of DETI when the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme was rolled out, led to a deluge of applications which eventually broke the budget. In a lengthy statement Mr Nesbitt, said: "The Ulster Unionist Party has uncovered proof that First Minister Arlene Foster was responsible for the decision that will cost Northern Irelands public services 400 million over the next 20 years.

"At a meeting of the then Enterprise Trade & Investment Committee at Stormont, an official was questioned about the reason why Northern Ireland did not adopt the so-called Degression procedures which were applied to the GB heat incentive and could have capped the amount of public funds available for the local RHI scheme, saving the public 400 million.

"At the meeting on the 9th of February 2016, the official said Degression was discussed in the context of the Departments intention to introduce a domestic RHI scheme.

"So the Minister decided that the priority should be on the introduction of the domestic RHI scheme.

"Here for the first time is proof that Mrs Fosters fingerprints are on the decision-making process that has resulted in the biggest financial scandal in the history of Northern Ireland."

Mr Nesbitt said it is time Mrs Foster 'stopped blaming others and took responsibility'.

"It is time Mrs Foster stopped blaming others and embraced the age-old principle of Ministerial Responsibility. She was not only aware of what was happening, she was making it happen, through a series of policy choices that resulted in the fatally-flawed RHI.

"Remember, this was all totally unnecessary. Mrs Foster had the option to adopt the successful GB model, which had the checks and balances that would have made this scandal impossible. Degression would have meant that the greater the number of applications for RHI, the lower the tariffs would have fallen, ensuring the total spend would remain constant, no matter how many applied.

"In fact, the consultation document from July 2013 makes explicit reference to the Departments intention to introduce Degression at some point during the lifetime of RHI. Who decided otherwise? Mrs Foster! And at what cost? 400 million, literally up in smoke.

"So, now there is a smoking gun, the public will ask what is more important to Mrs Foster  her job or the reputation of the devolved institutions? We will know soon enough."

Audio of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee on February 9 2016  comment can be heard on the SoundCloud embed below at 1:33:55.

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Mrs Foster has faced intense public scrutiny over her role in the scheme when she was economy minister.

The DUP leader has rejected calls for her resignation over her handling of an error-ridden scheme that has left Stormont facing a 400 million overspend in the next 20 years.

The Assembly's Public Accounts Committee is currently investigating the RHI furore.

Ministers do not usually appear before the PAC under Assembly conventions but, such is the scale of the fall-out from the RHI, its members are to discuss a proposal from SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan that Mrs Foster gives evidence.

Read more

One reason @PA decided to dig deeper into RHI - closure of "very successful" scheme announced @ 6.02pm on a Friday night #badnewsburialfail pic.twitter.com/5XAZqcW5MI  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) December 13, 2016

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The first minister, who has been accused of not doing enough to pursue whistleblower allegations that sought to expose flaws in the system, has indicated a willingness to answer questions on the matter.

Mrs Foster's acknowledgement that one of her former special advisers - Stephen Brimstone - was an RHI applicant, and confirmation from the DUP that the brother of Andrew Crawford, another of her former special advisers, was also on the scheme has led political rivals to assert that the first minister must have had an intimate knowledge of its workings.

There is no suggestion Mr Brimstone or Mr Crawford's brother were anything other than legitimate claimants.

The RHI aimed to cut the cost of green energy to encourage people to move off fossil fuels but ended up landing ministers with a massive overspend.

It incentivised the installation of costly eco-friendly heating systems by paying a tariff per kilowatt of heat burned over a 20-year period.

However, unlike in the rest of the UK, in Northern Ireland no cap or payment tier system was placed on the money that could be claimed in proportion to the size of boiler and the hours it was operated.

That resulted in the RHI tariff paid out being higher than the cost of fuel needed to run the boilers - meaning the more businesses burnt, the more they earned.

Thousands signed up to the RHI - a deluge that ultimately forced its closure, but not before Stormont had been left with a huge future bill.

Read more

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Overall, more than 1 billion of public money will be paid by 2036 to Northern Ireland-based businesses which signed up to the scheme. Around 400 million of that will be paid out by the Stormont Executive.

On Monday Mrs Foster made clear she would not be standing down.

"I take the view that a mark of a politician is not made when times are good but when you are faced with challenges," she said.

"I intend to face this challenge and to deal with the issues in front of me and to bring about cost reduction for the scheme."

The PAC will meet at Parliament Buildings on Thursday.
A Sinn Fein member of the Irish parliament is believed to have been involved in some 50 murders during the Troubles, new documents reveal.

Secret internal communications within the British Government suggest that Dessie Ellis, then a member of the IRA, was forensically linked to the deaths in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

And a second communication dealing with Mr Ellis refers to him as a leading PIRA member. Mr Ellis, who is now the Sinn Fein TD for Dublin North-West, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on explosives charges in the 1980s.

He declined to comment on the newly-released papers from 1982. No, I won't be saying anything, Mr Ellis said.

When asked if he disputed the claims, he said: I don't want to comment on anything said by the Brits. I wouldn't be bothered.

Mr Ellis (60) has refused to detail his position in the IRA during the Troubles except to say he was at the highest levels.

In a recent book about his home area, Finglas in Dublin, he said he became involved in republicanism from an early age, first in the civil rights marches and later in the armed struggle.

He was elected a TD in 2011 on his third attempt.

Mr Ellis is a former TV repair man who was initially arrested in Dublin in May, 1981, but jumped bail and fled to Canada from where he crossed the border to the United States.

He was arrested in Buffalo, New York, with four others in February 1982 on immigration offences.

An internal communication marked secret from the British embassy in Washington states: As you know, one of those arrested has turned out on investigation to be Desmond Ellis who was arrested in Dublin in May 1981 for possession of electronic remote-controlled devices.

We understand that Ellis is linked by forensic evidence to some 50 murders in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The document is one of a large tranche of files released by the National Archives Office in London from 1982.

The 1982 communication states that Mr Ellis was wanted in Dublin and, given his record, we hoped that steps could be made to ensure that he was not simply sent back to Canada following next Tuesday's (immigration)

court hearing and escape from justice.

It further adds that the Irish authorities want him returned to Ireland, but it would be difficult to hold him in the US in the absence of an extradition agreement.

He was later extradited to Ireland and in 1983 was convicted by the Special Criminal Court and was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in Portlaoise Prison.

And later, in 1990, he was the first person charged under the 1987 Extradition Act on an explosives charge in England.

He then went on a hunger strike that lasted 37 days in protest against his pending extradition to England. He was eventually acquitted at a trial in the Old Bailey in London.

The new revelations from the British papers come after Sinn Fein has come under intense pressure in the Dail over its links to the IRA.
William and Craig pictured with members of the Peshmerga military force

Irish backpackers who visited the front line of a war zone in Iraq have been described as "foolhardy and naive" for associating themselves with Kurdish forces.

William Meara (26) and his pal Craig Reynolds (24), who travelled to a notorious front line of war in northern Iraq as part of a backpacking trip around the world, said they were "terrified" when brought to the notorious Daquq last week.

The front line has seen a number of deaths of Kurdish militants, the most recent of which came when an Isil sniper gunned down a fighter in mid-November.

The pair have spent the past two months travelling across the Middle East.

After hitch-hiking from the Iranian border to Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq they made acquaintances with Kurdish freedom fighters, the Peshmerga military force - some of which were fighting from different parts of the world.

Mr Meara told the Irish Independent that a Canadian freedom fighter was their link as they visited Daquq the day after a late night drinking session with locals.

"He introduced us to his friend. The next morning he decided he'd invite us out and try to get us out on to the front line," Mr Meara said.

"We must have said something when we were out with him the night before and that's how he got the idea.

"Before we knew it we were meeting all of these high-profile officials. There was a commander of the local area with us.

"It was absolutely terrifying to be honest.

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"It was probably one of the scariest things I've ever done," he said.

The two men posed for photos for their blog 'Ready for Road', smiling with a number of soldiers who were holding machine guns and assault rifles.

While making the most of the experience, Mr Meara attempted to take some more photographs through the sandbags at the front line, but was pulled back immediately.

"I was trying to take pictures but the lads were just like, 'no stand back, this is serious'," he said.

"We were talking to the guys at the outpost and whatever they said to the lads in our convoy, they decided it wasn't safe for us to be there, because we had no military training.

"They were making gestures, in other words, we were in a vulnerable position and shouldn't be there. Even though something might not happen, it wasn't safe," he said.

The action by the pair was not met warmly by Irish security analyst, Dr Tom Clonan, who said it was risky business and that a number of governments could be looking for information from them.

"It's because of their proximity to a group that is operating in combat in Iraq," Dr Clonan said.

"There'd be a number of governments that might be interested in speaking to them.

"I would be very nervous of posing for a photograph with weapons in an environment where combat is taking place.

"It's just naive, they shouldn't be doing that," he said.
A British aid worker has described the mass starvation in war-torn Yemen as unlike anything she has ever witnessed, as a charity appeal is launched to help civilians.

Announcing the fund-raiser, fronted by actor Tom Hardy and television presenter Clare Balding, t he Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which represents 13 UK aid charities, said Yemen was at "breaking point" following 20 months of conflict.

More than seven million people in Yemen do not know where their next meal will come from and many children are dying from malnutrition, the organisation said.

Alice Klein, who works for Save the Children, one of the charities supporting the Yemen Crisis Appeal, returned from a three-week visit to the country last week and said she was "shocked" by what she saw.

She told the Press Association: "You went into any health centre or hospital and it was wall-to-wall with really desperate families with tiny babies.

"The babies and children were severely malnourished - as soon as the doctor began examining them and lifting up their clothes you could see all their ribs jutting out.

"They are quite low energy, they don't have enough energy to cry, they just stare out blankly."

Ms Klein said there are more than two million malnourished children in Yemen, with half a million of them severely malnourished - meaning without immediate medical attention they will die.

Spending her career covering humanitarian issues, she said she had "honestly never seen anything like it", but also witnessed how aid in Yemen had made a "physical and tangible difference".

Describing the situation within the country as "desperate", she said there has been a "perfect storm of problems" to create the crisis.

Ms Klein said Yemen imported 90% of its food and fuel, but that currently only two of the cranes in the country's main port were working after being heavily bombed - causing a huge problem with supplies.

"They don't have jobs, they're not earning, they don't have income to be able to buy food, and when they can find food it is overpriced because it is so scarce because of the port," she added.

"I met parents who had sold their cars, gold jewellery, even guns and livestock - anything they've got - taking out loans, and selling land just to be able to afford to get their child to a health centre."

She said many parents are given prescriptions by medics but they simply cannot afford to then pay for the medicine needed, and with the escalating price of supplies, "families just aren't coping".

Oxfam, the British Red Cross, Save The Children and Christian Aid are among the charities supporting the Yemen Crisis Appeal, which will be launched on major broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Sky, Channel 4 and Channel 5 on Tuesday.

Its launch comes after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had "deep concern" about the suffering of Yemenis but backed the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in the country.

Riyadh is supporting the internationally-recognised government of Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Asking an urgent question in the Commons on Monday Yemeni-born Labour MP Keith Vaz said the Government "must speak with one voice and with one aim" for Yemen.

He said this should be an immediate ceasefire, adding: "Anything else only plays into the hands of terrorist organisations, damages our diplomacy and increases the suffering of the Yemeni people."

Mr Vaz also said the words of the Foreign Secretary "revealed an inconsistency in our foreign policy" which "threatens to wreck everything we're trying to accomplish".

In response to the question on whether a ceasefire is the UK's objective and how it will be achieved, Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood said the UK remains "resolute" in working towards a cessation of hostilities and working with the United Nations.

DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed , said of the appeal: "Now is the time to save lives in Yemen before it is too late. Children face the greatest risk of starvation - almost half a million infants and young children need immediate treatment for malnutrition.

"DEC members are already providing treatment for malnutrition, running mobile health teams, distributing emergency food and cash, but they need funds to reach more people."

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said Yemen "faces a humanitarian crisis that the international community cannot ignore" and ministers will match donations from the UK public up to 5 million.

She added: "Yemen has become the 'forgotten crisis' despite more than 10 million people desperately needing help and the threat of famine hanging over the country.

"The UK has led the international community to step up its efforts but more support is urgently needed, as this DEC appeal shows.

"By matching pound for pound public donations to the DEC appeal, we will double the difference British people can make to the lives of undernourished children with clean water, lifesaving food and medical treatment."

:: To make a donation visit www.dec.org.uk, call 0370 60 60 900, visit any high street bank or Post Office, or donate 5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.
Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres has been sworn in as Secretary General of the United Nations, becoming the ninth UN chief in the body's 71-year history.

The former UN refugee chief was elected to the top job by acclamation in the General Assembly in October.

He takes over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1.

Mr Guterres, 67, performed well in answering questions before assembly members and his executive experience as prime minister and as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005-2015 propelled him to first place among 13 candidates vying for the job in informal polls in the Security Council.

After the sixth poll, the council nominated him by acclamation and his name was sent to the assembly for final approval.

After being sworn in by General Assembly President John William Ashe, Mr Guterres addressed the 193 member nations, saying the world body must work to simplify, decentralise and make more flexible its sprawling bureaucracy.

"It benefits no one if takes nine months to deploy a staff member to the field," he said.

"The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process, more on people and less on bureaucracy."

The swearing-in came after the 193 General Assembly members paid tribute to Mr Ban, ending with a standing ovation for the native South Korean.

The swearing-in ceremony included the UN's top leaders and was attended by dignitaries including Burma politician and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power lauded Mr Ban's accomplishments while in office and said she was confident Mr Guterres is the right person to replace him.

"He is the man for the job in such challenging times," she said.

The selection of a new secretary general had traditionally been decided behind closed doors by a few powerful countries.

But this year, the process involved public discussions with each candidate who was campaigning for the job.

UN chiefs are charged with promoting sustainable development, working for peace around the globe, protecting human rights and dealing with humanitarian catastrophes.

Mr Ban served two five-year terms.

AP
President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed his choice of Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state, hailing him as "among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal makers in the world".

In a release from his transition headquarters in New York, Mr Trump called Mr Tillerson's career "the embodiment of the American dream".

He said the ExxonMobil CEO rose through the ranks "through hard work, dedication and smart deal making".

President-elect Trump also said that as the nation's top diplomat, Mr Tillerson will be "a world-class leader" working on behalf of the American people.

Mr Tillerson has close ties to Russia, and his selection sets up a potential confirmation fight in the Senate.

In an accompanying statement, Mr Tillerson said he was "honoured" by his selection and shares Mr Trump's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security."

China's foreign ministry spokesman said that Beijing was looking forward to working with the new secretary of state.

"No matter who will become US secretary of state, China is looking forward to working together with him to push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point," the spokesman, Geng Shuang, said at a regular briefing.

Mr Trump brushed aside concerns about Mr Tillerson's close ties to Moscow in bringing the long secretary of state audition process to an end.

Mr Tillerson has connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And on Capitol Hill, leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties about him, as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the US presidential election to help Mr Trump.

For weeks, Mr Trump has teased out the decision process publicly, often exposing rifts in his organisation. He also considered former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney, a one-time vocal Trump critic, and Sen Bob Corker of Tennessee, who leads the Foreign Relations Committee.

The unconventional vetting procedures are in keeping with Mr Trump's presidential style thus far, unconcerned with tradition or business as usual.

In recent weeks, he has attacked CIA intelligence, spoken to the leader of Taiwan and has continued his late-night Twitter tirades.

Making yet another non-traditional choice, Mr Trump heads out Tuesday for another week of travel, starting with a rally in Wisconsin.

Mr Trump postponed a Thursday announcement about how he will handle his massive business empire, though it appears likely he will not follow other presidents and make a clean break from his personal holdings.

Mr Trump was set to visit supporters as questions swirled about a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on his behalf.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that Congress will investigate the agency's conclusion, which the incoming commander in chief has called "ridiculous".

The CIA recently concluded with "high confidence" that Russia sought to influence the US election on behalf of Mr Trump, raising red flags among politicians concerned about the sanctity of the US voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Mr Trump's administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mr Tillerson's test will be whether his corporate deal-making skills translate into the delicate world of international diplomacy.

He would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages on, and in China, given Mr Trump's recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing.

AP
Many migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe

A judge in Sicily has convicted a ship captain and crew member in the April 2015 sinking that left 700 people dead in one of the Mediterranean's worst migrant disasters.

The Tunisian captain, Mohammad Ali Malek, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined nine million euro (7.5 million).

He was convicted of multiple manslaughter counts.

His Syrian crewmate, Mahmud Bikhit, was sentenced to five years in prison and also fined nine million euro after being convicted of facilitating illegal immigration.

Prosecutors accused Malek of inadvertently ramming the overloaded fishing boat into the cargo ship that had come to its rescue on April 18, 2015, destabilising it.

The boat flipped over after migrants rushed to one side. Only 28 survived.

The wreck was brought to the surface and some 700 bodies recovered.

Forensic pathologists have been working ever since to try to identify them, so the remains can be returned to their families.

The wreck prompted the European Union to beef up its Mediterranean rescue flotilla.

But the waves of migrants have continued: Some 176,678 people arrived in Italy by sea in 2016, more than in either 2014 or 2015, according to the International Organisation of Migration.

The deaths have continued as well: IOM counts 4,244 known deaths in the Libya-Italy smuggling route during 2016, compared to 2,868 last year.

Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro hailed the verdict after the fast-track trial.

In a statement, Mr Zuccaro said it reinforced two important legal principles: affirming Italian jurisdiction for illegal immigration cases that occur in international waters, and considering rescued migrants as victims, not suspects.

AP
Astronomers at Queen's University Belfast have helped solve the mystery of how an extraordinarily brilliant point of light was created in a galaxy far, far away.

And the answer is not totally unrelated to Star Wars - the light thought to be from the brightest supernova ever seen is believed to have been created by a rapidly spinning black hole ripping apart a passing star that came too close.

The black hole had a mass of at least 100 million times that of the sun.

This is an extreme and very rare event and was categorised as a superluminous supernova - the explosion of an extremely massive star at the end of its life.

It was twice as bright as the previous record holder - and at its peak was 20 times brighter than the total light output of the entire Milky Way.

Professor Stephen Smartt from Queen's University's Astrophysics Research Centre is the lead and principal investigator of the project at the European Southern Observatory, which gathered the crucial data.

Professor Smartt said: "This object puzzled us for months. Our international team has experts who work on the most extreme physics in the universe and the initial explanation of a supernova just didn't seem to fit all the data comfortably.

"The team studied all the data carefully, kept observing, applied models and physics and considered all possible explanations. This is an excellent example of international collaboration and scientific team work, ably led by Giorgos Leloudas."

Dr Leloudas of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel said: "Our results indicate that the event was probably caused by a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole as it destroyed a low-mass star."

In this scenario, the extreme gravitational forces of a supermassive black hole, located in the centre of the host galaxy, ripped apart a sun-like star that wandered too close - something only observed about 10 times before. In the process, the star was "spaghettified" and some of the material was converted into huge amounts of radiated light.
Syrian army soldiers fire their weapons during a battle with insurgents at the Ramouseh front line, east of Aleppo, Syria.

Syrian rebels have reached a ceasefire deal to evacuate from eastern Aleppo in an effective surrender, as Russia declared all military action had stopped and the Syrian government had assumed control of the former rebel enclave.

The dramatic developments, which appeared to restore the remainder of what was once Syria's largest city to President Bashar Assad's forces after months of heavy fighting and a crippling siege, followed reports of mass killings by government forces closing in on the final few blocks still held by the rebels.

Damascus confirmed the evacuation deal and the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said that the safe withdrawal of people from the besieged area was now "imminent". He was at the Security Council where an emergency meeting for Aleppo was under way.

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin took to the floor near the end of the session at the UN Security Council to announce fighting had ended.

"According to the latest information that we received... military actions in eastern Aleppo are over," Mr Churkin said. "The Syrian government has re-established control over eastern Aleppo."

Minutes earlier, he had announced that "all militants" and members of their families, as well as those wounded in the fighting, were being evacuated through "agreed corridors in directions that they have chosen voluntarily", including the rebel stronghold of Idlib province.

Retaking Aleppo, which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012, would be Mr Assad's biggest victory yet in the civil war. Aleppo, the country's former commercial powerhouse, has long been regarded as a major gateway between Turkey and Syria and the biggest prize in the conflict.

There were conflicting reports about the timing and route that the evacuation would take.

Syria's military media said the gunmen would be evacuated through the Ramouseh crossing and from there to rebel-controlled areas of northern Idlib province.

"Aleppo will be declared a secure and liberated city within the coming hours," it said on its Telegram channel.

Osama Abu Zayd, a Turkey-based legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday evening and that the first groups of rebel fighters would begin evacuating later on Tuesday.

Yasser al-Youssef, a rebel spokesman, confirmed the deal, and another spokesman, Ahmed Karali, said those leaving the city would head to rural areas in western Aleppo province then head north.

The agreement on Tuesday came after world leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents, and the UN human rights office said that pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians as they closed in on the last remaining rebel areas.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforced fears of atrocities in the final hours of the battle for the city.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the emergency meeting that the UN supported negotiations among the parties, which were being facilitated by Russia and Turkey, and stood ready to help oversee an agreement.

He said he had received "credible reports" of civilians killed by intense bombing and summary executions by pro-government forces.

"Aleppo should represent the end of a quest for military victory," not the start of a new brutal campaign, he said.

Several residents and opposition activists said that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in neighbourhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military denied the claim, saying such allegations were "a desperate attempt" to gain international sympathy.

None of the residents witnessed the alleged killings, and the reports came amid deepening chaos in the remaining rebel-held areas. Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held parts of the city, said the dead and wounded were being left in the streets.

Bashar al-Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, denied any mass executions or revenge attacks, but added it was Syria's "constitutional right" to go after "terrorists", a reference to all opposition fighters.

"Aleppo has been liberated from terrorists and those who toyed with terrorism," he said. "Aleppo has returned to the nation."

The UN children's agency said in a statement on Tuesday that it had received a report of more than 100 unaccompanied children trapped in a building under fire in eastern Aleppo. Unicef is concerned over reports of "extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children", said the agency's regional director, Geert Cappalaere.

The UN human rights office said it had received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians in four neighbourhoods of the rapidly-shrinking rebel enclave, including 11 women and 13 children.

Spokesman Rupert Colville, speaking to reporters in Geneva, said the reports described pro-government forces entering homes and killing civilians "on the spot". He said the reports came in late on Monday and he did not know exactly when the killings took place.

A press release by the UN human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources reported dozens of civilians were shot dead on Monday by government forces and allied militiamen in the Kallaseh and Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hundreds of bodies were still under the rubble.

A government win in Aleppo would significantly strengthen Mr Assad's hand but does not end the conflict - significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad family's four-decade rule.

AP
Police said no gun was found at the scene

A California police officer answering a report of a man with a gun has shot dead an unarmed 73-year-old man said to be in the early stages of dementia, who was standing in a neighbour's driveway.

The Kern County coroner said Francisco Serna was declared dead at the scene in Bakersfield at about 1.15am local time on Monday.

Sergeant Gary Carruesco told KBAK-TV and the Los Angeles Times that police arrived at about 12.30am and when a witness pointed to Mr Serna, an officer fired several rounds and killed him.

Mr Carruesco said no gun was found in a search of the scene.

Mr Serna's son Rogelio told the Times his father was a retired grandfather who did not own a gun. He said he was suffering from delusions and other early signs of dementia.

AP
Voters in Northern Ireland right now must be feeling like Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz, gazing round at the strange new political landscape that suddenly surrounds them and saying: Toto, Ive a feeling were not in Kansas any more.

Sinn Feins Gerry Adams is in the fight of his life over his handling of questions about another murder, this time the 1983 shooting in Dublin of prison officer Brian Stack  but the DUP is curiously tight lipped about the whole affair.

Arlene Foster faces serious questions about her handling of a controversial heating scheme which could end up costing taxpayers 400m, and which some say might even threaten her position as First Minister  but Sinn Fein apparently has nothing to say on this matter either.

What happened to the days when the two main parties wasted no opportunity to tear strips out of one another, leaping on every blunder in an effort to undermine the other?

Now they seem to have come to a sort of unwritten you scratch my back and Ill scratch yours compact whereby they turn the blindest of blind eyes to one anothers failings.

Voters are like the children of bickering parents realising that mummy and daddy are no longer quarrelling. Is it because theyve kissed and made up, or are they just so tired of the in-fighting that they no longer care what the other says and does?

Arguably, we shouldnt complain if the DUP and SF have decided to swallow past and even current distastes and work in tandem.

This was where devolution was supposed to lead, right? Two historical rivals working together for what they consider the common good?

But what if theyre working together for their own interests rather than for ours? What then?

One of the problems of politics in Northern Ireland is that everything is judged in comparison with what went before, and what went before was civil conflict on such a terrible scale and at such a great cost that going back to it doesnt bear thinking about.

Even compared to the recent past, with frequent suspension of Stormont and re-imposition of direct rule, the current cessation of hostilities might feel like a blessed relief.

Devolution has been one false dawn after another, and we cant expect a limitless supply of fresh chances to get this right.

We live in an uncertain world. Brexit and Donald Trumps election proved that none of the old certainties about politics can be relied upon any longer. We cant always be depending on outsiders, either in Westminster or Washington, to solve our problems. Northern Ireland has to be ready to stand on its own two feet, however shakily.

But at what point are we allowed to move beyond a simplistic analysis which says well, at least this is better than the Troubles to one that admits: Isnt the present situation just a teensy bit odd, if not downright unnatural?

The current rapprochement might be a nice holiday from perpetual rancour, but normal politics cannot be deferred for ever, otherwise we might as well give up engaging with the political system altogether and just accept that there will be effective one party rule for decades to come.

Whether that party calls itself by two names, and on paper has divergent long-term aims, makes no difference.

If it looks like one party government, and quacks like one party government, then thats what it is, with all the perils that such a system of unchallenged rule entails.

That includes a tendency to mistake the ruling elites interests as being interchangeable with those of the country, and an increasingly stagnant air of mediocrity and corruption. The signs are there that this is exactly whats happening in Stormont. SF poses as the champion of the little people against the establishment, but, first on Charter NIs loyalist underbelly and now on Arlene Fosters handling of problems with the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, theyve reverted to type, hiding behind the faithful old slogan: Whatever you say, say nothing.

The First Minister insists that she did nothing wrong during her brief stint as Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister.

She was alerted to possible abuses of the scheme by a whistleblower and said that she passed on those concerns to officials.

Her line is that whatever happened to the complaint subsequently is none of her responsibility.

Its a defensible position, though it suggests a rather narrow, legalistic definition view of ones duties as a public representative; but theres no doubt that SF would be demanding more complete answers if it was not sharing a bed with the DUP.

The result of their silence is that Foster may well be able to hunker down and sit this one out, as appears to be her intention, which will make the First Minister less accountable than former Secretaries of State, who rarely got a free pass from other parties in this way.

What are republican and nationalist voters meant to make of the party for whom they overwhelmingly vote basically shutting its eyes to the mistakes (or possibly worse) of Democratic Unionist ministers?

The same, presumably, as DUP voters feel when they see their MLAs, whove long posed as the guardians of law and order, helpfully averting their gaze as Gerry Adams flounders in another political sewer of his own making.

SF has to juggle conflicting demands. Being in government in one jurisdiction, and in opposition in another, doesnt make for an easy life. Pinning down Arlene Foster may be low on the current list of priorities.

The DUP, likewise, might prefer to ignore the crisis in SF south of the border in the hope that any contamination does not spread north.

But lets not pretend this is a normalisation of politics. Its not. Its abnormalisation. Democrats should be able to stand a little criticism from within and without, otherwise they become autocrats, however well meaning.

Working class nationalist voters in West Belfast have been quickest to recognise those dangers, by electing Gerry OCarroll of People Before Profit top of the poll at the last Assembly elections.

It was a shot across the bows of the new SF/DUP establishment, but there was a message there for the opposition too  namely, that if there is going to be any semblance of normal politics in Northern Ireland, then the responsibility largely lies with them to bring it about.

The Executive will protect and serve itself. It might think its doing so for all the right reasons, but the opposition is there to keep the executive honest.

The Ulster Unionists, SDLP, Alliance and others cannot be deterred by accusations that theyre not being helpful. Its not the role of the opposition to be helpful.

Its their job to hold those in power to account and to demand that they do the right thing. At the very least, that they explain themselves, not hide behind mutually beneficial silence.

This is the oppositions moment. If they cannot even rise to this challenge, we really are in trouble.
Centro users have a new tool at their disposal to plan a trip in central New York or track when a bus will arrive at their stop.

The GoCentroBus mobile app is now available on iOS (iPhone) and Android devices. The app, which is free, allows users to review bus routes, find bus stops in their area, save favorite routes and stops and plan trips.

The app also contains information about Centro, such as the agency's phone number and mailing address, and will provide users with alerts if service is affected.

Steven Koegel, Centro's vice president of communications and business planning, said the app has been in development for more than a year.

"It's just something that we believe is going to be very handy for customers," he said.

The development of the app was a considerable undertaking. Koegel said the agency had to GPS code every bus route in the system, which covers Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego counties.

Developers also had to geocode Centro's bus stops and routes.

"It takes a lot to get the data available to then plug into the app to make it work," Koegel said.

Koegel said Centro received a lot of requests for an app from its existing customer base. The app will provide real-time information and inform users when a bus will arrive at a stop.

The app's features, Koegel said, can help take away that "isolated feeling" one might experience while waiting at a bus stop. Centro also believes the app could encourage central New Yorkers who don't use the bus service to consider public transportation options.

"It's a reassuring factor for our customers," Koegel said. "It allows them to make better use of their time."

Centro officials visited the agency's Syracuse transit hub Tuesday to answer questions about the app and help customers set up the app on their phone or tablet. Agency representatives will visit the Syracuse hub again on Wednesday and the Utica hub on Dec. 20 to assist customers with downloading the app.

More information about the app can be found at centro.org, Centro's Facebook and Twitter accounts or by calling (315) 442-3400.
Members of central New York's state legislative delegation are inviting the public to attend a meeting Wednesday on the Interstate 81 viaduct project in Syracuse.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Henninger High School, 600 Robinson St., Syracuse.

State Sen. John DeFrancisco said residents will be able to comment on where the I-81 project stands and state Department of Transportation officials will be on hand to answer questions.

The state Department of Transportation announced in October that it is now considering two options for the replacement of the existing I-81 viaduct, which reaches the end of its useful life in 2017. The agency wants to either rebuild the viaduct or replace it with a "community grid," which will include a six-lane boulevard on Almond Street.

The community grid option also calls for re-designating Interstate 481 as the new I-81. I-481 would become the main route for through traffic traveling north of Syracuse.

DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, acknowledged that there are many local elected officials, including some in Cayuga County, who have expressed concerns about how the community grid option would affect their communities.

Owasco Supervisor Ed Wagner and Skaneateles Town Supervisor Jim Lanning, among others, have said that their towns would see a spike in truck traffic if the community grid alternative is pursued.

State legislators also have heard from constituents who believe I-81 should retain its existing configuration, whether that's a boulevard or rebuilding the viaduct.

DeFrancisco thinks there's a compromise proposal that should be considered. He supports the idea of a "hybrid" option which would allow for a street-level boulevard and a 1.4-mile long tunnel that would run on the same north-south route as the current I-81 viaduct.

"There's a way to accomplish both," he said Monday.

The state Department of Transportation considered tunnel options for the project, but determined it would be too costly. The community grid alternative would cost an estimated $1.3 billion, according to the agency. A tunnel would cost more than $3 billion.

Any tunnel alternative has been eliminated from consideration, at least for now.

DeFrancisco thinks the state has already made its final determination, even as transportation officials hold informational meetings and plan to release a draft environmental impact statement next year.

"I don't think anybody that's followed this whole thing could really believe that there's two options right now because the community grid, to me, is very clearly where the state is trying to get this thing done in that regard," he said.

DeFrancisco's assessment is based on comments made by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in August. During a visit to central New York, Cuomo called the existing I-81 viaduct a "classic planning blunder." His comments were viewed as an endorsement of the community grid, or boulevard, option.

"Anybody that heard that comment  and I was there  that believes the viaduct is truly a second option I think is a little bit naive and blind to what's really happening here," DeFrancisco said.

The concerns raised by constituents led DeFrancisco and other state legislators in the region to organize Wednesday's meeting. The other lawmakers involved in the effort include Assembly members Gary Finch and Robert Oaks, both of whom represent Cayuga County.

State Sen. David Valesky and Assembly members Will Barclay, Pam Hunter, Bill Magnarelli and Al Stirpe also were involved in scheduling the meeting.

DeFrancisco said he contacted state Transportation Commissioner Matthew Driscoll, who previously served as mayor of Syracuse, to request that representatives from the agency attend Wednesday's meeting.

"We really need people from the DOT that could try and answer the questions people have rather than be focused on the final two options," he said.
Audience members stand for Indias national anthem before a screening at a cinema in New Delhi, Dec. 4, 2016.

At least 20 people have been arrested in since Indias highest court two weeks ago required movie-goers to stand for the national anthem before screenings at theaters, police said Tuesday.

In a Nov. 30 order, the Supreme Court directed all movie theaters to play the anthem and it ordered every person present to stand as a sign of respect.

The apex court also held that the entry and exit doors [of the movie theater] shall remain closed [while the national anthem is being played] so that no one can create any kind of disturbance which will amount to disrespect to the national anthem.

Citizens are duty bound to show respect to [the] national anthem which is the symbol of constitutional patriotism, the court said.

On Monday, 12 people were arrested at an international film festival in the southern Indian state of Kerala for allegedly failing to observe the order.

The accused, whose identities were not revealed, were asked by the organizers to stand for the national anthem but they refused, Sparjan Kumar, the police chief of Keralas capital, Thiruvananthapuram, told BenarNews.

They were then formally arrested, but later let out on bail, Kumar said, adding that the accused were charged under Indian Penal Code section 188 that deals with refusal to obey an order passed by a public servant.

He said six of the 12 accused, including two women, were assaulted by audience members when they refused to stand, but he did not say if charges would be brought against the attackers.

We can only act once we receive a complaint of the assault, he said.

We have asked all cinema halls in the state to inform us in case somebody shows disrespect to the national anthem because it is not possible for police officials to remain present at each and every theater, Kumar said.

On Sunday, eight movie-goers were arrested in the southern city of Chennai for allegedly refusing to stand during the national anthem. They, too, were assaulted by a mob of 20 men before being taken into custody, police said.

Wheelchair-bound writer says he was assaulted

Even before the Nov. 30 order, there were several reports of movie-goers being attacked for failing to stand. Salil Chaturvedi, a wheelchair-bound writer who is unable to stand because of a spinal cord injury, said he was assaulted at a multiplex in Goa in October.

Criticizing the Supreme Court ruling, activists said the judiciary was being influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Previously, the national flag and national anthem meant secularism, but now they stand for the BJP, Riya Raj, a social activist and leader of a left-wing students union, told BenarNews.

When I go to watch a movie, I go there to enjoy, not prove my nationalism or patriotism. Respect has to come from within. It cant be pushed by law. All these diktats are coming from the BJP government, which is trying to create an atmosphere of dictatorship, Raj said.

Supreme Court lawyer Amit Khemka agreed.

Standing up for the national anthem because you are being forced to do so is not a sign of nationalism. It is a sign of fear that you will be arrested if you dont, Khemka told BenarNews.

There is no reason the national anthem should be played at a cinema hall. It is like going to a restaurant and being asked to sing the national anthem before you are served food, he added. The framers of the constitution deliberately made respecting the national flag and national anthem a fundamental duty and not enforceable by law.

But others stand in support of the latest ruling, saying the judiciary cannot be influenced by political ideologies.

In most countries, nationalism is placed above politics and everything else. It is only in India that everything is seen as politically motivated. Nationalism is not for one political party or the other. It is for all Indian citizens, Sachin Soni, an education rights activist, told BenarNews.
This screen grab from a video shows two police officers allegedly setting fire to huts belonging to indigenous Santal tribespeople in Gobindaganj, a sub-district of Gaibandha district in northern Bangladesh, Nov. 6, 2016.

A video showing police officers allegedly burning down homes of people from an indigenous tribe in northern Bangladesh as they were being evicted amid a dispute over land rights has gone viral online.

On Tuesday, Bangladeshs human rights commission leader told BenarNews his group would examine the video, include it as evidence in its probe into the land dispute, and recommend that any officers who committed or abetted acts of arson against Santal tribespeople be prosecuted.

The incident occurred in Gobindaganj, a sub-district of Gaibandha district, on Nov. 6 when violence broke out as police carried out an order to remove Santal residents forcibly from their homes.

That day, clashes erupted among Santals, police officers and locals who were helping police enforce an eviction order. Three Santals reportedly were shot and killed by police as they resisted eviction from land claimed by the tribe as their ancestral property. Hundreds of Santal families were evicted and hundreds of huts were burned, according to news reports and witness accounts.

Most of the families have fled the area, fearing reprisals from the police and local influential people. Now, around 1,800 people have been living under open sky, Abu Zafar, a 35-year-old resident, told BenarNews.

On Monday a 10-member delegation consisting of representatives of the National Human Rights Commission, an autonomous body, as well as a parliamentary caucus on indigenous affairs and the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) visited the local villages of Madarpur and Jogparpura and found evidence that Santal people had been illegally evicted on Nov. 6.

The eviction of the Santals was carried out in violation of the law and it violated the constitutional rights of the Santals, commission chairman Kazi Reazul Haque said.

The police are the protector of the people. But I am saddened by the video, which shows police setting the Santals homes on fire. We will examine the video and include the findings in our report on the attacks on the Santals in Gaibandha district, Haque told BenarNews.

Police: Looking into video

Al Jazeera broadcast the footage of the alleged arson by police, which was shot by a local videographer, Zahidul Islam.

The moving images that show men in police uniforms allegedly setting fires to huts or watching as others burned the wood and thatch structures drew more than 113,000 views within eight hours after being posted Tuesday on the Facebook page of Maher Sattar, a Bangladeshi correspondent for the Middle East-based news network. The video has gone viral on other social media.

Yes, I have seen the video. We are examining the video; so I cannot say right now whether any of my forces set houses on fire. We will let you know whether the video was genuine, Md Ashraful Islam, the districts superintendent of police, told BenarNews on Tuesday.

Subrata Kumar Sarker, the officer-in-charge of the police station in Gobindaganj upazila sub-district, denied allegations that officers set the huts on fire, telling BenarNews that police seen in the video were dousing out flames.

You cannot always be sure about police involvement [by] watching a video, he said.

Bitter battle

Last month, local police carried out the eviction order on the grounds that the Santals  an indigenous people whose population numbers about a 500,000 in Bangladesh, according to census figures  were illegally occupying land owned by the a local company, the Rangpur Sugar Mills.

Santosh Hemrom, a researcher on minority rights  who himself is Santal  said the indigenous tribe has been living in Shahebganj, remote areas of the district for decades.

In 1956, when the district was part of East Pakistan, the government took 1,850 acres belonging to the Santals and set it aside for sugarcane cultivation by the state-owned Rangur Sugar Mills firm. This was done on condition that the government returned ownership of the land to the tribespeople if sugarcane was not cultivated there, Hemrom said.

Sugarcane cultivation on the land was stopped much earlier. Instead of returning the lands to the Santals, the mills authorities leased those to other people, he told BenarNews, adding that a dispute over the land arose among the Santals, the authorities and local power brokers
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There's speculation that state legislators will return to Albany to vote on a pay raise. But state Sen. John DeFrancisco says any pay raise measure should be considered its own, not in return for votes on bills that Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to push through.

DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, said in a phone interview Monday that he has no idea whether a special session actually will happen. There's been chatter that one will be held, but nothing has been scheduled.

If state legislators return for a special session before the end of the year, they will almost certainly vote to raise legislative salaries from the current level of $79,500 annually. State agency commissioners also would receive a raise.

But Cuomo has said any pay raise should be linked to the passage of ethics reform measures, including limits on outside income and term limits for lawmakers.

DeFrancisco disagrees with that approach.

"I truly believe that if there was going to be a vote on the pay increase, it should be a separate piece of legislation," he said, adding that there's "no better example of pay-to-play" than Cuomo refusing to support a pay increase unless the state Legislature approves the reform measures.

A pay commission met this year to consider a salary increase for state legislators. But the governor's appointees declined to vote on any salary increase proposal unless legislators agreed to pass an ethics reform package that include the limits on outside income and term limits.

DeFrancisco said, like the pay raise bill, the ethics proposals should be considered separately.

"Every other bill, whatever (Cuomo) may want, should stand on its own because the appearances are horrible," he said.

State legislators haven't received a pay hike since 1999. Despite that, only California's and Pennsylvania's state legislators earn higher salaries.
[The following is an excerpt from A Walk Thru the Book of Jonah: Experiencing God's Relentless Grace a small group study guide from Walk Thru the Bible and Baker Books.  2009 by Walk Thru the Bible]

Long ago, one king wrote a message to send to the ruler of an offensive enemy kingdom. He sealed the message and gave it to one of his trusted couriers, who immediately began the dangerous ten-day journey to deliver it. Along the way, however, the messenger, who had long hoped his king would finally have the nerve to declare war on the enemy, became overwhelmed with curiosity and decided to unseal the letter. When he read it, he was stunned. Instead of the declaration of war he expected, it was a proposal for peace. He felt betrayed and even ashamed to deliver such an embarrassing token of weakness. He and his people would become a laughing stock, simply because an old king didn't have a backbone. After much thought, he decided to act in the best interests of the kingdom. He would bury the letter and return home with a well-crafted lie.

His plan was interrupted, however, when a group of scouts from the enemy kingdom discovered him burying the missive. They seized himand the letterand carried both back to their ruler's palace. Surprisingly the message delighted the rival king, and a peace treaty was soon forged. And with the kingdoms now being on friendly terms, the messenger was released unharmed. But he remained bitterly disappointed, disillusioned, and reluctant to call anyplace his home.

This is the basic story of Jonah, the prophet who fled God's call to preach repentance to an enemy city. It's recast in a different setting without the assumptions we normally read into Jonah's story in order to focus on an important question: Who owns the messagethe messenger or the author? Jonah obviously felt a certain right to refuse to deliver the message he was called to preach, even though it was never his message to begin with. He didn't approve of it and wanted no part in it. His own King was essentially issuing an invitation to make peace with Israel's dreaded enemythe same enemy that had periodically wreaked havoc on Israel's borders and committed crimes against its people. This didn't seem at all like the God he thought he knew.

Most preachers are elated when people respond to their message. But Jonah wasn't like most preachers, and the people he addressed were not like any he had ever preached to. Assyrians were not, and would never be, friends of Israel. He had lived his entire life in a culture that bred animosity against its hostile enemiesand not without reason. Israel had experienced Assyria's raids in the past. The prophet's righteous indignation was hard to reconcile with the mercy of God.

Jonah's indignation was not much different than that of another prophet. Habakkuk relentlessly questioned God over the seeming injustice of punishing his own people by using a far more corrupt nation: Babylon. But the similarities between the two prophets ended when God explained his intentions to each. Habakkuk praised God for his righteousness, even though he didn't completely understand it. Jonah was eaten up with bitternessso much so that he asked God to take his life.

How did God respond? By giving Jonah an object lesson in a helpful vine he hadn't asked for. As the prophet fumed over the repentant city and this travesty of justice, God gave him extra shade to shelter him from the sun. The next morning, a worm ate away at the vine and caused it to wither, and a scorching wind beat against Jonah. This stirred up further anger, but God had made his point. The "man of God"a frequent designation for a prophetvalued his own immediate comfort much more than he valued thousands of enemy lives. His ethnocentric focus had blinded him to the heart of his Lord.

Contrary to what we might expect, Jonah was the most effective prophet in the Bible. He ran from God, and sailors were converted. He went reluctantly to Nineveh with a five-word sermon (in Hebrew), and an evil city repented. He bitterly pouted over a withered vine, and the compassion of God was revealed in a prophetic book to a chosen but apostate nation. The irony is that Isaiah and Jeremiah spilled their lives out with many words over unhearing, unrepentant people and would have rejoiced to see even a hint of fruitfulness. Jonah saw fruitfulness in spite of himself, and he hated it.

Even then, God's compassion toward his prophet was relentless. He didn't disown his disgruntled servant. He patiently and persistently absorbed Jonah's anger, heard his questions, and even answered them. He did with Jonah what he had already done with Nineveh. He revealed his heart.

In fact, that's how the book concludes. "Should I not be concerned about that great city?" the Lord asks. It's a rhetorical question that leaves readers with a decision to make. Are we in sync with our creator's desires? Can we get on board with the big picture of his purposes? Will we align our hearts with the missionary heart of God?

Those are questions we all have to ask. God cares about our personal issues and desires, but he also has a bigger picture in front of him. When we focus intensely on our personal issues and give relatively little thought to that bigger picture, we tend to end up a lot like Jonahout of sync with God and resentful that he is blessing others more than we think he is blessing us. It's a distorted picture, but that's what introspection often does; it distorts our perspective. It causes us to miss the heart of God.

God calls us to bring our hearts into alignment with histo lift our eyes above our own agenda, to have his compassion, and to seek his agenda. When we do that, we find ourselves part of an enormous plan that will bring joy to both him and to us. We find a fruitfulness we wouldn't otherwise experience. We share God's heartbeat in deeper and deeper ways.

Adapted from A Walk Thru the Book of Jonah: Experiencing God's Relentless Grace, a small group study guide from Walk Thru the Bible and Baker Books. This small group study and others can be found at www.walkthruguides.org.




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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The National Defense Authorization Act recently approved by the U.S. Senate includes more than $13 million to build a new Marine Corps Reserve center in the Syracuse area.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the NDAA contains $15.1 million in military construction, or MILCON, funding to renovate or rebuild two Marine Corps Reserve facilities in New York.

Most of the money  $13.2 million  will be allocated for the construction of a new Marine Corps Reserve center in Mattydale. The existing facility is home to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaisance Battalion's E Company, which is based in the Syracuse area.

According to Gillibrand's office, the new Mattydale complex will include a one-story Marine Corps Reserve center, an organic equipment storage warehouse and a covered equipment shelter.

The unit's current facility on East Molloy Road will be demolished once construction of the new center is completed. The decision to tear down the building is due to structural issues, including cracks in the floors and walls. The facility also lacks a working fire safety system.

A downstate Marine Corps Reserve unit also has been awarded funding through the NDAA. The 6th Communications Battalion in Brooklyn will get $1.9 million to replace its aging electrical system. The existing system was built during World War II, according to Gillibrand's office.

The project will include the construction of a new electrical duct bank, new cable installation and above ground high voltage cable junction boxes. The new system will help maximize energy efficiency.

"Our servicemembers should have the very best facilities and these federal funds would allow the Marine bases to move forward with much-needed renovations to upgrade the training facilities for E Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and the 6th Communications Battalion," Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said.

"I will continue fighting to ensure all of our installations have the resources they need to remain strong and continue to be critical assets to our national defense."

The construction of a new center in central New York and the improvements at the Brooklyn facility will include anti-terrorism/force protection features. The projects will comply with the Department of Defense's Minimum Anti-Terrorism Standard for Buildings.
For Immediate Release, December 13, 2016 Contact: Jenny Loda, (510) 844-7100 x 336, jloda@biologicaldiversity.org Settlement Secures Recovery Plan, Calls for 34,000 Protected Acres for Rare Santa Barbara Salamander LOS ANGELES, Calif. In accordance with a settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a final recovery plan for the endangered Santa Barbara County population of the California tiger salamander. The plan calls for purchase and permanent protection of approximately 34,000 acres of the salamanders breeding ponds and adjacent uplands. With a recovery plan we can fight threats like habitat destruction that have pushed these salamanders to the brink of extinction, said Jenny Loda, a biologist and attorney with the Center who is dedicated to protecting rare amphibians and reptiles. This plan gives us hope for one of our most imperiled salamanders. The recovery plan focuses on alleviating the threat of habitat loss and fragmentation by permanently protecting breeding ponds and their adjacent uplands through acquisition and conservation easements. The plan also calls for restoring breeding habitats, as well as assessing and reducing risks of non-native predators, road mortality, hybridization with non-native tiger salamanders, contaminants and disease. Without adequate habitat protections, these salamanders cant migrate safely between their wetland and upland homes, said Loda. I hope the habitat protections and other actions identified in this plan will be put in place right away to help move these salamanders toward recovery. Although Santa Barbara County California tiger salamanders have been protected under the Endangered Species Act for more than a decade, the Fish and Wildlife Service had not developed a required recovery plan to guide management of the species. In April 2012 the Center sued the Interior Department for its failure to develop such a plan for the endangered salamanders; the plan released today is the result of the December 2012 settlement agreement that resulted from this lawsuit. Recovery plans are the main tool for identifying actions necessary to save endangered species from extinction and eventually remove their protection under the Endangered Species Act. Research by the Center has found that the status of species with dedicated recovery plans for two or more years is far more likely to be improving than the status of those without. Background

The California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) is a large, stocky, terrestrial salamander with a broad, rounded snout and gorgeous black-and-yellow body. These amphibians are restricted to vernal pools and seasonal ponds in grassland and oak savannah communities in central California. The primary cause of their decline is the loss and fragmentation of habitat through human activities and encroachment of nonnative predators. The Santa Barbara population of California tiger salamanders was listed as an endangered species in 2000. This species is endemic to the northern portion of Santa Barbara County, Calif., and is genetically and geographically distinct from other California tiger salamanders. Only 60 breeding ponds, distributed across six metapopulations, remain in Santa Barbara County. For more information about the Centers campaign to curb the amphibian and reptile extinction crisis, please visit http://BiologicalDiversity.org/herps.
For Immediate Release, December 13, 2016

Contact: Wendy Park, (510) 844-7138, wpark@biologicaldiversity.org

Legal Protest Filed Against Fossil Fuel Auction of Public Lands in Southwestern Colorado

BLM Ignores Impacts to Climate, Rivers, Endangered Fish, Gunnison Sage Grouse

DENVER The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club filed a formal administrative protest Monday night challenging a Bureau of Land Management plan to auction off more than 17,000 acres  26 square miles  of publicly owned fossil fuels in southwestern Colorado in February. The public lands are situated along the remote, wild southwestern and southern flanks of the San Juan Mountains.

Fracking and related industrialization threaten air, water and wildlife in the region. Eight parcels to be auctioned are located adjacent to or near habitat for Gunnison sage grouse, protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2014. The bird has lost 88 percent to 93 percent of its historical range. Water use and oil and chemical spills from fracking also threaten to further deplete and pollute tributaries of Colorado River, in turn harming its four endangered fish  the Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, bonytail chub and humpback chub.

Despite these threats the Bureau of Land Management refused to undertake site-specific environmental analyses required under the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act. The agency also refused to analyze the potential greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the fracking operations. Recent studies have shown that there is already more oil, gas and coal in production to take us beyond 2 degrees Celsius of warming.

Its irresponsible for the BLM to issue new fossil fuel leases on public lands without considering the impact that extracting and burning fossil fuels will have on the climate, rivers and imperiled wildlife, said Wendy Park, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. Given the recent election result, the Obama administration should move immediately to halt new leasing on public lands to preserve his climate legacy.

The protest called on the Bureau to halt new leasing of fossil fuels in the proposed area and asks that the agencys scheduled February 2017 auction be halted due to its failure to consider impacts of fossil fuel extraction on rivers and streams that feed the Colorado River.

Download a copy of the protest here.

Background

On behalf of the American people, the U.S. federal government manages nearly 650 million acres of public land and more than 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf  and the fossil fuels beneath them. This includes federal public land, which makes up about a third of the U.S. land area, and oceans like Alaskas Chukchi Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard. These places and the fossil fuels beneath them are held in trust for the public by the federal government; federal fossil fuel leasing is administered by the Department of the Interior.

Over the past decade, the combustion of federal fossil fuels has resulted in nearly a quarter of all U.S. energy-related emissions. A 2015 report by EcoShift Consulting, commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, found that remaining federal oil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industry contain up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. As of earlier this year, 67 million acres of federal fossil fuel were already leased to industry, an area more than 55 times larger than Grand Canyon National Park containing up to 43 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution.

Last year Sens. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (I-Vt.) and others introduced the Keep It In the Ground Act (S. 2238) legislation to end new federal fossil fuel leases and cancel non-producing federal fossil fuel leases. Days later President Obama canceled the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, saying, Because ultimately, if were going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, were going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them and release more dangerous pollution into the sky.

Download the September 2015 Keep It in the Ground letter to President Obama.

Download Grounded: The Presidents Power to Fight Climate Change, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in the Ground (this report details the legal authorities with which a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases).

Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels (this report quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions of remaining federal fossil fuels) and The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet.

Download Over-leased: How Production Horizons of Already Leased Federal Fossil Fuels Outlast Global Carbon Budgets.

Download Critical Gulf: The Vital Importance of Ending Fossil Fuel Leasing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Download Public Lands, Private Profits about the corporations profiting from climate-destroying fossil fuel extraction on public lands.

Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition calling on the Obama administration to halt all new offshore fossil fuel leasing.

Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition with 264 other groups calling on the Obama administration to halt all new onshore fossil fuel leasing.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Media Advisory, December 13, 2016 Contact: Patrick Sullivan, (415) 517-9364, psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org Californians to Protest Oil Industry's Proposal for First New Offshore Frack After Trump's Victory, Thursday Rally Urges New Moratorium on Toxic Technique CAMARILLO, Calif. Conservationists, coastal residents and members of the Chumash tribe will protest Thursday morning against a proposal for the first new offshore frack near California's coast since federal officials lifted a moratorium on the dangerous oil-extraction process. Thursdays rally outside the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management office in Camarillo follows an application by the oil company DCOR, LLC to frack an offshore well in the wildlife-rich Santa Barbara Channel. The company is seeking permission to discharge fracking flowback fluid into the ocean. The protest is being organized by the Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch, Santa Barbara Sierra Club, Wishtoyo Foundation, Citizens for Responsible Oil and Gas (CFROG) and SoCal 350 Climate Action. Activists are urging federal officials to deny the permit application and reestablish the offshore fracking moratorium that was lifted in May. What: Rally against first new offshore frack on the California coast When: Thursday, Dec. 15, at 11 a.m. Where: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management office, 760 Paseo Camarillo, Camarillo Who: California residents and members of the Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch, Santa Barbara Sierra Club, Wishtoyo Foundation, Citizens for Responsible Oil and Gas and SoCal 350 Climate Action. When President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, conservationists fear his administration will try to vastly expand offshore drilling and fracking along the California coast. Oil companies have previously expressed interest in drilling federal waters near Malibu and Orange County  even as far north as Humboldt County. Prominent scientists, state officials and members of Congress have urged the federal government to halt fracking off the California coast and stop oil companies from dumping fracking waste fluid into the ocean. Offshore fracking blasts vast volumes of water mixed with toxic chemicals beneath the seafloor at pressures high enough to fracture rocks. The high pressures used in offshore fracking increase the risk of well failure and oil spills. Oil companies have federal permission to annually dump up to 9 billion gallons of waste fluid, including fracking chemicals, into the ocean off the California coast. At least 10 fracking chemicals used in offshore fracking in California could kill or harm marine species, including sea otters. The California Council on Science and Technology has identified some common fracking chemicals to be among the most toxic in the world to marine animals. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
For Immediate Release, December 13, 2016

Contact: Patrick Sullivan, (415) 517-9364, psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org

Energy Secretary Nominee Rick Perry Has History of Climate Denial, Link to Spill-prone Company Behind Dakota Access Pipeline

WASHINGTON Energy secretary nominee Rick Perry is a climate change denier linked to the spill-prone pipeline company trying to build the notorious Dakota Access Pipeline.

Perry's scientific illiteracy and disturbing financial ties to fossil fuel companies make him utterly unfit to lead the Department of Energy, said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute. Every senator who cares about science and clean energy should oppose this dangerously ignorant nominee.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Perry would head a federal department that has played an important role in America's efforts to fight global warming and increase renewable energy use.

During a 2012 presidential debate, Perry famously could not remember Energy being on the list of federal agencies he'd proposed eliminating. The former Texas governor has called the scientific consensus on climate science a contrived phony mess and a secular carbon cult.

Perry has taken more than $11 million in donations from the oil industry over his political career. He also sits on the board of Energy Transfer Partners, which over the past decade has been responsible for 29 pipeline safety incidents that have leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of hazardous liquids, according to a recent Center analysis of federal data.

Those spills resulted in $9.5 million in property damage, according to information from the U.S. Department of Transportations Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, December 12, 2016 Contact: Ileene Anderson, Center for Biological Diversity, (323) 490-0223 ianderson@biologicaldiversity.org

Dan Silver, Endangered Habitats League, (323) 804-2750, dsilverla@me.com Lawsuit Filed to Protect Rare California Fish, Endangered Mammal Management of Santa Ana River, Seven Oaks Dam Threatens Species Survival SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. The Center for Biological Diversity and Endangered Habitats League today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its failure to assess harm to federally protected the Santa Ana sucker fish and San Bernardino kangaroo rat. The Corps violated the Endangered Species Act by never consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the effects of management of Santa Ana River flood-control projects, including operation of the Seven Oaks Dam, on the Santa Ana sucker fish and its federally designated critical habitat. It also has not considered new information, including changes in dam operations. These iconic Southern California animals that rely on the Santa Ana river are on a downward slide toward extinction, said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist with the Center. The Army Corps needs to do its duty to the American people and follow the law by working with the Fish and Wildlife Service to minimize harm to rare and vanishing species. Managing the Santa Ana River to enhance the wildlife that depends on it also helps to ensure water quality and quantity for the millions of people who also depend on the river. Keeping the system as natural as possible allows for water infiltration and purification. We can successfully combine flood control with preserving wildlife values and the citizens natural heritage, said Dan Silver, executive director of Endangered Habitats League. The Army Corps and Fish and Wildlife Service originally consulted on impacts to the endangered Santa Ana River woolly star plant and the San Bernardino kangaroo rat in 2002. But new critical habitat was designated for the Santa Ana sucker in 2010, and the Corps has never considered the effects of the overall operation of the Santa Ana River Project on the species. In addition, the operation and management of the Santa Ana River Project and its Seven Oaks Dam have changed in the intervening 14 years, and more changes are proposed. The Corps has also failed to meet its original commitment to provide controlled flood releases to benefit downstream habitat for the San Bernardino kangaroo rat. All of these changed circumstances must be re-evaluated by the agencies. Background

The Santa Ana sucker is a small, olive-gray fish found in clear, cool, rocky pools of creeks, as well as gravelly bottoms of permanent streams with slight to swift currents. Many of these streams are naturally subject to severe seasonal flooding, which can decimate resident fish populations. The Santa Ana suckers adaptations enable it to repopulate its birth streams rapidly after such unpredictable events. The fish eats primarily algae, which it searches out with the large lips that gave it its common name. The species was well distributed throughout the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and San Bernardino rivers historically, where it has vanished from nearly 95 percent of its historic range since the 1970s and is now relegated to only a few stream stretches. The San Bernardino kangaroo rat is a small, seed-eating animal with large hind legs that it uses to hop around on like a kangaroo, which is how it got its name. It lives along the banks of creeks and streams where it is helps to re-establish plants and habitat after floods by collecting and distributing seeds of local shrubs and flowers and trimming vegetation. It is found only in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, although it was much more widespread just 50 years ago. Much of its habitat has been developed, so it has been relegated to the flood channels and adjacent banks of unchannelized streams. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. Endangered Habitats League is a Southern California conservation organization dedicated to ecosystem protection and sustainable land use for the benefit of all the regions inhabitants
SimbaPay - a London based digital money transfer provider - has launched its money transfer service to Ghana and Uganda. Using the SimbaPay app or website, Ghanaians and Ugandans living in Europe can now send money to mobile phones in Ghana or Uganda instantly.

Nyasinga Onyancha

This is the perfect Christmas gift to Ghanaians and Ugandans living in Europe who have been asking when SimbaPay will expand coverage to their home countries, said Nyasinga Onyancha, CEO for SimbaPay. By delivering money via existing mobile money wallet services, many recipients who previously could not access formal financial services can now do so.

Ghanaians and Ugandans living in Europe (UK & European Union countries) with a bank account, debit card or credit card will be able to use the SimbaPay app from any mobile phone, tablet or computer. Transfers made using SimbaPay are credited within seconds to recipients mobile money wallets such as MTN Mobile Money. This eliminates the inconvenience of queues and old school paperwork.

SimbaPay also delivers money transfers via mobile money and bank account to other African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya with more destinations and partners being sought for addition in 2017.

In April 2016, SimbaPay was selected as one of 10 companies to join the first ever Barclays Accelerator powered by Techstars, in Africa. The app continues to disrupt the cross-border remittance industry with its focus on extreme speed and convenience and in 2015, SimbaPay was named the Overall Winner at the prestigious Demo Africa 2015. SimbaPay also launched free, instant transfers from Europe to all Nigerian banks last year.
Novartis has announced the launch of an innovative technology-based healthcare program called SMS for Life 2.0 in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The program aims to increase the availability of essential medicines and improve care for patients across the region by using simple, available, and affordable technology. SMS for Life 2.0 is a joint public-private partnership led by Novartis and supported by its partners, the Kaduna State Ministry of Health and Vodacom.

Said Joseph Jimenez, CEO of Novartis: Companies must join forces with the public sector to co-create innovative solutions to improve access to healthcare around the world. This is the first step in what we hope will be an impactful public health initiative, unleashing the potential of mobile technology and big data to increase the quality of care for underserved patients.

SMS for Life 2.0 builds on the SMS for Life program launched by Novartis in 2009, which used cell phones to manage stock-outs of malaria medicines in more than 10,000 healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan countries. The new and enhanced SMS for Life 2.0 program will now use smartphones and tablet computers to address key operational challenges at peripheral healthcare facilities in Kaduna State. Local healthcare workers will be able to track stock levels of essential antimalarials, vaccines, and HIV, TB and leprosy treatments, and send notifications to district medical officers when stock levels are low.

The program will also monitor surveillance parameters of malaria, maternal and infant deaths and seven other diseases, including measles, yellow fever and cholera. In addition, SMS for Life 2.0 will enable training of healthcare workers in local facilities using on-demand eLearning modules.

We welcome the introduction of SMS for Life 2.0 in primary healthcare facilities, where we often face stockouts of medicines, said Dr Hadiza S. Balarabe, executive secretary of Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency.

With more than six million people, Kaduna is Nigerias third most populous state. We hope the program will improve healthcare services by expanding access to essential medicines, thus reducing disease prevalence in communities.

Medicines do not always reach the patients who need them, particularly those living in remote areas. Running out of stock is a major hurdle in ensuring access to essential treatments. By increasing stock visibility, health authorities will be able to monitor stock levels of these medicines in real time. Furthermore, disease surveillance data combined with the stock reporting function can improve supply chain management, by allowing authorities to better forecast demand for the treatments. This will help to ensure people get the medicines they need in a timely fashion.

Vodacom believes that mobile technology is a powerful platform to address healthcare problems in Africa, said Vuyani Jarana, chief officer of Vodacom Business. Our vision in partnering with Kaduna State is to support the development of productive societies which are healthy, well-educated and economically active. The SMS for Life 2.0 initiative will contribute towards better quality and more accessible healthcare services which will in turn contribute to an increase in life expectancy in Nigeria.

In addition to the launch in Nigeria, Novartis and its non-profit partner Right to Care, have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zambian Ministry of Health to deploy SMS for Life 2.0 in up to 2,000 health facilities across the country. The program, which will include stock reporting, disease surveillance and eLearning, will be supported by Vodacom and is expected to launch in Q2 2017.

SMS for Life is a Roll Back Malaria Partnership initiative, led by Novartis, with the purpose of developing and helping countries implement new innovative solutions to the long-standing problem of medicine stock-outs at the remote health facility level in order to significantly improve patient access to healthcare commodities in developing countries.

The program was launched in 2009 by the Novartis Malaria Initiative to manage stock-outs of malaria medicines in sub-Saharan countries. A new enhanced version of this award-winning program, called SMS for Life 2.0, now uses smartphones and tablet computers.

The Novartis Malaria Initiative is committed to drive research, development and access to novel drugs to eliminate malaria. It is one of the pharmaceutical industrys largest access-to-medicine programs. Since 2001, the initiative has delivered more than 800 million treatments without profit, including over 300 million dispersible pediatric treatments, mostly to the public sector of malaria-endemic countries.
To put it mildly, 2016 has been a challenging year on many fronts, both locally and globally. It's almost over and we don't have to talk about it ever again. We all want 2017 to be a great year - but can a colour make a difference?

The doyens of colour, the Pantone Colour Institute, have announced, as they do every year, that the colour green, more specifically, Greenery, will be the Colour of the Year in 2017. Their decision was apparently motivated by the need to bring hope to citizens the world over.

Pantone Colour Institute executive director, Leatrice Eiseman, told the New York Times, that the colour symbolised hopefulness: We know what kind of world we are living in: one that is very stressful and very tense. This is the color of hopefulness, and of our connection to nature. It speaks to what we call the re words: regenerate, refresh, revitalize, renew. Every spring we enter a new cycle and new shoots come from the ground. It is something life affirming to look forward to.

Greenery is more of a yellow-green, specifically Pantone 15-0343. The psychology of colour is a science and Pantone has been officially tracking colour trends for almost two decades. The Greenery trend started popping up on runways earlier this year and in home furnishings. Basically they choose the colour of the year after observing colour trends around the world and across industries and then interpret the meaning of this trend.

The colors have become a sort of windsock for determining which way the national mood is blowing, the New York Times aptly describes the process.

Time magazine also suggests that the Greenery trend points to a focus on the environment and will provide hope in these fraught times.

Hopeful

Local trend forecaster and designer, Dave Nemeth, the founder of Trend-Forward business consultancy, accurately predicted the greening trend several months ago in his FutureForge design trend report. He called it Edenesque, the process of combining outside spaces with internal spaces with the key accent colour being green against a neutral backdrop of grey and natural timbers. He accurately predicted that green would be a key colour in 2017 and used in fabrics, furniture, as well as decor and design object Dart.

Whilst Pantone have their own definition as well as motivation for choosing this colour, I do think it is globally representative of nature and the outdoors, Nemeth told Bizcommunity.com.

On the positive side, green is often referred to as the colour of life, renewal, nature, energy; and is associated with meanings of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility, and environment. The world is currently experiencing many disruptive issues and people are consumed by technology and this colour provides an uplifting element to the noise and chaos that surrounds our daily lives.

Nemeth also believes that green is a hopeful colour. Green, and specifically the Greenery colour which is bright and has a good mix of yellow in it, is certainly an uplifting and cheerful colour. It is in fact quite a contrast to the past two years where last year two colours were introduced for the first time by Pantone - the calming hues of Rose Quartz and Serenity; and the serious and spicy Marsala in 2015.

Nemeth does caution that the Pantone colour of the year has not always been as relevant to the South African market as to the European or American markets, due to a host of factors, including our climate, as well as our bright natural light that we experience all year round.

The 2017 colour Greenery, however, is certainly relevant to our country and I think we will see this colour translated heavily in fashion, furniture, interior design and textiles. As an accent colour it can be placed against almost any neutral backdrop and is beautifully combined with grey, which is the current neutral of choice, he concludes.
Mobitainment, South Africa's premier mobile-first marketing technology enabler, is delighted to announce that it scooped two prestigious Assegai Awards at an event held in Johannesburg in November. Mobitainment was selected as 'SME of the Year' and founder, Candice Goodman, the 'Direct Marketer of the Year'.

The Assegai Awards, from industry body The Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DSMSA), recognise those who create direct marketing campaigns that deliver exceptional results. The Awards are considered the premium industry award for those offering direct marketing solutions.

Mobitainment received further recognition when it was awarded an additional three accolades for its One AVBOB FM campaign, developed in collaboration with BRAND et al and Xpress information.

Commenting on the winning the awards Candice Goodman Managing Director - Mobitainment said; 2016 has been a year of many celebrations for us - this is testament to the hard work and creativity of our winning team.

The campaign developed for AVBOB, Africas largest mutual assurance society providing a one-stop funeral and burial service solution, enabled AVBOB to effectively communicate key regulations with its employees about an R1 billion bonus payment for policy holders. Utilising a radio-on-demand solution, they executed a low cost, trackable platform with impressive results. The campaign received Gold (ERM Employee Relationship Management), Silver (Use of New Technology) and Leader (Mobile) at the Assegai awards.

Our AVBOB campaigns success shows how effective voice platforms can be for engaging a diverse audience with a large geographical spread, says Goodman. The campaign was executed with a tight budget and yet were still able to deliver excellent results.

Mobitainment is proud to celebrate its tenth year forging innovative marketing solutions in the mobile technology space, says Goodman. It is an honour to receive these awards in recognition for what we have achieved over the last decade in mobile.

The two awards come shortly after the team received the Advertising and Media Association of South Africas (AMASA) Gold - Best in Mobile award and the Highly Commended - Best Small Budget award.

The One AVBOB FM campaign overview can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/IC5aa4o2Sxs

So that was 2016 whats on the radar for 2017 from Mobitainment?

Mobitainment is shining the light on mobile innovation and localising global solutions for the South African market: from Proximity Marketing and Augmented Reality to the power of Data Insights and enabling personalised video and conversations with chatbots. In 2017, Mobitainment brings these smart technologies to a local smart phone near you!

To assist you in becoming a trailblazer in mobile marketing, join Mobitainment and mCordis in March 2017 for the first industry-accredited Professional Qualification in Mobile Marketing. This interactive mobile marketing qualification course is designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of mobile marketing and the skills to start applying it in your marketing mix and overall business.




Access to core malaria-fighting tools has expanded rapidly for the world's most vulnerable populations: children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, says the World Malaria Report 2016, released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The annual report, which tracks progress and trends in malaria control and elimination across the globe, also shows that acceleration is needed to remain on track to achieve a number of key 2020 malaria targets.

Treatment improves for children and pregnant women

National surveys from 22 sub-Saharan African countries show that approximately half (51%) of children under the age of five with a fever received a malaria diagnostic test in the public sector in 2015 compared to 24% in 2010.

In 36 African countries, the number of pregnant women who receive intermittent preventive treatment has increased five-fold during the past five years. In addition, WHO data reveals that, for the first time, more than half of sub-Saharan Africans (57%) sleep under insecticide treated nets or are protected by indoor residual spraying.

Call for funding

The report, however, reiterates the scale of the challenge remaining to keep malaria elimination on course. Sub-Saharan Africa still carries the highest global malaria burden, with 92% of the 212m new malaria cases and 429,000 deaths worldwide in 2015. The data illustrates the continued need for a coordinated and collaborative pan-African response.

The report calls for more robust funding, noting that governments of malaria endemic countries currently provide 32% of total funding for malaria. African countries are increasingly providing additional resources for malaria by increasing domestic funding and supporting international efforts. African countries, including Benin, Cote dIvoire, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo and Zimbabwe contributed to the Global Funds Fifth Replenishment in September 2016.

Still falling short of targets

Despite these efforts and the progress highlighted by this years report, much of the continent is still off track to reach the goals established by the Global Technical Strategy (GTS) for Malaria 2016-2030  the technical framework developed by the WHO for all endemic countries as they work towards malaria control and elimination. Greater African leadership in all areas  particularly in the provision of funding  will be essential to achieve these ambitious targets.

"This years World Malaria Report demonstrates the tremendous progress we are making in combating the scourge of malaria on the continent.

"But we have never had a clearer picture of the huge challenges that remain. Africa still carries a disproportionately higher share of the global malaria burden. We know the global battle for malaria elimination will be won on this continent."

Leadership in pan-African collaboration

"The report serves as a reminder that visionary African leadership and pooling of our collective knowledge and resources are of critical importance to bringing about the action and acceleration needed to keep malaria elimination on course," says Joy Phumaphi, executive secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA).

The World Malaria Report provides key malaria data for the production of the ALMA Scorecard for Accountability & Action and the ALMA 2030 Scorecard Towards Malaria Elimination. Both ALMA scorecards track progress and drive action on malaria elimination throughout Africa. The ALMA scorecard provides a clear picture of African progress, highlighting the need for continued African leadership.
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, a member of the Electoral College and supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has signed a letter requesting an intelligence briefing before electors meet next week.

The letter has been signed by 29 Electoral College members, nearly all of whom are Democrats. The effort was spearheaded by Christine Pelosi, a political operative and the daughter of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Miner is one of four New York electors who signed the letter addressed to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The other New Yorkers include Melissa Mark-Viverito, the speaker of the New York City Council.

According to Politico, which first reported the letter, the electors are requesting the proper security clearance so they can receive a briefing on alleged Russian interference in the presidential election.

The Central Intelligence Agency recently announced it believes that Russia interfered in the election to help Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee who won the race.

Trump has called the CIA's conclusion "ridiculous."

"Separate from Mr. Trump's own denials of Russian involvement in the election, the confirmed communication between Trump's aides and those associated with the Russian election interference activity raise serious concerns that must be addressed before we cast our votes," the electors wrote.

The push likely won't have any impact on the outcome of the race.

Trump won the presidential election with 306 electoral votes. His total was aided by wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin  states that Democrats have dominated in recent presidential races.

Electoral College members will meet Dec. 19 in their respective states to cast votes for president.
With the tag line, "Great ideas deserve to live", Swipe.Apps was born. Swipe Interactive's CEO Hendri Lategan explains why they aim to lead native app development in South Africa and why user experience is crucial in keeping users engaged for longer and coming back for more.

Lategan.

A great idea itself, Swipe.Apps is a fully autonomous, self-sustained, dedicated, specialist app development unit of Swipe Interactive, focused on the design, strategy and execution of native iOS and Android mobile software applications. Lategan explains that theyve taken their decades of combined technical expertise and fixed their gaze on the world of native mobile applications to answer the pressing need in the market.

Explaining that need, Lategan points out that smartphones now account for almost half of all time spent online and with that, so has the need for a partner who can deliver on complex, custom-engineered mobile systems with user-experience at their heart. Swipe.Apps was thus born from a simple idea that permeates the company culture: Exceptional, hands-on client service, and nobody is afraid to roll up their sleeves to get the job done, with no task too small and no request too trivial. As they enjoy a personal relationship with every one of their clients, they never bog them down with unnecessary processes and don't sweat the little things. Instead, theyre always testing, improving and communicating, making sure that their platforms will thrive in the wild.

On realising that with scaling beyond a particular point theyd run the risk of losing the ability to provide that calibre of service to their clients, they decided, Instead of just bloating up with resources, putting pressure on infrastructure and adding inefficient processes to manage the increasing layers of interference, we would attempt to clone our existing model.

Team Swipe in action...

Its by producing a carbon copy of Swipe Interactive, a winner at last years Bookmark Awards, as a secondary business unit to service a specific subset of clients that theyre able to replicate that level of diligence, ownership and agility thats currently a key component to their success. That's because the applications their team delivers are designed to utilise the full spectrum of functionality that the client's device lends to the experience.

Here, Lategan takes a step back and shares the importance of unwavering dedication in getting ahead in business.

1. Elaborate on your business journey with Swipe.

Lategan: It has been quite a ride. When we, formerly the Barbarossa Media team, got onboard with Swipe earlier this year, we knew we were about to take things to a whole other level, but we didn't expect to be boarding a rocket ship! Our teams integrated seamlessly and our respective cultures, already having been very much aligned, gelled instantly. We learned some new tricks along the way and were able to bring a few of our own to the table. But most importantly, we were given the ability to realise our ambitions in providing our clients with the very best solutions our imaginations could muster. The team at Swipe is comprised of a group of extremely capable and experienced engineers. No idea is too big nor any challenge too daunting for these guys and, as a result, allowed us to open up the creative floodgates.

Of course, no adventure worth its journey is without challenges. Together with Swipe's founders, Leo and Deon, we laid out the foundations for our combined future growth, hedging our bets on our success. Together, we have big aspirations and the determination to see it through, as well as the knowledge that we need to give it everything weve got for this to come to fruition. There have certainly been some late nights and a fair amount of difficult decisions, but so far our hard work has been paying off. We've had the privilege of working with some amazing clients and have had massive projects pass through our hands. The business is showing no signs of slowing down and we can't wait to see what the future will hold!

2. Why is native app development in particular so important?

Lategan: It isn't. That's sort of the point. 90% of the time when you think you need an app, odds are that you probably don't. Mobile web experiences can be perfectly sufficient in many cases, providing excellent usability and a range of capabilities. In fact, there are many instances where going the app route is a particularly bad idea.

It is figuring out if you fall into that last 10% that is the trick. If you need a solution with deep integrated functionality, complex mechanics, or access to the extended features of your device, then native is really your only choice.

3. Talk us through the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset to get ahead in business and how it applies in your case.

Lategan: For me, one of the key components of the entrepreneurial mindset is unwavering dedication  be that to your clients, your mission or your values. It is this dedication that allows us to push harder and work faster. It is why we focus on the details and always go the extra mile. As entrepreneurs, we never accept half measures. We ensure that every project that passes through our hands are treated with the same care, diligence and imagination we would treat our own business.

Sounds like a winning business ethos to me. Click here for more on Swipe.Apps and follow their Twitter feed for the latest updates.
NEW YORK: Squeezed out of Twitter and other social media websites cracking down on hate speech, far-right activists are finding a home on a new platform that promises never to censor content.

Launched in August, Gab has become known as a safe haven for the "alt-right" movement dominated by the white supremacists who are helping fuel America's deepening polarization.

The social network currently has 100,000 members and another 200,000 on its waiting list, according to the company. "All are welcome to speak freely," spokesman Utsav Sanduja says.

Gab is unable to accommodate all those who want to join, he adds, because it is still in its test phase. The social network's rise comes amid Twitter's suspension of political activists for purportedly promoting racist and harassing comments.

One of the new "Gabbers," Richard Spencer, heads the white supremacist National Policy Institute, whose account Twitter has suspended.

Spencer, whose "Hail Trump" comments were seen as evocative of the Nazi era, joined the Twitter exile along with Milo Yiannopoulos, accused of fomenting a social media campaign against the African-American actress Leslie Jones.

Gab's appearance follows the launch two years ago of another free-speech labeled platform, Voat, which has had limited success. But the new site comes amid escalating tensions and acrimony over politics in social media.

Some say the new guidelines for major platforms represent an effort to curb harassment and hate, others call it censorship.

Reddit, an online news and messaging board, announced last month that it would crack down on "toxic users" in an effort to curb some incendiary comments from supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.

"We have identified hundreds of the most toxic users and are taking action against them, ranging from warnings to timeouts to permanent bans," Reddit chief Steve Huffman wrote.

Gab meanwhile pledges no censoring or filtering, allowing users to post messages of 300 characters, compared to Twitter's 140-character limit. Headquartered in the Caribbean island Anguilla, Gab is "bootstrapped," or self-financed, with some donations from the "Gab community."

Despite its user base, Gab denies having a political agenda.

"Gab is for everyone and our mission is to challenge censorship on a global scale," Sanduja says.

"Whether it is from authoritarian governments persecuting their own people, politically incorrect citizens engaging in peaceful and civil discourse or whistleblowers in establishment institutions seeking a safe refuge, Gab will always be there for them and the people."

Although the platform's terms prohibit calls for violence or "terrorism," many messages on the site are overtly racist or anti-Semitic. That reflects the belief of Gab's founders "that free speech is a fundamental right, one that is absolute and cannot be vitiated in any way," Sanduja says.

That means "a free exchange of ideas" on the site "without proscription."

Instead of censoring content, Gab enables its users to filter their news feeds by blocking messages with certain keywords or from specific users. Sanduja points to the startup founders' backgrounds as a reflection of diversity.

He is a Canadian Hindu with roots in India. The other co-founders include Ekrem Buyukkaya, a Muslim of Kurdish origin, and Andrew Torba, the chief executive who calls himself a "Christian conservative."

However, that kind of symbolism does little to mollify the concerns of those worried that services such as Gab keep users inside "filter bubbles" that reinforce their own ideas and block out other viewpoints.

"The service that they have created is an echo chamber for extremely conservative opinions," says Lauren Copeland, associate director of the Community Research Institute at Baldwin Wallace University.

"It may be open to everybody, but it certainly doesn't appeal to everybody."

Source: AFP
Hyperli, a new online marketplace has launched in South Africa, enabling local businesses to connect with consumers and grow their sales through daily deals.

Pricing is negotiated with merchants based on the nature of their businesses. It also offers businesses extra systems that can manage marketing, reservations and payment so business owners can concentrate on what they do best - offering their customers amazing experiences.

Collective online buying has been part of the South African psyche since 2009. South African consumers are increasingly motivated to shop online with reasons cited as saving time, access to product reviews, special offers and price comparisons being the top four according to research from Effective Measure, sponsored by VISA and IAB South Africa (source: E-Commerce Industry Report June 2016). Further, the findings show that of those South Africans already shopping online 42% are looking for special offers.

Online deal-of-the-day services are credited for introducing new customers to brands, often helping to drive brand awareness and sales for many businesses. Research from international industry heavyweight Groupon indicates that 80% of its merchants that have used deal sites will use them again.

Simon Bowes

Times are tough for South African consumers and business alike, so being able to deliver well-priced, immediate deals makes great business sense, says Hyperli CEO and founder, Wayne Gosling. The site connects businesses to consumers, it provides an effective marketing tool for brands and services providers looking to expand their customer base and to grow their businesses profitably.

Funded by Team Africa Ventures and backed by the senior team that brought Groupon to South Africa, the Hyperli platform has been developed by some of the best tech specialists in the country. Incorporating various standout features, the merchant offering includes enriched data analytics and seamless redemption through the merchant app. Consumers will enjoy an easy-to-use deal redemption feature, and a variety of secure payment options. A dedicated mobile app will be launched in the near future.

Ster-Kinekor, Unilever join site

Hyperli has formed strategic partnerships with some of South Africas most loved brands (Ster-Kinekor, Unilever and Jimmys Killer Prawns) to deliver exciting deals in the run up to the festive season.

Wayne Gosling

While South Africa is still in the early stages of e-commerce adoption, we expect the next twelve months will be a breakthrough period for Hyperli. This will be accelerated by the growth of smartphone users who tend to be more engaged than web-only customers, purchasing more frequently and spending more, says Simon Bowes, retail director at Hyperli.

Recognising that cash flow is king to small business, a transparent pricing structure has been incorporated so that business owners can select the right deal redemption criteria to meet their business needs. Valuing its relationships with local merchants, it has prioritised cost effective business solutions that drive growth as a core objective in the coming months.

Over the coming months it will expand its reach to cover all major cities across categories such as food and drink, beauty and spas, things to do, goods and getaways.

Our mission has been to create a data rich platform that enables merchants to provide relevant deals whilst ensuring that the friction is taken out of deal redemption. Our experience taught us that ease-of-use is as important as deal variety so we strived to prioritise both, concludes Gosling.

For more information, go to Hyperli.com.
Since the Millennium Development Goals were introduced in 2000, various reports have been published around healthcare achievements in Africa. One of the most notable improvements is that sub-Saharan countries have collectively increased the region's overall life expectancy by 16,5% over the past decade and a half.

Data by the World Bank shows that life expectancy of Malawians increased by 51%, from 41,4 years in 2000 to 62,7 years 14 years later. Zambia (38,6%), Zimbabwe (37,8%), and Rwanda (21,25%) fared well too  largely due to progress on the HIV and malaria front. These two trends are driven by improved access to anti-retrovirals and a better availability of mosquito nets. A growing health insurance membership plays an important role too.

A recent KPMG report sketches a similar scenario; it adds that the future of healthcare in Africa lies in health insurance products provided by private medical companies, although government-initiated programmes will play an important role too.

Andrew Schwulst, CEO of Liberty Health, agrees and says the number of lives covered by health insurance in Africa is growing; This is mostly due to increased spending power, which is fuelled by a rising middle class, but also due to the fact that employers, including large corporates and multinationals, are acknowledging the benefits of contributing towards their employees health insurance premiums.

Whilst our client base in Africa includes individuals, the majority is made up of local and international employees of large corporates and multi-nationals. Between 2015 and 2016 our membership in Africa has grown by 15%. We foresee more growth, particularly since Africa is fast becoming an attractive investment option for global companies."

Employers who contribute to their staff's medical aid, tend to see it as an investment in their company. Covering your employees' health, means you cover your most important asset, this results in the reduction of their financial stress, which in turn results in boosted loyalty and happier staff - essentially, its insurance to your firm, says Schwulst.

A second reason why more and more corporates and multi-nationals with operations in Africa, local or international, are contributing towards employees' medical aids, is that people who are covered, tend to see a doctor sooner, which can save tens of thousands of dollars a year. The longer it takes for someone to go see a doctor, the more risks of complications and the longer is takes for them to get healthy. Healthcare insurance means that employees are likely to go for more regular health checks, adds Schwulst.
Following a directive by President Edgar Lungu for the country to develop nuclear energy, Zambia and Russia have signed four memoranda of understanding (MoU) to turn Zambia into a hub of nuclear science for peaceful purposes.

Rosatom deputy director-general Nickolay Spassky signed the MoU on behalf of Russia, while the Zambian delegation was led by secretary to the cabinet, Roland Msiska, who oversaw the signing process done by relevant permanent secretaries.

The deal entails that within 15 years, Russia will assist Zambia train young nuclear energy engineers, plan for nuclear power plant personnel, develop a nuclear energy regulator and build a nuclear plant, which will provide medicine, agricultural services and energy.

"This is the result of the instruction by President Lungu for the country to develop nuclear energy to respond to challenges of load-shedding and reduce the cost of medicine and agriculture," Msiska said.

Cooperation in nuclear safety

The second agreement was between the ministry of health and Rostechnadzor, which would strengthen cooperation in nuclear safety and regulation.

This MoU will pave way for the Russian Federation to assist Zambia to enhance the capacity of the Radiation Protection Authority by developing a regulatory framework appropriate for heightened nuclear and radiation activities.

Creating public awareness

The third MoU is between the ministry of information and broadcasting services and Rosatom on cooperation in enhancement of public awareness of nuclear energy in Zambia.

Information and broadcasting services permanent secretary, Godfrey Malama, who signed one of the agreements, said the government expected communication agents to effectively convey messages that would positively impact on citizens for the successful development of the nuclear programme.

Malama said the agreement was aimed at enhancing public awareness and acceptance of nuclear energy in the country using the experience and expertise of the Russian Federation.

He said Zambia would work jointly with the Russian Federation to develop educational materials on nuclear energy in both English and local languages to promote and increase public awareness on nuclear energy.

Training

The fourth is a project development agreement between JSC Rosatom Overseas and ministry of high education for the construction of the Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology in Zambia.

Ministry of higher education permanent secretary, Owen Mugemezulu said Zambia was hungry for development and Rosatom would respond to that need.

He said the government would plan for a nuclear law.
Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini says government has its eyes firmly fixed on the target of delivering six million houses and subsidies to beneficiaries by 2019.

The minister was chairing the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster media briefing in Pretoria on Monday, 12 December. The briefing was aimed at giving an update on the progress made in the second quarter towards achieving the goals of the National Development Plan (NDP): Vision 2030.

We are excited that over 56% of our housing beneficiaries are women, Dlamini said.

Government this year celebrated the delivery of over 4.3-million houses and subsidies.

Government has set a target of upgrading informal settlements and improving the living conditions of 750,000 households by 2019.

According to Dlamini, as of 30 September 2016, a total of 205,782 households were upgraded. The Department of Human Settlements, together with the nine provinces and all the metros, have identified interventions that will fast track the delivery of this target.

One of the decisions taken was to establish a credible database of all informal settlements with detailed information on the level of services in each, the planning and tenure status and the proposed funding sources, the minister said.

Dlamini said as government, they are tasked with the responsibility of increasing the number of home loans granted by the private sector and Human Settlements Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to households in the affordable housing market.
The Trump administration appears to be moving in one direction on the issue of climate change with the appointment of climate skeptic Scott Pruitt to head up the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a transition team led by and stacked with fossil fuel interests

Google last week announced that it is on target to power its operations 100 percent by renewable energy, an example of businesses trying to change the energy system. Pixabay

Yet many within corporate America are heading in another direction. Consider Kevin Butt, regional environmental sustainability director for Toyota Motor North America, and his charge to take the company beyond zero environmental impact by reducing and eventually eliminating CO emissions from vehicle operation, manufacturing, materials production and energy sources by 2050.

This type of effort is not as crazy as it may seem. Solutions to climate change require new types of aggressive thinking. While global treaties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are important, they are not enough. Eventually society has to go carbon neutral, and then it has to go carbon negative.

The ultimate responsibility for making this shift is falling first and foremost on business. Companies are developing the next buildings we live and work in, the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the forms of mobility we employ and the energy systems that propel them. With their unmatched powers of ideation, production and distribution, business is the only entity that can bring the change we need. Indeed, if there are no solutions coming from the business world, there will be no solutions at the necessary scale.

While business has been addressing sustainability challenges since the 1990s, and climate change since the 2000s, the focus of this effort is now at an inflection point, as Toyotas beyond zero impact effort shows. Rather than looking to government for solutions, many businesses are taking responsibility for climate change seriously and changing the system on their own.

Business sustainability 1.0: Enterprise integration

Over the past quarter-century, companies have framed environmental sustainability as a market shift that fits into the existing ways of managing a business, an approach that we at the Erb Institute call Enterprise Integration. The notion is that key business constituents bring sustainability to the business through existing corporate functions, thereby making it a strategic concern.

For example, Whirlpool is innovating on appliance energy efficiency, not because of corporate social responsibility, but because it has watched energy efficiency move from number 10 or 12 in consumer priorities in the 1980s to number three, behind cost and performance. And it expects those concerns will continue to grow. Similarly, most auto companies are moving into hybrid and electric drivetrains because they see electrification as the future of the sector.

Jim Merithew/Wired.com, CC BY-NC

To make the business case, companies turn to traditional sources and motivations. Once insurance companies apply sustainability pressures on the business, the issue becomes one of risk management. From competitors, it becomes an issue of strategic direction. From investors and banks, it becomes an issue of capital acquisition and cost of capital. From suppliers and buyers, it becomes an issue of supply chain logistics. From consumers, it becomes an issue of market demand.

Put in such terms, much of the specific language of sustainability recedes, being replaced by the core language of standard business strategy. As such, companies can remain agnostic about the science of particular issues (such as climate change) but still recognize their importance as business concerns. In doing so, they are turning the false dichotomy between the economy and the environment on its head.

Indeed, recent surveys show that 85 percent of business executives believe that climate change is real (well above the national average of 64 percent) and more than 90 percent of CEOs believe that sustainability in general is important to a companys profits. This leads more businesses to develop sustainability strategies, create positions like chief sustainability officer to carry them out and publish annual reports on sustainability to track and share the results. This is the first model of business sustainability and it would seem to be setting us on a path to becoming more sustainable.

But, not so fast.

As promising as these developments are, our world continues to become less, not more, sustainable, and the nature of the problems we face are markedly different than they were in the 1990s. To mark this shift, scientists have proposed that we have left the Holocene and entered the Anthropocene, a new geologic epoch that acknowledges that humans are now a significant operating force within the Earths ecosystems.

Recognition of the Anthropocene has broad implications for how we think about business sustainability. Rather than fitting sustainability into the existing models of the market, we must now recognize that the market is taking control of natural systems with potentially catastrophic consequences. Climate change, ozone depletion, droughts, wildfires, food insecurity, water scarcity and the social unrest that results all point to a fundamental system failure created by our market (and political) institutions.

As a result, the first phase of business sustainability  integrating these practices within core corporate functions  is inadequate for the scope of the issues we now face. Using this model, we are slowing the velocity at which we are approaching a system collapse, but we are not averting that eventual outcome. A new model of thinking is emerging.

Sustainability 2.0: Market transformation

The next mode of business sustainability, which we call market transformation, involves corporations making systemic changes in the business environment. It sees the corporation as a positive force in society, ameliorating our legacy of harm and mitigating the impacts from a global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050.

We can already see some of the elements of this shift coming into view. Here are some core tenets of this change to creating sustainability:

Different from the Reagan years

These are just some of the emergent notions of a new framework for corporate sustainability. Companies are altering the systems in which they operate, driving entire industries toward a set of market rules that bring us toward a sustainable future.

So, while President-elect Trumps approach to the EPA bears similarities to President Reagans attempts to roll back environmental regulations in the 1980s, and likely faces a similar backlash, there is one big difference; some of that backlash will come from businesses who are leading on greenhouse gas reductions and renewable energy and not fighting government-led environmental policies as they did in the 1980s. To get a sense of the shifting economic landscape, jobs in the clean energy sector exceeded those in oil drilling for the first time in 2016 and continue to grow. Indeed, many within these and other sectors are already pushing back on Trumps dismissal of climate change and continuing with strategies of their own.

They will do this with, or without, the cooperation of governments and their political shifts back and forth on these critical issues.

For example, Toyota, in its effort to go carbon-neutral, must think systemically and include many partners, just as Tesla is doing as it challenges the calculus for electric cars sector-wide. To enact system-wide change, companies are also working with governments to phase out heat-trapping HFC chemicals, set new efficiency standards on trucks, establish transparency rules on conflict minerals or participate in negotiations on a global climate change agreement. Examples of companies doing it on their own include changes in the supply chain on rubber or the reduction (even elimination) of antibiotics in chicken.

In each of these cases, companies are stepping into, in the words of Unilever CEO Paul Polman, a very interesting period in history where the responsible business world is running ahead of the politicians and taking on a broader role to serve society.


Earlier this month, Nederburg staged a special vine planting event to honour the 225-year legacy of the winery's founder Phillipus Wolvaart, who acquired the Paarl farm in 1791. The original framed title deed has been placed in Nederburg's historic Old Cellar Museum. It is clearly dated 1 November 1791 and bears the signature of acting governor of the Cape Johannes Isaac Rehnius.

The planting was guided by Nederburgs viticulturist, Bennie Liebenberg; farm manager, Bertie Faure, who retires at the end of the year after 28 years at Nederburg; as well as assistant farm manager, Zelda Claasen. Pattre Franken will take over from Faure as farm manager in January 2017.

Lauren Josephs of Eat Out helps plant Chambourcin. Photography by Jurie Senekal.

Guests got their hands dirty and helped plant the cultivar, Chambourcin, on a block thats been resting for three years to improve the decomposed granite soil. Cabernet Sauvignon was previously grown here.

Considered a French-American hybrid grape, Chambourcin is noted for its distinctive dark colour and spicy, black cherry and plum flavours with an abundance of herbal characters, says Liebenberg, who joined Nederburg as viticulturist in late 2015.

Climate change a challenge

Liebenberg added that although still relatively unknown in South Africa, Chambourcin is widely planted in parts of the US and Australia, particularly for its ability to withstand extreme weather conditions as well as pests and diseases. Climate change poses a huge challenge for the South African winemaking industry. By introducing new and unusual varieties, we are essentially experimenting and planning for the future, creating additional building blocks for innovation. Given Nederburgs heritage that spans 225 years, it is our responsibility to ensure the future or our winery.

In fact, Nederburg has been experimenting with Mediterranean varietals well-suited to changing climatic conditions for more than a decade. For example, both Tempranillo and Graciano were established at our Simondium farm in 2004, and we planted a small mixed block of Carignan and Grenache on the farm in Paarl in 2008. There are other instances as well. It was access to the Italian varietals such as Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Barbera that had allowed previous cellar-master Razvan Macici and his team to develop the Italian blend that was the first of its kind to be launched locally, and that is now housed in the Ingenuity connoisseur collection of experimental wines.

Pest and disease control

We are now taking it a step further and planting varieties such as Chambourcin, Vidal blanc and Seyval blanc. Were doing so not only to battle climate change, but also to progress towards the elimination of pest and disease control in the vineyards, thereby addressing these challenges in a more environmentally sustainable manner. However, until we have determined the quality of the fruit and its flavour profile, it will not be possible to say whether the grapes will be destined for a varietal wine or a blend.

Guests tasting Nederburgs four wines awarded five-star ratings in the 2017 edition of Platters By Diners Club South African Wine Guide, as well as older vintages of the same selection of wines. Photography by Jurie Senekal.

Part of our role as viticulturists is to explore the potential of what can be regarded in South Africa as the more exotic cultivars to give Nederburg the necessary resources to expand its repertoire in line with market trends. By experimenting and exercising with lesser known varietals we open ourselves up to new and creative avenues of winemaking. Sometimes just the slightest nuance of flavour contributed by an unusual cultivar can add a new dimension to a wine, he explains.

After the vine planting, guests returned to the cellar for a tasting of Nederburgs four wines awarded five-star ratings in the 2017 edition of Platters By Diners Club South African Wine Guide. The authoritative guide named Nederburg its 2017 Winery of the Year.

Tasting lineup

Older vintages of the same selection of wines, well-suited to ageing, were also offered, with the tasting led by cellar-master Andrea Freeborough and Razvan Macici, her predecessor, who is now chief winemaker for Distell. Included in the tasting lineup was the 2013 vintage of Nederburgs Private Bin Cabernet Sauvignon, which recently earned the 2016 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) trophy for the best Cabernet Sauvignon of the show (while at the same competition Nederburg itself was awarded the title of South African Wine Producer of the Year).

The event concluded with a lunch on the veranda of the historic Nederburg manor house. Featuring traditional dishes interpreted in a contemporary manner, the meal was paired with selected wines from Nederburgs exclusive Heritage Heroes collection, including The Anchorman Chenin Blanc 2015. A wooded Chenin blanc, this wine pays tribute to Phillipus Wolvaart, the man who started it all at Nederburg and had the vision and courage to tame a wilderness and grow great wine.
Civil society organisation Corruption Watch has laid criminal charges against South African Revenue Service boss Tom Moyane.

The anti-corruption watchdog body laid the charges on Monday morning.

In a statement the organisation said the charges related to a matter which involved alleged fraud and corruption committed by two senior SARS employees.

In October, Corruption Watch wrote to Moyane over its concerns over the way he had allegedly handled the matter and how he had allegedly breached the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.

The organisation said the breaches stem from Moyane's apparent failures to report the matter to the Hawks.

Moyane has denied any wrongdoing stating that the Hawks had launched an investigation into racketeering and money laundering against the two SARS employees.

Corruption Watch said on Monday it had written to the Financial Intelligence Centre director, Murray Michel, and to the Hawks boss, Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza seeking clarity and confirmation on Monyane's claims, that cases had been opened.

"The financial intelligence centre responded but not the Hawks.

"Corruption Watch is not satisfied with the contradictory statements made by Moyane and the Hawks or by Moyane's explanation in respect of breaches of Fica.

"In the absence of any evidence to confirm averments made by Moyane, the organisation has no option but to proceed with lodging criminal complaints against the commissioner for failing to report these matters to the Hawks."

David Lewis, Corruption Watch's executive director, said: "Arguably the impunity enjoyed by politically well-connected people is the most serious impediment to effectively tackling corruption.

"We are determined that these charges, on the face of it clear violations of our anti-corruption statutes, be investigated and prosecuted. If the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority fail in the performance of their duties, we will do in all our power to prosecute these ourselves."

Source: TMG Digital/The Times
Tyson Properties' Debra Maddocks scored a hat trick on Monday, 12 December, scooping three of the most sought-after titles at the International Property Awards 2016.

Tyson Properties' Debra Maddocks

Maddocks was awarded Best Real Estate Agent - South Africa, Best Real Estate Agent - Africa, and, announced at the gala event at the Savoy Hotel in London, Best Real Estate Agent - Internationally.

Now in its 25th year, the Worlds Best awards, run by the International Property Awards, aims to recognise excellence in the property industry worldwide and promote an international standard.

Twelve years ago Gavin Cunningham and I founded Tyson Properties out of a need to establish a real estate company to provide exceptional agents with a platform to succeed that is fair and balanced for both the agent and the company. This award is testament to the company that we have built. Congratulations Debra on your outstanding accolades, comments Tyson Properties MD Chris Tyson.

Gutsy determination

A delighted Maddocks put her achievements down to care, commitment and gutsy determination.

It took her three interviews and a leap of faith to secure her first job in real estate. Even then the principal told her she was cheeky. Little surprise, as with no experience whatsoever, shed begged for the opportunity, promising shed walk if she didnt make a sale in her first month.

It was the same guts and determination that had Maddocks buying a car (she needed one to get a job as an agent) before she had a drivers license, and buying a house before she had a salary. I thought the motivation of having monthly bond repayments would be good for me, she laughs.

It was. Besides her Worlds Best awards, Maddocks is a driving force in Tyson Properties Westville offices, where she not only owns the hood in which she works, motivating and empowering those working with her, but was also recently awarded Tyson Properties Top Estate Agent countrywide for the fourth consecutive year, Top Supporting Metro Agent and Top Agent, Westville.

Humble beginnings

Classified by the former apartheid government as a woman of colour and coming from a previously disadvantaged background, Maddocks thinks it was precisely these roots that drove her. Born and schooled in Sydenham, Durban, coming from a divorced background, and moving a lot during these years, I think my passion for property comes from my childhood and my desire for a secure family home.

While she wont take no for an answer, and better still loves what she does now, Maddocks is never far from her humble beginnings. Care is such a small word, but its so meaningful. If you care about the people around you  your clients, your colleagues, your team - it will be a win-win situation. To be a successful agent you cant worry about money. If you care about the people around you, the money will come.

And care she does. Throwing herself into numerous community causes including charities, Rotary events (receiving a Paul Harris Award for commitment) and the Westville Cares Fun Day, which she initiated, Debra bonds with the people and communities around her as she gives back through time and service while building her business as it happens.

Fervent about marketing

For business is something shes very serious about. I dont think of myself as an agent, but rather as a business and a business that must stand out. Accordingly, Maddocks is fervent about marketing, setting time tirelessly aside to plan her campaigns and strategies, publishing her own monthly newsletter, running notable competitions, and using a wide range of printed and social media to excellent advantage.

On building her team - the A Team - as she calls it: I believe in motivating and uplifting those around me, and enjoy working in a team. My team changes all the time though, I take the interns in the office, and those agents who feel they are struggling, and work with them until they have wings to fly on their own. That said, Maddocks personally flew two of her team members to the National Association of Realtors congress in Orlando in November this year. I wanted them to experience what its like, she explains simply.

Commitment to transformation

I totally buy into Tyson Properties commitment to transformation which both empowers agents from previously disadvantaged backgrounds in a way that prioritises women, and ensures that staff are proportionally represented in relation to the South African demographic, says Maddocks. At Tysons we understand that while there is always room for improvement, lasting transformation is a journey rather than an overnight revolution.

And Maddocks own journey is also continuing. Next step. Hello Ballito she says! I need a new challenge and Ballito it will be. After five years with Tyson Properties, I will become a partner in the Ballito branch in 2017, and am looking forward to throwing heart and soul into that community too.
ABC NewsKanye West has been spotted around New York City in the last few days, but right now, he's in a very unlikely place: Trump Tower, where President-Elect Donald Trump has been holding meetings with prospective cabinet members and business leaders.

The two appeared together in the lobby minutes ago, where Trump called West "a good man" and added that he'd known him for a long time. Trump added that they talked about "life."

Asked why he was there, Kanye said he "just wanted to take a picture right now."

Trump then shook hands with Kanye, awkwardly hugged him, slapped him on the back and said, "See you soon."

Before the meltdown which caused him to cancel his tour and reportedly undergo psychiatric evaluation, Kanye told fans that if he had voted -- which he didn't -- he would have voted for Trump.

.@kanyewest appears with Donald Trump at Trump Tower, says "I just wanted to take a picture" https://t.co/hBNZQlva7T https://t.co/No7Jh6LUpp  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 13, 2016



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A Liverpool man has been sentenced to prison for sending sexually explicit text and Facebook messages to a minor in Cayuga County.

In June, Steven Levine, of 4129 Birchwood Drive, was arrested and charged with first-degree disseminating indecent material to a minor, a class E felony, and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, the 40-year-old has an extensive criminal history dating back to the 1990s, when he was convicted of third-degree rape for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old. And in September, Levine admitted to sending sexual messages to a 14-year-old girl.

"I was texting with the victim about things that I did in the past ... and I did it for my own pleasure," Levine said at the time of his plea, noting that he invited the teen to masturbate, among other things.

At Levine's sentencing Tuesday morning, the victim's mother spoke before the court, asking Judge Mark Fandrich to give the defendant the maximum sentence.

"The actions of Mr. Levine have impacted my daughter for the rest of her life," she said. "It has traumatized her very much."

A second felony offender, Levine faced 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison. However, as part of his plea, both Budelmann and Fandrich agreed to a slightly reduced sentence of three to six years in prison.

"I just want to take full responsibility for the damage I did to (the victim)," Levine said Tuesday.

"It's clear my client is in need of further treatment," Levine's defense attorney, Simon Moody, added.

Fandrich ultimately sentenced Levine to the agreed-upon sentence of three to six years in prison. In addition, Levine must register again as a sex offender and sign an order of protection for the victim, which will remain in place until June 2031.

Also in court:

 An Auburn man will spend the next two years in prison for trying to possess a loaded gun.

Matthew Hehn, of 68 Clark St., pleaded guilty in October to second-degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

The district attorney said Hehn has a substantial criminal history for a 23-year-old, having been arrested eight times and served prison time as a youthful offender. Hehn also has several prior misdemeanor convictions.

According to Budelmann, Hehn had been out of prison for three months when he tried to possess a loaded, operable .44 caliber revolver on a city street in July.

Hehn could have faced up to seven years in prison and three years post-release supervision. However, Fandrich sentenced him Tuesday to two years in prison plus two years post-release supervision in exchange for his plea.

 An Auburn man was arraigned in Cayuga County Court Tuesday on several charges of third-degree rape.

Charles Williams, 23, of 9 Hoffman St., pleaded not guilty to three counts of third-degree rape and one count of third-degree criminal sex act, both felonies. He also denied one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The District Attorney's Office asked Fandrich to set bail at $10,000 cash, $20,000 bond, citing a violent criminal history including two prior youthful offender convictions, three prior misdemeanors and a conviction of third-degree burglary in 2011 for which Williams went to prison. Still, Fandrich continued Williams out on $2,500 cash, $5,000 bond.

Williams is due back in court Feb. 14.
It's easy to be inundated by the avalanche of technology that exists and is constantly coming out, leading to a plethora of emerging trends in the market and across the globe.

Frost & Sullivan states that whats of particular interest to them isnt just what the technology is capable of, but from an African perspective, what it actually means for the market in its application and the wider implications in its development and deployment. To that end, the Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) team has prepared its view on key trends that will emerge over the course of 2017.

This wont necessarily be a we told you so, but rather an overview of trends to keep front of mind when looking over the vast landscape that is evolving technologies.

ICTs future in Governments hands

Naila Govan-Vassen, senior industry analyst - Africa ICT, says: Africas communication services market, while not yet at saturation point, is approaching maturity, particularly in urban areas of some of the relatively more advanced telecoms markets  like South Africa and Mauritius. The real challenge is to increase the connectivity reach into less densely populated areas, the urban and semi-urban areas. Government involvement is, therefore, critical to the success or failure of ICT infrastructure deployment.

Mobile internet is relatively expensive for the majority of citizens on the African continent; even higher LSM subscribers only use mobile internet when not connected to fixed wireless. So how can a citizen in the lower LSM afford mobile internet connectivity plus monthly data and a smartphone?

The pressure is on for government, as it needs to have a clear vision and understanding on how ICT can benefit its citizens, the country and the economy. Government needs a realistic road map on how ICT infrastructure needs to be deployed. And there is also a clear need for government to collaborate with the experts on the industry - from the regulators to MNOs and OEMs.

2017 is expected to be the year where sound ICT plans need to be developed, that serve as a guideline to investors and other ICT stakeholders. In the case of South Africa, there are solid plans for broadband; however there is a lack of guidance as to whom, how and when the plan will be implemented.

In addition, the release of spectrum, re-farming of existing spectrum, facilitating Public Private Partnerships (PPP), creating internet demand; addressing power supply challenges (as a measure to reduce the OPEX to run base stations outside the power grid); and understand the benefits of digitally empowering citizens are some of the immediate actions to be expected from African governments.

Countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda are expected to experience positive benefits from an increase in the connectivity reach. Political will and collaboration with the relevant stakeholders have been the key driving forces behind their success. Countries on the continent need to leverage from one anothers expertise and achievement factors. Regional collaboration will be a key trend expected to influence the industry in 2017.

Blockchains, not bitcoins

George Etheredge, research analyst - ICT Africa, says: The past year (2016) saw a dramatic decrease in the hype surrounding bitcoin and blockchain technologies. Venture capital investment in blockchain startups fell by 17% from 2015. Frost & Sullivan believes that a similar trend will occur in 2017. However, this does not mean that there will not be activity in the blockchain market.

We expect that, in 2017, firms will focus on core blockchain and blockchain-like technologies, rather than on their applications to crypto-currencies. It must be noted that blockchain-like technologies essentially provide a mechanism by which the authenticity of a digital asset can be verified. Naturally, crypto-currencies would be a non-starter, if not for this fact. Bitcoins could simply be duplicated, rendering them immediately valueless.

In 2017, firms will explore other applications where the verification of digital assets is required. An example here is in anti-piracy where the authenticity of media files could be verified using blockchain-like technologies. Similarly, blockchain is expected to be used to develop smart contracts, automatically verified by virtue of the blockchain.

Although all banks in South Africa claim to be investigating blockchain technology, it is unlikely that anything will come of this in the near future. Banks have very little motivation to change their operating models unless incentivised to do so by external factors. I believe it may be possible that banks will guard their blockchain innovations to use as a weapon against disruption in the near future.

IoT in 2017  taking a step into the future

Deepti Dhinakaran, research analyst - ICT Africa, states: Will Africa take the lead in the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2017? Yes, most definitely. The technology will not only disrupt but also serve as a key driver to the growth and development of the African ICT market.

The African IoT market is currently in its early growth stage, driven by the need for increased business efficiency and productivity. South Africa has the most developed IoT market in Africa, followed by Kenya and Nigeria respectively. Fleet management, retail, energy, security and surveillance, and manufacturing verticals will see an upward growth trend in respect to the use of IoT services during 2017.

Whilst most providers focus on the aforementioned verticals as these offer higher profit margins, solutions that address regional challenges  such as agriculture, mobile health (mHealth), and wildlife conservation  will grow steadily, with a view of improving the quality of life in Africa. Amongst horizontals, analytics, platforms, and low-power consuming sensors and hardware devices will show huge growth opportunities.

2017 will see a large number of the IoT applications that currently run on 2G networks, shift to 3G networks. The adoption of LPWAN connectivity technologies will grow significantly, driven by the need for increased speed, longer range, and higher power efficiencies.

IoT providers across verticals will leverage their in-house and acquired capabilities to benefit from the platform and software application services segments, given their higher value potential. International providers will increasingly follow an indirect business model in countries like Kenya and Nigeria as this ensures cost-effective operations and the sharing of risk with local providers, owing to the importance of local partnerships in these IoT markets.

Strategic partnerships and acquisitions will be key to accelerate growth in the IoT market. This will assist providers to expand the partner ecosystem, while emerging as end-to-end IoT solution providers. Partnerships are primarily driven by the need to develop a competitive advantage in scale; whilst acquisitions are made to acquire technology and talent. Telecommunications service providers will continue to leverage their connectivity expertise in 2017, while trying to evolve as end-to-end vertical solutions providers, developing capabilities to provide post-sales support across the entire value chain.
DOHA: Qatar Airways is renegotiating with Airbus to change an order for up to 80 A320 neo planes to the larger A321 neos, the Gulf carrier's chief executive said on Monday.

WikimediaImages via Pixabay

The switch to the larger planes is an option after Qatar Airways refused to accept four A320 neos earlier this year over issues with the aircraft's engines.

"Yes, we have cancelled a few deliveries," said the airline's chief executive, Akbar Al-Baker, speaking in Doha.

"We are in negotiation with Airbus, how we can continue our relationship and keep our order on track, minus the ones that we cancelled."

Baker said Qatar Airways was "renegotiating" the contract to change the A320s to A321s and for the newly ordered aircraft to have engines from a different manufacturer.

"We are looking at substituting 320s with 321s and substituting those aeroplanes with CFM," he said, referring to engines produced by CFM International, a venture between GE of the United States and France's Safran.

The engines on the cancelled planes were made by Pratt and Whitney.

Baker said that deliveries of the new planes would begin in 2018.

In October, the airline announced an order worth up to $6.9 billion with Boeing for up to 100 aeroplanes.

Source: AFP
The closure of Mpact's plastics manufacturing facility in Zimbabwe, which will cost the company about R40m, is expected to contribute to considerably lower headline earnings for the packaging business when it reports its results for the 2016 financial year.

Mpact was expecting headline earnings to come in 'at least' 30% or lower for the year to December 2016, placing it at about at least 109.7c a share, it said in a trading statement on Monday. Earnings were expected at 110.1c a share.

The group, spun out of industrials group Mondi in 2011, is unable to provide a more precise guidance on these numbers, however, and has committed to publish a further trading statement in February, closer to the publication of its results.

Mpact's closure of the Zimbabwe plant, which it has already initiated, is expected to cost it 6.47% of the entire group's R617.8m after-tax profit for the 2015 year.

The firm did not say when it decided to close the plant, for which it reported a turnover of R87m last year, less than 1% of the group's income.

It recorded an after-tax loss of R3m. This appears to have surprised the market, with Mpact's share price shedding 6.94% on Monday.

Most of the decline occurred after the release of the trading update, and trades peaked at 2.36pm, six minutes after the release of the trading update.

Other factors that have previously negatively affected earnings - lower container-board sales, a higher effective tax rate, higher finance costs and losses at subsidiary Mpact Polymers - also contributed to the dip in expected earnings.

Analysts covering Mpact did not respond to questions by the time of publication, but one changed his recommendation to "outperform" on Monday.

Of the analysts polled, all expected Mpact to report average earnings of 263.44c a share for the full-year period. The lowest estimate was 257c.

But Mpact executives did point towards a weaker second half during its interim results presentation earlier in 2015.

They warned there was excess container board capacity and Mpact Polymers would only turn a profit in 2017.

The group's effective tax rate and net finance costs were expected to be higher in the second half.
A new study shows that consumers are more likely to engage with your business if some of your profits go towards creating positive social change. This is according to a recent study by consumer measurement and information company, Nielsen.

The study  a Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility  polled 30,000 consumers in 60 countries to understand how passionate consumers are about sustainable practices when it comes to purchase considerations; which consumer segments are most supportive of ecological or other socially responsible efforts; and which social issues/causes are attracting the most concern.

 langstrup via 123RF

The results showed that 55% of online consumers say they are willing to pay more for products and services provided by companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact.

It is not very surprising that consumers would rather do business with companies who dedicate some of their profits to creating positive change in society  especially in developing countries.

Consumers around the world are saying loud and clear that a brands social purpose is among the factors that influence purchase decisions, said Amy Fenton, global leader of public development and sustainability, Nielsen. This behaviour is on the rise and it provides opportunities for meaningful impact in our communities, in addition to helping to grow share for brands.

While it must be noted that the results are based on claimed behaviour rather than actual metered data  and that the online audience represents, perhaps, younger, more affluent respondents  they certainly show a shift in the way in which consumers are making decisions.

It seems that it is no longer enough for a company to spend millions on simply advertising to persuade consumers to buy their goods. These days, consumers expect more from big business. They are aware of the inequality between those who have and those who do not  and know it is time for business to cough up, and participate in practices, projects and events that make a difference in the community.

Sun International CEO SleepOut

One event that calls on business leaders to give back is the Sun International CEO SleepOut, which sees business leaders, companies, influencers and entrepreneurs spend a night outdoors, raising funds and gaining empathy for the homeless. With these groups as its participants, the CEO SleepOut has raised over R34m for beneficiaries in the last two years.

It has attracted some of South Africas leading brands. In addition, while they are helping fix social issues, they are also going to be attracting these socially-conscious consumers, says Yusuf Abramjee, ambassador for The CEO SleepOut.

Nielsen reviewed retail sales data for a cross-section of both consumable and non-consumable categories across 20 brands in nine countries. These brands either included sustainability claims on packaging or actively promoted their sustainability actions through marketing efforts, it reports.

The results from a March 2014 year-over-year analysis show an average annual sales increase of 2% for products with sustainability claims on the packaging and a lift of 5% for products that promoted sustainability actions through marketing programmes. A review of 14 other brands without sustainability claims or marketing shows a sales rise of only 1%.

It is clear that consumers are asking business to use their profits for purpose. Now, will businesses listen up? If they do not, it appears they would be facing a drop in turnover and hopefully that thought will scare them into action, concludes Abramjee.
From 3-5 March 2017, the Soweto Theatre will host the 12th edition of the Soweto Wine and Lifestyle Festival, brainchild of Mnikelo Mangciphu, owner of the Morara Wine and Spirit Emporium, and Cape Wine Master, Marilyn Cooper, former CEO of the Cape Wine Academy.

The festival will bring together winemakers, artisan chefs, designers, crafters and entrepreneurs in a three day cultural experience, unique to Soweto. It will showcase the best, and emerging South African wines, foods, travel, music, artisanal merchandise and more.

What to expect

Attendees are invited to experience the wines of the Cape; a choice of holidays and weekends away offered by travel retailers; a selection of gastronomies to suit all varieties and tastes from top-shelf restaurants, local bistros and food vendors; as well as music from Sowetos famous set.

With its new, summertime slot, the festival introduces daytime wine and food tastings, VIP spaces and places, and outdoor cook-off type activities.



The festival is known for having transformed the South African wine industry, removing old customs, and developing a large discerning, well-educated, wine-drinking culture over the past decade.



The festival was originally designed to bring Cape wines into Johannesburgs largest township, Soweto, which is known for its trendsetting values and people, to expose this magnificent movement to the countrys oldest unique wine etiquettes and cultures.

The new festival open times are:

Friday, 3 March  6pm to 10pm

Saturday, 4 March  Midday to 10pm

Sunday, 5 March  Midday to 6pm

Ticket options

At the door standard access  Friday R150 / Saturday R180 / Sunday  R150

Tickets are available at sowetofestival.nutickets.co.za
Two Profica-managed retail centres were officially opened in Nigeria and Zambia during the last week of November. The multi-million retail projects were the product of major investment by South African and international property investors operating in partnership with local stakeholders, and completed within budget and in record time.

As noted by the dignitaries who officially opened the retail developments in their respective countries, both centres were successfully concluded within impressively short timeframes. This sets a high bar for future retail developments in these geographic nodes.

Asaba Shopping Centre, situated in Nigerias Delta State, was developed by Resilient Africa Group, Nigerian-based Baysol Development Company and the Delta State Government. Resilient Africa Group appointed leading construction and property solutions company, Profica, as the project manager and tenant coordinator for the complex. The centre boasts Shoprite as its anchor tenant. It is anticipated that the shopping complex will drive sustainable economic growth in the region.

The Pylos Group, an international property development company with representation in Zambia, appointed Profica as the project manager of Kabulonga Centro Mall in Lusaka. The development is in response to an increasing demand for smaller convenience oriented centres in Zambia. The anchor tenants of the retail centre are Pick n Pay and Woolworths.

Matthew Renshaw

Proficas MD in South Africa, Matthew Renshaw, says that the companys experience of more than a decade in Africa, strongly positions it to take on projects for international developers. A crucial requirement for major investors is to appoint a team that understands the local environment and is able to hit the ground running to deliver to anticipated timeframes. Beyond our headquarters in Johannesburg, Profica has offices in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, as well as teams in Zambia and elsewhere, that make it possible for us to offer strong service capability throughout the continent, with teams that are able to ensure localised solutions.

Local insight and experience are fundamental to successful project completion. Each country has specific cultural and business contexts. We focus on building and transferring skills that take these specificities into account which results in regional and country teams that are equipped to provide consistently high-quality service to our clients.

Since it was founded in 2005, Profica has grown and managed projects throughout Africa, offering expert development, project and construction management services to high-profile international and in country clients. It was recently rated the top project management company in South Africa by PMR.africa for the fourth time in six years.

For more information, go to www.profica.com.
The word 'smith' is often used as a suffix indicating a person skilled in creating something with a specific material (think blacksmith, locksmith).

In 2015, Amy Ellenbogen and Candace Marshall-Smith decided that SMITH should become synonymous with the growing art scene in Cape Town.

Ellenbogen, a creative with a degree in art history, and Marshall-Smith, a chartered accountant, decided to combine their individual skills and expertise to create an art gallery with the aim of making art accessible and growing the South African art world.

We spoke to Ellenbogen, the gallerys curator, about the past year, the allure of Van de Heuvels work and the state of art in SA.

Amy Ellenbogen and Candace Marshall-Smith

Ceremony is Marsi van de Heuvels second solo exhibition at the gallery, what attracts you to her work?



Marsi has great discipline in her process, which leads to a very unique outcome. Within her abstract work we are able to see an unexpected result that instantly allows for an emotional response. The works themselves take up a large amount of time and require repetitive line work, which acts as a meditation of sorts for Marsi. When you look at this new body of work there is a definite celebration of colour and space and the transformative healing power of nature.

Why should we see it?

Not only are the works extraordinary in themselves due to the skill and technique that Marsi has applied but they are also a simple celebration of nature and have honoured our environment. This work appeals to all ages and backgrounds.

First Thursdays at SMITH Studio

What are some of the challenges you face?

There are always great challenges within an industry that offers great reward. Remaining true to helping emerging artists while maintaining a sustainable business is a challenge. We are constantly trying to balance a wide, varied and exciting programme, which entails taking risks.

Whats the state of art in Cape Town?

I think the industry is thriving here in Cape Town. There are new galleries opening and the Zeitz MOCAA Museum will add great value. There are interesting initiatives like First Thursday where galleries extend their opening hours into the evening on the first Thursday of every month and 1k where established artists sell purpose-made work for R1,000 for an hour only on a particular evening. The founders of the First Thursday event have also created Museum Night which is a cultural experience that sees multiple museums within the city keeping their doors open into the evening and offering free admission to the public.

Ceremony by Marsi van de Heuvel

Whats missing in the South African art world?

The art industry could benefit from increased government funding or other art specific funding from corporates. There are so many talented artists who dont make it as full-time artists due to the large barriers to entry that exist as a result of a lack of resources. There are organisations like VANSA and the National Arts Council of South Africa but they barely scratch the surface sadly.

Whats the potential of art in this country?

Being a relatively underdeveloped industry there is much room for growth. With new museums opening and an active change in syllabus within the tertiary education system around the country, we feel that art will play an active role in shifting peoples mindsets and facilitating positive change. There is strong interest in African art worldwide and international auction houses like Bonhams, etc. are all reporting enormous prices fetched for African art at auction. There are also lots of Africans buying African art as a result of the strong growth of African economies and the rising wealth of the middle class.

How important is it for young people to get involved in the arts?

Art plays a vital role in childrens development and allows for much-needed freedom through expression. It is imperative that young people create art and engage with art on their journeys to adulthood. On the other side of the coin are young collectors who will go on to become the large collectors of tomorrow.

Whats been some of the highlights for SMITH Studio this year?

We thoroughly enjoyed the Cape Town Art Fair, which took place in February, and are grateful that a world-class fair like CTAF is taking place in our city each year. We have just returned from our first international art fair (Also Known as Africa - AKAA) which took place in Paris. We found it inspiring and our presence there provided an important platform to engage with the international market and connect with international buyers. Ultimately its always a highlight watching a young artist being given an opportunity and seeing them excel as a result.

Curator Amy Ellenbogen and Director Candace Marshall-Smith, looking good after the long trip from South Africa. #akaaartfair A photo posted by SMITH Studio Fine Art Gallery (@smithstudioct) on Nov 10, 2016 at 4:42am PST

What are some of your plans for next year?

Our programme is looking varied and exciting; we will be turning our sights to photography and allowing for new sculptural injections through group shows. We will be presenting solo exhibitions by Gabrielle Raaff, Elize Vossgatter, Banele Khoze. Grace Cross and Dale Lawrence. As far as fairs go, we are looking forward to the Cape Town Art Fair in February 2016.

What are the main things youre looking for when curating an exhibition?

We are always looking for work that resonates with us and that we can respond to with our heads and hearts. Imagination that creates unique voices is such a joy to engage with and it remains a key part of curating. When artists are able to challenge peoples thoughts and views and cause them to leave the gallery inspired, then we feel we have done our job.

What words of advice would you give someone wanting to make it in the art world, in either the creating or curating side of the industry?

Be brave. The art industry requires grit and resilience.

If you could get any artist (living or dead) to showcase their work at SMITH Studio who would it be?

Hands down Donald Judd.

Works by Donald Dunn

Marsi van den Heuvels Ceremony is on at SMITH Studio until 21 January 2017, go check it out at 56 Church Street in Cape Town.
Have you dreamt about starting your own online business? It's something many people are considering and it could change your life forever. However, starting an online business is harder than it first seems, so you need to understand exactly what's involved. Below are some of the most important questions you should answer before jumping in.

Are you suited to this kind of career?

Firstly, you need to evaluate yourself and decide whether or not you are suited to a life as an online entrepreneur. This is particularly important if you have never run a business, or youve worked in a traditional 9 to 5 job up until now.

You need to become disciplined and understand that initially you will need to work extremely long hours for very little pay. You also need to be able to take rejection on the chin and overcome it like digital marketing consultant Sam Ovens has done. He and other experts help business owners build better businesses and explains that rejection isnt personal when it comes to business. Instead, you need to learn to deal with any setbacks like rejection and move on in a positive manner.

Do you have the necessary skills and knowledge?

Unfortunately, many people enter the online business world without any skills or experience. This is like building a house without foundations. These people jump from one online opportunity to another and after wasting a lot of time and money they give up on their dream. The more skills and experience you have, the more independent you become and the more opportunities you can avail of.

What products and services will you provide?

Its vital to know exactly what products and services your business will offer other people and organisations. Once you know this information, you can plan properly and focus on the job in hand.

Do you need funding?

Some online ventures require little or no money to get up and running, while other online businesses require a large amount of capital. Make sure you research the type of business you want to start thoroughly, so that you know exactly how much it is going to cost to set up and operate.

Will you need to build a team?

Many new online business owners believe they can do everything themselves and dont need help from anyone else. However, you should remember that youre running a real business and every business owner needs help. Hiring full time employees or outsourcing certain tasks will free up a lot of time that you can put to better use in your business. As well as this, the professionals you hire will usually do a much better job in less time than you probably can.

How will you market your business?

Once you set up shop, you need to spread the word about your business. The internet makes it much easier to do this through your own website, social media websites, other peoples websites and paid online advertising platforms. Once again, you need to have your wits about you and choose the appropriate online marketing channels so that you avoid wasting time on online marketing activities that waste your time and money.

What tools and equipment will you use?

A wide range of online business activities can be automated through various software tools and equipment. Some basic research will uncover the tools and equipment you should be using that will make your business more efficient.

Starting an online business is exciting and challenging. However, you need to take a realistic approach and answering the questions above is the first thing you should do before you decide to go it alone online.




It's almost Christmas which makes it a great time to look back and reflect on the year the travel industry has had. The travel industry is constantly evolving, and the way travellers are choosing their travel products is too. We looked at the predicted travel trends for 2016, and investigated if they did indeed come true by chatting to tour consultants and industry influencers.

Wellness trend

As people are more aware of digital burnout, the priority for rejuvenating holidays is on the rise. Travel consultants at Jenman African Safaris have seen an increase in clients booking spa treatments and holidays that focus on rejuvenation and relaxation (like beach packages or luxury packages). High-end lodges, hotels, and spas are increasing their wellness portfolio by opening their own in-house spa or by including it in clients itinerary.

Volunteering on the rise?

While this has always been a way for European and American travellers to combine their philanthropic spirit with their love for travel, 2016 has seen some negativity surrounding the volunteering industry.

While the volunteer industry is still very active  travellers have become more aware of its shadow side (with the release of the documentary Blood Lions that exposes canned hunting).

Travellers are becoming more clued up about sustainable tourism  and whether or not the company they chose to work with is actually making a positive impact for the people and animals.

There has been an increase in senior travellers wanting to give back. A few clients at Jenman African Safaris have gotten involved with Pack 4 A Purpose, and have brought school supplies such as stationary along in their luggage to the schools that Jenman visits on its tours. Senior citizens are eager to work on these projects, but not for an extended period of six months. They would rather work on smaller, shorter projects.

Travel ease

Tourists who obtain a visa prior to travelling continue to decline. In fact, this number is at its lowest level ever (according to UNWTO's latest Visa Openness Report). 39% of the world population travelled on holidays in 2015 without obtaining a traditional visa before departure as compared to only 23% in 2008.

In southern Africa, Zimbabwe is easing its visa regulations for South East Asia while South Africa is relooking its unabridged birth certificate policy for international families.

Ultimately travel ease has to be carefully balanced with security  so its a trend that will always be changing according to the destinations policies.

Social media and apps

With the advent of Snapchat, the way millennials and thirty-somethings are documenting their life has changed. Social media and communication apps have changed the way we travel too. Many companies are adding different social media channels to their website. There are now apps available for tracking your hike, organising your pre-trip packing and inspiring your itinerary.

Unique tours

Personalised experiences are becoming more popular for tourists. Exploring a country like a local with a local guide offers a bespoke, curated tour experience thats authentic. First-time visitors are interested in visiting the homestead, going into the township, eating and drinking local, homemade food  and staying away from the mass-tourism places.

Jenman African Safaris is a family-run tour operator based in Cape Town, South Africa, with operational offices in Victoria Falls, Maun, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya. Founded in 1993, the company specializes in small-group scheduled and tailor-made private guided safaris in Southern Africa, East Africa and Madagascar.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Congressional Democrats prodded Republicans on Tuesday to be aggressive and even-handed as lawmakers prepared to run investigations into U.S. intelligence assertions that Russia intruded into last month's elections to help Donald Trump win the White House.

In a written statement, No. 2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland and the top Democrats on six House committees said they wanted a congressional probe of Moscow's interference "that is truly bipartisan, that is comprehensive, that will not be restricted by jurisdictional lines."

The Democrats said the analyses should produce "a complete and full accounting of what happened consistent with safeguarding our national security."

The statement seemed to suggest that Democrats are wary that the planned investigations  by intelligence committees headed by GOP chairmen in both chambers  might not be as tough as needed, for fear of weakening or offending the Republican president-elect.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Monday they backed investigations by each chamber's intelligence committee into the CIA's finding that Russia interfered with the election.

McConnell declined to say whether he agreed with the CIA assertion that Russian hacking and public release of Democrats' emails during the presidential campaign were designed to aid Trump. But in a noteworthy departure from Trump's rejection of that conclusion, McConnell said the Senate Intelligence Committee would study the issue.

"It's an important subject, and we intend to review it on a bipartisan basis," McConnell said.

Ryan endorsed an ongoing investigation by the House Intelligence Committee into cyberthreats from other countries and extremist groups and condemned "any state-sponsored cyberattacks on our democratic process." He said that examination would continue, with his support.

"Any intervention by Russia is especially problematic because under President (Vladimir) Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests," Ryan said in a written statement.

The remarks by McConnell and Ryan contrasted with Trump's oft-repeated praise of Putin and the president-elect's scoffing at the CIA's findings. Trump on Sunday called the CIA's contention "ridiculous" and blamed the disclosures of the agency's assessment on Democrats who he said were embarrassed over losing last month's election.

McConnell said he has "the highest confidence" in U.S. intelligence agencies. He recounted Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, said Baltic nation leaders are nervous about Moscow and pointedly praised NATO, the alliance that Trump criticized repeatedly during his campaign.

"I think we ought to approach all of these issues on the assumption that the Russians do not wish us well," McConnell said.

Besides embracing an investigation by the Senate's intelligence panel, led by Richard Burr, R-N.C., McConnell also expressed support for a related probe by the Armed Services Committee, chaired by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. McCain has been calling for such an examination and has long been wary of Russia.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., released a letter Monday to National Intelligence Director James Clapper complaining that recent reports of the CIA's conclusion clashed with Clapper's prior statement to the panel that he lacked "good insight" about the connection between Russian hacking of Democratic campaign documents and their release by Wikileaks. Nunes requested a briefing on the subject for this week.

The GOP leaders expressed their views after a weekend in which Trump also said he would not need daily intelligence briefings, a staple of presidents' days for decades and a flouting of a convention common for presidential transitions.

The campaign chairman for defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged the Obama administration Monday to reveal what it knows about any Russian efforts to help Trump win. John Podesta, whose emails were stolen and posted online, said the administration "owes it to the American people" to release details of the intrusions, which included the hacking of Democratic Party files.

Podesta said the Clinton campaign also supports a call by 10 of the 538 members of the Electoral College for Clapper to provide information that intelligence agencies have gathered on the subject.
NEW YORK (AP)  President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, calling him "among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal makers in the world."

But Tillerson has close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, which is certain to draw scrutiny and fuel a potential Senate confirmation fight. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.

Trump says he sees Tillerson's ties with Moscow as a selling point, along with his "vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments."

"Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest and most respected companies," the billionaire real estate mogul said in a pre-dawn news release from Trump Tower in New York.

Tillerson "knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department," Trump said.

In an accompanying statement, Tillerson said he was "honored" by his selection and shares Trump's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security."

Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will hold confirmation hearings in January, called Tillerson "a very impressive individual" with "an extraordinary working knowledge of the world." Corker, who had been considered for the secretary of state job, said Trump called him Monday to inform him of the pick.

Reince Priebus, Trump's incoming chief of staff, said Tuesday that Tillerson was chosen because he is "a diplomat that happens to be able to drill oil." Tillerson has "had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren't the easiest places to have relationships," Priebus said on MSNBC.

"The good Lord didn't put oil in all freedom-loving democracies across the world and yet Rex Tillerson was able to make this work. Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson, they hit it off and they have a similar vision of how to get things done," Priebus said.

For weeks, Trump has teased out the secretary of state decision process publicly, often exposing rifts in his organization. Besides Corker, he also considered former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a one-time vocal Trump critic. Romney wrote on Facebook Monday that it "was an honor to have been considered" for the job.

Trump's unconventional Cabinet vetting procedures are in keeping with his presidential style thus far, unconcerned with tradition or business as usual. In recent weeks, he's attacked CIA intelligence, spoken to the leader of Taiwan  irritating China  and has continued his late-night Twitter tirades.

Beijing is looking forward to working with the new secretary of state "to push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point," China's foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Tuesday.

In Washington, a congressional investigation is in the works over a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on his behalf, a conclusion Trump has called "ridiculous."

The issue is raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about the sanctity of the U.S. voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Trump's administration.

On Twitter Monday, Trump pushed back, saying: "Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!"

Putin, meanwhile, said he was ready to meet with Trump "at any moment."

In the transcript of his interview with journalists which was released Tuesday in Moscow, Putin said "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this." Putin added that he thought a meeting with Trump would be more likely after Trump's January inauguration.

"We understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship," he said. "But we are prepared to do our bit."

If confirmed, Tillerson would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages on, and in China, given Trump's recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to ExxonMobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, Tillerson came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the company's central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

Early in the company's efforts to gain access to the Russian market, Tillerson cut a deal with state-owned Rosneft. The neglected post-Soviet company didn't have a tremendous amount to offer, but Exxon partnered with it "to be on the same side of the table," Tillerson said, according to "Private Empire," an investigative history of Exxon by Steve Coll.
SOROTI, Uganda - D'Ujanga Simon, Minister of State for Energy, together with representatives of Access Power, EREN RE and donors have celebrated the inauguration of the solar power plant in Soroti - East Africa's largest solar plant.

Soroti Solar Plant

Made up of 32,680 photovoltaic panels, the new 10 megawatt facility is the countrys first grid-connected solar plant and will generate clean, low-carbon, sustainable electricity to 40,000 homes, schools and businesses in the area. The project was developed under the Global Energy Transfer Feed in Tariff (GET FiT), a dedicated support scheme for renewable energy projects managed by Germanys KfW Development Bank in partnership with Ugandas Electricity Regulatory Agency (ERA) and funded by the governments of Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The GET FiT programme helps renewable energy sources become more affordable and therefore more accessible in Eastern Africa.

The US$19 million Soroti Solar Plant is in part funded by the European Union - Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund through the GET FiT Solar Facility equivalent to 8.7 million euros in the form of result-based premium payments per kWh of delivered electricity.

The project is financed by a mix of debt and equity with the senior debt facility being provided by FMO, the Netherlands Development Bank, and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF).

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Ugandas Minister of State for Energy; Ambassadors from the EU, Germany and the Netherlands; as well as key stakeholders from Access Power and EREN RE; TSK, the contractor which built the plant; FMO and Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company; The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) as financiers; and other key officials.

Ambassador Kristian Schmidt, European Union Head of Delegation to Uganda, said in his speech: "Uganda is a good place to invest in solar energy. The regulatory framework is conducive and Government rightly recognises Uganda's energy future must be renewable. It is great that this is now triggering private sector interest in solar power generation. The European Union is proud that our grant contribution ensures the realisation of the Soroti Solar Plant, and I hope this is only just the beginning for many more to come."

David Corchia, CEO, EREN RE, stated: Soroti solar plant is an excellent textbook example of how collaboration among key local and international stakeholders can result in the successful execution and completion of such a ground breaking project and in tangible progress in the spread of renewable energy across Africa. We wish to express our gratitude and thanks to the organisations and individuals who made the construction of the largest solar power plant in East Africa possible.

As a global renewable energy independent power producer we take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the African power sector and we look forward to replicating this model in many other African countries in other districts in Uganda and across the region.

Oscar Kangoro, a non-executive director of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) confirms EAIFs commitment to supporting solar and small hydro power projects in Uganda: EAIF is fully engaged in Uganda and to date financed eight renewable energy projects in the country, including Soroti. I particularly want to congratulate Access and EREN on their vision and enterprise. Our funders at the UK governments DFID, at The Netherlands DGIS, Switzerlands SECO and Swedens SIDA, see the great benefits that small and renewable generating capacity can bring, particularly in rural and semi-rural areas. This can unlock economic potential, create new economic development opportunities, grow the productivity of public services and improve energy security. Most importantly, the arrival in a district of more dependable and more affordable electricity can transform and enhance the lives of many thousands of men, women and children.

Located on a 33 acre plot of land in Soroti District, the power plant has the potential to increase its net output capacity by a further 20MW of solar energy. At peak construction the plant had over 120 local workers involved, including engineers recruited and trained by Access Power and EREN RE.
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Growth in the number of people using Airbnb, coupled with the number who use the service instead of hotels, is higher than previously expected, according to a recent Morgan Stanley Alphawise survey included in the report. Driving increased usage is higher awareness among travelers (75%) and high user satisfaction rates (93%).

The report also suggests Airbnb could slow down growth in hotel revenues by almost double that previously forecast. The revised analysis suggests growth in hotel revenues will slow by 80% more than previously predicted and a 9% rise in the number of people that would have otherwise stayed in a hotel if it werent for Airbnb.

Furthermore, the survey (conducted among over 4,000 Airbnb users in the US, UK, France and Germany) showed that penetration (the percentage of leisure/business travellers that have used Airbnb at least once) is at 19%/18%, up from 12%/12% last year.

However, while an Airbnb spokesperson was reported to claim that Weve long believed that for for us to win, no one has to lose, Morgan Stanleys analysis shows that the company is impacting hotels. Not only has there been a fall in the number of compression nights (when hotels can charge a premium due to being near capacity) but also the number of nights hotels in the top 25 US marketers are near capacity has fallen for the first time since 2009.
New York State Police are requesting the public's assistance in identifying four women who stole $796 worth of coats from Dick's Sporting Goods in Aurelius.

Surveillance photos show the women entered the store on Clark Street Road at 5:34 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12. Police said they walked down the power aisle and separated before circling back to the outwear department. There, store staff assisted them in choosing four North Face coats to purchase.

Instead, two of the women exited the building, while the other two walked to the front of the store and hung up the coats near the door. The one-way door did not open as an exit, so police said the women waited until another customer entered the store to grab the coats and leave.

Police said all four women are black, in their 20s and stand about 5 feet, 6 inches tall. In the surveillance photos, police said the woman wearing the brown coat and hat, as well as the woman wearing the black coat and gray scarf are the two individuals who ran out of the store with the stolen items.

The larceny investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Trooper Andrew Campbell at (315) 255-2766.
Two Onondaga County residents, including a nursing home employee, have been arrested and charged with identity theft, according to the New York State Police.

The charges stem from an investigation into the theft of a nursing home resident's identification.

Tameeka C. Johnson, 37, of 151 Old Liverpool Road, Salina, was arrested on Oct. 20 and charged with second-degree identity theft, a class E felony. She was remanded to the Onondaga County Justice Center pending arraignment.

Authorities say Johnson was an employee at the nursing home and allegedly stole the resident's identification. She then provided the ID to her son, Christopher P. Cody, 20, of the same address.

Cody allegedly used the identification to open credit in the victim's name. The credit was used to make purchases totaling more than $1,400, police said.

The state police arrested Cody on Monday. He has been charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, second-degree identity theft and first-degree falsifying business records, all class E felonies.

Cody was remanded to the Onondaga County Justice Center pending his arraignment in Syracuse City Court.
Here in New York State  and elsewhere  farmers have produced more vegetables, fruit and especially milk, than they can sell at a profit.

Yes, the land of plenty giveth but this time, too much.

So someone in Albany drafted a bill that would give farmers a maximum income tax credit of up to 25 percent of the market value of their donated crops or milk up to a maximum New York tax credit of $5,000.

However, and although Gov. Andrew Cuomo believes this is a good idea, hes vetoed this bill twice because he wants to see some offsets (good idea) in the upcoming 2017 state budget to account for these tax credits and the Assembly and Senate refuse to do that.

My only concern about this bill is that its a tax credit  which reduces the farmers state income tax bill dollar-for-dollar and not a tax deduction, which is less generous and which farmers and others can use today.

Gotta love the farm lobby, right?

Under the proposed bill, a farmer needs to donate just $20,000 in farm products to get the maximum $5,000 tax credit.

However, if you or I were to get a $5,000 tax credit  and assuming were in the highest NY tax bracket of 8.82 percent  wed have to contribute $56,689 worth of food, clothing, etc. in order to reap a $5,000 credit.

Sure wish we non-farmers had a lobby in Albany, dont you?

So if only a tax deduction is good enough for us non-farmers, it certainly should be good enough for our farmers, dont you think?

Unfortunately, this additional credit vs. existing deduction issue appears to be a battle for another day.

People should not go hungry in New York - or anywhere - especially if there are tons or gallons of surplus food being thrown out or rotting away on farms and farmers should still give their excess food to the food banks no matter if this tax credit passes or not.

Bill Balyszak

Fleming
Priyanka Chopra Dazzles In Blue Prabal Gurung At UNICEF Fashion Kaustubha

Priyanka Chopra is ruling the world these days. After marking her name on international television, she has now joined hands with the UNICEF.

As the Global Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF, Priyanka will now fight for the right of children. At a recent UNICEF event, Priyanka looked classy in her blue Prabal Gurung dress.

Priyanka even met David Beckham, who was looking dapper in his black suit.

Priyanka picked a satin blue dress that fitted her body perfectly. The dress came with flared sleeves and an extended pleated skirt. We are doubtful if any other actress could carry this dress so well like PC.

Honored to continue the amazing work we've accomplished in India and take that commitment to those in need across the world as @UNICEF's Global Goodwill Ambassador... On their 70th anniversary tonight, I look forward to working with my fellow advocates to drive change in mindsets and ensure that we build a world where children's rights are respected and protected, and that there is a voice, #foreverychild A photo posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Dec 12, 2016 at 7:12pm PST

Priyanka kept her look minimal. She accessorised the dress with suede blue pumps. Her mid-parted slightly curled hairdo was also well suited for the entire lookbook.

All in all, Priyanka dazzled in her classy suit up. What's your take on this?
As with any most other industries, the automotive industry is prone to having a handful of major manufacturers controlling the majority of the market share. Despite the fact that there are hundreds of automobile models for sale in China, a select few bring in the vast majority of sales. Following those trends, consumers looking to purchase a new vehicle often tend first to look to the most popular models to understand what they want, which further adds to those models notoriety. Below is a brief summary of models from the six largest automobile manufacturers in China: Shanghai VW, Shanghai GM, FAW-VW, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Changan Automobile and Dongfeng Nissan.

Currently, Shanghai VW sells a total of 18 models from its VW and Skoda brands in the country. The majority of its sales, however, came from the just three models: the New Lavida (pictured above), Tiguan and Santana.

Over a quarter of VWs sales for the month came from the New Lavida alone, whose sales totaled 47,463 units, making it not only the brands best-selling model but also Octobers most popular sedan. Meanwhile, sales of the Tiguan and Santana both exceeded the 20,000 units mark, accounting for just over a tenth of VWs total overall sales each. Sales of the VW Polo and Skoda Octavias sales were also respectable, accounting for 9% and 8% of the automakers total sales, respectively.

Shanghai GM sells three brands in China: Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac. Among them Buick is the most important in the country, with six of Shanghai GMs best-selling models in the country being Buicks, with the remaining four all being Chevrolets.

The New Excelle (pictured above) was Shanghai GMs best selling model in October, with its 37,269 units sold accounting for 22% of all GM models sold in the country over the course of the month. Following the retirement of the Kaiyue Excelle in August, sales of the New Excelle have been constantly rising. Monthly sales of the Buick Envision were also very strong, totaling 22,061 units and making up 13% of Shanghai GMs total sales. The Envision owes its popularity to its powerful performance and wealth of features. The Chevrolet Cruze and Buick Verano also performed well in the market, with their monthly sales figures both exceeding 15,000 units.

FAW-VW stands out for its lack of reliance on SUV models, with its top three selling models, the Sagitar (pictured above), Jetta and New Bora all being sedans. Sales of the Sagitar accounted for nearly 20% of all of the manufacturers sales in October. Total sales of the Sagitar totaled 32,360 units. The Jetta was not far behind, with total sales of 28,911 units. Sales of the New Bora also exceeded the 20,000 mark. Combined, these three models alone accounted for just over half of FAW-VWs total sales in October. However there are concerns that with such a heavy reliance on one segment, FAW-VW risks internal competition in addition to the dangers already inherent in putting so many eggs in a single basket.

SAIC-GM-Wulings three top selling models, the Hongguang, Baojun 730 and Baojun 560, accounted for a whopping 90% of the Sino-American joint ventures sales in October. Sales of the Hongguang totaled 60,820 units, making up nearly half of the JVs total sales output for the month. This result is unsurprising considering the Hongguangs dominance in the MPV sector. The two Baojun models were also remarkably well-received with sales of 275,676 units and 258,299 units, respectively. Thanks to these three popular models, SAIC-GM-Wuling has succeeded in becoming one of the countrys most recognizable automotive brands, with its revenue for 2015 totaling 92.25 billion RMB and net profits adding up to 5.01 billion RMB.

Changan Automobile has been one of the rising stars among domestic automobile manufacturers in China in recent years. October sales performance results of its best-selling models are indicative of this trend. Monthly sales of its best-selling model, the CS75 (pictured above), totaled 23,709 units, accounting for a fifth of the manufacturers sales overall. The models sales growth has slightly declined in face of increasing competition from a rival own brand SUV model, GACs Trumpchi GS4. Meanwhile the Eado and CS35 each contributed 14% to Changans total sales. The Eado is notable for being one of the very few domestic brand own brand sedans that has managed to constantly bring in respectable sales numbers. Meanwhile the Honor, Oushang and CX70 each accounted for almost a tenth of Changans total sales.

Dongfeng Nissan remains Dongfengs top performing automotive venture, as well as the countrys top performing Japanese brand. Dongfeng Nissans model lineup has overall been well received, with its entire range being well received in the country. Its constantly best-selling model is the Bluebird Sylphy (pictured above), whose October sales totaled 40,171 units, accounting for over a third of the manufacturers sales for the month.
The Anti-Tobacco Network (ATN) has taken its crusade against smoking to legislators and other policy makers asking them to support the development of tobacco law that will prohibit smoking in public areas.

ATN strongly believes that tobacco companies are not like other businesses, as they intentionally make their products addictive, knowing that their products do kill. They also deceive the public and policy makers by attempting to appear credible and trustworthy, yet they aggressively target vulnerable groups.

ATN lobbies against tobacco use because tobacco businesses use lawyers, lobbyists and public relations firms to undermine tobacco control. They now use strategies perfected in developed markets to addict new smokers in emerging markets, said the ATN report. Currently Botswana laws allow smoking at public areas such as; restaurants, where there is a selected area for the smokers to enable them to keep away from the non-smokers.





ATN advocates that smoking should be totally banned at both enclosed and outdoor public places. The Control of Smoking Act 65:04 (Sub section, 3-12), prohibits smoking in places like; public places and workplaces. It also encourages Duty of person to protect other persons from tobacco smoke, thus everyone who smokes shall, while smoking take all reasonable measures to ensure that other persons who do not smoke or do not wish to smoke are protected from exposure to tobacco smoke.Pregnant women and lactating mothers are also urged to keep away from tobacco to protect the unborn or lactating child from exposure to tobacco smoke by avoiding smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke.

World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently shown that in restaurants, second-hand smoke levels are twice as high as in other work places without smoke bans.
The secretary for Ngamiland Agricultural Management Association, (NAMA), Hureva Tjavanga has urged farmers to take the Botswana Animal Information Traceable System (BAITS) initiative very seriously as it is for their own benefit.

Ngamiland farmers felt that government had not adequately consulted them when it introduced the initiative. The system is said to be critical to international markets despite the challenges faced by farmers in the district.Speaking during the BAITS roadshow in Maun recently, Tjavanga said farmers need to stand up and work jointly with government in order to improve the agricultural sector in Botswana and in particular the North-West District. As farmers in the District we know our role in the development of the sector is of paramount importance as the economy of the majority of our households is dependent upon agriculture more especially the beef industry, he said.

He said as much as they should take Foot and Mouth control measures seriously, ear-tagging of their cattle should also be a priority amongst them saying government has taken a stance to rollout the first ear tags for free under the Economic Stimulus Programme. He said as farmers they needed to take advantage of such a noble gesture to put more effort and take responsibility to ensure that they tag all their cattle.In this exercise the part we play is to collect ear tags at the Department of Veterinary offices and transport tagging agents to our crushes. Please note that in other Districts farmers buy ear tags at a cost of P20 per tag, explained Tjavanga.





He added, I cannot stress the need to tag our cattle more as international markets require traceability and BAITS is the only way forward for the economy of Ngamiland to have meaningful growth and reap the benefits for international markets. For his part District Agriculture Coordinator, Orbert Mabutha said that the traceability system in this country is compulsory, as the system is not designed for European Union beef export markets only but to address animal health and public health concerns and thus facilitate trade with any potential markets.

Mabutha said the awareness campaign is a critical milestone towards enhancement of BAITS, saying it is aiming at bringing awareness to the Ngamiland farming community on the importance of ear tagging of cattle.This was due to the fact that there was slow uptake of BAITS by farmers in the District whereby we see that up to date the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security has issued 185 085 ear tags to 5225 farmers and only 44 438 ear tags have been uploaded, he said.

He said for better implementation of the exercise the ministry has engaged BAITS agents in every extension area in the district.
Claims that Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) could be close to getting on its sickbed are being vindicated as a fall out between party Chairman and Womens Wing leader has come to play, Botswana Guardian has established.

It was clear that the gloves were off at the BDP Womens Wing General Assembly in Mahalapye when Party Chairman Mokgweetsi Masisi officially closed the event hosted by Womens Wing Chairperson Dorcas Makgato. The party has on several occasions denied that its leadership is divided ever since the current Vice President Masisi who is also party chairman proclaimed that he is the next party and country president. Womens Wing Chairperson Makgato has been mentioned in the BDP corridors among those against Masisi as president. The duo has in the past vehemently denied the claims. Masisi recently dismissed a report by this publication that those in his opposing camp deliberately snubbed his 2014 general elections celebration party in Moshupa.

However, things played out in a different way this past weekend when the BDP Womens Wing hosted its inaugural General Assembly in Mahalapye. The three-days event drew BDP women from various constituencies around the country to discuss issues that affect them. Makgato who is also Minister of Health and Wellness said the assembly is meant to empower women politically, socially and economically.





The party leadership led by President Ian Khama graced the official opening last Friday except for the party chairman and members of the sub-committee on Communications and International Relations said to be a staunch supporters of Masisi. On Sunday, Masisi who was billed to do the official closing of the assembly allegedly told Makgato that he would not be coming.

We were surprised to hear that VP wanted to change his mind at the eleventh hour. Makgato however convinced him to come, said a BDP Women Wing Committee member on Sunday just before the programme could start. As if this was not enough the party chairman is said to have explained that he wanted to come at 0800hrs to make his closing address but was told by Makgato that would not be possible because that is the time when the Sunday programme would be starting.

When he took to the podium it was evident that Masisi and Makgato belong to two different worlds. Even though he enjoyed cheering by some of his supporters, one could tell that his tone and choice of words did not sit well with Makgato who is also Member of Parliament for Sefhare-Ramokgomani- a constituency Masisi is said to have a preferred candidate to replace Makgato.

Makgato is said to be among BDP members especially MPs who believe Infrastructure and Housing Development minister, Nonofo Molefhi should challenge Masisi for the chairmanship next year and subsequently for the presidency. Instead of focusing on the assembly during his closing speech, Masisi boasted of the achievements in his constituency in terms of recruitment. He indicated that in his constituency they work hard to recruit members and not chase away members. He also challenged BDP women to emulate women from Kanye North and Moshupa-Manyana Constituencies who he said are hardworking and urged BDP women to benchmark from them on how to do fund raising. This did not sit well with some BDP members who could be seen one by one leaving Madiba Senior Secondary School hall.

Word was that Masisi is deliberately attacking Makgato and his committee. I am a staunch supporter of the VP but what he did today is not right. We understand they have their differences with Makgato but this is not the platform for such utterances to have been made. The Women Wing is trying its best and expectation is that the party chair was supposed to have encouraged them and shown support instead of coming here to talk about other women who did not even attend, said an unhappy delegate.

Masisis camp is alleged to have been behind the fund raising activity in Kanye North which coincided with the General Assembly. Makgato had not responded to our enquiries at press time even though she promised to revert after requesting to be sent a text message while Masisis phone was off.
iStock/Thinkstock(LAVONIA, Ga.)  Two police officers were shot during a traffic stop in Georgia on Monday night, the third time in less than two weeks that police officers in that state have been shot in the line of duty.



Two officers from the Lavonia Police Department conducted the stop off I-85 on Monday night, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.



During the stop a person in the vehicle fired on two officers, the GBI said. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were hospitalized.



The GBI identified the shooter as Khari Anthony Dashaun Gordon, 22, of Greenville, South Carolina. The GBI says Gordon fired the shots that wounded both of the officers.



Gordon has been arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, and one count of possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony.



Last week, two officers were killed while responding to a domestic call near Georgia Southwestern State University.



Early Monday morning, a man shot and wounded two Georgia police officers in Crawford County who were executing a search warrant, prompting officers to return fire, killing him.



Additional charges are pending, the GBI said.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Botswana Guardian can safely reveal that the unnamed preferred bidder identified by Botswana Government to develop an additional 300MW power supply by extending Morupule B, is the Japanese multinational diversified trading and investment conglomerate, Marubeni Corporation.

Advocate Sadique Kebonang, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security recently told Parliament that government was in the process of procuring Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for the development of an additional 300 MW by extending Morupule B with units 5 & 6, each with capacity of 150 Megawatts (MW).However, he did not name the preferred bidder save to say that the procurement process was at the stage of financial closure, which he said was expected to be concluded before the end of this year. In fact, Botswana Guardian can this week confirm that Cabinet signed the contract for Units 5 & 6 this week Tuesday amidst opposition from certain ministers that have vested interests as well as opposition from environmentalists.

Marubeni Corporation was founded in 1858 and its focus in Africa include power and other infrastructure projects, as well as projects aligned to industrial diversification imperatives of the region as well as initiatives catering to domestic demand in the commodity field. Marubenis association with Morupule B came to light late last month during a joint investment mission undertaken by Embassy of Japan in Botswana and Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) to South Africa.





The mission engaged the 62-member Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industries at the offices of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) on the 4th Floor, West Tower along Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg.It was here that Chairman of the Chamber, who also doubles as Marubeni Corporations Regional Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Africa and General Manager of the Johannesburg Branch, Takashi Yao, confirmed his corporations engagement in Botswana.

He said it was true they were preparing to come to Morupule B as Independent Power Producers engaged by Botswana government. He expressed sincere hope that the deal would mark the beginning of a long partnership between Japanese companies and Botswana, a country, he said was unique for its high economic growth trajectory and political stability. Addressing the Japanese investors earlier on, BITC Chief Executive Letsebe Sejoe had said that the commissioning of the two electrical power generation stations was quite advanced with discussions ongoing between the two parties. Just one or two final details need to be agreed and as I understand, its just the conclusion of the IPP and we will be able to commission that plant.Its expected that commissioning will come on line within 42 months.

Asked by Kaentaro Yoshikawa, an Earth Observation Adviser at South African National Space Agency (SANSA) Earth Observation why Botswana does not rely more on Japans expertise for power generation, Sejoe responded;This is why we are here; we want to talk about that, he said, adding that lessons learnt in the past have compelled them for the first time ever in their relationship, to gravitate closer to Japan. Botswana is reaching out more and more to Japan and we will continue to do that because the relationship has to be a strong win-win for both parties, and we think maybe with Japan we will win.Marubeni Corporation has 132 offices in the world including 12 in Africa.

Its activities include power projects, plants, infrastructure, logistics, finance, industrial machinery to real estate development and construction. The corporation has always been on BITCs radar. Reitumetse Aphiri, BITC Executive Director for Investment Promotion has been courting this multinational since her days at the defunct Botswana Export Development and Investment Agency (BEDIA).She told Botswana Guardian during the investment mission to Joburg - in which she had accompanied Sejoe along with SA-based Moshie Ratse, the Executive Director for International Business - that Marubeni Corporation was currently doing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Morupule B expansion as well as looking for office space in Gaborone.

Further investigations by this publication turned up information that the signing of the deal was delayed by farm owners in the Morupule area and others that have bought fields and are now demanding prodigious sums in compensation from government.

One interested party who is said to have asked for P25 million in compensation this week declined to comment on the issue because he was conflicted by reason of his employment to Debswana, the company that owns Morupule. The joint investment mission to South Africa was hosted by JETRO Africa Region Executive Director Hiroyuki Nemoto and led by Japans Ambassador to Botswana, H.E. Masahiro Onishi and Letsebe Sejoe, BITCs chief executive. Earlier this year, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marubeni Corporation Fumiya Kokubu attended the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 6) in Nairobi, Kenya.
It was a perfect deal, too good to be true, but somehow it collapsed and suddenly Botswana must contend with a multibillion lawsuit from the Russian multilateral company. Norilsk Nickel Africa (NNA) - the target company that BCL was buying- had confirmed cash resources of US$25 million in its balance sheet, being money that would have belonged to BCL and would have been used for the upfront payment to the Russians had the negotiations succeeded.

The agreement by BCL to buy the Nkomati mine at a purchase of US$271.3m (P2.8 billion) inclusive of damages and other costs was signed in October 2014 for 50 percent interest in the Nkomati nickel mine in Mpumulanga, South Africa. Sources involved in the transaction have confirmed that Norilsk had agreed to pay BCL at least US$130 per tonne to smelt Nkomati concentrate on its behalf.

This would have generated P300 million annually in revenue for BCL from the Nkomati deal, indeed a major financial benefit. Part of the money would have been used to pay the mines costs and the other to pay Norilsk Nickel, on a deferred basis. It said that taken together, the aggregate benefits to BCL from Nkomati would have been at least P300m in revenues from the tolling contract that had been negotiated with Norilsk, in a five-year renewable contract. And most importantly, this would have been a fixed amount, payable to BCL irrespective of the Nickel price!





Sources say that government through its investment company  Minerals Development Company Botswana (MDCB) led by Paul Smith - is to blame for pushing Norilsk to take legal action against its will. Smith has unlimited access to cabinet in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer of MDCB. He allegedly convinced cabinet to liquidate BCL in order to avoid a looming lawsuit by Norilsk Nickel.

Throughout the Nkomati sale negotiations, sources aver that Norilsk has never changed its position. They had agreed to a significant reduction in the purchase price and were willing to negotiate further and to reduce the price by up to 70 percent with part of the purchase price paid from cash inside the target company  NNA.

This meant that the maximum upfront cash payable by BCL would have been US$50million.



Nkomati profitable

Nkomati is currently making money and would have be paying for the purchase price especially that Norilsk had agreed to a five-year deal to pay BCL to treat the Nkomati. In October 2014 when BCL signed the agreement with Norilsk, the nickel prices were over US$8 per pound. Over the subsequent year, the price rapidly deteriorated until it hit a low of under US$4 per pound. However, at a time when MDCB frustrated the deal, it was obvious that the nickel price was on an upward trend. In fact, by the time BCL was liquidated, allegedly to avoid the Norilsk legal action, the nickel price had gone up by 30 percent to over US$5 per pound.



African Rainbow Minerals

Investigations by Botswana Guardian have revealed that at a prices of over US$5 per pound, Nkomati is in a positive cash position as its latest annual report, shows. African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), the 50 percent owner of Nkomati, reported that Nkomatis cash costs are now US$4.18 per pound. This means that unlike previously, Nkomati would not need any cash support from its shareholders (GRAPH NICKLE C1).



Lawsuit and MoU

It is not clear how Smith and his MDCB could not have seen that by frustrating the deal, they were triggering a potential lawsuit even from a hesitant company like Norilsk which didnt harbour such intentions at the time. Legal sources say he could have been depending on the fact that the parties had signed a well-crafted non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) codenamed Project Tungsten, on 17 th October 2014 and amended almost a year later, on 17 September 2015. The parties involved were Norilsk Nickel African Proprietary Limited (NNAF), Metal Trade Overseas AG (MTO) and BCL.

Under the restructured transaction price sub heading, the MoU provides that, Due to changes in the overall market environment, Norilsk Nickel and BCL have already hereby agreed that the new cash price consideration payable for the sale of NNAF and Tati will be US$305.9 million, subject to the deferred consideration. No equity interest is or will be payable.

The conditions of the deferred consideration were that, both parties Have agreed that US$30.6 million of the new cash consideration amount will be contingent on the nickel price. The amount of contingent purchase price will be determined and due on 1st January 2018 using a ratio based on the leverage LME Nickel settlement price over calendar years 2016- 17.However, on 1st December 2016, Norilsk Nickel Mauritius (NNM) and Norilsk Nickel Africa (NNA) let the cat loose by instituting a lawsuit against BCL mine in the Botswana courts and the London Court of International Arbitration for BCLs abandonment of the Nkomati Transaction seeking to recover the purchase price originally-agreed.

Norilsk Nickel Africa CEO Michael Marriott argues in the court papers that, BCL has failed to honour its obligations under the sale agreement concluded in October 2014 and calls this failure by BCL to abide by its obligations under the sale agreement unacceptable in any business transaction. He argued that this deplorable conduct has resulted in the BCL smelting and mining operations being placed into provisional liquidation.

The closure of BCL, he says, will have a devastating effect on the livelihoods of thousands of people, and a negative impact on the regional economies which rely on the BCL smelter to beneficiate nickel, copper and PGM concentrates. It is disappointing to note that the Government of Botswana recently invested in refurbishing the BCL smelter, at an estimated cost of P700 million, giving hope to the people of Botswana that BCL had a good future with Nkomati able to supply the bulk of concentrates for beneficiation.He fears that these actions by BCL could jeopardise Botswanas excellent reputation internationally as a country with a sound investment climate. Throughout the process, Norilsk has acted in good faith, and given BCL repeated opportunities and offers of assistance to complete the transaction, including concessions to significantly reduce the sale price.

Norilsk has done everything possible to support BCL in its endeavours to secure its long-term future, and therefore sees no other option but to defend its interests in courts with jurisdiction over the matter. Contacted for comment, Smith could not field questions from this publication, fearing to run afoul of the sub judice rule since. The matter is now before the courts, and as such, I unfortunately am not able to make a comment, he said.
Aworrying phenomenon, which is increasing in its visibility and intensity, relates to the dwindling rail sector performance, an official with the Transport and Communications Ministry has said.

Director of Transport Planning and Policy, Orapeleng Mosigi said this is becoming a major concern to governments, customers and the public. He explained that lack of capacity on the railways part coupled with inefficiency as seen by railway customers has contributed to a significant decline in railways market share to the detriment of the regional economy.

Railways, he said, therefore must work very hard to redeem themselves and reclaim their leadership positions as the transport mode of choice. I am aware that railways by their nature and character are better placed to offer relatively cheaper tariffs, environmentally friendly operations as well as being more fuel efficient. These broad strengths of the rail transport industry must be taken full advantage of to further reinforce the railways positive contribution to our SADC economies, stated Mosigi during a recent Southern African Railways Association (SARA) board members meeting in Gaborone.Mosigi explained that it is the purpose of SARA to promote the common business interest of railways in Southern Africa by establishing a regional framework for the joint delivery of a cost effective, regionally integrated seamless and predictable railway transport service.





He stated that the importance of rail transport industry cannot therefore be under played as a necessary catalyst to achieving the desirable aspirations of integrating and unifying the region to ensure regional prosperity. In this regard the railways must continue to position themselves appropriately as major players in the surface transport sector.

We have to be reminded that the ultimate effect of SADC initiatives in infrastructure development is to boost traffic and carrying capacity of surface transport networks, reduce transport and communication cost, pointed out Mosigi adding that they are convinced as SADC governments that railways can still do better with the resources currently at their disposal.He revealed that while the issue of infrastructure funding remains a key challenge to railways in the region and continent at large, the SADC Ministers of Transport continue to play their supportive role as evidence by notable decisions leading to the removal of road fuel levies on fuel used by locomotives.

He said it is encouraging to see efforts made by SARA towards improvement of railway performance in the region.SARA is scheduled to host a 2017 Rail Conference and Exhibition in May in South Africa under the theme Innovations in Railways, Roads and Ports for Regional Social and Economic Growth. The conference is expected to attract international suppliers, customers, presenters and exhibitors.
President Ian Khama says the recently signed European Union Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement makes Botswana a potential centre for trade and investment.

Khama who was presenting his state of the nation address in Parliament this week stated that the deal accords Botswanas exports duty and quota-free access to the EU market. The long awaited European Union-Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement (EU-SADC EPA) was sealed mid this year in Kasane after years of negotiations. The EU-SADC EPA negotiations commenced in 2004 and were only concluded in 2014. The delay has been associated with the complexity of negotiations and were said to have covered a broad array of issues, which required not only lengthy discussions but also intense and in-depth consideration of issues in a holistical manner.

President Khama in his address this week revealed that under this Agreement, our infant industries can be protected against EU imports from established industries. He stated that the Agreement also provides for transitional safeguard measures for Botswanas sensitive products. To support industrial development, provision has been made for the application of export taxes on up to eight products from Botswana for a period not exceeding 12 years from entry into force of the Agreement. In addition to benefiting from sourcing inputs for production within the SADC and EU regions, Botswana industries have been also accorded the opportunity to source raw materials and intermediate inputs from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries as well as EU overseas countries and Territories, he said.Khama added that the Agreement further supports the objectives of the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan of poverty eradication and specifically the industrial pillar where Member States envisage transformation of the region through value addition.





Government, he said, is considering the enactment of an Investment Facilitation Law, which will establish an investment code for Botswana and stipulate service standards and turnaround times for facilitating investors.

The signing of the EU-SADC EPA is said to have marked the beginning of a new relationship, a transformation from the old regime of unilateral preferences and quota systems. The EPA however, recognises asymmetries between the EU and SADC EPA States and supports the development agenda for the SADC EPA Group of States. This Agreement is premised on the objectives of supporting the long-term vision of economic growth, diversification and transformation for the region, which extends beyond the SADC EPA Group to cover wider SADC Member States as well as the tripartite agenda.
New Brandeis research reveals historic U.S.-Israeli ties

President Ron Liebowitz presented research from Professor Jonathan Sarna to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week

(l to r) Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Consul General of Israel to New England Yehuda Yaakov hold a replica of an 1890s flag from Boston that, according to Brandeis research, influenced the design of todays Israeli flag.

New research released by Brandeis Professor of American Jewish History Jonathan Sarna '75, MA '75, shows that as early as 1891, 57 years before the founding of the modern state of Israel, a prototype of the Israeli flag was created and displayed in Bostons North End that would eventually be one of several significant influences on the present-day flag of Israel. His groundbreaking study titled "American Jews and the Flag of Israel" reveals a rich new chapter in the long history of deep bonds between the United States and Israel that had previously gone largely untold. The research underscores the depth, role and influence the United States played in the earliest days of the Zionist movement.

Sarnas research was released during Massachusetts Governor Charlie Bakers economic mission to Israel with more than 50 Massachusetts CEOs and academic leaders. It was presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Brandeis University President Ron Liebowitz in a meeting with the Governor and Prime Minister in Jerusalem on Monday. Liebowitz also presented Netanyahu with a replica of the 1892 version of the flag that was hung more than a century ago at Zion Hall in Boston.

Specifically, Sarnas research found that Rabbi Jacob Baruch Askowith, a prominent member of Bostons vibrant Lithuanian Jewish community in the late 1800s, developed a design of the Israeli flag that was displayed as early as 1892 inside Zion Hall on Hanover Street in Bostons North End. Flags of the same design would later be displayed at the 2nd Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland, and then again at the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Its design is believed to have played an influential role and contributed  among other designs from elsewhere in the diaspora and within pre-independence Israel  to the design that was ultimately adopted by the State of Israel.

Every so often, vivid colors that create the rich tapestry of Israel-U.S. history and relations are illuminated  and this is one of those moments, said Sarna, the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History. To think that 57 years before the founding of the modern State of Israel, Americans in Boston were proudly parading a flag so closely reminiscent to the present day version is extraordinary, and is further indicative of the impassioned and prominent role that American Jews, even in the 1800s, had in shaping the future State of Israel.

As 50 business and academic leaders from Massachusetts join me in Israel to build upon the Commonwealths critical economic relationship with Israel  this research reminds us how just how historic and deeply personal our relationship with the State of Israel truly is, said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. I was honored to join President Liebowitz and appreciate Brandeis University sharing these findings while in Israel.

Brandeis University has deep historic bonds with the State of Israel, beginning with our namesake Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, one of the most prominent American supporters of Jewish statehood, said Ron Liebowitz, President of Brandeis University. It is altogether fitting that Professor Sarna, our universitys preeminent expert on American Jewish history, would bring these fascinating findings into the light and continue our legacy of academic scholarship in this field. I am thankful to Governor Baker for inviting us on his mission to Israel, and particularly grateful for the opportunity to share this new research with Israeli government officials during the visit."

Excerpts from Sarnas research paper American Jews and the Flag of Israel:

Seven years after his arrival in Boston, Rabbi Jacob Baruch Askowith, in 1891, designed the Bnai Zion flag. My father...had charge of decorating the hall for the public opening, his son, Charles, recalled in a memoir. Bunting and flags of all nations with Biblical mottoes under the flags were part of the decorations. There being no Jewish flag available, he proceeded to design one. It is not surprising that Rabbi Askowith took the initiative here, for he was likewise involved in the establishment of several other Jewish communal institutions, including a synagogue, a Hebrew School and a society for Talmudic learning. The Jewish Advocate described him, upon his death, as one of Bostons sanest and most widely learned men. When things needed to be done within the Jewish immigrant community, he was often called upon to do them

 The flag that Jacob Askowith created in 1891 for Bnai Zion contained three critical design elements that we associate with the flag of Israel. First, the colors blue and white. By the late 19th century, these had become Jews national colors. Blue and white are the colors of Judah, an Austrian Jewish poet named Ludwig August Frankl sang out in 1864. White is the radiance of the priesthood, and blue, the splendors of the firmament.

The explanations vary, but those two colors have remained the defining colors of the Jewish people to the present day. The second design element of the flag were the two horizontal stripes, echoing the stripes of the tallith, the Jewish prayer shawl. And the third element was a central hexagram, or Star of David (Magen David)

Rabbi Askowiths flag of Judah debuted on the streets of Boston a year after Zion Hall opened. In 1892, as part of the gala nationwide celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbuss voyage to the New World, a grand parade snaked its way through the city; some 400 Jews participated. Led by Charles and Elias Askowith, among others, the Jewish marchers set forth from Zion Hall proudly carrying the flag of Judah along- side the American flag. A headline in The Boston Globe captured the scene. Flag of Judah, it read. It Was Carried in Boston for the First Time Yesterday. The short accompanying article recounts that the flag of Judah was the first of its kind ever seen in Boston.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Six-year-old Cindy Song and her brother Gavin were all smiles as they watched their parents receive the keys for the familys new Habitat for Humanity home.

Community members gathered on Monday morning for the key ceremony at the Brandon chapters latest Percy Street project, and the two youngest residents definitely stole the show.

Were very excited. My kids said they cannot even wait for one more day. Thanks to everybody, said Yaping Yu to the crowd.

Colin Corneau/The Brandon Sun Cindy Song and her brother Gavin play with parents Jibo Song (left) and Yaping Yu at their new Habitat for Humanity home in the citys east end on Monday morning.

When Yu began the Habitat for Humanity application process, she was still pregnant with Gavin, who will soon be turning three years old. Yu and her husband Jibo Song were thrilled to finally move in.

This is more of a home, a real home, our own house, she said. We are so excited to move into a safe and good community.

Seeking a safe country with a promising future for their family, the couple took a leap of faith nearly 10 years ago when they decided to immigrate to Canada from China.

Song took a job with Maple Leaf Foods in 2007, and Yu arrived two years later.

At first, I wasnt sure if we were going to stay here, Yu said. But since I came, I like it here. Its quiet and the people are really friendly  the kids have a better future.

The home, which has three bedrooms and spans 841 square feet, was a partnership with Green Acres Hutterite Colony. The ready-to-move home has been a few years in the making.

This is absolutely wonderful, said Margaret Schonewille, general manager of Habitats Brandon chapter. You work on something for such a long time, and  the familys anxious and excited about getting in, and just seeing the look on their faces  that tells the whole story.

The Brandon chapter relaunched in 2013, under the umbrella of Habitat Manitoba. There was previously a Brandon affiliate for many years, but it was closed in 2012 after the organizations national office claimed it didnt meet operating standards.

Progress has been a little slower probably than we would have wanted to see in Brandon, and this is just the second home, but we plan to do a lot more in the next short term, said Neil Murdoch, chair of Habitats selection committee.

The local chapter held a key ceremony back in February, for the home next door to the Song family.

Jillian Austin/The Brandon Sun Neil Murdoch (right), chair of the selection committee for Habitat Brandon, hands over the key to the new homeowner Yaping Yu and her husband Jibo Song, daughter Cindy, 6, and Gavin, 2.

Its not the easiest thing necessarily for young families to get a conventional mortgage and this is where Habitat really comes in, Murdoch said. The number of people that we see in the application seminars that we hold periodically, really underscores the need, even in our local community.

The chapter is moving toward more traditional Habitat builds, which will be on-site with community volunteers rather than the ready-to-move homes. Murdoch said they plan to work with four families in early 2017, and he looks forward to hosting key ceremonies with a lot more frequency.

Habitat homes are for low-income families who are unable to secure a down payment or a traditional loan. There is an extensive interview process before an applicant is chosen. Part of the program is sweat equity, which means families volunteer their time.

The Songs will have new neighbours in the spring, when Habitats next Percy Street home is expected to be completed.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
A Supai man will spend the next five years in prison for robbery.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Arizona, a U.S. district judge Monday sentenced Taylor Nardo Paya, 20, to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He had previously pleaded guilty to robbery.

The robbery occurred in December 2015 on the Havasupai Indian Reservation. According to the plea agreement, Paya threw a woman to the ground ripped off her clothing and physically assaulted her in the front yard of a home on the Havasupai Reservation. He then stole her keys and several articles of clothing.

The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted the investigation.
PHOENIX  The U.S. Supreme Court is using an Arizona couple's product liability lawsuit to determine how far federal judges can go when punishing attorneys who hide information.

The justices have scheduled arguments for next month to hear claims by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. that lower court judges acted improperly in imposing a $2.7 million penalty against their lawyers. That is believed to be the largest ever imposed by a federal court in Arizona.

At the very least, the company wants the high court to send the case back to U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver with directions to review her ruling and reduce the amount.

But that would require a majority of the justices to conclude that both Silver and a majority of a three-judge panel in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred in their conclusion that the sanctions were appropriate given the fraudulent actions of the company and its attorneys.

The case involves a Tucson couple driving through New Mexico in 2003 in their motor home.

While on a freeway, one of the tires allegedly failed, causing the vehicle to go over an embankment and flip over, causing serious injury to driver Leroy Haeger, his wife and their daughter-in-law.

In filing suit against Goodyear, attorney David Kurtz alleged the tire was defective and repeatedly demanded all the information the company had on testing of the G159 model of tire.

After Goodyear attorneys provided all of what they said the company had, Kurtz and his clients agreed to an out-of-court settlement  the amount was not disclosed  after the first day of trial. That came in 2010, five years after the lawsuit was filed.

It was only later that Kurtz learned by reading about another lawsuit against Goodyear that the company had some results from an internal heat test it did not provide to him  results that he said backed his argument about why the tire failed. In fact, the plaintiffs in that other case got a $5.6 million verdict against the company.

So Kurtz went back to court and argued that he would not have agreed to the settlement had the information been disclosed.

That failure clearly annoyed Silver.

"There is clear and convincing evidence that sanctions are required to be imposed,'' she wrote, saying the attorneys and Goodyear made "repeated, deliberate decisions ... to delay production of relevant information, make misleading and false in-court statements, and conceal relevant documents.''

Since the underlying case had been settled, that left Silver with only the option of ordering the company and its lawyers to pay the couple the $2.7 million she said they spent in legal fees and expenses in preparing for the trial, money she said they might not have had to spend if Goodyear had disclosed the test results and the case been settled earlier.

Pierre Bergeron, the attorney hired by Goodyear to pursue the Supreme Court appeal, is arguing to the justices that there's no evidence that the case would have settled even if the company had turned over the test information. He noted that the other case  the one with the $5.6 million verdict  went to a full-blown trial even after the plaintiffs in that case had seen the evidence.

But Bergeron's main contention is that Silver erred because there was no proof that the failure to disclose the tests resulted in that entire $2.7 million in fees and costs.

Put simply, he is arguing that to the extent Goodyear and its attorneys are liable  and he's not making that concession  the judge has to show some direct link between their conduct and the claimed expenses. Instead, Bergeron said, Silver simply decided it was too difficult to figure that out and simply decided to award Kurtz and his clients all of their fees.

"The district court simply threw up its hands at the specter of calculating sanctions caused by the misconduct,'' he wrote. And that, Bergeron argued, makes Silver's order punitive in nature.

The whole issue has gotten the attention of the National Association of Manufacturers whose members could also find themselves facing similar sanctions. The group's Philip Goldberg told the justices his clients are particularly susceptible to being accused of failing to disclose everything they have when they face product liability lawsuits.

"Developing products can generate huge sums of data and make discover a complex undertaking fraught with potential mistake and gamesmanship,'' he wrote in a legal brief supporting Goodyear.

But Kurtz, in his own legal arguments to the court, said the evidence in this case shows this was not just some honest mistake. He said Silver specifically concluded the company "engaged in repeated and deliberate attempts to frustrate the resolution of this case on the merits.''

"From the very beginning ... Goodyear adopted a plan of making discovery as difficult as possible, providing only those documents they wished to provide,'' he quoted from Silver's ruling. The judge also said Goodyear and its lawyers made "false statements to the court in an attempt to hide their behavior.''
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG  Those of us who were hoping that the throne speech would have details about a strategy for Manitobas north were disappointed.

There seems to be a deliberate effort to not mention the Port of Churchill or the Hudson Bay Rail Line in any mention of the north.

The absence is odd given the necessity of both for the regional economy and in the case of Churchills deep-water port, Arctic sovereignty.

The Town of Churchill and all the communities on the Hudson Bay Line north from Opaskwayak Cree Nation and The Pas formed a coalition called The Northern Delegation. It is dealing with the fallout from the port closure and uncertainty around Omnitrax Canadas running of the rail line.

We have no indication if the province plans to help the delegation or whether any support would be of the kind the region needs. There is a role for provincial and federal governments to play in regional development, but they need to move away from throwing public money at private corporations that do not have a meaningful commitment to the norths people and land.

We need to consider the northern economy in the context of its predominately indigenous population which is diverse, young and growing faster than the non-indigenous population. Besides the large number of First Nations in the north, the urban indigenous population is also growing. Thompsons population is 36 per cent indigenous; The Pas and Churchills populations are roughly half indigenous.

Historically, whether it be through hydro, mining or logging, First Nations rarely benefited from such development and were not even consulted when many megaprojects were planned and implemented  even though the projects destroyed traditional lands and lives. Prior to 1962, Thompsons INCO (now Vale) explicitly forbade the hiring of indigenous workers. But things are slowly changing.

The partnership between Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) and Manitoba Hydro during construction of the Wuskwatim Dam was an important first in Canada. NCN has been able to benefit from development agreements with Manitoba Hydro and flood compensation funds from the Northern Flood Agreement. It has invested in community-based economic initiatives, some located in the newly formed Urban Reserve in nearby Thompson.

NCN Development Corporation also owns a variety of businesses in NCN ranging from a building supplies store, food store, gas station, restaurant and even a radio and TV station.

NCN has used resources inherited from Manitoba Hydros Wuskwatim Dam project to run the Ataoskiwin Training and Employment Centre (ATEC) Inc. Housed in a new and state-of-the-art building, ATEC provides specialized training to NCN residents, many of whom have dropped out of school and/or have never held a job.

The ATEC model has many features that are important for indigenous job seekers and the employers who wish to hire them. It includes an extensive intake process to determine trainees education and employment interests, education levels and upgrading needs, as well as other social and cultural needs.

One of its many successful programs trains NCN youth to build much-needed housing and puts them to work so they can earn their Red Seal accreditation.

This sort of training and development could be expanded. Many First Nations need new homes, so a construction initiative  including provision of construction materials  could be turned into a regional development plan with wide-reaching benefits. Over time such development could even feed into the Port of Churchill and keep the train running more often as it moves people and goods between the communities along the track.

There is no shortage of similar ideas in Manitobas north. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO) has a 10-point plan for northern economic development that both the federal and provincial governments should consider.

The plan is community driven and turns challenges, such as the high diabetes rate and lack of affordable, healthy food into job-creation projects that will make First Nation communities more self-sufficient.

Such initiatives, many spearheaded by Aki Energy (an indigenous-owned and -run social enterprise), have already taken shape in other First Nations.

MKOs economic plan also embraces alternative green energy. If the government were to modernize Manitoba Hydro to include biomass (woodchips) to heat new homes, and convert existing homes, it would open up opportunities. And where better to source this renewable fuel than in and around The Pas? European demand for biomass is commanding premium prices so product could also be shipped by rail through the Port of Churchill. Could government help with a plan to see an indigenous enterprise provide woodchips to replace imported oil? This plan would create jobs, be eligible for emission credits and possibly be cost-competitive. A viable model to subsidize conversion to more affordable geo-thermal, while training and employing local workers, already exists with Manitoba Hydro and Fisher River Cree Nation.

Before the throne speech, the provinces only response to the northern crisis was a $25,000 grant for tourism development and a pension-plan payment exemption for a foreign company to take over the Tolko mill. Yet the Aki Energy and NCN experiences shows that long-term investment in community-led initiatives and partnerships with government entities like Manitoba Hydro can build local capacity and healthier communities. The Keeyask project under construction with four adjacent First Nations offers such an opportunity, one that must not be squandered.

Hopefully theres more going on behind the scenes than the vague ideas in the throne speech, and the Northern Delegation and northern communities get the kind of support they need.

 Lynne Fernandez holds the Errol Black Chair in Labour Issues at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives MB.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/12/2016 (2151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Making jokes about taboo subjects has a long history, and political satirists from Jonathan Swift to todays editorial cartoonists have used humour for centuries to lay bare inequality, hypocrisy and abuse of power. But satire punches up, not down.

Making a blanket statement about a group of people and then brushing it off as a joke is not satire. Its bullying, and the consequences can be long-lasting.

Recently this came up in the form of a supposedly satirical book poking fun at the wholesome childrens books of days gone by. It included mock-ups of retro book covers with such fictitious titles as The Anti-Vaccine Kid and the Gift of a Navajo Blanket Riddled with Smallpox, Rockets and Missiles of the Islamic State and Happy Burkaday, Timmy! The last title included an image of a burka-clad girl presenting a ticking package to a little boy.

Critics, particularly the literary review site Book Riot, pointed out the embedded racism and Islamophobia on which the humour depended. The publisher, Abrams Books, initially defended the book as intentionally offensive but ultimately decided to withdraw it from publication.

Thats the thing about humour. It can either alienate or assimilate, as former English professor-turned-lawyer Jason P. Steed points out. Take, for instance, a joke Donald Trump made while on the campaign trail. If Hillary Clinton was elected, Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment, Trump said to his supporters. If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. But Ill tell you what, that will be a horrible day. Of course, the Second Amendment deals with the right to bear arms.

Paul Ryan, the Republican House Speaker, quickly stepped in to suggest that it sounded like a joke gone bad. Was Mr. Trump calling for a violent solution? Well, humour is often used as an excuse to avoid responsibility.

Mr. Trump also made the statement among those who would be comfortable with his assertions. This is how humour works. It can bond those within a group; a shared experience members of a community can laugh about. In a sense, most humour is an inside joke.

Mr. Steed argues humour is how we construct identity, so no one is ever just joking. Thats a defence of the remark made to people in the alienated group. The people who were on board with the remark dont need to hear that defence, so it gets made only when outsiders object.

There are very few people who are genuinely humourless. But there are plenty, it seems, willing to look the other way when a sexist, or racist, or homophobic or ableist remark is made in jest or perhaps even to defend it with an attack on anyone who doesnt find it funny.

Its not a debate about humour; its taking a stand on which group you support.

 Winnipeg Free Press
This editorial appeared in the Seattle Times

Donald Trump must choose: Be president, or be chairman of his company. He cant do both without creating severe conflicts of interest, at the very least. At worst, Trumps private holdings could undermine critical foreign policy and blatantly violate the Constitution.

Like so much with Trump, his position on this conflict is a muddle. He has dismissed longstanding ethics norms that would require him, like George W. Bush and other presidents, to put assets into a blind trust. His stubborn refusal to release his tax returns, as he has promised, further muddies the water.

He renegotiated that position with himself, and set a news conference for next week to disclose how he plans to leave his business in total. Turning the Trump empire over to his kids is not satisfactory since theyve help set up his administration and are among those in his most-trusted-adviser circle.

He appears to believe the potential conflicts stop if he steps aside as CEO. Not so. Even without direct control of his empire, Trump knows where his asset are. If those assets increase in value because of a trade deal he strikes, or a warship he deploys or regulation he eliminates, Trump arguably is violating a clause in the Constitution which prohibits a president from personal gain from his public acts.

You dont need to look hard to see potential conflicts or why they will corrode Trumps ability to lead. In taking a protocol-breaching call from the Taiwanese president, Trump spotlights his business interest in a hotel project on the island. Was taking that telephone call in the best interests of the U.S., or his businesses?

As president-elect, he reportedly has already blended personal business with state business. In a congratulatory call from the Argentine president, Trump was reported to have brought up permits for a long-delayed project in Buenos Aires.

A few days later, the project was back on track. That is toxic for trust, and thus far, Trump has done nothing but confirm fears that he doesnt care.

Doing the right thing would require Trump to put his assets in a blind trust controlled by an independent manager.

If Trump fails to do the right thing on his own, Congress must pressure him to do so. Disentangling his iconic business brand from the White House will be a difficult task. But Trump chose to run for president and must put the countrys interests first.

Afghanistan may fall again to the Taliban

The following editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday, Dec. 9:

The security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly, along with Americas position there. The question now is whether the administration of President-elect Donald Trump will decide to pursue the war or will withdraw U.S. support for the government of President Ashraf Ghani, letting it fall to  or make a deal with  the Taliban and other Islamic forces.

The United States has been at war in Afghanistan since 2001, after the 9/?11 attacks. The cost is estimated at $500 billion. There are still 10,000 U.S. troops there. Now, Ghanis government in Kabul is staggering and controls only an estimated 60 percent of the countrys area. The Taliban, the Ghani governments most prominent enemy, are carrying out an offensive across the country that could easily lead to the fall of Kabul, the capital.

Another unhelpful element is that rich Saudis, Qataris and sheikhs from the United Arab Emirates are providing financial support not only to the Taliban but also to al-Qaida and Islamic State forces fighting on the side of the Taliban. The Sunnis of these states see Afghanistan as an important battleground in their regional struggle with Shiite Iran. Afghanistan has a nearly 600-mile-long border with Iran. The Sunnis also have established some 4,000 radical Islamist schools in Afghanistan in recent years.

The Sunni states, while backing the Taliban, the Islamic State and al-Qaida, have maintained openly normal relations with the Ghani government, also Sunni, in effect working both sides of the street.

The United States, caught in the middle again in the Sunni-Shiite, Saudi Arabia-Iran struggle, as it is in the Yemen war, supports the Ghani government against the Taliban, the Islamic State and al-Qaida, which are supported by ostensible U.S. allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. It may be that the Trump administration will understand what is going on and take steps to extricate America from this truly absurd situation without further damage.

Italy vote shows populists arent buying elites warnings

The following editorial appeared in The Orange County Register on Tuesday, Dec. 6:

The worlds populists arent finished yet. Although the cocktail of discontent is different in every country, the pattern of political earthquakes across the western world has continued in Italy.

There, voters rejected Prime Minister Matteo Renzis proposed constitutional reform and triggered his resignation.

The lesson? Money matters  but not as much as the Wests elites might think.

A clue to the problem is found in how closely Renzis departure resembled British Prime Minister David Camerons. Both leaders tied their leadership to popular votes. Both expected they could count on their citizens to keep them in office with a clear mandate. But Britain voted out of the EU, Italy voted for more uncertainty, and elites wonder whats next.

On the surface, the answer is clear: more rejection of centralized, bureaucratic government, and more of a call for accountable, accessible and localized government structure.

Of course, from an elite standpoint, voters dont have the luxury of making these kinds of choices. Italys democracy has long been chaotic: 41 prime ministers have held office since the end of World War II. In the last bout of instability to hit the country, during its post-2008 borrowing crisis, only the installation of former EU commissioner Mario Monti, along with a cabinet of technocrats, saved Italy from the economic abyss. But, remarkably, Monti himself  still unpopular from his tight clampdown on profligate government  came out against the Renzi reforms.

While fiscal hawks in the United State are largely anti-bureaucratic, in Europe its a different story. Leading technocrats are struggling to keep the economy afloat along with their bureaucracy. Montis step away from alarmism suggested an awareness that many European voters are finished putting economic prognostications first.

Its more than a matter of simple frustration or distrust  although both those attitudes continue to power populist insurgencies on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, a powerful and growing bloc of voters refuses to let economic policymaking trump political decisionmaking at every turn, even if that means more risk or even pain up front. Theyve seen elites warn, for instance, that Brexit would crash the world economy, and theyve seen similar claims go up in smoke. Analysts and markets even wrongly determined that Donald Trump would certainly not be elected president.

With the elite risk analysis so badly off, why not take a chance on a messy transition to something better? Sure, the line of reasoning runs, it might be costly  but the status quos own intolerable costs are baked into the future as todays elites would have it.

The force of that logic, and the suddenness with which it has played out on the global stage this year, make it easy to draw too close a comparison between American and European populists. Some of the differences matter more than some of the similarities. But the Wests global economic elites are in for more rough sledding if they fail to accept that voters have turn ed against rule by precautionary accounting.

In Gambia, a big man president moves on

The following editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday, Dec. 8:

The recent elections in Gambia, one of Africas smallest countries  resulting in the defeat of one of the continents most blatant big men and potential presidents-for-life  should teach other presidents and peoples a sharp lesson.

Yahya Jammeh, who came to power in a military coup detat and was in power for 22 years, was fully expected by Gambians and everyone else to stay in power through victory in the elections or otherwise. However, he lost to Adama Barrow, a relatively unprepossessing businessman, by a clear margin. To Jammehs credit, he accepted his surprise defeat and conceded graciously.

Gambia consists of a sliver of land, basically both banks of the Gambia River, formerly a British colony, bordered on both sides by Senegal, an ex-French colony. Its population is between 1 million and 2 million. It has few resources, apart from its port and capital, Banjul, and the river. Fans of Roots, the book by Alex Haley that became a widely watched TV series, will recall that the central figure, Kunta Kinte, was said to be from Gambia.

In recent years, Gambias reputation has been increasingly damaged by the behavior of Jammeh, particularly in the area of human rights. He has locked up journalists, academics and political opponents at will and has taken Gambia in sometimes bizarre directions. Some of that will now presumably change under Barrow.

Apart from the importance of the change to Gambians themselves, other big men around the world, in Eurasia, Latin America and Central Asia as well as in Africa should take close notice of what occurred in Gambia. Voters were allowed to vote relatively freely, a long-sitting president lost, a different kind of president won and the potential president-for-life stepped down reasonably when he lost at the ballot box.

Those among African presidents who should learn the lesson start with Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, 92, and in power since 1980 and the presidents of, among others, Cameroon, Eritrea, Djibouti, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Swaziland and Sudan. The length of the list indicates how widespread the practice is, and just how extraordinary Gambias departure from the practice is.
Facebook have launched a new portal aimed at improving online safety for children.

The Parent's Portal features new resources for parents to help foster conversations among parents and their children.

The hub is the latest safety measure introduced by the company which also updated their Facebook Safety Centre that was launched in November.

The Safety Centre informs people of the privacy tools Facebook offers as well as providing guidance and resources for safe and secure sharing.

The Parent's Portal is there to educate parents on how Facebook works including tips for talking with children about staying safe online as well as access to resources from experts around the world.

Simon Grehan from Webwise the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre which is co-funded by the Department of Education and Skills and the EU Safer Internet Programme said, In every aspect of development, from learning to cross the road, ride a bike or swim, parents teach, guide and support their children. It should be no different when it comes to their online lives. The new Parents Portal from Facebook is a valuable resource for parents to assist them in ensuring their children have a safe, positive online experience.
Usually it's the proud parents showing off photos of their kids graduating from college, but for Charles Cole III it was the other way round.

Charles' parents, Renate and Charles Cole, were both crack addicts when they were younger, but whenever they saw their son become a college graduate they were inspired to give up the drugs and go back to school.
Aid agency GOAL has welcomed the release of almost 4m in funding by Irish Aid.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan earlier announced the release of 3.92m in funding for the long term development work of the agency.
Ibrahim Halawa has had his trial delayed for a 17th time on his 21st birthday.

Ibrahim Halawa appeared in court today to be told that there has been yet another adjournment in his mass trial.
A man has been arrested in connection with an alleged murder in Dublin last summer.

David Douglas was shot dead on Bridgefoot Street in the city on July 1.
The Government's rental plan has been criticised in the Dail for lacking measures around real rent certainty, writes Elaine Loughlin.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin has claimed that everyone apart from the Government and Fianna Fail now agrees that rent control is needed.

"This view is shared by Threshold, Focus Ireland, the Simon Community, the Peter McVerry Trust and the National Economic and Social Council," Mr Holwin said.

"As the Taoiseach knows, rent regulation is the norm in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden," he told the Dail.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said the plan "lacks ambition" and the most glaring omission was the absence of a system of rent certainty linking annual rent reviews to the consumer price index, as proposed by the Dail Committee on Housing and Homelessness.

Mr Adams told the Dail: "What has been produced is an ad hoc package by an ad hoc Government supported by an ad hoc Fianna Fail Party that plucks the arbitrary figure of 4% out of nowhere to be applied to rent increases annually in Dublin and Cork."

Speaking during Leader's Questions, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the housing and rental crisis is and "complex" issue that is "not easy to resolve".

"The fundamental flaw in the situation that has arisen regarding the construction sector has been the lack of supply of housing."

Mr Kenny added that the caps placed on rents in Dublin and Cork are "not a blanket intervention in the market for an indefinite period" but said they were focused on targeted areas which have been deemed "rent pressure zones".
Irish band Picture This have teamed up with TV3 to launch their Christmas appeal in aid of Temple Street Childrens Hospital.

The duo feature in a special music video, along with some other Irish celebrities, kids, doctors and nurses from the Childrens Hospital, singing to their hit Take My Hand.
The failure of the United States and its Western allies to offer vital aid amid the break-up of the Soviet Union 25 years ago was short-sighted gloating at the Cold War rival's demise and wasted the chance to build a safer world, the bloc's former supremo Mikhail Gorbachev has said.

But Mr Gorbachev, 85, the Soviet Union's last leader, voiced hope that Russia and the United States would do better and ease current tensions during Donald Trump's presidency.

"The relations between us are so important and concern everyone else, so we must take the interests of others into account," said the man credited with helping to end the Cold War.

Mr Gorbachev said he had expected Hillary Clinton to win the US presidential race and was surprised by Mr Trump's victory. He declined to offer an assessment of Mr Trump, saying it remained to be seen what policies the new US administration would pursue.

"He has little political experience, but, maybe, it's good," he said, during the rare, hour-long interview with The Associated Press at his foundation's office in Moscow.

Mr Gorbachev, who helped end the Cold War by launching sweeping liberal reforms, cutting nuclear stockpiles and allowing Soviet bloc nations in central and eastern Europe to break free from Moscow's diktat, spoke bitterly about the West's failure to embrace a new era of friendly co-operation he said his policy of "perestroika" offered.

"They were rubbing their hands, saying, 'How nice! We had been trying to do something about the Soviet Union for decades, and it ate itself up!'," he said.

He attacked what he described as Western "triumphalism" saying it remains a key factor in tensions between Russia and the West.

Ties between them are worse than they have been at any time since the Cold War following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March 2014 and its support for a pro-Russian separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

The US and the European Union responded with several rounds of economic sanctions, which, along with low oil prices, have driven Russia's economy into recession.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has accused the US of trying to isolate and weaken the nation, pointing to the deployment of Nato forces near Russia's borders as a sign of hostile intentions and the war in Syria, where Russia has waged an air campaign in support of President Bashar Assad, has added to the tensions.

Mr Gorbachev said Russian and US leaders must sit down for talks and "stay at the table until they reach agreement".

"The world needs Russia and the United States to co-operate," he said. "Together, they could lead the world ... to a new path."

He defended Russia's action to annex Crimea, pointing out that Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev arbitrarily transferred Crimea from Russian to Ukrainian administrative control in 1954, a decision that mattered little until the Soviet collapse.

He also noted that the annexation followed a popular vote in which the residents of the Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly backed joining Russia.

"When people say yes, a decision must be made," he said.

Mr Gorbachev also praised outgoing US president Barack Obama, but deplored what he described as a misguided policy towards Russia pursued by the US and its allies, both during his presidency and now.

"They have been badgering Russia with accusations and blaming it for everything," he said. "And now, there is a backlash to that in Russia. Russia wants to have friendly ties with America, but it's difficult to do that when Russia sees that it's being cheated."

Mr Gorbachev pointed to the productive relationship he built with Ronald Reagan during the 1980s and the arms control agreements they reached despite sharp ideological differences.

"We accomplished a lot," he said. "We could talk openly, in a real partner-like way. It's necessary to take that approach again."

Asked his opinion of Mr Putin's leadership, Mr Gorbachev said he saw him as a "worthy president", even though he has criticised some of his policies.

In the past, Mr Gorbachev assailed the Kremlin for a crackdown on freedom of speech and rigid political controls. He also was critical of Mr Putin's return to the presidency in 2012 after term limits forced him to switch to the premier's seat for four years.

"I almost fully supported him first, and then I began to voice criticism," Mr Gorbachev said of Mr Putin. "I can't renounce my views."

He added, however, that he approved of Mr Putin's recent state-of-the-nation address. The speech sent a conciliatory message to the West, and some observers also saw signs that the Kremlin may ease some of its rigid domestic policies.

"It was different from his previous speeches," Mr Gorbachev said. "The speech showed that he's strongly worried."

He recalled the waning days of the Soviet Union, when his arch-foe, Russian Federation president Boris Yeltsin, and leaders of other Soviet republics plotted his removal while pretending to support his efforts to negotiate a treaty that would give the republics broader powers.

"Yeltsin took part in that and supported it, but he was conspiring behind my back how to get rid of Gorbachev," he said, claiming that a hunger for power motivated the Russian leader. "Russia was spearheading the Soviet break-up."

Asked if he considered using force to prevent the Soviet break-up, Mr Gorbachev said launching a violent domestic conflict in a nuclear superpower was never an option for him.

"The country was loaded to the brim with weapons," he said. "And it would immediately have pushed the country into a civil war."

- AP
A judge in Sicily has convicted a ship captain and crew member in the April 2015 sinking that left 700 people dead in one of the Mediterranean's worst migrant disasters.

The Tunisian captain, Mohammad Ali Malek, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined nine million euro (7.5 million).
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is prepared to meet President-elect Donald Trump at any time.

When asked by journalists about the possibility of arranging a meeting with President-elect Trump, President Putin said: "We are ready at any moment. There are no problems from our side," according to an interview transcript released by the Kremlin on Tuesday.
PHOENIX  Calling the measure unconstitutionally punitive, attorneys for Tucson on Monday asked a judge to void the law that allows Attorney General Mark Brnovich to order the community's revenue sharing withheld if it does not bend to the state's will.

Lead attorney Rick Rollman said the legislation, approved earlier this year, amounts to illegal coercion of local officials to abandon measures they adopted in what they believe is the best interests of their residents.

More to the point, Rollman said that violates provisions in the Arizona Constitution, which gives charter cities like Tucson and 17 other communities the right to set their own policies and establish their own laws on matters of strictly local concern.

"In doing so, the Arizona Constitution intended to allow the charter city residents to elect officials to govern the city free from punitive threats from the legislature and state officials,'' Rollman wrote in his pleadings to Pima County Superior Court Judge Catherine Woods. He said that right to govern includes the ability to decide that handguns and assault rifles that are seized or found should be destroyed.

And Rollman said if the law is not voided it means elected officials are "coerced into not supporting an action they believe to be lawful and in the city's best interests'' simply because the attorney general disagrees with that conclusion.

The city also is filing similar proceedings with the Arizona Supreme Court in a bid to block the lawsuit Brnovich filed last week seeking to deprive Tucson of its approximately $115 million a year in state revenue sharing dollars.

Aside from seeking to void or limit the scope of the new state law, the lawsuit asks the court to specifically rule that how Tucson disposes of personal property, including guns, "is a matter of local concern and as a result, is a lawful exercise of the city's charter authority and not a violation of state law.'' And Rollman wants the court to order state Treasurer Jeff DeWit to make the city's regular revenue sharing payments without any withholding.

The fight surrounds a 2013 law which bars law enforcement agencies from destroying operable seized firearms. The statute spells out they must instead be sold.

Despite that, the city continued to follow its 2005 ordinance, which says the police department "shall dispose of such firearm by destroying the firearm.''

So earlier this year Senate President Andy Biggs pushed through a law that allows any legislator to ask the attorney general to investigate whether a city is violating any state law. And if the attorney general agrees, he or she is empowered to direct the treasurer to withhold state funds until the city comes into compliance.

Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, complained to Brnovich about the city's gun-destruction regulations. And when Brnovich concluded the ordinance probably violates state law he asked the Supreme Court to step in and hear arguments -- after the city puts up the bond.

Rollman, in his superior court lawsuit, said immediate action is necessary to stop Brnovich in his tracks, saying city residents and businesses "will suffer irreparable harm'' unless the judge immediately stops further efforts to strip the city of its revenue sharing dollars.

He said stripping the funds will result in longer response times for police and fire "and the associated increased risk to the health and safety of the city's residents, including the risk of increased crime and property damages.'' What also will happen, Rollman is telling the court, is transit services will be cut, including for the disabled, parks and pools will be closed and there will be "dramatic reductions in criminal prosecutions.''

Rollman most immediately wants a court to set aside the requirement that Tucson post a bond of half of its revenue sharing funds as a condition of even being able to fight Brnovich's attempt to withhold all of it.

Put simply, Rollman said, the city's current fund balance is only about $51 million, less than the law requires Tucson to put up to fight what Brnovich is trying to do.

"The bond is an unconstitutional filing fee, serving as a barrier to the city's access to judicial relief and is intended to prevent the city from presenting its positions and arguments in a special action brought by the attorney general,'' Rollman said.

Brnovich is arguing that the question of what happens to seized and found weapons is more than a local concern.

In his own legal briefs, he said allowing cities to destroy weapons is contrary to the public interest because it decreases the supply of guns and makes them more expensive. He also said allowing guns to be destroyed runs contrary to the legislature's belief "that increasing the supply of legal firearms is in the interest of public safety'' because it helps fight crime.

The Supreme Court will decide whether the justices will even look at Brnovich's complaint on Jan. 10.
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The Greens' Caroline Le Couteur has once again hit out at developer-driven planning decisions, saying the community is rightly concerned about exactly who is "calling the shots".

Ms Le Couteur was made chair of the ACT parliament's planning committee on Tuesday, in line with the Greens power-sharing agreement with Labor.

The Greens' Caroline Le Couteur, will chair the ACT parliament's planning committee, and is determined to ensure planning is not all about developers. Credit:Jay Cronan

"Over the last few months the community has spoken up loudly and clearly that they are concerned about the future of our city, and are concerned about exactly who is calling the shots," she said, promising a review of planning rules to "make sure decisions are being made with, not for, the community".

"Right now it would be easy to think that planning decisions are being made for the developers, not for the community. With too many of our green spaces being taken over by concrete, and developers getting away with poor quality, poorly insulated multi-unit buildings, it is no wonder Canberrans are questioning who these decisions are meant to be serving."
The ACT Opposition has told Labor it is out of touch with punters at the racetrack as it called on the government to back away from plans to defund the greyhound racing industry. Racing and gaming spokesman Mark Parton will table a motion on Wednesday asking the government to explain what consultation it had with the ACT greyhound racing industry before pulling the pin on the sport's funding in Canberra. Shadow minister for racing and gaming Mark Parton will call on the ACT government to explain what consultation they had with the greyhound racing industry before announcing the future ban. Credit:Jay Cronan In his inaugural speech to parliament on Tuesday, Mr Parton took aim at Labor and the Greens after Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the industry had no future in the ACT earlier in the year. This was despite NSW premier Mike Baird backing away from a state-wide ban on the sport in October.

"The greyhound racing industry has been absolutely and fully compliant with all animal welfare requirements for their 37-year history and I think they have every right to question the dismissal of their sport in this city," Mr Parton said. "They don't understand and neither do I the basis upon which they are being banished by this Labor government. I'm sure that those from the other side ever bothered to join me at the greyhounds one Sunday night would be staggered by how many former Labor voters they encounter." Mr Parton, who used to be racecaller and owns shares in two racehorses, said the government had provided no evidence of any breaches of the law or of any cruelty within the sport locally. Greens politician Caroline Le Couteur condemned Mr Parton's motion and would continue to push for an end to greyhound racing in the territory. "It is outrageous that the Canberra Liberals think that an industry that kills up to 17,000 healthy dogs nationwide a year has a place in our community," Ms Le Couteur said.
A man who was charged after police released security footage of a woman being grabbed and shoved into a car on a Red Hill street has pleaded guilty to assault and unlawful confinement.

Adam Peter Coogan, 30, was arrested days after ACT Policing asked for the public's help to track down an offender and victim after they published online CCTV footage of the attempted abduction on Esperance Street about 6.45 on October 10.

The man was charged after attempting to force a woman in to a car in Red Hill.

The footage showed Coogan drive up beside two women on the street before he got out of the car, took hold of one of the women and forced her into the back seat of the car as she struggled.

He eventually closed the door and tried to hold it shut several times as the woman tried to get out.
Killer Danny Klobucar has pleaded guilty to possessing nunchucks found stashed in his car when police arrested him over the bashing death of Canberra grandfather Miodrag Gajic in 2014.

An ACT Supreme Court jury found Klobucar, 27, not guilty due to mental impairment of murdering Gajic, 71, at his Phillip unit on New Year's Day.

Danny Klobucar, right, was found not guilty due to mental impairment of murdering Miodrag Gajic in 2014, leaves the ACT Supreme Court with a supporter in May. Credit:Jamila Toderas

That verdict meant Klobucar would be held in a secure facility for an amount of time decided by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and reviewed monthly until he was no longer deemed a threat to himself or the community.

Klobucar's case has been back in court in recent months after Justice Hilary Penfold found he was technically still on remand for four other serious charges, including an assault, that were unrelated to the killing.
If ever there was proof that modern-day politicians are more followers than leaders, Malcolm Turnbull must be it. Last week, under pressure from the Coalition's climate change-denying rump, he dropped the ball on global warming.

He inherited from Tony Abbott a commitment under the Paris agreement to reduce our carbon emissions by 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, plus a plan for a review in 2017 to determine what policies were needed to achieve that target.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:Andrew Meares

Everyone's agreed that the government's existing direct action approach, taking money from the budget to pay farmers and others to cut their carbon emissions, is quite inadequate to achieve the new target.

The authorities responsible for advising the government on energy and climate change  the Climate Change Authority, the Chief Scientist, the Australian Energy Market Commission  have each decided the best approach would be to introduce an "emissions intensity scheme" on the electricity generation industry.
Robert Vaughn, who died aged 83, was a versatile American actor who for half a century specialised in debonair and often sinister characters. He was the last surviving gunslinger from The Magnificent Seven, became a global teenage heart-throb as Napoleon Solo, played a string of villains and in his 70s enjoyed a revival as Albert Stroller in the BBC drama series Hustle.

A committed Democrat who opposed the Vietnam and Iraq wars and turned down the chance to run against Ronald Reagan for governor of California, Vaughn was the first to admit not all his 27 films and numerous television series were classics.

Dismissing most as "salary movies", he added: "If 90 per cent have been bad, that doesn't matter. There are still half a dozen to write home about." And there were: The Young Philadelphians (1959) which brought him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, The Magnificent Seven (1960), Bullitt (1968), The Bridge at Remagen (1969), The Towering Inferno (1974) and Superman III (1983).

Vaughn's portrayal in the tongue-in-cheek television spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. of Solo, a gun-toting "smiling tux" in partnership with David McCallum as Ilya Kuryakin, made him a superstar. When the Beatles asked to meet the pair in 1965, all were trapped in Hollywood's Capitol Records building by thousands of screaming girls, being smuggled out in an armoured truck.

After U.N.C.L.E., Vaughn carved out a niche playing villains. In Bullitt he was the conniving Senator Walter Chalmers, and reprised the role as Senator Gary Parker in The Towering Inferno.

In Superman III, he played Ross Webster, the company CEO who tries to kill the superhero. But his defining role was the sinister White House aide Frank Flaherty in the miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977), for which he won an Emmy.
When it comes to climate science, President-elect Donald Trump has been a purveyor of conspiracy theories for years. He's called human-caused climate change a Chinese hoax and refused to acknowledge the existence of the California drought, promising farmers there that, as president, he would "open up the water". He's vowed to eliminate the EPA and the Energy Department and "cancel" the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Since the election, Trump has been relentlessly converting those anti-science messages into action, wrongly believing that doubling down on fossil fuel production will help boost long-term economic growth. (That Trump's pick for secretary of state - ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson - is among the least extreme of his appointments is chilling.)

According to a Sierra Club report, when he assumes the presidency on January 20, Trump will be the only head of state in the world to deny mainstream climate science - and yes, that includes even Kim Jong-un of North Korea.

In recent weeks, by surrounding himself with outspoken allies of the fossil fuel industry, promising cuts to NASA's earth science research and sending a threatening questionnaire to Energy Department staff, there is no remaining doubt that Trump is serious about overtly declaring war on science. This isn't a presidential transition. It's an Inquisition. It's a 21st-century book burning.
Forget Brexit, there is a bigger issue plaguing British politics right now  Theresa May's leather pants.

The British Prime Minister has been roasted like chestnuts on an open fire for wearing a pair of "bitter chocolate" leather pants by UK designer Amanda Wakeley in a recent profile for London's The Sunday Times.

She teamed the trousers, that retail for close to $1700, with a pair of $236 Burberry sneakers  another proud British fashion house.

Instead of praising her for ditching her signature leopard print kitten heels, something she was advised to stop wearing earlier this year, what followed was a controversy of Downton Abbey "upstairs, downstairs" proportions.
"My mother and I still have a very complicated relationship, where on the one hand she is contrite about her lack of insight and her ignoring of the warning signs but also very angry at me if I 'besmirch' my father by talking about it. "I find Christmas wearing and false when I'm with my family." I can hear Kylie Agllias, a world-leading social work researcher and educator on estrangement, sympathising with this story on the other end of the phone. She says it's not uncommon for people to forgive the abuser but remain in cold bleak fury with the person who didn't protect them from the abuse. She's been researching this area for a decade and is in Australia briefly, from South Africa, to talk about her new book Family estrangement: A matter of perspective. She says we need to stop pretending estrangement is somehow unusual. There is, she says, estrangement in nearly every family, even in hers. There is no set reason but some familiar factors: the families are stressed, the child feels no warmth and has no sense of being valued; the children are abandoned, betrayed. The parents, maybe one, sometimes two, are abusers.

Estrangement is much more common than we recognise, she says. "People generally estrange because they believe that they have no alternative if they are to live a happy and healthy life." Paul, now in his late 40s, decided to stop talking to his father altogether. The odd text is all that remains of a relationship which was violent, cold and chaotic. "I've gone years and years without speaking to him." His parents divorced but Paul says living with a man who broke everything before him in a rage  hearts, possessions, the future  forged a real consideration of what a good life should look like.

"I've spent a lot of my life trying not to be like him or trying to ensure I never become like him," says Paul. "And I've never told anyone this before but that's part of the reason we don't have children. "I wanted to be a different sort of person." His siblings, much younger, more protected from the storms, keep in touch with his father. Has his father changed? "No. He is still a miserable bastard."

Those of you who are born fixers, stop looking for happy endings. I know I've told friends to reconcile  because that's what would make me happy if, heaven forbid, my children should ever become estranged. But reconciliation should only happen if it's actually useful for everyone in the relationship, when everyone understands and accepts what happened in the past. You can't reconcile when the relationship is still bad, when there is abuse and a power imbalance in the relationship, says Agllias. So those of you who are perpetually advocating 'making-up', just back off. "While reconciliation is desirable and possible for some people, this is not a desirable, healthy or possible state for everyone ... estrangement is a highly stigmatised state that needs further open discussion so people don't feel ashamed to discuss what is essentially a traumatic loss for many." My heart is torn by the lovely young woman, let's call her Miranda, who was married three years ago. Her parents divorced some time ago, time enough for her mother to marry twice more. But that was not long enough for her father to forgive her mother. Instead, a week before the wedding, Miranda's father's partner wrote Miranda an email saying neither would be attending. Apparently the fact that Miranda invited her mother was all too much for her father to bear. "It is easy to say I don't care but I do because he's my dad. You want your dad there on your wedding day. It is one of the most painful things I have ever been through."
Ohio is the state I flew to three years ago when I needed an abortion. It was a traumatic experience for me, not something I ever thought I would do. But the circumstances were unusual and years later I am still certain of my decision. It was right for my family. I was and am grateful for what I should have been entitled to anywhere in America: access to medical services.

Today, women across America are fighting to hold on to those rights in the face of a soon-to-be Republican administration that is angling to overturn them. And Ohio is the battlefront.

Linda Tirado had to travel to Ohio to have an abortion. Credit:Scott Suchman

It is a time-honoured American tradition for people who have never read medical journals or basic biology texts to pass laws about how women should take care of themselves. Now the state that once protected me is trying to claim the title of "least informed and most dangerous", with the passage last week of the Fetal Heartbeat Bill.
Never mind the nail files and scissors inadvertently left in your carry-on bag  police have this year seized more than 2000 weapons at Australian airports.

The Australian Federal Police  who patrol airports  on Tuesday released photographs of some of the 2355 seized weapons found in bags and on people at the country's nine major airports for the year. The tally is up on last year when 2260 weapons were found. Almost 600 of this year's haul were discovered at Tullamarine airport in Melbourne.

The weapons found this year included this BB air sport handgun.
About 200 jobs will be axed at State Transit  most of them from support roles  as the government-run operator slashes costs to allow it to hold onto large Sydney bus contracts.

In a blow to staff just two weeks before Christmas, State Transit has told its heavily unionised workforce there will be cuts to back-office support roles and a major overhaul of managerial and salaried jobs.

Some 40 per cent of the 500-strong workforce that falls under the umbrella of "State Transit Executive" will be axed by late next year.

The threat of the Baird government putting State Transit's lucrative Sydney bus contracts into the hands of private operators has been hanging over staff for months.
A NSW government backbencher has been forced into a humiliating backdown after calling for the NSW Health Minister to be sacked.

Liberal MP John Sidoti was quoted on the front page of the Inner West Courier saying "I want her gone" after Jillian Skinner failed to deliver on a long-promised upgrade of his local hospital.

Concord Hospital has not been renovated since the 1940s, and is now so outdated and rundown that infectious patients are forced to share rooms with other patients, possums are infiltrating the roof and doctors have pleaded with the minister to build new wards, describing the current ones as "beyond repair".

But Mr Sidoti skedaddled backwards from his comments on Tuesday morning, saying he regretted having called for Mrs Skinner's job.
All trains were halted on Sydney's City Circle due to urgent equipment repairs on Tuesday, as the temperature in the city soared to 37 degrees.

An air compressor is understood to have failed at Central Railway Station about 12.40pm, affecting signalling equipment.

Passengers wait at Town Hall station, after an equipment failure stopped trains on the City Circle. Credit:Chris Pearce

Trains were held at platforms, and Sydney Trains advised passengers to "delay their journey and avoid CBD stations" if possible.

Sydney Trains said services resumed about 1pm after the repairs were carried out.
Brisbane's foreign investment strategy has placed the Queensland capital fourth in a global list of cities vying for international business, compiled by an offshoot of the London-based Financial Times.

While Edinburgh topped the list for fDi Intelligence's Foreign Direct Investment Strategy, Brisbane managed to secure fourth spot out of the 53 submitting cities, ahead of Perth, the only other Australian city listed, which ranked 10th.

fDi Intelligence's Global City of the Future report is released every two years. Credit:Michelle Smith

The Global City of the Future report, released every two years, also placed Brisbane 10th for human capital and lifestyle out of 131 countries, the third Australian city to secure a position in the top ten, behind Melbourne (1st) and Sydney (4th).

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the rankings indicated Brisbane was becoming a more globally competitive city.
Queensland police have saved a backpacker after she sent panicked texts to

t a Sunshine Coast hostel, realising he was in a manic state but believing she could help him.

Police said the 22-year-old man told her they would drive to Brisbane, but instead he turned north and headed for Cairns, leaving the young Brit fearing for her safety.

When she realised she was in trouble, she sent panicked messages to her father in the UK, asking him to call local authorities.
Gluten- and wheat-free baked goods supplier Welsh Hills Bakery is ramping up its business with Spanish airline Vueling.

The airline recently announced plans to increase its capacity on all its services in and out of Cardiff Airport by 16%.

As a result, Aberdare-based Welsh Hills Bakery will be increasing production of the 52g retail service packs of chocolate brownies it supplies the airline.

The family-run business also exports to the US, Australia and the Middle East, and last month held discussions with a major retailer in Hubei Province in China, with a view to exporting its Lovemore cookies and biscuits to the country in the second quarter of 2017.

Julian Cruttenden, key account manager at Welsh Hills Bakery, said: Its a privilege to be working with Vueling and we congratulate them on their success. To be able to have the choice of opting for a gluten- and wheat-free snack while on a flight will make all the difference to some people.

The Lovemore range includes shortbreads, cookies, pies, tarts and slices.
An inquest into the abduction and murder of Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe is set to resume in Brisbane despite his murderer already being behind bars.

Brett Peter Cowan is serving a life sentence for abducting the 13-year-old from a local bus stop in 2003 before murdering him.

Bruce and Denise Morcombe say if reopening the inquiry helps one family, then it's worth it.

Cowan was caught in August 2011, after a complex and lengthy police investigation, parts of which were sparked by the evidence presented at the initial inquest, which was adjourned four months earlier in April.

Despite Cowan's arrest and sentence, Daniel's parents Bruce and Denise Morcombe have asked the coroner to reopen the inquest into their son's disappearance.
Fire has caved in the roof of a home north of Brisbane.

Firefighters rushed to Ningi, between Caboolture and Bribie Island, about 7.30am and found the house up in flames.

The roof of a house at Ningi had collapsed by 8am. Credit:Dave Andrews - @Chopperdaveqld

By 8am the roof had collapsed but three crews were still tackling the blaze on Redondo Street.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said crews were still looking to search the house but there wasn't believed to be anyone inside.
A former navy serviceman who rammed a stolen car into the terminal of Gold Coast airport will spend seven months behind bars.

Daniel Cassidy, 36, pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including armed robbery and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, after going on a one-man crime spree in July last year.

Daniel Cassidy rammed a stolen car into a terminal at Gold Coast Airport in 2015. Credit:7News/Twitter

The Southport District Court heard that on July 25, 2015, Cassidy stole a car after threatening a man with a knife at Burleigh Golf Club.

Cassidy then drove the vehicle to the airport, stealing petrol and clipping another car on the way, before threatening staff at a car hire business with a golf club.
There's been a dramatic spike in breaches by staff at Queensland's youth detention centres.

The LNP opposition says it will be demanding answers from the Labor government after the number of proven complaints against staff more than tripled in the past two years.

There were 76 complaints upheld against Queensland centres in 2015/16. Credit:Shannon Morris

Government figures cited by the ABC show that in 2014/15 there were 22 proven breaches - such as failing to provide duty of care - but that figure climbed dramatically to 76 in 2015/16.

Shadow Attorney-General Ian Walker said the government could expect questions.
Raising money is something many small businesses need to do. But as the saying goes, often when you're looking for money, all you get is advice and when you're looking for advice all you get is money.

So it's important to know where to start, who to talk to and how to pitch the business. Because if you get fundraising right, it's a skill you can parlay into every subsequent venture.

Nicholas Chu of Sinorbis.

Nicolas Chu recently raised $2.5 million for his start-up Sinorbis, which helps Australian companies sell to Chinese digital consumers. The business is building a marketing platform that will allow Western companies to do digital marketing in China.

The fundraising was over two rounds. Earlier this year Chu raised $1.5 million in seed funding. More recently he raised $1 million to develop the platform.
The supermoon strikes again.

Stargazers will get yet another opportunity to watch a spectacular full moon rise over the horizon on Tuesday night, when the last of three consecutive supermoons of 2016 is due to make a stunning appearance.

While last month's highly anticipated supermoon left some disappointed when clouds largely obscured the event, Tuesday night's conditions are forecast to be mostly clear and hot in Sydney, where the temperature is still expected to be hovering around 30 degrees when the sun sets.

Melburnians, however, will have to contend with some cloud cover at sunset, according to Weatherzone.
A car attempting to perform a U-turn in Melbourne's CBD smashed into an oncoming tram on Tuesday afternoon.

Trams on Elizabeth Street, heading to Flinders Street Station, were delayed by 30 minutes after a blue sedan hit the front of a tram, a Yarra Trams spokesman said.

The aftermath of the collision on Tuesday. Credit:Reddit/@hopefulpenguin

He said the collision happened near the corner of Little Bourke and Elizabeth streets at 3.30pm, and routes 19, 57 and 59 were affected.

"The incident occurred when the motorist attempted to perform a U-turn in front of the tram ... There were no reported injuries to anyone involved," the spokesman said.
Police are appealing for public assistance to help solve historic sexual assaults in which two women were threatened with a screwdriver and a pitchfork.

Victoria's cold case sexual crime squad detectives have released information on the two attacks, which occurred in Melbourne's south-east in 1982 and 1983, in the hope it will unearth new leads.

A van similar to one believed to have been used in two sexual assaults in the '80s. Credit:Victoria Police

A 21-year-old woman was threatened by a man with a screwdriver before being dragged into a car about 7pm in Caulfield on April 1, 1982.

She was taken to an unknown location where she was sexually assaulted.
A measles outbreak that tore through a Melbourne primary school might have been contained faster if schools were forced to keep detailed vaccination records and doctors were quicker to diagnose, health experts say.

Unvaccinated locals helped fuel an outbreak that spread to eight children and two adults within nine weeks in 2014. One of the victims was a baby girl who was too young to be vaccinated.

The source was a seven-year-old boy who brought the virus to Melbourne from overseas, reveals a report examining the outbreak at Essendon North Primary published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

That first boy passed the virus to his sister. It then jumped to a five-year-old girl who crossed paths with the infected siblings at a shopping centre. The researchers identified 103 sites that had been visited by patients while they were infectious.
Ms Connor denies having anything to do with Mr Sudarsa's death. She said she tried to separate her boyfriend and the police officer, who were fighting on the sand after Mr Taylor accused Mr Sudarsa of stealing Ms Connor's handbag. "My bag was stolen and next thing I try to separate David and him. This is the only thing I have done. I am innocent but now because I was trying to separate them I am going to jail," Ms Connor told the widow in a tremulous voice. She said she wished to express her deepest sympathy over the loss of Mr Sudarsa, whom she had been informed was a "good, nice and friendly person", who was still on duty and served his country until the end. Sara Connor, pictured right, at Denpasar District Court on Tuesday. Credit:Amilia Rosa

"I have been away from my children now and it has been hard but I just cannot imagine the pain you must go through not being able to see him." Ms Connor said she came to Bali only for a holiday to relax and rest in "this beautiful nature". "I think it must have been destiny that wanted to change our lives so dramatically." Earlier in court, a dignified Ms Arsini spoke of her disbelief that her "humorous, healthy" husband had died. Ms Arsini, an elementary school teacher in Jimbaran, said she was attending an Independence Day event on August 17 when her brother in law told her "Sis, it's Bli (brother). Bli was in an accident."

She kept her composure, refusing to look at Ms Connor, as she told of a police officer showing her a photo of Mr Sudarsa, with one side of his face covered in blood. "I was so sure he was still alive. He was humorous. He was always healthy." Ketut Arsini, the widow of Bali police officer Wayan Sudarsa, addresses Denpasar District Court on Tuesday. Credit:Amilia Rosa Holding back tears, she later said: "My husband is big and tall. Taller and bigger than my son. He was healthy." Ms Arsini went to pray at a full moon ceremony after learning her husband had been injured but when she returned home her son came back from the hospital. "He was crying, he said Dad is gone," Ms Arsini said.

"I saw my husband's body after he was placed in the morgue freezer. I saw bruises and he was still bleeding from one ear. Even after his body was taken, the ear was still bleeding." She said police told her Mr Sudarsa had been hit by Ms Connor and Mr Taylor. "I don't know what was the problem. I don't know why he was hit, I don't know." Ms Arsini, who said she was strong enough to see the evidence, said she recognised her husband's identity cards, which Ms Connor is alleged to have cut up to destroy evidence. She also recognised his binoculars with which Mr Taylor has admitted bashing him his helmet, shoes, mobile phone and police hat. A beer bottle, which Mr Taylor has also admitted using as a weapon, she had never seen before.

British man David Taylor has admitted hitting the policeman with binoculars. Credit:AP "I beg the perpetrators be given the fair penalty, the maximum for what they did under Indonesian law," she said. Ms Connor's lawyer, Robert Khuana, told the court his client asked for him to convey her sympathy and request to assist financially. Loading "Please do not see this as a bribe," he told the widow. "The legal proceedings will continue."
What is "fake news"? It's criminal mind control on your TV's by evil powerful men

http://youtu.be/Ltoqum_XX9A

Published on Dec 6, 2016
Tokyo: Japan's trade minister on Monday ruled out any economic cooperation with Russia that would undermine Group of Seven (G7) unity on sanctions imposed after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014.

The minister, Hiroshige Seko, who holds the portfolio for economic cooperation with Russia, spelt out Japan's position ahead of summit meetings on Thursday and Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their APEC meeting in Lima in November. Credit:AP

The two leaders will meet in Japan to discuss economic cooperation and a decades-old territorial dispute.

"We will never hurt G7 solidarity over the Ukraine issue. That's a prerequisite," Seko told a news conference.
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority must fix a 50-year-old typo, according to area pols.

The agency should correct its spelling of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge  named for Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano  which has been missing a Z since it opened in 1964, thanks to a petition started by a Dyker Heights man, local pols wrote in a Dec. 7 letter to agency chief Thomas Prendergast.

It is out opinion, along with the almost 1,000 signatories, that as we move forward, the MTA should take serious consideration in rectifying this error on all future signage, state senators Martin Golden and Andrew Lanza wrote.

Replacing all the posts bearing the error immediately would be costly and cause traffic jams, so the pols are asking the Department of Transportation, which maintains signs, to phase in the correction.

We suggest instead that as signs become faded, unserviceable, or become a safety issue, they are replaced with new ones with the correct spelling of Verrazzano, they wrote.

Dyker Heights resident and Italian-American advocate Robert Nash circulated the petition earlier this summer calling on the agency to fix the faulty spelling.

The revision would end a decades-long insult to the first European to explore New York Bay, Nash said.

Im extremely happy  I cant tell you how happy I am. Giovanni da Verrazzano discovered our neck of the woods, and we honored him with a bridge  the least we can do is spell his name right, Nash said.

with Caroline Spivack
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Donald Trump Interviewed Mitt Romney to Torture Him, Roger Stone Says

Daily Beast ^

Posted on by springwater13

Donald Trumps long-time but informal adviser Roger Stone says the Secretary of State job was dangled in front of Mitt Romney in order to torture him for previously opposing the president-elect.

During a Sunday appearance on InfoWars with Alex Jones, a conspiratorial media outlet that has become a mouthpiece of the next president, Stone called Romney a choker and said that Trump was simply toying with him.

Donald Trump was interviewing Mitt Romney for Secretary of State in order to torture him, Stone claimed on the program. To toy with him. And given the history, thats completely understandable. Mitt Romney crossed a line. He didnt just oppose Trump, which is his democratic right, he called him a phony and a fraud. And a con man. And thats not the kind of man you want as Secretary of State.

Stones involvement with the current transition efforts is unclear as he is not formally advising Trump. But the two men have kept a close relationship for years and Stone claims that he was at Trump Tower last week. The transition team did not respond to a request for confirmation about his presence from The Daily Beast.

(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
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October 31, 2022

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In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options...
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Nancy Pelosi's Daughter, an Elector, Calls for Hijacking Presidential Election

Frontpage ^ | December 12, 2016 | Daniel Greenfield

Posted on by detective

Remember when the Electoral College was evil and needed to be abolished. Ten electors, including Nancy Pelosi's daughter, have a great new plan. And it doesn't take much reading between the lines.

Ten members of the Electoral College, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosis daughter Christine and a former member of Congress, are demanding a briefing from U.S. intelligence officials on any ongoing investigations into Donald Trumps ties to Russia.

In a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, the electors  nine Democrats and one Republican  argue that they require the information ahead of Dec. 19, when the Electoral College is set to meet and select the next president.

Why exactly do the Electors require information that has nothing to do with their current function, which is representative, rather than deliberative? Because Pelosi argues they are a deliberative body.

(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
Weber named vice president for student life

A. Scott Weber has been named vice president for student life at the University at Buffalo.

I am very excited that Scott will be leading our student life organization. With Scotts knowledge of UBs academic and student life enterprises, his leadership acumen and incredible enthusiasm for all things UB, I believe our student life organization will continue to thrive and innovate under Scotts direction.

BUFFALO, N.Y.  A. Scott Weber has been named the University at Buffalos vice president for student life after a very successful tenure as the universitys vice provost and dean of undergraduate education and, more recently, as senior vice provost for academic affairs.

The announcement was made today by President Satish K. Tripathi, who cited Webers deep commitment to the university and UB students for the past 33 years.

Webers appointment is effective Jan. 3.

I am very excited that Scott will be leading our student life organization. With Scotts knowledge of UBs academic and student life enterprises, his leadership acumen and incredible enthusiasm for all things UB, I believe our student life organization will continue to thrive and innovate under Scotts direction, Tripathi said.

As vice president for student life, Weber will lead more than 2o units at the university, each dedicated to providing UBs 29,500 students with the support and resources they need to thrive at the university and beyond.

These include Campus Dining and Shops, Student Unions, Career Services, Student Health Services, Campus Living, Off-Campus Student Services, Veteran Services and Orientation, Transition and Parent Programs. Accessibility Resources, Judicial Affairs and Student Advocacy, the Intercultural and Diversity Center, Wellness Education Services, and Fraternity and Sorority Life, are among other student activities and programs.

I am humbled and honored to be asked by President Tripathi to serve in this new university role, Weber said. My whole career has focused on the student experience from enrollment through graduation and beyond, whether in the classroom, the laboratory or campus life.

This new opportunity allows me to further expand my commitment to our students. While I certainly will miss my work and colleagues in academic affairs, I look forward to building on the successful partnerships that already exist between these units and across campus.

Over the past six years as UBs vice provost and dean of undergraduate education and senior vice provost for academic affairs, Weber has provided leadership for academic service units and programs that support the academic experience across all levels of the university, including student enrollment, retention and success, undergraduate education and curriculum, graduate education, pedagogical innovation and student-focused communications.

He has initiated or led successful innovations designed to enhance the academic experiences of students across the university, including formation and launch of UB Curriculum, the universitys new general education program, and creation and implementation of Finish in 4, the universitys nationally acclaimed program to help students earn their degrees in four years. Through the Finish in 4 program and prior university efforts, UBs four-year graduation rate has increased by more than 20 points over the past 10 years.

Weber also established a new enrollment management division, which resulted in development of UBs winter session, record freshman enrollment and greater awareness of enrollment issues across campus.

He revitalized and rebranded pedagogical innovation and assessment efforts through development of the Center for Educational Innovation and implementation of a university-wide course evaluation platform, and championed efforts to reimagine the delivery of high-impact undergraduate courses.

Expansion of the Educational Opportunity Program, Honors College and the Undergraduate Academies also occurred under Webers leadership, and he directed university efforts to establish the Blackstone LaunchPad for enhancement of student and faculty business startups.

Weber has helped lead transformational initiatives aimed at providing a better learning environment and greater service for all students, including the recently opened first phase of the Heart of the Campus on the third floor of the Silverman library and the launch of UBs student information system, HUB, in 2011.

As chair of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering from 2005-10, Weber guided the establishment of UBs transportation engineering program and the departments rise in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. His work in these areas and other initiatives generated a sense pride and energy among UB students, faculty and staff in the department, Tripathi noted.

Weber joined the UB faculty in 1983 and has been named professor of the year twice by the UB student chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. His teaching has focused on environmental engineering, with a specialization in process analysis and design for soil and water bioremediation. His research efforts are directed toward biodegradation of chemicals in water and soil, particularly pharmaceuticals, and the reclamation of environmentally impacted sites known as brownfields.

Weber received his BS in civil engineering in 1977 and an MS in sanitary engineering in 1978 from Virginia Tech. In 1983 he earned a PhD in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis.
Campus News

National crystal-growing contest brings holiday sparkle to UB

Travis Nelson, a graduate instructional support technician in geology, leans in to get a better look.

A good aluminum potassium sulfate crystal is colorless, transparent and octahedral  meaning it has eight primary sides.

Contest participants grew their crystals by dissolving powdered aluminum potassium sulfate  a nontoxic chemical used in water purification and more  into water, then letting the water evaporate slowly. This causes the chemical compound to emerge from the solution and slowly form a crystal.

Travis Nelson, geologist and graduate instructional support technician in geology, uses a spyglass to get a better look at a crystal.

In rating the crystals, the judges look for qualities familiar to people who have shopped for a diamond ring: size, clarity and shape all matter.

Jason Benedict, assistant professor of chemistry and crystal competition organizer, stands at the head of the table as the judging gets underway.

The U.S. Crystal Growing Competition gives K-12 students and teachers five weeks to grow the best, brightest crystals out of powdered aluminum potassium sulfate. Winners get cash prizes. Photos: Douglas Levere

By CHARLOTTE HSU

The crystals began arriving at UB in late November, some from thousands of miles away.

They came in bubble wrap and padded envelopes. One was delivered in person. Another arrived in a Tiffany & Co. jewelry box, an iconic choice of packaging in robins egg blue. Most were shipped for $5 or $6, but others were sent overnight at a cost many times more.

These were the 2016 entries for the third annual U.S. Crystal Growing Competition.

The contest, run by Jason Benedict, UB assistant professor of chemistry, gives K-12 students and teachers five weeks to grow the best, brightest crystals out of powdered aluminum potassium sulfate. Winners get cash prizes and the event drew participants from 26 states this year.

On Dec. 6, five UB faculty and staff members convened in the Natural Sciences Complex to score 83 entries received. The judges included:

G. Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen, assistant professor of chemistry.

Timothy Cook, assistant professor of chemistry.

Andrea Markelz, professor of physics.

Travis Nelson, geologist and graduate instructional support technician in geology.

Luis Velarde, assistant professor of chemistry.

The panel members scrutinized crystals large and small, crystals milky and clear, crystals with sharp edges and crystals with rough, irregular shapes. The event brought a bit of holiday sparkle to campus, with the judges oohing and aahing when they came across an entry that hit the mark.

Its so beautiful, Markelz said while handling one particularly handsome specimen.

Its so clear, Atilla-Gokcumen agreed.

Beautiful facets, Markelz concluded.

The contest winners, announced on Dec. 8, are:

Best Overall Crystal, K-8 ($200 prize): A student from the classroom of Adam Davidson at the Capitol Region Education Council Montessori Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut.

A student from the classroom of Adam Davidson at the Capitol Region Education Council Montessori Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut. Best Quality Crystal, K-8 ($200 prize): Abbey Calhoun and Meghan Leahy from St. Gilbert Catholic School in Grayslake, Illinois.

Abbey Calhoun and Meghan Leahy from St. Gilbert Catholic School in Grayslake, Illinois. Best Overall Crystal, 9-12 ($200 prize): Tenzin Tsetan and Hans Hu from The Bronx High School of Science in New York City, New York.

Tenzin Tsetan and Hans Hu from The Bronx High School of Science in New York City, New York. Best Quality Crystal, 9-12 ($200 prize): Tim Pan and Neha Verma from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, Illinois.

Tim Pan and Neha Verma from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, Illinois. Best Teachers Crystal ($100 prize): Jessica Weedon from The Bronx High School of Science.

The contest is sponsored by the American Crystallographic Association, the UB Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Western New York section of the American Chemical Society, Bruker AXS, The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, Krackeler Scientific Inc., the National Science Foundation, Wards Science, Jason Benedict and Jordan Cox.
Ideal Standard has joined the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF), further strengthening the Federations plumbing and heating sector.

With a 200-year heritage, Ideal Standard is one of the UK's leading manufacturers and suppliers of residential, commercial and healthcare bathroom solutions and products. The company comprises three brands  Armitage Shanks, Ideal Standard and Sottini  and employs 1,000 people in the UK and Ireland with flagship production operations located at Hull in East Yorkshire and Armitage in Staffordshire.

The business places customer service, quality and technical expertise at the centre of its proposition. As a true industry expert it offers support at each point of the purchase process and uses the best materials and skilled craftsmanship to create trusted, enduring and innovative products.

Jim Moore, managing director of Ideal Standard, said: The activity level of the BMF is really impressive and energetic. We are looking forward to taking part in the Plumbing & Heating Forum as well as other groups. In our 200th year we have lots of great stories to tell.

John Newcomb, managing director of the BMF, added: Im delighted to welcome Ideal Standard into membership. It is testament to the growing importance of the BMF to the wider plumbing and heating sector and Im sure that Ideal Standard will gain value from participating in a wide range of our activities.
MKM Building Supplies has landed in Sharston, south Manchester, creating 14 jobs with its 46th branch opening.

The new branch on Altrincham Road will contain the builders merchants full portfolio of services and products, catering to the public and trades. This includes building, plumbing, joinery, heating and insulation, with a specialist brick matching service available.

A team of design experts will be on-hand to assist those interested in MKM Sharstons state-of-the-art kitchen and bathroom showrooms. As the 21-year-old Hull-based business rapidly expands into the interior design market, these showrooms have become an increasingly popular feature across MKMs branch network.

MKM is undergoing a steady national expansion as part of its ongoing growth plan; Sharston will be the business 46th branch, just weeks after locations were unveiled in Galashiels and Honiton.

To celebrate the opening, festive refreshments including mince pies will be available in-branch. As well as the opportunity to win an iPad for those spending over 250, there will be a series of offers and perks for those opening trade accounts at MKM Sharston.

Paul Thomason, branch director at the Altrincham Road site, said: Weve assembled a top-class team in Sharston who cannot wait to welcome the public and building trade.

Mark Fairbanks, co-branch director, added: Paul and I are proud to have the opportunity to show those in Sharston and the surrounding area why MKM has its award-winning reputation for customer service excellence and extensive product range.
Bank employee admits role in scheme that targeted South Jersey cash

Feds say call-center workers took customers' ID and account information, then used that to take their cash.
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The recently announced nominations for the '74th Golden Globe Awards' is paving the biggest path to La La Land and Moonlight with almost the same number of nods.

The Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone starrer musical romance netted seven nominations while the coming-of-age drama Moonlight was nominated in six categories, reports The Telegraph.

British nominees totalled 17 across film and television, including Hugh Grant for Florence Foster Jenkins, Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston for BBC's The Night Manager, Dev Patel for Lion, Andrew Garfield for Hacksaw Ridge and Riz Ahmed for the HBO mini-series The Night Of.

Inthe 'Best Actress' and 'Best Drama' category, Game Of Thrones and Netflix's Stranger Things found mention while notable snubs in the film category include Clint Eastwood's Sully and Martin Scorsese's religious epic Silence - both the films are nominated.

Meryl Streep had previously been announced as this year's recipient of the 'Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award'.

See the full list of major nominees:

FILM

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY

20th Century Women

Deadpool

Florence Foster Jenkins

La La Land

Sing Street

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea

Joel Edgerton - Loving

Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge

Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic

Denzel Washington - Fences

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Amy Adams - Arrival

Jessica Chastain - Miss Sloane

Isabelle Huppert - Elle

Ruth Negga - Loving

Natalie Portman - Jackie

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY

Colin Farrell - The Lobster

Ryan Gosling - La La Land

Hugh Grant - Florence Foster Jenkins

Jonah Hill - War Dogs

Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Annette Bening - 20th Century Women

Lily Collins - Rules Don't Apply

Hailee Steinfeld - The Edge of Seventeen

Emma Stone - La La Land

Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Mahershala Ali - Moonlight

Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water

Simon Helberg - Florence Foster Jenkins

Dev Patel - Lion

Aaron Taylor Johnson - Nocturnal Animals

BEST PERFORMANCE BY ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Viola Davis - Fences

Naomie Harris - Moonlight

Nicole Kidman - Lion

Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea

BEST DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE

Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Tom Ford - Nocturnal Animals

Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge

Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea

BEST SCREENPLAY, MOTION PICTURE

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Nocturnal Animals

BEST MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATED

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

My Life as a Courgette

Sing

Zootropolis

BEST MOTION PICTURE, FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Divines

Elle

Neruda

The Salesman

Toni Erdmann

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Arrival

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Gold

La La Land

Moana

Sing

Trolls

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

The Crown

Game of Thrones

Stranger Things

This is Us

Westworld

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Atlanta

Black-ish

Mozart in the Jungle

Transparent

Veep

BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

American Crime

The Dresser

The Night Manager

The Night Of

The People vs. O.J. Simpson

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

Rami Malek - Mr. Robot

Bob Odenkirk - Better Call Saul

Matthew Rhys - The Americans

Liev Schreiber - Ray Donovan

Billy Bob Thornton - Goliath

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY

Anthony Anderson - Black-ish

Gael Garcia Bernal - Mozart in the Jungle

Donald Glover - Atlanta

Nick Nolte - Graves

Jeffrey Tambor - Transparent

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Riz Ahmed - The Night Of

Bryan Cranston - All the Way

Tom Hiddleston - The Night Manager

John Turturro - The Night Of

Courtney B. Vance - The People vs. OJ Simpson

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Sterling K. Brown - The People vs. O.J. Simpson

Hugh Laurie - The Night Manager

John Lithgow - The Crown

Christian Slater - Mr. Robot

John Travolta - The People vs. O.J. Simpson

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES, DRAMA

Catriona Balfe - Outlander

Claire Foy - The Crown

Keri Russell - The Americans

Winona Ryder - Stranger Things

Evan Rachel Wood - Westworld

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Olivia Colman - The Night Manager

Lena Headey - Game of Thrones

Chrissy Metz - This is Us

Mandy Moore - This is Us

Thandie Newton - Westworld

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Felicity Huffman - American Crime

Riley Keough - The Girlfriend Experience

Sarah Paulson - The People vs. OJ Simpson

Charlotte Rampling - London Spy

Kerry Washington - Confirmation

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY

Rachel Bloom - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep

Sarah Jessica Parker - Divorce

Issa Rae - Insecure

Gina Rodriguez - Jane the Virgin

Tracee Ellis Ross - Black-ish

The 74th will be held on January 8, hosted by Jimmy Fallon.
In a blistering 15-page letter to Tata Steel's shareholders, the company's independent director Nusli Wadia said the very reason why Tata Sons wanted him removed was his "independence of mind and action".
In an attempt to salvage small manufacturers from influx of Chinese products in global market and to boost exports, the Association (MCA), India's largest cluster for ceramics, will set up its own dedicated warehouses in 11 countries.
Gurgaon-based financial technology start-up Technologies on Tuesday said it raised about $10 million in Series B round of funding from Omidyar Network as well as existing investors Accel Partners and Elevar Equity.
As the biggest corporate battle of the time enters a critical phase this week, lawyers, advisory firms and industry sources have examined the likely scenarios and outcomes that could unfold, starting December 13.

While the number-crunching goes in favour of the Tatas, theres tense anticipation in that camp, ahead of the seven extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) lined up to oust former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry as director from the group firms, sources in the know said.
Telecom major Vodafone, with in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India for a payments bank, has said it will launch the latter entity within three months.
Power may be restored in Chennai by tonight while the outskirts will need to wait for one more day. A day after the cyclone hit the coast in Northern Chennai and Southern Tamil Nadu, the city is trying to limp back to normalcy even as everyday life has been impacted due to a day-long power cut and the resultant water shortage across the city.
The RSS-affiliated Rashtrawadi Muslim Mahila Sangh approached the Supreme Court of India through an application in June for codification of Muslim personal law, especially to end practices such as polygamy and triple talaq, or instantaneous divorce. The court in October sought the opinion and recommendation of the Government of India on these issues. The government responded that the absence of reforms in the (Muslim) community during the past 65 years has left Muslim women extremely vulnerable, both socially as well as financially. Almost immediately on October 24, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the practice of the so-called  system. Addressing a rally in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, he stated that no injustice should be meted out to our mothers and sisters in the name of religion or community.
A 36-year-old bedbound Egyptian woman, weighing about 500 kg and believed to the world's heaviest, will soon leave for India for a weight-reduction surgery after a top Indian surgeon offered her help, her sister said on Monday.

Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty's is preparing herself to be flown to Mumbai in the next 10 days, her sister Shaymaa said.

Eman's story had gone viral on the social media and many news outlets published about her condition. She has barely left her bedroom in nearly 25 years, according to her family.

"There are very few facilities for a case like Eman's in Egypt. I've got many promises, but all of them were not true. There is not even one well-equipped bed in a hospital on which she can lay on," Shaymaa said.

After knowing about her condition, Mumbai-based bariatric surgeon Muffazal Lakdawala reached her and offered his help. He even set up a fundraiser to fly Eman to India.

Lakdawala reached Eman's family through his Egyptian friend and doctor Diaa el-Behairy.

"I had put up several posts about Eman on social media and attached my mobile number for anyone who wanted to help. That's how Dr Diaa succeeded in reaching us," said Shaymaa.

She said desperate pleas to the Egyptian presidency, armed forces, and the Governor of Alexandria, where she lives, did not yield satisfactory results.

"They sent me a number of doctors," Shaymaa said adding that the doctors said they can't operate as Eman won't be able to bear the surgery.

Eman suffers from thyroid condition since childhood. She weighed about 5 kg at birth, and by 11 she had stopped going to school due to her weight, her sister said.

"As she gained weight, Eman began to crawl on her knees. But her situation has worsened in past 25 years," she said.

Eman suffers from thrombosis - the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system - and she can't even speak.

Eman is cared for by her mother and sister. Shaymaa, a fine art engineer who had to give up her job because of her sister's health condition, said the family's life has been badly hit as they had to take care of Eman "like a child".

"We have to do everything for her," said Shaymaa. "We are three sisters, only the youngest is married. I can't live a normal life as I have to devote all my time to help Eman."

Shaymaa thanks Lakdawala for helping the family.

"Eman's case needs a huge amount of money," she said. "I'm very grateful to Dr Muffazal for offering to fly Eman to India on a private medical plane," she said.

The procedural roadblocks for her treatment were cleared after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention.

"Dr Muffazal had urged minister Swaraj on Twitter to facilitate Eman's visa procedures, and she helped us," Shaymaa said.

Eman is expected to return home after a year of treatment. "I don't know when we'll return. May be after a year or so," said Shaymaa, who will travel with her to India.
Work is set to start soon to build what could well be the world's in Bihar.

Those behind the idea say no more hurdles are left for the construction to begin after Holi festival next year, now that the original plan was modified following objections from the Cambodian government.

"We modified our original plan after Cambodia raised objection against our Viraat Ramayan Mandir, saying it is a replica of Angkor Wat," Acharya Kishore Kunal of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust told IANS.

"We are set to start work after Holi, which will be an auspicious time," he said.

A former Indian Police Service officer, Kunal said the design or architecture of the proposed temple will have nothing to do with Angkor Wat, visited by millions every year.The Cambodian temple complex was built in the 12th century during king Suryavarman's rule and is now a Unesco World Heritage site.

The proposed temple will come up over a 165-acre land area at Janki Nagar near Kesaria in West Champaran district, about 150 km from Patna. It will cost over Rs 200 crore in the first phase.

That is when the Ramayan Mandir and a Shiv and Mahavir temple each would be built.

Its main attraction will be its 405-feet-high octangular spires. It will be taller than the Angkor Wat temple, which is 215 feet high. The complex will comprise 18 temples.

It will have a Shiva Linga, 44 feet tall and 33 feet in circumference -- proposed to be the tallest in the world.

Kunal said when work on the temple was to start last year, the Cambodian government raised objections with New Delhi, saying it was a copy of Angkor Wat.

Kunal and his team then re-examined their plan. The modified plan was sent to Phnom Penh last year and again early this year through the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Cambodian embassy in New Delhi reportedly indicated that in case of any objection, it will suggest modifications.

"I have been informed by our government that there is no response from the Cambodian embassy," Kunal said. "So, a decision has been taken to start the construction work."

He said the temple design has been influenced by over a dozen famous temples in India and abroad, particularly Thailand and Indonesia.

Many Muslims have provided land at a nominal rate for the temple. "Without their help, it would have been difficult to take up this dream project," Kunal said.

The temple would have a seating capacity of 20,000 in a hall facing the main temple having the idols of Rama, Sita, Luv and Kush.

L&T, India's leading construction company, will build the temple.
Railway police on Monday recovered Rs 4.49 lakh from two persons at the Ambala Cantonment railway station in Haryana. More than half of the amount in new Rs 2,000 denomination notes.

The two persons, reportedly from Ghaziabad, were travelling in a Amritsar-bound train when they were intercepted by the Railway police this evening, officials said.

The police were currently questioning the duo, who claimed to deal in vegetables.

The recovered currency also included Rs 2,000 denomination notes worth Rs 2,64, 000, police said.

The Railway police has informed the Income Tax department.
In a significant development, the World Bank has paused the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said.

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan. It was also emphasised that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty.

Pausing the process for now, the Bank would hold off from appointing the Chairman for the Court of Arbitration or the neutral expert. The appointments were to take palce on December 12, according to the Bank's earlier communications.

India had taken strong exception last month to the World Bank's decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a neutral expert, looking into Pakistan's complaint against regarding Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

Surprised at the World Bank's decision to appoint a neutral expert, as sought by the Indian government and at the same time establish a Court of Arbitration as wanted by Pakistan, India had said proceeding with both the steps simultaneously was "legally untenable".

Both processes initiated by the respective countries were advancing at the same time, creating a risk of contradictory outcomes that could potentially endanger the Treaty, the Bank noted.

"This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January," Kim said.

The current processes under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants. The power plants are being built by India on the Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers respectively.

Neither of the two plants is being financed by the World Bank.

The bank said the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

In September, the World Bank, which had mediated the Indus Water Treaty, had said it was approached by India and Pakistan and it is "responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the treaty".

"India and Pakistan have informed the World Bank that each has initiated proceedings pursuant to the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and the World Bank Group is responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the Treaty," it had said.

The Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries.

It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties.
After having claimed to have hacked into the official Twitter handles of controversial liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the Congress party, its vice-president Rahul Gandhi and journalists Barkha Dutt and Ravish Kumar, a group or individual named Legion is now saying that its next target is sansad.nic.in, which provides email services to government employees.
Online vigilance group has claimed they have hacked into data of accountants who help the rich hide their wealth. It said it would study what they had gathered and filter the information before releasing it online.
As the Agusta Westland scam acquires the centre-stage of political discussions once again, here is some information that will help refresh your memory.
The on Monday started providing free food at 10 night shelters in the capital with an aim to help the poor and homeless counter the impact of demonetisation.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Urban Development Minister Satyendra Jain launched the facility of providing three meals per day to the needy at North Delhi's Dandi park shelter.

Launching the initiative here, Sisodia said that due to demonetisation of high currency notes, no one will be a victim of starvation.

He said the facility has been launched in order to insulate the poor and homeless from the effects of demonetisation that has reportedly led to many people dying in bank queues while a few others also committing suicide.

Among the shelters where such food centres will operate are at Geeta Ghat, Yamuna Pushta, Dandi Park, Jama Masjid, Sarai Kale Khan, Nizamuddin Nila Gumbad, Sarai Phoos, Jhandewalan shelter 1, Kotla Mubarakpur and Fatehpuri near Old Delhi railways station.

At present, night shelters provide free tea and rusk to their inmates in the breakfast.

Recently, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had asked Jain to ensure that lunch and dinner are also provided in the capital's night shelters and to those living in the immediate vicinity, who in need of food.
Archived Results for Tuesday, December 13th, 2016

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Axis Bank, India's top importer of gold, has suspended the bank accounts of some bullion dealers and jewellers after two of its executives at a branch were arrested over alleged money laundering.
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The income-tax (I-T) department, believe it or not, is still working on cases pending from the demonetisation of currency notes in 1978. The cases are sensitive enough to be handled at the level of members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. Thirty-eight years later, the office which puts up those files as work connected with High Denomination Bank Notes (Demonetisation) Act, 1978, is that of member (investigation).

It is this same office that is also responsible for organising the current spate of countrywide raids on caches of illegal currency notes in the present round of demonetisation. A former board member of the I-T department said its the time spent on such legacy issues that scuttle the effectiveness of the puny I-T investigation department to focus on emerging ones.

The biggest of those emerging issues the department is struggling with, in the current demonetisation exercise, is the risk posed by the non-credit cooperative societies. Data pouring in from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the revenue department is repeatedly showing this. But, tax officials have little room to prise open the finances of these societies, as there are hardly any tax provisions to tap them. Yet, the FIU data show many of these societies have become the biggest draw for laundering money.

The tax department is working to push amendments in the laws to deal with them. But, even as they are rushing to plug the gap, the strong political lobby, which the cooperatives run, is racing to outflank them.

According to the governments open data platform, there are 266,401 such non-credit cooperative societies. But this number keeps on changing. For the tax departments, these institutions are a headache as they are adept at masking cash transactions. Their reach is particularly strong among the prosperous states, making them a valuable gateway.

The FIU data is based on suspicious transactions report thrown up by bank records. A government official explained that as district cooperative banks have not been allowed the option to exchange notes, the cooperative societies, which often run their deposits with the former, have had to approach the scheduled banks. The amount of money that has come to banks from the cooperative societies is massive, said one of the officials.

There are two sources through which several of these societies would have run up the cash. They could have either generated it from their business or they would have the money deposited by their members as cash. There is no rule that prevents cooperative societies from receiving any amount of deposits from their members, which can be shown as borrowing.
After a series of hacks on accounts including embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, the official account of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and a few senior journalists, the ministry of electronics and information technology has asked the social media portal to strengthen security.
While the remainder of the winter session of Parliament, which concludes on Friday, is set for a washout, Opposition parties believe they have two weeks, that is until the New Years Eve, to build a nationwide narrative against Narendra Modi governments note ban decision.

The Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are biding their time until December 31, the scheduled end of the exercise, after which the PM is likely to unveil sops for the poor. In the interregnum, the BJP plans to counter the Opposition propaganda by attacking the Congress-led UPA for its multitude of scams. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said high-denomination notes, as percentage of total currency in circulation, increased from a mere 36 per cent to over 80 per cent during UPA regime, that is from 2004 to 2014. Jaitleys was a reference to alleged ill-gotten money from the scams being hoarded in high denomination currency notes. The Opposition, comprising 17 political parties with the Congress in the lead, will have a meeting at the end of the winter session to strategise a common theme for their protests across the country until December 31. The protests and awareness campaigns against note ban will focus on three issues  job losses in the informal sector, how note ban is a grand scam to benefit select industrialists and allegations that BJP state units had advance information, which helped them convert their unaccounted money into white money.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor R Gandhi on Tuesday said Rs 12.4 lakh crore of old notes scrapped have been deposited in banks till December 10. The remarks came during an impromptu press meet with news agencies Doordarshan, PTI and ANI. The deposit mobilisation started on November 10, when the banks opened after announcement on November 8 night.

RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra, who was also present in the meeting, said the central bank has suspended an employee in Bengaluru, who was arrested on Tuesday on charges of colluding with bank officials in changing notes.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue S Gurumurthy on Monday said the newly issued Rs 2,000 currency note is a "stopgap arrangement" to tide over the cash crunch after demonetisation, and it will ultimately be withdrawn by the government, albeit gradually.

Gurumurthy, who is said to be in the loop all through the process, said in an interview with India Today news channel that the Rs 2,000 note was introduced only to meet the demand-supply gap after Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were sucked out of circulation.

He said the banks would be asked to hold back Rs 2,000 notes and replace them with lower denomination notes.

"Obviously, the banks will be told not to return Rs 2,000 notes they receive. Slowly, the banks will accumulate Rs 2,000 notes and replace them with lower denomination notes," said Gurumurthy, a prominent member of the RSS-backed think tank Vivekananda International Foundation.

He said the government would be phasing out Rs 2,000 notes and not demonetising them.

"We have phased out many series of notes like this in the past," he said.

Gurumurthy said the government was committed towards lower denomination currency.

Gurumurthy's remarks came after the government's contradictory stand that it was demonetising Rs 1,000 notes since higher denomination currency encouraged black money, but instead introduced Rs 2,000 note.

Defending the Narendra Modi government's decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, in a separate interview to CNN-News18 channel, Gurumurthy said the move has been successful in achieving its objective, which was to "record the unrecorded roaming cash".

"The objective of is to record the unrecorded roaming cash. That is the first objective and then you'll find out whether somebody has defrauded and made use of it," he said.

"What these unrecorded money is doing to the economy, that is being stopped. According to me, that is the most important issue," he said.
India and Indonesia provide Bulwark against Radicalism and Intolerance, says President

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee yesterday (December 12, 2016) received His Excellency Mr. Joko Widodo, the President of the Republic of Indonesia and Madame Iriana Widodo at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He also hosted a banquet in their honour.

Welcoming the President of Indonesia to India, the President said India and Indonesia have has age-old bilateral ties. The two countries share a common experience of struggle for freedom from colonial rule.

The President said India welcomes Indonesias emergence as a vibrant democracy. India attaches high importance to Indonesias success as a pluralistic democracy with an open society based on the shared values of syncretism, tolerance and respect for diversity.

The President said we see India and Indonesia as two countries providing a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance. India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and transnational threats.

Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve for strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes.

The President said Indonesia is the largest economy in ASEAN and Indias number one trade partner in the region. Our bilateral trade was about US$16 billion last year. We can try to realise the actual potential of our trade by diversifying our trade basket. India would value Indonesias active support for strengthening India-ASEAN relations during 2017 when we will be celebrating 15 years of Summit level interaction.

Subsequently, in his banquet speech, President Pranab Mukherjee said Indonesia and India helped to write the closing chapters of colonialism and started the Non-Aligned Movement. India looks forward to work with Indonesia to achieve the full potential of economic co-operation, maritime and air links and in increasing reciprocal investments. India would be happy to contribute to Indonesias 'maritime fulcrum vision' of Indonesia Nusantara and, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region. In the multilateral and global context of facing the common challenges of the 21st Century, India and Indonesia, together, are factors of stability for the world.
Union Home Minister reviews relief operation in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh held a high level meeting here today to take stock of the situation of the relief operations following the landfall of cyclone Vardah in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Shri Rajnath Singh, after review, expressed his satisfaction on the preparedness of the Central and State agencies in handling the devastating cyclone which has resulted in minimising casualties. He ordered to keep the Inter-Ministerial Central team ready to be sent to Tamil Nadu immediately on receipt of the Memorandum from the State Government.

The DG NRDF informed that 08 teams of NDRF consisting of 268 rescuers along with 29 boats have been deployed in Tamil Nadu. NDRF teams are removing road blockage. Three more teams of NDRF consisting of 108 rescuers along with 15 boats have also been sent to Chennai.

Six teams of NDRF consisting of 205 rescuers along with 20 boats have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh. Flights have also become operational at Chennai Airport since today morning.

As per status report at 10 am, in Tamil Nadu, total 297 relief centers are opened and 104 are in operation. 13,578 persons are evacuated to shelters and human losses reported 16, hut damages 55, trees fallen 9,154, electrical poles damaged 5,200, transformers damaged 71 and out of 312 road blocked 152 have been cleared.

In Andhra Pradesh, total 59 relief centers are in operation 10,960 persons are evacuated from vulnerable/low lying areas in Andhra Pradesh. Human loss reported 2 in Chittoor, 391 villages affected, 602 poles fallen, 12 trees uprooted. All uprooted trees have been cleared and lifting of poles is in progress.

As per IMD bulletin issued in the morning, the Deep Depression over north Tamil Nadu moved further west-southwestwards during past 06 hrs with a speed of 20 kmph, weakened into a depression and lay centered at 0530 hrs today morning, over north interior Tamil Nadu near Latitude 12.5?N and Longitude 78.0?E, about 50 km west of Tiruppattur and 40 km north of Dharmapuri. The system is very likely to continue to move west-sothwestwards and weaken gradually into a well marked low pressure area during next six hours.

The meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, Member Secretary, NDMA, DG, NDRF and senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
President-elect Donald J Trump on Monday settled on Rex W Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, to be his secretary of state, dismissing bipartisan concerns that the globe-trotting leader of the energy giant had forged a too-cozy relationship with Vladimir V Putin, the president of Russia, transition officials said.
With the Midterm Elections less than one week away: What do you consider the top issues that you will be voting on to be corrected by your better representation?

Education Crime Big Government getting Bigger Biden /Democrat controlled Spike in Energy Cost Inflation created by Legislation of Majority in Power Gender Reassignment Corrupted Bureaucratic /Service (DOJ, FBI, etc.) Institutions Abortion Discredited Legacy Media Ending the Corruption of Dishonest Politicians Corruptive Influence of Social Media Wide Open Southern Border
While the Indian Institute of (IIM) Bill draft which looks to bring in all IIMs together formally is still in abeyance, the premier B-schools have voluntarily decided to meet twice a year for sharing of best practices in research, teaching, and administration, among other areas.

At least, 13 of the top IIMs met here for the inaugural of the Pan- World Conference 2016, the fourth such edition that was held at Ahmedabad. The previous editions of the conference were organised by Calcutta (2013), IIM Kozhikode (2014) and IIM Indore (2015).
Handling of price-sensitive information has become a contentious issue for India Inc after the Tata-Mistry events. Fears of violating the new insider-trading norms is impacting the information flow between boardrooms and parties concerned, particularly in listed multinational companies (MNCs).
Counsel for the scam-hit National Spot Exchange (NSEL) offered arguments at the high court here against the central government order that it be merged with parent entity Financial Technologies (FTIL, since as renamed '63 moons technologies').
has dipped 9.5% to Rs 257 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day trade on back of heavy volumes. The stock has fallen 11% from its record high of Rs 288 touched in early morning trade.
Looks like Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt sweated it out at a recent insulting game during their trip to London to promote their new film 'Passengers'.

The duo did not hold back as they jokingly competed in a funny battle of insults while stopping by BBC One's 'Playground Insults', teasing each other to deliver the "killer insult," reports Us magazine.

Pratt insulted his costar by asking her things like "Why did they call it Joy?" and telling her that she has "so much fake hair" that if she committed a crime "some Ukrainian girl would be convicted" instead.

Lawrence, in turn, teased, "You are so stupid that your 3-year-old son has probably taught you everything you know," referring to his adorable son, Jack Pratt, with wife Anna Faris.

"Where do you keep your Oscar?" Lawrence asked Pratt, touting her 2014 'Best Actress' award for her role in 'Silver Linings Playbook.'

"Um, that was really good," Pratt admitted of her diss, before attempting a greater insult, saying, "You were given an Oscar for best actress, you would also get one for being the worst."

Pratt, however, redeemed himself by delivering the winning (NSFW) insult saying he could feel Lawrence's "d**k" during their sex scene in the movie.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar is leading the Indian delegation to the 5th India-Arab Partnership Conference in Muscat, Oman from December 14-15, 2016.

A FICCI delegation comprising 45 companies is being led by Mr. Devin Narang, Senior Executive Committee Member FICCI.

The conference is being organized by FICCI in partnership with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and supported by Ministry of External Affairs-India, Ministry of Commerce Oman, League of Arab States, GUCCIAC and the Federation of Arab Businessmen.

Three states from India will showcase the and investment opportunities in their states to the Arab world. The state of Jharkhand is being led by its Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Madhya Pradesh led by the state Industry Minister Rajendra Shukla and Andhra Pradesh led by Mr. Jasthi Krishna Kishore, CEO of state's Economic Development Board. Invest India, a joint venture between FICCI, The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and state governments will give a presentation at the conference on Investment opportunities in India.

The fifth India-Arab Partnership Conference comes at a significant juncture of India's ties with the Arab world marked by an escalated exchange of high-level visits, especially Prime Minister Modi's path-breaking visit to the middle East countries in 2015-16 and sustained economic engagement. The Arab world is collectively India's largest trading partner with bilateral trade crossing US$ 180 billion. India sources 60 per cent of its oil and gas requirements from West Asia. Leading Indian companies are involved in activities ranging from manufacture of bus bodies, oil field drilling equipment and platforms to supplying heavy duty dumpers to phosphate mines.

The conference will aim at enhancing the flow of investments from both sides, accelerating pace of investment projects in a number of prioritized sectors, activating the existing joint ventures, providing a conducive environment for export promotion and sharing of expertise.

In order to inject dynamism in our economic engagement, FICCI proposes the following:

 Establishment of a joint task-force with the assistance of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Arab League to promote Arab investments in India and vice versa.

 Creation of a mechanism with Arab League and with the support of MEA to provide assistance to member countries of Arab League for technical capacity building. FICCI already runs the Skill Council and therefore has the requisite experience and expertise to provide such a service.

 Development of a model for experience and knowledge sharing in the services sector.

 Enhancement of investment in renewable energy sector.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress Party on Tuesday asked how Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tackle China after it categorically stated that it will not change its position on India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers' Group or on designating Masood Azhar as a terrorist.

"China's adamant attitude on the issue of infamous terrorist Masood Azhar and India' entry into the NSG is worrisome," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala told ANI.

"The country wants to know how the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tackle this issue," he added.

He further questioned as to why the Indian government not taking a tough stand on this and why the Prime Minister is unable to talk to his Chinese counterpart about the same.

Surjewala asked, "India is a responsible nuclear power, then, why is China objecting to its membership? And, how will you (India) gather other countries on your side?"

Yesterday, China said there was no shift in its position either on New Delhi's inclusion in the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) or on imposition of U.N. sanctions on the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Masood Azhar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Mehbooba Mufti government has sanctioned ex-gratia compensation to slain terrorist Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's father in the case of killing of his other son, Khalid Wani.

Pulwama Deputy Commissioner Muneel- ul- Islam said, "In Kashmir, we have been facing a lot of problems for the last 30 odd years, so the government has decided to set up the District Level Screening-cum-Consultative Committee (DLSCC). On December 24, we had a meeting, where 150 cases came up and we cleared 125 cases."

Talking about Khalid Wani's case, he said: "It was a routine case among 140 odd cases. There is nothing special about who was (or) who wasn't. It's not the case of who he was (or) who he is not. Based on the preliminary report who have tentatively cleared it. But ultimately it will depend on the objections filed by the departments that we will take the final call."

Media Advisor to the Chief Minister Suhail Bukhari said, "Chairman of the community has issued a notice in public, asking people, individual or even organisations to come forth with any objections before a final decision is taken on this count; that's precisely what has happened. That's what I have heard so far. As I mentioned it's an administrative matter, which has been dealt at district magistrate level."

"The clarity on this issue will come after some time. A district-level screening committee has acted on it and they have issued a notice in news paper, saying asking people to come with final decision. We are looking at the procedure of committee and will further investigate as it is an administrative matter," he added.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ravinder Raina said, "Compensation is always to those who are killed by the terrorist; terrorists are not compensated as per law, and if there is any move, we will oppose that move."

Congress media in charge Randeep Surjewala said, "To award compensation to those which Indian Army claims to be Hizbul Mujahideen reflects a compromise being on India's integrity as also against the valiant efforts of India's army by the BJP-PDP government in Jammu and Kashmir."

As per report, the ex-gratia relief entitles a victim's family to a payment of Rs. four lakh or employment for a member of the family.

Burhan had left home at the age of 15 in October 2010 to join the Hizbul Mujahideen, while his brother Khalid lived in Tral in Pulwama with his family. The 25-year-old, who was pursuing a Masters degree in Political Science from IGNOU, reportedly told his mother on the afternoon of April 13, 2015 that he was going for a picnic, however, his body was found in the nearby jungles hours later.

However, Burhan Wani and two other terrorists were killed in an encounter in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on July 8.

Wani featured in videos circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp aimed at recruiting young Kashmiri men for terror.

Reportedly, there was a Rs. 10 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images(ALEPPO, Syria) -- In Syria, east Aleppo is on the brink of falling.



The Syrian government has taken control of at least 97 percent of east Aleppo after intense bombardments overnight and on Monday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitoring group. Seizing the remaining territories would grant President Bashar al-Assad a strategic victory, returning all urban centers in the country to his control. Airstrikes continue to pound the collapsing rebel-held areas, where tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped, the observatory said. On Monday, Syrian government troops entered one of the last remaining medical clinics there, said Mohammad Abu Rajab, a nurse and radiologist who works at the clinic and sought shelter with the other staff members.



Here in Aleppo we are living with bombardments from all kinds of weapons, Abu Rajab told ABC News. The government has trapped us and thousands of children, elderly and women in a small area and is using all kinds of weapons for killing and destruction. ... Aleppo is being destroyed and burning. This is our final call for help to the world. He said that explosive barrels and chemical weapons have been used.



Several residents said that what is left of the rebel-held areas is too small to house the thousands of people who still live there.



There arent many neighborhoods left for us to move around in, Abdulkarim Sergieh, a resident and media activist in the remaining rebel-held areas, told ABC News. Families are under rubble that the [Syria] Civil Defense was unable to move. [The] wounded cant get treatment. Many people are dying from their injuries or losing body parts because of lack of treatment.



He added that people are forced to go out to get water from the well and food for their children amid the constant bombardments. Besieged east Aleppo hasnt received U.N. aid since July and people there live with little access to the most basic human needs such as food, water, healthcare, electricity and fuel for heating.



No services. No life, said Sergieh. Everyone is awaiting their fate.



Hassan Dahhan, a lawyer in the rebel-held part of Aleppo, said he lives with nine other men who are also lawyers in one apartment. The mens families left the area so they moved out of their old houses to allow displaced families to move in.



I expect that people will start sleeping in the shops if people keep fleeing from the neighborhoods that have been taken by the Syrian Army to these neighborhoods, he told ABC News. Many families are still looking for places to shelter them from the bombardments and the cold.



Dahhan said that he wants to leave the small and shrinking rebel-held area, but that he believes the Syrian government will detain him if he does.



Us lawyers didnt carry weapons but we are wanted by the government and cant leave without international assurances, he said, adding that many other groups of people are in similar positions -- media professionals, civil society activists and local council members.



According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 120,000 people have been displaced in Aleppo -- including 90,000 who have fled to areas recently seized by the government. On Friday, the U.N. said that hundreds of men have gone missing after fleeing the rebel-held part of the city for government-held areas, voicing concerns that they may have been mistreated by the Syrian government.



Um Ahmad told ABC News her daughter fled the rebel-held part of Aleppo for government areas around 10 days ago with her young children, her husband and his brother. When they arrived at the first few checkpoints they were welcomed by Syrian government forces, Um Ahmads daughter told her. The soldiers even helped them carry their bags into the green buses that would transport them to the government-held part of Aleppo. They encouraged children to smile to the camera and photographed them, she said. But after the camera was put away, they took the IDs of young men and started beating them -- her daughters husband and his brother were among them, Um Ahmad said.



They took her husband and his brother and about eight other men out of the bus and my daughter doesnt know what direction they went or where they took them, said Um Ahmad, who lives in an opposition-held city in Aleppos northern countryside and uses a pseudonym out of fear for repercussions. She said that her daughter in government-held Aleppo cannot speak to journalists because its too dangerous -- and that she communicates with her daughter in code. Intense airstrikes and hunger pushed her daughter to finally make the decision to leave, said Um Ahmad.



Now that they are in government areas they have food," she said. "But my daughter told me that her children are refusing to eat. They are saying, 'We wont eat until dad gets here.' They are already starving and I am sure she forced them to eat, but they told her, 'We will eat when they release dad.'

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
When the 115th Congress convenes in early January, North Carolina's delegation is poised to play a prominent role in charting a post-Obama course on a host of policy issues.As I've previously noted, Sen. Richard Burr will begin the 2017 session as chairman of the Intelligence Committee and as a primary sponsor of the Senate's Obamacare replacement. But other North Carolina Republicans are moving to the forefront, as well.A top priority for Congress and the incoming Trump administration will be tax reform. There is broad agreement about the overall direction to go - lower marginal tax rates, fewer special breaks, and a more pro-investment tax code - but significant disagreement on details. Fundamental tax reform is easy to talk about in the abstract but difficult to implement in practice.It has been the states, not the federal government, that have enacted broad-based tax reform in recent years. Our own North Carolina passed one of the most successful ones. One of the leaders who made it happen, former N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis, now serves in the U.S. Senate. His colleagues will benefit from his experience.Over in the U.S. House, two caucuses of Republicans will have a lot to say about tax and budget issues. One of them, the Republican Study Committee, was founded in the 1970s by conservative Hill staffers and activists who also founded a conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, that same year. The founding chairman of the RSC was the late Phil Crane, himself a prominent tax reformer.Over the years, RSC chairs have included Vice President-elect Mike Pence and former North Carolina congresswoman Sue Myrick (whose son, Dan Forest, is North Carolina's lieutenant governor). In the 115th Congress, the RSC will be chaired by another North Carolinian, Mark Walker of the 6th District.Last year, dissident members of the RSC split off to form their own group, the House Freedom Caucus. They believed that the current GOP leadership in the chamber was too willing to compromise core principles and too unwilling to challenge President Obama. During 2015 and 2016, dozens of other members joined the Freedom Caucus. In the 115th Congress, it will be chaired by yet another North Carolinian, Mark Meadows of the 11th District.Within the formal leadership of the Republicans in the House, Pat McHenry of the 10th District serves as the chief deputy whip, which means he is a critical link in the chain that leads to bills passing the House. McHenry is expected to make a play soon for a top leadership post. Another GOP congressman from North Carolina, Richard Hudson of the 8th District, is widely seen as a potential candidate for statewide office.Virginia Foxx, who represents the 5th District and previously served in the state Senate, has already served in leadership as secretary of the House Republican Conference. In the coming 115th Congress, she'll chair the House's education committee - a very important post from which she will influence federal policy on elementary and secondary schools, universities, and job training.In the minority party, longtime Rep. David Price of the 4th District is the key North Carolinian to watch. He serves as ranking member on the House Appropriation Committee's subcommittee that covers transportation and housing. If there is any bipartisan push on infrastructure or devolving federal programs to the states in 2017, Price's subcommittee likely will be involved.North Carolinians have played key roles in the nation's capital before. Our longest-serving congressman, Alleghany County's Robert Doughton, spent 42 years in office, chaired the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and helped shepherd through the Social Security Act of 1935. More recently, Jesse Helms spent 30 years in the U.S. Senate and chaired its Foreign Relations Committee.What's different now is that seniority isn't the only pathway to influence in Washington. The two Marks, Walker and Meadows, exemplify this development. Allied with outside groups and new media, recently elected members can have strong voices. We'll be hearing a lot from them in the coming months and years.
Chinese observers have said that co-operation between China and Philippines in the defense and security field, if realized, would further develop the relationship as well as boost mutual trust.

Meanwhile, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday that he had decided to accept an arms deal offered by China, reports China Daily.

Duterte said he has directed Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to send a general to formally receive the guns from Beijing, which were offered through what Duterte described as "a grant payable in 25 years".

However, the Philippine Department of National Defense said on Monday that the deal has no timeline yet for when details will be finalized.

Duterte's visit to China in October also marked the overall improvement of bilateral ties, which were soured by his predecessor Benigno Aquino III, who unilaterally launched an arbitration case against China in a dispute over the South China Sea.

During the visit, the two countries agreed to focus on cooperation and to solve their disputes through direct talks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Human Rights Watch has claimed that the Myanmar military deliberately burned the houses of Rohingya, a Muslim minority in the Buddhist majority country.

According to the HRW, satellite images could prove that villages in Myanmar's restive Rakhine State were deliberately burned to the ground, reports the CNN.

The organization claims that the timing of the various incidents and their "spacial trends" offer evidence of a pattern that is "consistent with military operations and not random village acts of self-immolation."

The east-to-west movement of buildings that were burned to the ground is consistent with a military sweep, according to HRW deputy director of Asia division Phil Robertson.

"Basic common sense tells you that the military are responsible for this," he said.

Human Rights Watch also released before and after satellite images of specific villages it said had been burned.

The Myanmar Government has previously denied reports that the military was responsible for burning villages, placing the blame on attackers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Azam Saigol has resigned from his post following the crash of flight PK-661 near Islamabad which claimed the lives of all 48 people on-board.

The Express Tribune quoted PIA spokesperson Danyal Gillani, as saying that Saigol resigned citing personal reasons.

He had been PIA chairman since May 2016.

The airline has announced temporary suspension of its 10 ATR flights after the Civil Aviation Authority took a decision to hold shakedown tests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is waging war against the poor people through demonetisation.

"PM Modi has waged a war against the poor people. I don't see any rich or black money holders in the queue, they are withdrawing money using the back door," he said at a rally in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.

"The situation will not normalise in 50 days but the nation will bear the brunt of the demonetisation move for years," Gandhi told ANI adding that the decision had been taken without consulting any expert.

"If I will be allowed to speak in the Parliament then I will explain what is the objective and reason behind demonetizing high denomination currency notes," he added.

He further said that Prime Minister Modi does not want to listen and only wants to speak.

Gandhi said that Prime Minister's narrative has changed over time. First it was fight against black money, then terrorism and now it's about making society cashless.

Ridiculing the government's demonetisation move, he added, "He talks about making the society cashless, but the society has already become cashless because of this move."

"A few big businessmen have taken Rs 8 lakh crore loans from banks, which they are not paying back. PM cannot bring back money from the loan defaulters as they were the ones to market him. Hence, PM has made you stand in lines for banks to function," he added.

Earlier, former finance minister P Chidambaram had slammed the move, calling it this year's biggest scam, which needed a thorough probe.

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Pope Francis in an appeal to Bashar al-Assad has urged the Syrian President to respect international humanitarian law and to protect the rights of civilians in the war-torn country.

Francis's message was contained in a letter delivered directly to Assad on Monday by Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Vatican's top diplomat in Syria, reports the Guardian.

Forces loyal to the Assad regime are moving closer to taking the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo after intense artillery shelling and airstrikes that have killed or displaced thousands.

Hundreds of thousands of people in east Aleppo have been living with dwindling food supplies, a lack of fuel, water and electricity and no access to hospitals.

The Vatican said the letter contained an appeal to the president and the international community to end the violence and condemned "all forms of extremism and terrorism from whatever quarter they may come".

It said Francis was appealing "to the president to ensure that international humanitarian law is fully respected with regard to the protection of the civilians and access to humanitarian aid".

On Sunday in a message delivered in St Peter's Square, the Pope also called on followers not to forget the suffering of civilians in Aleppo.

The Vatican initially declined to confirm the existence and contents of the letter after it was initially published by a Syrian news website alongside a picture of Assad sitting next to Zenari.

It is not common practice for the Vatican to release private correspondence by the Pope.

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In an effort to introduce Naxalites back into mainstream society, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) recently sent 20 girls from Naxal areas on an expedition to Ahmedabad, Dwarka, Jamnagar and New Delhi from Gaya.

"The place from where the girls come from, that is affected by Naxalism. A strong message will go out to these areas and the villagers will get a chance to directly contact the government," said District Magistrate Kumar Ravi.

He further said that the step will provide a great experience with this tour and will be able to connect to other part of the country culturally.

"This is the first time people of this place have got such opportunity. This will surely have a great experience and will help to develop our Naxal-hit places," said Shani Das, the brother of one of the girls selected for the trip.

Families of these girls and residents of Gaya are delighted by the step and are looking forward to many more such efforts by the government in the future.

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Nationalist Congress Party general secretary Devi Prasad Tripathi on Tuesday said strict action should be taken against West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Ghosh for his anti-women comment against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"We all have asked for strict action against West Bengal BJP president for his statement. It was not just anti-democracy and anti-humanity, but was an anti-woman statement as well, and for that, stringent action should be taken against him," Tripathi told ANI.

However, reprimanding the 'fatwa' issued Kolkata's Tipu Sultan Mosque imam Maulana Noor-ur Rahman Barkati against Ghosh, the NCP general secretary said, "There was no need at all for the Tipu Sultan Mosque imam to act foolishly."

The BJP state chief had said, "When Mamata was doing her theatrics in Delhi, we could have dragged her away by her hair if we wanted to. Our police were there, but we didn't do it."

As BJP leader and Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the Centre was ready for a debate, and therefore, the opposition parties should allow in Parliament to function, Tripathi said, "The opposition parties had said a few days back to resume the debate without any rule, then why did not they do it? Even if Venkaiah Naidu and the BJP start the debate now, it will be good because only few days are left for it."

When asked about China's statement where its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that its position on India's entry to the NSG as well as designating Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as terrorist by the United Nations remains unchanged, the NCP leader said, "China should not take such a stand, because it is not just ant-India, but also against international relations. On the one hand, China is supporting terrorism (by supporting Pakistan), and on the other, it is against India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, even as the entire world is backing India's bid."

Shuang said, "As for India's application to join the NSG and the listing matter of the UN Security Council 1267 Committee, China's position is very clear and unchanged."

The spokesperson added that in recent years, the strategic partnership for cooperation between India and China has made all-around progress and that it is normal for the two big countries who are also close neighbours to differ on some issues.

"But the main theme for the bilateral relationship is friendship and cooperation, while differences are secondary," he added.

He made the remark when asked about Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's statement that both China and India should respect each other's legitimate aspirations, and that China should not give political colour to India's efforts to access civilian nuclear technology.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday said that the Tata Group of companies will suffer because of the greed of Ratan Tata.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) who are to decide the fate of ousted group chairman Cyrus Mistry, Swamy said, "That is one of the small parts of the Tata, the main thing is the vote that comes from the general body from Tata Sons. The fact is that Mr. Ratan Tata is already the voter and the director by illegal means; he is the nominee of the Tata Trust. Tata Trust is a charitable trust. It cannot play any role in the commercial activities of Tata Sons, and so far, nobody has paid attention. So, they have been carrying on."

"Now, this all will be challenged in court. Tata's will suffer because of the greed of the Mr. Ratan Tata," he added.

The Tata group led by Ratan Tata is expected to have a cakewalk and oust Mistry as Tata Sons holds a huge stake of over 73 per cent in TCS.

The voting pattern of mutual funds and institutions will give an indication of the level of support Mistry enjoys from shareholders in general, which in turn could set the tone for other Tata EGMs that are to follow in the coming days.

On November 10, Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, sacked Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), bringing in Ishaat Hussain as the new chairman of the software services firm.

Swamy had yesterday wrote to the Acting Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe into the role of former defence secretary Vijay Singh and Tata Sons interim chairman Ratan Tata in the Agusta Westland chopper scam.

Talking to ANI about his letter, Swamy stated that he has urged the CBI acting director to look into the matter of how Ratan Tata appointed Vijay Singh to the board of Tata Trusts, which in itself is illegal.

"Ratan Tata went and deposed in Italy in the trial in the Agusta scam, so that itself makes it necessary to interrogate Mr Tata, because how is he involved? If he can obey a summons from Italy, he can obey one from India also," Swamy said.

Further stating that all allegations made by sacked Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry so far have been proven true, the senior BJP leader added, "For instance the Air Asia scandal has been proved by records and Delhi High Court has taken notice of it. So, here also it is necessary for the CBI to summon both Vijay Singh who was defence Secretary and also Ratan Tata and interrogate them."

Accusing Ratan Tata of conspiring with Singh, Swamy states in his letter that the ex defence secretary had engaged in corrupt practices in the Agusta Westland scam, which the CBI is currently probing.

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ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is likely to be named by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as secretary of state, sources have said.

Tillerson emerged as the prominent candidate for the post through lengthy public interview and selection process that included better-known faces like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney and Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

Tillerson has close relationships with many leaders and has been described by Trump as a "world-class player".

CNN quotes sources, as saying that former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and James Baker and former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates Tillerson recommended Tillerson for the job.

Sources said Trump found a level of comfort in Tillerson which he hadn't found with anyone else and both of them have similar deal making business backgrounds.

Negotiating a deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft to provide access to lucrative oil resources in the Arctic, Tillerson developed his close ties with Putin.

Tillerson was awarded prestigious Order of Friendship in 2013 for his efforts by Putin.

Tillerson who joined the Exxon Company in 1975 as a production engineer became its chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) in 2006 following the retirement of Lee Raymond.

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Axis Bank rose 0.71% to Rs 447.78 at 9:50 IST on BSE after the bank proposes to raise funds by issuing unsecured subordinated, perpetual, additional tier I, Basel III compliant non-convertible debentures.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 12 December 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 59.87 points, or 0.23%, to 26,575.11.

On the BSE, 96,339 shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volume of 7.1 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 448.25 and a low of Rs 442.25 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 638 on 7 September 2016. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 366.65 on 18 January 2016.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 12 December 2016, falling 10.79% compared with the 1.13% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 24.92% as against Sensex's 6.48% decline.

The large-cap private sector bank has equity capital of Rs 478.24 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Axis Bank announced that the bank proposes to raise funds by issuing unsecured subordinated, perpetual, additional tier I, Basel III compliant non-convertible debentures of the face value of Rs 10 lakh each for cash at par aggregating to Rs 3500 crore.

The board of directors of the bank will consider the proposal to issue and allot the securities through circular resolution. On receipt of the approval of the board of directors, the bank will intimate to the stock exchanges the date of passing of the circular resolution and other details of the issue.

Axis Bank's net profit declined 83.3% to Rs 319.08 crore on 14.1% growth in total income to Rs 13698.77 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015.

Axis Bank is one of the biggest private sector banks in India.

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Siedle suggests pending SEC action could uncover legal problems involving investment managers and fees

More than two years after releasing a scathing report alleging that a glut of investment fund managers are collecting fees that have plundered North Carolina's state employee pension plan, financial investigator Edward "Ted" Siedle said upcoming Securities and Exchange Commission action could relate to a whistleblower complaint filed with the federal agency.Siedle, founder of Benchmark Financial Services in Ocean Ridge, Fla., told Carolina Journal. He specializes in finding excessive and hidden fees and identifying investment managers cloaked from disclosure by pension plan operators.said Siedle, a former SEC attorney.Siedle conducted a preliminary forensics study on the North Carolina Teachers and State Employees Retirement System, which has 900,000 members, in 2014 for the State Employees Association of North Carolina. State Treasurer Janet Cowell is the sole fiduciary for the state's pension plans, which now have $89.8 billion in assets, the 10th-largest public pension system in the nation.That analysis formed part of the basis for SEANC's whistleblower complaint alleging possible pay-to-play rules violations by Cowell, former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, founder of a firm that secretively manages some state pension fund investments, and his wife, JPMorgan Chase Board of Directors member Crandall Bowles, who held political fundraisers for Cowell.At the time Erskine Bowles said he had no active management role in the investment firm, and believed state pension fund investments should be public records.Siedle said of his current collaboration with the SEC. He is examining "several matters" on a larger scale that "are heavily" relevant to problems he identified in North Carolina, and might involve some of the same players, he said.Without directly referencing North Carolina, Siedle cited a New York Times article published in August that highlighted his work with an Indiana whistleblower. JPMorgan Chase paid a $950,000 settlement to Indiana for what the state termed practicesIn his 2014 study, Siedle wrote that the state pension fund had underperformed by $6.8 billion due to excessive fees paid to outside investment managers, and lost investment opportunities. He concluded more than $30 billion was steered into hedge, private equity, venture, and real estate alternatives funds likely set up in large part in offshore, high-cost accounts with high-risk managers.Cowell has used the North Carolina Trade Secrets Protection Act to thwart inspection of many investment performance documents and fee arrangements. Governor-elect Roy Cooper wrote an opinion as attorney general upholding the trade secrets disclosure exemption to public records laws.Siedle said his 2014 analysis isMost of his conclusionsSiedle said.He is strongly critical of Cowell for the secretive pension management he believes siphons money out of the state pension through $180 million in unnecessary placement agent fees, direct investment in about 300 funds, and indirect investment in hundreds more of undisclosed underlying funds of funds that are spread around the world.In 2014, Cowell, through a spokesman, denied Siedle's contentions.Siedle maintains that Cowell should have authorized a thorough, independent audit of the pension plan.In response to a request for an update on the SEC complaint, Treasurer's Office spokesman Brad Young wrote,A request for an interview with Cowell was denied.Siedle criticized state Auditor Beth Wood for not auditing the pension plan more aggressively, saying she "doesn't have a clue, and you can quote me on that. ... If you tell me that 30 percent of the assets of the state pension fund are in the Cayman Islands I'd get on a plane," and go there to investigate, Siedle said, calling the auditor "Dead Wood.""The General Assembly has asked our office in legislation for more detailed audits of the six largest agencies in state government, including the Department of the State Treasurer," said Bill Holmes, a spokesman for Wood.Holmes said.The Auditor's Officehe said.Treasurer-elect Dale Folwell said he has no updated information on the SEC complaint, and reserved comment. He promised on the campaign trail that on assuming office he immediately would meet with investment managers to determine where pension fund money is invested, who manages it, the amount of fees paid, and performance records.Siedle said.Siedle said.Siedle warned that any investment problems Folwell spots but doesn't remedy in his first yearif a serious issue arises, and "
Valued at Euro 175 million

BLS International Services announced that the Company has been awarded a Contract from Spain MAEC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation - Spain) with a Value of 175 Million EURO (equivalent to INR 1300 crore appx.) on 12 December 2016.

The Company shall open nearly 100 Spanish Visa Application Centers to support the Spanish Embassies & Consulates of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Spain MAEC) Globally.

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Hindustan Copper fell 2.22% to Rs 61.80 at 14:50 IST on BSE after net profit fell 11.04% to Rs 6.77 crore on 10.40% decline in total income to Rs 213.72 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015.

The result was announced during trading hours today, 13 December 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 149.25 points, or 0.56%, to 26,664.49.

On the BSE, so far 3.02 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volumes of 1.69 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 64.60 and a low of Rs 60.90 so far during the day.

The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 73.60 on 22 August 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 42.30 on 19 February 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 12 December 2016, rising 5.25% compared with the 1.13% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 2.32% as against Sensex's 6.48% decline.

The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 462.61 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

Hindustan Copper (HCL), a public sector enterprise of the Government of India, has the distinction of being India's only vertically integrated copper producing company encompassing mining, beneficiation, smelting, refining and casting of refined copper metal.

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At board meeting held on 13 December 2016

Max India announced that the Board of Directors of the Company on 13 December 2016 took note of the resignation of Sanjeev Mehra from the Board of Directors of the Company effective 08 August 2016. Simultaneously, the position held by Lavanya Ashok as Alternate Director to Sanjeev Mehra on the Board of the Company stands vacated.

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Vascon Engineers rose 2.41% to Rs 31.90 at 14:45 IST on BSE after the company reported net profit of Rs 0.87 crore in Q2 September 2016 compared with net loss of Rs 6.26 crore in Q2 September 2015.

The result was announced during market hours today, 13 December 2016.

More than usual volumes were witnessed on the counter. On the BSE, 3.91 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with an average volume of 2.52 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 33 and a low of Rs 30.90 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 41.85 on 26 October 2016. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 20.80 on 29 February 2016.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 12 December 2016, falling 2.35% compared with the 1.13% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 11.76% as against Sensex's 6.48% decline.

The small-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 161.34 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Vascon Engineers' net total income from operations fell 30.43% to Rs 52.92 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015.

Separately, Vascon Engineers announced that the board of directors of the company at a meeting held today, 13 December 2016, approved the sale of its holding in Viorica Hotels for a consideration of Rs 15.60 crore.

Vascon Engineers is a premier realty, engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) & clean room partitioning companies.

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Some 4,000 US soldiers along with vehicles and other equipment will be deployed in Poland in 2017, a US senior commander said on Tuesday.

Xinhua news agency quoted Lieutenant General Frederick Hodges, commander of the United States Army Europe, as saying that at the start of next year, the troops would arrive in Germany from where they would continue on to Poland.

Hodges gave this speech at a German armed forces logistics school in Osterholz-Scharmbeck in northern Germany. He said northern Germany would be a logistical hub for transferring US troops to Central and Eastern Europe.

The aim of the deployment was to secure peace in Europe and provide a demonstration of strength aimed at Russia, Hodges added.

Polish News Agency reported that as part of the Atlantic Resolve NATO operation, these soldiers would strengthen US forces in NATO's eastern countries.

At the Warsaw summit in July, NATO leaders agreed to deploy four battalions with a size of up to 1,000 each to the three Baltic states and Poland.

--IANS

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Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju for his alleged involvement in an Arunachal Pradesh hydro project scam.

Quoting newspaper reports, AAP leader Ashish Khetan accused Rijiju of using his influence as a Minister to help his cousin in the "Rs 450 crore scam".

"This is a serious matter. Rijiju has no right to remain a Minister after being exposed in this scam. He should immediately resign from his post," Khetan said.

The AAP leader also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an independent probe into the alleged scam.

"We also request the Prime Minister to ensure that Rijiju and his family do not influence the probe," he said.

The newspaper claimed that Rijiju had written letters to clear payments of the contractors in the construction of two dams for the 600MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

Earlier in the day, Rijiju slammed the daily for "planting" a story about his alleged involvement in a power project and said if they visit Arunachal Pradesh, they will be "thrashed with shoes".

--IANS

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The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community announced it will hold its three-day yearly convention in Punjab, here on Tuesday and extended an invitation to all countrymen to visit the spiritual gathering.

The 122nd Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) will be held in Qadian in Gurdaspur district, from December 26-28. It will be addressed by the community's fifth and current caliph, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, from Britain through livecast.

"The objective of this Jalsa is to present pure, pristine and peaceful teachings of Islam. Likewise to call people towards their creator, to develop love, affection and compassion among the creations of God, and promote brotherhood, are also its objectives," a statement issued by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat International (India) said.

At the convention, religious leaders of the community from around the country will address people on the tenets of Islam and its power to promote peace and harmony in the world.

A separate gathering of women will also be convened there, where they will discuss their issues and present an agenda to work on during the next year.

Ahmadi is a sect of Islam which is widely perceived to be different from the mainstream form of the as they believe that the advent of a messiah, as promised by the Prophet Muhammad, has already happened.

They believe, unlike the mainstream believers of Islam, that the messiah was incarnated in 1835 in the form of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

In 1889, Ahmad proclaimed himself the awaited messiah, and was widely subscribed to be so by Muslims from around the world. The followers of Ahmad thus came to be called 'Ahmadis' or 'Ahmadiyyas'.

The first annual convention of the community took place in Qadian in 1891 and has been taking place here since, barring a couple of years during the country's partition.

"We are completely same as the other mainstream followers of Islam but for our belief in the advent of a messiah, which they believe is yet to take place," Shiraz Ahmad, Additional Chief Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, told IANS.

"We have been persecuted in Pakistan for this reason and yet we have never resorted to violence, nor formed any militant body," he added.

The Ahmadi community was proclaimed 'non-Islamic' in Pakistan in 1974 during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Prime Ministership. Later, punitive measures were also imposed upon the community, which barred its members from offering namaaz and calling their place of worship 'masjid' (mosque). Instead, they were asked to call it 'ibaadatgaah'.

"We are discriminated amongst Muslims in India as well. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) doesn't have a single representation in it from Ahmadi sect, because even they don't consider us Islamic," the Ahmadiyya spokesperson told IANS.

"There are about 1.25 -1.50 lakh Ahmadis in India and we all profess our loyalty to India," he added.

--IANS

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With the possibility of militant outfits in Assam trying to convert their old currency into new post demonetisation, police urged banks to keep strict track of transactions.

The Police asked the banks to be careful especially regarding huge deposits in places where it is mostly unlikely, officials said on Tuesday.

During a recent meeting, Police asked 14 major banks in Assam, including Reserve Bank of India's Guwahati office, to keep a lookout for ways in which militants may possibly get their money converted into new currency notes.

The meeting was chaired by Special Director General (Law and Order) Kuladhar Saikia.

The banks have been told to alert the state police in case there is any exchange of money through contractors and traders involved in business across the border.

Keeping in view the modus operandi in earlier cases, the bankers have been told to be alert about sudden huge money transfers to accounts of companies, firms and business entities if there was an attempt at extortion.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 evening, he stated curbing terror funding as one of the objectives behind the move.

The banks in Assam have also been told to inform police in case there was an extra submission of school fees termed Children Education Allowance either for the children of militants or the children of their kin.

Banks officials have also been told to strictly monitor third party transfers which is what militants could resort to get their money exchanged.

"Scarcity of cash has handicapped the ultras in terms of extortion. Any sort of covert or overt collusion with militants in collecting the money and extortion could be taken as part of facilitating terror financing," Saika told IANS.

Informed sources said that eagerness among the militant groups in Assam to get their money exchanged is more as some of them are trying to regroup themselves on a common platform.

According to Assam police, districts like Charaideo and Dibrugarh have witnessed apprehension of militants while collecting money through various means recently.

Similar cases were also witnessed in Bodo Territorial Area Districts of the state leading to the arrest of a number of militants and recovery of arms.

The militant groups currently active in the state are the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) and a number of Karbi militant outfits.

--IANS

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Australia is in danger of losing its position as an Antarctic leader, as well as its claim over the frozen continent, unless it maintains funding for its scientific research program, experts said.

Countries including China and Russia were seeking to broaden their share and exert more power, ABC news reported on Tuesday.

The Australian program was currently "well-funded" but it's crucial resources continued to feed the work scientists were doing.

Australia asserts sovereignty over 42 per cent of Antarctica, and has deep historic ties to the continent, but new players were emerging and challenging the traditional arrangements.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Anthony Bergin fears countries like China and Russia were playing for the long haul.

Bergin said both were up-front in their desire to exploit the continent.

"If the Antarctic Treaty were to collapse, then obviously all bets would be off in terms of countries legally being able to pursue a military presence in Antarctica," Bergin said.

Australia was one of the 12 original signatories to the Treaty which ensures Antarctica remains a conservation zone: free from mining, exploration and crucially, military bases.

While the economic value of Antarctica cannot be measured, there could be massive mineral, oil and gas reserves beneath the surface, and a virtually untouched krill fishery off the coast.

Australian Labor MP and a keen Antarctic observer, David Feeney said the global rules governing Antarctica could be re-written in a few decades.

He said Australia needed to maintain its influence around the negotiating table to ensure the status quo remained.

While Australia has three scientific research bases and a replacement ice-breaker on the way, China is searching for a site for its fifth research base and building a new class of ice-breaker vessels.

According to Feeney, years of under-funding have eroded Australia's standing in Antarctica and "we need to take far more seriously our presence there and investment in our presence there".

--IANS

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The Eastern Railways has entered into an agreement with country's largest lender State Bank of India to purchase and install 815 PoS machines at the ticket booking counters under its jurisdiction, a railway official said on Tuesday.

"We have installed 10 machines already. Our plan is to cover all the passenger reservation system (PRS) counters of Kolkata and suburbs in the next seven days," said Eastern Railways' Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer Dipankar Lahiri.

He said that all the PRS counters under Eastern Railways, from Bihar's Bhagalpur to the Bangladesh border, would be covered, and all the unreserved ticketing system (UTS) counters would also be brought in the cashless system.

"Installing of PoS at all the PRS and UTS counters will be completed by January 15, 2017," he said, adding that the Railways will pay Rs 3.74 lakh to SBI for purchasing and installation purpose.

In the second phase, the Eastern Railways will buy machines to keep as a stand-by at all the points where tickets are sold, Lahiri said. Ticket bookers will have to pay 0.75 percent additionally in case of booking through debit card and they need to pay 1.5 percent in case of booking through credit card over and above the cost of the tickets.

"No charge will be levied till December end but charges will be imposed from January," he said.

"Depending on the terminal, monthly charge per machine will vary from Rs 220 to Rs 400 which is very nominal," said SBI's Chief General Manager (Kolkata circle) Partha Pratim Sengupta.

Sengupta also said the bank has supplied 10 PoS to South-Eastern Railways and will supply 158 more to them.

--IANS

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Contact: McCrory Communications

McCrory Communications govpress@nc.gov

Raleigh, N.C. Governor Pat McCrory signed an Executive Order this week finalizing the boundary line between the state of North Carolina and South Carolina from Polk to Brunswick County.said Governor McCrory.Efforts to clarify the boundary between North and South Carolina began in 1995, and in May 2013, the Joint North Carolina/South Carolina Boundary Commission completed its work to settle the boundary line. In June 2016, Governor McCrory signed legislation identifying the new border which goes into effect on January 1, 2017. The bill addressed tax, education and property concerns for several impacted communities.To read Executive Order 118, click here
A special court on Tuesday held five accused guilty in the 2013 twin bomb blasts case.

Pronouncing the judgement, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court fixed December 18 for announcing the quantum of punishment for the five operatives of Indian Mujahideen.

The five accused found guilty are Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Yasin Bhatkal alias Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa, Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, Pakistani national Zia ur Rehman alias Waqas, and Ajaz Shaikh.

The twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar area in Hyderabad on February 21, 2013, claimed 19 lives and injured over 130 people.

The NIA, which probed the case, concluded that the blasts were engineered by the Indian Mujahideen operatives.

Out of the six accused in the case, the investigating agency arrested five. Main accused Riyaz Bhatkal alias Shah Riyaz Ahmad Mohammed Ismail Shahbandari is absconding.

For the last one year, the trial had been going on in the special court at Cherlapally Central Prison on the city outskirts where the five accused are currently lodged.

The NIA has produced 158 witnesses, seized 201 pieces of material evidence and furnished over 500 documents in the court.

Six months after the blasts, Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akthar were arrested from an area in Bihar close to the Nepal border. Three other accused were arrested subsequently and the NIA filed two chargesheets against the five accused.

The twin blasts occurred within a distance of 100 metres at crowded places in Dilsukhnagar on the evening of February 21, 2013.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
France's newly-appointed Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Tuesday won the National Assembly's confidence vote with a large majority, according to the lower house of parliament.

Cazeneuve won the backing of 305 lawmakers to head the Socialist Party (PS) cabinet, while 239 voted against him, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I know that this mission will be brief but I want to exercise it fully. I want to continue reforming to pursue our country's recovery," he said.

Addressing the National Assembly before the confidence vote, Cazeneuve pledged "to make every day count" with "competitiveness, growth ...fighting unemployment will obviously remain the government priorities".

"We can reform without injuring. We can modernise without destroying," he told lawmakers, referring to the conservative candidate for presidential election Francois Fillon's proposal to slash 500,000 public posts and limit public health insurance.

A week ago, French President Francois Hollande named Cazeneuve as the head of his executive staff until a new head of state is elected next May.

The government's minor reshuffle was prompted by the resignation of former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who announced he was stepping down in order to prepare for the 2017 presidential election.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
IAF chief Arup Raha would inaugurate the Central Air Command's station commanders conference in Allahabad on Wednesday, a defence spokesperson said.

Air Chief Marshal Raha would also be addressing air warriors and civilian employees of the command headqurters on his vision of Indian Air Force (IAF).

The conference, chaired by Central Air Command chief, Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha, will be attended by the commanders of all the IAF establishments within the command's jurisdiction and provide a forum for them to exchange views on operation, maintenance and administrative matters requiring deliberations with senior command officials.

On the sidelines of the conference, the IAF chief's wife Lily Raha, who is also president of Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA), would also preside over the regional chapter's Board of Management meeting where she would review various welfare measures undertaken for the benefit of the air warriors' spouses and their family members to improve the quality of life.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the Maldives will conduct joint military exercise 'Ekuverin' from December 15, focusing on counter terrorism and amphibious operations, an official statement said.

This is the seventh edition of the exercise and will be held from December 15 to 28 at Kadhdhoo, Laamu atoll in the Maldives.

"The exercise is a 14-day platoon level joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force conducted on a yearly basis," an official statement from the Indian Army said.

"The aim of the exercise is to conduct military training with emphasis on amphibious and counter-terrorism operations with a view to enhance inter-operability between the two armies," it said.

The contingents comprise platoon strength from Bihar Regiment and a similar strength of the Maldivian National Defence Force.

The previous edition of the exercise was held in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian-origin doctor miraculously survived a plane crash on Sunday when the plane he was piloting developed an engine trouble and came down in the frigid waters of Long Island Sound, an estuary off the city.

Inderpal Chhabra and his co-pilot David Tobachnik climbed out of the sinking plane and hung on to a rock till they were rescued, News 12 cable station reported.

Chhabra, a 1992 graduate of Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi, described the event as a "controlled landing" and not a crash as he was in control of his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, till it hit the water.

"It was a controlled landing on the water, it was not a crash," Chhabra told WABC TV. "Up until the last minute that I hit the water, I was actually still flying the plane."

Chhabra said that he and the co-pilot waited on the plane's wing till it sank and then swam the short distance to a large rock from where they were rescued.

News 12 said that he had taken off from MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma on Long Island, about 100 kilometres from New York City, and was headed to Calverton.

"As soon as I reached cruising altitude it got a little bit of a shudder, so I looked at my co-pilot and was like, 'Should we turn back?'" Chhabra told WABC. "And he said, 'Yeah you should.'"

He said he was prepared for dealing with the emergency. "This is what we train for," he said. "Fly the plane all the way into the crash, and I'm so glad that's what I did."

The wait for the rescue seemed like an eternity to him.

"I was like, why is this taking them so long? We could see the police helicopters directly over us, so we knew that help was near, but it seemed like an eternity," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A new Islamic State attack on Palmyra in Syria from the besieged Mosul region of Iraq could be "orchestrated" to divert the attention of Syrian government forces from Aleppo and spare the militants entrenched in the city, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

The fact that the Islamic State militants launched their offensive on Palmyra from Iraq and "apparently from Mosul" and marched through the "territories patrolled by the aircraft of the US-led coalition makes one think that -- and I really hope to be wrong here -- that it was orchestrated and coordinated to give a respite to those thugs, who are entrenched in eastern Aleppo," the Foreign Minister was cited by RT news as saying.

Lavrov went on to say that the US has been conducting a two-faced policy towards terrorist groups in Syria from the very beginning of the Syrian crisis. The US-led coalition is fighting the slamic State but was studiously avoiding targeting another terrorist group, which is Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, he said.

"There is a significant number of reasons to believe that (Al-Nusra) was being spared as the most effective combat-capable force, which opposes the governmental (forces) of the ground in order to be used for overthrowing the legitimate Syrian government when the time comes," Lavrov told journalists.

At the same time, he said Russia is still ready to guarantee that the corridors allowing the militants to leave Aleppo will not be targeted by the Syrian government forces and once again asked the US to persuade the armed groups to leave the city.

"Those who want to be the part of the reconciliation process should immediately join the ceasefire regime, as all the others would be regarded as legitimate targets," the Minister said, referring to the armed groups fighting the government forces in Syria.

He also expressed hope that the US will stop "exonerate" the militants and will confirm its commitment to the "fundamental agreement" on "uncompromising struggle against terrorism." At the same time, he admitted that the talks between Russia and the US on Syria were difficult.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In collaboration with the Melbourne Writers Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival will host 'JLF@Melbourne', an exciting pop-up festival with a difference which will be a celebration of the written and spoken word.

Australia's High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu, at a curtain-raiser event here on Tuesday evening, announced the Melbourne edition of the festival, which will feature internationally acclaimed writers and thinkers from India and Australia.

"In an extraordinary presentation of talks, performances, music and poetry at Fed Square, JLF@Melbourne will be an exploration of culture, migration, identity and gender issues, politics, environment, travel and history," the organisers of the lit fest said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday slammed the Congress for calling demonetisation the "biggest scam", and ridiculed it for not taking any steps against corruption in its decade- long rule till 2014.

"There were two striking features of the two Congress regimes. No steps against corruption or black money; and corruption, scams peaked during UPA regime.

"It is not surprising that Congress is uncomfortable with NDA campaign against black money," Jaitley told media persons here.

Jaitley also urged the opposition parties to join the campaign against black money, and assured them of a debate on the issue in Parliament.

"Urge my opposition friends, we are ready to debate this issue in Parliament. Please rise above slogans and join this campaign," he said.

Earlier, Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that demonetisation was "the biggest scam of the year" and demanded an investigation into how some people were managing to get bundles of new Rs 2,000 notes while the masses struggled to withdraw even one Rs 2,000 note.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A home guard of the Kolkata Police was arrested for allegedly molesting a minor girl, the police said on Tuesday.

Dilip Sha, a home guard of the Kolkata Police, was arrested on Monday night for molesting a minor girl near B.G. Press in South Kolkata's Alipore when she was alone, an officer of the Alipore police station said.

The accused home guard was arrested based on the complaints made by the girl's parents.

"He will be presented in the court today where we would ask for his police remand," the officer said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The German Chancellor and French President criticised Russia on Tuesday over its role in Syria and the situation in Ukraine, advocating the extension of sanctions against Moscow while there is no progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreements.

Speaking at a press conference along with President Francois Hollande, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the situation in Syria was heartbreaking and stressed it was the government regime that was responsible, along with Russia and Iran, reports Efe.

Hollande said he did not see much difference between the roles of the Syrian regime and Russia, emphasising the need to "act now".

The two leaders also touched on the Ukrainian conflict and came out in favour of maintaining sanctions against Russia over it if there is no progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Hollande and Merkel met in Berlin on the occasion of the first bilateral congress to promote digitisation.

The European leaders also used the meeting to prepare for the next European Council to identify common topics ahead of upcoming European Union summits.

Merkel and Hollande agreed that Syria and Ukraine are the topics which will be addressed with the other EU leaders, as would the migration crisis and the need to promote agreements with African countries.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Housing to provide short-term housing for areas not covered by FEMA and provide grants for rental assistance, construction of new rental units and repairs;

Local Governments to address school calendar flexibility and help fund repairs to infrastructure, trash pick-up, river maintenance and other local needs;

Economic development and stabilization to help impacted businesses get back on their feet;

Planning to make sure we rebuild communities in a sustainable way so that future leaders and families won't be faced with the same destruction when the next disaster strikes;

And funds to cover the state share of Disaster Relief to directly help our citizens.

Contact: McCrory Communications

McCrory Communications govpress@nc.gov

Raleigh, N.C. Governor Pat McCrory will request approximately $200 million in a Special Session of the General Assembly. In a video message, the governor outlined details for his request that will help citizens and communities recover from Hurricane Matthew and wildfires that have impacted the state since October.said Governor McCrory.To view the video, click here The governor's request will address five areas:Governor McCrory said these areas come directly from input by impacted communities throughout our state. In the last two months, the governor's Hurricane Matthew Recovery Committee held five regional meetings throughout the state to hear feedback from those impacted.In his video message, the governor said securing this funding at the state and federal level, will be a good first step in long-term recovery efforts which will require additional funding in the future. The governor also hailed the state's large rainy day fund which will allow the state to respond without a tax increase.The governor will call the General Assembly to a Special Session tomorrow, December 13.
President Pranab Mukherjee will visit Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday to attend the Annual Day function of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an official said on Tuesday.

"President Pranab Mukherjee will visit Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh tomorrow (December 14) where he will grace the Annual Day function of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)," a statement said.

CII, an association of a small segment of industries, is the premier business association of the country which works across diverse industry sectors to raise efficiency, productivity, excellence and sustainability and to customize global best practices in education, training, human resource development, industrial relations and corporate governance.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even as Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed a daily for "planting" story about his alleged involvement in a power project scam, the opposition demanded his resignation and thorough probe into the matter.

"It is a planted story. If they visit Arunachal Pradesh, they would be thrashed with shoes," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told reporters here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's comment came after a newspaper claimed that he had written letters to clear payments of contractors constructing two dams for the 600MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh, being executed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (Neepco).

The newspaper also quoted a report of the Chief Vigilence Officer of the Neepco, who claimed that there was a scam relating to an Arunachal Pradesh hydro project.

"Does serving people mean corruption," Rijiju asked.

However, soon after stirring the controversy, Rijiju took to Twitter and said that the allegation was "really cheap", and posted photographs of the letters he received from the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

"Really cheap! This is the copy of representation I received and forwarding letter to the Power Minister. Is it a corruption helping poor tribal folk?" Rijiju said.

He also said the Congress must apologise to the nation as all contract works and payments were made during its regime.

"Now the Congress must apologise to the nation. All contract works & payments were made during their regime. I just forwarded a memorandum," he said in a series of tweets.

In a letter to Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Rijiju had requested release of pending payment for boulder transportation for the Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Tuesday demanded Rijiju's resignation for his alleged involvement in the hydro project scam.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said: "The minister has no right to remain on his post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who talks of transparency and honesty, should get this (Rijiju's involvement in the scam) investigated by an independent agency."

"Until that time, the Prime Minister should either dismiss the Minister of State or ask for his resignation."

Surjewala also demanded an investigation against all the senior officials associated with the project.

"An unprecendeted case of corruption in a project being executed by the Neepco has come to light. There are serious facts available in public domain which indicate a scam of Rs 450 crore," said Surjewala.

The Congress claimed that fake and inflated bills were submitted by contractors for the transportation of rocks for construction of dams and the methodology brought out by the CVO was very clear.

"Vehicles that were used for transporation for which payment worth crores of rupees was made were actually found to be carrying registration numbers of either scooters or motorcycles or cars instead of heavy trucks. Many of the vehicle numbers were found to be fake," said Surjewala.

"All these were happening as Goboi Rijiju, Rijiju's brother, had gone to meet the CVO. Goboi Rijiju was influencing the CVO to make and release payment of the contractors which were under question," added Surjewala.

Quoting newspaper reports, AAP leader Ashish Khetan accused Rijiju of using his influence as a minister to help his cousin in what he called a "Rs 450-crore scam".

"This is a serious matter. Kiren Rijiju has no right to remain a minister after being exposed in this scam. He should immediately resign from his post," Khetan said.

He also urged the Prime Minister to order an independent probe into the alleged scam.

"We also request the Prime Minister to ensure that Rijiju and his family do not influence the probe," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police on Tuesday baton-charged people outside Ghaziabad banks as they protested non-availability of sufficient cash, leading to blocking of a national highway in the district.

People queued outside ICICI and Punjab National Bank branches here shouted slogans when officials said all the cash lying with them had been disbursed. Police used force to control the protesters.

Later, the protesters organised a sit-in on National Highway 24 at Dasna town in Ghaziabad district to protest the police action.

Police again used force to restore traffic on the national highway, but protesters later parked oxen-driven carts and tractors on the highway and held another sit-in.

The angry protesters raised slogans against police and the central government.

After about an hour, police officials managed to convince the protesters not to create traffic snarls on the national highway.

Though the protesters removed the carts and tractors from the road, they continued to sit on the highway. Police was trying to convince the protesting public to vacate the highway till the filing of the report.

In other parts of the city, a heavy rush was witnessed outside banks. Long queues formed outside the branches of ICICI, IDBI and Syndicate Bank in Raj Nagar District Centre in the city's heart. Scuffling and slogan-shouting was reported from outside Punjab National Bank and Allahabad Bank branches at Navyug Market.

"People shouted slogans earlier during the day, but the situation is now under control," Senior Superintendent of Police Salman Taj Patil said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed a a daily newspaper for "planting" story about his alleged involvement in a power project and said if they visit Arunachal Pradesh they will be "thrashed with shoes".

"It is a planted story. And if they shall come to Arunachal Pradesh they would be thrashed with shoes," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told reporters here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's comment came after a newspaper claimed that he has written letters to clear payments of the contractors in the construction of two dams for the 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Does serving people means corruption," Rijiju asked.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pro-Syrian government forces executed 82 civilians in Aleppo during the ongoing battle to take back the final rebel-held area, UN officials said on Tuesday.

According to the UN Human Rights office (UNHCR) spokesman Rupert Coleville, the victims included 11 women and 13 children and many bodies could not be recovered from the street due to constant bombings, Efe news agency reported.

The UN said the Iraqi Shiite al-Nujaba paramilitary group, which fights alongside President Bashar al-Assad's troops, had executed civilians in their homes.

Spokesman for the UN Humanitarian Office Jens Laerke called for a cessation in conflict so that evacuations and medical provisions could be facilitated.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a war monitor based in Britain, confirmed the continued fighting in the last pockets of rebel territory.

"Every hour, butcheries are carried out," the SOHR said, adding evidence to earlier UN reports of atrocities being committed against civilians.

The reports come as Syrian soldiers recaptured neighbourhoods of east Aleppo in the rebels' last stand against the government forces.

"Young people especially were executed," said Ahmad Dbais, director of hospitals for the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations.

Terrified residents slept on the streets after Syrian soldiers forced them out of their homes, Aleppo resident and journalist Karam al Masri told CNN.

Civil Defence activist group, the White Helmets, pleaded with the community to provide safe passage out of Aleppo for their volunteers and about 100,000 civilians.

"The regime has been trying to kill us for five years," the group said on Twitter. "Please don't give them this chance."

The Syrian army and its allies have aggressively pushed into the rebel sections of east Aleppo in recent days, said the Syrian government.

"It is going to be a very difficult situation because there is no place for all these fleeing civilians," said Ismail Abdallah, a member of the White Helmets.

Abdallah told CNN the al-Fardous neighbourhood has been captured by Syrian government forces, while some areas of resistance remain in parts of the city.

"There is a mass exodus of terrified civilians fleeing from al-Fardous, al-Jaloom, al-Salheine and areas that have been captured today to other areas such as al-Mashhad and Salah Eddiene," he said.

According to SANA news agency, the army units are "continuing the operations and targeting the remnants of the terrorists who fled away" towards the al-Sukkari and al-Fardous neighbourhoods.

There are also reports of civilian casualties as a result of the shelling, according to media organisations with teams in Aleppo.

The community has failed to broker a ceasefire for the city, which appears on the brink of falling back into regime control.

Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over "reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children".

"While stressing that the UN is not able to independently verify these reports, the Secretary General is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties," the UN statement said.

The government controls western Aleppo and its troops have made significant territorial gains in the east since its forces entered the enclave by ground on November 27, backed by continual airstrikes.

The government has now taken more than three-quarters of the area.

Rebel groups held eastern Aleppo for more than four years after the Arab Spring uprising, and a Syrian regime siege on the area had essentially cut it off from the outside world, sparking a humanitarian crisis there.

--IANS

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US President-elect Donald Trump has settled on Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil CEO, to be his secretary of state, transition officials said on Tuesday.

Trump planned to announce the selection on Tuesday morning, finally bringing to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over choosing the nation's top diplomat, New York Times reported.

His choices veered from Rudolph Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.

It also included an endlessly changing list that at times included Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee; David Petraeus, the former Army general and C.I.A. director; and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor and presidential candidate in 2012.

Romney, Petraeus and Corker - the three leading runners-up for the diplomatic post - all received calls late Monday informing them of Trump's decision, according to people familiar with the final choice.

Trump teased his imminent announcement of Tillerson on Monday night on Twitter, saying that "I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning."

He settled on Tillerson, a deal maker who spent the past four decades at Exxon, much of it in search of oil and gas agreements in troubled parts of the world.

Tillerson, 64, is from Wichita Falls, Texas, who speaks with a strong Texan twang, and runs a company with operations in about 50 countries, cutting deals to expand business in Venezuela, Qatar, Kurdistan and elsewhere.

If confirmed as Secretary of State, Tillerson would face a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President-elect Donald Trump has made moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem a major priority, senior aide Kellyanne Conway said on Monday.

"That is a very big priority for the President-elect, Donald Trump," Conway told a conservative radio show. "He made it very clear during the campaign ... and as President-elect I've heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly," EFE news quoted him as saying.

Trump's predecessors, including Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton, did not support moving the embassy to the holy city once in office, while the majority of countries recognise Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem, as Israel's capital, keeping their embassies there.

"It is something that our friend in Israel, a great friend in the Middle East, would appreciate and something that a lot of Jewish-Americans have expressed their preference for," Conway said.

The senior aide said the issue had been addressed by Trump in the past.

"It is a great move. It is an easy move to do based on how much he talked about that in the debates and in the sound bites," Conway said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast Sunday by the CBS show "60 Minutes" that he expected to have a better relationship with the incoming President than with his predecessor, Barack Obama, and expressed hope that Trump could help find a solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.

"I know him very well. And I think his attitude, his support for Israel is very clear. He feels very warmly about the Jewish state and the Jewish. There's no question about that," Netanyahu said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the closure of Venezuelan border with Colombia for 72 hours till Thursday to deal with the "mafias" operating and smuggling out Venezuelan currency.

The measure came on the heels of his decision to withdraw the 100-bolivar bill from circulation, Efe news reported on Tuesday.

"We're intercepting about $95,000 that was crossing over, so I decided to close the frontier with Colombia...," Maduro said in a radio and television announcement from Miraflores presidential palace.

Maduro had recently said that criminal groups operating from Colombian border cities were taking huge numbers of 100-bolivar bills out for the past two years to "destabilize" the Venezuelan economy as part of a "financial war".

On Monday, he said that his government had spoken with Bogota about the matter, adding that he hoped to speak very soon with his Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, to move to correct "this distortion".

The Colombian central bank sets that country's exchange rate nationwide, except along the border with Venezuela, Maduro said.

He added that his decision to remove the 100-bolivar bill from circulation was "inevitable, necessary and radical".

He added that it was an attack by Colombian criminal groups and Venezuela's MUD opposition coalition "combined with international mafias via an NGO hired by the US Treasury".

Meanwhile, Interior, Justice and Peace Minister Nestor Reverol said that the US government and several non-governmental organisations operating in Venezuela were behind the 'financial' attack executed by withdrawing currency from the money supply.

"These operations were also staged in Iraq and Libya, to create a crisis to seek the overthrow of the government," Reverol said.

An investigation was underway of the suspected removal of large amounts of cash, with the sum possibly reaching about $447 million, the minister said.

The NGOs, according to the official, hire criminal organisations to move 100-bolivar bills, the largest bill in circulation now, to Colombia.

From there it is send to Switzerland, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic, where the money is stored in large warehouses.

On Sunday, Maduro ordered the central bank to withdraw all 100-bolivar bills from circulation to stop Colombian organised crime groups supposedly stockpiling currency to destabilise the economy.

The President said during his weekly show, "En contacto con Maduro" (In Contact with Maduro), that some nationally chartered banks were involved in the effort to destabilise the economy.

Last week, the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) said it would introduce new bills in larger denominations to address a sharp currency devaluation.

Venezuela's new currency will go into circulation on December 15, in denominations of 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 2,000, 1,000 and 500 bolivares, with 100-, 50- and 10-bolivar coins, the BCV said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The World Bank Group has announced a pause in the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

According to a statement issued by the World Bank, the announcement temporarily halts the appointment of a neutral expert, as requested by India, and the chairman of the Court of Arbitration as requested by Pakistan, to resolve issues regarding two hydroelectric power plants under construction by India along the Indus rivers system, Dawn reported.

"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

"This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January," Kim added.

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan, stressing that the Bank was acting to safeguard the treaty.

Pausing the process for now, the Bank would hold off from appointing the chairman for the Court of Arbitration or the neutral expert - appointments that had been expected on December 12 as earlier communicated by the Bank.

The current processes under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 MW) and Ratle (850 MW) hydroelectric power plants. The power plants are being built by India on, respectively, the Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers. Neither of the two plants are being financed by the World Bank Group.

The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 was seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries.

It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte claims if he could go back in time, he wouldn't want to be President, as he finds the work exhausting and the pay bad, media reports said on Tuesday.

"I don't know if I will survive the next six years," Efe news agency quoted Duterte as saying at an awards ceremony held late Monday at the Malacanang Presidential palace in Manila.

"I am ready to step down. I have no illusions about power or the presidency," added the leader, who thinks his monthly salary of 130,000 pesos ($2,600) is too little.

However, Duterte also said he wants to fulfil all the promises he made during his election campaign that brought him victory in the presidential polls held on May 9, 2015.

Duterte will complete six months in office at the end of December since he assumed office on June 30, and according to surveys still enjoys huge popularity among Filipinos.

However, critics have panned him for his aggressive war on drugs that killed nearly 5,900 people in mostly extrajudicial killings, since he took office.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Recently, a legislative proposal aimed at improving graduation rates at the University of North Carolina system's 16 institutions was nixed due to vehement opposition from university leaders. In its place is a watered-down initiative that delays much-needed reform and emphasizes academic handholding rather than high academic standards and student readiness.There is a strong connection between students' high school GPAs and SAT scores and those students' ability to perform well in-and finish-college. For instance, UNC-Chapel Hill, which boasts the highest entering student GPAs and SAT scores in the system, also has the highest six-year graduation rates in the system-consistently hovering near 90 percent.But in the UNC system, Chapel Hill is an outlier. Only four other universities have graduation rates above 70 percent, and six schools with much less competitive entering student profiles have graduation rates at or below 50 percent. Schools that accept underprepared applicants set those students up for failure; many end up with poor grades and limited job prospects or dropping out with student loan debt and no clear way to repay it. The costs are borne by not only students, but the taxpayers who fund the system's $9.5 billion annual operations.Over the years, efforts have been made to ameliorate the problems of low graduation rates and low academic standards, but they've usually involved academic coddling, remediation, and other ultimately unsuccessful "interventions" with struggling students. University leaders, however, seem comfortable with this approach because it means that more students enroll in their institutions, which in turn means that they receive more enrollment funding from the state.And state policymakers seem comfortable with that approach because they can avoid political fights (the six schools mentioned above, with graduation rates at or below 50 percent, are all historically black or minority universities; in recent years, implicit and explicit charges of racism have been levied at state politicians seeking to reform them). It also allows them to claim they're working for the greater good by providing higher education opportunities-and access to the American Dream-for poor and low-income students from weak K-12 environments.In the fall of 2015, the NC legislature challenged this status quo thinking. Lawmakers directed the UNC system and the state's community college system to study the potential impact of what would be called the North Carolina Guaranteed Admissions Program (NC GAP).The program would encourage students who meet the baseline admissions standards of one of the state's public universities, but who are less competitive than other applicants, to first attend a community college and complete an associate degree, upon which time they would be guaranteed admission to the university that had originally accepted them.NC GAP, according to the legislation, would improve graduation rates; decrease students' debt burdens; reduce state higher education spending; and provide students, at the least, with a two-year credential that could boost their employment prospects. But university officials have a different take. After it analyzed the potential impact of the program last March, the UNC system's General Administration claimed that NC GAP would produce fewer graduates, harm low-income and minority students, and jeopardize the state's historically black universities.In an article critical of those findings, Pope Center president Jenna A. Robinson challenged the notion that NC GAP would cause fewer students to obtain four-year degrees. She referenced an American Education Research Association report showing that community college transfers have degree completion rates that equal those of students who begin at four-year institutions. "NC GAP is not a silver bullet, but it is a real step towards improving North Carolina's many pathways to higher education," concluded Robinson.Nevertheless, the university system's pushback seems to have been effective. In July, the legislature changed its stance on NC GAP, and now it appears that universities will not be required to institute the admissions deferment program if they instead implement their own plans to improve completion rates. Earlier this month, the system's Board of Governors (BOG) voted in favor of this strategy, and a report will be presented to the legislature by January 2017.In a 64-page summary of the Undergraduate Degree Completion Improvement Plan, the university system explains that instead of pursuing even a pilot test of NC GAP, each institution will refine or expand existing "student success" programs. While there are over 70 different strategies listed, the most commonly cited ones aim to provideAlso, each university will identify subgroups of students who may be more likely to struggle academically and set goals for their success. For example, Elizabeth City State University plans to focus on first-time, full-time male students through an intrusive advising program meant to encourage greater academic engagement. And North Carolina State University will require its borderline admits to reside on campus in "Learning and Living Villages"-essentially, dorms that emphasize academic counseling, tutoring, and study sessions.Such academic pampering, however, has had dubious results in recent years. For example, several universities identify Summer Bridge programs, which are intended to gently guide underprepared students into college-level work by requiring them to first take summer courses and then receive intensive academic counseling, as pathways to student success.But last year, the legislature rightly ended those programs-which had been in place since the 2007-08 academic year at NC Central, Fayetteville State, UNC-Pembroke, Elizabeth City State, and NC A&T-because they were not improving graduation rates; in fact, students in the programs had lower success rates than those of traditional students. Taxpayers ended up paying more than $7 million to send, each year, about 300 marginal students into an educational environment in which they had little chance of succeeding.The latest UNC system strategy seems to be to double-down on this failed approach of more special treatment and more handholding. This time, however, the price tag is not immediately clear. The system's report notes that no new money has been allocated to pursue these goals; going forward, campuses planning to implement new programs will be forced to reallocate university money or, more likely, lobby the General Assembly for more funds.So instead of saving public dollars, which NC GAP would have done (the UNC system itself admitted that in its March report), it's likely that the state's higher education costs will increase in the future. That's especially problematic considering that the revised legislation provides no stipulation to ensure that universities' "student success" programs are in fact successful; it merely states that as long as universities pursue the goal of improving graduation rates, they are exempt from instituting NC GAP.While the general administration claims to be following the spirit of the original NC GAP legislation, at least one state politician disagrees. Addressing the system's Board of Governors at its December meeting, Senator David L. Curtis said that while the new plan has some good ideas for helping students already in the system, NC GAP was intended to aid incoming students who are unprepared for the rigors of a university education. Curtis urged the board to reconsider implementing NC GAP, even though it is not legislatively mandated.BOG member Thom Goolsby agrees with Senator Curtis. Goolsby cited a UNC report that found that GPAs are strongly correlated with university performance: "We've done the work and we know the answer. Simply passing this plan and saying it's the answer to NC GAP is not only wrongheaded, it's not supported by any of the information that we have," he said. Indeed, an increasing amount of data show that poorly performing high school students are unlikely to successfully transition to college, even if they receive extra counseling and remediation.Unfortunately, the drive to expand university access-and keep revenue streams flowing-seems to have caused policymakers to ignore such glaring evidence, as well as the potential benefits of NC GAP. The program would not have been a panacea, but rather a next-best alternative in a university system that often sends ill-prepared students to institutions where they either struggle academically or drop out with debt and limited employment opportunities.University officials and lawmakers who recognize these problems should continue to fight the good fight and advocate higher academic standards and smarter educational alternatives. Students, parents, and taxpayers stand to benefit when courageous leaders challenge the state's higher education establishment and its increasingly self-interested policies.
The ruling partners BJP and Shiv Sena, in the run up to the crucial election to the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) slated for February-March next year, plan to counter the campaign against demonetisation by the development plank.
Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday hit out at the government by terming as a thoughtless, absurd move which failed to meet its objective.
Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam on Monday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should make it clear if Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief is running a "parallel government" in the state.

"(Actor) Shah Rukh Khan meets Raj seeking permission for release of his film Raees. Who is that film makers and artistes are seeking his permission rather than that of the Censor board?...Is running a parallel government? Fadnavis should clarify," Nirupam said.

"Ensuring smooth release of a film and maintenance of law and order is the job of the state government. Currently some people are indulging in extortion in the guise of patriotism.

"The state government is supporting such elements and Fadnavis is deliberately creating fear about Raj Thackeray in the minds of citizens," the Congress leader said.

The earlier Congress-led government in Maharashtra had ensured a smooth release of Shah Rukh Khan's film My Name Is Khan when Shiv Sena threatened to disrupt its screenings, Nirupam pointed out.

MNS, which is opposed to Pakistani artistes working in India on Monday said that Shah Rukh assured party chief Raj Thackeray that Pakistani actor Mahira Khan, who features in his upcoming Raees, will not promote the film in India.
Insisting that dialogue is the only way for peace between India and Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister on Monday suggested that the Narendra Modi government should adopt the policy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had exercised "patience" despite Kargil aggression and attack on Parliament.

She also hit out at Pakistan for "forgetting" its promise to Vajpayee about not allowing its territory to be used for terrorism against India.

Underlining that war is no option to any problem, she said, "How long you can be in the mode of war? Dialogue is the only solution to bring peace."

Referring to Vajpayee's steps, Mehbooba said the former prime minister had all the reasons to fight a big war after Kargil aggression by Pakistan happened in 1999, but he did not do it.

"It was followed by Parliament attack but even then he opted for patience and said 'friends can be changed but not neighbours'," the Chief Minister said addressing a gathering of refugees of 1947 while distributing cheques relating to compensation at a function in Jammu.

It was only after that the then President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf announced that Pakistani soil cannot be used for terrorism against India and the result was reduced militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, she noted.

"The Central government should also think on the lines to bring Pakistan to a level which we witnessed during the period of Vajpayee," she said.

In an apparent reference to the Kashmir issue, she said once the "big knot" is untied, all other "knots" will be automatically removed.

Her comments came amid intense chill in the India- Pakistan relations.
Congress Vice-President on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his cashless economy initiative and said the society has already become cashless.
A 13-year-old girl studying at a school in Navi Mumbai was allegedly raped by a teacher, following which her parents and local residents stormed the school premises today, police said.

The school principal was arrested today as she did not inform about the alleged offence to police after the girl's parents told her about it, they said.

The alleged rape incident happened in the last couple of months. But, it came to light recently after the girl complained of stomach pain to her mother. She took her to a private doctor, who informed that the girl was four weeks pregnant. The mother then told about it to her husband, who works in Pune, police said.

The victim told her mother that her school teacher had allegedly raped her twice by threatening her with dire consequences, they said.

A rape case was registered against the teacher at Nerul police station under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The school principal has been arrested while the teacher who allegedly raped the girl is absconding, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) came into being in 1948, which eventually paved way for the WTO in January 1995, the share of China's exports soared to 14.2 per cent in 2015 from a paltry 0.9 per cent 67 years ago, while that of the US nosedived to 9.2 per cent from 21.6 per cent.

In absolute terms, China's export earnings zoomed to USD 2.27 trillion in 2015 from a non-consequential USD 530 million 67 years ago, says India Ratings in a report, quoting the World Trade Organisation (WTO) numbers. The report by its analyst Abhash Sharma, however, does not offer the comparative numbers for the US or any other country.

India, too, slipped in the global trade sweepstakes. From a 2.2 per cent share in the global trade in 1948, it's down to 1.7 per cent in 2015 and has always been under 1 per cent in between. India's third best figure was 1.3 per cent in 1963. Similarly, China's exports to the country rose manifold to USD 62 billion in 2016 from USD 7 billion in 2005.

In fact, the US never saw its export share increase from 1948 as it has been steadily falling. Its second best peak was in 1963 when it had an export share of 14.6 per cent.

Similar sorry story was that of Britain, whose share of global trade fell like ninepins - from a robust 11.3 per cent in 1948 to just 2.9 per cent in 2015.

These numbers assume importance as the Communist China -- which has become the world's factory over the past three decades -- has completed 15 years as a WTO member on December 10 and is set to get the market economy status (MES) as per the trade body's membership rules.

The only three other countries that have improved their exports share are Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, the report said.

While the share of Germany jumped from 1.4 per cent in 1948 to 8.3 per cent in 2015, that of Japan, which was the second largest economy till 2011, improved to 3.9 per cent from 0.4 per cent during this time while its peak of 9.8 per cent was in 1993 and 6.8 per cent in 2003.

Similarly, the Netherlands' share rose from 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent during this period. Germany had a peak share of 11.7 per cent in 1973.

Sharma, in the report, warned that an MES status for Beijing, which currently has only a non-market economy status, will be highly detrimental to the commodity driven economies and sectors.

Region-wise, Europe and Asia saw a rise in their share, whereas North America, South & Central America and Africa lost out massively.

While the share of Europe rose to 37.3 per cent in



2015 from 35.1 per cent in 1948, that of Asia had the maximum jump - from 14 per cent to 34.2 per cent in 2015. Within Asia, share of the Middle East more than doubled - from 2 per cent in 1948 to 5.3 per cent - thanks to the oil.

As against this, the share of North America nearly halved to 14.4 per cent in 2015 from 28.1 per cent 67 years ago, while that of South & Central America dipped to a third -- from 11.3 per cent to 3.4 per cent. Similarly, the trade share of Africa came crashing down from 7.3 per cent to 2.4 per cent.

Sharma warns that China getting the MES status would be a big risk to commodity-driven markets and sectors like iron & steel, chemicals, ceramics and tyres, the items which enjoy heavy state subsidy in the Communist nation. He notes these sectors are among those which have benefited by the anti-dumping duties in the past.

As a subsidy-driven manufacturing helped China yank everybody's trade, it had to face the maximum number of anti- dumping duty cases.

According to Sharma, as much as 35 per cent of the entire anti-dumping cases are against Beijing, with 541 of the 1,009 such matters being filed against the Middle Kingdom as of 2015.

New Delhi alone has the maximum number of unfair trade practises cases against Beijing, accounting for 35 per cent of the total cases. As per the rules governing China's accession to the WTO, the Communist giant would get the market economy status on completion of 15 years of membership.

Since December 10, 2001, when Beijing became a WTO member, China has been treated as a non-market economy based on terms of its membership of the trade body.

As per the report, the MES status means that China's cost of production and sale price (within China) need to be considered by importing countries, while ascertaining if the dumping of goods is taking place, which was optional hitherto.

Though the MES status should be automatic as per the membership rule, it is easier said than done as even though not providing MES is not an option for WTO members. Many countries argue that MES should not be given to the world's second largest economy.

The MES status would give Beijing's competitors less opportunity to initiate anti-dumping measures on Chinese exports, thus pushing up exports from that country further and threatening commodity-linked sectors.
The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) today continued their demonstration for the second consecutive day here, pressing for its demand for a separate state comprising areas inhibited by Bodo community in Assam.

The protesters, mostly from Assam, took out a procession from Rajghat to Jantar Mantar where ABSU leaders addressed the gathering.

The National Democratic Front of Bodoland and People's Joint Action Committee for Boroland Movement (PJACBM) also joined the ABSU in demanding a separate state for the Bodo community.

ABSU president Pramod Boro said the organisation will step up their agitation if the Centre does not initiate steps to fulfil the community's demand for Bodoland.

Alleging that Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was not sympathetic towards the Bodo community, he said the movement is to protect, preserve and safeguard the identity of the Boro and other tribal people.

"We want to live with dignity and honour in our land. The Bodo people have been subjected to exploitation, suppression, oppression and the ordeal must end," he said.

The ABSU has also sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his immediate intervention in initiating the process for formation of the separate state.

"BJP had promised that the Boro problem would be resolved if the party comes to power. But nothing has been done to fulfill the promise," Boro said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four African heads of state were due in The Gambia today morning with a mission to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to leave office after his defeat at the ballot box.

Jammeh's party has vowed to challenge the December 1 vote result in court, leading to an avalanche of international condemnation and multitude of calls for him to cede power to opponent Adama Barrow, who was officially declared the winner.

Jammeh is expected to meet Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari, Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama this morning.

The heavyweight delegation of west Africa's biggest hitters, who have significant ties to The Gambia, will be joined by United Nations West Africa envoy Mohamed Ibn Chambas.

The African leaders will then hold separate talks with Barrow, several sources told AFP.

Banjul-based diplomats say Buhari in particular has long been annoyed by Jammeh's provocative behaviour and disdain for protocol.

Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his peers but has never threatened peace in the sub-region, a situation that has dramatically shifted since Jammeh's move to void the election.

"It is unacceptable that there is an election and one person turns down the result," Liberia's information minister Eugene Nagbe told AFP today. "The message of President Sirleaf and her delegation to Jammeh will be that he accepts the result and gives way to smooth transition."



If Jammeh and the delegation did not reach an agreement, west African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", a top official with the regional ECOWAS bloc headed by Sirleaf told French radio station RFI late Monday.

Streets from the airport were quiet as Gambians awaited the leaders' arrival, but some parents kept their children home from school as a precaution.

President-elect Barrow has told AFP he wants Jammeh to step down "now", though the longtime leader has the legal right to stay in office until mid-January.

The African Union has also promised to dispatch its own delegation as soon as possible to aid the transfer of power, while a statement released Monday said it rejected "any attempt to circumvent or reverse the outcome of the presidential election.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahmadiyya Muslims from over 50 countries are expected to participate in the 125th annual congregation of the community to be held in the last week of this month at Qadian in Punjab.

Thousands of Ahmadiyyas including those from Pakistan are expected to arrive at Qadian for the spiritual 'Salana Jalsa'.

Last year, around 5,000 people from Pakistan had attended the event but this year their confirmation is yet to received, said Tariq Ahmad Ahmadiyya, spokesperson of Ahmadiyya Muslim Ja'amat India.

"Generally their confirmation is received late because most of them travel by road and border clearance issues are to be managed. But those coming by flights will definitely participate although there is tension between the two countries," he said.

A large delegation from Indonesia will also participate in the event scheduled on December 26-28.

In 1891, the founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, had initiated the spiritual event to promote inter-religious peace and harmony, said Shiraz Ahmad, additional chief secretary of the Jama'at.

The event will be marked by a 'world religions' session in which people from different faiths will suggest solutions to the problems faced by world, Shiraz said.

On the last day, a televised address will be given by worldwide head of Ahmadiyya community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who is based in London.

The message of love and loyalty towards one's nation will also be emphasised during the discussions at the event, Shiraz said.

The Ahmadiyya leaders also expressed their opposition to instantaneous triple talaq and extended support to Uniform Civil Code for the country.

"Those who make Muslim laws should sit together to remove flaws in triple talaq in one go. We believe there should be equal interval in each pronouncement of talaq to give time to spouses to sort out their disagreements.

"As far as Uniform Civil Code is concerned, we go by the government. We feel Ahmadiyyas will not face any problems if it is implemented," Tariq said in reply to questions by reporters.

There are around 1.5 lakh Ahmadiyya community members in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
We Just Have to be Patient!

At the bottom of this posting is a July 2009 Blog Posting I sent out about all our manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas.



Before you (lucky you) get to read that old foolishness, you will see I have inserted the first 2 paragraphs of an article in the October 22, 2016 edition of the Wall Street Journal. This WSJ Article appears to be saying that my 2009 Foolishness is not so Silly after all.



***********************************

Article by Andrew Browne October 22, 2016



Just about a century ago, the Boston merchants who had helped to build the textile town of Lowell, Mass., into the cradle of the American industrial revolution started pulling out. First, the spindles and looms shifted to the low-wage South. A half-century later, they migrated to the "miracle" economies of East Asia.



In the 1990s, much of the global textile industry relocated yet again, to cities like Dongguan in southern China, the world's factory floor. Now, as Chinese wages soar, textiles and apparel along with other labor-intensive export industries are on the move once more, this time to inland China and, increasingly, to fast-growing regional rivals such as Vietnam and Bangladesh.



***********************************

We know that Mr. Browne is smart because he writes for the WSJ. You, my dear readers, are smart (and lucky) because you read what I write for you...



Blog Posting by the Smartfella July 13, 2009

(The comments in parentheses below were obviously not in the 2009 posting.) Many of us are concerned about American jobs being shipped overseas. Many of us believe this to be a sign portending really dire happenings to our country's economy. The SmartFella is here to say that it is all going to be OK.



We Just Have To Be Patient!

Here is what's going to happen...

 In the years to come, we will see more and more of our jobs transferred to countries like India and China.

 Our economy will continue to languish.

 We will see unemployment begin to rise at a rate that we once would not have thought possible.

 Our children and grandchildren's lifestyles will fall below that of their parent's, generation after generation.

(That crazy Trump guy might make the above 4 bullets not come true but don't count on it because he is crazy...Or is he?).



We Just Have To Be Patient!

Then it will turn around...

 Eventually, India and China will begin to see that they can get cheap labor by outsourcing their jobs to the United States.

 Slowly but surely we will see our economy rebound.

 The lifeblood of prosperity will fill our economic veins.



It's going to be wonderful!



We Just Have To Be Patient!



Would I kid u?

Smartfella


: Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India, today expressed hope that French Development Agency (AFD) would extend financial support to the second phase of Kerala's ambitious Kochi Metro Rail Project.

After visiting construction sites of the metro project as well as the depot at Muttom, along with Nicolas Fornage, Regional Director for South Asia - AFD, he said a proposal for a new funding of EUR 180 million would be presented to AFD's Board on December 15, aimed at partially financing Phase II of Kochi metro.

He said the board is expected to take a favourable decision in this regard.

Talking to reporters here after holding discussions with Elias George, Managing Director, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), Ambassador Ziegler said that the project being executed to provide a sustainable transport system to the city was one of the "most cost effective" ones.

Noting that AFD is partner to such development initiatives world wide, the Ambassador said Kochi Metro probably be "one of the most cost effective" one.

The Ambassador expressed his satisfaction over the progress of the project.

KMRL has requested AFD to fund the second phase of Kochi Metro and improvements of major junctions like Edappally and Kalamassery.

Earlier, AFD and KMRL had carried out discussions on revamping Vyttila Mobility Hub and additional support for city improvements and place-making projects.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid growing demands for quota from Jats, Patidars and Marathas, Union minister Ramdas Athawale today pitched for constitutional amendment for raising the reservation ceiling by 25 per cent to include the poor from general categories.

Claiming that raising the reservation limit will end disputes over quota, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice said he will approach the Prime Minister in this regard.

"There should be reservation for poor in general castes, like for Jats in Haryana, Patels in Gujarat, Marathas in Maharashtra and even Brahmins. This can be done by amending the constitution and raising the reservation limit to 75 per cent from current 50 per cent," Athawale said.

However, the change should be made without tinkering with the current reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs, he said, adding his party, RPI, will pass a resolution in this regard at its national convention in Bengaluru.

Earlier, Athawale had said as per 2011 census, there are 16.6 per cent SCs, 5.6 per cent STs and 52 per cent OBCs in the country, which accounts for 77.2 per cent of the population, while they are getting 49.5 per cent reservation.

The remaining 22.8 per cent of the population are getting 50.5 per cent reservation. So another way could be that, reservation should be given as per population of each caste, he had said.

At present, according to the constitution, 15 per cent seats are reserved for the SCs, 7.5 per cent for STs and 27 per cent for OBCs in central government-funded higher education institutions and jobs and even in elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag will visit the strategically important tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command this week and review India's amphibious warfare capabilities.

Army sources said it is likely to be a two-day visit during which he will also review the ongoing projects in the country's only tri-service command, which is being beefed up to counter China's moves in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Army has an entire brigade (about 3,000 personnel) posted in the Adamans which are exclusively trained and meant for amphibious warfare.

They also have another amphibious brigade in Trivandrum which can be pushed into action within a short span of time.

The Army personnel conduct joint drills with the Navy so to ensure that operations run smoothly in case of any need.

Both the IAF and the Navy have cranked up their infrastructure and deployment of critical assets under the Command.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Around 190 million people in 30 million hectares of forest area remain unrecognised 10 years after the landmark Forest Rights Law was passed with the aim of protecting indigenous inhabitants, a report by a group of NGOs today claimed.

"Less than five per cent of the potential for rights recognition of over 200 million tribals and other traditional forest dwellers has been achieved under the legislation. Around 190 million people in 30 million hectares of forest area remain unrecognised," the report released on the 10th anniversary of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 said.

It presented an analysis of the implementation of the FRA and said the law has potential to recognise the rights of over 200 million people living in over 170,000 villages.

The minimum estimated area over which Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights can be recognised through the FRA is 34.6 million hectares, it said.

"The FRA was passed 10 years ago by Parliament to address injustices perpetrated against millions of forest dwellers in India... It has the potential to conserve forests and biodiversity, improve local livelihoods, and help meet India's international commitments to sustainable development and climate change mitigation.

"Unfortunately due to a lack of political will and intentional efforts to undermine the law, this vast potential for democratic forest governance remains unrealised," the report quoted Neema Pathak Broome, a researcher with Kalpavriksh, as saying.

The FRA is an "opportune legal" instrument for India to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as well as address a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it said.

"Following the Paris Agreement, India has set an ambitious target to sequester 2.5 billion additional tonnes of carbon. India can realise these goals by integrating effective FRA implementation, through the recognition of community forest resource rights, into its climate change policy.

"By empowering over 170,000 villages to protect, manage, and conserve their forests, India will be able to create a new discourse for climate change mitigation and build climate resiliency for the country," it quoted Tushar Dash, Lead Campaigner at Odisha-based NGO Vasundhara, as saying.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Assam government today decided to raise four new police battalions in a bid to intensify surveillance and security along the Indo-Bangla border.

As per an official release, these battalions will form a second line of vigil by patrolling and assisting the existing security mechanism along the international border.

The battalions will be deployed in four districts of Dhubri, South Salmara-Mancachar, Karimganj and Dhubri that share international border with Bangladesh," it said.

The commandants, who will be in charge of these battalions, will also be acting as Superintendents of Border Police.

Chief Minister Sonowal also directed the Home Department to modernise 14 border outposts to thwart any evil design stemming along the border.

He reviewed the activities of 120 watch outposts mandated to see the affairs along the inter-state and international boundaries.

The Chief Minister directed the senior police officers to extensively use these watch outposts to intensify vigil along the inter-state and international boundaries.

Sonowal asked the Director General of Assam Police Mukesh Sahay to undertake regular inspection tours to the char areas.

He also mooted the idea of undertaking parallel tour to the char areas by the National Cadet Corps personnel along with the DGP so that the prevailing socio-economic condition of the areas become evident on a wider spectrum.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 38-year-old man, who shouted "death to Muslims" before stabbing a passenger at a south-east London Overground station, has been arrested.

British Transport Police (BTP) officers were called to Forest Hill station in south-east London last evening after receiving reports that a man had been assaulted on a train.

"The man, in his forties, was rushed to hospital with injuries consistent with having been stabbed. He remains in hospital in a serious, but not life threatening, condition," a BTP statement said.

It said a 38-year-old man from London was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm. "He remains in police custody," it added.

"The circumstances are being investigated but the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related at this time," it adds.

Eyewitness accounts claim that the attacker was shouting phrases like "death to Muslims" and "go back to Syria".

"This is an isolated incident and at this time is being treated as hate crime. We have no reasons to believe that it has any links to terrorism. Investigations are ongoing and officers are working to establish the circumstances around today's events," Superintendent Jenny Gilmer said.

She said that BTP was increasing officer visibility in the area to reassure members of the public throughout London that incidents of this nature are "very rare".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna today gave a written undertaking to the Uttarakhand High Court saying he will vacate the government bungalow allotted to him by the deadline set by it and also pay nearly Rs 40,000 as occupation charges to the state government.

Giving the undertaking through an affidavit, he said that in compliance with the court's order dated December 5,he will vacate the house popularly known as Bijapur House on or before February 15.

Bahuguna also said he will pay an amount of Rs 39,440 as calculated by the state government toward occupation charges from the day he was in the possession of Bijapur House.

He is among five former chief ministers of Uttarakhand who were asked by the high court to vacate the bungalows allotted to them by February 15 next year.

Taking serious note of former chief ministers shying away from vacating sprawling government bungalows allotted to them, a divison bench of Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice V K Bisht had set the deadline and warned them of stern measures, including forced eviction, if they failed to meet it.

Former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari has already filed an affidavit in the court saying he had vacated the bungalow allotted to him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An elite primary school here today refuted allegations of bullying on its campus after an open letter written by a mother about how her 10-year-old son was intimidated at school went viral.

The Zhongguancun Second Primary School in Haidian District said in a statement it was, however, "filled with remorse" for what had happened and "deeply sorry for hurt to the student and his parents."



It insisted that "the incident was accidental and did not constitute bullying or violence."



School campus CCTV footage from November 24 shows the fourth-grade boy being followed into a toilet by two of his classmates. Less than a minute later, the two classmates can be seen running back to their classroom.

The other follows moments later and can be seen wiping his forehead with his sleeves.

The school said the fourth grader had been in the toilet for 72 seconds, while his two classmates were in there for 30 seconds, state-run Xinhua agency quoted him as saying.

There are no cameras in the toilet, however, the faculty was told by the three students that one child emptied a trash can over the forth grader from the adjacent cubical, just, in their words, "to tease him," while the other classmate laughed.

The school claims that the three students had a normal relationship at school and there was "no apparent conflict."



The parents of the two accused apologised but denied that their sons had done anything that could be deemed bullying.

However, the boy's parents insist that his classmates had acted in malice and they should be punished. They also filed for compensation.

The boy's mother published an open letter last week, describing how her son had been bullied for almost a year, and that he now suffers from acute stress disorder, which is characterised by severe anxiety and means he is too unwell to attend school.

The school confirmed that the child had been absent since December 2.

The mother's open letter has been shared over 100,000 times on WeChat, and read over 6 million times on Weibo within days of being posted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bill Gates today called on to inspire Americans to embrace innovation as John F. Kennedy once did by urging them to fly to the moon.

"In the same way President Kennedy talked about the space mission and got the country behind that," the Microsoft founder-turned-philanthropist told MSNBC, "I think whether it's education or stopping epidemics... There can be a very upbeat message that (Trump's) administration (is) going to organize things, get rid of regulatory barriers, and have American leadership through innovation."



The billionaire tech pioneer -- the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine -- launched a new fund yesterday to invest in clean technology together with other wealthy donors.

He said he recently spoke to Trump by phone for the first time, saying they had "a lot of common friends."



Gates met his fellow billionaire face-to-face today in Trump Tower, where the president-elect has been working to fill out his future administration.

"It was a good time," Gates told reporters afterward. "We had a good conversation about innovation, how it can help in health, education, the impact of foreign aid and energy, and a wide-ranging conversation about power of innovation."



Trump is scheduled to meet leaders of several major technology groups on Wednesday, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple's Tim Cook, Satya Nadella of Alphabet (Google) and Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, The New York Times reported.

The real estate mogul is expected to push them to create jobs after saying last week that he would like Apple -- whose coveted iPhones are made in China -- to open a large factory in the United States.

But he will be stepping into hostile territory. The tech sector overwhelmingly supported the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during this year's election campaign and has expressed fear about the effect Trump's policies on the industry.

The sole notable exception is the controversial PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel, currently a member of Trump's transition team.
The Industrial Disputes (West Bengal Amendment) Bill, 2015 was today passed in the state Assembly to expedite disposal of pending cases in labour courts or industrial tribunal.

Besides, this bill will help implement the settlement or award without delay following imposition of penalty for breach of settlement or award.

State Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak said that with this bill, most appropriate and experienced judges would be appointed in labour courts or industrial tribunals.

Simultaneously, any person who commits a breach of any term of any settlement or award, which is binding on him under this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine of Rs 10,000 or with both, the minister said.

If a breach continues, an additional fine of Rs 2,000 per day during the period would be clamped, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


HSE instructor Donna Woolard with recent graduate Jonathan Elsy

Contact: Attila Nemecz

Attila Nemecz Attila.Nemecz@beaufortccc.edu

WASHINGTON, NC Beaufort County Community College offers adults an opportunity to complete their high school education through the NC Community College System High School Equivalency (HSE) Program. The program provides a second chance to adults who did not complete high school in the traditional manner. The HSE test battery is designed to measure a person's knowledge and skills in the areas of language arts, reasoning, social studies, science and mathematics. Starting in 2017, students can choose an online option.Recently, Jonathan Elsy received his HSE through the program in just two months. The 17-year-old saw that he would not be able to finish high school in time to graduate with his peers. In Elsy's circumstance, his parents and the school system had to sign off on his discharge from high school.Elsy's parents did not want him to quit school so they talked him into going through the HSE program. His father faced a similar situation in school. Many of Elsy's friends were either dropping out or getting their HSE. He was anxious to get out and begin working.While not a bad student in high school, the one-on-one attention he has received from his instructor, Donna Woolard, has helped him succeed. Woolard describes him as aWoolard said that smaller class sizes are a plus for students who need more individualized attention. Woolard is a new instructor at BCCC, having recently transitioned from teaching seventh grade for 13 years.she said.Instructors can move students along at a pace that is tailored to their needs. Students with families, existing employment or less recent classroom experience tend to take longer than Elsy to finish the program.Woolard hopes that Elsy will stay on at BCCC to pursue a certificate program. "He can do anything he wants to do. We can't lose him." HSE students have the option of continuing into a curriculum program or pursuing employment. Elsy is considering enrolling in the welding program.Students will have a new option starting in January, when BCCC will pilot an online HSE program. Students will be self-paced, having directives geared to their needs each week. If they test out of an area, they can move on. They will have three hours of optional face to face time with their instructor bi-weekly. While they will be able to ask questions online during virtual office hours, this will give them a chance to seek out personal help regularly.Elsy has never taken online classes so he was not sure how he would respond to the option, but the option will help students who currently work, have family obligations or have long commutes to BCCC's campus. Students who start the online program who encounter problems can transfer into the daytime classes on campus.Placement testing, available both day and evening, is required for entry into all Career and College Readiness programs. Assessments are also given at off campus sites. Students meet with the assessment specialist/instructor who will guide them through enrolling in the class. As students increase their skill level in each subject, instructors like Woolard will help them decide when they are prepared enough to take any or all of the HSE tests.Students who earn an HSE will have access to greater employment and higher earnings. For some students, the option is less economic than personal. Achieving an HSE can boost their self-confidence and remove a past regret.
A West Bengal BJP worker has lodged a complaint against state Chief Minister for her statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army.

Police said that BJP worker Manav Sharma wanted to lodge the complaint at Jorasanko police station in central Kolkata but later emailed it to the city police commissioner following the advice of police officials.

His complaint said, "On December 1, Chief Minister had attacked Indian Army in an unprecedented manner. She maligned the image of Indian Army, wilfully with nefarious political motives, through uncorroborated allegations and baseless insinuations. She alleged that Indian Army was 'colluding and conspiring' against her government. It is a serious attempt to misinform public."

Angered by the deployment of army personnel at toll plazas on National Highways in the state, Banerjee on December 1 had accused the Modi government of imposing an undeclared Emergency.

The complaint further said, "On various occasions, Ms Banerjee denounced the post of Prime Minister of India with baseless insinuations and even threatened him with dire consequences. We, therefore, ask you to treat this complaint as FIR against her and take strictest legal actions."
The current account deficit (CAD) narrowed by more than a percentage point to 0.6 per cent of GDP at USD 3.4 billion in the July-September on account of lower trade deficit.

The July-September CAD is lower than USD 8.5 billion, or 1.7 per cent of GDP, in the same quarter of last fiscal.

It is, however, higher than USD 0.3 billion or 0.1 per cent recorded in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

According to RBI data, private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, amounted to USD 15.2 billion, registering a decline by 10.7 per cent from the previous level a year ago.

"The contraction in the CAD on year-on-year basis was primarily on account of lower trade deficit (USD 25.6 billion) brought about by a larger decline in merchandise imports relative to exports," the RBI said in a statement.

Net services receipts moderated on annual basis, primarily owing to the fall in earnings from software, financial services and charges for intellectual property rights, it said.

"In the financial account, net inflows of both foreign direct investment and portfolio investment were significantly higher in the second quarter," it said.

Non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits also witnessed a 50 per cent decline to USD 2.1 billion from USD 4.2 billion in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

During the first 6 months of the current fiscal, the CAD narrowed to 0.3 per cent of GDP from 1.5 per cent in the same period a year ago on contraction in the trade deficit.

India's trade deficit narrowed to USD 49.5 billion in the first half from USD 71.6 billion in the same period previous fiscal.

Net FDI inflows during 6 months rose by more than 28.8 per cent over the level during the corresponding period of the previous year, it said, adding, portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of USD 8.2 billion as against a net outflow of USD 3.5 billion a year ago.

During the period ended September, there was an accretion of USD 15.5 billion to foreign exchange reserves.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A child born out of is entitled to compensation, independent of any such relief granted to the mother, the Delhi High Court has ruled.

The verdict to this effect, in which a man has been sent to jail for his entire "natural life" for raping his minor step-daughter, was delivered after the court noted that there was no such provision under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act or under the Delhi government's victim compensation scheme.

Ironically, the high court, which had earlier laid down a law in this regard, reduced the amount of compensation to the victim from Rs 15 lakh awarded by the trial court to Rs 7.5 lakh, saying the higher amount went against the 2011 compensation scheme formulated by the Delhi government.

It also faulted the trial court by giving a go-by to the guidelines for maintaining confidentiality of the victim.

However, a bench of Justices Gita Mittal and R K Gauba said a child born out of rape, either of a minor or a woman who is an adult, "is clearly a victim of the act of the offender and entitled to compensation independent of the amount of compensation paid to his/her mother".

This "vacuum" in the law came to the court's attention when it was hearing the appeal of a man convicted and awarded life term for raping his minor step-daughter who, as a result of the crime, gave birth at the tender age of 14 years.

Noting the "sordid scenario" in the instant case, where "the trust and confidence reposed in the man by his wife and step-daughter, was abused by him to bring about, out of sheer lust, untold miseries on the body, mind and psyche of the prosecutrix child leaving scars which would not ever heal", the court upheld his conviction and sentence.

It also clarified that the man shall remain behind bars for the remainder of his natural life, saying "we see no scope for any ruth (pity) in the matter of punishment".

While upholding the sentence, the bench also expressed displeasure over the manner in which the trial court "gave a go-by" to the precaution mandated under POCSO to keep the minor victim's identity confidential.

The high court also reiterated its earlier direction to



all trial courts not to disclose the identity of minor victims in POCSO cases.

Apart from the lack of provisions under the POCSO Rules and the Delhi Victims Compensation Scheme 2011 for children born out of rape, the court noted the absence of any provision in the scheme for child victims of sexual offences.

It also observed that no victim compensation fund has been set up under the 2011 scheme despite directions in this regard by the high court in a PIL.

The high court noted this while examining how the trial court awarded a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the victim.

The bench said under the existing scheme, the maximum compensation that can be paid was Rs three lakh and under the proposed new scheme of 2015, it would be enhanced to Rs 7.5 lakh.

Setting aside the compensation awarded by the trial court, the bench awarded a total amount of Rs 7.5 lakh to the victim, saying "given the nature of loss, pain and suffering which she undoubtedly would have undergone, we find this to be a fit case where the state must pay compensation for the minimum sum of Rs 7.5 lakh (which would be the compensation awardable under the proposed scheme of 2015, as and when brought in force)".
China offered its sternest rebuke yet to Donald Trump, saying anyone who challenges Beijing's interests in Taiwan will "lift a rock only to crush his own toes".

"If he tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China's core interests, ultimately he will lift a rocow confident enough to arm-wrestle with Trump," it said.

Trump shocked the diplomatic establishment and angered Beijing by speaking directly with Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen after his election victory.

After fierce criticism of the move, he upped the ante, taking to Twitter to ask why he should not be allowed to speak to Tsai, then attacking Chinese foreign and economic policy.

On Sunday, he went a step further, saying he did not see why Washington must "be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."



The remarks were a step too far for Beijing, which had initially seemed resigned to taking a wait-and-see approach to the president-elect.

Trump's comments also earned a rare rebuke from the White House, with spokesman Josh Earnest warning the president-elect that Taiwan is not a "bargaining chip".
Sniffing a chance because of demonetisation, Congress leaders of Uttar Pradesh are inclined towards an alliance with the ruling Samajwadi Party as they feel it will decisively halt BJP and bolster its prospects in the upcoming Assembly polls.

The party, which has been out of power in the politically important state for 27 years and has tried its best to revive its electoral fortunes by pushing its vice president Rahul Gandhi to hold a 'kisan yatra' across the state, is believed to be open to a "respectable" seat-sharing formula to tie up with SP for the elections.

"The aim and target of Congress is not just to halt BJP in Uttar Pradesh but also in the country for which it believes that all parties having similar ideology need to come together," a senior leader said.

Amid reports of possibility of such an alliance, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said if such a tie-up fructifies, it would win over 300 seats.

"Though samajwadis are going to form majority government in the state, if an alliance takes place, it will win over 300 (of the 403) seats. The final decision in this regard will be taken by party National president (Mulayam Singh Yadav)," he said when asked about possibility of his party's alliance with Congress.

Though no senior Congress leader was forthcoming on the issue of alliance, the UP poll scenario was discussed threadbare at a recent high level meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka, UPCC President Raj Babbar and AICC general secretary incharge of UP Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi.

"We had successfully tried this formula in Bihar and halted the march of the BJP...And now after the negative wave against it post demonetisation, we find such an experience could be repeated in UP," the leader said on condition of anonymity.

Another leader said, "In politics, all possibilities need to be explored.

"Rahul Gandhi has taken a very tough stand against



demonetisation, terming it as the biggest scam and all opposition parties have also agreed with his stand...Why not capitalise on this sentiment," stressed the Congress leader.

Accepting that there are some back channel efforts to firm up an alliance, he said Congress will not agree to less than 100 seats which it has already identified.

"Besides the 29 seats it won in the last Assembly polls and 31 others on which it had finished second, there are some 50 other constituencies where the party has good chance," he said.

"Such an alliance is also in the interest of Samajwadi Party which desperately needs to secure a strong platform to ward off division of Muslim votes in order to consolidate its position," he said.

BSP is posing a stiff challenge to Samajwadi Party and is going all out to woo Muslim voters and this is a concern for SP, he noted.

Congress had launched its poll preparations much in advance, roping in election strategist Prashant Kishor and announced the name of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as its chief ministerial candidate with an eye on Brahmin votes.
Pakistan's top diplomat today said the USD 46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project carries enormous economic potential not only for the country but for different regions, including the Gulf.

The Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made the remarks while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a three-day conference on 'China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Region Integration' here.

Aziz said apart from connectivity, the ambitious project will help Pakistan overcome energy shortages, Radio Pakistan reported.

Highlighting the challenges to the project, which runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and has led to concerns in India, Aziz said some detractors are not happy but steps have been taken to ensure security of the Chinese personnel engaged in execution of different projects under the umbrella of CPEC.

He was confident that the CPEC has the element to make Pakistan self-reliant in various spheres.

Many of the multi-dimensional power projects of the CPEC are under implementation phase which will add about 17,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, Aziz said.

"About six to seven thousand megawatts will come in the system in the next two years' time. Overcoming the energy shortages will also help enhance our GDP growth which is expected to move to five percent this year," he said.

The CPEC project was launched in early 2015 to link China with the Arabian Sea through Pakistan by building a network of roads, railways, energy parks and industrial zones.

Aziz also clarified that China is investing USD 36 billion in these power plants and providing soft loans for infrastructure development. Given the terms, these loans will not increase debt liability.

He, however, emphasised the need for diversifying the country's exports. He said Pakistan's private sector and entrepreneurs should be "more forthcoming to bring value addition" in the industrial parks to be set up in each province under the project.

"We also have to reorient our training programmes in order to meet the work force demand in the industrial parks," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The severe cyclonic storm Vardah has brought much-needed rains in water-stressed areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and will boost rice sowing, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said today.

Rice sowing has been lagging behind in the ongoing rabi season in parts of southern states, bringing down the country's total paddy acreage to 8 lakh hectares till last week of the rabi season from 10.98 lakh hectares in the same period last year, as per official data.

"We have got reports from Andhra Pradesh government this morning. In fact, the cyclone has brought rains and has helped farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Water has come and rice sowing, which was slow, is picking up," Pattanayak told PTI.

The impact on agriculture in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka still needs to be assessed. "We have not got any report as of now. It will be very beneficial out there also," he said.

In its latest release, the Met Department said some parts of Kancheepuram, Vellore, Tiruvallur, Salem, Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram in Tamil Nadu received rainfall.

In coastal Andhra Pradesh, parts fo Nellore and Prakasam received heavy rains, it added.

For next 12 hours, the Met has issued a "warning" that it is "very likely" that there will be rainfall at many places with isolated heavy falls over north interior Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of south interior Karnataka and north Kerala.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Deputy Director General J S Sandhu said the cyclone has brought some relief to farmers in water-stressed pockets of coastal areas in south India. This will benefit rice sowing operation.

The three states contribute about 30 per cent of rice to the country's total production of 104.32 million tonnes achieved in 2015-16 crop year (July-June).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telecommunication network services were hit the most by cyclone Vardah that barrelled through the city yesterday, leaving many people without any means to contact their near and dear ones.

Mobile services, including of Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, were affected in the city and its neighbouring districts, bringing back memories of the deluge last year.

BSNL landlines were operating at some places but its network services were disrupted.

Several people took to Twitter expressing anguish over the disruption of services.

Telecommunication companies could not be contacted for a comment. However, the state government has asked them to restore their "full network" at the earliest.

"All telecom companies are told to restore their full network as quickly as possible and its being monitored," State Disaster Management Agency said in a tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed with senior officials the progress of relief operations in cyclone Vardah battered areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Singh ordered that the inter-ministerial central team should be ready to go to the states immediately on receipt of the memorandum from the state governments.

The meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Member Secretary, NDMA, DG of NDRF and senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Director General of National Disaster Response Force informed that eight teams consisting of 268 rescuers along with 29 boats have been deployed in Tamil Nadu.

NDRF teams are removing road blockage. Three more teams of NDRF consisting of 108 rescuers along with 15 boats have also been sent to Chennai.

Six teams of NDRF consisting of 205 rescuers along with 20 boats have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh.

Flights have also become operational at Chennai airport since this morning.

Singh expressed satisfaction on the preparedness of the central and state agencies which has resulted in minimising casualties.

As per status report, in Tamil Nadu, a total 297 relief centres have been opened and 104 are in operation.

"A total of 13,578 people were evacuated to shelters and human losses reported 16, hut damaged 55, trees fallen 9,154, electrical poles damaged 5,200, transformers damaged 71 and out of 312 road blocked 152 have been cleared," an official statement said.

In Andhra Pradesh, a total of 59 relief centres are in operation and 10,960 persons are evacuated from vulnerable/low lying areas in Andhra Pradesh.

Two persons died in Chittoor, 391 villages were affected, 602 poles fallen and 12 trees uprooted.

All uprooted trees have been cleared and lifting of poles is in progress.

As per IMD bulletin issued in the morning, the Deep Depression over north Tamil Nadu moved further west-south westwards during past six hours with a speed of 20 kmph, weakened into a depression and lay centered at 0530 hrs today morning, over north interior Tamil Nadu, about 50 km west of Tiruppattur and 40 km north of Dharmapuri.

The system is very likely to continue to move west-sothwestwards and weaken gradually into a well marked low pressure area during next few hours.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Filmmaker Vikas Bahl believes decision to ban actors from across the border should be taken by the "right authority" and not by any other body.

Recently, superstar Shah Rukh Khan met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at his residence here, in connection with his film "Raees" which features Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

MNS has in the past objected to casting of Pakistani actors in Bollywood movies citing the neighbouring country's involvement in terrorist attacks in India.

When asked if this issue concerns filmmakers, Vikas told reporters last night, "I just think that any of these decisions which are being taken, should be taken by the right authority. I think it's not being taken by the right authority and people are having to follow those decisions, which I am not in agreement with."



The "Queen" director said it is wrong if people make their own rules and then others have to follow it.

"If the right authority is taking the decision with the larger perspective and if they think it is for good for both the countries, then one should follow them. But I don't think people can just get up from anywhere, make their little decisions and the whole country has to follow it."



Earlier in October, the MNS had staged high-voltage protests against the release of filmmaker Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" for featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

Shah Rukh had previously run into trouble for the release of "My Name is Khan" in 2010, with Shiv Sena, opposing its screening then.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 'Questions and Reference Committee' of Delhi Assembly today recommended to initiate contempt proceeding of the House against SDMC commissioner and Principal Secretary (UD) for not appearing before the panel in connection with civic body stalling development works being done through MLA-LAD fund.

The committee, headed by Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla, had summoned South MCD commissioner Puneet Kumar Goel, Principal Secretary (Delhi Government's UD) Janak Diggal and other senior officials on a complaint filed by AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj against stalling of various civic works by the SDMC.

The six-member committee passed a proposal to initiate contempt proceeding against Goel and Diggal after it found that despite sending three notices for meeting - December 7, 9 and 13 to them, they did not appear.

Speaker Ram Niwas Goel will take a decision on the House's committee's recommendations and then send the matter to the Assembly's Privilege Committee headed by AAP MLA Somnath Bharti.

On behalf of the South MCD commissioner, Additional Commissioner Meeta Singh and other senior officials of the civic body appeared before 'Questions and Reference Committee', but Bhardwaj, who is also its member, refused to accept their reply, saying that Singh was not able to answer questions.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) had passed two resolutions directing its staff not to issue NOCs and take developmental work like installing LED lights and equipments in parks using MLALAD in areas falling under its jurisdiction.

During the proceeding, Bhardwaj sought to know whether these resolutions are legally binding on SDMC officers, but Meeta Singh sought time to reply to the query which was rejected by the Committee Chairman.

Committee's proceeding started at 3.15 PM at MLA Lounge of Delhi Assembly. When Bhardwaj asked about the SDMC commissioner, Meeta Singh said that he had back-to-back two meetings; one at 3 PM with the Mayor and the another was at 4 PM with Delhi Chief Secretary.

Irritated over Singh's reply, the committee adjourned its proceeding for 15 minutes. Bhardwaj alleged that South MCD commissioner is not appearing to the panel because he knows that he has allegedly violated rules.

"There is no legal binding of resolutions issued by the SDMC House and Standing Committee. When we asked officers in today's meeting, they did not have answers. MCD officers are not getting development works done through MLA LAD fund, citing that resolutions do now allow them to do the same.

"There is no official order or notification by the commissioner directing SDMC officers not to carry out development works through MLA-LAD fund. SDMC are utilising MP-LAD fund, but they are not doing civic works through MLA-LAD fund," he said.

The committee has called its next meeting on December 19 and directed SDMC commissioner to appear before it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi BJP workers will visit city homes from Wednesday offering a 'laddoo' as a part of its the 'thanksgiving' campaign launched by city president of the party Manoj Tiwari, and take public feedback on .

There are many who want to "fail" the move even though people are "patiently" cooperating with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fight against black money, Tiwari said.

"(Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwalji had tried his level best to instigate people for revolt (against demonetisation) but Delhi people supported . As a mark of our respect to the people who are patiently bearing the problems and supporting demonetisation, we will offer laddoo to each household in Delhi during the campaign starting tomorrow and will continue till January 10," Tiwari said.

The "thanksgiving and feedback" programme will also gauze public mood by asking them about the problems they face.

"We know people are facing problems yet they are enthusiastically supporting demonetisation. The workers will not only offer Laddo, they will also collect feedback and report to us," he said.

During the campaign, party workers will visit each house in their polling booths and offer a 'laddoo' and seek feedback from each household.

People of Delhi are bearing pain due to demonetisation as a " responsibility" and we are grateful to them, he said.

"I have asked the workers and leaders in mandals and booths to take initiative and visit houses with the Laddoos. We expect to cover whole of Delhi this way in next 10-15 days," he said.

Enthused by Tiwari's move, Delhi BJP vice president Jai Prakash distributed laddoos among the traders at Kamla Market while participating in a an awareness campaign about cashless transactions today.

"We have been doing this by offering water and biscuits to people standing in queues at ATMs and banks. Today we also bought 2 Kgs of laddoos and offered to the traders while educating them on various modes of e-payments," JP said.

The entire Delhi BJP unit is carrying out an awareness campaign on cashless transactions by holding contact programmes with traders and local residents in different parts of the city.

The BJP councilors in the three MCDs today attended a meeting and learnt tips of e-payments and banking mobile apps. They also sent token money using the apps.
Top Democratic Senators have demanded an independent non-partisan commission to investigate the alleged Russian meddling in the US polls, a move the White House appeared to support saying a congressional review of the explosive issue is "certainly warranted" given the stakes.

In a joint statement, Democratic Senators Ben Cardin, Dianne Feinstein and Patrick Leahy called for the creation of an independent, non-partisan commission to comprehensively investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election which was won by Donald Trump.

The panel, they proposed, would fully probe the alleged Russian cyberattacks on US political entities and election infrastructure, seek to identify those responsible, and recommend a response the US can take to defend itself.

Modelled on other independent commissions, this body would compile all available classified intelligence and open source information, conduct hearings, with subpoena power, and report its findings to Congress within 18 months from being formed.

The membership of the commission would be individuals appointed by the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leadership, they said.

The White House appeared to support the move. "We certainly have long supported the principle of congressional review of this matter. There has been intensive cooperation between the intelligence community and other national security agencies, and members of Congress in both parties, both before and after the election," Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Last week, US President Barack Obama had ordered investigation into such allegations in the elections.

"One of the stated goals of the ongoing review that the president ordered last week by intelligence community was to compile information that could be presented to Congress," Earnest told reporters, adding that "a congressional review of this matter" is "certainly warranted when you consider the stakes."



"So, we support the principle of congressional review, but I wouldn't weigh in with an opinion right now about which committee should bear that responsibility," he said.

The Senators' announcement complements the call by bipartisan leadership in the Senate for Congressional investigations as well as support in the House of Representatives for an independent commission.

"We've seen what Russia can do with a MiG, but they can be equally destructive with a mouse. The American people deserve a nonpartisan, transparent, public investigation into this insidious attack on our democratic institutions," said Cardin, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

"Elections and the peaceful transfer of power are the foundational elements of our democracy. They have been attacked and undermined by the world's most destabilising major power. As a nation it's time to get to the bottom of it and learn what we can do to prevent it from ever happening again," he said.

"An attack against our election system is an attack on our very way of life and must not go unchallenged," said Feinstein, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CPI(M) leader and AIDWA president Subhashini Ali today said the Centre's demonetisation exercise has triggered a "reverse migration" of people from cities to villages as they have lost jobs.

She said the women in country are "enraged" by the withdrawal of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes by government, as it has left them in the lurch.

"Women are angry and facing problems due to demonetisation move of the Centre. The government has taken away people's money by taking this step," the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) chief said while addressing a press conference here.

She said the people are being "prevented" by government from withdrawing their own money from banks.

Stating that recall of old notes has hit people across the sections hard, especially poor women, Ali said, "the owners offering small jobs are finding it difficult to pay salaries to their employees. Women of poor section are the worst sufferers as their husbands are engaged in small jobs."



She said the trend of reverse migration is set in post demonetisation.

"Reverse migration is being witnessed as thousands of people have lost their jobs and they are now returning to their towns and villages from big cities," she said, adding these people are now concerned with how to sustain their families and feed their children.

Ali said farmers have also been suffering as the buyers of their crops and vegetables have disappeared from markets due to demonetisation-induced cash crunch.

"Vegetables are rotting and farmers are forced to dump their produce. In such situation, it would be hard for them to arrange money for sowing the next crop," she added.

Reacting to the protest here last week at the venue of a programme which was supposed to be attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Ali said, "it is sad that such an incident took place on the Human Rights Day. This is the violation of people's rights. This is not only an insult of a chief minister but also of entire state he is representing.

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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said that he will take up the difficulties being faced by the farmers post demonetisation with the Centre.

Patnaik was reviewing the situation with the district collectors in the aftermath of the demonetisation last month.

The district collectors during a video conference with the Chief Minister opined that farmers were facing difficulties in making payment for insurance, wages to labourers, purchase fertiliser, seeds and other essential items required for cultivation.

Based on the feedback from district collectors of Ganjam, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Bolangir about the plights of farmers, Patnaik asked RBI and bank officials present at the meeting to ensure that required small denomination currency notes were available in bank branches across the state.

Though Patnaik had earlier requested the Centre to allow cooperative banks to exchange demonetised notes, it was not addressed at the appropriate time leading to miseries of farmers, who mostly have their bank accounts in 330 cooperative bank branches across the state.

Meanwhile, Odisha's food supplies and consumer welfare minister Sanjay Dasburma said though the state government has already transfered Rs 409 crore to the bank accounts of farmers during the ongoing paddy procurement, they (farmers) were not able to draw money from their accounts due to shortage of cash in the banks.

"Demonetisation has severely hit farmers in the state," Dasburma said adding the state has so far procured paddy to the tune of 3.58 lakh metric tonnes from 53,000 farmers.

He said paddy procurement was underway in nine districts through 255 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and the total value of procured paddy was pegged at Rs 525 crore.

This apart, the state's overall revenue collection has taken a nosedive due to demonetisation, officials in the state finance department said.

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Actors Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone are among the Hollywood celebrities expected to turn up at China's Huading Awards.

The ceremony to be held at the Ace Hotel in Downtown LA on this Thursday will see prizes presented in 11 categories, including best global picture, best global newcomer and best global action choreography, reported Variety.

This is the second time that the awards are taking place in Hollywood's home town, after a previous visit in 2014.

"Los Angeles is where film culture originated from. So being here helps us to build the authority of the Huading Awards," said awards founder Wang Haige.

Matt Damon, who will appear in the Chinese-US co-production "The Great Wall", is nominated for "The Martian".

The 2015 film, which portrays Chinese scientists helping to save the American astronauts, has received nominations in five categories.

Other Western celebrities tipped to attend include Wiz Khalifa, Bryce Dallas Howard and Hilary Swank.

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Cyclone 'Vardah' has hit the currency supply to banks and ATMs here, aggravating the post-demonetisation woes of people already reeling under a severe cash crunch.

While several banks and ATMs are providing cash far below the allowed limit every now and then due to cash shortage, the damage caused by the cyclone has dealt a further blow with movement of cash vehicles coming to a grinding halt, resulting in empty ATMs.

Also, ATMs could not be used to access other services like cheques or cash deposit as electricity supply is yet to be restored in several localities due to fallen trees, snapping power cables.

As the Centre announced the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes last month under its demonetisation move, people had to stand in long queues to deposit or withdraw cash from banks.

Adding to those problems, 'Vardah' forced many banks to suspend operations, while ATMs have already gone dry.

Even if banks had cash, personnel transporting them to the ATMs were unable to proceed as several trees were uprooted, virtually halting traffic movement, officials said.

Besides, since Tuesday was a holiday on account of Milad-un-Nabi, most ATMs had went out of cash while banks remain closed, causing great hardships to people.

A hotel employee said people have been coming and making payments through debit and credit cards, but due to increase in usage of card payments, there has been a surge in traffic.

"So some transactions passed successfully, but some could not. We asked them to pay in cash," he said.

Srivatsan, a private sector employee, said, "we were managing expenses by taking cash from banks. But now after the cyclone, we are unable to go out as roads have been cut off and there is also no power supply".

"Even if we manage to go to some shops, we are unable to make any purchase as card payments were also affected. As today is a holiday, we are at home. We can go to banks or ATMs to withdraw cash only tomorrow," he said.

The Tamil Nadu government has expedited relief measures in the worst affected areas across Chennai and the neighbouring districts following the impact caused by the cyclone.

According to Chief Minister O Panneerselvam as many as 4,000 trees have been uprooted due to heavy winds and nearly 6,000 employees are working to remove them.

Power supply was partially restored across Chennai today as employees of the state-run TANGEDCO have been working on fixing snapped power lines since last night.

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Students, the academic fraternity and Delhi University have dubbed the verdict allowing sale of photocopies of textbooks as a "big victory" but foreign publishers who have moved Delhi High Court against the practice have kept their cards close to the chest on the option of challenging it in the Supreme Court.

While no clear word has emerged from Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press (UK), Cambridge University Press India Pvt Ltd, Taylor and Francis Group (UK) and Taylor and Francis Books India Pvt Ltd against the decision, their counsel are awaiting instructions.

"Once they (foreign publishers) go through the verdict, they will take a call and we as their counsel will accordingly proceed. So far, we have no instructions," senior advocate Pratibha M Singh and advocate Saikrishna Rajagopal, who represented the publishers, said.

However, senior advocate Aman Kumar Sinha, who argued the matter for the varsity, said the decision has been seen as a "big victory for students, teachers, Delhi University and the academic fraternity in general."



The high court had on December 9 given the publishers partial relief by restoring their lawsuit which was dismissed by a single judge, but did not stop the shop in the university campus from selling photocopies of textbooks.

Reacting to the verdict, a joint statement was issued by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor and Francis, saying "As publishers, we are fully committed to the ongoing creation of high quality knowledge and learning materials across all disciplines and subjects.

"We are also committed to finding ways to enable students and researchers around the world to access these materials on an equitable basis."



Through this appeal, the publishers said they had sought to clarify that Indian copyright law did indeed support such a framework, and in so doing, the balance of interest of those creating learning materials here with those requiring access to them is maintained in a fair and sustainable manner.

They had said that they "will consider this judgement in more detail over the coming days. In the meantime, we wish to reiterate that all publishers continue to work on models that will enable equitable access to knowledge.

While the publishers gave a guarded statement, senior



advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, who represented students' body, Society for Promoting Educational Access and Knowledge (SPEAK), said in the judgment the court had accepted arguments of students and academics for access to study material.

Another senior advocate, Anup Bhambani, who represented the Association of Students for Equitable Access to Knowledge (ASEAK) said, "We are happy and we welcome the verdict."



"The division bench had agreed with most of our submissions and has now sent the matter for trial before single judge on facts. We are confident that we will be able to convince the single judge on facts," he said.

Sinha said that trial process will only look into the alleged issue of photocopying a few books in entirety.

"Limited reproduction or photocopying of study material cannot be construed as an infringement of copyright as the Copyright Act Section 52(1)(i) has been specifically incorporated for benefit of students.

"Thus a beneficial provision has to be construed and interpreted in a manner which will benefit the students who are the purported beneficiaries of this legislation," he said.
The ongoing wheat sowing will not be affected due to duty-free import of the grain as the state-run FCI will procure it at MSP and protect farmers' interest, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said today.

Last week, the government had brought down import duty on wheat to zero from 15 per cent to boost domestic supplies and control rising prices.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the Centre's nodal agency involved in procurement and distribution of foodgrains.

"The decision (to scrap wheat import duty) has been taken by the government taking into account the entire situation prevailing in the country. It will not impact sowing. It will not affect farmers as wheat is normally purchased by the FCI," Pattanayak told PTI.

The Food Ministry has informed that farmers' interest will be taken care. "Whatever wheat is available, it will be procured by the FCI," he said.

FCI had procured about 23 million tonnes of wheat in 2015-16 and 28 million tonnes in the previous year, he added.

Asked if the Agriculture Ministry had opposed the decision to allow duty-free wheat import, the Secretary said, "I cannot say at my level. Please ask the minister because he is the highest authority who decides. It is not our decision."



"Basically, the analysis has thrown up one thing that there was zero import duty from 2006 till 2015. In was only in 2015, the duty was reimposed. India wanted to go back to the earlier regime. Nothing much to be read into that," he said.

As per the ministry's data, area sown to wheat has increased by 11.5 per cent to 225.63 lakh hectares till last week from 202.28 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

There has been brisk sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, so far even as the Met Department has projected warmer winter, and experts have warned about production loss if temperature rises in crucial February-March period.

The country had harvested 93.50 million tonnes of wheat in the 2015-16 crop year (July-June), much higher than the industry's estimate of 86 million tonnes for the same period.

However for this year, the Agriculture Ministry has kept a target to achieve record 96.50 million tonnes of wheat.

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: Eight renowned UK artists will showcase their work at Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016--the biggest celebration of contemporary art in Asia.

To promote cultural partnership and creative connections, the British Council today announced an exquisite line-up of eight celebrated artists from the UK at the Biennale in partnership with Creative Scotland.

"Continuing its association with this landmark event, now in its third edition, the British Council is delighted to welcome Hanna Tuulikki, Charles Avery, Jonathan Owen, Rachel Maclean from Scotland; and Nicola Durvasula, John Tilbury, Naiza Khan and Mikhail Karikis from England who will exhibit their artworks at the Biennale.

"This is an outcome of the biennale curator and director's visits to the Edinburgh Art Festival and the Turner Prize in Glasgow in 2015,"a British Council release said here.

British Council India Director Alan Gemmell OBE said the third Kochi Muziris Biennale is an incredible success.

"This is my first time here and I'm thrilled eight great UK artists are representing Scotland and England in Kochi."



"We believe there's a special role for contemporary art and new and emerging artists in particular to tell new stories about Britain in India and for biennials like Kochi to tell new stories about India around the world," Gemmell was quoted as saying in the release.

The KMB seeks to invoke the historic cosmopolitan legacy of the modern metropolis of Kochi.

Indian and international artists will exhibit artworks across a variety of mediums, including film, installation, painting, sculpture, new media and performance art.

Alongside the exhibition, the Biennale offers a rich programme of talks, seminars, screenings, music, workshops and educational activities for school children and students.

Amanda Catto, Head of Visual Arts, Creative Scotland,said it is hugely exciting to be at this wonderful biennale.

"Our artists from Scotland are very much looking forward to this incredible opportunity to showcase their work in this amazing setting."



"They are keen to receive audience feedback and interact with artists from India and other parts of the world, in this great cultural melting pot. We wish the Biennale all success," Catto was quoted as saying in a release here.

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After Monday morning, Dr. Dawn Corso said she'll have a little more patience and understanding when it comes to working with the elderly.

A third-year physician in RiverStone Health's Montana Family Medicine Residency program, Corso spent the morning in an age simulation suit that mimicked some of the physical challenges and limitations people might face as they age.

"Really, it was a lot more enlightening than I anticipated," she said. "I expected to walk in some of my patients' shoes, but it shed light on the obstacles that they encounter with every basic task throughout the day."

During the morning training, RiverStone geriatric educator Linda Roers outfitted Corso with a suit that included ankle and wrist weights, a weighted vest, goggles to mimic eyesight problems, gloves that replicate hand tremors, headphones to create a ringing in her ears and restrictive wraps at her knees, elbows and neck.

All of that gear simulates motion issues and other physical challenges many elderly people face, all in an effort to create better understanding and empathy in the wearer.

For about two hours, Corso went through a list of tasks, including checking in at the RiverStone clinic, getting in and out of vehicles, going up and down stairs and other daily activities.

"We try to be as serious as possible about this," Roers said. "I think that everybody that does this lesson has clued in on something they can use."

For Corso, simple actions like tying her shoes became difficult added up to a tiring experience and, when coupled with the vision and hearing issues, turned into serious distractions.

Picking up a cup of coffee wasn't nearly as easy as it had been a few hours earlier. She needed help getting down the stairs or opening doors and used a walker to help get around the clinic.

With some understanding of what some of her patients might be going through when they speak with her, it's got her thinking about better ways to communicate with them.

"I kind of knew the basics of how to interact and minimize distractions, but this brought it to a new level," she said. "There are different ways to make sure that they're hearing me and that they understand what they're taking away from the visit. I'm trying to think of different things that I can do now."

Roers said the suit has changed attitudes of health care providers toward aging patients. She pointed to a German study in which 83 percent of the people who wore the suit reported being more empathetic toward the elderly afterward, and 95 percent said they better understood the physical condition of an elderly person.

She has conducted about 40 training sessions with the suit so far, at RiverStone as well as other health care providers across eastern Montana, from assisted living facilities in Billings to organizations in Miles City.

The suit was purchased with a $2.1 million federal grant to the Montana Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program in July 2015. That money was part of $35.7 million given by 44 organizations nationally to improve care for older adults.

The geriatric workforce program is a collaboration between the University of Montana, RiverStone, St. Vincent Healthcare and Mountain-Pacific Quality Health.

Roers said the grant allows the suit to be used in training health care providers across eastern Montana. So far, she's trained nurses, retirement or assisted living home staff, and staff and resident physicians at RiverStone, among others. She has noticed a difference at the end of each session.

"The question is, 'How will this change how you work with older adults?'" she said. "Maybe you'll look them in eyes more when you speak, or you'll be more patient."

Much of that comes after the training session ends though, as the suit often takes most of the wearer's attention and energy.

"We've had people where the tremors, the hearing and the vision were so distracting they had trouble completing the tasks I gave them," Roers said. "I tell them, You're going to have this for an hour-plus. Imagine having it every day.'"

Corso, who is interested in geriatric medicine, said many of the suit's effects were unexpected but that it's something anybody who works with older adults should take the time to do.

It also serves as a reminder of what some patients deal with on a daily basis.

"You throw all of this on top of it, as someone who's already sick, and you realize you have to stop and slow down and get on their level so they can really understand what's happening," she said. "If anything, that'll be another reminder to do that."
Senior US, Japanese and South Korean officials with special responsibility for the North Korean nuclear issue held talks today, at a time of political flux and policy uncertainty in Washington and Seoul.

"We shared the view that it is more important than ever to keep close cooperation among the three countries," South Korea's nuclear envoy Kim Hong-Kyun told reporters after the meeting in Seoul.

The three envoys get together regularly in each other's capitals and one of their main aims is to shape and maintain a consensus on how best to deal with the growing nuclear weapons threat from Pyongyang.

It's a consensus that is looking particularly frail at the moment.

The trio's meeting in Seoul on Tuesday was the first since the eruption of a major political scandal in South Korea that resulted in parliament voting last week to impeach President Park Geun-Hye.

Park took a hard line with North Korea and was a staunch ally of Washington's policy of "strategic patience" -- essentially a refusal to engage in any significant dialogue unless Pyongyang made some tangible commitment to denuclearisation.

Although Park's impeachment still requires approval by the Constitutional Court, most observers are betting on an early election that could result in a more pro-engagement president entering the Blue House.

It is also the first trilateral meeting since Donald Trump became US president-elect -- a result that could presage some tectonic shifts in US foreign policy, including how to deal with the security situation on the Korean peninsula.

In a recent interview that drew expressions of deep concern from Beijing, Trump questioned Washington's traditional "one China policy" -- the cornerstone of decades of Sino-American diplomacy.

Adherence to the policy should be linked to other bilateral issues, Trump argued, citing the need for China to do far more to help pressure North Korea into abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.

"There are, to be frank with you, important domestic transitions going on both in Washington and Seoul and I'm sure like everyone else, North Koreans are watching those transitions carefully," the US nuclear envoy Joseph Yun told reporters in Seoul.

Yun spun the hiatus as an "opportunity" for Pyongyang to reconsider its opposition to denuclearisation.

"But so far of course we have not seen any signs that they want to engage," he added.

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The EU said today it would open no new areas in Turkey's membership talks in the "currently prevailing circumstances" because of concerns about its post-coup crackdown.

Austria however refused to sign the statement because it wants a complete freeze of Turkey's long-stalled accession process, including negotiations that are currently underway.

"Under the currently prevailing circumstances, no new chapters are considered for opening," said the statement by the European Union presidency, which is currently held by Slovakia.

A "chapter" is a specific area of negotiations, whose issues range from human rights to economic cooperation.

It comes despite a promise by Brussels in March to prepare to open new chapters in Turkey's long-stalled membership bid at an "accelerated pace" as part of a deal with Ankara to tackle the migration crisis.

The EU opened one new chapter in June, but this brings the tally to only 16 out of the 35 required for Muslim-majority Turkey to join the 28-nation bloc. Only one chapter has been completed.

EU divisions were on show with Austria leading calls for the accession process to be halted altogether over the crackdown following the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

After Austria refused to sign up to the statement, the Slovak presidency said it "notes the absence of a consensus" but that there was an "overwhelming majority" on the course of action.

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The European Union today wrestled with a rift over Turkey's EU membership bid after Austria led calls for the accession process to be halted over Ankara's post-coup crackdown.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at EU reluctance to revive membership talks and threatened to cancel a March deal which has curbed the mass influx of refugees and migrants into the 28-nation bloc.

Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said ministers would try to close the gap during talks in Brussels on Tuesday.

"This is definitely the most problematic point," Lajcak told reporters when asked about Austria's call to freeze the membership bid.

"The positions are quite diverse. So the goal for today would be to find a common platform to arrive at a compromise," Lajcak said.

Austria's top diplomat Sebastian Kurz warned that Vienna could block the conclusions that ministers must agree unanimously today to proceed with the accessions negotiations.

"We will try to find common ground," Kurz said.

But if that were not possible, "we will block the conclusions" as he demanded Erdogan toe the line on EU standards of human rights and democracy.

Kurz said that the Netherlands and Bulgaria share Austria's position. The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution last month calling for a freeze in membership talks over Turkey's crackdown.

German Minister of State Michael Roth warned "we shouldn't slam the doors in this difficult phase" even though there is "a regression" in the rule of law and media freedom in Turkey.

But at the same time he said: "There has to be a clear signal of the European Union to... The citizens in Turkey who share our European values."



Turkey and the EU had agreed to speed up the long-stalled membership talks after both sides reached a deal in March to curb the flow of migrants into the European Union.

But the process has stalled after a failed coup in July by a rogue military faction was followed by a crackdown that saw mass arrests of not only officers but also journalists, activists and academics and others.

Turkey formally applied to become an EU member in 1987 and accession talks only began in 2005, even though Ankara's aspirations to become part of the bloc date back to the 1960s.

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The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has 2.7 lakh doctors under its fold, has urged the government to exempt healthcare services offered by private hospitals from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"We welcome the government's decision on enforcing the GST and feel that it will increase transparency and improve efficiency in the country.

"However, we feel that the GST exemption of healthcare services offered by governmental institutions should be extended to the private sector as well," said Dr K K Aggarwal, the national president-elect of IMA.

IMA stated that exemption of GST to private sector shall result in several benefits which will include no increase in cost of healthcare being provided by the private sector, affordable healthcare services in India, eradication of any possibility of dis-incentivising future investments in the sector, among others.

At present, healthcare services provided by all types of clinical establishments are exempted from service tax under the mega exemption notification, issued in June 2012, which are strictly defined to cover diagnosis, treatment and care for illness, injury or deformity, he said.

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An ex-army man from Pakistan was arrested by BSF while he was trying to sneak into the country from the International Border (IB) along Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The intruder, who was nabbed last evening, has been identified as Mohammed, 65, of village-Gandyal in Pasroor tehsil of Sialkot, which is in Pakistan's Punjab province, a senior BSF officer said, adding that the man disclosed that he had retired from Pakistan army.

"Late last evening, alert BSF troops noticed suspicious movement on Pakistani side near the fence in Ramgarh Sector and they fired a few rounds," a senior BSF officer said.

The officer said visibility was hindered due to fog and wild growth.

"Later, at some distance at about 0100 hours, a BSF jawan on duty again observed suspicious movement of a person in front of a fence on Indian side of IB," he said.

The intruder was forced to surrender and was arrested, the oficer said.

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prices gave up Rs 100 to hit Rs 28,450 per 10 grams on Tuesday, hit by a subdued trend overseas and falling domestic demand due to the cash crunch sparked by demonetisation.

Silver, however, strengthened by Rs 100 to Rs 41,500 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Traders said the global weakness of can be explained by a firming dollar ahead of the two-day US Federal Reserve meet, which kicks off on Tuesday. There is speculation that the rate-setting panel would go for policy tightening sooner than later that would push up bond yields there, which dented the safe haven appeal of .

Globally, gold fell by 0.09 per cent to $1,160.90 an ounce in Singapore.

A considerable drop in demand from jewellers and retailers in view of the existing cash crunch also hit the sentiment, they said.

On November 8, the government had announced its decision to demonetise 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in a bid to flush out black money, leading to the cash drought.

In the national capital, 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity gold drifted lower by Rs 100 each to Rs 28,450 and Rs 28,300 per 10 grams, respectively. The yellow metal had gained Rs 100 on Monday.

Sovereign, however, traded higher by Rs 100 to Rs 24,200 per piece of eight grams in scattered deals.

On the other hand, silver ready advanced by Rs 100 to Rs 41,500 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 270 to Rs 41,490 per kg.

Silver coins remained unaltered at Rs 72,000 for buying and Rs 73,000 for selling of 100 pieces.
On the lines of Wagah Border point, the famous tourist attraction in Punjab, Gujarat would soon have its own 'Border Viewing Centre' near Suigam, a village near the Indo-Pak border in Banaskantha district.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani made the announcement while inaugurating the annual 'Rann-Utsav' at Dhordo in the Rann of Kutch today.

"To promote tourism, state government is planning to open a Border Viewing Centre at Nadabet near Suigam village of Banaskantha. We will provide all the facilities which are available to tourists at Wagah Border," Rupani said.

The CM also announced Lion Safari Parks at five locations in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary. One of these parks, at Ambardi in Amreli district, would open soon, an official release quoted him as saying.

Rupani also inaugurated ten 'Bhungas', traditional Kutchi huts, which will rented to tourists. He also visited a tent city erected in the white Rann of Kutch and enjoyed a camel ride, stated the release.

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Asserting that the UN must focus more on delivery and less on process, newly-sworn in UN chief Antonio Guterres has pledged to "engage personally" in helping resolve long-standing disputes and reforming the 71- year-old world body to meet the current global challenges.

Guterres, Portugal's Prime Minister from 1995 to 2002 and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015, became the ninth UN Secretary-General after he was administered the oath of office by General Assembly President Peter Thomson here yesterday in a special session of the 193-member world body.

Guterres succeeds Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of this month after leading the global organisation for the past 10 years. He was elected to the top job in October and takes over from Ban on January 1.

Giving a clarion call that the UN "must be ready to change," Guterres pledged to reposition development at the centre of the organisation's work and ensure that the UN can change to effectively meet the myriad challenges facing the international community.

"The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy...The scale of the challenges we face requires us to work together on a deep and continued process of UN reform," Guterres said after taking the oath of office.

He said globalisation and technological progress have also contributed to growing inequalities, countries are battling youth unemployment and globalisation has also broadened the reach of organised crime and trafficking, deepening the divide between people and political establishments.

"In some countries, we have seen growing instability, social unrest -- even violence and conflict. A little bit everywhere, voters now tend to reject the status quo, and whatever government proposal is put to a referendum. Many have lost confidence not only in their governments, but in global institutions -- including the United Nations," he said.

Guterres said, in the current global enviorment, fear is driving the decisions of many people around the world.

"We must understand their anxieties and meet their needs, without losing sight of our universal values. It is time to reconstruct relations between people and leaders -- national and international; time for leaders to listen and show that they care, about their own people and about the global stability and solidarity on which we all depend. And it is time for the United Nations to do the same: to recognise its shortcomings and to reform the way it works," he said.

"This organisation is the cornerstone of multilateralism, and has contributed to decades of relative peace. But, the challenges are now surpassing our ability to respond. The United Nations must be ready to change," he said.

Guterres also vowed to use his good offices to help mediate in long-standing disputes between nations.

"Where prevention fails, we must do more to resolve



conflicts. From acute crises in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and elsewhere to long-running disputes including the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, we need mediation, arbitration as well as creative diplomacy. As part of my good offices, I am ready to engage personally in conflict resolution where it brings added value, recognising the lead role of member states," Guterres said.

At the onset of his remarks at the swearing-in-ceremony, he paid a tribute to Ban for his "principled leadership (that) helped to chart the future of the UN -- through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through (his) commitment to peace and security, through (his) initiative to put human rights at the heart of (UN's) work."



Guterres highlighted three strategic priorities for the organisation -- working for peace, supporting sustainable development, and reforming its internal management.

Noting that often the UN is tasked with peacekeeping in places where there is no peace to keep, he said that a greater conceptual clarity and a shared understanding of the scope of peacekeeping was needed so as to pave the way for urgent reforms.

"Inspired by the new concept of sustaining peace, it is time for us all to engage in a comprehensive reform of the UN strategy, operational set-up and structures for peace and security," he said.

"The UN system has not yet done enough to prevent and respond to the appalling crimes of sexual violence and exploitation committed under the UN flag against those we are supposed to protect," Guterres said as he emphasised on the need to do more to prevent and respond to the sexual violence and exploitation committed by those serving under the UN flag against those they are supposed to protect.

"I will work closely with member states on structural, legal and operational measures to make the zero-tolerance policy...A reality," he asserted, adding that, "we must ensure transparency and accountability -- and offer protection and effective remedies to the victims."



On the second key element of the reform agenda, concerning the UN support to member states in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Guterres said development will form the centre of the UN's work, and that he will engage in a comprehensive reform of the UN development system -- both at headquarters and at country levels.

"This must involve leadership, coordination, delivery and accountability. We will build on the outcome of the recent discussions among member states," he said, underlining the need to bring humanitarian and development spheres closer together from the very beginning of a crisis.

"Humanitarian response, sustainable development and sustaining peace are three sides of the same triangle," he added.

On management reforms, Guterres underlined the need to build on existing efforts and to implement recent reform initiatives.

"Looking at UN staff and budgetary rules and regulations, one might think some of them were designed to prevent, rather than enable, the effective delivery of our mandates," he said.

(Reopens FGN 2)



"It benefits no one if it takes nine months to deploy a staff member to the field," Guterres said, underlining the need to foster a culture of accountability and effective protection for whistleblowers, as well as to better communicate the work of the UN, so that people understand it better.

"We need a substantial reform of our communications strategy, upgrading our tools and platforms to reach people around the world," he said.

Emphasising the need for gender empowerment and equality in the UN as well as across the globe, Guterres also pledged to respect gender parity from the start in all appointments to the Senior Management Group (SMG) and the Chief Executives Board (CEB), stressing, "By the end of my mandate, we should reach full gender parity at the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General levels, including special representatives and special envoys."



Guterres said while the world is getting better connected, fragmentations within societies are increasing, and that more and more people are living within their own bubbles, unable to appreciate their links with the whole human family.

"In the end, it comes down to values, as was said so many times today. We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the UN Charter: peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance and solidarity," he said.

"The threats to these values are most often based on fear. Our duty to the peoples we serve is to work together to move from fear of each other, to trust in each other," he said.

Guterres, was appointed after the culmination of an historic process member states set in motion late last year.

The selection of a new UN Secretary-General, traditionally decided behind closed-doors by a few powerful countries, for the first time in history, involved public discussions with each candidate vying for the leadership position.

The General Assembly lauded Ban for his "never-tiring service to humanity" over the past decade.

Ban said, "serving as Secretary-General of this great Organisation, has been a great privilege for me of a lifetime."



Recalling his childhood, he said, "After the Korean War, UN aid fed us. UN textbooks taught us. UN global solidarity showed us we were not alone. For me, the power of the United Nations was never abstract or academic."



He said he has seen the power of international cooperation in taking on most pressing challenges and has seen the UN open its doors wider than ever to civil society and many partners to help transform the world.

Ban said his 10-year tenure was filled with challenges, including the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression, eruptions of conflict and uprisings for freedom and record numbers of people fleeing war, persecution and poverty.

But "day by day, brick by brick, we built stronger foundations for peace and progress," he said, but added that still, so many problems have proven intractable -- none more than the bloodshed in Syria and the upheaval it spawned.

"Even as I prepare to leave, my heart will stay as it has since I was a child -- right here with the United Nations," he said.
: Akhila Bharatha Hanuman Sena today sought police protection, claiming it had received a threat letter from an unnamed outfit to eliminate its leaders.

In a petition to city Police Commissioner A Amalraj, the Sena said the letter received at its local office recently warned that the outfit's leaders would meet with dire consequences as a Hindu Munnani office bearer had recently, police said.

The letter also warned Sena workers not to indulge in any activities that hurt the sentiments of others, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Construction Company will next month seek shareholders' nod for conversion of loan into equity shares or optionally convertible debentures pursuant to implementation of the RBI's scheme for sustainable structuring of stressed assets.

The company will also seek shareholder's nod for increasing the company's authorised capital, HCC said in a filing to the BSE.

The Extraordinary General Meeting of the members of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) will be held on January 5 and "approval (would be sought) for conversion of Loan by Lenders into Equity Shares/Optionally Convertible Debentures (OCDs) of the company ('Securities') pursuant to implementation of the Reserve Bank of India S4A Scheme for the company," the filing said.

Infrastructure major Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) had earlier in the month approved the issuance of equity shares as well as optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) worth about Rs 2,000 crore to the lenders, under the scheme for sustainable structuring of stressed assets.

HCC is the first company to get its debt restructured under the Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) scheme.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
State, federal and tribal biologists are predicting that 160,400 adult spring chinook salmon will enter the Columbia River in 2017 destined for waters upstream of Bonneville Dam, a drop of about 30,000 from this year.

The Columbia River Technical Advisory Committee met last week to develop the spring chinook forecast, along with predictions of 63,100 summer chinook and 198,500 sockeye in 2017.

Its a number we can fish on, said Robert Moxley of Oregon, a member of the bistate Columbia River Recreational Advisory Group. Its not optimal and will be challenging regarding (Endangered Species Act) impacts. We know there were effects from the blob and weve got to make the best of it.

The blob was a huge concentration of unusually warm water that persisted in the past couple of years in the northern Pacific Ocean. Warmer than normal water temperatures normally result in reduced ocean survival of salmon.

We looked at a number of different forecasts and several that we thought were reasonable suggested numbers in this range, said Stuart Ellis, a biologist with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. We did have lower jack returns in 2016. There are a number of ocean indicator data that continue to suggest poor conditions for salmon, so smaller forecasts seem reasonable.

The spring chinook forecast in an important number in Columbia River and Northwest fishing circles. A good forecast will spark tackle sales and purchase of guided angling trips. Sport-fishing industry officials say when spring chinook angling is good interest in fishing stays high into the summer and fall runs.

Since 2005, in seven years the Columbia spring chinook runs have been larger and in five years smaller than the 2017 forecast. This years return was 187,816. The decade-low was 86,200 in 2007.

In 2016, anglers in the lower Columbia kept 12,666 adult spring chinook and released 3,776 from 126,826 trips. During the spring salmon season, anglers also kept 2,621 steelhead and released 693.

Summer chinook

The forecast of 63,100 summer chinook is a decline from this year. In 2016 the forecast was 93,300 and the actual return was 91,048.

In 2016 anglers in the lower Columbia kept 3,080 adult summer chinook and released 4,170 from 58,067 trips. During the summer salmon period, anglers also kept 4,250 steelhead and released 1,930.

Sockeye

The forecast of 198,500 sockeye is a number smaller than recent years. That forecast includes 137,900 to the Okanogan River, 54,200 to the Wenatchee River, 4,000 to the Yakima River, 1,400 to the Snake River and 1,000 to the Deschutes.

Sockeye do not bite well on sport gear. In 2016 lower Columbia sportsmen kept 744 and released 81. They are mostly an incidental catch by anglers targeting summer chinook and particularly summer steelhead.
Advertisement regulator ASCI has pulled up FMCG major HUL over its 'misleading' TV commercial for dish washer brand Vim in which it claimed rival Jyothy Laboratories' Exo as "sadharan" (ordinary) bar.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) noted that its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld a complaint against HUL in which it implied that Exo is "ordinary or inferior".

"There being no other criteria for calling out a product as 'ordinary', the CCC considered the TVC to be misleading by ambiguity and implication and unfairly denigrated Exo dish wash bar," ASCI said in a statement.

When contacted, HUL said, "As a responsible marketer and member of ASCI, we have always complied with ASCI guidelines and recommendations. We will suitably modify the advertisement as per ASCI's recommendation."



ASCI also said it has asked HUL to modify its TVC in which the company made a claim that 'Vim removes grease fastest' saying, "There was a mismatch between the claim and its corresponding disclaimer."



ASCI said in the disclaimer HUL stated, "as per independent lab test conducted on burnt food stain" while the claim referred to 'grease', which is as "an oil stain".

The advertising watchdog, however, struck down a Jyothy Laboratories' claim that its Exo was superior than Vim bar "in absence of any data to prove that Exo performs better than Vim".

The CCC concluded that the TVC claim, "There is nothing else faster than Vim", was substantiated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has issued warning to three different television channels over content which an Inter Ministerial Committee appointed by it felt was not as per broadcasting norms.

In the first case, a television channel was issued a warning in an order dated November 29, after it showed disturbing visuals of incidents of suicide in Kerala without adequately morphing them, as recorded in the ministry order.

In another instance, a warning was issued in an order dated November 29, to another channel which too allegedly did not adequately blur the visuals of a murder victim lying in a pool of blood.

Another channel was also issued a warning by the ministry, over revealing the identity of a victim of sexual abuse and other content which did not confirm to the norms.
IAS and DANICS officers, who are working in the Delhi government, today held a joint meeting and passed a resolution against "misbehaviour" by political executives.

In the meeting, AGMUT-cadre IAS Officer Association and DANICS officers Association expressed "anguish and pain" at the "misbehaviour" by political executives.

"Both associations have passed resolution that this must stop," said a senior official. In the meeting, some of the officers cited instances of "misbehaviour" and sought the associations' intervention in the matter.

The move comes days after the chairman and managing director of the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), K R Meena had shot a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, seeking an apology for his behaviour during a meeting.

The issue of Health Secretary Chandrakar Bharti was also raised in meeting. In the past, the Delhi government has publicly criticised Bharti for not attending meetings on important issues relating to health and environment.

A member of the association said that in the resolution, we stated that officers are bound by law and are working for the people, but "misbehaviour" with them must stop.

In December last year, Delhi, Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Services (DANICS) had gone on mass leave for one day after Delhi government had suspended two Special Secretaries in the Home department.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The International Federation of Journalists today demanded "immediate action" against Sri Lankan Navy chief who allegedly assaulted a journalist who was covering a strike by port workers in the country's southern Hambantota port.

"The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is seriously concerned by the assault of a journalist by the head of a security force and demands immediate action against him from the Sri Lankan government. Such an incident, if allowed to pass, not only undermines press freedom and the rights of the media but also has a chilling effect on free press," the global body said in statement.

"The IFJ demands immediate action against the commander. Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne assaulted a journalist while he was reporting navy action to open the port blocked by protesting port workers. Video footage recorded by other journalists showed the navy commander darting towards Gunasekera, assaulting him and using foul language," the statement said.

The incident happened on December 10 at the southern port of Hambantota during a strike by port workers demanding job security.

The Navy had said they freed a vessel held by the striking workers preventing it leaving from the port.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the first ever conviction of banned Indian Mujahideen cadres in a terror case, a special NIA court here convicted Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal and four others for being involved in 2013 twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar which had claimed 18 lives.

The NIA special court convicted Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Besides Bhatkal, the others convicted were Asadullah Akthar of Uttar Pradesh, Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas of Pakistan, Tahseen Akhthar of Bihar and Aizaz Shaik of Maharashtra. All of them are in judicial custody.

The alleged key conspirator Riyaz Bhatkal, believed to be operating from Karachi, is still at large.

The court will announce the sentences for all the accused on December 19.

The final arguments in the case concerning the attack, carried out on February 21, 2013 in which 18 people were killed and 131 injured others, concluded last month during which 157 witnesses were examined. Trial in the case had begun on August 24 last year.

An elated Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar said "it was a wonderful investigation carried out by the team in which every evidence was examined minutely. This is the first ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres."



"We will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits," Kumar said.

In its charge sheet, the NIA had claimed that Indian Mujahideen had hatched a conspiracy to wage a war against India and decided to carry out bomb blasts in Hyderabad to create terror in the minds of people and further the activities of the outfit.

The main operative of the module, Riyaz Bhatkal, who is named as the first accused in the case, had allegedly directed his associates Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas to find a place in Mangalore to be used as a hide-out for explosive materials sent by him, it had allaged.

After receiving the materials sent by Riyaz through an



unknown person, and the money sent by him by way of hawala and other channels, Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas reached Hyderabad and started working with Tahseen Akhthar alias Monu, who had already reached there and was living in a hideout in Abdullapurmet area, the NIA probe report claimed.

The three of them prepared two IEDs while staying there. The other materials needed to make the bomb, including a pressure cooker and timers, were arranged in Hyderabad. After the bomb was made, on February 21, they mounted two IEDs on two bicycles (purchased by them for that purpose), and planted them in two separate places in Dilsukhnagar, it alleged.

The NIA investigation has brought to evidence all the financial help received by the accused from abroad.

The NIA also said it learnt that the miscreants, after procuring the explosive materials to Hyderabad, had conducted a test blast in a hillock near Abdullapurmet in Hyderabad.

The main feature of the conspiracy was that the accused were communicating through the Internet, chatting with each other throughout the planning, finding suitable hideouts, purchasing materials for the bombs, until the final escape. They were also found to have used proxy servers to hide their identity.

The role of Yasin Bhatkal in the planning, procurement of explosives and harbouring of Asadullah Akhthar after the incident, was also unearthed by the NIA, the agency said.

During investigation, a total of 440 witnesses were examined and 251 documents and 300 material objects seized. Extensive cyber forensic evidence was gathered and placed on record as evidence.

(Reopens DEL31)



"The court will decide on Monday (December 19) what punishment is to be inflicted on this crime. Anyway, we will be seeking for maximum punishment that is prescribed for murder and waging war against India, that is death sentence," Special Public Prosecutor Surender told reporters outside Charlapally Central Prison here where the court is located.

"In the Dilsukhnagar blasts case, all five accused who have been tried here, they have been convicted for various offences under the IPC, Unlawful Activities Act.

"This is for committing murder, attempt to murder, criminally conspiring to wage war against the Government of India and committing a terrorist act and at the same time collecting arms for the purpose of committing this terrorist act," he said.

The court has posted the case to December 19 to decide the quantum of sentence to be handed out to them, he said.

"Now, that they have been found guilty, the court has posted the case to 19th (December). On 19th, the court will hear about the quantum of sentence to be imposed," he said.

As the prime accused in the case and key founding member of Indian Mujahideen Mohammad Riyaz alias Riyaz Bhatkal was absconding, the trial was split.

"During course of investigation, the role of key founding member of IM, Mohammad Riyaz alias Riyaz Bhatkal, hailing from Bhatkal, Karnataka, now suspected to be hiding in Pakistan, was established, as the key planning and guiding force behind the blasts and he was arraigned as an accused in the crime," the NIA said in a release.

"He is absconding and NIA has issued a Interpol Red Corner Notice for his arrest," it further said.
India on Tuesday said World Bank's decision to temporarily halt two simultaneous processes to look into Indo-Pak dispute over Kishenganga and Ratle project confirms that pursuing the two concurrent processes could have rendered the unworkable over time.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India remains fully conscious of its international obligations and is ready to engage in further consultations on the matter of resolving current differences regarding these two projects.

"The government had pointed out on 10 November, 2016 the legal untenability of the World Bank launching two simultaneous processes-- for appointment of a Neutral Expert as requested by India and establishment of a Court of Arbitration requested by Pakistan-- to adjudicate technical differences between India and a Pakistan on Kishenganga and Ralte projects.

"By temporarily halting both the processes now, the Bank has confirmed that pursuing the two concurrent processes can render the Treaty unworkable over time," Swarup said.

The World Bank's move to pause the process came nearly a month after India had strongly objected to the global body's "inexplicable" decision, saying going ahead with two separate mechanisms was "legally untenable".

Group President of World Bank Jim Yong Kim said,"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants."



The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan. It was also emphasised that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan and also the World Bank in 1960, the World Bank has a specified role in the process of resolution of differences and disputes.
Underlining strong historical ties between the two countries, President Pranab Mukherjee has said India and Indonesia must work together in maritime security area to achieve strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes.

Welcoming Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is on his first State visit here, Mukherjee said India and Indonesia have age-old bilateral ties and they share a common experience of struggle for freedom from the colonial rule.

Mukherjee said he sees India and Indonesia as two countries providing a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance.

"India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and transnational threats. Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes," he said.

In his banquet speech yesterday, Mukherjee said India would be happy to contribute to Indonesia's 'maritime fulcrum vision' of Indonesia Nusantara and, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region.

"In the multilateral and global context of facing the common challenges of the 21st Century, India and Indonesia, together, are factors of stability for the world," he said.

He said India attaches high importance to Indonesia's success as a pluralistic democracy with an open society based on the shared values of syncretism, tolerance and respect for diversity.

The President sought Indonesia's "active support" for strengthening India-ASEAN relations during 2017 when the regional group will meet for 15 years of Summit level interaction.

Mukherjee also underlined age-old relations between the



two countries which spanned from Sufism and Islam which travelled from Gujarat shores to Indonesia to modern-day cooperation of Jawaharlal Nehru and Biju Pattnaik with Indonesian founding Fathers--Soekarno, Mohamad Hatta, Sutan Syahrir.

"In the 13th Century, Sufi traders and Islamic missionaries from Gujarat carried Islam to Indonesia - which has evolved into your unique brand of 'Pribumisasi' Islam -that is at the foundations of the social and religious harmony that are seen in Indonesia today," he said.

Mukherjee said epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Hindu and Buddhist images, Sanskrit words and names, the timeless art of ikat and batik are simultaneously a part of common heritage and everyday life in India and Indonesia.

He said during respective national movements for freedom from colonial rule, Indonesian founding Fathers - Soekarno, Mohamad Hatta, Sutan Syahrir worked in close collaboration with Indian national leaders-- Jawaharlal Nehru and Biju Patnaik among others.

"They shared ideas and strategies, and drew inspiration from each other's struggle - in a way that the course of events in one movement often impacted profoundly the other," he said.

Highlighting historical co-operation between two countries at global platform in the form of 1955 Bandung conference and Asian Relations Conference held here, Mukherjee said together Indonesia and India helped to write the closing chapters of colonialism and started the Non-Aligned Movement.

"Today, each of our two countries represents a remarkable pluralism --of culture, ethnicity, religion and language. Your motto 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' mirrors our own slogan, 'Unity in Diversity'.

"We are two of the world's largest democracies enjoying a successful strategic partnership; we are maritime neighbours committed to the security of sea lanes of communication and we are both committed to overcome radicalism and intolerance," he said.

Mukherjee said Indonesia is already India's number one trade partner in ASEAN - with a total bilateral trade of close to USD16 billion; and cumulative Indian investment in Indonesia stands at close to USD 15 billion.
The volume of annual bilateral trade between India and Indonesia is set to touch a whopping USD 50 billion in next nine years from the present USD 9 billion, as per a vision document prepared by an Eminent Persons Group tasked to identify areas for deeper two-way engagement.

Observing that the two fast growing economies were blessed with an "epic legacy of cooperation", it said it was high time for India and Indonesia to elevate their relations to a New Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

"By 2025, India-Indonesia bilateral economic cooperation shall blossom to reach a bilateral trade volume of USD 50 billion and two-way investment of USD 50 billion," as per the Vision Document.

In the talks yesterday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the findings of the Eminent Persons Group, comprising experts from both sides, were discussed.

Referring to maritime security cooperation, the group said the partnership will contribute to strategic stability in the Indian Ocean and called for closer security and defense relations including counter-terrorism collaboration.

It said India and Indonesia will develop convergent maritime interests, and will intensify their maritime linkages by developing the necessary infrastructure and connectivity.

The document said the partnership will contribute to strategic stability in the Indian Ocean and India and Indonesia, as the largest Indian Ocean rim countries, will work closely to prevent potential conflict and rivalry.

"India and Indonesia shall have ever closer security and defense relations, marked by close military-to-military relations, counter-terrorism collaboration, naval cooperation including combined maritime patrols, regular exchanges and joint exercises, intelligence sharing, and joint production of defense equipment and systems," it said.

Calling for deeper defence and security cooperation, particularly in maritime sphere, it said Indonesia too had been affected by China's maritime incusions into its waters off Natuna Islands.

The group said the India-Indonesia partnership must be robust, forwardlooking and multi-sectoral and that it must carry significant impact, both bilaterally and in the context of regional order, commensurate with the strategic weight of both the nations.

"By 2025, the partnership shall contribute to a more durable Asian order, marked by peaceful relations among the major powers, win-win cooperation involving all the countries in the region, open regionalism, resolution and/or reduction of conflicts, and the prevalence of strategic trust," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Germans are happy with the products from India especially because they meet the international standards," German Consul General Margit Hellwig-Boette has said.

According to a release here today, Boette said Germany is a frontrunner in consuming organic products.

"Indian Ocean is a strategic economic zone as the Indo-German ties have strengthened. Germans are happy with the products from India especially because they meet the international standards," she was quoted as saying in the release.

Aiming to broaden trade links with Germany, the Spices Board, in association with the Marine Products and Exports Development Authority, hosted an interactive session with the German Consul.

The Consul General pointed to the strong ties between the two countries and indicated that trade relations would continue to grow in her address to a gathering of marine exports representatives from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka yesterday.

MPEDA chairman A Jayathilak advocated for boosting spice and marine products exports and pressed for a transparent quality check procedures during the exports.

"India has been striving hard to meet the prescribed quality standards by European Union and I am happy that we are exporting our products with very less rejection of consignments. 'Going organic' is the buzzword of the town and we are now exporting pesticide-free products," he said.

He said there was an increase in demand for value added products in Germany, which accounts for 25 per cent of the total EU imports from India. Pepper, mint products and oil and oleoresins form a good share of the imports, he said.

Marine exports to Germany were to the tune of 5,211 tons worth USD 39.69 million during 2015-16. Frozen shrimp was the major item of export (80 per cent by quantity & value) followed by frozen cephalopod and fish.

Syed Ibrahim, Honorary Consul, German Consulate, said the German food industry relied heavily on spices, especially from quality conscious Kerala.

"Germans use large amounts of cinnamon and ginger in their Christmas cake.I have seen that they very much appreciate products from India," said Syed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
National carrier Air India and startup carriers AirAsia India and Vistara are keen to be part of the domestic airlines group FIA but a member of the group is allegedly blocking their entry in the club, sources said.

At present, Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir are the members of the FIA.

According to industry sources, FIA is sitting "pretty" on Air India's request for a re-entry in the grouping since more than six months now, allegedly due to resistance from IndiGo, they said.

"The application of AirAsia India and Vistare for acquiring its membership is also pending since a long time. has some personal agenda against these airlines and so it does not want them to be in the grouping," the sources said.

IndiGo, however, has denied the charge, saying it has no authority to prevent any airline from joining the industry body, Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA).

Significantly, both and FIA had objected to AirAsia



India's application for grant of air operator permit on the ground that the foreign direct investment norms for investment by foreign airlines in Indian carriers were applicable only for the existing airlines and not the greenfield projects.

Moreover, FIA has also filed a petition in Delhi High Court, demanding cancellation of approvals given to Vistara, the joint venture airline of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.

Air India was one of the founding members of the apex domestic airlines' body, when it came into being in 2006.

However, in 2014 when the Federation opposed the government's ground handling policy, Air India decided to pull out of the grouping on its own.

FIA spokesperson was not available for comments.

IndiGo, however, said that it has no authority to block entry or re-entry of any airline in the FIA.

"We are no one to block (any one). We have no blocking right (the entry of a new member)," President Aditya Ghosh said.

Industry sources, however, said that a domestic airline's body is incomplete without the presence of the national carrier, and that its recognition can also be "withdrawn" on these grounds.

"Had we been so influential (blocking an airline's entry) we would have managed slots at Pune airport, which have been granted to other carriers despite we applying first," an IndiGo official said on the condition of anonymity.
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Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Hooked on Fishing program has won an award from the American Fisheries Society.

The 2016 Aquatic Education Outstanding Sport Fish Restoration Project of the Year award was presented to FWP Angler Education coordinator Dave Hagengruber on Dec. 8 at the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Helena.

The statewide education program teaches more than 5,400 students in 224 fourth-through-sixth-grade classrooms an awareness and appreciation for Montana fish, aquatic resources and fishing.

More than 70,000 students have participated in Montanas program since its inception nearly 20 years ago. Classroom and field components include lessons on aquatic invasive species, native fish, fishing regulations, ethics, identification, anatomy, water cycles, math, biology and other topics.
Amid a chill in Indo-Pak ties, political leaders and prominent journalists from the two countries have met here and underlined that the only way forward to improve relations was through a "candid and consistent" dialogue.

The fifth round of 'Pakistan-India Legislators and Public Officials Dialogue' was held on Sunday and facilitated by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT).

Under the leadership of Mani Shankar Aiyar, former MP and union minister, delegates from India included MLAs from Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana. Some prominent journalists from India also attended the event.

The topics on the agenda were the role of media in improving relations between Pakistan and India and how to positively take forward the 'Fight Poverty' agenda.

The participants underscored that while media can play a role in positively influencing ties between the two countries, the essential responsibility to chart a course in this regard remains with elected leadership in both India and Pakistan.

"It was also recognised, at the outset, that while dialogue is the only way forward for two countries to improve relations, candid and consistent dialogue aimed at conflict resolution can only take place when the two states recognise and address the issues such as those included in the Composite Dialogue 1997 and the Comprehensive Dialogue 2015," a statement said.

The participants observed that in inter-State relationships, due consideration, courtesy and diplomatic protocol must be observed. And media should be given access without hindrance to cover all such events.

They recalled the earlier Joint Communique of March 10, 2016 that urged media in both countries about objective and professional reporting, upholding the core values of journalism and avoiding sensationalism and negative hype.

Participants highlighted the continuing issue of inability of organisations in India and Pakistan to appoint reporters in each other's countries.

They underscored that lack of access for media to locations in the other country and obstacles in obtaining visas for journalists of both countries remain key issues hampering an informed portrayal of each country.

Participants highlighted that the phenomenal growth in new digital media has enormous potential for positive engagement between Pakistani and Indian citizens.

Noting that resolution of disputes between Pakistan and India can free-up resources for poverty alleviation, the participants stressed that poverty offers a critical challenge for both countries which should share successful policies and practices in alleviating it.

Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan at the LoC and got escalated after the cross border terror attack on an army base in Nagrota in Jammu.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indonesian national carrier Garuda Indonesia today announced its entry into the world's fastest growing aviation market with a tri-weekly flight to the Mumbai from its headquarters Jakarta via Bangkok.

Mumbai will serve as the airline's first gateway to the region and the tri-weekly service to Mumbai, Garuda Indonesia will be providing the first direct link between Indonesia and India," the airline said here today.

The airline will operate flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

The entry to Mumbai is part of the airline's international network development programme, as well as manifests its commitment to continuously support Indonesia's programme to double the number of international tourists visiting the country by 2019.

Garuda Indonesia president and chief executive M. Arif Wibowo said this new service will further boost the economic and cultural ties between the two nations.

Indonesia is currently one of the largest markets to India with 3,50,000 people travelling to the region on both business and leisure.

Garuda will deploy a Boeing 738 aircraft with a two-class cabin configuration and will have 156 seats 144 in the economy class and 12 in the business class.

Mumbai will be Garuda Indonesia's 78th global destination. The airline has a fleet strength of 197 aircraft.

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Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate tomorrow an international conference on housing and urban development in Asia Pacific region.

During the three-day conference, ministers and senior officials from 68 countries in the region are expected to deliberate on challenges of urban planning and management, an official release said.

The sixth edition of 'Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing & Urban Development (APMCHUD)' seeks to address issues ranging from crowded city centres to peripheral expansion, metropolitan based urban population growth, megacities and urban corridors, among others, it added.

The conference will come out with a Delhi Declaration and implementation plan for aligning urban development strategies of member countries with the New Urban Agenda adopted at Quito, Eucador for the next 20 years.

The theme of the declaration will be on 'Emerging Urban Forms - Policy Responses and Government Structures'



The conference assumes significance considering that APAC region accounts for 60 per cent of the world population and 55 per cent of global urban population.

It will also help in furthering the new urban agenda adopted at the recent conference of UN Habitat-III.

The APMCHUD is the first such conference after UN Habitat-III global conference on sustainable development held in Quito this September.

According to the release , five Working Groups will deliberate on different Sub-Themes, including integrated planning, management and governance structures (led by India), ensuring access to housing and housing finance in the urban - rural continuum (led by South Korea) and unorganised growth in peripheral areas and slum upgradation aspects (led by Iran), among others.

Delhi is hosting the APMCHUD after 10 years having organised the first such conference in 2006.

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Iran's President Hassan Rouhani today ordered the country's scientists to start work on nuclear-powered ships in response to the expected renewal of sanctions by the United States.

In letters read out on state television, Rouhani criticised the US move as a breach of last year's nuclear accord and told Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation to start work on "planning the design and production of nuclear fuel and reactors for maritime transport."



The president said he had also ordered the foreign ministry to prepare a legal complaint to the international committee that oversees the nuclear accord.

Under the deal signed in July 2015, world powers agreed to lift international sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran's nuclear programme.

But US lawmakers recently voted to renew 10-year-old sanctions legislation against Iran related not just to nuclear issues, but also ballistic missile-testing and human rights.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law in the coming days, saying it makes no difference to last year's agreement because the White House will continue to suspend all the sanctions linked to Iran's nuclear programme.

Iranian lawmakers had raised the prospect of building nuclear-powered ships and submarines back in 2012 at the height of tensions with the international community over the nuclear programme.

International analysts said the announcement was likely just a bluff, since it would be an extremely costly effort for little strategic gain.

Then nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said that Iran had the capacity to design nuclear reactors for ships but no plans to do so.

He also said that nuclear-powered ships did not require the sort of highly enriched uranium which could also be used for weapons.

Iran has always insisted that its nuclear programme was entirely peaceful, but hoped an end to sanctions would help revive its battered economy.

Although it has seen a significant boost in oil sales since the deal came into force in January, its hopes of attracting large-scale foreign investment have been thwarted by continuing US sanctions in other areas.

The biggest problem lies with world banks, which are needed to finance the bigger trade deals but remain wary of returning to Iran, fearing they could be fined by Washington.

The Iran Sanctions Act passed the US Senate 99-0 earlier this month after easily clearing the House of Representatives in November.

The language in the nuclear agreement makes it unclear whether renewing the sanctions -- and keeping the nuclear ones suspended -- amounts to a violation.

Rouhani, who is expected to run for a second term in May, has faced a barrage of criticism from conservatives who say his team made too many concessions for minimal economic gain.

In a speech last week, he emphasised that his team had not acted alone and that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was closely involved at every stage of the negotiations.

"We took no step on the JCPOA issue without consulting the honourable leader," Rouhani said.

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Regulator Irdai has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Birla Sun Life Insurance for violation of various regulations including the one relating to prohibition on giving freebies like foreign travel and gift cards to corporate agents and brokers.

The regulator imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh only for violation Corporate Agents guidelines by arranging foreign trips and distribution of gift cards to the employees of corporate agents and brokers.

Birla Sun Life Insurance accepted on providing gift cards, foreign trips to the employees of the corporate agents and brokers during 2011-12 amounting to Rs 3.80 crore.

"Any payout to an employee of the corporate agent in relevance to solicitation is deemed to be a payment to the corporate agent himself or as an unlicensed individual encouraged to be involved in soliciting of insurance business," IRDAI said in an order.

Another charge was violation with regard to File & Use guidelines for which the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

The insurer also violated norms related to premium collection with regard to ULIP products thus inviting a fine of another Rs 5 lakh.

"Regulation relating to advance premium was issued on June 20, 2013. Insurer took more than a year to implement the Authority directions and that too only after the observation by the inspection team," it said.

For engagement of business mentor, the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

"Further, insurer shall discontinue the practice of engaging a licensed entity as business mentor after March 31, 2017," it said.

The penalty of Rs 20 lakh shall be debited to the shareholders' account of the life insurer and the amount shall be remitted to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this Order, it said.

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The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at a church here during a Sunday mass in which 25 people, mostly women and children, were killed and nearly 50 others injured.

The Suicide bomber, nicknamed Abu Abdullah al-Masry, blew himself up with an explosive belt, the terror group said in a statement circulated online.

Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, while attending the State funeral of the victims on Monday, said a 22-year-old suicide bomber called Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa was behind the attack.

He said that four persons including a woman were arrested.

Twenty-five worshippers, mostly women and children, were killed and nearly 50 injured when the powerful blast ripped through the church adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral here during a Sunday mass, the deadliest attack against the minority community in recent times.

The explosion took place inside St Peter's Church attached to St Mark's Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic pope who heads Egypt's Christian minority, in Abbassyia district of central Cairo at around 10:00 AM when the Sunday mass was on.

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No Israeli officials will meet Sweden's foreign minister during her trip to the region, a spokesman said today, after she called for a probe into the killings of Palestinian assailants.

Erik Wirkensjo, spokesman for Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom, told AFP she had wanted to meet both Israeli and Palestinian officials during her visit from Thursday to Saturday.

"This time it was not possible to visit Israel," Wirkensjo said.

Asked why there were no meetings planned, he said such questions must be "asked to the Israelis".

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon blamed "schedule problems" and declined to provide further details.

Earlier, Wallstrom told Swedish agency TT: "I would have gladly seen myself travel to Israel as well, but unfortunately they do not welcome it."



There is no international airport in the Palestinian territories. Wirkensjo declined to comment on whether Wallstrom would fly to an Israeli airport and then travel to the occupied West Bank or go via Jordan.

She was not denied entry to Israel, he said.

Wallstrom will meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and foreign minister Riad al-Malki during her trip.

In January, Israel's deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely said Wallstrom would no longer be welcome in the country after she called for investigations into the killings of Palestinian assailants by Israeli forces.

Wallstrom had earlier said Israel must avoid "extrajudicial executions".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Wallstrom's call as "outrageous".

Israeli forces have faced accusations that they used excessive force in some cases in which knife-wielding Palestinians were killed.

A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks erupted in October 2015, but the violence has greatly subsided in recent months.

Since October 2015, 242 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed, according to an AFP count.

Wallstrom has repeatedly enraged Israel, starting with Sweden's recognition of a Palestinian state shortly after she became foreign minister in October 2014.

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Premier Paolo Gentiloni urged Parliament today to back his new government as it negotiates Italy's international commitments, a banking crisis and electoral reforms following the humiliating resignation of his predecessor, Matteo Renzi.

Gentiloni outlined his government's priorities in the lower Chamber of Deputies ahead of a confidence vote today, listing economic growth in Italy's underdeveloped south and rebuilding in Italy's earthquake-devastated towns as top items.

The chamber was nearly empty, however, as opposition lawmakers from the anti-EU Northern League and the populist 5-Star Movement stayed away to protest Gentiloni's "photocopied" Cabinet.

Opposition politicians say his cabinet choices, which mirror Renzi's, ignore the results of the December 4 referendum in which Italians overwhelmingly rejected Renzi's reforms.

The opposition is particularly irked that Renzi's reforms minister, who had promised to leave if the referendum failed, was named an undersecretary in Gentiloni's office.

Gentiloni defended Renzi's term and insisted that his Democratic Party, which still holds a majority, would last as long as it had Parliament's confidence. But he acknowledged the difficulties ahead, with an opposition that has been emboldened by Renzi's loss.

Gentiloni said his talks with lawmakers showed the "impossibility of a general convergence" but said he hoped that on individual items, opposition forces could find common ground with the majority.

Addressing Italy's banking crisis, Gentiloni said the government was ready to intervene to shore up banks and "guarantee" Italians' savings. And he said the government would help lawmakers draft a new electoral law that harmonizes the rules between both houses of Parliament.

Opposition parties have clamored for an early election following Renzi's drubbing at the polls, but the current law has one set of rules for the Senate and another for the lower Chamber of Deputies.

The lower chamber was to cast its confidence vote later today, while the Senate was expected to vote Wednesday. The aim is to have a government in place before Gentiloni heads to Brussels on Thursday for a European Council summit.

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Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra has summoned a joint session of the state legislature on Januray 2 when the Budget session of the two Houses will begin.

The Governor has called upon the Members of the J&K Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council to assemble together in the Central Hall of the Legislature Building on the New Secretariat premises on the day, an official spokesman said.

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Jaipur Municipal Corporation Mayor, Nirmal Nahta, today resigned from the post stating personal reasons, an official said.

Nahta submitted his resignation to the Director of Local Self Government (LSG), Pawan Arora, who said mayoral elections will be conducted tomorrow.

"The Mayor has resigned stating personal reasons and his resignation has been accepted," Arora said, adding he has intimated the State Election Commission on the elections for a new mayor.

"The commission has directed (the district administration ) to conduct the elections tomorrow," Jaipur Collector Siddarth Mahajan said.

There are 91 councillors in the municipal corporation and the BJP has a majority with 64 councillors.

After Nahta's resignation, state BJP chief Ashok Parnami held a meeting with the party's councillors and gave them necessary instructions for the elections.

Nahta was not available for comments.

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Regulations protecting northern Montana's Sweet Grass Hills from mineral development have been extended for 20 years.

The withdrawal by the Bureau of Land Management covers 19,686 acres of locatable federal minerals on the East, Middle and West buttes. The existing withdrawal expires on April 9, 2017. The new order extends the withdrawal to April 9, 2037. The Sweet Grass Hills were closed to fluid mineral leasing by the Hi Line Resource Management Plan in September 2015.

The Hills rise 3,000 feet above the surrounding prairie in Toole and Liberty counties and have spiritual and historical associations to many northern plains Indian tribes. The island mountain range surrounded by a sea of prairie is also known for its abundant wildlife and as a source of water for area residents.

The area was designated a Traditional Cultural Property in 1995 by the Bureau of Land Management in consultation with the Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Chippewa-Cree, Gros Ventre, Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes and the Montana State Historic Preservation Office. The landscape is associated with the traditional beliefs of regional tribes regarding their origins, cultural history and the nature of the world.

The Sweet Grass Hills were determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places because of their historical association with Montana tribes and historical as well as legendary tribal leaders.
Jakarta's Christian governor choked back tears as he gave an impassioned defence against blasphemy charges today, in a court case that has stoked fears of growing intolerance in the Muslim-majority nation.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama -- the first Christian to govern the capital in more than 50 years -- is standing trial accused of insulting the Quran, an offence that carries a five-year jail term.

The governor has apologised for his controversial remarks, which angered Muslims across Indonesia and drew hundreds of thousands to the streets of Jakarta in protests larger than any seen in nearly two decades.

Facing court for the first time, the governor gave an emotionally charged defence against the charges, pausing several times to compose himself as he maintained his innocence.

"I know I have to respect the holy verses of the Quran. I do not understand how I can be said to have offended Islam," he said, occasionally dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, ignited a firestorm of criticism in September when he quoted the Islamic holy text while campaigning ahead of elections for the Jakarta governorship.

The governor accused his opponents of using a Quranic verse, which suggests Muslims should not choose non-Muslims as leaders, in order to trick people into voting against him.

Prosecutor Ali Mukartono said the governor had "spoken a lie" and insulted Muslims, adding Indonesia's top clerical council had declared his remarks blasphemous.

But lawyers for the governor said their client never intended to commit blasphemy, and expressed concern that Purnama's case was being rushed.

President Joko Widodo and police, under pressure as protesters massed in November, promised to resolve the case quickly.

Critics say the controversy is as much about politics as religion, as the governor's foes whip up anger to reduce his support ahead of a hotly contested poll in February.

Purnama is running against two Muslim candidates in elections for city hall. He had long been the favourite to win the election owing to the popularity of his no-nonsense style and determination to clean up Jakarta, a crowded, polluted metropolis of 10 million.

But the scandal has eroded his chances of victory, with his opponents gaining ground since Purnama was named a suspect for blasphemy in November.

Purnama said he was raised a Christian but surrounded by Muslims, including family friends, who had played an enormous mentorship role in his life from when he was a child to adulthood.

The allegations that he had offended their religion hurt him very deeply. "I am very sad," he said, his voice cracking.

"This accusation is the same as saying I have offended my god parents and siblings, whom I love and they love me back."



He also listed the many services he had provided for his Islamic constituents, including the construction of mosques, support for religious schools and donation of sacrificial cows on sacred days. The case was adjourned until December 20.

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The Maharashtra Assembly today witnessed frequent disruptions before being adjourned for the day after the Opposition demanded resignation of Dairy Development Minister Mahadeo Jankar in the wake of poll related offences filed against him.

The Lower House was adjourned twice, Opposition staged a walkout and later stormed the well of the House shouting slogans as Panel Speaker Yogesh Sagar rushed through the business and adjourned the House for the day.

As soon as the House assembled after a three-day break today Opposition demanded that Question Hour be suspended and House take up the issue of Jankar at the outset.

Vijay Wadettiwar (Congress) and others were on their feet demanding how can a Minister who is facing an offence on direction from the State Election Commission be allowed to continue as Minister.

Wadettiwar said Jankar was caught on the wrong foot directing the poll authorities to treat candidature of Congress man Jasomal Motwani as an independent candidate in Wadsa Desaiganj Municipal Council Election in Gachiroli District recently.

On learning about the incident, the State Election Commission directed registration of offences against Jankar, the House was informed.

Jayant Patil (NCP) and others took the state government to task and the entire question hour was disrupted. Speaker Haribhau Bagde however, refused their contention and went ahead with the mandatory Question Hour. Irked by the refusal by the Chair, Opposition staged a walkout.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who was present in the House, defended Jankar saying a non-cognizable offences have been registered against Jankar and he has replied to a notice from the State Election Commission.

But this could not satisfy Opposition benches even as Panel Speaker Sagar took up House business and finished some of the scheduled items, Opposition continued slogan shouting and throwing shredded papers in the House. Finally Sagar adjourned the House for the day.

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Japan is postponing a summit with China and South Korea, the government said today, after the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

The Asian powers were planning to hold an annual trilateral gathering this month in Japan, which is the rotating chair.

South Korea's parliament voted Friday to impeach Park, who is engulfed in a scandal over her friendship with a long-time confidante charged with meddling in state affairs.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, while not directly mentioning Park's impeachment, said "various factors" were behind the decision.

"We decided to re-arrange it and hold the summit at an appropriate time next year," he told reporters after a regular cabinet meeting.

South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed the postponement, with a spokesperson in Seoul saying only that the three sides "had difficulty setting a date this year".

China, meanwhile, said it was important to keep up the "momentum" of three-way cooperation.

"We believe that the summit should be held when the timing and conditions are convenient for all three countries and should be able to reach positive outcomes," said Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesman.

Park has been relieved of official duties as president and is awaiting a decision by the country's Constitutional Court -- a process that could take months -- on whether she will have to permanently step down.

She has been replaced in the interim by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn.

Leaders of the three countries met in November last year in South Korea, marking the first trilateral summit since 2012.

The meetings had been on ice due largely to Tokyo's often thorny relations with Beijing and Seoul over territorial issues and history.

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: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today demanded a fresh probe into the death of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati at Kandhamal in Odisha on August 23, 2008, which had triggered riots in that area.

He put forth this demand while releasing the Malayalam translation of 'Who killed Swami Laxmanananda', a book penned by Delhi based journalist Anto Akkara, here today.

He handed over the first copy of the book to noted historian Dr K N Panicker at a function at the press club here.

Anto Akkara and N Moosakutty, who translated the book also spoke on the occasion.

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Not only sales, but supply of books in regional languages will be less in the International Kolkata Book Fair next month due to demonetisation, the organisers said today.

"Our biggest problem is production of books. Where will the books come from? How many workers who do the job of printing and binding will accept cheques?" Tridib Chatterjee of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild said.

Stating that publishers were terribly affected by cash crunch, he said the availability of books which were not in English would be an issue.

"English book printing is highly automated and some of them are also from other countries," he said adding regional publishers would be affected after this move," Chatterjee said.

The organisers said they were fearing that reprints of existing titles would drop to one-fifth while new titles would be down by less than 50 per cent.

Chatterjee said yesterday he met Partha Pratim Sengupta, CGM of State Bank of India, to discuss the issue of cash crunch.

"We discussed issues like community cards, individual cards and e-wallets. The main problem is connectivity of servers. In district book fairs we have already seen that card swiping machines were not working," he said adding SBI has promised to introduce mobile ATMs in the book fair complex.

Last year sales figure at the book fair, which would begin from January 25 to February 5, was pegged at Rs 25 crore.

This year Costa Rica has been selected as the focal theme country and would have a special participation of Russia.

"So far there has been no decrease in the number of stalls," the organisers added.

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Lenovo today said its PC sales have fallen by over 20 per cent in the past few weeks due to the twin impact of demonetisation and seasonal slowdown post Diwali.

However, the company has adopted measures like partnering with mobile wallet company Paytm and rolling out EMI schemes to help make purchases smoother for customers facing cash crunch.

"The first couple of weeks were quite hard hit. We are already seeing almost a full recovery in our top towns and channels like LFR (large format retail) and exclusive stores to an extent.

"Smaller towns, the recovery is slower. They have still not come back to pre-levels," Lenovo India Director Marketing Bhaskar Choudhuri told PTI.

Lenovo has gone on a "war path" to see what can be done to help customers.

"We have partnered Paytm. We have also rolled out EMIs to take care of people's cash crunch," he said.

Asked about the magnitude of the impact, Choudhuri said: "It was upwards of 20 per cent (hit). Its vis-a-vis what we see post Diwali, where there is already a slump."



Sales in categories like mobile phones and tablets have been impacted after the government announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Lenovo today launched its new Yoga Book -- which is the world's thinnest 2-in-1 laptop -- priced at Rs 49,990.

The Windows 10-powered device will be sold exclusively through Flipkart and comes with Real Pen stylus, Book Pad and Real Pen Ink Refills.

It also features the 'halo keyboard' which is touch-based and lights up whenever the user needs it. When the user uses the Real Pen stylus instead, the keyboard disappears and it turns into a giant writing slab.

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Elyse Hollander's Madonna biopic "Blond Ambition" is the top script on the 2016 The Black List, the annual compilation of most-liked screenplays in Hollywood that are yet to be produced.

The script is set in the 1980s New York and chronicles Madonna's struggles to get her first album released while navigating fame, romance, and a music industry that views women as disposal.

The script received maximum 48 votes to top the list, which features 73 scripts this year.

Other stories that have been well-liked on the list include "This Is Us" creator Dan Fogelman's "Life Itself", a multi-generational love story.

The script earned 35 votes to tie with Tony Tost's "The Olympian", the true story of an underdog rower trying to make it into the 1984 Olympics and Liz Hannah's "The Post", again a true story about how Washington Post's scion Katherine Graham and editor Ben Bradlee overcame their differences to publish the story about the Pentagon Papers.

The Black List was compiled from the suggestions of more than 250 film executives.

Zach Dean's "Voyagers", the love story of American cosmologist Carl Sagan and writer Ann Druyan, was at the third spot with 28 votes.

Other important scripts include "In The Blink Of A Eye" by Colby Day, "O2" by Christie LeBlanc, Seth Spector's "Untitled Lax Mandis Project", Matt Fruchtman's "Dark Money", Rosemary Kennedy's story by Nick Yarborough.

"Linda And Monica", the true story of the relationship between Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp, "Hala" by Minhal Baig, "Revolver" by Kate Trefry, "Fairy Godmother" by Chiara Atik and "Free Guy" by Matt Lieberman also feature in the list.

Author Stephen King has two projects on him, featuring in the Black List.

"The Kings of Maine" by Kathy Charles, revolves around King's attempt to write his first novel "Carrie" while Shay Hatten's "Maximum King!", is an outlandish, surreal imagining of how in 1985 King wrote and directed his horror classic "Maximum Overdrive".

The love triangle of Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Pattie Boyd is another script on the list that also features "The Mindy Project" creator Mindy Kaling's untitled comedy about a veteran late-night talk show host who comes close to losing her job after hiring show's first female writer.

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Punjab Minister Bikram Singh Majithia today challenged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to fight the upcoming Assembly elections from his home turf of Majitha constituency.

"Instead of making someone a scapegoat, let Kejriwal fight from the constituency (Majitha)," the Minister told mediapersons after inaugurating a rural skill centre at Athwal village here.

Majithia said that that the AAP chief "day dreaming of gaining power in Punjab with fake promises as he made in Delhi".

"Kejriwal is now exposed on various fronts for his lies and promising moon to the people. Kejriwal has made life of Delhi people miserable as his performance as Delhi chief minister is a big disaster," he claimed.

"Kejriwal's anti-Punjab stance has been exposed on the SYL and other significant interstate issues where he took stand against Punjab and back stabbed the people of Punjab," he added.

The Punjab minister alleged that AAP was formed on the basis of ethics and principles but the party "has adopted all unethical means in ticket allotment (for Punjab polls) even ignoring their own volunteers".

Notably, AAP has stepped up its attack on Majithia ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls next year.

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A 24-year-old man was arrested in Odisha's Kendrapara district for allegedly posting obscene photos and abusive messages on the Facebook account of a 27-year-old married woman, police said today.

Anil Rout of Dhumata village had become friends with the woman over Facebook and had been sending suggestive messages and obscene photos to her, the woman said in her FIR filed with police.

The youth, annoyed with the woman after she removed him from her friend list, posted abusive, obscene and objectionable massages and pictures, police said.

The woman was asked by police to invite the youth to her house from where he was arrested yesterday, police said.

The accused was booked under various sections of IPC and Section 6 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, said inspector of Nikirai police station, Pramod Kumar Lenka.

A similar cyber crime was reported in the district in March and a Qatar-based man was arrested in connection with it.

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The election for Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) mayor post will be conducted here tomorrow, returning officer (RO) said today.

A meeting of elected members for mayor election will be held at municipal corporation office at 10 am.

The election will be conducted as per section 43 of Rajasthan Municipalities Act 2009 and as per rules of Rajasthan Municipalities Election, 1994, said RO and additional district collector Sunil Bhati.

Voting for mayor election will be held from 2.30 pm to 5 pm and counting will start right after voting process, he said.

Probable candidates in race for the coveted post are Ashok Lahoti, Vishnu Lahata, Satyanarayan Dhamani, Ashok Garg and incumbent deputy mayor Manoj Bharadwaj.

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A man was arrested for abusing a woman by using duct tape to bind her wrists and ankles and cover her mouth.

Desmon Lavern Turner, 35, appeared Monday in Yellowstone County Justice Court and was charged with felony partner or family member assault.

Turner's criminal record includes one previous felony conviction and two misdemeanor convictions for domestic abuse in Nevada, according to court records.

Yellowstone County Justice of the Peace David Carter ordered Turner held in jail on a $25,000 bond and ordered he be placed on GPS monitoring should he post bail.

The woman who reported the abuse to deputies texted her daughter on Dec. 11 to tell her that Turner had taped her wrists and ankles together, according to court documents. Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputies responded to the woman's house in Shepherd. The woman's daughter let the deputies in, where they spoke with Turner and the woman.

The woman had marks on her wrists and deputies found a ball of duct tape with black hairs stuck to it in the garbage, according to court documents. The woman told deputies Turner had taped her hands together, then her wrists and then placed a piece of tape over her mouth, before setting up a phone on the night stand, according to court documents.

Turner told the woman he was live streaming the attack on Facebook, according to court documents. The woman was able to get to the phone after Turner left the room, and believed he lied about videoing the attack, according to the court documents.

The woman told deputies she feared for her life.

Turner denied being involved in the attack. At his appearance before Carter, Turner's public defender said Turner had a mental health diagnosis and was worried he would not have access to his medications in jail.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande today said they favour extending EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict, ahead of a Brussels summit that will discuss the issue.

Merkel said that -- given grave shortcomings in the Ukraine peace process, which has been marred by regular ceasefire violations -- "it will be necessary to extend sanctions against Russia once more".

Hollande, speaking at a joint Berlin press conference with Merkel, agreed there had been insufficient progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement.

"Since there hasn't been an effort made, no progress, and the same blockages remain, I, like the chancellor, am in favour of extending sanctions," he said.

Neither the Ukrainian government nor the pro-Russian rebels waging an insurgency in the country's east have fully implemented the agreements -- designed to bring an end to a conflict that has claimed 10,000 lives since 2014 -- and low-level fighting continues.

In Brussels, a European official said last week that Merkel and Hollande would recommend extending the sanctions to EU leaders at the summit on Thursday.

"There appears to be consensus," said this official, adding that a formal deal to prolong sanctions could be clinched in January.

"But for some member states, it's important to listen to Merkel and Hollande first," this official added.

Imposed in July 2014 after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over rebel-held eastern Ukraine, the EU sanctions target the Russian energy, defence and finance sectors.

Currently in force until January 31 next year, they are the subject of debate among EU member states, with some arguing they should be lifted as Moscow has imposed retaliatory measures hurting especially European farmers.

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It was a casual on-metro selfie that a US-based NRI woman had clicked which helped the CISF recover her stolen gold jewellery worth Rs 22 lakh and bust a gang of women pickpockets from a Metro station here.

The CISF today said they nabbed six alleged women pickpockets at a station here who used to operate in crowded areas and target the metro travellers.

Nilam Kumari, the California-based NRI software engineer, had on December 9 filed a complaint that her jewellery bag was stolen near Central Secretariat station when she was travelling with her husband, CISF officials said.

"The couple had valued the stolen jewellery at Rs 22 lakh in their FIR," they said.

They said they cracked the case with the help of a 'selfie' Nilam had clicked on-metro and submitted it to the police. The 'selfie' had one of the accused pickpocket woman in the background.

They said the identified the woman in the background and apprehended her, who gave information about the other five during interrogation.

The CISF then began monitoring the movement of the woman and nabbed them today from Chawri Bazar Metro station. They were questioned extensively during which they spilled the beans. On of the six woman, identified as Kamla, act as their leader, they said.

The accused woman also surrendered the items they had stolen, which included the bag containing jewellery belonging to Nilam.

The CISF has handed over the accused women to the police for further interrogation as there was a possibility that they could be involved in other such cases.

Appreciating the investigative skills of the three Central Industrial Security Force personnel, the force's chief O P Singh announced a prize of Rs 20,000 cash for Sub-Inspector Monika and Constables Noorjahan and Nasrin Khatun.

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The Home Ministry is unlikely to reconsider its decision banning a US-based donor from funding Indian NGOs notwithstanding consistent appeals by American authorities.

"We have no immediate plans to reconsider the case of Compassion International, the US donor, which was put under 'prior permission category' for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)," a senior Home Ministry official said.

However, the Home Ministry has allowed the US NGO, accused of promoting religious conversion, to donate to some Indian NGOs after examining its applications on a case-to-case basis.

Recently, Compassion International sought Home Ministry's approval to fund 35 Indian NGOs of which 10 have been sanctioned by the Ministry, while 25 others are under scrutiny.

Compassion International was put under prior permission category in May last. When a donor organisation is put under prior permission category, it is barred from funding any Indian NGO without the nod from the government.

The US donor works in the field of child rights and is accused of promoting religious conversion and funding non-FCRA registered NGOs.

The Home Ministry took the action after receiving reports that funds from Compassion International were being received by Chennai-based 'Caruna Bal Vikas', which in turn was distributing the aid to non-registered NGOs.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, during a visit to India in September, is said to have asked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to reconsider the decision to place Compassion International in the prior permission category.

The US Embassy officials too have been following up the issue with the Home Ministry through the Ministry of External Affairs.

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Academicians and not-for-profit organisations in the field of Information Technology today asked the Centre to reconsider the contract given to US software major Microsoft for development of 'Swayam' platform as it is in "direct contrast" with the government policy on open source softwares.

"A group of concerned citizens and organisations comprising academicians and NGOs have written a letter to the MHRD Prakash Javadekar, requesting him to reconsider the decision of awarding Microsoft a contract to develop SWAYAM," Software Freedom Law Centre, a signatory to the letter, said in a statement.

However, the Ministry has denied the allegation.

"It is incorrect to state that Government has banned use of any other platform except the open source. Use of open source or established software is to be decided based on the complexity of the task," MHRD Additional Secretary R Subrahmanyam said.

The letter was written following an announcement made in June that Microsoft Corporation had been engaged as the system integrator to develop government open online learning platform SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) at a cost of Rs 38 crore.

"This announcement was in direct contrast to the 'Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software (OSS)' of the Government, which mandates that the Government of India shall endeavour to adopt OSS in all e-Governance systems implemented by various Government organisations as a preferred option in comparison to Closed Source Software (CSS)," the statement alleged.

"For all academic projects that involve collaborative work, we advocate use of open source; but when dealing with complex software on enterprise model involving multiple stakeholders like SWAYAM, the choice is clearly on established software," Subrahmanyam said.

He said there is a need for maintenance of this software on regular, emergent basis and support services by trained personnel are available only on established software.

"So, the issue shall not be seen from an ideological perspective, but from the utility perspective," he said.

OSS are available at lower price compared to proprietary or closed softwares generally owned by multinationals.

"The letter adds that premier institutes in the country like IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras have effectively used OSS for their MOOCs projects," the statement said.

The letter has been written by 11 NPOs/NGOs and few professionals. They include Center for Internet and Society, Software Freedom Law Center, IT for Change, Free Software Movement of India and four individuals including professors from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, National Law University Delhi.

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The Mizoram government and Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) will hold a third round of peace talks on Friday.

The HPC(D) delegation, for the first time since August 10 last, would be led by Working Chairman of the outfit Lalthangliana Hmar, Hmar sources today said.

Lalthalien, a church leader in Imphal, who had led the HPC(D) delegation in the first and second rounds of talks, told PTI that Hmar would lead the delegation this time, while 'Deputy Army Chief' of the outfit Lalbiaknunga, earlier tipped to be included in the delegation will not be present.

Meanwhile, in a goodwill gesture by the government, HPC(D) 'Army Chief' Lalropuia Famhoite, who had been incarcerated at the Central Jail near here since last year, was released on bail by a local court yesterday.

Officials, however, did not comment on his likely participation in the talks.

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The Madhya Pradesh government would soon urge the Centre for a complete ban on the mining activities around Amarkantak, the place of origin of Narmada river.

"The people have chopped the trees, carried out mining activities and put waste water for their vested interests in the holy river," said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announcing that his government would soon send a letter to the Centre in this regard.

Chouhan made this announcement yesterday while addressing a public gathering at Karanjia of Dindori district of state during the second day of 'Narmada Sewa Yatra,' a five-month long awareness campaign to make river Narmada, a pollution free stream.

During the course of the Yatra, Chouhan also administered pledge to the villagers for plantation, construction of toilet, sanitation, environment protection and de-addiction.

Chouhan reiterated that massive plantation will be undertaken on vacant forest land and the farmers would be given Rs 20,000 per hectare till three years for plantation on their lands on Narmada's banks.

"The state government would also bear the 40 per cent of the plantation cost. Narmada will be made pollution free by this and its flow will become stronger," said Chouhan.

However, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has demanded total ban on the mining activities at the banks of river Narmada.

"The mining activities should be banned on entire stretch of river Narmada flowing in Madhya Pradesh. Chief Minister is only talking sweet about the conservation of this river, instead of doing the real work," Pankaj Chaturvedi, MP Congress spokesperson, told PTI.

"Rampant illegal mining is underway at river Narmada," he alleged.

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The Nagaland government has turned down the request of the state for translocation of Rhesus monkeys from Himachal Pradesh to Nagaland, an official release said today.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) had requested the Nagaland government for translocation of monkeys, the release said.

However, the Chief Wildlife Warden of Nagaland maintained that "introduction of translocated monkeys in forests in the state might disturb the habit and behaviour pattern of local species", it said.

In his reply the Warden had said, "The ecology of the area/forest is also likely to be disturbed and hence the proposal of translocating monkeys from Himachal Pradesh to Nagaland cannot be considered."



The matter was thoroughly discussed and analysed and it was observed that there was no suitable or appropriate habitat in the state for translocated monkeys, he said.

Despite sterilisation drives around 1 lakh monkeys have become bane in Shimla and 37 other Tehsils of the state. Most have been declared "vermins" as they destroy crops and the issue has assumed political dimensions.

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NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to search for elusive "Trojan" asteroids which are constant companions to Earth as it orbits the Sun.

NASA's first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth will be multi-tasking during its two-year outbound cruise to the asteroid Bennu.

The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security- Regolith Explorer) spacecraft will activate its onboard camera suite and commence a search for elusive "Trojan" asteroids.

Trojans are asteroids that are constant companions to planets in our solar system as they orbit the Sun, remaining near a stable point 60 degrees in front of or behind the planet.

Since they constantly lead or follow in the same orbit, they will never collide with their companion planet.

There are six planets in our solar system with known Trojan asteroids - Jupiter, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Uranus and Earth.

The Earth Trojan is elusive. Till date, scientists have only discovered one Earth trojan asteroid - 2010 TK7.

Yet there are more than 6,000 known Trojans that are co-orbiting the Sun with the gas giant Jupiter.

Scientists predict that there should be more Trojans sharing Earth's orbit, but these asteroids are difficult to detect from Earth because they appear close to the Sun from Earth's point of view.

In mid-February next year, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will be positioned in an ideal spot to undertake a survey.

Over 12 days from February 9, the OSIRIS-REx Earth-Trojan asteroid search will employ the spacecraft's MapCam image system to methodically scan the space where Earth Trojans are expected to exist.

Many of these observations will closely resemble MapCam's planned activities during its upcoming search for satellites of asteroid Bennu, so the Trojan asteroid search serves as an early rehearsal for the mission's primary science operations.

"The Earth-Trojan asteroid search provides a substantial advantage to the OSIRIS-REx mission," said Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona.

"Not only do we have the opportunity to discover new members of an asteroid class, but more importantly, we are practising critical mission operations in advance of our arrival at Bennu, which ultimately reduces mission risk," said Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is currently on a seven-year journey to rendezvous with, study and bring a sample of Bennu to Earth.

This sample of a primitive asteroid will help scientists understand the formation of our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif might like to attend US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration with his government voicing optimism the new administration in Washington will provide it with "a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials" with the US, a media report said.

The Pakistani government had sent a special emissary Tariq Fatemi to Washington last week "where he hinted broadly that Sharif might like to attend Trump's inauguration", said The Washington Post.

Fatemi said he believed the incoming Trump administration would provide Pakistan with "a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials" with the United States, the report said.

It added that senior Pakistani officials said they take the long view of their country's relationship with the US, which has been dominated by military and intelligence ties.

"Our relationship with the United States is almost as old as Pakistan itself. There have been ups and downs, but overall we have remained very close," Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's top foreign policy chief, said in an interview. "Through both Republican and Democratic administrations, there has been a broad continuity in policy, and we fully expect our relations will continue on an uphill trajectory."



Following Trump's conversation with Sharif, in which the US president-elect had said Pakistan is a "fantastic" country and hinted casually that he would be willing to help Pakistan solve its historic differences with India, Pakistani officials are now "scrambling to prepare for an unpredictable new phase" in its wary but enduring partnership with Washington.

Vice president-elect Mike Pence too had said several days ago that the new US administration planned to be "fully engaged in both nations" and was prepared to play a "pivotal role" in resolving the key dispute over Kashmir.

"The key issue for the US is that escalation could spark a conflict between two nuclear powers," Awais Leghari, who is chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Pakistan's Parliament, said in the report. "We cannot resolve these issues without superpower help, and it needs someone who is out of the box, someone radical enough to put an international hand into a sincere effort."



Pakistani officials said they also want to reassure the incoming administration that their relations with other countries are not a "zero sum game" and are independent of their policies toward the US. They insisted that their deepening economic trade and plans for a major transportation corridor to China do not represent a "pivot" away from their longtime economic and military links with Washington.

Aziz added that Pakistan, like the US, wants to see Afghanistan become peaceful and stable. He said Pakistan has been "frustrated" that its efforts to arrange peace talks with the Taliban have failed, and that rising attacks in Afghanistan have been partly the result of Pakistan's military raids to drive the insurgents out of the tribal border areas.

"To blame everything on Pakistani sanctuaries is simplistic," he said.
A dreaded Maoist carrying a cash reward of Rs 8 lakh today surrendered in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district, police said.

Kama alias Joga Sodi (27) who was active as secretary of Kanger Ghati (valley) area committee of Maoist, turned himself in before Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap, citing disappointment with "hollow" naxal ideology, a senior police official said.

A native of Polampalli area in Sukma, Joga joined the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in 1996 as a member of 'Bal Sangham' of the banned outfit.

After serving at different capacities, he was elevated as Machkot LOS (local operation squad) which works under Kanger Ghati area committee, he said.

Later, when then Kanger Ghati area committee secretary and dreaded Maoist military commanderSonadharwas gunned down by Odisha police in September last year, Joga was tasked with responsibilities of the killed cadre, the official said, adding hewas in close contact with senior Maoist leaders since then.

As per the surrender cum rehabilitation policy of Chhattisgarh government, necessary assistance will be provided to Joga, he added.

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Asbestos removal from the former James F. Battin Federal Courthouse in downtown Billings has begun, signaling a fresh start for the prominent five-story structure that has sat empty for several years.

A contest to rename the building also is underway.

Quentin Eggart, president of EEC, the Billings firm managing the renovations, said Monday the asbestos removal started a few weeks ago and should be finished in six to eight months.

A crew of about 50 skilled and certified workers is performing the removal work, Eggart said. Asbestos is in large portions of the building material on each floor.

The company doing the work is Spray Systems of Arizona, whose owners have Montana roots, he said.

Building renovations, both internal and external, also will be done as floors are cleared of asbestos, he said.

The estimated cost of $4 million to remove the cancer-causing material commonly found in older buildings is more than the $3.2 million the new owner paid to buy the building.

But the cost of abating the asbestos is about one third less than the $10 million to $16 million preliminary estimate given to the federal government when the building first became available for sale, Eggart said.

We have not applied for any financial help from anyone for removal of asbestos, Eggart said.

He called the $4 million to remove asbestos very reasonable.

The buildings owner has paid 100 percent cash for everything. Theres no bank loan on the property, Eggart said.

WC Commercial LLC, an Alaska company, bought the total indebtedness on the building, located at 316 N. 26th St., in July at a foreclosure sale. The company was the only bidder.

Owner Joe Holden said in a news release, We are excited to begin the process of bringing this building back to life in downtown Billings. He also thanked Big Sky Economic Development and the city of Billings for their support.

WC earlier announced plans to remove the asbestos and remodel the building into quality office space. The 50-year-old building has about 213,000 square feet of space and underground parking.

Eggart said the owner is in final negotiations with potential anchor tenants and is looking for more tenants. He declined to identify the possible anchor tenants because of pending talks.

As part of the new beginning for the building, EEC is holding a naming contest. The winner will receive $500.

Eggart said the contest is an opportunity to get the public involved in a community landmark and to find a more creative name than the former Battin building, as it is commonly called.

Youth and adults are welcome to submit entries, along with their names and contact information, to namecontest@eecmt.com. The deadline for submitting names is Jan. 31.

The federal government sold the former courthouse for $3.27 million at auction in 2013 to Colorado Tire Corp. of Tacoma, Wash., which owned it for three years. Property taxes went delinquent, and the building has all but been abandoned.

Because of the asbestos problem, the federal government built a new, $80 million courthouse a few blocks away.
The Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) today informed the National Green Tribunal that there is no land available in Banthar Leather Technology Park at Unnao for shifting tanneries located on the banks of river Ganga at Kanpur.

UPSIDC told the green panel that 100 per cent of the land at Banthar was occupied and most of the units have commenced their operations except few which are seeking extension of time for payment of money for the allotted land.

Countering the claims of Ganga activist M C Mehta, who had alleged that the UP government was misleading the tribunal and adequate land was available for shifting tanneries, the counsel appearing for UPSIDC said that not even a single plot was empty in the park.

Mehta claimed that "open loot" was going on as land has been allotted to tanneries which have not even set up their operations.

He said that only 15 tanneries were operating at Unnao and most of leather units operating at Jajmau cluster in Kanpur can be shifted to either Banthar leather park or to another area in Unnao.

Leather Technology Park has been developed on 233 acres of land at cost of Rs 24 crore, near Kanpur at Banthar, Unnao on Kanpur-Lucknow Highway for setting up tanneries and leather goods units.

Out of 233 acres, 69 acres of land is used for setting of tanneries, 47 acres for setting up manufacturing units for leather goods, 22 acres for green belt and 30 acres for CETP (Common Effluent Treatment Plant) and Solid Waste Management Project.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue tomorrow.

Earlier, the UP government had told the NGT that the possibility of shifting the tanneries located on the banks of river Ganga at Kanpur to some other place was almost "next to impossible" due to lack of land.

During the last hearing, the tribunal had slammed Uttar Pradesh government and its agencies over cleaning of the Ganga and asked them to submit a detailed plan on how they intend to spend money allotted by the Centre under the "Namami Gange" programme.

The green panel has divided the work of cleaning the river into five segments -- Gomukh to Haridwar, Haridwar to Unnao (segment B of Phase-I), Unnao to border of Uttar Pradesh, border of Uttar Pradesh to border of Jharkhand and border of Jharkhand to the Bay of Bengal.

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US Ambassador Richard Rahul Verma today said one of the biggest priority of the Obama government has been to give voice to the voiceless.

"A big priority of President Obama has been to stand up for people who do not have a voice," the envoy told students of the Global Links programme and Career Readiness Camp here.

He said they do it through skills, education, training, empowerment, listening, regulatory changes and others.

Supporting the issue of rights of transgenders, he said "we all are talented" and added that one of the focus areas of the US government has been the rights of women.

The Ambassador, of Indian origin, is on a three-day-long visit to Kolkata beginning today and is scheduled to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tomorrow.

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President Barack Obama has criticised Donald Trump for saying he plans to shun daily intelligence briefings once inaugurated, saying that would be akin to "flying blind" in managing national security affairs.

Appearing yesterday evening on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Obama said fit would be a mistake for a president to pass on regular briefings from the intelligence community.

Trump had said on "Fox Sunday" he is not interested in getting daily intelligence briefings, a practice that's been a fixture for chief executives of both parties for several years. Asked whether he's actually rejecting valuable intelligence, Trump was defiant.

"I get it when I need it," he said of the top-secret briefings sessions, adding that he's leaving it up to the briefers to decide when a development represents a "change" big enough to notify him.

"I'm, like, a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years," Trump said.

Obama and Trump had an amicable meeting at the White House shortly after the election to discuss transition issues and have been in consultation, and Trump has publicly complimented Obama on helping to smooth his transition to the Oval Office.

In his yesterday night appearance, Obama acknowledged that the US intelligence agencies "are not perfect," But he also said they are stocked with "extraordinary, hard-working and patriotic and knowledgeable experts."



"It doesn't matter how smart you are," he said. "You have to make the best information possible to make the best decisions possible."



Obama also commented on the burgeoning controversy surrounding the CIA's conclusion that Russia was engaged in computer hacking aimed at interfering with the US election process and helping Trump in his campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump has chafed over the CIA finding, calling it "ridiculous."



Obama told "The Daily Show" the reason he has ordered a wide-ranging review of the situation "is to really just gather all of the threads of the investigations, the intelligence work that has been done over many months." The aim, he said, was to ensure that "the public and our elected representatives, going forward, can find ways to prevent this kind of interference from having an effect on the elections in the future.

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The head of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries today hailed US President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be the next secretary of State.

"It's an understatement to say that Rex is more than qualified to occupy this very important office, particularly at these challenging times," OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said.

Barkindo was speaking at a forum on the global outlook for oil at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where Tillerson is a member of the board of trustees.

Trump earlier today unveiled Tillerson as his pick for the top American diplomat, drawing sharp criticism because of the oil executive's close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as his lack of experience in public service.

But Barkindo said Tillerson "will be a great asset to the incoming administration," and called the appointment "well-deserved."



In a bid to end a global supply glut, which had sent prices tumbling over the summer, OPEC in November agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day. And 11 non-OPEC members on Saturday also agreed to cut production by more than a half-million barrels per day.

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Pakistan today said it has set up a special naval force comprising ships, fast attack craft, aircraft, drones and surveillance assets to protect the sea lanes under the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) linking western China with the Arabian Sea.

The creation of the special force was announced at an International Maritime Conference on CPEC held at Gwadar which houses the deep seaport.

The Dawn reported that a senior naval official said that that the new force is called 'Task Force-88 (TF-88)' for maritime security of Gwadar port and protection of associated sea lanes against both conventional and non-traditional threats.

The creation of the special maritime force has been necessitated by the operationalisation of CPEC which is expected to lead to a surge in maritime activity at Gwadar - the nodal point for CPEC - and the sea lanes. This has in turn increased the maritime threats there.

TF-88 is to comprise ships, fast attack craft, aircraft, drones and surveillance assets.

Additionally, marines would be deployed at sea and around Gwadar for security operations, said a senior navy official.

Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, naval chief Admiral Zakaullah and Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman attended the conference.

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Backing Laxmikant Parsekar's decision to sack two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ministers from Goa Cabinet, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said they were ousted for not having trust in the Chief Minister.

"I feel that it is immoral to be in the Cabinet and make statement against the Chief Minister. They were sacked because they had no trust in the Chief Minister," Parrikar told reporters, following the removal of MGP ministers Sudin Dhavalikar and Dipak Dhavalikar from the state Cabinet.

Sudin recently accused Parsekar of taking the state 10 years backward during his two-and-half year rule.

"The action against the ministers has been taken by the Chief Minister under article 161 (1) of Indian Constitution. We as a party support the decision of the Chief Minister," Parrikar said.

He also said BJP's alliance with MGP in the state is continued and both the ministers were relieved from the Cabinet post as "they had no faith in the Chief Minister".

"The alliance with MGP is continued. What has happened (sacking of Dhavalikar) is a part of government's process, at party-level the alliance is on. The recent developments are hindrance to the alliance but it is not a deadlock," the former state Chief Minister said.

"From our side we have not terminated the proposal of the alliance, they can send the proposal and we will respond appropriately," he said.

Referring to the demand of MGP to replace Parsekar with any other leader to have pre-poll alliance talks, Parrikar said, "If it had not come through media we would have definitely discussed. There are manyissues that need to be settled one-to-one and then go to the media."



"The alliance was formed between the parties (in the past and continues), so there is still window open if they want to make any proposal but not through media," he said.

Asserting that BJP has the strength to fight all alone in



the Assembly polls due next year, Parrikar said, "We feel that alliance will be in the interest of Goa and both of us."



"If they had issues, they should have sorted it out with the Chief Minister. There is no hundred per cent comfort anywhere. If there are doubts they need to sort it out," the senior BJP leader said.

Parrikar said that the statements made by Dhavalikar brothers against the state government were unwarranted, and "if they had any issue with the chief minister, they should not have gone public but discussed with him (CM)".

"He (Sudin) has criticised from the public platform, so it is for the Chief Minister to take action. The kind of statements that they made, the Chief Minister suggestedto the party that they be removed and we agreed to it," he said.

Parrikar also said the party (BJP) was since some time in talks with MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar for alliance.

"The discussions were going on since last three months. I was discussing about alliance with Sudin Dhavalikar. Two-three weeks back, it was in-principle agreed to have pre-poll alliance with MGP," he said.
An 11-year-old girl was apprehended in west-Delhi's Hari Nagar area while trying to steal a 'shagun' envelope containing money, police said today.

The juvenile was apprehended red-handed around midnight after the owner Tent House called the police, said a senior police officer.

The girl had allegedly sneaked into the wedding and was trying to pick one of the shagun envelopes, police said.

She was produced before JJB and sent for 14 days to an observation home.

Police is investigating whether the juvenile has any links to the gang that has sent officers into a tizzy by fleeing with valuables from weddings.

Police is also probing whether there were more people involved with her.

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Police today began a probe into thecontroversial surrounding into the the alleged suicide of a Dalit girl who was taken into custody last week while she was learning to ride a scooter at Kuttiyadi, about 54 kms from here.

The 19-year-old girl, working as X-ray technician at a private hospital for the last one year, was taken into custody by a police team onDecember 10 along with her friend while they were riding a scooter, according to Kuttiyadi police.

However, they were released after hospital staff were summoned to the station to verify their claim, police said.

The girl allegedly consumed poison soon after reaching the hospital and died in the morning on December 11, police said a case of unnatural death has been registered.

Her brother had filed a complaint raising suspicion on the death.

Crime Detachment Deputy Superintendent Jaison Abraham, who is investing the case, visited the hospital yesterday and checked the CCTV footage of the hospital after taking evidence from the girl's colleagues.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Women's Commission Chairperson K C Rosakutty and member P K Noorbina Rasheed visited the hospital at Kuttiyadi today to investigate the matter.

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Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal today terminated the membership of B L Kushwah from the Legislative Assembly after he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Dholpur court in a murder case.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from Dholpur was sentenced to life imprisonment by the court on December 8 in a 2012 murder case.

"The Speaker terminated the membership of Kushwah today on the basis of the court copy which was received by his office," the assembly spokesperson said.

The Additional District Judge found the MLA's gunman Satyendra Singh and him guilty of executing the murder of Naresh Kushwah in 2012 and gave the judgment on December 8.

They were convicted under section 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment, public prosecutor Ajay Gupta said.

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Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot today said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's repetitive statements that "she will remain at the post for the next two years and lead the elections showed her insecurity".

"There is more than meets the eye. I have closely scrutinised the Chief Minister's statements. It shows insecurity as she has been repetitively saying that she will remain at the top post," he told reporters here after the BJP government's three years of 'Suraaj' celebrations.

He alleged that the ruling government had failed to deliver on all fronts despite it getting a thumping majority from the people of the state.

On the recent Cabinet rejig, Pilot said, "It seemed to be an exercise to pacify protests. The reshuffle was not done on the basis of merit but was done to please party men."



Claiming that in the last one year, 9,559 rape cases were reported in Rajasthan, he said, "Earlier, the state which ranked fifth in India is now third in terms of rape cases."



"Rajasthan with 35 per cent increase in cases of atrocities against Dalits ranks second in India. The state has also seen a 53 per cent rise in crime against STs," he claimed, adding there has been no action against political leaders charged with corruption.

"Probe in the mining scam, which we exposed, and also in the 'Lalit Modi-gate' has also gone in cold baggage," Pilot quipped.

The state government had signed MoUs-worth Rs 3.38 crore in 'Resurgent Rajasthan', but only 16 of the total 470 MoUs have started yielding result, he claimed, adding reservation for special backward category (SBC) has been neglected.

"After coming to power the BJP government has increased electricity tariff by 37 per cent, privatised profit-making power plants and closed 20,000 schools," Pilot alleged.

We will come up with effective policies before the state assembly elections to revamp the entire machinery, he said.

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Montana's lone congressman, Ryan Zinke, met with President-elect Donald Trump today in New York City.

Zinke is in the mix for one of a handful of Cabinet positions that include the departments of the Interior and Veterans Affairs, Fox News has reported.

"President-elect Donald Trump and I had a very positive meeting where we discussed a wide range of Montana priorities," Zinke said afterward in message to The Gazette. "We are both very hopeful for the future."

Zinke and Trump discussed sportsmen's rights, land use and ownership, Native American affairs, national security and veterans affairs.

In the Trump transition team's morning call with reporters, Jason Miller, communications director, described Zinke as an early Trump supporter and mentioned the congressman's 22 years as a Navy SEAL and Zinke's experience as a former state legislator.

"Congressman Zinke is a strong advocate for American energy independence. And he supports an all-encompassing energy policy that includes renewable, fossil fuels and alternative energy," Miller said. "Additionally, Congressman Zinke believes we need to find a way to cut through bureaucracy to ensure our nation's parks, forests, and other public areas are properly maintained and used effectively."

Zinke is a member of the House Natural Resources and Armed Services committees.

Montana Republican Chairman Jeff Essmann received the news with enthusiasm.

"This country is lucky to have people like Ryan Zinke, who have always answered the call of duty, in his case in the military," Essmann said. "I'm sure he'd do a great job in whatever position the Trump administration feels they would need him."

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, R-Wash., was also on Trump's schedule for another interview Monday. She is believed to be the leading candidate for the Interior position. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, was also set to interview today.

The last U.S. Representative from Montana to leave office for a presidential appointment was Rep. James Battin, a Republican from Billings, appointed to the U.S. District Court in Montana by President Richard M. Nixon in 1969.

Democratic Sen. Max Baucus left his Senate seat to become President Barack Obama's ambassador to China.

Zinke, a Republican, won a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating outgoing Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau.

If Zinke is selected for a job in the administration, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock would appoint a replacement congressman from a list of three nominees selected by the Republican Party. A special election would then be scheduled in 85 to 100 days of Zinke's departure.

Essmann said it wouldn't be a good idea for the Montana GOP to select a replacement nominee interested in being a candidate for the special election. The short campaign before a special election might make it difficult for an interim representative to compete.

In 2014 when Gov. Steve Bullock appointed then Lt. Gov. John Walsh to replace U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, Republicans blasted the governor for seating a replacement who was also a candidate in the upcoming Senate election.

Zinke and his wife, Lola, were early Trump supporters. Zinke endorsed Trump in May and was among a dozen Montana delegates the Trump campaign endorsed for the Republican National Convention.

Zinke introduced Trump at a May campaign rally in Billings, but it was Lola Zinke who was identified by Trump as an early supporter.

"Where the hell is he? My man!" Trump shouted from the stage while scanning the back of Rimrock Auto Arena for Montana's lone congressman. "He's supported me from the very beginning, but it's more his wife, right?"

Lola Zinke, campaigned for Trump as part of the "Women for Trump" speaking tour. She manages and owns a second-generation family property business in California.

In November, Lola Zinke was appointed to Trump's Veterans Affairs landing team. The team will look for ways to overhaul the VA during the first 100 days of the Trump presidency.
US President-elect Donald Trump today said he discussed "life" with rapper Kanye West when he met him at his luxurious Manhattan headquarters here.

Trump, emerging from the elevators of his Trump Tower with West by his side, called the rapper a "good man" and told journalists that they have been "friends for a long time".

When asked what did the two discuss during their meeting, Trump said "Life, we discussed life".

West's appearance at the Trump Towers came only days after the rapper first came back into the public eye following his hospitalisation.

West, who had declared last year that he would run for President in 2020, remained mostly silent and did not comment when asked whether he plans on performing at Trump's inauguration. He also ignored a question about whether he wishes he had voted for Trump.

"I just want to take a picture right now," West said, smiling.

"You take care of yourself, I'll see you soon," Trump told West.

West had asked for a 15-minute meeting with Trump, transition spokeswoman Hope Hicks said.

It was not clear why TV reality star Kim Kardashian's husband met Trump. West walked in with a slight smile and made his way to the elevator. He was accompanied by an entourage that included a videographer.

West had been hospitalised last month due to exhaustion. He had abruptly ended a concert in California, saying had he voted, he would have voted for Donald Trump.

"I told y'all I didn't vote, right?" Kanye said. "But if I would've voted, I would've voted for Trump.

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Civilians and opposition fighters will start evacuating east Aleppo "within hours" under a deal with Syria's regime, a rebel official said today, as global outrage mounted over reports of atrocities including summary executions.

Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nurredin al-Zinki group told AFP the deal with President Bashar al-Assad's regime was being "sponsored" by Russia and Turkey.

"An agreement has been reached," Youssef said. "The first stage will be the evacuation of civilians and wounded, within hours, and afterwards fighters will leave with their light weapons."



Those leaving will be allowed to travel to other rebel-held territory in the west of Aleppo province or neighbouring Idlib province, he said.

A source in the powerful Ahrar al-Sham rebel group confirmed the deal and its details.

There was no immediate confirmation from the regime, Ankara or Moscow.

The UN and aid agencies have been pleading for a ceasefire to allow for the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo.

After weeks of heavy fighting, forces loyal to Assad were in the last hours of a push to take full control of the city, dealing the biggest blow to Syria's rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

But as the long battle reached its final stages, the UN said it had received reports of at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, being executed by pro-government forces.

Following a request from Britain and France, the UN Security Council was to hold an emergency meeting at 1700 GMT to address what the French envoy called "the worst humanitarian tragedy of the 21st century unfolding before our eyes".

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said it had received credible reports of the civilian executions in recent days.

Pro-government fighters had in some cases entered homes and killed those inside, and in others "caught and killed on the spot" fleeing civilians, he said.

The UN was "filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner of opposition-held eastern Aleppo", Colville said.

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Police here chanced upon cash worth Rs 19.67 lakh, including Rs 13 lakh in the new 2,000 rupee notes, kept in a gunny bag during a raid at the house of a city-based businessman regarding illegal liquor possession.

The notes were seized from a gunny bag kept in a cupboard in the businessman's house, located on Ajwa Road in the city, during the raid yesterday, Detection Crime Branch police Inspector M S Vaghela said.

During the raid, 650 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination, 6,000 notes of Rs 100, 500 notes of Rs 20 denomination, 1,000 notes of Rs 50 and 700 notes of Rs 10 denomination were seized from the house, Vaghela said.

Acting on a tip-off regarding illegal liquor possession, police first went to Goyal's house on Sunday and seizure 91 cases of IMFL and some foreign liquor brands allegedly stored in his house illegally.

"We arrested the businessman on Sunday after seizure of liquor bottles, under relevant provisions of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, as Gujarat is a dry state," Vaghela said.

The businessman was then produced before a local court which remanded him in one-day police custody. He was later released on bail.

During the remand period, Goyal revealed that a member of his family was holding liquor permit issued on health ground by the state Prohibition department and claimed that he had purchased the liquor from an authorised shop.

In order to find the invoices of the liquor purchased, police raided the businessman's house yesterday and chanced upon the gunny bag containing the currency notes and seized it, Vaghela said.

The Vadodara police have informed the Income Tax department about the currency seizure, he added.

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A Sikh doctor has miraculously survived a plane crash after he managed to land the aircraft he was piloting on the frigid waters of an estuary near here and then along with his co-pilot swam to a large rock.

Inderpal Chhabra, a 48-year-old prominent physician who resides in Woodbury, and co-pilot David Tobachnik, 59, of Coram, were flying a Beechcraft Bonanza when the engine began to shake.

The plane took off from MacArthur Airport, Long Island, heading to Calverton, New York, but went down in the waters of the Long Island Sound on Sunday.

The two men crashed on the Long Island Sound and clung on to a rock in frigid waters before they were rescued off Shoreham, authorities said.

"As soon as I reached cruising altitude it got a little bit of a shudder, so I looked at my co-pilot and was like, 'Should we turn back?' And he said, 'Yeah you should'," Chhabra told WABC-TV.

"It was a controlled landing on the water, it was not a crash," Chhabra said.

He said he and his co-pilot swam a short distance to a large rock, after waiting on the wing until the plane sank.

They were rescued by volunteer firefighters.

"I was like, why is this taking them so long? We could see the police helicopters directly over us, so we knew that help was near, but it seemed like an eternity," Chhabra said.

"But then I was so glad, a shout out to the Rock Point Fire Department and the Suffolk County Police. This is what we train for. Fly the plane all the way into the crash, and I'm so glad that's what I did. Up until the last minute that I hit the water, I was actually still flying the plane," Chhabra said.

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Malaysia and Singapore today inked a landmark agreement on high speed rail project which will decrease the travel time by land between Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to just 90 minutes, compared to over four hours by car.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singapore Counterpart Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the signing of the 350-km project agreement here.

Apart from reducing travel time between the countries to just 90 minutes, the project will enhance business ties and improve people-to-people relations.

The high-speed rail line, first mooted in 2013, is billed as a "game changer" for both countries.

Earlier the two leaders met one-on-one followed by a delegation level meeting where both sides reviewed progress of existing bilateral cooperation and building on the momentum of discussion held and initiatives agreed during the 2015 Leaders Retreat.

The project is slated for completion in 2026. Of the entire rail system, 15km will lie in Singapore and 335km in Malaysia.

Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facilities will also be co-located at Singapore, Bandar Malaysia and Iskandar Puteri. This means that international passengers will only need to undergo both Singapore and Malaysia CIQ clearance at the point of departure.

It will have eight stations between Singapore and Malaysia with the two terminal stations at Jurong East in Singapore and Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

In 2015, Singapore was Malaysias second largest trading partner globally.

Last year, total trade between the two countries was recorded at USD 59.5 billion (RM190.6 billion).

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The civil society delegation led by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, which is on its second visit to the valley in as many months, today held interaction with a cross section of people in north Kashmir's Baramulla district.

The local civil society members raised various issues including the problems faced by the people in the valley, officials said.

The delegation, which does not have government sanction, reiterated that all issues can be resolved through dialogue and not by confrontation.

Sinha, former Minister for External Affairs and Finance, also sought to clear the misunderstanding among the people about the mission of his delegation.

He told the civil society members that his delegation did not have a political agenda and were here only to understand the hardships of the people and finding ways of mitigating their problems.

The delegation, which arrived here on Saturday, has held similar meeting in south Kashmir Shopian district on Sunday.

Sinha, who is accompanied by journalist Bharat Bhushan and Sushobha Barve from the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, began the second visit by meeting senior hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Aga Syed Hassan and also had a meeting with controversial Independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rasheed yesterday.

The delegation first visited Kashmir in October when the unrest in the valley was still at its peak.

The delegation then also included Wajahat Habibullah, ex-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, and former air vice-marshal Kapil Kak.

(Reopen DES21)



Talking to reporters here, Sinha said the delegation heard people very keenly.

"At every place and in every meeting, people said that the basic reason of their pain is perhaps that no solution has been found to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir from the last 70 years. They said a solution should be found to the issue and then automatically everything would be normal," he said.

The former Union Minister said people want to address the issue peacefully through dialogue.

"We told the people that the way for finding solution to any issue is by holding mutual talks and we should talk to each other. And when we will talk to each other, the solution to the issue will come out and the solution will not be arrived at through gun but talks," he said.

"And I want to tell you with some belief that most of the people were happy after hearing this and they said you are very right and we should move ahead on this path," he said.

Sinha said they understand the pain of the people here but dialogue is the only way forward.

"I admit that there is so much pain in some peoples' minds that when they express it, they do it in anger. But we were ready to understand that as well.

"We understood their pain and didn't felt bad of their words and I think with whomever our talks took place, they also agree that dialogue is the only way for finding solution of this issue," he said.

He said the delegation told the people that they did not have the "power of a government".

"We will surely take our views to the government, but if the power of the people comes together with us, then we will exercise that moral authority for starting a dialogue process," he said.

Asked whether the people of Kashmir should attach any hopes with their visit, Sinha said "the talks have been fruitful and then there is a moral power by virtue of which some people in our country have achieved biggest feats.

"So, there is no reason to be dejected and we are working with a hope and we also want the people here to have hope".

He said even those people, who have economic considerations, want the basic issue to be addressed.

"Both last time as well as this time, when we talked to those groups who, we thought, will give priority to economic considerations, those very groups also said that the basic issue is the pending issue of Jammu and Kashmir and so they will not talk to about their losses, but we should try to solve this basic issue.

"So, we understand this and there is no problem regarding this in our mind," he said.

He said the delegation, in its first report, has recommended release of youth and expressed hope there would be some action on that.

"We have recommended that in our first report only. When we talked to the chief minister (Mehbooba Mufti) of the state, we placed that issue before her as well. We hope there is action on that very soon," he said, adding the delegation had recommended unconditional talks in their first report as well "and we will again recommend it vociferously".
Amid reports of Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister on Tuesday said if such a tie-up takes place in the upcoming state assembly polls it would win over 300 seats.

"Though the Samajwadi Party (SP) is going to form a majority government in the state, but if alliance takes place, it will win over 300 (of the 403) seats. The final decision in this regard will be taken by party national president (Mulayam Singh Yadav)," he said when asked about the possibility of his party's alliance with Congress.

Expecting a note-ban backlash against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress has kept a back channel open for striking a pre-poll alliance or an understanding with SP for next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, sources in the party said.

Desperate to be counted in the power stakes in Uttar Pradesh where it ruled 27 years back, Congress leaders might settle for anything between 60-70 seats, including the 20 sitting MLAs it has in the state Assembly, the sources said.

Swept away to a distant fourth position, Congress leaders feel that its chances in the crucial state had dipped after the Narendra Modi government went public with the September 29 surgical strikes inside Pak-occupied Kashmir. They, however, feel that post demonetisation the popularity of the BJP has declined.

Downplaying controversy over ticket distribution in the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh said, "Tickets are changed till last moment. We will only field those who can win elections. I will give my suggestions and advice on assembly tickets to the party president."

To a specific query on tickets to gangster-turned- politician Mukhtar Ansari's brother and another mafia don Ateeq Ahmad, the chief minister parried a directly reply, saying hardships because of note ban was a bigger issue at present.

On reports that he had allegedly pushed Ahmad at a public programme, Akhilesh said, "Such act is not in my behaviour... It's the media, which says so. I might have asked him to speak later.
Two suspended Congress leaders, who were named as accused in a case of alleged abduction and assault of a trade union worker in Kochi, today surrendered before the investigating officer.

Marad Municipal Vice Chairman Antony Asanparambil and councillor Jinson Peter were suspended from the Congress in November following a directive from state Congress chief V M Sudheeran.

The two leaders surrendered before Circle Inspector of Central Police station here this morning, days after the Kerala High Court rejected their anticipatory bail plea, police said.

Antony, who was also serving as the President of Marad Mandalam Congress committee, is the alleged mastermind in the abduction of Shukkoor, a building contractor, they said.

The High Court had directed them to surrender before the investigating officer within a week.

Kochi city police had arrested several persons on a complaint from Shukkoor that he was assaulted after being abducted in connection with a land case.

Police probing the case said the gang had acted allegedly at the behest of Antony, who has rejected the allegations and said he was being framed in the case.

Both Antony and Jinson were absconding after the police registered case against them.

According to the police, the arrested persons were allegedly linked with the land mafia operating in the city.

Newly appointed president of the District Congress Committee, T J Vinod, said there was no question of protecting those involved in the case.

The city police have launched a crackdown on members of 'goonda-political' mafia in Kochi after the CPI(M)-led LDF government came to power in May.

Earlier, CPI(M) Kalamassery Area Secretary Zakir Hussain had surrendered before police following a complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by a man stating that he was threatened by him over a business deal.

Vijayan, who also holds the Home portfolio, had said in the Assembly on October 25 that his government would not protect those people who indulge in criminal activities such as extortion.

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Suspense is on over who will be the next Chiefs of the Army and the Air Force as the incumbent officials will be superannuating just about three weeks later.

Both the Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag and the Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha are retiring on December 31 and the guessing game is on as to who will succeed them.

Traditionally, the name of the new Chiefs are announced weeks in advance but it has not been the case this time.

Even the current Navy Chief's name was announced just 23 days before Admiral Robin Dhowan retired.

Sources said one of the reasons for the delay in the announcement of the new chiefs could be that Parliament is in session which would end on December 16.

The Defence Ministry has already sent the file to Prime Minister's Office recommending three names each for the two Services. They are Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, Southern Army Commander Lt Gen P M Hariz and Vice Chief of the Army Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, sources said.

Lt Gen Bakshi, under whose tenure the Myanmar anti- insurgency operation was carried out, is the senior most of the Commanders.

Speculation is that the government may appoint someone based not on seniority alone but also experience in handling Kashmir and Pakistan, two issues which will continue to be the focus in the next two years.

While Lt Gen Bakshi is from the Armoured Corps, Lt Gen Hariz is from Mechanised Infantry and Lt Gen Rawat is an outright infantry soldier.

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Shares of Syngene International today plunged over 6 per cent per cent after a fire broke out at the company's premises in Bengaluru yesterday.

The stock opened at Rs 613 and then dived 6.04 per cent to touch an early low of Rs 594 on BSE.

Similar movement was seen on the National Stock Exchange, where it opened at Rs 612 and slipped 6.58 per cent.

On Monday, the fire broke out at the premises of Syngene, the contract research subsidiary of Biocon, but there were no reports of any casualties.

"... There has been an incident of fire at the Syngene campus, Jigni Link road, which has been brought under control with the assistance of local authorities," the company said.

The benchmark Sensex was trading at 26,592.96, up 0.29 per cent, from its previous close.

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President-elect Donald Trump has asked Montanas lone congressman, Ryan Zinke, to be secretary of the Interior, according to sources close to Zinke.

Zinke met with Trump in New York City on Monday. He was reportedly in the mix for one of a handful of Cabinet positions that include the departments of the Interior and Veterans Affairs.

Zinke, a Republican, was flying back to Whitefish on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., was meeting with The Gazette when the news broke.

"The Interior is all about public lands. It's about wildlife and national parks. This is very, very important," Daines said. "I'm very pleased to see that it's a westerner and even more pleased to see that it's a Montanan. I gave strong opinion to the Trump administration, the transition team, that this needs to be a westerner. And by westerner, that doesn't mean Midwest. I'm talking about the West, someone who understands our way of life, understands the importance of our public lands."

Daines made his preferences known to Donald Trump Jr. during a Montana hunting trip a few weeks ago.

With 25 million acres in Montana, the federal government is the biggest landowner in the state. Montana includes Glacier National Park, part of Yellowstone National Park and seven Indian reservations.

Federal land plays a key role in the state's biggest industries: mining, ranching and tourism. As a federal land manager, the Department of the Interior plays a key role in each of those federal interests.

On Monday, the Trump transition team communications director, Jason Miller, described Zinke as an early Trump supporter and mentioned the congressman's 22 years as a Navy SEAL and experience as a former state legislator.

"Congressman Zinke is a strong advocate for American energy independence. And he supports an all-encompassing energy policy that includes renewables, fossil fuels and alternative energy," Miller said. "Additionally, Congressman Zinke believes we need to find a way to cut through bureaucracy to ensure our nation's parks, forests, and other public areas are properly maintained and used effectively."

Zinke and his wife, Lola, were early Trump supporters. Zinke endorsed Trump in May and was among a dozen Montana delegates the Trump campaign endorsed for the Republican National Convention.

Zinke introduced Trump at a May campaign rally in Billings, but it was Lola Zinke who was identified by Trump as an early supporter.

Zinke is a member of the House Natural Resources Committee who was just re-elected to his second term. Govtrack, a federal legislative watchdog, reports that 28 percent of Zinke's bills concern natural resources or public lands, second only to bills concerning the U.S. Armed Forces or national security. Energy and Native American legislation were third and fourth.

Zinke's legislation has focused extensively on Department of the Interior issues, namely the development of coal, oil and gas on public land. He has championed the sovereignty of tribal governments, particularly concerning natural resource development.

"He would be good, not only on behalf of Montanans, but also Indian Country," said Darrin Old Coyote, former chairman of the Crow Tribe. "He comes from a state that has an abundance of natural resources, whether it's fish or coal, and who knows, maybe it will be easy to pitch for Montana."

In November, Zinke carried the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act through the House of Representatives. The bill helps establish water rights on the Blackfeet Reservation and surrounding territory.

Zinke also carried a bill extending federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana.

David Allen, CEO of the Montana-based Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation said his organization has been quietly lobbying for Zinkes appointment since late November.

We have through back channels been supporting Congressman Zinke for three weeks and we kind of thought it was walking away, Allen said. As recently as Dec. 9, the national media was reporting that Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, R-Wash., was Trumps pick for secretary of the Interior.

But then Zinke was called to Trump Tower in New York for a meeting Monday. Things were looking up for Allen.

I think Congressman Zinke works for Montana because we need somebody, we believe, with more of the Western outdoors and Western wildlife beliefs in that position, Allen said. Were excited about it. We think the congressman has been very strong on forest issues. He is an elk hunter, himself. And we feel very strongly he will protect public lands.

In the 2016 elections, Zinke was accused by Democratic challenger Denise Juneau of supporting the privatization of public lands, but when fact checked by an independent watchdog, the allegation proved to be false.

The congressman recently said he was considering challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. By accepting President-elect Trump's offer, Zinke would put the Montana GOP in search mode for a 2018 Senate candidate.

Daines said there was time to find another challenger to Tester.

But Zinke won his race against Juneau, a Democrat twice elected Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction.

If Zinke becomes Interior secretary, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock would appoint to the U.S. House an interim replacement chosen from a list of three nominees selected by the Republican Party.

After that, a special election open to candidates from all parties would occur within 85 to 100 days of Zinke's departure.
Civilians and rebel fighters were to start evacuating from Syria's Aleppo "within hours" under a deal that would end years of opposition resistance in the city.

Rebel officials, Russia and Turkey confirmed the agreement yesterday which, if implemented, would mark a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad over opposition forces who rose up against him in 2011.

Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said the Syrian military had stopped its operations in Aleppo under the agreement, adding: "The fighting around eastern Aleppo is over."



Green government buses gathered at the edges of the divided Salaheddin district late yesterday, with some entering briefly but returning empty and parking on the outskirts again, an AFP correspondent said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the evacuations were now expected to begin around 0830 IST.

The agreement came amid mounting global outrage over reports of atrocities, including dozens of summary executions, as forces loyal to Assad closed in on the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo.

Officials from several rebel groups said there was a deal to allow civilians and fighters to leave Aleppo for opposition-held territory to the west of the city.

"An agreement has been reached," said Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group, adding that the deal had been "sponsored" by Russia and Turkey.

"The first stage will be the evacuation of civilians and wounded, within hours, and afterwards fighters will leave with their light weapons."



As the UN Security Council met in emergency session to discuss Aleppo, Churkin said: "There is indeed an arrangement achieved on the ground that the fighters are going to leave the city."



Turkey said that under the agreement civilians would first evacuate, followed by a withdrawal of rebel groups.

"While we are pleased with today's step taken to secure a ceasefire, at the same time we must always be aware of the fragile situation in front of us and it is wise to be cautious," said foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu.

US ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council Washington wanted international observers in Aleppo to oversee the evacuation.

She raised concern for "people who wish to leave but who, justifiably, fear that if they try they will be shot in the street or carted off to one of Assad's gulags.

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A coalition drone strike in Syria killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men who helped facilitate last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said today.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

They were killed in a December 4 air strike in Raqa, an IS stronghold in Syria.

Cook said two of those killed - Salah-Eddine Gourmat and Sammy Djedou - were involved in facilitating the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died.

Gourmat was a French national, and Djedou was Belgian.

Both of them were "close associates" of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, an IS spokesman and an external operations leader who was killed in a coalition air strike in August.

The third person killed was Walid Hamman, a Frenchman who Cook said was a suicide-attack planner who was convicted in absentia in Belgium for a terror plot disrupted in 2015.

They were riding together in a vehicle at the time of the drone strike, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

All three belonged to a network led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, a Tunisian killed in an air strike last month, officials said.

Last year's IS-claimed attacks in Paris saw suicide bombers and gunmen launch a coordinated assault across the French capital, including at the Bataclan, a concert hall where 90 people were killed by three attackers during a rock gig in the culmination of the carnage.

Gourmat had worked on external attacks in Europe, the Middle East and north Africa and was involved in the "financial facilitation" of the Paris attacks, Davis said.

Djedou was involved in plotting Europe attacks, Davis added without giving details about his role in the Paris attacks.

Hamman was a "longtime French terrorist" who helped IS seize Mosul and other operations, Davis said.

In March 2014, a French court sentenced an absent Gourmat, then 24, to four years in prison for charges including trying to conduct jihad in Syria.

He had been arrested with two other men in May 2012 at an airport near Saint-Etienne in central France carrying a revolver, night-vision goggles, camouflage clothing and tactical vests.

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Syrian troops were poised to recapture all of second city Aleppo today, in what would be the biggest blow to rebels since they launched their uprising in 2011.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon voiced alarm at reports of atrocities against civilians in Aleppo, where entire districts are in ruins and unclaimed bodies lie in the streets.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have said the battle for the city is in its "final phase" after they seized more than 90 percent of the eastern districts which had been held by the rebels since 2012.

The turnaround in the government's fortunes has come through decisive support from its allies Iran and Russia, which has waged a bombing campaign in support of Assad since September last year.

Early today, troops were conducting searches in newly recaptured neighbourhoods around Aleppo's Old City, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The regime is combing the districts of Bustan al-Qasr, Kalasseh, Fardaws, and other neighbourhoods it seized yesterday (Monday)," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

He said the regime was consolidating its control over those areas but had not made any fresh advances this morning.

The fall of Aleppo would be the rebel's worst defeat of the civil war and put the government in control of all five of Syria's main cities.

An AFP correspondent in government-held west Aleppo said bombardment was heard overnight but had quietened by morning, when thick fog shrouded the city.

Residents of the sector gathered in the streets late into the night despite the rain, launching celebratory gunfire in a show of support for the army.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over reports of atrocities against "a large number of civilians, including women and children" in Aleppo, his spokesman Stephan Dujarric said Monday.

"While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties."



The east of the city had been under army siege almost continuously since July.

On November 15, the army launched a blistering offensive to retake it with the support of Iran-backed militias.

A Syrian military official in Aleppo said late Monday: "We're living the final moments before victory. "



Rebel fighters withdrew from six residential districts on Monday after government forces overran the key Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood on the city's southeastern outskirts.

The pullout leaves the rebels confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in the southeast of the city, including Mashhad and part of Sukkari.

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Three Naxals were today gunned down in exchange of fire with security forces at two different places in the insurgency-hit Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, police said.

While two rebels were killed in Narayanpur district, another one was eliminated in Bijapur district.

In Narayanpur, the skirmish took place while a joint team of security forces was carrying out a counter-insurgency operation in Abujhmad area- a Maoist hotbed, Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI.

A composite squad of District Reserve Group (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) had launched the operation in the interiors of Abujhmad on Sunday from the district headquarters.

"Today, they came face to face with a group of military company no. 1 of Maoists in the forests of Kutul village, round 300 kms away from Raipur, following which a gun-battle took place that lasted for about an hour before the rebels escaped," he said.

During the ensuing search at the site, body of two ultras, three weapons and other naxal-related materials were recovered from the spot, the SP said adding that further details are awaited as security forces were yet to reach back to their camp.

In a separate incident, a rebel was killed by security forces in forests near Peddagelur village under Basaguda police station limits of Bijapur.

According to Bijapur Superintendent of Police K L Dhruv, a patrolling party comprising CoBRA's 204th battalion, District Reserve Group (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) was out on a search operation in the interiors of Basaguda, around 450 kms away from the state capital.

When the party reached close to Peddagelur, they came under heavy fire from Maoists that led to gun-battle between both the sides,the SP said.

After the firing stopped, body of a Naxal clad in 'black uniform', a country-made gun, bag and other itemswere recovered while searching the spot, he said.

The identity of all three killed ultras was being ascertained.

Meanwhile, in a separate operation in Bijapur district, three Naxals were arrested from the forest of Cherli Nilavaya under Mirtur police station limits.

Those held were identified as Boda Kadti (30), Kumma Kadti (32) and Baisu Kunjam (28), he said.

The three were allegedly involved in the murder of an assistant constable who was posted in Mirtur, last year, the SP said.

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US President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Exxon Mobil chief Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State has raised concerns over his potential conflict of interests, given that billions of dollars in deals for the oil giant can go forward only if the US lifts sanctions against Russia.

A report in the New York Times said Tillerson has earned a friendship award from Russia and voiced skepticism about American sanctions that have stopped some of Exxon Mobil's biggest projects in the country.

Tillerson's stake in Russia's energy industry could create a "very blurry line" between his interests as an oilman and his role as America's leading diplomat.

"The chances that he will view Russia with Exxon Mobil DNA are close to 100 per cent," Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, a public interest group based in Washington, said in the report.

Tillerson has praised Russia for its vast potential as an oil supplier since the breakup of the Soviet Union, developing close ties to the Kremlin leadership along the way, it said.

"Exxon Mobil has various projects afoot in Russia that are allowed under American sanctions. But others have been ground to a halt by the sanctions, including a deal with the Russian state oil company to explore and pump in Siberia that could be worth tens of billions of dollars," it added.

Tillerson's appointment is raging a debate over mixing of business and politics and whether that could tip the scales in Russia's favour on major policy decisions like the sanctions.

"As secretary of state, he would be called upon to negotiate with world leaders like Vladimir Putin," said Michael T Klare, a professor at Hampshire College. "In these negotiations, one has to wonder what would influence the types of deals he is making. Questions arise over whether his actions would be benefiting his company or the interests of the United States and its allies," he said.

Tillerson has been critical of the American sanctions against Russia that were put in place following Moscow's intervention in eastern Ukraine. In early 2015, Tillerson had said that his company looked forward to the sanctions' being lifted.

"We'll await a time in which the sanctions environment changes or the sanctions requirements change," he said of blocked Exxon Mobil projects.

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Trinamool Congress (TMC) today didn't rule out "alliance with any political party" in poll-bound Punjab but said the party supremo will take a call in this regard when the elections are announced.

"In elections and politics, I am not ruling out to make any (seat) adjustment or alliance with any political party. When (Punjab) elections date will be announced, the party will take a call on seat adjustment or alliance," Mukul Roy, all India vice president of TMC said here today.

"Options are open, we have not ruled out for any type of seat alliance and seat adjustment with any political party," he further said.

He was responding to a question whether there was any possibility of alliance with or seat adjustment with AAP for Punjab polls.

When asked whether there could be any alliance with Congress, Roy said, "I cannot rule out."



When pointed out that former Congress leader Jagmeet Brar, who has been appointed as chief of Punjab unit of TMC, had vociferously spoken against Congress, Roy said, "In politics what will happen, nobody can say right now. I do not rule any option at this juncture. As and when elections are announced then, Mamata Banerjee will take a call," he said.

However, Brar, who was sitting along with the senior TMC leader, preferred an alliance with AAP for Punjab polls which are due early next year.

"After the elections are announced and if Arvind Kejriwal directly approaches Mamata Banerjee and holds meeting on this issue, then election can be fought under alliance. This matter is now between Kejriwal and Mamata ji," he said.

Notably, former Congress leader and ex-MP Jagmeet Singh Brar had extended "unconditional" support to AAP in Punjab after forming an "issue-based alliance" with the party in September this year.

However, Brar further said that if there was no alliance with AAP, then Punjab polls could be fought under the banner of All India TMC.

Brar, however lashed out at Congress and Akali Dal, saying both parties had contributed a lot in "ruining" the state.

Brar, who openly criticised Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh, claimed that the state unit of Congress would witness revolt after the announcement of ticket for upcoming Assembly polls.

Roy, however, said at present, demonetisation was a larger issue against which the party had been holding protests and demonstrations, saying that it had adversely-affected poor, farmers and other sections of the society.

He said on demonetisation issue, political parties including CPI(M), AAP and Congress were fighting together.

TMC today announced the setting up of office for the Punjab unit of the party here. Brar has been appointed as the state unit chief of TMC.

Roy further said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would visit Punjab in January next year.

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The southern Raailway has cancelled train No 12680 Coimbatore-Chennai Central Intercity Express tomorrow due to the unfavorable condition under the impact of cyclone Vardah.

The Southern railways has already cancelled some trains passing, reaching and departing through Salem Division, which include train No 12686 Mangalore-Chennai Central Express and No 22638 Mangalore- Chennai West Coast Express scheduled to leave today, a Southern Railway release said here.

Train 11064 Salem-Chennai Egmore Express is also cancelled today.

Train No 12674 Chennai-Central-Coimbatore Cheran Express scheduled to leave at 10.40 PM is rescheduled to leave at 6.15 AM tomorrow, it said.

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Turkey will intensify talks with Russia for a ceasefire to end the "humanitarian tragedy" in Aleppo, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today, as Ankara accused Syria of violating international law.

The announcement came as the UN accused forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of executing dozens of civilians in the former rebel stronghold of Aleppo.

"Today, tomorrow, everyday, we will intensify our talks with Russia and other countries so we can find a solution to this humanitarian tragedy," Cavusoglu said at a press conference with his Czech counterpart in Ankara.

"Our efforts continue in particular for civilians to be able to leave and for a ceasefire."



Asked about possible Aleppo talks with Moscow on Wednesday, Cavusoglu said Turkish officials often met with their Russian counterparts, insisting it was "not a special meeting".

Shortly after, the Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement in which it said it was "horrified and outraged by the massacre of civilians" in eastern Aleppo by the Syrian regime and its supporters.

It added civilians wanting to leave the city were not given the chance to as it called for a halt to the bombings so people could leave safely.

Russia has been engaged in an air campaign over Syria since September 2015 in support of Assad, with its actions helping change the fortunes of the regime, which now appears on the cusp of recapturing all of Aleppo.

Forces loyal to Assad have said the offensive in Syria's second city is in its "final phase" after they seized more than 90 per cent of the eastern districts which had been held by the rebels since 2012.

The Turkish foreign ministry also accused the regime and its supporters -- without naming individual countries -- of violating "international humanitarian law".

The ministry expressed concern over two neighbourhoods where tens of thousands of civilians were stuck and where opposition fighters were presently facing a similar fate to other parts of the city.

"The regime and its supporters' responsibility is obvious," it said.

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Punjab Education Minister Daljeet Singh Cheema today claimed that leaders who had left SAD for the Congress will desert it after being denied tickets.

"Apprehending that elected members may desert him after the polls, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh is trying to field his henchmen as party nominees, especially his recent picks from other parties, despite resistance from Congress old guards," he said here.

The state Congress chief is under the illusion that those denied recognition in the SAD will bring laurels to the party, Cheema said.

He forgets that if they were strong enough, their parent party would not have thrown them out or treated them like deadwoods, the Minister said.

"Seasoned Congress men have understood this crude reality and are opposing nomination of turncoats like Pargat Singh, Swarn Singh Phillaur or Inderbir Singh Bularia and Navjot Kaur," he claimed.

"Amarinder is insisting that turncoats be accommodated despite opposition by party leaders. Hence, there is deadlock and delay in releasing first list of nominees," Cheema said, adding the Congress chief is aware that more than three-fourth of his catch will disappear once denied tickets.

"If turncoats can desert their parent party that nourished them for years within hours of being denied tickets, how can they remain in an outfit, which has made substantive political promise of nomination, after they are denied the same," Cheema argued.

He said how will Amarinder, who is unable to contain his herd, master his recent picks from other parties.

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A UAE-based hospitality and leisure firm has said it will strengthen its presence in the Gulf region by appointing more sale representatives and travel partners for promoting 'Kerala Golden Trio'.

A first-of-its-kind initiative 'Kerala Golden Trio' by Fragrant Nature Resorts has been launched for the visitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

"The culturally discerning can experience old world charm at Fragrant Nature Fort Kochi, just off the commercial capital of Kerala, to start their journey. They can then head to Fragrant Nature Munnar, a prized jewel in the Western Ghats, for a hill resort experience with unmatched views of misty hills, valleys and tea plantations.The visitors will then head to Fragrant Nature Backwater Resort & Ayurveda Spa in Paravur, Kollam, to revel in the famed backwaters of the state," Anne Sajeev, Managing Director of Fragrant Nature, said.

The golden trio are all easily accessible by road, and are linked to other tourist attractions making the journey worthwhile for visitors, the statement said.

The hospitality & leisure division of UAE-based Aroma Group, Fragrant Nature Resorts is now further strengthening its presence in the Gulf region through more sale representatives and travel partners.

"In the past few months, visitor enquiries from the GCC region have increased considerably for Fragrant Nature's resorts in Kerala. That is why we have created a dedicated visitor experience for people from the GCC region - both Arabs and expatriates," he said.

The incredible body and mind wellness packages makes Fragrant Nature the first choice for Arabs and expatriates in the GCC region to rejuvenate and refresh even by planning a short weekend trip," he said.

GCC member-states include Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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President Barack Obama last week delivered his final defense of the nations counter-terrorism strategy. He rightfully claimed progress on a number of fronts, including the death of Osama bin Laden, an end to waterboarding and the effective use of drones to kill terrorists. Just one week after the Islamic State-inspired attack in Columbus, Ohio, he also reiterated that there is no war between the United States and Islam. The Islamic State and al-Qaida, he said, do not speak for Muslims everywhere.

To me and many of my former colleagues at the Central Intelligence Agency, such pronouncements reflect Obamas greatest blind spot in his fight against terrorism: He has been unwilling to acknowledge that Islamic ideology plays a role in what motivates terrorists to strike. Meanwhile, men like Imam Bujar Hysa, a jailed cleric in Albania, frame the war on terrorism quite succinctly: Islam can coexist with other religions, but with democracy? No!

Hysa isnt an anomaly. He is a Salafist Muslim  a sect also called Wahhabi  who follows an ultraconservative set of beliefs propagated by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab nations. Wahhabis do not believe in a separation of church (mosque) and state. For them, government should be made up of religious clerics  and only clerics  that use the Koran to justify their decisions.

President-elect Donald Trumps chosen national security advisor, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has tried explaining this  albeit in impolite terms  by saying that Islam is a political ideology based on a religion.

Flynns poorly worded warning stems from experience, and he knows what happens when religious leaders take over governments. Women face widespread discrimination. Gay people are imprisoned or killed. Dancing, music and other forms of art are banned. And those who criticize Islam or convert to Christianity face prison or death.

However, what causes the most alarm to national security experts is the Wahhabi objective of global conquest. The Islamic State and al-Qaida are terrorist groups built on Wahhabi ideology. They want to govern the world under sharia law, and they are more than willing to achieve their goals through force. The Islamic State is known for beheading its victims or burning them alive. And as we saw in Columbus, these groups are inspiring legions of supporters.

Which brings us back to Imam Hysa and his home nation of Albania. The tiny Balkan country has a majority-Muslim population that  until recently  had a tradition of moderate, tolerant Islam. But the country is in the midst of Wahhabi radicalization, spread by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf donors. The result? More than 100 citizens of Albania are now confirmed to have fought for the Islamic State. Thats roughly the same number as those sent from much larger nations such as Italy and Spain.

Albania is not alone. The easiest targets for Wahhabis are smaller countries and places where poverty and corruption run deep. In Kosovo, radical clerics and secretive associations have turned a once-tolerant Muslim society into a font of extremism.

In Afghanistan too, Saudi Arabia and its virulent strain of Islam are wrecking havoc.

Larger, more stable nations are under threat as well. In Germany, the government recently launched a massive raid on a Wahhabi missionary group called The True Religion because of its ties to the Islamic State. This crackdown followed a wave of attacks on the German people last summer. In the words of Berlins interior minister, Islamic terrorism is Germanys greatest domestic security threat. In a controversial step just days ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her vocal opposition to the full-faced veil  a Salafist requirement for female worshipers.

The United States has also suffered the consequences of Islamist extremism and those inspired by the radical ideology. We remember San Bernardino. Boston. Fort Hood. Little Rock. Garland. Chattanooga. Ft. Dix. Orlando. Shanksville. New York. Washington.

Muslims have every right to sit at the American table if they support the Constitution. We should all acknowledge brave women and men like my former CIA colleague who led our nations war on terrorism for more than 15 years; hes Shiite Muslim. This officer  whom I cant name because hes still under cover  was ruthless in his hunt for radical killers, and he deserves a medal for his years of sacrifice.

Are we at war with the whole of Islam, or should we be? Of course not. But Islam is a faith in crisis, and to deny that certain strains of the religion are contributing to global instability is to deny reality.

After eight years as president, Obama still doesnt understand that.

My hope is that President Trump and others in his administration will go out of their way to embrace loyal Muslim Americans, even as they publicly acknowledge that this proud faith is struggling to shed itself of a cancerous evil.
A wall funded by Britain to try and stop migrants from the former Calais "jungle" camp reaching its shores has been completed -- seven weeks after the site was cleared, a French official said.

The four-metre-high wall runs along a kilometre-long stretch of the main road leading to Calais port, next to the area that used to house the sprawling camp.

The concrete barrier -- estimated to cost 2.7 million euros (USD 3 million) -- aims to prevent new arrivals stowing away on trucks bound for Britain.

Work on the wall, which is covered with plants on the traffic side, began in September. The squalid camp was razed after thousands of migrants were taken to shelters around France in October.

The structure is complete, a spokesman for the local prefecture told AFP late Monday.

The wall was built to boost a network of wire fences that had failed to prevent near nightly attempts by migrants to waylay trucks en route to Europe's second-busiest port.

This year alone, several migrants died after falling off trucks or being run over.

Calais has for years been a staging post for attempts by migrants to sneak into Britain by stowing away on trucks or trains crossing the Channel.

The Jungle camp was first demolished in 2009 only to sprout up again in 2015 when migrants from the Middle East and Africa began pouring into Europe in unprecedented numbers.

Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart attempted to stop construction of the wall, saying there was no need for it once the camp was cleared.

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The UN children's agency said today that about 35,000 children have fled from Mosul since Iraqi forces and a US-led coalition launched a massive operation in mid-October to retake the city from the Islamic State group.

Iraqi special forces meanwhile pushed deeper into the city's eastern part, retaking the Falah neighbouring late yesterday, said Lt Gen Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi.

Fighting raged as a haze of fog and smoke hovered over the city, which was rocked by tank fire and airstrikes.

The children are among some 93,500 people who have fled since the operation began, while hundreds of thousands have remained in their homes. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the extremist group's last major urban stronghold in the country.

"Children are the innocent victims of any conflict and in this conflict are the most innocent victims," UNICEF's representative in Iraq, Peter Hawkins, told The Associated Press today.

He said that once IS is driven from the city it will be important to "invest in children's services so this war doesn't continue."



He could not provide an exact figure on how many children have been killed since the operation started, but he said some of them have been targeted by snipers.

"We know that children who have been queueing up for water have been targets," he said. "I saw a photograph of a child this morning who's been shot by a sniper queueing up for water."



UNICEF teams are providing the children with water and sanitation supplies as well as vaccinations against measles and polio. In refugee camps, Hawkins said, there are places where children can play, draw and restart their education.

"On day one they can't look you in the eye, they're not smiling, they're sad," he said. "But day after day when they start to draw, when they start to play with their friends... you see them start to smile, their eyes start to brighten up."



Mosul, about 360 kilometres northwest of Baghdad, fell to IS in the summer of 2014, when the group swept across northern and western Iraq.

The Iraqi advance has slowed in recent weeks in the face of suicide car bombs, sniper fire and networks of underground tunnels from which the militant launch counterattacks.

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Union Minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti today parried questions on her prospects of becoming a contender for the Chief ministerial post in Uttar Pradesh but expressed confidence of her party forming the government in the state, which is going to polls next year.

"I can't comment about the claim on the chief minister's post but the BJP is surely going to form a government there," Bharti said when asked about reports of being the claimant for the top post in UP.

The Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation was talking to journalists after offering prayers at Ganesha temple at Sehore, about 55-kilometers from here.

In reply of another query about Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's 'Narmada Sewa Yatra,' Bharti said that this campaign would save the future of this river.

"Mining has been the biggest impediment in the conservation of Narmada. A mining ban on the banks of Narmada would naturally conserve and save this river," she added.

Bharti said she would extend all possible help to the state government in the campaign to conserve Narmada river.

"Narmada has been cleanest river of the country. After Chouhan's efforts, the river would continue to be free of pollution. Plantation on both sides of the river would further beautify it," she added.

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A top US diplomat on international religious freedom today discussed issues concerning minority rights in India including 'triple talaq' and Uniform Civil Code during his meeting with Minority Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi here.

US Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom David Saperstein, who is currently visiting India, also met Munu Mahawar, Joint Secretary (Americas) in the External Affairs Ministry apart from interacting with some minority leaders.

"Saperstein was here to attend a private event and, on the sidelines of the event, he had sought some meetings, which were arranged for him," official sources said.

During his meeting with Naqvi, another source said, the US diplomat talked about various reports which mentioned change in the reservation policy vis-a-vis minorities by the Modi government.

"Not only was he told about the various initiatives taken by the government for the rights and upliftment of minorities, it was also conveyed to him that these reports don't present factual position in India," the source said, adding the issues including 'triple talaq' and UCC were also discussed.

In its report in May, US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had said that India was on a "negative trajectory" in 2015 as far as religious freedom was concerned as religious tolerance "deteriorated".

Debunking the report, India had said it does not see the locus standi of a foreign entity like USCIRF to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens' constitutionally protected rights and it takes "no cognisance" of their report.

On his interactions with minority community leaders, Saperstein, who will also visit Mumbai and Bangalore, tweeted, "Had deeply meaningful conversations with community leaders on religious life in #India. Appreciate their insights.

"Visited the #Sikh community with DAS Manpreet Anand at the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, New Delhi, #India.

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Hours after two of its ministers were sacked from the Goa cabinet by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) today said they would continue their support to the government as part of their "coalition dharma".

"We will abide by coalition dharma. Our support to BJP will continue till election code of conduct (for the upcoming Goa Assembly election) comes in force," MGP President Dipak Dhavalikar told PTI today.

Dhavalikar said his party (MGP) will fulfil its commitment made towards the BJP when they forged a pre-poll alliance with them before the 2012 assembly elections.

"Our support continues for the government. That is what I can tell you right now," he said refusing to answer any further questions.

In a late night development, the CM sacked two of his MGP colleagues from the state cabinet following their outburst against the BJP-led government raising prospects of new permutations and combinations in Goa going to polls next year.

Parsekar faxed the communication to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha late night recommended dropping of Sudin Dhavlikar and Dipak Dhavlikar from the cabinet. With this, the total number of ministers in Parsekar-led cabinet is reduced to ten.

While Sudin was holding Transport and Public works department portfolios, Dipak was Rural Development Agency and Factories and Boilers minister in Parsekar led cabinet.

After their removal from the cabinet, all the portfolios allotted to the duo were reverted to Parsekar.

The friction between MGP and Parsekar began when the former asserted that they will not enter into a pre-poll alliance with the BJP for the upcoming assembly polls if Parsekar continues to lead the party.

Sudin Dhavalikar even went on to accuse Parsekar of taking back the state by ten years during his two and half year old rule in the state while Dipak had dared the BJP to dissolve the Assembly and face election on their own and win majority seats.

Interestingly, RSS rebel Subhash Velingkar-led Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) had proposed alliance with MGP for polls.

MGP, the first regional ruling party after Goa was liberated from Portuguese in 1961, had fought 2012 Assembly election in alliance with BJP. While BJP won 21 seats in the 40-member house, MGP was victorious on three. They later formed the government under leadership of Manohar Parrikar who was later elevated to the Central cabinet replacing him with Parsekar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A three-day workshop is beginning tomorrow with top officials from ten states and four central security agencies - CRPF, BSF, ITBP and Sashtra Seema Bal participating to delve into the problem of Left Wing Extremism (LWE).

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das will inaugurate the workshop, Additional Director General (CRPF) Sudeep Lakhtakia told reporters here.

He said the decision to organise the workshop in Ranchi on the problem of LWE, not only in Jharkhand but also spread over different states.

On the advice of Union Home Ministry and Bureau of Police Research, states having specialists, professionals, non-professionals and all stake-holders would ponder over the problem and what type of solutions come up would be seen, he said.

"I am an official of Telengana/Andhra Pradesh and LWE in the two states has completely ended with the efforts of police officers, state officials and politicians, devising a policy," Lakhtakia said.

"Other Maoist-hit states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha or wherever the problem is in different degrees and intensity, those states are seeing the model and trying to coordinate with each other to deal with Maoism," he said adding, to formalise it, the three-day workshop was convened.

Lakhtakia said security adviser at the Centre K Vijay



Kumar would attend the workshop along with the DGs of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, and DGP/ADGP/DIGP/ and SP rank officers would be present.

In an effort to gel experience with youth, SPs of and Commandants were also roped in for the workshop to share their experience, operations and their effect, he said.

The workshop has been divided into some sections like use technology. Some states used it and got success and whether others could use it would be discussed, he said.

The CRPF official said media has also got an important role as media and social media have become an important part in daily lives,



Technology could be used to uplift the condition of tribals in remote areas, highlighting their issues, he said.

Similarly, he said, NGOs, local administration and para-military forces could share experience and work on one platform.

He cited an example as to how the CRPF helped patients in a remote village of Chhattisgarh by connecting the patients with doctors in Raipur through tele-medicine or by telephone.

"I was reviewing tele-medicine in Chhattisgarh at 55 sub-centres. Sick tribals and villagers were contacted by doctors of Raipur AIIMS and advice is taken. And whatever we can do we are doing... Medicine or small treatment through doctors of CRPF or other para-military forces," Lakhtakia said.

The CRPF also runs the Civic Action Programme to help the local society, he said.
The central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) today said that it was opposed to



Observation of Good Governance Day on December 25 in Mizoram on Christmas Day.

"We want the state government to prepone or postpone the observation of the Good Governance Day," the YMA said.

The YMA, in a press statement today said, the centre should respect religious sentiments of the people of the Christian dominated Mizoram and should not force people of the state to observe Good Governance Day on December 25, since many government employees will not be able to celebrate Christmas as a result.

The Mizo youth body also urged the state government not to observe Christmas Day as Good Governance Day and expressed its readiness to submit a memorandum to the centre regarding this.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bollore is the chairman and biggest shareholder of Vivendi, which said on Tuesday it had raised its Mediaset stake to 12.3 percent. On Monday the French firm had said it had 3 percent of Mediaset but aimed to raise that to 20 percent as part of plans to expand in southern Europe.

But later on Tuesday, Berlusconi's Fininvest, Mediaset's controlling shareholder, said it had bought 27.6 million shares in the Italian broadcaster and had rights to buy 14 million more on Wednesday to reach 39.775 percent of voting capital.

Mediaset was not immediately available to comment.

The struggle between Vivendi and Mediaset highlights the pressure to consolidate among European media and telecoms groups, which are facing increasing competition from online providers such as Netflix and Amazon .

Last week, Rupert Murdoch made a $14 billion bid for British pay-TV firm Sky Plc , while the U.S. telecoms operator AT&T is trying buy Time Warner for $85 billion.

A source close to the matter said a hostile takeover by Vivendi was not on the agenda "today", but that the French group wanted to strengthen its position to reopen discussions with the Berlusconi family.

"Vivendi prefers to go with a soft approach for now but if there is no way to discuss, we'll have to reassess at this point," the source said.

FEUD

A Vivendi spokesman declined to comment beyond reiterating the group's statement from Monday.

If Vivendi takes 30 percent of the capital of the Italian broadcaster, it will be obliged to launch a takeover offer, under to Italian rules.

Bollore's move has deepened a feud that began in July when the French company ditched an agreement to take control of Mediaset's pay-TV unit, Premium, and give the two companies shareholdings in each other. Instead, the two groups are facing off in court, with a first hearing due in March.

Fininvest said on Tuesday it had filed a complaint with prosecutors in Milan and market regulator Consob against Vivendi, citing market manipulation.

Bollore, who is also a key shareholder in the Italian investment bank Mediobanca, has a record as a corporate raider, resorting to different strategies to take control of businesses.

"This looks like the typical Bollore pattern ... acquire a small stake, then build it up and then look to influence the direction of the company," Liberum analysts said in a note.

Mediaset's shares, under pressure since the pay-TV dispute, jumped as much as 36 percent to 3.69 euros ($3.93), their biggest one-day gain recorded since the company listed in 1996. Vivendi shares closed flat.

The market is also speculating about Bollore's real intentions in Italy, drawing parallels between Mediaset and Vivendi's aggressive stake-building in Telecom Italia last year. Vivendi now has a 24 percent stake in Telecom Italia and partnerships with Orange and Iliad .

"MEDIA CORNERSTONE"

"This is just the first page of a new story," Mediobanca analysts said in a note.

"A group like Mediaset - leader in commercial TV in Italy and Spain, strong skills in content production, with a well established pay-TV business - is a cornerstone for everyone willing to set up a media platform, with strong focus on southern Europe."

Mediobanca, which has an 'outperform' rating on Mediaset and a 3.96 euro target price, said uncertainty over the Premium saga and Italy's constitutional referendum had pushed Mediaset's shares down to a 50 percent discount against its peers.

"Given the potential speculative angle, we believe Mediaset should trade at least in line with peers."

Fininvest accused Vivendi of trying to depress the company's share price by dropping the pay-TV deal in order to then launch a hostile takeover at a discount.

Some bankers have suggested Vivendi may eventually seek to combine Telecom Italia and Mediaset. All parties have repeatedly denied such speculation.

Analysts expect both Vivendi and Fininvest to raise their Mediaset holdings in coming months, underpinning the share price, but said a full takeover seemed unlikely in the short term, given the size of the Berlusconi family's stake.

Fininvest said it did not plan to diminish its role as a major investor and would use all means to block Vivendi's move.

Mediaset still aims to pursue its legal battle against the French company, and said it had hired top Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit as advisers.

(Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in Paris, Sophie Sassard in London and Francesca Landini in Milan; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Jane Merriman and Kevin Liffey)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Construction on a new roof at the Huntley Project school finished in August, but a lawsuit brought by the school district over the old roof continues.

It will be up to the courts to decide who must pay for the new roof, which cost more than $640,000.

Huntley Project School District filed the suit in September against the firms that worked on the new junior and high school building, which was completed in 2011. The suit alleges that the companies were negligent in designing and constructing the roof, which led to premature degradation.

JGA Architects, Engineers and Planners, which designed the building, and Fisher Construction, the contractor for the work, were named as defendants in the lawsuit. Both parties have denied responsibility for any design or construction errors.

The district had to build the 92,600 square-foot structure after a group of teens destroyed the old school in a 2008 burglary and arson.

Following construction, school officials noticed moisture leaking through the roof, as well as "soft spots" and loose nails in the asphalt shingles, according to court documents.

An outside consultant report in 2015 pointed to moisture intrusion due to improper ventilation that was supposed to be part of the roof's design. Mold was found in 2016 and the school moved ahead with plans to replace the roof.

The report blamed JGA and Fisher.

Using new architects and contractors, the new roof was completed in August, said district Superintendent Wes Coy. He said they've had no problems with it.

Mediation between the parties failed this year, and both JGA and Fisher have denied responsibility for any design or construction flaws on the roof.

An attorney for the school district did not return an inquiry from The Gazette on Friday.

On Nov. 18, attorneys for JGA filed in court to request arbitration rather than moving forward with the lawsuit. The firm cited contract language for the job regarding disputes.

The contract, cited in court documents, said that arbitration is preferred for claims of fewer than $100,000. The roof construction exceeded that amount.

Still, JGA wrote in its filing that "the contract nevertheless strongly encourages the resolution of all disputes through mediation followed by arbitration."

Reached on Friday, Alexander Roots, attorney for JGA, said that he and the school district disagree on the interpretation of the arbitration clauses in the contract.

In their own response to the school district's allegations, attorneys for Fisher Construction pointed a finger at JGA. In a cross-claim filed on Nov. 30, Fisher said it had only followed JGA's designs.

"As a direct and proximate result of JGA's negligence, Fisher has been sued by (Huntley Project School District) for alleged issues with the roof and its corresponding failure," court documents state.

In the same court filing, Fisher issued a third-party complaint against its subcontractors, including Commercial Roofing, Kreiter Construction, D's Insulation, and five unidentified individuals.

That portion of the complaint alleged that the subcontractors, which were hired by Fisher, did the work that may have contributed to the school district's allegations.

An attorney for Fisher did not return an inquiry from The Gazette on Friday.

The Huntley Project School District has not yet responded to either the arbitration request from JGA or the counter-claims from Fisher.
The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday asked banks to cover the banking hall/area and counters under CCTV surveillance and recording and preserve the recording.

"The banks are advised to preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from November 08 to December 30, 2016, until further instructions, to facilitate coordinated and effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes," RBI said in a press release.

With more and more instances of money laundering and fraudulent currency exchange surfacing, RBI also warned of stern action against wrongdoers and asked banks to carry out a thorough central data checking, while it suspended a "junior functionary" who is being investigated.

"We have issued elaborate instructions to all banks to do the central data checking and wherever they find any inconsistency, it should be pursued further through their internal audit mechanism," said deputy governor of RBI, S S Mundra, speaking to a select group of reporters here.

"Our supervisors are also carrying out similar exercise on various data points of banks and wherever any untoward kind of transactions or actions are noticed, due action would be pursued and due investigation would be carried out," he said.

He denied the reports that RBI had issued show-cause notice to Axis Bank and was planning to cancel its banking licence following massive malpractices in currency exchange at many of its branches.

"There is no such thing at this point of time. As I mentioned a while ago, wherever any such actions are reported, the enquiries are being made but as of now no show-cause notice has been issued (to Axis Bank)," Mundra said.

Stating that many instances of money-laundering have come to the RBI's notice, he said already banks have taken action against the staff who were involved.

About the arrest of an RBI official in Bengaluru earlier on Tuesday, Mundra said: "Let me clarify it is a junior functionary of RBI and it was reported by the investigating agency that he was recorded to be present in a bank branch where this kind of transaction was happening. We have suspended the employee and have instituted investigation and due action will be taken once the details are known.

"RBI and its team is also coordinating and collaborating with various investigating agencies."

(with inputs from PTI)


Slamming PM Modi's demonetisation move, former finance minister P.Chidambaram today said that the note ban was the biggest scam of the year. Chidambaram was addressing the media in Nagpur over the issue of demonetisation.

"I cannot get Rs 2000 note. How crores in Rs 2000 notes found their way to individuals being raided all over the country?," questioned P Chidambaram and added-"What calculations did the government do to say that one can withdraw Rs 24000 when banks don't have enough cash to dispense."

"Just like Dr Manmohan Singh said, this is monumental mismanagement", he said.

Targeting the government Chidambaram said,"Every major economist, newspaper in world has said that this is the most absurd of moves by the government."





Commenting on the secrecy maintained by the Modi government, P Chidambaram said, "There are over a 100 officers involved in budget making, till today it has never been leaked. What secrecy is this? Nobody consulted us. The Government should have consulted at least Yashwant Sinha, he is their own man. They could have consulted Manmohan Singh."



On the economical imapct, he said, "Look at the numbers, Credit growth is the lowest in 20 years, green field investments and aggregate demand have gone down. Confidence in Indian economy has been severely dented by number of measures but the most important being the demonetisation"

"Even a natural calamity might not cause so much of trouble", he added.
GREAT FALLS  Two men were killed in separate weekend crashes on Montana's highways.

A 34-year-old Sand Springs man was killed Friday on Montana Highway 200 in Petroleum County.

The Montana Highway Patrol said the man's vehicle went off the left side of the road near Mosby. He overcorrected and the vehicle went off the right side of the road and down a steep embankment.

A 28-year-old Cut Bank man died and two 38-year-old Browning men were injured in a crash early Sunday on U.S. Highway 2 between Browning and East Glacier, according to the patrol.

The patrol said a pickup went off the road, down a steep embankment and through a fence. The vehicle rolled, ejecting the driver.

The names of the victims have not been released.
Archive: "You can't do 20 years of pure misery"

Published on December 13, 2016

Story by Matthieu Amare

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Along with Massive Attack and Portishead, theyre one of the most important trip-hop bands of all time, and 20 years later Archive is one of the only groups left standing. But at what cost? We spoke to bandmembers Danny Griffiths and Dave Pen about how they stay positive in the face of Brexit and Donald Trump...

cafebabel: What is a False Foundation?

Danny Griffiths: It's based around the idea we can be manipulated, especially during these very confusing times we are living in. I don't think anybody knows what the hell is really going on. Things begin as a joke and end up being the most serious matters. Take Donald Trump. When that guy said he was running for President, everybody laughed. Same in England with UKIP and Brexit... And it just feel like I think it's been in people's consciousness for quite a while, that these slow-moving powers are rising up and everything feels so fake. It doesn't feel real.

Dave Pen: It's also inspired by a story I read about a survivor of the Jonestown Massacre, which again is about someone who was in a position of incredible power, who started so small and built and built until it ended in disaster. We were quite inspired by that, and that's the reason why it felt like the right title for the album.

cafebabel: Are you confused as well by the way the world is going?

Danny: I was absolutely shocked by Brexit. I wasn't expected that. It makes you think you have no say in anything. It happened with the Iraq War, too. At least in France you riot and you kick off when you're not happy. We Brits aren't good at that, we moan like we moan about the weather, but we don't really do anything. So when the Brexit happened, it was a proper shock. Trump wasn't a surprise, because I also believed the Americans were crazy enough to do it. There were needy people over there who weren't being spoken for, and he said exactly what they wanted to hear, like proper politicians do.

Dave: The power of marketing can be evil! If you just keep banging into people's conscious, saying 'fear this, fear that,' you can easily sway people. It's awful, how they do it, it's really fucked up! And they have massive power. It's pretty dark.

Danny: I feel like we're going backwards as well. Before Trump, there was Obama and we saw a step forward as a change. We had a black president who was doing good things, maybe not as much as we wanted but still... And then comes this guy who's not even a politician. He got the media, the money and he is here now. Scary! And we're going backwards in the UK with Brexit, it's pretty dark days. And we titled the album False Foundation actually before this happened.

cafebabel: What do you think of the situation in the UK?

Dave: What's weird about England, and I think a majority of the West, all this shit happens but we're all like, "Oh, is I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here on?" Everybody still goes out and gets fucked up at the weekend. It's mental. There's no rallying really, there's no big events. Everyone just carries on. Everyone's still just getting ready for Christmas, spending money on food. It's mad.

Danny: We need Bill Hicks back right now, to talk about all this!

cafebabel: Could you name a public figure who might embody a brighter future?

Dave: Movements like Momentum with Jeremy Corbyn and stuff, it gives people hope but how realistic is it, what he is saying? How realistic are the things he wants to do?

Danny: The problem is, if he would put in practice what he says then it would be amazing because he really speaks to the people. And he goes against all the others like the Theresa Mays and Boris Johnsons of the world, all those scumbags. So he says what we want to hear, but he's still a politician, you know? And who trust politicians really?

Dave: It's an impossible job. If he can really do something different I think it could win over a lot more people and I really hope that more people see the light. People do need a bit of hope and he does bring that.

cafebabel: You don't have any faith in politics?

Danny: Not at the moment.

cafebabel: But not never?

Danny: There was hope for America when Bernie Sanders was running. But once he was gone, they were left with a choice between two corrupt and evil human beings. Things seems to be already organized. It's already planned ahead. For the Brexit, it was like: did that really happen? Such a bizarre thing. And now even the people who voted out are complaining because the pound is dropping...

cafebabel: You think there's a conspiracy or something?

Danny: Well, nothing surprises me in politics. I'm not a massively into conspiracies, it's just weird how it happened with Brexit. The politicians who voted for it suddenly disappear, like Nigel Farage, he went to work with Trump. And one day Theresa May is in power and no one voted for her. David Cameron just did a runner. It's like they all talked about it beforehand and got it planned out.

Dave: But there's conspiracies about the banks and the money, maybe now England uniting with America to become this global force, this financial global beast. There are a lot of theories that could drive you mad.

cafebabel: How do these events reflect on your music ?

Dave: I think it's just the frustration of it, in an artist's point of view. You really take inspiration from that. As dark as the content might be, we just have to do it with a positive energy. There is one thing about making music that I love. People say "Oh, it's too dark," but if you get into it, the energy inside it, that's our expression of frustration. That's how we use it. We always write about dark concepts. We are not a band who would write about happiness. We're not a pop group.

cafebabel: Would you say Archive was about a positive reaction to something dark?

Danny: I think we didn't really know what we were doing at the first place. But in the lyrics, we talked about people on the street and observational things back then. I suppose that was always in there, and as we've grown we've learnt to dwell in positive misery.

Dave: But you can't do 20 years of pure misery [laughs].

Danny: The music itself speak for that, even without lyrics. This diversity and the energy is integral to our work. And things that we do in the world - we're not into massively into politics, but we do observe. We read the paper, read what's going on, write about that. And then we slip in the occasional love song.

cafebabel: The most obvious thing you did on the political level was in 2009 with the album Controlling Crowds. Was it a political stance against something?

Danny: Controlling Crowds was supposed to be EP and once we started writing it just grew into an album. It was a very observational album, and this one is almost like a sister to it in a way, we've gone back to it. The albums in between have purposefully been different.

cafebabel: I have the impression Archives work is often surrounding by mystery, evolution, progress, new start, transformation, revision... What do you want to express with Archive as an artistic collective ?

Danny: It might be a cliche to say, but I think Archive is really about the music. We are not expanding into the visual things. There is no one face of Archive, it's not like a normal band. If we had our way we wouldn't even do press shots. We prefer to put a naked dwarf on the cover, or an elephant or something. I don't think our fans need all that. After 20 years, some of them are still trying to find things out about us, which is great. We don't just give it all away, and that keeps Archive interesting.

cafebabel: What was the objective of creating a collective rather than a band ?

Danny: In a way, that's what Londinium [their first album, Ed.] was originally about. I loved the native tongues, we had A Tribe Called Quest and Jungle Brothers and De La Soul and Black Sheep all working with each other. We went through the band phase and we realised that it's not all about one person. Everyone writes together.

Dave: A lot of people came in from other groups, I came in from another group that still functioning. It just felt freer for us all. The pressure just came off.

Danny: It's so much nicer to have other people coming in and getting involved. There's a lot of good energy coming in. And I think it's the reason why we are still here. We keep it open and interesting.

cafebabel: You toured a lot around Europe in the past few years. You know the Old Continent better than the average European because you've travelled around so many countries. How Europe is like for you guys ?

Dave: It's a joy. It's an absolute pleasure. You come and you see different cultures, you see the different ways people live. It's just amazing to see how certain countries, especially in Eastern Europe, have grown. Eastern Europe has just become the same as the West. We walk down a high street in Warsaw and tit could be a street in Southampton. It's just the same wherever you go and it looks a bit odd. And then you see sides of the culture who want to stay as they are; Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey... it's just really inspiring. But it also represent how the world can be a bit scary. When you're going to places you've never been you don't quite know what to expect...

Danny: You find yourself out of your comfort zone all the time. Sometimes on tour you just want to stay backstage or on a bus, because it's comfortable. It's just like your home for seven weeks.

Dave: You get to know places really well. Since Brexit, we took some shit in a bar in France because we were British. I don't want to say where it was; but some guys insulted us. I don't want have to defend myself because of a decision made by 51% of the country where I'm living. This is what I tired to explain to the guys. And I said to them, "You want to have a good look at your own culture and your own country, what's happening with Le Pen. It's scary times." And these guys were just dumb. It was horrible thing. Just beacause I was English they were like "Ah, your fucking Brexit..." Stuff like that is just not nice, because we've always been a big part of Europe. Just because we were English, we had to take a couple of body blows for these idiots. But I shouldn't say they were idiots because a lot of intelligent people voted Leave too, that's the problem with painting everyone with the same brush. You have to have an open mind. But we love travelling around Europe.

Danny: I remember Moscow, it was exactly what I imagined to be. A lot of places are very different to how you expect, but Moscow really is as grim as I thought it would be [laughs]. It was cold and grim and everyone looked like they wanted to kill you! (But not the fans!)

cafebabel: You've had less success in the UK than the rest of Europe. How do you explain that ? Do you care ? Does it disappoint you ?

Danny: It's a bit of a funny situation. I wouldn't say I don't care cause I like going back home and it just being normal. But on the other hand, I'm a bit frustrated because you want as many people to like your music as possible. I'd rather do better other countries in Europe, but I just get frustrated of explaining myself in the UK. Nobody really believes what I do. Half of my friends have never listened to my music, they just know I disappear for a few weeks to a studio or on tour.

Dave: We've been getting some plays on the national radio we didn't have before. It slow because England is swamped with really good and really terrible music. To get what we've got so far is good at the moment. We don't really lose some sleep over it, though,we just keep going. If it breaks it breaks if it doesn't...

cafebabel: You grew up in an era where rip hop and hip-hop were massive in the 90s. What was it like to grow up in London at that time?

Danny: I loved it. I started working in a record shops when I was 17 in 1987. Just to sell hip hop. They offered me a job because no one knew about hip hop as much as I did at that time. And then the house scene started kicking off as well, and I love great house music, it's really good dance music. And then with Massive Attack and Portishead, we grew up in a kind of the same kind of music background. There's soul in there, hip hop, good techno. Other bands like the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses came out at that time as well. We actually had really great music to listen on the radio. They were great times.

cafebabel: In 20 years of your career, what do you think has been the most important evolution in music?

Dave: The Internet - it ruined everything!

Danny: It changed everything. All the old ways of doing things went out the window.

Dave: If you look on the bright side of it, it gave artists a lot more control. You used to have these big advances from record labels with money pumped into them, and when that ended the artists said "I'm not going to do what you tell me to do, I'll do exactly what I want to do," which is the best thing to come out it all. The money would have been nice, though... But if you think about Dizzee Rascal's first album, which he did all at home, and then the electronic music scene blossomed - people realised they didn't have to spend so much money in a studio when they could just do it all themselves.

Story by Matthieu Amare Je viens du sud de la France. J'aime les traditions. Mon pere a ete traumatise par Seville 82 contre les Allemands au foot. J'ai du mal avec les Anglais au rugby. J'adore le jambon-beurre. Je n'ai jamais fait Erasmus. Autant vous dire que c'etait mal barre. Et pourtant, je suis redacteur en chef du meilleur magazine sur l'Europe du monde.
Voices of Refugees: A journey to the end of the world

Published on December 13, 2016

Story by Silvia Giacon Translation by: Nick

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Since its first screening at the European Parliament, the film Voices of Refugees has made its way all around Europe. Cafebabel met Alexandre Beddock, one of the documentary's directors, who explained how this experience made a huge impact on his life.

I'm going to tell you a story. A story that tells the stories of others. It's about a project that gave a voice to those who didn't have one.

We're in Parc Maximilien in Brussels in 2015, and the migrant crisis is at its peak. Hundreds of people are arriving in Europe from Syria and from other countries in the Middle East and Africa, following routes they have had to come up with themselves. On a political level there is no unified response, whilst on a social level we are witnessing an increase in racism and xenophobia aimed at immigrants on one hand, and an increase in civilian initiatives to help migrants on the other.

Alexandre and Ieva, normally work colleagues at an NGO that focuses on youth rights, are protagonists in this film that brings us face-to-face with some of the refugees. Unable to choose passivity in this crisis, they decide to dedicate their free time to volunteering at Parc Maximilien. They get to know the newcomers, listen to their stories, and think. They think and think some more, until they come up with the idea to devise a project. Once they have the necessary subsidies, it is time to act.

Step 1: Lesbos (Greece)

Just as Ithica's cousin was the final destination in Ulysses, Lesbos is the final destination for those arriving in refugee boats. In 2015 Lesbos was the first destination for 80% of the refugees arriving in Europe. We see that moment of arrival in the documentary; on one side, a boat full of people drawing in closer to the shore, and on the other, a group of people waving to greet the newcomers.

"One of the most moving things happened to me one evening as we were all sat around a fire. There were people playing music, whilst others sang and danced. Many of them were in their tents but as soon as they heard the music, they came out and joined the party. It was a unique moment of harmony and kinship; even though we were in one of the worst camps in Europe," Alexandre tells cafebabel.

Step 2: Sid (Serbia)

The journey continues to Sid, a Serbian town on the border with Croatia that has welcomed a large number of refugees since Hungary closed its borders. "The goal of the documentary? Without a doubt it is to restore some humanity to what we call 'the migrant crisis'," Alexandre says. "The number of people in emergency situations leaves no room for doubt: we are living through a serious humanitarian crisis, but our political inaction, which is allowing these people to reach a point of total despair, has transformed it into a humanitarian crisis."

Step 3: Brussels (Belgium)

In 2015, Belgian citizens started a movement called the Citizen Platform for the Support of Refugees [Plateforme Citoyenne de Soutien aux Refugies, Ed.]. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, the movement allowed these people to enjoy a warm meal, a tent to sleep in, and psychological support. "The message to politicians? If we can do it, they can change something too. We need a united Europe to integrate refugees and value them as much as we value resources," Alexandre adds.

"I want to stay here, I want to give back to the country that welcomed me. I want to build it and do something to thank those who helped me," Salam explains in the documentary. "He talks about construction because in Iraq, he owned a construction firm," we hear from Hala, a 27-year-old Lebanese PhD candidate in Geography in Brussels, and volunteer at Parc Maximilien. "Doing volunteer work with refugees has been a very enriching experience. It allows you to reflect on your role as a citizen, but also to learn how to behave with, for example, those who are the same age as you but find themselves on 'the other side'. I remember once we were giving out bananas in the field. I gave one to a boy, who thanked me, and then he gave it to a volunteer sitting in front of me. It was to show me that he didn't need it."

"Did we stay in contact? Of course." Alex says. "Some of them got their documents amd found a place to live. Some managed to enrol in university. Unfortunately, a lot of them are still waiting for their paperwork, and when they live on the outskirts of villages, they spend their days doing nothing. It's sad for them, their saga never ends." He doesn't hide his emotions, and you can see the emotion in his eyes when we talk about the last screening of the film. "It was at the Iraq Day organised by the Platform. For the first time, we showed the documentary to an audience made up almost entirely of refugees. It was an indescribable feeling; many of them thanked us. At that moment, we felt that we had achieved something important."

Story by Silvia Giacon

Translated from Voices of refugees : voyage au bout de la vie
BUTTE  The live snow goose captured and treated last week died Friday night at Butte-Silver Bow Animal Control, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official said Monday.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson Ryan Moehring said everyone had been rooting for the bird to survive. The agency had hoped to release the water fowl back into the wild Monday.

Had the bird lived, it would have been a small bit of good news for Butte after 3,000 or more snow geese died after landing in the Berkeley Pit on the night of Nov. 28. Mine officials say the pits lake was white with birds, when a flock of thousands came to rest on the toxic water. Workers spent a week hazing to get the snow geese to leave the water, mine officials say.

The agency had originally hoped to release the treated bird last Friday, but after a check-up with a veterinarian, officials held off. Reportedly eating, the bird was very active last Thursday but became less so on Friday.

Moehring said BSB Animal Control captured and treated another live snow goose over the weekend and that bird is now being held by Animal Control to recover.

Moehring said the agency is working with mine officials to strengthen the Berkeley Pit hazing program in time for spring migration season. One bright spot is that with the weather getting colder, there is no forecast for additional mass migrations to fly over Butte, said Moehring.

As of Monday, 11 snow geese have been found in Butte and Dillon. At least one additional dead snow goose was found in Butte over the weekend, said Montana Resources manager of environmental affairs Mark Thompson on Monday.
| BY Ricki Green |

PR Edge, a division of CHE Proximity, has appointed Nichola Patterson in the newly created position of national managing director.

Patterson joins PR Edge after running her own PR agency, Propeller, for the past nine years. During that time, her business has won international awards (including Cannes and Clio) for its work on clients including Snickers, the Transport Accident Commission, Australia Post, Earth Hour and Yellow Pages. Propeller has also worked with Sensis, Qantas, White Pages, BP, RSPCA, CUB and iSelect.

Pattersons first order of business has been to reposition the agency as a data-led PR business.

Says Patterson: Ive been given a mandate to create the PR agency of the future. Ive watched CHEP do exactly that in the advertising industry and Im excited to be able to bring that intelligence to PR Edge.

Were going to be putting science and methodology behind everything we do. We will use data to better understand, target and assess the impact of influence on our audience. Our campaigns will work harder and be more measureable.

CHE Proximity CEO Chris Howatson advocates the role of data planning to create more commercially sensitive and customer-relevant activity.

Says Howatson: Theres no excuse for agencies of any discipline to ignore the power of data in enabling a richer understanding of the customer. PR is not immune to media fragmentation and the increasing importance of paid in amplifying earned activity. By embedding data at the heart of PR Edge were ensuring the discipline can justify the value of its contribution, when compared to other marketing efforts.
| BY Ricki Green |

In The Thicket director Lester Jones has shot a new film for the A.McDonald shoe collection. A continuation of Jones work within contemporary branded content (focusing on fashion, art and culture) Odyssey offers a narrative driven and beautifully crafted film for A.McDonald.

Starring Astrid Holler (who has worked with the likes of Burberry Prorsum, Marni, Dries Van Noten, Lanvin, and famously opened for Alexander Wang at NYFW) Odyssey delves into the mind and creativity of artisan shoemaker Andrew McDonald to showcase an interwoven tapestry of stories. Each story represents a narrative that will only see its subject reach their destiny with the help of McDonalds craft and product. He is inspired by them, and his work completes them.

Says Jones: I was inspired by the dynamic and ever evolving relationship found between a craftsmans product and the owner. I could relate to the heart and soul Andrew puts into his work.

Says Andrew McDonald: The shoe characterises you the more you wear it. I like to think my shoes inspire my customers to achieve their dreams and destiny. The film is a beautiful depiction of this journey.

Says Stephan Renard, EP at In The Thicket: Andrews ethic really resonates with ours. We share the same passion for crafted work, precision and design. To reflect this, we had to create something beautiful and authentic.

A.McDonald is located in The Strand Arcade Sydney, Australia. Making shoes for design-aware individuals who appreciate sustainably made, unique, handcrafted products that transcend the vicissitudes of time.

For more information on Lester Jones and his work across branded content, stills and TVCs, please contact In The Thicket.

Production Company: In The Thicket

Director: Lester Jones

Writers: Lester Jones & Sean Gaji

EP: Stephan Renard

DOP & Colourist: Andrew Buckley

Stylist: Nadene Duncan

Drone Photography: Cam Batten (Axis Aerial Works)

Sound: Todd Falusi, Sound Reservoir

Post Production: In The Thicket
| BY Ricki Green |

TheRight.Fit, an online influencer and talent marketplace platform, has today announced an exciting new partnership with Havas Village Australia. The partnership, coming in a strong growth phase for TheRight.Fit, marks Havas latest strategic step to optimise the collaboration between influencers and brands as part of the Groups increased focus around influencer marketing to meet client demand.

TheRight.Fit has already been utilised for major client campaigns across the Havas Village, in particular by its leading PR, experiential and social agency, Red Agency. The platform boasts 6,000, including models, actors, photographers, makeup artists, stylists and more. Launched in February by WINK Models founder Taryn Williams, TheRight.Fit is a cutting edge online marketplace that directly connects talent with brands and clients.

Says Taryn Williams (above, left), founder and CEO, TheRight.Fit: Were thrilled to be working so closely with a global market leader in Havas. Their portfolio of clients provides great access and opportunities with the type of brands our influencers are keen to work with. It is a partnership that we see huge opportunities to do some really fantastic work with, while also adding a vast platform for more exciting new talent to come through. TheRight.Fit is built for forward thinking agencies and its great to see so much interest already.

Havas Village Australia executive management team, Anthony Gregorio, Mike Wilson and James Wright (above, right), said in a joint statement: Our partnership with TheRight.Fit signifies our intention to lead the market when it comes to influencer marketing.

In particular, we want to focus on how brands and organisations can build long-term authentic connections with talent that can in turn advocate and engage their audience, followers and fans with our campaigns. A brand is no longer what we tell the customer it is  its what consumers tell each other it is. This is why influencer marketing is now such a key part of PR and marketing activity.

The partnership aligns with Havas better together value, enabling the Group to work from start to finish with TheRight.Fit on any given client brief. This collaboration will provide a major platform to amplify Havas influencer strategies and engagement activity for clients.

Red Agency, has already successfully collaborated with TheRight.Fit on projects for global brands including Heineken and Chandon, adding to the agencies existing Red Effect influencer network. The new association is set to open up many more opportunities with clients across the Havas Village in Australia.

Since its launch, TheRight.Fit has notched up some notable achievements, including providing hero actors for the global Jacobs Creek TV commercial, photographer for Tim Cahills sportswear line, videographer for Menulogs viral #mannequinchallenge, as well as influencers for a variety of executions with Universal Music.

In the coming months Havas Group and TheRight.Fit will be launching a series of collaborations designed to disrupt the influencer marketing space. The focus will be on bringing the science behind influencer marketing to life so clients can truly understand the return on investment.

In September this year Havas signalled its intention to support and invest in emerging businesses as part of its new Havas Ventures offering http://www.havasventures.com.au/.
| BY Lynchy |

Marcel Sydney, together with some of Australias leading creative talents, has developed the new brand identity For Every Child for the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF).

The rebrand was unveiled today to mark the 70th anniversary of its founding and its vital work for the most vulnerable children.

The new identity, developed in Sydney by Marcel, and is being used by UNICEF offices, active in 190 countries and territories. The international organisation faces unprecedented demand for its services in support of millions of children around the world.

Says UNICEF Chief of Brand Building David Ohana: UNICEFs new brand positioning reflects our commitment to promoting the rights and improving the lives of the worlds most vulnerable children by providing life-saving aid and long-term support. At a time when nearly 50 million children have been uprooted, more than half driven from their homes by conflict, UNICEF is needed now, more than ever.

UNICEFs brand is widely known, in large part due to the extraordinary efforts of our staff and partners working around the clock, in some of the toughest places, helping those at greatest risk and in greatest need. Curiously though, our association with children is surprisingly low  less than 50 per cent of people in a recent global survey which is one of the things we aim to address.

This is the first time UNICEF has undergone a brand repositioning in over a decade. Ultimately we hope this exercise helps UNICEF attract new audiences, partners and donors  in support of our work for and with the most at-risk and excluded children.

Through this re-branding, our goal is to convey, in a powerful and distinctive way, what UNICEF stands for, in everything we do, in every country we work, in a way that is relevant to our audiences.

It has been a pleasure to work with David Nobay, Simon Lister and the team on this truly global collaboration, Ohana said.

Says Marcel Sydney creative chairman and founder David Nobay: We are honoured to be able to use our creative skills to help advance the important work of UNICEF. We hope our contribution will help make a difference and ultimately help millions of children in the most difficult situations.

With UNICEF we visited some of the most impoverished places on earth. We hope the rebrand and the short film we have created together highlights the very real and immediate needs of these children. Ultimately greater recognition will help UNICEFs efforts to raise awareness and much needed funds.

This has been a major effort by our teams in Sydney and New York and is a personal highlight of my career. We had the privilege to collaborate with many talented people who have dedicated their whole lives to helping others.

The new branding will be rolled out across the UN agency over the next 1-2 years.

The team at Marcel led by Nobay worked in close collaboration with Paloma Escudero, David Ohana, Angus Ingham and Eric Dekoninck to develop the new identity, film and public service announcements .

The short film will debut at an event today at the United Nations in New York City.

Adds Nobay, who is at the global brand relaunch in New York today with Lister and Heckler executive producer Will Alexander: Its only too easy to sometimes get a little cynical about this business of ours. Im probably more guilty of that than most. But then a project like this comes along and youre reminded of what we do and why. I was honored to be invited to lead this creative project, and Im humbled by the resilience and integrity of those who shared the journey over the last 12 months.

Agency: Marcel Sydney

Copywriter/Art Director: David Nobay

Agency Producer: Holly Alexander

Business Director: Manuela Perche

Director: Simon Lister

Editor: Andrew Holmes

Music: Nylon

Post Production: Heckler
| BY Ricki Green |

Each year, New York Festivals invites young creative talent from around the globe to take part in the Torch Awards competition. New York Festivals created the Torch Awards as an expression of its commitment to the development and promotion of the next generation of creative talent. The Torch Awards harnesses the power, knowledge, and experience of the Worlds Best Advertising Jury to not only promote the mission of an important international nonprofit organization, but also to help young creatives gain skills that will help them elevate their careers.

2016s creative competition was the Inclusive Design Challenge. Entrants submitted their ideas for a media showcase presenting the progress of inclusive design and its success stories while supporting the mission of Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD).

Grand-Winning Team Arigatos came together to create the winning showcase based on the challenge brief for Torch Awards 2016 non-profit partner IHCD. The winning entry, Track-for-All, was created by team members: Yuki Abe, copywriter; Yuto Fujita, planner, and Marina Kobayashi, creative planner, Dentsu, Japan; and Doh Kim, art director, Cheil Worldwide, South Korea.

Says Kobayashi, Arigatos team member: The brief was inspiring to start off with, honestly, Inclusive Design was a topic that no one in the team was familiar with before. Learning about the concept was fun and interesting on its own, and through this process, all members of the team naturally began to empathize with the institutions mission, to build a world where everyone can thrive (our Track-for-All strategy, was indeed, inspired by the message of this mission). The brief strongly made me feel that inclusive design was a concept that should be known more by the world, and this feeling motivated me to create a strategy that will not only be educational, but more importantly enjoyable by a wide range of audience.

Team Arigatos award-winning strategy for Track-for-All employed a Rube Goldberg-inspired installation to introduce IHCD and their mission to advocate the use of inclusive design in the 21st century to a global audience. The young creatives strategized to overcome both creative and logistical challenges to earn their award-winning status.

Says Kobayashi: We made the Track-for-All device on our own, which was also a challenge. Most team members had no experience in arts and crafts, but we all worked together in constructing a Rube Goldberg-like machine that works. One member of our team works in Korea, communication was difficult at times, because we couldnt get together too often as a team. Meetings were often held on Skype, and we had to ensure that all communication was kept transparent, to maintain a sense of teamwork.

The jury was inspired by Team Arigatos dynamic pitch and powerful accompanying video illustrating the teams prototype design for the Track-for All showcase. Following the jurys selection of the winning team, Valerie Fletcher, executive director of IHCD commented: We enthusiastically move forward with the winning team Arigatos to realize their Track-for-All strategy through an exhibit in Boston.

The winning team worked directly with the nonprofit to make their idea into a reality. Mission accomplished. Team Arigatos had the opportunity to see their work go live and their award-winning showcase is now a permanent fixture in IHCDs showroom at their Boston, Massachusetts headquarters.

Says Kobayashi: Being awarded the honor of a permanent installation has taught my team and I, that passion and commitment will bring along good results. We all felt very passionate about this project, so it was very overwhelming for us when we got to know that the installation was going to be permanent.

Team Arigatos hopes that that the installation will open new doors to more opportunities in the future and that it will continue to inspire people as long as its on display.

Says Kobayashi: We hope that the permanent installation will become a certificate for ourselves and the client, which will always be there, to celebrate the hard-work and passion poured into making the Track-for-All idea into shape.

The benefits of the Torch Awards are robust. No other competition offers emerging creative talent the opportunity to be celebrated for innovative work created on behalf of a worthy nonprofit, the experience of seeing their campaign utilized in the real world, a mentorship that provides access to advertisings top-tier of creative leaders, and a life-changing experience that instills career confidence.

Says Kobayashi: For me and the team, I feel that earning the Torch Award has given us confidence, to have belief in keeping hold of the ideas that we think are great. Earning the Torch Award has also taught us, that hard work, deep thinking, and strong teamwork truly does pay off at the end.

As a member of the 2016 Torch Awards Grand-Winning Team, Kobayashi offered her advice to this years entrants: Work hard, feel passionate and have fun.
Malaysia Airlines, after being re-nationalized and restructured, decided to carry out a rapid expansion into the Chinese market with a brand new look. Eyeing the immense consumption power of Chinese tourists, Malaysia Airlines will add eight new destinations in the mainland, with 11 new routes and 35 additional flights between Malaysia and China, beginning in early 2017.

The new destinations include Haikou, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Tianjin and Shenzhen. The airline will also add a second daily flight between Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, subject to the availability of slots, in April 2017. This follows the airline's recent announcement on its service upgrade on its morning Kuala Lumpur-Hong Kong flights from the Boeing 737 to the Airbus 330.

Along with the new routes, Malaysia Airlines also vows to be competitive in price, while upgrading service, such as providing better on-board services and a more convenient lounge.

"Concerning the capacity we put in the mainland next year, total sales may increase 30 to 50 percent in 2017, while the overall sales will reach double digit growth next year compared to 2016," said Arved Von Zur Mehlen, chief commercial officer of Malaysia Airlines.

Based on the positive statistics and China's huge potential for outbound tourism, Mehlen is quite confident that Malaysia Airlines will regain its status as a Skytrax five-star airline company that it had in 2011 and 2013.

"Currently, the passenger load factor of Malaysia Airlines between China and Malaysia reached 90 percent, which means we have rebuilt customer confidence thanks to our aggressive marketing strategies. The damaging effect of the plane crash two years ago has become not so much an issue now, and we are basically through this issue," he added.

He reckons that China's tourist market to Malaysia is growing rapidly due to the shared cuisine, language and cultural connections. Because Goldman Sachs forecasts that the passport ownership rate in the mainland will increase from 4 percent in 2014 to 15 percent in 2025, tourism from China to Malaysia has huge growth potential.

Malaysia Airlines' CEO Peter Bellew unfolded a more aggressive plan for the Chinese market: "Malaysia Airlines plans to triple Chinese business over the next five years. I see potential for direct flights to 20 Chinese cities from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching by 2019."

Two years ago, Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraftFlight 370 and Flight 17less than five months apart, exacerbating the airline's financial troubles and leading to the re-nationalization of the airline. Prior to 2014, Malaysia had one of the world's best safety recordsjust two fatal accidents in 68 years of operation, including the hijacking in 1977 of Flight 653 that resulted in 100 deaths.
CHEYENNE  The Wyoming Health Department has reported an increase in norovirus in the state, especially in Casper and Cheyenne.

Commonly described as "stomach flu" or "food poisoning," norovirus is spread when people eat or drink contaminated food and beverages, touch surfaces contaminated with the virus or have close contact with someone already sick.

Cody Loveland, of the state Health Department, said norovirus spreads easily in places where people are typically in close contact, such as schools, day cares and nursing homes.

Loveland said that's the case in both Casper and Cheyenne.

People who are sick with norovirus may experience nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, fatigue and dehydration.
"I've applied for a few different things but I'll wait to see what happens when our preferences are announced soon and I might have to change things now I know what my ATAR is," he said.
Sinclair Casper Refining Company recently paid the Environmental Protection Agency $655,000 to settle a decades-old cleanup in Thermopolis.

The company agreed in September to pay for costs associated with reclaiming the site of the companys Thermopolis oil refinery, which operated from 1920 to 1969, according to a news release from the EPA.

Beginning in 1974, the refinery was razed and equipment was sold and removed from the site by various entities, including Sinclairs predecessor, Little America Refining Company, the news release stated. During demolition activities, a significant amount of asbestos-contaminated pipe insulation was stripped from equipment and disposed at the site.

When the EPA examined the site in 2011, officials found significant asbestos contamination. The federal agency then removed about 4,000 cubic yards of material and soil containing asbestos. Clean, native soil was brought to fill excavated areas in November 2013, and the site was reseeded the following spring.

The agreement is part of the federal Superfund program, which is dedicated to cleaning some of the countrys most contaminated land.

Exposure to asbestos has been linked to lung cancer and other lung diseases.
CASPER, Wyo  Almost everyone has heard of Yellowstone. But not everyone associates it with the Cowboy State.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation hopes to change that with a license plate connecting Wyoming to one of the nations most popular national parks.

While 97 percent of Yellowstone National Park is within the state of Wyoming, WYDOT Director Bill Panos said the state has not done as much to publicly associate itself with the park as its northern neighbor.

Montana actually has a specialty plate to cover their 2 percent of the park, Panos told the Legislatures Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee during its Monday meeting in Casper.

The committee voted to sponsor a bill creating the plate, sending it to the full Legislature for discussion in January.

Panos said both Gov. Matt Mead and U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi had requested the transportation department present a new Yellowstone-themed license plate to the Legislature.

The proposed plate features Old Faithful geyser shooting up between the states trademark bucking horse image and the standard letters and numbers.

The top of the plate reads Wyoming and Yellowstone is printed at the bottom.

Itll actually be embossed, Panos said. We went away from embossing plates and we heard a lot about that.

If approved, the plate will cost $150 initially and then $30 each subsequent year, with the money going toward the Department of Transportations tourism efforts and Wyoming Game and Fish conservation efforts.

It truly is a conservation plate, Panos said. This is a choice someone makes ... they choose it because it helps conservation and tourism in our state  and its pretty cool.

The only other so-called vanity plate that Wyoming currently offers is a brown and yellow University of Wyoming-themed plate that costs $130.

Panos said the proposed model for the Yellowstone plate, which combined an initial fee with annual payments, would bring Wyoming in line with best practices from other states that offer specialty license plates, which make for a steady stream of revenue from drivers who apply for the plate.

The initial $150 fee would cover the $50 cost of embossing a license plate. Eighty percent of the remaining sum would be earmarked for the transportation department  with a focus on improving rest areas  with the remainder going toward Game and Fish conservation efforts.

For many, including myself, the first time I have ever seen Wyoming is through a rest area, Panos said. But he noted that many of the rest stops were in disrepair or periodically closed due to a lack of funding, a problem that money from the new plates could help solve.

More plates to come?

The department expects to sell 1,000 Yellowstone plates in the first year they are available and generate approximately $150,000 in the initial year and $30,000 each year after.

These numbers arent going to solve the budget problem in the state of Wyoming, Panos acknowledged.

But he said that if approved, the Yellowstone plates fee model could be used to promote other notable sites in Wyoming like Grand Teton National Park and Devils Tower.

There are times when our citizens would want to have the name Wyoming connected with these other entities so (our goal is) to set a precedent ... (and) set a business model that works, Panos said.

Lawmakers on the committee were largely supportive of the proposed Yellowstone plate.

Thats pretty cool, Rep. Jim Allen, R-Fremont, said as he looked at a sample plate passed out to the legislators.

Rep. Stan Blake, D-Sweetwater, also liked the plate.

Blake had previously complained to Panos that the geyser was oddly aimed at the horse icon, concerns WYDOT addressed in the amended plate design presented Monday.

He remained jovially occupied with the plate artwork. The current design does not include a county designation and Blake worried about adding a number to indicate county while also keeping the Bucking Horse.

There wont be no place to see, like, Grand Prismatic Pool or Old Faithful, Blake said. Youd kind of muck it up.

Were not Colorado

While the draft bill brought by the Department of Transportation easily passed the committee, not everyone was in favor.

Rep. Bunky Loucks, R-Natrona, said he opposed the new plate on principle.

Were not Colorado, he said in an interview. We should just have one Wyoming plate, just like we have.

Loucks fellow representative from Natrona County, Republican Tom Reeder, also opposed the draft bill. Despite the plate being pitched as a revenue generator, he believed there would be unanticipated implementation costs.

Loucks questioned Panos on whether his department was actually involved in promoting tourism in the state.

WYDOT, in its 100-year history, has always been involved in tourism, Panos responded. Tourists have to travel our roads to get to where they need to be.

If the Legislature votes to create the Yellowstone plate it would be rolled out to the public sometime before 2024.
BELFIELD  Belle Fourche Pipeline Co. estimates that 130,200 gallons of oil spilled into a tributary of the Little Missouri River last week and another 46,200 gallons leaked into a hillside, the North Dakota Department of Health said Monday.

The spill discovered by a landowner on Dec. 5 was not detected by monitoring equipment on the pipeline, which is owned by of True Companies of Wyoming.

The spill has contaminated 5.4 miles of Ash Coulee Creek but does not appear to have reached the Little Missouri River, said Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the health department.

The spill estimate of 4,200 barrels, or 176,400 gallons, is a rough estimate provided by the company, Suess said. Cleanup crews had recovered 983 barrels, or 41,286 gallons, of oil as of Monday, the company said.

At least two cows have been confirmed dead in the area of the oil spill, but the cause of death has not been verified by a veterinarian, Suess said. Crews assisted the landowner in moving cattle away from the creek and have trucked in water, he said.

Its unknown how long the pipeline, which was built in the 1980s, had been leaking before the landowner discovered it.

The pipeline had pressure gauges and meters to monitor for leaks, said Kevin Connors, pipelines program supervisor for the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division.

The company also does aerial inspections of the pipeline about twice a month, Connors said.

Why the monitoring equipment didnt detect the leak is part of an ongoing investigation, said True Companies spokeswoman Wendy Owen. The pipeline does not have a constant flow, which may have masked the leak from being detected, she said.

The 6-inch pipeline, which transports an average of 1,000 barrels of oil per day though rugged Badlands terrain, is buried in a hill that is slumping, Suess said. Crews have been unable to investigate further because the hillside is unstable, he said.

Whether the slumping contributed to the break or the break contributed to the slumping, we dont know yet, Suess said.

The pipeline was shut down after the spill was discovered and has been capped at the spill location.

The company is working with SWAT Consulting, a spill response company based in Alberta with experience working in cold weather remediation, Suess said. An additional 60 workers were expected to arrive Monday to assist.

The weather continues to still be the issue because the safety and security of the responders is our No. 1 priority, Owen said.

The spill affected privately owned land as well as U.S. Forest Service land, Owen said.

Its very, very remote, Owen said. The terrain, the topography itself does make access points difficult.

In addition to the state health department, the North Dakota Industrial Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration also are investigating.

Last year, the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota opposed a pipeline proposed in North Dakota by True Companies, with union representatives citing the companys track record of spills. The company also owns Bridger Pipeline, which had a pipeline spill in January 2015 that involved 30,000 gallons of oil in the Yellowstone River, contaminating the drinking supply for the city of Glendive, Mont.
After working in education for many years, Andrea Andrade saw an ongoing gap in access to financial guidance and resources for local underserved community members. From affordable housing to parents saving for their childrens future, Andrades work has centered around giving others an opportunity to recognize their voice and find the strength they need to meet their financial goals.
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.
Following a paper leak during a first year electrical engineering semester exam in MES College of Engineering across campuses of other colleges, now speculations on whether a re-exam would be conducted or not worry students.

While some of them are for conducting re-exam, some others downvote as the process would get laborious and writing the same exam again and again would only trouble students furthermore.

For the last three days, besides examinations, the paper leak incident has been dominating the social media and conversations of the first-year students.

For most students, the paper has been reportedly a tough one. Students of other colleges agree that they had also got the questions on their mobile phone, minutes before the exam.

"About 15 minutes prior to exam when the first bell went off, I got questions on my phone of which one was very tough, about the superposition theorem. For me, the paper was easy and I feel re-exam is not possible" said a first-year engineering student from AISSMS Engineering College who did not want to be named.

On the other hand, the students who didn't receive the questions before the exams feel 'cheated'. Another student said, "The paper was tough. I think re-exam should be conducted, as the leak benefited few students. It is injustice to us. We had to study and yet will get lesser marks than those students who simply got the questions. Though even if they don't schedule re-exam, we are choiceless."

All students are hoping for a speedy announcement on the University's decision on the issue and how they are going to hanfle it Manpreet Singh Sahota, another student of first-year engineering, who hadn't got the questions before exam, said he found the paper to be a tough one overall. "Usually questions of previous years get repeated in the exams. But this was not the case this time and that's why it was tough. I hope there is a re-exam."

Students who have arrears are however hoping that there is no re-examination, as the exam that was recently held itself is a repeat of the exam they had failed the previous times. Onkar Bagade, second-year student who was appearing for backlog exam, said, "My paper was easy so I don't want any re-exam. It will affect my academics too as I have other exams to study for."

Bangalore University Bucks Up For Better Research Standards
The admit cards for the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) examination 2016 has been released by the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Board (UPBEB). Candidates who have applied for the UPTET exam 2016 can download their admit cards from the official website.

The UPTET examination 2016 will be held on December 19, 2016 in two shifts. The teacher entrance test exam will be conducted in two shifts: candidates appearing for the post of Class 6 to Class 8 teachers will appear in the first shift (10am to 12.30pm) and those candidates appearing for Class 1 to Class 5 teaching posts will attend the examination in second shift (2.30pm to 5pm).

How to download UPTET exam 2016 admit cards?

Candidates are required to log on to the official website of UPBEB

Click on the relevant link

Candidates will have input their registration number and date of birth in the slots provided

On successful submission of the above details, admit cards will be displayed on the screen

Candidates are required to take a print-out of the admit cards

Note: Admit cards is a mandatory document to be carried to the examination centre, failure of which the candidate will not be allowed to write the examination.

The official website of UPBEB has also notified a list of candidates whose applications have been rejected with the reason for the rejection of their candidate.
Twenty residents displaced by a late afternoon apartment fire Sunday at 131 E. Bismarck Expressway have received shelter and emergency food and clothing from the American Red Cross.

The blaze flared up again later Sunday evening, spreading more heavy smoke.

Terri Philion, executive director of the American Red Cross West Dakota Chapter, said the nonprofit provided the affected occupants with shelter at local hotels.

She said the agency didn't have a list of needs for displaced residents, but has referred them to other partnering agencies for assistance.

Firefighters reportedly responded to the blaze on the second floor of the 12-unit apartment building around 3:28 p.m. Sunday. While there were no injuries, dozens fled the building in 1-degree weather with wind chills at 17 below zero. Firefighters searched all three floors to ensure occupants were safe.

Firefighters contained the initial blaze within 20 minutes, but remained at the scene for more than an hour searching for hot spots and fanning smoke from the building.

The fire reignited at 9:03 p.m. Sunday and the tenants, who had returned, evacuated again. Firefighters remained for 90 minutes to ensure there would be no more flare-ups, according to Deputy Fire Chief Dean Meyer.

Meyer said the initial fire is believed to have been caused by a stove grease fire in an apartment on the third floor. The fire reignited within the walls and underneath an air conditioner, he said.

The fire was contained to the apartment of origin on the third floor, but there was heavy smoke damage to the other apartments and the third-floor hallway. Water lines in the apartment where the fire started broke, causing water damage to two other apartments.

Damage is estimated is at $100,000.

Meyer said Monday afternoon he believed some of the occupants were able to return to their apartment units after utilities were restored.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, Chaplain Greg Carr of the Bismarck Crisis Care Chaplaincy said all except the occupants of the unit where the fire started were able to return home.
Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc has reached an out-of-court settlement with 126 Norwegian customers who claimed their cars performance did not match promises made in the firms marketing.

Lawyers for the owners and the company told the Oslo District Court in a joint letter they wanted to withdraw the case which had been due to start on Monday, a court spokeswoman said.

Kaspar Nygaard Thommessen of Oslo-based law firm Wikborg Rein, who represented the car owners, told Reuters a settlement had been reached in recent days and the case had been resolved.

He declined to provide details of the settlement.

Norwegian business newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv (DN) said on Sunday Tesla had agreed to pay 65,000 Norwegian crowns ($7,700) to each car owner, about half of what they demanded, or allow them to choose from alternative options, including car upgrades.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The case involved Teslas Model S P85D, which the car owners said had a lower horsepower than stated by Tesla. The company has denied misleading the buyers.

While the Model S PD85 is no longer offered in Norway, similar Tesla Model S cars range from $95,000 for the 90D version to $135,000 for the P100D, according to the companys Norwegian price website. Most buyers will also pay for add-ons that raise the price further.

Norway is among the worlds top markets for electric cars thanks to generous government subsidies aimed at increasing the electrification of transport.

The registration of new Tesla cars in Norway fell by 24 percent in the first 11 months of 2016 compared with 2015, according to data from lobby group Road Traffic Information Council (OFV).

($1 = 8.4407 Norwegian crowns)
John P. Oberst, 87, Bismarck, passed away on Dec. 6, 2016. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at Church of Corpus Christi, 1919 N. Second St., Bismarck, with the Rev. Paul Becker officiating. Burial will be at St. Marys Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E. Divide Ave., Bismarck, and will continue on Friday one hour prior to the service at the church.

John was born April 11, 1929, as the only child to Peter and Elizabeth (Mueller) Oberst. He was raised on a farm in the Epworth community, northeast of New Town. In 1942, the family moved to Bismarck. John graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1946, and attended St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., graduating with a degree in mathematics in 1950.

John married Veronica Doll of Almont, on Sept. 26, 1959, and together they raised four children. John's professional career included working for the North Dakota State Highway Department, the Catholic Order of Foresters, and as the owner and operator of a residential paint contracting business. In 1977, he and Veronica started a paint and decorating retail business named the Oberst Color Center, which they operated together until their retirement in 1993.

John was a 70-year member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and held several fraternal offices at the local and state level, including state chief ranger. In high school, John played the violin and supported the U.S. World War II effort by hand-carving scale-model wooden airplanes that were used by the services for training. As a young man, John enjoyed league bowling and outdoor activities, especially fishing and hunting deer in the Badlands. In his senior years, he became an avid Timberwolves, Vikings and Twins fan, catching as many games as he could on television.

John loved to read, play cards, work on crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and was always up for a game of whist or pinochle. He liked to meet people, hear a good joke, and enjoy a good cup of coffee and candy bar. John was a devout Catholic and devoted husband to Veronica. He worked hard to provide for his family and always put the needs of others before his own. He never spoke poorly of anyone and was well liked and deeply loved by those fortunate to know him. John was a gentle soul with a kind heart and a warm smile. He will be greatly missed by all his family and friends.

John is survived by his wife, Veronica (Doll) Oberst, Bismarck; his daughter, Paulette Oberst, Bismarck; his sons, Peter (Laura) Oberst, St. Paul, Minn., Robert (Kimberland) Oberst, Houston, Texas, and Brian (Janelle) Oberst, Minneapolis; and seven grandchildren, Haley Oberst, Heather Oberst, Rachel Oberst, John Oberst, Matthew Oberst, Henry Oberst and Joseph Oberst.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Peter and Elizabeth (Mueller) Oberst.

Go to www.eastgatefuneral.com to share memories of John and to sign the online guest book.
Ferrari have marked a presence at the 2016 Adelaide Motorsport Festival in Australia over the weekend, where they celebrated their history with both the city and motorsport.



To make things more interesting for the crowd, the Italian supercar maker has turned to their former Formula One racing driver from the 1980s, Stefan Johansson, who got back at the wheel in the city where he raced at the Adelaide Grand Prix several decades ago.

The 60-year old Swede ex-F1 racer got behind the wheel of the new Ferrari 488 Spider in the Classic Adelaide Rally, taking it from the start line at the Victoria Park. From there, Johansson led a pack of more than 10 Ferraris through the city and its spectacular hills. Some of the names on the list included the 488 GTB, 458 Italia, 458 Speciale, and F12tdf, alongside classics such as the 308 GTB.

The string of events included the Gouger Street Party, at which Johansson in his open-top 488 led a street parade of approximately 170 vehicles through the center of Adelaide, and later on, he took to the track in a Ferrari F156/85.

PHOTO GALLERY
From the Lamborghini Huracan to the more humble Seat Leon, the Italian police force has some pretty amazing vehicles to fight crime, which have now been joined by a fresh FCA-made lot.



Announced on the PoliziaDiStato Twitter page, the latest batch comes in the form of a Jeep Renegade, powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder diesel, which pushes 120 horsepower to all four wheels, a configuration thats not offered in the USA. Nor, for that matter, is the second addition to the range, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatch.

The same cannot be said about the third Polizia-badged car, the Alfa Romeo Giulia that uses an inline-four unit, rated at 280 HP and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque, and mated to an all-wheel drive system, which will go on sale on this side of the Atlantic next month. The premium compact sedan joins the two Giulia QVs, which are already in service, after they were delivered earlier this year.

Besides the special police livery, all three cars also get the emergency lights, sirens and the rest of the necessary equipment of a patrol car.

PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO
Second, the festival enjoys the backing of the Cinematheque quebecoise, a museum, repertory cinema, and archive of film documents and animation artwork. The festivals artistic director is Marco de Blois, someone who lives and breathes animation and whose day job is animation curator of the Cinematheque, a not-so-small task considering that the Cinematheque owns one of the worlds phenomenal collections of original animation artwork. (A small exhibit of about 25 pieces from the archives collection was on display in the theater lobby, ranging from Dick Huemer drawings of Mutt and Jeff to original puppets from the films of Bretislav Pojar and Kihachiro Kawamoto, and I couldnt help but spend some time every day marveling at those treasures.)

But even with this institutional backing and long history, if Sommets had to be summed up in a single adjective, Id choose low-key. This is not a flashy festival where parties run long into the night; youre more likely to enjoy a long conversation at the Cinematheques cafe, which always harbored a friendly face or two. And unlike the Ottawa animation festival in September which draws hundreds of Americans, Sommets is a mostly local crowd. I met at most perhaps a dozen Americans at Sommets, and just handfuls of Canadians whod traveled from beyond the city limits.

Programming-wise, Sommets mixed both industry and independent, but there was never any question which direction it leaned. The festival presented an award this year to cameraless animator Steven Woloshen, while Oscar-winner Joan Gratz (Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase) and local filmmaker Diane Obomsawin gave masterclasses. The two features in competition, Window Horses and Louise en hiver, are both excellent films, but not the kind of programming designed to attract the industry crowds from the local cg/vfx/game shops around town. Of course, even if the programming was oriented more toward the mainstream and commercial, its unlikely that artists at those studios would be able to take time off work mid-weekor would have any desire to watch more animation after working a full day at the studio.

Still, Sommets isnt immune to the industry either. There were multiple panels touting the participation of Framestore and other local vfx shops. A breakfast session in which ten or so local companies pitched their wares could have easily had five times as many companies represented, but it nonetheless showed that the festival is paying attention to contemporary happenings around the city.

There were talks too aimed at filmmakers, such as a discussion hosted by Michael Fukushima, executive producer of the NFBs English Animation Studio, and filmmakers Eoin Duffy (The Missing Scarf) and Ann Marie Fleming (Window Horses). In their chat, they discussed nuts-and-bolts topics, such as crowdfunding, posting a film online, and dealing with distributors. Such discussions are all too rare at festivals, and thats a pity because filmmakers need these type of forums to learn how to protect themselves from the industrys wolves.

During the panel, Duffy stressed the importance of not being pushed around by film distributors and why filmmakers should fight to keep internet rights to their films. In dealing with distributor Shorts International, Duffy refused to accept an outrageously long years-long exclusive internet term for his short The Missing Scarf. But he discovered that if he stood his ground, Shorts Intl would reduce their online exclusivity to a six-month period. Duffy took the deal, and promptly posted his film online after those six months, earning himself waves of online publicity for the film, which can be seen below:

Another program, A Near-Perfect History of Animation, was described in the program book as a scholarly talk on the history of animation from renowned historian Julien Bernatchez. A display case outside of the auditorium displayed a selection of Bernatchez books, including these:

As youve probably caught on, the whole thing was an elaborate gag (Bernatchez is a local comedian), and Im assuming that almost everyone was aware of what they were getting into, though maybe not since there were a number of walk-outs early on in his talk.

The event was in French, but I was so intrigued by the concept that I decided to sit in for a while and experience it for myself. (For the record, my French is bad. Like, really bad. In France, I once told a waiter, Je voudrais un Coke, monsieur, and twenty minutes later he returned with a croque-monsieur sandwich.) Even with this significant handicap, I latched onto Bernatchez silliness (the Powerpoint images helped) and loved the concept.

Sommets also isnt afraid to experiment. One of my favorite events was the Very Shorts Films competition, a selection of 33 shorts that were each under two-and-a-half minutes. I imagine something like this has been done before, but its not done often at animation festivals, and its a refreshing change of pace from standard festival programming.

If youre looking for mood or atmosphere in the ultra-short format, forget it. But its the perfect length for exploring an experimental visual concept or garnering a quick laugh. Its also a win for the audience. Dont like a film? Just wait 150 seconds and another one will turn up.

Below are two of the 33 shorts in the program: Tekkol by Jorn Leeuwerink and Somewhere in between by Martine Frossard:

While many of the same faces show up at both Ottawa and Sommets, Montrealers showed a lot of enthusiasm for their local festival. For good reason toothey produce a lot of independent animation in Montreal and the Quebec province in general. In fact, I dont think Ive ever seen so many locally produced films represented at a festival as at Sommets.

The opening night of Sommets drew a packed house to the Cinematheque, which isnt uncommon for a festival opening night, but the surprise was that the crowds never stopped. The main theater was filled for nearly every screening I attended, and twice it was sold out when I tried to get tickets.

The packed houses even took Marco de Blois by surprise. In the events fifteen-year history, he told me that the event had never experienced such a turnout before. Sommets may still be low-key in the years to come, but if this year was any indication, it probably wont be small anymore.

2016 Sommets Awards

Framestore Award for the best film of the International Student Competition

In other Words, Tal Kantor (Israel)

International Student Competition: Special mention

How are you today?, Sophie Markatatos (UK)

International Competition of Very Short Films

Stems, Ainslie Henderson (UK)

Public Award

Wednesday with Goddard, Nicolas Menard (UK)

International and Canadian Competition

Sommets Grand Prize

It Would Piss Me Off To Die So Yoooooung, Filipe Abranches (Portugal)

Special Mention:

4min15 in the Developer (4min15 au revelateur), Moia Jobin-Pare (Canada)

Special Mention:

Jukai, Gabrielle Lissot (France)

Guy-L.-Cote Award for the best animated Canadian film

I Like Girls (Jaime les filles), Diane Obomsawin (Canada)

Special Jury Award:

Wednesday with Goddard, Nicolas Menard (UK)
Gutierrez was convinced to give the vr format a shot after he saw filmmakers and animators like Keane, Osborne, and Tindle creating Spotlight Stories. I genuinely felt whats wrong with me, he says. As a filmmaker and an artist, I need to embrace the things that scare me. I was very much terrified, and it felt good because I havent been scared in a long time of the medium.

Gutierrez says that his lucha libre-themed short will deliver on the promise of the Mexican wrestling movie posters that he loved as a kid. The films themselves were awful and never lived up to the thrilling poster imagery, but now Gutierrez feels he has an opportunity to finally enter that world through vr. I was that little kid in the movie theater who would run up to the screen at the end of the movie and just touch it because I wanted to go inside.

Son of Jaguar will continue to build on themes that Gutierrez has explored in Book of Life and his Nickelodeon tv series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (co-created with his wife, Sandra Equihua):

All the stuff that I like to do deals with tradition and family, and what it means to be the next in line, and what it means to live up to the history of where youre from. Lucha libre is a very on-the-nose, symbolic version of that. Theres an Oscar Wilde quote that I love: You give a man a mask and he will tell you the truth. So its all about that. The short takes place on Day of the Dead, so it deals with lineage and family and history, and what it means to be a part of something bigger than you.

The project officially started last week and is expected to be completed sometime in summer 2017. Reel FX, the Dallas, Texas-based animation studio that made Gutierrez The Book of Life, will produce the animation for the project. The Book of Lifes art director Paul Sullivan is onboard the project, and Sandra Equihua will contribute character designs.

David Eisenmann, who produced Patrick Osbornes Spotlight Story Pearl (currently shortlisted for an Academy Award), will produce Son of Jaguar. Speaking about how Son of Jaguar will be different from earlier Spotlight projects, Eisenmann says, This piece has a very good promise of investigating a first-person point of view in a narrative-driven vr piece, which we dont feel has been out there that much. Were going to give it a try.

Gutierrez has some other goals in mind too with his first vr project. Emotion is the thing that Im the most obsessed with and trying to get you to feel things, so my hope is that we kiss you in the mouth, and then slap you, and then kiss you again.

And then punch you in the stomach, Eisenmann adds.

And then have you throw up love, Gutierrez concludes, before adding, And then you take off the goggles and you grow a mustache.
Photo: Contributed

The "social event of the year" raised more than $60,000 for mental health services in Kelowna.

The Innkeeper's Gala  A Roy'EL' Affair  raised the money to create an integrated Youth and Family Mental Health Centre in Kelowna.

With 75 per cent of mental health and substance use problems beginning between the ages of 12 and 24, it's crucial that youth and their families get the help that they need.

This centre will give youth the opportunity to build the healthy, fulfilling lives they deserve, said Doug Rankmore, CEO of the KGH Foundation.

It will provide comprehensive care deterring crisis and visits to the Emergency Department.
Photo: The Canadian Press

British Columbia's health minister says he has taken the "extraordinary measure" of enacting a ministerial order to support the creation of overdose prevention sites.

Terry Lake says the order gives provincial emergency health services and regional health authorities the ability to provide overdose prevention treatment as necessary on an emergency basis.

He says the order was enacted on the advice of provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall and will last for the duration of the opioid-related public health emergency.

Several overdose prevention sites were established in B.C. last week, including three in Vancouver and one in Prince George, with more planned for Victoria and Surrey this week.

The sites allow people to inject illicit drugs while monitored by trained professionals equipped with naloxone, but B.C. says it's not skirting a law that requires federal approval to open a supervised-injection site.
Photo: Google images

UPDATE 5:45 p.m.

The Alex Fraser Bridge has reopened to traffic.

Original story, 3:05 p.m.

The Alex Fraser bridge is temporarily closed due to safety concerns.

The major Metro Vancouver crossing was closed because of falling debris  colourfully described by some as "ice bombs."

Officials have been struggling with safety concerns for about a week.

On Monday, officials said snow build up on the cables and warming temperatures calls for full closure of the bridge due to the chance that snow and ice may fall on to vehicles.

"It is unknown when the bridge will be reopened," said the province in a statement.
Photo: David Ogilvie

Police were kept busy this weekend thanks to snow and ice.

Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey says police responded to about 40 crashes in the Central Okanagan  including Kelowna, Lake Country, West Kelowna, Peachland and the Coquihalla Connector.

"For the most part, the contributing factors in many of these crashes appear to be related to drivers not adjusting their driving behaviour to the change in weather and road conditions," he said.

"Investigators continue to find vehicles with improper or insufficient tires. The RCMP strongly recommends all motorists who plan to travel in snowy conditions to prepare their vehicle by installing snow rated tires."

Police in the North Okanagan also dealt with messy roads.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II and Gov. Jack Dalrymple met late Monday in an attempt to restore relations following months of conflict over the Dakota Access Pipeline: The result may be a barricaded bridge near the reservation will be inspected and possibly reopened.

Dalrymple said the meeting went well and laid a foundation for future efforts to rebuild the two governments' relationship.

We resolved right away to not talk about frustration or anger about past issues, said Dalrymple, adding the conversation was mainly about a path forward.

Archambault said the police barricade on Backwater Bridge established Oct. 27 has been a hardship for the reservation since N.D. Highway 1806 is a lifeline for emergencies and a corridor for commerce.

The three-hour meeting between tribal, state and police officials resulted in an agreement to create a safe area around the bridge so that the North Dakota Department of Transportation can see whether fires set on the bridge during a protest conflict harmed the bridges integrity, according to Dalrymple.

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will be asked to provide security during the inspection and normal traffic would resume once any repairs are made, Dalrymple said.

The main protest camp near the bridge is occupied by about 300 people and Archambault said camp organizers told him they need until Jan. 1 to fully break down the entrenched encampment near the bridge, occupied by as many as 10,000 people since August.

Former congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes has emerged as a new spokesman for the camp and, in a posted interview, said it has been renamed to Oceti Oyate, or peoples camp, and those who remain are dedicated to seeing the pipeline controversy to its end.

Archambault said he talked to Iron Eyes and asked him not to encourage the camp.

Im never going to give them a deadline or sweep it out. We just want to make sure people are safe. If theyre going to stay, theyre going to stay," said Archambault, adding the camp is not helping the cause and could hurt it if people are still agitating when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The face-to-face meeting, after a prolonged standoff between police and protesters that has resulted in 570 arrests and multiple injuries, came during one of Dalrymples last days in office: His term ends Thursday.

Long after the issues surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline are resolved, the state and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council must work together, said Dalrymple, stressing hes had a good working relationship with Archambault throughout his administration prior to the protests.

Dalrymple said he remains optimistic a reasonable solution to the pipeline issue and protests can be reached. Hes confident the initial meeting will create an opportunity for Gov.-elect Doug Burgum after he assumes office Thursday to continue work on the matter.

We have talked about it. I will bring him up to the minute  in the next couple of days, Dalrymple said. I believe he will work hard to bring this to a good conclusion.

The meeting last night was cordial, Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley said, adding that the administration has been in regular contact with Archambault and other leaders at the protest site for months trying to keep communication open.

He said the situation has been complex and involves numerous groups from across the nation with a variety of goals outside of just the pipeline.

This is not a conflict between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the state of North Dakota. Its just one small sliver, said Wrigley, expressing hope initial talks bear fruit for the incoming administration.
Photo: Salvation Army

Thieves ransacked the Salvation Army's emergency services trailer over the weekend.

The theft at the Salvation Army building on Rutland Road likely happened Sunday. A generator, fuel and tents are among the items taken.

"It's a sad day for us," said Patty Lou Bryant, communications co-ordinator at the Salvation Army.

"They just made a mess inside."

The truck and trailer are used for emergency support services during crises, such as fires, and offer residents and firefighters warmth and food.

The theft has been reported to Kelowna RCMP.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300. Tipsters can also remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, leaving a tip online at crimestoppers.net or by texting a tip to CRIMES (274637) ktown.
Photo: Google Maps

UPDATE: 8:45 a.m.

Kelowna RCMP say a beacon, bystanders, emergency crews and search and rescue crews from the Central and North Okanagan all combined forces to rescue an injured snowmobiler.

The sledder was saved Monday night on Jubilee Mountain in the Greystokes area after being injured at about 3 p.m.

Kelowna RCMP received information of an emergency beacon being activated in the area of Three Forks Road and Greystokes Road. Emergency crews contacted the person who activated the distress signal and learned that a snowmobiler was in need of medical help after he had been thrown from his machine.

"It truly was a co-ordinated effort between emergency crews, search and rescue crews and several bystanders who happened across the injured male," says Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey.

"RCMP would like to extend their gratitude to the multiple groups of snowmobile enthusiasts who didn't think twice, when they brought blankets to keep the injured man warm, splinted one of his limbs and eventually transported him together by snowmobile to the main snowmobiler chalet on Greystokes."



Search and rescue crews brought the injured man to a waiting ambulance at about 10:30 p.m.

UPDATE: Dec. 13, 8:20 a.m.

Searchers rescued an injured snowmobiler Monday night.

The sledder was hurt in the Greystokes area. Both Vernon Search and Rescue and Central Okanagan Search and Rescue volunteers were called out.

"The injured snowmobiler was successfully rescued at 10 p.m.," said Central Okanagan Search and Rescue president and search manager Ephraim Nowak.

Nowak has said not to hesitate contacting police right away if someone is missing.

"SAR doesn't charge for rescue and there's no minimum wait time," he said, noting there is a misconception that a person has to be missing for 24 hours before reporting it to police.

He also advised those going in the backcountry to bring along shelter and something to start a fire.

ORIGINAL: Dec. 12, 6 p.m.

Search teams have been dispatched to try and locate injured snowmobilers.

Vernon Search and Rescue officials say they have been called to assist Central Okanagan Search and Rescue.

The injured snowmobilers are apparently on Jubilee Mountain, north of Big White in the Greystokes.

No other information is available.

 with files from Wayne Moore
Photo: Google Street View

UPDATE: Dec. 13, 7:40 a.m.

A sewer main break that prompted an emergency response Monday night has been repaired.

The City of Kamloops announced Tuesday morning that public works crews completed the repairs on Lorne Street at 11:30 p.m.

"After the new pipe was installed, crews ran test cycles to ensure all was in working order before backfilling the hole," said the city in a statement.

The damaged pipe will be inspected in an attempt to determine the cause.

"All road closures have been eliminated, however, due to cold weather conditions crews are unable to pave the affected area. Gravel will remain in place and may result in uneven road surfaces," said the city.

ORIGINAL: Dec. 12, 8 p.m.

A sewer main break has prompted the City of Kamloops to activate its Emergency Operations Centre.

The city activated the EOC to a Level 1 status in response to the break on Lorne Street.

The city has located the break in the sewer line in the 800 block.

Diversion of sewage continues while the city mobilizes the necessary pipe replacement. Additional equipment has been brought in from neighbouring communities to support the diversion.

City officials are working closely with provincial representatives including the Ministry of Environment, Interior Health Authority and Emergency Management BC, who are in attendance at the EOC.

CN and CP are also supporting the citys repair efforts by providing property access and operational adjustments.

All residents east of downtown are impacted, and the city asks for their continued reduction of water usage to help reduce further backup and assist in timely repairs.

This includes Rose Hill, Valleyview, Juniper, Barnhartvale, Dallas, Campbell Creek, Sun Rivers and along East Shuswap Road.

The timeline for completion remains unknown at this time.

Crews will be working 24 hours a day until the break is located and repaired.

Follow us online at Kamloops.ca, on Twitter @CityofKamloops or on Facebook at /CityofKamloops for updates as new information becomes available.
Photo: Browns Socialhouse

Browns Socialhouse has arrived in Kelowna.

The restaurant pub is located at the new Gateway Plaza development at Harvey and Burtch.

Browns, which has locations throughout Canada, has a year-round patio, an outdoor bar and plenty of seating.

The establishment held an opening event over the weekend.

"It's pretty busy in there," says Chris, the operations manager. "It's full of smiles and good times."

It's open from 10 a.m.-12 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 11 a.m.-12 a.m. Monday to Friday.
Photo: Getty Images

In a response to the increasing number of drug overdoses around the province, Interior Health is opening two overdose prevention sites in Kelowna.

The sites will be run in partnership with the Living Positive Resource Centre.

Scheduled to open Friday, the sites would be located at the Living Positive Resource Centre on Asher Road and the former health centre on Ellis Street downtown.

Clare MacDonald, executive director of Living Positive Resource Centre, says the details of program are still being worked out, but does say this is different than a supervised consumption site.

"It will not be a supervised consumption site. People will be in a drop-in type setting. There will be staff in the setting, but they will not be watching anybody. If people use in that area, or in the bathroom, we are not going to be telling them they can't do this," said MacDonald.

"It gives people a safe place to come if they are going to use alone. It gives us the opportunity to respond with Naloxone and breathing assistance if something does happen."

The centre has been advocating for sites such of these for some time, as the number of drug-related deaths continue to increase.

IH continues to see dramatic increases in both fatal and non-fatal overdose events, and we need to ensure people are safe right now. These overdose prevention sites can help provide increased clinical support and save lives, said chief medical health officer Dr. Trevor Corneil.

While Kamloops and Kelowna have the highest number of overdose deaths, we recognize overdoses are on the rise in communities across Interior Health. Therefore, we will continue to closely monitor other hot spots or areas of concern.

Two sites have also been approved in Kamloops.

Interior Health is proposing a supervised consumption site at 477 Leon Avenue.
Prime minister Trudeau's promise he made in Paris to reduce GHG emissions was identical to the promise Stephen Harper made before he met his demise at the ballot box.

When environment minister Catherine McKenna came in, she described Harpers target of 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 as a floor she intended to surpass. Later, she described it as ambitious when she realized the miserable floor was going to be the ceiling for the new government.

The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an analysis of global emissions thats produced by a consortium of scientific research organizations. Almost all countries use 1990 as the benchmark year for calculations. According to CAT, the target of 30 per cent below 2005 levels converts to only 14 per cent below 1990 levels. Significantly, Canada would need to reduce emissions 67 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 in order to pull our weight in relation to other countries.

The sorely deficient target that was accepted by the Trudeau government means Canada must reduce emissions to 523 megatonnes of carbon (MtCO2) per year. The newly revealed Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change establishes todays emissions as 219 MtCO2 over that mark. To meet the promise made in Paris, Trudeau needed to locate 219 Mt of reductions in the Framework. So how did he do?

The government claims reductions of 89 Mt were found through already announced measures regulating HFCs, heavy duty vehicles, and methane; through provincial measures such as the BC Climate Leadership Plan and Saskatchewans renewables target; and through international cap and trade credits.

Although the measures should be closely examined before being accepted as credible, one measure immediately stands out as dodgy. Critics think Christy Clarks climate plan is full of holes and will not deliver even half the promised 25 MtCO2 reductions. Notably, her plan does not take into account any LNG projects. If BC achieved only half the promised reductions and also built the PNW LNG plant, the BC Climate Leadership Plan would be shot.

Trudeaus Framework says further reductions of 86 Mt were discovered through measures described in the Framework itself, including the coal phase-out by 2030, the clean fuel standard, and measures to do with buildings and industry.

The prime minister therefore comes up short 44 MtCO2 to meet his Paris promise. But problems do not end there.

When Trudeau announced the approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX), he said the project was an integral part of the plan to uphold the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions.

You would expect an integral part of the plan to actually show up in the plan, but the TMX is mentioned nowhere. Not one of the three recently approved energy projects, PNW LNG, TMX, and Line 3, were accounted for in the Framework. If all three are built, they will add 41 Mt of carbon pollution every year.

In addition, the Keystone XL pipeline came back into play when Donald Trump won the election. It, along with the remaining Canadian project under discussion, the Energy East pipeline, will probably be approved. If built, they will add a further 65 MtCO2, throwing the countrys carbon budget into a deficit of 150 Mt in total  an amount nearly equal to all the reductions Trudeau identified.

As days go by, we will hear how the government has performed the magic of meeting emissions reduction targets while allowing emissions-intensive industries to proliferate. How its exercising environmental responsibility while degrading air, land and water. How its honouring First Nations while breaching their rights.

Clowns are the pegs, said P. T. Barnum, on which the circus is hung.

Dianne Varga
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
People who own private property on Lake Tschida will not have to meet a 2021 deadline to remove their homes and trailers.

Sen. John Hoeven authored legislation that enables homeowners to remain on Lake Tschida as part of a larger water bill, which is sitting on President Barack Obama's desk awaiting his signature. Part of the legislation also limits fee increases for lot renters on Bureau of Reclamation lakes, Lake Tschida, Lake Patterson and Jamestown Reservoir.

On Tuesday, Hoeven held a round-table discussion in Bismarck with members of the Heart Butte Cabin Association, who thanked Hoeven for the legislation. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who helped pass the legislation in the Senate, and U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer also attended.

More than 30 people spoke about the importance of their property on the recreation reservoir between Glen Ullin and Elgin, many of whom have been there for 40 to 60 years.

"The lake has been very important for families around the area for as many as three generations, and its so great to know this will continue for the future generations, said Leo Vetter, vice president of the cabin association.

After a flood in 2009, the Bureau of Reclamation made a decision that all trailers had to be removed after 2021 and only recreational vehicles would be allowed on the leased lots. The decision received strong pushback from members of the cabin association, who appealed to Hoeven's office to intervene.

Its an overwhelming victory; its been a long journey. Many times, it looked very grim, Vetter said.

If youre looking for a victory over bureaucracy and unreasonable government, I think this is it," Heitkamp said to applause at the Elks Lodge in Bismarck Tuesday.

Hoeven convinced Interior Secretary Estevan Lopez to visit the site last fall to meet with trailer owners, but Lopez stood by the bureau and the 2012 deadline.

Vetter attended Tuesday's meeting alongside several members of his family, including his two grandsons. His family has owned a trailer on the lake since 1997 and has since made many improvements with the intention of staying there.

This past summer since this whole issue surfaced, it gets a little bit frustrating or difficult to be (at the lake) at times just knowing that the whole atmosphere is going to not exist at some point," he said.

Mal Olson, of Bismarck, has a cabin on the north side of the lake. Olson, 92, calls himself the "grandfather of Heart Butte," because he doesn't think anyone has been there longer than he has, which is about 60 years.

The lake has been important for many generations, according to Olson, who said, on any given day in the summer, there can be four generations of his family on the lake.

Were Heart Butte people," Olson said. "I'm out there every minute I can spend."

The legislation was passed by Congress last week as part of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which also includes aid for Flint, Mich. For that reason, Hoeven said he's confident Obama will sign it by the end of the week.

Hoeven said he was pleased by how people of the cabin association approached the situation.

It shows what people can accomplish when they work together in a unified, positive way," he said.

The bill also limits fee increases for people with exclusive use of property on Lake Tschida, Lake Patterson and the Jamestown Reservoir.

The Bureau of Reclamation recently increased permit fees, which were set to double at Lake Tschida and more than double at Lake Patterson and Jamestown Reservoir. The new legislation limits the total fee increase to no more than 33 percent over the next five years.
PHNOM PENH - Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen met with Huawei Southeast Asia Region President David Sun, exchanging views on further cooperation in information and communication technology (ICT) development in Cambodia, said a news release from Huawei on Monday.

During the talks at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, David Sun praised Cambodia for the rapid development of ICT industry - the essential sector that was importantly contributing to socioeconomic development, the news release said.

"The vision of Huawei is to build a better connected world," he said. adding that "we will continue to invest in Cambodia in order to contribute to economic development, ICT talent training and social welfare activities."

David Sun said with Huawei's support, the first group of 11 Cambodian students had arrived in China and started their training at Huawei, and the second and third groups, selected by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia and Huawei, would be sent to China for training in 2017 and 2018.

For his part, the prime minister was confident that Huawei could participate in Cambodia's national broadband construction with the latest communication technologies to eliminate the digital divide and to make Cambodian youth's dream come true.

Huawei is a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) solutions provider. Started its business in Cambodia in 1999, Huawei has received strong support from the government, local telecom operators, and customers in ICT industry, the news release said.

To date, Huawei's communication network service has covered approximately 70 percent of the consumers in Cambodia, and Huawei mobile phones have ranked third for the share of the Cambodian market, it said.

It added that so far, Huawei has helped Cambodia cultivated more than 1,000 ICT talents.
A South Dakota housing activist accused of locking himself to construction equipment at a Dakota Access Pipeline protest will go to trial on a felony charge of reckless endangerment.

South Central District Judge James Hill found probable cause Monday that Nicholas Tilsen, 34, of Porcupine, S.D., recklessly endangered the lives of law enforcement officers who sawed through the contraption attaching him to equipment on Sept. 14.

"It is very clear in this case from both officers' testimony that the dangers existed of fire hazard, electrical hazard, individual falling," Hill said in court Monday afternoon, adding that he believed Tilsen had been informed of the potential for harm.

The probable cause finding came despite arguments from Tilsen's attorney, Bruce Ellison, that the risk was exaggerated, that officers did not take all precautions to protect themselves and that Tilsen could not have known the extent of the danger.

Tilsen, founder of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, allegedly used a "sleeping dragon"  a device made of metal pipe that activists use to hook themselves to equipment  to lock onto a track hoe at a pipeline worksite near New Salem. A person can usually self-detach from equipment by undoing a carabiner inside the pipe. Several protesters have used these devices since August as a means of stopping construction on the pipeline they fear could contaminate the Missouri River and disturb sacred sites.

In order to remove Tilsen, a law enforcement officer stood on a platform 3 to 4 feet from the ground and used a grinder to cut open the pipe around his arms, according to testimony from Mandan Police Lt. Scott Stromstodt, leader of the "cut team." In order to keep Tilsen from getting burned, another officer sprayed water continuously on the pipe. Stromstodt said the officers involved were at risk of sparks, shards, falling and electrocution.

"Anytime you combine water and electricity can be a recipe for disaster," Stromstodt said.

Morton County Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Moll testified that he warned Tilsen of the danger under which he placed himself and the officers by not self-releasing from the equipment. Moll said he could not recall whether he detailed the dangers of the cutting.

In his questioning of the officers in court, Ellison challenged whether police could not have worn more protective gear to reduce the risks of cutting Tilsen loose. Fire trucks were on scene, and Ellison suggested the officers could have borrowed fire-resistant clothing or helmets with visors.

"We have officers who made a decision to act in haste," Ellison said in his closing statement. "They had every piece of equipment that would've protected them."

Stromstodt countered that those extra protections might have been impractical and bulky.

Ellison also challenged the extent to which Tilsen might have shown "extreme indifference to the value of human life," which is required to prove a felony reckless endangerment charge. The officers both testified to using similar grinders at home, sometimes without goggles. Also, Tilsen's face and ears were covered to protect him from sparks and hearing damage.

"We know that Mr. Tilsen's ears were covered. His eyes were covered. He couldn't see any of the process that was going on. So he would be unaware of any injury or even the potential to the officers before they started doing the extraction," Ellison said.

Several protesters face reckless endangerment charges on similar allegations. For the most part, judges have upheld those charges after preliminary hearings, with the exception of Judge Bruce Romanick, who threw out a similar felony against protester Wanikiyewin Wi Loud Hawk in November.

Tilsen also faces three misdemeanor charges: criminal trespass, obstruction of a government function and disorderly conduct.

Hill set the case for trial on March 22.
Brazil: Arabian Cement back out of plant project

13 December 2016

Arabian Cement announced yesterday that it will be postponing further steps to establish a cement grinding facility in Brazil. The adverse conditions in the Brazilian economy are anticipated to impact negatively on the investment with forecast returns below expectations.

The company reported it would be entering a joint venture with Cementos Relampago in 2014. The joint venture was to build a 0.23Mta grinding unit in northwest Brazil.

Published under
(TNS) -- Two separate audits found the Oregon Department of Education didn't do enough to ensure that its huge cache of data on more than 600,000 students remains private.Hundreds of people in school districts and in state government have access to some or all of that data. That means keeping it safe is a daunting technological challenge. A report by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General found Oregon at risk of being unable to "prevent or detect unauthorized access and disclosure of personally identifiable information." A state audit, made public Thursday , also found insufficient security measures to keep confidential student data confidential."The department does not provide an appropriate layered defense," auditors wrote.Neither the state nor federal department issued a notice about the federal audit. The Oregon Department of Education provided it to The Oregonian/OregonLive in response to a public records request.Oregon Department of Education officials say they have taken careful and technically advanced steps to protect data, and are constantly updating and upgrading those efforts.Oregon student data in their possession has never been breached, said Susie Strangfield, the department's chief information officer But state and federal auditors both identified weaknesses in the steps and procedures the agency has used to ensure cyber security.Federal auditors named several highly technical details; state auditors disclosed only general information, saying they listed precise problems in a confidential letter to state education department, to avoid flagging them for hackers.The data doesn't include students' home addresses, health records or discipline write-ups.But hackers could potentially capture full names, birth dates, test scores, special education designations, expulsions, whether students qualify for free- or reduced-price meals, expulsions, whether students are pregnant or parenting, whether students have opted out of testing, and other educational and demographic information.The state tracks the identities of everyone who logs into the system, and it polices access to it. Officials also limit users to the portion of the data that's appropriate for them, such as information about their particular school or students in the grade they teach.The federal audit was conducted beginning in June 2015 and looked at the department's internal controls of the data from from June 2015 through January 2016.The Oregon Department of Education received preliminary findings in January and final results in September.Oregon officials largely disputed the federal findings, saying their procedures and controls meet international and industry standards."Our implementation of these controls ensure our student data is kept secure," Strangfield, the state education department's chief information officer, said Thursday. "Agency technical controls and technologies implemented were not raised by either audit as cause for concern."She said said the department "practices a defense-in-depth approach and continues to add layers of security to address emerging threats."According to written comments included in the federal audit report, state officials acknowledged some problems. But they said they were on track to have them fixed by July.The department, which had just one data security employee, hired three more, added software to detect unauthorized access, wrote down malware response procedures and trained staff on them, the federal audit said.The state audit was conducted in fall 2016.It found the department has done several things right, including ensuring the integrity of student data and accurately giving out and tracking state and federal funding.But beyond raising questions about security measures, state auditors also said the department failed to follow procedures to ensure bad code did not get programmed into its system. And, although it has adequate measures to back up files in case of a disaster, the department lacks a workable plan for restoring those files and quickly becoming operational again.State auditors said they were purposefully vague about inadequacies in the education department's data security system.Weaknesses "relate to the department's processes for planning, configuring, managing and monitoring information technology security components," they wrote."Because of the sensitive nature of IT security, we communicated the details" in a confidential memo, they said.
Police say a Grand Forks woman shot by her adult son before he took his own life has died of her injuries. Authorities say 53-year-old Jennifer Harrison died at Altru Hospital days after she was found in her home with multiple gunshot wounds to her torso and head. According to officials, 21-year-old Tyler Harrison shot his mother Wednesday at the home they shared in Grand Forks. Police say he turned the gun on himself and was found dead in their driveway. Officials say the shooting was domestic-related, but that their investigation is continuing.
ABA Area Big Year Update: Four Record Breakers in 2016

With only three weeks left in 2016, well switch to weekly updates of the four Big Year birders as they push to the end of the year. The biggest news since the last time we checked in is that there are now four birders who have passed Neil Haywards 2013 mark of 749, at least once provisional species are added. Christian Hagenlocher sits comfortably at 748 (+2), putting him at a likely 750 once the smoke clears. Congrats to Christian!

John Weigel continues to lead the pack, adding 3 species at three corners of the ABA Area since our pre-Thanksgiving update. Late November saw him in Florida where the now annual La Sagras Flycatcher was found at Bill Baggs State Park. Two days later he traveled to Gambell, Alaska, where he was among the three Big Year participants to net the continuing Pine Bunting, the ABAs 4th record. In early December he headed to Quebec and found the wild-appearing Common Shelduck which adds one to his provisional count. Weigels list is looking very complete, but he is notably still lacking Smiths Longspur, a Code 2 species and a seemingly easy tick whenever the month calms down enough for him to make a go at it. As of December 2, his list is 776 (+3).

Olaf Danielson remains just shy of Weigels record as he has for the last several months. His travels have taken him to make of the same places as the other birders, which is the nature of the last stage of the Big Year game. Danielson also made the trip to Gambell for Pine Bunting, as well as Florida for La Sagras Flycatcher and Quebec for the Common Shelduck. Olafs list also includes both Intermediate Egret and Massachusetts Duck banked as provisionals, referring to an interesting bird in western Alaska this year that is, as yet, unresolved and an odd duck in Massachusetts initially IDd as a potential Eastern Spot-billed Duck, though the consensus seems to be turning towards calling it an unusual hybrid. Intermediate Egret is represented on the ABA Checklist by virtue of a salvaged specimen from the Aleutians, so technically speaking the bird would not need to be counted as a provisional. But as Olaf only counts these birds provisionally awaiting ID confirmation, well follow his lead here. All told, Olafs list sits at 774 (+4).

Laura Keene passed the record in our last update and hasnt slowed down. She has continued to clean up breeding birds that she missed earlier in the year in addition to picking up ABA Area rarities like La Sagras Flycatcher and Pine Bunting on opposite sides of the continent. Her most recent bird is Bohemian Waxwing, seen in Anchorage, Alaska. She now sits at 754 (+2).

Congratulations are in order for Christian Hagenlocher who, with a Northern Saw-whet Owl in Massachusetts, becomes the fourth birder *this year* to break Neil Haywards Big Year record. He also added Little Gull and Pink-footed Goose while in that state. Because this total includes provisional species, it is Christians plan to keep birding at least until he reaches 750 without provisionals. A Barnacle Goose in New York puts him currently at 749 (+2), so it looks as though he is likely to reach his goal.

Congrats to all the Big Year birders. Well check back with them next week.
Although the Cuban people continue to suffer and struggle under the weight of communist rule, many have been encouraged by even the slightest of Raul Castros incremental changes toward private businesses.

Out of a total population of roughly 11 million, the number of self-employed Cubans rose from 150,000 to 500,000 between 2010 and 2015. The state still controls the press, the internet, and most of the formal economy, but a small portion of the Cuban population is finally gaining the freedom to innovate and create on their own.

To explore that shift firsthand, entrepreneur and investor Marcus Lemonis recently visited the country to film a special edition of CNBCs The Profit  walking the streets of Havana and talking one-on-one with the countrys pioneers of capitalism.

Walking around the old city, I saw a place full of life, energized by the changes, Lemonis says. Instead of working for the State, thousands of Cubans are now working for themselvesA taste of capitalism has helped, but its just a taste.

You can watch the first segment here (or see the full thing on-demand):

In a typical episode of The Profit, Lemonis seeks to save a failing business by investing his own capital and expertise, demonstrating principles of good business and the glories of entrepreneurship along the way. Here, his task is somewhat the opposite: Talk to business owners who are somehow managing to succeed, even despite the obstacles and oppression that surrounds them.

After hitching a ride from a private taxi driver (who likely earns more than most doctors), Lemonis visits Burner Brothers Bakery, whose owners, siblings Sandra and Tony Camacho Rodriguez, left their government jobs in dentistry and mechanical engineering because selling donuts made them more money. The reason why I see an opportunity here is because it isnt easy, Tony says. If it were easyyou know how many people would have opened a bakery?

Even amid their success, however, the owners continue to face unique obstacles and risks. They are limited to having only 50 seats and one location, despite their tremendous growth. Key ingredients like chocolate are never reliably available due to shortages from the government-controlled supply chain. And, as with any business in Cuba, there is always the chance that the government will suddenly decide to shut you down.

People probably think, oh this is just a bakery, Lemonis concludes. No. This happens to be thriving entrepreneurship in the face of very strong headwinds of regulation. They werent taught this. They didnt go to school for this.

From there, he visits Kirenia Reguera, a seamstress who runs a fashion and costume design company out of her apartment, reliant on the black market for basic materials and unable to open her own store due to a range of government obstacles. He then talks with Sandra Aldama, a former hairdresser who started her own handmade soap business, and restaurateur Enrique Nunez, who, after decades of success, longs for an economy where all Cubans can enjoy both his food and the economic opportunities hes enjoyed.

He also meets successful vegetable farmer Fernando Funes Monzote, a former professor and pure socialist who, despite his continued embrace of communist ideology, finds no irony in exploiting a government opening in agriculture and living in an extravagant house  funded, we learn, by his lecture gigs around the world (and the freedom to do so).

To more fully grasp the backdrop of all this, Lemonis chats with American professor Ted Henken, author of Entrepreneurial Cuba: The Changing Policy Landscape. Henken summarizes the changes as follows:

The changes have been significant but woefully insufficientYou get housing, you get education, you get healthcare, and you get a job. So theres a basic bottom below which people arent allowed to sink. But that bottom has become frayed. It has lots of holes in it. One of the reasons why the state is providing more economic freedom is it needs to relieve itself of the burden of providing for peopleThey want to be connected to the rest of the world. They want to have opportunity now, especially young people. They dont want to have the same problem their parents did: waiting for the future to come and it never arrives.

The episode was filmed before Fidel Castros death, an event that has only compounded Cubans hope for a greater shift toward freedom. The country continues to struggle, but as Lemonis journey aptly illustrates, the Cuban people are most certainly not the problem. They are the solution.

Cuba stands at a moment of possibility, Lemonis concludes. Tensions with the U.S. have been eased. The people I met are hungry for the chance to rise or fall on their own. But make no mistake, their fate may rest less in their hands than in those of their government.
Sandro Magister, Vatican correspondent for LEspresso, notes in his Italian blog a recent TV program that fact checks the popes economics.

Heres a translation of the blog post:

In his speeches Pope Francis often puts forth original theories of dubious foundations but that, for him, are of unshakable certainty and explain everything.

Take, for example, this from an interview a few days ago with the Belgian Catholic weekly Tertio:

There is an economic theory that I have not verified, but I read in several books: that in human history, when a State could see that its accounts were not in good shape, waged war to balance its budget. That is to say, [war] is one of the easiest ways to create wealth.

Or another theory in which the pope explains that the growth of poverty and inequality along with the advance of progress, made yet again in his November 13 homily in the Mass for the Jubilee of the socially excluded:

This is the origin of the tragic contradiction of our age: as progress and new possibilities increase, which is a good thing, fewer and fewer people are able to benefit from them.

Curiously, though, a few days ago, on December 8, during the first episode of a new RAI 2 program, this mantra of Pope Francis was gently but surely demolished.

The program is Night Tabloid, a late-night show conducted by Annalisa Bruchi, who is very good at simply and accurately explaining complicated economic issues.

She eventually gave the floor to Davide De Luca, a young researcher who sat in the corner of the set and gave a sort of political grade based on real data  fact checking  as to the truth or falsehood of fashionable theories.

Well, in the first episode of the series, Pope Francis was examined for the above-mentioned claims that were replayed during the broadcast.

The final grade: kind of Pinocchio i.e., a lie.

In the video, the grading begins at the 42:50 mark.

The initial question posed by the presenter to the examiner is: Has this globalization impoverished or enriched us, and whom?

Heres the transcript with the final verdict.

Q.  Has this globalization impoverished or enriched us, and whom?

A.  It is a difficult question to answer, but we can try. Surely there is a part of the population of developed countries that we can define as losers of globalization, that is, those who have lost.

For example in Europe, 9.5 percent of the population is at risk of poverty despite having a job. And this category is increasing: in 2006 it was 8.1 percent. In Italy the situation is even worse, with 11.5 percent of the population at risk of poverty despite having a job; in 2006 it was 9 percent.

Some say the problem is globalization because it has opened up competition to developing countries with low-skilled labor.

Even the pope, Pope Francis, has spoken on this issue and tells us that it is not only our but a global problem: Progress and globalization are a problem for everyone. He said: The more you increase the progress and possibilities, which is a good thing, fewer are the people who have access to them.

The pope makes such an equation. He says, the greater the progress, the greater the people who are excluded.

And as we saw earlier, it is true, in part at least, for our countries. But if we extend the look to the rest of the world and we look at what has happened throughout the planet, this sentence does not seem so correct.

Take for example the number of undernourished people, i.e. those who do not have enough to eat. We see that in 1990-92 they were 18.6 per cent of the planets population. In 2014-16, that is, five years later, they fell to 10.9 percent.

We also see with extreme poverty, that is, those living on less than $2 a day, in 1990 it was 35 percent of the worlds population, one in three. Twenty-five years later, in 2013, they fell to 10.7 percent, one in ten. Is it because they all died? No, because in this same period, the world population increased by 1.9 billion to 7 billion people, who are much less poor, much less hungry.

So if we make this criticism of globalization, a bit as the pope does, an absolute one and say we have all been left behind, well, at the cost of being a bit blasphemous, we are forced to give the pope a kind of Pinocchio.
In September 1969 the Chemical Bank branch in Rockville Center, New York opened the first automatic teller machines. The first ATM was only able to give out cash, but by 1971 the machine could handle multiple functions, including providing customers account balances. The machine could do the job that was once reserved for human tellers. Over the next three decades, the number of ATMs increased exponentially. Today there are about 400,000 ATMs across America.

You can probably imagine what happened to bank teller jobs, cant you? Their numbers increased.

What? Thats not what you expected? You thought the increase in ATMs would reduce the need for human tellers? As James Bessen explains,



What happened? Well, the average bank branch in an urban area required about 21 tellers. That was cut because of the ATM machine to about 13 tellers. But that meant it was cheaper to operate a branch. Well, banks wanted, in part because of deregulation but just for deregulation but just for basic marketing reasons, to increase the number of branch offices. And when it became cheaper to do so, demand for branch offices increased. And as a result, demand for bank tellers increased. And it increased enough to offset the labor-saving losses of jobs that would have otherwise occurred. So, again, it was one of these more dynamic things where the labor-saving technology actually created more jobs.

While technology can and does destroy some jobs (such as in agriculture), this automation paradoxthat labor-saving technology can create more jobs than it destroysrecurs often in the history of technology. And overall, as Christopher Mims notes, society as a whole come out ahead:

Its true that technology alters the quality, as well as the quantity, of jobs. Ian Stewart, chief U.K. economist at Deloitte LLP in the U.K., co-wrote a paper last year that used census data as far back as the late 1700s to examine the changing nature of jobs in the U.K., cradle of the industrial revolution. The authors found big increases in both low-paying and high-paying jobs. There are more barbers and barkeepers. But there also are more accountants and nurses, reflecting the rising complexity of the modern economy. Paradoxically, says Mr. Stewart, many of the fields most transformed by technology have produced the biggest increases in employment, from medicine to management consulting. What we saw was that machines and people were highly complementary, he says.

What this means for America is that technology will likely make us all better off while making may others worse offat least temporarily. We need to find creative ways to retrain workers for new opportunities. But just as importantly, we need to be realistic about what jobs have been permanently eliminated (such as farm labor) and which will be enhanced by technology (such as bank tellers).
Physicists of the University of Wurzburg have made an astonishing discovery in a specific type of topological insulators. The effect is due to the structure of the materials used.

Topological insulators are currently the hot topic in physics according to the newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung. Only a few weeks ago, their importance was highlighted again as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physics to three British scientists for their research of so-called topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter.

Topological insulators are also being studied at the Departments for Experimental Physics II and Theoretical Physics I of the University of Wurzburg. However, they focus on a special version of insulators called topological crystalline insulators (TCI). In cooperation with the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and the University of Zurich, Wurzburg physicists have now achieved a major breakthrough. They were able to detect new electronic states of matter in these insulators.

Step edges direct electrons

The central result: When crystalline materials are split, small atomically flat terraces emerge at the split off surfaces which are separated from each other by step edges. Inside these structures, conductive channels for electrical currents form which are extremely narrow at just about 10 nm and surprisingly robust against external disturbance. Electrons travel on these conductive channels with different spin in opposite directions  similar to a motorway with separate lanes for the two directions. This effect makes the materials interesting for technological applications in future electronic components such as ultra-fast and energy-efficient computers.

"TCIs are relatively simple to produce and they are already different from conventional materials because of their special crystalline structure," Dr. Paolo Sessi explains the background of the recently published paper. Sessi is a research fellow at the Department of Experimental Physics II and the lead author of the study. Moreover, these materials owe their special quality to their electronic properties: In topological materials, the direction of spin determines the direction in which the electrons travel. Simply put, the "spin" can be interpreted as a magnetic dipole that can point in two directions ("up" and "down"). Accordingly, up-spin electrons in TCIs move in one and down-spin electrons in the other direction.

It's all about the number of atomic layers

"But previously scientists didn't know how to produce the conductive channels required to this end," says Professor Matthias Bode, Head of the Department for Experimental Physics II and co-author of the study. It was chance that now got the researchers on the right track: They discovered that very narrow conductive channels occur naturally when splitting lead tin selenide (PbSnSe), a crystalline insulator.

Step edges on the fragments' surfaces cause this phenomenon. They can be imaged using a high-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy, or more precisely, the height of the corresponding step edges. "Edges that bridge an even number of atomic layers are totally inconspicuous. But if the edges span an odd number of atomic layers, a small area about 10 nm in width is created that has the electronic conductive channels properties we were looking for," Sessi explains.

Pattern breaks off at the edge

Supported by their colleagues from the Department of Theoretical Physics I and the University of Zurich, the experimental physicists were able to shed light on the origin of these new electronic states. To understand the principle, a little spatial sense is required: "The crystalline structure causes a layout of the atoms where the different elements alternate like the black and white squares on a chessboard," Matthias Bode explains. This alternating black-and-white pattern applies to both squares which are adjacent and squares situated below and on top one another.

So if the crack of this crystal runs through different atomic layers, more than one edge is created there. Seen from above, white squares may also abut to other white squares along this edge and black squares to other black squares  or identical atoms to identical atoms. However, this only works if an odd number of atomic layers is responsible for the difference in height of the two surfaces.

Backed by calculations

"Calculations show that this offset at the surface is actually causative of these novel electronic states," says Paolo Sessi. Furthermore, they prove that the phenomenon of the spin-dependent conductive channels, which is characteristic of topological materials, occurs here as well.

According to the scientists, this property in particular makes the discovery relevant for potential applications, because such conductive channels cause low conduction loss on the one hand and can be used directly to transmit and process information in the field of spintronics on the other.

However, several questions need to be answered and challenges to be overcome before this will become reality. For instance, the scientists are not yet sure over which distances the currents in the newly discovered conductive channels can be transported. Also, in order to be implemented in circuits, methods would have to be developed that allow creating step edges of a defined height along specified directions.
At TU Wien, it was possible to create a nanoscale optical element that regulates the flow of light particles at the intersection of two glass fibers like a roundabout. A single atom was used to control the light paths.

Just like in normal road traffic, crossings are indispensable in optical signal processing. In order to avoid collisions, a clear traffic rule is required. A new method has now been developed at TU Wien to provide such a rule for light signals. For this purpose, the two glass fibers were coupled at their intersection point to an optical resonator, in which the light circulates and behaves as in a roundabout. The direction of circulation is defined by a single atom coupled to the resonator. The atom also ensures that the light always leaves the roundabout at the next exit. This rule is still valid even if the light consists merely of individual photons. Such a roundabout will consequently be installed in integrated optical chips  an important step for optical signal processing.

Signal processing using light instead of electronics

The term "optical circulators" refers to elements at the intersection point of two mutually perpendicular optical fibers which direct light signals from one fiber to the other, so that the direction of the light always changes, for example, by 90  clockwise. "These components have long been used for freely propagating light beams," says Arno Rauschenbeutel from the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology at the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics of TU Wien. "Such optical circulators are mostly based on the so-called Faraday effect: a strong magnetic field is applied to a transparent material, which is located between two polarization beam splitters which are rotated with respect to each other. The direction of the magnetic field breaks the symmetry and determines in which direction the light is redirected."

However, for technical reasons, components that make use of the Faraday effect cannot be realized on the small scales of nanotechnology. This is unfortunate as such components are important for future technological applications. "Today, we are trying to build optical integrated circuits with similar functions as they are known from electronics," says Rauschenbeutel. Other methods to break the symmetry of the light function only at very high light intensities or suffer from high optical losses. However, in nanotechnology one would like to be able to process very small light signals, ideally light pulses that consist solely of individual photons.

Two glass fibers and a bottle for light

The team of Arno Rauschenbeutel chooses a completely different way: they couple a single rubidium atom to the light field of a so-called "bottle resonator"  a microscopic bulbous glass object on the surface of which the light circulates. If such a resonator is placed in the vicinity of two ultrathin glass fibers, the two systems couple to one another. Without an atom, the light changes from one glass fiber to the other via the bottle resonator. In this way, however, no sense of circulation is defined for the circulator: light, which is deflected by 90 in the clockwise direction, can also travel backwards via the same route, i.e. counter-clockwise.

In order to break this forward/backward symmetry, Arno Rauschenbeutels team additionally couples an atom to the resonator, which prevents the coupling of the light into the resonator, and thus the overcoupling into the other glass fiber for one of the two directions of circulation. For this trick, a special property of the light is used at TU Wien: the direction of oscillation of the light wave, also known as its polarization.

The interaction between the light wave and the bottle resonator results in an unusual oscillation state. "The polarization rotates like the rotor of a helicopter," Arno Rauschenbeutel explains. The direction of rotation depends on whether the light in the resonator travels clockwise or counter-clockwise: in one case the polarization rotates counter-clockwise, while in the other case it rotates clockwise. The direction of circulation and the polarization of the light are therefore locked together.

If the rubidium atom is correctly prepared and coupled to the resonator, one can make its interaction with the light differ for the two directions of circulation. "The clockwise circulating light is not affected by the atom. The light in the opposite direction, on the other hand, strongly couples to the atom and therefore cannot enter the resonator," says Arno Rauschenbeutel. This asymmetry of the light-atom coupling with respect to the propagation direction of the light in the resonator allows control over the circulator operation: the desired sense of circulation can be adjusted via the internal state of the atom.

The atomic state as a quantum switch

"Because we use only a single atom, we can subtly control the process," says Rauschenbeutel. "The atom can be prepared in a state in which both traffic rules apply at the same time: all light particles then travel together through the circulator in both clockwise and counterclockwise direction." Luckily, this is impossible according to the rules of classical physics, as it would result in chaos in road traffic. In quantum physics however, such superpositions of different states are permitted which opens up entirely new and exciting possibilities for the optical processing of quantum information.
Olfactory perception is highly variable from one person to another, as a function of individual and contextual factors. Here, we investigated the influence of 2 important factors of variation: culture and semantic information. More specifically, we tested whether cultural-specific knowledge and presence versus absence of odor names modulate odor perception, by measuring these effects in 2 populations differing in cultural background but not in language. Participants from France and Quebec, Canada, smelled 4 culture-specific and 2 non-specific odorants in 2 conditions: first without label, then with label. Their ratings of pleasantness, familiarity, edibility, and intensity were collected as well as their psychophysiological and olfactomotor responses. The results revealed significant effects of culture and semantic information, both at the verbal and non-verbal level. They also provided evidence that availability of semantic information reduced cultural differences. Semantic information had a unifying action on olfactory perception that overrode the influence of cultural background.

Authors: Camille Ferdenzi; Pauline Joussain; Berengere Digard; Lucie Luneau; Jelena Djordjevic; Moustafa Bensafi Journal: Chemical Senses Volume: 42 edition: 1 Year: 2017 Pages: 37 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjw098 Publication date: 01-Jan-2017
Xia Shuqin (R), a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, and her family members mourn the victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, Dec 3, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

A series of commemorative events have been held in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, ahead of the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims on Tuesday, with many people mourning the deaths of relatives who were killed in the massacre.

More than 300,000 Chinese citizens fell victim to the invading Japanese troops in Nanjing from December 1937 to January 1938. But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not seem to be bothered that Japan is yet to offer a sincere apology to the neighboring countries that were occupied and terrorized by Japan before and during World War II. Instead, he has decided to visit Pearl Harbor on Dec 26 with US President Barack Obama 75 years after Japan launched an attack on Hawaii.

But Abe's visit to Hawaiithe first by a Japanese leader to Pearl Harbor since the end of World War IIis about "consoling the souls of those who died in the war", not to apologize for Japan's wartime crimes, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said. Which means Abe is not likely to apologize for the attack on Hawaii that killed more than 2,000 US citizens.

His apology-free trip to Hawaii offers a glimpse into the prevailing, yet false reading of history among a slew of Japanese leaders that owning up to the country's wartime past is not necessary, which contradicts the much-touted Japanese "noble and precious" values of liberty, democracy and the rule of law.

Refusing to face up to the country's wartime past will not absolve Japanese leaders of their responsibilities. Rather, it will call into question their credibility. The irony is, the globally respected principle of liberty, democracy and the rule of law is the result of the collapse of fascism and its once-dedicated followersJapan, Germany and Italy.

In the case of Pearl Harbor, Japan launched a war against the United States. Their engagement, however, was basically on an equal footing given their comparative military strength and geopolitical influence at the time. In contrast, what Japan unleashed on China and its people was sheer terror since China was much weaker then. And the most tragic example of that terror was the slaughter of more than 300,000 Chinese people in Nanjing, which was not only an immoral but also irredeemable crime.

If Abe could express "deep remorse" over the Japanese military's atrocities to the US and visit Pearl Harbor in the name of "reconciliation", he should have had done the same to China a long time ago. Unfortunately, he did not and has no intention to do so, let alone pay a visit to Nanjing.

Chinese people deserve a proper apology from a sitting Japanese leader for what the Imperial Japanese Army did in Nanjing and elsewhere in China. So do those in many other Asian countries, which, as Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday, are available for Japan to offer condolences to victims of its wartime atrocities. Their request is by no means about "playing the history card".

In fact, there have been heartfelt reflections of Japan's wartime past by many Japanese, including former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama. Although Hatoyama did not visit Nanjing while in office due to domestic pressures, he went to the Chinese city to express his deep repentance for the notorious massacre after his term in office.

Just one month ago he apologized again for Japan's bombardment of Southwest China's Chongqing from 1938 to 1944, which left more than 30,000 people dead or injured, and criticized Abe for playing up the "China threat" theory.

But his criticism of Tokyo's distorted views on history drew fierce opposition, even insults, at home, casting a shadow over the promotion of the "freedom of speech" in Japan. Reconciliation is called for, but it is only possible if the incumbent Japanese administration stops playing word games and reiterates its promise to avoid repeating "the horrors of war".

The author is a professor of Japanese studies at China Foreign Affairs University.
DAN TRUITT HEADSHOT ART.jpg

State Rep. Dan Truitt, R-Chester

Good Tuesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

Now that Democrat Carolyn Comitta has been declared the winner in a closely watched state House race in suburban Philadelphia, the vanquished incumbent has asked for a recount of his own.

As our friends at The Inquirer report, Rep. Dan Truitt, R-156th District, lost to Comitta, the mayor of West Chester borough, by just 25 votes.

Last week, more astute readers will recall, Comitta, who had been leading by 18 votes, convinced a Common Pleas court judge to order elections officials to open 14 of 15 disputed provisional ballots.

Those ballots expanded Comitta's lead by eight votes. But on Monday, Truitt told the Inky at least one of those ballots was questionable.

"That was one of 14," Truitt told the newspaper. "If 36,000 votes are reconsidered, "it will probably move more than 25. It's just a 50-50 shot which direction they move."

The recount request should be acted upon in the next day or two, The Inquirer reported.

The rest of the day's news starts now.

Pennsylvania Republicans are staying quiet on allegations of Russian hacking, The Post-Gazette reports.

Donald Trump's wins have been certified in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Fox News and others report.

Philly's Socialists see an opportunity in the age of Trump, PhillyMag reports. Their first target: City Council.

In western Pa., the incidence of babies exposed to opioids is on the rise, The Tribune-Review reports.

The 35 people who died in Philly in a recent spike in overdoses were mostly white males, The Inquirer also reports.

Is political gridlock keeping bus services from being consolidated in central Pa.? Our PennLive colleague Christian Alexandersen takes up that very question.

Here's your #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day:

Layoff prep is in full swing at Pa. unemployment compensation centers, WITF-FM reports.

Keystone Crossroads examines whether schools in Ontario, Canada, are a model for Pennsylvania.

A murder suspect in a 2013 killing in Monroe County will face the death penalty, The Morning Call reports.

PoliticsPA runs down the rising stars in Pennsylvania politics with its "30 Under 30" list.

Here's Politico on the five roadblocks for Donald Trump's pick for SecState.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry might be in line for Energy Secretary, Roll Call reports.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).

The York County Leadership Committee hosts a 5:30 p.m. "Train Ride with Santa" and reception at the Glen Rock Mill Inn. Admission runs $25 to $100.

WolfWatch.

It's a busy day on the TVs and radio for Gov. Tom Wolf. At 8:07 a.m., he'll hit KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh for a phoner. At 2:05 and 2:15 p.m., you'll find him live in studio on Bloomberg TV for an interview on "Bloomberg Markets."

You Say It's Your Birthday Dept.

Best wishes go out this morning to ex-PennLive Opinion columnist Rhonda Mays of Harrisburg. Congrats and enjoy the day.

Heavy Rotation.

Here's a little something soulful and funky to get your Tuesday morning going.

Tuesday's Gratuitous Hockey Link.

The Bruins (whom we dislike almost as much as the utterly loathsome Flyers) snapped a six-game winless streak on Monday, picking up a 2-1 OT win on the road in Montreal.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's anti-poverty fight could suffer a setback due to economic strife, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned on Monday.

Maristela Baioni, UNDP's representative in Brazil, told a seminar in Sao Paulo that the organization was "on alert for possible setbacks in Brazil's actions against poverty" in the current economic crisis, the Agencia Brasil news agency reported.

"We've had a reduction in poverty in recent years, but today's crisis might see the return of former poverty levels," Baioni told the seminar.

Philip Alston, UN's Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, issued a much stronger warning on Friday, saying Brazil's proposed austerity measures could "breach human rights."

The Brazilian government's proposal to cap public spending on social programs for the next two decades is "entirely incompatible with the country's human rights obligations" and will "put an entire generation at risk," Alston said in a statement.

Didier Trebucq, UNDP's Brazil country director at, has called on the nation to step up human development programs to prevent "the risk of plunging back into poverty" some 224 million people, or 35 percent of Latin America's population.
Clover Hill Winery

Clover Hill's three new sparkling wines, from left: Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin and Cayuga White.

(Facebook)

One trend throughout the mid-Atlantic I've noted over the past couple years is the growth of sparkling wines as interest in bubbly increases. For years, you could count the number of producers of sparkling on one hand, with Cygnus Wine Cellars in Maryland and J.Maki in Chester County two of the more prominent.

Ironically, as Cygnus down in Manchester, Md., gets set to close its doors at the end of the month, there are a handful of wineries already taking its place, making one or several sparkling wines and ciders.

One is Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery in Breinigsville, in the heart of the Lehigh Valley. Kari Skrip Gavenus, one of the members of the family that runs the winery, sent an email over Monday with news of several releases, including three sparkling wines.



Sparkling Chambourcin - This bubbly embraces the beauty of Chambourcin, showcasing fruity and berry characteristics with elegant bubbles. Produced using the traditional methode champenoise, this sparkling wine is finished with just a touch of sweetness. Serve well chilled in a tall champagne flute to enhance the tiny streams of bubbles. $16.99



Sparkling Vidal Blanc - A beautiful bubbly made using methode champenoise, which indicates this wine underwent a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Sparkling Vidal has crisp flavors of lemon and grapefruit with soft, yeasty undertones. $16.99



Sparkling Cayuga White - The bubbles are a perfect complement to the fruitiness of this sparkling wine. Cayuga is full of fresh grape characteristics and a soft, smooth finish. This sparkling wine is made as a demi-sec (semi-sweet) and is a real crowd pleaser. $16.99



*All 3 Sparkling Wines are available at all Clover Hill locations. Due to the limited supply, there is a $3 tasting fee per each wine.

We are excited to welcome back our Port...

Ruby - This is a limited release port wine that is overflowing with rich, deep, sweet flavors and warming alcohol (20% alcohol). Cherry and berry characteristics from the Chambourcin grape dance in a dense body of fortified wine. Ruby ports are traditionally a young style port that is meant to be enjoyed within a year from purchase as an after dinner drink. $22



*Last year the Ruby sold out in 2 weeks so hurry to sample this year's release. Due to the limited supply, there is a $3 tasting fee for the Ruby.

One side note to the announcement is the idea of the tasting fees for these wines. It's one aspect of the business that the family has debated, whether to charge for tastings or not. Clover Hill is the biggest, or certainly one of the biggest wineries in the region, not to charge for sampling many of its products.

More on the internal "debate" is covered in these answers blow that Gavenus sent over a couple weeks ago. This survey she answered was part of the reporting done for a story on tasting fees across the region, which will appear in the January/February issue of Central PA magazine.

1, How long have you been charging for tastings?

Our tasting policy is one of constant debate among our family members. Currently we offer 5 complimentary samples from our core wine list. In addition, we have a list of reserve/limited release wines that all have an associated tasting fee for each of the wines. The fees range from $2-$6 per 1 ounce sample depending on the wine. For example, right now we have a limited release Sparkling Vidal Blanc that is a $3 tasting, our Vidal Blanc Ice Wine is $6 tasting fee, and our Ruby Port will soon be available for a $4 tasting fee.

2, What do you charge and what to customers get?

In addition to the above policy, we do have a policy that groups of 12+ people are by appointment only and there is a $5 non-refundable tasting fee. In this situation, we offer the groups 4 wines to taste that are pre-selected, then members of the group can select 2 additional wines.

3, How did you arrive at it? Do you look around the region at what others are charging?

As I said, the tasting policy is a constant debate for us. I believe we are one of the few wineries that do not charge for tastings. We have always wanted to provide customers with the opportunity to sample a range of Clover Hill wines in the hopes they find something that suits their taste. The amount of wine we pour in tasting samples on a weekly basis is significant, but at this time we feel it is still beneficial to not charge for the majority of our wines. We are constantly looking at what the other wineries do [locally, nationally and internationally] to see if there are better options to fit our needs and the needs of our customers.

4, Do you reimburse that with the purchase of any wine? When we do charge for the reserve wines and for groups, the tasting fees are non-refundable.

5, How much resistance do you get to a fee or are a majority of your customers used to them by now? Even though the majority of our tasting is complimentary, we still get complaints about the tasting fees and about the 5 taste limit. We try to explain that 5 - 1oz. samples = 1 free glass of wine!

6, In general, what is your winery's philosophy when it comes to the tasting fees? Unfortunately, each of my family members has a different view on tasting fees so it is difficult to say what Clover Hill's philosophy is! I can say, we always viewed our tasting room as an opportunity to introduce/teach customers about our wines and Clover Hill. In turn, we hope customers will find something they enjoy and take it home with them! Then it makes our complimentary tastings worth while. Clover Hill never wants to be a bar or a party stop. We want to be a winery with a tasting room so people can find wines they love and take them home! That keeps us doing what we love!
Len Kiefer, Deputy Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, recently posted an analysis of global housing price trends based on the international house price database (from the Dallas Fed). Using those data, Kiefer compared housing trends price increases (and in a couple of places like Spain and Ireland, decreases) across 24 countries. He also looks at the change in affordability of houses, comparing housing increases with disposable income growth. (Belgium is a surprising outlier in this category, where housing cost has inreased 1.8 times faster than income.) But I thought the most interesting chart was the animation of house prices below: despite the much-publicised spike in housing prices in big cities like London and San Francisco, when you look at the country-level data it's actually Canada, Australia and New Zealand that lead the pack.

Len used R for all the analysis and visualization, and helpfully posted the R code to the end of his blog post. Kiefer imported the Excel data file from the Dallas Fed simply by using the read.xls function from the gdata package. The charts were created using the ggplot2 package, and the chart above was animated from individual frames using the animation package.

(Incidentally, there's a new way to create animations using ggplot2: the gganimate package. This PlotCon presentation by David Robinson explains how to use gganimate, including the use of the tweenr package to include smooth inter-frame transitions in the style of GapMinder.)

For more details on the housing price analysis, including the R code, follow the link to Len Kiefer's blog post below.

Len Kiefer: Global house price trends (via Urban Demographics)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Islanders flocked to Casa Belvedere Monday evening to witness the unveiling of an 18th century style, handcrafted, 120-piece, 16 feet wide, 7-foot-tall and 5-foot-deep nativity scene from the Naples Chamber of Commerce to the New York City Fire Department.

The masterpiece on display at the Italian Cultural Foundation on Grymes Hill until Jan. 7th, is a gift of friendship and solidarity from the Naples, Italy, Chamber of Commerce to The New York City Fire Department in honor of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001 and the brave city firefighters, police officers and EMS workers who responded to the tragedy.

The handcrafted work of art was created by master artisans of the Campania Region of Italy and is consistent with techniques that date back to the seventeenth century. It's comprised of 120 handmade pieces including peasants to noblemen, the Holy Family, many animals typical of that time period, angels, a faux mountain, a stable and more.

The artisan's meticulous attention to detail and the beauty and warmth of the work of art is of museum quality.

However, not only does it recreate a stable scene of Christ's Birth, it's magnificently unique in that it tells the story of the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, in a heartwarming way.

Depicted are figures of the three Kings who, instead of bringing gifts of gold, incense and myrrh, present Baby Jesus with three New York City firefighters' helmets with the numbers 9, 11 and 01.

In addressing the crowd, Gina Biancardi, founder and president of Casa Belvedere, stated:

"I am so happy to be able to exhibit this beautiful 120-piece artisan made 'Presepio Della Solidarieta' so symbolic of how the tragedy of Sept. 11 impacted the world. Even the artisans in Italy told a beautiful story." She adds: "Instead of carrying the gifts of the Magi, they're carrying on their helmets 9/11/01. Even after seeing it all these years, each time I look at it, it's like seeing it for the very first time. It touches my heart and brings back the whole tragedy."



A blessing of the creche was bestowed upon the display by the Rev. Ambrose Madu of Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church, Tompkinsville.

Representing Daniel A. Nigro, the Commissioer of the City Fire Department at the ceremony and reception was Deputy Assistant Chief Staten Island Borough Commander, FDNY, Richard Howe who attended with his wife, Amy Howe.

Among those present who offered welcoming remarks were Consulate General of Italy to New York, Francesco Genuardi, who stated:

"It's an honor and pleasure to be here for the unveiling of the nativity, a prestigious tradition here on Staten Island."

He further explained: "There's been a great relationship between the City of New York and Staten Island. I've never seen such a beautiful Presepio, a shining light in this beautiful borough and a moment of friendship. Viva Staten Island. Buona Natale."

The Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere is a registered 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization that seeks to preserve, promote and celebrate the legacy of its ancestors by offering myriad cultural and educational activities, programs and special events to the public at large.

CELEBRATIONS: DEC. 14

Wednesday is birthday time for Terry D'Aquila, Dominick Caracciolo, Elizabeth Siegardt and Bill Goins.

Happy wedding anniversary Wednesday to Judy and Howard Joerger, to Danielle and Keith Palladino, and to Jessie and John Lorentzen, who celebrate their 13th.
Bahrain is a far cry from Mount Everest. Hot, humid and surrounded by shallow seas, the island reaches a modest 439 feet in height. Yet Bahrain played its part in one of the more unusual tales to have made it into Everest lore, and the mountains symbolism indirectly contributed to the formation of aviation policy in the Persian Gulf before the Second World War.





A view of Everest from Darjeeling, taken from Pictorial Tour Round India by John Murdoch, (1894) BL flickr



On 31 May 1933 a Gypsy Moth plane landed at the Imperial Airways aerodrome in Muharraq. The pilot, Maurice Wilson, was a British civilian who intended to refuel at Bahrain before continuing on to India, via Sharjah. The British and Bahraini authorities had caught wind of Wilsons arrival and given strict instructions to Imperial Airways that he should not be allowed to refuel or leave the country.

Maurice Wilson with his aeroplane, Ever Wrest, before his flight to India - Wikipedia



Wilson was interviewed by Imperial Airways staff and the Political Agent in Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Loch. His intention was to fly his plane 10,000 feet up Mount Everest and then to walk the odd 19,002 feet to the summit. Badly injured in the First World War, Wilson claimed he had been healed by fasting and prayer when conventional doctors had been unable to help. His mission, he believed, was to be the first to climb Everest to show the world the power of such faith.

Loch was justifiably sceptical. He [has] never seen the Himalayas and [has] never been above 18,000 feet. All he had to assist him was an oxygen apparatus weighing 18 pounds which was to supply oxygen for seven-and-an-half hours. Loch did not know that Wilsons training had only involved hiking the hills of Snowdonia and the Lake District, hills that barely reached a tenth of the height of Everest. Wilsons preparations for flying were not much better, obtaining his pilots licence in twice the average length of time.

Map showing air routes along the Persian Gulf IOR/R/15/1/730, f 88



Wilson had ignored an Air Ministry ban on civilian flights along the Arab coast, hence the attention from the authorities. While special permission was sometimes given, only the Royal Air Force and the government-backed Imperial Airways were routinely allowed to fly the route. Wilsons journey prompted deliberation at some of the highest levels of government and triggered a flurry of correspondence that led to tighter controls and a change in policy. Sensitive to the political complications that the activities of those such as Wilson might cause, and conscious of maintaining the illusion of the Gulf States independence, the Political Resident was instructed to obtain letters from the Arab rulers of Kuwait, Bahrain, the Trucial Coast, and Oman explicitly banning all private and civil travel over or into their territories. These instructions were then incorporated into the Air Navigation Regulations of each country and notices of the ban were posted in airfields in Iraq and India.





Notice to Airmen posted at airfields in India IOR/R/15/2/1677, f.76.



Wilson ignored his orders to return to Basra, instead flying directly on to Gwadar. He succeeded in sneaking into Tibet disguised as a Buddhist monk and pretending to be deaf and dumb. He made several attempts at the summit, sometimes alone, sometimes with a few companion Sherpas. He never returned from his final solitary attempt on 29 May 1934. His last diary entry, made two days later and exactly a year after landing in Bahrain, read simply Off again, gorgeous day.

John Hayhurst

Project Officer  Gulf History Specialist

British Library/Qatar Foundation Partnership

Further reading:

IOR/L/PS/12/1981 Coll 5/31 Air Route to India: Prohibition of private flights along the Arabian Coast of the Persian Gulf

IOR/R/15/1/715 Administration Reports 1931-1935

IOR/R/15/1/730 Historical Summary of Events in Territories of the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Arabia affecting the British Position in the Persian Gulf, 1907-1928

IOR/R/15/2/1677 File 21/20 Airways, Private Aviators

Qatar Digital Library

Dennis Roberts, Ill Climb Mount Everest Alone: The Story of Maurice Wilson, London: Robert Hale (1957)
By Thibaut Minot,

Associate, International Business Advisory, Dezan Shira & Associates

Forecasting the financial performance of a proposed business and accurately assessing the investment required to launch operations is always a complex affair. In China, where foreign currency restrictions significantly complicate cross-border transactions, the strategic planning of funding foreign-invested entities (FIEs) is of particular importance.

This is well illustrated in the case study explored in this article, a scenario that Dezan Shira & Associates commonly encounters while advising clients that have an entity in China or are in the process of setting one up. The case study will not only aim to illustrate the common pitfalls associated with funding a Chinese business, but will also be used to introduce five different strategies available to investors contemplating the funding of a wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE).

Scenario

Just six months after incorporation, a foreign-invested company involved in commodities trading runs out of registered capital. The business was established on the premise that revenue would be generated quickly, as a major client had vouched to place a large order and settle the invoice within 90 days. However, the payment on the order was delayed and the trading company could not meet its forecasted cash flow target. Meanwhile, the company incurred significant expenses, having to pay its suppliers for raw materials, its landlord for the large warehouse rented, and its newly-hired employees. Upon being notified of the situation of the FIE in China, the parent company immediately re-initiated registered capital injection installments. However, it took several weeks for the process to be completed and for the capital to arrive in the companys bank account. As a result of this delay, the company was not able to pay its Chinese employees at the end of the month and make social insurance contributions on time.

This situation is not uncommon in China, and many investors decide to only inject a limited amount of registered capital into their Chinese company at the start, optimistically forecasting rapid income generation and/or underestimating upcoming expenses. In addition, there is the inherent risk of dedicating resources to a new and foreign market, and it is perfectly sensible for investors to seek to keep investments to a minimum until the guarantee of returns becomes apparent. The scenario mentioned above does however raise two critical questions: (i) what options does an investor have to inject capital into a WFOE once injected registered capital runs out?; and (ii) what options are available to efficiently plan the WFOEs financing in the first place?

Reactive WFOE funding strategies

Option 1  Injecting registered capital gradually according to cash flow needs

A cautious investor could decide to commit significant registered capital to its FIE in China, while gradually injecting the funds in increments according to the companys cash flow needs. Capital is not injected fully in one initial transaction so as to avoid the risk of prematurely trapping considerable funds into the Chinese company. Problematically, each injection of capital triggers approval and verification procedures with the State Administration of Foreign Exchanges (SAFE), the body in charge of monitoring foreign currency transactions in China. The whole process generally takes between one to two weeks from the point of remittance to the time at which capital becomes readily available to settle expenses. On top of the costs and inconvenience associated with undertaking these procedures, such a strategy requires the careful anticipation of upcoming obligations well ahead of time so as not to miss payment deadlines. It becomes vital to carefully plan the capital injections so that the WFOEs funds do not run out in between two capital injection milestones.

RELATED: Pre-Investment and Entry Strategy Advisory from Dezan Shira & Associates



Option 2  Increasing the registered capital ceiling committed

If a WFOE runs out of registered capital while having reached the maximum amount that is allowed to be injected, there is always the option of increasing the ceiling of registered capital committed at the start. However, this is not a simple process. Prior authorization from the Administration of Industry and Commerce (AIC) would need to be obtained, and amendments would subsequently need to be made to the entitys business license and other official records. In effect, many of the steps completed during the incorporation stage of the company would need to be repeated. The whole process can take between eight to twelve weeks, and the time laps involved could jeopardize any business that is running out of funds.

Option 3  Implementing inter-company service agreements

The investor may also inject funds into its China WFOE in the form of a service fee, with the WFOE entering into service agreements with the parent company overseas. For example, it is common practice for the China entity to provide consulting services to the headquarters, with the resulting transaction acting as a funding mechanism. The service fee would be subject to a six percent value-added tax (VAT) rate and related surcharges, although a VAT rebate may apply as the service recipient is located overseas. Additionally, the resulting WFOE revenue remaining as profit is subject to a Corporate Income Tax (CIT) of 25 percent in most instances. Unlike the injection of registered capital, service fees do not constitute a capital account transaction, and as such can be organized more rapidly without obtaining prior approval from SAFE directly. Nevertheless, the WFOEs bank, acting on behalf of SAFE as an enforcement body, will check the supporting documentation and verify the consistency of the transaction with the communicated business purpose. The funds transit via an escrow account and may end up being held up by the bank in the event that its expectations or requirements are not fully satisfied.

It should be noted that in the event of a tax audit further down the timeline, the audited entity may be asked to provide supporting documents proving that the service fees received were based on genuine transactions, such as the service contract. It is therefore important to plan ahead and prepare sound service agreements that limit the risk of raising future undesired scrutiny. Also important to note is that inter-company service agreements may trigger transfer pricing (TP) ramifications if they lead to significant shifting of profits between the two parties. According to the Public Notice Regarding Refining the Reporting of Related Party Transactions and Administration of Transfer Pricing Documentation (SAT Public Notice [2016] No. 42), released by the State Administration of Taxation (SAT) on June 29, 2016, the transaction thresholds triggering the need for the preparation of TP documentation are as follows: RMB 200 million for tangible assets transfers; RMB 100 million for financial assets transfers; RMB 100 million for intangible assets transfers; and RMB 40 million for other related party transactions in total. It is critical for taxpayers to be familiar with SAT Public Notice No. 42, and assess their related party transactions according to the new thresholds.

Although these three reactive funding options are certainly appealing for a WFOE that has run out of registered capital, the scenario introduced above further raises a critical question: is there a safer way to commit sufficient capital at the start to avoid the need to later on organize cumbersome capital account transactions or taxable service transactions?

Preemptive WFOE funding strategies

Option 4  Injecting substantial registered capital from the start

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Injecting considerable registered capital from the beginning insures that the companys expenses are covered in the long term, without having to go through multiple capital injection rounds. Meanwhile, the amount of registered capital committed to a company is publically available information, and a large registered capital commitment can increase the credibility of the investor in the eyes of potential business partners. However, a rational investor may feel reluctant to over-commit, as excess capital would sit idle in a bank account that brings no returns. The funds could likely be put to a more lucrative use if invested through alternative means, earning a return as a bank deposit or otherwise employed, and thus there is an opportunity cost of over-injecting registered capital into a China company. Additionally, there is always the risk that the value of the money held in the capital account is subject to exchange rate fluctuations, with very limited options available to the investor to quickly respond to such a risk. Furthermore, when the time comes that the WFOE is cash-flow positive and the investor wants to repatriate profits, in most cases registered capital will have to have been fully injected into the WFOE before dividends can be issued. As such, a large registered capital commitment could delay the much anticipated process of profit repatriation.

Option 5  Committing to registered capital alongside a foreign loan

Within the gap between the total investment into a WFOE and the amount of registered capital committed, authorities allow for a capped loan amount to be arranged between an overseas creditor and the WFOE. Together with registered capital, company loans constitute the total investment injected into the WFOE. Different from the injection of registered capital, a foreign loan can be returned to the shareholder (or related party) in accordance with the terms indicated in the loan agreement. There is considerable flexibility in this regard, as the loan agreement can be amended pending the approval of the relevant authorities. As such, resorting to company loans can help the investor inject money into its WFOE at a relatively low level of risk. Moreover, the application procedures are comparatively simpler than that of the increase of registered capital. It is estimated to require four weeks to register the foreign loan agreement with SAFE and open a specific foreign loan account with the bank. This is two to three times less than the time it takes to increase the registered capital ceiling.

The case study presented demonstrates the complications intrinsic to funding the operations of FIEs in China, and how important it is to carefully assess the different funding options introduced above. Because of the difficulty of correctly anticipating a WFOEs cash flow needs and the optimal amount of registered capital to inject at the start, it is likely that an investor will have to inject funds during the life of the company, sometimes abruptly in response to a financial constraint. However, each strategy comes with a number of advantages and drawbacks, and as such it is essential to understand the various funding processes and anticipate their consequences. Discussing WFOE funding strategies with a competent advisor is of the utmost importance in order to map out a financing plan that best serves business objectives and mitigates risks.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email china@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight.

Establishing & Operating a Business in China 2016

Establishing & Operating a Business in China 2016, produced in collaboration with the experts at Dezan Shira & Associates, explores the establishment procedures and related considerations of the Representative Office (RO), and two types of Limited Liability Companies: the Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise (WFOE) and the Sino-foreign Joint Venture (JV). The guide also includes issues specific to Hong Kong and Singapore holding companies, and details how foreign investors can close a foreign-invested enterprise smoothly in China.

Tax, Accounting, and Audit in China 2016

This edition of Tax, Accounting, and Audit in China, updated for 2016, offers a comprehensive overview of the major taxes that foreign investors are likely to encounter when establishing or operating a business in China, as well as other tax-relevant obligations. This concise, detailed, yet pragmatic guide is ideal for CFOs, compliance officers and heads of accounting who must navigate the complex tax and accounting landscape in China in order to effectively manage and strategically plan their China-based operations.

An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2016

Doing Business in China 2016 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in China. Compiled by the professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates in June 2016, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Chinese market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to keep up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes
Legendary rock band Metallica will play a concert in Shanghai next January before continuing to Beijing and other Asian cities.

A poster of Metallica's Shanghai concert. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

The Grammy-winning band announced its return to Asia with a tour date in Shanghai on Jan. 15, 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Priced at 480 -- 1980 yuan, tickets will go on sale from 2 p.m. on Dec. 13 through ticketing hotline 400-610-3721, and online via China's Damai.cn. Their Beijing concert, which has opened earlier ticket presale than Shanghai's, was sold out in minutes.

Metallica was formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and has become one of the most influential and commercially successful rock bands in history, having sold 110 million albums worldwide while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The act has also garnered numerous awards and acco-lades, including nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, and multiple MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.

The band released their eleventh studio album, "HardwiredTo Self-Destruct," on Nov. 18 through Blackened Record-ings. The double CD set earned the band their sixth number one album on the Billboard Top 200 and debuted at number one in 23 countries. The album is produced by Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed the band's "Death Magnetic" album in 2008.

In addition to the Shanghai concert, Metallica will play in Seoul (Jan. 11), Beijing (Jan. 18), Hong Kong (Jan. 20) and Singapore (Jan. 22).
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen (R) meets with Huawei Southeast Asia Region President David Sun (L) in Cambodia on Monday. [Photo: Huawei.com]

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen met with Huawei Southeast Asia Region President David Sun, exchanging views on further cooperation in information and communication technology (ICT) development in Cambodia, said a news release from Huawei on Monday.

During the talks at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, David Sun praised Cambodia for the rapid development of ICT industry - the essential sector that was importantly contributing to socioeconomic development, the news release said.

"The vision of Huawei is to build a better connected world," he said. adding that "we will continue to invest in Cambodia in order to contribute to economic development, ICT talent training and social welfare activities."

David Sun said with Huawei's support, the first group of 11 Cambodian students had arrived in China and started their training at Huawei, and the second and third groups, selected by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia and Huawei, would be sent to China for training in 2017 and 2018.

For his part, the prime minister was confident that Huawei could participate in Cambodia's national broadband construction with the latest communication technologies to eliminate the digital divide and to make Cambodian youth's dream come true.

Huawei is a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) solutions provider. Started its business in Cambodia in 1999, Huawei has received strong support from the government, local telecom operators, and customers in ICT industry, the news release said.

To date, Huawei's communication network service has covered approximately 70 percent of the consumers in Cambodia, and Huawei mobile phones have ranked third for the share of the Cambodian market, it said.

It added that so far, Huawei has helped Cambodia cultivated more than 1,000 ICT talents.
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The head of China's insurance regulator said Tuesday that insurers should not be securities speculators amid market concerns driven by some companies' large stake acquisitions using borrowed money.

"Insurance companies should be financial investors in good faith, instead of making hostile takeovers," Xiang Junbo, chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), said during a meeting, vowing stricter supervision over the sector.

Insurance should provide long-term capital for the real economy and defend against financial risks, he added.

The remarks came as a hard-line response to recent "barbaric" behavior of some insurers using leveraged money to buy shares of listed companies.

Triggering sharp volatility in the market, the moves annoyed corporate executives and caused individual investors to suffer.

The CIRC has strengthened its monitoring efforts, including suspending Evergrande Life, the insurance arm of China Evergrande Group, from investing in the stock market.
A series of commemorative events have been held in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, ahead of the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims on Tuesday, with many people mourning the deaths of relatives who were killed in the massacre.

More than 300,000 Chinese citizens fell victim to the invading Japanese troops in Nanjing from December 1937 to January 1938. But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not seem to be bothered that Japan is yet to offer a sincere apology to the neighboring countries that were occupied and terrorized by Japan before and during World War II. Instead, he has decided to visit Pearl Harbor on Dec 26 with US President Barack Obama 75 years after Japan launched an attack on Hawaii.

But Abe's visit to Hawaiithe first by a Japanese leader to Pearl Harbor since the end of World War IIis about "consoling the souls of those who died in the war", not to apologize for Japan's wartime crimes, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said. Which means Abe is not likely to apologize for the attack on Hawaii that killed more than 2,000 US citizens.

His apology-free trip to Hawaii offers a glimpse into the prevailing, yet false reading of history among a slew of Japanese leaders that owning up to the country's wartime past is not necessary, which contradicts the much-touted Japanese "noble and precious" values of liberty, democracy and the rule of law.

Refusing to face up to the country's wartime past will not absolve Japanese leaders of their responsibilities. Rather, it will call into question their credibility. The irony is, the globally respected principle of liberty, democracy and the rule of law is the result of the collapse of fascism and its once-dedicated followersJapan, Germany and Italy.

In the case of Pearl Harbor, Japan launched a war against the United States. Their engagement, however, was basically on an equal footing given their comparative military strength and geopolitical influence at the time. In contrast, what Japan unleashed on China and its people was sheer terror since China was much weaker then. And the most tragic example of that terror was the slaughter of more than 300,000 Chinese people in Nanjing, which was not only an immoral but also irredeemable crime.

If Abe could express "deep remorse" over the Japanese military's atrocities to the US and visit Pearl Harbor in the name of "reconciliation", he should have had done the same to China a long time ago. Unfortunately, he did not and has no intention to do so, let alone pay a visit to Nanjing.

Chinese people deserve a proper apology from a sitting Japanese leader for what the Imperial Japanese Army did in Nanjing and elsewhere in China. So do those in many other Asian countries, which, as Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday, are available for Japan to offer condolences to victims of its wartime atrocities. Their request is by no means about "playing the history card".

In fact, there have been heartfelt reflections of Japan's wartime past by many Japanese, including former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama. Although Hatoyama did not visit Nanjing while in office due to domestic pressures, he went to the Chinese city to express his deep repentance for the notorious massacre after his term in office.

Just one month ago he apologized again for Japan's bombardment of Southwest China's Chongqing from 1938 to 1944, which left more than 30,000 people dead or injured, and criticized Abe for playing up the "China threat" theory.

But his criticism of Tokyo's distorted views on history drew fierce opposition, even insults, at home, casting a shadow over the promotion of the "freedom of speech" in Japan. Reconciliation is called for, but it is only possible if the incumbent Japanese administration stops playing word games and reiterates its promise to avoid repeating "the horrors of war".

The author is a professor of Japanese studies at China Foreign Affairs University.
There is a new trading route stretching from Guangzhou (Guangdong Province) and Yiwu (Zhejiang Province) to the historic Saharan city of Timbuktu in Mali that is empowering African Market Women.

These were once legendary. In a continent better known for its male traditions, African Market Women once held a primary position in the economy of their communities. The most famous were the Makola Women of Ghana.

With the economic decline in most of sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980's, Market Women seemed to have lost their place; however, thanks to Sino-African trade, they are back in force.

Much has been written on SinoAfrican relations, but the discourse hardly mentions women's role. However, on a typical flight between many African cities and Guangzhou or Yiwu, one can find scores of women, mainly from Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya and Tanzania.

They're an amazing breed. They don't usually have much formal education. They hardly speak any Mandarin or, indeed, much English or French. They probably haven't heard of the WTO and wouldn't be interested, anyway. Yet, in the grand old tradition of African Market Women, they are a highly sophisticated class of traders that redefine the "supply chain" in trade.

Whatever their age, the women travel the Sino-African Silk Road armed with dollars and yuan, and, of course, calculators and mobile phones. They understand the complex nuances of exchange rates, and can tell you all about cargo freight costs and clearance procedures.

With their brightly-colored clothes and large and intricate headscarves, they stand out as icons of international trade at the grassroots level and have a profound impact on Sino-African trade.

Traditionally, such women traded in foodstuffs and clothing. They were not a typical merchant class. Very few ventured into the sophisticated world of imports. They did not travel to countries far away for trade. Typically, they bought and sold goods in their local markets. However, things have changed.

In the past, most imports into Sub-Saharan Africa came from Europe and the United States. Language and educational barriers and complex visa requirements made it virtually impossible, or even unthinkable, for the average market woman to venture into major world trade centers. Guangzhou and Yiwu have changed all this and freed these women from the cultural, social, and economic barriers that formerly restricted them.

Unofficially, China is helping to breed a new type of African Market Women. Its Open Door policy,with liberal visa regulations, enables traders to enter the country easily. Guangzhou and Yiwu are the two most popular places for African traders. By some estimates, these two cities welcome close to 20,000 Sub-Saharan Africans annually.

In Guangzhou, the concentration is in the Sanyuanli (), Xiaobei () and Foshan () districts. On any day, in any of these districts, it is common to see hundreds of African women doing brisk business alongside male counterparts. Trade has become the great equalizer.

In spite of language barriers and obvious cultural differences, our new Market Women thrive in China. Between them and their Chinese traders, there is one shared element and common motivation: commercial profit.

These Market Women appear comfortable because both Africa and China have a culture of bargaining and haggling underpinned by informality in the rough and tumble market place. Unlike what they might encounter in Europe and America, Chinese markets provide the perfect environment for them.

Some of the women are routine travelers to China and have regular Chinese suppliers, while other go to seek new opportunities. Almost all are wholesalers of goods ranging from toys, disposable items and clothing to furniture. From Accra to Timbuktu, the women have a complex network of eager retailers, mostly women, waiting for them to return home.

The Guangzhou-Africa trade value chain has three related elements: airfreight of wholesale export and shipping, usually through Dubai; container wholesale shipping distribution by sea; and retail distribution at home. The new Market Women are involved in all these elements.

What is remarkable is that, increasingly, African traders are partnering with Chinese counterparts to run factories and warehouses and to provide logistics in the Chinese value chain in China. African Market Women are joining their male counterparts in developing these new partnerships.

Africa's trading relationship with China has not been without questions. In some respects, cheaper goods from China have contributed to deindustrialize some sub-Saharan African countries whose infant industries could not compete with Chinese imports.

In the complex world of globalization this is to be expected. The good news is that trade with China is also creating new opportunities. Africa has a new type of Market Women who are helping to bring home cheaper goods and creating further opportunities in the supply chain.

Professor Sam Blay is a senior Australian law academic. He is currently Professor and Deputy Principal, Top Education Institute in Sydney and Professor at the Sydney City School of Law. He is a member of the South China International Economic Arbitration and Trade.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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China pledged on Monday to work with Thailand on the joint railway project for the benefit of both countries and peoples.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Thailand's First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 12, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Premier Li Keqiang made the remarks when he met with First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan of Thailand.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who was here to attend the 5th China-Thailand Joint Committee on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation Meeting held on Friday in Beijing, was also present at the meeting on Monday.

Li said he and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha reached consensus on the railway earlier this year.

The memorandum signed on Friday made clear arrangements for the next step on the basis of the current cooperation framework, said Li.

Prawit told Li he is visiting to inform China about recent developments on behalf of Prayuth.

He said Thailand is ready to work with China on major connectivity projects including the railway and strengthen cooperation on tourism, internet, agriculture and law enforcement.

Thailand and China signed documents on the development of Thailand's transportation infrastructure in 2014.

On the regional cooperation, Li said it is the consensus of all sides to enhance the economic integration of the East Asia, especially to agree upon the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at an early date.

It is in line with all parties' interests, conducive to showing the willingness of countries in the region to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, he said.

China supports the Association of the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in playing a core role in the regional cooperation and would like to enhance communication and contacts with parties including Thailand on the negotiation of RCEP under the framework of China-ASEAN ties and East Asia cooperation, Li said.

Prawit said the RCEP is an important proposal that will benefit Asia.

As an ASEAN member, Thailand will play an active role in the RCEP negotiation process.
Three prominent education advocacy organizations are urging states to make high-achieving, low-income students a priority by including student growth in their new accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

In a Dec. 13 letter, the Center for American Progress, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute also urge governors and chief state school officers to recognize in their accountability systems those high schools that help students get college credit. Incorporating such measures into state accountability, the organizations argue, will ensure that all kids count, including disadvantaged students who exceed expectations but still depend on schools to ensure they are recognized and allowed to thrive.

The challenge going forward is to devise accountability systems that raise the ceiling as well as the floor, the three groups say in their joint letter. This is partly about fairness: Its wrong for any child to miss out on academic challenges at school, and we should do everything we can to develop the full potential of all our students.

To prioritize student growth, for example, the three groups say, policymakers could, for example, create an achievement index that gives schools partial credit for getting students to basic, full credit for getting students to proficient, and additional credit for getting them to advanced.

This isnt the first time folks have raised student growth and related issues in the context of ESSA, which allows states to use student growth in different indicators in ESSA school accountability, depending on a schools grade span. But proficiency has to be included in ESSAs academic achievement indicator for all grade spans.

Democrats in Congress, for example, have lobbied for making ESSA regulations more friendly to student-growth measures . Last July, a group of researchers asked the U.S. Department of Education not to mandate the use of proficiency rates in ESSA school accountability. And Fordham President Mike Petrilli (one of three signatories on the letter, including CAP Vice President Catherine Brown and Cooke Foundation Executive Director Harold Levy) has previously warned that making low-achieving students a bigger priority than high-achieving student s can unintentionally hurt the latter.

Read the groups full letter below:

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
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At least 34 people were killed Monday by airstrikes on rebel-held areas in central province of Hama, a monitor group reported.

Half of the killed were children, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It added that the airstrikes targeted areas in town of Akeirbat in eastern countryside of Hama.

The UK-based watchdog group said it had cited sources as saying that the rockets fired from the war jets were stuffed with chemical material.

It said some of the people had suffered suffocation after the airstrikes, which have intensified on Monday after the Islamic State (IS) group stormed the nearby ancient city of Palmyra.

Meanwhile, the Observatory, which says it relies on a network of activists on ground, said the rebels in Hama fired rockets at a military airbase in the area, leaving unknown losses.
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Islamic State (IS) militants besieged a Syrian airbase by the city of Palmyra on Monday, two days after lambasting the ancient city for the second time, reported a monitor group.

Battles erupted on Monday between the Syrian army and IS militants in the vicinity of the T4 airbase, located in the eastern countryside of Homs, near the ancient city of Palmyra, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group added that IS militants succeeded in closing in on the airbase, two days after entering Palmyra, controlling both residential and historic city areas.

It added that IS militants are trying to storm the airbase.

Meanwhile, Syrian warplanes continue to pound IS posts in Palmyra, after withdrawing from the city following a considerable offensive by IS militants.

After hundreds of fighters joined IS militants upon command to take over Palmyra, IS militants launched their offensive against the city on Thursday, finally succeeding on Sunday.

The Syrian army captured Palmyra on March 27, 2016, a year after losing it to IS militants.

Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that once was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.

The city's significance to IS militants is because it connects areas under the group's control in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour with areas under its control in the eastern countryside of the central province of Homs.

The recapture of Palmyra is also important as IS militants in Iraq have recently begun entering Syria following substantial losses in battles against the Iraqi army and the U.S.-led anti-terrorism coalition.
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The White House said on Monday the United States remains "firmly committed" to the one-China policy.

"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest at the daily briefing.

"That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," he added.

It is universally recognized by the international community that there is only one China in the world, and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has made clear that adherence to the one-China policy is the prerequisite for Taiwan to conduct contacts with foreign countries or participate in international activities.
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Italy's newly-appointed Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni announced the formation of a new cabinet on Monday.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (R) shakes hands with Italy's newly-appointed Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni at the handover ceremony at Chigi Palace in Rome, capital of Italy, on Dec. 12, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

He handed in his list of 18 new ministers to Italian President Sergio Mattarella late afternoon on Monday, thus drawing to a swift close to the government crisis set off by the resignation of former prime minister Matteo Renzi on Dec. 7.

Renzi stepped down after losing a key constitutional referendum, and, on Sunday, 62-year-old Gentiloni was asked by Mattarella to replace him and form a new government.

The newly-appointed prime minister went through a quick round of consultations with parliamentary groups until Monday morning, before presenting the new team.

"I did my best to form the government in the shortest possible time in order to answer the call of the president, and to safeguard the stability of our institutions," Gentiloni told a press conference.

As announced, he moved within the framework of the previous center-left government's majority in parliament, since all opposition forces were not available to take part in the new cabinet.

Most key figures were confirmed in their office, including Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, Justice Minister Andrea Orlando, Labor Minister Giuliano Poletti, and Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda.

Angelino Alfano -- outgoing interior minister -- has been named as foreign affairs minister, which was Gentiloni's previous office.

He will be replaced at the interior ministry by Marco Minniti from the center-left Democratic Party (PD), the largest force in the parliament and party to which Gentiloni and Renzi both belong.

The visible continuity with outgoing Renzi's center-left cabinet was meant to be a reassuring message for international and European observers, and for financial markets.

"As it is clear, the government will continue with the innovative action so far carried out by the cabinet led by Matteo Renzi," Gentiloni acknowledged.

"At the same time, it will strive to facilitate the parliamentary forces' task of identifying new rules for the electoral law."

Changing, or amending, the electoral system would in fact be a priority over the next months, in order to allow the country to eventually face early elections. Currently, two different laws govern the election of the Senate and the Lower House of parliament, and the president has stressed they need to be "harmonized."

The legislature term ends in February 2018. Yet, all opposition forces have been pressing for snap elections since the cabinet-backed constitutional reform was rejected in the referendum, and a general vote might be called as early as spring 2017.

The new cabinet was to be sworn in at the president's Quirinal Palace at 8:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.

Then, it will ask for a confidence vote in both the senate and the lower house.
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Celebratory gunshots reverberated across the northern city of Aleppo on Monday evening, and people took to the streets celebrating, as the Syrian army has almost dislodged the rebels from the eastern part of the city, witnesses in Aleppo told Xinhua.

Gunshots with bullets that leave red tails echoed in Aleppo, with women ululates in joy in the streets, with news that the rebels have almost lost their ground in the eastern part of the city.

"God, Syria and only Bashar," "With soul and blood we sacrifice for Syria," and "God protects the army," these were some slogans shouted by the people there, in support for the army.

Local TVs said the celebrations are for the "victory of Aleppo."

Earlier in the day, the Syrian army captured the strategic neighborhood of Sheikh Saeed, and other neighborhoods in southeastern Aleppo, with local reports saying the army is in control of 99 percent of Aleppo.

Later in the evening, state news agency SANA said the army captured Bustan al-Qaser, one of two remaining strongholds for the rebels.

Activists also said the rebels have withdrawn from the neighborhood of Kalasseh, the last major neighborhood in southeastern Aleppo.

An official source in Aleppo told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the remaining rebels have gathered in the neighborhood of Salahuddien, demanding their evacuation.

The military media arm said the rebels in the few remaining areas in eastern Aleppo are in a state of confusion, and large numbers of them are turning themselves to the Syrian army, while the rest are fleeing through tunnels out of the city.

It's expected that the Syrian military will issue a statement soon, declaring the absolute victory in Aleppo.
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The Syrian army captured the neighborhood of Sukari southeast of Aleppo city in northern Syria on Monday, reported the pan-Arab Mayadeen TV.

Soldiers of pro-government militia rest in Aleppo, Syria, on Dec. 11, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

With Sukari in control, the rebels are now trapped in the two remaining neighborhoods of Bustan al-Qaser and Kallaseh in southeastern Aleppo.

Earlier, the army captured several neighborhoods, most importantly the Sheikh Saeed neighborhood, located on a high ground area thus exposing rebel-held areas to attacks by the Syrian army and allied fighters.

The report said the Syrian army now controls 99 percent of the rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo.

Tens of thousands of people fled eastern Aleppo in the past couple of weeks, with local media reporting the number at 85,000 civilians.

The Syrian army said on Monday that the offensive will continue until Aleppo is completely freed from rebel control.
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Russia and the United States have blamed each other for the recent fall of the ancient Syrian city Palmyra into the hands of the Islamic State (IS) militants.

Kremlin Spokesman Dimitry Peskov on Monday regretted the failure to stop the IS offensive in Palmyra, as well as the lack of coordinated action and real cooperation with other states that are unwilling to cooperate, the United States first and foremost.

"This cooperation was likely to enable us to avoid similar attacks of terrorists," Tass news agency quoted the spokesman as saying. Peskov also expressed the hope that the IS would be forced out of Palmyra soon.

"What is happening around Palmyra is further evidence that the threat from the IS is serious," Peskov said and reaffirmed that Russia would continue its anti-terrorist operations in Syria. ' Later in the day Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the IS attack on Palmyra might be part of a conspiracy to recharge Syrian rebels.

"It makes me think, and I hope I am wrong, that it is all orchestrated in order to give a respite to the bandits still in eastern Aleppo," Lavrov said during a press conference as he visited Serbia.

The minister also accused the United States of its "dead-end position" and double standards in negotiations on Syrian issues, urging Washington to persuade armed rebels to lay down weapons and leave Aleppo.

The U.S. side however blamed Russia for its failure to sustain the "singular gain" against IS since Moscow's military intervention started in September 2015.

"This is a further demonstration of why, as we have long advocated, Russia must change its focus," the AFP quoted a Pentagon spokesman as saying.

The IS succeeded in retaking Palmyra on Sunday in a major offensive that had started Thursday. The historical sites in the city had been largely destroyed as the terrorist group had controlled the city in 2015 but was driven out by the Syrian army this March.

Russia and the United States have long been at odds over the peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis.

Recently Western countries proposed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council regarding a truce in Aleppo, which was vetoed by Russia and China and criticized by Damascus as a so-called humanitarian pause would only give rebels a chance to regroup and empower themselves.
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A Chinese envoy Monday called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to deepen cooperation on nuclear energy and nuclear technology and further increase its technical assistance to developing countries.

Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a UN General Assembly meeting on the work of the IAEA.

Wu said the international community is facing challenges, such as balancing the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the prevention of nuclear weapons' proliferation, and practically strengthening nuclear safety and nuclear security.

He said China hopes that the IAEA will fully perform its duties and focus on promoting technical cooperation in the nuclear field to let the international community share the outcomes of nuclear energy development.

"All member states, particularly developed countries, should further enhance the support for technical cooperation to ensure that adequate resources are available to the agency," he added.

Wu also noted that the IAEA should help maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and continue to reinforce the safeguards system.

He called on the agency to play the core and leading role in promoting global nuclear safety and security.

The IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
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Air attacks against the hardliner Islamic State (IS) group in the eastern Nangarhar province have killed 12 armed militants and injured two others on Tuesday, spokesman for provincial government Attaullah Khogiani said.

"Acting upon intelligence report, an unmanned plane of security forces targeted the hideouts of Islamic State group in parts of Achin district, Nangarhar province today afternoon as a result 12 rebels were killed and two others injured," Khogiani told Xinhua.

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

Militants loyal to the IS outfit who are active in parts of Nangarhar province are yet to make comment.
New Orleans might be on its way to becoming an all-charter school city.

New Orleans superintendent, Henderson Lewis Jr., has announced that theres interest from current school and charter leaders in converting the five remaining traditional district schools left in the city into charter schools, according to The Times-Picayune .

If they do, New Orleans will become the first city in the country to be made up entirely of charter schools. Currently about 93 percent of all public school students in the city attend charters.

After Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast a little more than a decade ago, the state of Louisiana took control of New Orleans struggling schoolswhich was most of them. Over the next ten years, the state either closed or converted all of the schools it oversaw into charters. Meanwhile, several schools under the original, locally elected Orleans Parish School Board opted to switch to the charter model on their own, leaving just five schools as non-charters.

For more on how New Orleans unorthodox education system works, check out Education Weeks award-winning series on the evolution of public schooling in New Orleans 10 years after Katrina.

Earlier this year, lawmakers approved legislation to return the charter schools overseen by the state to the oversight of the local board , a process that is expected to take about two years.

The Times-Picayune reports that Superintendent Lewis did not provide any further details on plans to potentially convert the remaining five district schools to charters, other than to say more details will likely be coming later this week.

Related Stories:

Photo: The Bienville Elementary School building, in New Orleans Gentilly neighborhood, was taken over by First Line Charter Schools where Arthur Ashe Charter School now operates. The state-run Recovery School District chose not to reopen Bienville after Hurricane Katrina. Swikar Patel/Education Week-File
Thirty of the nations most selective colleges and universities on Tuesday announced a new initiative to find talented students from lower-income families and enroll them in institutions with high graduation rates.

The founders of the American Talent Initiative represent many of the countrys most elite colleges and universities: Yale, Harvard, and Stanford universities; Pomona, Amherst, and Bates colleges; the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. They number only 30 now, but they aim to expand their ranks in the next few years.

Their goal is to bring a total of 50,000 students from low- and moderate-income families onto the campuses of the 270 institutions with six-year graduation rates of 70 percent or better, and to double down on providing the right supports to ensure those students earn degrees.

We know that there are a number of low- to moderate-income, high-achieving students with the credentials and the ability to succeed at colleges with the highest graduation rates, yet those students cannot always apply or see those colleges as an option, Carol Quillen, the president of Davidson College in North Carolina, and a member of ATIs steering committee, told Education Week.

As a country, we need to develop all the talent we have in our society. We are taking it upon ourselves, these colleges and universities, to seek out and enroll these incredibly talented students for the benefit of our country and to make equal educational opportunity a reality.

The project has several parts. One is redoubling outreach efforts to locate promising students from lower-income neighborhoods, and another focuses on eliminating barriers to enrollment, such as ensuring that students are well-informed about their college options, and that they have enough need-based financial aid.

A third piece zeroes in on retention: The members commit to using strategies that are effective in helping students stay in college once theyre there, such as monitoring freshmen more carefully in their important first semester and intervening quickly if their attendance lags or their grades are poor. That will require a significant paradigm shift, especially at large universities.

Finding Out What Works

Two organizations, Aspen Institutes College Excellence Program and Ithaka S+R , will help lead the work. They will collect data from the member institutions to chart their progress toward the goal of 50,000 students, bring members together for discussion, and provide them with research and lessons learned from campuses that have had success in recruiting and retaining lower-income students.

The initiatives first report, due out in January, will profile the work of five institutions that have built track records in expanding access and improving retention of lower-income students: Vassar College, Franklin & Marshall College, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Richmond, and the University of Texas-Austin.

The American Talent Initiative is funded by an initial grant of $1.7 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The foundation sees ATI as a companion project to CollegePoint, which it launched in 2014 to expand the reach of college- and financial-aid advising to high school students with grade-point-averages of 3.5 or higher, high PSAT or college-entrance-exam scores, and family incomes of $80,000 or less.

The new initiative reflects a growing awareness of the role that selective institutions can play in promoting opportunity for students who are often marginalized. The Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success launched in 2015 with the aim of reaching underserved students through a new, online application portal, but got off to a somewhat rocky start .

Selective colleges enroll smaller shares of low-income students than do less-competitive ones. Research shows, too, that low-income students disproportionately choose colleges and universities with lower graduation rates, and advocates have pushed selective schoolswhich tend to graduate greater shares of their studentsto take a more active role in bringing highly qualified lower-income students onto campus.

And there is a big pool of potential candidates to explore, according to researchers Caroline Hoxby and Christopher Avery. In a 2013 paper for the Brookings Institution , they found that the vast majority of high-achieving, low-income students dont apply to any selective college.
With just a handful of weeks left in this presidential administration, the U.S. Department of Education released a final rule Monday that could have a major impact on how districts spend their federal special education money.

The departments regulation creates a standard approach that states must use in determining if their districts are overenrolling minority students in special education compared to their peers of other races. If the disparities are large enough, districts are required to use 15 percent of their federal allotment under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act on coordinated, early intervening services aimed at addressing the issue.

The new rule also requires states to use a standard approach to determine whether minority special education students are in segregated settings more than peers of other races, or if they face more suspensions and expulsions than their peers. Disparities in those areas would also trigger the requirement to use federal money to fix the problem. Though the 15 percent set-aside is for what the law calls early intervening services, districts could use that money for students from age 3 through 12th grade, the regulations state.

The requirement will go into effect no later than the 2018-19 school year.

Children with disabilities are often disproportionately and unfairly suspended and expelled from school and educated in classrooms separate from their peers, said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. in a statement. Children of color with disabilities are overrepresented within the special education population, and the contrast in how frequently they are disciplined is even starker.

Because states still have some discretion on how to implement the final regulations, the Education Department said that it could not precisely give the cost of these new regulations. However, the department estimates the total cost of these regulations over ten years would be between $50.1 and $91.4 million, plus transfers between $298.4 and $552.9 million to early intervention services that could be used by students who have been identified as having a disability, as well as students who have not. (Under previous regulations, early intervention services could only be used to support students who were not in special education.) About $12.9 billion in federal money was spent on special education in fiscal 2016.

Minority Enrollment in Special Education a Longtime Concern

Since 2004, the IDEA has included a requirement to spend federal money on early intervention to prevent what the law calls disproportionality. However, the requirement is triggered only when the overrepresentation is significant, and up until now, what counted as significant was up for states to decide.

In the 2012-13 school year, only about 3 percent of school districts nationwide were flagged for disproportionality, for example, and the majority of those districts were in just seven states. The Government Accountability Office flagged this variability in state approaches as an area of concern in a 2013 report .

The new policy is a complex formula, and allows opportunities for states to exclude certain districts for various reasons, such as making progress in lowering overidentification rates over the prior two years.

But overall, more districts are expected to be flagged for having minority overrepresentation in identification, placement, or discipline.

The departments regulations have been released at the same time that Texas is facing close scrutiny after a newspaper investigation said the state was intentionally keeping its special education enrollment low . Recent research has also stated that theres evidence minority students are underenrolled in special education, not overenrolled .

The new rule attempts to address both of those issues, by forbidding states to create quotas or to artificially reduce their special education identification rates. States are also required to look at whether underidentification could be the cause of disproportionality. Nothing in these regulations prevents States from working with their [districts] to ensure appropriate identification of children with disabilities and address any potential under-identification that may exist, the regulations state.

Though the regulations are final, Congress could get the last say. Lawmakers are not able to amend the regulations themselves, but they could vote them down within 60 legislative days under the Congressional Review Act. Such disapproval would require the presidents signature, or a two-thirds majority in the House and the Senate to overturn a presidential veto.

Related Stories:

for the latest news on special education policies, practices, and trends.
Peng Ming

(Photo: China Aid)

China Aid





Updated at 10:18 a.m. CST on Dec. 11, 2016





(Xianning, HubeiDec. 10, 2016) Going against the express wishes of family members, officials in Chinas central Hubei province dissected the body of a prominent human rights activist Tuesday, removing his heart and brain.

In their second released statement following the death of renowned human rights activist Peng Ming, his family members described how authorities violated their will by opening him up and confiscating his heart and brain.

According to government rhetoric, Peng, who was serving a life sentence on falsified accusations of organizing and leading a terrorist organization, kidnapping and possessing counterfeit money, collapsed while watching television and remained unresponsive despite resuscitation attempts. However, his family members were not given an official cause of death, prompting them to demand an independently conducted autopsy by an international medical professional.

Additionally, the family said that government personnel retracted an agreement permitting four chosen representatives of Pengs overseas family to attend his funeral, saying that only his elder daughter could attend.

A translation of the familys statement is included below.

China Aid reports abuses, such as those experienced by the late Peng Ming and his family, in order to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians and promote religious freedom, human rights and rule of law in China.

The Second Statement From Peng Mings Family

The exposure of Peng Mings death intrigued intensive attention and reporting at home and abroad. Below, we would like to inform all friends and relatives who care about Peng Ming about the entire process of issues following his death.

After publicizing the first statement, the family had been negotiating with the prison in Hubei non-stop for four days and a tacit agreement had been reached by the two sides. Firstly, the four [immediate] families [comprising] Peng Mings relatives must pick one representative each to attend the farewell ceremony. However, something unexpected happened on Dec. 5; the relevant [government] departments dissected Peng Mings body against the family members will and took away his brain and heart.

Furthermore, on Dec. 10, the Hubei prison told us that the tacit agreement that four representatives from the four overseas [immediate] families would be able to go to mainland [China] for the farewell ceremony became void. Only Peng Mings elder daughter would be allowed to go over. It was hinted that this decision was made by Beijing.

For two weeks, we family members dried our tears in silence. Of course, we know, we are fragile eggs facing the high wall of despotism. In order to express our anger and protest, we decided unanimously that none of Peng Mings overseas family will attend the farewell ceremony on the mainland.

Now, we are meat on somebodys chopping block.The Basic Annals of Xiangyu, [Chapter] 19



As for Peng Mings being kidnapped and sentenced to prison for a lifetime [as well as his] death and his body being destroyed, it all has been directed single-handedly by the despotic government of China, then they left Peng Mings body (the parts of it that accurately remained) in the prison he spent 12 years of his life, letting him wear out the Communist Partys prison floor. As for Peng Mings being kidnapped and sentenced to prison for a lifetime [as well as his] death and his body being destroyed, it all has been directed single-handedly by the despotic government of China, then they left Peng Mings body (the parts of it that accurately remained) in the prison he spent 12 years of his life, letting him wear out the Communist Partys prison floor. From all of Peng Mings overseas family members. With sincere gratitude, Peng Xing [Editors note: This is Peng Mings sister] 12/10/2016

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here


Peng Ming poses in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San

Francisco, California before his arrest.

(Photo: China Aid) China Aid



2016) On Saturday, China Aids Chinese website released an official statement

on the death of a prominent human rights activist and Christian, who died under

suspect circumstances in Chinas central Hubei province. (Midland, TexasDec. 12,2016) On Saturday, China Aids Chinese website released an official statementon the death of a prominent human rights activist and Christian, who died undersuspect circumstances in Chinas central Hubei province.



sentence on trumped up charges of organizing and leading a terrorist

organization, kidnapping and possessing counterfeit moneycollapsed while

watching television and was unresponsive to resuscitation attempts, official

rhetoric states. However, his family is suspicious of his cause of death and demanded

an autopsy conducted by an independent, international medical professional. Peng

Ming a pro-democracy and human rights activist who was serving a lifesentence on trumped up charges of organizing and leading a terroristorganization, kidnapping and possessing counterfeit moneycollapsed whilewatching television and was unresponsive to resuscitation attempts, officialrhetoric states. However, his family is suspicious of his cause of death and demandedan autopsy conducted by an independent, international medical professional.



could take place, officials interrogated Pengs brother for six hours and attempted

to force him to sign a document permitting them to take some abdominal tissue

from Peng in order to conduct scientific experiments. After his brother

refused, authorities violated the familys will and dissected Peng on Dec. 5,

removing vital organs, such as his brain and heart. Before such an autopsycould take place, officials interrogated Pengs brother for six hours and attemptedto force him to sign a document permitting them to take some abdominal tissuefrom Peng in order to conduct scientific experiments. After his brotherrefused, authorities violated the familys will and dissected Peng on Dec. 5,removing vital organs, such as his brain and heart.



of China Aids report. Below is a translationof China Aids report.

China Aid reports

abuses, such as those experienced by Peng and his family, in order to stand in

solidarity with persecuted Christians and promote religious freedom, human

rights and rule of law in China.







and exclusive release of the statement of Peng Mings family: Christian prisoner Peng Mings Organs,

Including Heart and Brain Without Familys Consent. On Dec. 5, the government tried

to force the family members to sign an agreement, but they were turned down. China

Aid calls upon the international community to condemn this act and pay close

attention. Urgent news from China Aidand exclusive release of the statement of Peng Mings family: Christian prisoner Peng Mings Organs,Including Heart and Brain Without Familys Consent. On Dec. 5, the government triedto force the family members to sign an agreement, but they were turned down. ChinaAid calls upon the international community to condemn this act and pay closeattention.



2016) Midland, Texas (Dec. 10,2016)



Day, in Midland, Texas, China Aid got the news from the family of Peng Ming,

who was a Christian democratic leader, that Peng Mings organs had been harvested

secretly and forcibly on Dec. 5. The authorities tried to force the family

members to sign the agreement, but they were turned down. Now, we call upon the

international community to condemn these acts and pay close attention to this

case. On Dec. 10, Human RightsDay, in Midland, Texas, China Aid got the news from the family of Peng Ming,who was a Christian democratic leader, that Peng Mings organs had been harvestedsecretly and forcibly on Dec. 5. The authorities tried to force the familymembers to sign the agreement, but they were turned down. Now, we call upon theinternational community to condemn these acts and pay close attention to thiscase.



brother was detained for 6 consecutive hours of interrogation and pressured and

threatened to sign. Officials claimed that, for scientific experiments, we

need to cut a little bit of abdominal muscle from Peng Mings body. Peng

Mings brother was determined not to sign, but it was useless. Later, the

brother was taken to the morgue and only showed [Pengs] face, which was covered

with a cloth, for one second. Then, it was immediately covered again. He was

then informed that Pengs brain and heart and other organs had all been

removed. On Dec. 5, Peng Mingsbrother was detained for 6 consecutive hours of interrogation and pressured andthreatened to sign. Officials claimed that, for scientific experiments, weneed to cut a little bit of abdominal muscle from Peng Mings body. PengMings brother was determined not to sign, but it was useless. Later, thebrother was taken to the morgue and only showed [Pengs] face, which was coveredwith a cloth, for one second. Then, it was immediately covered again. He wasthen informed that Pengs brain and heart and other organs had all beenremoved.



promised overseas family members that Peng Mings children and his sisters two

children could go to China to attend Peng Mings funeral in Hubei province on

Dec. 9. In order to be able to see their loved one for the last time, even

though they had been insulted, the family did not release the information about

the organ harvesting. Several family members had bought tickets, ready to go to

China. At this time, the authorities suddenly gave an emergency notification to

the family members in China on the morning of Dec. 10, intimidating them into

informing the families in the United States, Canada and Sweden that, because of

foreign interference in Chinas internal affairs, the Central Committee of

the Communist Party of China would only allow designated family representatives

into China. They required other family members to refund their tickets and

prohibited them access to China. The authorities hadpromised overseas family members that Peng Mings children and his sisters twochildren could go to China to attend Peng Mings funeral in Hubei province onDec. 9. In order to be able to see their loved one for the last time, eventhough they had been insulted, the family did not release the information aboutthe organ harvesting. Several family members had bought tickets, ready to go toChina. At this time, the authorities suddenly gave an emergency notification tothe family members in China on the morning of Dec. 10, intimidating them intoinforming the families in the United States, Canada and Sweden that, because offoreign interference in Chinas internal affairs, the Central Committee ofthe Communist Party of China would only allow designated family representativesinto China. They required other family members to refund their tickets andprohibited them access to China.



of China Aid, expressed the strongest condemnation of how the authorities

ignore the inhuman and deliberate manipulation of Peng Mings family members.

In pain, [the family members] expressed their greatest goodwill and expressed

their utmost patience for evil actions. They appealed to the international

community, particularly the United Nations, the United States, Canada and

Sweden, of which the Peng family are citizens, to intervene in an emergency

case against the Chinese authorities, who are in violation of international law

and their own commitments to protect the human right of life and who ignore public

opinion. Once again, we call on Xi Jinpings government to immediately change

this anti-human, anti-people, anti-rule of law behavior and allow Peng Mings

overseas children and family members into China, without intervening by burying

his ashes and give Peng Mings items back to his family. Pastor Bob Fu, presidentof China Aid, expressed the strongest condemnation of how the authoritiesignore the inhuman and deliberate manipulation of Peng Mings family members.In pain, [the family members] expressed their greatest goodwill and expressedtheir utmost patience for evil actions. They appealed to the internationalcommunity, particularly the United Nations, the United States, Canada andSweden, of which the Peng family are citizens, to intervene in an emergencycase against the Chinese authorities, who are in violation of international lawand their own commitments to protect the human right of life and who ignore publicopinion. Once again, we call on Xi Jinpings government to immediately changethis anti-human, anti-people, anti-rule of law behavior and allow Peng Mingsoverseas children and family members into China, without intervening by buryinghis ashes and give Peng Mings items back to his family.



issue that Peng Ming dying of a heart disease is unprecedentedly serious. It is

a symbol. If the international community does not have the power to punish this

devastating demon, there will be more Peng Mings later on. The cases of Li

Wangyang, Qian Yunhui and Cao Shunli are all unsettled [Editors note: These are all prisoners of conscience who died

mysterious deaths]; the details of Peng Mings case only came out today. It must be noted that theissue that Peng Ming dying of a heart disease is unprecedentedly serious. It isa symbol. If the international community does not have the power to punish thisdevastating demon, there will be more Peng Mings later on. The cases of LiWangyang, Qian Yunhui and Cao Shunli are all unsettled []; the details of Peng Mings case only came out today.

We pray that God will

comfort the family members of Peng Ming, who are suffering this excessively brutal

blow, and hope that China will soon achieve love and justice.

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here
Bill Gates, former Microsoft CEO. [Photo/Agencies]

A group of 20 global business and technology luminaries will invest $1 billion in a clean energy fund to help combat global climate change.

Spearheaded by Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft Corp, the star-studded lineup, which includes Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder Jack Ma and real estate power couple Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, pledged to foster new energy technologies in the private sector.

The fundBreakthrough Energy Venturesis designed to invest over a 20-year period in early stage startups that deliver emission-free energy, agriculture and goods to the world.

Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"The goal is to build companies that will help deliver the next generation of reliable, affordable, and emissions-free energy to the world," said Gates in a statement.

The fund will review prospective technologies with regard to the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the ability to attract capital from other sources, and whether there exists scientific proof of a concept that can be meaningfully advanced.

The fund signifies concerted efforts by people with profound knowledge in science, innovation and the energy market, Ma said in a statement to China Daily. He sits on the board of directors of the fund.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Inc founder. [Photo/Agencies]

"We usually let our knowledge limit our recognition of the future. When it comes to energy, people say you cannot make money, and protect the environment while reaping benefits. But we know we can and we will," Ma said.

Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg is part of the fund. He said clean energy is "essential to solving many of the world's other problems".

Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, SoftBank Group Corp Chairman Masayoshi Son and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman are also investors in the fund.

Zhang Xin, Soho China Ltd CEO. [Photo/China Daily]

Tech companies see renewable energy as a natural solution for data centers, which are electricity hungry, said Hao Zhiwei, a Shanghai-based analyst on the information and communications technology industry.

"The likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Alibaba own large-scale data centers. Nearly half of the daily expenditure is on electricity," Hao said.

These customer-facing companies, which usually have very high margins, tend to pay "a little bit extra" to earn green energy kudos, according to Jonathan Koomey, lecturer at Stanford University, who specializes in the environmental effects of information technology.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Inc founder. [Photo/Agencies]

An MIT study in July revealed that venture capital firms invested more than $25 billion from 2006 to 2011 on clean energy, but lost more than half of that money.

"If a new and more diverse set of actors avoids the mistakes of the clean-tech VC boom and bust, then they may be able to support a new generation of clean-tech companies," said Benjamin Gaddy, the lead author of the MIT report.
A customer buys electronic firecrackers in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The city has imposed a ban on fireworks and firecrackers in the urban areas in a move to curb pollution. [Photo/China Daily]

'Green' lights and sounds now mean consumers feel more confident about igniting a celebration

The pyrotechnic industry is on fire as more Chinese consumers opt for the thrill of fireworks at festivals and celebrations, and the glowing trend is being set by safe, environmentally friendly and high-end products.

Manufacturers said they have seen growing sales in recent years, as Spring Festival and Tomb-sweeping Day provide plenty of opportunities to spark up. But consumers also like to celebrate marriage proposals, weddings, graduations and birthday banquets with the odd firework or two.

Wanzai Shuangyu Fireworks Manufacturing Co Ltd, one of the major producers, said it netted sales revenues of more than 80 million yuan ($11.6 million) last year, a 12 percent increase year-on-year.

"We expect a similar growth rate this year. Chinese consumers have increasingly preferred high-end products, and there is a huge growth potential in the domestic market," said Li Zuiguang. president of the company.

Li said the profit margin in the sector ranges from 20 to 25 percent and while output is increasing, the market needs more guidance. Particularly, some small markets are growing rapidly, and they may become the new growth engine of the industry.

"In recent years, total domestic sales of fireworks didn't change much. More consumers started to buy high-quality fireworks and send them to friends and families to mark special occasions."

Wanzai county in Jiangxi province has been famous for 1,400 years for its output. As one of the four major manufacturing areas of fireworks and firecrackers, the county accounts for 18 percent of the domestic market.

Customers choose fireworks and firecrackers in Yantai, Shandong province, for festival celebrations. [Photo/China Daily]

Shuangyu Fireworks, which makes high-end products with prices that are 30 to 40 percent higher than average, saw its largest demand from Hebei, Fujian and Yunnan provinces, and the company aims to focus more on marketing and branding.

"This is a sunrise industry. More people are willing to purchase the safe and environmentally friendly products with outstanding visual effects," Li said.

Those fireworks with distinguished features and environmentally friendly products will become the trends.

"The government has formulated stricter rules on the manufacturing of fireworks and firecracker products. We need to push forward the transformation and upgrading of the industry, and increase its technological level," said Zhong Ziqi, director of the China Fireworks and Firecrackers Association.

"The production of fireworks and firecrackers needs to be more mechanical, automatic and standardized, and producers should strengthen their branding efforts. The transformation of the industry can also drive the growth of other related service industries."

When it comes to the latest technologies, the Beijing Institute of Technology has introduced nanotechnology into products, which enhances the visual effects of fireworks.

In addition, the use of rare earth technology enables the products to display a spectrum of new colors, besides the basic seven.

Du Zhiming, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said: "The sector needs strategic recombination and guidance. It's necessary to establish a national innovation and development center for the industry, and integrate more expertise from universities, scientific institutions, inspection agencies and enterprises.

"Currently, the sector has a weak scientific foundation, with apparently less acceptance of modern technologies compared with other industries. The government and research institutions need to conduct more science projects to provide more data and information for the industry.

"Besides, those enterprises at major manufacturing areas can consider cooperating with universities and carry out other forms of training to foster more professional safety and management personnel."
Fireworks light up a castle of the Shanghai Disney Resort. [Photo/China Daily]

Chinese producers of fireworks and firecrackers are hoping to make tremendous gains overseas and expand global market share amid growing demand.

As the largest producer and exporter of fireworks and firecrackers, China considers the products a national intangible cultural heritage. China produces and exports 90 percent of fireworks and firecrackers in the world.

Globally, the annual value of these products stands at $12 billion. The United States, Germany, India and Vietnam also produce some fireworks products, according to the China Fireworks and Firecrackers Association.

Golden Peak Fireworks Corp is one of the largest manufacturers of the products in Wanzai, Jiangxi province, where about 60 percent of factories focus solely on exporting. The company exports all its fireworks, and it netted sales revenues of $10 million a year, surging 150 percent over 15 years.

With a booming business in the US, Golden Peak launched a wholesale outlet in the state of Indiana. It usually rents a large retail space for one month in July every year, the busiest season with Independence Day celebrations, and its products carry price tags ranging from $3 to $700.

"Americans like large-scale fireworks. There is a considerable growth potential in the US market with strong seasonal features. Our company sells the biggest amount of products on July 4, followed by Christmas and New Year," said Chen Shimei, general manager of Golden Peak.

"American consumers are excited about buying fireworks, and they can spend several thousand dollars on the products. I think they are more excited about fireworks than Chinese," she said.

This shows every indication of growth, she added. "I see larger demand from states in the south. Many kids still save money to buy it."

Golden Peak also exports to South America, especially Brazil and Argentina, in addition to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand and Indonesia, as fireworks are used on religious and public holidays.

In the next few years, the manufacturer plans to further expand in Europe, for instance, in Germany, Spain and Italy. It attends the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair in Germany every year, to attract more international buyers.

Wanzai Shuangyu Fireworks Manufacturing Co Ltd, another major fireworks exporter in Wanzai, said it now mainly exports to the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan and Southeast Asia.

This year, the company saw sales growth of 30 percent in Indonesia year-on-year.

Wanzai Shuangyu highlighted the need to increase branding efforts, and the company plans to expand the markets in Africa and the Middle East, where the use of fireworks is becoming more frequent.

Producers plan to strengthen their research and development in China, develop new products, and further raise their competitive advantages.

Qian Xiongfei, an official at the security administration of the Ministry of Public Security, said: "We need to integrate the resources in China and grow together, and raise our international competitiveness."
BEIJING - China has launched dispute settlement procedures at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by requesting consultations with the United States and the European Union (EU) regarding the surrogate country approach when calculating anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports, the Ministry of Commerce said Monday.

In a statement on its website, the ministry said in accordance with Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001, the surrogate country approach expires on Dec 11, 2016.

All WTO members should live up to their international obligations to abandon the surrogate country approach when calculating anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports, it said.

Unfortunately, the United States and the European Union have not fulfilled this obligation yet, said the ministry.

Under the surrogate country approach, WTO members use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from countries on its "non-market economy" list, which includes China. The practice allows countries to levy high tariffs easily in trade disputes.

In November, the US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said the time was "not ripe" for the US to grant China market economy status, suggesting old anti-dumping practices would be retained.

Meanwhile, to cut the link with the "non-market economy" list, the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, last month presented a new methodology for its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy calculations, replacing the concept with those of "market distortion."

Although the surrogate country approach has been dropped, the EU left open the option to use "international" prices and cost reference in further anti-dumping cases if "market distortion" was found, which analysts said is simply another way of extending the previous practices.

The United States and the EU's use of the surrogate country approach has seriously affected exports and employment in some Chinese industries, said the commerce ministry.

The ministry stressed that filing litigation is a normal way for WTO members to settle disputes under WTO rules. By lodging the case at the WTO, China is protecting its rights and the seriousness of international trade rules.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said in an article published earlier Monday that all WTO members should fulfil the obligation enshrined in the accession protocol, which is clear and unquestionable.

"China's lawful rights must be protected," he said, adding that China will "firmly defend its lawful rights and reserves the right of further action."

China firmly opposes the distortion of WTO rules and the dismemberment of a multilateral trade mechanism, the minister said in the article.

Gao said protecting the seriousness of rules and obligations, as well as the authority of the multilateral trade mechanism is a shared duty of all WTO members and is in line with their common interests.

China urges all WTO members to keep their commitment, comply with international laws and fulfill their obligations, he said.

China is willing to work with other WTO members to fight trade protectionism, protect multilateral trade mechanism, revive trade and investment as world economic engines, and build an open global economy that is more dynamic, more inclusive and more sustainable, said Gao.

Official data from the first 11 months of this year showed that the EU is China's biggest trading partner, with a trading volume of 3.26 trillion yuan ($472.4 billion), followed by the US with a trade volume of 3.08 trillion yuan.
Move expected to boost efficiency and expand market opportunities of the key sector

The central government will promote the sharing of data and information to build an integrated, connected and secure data system for the nation, a move that experts believe will boost efficiency and expand market opportunities.

This was part of the Guideline on State Informatization for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), which was approved at a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.

According to a statement released after the meeting, barriers to sharing information will be overcome to establish an integrated, connected and secure system for the nation's data resources by interconnecting information systems between different government departments and accelerating the process of publicizing data for the public.

According to four major targets set in the guideline, the country will strengthen broadband in rural areas while further reducing costs, build a system to monitor and tackle information security and promote 12 priority projects, including 5th-generation telecommunication technologies. Meanwhile, online scammers will be the focus of a severe crackdown and sterner punishment as the guideline also set a goal to contain such frauds.

Informatization and digitalization have great significance to the national strategies of "Made in China 2025" and innovation, as well as improving people's livelihood, the statement said.

Data sharing is fundamental to the development of informatization in the internet era, and the guideline showed the country's determination to overcome the barriers and closely connect core data and information, said Ning Jiajun, a consultant for the Advisory Committee for State Informatization. He added that this will probably speed up the informatization process.

At present, most of the core data is being controlled by key government departments, which has created "artificial walls and isolated islands" to obstruct distribution and sharing of data and information, said Ning.

Zhang Lin is a 22-year-old senior student majoring in public management in Beijing. He complained of the difficulty of finding governmental records to complete his graduation thesis on urban affordable housing.

"In my first proposal, I wanted to write on the costs and benefits of providing low-income people with affordable apartments. However, I couldn't find any public information on the cost. Then I had to adjust to the status quo of urban affordable housing, which my instructor thought was too general," Zhang said.

"But that's the only part of my specialized area I found specific information and data to support my thesis. My friend found all the records needed for his thesis for his master's degree in New York, 90 percent of which was available online or in the library," Zhang said.

As a country undergoing one of the most rapid developments of internet technology, China is encouraging the integration of the internet with other industries such as traditional manufacturing and agriculture. But huge amounts of data and information, which are being generated to help sellers find market opportunities, are still hidden from most people.

Sharing of data and information has also been a major concern for the Premier. At the opening ceremony of the China Big Data Summit in May in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, Li said the government has 80 percent of data and information generated in the nation and will publicize more information, except that which is related to national security, commercial secrets and privacy. By doing this, the government can create a market of fair competition while integrating with the internet and big data to boost public services, he added.

The central government has been promoting the sharing of data and information as the State Council has held several executive meetings since November 2015 on integrating the internet with government services, aiming to simplify the process of approving applications by relocating the provision of services away from physical government buildings to online.

Data and broadband are infrastructure for online business and services, said Zhou Hanhua, a researcher on governmental information at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Some of us have entered the age of information but some have not, due to lack of a sharing mechanism between different departments. That should be altered to boost efficiency and make it simple for the public to get their applications done," Zhou added.
BEIJING - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday it has approved a loan to pilot delivery of elderly care services in Yichang city in Central China's Hubei province.

The ADB program will help the city provide residential, community and home-based elderly care services through public-private partnerships (PPP).

The total cost of the project is $128.4 million, with the Yichang municipal government contributing $55 million and the private sector expected to invest the remaining $23.4 million.

In Yichang city, 20 percent of residents are over 60 years of age, among the highest in a country where the national average is 14 percent, according to an ADB statement.

"Yet, elderly care facilities and services available there remain inadequate," said Sofia Shakil, the ADB project team leader.

The elderly care facilities in the city currently have relatively poor standards, with many ill-equipped in terms of staff and basic care, said the bank.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
International Ransomware Ring Busted After PA Prosecutor's Office Pays Ransom

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that an international ransomware and hacking operation, which hit a Pennsylvania county's district attorney's office for a $1,400 ransom, had been shut down. The bust happened as a result of a coordinated effort between 40 nations as the cybercrime operation had a worldwide impact. The DOJ announced that arrests were made in four separate countries and dozens of servers that hosted the malicious programs were shut down.

The Pennsylvania county district attorney's office was infected because a single employee clicked on a link in a phishing email that the employee believed to be from another legitimate government agency. The one click led to the office's files being locked until a bitcoin ransom was paid. The Pennsylvania prosecutors traced their hack back to Australia. Other victims of these attacks have had their computers taken over, and have had sensitive banking data stolen, leading to theft through illegal wire fraud.

Six Years, 500,000 Infected Computers

German authorities initially began investigating this operation four years ago, with the United States joining in two years ago. Over the past six years, this ring has affected an estimated half-million computers worldwide and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in harm.

While the arrests have been on foreign soil, the United States Attorney's Office is bringing charges. Individuals or businesses that have been targeted may want to pay close attention to the case progress as they may be able to apply to a victims' compensation fund down the road.

If you believe you may have been infected, you can visit the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team page to learn more.

Criminal Penalties for Hacking

The Department of Justice has numerous federal statutes to prosecute computer crimes. For example, hackers can be prosecuted for wiretapping and wire fraud. If found guilty of wiretapping, the penalty can include prison terms of five years per violation. A single act of wire fraud could lead to 20 years in prison.

Many federal hacking statutes are found in 18 U.S. Code Section 1030, which prohibits everything from trafficking in passwords to damaging a computer. In addition to federal laws against hacking, individual states also have their own laws, such as identity theft laws

If you are facing a hacking charge, you should contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible.

Related Resources:
Shenzhen was awarded "excellence" prize last week among more than 80 Chinese and European cities as well as enterprises for its contribution in promoting development of green and smart cities and Euro-China cooperation in the field.

The Euro-China Green & Smart City Awards, initiated by Foundation Prospective & Innovation (FPI) in France and China Center for Urban Development (CCUD) last year, were set up to award those Chinese and European cities as well as enterprises who have made outstanding achievements in green and smart development.

Twelve Chinese cities and enterprises and 22 from Europe were honored this year. The awards also include "technological innovation" prize, "industry promotion" prize, "Euro-China star enterprise" prize, etc.

The award ceremony, part of the 2016 Euro-China Green & Smart City Summit, was held in Shenzhen from December 9 to 10, during which FPI and CCUD also launched a Euro-China Green & Smart City Three-Year (2017-2020) Action Plan.

According to the plan, China and Europe will strengthen cooperation in developing green and smart cities by setting up a special fund, organizing visits for Chinese and European enterprises to make exchanges, building a talents team to cultivate more professionals and so forth.

"China and Europe have a lot to share in developing green and smart cities, for example, how to use green and smart development to solve climate change problem," said Feng Kui, a researcher at CCUD.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French prime minister and chairman of FPI, said the launch of the action plan is meaningful. It shows the two sides have reached a consensus on how to make efforts under Paris climate accords, he said.
Raising the quality of life and easing restrictions on visas will be critical to ensuring Shanghai realizes its goal to become a global centre, according to a European Union Chamber of Commerce report.

The Chamber released the second edition of the Shanghai Position Paper, evaluating the East China city's progress.

It also contains recommendations from European businesses that have invested in the city on how it can work towards become a global business centre.

Head of the Shanghai chapter of the European Chamber, Michael Adams, said remaining attractive to international talent was critical to Shanghai's success.

"Ensuring that it does so, will require raising the quality of life in the city and further opening the regime for the issuance of visas, working permits and hukou," Adams said.

The paper discusses how Shanghai can increase its standing as a global innovation centre, foster its manufacturing competitiveness, become more important for global finance, improve its quality of life and gather the best global talent in the city.

"In order for it to succeed in its ambitious goal to be a global centre, Shanghai will need the strong support and participation of foreign businesses, investment and talent," Adams said.
A screenshot of DJ Mag's homepage, Dec 13, 2016. Starting in the New Year, the five-year licence deal worth around 1 million pounds will allow East21 Music Group the full Chinese rights to the DJ Magazine brand. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

China is grabbing a slice of the DJ and club scene after one of the biggest Chinese music and club operators sealed a deal with UK's DJ Magazine.

Starting in the New Year, the five-year licence deal worth around 1 million pounds will allow East21 Music Group the full Chinese rights to the DJ Magazine brand and the annual polls for Top 100 DJs and Top 100 Clubs worldwide.

DJ Mag already has 16 other international editions.

Martin Carvell, managing director of the 25-year-old magazine, told China Daily:"Over the next 5 years, we will see Chinese DJs with new sounds breaking into the UK, European and western scenes. With the magazine published in both countries we will be perfectly placed to help nurture and promote this."

He added:"We are looking to grow the DJ Mag brand, and UK and European DJs and brands within China, through events and with the publications in print and online."

Baroness Nosheena Mobarik, a ConservativeBritish peer who promotes the creative industries overseas, described the deal as"an example of the flourishing commercial relationship between the UK and China in the creative sector".

East21 was established in 2005 and the head office is in Shanghai with branches in Beijing and Shenzen.

Carvell said:"China is an ever growing and ever more important market for DJ Magazine. With both the Top 100 DJs and the Top 100 Clubs polls being so highly regarded we have been working to give China a voice in shaping both lists through encouraging Chinese fans to vote."

The magazine's annual poll to identify the most popular DJs attracted more than a million voters this year. It claims credit for having fostered the careers of some of the biggest names in global dance music.

He noted that voting in China has expanded with apps such as Weibo and WeChat.

Carvell hopes the two sides will also run a series of DJ Mag and Top 100 DJs events throughout China to introduce new DJs and genres.

Baroness Nosheena Mobarik, a ConservativeBritish peer who promotes the creative industries overseas, described the deal as"an example of the flourishing commercial relationship between the UK and China in the creative sector".
A supermarket employee explains what categories of products will get a discount, if paid through Alipay, in Tokyo, before the Double 12 (Dec 12) shopping spree. [Photo/Xinhua]

Why have one massive shopping gala when you can have two?

Just one month after the record-breaking Singles Day festival, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd shifted the focus of the Double 12 (Dec 12) shopping spree outside of the Chinese mainland, with overseas transactions more than tripling year-on-year via mobile wallet Alipay.

More than 70,000 overseas merchants across the United States, the United Kingdom, France and New Zealand joined the sales festival on Dec 10-12.

People spent the most in France at 26,000 yuan ($3,760) per person on average and the UK at 11,000 yuan using Alipay, according to company figures.

The largest single purchase, for 158,000 yuan, was made by a buyer from Shanghai at the high-end Harrods department store in London.

China's post-1990 generation are generous spenders, accounting for a startling 40 percent of all overseas buyers who pay their bills with phones. Youngsters from northern China's Shanxi province topped the ranking, with an average spending of 3,000 yuan via Alipay.

The digital wallet also handled more than 20,000 simplified tax refunds for purchases made by Chinese tourists. The highest amount of refund reached 27,589 yuan.

From fast food to movie tickets, more than 110 million bargain-hunters headed to shopping malls and supermarkets for deals where Alipay was used as a means of payment.

Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing saw the highest number of buyers taking part in the extravaganza. People under the age of 30, who are more savvy with wireless payment, accounted for more than two-thirds of all shoppers involved.

"During the Double 12 gala, customer traffic in our stores was more than double that of weekends. It's even 20 percent higher than during national holidays," said Jiang Wenjun, marketing manager at Shanghai's Longemont shopping center, the largest single venue attracting the most people in the offline promotion.

Partnered with Alipay and Koubei, Alibaba's local-services platform, traditional businesses can be involved in omnichannel retailing utilizing the pervasiveness of smartphones, and blend the strengths of online and offline experiences, said Gao Tiesheng, head of the China Marketing Association.

"Alibaba is trying to blur the lines between online and offline commerce, which is conducive to boosting consumer spending," Gao said.
Trade experts warned on Tuesday that a continuation of the surrogate country system in anti-dumping investigations by the European Union and the United States against China would damage interests of all the three parties in the long run and cost a huge amount of legal resources.

The comments came after China notified the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization on Monday that it had requested dispute consultations with the US and the EU regarding special calculation methodologies in anti-dumping proceedings.

"Every member must honor its international obligations, and the US and the EU are no exception," said Xue Rongjiu, deputy director of the Beijing-based China Society for WTO Studies.

The surrogate country approach expires on Dec 11, 2016, according to Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001.

Under WTO rules, the request for consultation initiates a dispute in the WTO. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. The discussion meeting will be held on a one-to-one basis.

After 60 days, if the consultations, which are usually held in Geneva, fail to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel selected by the WTO. The defendant party has the right to challenge the panel's ruling within a year.

Under such circumstances, a final adjudication will be made by a WTO committee within 90 days. The WTO will give 15 months to the defendant to carry out the final order. If the defendant does not follow the final decision within this period, the suitor party could apply trade retaliation measures, according to the website of the WTO.

China imported $1.88 trillion of goods from the EU between January and November this year. The US, in the meantime, also shipped $1.19 trillion of goods to the Chinese market, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

"A trade war would certainly harm all of us because it would change the method for determining a fair price," said Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the think tank of the Ministry of Commerce.
Respect is a key factor for young employees looking for ideal employers, and other considerations include a good income outlook, equal and fair treatment, welfare and benefits, and an attractive company culture, according to China's leading career platform, Zhaopin.com.

Last Friday, Zhaopin and Peking University jointly released a ranking of the Chinese mainland's best employers. The ranking drew 4.08 million people to participate with Tencent, China's tech giant, taking the crown as the best employer in the ranking.

Many Chinese employees envied Tencent's workers last month when the tech firm said it will give 300 company shares to each of the firm's 31,557 employees over the next three years to celebrate its 18th anniversary. The giveaway was worth more than $220 million when the firm announced the decision.

Now, let's have a look who is winning employees' hearts.

No 10 Starbucks
Honda Motor Co, the world's largest motorcycle maker, has become a strategic investor in startup Grab, the largest ride-sharing app in Southeast Asia, as part of a partnership to expand the latter's operations.

Grab's alliance with Honda is part of its expansion strategy for the region as it moves beyond traditional car-hailing, where it competes with Uber Technologies Inc.

Grab now offers a similar service with motorcycles where a driver will pick up passengers and give them rides, a business model pioneered in the region by Go-Jek.

The deal also marks the Japanese automaker's first investment in a ride-hailing company.

Grab, with a valuation said to surpass $3 billion, now plans to roll out its GrabBike motorcycle-hailing service beyond the three markets in which it is currently available.

"Motorcycle is our fastest growing segment," Ming Maa, president of Grab, said on Monday. "It's a very important segment for us to continue growing."

Ride-hailing startups have begun to team up with traditional automakers around the world as competition intensifies in the burgeoning field of on-demand transportation.

Grab, which operates in 34 cities across six countries, currently offers motorbike-hailing services in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The deal marks the first time Honda is investing in a ride-sharing company, according to company spokeswoman Tomoko Takemori. Honda will use its own technologies to ease urban congestion and cut emissions by employing more environmentally friendly motorbikes.

The two companies will set up teams to study details of the alliance, she said.

Bloomberg
Visitors take pictures of a DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopter drone at the Photokina, the world's largest fair for imaging in Cologne, Germany, in September. [Photo/Agencies]

After opening outlet in Shanghai, company is confident of exploiting new growth areas

DJI, China's largest commercial drone manufacturer, is confident its revenue this year will surge by 60 percent to 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion), thanks to the expansion of its production line, according to its vice-president.

"This year is a milestone year for DJI, as we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of DJI Innovation," said Xu Huabin at the launch of the company's flagship store in Shanghai.

"We've expanded creative possibilities for professionals, and we've made it easier for general consumers to experience the fun and excitement of flight," he said.

DJI on Friday opened its second Chinese mainland flagship store in Xintiandi, one of Shanghai's tourist attractions.

The first store on the Chinese mainland is in Shenzhen, where DJI is based. DJI opened a store in Seoul, South Korea, in March and another one in Hong Kong in September.

The newest Shanghai store is in a two-story, 500-square-meter building, displaying DJI's full range of aerial platforms and camera products. DJI aims to explore the market potential in the wealthy Yangtze River Delta region with its state-of-art drone technology.

"Our flagship stores have become important touch points for people to discover, learn and be inspired. Our newest Shanghai flagship store will allow us to continue on this path and provide more people with the opportunity to experience our aerial technology first hand," said Xu.

Drone enthusiasts and novices alike can get hands-on experience with DJI's market-leading technology, ranging from the foldable yet powerful Mavic Pro personal drone to the latest professional products such as the Phantom 4 Pro and Inspire 2 drones.

DJI's second Chinese mainland flagship store in Xintiandi, one of Shanghai's tourist attractions, Dec 10, 2016.[Photo/IC]

According to Xu, DJI's revenue has increased 100 fold between 2011 and 2015, with the annual growth rate averaging three to five times.

Although China has 20 drone brands now that offer various models for different purposes, DJI commands about 70 percent of market share, according to IDC's China Aerial Drone Market Quarterly Tracker 2016Q1.

Apart from the China market, the United States is crucial to DJI. The US is DJI's largest market globally, followed by Europe, Australia and China. China contributes less than 20 percent of its global revenue.

For filmmakers and TV program producers, commercial drones offer a cost-effective alternative to airplanes and helicopters, Xu said. Hence, DJI is trying to find potential clients among them.

"We have to date cooperated with quite a few well-known directors and actors in the making of Hollywood movies and sitcoms, including Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory," said Xu.

In addition, DJI has built wide cooperation with US electronic product distributors, including BestBuy, Apple Flagship Stores as well as major airplane vendors, and has several thousand locations for sales in North America.

"For the majority of US customers who go to BestBuy for a drone, they choose a DJI product. It is just like Chinese people buying iPhones. This fact gives us a sense of fulfillment," Wang Tao, a Hangzhou native who founded DJI, was quoted as saying by ThePaper.cn.

DJI has created a US team of several hundred members, with five offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Most of the company's new product debuts were held in the US.

In its report published in May, PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated the global market for commercial applications of the drone technology will balloon from the current $2 billion to as much as $127 billion by 2020.

DJI is run by people with a passion for remote-controlled helicopters and experts in flight-control technology and camera stabilization. More than 1 million unmanned aerial vehicles made by DJI are in use worldwide.

DJI's global operations currently span the Americas, Europe and Asia, and its products and solutions have been chosen by customers in over 100 countries for applications in filmmaking, construction, emergency response, agriculture, conservation and many other industries.
Hong Kong is playing catch-up to embrace cloud computing.

More and more providers of services are pushing for cloud solutions.

But, most Hong Kong businesses and firms are not enthusiastic about adopting the technology.

Alibaba Cloud, the mainland e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's cloud computing business arm, is stepping up the pace of its international expansion with the deployment of its own data centers around the world to serve its 2.3 million customers from startups to large corporations. Hong Kong is one of the business hubs for that expansion.

The cloud services provider opened two data centers in Hong Kong in November 2015 and May 2014 to provide a spectrum of 100 cloud computing products and services, including data storage, analytics services, artificial intelligence, internet middleware and cloud security.

Alibaba Cloud is also reaching out to partners at the Hong Kong Science Park, Cocoon and PaperClip to provide cloud computing services to facilitate local innovation and entrepreneurship.

"We have seen an increasing number of enterprises interested in switching from traditional information technology to cloud computing," Alibaba Cloud's Hong Kong and Macao general manager Leo Liu told China Daily. "Given its proximity to the Chinese mainland and high demand fpr information exchange between the two markets, we see great potential in the Hong Kong market."

The majority of Hong Kong enterprises, however, are still lukewarm about leveraging cloud technology. A survey in January by Gartner, a global technology research and advisory company, revealed that chief information officers in Hong Kong ranked cloud computing as a low priority compared with their peers in India, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Liu agreed that the real threat to developing a cloud computing industry in Hong Kong is how to change the rigid mentality of local businesses. "We believe that our real competition is how to further change the traditional information technology mindset to embrace the new data technology."

Hong Kong has the ingredients to become a cloud computing center if the rigid business mentality can be shaken up. Hong Kong's business-friendly environment, free flow of information, developed telecommunication infrastructure, and a thriving startup community are the factors supporting the growth of the industry.

In the Cloud Readiness Index 2016 survey by the Asia Cloud Computing Association, Hong Kong jumped four spots from the previous report in 2015 to become the top destination in cloud readiness among 14 Asia Pacific countries this year.

According to the survey, Hong Kong's drastic improvements in data privacy protection propelled the city to the first rank. The city also made significant improvements in international connectivity and data center risk management.

The future of cloud computing in Hong Kong is certainly a bright one as investments in cloud computing are tipped to balloon.

According to Gartner, total information technology spending in Hong Kong in 2017, including data center systems investment, will soar to HK$175 billion ($22.5 billion), a 2.2 percent increase from 2016.

The worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow to $204 billion in 2016, the technology advisory firm added.

After the data centers in Hong Kong, Alibaba Cloud will also open another four data centers in the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Australia and Japan by the end of this year, boosting the total number of Alibaba Cloud's total data centers to 14.
A file picture dated 14 March 2015 shows a person demonstrates the look and feel of new operating system Windows 10 for Smartphones and at the Microsoft stall at the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover, Germany. [Photo/IC]

As a global conglomerate that has been expanded for more than two decades in China, Microsoft has partnered with local enterprises across sectors to achieve new goals amid a digital transformation upsurge, according to an executive of Microsoft Corp.

"Chinese government has embraced digital transformation like few other nations in the world, and domestic enterprises across almost every industry recognize the value of digital transformation and are looking for partners to help them move forward," said Alain Crozier, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Greater China Region.

Alain Crozier, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Greater China Region [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Crozier said the application of cloud technologies, including, big data, internet of things, machine learning and artificial intelligence, will empower breakthroughs in productivity, customer engagement, operational efficiency and will help every organization in the diverse economic and developmental landscape become digital.

Taking the latest case as an example, last month, Microsoft announced a partnership with China Development Bank Capital to promote technology innovation and smart city development in the country.

The two sides will jointly build innovation incubators and accelerators to support excellent startups, and explore the new development mode of smart city based on Microsoft's intelligent cloud platform and productivity services.

Currently, the Microsoft accelerator program has helped 125 startups in the past five years in the nation. Out of them 116 received investment funding upon graduation, 12 of them have been acquired and three have issued initial public offering.

Recently Crozier spoke to China Daily about his vision and strategy and new opportunities for his operations in China.

The following are edited excerpts of the interview:

1. How do you view China's rapid economic growth and its recent slowdown? Will this affect your business development in the market?

Reforms are under way in China, transforming the economy from investment- and labor-intensive to one that is driven by innovation.

Microsoft has been part of China for more than 20 years and we continue to transform with China.

We view the current reforms and the future that they will deliver as an enormous opportunity for innovation  for great new ideas to emerge around China's unique challenges and scale, and for China to be a source of solutions that will reshape the future for people around the world.

Together with a strong partner ecosystem, Microsoft is committed to empowering China's digital transformation, upgrading of both traditional industries and emerging sectors with advanced technologies and cloud-enabled solutions, and helping to build and fuel China's innovation engine.

2. What are your business strategies as you readjust to the new Chinese economic realities like the New Normal?

Microsoft believes that we are uniquely positioned to help accelerate China's digital transformation in line with the ambitions expressed in the 13th Five-Year Plan, which will largely be driven by cloud-based technologies.
China is ready to strengthen communication and collaboration with Mexico to jointly promote China-Latin America ties, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said when meeting Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico City on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yang conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings to Pena Nieto, and said China hopes to work with Mexico to implement the agreements the two countries' leaders have reached and further enhance pragmatic bilateral cooperation in fields such as trade, investment, energy, infrastructure and financial services.

Pena Nieto said his country is committed to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, and hopes to expand the two countries' cooperation in fields such as trade, investment and aviation.

Yang also talked with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu on Monday over China-Mexico ties and international and regional issues of common concern.
Minor in Possession of Alcohol: How State Laws Differ

One of the most frequently enforced criminal laws against minors is underage drinking. On college campuses across the country, police departments are ready to surprise party-goers under the legal drinking age with arrests for being underage and under the influence. While college students are usually all over 18 years old, the legal drinking age is still 21, and as such, anyone under 21 who is caught drinking or possessing alcohol can be arrested for a minor in possession (MIP).

What comes as a shock to most is that in nearly every state, a person under the age of 21 can be arrested merely for holding an alcoholic beverage in public. It doesn't matter if the bottle of alcohol is sealed shut, or belongs to another person. In most states, law enforcement doesn't even have to see alcohol to make an arrest. Merely being intoxicated or registering a BAC above 0 can lead to a minor's arrest for MIP. While most states have strict laws prohibiting minors from possessing, buying, or drinking alcohol, punishments vary from state to state.

Driving Privileges Can Be Suspended

Some states have harsher penalties than others. In California, for instance, if a person under the age of 21 is charged with a MIP, they will be facing an automatic license suspension, even on a first offense, on top of fines and other penalties. And if the person doesn't have a driver's license, they will have to wait a full year before they can get one. States like Illinois, Alabama, and many others, impose shorter license suspensions that get progressively longer for repeat offenses.

Collateral Consequences

Getting a minor in possession charge and losing driving privileges can have a massive impact on a person's life. Many of the states that automatically suspend driver's licenses for MIP charges also do not allow for hardship licenses (commonly referred to as restricted or 'school/work only' licenses). This will mean that getting to school or work will be much more difficult and potentially costly.

Some States Penalize Minors Drinking More Than Others

In states like Maryland, however, the law provides that law enforcement cannot actually stop a person for a MIP unless they actually see the minor drinking an alcoholic beverage. Additionally, Maryland's penalties for a MIP do not even rise to level of a misdemeanor.

Also, some states, or even local court branches, may have court diversion programs available for young or juvenile offenders. A court diversion program allows a young or first time offender to avoid a criminal record by completing a court ordered sentence in exchange for the charges being dropped.

Because enforcement and penalties vary widely from state to state, and even within states, hiring an attorney to help with a MIP charge can end up being a financially smart move, as well as generally a good idea.

Related Resources:
Stephen Brady, a family member of Richard Freeman Brady, a US doctor who risked his life to save locals from Japanese troops during the Nanjing Massacre, meets Xia Shuqin, a massacre survivor, in Nanjing on Monday. Six foreigners, including Richard Freeman Brady and John Rabe, a German businessman who also protected locals, were honored with the Zijin Grass International Commemorative Medal of Peace ahead of Nanjing Massacre Remembrance Day on Tuesday. CUI XIAO/CHINA DAILY

'One hundred and one Chinese were used during the experiments, correct?"

"No, no, not that many ..."

That was part of a conversation that took place in 1981 between Shiro Kasahara, a respected microbiologist from the Kitasato University Hospital and Research Unit in Japan, and Fuyuko Nishisato, a Japanese journalist acting as a translator for a reporter from Independent Television News in the United Kingdom.

The "experiments" involved human vivisection and were conducted more than seven decades ago when Kasahara was a member of Unit 731, the Japanese Imperial Army's covert biological warfare research and development division. The unit was based at Pingfang on the outskirts of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, in Northeast China, which was part of a Japanese puppet state known as Manchukuo, in the area of Manchuria, between 1932 and 1945.

The number 101 was mentioned because it was the total number of subjects that appeared in several medical papers about epidemic hemorrhagic fever written by Kasahara and his colleagues in the 1940s. The disease, which is transmitted by ticks, was rampant among Japanese soldiers at the time, so they decided to use human guinea pigs in their attempts to find a remedy.

"In the late 1930s and early '40s, an estimated 3,000 people, mostly men who had resisted the Japanese, were captured by the Kempeitai, the Japanese army's version of the Gestapo. They were sent to Unit 731's sprawling compound in Pingfang, where they became human guinea pigs in the research and development of biological weapons. Many were subjected to vivisection," Nishisato said. "Reluctant to enter into any discussion about Manchuria, Kasahara was very defensive about the human experiments."

Fuyuko Nishisato, the researcher, has often been confronted with wartime atrocities and those who committed them. "In 1981, we saw the publication of The Devil's Gluttony by Japanese author Seiichi Morimura, a historical novel that exposed the crimes committed by Unit 731. The world was shocked and reacted by sending reporters to Japan. I was hired by a British television company to do research and coordination for their documentary film unit," she recalled. "That was the beginning of three-and-half decades of research into Japan's wartime crimes, during which I worked on a number of documentaries for major media outlets including the BBC, NBC and the History Channel."

That research led her to Pingfang, where many people perished, and other parts of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, where victims' families still live.

"Many families had no idea about the whereabouts of their loved ones until the 1990s, when crucial Kempeitai 'special transfer' files were disclosed by the provincial archives in Heilongjiang and Jilinfiles that the defeated Japanese army had no time to destroy completely back in 1945," said Nishisato, whose book Behind Bayonets and Barbed Wire: The Secrets of Japanese Army Unit 731 will be published in English and Chinese in March.

"During a trip in 2003, I met a woman called Zhu Yufen whose father and uncle were arrested by the Kempeitai and disappeared before she was born. Photos of her uncle were later discovered attached to the files. Since not one photo of Zhu's father was left, she always carried her uncle's photo because people who knew them as young men told her that they looked very much alike," she said.

"Another woman I met, whose father was involved in the underground resistance and was later captured and killed in Pingfang, was very tense when she saw me and the other Japanese in our group. She cried as she told her story, and refused to have lunch with us."


The appointment of local government heads as chiefs of the country's rivers and lakes will help solve the predicament in which local governments must strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection, officials said on Monday.

The central government has decided to establish a nationwide river and lake chief system that will cover all rivers and lakes by the end of 2018. The chiefs will take full responsibility for the management and protection of the country's water bodies.

While heads of provincial-level regions will be general chiefs responsible for all rivers and lakes in the region, other top officials at provincial, city, county and township levels will act as river chiefs responsible for different parts of the water bodies, according to a document released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

Responsibilities of the river and lake chiefs will include water resource protection, pollution prevention, bank management and ecological restoration. Their performance will be evaluated, and they will be held accountable for environmental damage that occurs in the water bodies under their care.

One of the two top provincial officials, the Party secretary or governor, will be appointed as the general chief, and officials above department head level of each level of government will act as river or lake chiefs, Zhou Xuewen, vice-minister of water resources, said on Monday.

"The performance evaluation standards in different regions will be drafted differently in accordance with their specific problems. In some regions, the problem is the excessive reclamation of water bodies for development use. For others, rivers or lakes are seriously polluted," he said.

Zhang Bo, director of the Department of Water Environment Management of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, hailed the river and lake chief system as one that could "tackle tough challenges".

"The biggest challenge we meet in water pollution prevention and control is the unbalanced industrial structure in some regions. Many local governments are facing a choice of developing the economy or protecting the environment," he told the news conference.

The system under which top officials are accountable as river chiefs will help adjust the industrial structure and better protect the environment while developing, he added.

Such chiefs were first appointed in 2007 to tackle a blue algae outbreak in Taihu Lake in Jiangsu province. Eight provincial regions have already adopted the system.

The first national water resource survey from 2011 to 2013 shows, China has 45,203 rivers, each of which has a drainage area of more than 50 square kilometers, and 2,865 lakes whose average water area in normal years is at least 1 square kilometer.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn
Cooperation between Beijing and Manila in the defense and security field, if realized, would further develop the relationship as well as boost mutual trust, Chinese observers said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday that he had decided to accept an arms deal offered by China.

Duterte said he has directed Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to send a general to formally receive the guns from Beijing, which were offered through what Duterte described as "a grant payable in 25 years", according to the Philippine news site Inquirer.net.

However, the Philippine Department of National Defense said on Monday that the deal has no timeline yet for when details will be finalized.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular news conference on Monday that China had noticed the reports.

"As the (China-Philippines) relationship improves, China is willing to resume and strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields," he said, without confirming the deal.

Duterte's visit to China in October marked the overall improvement of bilateral ties, which were soured by his predecessor Benigno Aquino III, who unilaterally launched an arbitration case against China in a dispute over the South China Sea.

During the visit, the two countries agreed to focus on cooperation and to solve their disputes through direct talks.

Zhu Feng, executive director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea at Nanjing University, said the arms deal shows Beijing-Manila ties are developing in a comprehensive way, and cooperation in defense and security is an important reflection of a bilateral relationship.

"The specifics of the deal do not matter, and if the two countries could really make some progress in this field, it will have decisive significance to peacefully solving their disputes over the South China Sea," he said.

Chen Qinghong, a researcher of Southeast Asian and Philippine studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said military cooperation will help the two countries further improve ties and enhance mutual trust.

"It will, therefore, create a good environment for future negotiations over the South China Sea issue," he said.
Between 1978 and 2015, more than 4 million studied internationally; 2.2 million returned

China has the largest number of students studying overseas and they play a key role in the trends of international student mobility, according to a report.

China had a total of 1.26 million students overseas as of 2015, accounting for 25 percent of the world's total number of students studying outside their native country, meaning one in four such students is from China, according to the 2016 Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad.

The report was released by the Center for China and Globalization think tank in Beijing on Monday. It was the fifth time that the annual report has been released.

The report said China is the largest origin of international students for English-speaking countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Meanwhile, Chinese students also make up the largest proportion among international students of countries in the "Chinese-culture circle", such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

"Because of their large numbers, Chinese students and their mobility have a big impact globally," the report said.

The report also found that more students are returning to China after finishing their studies overseas. Official statistics show that more than 4 million Chinese studied abroad between 1978 and 2015, with 2.2 million of those returning to China.

In recent years, the gap between the number of those going abroad and returning each year has been further narrowed, the report said.

However, those returning also face more challenges, as the number of such graduates has increased rapidly, the report added. More than 60 percent of graduates returning from overseas study are taking entry-level posts and a majority of them are not content with their jobs.

About 12 percent of them choose to start their own businesses and favor entrepreneurships in strategic, emerging industries such as bioengineering and information technology. They prefer to work in first-tier cities such as Beijing, and Shanghai, but many have encountered difficulties such as high costs and other financial issues.

Miao Lu, secretary-general of the think tank, said measures should be taken to create a better environment for graduates returning from overseas to work or start their own businesses in China.

"In addition, obstacles should be further removed to allow such graduates to join all levels of government departments, public institutions and State-owned enterprises," Miao said.
TAIYUAN - For the past 70 years, Liu Fenghai, 89, has had her sleep interrupted countless times by the same nightmare.

"I dreamed about Japanese soldiers with sabers on their backs hunting me like an animal," Liu, from north China's Shanxi Province, said.

The tragedy is that this is no dream.

Liu was sexually assaulted when she was just 16 and her limp, lifeless body left for dead in a ravine by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers. She managed to summon what was left of her energy and crawled back home. The ordeal left her bed bound and unable to walk for over a month.

Tuesday is China's third Memorial Day to Commemorate Victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

"Comfort women," were women and girls forced into sex slavery by the Japanese during World War II. More than 100 were from Shanxi and those still alive today are still waiting for an official apology from Japan.

The clock, however, is ticking.

Zhang Shuangbing has been visiting and interviewing comfort women in the province for the past 35 years.

Of the 129 women Zhang has on record, only seven are still alive and, to this day, they are still plagued by disturbing flashbacks of the sexual abuse, beatings and physical torture they endured.

On June 13, 1943, Hao Yuelian, who was 15 at the time, was raped by two Japanese soldiers in her own home while her parents were out.

Later that same day, beaten, bruised and shaken from her earlier encounter with the soldiers she was abducted and put to work in a military brothel to provide sexual services to the Japanese army. She was kept tied up and raped day and night.

"The Japanese government must acknowledge the crime and apologize. I must live and wait for the day to come," Hao said.

Hao was left infertile due to her ordeal. Hers is not an isolated case. "Nearly one sixth of the comfort women I visited were infertile because of what they were put through," Zhang said.

Those that struggled, or tried to escape, were murdered, others committed suicide, and some simply tried to forget what had happened and refused to talk about it, Zhang said.

"I spoke to nearly 130 women in Shanxi, but there were more women in the province who had been forced into sex slavery during the war. I did not get the chance to meet them all," Zhang said.

Some 400,000 women in Asia were forced to serve as comfort women during WWII, nearly half of whom were Chinese, according to Su Zhiliang, director of the comfort women research center at Shanghai Normal University.

On behalf of the women victims in Shanxi, Zhang submitted a letter of complaint to the Japanese government in 1992. The Supreme Court in Japan threw out the lawsuit in 2007. The three groups of comfort women who tried to sue the Japanese government all passed away without receiving an apology or compensation.

"They are witnesses to an event that should never be forgotten, but we are losing them every day," Zhang said.
An undated photo shows an elderly woman dining at a nursing home in Hangzhou. [Sun Yidou/For China Daily]

It is estimated that China's aging population will reach its peak of 400 million by 2055, with large numbers of the elderly in rural areas and a prevalence of female senior citizens, a recent report showed.

The report, issued by Social Science Academic Press, pointed out that the Chinese aging population, defined by an age threshold of 65, is expected to climb to 280 million by 2030, accounting for 20.2 percent of the population. The number will further jump to 400 million by 2055, with an accompanying percentage of 27.2 percent.

The years before 2040 will witness the fastest growth of the elderly population, with an annual growth of 0.5 percent. The population's disproportionate female population is due to the longer average life expectancy of women compared to men, the report added.

Generally speaking, the larger a city is, the more slowly its population will age. However, compared with developed countries like Japan and Korea, population-aging in China has its own characteristics.

"The aging population in Japan and Korea is a natural result of transitioning economic development, while the phenomenon in China is largely due to family planning policies, which led to a decrease in births," noted Ma Li, a population expert and State Council counselor.
China is willing to strengthen cooperation in military exercises, the defense industry and other fields with Thailand, as well as maintaining frequent high-level visits between the two militaries, a senior Chinese military official said.

Chang Wanquan, China's defense minister, made the remarks during his meeting with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan in Beijing on Monday.

China and Thailand are friendly and close neighbors, Chang said. President Xi Jinping's frequent meetings with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha have laid the consensus for developing the China-Thailand comprehensive strategic partnership and opened a new, glorious era for the two countries' relations, Chang said.

The China-Thailand relationship has been developing steadily in recent years and the two militaries have undertaken broad cooperation and achieved remarkable results, he said.

Prawit said Thailand places great importance in developing the China-Thailand comprehensive strategic partnership. Thailand will continue cooperation with China in rail projects, tourism, tackling cross-border crime and various other fields, he added.

The militaries would also deepen cooperation in training, equipment and technology, Prawit said.

Also on Monday, Chang met with Malawi Deputy Defense Minister Jappie Mhango. Chang said China is willing to enhance military cooperation with Malawi and contribute to regional and international security.

China highly values China-Malawi relations and is willing to deepen cooperation and exchanges, he said. In recent years, the two militaries have cooperated successfully in military construction, equipment and technology, and trainings.

Jappie said Malawi appreciates China's support in building up Malawi's military. Malawi attaches great importance to China-Malawi relations and hopes to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, especially in the military, he added.
GUANGZHOU - Double 12 Day, Dec 12, is another online shopping extravaganza after Singles's Day on Nov 11 in China, but for some shoppers, their cart is not full of fancy clothes or electronic gadgets, but intellectual property (IP).

Wtoip.com, an IP exchange, is using the day to offer entrepreneurs discounted intellectual property services, earning the event the name "IP-Aware Festival."

Wtoip.com has been described as the Uber for intellectual property, as it connects vendors with registered IP resources with startups in the market to buy. Firms or individuals interested in robotics, for example, need only search for the term and select the desired patents they want to buy.

"Just like all other assets, IP can be a tradable commodity -- by commercializing IP and creating a free exchange market for it, we can maximize its value and ensure resources are allocated to where they are needed the most," said Zheng Ziqun, co-founder and vice president of WTOIP.

As China shifts toward an innovation-driven economy, it is becoming more pressing for firms to be IP-aware, and businesses such as WTOIP are looking to profit from this shift.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China's patent office received over 1.1 million filings in 2015, the first office in the world to receive over a million applications in a single year. Trademark and industrial design applications filed in China also beat all other countries.

WTOIP recently co-hosted a conference with the incubator IP-aware Valley. At the conference, startups and entrepreneurs were busy networking with local IP authorities and IP holders.

"It is a common misconception that Chinese companies don't respect IP as much as their foreign counterparts," said Xu Zhihong, vice director of CCE Oasis Technology Corp., a private clean energy firm.

"As China secures a larger share of the global market, domestic companies must work to international standards, IP protection is one of these standards," said Xu.

Xu said his company will sell their own patents on wtoip.com as well as use the platform to find patents that fit their needs.

So far, WTOIP has over 3 million registered IP resources including patents and trademarks, and generated turnover of 5 billion yuan (about $724 million) in 2016, 10 percent from international IP transfers.

On Dec 12 alone, total turnover was around 300 million yuan, according to WTOIP. While this is mere peanuts when compared with the 120.7 billion yuan made by Alibaba on Single's Day, Zheng Ziqun said the "IP shopping extravaganza" is more of a symbolic event.

"We want to send a clear message: you could turn a profit simply by selling things online in the past, but if you want to survive the next decade, you have to be IP-aware." Zheng said.
Drive-By ADA Lawsuits: Tips From Anderson Cooper's 60 Minutes

The Americans with Disabilities Act seems to consistently face criticism from the business community and public at large. Despite being a 26-year-old law, businesses new and old are frequently found to not be in compliance with the ADA's requirement that all businesses be wheelchair and disability accessible. Rather than apologetically coming into compliance, businesses all too frequently try to blame the disabled people and their attorneys that are out there enforcing the civil rights law.

A recent episode of 60 Minutes featured a segment about how the ADA's technical requirements, and private enforcement mechanism, impact small businesses. There are a couple important points that were made during the segment that small business owners should understand. Unfortunately, curiously missing from the segment was the information needed for business owners to learn how to come into compliance for free.

#1 Lesson to Learn: Drive-By Lawsuits Are Legal

If you take away one lesson from Anderson Cooper's segment, then it should be this: if your business is in violation of the ADA's technical requirements, you can be sued at anytime without warning. In fact, the ADA does not even require a plaintiff to step foot, or wheel, onto a business's property. It is absolutely within a disabled person's right to see from the outside that a business is not accessible, and file suit because they are not able to access the business.

The "drive-by" lawsuits are generally over disabled parking, which is way more important than one might suspect. You see, if a parking spot doesn't have the legally required clear space, a person in a wheelchair may not be able to exit, or return to, their vehicle. If a disabled parking space is on a slope, a disabled person could be risking their life by wheeling onto that surface (wheelchairs are very susceptible to tipping on inclined surfaces, which can lead to severe injuries).

#2 Lesson to Learn: There's No Excuse for Not Complying

As Anderson Cooper learned, the ADA has been the law of the land for over 25 years, and at this point, there is no reason why any business should be out of compliance. As John Wodatch, the former chief of the disability rights section of the DOJ explained, the number of lawsuits is paltry in comparison to the number of people who suffer from disabilities. The specificity in the ADA requirements matter. Being an inch or two off might not seem like a big deal, but to a wheelchair user, a door that is one inch too narrow might mean they can't get through the door.

While businesses may feel victimized by ADA lawsuits, it is clear that the US Congress, in passing the ADA, found that barriers to access for disabled people are discrimination. While the ADA itself does not provide a plaintiff with monetary damages (unless they actually suffered a financial harm), some state laws, like California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, do provide for money damages. Irregardless, the ADA does allow for attorneys to be paid their fees by violators for representing plaintiffs if they are successful.

Compliance Can Be Free

There is a silver lining for business owners that are not in compliance with the ADA: tax incentives. The federal government provides an annual tax credit to businesses that spend money on ADA remediation. There are some state and local tax incentives that business can take advantage of as well. This means that with careful planning, a business can come into compliance, and receive tax credits for the costs.

If you have questions about technical compliance with the ADA, you can call the Department of Justice's free, confidential hotline, at 1-800-514-0301, where anyone can call and ask questions. You should also consider contacting a business lawyer in your area.

Related Resources:
Pilgrims from far away make their pilgrimage to Jokhang Temple on Tuesday. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]

Lhasa's ancient Barkor Street was filled with the smoke from burning juniper branches and the sound of prayers, as thousands celebrated the annual Pal Lhamo festival on Tuesday.

The one-day event is practiced on the 15th day of the 10th month according to the Tibetan calendar.

"Tibetan women consider Palden Lhamo, one of the protective deities of the Tibetan Buddhism, as their protector, and the females regard it as an important day," Yeshi Choedron, an English announcer at the Tibet People's Broadcasting Station, explained.

The religious festival has become a particular favorite of women in Lhasa, as many young girls can ask for money from any men on the occasion.

Kalsang Drolma, a waitress in Lhasa, said she profited from the rare religious event.

"I woke up at 4 am and arrived at the Jokhang Temple at 5 am. I am pleased to pay my visit to the Pal Lhamo deity today," she said.

The 26-year-old said she made about 500 yuan ($72) from her WeChat friends in the first half of the day.

According to Yeshi Choedron, Tibetan women would traditionally not ask for money from men on this day, and the event has evolved over time.

"Traditionally, while people make offerings to the deities with cash and offerings, they would donate tips for the lower class or the poor," the 34-year-old said.
A series of commemorative events have been held in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, ahead of the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims on Tuesday, with many people mourning the deaths of relatives who were killed in the massacre.

More than 300,000 Chinese citizens fell victim to the invading Japanese troops in Nanjing from December 1937 to January 1938. But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not seem to be bothered that Japan is yet to offer a sincere apology to the neighboring countries that were occupied and terrorized by Japan before and during World War II. Instead, he has decided to visit Pearl Harbor on Dec 26 with US President Barack Obama 75 years after Japan launched an attack on Hawaii.

But Abe's visit to Hawaii - the first by a Japanese leader to Pearl Harbor since the end of World War II - is about "consoling the souls of those who died in the war", not to apologize for Japan's wartime crimes, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said. Which means Abe is not likely to apologize for the attack on Hawaii that killed more than 2,000 US citizens.
Suite of Moldavian dances Zhok2 [Photo/E. Masalkov]

Russia's Igor Moiseyev State Academic Ensemble of Popular Dance is back in Beijing for two shows on Dec 13 and 14, the last stop of its latest China tour, titled Dances of the World Nations. This is the troupe's fourth visit to China since its celebrated founder Moiseyev (1906-2007) first brought his dancers to the country in 1954.

That year, marking the fifth anniversary of the founding of New China, the celebrated Russian choreographer led around 150 professional artists, including dancers and orchestra members, to the capital and performed with nonprofessional Chinese dancers at Tiananmen Square.

To train the Chinese amateur dancers, Moiseyev spent two weeks in China before the performance.

During his stay, Moiseyev also watched some Chinese folk dances, which inspired him to create dance pieces, including one work based on the Chinese red ribbon dance and another inspired by a popular Chinese Peking Opera work, The Crossroads (Sanchakou).

The classic piece of red ribbon dance is on this week's program list, which also includes the traditional Russian dance Summer, Kalmuk, a work that was inspired by nomadic tribesmen living on Central Asian steppes, and Day On Board A Ship, which was inspired by the sailors of World War II.
(From left to right) Qantas uniform by Yves Saint Laurent, 1986; United Airlines uniform by Stan Herman, 1976; Trans World Airlines uniform by Oleg Cassini, 1955; United Airlines uniform by Jean Louis, 1968. [Photo/Courtesy of SFO Museum]

From nurse-inspired looks to stylishly professional cabin crew outfits, attire in the sky has changed significantly over the years. Unlike other uniforms, which often share a similar palette, the looks for flight attendants vary quite a bit.

Wherever you look, you're bound to see all the colours of the rainbow. Take the bold orange outfits of Russian carrier Aeroflot; the sky-blue of Korean Airlines; the blazing-hot red of Virgin Atlantic, designed by Vivienne Westwood; the Singapore Girl's traditional sarong kebaya for Singapore Airlines by Pierre Balmain; the striking stripes of Australian national airline Qantas; the classic blue-and-red scheme of Air France; or the red cape option for Colombian national carrier Avianca Airlines.

Today you can spot each airline's flight attendants from afar, but the uniforms originally signified nurses on board. In 1930, 25-year-old pilot and registered nurse Ellen Church appealed to the executives of Boeing Air Transport to hire women in the skies, who could help take care of passengers and calm their fears. Church and seven other women were hired by the airline. Known as the "Original Eight", they dressed in dark blue suits with a cape and cap. Later, the "sky nurse" attire gave way to a lighter, more cheerful look, with a short-sleeved dress in white and a wool jacket in navy.
CE's decision not a signal of policy change Updated: 2016-12-13 07:19 By Lau Nai-keung(HK Edition)

Last Friday, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying announced that he would not seek a second term. This is a regrettable decision: Leung not only has a clear vision on how to create a more vibrant and equitable Hong Kong, but more importantly has the will to bring about real changes. He is not afraid of rocking the boat. Vested interests and misguided citizens consider him "unpopular", but in the local context today this should be taken as a compliment.

Leung's decision is also understandable. The local news media reported last week that he had visited a hospital where his daughter was said to be receiving treatment. "My daughter has only one father, and my wife has only one husband," he told the press, adding that he "must make a responsible choice between fulfilling my responsibilities to society and to my family".

We should all respect Leung for his decision. Instead of trying to dig up more dirt, our media should be ashamed of themselves for creating the situation whereby a campaign would impose "unbearable stress" on a candidate's family. Over the years and especially during Leung's term, the media have crossed the line too many times. Indecency and triviality are not what a free press is supposed to mean.

Critics of Leung have viewed whether he would run as a sign of the central government's endorsement of his alleged "hard-line policies". Now that he is not running, they expect some key policies to take a U-turn soon - if not right away, certainly in the beginning of his successor's term.

In fact, the stock price of HKTV (HKSE: 1137), which is owned by businessman-turned-dissident Ricky Wong Wai-kay, jumped 33.3 percent on last Friday alone, driven by Leung's announcement. HKTV was denied a domestic free television program service by the government. Pundits theorized that it was due to pressure from the central government, funneled through Leung. Now that Leung will no longer be our next CE, people somehow believe that Wong's business will therefore fare better.

I am afraid HKTV's shareholders will be disappointed soon.

It is a big mistake to interpret Leung's decision not to seek a second term as the central government's disapproval toward his work. It is an even bigger mistake to think that the central government has changed its stance on key issues such as Hong Kong's transition to universal suffrage, and the "independence" movement.

Leung met with President Xi Jinping for 45 minutes in Lima, Peru during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November. That was a long meeting given it is just a "sideline" of the summit and that Xi understandably has a tight schedule. It is also worth noting that they need not have spent so much time together in Peru unless there was something urgent, as Leung will be presenting his yearly work report in Beijing in December anyway.

What did Xi and Leung discuss in Peru? According to Xinhua News Agency, after Xi listened to Leung's reports, the central government "fully endorsed" the work of the Chief Executive and the Hong Kong government. "(Xi) hopes (Leung) will lead the governing team of the SAR government to continue integration policies, to widely gather consensus, to push for economic development and improve livelihoods, resolutely uphold the unity of the country, (and) maintain social and political stability," the report read.

According to Leung, Xi's endorsement covers the recent oath-taking controversy. And Xi also "forcefully" declared that there was no room for "Hong Kong independence" under the "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement.

Somehow, the ever so self-serving Hong Kong pundits, who said Leung is a hard-liner, now want us to believe that the central government for some reason wants to change its Hong Kong policy, and therefore is replacing Leung with a "moderate". That just does not make a lot of sense.

(HK Edition 12/13/2016 page1)
A number of girls beat and kick a fellow female student who kneels down on the ground in Yongxin county, Jiangxi province. [Photo/ Weibo]

A BEIJING MOTHER'S ONLINE POST describing how her 10-year-old son was bullied at Zhongguancun No 2 Primary School, a leading school in Haidian district, provoked much online debate. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Monday:

Bullying is not uncommon among Chinese teenagers, many of whom are spoiled and often exempt from rules-based education at home.

In this case, the school deemed the incident "a joke that went too far" and the parents of the juvenile bully said he was "just being naughty", according to the mother of the bullied. However, the victim has since been suffering from acute anxiety as a result of the bullying.

It is worth noting that all the adults involvedthe parents of the "naughty" boy and the bullied boy, even the teachersdid not bother to ask the kids what really happened and what they think of it. They rushed to draw their own conclusions and point fingers against each other in shared pursuit of shirking their own responsibilities.

It is particularly irresponsible of the school to try and adopt an ostrich policy by making light of the bullying incident and referring to it as a "joke". And its vaguely worded statement on Saturday, which promised to "make further efforts to achieve an outcome satisfactory to all parties", was hardly helpful.

The ongoing conflict came just a month after the Ministry of Education, along with the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Public Security and other ministries disclosed a guideline on dealing with juvenile violence and school bullying. The school is obliged to teach all students about the boundaries of their interaction with other students and the importance of saying no to violence, not hide its head in the sand when a student is bullied.
When China joined the WTO on Dec 11, 2001, it was written into the agreement that members could treat China as a "non-market economy", due to the size of the Chinese economy, government intervention and its State-owned enterprises. As a result, advanced economies could ignore Chinese domestic price comparisons and rely on "constructed values" to reflect the "true" Chinese economy.

In turn, those "surrogate figures" allowed them to impose heavy anti-dumping duties on the basis that China's low prices did not reflect market realities.

As Dec 11, 2016 deadline for this practice approached, their lobbyists, which represent some of the most uncompetitive companies in a few sectors (especially steel), began to urge WTO members to "reinterpret" the accession language. Now it was argued that in the original agreement there was an "escape clause," which would conveniently justify the continued treatment of China as a non-market economy.

In the past 15 years, the surrogate figures have permitted wide discretion and manipulation of price data, which has been used as basis for anti-dumping charges; that is, tariffs up to 40 percent higher than normal anti-dumping duties.

A few days ago, Japan said that it will not recognize China as a WTO market economy, which will leave tariffs as a ready option against Chinese exports. That is convenient at a time when the reform agenda of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has failed to reflate the Japanese economy. In turn, the US administration of Barack Obama has stated that the time was "not ripe" for China's market economy status and the European Union has followed its lead.

Such a "reinterpretation" of the WTO rules is very expedient from the standpoint of Washington, Brussels and Tokyo. In the past, it has allowed them to deploy market-restricting figures and methods to shun competition by Chinese companies. As advanced economies are struggling with secular stagnation, it seeks to extend the anticompetitive past practices far into the future.

Yet, this revision of history is relatively new. Through much of the past 15 years, US presidents (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush), US Trade Representatives (Charlene Barshefsky), Secretaries of Commerce (Gary Locke) and key administration figures repeatedly affirmed that the non-MES methodology would expire in due time.

The change came with the Obama administration in 2012 when the US Trade Representative Ronald Kirk reversed its position and affirmed a new "reinterpretation", which reflects protectionist doctrineseven though such a reinterpretation by the EU was contradicted only months before the 2011 WTO Appellate Body decision.

Why the sudden change? The new approach did not emerge in a historical vacuum, but amid the US pivot to Asia, which was developed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and initiated by President Obama.

In legal terms, the reinterpretation represents the violation of the 2001 agreement, which will be China's chief argument in the to-be-expected legal battle at the WTO.

In practice, the Obama administration's reinterpretation of the WTO agreement reflects the kind of geopolitical trading environment that was to emerge with the US pivot to Asia, particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreementboth of which incoming president Donald Trump plans to redefine or bury to make room for assertive "America first" trading regime.

Through the past 15 years, the US, the EU and Japan have often lectured China and other emerging economies on being "responsible international stakeholders" and the importance of the "rule of law" in international relations. On Sunday, they violated these tenets, which heralds the end of the postwar trading regime and the return of irresponsibility and the rule of might.

The author is the founder of the Difference Group and has served as the research director at the India, China, and America Institute (USA) and a visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore).
SONG CHEN/CHINA DAILY

When China joined the World Trade Organization on Dec 11, 2001, it was told that it would be recognized as a market economy after 15 years. Until now the main players in world trade, especially the United States and the European Union, have not only denied China the market economy status but also initiated a large number of anti-dumping investigations against Chinese products and imposed extraordinarily high tariffs to block their sales.

So now that China has completed 15 years in the WTO, the US and the EU should grant China the market economy status. However, the two dominant trade players seem keen to continue the unfair game even though China should no longer be subjected to the discriminatory rule.

Since the US and the EU do not see China as a market economy, they often use production costs of other countries as reference to assess whether Chinese exporters are dumping their products. For example, considering the cost of a Chinese producer making a washing machine is 1,500 yuan ($217.7), it cannot be accused of dumping if it sells it in the EU market for 2,000 yuan. But if investigators take the cost of production in Singapore, which could be more than 2,000 yuan, as reference, then the Chinese producer can face dumping charges.

Such a surrogate country approach may have been in line with the WTO rules until Sunday, but China should now be treated as a market economy.

According to Paragraph (a) (ii) of Article 15 in China's Accession Protocol to the WTO, "the importing WTO Member may use a methodology that is not based on a strict comparison with domestic prices or costs in China if the producers under investigation cannot clearly show that market economy conditions prevail in the industry producing the like product with regard to manufacture, production and sale of that product".

But Paragraph (d), says, "in any event, the provisions of subparagraph (a) (ii) shall expire 15 years after the date of accession".

This means the discriminatory approach should automatically expire on Dec 11. But starting from 2011, an increasing number of officials and experts from the US and the EU have been interpreting the WTO rules differently, arguing that even after the expiry of the clause, they are not bound to grant China the market economy status and stop using the surrogate country approach in trade and dumping disputes.

And last month, US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said the time was "not ripe" for the US to grant China the market economy status. The US has also been pushing the EU not to recognize China as a market economy.

The US' insistence is not surprising, especially given the rising protectionism rhetoric in the US following the election of Donald Trump as the next president. Besides, if the US grants the market economy status to China, the EU will follow, making it much more difficult for them to protect their uncompetitive domestic industries because they can no longer impose high tariffs on Chinese products.

Eight years after the global financial crisis, the world is still trapped in low growth. Global trade grew by just 2.8 percent year-on-year in 2015, the fourth consecutive year when global trade growth was lower than economic growth. And WTO estimates that global trade growth may slow to 1.7 percent in 2016.

As a result, politicians in developed countries have sought to soothe the nerves of their anxious voters, especially industrial workers, by taking a more isolative approach to tackle trade challenges. Such a stance is most evident in the US, with Trump even threatening to engage in trade war with China if it does not "toe" the line.

The trend of protectionism, once it rises, will not recede easily. Therefore, market economy status or not, Beijing should be prepared for more disputes in the future because even if the EU went against the wish of the US and recognized China as a market economy, it will probably revise its laws to make room for taking other forms of punitive actions against Chinese goods.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.

xinzhiming@chinadaily.com.cn
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker knows only too well that obstacles to European integration have to be removed to reassure the youth, who are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the economic downturn, of the advantages of the European project.

The European Commission has taken a timely initiative, the European Solidarity Corps, to offer 100,000 youths from European Union member states the opportunity to be placed by 2020 with a project either for volunteering or for a traineeship, an apprenticeship or a job for a period of two to 12 months.

On Wednesday, youths between 17 and 30 years of age can start registering for the project. Against the backdrop of multiple crises and increasing social disruptions in the EU and beyond, Juncker has set an example of visionary leadership by rolling out an initiative aimed at helping young people and strengthening EU solidarity.

In Greece, Spain and Italy, roughly half of the young people cannot find work. In the rest of the EU, one in four youths faces the same problem. The EU also faces the challenge of creating jobs for the rising number of refugees from the Middle East.

Inclusiveness and sharing, values integral to the EU, face the challenge of rising protectionism, populism and terrorism. That's why Juncker's European Solidarity Corps initiative is importantit is aimed at addressing the twin problems of EU youths and solidarity. In someway, this scheme is equally essential as the EU's three-year investment plan, which he is going to extend in size and scale.

But Juncker should understand that solidarity and youth employment are not only European but also global problems. He should therefore try to expand the initiative.

Preparing to take over the G20 chair in 2017, Germany is busy designing the agenda for the group's summit in Hamburg in July where leaders are expected to discuss ways to solve the pressing global problems.

The G20 is evolving from a platform to help stabilize the global financial system and bolster economic growth to a mechanism to meet the challenges facing the world. It's time the G20 added to its agenda global solidarity and youth employment, too. And perhaps it's time the G20 economies invested more resources and came up with more innovative programs to help strengthen global solidarity and better understand South-North relations.

It is relatively easy to plug the financial loopholes, however, than to remove the mental obstacles to regional and global unity. So G20 leaders should use their vision and leadership to instill unity among youths not only in the EUbut also in the rest of the world.

Juncker's solidarity plan also offers another opportunity to seek synergy with China's Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road). China's initiative is a shared project for all the countries along the routes, and it goes beyond infrastructure construction, trade and investment.

The EU aims to attract 100,000 young people into the solidarity project by 2020. Since more than 200,000 Chinese students are studying in Europe at present, it would be a welcome move to include them in the project, because the long-term returns for that will be enormous.

In return, Beijing should also offer such an opportunity to European students studying in China. But while designing such China-EU projects, both sides should discuss the chances of their success with other countries that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative, in order to reach a broader consensus on cooperation.

Juncker has said solidarity is an EU value. But it is also a value shared by the "global village", which faces unprecedented challenges.

China and the EU have agreed to cooperate on some mega projects, such as the315 billion ($350 billion) investment plan and the Belt and Road Initiative. Now, they need to explore another front to connect the minds of the younger generation by learning from Juncker's European Solidarity Corps.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau.

fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
Legal Rights If Fired While Pregnant: Can You Sue?

While there are numerous legal protections for pregnant employees, being fired while pregnant isn't always a violation of the pregnancy anti-discrimination laws. However, all too frequently, pregnant employees are fired, demoted, or treated adversely, just because they are pregnant, which usually will be a violation of the law.

Proving that the motivation for the termination or other adverse action was discriminatory is a challenging task. Frequently, employers will provide no reason at all, or provide a pre-textual reason (a legitimate-sounding reason that is just meant to cover up the true, illegal, discriminatory reason). Fortunately, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides a formal complaint process (which is mandatory if you are considering filing a lawsuit).

EEOC Complaint Filing Requirement

If you believe that you were fired, demoted, written-up, denied leave, or received any other adverse action as a result of pregnancy discrimination, then you may be able to sue. Under Title VII, in order to be able to sue, you must first file a complaint with the EEOC, and receive a "Right to Sue" letter. You must file your EEOC complaint within 180 days, unless your state provides for a longer deadline.

Once the EEOC receives your complaint, they will investigate the matter. Generally, investigations include sending a charge to your employer, who will then respond and formally provide a reason for their action against you. Depending on the response, the EEOC may decide to investigate further by conducting interviews and requesting documents from your employer.

Additionally, the EEOC can require your employer to participate in a mediation to resolve the complaint. If they are unable to resolve the matter, even if they do not investigate, the EEOC will provide you with a Right to Sue letter that will allow you to file a federal court lawsuit within 90 days of receiving that letter.

Once you file an EEOC complaint, you are protected from retaliation for filing the complaint as well. So if you filed the complaint for an adverse action, write-up, job change, or some action other than termination, and you are treated to more adverse actions or termination after filing your complaint, you may have an additional cause of action for retaliation against your employer.

Other Causes of Action: State Law & 1983

In addition to the remedies available from the EEOC, state law may provide for additional remedies. Also, if you are/were employed by a government, government agency, or government contractor, you may have additional rights under 42 USC 1983, and other federal or state civil rights laws as well.

Related Resources:
On November 14, 1999, China and the US signed a historic trade deal that paved the way for China to join the WTO. The following day US President Bill Clinton said, The China-WTO agreement is good for the United States, its good for China, its good for the world economy. In Summary of US-China Bilateral WTO Agreement, November 16, 1999, the US made clear a very important point: The US and China have agreed that we will be able to maintain our current antidumping methodology (treating China as a non-market economy) in future anti-dumping cases without risk of legal challenge. This provision will remain in force for 15 years after Chinas accession to the WTO.

Fifteen years have passed and the West must play by the rules and end its surrogate country system or risk damaging the world trading system.

If the West violates Chinas legal rights, it risks sapping the credibility and legitimacy of the world trading system. International institutions work only if member countries believe they work. China became a member of the WTO on December 11, 2001, and the world has benefited greatly from Chinas reforms and will continue to benefit from future reforms. But China also has legal rights that should be upheld by all WTO members. In the Accession of the Peoples Republic of China, Article 15(d) states: In any event, the provisions of subparagraph (a)(ii) shall expire 15 years after the date of accession. The meaning of the text is clear and simple. After December 11, 2016, members are not allowed to treat China as a nonmarket economy for the purposes of calculating antidumping duties. Chinas Ministry of Commerce has said that members need to abide by the Article and change their antidumping methodology or China will take necessary measures to defend its legal rights.

The Western argument that ending the surrogate country system is a domestic law issue rather than an international law issue is flawed. In the US, the flawed argument is based on the Tariff Act of 1930. The US argues that Paragraph (18)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930 requires the Commerce Department to consider six factors in determining whether or not to treat a country as a nonmarket economy for the purposes of calculating antidumping duties. First, the paragraph does not say anything about for the purposes of calculating antidumping duties. Second, the US and China agreed that in any event China would be treated as a market economy after 15 years from the date of its accession. Designating China as a market economy and treating China as a market economy for the purposes of calculating antidumping duties are two separate issues and should not be mixed.

To better understand Chinas position, Peoples Daily Online interviewed Mei Xinyu, a research fellow with the Research Academy under the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Mei said it is up to the US and Europe if they want to recognize China as a market economy but as signatories to the WTOs Accession of the Peoples Republic of China, they are obligated to fulfill their international commitments. The US, Europe, and other WTO members must stop using the country surrogate system in anti-dumping investigations against Chinese exports as scheduled at the time of Chinas entry into the organization 15 years ago, and instead use Chinese domestic prices and costs as the basis for adjudication.

The world trading system works only if members play by the rules. On March 9, 2000, Former President Bill Clinton gave a speech at Johns Hopkins University on the US-China Relations Act of 2000. At the speech, Clinton brought up an argument made by his opponents: China will just break its promises; we cannot trust the Chinese to abide by WTO rules and binding dispute settlements. He responded to the criticism by saying, Well, any of you who follow these WTO matters know that China is not the only person that could be accused of not honoring the rules-making process. He was referring to the trade war between America and Europe over bananas and beef, which tested the world trading system. Now, the world trading system is being tested again, but this time the West is being tested and China is waiting to see if the West is willing to uphold the rules.
The word that best describes the international situation in 2016 is eventful. This year, a number of unforeseen incidents caused profound changes around the world.

Both conventional and unconventional security problems emerged, one after another, aggravating the double-edged sword effect of globalization wherein risks and challenges increase rapidly. Downward pressure on the global economy was on the rise, developed economies were further divided, and emerging economies moved forward amid great difficulty. Chinas presence was more pronounced than ever in the international community, and its role in global governance was further enhanced.

Many people around the world were overwhelmed this year by various international affairs. The disorder of the Western system has intensified social conflicts, inciting populism and anti-establishment sentiments. U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps America first strategic adjustment has made the situation more volatile, while Brexit stalled European integration in a major way.

Political consistency was often disrupted this year. Arab Spring affected many countries, and the Middle East faced complicated and severe circumstances. The right wing dominated Japans political arena, and new Japanese security laws took effect in March, giving a green light for the first time since the end of WWII to Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to engage armed conflicts overseas. The DPRK attempted two nuclear tests, which incurred heavy sanctions from the UN Security Council. The U.S. plan to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea undermined the strategic interests of China and Russia.

The U.S. allied with Europe to squeeze Russia with NATO, while tension escalated between Western countries and Russia over the issue of Ukraine. Internal and external conflicts confronting the EU were daunting, necessitating a postponement of the discussion regarding Ukraines accession to the EU and NATO.

Indeed, global governance has work to do. The world economy is recovering with great difficulty. The 3.1 percent global economic growth and 1.7 percent global trade growth given by the IMF and WTO respectively hit record lows since 2009. The deficit of global governance is growing. The ability of Western countries in innovation and public goods provision has been undermined. International cooperation, meanwhile, has shown progress. For example, international cooperation on climate change is a highlight, together with cooperation on nuclear security, public health and immigration.

The influence of China has become more pronounced in the international community this year. In September, the G20 summit took place in Hangzhou, promoting structural reform in the world economy, along with global development and comprehensive governance. The G20 has transformed from an emergency response mechanism into a long-term governance method. The inclusion of the RMB in the International Monetary Fund's SDR basket on Oct. 1 also carried significant meaning. The Belt and Road Initiative was heavily promoted, advanced by five state visits made by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) issued its first loan for infrastructure construction in countries along the Belt and Road route. The Silk Road Fund was initiated successfully.

In 2017, polarization might develop further. No matter what, China will remain a positive power that maintains world peace, stability and development. Next year, China will hold two diplomatic events: the first International Cooperation Summit Forum on the Belt and Road Initiative and the ninth BRICS summit. China will always uphold the spirit of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefits, in order to improve Chinas international influence.

(The author is president of the China Institute of International Studies.)
A journalist takes photos of the frozen grapes in Ji'an of Tonghua city, Northeast China's Jilin province, on Dec 7, 2016. As a dessert wine, the ice wine is produced from frozen grapes. In recent years, local government of Ji'an encouraged the research and development of ice wine industry. The growing area of the special grapes has exceeded 330 hectares and local yearly production of the ice wine reaches 500 tonnes. The Ji'an ice wine has become an example of the Chinese ice wine in global market. [Photo/Xinhua]
Norway is a sought-after destination among tourists.[Photo/Xinhua]

Norwegian minister of trade and industry Monica Maeland said on Monday that 2016 is likely to be a new record year for the Nordic country's tourism industry.

"Norway is sought-after destination," Maeland was quoted as saying in a statement posted on the government's website.

Data from Statistics Norway show 1.7 million overnight stays at Norwegian hotels in October.

There has been a total increase of 5 percent in the number of overnight stays at hotels so far this year, according to the statement.

Norwegian tourism created values of 70 billion kroner ($8.24 billion) annually.

The Norwegian government is working on a white paper on tourism, which should be presented to the parliament in January.

The white paper on tourism will be first in the last 15 years and with it the government has a plan to increase the number of tourists in Norway and "take the bigger part of the international growth."

Major challenges for tourism industry in future are, among other things, availability, price and content, as well as the clarification of the state's role and the responsibility of the industry itself.

There are almost 140,000 employees in Norwegian tourism industry, which stands for 5 percent of value creation in Norwegian industry.
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Hermann Park in Houston.[Photo/IC]

Houston businesses are rolling out the red carpet for Asian tourists who arrive in America' s fourth largest city for a slice of authentic Texas life.

"They are looking for that classic Texas experience - the cowboy roping a calf, the horse riding and seeing a giant Texas longhorn," said Jennifer Farrell, director of marketing at the George Ranch Historical Park and its working ranch. "Heritage tourism is a big thing."

The 23,000-plus acre George Ranch, located in adjacent Fort Bend county, traces its history to 1824 when Texas was still part of Mexico. Last year, the heritage park hosted 56,000 visitors, many of them Asians, Farrell said.

Indeed, Chinese tourists are soon expected to become the largest group of overseas visitors (not including Mexico and Canada) to the US and American cities like Houston are trying to cash in, according to Attract China.

David Becker, CEO of Attract China, said that the number of Chinese visitors to the US each year is approaching 2.5 million, and their contribution to the US economy is expected to hit $85 billion by 2021.

"Houston really provides both a contemporary and American vacation," Becker said. "You have both urban and country living. You can have barbecue and steak.

A grass-fed, corn finished steak is not an experience that most Chinese have. Most get their meat from dairy cows and the portions are quite small."

In Houston, Becker said, "they can do the classic American experience. The countryside, wide-open spaces are amazing, as well as the expanding urban landscape."

Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has played a huge role in attracting Asian tourists to the city. Although he retired in 2011, Yao's footprint in Houston remains large and his legacy endures.

Leo Yao, an Asia Pacific representative at the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that Asian tourists usually have a clear idea of what they want in a Houston visit.

"Asians enjoy shopping, and they shop at The Galleria and in the River Oaks District," two of Houston's high-end shopping areas. "They also like to shop at Walmart and Walgreens, where they enjoy buying all the cosmetics and vitamins and things like that."

The Galleria is the fourth-largest mall in the US with 400 stores and two hotels, while the River Oaks District is home to luxury stores that include Cartier, Dior and Hermes,among others.
A new documentary series on the tribunals of accused Japanese war criminals will be screened on International Channel Shanghai from today (Dec 13).

To mark the 70th anniversary of the unprecedented post-World War II tribunal against Japanese leaders, Shanghai Media Group worked with the Tokyo Trial Research Center at Shanghai Jiaotong University to produce The Tokyo Trials.

Earlier this month, a previous version of the documentary, produced by the same team, won Best Documentary Series at the Asian Television Awards in Singapore.

But Head of SMG News Center, Song Jiongming, said the first series wasn't enough.

"The second season of the three episodes has been made because the research has grown stronger and new discoveries have been made," Song said.

Also, the development of international politics has inspired documentary makers to see the historical event with a more objective and accurate point of view, he said.

The three new episodes, titled The Battle for the Truth, Beyond Victor's Justice, and A History Etched in Memory, feature the latest historical discoveries and academic achievements, including visual testimonies and evidence that has been published for the first time.

The trials, known as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, took place in Tokyo from May 1946 to Sept 1948. As an initiative to implement the Cairo Declaration, the tribunal followed the model of the Nuremberg Trials, and tried leaders of Japan for conspiracy to start and wage war, committing atrocities against humanity, and planning, authorizing or failing to prevent transgressions among the commanders.

Cheng Zhaoqi, a professor of history at Shanghai Jiaotong University, said that the Japanese attorneys committed systematic perjury during the trial. Historical video records of witnesses speaking at the court are presented for the first time too.

High-ranking officials in Japan have made repeated attempts to overthrow the result of the Tokyo Trials, sometimes calling it "the trial of the victors", Cheng said.

The creation of a calm, rational and objective documentary such as this will be a prompt and effective response to their claims, as well as teaching younger generations about the history, he said.

The new documentary interviewed a number of Japanese politicians, such as former prime ministers Naoto Kan and Yukio Hatoyama, and former Japanese ambassador to China, Yuji Miyamoto.

They spoke about their perceptions of the trials, as well as what is the right attitude for Japan to take on its history.

The three new episodes also showed the historical site of the trial, and the Sugamo Prison where the war criminals were held.

No trace of the past can be found in these places now, the documentary found.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Monday that State Councilor Yang Jiechi met with Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn and other advisers of US president-elect Donald Trump in New York recently, en-route to Latin America for a visit.

Flynn has been designated by Trump as his national security adviser.

"The two sides exchanged views over the China-US relationship and important issues of common concern," Geng told a daily news conference in Beijing.

It is the first public contact between a top Chinese diplomat and Trump's team after his election last month.

Earlier this month, Trump prompted sharp disagreement from China after taking a telephone call from Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen. It was the first time that a US president or president-elect spoke publicly to a Taiwan leader since 1979.
Newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni rings the bell during his first cabinet meeting at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy December 12, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

ROME - The new Italian government formed by newly-appointed Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni officially sworn in on Monday.

Gentiloni received the mandate from Italian President Sergio Mattarella to form a transitional government on Sunday, after former prime minister Matteo Renzi resigned on Dec. 7 for losing a crucial referendum.

Gentiloni is from the same party of Renzi, the center-left Democratic Party (PD), the largest political force in the parliament.

The new cabinet was sworn in at 8 pm local time.

Most key figures were confirmed in their office, including Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, Justice Minister Andrea Orlando, Labor Minister Giuliano Poletti, and Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda.

Angelino Alfano -- outgoing interior minister -- has been named as foreign affairs minister, which was Gentiloni's previous office.

He will be replaced at the interior ministry by Marco Minniti from the center-left Democratic Party (PD), the largest force in the parliament and party to which Gentiloni and Renzi both belong.

The visible continuity with the previous center-left cabinet was meant to be a reassuring message for international and European observers, and for financial markets.

"As it is clear, the government will continue with the innovative action so far carried out by the cabinet led by Matteo Renzi," Gentiloni acknowledged.

"At the same time, it will strive to facilitate the parliamentary forces' task of identifying new rules for the electoral law."

Changing, or amending, the electoral system would in fact be a priority over the next months, in order to allow the country to eventually face early elections.
MCA President Liow Tiong Lai (2nd L back) and Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang (2nd R back) witness the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 12, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) set up a new entity on Monday to help the country's small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

The MCA Belt and Road Center will serve as a platform to conduct survey and research in relation to the initiative, provide consultation and information sharing services as well as help businesses go overseas.

Forty-six Chinese associations present at the event signed the "Malaysian Chinese Belt and Road Declaration" to support the development of Sino-Malaysian relations and the initiative.
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National Grid Plc employees stand on a suspended platform as they work to replace insulators on an electricity pylon in Kendal, UK. [Photo/Agencies]

China and the UK are taking steps to help Chinese companies planning to invest in British infrastructure to understand the processes involved.

The UK-China Infrastructure Academy has been launched on a wave of increased Chinese investment in infrastructure. It will help train Chinese companies and officials on investment processes in the UK.

The academy will be delivered by University College London's Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, providing senior Chinese business executives with executive training programs on the relevant policy, financial planning and legal frameworks.

The UCL team will be led by Academic Director Chen-Yu Chang, in partnership with leading banks and professional services companies, including HSBC and KPMG, law firms CMS, Ashurst and Hogan Lovells, as well as engineering firms Arup and AECOM.

UCL President Michael Arthur said:"The launch of the UK-China Infrastructure Academy is an exciting opportunity for UCL to use its considerable expertise to help Britain and China to expand their investment in infrastructure."

The UK is already one of the top destinations for Chinese investment in Europe, with 4 billion pounds invested in UK infrastructure and regeneration since 2012.

The new initiative will form a key pillar of the UK-China Infrastructure Alliance, which was announced during the 2015 UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, as a key platform to enhance commercial cooperation in infrastructure in each other's markets and in third markets.

The unveiling of the academy builds on UCL's ties with China, which are growing in a number of key areas. In November, UCL reinforced its key strategic partnership with Peking University with an agreement to jointly deliver an MBA program at PKU's campus in Beijing.

The launch event was joined by Andrew Percy, minister for the Northern Powerhouse, and Vice-chairman Lin Nianxiu of China's National Development and Reform Commission, which is China's macro-planning ministry, along with the first cohort of 30 Chinese executives and government officials, who were welcomed at the academy's first course.

As part of the course, delegates visited UK infrastructure sites, including viewing potential investment opportunities in the area designated by the UK as the Northern Powerhouse, including the cities of Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Percy said Chinese companies will benefit from greater support to invest in the Northern Powerhouse and across the UK, helping create jobs and boost economic growth.

"In the past year alone, foreign direct investment into the Northern Powerhouse grew at twice the national average and this new Academy will help build on this success," he said.
The Republic of Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean east of Africa, has taken another step in its promotional strategy in China.

The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, signed a memorandum of understanding with Alitrip under which it's poised to open a flagship store on the platform.

It said the official presence on Alitrip.com will promote Mauritius as a tourist destination to Chinese people and improve services in the Chinese market.

According to the organization, the online store will provide Chinese-language information, including ticket bookings and airport guides.

Mauritius Tourism signed the memorandum with Alitrip on Dec 9, continuing their long-term marketing cooperation.

Kevin Ramkaloan, director of the authority, says he expects the link with Alitrip will allow Chinese tourists to get easier access to resources in Mauritius.

China has been an important market for Mauritius. In 2015, the country saw a big surge in Chinese tourists  41 percent to 90,000 after the introduction of a 30-day visa-free policy in 2013.

Alitrip.com is the online travel booking platform of Alibaba Group.
PARIS - France called on the United Nations to take swift moves to establish cessation of hostilities in Syrian city of Aleppo, which has been under military escalation, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Tuesday.

"I call on the United Nations to use without delay all the mechanisms to establish the truth of what is happening in Aleppo so that the international community does not let these crimes remain unpunished," Ayrault stressed.

The French top diplomat said all the light must be shed on civilians' suffering including women and children execution and targeting of hospitals.

Aleppo, a major city and commercial hub in northern Syria, has been torn into two parts with western area controlled by Syrian army and eastern held by rebels since 2012.

In September, Syrian army backed by Russian air force intensified its airstrikes on rebel positions in Aleppo and recaptured main districts of the city.

The offensive has been widely seen as a turning point of the five-year civil war.

According to media reports, forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday are taking control over Aleppo after rebels' retreat.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of the International Airlines Group, has blasted the UK government for dragging its feet on introducing a new 10-year visa for Chinese visitors.

Walsh, who heads one of the worlds largest multinational airline companies, including British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia, said: "The government needs to get its act together to make Britain attractive to the Chinese or we will continue to lose out on the economic benefits that they can bring to the UK."

In a recent news release he accused the UK government of going back on a promise, first delivered during Chinese President Xi Jinpings state visit in October 2015, to introduce a new 10-year multiple entry visa for Chinese visitors at no extra cost.

Philip Hammond, the then UK foreign secretary, announced with some fanfare during a subsequent visit to Beijing in January, that the UK had fulfilled a pledge to introduce a new two-year visa system that would enable visitors from China to make multiple trips to the UK for longer periods.

Hammond, now UK chancellor, said at the time: "In due course we would like to see this two-year visa extended to a 10-year multiple entry visa. That remains our aspiration and we will work with our Chinese partners towards it."

Walsh insisted the issue is time critical.

He said: "We need to ensure we can trade effectively post-Brexit."

Walsh noted that the UK export market to China was worth almost 13 billion pounds in 2015 and stressed that more needs to be done to encourage trade links with the worlds second-largest economy.

He said: "The US already has a standard 10-year visa which costs around 100 while Britain's costs 800. The government needs to match its rhetoric on China with action."

Walsh earlier this year urged a relaxation of visa requirements after noting that it was much easier for Chinese tour groups to travel within mainland Europe with a so-called Schengen visa than it was to travel to the UK.

The UK Home Office told China Daily UK that it will first evaluate a pilot two-year multiple entry visit visa scheme, which began in January 2016, before considering a 10-year scheme.
Clashes have now been continuous for more than two weeks in the China-Burma border region. Almost 20 lives have been lost in the fighting, including civilians, and more than 50 people have been injured. Thousands of locals have fled their homes to escape being caught in the crossfire; many have crossed the border and are currently sheltering on Chinese territory.

Earlier this week, Aung Thu, an MP from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), submitted a proposal to the Shan State government, declaring that the four militias, who now call themselves the Northern Alliance, should be collectively classified as a terrorist organization. The motion was approved narrowly by a vote in the Taunggyi assembly on November 7.

But what are the effects of labeling the group terrorists? What are the likely consequences, and could it make matters worse for those living in the affected region? Shan Herald spoke to several local activists and asked their opinions.

The Tatmadaw should also be labeled terrorists, said Lway Cherry, joint general-secretary of the Palaung Womens Organization (PWO). This is exactly what they have been doing to maintain power in the country since 1962. They have continuously launched offensives in ethnic territories; but here they are accusing and killing the ethnic people and the rebels. Ethnic women have been tortured and raped. Their houses and villages have been destroyed, causing villagers to flee their homes. This kind of action is what I call terrorist.

During the 1988 uprising, many students were tortured and killed by Burmese troops. A similar thing happened to Buddhist monks during the Saffron Revolution of 2007. Thats why I regard the Burmese armed forces as terrorists. At the same time, any armed group that abuses civilians should be listed as a terrorist organization.

Labeling ethnic groups as terrorists will not solve the problem. In order to bring about peace, every group should be included in the negotiations.

Moon Nay Li, the general-secretary of Kachin Womens Association Thailand (KWAT), echoed Lway Cherrys view that it is in fact Burmas government forces that should be labeled a terrorist group.

Burmese soldiers rape women wherever they go, she said. They kill and torture ethnic people wherever they go. Innocent people including women, children and the elderly have been killed or forced to work as porters. Their properties have been looted; their houses burnt down. Even students in uniform were shot dead. All of these crimes were committed by Burmese troops, and never were they held to account.

Now we have a period of peace-making. Each armed group must begin the process of trust-building by laying down their arms, and forcing the others to do likewise. And they must each show respect to ethnic people as per the terms of the Panglong agreement.

Ying Harn Fa, the spokesperson for the Shan Womens Action Network (SWAN), contends that any armed group that violates the countrys laws should be classified as a terrorist organization.

However, as to whether the Northern Alliance are terrorists, this matter has been discussed and rejected in the Union Parliament during a lower house session on 2 December. Thats why it was brought up at a state level. As for us [SWAN], we objected to the proposal.

Everyone knows we [Shan people] have been oppressed by the Burmese military for over 60 years. It is they who advanced into our territory, not the other way around. They destroyed our property; they killed and raped our people. The ethnic armed groups do not routinely abuse their own people. If they are considered terrorists, then the Tatmadaw must also be terrorists.

If we begin referring to each other as terrorists, they will no peace in Burma. It will destroy the process of national reconciliation.

On the other hand, Khuensai, the managing director of the Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue (PI), told us that he believes there is no need for concern.

The state government has no power to make laws regarding terrorism, he said. Just as it has no authority over home affairs, foreign affairs and legislature. Therefore, even though the Shan State government approved a motion describing the four armed groups as terrorists, it will not be mandated by law.

We have to ask those who raised this issue why they did it, he continued. Perhaps the reason is to frighten civilians and other ethnic armed groups.

Secondly, they can now push the Union Government to mandate the issue. A terrorism law was drafted in 2014 at a union level, but time will tell whether the decision made by the Shan state government will have an impact at a union level. Well have to keep an eye on it.

I want to say that, for now, the decision made at Shan State level is not law, so we do not need to be over-concerned.

Finally, Sai Lek, the spokesperson for the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), questioned how a proposal that had already been discussed at a union level could then be brought to state level for approval.

This has never happened before, he said.
(Photo : Facebook) Ongoing rescue operations at the church scene where more than 150 people have been confirmed dead.

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Over 150 people were left dead and dozens seriously injured after the roof of the International Reigners Bible Church collapsed and fell on the congregation on Saturday in Uyo City in Nigeria.



Bodies were scattered everywhere with unending screams from survivors as they yelled for help with every gasp of air left in them.



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According to a witness identified as Ukeme Eyibio, he had parked his car outside the complex to make a phone call when he heard a sound and saw that the church's roof had collapsed, the Independent reported.



While narrating the incident, Eyibio explained that he together with three other people rushed to save a total of 10 victims. They, however, failed to penetrate the main structure as a construction worker advised that it was unsafe.



The construction worker then called his superior at Julius Berger construction firm to inform about the incident. A crane was immediately sent to assist in the rescue operations.



"I am so traumatized," Eyibio said. "I could not sleep last night because the horrors kept on repeating themselves in my head."



The Daily Mail reported that the building had been rushed to completion as they prepared to host the church's founder, Apostle Akan Weeks, as he was being ordained to be a bishop.



Among the survivors was the Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, who had been rescued by his aide, according to the Premium Times.



Local hospitals were filled with victims seeking to get immediate medical attention, while mortuaries were flooded with dead bodies as well.



Xinhua reported that Nigeria declared Dec. 11 and 12 as days of mourning for the victims. An arrest warrant was also issued to the head of the church project.



Nigerian leaders issued messages of condolences, adding that justice will be served.



"This is a sad occurrence that has left a dark scar on the minds of Nigerians," Yahaya Bello, the State Governor of Kogi, said. "The Nigerian nation is with Akwa Ibom people in this dark hour."



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(Photo : Getty Images) Honda and Alphabet are reportedly in talks to collaboratively develop autonomous cars.

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Japanese auto giant Honda recently announced that it is investing in Grab, the ride-sharing service widely held as Southeast Asia's answer to Uber. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. However, many industry analysts said that it is part of Honda's strategy to broaden its market into the growing ride-sharing industry.



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In September, Grab closed an investment round led by SoftBank and raised $750 million, pushing the company's valuation to $3 billion. The latest deal is part of Grab's huge Series F round of funding following the recently signed financial investment from Tokyo Century, according to Tech Crunch.



While many market analysts said that the Honda investment is a major deal for Grab, some are still skeptical as to what Honda's role will be. Honda said that it will focus on motorbikes, although there are some who said the company may have bigger plans at hand.



Grab President Ming Maa told Reuters, "We are in the planning stages on exactly what a full partnership will look like, and there are many different prongs of that. One prong would obviously include selling Honda motorbikes within the region."



Grab's latest deal with Honda is the first one it has signed with an automaker. Aside from Honda, Grab is also open for partnership deals with other motoring companies in order to reduce traffic and increase safety for its users.



Grab currently operates in 32 cities, spanning six countries in the Southeast Asian region. Grab claims that it has more than 24 million app downloads and has a pool of more than 500,000 drivers.



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TagsGrab, Honda, ride-hailing, grab investment, honda investment, southeast asia
(Photo : instagram.com/kimkardashianwest)

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One of United Kingdom's top universities has been called out on the internet after the school released a very sexist bulletin directed to their female students who are about to graduate.



Student's were outraged after they registered for their graduation ceremony at the Queen's University in Belfast. After registration, students revealed that they received a series of dress code rules that was written by an unidentified male alumni who now owns a tailoring company.



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According to the Belfast Telegraph, the bulletin read: "Possibly the biggest mistake I see at graduation is girls treating the event like a night out. This graduation ceremony should be treated as a formal event and the dress code should match this. Short skirts and cleavage bearing outfits are totally out of the question. Think more Grace Kelly and less Kim Kardashian, at least until the graduation is over: You can always change to your party attire before you head out to celebrate."



The bulletin also included a short dress code rule for the male graduates which simply stated, "Men, please stick to leather and dark coloured shoes for the ceremony."



A post-graduate student at the University spoke out about the bulletin saying, "This is completely sexist, it actually feels very degrading. The most offensive part of it all is that it confirms the stereotypical good girl pitting her against the stereotypical bad girl."



After the outrage, the sexist bulletin was revised and then hours later it was completely removed from the Queen's University website.



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(Photo : PLAN) CNS Baoding at her commissioning.

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The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned two more Type 056 (Jiangdao-class) guided missile frigates as part of a fast paced frigate building program that will end when 60 of these ship killers are built.



CNS Baoding (511) and CNS Heze (512) will join the East Sea Fleet after they were commissioned on Dec. 12 at a naval port in Lianyungang in Jiangsu Province. There are six other Type 056 frigates in the East China Fleet.



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Based in the port city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province, the East Sea Fleet's main mission is to provide naval firepower and support for China's invasion of Taiwan.



Rear Admiral Cao Zhubing, deputy political commissar of the East Sea Fleet, attended the commissioning ceremony and presented the PLAN ensign and naming certificate to the two new frigates.



CNS Baoding and CNS Heze, which are both named after important Chinese cities, are equipped with domestically developed weapons capable of attacking U.S. Navy surface warships; aircraft and submarines independently or as part of a combined arms group.



The Type 052, however, is mainly outfitted as a warship killer and for this mission is armed with four YJ-83 sea-skimming, sub-sonic anti-ship cruise missiles in two twin-cell launchers. The YJ-83 and its 190 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead has a maximum range of 190 kilometers.



The export version of this missile, the C-802, was used by Houthi rebels in Yemen in three unsuccessful attacks on U.S. Navy destroyers at the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait off the Yemeni coast last October.



Three more Type 056 corvettes were launched in September and October, bringing to 39 the total number of corvettes in the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLANSF), and making this class the most numerous surface warships in the navy.



Of this total, 27 (exclusing Baoding and Heze) are in active service patrolling littoral or near shore waters off the Chinese mainland. PLANSF plans to have at least 60 of these small but heavily armed warships with most being equipped for surface warfare (Type 056) and the rest for anti-submarine warfare (Type 056A).



Chinese media reports that 12 corvettes are currently being fitted-out or undergoing pre-commissioning trials. This process takes about 12 months to complete, meaning PLANSF should receive four more ships before the year ends.



Chinese shipyards at Liaonan, Wuchang, Hudong and Huangpu are turning out corvettes at the rate of one every six weeks, an impressive record. The new warships will be distributed among PLAN's South Sea, East Sea and North Sea Fleets. A number of Type 056s are also being built for the China Coast Guard.



The Type 056 are the smallest principal surface combatants in the PLAN. They're replacing the large numbers of missile boats, submarine chasers and gunboats patrolling China's extensive littoral waters.



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(Photo : Getty Images) China launched a WTO complaint on Monday against the US and EU for delaying its market economy status.

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China has filed on Monday a legal challenge against the US and EU at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the delays in bestowing its "market economy" status.



China recently completed 15 years of its membership with the WTO. However, various members including the EU, Japan, US, and others have refrained from granting the country its market economy designation.



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China's commerce ministry expressed its concerns over such measures, claiming that the country had requested discussions with the EU and the US. China is now looking for a WTO panel ruling.



The statement said, "China has communicated through many channels for the third-country comparison to expire. What's very regrettable is that EU and US have not acted to allow it to expire."



The third country comparison rule allows trading partners to institute punitive tariffs using a special formula. Such actions are permitted in anti-dumping cases. China is looking to get this provision to expire, and the ministry stated that the country seeks to protect its lawful rights.



Meanwhile, the EU is planning to change its rules regarding anti-dumping goods to curtail the quantity of Chinese goods entering its markets. China has expressed its anger over such protectionist measures taken by the developed countries. Pursuant to WTO rules, the country received its Market Economy Status (MES) on Sunday.



A spokesperson for EU said that it is disappointing that China resorted to launching a legal case. The statement said that the Union is taking actions to change the legislation. However, the US announced levying penal anti-dumping tariffs on washing machines made in China. The United States claimed that China has not fulfilled many of its WTO requirements.



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(Photo : Getty Images) Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto (L) and China's President Xi Jinping (R) speak to media in front of national flags during a joint news conference after their meeting at the Great Hall of the People on November 13, 2014 in Beijing, China.

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China and Mexico have committed to strengthen their ties during a meeting between their top diplomats on Sunday (Dec. 11), as they prepare for US President-elect Donald Trump to test Washington's relationship with them.



Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi reportedly met with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu to tackle trade and investment ties as well as improvement of flight connectivity between the two nations, according to the International Business Times.



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"They agreed to deepen mutual trust and develop the bilateral dialogue about subjects of mutual interest via the Mexico-China Strategic Dialogue," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, without giving any further specific details.



Mexico has reportedly been looking for ways to lessen its dependence on the US after Trump vowed to keep American jobs from moving out of the country. Such move would constrain Mexico's access to its leading trade partner, the Newsline noted.



On the other hand, China also released a statement describing China's relationship with Mexico as "flourishing," adding that it aims to deepen its cooperation in the sectors of trade, investment, resources, infrastructure, and financial services, according to CNBC.



Furthermore, China and Mexico's relationship appeared to cool down after President Enrique Pena Nieto rejected several rail and retail projects that were supposed to herald a new era of business between the manufacturing counterparts.



However, Mexico granted China's Offshore Oil Corporation two deepwater oil blocks in a historic auction last week as part of the country's energy reform.



Evan Ellis, a research professor at the US Army War College, said that the China-Mexico relationship is back again, adding that "The election of President Trump and the associated threat to NAFTA probably was one driver for (Pena Nieto) to position Mexico to diversify its foreign economic engagements."



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As news of the CIA's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election spreads, top Hillary Clinton adviser and likely Russian hacking victim John Podesta today publicly voiced support for a push by some members of the Electoral College to receive an intelligence briefing ahead of their formal vote next week.

"The bipartisan electors' letter raises very grave issues involving our national security," Hillary Clinton presidential campaign Chairman John Podesta said in a statement Monday.

"Electors have a solemn responsibility under the Constitution and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed."

Unless you catch "hackers" in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

Trump's responses to the CIA report have been totally weird, and don't indicate at all that something is rotten in the state of Mar-a-Lago. Nope. This is fine.

From NPR:

It's the losing Democratic nominee's most public show of support yet for efforts to question the legitimacy of election results that gave Donald Trump the presidency. And it follows news over the weekend that the CIA has concluded that Russia intervened in the election to help the Republican win. The letter comes from 10 mostly Democratic electors, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's daughter Christine and New Hampshire Rep.-elect Carol Shea-Porter. Only one signatory is a Republican, Texan Chris Suprun, who has already said he is refusing to vote for Trump despite his state's results. The electors point to the recent news about Russian involvement and argue that it's their role to best discharge their duties to "prevent a 'desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils,'" as Alexander Hamilton outlined in The Federalist Papers #68. Trump is challenging one of the Colorado electors, who signed the letter, in court. He's claiming that if the court overturns a state law binding electors to the statewide winner, it would undermine his election. Though Colorado did vote for Clinton, some electors are hoping it could be used to overturn other state laws where Trump did win.

More deep-dive reporting on this same story today in the New York Times.
The blasphemy trial of Jakarta Gov. Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama began this morning, with the ethnic Chinese Christian breaking into tears inside the courtroom while hundreds of people protested outside.



Some 2,000 police officers kept anti-Ahok and pro-Ahok protestors apart outside the heavily guarded court. Those opposing Ahok chanted, Jail Ahok, jail Ahok, jail Ahok now.



A panel of judges will hear from 30 witnesses and see 50 pieces of evidence regarding the charge of defaming the Koran. The trial, which is being televised live, is being rushed through the court and is expected to conclude early in 2017.



Reporting from Jakarta, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) correspondent Adam Harvey noted that Ahok looked deeply anxious as he entered the courtroom.



He can see the writing on the wall, Harvey opined.



Ahok broke down in tears twice as he testified. Insisting that he would never intentionally insult the Koran or hurt Muslims, he spoke of his deep affection for his Muslim godparents, and he recalled how he helped poor Indonesians to perform the Hajj pilgrimage when he was a district chief a decade ago.



As a person who grew up among Muslims, it is not possible for me to intentionally insult Islam because that is the same as disrespecting the people I appreciate and love, Ahok reportedly said.



Once the clear frontrunner in the gubernatorial race, recent opinion polls indicate that Ahok has now slipped to second place behind Agus Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.



The gubernatorial race may be the last thing on Ahoks mind now. If found guilty, which most analysts believe he will be, Ahok faces up to five years in prison. Analysts believe his career, his liberty  and possibly even his life  are at stake.



Fired Up

Using crude, racist and provocative terms, Muslim cleric Habib Muhsin Alathas referred to Ahok as a son of Satan and re-asserted the koranic/Islamic principle that Christians should never have authority over Muslims at a rally over the weekend, according to an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) report.



Some of you come to the headquarters of the pigs pimple, shaking hands with him, and even kiss his hand, he said as chronicled by ABCs Harvey. You have been kissing the hand of someone who is not circumcised  youre better off kissing a goats arse  So, if this thin eyes [derogatory Indonesian term for the Chinese] does not go in jail, we will go out onto the street once more, right?



Australia National University associate professor Greg Fealy, an Indonesia expert, told ABC that while he does not believe Ahok has blasphemed, theres probably no way out for him now, except to go through this court process, which is very likely to find him guilty I suspect.



Likewise, professor Tim Lindsay of Melbourne Law School said he expects Ahok will be convicted. Not only has a fatwa been issued against him, but the massive rallies have terrified authorities, he reportedly said. Consequently, Lindsay expects judges to be influenced by public opinion and pay little attention to evidence.



The charge stems from a speech Ahok made to city officials on Sept. 27, when he said, Ladies and gentlemen, you dont have to vote for me because youve been lied to [or fooled] with Surat Almaidah 51 [Sura 5:51] and the like. Thats your right. If you feel you cant vote for me because you fear youll go to hell, because youve been lied to [or fooled], no worries. Thats your personal right. These programs will go forward. So you dont have to feel uncomfortable. Follow your conscience, you dont have to vote for Ahok. (translation by Sidney Jones)



Video footage of the speech went viral on YouTube, and Islamic extremists claimed Ahok had blasphemed against the Koran and Islamic clerics. Ahok on Oct. 10 apologized to all Muslims and anyone who felt offended, saying it was not his intention to slight Islam or the Koran.



The court has now been adjourned until Dec. 20.



If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.



If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Publication date: December 13, 2016
Although ISIS territory has been diminishing and their strongholds have been falling, it is doubtful Christians will return to the city of Mosul, even after this last ISIS stronghold is liberated.

CBN News reports that, even before ISIS took over control of Mosul and surrounding areas in 2014, Christians faced persecution.

There used to be 700,000 Christians in Iraq, but that number has now fallen to 250,000. Thousands of Iraqis have been internally displaced and are living as refugees in their own country. Many others have emigrated to other countries.

A new report has found that it is unlikely these displaced Christians will return to their homeland, especially since 75 percent of them reported facing threats and violence before the ISIS takeover.

CBN News spoke with a pastor in the region who works with refugees fleeing the violence.

"How could the church have a great future if the Christians are leaving? he asked. Of course living in the West or anywhere else would be better than living in Lebanon and the Middle East, but if we leave who's going to be the salt and light.

"The best thing for the church in the West would be to pray for the Christians to feel the calling to stay and make a difference," he continued.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: December 13, 2016
As government investigators sifted through the scene of Egypts worst bombing attack against Christians in the nations history, today the families of those who were slain mourned and buried their dead.



Yesterday (Dec. 11) morning, at least 24 worshippers were killed and 49 wounded when an explosion ripped through the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, also known as Al Boutrosya Chapel, during Mass in a suburb of Cairo. The chapel is next to the St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, which is held by many as the spiritual center of the Coptic Orthodox Church.



An initial statement by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi claimed that a suicide bomber had conducted the attack. The Interior Ministry later released a picture Abu Dajjana al-Kanani, 22, an Islamist militant the government claimed carried out the attack. The ministry also released a photo of what it said was al-Kananis head.



No group has taken responsibility for the bombing.



Sundays explosion was exceptionally powerful. It shattered the windows of the church building, was heard for miles away and reduced the inside of the structure to rubble. Security sources told local news outlets that the bomb contained at least 26 pounds (12 kg) of TNT. It exploded inside the chapel on the side traditionally used by women.



As a result, most of the victims were either women in their 20s or children. Many of the slain children were infants. Photographs of the victims show major fragmentation wounds. Other victims were instantly reduced to little more than fragments covered by piles of bloody, tattered clothing. The death toll is expected to rise as others, who are now in the hospital, succumb to their wounds.



Al Boutrosya Chapel is located in Abbysia, Cairo in a sprawling compound that houses the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Besides St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, it is also the home of a theological seminary.



Many Copts at the scene of the bombing voiced their anger with government security officers tasked with guarding the church. It is common to see security officers posted at church buildings in Egypt surfing the Internet, otherwise goofing off or even sleeping on post.



Because of this perceived dereliction of duty, the government decision to hold a state funeral for those killed was seen as hypocritical by the victims families, and several were incensed at being kept from those whom they had lost. During the funeral service led by Coptic Pope Tawadros II, with Sisi present, Tawadros II said that the attack on the Copts was an attack on all Egypt, not just a disaster for the Church but a disaster for the whole nation. But actions at the funeral, broadcast on national television, inflamed the families of the victims.



While state officials and ranking members of the Coptic Orthodox Church were given passes to attend the service, passes for family members were very limited and had to be approved by both the government and the church. Family members were forcibly separated from the caskets by youth ushers known commonly as scouts. Others who protested against being kept from attending the funeral were arrested, according to local media reports.



I feel angry, a Coptic woman from Qena who was a regular visitor at St. Marks reportedly said. If I was a family member, I would feel so torn to pieces. Just because you want to make a show, I cant be close to a member of my family to say goodbye to them?



The woman, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, went on to say the Coptic pope has let the state use the victims to gain political capital and to avoid responsibility for the bombing. He was, at best, being naive, she said, adding that choosing to allow priests to attend the funeral instead of families of the slain meant he was placing those held in high esteem over the lowly and was being a total hypocrite.



Sundays attack was the deadliest bombing against Christians in Egypt, but only by a small margin. On Jan. 1, 2011, just after midnight, 23 people were killed in a bombing at Saints Church in Alexandria that took place just after a New Years Eve service. Conflicting accounts claimed the Alexandria bombing was either the result of a suicide bomber or a car bomb placed at the entrance of the church building. No one has ever been apprehended for the incident. The government has all but closed the case.



On April 7, 2013, Coptic Christians attending a funeral service for four Copts killed two days earlier in an anti-Christian rampage were in turn attacked themselves by at least 200 Muslim rioters.



The incident, which started with a few dozen men pelting the mourners with stones, quickly escalated into a massive attack against Christians at St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral involving firearms, flash-bang grenades, tear gas, fire bombs and other improvised weapons, besides cars set ablaze. Police who were assigned to protect the complex did nothing to stop the attack. When back-up arrived, instead of fighting of the attackers, police joined the attack on the side of the rioters.



One Christian, Mahrous Hanna Ibrahim, reportedly died from gunshot wounds and one Muslim died after he fell off a security fence he was climbing to attack Copts.



Wagih Jacoub, a noted human rights activists, said he was dismayed at the churchs reaction to the bombing and the governments refusal to protect Christians.



I dont care about three days of mourning, I care about protecting Christians, he said.



Hostilities toward Christians, according to Jacoub, start in mosques and classrooms where Muslim youth are indoctrinated to hate Christians.



They are taught Christians are nothing, that they have no rights, he said. So what do you expect them to do? You expect them to grow up and hate Christians.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: December 13, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

"I am deeply grateful and honored to serve as President-elect Trump's EPA Administrator," stated Pruitt . "The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations, and I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses."

Pruitt is an evangelical Christian and an expert in Constitutional law. The Trump transition team said that he "brings a deep understanding of the impact of regulations on both the environment and the economy making him an excellent choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency."

Pruitt has opposed many of the EPA policies and sued EPA's Clean Power Plan and regulations on methane emissions, according to The Washington Post.

"Mr. Pruitt will ensure that we conserve our natural habitats, reserves and resources, while unleashing an energy revolution that will bring vast new wealth to our country. Mr. Pruitt agrees with President-elect Trump that we must rescind all job-destroying executive actions and eliminate all barriers to responsible energy production. This will create at least a half million jobs each year and produce $30 billion in higher wages," the president-elect's transition website says.

Pruitt has questioned the validity of climate change science, and impact of greenhouse gases on environment.

The climate change supporters and mainstream media are skeptical of Pruitt's future role as head of EPA, given his opposition to climate change legislations.
A Turkish judge sent US pastor Andrew Brunson to jail in Izmir on terrorism-related charges on December 9, about two months after he and his wife Norine were detained in October.

They were residents of Turkey for the last twenty years, and were detained for "activities against national security," according to The Globalist.

His wife was released on October 19, but Brunson remained in prison at the Harmandali Detention Centre in Izmir, from which he was transferred to a counter-terrorism center on December 8 and was presented in court the next day.

"Andrew is being questioned right now," his wife Norine said in a statement on Facebook. "Please pray for [Him] to give presence, peace [and] words of vindication." She urged Christians in their Facebook website to pray that "all lies [and] false accusations...be unstuck in the name of Jesus" and for her husband "to be set free in a quick resolution".

According to a World Watch Monitor report, the lawyer told Norine that her husband was accused of having links with the Fetullah Gulen movement, which the government says was behind the failed military coup on July 15 this year.

The court said that the "terrorism" charges were levied by a "secret informant." He was denied access to a lawyer until the December 9th court hearing.

The Brunsons have lived in Turkey for the last 23 years and are heading the Izmir Resurrection Church in Alsancak, which has about 30 to 40 members. They have three children who are studying in the US.

The church members tried to send personal items to the pastor and his wife while they were detained, but were returned by the authorities. Later, police officials permitted clothes and medicines to be brought in. However, the Bible was not allowed inside the prison.

Turkey is reported to have cracked down on Protestant pastors in the last four years, and did not extend their visas and residence permits.

"Missionary activities are still considered a criminal offense in Turkey," said Soner Tufan, a spokesperson of the Association of Protestant Churches of Turkey. "Our country is in a very bad situation in terms of free speech and religious liberty."
At least 25 people, most of them women, were killed and about 49 were injured in a blast inside Cairo's Coptic Cathedral complex on Sunday.

A bomb exploded in the chapel as Sunday Mass was about to end. President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi said at the state funeral for the victims attended by hundreds of mourners that a suicide bomber carried out the attack. He identified the bomber as a 22-year-old man who wore an explosive vest which he detonated in the chapel. The Interior Ministry released a picture of the alleged suicide bomber.

Sissi said that four other suspects in the attack have been arrested.

Three days of mourning has been declared in the country.

Coptic Pope Tawadros II cut short a Greece tour and also conducted a private service for the family of the victims.

"This calamity is not against the church but against the homeland, [against] all of Egypt," Pope Tawadros said after the service. "We are in a lot pain because of this evil ... but we are pleased they passed away during prayers, this is the best time to die.. during this [holy] month."

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of the Egyptian population and are vulnerable to mob attacks triggered by blasphemy accusations and building permits for new churches.

"Egypt's government needs to ensure immediate protection for the Coptic community, especially during the upcoming Christmas holiday," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "The victims deserve a credible, transparent investigation that brings the perpetrators to justice and is crucial for ending such attacks."

This is the second bombing attack in Cairo this month. Last week, a car bomb on the main road leading to Giza pyramids killed six policemen in the city. The attack was claimed by a militant group affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2011, about 23 Christians were killed by a suicide bomber at a church in Alexandria.
Huge New York Times investigation on Russia's role in the elections, and Trump's upset victory: "The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the US." It's a riveting tic-tock narrative, and no doubt those in the intel/security biz will debate the contents.

An examination by The Times of the Russian operation  based on interviews with dozens of players targeted in the attack, intelligence officials who investigated it and Obama administration officials who deliberated over the best response  reveals a series of missed signals, slow responses and a continuing underestimation of the seriousness of the cyberattack.

The D.N.C.'s fumbling encounter with the F.B.I. meant the best chance to halt the Russian intrusion was lost. The failure to grasp the scope of the attacks undercut efforts to minimize their impact. And the White House's reluctance to respond forcefully meant the Russians have not paid a heavy price for their actions, a decision that could prove critical in deterring future cyberattacks.

The low-key approach of the F.B.I. meant that Russian hackers could roam freely through the committee's network for nearly seven months before top D.N.C. officials were alerted to the attack and hired cyberexperts to protect their systems. In the meantime, the hackers moved on to targets outside the D.N.C., including Mrs. Clinton's campaign chairman, John D. Podesta, whose private email account was hacked months later.

Even Mr. Podesta, a savvy Washington insider who had written a 2014 report on cyberprivacy for President Obama, did not truly understand the gravity of the hacking.
CNN announced their "Hero of the Year" at their 10th annual awards ceremony on December 11, a man who said he was called by God to help others with disabilities.

Jeisonn Aristizabal, 33, was born with cerebral palsy in a poor neighborhood of Colombia, and was told by doctors that he would not be able to make much of his life.

"When I was a young boy, a doctor told my mom that I would amount to nothing," he said.

Aristizabal now says that it was God who called him so that he could work for people who had disabilities.

"Today I realize God chose me to help children with disabilities and their families and build a chain of dreams. I am about to graduate as a lawyer, and I want to do more to change my country's laws," he said at his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony.

People on several social media platforms voted for the "Hero of the Year" between October 26 and December 6. Aristizabal won $100,000, while all the top ten CNN Heroes received $10,000.

He said via a translator: "I can't believe it. Hello to Colombia, hello to all the families who have a child with a disability. I want to tell you that yes you can. You can dream and you can achieve your dreams... God bless you and there's more work to do."

Aristizabal has been serving those with disabilities for the last 15 years, and started his foundation from his parents' garage and has helped hundreds of young people with disabilities in Colombia to access wheelchairs and assistive equipment, apart from other educational and medical resources.

He urged the audience to do everything they can at their own level, wherever they are in the world.

"Open your hearts and join this beautiful work, too. There are many children hoping for your support."

"Sometimes when we see a big problem, we feel like we can't do something," he said. "But starting with the little things, helping fix the little things, we can transform many lives."
My Grandpa Colby was a young teen when he was summoned to a neighbors farm to help milk a less-than-cooperative cow. Apparently the farmer was off on a drinking binge and had abandoned the cow for days. She was miserably full of milk and unwilling to let anyone touch her.

As Colby arrived at the barn and moved toward the unhappy cow, he must have sensed her tension. He talked to her as he approached and grabbed the milking stool. But when he knelt down to milk the cow, she lurched forward and kicked him in the leg, opening a deep gash. His torn flesh bled severely.

There were no modern ambulances or helicopters to come to his rescue, so getting him to medical attention took precious timelost time that allowed his young muscles to die from lack of blood. In the end, in order to save his life, his leg had to be amputated.

Colby had ventured down the road toward a neighbors farm to perform an act of kindness, not realizing his life would change forever. As I grew up and more fully understood my Grandpa Colby, what struck me was that he wasnt in the least consumed by his past. I never heard him tell his story firsthand; I had to piece it together from family recollections. He never thought it necessary to tell me how he felt about losing his leg. The grandpa I grew to know could have been bitter about the drunken farmer or the call to take responsibility for someone elses animal. Yet he never complained about his bad fortune or the fact that the situation left him without a leg. Instead he stayed focused on the future and the abundance of good things he could dolike catch fish with his grandkids and beat me at checkers!

Having the use of two healthy legs is surely a possession many of us believe is necessary to enjoy a full, happy, and large life. This was especially true in the community where Grandpa Colby lived, where being able bodied was essential to earning a livelihood. But Grandpa Colby simply found a way, as many people do, of living well without the benefit of the full body he was given at birth. He finished school and became a successful banker and family man. He was at peace. He was content, regardless of circumstance.

Stuffocation

Most of us have a vision of what we think is absolutely necessary for us to be happy. As we have noted, there is a measure of truth in those beliefs. But the greater truth is that we can learn to live happily even if we are denied things we consider essential.

Just as our homes have expanded over time, the list of material things we deem important continues to grow longer and longer. British author and trend forecaster James Wallman tells about a formal study by UCLA anthropologists to dig into the stuff that fills American homes. The smallest home in the study measured just under a thousand square feet, yet in the homes two bedrooms and the living room alone, researchers found 2,260 items. They counted only items out in the open, nothing hidden in drawers or cupboards. Among all the homes in their study they found on average:

39 pairs of shoes

90 DVDS or videos

139 toys

212 CDS

438 books and magazines

Wallman says of the homes studied, Nine out of ten had so many things that they kept household stuff in the garage. Three quarters of them had so much stuff in there, there was no room left for cars. The UCLA anthropologists call this a clutter crisis. Wallman calls it stuffocation, which he defines as suffocating under too much stuff. He adds that the overgrowth of clutter is not solely an American phenomenon: the average British woman buys 59 items of clothing each year, she has twice as many things in her wardrobe today as she did in 1980, and she has 22 things in there she has never worn.

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We think its safe to assert that people-both women and men-in any developed society would recognize themselves in these concrete examples of longing for more. Without a conscious change of direction, this is where we live. But how can we move past our insatiable cravings to a genuine contentment?

Confident in Love

We have already encouraged a practice that helps in growing our sense of Gods loveparticipating in the life of the church, where we regularly hear the Good News of our acceptance and destiny in Christ. We have also noted how personal prayer and Bible reading can reinforce our moment-to-moment appreciation of these foundational truths. Now is the time to reinforce those practices. In particular we want to tie our confidence in Gods love to a new mindset toward money and material things and see how the Bible consistently draws that connection.

Scripture celebrates that God lovingly provides what we need and tells us that things will never satisfy us in any sort of ultimate way. The Bible resounds with encouragement for us to work hard to acquire what we need and to avoid the trap of believing that money or things will make us happy or content. It tells us to use and enjoy things without letting them cause us discontent.

Here are a few of many examples:

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless, says Ecclesiastes (5:10).

And then there are these words from Proverbs 1:19: When you grab all you can get, thats what happens: the more you get, the less you are (MSG).

Jesus talks about the same idea in terms of peace. The calm we all long for doesnt come from possessions but from him. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you, he says. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27).

The apostle Paul in Philippians 4 puts forth one of the Bibles more extended teachings on worry and peace. First he says that we should trade worry in for prayer: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (vv. 6-7). (We also like the way The Message puts it: Its wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.)

In addition to prayer, Paul encourages us to focus our minds on things other than what worries us: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirableif anything is excellent or praiseworthythink about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Phil. 4:89).

Paul isnt making up wild theories. His teaching comes from his own experience riding a rollercoaster of joy and suffering, plenty and want. As a result of what he learned, he was able to say, I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Phil. 4:1113).

Paul describes exactly what Grandpa Colby discovered. Peace doesnt come from outward circumstances but from an inward surrender to Christ.

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The fact that Scripture raises the topic of worry and peace so often suggests this is a common human struggle. But to be honest, these verses can both encourage and discourage us! Yes, we should pray. Yes, we should think about more noble things. Yes, we should be content. But how do we get there day to day? The answer lies in putting some practical tactics into action.

Tithing

The 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey of 30,000 American households found that those who donated to charity were 43 percent more likely than non-givers to say they were very happy. This research doesnt prove which comes firstgiving or happinessbut we believe the two absolutely go together. The real-life experience of many generous people fits with the famous insight of Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

While the New Testament transcends the Old Testament law that commanded people to give a tithe back to God, the principle remains a common guideline for giving. Tithing means taking 10 percent of what you earn and giving it for Gods work in the world. This is another generosity discipline we want to encourage you to consider. Its a practice for learning contentment regarding what we earn and own. Often the theme of tithing comes up in the context of giving to a local church. We want you to think of it as a yardstick for giving in generalnot as a law but as an invitation and challenge.

Many people would agree that this level of generosity is a good idea. Most recognize it as a stretch. The sacrifice often seems so great, however, that the most common reaction to this proposal is, I just dont have enough left over to give any of it away. If we havent established a habit of proportional generosity, we look at that 10 percent figure and gulp. It seems impossible to recast our budgets to give that much. But recent research suggests there may be a way forward, and at first it may entail giving less!

The research was described in a book called Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The Heath brothers make their living as research professors, studying how human behavior can be changed. One of their insights is called Shrink the Change. Take housecleaning, for example. They encourage us to clean for ten minutes and then stop, considering that a success. If we tell ourselves we need to clean the whole house or unclutter the entire overstuffed garage, we might never get started. By making the goal easily attainable (who cant spend ten minutes cleaning?) we get ourselves started.

When it comes to being generous with money, if giving 10 percent feels out of reach, start with one percent more than you give right now. Aim to increase by one percent every three to six months until you reach your goal. As you connect giving to your everyday life, you will soon see that you really do have enough. Sharing not just money but time and energy will feel not just more doable but more joyful. Giving from a surplus mindset is not linked to how much money you have; rather, it is choosing to lead with generosity in all its forms.

Knowing What You Want

Sometimes contentment and peace come by managing our expectations.

I recall a video clip from some years ago telling the story of a wise young woman whose insights into wanting produced a beautiful result. It showed a young woman sitting in front of an older male television documentary host. She looked to be in her early thirties, blonde and soft-spoken. Her eyes and facial structure made it apparent that the young woman lived with Down syndrome.

After a few moments of preparation by the TV personality, the interview began. This woman had recently married a man who also lived with trisomy 21, another name for Down syndrome. Since marriage among Downs persons is rare, their lives become a curiosity.

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The interviewer wanted to know how they managed. Were they happy? How did they pay their bills? Since they couldnt drive, how did they get to work? They would never produce biological children because of their agreement to be sterilized before the wedding. They lacked the intellectual capacity to dive into conversations about politics, religion, and global warming. And the great American dream of home ownership seemed far beyond their reach. How could they possibly be satisfied?

The woman paused for a moment after the barrage of inquiries about her happiness. She looked the interviewer in the eyes and said slowly and confidently, I am happy because I always get what I want.

Dumbfounded, the interviewer went back over the litany of things the woman and her disabled spouse would never have. With incredible poise, this young woman repeated her point: I always get what I want. But I know what to want.

The young woman explained that her happiness was rooted in realistic expectations for her life. She didnt believe she would be the next Nobel laureate or even a highly skilled white-collar worker. On the contrary, because she had settled in to her place on the planet rather well, she was able to live in contentment.

Can you say that you know what to want? Out of her wisdom and joy, this woman shared the secret to living at peace.

Brad Hewitt is the CEO of Thrivent Financial, an organization who for more than 100 years has helped Christians be wise with money and live generously. He is also the coauthor of Your New Money Mindset: Create a Healthy Relationship with Money (Tyndale House Publishers), from which this article is adapted with permission.
Thomas Clark Oden (19312016) was born when Herbert Hoover was president and died after the election of Donald Trump. His long and productive life cut a major swath across the landscape of American social, political, and religious history. He was one of the most consequential evangelical scholars and theologians of our time.

A son of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, Oden grew up singing the songs of Woody Guthrie to the strums of his five-string banjo. He cared deeply about the things Guthrie sang about: social injustice and radical politics. As a young Methodist minister, Oden read the Bible out of modern naturalistic premises, assuming that religious truth could be reduced to economics (with Marx) or psychosexual motives (with Freud) or self-assertive power (with Nietzsche). By the 1960s Oden had become one of the most prominent figures of the American religious left, embracing ecumenism, pacifism, Rogerian psychologism, and (what he would later call) the fantasies of Bultmannianism.

What drew Oden from this world to become one of the most influential advocates of classical Christianity in our time? There were several pointers along the way, including teachers like Paul Ramsey and Albert Outler, evangelical friends like Carl Henry and J. I. Packer, and his beautiful wife Edrita, who helped me hear Gods footsteps, he said. But no one had more influence than his irascible, endearing Jewish mentor and Drew University colleague Will Herberg. Oden recounted a key moment in their relationship in his 2014 autobiography: Holding one finger up, looking straight at me with fury in his eyes, [Herberg] said, You will remain theologically uneducated until you study ...

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The Only Surgeon for Millions of People Wins First Annual Gerson L'Chaim Prize

Dr. Jason Fader of Burundi, Sole Full-Time Surgeon Outside Capital City, Awarded $500,000



Watch Dr. Jason Fader at work



Contact: Michael Conrad, 214-616-0320, Michael@Lovell-Fairchild.com



NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Jason Fader, a son of medical missionaries and now on a team of American physicians in Burundi--the world's hungriest nation--today was awarded $500,000 in the first-ever Gerson L'Chaim Prize for Outstanding Christian Medical Missionary Service.



"Because of the L'Chaim Prize, hundreds of people will walk, thousands will receive care, and tens of thousands will be helped by the doctors we train," Dr. Fader said.



The L'Chaim Prize, the largest ever in clinical care, is awarded by the African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), founded by New York entrepreneur Mark Gerson and his friend Dr. Jon Fielder, a medical missionary serving in Kenya.



"Missionary doctors are this era's untold humanitarian story," said Gerson, who underwrites the prize with his wife, Rabbi Erica Gerson. "Forsaking every comfort and convenience to bring skilled compassion to the continent's poor, Dr. Fader and his team are links in a string of unsung heroes across Africa."



With the L'Chaim prize, Fader and his colleaguesserving with the agency SERGEwill:

add critically needed hospital beds at rural Kibuye Hope Hospital



create Burundi's first postgraduate medical training



expand lower-limb fracture care in a nation that travels by foot

"It's hard to overstate the value," Fader said. "In one of the world's poorest countries, a prize of this magnitude, for one hospital, is far reaching."



Burundi--called the world's hungriest nation by the World Bank--has but 13 surgeons for 10 million people. For their part, Fader and his on-the-ground team are training doctors, performing surgical procedures, and upgrading and expanding medical facilities. Every team member raises individual financial support and arrives having studied both French and Kirundi. Since 2013, the team has served at the Kibuye Hope Hospital, the teaching hospital for Hope Africa University Medical School.



"To move forward, to provide higher volume and better quality care, and to train more national healthcare workers, this hospital must expand," Fader said. He plans to serve in Burundi "for many years to come."



Medical care is Africa's most endangered species. Since missions and agencies peaked in the last century, the docs still there, and their African colleagues, receive shrinking support amid rising and complex medical challengesfrom AIDS to surgical problems to cancer. Fielder and Gerson, with friends and supporters, formed AMHF to bolster Africa's white-lab-coat heroes and their institutions.



The 2016 Gerson L'Chaim Prize drew 26 applications from long-term medical missionaries, Catholic and Protestant, in 12 countries. Candidate projects span women's health centers, African doctor training, cancer diagnosis and treatment, pediatric surgery training and care, heart surgery, mobile HIV care, malaria prevention, and ER centers.



For interviews, contact: Michael Conrad Michael@Lovell-Fairchild.com 214-616-0320:

Learn more at www.amhf.us



Read the Gerson's essay on Medium



Watch the Prize and Finalist videos



Read official prize policies



Follow #LChaimPrize via AMHF's profile on Twitter or Facebook



Donate

Visit Lovell-Fairchild.com for:

Curtain Raiser Press Release



AMHF Media Tip Sheet



AMHF Q&A



Suggested Interview Questions

About African Mission Healthcare Foundation

A registered U.S. 501(c)3 charity, AMHF enhances access to health services for the tens of millions of Africans who fail to receive quality, life-saving care. It advances financial, logistical, personnel and management support to African mission health facilities, which, through thousands of centers, provide roughly one-third of medical services on the continent. AMHF directly supports care for 70,000 patients annually and finances formal training of 100 African healthcare professionalsa credit to its partners efficiency. In Kenya, a clubfoot may be corrected for $100. In Malawi, a child's malaria treatment costs less than $10. In eight countriesincluding Malawi, Uganda, South Sudan and TanzaniaAMHF has built clinics, procured x-ray machines, educated surgeons and doctors, and sponsored life-changing operations, particularly pediatric rehabilitative treatments. AMHF oversees Kenya's largest HIV and tuberculosis clinical mentorship program.
Gov. Kasich Vetoes Ohio 'Heartbeat Bill'

National Group Decries Action



Contact: Mark Harrington, Created Equal, 614-419-9000, mark@createdequal.org



COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 13, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- In 2011, the original Heartbeat Bill (HB 125) came literally one heartbeat away from becoming Ohio law. Now, after over five years, the bill, (Am. Sub. HB 493) which made it to the Governor's desk, has been vetoed by Governor John Kasich.



In a statement, Kasich wrote, "I agree with Ohio Right to Life and other leading, pro-life advocates that SB 127 (a 20-week ban) is the best, most legally sound and sustainable approach to protecting the sanctity of human life," Kasich said in a statement.

Read entire Columbus Dispatch article HERE.

Mark Harrington, National Director of Created Equal wrote, "History will not look kindly on Gov. Kasich for killing the best chance at protecting children that we have seen in a lifetime! This bill, which would protect babies with beating hearts, went down to defeat because Governor Kasich, who campaigned as a pro-life advocate, killed the bill. Those who bend the knee to the worst ruling in history (Roe v. Wade) are no better than the ones who wrote it."



Ohio's pro-life community will not rest until this bill is passed into law. We will never give up on protecting children.
Archbishop Of Canterbury Says Christmas Can Be 'Empty' For Those With No Work, Home Or Loved Ones

The Archbishop of Canterbury has highlighted the plight of the homeless this Christmas in a message for the Radio Times in which he warns that this time of year can be an "empty" one for some people.

Justin Welby wrote that, "what can be a full time for some, can equally be an empty time for others: particularly those who have no work, or no home; or perhaps no one to love them."

He added: "The days leading up to Christmas can be both joyful and stressful. We try to be with friends, family and colleagues, to buy gifts and make arrangements  and somehow to relax when there is still work to be done.

"Most people who want to make sense of Christmas have some kind of routine. Clergy households are no different. And in many churches today clergy and lay people share in making lunch for those alone, and give generously of their time."

The Archbishop paid tribute to St Martin-in-the-Fields, in London's Trafalgar Square, known as the "church of the ever open door" where a Christmas appeal for the homeless began in December 1925.

The appeal was taken up by the Radio Times from 1927 and is still running to this day: last year it raised 2.5 million.

Yet Archbishop Welby highlights figures showing that in the year between autumn 2014 and autumn 2015, rough sleeping rose by 30 per cent across England and by 27 per cent in London.

"It is 50 years since Ken Loach's film Cathy Come Home, and this year Loach returned to tell another sobering story in I, Daniel Blake," he wrote. "These are works of fiction but they could be documentaries  you can meet real Daniel Blakes on the steps of St Martin's any day of the week. Sadly homelessness is still with us  sometimes on the streets and sometimes in crowded hostels or shelters."

The Archbishop went on: "Good things happen when we work together. While no one would wish to celebrate 90 years of homelessness, 90 years of good work, trust and kindness is indeed something to shout about."
Boko Haram Training Boys, Telling Them to Return to School and Kill Their Christian Teachers and Fellow Students

This terrorist group is sending young boys to schoolnot to get education but to kill Christian teachers and students as well.

The group is the Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamic extremist group, whose name translates to "Western education is sin," The Los Angeles Times reported.

Fuelling Boko Haram's hatred for Christians is the group's belief that they are the ones guiding Nigeria's education system, which contradicts the radicals' beliefs, one of which is that the Earth is flat.

The terrorist group has launched a number of attacks on Nigerian schools in recent years as it seeks to create a division between the nation's Christian and Muslim people, who each make up roughly half of the population.

The LA Times said the terrorists have already killed as many as 611 teachers since 2009 when the Boko Haram started its campaign of terror. They have also burned down 910 schools and forced the closure of 1,500 others.

Many of the attacks were reportedly perpetrated by former students who were trained by the terrorist group to return to their schools and kill their teachers and other students.

Even some of the schoolgirls that Boko Haram terrorists have kidnapped have been trained to carry out suicide bombing missions in cross-border attacks in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. The other girls were sold into marriage and forced to convert to Islam, the LA Times report said.

"Boko Haram believes Earth is flat, and that Muslims are permitted to take slaves and duty-bound to kill infidels. Culture and history also play a role in the group's fixation with secular education, according to analysts," the report said.

"British colonialists brought education and Christianity to the region at the beginning of the 20th century, triggering long-held resentment which lingers to this day," it added.

The Global Terrorism Index has listed Boko Haram as the deadliest terrorist group in the world, even deadlier that the Islamic State (ISIS). According to its report, Boko Haram was responsible for at least 6,644 deaths in 2014, an increase of 314 percent from 2013.

Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to ISIS and uses its emblematic black flag, but operates largely independently, according to Human Rights Watch.
Besides white supremacy, one of the key drivers of the last election was trade, with outsourcing being the main scapegoat (even though any economist able to count to 10 will tell you that it was technology rather than bad trade deals that really created the Rust Belt). But back in the Depression, one group of Ohio factory workers were delighted to have all their jobs outsourced, and some of them even went along for the ride. They were the workers of the bankrupt Dueber-Hampden Watch Company, which was bought in 1930 by the Soviet Union. At the time, the Soviets were keen to create from scratch a watchmaking industry to rival Switzerland's. In his latest story for Collectors Weekly, Hunter Oatman-Stanford interviewed a collector of Soviet watches (who happens to be Oatman-Stanford's younger brother) on this suddenly timely topic.

Here's a snip:

Three Soviets traveled to Canton, Ohio, where these two companies were based, to pack up all the manufacturing equipment, leftover watch movements, and pieces to ship back to Russia. Twenty-one former Dueber-Hampden employees from Ohio sailed with them to help set up this new facility in Russia, which was aptly named the First State Watch Factory. They began making 7- and 15-jewel pocket-watch movements made with parts from Ohio. The Soviets changed all the lettering to Cyrillic to signify their new ownership, and there were slight design modifications, all very minor. Starting around 1935, they began taking ownership a bit more, using different insignias that said "First State Watch Factory," and as the years progressed, they began customizing their pocket watches to be a bit more Soviet-specific.

When World War II began, the demand for watches was unprecedented, and the Soviets went into overdrive. By the end of the 1940s, the Soviets had nearly a dozen factories producing watches, though some had been relocated during the war. They were still using the same movement designs from Ohio, but putting them into new forms.

These original so-called "Type-1" movements are still available today, and I have several dozen in my collection in various dial patterns. A wristwatch Type-1 variant was also produced, though a pocket-watch movement on your wrist makes for an enormous wristwatch, and it was very outdated with a noisy ticking sound. The old joke was that during the war, the Germans didn't have to seek out any Sovietsall they had to do was listen for their ticking watches and shoot in that direction.
Christian Governor Of Jakarta Cries As He Denies Insulting Islam

The Christian governor of Jakarta cried as he denied insulting Islam in the first day of his trial for blasphemy.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, often called Ahok, is the first non-Muslim governor of the capital of Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world. He is accused of misusing a Qur'anic verse that suggests Muslims should not be ruled by non-Muslims to boost his public support ahead of February's elections.

Purnama denies the charges and says his comments were aimed at politicians "incorrectly" using the verse against him. He insists his alleged remarks were not aimed at the verse itself, which can be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from living under non-Muslim rule.

It comes after he made a speech in September saying Islamic groups were using the text against him to deceive voters.

If convicted he could face a maximum five-year jail sentence.

His case is seen as a test of religious liberty in Indonesia, which is about 87 per cent Islamic and home to 12.7 per cent of the world's Muslims.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest against the Chinese born governor but his supporters say a video circulated of his comments has been edited with misleading subtitles to change what he actually said.

Indonesia technically guarantees freedom of religion in its constitution but in reality only six religions are recognise and tough blasphemy laws control debate and target minorities.

Christians represent less than 10 per cent of the 250 million population.
Christian Human Rights Lawyer Has Organs Harvested After Death In Prison In China

A prominent Christian human rights lawyer who died in prison in China earlier this month had his organs harvested, according to horrific reports emerging from activist sources in the Communist country.

China Aid has disclosed that Peng Ming's brain and heart were among the organs harvested from his body against the wishes of his family.

Ming, a pro-democracy activist, was imprisoned for life on false charges of organising and leading a terrorist organisation, kidnapping and possessing counterfeit money.

He collapsed and died in prison while watching television.

His family managed to obtain an independent autopsy.

China Aid, a charity that stands in solidarity with persecuted Christians in China, reports: "Before such an autopsy could take place, officials interrogated Peng's brother for six hours and attempted to force him to sign a document permitting them to take some abdominal tissue from Peng in order to conduct 'scientific experiments'.

"After his brother refused, authorities violated the family's will and dissected Peng on Dec 5, removing vital organs, such as his brain and heart."

The translation of the China Aid Chinese website's report reads: "China Aid got the news from the family of Peng Ming, who was a Christian democratic leader, that Peng Ming's organs had been harvested secretly and forcibly on Dec 5. The authorities tried to force the family members to sign the agreement, but they were turned down.

"Now, we call upon the international community to condemn these acts and pay close attention to this case."

Officials had stated: "For scientific experiments, we need to cut a little bit of abdominal muscle from Peng Ming's body."

When Ming's brother was taken to the morgue he was shown only the face, which was covered with a cloth, for a brief second. He was then informed that Peng's brain and heart and other organs had been removed.

Family members living outside China in the US, Canada and Sweden were then informed they could not fly to China to attend the funeral.

Pastor Bob Fu, president of China Aid, condemned the "inhuman and deliberate manipulation of Peng Ming's family members". He said China was in violation of international law. "Once again, we call on Xi Jinping's government to immediately change this anti-human, anti-people, anti-rule of law behavior and allow Peng Ming's overseas children and family members into China, without intervening by burying his ashes and give Peng Ming's items back to his family," he said.

Fu warned that there will be "more Peng Ming cases" if the international community does not act.

It was confirmed a few days ago that Ming had died in prison.

In 2005, when he was imprisoned, a UN working group on arbitrary detention had stated that Peng's detention was arbitrary.

Peng had been active in the 1980s and 1990s when he set up organisations and publications advocating democratic reform.

After 18 months' detention in 1999-2000, he fled to Thailand and then to the United States but in May 2004 went to Thailand to visit his parents and crossed into Burma, from where he was illegally transported to China and then sentenced and imprisoned.

Peng's brother Peng Zhangming told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that the death certificate gave no details of the cause of death. However, according to the news and commentary website China Change, many in the dissident community inside and outside China have "expressed doubt over the official version of events, particularly given the fact that Peng's older brother visited him as recently as November 24, and reported that he appeared to be in good health".
Christians Face 'Pervasive And Long-Standing Persecution' In Burma

Christianity is institutionally discriminated against in Burma and Buddhism has been elevated to the de facto state religion, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today said in a stark warning about lack of religious freedom in the country.

A report published today, titled Hidden Plight: Christian Minorities in Burma, highlights "the pervasive and long-standing persecution and discrimination Christians face that have persisted, often unreported, for generations".

It says: "Senior leaders in Burma's government need to publicly acknowledge and remedy the fact that the elevation of Buddhism as the de facto state religion and resulting policies and practices have violated the rights of Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities."

It goes on: "Institutionalized discrimination against Christians must also be addressed so that Christians and other religious minorities can secure promotions in government sectors."

According to the report, "Christian communities across Burma continue to experience deep pain and suffering due to egregious violations of religious freedom."

The report urges Burma to undertake "substantive reforms to ensure religious freedom for all in law, policy, and practice" and says that this "must be a cornerstone of ongoing peace and national reconciliation efforts in Burma".

The report also calls for support for increased interfaith dialogue at a grassroots level, but adds that "interfaith dialogue should be rooted in international standards and a clear understanding of religious freedom as the individual right to choose one's faith, rather than common misconceptions about defending the values of a particular religion or the rights of the majority."

The report makes a series of recommendations to both the Burmese and the US governments.

To the former, it calls on the country to take "concrete steps to end violence and human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities, including the investigation and prosecution of those perpetrating human rights violations or inciting discrimination and violence, especially members of the military, Ma Ba Tha, and other ultra-nationalistic forces, to end the culture of impunity"; and to undertake "substantive reforms to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture to ensure equal treatment for all religious faiths, and guarantee religious freedom for all in law, policy, and practice, and in accordance with international human rights standards".

The US, it says, "can play a role by engaging senior leaders in Burma's government on religious freedom issues and emphasizing their importance to ongoing peace and national reconciliation efforts."

The report also urges the US to continue to designate Burma "a country of particular concern" unless and until the government of Burma meets the benchmarks it outlines.

A second report released by the USCIRF today, Suspended in Time: The Ongoing Persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma details the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in the face of "government-directed abuses and/or government indifference to discrimination and violence that has killed hundreds, displaced thousands, and destroyed hundreds of religious properties since 2012".

The Christian population of Burma has increased by nearly one third in three decades, according to World Watch Monitor.

There are now more than three million Christians in Burma, making up 6.2 per cent of the population, compared to just 4.9 per cent in 1983.

Christianity is the second largest religion in Burma, where nearly nine in ten people are Buddhist.
Christians Protest 'Sinfulness' Of Sex Shop Nativity Scene

A sex shop owner in Spain decided to get into the Christmas spirit with a special nativity theme of his own design.

Hector Valdivielso, owner of Non Sit Peccatum, whose name means "not sinful", commissioned artist Ernesto Yanez to create images of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus on ceramic dildos.

Immediately there were protests, including from a group called Children of the Virgin Mary who described the scene as an insult to their faith. One married couple demanded Valdivielso take down the nativity, or threatened to remove it themselves.

The shop was defaced by graffiti such as "pecadores", Spanish for sinners, and there were insults and threats against the owner.

So he temporarily took it down and held a public poll on whether the sex shop nativity should stay, or go.

And the public voted overwhelmingly in favour - 78.5 per cent of nearly 1000 voters polled said the scene should return to the shop window.

The shop is in Talavera de la Reina, a town just 90 minutes from Madrid.

The controversy is reported on Spain's Publico blog.

Valdivielso said: "Many neighbors of Talavera asked us to return to showcase the nativity scene and not give in to the blackmail of a few hotheads."

He added: "The work has been created with the intention to offend noone. Christmas is a global festival that concerns us all and the nativity scene is a symbol that represents it. Other establishments decorate their Christmas windows with their products. Why can't a sex shop?"

Meanwhile, according to Publico, the shop's ceramic dildos are selling "like hotcakes".
How Will Pope Francis Spend His 80th Birthday On Saturday?

Pope Francis turns 80 on Saturday (17 December), but  as you might expect with this pontiff  the day will be very much business as usual.

Apart from a concelebrated mass in the Pauline Chapel where Pope Francis will preside with the cardinals resident in Rome, instead of the normal 7am celebration in the Saint Martha Guesthouse, the pope will carry out standard official duties.

Among others, he will meet with the President of the Republic of Malta, the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, the Bishop of Chur, Switzerland, and the Community Nomadelfia of Italy.

However, in a novel twist and a concession to those who may attach more importance to the occasion than the pope himself, the Vatican today issued email addresses for people around the world to send birthday greetings to Francis in various languages. The addresses are:

Papafranciscus80@vatican.va (Latin)

PapaFrancesco80@vatican.va (Italian)

PapaFrancisco80@vatican.va (Spanish / Portuguese)

PopeFrancis80@vatican.va (English)

PapeFrancois80@vatican.va (French)

PapstFranziskus80@vatican.va (German)

PapiezFranciszek80@vatican.va (Polish)

Meanwhile, a special hashtag has been created on Social media for the pope's birthday: #Pontifex80.

Despite Pope Francis wanting a "normal" day, he may be accosted with presents and even a cake in St Peter's Square.

In 2014 when he turned 78, there were shouts of "Tanti auguri!"  "Happy Birthday!"  as the pope circled pilgrims on his popemobile during his weekly general audience.

He stopped to blow out candles on a cake given to him by a group of Legionaries of Christ seminarians, and paused to take a sip of mate tea, a traditional South American drink that is popular in Argentina and has been said to offer the "strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea, and the euphoria of chocolate".
Imprisoned Christian Convert In Iran Has Sentence Extended, Meaning She Will Be In Jail For Christmas

Maryam Zargaran, the Christian convert imprisoned in Iran, has had her sentence extended by more than a month.

Even though she remains ill, her period of incarceration has been lengthened by a total of 42 days to compensate for time she was allowed to go home or to hospital so she could be treated for her serious medical conditions.

Sources told the Christian charity Open Doors that her sentence had been made longer. They also described how the severity of conditions inside the notorious Evin Prison have contributed to the severity of her medical problems.

Zargaran is suffering from heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis and lumbar disc disease.

She was sentenced to four years in prison after her arrest in January 2013 in connection with work on an orphanage she did with Saeed Abedini, an American former Muslim who converted in 2000.

Abedini, active in the underground house church movement in Iran, was also imprisoned in Evin. He was released in January this year and returned to the United States, where his wife has filed for divorce.

Zargaran was convicted and jailed for "acting against national security". She was allowed to leave prison briefly to receive treatment in June this year. In July she went on hunger strike in an attempt to persuade the Iranian authorities of the need for treatment but on the request of her family, ended the hunger strike at the start of August.

Open Doors said she was given permission to go home for medical treatment at the end of August, but on conditions that she felt unable to comply with, resulting in her return to Evin and meaning she had to cut short the essential medical care she was receiving. She was allowed home again at the start of this month but on her return, was informed her sentence had been extended.

Amnesty International is among those who have condemned Iran's lack of adequate medical care in its prisons as "cruel".

There has been a spate of arrests of Christians in Iran this year.

Open Doors is calling for prayers for healing for Zargaran, for comfort and strength for her family and for her swift release along with that of dozens of other imprisoned Christians in Iran.
ISIS Loses 50,000 Militants and Large Territory but Gains Foothold in More Countries, Officials Say

The Islamic State (ISIS) appears to be both losing and winning in its campaign of terror in the Middle East and elsewhere.

A senior U.S. military official has revealed that at least 50,000 ISIS militants have been killed since 2014 when the U.S.-led coalition started fighting the Islamist extremist group in Iraq and Syria. The unnamed official even underscored that that figure was just a "conservative estimate," the BBC reported.

"I am not into morbid counts but that kind of volume matters, that kind of impact on the enemy," the official said on Thursday, adding that the ISIS fatalities resulted mostly from the use of the coalition's air power.

In August, Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that about 45,000 ISIS combatants had already been killed by coalition forces.

Before these disclosures, the U.S. had often been reluctant to provide figures on enemy casualties, the BBC noted.

The figures mentioned, however, do not seem to tally with the statement issued in February by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest who said that ISIS had about 25,000 fighters operating in Syria and Iraq, citing a U.S. intelligence estimate.

But the latest reported death toll for ISIS is already double that number.

The BBC noted though that the U.S. has repeatedly warned that ISIS can replace its fighters rapidly, which could explain the disparity in the figures of ISIS fatalities and the estimated number of its fighters.

Aside from the reported loss of a large number of fighters, the ISIS has also lost some of the territories it captured in Syria and Iraq as its forces continue to get pounded by U.S., British, Russian, Turkish, Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish forces, the BBC said.

ISIS is keeping its grip though on Mosul in Iraq, Raqqa in Syria and the Sunni Arab tribal heartland of the Euphrates river valley, which stretches from eastern Syria to western Iraq.

But even as ISIS continues to suffer battlefield defeats in the Middle East, NBC News has reported that the terrorist organisation has extended its reach to more countries in Asia and Africafrom 13 countries in 2015 to 18 this year.

In fact, in 2014, ISIS was only operating in seven nations based from U.S. State Department documents, NBC said.

"The current briefing map shows 18 countries where ISIS is fully operational. The map also displays a new category  'aspiring branches'  and lists six countries where they're taking root: Egypt, Indonesia, Mali, the Philippines, Somalia and Bangladesh," the news agency stated based from an exclusive classified map it obtained showing the global expansion of the terror group.
Jews Are The Best Educated Of All Religious Groups Around The World

Jews are the best educated of any religious group, averaging 13.4 years of schooling and with a majority going on to higher education, according to a new report by the respected Washington-based Pew Research Center.

This is because Jews mainly live in Israel and the US, two countries with high levels of education. At the same time, the worst educated group are Hindus, 98 per cent of whom live in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

The levels of education for Muslims, who are more spread out around the world, varies according to whether they reside in countries with strong economies or developing regions. Muslim girls fare worse than boys when it comes to schooling.

However, some areas of the world show significant differences in education levels among different religions. For example, Christians  who are the second best educated religious group overall  are on the whole better educated than Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa.

The findings are published today in the Pew report, Religion and Education Around World.

Christians have 9.3 years of schooling on average, compared to 7.9 for Buddhists, and 5.6 for Muslims and Hindus.

According to the report, adults with no religious affiliation spend 8.8 years in school on average.

Intriguingly, religious minorities in the US are more likely to have college degrees than the Christian majority: Hindus 96 per cent, Jews 75 per cent, Muslims 54 per cent, Buddhists 53 per cent, Unaffiliated 44 per cent, Christians 36 per cent.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Muslims are more than twice as likely as Christians to have no formal schooling, and the gap is widening. The report says: "Some scholars suggest that the source of the Christian-Muslim attainment gap is rooted in the location of Christian missionary activity during colonial times. Missionary-built educational facilities were often located in what became heavily Christian areas rather than predominantly Muslim locales... As a result, Christians gained an educational edge over Muslims that lasted decades."

Overall, almost one in five of the world's adults  more than 680m people  have received no formal schooling.

However, with Muslims and Hindus the number missing out on education is around two in five.

Nonetheless, the report shows that gains are being made by younger adults of all religious groups.

The youngest Hindus in the study (born between 1976 and 1985) spent an average of 7.1 years in school, which is nearly twice as long as the oldest Hindus (born 1936-1955).

Muslims were similarly spending an extra three years at school within three generations, with an extra 2.5 years for Buddhists.

Meanwhile, over the same period Christians gained just one extra year, and Jews less than half a year.

Among religiously-unaffiliated adults, the youngest had gained an extra 2.9 years in school, overtaking Christians for the number of school years within this age group.

Similarly, the gender gap is improving over time. Overall a much higher proportion of women had received no formal education, though the gap was shrinking with successive generations.

However, there was still a 19 point gap between the youngest men and women among Hindus, with 38 per cent of women having no formal education, compared to 20 per cent of men.

Among the youngest Muslims, 33 per cent of women were not going to school, compared to 23 per cent of men.

Strikingly however, among Jews the gender gap is reversed when it comes to higher education among the youngest group, with 69 per cent of women having gained degrees compared to 57 per cent of men.

Meanwhile, Christians in Europe and North America tend to be much more highly educated than those in sub-Saharan Africa.
Kurdish Forces Fighting ISIS in Syria Get to Hear God's Word in the Battlefield through Audio Bibles

Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Syria are still able to listen to God's Word in the middle of the battlefield, thanks to modern technology.

According to a report from Mission Network News, Kurdish forces helping to drive out ISIS fighters in northern Syria have been provided with flashlights that also function as audio Bibles by a Christian group called Audio Scriptures Ministries.

JP Sundararajan, a member of the Christian organisation, shared how one of the group's representatives linked them to another humanitarian group called Free Burma Rangers, which works in high-conflict areas.

"Through a series of providential meetings, God enabled us to send about 50 of our audio Bibles in the Arabic and Kurdish languages to the frontlines, really, of Syria where soldiers who are battling ISIS were able to secure them," Sundararajan told Mission Network News.

He added that the audio Bibles were "immediately gone" once the Kurdish fighters got word that they can listen to God's Word even in the battlefield.

"I mean, 50 Bibles are, needless to say, a drop in the bucket. But the stories that unfold and the photos that came from it were pretty cool," he said.

Sundararajan further shared how happy he is to know that those fighting the ISIS can find strength in the Holy Bible.

"I can only imagine what they are feeling as they battle this terror group. But then, to have the comfort of God's Word in their heart language was beautiful," he said.

Another member of Audio Scriptures Ministries, Taylor Ely, encouraged Christians around the world to pray that they find more ways to reach the fighters who are battling the ISIS in the Middle East.

"I think a key way listeners can be praying is honestly to just continue to pray for more strategic contacts. This story was just a really huge way for us as a ministry to be reminded that God is the one who makes the connections, and He makes connections we can't even make for ourselves," Ely said.
Pope Appeals To President Assad To Cease Bombing As Thousands Of Civilians Face Death In Aleppo

Pope Francis has made a last-ditch appeal to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria appealing for an end to the terrible violence and destruction in which so many innocent people are dying.

Unusually, the private correspondence was released by the Vatican, an indication of the growing level of international concern at the atrocities taking place in Aleppo where trapped civilians are begging loved ones to kill them for fear of what will happen to them if captured.

The Vatican also decided to release details of the correspondence after it was published on a website in the region.

He wrote as Unicef warned that thousands of children have been separated from their parents and are trapped in a building which is currently under fire. Unicef also warned that extra-judicial killings of children are taking place.

Pope Francis wrote to Assad through Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, appealing for "an end to the violence and the peaceful resolution of hostilities" as the cycle of bombings reduced Aleppo to little more than a field of death and destruction.

In a communique, the Holy See Press Office said: "In naming Archbishop Mario Zenari to the College of Cardinals, the Holy Father sought to show a particular sign of affection for the beloved Syrian people, so sorely tried in recent years.

"In a letter sent through the new Cardinal, Pope Francis expressed again his appeal to President Bashar al-Assad and to the international community for an end to the violence, and the peaceful resolution of hostilities, condemning all forms of extremism and terrorism from whatever quarter they may come, and appealing to the President to ensure that international humanitarian law is fully respected with regard to the protection of the civilians and access to humanitarian aid."

Assad forces are inching closer to taking the last few quarters of Aleppo that are still occupied by rebels. As many as 80,000 civilians are trapped there.

Among those tweeting with increasing desperation is seven-year-old Bana:

Final message - people are dying since last night. I am very surprised I am tweeting right now & still alive. - Fatemah #Aleppo  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 12, 2016

My dad is injured now. I am crying.-Bana #Aleppo  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 12, 2016

My name is Bana, I'm 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die. - Bana  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 13, 2016

Aid workers are also trapped amid the rubble and destruction but a cease fire is needed before people can be rescued. The House of Commons today debated whether intervention should be considered as Aleppo moved further into humanitarian crisis with little indication that Assad is heeding appeals from the Pope or anyone else.
It's been a week since the Army Corps of Engineers announced that they would not grant a permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross the river that the indigenous Sioux people relied upon for their drinking, farming and washing.



The DAPL was running through Sioux territory in large part because the settler communities nearby had indicated that they would not tolerate such a risky proposition when it came to their own water. The water protectors of the Sioux and their allies from around the nation gathered to ensure that native Americans would not be forced at literal gunpoint to accept the risk that nearby whites would not tolerate.

But Energy Transfer Partners  who have pinned their hopes on Trump reverse the Army and permitting their pipeline  maintained that this fear was misplaced and that there were no real risks to their proposition.

Yesterday, we learned that the Belle Fourche Pipeline had spilled at least 176,000 gallons of crude oil into Ash Coulee Creek, 150 miles from Cannon Ball, ND, where the water protectors made their stand. The electronic monitoring equipment that was supposed to detect this leak failed.



Suess said the spill migrated almost 6 miles from the spill site along Ash Coulee Creek, and it fouled an unknown amount of private and U.S. Forest Service land along the waterway. The creek feeds into the Little Missouri River, but Seuss said it appears no oil got that far and that no drinking water sources were threatened. The creek was free-flowing when the spill occurred but has since frozen over. About 60 workers were on site Monday, and crews have been averaging about 100 yards daily in their cleanup efforts, he said. Some of the oil remains trapped beneath the frozen creek. Suess says about 37,000 gallons of oil have been recovered. "It's going to take some time," Suess said of the cleanup. "Obviously there will be some component of the cleanup that will go toward spring."

Pipeline spills 176,000 gallons of crude into creek about 150 miles from Dakota Access protest camp

[Tom DiChristopher/CNBC]





(via Reddit)

(Image: Oil Covering a Beach  Black Sea Oil Spill 11/12/07, Photos by Igor GOLUBENKOV (NGO: Saving Taman), CC-BY)
Scores Of Civilians Shot Dead 'On The Spot' As Assad Forces Overrun Aleppo

Syrian government forces have shot dead scores of civilians in Aleppo, killing them as they fled or entered their homes and shooting them on the spot.

The United Nations said it had evidence militia had deliberately shot dead scores of men, women and children in eastern Aleppo, and warned the same "slaughter" could happen elsewhere. Intense bombardment from pro-government forces backed by Russia has reportedly trapped thousands more people as troops close in on the last remaining rebel-held area of the city.

The UN human rights office said that at least 82 people had been killed on the streets while fleeing or in their homes in four different neighbourhoods in the last few days.

"The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement.

"What is happening with Aleppo could repeat itself in Douma, in Raqqa, in Idlib. We cannot let this continue," he said, referring to other rebel-held towns.

But Russia, which rejected calls for a humanitarian truce, said the atrocities were "actually being committed by terrorist groups", meaning rebel forces.

The UN human rights office spokesman told a news conference on Tuesday: "We're filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner" of eastern Aleppo.

"Yesterday evening, we received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets," he added.

"The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight."

Colville called for monitoring of the situation in order to bring perpetrators to justice.

"It needs international eyes on the situation if the fears of the worst kinds of things happening - summary executions, torture, etc - are to be allayed," he later told reporters.

Colville blamed world powers for failing to refer atrocities to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.

"The failure of the Security Council to at least involve the International Criminal Court and have some kind of judicial process has been absolutely disastrous. Because the people behind these kind of acts think they have total impunity to do what they want."

Humanitarian workers linked to Christian Aid described the "unfolding massacre" and decried "the international community's complicity" in the deaths.

Mairead Collins, Advocacy and Programme Officer for Syria at Christian Aid, said: "What we are witnessing in Aleppo right now is horrifying. We are seeing the massacre of innocent men, women and children in their homes and on the streets, while the world watches in a state of paralysis.

"We are witnessing the unravelling of humanity before our eyes. People are posting their final goodbyes on social media, expecting that they will now be killed by regime forces. This is unbearable."

Additional reporting from Reuters.
The Leaders Of Africa's Anglican Christian Churches Are 'Despotic' Says Nigerian Archbishop

The Archbishop who heads the leadership team at the Anglican Communion has confessed he took the job because he felt called to do something to address the "disagreement and even hatred" between fellow Anglicans.

Josiah Idowu-Fearon, appointed secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council last year, said his commitment to reconciliation remained firm.

But on the issue at the root of the disagreements, human sexuality, he admitted there was "no way" of finding agreement. "It's not possible," he said. The alternative to finding a way to live together was to allow separate "splinter groups".

Idowu-Fearon also criticised the leadership of Anglican churches in Africa as ineffective.

He said he was speaking from experience, and described them as "despotic".

He said: "Church leaders in Africa generally do not see themselves as leading the way Christ leads his Church. Rather, the African Church leader sees himself - mainly 'himself' - in the light of the traditional rulers, those with absolute authority."

Idowu-Fearon was speaking to Canon Ian Ellis, editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette.

He said he had come across "hatred, vilification, character assassination".

His experience as a bridge-builder between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria and across Africa meant he felt he had something he could offer to the warring Christians.

Idowu-Fearon, previously Archbishop of Kaduna in Nigeria, said he was wholly commmitted to Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference which sets a traditional line on sexuality. He described it as a "benchmark" of Anglican teaching.

He said the next Lambeth Conference will take place in 2020.

He said: "I am conservative - I've always been conservative".

He wanted to address the issue from the perspective of Jesus Himself: "What is the Lord doing in his Church?"

He spoke about the conservative grouping GAFCON, which warned in its Advent pastoral letter last week that the Anglican Church is at risk of "sleepwalking into fatal compromise". GAFCON is among the groups backing the conservative Anglican Mission in England.

Idowu-Fearon suggested he had regarded GAFCON as a breakaway movement but believed it could now be "shifting" this position. He said he had even told one of the leadership team: "It is not a movement of the Holy Spirit because it is divisive."

He pledged to back the creation of a body for dialogue and reconciliation between GAFCON and the Anglican Communion.
'The Voice' Semifinalist Wows Audience with Stirring Rendition of 'To Worship You I Live' Before Bowing Out

Christian Cuevas is definitely not just a Christian in name but also in spirit.

As one of the semifinalists in "The Voice" last week, Cuevas belted out a powerful rendition of the gospel song "To Worship You I Live" by Israel and New Breed, according to CBN News.

Proudly expressing his faith on the hit NBC show, Cuevas sang his heart out, touching his audience, including the judges, with many people even lifting their hands in worship. One of the judges, Alicia Keys, even sang right along with him from her chair.

After singing the last line from the song, Cuevas was so overcome with emotion that tears started flowing from his eyes.

His cover of the worship song immediately soared to the top 10 overall. Moreover, the video of his performance that was uploaded on YouTube has attracted more than 2.5 million views as of Monday.

Commentators were all praise for Cuevas for choosing the gospel song for his semifinals stint in the national singing competition.

"His was beautiful, because of his willingness to proclaim his faith unto a generation that wants nothing to do with sanctification. Great job Christian," one fan said.

"He wasn't up there performing, but worshiping! This was beautiful," another fan said.

Even people who don't consider themselves religious and don't go to church were touched by the message of the song and the way Cuevas sang it.

"I'm not too religious but I believe in God. It was cool seeing people in the audience that weren't part of the performance singing and lifting their hands in worship," one commentator said.

Despite the accolades, Christian failed to make it to the finals as he bid "The Voice" goodbye, brimming with gratitude to the show for allowing him to sing his faith and share God's message to millions of viewers not only in America but overseas as well.

"So glad that I was able to share God with y'all," he tweeted after the show.
UK's First Multi-Faith Homeless Shelter Recruits 200 Volunteers From Six Different Faith Groups

The UK's first multi faith homeless shelter started in Leicester on Monday with more 200 volunteers from six different faith groups taking part.

One Roof Leicester (ORL) will move around different faith venues over the next 11 weeks as it provides food and emergency accommodation for ten rough sleepers each night. Thought to be the first of its kind in the country, the shelter brings together Anglican, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh groups across the area.

Manager Salma Ravat told Christian Today the support had been "overwhelming" from all the different faiths.

"We have seen a rise in the number of rough sleepers in Leicester and we thought this was a great way for everyone to take responsibility.

"Where traditionally it has been done by a couple of faith groups, mainly churches, we thought let us see if we can inspire the wider faith community to take part and be involved."

She added: "We are really excited about offering this extra provision."

The said the cross-faith initiative had "sparked something in everyone".

She said the benefits were felt not just by the ten guests who had somewhere warm to sleep but also by the volunteers. "The wider ramifications of this are building community, building trust with faith groups working together.

"You can see the benefits for the guests but in terms of all the people involved, everyone gets so much out of this experience."

The project is funded by the charity Human Appeal as well as the Christian charity Housing Justice and the Church of England's interfaith Near Neighbours project.

Hate crime spiked after the UK's vote to leave the European Union, particularly against minority faith groups.

But Ravat said the homeless shelter would help to combat tensions.

"Any positive action that communities do together that helps to build relationships also helps us to understand each other," she told Christian Today.

"People are going out and not necessarily volunteering with their own faith group," she said, adding ORL encouraged people from one religion to volunteer when the shelter was at another venue to help promote good relations.

The Reverend Helen Hayes, a priest working with the homeless and chair of ORL, said: "I am so proud of what the One Roof team have achieved with the countries first multi faith night shelter. It has been such a privilege to see the seeds of an idea grow into a remarkable project that seeks to bring faith groups together to provide shelter and care for people who are homeless."
Why Is The Christian Jakarta Governor On Trial For Blasphemy?

Weeping in court is not the ideal pre-election build up for a politician seeking re-election.

But through a determined campaign assisted by crude blasphemy laws, that is where Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the governor of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, found himself on Tuesday.

Known as Ahok, the popular leader is both Chinese and Christian, making him an unusual fit to be a politician in the world's most populous Muslim country that is in the midst of brokering a tense stand off in the South China Sea.

He is the first Christian governor of Jakarta in nearly 50 years and was a strong favourite to win the upcoming election in February.

But conservative Islamic groups have seized on comments he made in a campaign speech in September where he referenced a Qur'anic verse that some see as prohibiting Muslims from living under non-Muslim rule.

Hardliners accused him of blasphemy, a criminal offence, in Indonesia, and pressurised police into investigating the incident.

His comments were circulated on social media, whipping up a frenzy of outrage. But Purnama's supporters say the video being shared is heavily edited with subtitles changing what he actually said to appear more inflammatory.

He insists his comments were aimed at politicians "incorrectly" using the verse against him and were not aimed at the verse itself. He has apologised on a number of occasions for any offence caused while denying he committed blasphemy.

"There was no intention to insult religion," he said. "I am sending my message to all offended Muslims: I sincerely apologise."

But in an extraordinary display of public pressure, hundreds of thousands of Muslims marched through the streets of Jakarta in early November demand Ahok, as he is commonly called, be arrested. "If police cannot do it we will," one chanted as the protest ended in violence and scuffles with police.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who preceeded Purnama as Jakarta governor and is a close ally, accused "political actors" of "exploiting the situation", according to Reuters.

But the campaign has intensified and on 16 November police caved in and named Purnama as a suspect, clearing the way for him to be tried. Human rights groups warned this sets a dangerous precedent where outspoken hardliners can interfere with the legal process.

Indonesia technically protects freedom of religion in its constitution. But in reality only six faiths are recognised and strict blasphemy laws surround all of them. Critics say these laws are actually used to target minority groups and are not applied fairly.

The majority of Indonesia's 203 million Muslims, which make up 87 per cent of the population, come from the relatively tolerant Nusantara brand of Islam. But an increasingly vocal minority of hardline conservatives are threatening a peaceful consensus.

Open Doors, the Christian persecution charity, notes that despite the religious freedom guarantee in the constitution, "a plethora of by-laws and rules in various provinces can override this".

Aceh, a province north of Jakarta, is ruled under strict Sharia law and 8,000 Christians have been forced to flee their homes. Some cite Purnama's case as a sign that the previously tolerant Muslim nation is becoming radicalised.

The trial began on Tuesday and will adjourn until December 20. If convicted he faces a maximum five-year jail sentence.

Outside the court hundreds of demonstrators chanted: "Jail Governor Ahok now." They punched their fists in the air and shouted: "We must defend Islam from those who insult the holy book," according to the BBC's Rebecca Henschke.

But he is not yet barred from standing in next year's election, where despite the trial, he remains a strong contender.

That election and this trial is a key test of Indonesia's attitude towards freedom of belief. A Purnama victory would be a sure sign radical Islam does not have a strong foothold, at least in the capital. But if jailed the already vocal extremists would be emboldened.

The protesters are already threatening to take matters into their own hands if he is not jailed. Anything less than innocent on all charges would be a terrifying prospect for Indonesia.
Yemen In Crisis: DEC Launches Emergency Appeal As Millions Starve

As the crisis in Yemen continues to unfold, a major appeal was launched today by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

Christian agencies including CAFOD, Tearfund, World Vision and Christian Aid are among the DEC members responding to the situation, which has been named the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

The war in Yemen has now been ongoing for 20 months and more than 18 million people are suffering. Nearly three quarters of the population is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, and more than seven million don't know where their next meal will come from.

According to the UN, 1.5 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, and children are already dying from lack of food. The chief executive of Oxfam UK last week warned that Yemen was "being slowly starved to death".

In total, more than 1,425 civilians have been killed since the conflict escalated last year, and the majority of these deaths were caused by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, the UN says.

Since July, conditions in Yemen have significantly worsened as a result of flooding and landslides destroying civilian homes.

CAFOD's director, Chris Bain, said: "We see immense suffering in the faces of people in Yemen, of the children whose young lives have been stunted by malnutrition, and of those who find themselves homeless, because of the conflict, and in need of the basics of life  food, clean and safe water, and shelter."

DEC member charities are reaching millions of people across Yemen with lifesaving aid, but more help is desperately needed.

"CAFOD is supporting a partner in Yemen, and as a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), we support our DEC colleagues who have a strong operational presence in Yemen and are well placed to reach vulnerable families most in need," Bain said.

"When a family receives a blanket, food parcel, hygiene kit, or medical attention, dignity and a sense of hope is restored. We hope and pray that the human suffering will end. Let us continue to keep the people of Yemen in our thoughts and prayers."

To make a donation to the DEC Yemen Crisis Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk
My highlight of 2016  The Duc de Berry marble mourners

Mathilde de Backer, a Decorative Arts specialist at Christies Paris, discusses the rare beauty and fascinating provenance of these medieval statues, which led Junes European Sculpture and Works of Art sale in Paris

On 15 June the last two marble mourners from the tomb of Jean de France (1340-1416), Duc de Berry, were offered in the European Sculpture and Works of Art sale in Paris. The figures were executed by Jean de Cambrai (known to have worked from 1375 to 1438) in Bourges in the centre of France circa 1396-1416. The marble figures, which have been retained in the same family since 1807, are a rare artistic display of medieval statuary. Carved fully in the round, their faces are expressive and their postures contained; the vertical folds of their drapery lend them a contemporary feel. Mathilde de Backer, a Decorative Arts specialist at Christies Paris, says that when she first saw the mourners she was struck by their monumentality. The intensity of the small details reveals the absolute talent of Jean de Cambrai, the specialist declares. The strong sense of meditation and contemplation the statues convey made us all fall silent in front of them. Together with Isabelle dAmecourt, director of Christies Decorative Arts department, de Backer says she has spent hours gazing upon these masterpieces, always finding a new exquisite detail to enjoy.
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Dallas-based Hillwood Communities provided a construction update at Pomona, its first development in the Houston market.

Since home building began in Dec. 2015, 103 of the 300 houses in the first phase of the development have been sold, according to the developer.

Last week, representatives from the Pearland Chamber of Commerce helped celebrate the new Camp Pomona recreational center at a ribbon cutting.

The 2,900-square-foot recreational center, which opens in January, will have nine private cabanas, two large pools, and offices and conference rooms for the Pomona staff. The facility will have an "exploration zone" playground an an event lawn along Mustang Bayou.

"Our goal was to create a facility that could be utilized by all residents and that would bring the Pomona community together," Russell Bynum, general manager of Pomona said in an announcement.

RELATED: Q&A with Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Communities

Pomona, a 1,000-acre community at Texas 288 near County Road 101 just south of Pearland, will have 2,100 homes when complete.
Police on Tuesday released a sketch of a suspect in a fatal shooting in southeast Houston over the weekend.

The unidentified man is wanted in connection with the Dec. 10 fatal shooting of Jaime Hernandez, 20.

Just before 2 a.m., Hernandez and a friend pulled into a IHOP restaurant parking lot in the 6800 block of the Gulf Freeway near the S. Loop East. Police said they had noticed someone following them after they cashed checks at a business about two miles away.

HPD officials said the car that was following them, a late-model blue Dodge Avenger, pulled in front in the parking lot. A man armed with a firearm knocked on the driver's side window and began making demands of Hernandez. Houston police did not clarify the nature of the demands.

The gunman began firing when Hernandez attempted to drive away. Hernandez was struck and died at the scene, police said.

The gunman who fired and a second suspect at the scene then got into the car and drove away.

Anyone with information is asked to contact HPD homicide detectives at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Southern Business School Namibia donates school Equipment to Kindergartens

Southern Business School Namibia recently donated school supplies to four kindergartens in Maltahohe, specifically the Daweb Constituency in the Hardap Region of Namibia. These school supplies consisted of chairs, books and crayons and paint sets, all essential to children at kindergarten level.

As a tertiary distance education institution, SBS Namibia knows how important a solid foundation in education is. Without the proper tools of the trade, such as crayons, books and paint sets teaching the kids becomes much harder. When approached by the Council, Hercules Jantze with the request of a donation, SBS Namibia welcomed the opportunity.

Schools are always struggling to make ends meet and often only the schools in Windhoek receive donations, this is why SBS Namibia was moved to donate to four kindergartens further afield in the Daweb Constituency. This donation ensures that children are able to develop and learn in the way they are supposed to. The total value of the donation to the four kindergartens is N$ 10,000.-

Albin Jacobs, Director of SBS Namibia said; Kids need a good, safe environment in which they can learn. Having the right equipment, chairs, desks and crayons is essential for kids to flourish. Although SBS Namibia deals with tertiary education, we believe that an interest and love for education needs to be fostered at the very beginning. That means that kindergarten is where it all begins. The Deputy Minister of Gender and Child Welfare Honourable Lucia Basson added; It is great that an organisation like SBS Namibia, itself involved in education, realises and understands the challenges we face at a grassroots level of education to ensure that the children have a good academic experience. With budget constraints these chairs, paint set and crayons are real boost for us and the kindergartens.

www.sbs.ac.za


Ta-Nehisi Coates's 17,000-word history of the Obama presidency in the Atlantic is called "My President Was Black," but it's about the very special kind of blackness that Obama embodied  not because whites saw the biracial politician differently, but because Obama's extraordinarily supportive white family and unique boyhood in Hawai'i spared him the racial trauma visited on other young black people in America.



Coates believes that Obama's unique relationship to white America, along with his ample talents for tactics, rhetoric and personal connection, made him the first black man to attain the presidency  and that it was Obama's blackness that made Trump possible. The GOP has been the party of white supremacy for more than a generation, since the Civil Rights Act, the party where polls show members are overwhelmingly possessed of a belief of black inferiority, where blacks are almost never to be found in the ranks of the powerful, where appeals to racial angst are surefire winners. Trump entered politics through the espousal of the racist birther conspiracy theory, and if his political career later came to encompass misogyny and Islamophobia, these hatred were never far from his essential program of anti-black, white supremacist rhetoric.

But Coates says that Obama's unique blackness also led to blind spots for the president, manifested in his tendency to lecture black people on being better parents, getting off drugs, eating better food and turning off the TV, and other racist shibboleths. Likewise, Obama's inability to understand how much of the opposition he faced was purely racial.





As good as this piece is, it also frustrated me for its omissions of Obama's essentially neoliberal, authoritarian record. I'm with Coates as he celebrates Obama's accomplishments in criminal justice reform, in drug war reform, in ending don't ask/don't tell in the US military, and other social justice accomplishments. But I wanted Coates's incisive analysis to be applied to Obama's foreign policy, his drone wars against racialized people in Africa and the Middle East  and, domestically, to Obama's mass deportations, to Holder's complicity with the finance industry (whose criminal impunity for fraudulent foreclosures were disproportionately hard on black Americans), and, especially, to Obama's ramp-up of America's surveillance apparatus, and what he has bequeathed to Donald Trump, who has promised deportations and surveillance for millions of Americans.

Coates does put this question to Obama, and then allows Obama's absolutely, facially untrue response to pass without much comment  Obama asserts that the NSA only spies on foreigners (as though this was a great comfort), not Americans. But of course, the NSA does spy on Americans, and this is unequivocally true, and Coates knows it, and so does Obama.

But while Coates skates over these substantial deficits in Obama's presidential record, he is brilliant and nuanced on the deficits he does identify, bringing to them the kind of nuance and thoughtfulness (and lyricism) that made Between the World, his outstanding 2015 book about being black in America, such a vital read.

This is the best postmortem on the Obama presidency I've yet seen, the cornerstone of the literature that will be written about the previous eight years. Make time for it today.



I thought of Hoover's FBI, which harassed three generations of black activists, from Marcus Garvey's black nationalists to Martin Luther King Jr.'s integrationists to Huey Newton's Black Panthers, including my father. And I thought of the enormous power accrued to the presidency in the post-9/11 erathe power to obtain American citizens' phone records en masse, to access their emails, to detain them indefinitely. I asked the president whether it was all worth it. Whether this generation of black activists and their allies should be afraid.



"Keep in mind that the capacity of the NSA, or other surveillance tools, are specifically prohibited from being applied to U.S. citizens or U.S. persons without specific evidence of links to terrorist activity or, you know, other foreign-related activity," he said. "So, you know, I think this whole story line that somehow Big Brother has massively expanded and now that a new president is in place it's this loaded gun ready to be used on domestic dissent is just not accurate." He counseled vigilance, "because the possibility of abuse by government officials always exists. The issue is not going to be that there are new tools available; the issue is making sure that the incoming administration, like my administration, takes the constraints on how we deal with U.S. citizens and persons seriously." This answer did not fill me with confidence. The next day, President-Elect Trump offered Lieutenant General Michael Flynn the post of national-security adviser and picked Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama as his nominee for attorney general. Last February, Flynn tweeted, "Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL" and linked to a YouTube video that declared followers of Islam want "80 percent of humanity enslaved or exterminated." Sessions had once been accused of calling a black lawyer "boy," claiming that a white lawyer who represented black clients was a disgrace to his race, and joking that he thought the Ku Klux Klan "was okay until I found out they smoked pot." I felt then that I knew what was comingmore Freddie Grays, more Rekia Boyds, more informants and undercover officers sent to infiltrate mosques.

My President Was Black

[Ta-Nehisi Coates/Atlantic]





(Image: Ta Nehisi Coates, Montesbradley, CC-BY-SA)
WASHINGTON  For the billionaires, the multimillionaires and the plain well-off people whom President-elect Donald J. Trump is choosing for his cabinet, the first step to office will be the sort of grilling he didn't face  on potential business conflicts of interest and, for some, tax returns  courtesy of the Senate sleuths who have taken their toll in the past.

President Obama's first Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, was nearly derailed in 2009. His first choice for secretary of health and human services, Tom Daschle, did not make it through that year.

Now the billionaires Betsy DeVos, Linda McMahon and Wilbur L. Ross Jr., and the multimillionaires Rex W. Tillerson, Ben Carson, Elaine Chao, Steven Mnuchin, Representative Tom Price, Andrew F. Puzder and Todd Ricketts can expect much of the same scrutiny.

"With the president-elect flouting a 40-year bipartisan tradition of disclosure and transparency, we think it's more important than ever to ensure that senior officials across government aren't operating under a different tax code than everyone else," warned Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which has upended its share of nominees.

After nearly two centuries in which Senate reviews were cursory at best, that confirmation process has become increasingly arduous, regardless of party, and especially in the committees that require nominees' tax returns.

Senate Democrats will be pressing in January to make the scrutiny even broader. They propose that all committees make nominees privately submit their three most recent federal tax returns. Three committees  Finance, Budget, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs  already do so. Together they have responsibility for examining five cabinet-level officials before confirmation: the secretaries of Treasury, health and human services, and homeland security, and the president's trade representative and budget director.

For Democrats, the tax-disclosure proposal is a way to underscore Mr. Trump's refusal to release his returns, despite a four-decade tradition of presidential candidates doing so. More to the point, they will have ample opportunity to press home their contention that a number of his cabinet choices have wealth and backgrounds at odds with his populist pitch.

"He is building an administration that looks a whole lot like himself," said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the senior Democrat on the committee that will handle the nominations of Ms. DeVos, who married into the Amway fortune, as education secretary, and Mr. Puzder, a fast-food executive, to be labor secretary.

Those nominations will go to a committee that has not previously required nominees to file tax returns along with other financial disclosures. So will those of Mr. Tillerson, chief executive of Exxon Mobil; Mr. Ross, an investment titan chosen for secretary of commerce; Mr. Trump's choice for deputy commerce secretary, Mr. Ricketts, the heir to the Ameritrade fortune; the pick for transportation secretary, Ms. Chao, a wealthy former labor secretary and the wife of the majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; Mr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon; and Ms. McMahon, a billionaire professional wrestling impresario, who was picked to lead the Small Business Administration.

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The Finance Committee chairman, Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, has served notice that Trump nominees "will undergo the same bipartisan vetting process as the nominees from previous administrations," and will not get a public hearing until the committee staff's private examination  including a review of the nominees' tax returns from the past three years  is complete.

The Finance Committee considers nominees to three cabinet-level offices (Treasury, trade, and health and human services), while other committees have jurisdiction over one or two. So far Mr. Trump has made his selections for two of the three spots: Mr. Price, Republican of Georgia and an orthopedic surgeon, to be secretary of health and human services; and Mr. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner turned hedge fund operator and Hollywood financier, to be Treasury secretary.

For the very wealthy Mr. Mnuchin especially, the multipage questionnaire that the Finance Committee uses for its review illustrates the hoops a nominee must jump through to pass muster. It includes listing all jobs held since college, all business relationships, political activities and contributions, any legal or ethics issues, and a precise accounting of financial net worth for the nominee, a spouse and dependents. Nominees must answer whether they have paid all local, state and federal taxes, including those for household employees  a common tripwire.

To gauge potential conflicts of interest, the questionnaire also asks for "any investments, obligations, liabilities or other relationships" and any business dealings and lobbying activities in the past 10 years that could be problems, as well as for an explanation of how those potential conflicts will be resolved. Separate opinions are required from both the federal Office of Government Ethics and the ethics officer of the agency a nominee would lead.

Even as Mr. Trump resists a complete break with his far-flung businesses, a nominee before the Finance Committee must answer whether he or she, if confirmed, will "sever all connections with your present employers, business firms, associations or organizations." If not, the nominee must provide details of how those connections will be handled.

The questionnaire must be notarized  providing false answers is potentially a federal crime  and the nominee's tax returns attached. The documents are not made public, though information may come out in hearings or be leaked, often by senators. Neither Mr. Daschle's nor Mr. Geithner's tax returns were made public, but their offenses were widely aired.

When Senate aides discover problems, a nominee is given a choice: Agree to a public report on the infraction and pay all taxes, penalties and interest, or quietly withdraw.

Mr. Zerbe, who was on the staff of the Finance Committee during most of President George W. Bush's administration, recalled of a few subcabinet nominees, "They'd fade away so as not to be embarrassed." He said common transgressions included taking questionable deductions for home-office expenses.

But high-level nominees often cannot escape embarrassment.

Mr. Daschle, a former Senate Democratic majority leader who was a member of the Finance Committee, withdrew his nomination in 2009 after it was revealed that he had to pay $140,167 in back taxes and interest for infractions including improper deductions and failing to report as income a chauffeur-driven car that an employer had made available.

At the same time, Mr. Geithner won confirmation though he was found to have failed to pay payroll taxes during three years at the International Monetary Fund, which as an international organization did not withhold taxes for employees as domestic employers do. Lael Brainard, now a Federal Reserve governor, waited more than a year to be confirmed as Treasury under secretary for international affairs while she and the Finance Committee haggled over discrepancies in her returns.

Such close scrutiny of nominees, now taken for granted, is relatively recent in the history of the Senate's exercise of its constitutional confirmation power.

Not until the 1950s is there evidence of committees examining a president's picks, Betty K. Koed, the Senate historian, said. The first record of a committee hearing on a nominee was in 1953: In just over an hour, the steel magnate George Humphrey, the sole witness, answered questions about his stock holdings and went on to be confirmed as Treasury secretary two days later.

Starting in 1981, the Finance Committee began receiving reports on nominees from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the new Office of Government Ethics. Eventually it became the first panel to require nominees' tax returns.
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Part of the Galleria's new luxury extension opened to shoppers Tuesday, offering a preview of a new retail and restaurant wing nearing completion.

The 110,000-square-foot Gallery VI wing, formerly Saks Fifth Avenue, has been renovated to include high ceilings and skylights with new flooring and lighting. It will house about 35 retailers and four restaurants expected to open in the spring.

Several of the retailers will be new to the Houston market, including Ted Baker, Massimo Dutti and Robin's Jean. Other stores, including St. John, Cole Haan and Kate Spade, will relocate to the new wing from smaller spaces elsewhere in the mall.

Two of the restaurants haven't yet been announced; the other two, Nobu and Fig & Olive, will be new to the city.

Nobu, a Peruvian-Japanese fusion restaurant that serves sushi and other dishes, will occupy a 10,000-square-foot space on the second level. It will be the restaurant's second Texas location after opening one in Dallas in 2005.

Fig & Olive, a New York-based restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine, will open its first Texas location in a street level site larger than 7,000 square feet.

The extension is part of a major renovation expected to cost more than $250 million. It connects the mall with a new Saks store that opened in April, one of the first major pieces of the overhaul.

"This is easy access to our store, which is really going to be good for us," Saks' general manager Bobby Dees said.

The new Saks store, located in a standalone building, has an "experiential" luxury design with amenities such as a cocktail bar and a Christian Louboutin boutique. It also has a number of cosmetics and designer shops within the store.

"It's a differentiating experience from online shopping," said Christopher Lane, the Galleria's director of marketing and business development.

Katherine Clair, one of the first shoppers to enter the new extension through Saks, said she appreciated the more convenient connection to the mall. Spotting the Massimo Dutti sign along the bright corridor, she recalled shopping there in London and said she looked forward to the opening of a location nearby.

"They've done a good job with the whole mall remodel," she said.
As a way to raise funds for local organizations and shine a light on the contributions of African-American women to the NASA space program, the Jack and Jill of America Humble-Kingwood Chapter will host a screening of the new movie, "Hidden Figures."

To be held at Showbiz Cinemas Fall Creek, at 4811 Canyon Lakes Trace Drive in Humble on Saturday, Jan. 7, the community is invited to join the screening starting at 11 a.m.

"This movie is an important historical piece which highlights the contributions of African-American women to the NASA space program," said Milicent Triche, of the Jack and Jill of America Humble-Kingwood Chapter. "Our national organization has established initiatives - one of which is STE[A]M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). We focus on these areas in our programming for our children and our community. This movie highlights the need for all people to have representation in STE[A]M-focused professions."

The cost of the event is $20 and includes admission, a small drink and small popcorn.

All proceeds will go toward funding nonprofit organizations in the community. In the past, the agency has awarded funds locally to the Lake Houston Family YMCA, PALS and Camp Nobis Est, a program for middle school students in the Humble Independent School District. Last summer, Camp INSPIRE, a reading corner at the Northeast YMCA, was funded by the Jack and Jill National Foundation.

Based on a book, "Hidden Figures" is the untold story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, who, according to information provided about the book and movie, were three "African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history - the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big."

The foundation hosts events annually to raise money.

"The beauty of this event is that we are raising funds for organizations in our community which could potentially impact and increase the number of children seeking professions which are STE[A]M-focused," Triche said. "We hope that they will gain a better perspective of the need for diversity in all professions as well as learn what Jack and Jill is doing to help promote this diversity. This will benefit everyone in our community."

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.jackandjillhumblekingwoodchapter.com/.
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Within days of moving into their recently purchased home, a Katy couple claims they discovered a nightmare scenario of swarming insects.

Todd and Carla Greene are suing Texas Certified Home Inspection in the 157th State District Civil Court, alleging breach of contract, misrepresentation and negligence, among other claims.

According to court documents, the couple hired the company to inspect a house they wanted to buy just west of George Bush Park. They entered into an agreement with the company on Aug. 31, 2015, to inspect the home for the existence of wood-destroying insects.

HOT MARKET: Texas home sales likely to break 2015 record

The company told the couple the inspection would be performed by trained and licensed inspectors, who would inspect all accessible areas of the residence, according to the plaintiffs' petition filed Oct. 6.

After the inspection, the defendant gave the couple an official "wood-destroying inspection report," which revealed no signs of any type of such insects, such as termites, the lawsuit stated.

In a reply to the petition, the company denied responsibility and said that if the plaintiffs suffered injuries, it was due in whole or in part to the plaintiffs' own negligence or responsibility.

The company also maintained that any damages were caused by negligent or wrongful conduct of third parties outside the defendant's control.

SUBLEASE GLUT: Houston office market sees first improvement in two years

The couple closed on the house Sept. 25, 2015, court documents stated.

On March 11, one of their first nights in the home, while Carla Greene was using the kitchen , "thousands of termites" began swarming out of multiple kitchen drawers and cabinets.

The Greenes were forced to hire exterminators who found that multiple areas of the kitchen were extensively damaged by termines, court documents stated.

"Due to the severity of the infestation, the Greenes were forced to completly rebuild their kitchen," the petition stated.

The couple, who are represented by Frank O. Carroll III of Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey, are seeking actual, economic and mental anguish damages as well as attorney fees and court costs.

The defendant is represented by Willie Ben Daw of Daw & Ray in Houston.
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On Saturday, while most doctors were in medical offices or taking an off-day, Cindy Anthis, medical director at Katy's Christ Clinic, exercised alongside patients in an effort to live out what she teaches.

"I think that if I'm telling my patients to exercise," Anthis said, "then I better be out there exercising, too."

Anthis is the lead physician of the clinic's monthly "Walk with a Doc," a global program where doctors walk with their patients in order to promote healthy living styles. The Christ Clinic is one of several Houston-area medical centers that participate in the program, which combines walks with healthy living messages and food.

"A lot of our patients have chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure," Anthis said. "A lot of time we are spinning our wheels with medicine if we don't encourage them to exercise. A lot of them haven't seen ways of exercise to be modeled."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that About 610,000 people die from heart disease in the United States every year.

Almost 10 percent of people in the U.S. have some level of diabetes, a disease which kills more than one million Americans per year, according to the American Diabetes Association. Being overweight can be a cause for high blood pressure and heart disease, as well as diabetes.

The clinic's Walk with a Doc group meets every second Saturday of the month at Katy's Rick Rice Park. Each event is sponsored by area churches such as Kingsland Baptist Church, Epiphany of the Lord and St. Peters United Methodist Church, which typically provide water and healthy snacks such as nuts and fruits.

Anywhere from a handful of people to more than 20 show to walk the park's trail, Anthis said. At least one of the clinic's physicians attends. Before every walk, Anthis teaches the group health and exercise tips.

The walking group typically includes a mix of people that can easily walk laps on the park's trail, as well as those who struggle to get around. But the walk serves as a motivation for everyone there to exercise regularly, Anthis said.

A Columbus, Ohio doctor named David Sabgir began the program in 2005 after becoming discouraged by not seeing enough of his patients practicing healthy exercise routines. Since then, the program has spread worldwide. To find a location, visit http://walkwithadoc.org/.

The Christ Clinic began their Walk with a Doc more than one year ago, and there are several Houston-area health centers and private doctors who have joined the program, including in other suburban areas such as Fort Bend County.

The program "improves your heart health and your physical well-being and your bone structure," said Benedict Ifedi, a physician at Physicians at Sugar Creek in Sugar Land, which participate in the program. "It helps increase comradery. People feel more encouraged when they have someone next to them pushing them."

The Sugar Creek center holds walks every Wednesday beginning at 5:45 p.m. at its location along the Southwest Fwy in Sugar Land.

In March, the Christ Center plans to co-host a 5K color run with local nonprofits that include Clothed by Faith, Hope Impacts and The Ballard House. The event will serve as a fundraiser for the clinic, and Walk with a Doc participants are encouraged to attend, Anthis said.

For more information on the clinic's Walk with a Doc, visit http://bit.ly/KatyDocWalk.
Detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office released still photos of two men they believe were involved in the attack and attempted robbery of an off-duty deputy that occurred Saturday.

One of the men can be seen wearing a shirt with two hands in the air and the words "don't shoot." The other was wearing a white hat backwards. Detectives provided no other descriptions, and officials with MCSO did not return multiple phone calls by press time after sending a press release regarding the incident late Monday.
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An eyewitness identified accused killer Chad Holley - the Houston man once at the center of a police brutality case - at the scene of a September robbery and murder, prosecutors said in court Tuesday.

But activist Quanell X called the witness's reliability into question and pointed out that the 22-year-old Holley was wearing an ankle monitor ordered by probation at the time of the killing.

"All they got to do is check the ankle monitor - the GPS location will determine whether he was there or not," Quanell told reporters outside the court room.

THE CHARGE: Accuser in 2010 police brutality probe, charged with capital murder

"An eyewitness is one thing, but sometimes eyewitness testimony can be very unreliable."

Holley was already behind bars for unrelated theft and trespassing charges when he was hit with capital murder Sunday for the fatal shooting of David Trejo-Gonzalez, 42, on Sept. 21.

Trejo-Gonzalez who was approached by a man as he walked from the parking lot of his apartment in the 100 block of East Crosstimbers about 9:30 p.m., according to court records.

The man demanded money, and Trejo-Gonzalez was shot once in the chest in the course of the robbery, prosecutors said.

THE CRIME: Police ID victim killed in robbery gone bad at north Houston apartments

In December, an eyewitness came forward and identified Holley as one of the two suspects he'd seen fleeing the scene.

Although a judge Tuesday found probable cause to pursue the charge of capital murder, Quanell said Holley maintains his innocence.

"Chad Holley says he's innocent," Quanell told reporters. The high-profile activist connected with Holley in the aftermath of the 2010 beating at the hands of Houston police.

At the time, Holley was a 15-year-old high school sophomore at Elsik High School. His case gained national attention when surveillance video surfaced showing Houston police officers kicking and punching the unarmed teen as he fled during a burglary arrest.

THE SCANDAL: 4 charged, 7 fired, 12 disciplined in videotaped beating

Afterward, a dozen officers were disciplined and four were indicted on misdemeanor charges.

After Holley's initial court appearance, Quanell spoke up in his defense.

"The Chad Holley I do know for years, you might put some petty theft charge on him, but to turn him out to be a cold-blooded killer that's not the Chad Holley I know," Quanell said.
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Since Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon 47 years ago, conspiracy theories about Apollo 11 have been commonplace. Some even say it was all the work of a crafty crew of filmmakers led by legendary director Stanley Kubrick.

However, one of the first great moon hoaxes to ever gain traction predates even the founding of Houston in 1836.

TINFOIL TIME: Why do moon landing conspiracies live on?

On Aug. 25, 1835, the first in a series of six articles was published in the New York Sun newspaper purporting to include the findings of a Dr. Andrew Grant, described as a colleague of noted astronomer Sir John Herschel.

Herschel had actually taken a telescope, which was very powerful for the time, to Cape Town, South Africa, in hopes of getting a better look at the celestial world. This part is true. The rest, not so much.

According to the Sun reports penned by Grant, Herschel was able to spy a moon teeming with life, including humanoids with wings, unicorns, beavers that walked on two legs, beaches, pyramids, fantastic greenery, and mountain ranges. He did all this using a massive telescope, Grant wrote, that was larger than any other at that time.

HELLO DAVE: Stanley Kubrick fake moon landing conspiracy theory just won't go away

The extremely detailed description of the moon by Grant can be read in full at Hoaxes.org, but we warn that it gets rather convoluted. We think that director James Cameron may have given it a glance before he made 2009s Avatar which included a lush moon not unlike the one Grant writes about.

Anyhow, people ate up the story from the penny press newspaper as it took them to a new, fantastical world that they couldnt have imagined.

Sadly, it was all a clever fabrication.

The whole thing was written by a Richard Adams Locke, who was a Cambridge-educated staff reporter. He may not have realize that he was writing an early form of science fiction.

DEBUNKING JUNK: Helpful hints on how to debunk annoying internet hoaxes and fake news

Edgar Allan Poe had written something along those same lines that summer about a man who traveled to the moon in a hot air balloon, a short story titled The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall.

Lockes story though was much grander, although slathered in satire.

The Sun saw a dramatic increase in sales as people told one another about the moons inhabitants. The paper, founded in 1833, was off to a running start.

The hoax was uncovered after the paper had garnered an increase in circulation. People would come to bother Herschel, unaware that he had nothing to do with the stories or that they were fiction.

The Sun would run until 1950 when it was bought and merged into the New York World-Telegram.

ROYAL SCAM: NASA hacker says agency removes aliens from photos, faked moon landing

Along the way it would print the famous 1897 editorial "Is There a Santa Claus?" which we all know better as "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus.

The paper broke ground in its time, printing community news like crime and deaths. They also were the first to have reporters scouring the city for stories. Some of the papers first decades are now online for easy reading.

The papers one-time city editor John B. Bogart, who worked at the Sun from 1873 until 1890, holds the distinction of summing up the act of journalism (then and now) in the most succinct way.

"When a dog bites a man that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news, Bogart said. That quote has been attributed to at least two other newsmen of the day.
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About 300 Tomball area families will have a merrier Christmas this year, thanks to a holiday food and toy drive by Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries.

The nonprofit works with area churches, businesses, organizations and individuals to provide holiday food and toys to residents in need.

The families pick up their Christmas food and toys on Dec. 19 and 20.

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries works to bring in as many bicycles as possible for children, since they know it's always top on their lists.

"We give as many as we can away," said Becky Loving, director of Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries. "I am guessing this year we will probably have about 30 or 40 bikes."

During the pick up, All About Feet, an upscale shoe store in Vintage Park, has another gift for the families. This time, it's a gift for the moms - a new pair of shoes.

"All About Feet is there with shoes and they take the moms to pick out a free pair of shoes," Loving said. "It's really nice to do something for the moms."

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries helps residents in need throughout the year, including with food and with help paying rent and utilities.

The number of people seeking assistance has increased this year, due mostly to employment layoffs in the area, Loving said.

The nonprofit helped 60 percent more households in November compared with November of 2015, Loving said. The nonprofit helped 317 households in November 2015 and 525 households last month, she said.

In all of 2015, the nonprofit provided about $180,000 in assistance to area residents. This year, the agency has increased that to more than $230,000 in assistance.

As the population continues to rise in the region, the number of financially unstable households has increased as well. And so has the number of children receiving free or reduced-priced lunches in schools in Northwest Harris County.

In Klein Independent School District, 41.8 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. And in Tomball Independent School District, there are 25.9 percent.

Other area nonprofit agencies are also seeing an increase in the need for services as the region grows.

Hundreds of families and seniors struggle to pay for basic needs, primarily food. At Northwest Assistance Ministries, the biggest demand is for food, which is due in part to job layoffs, said Amy Ragan, chief development officer with the Houston Food Bank.

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries is run entirely by community support, including with the help of many volunteers.

The nonprofit has two full-time employees and two part-time employees, and the rest are volunteers.

"That's what really makes TEAM unique," Loving said. "We're supported totally by the community. We don't have any government funds and we have no big foundation money. That says a lot about the Tomball community."

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries runs a resale shop in Tomball. The profits from the resale shop help support its community outreach.

More than a year ago, the nonprofit changed management for both the ministry and the resale shop.

"We completely remodeled the resale shop; we changed everything about it," Loving said. "It's a lot nicer place to shop with better quality items and a friendly atmosphere."

And the upgrade has paid off.

"Sales have increased consistently," she said.

One of the areas of change is to increase its presence in the community and spread awareness of its work. As part of those efforts, the nonprofit had a booth at the recent Tomball German Christmas Festival earlier this month.

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries receives monthly contributions from 16 area churches. And they are working to add more.

"We are really hoping we can increase the number of churches," Loving said. "There are about 75 churches in the Tomball area."

Want to know more?

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries

300 West Main Street, Tomball

281-351-6700

For more information about services, to donate or to volunteer, visit http://www.teamtomball.com/

Food pantry needs:

Canned corn

Canned green beans

Canned fruit

Canned meat

Soup

Jelly

Toiletries needed:

Deodorant

Toothpaste

Detergent

shampoo

soap

toothbrushes
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Some Clear Lake residents are receiving tickets for parking in their own driveways.

These citations are for "blocking or parked on sidewalk." The idea is to avoid having pedestrians walk onto the road in order to circumnavigate parked cars.

The City of Houston's Parking Management Division has, within the past two months, issued more than 1,700 tickets, KHOU reports.

They say it's intended as a safety measure, but some residents think it's just a ploy to generate revenue. (Story continues below.)

WAYMO: Google's self-driving car project gets a new name:

"We're making them lots of money by just parking in our driveways," Camino South neighborhood resident Janise Clouette told the station.

ParkHouston's Maria Ishad said the city has an obligation to consider the needs of all people who use these roads.

"If there is not sufficient passage for someone in a wheelchair, that vehicle will be issued a citation because the sidewalk is for everyone and we have to think about everyone when it's being used that way," Irshad said.

Irshad also said that ParkHouston is willing to help neighborhood residents understand whats required of them so that they won't be ticketed.
A couple of weeks ago, I said something needs to be done about the high cost of education in the state. Texas colleges and universities are continually raising tuitions and fees, effectively pricing out many would-be college students.

Who can blame them? Who wants to work at a loss for four years and find themselves saddled with debt for the next decade?

Some readers replied asking what taxes I would propose being raised to help cover the cost of lowering tuitions. After all, a good chunk of education funding at public universities comes from the state, which has continually shown a disdain for supporting education.

I am not a politician - nor would I want to be - and I don't have a degree in economics. But some things I do understand is that an educated society is a more healthy society. A healthier society means lower health costs. That is where a chunk of money for education could come from - lower payments for public health systems.

Way back in 1992, the American Journal of Public Health published a study wherein correlations between education, income and occupation resulted in different health habits. For instance, more than 40 percent of those people who did not graduate from high school were smokers. Conversely, only 18 percent of those people who graduated from college were smokers. About 35 percent of unskilled and semiskilled workers were smokers while fewer than 22 percent of managers and 16 percent of executives were smokers.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published a report in December 2012 (updated in March 2013) that: "While it's known that education leads to better jobs and higher incomes, research also shows that better-educated individuals live longer, healthier lives than those with less education, and their children are more likely to thrive."

When the Texas Legislature meets in January, these are factors which legislators should take into account. If taxes need to be raised or cuts need to be made, take a hard look at frivolous spending.

It is there. It is always there.

Texas does benefit in that it requires a balanced budget so frivolous spending is sort of kept in check. A solid governor can also wield the power of line-item veto to kill some extra spending that might make its way into a bill.

Ultimately, spending more on education will require some years of difficulties. Investment will be required. Some sacrifices will need to be made.

A better use of Texas Lottery profits needs to be done as well. When it was touted in the early 1990s, the Texas Lottery was supposed to support public education. Up until 1997, the money went into the General Fund. The money is now transferred to the Foundation School Fund where it is earmarked for education.

About $1.37 billion of "profits" go into the Foundation School Fund. According to figures from the Texas Lottery Commission, more than $190 million in Fiscal Year 2016 went toward "administrative expenses."

I suppose in the grand scheme of things that is not a large sum when you consider the state budgets for more than $43 billion for education (according to figures from the National Association of State Budget Officers) but every little bit helps.

There is something wrong with an education system where universities are sitting on billions of dollars in endowments that is not earmarked for education. Something really wrong.

Maybe someone smart who has been elected to the Texas Legislature can come up with some good ideas for making college cheaper so more Texas high school graduates can have a chance to succeed. Students should not be punished in order to go to college.
Living Gospel Equality Now: Loving in the Heart of God: Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Houston claims the No. 10 spot among large college cities according to a WalletHub ranking. That's not too surprising, considering this city has four large 4-year universities: University of Houston, Rice University, Texas Southern University and the University of St. Thomas.

U of H alone had 42,704 students enroll in 2015. Rice University students who move to Houston from far-flung places around the country add to our college culture in the West University area.
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A fifth man has been charged in an attempted heist of an armored vehicle filled not with cash but with Houston police officers staking out a robbery ring linked to the deaths of two couriers.

Bennie Charles Phillips Jr., was arrested Friday by federal authorities and charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting the use or carrying of a firearm in furtherance of violence.

Four others were arrested Wednesday at the scene of the thwarted heist and charged with the same two counts. Redrick Jevon Batiste, believed to be the mastermind behind a robbery crew that targeted armored cars, was fatally shot by police during the sting operation.

MORE ON ALLEGED RINGLEADER: 37-year-old linked to 2 other fatal shootings

According to court documents, FBI investigators had been conducting surveillance of Batiste when they applied for a tap on Phillips' cellphone on Dec. 1.

One of Phillips' alleged co-conspirators told police after his arrest that Phillips had recruited him on Dec. 5 to join a money-making operation and introduced him to another man also charged in the scheme.

Cell data traced Phillips' phone to a spot close to the Amegy Bank in the 400 block of North Sam Houston Parkway, before, during and after the sting, according to a sworn statement by FBI agent Jeffrey M. Coughlin.

Court documents link the men to the death in March of Loomis truck courier Melvin Moore, who was fatally shot outside a J.P. Morgan Chase Bank on Airline, and the August shooting of Loomis courier David Guzman who was killed while filling a Wells Fargo Bank ATM on the Northwest Freeway.

'IN FEAR OF HIS LIFE': HPD identifies officer who killed armored-car suspect

In both cases, shots were fired from a distance and robbers pulled up in a vehicle, grabbed the cash and fled.

Phillips and the co-defendants Marc Anthony Hill, Nelson Alexander Polk, John Edward Scott and Trayvees Duncan-Bush face a preliminary exam and detention hearing Tuesday at 2 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Wm. Smith.
Michael Sohn/AP

The New York Police Department's bomb squad section is checking a Lufthansa flight from Houston that made an emergency landing at JFK Airport on Monday night because of a threatening message, officials said.

Lufthansa Flight 441 was bound for Frankfurt, Germany, about 7:30 p.m. Houston time when the pilot declared an emergency after airline officials reported receiving a threatening message about the jetliner, officials with New York's Port Authority said.
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An Amtrak passenger train struck and killed a Kashmere High School educator crossing the tracks in north Houston.

The victim is Johnnie Harris, a 69-year-old special-education teaching assistant, her son Frank Harris told reporters on the scene at Lockwood and Bennington.

Houston ISD confirmed Harris' identity in a news release, adding that she was struck by the train while walking on Lockwood Street early Tuesday afternoon. She had worked for HISD since 1991 and spent the past 10 years at Kashmere High School.

"Ms. Harris was a treasured member of the Kashmere family," principal Nancy Blackwell said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ms. Harris' family. She will be deeply missed."

Frank Harris said his mother sometimes walked to work and sometimes got a ride. He said he hadn't heard much yet from police.

Houston ISD Police joined HPD officers on the scene of the collision, which was reported to Houston police just after 1 p.m.

The safety gates that come down to block vehicles from entering the rail crossing appear not to block the sidewalks at the intersection of Lockwood and Bennington, where Harris may have been walking.

Student Jeremiah Johnson said he was traumatized after seeing Harris, whom he was close with, hit by a train on Tuesday afternoon.

The 11th grader at Kashmere High School said he saw Harris' body flip as the train struck her.

He said that he and others tried to yell at her to stop walking, as they watched the train come towards her, but they were too late.

Johnson didn't have Harris as a teacher but said sometimes he would talk with her during school. He described her as a giving and loving person. "If you needed anything, she made sure to give it you." Johnson said.

Empty bottles and other trash were strewn around the tracks where Harris was hit. Students from Kashmere High gathered after school talking about what happened. They said Harris was a well known instuctor.

The students said it's common for people to cross the train tracks, but had never heard of any other accidents in the area.

Anthony Ford, 16, said he and other students help Harris with the special education students every morning during breakfast time at school. "We sit around opening doors for all the kids and shaking their hands, " Ford said.

Brooke Lewis, Karen Warren and Dug Begley contributed to this report.

Check back for updates on this developing story.




Please post & distribute.

MNN. Dec. 12, 2016. Chairman Archie Archambault of Lakota Inc. shows what a loser does. He jumps completely into their boat and tries to get everyone else out of the canoe and into the boat with him. Chairman Archie Archambault of Lakota Inc. shows what a loser does. He jumps completely into their boat and tries to get everyone else out of the canoe and into the boat with him.

Chairmen only exist in corporations. Their main job is to ensure ever growing dividends for the shareholders of the corporation. Chairmen Archambault seems to be working for Lakota Inc. The Lakota people should demand to see the articles of incorporation and the shareholder agreement for the corporation.

The pipeline is going under the Missouri river somewhere else and he seems okay with it. Archie, there is to be no pipeline anywhere!

The Indian Ring that conducts the fraud is controlled by the military. They are responsible for the annihilation of over 100 million onkwehon:weh, original people.

The West was settled town by town with the aid of the military. They deputized those settlers who wanted Indian land, went with the armed settlers to the Indian villages, murdered all of them, stuffed them in a big hole and gave the town an English name. This was done all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Now the Indian Ring works with corporations. They provide intelligence, arms, training and full backup of the military.

DAPL security is digging holes to apparently put the pipe in. Their security forces show in their criminal actions at Standing Rock against the water protectors that theyre having a deja vu moment. They would like to kill water protectors, put them in the hole as their forebearers did and put the pipe over them. Remember, the army does war, nothing else.

It appears Archie is a quitter. We all know quitters never win and winners never quit. Chairman Archie the quitter.

Beatles know a little about losing something very dear to you, as the corporate chiefs also know: What have I done to deserve such a fate. I realize I have left it too late. And so its true, pride comes before a fall. Im telling you so that you wont lose all. Im a loser. And I lost someone whos dear to me. Im a loser. And Im not what I appear to be.





www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com Censored News Update

Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com for more news, to donate and sign up for MNN newsletters, go to mohawknationnews.com More stories at MNN Archives. thahoketoteh@ntk.com Address: Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0 or original Mohawk music visit https://soundcloud.com/thahoketoteh

LETS TELL THEM WHERE WE STAND : Politicians, Corporatists, Band & Tribal Councils and sell-outs that are cooperating with pipeline companies;

ENERGY TRANSFER STRATEGIST: Michael (Cliff) Waters, Lead Analyst 77002 (713), 989-2404 Michael.Waters@energytransfer.com

NORTH DAKOTA: Office of the Governor Jack Darymple: 701-328-2200; Morton County Sheriffs Department: 701-328-8118 & 701-667-3330; Allen Koppy Morton County Attorney 701.667.3350; N.D. National Guard: 701-333-2000; Army Corps of Engineers (202) 761-5903

U.S. Embassy Worldwide & Ottawa, 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8: (General): 613-688-5335, (Emergency): 613-238-5335, (Media): 613-688-5315 Fax: 613-688-3082, US Embassy of the United States, London UK, Switchboard: [44] (0)20 7499-9000, White House Washington 202-456-1111 or (202) 456-1414

ENERGY TRANSFER, 214.981.0700: Lee Hanse, Executive Vice President, 800 E Sonterra Blvd #400, San Antonio, Texas 78258 (210) 403-6455 Lee.Hanse@energytransfer.com Glenn Emery, Vice President (210) 403-6762 Glenn.Emery@energytransfer.com

Call Bernie Sanders202-224-5142; Call Hillary Clinton 646-854-1432









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Houston, you might have a celebrity mayor in 2020.

After making headlines over the weekend, former WWE wrestler Booker T. Huffman toyed with the idea of running for the mayor's office in 2019. This prompted him to release an official statement in a tweet confirming his intentions.

ORIGINAL STORY: WWE Hall of Famer: I'm in for Houston mayor's race

"I am happy to report that after great deliberation and with the counsel of my family and friends, I have decided to run for the office of Mayor in the 2019 race," Huffman's letter reads.

He goes on to describe his love for the Bayou City and how he strives to properly and honorably represent his hometown. He also describes his achievements as a Hall of Fame wrestler and a businessman.

LOOK BACK: Remember that time Donald Trump showed up at WrestleMania

"I believe in my heart that all Houstonians, regardless of their economic circumstances, deserve the same opportunities to build a better life for themselves," Huffman's letter reads. "In the coming months ahead I will make additional announcements as necessary regarding my campaign and our team."

The hashtag #Booker2020 has already started following the celebrity's announcement (which is being confused with Senator Cory Booker) and many fans are pledging their votes for the former wrestler.

"I look forward to having a dialogue with the voters of Houston and if I am so privileged to serve, I will fight for them as hard as I fought for myself and my family over the last 30 years," the letter ends.
A man was shot and killed Monday night by robbers who stole his car in west Houston, police said.

The man, identified as 20-year-old Kewin Kaewprasit, was in the parking lot of a Memorial-area apartment complex when robbers walked up and shot him just before 10 p.m., according to HPD homicide investigators, who said his family has been notified.
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As if being beaten by a cat once wasn't enough, a city councilman in North Texas is going out of office still trying to best the feline.

Browser the cat, who lives in the local library in White Settlement, became a sore spot for councilman Elzie Clements a few months ago.

Clements won a battle to evict Browser from his job as chief mouse catcher at the library in June. After Clements and the council received some online derision for the decision, Mayor Ronald Moore and the council opted in July to reinstate Browser to his job protecting library patrons from mice.

HERDING CATS: South Texas county seeks to save ocelot population

Now, Clements, 75 and serving his final days on the council after losing re-election earlier this year, is still trying to get rid of the cat. He wants to put an item on the council agenda for Tuesday, Dec. 13, seeking to boot Browser yet again.

My view hasnt changed  I dont believe we need animals in our buildings, Clements told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

BIG CATS: Two rescued tigers living good life in North Texas

Thus far, Moore has swatted away Clements' attempts like Browser swats at mice, noting Clements' electoral loss.

As for Browser, he seems unfazed by the controversy and has thus far declined comment on the hairy mess the council created about his job.
Anyone who wants to take a selfie at the Texas-shaped "flag" made of artificial turf next to Interstate 20 will have to wait a while.

Crews on Tuesday were moving the 50-foot section of roll-up turf from its roadside spot at Interstate 20 and Spur 408, about 15 miles southwest of Dallas. It was headed for temporary storage while Grand Prairie officials look for another place to put it in or near that city, a Texas Department of Transportation spokesman said.
Photo from the Texas Department of Public Safety

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A Texas man wanted on a charge of murder has been added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted fugitives list.

Agents are searching for 51-year-old Robert Van Wisse, who was charged in August 1996 with killing a woman in Austin 13 years earlier.

Austin Police say they found the body of 22-year-old Laurie Stout on the night of Sept. 20, 1983 in an office building. She had been strangled and asphyxiated while working a late-night cleaning shift. She left behind a 19-month-old daughter.

STATE FUGITIVE: Texas adds man with Aryan Brotherhood connection to most wanted

Van Wisse was a student at the University of Texas at the time and was in the building registering for a course on the night Stout died, police said.

A federal warrant charging Van Wisse with fleeing to avoid prosecution was issued in 1997.

Police say during the course of this investigation, tips and leads indicate Van Wisse was in New York City, Washington, D.C., Central Texas and Mexico.

SOUGHT BY POLICE: Houston's most wanted fugitives for November

It was previously reported that Van Wisse was working on a coconut and banana plantation, and as an English teacher in Mexico.

Van Wisse is described as 5'6" tall, weighing 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He's a native of Mexico and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Van Wisse replaces Fidel Urbina on the FBIs Top Ten List. Urbina, who was wanted in Chicago on charges of murder and kidnapping, and federally for fleeing to avoid prosecution. He was arrested on a ranch in Mexico in September.
Courtesy of the Texas Office of the Attorney General

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A Fort Worth man accused of trafficking a teenage runaway from Houston is in jail after evading arrest from police.

Marquist Fulcher, 27, is charged with compelling prostitution, sexual assault of a child and trafficking a person under the age of 18.

CRACKDOWN: 2 women arrested in Spring massage parlor prostitution bust

Fort Worth Police Department spokesman Daniel Segura said police started investigating Fulcher in October after the victim identified him to police. The victim told police she met Fulcher after running away from home in Houston. She said Fulcher forced her into prostitution starting at age 14.

Sgt. John Phillips told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Fulcher did not allow the victim to keep any money she made.

Fulcher used Backpage.com and other websites to meet with clients in Fort Worth. Phillips added investigators are attempting to identify other potential victims and suspects who know Fulcher.

FROM HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Crackdown forces closures of illicit massage parlors, spas

Fulcher was lodged in Tarrant County Jail on Monday, according to the Star-Telegram. His bail is more than $700,000, with $500,000 of the bail coming from a probation violation warrant from Dallas County.

Fulcher's criminal past includes theft of an ATM, burglary, criminal trespassing, evading arrest and failure to identify, according to the newspaper.

He was scheduled to appear in Tarrant County court on Tuesday for theft of property and evading arrest charges, according to county records. Fulcher has a Dec. 22 court date for the trafficking and prostitution charges.
WASHINGTON  Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously forgot he wanted to abolish the Energy Department, will be President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency, NBC News reported early Tuesday.

NBC, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the transition process, said the decision came after Perry's 90-minute meeting with Trump on Monday afternoon in the Trump Tower in New York. Perry left the Monday meeting, their third in several weeks, without speaking to reporters.

If confirmed, the report would signify a reversal of political fortunes for Perry, Texas' longest-serving governor, who twice has ran unsuccessfully for president. Before dropping out of the presidential race earlier this year to back Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Perry had denounced Trump as a "cancer on conservatism" and a "barking carnival act."

But Perry, unlike Cruz, came on board the Trump campaign at the Republican National Convention in July, when he first publicly expressed interest in an administration post. At various times he has been seen as a candidate for defense secretary or head of the Veterans Administration, based on his background as an Air Force pilot.

His selection to head the Energy Department recalls his 2011 presidential debate gaffe, when he was unable to recall it as one of three of the government agencies he proposed to eliminate. The failure became known as his "oops" moment," and will likely be brought up by critics at his Senate confirmation hearings.

Perry also is likely to face questions as an unapologetic champion of Texas' nation-leading oil industry, as well as his business ties to the Dallas company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, which has sparked bitter protests by Native American groups in North Dakota.

The nomination also could put him in the center of the debate on the science of climate change, which he has questioned in the past.
Spencer Platt/Staff

AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that despite a tight budget forecast, he still would like to see tax cuts approved by the Legislature next spring that could shrink revenues even more.

In a wide-ranging interview with reporters, Abbott specifically said he would like to see the business franchise tax and the energy margins tax dropped "by as much as I can get," and supports a review of property tax relief, as well.
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.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe and China have pledged to strengthen military cooperation in line with the cordial relations that have been growing over the years.This came out when a Chinese delegation headed by Commander of the Army of Southern Theatre Command of China, Lieutenant General Liu Xiaowua, paid a courtesy call on the Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga at the Defence House in Harare yesterday.In an interview after the meeting Gen Chiwenga said the Zimbabwe Defence Forces greatly appreciated the close relationship it shared with the People's Liberation Army of China, adding that the cooperation has seen the country benefiting through military training programmes among other forms of assistance.Lieut Gen Liu said the visit to Zimbabwe was aimed at taking the relations between the ZDF and the People's Liberation Army to an even greater level.Lieut Gen Liu and his delegation also toured the Victoria Falls, the National Defence College and the National Heroes Acre before his departure back to China. The military relations between Zimbabwe and China date back to the era before independence.Zimbabwe has benefited military technical expertise, defence hardware among other specialist services from China.
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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!)
News / National

by Staff reporter

A 59 year old Harare woman is distraught at the justice delivery system and crying foul following the acquittal of a man who allegedly ran over and killed her 42 year old son in the capital whilst driving a commuter omnibus.The lady has since petitioned Harare Magistrates Court area public prosecutor Mr Jonathan Murombedzi complaining against the judgement and sentence handed to the accused.For Mrs Victoria Muronzi the 16th day of June 2016 will remain forever a dark day for it is the day when her son Tendai had his life cut short after he was allegedly run over by a kombi driven by one Tariro Chimhene.The 59 year old mother is visibly in pain at what she perceives as a travesty of justice that transpired since the day she reported the matter to the police and throughout the trial.She recounted events of the fateful day her son was involved in the alleged hit and run accident and the difficulties she went through to try and get him medical attention before he finally succumbed to the injuries.While crossing Robert Mugabe at the intersection with Julius Nyerere when Chimhene ran over him resulting in him getting severe injuries, he allegedly sped off the scene and an alert passerby filmed the vehicles registration numbers.She recounted how she had to go through the difficulties of looking for money for her son's treatment as he had extensive head injuries from the hit and run incident until her son eventually succumbed to the injuries.Her biggest let down she says is how the trial Magistrate discounted the evidence adduced in court by the witnesses and discharged the accused person at the close of the state case acquitting him from the charge of negligent driving, failure to stop after an accident and failure to report an accident considering her son passed on as a result of the incident.She says she will stop at nothing to ensure her son gets justice and she has taken the initial step to ensure the wheels of justice move along in a direction that best meets her case.It waits to be seen whether or not the proceedings were not handled properly after her appeal has been handled.
The death of Fidel Castro led to a flurry of retrospectives on Cuba, the revolution, and name-calling. The New York Times obituary noted that Castro was often considered above all an old-style Spanish caudillo, one of a long line of Latin American strongmen who endeared themselves to people searching for leaders, and an analyst called Castro the ultimate 20th-century caudillo. In The Los Angeles Times, Castro was labeled the longest reigning of the 20th century caudillos  Latin American military rulers.

Those definitions are useful, since caudillo may not be a term familiar to everyone.

Lets start with the dictionary definition: Merriam-Webster says a caudillo is a Spanish or Latin-American military dictator; Websters New World College Dictionary is a little more precise: a leader, esp. a military dictator, of a Spanish-speaking country. The Oxford English Dictionary is neutral, defining caudillo as The head or chief of state of a Spanish-speaking country.

The word itself comes, of course, from the Spanish, for leader or chief, which itself came from a Latin diminutive for head.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica, still a useful resource even in the days of Google, says caudillo arose 200 years ago:

In the wake of the Latin American independence movement in the early 19th century, politically unstable conditions and the long experience of armed conflict led to the emergence in many of the new countries of strongmen who were often charismatic and whose hold on power depended on control over armed followers, patronage, and vigilance.

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Caudillo continued its march into the 20th century, applied to, among others, Manuel Noriega of Panama, the Somoza family in Nicaragua, Augusto Pinochet of Chile, and Fulgencio Batista, whom Castro overthrew, exchanging one caudillo for another.

The OED notes its first use in English in 1832. Generalissimo Francisco Franco assumed the title El Caudillo when he took over Spain in the late 1930s. (And how many of us cant hear that name without immediately appending  is still dead?)

Caudillos can be rightist or leftist; whats important is that they are authoritarian, which was true of all of the ones already named.

But wait! Caudillos arent just for Spanish strongmen any more. The Huffington Post called president Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines a 21st Century Caudillo. One Washington Post column about Donald Trumps threats to jail Hillary Clinton said: Vladimir Putin, Hugo Chavez and a cavalcade of two-bit caudillos lock up their opponents. American leaders dont.

You know where this is going: Trump himself is also being called a caudillo. A Peruvian political scientist told The Washington Post that Trump resembles a classic Latin American type of populist, the caudillo, a Spanish term that translates roughly to strongman or a leader with authoritarian tendencies.

Note that this is the second Washington Post story weve cited: The Post uses caudillo a lot lately. But there are others: The New York Times quoted a range of experts as saying that Trumps business tactics may be ineffective at best, and crony-capitalist and caudillo-like at worst. The Huffington Post has used the term 17 times this year by our count, mostly referring to people who were not Donald Trump.

As always, using a word your readers might not understand can send them to the dictionaryand how do you know theyll come back? And because caudillo evokes for many who understand the term the image of brutal regimes, not just authoritarian ones, it should be used with caution when referring to someone who might not fall into that category.

Language usage, at its best, is not that dictatorial.

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Merrill Perlman managed copy desks across the newsroom at the New York Times, where she worked for twenty-five years. Follow her on Twitter at @meperl.
Every six weeks or so, the Washington Posts Eli Saslow publishes thousands of carefully chosen, economically deployed words. More often than not, the Pulitzer-winning reporter sheds light on people who would not otherwise receive the longform treatment: Texans on food stamps, or a nurse aide in Ohio, or an undocumented immigrant.

Octobers story was something of a departurea profile of Derek Black, who is, put crudely, white supremacist royalty. His father Don founded the neo-Nazi forum Stormfront. His godfather* is David Duke. And for many years, Derek himself was an influential member of the movement. Now, however, hes gone the other way; last month, he even wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled Why I Left White Nationalism.

Saslows 6,500-word profile, The white flight of Derek Black, is the story of that transformation. It required a month of reporting. For his efforts, The Post told me, it was one of the most-read stories on our site for days.

What follows is the first in an occasional series in which a journalist walks us through the process of conceiving, reporting, writing, and editing a particularly powerful and/or noteworthy piece. (We strongly encourage you to read the story first.)

***

It was a wandering path toward this piece. After Dylann Roof shot all those people in Charleston, there were a lot of mentions of Stormfront. People thought Roof had posted a bunch there. Thats maybe true, maybe not true. So I started reading Stormfront, and the biggest, monster thread on there is about Dereks defection.

You know when a story just sticks in your head? I got so excited about the possibility of writing that story.

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This was probably early summer of 2015. It was hard to find Derek because hed altered his name. Hed gone very quiet in the two-and-a-half years since hed left the white nationalist movement. I knew he wanted to continue on to graduate school. For what he was studying, there were only so many graduate programs, and I found somebody with the same last name and middle initial. Then I searched for photos of that person and was quickly able to piece it together. I did a property records search and found his email address and landlords phone number.

When I first emailed him, it felt a little bit like he was hiding and Id found him. The immediate reaction was, Whoa, do not write about this. Please give me space and dont contact me. One thing that maybe helped Derek and I build mutual trust is I told him, My goal here is not to out you. This is not a story that I can do without you. Which was true.

I walked away for a year. I couldnt write that story without Derek because its the story of his transformation; I wouldnt have been capable of doing that from the outside in. Also, Im not sure if, ethically, I would have felt all that good about outing him. Even though hes done things that made him a public figure, hed at that point removed himself from the spotlight, publicly apologized, and made an effort to distance himself from that. I assumed he would never come around.

Reporter Eli Saslow (Photo courtesy The Washington Post)

Nearly a year went by. The Trump stuff was looking more and more realistic. So many of these racial politicsthe overtones of thatwere becoming more essential in the campaign. I thought he could talk about this in ways that few other people could.

We talked over the phone several times and, in early August, he decided to do it. The moment in the country changed his mind. When I first contacted him, he felt like he could slip away quietly and that he could leave this fringy thing behind. He hadnt done all that much damage, he thought, and he could just go on with his life. As Derek saw what was happening in this country, and also in Europe, he decided it was his responsibility to address this stuff.

Derek hadnt talked a lot about it. In fact, most people in his life either knew him as a student living in the Midwestthey had no idea about his pastor they knew him as a white nationalist and didnt know what had happened to him since. For most people, these two parts of his life were not connected, so it was complicated terrain for him to navigate.

If Derek had not wanted to cooperate with me, Im pretty sure [his father] Don wouldnt have, either. As fraught as parts of that relationship have become, theyre both really trying to respect each other as father and son. It was probably difficult for Don to talk about stuff that was closer to the bonehis own family. Don wasnt used to being made vulnerable. He was used to being able to dismiss what everybody was saying about him because he was this stereotype for racist hate.

Most people were happy to talk to me, but some didnt want to talk on the record. That was mostly people at New College who had probably never been written about in any capacity and reasonably decided they did not want their first Google hit to be their association with the white supremacist movement.

I try to write not from a place of judgment, but from a place of honesty and empathy. The more time I spend with people, the more I like them and the more Im capable of writing about them with nuance. That difference is clear in the story with Don and Dereks mother, who never talks to press and probably never will. She comes off very differently because shes not speaking for herself. I always think its better for the people involved if they decide to participate. Of course, that parts not alwaysand not oftenin our control.

There was so much documentation of everything in the moment. That was a huge luxury, and it was one of the things that attracted me to the story. New College has an online forum, so I had hundreds of pages of in-the-moment dialogue. Stormfront has this message board thats very well archived. That gave me this other side of what was happening. Then Derek and Don have this radio show, so I had archives of that, too. Friends shared contemporaneous emails and text messages. It was really helpful because instead of having to pull out of the moment with quotes like, I remember when that happened, and this is what I was thinking, I could just say exactly what people were thinking.

I knew if Derek participated and Don did not, I would be okay because Don had been writing about this on Stormfront. The story certainly would not have been as good, but it would have worked.

Reporting was a pretty concentrated month. I spent a bunch of time with Derek. The first trip we spent three or four days together. Then I took another, geographically-confused trip where I went from home in Portland to West Palm Beach to see Don, and then from there up to the upper Midwest to see Derek again, then back home. There were a couple of longer trips.

I try to remove the time pressure from interviews. If I know Im going to be with Derek for three more days, suddenly the pressure to make sure that Im looking around the room and writing everything down about the scene is diminished. I know I have time to breathe. There are going to be quiet moments in conversation. There are going to be moments where were just hanging out and were not even talking about white nationalism. In those moments, I can use my notebook to write about the things going on around him.

The other thing that takes the pressure off is there are very few quotes in a story that are told to me. Its essentially a stylistic decision. For me, as a reader, stories are most powerful when you can sort of disappear into them. If youre being reminded all the time of the presence of a reporter in these quotes, I think it becomes a little bit harder to disappear into the narrative. My guess is there are no quotes from Derek. The quotes from Derek are speeches that were recorded in 2008 or things that he was saying with his dad on the radio. I know that when Im talking to people, if I dont get the words down exactly right, thats okay because Im not going to be quoting them. What I need is huge amounts of information and I need to go back over that information again and again with them to make sure I have it right.

I taped every interview with Don just because of his experience in the press. I wanted to be doubly sure of absolutely everything I was doing with him. There are a few verbatim quotes said to me from Don about the time that Derek came back to his birthday party and things like that.

If Im having a sit-down, formal interview with somebody, I use a tape recorder. Most of the other stories I writeif Im spending a week with a family that just lost a kid in NewtownIm with them for too long to record everything. Im showing up to their house at six in the morning, and Im leaving when theyre going to bed at 10. Im doing that day after day after day. It would be insane for me to try to take down everything that happens.

I would listen to Derek and Dons radio show when I was going for a run. I tried to marinate in it. I tried to sink into that world a little bit, but I wasnt so deep in that it was really troubling me.

This story, in some ways, is different for me because oftentimes the stories I write rely almost 100 percent on observed scene and dialogue. If Im writing about a family with a kid who got shot, usually Im there sitting in the living room day after day and trying to fade in their lives and watch things play out. There are ways in which thats a much more rewarding kind of reporting, but its also way more emotionally exhausting.

Structuring the story took three or four days. I had a clear sense of the general narrative arc because the story has a clear narrative arc. I knew it was going to be the story of a transformation, so I knew that for the bulk of the piece I was going to rely on chronology.

The storys start has a lot of advantages because it captures Derek at his height of influence in the movement. This makes the stakes of the transformation higher and accentuates how far he travels during that transformation. I wanted Don to at least appear in the first scene because he ends up being such a big character. It was right after Obama got elected, and theyre talking about the political future of the party. Even though its a scene from 2008, the story feels, at least a little bit, about now.

I was worried about the pacing of Dereks transformation. Because its a newspaper story, the transformation is going to happen fast, within a few thousand words. His mind has to change relatively quickly. But I did not want it to be like, Hes a white nationalist and now suddenly he says, This stuff is all hogwash, because that would not be true to reality. In real time, that happened over a number of years.

If youre structuring stories based on what you want, youre going to run into problems. Sometimes Ill structure a story and as I start writing Ill realize, Shit, I dont have whatever There are too many holes in the reporting. When the reporting doesnt support the structure, the story fails pretty quickly.

Writing the story took maybe a week and change. Writing can be super hard for me. It doesnt necessarily feel as natural to me as structure does. As Im reporting, Im always thinking about structureShit, this scene of him coming back to his dads birthday party, thats a big scene. There needs to be some emotional reckoning in that moment.

I knew the core of the story was about Derek and Don. I knew I wanted the story to end in the moment. Its really the only scene of the story that is in the moment. Its a little bit of a flash-forward section. The section begins pretty squarely with Derek, and youre almost traveling forward through the last few years of his life with him as hes started drinking tap water and traveled and tried to get as far outside of the movement as possible. I knew that once the two of them had that conversation, that would be a good place to end.

I did a round or two of edits with David Finkel, who I work with really closely. Weve been working together for so long, I think we think about stuff mostly the same.

Usually, when I turn something in, were down to the sentence-to-sentence level pretty quickly. In this case, the biggest change was the first section of the story. It was largely the same as it is now, but I didnt do a good enough job on the implications of the moment. I was relying a little too much on the reader to see all the connections without just explicitly saying, Now in the age of Trump, all of this stuff is coming to the fray. David pushed me on that.

We dont have fact-checkers, so basically my fact-checking process was just going back to Don and Derek more explicitly than I normally would and making sure, Okay, is this exactly right? I went back to them during those two weeks where I was structuring and writing, and I probably talked with Derek every other day. Then I walked them both through it in a more detailed way than I normally would with people Im writing about. So much of it was recreated and I really wanted to make sure I had it right.

They didnt push back at anything. Frankly, I think Don was like, What, youre telling me what the story is going to be about before it runs? He was just very surprised by that part of the process.

In the stories Im most proud of, what I hope Ive done is walked the reader up to a clear pane of glass, and theyve had a direct interaction with the story. They havent felt my presence in it and they feel like theyve seen something for themselves. The conclusions that you draw feel entirely like your own.

From the archives: Dear Journalists: Things are about to change

Its essentially a stylistic decision. For me, as a reader, stories are most powerful when you can sort of disappear into them. If youre being reminded all the time of the presence of a reporter in these quotes, I think it becomes a little bit harder to disappear into the narrative. My guess is there are no quotes from Derek. The quotes from Derek are speeches that were recorded in 2008 or things that he was saying with his dad on the radio. I know that when Im talking to people, if I dont get the words down exactly right, thats okay because Im not going to be quoting them. What I need is huge amounts of information and I need to go back over that information again and again with them to make sure I have it right.

*Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to David Duke as Derek Blacks uncle. Duke is Blacks godfather.

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Elon Green is a writer in Port Washington, New York. He's an editor at Longform. Find him on Twitter @ElonGreen.
An appeals court has cleared the way for refiling of a lawsuit against an engineering firm in the deaths of four people killed in flash flooding in Pittsburgh, Pa., more than five years ago.

Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. earlier dismissed claims against Chester Engineers Inc., which acted as consulting engineer and construction manager for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Plaintiffs attorneys argued that the firm should have warned of the danger before the August 2011 flash flood on Washington Boulevard in Highland Park that killed Kimberly Griffith, 46, her daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, all of Plum, and Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont.

The judge said the attorneys had failed to plead causation and hadnt established that the firm had a duty to provide information to officials about maintenance of the water and sewer systems. But the state Superior Court on Friday disagreed on the causation issue and said the plaintiffs should have been allowed to amend their suit to address concerns about the companys duty.

We are grateful that the court has allowed us to go forward with our claim against Chester Engineers, said attorney Alan Perer, who represents the Griffith family. So many responsible parties failed to address a known deadly condition, and Chester Engineers shares in that failure. Company representatives didnt immediately return a message seeking comment Sunday.

The city and its water and sewer authority, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and county sanitary authority, earlier settled legal action in the case. Because the defendants were government entities, the damages were limited under state law.

The plaintiffs said at least 30 flash floods had stranded vehicles in the same spot since one person was killed and 12 were injured in a flood June 9, 1951, but nothing was done to improve the road or storm sewers.

PennDOT has since installed three gates that keep traffic off the low-lying section of road. The gates are activated by water pressure sensors during heavy rain.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
To help avoid deadly accidents, an insurance industry group raised standards for headlight performance, reducing the number of vehicles that earned its highest safety rating.

Only 38 models were awarded the Insurance Institute for Highway Safetys designation of Top Safety Pick+, down from 48 on the initial list for the 2016 model year. Toyota Motor Corp. led all automakers with nine winners. Honda Motor Co. was second with five. Among U.S. automakers, only three models earned the distinction.

To get the designation, the industry-funded organization now requires acceptable or good results in its engineers tests of how well roads can be seen in the dark. IIHS said it added the evaluation because government standards allow for wide variation in real-world performance and about half of traffic deaths happen in the dark or at dawn or dusk. Automatic emergency braking and good ratings on crash tests are included in consideration.

The field of contenders is smaller this year because so few vehicles have headlights that do their job well, but its not as small as we expected when we decided to raise the bar for the awards, IIHS President Adrian Lund said in a statement Thursday. Manufacturers are focusing on improving this basic safety equipment, and were confident that the winners list will grow as the year progresses.

That has happened in the past. By the end of the 2016 model year, 79 vehicles had achieved the Top Safety Pick+ designation, said spokesman Russ Rader. The previous year, 33 started with it and 51 had it by the end.

The past two years, only the Chrysler 200 sedan among domestic autos made the Arlington, Virginia-based groups initial list  and that car isnt in production as a 2017 model. Despite that absence and the tougher standards, three U.S. models won the designation: GMs Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and assembled-in-China Buick Envision sport utility vehicle as well as Chryslers new Pacifica minivan. The Volt, redesigned for 2016, now gets a good score on the small-overlap crash test and is available with automatic braking and good headlights, Rader said.

No Tesla Motors Inc. electric-powered models won a Top Safety Pick award, but Rader said the Model S is currently in testing, as is BMWs i3 electric car.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
The illegally occupied Oakland, Calif., warehouse where dozens of partygoers perished in a blaze does not appear in a database fire inspectors use to schedule inspections and may never have been checked for fire hazards, a firefighter with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

Oakland fire officials are supposed to annually inspect commercial buildings for fire safety, with only single-family homes and duplexes exempted, according to a city website. Officials typically pull addresses from a database to request the yearly checks, said the firefighter Thursday, who feared retribution for disclosing the information and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Commercial inspections are conducted as time permits during a fire stations 24-hour shift and are not routinely scheduled on an appointment basis, the citys website explains.

Theres a fire station right around the corner from the warehouse, which Derick Ion Almena, a sometimes-photographer who rented the building and sub-leased living space to artists, had dubbed the Ghost Ship.

The victims, ranging in age from 17 to 61, died while attending a $10-a-head dance party at the warehouse. On the campus of the University of California at Berkeley on Thursday, family members and friends hugged one another and wept as they spoke of two students, two recent graduates and a campus volunteer who died in the blaze.

Theres a part of our heart thats missing today, Michael Morris, father of 21-year-old victim Jennifer Morris, a musician and media studies major who died along with her roommate, Vanessa Plotkin, 21. Surrounded by the girls mother, older brother and cousin, Morris fought back tears. She was so precious to us.

The fire department and Mayor Libby Schaaf each said Thursday they could not yet say when  or if  a fire inspector examined the warehouse.

Fire department spokeswoman Rebecca Kozak said Thursday she didnt know whether the warehouses address was in the database of buildings to be checked.

Kozak said she was processing 40 to 50 public records request from news media and that confusion over the warehouses address is slowing the process.

Erica Terry Derryck, Schaafs spokeswoman, said the mayors office was putting together what contact all city agencies have had with this property.

At a press conference Wednesday night, Schaaf said she had requested the information from the fire department, but had not yet received it. It was also disclosed then that building department inspectors had not set foot in the warehouse since at least 1986.

A civil grand jury in 2014 report said 4,000 out of 11,000 buildings in Oakland were going without the yearly inspections and concluded the citys website inaccurately implied all commercial buildings received annual inspections.

The department agreed with the finding. It said an annual inspection for each commercial business was a goal but emergency responses and staffing made that more difficult.

Jon Narva, with the National Association of State Fire Marshals, said cities generally decide for themselves how frequently to conduct inspections and some places do use line firefighters to help with inspections.

The mayor said Wednesday night that the city will look to strengthen regulations for smoke alarms and exits and clarify city employees responsibilities to monitor unsafe structures.

The structure had been converted to artists studios and illegal living spaces, and former occupants said it was a death trap of piled wood, furniture, snaking electrical cords and only two exits.

City and state officials fielded complaints for years about dangerous conditions, drugs, neglected children, trash, thefts and squabbles at the warehouse, raising questions about why it wasnt shut down. The district attorney has warned of possible murder charges as she determines whether there were any crimes linked to the blaze.

Federal investigators said Wednesday the fire started on the ground floor and soon was raging, with smoke billowing into the second level and trapping victims whose only escape route was through the flames.

Snyder said investigators were examining a refrigerator and other potential sources of the fire but had not reached any conclusions. She indicated it would be at least several weeks before the investigation was completed.

Alameda County Sheriffs spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said Thursday said that authorities had identified the final victim, one day after ending their search for bodies.

Almena has not responded to emails or calls by The Associated Press to phone numbers associated with him. He has said he didnt attend the event Friday night, and that he is sorry.

(Associated Press writers Sudhin Thanawala, Terry Chea and Tim Reiterman contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Brecksville City Hall 2.JPG

Brecksville City Hall has adopted a new refreshment policy for city workers.

(Bob Sandrick, special to cleveland.com)

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - A new ordinance will allow the city to spend taxpayer money on refreshments for municipal workers, and specifies under what conditions City Hall can make such purchases.

The ordinance says the city can buy coffee, water, soft drinks, pastries and "other snacks" -- with a limit of $5 a person -- on "appropriate occasions," including special meetings involving government business. The city can also buy meals for employees if they are asked to work or attend meetings during a normal mealtime, and as long as the cost doesn't exceed $15 a person.

Mayor Jerry Hruby said the legislation was needed because in 2016 the city created an awards program for municipal workers who perform above-and-beyond their duties. As part of the ceremony in September, the city bought $868 in refreshments for workers.

"We do not provide refreshments for employees other than this one event in 2016," Hruby said in an email to cleveland.com. "We may repeat the event in future years."

City Council, without discussion, unanimously passed the ordinance on first reading Nov. 15. It was a last-minute add-on to council's agenda.

Although the ordinance is new, the city for years has used taxpayer money to buy meals for council members and department heads on some meeting nights. Council-meeting meals cost $1,178 in 2015 and $497 so far this year, according to Rebecca Riser, the city's director of purchasing.

Hruby said the city buys meals for council only when committee meetings are scheduled before and during the dinner hour.

"This is sporadic and not the norm as most meetings are after the normal dinner hour," Hruby said.

Fringe benefits acceptable

Hruby said the new awards program for city workers is called the Meritorious Service Awards. It recognizes employees who, for example, save a life, help with an emergency childbirth, invent a new policy that saves taxpayer money, show bravery or demonstrate extraordinary kindness.

The new refreshment policy and ordinance is based on a 1982 legal opinion by then-state Attorney General William J. Brown, who said taxpayer-funded refreshments and meals for government workers are legal if they serve a public purpose, and if the food expenses are not unreasonable.

"Coffee, meals, refreshments and other amenities are fringe benefits which may be properly provided by units of local government to their employees as a form of compensation," Brown said.

Brown added that council must pass an ordinance that would authorize spending tax money on food. In Brecksville, that didn't happen until after the fact, since the awards ceremony was in September, and the ordinance was approved in November.

Hruby said Brecksville staff, during an internal audit, realized the city didn't have refreshment legislation and immediately took steps to correct the situation.

As for the ordinance passing on first reading as a last-minute addition to council's agenda, Hruby said that's nothing unusual.

"All legislation - other than legislation required by (city) charter to be read three times without suspension of the rules - is introduced as emergency legislation," Hruby said. "This has been the practice of city council during the 29 years I have been mayor and by prior city councils."

Neighboring policies

Neighboring cities differ when it comes to employee refreshment policy and legislation.

In Strongsville, a 2012 ordinance allows the city to buy coffee, tea and hot chocolate daily for municipal workers. Employees can also use taxpayer money to purchase meals for guests when conducting city business.

In addition, Strongsville City Hall can purchase meals for workers who attend conferences, seminars or training sessions during meal times. The city can buy refreshments for employee-recognition events "or when other special circumstances arise as determined or designated by the mayor."

The Strongsville legislation doesn't limit the amount the city can spend but requires a cost report to the finance director.

North Royalton Mayor Robert Stefanik said his city does not provide meals or refreshments for municipal workers under any circumstances.

"We've never done anything like that as long as I've been mayor," Stefanik said.

Molly Regan, Broadview Heights finance director, said Broadview Heights does not buy daily refreshments for workers. She said employees contribute their own money toward coffee, bake their own cookies or buy donuts.

"In practice, the only times refreshments are paid for with city money are rare occurrences where training or educational sessions or business meetings last a long period of time that spans what would be a traditional meal time," Regan said in an email to cleveland.com.
Planet Fitness.JPG

Planet Fitness will build a new facility at Cedar Center North in South Euclid. The Richmond Town Square facility in Richmond Heights, shown here, will remain open.

(Jeff Piorkowski/special to cleveland.com)

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Health club franchise Planet Fitness is coming to Cedar Center North in South Euclid.

At its meeting Monday, City Council unanimously approved a resolution that will have the city sell for $1 million 1.8 acres of property at the shopping center to Cambridge Landco SE, LLC, owner and operator of Planet Fitness.

Planet Fitness will build a two-story, 20,000-square-foot building behind the center's Bob Evans restaurant, and next to Gordon Food Service. Although no official announcement has been made, it is thought that the building will be completed sometime during the second half of 2017.

"We're really excited about this," Mayor Georgine Welo said. "This completes building at Cedar Center.

"For me, personally, South Euclid is becoming a hub for development. People only invest their money where they know they're going to get something in return, and that's South Euclid."

Welo said the coming of Planet Fitness is the latest investment in the city, following new development now under way at Mayfield and Green roads, where a new Marc's store is being built; the construction of seven new stores at the Oakwood Commons retail development off Warrensville Center Road; and two expansions at aerospace design firm AeroControlex in the past 13 years, among other development taking place.

"The plan is for this to be the flagship facility," Economic Development Director Michael Love said of Planet Fitness. "This is the first building they are actually constructing from the ground up. Their other facilities were converted for use.

"It fits in with other businesses that made Cedar Center their first stores, like Starbucks and Whole Foods."

Starbucks opened its first Greater Cleveland store at the old Cedar Center before the city bought the aging shopping area, demolished it, and had it redeveloped. Starbucks still does business at the current Cedar Center North.

Whole Foods operates across Cedar Road at Cedar Center in University Heights.

Love said Planet Fitness, after construction at Cedar Center North, will keep open its location at Richmond Town Square in Richmond Heights.

When Cedar Center North was rebuilt, South Euclid retained some property, and sold seven acres to a developer. After a couple of sales, the property not owned by South Euclid is now owned by IRC Retail Centers.

Prior to the sale to Planet Fitness, South Euclid last sold acreage to the now-open Panda Express. The city issued $2 million in bonds two years ago, knowing it had two properties that would soon sell for about $2 million. The Panda Express and Planet Fitness sales just about pay off that bond.

The city still owes 28 years of payments at about $1 million per year on a 30-year bond for the purchase of the old Cedar Center, which opened its first new store as Cedar Center North, Gordon Foods Market, in 2011.

Helping to offset its costs are the fact that in 2012 the city made Cedar Center North into a tax increment finance, or TIF, district.

A TIF allows a municipality to divert future property tax revenue increases from a specified district toward an economic development project. In this case, South Euclid is receiving 100-percent of the city's and the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District's property tax revenue (Cedar Center North is located within that school district) for 30 years. The TIF was initiated in 2012.

The city has also gained increased income taxes as a result of the new Cedar Center North.

Welo said Planet Fitness is another addition to actions taken in recent years to decrease the average age of residents.

"Our average age is 36 years and four months," Welo said of South Euclid. "I started the Future South Euclid Committee in 2005 to make recommendations to the administration about how to bring young people to South Euclid, and it really worked. Our average age (in 2005) was in the 60s.

"We've brought in Millennials with things like the new pump (bicycle) track at Bexley Park, One South Euclid (development corporation), and Rock the Block (a city celebration held the last two years in June on Mayfield Road). We're seeing these things result in a mixture of young and old in our city."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man accused of accidentally shooting and killing a 27-year-old man at a dinner party that was live-streamed on Facebook Live would "trade places" with the man he's accused of killing, his attorney said.

Steven Leannais, 30, made his first court appearance Monday following the shooting that killed Anthony Stanford II. Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Suzan Sweeney set his bond at $10,000. Leannais is charged with third-degree felony involuntary manslaughter.

Defense attorney Leif Christman said that his client is "extremely sorry for what happened and extends his condolences to Anthony's mother, Mrs. (Trina) Ford."

"If there was any to trade places, he'd gladly do it," Christman said.

Leannais, who has never been convicted of a felony, agreed to prosecutors' request that he give up any guns he still has and surrender his concealed carry license as part of the conditions of his bond. He was also ordered to have no contact with any witnesses to the shooting.

"It's so tragic," Christman said. "His friend is deceased. He hasn't eaten or slept since it happened. He needs to get counseling."

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Murphy agreed that Stanford's death is tragic but disputed calling the shooting "accidental."

Murphy said that Leannais was responsible for firing the gun despite it being an "unintentional" shooting.

Christman said he will look into accusations that Leannais was drunk at the time of the shooting. Leannais' blood-alcohol content tested at 0.058 three-and-half hours after the shooting, according to court records.

The shooting happened about 9:50 p.m. Thursday at a dinner party Leannais hosted at his apartment in The Brick Lofts Apartments at Historic West Tech High in the 2200 block of West 93rd Street, according to police reports.

Leannais live-streamed the dinner party on Facebook Live. A person who viewed the recording of the incident provided the video to cleveland.com.

The events in the video match the descriptions of what police wrote in their report of the incident. Christman said he watched the video and could use it as part of the case.

Leannais hosted Stanford and two other friends for dinner and drinks when the shooting happened, police reports say.

One of the other partygoers went into Leannais' bedroom and grabbed his handgun.

The video shows a man waving a gun around. He asks if the video is recording and says: "We're going to walk up to this guy and say 'we're going to cap this guy's ass.'"

Someone tells the man the gun is loaded and a woman says "Don't point that at me."

The man points the gun at his face and Leannais grabs the gun and takes out the magazine and gives it back, the video shows.

Leannais grabbed the gun from his friend and told him it was still loaded, police reports say.

"There you go," Leannais says in the video. "Now it's not loaded."

Leannais took out the magazine and gave the gun back to the other man, who has not been charged with a crime in connection with the case.

The group laughs about it and the man puts the gun in his mouth and says: "I'm going to do it, I swear to God."

The man then says: "The last thing they say is always, 'I didn't know it was loaded.'"

Leannais said that's why he took the clip out and assures the viewers he took out the bullets.

"See that," he says putting the bullets up to the camera. "That would have made a bloody mess. See that hollow point right there?"

Someone shows a bottle of alcohol in front of the camera while the man again puts the gun in his mouth. Stanford then arrives. The man with the gun jokes with him, shakes his hand and Stanford looks into the camera.

Leannais grabs the camera and walks over to a kitchen counter where he shows Stanford what he made for dinner.

"Yeah, that's what's up," Stanford says. The video recording ends.

Leannais eventually picked the gun up, lowered it to his side pulled the trigger, unaware a bullet was in the chamber, according to police reports and court records. The bullet hit Stanford in the upper abdomen, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.

Stanford ran out the door after he was shot. Leannais followed and called 911, police reports say.

Paramedics met the pair in the apartment's lobby and rushed Stanford to MetroHealth where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Stanford was a maintenance worker in the building and repaired homes on the side, Ford said. He graduated from John Marshall High School and was a boxer when he was younger.

He still worked as a trainer to younger boxers, his mother said.

To comment on this story, please visit Monday's crime and courts comments section.
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Meijer, the midwestern-based food and merchandise superstore chain is opening five stores in Northeast Ohio by 2020.

LORAIN, Ohio -- Meijer plans a major push into Northeast Ohio with five new superstores expected to open in the next two to three years, including the latest acquisition -- a store at the site of the former Super K on Leavitt Road in Lorain.

It would be the second Meijer store in Lorain County. Another one is planned for Avon, along with stores in Bainbridge, Mentor and Stow, bringing the number of Meijer stores in Ohio to 42.

"Lorain looks like a perfect location as part of our push into Northeast Ohio and the Cleveland area," said Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi. "Now, the closest Meijer stores to Cleveland are in Sandusky and Mansfield. We would like to change that with the sites we have either purchased or put under contract."

The Meijer superstores in Avon, Mentor and Stow are expected to open in 2019. The Lorain and Bainbridge stores are likely to open in 2020, Guglielmi said.

Meijer is a family-owned grocery and household merchandise chain based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The superstore offers groceries as well as household goods, automotive, electronics and other merchandise.

It's not yet known how many workers will be at the Lorain store but typically a Meijer store employs between 250 and 300 people and is open every day of the year except Christmas.

Guglielmi said Meijer is excited about the Lorain store, which will be built at the former Super K at 5350 N. Leavitt Road [Ohio 58] near Interstate 90. The Super K closed in September, leaving a large hole in the local economy.

"Lorain is very pleased to have a new Meijer store come to our city," said Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer. "Meijer is a great company and they are expected to employ hundreds of people in higher paying jobs to our city."

The company has not determined if the Super K will be demolished and a new one built, or if Meijer would move into the existing building. Typically, Meiijer demolishes the old buildings and starts fresh.

Guglielmi said the Lorain contract gives Meijer a year "to do our due diligence" and examine traffic patterns and other factors before the sale is finalized, but said such actions are usually routine.

"We have purchased two or three K-Marts in the past few years and knocked the buildings down," Guglielmi said.

The typical Meijer store is about 190,000 square feet and is divided roughly in half between food and merchandise. The new Northeast Ohio stores will contain a bakery, a butcher, a seafood counter and a pharmacy.

The new Lorain store would mean competition for a Walmart located about a mile north on Leavitt Road, and for a Giant Eagle market a short distance south off Leavitt Road.

Meijer operates 230 stores in six states in the Midwest, with Michigan's 100 stores leading the pack. Ohio comes in second with 42 stores, mostly in the southern part of the state.

The Meijer store in Avon will be built on about 23 acres of former farmland off Nagel Road. Construction was expected to start in the spring of 2016 but got delayed.

Avon Mayor Bryan Jensen said the city was told by Meijer officials the delay was so the store could open around the same time as other new Meijer stores in Northeast Ohio.

"They said they want to open with a big bang, do several at the same time," said Jensen. "We're anxious to have them come in."

In Mentor, Meijer purchased an existing Super K store in the Mentor Commons Shopping Center on Mentor Avenue. The Super K just had its grand closing a few days ago.

Mentor Planning Administrator Ric Spence said the city has granted preliminary approval to the site plan. He said Meijer will return and seek final approval from the planning commission once they finalize the site plans.

"We're anxious to get Meijer in there as soon as possible," Spence said. "We don't want a big box store like Super K to sit vacant."

In Stow, the Meijer store is expected to be built in the Stow-Kent Shopping Center on Kent Road [Ohio 59] on part of a lot where a Big Lots and now stands.

"They received a site plan approval a year ago," said Rob Kurtz, Stow planning and development director. "The plaza has been partially demolished and more demolition will soon take place. Part of the plaza will remain intact."

Kurtz said city officials are happy the plaza is being renovated. It now measures 273,000 square feet and includes a Macy's store. After the renovations, including the addition of Meijer, the plaza will be 330,000 square feet.

"It needed to be renovated for many years," Kurtz said. "I'm glad Meijer decided to invest in Stow. Their presence will be a big benefit to the plaza."

The Bainbridge Township Meijer location will be at the site of the former Geauga Lake amusement park which closed in 2007.

Guglielmi said his company is anxious to bring their brand to the rest of the state.
HUDSON, Ohio - A Hudson police officer shot an unarmed Case Western Reserve student from the United Arab Emirates at least five times during a struggle, the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri, 26, died of a gunshot wound to the head but was also shot once in the face and three times in the left leg, the medical examiner's office said Tuesday.

The medical examiner's office is still awaiting the results of toxicology tests performed after the shooting.

Hudson officer Ryan Doran shot Alameri during a struggle Dec. 4 near an access road off Hudson Aurora Road, investigators said.

Investigators recovered Doran's gun at the scene but did not find any other weapons, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation said. The incident remains under investigation.

Investigators have not released any details of the encounter between Alameri and Doran that occurred before the shooting.

Six loud bangs can be heard out of frame in dash cam video from the encounter released last week. Investigators have not said the number of times Doran shot at Alameri, who died of a gunshot wound to the head. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

Doran, who joined the Hudson Police Department on Aug. 6, 2004, has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation.

This is the second high-profile incident involving an Emirati man this year in Northeast Ohio. In October, a Lorain County grand jury chose not to indict a hotel desk clerk accused of falsely reporting that an Emirati guest pledged allegiance to ISIS. Avon officers who were acting on the report detained the man at gunpoint June 29 at the Fairfield Inn and Suites on Colorado Avenue.

The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said after the incident that its citizens should avoid wearing traditional garments when traveling abroad.

The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States spoke with Gov. John Kasich and Ohio Department of Public Safety Director John Born last week to discuss the shooting. Officials from the Abu Dhabi Police Department and an embassy consular team representing Alameri's family also met BCI investigators, medical examiners and police, Ambassador Youssef Al Otaiba said in a statement.

Alameri's body was sent back to the UAE for a Friday funeral, according to a report from the state-owned Emirati newspaper The National.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.
Cleveland police tape

Cleveland police are investigating after two men ended up with gunshot wounds at a home in Tremont.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 25-year-old man is being investigated on suspicion of breaking into another man's Tremont home and shooting him, according to police reports.

The man has not been charged and no arrests have been made. Police continue to investigate what happened at the home in the 3000 block of West 11th Street.

The 24-year-old man who lives in the apartment told police that he was at a party in Cleveland Heights when his 17-year-old cousin, who lives with him ta the apartment, called and said that he heard someone breaking into the home, according to police reports.

The resident did not call police. A woman drove him about 30 minutes across the city to the home, according to police reports.

The man told police he went inside, saw a "dark figure" inside the house and was shot in the thumb, police said.

The man ran back to the car and the woman drove him to MetroHealth where he was treated and released.

The 25-year-old man who is under investigation told police someone called him and told him about a break-in at the duplex. The man does not live there and police reports do not say why he went to the home.

The man was "elusive" about what happened, police reports say. He told police that he was also shot outside the home, but couldn't say exactly where, or who shot him, police reports say.

A witness told police that she saw the 25-year-old man go inside the home and run out after hearing a gunshot, according to police reports. He was shot through the skin on his back and only required stitches at MetroHealth, police said.

Police found a gun inside the home they believe was used in the shooting. They also found a bullet hole in the ceiling.

The resident called police later in the day on Sunday and said that he saw the 25-year-old man in his home and that he believes he shot him.

He also reported that $60 was stolen from his home. The 24-year-old said he didn't tell police that information at the hospital because "his mind went blank," police reports say.

To comment on this story, please visit Monday's crime and courts comments section.
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Included among the Ohio EPA grants was $25,000 to the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, Bay Village, to expand on an existing Climate Expedition field trip program with Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island in Lake Erie.

(Lynn Ischay/Plain Dealer file photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Ohio EPA awarded three grants totaling $117,468 to fund environmental education programs in Northeast Ohio.

The grants will be awarded to:

Oberlin College's Environmental Studies Program. $49,689. To expand the Environmental Dashboard technology in the Oberlin, Cleveland, Toledo and Akron school districts. The technology helps students visualize how water and energy flow through buildings and communities;

Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, Bay Village. $25,000. To fund its program, "Bringing Local Relevance to Climate Literacy Principles," and to expand on an existing Climate Expedition field trip program that has served teachers and students at Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory for more than three years;

Earth Day Coalition. $42,779. To fund the program, "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Alternative Fuels," when it hosts three Fuel for Thought workshops for fleet managers. The Cleveland-based Earth Day Coalition is a collaboration between the Cuyahoga County Department of Public Works, the city of Cleveland's Office of Sustainability, Cuyahoga Community College, and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

Statewide, seven grants were awarded totaling $247,874. The Ohio Environmental Education Fund provides money each year for environmental education projects serving kindergarten through university students, the public and the regulated community.

Eligible grant recipients include environmental groups, public and private schools, colleges and universities, trade or professional organizations, businesses and state and local governments.
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Ohio State University is pledging to enroll, retain and graduate more low- and mid-income students.

(Ohio State University )

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State University is one of 30 colleges seeking to increase the number of talented low- and moderate-income students on campuses.

The American Talent Initiative wants to increase the number of low-income students at up to 270 of America's top-performing institutions by 50,000 by 2025.

The alliance of Ivy League, public research, private and liberal arts colleges will receive funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Each founding institution has agreed to a renewed focus on enrolling, supporting and graduating additional low- and moderate-income students, Ohio State said in a release.

The institutions will share what they learn about making progress toward their goals with one another and with the broader higher education community and public.

Over the next decade, the American Talent Initiative plans to expand to a total of up to 270 schools that consistently graduate at least 70 percent of their students in six years or fewer.

Critics have said that Ohio State and other colleges in the talent initiative are top schools with funds and other resources to recruit and retain highly qualified low-income students, Inside Higher Ed reported.

Money should be given to local public colleges, which enroll the majority of low-income students, critics said. Access to higher education is a priority for those students and most will never be admitted to the 30 institutions in the initiative.

"All these elite institutions are dumping tons of scholarship money on the A and A-plus students," F. King Alexander, president of Louisiana State University, told Inside Higher Ed. "It's the A-minus and the B-plus and the B students that aren't getting anything dumped on them. They end up going to the local public institutions in scale."

The initiative will give thousands of students who believe higher education is beyond their reach the chance to attend the "college of their dreams," said Ohio State President Michael V. Drake, a member of the initiative's steering committee.

"At its core, our initiative seeks to expand opportunity for talented students from lower- and moderate-income backgrounds," Drake said in a statement. "Working together, our colleges and universities will share new ways to advance the success of many more students and help all of our colleagues perform better."

The American Talent Initiative is asking institutions to make measurable improvements in four areas:

Engage in robust outreach to low- and moderate-income students.

Ensure that admitted low- and moderate-income students enroll and are retained.

Prioritize need-based financial aid.

Minimize or eliminate gaps in progression and graduation rates between students from low-, moderate- and high-income families.

Ohio State has set goals to:

Increase applications by 15 percent by 2025.

Increase enrollment of low- and moderate-income students and reach 93 percent in first-year retention by 2025.

Increase need-based aid for low- and moderate-income students by $100 million over five years.

Reduce the gap in graduation rates of low- and moderate-income students.

Many resources for accomplishing these goals are already in place at Ohio State, officials said.

The university has numerous programs that partner with high schools to recruit and assist high-achieving low-income, first-generation, rural or underrepresented minority students in completing applications for admission.

Community college partnerships, including a pathway program with Columbus State Community College, help recruit transfer students.

Ohio State is also part of the University Innovation Alliance, a coalition of 11 public research universities committed to making quality college degrees accessible to a diverse body of students

The American Talent Initiative is funded with an initial $1.7 million grant for central administrative support from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Member institutions are committing substantial need-based aid at their individual campuses. The nonprofit Aspen Institute's College Excellence Program and Ithaka S+R will co-manage the initiative.
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Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer pleaded not guilty to dozens of drug and theft charges during his arraignment Wednesday in common pleas court.

(Evan MacDonald)

FREMONT, Ohio -- A judge sentenced former Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer to four years in prison Tuesday on more than a dozen drug and theft charges.



Overmyer pleaded guilty to 13 felonies and a misdemeanor Nov. 22, just two weeks after he lost his bid for re-election.



Investigators said the sheriff took drugs from prescription disposal drop boxes, deceived doctors to obtain prescription pain medication, misused sheriff's department funds and tampered with records.



After a nearly year-long investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a grand jury in August handed up a 43-count indictment against Overmyer.



All six of Sandusky County's police chiefs raised concerns last year after Overmyer collected pills from drop boxes at local police stations that went missing. The chiefs said the disappearance of the drugs was "very disturbing," the Sandusky Register reported.



Overmyer posted bond and was released from jail Aug. 24, a few hours after he was arraigned on his charges.



Visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove revoked Overmyer's original bond Nov. 3 after special prosecutor Carol Hamilton O'Brien argued he violated its terms by having contact with potential witnesses.



The judge increased Overmyer's bond to $250,000, and he's remained behind bars since then.



Overmyer refused to resign after his arrest, and his name remained on the Nov. 8 ballot. He won just 16 percent of votes, and was unseated by independent challenger Chris Hilton, who won 46 percent of ballots cast.

A three-judge panel appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Overmyer of all sheriff-related duties in September.

He was stripped of his title of sheriff when he was convicted last month.
Officers Shot Georgia

The casket of Americus police officer Nicholas Ryan Smarr is transported from his funeral service to Oak Grove Cemetery on Sunday in Americus, Ga. Smarr and his lifelong friend, Georgia Southwestern State University campus police officer Jody Smith, were killed responding to a domestic violence call on Wednesday.

(Curtis Compton, Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

LAVONIA, Georgia -- Two police officers were wounded Monday night after a suspect opened fire during a traffic stop, reports say.

Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle tells WSPA Channel 7 that one officer was wounded in the shoulder and the other in the hand and leg. Both were taken to an area hospital. Their conditions were not released, but ABC News reports their injuries are non-life-threatening.

A suspect, identified as Khari Anthony Dashaun Gordon, 22, of Greenville, South Carolina, is in custody.

The officers are the fifth and sixth shot in Georgia during the past six days, all in unrelated incidents, CNN reports.

Two of the officers died in shootings in Americus, Ga., last Wednesday. Americus Officer Nicholas Ryan Smarr and his best friend, Georgia Southwestern University Officer Jody Smith, were shot and killed after responding to a domestic dispute.

A suspect in the Americus shootings, Minguell Lembrick, was arrested after a manhunt.

In Macon, Ga., two Byron, Ga., officers were wounded early Monday morning while serving a warrant as part of a task force, Fox News reports. Officer William Patterson, 26, was treated and released from a hospital, while Officer James Wynn, 27, was recovering from a shot to his protective vest and to his left arm.

The suspected gunman was killed by other officers.

Nationwide, 64 officers have been killed in shootings this year, according to CNN.

To comment on this story, please visit Monday's crime and courts comments section.
LYNN, Arkansas -- An 8-year-old boy was killed Saturday after a tombstone fell on him as he played in a church cemetery during a birthday party, reports say.

According to KAIT Channel 8, authorities said the boy was climbing on a tombstone shaped like a tree stump when it became loose and fell on top of him.

The marker was dated 1906.

An official with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office says the boy was taken to an area hospital but died of his injuries. Foul play is not suspected.

The boy's name has not been released.

Jeff Neely, pastor of Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, tells the Associated Press the church plans to raise donations for the boy's family. He described the boy as "full of life" and and "just an 8-year-old rambunctious young man."

"There is definitely a lot of prayer being sent up on behalf of their family," Neely said.
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

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..Gatestone Institute..13 December '16..The Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, which is currently celebrating the 29th anniversary of its founding, misses no opportunity to broadcast its stated reason for being: to wage jihad (holy war) in order to achieve its goal of destroying Israel. Those who allege that Hamas is moving toward pragmatism and moderation might take note.Last week, tens of thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of the Gaza Strip to participate in rallies marking the anniversary of the founding of Hamas. As in previous years, the rallies were held under the motto of jihad and "armed resistance" until the liberation of all Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Another message that emerged loud and clear from the rallies: Hamas will never recognize Israel's right to exist.This year's rallies once again also served as a reminder of the enormous popularity that Hamas continues to enjoy among Palestinians -- not only in the Gaza Strip, but also in the West Bank, where supporters of the Islamist movement celebrated the occasion, but on a smaller scale and with a lower profile, out of fear of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israeli security forces.
To be clear, Cramer isn't saying that all stocks need to be sold. But he did warn not to be fooled by Trump.

"I think you need to examine your portfolio and ask yourself, can you handle the risk of owning shares in a company that feeds at the federal trough? It's a new risk factor, and if you don't account for it, you could find yourself on the receiving end of the next presidential tweet," the " Mad Money " host said.

Once again, President-elect Donald Trump shook the business world with a tweet blasting another industry for overcharging the government  and Jim Cramer is concerned about the risk that it could bring to your portfolio.

He's not just a tweeter in chief, he's a negotiator in chief, and right now, at least, he seems to hold all of the cards.

In Trump's tweet he referred to the F-35 program from Lockheed Martin , which makes the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This prompted the entire defense sector to get hit hard, with Northrop Grumman closing down 2.6 percent and Raytheon 1.7 percent on Monday.

The question for Cramer was if the President would even have the ability to drive down the cost of the jet. Until a few weeks ago, Cramer assumed that a promise to "drain the swamp" was merely campaign rhetoric and Trump wouldn't be involved in the actual jawboning of companies to get what he wants.

That all changed when Trump called United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes to convince him from exporting Carrier jobs to Mexico. Hayes said he got the message from Trump and said he was born at night, but not last night.

No threat necessary.

Then there was the tweet over the New Air Force One, and Boeing 's CEO Dennis Muilenburg agreed to talk to Trump about lowering the cost of two planes the government ordered.

Tweet

Last week there was also Time Magazine's "person of the year" interview, when he took aim at drug prices.

There is a clear pattern here to Cramer.

"If a company relies on the government for a big chunk of its business, that revenue stream is now in jeopardy," Cramer said.

That is why Cramer wants investors to be prepared for the new risks that Trump has introduced to the market.

"He's not just a tweeter in chief, he's a negotiator in chief, and right now, at least, he seems to hold all of the cards," Cramer said.
Cramer took a look at BB&T , Fifth Third Bancorp , KeyCorp and Regions Financial to figure out why analysts bailed on the red-hot group at a time when they are the sexiest group in the market.

"Personally, I think there is no better evidence for the strength of the regionals than the fact that they can keep roaring in the face of these downgrades," the " Mad Money " host said.

What was even more remarkable to Cramer was that several of the regional bank players have been hit with downgrades, both before and after the election, and they continued to rally.

Regional banks have run up dramatically since the election, and while the stocks likely have a pending rate hike baked into valuations, Jim Cramer thinks they could still have room to run.

A KeyBank sign with a market ticker is seen on the facade of the KeyBank Building in Columbus, Ohio.

BB&T was hit with five separate downgrades from late June to a few weeks before the election. Even after the election, the stock was downgraded twice, first by BNP Capital and then by Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley pointed out that the election results were positive for financials, but then said that BB&T could see less cost savings from its acquisitions of Swett & Crawford and National Penn. It also said increased competition could hurt the company's specialized loan growth. BMO simply cited fewer catalysts to outperform in a new rate environment as the reason for its downgrade.

"All I can say is 'oops'... These guys totally missed eh fact that this market is seeing a wholesale re-rating of the financial sector, and all of the banks were ready to roar in advance of this week's Fed meeting  Turns out this market doesn't care about nitpicking when it comes to the bull market in the financials," Cramer said.

Fifth Third Bank Corp was hit with a slew of downgrades earlier this year, including three after the election from Bernstein, Baird and Compass Point. Baird said that Fifth Third's stock already had most of the upside of the company's new efficiency baked in. In Cramer's view, this was totally missing the point.

"They could be the least efficient bank in America and they would still be poised to make a killing right now," Cramer said.

KeyCorp really took Cramer's breath away. Since the election it has been downgraded six times. The most common reason for the downgrades was valuation. Meanwhile, the stock has rallied 8 percent since the latest downgrade from KBW two weeks ago.

Regions Financial was slammed with three downgrades after the election, courtesy of Piper Jaffray, Jefferies and Susquehanna. Jeffries cited another valuation based downgrade, yet the stock has rallied another 11 percent since that downgrade.

"Again, these valuation calls are making the analysts look like dopes," Cramer said.

So, yes, regional banks have run up dramatically since the election and yes, the stocks likely have a pending rate hike baked into their valuations. Some are even better than others.

But when Cramer sees a group like this rallying even after it is downgraded, he knows the move is for real.

"I think the regional banks can keep roaring simply because there are way too many hedge fund managers who still don't have enough financial exposure now that this once hated group has suddenly become beloved. These are classic Trump stocks, and they have more room to run," Cramer said.
It's that time again! Jim Cramer rang the lightning round bell, which means he gave his take on caller favorite stocks at rapid speed:



Gilead Sciences : "Bruce Kamich who does the technical work at RealMoney.com said it looks like that stock's finally washed out. I've been waiting for that, I think it is being washed out. I would not sell the stock, I am more inclined to buy it."

PolyOne Corporation : "I like the chemicals here, but I am partial to Dow Chemical because I like the yield and I like the balance sheet."

Banc of California : "I got so many banks that I think are inexpensive, I'm not going to go there, sorry."

McDermott International : "The symbol says it's MDR, and it had murdered people for a long time but no longer. This is an infrastructure play, infrastructure is back and it's better than ever. Sorry, I'm concerned and I want to play it with General Electric."

Cyberark Software : "A very profitable company, it's in cybersecurity."

Potash Corp of Saskatchewan : "I think that Potash has had a big run. Now, if we want to play ag you know what we do, we play Agco because of Martin Richenhagen [CEO]. Cheap stock and he's in there buying it back."

Wynn Resorts : "Wynn, the problem here is that we've got a Chinese cross-current, which is why even though we like Steve Wynn [CEO] and think he's great, we've been recommending MGM. That's Jim Murren's [CEO] stock, he was on last week. I reference that because I thought he acquitted himself quite well on the National Harbor's new casino, excellent."

Transocean Ltd : "Transocean does offshore drilling, not onshore like Helmerich & Payne or Noble. Therefore, that is concerning me. Oil at $55 does not get new projects done, so I think that RIG, don't buy."

Smith & Wesson : "I've got to tell you, I think this stock is too cheap down at $21. A lot of people feel that there won't be new gun legislation and gun legislation really drives things. I think Smith & Wesson is a fine company. No one ever got hurt owning these vice stocks, strange as that is. Smith & Wesson is a win, I want to buy it here."

Ford Motor Company : "I think Ford's good, but I have to admit that GM's got more momentum. Why? They also have China, I think GM is doing a little bit better job than Ford. Ford is indeed in the crosshairs of President-elect Trump."
Apple shares are underperforming the market in 2016 up 7.6 percent, compared to a 10.4 percent gain for the S&P 500.

Analyst Jim Suva gave the following list in a note to clients Tuesday:

Apple shares can rally in 2017 for five reasons, according to Citi Research, which reiterated its buy rating on the company.

Suva reiterated his Apple price target of $130, representing 15 percent upside from Monday's close.

He cited how Trump's proposal to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent would add 6 percent to Apple's earnings-per-share. Suva said if the company used 25 percent of any repatriation tax holiday proceeds for a stock buyback, it could benefit earnings-per-share by an additional 10 percent.

"Across our coverage universe, we see Apple as a significant beneficiary of Trump tax reforms. Apple is very well positioned to benefit from potential tax reform of either or both a repatriation tax holiday and or a lower corporate tax rate," stated the note.



The analyst predicts iPhone shipments will rise 7 percent in the company's fiscal year 2018.

"We believe iPhone installed base upgrades will take a step up with the launch of iPhone 8," Suva wrote.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be among a group of technology executives that will meeting with President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday.


At the close of 2016, controversies about fake news won't quit.

On the heels of Kellogg and other big brands pulling their ads from Breitbart, brands are questioning whether they want to be associated with controversial or extreme political content.

Sources tell CNBC that across the advertising industry agencies are meeting with clients and their ad tech partners, and brands are looking for more control over where their ads are placed.

One company, Kargo, is positioning itself as a solution. The mobile ad company puts brands' ads on 300 premium mobile news sites and apps from 70 media companies, ranging from The New York Times and NBCUniversal's properties, to Hearst and Vice.

The company promises its clients that their ads will be seen, but perhaps just as importantly, Kargo is ranked in the top 1 percent for brand safety, as measured by Integral Ad Science.



"The reason that people advertise in Times Square and the Super Bowl is because those contextually right places really lift the brand," said Kargo CEO Harry Kargman of the company's focus on premium. "I think when you look at digital advertising, especially on mobile, finding great editorial places to run is super important."



Kargman, who said the company turns down 9 out of 10 publishers who approach it, said he's seen an uptick in brands that want to double down on advertising around premium content, and he expects revenue to increase by about 50 percent in the first quarter.

"What we're seeing is a flight to quality, people asking tougher questions like 'Who are your publishers?' 'What is the quality?' 'What is the experience on the screen?'" said Kargman. "With those tougher questions there's going to be an influx of advertising to us."



MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan sees premium digital content companies like The New York Times benefiting from a rise in advertising. The publication has also seen a boost in subscribers in the wake of the election. He also says all of the swirling questions about fake news and questionable content could send advertisers back to traditional TV networks  NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS  both their traditional TV and their digital properties.
As Apple rolled out its iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1 updates on Monday, users received the new TV app that combines different streaming services, but Netflix was not included. The TV app was announced in October and allows users to search the app for a show and be presented with results from a number of different services with the aim of stopping people from having to open and browse loads of different apps. Siri is integrated allowing you to ask the voice assistant for specific shows or recommendations.



Apple

Last year, Apple was reportedly preparing its own TV streaming service, but this has not materialized and it appears the U.S. technology giant has shifted its strategy to try and become a one-stop shop for people to consume other services' content. HBO, CBS and NBC are all part of Apple's TV app, but Netflix, the largest streaming service around, is absent. The company has not responded to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC. But earlier this year, Ted Sarandos, Netflix's head of content, did not rule out future integrations. "We're keeping an eye on it. We are great partners with Apple on all their other initiatives and we're just trying to see how that's (TV app) going to roll out," Sarandos told CNBC in an interview.



Apple streaming service ahead?

While Apple has not launched its own streaming service yet, analysts suggest that unifying different platforms under a single app, could pave the way for one. Netflix is able to know what users are watching, when they are watching it and on what device. This is a "prized asset", according to Paolo Pescatore, director of multiplay and media at CCS Insight, who said this is why Netflix hasn't integrated with Apple's TV app. But the iPhone maker's attempt to pull in a number of services could be its way to build a picture of consumer behavior, particularly in terms of the shows they are watching, which could give the company the data needed to know what content to invest in. "This is an indication perhaps Apple want to know more about consumers because it gives them a degree of confidence to invest in original content knowing that consumers will be interested in that content which is what has been behind the success of Netflix to date," Pescatore told CNBC by phone. TV is seen as a way for Apple to continue growing its services which has become increasingly important amid slowing iPhone sales. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said on the company's latest earnings call that television and original content is a "great opportunity". But the U.S. technology giant has moved cautiously into original content. Earlier this year, Apple bought the rights for "Carpool Karaoke" featuring James Corden, as well as commissioning a show called "Planet of the Apps". Pescatore said with increasing competition in the streaming space, it is getting harder to differentiate and so Apple needs to invest heavily in content. One area could be in sports, not necessarily for live TV rights, but in web distribution.



Hollywood nervous
President-elect Donald Trump has caused a rift between Germany and the United States by picking Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson for secretary of State, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday.

"Tillerson to me represents a realpolitik choice," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street."

Tillerson was formally announced as Trump's intended choice for top diplomat on Tuesday. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn't say anything, Cramer said, "This is a wedge between Germany and the United States and I think people don't realize that."



The Exxon Mobil CEO has maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded the Order of Friendship by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Exxon Mobil has various projects in Russia that are allowed under American sanctions, which are intended to put economic pressure on Russia over its involvement in Ukraine.

Others, however, have been halted amid the sanctions.

If Tillerson is approved as secretary of State, sanctions on Russia may be slowly repealed, Cramer said. Merkel has said she is in favor of extending sanctions against Russia.
John Lund | Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks and his campaign rhetoric have industry experts worried that his administration will increase surveillance on Americans and gut the regulatory bodies that oversee cybersecurity. "The president-elect, his advisors and future Cabinet members appear to see more enemies lurking in the homeland than in Russia or other cyber superpowers," said David Cowan, an investor in cybersecurity start-ups with Bessemer Venture Partners. "I fear that for the first time, the federal government really does pose a 'Big Brother' threat in cyberspace."

In addition to privacy concerns, the U.S. faces enormous threats to critical infrastructure from nation states, criminals and activists, and experts say it's unclear whether Trump will get the right advice on how to protect the country, or whether agencies will be adequately funded to do their jobs.





Senator Jeff Sessions, attorney general pick for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Trump has yet to announce his choice for National Security Agency director, a key role for both both privacy and cybersecurity. Obama's top defense and intelligence officials have proposed a plan to split the NSA from the U.S. Cyber Command which would raise privacy concerns and increase the potential for a cyberwar arms race by moving more resources under the government's digital spying arm, said Calabrese. Trump's pick for national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn  who has supported Trump's temporary Muslim ban  may play a large role in cybersecurity and has called for an increase in offensive cyberoperations. "No one knows how that ends, especially when the president-elect and his national security adviser are strongly hawkish on expanding offensive hacking as a weapon of war," said Calabrese.

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The president-elect has nevertheless recognized the country is vulnerable, and has vowed to make cybersecurity a priority. "The good news is that cybersecurity is getting more attention each year," said Michael Nelson, head of public policy at cybersecurity company Cloudflare. There's no single agency or person dedicated specifically to cybersecurity, but a commission recommended Friday that a position be created just for the task. It's unclear whether such a post will be created, or where in the defense or intelligence bureaucracy it would exist, but Trump has talked about giving the Defense Department a larger role. Some experts believe the Trump administration understands the magnitude of the threat. "I think there will be a tremendous amount of capital spent on making the cyberecosystem in which we live considerably more secure," said David Golden, managing partner at Revolution Ventures. Other industry insiders take a very different view. Trump does not properly understand the multitude of evolving threats, and his plans to defund the very agencies tasked with protecting America's critical infrastructure will make the country less secure, said Cowan. "Not only won't we make progress under his administration, but we actually are going to remove the safeguards that we have been putting in place over the last decade," he said.



Without proper oversight, U.S. organizations running critical infrastructure won't make needed investments to keep out hackers, and companies are more likely to misuse people's data, he said. One likely consequence of this will be a flight to European companies, where data protection is stricter. "If I can store all my files in a German version of Dropbox instead of an American version, I personally would prefer to do that," Cowan said.




Edward Snowden is known as a dissident and cybersecurity activist, but on Tuesday he revealed a more surprising technology stance he's passionate about: All the flaws in Twitter's user experience.

Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey spoke with Snowden in a live question and answer session, mostly focused on the philosophical and legal arguments around government surveillance.

But the mood shifted when Dorsey asked, "What would you like to see us do, what would you like to see us improve, to serve you and to serve the world better?" Snowden didn't hold back in his response to the CEO:

"Twitter has tried to expand what you can fit into tweets, which I think is an important effort, particularly when you talk about content. The fact that when you add a picture to a tweet, you lose 22 characters? That's painful. Honestly, that's terrible."

"If you could recapture that when you add a link and things like that - you don't lose those character counts  that would be useful. And you guys have done a lot of work to try to fix that. But the problem is now, in many different clients  when people use mobile, when people use a browser this way or that way  suddenly the clicking-through actions don't work anymore. It takes you out of the Twitter client, it takes you into the web browser. It breaks the user experience. And that for me is a challenge.

"It might not seem very interesting. It might seem like one of those small things like, 'Oh, it only affects some tweets, that are really big and have a lot of characters in them.' But I think that kind of unified, integrated experience really has an impact. People don't like seeing the window change....It should be in line, in stream."

Snowden, no stranger to conflict, didn't stop there. While Snowden said he understood the "risks" and "controversy" around allowing users to edit tweets, he asked Dorsey: "But surely there's got to be ways around this?"

"Surely there's got to be a way that you can tag it as edited? If you click on the edit tab you can see the previous versions of the tweets, and something like that. There's got to be some ways to fix it out there. Just to correct things out there where people put a tweet out, it gets shared, and then they realize, 'Oh it had a typo in it.'"

The full video is on Periscope, where the exchange about Twitter's features starts around 27:30:

Tweet: If you missed @Snowden's live Q&A with @jack, don't fret! You can watch it here:

To be sure, Snowden said he doesn't use Twitter in the conventional sense  memorizing people's handles, rather than following them, to avoid connecting any Twitter users with the heavy surveillance he experiences in exile.

A former NSA contractor, Snowden came to fame after he gave journalists classified documents revealing a government surveillance program. The leak split the technology and intelligence communities: Supporters like former attorney general Eric Holder gave Snowden have said he did a public service, while critics, like venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, have called him a traitor.



The debates over privacy, cybersecurity and national security have continued in the years after Snowden's revelations, as companies like Apple have pushed back against terror investigations. Snowden, meanwhile, has continued activism from Russia, where he was formally granted three years' residency after being granted asylum from U.S. extradition.

Twitter has managed to win praise from the intelligence community, cracking down on thousands of accounts used by ISIS. But critics have argued it hasn't done enough to clamp down on harassment, amid calls that Twitter and Facebook referee more posts that are factually incorrect.

Snowden had a different stance.

"In the United States we have a constitutional amendment that prohibits the government from regulating speech, right? Free speech. The First Amendment," Snowden said. "So [people say], 'Well, we still want something to happen. Let's make the companies do this.' And they always start with the most offensive types of ideas ... things like terrorism.....We're going to get all these companies, Google, Facebook, whoever, to come together to make a database of what we think is terrorist content."



That sounds reasonable, Snowden said, because no one wants to see ISIS recruiting on the internet. But at the same time, there is no common definition of terrorism that could be applied both the the U.S. and regimes like Turkey, Snowden said.

"The problem of fake news isn't solved by hoping for a referee," Snowden said. "But rather because we as participants  we as citizens, we as users of these services  help each other. We talk, and we share, and we point out what is fake, we point out what is true. The answer to bad speech is not censorship. The answer to bad speech is more speech. We have to spread the idea that critical thinking matters now more than ever."

Twitter, of course, has seen its shares fall more than 22 percent over the past year, amid a rollercoaster of rumors that it might be swallowed by a larger company. Snowden said even without the full interface, he gets a surprising amount of value from Twitter.

"But I wouldn't say I'm an expert on Twitter," Snowden told Dorsey, who helped create the company. "You've probably got better ideas than I do."
Then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson attend a meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia April 16, 2012. Alexei Nikolskyi | Reuters

Exxon Mobil stands to regain access to huge reserves of oil if the United States rolls back sanctions on Russia. U.S. sanctions on Russia have prevented Exxon Mobil from exploring assets covering 63.6 million acres. The prospect of rapprochement between the U.S. and Russia remains speculative, but both President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have said they want to improve relations. The two countries' relationship fell apart after Russia took Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then intervened in civil wars in Ukraine and Syria. Trump over the weekend dismissed the assessment, reached unanimously by 17 U.S. intelligence services, that the Russian government directed cyberattacks on the United States in a bid to "interfere with the U.S. election process." He then waved off a subsequent report citing CIA sources that alleges that intervention was meant to boost his chances of beating Hillary Clinton in November. On Tuesday, Trump announced he would nominate Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of State. Tillerson has experience negotiating deals in Russia, and he got to know Putin while chief executive of the world's biggest integrated oil and gas company. Tillerson has the backing of former Republican Secretaries of State James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, but GOP lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including John McCain and Marco Rubio, have expressed concerns about Tillerson's relationship with Putin.



Maximum loss from halted ventures: $1 billion

Tillerson has criticized U.S. sanctions on Russia and was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Putin in 2013. To be sure, as Exxon's chief executive, Tillerson's priority has been to his shareholders, and he has sought to protect the company's substantial interests in Russia. Exxon's operations in Russia represent only a fraction of its global oil and gas production, but a joint venture with Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft to explore and produce fossil fuels in Arctic waters represents a big part of Exxon's potential future production growth. Those endeavors have been on ice since 2014, when the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for its incursions into Ukraine. Exxon said in a filing after the sanctions were put in place that its "maximum before-tax exposure to loss from these joint ventures" totaled $1 billion through the end of 2015. Exxon did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.



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Exxon and Rosneft entered the joint venture in 2012 to develop offshore reserves in the Arctic Kara Sea and the Black Sea, as well as onshore assets in Siberia. The following year, they advanced their strategic alliance by adding seven more blocks in the Chukchi, Laptev and Kara seas. Exxon's holdings in Russia's Arctic waters and the Black Sea, which are not producing for the energy giant due to the sanctions, totaled 63.6 million acres. By comparison, Exxon holds 85,000 net acres across its main Russian venture, an offshore project called Sakhalin, which was in place before the sanctions.

Exxon holds a 33 percent stake in Arctic Kara Sea and Black Sea joint ventures, and a 30 percent stake in the Sakhalin project. Rosneft estimates there are 87 billion barrels of oil lying in the three blocks of the Kara Sea covered by its joint venture with Exxon Mobil. The first exploration well in the Kara Sea in the icy Arctic waters above Russia yielded a discovery of 730 million barrels of oil, S&P Global Platts reported.

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An employee welds the shell frame of a train car at the Siemens Industry manufacturing facility in Sacramento, California.

German engineers expect muted growth in 2017, with an uncertain outlook for business in the United States and China offsetting a recovery in exports to some markets such as Russia and India, industry body VDMA said on Tuesday.

"A broad-based economic recovery would look different, and no real impulses for growth are in sight," VDMA President Carl Martin Welcker said, affirming a forecast for 1 percent sector output growth in 2017 after a flat 2016.

Welcker warned it was unclear what path the United States, German engineers' biggest export market, would take after Donald Trump replaces Barack Obama as president in January.

"The designated President's comments don't make us optimistic," he said.
The original hyperloop concept, in which a magnetically levitated pod is propelled through a near-vacuum tube at speeds of up to 1,200kph, was proposed in 2013 by Elon Musk, the American engineer and entrepreneur.

The company is a rival to Hyperloop One, another US company which is conducting a feasibility study with the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai into a hyperloop link between the city and Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport signed an agreement on Monday with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to explore locations for stations and tracks within the next few months.

An American hyperloop company aims to cut the journey time between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to as little as eight minutes.

The technology has since been adopted by several rival companies, and Hyperloop One conducted a successful test over a short distance in the Nevada desert in May.

Nevertheless, many experts, including Dr John Hansman, professor of aeronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Richard Muller, professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, believe hyperloop technology faces challenges of engineering, cost and safety that may be insurmountable.

Akin Adamson, the Middle East regional director at British consultancy Transport Research Laboratory, said the high cost of developing the hyperloop and the potentially high price of tickets to recoup the expenses could limit the system's impact.

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"You would have to take a close look at the economic model to see if it makes sense as a real alternative," he said.

However, Mr Adamson said that if the concept could be made to work, it would improve safety. There are frequent serious accidents on the 170km road between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, the latest being a 25-car pile-up last month.

"The more you can take the responsibility of safety away from individuals and give it to a small number of highly trained individuals or, better still, robustly tested technology, then it is inevitable you will have safety gains."

Mr Adamson said adopting more advanced technology such as hyperloop, while skipping conventional systems such as railways, was not unprecedented.

"There are a lot of examples of established technologies which cease to become relevant and are leap-frogged by newer technologies. Some people will never own a fixed-line telephone or a desktop personal computer."

Khalid Hashim, acting executive director of land transport sector at Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, said the technology would further connect the cities while stimulating their economic, social and tourist sectors.

In addition to direct benefits such as speed, he said, there would be "less reliance on private vehicles and traditional public transport modes, which means creating sustainable transport that can lessen the negative impact of transport-related emissions".

HyperloopTT chairman and cofounder Bibop Gresta said the project would provide a safe, rapid and effective transport alternative.

"It will result in providing a sustainable solution  reducing the carbon footprint while enriching the lives of people in various communities here in Abu Dhabi," he said.
It's traditional for incoming presidents from opposing political parties to try to undo what their predecessors did in office. President-elect Donald Trump will be no exception. Target No. 1 is President Obama's Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), followed perhaps by recently, and not-so-recently, negotiated free trade agreements. Trump has also said he will scrap many of the regulations stemming from the Dodd-Frank Act passed after the financial crisis.

Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Delaware, Ohio, on Oct. 20, 2016 Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

The investment brokerage industry, however, is hoping he'll also quickly take up the fight against the much-maligned fiduciary rule passed by the Department of Labor earlier this year. The rule  six years in the making  will impose a fiduciary duty on all advisors to retirement accounts, requiring them to act in the best interests of their clients. It's scheduled to take effect on April 10.

"To this point, litigation has been the only hope to stop the DOL rule, but now there are additional avenues to [achieve that]," said David Bellaire, executive vice president and general counsel for the Financial Services Institute. His organization is part of a coalition of business groups that filed suit in a Texas court to stop the DOL rule.

"I'm more optimistic now than I was before the election," he said. "The first step is to repeal the existing rule."

Bellaire said his organization supports a universal fiduciary duty for all investment advisors and for all accounts but wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to draft the rules. "The DOL is not the right entity to do this, and this is not the right rule," he said. It is the law, however, and Trump's unexpected triumph notwithstanding, it goes into effect in a few months. While many firms and financial advisors hope that a new Secretary of Labor will delay or rewrite the rule, that the Justice Department won't defend it against litigation or that a Republican Congress will pass legislation to kill it, none of that will happen overnight. They can't afford to abandon compliance efforts already well under way.

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"There's no stopping this train," said Denise Valentine, senior analyst at Aite Group. "It's a law until someone says it's not."

The suddenly uncertain regulatory landscape poses difficult choices for firms that have undertaken changes to comply with the rule. Many would prefer not to change their business models, but they have also invested large sums to do that and in some cases adopted marketing strategies that emphasize their new and improved fiduciary posture. "If there is no obligation to change, it's hard for firms to justify making costly changes," said Blaine Aikin, executive chairman of consultant fi360 and an expert on fiduciary issues. On the other hand, if they rely on the rule being repealed, they could be sorely disappointed. "It's a risky course of action to do nothing," he added. "There could be repercussions in the marketplace and with regulators."

Wayne Bloom, CEO of Commonwealth Financial Network, an independent broker-dealer and registered investment advisor with 1,650 advisors managing about $100 billion in assets, is taking no chances. Prior to the election, his firm announced it would scrap commission-based retirement accounts and lower the asset minimums for fee-based accounts, thereby avoiding the headaches involved in qualifying for exemptions from the DOL's best-interests contract.

He doesn't plan to reverse that decision. "You have to be going full bore in complying with the DOL rule," said Bloom. "We can't rely on Mr. Trump's administration to save the day." LPL Financial, the largest independent broker-dealer in the country, undertook a similar overhaul of its retirement business in response to the rule and recently indicated it would not reverse course. Other firms, including Morgan Stanley, Raymond James, Ameriprise and Cetera, chose to retain commission-based retirement accounts and have been busy building systems and processes to demonstrate that those accounts are managed in clients' best interests. Either way, the strategies adopted by firms will be hard to walk away from. "A lot of major firms have spent millions to comply with the rule and have incorporated their strategies into their marketing messages," said Karen Nystrom, director of advocacy for the Financial Planning Association, a major supporter of the DOL's fiduciary rule. "They may want to take the high ground on this."
"Touchdown confirmed. We're sitting on Mars."

The date was August 5, 2012. After a seven-month journey, the $2.5 billion Curiosity rover finally settled on the surface of the red planet. The crew back on Earth had managed not to flip it, crash it or break it. The excitement inside the control room was unparalleled.

The celebration happened at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, California, just 15 miles from Jay Leno's garage. On a recent episode of CNBC's "Jay Leno's Garage," Leno ventures up the road to see the facility in person and meet the men and women who safely built, launched and landed Curiosity.

JPL operations manager Jim McClure fondly remembers the day of the Curiosity landing. He tells Leno, "I've been here for over 28 years, and that was probably the most emotional evening of my life."

McClure explains that over 50 million Americans were watching on their web servers that night: "That's a lot of pressure for us geeks and nerds."
West 2024?

Kanye West explained the purpose of his visit to Trump Tower on Tuesday via a series of tweets hours after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump in Manhattan.

The celebrity  who has publicly said he did not vote in November's presidential election, but would have voted for Trump  said he wanted to meet with the president-elect to discuss "multicultural issues," including "bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums and violence in Chicago." West's visit with Trump was one of his first public appearances since his hospitalization, following strange onstage behavior and the abrupt cancellation of his tour.

After the meeting, Trump and West walked down together and posed for pictures. West did not answer any questions, simply saying, "I just want to take a picture right now." Trump said the two were friends.

"He's a good man," Trump said. "We've been friends for a long time."



Kanye Tweet 1

Kanye Tweet 2

Kanye Tweet 3

During his Nov. 17 concert in San Jose, California, West announced he would have voted for Trump if he had voted at all, drawing loud boos from the crowd and sparking mixed reactions from his fans on social media. He went on to bring up different social issues in the U.S., and at one point urged his audience to "stop focusing on racism."

Before Trump clinched the presidency last month, West had previously said he would run for president in 2020. The day after the election, a parody Twitter account posted this depiction of the rapper sitting in the Oval Office.

Parody tweet

He concluded his series of tweets on Tuesday with a lone hashtag, teasing what could be his plans to run for president in 2024. The post suggests he would not run against Trump if he decides to pursue re-election, instead, he may opt to run in eight years, perhaps as the country nears the conclusion of what could possibly be Trump's second term as president.

Kanye Tweet 4

West did not immediately return CNBC's request for comment.
Main Street is borderline euphoric about the election of Donald Trump, with small business owners registering levels optimism not seen in nearly a year. The confidence boost comes from expectations of sales gains and improvement in small business owners' outlook for business conditions, according to a report released Tuesday by the conservative lobbying group the National Federation of Independent Business. The NFIB's optimism index measured confidence pre-and post-election for the first time ever, and it showed a significant jump after the polls closed. The NFIB's historical average is 98, out of a possible 110, and confidence had been fairly stagnant for the past year, coming in at 94.9 in October. Before the election optimism had risen only half a point, to 95.4. Then, post-election responses led the index to climb to 102.4. Averaged for the month, November's optimism reading came in at 98.4, the second-highest rating since 2011 and among the largest month-over-month increases in that same time period.

President-elect Donald Trump arrives onstage to speak at the DeltaPlex Arena, December 9, 2016 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Drew Angerer | Getty Images

"The people responding in the second half of the month obviously had their uncertainty reduced quite a bit," says NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. "Now, there is still a big uncertainty remaining in that the management team has changed. We know a bit about their philosophy, but what will they do?" NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan attributes business owners' good mood to the fact that Republicans kept control of both the House and Senate, and to the expectation that tax reform and deregulation are on the way. "We think this is directly related to policy  small business owners are expecting the House and Senate to accomplish massive tax reform, deregulation, and to do something about Obamacare," Duggan says. "Those are the top three issues in every survey we take, so this is policy-driven, in our opinion."
A Ph.D. student at the University of Washington looks at a meltwater stream on the Glacial Ice Sheet, Greenland.

Arctic temperatures continue to rise twice as fast as the global average, and the effects are all over the region, according to a new report revealed Tuesday.

The Arctic region has become a kind of bellwether for global climate change, as the warming trend in the region appears to be so much more extreme than it is elsewhere on the planet, and its effects more apparent.

Also, scientists have begun to think that the warming of the Arctic is actually exacerbating climate change overall. For example, thawing permafrost along the tundra has led to the rotting of formerly frozen organic matter, which is contributes methane, a greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere.

Average annual land temperatures in the Arctic reached a record, at just over than 6 degrees above what they were in 1900. Snow cover levels in May fell below 1.5 million square miles, the lowest point since researchers began using satellites measure snow in 1967.

The Greenland ice sheet continued to shrink overall, and began its annual summertime melting period early enough to approach a record set in 2012 (observations began in 1979).

Minimum sea ice levels in October and November were also at a record low, and the amount of ice that persists through all seasons of the year and build up over time (so-called multi-year ice) is less than half of what it is since 1985.

Sea ice has been another source of concern, as it forms a kind of mirrored hat over the ocean, holding any ocean heat in, and reflecting sunlight away from the surface. The decline of the ice allows the ocean to absorb more sunlight, which can increase the overall temperature.

Sea ice melt cleared the way for a series of algae blooms in the region, which can have widespread effects on food webs.

"Rarely have we seen the Arctic show a clearer, stronger or more pronounced signal of persistent warming and its cascading effects on the environment than this year," said Jeremy Mathis, director of NOAA's Arctic Research Program, in a news release. "While the science is becoming clearer, we need to improve and extend sustained observations of the Arctic that can inform sound decisions on environmental health and food security as well as emerging opportunities for commerce."

The report, called the Arctic Report Card, was revealed Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Society, and was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sixty one scientists from 11 countries contributed to the report.
Italy's new prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, said on Tuesday that his government would be ready to take action to support the country's troubled banking sector.

"I want to say very clearly that the government ... is ready to intervene in order to guarantee the stability of banks and the savings of our citizens," he told the Chamber of Deputies in his first address as prime minister.



Monte dei Paschi di Siena , Italy's third-biggest lender, is pressing ahead with a last-ditch attempt to raise 5 billion euros of fresh cash it needs from the market to stay afloat.

However a Treasury source said on Monday the state was ready to pump capital into the bank, one of several Italian lenders suffering from bad loans.

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An increasing number of European officials hope that Turkey will extricate itself from the EU accession process without having to be pushed. President Erdogan has said that he is considering whether to hold a referendum in 2017 on whether Turkey should drop its EU accession bid. If the vote passes, Erdogan will be able to define the move as an autonomous Turkish decision to reject the EU rather than a gut-wrenching European snub.

This could make it easier to normalize relations. It could pave the way for the development of a more selective and honest strategic partnership between Europe and Turkey hinged on the migration crisis, the fight against terrorism, energy and an upgraded customs union which has long underpinned the bulk of Turkish trade.

A new partnership with Turkey could also benefit Europe's political elite. Mainstream politicians in the Netherlands, Germany and France are being sniped at by the far right in the run-up to elections next year. The less ammunition Europe's populist figures have, the better.

Forging a new strategic partnership will not be easy, however. Turkish politicians have engaged in months of vitriolic rhetoric against their European counterparts and censure from Europe has reduced to a bare minimum the appetite on both sides to build bridges. Convincing Ankara that Turkish nationals will not be granted visa-free access to Europe as part of the migrant deal will also be an incredibly tough task.

But if Turkey and the EU are able to navigate through this minefield and come to a mutually acceptable agreement, the benefits would be immense.

Anthony Skinner is a director at political risk advisory company Verisk Maplecroft
The incoming administration's restructuring of the tax code will redesign international trade policies and create a level playing field by pushing U.S. businesses to conduct operations stateside, Rep. Kevin Brady told CNBC on Tuesday.

"[We are] making sure we eliminate every tax incentive to move jobs or resources or headquarters overseas," Brady, the head of the House Ways and Means Committee, told "Squawk Box."

Brady and other House Republican leaders proposed a blueprint for a corporate tax overhaul in June that Brady said was roughly 80 percent in line with President-elect Donald Trump's tax plan.

"Under our blueprint and under Mr. Trump's plan, as they're melded, if you want to access the U.S. market, if you want to access the world market, [the] U.S. is going to be the place to do that from," the Texas Republican said.

Brady said the plan would make the United States a "magnet for new investment" and encourage businesses to move their supply chains closer to, if not into, the country. The goal is to get capital flowing back into the U.S. by structuring taxes more favorably, he said.

"We don't lower the tax gate to bring those earnings back, we obliterate the tax gate going forward," he said.



And the way to bring earnings back to the United States is by taxing goods differently, according to Brady.

"We're proposing to move from an income tax based on where things are produced or where profits are booked to a cash flow tax based on where it's consumed," he said. "It's dramatically more pro-growth, and we couple that with a simpler, fairer tax code for families."



The plan, which proposes a corporate tax rate of 20 percent, has still worried some businesses.

Manufacturing companies that import materials used in their products will likely suffer from the tax code redesign, and even large exporters like Koch Industries have expressed concern that the economy might suffer from higher consumer prices and less free trade.

One of the plan's provisions, a wage deduction that offsets higher import costs and makes it cheaper to employ workers, may also face resistance from the World Trade Organization, which does not allow countries to deduct wages from taxation as the move could be seen as giving U.S. companies unfair subsidies and creating trade barriers.

Still, Brady was confident that, with Trump's support, the new administration would be able to make bold strokes.

"I haven't met a Republican yet in Congress who isn't all in on fixing this broken tax code, and not just tweaking a few things, going bold," Brady said.
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Technology investment firm Charles River Ventures took a bold step during the presidential election, welcoming visitors to its website with an unmistakable message. "[EXPLETIVE] TRUMP." Known for early bets on Twitter , Yammer and HubSpot , CRV said in an accompanying blog post that as a firm of nine partners from seven countries speaking eight languages, it rejected Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric as "diametrically opposed to the core values of entrepreneurship."

CRV added that it would cover the costs for U.S. visas for any portfolio company founders, and the firm created a fellowship program to provide money and office space for immigrant entrepreneurs.

That was August. Less than three months later, Trump became president-elect. In the five weeks since the election, CRV and most of Silicon Valley have been asking the question: What now? "There are still a lot of people who are really upset," said Saar Gur, a partner at CRV in Menlo Park, California. "We haven't as a group come up with any particular action plan. We're having lots of conversation mostly at the individual level."

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Across the tech universe, executives, entrepreneurs and investors are figuring out what happens next after a contentious, often hostile, campaign during which employees from internet companies contributed 100 times more money to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton than to Trump.

Some techies are raising cash for causes deemed at-risk in a Trump administration. Others are promising to loudly resist. And there's plenty of soul-searching taking place, whether as individuals or teams, to adjust to a new and unexpected reality. "Emotions at all of our companies were raw and elevated, regardless of political preferences," said Ryan Caldbeck, CEO of crowdfunding start-up CircleUp in San Francisco. Caldbeck said that immediately after the election, he sent a pick-me-up e-mail to his employees and was part of a group of CEOs that shared internal memos with each other. "Many of us were struggling to find the right approach to find empathy and consolation without isolating anyone who supported the outcome," he said. Top leaders from Apple , Alphabet, Amazon.com , Facebook , Microsoft , Cisco , Oracle and Intel are heading to New York on Wednesday for a meeting with the president-elect in Trump Tower. Those companies are all likely to benefit from a Trump presidency, due to the promise of lower taxes, less regulation and a repatriation holiday for the hundreds of billions of dollars stashed overseas. The official agenda for the Wednesday meeting will be U.S. job creation, a Trump source told CNBC. Resist this. Not normal or acceptable. Yet, they're also all big employers of immigrants and heavily reliant on international trade, two issues of major concern given Trump's America-first campaign narrative. LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman is selling humorous playing cards called Trumped Up Cards for $20.16, and donating $10 of every sale to the American Civil Liberties Union. The website describes Trumped Up Cards as "a fast-paced, satirical game where reality collides with absurdity." Hoffman, an outspoken Trump critic, said in September that he would donate up to $5 million to veterans if Trump released his tax returns before the final debate. That, of course, never happened.

Following Trump's victory and his pick of climate change denier Scott Pruitt to run the Environmental Protection Agency, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is leading a charge to actually protect the environment.



Bill Gates Ben Nelms | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Gates, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma from China are launching a $1 billion fund called Breakthrough Energy Ventures to finance "next generation energy technologies."

Trump has an opportunity to establish "American leadership through innovation," Gates told CNBC on Tuesday.

Chinmay Kulkarni, an assistant professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, is acting at a slightly smaller scale, for now at least.

On Nov. 10, the day after Clinton conceded the election, Kulkarni took his academic research into the political realm. As a doctoral student at Stanford University, Kulkarni had helped create a product called Talkabout, a platform that uses Google Hangouts to host group chats on a variety of targeted subjects. He utilizes the tool in his research on networked communities, analyzing how people learn in online groups.



Everybody has equal status where differences of opinion are welcomed, not challenged. Chinmay Kulkarni assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University

Kulkarni, who grew up in India, recognized immediately after the election that Talkabout could be perfectly suited for fostering conversations between people with drastically different views, who would otherwise never interact.

The first political discussions, each involving six people, took place over Thanksgiving weekend. Kulkarni said about 50 people have used the service to talk politics with strangers. "It is easy to say, `I'm going to talk to somebody else and try to understand them,' but without the right circumstances, you're quickly at each other's throat," Kulkarni said. "We're trying to use a lot of research on how to create productive discussions. Everybody has equal status where differences of opinion are welcomed, not challenged."

For some Silicon Valley veterans, the election result was so upsetting that it required meditation, introspection and unplugging. Venture capitalist Kate Mitchell traveled to Japan over Thanksgiving and prayed at a Shinto shrine in Kyoto.

"I prayed for me and us to get beyond our grieving and shock and to figure out how to engage and listen to what happened and come back together," said Mitchell, a partner at Scale Venture Partners in Foster City, California. Jodi Jahic, a partner at venture firm Aligned Partners in Menlo Park, said she went on hikes with her two young daughters in Marin County and in Arizona, "to get back to the idea that the world is bigger than any one campaign or person." It's been a little over a month and the tech industry is clearly back to business. But nobody really knows what's in store come January.

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Donald Trump's pick for Energy secretary, Rick Perry, sits on the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners , the company whose Dakota Access Pipeline has been fiercely opposed by Native American tribes and their allies.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer's top executive and other employees also contributed millions of dollars to support the former Texas governor's short-lived 2015 bid for the White House.

Perry joined the board of Energy Transfer Partners in February 2015 after serving as Texas governor for 14 years. Energy Transfer Partners said it selected him "because of his vast experience as an executive in the highest office of state government" and his familiarity with "finance and budget planning processes throughout his career."

Energy Transfer Partners Chairman and CEO Kelcy Warren donated $5 million to Opportunity and Freedom, a political action committee that backed Perry's candidacy, according to a Federal Election Commission filing. The PAC reimbursed Warren for $3.99 million of that amount in September 2015, shortly after Perry dropped out of the race, records show.

For the 2016 election, Energy Transfer Partners employees donated a total of $1,518,500 to Perry's campaign and outside groups supporting him, according to a list compiled by Open Secrets.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin (R) and Rex Tillerson (L), Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil during a signing ceremony for an arctic oil exploration deal between Exxon Mobil and Rosneft on August, 30, 2011 in Sochi, Russia.

Some Senate Republican hawks on Russia have expressed concerns about Donald Trump's secretary of State pick, setting up a potentially messy nomination process early in the president-elect's term.

Trump announced Tuesday morning that he plans to nominate Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his top diplomat. Trump's transition team praised Tillerson, who has no government experience, as an accomplished business leader and international dealmaker, saying he "will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests."

Some notable GOP senators, however, have questioned the choice, citing Tillerson's potential for conflicts of interest and ties to Russia. Their resistance sets up the potential for a more bruising confirmation process, even in a Senate that will include 52 Republicans.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said he had "serious concerns" about Tillerson despite his business record.

"The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of America's interests, and will be a forceful advocate for America's foreign policy goals to the president, within the administration, and on the world stage," Rubio said in a statement. "I look forward to learning more about his record and his views."

Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, two of the GOP's most outspoken senators on Russia, also have their doubts. McCain and Graham were among the first Republicans to support calls for a bipartisan investigation into Russia's influence on the presidential election amid reports about suspected political hacking from Moscow.

Still, other key Senate Republicans backed the Tillerson choice. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he looks forward to supporting the nomination. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, head of the foreign relations committee, called Tillerson "impressive."



Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who count Exxon Mobil as a consulting client, also endorsed the pick.

As head of Exxon, Tillerson worked closely with Russia on energy projects. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave him a state honor in 2013, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."

McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, told Reuters that he has "concerns" about the pick.

"It's very well-known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin," McCain said.

Graham told The Washington Post that he did not want "to prejudge the guy" but said the award he received from Putin is "a bit unnerving."

Tillerson's more than 2.5 million shares in Exxon Mobil could also benefit from the Trump administration lifting sanctions imposed after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Exxon had to abandon a project in the Arctic with Russia's Rosneft because of the penalties. Tillerson may be required to divest the stake to serve, though.

Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the senators' concerns about Tillerson. However, it did say in a statement announcing the pick that Tillerson's "relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none."

Tillerson would need a majority of votes in the Senate to get confirmed.
President-elect Donald Trump's decision to select Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson as his choice for secretary of State was "genius," said Tom Barrack, chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee and founder of real estate powerhouse Colony Capital.



One of the criticisms of Tillerson has been perceived close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, due to having negotiated business deals with Moscow on behalf of Exxon.

But on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday, Barrack described Tillerson's understanding of Putin as an asset.

"Why is Putin the enemy? You need Putin to solve the Middle East," Barrack argued. "No matter what anyone says, you're going to have to have a day with him. So having somebody who understands him is better."

Before settling on Tillerson, 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney was "logically considered" for the position of top U.S. diplomat, but "for a lot of reasons discarded," Barrack said, without elaborating further.



"[Trump] has a constituency. And that constituency got him in office. What he's doing [during the transition] is saying, 'I'm going to do what I said. And I'm going to find people who understand the system but not of the system," Barrack said.
JAMB CBT Registration Form 2017/2018 This is to announce to the entire members of the public and most especially those who it may concern that JAMB CBT Registration Form 2017/2018 is currently going on now. On this publication, all interested and Qualified Candidates are hereby advise to send in applications for admission into any Tertiary Institution in Nigeria through the Unified Matriculation Examination (UTME) for the 2017/2018 academic session.

Candidates who are seeking admission can now apply officially for admission into Federal & State Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education including Private Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.

JAMB UTME 2017/2018.

As it were, JAMB was established in the year 1978 with the purpose of offering provisional admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The prerequisites for this annual Computer Based Test (CBT) examination, which is graded over 400 marks, is your Secondary School Certificate Examination.

JAMB CBT Registration Form 2017/2018.

Jamb Admission Board has decided to make the JAMB form 2017/2018 available in other to start preparing prospective candidates for the 2017/18 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB CBT Registration Form Opening and Closing Date.

JAMB form is now available for any of this bank listed below

Skye Bank,

Zenith Bank,

Union Bank,

First Bank

It was announce by the jamb officials that jamb registration is going to commence on the 20th of December, 2016, and it is and ends up on the 9th of February, 2017.and meanwhile the website for registration closes on Friday, the 9th of February, 2017.

All should note that irrespective of their choice of course of study or method of testing, they will also be tested on a general book. The name of the general book is; The Last Days at Forcados High School. by A. H. Mohammed.

During the process of your Jamb 2017 registration, following listed below will be giving to you

A soft copy of the current JAMB Syllabus for the examination.

Admission procedure and requirements of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. And it also include the available programmes of study in the institutions.

2017/2018 JAMB Requirements

Interested candidates who wishes to register for 2017/2018 JAMB CBT examination should please take note that the general entry requirements, which is approved for admission into the following listed below;

First Degree,

National Diploma (ND),

National Innovation Diploma (NID),

Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes,

In Universities,

including other Degree-Awarding Institutions,

Monotechnics,

Polytechnics,

Innovation Enterprise Institutes,

Colleges of Education.

Please all candidate should note that, a matriculated student in any university is not eligible and qualified to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) except those who are transferring from foreign Universities
City receives feedback on Whitegate Park proposal

Community members had an opportunity to provide feedback on a proposal for a new neighborhood park on Whitegate Drive in Columbia.
Michigans Open Records Law Lags Behind 48 Other States

LANSING  Common Cause Michigan today slammed the State Senate for failing to act this term on a bipartisan package that would strengthen Michigans outdated open-records law.

A bipartisan group of legislators, led by Reps. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) and Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), worked together to come up with a proposal that makes the Governors office and the Legislature subject to Michigans open-records law, just like they are in 48 other states. However, the Senate has refused to take up package, sending things back to square one in 2017.

Secrecy only leads to more corruption and cronyism in state government. We saw that with the Flint water crisis, where citizens were denied basic information from their elected officials about why their water was poisoned. Its a travesty that the Senate will be leaving town without acting on bipartisan open-records reform. Michigans open-records law is hopelessly out of date, and we remain one of two states that shields the Governor and Legislature from the Freedom of Information Act. This issue isnt going away. The public has a right to demand more accountability and transparency from politicians in Lansing, said Dan Farough, spokesman on behalf of Common Cause Michigan.

Common Cause Michigan is an anti-corruption, government transparency watchdog group that has been a leader in the fight for transparency over the Flint water crisis. Common Cause Michigan is dedicated to strengthening anti-corruption, and transparency laws such as the Freedom of Information Act.
Microsoft dipped its toe in the ARM waters with Windows RT but it ultimately proved a failure, primarily because of the lack of applications. That doesn't mean the company is going to give up on the dominant mobile market processor, however.

At the WinHEC show in China last week, Microsoft announced it has finally created a native version of Windows 10 running on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors with full x86 compatibility. This isn't Windows RT, it's full Windows 10, but youll be able to run Win32 apps and Windows Universal Apps.

The initial version of ARM Windows 10 only supports 32-bit apps, but that's not a big deal since most mobile devices have 4GB of memory or less anyway. And it should be noted this is Windows 10 on Snapdragon, not Windows 10 on ARM. Sure, Qualcomm's processors are fairly ubiquitous but they aren't everywhere. You won't be running Windows 10 on an iPad any time soon.

This enables Microsoft to get down into the lower-cost mobile market. The Surface tablets and notebooks are nice but they aren't cheap. That's partly due to being essentially x86 PCs. An ARM-based tablet has an overall lower cost of materials and lower price, so it gets Windows into places Microsoft currently isn't playing with the Surface line.

"For the first time ever, our customers will be able to experience the Windows they know with all the apps, peripherals, and enterprise capabilities they require, on a truly mobile, power efficient, always-connected cellular PC," said Windows chief Terry Myerson in a blog post announcing the breakthrough, along with other WinHEC news.

"With Windows 10 on cellular PCs, we will help everyone make the most of the air around them. We look forward to seeing these new devices with integrated cellular connectivity and the great experiences people love like touch, pen and Windows Hello, in market as early as next year," he added.

PCWorld (a sister publication of Computerworld) reports that the emulation will be built around a new, unreleased chip the Snapdragon 835 that's in production now and is due to ship in the first half of 2017, according to Qualcomm. The first Windows-on-ARM devices are expected by the second half of next year.

This will be a major challenge for Qualcomm. Emulation is always tricky business. Remember Transmeta? The difference here is Intel has basically given up on the mobile market. It bailed out of the tablet and smartphone business last year, basically handing it to ARM. So at least they don't have to deal with Intel on the hardware side.

But Qualcomm still faces a considerable challenge of ARM-to-x86 emulation. We don't know anything on the performance specs of the 835, only that it's a 10nm part.
It looks like Apple isnt the only big tech firm changing its go to market strategy for self-driving cars, as Google also intends to abandon manufacturing plans in favor or creating an operating system auto makers can use.

Drive away vaporware

Weve all seen the pictures of Google top brass grinning from inside their early self-driving vehicle prototypes.

Now it looks like those cars will never hit the road. The Information (via Patently Apple) claims Google/Alphabet has decided to abandon plans to make its own vehicles in order to focus on developing the operating systems for autonomous vehicles. Wired says Google will be hosting a self-driving car press event in California today

Given the complexity of the vehicle market and the many challenges all parties will face (legal, ethical, technical and more) as they put these robotic vehicles on the street, Id feel more confident in Googles plans if it had ever figured out how to update Android phones. We dont want cars becoming incompatible with other road vehicles because of software faults that develop three years into the ownership cycle, do we?

Apple Car redux

Googles news follows recent whispers claiming Apple has also changed its plans for self-driving vehicles.

In October, reports claimed Apple had decided to focus on the OS, rather than car construction.

Dozens of Apple Car team members have allegedly been laid off as part of this rethink.

The company was originally thought to be aiming to sell 500,000 Apple Cars each year.

Apple is working with emerging technologies as it seeks to explore future disruptive opportunities  even if its car plans come to nothing, it will have learned lessons that may help it develop other new products.

Connecting vehicles

In the event that both Apple and Google decide to license their self-driving car operating systems to existing manufacturers then partnerships will be critical to success.

We know Apple has been in extensive discussions with vehicle manufacturers. We also know iTunes chief, Eddy Cue, sits on the board of Ferrari along with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and chairman of Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne. (The latter being a self-confessed Apple freak.)

Apple is also opening a string of R&D centers in locations that happen to be quite close to some big vehicle brands. For example, Apples Naples, Italy, iOS development center is situated in the same city as a modern Fiat Chrysler manufacturing facility.

That may well be circumstantial, but it is interesting that Marchionne has already stated an interest in building an Apple Car.

What makes this a little more speculatively engaging is that Google has itself reached a deal with Fiat-Chrysler to put its system inside 100 vans -- and (today) announced plans to spearhead a ride-sharing scheme. Whatever does transpire, Fiat-Chrysler seems determined to be in the driving seat..

Where next?

What seems clear is that theres a new gold rush when it comes to autonomous vehicles. Googles former self-driving car team leader, Chris Urmson, is allegedly putting together his own firm to develop autonomous vehicle technologies; Uber, Tesla and (more recently) Samsung are all engaged in their own research, and other former Google experts (including the projects co-founder Anthony Levandowski) have launched their own autonomous car projects.

With all these different forces in play, there is no guarantee Google or Apple will dominate the future of road transportation  but one thing is certain: Whatever vehicles do drive themselves on our roads will need to support a much higher degree of interoperability than we currently enjoy in the smartphone business.

We cant see the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system inside a Google-powered car refusing to speak to an equivalent Apple, Samsung or Uber-powered vehicle.

This means that before we can really expect to see these things on our roads, we must also expect a wide, cross-industry standards body to emerge in order to define how different systems work together. Until we have that, then all of these self-driving vehicles will simply be autonomous accidents waiting to happen.

Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple?

Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when fresh items are published here first on Computerworld.
Christopher Howarth is a senior researcher working in the House of Commons. Prior to this he worked for Open Europe, as a Conservative Foreign Affairs Adviser and senior researcher to a Shadow Europe Minister.

Customs posts were first introduced on the Northern Irish border by the newly independent Southern Irish Government on April Fools Day 1923. Most treated them as a joke, except for one group of diehard republicans who burnt one down three days later. They lasted until 1993, when the creation of the Internal Market removed their last significant role.

It is now as clear as crystal that the UK will leave the EUs internal market and move outside EUs external customs wall. The logic for this is something I first explained on ConservativeHome here. The Government, understandably, has decided not to rule anything out for now. But we should assume it will do so when it sets out its stall, shortly before the activation of Article 50. The direction of travel is obvious, however, and has the full force of logic: if we want to have a meaningful international trade policy, we cannot remain inside the customs union. This is the right choice, the only possible choice and one that allows the UK to gain the benefits of Brexit.

For the UK, this again raises the issue of the Northern Irish border, a border that is currently customs-free. During the referendum campaign, the Remain camp tried to make political capital out of the potential changes, wheeling out Major and Blair to make the implausible and scurrilous claim that Brexit could harm the peace process.

These hysterical concerns have thankfully died away, but there remain questions to be answered. These come in two parts: firstly how to deal with the customs control of physical goods moving across the border and secondly policing any new UK immigration policy that seeks to restrict EU workers.

Let us take physical goods first. Outside the EUs customs union there will need to be some form of customs controls. The image this conjures up is of tailbacks of cars being searched for contraband. This is in nobodys interest and will not happen. It is in both the UK and Southern Irelands interest to introduce controls with as light a touch as possible. This will no doubt mean excluding the vast majority of crossings made by car, as is the case on the Norwegian/Swedish customs border where checks are sporadic and in effect limited to a few designated crossings. Following this model it will also only involve one set of controls, as the UK and Ireland can operate the controls jointly.

For goods crossing by lorry, there will be more checks. However, movements of goods across a border are generally predictable and can be cleared in advance. The Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) can be used to allow this to happen in Northern Ireland. As a House of Lords report of yesterday argued this will be subject to the agreement of the EU institutions and Member States. This will need to be negotiated, but with goodwill, a cooperative EU and a mixture of the light touch de minimis thresholds, quotas, joint clearing and technology it will still be possible to cross the Northern Irish border without noticing. There is no reason to suppose the EU will stand in the way.

The second issue is the free movement of Irish and British citizens. Ireland and Britain have had a Common Travel Area for many years, which allowed for common citizenship and the continuity of passport free travel post-independence. This is allowed under EU rules because Ireland, like the UK, has a Schengen opt-out. This arrangement survived the Second World War and the Troubles, and it will survive Brexit.

The more complicated issue is the free movement of EU citizens into Ireland to work who then cross the border into the UK. This could be argued to be a back-door into the UK labour market. However, this need not be the problem it is made out to be. EU citizens will no doubt be allowed into the UK visa-free post-Brexit, making the Northern Irish route slightly superfluous.

An EU citizen arriving via Northern Ireland and overstaying will be in no different position to an EU citizen arriving via Heathrow. While the right to work in the UK may be curtailed, it is likely that control will not be exercised on the border via visas. Intelligent co-operation on the Northern Irish border will again help maintain the free flow of Irish and British citizens. Given we already have a Common Travel Area we already share information under a memorandum of understanding with Ireland on immigration cases. This can continue. There is already co-operation on cross border working of EU migrants with Irish police helping UK police disrupt EU citizens illegally working cross-border.

The recent history of the Northern Irish border has waxed and waned. From the 1930s to the 1950s trade protectionism in the south led to real price differentials, initially not helped by a tit-for-tat trade war. Yet throughout the period the UK and Ireland maintained a free travel area and a de facto currency union. When the UK and Ireland both joined the EEC on 1 January 1973 the EECs main benefit on UK/Irish relations was removal of tariffs in a way that had proved politically impossible on a bilateral basis.

However, the EEC has not always helped UK/Irish coordination  in effect it was responsible for breaking the currency link. When Ireland joining the EECs European Monetary System  the Snake  in 1979 and the UK stayed outside, the two currencies, first linked as far back as 1210, diverged. With Irelands decision to join the Euro, the Irish border became an Eurozone frontier, on the one side the Eurozone, its currency and economic policies on the other the Pound Sterling.

Maintaining a light-touch border will undoubtedly be subject to negotiations involving Ireland and the EU, however the doom-mongers of remain have already been proved wrong. Irish/UK relations have weathered many storms. Brexit need not be another, even if the EU refuses to agree free trade with the UK and reintroduces tariffs.
James Frayne is Director of communications agency Public First and author of Meet the People, a guide to moving public opinion. The focus of this column is Theresa Mays conservatism for ordinary working people.

Issue

Ensuring Britains defences are strong enough to cope with threats at home and abroad.

Background

Even after Britain deployed vast amounts of troops and firepower to Afghanistan and Iraq, the national political conversation quickly moved on to issues other than defence. There was a brief discussion on renewing Trident and aircraft carriers, but defence has mostly been left to sector specialists.

Things seem to be changing, for four reasons: two practical ones and two more existential. Firstly, there are greater concerns about the intentions of Russia in Europe and the Middle East. While at one level entirely incidental to Britain, the pictures of the Russias aircraft carrier steaming through the Channel brought things into sharp focus. Secondly, the recent migrant crisis and the prospect of mass human trafficking means there are new demands on the Royal Navy.

Thirdly, while it doesnt mean were exiting from a global role (on the contrary), Brexit has clearly made people think about Britain as an independent country for the first time in a while  and about the relative importance of Britains armed forces to Europe. Fourthly, most importantly, there are justifiable fears about what a Trump Presidency brings to the UK and our allies.

It is possible that fears of Trumps scepticism about Americas historically interventionist role are overblown. However, it is also clear that many American politicians and American voters are tiring of carrying what they see as an unfair burden to defend Europe. Why should they be doing this, their collective argument goes, at a time when European countries are spending vast sums on welfare, pensions et cetera to keep voters comfortable and happy? They have a point.

What next

Given how little politicians talk about defence and defence spending, it might be expected the public care little about it. While defence tends not to rate highly in the traditional polls that track public priorities, when people are asked about the importance of the security of the country, it is right up there in the public mind. It is reasonable to assume that it will stay there as people debate these threats and uncertainties.

Simply put, we need to spend more on defence and shave off as much from other departments spending to fund it. And politicians  other than the Secretary of State for Defence  need to make the case for it aggressively. Former Foreign Secretary Lord Owen recently suggested that Britain should be spending something like 2.5 per cent of GDP on its defence budget  something closer to the figure we were spending in the 1990s.

Can we afford it? Well, can we afford anything? And it we cant fund defence, what can we afford? We can debate the merits of specific defence projects  like Trident or the carriers  and we should. But we should answer the fundamental question first: are the threats and uncertainties facing Britain serious enough to justify higher spending? The answer must be yes, and we ought to be moving on to a debate about our strategy for meeting these threats and how best to spend the money weve committed.
Michel Barnier recently suggested that Britains withdrawal agreement from the EU will be complete before any trade agreement (as our readers know, the two are different). Let us assume for a moment that he is right. It follows that at some point before March 2019  if the Governments timetable is met  we meet the notorious cliff-edge. And we descend from it into legal controversies and economic disadvantages. An example of the former is the question of what happens to our non-secured aviation rights if the current aircraft regulations suddenly cease to apply. An example of the latter is the effect on financial services of having no passporting agreement. Even as convinced a Brexiteer as Peter Lilley has written on this site that the arrangement is worth keeping.

This explains why Philip Hammond indicated to the Treasury Select Committee yesterday that an interim agreement on trade and services is desirable  or, rather, as he put it: there is an emerging view among business, among regulators and among thoughtful politicians that having a longer period to manage the adjustment would be helpful, would tend towards a smoother transition and would run less risk of disruption. He may have been pushing a view of his own; he may have been floating a consensus among his colleagues. David Davis has been reported as opposing a transitional deal, but he has also been working closely with Hammond. Theresa May hinted that she favours such an agreement before promptly withdrawing the suggestion. Mark Carney supports one.

An interim deal sounds sensible. But the more one thinks about it, the less straightforward it becomes. On this site, Christopher Howarth has pointed out a problem that rears its head right at the start  namely, that a transitional deal is no less complicated to negotiate than a permanent one. Barnier implied that any such arrangement would be discussed late in the Article 50 process. That would make the difficulties of reaching one even more formidable. However, even were one agreed under these circumstances, this would not even begin to be the end of the matter. The interim deal would need in due course to have a permanent replacement. But if agreement on the latter proved hard to reach, Britain would once again approach the cliff-edge (as would its interlocutors).

At this point, the easiest course to take would simply be to extend the transitional deal still further. We are thus presented with a negotiating paradox: namely, that an interim deal could turn out to be permanent. Howarth cited some precedents: the customs union agreement with Turkey and, above all, the EEA agreement with Norway. The EEA was designed as a waiting-room for entry. The most straightforward interim deal would be continuing EEA membership for the UK or, if it proved impossible to agree this, some form of EEA-type arrangement. Such an arrangement could well turn out to be a waiting-room for exit. We would thus become a kind of Norway-in-reverse. That cliff-edge would be exchanged for a swamp.

This leads to the next problem. The British people did not plump for limbo last June. They voted to leave. Controlling migration from the EU was not the main reason  they wanted control more broadly, as Lord Ashcrofts research has confirmed  but it was a very important one, second in our proprietors findings. Any transitional deal would be likely to trade off continued Single Market membership for continued uncontrolled EU migration. Nigel Farage, UKIP and a new fifth Arron Banks-style electoral force would not hesitate for a moment before telling anyone who would listen that the establishment had sold them out. The referendum looks to have sunk UKIP as an electoral challenge to the Conservatives; an interim deal could haul it out of the water.

This would unnerve Tory MPs. At present, Labour is vulnerable in its northern and midlands heartlands to a Trump-shaped challenge. They would not want to see the Party also exposed to a leakage of votes. The Parliamentary Party has also been coming round to Brexit. More Conservative MPs opposed it than supported it last June, but the balance of opinion has now tilted towards Leave  or so the results of elections to the Brexit Select Committee suggests. The Prime Minister could find herself in difficulty with her party, at Westminster and outside it, were she to throw her weight behind seeking a transitional deal. Interim elements to a permanent deal is one thing; an iterim deal with permanent elements would be quite another.

The Chancellor seems alert to the problems. He indicated to the committee that the Government wishes to discuss the possibility of a transitional deal early in the Article 50 talks, presumably to ensure that any discussions on one start as quickly as possible. Ministers will not want to start such negotiations late in the Article 50 process when the clock is running down. Readers will have picked up that reference to thoughtful politicians in what he said to the committee. We can only guess at which ones he believes to be thoughtless. He is right to suggest that thinking about an interim deal is well worthwhile. But in our humble view, the main problem is nothing to do with not thinking about it. It is that the more one thinks about it, the more problematic it looks.
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CORNWALL, Ontario  The United Ways 10/10 campaign is sweeping social media and raising awareness about the value of donating in support of local causes.

The goal of the campaign is to get individuals to donate $10 to the United Way of SD&G and then to challenge 10 other people on social media to do the same.

We decided to embark on the challenge as a way to spread the word, increase awareness and donations for the campaign, said United Way of SD&G Executive Director Lori Greer. Our hope is that the shares will be far-reaching and we will be able to engage many people to invest in our community.

The campaign began on Tuesday, Dec. 6 and kicked off with a strong response with members of the local media and municipal government taking up the challenge.

So far, this fundraiser has raised over $1, 000 from 83 donors and the United Way is hoping for much more.

Our campaign is currently sitting at 40% or our goal  we realize we have a very busy week ahead of us, said Greer. As always, local businesses and individuals are extremely generous, but we still need the support of our community to reach our goal.

The United Ways fundraising campaign goal for 2016 is $700, 000.
CORNWALL, Ontario  At their meeting on Monday, Dec. 12, Cornwall City Council heard proposed safety changes along Hwy. 138, including a roundabout where the major artery intersects with Headline Rd.

Hwy. 138 is the responsibility of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Stantec was briefing Council on the provincial plan which includes new passing lanes, channelized turning lanes, carpool parking lots and a possible St. Andrews West by-pass in addition to a proposed roundabout at Headline Rd.

I think if anything its an improvement to what it is now, said Councillor Andre Rivette.

Rivette and other councillors however raised concerns about the extended timeframe for the implementation of any of these changes.

The minimum timeframe for any changes to Hwy. 138 is 10 years, with changes such as a by-pass of St. Andrews being 20 or more years down the road.

The study on improvements to Hwy. 138 and there are still public consultations to come before the Province makes their final decisions.

The plan includes closing as many 29 entrances to the 138, including residential driveways, or trails. Property acquisitions would also be required in order to install permanent snow fencing along some parts of the highway.

The proposed carpools would be designed to ease parking demands on places such as the St. Andrews Church.

The first public consultation is on Dec. 14 at the Lions Club on McPhail Rd., followed by a Municipal Advisory Committee Meeting on Jan. 10, 2017.

I think I said back in June, thank goodness youre hear, so thank goodness youre back, said Councillor Bernadette Clement. A lot of our residents are concerned with safety along the 138.
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Just a few days after the Republican Governor Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 1564, a law which requires medical professionals to refer patients for abortions, Bowman along with several attorneys at the ADF filed a lawsuit in August.

Bowman stated that, "If this law is allowed to remain on the books, doctors and medical staff, who take an oath to do no harm,' they will be forced into violating that oath. The recently signed law requires doctors to be proactive in giving customers access to establishments that profit from killing innocent children, Life News reported.

The newly implemented law also coerces speech and action that would breach the oaths of health professionals. First of all, the law asserts that these medical professionals must inform pregnant women about the "benefits" of abortion. And that abortion is a "treatment option" that cures pregnancy. Lastly, the law enforces these pro-life medical professionals to recommend the names of doctors who offer abortion to pregnant women.

The lawsuit protects the rights of pro-life health professionals and pregnancy care centers under the Illinois Constitution for their freedom of conscience and of speech. Noel Sterett, an attorney from Mauck and Baker LLC states, that no law or state has the power to coerce doctors and pregnancy centers in their good conscience to refer the names or contacts of abortionists. This is by far the most unethical, illicit and unethical law ever promulgated, Alliance Defending Freedom reported.

Everyone who was present at the hearing, including the president of Heartbeat International, Jor-El Godsey refused to comply with the law, in case it would take effect. He was also encouraged of what Judge Doherty's has to say on both side of the case.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
Internet of things News

Google Shows Its IoT Smarts With Launch Of Android Things Operating System

Lindsey O'Donnell

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In an effort to make it easier for developers to build Internet of Things devices, Google has revamped and rebranded its Brillo software as a new IoT operating system called Android Things.

Android Things, which is available now as a developer preview, mixes together Brillo with Android developer tools, Google cloud computing services, and support for Google's IoT communication platform, Weave.

"We're releasing a developer preview of Android Things, a comprehensive way to build IoT products with the power of Android, one of the world's most supported operating systems," Wayne Piekarski, developer advocate for IoT at Google, wrote in a statement. "Now any Android developer can quickly build a smart device using Android APIs and Google services, while staying highly secure with updates direct from Google."

[Related: 5 Ways Google's Brillo OS Will Transform Home Automation]

This is the first update Mountain View, Calif.-based Google has made to its IoT operating system since it launched Brillo, which was built to give smart capabilities to consumer homes, in 2015. Android Things aims to help make it easier for hardware and software developers to create IoT products with the same Android APIs -- such as Android Studio and the Android Software Development Kit  and Google services that they're currently accustomed to.

Google also will update its Weave platform to make it easier to connect to the cloud and interact with services such as the Google Assistant, Piekarski said.

Weave, which provides cloud infrastructure so that developers can build their products without needing to worry about investing in cloud services, currently supports schemas for light bulbs, switches, smart plugs and thermostats. In the coming months, Google will add support for additional device types, custom schemas, and a mobile application API for Android and iOS, he said.

Michael Oh, founder and CTO of TSP, a Boston-based solution provider that specializes in home automation, said the news is a "continuation of Google getting more entrenched in the Internet of Things ecosystem."

"Its a smart move," he said. " Google's IoT ecosystem is very strong. The company has all these developers that are developing for the Android platform on mobile, and now Google is trying to take that energy and move it toward the Internet of Things. Those developers can create devices and services around IoT as well."

Google has made several steps over the years to get ahead in the smart home market, a space that Apple has set its eyes on with its HomeKit development platform.

In 2014, Google first dipped into the home automation market by acquiring Nest, a home automation company that designs and manufactures Wi-Fi-enabled, programmable home features like thermostats and smoke detectors. In 2015, the company launched its Weave communications system alongside Brillo.

The home automation market is expected to grow quickly over the next few years. Up to $40 billion will be spent on home automation in 2020, up from $24 billion in 2016, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.
Port Tampa Bay officials presented a plaque to the captain and crew of Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Jade, Sunday, December 11, welcoming the ship to Tampa for the 2016-2017 cruise season.

The 2,402-passenger ship, which replaces the Norwegian Star from last cruise season, will sail a seven-day Western Caribbean itinerary departing on Sundays to Cozumel and Costa May, Mexico; Roatan (Bay Islands) Honduras; and Harvest Caye, Belize.

In addition, the Norwegian Jade will sail two eight-day Western Caribbean holiday sailings this month.

There are also a number of music charter cruises in partnership with Sixthman.

Port Tampa Bay is excited that Norwegian Cruise Line has brought the gorgeous Norwegian Jade to home port in Tampa, offering passengers some impressive new Caribbean destination options, as well as longer cruises from our port. Norwegian is an outstanding cruise partner, and we look forward to many more years of welcoming them as an important part of our robust cruise business, Paul Anderson, port president and CEO, said.
Wartsila announced it has signed a manufacturing license agreement with Jiujiang Precision Measuring Technology Research Institute, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), based in Jiujiang, China.

The two-way agreement provides CSSC with access to technology and the rights to manufacture the Wartsila Aquarius EC Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) under license for applications to CSSC customers, according to a statement.

In return, Wartsila gains access to CSSC's new manufacturing facility, further supporting supply and demand needs for the Wartsila BWMS direct to Wartsila customers. The agreement was signed in Jiujiang earlier this month.

Wartsila retains ownership of the Aquarius Electro-Chlorination (EC) technology and all associated Intellectual Property Rights, while CSSC will manufacture the system for sale and installation with CSSC newbuild and retrofit projects. C

"This is another landmark agreement forming an important new partnership in China. It facilitates the supply of Wartsila Aquarius EC BWMS to a significant provider in the Chinese marine market, both for new shipbuilding and retrofit projects. By combining the strengths of our two companies, we can more effectively meet the growing demand for EC BWMS for medium to large vessel applications. Our combined global service networks also ensure that the BWMS units are fully supported wherever and whenever needed," said Dr Joe Thomas, Director, Ballast Water Management Systems, Wartsila Marine Solutions.

"As a subsidiary of CSSC, our institute has strong design and manufacturing capabilities. We have easy access to the resources concerning shipbuilding and retrofits for marketing and sales of BWMS systems, and Wartsila, as a significant global marine equipment supplier, has great advantages in technical support and global after sales service. This milestone event represents a promising start to our two companies' partnership. The signing of this agreement will promote the further cooperation between the two companies," added Zou Xiubin, Director, Jiujiang Precision Measuring Technology Research Institute.

The agreement has a six-year initial term.
If you consider the insider threats in cyber security (rather than dismissing everything as human error), you can cover the different types of human error. No matter how you look at it, companies can no longer afford to suffer such high volumes of insider threats on an annual basis.

3 Types of Insider Threats in Cyber Security

When you read about high-profile data breaches in the news, its likely that they were carried out by outside attackers. However, attackers are moving from their brute-pasts to a future of more finesse threats, taking advantage of security holes created by your own employees.

When you think about how these insiders create such dangerous vulnerabilities, there are 3 main types of threats to be concerned with:

Accidental: According to Verizons 2016 Data Breach Incident Report, accidents accounted for 30% of security incidents in 2015. In this case, your employees might just not be educated enough on cyber security best practices. Whether insiders open a phishing email or click on a malicious link, attackers are just waiting for your employees to slip up.

According to Verizons 2016 Data Breach Incident Report, accidents accounted for 30% of security incidents in 2015. In this case, your employees might just not be educated enough on cyber security best practices. Whether insiders open a phishing email or click on a malicious link, attackers are just waiting for your employees to slip up. Negligent: These are the inside threats where your employees try to avoid the policies youve put in place to protect endpoints and valuable data. For example, if you have strict policies for external file sharing, employees might try to share work on public cloud applications so they can work at home. Theres no ill-will in these acts, but they can open you up to dangerous threats nonetheless.

These are the inside threats where your employees try to avoid the policies youve put in place to protect endpoints and valuable data. For example, if you have strict policies for external file sharing, employees might try to share work on public cloud applications so they can work at home. Theres no ill-will in these acts, but they can open you up to dangerous threats nonetheless. Malicious: This type of insider threat is often overlooked because youd rather look at malicious intent from third-party actors. However, there are times when people within your organization are motivated by financial gain or espionage to make you vulnerable. For example, a disgruntled employee who was recently terminated might extract sensitive data on his/her way out and either sell it or release it publicly.

Its difficult to find concrete data regarding accidental or negligent insider threats because they dont often result in a security catastrophe. Sure, there are instances in which an accidental vulnerability leads to an attackers gain, but attacks have become such an inevitability that even small incidents can be overlooked at times.

Negligent and accidental insider threats can often be mitigated by more effective and accessible security policies that also avoid being too invasive for employees. Malicious insider threats, on the other hand, are a rising challenge that companies must be prepared to overcome.

Are Your Employees Being Recruited by Cyber Criminals?

The dark web market for stolen credit card and personally identifiable information (PII) is massive, with some estimates claiming its worth around $120 billion. While the values of different types of data vary, the fact remains that cyber criminals stand to see financial windfalls if they can capture sensitive information.

One way cyber criminals are starting to collect sensitive data is to recruit employees and turn them into malicious insider threats. A recent McAfee report specifically cites the healthcare industry as one that is plagued by this kind of insider threat.

Unlike accidental and negligent insider threats that could be mitigated by, for example, more diligent patching practices, these malicious insider threats must be monitored more carefully.

So how do you actually protect your company from malicious insider threats? According to Verizons 2016 DBIR, its all about relentless monitoring of employee daily activity (especially if they have privileged accounts) and understanding where your sensitive data resides.

If you want to learn more about the world of insider threats (and how to protect your business), download our free report, The 2016 Insider Threat Spotlight.
Mark Conrad / For Hearst Connecticut Media

Following Frontier Communications $10.5 billion buy last April of Verizon Communications territories in Florida, Texas and California, Frontier disclosed that CEO Dan McCarthy turned down a possible bonus for which he may have been eligible for additional duties in completing the deal.

Norwalk-based Frontier struggled with technical outages and service problems in porting the Verizon accounts (NYSE: VZ) over to its own systems.
BRIDGEPORT - The CEO of a 25-year-old New York City venture capital firm was sentenced Monday to 30 days in prison for misusing more than $300,000 of clients funds.

Joseph McAndrew, 75, chief executive officer and managing partner of Wall Street Venture Capital Ltd was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden to 30 days in prison followed by six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release.
From a buzzword to a mainstay, content marketing has risen to stake its claim as one of the best advertising and marketing strategies, rivaling almost all traditional advertising ones.

Related: From Bedtime to the Boardroom: Why Storytelling Matters in Business

But that doesn't mean content marketing is now ubiquitous. No, the problem seems to be that business owners aren't ignoring content marketing; they just don't know what it is. According to the Content Marketing Institute; Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience -- with the objective of driving profitable customer action

So, why aren't business owners engaging in content marketing more? One answer may be that they don't understand it.

And here I have an explanation. To keep things simple, I like to say that content marketing is just good old storytelling. Make that storytelling to a targeted audience, with a precise purpose: to convert your audience members into customers.

Here are a few reasons why smart business owners should stop stalling, put a blog on their sites and start investing in credible content marketing efforts.

1. Everyone reacts to a good story.

Storytelling was one of humankind's earliest means of communication, and through the ages it has remained relevant. Stories, after all, are human triggers. While it is an established fact that humans have a short reading span online, almost everyone will slow down for a beautifully told story or other creative content.

That reminds me of the wisdom shared by Nirmal Gyanwali, a Sydney-based web design expert, at the 2015 Content Marketing World Conference. Said Gyanwali: "Content marketing, when done properly, is bound to generate more inbound traffic to your site for the reason that good content marketing focuses on what the people want to hear and not what the business wants to tell them. Stories are good bait. [Listeners will] always bite.

Related: The 5 Elements of Storytelling Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

2. Everyone likes a storyteller.

The one major reason I used to always like to go see Grandma as a kid was her stories. She was such a great storyteller that I would sit for hours on end listening to her. My point? Everyone loves a good storyteller.

Creative and engaging content increases your brand awareness and popularity. And shares can be responsible for a major portion of the engagement you get. When readers are used to seeing consistent shares and great content, your name sticks, along with information about the services you offer. Oftentimes you become the first port of call when they need the type of services you offer.

3. Great storytellers can put you before the right audience.

Consistently tell great dog stories, and you will get a lot of dog lovers and dog owners listening. Similarly, content marketing is a great way to reach a targeted audience rather than a wide, unspecified crowd.

It is also a great investment to invest in content marketing experts who know their salt, because it is one thing to do it versus do it well. Revcontent, for instance, has revolutionized the content recommendation and advertising world, and grown into a content innovation powerhouse, with some of the leading business publications as its clients.

CEO and founder John Lemp talks about the importance of engaging with users in a high-quality user experience with valuable content. Surprisingly, its not always the sites you think of that have the best engagement," Lemp has said. "Weve turned down media brands that arent reaching our idea engagement level.

"People who are continually building a relationship with their users, a stronger user path, a larger user base -- people who are putting their users first: Thats who we really see the best engagement from.

4. A great story is cheaper than a news article.

Its true that resources like the BBC, the Wall Street Journal, My News Tips, and Kiplinger provide valuable business-related news for entrepreneurs. But many people still prefer to go to the barbershop any time they want to hear a great story or get the latest news, probably because of the way that news will be delivered.

I agree with Chris Walker, a Denver-based SEO expert. He said, One of the most effective SEO strategies is content marketing. However, great content marketing is not necessarily about the information you pass but how creatively you pass that information.

Too many businesses are still resting on the oars of traditional branding and traditional good marketing strategies. They view these as dependable, and content marketing as an add-on, should they ever need more engagement.

And the fact is that content marketing is far cheaper and cost effective. Yet, if done well, it will almost always guarantee you more engagement. Rather than invest $1,000 in traditional branding, you could invest $500 in great content and get twice the engagement and conversion level.

5. Everyone can get hooked in to a great storyteller.

Talk about customer loyalty and you'll see content marketing become the joker in the pool of marketing cards. It personalizes your brand, especially if you consistently write in an aligned brand voice and bring a personal touch to your content.

Related: 4 Storytelling Techniques That Can Help You Increase Your Sales

When customers grow attached to brands, they arent becoming attached to a logo -- theyre becoming attached to the people behind that logo. So, recognize that the most important of those people is you, the storyteller. And you'll see those customers come around to hear you more often.

Related:



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Over 80 movies to be screened at Havana Film Festival

A meeting with British Paul Dugdale, director of the documentaries on the Rolling Stones tour of Latin America and their concert in Cuba, and the screening of 85 films are the highlight today in the program of the Havana Film Festival, which runs until December 18th in this city.

The exchange with Dugdale, a multi-award-winning filmmaker based in London, will take place at Sancti Spiritus room of the Nacional Hotel, where it is expected him to talk about the shooting process of the two materials, collected under the general title The Rolling Stones Ole Ole Ole!: A trip Across Latin America.

Among the documentaries, Havana Moon-The Rolling Stones Live in Cuba, on the concert of the prestigious British band in Havana, last March 25, attended by more than 500 000 people, creates expectations.

Paul Dugdale has directed numerous live concert films by leading artists around the world and has been nominated for Grammy Award in categories such as Video Music.

On this second day of the Festival, dedicated to the Cuban filmmaker Julio Garcia Espinosa and the San Antonio de los Banos International School of Cinema and Television (EICTV by its Spanish acronym), 19 Cuban audiovisuals, including long and short fiction films, documentaries and animations, including some coproduced with other countries.

The list of these materials includes Esteban, debut film of Jonal Cosculluela Sanchez, which narrates in 88 minutes the story of a nine-year-old boy who wants to be a pianist, despite his sad reality and having no family influence related to music.

Una pelea Cubana contra los demonios, a 130-minute-film by the outstanding Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea, who died on April 16, 1996, appears in contention in the category of Restored Classics, one of the novelties of this edition of the contest.

More than 400 materials, classified in long and short fiction films, documentaries and animations, will be exhibited during the next 10 days in the various rooms and circuits of the Cuban capital, including 160 works in competition, 18 of which are fiction feature films and equal number of debut films.

The official section of the event, held for the first time in 1979, also includes the categories of script, animation and posters, and exchanges between filmmakers, exhibitions, book presentations and theoretical meetings take place simultaneously. (acn)
Civil War Gala to be held Saturday in Somerset

The 14th annual Col. Robert Cummins Civil War Gala will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Somerset Church of the Brethren, 606 Berlin Plank Road in Somerset.
One of the benchmarks of a civilised society is that it treats its elderly with dignity and guarantees they will be looked after when they can no longer look after themselves.

The scale of the crisis now threatening our care system is so vast that Britain is in severe danger of failing to meet that fundamental moral test.

Residential care homes are going bust at an alarming rate due to rising costs and poor management  leading to a chronic national shortage of places  while home visits to vulnerable older people are slashed to the bone as a result of council cuts.

Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested for the first time there would be a review of the controversial target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid. Yesterday, it emerged that Mrs May is preparing to allow town halls to hike council bills by up to 80 next year to help fund the social care system

Despite years of empty promises, there is still no lifetime cap on fees, which means tens of thousands of people every year lose their family home and everything theyve worked for all their lives because they had the bad luck to become infirm in old age.

And things are about to get much worse. Thanks largely to the introduction of the living wage  which will create a sharp spike in nursing home staff costs  there is expected to be a care funding gap of 1.3 billion next year, rising to 2.6 billion a year by 2020.

Let us be clear. This is a system on the very edge of breakdown, and without urgent and radical action it could collapse.

Downing Street has suggested that local authorities may be allowed to raise more in council tax to make up the shortfall, but this is no more than a sticking plaster.

It could cost hard-pressed families up to 80 next year and wont go anywhere near to solving the crisis.

There is a solution, however, and its staring the Government in the face.

The 12billion foreign aid budget should be used to tackle the crisis in social care, MPs said last night (file picture)

While our own elderly are in such need, it is simply grotesque that we are spending 12 billion a year on foreign aid, much of it either squandered or going straight into the pockets of despots and their lackeys.

By 2020 that figure will be a colossal 16 billion.

This is, of course, the baleful legacy of David Camerons commitment to lavish 0.7 per cent of national income on international aid projects  a grandiose gesture that was intended to help detoxify the Tory brand but has become a huge financial millstone.

In her short tenure as Prime Minister, Theresa May has shown a commendable willingness to distance herself and her Government from Mr Camerons trendy liberal agenda.

If she were bold enough to abandon this ludicrous pledge, she could solve the care funding crisis at a stroke and still have billions to spare for the many other worthy causes crying out for cash.

Britain is one of the most charitable nations on Earth and will always continue to give both publicly and privately. But charity should be given on the basis of need, not some arbitrary target.

And our own elderly and vulnerable should be at the very front of the queue.

Vindictive strikes

Like the swaggering union barons of the 1970s whose wrecking campaigns brought British industry to its knees, train drivers boss Mick Whelan (salary 128,000) is threatening a decade of industrial action on the railways.

Post Office workers, meanwhile, announced they will strike for the five days up to Christmas  meaning countless presents and cards will not be delivered.

The walk-outs are vindictive, unnecessary and supported by no one except Jeremy Corbyn and his posturing Left-wing cronies.
The 12billion foreign aid budget should be used to tackle the crisis in social care, MPs said last night (file picture)

What a wretched mess! Ministers have decided to raise council taxes in a much too belated attempt to solve the crisis of elderly care.

Otherwise, according to Martin Green, chief executive of Care England (the body that represents care home providers), the whole industry will topple like a house of cards.

Not to mince words, the alternative is for thousands of elderly people to die in squalor.

Were told that Chancellor Philip Hammond wanted to announce a rise in local authority precepts for social care that is, increases to council tax  in his Autumn Statement last month.

However, he backed off amid government concerns that the subsequent squeals of anger from voters (who have already paid billions in taxes, some of which they quite understand-ably expected to go towards elderly care) would take the gloss off his speech.

Now, though, ministers have caved in. They had no option.

Normally, I admire politicians who ignore campaign organisations, lobbyists and vested interest groups who shroud-wave and issue apocalyptic warnings that some system or other will collapse without a further injection of public cash.

Not this time. The Care England boss is spot on. The care home industry is  if youll excuse the metaphor  tottering like a nonagenarian who could have a deadly fall.

NHS managers are terrified that the private providers of long-term care will cut their losses and shut up shop in view of ever-rising costs. If that happened, the burden would all fall on the State.

I share those worries. For my 93-year-old mother receives round-the-clock care in a good private home that  although the fees eat up her life savings  looked as if it might close.

My brilliant sister, who knows how to manage these things, could have found another home, but the move would have shortened my mothers life.

My mother is luckier than most. Countless other elderly people have been parked in care homes that depend on local authority funding. Many of these are miserable places.

Old folk needing urgent attention can spend too long waiting for a surly member of staff to end a private call on their mobile or to finish a chat with a colleague before offering them help.

Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested for the first time there would be a review of the controversial target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid. Yesterday, it emerged that Mrs May is preparing to allow town halls to hike council bills by up to 80 next year to help fund the social care system

Alternatively, growing old in a rundown council flat is even worse. So, in the short term, the Governments action to raise council taxes is necessary, even if it adds another 100 to the typical familys annual bill  which is what will happen if councils are allowed to push up social care precepts by seven per cent.

But in return for governments of all colours having shamefully failed to tackle this crisis for decades and for the Theresa May government now to impose extra charges, Mrs May and Philip Hammond must promise one thing.

That is, if more money must be raised from taxpayers to invest in better elderly care, the Government must stop squandering our cash on vanity projects and foreign aid.

For example, almost daily we learn of some new shocking example of money having been misspent by the Department for International Development (DfID)  or, as cynics call it, the Department for Hosing Down African Dictators and Dodgy Asian Start-ups with British Tax Revenue.

Wannabees: While Ethiopia struggled with the legacy of famine and war, 4million of British aid money went to the African's version of the Spice Girls - giving them a radio show aimed at empowering women

If the connection between DfIDs obscene spending spree and the care home crisis does not seem obvious to ministers, let me spell it out.

The 1billion  yes, you read that correctly  spent on foreign aid consultants is 1billion not spent on training care home assistants to treat their elderly residents with dignity rather than behaving inhumanely towards them.

For example, the money wasted on a Ghanaian shopping mall and language lessons for North Korean officials could have gone towards paying for fresh linen and palatable food in old peoples homes. (No primary school in the country would dare serve the rebarbative mush that passes for dinner in some residential homes Ive visited  parents would storm the gates.)

DfID civil servants take home the highest median salaries in Whitehall: nearly 53,000 a year  not counting bonuses. Small wonder, then, that they are so lavish with other peoples money. Unscrupulous private contractors and fat-cat charity bosses use the DfID like a cashpoint machine.

There was a time, not so long ago, when the private sector could also make a handsome profit from the care home sector. No longer. Neither well-off pensioners nor local authorities can afford the fees.

Cash cow: 15million spent on reducing the animals flatulence in a bid to tackle climate change

Theres no getting around the fact that looking after old people  especially the growing ranks of 90-year-olds and those with dementia  is a very expensive business.

Even the care-home cowboys are giving up the business, now that they have to pay staff the new living wage. You might think thats no bad thing but the alternative is worse.

The truth is that the words demographic time-bomb have been tripping off our tongues for decades  but successive governments have fobbed us off with compassionate rhetoric. Indeed, Tony Blair deliberately made the situation worse by dramatically increasing Britains population thanks to his open-border immigration policies which were cynically designed to give Labour more voters.

Perhaps he calculated that, by the time those immigrants needed residential care, it would be someone elses problem. He was right. Unfortunately, David Camerons Coalition and Tory Cabinets also tried to kick the problem into the long grass.

Last year, there was a sign that the Tories had understood the magnitude of the problem. Their election manifesto promised to cap charges for residential care at 72,000  so no one has to sell their home.

Rain cheque: 25million in aid went on using the insects to predict the weather in Kenya

However, that pledge was broken so fast  just three months after Camerons election victory  that, in hindsight, it smacked of an outright lie to shore up the Tory vote.

But, even if it had been a genuine promise, talk of no one selling their home was fantasy politics. And, sure enough, we learned earlier this month that thousands of old people have been forced to surrender their homes to their local authority to pay their care home bills.

So-called Deferred Payment Agreements (DPAs) mean that councils can seize a property when someone dies in order to settle any outstanding debts.

That may sound sinister but, in fact, the DPA plan was well-intentioned. The problem is that, while some councils can be trusted to run the complex scheme, others cant.

Only a third of local authorities have disclosed how many homes they have acquired the right to seize. Meanwhile, some council busybodies have taken to rifling through citizens private records to spy on parents who sign over homes to their children in order to conceal their property wealth and thus avoid care home fees.

How did we get into such a shameful mess?

A key factor, I would argue, are the flawed priorities of all politicians who have been in power since 1997.

Cocooned in Westminster and their ministry chauffeur-driven limos, they have been blithely unaware of the realities of daily life of the elderly who need round-the-clock care and the financial sacrifices it requires.

They were more interested in trying to grab the moral high ground with overseas philanthropy than looking after those people at home who paid their wages and who had paid taxes into the system for decades in the understandable expectation of getting a decent level of state care when they got older.

In the case of Labour, I believe the attitude was that there werent votes in such a policy. As for Tories, they cynically believed that such people would vote for them anyway.

The looming care home crisis didnt keep millionaire Cabinet ministers awake at night.

But Theresa May, like me, is a child of the middle class. The awful dilemma facing retired savers is closer to home for her than Cameron and his rich chums in Londons Notting Hill.

Mrs May now has the chance to find a way of helping those who have been betrayed by her predecessor last year.

That means rescuing our existing care homes and building new ones. Of course, thats easier said than done.

A first step would be to review Britains foreign aid budget, which will rise to 16 billion by the end of this decade.
Andrew OHagan, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, says of meeting its patron: I dont think the Queen liked me, the snooping anti-monarchist with the new tie, so she simply passed me to her husband, who asked if a novelist wrote books.

Reviewing Netflixs royal series The Crown, for London Review of Books, Scots novelist OHagan, 48, remarks peevishly about the 95-year-old Duke of Edinburgh: Its his tragedy, and our comedy, or the reverse, that he got to live out his inferiority complex on the worlds stage. Surely this is a trifle harsh from an FRSL?

Alan Cumming joins with Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to campaign for the Yes vote in Scotland

Flamboyant Scottish actor Alan Cumming, 51, interviews First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, 46, both pictured, in the homeless folks magazine, the Big Issue, gushing: We are living in the Nicola Sturgeon era.

'For me, she is the most respected politician in Britain  She is the well-mannered yet rampant lioness and we are her lucky cubs!

Pass the bagpipes-sized sick bag.

Do you have nice handwriting and can write about 700 names and titles a day with 100 per cent accuracy  in consistently exceptional and beautiful handwriting? If so, Royal Ascot officials might employ you from the end of January until mid-June to inscribe 2017 Royal Enclosure badges. Salary: 14,500.

Mariella Frostrup, 54, confounds Dr Johnsons observation that when one is tired of London one is tired of life by moaning in Waitrose Weekend about overcrowded Tube trains and ubiquitous roadworks. She says: My favourite pastime is trying to spot a workman at roadworks. Perhaps an update of Johnsons adage might advise that when a former girlfriend of George Clooney spends her time counting construction workers she has little else to do.

Theresa May is not an admirer of Delia Smith, saying the cook is too precise and makes cooking inaccessible

The Prime Minister Theresa May is not an admirer of cookery star Delia Smith, of whom she has said: I will not allow a Delia Smith cook book in my house! Its all too precise with Delia, and it makes cooking seem so inaccessible.

Nothing to do with Delia being a lifelong Labour supporter, surely?

RE Mrs May and the row over her 995 leather trousers, Margaret Thatchers prime ministerial consort, Denis, asked who really wore the trousers at No 10, said: I do  and I wash and iron them, too!

Jonathan Isaby was delighted to see Honey G, above, booted off the X Factor

As editor of BrexitCentral, Jonathan Isaby campaigns for the EU referendum verdict to be delivered.

Now he thinks the same should apply in reality TV, explaining: I was delighted to see the ludicrous (rapper) Honey G booted off The X Factor.

'Yet she was invited back to perform on Saturday nights show.
As Christian families gather by the tree to celebrate on Christmas Day, Jews get comfy with a good movie and Chinese take-out. But on Christmas Eve? The Jews party  and we're not talking extra glasses of Manischewitz.

At least, the ones who are looking for love live it up. Over the past three decades, the night before Christmas has steadily grown to become the biggest evening of the year for Jewish singles, who have a slew of tribe-member-only parties to attend  where they can possibly meet The One.

From the punnily-named Matzoball to the gay Jew fest Jewbilee, the snowy night's fetes make for a matchmaking extravaganza that would surely make Bubbe proud.

Longstanding tradition: For 30 years, the Matzoball has been an annual Jewish singles dance on Christmas Eve

Schmooze it up! Parties are held in several cities across the country, and young Jews come together to hook-up and meet potential dates

Matzoball

This multi-city event is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2016 with parties in New York, Fort Lauderdale, LA, Miami, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and Delray Beach, Florida.

The first big event of its kind, Matzoball launched in Boston in 1987 when founder Andrew Rudnick organized a party for his Jewish friends on Christmas Eve and since then, it's grown to over 3,000 people in its biggest locations, like New York and Miami.

Held in swanky ballrooms and nightclubs and arguably the most widely-known Jewish singles event of the night, the Matzo Ball has a reputation as a great spot for hook-ups  but it has also led to its share of relationships and even marriages.

The next generation of customers: The Matzoball has led to many marriages, and some couples who have met there have even gone on to have children that later went themselves

'The most rewarding emails we get are those that say, "Hey, I met someone last year and were engaged!" Jaime Blanke, the party's National Event Director, told Daily Mail Online. 'Or we have people who write us and say, "We met 27 years ago at a Matzoball, and now our kids are going!"'

Last year, the organization even arranged for a man to propose on live TV to a woman he met at the ball the previous year.

And for 2016, New York's event will be hosted by Instagram's @CrazyJewishMom and her daughter Kate, and in the past the event has been hosted by The Fat Jew, also of Instagram fame. Tickets cost between $30 and $100.

Par-tay! The Ball, which is different from the Matzo Ball, is also a huge party that spans across several US and Canadian cities

High-class: The event is usually held in multiple venues and guests can take free limo service from one spot to the next

A big deal: Young Jews know that Christmas Eve is the biggest party night of the year

The Ball

Not to be confused with the Matzo Ball, The Ball is hosted by Let My People Go and attracts crowds of over 3,000 people in New York City. It also hosts parties in across the US and in Canada.

Called the 'Christmas Eve gold standard' by The New York Post and the 'mother of all Jewish Singles parties' by TimeOut, The Ball is actually so big that it hosts parties at several different trendy clubs simultaneously, and offers free limo service for club-hoppers with the 'Jewniversal Pass'.

There are also separate parties for different age groups: One for 21- to 45-year-olds, and another for 35- to 55-year-olds. Tickets run from $30-40.

Cute tuchases all around: Gay New Yorkers meet up at the annual Jewbilee

L'chaim! Jews and 'bagel chasers'  people looking to date Jews  are welcome

Bring on the puns: The company that hosts the event throws other parties, too, like High Homodays and Homotashen

Jewbilee

Over 1,000 foreskin-free men looking to bring home a nice Jewish boy gather yearly at this New York City soiree, which welcomes both gay Jews and 'bagel chasers'  that is, gentiles who are interested in Jews.

The midtown party also includes musical performances, including one by the semitically-named Lady SinAGaGa last year. Tickers are $15 to $25.

The company behind the event, Hebro, hosts other gay Jewish singles events year-round as well, including High Homodays (around the High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), Homotashen (named after the Purim cookie, hamentashen), and Sederlicious (around Passover).

Upstairs: Above Jewbilee for the second year running this year will be Jewess Eve, a singles party for Jewish lesbians

Bring home a nice girl: Jewess Eve is also the official after party of the Menorah Horah, a burlesque show starring the Schlep Sisters

Jewess Eve

This lesbian Jewish singles event is new to the Christmas Eve party scene, and also opens its doors to the Jewish trans community in New York.

Held at the rooftop lounge above Jewbilee, Jewess Eve is only in its second year and promises both hot Jewesses and shiksas (non-Jewish girls) for $15 per ticket.

For a full night of activities, the celebration also serves as the official after party for the Menorah Horah, a burlesque show starring the Schlep Sisters.

Drink up, then eat up! Jews often order Chinese food on Christmas Day, but Christmas Eve is for shindigs  like the Falafel Frenzy, which raises money for charity

Falafel Frenzy

Falafel Frenzy in Washington, D.C. encourages attendees to 'put your falafel balls to good use', as 100 per cent of the $30 entrance price will be donated to The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

The local charity supports hunger action programs and care for poverty-stricken Holocaust survivors.
Last week it was reported that the number of babies being born by Caesarean section is altering the course of human evolution, leading to bigger infants and an increase in difficult births.

Belfast-born TV and radio presenter Andrea Catherwood, 49, had her first son and then twin boys by Caesarean, and admits that she initially didn't want to admit that she hadn't given birth 'properly'.

Here she tells FEMAIL why, despite these findings, Caesarean births should be celebrated rather than vilified.

Belfast-born broadcaster and TV presenter Andrea Catherwood, 49, admits that she didn't want to admit to not giving birth 'properly' after her first son was delivered by emergency Caesarean

When I read last week's story that caesarean sections are being blamed for 'altering human evolution' it didn't surprise me. Let's face it they've been blamed for everything else.

When I had my first son by emergency Caesarean I was aware, even as I was being wheeled from the delivery room where I'd assumed I'd have my baby naturally into theatre for surgery, that I was transitioning.

I was going from a woman who'd be met with approval of having 'done the right thing' to a woman who would feel like she'd failed society's first test of motherhood.

She would spend the next months justifying the 'emergency' nature of her C-section and having to put up with raised eyebrow, huffs of disapproval and in one case a man telling me: 'Ah, so you didn't really give birth'.

Andrea with her twin boys Jago and Ruari who were born six weeks prematurely on August 24 2004 after an emergency Caesarean

In the past, women like me or their babies or both probably just died.

For millennia, childbirth was easily the most dangerous thing a woman could do.

In the 1800s women had around a one in 10 chance of dying in childbirth during their lifetime. One in 10.

Now in the UK it's 1 in 7,000, and of course most of that is due to hygiene and fighting infections, but C sections play their part.

So why in the world do we vilify them and the women who have them?

TV and radio presenter Andrea is a weekly contributor on This Morning

A quick internet search and you can see headlines involving Ceasareans are almost always negative.

Apparently babies born by Caesarean struggle to breast feed, they'll have a weak immune system, they'll get asthma, they'll be obese when they're older and they'll have a lower IQ.

Oh and they won't love their mum as much. In turn their mothers are painted as lazy, vain and of course 'too-posh to-push'.

They'll inevitably end up regretting their decision and wishing they'd done it the traditional way.

One man told Andrea that she hadn't really given birth after she spoke about having an emergency Caesarean

This latest research that C-sections are changing evolution says their increase since the 1950s has led to babies evolving to be bigger and women to have narrower hips hence and an increase in difficult births.

Three per cent of childbirths result in what's called obstructed labour which is basically when a baby doesn't fit through its mother's birth canal either because the baby is too large, or the mother's pelvis is too narrow or a combination of both.

In the past, those mothers and daughters would most probably have died during the delivery process, making it less likely for the genes allowing for a narrow pelvis size to be passed on.

The mother-of-three was happy to embrace the medical advances that allowed her to safely deliver her identical twins instead of feeling guilty

Now their lives are saved by a C- Section and the genes are handed down to the next generation, thus leading to an increase in difficult births that will only escalate over time according to Philipp Mitteroecker, of the department of theoretical biology at the University of Vienna.

He says: 'Without modern medical intervention such problems often were lethal and this is, from an evolutionary perspective, selection.

'Women with a very narrow pelvis would not have survived birth 100 years ago. They do now and pass on their genes encoding for a narrow pelvis to their daughters.'

Instead of bemoaning the fact that we're somehow playing around with natural selection, why aren't we celebrating that medical advances since the 1950s have saved the lives of countless mothers and babies?

How Caeasareans are impacting human evolution Scientists at the University of Vienna have calculated that the use of Caesareans accounts for the 'puzzling' question of why giving birth for humans is often so difficult and that human women have not evolved to have wider hips to accommodate bigger babies. The authors write: 'Given this enormousand in many parts of the world still persisting selection pressure, it is puzzling why the pelvic canal has not evolved to be wider to reduce rates of obstructed labour'. Researchers led by Philipp Mitteroecker of the University of Vienna, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences wrote: 'For the time range that Caesarean sections have been regularly and safely conducted in industrialized countries (since the 1950s and 1960s, i.e., roughly two generations), our model predicts a 20 per cent increase of the incidence of fetopelvic disproportion'. Advertisement

Twelve years ago, I was one of that three per cent of women who had an obstructed birth. At only a shade over 5ft 2 and a size six dress size, I presumably fit Mitteroecker's pattern of 'narrow pelvis woman' who wouldn't have made the evolutionary cut in previous generations.

But I'd had a trouble free pregnancy, I was fit and healthy. Labour started well, although the baby was in what's known as the posterior position, back to back with me.

It makes the labour even more painful, so I was happy to have an epidural.

Despite that I thought all was going okay, if slowly, I was just getting ready to push when I could see the midwife's concerns growing, she disappeared to get the obstetrician in the middle of the night.

When he brought me a doll to illustrate to me how my baby had got stuck I begged him not to give me a C-section.

We stopped the epidural in the hope that my contractions would be strong enough to turn and push the baby. This was excruciatingly painful.

I asked for more time. By this stage there were a number of signs the baby was in distress. He wasn't going anywhere.

His heart rate fell further and eventually my obstetrician insisted we needed an emergency Caesarean. 10 minutes later I was cradling my son. Like every parent, holding your first baby is probably the most incredible moment of your life.

Yet I didn't want anyone to know I'd had to have a C-section. I felt I'd be judged for not being able to give birth naturally.

The TV personality with her husband Gary. She admits that she regrets agonising over her Caesarean after giving birth to her first son, instead of enjoying her baby

I look back and think what waste of emotion that was, when I should have just been celebrating my beautiful boy.

The World Health Organisation says approximately 830 women still die every day in childbirth around the world, mainly in developing countries where they don't have access to care in medical emergencies.

As a society we don't consider someone who needs any other medical form of intervention a failure, we don't think people who need their appendix out or would like to be vaccinated against polio are wimps.

Despite all of this there is a stigma that mothers who need a C-Section to give birth have failed.

From an evolutionary point of view, I guess mothers like me have. We would have died and our narrowed hipped genes with us.

But as a society we don't consider someone who needs any other medical form of intervention a failure, we don't think people who need their appendix out or would like to be vaccinated against polio are wimps.

Yet there is too often still an assumption that if you'd just pushed a bit harder you could have made it happen.

So if C sections are changing evolution because women, like me and babies like my son didn't die in childbirth then frankly, bring it on.

My next pregnancy was identical twins, they had a rare condition of sharing one placenta. Without a C-section they would have had very little chance of survival.
A heartbroken mother has revealed how upset her son became after receiving a horrible Christmas card from a schoolmate.

Australian mum Anna Mitchell wrote on Mamamia about how she had to comfort her crying six-year-old after his last day of Kindergarten.

She heard her son sobbing in his room and went to investigate, finding him sitting on his bed distraught.

Australian mum Anna Mitchell has written about how her son received an awful Christmas card from a classmate (stock image)

'He struggled to compose himself. His shoulders heaving. His face broken. Eyes squinting and pleading. Tears streaming. The whole works,' Ms Mitchell wrote.

The six-year-old was surrounded by Christmas cards and candy canes, but upset over a single card that read 'I hat you' [sic].

'My own heart broke into a thousand pieces in an instant. Fleeting memories of rejection from my own youth came flooding back, tenfold. Moments long mothballed,' the mum wrote.

The boy asked Ms Mitchell if the card, which also had a drawing of an upside down heart with a cross through it, said hate.

The anonymous card read 'I hat you' and had an upside down heart with a cross through it

The mum told her son she didn't know what the message meant, but the clever six-year-old explained it must mean hate.

Upset and angry, Ms Mitchell called the primary school her son attends but they couldn't track down who wrote the card.

In desperation, the mum took to Facebook and wrote about what had happened. Soon she had an apologetic father call her and reveal that it was his daughter who wrote the card.

Ms Mitchell urged parents to check their children's Christmas cards before they give them out

The dad said that he hadn't read all of his daughter's cards for her classmates and had spoken to her about the message.
An Australian mum has opened up about the reasons she still breastfeeds her triplets, even though they are now five and at pre-school.

Davina Wright, who currently lives in Hong Kong with her husband Jason, has breastfed her children Connor, Willow and Summer since birth.

The 47-year-old now nurses the kids a couple of times a day, and says although she is 'tired' of breastfeeding, she believes they should decide when they want to stop.

Dinner time! Davina Wright still breastfeeds her five-year-old triplets Connor, Willow and Summer (pictured)

One at a time! The 47-year-old said that she would be happy if her children weaned now, but that the children should decide when to stop

Ms Wright said that while some people might claim she is only breastfeeding for herself, she says that is not the case.

'I would be happy if they weaned now,' she wrote on The Milk Meg. 'I am big on letting the child decide when they are ready to wean but at the same time I'm like "Dudes, there are three of you, and youre five, come on already!"

'I am tired, I am touched out, and I am pretty sure the last of the "baby weight" wont shift until they stop.

'It's not that I want my body back to myself, because the three of them will continue to climb on me, sit on me and take "piggy back rides" on me, it's more that I am just feeling done.'

'I am tired, I am touched out': The mum said she is feeling 'done' with breastfeeding but will keep doing it

Flashback: Ms Wright has breastfed the children since birth, and said they love it

Ms Wright said that her two older children both weaned themselves when they were around 14 months old, and that she expected the same from her triplets.

However that hasn't been the case. And while the mum does breastfeed them twice a day, before bed and in the morning, she has set boundaries.

'But they love it so much, truly they do. They are at times obsessed with "numnees" and let me know. I say no a lot,' the 47-year-old said.

'They are obsessed': The mum said that the three children, who are in preschool, let her know how much they like 'numnees'

'Our biggest challenge': Now that they are older the 47-year-old is trying to teach them about bodily autonomy and says no a lot

If they ask for boobie and I dont want to, I say "no" and they gang up on me

Despite saying no, Ms Wright said that she wants to instill rules about body autonomy in her children, although often they don't listen to her when she tries to set rules.

'Our biggest challenge at the moment is lessons in respecting boundaries and body autonomy. For example, if they ask for boobie and I dont want to, I say "no" and they gang up on me,' she explained.

'It's like dealing with a bunch of [zombies] when they just keep coming at me, pulling at my clothes, trying to get my boobs out and just not listening to my "no". It can be quite upsetting to not feel 'heard' by your own children in this situation.'

'It's like dealing with a bunch of [zombies]': But the mum said that the kids don't like it when she tells them no and try to pull at her clothes

Despite this, she says she does enjoy the connection she feels when she feeds the triplets before they go to sleep. The mum said that each of the three have their own room, and the quiet time she gets with them.

Ms Wright also revealed that the children don't get bullied for breastfeeding because they haven't told their friends.

The triplets are due to start kindergarten next year and the mum said she expects the situation will be the same if the kids haven't weaned by then.

Bonding: Ms Wright said that she loves the connection she has with the kids when she breastfeeds

While some people have strong opinions about older children breastfeeding, Ms Wright said that she actually enjoys that the kids can talk to her about it.

'One of the nicest things about breastfeeding older children is that they are able to verbalise their joy of breastfeeding to you,' the mum said. 'Mine tell me quite often how much they love it and how happy it makes them.

'When people worry about them remembering nursing at this age (as if thats a bad thing), I sure hope that it is these moments of love and happiness and connection that they do get to remember!'

To follow Davina's Facebook page Boobs, No B******s click here
A heartbroken mother has spoken out about the harrowing ordeal of waking up next to her dead baby boy.

Amanda Saucedo woke in the middle of the night to find her son Ben 'fussing' in his co-sleeper and lifted him into her bed so she could feed him.

She peacefully drifted off to sleep but by the time she woke around 8am, quickly realised something was horribly wrong.

Her 30-day-old son lay lifeless in her bed surrounded by a pool of blood.

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Terrifying: Amanda Saucedo has shared a horrifying account of how her baby boy Ben passed away. She is pictured with son Trae (left) and Ben as a newborn (right)

Dedicated: Since Ben's death, Ms Saucedo has dedicated herself to promoting safe sleeping with newborns. She is pictured with son Trae celebrating what would have been Ben's first birthday

Ms Saucedo remembered in vivid detail the terrifying moment she woke up next to her unresponsive son.

'Then I looked at my sweet Ben, all cuddled up to me as he loved to do. But something wasnt right,' she told the Scientific Parent.

'His face was pale and his nostril was stuck halfway down.

'I sat up and I realized there was a pool of blood next to Ben. I thought to myself, ''No. No. This isnt happening''.'

Devastating: Since her son's death two years ago, Ms Saucedo had battled strong feelings of grief and guilt

'This isn't happening': Ben (pictured, front) was a healthy, happy baby boy when tragedy struck out of the blue

In that single moment, the devastated mother realised her baby boy would never wake up again.

'I call this my hell day,' she said.

'It is the worst story to tell. And it never seems to get easier.'

Ms Saucedo said she was speaking out about her 'nightmare' so other parents realised the dangers of sharing a bed with their babies.

She said her healthy baby boy unexpectedly passed away in his sleep and a subsequent autopsy found no proof that he was suffocated or smothered.

'While there was never anything found in his autopsy to prove that he suffocated, nor was his airway blocked when I found him, his death was ruled an accidental asphyxiation.'

Doubt and guilt: The devastated mother said she would always wonder what she could have done differently to save her son's life. She has since dedicated her life to promoting safe sleeping practices

In the two years since Ben's death on 19 November, 2014, Ms Saucedo has battled the overwhelming emotions of guilt and grief.

This spurred her to start the Benny Bears organisation and dedicate herself to spreading the message of safe sleeping for parents with young children.

'Since Bens death, I feel it is my duty to promote safe sleep knowledge to parents,' she said.

'Never knowing if my baby would still be alive had he been sleeping alone is something I will take to the grave with me.

'If Ben had died while I was practicing the ABCs of safe sleep, I feel my life wouldnt constantly be filled with doubt and guilt.'
A doting father of five has transformed his 15-month-old son, Rockwell, into a living Elf on the Shelf for the second Christmas in a row, and the results are as adorable as ever.

Alan Lawrence, 41, from Paradise, Utah, first turned his little boy into the Elf last Christmas, when Rockwell was just four months old.

His latest batch of photos show a slightly older - but no less cute - fictional character.

You better watch out! A doting father of five from Utah has turned his fifteen-month-old son, Rockwell, into a cheeky elf on the shelf for the second Christmas running (pictured)

Cute: Alan Lawrence photographs little Rockwell in various places, and shares them on his Instagram and blog page (pictured) - he holds him in precarious positions and edits himself out

In one of the new images shared on his Instagram page, Rockwell is seen sitting beside a demolished advent calendar.

The cheeky caption reads: 'The elf ate all of the advent calendar chocolates last night! He apologised once he realised that it was not a game to test how many chocolates you could put in your mouth in 24 seconds'.

In other snaps, Rockwell is seen tying up one of his brothers, Zac, in Christmas lights, as well as cleaning his teeth with whipped cream.

Naughty: In one of the latest Elf on the Shelf snaps, Rockwell is seen attempting to brush his teeth with whipped cream (pictured)

Many of the photos rack up thousands of likes and comments.

'We have a lot of fun thinking up all of the different ideas,' Mr Lawrence told Daily Mail.

'I especially enjoyed the whipped cream as toothpaste photo.'

Up to no good: In other snaps, Rockwell is seen tying up one of his brothers, Zac, in Christmas lights (pictured)

Popular: Many of the photos rack up thousands of likes and comments online from Mr Lawrence's many fans

Speaking previously to Today, Mr Lawrence explained why he started the Elf on the Shelf series with Rockwell:

'All of our friends do the Elf on the Shelf and I've always thought it was sort of creepy, but sort of fun - this idea of an elf coming to live in your home and moving around to different place,' he said.

'And I'm like, what if it was a real elf? And of course, being parents, we already have the cutest little four-month-old. So we decided to make a fun series.'

Previous high jinks: Christmas isn't the only time of year that Rockwell has dressed up as an elf - for St. Patrick's Day, he dressed up as a leprechaun with orange beard and little green suit

Beginnings: 'All of our friends do the Elf on the Shelf and I've always thought it was sort of creepy, but sort of fun,' Mr Lawrence (pictured) told Daily Mail

Christmas isn't the only time of year Rockwell has moonlighted as an elf, either.

On St. Patrick's Day, Mr Lawrence's youngest son dressed up as a leprechaun, complete with bright orange beard, little green suit and bucket full of gold.

And Rockwell's older brother, Wil, who has Down syndrome, has also previously starred in a series of adorable photographs taken by the talented dad - the 'Wil can fly' series sees the youngster captured in a variety of 'flying' poses.

Last Christmas: Last year, when he was just four months old, Rockwell also moonlighted as an elf (pictured in 2015)

Upcoming: Over the festive period, Mr Lawrence plans to share many more photos of little Rockwell dressed as an elf in different places - he is also talking to literary agents

Creative: 'We have a lot of fun thinking up all of the different ideas,' Mr Lawrence told Daily Mail - in the past, little Rockwell has been seen doing all sorts (pictured)

Over the course of the festive period and all throughout the month of December, Mr Lawrence plans to share many more photos of little Rockwell dressed as an elf in different places.

The photos will be able to be seen on Alan Lawrence's much-followed Instagram page and blog.

The dad added that he is currently in talks with several literary agents, who have plans to turn Rockwell's high jinks into a book.

You better watch out: this adorable toddler elf is going nowhere.
At her worst, Meegan Malouf would spend the day sleeping. She lacked the energy to look after her children. She needed a wheelchair to get around.

Once, when her husband was out, Ms Malouf, from NSW, fell over in the backyard, unable to get back up again.

The other reason I couldnt get out of bed was physically it was too painful, she told Daily Mail Australia.

Mother-of-six Meegan Malouf was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007

I had pins and needles in my feet all the time, and it affected my cognitive ability, I would forget things.

Mrs Malouf, a 41-year-old mother of six, has multiple sclerosis, having been diagnosed with the condition in 2007.

When she was given the diagnosis, doctors gave her two choices.

They said you can go on this medication or that medication, one is a weekly injection and the other a daily injection, she said.

Her condition deteriorated to the point where she was wheelchair bound, and spent days in bed

All the medications Ive tried have made me incredibly sick, and none of the treatments worked on me.

An MRI scan showed Mrs Malouf, who lives in Taree on the New South Wales mid-north coast, had 16 lesions on her brain and two on her spinal cord.

She started looking in to treatment options, and found haematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCT) had successfully worked in patients with MS.

But the controversial treatment was only available as a trial in Australia, and despite her debilitating condition, Mrs Malouf was told she did not qualify.

Medication she took left her feeling sick, so she made the decision to travel to Russia for controversial Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation treatment

HAEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS Stem cell transplants have previously been used to treat some types of cancer but MS sufferers are increasingly turning to the treatment to improve symptoms. However experts remain cautious, with MS Research Australia calling for 'further rigorous evidence for the effectiveness, safety and most appropriate use' of the treatment. 'Decisions about any MS treatments, taking into consideration the potential benefits, risks and side effects for an individuals particular circumstances, should be made in careful consultation with each individuals neurologist,' the organisation said in a statement. Advertisement

It was affecting my life every single day as a mother and I had to give up work, she said.

I thought what else, how bad do you really want me to be?

She looked in to getting the treatment overseas, and made the decision to travel to Russia to undergo a HSCT transplant.

This was despite doctors in Australia warning her against it.

The controversial treatment involved a stem cell transplant and week of intensive chemotherapy.

They give you chemotherapy for a week, its only a week, but they absolutely hammer you, Mrs Malouf said. There was one day there that I didnt care if I died.

The month-long treatment saw her undergo a stem cell transplant and chemotherapy

Mrs Malouf said the treatment aimed to completely obliterate her immune system of any memory of MS.

Her stem cells would then be transplanted back in, helping the immune system rebuild itself.

While the treatment only promised to halt the disease progressing, Mrs Malouf found it dramatically improved her condition.

The day of the stem cell transplant I said I havent got any pins and needles in my feet, I hadnt not had pins and needles for years, she said.

I remember packing my walking stick in my luggage and I didnt get it back out again, I still havent.

My wheelchair is deflated out the back.

She saw immediate results from the treatment, and even said the lesions she has in her brain and spine have shrunk

While recovery is said to take up to two years, her condition has greatly improved.

I still get a bit of pain but its more manageable now, she said.

My worst days now would probably be equivalent to my best days before the transplant.

A second MRI scan also showed her lesions had shrunk.

My worst days now would probably be equivalent to my best days before the transplant.

But while the treatment was a success, it came as a cost.

Overall the family forked out AUD$84,000 for the month-long treatment, selling everything they owned, doing fundraisers and dipping in to their super to pay for it.

Mrs Malouf was also told the treatment left her post-menopausal, so when she fell pregnant after returning from Russia, to say she was surprised is an understatement.

Shes a miracle baby, Mrs Malouf said of her daughter, five-month-old Savannah.

The pregnancy did not come without its complications.

Little Savannah was smaller than normal, and doctors believe the chemotherapy affected placental growth.

But while she was born early, she is in perfect health.

After the treatment she fell pregnant naturally and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Savannah, despite being told she was post-menopausal

WHAT IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS? Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition of the central nervous system, interfering with nerve impulses within the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. It is characterised by sclerosis a Greek word meaning scars. These scars occur within the central nervous system and depending on where they develop, manifest into various symptoms. MS affects over 23,000 in Australia and more than two million diagnosed worldwide. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20-40, but it can affect younger and older people too. Roughly three times as many women have MS as men. Source: MS Australia Advertisement

Mrs Malouf hopes by sharing her story to raise awareness about HSCT treatment in Australia.

They say the earlier you get treated with HSCT the better the results are, she said.

She said treatment should be made available for MS sufferers in Australia, who might not be able to afford to travel overseas.

It can easily be done through any of the cancer centres all over Australia, its exactly the same procedure, she said.

'This treatment has 14 years worth of worldwide data by world renowned hematologists.

'Why won't it be fast-tracked in Australia?'
It took Kyro Ormsby months of trial and error to perfect his cookie recipe.

The Gold Coast teenager made batch after batch of dough, not stopping until he balanced the ingredients just right to get the perfect soft centre.

Kyro, 13, runs Kyzookie Giant Cookies, and turns over an incredible AUD $2,000 a month.

The business sees Kyro produce up to 230 cookies a week, and his mother Bianca Ormsby told Daily Mail Australia that they only launched a few months ago.

Fortune cookie: Kyro Ormsby (pictured with his sister), 13, from the Gold Coast, runs Kyzookie Giant Cookies and turns over an incredible AUD $2,000 a month

Trial and error: It took him months to perfect the recipe - he made batch after batch of dough, not stopping until he balanced the ingredients just right for the perfect soft centre (pictured)

'Kyro's always loved cookies and he's always liked baking,' Ms Ormsby said.

'He was making a lot of cakes, but cakes are a lot harder.

'We bought him a giant cookie for his birthday and he absolutely loved the novelty of it, and I said why don't you make cookies.'

The rest is history.

Happy days: The business sees Kyro produce up to 230 cookies a week, and his mother Bianca Ormsby told Daily Mail Australia that they only launched a few months ago

Fan: According to Kyro's mother, he has always loved baking (pictured) - he was initially making more cakes, but the cakes proved to be more difficult; then he found giant cookies

Making the perfect cookies  crunchy on the outside and soft in the centre  is no mean feat.

Kyro tried and tested different recipes, but found most burnt the bottom of the cookie or made it crunchy through to the centre.

But before too long, he got the balance just right, making a double chocolate cookie that just 'melted in the mouth'.

'Within the first couple of weeks we had orders piling in,' Ms Ormsby said.

Tried and tested: Making the perfect cookies  crunchy on the outside and soft in the centre  is no mean feat - Kyro struggled to get the balance perfect (pictured)

Stockpiling: Within the first couple of weeks, however, the business had orders piling in - the giant Kyzookie cookies are either eight or 12 inches big and cost $18 and $35 respectively

The giant Kyzookie cookies are either eight or 12 inches big and cost $18 and $35 respectively, with boxes or regular-sized cookies also available.

As well as the original double chocolate, they now offer peanut butter chocolate chip, white chocolate and macadamia, triple chocolate and chocolate chip Nutella.

'Depending on the order, he spends about two  three hours every day on it,' Ms Ormsby said.

Kyro makes the cookies in Kai Kitchen, a commercial kitchen in Coomera, and has a staggering 3,000 cookies to make for an upcoming Christmas event.

The company has already had interstate and international interest, and they hope one day to expand the business to include shipping.

Legnthy process: Depending on the order, Kyro spends between two and three hours a day perfecting it (pictured)

Differnce: Ms Ormsby said the quality ingredients, and the cookies' soft centres, is what sets them apart from other cookies on the market

Ms Ormsby said the quality ingredients, and the cookies' soft centres, is what sets them apart.

The cookie dough also needs to be chilled for 24 hours.

'We use the best flour, bakers flour, which has been triple sifted, butter, no margarine, and 100 per cent milk chocolate,' she said.

While she helps Kyro do the piping on top of the cookies, she plans to one day hand the task over to him.

They also have the help of Kyro's three-year-old sister, Zynala, and Ms Ormbsy said they hope to all grow the business together for the future.
Students graduating from Queen's University were left stunned when it published 'style guidance' advising them to dress like Grace Kelly, rather than Kim Kardashian, at the ceremony.

The message, which appeared on the Belfast university's website popped up as students registered online to attend the graduation ceremony.

It said the short skirts and visible cleavage - a look associated with Ms Kardashian -were 'totally out of the question'.

The guidance, attributed to a former student who now runs a tailoring firm, has been slammed by students as 'disgusting' and 'condescending', and one of the university's male lecturers has called it 'sexist nonsense'.

The 'style guidance' advised female students to take their cues from Grace Kelly, left, rather than reality TV star Kim Kardashian, right

Short skirts and visible cleavage were 'out of the question' for the formal ceremony, the article supplied by an 'external contributor' said

Law lecturer Alex Schwartz voiced his disapproval over the publication of the article

Grace Kelly was a feted Hitchcock blonde of the 1950s, who turned her back on acting to marry Prince Rainier III and become Princess Grace of Monaco in a real-life fairy tale.

Her signature take on '50s elegance - which is still referenced to this day - are in contrast to Kim Kardashian's daring wardrobe of body con dresses, latex and towering stilettos.

An excerpt from Thom Dickerson's message to students published by the Belfast Telegraph warned girls against making the mistake of treating the formal ceremony 'like a night out'.

'Short skirts and cleavage on show are totally out of the question,' it said.

'Think Grace Kelly, not Kim Kardashian, at least until the day is done: you can always change before heading out.'

The newspaper said one horrified post-graduate emailed the university to express their shock at the 'degrading' comparison.

It said: 'The most offensive part of it all is the way in which it confirms the stereotypical good girl and pits her against the stereotypical bad girl.'

Aishling McMorrow called the advice 'so condescending and sexist' on Twitter, while Amanda Ferguson tweeted: 'Enough with telling women what to do!'

Fellow Twitter user e(lf) said she was 'kind of disgusted' by the advice, and Chingachgook accused the university of 's**t shaming'.

The guidance published on the webpage was called 'condescending' and 'sexist' on Twitter

One critic said it was 'offensive' in that it 'confirms the stereotypical good girl and pits her against the stereotypical bad girl'

The actress Grace Kelly, who became Princess of Monaco, during promotion for the Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief

A Queen's lecturer, Alex Schwartz, also tweeted to say the article was 'sexist nonsense'.

'What is wrong with QUB's PR people?' the law lecturer wrote.

'Honestly. I'm proud to see our students speak out against this sexist nonsense,' he added.

GRACE KELLY: A TIMELESS STYLE ICON The Hitchcock blonde who became a princess, Grace Kelly captivated the world with her much-emulated take on 1950s glamour... Signature looks: Strapless satin gown White blouse Strand of pearls Cat-eye sunglasses Head scarf A strong, arched brow Hollywood waves Red lipstick Most talked about look: The Helen Rose wedding gown she wore to marry Monaco's Prince Rainier III in 1956 Advertisement

KIM KARDASHIAN: FROM TV STAR TO BALMAIN MUSE Kim Kardashian has gone from a reality TV star with a uniform of bandeau dresses and hidden platform heels, to a Vogue cover star and designer muse... Signature looks: All things black and body con Nude latex dress Necklaces with children's names Enormous designer shades Off-duty baseball cap A strong, arched brow Tumbling raven tresses Nude lipstick Most talked about look: The platinum blonde Barbie-style hair she unveiled at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year Advertisement





The article published on the university's graduation webpage was branded 'condescending and sexist' by women on Twitter

The advice has now been removed and the university said in a statement that the graduation webpage was 'dynamic' and 'constantly updated'.

'It currently includes stories about the achievements of our most recent graduates,' the university said.

'This particular article was written by an external contributor.'
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When Captain Reginald Newman was imprisoned at the brutal Kuching prisoner of war camp in Borneo during the Second World War, he spent three years doing hard labour and surviving on a cup of rice a day.

However, the British army captain, from Powys, Wales, spent his free time dreaming of caravan holidays back in his beloved homeland and, when he managed to get his hands on a scrapbook and coloured pencils, he began creating meticulous plans for a luxury two-berther he could build upon his release.

However, when Mr Newman was finally set free at the end of the war, the memory of his time in the barbaric Japanese prison camp left him so traumatised that he hid away his detailed drawings and didn't share them with his family.

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'He would have been over the moon': Jan Fursier with the caravan that her father Captain Reginald Newman dreamed of building while he was incarcerated in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Borneo in the 1940s. With the help of Amazing Spaces' George Clarke, far right, and Will Hardie, far left, Jan has seen her father's plans realised

Mr Newman's carefully illustrated pencil drawings, created on a 4x7 inch notepad, detailed his plans for his perfect caravan. The cream and green teardrop-style caravan has been built - 70 years later - by Amazing Spaces' Will Hardie

Stylish interior: Newman's idea for twin beds and a fold out dining table have been built according to his pencil-drawing plans

Hard labour: Captain Newman, pictured on the left with a colleague, and right, as a young man on his wedding day with Jan's mother. Newman served in the Far East during the Second World War; he was captured and sent to the brutal Kuching camp in Borneo where he spent three years

Thirty years later, his daughter Jan Fursier discovered the pencil-drawn plans while clearing out her father's possessions and was astounded at just how detailed the tiny designs, written on a 4x7 inch notepad were.

Jan eventually contacted the team behind hit Channel 4 show Amazing Spaces, showing presenter George Clarke her father's ambitions for the 1930s caravan.

She told Clarke: 'I came across some papers of my father's and I would love to build the caravan that he planned.'

The show employed quirky builder Will Hardie to try and bring Mr Newman's erstwhile designs, which documented everything from where bread and milk might be stored to a wire soap dish, to life.

Mr Newman served in the Far East in the 1940s after joining up to the army from the Civil Service as a 24-year-old.

Captured and sent to the Japanese prison camp, he endured terrible conditions for three years and five months - often surviving on a cup of rice a day - before he was released.

A man with a plan: Mr Newman's precision plans included tiny details, such as where bread and milk might be stored

A washing up rack, medicine chest and soap rack were all detailed in the book, which has withstood 70 years, and three years in a prison camp remarkably well

Caravan of love! The designs, featured in a small notebook, and outlined every element of how the 1930s caravan would be constructed including materials and lay-out. Right: How diners would enjoy food in the caravan received lots of attention including a fold-out table in the sleeping area

Detail: The plans said the caravan should have a gas stove for cooking and oak-fashioned handles, which builder Will Hardie stayed true to

She's a beauty! The interior of the caravan includes two pull-out beds, which have been furnished using authentic fabrics from the period that would have influenced Reginald Newman's designs

Jan and her family - including her grandchildren - enjoy a cup of tea in Mr Newman's caravan; she told the programme her father would have been over the moon to see his project realised

His kept his spirits up by drawing the 1930s mobile holiday home, which he specified should be made from a steam-curved ashwood frame, have curved leaded windows, a plywood roof and include a kitchen diner with a gas hob for cooking.

The carefully illustrated designs were so lavish they would have created a caravan that might have been equivalent to three homes back in the 1940s.

In the hour long episode, Hardie shows how he stays true to the design and creates a perfect cream and green teardrop-style two-berth caravan.

Mr Newman's caravan features in George Clarke's Amazing Spaces World War II Special airs on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm

Inside, the touring caravan has bespoke furniture including carved oak handles, two single beds and the gas stove that Mr Newman wanted.

When Jan takes her family to look around the caravan, placed at an old family holiday spot in Dina's Cross, Pembrokeshire, she's reduced to tears, saying: 'He'd have been blown away, it's a shame he never got as far as trying to make it.'

Architect George Clarke said of the creation: 'She [the caravan] looks like the drawing, she looks like the wobbly, slightly quirky drawing.'
It's a truth universally acknowledged that men and women don't always see eye to eye when it comes to fashion.

But that hasn't stopped these style devotees from showing off their latest wares on social media - regardless of what their husbands think of them.

In a series of hilarious online posts, women are sharing pictures of their quirkiest outfits in a bid to defy their fashion-phobic spouses and partners using hashtags like #ClothesMyHusbandHates and #ManRepeller.

Women have been sharing pictures using the hashtag #ClothesMyHusbandHates. Maeve Barry recently shared this picture of her new coat adorned with giant furry pompoms

And from furry mules to flared dungarees, leopard print trousers and golden trainers, it's clear these fashion devotees aren't going to be put off by a throwaway comment from their husbands.

'When it comes to womens fashion, anything out of the ordinary thats a step away from the norm tends to find its way into man-repeller territory,' says Helen Canning Ford, fashion expert and blogger at CocoMamaStyle.com. 'Think wide-leg cropped trousers, pleated midi-skirts and pyjama shirts to name but a few.

'Many key trend items from recent seasons rebel against the perceived ideal of an hourglass silhouette so its no wonder that men arent enamoured by these trend-led cuts and styles.

'Men are naturally drawn to figure-hugging styles which emphasise a balanced, curved shape; we have evolution to thank for that!

Laura Milner shared a picture of her jeans, writing: 'Frayed denim obsession has reached new lows... less fashionista more orphan boy number 4 in a low budget remake of Oliver'

Katie Goodchild said her boyfriend was not a fan of this patterned shirt. Fashion expert Helen Canning Ford says anything 'out of the ordinary' can be considered 'man repeller territory'

Smee_sha shared a picture of her furry sandals on Instagram. Helen says these snaps are a way for women to 'feel confident in themselves, regardless of how men see it'

'But for women, these new shapes offer interesting ways to create outfits from day to night and work to weekend, not to mention comfort in oversized sweaters and pyjama dressing for example.'

Helen adds: 'Its no secret that many women dress for other women, rather than the men in their life and we all know the outfits that will appeal to many men. While there may be a time and place for that, women should dress for themselves, to feel confident in themselves, regardless of how men see it.'

One such woman is fashionista Maeve Barry, who recently shared a picture of her new coat adorned with giant furry pompoms on Instagram.

Sporting a cosy shearling jacket and oversized scarf, Jayne Dooey revealed the 'lovely males in her life' had suggested she looked like she'd 'fit in on the set of the Lion King'

Lizzie Grace MacInnes proudly showed off a picture of her chunky white Nike Air Force1 trainers using the hashtags #nike #boxfresh #trainers #clothesmyhusbandhates

Fashionista nievamind created a DIY pair of 'man repellant' feather-adorned sandals

Writing on Instagram, she said: 'I'm sure my husband - and [dog] #scooter lurking in the background! - are sick of seeing me wear this #pompom #coat since I got it last month, but I don't care!

'How could you not be in the best mood wearing this?! Love it.'

Laura Milner shared a picture of her snakeskin pumps and frayed jeans, writing: 'Frayed denim obsession has reached new lows... less fashionista more orphan boy number 4 in a low budget remake of Oliver.'

While Katie Goodchild revealed her boyfriend was not a fan of her fuscia pink patterned shirt, and Instagrammer smee_sha shared a picture of her furry sandals, using the hashtag #shoesmyhusbandhates'.

Kellie Cooper told her followers: 'I very rarely wear skirts but couldn't resist this for a tenner in the sale. I haven't a clue where or when I'm going to wear it, and the husband will hate it'

Instagrammer and fashion designer andrealovesmad couldn't help showing off her 'new babies', a pair of patent loafers from Marni, despite admitting they were a 'man repeller'

Georgie Jones joked that her boyfriend 'wretched' when he saw her pointed leather mules and accused her of dressing like his granddad

Sporting a cosy shearling jacket and oversized scarf, Jayne Dooey revealed the 'lovely males in her life' had suggested she looked like she'd 'fit in on the set of the Lion King'.

Lizzie Grace MacInnes proudly showed off a picture of her chunky white Nike Air Force1 trainers, while fellow fashionista nievamind fashioned a DIY pair of 'man repellant' feather-adorned sandals.

Not one to be put off by her husband's tastes, Kellie Cooper modelled a glitzy gold ribbed skirt, telling her followers: 'I very rarely wear skirts but couldn't resist this for a tenner in the sale.

'I haven't a clue where or when I'm going to wear it, and the husband will hate it. But I love it!'

One woman proudly showed off a pair of rose gold trainers her husband had an aversion to, writing: '#heknowsnothing'

Saffron Stocker shared a picture of a 'manrepellant' flared jumpsuit from French Connection which she paired with a polka dot shirt with the caption 'CHANGING ROOM DEBATES'

Lorraine Beardmore's approach to 'inconspicuous dressing' involve a pair of high-waisted animal print trousers paired with a fuscia t-shirt

Instagrammer andrealovesmad couldn't help showing off her 'new babies', a pair of patent loafers from Marni, despite admitting they were a 'man repeller'.

Georgie Jones joked that her boyfriend 'wretched' when he saw her pointed leather mules and accused her of dressing like his granddad.

While one Instagrammer, known only as Disastersofathirtysomething, joked that her husband had deliberately spilled a drink over her leopard print coat.

She wrote: 'Think my husband might have paid the girl who did it... I've mentioned this before but he hates this leopard number. Every time he sees me in it he rolls his eyes, waves his hands around and says "faaashaun..."'

Sinead Ehrlich declared her fondness for leopard skin, writing: 'Can you really ever have too much animal print?!? #ClothesMyHusbandHates #AllTheLeopardPrint

Katrina Holland eschewed her boyfriend's tastes in favour of her 'dreamy pink culottes' and Birkenstock sandals

Carly Stevens couldn't resist sharing a snap of her leopard print pyjama bottoms, writing: 'Lounging in leopard... According to my husband I'm channelling Del Boy.'

One woman proudly showed off a pair of rose gold trainers her husband had an aversion to, writing: '#heknowsnothing'.

Saffron Stocker shared a picture of a 'manrepellant' flared jumpsuit from French Connection, while Lorraine Beardmore's approach to 'inconspicuous dressing' involve a pair of high-waisted animal print trousers paired with a fuscia t-shirt.

Sinead Ehrlich declared her fondness for animal print, and Katrina Holland eschewed her boyfriend's tastes in favour of her 'dreamy pink culottes' and Birkenstock sandals.
A couple sold almost everything - including their house and possessions - to go on a year-long trip with their five children.

Stephanie and Jordan Jones, both 29, condensed their lives and that of their children into one backpack each which they lived out of for the duration of their trip.

Among the cities the family, currently based in Texas, visited were Istanbul in Turkey and Vienna in Austria where they stayed in homes rented through Airbnb.

Adventure: Stephanie Jones, pictured in Istanbul, her husband Jordan and their five children, pictured, sold almost everything to go traveling for a year

Sacrifice: The couple, both 29, sold their home in the US and most of its contents to travel with their family, pictured in Istanbul

Culture change: The family, pictured at the Schonbrunn Palace Gardens in Vienna, went to Turkey and Austria

When they departed, their children - Oliver, now seven, Natalie, six, Elyana, four, Edison, three, and Stanley, one - were all under the age of seven.

Stephanie, a web designer and blogger, and Jordan, an inventor and technical support worker, are both self-employed so they were able to work remotely as they traveled.

'My husband traveled all over the world throughout his childhood, and I've always wanted to do the same and we wanted our kids to be "world-schooled" too.

'We've also been fed up with the excessive lifestyle most Americans lead and we were guilty of in many ways,' Stephanie told Daily Mail Online.

They road-tested the concept when their eldest was nine months old with a trip to Zurich in Switzerland, Cairo in Egypt, and Istanbul and became 'hooked'.

She said: 'We wanted to immerse our kids in other countries as early as we could, and we don't think they'll forget at all since we plan on continuing it as long as we can.'

Mobile: As they traveled, the family, pictured by the Danube in Vienna, stayed in homes rented through Airbnb

Flexible: Stephanie said the children, pictured left in London and right in Vienna, adapted easily to their new lives

Over a period of two years they either donated or sold most of their possessions.

They arrived in Istanbul on August 2015 and returned to the US three months ago.

Stephanie said the children quickly adapted to their new lives and that many of the countries she visited were more welcoming of families than at home.

She said their family benefited from the experience by being exposed to new languages and cultures.

Stephanie claims she even made more money overseas because as a result of the time difference she could get more done with her US-based clients.

She said the most difficult aspect of the trip was coming home in September.

Home: She said arriving back in America was a 'culture shock' for the family, pictured in Istanbul

'Hooked': She said they are already planning their next trip to Antarctica, Australia and the Alps in either Europe or New Zealand

'Everyone settled into our new way of life without any difficulty, and fully enjoyed it. Re-entry was rough, to be honest.

'We were enjoying traveling so much we werent ready to come back...

'Readjusting to life in the US was almost more challenging than adjusting to life out of it  [it was] a true culture shock,' she told parenting website Babble.

The family is already planning their next trip Antarctica, Australia and either the Alps in Europe or New Zealand.

Stephanie said many people 'freak out' at the idea of traveling as a family but encouraged others to follow their example.
A trio of angelic choirgirls were among parishioners who met the Prince of Wales today at a Russian Orthodox cathedral in London.

Prince Charles attended a prayer service and a concert at Dormition Cathedral in Knightsbridge.

The 68-year-old royal met church leaders and members of the congregation, and was shown the results of recent restoration work at the Grade II listed building.

Members of the children's choice curtsy in front of the Prince of Wales during his visit to the Russian Orthodox Church's Dormition Cathedral in Knightsbridge today

Archbishop Elisey walks with Prince Charles outside Dormition Cathedral after the service

The Prince, who was dapper in a dark blue suit with a pale blue shirt and tie, was photographed chatting to parishioners and church leaders upon arrival at the 19th Century building in London.

During the prayer service, the Archbishop Elisey was seen presenting a cross to Prince Charles during a moleben service - a service of supplication.

Later, he looked at religious iconography inside the cathedral during a tour of recent restoration works at the building.

Young members of the choir were seen lining the walkway outside the building as the Archbishop Elisey escorted Prince Charles from today's service.

Prince Charles attended a prayer service and a concert, and viewed recent restorations

The royal, 68, was seen chatting with parishioners and church leaders today at the cathedral

The Archbishop is seen giving a Moleben during Prince Charles' visit in Knightsbridge

Archbishop Elisey presents the cross to the Prince at the end of Moleben, a supplication prayer service, during today's visit

The Dormition Cathedral is the cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh, which is the Moscow Patriarchate's Diocese for the UK and Ireland.

It's presided over by Archbishop Elisey.

The Prince of Wales attended a prayer service at the cathedral in Knightsbridge, London

The royal met with church leaders, who showed him the results of recent restoration work
A service dog is spreading Christmas cheer to those who need it the most with the help of his very out styling ride.

Sancho, a 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier is becoming an online star after images of him volunteering along with his owner at the San Gabriel Valley Medical Center in California went viral.

The photos now spreading across social media show the pooch wearing a festive outfit while riding along in a mini VW van.

On his way: At the San Gabriel Valley Medical Center in California, 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier Sancho is on hand to spread Christmas cheer

Party animal: The pooch rides around accompanied by plenty of Christmas decorations

Apparently, Sancho has taken to riding around in the little car to cheer up patients all over the hospital.

The dog even has his very own ID badge so he came come back with his volunteer owner anytime.

The owner, who asked to remain anonymous, brings Sancho back to the hospital every week.

Hospital spokeswoman Eileen Diamond told ABC News: 'We have a pet therapy program at the hospital because we know that pets can help reduce anxiety and bring comfort to patients and their loves ones as well as our staff.'

She added: 'We are delighted to have him.'

Popping out: The dog even has his own ID badge for the hospital and comes weekly

Going big: After photos of him appeared on Twitter, the adorable dog went viral

Sancho's fame began after a Twitter user named Julie snapped a few photos of the pup riding around in a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses and festive ornaments.

'My mom works at a hospital & they have this service dog go around to cheer up patients. Here he is earlier today with the Christmas spirit,' Julie wrote on the social media site.

In just a week, the images have been retweeted almost 8,000 times and have been liked more than 11,000 times.

Julie later told BuzzFeed News that she thought it was 'cool' that so many people were enjoying her photos of Sancho.
Leah Remini isn't done battling the Church of Scientology, which she left in 2013 and has been criticizing publicly ever since.

Following a bestselling book  Troublemaker, in which she details her life growing up in the church  and her popular A&E series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, the 46-year-old is still working to combat the organization she claims brainwashed and indoctrinated her and abused other members.

Speaking in a new essay in the latest issue of PAPER magazine, the King of Queens star repeats her claims that Scientology is a nefarious organization, adding that she hopes the FBI will open a new investigation into its activities.

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Speaking out: Leah Remini is lashing out again at Scientology in a new essay for PAPER

People often wonder how adults get mixed up in cults, but Leah first joined the church as an impressionable kid. Her mom joined up first, bringing Leah and her sister along.

It was easy for Leah to fall under its spell. She recalls the indoctrination, explaining that she was told that she was special, even as a kid. The church also tells its members that it is working toward noble goals, which sound attractive.

'Scientology claims it makes a better world,' she said. 'You're all working on the same goal to make the world a better place, to make the planet a better place. We're saving mankind.'

But despite being out to make the world better, she went on, Scientologist 'are taught not to be in harmony with the rest of the world'.

Brainwashed: She joined the church when she was a child (pictured in 1989, several years after joining), following in the footsteps of her mother

Scary: She said several senior members have claimed to have been beaten by Scientology's leader, David Miscavige (pictured right, with Tom Cruise)

They don't associate much with outsiders, they avoid the outside opinions about the Church and they have 'enemies'  anyone who is against Scientology. This includes the American Medical Association, psychiatry, the government, police officers, and news organizations.

The Church of Scientology has famously hit out at all news organizations who have criticized it, and Tom Cruise caused a firestorm in 2005 when he hit out at Brooke Shields for pursuing psychiatry for her postpartum depression.

It took a long time for Leah to see all of this, though. She first started having doubts when several senior executives and clergy with Scientology left, claiming they'd been beaten and had beaten under people, all under the control of Scientology's leader, David Miscavige.

After hearing these stories several times, she did something strictly verboten under the Church: She looked Scientology up on the internet, gathering more information.

Vocal opponent: Leah has also written a book about her experiences called Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology

Ultimately, it took Leah six years to fully get out of the church. She and her family had been with Scientology for years, and Leah herself had donated millions to it.

'If you are questioning the teachings or the organization, they start to go to work on your family and friends, who, remember, are all Scientologists at this point,' she wrote. 'So it's one thing to walk away and to say, "I'm not into this s*** anymore, I'm gone."

'If you have kids you would have indoctrinated them into Scientology. Your family, your mother, your father, and you usually work for Scientologists. So walking away means leaving all of that behind, because they have to shun you if you leave. You have to be willing to give up everything you've ever known.'

While Leah was lucky  her family left the church with her  not everyone is so fortunate. Her new TV series tells the stories of ex-church-members like these, some of whom were beaten and several of whom had to abandon their loved ones.

In her new A&E series, ex-Scientology members open up about their own horros

Even after publishing her book and promoting her show, though, she's not shutting up  even if it's just to reiterate points she's already made.

'Listen, I'm over the church of Scientology. Period. I've written a book. I've told my story,' she explained. 'What I am taking a stand against is the church turning around and turning against every journalist, every person, every organization who has the balls to tell their story about what really happened.'

She knows the Church will go after her and A&E, as well as the individuals featured on her show. They'll try to discredit them and make them look bitter and out to get the Church  but, she says, they are out to get the Church, and for good reason.

'When you hurt people, defraud them out of money and their lives and brainwash them and victimize them, that's what happens,' she concluded.

Since Leah's series came out, the Church of Scientology has, predictably, lashed out at Leah in return, releasing this statement: 'Leah Reminis "reality" show, like her last one, is nothing more than a scripted, rehearsed, acted and dramatized work of fiction. She and the other anti-Scientologists in her program have been expelled from the Church for unethical conduct.'
The restaurant trend for deconstructing everything from pies to apple crumble has been around for a while now. But one viral photo shows that the polarising craze may have finally gone too far.

Massachusetts author Celeste Ng said she couldn't stop laughing when she ordered a Caesar salad from a New Orleans hotel - only to receive a whole head of lettuce held together by a soft bread ring.

It was far removed from the traditional bowl of shredded lettuce, crispy croutons, and anchovies slathered in a salad dressing - which usually typifies a Caesar salad.

Author Celeste Ng did not expect to receive a whole head of lettuce wrapped in a soft bread ring with dressing on the side when she ordered a Caesar salad from her hotel's room service

She uploaded a picture of the sad salad to Twitter yesterday, with the caption: 'This is not what I expected when I ordered a Caesar salad.'

And it swiftly went viral on the social media website, racking up 2,400 favourites and receiving 1,200 retweets.

Novelist Ng was on holiday in New Orleans with two friends when they all ordered Caesar salads from their hotel's room service - which were described as 'traditional' on the menu.

But they couldn't control their laughter when the deconstructed salads arrived in their rooms.

'My friend who opened it was like "was it supposed to look like this?" Ng told Buzzfeed.

She added: 'Maybe they were trying to be fancy. Maybe the foodie culture has gone too far.'

Ng's fans found the picture of the sad, deconstructed salad hysterically funny

The so-called 'salad' they received was an entire head of Romaine lettuce, wrapped like a napkin would be. It was held together by a soft bread ring to replace the traditional crispy croutons - which Ng said was made from focaccia bread.

On the side was a pot of salad dressing - but the job of cutting up the lettuce and coating the leaves in the sauce was left to the diners.

Ng's fans found the picture hysterically funny.

P van Arsdale couldn't believe anyone could serve such a salad, unless for a joke. She tweeted: 'You should check the room for cameras and make sure you're not part of some kind of performance art piece.'

Fledgeling Feminist agreed and mused: 'Maybe it's an art installation and furious reactions are part of the art.'

Chris Gander also couldn't believe it was real and wrote: 'Could be a new prank where they serve ridiculous hipster food to see how long it takes before someone loses it!'

Many people took offense at the sad-looking salad, criticising the trend for deconstructing traditional meals

Lissa Evans imagined how the salad came into being. ''We've run out of Caesar salad.'

''See what you find in the bin'.'

Bewildered, Sy Almans asked: 'Is...is that crouton holding the lettuce in place like a napkin ring?'

Benjamin Dreyer simply reacted with: 'Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha no.'

Iris McCarthy had a clever new name for the salad. She wrote: 'That's a 'Seizure salad' because that's exactly what I would've had if a waiter had brought me that.'

Nicole Blades imagined: 'That new chef was like, 'This is my moment.''

Many people took offense at the sad-looking salad, criticising the trend for deconstructing traditional meals.

Maggie Smith said: 'Is that a lettuce napkin & crouton napkin ring? Jesus.'

Deanna Raybourn asked: 'Is that...was that actually SERVED this way?' and Sarah Gailey tweeted: 'Oh my god I am instantly furious.'

Luke Cage's Side-Eye made a Shakespearean reference. 'That's a romaine heart trying to pass itself off as a dinner napkin. Et tu, Croute?'
Most of us swat away flies out of annoyance rather than fear, but some can be dangerous  even in the UK.

Last week it emerged that a bite  thought to be from a deer fly  put Lord Allen Bathurst, 55, a friend of Prince Charles, in hospital for four months with multiple organ failure.

Hed developed sepsis (where the immune system goes into overdrive in response to an infection) as a result of the bite.

Lord Allen Bathurst (left), pictured with his wife Lady Sara Bathurst (right). Lord Allen has spoken out about his brush with death from septicaemia, caused by a deer fly bite

In theory, any insect bite could lead to sepsis, but its very rare, says Dr James Logan, an associate professor of medical entomology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Here, we look at how different flies can affect your health.

DEER FLIES

About 1cm long, these have gold or green eyes and brown bodies with darker spots.

Their mouths cut through the skin with a saw-like action, says Dr Logan.

They tend to feed off cattle, horses and deer, and can be found in places such as Richmond Park.

Deer flies (pictured) are about 1cm long. These have gold or green eyes and brown bodies with darker spots, and tend to feed off cattle, horses and deer

HEALTH HAZARD:

Theyre not usually dangerous, except that they carry animal faeces and bacteria in their mouths which can enter the bloodstream, says Dr Logan.

Despite the rare risk of sepsis, it is most likely your immune system will simply react to the saliva and the bite will result in a welt.

BLANDFORD FLIES

Also known as black flies, these are 5mm long and often mistaken for midges. They live near running water  streams, brooks and even water features, says Dr Logan.

They are named after a Dorset town of the same name, where many people were bitten by the flies in the Sixties and Seventies. Peak time for bites is May and June.

Also known as black flies, these are 5mm long and often mistaken for midges. They live near running water  streams, brooks and even water features, says Dr Logan

HEALTH HAZARD:

Victims, who are usually bitten on the leg, report a short, stabbing pain as the flys saliva enters.

The flies bite with scissor-like mouth parts which form a pool of blood on which they feed.

The bites can cause swelling and joint pain, as the body releases histamine, and sometimes a high temperature.

HORSE FLIES

These are related to deer flies, but larger (up to 3cm long). They are mostly dark brown with a metallic sheen and dark eyes.

Commonly found around water, including marshland and rivers, they die off in winter.

Horse flies are related to deer flies, but larger (up to 3cm long). They are mostly dark brown with a metallic sheen and dark eyes

HEALTH HAZARD:

Horse flies are well known for their painful bite  the females have jagged jaws that rip a hole in the flesh.

Signs of infection are a rash, pus, swelling and weakness. In rare cases people develop anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.

Some deaths have been reported.

HOUSE FLIES AND BLOW FLIES

House flies are black, hairy and 5 to 8mm in length. They live off foods and human and animal waste.

Meanwhile the blow fly (also called a blue or greenbottle) is 10 to 15mm long, has a green or blue body and red eyes.

House flies are black, hairy and 5 to 8mm in length. They live off foods and human and animal waste. Meanwhile the blow fly (also called a blue or greenbottle) is 10 to 15mm long

Blow flies can cause myiasis [infestation by maggots], a problem for animals and humans, because maggots feed on flesh, says Dr Logan.

HEALTH HAZARD:
Despite 6 rounds of chemotherapy, it has kept growing and twisted her nose

her to seek specialist help in South Korea

A woman who visited her dentist complaining of toothache was discovered to have a tumour which has now swollen to the size of a grapefruit.

Jennie Yoo, 27, from Bangkok, Thailand, suffered from discomfort in her two front teeth towards the end of last year. However, she assumed she would just need a filling.

But her concerned dentist could not diagnose her problem and sent to a specialist in Seoul, South Korea.

X-rays revealed she had cancer, which was causing a tumour in the left side of her jaw.

Despite six rounds of chemotherapy, it has continued to grow and has now disfigured her face completely, twisting her nose and left eye.

Jennie Yoo, 27, suffered from discomfort in her two front teeth towards the end of last year. X-ray scans revealed a tumour in the left side of her jaw - which has now completely disfigured her face after growing to the size of a grapefruit

The swelling is so bad that cruel online trolls taunted her and accused her of using Photoshop - despite pictures of her undergoing treatment.

But she hit straight back at them with a video of her talking.

She said the cancer had wreaked havoc on her life - and now she is desperate to beat the disease.

'I only thought I had some small tooth problem and might need a filling or one pulled put,' she added.

Miss Yoo, from Bangkok, Thailand, was sent to see a specialist in Seoul, South Korea, after her dentist became concerned of her pain

Despite six rounds of chemotherapy, it has continued to grow and has now disfigured her face completely, twisting her nose and left eye

'But when the dentist couldn't fix it I started to get worried. I went to South Korea to see the expert doctor who did x-rays.

WHAT IS ORAL CANCER? Oral cancer is where a tumour develops in the lining of the mouth. It may be on the surface of the tongue, the insides of the cheeks, the roof of the mouth, or the lips or gums. Tumours can also develop in the glands that produce saliva, the tonsils at the back of the mouth, and the part of the throat connecting your mouth to your windpipe. However, these are less common. It is the sixth most common cancer in the world, but it's much less common in the UK, accounting for just 2 per cent of cases. Most sufferers are between the ages of 50 and 74, with just one in eight affected being under the age of 50. Often patients undergo surgery to remove any cancerous cells, while radiotherapy and chemotherapy is also used to kill off any tumours. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

'It was a very big shock when they said there was cancer in the bones around my jaw. I didn't know what to do.

'I've had six sessions of chemotherapy so far but they were all sporadic, because of how expensive they are. The tumour in my cheek has continued growing.'

Miss Yoo, a former rubber farm worker removing glue from trees, and her parents were initially paying 80,000 Thai baht - around 1,800gbp - for each dose of chemotherapy.

But the costs are now being covered by a special medical grant in Thailand, which has a heavily private health care system.

Doctors have told her that although she cannot have surgery, another five bouts of chemotherapy could eradicate the cancer.

She now wears a mask and hat when she leaves the house to avoid stares from passersby and is desperate to have the remaining treatment and find a job and support herself.

Miss Yoo added: 'My parents take care of me and pay for the home and food, but it is not fair for me to rely on them.
Zoe Roscoe, 23, of Bolton, was diagnosed with a brain AVM while at university in 2013

A woman who had a deadly mass on her brain that left her partially paralysed has hit out at strangers who assume she's drunk.

Zoe Roscoe, 23, from Bolton, was diagnosed with a brain AVM - a tangle of abnormal blood vessels which can bleed and expand - in 2013.

It caused her to suffer stroke-like symptoms, and after a scan, she was told the mass on her brain was a 'ticking time bomb'.

She underwent radiosurgery - which gives a high dose of radiation to a very small precise area - and the mass was removed.

But it left her with severe weakness on her left side and now she's more prone to fall over and lose her balance, with strangers assuming she's drunk.

She is now sharing her story to educate people about AVMs and the lasting symptoms they can cause.

Miss Roscoe, a psychology student, said: 'I was at university when I suddenly started slurring my speech and my left side felt numb.

'I was terrified I was having a stroke but when I went to hospital doctors were baffled.

'I had a brain scan as a precaution and that's when my AVM was found.

'I'd never heard of it before but I was terrified as specialists explained they can cause brain damage or even death if it bleeds.

'It was three centimetres wide and because of its location, surgery wasn't an option.

'But I was eligible for Radiosurgery, which I had at Sheffield Hospital in October 2014.

Miss Roscoe underwent radiosurgery and the 'deadly mass' was removed. But it left her with brain damage and she now suffers from weakness on her left side and loss of balance

'I was relieved there was an option for treatment but I wasn't prepared for the side effects that began one year later.

'My entire left side was left weak, I couldn't walk and my left hand was clenched closed.'

Miss Roscoe had suffered a rare reaction to the treatment and suffered brain damage caused by the radiation.

But Miss Roscoe says while she was 'devastated' by the extent of the damage, she 'doesn't regret it at all'.

'Strangers in the street assume I'm drunk if I'm struggling to walk and that's why it's so important to raise awareness for AVM's,' she added.

Miss Roscoe feels extremely grateful that she was able to have treatment on the NHS as so many others aren't eligible.

She said: 'It's like a postcode lottery with Radiosurgery, I'm so lucky I was in the right area.

An AVM is a dangerous tangle of abnormal blood vessels, which can expand and bleed. Miss Roscoe now has a brain scan once a year, and is raising awareness about AVM's symptoms

'Most other people who have brain AVMs just have to live with the worry of it growing or leaking.

'I wish everyone had the opportunity to have treatment, as it has saved my life.

'I hope if anyone ever sees myself or another person losing their balance that they won't just assume the worst.

'I rarely drink and it's hard enough going out alone without worrying about whether people will assume I'm drunk.'

WHAT IS AN AVM AND HOW DOES IT CAUSE SUCH DAMAGE? An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a specific term used to describe a tangle of blood vessels with abnormal connections between arteries and veins. High pressure arteries containing fast flowing blood are directly connected to low pressure veins, which normally only contain slow flowing blood. This means that blood from the arteries drains directly into the veins - without stopping to supply the normal tissues in that part of the body with essential substances like oxygen and nutrition. Over time this can lead to the normal tissues becoming painful or fragile. It also means that the AVM gets progressively larger over time as the amount of blood flowing through it increases, and it can cause problems due to its size. Finally, it may also mean that the heart has to work harder to keep up with the extra blood flow. Some doctors describe an AVM as 'a ring road that bypasses the high street of a town'. Traffic (or blood) will use the bypass rather than the high street which suffers as a result. AVMs are thought to affect approximately 1.4 in every 100,000 people. Source: Great Ormond Street Hospital Advertisement

Miss Roscoe has been supported by her boyfriend of eight years, Billy Sewart, 26, after the pair first met at school.

'Billy has grown up with me and has seen how my life has changed over the years but he's always stayed and supported me,' she said.

'I raised over 10k for the Neurocare Charity who support Sheffield Hospital to provide specialised neurology equipment.

'It was to say thank you and to give other patients the same opportunities that I had.

'Billy did a 24 hour bike ride too, raising 3k,' she added.

Miss Roscoe has a brain scan once a year to monitor her AVM.

George Christou, Director of The Butterfly AVM Charity - who specialise in supporting those with AVMs in the UK, said: 'Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are defects of the circulatory system that are generally believed to arise before birth.

'They are comprised of snarled tangles of arteries and veins. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart to the body's cells, veins return oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs and heart.

'The absence of capillaries - small blood vessels that connect arteries to veins -creates a short-cut for blood to pass directly from arteries to veins.

'Although AVMs can develop in many different sites, those located in the brain or spinal cord - the two parts of the central nervous system - can have especially widespread effects on the body and are particularly devastating when a haemorrhage occurs in the brain.'
A husband-to-be who suffers from cluster headaches which leaves him in unbearable pain for up to three hours at a time.

Nathan Jack, 29, from Newcastle, has suffered from the disorder since having a brain tumour as a teenager.

Cluster headaches, which are believed to affect around one in 1,000 people worldwide, cause excruciating pain on one side of the head.

But over the past three years, his condition has deteriorated to the point where he now suffers up to seven debilitating attacks each day.

It has left him unable to work, drive and even has forced him to put his wedding to fiancee Natalie Wharton, 31, on hold.

Last week he posted a powerful clip of him punching himself in the head as a result of the condition to raise awareness.

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Nathan Jack, 29, from Newcastle, has suffered from cluster headaches since having a brain tumour as a teenager (pictured with fiancee Natalie Wharton, 31)

He said: ' It feels like a red hot poker trying to push my eye out.

'My eyes start streaming, I start kicking and screaming, and sometimes I even black out.

'As well as physically, it's affected me mentally because I'm used to being active - going to the gym and socialising with friends - but at the minute I can't do any of that.

'Natalie and I got engaged two years ago and we've been planning the wedding for a while, but sadly at the moment it's on hold because I can't get married like this - an attack can happen to me at any time.'

It has left him unable to work, drive and even has forced him to put his wedding on hold

The couple are due to get married in April at Le Petit Chateau in Otterburn, Northumberland.

However, their plans are on hold while Mr Jack only receives statutory sick pay.

WHAT ARE CLUSTER HEADACHES? Cluster headaches are excruciating attacks of pain in one side of the head, often felt around the eye. They're estimated to affect around one in 1,000 people. Anyone of any age can be affected, but they're more common in men and tend to develop in people over the age of 20. It's not clear exactly what causes cluster headaches, but they've been linked to activity in part of the brain called the hypothalamus. For most, cluster headaches occur in recurrent 'bouts' over several weeks followed by headache-free periods that often last for months, or sometimes years. Cluster headache bouts may occur every year over many years and may be lifelong. In general, they become less frequent over time. Treatment is available to control them. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

They are temporarily staying with her parents in West Denton to ensure he isnt left alone during the day.

There is no known cure for cluster headaches, only preventative treatments exist.

But Mr Jack has yet to find one that works well for him.

He said his condition is in desperate need of recognition and he is hoping to have surgery soon.

Despite there being a small number of neurologists in the UK who are trained to carry out the operation, he hopes it will be a success.

After seeing the original clip, his friend Ryan Hill set up a fundraising page to secure the life-changing operation ahead of the wedding date.

Mr Hill is hoping to raise the full cost of a private operation, explaining that the waiting time on the NHS is six months - something Mr Jack is not able to endure in his current state.

The page has amassed over 24,000 since it went live.

An anonymous 10,000 donation brought the 40,000 target well within reach.

Mr Jack said: 'The response has been absolutely incredible, and it means a lot to know Im getting through to people.'
A furious couple claim their son began suffering up to 14 violent fits a day after having a new meningitis jab  and have shared shocking footage of his seizures.

Luke Maguire, 26, and Louise McKever, 22, say they have made more than 55 hospital visits since their 10-month-old son Bobby's immunisations this summer.

The Bexsero Meningitis B vaccination has been given to all babies in the UK since September 2015, but seizures are known to be an uncommon side effect.

But the first-time parents, from Ashington, Northumberland, say it has also left their son suffering from stomach problems, night terrors and allergies.

Since releasing a clip of their son suffering from a fit to social media, it has notched up more than 1.8 million views and 27,500 shares.

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Luke Maguire and Louise McKever claim the Men B jab caused their 10-month-old son Bobby (pictured) to have 'daily convulsions', stomach problems, night terrors and allergies

Bobby is currently undergoing tests for a complex genetic epilepsy disorder to confirm the link.

However, an expert in the condition who watched the footage said it was unlikely his fits were vaccine-related.

The Government's regulatory body also said there was 'insufficient evidence' to suggest an association between the Meningitis B vaccine and seizures.

Father-of-one Mr Maguire said: 'This vaccination shouldn't be given to young babies - it is ruining their lives before they even start.

'The doctors need to do something. Parents should be told the risks and allowed to make up their own minds. They have the right to know, this is about their children.

'From the moment Bobby started having seizures I knew it was from the vaccinations. He was such a happy baby and it has ruined his life.'

He added: 'The same day Bobby had his eight week vaccinations he got body twitches, his temperature suddenly spiked and he went floppy and unresponsive.

'I have promised myself I am going to make sure no other parents have to go through what we have gone through and no other children go through what Bobby does.

'Most people wouldn't speak out for fear of being labelled crazy but I have to say something for other parents. If a child died and I hadn't said anything, I couldn't live with myself.

'We are only basing our actions on what we see has happened to our son - not what anyone else says, but how Bobby has changed.'

Bobby underwent his first dose of the Bexsero Meningitis B vaccine at eight weeks old before having his second dose of the immunisation aged 16 weeks.

'This shouldn't be given to young babies - it is ruining their lives before they even start,' said Mr Maguire (pictured with Bobby)

The couple said they became concerned as soon as he left the clinic where he had his 16-week jabs.

They were forced to call 999 because they woke up and he was gasping for air, blue in the face and experiencing full body twitches.

Within just ten days, the seizures started. He was having an average of between four and seven a day.

Bobby is now on medication to control his seizures and has not had one for four weeks, with the fits now only happening if he is run down or sleep-deprived.

His parents claim CT, MRI and EEG scans and blood tests to find the cause of the fits have all come back negative and are currently awaiting test results for a complex genetic epilepsy disorder.

The jab has been given to children at eight weeks, 16 weeks and one year old since September last year as part of the routine vaccinations offered free of charge on the NHS to all children in the UK.

Almost 8,000 people, including more than 5,000 babies and toddlers were given the vaccine during clinical trials to test its safety.

It provides 73 per cent protection against Meningitis B, which affects nearly 1,900 children each year.

Bobby is now on medication to control his seizures and has not had one for four weeks, with the fits now only happening if he is run down or sleep-deprived

But the Bexsero patient information leaflet states uncommon side effects for infants and children can include high fever, seizures including febrile seizures, vomiting and skin rashes.

An expert who watched the footage of Bobby's fit said he is having a tonic-clonic seizure, which could be a symptom of a rare genetic condition - Dravet syndrome - or another early-age brain disorder.

WHAT IS MENINGITIS B AND WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE VACCINE? Meningitis B is a bacterial infection, most often striking in children under one year old. Symptoms include a high temperature with cold hands and feet, confusion, vomiting and headaches. If caught early and treated with antibiotics, most people will make a full recovery. There are about 1,200 cases each year in the UK. In 2014, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the expert body which advises the government on vaccinations, recommended that babies be given the meningitis B vaccine, from two months of age. The committee had previously ruled that the vaccine should not be introduced - because, it said, it was not cost-effective. It was announced in June last year that the vaccine would be given to all babies when they reached two months of age. Booster jabs are also given at four months and 12 months as part of the childhood immunisation programme from September 2015. The idea was to protect those most at risk - with cases of meningitis B peaking in infants at around five or six months of age. Advertisement

Miss McKever said: 'When Bobby has a seizure it is heartbreaking to watch - I wish I could take it away. But despite everything he has gone through he is the happiest baby and he is always smiling.

'Since he was a newborn I have always been so protective of him but after this happened we are both even more protective.

'We give him love, attention and 24-hour care. We are going to fight for our son and not stop, like any other parents would.'

In 2013, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said 'routine infant or toddler immunisation using Bexsero is highly unlikely to be cost effective' and the jab's efficacy had not been established.

But the committee's final position statement the following year changed this view after pricing negotiations, instead recommending Bexsero should be included in the NHS immunisation schedule.

A spokesman for the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said: 'The safety of the Meningitis B vaccine has been thoroughly investigated in clinical trials and since then we estimate that over 1.4 million doses of the vaccine have been given in the UK.

'There is currently insufficient evidence to suggest an association between the Meningitis B vaccine and seizures.

'The safety profile of the vaccine is as expected and raises no safety concerns. MHRA keeps the safety of Bexsero, as with all medicines, under continuous review.'

A spokesman for GSK, who manufacture the Bexsero vaccine, said: 'We've recently heard of this case.

'We extend our sympathy to the baby's family. The cause of his symptoms have not been established and no additional information is available at this time.

'We are actively seeking more information and will work closely with the relevant authorities to establish the details of what has happened as quickly as possible.'
A 12-year-old girl who discovered she had cancer after going home from school feeling unwell has died.

Tia Llewellyn, from Milford Haven, Wales, was given just a five per cent chance of survival by doctors.

They revealed she had a rare childhood cancer and she was placed in an induced coma to undergo dialysis when her kidneys began to fail.

But after contracting a chest infection and septicaemia, the schoolgirl passed away on Friday night.

Her mother, Sarah Jane Howlin, turned off the adrenaline after doctors said there was nothing more they could do to keep her alive.

Tia Llewellyn, from Milford Haven, Wales, who was given just a five per cent chance of survival by doctors, has died from a rare childhood cancer

Ms Howlin said: ' I didnt want her to go through anything else. Her body couldnt put up with anymore. She was a fantastic kid.'

Tias school paid tribute to her and postponed a special assembly.

In a statement, Milford Haven School said: 'It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Tia Llewellyn after a short and tragic illness.

'As a mark of respect for Tia, her family and friends, tonights Senior Certificate Evening has been postponed until April.

'Let us all remember a delightful happy girl whose smile will always be in the hearts of everyone at Milford Haven School.'

Money that had previously been fundraised to help fund life-saving treatment in the US will instead go towards her funeral in two weeks time.

They revealed she had stage four alveolar rhadomyosarcoma and she was placed in an induced coma to undergo dialysis when her kidneys began to fail

But after contracting a chest infection and septicaemia, the schoolgirl passed away on Friday night. Her mother, Sarah Jane Howlin, turned off the adrenaline after doctors said there was nothing more they could do to keep her alive

Tia initially began vomiting one morning a month ago, but was allowed to leave school early as staff thought she had a sick bug.

However, the next day she woke up and was still poorly and was sent to her local hospital.

WHAT ARE ALVEOLAR RHABDOMYOSARCOMAS? Sarcomas are rare types of cancer that develop in the supporting or connective tissues of the body. Soft tissue sarcomas can develop in muscle, fat, blood vessels, or any of the other tissues that support, surround and protect the organs of the body. About 3,300 new cases are diagnosed each year in the UK. The most common places for them to be found are the head, neck, bladder, vagina, arms, legs and trunk of the body. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas tend to occur in older children and adolescents. It is usually treated with chemotherapy, along with surgery or radiotherapy - but it's unknown what causes it.

Most rhabdomyosarcomas are diagnosed after a person develops symptoms. These may include: a lump that can be seen or felt - it may or may not be painful

bleeding from the nose, vagina, rectum or throat, if the tumour is in these areas

tingling, numbness, pain and loss of movement, if the tumour presses on nerves in the area Source: Macmillan Cancer Support Advertisement

Blood tests were taken before she was transferred to a hospital slightly further away who then revealed she had stage four alveolar rhadomyosarcoma - a form of soft-tissue cancer.

When she woke up the following day still being sick, she was sent for a blood test at Withybush General Hospital in Haverfordwest.

However, she was then transferred 32 miles away to Glangwili General Hospital in Carmarthen.

But just half an hour after being sent home with a suspected kidney infection, she was told to go straight to the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales, Cardiff, because she had cancer.

Tumours were also found in her kidneys and neck and her family were told she needed treatment in the US.

However, her bone marrow needed to be treated in the UK before she went.

Just before she was going to start treatment, Tia needed a hickman line put in her veins - but she began to heavily bleed.

At the same time, her kidneys started to fail and she needed dialysis.

But when doctors tried to start the treatment, her blood kept clotting and they had to place her in an induced coma so they could insert a catheter.

The bleeding continued and Tia had to have several blood transfusions to keep her alive.

Kerryanne Clayton, a family member, said she'd 'never seen a child deteriorate so quickly'.

She decided to set up an online fundraising page to help Tia get treatment in the US if she made it through.
They allegedly tied up the tiny female primate, thrashed her and

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the medical students accused of torturing a young monkey to death to be banned from the profession.

The four students allegedly tied up, thrashed, beat and impaled the young female primate with a metal rod at their accommodation at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

It's claimed that the bonnet macaque, estimated to be about 12 months old, had climbed through the window of their hostel room before the 'barbaric killing' which is said to have happened on November 19.

The female bonnet macaque, estimated to be around 12 months old, was allegedly tied up, beaten and defiled by medical students (photo for representation only)

A fellow student is believed to have tipped off PETA India about the abuse and the organisation then sent local animal rights activists to the scene to investigate.

The body of the monkey was exhumed from the college grounds two days later, with the four activists then filing a First Information Report (FIR) to police.

One of the animal protection activists attending, Shravan Krishnan, said on Facebook that it was one of the most 'shocking and heart-wrenching cases' he has been involved with.

The incident is said to have taken place at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu

He alleged: 'They tied her hands and started abusing and torturing her by beating her with sticks and belts, broke her legs, jaws and finally put a rod up her anus and killed her. The monkey was buried behind the hostel mess by the college sweepers.

'When exhumed her hands were tied up, neck choked with a telephone wire, multiple fractures all over the limbs and jaws, severe damage to the starting of the tail bone and intestines were out.

'The degree of cruelty and pain the monkey has gone through is beyond words. We have all been having sleepless nights after we saw the body of the monkey. Extremely disturbed.'

The monkey has been named Lakshmi and a campaign to bring her justice is sweeping social media, with 2,800 signing a petition (photo for representation only)

In Shravan Krishnan's latest update, he said the police investigation - including post mortem and forensic reports - was still ongoing and the students accused had allegedly returned to their hometowns.

Police are believed to have called on them to appear for questioning and the college confirmed that it had suspended the students and condemned the alleged incident.

The case has shocked India, with the monkey being named Lakshmi and a campaign for 'justice' in her name set up.

Dog thrown from roof finds new family We have all seen the horrifying video of a medical student throwing a dog from the roof of a building. The incident took place in July. However, the dog survived miraculously and she was then named Bhadra. She suffered numerous fractures in her legs, and has recovered gradually. Bhadra now has a home and a family to care for her. The accused were identified as Gautam Sudarshan, who threw the dog, and Ashish Paul, who filmed the incident. They were suspended from the institute and arrested. Months later, when Karthik Dhandhapani of Chennai brought the four-legged animal home, he shared his happiness with his friends and family on Facebook. 'When a dream becomes reality!! It has been a desire of 6 years Coming from a family that has no connection to animals, being inspired to do something for them, turned an animal lover, spending time with them outside and not able to have one at home couple of fosters that came close yet didnt happen Sigh! But today, I am very, very happy to share that Bhadra is FAMILY. 'She came home as foster after she was found thrown off by the two medical students, and since then started ruling our hearts like she did the world,' he wrote on Facebook. Advertisement

Nearly 3,000 have now signed a petition calling on the college and government to ban the accused from ever going on to practice as doctors.

The petition alleges: 'These students, who are studying to be doctors, willfully went through with such a barbaric, senseless act of violence against a helpless creature which could not raise its voice.

'It is beyond comprehension what was the thinking behind this act which was committed deliberately and while the students were in full possession of their mental faculties.'

'These people have lost the right to be doctors in any form', it adds.

Dr Shiranee Pereira, co-founder of People for Animals, Chennai, has also written an open letter, urging people to call on the Prime Minister to take action.

She said that the killing had seen 'humanity plunged to its deepest, depraved and despicable worst'.

In a letter sent out to students, Christian Medical College (CMC) director Sunil Chandy and principal Dr Anna B Pulimood condemned the alleged incident.

They said the 'deplorable incident' had brought great sadness to the college.

The letter added: 'We as an institution are deeply regretful, have condemned it and have immediately suspended the students.

'CMC does not condone this activity and will take every possible measure to prevent such incidents.'
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Many people turned to exploring local nature paths for their daily exercise when lockdown closed gyms and group sports took a hiatus amid the pandemic.

Amateur photographers who captured stunning images of animals in their natural habitat were quick to submit their snaps to Weekend magazine's annual Wildlife Photography Challenge in the hopes of winning a package worth over 1,000.

The entrants were split into five categories - Birds; Mammals; Insects; Under-18s; and Reptiles, Fish, Amphibians & Molluscs.

While each category winner received a Nikon mirrorless digital camera kit and a year's subscription to Nikon Owner magazine, the overall winner also received a trip to the Camargue with wildlife photographer Simon Stafford, courtesy of Create Away, for a four-night masterclass in photographing the region's wild horses, flamingos and bulls.

Judges David Suchet, Clare Balding, Lucy Cooke, Steve Brown, Kelly Brook and Michael Eleftheriades were impressed with Lee O'dwyer, 67, a retired engineer from Lancashire, who was awarded the overall winner for his shot of a long-tailed tit.

These runner-up snaps taken by talented amateur photographers prove choosing an overall winner was a tough decision...

BIRDS

PUFFIN: Taken by Joseph Bristow, 23, a retail supervisor from Llantwit Major. 'Arriving at 3am and queueing for the 6am ticket office to open. First in line I caught the boat over to Skomer Island. With only a few hours permitted on the island I had no time to waste. Surrounded by the Puffins was an amazing spectacle and allowed me to capture some amazing photos. I found this one puffin who seemed very tame and loved posing for the camera. As he stared down the barrel of my lens I took my shot and was pleased with the result. I found the black background really provides a provocative and striking image highlight the vibrant colour of the Puffins.'

KESTREL CHICKS: Taken by Jayne Kirkby, 20, from Braintree, Essex. 'Beautiful pair of Kestrel chicks, taken at Wrabness on 20th June 2020.'

KINGFISHER: Tim Clifton, a 59-year-old from, St Leonards on Sea, snapped this captivating photo of a kingfisher hunting for small fish

MALLARD: William Watson, 64, a semi retired HGV driver from East Dunbartonshire. 'Taken on the Forth & Clyde canal (December '19') Bishopbriggs, As I went to take this photo of this female Mallard it stretched creating a nice reflection....'

INSECTS

BUTTERFLY: Adam Lane, a 27-year-old host at Legoland, from Slough, captured a butterfly perched on a purple flower in specular detail

WASP: Shelia Moth took this captivating photo of a wasp on a thistle, capturing the insect and plant in immense detail

SPIDER: Taken by Geoffrey Wells, 67, a maintenance caretaker from North Yorkshire. 'This picture was taken in my back garden during the recent lockdown.'

REPTILES

MATING FROGS: Taken by Steve Jellett, 64, from Essex, who is retired. 'Taken in small garden pond when 21 frogs descended to mate.'

MAMMALS

ROE DEER: Tim Cliffton, a 75-year-old from St Leonards on sea, took a photograph of two roe deer spotted in a field

MOUSE: Taken by Cameron Parfitt, 20, a student at the University of Brighton, from Worthing. 'I would love to highlight that even in your back garden there are images to be had. This image is of a cheeky wood mouse that keeps stealing food from what we have now dubbed the mouse feeder. It's not unheard of for this little guy to be found inside the feeder without a care in the world stuffing himself with the bird seed.'

JUNIORS

FOX CUB: Billy Evans-Freke, 15, a secondary school student from East Sussex. 'It wasn't a long wait in the hide before the first fox cub woke up from its nap and came out into the open. It was soon followed by another cub. At first they stayed in the shadows of the bushes near the den. But once they gained their confidence they started coming closer. This cub in particular was very curious and came very close to the hide.'
The failure of contraception will soon be a lawful reason for abortion irrespective of whether the woman is married or otherwise.

The change could come after a Health Ministry recommendation gets the Cabinet and Parliamentary nod.

The Ministry, in its recommendations for amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, has said a woman opting for abortion irrespective of whether she is married or single, should be given the choice.

The failure of contraception will soon be a lawful reason for abortion irrespective of whether the woman is married or otherwise as Health Ministry seeks Parliament nod

'We are very keen to push these amendments. We have done all due consultations with stakeholders. We have said any woman who wants an abortion, whether she is single or married, can opt for it,' a Health Ministry official said.

He said the Cabinet note regarding this has been prepared by the Ministry which will be taken up shortly.

At present, the law recognises failure of contraceptive as a legal reason for abortion only if the woman is married.

The official said a lot of maternal deaths occur due to improper abortions by untrained people.

The Ministry has also recommended allowing homeopaths, nurses and midwives to conduct non-invasive abortions with training.

'We have also recommended to expand the base and include Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM) as well as doctors practising AYUSH like homeopathy and other traditional medicines,' another official said.
were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport when their flight landed in Delhi

Six members of a family, including two women and two infants, hid 16 kg of gold in baby diapers they were carrying with them from Dubai.

All the travellers were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport when their flight landed in Delhi.

They were intercepted by the security agencies. Officials close to investigation said the recovery was made around 7am, when a group of six passengers arrived in Delhi from Dubai and were intercepted for a thorough check.

Six members of a family, including two women and two infants, hid 16 kg of gold in baby diapers and towel they were carrying with them from Dubai

'We have recovered 16 kilos of gold biscuits from the passengers who had travelled by flight number 6E 022 from Dubai. Based on profiling, the PAX were identified in the arrival area, after having crossed the green channel.

'On detailed personal and baggage search, the gold worth Rs 4.28 crore were recovered from the diaper of the infant. The PAX on demand could not produce any satisfactory document or explanation,' SR Baruah, Commissioner of Customs said.

Another official further added that the sixteen gold biscuits, of one kilo each, were found cleverly concealed in the diapers and towel of the two babies they were carrying.

The two groups comprising a couple and two babies are from Surat.

The fliers are being interrogated by Customs officials, they added.

Since the announcement of the demonetisation scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the seizures of unclaimed gold and cash at Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national Capital, has been soaring.

Another official further added that the sixteen gold biscuits, of one kilo each, were found cleverly concealed in the diapers and towel of the two babies they were carrying

As per the data maintained by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), during the last one week, Rs 20 lakh in cash has been seized in separate cases.

According to the data available with the CISF, since November 9, upto Rs 6.9 crore cash has been recovered along with gold worth over Rs 9 crore.

The travellers were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport when their flight landed in Delhi

After demonetisation the concerned authorities including the custom officers have been directed to keep a strict vigil on the passengers.

Dozens of passengers, including foreign nationals have been arrested.
A few officials in the UPA government discreetly decided to put Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland in the race for a now-scrapped Rs 3,700-crore luxury helicopter deal while keeping their colleagues in the dark, sources told India Today on Monday.

The development comes days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief SP Tyagi over allegations that he gave the company 'undue favours' in the corruption-mired pact.

Indian authorities filed a criminal case against the firm and its parent company, Finmeccanica, in March 2013.

SP Tyagi coming out of CBI office in New Delhi after questioned on ongoing probe into alleged VVIP helicopter deal

Top sources said a March-2005 meeting attended by government officials and representatives of the IAF remained inconclusive.

IAF officials highlighted the importance of required flying height in a Power-Point presentation during the session.

However, a contentious decision to lower the 'altitude operational requirement' was not taken in this meeting.

The issue was only discussed and it was decided that the matter should be determined after further deliberations.

Investigators have accused Tyagi of reducing the required flying height for the VVIP choppers from 6,000m to 4,500m, which helped AgustaWestland qualify.

The former IAF chief claims that the change of specifications was a collective decision involving many departments.

The helicopters were intended to carry the President, Prime Minister and other constitutional figures.

But after the conference, the minutes of the meeting were not sent to all the attendees, say sources, indicating that those who wanted to push AgustaWestland into the race, apart from a US and a Russian company, had already started conspiring.

Information regarding the matter was being put out selectively. As per due process, the minutes of the meeting have to be sent to all the officials who were part of it.

Sources say Tyagi, who's being questioned by the CBI, has told interrogators that he did not even attend the March 2005 meeting.

But following the session he received a note from the PMO that said the decision to review the altitude requirement was being taken by 'Defence Ministry and CAS'.

Finmeccanica's former CEO Guiseppe Orsi

On that communication, he wrote 'noted' by his own hand. However, CBI sources say his explanation of having repeatedly met Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa - two middlemen of the tainted company - is not satisfactory.

Sources said Tyagi was not the only one who manipulated the deal as other top officials created a situation so that there was no choice but to include AgustaWestland in the race.

The CBI earlier questioned former governor and national security adviser MK Narayanan as well as former Goa governor and SPG director Bharat Wanchoo in connection with the deal.

Since both of them were governors at the time, the Centre had in 2014 taken advice of the law ministry on whether they could be examined in the case since they were holding constitutional posts.

Former IAF chief SP Tyagi during questioning

The ministry said they could be examined as witnesses since the deal took place during their tenure.

The sources pointed out that both are decorated officials and have impeccable service records.

The CBI also suspects there could have been mere commission on the part of some officials to facilitate AgustaWestland without even taking bribes only to oblige certain politicians.

The agency had registered a case in connection with the deal in 2013 against the former IAF chief and 18 others, including his cousins and some European middlemen.

The ED too began a probe and attached five properties of Tyagi's cousins. Sources said the CBI is also examining whether some of its own officials tried to go slow or derail the probe under the influence of politicians.
A police sub-inspector was allegedly poisoned and robbed at the heavily guarded India Gate area in Delhi.

Sources say officials close to the investigation have so far been unable to scrutinise the CCTV footage of the area.

The accused remains unidentified and the jewellery worth Rs 2 lakh along with other valuables that were stolen is yet to be recovered.

A police sub-inspector was allegedly poisoned and robbed at the heavily guarded India Gate area in Delhi after eating a 'poisoned guava' and falling to the ground

The incident took place on Wednesday, but the FIR was registered on Sunday. The sub-inspector has been identified as Rambir, who is posted in the north-east district's PCR zone.

In his complaint, he mentioned that he had gone to attend a hearing in the high court related to a matter in which he is the investigating officer.

'While returning, he stopped at the India Gate parking site in front of the National Stadium to grab some food.

'He saw a man selling guavas nearby. He bought two of the fruits and asked the hawker to coat them with some masala.

'After eating the guavas he fell unconscious. When he recovered, he saw a gold chain, a ring as well as his wallet containing the Delhi Police identity card, an ATM card, a driving license and some cash were missing,' the investigating officer told Mail Today.

He was taken to hospital in a semi-conscious state. Later, when the investigating officer approached him, he narrated the ordeal and a case was registered on Sunday at Tilak Marg police station in New Delhi district based on his statement along with the medical report.

Sections 379 (punishment for theft), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code have been slapped against the unknown person.

When Mail Today enquired about the status of the probe, officials close to investigation said they have been unable to get any clues regarding the culprit as they are not sure about the exact spot where the crime took place.

They are waiting for the victim to come to the police station and help cops probe the matter. This reporter tried to contact sub-inspector Rambir, who is a resident of Baghpat, but he remained unavailable.
The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference in Amritsar on December 4 was most notable for the frontal attack by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Pakistan.

He addressed Pakistan's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, by name at the conference to register his grievance at Islamabad's continuing support for terrorism directed at Kabul from its soil.

The Taliban would not survive a month without safe havens in Pakistan, he averred, quoting one of their leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani during a visit to Golden temple in Amritsar

In a stinging rebuff, he advised Aziz to spend the $500 million offered for Afghanistan's development on combating extremism inside Pakistan itself.

Frustration

Ghani was remarkably bold in venting his deep frustration with Pakistan before the 42 participants in the HoA conference, and pinpointing it as the real impediment in the way of a regional effort to promote political and economic stability in Afghanistan.

The HoA process needs Pakistan's full cooperation for success. It is from Pakistan's soil that the Taliban emerged and took control of Afghanistan in 1996, and it is from there that the Taliban are re-emerging again as a violent force.

The external threat to Afghanistan emanates today from Pakistani alone. It can only abate if Pakistan gives up its ambition to keep the Kabul government under its tutelage and circumscribe its sovereign right to determine the scope of its ties with India.

So far Pakistan has withstood US pressure to rein in its strategic ambitions in Afghanistan and end its insidious support for the Haqqani group, even as Islamabad promises to facilitate the reconciliation process between Kabul and the Taliban.

The cost to Pakistan for its duplicitous conduct has not become unbearable till now because of US reluctance to impose meaningful sanctions on it.

Pakistan's top foreign affairs official Sartaj Aziz (pictured) is adviser to prime minister Nawaz Sharif and de facto foreign minister

China has a protective attitude because of its decades-long geopolitical investment in Pakistan.

Initially this was to contain India, but now it has the wider dimension of gaining access to the Arabian Sea from East Turkestan, obtaining a naval foothold in Gwadar and consolidating China's increasing dominance of the broader Central Asian region.

Unless Pakistan concludes that it is being progressively isolated and that its Afghan policy is becoming unsustainable, it will not make the required course correction.

That course correction is, however, organically linked to its India policy which will not change in the foreseeable future because friendship with India will inevitably loosen the grip of the armed forces and extremist outfits on Pakistan's polity.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (left) during the 6th Heart of Asia meeting

This diplomatic pounding of Pakistan by Ghani was all the more remarkable as it occurred on Indian soil.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too indirectly targeted Pakistan for spawning terrorism in the whole region, but the impact of India's denunciations is diluted by perceptions that Pakistan's abetment of terrorism is linked to the unresolved issue of Kashmir and the human rights situation there on which there is traditional Western prejudice against India.

The Afghan president's upbraiding of Pakistan on terrorism is not affected by any such preconceptions.

Ghani was unbothered that taking Pakistan to task in a conference in India might add grist to Islamabad's propaganda about India and Afghanistan colluding against Pakistan's security, a claim that Islamabad makes to justify its intervention in Kabul's internal affairs.

In the light of Modi's comments about Balochistan, Pakistan's paranoia about the fortification of India-Afghanistan strategic understandings is bound to increase.

Ghani's spirited attack on Pakistan also disregarded the strengthening China- Pakistan axis, even as he seeks greater Chinese investments in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani greet the delegates during the inauguration of the 6th Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference, in Amritsar

Terrorism

If India and Afghanistan found common language on the spread of terror by Pakistan eastwards and westwards, the surprise was the discordant notes from Russia's presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, while speaking to the press.

He would normally have been expected to be sensitive to the concerns of both countries on terrorism, given Russia's own experience with that menace and its decision to combat such forces in Syria militarily before they spread closer to Russian territory.

Kabulov, who considers the Taliban a legitimate political force in Afghanistan, sees the Islamic State (ISIS) a greater danger there, though many believe that the ISIS threat in Afghanistan is exaggerated.

It is not clear whether because of internal differences splinter groups of the Taliban are projecting themselves as the ISIS.

Pakistan's purpose would of course be served by playing up the ISIS threat as that makes the Taliban look moderate and improves Islamabad's case for accommodating them politically.

Russia seems to have bought into this game, though why it believes it can trust Pakistan is unexplained.

Isolation

What prompted Kabulov to disapprove of India and Afghanistan scoring 'brownie points' against Pakistan at Amritsar is difficult to comprehend.

Drawing pointed attention to as serious a question as Pakistan's involvement in terrorism in India and Afghanistan is not intended to gain empty diplomatic advantage, as Kabulov seems to believe.

One understands that at the conference itself, Kabulov belittled the HoA process as 'supplementary', presumably to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation where Russia and China would steer matters to the exclusion of US and others.

One hopes that Kabulov would be instructed to be more measured in his comments and avoid the risk of creating political confusion.

A day before the Amritsar conference, Iran's Foreign Minister underlined at an event in Delhi his country's excellent relations with Pakistan and offered to mediate on Kashmir if asked.

This, along with Russia's overtures to Pakistan, suggests that isolating Pakistan on terrorism will remain a major challenge.
The smuggling of narcotics in Punjab has turned the state into a favourite hunting ground for gangsters.

While Punjab police chief Suresh Arora has confirmed that more than 57 gangs are currently active there, records show that 92 gang leaders and 432 gangsters are lodged at various jails in the state.

But, it's not narcotics alone that is being smuggled into the state, as the gangs are also allegedly being supplied with free weapons from Pakistan along with the contraband.

Nabha: Security personnel and media outside Nabha Central Jail, which was stormed by armed men who helped in escaping six terrorists including Khalistan Liberation Front chief Harminder Mintoo

Investigations have revealed that Punjab's gangsters are a part of a nationwide network of criminals involved in snatchings, looting, kidnapping and murder.

These gangsters break out of jail, join other active gangs and change their names.

Sources say that the police department stopped tracking escaped gangsters three years ago.

But, the Nabha jailbreak seems to have changed it all. Six inmates, including Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist Harminder Mintoo, had escaped from the high-security prison on November 27.

Six inmates, including Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist Harminder Mintoo, escaped from the high-security prison on November 27

After the sensational incident, Punjab DGP Arora had asked all district-level police officers to submit details about the absconding gangsters as well as their track record.

Despite all efforts, the police could only arrest Mintoo, while five others - Vicky Gounder, Amandeep Dhotian, Gurpreet Sekhon, Neeta Deol and Kashmir Singh - remain at large.

Gounder, before the jailbreak, was arrested for killing a gangster named Sukha Kahlwa, and had also admitted to killing former gangster Jaswinder Singh Rocky on April 30 this year in Solan.

Police teams have also been sent to Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and New Delhi, but in vain.

Police officials investigate after five inmates of Nabha Jail including dreaded Khalistan ultra and Khalistan Liberation Force

One police team is also camping in Haridwar and Rurki, after a bag containing Punjab police uniforms, a turban, belt and other items was found from a canal in Rurki.

Police teams have also been sent to Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, besides the NCR, to catch the gangsters.

Meanwhile raids have been conducted in Kaithal and Jalandhar, but the gangsters continue to evade arrest. The police picked up some suspects, but failed to get any leads from them.

The police also rounded up a woman, the wife of one Sunil Arora of Ludhiana, who had helped the mastermind of the jailbreak incident - Gurvinder Singh alias Painda - with some documents, as well as her servant, from Dehradun.

While Sunil is on the run after the incident, his wife has confessed to the police how her husband had helped prepare fake documents for the passports of the escaped gangsters.

Sunil had killed a woman around a decade ago, and was released on bail in 2012.

'The investigations may lead to some more revelations,' a senior police officer said.

The SIT formed by the state government is focusing on Mintoo's connections with Pakistan's ISI.

Investigations have revealed that Mintoo was in touch with the ISI mentors and was using Skype to make video calls.

The police are also verifying phone numbers they recovered from Mintoo's diary.

Sources say that the police are also keeping an eye on relatives of the escaped gangsters.

Gounder and his gang members have not only become a challenge for the Punjab police but have also rattled rival gangs. Gounder is facing charges in more than six murder and highway robbery cases in Punjab and Haryana.

He, along with his gang members, had killed rival gang leader Sukha Kahlwa last January. Sukha was also in Nabha jail.

Interestingly, neither the half-a-dozen armed cops transporting the gangster to the jail, nor the jail guards posted at the high-security prison opened fire when Gounder and the five others escaped.
Twelve people have been arrested in southern India for not standing while the national anthem was being played at an international film festival, police confirmed on Tuesday.

The arrests Monday follow a ruling by India's Supreme Court last month that said the anthem must be played before every film screening in the country, accompanied by an image of the national flag, and that audiences must stand. The court said the rule was aimed at instilling a sense of patriotism.

The 12 people, all Indian citizens, were arrested in two separate incidents at the film festival, said Anil Kumar, inspector of police in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state. They were released on bail.

Indian movie goers stand up as national anthem is played at a movie hall before the screening of a movie in Jammu, India

Justice Misra laid down the law while hearing a PIL filed by Bhopal resident Shyam Narayan Chouskey on the issue: 'The directions are issued for love for the motherland.

'Respect to national anthem as well as the national flag is essential.

'That apart, it would instill the feeling within one, a sense committed to patriotism and nationalism.

'Let it be stated, a time has come that the citizens of the country must realise that they live in a nation and should express their love for their motherland.

'The Bench said it wanted to lay down specific guidelines on showing respect to the national anthem and the flag and prevent its commercial use. It sought the assistance of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi in this regard.

It said that the order should be distributed to chief secretaries of states and Union Territories and be widely published by the electronic and print media so that 'people wake up to see the order in its letter and spirit'.

A ruling by India's Supreme Court last month said that the anthem must be played before every film screening in the country and that audiences must stand

Volunteers at the International Film Festival of Kerala, being held in Thiruvananthapuram, complained to police that the 12 refused to stand despite repeated requests, Kumar said.

Vineesh Kumar, one of the 12, told the Indian Express newspaper that there was a scramble for seats at the open air theater where the movie was being shown.

'If we did not sit on the chairs, I thought we would lose the seats,' he said. Kumar said he had stood during the anthem before movies shown earlier in the day.

On Sunday, eight people were beaten by right-wing activists for not standing while the national anthem was being played at a cinema in the southern city of Chennai, according to police.

Police later registered cases against the eight for allegedly showing disrespect to the national anthem.

The top court's ruling comes amid an increase in nationalistic attacks since the rightwing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in mid-2014.

In October, Salil Chaturvedi, who uses a wheelchair, was hit on the head by people standing behind him when he remained seated during the national anthem at a cinema in Panjim in the southern state of Goa.

The court ordered last month that an image of the national flag also be displayed on screens during the anthem

Salil Chaturvedi, a noted seafarer who is also thought to be the only disabled person to have sailed from Mumbai to Goa, is said to have been verbally abused by a couple and hit from behind during the incident at the venue in Panaji.

Chaturvedi, who is unable to walk due to a spinal injury, said he is now scared of going to the theatre following the shocking ordeal.

'I just don't understand why it seems impossible for so many people to express patriotism in a non-aggressive manner,' he told The Times of India.

He continued: 'I now believe that even if I could stand up during the national anthem, I would rather not, simply because I am being forced to do so.'




India is set to have its first registry for sex offenders but government departments and law enforcement agencies are still debating whether the details should be made public, the Home Ministry has told the Supreme Court.

The Centre is sceptical about publishing the information as it could have a negative impact on those who turn out to be 'innocent' later and their 'return to the mainstream' with their public naming and shaming.

The move comes amid widespread demands for tougher action on sexual violence, more than three years since the fatal gang rape of a physiotherapy student in Delhi.

India is set to have its first registry for sex offenders but government departments and law enforcement agencies are still debating whether the details should be made public

The apex court has said that the government can go ahead with listing the names of those who have been convicted.

'The draft guidelines on the proposal to set up a sex offenders registry in India is under preparation in consultation with relevant ministries/ organisations before they are put out for wider consultation with the state governments and the public,' the MHA said in an affidavit filed in the SC.

'The initial consultation draft includes the registration of individuals convicted for offences like rape voyeurism, stalking and aggravated sexual assault and includes possibility of registration of offenders below and above 18 years.'

Sex-offender registries exist in many countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

But among these, the US is the only country with a registry that is publicly accessible. In other countries the databases are only available to law enforcement agencies.

Some observers fear that identifying convicted rapists will lead to vigilante attacks.

The affidavit came on a PIL filed by social activist Sunitha Krishnan, founder of the NGO Prajwala, who says she has rescued and rehabilitated more than 10,000 rape victims

The affidavit came on a PIL filed by social activist Sunitha Krishnan, founder of the NGO Prajwala, who says she has rescued and rehabilitated more than 10,000 rape victims.

She had sought such a register given the steep rise in the number of rapes and, shockingly, videos of such incidents being uploaded on social media.

Krishnan, who received 200 such videos from victims and forwarded them to the SC bench that ordered a CBI probe, told Mail Today: 'From most of the videos, it is clear that this is not the offender's first rape due to the ease with which the men go about the act.'

The database will likely include personal details of the convicted including their residential address, fingerprints, DNA samples, and identity card information like the PAN card with tax ID and Aadhaar card that contains biometric information, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told Parliament in April.

The MHA has also said that an agency - Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Committee (ICCCC) - with pan-India jurisdiction to probe such clips and take action against the criminals is also being constituted at a cost of nearly Rs 200 crore.

Elaborating on its importance, Krishnan said: 'It (an agency) is very essential for prompt action.

'As of now, what is happening is when I am sitting in Hyderabad I get a video from Kashmir or Haryana.

'The local police say they do not have the jurisdiction to act on it. But ICCCC can immediately lodge an FIR, investigate and take action against the offenders.'

Protestors along with the mother of Nirbhaya taking out candle march on the third anniversary of the December 16 gang-rape
Trading trauma: Deanne Forrest, 50, was looking for a way to boost her modest savings

Deanne Forrest admits she was charmed into submission by Peter Parker  if that ever was his real name.

The 50-year-old artist was looking for a way to boost her modest savings and support her teenage sons through university when a friend recommended Banc De Binary  a website that would let her trade on the stock market for instant returns of up to 60per cent.

Peter, her smooth-talking Cypriot account manager, assured Deanne that the trades she was placing were absolutely zero-risk.

When she wavered, Peter became flirtatious, calling the divorcee beautiful and glowing and asking dear Deanne if she would paint a portrait of him.

Within days she would pile 12,500 of savings and credit card debt on to high-risk trades. And, just as quickly, she would lose every penny.

Today, Deanne is left with just an iPhone 6 and a floor-cleaning robot  the sweeteners the Cyprus-based Banc De Binary gave her for being a customer.

The company, for its part, disputed the account given by Deanne and said she had said she was satisfied with the service they had provided.

Still, it is poor compensation for the single mother, who now feels she has been hopelessly naive.

Tens of thousands of savers just like Deanne are being lured into taking huge stock market bets on what are nothing more than gambling websites.

Housewives are being cold-called at home and talked into investing, while shopkeepers and taxi drivers are among those trying to make cash while they wait for customers.

Its all extraordinarily risky  but savers are so fed up with returns of less than 1 pc from banks that theyre resorting to these wild punts.

There are two main types of investment gambling firms. Each involves betting on whether stock markets or commodities such as gold or oil go up or down over a certain period of time  sometimes as short as 60 seconds. The first is called spread betting. Here, your return is based on how much the market rises or falls.

For example, you could bet 10 on every point the FTSE 100 moves. If it went up 50 points, you might make 5,000. If it fell 50 points, youd lose 5,000.

Many of the 125,000 people who take part in this type of gambling fancy themselves as stock market traders (see the article below).

The second, more controversial, type of gambling is called binary options trading.

Banc De Binary, the website that Deanne used, is one of the biggest binary options trading firms

Banc De Binary, the website that Deanne used, is one of the biggest binary options trading firms. Savers tempted into using these websites are usually less experienced and are therefore targeted by salesmen.

With these firms, you usually get a fixed return of up to 90 pc of your investment if your bet comes in. If it fails, you lose your initial investment.

So you might bet 1,000 that Apple shares go up and get back 1,900 if you win, but nothing if you lose.

An investigation by Money Mail and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism can today reveal the true scale of the risks savers are taking.

Documents show that the vast majority of savers never make any money from binary options trading.Eight in ten customers end up losing all their cash within five months.

At some binary firms, just three in 100 customers ever make a profit. On average, customers deposit $2,000 (1,576), which disappears in an average of 220 bets on rising or falling markets.

The City watchdog last week issued a serious warning over binary trading amid concerns that customers are routinely ripped off by unscrupulous outfits. Typically, customers are contacted by a professional trader who gives them titbits of information on where and when to place bets.

I'M AN EXPERT  AND I BLEW 900 IN A WEEK You've probably heard how bankers can make billions from placing risky bets on the stock market. But have you wondered whether, with a bit of nous, you could do the same? The idea that anyone can make money from the daily rises and falls in the stock market is behind the rise of spread betting companies. Unlike the type of gambling Deanne Forrest got involved in (so-called binary options trading, see above), spread betting is regulated by the City watchdog in Britain. But does that make it any safer? To test it out, IG, the leading spread betting firm, gave me a practice account loaded with 900 for a week. As the Mails markets reporter, its my job to keep track of everything going on with share prices and to write a daily report for the paper. So my chances of making money should be better than average. But as soon as I log on, the screen shows a dazzling array of numbers and flashing colours with moving prices. There are buttons that do things such as cap my losses. Even though I spend the day staring at share price graphs, this is like trying to read another language. The most common type of spread bet is putting a small sum on each point the FTSE 100 goes up or down. To experiment, I bet 1 for every point the FTSE 100 moves. It looks easy, but as soon as I start pressing buttons, my account plunges into the red and stays there. After a days trading Im down 80. Another type of bet is called sprint trading. With this you place a higher or lower bet over a specified short time period. I put 20 on the FTSE 100 being higher after two minutes. At first this seems great  it moves a fraction and I pocket 16.50 profit. But I lose the next three 20 bets, so up my stake to 50 to win some back. Its addictive and tense  I find Im holding my breath as the 120 seconds of each bet count down. After 20 minutes, Im down 200. I realise Im doing everything wrong  making hasty decisions, trying to win back what Ive lost, and getting greedy when I do win  but its difficult to stop. Its easy to see why spread betting is so popular, but its scary how fast you can lose. Starting with 900, Ive finished the week with just 30 left. To me it seems just as risky as a night at the roulette wheel  so Im sticking to buying and holding funds and shares for the long-term. BY HOLLY BLACK h.black@dailymail.co.uk

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says that because the firm usually pockets the money you lose on your bets, there is an inherent conflict of interest.

Our initial information indicates that existing binary bet consumers typically lose money on these products on average and these losses can be significant, the FCA says.

There is significant a incentive for firms to favour their own interests over their clients.

Regulators in the United States, Italy, Australia, Japan, and even Belize on the central American coast have banned binary options firms. But Britain has no laws against it. In fact, the Financial Conduct Authority has no powers over binary options because it is considered betting, not trading.

Betting watchdog the Gambling Commission only regulates firms which have key equipment in the UK.

Binary firms slip through the net because they are often based in Israel and Cyprus, where they can obtain a passport to operate across the EU. That means theyre registered to work in the UK, but they are not subject to UK regulations.

So if you lose your life savings and feel you have been wronged, there is very little the UK authorities can do.

Deanne knew nothing of this when she found Banc De Binary online earlier this year. The former advertising worker, who lives in the Blackmore Vale, north Dorset, says: I am in pieces. I have no idea what to do or how I will pay off my credit card bill of 400 a month  money I just dont have.

I think I will have to remortgage my house. I have been naive and, probably, very stupid, but I trusted them.

Looking back, Deanne wonders why she was not suspicious that a man with a foreign accent was called Peter Parker  which happens to be the alter-ego of comic hero Spider-Man.

The portrait artist approached Banc De Binary in August and was impressed by its sales pitch of up to 60per cent returns and expert training.

She was desperate to turn her modest savings into a larger sum for when her two teenage sons went to university. Her youngest son, aged 15, wants to study acting, while her 16-year-old son is talented at science.

Deanne says: I was trying to do my best for my boys. They are both really academically gifted and want to go to university.

I wanted to do something to help them and make a difference for them.

She agreed to invest 8,000 from her savings and credit cards. When she placed her first trade on the morning of September 5, she says shed had just half an hour of training and was nervous. Emails from Peter that day, seen by Money Mail, say: My dear Deanne, trust me and I will not disappoint you. I have put my neck on the line here for you.

Deanne says Peter also gave her instructions on when the price of various commodities would rise and fall. But, despite this, she lost the first trade.

Over the next ten minutes Deanne made 14 trades, winning just four. It wiped almost 4,000 from her account. The frantic pace of the bets made it hard to track what was happening and by the end of the day she had just 1,700 left from the 8,000 she deposited.

It sounds so silly now, but I thought the only way to dig myself out of the hole was to keep trading, she says. Peter suggested Deanne invest more money so he could upgrade her to a platinum account, which he said would give her better information on the markets.

I promise you that I am not going to ask you for any further investment following this one, his email said.

I understand it is getting a bit much for you because you are new, but this is exactly why you should be taking this opportunity now.

These VIP reports are the holy grail for our clients! Lets do this one together and we are going to sort out a payment plan tomorrow. That night he sent Deanne further emails telling her to trust me, and saying his information came with the highest possible probability of success.

I am in pieces. I have no idea what to do or how I will pay off my credit card bill of 400 a month  money I just dont have

Really, it is a huge opportunity with absolutely zero risk on your account balance, he wrote. Deanne, whose father was seriously ill at the time, invested another 2,000 from her credit card.

Over the next three days, she lost everything.

I kept saying: Should we stop now? but Peter would just say: We will just do one more thing,  she says.

As the week wore on, Banc De Binary offered Deanne a 400 floor-cleaning robot and an iPhone 6 as bonuses. She now feels they were intended to encourage her to keep trading.

Without any money to pay her debts, she took out a second credit card and handed over 2,500 to Peter for one last trade. Again, she lost it all. An email from Peter on November 10 reads: Deanne, I am deeply sorry about what happened. I really believed in those trades.

Two-thirds of binary brokerages around the world, including Banc De Binary and 300 other firms, use the services of one company, SpotOption. This website offers all the software and training required to set up a binary options firm.

Founded in 2010 in Israel, SpotOption opened an office at the Royal Exchange in London in June to bring binary options trading to the masses.

Tens of thousands of savers just like Deanne are being lured into taking huge stock market bets on what are nothing more than gambling websites

Despite the criticism of binary trading, the company predicted that more and more investors will make money when they become more experienced at judging the risks involved.

In 2014, its marketing director Tammy Levy claimed 25 of the firms who use SpotOption made revenues of $500,000 to $4 million a month.

If we dont see them approaching those figures, then we provide them with guidance and instructions on their sales and marketing activity, she said.

Videos posted online by Hong Kong-based SpotOption sales manager Thomas Chang in 2016 and former Middle East sales manager Fakhri Husseini in 2013 tell potential brokers that just 20per cent of people who invest in binary options ever get any money back.

Of those 20per cent, some will be withdrawing their original deposit, meaning the proportion who actually make a profit could be smaller.

Documents released earlier this month as part of legal proceedings in the U.S. against EZTD Inc, a smaller binary options firm, reveal that less than 3 pc of customers  114 people out of 4,000  made any profit.

The U.S.s Securities and Exchange Commission fined EZTD Inc $1.7 million for misleading investors.

David Ripstein, director of SpotOption UK Ltd, says: The fact that a high percentage of traders lose some or most of their investment over time is typical for all forms of options and derivatives.

The risk inherent in derivatives trading dictates the need for regulation and consumer protection.

He says the averages in the presentations are a poor indicator of the nature of the industry and are not reflective of current trends.

As customers become more knowledgeable about binary options and gain experience in trading this product, the results in financial terms become more balanced, he says.

SpotOption brokers include Big Option and BinaryBook. Money Mail and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism have previously reported that these firms face accusations from customers that they make it difficult to withdraw money.

Mr Ripstein says: We do not tolerate use of our platform that is unlawful.

On Deannes case, a spokesman for Banc De Binary says: These [email] extracts, taken out of their context, would create a wrong impression with your readers as to the events and communications between the client and Banc De Binary staff.

For example, the client had expressed in writing, more than once, that they were satisfied by the service they received.

We will continue to review the case, and if we do find any evidence that the client has suffered a loss due to any failure of internal controls, then clearly we will reimburse the client.
Bouffants, biceps and padded butts: Behind-the-scenes at Miss Gay Nicaragua where contestants compete to be crowned queen of queens



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The bouffants were big, the false eyelashes even bigger but it was the butts that needed most help in the enhancement department with some serious padding.



These are the pictures from the annual Miss Gay Nicaragua where 13 contestants battled it out to be crowned queen of queens at the weekend.



The internationally famous contest, which has been a highlight on the gay community's calendar since the early 1980s, sees drag queens parade in a series of outfits before showing off their dancing skills to a panel of judges.

The contest kicked off with all 13 wannabe queens parading in outlandish costumes and enormous feathered headdresses to rounds of applause from the audience in a packed Ruben Dario National Theatre in Managua.

The girls then showed off their super honed bodies and faux breasts in tiny swimsuits before donning lavish evening gowns for the finale.



This year, 22-year-old designer Laveleska Dredrish was crowned Miss Gay Nicaragua 2012. She promised to open new spaces for the gay community and said she would continue the fight for the community's rights.

'This goes beyond a beauty contest, the wigs and makeup,' Dredrish told AFP.



Her winning outfit was an aqua-marine mermaid style dress which hugged her toned body. The judges said they picked her for her eloquence, elegance and her face's finesse.

Does my crown look big in this: Twenty-two-year-old designer Laveleska Dredrish was crowned Miss Gay Nicaragua 2012. She promised to continue the fight for the gay community's rights

Asset enhancer: Behind the scenes a contestant reveals the secret of her shapely, pert bottom: padding, padding and if in doubt, more padding

Let's get this party started: A contestant prepares for her debut - with a quick shave, left, while another in an elaborate horned headdress, helps a fellow queen out by applying false lashes, right Shall we dance? No, just get this corset done up already: Miss Dredrish minus wig, gets help with her aqua marine gown from not one but two assistants

Words of advice? She then plays the waiting game before being called but still finds time to shoot Miss Gay Nicaragua 2011 Jasuhara Brown, right, a withering look as she attempts to offer advice or at least comfort before she is crowned the winner

It's my turn now: Miss Brown places an enormous tiara on Miss Dredrish's bouffant as she finally realises her ambition to be queen of queens

Spotlight: Earlier Miss Brown, center, had taken to the stage to wave at her adoring fans at the Ruben Dario National Theatre in Managua before relinquishing her crown

Strike a pose: A dancer emulates a ballet pose in a poster in a dingy kitchen backstage at the beauty contest

We want the show, we want the show: An audience featuring some lavishly dressed drag queens watches the 2012 Miss Gay Nicaragua beauty contest

Taking centre stage: Even when they're not on stage the beauty queens felt the need to pose - or maybe it was the only way they could stand in such towering heels?

Bird's eye view: The contest is internationally famous and has been going since the early 1980's. Contestants must parade in swimsuits, ball gowns and fantasy frocks before showing off their dancing skills in front of the judges

Dancing for the crown: Thirteen contestants put on a colorful show with choreography to a fast techno beat

Location: The contest took place in a packed Ruben Dario National Theatre in Managua




A former JetBlue flight attendant's baggage now includes a felony conviction.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, 32, pleaded guilty Monday to taking part in a multimillion-dollar, cross-country drug smuggling operation.

Reynolds was discovered in March when she bolted from a screening checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport and abandoned two carry-on luggage bags filled with more than 60 pounds of cocaine - estimated to be worth about $3million.

Appearing in a downtown New York City courtroom on Monday, Reynolds pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. She faces a mandatory 10-year prison term when sentenced on March 13 in federal court.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, former runner up for Miss Jamaica World in 2008 (pictured), pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine

The former Jamaican beauty queen and New York University track athlete was studying to be a nurse while working for JetBlue, her former attorney said.

She was a runner-up in the Miss Jamaica World 2008 pageant, which sends the country's representative to Miss World contests.

Leaders of the Jamaica pageant were 'shocked and surprised' at news of Reynolds' arrest, said organizer Laura Butler, who doesn't know Reynolds.

She said Reynolds apparently had traveled to Jamaica to compete while living in New York, as the contest allows for women of Jamaican heritage living elsewhere.

Reynolds acknowledged earning thousands of dollars to help smuggle drugs and money through airport security at LAX and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York by using her 'known crew member' status to breeze past security and then transfer the contraband to a co-conspirator.

Reynolds appeared in a downtown New York City courthouse in March. Police say she left two suitcases filled with cocaine at security in LAX

Airline employees with the clearance can bypass typical screening, even during personal travel in the US but can be randomly searched.

When she was pulled aside for screening March 18, she flung off her Gucci high heels and ran barefoot down an upward-moving escalator out of the terminal, an affidavit said. She was off duty at the time.

A TSA officer said he didn't pursue her because their primary concern was her abandoned luggage.

Inside Reynolds' bags cops said TSA agents found clothes, Trojan Magnum condoms and more than 68 pounds of cocaine wrapped in green saran wrap labeled 'BIG Ranch'.

Reynolds reported to work for a flight to New York the next day and surrendered to the Drug Enforcement Administration there four days later, according to court documents.

The US citizen and resident of Queens, New York, was dressed in a white jail jumpsuit Monday with her ankles chained together and wrists shackled to her waist.

She could barely raise her right hand to pledge to tell the truth before her guilty plea.

She spoke in a soft voice and politely answered more than a dozen questions, addressing Judge Virginia Phillips as 'your honor' almost each time.

The cocaine weighed just over 68 pounds and is estimated to be worth about $3million

The investigation into a larger drug ring is ongoing, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the US attorney's office.

In addition to a co-conspirator identified only as GB, who fled to Jamaica, court papers refer to others 'known and unknown' who carried out the scheme.

GB was in the US illegally and stole the identities of mentally disabled men to get passports and driver's licenses in their names that he used to fly, court papers said.

He and Reynolds were often on the same flights.

Mrozek said: 'She was able to facilitate this individual's drug trafficking operation.

'She was ferrying the drugs across the country and then bringing the proceeds of the drug sales back to Southern California.'

Defense lawyer Stuart Goldfarb said outside court that he expects Reynolds will be able to get a reduced sentence despite the mandatory minimum. Goldfarb would not explain how that would happen.

'Shes doing fine. Shes not a jailbird,' Goldfarb told the Daily News after the hearing.

'This is the first time shes been charged with anything like this.'

Typically, convicts who testify against co-defendants can get some break in sentencing.

Goldfarb said Reynolds was not cooperating at this point with authorities and declined to say how much his client knew about the cocaine trafficking scheme.

Reynolds' plea agreement mentioned nine dates she helped the unnamed co-conspirator pull off the scheme so he could deliver drugs to customers in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

TSA agents at LAX found 11 packages of cocaine wrapped in green cellophane and labeled, 'BIG Ranch' inside one of the bags Reynolds had left behind

After Reynolds was arrested, her mother and family friends offered their homes as a surety for bail, and more than a dozen people submitted letters to the court describing her character and work ethic.

Reynolds' father came to her defense and said the bags carrying the cocaine didn't belong to her.

'Somebody gave her the bag,' said her father, who refused to give his name, to the New York Post in March. The newspaper visited his home in Jamaica, Queens.

The Post also talked to a friend of Reynolds who said that he is in 'shock.' He met her at a photo shoot in 2006 and they stayed in contact.

He told the paper that he helped her with her English homework while she was a student at NYU.

'I only remember her as the nice, thoughtful, beautiful girl who was going to college, working and keeping in shape,' said the friend, who spoke to the paper on the condition of anonymity.

The TSA has been concerned about security threats from insiders, including airline and airport employees, particularly after several baggage handlers were arrested in December 2014 on charges of smuggling guns from Atlanta to New York.

The TSA has said it would be too expensive to screen all employees fully.
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A group of Chinese residents find the smog in their city so severe that they have put masks on hundreds of stone statues in protest.

Ten students from Xi'an covered the mouths of 800 stone lions on Sunday night hoping to raise the public awareness of the air pollution issue the city is facing.

One of the participants said he hoped the authority could take serious action and he would not want to see China getting as polluted as London in the 1950s.

Ten students from Xi'an, China, put masks on 800 stone lions in their school to raise the public awareness of the smog issue

Northern China, including Xi'an, has been troubled by smog since the beginning of winter, which is dubbed the 'smog season'

Li said he had bought the masks off the internet last week and he and his classmates put them on the statues on Sunday night

Li and his classmates study at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, and the stone statues are a popular attraction of their school

Li Wentao studies at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, majoring in Video and Animation.

The 20-year-old suggested the idea to some of his classmates who joined him in putting the masks on 800 stone lions, an iconic attraction in their school.

He spent 80 yuan (9) purchasing 1,000 masks online last week.

It took Li and his classmates about an hour to put the masks on all statues.

Li told MailOnline: 'Serious smog has blanketed Xi'an for the past two to three weeks. Everybody is talking about it.'

The student grew up in a seaside city in eastern China where smog was rare. He added: 'I want to call on the public to give more attention to the protection of the environment.

'I definitely wouldn't want to live in an environment like this for long. '

He also said that he wouldn't 'want to see China's air becoming as polluted as London's during the Great Smog in 1952'.

However, Li said he understood that air pollution came with industrialisation and the development of a country.

Pedestrians walked on the street in Beijing on December 4 as the city was blanketed by thick smog leading to low visibility

Heavy smog hit Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi Province, and the PM2.5 rose to 266 on December 4

Buildings were shrouded in heavy smog at Chu Hehan Street on December 2, 2016 in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China

Wuhan stayed under a smog cover on December 2 as air pollution was expected to reach a moderate level in Wuhan

And it's not just Xi'an, the whole northern China has been troubled by thick smog since the beginning of winter, which has been dubbed the 'smog season' by Chinese media.

In the past week, authorities at major populous cities, such as Beijing, Tianjin and Taiyuan, have issued orange warnings for air pollution. Orange is the second to the most serious on China's four-tier colour-coded warning system for severe weather.

According to China News, the western Hebei Province, south-western parts of Shanxi Province, central Shaanxi Province, and central and northern Henan Province are expected to have 'serious smog' today, with visibility as low as one kilometre (0.6 miles).

Li Wentao said he would not want to see China getting as polluted as London in the 1950s. The above picture shows the heavy smog in Piccadilly Circus, London, on December 6, 1952

A tugboat was seen moored on the Thames near Tower Bridge in heavy smog in London in 1952

Li said Xi'an had seen readings as high as 334 on the Air Quality Index this week.

On the six-tier Air Quality Index values, readings between 301 and 500 is the worst and is labelled 'hazardous' which means it 'would trigger a health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected', according to Air Now.

A 'good' reading ranges between 0 to 50.

In Chengdu, some residents were with the polluted weather from the beginning of December they proposed a silent protest on social media asking people to go to the city's central plaza wearing masks, according RFA.
The man who admitted repeatedly raping his 12-year-old daughter got only 60 days in jail

Montana's attorney general's office has been unable to find legal grounds to challenge a judge's decision to send a man to jail for 60 days for repeatedly raping his 12-year-old daughter.

The amount of time behind bars, considered lenient by many, is 'reprehensible' but that alone was not enough to appeal the October 4 sentence issued by District Judge John McKeon, State Department of Justice spokesman Eric Sell said Monday.

The man isn't being named to avoid identifying the victim of a sexual assault.

State law in Montana and many other states mandates minimum 25-year-prison sentences for sexual assaults of victims age 12 or younger. The victim was 12.

However, McKeon said a legal exception allowed him to suspend most of the 30-year sentence he gave the man because a court-appointed evaluator said treatment outside of prison was best to rehabilitate the offender while protecting the victim and society.

McKeon, above, drew fire over his decision to suspend the 30-year prison sentence of a man who admitted raping his daughter and giving him a 60-day jail sentence instead

The 30-year sentence is suspended as long as he completes probation and has no contact with minors, reported CNN.

The judge also noted the man did not have a felony record, had a job, community and church support, and there was a lack of input from the victim or from an advocate for the victim.

The man must undergo sex offender treatment and faces many other restrictions. He was given credit for 17 days in jail he had served prior to sentencing.

McKeon said that he took into consideration the wishes of the victim's mother and grandmother and also an outside evaluator, all of whom thought he needed outside psychiatric help rather than prison

McKeon required him to serve the rest of his jail time within six months, saying he could stagger the time out in two-day jail periods at a time.

McKeon's sentencing order noted the girl's mother and grandmother wrote letters to the court supporting community-based treatment in order to keep the man in the lives of his two sons. The mother walked in on the father raping the child, court records said.

At the perpetrator's sentencing hearing, 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 the man 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.'

An online petition arguing for McKeon to be impeached drew 260,000 supporters but he retired in late November after announcing earlier in the year and before issuing the sentence that he would do so.

The petition argued that McKeon only listened to those who supported the perpetrator, like the victim's mother and grandmother.

'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.'

'The sentence may not be a popular decision by certain members of the general public, but it is a just and proper decision given the record before the Court and the law the Court is sworn to uphold,' McKeon wrote in his October 17 sentencing order.

Assistant Attorney General Dan Guzynski has proposed legislation that would close the loophole that allowed for the sentencing exception.

The attorney general's office will advocate on behalf of that change during the state legislative session that begins on January 2, Sell said.
John Roberts (above) is taking over as chief White House correspondent for Fox News Channel

John Roberts is taking over as chief White House correspondent for Fox News - six months after Ed Henry lost the job because of his affair with a Las Vegas stripper.

The network announced Monday that he will begin his new duties on Inauguration Day.

Roberts, who joined Fox News in 2011, previously served as senior national correspondent.

He then reported on the Republican presidential primary and eventually President-elect Donald Trump's campaign.

Prior to that, he was co-anchor of CNN's 'American Morning' and its senior national correspondent.

He spent 14 years with CBS News, where he was chief White House correspondent, among other assignments.

Fox News' White House position was previously filled by Ed Henry until his suspension in May after a magazine story detailed his affair.

Ed Henry, above, was the White House correspondent until May when he was suspended over a tabloid story about his affair with a stripper

Henry, 45, took a hiatus from Fox News last May, after Natalia Lima - a 42-year-old dancer at the Sapphire club in Vegas - dished about their relationship and shared explicit text messages with InTouch.

Lima, a veteran stripper, said she and Henry engaged in a ten-month affair after meeting in a Las Vegas gentleman's club. She performed steamy $2,000-an-hour routines for Henry in a private VIP 'Skybox' at Sapphire Las Vegas strip club.

Henry is married to NPR Washington editor Shirley Hung and has two children. The pair reportedly have stayed together after news of the affair broke.

Henry now serves as chief national correspondent.

Natalia Lima, 42, above, said she had a steamy 10-month affair with the married Henry
Raeshawn Perez, 26, was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping

Two witnesses heroically stopped a man who abducted a seven-year-old girl because he wanted to have sex with her, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Raeshawn Perez, 26, was arrested in Wichita Falls, Texas, on Saturday and charged with aggravated kidnapping, the Times Record News reported.

Seven witnesses saw Perez with the girl, and two Good Samaritans chased him down and tackled him until the police arrived, according to the probable cause affidavit cited by the Times.

The girl's mother called the police from the 1400 block of Elizabeth Avenue on Saturday afternoon, claiming a man had abducted her daughter, according to the affidavit.

The mother directed the police east, and they found Perez being restrained by the Good Samaritans about half a mile away.

A man who lives down the block on Elizabeth Avenue saw Perez carrying the girl, and when the mother ran up and claimed her daughter had been kidnapped, he and his girlfriend jumped in a car to chase the suspect down.

The couple spotted Perez just a few streets away trying to push the girl through the window of a deserted home.

When Perez realized the Good Samaritans were in pursuit, he tried to run before the couple tackled him to the ground and held him until police arrived.

Perez was arrested and later told detectives he wanted to have sex with the young girl before he planned to take her back home, according to the probable cause affidavit.

He is being held at the Wichita County Jail with bail set at $50,000.

Brandi Young of the Wichita Falls Police Department assured residents and called it an 'isolated incident', and the police issued tips against child abductions on their blog.
When buying supermarket salad its good to know the leaves are fresh, but one customer has complained after his bag of greens turned out to be a little too fresh.

Mark Anthony, a father from Perth, has hit out at Coles in Bassendean, Western Australia, after he found a live wasp inside a bag of Baby Spinach.

The father-of-one uploaded the video to the Coles Facebook page on Monday saying he had contacted the store three times but had been ignored.

Mark Anthony, a father from Perth, hit out at Coles after he found a bag of spinach in their store in Bassendean with a live wasp crawling around inside

He wrote: 'No response, no manager callback, obviously sub standard quality control.'

In the footage the insect can be seen scrabbling around inside the bag of spinach, clearly still alive despite making it into the store.

This is not the first time this month that a Coles customer has complained after finding a wasp inside pre-packed salad.

Hayley Munro-Lynch, 25, a mother-of-one, also blasted the supermarket after finding a wasp inside a bag of rocket two weeks ago.

Ms Lynch said she is allergic to the creatures, and a single sting would have been enough to kill her.

Her eight-year-old son, Samuel, could also have been seriously hurt by the insect, she told Daily Mail Australia.

It is the second time in a recent weeks that a wasp has been found inside a bag of Coles salad after a mother found this insect earlier this month

Hayley Munro-Lynch, 25 (left), said she could have died after finding the insect because she is allergic to their stings, while son Samuel, eight, also has a severe reaction

She said: 'I'm lucky I noticed it as I picked up my bags out of the trolley. It was moving in the bag.

'I didn't have my epipen on me at the time so it could have been bad if I was stung. I have to carry an epipen for my allergy as it affects my breathing [if I am stung].

'It can put people with severe allergies into anaphylactic shock.

'My son breaks out in a hives rash and has a localised reaction and needs antihistamines.'

It is thought that the same company, Tripod Farmers, supplies Coles with both their pre-packed spinach and rocket salads.

The same company was involved in a salmonella outbreak earlier this year which prompted a nationwide recall of products from Coles, among several other stores.
A nine-year-old girl who injured herself on a swing died from internal injuries that she had developed after being discharged from hospital, a doctor has told an inquest.

Adelaide schoolgirl Leila Baartse-Harkin injured her stomach after she fell off a playground swing at the Eastern Fleurieu School at Strathalbyn in September last year.

Women's and Children's Hospital registrar Dr Amy McMellon claimed there had been no signs of a perforated bowel when she assessed the girl, The Advertiser reported.

But two days later, the little girl died of peritonitis - an inflammation of the inner lining of the abdomen due to a perforated small bowel.

Adelaide schoolgirl Leila Baartse-Harkin (pictured) injured herself after she fell off a swing

The nine-year-old girl died of peritonitis - an inflammation of the inner lining of the abdomen

Her parents found Leila (pictured with her mother Edie) unresponsive a day after she was discharged from hospital

'She didn't have that when I saw her,' Dr McMellon told Deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel at the inquest after she was recalled to give evidence on Monday.

'I know that she did not have it from my examination.'

Dr McMellon performed an abdominal pressure test, during which Leila 'laughed and giggled the whole way through' when she was asked to jump to assess any pain.

A Women's and Children's Hospital spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia they were 'unable to comment on this case while it is still before the coroner'.

The inquest heard Leila was admitted to hospital after she vomited several times and complained of abdominal pain in the days leading up to her death.

Dr McMellon performed an x-ray and noted that she had a rigid abdomen and an elevated heart rate but the scans found no signs of internal injuries.

The inquest heard Leila was admitted to hospital after she vomited several times and complained of abdominal pain in the days leading up to her death

The inquest heard Leila's death could have been preventable if the child had undergone a CT scan before being sent home

Her parents found Leila (pictured with her mother Edie) unresponsive early the next morning

She claimed senior doctor Elissa Pearton, who also examined the girl, made the decision to discharge her after she showed signs of improvement and 'was reporting that she had no more pain'.

However, the inquest heard Leila's death could have been preventable if the child had undergone a CT scan before being sent home.

Leila was also assessed by a GP after vomiting again but the doctor did not examine her abdomen or check her vital signs, the inquest heard previously.

Her parents found her unresponsive early the next morning and rushed her to hospital but she could not be resuscitated.
Richard Nixon will be making a return to the Oval Office in the form in the form of a letter the he penned to President-elect Donald Trump in 1987 when he was a New York real estate mogul expanding his celebrity.

Trump plans to hang the treasured piece of memorabilia inside the Oval Office, Politico reported the Trump has told friends.

Nixon wrote the missive after Trump appeared on the Phil Donahue show while promoting his book, 'The Art of the Deal,' on December 21.

'Dear Donald,' reads the letter. 'I did not see the program, but Mrs. Nixon told me that you were great on the Donahue Show. As you can imagine, she is an expert on politics and she predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!'

President Richard Nixon left office under the cloud of the Watergate scandal. But a letter he penned to President-elect Donald Trump may make it back to the Oval Office

Trump during the TV appearance calmly expressed similar confidence about himself.

'I like success much better than failure, somehow,' he told TV host with a wink, taking complete control of his narrative.

Donahue gushed: 'You're a star, Mr. Trump, and you're a businessman, and you do not run away from publicity.'

Nixon was the first and only president to resign the office, leaving in 1974 under the cloud of the Watergate scandal.

Nixon wrote that his wife, Pat, predicts that whenever Trump decides to run for office, 'You will be a winner!'

Trump was cool and confident during his appearance on Donahue, impressing Pat Nixon with his future as a politician

'You're a star, Mr. Trump, and you're a businessman, and you do not run away from publicity,' said Donahue

Most Republicans prefer to associate themselves with party hero Ronald Reagan, although Nixon took efforts to try to rehabilitate his reputation after he left office. He ultimately consulted with presidents Jimmy Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush.

One of his signature accomplishments was normalizing relations with China, a country that has been the subject of Trump's constant attention and many of his political attacks.

On Sunday Trump questioned whether the 'One China' policy could continue unless the economic relationship can be changed.

Trump continues to have an advisory relationship with former Nixon operative Roger Stone, who has a tattoo of Nixon on his back.

'It was just amazing that he wrote it,' Trump said when he showed the letter to Fox News last month.

'I didn't know him but he would write me letters, it was very interesting, he always wanted me to run for office,' Trump said.

Donald Trump listens during the press conference promoting the upcoming fight between Mike Spinks and Gerry Cooney on June 15,1987 in in Atlantic City
The former Health Secretary - who was forced to quit after he was caught flouting his own Covid lockdown rules with his married aide Gina Coladangelo - has sparked a storm which has seen him ridiculed and even booted out of the parliamentary Tory party. Justifying his decision to fly Down Under, landing in Brisbane this morning, Mr Hancock denied he had 'lost his marbles'. He insisted it was so he can 'go to where the people are - not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster' - and claimed that he will 'promote his dyslexia campaign' and make a donation to a hospice - although not his entire estimated 350,000 pay deal from ITV. But millions are set to punish him for his decision, including MPs. One former minister has threatened 'to vote for him to eat armadillo c**k every night'. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said today that he should 'step down' and didn't deny he would also vote for Hancock to face Bushtucker Trials, smiling as he said: 'That will be between me and my phone'. In Mr Hancock's West Suffolk constituency, Andy Drummond, the cheesed off deputy chairman of the local Conservative Association, said: 'I'm looking forward to him eating a kangaroo's penis'. Incredibly the now independent MP insists that he will still be doing his job as an MP, meaning he will not forego his taxpayer-funded salary for the duration of his trip. He said: 'As an MP, my first priority is to my constituents. I have agreed with the show's producers that I can be reached at any point on any urgent constituency matters'. Yesterday the Prime Minister said he was doing the opposite. The former health secretary also revealed he had twice asked to appear on the show before but accepted the third offer because the government is now 'stable'. Many have pondered whether he made up his mind when he was snubbed by new PM Rishi Sunak at his victory rally last week, which was tacit confirmation his career as a senior MP is over.
Donald Trump has confirmed he will be leaving his businesses to his sons before the inauguration.

The president-elect made the announcement on Twitter, just hours after he delayed the much-awaited press conference where he would outline his 'total' withdrawal.

He said Donald Jr and Eric will be running his vast, multi-billion dollar operations - but insisted that no 'deals' will be done while he is in office.

It also confirms indications that his eldest daughter, Ivanka, has chosen not to be involved in the running of his numerous companies.

On Monday night, he wrote: 'Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the presidency'.

'Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office. '

Donald Trump has confirmed he will be leaving his businesses to his sons before the inauguration

The president-elect made the announcement on Twitter, just hours after he delayed the much-awaited press conference where he would outline his 'total' withdrawal

President-elect Donald Trump is postponing a press conference where he was to describe how he plans to handle his massive business while in office

Earlier on Monday, Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer said the announcement about the future of his business holdings had been pushed back to January.

Trump has said repeatedly he will turn the business over to three to Eric, and Donald Trump Jr.

He has faced a series of critical reports about the array of potential conflicts he might face while serving in office and maintaining ownership of an empire he has valued at $10 billion.

Among the foremost potential conflicts are a D.C. luxury hotel that foreign diplomats have expressed interest in booking, a New York property with a Chinese bank as a tenant, and hotel deals overseas in Turkey and Qatar.

Bloomberg News reported that Trump wanted the delay to focus more on cabinet appointments and setting up his government.

He has yet to formally announce his secretary of state pick, but reports late on Monday night suggested ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson would be named.

Trump has said he will hand over the business to three of his adult children, although Ivanka Trump, too, may try to remove herself from the business

Trump tweeted after the election that he would remove himself from the business 'in total,' writing that 'legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations.'

He has said the news conference would be to 'discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country.'

Trump has stressed that it is much more challenging to try to sell real estate assets that stocks. His transition revealed that he sold his $40 million stock portfolio in June, without providing documentation.

His comments since have indicated that he may well maintain ownership of the business, but step back from day to day operations. He has previously said he would put the business into a 'blind trust' but let his family run it, which generally isn't considered blind.

Trump said on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace that he has turned down a billion dollars in offers, including 7 offers from a single individual.

'If I were really going to do new deals right now I am turning down billions of dollars of deals,' Trump told host Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday when pressed about his array of business interests and potential conflicts.

Officials have said Trump wants to focus on his transition. Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is a leading candidate to be secretary of state

'I turned down seven deals with one big player, great player, last week, because I thought it could be perceived as a conflict of interest,' Trump said, without specifying who made the offers.

Trump then estimated that he turned down 'probably a billion dollars of deals.'

House Oversight Committee Democrats are planning a hearing on Wednesday about Trump's business and potential conflicts.

Trump rejected suggestions from Wallace that foreign countries booking events at his D.C. hotel could be a way to curry favor.

'No,' Trump responded.

'I will tell you, running for president  the money I spent is peanuts compared to the money I won't make, and that's okay, because this is so important,' Trump said, in reference to the $60 million he poured into his successful campaign.

'What I'm doing is so important. This is a calling,' he added.
Clearly breaking the law, a policewoman talks into her iPhone behind the wheel of her patrol car.

The officer was snapped by a passer-by  who also saw her change gear while still holding the device.

At one point she has neither hand on the wheel. Aware she was being photographed, the unnamed policewoman reportedly rolled down her window and told the passerby to delete the images.

An unnamed Metropolitan Police officer was caught using her iPhone at the wheel, pictured

The incident, which took place last week in a busy street in Wood Green, North London, comes after the Daily Mail successfully campaigned for tougher penalties for those caught using their mobile behind the wheel.

The Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation after safety campaigners called her irresponsible.

A spokesman for Road safety charity Brake said: Using your mobile device while driving is foolish and incredibly dangerous no matter where you are or who you are.

'Its extremely disappointing to see a police officer acting so irresponsibly and quite clearly breaking the law.

Using a mobile at the wheel significantly increases your risk of being involved in a crash and seriously injuring or killing yourself or other road users.

Road Peace, which supports crash victims, added: Research shows using a mobile phone at the wheel is as dangerous as drink-driving  and you dont expect police officers to drive with alcohol in their system.

John OConnor, a former Flying Squad commander, branded the behaviour outrageous and called for her to be disciplined.

She should be setting an example on safety, particularly after recent fatalities by drivers using phones, he said.

Abdul Mohamed, 28, who took the pictures of the officer, told The Sun: She had a phone in her right hand and moved into first gear with her left. I noticed she was making a call. I could see it was on speaker.

The 28-year-old added: She wound the window down and told me to delete the pictures.

The officer is alleged to have told the witness who captured the moment on camera, pictured, to 'delete the images'

But she shouldnt be able to get away with this. If she caught me, Id be done for it, no doubt.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said it has launched a probe.

In September, research by the RAC revealed that almost a third of motorists confessed to using a mobile without a hands-free kit.

Almost half admitted to doing so while in stationary traffic, which is still illegal.

The RAC said the findings illustrated an epidemic of drivers using their phones at the wheel.

Ministers have pledged to crack down on mobile phone drivers following a hard-hitting campaign by the Mail.
The highest earning private equity executive in 2015 was Stephen A. Schwarzman (above), the co-founder of Blackstone Group, who went home with a whopping $800million

These executives make more money annually than the heads of Facebook, Google, and Apple, yet they arent nearly as recognizable.

They are the heads of this countrys largest private equity firms, and they take home on average 10 times the amount of money as the CEOs of banks, according to The New York Times.

The newspaper conducted an investigation which showed that the top executives at six publicly traded equity firms took home a whopping $211million on average last year.

Private equity firms are companies that take struggling companies that are not traded on the stock exchange and raise cash, which they then re-invest in those companies with the goal of making them profitable.

These firms would then try to get a handsome return on their investment by either offering the company to the public which can buy shares, selling the company, or recapitalization.

In 2012, Hostess, the company that makes Twinkies, went out of business after it was forced to declare bankruptcy.

The company sold off its various brands, with Twinkies and other Hostess cakes going to private equity firms Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management, which are known for fixing up ailing brands then selling them off for a profit.

Apollo Global Management founder Leon Black (above) raked in nearly $200,000million in 2015

In the summer of 2013, Twinkies came back with a vengeance, setting off a feeding frenzy that made the company a fortune.

In July, Hostess Brands went public, with the company being valued at $2.3billion.

Apollo and Metropoulus, which bought the company for $186million, received a return that was 13 times their original investment.

These are the kinds of deals that enable executives at private equity firms to reap nine-figures annually through a combination of salaries, dividends, stock options, bonuses, and carried interest, according to the Times.

The highest earning private equity executive was Stephen A. Schwarzman, the co-founder of Blackstone Group. According to the Times, Schwarzman took home $800million.

Apollos founder, Leon Black, raked in nearly $200,000million, while George Roberts of KKR earned slightly over $181million.

Another KKR executive, Henry R. Kravis, went home with $175.6million; David M. Rubenstein of Carlyle Group earned $102million; and William E. Conway, Jr., also of Carlyle, earned $96million.

Apollo was one of two private equity firms that bought Hostess, the maker of Twinkies (above), and returned it to profitability. Today, Hostess is worth an estimated $2.3billion

Rounding out the top eight are Antony P. Ressler of Ares Management ($82,840,498) and Wesley R. Edens of Fortress Investment Group ($54,417,084).

Contrast those numbers with the earnings of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who earned a paltry $10.3million in 2015, according to CNN.

KKR executive George Roberts (left) earned slightly over $181million in 2015, while David Rubenstein (right) of Carlyle Group took home $102million

Henry R. Kravis (left) of KKR went home with $175.6million in 2015, while Ares Management executive Tony Ressler earned $82,840,498

Carlyle Group executive William Conway earned $96million in 2015, while Wesley Edens of Fortress Investment Group made $54,417,084

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, whose net worth is estimated at $50billion, agreed to take a symbolic salary of $1 per year in 2013.

The year before that, he earned $770,000 in combined salary and bonuses.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg earned $18.7million from both salary and bonuses in 2015, according to Salary.com.

Despite the resurrection of Hostess, the Times notes that the company has not restored its work force to pre-bankruptcy levels.

Under the ownership of the private equity firms, Hostess employs just 1,200 workers, compared to the 8,000 it had under the previous ownership.

HIGHEST EARNING PRIVATE EQUITY EXECUTIVES OF 2015 Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone Group - $799,838,742 Leon Black of Apollo Global Management - $199,840,537 George R. Robert of KKR - $181,135,050 Henry R. Kravis of KKR - $175,624,545 David M. Rubenstein of Carlyle Group - $102,270,852 William E. Conway, Jr. of Carlyle Group - $96,845,852 Antony P. Ressler of Ares Management - $82,840,498 Wesley R. Edens of Fortress Investment Group - $54,417,084 Advertisement

While good times are here again for Hostess, the employees who were laid off as a consequence of the companys collapse have not shared in the spoils.

Private equity firms have managed to turn enormous profits by taking advantage of the shift to automation, which saves them millions on labor costs.

Executives raking in these kinds of sums of money is something that we can expect more of given that private equity controls some 7,500 companies that employ a total of 4.4million workers, according to the Times.

Observers say that while it may seem that the private equity firms are enriching themselves while others are getting poorer, the picture is a bit more complicated.

Pension funds that pay retirement benefits to teachers and firefighters also invest with private equity, giving employees in the public sector a vested interest in their success.
A two-year-old boy was hit and killed by a train that also struck his babysitter while they were walking along the tracks in Florida.

Hunter Fink and his babysitter, Heather Henderson, 26, were hit by a CSX train in Tampa just before noon on Monday, according to WPTV.

Deputies from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call about the incident around 11.55am.

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Two-year-old Hunter Fink and his babysitter, Heather Henderson, 26, were hit by a CSX train in Tampa just before noon on Monday. They were rushed to a local hospital, where Hunter later died. Investigators are pictured working the scene shortly after the incident

Deputies (pictured) from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call about the incident around 11.55am

Hunter and his babysitter were flown to local hospitals.

The child died from his injuries at St Joseph's Hospital and Henderson is listed in stable condition.

Sheriff Chris Nocco told the station that Hunter and his four-year-old sister were walking along the train tracks on a bridge with Henderson and another adult Cody Williams.

Williams was able to grab the four-year-old once they realized the train was coming.

He then jumped nearly eight feet off the bridge to safety with the child in his arms.

At the time, Henderson was holding Hunter, but she was unable to jump out of the way.

Williams was able to grab the four-year-old and jump nearly eight feet off the bridge to safety with the child in his arms. Henderson was holding Hunter, but she was unable to jump out of the way. First responders continue to work the scene where the tragedy took place

Authorities said the bridge where they were walking comes after a sharp turn on the tracks, which is why they probably didn't see it coming. The sheriffs office and CSX officials are continuing to investigate. Police work the scene where the incident occurred

Authorities said the bridge where they were walking comes after a sharp turn on the tracks, which is why they probably didn't see it coming, WPTV reported.

The sheriffs office and CSX officials are continuing to investigate.

Officials told the station that the train was traveling as much as 60mph at the time of the incident.
Police have vowed to crack down on revellers on boats in Sydney Harbour this New Year's Eve in a bid to combat aggressive behaviour they have dubbed 'anchor rage'.

The harbour has become so congested with boats competing for a prime position near Sydney Harbour Bridge, that arguments and physical assaults are now occurring, reported the Courier Mail.

Most of the aggression reportedly stems from incorrect anchoring of boats in the harbour.

Police in Sydney have said they will be cracking down on New Year's Eve revellers on boats in Sydney Harbour (pictured), in a bid to combat 'anchor rage'

Don Wright, a longtime member of the Blues Point Yachting Club, told the Courier Mail he was fed up with the harbour congestion and now chose to stay home.

He said he used to have up to 20 family and friends on board their boat, watch the fireworks, weigh anchor at 1.30am and then go home.

'Not anymore,' Mr Wright said.

'Every man and his dog who wants to get hold of a boat gets hold of a boat. Throw in alcohol and its mayhem.'

About 30 NSW Water Police and Roads and Maritime vessels will be patrolling the harbour in a bid to contain crowds and minimise complaints

Another boating enthusiast who didn't want to be named spoke of the atmosphere in the harbour and said: 'Youve got cowboys with no common sense throwing anchors downwind.'

More than 3,000 vessels are expected to gather in the harbour to celebrate later this month.

Senior Sergeant Alex Barrell from the NSW Marine Area Command said anchor rage resulted in a number of complaints last year.

The harbour has become so congested with boats competing for a prime position near Sydney Harbour Bridge (pictured) to watch the fireworks, that arguments and physical assaults are now occurring

'We will be proactive in enforcing the exclusion zone, especially around the fireworks barges,' Sgt Barrell said.

'With the alcohol involved, monitoring crowd behaviour is a priority.'

About 30 NSW Water Police and Roads and Maritime vessels will be patrolling the harbour.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Roads and Maritime Services for a comment on harbour congestion.
Two Mexican men accused of killing two Perth surfers could have their charges dropped after claiming they were tortured by police and forced to confess.

Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, both aged 33, were murdered by bandits dressed as police in Sinaloa last November and found torched in their burnt out van.

Cousins Julio Cesar Gonzalez Muniz and Martin Ponce Rogelio Muniz, claim police poured water down their nostrils and mouth as they were made to confess, according to Mexican media.

Adam Coleman (right) and Dean Lucas (left) were murdered while travelling through Mexico in November last year

Cousins Julio Cesar Gonzalez Muniz (left) and Martin Ponce Rogelio Muniz (right) were charged with murder

The accused men's families made an official complaint on behalf of the cousins to the State Commission of Human Rights stating they confessed as a result of torture and threats.

'They were pouring water in my nose and mouth,' Martin Ponce said from prison.

Martin Ponce claims he was asleep at his sister's home when police arrived and were hurting him and his sister as they demanded to know the location of his cousin, Julio.

Martin Ponce also claimed the police uniforms and weapons were planted on them by police.

In February, the Sinaloa Attorney General Marco Antonio Higuera reported the men were dressed in police uniform and

But the cousin's lawyer, Francisco Fierro Verdugo, told Mexican media that authorities within Sinaloa were under immense national and international pressure to find those responsible.

'The arrests eased that pressure,' Mr Verdugo said.

Their charges could be dropped after they claimed police threatened and tortured them forcing them to confess

The bodies of Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas were found inside their burnt out caravan

Mr Coleman (pictured with his partner, Andrea Gomez) and Mr Lucas went missing on a notorious road known by locals as the 'highway of death'

Mexican prosecutors believe Mr Coleman was shot in the face by the robbers but did not die until he was later shot again

Mr Lucas and Mr Coleman, who were in Mexico surfing, were due to travel to the western city of Guadalajara on November 21 but did not arrive, according to a message posted on Facebook.

The abandoned van was found near the Pacific coast in Sinaloa, about 200km south of where they were last seen and 716km north of Guadalajara.

Sinaloa is notorious in Mexico as the heartland of some of the country's most powerful and dangerous drug cartels.

Mexican prosecutors believe Mr Coleman was shot in the face by the robbers but did not die until he was later shot again and the van he was inside was torched.

The bandits were allegedly dressed in police uniforms and in the early hours staked out an area of the Benito Juarez Highway in Sinaloa state, a region infamous for drug cartels and violence.

The dreadlocked Mr Coleman was shot when he resisted the gang, but remained alive, while Mr Lucas was unharmed, authorities believe.

Mexican prosecutors do not believe the badly injured Mr Coleman and the terrified Mr Lucas were handcuffed or restrained.

Police reported Mr Lucas (pictured with his partner Josie Cox) and Mr Coleman were stopped on the road by men pretending to be police officers

Mr Lucas and Mr Coleman, who were in Mexico surfing, were travelling to Guadalajara when they disappeared
Phase 1 between London and Birmingham is due to open in December 2026

Critics say the tactics are 'Orwellian' so children who will be affected by HS2 come to see the rail link as brilliant

It claims the aim is to teach children so they can play a role in HS2 development

High Speed 2 has invited pupils from primary schools near their planned route to an educational programme

The firm set up by the government to manage High Speed 2 has been accused of using Orwellian propaganda tactics to brainwash young children living on the proposed route.

HS2 Ltd has awarded a 280,000 contract to London-based Hopscotch Consulting to devise educational course for primary school pupils aged between seven and eleven.

This included building a zoom train from cardboard and looking at possible routes for zoom rail from London to Birmingham.

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High Speed 2 has been accused of using propaganda tactics to brainwash young children living on the proposed route by inviting them to a programme. Here the Intercity Express train is revealed in hopes the North East wins the contract to build trains for the HS2 rail link

Primary schools near the route have received an email from Hopscotch inviting them to come aboard Zoom Rail, HS2s Primary School Engagement Programme.

The material contains HS2s logo and engine for growth slogan with no references to a negative view of the scheme, campaigners said.

In one activity pupils  some of whom will see their family homes demolished when HS2 is built - are urged to create their own power train by cutting out a template of a locomotive and making it move with balloons.

Last night HS2 said the aim of the project is to educate children so they can play a role in the construction, development and ongoing operation of HS2 and other transport and infrastructure projects.

Whether schools choose to use the education materials provided is entirely up to the school.

Critics say this tactic is 'Orwellian' - so children in communities impacted by HS2 will come to the conclusion HS2 is a brilliant idea

But the tactics have infuriated anti HS2 campaigners who have accused the government backed firm of stooping to a new low to push through the project,

Joe Rukin, campaign manager of Stop HS2, said: Just when we thought HS2 Ltd couldnt sink any lower, we find they are spending over a quarter of a million on targeting primary school children along the route of HS2 for brainwashing.

The concept of state-sponsored propaganda, which is tailored so children in communities impacted by HS2 must come to the conclusion HS2 is a brilliant idea, is truly Orwellian.

Sally Kincaid, divisional secretary of the Wakefield and District National Union of Teachers, one of the locations where the programme is being promoted, said: We know how busy teachers are, so when someone gives them a lesson plan, a lot will take it.

'But this is blatant marketing. If schools are going to use this, I would very much encourage them to invite campaigners against the project to put their case.

Ms Kincaid added that a balance of views was an essential part of the learning process.

The London to Birmingham route is Phase 1 of the HS2 project due to open in 2026, which will reduce the journey time by 55 minutes

Phase 1 of HS2 is due to open in December 2026 and will see trains travel at high speed between London and Birmingham before running on from Birmingham on the existing West Coast Main Line.

A second Y-shaped phase will open in two stages. Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe will launch in 2027 and phase 2b, from Crewe to Manchester and from the West Midlands to Leeds, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, will open in 2033.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has pledged to plough ahead with the project despite mounting opposition from local residents and business along the route, MPs and campaigners.

He has said the country desperately needs a modern rail line which will boost capacity and generate jobs and growth .

The latest revelations will provide ammunition who have described HS2 as a gravy train for highly paid lawyers and consultants.

The government has estimated HS2 will cost around 56billion to build.

But Several reports have raised concerns over the spiralling costs of HS2, and the alarming rate money is being spent on highly paid staff, consultants and lawyers.

Critics have warned the project could cost up to 90billion by the time it is completed, and that the money would be better spent on improving Britains creaking infrastructure.

A computer generated artist's impression of the proposed HS2 station at Euston in London. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said the country desperately needs a modern rail line which will boost capacity and generate jobs and growth

In October, the Department of Transport said it was looking to recruit up to four recent graduates to help write the story of HS2 from inception to the present day.

Writers were being offered a salary of 28,344 to 29,763 for a six month contract, with the chance of a permanent job at the end of the term.

To be considered for the job, the advert said candidates should have a background in either social research, politics, history or economics.

Ministers hurriedly withdrew the job advert after it was spotted by opponents of HS2.

More than 2 billion has already been spent on the project, despite the fact no track has been laid.

Latest accounts show 185million was dished out fees to consultants and lawyers last year alone.

Some 128 staff at HS2 are paid more than 100,000 a year.

A spokeswoman for HS2 Ltd said it was committed to ensuring that young people were able to play a role in the development and operation of HS2 and other infrastructure projects.

She added: Its right that we plan ahead and help young people to develop the skills and knowledge they need to take advantage of the opportunities available.
A 25-year-old was shot in the stomach during a brawl with the Hells Angels after he moved a traffic cone outside their headquarters in New York.

David Martinez was in the passenger seat of his friend's car early Sunday morning when they tried to pass a livery car on the narrow streets of the East Village in Manhattan.

Martinez got out and moved a traffic cone, only to be punched by a Hells Angel before several other club members joined in, the New York Daily News reported.

David Martinez was in the passenger seat of his friend's car early Sunday morning when he got out and moved a traffic cone outside the Hells Angel headquarters in New York City (pictured)

Martinez's friend, Joseph Gray, was driving the black Mercedes-Benz at 1.20am on Sunday, when they were stuck behind a livery cab.

Martinez hopped out to move a cone so they could pass the cab without realizing they were outside the famous motorcycle club's headquarters on 77 East Third Street.

A man who is believed to be a 'prospective' member the group, since he was not seen with the Hells Angels official 'death's head' patch, approached Martinez and punched him, sources told the Daily News.

Martinez's friends got out of the car to help as more of the club's members emerged.

The 25-year-old managed to punch and kick the prospective Hells Angel to the ground, before he sat up and fired his gun.

Lawyer Ron Kuby, who represented the Hells Angels in previous cases, blamed 'tourists, hipsters and others' for failing to leave the group alone

Martinez's friend Brittany McDonald drove him to Bellevue Hospital about 1.5 miles away, and he underwent surgery to have the bullet removed from his stomach, the Daily News reported.

Police are now testing Martinez's boot for DNA and looking for the alleged shooter, who was said to be wearing a hat with the word 'dad' on it.

Investigators are also looking over video footage.

Lawyer Ron Kuby, who represented the Hells Angels in previous cases, blamed 'tourists, hipsters and others' for failing to leave the members alone, he told the Daily News.
Explosive new court documents filed by Sumner Redstone's ex in response to his elder abuse suit against the woman claim that the 93-year-old paid out over $70million to women who 'did nothing more than provide sexual favors.'

Sydney Holland, 45, writes in papers that were filed in Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles that the billionaire businessman gave $21million to a former mistress who is an aspiring reality television producer; $18million to a flight attendant on the CBS corporate jet and $6million to the flight attendant's sister who he 'slept with'.

She also claims he paid out $11million to a woman he met through Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger; $7million to another mistress; $6million to a friend of his grandson's girlfriend along with a job at Showtime; and $1.5million to a third mistress.

Redstone also gave an undisclosed amount to an ex-fiancee and paid college tuition for a student at the University of Southern California, Holland claims in the court documents.

She also insists that Redstone spoke about marrying her and adopting her three-year-old daughter Alexandra, who she gave birth to at Redstone's home as he stood by her side.

She is now asking for half of his cash, stock and non-real property upon his death, saying that he broke a verbal agreement the two had when he had her removed from his Beverly Park mansion after learning she was having an affair last year.

Holland is also asking to be named a beneficiary for half of Redstone's mansion.

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Bombshell: Sumner Redstone's ex claims in court papers that the 93-year-old gave out over $70m to women who 'did nothing more than provide sexual favors' (Redstone and Sydney Holland above in 2013)

Big bucks: Sydney Holland, 45, claims that Redstone gave $21million to a former mistress and $18million to a flight attendant on the CBS corporate jet (above with Holland's daughter Alexandra)

More money: Holland also claims Redstone gave $6million to the flight attendant's sister after sleeping with her and $6million to a friend of his grandson's girlfriend (Holland, Redstone, Manuela Herzer and Shari Redstone above)

'For five years, Sydney and Plaintiff Sumner Redstone enjoyed a loving, romantic relationship. Their courtship began in the fall of 2010, when Redstone hired Patti Stanger, The Millionaire Matchmaker to find him a girlfriend who was not only young and beautiful, but also intelligent, funny, and who shared Redstones Jewish faith,' read the court papers.

'Patti knew Sydney was the perfect match, and contacted her right away. Almost immediately, the pair hit it off. They took long drives down the Malibu coast, listening to Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. They went to restaurants and shared Redstones favorite dessert, chocolate mousse.'

The 9-carat ring Redstone gave to Holland (above)

A year later Redstone proposed with a '9 carat yellow canary engagement ring, and asked her to move in with him.'

The filing goes on to say: 'He repeatedly told Sydney that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and that he wanted to adopt her daughter. He added her daughter to his Will. He assured her that he would take care of them for the rest of their lives.'

The relationship was not easy however according to Holland, who writes of the demands that Sumner allegedly made of her.

'For many years, Sydney had to be home for lunch and dinner with him 7 days a week because Redstone expected her to be. When Redstone went to sleep, he demanded she go to sleep as well  even if she didnt want to,' claim the court documents.

'Redstone forbid her from going out at night without him; again, she complied. She could not travel or take trips without him or spend time with friends. Her friendships withered and died. But, as always, he could do whatever he wanted.'

That is why Holland claims she had a short-lived affair, which led to Redstone kicking her out of his home.

Holland also claims that despite this Redstone has twice been to see her young daughter this year.

Now she wants what she claims she is entitled to for her years with the executive.

'As was his habit, Redstone was always extremely generous to Sydney, albeit not without a certain amount of self-interest,' reads the complaint.

'He wanted her attention solely on him, and, early on, he undertook to support her financially to encourage her dependence on him.'

Love notes Redstone gave to Holland (above)

The complaint was filed in response to the suit that Redstone submitted back in October against Holland and his ex Manuela Herzer.

The lawsuit, filed by Redstone's attorney Robert Klieger at the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, stated: '[Herzer and Holland] manipulated and emotionally abused Redstone to get what they wanted - jewelry, designer clothing, real estate in Beverly Hills, New York, and Paris, and money, lots of it.

'By the time Redstone threw Herzer and Holland out of his home, and out of his life, last fall, they had taken him for more than $150 million and left him in debt on account of the immense tax obligations triggered by those "gifts."'

The lawsuit also claims that on May 19, 2014, the women convinced Redstone to sell his vested stocks and then had him deposit $45million into each of their bank accounts.

Herzer and Holland allegedly did this by taking advantage of Restone's declining health and his sexual attraction to the two, specifically Holland, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also breaks down some of the ways in which Herzer and Holland allegedly spent Redstone's money.

'In 2014 alone, Holland charged more than $2million to Redstone's Visa and American Express cards including $63,612 at mario Jewelers of Beverly Hills, $58,461 at Saks Fifth Avenue, $57,912 at Yves Saint Laurent, and a staggering $752,737 at Tracie Butler Interior Design (little if any of which was spent on furnishings for Redstone's Beverly Park residence),' reads the complaint.

'Herzer charged $1.5million to Redstone's cards during that same 12-month period, including $128,780 at Barney's, $82,624 at Hermes, $54,212 at Miu Miu, and $34,147 at Chanel.'

The lawsuit also claims that the women kept Redstone away from his family and friends in order to have full control of him, and that on at least two occasions they had Adavan or a similar drug administered to him in order to keep him under their command.

The lawsuit comes just a few months after Herzer filed her own lawsuit against Redstone.

The judge in the case made the decision to dismiss that $50million suit, saying that Redstone was mentally competent, despite the claims.

'There is no good cause for further judicial involvement where the court has now heard directly from Redstone that he has lost trust in Herzer, does not want her in his life and instead wants his daughter Shari to look after him as necessary,' said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David J. Cowan.

'Herzer herself insisted from the outset of this case that the court hear from Redstone. Redstone had not otherwise intended to appear at trial in view of the medical risks and difficulties involved in doing so. However, Redstone's testimony has ultimately defeated her case.'

Redstone and his family are seen at his Star ceremony on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2012. Redstone's lawsuit claims that the women kept Redstone away from his family and friends in order to have full control of him

In a taped deposition played at the start of the trial, Redstone blasted Herzer, becoming vulgar at times.

The first question asked of Redstone during his taped deposition is; 'Who is Manuela Herzer?'

An interpreter, on hand to help Redstone, jumped in at that point to ask that the question be asked 'slowly,' but was cut off by the billionaire mogul as he responded; 'She is - Manuela is a f***ing b****.'

Redstone went on to repeat this statement three more times over the course of the deposition.

Herzer filed her lawsuit last November, one month after she was suddenly banned from Redstone's Beverly Park mansion and removed as his primary caretaker.

She was to receive '$50 million and Redstone's Beverly Park home, worth roughly $20 million' upon his death according to a court filing earlier this month in the Superior Court of the State of California.

That money would come on top of the $70 million in cash and assets Redstone's daughter Shari said her father gave to Herzer since just 2009 while she lived near his home.

The money from the will has now been directed to Redstone's charitable foundations.

A deal negotiated between lawyers for both sides that would have paid Herzer a reported $30million to drop her case fell apart at the eleventh hour for unknown reasons.

Almost immediately after her $50 million lawsuit fell through, Herzer filed a new suit against the billionaire's family and medical team, seeking at least $70 million.

The suit names Shari Redstone and sons Tyler and Brandon Korff, Sumner's house manager Isileli Tuanaki and lead nurse Jeremy Jagiello, alleging the group conspired to cut her out of the estate.

'Shari organized and implemented what would eventually become a successful campaign to turn Sumner against Herzer and strip Herzer not only of her role as his health care agent, but also of her inheritance,' documents allege.

The suit seeks damages against the group who she holds responsible for what Herzer called 'criminal acts in intentionally destroying [her] special relationship with Sumner and causing Sumner to disinherit her.'

Holland is now asking for half of Redstone's fortune when he dies, saying the two were engaged and he looked into adopting her 3-year-old daughter (above)

Shortly after Holland split up with Redstone, George Pilgrim (above) came forward and revealed he had been in a relationship with her

Redstone could not recall exactly how long Manuela lived with him in his deposition, or the years they were together, but he was able to recall that he kicked her out of his home in October 2015.

That answer came after much back and forth between Herzer's lawyer and Redstone's interpreter, with both parties wanting to be certain that Redstone had indeed said 'October 2015.'

It was also during this exchange that the interpreter requested that someone 'adjust' Redstone's dentures.

Redstone was then asked if Herzer helped him with his health care when she lived in the home, and admited that she did in fact do so while staying at his residence.

When asked however what she did to help him, Redstone responded by saying; Manuela is a f***ing b****.'

Redstone then had problems speaking and a board was brought out so he could point to letters while Herzer's lawyer repeated the question multiple times.

After spending three minutes trying to get an answer to the question to no avail Herzer's lawyer agreed to move on with the questioning.

Herzer's lawyer also skipped over the next question when he got no response after asking Redstone what his birth name was, with the mogul having convinced his father when he was a teenager that the family should change their last name from 'Rothstein' to 'Redstone.'

Moving on he showed Redstone a photo of himself with Herzer, asking when it was taken.

Redstone responded to this by saying; 'Who cares.'

Upon further questioning he was able to say that the picture was taken at Paramount while he and Herzer were dating. He also admitted that he was in love with Herzer at the time.

Redstone then answered in the affirmative when asked if Herzer stole money from him, but was unable to give an amount when pressed for detail.

He also answered the next question in the affirmative when asked; 'Did you ever say Manuela was the love of your life?'

For his final question, Herzer's lawyer asks Redstone if he said anything to his ex as she was leaving his home or gave her a reason as to why he was kicking her out.

Redstone responded to this by saying 'no,' and when asked why told the attorney; 'Because she's a f***ing b****.'

Gabrielle Vidal, a member of Redstone's legal team, had far better luck getting answers out of the nonagenarian while questioning him during the deposition.

Redstone then had problems speaking and a board was brought out so he could point to letters while Herzer's lawyer repeated the question multiple times.

After spending three minutes trying to get an answer to the question to no avail Herzer's lawyer agreed to move on with the questioning.

Herzer's lawyer also skipped over the next question when he got no response after asking Redstone what his birth name was, with the mogul having convinced his father when he was a teenager that the family should change their last name from 'Rothstein' to 'Redstone.'

Moving on he showed Redstone a photo of himself with Herzer, asking when it was taken.

Redstone responded to this by saying; 'Who cares.'

Upon further questioning he was able to say that the picture was taken at Paramount while he and Herzer were dating. He also admitted that he was in love with Herzer at the time.

Redstone then answered in the affirmative when asked if Herzer stole money from him, but was unable to give an amount when pressed for detail.

He also answered the next question in the affirmative when asked; 'Did you ever say Manuela was the love of your life?'

Redsone's lawsuit claims that on May 19, 2014, the women convinced Redstone (pictured with Megan Fox in 2014) to sell his vested stocks and then had him deposit $45million into each of their bank accounts

For his final question, Herzer's lawyer asks Redstone if he said anything to his ex as she was leaving his home or gave her a reason as to why he was kicking her out.

Redstone responded to this by saying 'no,' and when asked why told the attorney; 'Because she's a f***ing b****.'

Gabrielle Vidal, a member of Redstone's legal team, had far better luck getting answers out of the nonagenarian while questioning him during the deposition.

O'Donnell's first witness confirmed almost everything he said in his opening statement.

Dr. Stephen L. Read, a geriatric psychiatrist hired by Herzer, was the first medical expert to take the stand in the trial.

He testified under oath that in his medical opinion Redstone has dementia and suffers from possible delusions. He also said he was not of sound mind when he made the decision to kick Herzer out of his home and remove her from his health care directive in October.

'He does have major neurological problems,' said Dr. Read of Redstone.

Dr. Read went on to call Redstone 'severely impaired' saying he was a 'thin shadow' of his former self.

'He did not have the requisite mental capacity to understand the changing of his health care directive of October 16, 2015,' said Dr. Read.

He also spoke about Redstone's behavior and his 'propensity to erupt in anger' at any given moment.

'When anger takes over reasoning is ablated. That removes his inability to think about this, access memory, consider alternatives to do the things that are required to make an informed decision,' said Dr. Read.

He went on to say that removing Herzer from his life made matters worse and had 'potentially terrible effects' on Redstone.

He then detailed his January 29 examination of Redstone, which was granted by the court at Herzer's request.

The lawsuit comes just a few months after Herzer filed her own lawsuit against Redstone. The judge in the case made the decision to dismiss that $50million suit. She is pictured outside court during the proceedings, where she wanted to be put in charged of his estate

Sumner Redstone's daughter Shari Redstone (center) leaves a downtown courthouse in Los Angeles during hearings in the lawsuit filed by Herzer

During that session Dr. Read said that Redstone repeatedly stated that Herzer stole $40million from him and was confused as to the amount of money he had previously planned to leave her in a trust.

Dr. Read also spoke about how difficult it was for Redstone to communicate and how hard it was to understand him when he did speak.

He also spoke about Redstone's physical abilities, saying; 'Mr. Redstone can't hold a pencil. He's completely disabled. For the most basic acts of a human's life, he can't do them himself.'

Redstone stepped down from his role as chairman at both CBS and Viacom in February, becoming chairman emeritus at both and handing over the reins to Les Moonves and Philippe Dauman respectively.

Herzer was banned from the billionaire media mogul's Beverly Park mansion in October for reasons that remain unclear.
Australia is bracing for the hottest December day and night since 1972 on Tuesday

in a decade for start of the week

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Australia is currently sweltering through the hottest weather seen at this time of year in more than half a century.

As the mercury continues to soar well above 30 degrees in many parts of the country, people have been warned to brace for the warmest December night in 44 years on Tuesday evening.

'It's the most widespread heat for this time of year in 51 years', senior meteorologist at Weatherzone Jacob Kronje told Daily Mail Australia.

By 10.30am temperatures had already reached 35 degrees in Sydney, with temperatures expected to climb to 39 in the western suburbs.

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As temperatures soar across the country people are stripping off and taking to the water to keep cool, such as this man at St Kilda Beach

Australia is currently sweltering through the hottest weather seen at this time of year in more than half a century

Temperatures are expected to reach 34 degrees in Melbourne with many flocking to the coast

By 10.30am temperatures had already reached 35 degrees in Sydney. Pictured is Bondi Beach

The last time there were such high temperatures simultaneously across the country was about five years ago

Bondi Beach was packed full of people trying to cool down on Tuesday ahead of what will be a sweltering night

A woman is seen here taking in the scenery, book in hand, on a spectacular summer day in Sydney

In Melbourne it is expected to reach 34 degrees, while in Canberra temperatures will climb to 33. Adelaide will hit 36 degrees on Tuesday.

The last time there were such high temperatures simultaneously across the country was about five years ago.

John Turnbull, from the Bureau of Meteorology's Extreme Weather Desk, said hot, dry winds drawn down from northern Australia were causing the temperature spikes.

'The change will move through South Australia today and Victoria tonight with milder conditions for both states tomorrow,' he told AAP.

'Sydney and Canberra will be warm to hot today and tomorrow and cooler by Thursday.'

It comes as residents in Sydney's western suburbs have been warned of temperatures soaring to almost 40 degrees during the day on Tuesday. The city centre will reach 35 degrees.

'We are going to have generally hot and dry northwesterly winds associated with these warm temperatures,' Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Sarah Chadwick said.

FORECAST: WHAT THE WEATHER LOOKS LIKE AROUND AUSTRALIA SYDNEY Tuesday: Min 21, Max 36. Mostly sunny Wednesday: Min 25, Max 37. Possible rain Thursday: Min 20, Max 23. Shower or two

BRISBANE: Tuesday: Min 19, Max 29. Mostly sunny Wednesday : Min 19, Max 31. Sunny Thursday: Min 20, Max 32. Sunny ADELAIDE Tuesday : Min 23, Max 36. Partly cloudy Wednesday : Min 16, Max 25. Possible late shower Thursday: Min 12, Max 24. Shower or two DARWIN Tuesday : Min 26, Max 34. Showers. Possible storm Wednesday: Min 25, Max 34. Showers. Possible storm Thursday: Min 25, Max 33. Showers. Possible storm MELBOURNE Tuesday : Min 20, Max 34. Possible late shower Wednesday: Min 16, Max 20. Possible shower Thursday: Min 12, Max 20. Partly cloudy CANBERRA Tuesday : Min 14, Max 33. Partly cloudy Wednesday : Min 19, Max 29. Possible rain Thursday: Min 12, Max 21. Possible shower PERTH Tuesday: Min 12, Max 26. Mostly sunny Wednesday : Min 13, Max 29. Sunny Thursday: Min 16, Max 31. Sunny HOBART Tuesday : Min 16, Max 29. Windy Wednesday : Min 13, Max 16. Shower or two Thursday: Min 10, Max 19. Partly cloudy Advertisement

Two women take a dip at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne as the mercury reached 34C

Dogs and humans alike were looking for ways to cool down during the heatwave

This Melbourne man was doing his best to avoid tan lines in his tiny yellow number

Sydney's famous Bondi Beach was packed with those soaking up the sunshine

Hot, dry winds drawn down from northern Australia were causing the temperature spikes

People are seen here at North Bondi near Ben Buckler in Sydney's east enjoying the ocean

The hot northwesterlies will contribute to a higher risk of fire, she added.

A severe fire danger warning is in place for the lower central west plains and the south, eastern and northern Riverina districts.

A total fire ban has also been declared for parts of Victoria's north and west with temperatures set to rise up to 39C.

Fires are banned in the Mallee, Wimmera and Northern Country regions on Tuesday, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting many towns to hit 39C before possible late showers.

But, the sizzling east coast weather is not expected to last through to the weekend with a cool change forecast overnight on Wednesday.

In Sydney, the mercury could drop by up to 14 degrees by Thursday morning.

By 10.30am temperatures had already reached 35 degrees in Sydney, with many taking to the water to beat the heat

North Bondi Beach in Sydney's east will no doubt be a hot spot for those looking to cool down this week

Australia is bracing for the hottest December day and night since 1972 on Tuesday. Pictured is Bondi Beach in Sydney's east

Australia's east coast is set to sizzle in the lead up to Christmas, with the mercury tipped to hit as high as 38 degrees in some parts of Sydney. These women were pictured lapping up the sun at Bondi Beach in Sydney's east earlier this month

Strong winds will block a cooling sea breeze in Sydney for the start of the week and the western suburbs have been warned of temperatures soaring to almost 40 degrees in the lead up to Christmas

In Sydney, residents have flocked to the beach most weekends with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees

Sydneysiders have been issued a heatwave warning for the start of the week with coastal regions bracing for 'severe' temperatures. Bondi Beach on Sunday is pictured

But the scorching temperatures aren't expected to last through to the weekend with a cool change forecast overnight on Wednesday

Many beachgoers will lap up the sun while it lasts, but a cool change overnight on Wednesday will bring the mercury down by up to 14 degrees

These young women had no problem with the hot weather in Sydney over the weekend

A hot air mass moving across Australia's south-east will cause the mercury to hit 34 in parts of the country on Tuesday (pictured)

AUSTRALIAN HEATWAVES: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO STAY SAFE WHAT IS A HEATWAVE? The Bureau of Meteorology defines a heatwave as a period of at least three days when the combined effect of excess heat and heat stress are unusual for a local climate. ARE THEY DANGEROUS? Heatwaves are the most deadly of all of Australia's natural hazards. Between 1900 and 2011, 4555 people died from extreme heat in Australia - 55.2 per cent of all deaths caused by natural hazards. That's more than 1000 deaths higher than the tolls for the next five most dangerous natural hazards combined - cyclone (1285), flood (1221), bush/grassfire (866), landslide (88) and lightning (85). WHO IS AT RISK? Heat can exacerbate existing medical conditions and can cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke. WHAT CAN I DO? - Drink plenty of water even if you aren't thirsty - Cool off with wet towels and cool foot baths or showers - Stay in cool or air-conditioned buildings if you can - Stay out of the sun in the heat of the day - Avoid strenuous activity and - Check on sick or frail friends, neighbours and relatives - Don't leave people or animals in hot cars Advertisement

Melbourne and Adelaide will also see drastic temperature drops of up to 13 degrees by Wednesday morning and light showers are expected to set in.

Across the rest of the country, a low pressure trough will generate warm winds and showers in Western Australia and Queensland.

Perth could see a thunderstorm on Monday, but will remain relatively dry for the remainder of the week with a top of 30 on Friday.

These young women made the most of the hot weekend weather and paddle boarded at a stunning beach on Sydney Harbour

Iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney's east was overrun with beachgoers looking to cool off on Sunday afternoon (pictured)

A hot air mass moving across the country will spark a heatwave on Tuesday with both Melbourne (St Kilda, pictured) and Adelaide expected to reach 34 degrees

Brisbane will hover just below 30 degrees until Wednesday and Thursday, where a top of 32 can be expected.

A severe fire weather warning has been issued for parts of Adelaide with balmy northwesterly winds reaching 25-30 km/h.

The West Coast, Eyre Peninsula, Yorke and Peninsula have been warned to strengthen their bushfire survival plan, according to The Bureau of Meterology.

In Sydney, residents have flocked to the beach most weekends with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees. Bondi Beach in Sydney's east has been overrun with beachgoers looking to cool off.

The east coast has not experienced pre-Christmas weather this hot in a decade, Nine News reported.

In Sydney, residents have flocked to the beach most weekends with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees
An alleged pervert filmed a 14-year-old girl as she was getting changed at a clothing store.

The man, aged in his late twenties, followed the teenager and her mother as they chose items from the women's lingerie section of the store in Auckland's south.

He then allegedly walked behind them into the change rooms and put his smartphone under the cubicle door as the girl was trying on items, New Zealand Police say.

A man police want to speak to over allegations a man filmed a girl, 14, in a changeroom

Detective Senior Sergeant Mal Hassall said the behaviour two weeks ago was appalling as police appeal for public help to catch him.

'This is a very concerning incident where a male has brazenly followed the 14-year-old girl into the changing area, despite her mother and a staff member being close by,' he said.

'Im very concerned by this type of offending.'

The man remains at large two weeks after he violated the girl's privacy at a retail store on Great South Road at Papakura, south of central Auckland.

The offender is described as a Maori or Pacific Islander aged from 25 to 30. (CCTV image)

The alleged incident occurred on November 28 shortly after 4pm.

A store worker followed the accused into the changing area and confronted him in the act.

The man then left the store.

Closed-circuit TV cameras captured his movements.

The man who filmed the girl getting changed was seen leaving in this mid-1990s white Nissan Bluebird sedan with a black door. (CCTV image)

He was seen leaving the area in mid-1990s white Nissan Bluebird sedan with a black drivers door.

He was described as a Maori or Pacific Islander, aged 25 to 30, with a solid build and with a moustache, goatee and stubble.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, above, ordered the CQC to review how the NHS investigates potentially avoidable deaths

Grieving families who try to get answers from NHS hospitals about the death of a loved one say they are often treated with less courtesy than you get at a supermarket checkout.

Health service staff are refusing to carry out proper investigations when patients die, leaving their relatives shut out, frustrated and ignored, according to a report published today.

Some of those who agree to answer complaints then turn up to meetings with a lawyer, say families.

In a major study, the Care Quality Commission found that not a single hospital nor health trust was thoroughly examining patient deaths to check for avoidable errors in patient care.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered the CQC to review how the NHS investigates potentially avoidable deaths.

The watchdogs study found that families were excluded from 93 per cent of investigations; that not a single hospital or health trust was carrying out a full probe of every potentially avoidable death; and that relatives of disabled or mentally ill patients are often brushed off or told death was inevitable.

Separate figures from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman show that families have lodged a total of 338 serious complaints about avoidable deaths in 2016  a rise of 10 per cent on the number in 2015.

Mr Hunt ordered the review in the wake of the scandal at Southern Health trust, where bosses failed to investigate more than 1,000 deaths over four years. These included 18-year-old Connor Sparrowhawk, who drowned in a bath following a catalogue of failings at an NHS-run centre in Oxford.

GRAN WITH BROKEN ARM DIED AFTER MIX UP WITH ANOTHER PATIENT BY THE NAME OF PATRICIA By James Tozer for the Daily Mail A grandmother died in hospital after being admitted with a broken arm when staff forgot that she hadnt been seen by a consultant. Retired carer Patricia Fowler, 75, was left languishing in bed for three days because of a mix-up over her name. 'Left on a ward': Patriica Fowler, seen with granddaughter Ruby in 2009, was fit and well before her fall By the time the alarm was finally raised, sepsis and pneumonia had set in and the fit and active grandmother of five died two days later. Mrs Fowler broke her arm in a fall near her home in Fleetwood, Lancashire, on January 4 this year and spent two days in Blackpool Victoria Hospital. She was discharged but readmitted early on January 10 after falling ill. It was not until January 13 that she was seen by a consultant  and only after her condition deteriorated. She died two days later from sepsis and pneumonia, with her broken arm a contributing factor. At an inquest into her death, Angela Russell, a secretary at the hospital, said Mrs Fowler was mistaken for another patient called Patricia on an email list of patients waiting to see a consultant. This other patient had been seen so Mrs Fowlers name was disregarded. In a statement to the coroner Mrs Russell said: There had been a patient with the same forename, which appeared in exactly the same place on the list. When going through the emailed list, it was not obvious that the surname had changed. I did not notice this and neither did the consultants. Mrs Fowlers son Scott, a 38-year-old signalman, said: Going into hospital killed my mother. You dont die from a broken arm. You die from pneumonia and sepsis and she got those because she was left on that ward without doctors reviews. If she had been seen, or a nurse had noticed she hadnt been seen, she would still be here now. The hospital has admitted liability ahead of a clinical negligence claim and has written to Mrs Fowlers family to apologise. Advertisement

The CQC inspected 12 randomly chosen hospitals and health trusts and scrutinised their process for investigating deaths. It also spoke to more than 100 bereaved families.

One unnamed relative said: Youre viewed as a pain in the neck really. Ive had more courtesy at the supermarket checkout than Ive had at the trust.

Another said: As soon as we started asking questions it was like we were interfering and that they were the professionals, not us. They became antagonistic.

Another remarked: They drip feed you information, they give you a tiny closed-off answer. Letters are sent Friday so they arrive Saturday morning  youve nowhere to go, nothing to do with it.

Patricia Fowler died after she wasn't seen by doctors for three days, because they didn't know she was there

The report highlighted how investigations into the deaths of patients with mental health conditions or disabilities were particularly poor. It said there was a level of acceptance and sense of inevitability when such patients die early.

There can be no tolerance of their deaths being treated with any less importance, it added.

One mother said a nurse told her just before the death of her 34-year-old son that his time has come.

The watchdog said none of the 12 hospitals and health trusts were properly investigating deaths by involving families and then ensuring lessons were learnt to prevent future mistakes.

It examined 27 NHS investigation reports into deaths and found only three had involved families.

Relatives were not kept up to date with probes nor asked to submit evidence that could shed light on poor care.

Some family members said investigations were fudged or even falsified by staff to exclude any incriminating evidence against health employees.

The report said NHS workers were underestimating the role of families in investigations as they can provide vital information about patient care.

Later today the Health Secretary will tell the House of Commons that the report makes for sobering reading.

Professor Dame Sue Bailey, chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which represents 24 leading health organisations said: We have consistently failed and continue to fail too many of the families of those who die whilst in our care.

This is not about blaming individuals, but about the health service learning the lessons from this report.

The CQCs report will raise concerns that NHS staff have failed to become any more honest or transparent despite repeated pledges following the Mid Staffordshire scandal. Hundreds of patients are feared to have died at the hospital in what has been described as the worst case of neglect in the health services history. A major inquiry in 2013 prompted the Government to issue new guidelines ordering staff to own up to their mistakes. But three years on todays report suggests very little has changed.

At the same time, campaigners are warning that the Mid-Staffs scandal was not a one-off because other hospitals have ignored NHS rules on overcrowding.

Cure the NHS and charity Action Against Medical Accidents are launching a campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers of overfull wards and suggest that hundreds or possibly thousands of clinical negligence claims could be launched over lack of access to evidence.
Jailed investment banker Oliver Curtis could be home for Christmas with his young family - depending upon an appeals court decision this Friday.

The husband of PR maven Roxy Jacenko was jailed for a minimum one year sentence in late June.

The 31-year-old wants his insider trading conviction overturned which, if successful, would see him walk free from prison.

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Is Dad coming home? Jailed banker Oliver Curtis (pictured with daughter Pixie and son Hunter) will learn the result of his appeal on Friday morning

Curtis (seen at court with wife Roxy Jacenko) appealed his conspiracy to commit insider trading conviction to the Criminal Court of Appeal

Sweaty Betty chief Ms Jacenko had told the couple's children Pixie, four, and Hunter, two, that their father is in China and will be home for Christmas.

But in reality Curtis has been serving time at Cooma Prison, an hour south of Canberra, and working as a prison clerk.

The former Celebrity Apprentice contestant has flown by private jet to visit her husband at least once since the trial.

She has also supported him through his daily struggles, putting $100 a week into his buy-up for essentials like a doona to cope with the area's cool alpine climate.

But Ms Jacenko did not attend Curtis's appeal hearing in October, unlike his father Nick and mother Angela.

At sentencing in June, Justice Lucy McCallum said Curtis had 'not embraced responsibility for his offending'.

Happy times: Curtis is seen with his young family in a candid family picture

Ms Jacenko described Curtis as the 'primary carer' of their two children in a letter to the Supreme Court earlier this year

He and his former best friend John Hartman earned a net profit of $1.43 million through their alleged agreement.

Justice McCallum said despite Curtis knowing what he was doing was 'very wrong' he used the alleged deal to 'fund a lifestyle of conspicuous extravagance'.

A jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit insider trading.

Curtis's counsel Bret Walker SC told the Court of Criminal Appeal in October that Curtis and Hartman's agreement did not meet the definition of an insider trading offence.

Prosecutors argued their agreement was very clear and it was not necessary to prove an offence had occurred for a jury to find Curtis guilty of conspiracy.

The decision will be heard December 16.

A lawyer for Mr Curtis said he would not be commenting.
A single mother forced to live in a tent with her three children after having to clean houses like Kerry Packer's mansion to make ends meet has opened up about the shame she felt not being able to buy Christmas presents for her little ones.

Nikki McWatters, 50, was living in a 'dive' in Bondi, a beach-side suburb in Sydney's eastern suburbs, with milk crates for furniture after her divorce but found herself without a home or anyone to fall back on when her new partner passed away.

With three children and no where to stay, the writer reached out to friends and 'couch surfed' in Sydney but spent the majority of her time that summer living in a small blue tent pitched on the northern New South Wales coast.

Nikki McWatters found herself homeless with three children but managed to turn her life around after spending a summer living in a tent

'At the lowest point, I put us all in a tent and saved up money I would have spent on a rent in a horrible caravan park... I made out like it was a holiday,' she told Kidspot.

She said not being able to support her three children was a massive emotional 'burden', which coupled with the intense feeling of humiliation forced her to go to extreme lengths to keep her financial woes a secret.

'There's a lot of stigma for single mothers, like they're just on the cask wine waiting for the next daddy to come along. It's not like that at all. It's not a lifestyle choice. No-one wants to be living like that,' she told Mamamia.

Ms McWatters, now a mother-of-five, recalled an instance where she was almost caught out picking up presents for kids in need from a charity, but dived behind a rubbish bin to keep her secret in the shadows.

Ms McWatters pictured on Bondi Beach, close to a 'dive' she was forced to live in

She also spent a summer living in a small blue tent with her three young children after her partner and the father of her newborn passed away

'One year the Salvation Army handed out toy parcels for kids who were struggling. And when I turned up to collect them, there was another mother from school turning up with all these toys to donate and I had to hide behind a bin, I was so humiliated to be on the other end of that,' she told Mamamia.

Ms McWatters was ashamed of her financial situation and tried to hide it from others

Ms McWatters said she feared not being able to meet her children's expectations with small things like finding money under their pillow from the tooth fairy and went out of her way to find a work around when she couldn't rustle up any change.

Instead of leaving coins when she was already pushed to make it to payday, Ms McWatters said she wrote a little 'pretend cheque' to be cashed in at a later date to try and give her kids the same experience as their classmates.

When she could not afford Easter eggs, she would lie about what day the holiday fell on so she could take advantage of discounts, Kidspot reported.

She scrimped and saved - keeping her kids home from school on days she could not afford to buy them lunch - so she could finally move into a house.

But a storm hit a week before she was meant to move out and decimated her only worldly possessions - leaving her without a roof over her head and forcing her into a 'horrible , scary cabin' until her new home was ready.

Ms McWatters said it was extremely important that she get her mental health in check before she could start putting her life back together and get into writing

Since her struggle with homelessness, Ms McWatters has completed a law degree, written three books and moved to Terrigal with her husband (pictured) and three of her five children

She then started to pick up the pieces of her life, firstly by speaking to a GP about her mental health, then securing a job at a medical centre where she could build up her self-confidence and self-worth.

From there Ms McWatters went from strength to strength.

She completed a law degree, wrote three books and moved to Terrigal, on the NSW Central Coast, where she lives with her husband and three of her five children.

She said her youngest children don't know the poverty she and her other kids endured before they were born, but has urged others who are struggling to reach out for help.

'The message I want to give others is don't be ashamed. My life could have been easier if I was honest with the people around me,' Ms McWatters told Kidspot.

'To those struggling, hang in there and ask for help, and to those who aren't don't judge, get rid of the 'just get a job' mentality, it's not that easy, sometimes it just takes a lot of work and time,' she added.
With the social care system in meltdown, MPs have called for the 12billion foreign aid budget to be used to tackle the crisis.

Here JAMES SLACK answers 10 questions on why the care system for the elderly is close to 'toppling over.'

How is social care funded?

Councils provide social care. People with assets of more than 23,250 pay full care costs whether it is in a care home or their own home. An ageing population puts pressure on town halls, and the NHS suffers from bed blocking if care is not available for someone who is ready to leave hospital.

With the social care system in meltdown, MPs have called for the 12billion foreign aid budget to be used to tackle the crisis (file picture)

What has the Government done so far?

In last years Autumn Statement, then chancellor George Osborne gave town halls the right to impose a social care precept, initially set at 2 per cent a year, to help cover costs of looking after the elderly. This is in addition to the 2 per cent increase councils can levy each year to fund other services.

How much has it raised?

Some 144 of 152 adult social care authorities implemented the rule, raising 382million this year and adding 22 to the average yearly council tax bills. But town halls say this wont cover the 612million national living wage bill which has a huge impact on care home costs.

How much do councils want?

Izzi Seccombe, Tory leader of Warwickshire County Council and chairman of the Local Government Associations community and wellbeing board, said: We need 1.3billion now. But this is still barely a tenth of the foreign aid budget  and the exact sum we give Brussels in aid to spend on our behalf. By 2020, there will be a shortfall of 2.6billion.

In last years Autumn Statement, then chancellor George Osborne gave town halls the right to impose a social care precept

What are ministers planning to give them?

Under Osbornes plan, councils could have increased the precept by 6 per cent between now and the end of Parliament  a fixed 2 per cent rise each year to 2019/20. Under new plans, they can increase bills by a maximum of 6 per cent over the next three years  but will be given flexibility over how this is done i.e. they could raise the care precept by 3 per cent next year, followed by 3 per cent in 2018/19 and a freeze the following year. The only rule is that, in a single year, the rise cannot be more than 3 per cent.

What will this mean for an average bill?

If a council imposes a 3 per cent rise next year, this would be in addition to the 2 per cent they can hike bills for other services  giving a total rise of 5 per cent. This adds about 76 for the average Band D council tax property currently paying 1,530.

Will it solve the problem?

The Kings Fund think-tank says just increasing the precept is deeply flawed. The amount raised depends on the existing size of the bill, the value of the properties and the number of residents receiving discounts. Labour claim the poorest areas, where problems are most acute, therefore receive less money. Ministers accept this but say councils which lose out are compensated by the Better Care Fund.

Whitehall insiders have suggested an extra 100million could be made available in 2017/18 for social care (file picture)

What is the Better Care Fund?

It is a pot of money that councils share with the NHS, which is worth 3.9billion this year and is due to rise by 1.5billion in 2019. Its targeted at areas which can raise less money from the precept. Many argue the extra funding should be brought forward. Whitehall insiders have suggested an extra 100million could be made available in 2017/18 for social care.

Is it purely a question of money?

Number Ten insist not. Ministers say theres a 20-fold difference between the best and worst performing areas on delayed discharges, or bed blocking. Half of all delayed discharges took place in just 20 local authority areas (13 per cent of the total). Long term, experts insist the best solution is to merge NHS and social care budgets.

Why wasnt it addressed in the Autumn Statement?
A violent sex offender dubbed the 'playboy rapist' will spend another year in jail after being refused parole.

Sydney man Simon Monteiro - who got his nickname by bragging about modelling and dating Hollywood star Barbara Hershey - is reported to have refused to take part in sex offender programs because he doesn't want to interact with rapists and other criminals.

The New South Wales Parole Authority told Monteiro he would not be released until he completed a program for sex offenders, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Simon Monteiro, who changed his name from Simon Lowe, has refused to participate in prison programs for sexual and violent offenders and he has been denied parole

He was refused parole on Monday but had told the authority inmates treated the program as a 'shop' for sex and that he had been sexualised by them.

Previously, he's refused to take part in violent offenders programs because he'd could be exposed to violence, the Telegraph reported.

Monteiro, 49, - who changed his name from Simon Lowe - was jailed in 2008 for 12 years for bashing and raping his girlfriend at their home in Sydney's wealthy eastern suburbs.

The sentence had a non-parole period of seven years, nine months.

Convicted rapist Simon Monteiro (pictured) has refused to participate in prison programs

Since then, he has been jailed at prisons in Wellington, in the state's central west, Kempsey on the mid-north coast coast and Gouburn, which he moved to last year.

He's been a critic of prison conditions, serially complaining and also demanding a cell by the coast and an orthopedic mattress.

In total, he had made 26 demands to prison bosses, The Daily Telegraph reported in November.

He issued a summons to the NSW Supreme Court demanding to be transported in a four-wheel drive to 'a coastal or near to the coast minimum security correctional centre' and getting a 'soft-bristled toothbrush', the article said.

The Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Pru Goward, said Monteiro needed to change his behaviour.

'This man is in prison for violent domestic violence offences  he should concentrate on changing his ways rather than worrying about his toothbrush,' she said in a statement.

He has also been convicted of assaulting a prison guard and threatening to rape a prison guards wife and kill his children, the News Corp reported said citing the summons.

Two of Monteiros victims told The Daily Telegraph they were appalled but not surprised by his demands.

He is due for release on April 7, 2020.

Monteiro has complained about the conditions in prison. He was moved to Goulburn prison in New South Wales n 2015
The Republican candidate for governor in the upcoming gubernatorial race in Virginia is offering to give away a semiautomatic rifle to one lucky supporter.

Corey Stewart, who is vying to succeed Terry McAuliffe as governor in the 2017 election, announced the contest as a way to show dedication to the Second Amendment.

Stewart in all likelihood made the announcement with the knowledge that it would stir controversy since the weapon being given away  the AR-15  was the same firearm used in some of this countrys deadliest attacks, according to The Washington Post.

The AR-15 and its variants were used by perpetrators of the Orlando nightclub massacre in June, which left 49 people dead and 53 others wounded; the December 2015 San Bernardino shootings which killed 14 people and wounded 22; the Sandy Hook school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 26 people  20 of them children  dead; and the July 2012 shooting.

Corey Stewart (above) is running for governor in Virginia, which is scheduled to hold its election in November 2017

Stewart, a Republican and staunch defender of the Second Amendment, is giving away an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to a supporter. Above is his web site announcing the contest

Stewart was defiant, apparently anticipating the backlash given the fierce debate surrounding the accessibility of firearms like the AR-15.

If elected to be your next Governor, you can be 100% CERTAIN I will never compromise on your God-given right to keep and bear arms, Stewart wrote in the press release announcing the giveaway.

In fact, even though Im sure its certain to send the liberal media into a frenzy, to show my dedication to the Second Amendment my campaign is GIVING AWAY an AR-15 to one lucky supporter.

Thats right. Corey Stewart for Governor is giving away an AR-15.

The AR-15 rifle and its accessibility were the subject of fierce debate following the June massacre at the Pulse night club in Orlando (above), which left 49 people dead

Tashfeen Malik (left) and Syed Farook (right) used an AR-15 to kill 14 people in San Bernardino, California, on December 2, 2015

Gun rights advocates have long argued that any attempts to place limits on the sale of weapons like the AR-15 constitute an infringement on their Second Amendment rights.

Some gun owners in California vowed not to comply with new laws requiring the owners of weapons like the AR-15 to register their guns with the government, according to The Trace.

California enacted some of the toughest gun laws in the country in the wake of the mass shootings in Orlando and San Bernardino.

Detective Barbara Mattson (left) of the Connecticut State Police holds up an AR-15 rifle used in the Sandy Hook school killings. Carlee Soto (right), the sister of a teacher gunned down in the massacre, tries to obtain information in this December 14, 2012, file photo

In the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012, New York and Connecticut passed laws that made it difficult to legally obtain semi-automatic rifles, according to NBC 4 New York.

Stewart, however, doesnt see what all the fuss is about.

Look, this is a rifle that people are permitted to own in the United States, he told The Washington Post.

Theres nothing wrong with that.

Its a semiautomatic rifle. It is not an assault rifle. This is a great hunting rifle, and its also great for recreation use.

Stewart said that the winner of the gun will have to be subjected to a background check.

He said that he plans to give away the weapon through a local firearms dealer so that he is in compliance with federal and state regulations.
Benefit claimants were overpaid a staggering 3.3billion last year as blunders by officials and fraud jumped by 10 per cent.

Errors included hundreds of millions of pounds being wrongly handed to people who had moved abroad or got jobs after being unemployed.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that of all the money given as hand-outs last year, 1.9 per cent of it was paid in error. This was up from 1.8 per cent the year before.

Baroness Cathy Bakewell, the Lib Dem spokesman on work and pensions, said this Government seem desperate to find new ways to show their incompetence

A total of 3.3billion was paid to benefit claimaints in 2015/16 that they should never have received, compared to 3billion in 2014/5  an increase of 300 million.

Although more than 1billion was recovered, this still left taxpayers 2.2billion out of pocket.

More than 1.3billion of the wrongful payments was in housing benefit, which is given to help people on low or no incomes to help cover their rent.

The main reason for housing benefit errors was claimants failing to declare their jobs and earnings correctly, leading to around half  658million  of the incorrect payments.

Some 450million was overpaid in employment and support allowance (ESA), 330million in pension credit, 100million in jobseekers allowance and 19million in universal credit.

Zakaria Boufassil, left was found guilty of giving money to Mohamed Abrini, right, the Brussels and Paris attacks suspect nicknamed the man in the hat'

There was a more than ten-fold increase in the amount of ESA payments going to people who had moved abroad  from 3million to 38million.

A further 70million in pension credits was paid in error to people who had left the country, an increase from 55million in the previous year.

Last month, Kingston Crown Court heard how Mohamed Abrini, the Brussels and Paris attacks suspect nicknamed the man in the hat, was given 3,000 that had been wrongly paid in housing benefit to a man who had long since left Birmingham to fight for Islamic State.

Zakaria Boufassil was found guilty and Mohammed Ali Ahmed pleaded guilty to withdrawing the money from the bank account of Isis jihadi Anouar Haddouchi  a Belgian national who had still been getting benefits despite having left the West Midlands for Syria  and handing it to Abrini in a Birmingham park in July 2015.

Abrini is accused of going on the run after taking part in the Paris attacks last November. He was allegedly captured on CCTV wearing a hat as he walked into Brussels airport with one of the suitcases filled with explosives.

Baroness Cathy Bakewell, the Lib Dem spokesman on work and pensions, said: This Government seem desperate to find new ways to show their incompetence.

On their watch overpayments on benefits are increasing, while failure to pay the full amount to those who need it is at a record high. Ultimately the people who suffer most from this systemic failure are the genuine claimants who need support the most.

We need tougher penalties on those who abuse the system. But we also need action against administrators who are failing in their basic duty of care.

A DWP spokesman said: The reality is fraud and error in the benefits system is historically low, and at 1.9 per cent is lower than in 2010. Claimant error and official error are at their lowest level ever, and we are protecting taxpayers money, recovering a record 1bn in overpaid benefits last year.
The Malaysian student accused of splurging $4.6 million on luxury items after Westpac mistakenly gave her account an unlimited overdraft has pleaded not guilty.

Christine Jiaxin Lee arrived at Sydney's Downing Centre Court on Tuesday wearing ripped jeans, a Monster energy drink cap and white canvas shoes.

The 21-year-old's lawyer, Hugo Aston, told Daily Mail Australia they would be 'vigorously defending the charges' of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Christine Jiaxin Lee arrived at Sydney's Downing Centre Court on Tuesday to plead not guilty after she allegedly spent $4.6 million when she was mistakenly given an unlimited overdraft

Ms Lee is pictured with a Chanel cushion and luxury handbags, including YSL

'We feel confident our client will be acquitted,' Mr Aston said.

Mr Aston said her family have travelled from Malaysia to support her through the matter.

'Her family are fully supportive of her. We are very much a united team,' Mr Aston told Daily Mail Australia.

Her family was not in court on Tuesday.

Ms Lee plans on returning to Malaysia at the conclusion of the matter, he said.

Ms Lee is pictured wearing a Chanel necklace. The 21-year-old was arrested in May

Ms Lee allegedly went on a massive shopping spree after receiving the overdraft. She is pictured with a YSL purse

Representatives from Westpac were in court to observe the matter.

Matt Tregoning, from the bank's investigations area, told Daily Mail Australia he hoped to see 'justice'.

Ms Lee sat in court on Tuesday wearing ripped jeans, white canvas shoes and a black singlet. She had a tattoo on her wrist, arm and ankle visible, and had a pink fluffy key-chain attached to her light brown backpack.

As she left the court room, Ms Lee put her Monster energy drink cap back on, a germ mask, and grey hooded jacket.

Ms Lee was arrested in May by immigration officials at Sydney airport as she tried to board a flight to Malaysia.

Some of the handbags seized from Ms Lee's apartment were by designer brand Hermes (centre two and two at right)

She allegedly spent $220,000 at the Christian Dior shop in Sydney in a single day

She allegedly spent the millions in a shopping spree over an 11-month period

The chemical engineering student had been given an unlimited overdraft in a Westpac processing error in 2012.

It is alleged she realised in July 2014 she had an unlimited overdraft and then allegedly went on a $4.6 million spending spree for the following 11 months.

In a single day, Ms Lee allegedly handed over $220,000 at the Christian Dior shop in Sydney.

In April last year, a senior manager from the bank realised the error and called Ms Lee and demanded she account for the missing millions.

Ms Lee has previously claimed she believed the money had been transferred by her parents.

Pictured: Hermes handbags including The Birkin Bag (right) and The Kelly Bag (left) seized from Ms Lee's apartment in Rhodes

The 21-year-old chemical engineering student from University of Sydney pleaded not guilty on Tuesday

Pictured: The Birkin Bag by Hermes, one of the luxury goods Ms Lee allegedly purchased with the overdraft

Pictured: Hermes handbags. The Rodeo Horse charm pictured on the centre front Hermes Birkin Bag is also by Hermes and sells for about US$1,1500

Pictured: A Hermes handbag. Many of the bags seized were accompanied by certificates of authenticity and stacked in the boxes they were bought in

Ms Lee is pictured with a designer handbag and Moschino sticker or case on her smart phone

The error was only realised in April 2015. Ms Lee was arrested by immigration officials in May

Christian Louboutin heels among the items allegedly found at Ms Lee's Rhodes apartment

Pictured: A Christian Dior handbag at Ms Lee's Rhodes apartment

Dior and Chanel jewellery seized from Ms Lee's Rhodes apartment is pictured

The overdraft was put in her account by mistake by Westpac in 2012

Ms Lee's lawyer told Daily Mail Australia she hopes to return to Malaysia

Ms Lee's lawyer told Daily Mail Australia her family was supporting her
Two brothers who were reported missing in Idaho earlier this month have been found dead at the bottom of a steep embankment after a car crash.

State police say the bodies of 30-year-old Jhoan Nieto and 26-year-old William Nieto, both of Bogota, Colombia, were found near Preston on Sunday, the Idaho State Journal reported.

Officials say the pair weren't wearing seatbelts and were ejected from the vehicle.

State police say the bodies of 30-year-old Jhoan Nieto (right) and 26-year-old William Nieto (left), both of Bogota, Colombia, were found near Preston on Sunday

Authorities are still investigating when the crash actually happened.

Police say the brothers lived in Franklin County but had not been seen or heard from since November 30, when they left to cash payroll checks in Logan, Utah, according to the Preston Citizen.

They were employed at Checketts Dairy in Dayton.

The brothers were reported missing on December 6.

They were traveling in their 1996 Pontiac Sunfire when the car left the road for unknown reasons and rolled down the embankment, state police told the newspaper.

Authorities believe that their injuries were so severe that they were unable to call for help.

The sheriff's office couldn't confirm who found the brothers.

Authorities said it's also unclear which brother was driving at the time of the crash.
Joann Curley, 53, was released from state prison in Pennsylvania on Monday after serving a 20-year sentence for the 1991 death of her husband Robert Curley

A woman who pleaded guilty to killing her husband by slipping rat poison into his food and drink has walked free from jail.

Joann Curley, 53, was released on Monday after serving a 20-year sentence for the 1991 death of her husband Robert Curley in Pennsylvania.

The victim's sister, Susan Curley Grady, said last week she didn't think Curley had served enough time for the murder.

'She should be serving a life sentence,' she told the Citizens Voice ahead of her release. 'It's over. I cannot do anything else. We kept her in there 20 years to the day. She'll be a free woman now.'

Prosecutors say it took more than a year for Curley to poison her husband to death for $300,000 in life insurance and to keep him from spending $1.7 million she won in a lawsuit.

She admitted that she started poisoning him just two months after their wedding in August 1990.

Robert Curley was hospitalized in September 1991 with flu-like symptoms, complaining of debilitating pain in his palms and the soles of his feet, and began vomiting and losing his hair.

Just as Curley began improving in the hospital, his wife visited, bringing pizza and thallium-spiked tea, authorities say.

Joann Curley was charged in 1997 with killing Robert Curley after a five-year investigation. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his murder

The same night, they say, he told a nurse, 'Please help me. My wife is trying to kill me; she is not as she seems.'

His heart stopped the next morning.

Two days earlier, his wife had won $1.7 million in the death of her first husband, John, who was decapitated in an accident with a tractor-trailer on a foggy night nearly a decade before.

She was charged with killing Robert Curley after a five-year investigation, which involved investigators exhuming his body under pressure from his sister.

After his death, blood tests on both Curley and her then-4-year-old daughter revealed traces of thallium in their systems, too.

Robert Curley was hospitalized in September 1991 with flu-like symptoms. In the hospital, his wife gave him tea spiked with rat poison and his heart stopped the following morning

Authorities later determined she intentionally swallowed some of the poison and gave some to her daughter to throw suspicion onto her husband's co-workers.

Police at first believed Robert Curley - who worked as an electrician, had been poisoned by co-workers as a prank.

Thallium, a metallic substance once used as an ingredient in rat poison, was stored at the Wilkes University lab where Curley worked.

But investigators ruled that out after tests showed that Curley had 900 times the lethal dose of thallium in his system and that the poisoning had begun before he started working at the university.

Tests on his hair showed he was poisoned repeatedly over 10 to 11 months.
The Grand Tour has been slammed for showing how to smuggle migrants into the the UK in a car.

Jeremy Clarkson introduced the stunt on the Amazon Prime show, which was filmed in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

He joked that he was about show 'a better way for immigrants of getting into Britain'.

The Grand Tour has been slammed for showing how to smuggle migrants into the the UK in a car

Jeremy Clarkson introduced the stunt on the Amazon Prime show, which was filmed in Whitby, North Yorkshire

He told the audience: 'When immigrants try to get into the country they always come in the back of a container lorry and that is the world's worst game of hide and seek.

'If you work for Border Force you open the doors and go, "well there you are".

'Surely, there must be a better way of getting into Britain. And I think I've worked it out.'

Clarkson challenged the audience to find his co-host Richard Hammond in an Audi TT.

Fellow presenter James May removed the back bumper, which revealed Hammond lying inside the frame of the car.

The trio were criticised for the stunt, with some calling it 'irresponsible'.

Barbara Drozdowicz, from the East European Resource Centre, told the Daily Star: 'We are appalled by the portrayal of migrants as an illegal cargo.'

Clarkson challenged the audience to find his co-host Richard Hammond in an Audi TT

Fellow presenter James May removed the back bumper, which revealed Hammond lying inside the frame of the car

The trio were criticised for the stunt, with some calling it 'irresponsible'

Kate Gibbs from the Road Haulage Association added: 'To demonstrate what is, in effect, little more than a "how to" guide is just irresponsible.'

The Grand Tour declined to comment when approached by the newspaper.

With an astonishing 160 million budget, Jeremy Clarkson's TV comeback is among the most expensive series of all time.

But on Sunday it was revealed The Grand Tour notched up another record  as the most illegally downloaded show in history.

Official figures for the series have not been revealed by maker Amazon.

But since its launch on November 18, the first episode had been illegally downloaded 7.9 million times. Episode two has been ripped off 6.4 million times, and the figure for the third episode is 4.6 million. Viewers in Britain are the worst culprits, making up 13.7 per cent of the total.

The Grand Tour has become the most illegally downloaded show in history

Episode two has been ripped off 6.4 million times, and the third 4.6 million

Viewers in Britain are the worst culprits, making up 13.7 per cent of the total

Online pirates log on to websites that have stolen the Grand Tour  for which Clarkson is paid 10 million a year to make  instead of subscribing to Amazon.

It is estimated that Amazon lost a potential 3.2 million in revenue in Britain alone on episode one. The rip-off statistics, seen exclusively by The Mail on Sunday, have been compiled by MUSO, the leading data analysts of the piracy market.

Chris Elkins, its chief commercial officer, described the findings as 'absolutely incredible'.

He added: 'It is the most illegally downloaded programme ever. It is off the scale in terms of volume.

'It has overtaken every big show, including Game Of Thrones, for the totals across different platforms.

'We monitor thousands of campaigns and this one really stands out.'

Amazon has spent millions advertising The Grand Tour after signing up Clarkson following his sacking by the BBC in a row over a fracas with a producer.
from across the globe will descend on world-renowned show in London in December

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The Olympia Horse Show sees the very best equestrians from across the globe descend for a weekend of dressage and showjumping - but one artist this year is promising a performance with a twist.

Spanish equestrian artist Santi Serra will bring his dogs Banch and Roda to the show to perform a show-stopping routine with his horse, Kyfruc.

Serra's unique style comes from a special bond with his horses - which he describes as his 'actors'.

He sleeps with them in the stables and works ten hours a day training and communicating with them through mind and body in order to pull off his Sercam shows - which involve 'natural dressage' highlighting the beauty of a horse's movement and the harmony and balance between man and animal.

Horsing around: Dogs Banch (left) and Roda (right) sit on Kyfruc as part of the act of Spanish equestrian artist Santi Serra

Spanish equestrian artist Santi Serra sits on his horse Kyfruc with his dogs Banch (left) and Roda (right) ahead of the Olympia The London International Horse Show

The act will be shown at the Horse Show which runs at the Olympia Exhibition hall from December 13 to December 19

Serra's connection with his horses enables him to put on a thrilling show demonstrating extraordinary choreography between horse, human and dog.

Making a rare appearance in the UK this, new to Olympia, his act will have the audience in awe.

Serra spoke of his delight at coming to Londo:; 'It is such a compliment to be asked to perform at Olympia.

'It is one of the best Shows in the world and the atmosphere is always electric. My team and I are really looking forward to entertaining the audience with our special routine'

The horseman has performed across the world with various breeds of horses including Arabs, Frisons, Lucitans and typical Spanish horses.

As well as the displays, audience members will be treated to the Markel Champions Challenge in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund with high profile names including Frankie Dettori and reigning National Hunt Champion, Richard Johnson in a relay jumping competition.

The Barcelona-based horseman will perform his unique routines to the 90,000-strong audience at the world-renowned show running from December 13-19.

Serra's unique style comes from a special bond with his horses - which he describes as his 'actors'

The horseman sleeps with the animals in the stables and works ten hours a day training and 'communicating' with them 'through mind and body'

Serra's Sercam shows involve 'natural dressage' highlighting the beauty of a horse's movement and the harmony and balance between man and animal
A British backpacker allegedly kidnapped in Australia has told MailOnline of the terrifying two hours where she was held captive by a 'mentally unstable' man who she feared may never let her go.

Mary Kate 'Miri' Heys, 20, was forced to use Google maps to reveal her location to her father Antony in England, who then alerted Queensland police to her plight, when a Swedish backpacker she had befriended over the past two weeks took her hostage in the early hours of Monday morning.

The shaken young woman, from Manchester, told the Daily Mail she agreed to go on an 'adventure' with the 23-year-old man, who was also a backpacker at a Sunshine Coast hostel, but when his demeanor changed and he began 'ranting about aliens', she feared the worst.

'Looking back his eyes were really wide  like a serial killer's  I should have known something was not right but I went with him'.

Mary Kate 'Miri' Heys, 20, from Manchester says she was kidnapped by a friend who had 'snapped' - pictured here for the first time since the 'terrifying' ordeal

Ms Heys said she didn't fear getting in the car with the man because he had been her friend for two weeks and she trusted him

The young woman's terrifying journey started at 4.30am when her friend told her they had to go on an adventure

Ms Heys told her father to call the Australian police along with a pin-drop of her location

Miss Heys said she was being taken to Cairns and told her father he captor thought he was an alien

The police eventually honed in on their location and Ms Heys told her father she was safe

Recounting her horror experience, Miss Heys said as the impromptu trip from Mooloolaba to Gympie, north of Brisbane, continued, the man instructed her to 'look for blacked out cars', which he said would belong to aliens.

'He lost the plot yesterday  he was a normal person and just snapped.'

'Hey kept talking about aliens and conspiracy theories, He kept telling me I was special and I was the one, and that I was like him.'

'He seemed crazy and I didn't know what he was capable of,' Ms Heys said.

She added: 'I had no reason not to trust him, we had spent every day together.'

Ms Heys and the man had been staying at the same hostel, when he knocked on her door at 4.30am.

'I heard someone run down the hallway and then there was a knock on the door.

'I got up and answered the door and he was already half way down the hallway  but he ran back and told me to come on an adventure to Brisbane with him.

The young backbacker from Manchester hopped in the car  but her driver headed north not south towards Brisbane as he had promised.

The 20-year-old was rescued by sending messages to her father who was at home in England, who called police in Australia

'He lost the plot yesterday  he was a normal person and just snapped.'

The young woman agreed to go to Brisbane with her friend - but he headed north and said they would actually go to Cairns

'He told me to only take my most important belongings  and even wanted me to leave my phone behind  but I insisted on bringing it,' she said

'He told me to only take my most important belongings  and even wanted me to leave my phone behind  but I insisted on bringing it.

'I was worried about what he was going to do because he had left everything behind including his phone and computer. He only had cash on him.'

'He told me we were actually going to Cairns  I didn't want to go for an 18-hour drive and started to get worried.

'He had gone crazy, I thought I was going to die, but I just tried to stay calm so that he wouldn't flip out and kill me.'

The young woman tried to get help at a petrol station about 20 minutes north of the pair's hostel in Mooloolaba  asking the attendant to take down the details of the car and contact police.

'I told her that the man I was with wouldn't let me out of the car,' she said.

'People have asked me why I didn't run when I had the chance at the service station  but I was honestly too scared I didn't want to do anything to make him angry and was trying to stay calm so he wouldn't hurt me.'

'People have asked me why I didn't run when I had the chance at the service station  but I was honestly too scared I didn't want to do anything to make him angry and was trying to stay calm so he wouldn't hurt me.'

Ms Heys claimed she was kidnapped and driven more than 50 miles from her hostel in Queensland, Australia

'I messaged my dad and asked him to call the police, I just kept sending him my location  pretending the GPS was broken.'

After spending another hour in the car with her friend turned captor Ms Heys decided it was time to ask her father - who lives on the other side of the world - for help.

'I messaged my dad and asked him to call the police, I just kept sending him my location  pretending the GPS was broken.

The young girl's messages to her father reveal her fear as she traveled up the Bruce highway towards Cairns.

Her messages started: 'Dad, are you awake? I need you to call Australian police.'

The young girl's messages to her father reveal her fear as she traveled up the Bruce highway towards Cairns

She then sent: 'I've been taken by a man... please hurry.'

'I don't think he is dangerous,' the messages to her father read.

But they quickly escalated.

'He said he is taking me to Gaines (Cairns).'

'He thinks he is an alien.' 'I am getting scared.'

The young woman continued to share her location with her distraught father who kept messaging in to make sure she was okay.

Ms Heys said she was taken on a 55 mile journey during which she feared for her safety

She managed to message her dad when police pulled over her friend at Gympie, 85 kilometres north of the hostel

She managed to message him when police pulled over her friend at Gympie, 85 kilometres north of the hostel.

She said she jumped out of the car before it had stopped and 'ran for her life' towards the safety of police.

'I am with them (police) now, I will call you when I finish with them,' she wrote.

She has since been in contact with her loved ones, and returned to the hostel.

'Dad is just relieved that I am safe  but still really shocked about what happened,' she said.

'You don't expect anything to happen like this because Australia is supposed to be just like the UK but hotter.'

The young brunette was supposed to stay in Australia for a year but wants to head home to her parents.

'I am all shook up,' she told Daily Mail.

'Every time I hear a noise I jump. I just don't feel safe  I want to go home and maybe come back in a few months once I have calmed down.'

But surprisingly her parents  who played an important role in getting her out of harm's way want her to continue with her holiday.

'They keep saying that I have only been here for two weeks and I should just stay,' she said.

'I will make my decision in a few days  but at the moment I think I want to get on that plane.'

The backpackers met through mutual friends and formed a strong bond because they were staying at the same hostel.

'I came to Mooloolaba first because my friend lives down the road,' she told Daily Mail.

'He (the man she claims kidnapped her) is friends with my friend's boyfriend  which is how we met.

'Since then I have spent every day with him and three of his friends  who are all so shocked by what happened.'

The 20-year-old backpacker posted a photograph of herself in the back of a police car after she was rescued.

The caption read: 'I feel like I'm dreaming'.

The man she embarked on the ill-fated road trip with is still in hospital  she says her friends have since told her he has suffered from mental health issues in the past.

Ms Heys did not want to press charges on her captor who is seeking mental health support

Ms Heys did not press charges and the man involved was taken to a mental health unit in hospital

A Queensland police spokesman told the Mirror: 'Basically what happened was they have gotten in a car down at the Sunshine Coast and they have driven up to Gympie.

'She has said that she was being held against her will. So it was a deprivation of liberty job. Police have then pulled the car over in Gympie.

'They have spoken to both parties involved. He was then taken to the hospital but I believe he did go to the mental health unit there.

'Then the woman has told police she did not want any further action taken on it. Basically, not press any charges.

'There is no further action from our end.'

She has decided not to press charges and says she hopes he gets better.
Donald Trump has slammed the cost of a stealth fighter plane as Australia plans to buy more than 70 of them.

The U.S.-president elect's comments, on the controversial F-35 stealth fighter program, are a touchy issue considering that Australia, a close American defence ally, is slated to spend $A24 billion on a fleet of Lockheed Martin hardware.

They will be part of Australia's bigger ever defence purchase.

'The F-35 program and cost is out of control,' Mr Trump tweeted on Monday.

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Australia is planning to buy 70 F-35 stealth fighter planes for $A24 billion

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has slammed the cost of the Lockheed Martin fight planes

'Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.'

Mr Trump, who is being sworn in on January 20 as the 45th U.S. president, is more skeptical of big defence spending compared to recent Republican presidents.

Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said Australia remained committed to the fighter plane investment.

'Were very confident that the Joint Strike Fighter is the right jet for Australia and for the United States and the rest of the world,' he told reporters in London.

'Whether it has been efficiently managed from the United States point of view in terms of their cost and delays and so on is really a matter for them and for president-elect Trumps opinion.'

The programs overall $US400 billion price tag has been dubbed the most expensive weapon system in history.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne says Australia remains committed to the F-35s

Shares in Lockheed Martin fell more than three per cent after Mr Trumps tweet.

Other military corporations been dented on the share market.

Last week Mr Trump sent Boeings stock tumbling when he criticised the 'out of control cost' for the new Air Force One fleet.

The former real estate mogul campaigned for the White House by promising to revive the American manufacturing sector and create local jobs but he has also been a fierce critic of the Bush administration's war in Iraq.

The Lockheed Martin-produced aircraft are a key component of defence forces in the US, Australia, Britain, Japan and other allies, but have been dogged by cost blowouts and other problems.
He also said court had failed to acknowledge his age and right to rehabilitation

been treated appropriately for a person not yet convicted

The judge said moving the teen to Barwon had breached his human rights

A teen criminal who threatened to rape a female guard at a notorious jail will be visited by a Supreme Court judge concerned about his welfare.

Justice James Elliot will visit the 16-year-old in a newly-created youth facility at the maximum security Barwon Prison in Victoria, to ensure he is receiving adequate care.

The teen was relocated to the prison after allegedly being involved in a riot at Parkville Youth Justice Centre, reported the Herald Sun.

Victorian Supreme Court judge Justice James Elliot plans to visit a teen criminal in the youth facility at Barwon Prison in Victoria (pictured) to check on his welfare

Since the transfer the teen, who is originally from South Sudan, is alleged to have been involved in a brawl and threatened to sexually assault a female staff member.

But Justice Elliot said his relocation to Barwon had breached the Charter of Victorian Human Rights, including the 16-year-old's right to protection and to be treated humanely.

He said his transfer to Barwon meant he hadn't been treated appropriately for a person not yet convicted of a crime.

Justice Elliot also said the incarceration had also failed to acknowledge his age and right to rehabilitation.

The teen was transferred to Barwon (pictured) after allegedly being involved in a riot at Parkville Youth Justice Centre. Justice Elliot said his transfer to Barwon has breached several of the teen's human rights

The court heard the youth, who hoped to be released on bail on Tuesday, has been released numerous times before despite multiple offences.

The court heard the 16-year-old had been charged with armed robberies, assault and threatening serious injury and bailed to appear in a childrens court when he was 14.

Before his appearance he was charged with stealing two vehicles and released on bail, then two weeks later he was charged with assault and bailed again.

The teen is alleged to have been involved in a fight and threatened to sexually assault a female staff member since the transfer to Barwon

The teen appeared in court on December 18, 2014 where it was ruled he was allowed to travel to South Sudan despite being on a provision order, but he didn't show up to court on the scheduled date in February 2015.

He was arrested at Melbourne Airport in July after returning from overseas and applied for bail but it was denied.

His case was then heard in the Supreme Court in August and he was released on bail again subject to a night time curfew, but two months later he was arrested again for shop lifting and stealing a car and bailed again.

In November he was charged with armed robbery, car theft and assault with a weapon and has been in youth detention ever since.

The teen is due to appear in court on those matters on Friday.
Khari Anthony Gordon (above), 22, of Greenville, South Carolina, was arrested in Lavonia, Georgia, for allegedly shooting two police officers during a traffic stop

Authorities in Georgia arrested a man late Monday in connection to the shooting of two police officers in the town of Lavonia.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says that the two officers sustained non-life threatening gunshot wounds during a traffic stop in Franklin County, according to CBS 46.

A spokesperson for the GBI said that the officers driving near Zaxby's restaurant in Lavonia had noticed a stolen vehicle driven by a man whose arrest they sought.

As the officers approached the vehicle, the suspect shot and wounded them.

Immediately after the shooting, the suspect, 22-year-old Khari Anthony Gordon of Greenville, South Carolina, took off on foot.

Law enforcement officials launched a manhunt that ended a few hours later with Gordon's arrest.

Gordon has had prior run-ins with the law.

Last year, he and another youth were charged with attempted murder in a shooting incident in Greenville, Fox Carolina reported.

The two officers were shot as they approached a stolen vehicle to arrest the suspect

The shooting took place Monday evening near the Zaxby's restaurant on Jones Street in Lavonia, Georgia (above) shortly after 8pm on Monday

The officers were rushed to Greenville Memorial Emergency Room with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

In the last week, six police officers in Georgia have been the targets of gunshots.

In Crawford County on Monday, two officers were shot while serving a warrant for a drug-related search.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent J.T. Ricketson tells local news outlets that members of the Peach County Drug Task Force went to serve a warrant at around 2.10am Monday to a home on state Highway 42.

The Byron officers knocked on the door of the Crawford County home and announced themselves, but no one answered.

Ricketson says the officers then went inside the house and an occupant started shooting at them.

Byron Police Department officers William Patterson (left) and James Wynn (right) were shot and wounded Monday morning in Crawford County as they were serving a search warrant

The officers returned fire, killing the 35-year-old white man, whose identity has not been revealed at this time.

He was inside the home with his girlfriend and their young child at the time.

Officer William Patterson was treated at a local hospital and released while Officer James Wynn had to undergo surgery after suffering a more serious injury, which is non-life threatening.

A gunman shot and killed two other officers on Wednesday.

Nick Smarr (right) and his partner, Jody Smith (left), were fatally shot Wednesday when they approached Minguell Kennedy Lembrick, 32, who had a warrant out for his arrest

Minguell Kennedy Lembrick. 32, went on social media and wrote 'love yall' and 'I'm not going to jail' after he fatally shot Nick Smarr, 25, and his partner, Jody Smith, near Georgia Southwestern State university in Americus.

The suspect opened fire on the pair at around 9:30am on Wednesday, police said. Both were reportedly shot in the head.

Lembick already had a warrant out for his arrest when the officers encountered him and is now at large.
The proposal could see one in five Pacific Islanders moving to Australia by 2040

Australia has given the Pacific Islands more than $53 billion in aid since 1960

One in five Pacific islanders would relocate to Australia under a new proposal that claims opening our borders would be more beneficial than delivering aid to the region.

The $53 billion invested in aid to the Pacific Island by the Australian government since 1960 has done little to bolster the island nations' 'bleak economy', with the average income in 2015 sitting at $3,900, according to the Lowy Institute.

The international policy think-tank have claimed increasing the migrant intake from our Pacific Island neighbours to only one per cent of its population, which is less than 3,000 people, would offer more benefits than the current aid program.

One in five Pacific islanders would relocate to Australia under a new proposal that claims opening our borders would be more beneficial than delivering aid to the region

'This would allow citizens of the region to earn an income far above their potential at home, and considerably improve their living standards,' the Institute said.

It claimed the Pacific Island peoples are disadvantaged by remoteness, weak governance and rapidly growing populations which make it difficult for them to 'follow conventional pathways for economic growth' from purely receiving aid.

They believe enabling greater Pacific access to Australia's labour market would not only improve their quality of life, it could potentially 'increase the income of some Pacific Island countries by around 300400 per cent over the next 25 years'.

The proposal comes after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called for a 'step-change' in Australia's engagement with the Pacific Islands given our significant financial interests tied up in the region and its economic stability.

Malcolm Turnbull called for a 'step-change' in Australia's engagement with the Pacific Islands given our significant financial interests tied up in the region and its economic stability

Under the proposal, migrants would still be required to pay their own way, have restrictions on the welfare available to them, and pass a character and health test

Under the proposal, migrants would still be required to pay their own way, have restrictions on the welfare available to them, and pass a character and health test - similar to an arrangement enjoyed by New Zealand immigrants.

There are two arms of the proposal, a capped model which would see migrants win residency in a lotto and an uncapped model where the number of people allowed to live and work in Australia would not be restricted.

The Lowy Institute's Jonathan Pryke said the move would likely see around 20 per cent of the Pacific Island population relocate to Australia by 2040, according to ABC radio.

The Lowy Institute's Jonathan Pryke said the move would likely see around 20 per cent of the Pacific Island population relocate to Australia by 2040

The report acknowledged there are some 'risks' associated with increasing migration including a 2.5-5 per cent cut in wages for unskilled Australian workers and a potential 'welfare-dependent underclass' forming.

But the Lowy Institute argue the benefits to the Pacific Islander population under a capped or uncapped model would far outweigh them, despite many Australians resistance to immigration.

'If a policy lifts many Pacific Islanders out of poverty, it matters little where it happens,' the proposal read.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has not made comment on the report but is expected to respond early next year.
The leader of anti-Islam group United Patriots Front has been charged under hate speech laws after beheading a dummy in front of a government building.

Blair Cottrell, the leader of UPF, released a Facebook video on Tuesday in which he says he and two others have been charged with 'incited serious contempt for, revulsion or ridicule of Muslim people'.

Cottrell says the trio are being targeted over a filmed protest outside a council building in the City of Greater Bendigo in October 2015.

Blair Cottrell, leader of the United Patriots Front, has been charged over a protest last year against building a mosque in the town of Bendigo

The activist says the group held up a dummy made out of pillows before beheading it with plastic knives while fake blood spurted out of the neck.

At the time, Cottrell said the protest was against a council decision to approve the construction of a mosque in the area, as well as the shooting a NSW Police finance worker in Parramatta.

In his most recent video, Cottrell claims the protest was 'due to the fact that the mayor and local councils were working to silence and ridicule community opposition to an Islamic mosque project.'

Cottrell also claims the group have been charged with vandalism after spilling water coloured with red dye on to the pavement.

In the original film, Cottrell can be seen sanding alongside four other men, all wearing sunglasses, outside the City of Greater Bendigo council chambers.

Cottrell admits to taking part in the protest in which he and two other men cut the head off a dummy outside the City of Greater Bendigo council chambers

In the video men can be heard shouting Allahu Akbar in imitation of extremist execution videos as they remove the dummy's head

Cottrell delivers a speech sarcastically complimenting the council 'for building a mosque for us' before saying 'we're going to give you a taste of our own culture.'

Two men, one of whom is wearing a Middle Eastern-style scarf, then hold the dummy on the floor and hack its head off, while shouting Allahu Akbar.

The men are then filmed walking around town while shouting 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie' while carrying Australian flags.

Victoria Police confirmed that Bendigo Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged three men in relation to an incident that took place last year.

A spokesman said: 'It is alleged the men beheaded an effigy and damaged property in a public area on 4 October 2015.

Those taking part in the video are also shown riding around town in a drop-top car with Australian flags while shouting 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie'

'A 31-year-old man from South Morang, a 34-year-old man from Frankston, and a 45-year-old man from Wallan have each been charged with defacing property, wilful damage, behaving in an offensive manner in public and serious religious vilification.

'The men have been charged on summons and are expected to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on 6 March 2017.'

Cottrell's organisation promotes itself online as 'Australia's political resistance against the spread of Islam and far-Left treason'.
A bomb threat has forced a plane to make an emergency landing at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Lufthansa Flight 411 bound for Germany made the emergency landing late on Monday after a bomb threat was made over the phone.

Officials quickly evacuated the passengers on the tarmac at JFK Airport.

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Lufthansa Flight 411 bound for Germany made the emergency landing late on Monday at New York's JFK airport (pictured) after a bomb threat was made over the phone (file photo)

The flight had taken off from Houston at about 8.30pm and was bound for Frankfurt.

The bomb threat was made when someone called Lufthansa's corporate office and the pilot was informed who decided to make the emergency landing, CBS reports.

The airline said the plane was diverted to New York as a precaution and relevant authorities were responding.

Lufthansa said passengers were quickly evacuated so the aircraft could be searched.

JFK Airport tweeted that no other flights or terminals were impacted as authorities investigated the threat.

Officials quickly evacuated the passengers and hand luggage on the tarmac at JFK Airport

Lufthansa said passengers were quickly evacuated so the aircraft could be searched

A passenger posted this photo of the plane landing. The airline said the plane was diverted to New York as a precaution and relevant authorities were responding
Former Uber forensic investigator, Ward Spangenberg, 45, (pictured) is suing Uber for whistleblower retaliation and age discrimination

A former Uber forensic investigator has broken his silence on the company's 'lack of security' regarding its customer data.

Ward Spangenberg who is suing the firm for age discrimination and whistleblower retaliation, told Reveal News that the company's employees helped e x-boyfriends stalk their ex-girlfriends.

The 45-year-old also said employees were able to search for trip information of celebrities such as Beyonce.

'Uber's lack of security regarding its customer data was resulting in Uber employees being able to track high profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances of Uber employees, including ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, and ex-spouses,' Spangenberg wrote in a court declaration in October.

But Uber has said that it has strict policies that don't allow employees to access a users' information.

Thousands of employees throughout the company, they said, could get details of where and when each customer travels, Reveal reported.

While working for Uber, Spangenberg helped develop security procedures.

He told Reveal that Uber also deleted files it was legally obligated to keep.

Spangenberg, who started working for Uber in March 2015, said he often objected to what he believed were reckless and illegal practices.

Uber fired him 11 months later.

'I also reported that Uber's lack of security, and allowing all employees to access this information (as opposed to a small security team) was resulting in a violation of governmental regulations regarding data protection and consumer privacy rights,' he said in his declaration.

Spangenberg said that Uber's (file photo) employees helped ex-boyfriends stalk their ex-girlfriends, adding that employees were also able to search for trip information of celebrities such as Beyonce

'We have hundreds of security and privacy experts working around the clock to protect our data,' Uber said in a statement, Reveal reported.

'This includes enforcing strict policies and technical controls to limit access to user data to authorized employees solely for purposes of their job responsibilities,' the company said.

But security sources told Reveal that Uber's policy relies on the honor system. Employees must agree not to abuse their access.

Uber settled in January and promised to 'limit access' to real-time trip data 'to designated employees with a legitimate business purpose', after an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Spangenberg said that thousands of employees could still search Uber's database to get users' information, even after the settlement.

But Uber says it complies with the settlement.

Spangenberg said the company made some changes, which included a pop-up message that warned employees that their activity was being monitored and changing the name of God View to Heaven View, Reveal reported.

Employees of the company need access for reasons such as providing customer refunds and investigating traffic accidents, Uber said.

Drivers' personal details, including Social Security numbers, were also available to all Uber employees, Spangenberg said in his declaration.

In response to Spangenberg's lawsuit, Uber (file photo) said it 'generally denies each and every allegation'

'I would say, 'We can't keep this information, you can't allow this information to be stored like this, you can't leave it all connected like this,' he said.

Uber, in its statement, said, 'We have made significant investment in tightening our access controls during the past several years. Allegations that simply acknowledging our policy in a pop-up window would provide access to customer data for unauthorized employees are not correct in our current environment.'

According to his lawsuit, Uber told Spangenberg he was fired for violating a code of conduct and for erasing everything on his laptop it.

Spangenberg said he deleted and began rebuilding his laptop because it had crashed, and that it was common practice, Reveal reported.
A man is accused of accidentally shooting dead his friend during a dinner party that was being streamed live on Facebook.

Steven Leannais, 30, was charged with manslaughter over the fatal shooting of his friend Anthony Stanford II, 27, at his home in Cleveland, Ohio last Thursday.

Leannais was hosting Stanford and two other friends for dinner in his apartment when the shooting took place at about 9.50pm.

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Steven Leannais was recorded on a Facebook Live video taking the bullets out of a gun (pictured) at his Cleveland home before his friend Anthony Stanford II was shot dead

Steven Leannais, 30, was charged with manslaughter over the fatal shooting of his friend Anthony Stanford II at his home in Cleveland last Thursday

The Facebook Live video was posted before the shooting occurred and featured Leannais and the two other friends playing around with the gun before Stanford arrived, Cleveland.com reports.

At one point in the video, Leannais assured viewers the gun was not loaded and held the bullets up to the camera.

Stanford, who worked as a maintenance worker and repaired homes, is seen in the footage arriving at the apartment before the video ends.

After the video recording ended, Leannais allegedly picked up the gun, lowered it to his side and pulled the trigger, according to police reports.

A bullet fired and hit Stanford in the upper abdomen.

Police reports say Leannais dialed 911 after Stanford was shot. The victim was taken to hospital by paramedics but died a short time later.

Anthony Stanford II, 27, was shot in the upper abdomen. He was rushed to hospital but died a short time later

The Facebook Live video was posted before the shooting occurred and featured Leannais and the two other friends (pictured) playing around with the gun before Stanford arrived

Leannais faced Cleveland Municipal Court on Monday where his bond was set at $10,000.

He does not have a criminal record and he worked as a banker for mortgage company BBMC Mortgage, according to his Facebook page.

Prosecutors claim the shooting was not an accident and that Leannais was responsible for shooting the gun.

Leannais' blood alcohol reading at the time is being looked into.

His attorney Leif Christman told the court Leannais was 'extremely sorry' and offered condolences to the victim's mother.

'If there was any to trade places, he'd gladly do it,' Christman said.

'It's so tragic. His friend is deceased. He hasn't eaten or slept since it happened. He needs to get counseling.'

Stanford is seen in the footage arriving at the apartment before the video ends (pictured)
Two top Republicans are siding with intelligence agencies over President-Elect Donald Trump.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan both had supportive words for the CIA, after they concluded that Russia's cyber-meddling helped Trump win the presidency, according to Bloomberg News.

But the pair insisted the findings should not be used to cast doubts on the outcome of the election.

McConnell said he had the 'highest confidence' in the intelligence agencies and said that 'Any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing.

'I strongly condemn any such efforts,' he added, 'The Russians are not our friends.'

Trump and Putin have been accused of being too friendly with one another and the CIA has released assessments saying the Russians hacked into Dems computers in an effort to sway the election to Trump

Both Paul Ryan (left) and Mitch McConnell (right) have given words of support to the intelligence agencies, despite Trump dismissing the findings

Ryan, in an approach that tried to straddle the fence between supporting the CIA and not casting aspersion on the election, said the agencies were 'working diligently' to tackle cyberthreats from foreign nations.

In a statement released Monday, he said, 'Any intervention by Russia is especially problematic because, under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests.'

But he added that 'As we work to protect our democracy from foreign influence, we should not cast doubt on the clear and decisive outcome of this election,' reports The Hill.

For his part, Trump has consistently dismissed rumors that the Russians have interfered with democracy in any way.

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is known to be buddy-buddy with Vladmir Putin, and rumor has it Trump may nominate him as Secretary of State

'I think its ridiculous. I think its just another excuse,' Trump said in the interview, on Fox News Sunday. 'I dont believe it.'

'Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?' he wrote on Twitter on Monday.

'Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!'

Trump's perceived ties to Russia have been given even more scrutiny after Exxon Mobil Corp. chief Rex Tillerson has been picked for Secretary of State, according to the New York Times.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he has the 'highest confidence' in US intelligence agencies

Tillerson was awarded Russias Order of Friendship, a high civilian honor given to distinguished foreign nationals and as recently as 2015 he visited with some of Russia's highest chiefs of state.

In an unusual display of solidarity, both Democrats and Republicans are concerned about Russia's potential influence on the election.

Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain and the incoming Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, said on Sunday in a joint statement that the Senate would investigate Russia's influence on the election, according to Bloomberg.

The CIA has released its findings that concluded that Russia tried to sway the election to Trump, but Trump has said he 'doesn't believe it'

Additionally, both sides of the aisle have expressed wariness about Tillerson.

'I dont know the man much at all, but lets put it this way: If you received an Order of Friendship award from Putin - then well have some questions,' Republican Lindsay Graham of South Carolina said over the weekend. 'I dont want to prejudge the guy but thats a bit unnerving.'

Schumer agreed, adding, 'Hell be questioned thoroughly should he be the nominee, and all of these allegations and talks about his closeness with Putin will come forward.'
A man convicted of killing a University of New Hampshire student had his appeal for a new trial rejected by the state's highest court on Tuesday, denying him a chance to introduce the victim's sexual history into evidence.

Seth Mazzaglia, 34, is serving a life sentence after being found guilty of the 2012 murder of 19-year-old Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott, of Westborough, Massachusetts.

Prosecutors said Mazzaglia, a bondage and sadomasochism enthusiast, strangled the UNH sophomore with a rope after she refused to have a threesome with him and his then-girlfriend, had sex with her limp body, then threw her in the Piscataqua River.

Marriot's remains have never been recovered.

Mazzaglia claimed the 19-year-old co-ed died accidentally during a consensual albeit dangerous sex act.

Request denied: New Hampshire State Supreme Court has rejected Seth Mazzaglia's (pictured left in 2014) appeal for a new trial in the murder of student Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott (right)

Prosecutors argued that Mazzaglia (pictured in August 2014), a bondage and S&M enthusiast, strangled the UNH sophomore with a rope after she refused to partake in a threesome

In his appeal, Mazzaglia's attorneys argued that barring evidence of Marriott's past sexual interests during the trial meant jurors wouldn't accept that she could have agreed to participate in the act in question.

But in its unanimous decision, the state Supreme Court ruled that such evidence was irrelevant to whether she would have consented.

The justices quoted from a previous ruling in which they concluded 'Consent to sexual conduct with one person in no way implies consent to such activity with another. Each decision to consent is a new act, a choice made on the circumstances prevailing in the present, not governed by the past.'

Mazzaglia's attorney, Chris Johnson, said he respects the court's decision but is disappointed that the justices did not agree with what he believes were sound arguments.

In June, the state Supreme Court ruled that information about Marriott's sexual history was sealed during the trial should be made public during the appeals process, but it later reversed itself after prosecutors and Marriott's family objected.

In a statement, Marriott's father said he was relieved by Tuesday's ruling.

'We remain devastated over the loss of our daughter Lizzi and wish that we could see where she would be today had she not been murdered,' Bob Marriott said.

Mazzaglia's lawyers had sought to introduce Marriott's (pictured with her parents) sexual history into evidence, but the state Supreme Court ruled that such evidence was irrelevant

'We know that we will be reminded of Lizzi's loss every day for the rest of our lives, but we hope that we will be able to begin to move on now that this chapter in our lives has come to a close.'

More than a dozen legal, law enforcement and victims' rights organizations also had filed objections with the court, arguing that allowing the information to be made public would decimate the state's rape shield law, which is intended to protect rape victims from having their personal information revealed during criminal proceedings.

'Today the dignity and privacy of Lizzi Marriott has been protected, and justice has been served,' said Amanda Grady Sexton, public policy director for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

'Rape victims can now come forward with the peace of mind that the court will focus its attention on the crimes of rapists, not on irrelevant information about them.'

Accomplice: Kathryn 'Kat' McDonough (left), Mazzaglia's then-girlfriend, testified that she lured Marriott (right) to her apartment as a sex offering to her domineering boyfriend

Mazzaglia's live-in girlfriend at the time, Kathryn 'Kat' McDonough, initially told investigators that Marriott died during rough sex.

After getting immunity from prosecution, she changed her story, testifying that she lured Marriott to her apartment as a sex offering to her domineering boyfriend and that Mazzaglia killed Marriott after she rejected his advances.

McDonough claimed that Mazzaglia demanded that she bring him another woman for a threesome because she had left him alone without a sexual partner for two weeks.

When Marriott arrived at the Dover apartment on October 9, 2012, she refused to take part in the couple's S&M sex sessions, prompting Mazzaglia to strangle her with a rope, violate her body and then dispose of it in the river, prosecutors said.

In 2014, Mazzaglia's 23-day trial concluded with the jury finding him guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to falsify physical evidence and conspiracy to commit tampering with witnesses.

McDonough pleaded guilty to lying about the murder and served a three-year prison sentence. She was released in June.




United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. ANTHONY J. CARROLL v. DELAWARE RIVER PORT AUTHORITY, Appellant No. 16-2492 Decided: December 12, 2016

Before: AMBRO, SHWARTZ, and FUENTES, Circuit Judges Marisa J. Hermanovich, Esq., Matthew S. Wolf, Esq., Matthew S. Wolf, 1236 Brace Road, 2nd Floor, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034, Attorneys for Appellee Rufus A. Jennings, Esq., Carla P. Maresca, Esq., Deasey Mahoney & Valentini, 1601 Market Street, Suite 3400, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Attorneys for Appellant

OPINION OF THE COURT

After the District Court denied Plaintiff Anthony J. Carroll's motion for partial summary judgment and Defendant Delaware River Port Authority's motion for summary judgment, it certified the following legal question for our review: in a failure-to-promote discrimination suit under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA, 38 U.S.C.  4301, et seq.), must a plaintiff plead and prove that he or she was objectively qualified for the position sought? We now answer that question in the negative. In our view, plaintiffs need not plead or prove that they are objectively qualified in order to meet their initial burden under USERRA; instead, employers may raise a plaintiff's lack of qualifications as a nondiscriminatory justification for declining to promote the plaintiff, notwithstanding his or her military service.

I.

This case centers on Carroll's employment at the Port Authority. Carroll was first hired by the Port Authority in 1989 as a police officer. Between 1989 and 2009, he was a member of the uniformed services in various capacities, including six years as a corpsman in the United States Navy and ten years as a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard. When not on active duty in the military, Carroll maintained his employment with the Port Authority, ascending to the rank of corporal in the Port Authority Police in 2004.

Carroll was again ordered to active duty in late 2008 and deployed to Iraq in early 2009, where he sustained injuries leading to such conditions as cervical spondylosis, degenerative disk disease, bilateral torn rotator cuffs, brain injury, and high-frequency hearing loss. Carroll returned to the United States in late 2009 and was in rehabilitation for his injuries until his honorable discharge in late 2013. Carroll has not worked for the Port Authority since he was deployed to Iraq in early 2009.

In October 2010 and October 2012, while on active duty but in rehabilitation, Carroll applied to the Port Authority for a promotion to the rank of sergeant. Although he was interviewed in both 2010 and 2012, he was not promoted on either occasion.

Carroll then sued the Port Authority under USERRA, alleging that he was not promoted to sergeant in 2010 or 2012 due to unlawful discrimination on the basis of his military service. After motion practice and discovery in the District Court, Carroll filed a motion for partial summary judgmentrelated to the 2012 promotionand the Port Authority filed a motion for summary judgment on all claims. In so moving, the Port Authority argued that, to survive summary judgment, Carroll must raise a triable issue of fact on the question of whether he was objectively qualified for a promotion to sergeant. The District Court denied both motions for summary judgment and Carroll's subsequent motion for reconsideration. The Port Authority then moved the District Court for an interlocutory appeal on the question of whether Carroll must plead and prove that he was objectively qualified for a promotion to sergeant in order to sustain his discrimination suit under USERRA. The Court granted the Port Authority's motion and certified that question for appeal.

II.1

The question presented is straightforward: in a failure-to-promote discrimination suit under USERRA, must a plaintiff plead and prove that he or she was objectively qualified for the position sought? The answer, we find, is equally straightforward: no.

Congress enacted USERRA in 1994 to, inter alia, encourage noncareer service in the uniformed services by eliminating or minimizing the disadvantages to civilian careers and employment which can result from such service. To this end, USERRA prohibits the deni[al] [of] initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of [a person's] membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation [in a uniformed service]. When plaintiffs allege discrimination in violation of USERRA, courts apply a two-step burden shifting framework adapted from NLRB v. Transportation Management Corp.:

[A]n employee making a USERRA claim of discrimination [ ] bear[s] the initial burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee's military service was a substantial or motivating factor in the adverse employment action. If this requirement is met, the employer then has the opportunity to come forward with evidence to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the employer would have taken the adverse action anyway, for a valid reason.5

The Port Authority seeks to alter this framework by importing an additional requirement from other anti-discrimination statutes. According to the Port Authority, USERRA plaintiffs must sustain their initial burden by demonstrating two facts by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) that they were objectively qualified for the position sought, and (2) that their military service was a substantial or motivating factor in the adverse employment action. In this case, for example, the Port Authority claims that Carroll was physically incapable of performing a sergeant's duties due to his injuries and was therefore unqualified for the position. Under the Port Authority's proposed framework, Carroll could not meet his initial burden under USERRAeven if he could show that his military service was a substantial or motivating factorbecause he could not demonstrate that he was objectively qualified for the promotion to sergeant.

Carroll, on the other hand, contends that a plaintiff's objective qualifications are only relevant to the USERRA analysis after a plaintiff meets his or her initial burden. Once a plaintiff has shown that his or her military service was a substantial or motivating factor in the adverse employment action, Carroll argues, the employer may then advance non-discriminatory reasonswhich may include a lack of qualificationsto show that the employer would have taken the adverse action anyway. In other words, Carroll asserts that a plaintiff's objective qualifications are certainly relevant, but they are an affirmative defense to be advanced by the employer, not an additional hurdle to be cleared by USERRA plaintiffs.

We find Carroll's reading more persuasive. The statute is clear that an employer violates USERRA if a plaintiff's membership  in the uniformed services is a motivating factor in the employer's action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such membership. All courts of appeals interpreting USERRA have recognized this unambiguous language and held that a plaintiff meets his or her initial burden simply by showing that military service was a substantial or motivating factor in the adverse employment action. Indeed, this Court has so held on more than one occasion, albeit in non-precedential opinions. The clear implication of these uniform holdings is that plaintiffs need not plead or prove that they are objectively qualified in order to meet their initial burden under USERRA. Instead, it is incumbent on employers to raise a plaintiff's lack of qualifications at the second step of our USERRA framework: an employer may argue, for example, that it would have taken the same employment actions absent a plaintiff's military service because he or she lacked the necessary qualifications for the position in question. This construction not only comports with the plain text of USERRA and holdings of courts of appeals, but also effects Congress's intent to clarify, simplify, and, where necessary, strengthen the [previous] veterans' employment and reemployment rights provisions.

The Port Authority's reliance on other anti-discrimination statutes does not alter our conclusion. For example, the Port Authority places much weight on the uncontroversial proposition that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) have all been interpreted, under the McDonnell Douglas framework, to require an initial showing that the plaintiff is objectively qualified for the position sought. But the Transportation Management framework set forth above, rather than the McDonnell Douglas framework, has been consistently applied to analyze USERRA claims. The Port Authority has not identified any case in which a plaintiff failed to meet his or her initial burden under the Transportation Management framework by failing to plead and prove objective qualifications.

IV.

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that Carroll need not plead and prove that he was objectively qualified for the 2010 and 2012 promotions to sustain his USERRA discrimination suit. The case will be remanded to the District Court for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.

FOOTNOTES

. The District Court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  1331. We have appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  1292(b).

. 38 U.S.C.  4301(a)(1).

. 38 U.S.C.  4311(a).

. 462 U.S. 393 (1983), abrogated by Dir., Office of Workers' Comp. Programs, Dep't of Labor v. Greenwich Collieries, 512 U.S. 267 (1994). In Transportation Management, the Supreme Court applied a two-step burden shifting framework in the context of the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits the discharge of a worker based on his or her union activity. Id. at 401.

. Sheehan v. Dep't of Navy, 240 F.3d 1009, 1013 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (utilizing the Transportation Management framework to analyze USERRA claims).

. 38 U.S.C.  4311(c)(1).

. Angiuoni v. Town of Billerica, 838 F.3d 34, 39 (1st Cir. 2016); Bradberry v. Jefferson Cty., Tex., 732 F.3d 540, 547 (5th Cir. 2013); Bobo v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 665 F.3d 741, 755 (6th Cir. 2012); Madden v. Rolls Royce Corp., 563 F.3d 636, 638 (7th Cir. 2009); Wallace v. City of San Diego, 479 F.3d 616, 624 (9th Cir. 2006); Maxfield v. Cintas Corp. No. 2, 427 F.3d 544, 551 (8th Cir. 2005); Coffman v. Chugach Support Servs., Inc., 411 F.3d 1231, 1239 (11th Cir. 2005); Hill v. Michelin N. Am., Inc., 252 F.3d 307, 312 (4th Cir. 2001); Sheehan, 240 F.3d at 1013; Gummo v. Vill. of Depew, N.Y., 75 F.3d 98, 106 (2d Cir. 1996).

. See, e.g., Murphy v. Radnor Twp., 542 F. App'x 173, 177 (3d Cir. 2013) (not precedential); Hart v. Twp. of Hillside, 228 F. App'x 159, 162 (3d Cir. 2007) (not precedential).

. See Madden, 563 F.3d at 638-39 (considering the employee's lack of qualifications as part of the employer's evidence at the second step of the USERRA analysis, not as part of the employee's initial burden).

. Gummo, 75 F.3d at 105 (quoting H.R. Rep. No. 65, 103d Cong., 2d Sess. 18 (1994)). As courts have explained, USERRA was enacted in 1994 to more broadly protect uniformed service members from discrimination. Id.; Sheehan, 240 F.3d at 1012-13. For example, the Supreme Court held in Monroe v. Standard Oil Co., 452 U.S. 549 (1981), that liability for violations of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (USERRA's predecessor) was unfounded unless the employee's reserve status was the sole motivation for the discriminatory conduct. In response, Congress passed USERRA and made clear that a violation occurs when a person's military service is a motivating factor in the discriminatory action, even if not the sole factor. Sheehan, 240 F.3d at 1013 (citing 38 U.S.C.  4311(c)(1)); see also Gummo, 75 F.3d at 105. Our interpretation of USERRA today embraces this congressional objective.

. See Burton v. Teleflex Inc., 707 F.3d 417, 426 (3d Cir. 2013) (using the McDonnell Douglas framework to analyze Title VII and ADEA claims, including the requirement that a plaintiff show he or she was qualified for the position in question); Williams v. Phila. Hous. Auth. Police Dep't, 380 F.3d 751, 759 n.3, 761 (3d Cir. 2004) (using the McDonnell Douglas framework to analyze ADA claims, including the requirement that a plaintiff show he or she was otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of the job).

. See supra note 5.

. See supra note 7.

FUENTES, Circuit Judge.
A nursing home worker who injected elderly residents with large doses of insulin has been jailed for two murders and one attempted murder.

Garry Steven Davis, 29, has been sentenced to at least 30 years behind bars after he was found guilty of injecting three aged-care residents in October 2013.

The NSW Supreme Court in Newcastle heard on Tuesday Davis deliberately injected them with insulin over a 48-hour period at SummitCare aged care home in Newcastle, NSW, despite there being no medical need.

Gwen Fowler, 83, and Ryan Kelly, 80, died while Audrey Manuel, 91, recovered but has since passed away from unrelated causes.

In sentencing Davis to a maximum term of 40 years in jail, Justice Robert Allan Hulme said his motive for murdering three 'perfect' residents may have been 'simply for the sake of killing'.

The judge said the murders remained a complete mystery why Davis carried out the terrible crimes and why he chose those particular victims.

Former nursing home worker Garry Steven Davis, 29, (pictured) who injected three residents with large doses of insulin has been jailed for two murders and one attempted murder

Gwen Fowler, 83, (left) and Ryan Kelly, 80, (right) died after they were injected with insulin

Justice Hulme referred to the vulnerability of the victims, the extreme breach of trust by Davis and the tragic and extreme consequences of his conduct.

'In killing two and attempting to kill another vulnerable patient of an aged-care facility the offender acted with extreme callousness,' he said.

Davis was also found guilty of attempting to murder Audrey Manuel, 91, (pictured) who died of unrelated causes a while later

'It is as if he thought their lives were worthless.'

A police search of Davis's home found syringes, needles and literature about insulin, including a description of overdosing causing hypoglycaemic effects that could result in death.

'Text messages the offender sent suggested foreknowledge of the impending or prospective demise of Ms Manuel and Mr Kelly', the judge found.

The residents were 'compromised, disempowered and vulnerable'.

Their loved-ones were entitled to think they would be treated with dignity and respect - 'as people who had lives of value'.

After a judge-alone trial, Justice Hulme found Davis guilty of murdering Mr Kelly (pictured)

The judge said the murders remained a mystery over why Davis carried out the terrible crimes

Despite there being no medical need, he deliberately injected them with insulin over a 48-hour period in October 2013 at SummitCare (pictured) aged care home in Newcastle, NSW

Davis told police that they were 'not problem residents'; they were 'perfect residents', 'easy to look after'; and 'they weren't really a bother'.

'Any mistreatment of elderly people in our community is not to be tolerated,' said the judge, who noted Davis still maintained his innocence.

After a judge-alone trial in the Supreme Court in Newcastle, Justice Hulme in September found Davis guilty of murdering Ms Fowler and Mr Kelly.

He was also found guilty of attempting to murder Ms Manuel, who died of other causes a while later.

On Friday, former nurse Megan Haines will be sentenced by another judge for murdering two elderly aged-care residents in northern NSW by injecting them with insulin.
She said she thought former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin was having an affair when he revealed he had to tell her

The ex-wife of former Billabong boss Matthew Perrin has broken down in court and sobbed recounting how she found out about her husband going to jail.

Nicole Bricknell told the Brisbane District Court on Tuesday she thought her husband was having an affair when he said to her 'I need to speak to you about something and it is going to change our whole lives', reported the Herald Sun.

Ms Bricknell told the court: 'I broke down and said 'It's okay, you are having an affair again.'

Nicole Bricknell (left), the ex-wife of former Billabong boss Matthew Perrin (right) has broken down in court and sobbed dramatically recounting how she found out about her husband going to jail

'He said 'No, no it is much worse than that'. His words were: 'I've done a lot of bad things, I'm going to go to jail'.

Perrin is on trial accused of using the family's $15 million Cronin Island house at Surfers Paradise as security for credit from the Commonwealth Bank.

The custom-built waterfront property was solely in Nicole Perrin's name, so he went behind her back and forged her signature on a number of documents, the court heard.

The ex-chief executive of the well-known surfwear brand lay on the floor with his head in his hands sobbing that he had 'lost everything', the court was told.

Perrin (pictured centre) is on trial in the Brisbane District Court accused of using the family's $15 million house at Surfers Paradise as security for credit from the Commonwealth Bank

'Nicole was in total shock as she had never signed a mortgage and the property is in her name and is hers,' prosecutor Glen Cash said on Monday.

Perrin had been a 'very successful man' and lived an enviable life before he went bankrupt in March 2009, he said.

He was a qualified lawyer before becoming CEO of Billabong, and sold his shares in the company for $33 million, according to the prosecution.

The property was solely in Nicole Bricknell's name, so Perrin allegedly went behind her back and forged her signature on a number of documents, the court heard

The couple's joint assets totalled $57 million in June 2008 but by the following year 'things were collapsing', the court heard.

Perrin repeatedly increased his credit with the bank to the total value of $13.5 million using the mortgage on the Cronin Island house as security.

His wife at the time had no idea they were having any financial issues, the court was told.

The couple, who had three children together, are now divorced.

Perrin has admitted signing Nicole Perrin's name on the documents but claims he had her permission to do so.

'He honestly and reasonably believed he was entitled to write her name on those documents,' Andrew Hoare, defending, said.

Perrin denied nine charges of forgery and three of fraud in 2008.
Woman was raped when she woke up on a couch after a party at the apartment

A man has been found guilty of raping an American backpacker who was sleeping on the couch during an 'impromptu' party at his apartment in a trendy Sydney suburb.

Scott Harry Richardson, 25, claimed he did not rape the woman at his Redfern flat, but jumped on her thinking she was someone else, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

He was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent after a New South Wales district court rejected his claim.

Scott Harry Richardson, 25, was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent

Tears streamed from Richardson's face when his verdict was read out on Tuesday afternoon.

During a two-week trail the court heard Richardson, a British national, held an 'impromptu' summer party at his flat on December 12, 2015.

Guests spent the night drinking, playing games and admiring the view of Sydney from his rooftop, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

On the same night Richardson was phoned by a friend from England who told him a friend of his had died.

Richardson told the court he then spent time in his lounge room speaking to friends in the UK.

He said he drifted off to sleep thinking about what his friends had told him.

When he woke up in the early hours of the morning he saw a 'mass' lying under a blanket on a couch across the room and jumped on top of it , Richardson told the court.

'I thought it was my friend James.'

A man has been found guilty of raping an American backpacker who was sleeping on the couch during an 'impromptu' party at his apartment in a trendy Sydney suburb (stock image)

'I realised by the size of the person it wasn't my friend James. I got off and said "sorry" and left.'

The person beneath the blanket was an American woman who had been invited to the party by her boyfriend.

The woman woke up to a man on top of her, before he took off her underwear and raped her, she told police.

Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield said the woman said 'stop' and tried to force the man off her.

She told her boyfriend the man had a white shirt on and black hair.

They found Richardson sleeping with his girlfriend in his bedroom with a white shirt next to him on the floor, the court heard.
A coronial inquest into investigations led by police during the disappearance and death of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe will resume on Wednesday.

Schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, disappeared in December 2003, aged 1

The inquest into the Sunshine Coast boy's death will resume for two days after it was adjourned in April 2011.

Parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe said the inquest will help prevent other parents from walking in their shoes.

'Now we have the answers, the resumption will focus on investigative methodology. What systems worked and what could have been done better,' the Morcombe's said in a statement.

'As tragic as Daniel's case is, there will be another, and another; they will walk in our shoes.

'If we help one family's tragic case reach a conclusion and not have it destined to become a cold case then the resumption has a purpose and is worth it.'

Bruce and Denise Morcombe have thanked Queensland State Coroner Terry Ryan for permitting the resumption of the Coronial Inquest

Daniel's killer, Brett Cowan (pictured above), was caught in 2011 and is serving a life sentence

The 13-year-old boy was abducted from a bus stop and murdered in 2003.

Brett Peter Cowan is serving a life sentence after being convicted of Daniel's murder in 2014 following a lengthy and complex police operation.

' Our son Daniel was abducted and murdered more than 13 years ago,' The Morcombe's said.

'This triggered what is believed to be the largest police investigations in Queensland and one of the largest in Australia.

'Globally, it is believed to be second only to Madeleine McCann's disappearance in terms of public interest, primarily driven by traditional media and social media.

'Our family acknowledges and thank: Police, SES volunteers, forensic experts, Department of Justice, media, businesses and individuals who collectively contributed in finding Daniel's remains and having a guilty man rightfully convicted and now serving a life sentence.'

The Morcombe's say they are thankful for the police investigations which occurred during their son's disappearance but this 'resumption will focus on investigative methodology'

Daniel Morcombe's disappearance triggered the largest police investigation in Queensland as well as international media attention

The Morcombe's also thanked Queensland State Coroner Terry Ryan after he granted permission to re-open the inquest.

'This is a unique opportunity and a valuable one,' they said.
A koala has been caught striking a seductive pose at the top of a gum tree in a sanctuary.

The marsupial was pictured grabbing a tree trunk and leaning back like a pole dancer in a strip club.

The animal was photographed at the top of the tree at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane.

Brisbane's Lone Pine Sanctuary has distanced itself from this koala which featured on a tweet

The enclosure resident leaned back on the branch of the tree as Brisbane baked in 29 degree Celsius heat on Tuesday.

Amy Heinemann, a spokeswoman for the sactuary, said: ' The koala is laying that way as that morning was particularly hot, so you will often see koalas in similar poses trying to cool down and catch the breeze as it blows through.'

She was reluctant to give out the name or gender of the koala, which featured on a Brisbane City Council tweet on Tuesday, promoting a koala research centre partnership.

The council announced on Tuesday it would invest $2 million to establish a koala research centre at the sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket.

Scientists will be tasked with researching habitat loss and the threats posed by dogs, cats, cars and diseases.

Belgian Grand Slam tennis star Kim Clijsters and her daughter Jada meet Theresa the koala at the Lone Pine in December 2011

Tennis star Kim Clijsters hugs her daughter Jada at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane is promoted as a family-friendly attraction

The Brisbane City Council tweet on Tuesday promoting the research partnership with the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at Fig Tree Pocket
A woman was captured on video being dragged off an airplane by the police after she did not comply with boarding procedures, according to CBS.

The woman, who remains unnamed, refused to leave Delta flight 2038 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport before it took off for San Diego around 8am on Monday, according to a Delta spokesperson.

According to Rene deLambert, she stormed past the gate agent and failed to check in 'because she wasn't an early boarder' before demanding overhead bin space, FOX reported.

She was arrested for violation of airport ordinances, including failure to leave the aircraft, although she has not been formally charged, the spokesperson said.

Police were called to the plane after the passenger 'would not comply with boarding and baggage check procedures,' a spokesperson for Delta said

Video footage of the incident, which occurred around 8am on Monday, showed police dragging the woman down the aisle by her arms as she lay flat on her back

Many of the passengers craned their necks and expressed their shock as they watched police officers struggle to pull her off the plane

Video footage of the incident, which was shared by blogger RenesPoints, showed police dragging the woman down the aisle by her arms as she lay flat on her back.

Many of the passengers craned their necks and expressed their shock as they watched police officers struggle to pull her off the plane.

Erica Donerson, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines, said the passenger 'would not comply with boarding and baggage check procedures'.

She added: 'When officers arrived, Delta Air Lines stated the woman could not remain on board.

'Despite repeated requests by officers, the woman refused to leave the aircraft and had to be removed. She was arrested and charges are pending.'

It is unclear if she was injured.

The flight was briefly delayed, and took off at 8.30am.
Qantas will fly Boeing's new Dreamliner 787-9 between Melbourne and Los Angeles for its first route from December next year.

On Tuesday, the Australian airline announced the 236-passenger plane will fly six times a week  replacing the current 747 service which flies twice a week.

The route will take off from December 15 next year, with first tickets available for sale from Christmas Day next week.

The new Qantas Dreamliner 787-9 will fly between Melbourne and Los Angeles for its first route from December next year

The service will be in addition to the daily Airbus A380 already flying between the cities, taking the total number of Qantas services on the route from nine to 13 return flights per week  or about 1,400 seats in total.

Qantas International CEO Gareth Evans described the Dreamliner as 'game-changing'.

'The Dreamliner is a game-changing aircraft that opens up a new era for Qantas, and it's been designed with passenger comfort in mind,' Mr Evans said in a statement on Tuesday.

The economy class seats on the new aircraft are pictured

Business class seats on the Dreamliner 787-9 are pictured

'The aircraft itself offers passengers larger windows, a smoother ride and better air quality to reduce jetlag.

'In Economy there's more room and plenty of storage. In Business, our suites will offer a fully flat bed and direct aisle access. We'll be unveiling our Premium Economy in the first quarter of next year and it will set new standards for the industry.'
Lieutenant Sean Sargent went missing one day after 24th birthday in March 1999

A soldier who vanished more than 17 years ago could have been leading a 'double life' in an extraordinary case.

Lieutenant Sean Sargent went missing one day after his 24th birthday in Brisbane's St Lucia, in March 1999, reports Courier Mail.

According to a court inquest , a man claimed he was having drinks at gay bar 12 days later with a man named 'Sean' who fitted Mr Sargent's description.

'[Witness Sean Mann] stated that the male person said to him that he was in the Army and he was gay and that it was difficult being gay in the Army,' counsel man Peter De Waard told the court.

According to the Courier Mail, a number of previous girlfriends of the lieutenant also indicated he could have been gay.

Mr De Waard said this suggested Mr Sargent could have been leading a 'double life'.

The court heard he had been a promising young officer before allegedly assaulting a bouncer at a Townsville nightclub in 1998, sending his career on a 'backward step.'

The court heard in the weeks before his disappearance he broke up with his girlfriend, telling her he couldn't be in a 'relationship with her anymore because there was something he needed to do'.

On the night he disappeared he went to a party and brawled with another man, before turning 'very introverted'.

The court heard Mr Sargent took his own life in 2002.

The inquest is set to be held next year from April.
Advertisement

President-elect Donald Trump has fanned speculation over his Cabinet picks as politicians, businessmen and other contenders parade into the gilded halls of Trump Tower in New York.

Deliberation over one of the most significant roles has finally ended with ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson said to be Trump's nominee for secretary of state in an announcement slated for Tuesday morning.

But positions like the Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of the Interior, Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs departments remain unfilled.

With Rick Perry, Howard Lorber, and Tim Scott all seen heading to meet Trump on Monday, here's a look at their prospective roles in the upcoming administration.

Rick Perry

Trump will nominate former Texas Governor Rick Perry as secretary of energy, sources claimed. Perry said he would do away with the very agency he is now slated to run in a 2011 debate

Trump will nominate former Texas Governor Rick Perry as secretary of energy, according to reports by both CBS and NBC.

Perry, who launched unsuccessful bids for president in both 2012 and 2016, notably said he would do away with the very agency he is now slated to run.

During a Republican presidential primary debate in November 2011, he said: 'I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: Commerce, Education, and  what's the third one there? Let's see.'

Mitt Romney, who eventually nabbed the party's nomination in 2012, suggested the Environmental Protection Agency, but Perry continued to stall after moderator John Harwood pressed him for a third.

Perry became notorious for his blundering response when he said: 'The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops.'

He later clarified that he meant to name the Energy department.

Howard Lorber

Vector Group President and CEO Howard Lorber is one of Trump's economic advisers. He is said to be one of Trump's 'best friends,' and has business ties in Russia

Vector Group President and CEO Howard Lorber is one of many Wall Street and real estate moguls appointed to Trump's team of economic advisers.

Lorber, named as one of Trump's 'best friends,' has appeared on The Apprentice as well as the show Million Dollar Listing New York.

He brought Trump to Moscow in 1996, because they were in talks to build a luxury residential tower. The project was never realized.

Lorber and Vector Group do not currently have business ties in Russia, according to a spokesperson for the company.

Carly Fiorina

The former Hewlett-Packard exec and presidential candidate Carly Fiorina is in talks to take up the Director of National Intelligence post

The former Hewlett-Packard exec and presidential candidate Carly Fiorina met with the president-elect at Trump Tower Monday to discuss the Director of National Intelligence post.

Fiorina does not have any experience in government and has not worked in the intelligence area, although she did sit on a civilian oversight board of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Fiorina said the two talked at length about China, which she called a 'rising adversary,' then used language that echoed Trump's skepticism about whether Russia was behind hacking during the elections.

She called it an 'honor' to meet with Trump, who appeared to mock Fiorina's physical appearance during the primaries saying 'That face!' during a Rolling Stone interview when she appeared on screen.

Tim Scott

Scott, the only African American Republican in Senate, is a chairman on Trump's transition team. He has asked minorities to give the president-elect a chance.

Scott, the only African American Republican in Senate, expressed his 'excitement' working with Trump as a chairman on his transition team.

The South Carolina junior senator, who spoke out earlier this year about being stopped by law enforcement as a black man, asked minorities to give the president-elect a chance.

He also vowed to hold Trump accountable and struck an inclusive note, saying: 'I will continue working to develop solutions to lift families up...in every zip code across this nation.'

When confronted about Trump's divisive rhetoric and fears among people of color that the president-elect did not represent them, Scott insisted similar conversations would be raised if Hillary Clinton won.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Trump is expected to name climate change skeptic and five-term representative of eastern Washington to head the Interior Department

Trump is expected to name Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a climate change skeptic and five-term representative of eastern Washington, to head the Interior Department, according to the New York Times.

The interior secretary oversees the management and conservation of federally owned land and natural resources.

Rodgers, who was named a vice chair on Trump's transition team, previously voted for the legislation to open up opportunities for oil and natural-gas drilling.

'It appears she will favor oil and gas and mining interests over the preservation and wise management of public lands,' Dwight Pitcaithley, a former historian at the National Park Service, told the Verge.

Ryan Zinke

Zinke, Montana's only representative in the US House, is up for positions in either the Department of the Interior or Veterans Affairs

Zinke, Montana's only representative in the US House, is up for positions in either the Department of the Interior or Veterans Affairs, according to Fox.

In a meeting with Trump on Monday, the two discussed Native American affairs, national security, veterans affairs, along with land use and a 'wide range of Montana priorities.' He called it a 'positive meeting'.

Jason Miller, Trump's communications director, said: 'Congressman Zinke is a strong advocate for American energy independence. And he supports an all-encompassing energy policy that includes renewable, fossil fuels and alternative energy.

'Additionally, Congressman Zinke believes we need to find a way to cut through bureaucracy to ensure our nation's parks, forests, and other public areas are properly maintained and used effectively.'

John Fleming

Fleming, who was first elected to the House as a representative of Louisiana in 2008, lost out on the state's Senate race, coming in fifth in a crowded field of 24

Fleming, who was first elected to the House as a representative of Louisiana in 2008, lost out on the state's Senate race, coming in fifth in a crowded field of 24.

It is unclear whether Fleming is up for any positions in Trump's administration. He was among the many GOP candidates who criticized Trump after the 2005 hot-mic recording was released.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid repeated his insistence that Hillary Clinton would have been president and the Democrats would have a majority in the Senate had it not been for the 'partisan' actions of FBI Director James Comey.

Reid, the Democrat from Nevada who is retiring this year, told CNN on Monday that Clinton would have defeated the eventual winner of the race, President-elect Donald Trump, if Comey was not 'heavily involved as a partisan.'

'It's obvious he was a partisan in all this,' Reid told CNN. 'There's information out there. He had it, I'm confident. And he ignored it.'

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told CNN on Monday that the Democrats would have won the White House and the Senate were it not for the 'partisan' actions of FBI chief James Comey

Reid said that he had urged Comey to publicly address claims that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic operatives in an effort to subvert Clinton's candidacy and help Trump.

In a secret meeting that emerged Friday through The Washington Post, the CIA told a group of senators that Russian hacks had the specific goal of getting Trump elected.

Previously, the agency had suggested that the hacks might have been intended to more generally undermine the public's faith in the electoral system, without favoring a particular candidate.

Trump, for his part, has dismissed claims of Russian hacking, though his position is at odds with the senior Republican leadership in Congress which is urging an investigation into the matter.

Reid (left) says that Comey ignored information available to the FBI that shed light on Russian hacking of Democratic operatives as part of their efforts to help Trump win the White House

Reid says that he is certain Comey could have made the same information used by the CIA public before the election.

'I am saying the FBI did nothing - did nothing,' he said.

'All the information that we've heard in the last couple weeks, it was available to the FBI.'

'He just ignored it. He did not make it public. We asked him to more than once and he didn't do it.'

Two weeks before the election, Comey announced that the bureau had discovered emails on a computer belonging to former Representative Anthony Weiner, the husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, that potentially were relevant to the probe into Clinton's private email server.

Trump (seen here on the left with Clinton after their debate in Last Vegas on October 19) has denied CIA assessments pointing to Russian involvement in the elections

Reid said the move was tantamount to meddling in political affairs.

'In fact, to show how awful this situation is, this man ignored precedent that had been going on for decade after decade after decade,' Reid said.

'The FBI does not get involved in politics - except Comey did,' Reid said.

'Had he not written that letter a week or so before the election, she would have won; we would have picked up at least two more Senate seats,' he said.

One prominent election observer who agrees with Reid's assessment is statistician Nate Silver.

Reid's statements are supported by statistician Nate Silver of the FiveThirtyEight web site, who says that Clinton 'would almost certainly be president-elect' had it not been for Comey's letter

Silver cites data that shows Clinton losing ground in key swing states in the final week of the campaign, just days after Comey made his announcement about her newly discovered emails

On his FiveThirtyEight web site, Silver cites polling data which shows that support for Clinton began to wane in the days after Comey announced the discovery of the new emails.

On his Twitter feed, Silver says that voters in key swing states began to abandon Clinton after the Comey letter.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. FENYANG AJAMU STEWART, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SYSTEM; NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL & TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY; NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AEROSPACE ASSOCIATES, INC.; WILLIAM EDMONSON, NIA Distinguished Langley Professor, Full Professor, North Carolina A&T State University; JOHN KELLY, Chairman; ELECTRIC AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY; CATHY HOPKINS, Human Resources Director, National Institute of Aerospace, Defendants - Appellees. No. 16-1552 Decided: December 12, 2016

Before WYNN, FLOYD, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Fenyang Ajamu Stewart, Appellant Pro Se. Matthew Thomas Tulchin, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina; Eve Grandis Campbell, O'HAGANMEYER PLLC, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.

Fenyang Ajamu Stewart appeals the district court's order dismissing his civil rights complaint and its orders denying his motions for reconsideration. Stewart's complaint alleged claims against two groups of defendants  the National Institute of Aerospace Associates, Inc. (NIA) and Cathy Hopkins, NIA's Director of Human Resources (collectively, NIA defendants), and the University of North Carolina System, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NC A&T), William Edmonson, and John Kelly (collectively, North Carolina defendants). We vacate the district court's order dismissing Counts 2 through 4 of Stewart's amended complaint as to the NIA defendants, affirm the district court's orders in all other respects, and remand for further proceedings.

The district court concluded that Stewart's claims against the North Carolina defendants were barred by Eleventh Amendment immunity. We review de novo a district court's dismissal of an action under the Eleventh Amendment. Hutto v. S.C. Ret. Sys., 773 F.3d 536, 542 (4th Cir. 2014). Stewart concedes that the Supreme Court has found that such claims are barred by the Eleventh Amendment. See Quern v. Jordan, 440 U.S. 332, 341 (1979). While Stewart contends that the Supreme Court erred in so ruling, we are bound to follow Supreme Court precedent. Stop Reckless Econ. Instability Caused by Democrats v. Fed. Election Comm'n, 814 F.3d 221, 230-31 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, S. Ct. , No. 16-109, 2016 WL 4001325 (U.S. Oct. 31, 2016). Accordingly, we affirm the portions of the district court's order dismissing the North Carolina defendants, as well as the district court's orders denying Stewart's motions for reconsideration.

We review de novo a district court's dismissal of a complaint under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), accepting factual allegations in the complaint as true and draw[ing] all reasonable inferences in favor of the [nonmoving party]. Kensington Volunteer Fire Dep't v. Montgomery Cty., 684 F.3d 462, 467 (4th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint's [f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level and sufficient to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 570 (2007). A court may dismiss on the grounds of a statute of limitations defense if the necessary facts clearly appear on the face of the complaint. Waugh Chapel S., LLC v. United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 27, 728 F.3d 354, 360 (4th Cir. 2013) (emphasis and internal quotation marks omitted).

Stewart contends that the district court erred in dismissing Counts 2 and 3 of the amended complaint, asserting claims under 42 U.S.C.  1981 (2012) against the NIA defendants, because the federal four-year statute of limitations applies. We agree. Generally,  1981 claims are governed by the most analogous state statute of limitations. James v. Circuit City Stores, Inc., 370 F.3d 417, 420 (4th Cir. 2004). The district court applied this general rule and found Virginia's two-year statute of limitations applicable. See Va. Code Ann.  8.01-243(A) (2015). However, if a claim is based on  1981(b), which covers claims based on conduct occurring after the formation of the contractual relationship, then the federal four-year statute of limitations applies. James, 370 F.3d at 421.

We conclude that Stewart's claims in Counts 2 and 3 are based on postformation conduct, and thus the four-year statute of limitations applies. See Buntin v. City of Boston, 813 F.3d 401, 405 (1st Cir. 2015) (applying four-year statute of limitations to retaliation claim under  1981); White v. BFI Waste Servs., LLC, 375 F.3d 288, 292 (4th Cir. 2004) (holding that hostile work environment claims are subject to four-year statute of limitations). Because these claims concern events that occurred in 2012 and Stewart filed his complaint in October 2015, we conclude that the district court erred in dismissing these claims as time-barred.

Stewart next contends that the district court erred in dismissing Count 4 of the amended complaint, which he alleges was brought under  1981(b), and not under Virginia law as the district court concluded. We agree. Count 4 of Stewart's claim cited  1981 and alleged that the NIA defendants did not pay him an adequate stipend and removed him from his doctoral program on the basis of his race. We conclude that the district court should have analyzed the claim under  1981 and not Virginia law. Thus, we vacate the district court's order dismissing Count 4 against the NIA defendants, and remand for further consideration of this claim.

Finally, Stewart contends that the district court erred in dismissing his claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C.  1961 to 1968 (2012). We conclude that the district court correctly dismissed this claim, as Stewart's allegations of racial discrimination do not constitute a predicate act of racketeering under RICO. US Airline Pilots Ass'n v. Awappa, LLC, 615 F.3d 312, 317 (4th Cir. 2010) (To state a civil RICO claim, a plaintiff must allege that the defendants engaged in, or conspired to engage in, a pattern of racketeering activity. (internal quotation marks omitted); see 18 U.S.C.  1961(1) (defining racketeering activity).

Accordingly, we affirm the district court's orders, with the exception of the court's disposition of Counts 2 through 4 of Stewart's amended complaint against the NIA defendants. As to those claims, we vacate the district court's dismissal and remand for further proceedings. We further deny Stewart's motion to appoint counsel and to participate in oral argument. By this opinion, we express no view on the merits of Stewart's claims against the NIA defendants. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED

PER CURIAM:
within half an hour after it peaked in the afternoon

Australia is bracing for the hottest December day and night since 1972 on Tuesday

in a decade for start of the week

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Sea breezes managed to knock a heat wave down six degrees in Sydney on Tuesday before temperatures began to rise again, as Melbourne braces itself for a muggy, hot evening until conditions break around midnight.

Meteorologist Miranda Langton told the Sydney Morning Herald the temperature dipped within half an hour of reaching its peak of 37 degrees, but it didn't last long as the country prepares for potentially the hottest night in 148 years.

Conditions in Melbourne will begin to cool off around 7pm but temperatures will remain high until the early morning hours of Wednesday.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Michael Efron told the Age temperatures 'might be a bit uncomfortable and a bit humid as well. '

'But after midnight a strong south-westerly change pushes through and temperatures will start to fall a bit more. By dawn on Wednesday we will be back to around 16 degrees,' he said.

An extreme heat event is sweeping Australia bringing soaring temperatures and total fire bans as of Tuesday morning.

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Sea breezes knocked temperatures in Sydney down six degrees within half an hour on Tuesday before temperatures began to rise again, as a heat wave sweeps across Australia

It comes as Melbourne prepares for a hot, humid night until temperatures break around midnight

Sydneysiders flocked to the beach on Tuesday while others took refuge in the office air conditioning after the mercury had reached 35 degrees in the city by 10am

Those hoping for a brief reprieve from the sweltering conditions once the sun goes down will likely be disappointed

Forecasters warning temperatures are expected to stay around 26 degrees overnight

Sydneysiders flocked to the beach while others took refuge in the office air conditioning after the mercury had reached 35 degrees in the city by 10am and soared to 37 throughout the day in the western suburbs.

Temperatures peaked at 40.1 degrees in Hay, in south-west New South Wales, while residents in Melbourne and Adelaide also saw the heatwave push the mercury to 34 degrees.

Those hoping for a brief reprieve from the sweltering conditions once the sun goes down will likely be disappointed, with forecasters warning temperatures are expected to stay around 26 degrees overnight in Syndey with temperatures still in the 30s around 7pm.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the soaring temperatures are predicted to be the hottest minimum temperature Sydney has seen since 1968 when the evening heat did not dip below 26.3 degrees, with Tuesday's cloud cover trapping the heat.

'We are going to have generally hot and dry northwesterly winds associated with these warm temperatures,' Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Sarah Chadwick said, adding the hot northwesterlies will contribute to a higher risk of fire.

While Sydney residents will have a steamy and possibly sleepless night ahead, those in Melbourne will see a cool change as temperatures drop to around 16 degrees overnight.

'The heat will not be as bad as Sydney because we have a south easterly change coming through,' senior forecaster Michael Efron told Daily Mail Australia.

'It will be uncomfortable for a lot of the state, particularly in the north of Victoria where minimums will be around 19 degrees,' he added.

Meteorologist Miranda Langton said the temperature dipped within half an hour of reaching its peak of 37 degrees

The country is preparing for potentially the hottest night on records in 148 years

A construction worker at a site near Bronte Beach suffered through the sweltering heat on Tuesday

Others took to the beach in a bid to cool down - some taking dip (right) as others in Melbourne fooled around on the sand (left)

An extreme heat event is sweeping Australia bringing soaring temperatures across the country

By 10am on Tuesday the mercury had already reached 35 degrees in Sydney

A severe fire danger warning is in place for the lower central west plains and the south, eastern and northern Riverina districts, while some residents in the Hunter Valley have been warned that two fires in Cessnock are currently threatening homes.

'It is a little bit scary as the fire is coming pretty close to homes and people are stuck by the closed roads,' a resident told the Daily Telegraph.

The Rural Fire Service have warned residents of Abermain to stay inside and take advice from firefighters on the ground if they did not flee in time.

Thousands flocked to the coast to take a dip on the sweltering hot day

Australia is bracing for the hottest December day and night since 1972 on Tuesday. Pictured is Bondi Beach in Sydney's east

Australia's east coast is set to sizzle in the lead up to Christmas, with the mercury tipped to hit as high as 38 degrees in some parts of Sydney. These women were pictured lapping up the sun at Bondi Beach in Sydney's east earlier this month

Strong winds will block a cooling sea breeze in Sydney for the start of the week and the western suburbs have been warned of temperatures soaring to almost 40 degrees in the lead up to Christmas

Cloud cover extending over Sydney's east is expected to hold in the heat overnight on Tuesday (Pictured: Coogee Beach)

A group of young woman lay out in the sun on a rock at Sydney's Coogee Beach on Tuesday as a heatwave strikes the city

A bowmen untangles a rope as Wild Oats XI competes in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge as temperatures soar in Sydney

A man overlooks the ocean at Coogee Beach after taking a dip to escape the heat as temperatures reach 35 degrees

A total fire ban has also been declared for parts of Victoria's north and west with temperatures set to rise up to 39C.

Fires are banned in the Mallee, Wimmera and Northern Country regions on Tuesday, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting many towns to hit 39C before possible late showers.

But, the sizzling east coast weather is not expected to last through to the weekend with a cool change forecast overnight on Wednesday.

In Sydney, the mercury could drop by up to 14 degrees by Thursday morning.

In Sydney, residents have flocked to the beach most weekends with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees

Sydneysiders have been issued a heatwave warning for the start of the week with coastal regions bracing for 'severe' temperatures. Bondi Beach on Sunday is pictured

But the scorching temperatures aren't expected to last through to the weekend with a cool change forecast overnight on Wednesday

Many beachgoers will lap up the sun while it lasts, but a cool change overnight on Wednesday will bring the mercury down by up to 14 degrees

These young women had no problem with the hot weather in Sydney over the weekend

A hot air mass moving across Australia's south-east will cause the mercury to hit 34 in parts of the country on Tuesday (pictured)

AUSTRALIAN HEATWAVES: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO STAY SAFE WHAT IS A HEATWAVE? The Bureau of Meteorology defines a heatwave as a period of at least three days when the combined effect of excess heat and heat stress are unusual for a local climate. ARE THEY DANGEROUS? Heatwaves are the most deadly of all of Australia's natural hazards. Between 1900 and 2011, 4555 people died from extreme heat in Australia - 55.2 per cent of all deaths caused by natural hazards. That's more than 1000 deaths higher than the tolls for the next five most dangerous natural hazards combined - cyclone (1285), flood (1221), bush/grassfire (866), landslide (88) and lightning (85). WHO IS AT RISK? Heat can exacerbate existing medical conditions and can cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke. WHAT CAN I DO? - Drink plenty of water even if you aren't thirsty - Cool off with wet towels and cool foot baths or showers - Stay in cool or air-conditioned buildings if you can - Stay out of the sun in the heat of the day - Avoid strenuous activity and - Check on sick or frail friends, neighbours and relatives - Don't leave people or animals in hot cars Advertisement

Melbourne and Adelaide will also see drastic temperature drops of up to 13 degrees by Wednesday morning and light showers are expected to set in.

Across the rest of the country, a low pressure trough will generate warm winds and showers in Western Australia and Queensland.

Perth could see a thunderstorm on Monday, but will remain relatively dry for the remainder of the week with a top of 30 on Friday.

These young women made the most of the hot weekend weather and paddle boarded at a stunning beach on Sydney Harbour

Iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney's east was overrun with beachgoers looking to cool off on Sunday afternoon (pictured)

A hot air mass moving across the country will spark a heatwave on Tuesday with both Melbourne (St Kilda, pictured) and Adelaide expected to reach 34 degrees

FORECAST: WHAT THE WEATHER LOOKS LIKE AROUND AUSTRALIA SYDNEY Tuesday: Min 21, Max 36. Mostly sunny Wednesday: Min 25, Max 37. Possible rain Thursday: Min 20, Max 23. Shower or two

BRISBANE: Tuesday: Min 19, Max 29. Mostly sunny Wednesday : Min 19, Max 31. Sunny Thursday: Min 20, Max 32. Sunny ADELAIDE Tuesday : Min 23, Max 36. Partly cloudy Wednesday : Min 16, Max 25. Possible late shower Thursday: Min 12, Max 24. Shower or two DARWIN Tuesday : Min 26, Max 34. Showers. Possible storm Wednesday: Min 25, Max 34. Showers. Possible storm Thursday: Min 25, Max 33. Showers. Possible storm MELBOURNE Tuesday : Min 20, Max 34. Possible late shower Wednesday: Min 16, Max 20. Possible shower Thursday: Min 12, Max 20. Partly cloudy CANBERRA Tuesday : Min 14, Max 33. Partly cloudy Wednesday : Min 19, Max 29. Possible rain Thursday: Min 12, Max 21. Possible shower PERTH Tuesday: Min 12, Max 26. Mostly sunny Wednesday : Min 13, Max 29. Sunny Thursday: Min 16, Max 31. Sunny HOBART Tuesday : Min 16, Max 29. Windy Wednesday : Min 13, Max 16. Shower or two Thursday: Min 10, Max 19. Partly cloudy Advertisement

Brisbane will hover just below 30 degrees until Wednesday and Thursday, where a top of 32 can be expected.

A severe fire weather warning has been issued for parts of Adelaide with balmy northwesterly winds reaching 25-30 km/h.

The West Coast, Eyre Peninsula, Yorke and Peninsula have been warned to strengthen their bushfire survival plan, according to The Bureau of Meterology.

In Sydney, residents have flocked to the beach most weekends with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees. Bondi Beach in Sydney's east has been overrun with beachgoers looking to cool off.

The east coast has not experienced pre-Christmas weather this hot in a decade, Nine News reported.

In Sydney, residents have flocked to the beach most weekends with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees

The Sydney heatwave isn't expected to last long and cool change will sweep across east coast on Wednesday evening
Care crisis: Ageing parents are drawing up legal documents to state they would rather die than allow excessive care home fees to eat into their child's inheritance (file picture)

Ageing parents are drawing up legal documents to state they would rather die than allow excessive care home fees to eat into their child's inheritance.

The spiraling cost of care has led to rising numbers of middle-aged mothers and fathers taking evasive legal action to ensure they can refuse treatment at the end of their lives, a leading law firm has said.

Paul Gotch, a lawyer with JMW Solicitors, said concerns over care costs were raised by nearly all the firm's clients drawing up power of attorney documents this year.

He said: 'Without doubt, the most common theme in discussions is a desire to refuse prospective treatment should they become incapacitated because they realise how the costs of care could drastically affect the amounts which they can pass on to their families.

'It amounts to a declaration that they would rather end their lives than become a financial burden to their loved ones.'

Last night it emerged that council taxes could rise by almost 160 over the next two years to help tackle the crisis in social care.

Ministers are expected to give town halls the power to increase an existing levy that funds support for the elderly.

The rise was due to be 2 per cent a year for the next three years. But councils will be allowed to bring the increase forward if they can cite an immediate crisis.

This could lead to bills being raised by 3 per cent next year and another 3 per cent in 2018/19, provided there is no increase the following year. Town halls are also allowed to raise bills by a further 2 per cent to pay for other services  giving a potential increase next year of 5 per cent.

That would add 76.50 next year to the average 1,530 bill for a Band D property. A similar rise would follow the year after.

The 12billion foreign aid budget should be used to tackle the crisis in social care, MPs said last night.

Their call to put the elderly first came amid warnings that the system supporting the vulnerable in England and Wales was close to 'toppling over'.

Row: Council taxes could rise by almost 160 over the next two years to help tackle the crisis in social care

Care home providers warned yesterday that the crisis in social care was so serious that the 'whole thing could topple over at any moment'.

Council leaders believe they need billions extra to keep the sector afloat amid a rapidly ageing population, budget cuts and rises in the living wage.

Yesterday, Government sources insisted that the council tax plan would not result in the public paying any more overall.

The 12billion foreign aid budget should be used to tackle the crisis in social care, MPs said last night (file picture)

They also stressed that the maximum annual increase in the social care precept would be 3 per cent a year. Ministers said money was no silver bullet  effectively laying the blame on the worst-performing councils.

However, Labour claimed that shifting the problem to council taxpayers would only worsen the existing 'postcode lottery' in social care.

Experts said the sums raised would be nowhere near large enough to plug an expected 1.3billion funding gap this year. There are predictions of care homes closing  triggering a bed shortage in the NHS.

Elderly patients cannot be discharged if no care can be arranged by the local council.

Izzi Seccombe, Conservative leader of Warwickshire County Council and chairman of the Local Government Association's community wellbeing board, said: 'We need 1.3billion now.'

She said there would be a shortfall of 2.6billion by 2020.

Tory former health secretary Stephen Dorrell said that he was in favour of a hike in the precept.

But he warned: 'What we need to look to do is to have a review of the funding of the whole of the health and care system. Because what we're talking about is a cash shortage that is threatening the stability not just of local government, but of the National Health Service.

'Unless we address this seriously we simply see a developing failure of service across the range of local public services and people will suffer as a consequence of that failure.'

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, which represents care home providers, said: 'The whole thing could topple over at any moment and those who are poor and vulnerable will suffer most.

'We saw some research recently which said that about 40 per cent of care services will no longer be viable in the medium term, so this is a huge number of care services that will be lost.'

Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested for the first time there would be a review of the controversial target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid. Yesterday, it emerged that Mrs May is preparing to allow town halls to hike council bills by up to 80 next year to help fund the social care system

Asked if care companies would go bankrupt, he replied: 'Definitely.' Mr Green said that would mean care homes closing and a shortage of beds for those who need them.

Labour said it was unfair to 'dump' solving the crisis in social care funding on to council tax bills. Barbara Keeley, who is Labour's care spokesman, said letting councils increase the social care precept would only widen inequality between rich and poor areas, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without help.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: 'Making councils bear all the burden will increase the postcode lottery which already exists.

'It will mean that wealthy parts of the country will find it easier to meet rising demand while those areas where council tax raises less money will be left struggling.

'The Government must be held to account for the consequences of leaving more and more people without the care they desperately need.'

Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday acknowledged that he had discussed the issue of social care with Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of the Autumn Statement last month, but said it was 'not true' she had vetoed the idea of more cash for the sector.

Mr Hammond said that, since then, ministers could not fail to have noticed the 'cacophony' of lobbying by councils and health trusts over the issue.
The Caribbean island of Trinidad has been revealed as the country with the highest rate of ISIS recruits in the western hemisphere.

More than 400 of its citizens are feared to have left to join the terror group in Syria and Iraq since 2013.

It puts Trinidad and Tobago - a country of 1.3million, including more than 100,000 Muslims - top of the list of Western nations when it comes to the rate of foreign-fighter radicalisation.

The Caribbean island of Trinidad has become the country with the highest rate of ISIS recruits in the western hemisphere, it has emerged (file picture)

According to The Atlantic, Roodal Moonilal, an opposition Member of Parliament in Trinidad and Tobago claims more than 400 extremists from the island have fled to the so-called ISIS caliphate in the Middle East.

Others say the figure is lower and between 90 and 125.

The terror group's latest magazine issue carried an interview with a fighter called Abu Sad at-Trinidadi.

The fanatic urged Muslims in his homeland to attack fellow citizens, ranting: 'Terrify the disbelievers in their own homes and make their streets run with their blood.'

He also condemned his countrymen for staying in 'a place where you have no honour and are forced to live in humiliation, subjugated by the disbelievers.'

More than 400 Trinidad citizens are feared to have left to join the terror group in Syria and Iraq since 2013 (file picture)

A number of Muslim organisations in the country have publicly condemned the actions of ISIS claiming it did not reflect the teachings of Islam.

Muslims make up 6 per cent of the population in Trinidad and Tobago.

In 1990, the group Jamaat al Muslimeen held the then-prime minister and several Cabinet members hostage during a six-day siege which claimed 24 lives.
A young Danish-Kurdish woman who fled her homeland to fight ISIS in Syria could receive up to six months in prison for fighting against the extremist group.

Joanna Palani, 23, is facing punishment from Copenhagen City Court after she violated Denmark's 'foreign fighter' rule, which aims to stop Danes who fight alongside terror groups.

Miss Palani is being tried under that same law, although she was ironically fighting against the jihadis.

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Joanna Palani, 23, left Copenhagen to go and fight for the Kurds in Syria against ISIS and Assad's troops. She is now facing up to six months in prison for fighting against the terror group

The tough law is in place to strengthen domestic counter-extremism efforts, due to Denmark having one of the largest number of foreign fighters in Syria per capita.

This isn't Miss Palani's first run-in with the Denmark government. Last year her passport was confiscated by police and the Danish intelligence service PET.

She received a year travel ban, imposed in September 2015, for fighting with Kurds against ISIS but she violated the restriction when she went to Qatar in June.

Now Miss Palani is facing a six-month prison sentence for defying this ban and will appear back in court on December 20.

Miss Palani is being tried under Denmark's 'foreign fighter' rule and had her passport seized in 2015. She was given a year travel ban, which she violated in June

The politics and philosophy student said she went to fight for the Kurds in Syria 'for human rights for all people'.

Earlier this year, she revealed ISIS soldiers are 'very easy to kill' compared to President Assad's 'specialist killing machines.'

During her time in the war-torn region she recalled the horrors she witnessed first-hand in an interview with Lara Whyte for Broadly.

On her first night on the front line her comrade - a Swedish fighter - was killed by a sniper who shot him between the eyes after seeing smoke from his cigarette.

She also described the sickening moment she found a large group of children being held for sexual abuse by ISIS terrorists after liberating a village near Mosul.

After leaving Denmark in November 2014, Miss Palani first joined the YPG (People's Protection Unit) and then the Peshmerga, the Western-trained and backed army of the Kurdish Regional Government.

She said at the time: 'The Kurds are fighting for democracy and Western values. If I get captured or killed, I will be proud of why I was killed.'

She was constantly faced with danger but said she never wished she was home again.

In the interview with Broadly, she said: 'I wasn't taking it seriously when I first came there. But after the first attack I did. I took it seriously indeed.'

Miss Palani first joined the YPG (People's Protection Unit) and then the Peshmerga, the Western-trained and backed army of the Kurdish Regional Government

While in Syria she fought both ISIS militants and Assad's troops, who have been known to attack with chlorine gas, barrel bombs and vacuum bombs - all banned under international law.

Comparing the two, she said: 'ISIS fighters are very easy to kill. ISIS fighters are very good at sacrificing their own lives, but Assad's soldiers are very well trained and they are specialist killing machines.'

Towards the end of her time in Syria she was part of a battalion that freed a village near Mosul from ISIS.

There she found young girls locked up in a 'holding house', held for sexual abuse by the murderous thugs.

MIss Palani became famous worldwide when she left Denmark and headed to the Middle East

The Danish student had her passport confiscated when she returned to her homeland - even though she was fighting ISIS and Assad's troops

She told Broadly: 'All the girls were under 16 - some were really young. I met this girl in the hospital we had to bring them to.

'She was a Syrian Christian and she died holding my hand because she was 11-year-old and she was pregnant with twins. Her little face was so swollen. It just wasn't right. I remember the doctor crying and yelling at me and my first soldier.'

'I would give my life for Europe, for democracy, for freedom and for women's rights. I feel like I have been betrayed by those who I was ready to sacrifice my life for', she said.
Public servants are now being forced to swap chocolate for mangoes as part of a ban on supplying chocolates for charity in the office.

Australian Capital Territory bureaucrats were banned from supplying chocolates, soft drinks, deep fried food, and any other foods deemed unhealthy as part of fundraisers, giveaways or catering.

The impending ban was sent out to Government workers on Tuesday dictating that the changes were motivated by the detrimental impact unhealthy food had on people's health.

Public servants are now being forced to swap chocolate for mangoes as part of a ban on supplying fundraiser chocolates in the office

While the Government conceded selling chocolates or confectionery for charitable purposes was for a good cause, it said the health impacts far outweighed the positives, the ABC reports.

'There is a growing trend for sporting teams and school grounds to fund-raise in other ways, which includes offering healthier alternatives,' it said.

'If you are organising a fundraiser, try suggesting a novel approach like sporting equipment, fruit trays, movie tickets or store vouchers.'

The Government said although selling chocolates for charity was for a good cause, it argues the health risks far outweigh the positives

The notice suggested mangoes were a popular alternative for chocolates

The notice suggested mangoes were a popular alternative for chocolates.

The ban was not welcomed with open arms by all public servants however, with some disputing it was a blatant overstep by the 'meddling' Liberal Party.

Opposition Leader Alistair Coe said the government's ban on chocolate was an abuse of power and he should be able to maintain control over his own food intake.

Opposition Leader Alistair Coe (pictured) said the government's ban on chocolate was an abuse of power and he should be able to have control over his own food intake

'Once again  the ACT Government is simply going too far and meddling in people's lives, when really they should just be staying out of it,' he told the ABC.

He urged the Government to have some 'common sense', step back and think twice about the ban.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has written to the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, asking why this week's reports by the CIA that Russia did hack Democratic campaign documents contradicts what the agency was saying three weeks ago.

Congressman Devin Nunes, a Republican from California, has written to Clapper asking for an urgent briefing on the matter.

Last month Clapper said he lacked 'good insight' about the connection between Russian hacking of Democratic emails and their release by WikiLeaks.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (pictured, centre) takes his seat as he arrives at the November 17 hearing before the House Intelligence Committee

In the letter Nunes writes: 'On November 17, 2016 you told the Committee during an open hearing that the intelligence community lacked strong evidence connecting Russian government Cyber-attacks and Wikileaks disclosures.'

But on Friday the Washington Post reported that a secret CIA assessment had concluded that Russia had interfered in the race to boost Trump, although the agency did not have 'specific intelligence' showing Kremlin involvement.

President-elect Donald Trump hit out at the CIA report and said there was no evidence Russia had done anything to help him win the presidency at the expense of Hillary Clinton, who had been promising a tough line with Moscow.

Congressman Devin Nunes (pictured, left) speaks to Paul Ryan (right) during a meeting in Washington. The two Republicans have taken different positions on the Russian hacking

Today Trump announced Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil and a friend of Vladimir Putin, as his pick for Secretary of State.

It comes amid speculation that Trump will push for the lifting of sanctions on Russia, which were imposed in 2014 after Putin annexed Crimea after a proxy war with Ukraine.

House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan has also released a statement saying he supports an investigation the House Intelligence Committee has already started on cyber-threats posed by foreign countries and extremist groups.

The CIA told senators in a secret meeting that they believed hacks on Democratic emails in the election were intended to aid Trump's victory

Donald Trump (left) is expected to appoint Rex Tillerson (right), CEO of Exxon-Mobil as Secretary of State today. Mr Tillerson is known as an ally of Vladimir Putin

Ryan said any Russian intervention was 'especially problematic because under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests'.

Underscoring the possible collisions ahead between Trump and the men leading his party in Congress, McConnell and Ryan struck tones markedly more confrontational toward Russia than he has.

When he made his appearance at the House Intelligence Committee, Clapper told Congressman Adam Schiff: 'As far as the WikiLeaks connection, the evidence there is not as strong and we don't have good insight into the sequencing of the releases or when the data may have been provided. We don't have as good insight into that.'

Nunes' letter sent yesterday said: 'According to new press reports, this is no longer the CIA's position.

'I was dismayed that we did not learn earlier from you directly about the reported conflicting assessments and the CIA's reported revision of information previously conveyed to this Committee.'

Nunes writes: 'I am deeply concerned that these press reports may contain unauthorized disclosures of both classified intelligence community (IC) information and the contents of closed intelligence committee proceedings.

'Additionally, if true, reports of conflicting IC assessments call into question the effectiveness of the IC's analytic coordination process regarding this crucial issue.'

Nunes finishes the letter by demanding that Clapper completes, no later than January 13 - a week before Trump's inauguration - an 'analytic and tradecraft review of any IC assessments related to alleged Russian involvement in cyber activities related to the US Presidential election'.

CIA director John Brennan (pictured) may be looking for a new job when Trump takes over, as the President-elect has promised 'changes at the top'

He also demands Clapper provides the committee with 'a written assessment of whether any classified information was disclosed in recent media articles related to Russian involvement in cyber activities related to the US Presidential election.'

The mid-election hacks resulted in leaks of 19,252 emails and 8,034 attachments from the DNC that showed staffers mocking and apparently undermining Bernie Sanders' campaign to be the Democratic candidate.

A second hack saw emails being leaked from the account of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, including some that apparently discussed payments to the Clinton Foundation in exchange for meetings with Bill Clinton.

The FBI has also been under fire of late because of Director James Comey's decision to publicize the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails - despite FBI policy which prohibits influencing an election.

Trump told Fox News he believed the Democrats had put out reports about the CIA's remarks, made after a secret assessment of Russia's role in the mid-election cyber attacks on the DNC and Clinton campaign chair John Podesta.

In a secret meeting that emerged Friday through The Washington Post, the CIA told a group of senators that Russian hacks had the specific goal of getting Trump elected.

Previously, the Agency had suggested that the hacks might have been intended to more generally undermine the public's faith in the electoral system, without favoring a particular candidate.

When asked whether he thought that the CIA was trying to overturn the election results, Trump said he didn't think 'they're saying anything'.

The hacks, including one on the emails of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta (pictured) and another on DNC staff, led to much bad publicity for the Democrats during the election

'If you look at the story and you take a look at what they said, there's great confusion. Nobody really knows, and hacking is very interesting,' he said.

'Once they hack if you don't catch them in the act you're not going to catch them.

'They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place. I mean, they have no idea.'

He also said that he believed Democrats were behind the reveal of the CIA's assessment of the hacks.
ISIS savages have blown up a prisoner using a bomb and butchered 11 more civilians accused of being spies in a gruesome new execution video from Egypt.

Footage shows an extremist strapping explosives to a man dressed in an orange jump suit in the Sinai peninsula.

The fanatic, wearing military clothes, walks away before the prisoner - accused of being an Egyptian Army 'informant' - is blown to pieces in a massive bomb blast.

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Footage shows an extremist strapping explosives to a man dressed in an orange jump suit in the Sinai peninsula of Egypt

The fanatic, wearing military clothes, walks away before the prisoner - accused of being an Egyptian Army 'informant' - is blown to pieces in a massive bomb blast

Video of the sickening execution emerged in a film released by ISIS called 'The Necks Cutting'.

It also included shocking footage of prisoners being beheaded and being shot in the head.

ISIS has had a presence in the region since November 2014 when Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to the terror group.

In October last year, jihadists bombed a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from a Red Sea resort in an attack that crippled the country's economy.

Video of the sickening execution emerged in a film released by ISIS called 'The Necks Cutting'

The video also included shocking footage of prisoners being beheaded and being shot in the head

The video, filmed in the Sinai peninsula of Egypt also shows men being shot in the back of the head

ISIS claimed it brought the plane down saying it had smuggled explosives into the aircraft before its departure from the resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

All 224 people on board were killed when the bomb went off minutes after the Metrojet A-321 had taken off for the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.

ISIS affiliates in the northern Sinai Peninsula have carried out scores of attacks in recent years, mainly targeting security forces.
Every war veteran has a story to tell. But few could rival John Moffat's extraordinary tale.

It was the torpedo he fired that crippled the rudder of the German battleship, leaving it at the mercy of Royal Navy ships which then sank it.

He was piloting one of three Swordfish open-cockpit biplanes that set off from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal to take vengeance.

'What nobody talks about were the conditions - they were unbelievable,' recalled Mr Moffat, speaking in 2009.

Lt Cdr John Jock Moffat (pictured) helped sink the Bismarck German warship in May 1941

Then aged 89, he had written a book, I Sank The Bismarck, about his experiences.

'The ship was pitching 60ft, water was running over the decks and the wind was blowing at 70 or 80mph.

'And nobody mentions the deck hands who had to bring the planes up from the hangars - they did something special. After they brought them up they had to open the wings which took ten men for each wing. And then they had to wind a handle to get the starters working.

'I only stopped flying nine months ago and there are no other planes in the world that could have done what the Swordfish planes did that day.

'After take-off we climbed to 6,000ft to get above the really thick cloud and we knew when we were near because all hell broke loose with Bismarck's fire. We got the order to attack and I went down and saw the enormous bloody ship. I thought the Ark Royal was big, but this one, blimey.

The Bismarck was built in August 1940 and was the biggest battleship made by Germany

'I must have been under 2,000 yards when I was about to launch the torpedo at the bow, but as I was about to press the button I heard in my ear "not now, not now".

'I turned round and saw the navigator leaning right out of the plane with his backside in the air.

'Then I realised what he was doing - he was looking at the sea because if I had let the torpedo go and it had hit a wave it could have gone anywhere. I had to put it in a trough.

'Then I heard him say "let it go" and I pressed the button. Then I heard him say "we've got a runner" - and I got out of there.

'My navigator was a chap called John "Dusty" Miller and I've spent the last 20 years trying to find out what happened to him or where he is.'

Mr Moffat pulled up before the torpedo hit and didn't see it strike. The following morning he flew to the ship for a second attack but there was no need.

He watched as the Bismarck, which had been under siege from the Royal Navy, rolled over. And he saw hundreds of German sailors leaping into the water as she started to sink. Only 115 of Bismarck's crew of 2,222 survived.

'I didn't dare look any further, I just got back to the Ark Royal and I thought: "There but for the grace of God go I",' said Mr Moffat, from Dunkeld, Scotland.

He only found out it was his torpedo that crippled the Bismarck when the Fleet Air Arm - the Navy's air force - wrote to him in 2000. He said: 'It gave me a sort of satisfaction.'

The Bismarck was built in August 1940 and was the biggest battleship made by Germany.

She was named after Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor behind the unification of Germany in 1871.

Despite her fearsome reputation, the Bismarck enjoyed just an eight-month career during which time she was involved in one offensive operation, when she destroyed HMS Hood.

Out nearly 3,000 shells fired at Bismarck by the Royal Navy, about 400 hit the ship before she finally sunk.

The Bismarck's sister ship the Tirpitz wreaked havoc among the Arctic convoys until she was sunk while at anchor in a Norwegian fjord.
A police sergeant called it 'the worst case of child abuse he'd ever seen'

A mother and father have been arrested on child abuse charges after their twin infants were found 'looking like skeletons' and suffering from gruesome infections.

New parents Kevin Fowler, 25, and Aislyn Miller, 24, from Owasso, Oklahoma were booked into Tulsa Jail on Saturday.

Nurses and doctors who treated the couple's children described them as extremely malnourished, with bed sores and diaper rash.

New parents Kevin Fowler, 25, and Aislyn Miller, 24, were arrested after their twin infants were found 'looking like skeletons' and suffering from several infections

Miller (left) and Fowler (right) were booked into Tulsa Jail on Saturday on child abuse charges

After investigating, an Owasso police sergeant called it 'the worst case of child abuse he'd ever seen'

Owasso police were called to the city's urgent care center on reports of suspected abuse to see the children's conditions.

After investigating, the police sergeant called it 'the worst case of child abuse he'd ever seen'. According to KJRH, a nurse told officers that she saw a maggot crawl out of one of the infant's genitals.

The other child had a piece of hair wrapped so tightly around her finger that it had festered and become a wound.

Miller told police she didn't have health insurance and wasn't sure how to provide her children with healthcare

Neither of the couple's children has reportedly seen a doctor since birth

Feces were also found in one of the child's ears, reports allege.

Miller told police that she and her husband didn't have experience taking care of babies, which is why their health was so poor.

She told police she didn't have health insurance and wasn't sure how to provide them healthcare, according to Tulsa World. Neither child has reportedly seen a doctor since birth.

According to her Facebook page, Miller has worked at Macys Fulfillment Center since early this year.

Due to 'overwhelming evidence', the couple was arrested. They are being held on $100,000 bail.
A furious father has told how his young son was 'left for dead' after suffering multiple injuries when a hit-and-run biker smashed into him.

Jake Jones, 11 , was walking home from school in Castle Vale, on the east side of Birmingham when he was hit by the motorbike.

His father David claims the callous rider fled the scene as the schoolboy lay seriously injured with a broken leg and fractured arm.

Jake Jones suffered a broken leg, fractured arm, fractured ankle and a damaged spleen

His father David Jones, right, said his son also suffered bruised lungs and facial injuries

West Midlands Police have launched an investigation into the incident which took place on Wednesday, December 7.

The youngster also suffered a fractured ankle, damaged spleen and bruised lungs in the horror crash, which also left him with facial injuries.

He was rushed to Birmingham Children's Hospital, where he continues to have intensive treatment.

Mr Jones said he heard his son was 'thrown into the air' after he was hit by the motorbike.

'He is my baby and they just left him for dead,' he said.

'I have had nightmares about Jake being knocked over along there because it's such a busy road.

'Witnesses said they saw Jake being thrown into the air.

'Horrific doesn't come close to describing what it felt like.

'Jake could have died, and they just left him at the roadside to die. What kind of people can do that to a young boy? Jake has been very poorly. He has had a three-hour operation and has been in an incredible amount of pain.

'I have had to watch my son screaming out in pain - there are times when I have had to leave the room.'

West Midlands Police are investigating the incident which left the youngster in hospital

His parents David and Tanya Jones have maintained a vigil at Birmingham Children's Hospital

Jake Jones, pictured was run down by a motorbike near his home in Birmingham last week

Police want anyone who was on Farnborough Road in Castle Vale on Wednesday, December 7 and who witnessed the incident to come forward or who knows the identity of the rider

Jake is now slowly beginning to recover from his injuries, with mum Tanya rarely leaving his side. Mr Jones said the family felt 'let down' by the police response since his son's accident.

'We don't really feel like we have had much support from police since day one,' he claimed.

'We feel we have been left in the dark and they are not really doing much to catch whoever has done this to Jake.'

Chief Inspector Kerry Blakeman of West Midlands Police said: 'We continue to appeal for information following a hit and run in Castle Vale last Wednesday (7 December) where a young boy was seriously injured.

'The 11-year-old was taken to hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

'This was a shocking incident for the boy, his family and indeed our officers who were immediately dispatched to the scene and started the investigation to hunt for the motorcyclist who failed to stop.

'I have personally spoken to the parents of the boy and assured them that we are doing everything we can to find the person responsible.

'As a father I fully understand the familys anguish and like them, we wish the lad a speedy recovery. The rider now needs to do the right thing and come forward.'
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CHRISTIAN G. RHODES, Defendant - Appellant. No. 15-4624 Decided: December 12, 2016

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and SHEDD and FLOYD, Circuit Judges. Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Stephen C. Gordon, Chief Appellate Attorney, Jennifer C. Leisten, Research & Writing Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. John Stuart Bruce, Acting United States Attorney, Jennifer P. May-Parker, Seth M. Wood, Assistant United States Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Christian G. Rhodes appeals the 144month upward departure sentence imposed by the district court following Rhodes' guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  286 (2012), and aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1028A (2012). On appeal, Rhodes contends that the upward departure sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The Government argues that the appellate waiver precludes Rhodes' appeal. We hold that Rhodes' appeal falls outside the scope of the waiver, and, finding no error in the district court's judgment, we affirm.

Rhodes does not challenge the validity of the appeal waiver, but contends that the issues raised do not fall within its scope. Because the waiver excepted a sentence in excess of the Guidelines range established at sentencing, and Rhodes appeals his above-Guidelines-range sentence, we hold that the claims raised on appeal are not precluded by the waiver. See United States v. McLaughlin, 813 F.3d 202, 205 (4th Cir. 2016).

Next, we turn to the substance of Rhodes' appeal. We review a sentence for reasonableness, applying a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41 (2007); United States v. Lynn, 592 F.3d 572, 577 (4th Cir. 2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). In conducting procedural reasonableness review, we consider, among other factors, whether the district court analyzed any arguments presented by the parties and sufficiently explained the selected sentence. Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. Regardless of whether the district court imposes an above, below, or within-Guidelines sentence, it must place on the record an individualized assessment based on the particular facts of the case before it, such that the appellate court need not guess at the district court's rationale. United States v. Carter, 564 F.3d 325, 329, 330 (4th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Rhodes assigns procedural error to the district court's failure to address his arguments in favor of a downward departure. Because Rhodes preserved this issue by arguing for a sentence other than the one he ultimately received, our review is for an abuse of discretion. Lynn, 592 F.3d at 576, 578. Rhodes also argues that his upward-departure sentence is substantively unreasonable.

Based on our review of the transcript, we agree that the district court did not expressly address Rhodes' nonfrivolous arguments in sentencing him. Thus, we [must] reverse unless we conclude that the error was harmless. 592 F.3d at 576. The Government may establish that such a procedural error was harmless, and thus avoid remand, by showing that the error did not have a substantial and injurious effect or influence on the result and we can say with fair assurance that the district court's explicit consideration of the defendant's arguments would not have affected the sentence imposed. United States v. Boulware, 604 F.3d 832, 838 (4th Cir. 2010) (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted).

Applying this standard to the facts of this case, we conclude the Government has satisfied its burden of showing that the district court's procedural error was harmless. The district court's adoption of the presentence report, which recited Rhodes' criminal history, personal history, and characteristics, demonstrates the court's familiarity with Rhodes' circumstances. Further, the arguments Rhodes advanced in favor of a below-Guidelines sentence were countered by the district court's finding that an upward departure was appropriate. Finally, the sentencing transcript leaves little doubt that the district court considered the arguments in favor of the downward variance, as this issue was discussed at length during the sentencing hearing. We are thus persuaded that, in this case, any shortcoming in the district court's failure to expressly address Rhodes' arguments for a downward variance is harmless and that remand is not warranted.

We turn, then, to the district court's decision to impose an upward departure. The Sentencing Guidelines provide for an upward departure based on the inadequacy of a defendant's criminal history category [i]f reliable information indicates that the defendant's criminal history category significantly under-represents the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual  4A1.3(a)(1), p.s. (2014). When reviewing a departure, we consider whether the sentencing court acted reasonably both with respect to its decision to impose such a sentence and with respect to the extent of the divergence from the sentencing range. United States v. McNeill, 598 F.3d 161, 166 (4th Cir. 2010) (internal quotation marks omitted).

We conclude that, under the totality of the circumstances, the district court did not abuse its discretion by imposing an upward departure upon finding that Rhodes' criminal history category significantly underrepresented the seriousness of his criminal history or his likelihood of recidivism. We further conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in determining the extent of the upward departure, which was five months above the top of the Guidelines range.

In sum, we conclude that any procedural error was harmless and that the sentence imposed by the district court is substantively reasonable. The sentence imposed on Rhodes may not be the only reasonable sentence, but it is a reasonable sentence, and the Supreme Court has directed than any reasonable sentence be upheld. United States v. Evans, 526 F.3d 155, 166 (4th Cir. 2008).

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

PER CURIAM:
Engineers are desperately trying to repair a dam in Mosul which is slowly collapsing and will be 'more devastating than a nuclear bomb' if it falls.

With the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from Islamic State continuing, an Italian company will have about 18 months to fix the dam's foundations and stop more than 11 trillion litres of water (11.11billion cubic metres) from flooding Mosul.

But experts are warning their work could be in vain, and should the catastrophe happen, it is estimated 1.5million people could be killed by the floods.

The dam in northern Iraq was built on an unstable foundation that continuously erodes, and a lapse in required maintenance after ISIS briefly seized it in 2014 weakened the already flawed structure

Engineers from Italian firm TREVI are working to solidify the dam, which is located 60km north of Mosul.

But professor of water resources and environmental engineering at Lulea University in Sweden has said the structure is doomed.

'No matter how much grouting and maintenance the company will do, it may expand the life span of the dam, but it is just going to delay the disaster.

'It is just a matter of time. It will be worse than throwing a nuclear bomb on Iraq,' he told Al Jazeera.

Kurdish Peshmegra forces guard the dam, which is in an area close to land controlled by ISIS fighters

Mosul dam collapsing would be seen as a 'humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions' and could kill 1.5million people, a US ambassador warned earlier this year.

Governments were urged in March to move quickly to prevent a breach of Iraq's largest dam, which would unleash a wave as high as 45ft, devastating Mosul and flooding much of the capital Baghdad.

After hosting a meeting with Iraq's UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim to hear briefings on the potential disaster, US Ambassador Samantha Power called on all UN member states to take immediate steps.

'It is crucial that all UN member states quickly get informed about the magnitude of the problem and the importance of readiness to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions,' said Power.

The ambassador described briefings by technical experts, engineers and representatives from UN aid and development agencies as 'chilling.'

The dam in northern Iraq was built on an unstable foundation that continuously erodes, and a lapse in required maintenance after the Islamic State jihadist group briefly seized it in 2014 weakened the already flawed structure.

'In the event of a breach, there is the potential in some places for a flood wave up to 14 meters high that could sweep up everything in its path, including people, cars, unexploded ordnance, waste and other hazardous material, further endangering massive population centres that lie in the flood path,' said Power in a statement released by the US mission.

Disaster: A map showing the areas of Iraq which are likely to flood should the Mosul Dam collapse

After six months of planning, the Italian company were given the $300million contract which is funded by World Bank to attempt to save the lives of those living near the Tigris river.

The engineers are guarded in the war-torn city by 500 soldiers from Italian and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, according to Al Jazeera.

They are tasked with injecting cement mix into the foundations in a process called grouting.

A European Commission's Science Centre study published last year stated seven million Iraqis could be affected by floods from the dam.
Police officers swooped on the couple and other members of their biker community outside a petrol station in Mobile,

Police helped stage a man's arrest so he could kneel down and propose to his terrified girlfriend in an elaborate stunt captured on film by amused friends.

Daiwon McPherson, 33, duped his girlfriend, Shawna Blackmon, 28, into thinking he was armed and on the run in Mobile, Alabama on Friday.

Mr McPherson, his motorbike group and Miss Blackmon were 'caught' by police at a petrol station just outside the town.

Daiwon McPherson duped his girlfriend, Shawna Blackmon, into thinking he was armed and on the run in Mobile, Alabama on Friday. A 'showdown' between police and the couple started when they were 'caught' at a petrol station

Officers ordered Mr McPherson to get on the ground and demand he gives up his gun (pictured left) while his terrified girlfriend tries to diffuse the situation

The officers pulled out stun guns and demanded Mr McPherson get on the ground.

Mr McPherson followed their orders as his terrified girlfriend tried to diffuse the situation.

When the officers demand he gives up his 'gun', instead of a weapon Mr McPherson pulls out an engagement ring.

Ms Blackmon, who quickly goes from being frightened to overjoyed, cannot hold back her tears and is comforted by an officer.

Mobile Police spokesman Terrence Perkins said the officers were holding unloaded stun guns and all other on-duty officers were told about the fake call before it went out.

Friend Tyler Colvin posted a video of the unorthodox marriage proposal on Facebook, where it quickly went viral.

He said that Mr McPherson had 'created and fed' his girlfriend a story throughout the day, so she would believe him when he said they were on the run.

'I was scared,' Miss Blackmon told WPMI-TV. 'I said he was going to jail, they are going to shoot him.'

Biker Mr McPherson told Al.com: 'I really wanted to bring the bike life and the police together. I can't believe I actually pulled this off.'

Instead of a weapon Mr McPherson pulls out an engagement ring and proposes to his girlfriend

Friend Tyler Colvin posted a video of the unorthodox marriage proposal on Facebook, where it quickly went viral. He said Mr McPherson had 'created and fed' his girlfriend a story throughout the day, so she would believe him when he said they were on the run

Ms Blackmon quickly goes from being frightened to overjoyed and cannot hold back her tears as she is comforted by an officer who was in on the prank. A police spokesman said officers were holding unloaded stun guns and other on-duty officers were told about the fake call

Police spokesman Mr Perkins said the department had received some negative comments about the stunt but that the positive feedback far outweighed the negative.
disease has never threatened Australian prawn farms until now

Two rivers south of Brisbane were placed under lock down by biosecurity officials after test results confirmed white spot disease in wild prawns collected in the area.

The potentially disastrous disease was discovered earlier this month at an aquaculture farm south of the Logan River. It was the first time ever the disease was confirmed in Australia.

Under the new ban imposed Tuesday, fishers in Logan and Albert Rivers are prohibited from moving any potential carriers of the disease out of the area, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries wrote on its website. Disease carriers include prawns and crabs.

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A prawn infected with white spot disease is seen here in a handout by Queensland officials. Until now, Australia was the only major prawn farming country that was spared by the disease

White Spot Disease causes infected prawns to develop small white spots, a loose shell and suffer from reduced feeding habits

What is white spot disease? White spot disease is a highly contagious viral infection that affects all crustaceans. Australia has previously been free of the virus. The disease is primarily spread through the movement of infected animals or contaminated water. Birds feeding on infected animals can contribute to the spread of the disease. The virus that causes white spot disease is found throughout East, South East and South Asia, and the Americas. A widespread outbreak of white spot disease would have a significant impact on the Australian aquaculture industry as well as adverse trade implications and environmental and social impacts. White Spot Disease causes infected prawns to develop small white spots, a loose shell and suffer from reduced feeding habits. Source: Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Advertisement

Tuesday's ban expanded on other restrictions imposed last week. The new biosecurity emergency order applies to the Logan River from Jabiru Weir and Luscombe Weir to the mouth of the river, as well as other infected properties in the area.

'Biosecurity Queensland recognises that this may impact on the plans of local fishers over the holiday period, but all steps to ensure that this virus does not go any further need to be taken,' DAF wrote on its website.

The ban is 'obviously going to have an effect on people's use of the river in that area,' said Jim Thompson, chief biosecurity officer at the DAF in Queensland.

'The movement control order is in place at this point for three months. We'll leave it there until we've actually got some idea of the extent of the infestation in the river,' Dr Thompson told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

'[The disease] can decimate the aquaculture business of prawn farming. That's what it's done throughout the world. So you have to work out a way to actually live with this.'

'Australia being free of it has been a great advantage to us,' Dr Thompson said.

In efforts to eradicate the disease, authorities are destroying the prawns and decontaminating ponds at the affected properties using chlorine.

Biosecurity authorities are also urging people to report any unusual prawns or crabs caught in the area.

The red markings on this map shows the rivers that have been placed under lock down by biosecurity officials after an unprecedented breakout of white spot disease

Authorities in Queensland, where the disease was detected, are urging people to report any unusual prawns or crabs caught in the area

Authorities said they are still in the dark as to how the potentially devastating disease entered Australia.

While the White Spot Disease has the potential to devastate Australia's prawn supply, consumers have been assured there will be no change to this year's Christmas supply.

Australian Prawn Farmers Association chief executive Helen Jenkins told ABC it was an 'isolated incident' and consumers need not worry.
Raimondas Saveikis will be free in less than three years despite killing a Tesco worker in a drink-drive crash

A drunk Latvian driver who killed a Tesco worker in a devastating head-on car crash will be free from jail in less than three years.

Raimondas Saveikis was more than twice the drink-drive limit when he crashed into Mark Smyth's Fiat Panda in Santon Downham, Suffolk.

Saveikis, 33, tried to claim he wasn't the driver and even said he had drunk four cans of lager at the scene.

The chicken factory worker was jailed for four years and eight months yesterday - but will be eligible for automatic parole after serving half of that term.

The crash happened on the minor B1107 Thetford Road in Santon Downham, west Suffolk, at about 5am on October 9.

Saveikis, of Thetford, admitted causing Mr Smyth's death by careless driving when he was over the drink-drive limit.

Judge David Goodin told Saveikis him: 'No sentence of this court can recompense or measure the terrible tragedy of Mark Smyth's death and the desolation and misery of those who loved him.'

The judge said Savikis had tried to evade responsibility by inventing another driver and said he had also claimed to have drunk four cans of lager at the scene.

'That, of course, was an attempt to defeat the breathalysing procedure that followed which revealed you to have been driving at 5am on that Sunday with an alcohol level of at least rather more than twice the limit.'

Mark Smyth's widow Jo (left in grey coat) said her husband (right) was 'kind and warm'

The judge added: 'I do accept because I watched you as Mrs Smyth read her statement that your remorse now is real,' he said.

'You are not a monster, of course, it is real. You brought about the death of another man.'

Mr Smyth's widow, Jo Smyth, 43, choked back tears as she told the court: 'My heart is broken and has shattered into a million pieces.'

She said her husband was 'a kind, warm, gentle man who was funny and had a great sense of humour'.

Recalling the moment they met in 2004, she said: 'I knew from the first moment I saw him I was going to get married to this man.'

The couple lived in Ipswich, Suffolk, for a short time before moving back to their 'dream home' in the town of Brandon.

The scene of the crash on the B1107 in Santon Downham, west Suffolk, on October 9

Mark, a project manager at BT for 15 years, had just got a job as a delivery driver for Tesco in Thetford so he could oversee the renovation of their home.

She added: 'He [Mark] was 46 which makes me a 43-year-old widow and I will never have our baby.

'Since that day I have not felt able to be left alone. A family member is staying with me 24 hours a day. I exist in this real life nightmare.'

Det Ch Insp David Giles said Mr Smyth's death was 'needless' and wholly preventable.

He said: 'I feel it is a fair sentence made according to national guidelines. But no sentence will ever bring Mark back, and his family are now suffering.
were due to start moving out this morning but fighting has reportedly broken out again

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Dramatic images show how an ancient mosque that once stood proudly in the centre of Aleppo has been reduced to rubble during a four year battle for the city.

Images of the once grand Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo, also known as the 'Great Mosque' have revealed how it now lies in ruins.

Several of the walls surrounding the UNESCO-listed building have been destroyed and pro-government fighters have been seen looking on at the ruins.

The pictures emerged as fighting broke out in the city once again - despite a truce deal that involved plans for a mass evacuation of civilians this morning.

Syrian pro-government forces walking in the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo, which now lies in ruins

Debris can be seen littering the ground in the mosque's courtyard as Syrian army troops inspect the damage to the ancient building

Several of the walls surrounding the UNESCO-listed building have been destroyed and fighters have been inspected looking on at the ruins

The images come as rebel groups have announced a ceasefire in Aleppo after Syrian forces were accused of 'massacring 82 civilians in their homes'

The images come as rebel groups have announced a ceasefire in Aleppo after Syrian forces were accused of 'massacring 82 civilians in their homes' during 'the century's worst humanitarian tragedy'

Syrian pro-government forces walk holding a Syrian and Palestinian flag in the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo

Government forces stand on top of a burned out tank that has been left next to the destroyed buildings close to the mosque

A ceasefire deal was struck between the pro-Syrian government forces and the rebels for them and the civilians still living there to evacuate the city safely today.

In theory, it meant that the battle for Aleppo, one of the worst of a civil war that has drawn in global and regional powers, had ended with victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and regional Shi'ite militias.

Forces loyal to Assad have been accused of going back on their word over amid reports heavy fighting has resumed.

For rebels, their expected departure with light weapons starting today for opposition-held regions west of the city was a crushing blow to their hopes of ousting Assad after revolting against him during the 2011 Arab uprisings.

Before the conflict in Syria, the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo, also known as the Grand Mosque stood proudly in the city

The Great Mosque of Aleppo before the civil war, which was a UNESCO-listed ancient building and located in the city's old town

The mosque is purportedly home to the remains of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist and was built in the beginning of the 8th century

An image showing the mosque before the civil war with men, women and children walking through the courtyard enjoying the sunshine

Elsewhere, rebel officials said fighting would end last night and a source in the pro-Assad military alliance said the evacuation of fighters would begin at around dawn today. A reporter in Aleppo said that the booms of the bombardment could no longer be heard.

Thousands of civilians, including hundreds who are wounded and sick, are waiting for a delayed evacuation from the war-torn Syrian city.

But the deal, brokered by Russia and Turkey, hangs in the balance amid reports violence had flared once again in eastern areas.

There are reports this morning that buses meant to take rebels and civilians out of Aleppo have returned to depots - signalling the collapse of the truce.

There were conflicting claims about why fighting had broken out this morning. Russia claims rebels had resumed fighting at dawn and that Assad's forces had moved to repel the attacks.

Despite hopes of a truce, the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province to the southwest of Aleppo, and ISIS holding swathes of the east and recapturing Palmyra this week.

Meanwhile Syrian forces were accused of 'massacring 82 civilians in their homes' during 'the century's worst humanitarian tragedy'.

The remains of a shell are pictured outside Aleppo's historic citadel yesterday. A ceasefire deal has now been struck between the government and the rebels

Just 10 years ago, the same citadel was bustling with tourists and visitors after Aleppo was named as the Arab world's Islamic cultural capital

The streets of the Old City of Aleppo are virtually unrecognisable after being bombarded by shells in some intense battles

The same street just seven years ago was a bustling shopping area filled with businesses and many cars on the road

It comes as harrowing photos emerged of dead children amid claims of a new chemical attack in a village in Syria's Uqayribat district.

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations said 93 people were killed and 300 injured in an apparent poison gas attack.

As reports of further atrocities emerged from Aleppo, France's U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said 'the worst humanitarian tragedy of the 21st century is unfolding before our eyes'.

Meanwhile, Aleppo citizens have posted harrowing 'death bulletins' pleading for help from the outside word as Syrian government forces swept through the city.

Terrified residents filmed themselves describing their plight in the besieged city with one doctor calling the situation 'apocalyptic' and another saying: 'This may be my last video'.

Militants in Aleppo said an agreement had been in place with Russia to cease bombardment in the city since yesterday morning and that there should be a full ceasefire tonight. Syrian forces are pictured walking through the recaptured Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood

Rebel groups have announced a ceasefire in Aleppo after Syrian forces were accused of 'massacring 82 civilians in their homes' during 'the century's worst humanitarian tragedy'. Families were seen fleeing this afternoon

Militants in Aleppo said an agreement had been in place with Russia to cease bombardment in the city since yesterday morning and that there should be a full ceasefire tonight

Syrian civilians take food from a storage room that was formerly held by the opposition forces in eastern Aleppo's al-Kalasseh neighbourhood

Harrowing photos have emerged of dead children amid claims of a new chemical attack in a village in Syria's Uqayribat district

Syrian troops were poised to recapture all of the country's war-torn second city. Rights group Amnesty International has described global inaction over the siege as 'shameful'

It comes as president Bashar al-Assad's forces were accused of shooting 82 Aleppo civilians in their homes and as the UN described a 'complete meltdown of humanity' in the war-torn city.

There are reports that 11 women and 13 children were among those killed in 'on the spot' shootings in the besieged Syrian city while 100 unaccompanied children are feared trapped in a building under heavy attack.

The reports emerged as Syrian troops were poised to recapture all of the country's war-torn second city. Rights group Amnesty International has described global inaction over the siege as 'shameful'.

Desperate residents have been filming themselves describing their plight in the besieged city with one doctor calling the situation 'apocalyptic'

Activist, Lena Shame (left), describes being in the 'middle of a genocide' while teacher Abdulkafi Alhamdo (right) added: 'We did not want anything else but freedom'

Aleppo citizens have posted harrowing 'death bulletins' pleading for help from the outside word as Syrian government forces sweep through the city

A member of the Syrian government forces stands in a severely damaged street in Aleppo's newly captured Al-Kalasseh neighbourhood

In videos posted online, one citizen, Salah Ashkar, begs for intervention to end the brutal assault on Aleppo, telling the camera: 'Please, there is no minute to spare. Please, please stand with Aleppo.'

Another man, named as media activist Omar Arab, is interrupted during his video by the sound of gunfire over head.

Activist, Lena Shame, describes being in the 'middle of a genocide' before adding: 'This may be my last video'.

Teacher Abdulkafi Alhamdo added: 'Many people now are being killed and just kept in the streets and their buildings. No one can help them. No way, no hospitals, no cure.

In another clip, he adds: 'We did not want anything else but freedom. This world doesn't like freedom it seems.'

A man called Dr al-Nasr, described the situation as 'apocalyptic'.

Fears have been growing for thousands of trapped civilians as rebels make a desperate last stand in their remaining pocket of territory in the former opposition stronghold.

The UN human rights office says it has received reports of forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad killing at least 82 civilians as they entered the last remaining strongholds of the rebels in eastern Aleppo.

Syrian pro-regime fighters are pictured as they past resident fleeing residents in the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo

The UN says it has had reports that 11 women and 13 children were among those killed in 'on the spot' shootings in the besieged Syrian city

Around 100 unaccompanied children are trapped in a building that is under heavy attack in besieged eastern Aleppo, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said. Residents are pictured fleeing from the city

Advancing pro-government forces have reportedly entered homes and killed some civilians 'on the spot' in the former rebel enclave, according to UN spokesman Rupert Colville.

He said 11 women and 13 children were among those reportedly killed in four neighbourhoods of the increasingly-shrinking rebel enclave in the city of Aleppo.

But the Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, and its main ally Russia said rebels had 'kept over 100,000 people as human shields'.

Meanwhile UNICEF Regional Director Geert Cappelaere said in a statement: 'According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo.'

UN chief Ban Ki-moon voiced alarm at reports of atrocities against civilians in Aleppo, where entire districts are in ruins and unclaimed bodies lie in the streets.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have said the battle for the city is in its 'final phase' after they seized more than 90 percent of the eastern districts which had been held by the rebels since 2012.

Pictures from Aleppo show government forces in the newly captured Al-Kalasseh neighbourhood

Carnage: Streets are filled with rubble after years of fierce battles between rebels and Assad's forces

The fall of Aleppo would be the rebel's worst defeat of the civil war and put the government in control of all five of Syria's main cities

The turnaround in the government's fortunes has come through decisive support from its allies Iran and Russia, which has waged a bombing campaign in support of Assad since September last year.

Early on Tuesday, troops were conducting searches in newly recaptured neighbourhoods around Aleppo's Old City, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

'The regime is combing the districts of Bustan al-Qasr, Kalasseh, Fardaws, and other neighbourhoods it seized yesterday (Monday),' Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

He said the regime was consolidating its control over those areas but had not made any fresh advances on Tuesday morning.

The fall of Aleppo would be the rebel's worst defeat of the civil war and put the government in control of all five of Syria's main cities.

An AFP correspondent in government-held west Aleppo said bombardment was heard overnight but had quietened by morning, when thick fog shrouded the city.

Residents of the sector gathered in the streets late into the night despite the rain, launching celebratory gunfire in a show of support for the army.

The carnage emerged as Syrian troops were poised to recapture all of the country's second city

A man carries a child with an IV drip as he flees deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo

The UN human rights office says it has received reports of forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad killing at least 82 civilians as they entered the last remaining strongholds of the rebels in eastern Aleppo

The Syrian army and allied fighters are poised to take control of the war-torn city

UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over reports of atrocities against 'a large number of civilians, including women and children' in Aleppo, his spokesman Stephan Dujarric said Monday.

'While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties.'

The east of the city had been under army siege almost continuously since July.

SYRIAN GIRL WHO GAINED A HUGE TWITTER FOLLOWING SEES HER HOME BOMBED Bana Alabed who gained a huge following on Twitter By Anthony Joseph for MailOnline A seven-year-old Syrian girl has had her new home wrecked and her dad has been injured in a rocket attack. Bana Alabed, who gained a huge following on Twitter, due to her live tweets on the conflict in Aleppo, Yesterday she tweeted: 'My dad is injured now. I am crying.' Another tweet read: 'My name is Bana, I'm 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die. - Bana.' Her mother Fatemah added: 'Our new house is hit with a rocket. This is the worst bombing I have ever seen. We are already convinced we will die. 'The army is so near now. I don't know what to do. Only way to flee is to regime side which I fear coz they will kill me.  Fatemah' Last month Bana posted a heartbreaking picture of the bloodied body of a young friend who was killed in an air raid. Bana, who tweets with help from her mother Fatemah, posted the haunting photo of her friend with a tear jerking caption. 'Oh dear world, I am crying tonight, this is my friend killed by a bomb tonight. I can't stop crying. - Bana,' she wrote from her home in the rebel held East Aleppo. Since joining Twitter last September Bana has amassed close to 100,000 followers and frequently posts videos and photos of her grim life in Aleppo which is in the middle of a brutal tussle between government forces, ISIS and rebels. Bana received a number of Harry Potter novels directly from author J.K. Rowling after her mother made a request to the writer over Twitter. The girl, who speaks basic English, tweeted a sweet thank you video for Rowling. 'Hello my friend, I started reading your books now, my heart is for you. Thank you,' she said. Rowling replied back with a tweet saying: 'This made me so happy! Lots of love to you and your brothers!' Advertisement

On November 15, the army launched a blistering offensive to retake it with the support of Iran-backed militias.

A Syrian military official in Aleppo said late Monday: 'We're living the final moments before victory. '

Rebel fighters withdrew from six residential districts on Monday after government forces overran the key Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood on the city's southeastern outskirts.

The pullout leaves the rebels confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in the southeast of the city, including Mashhad and part of Sukkari.

Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo

Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned Tuesday that thousands of civilians were at risk 'as front lines close in around them in eastern Aleppo.'

'As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run.

'This may be the last chance to save lives,' it said.

The government assault on east Aleppo has killed at least 415 civilians since mid-November, the Observatory says. Another 130 civilians have been killed by rebel fire on the west.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have repeatedly failed, and weekend talks between Russia and the United States on a ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians made no breakthrough.

The White Helmets emergency service, which operates in rebel-held areas across Syria, said it had been unable to pull bodies out from under collapsed buildings because of the ferocity of the bombardment.

Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in south eastern Aleppo

'It's hell,' it said on Twitter on Tuesday.

According to the Observatory, an estimated 130,000 people have poured out of rebel-held neighbourhoods as the army has advanced.

In the rebel-held Mashhad neighbourhood, residents fleeing the army advance crowded the streets on Monday, witnesses said.

Displaced civilians - many hungry after fleeing without food - sat on pavements or lay on the street with nowhere else to go.

The government's lightning advance in Aleppo has not come without cost.

While the army's firepower has been focused on recapturing it, the Islamic State group has retaken the ancient city of Palmyra from which it was driven out in a high-profile Russian-backed offensive in March.

More than 300,000 people have been killed in nearly six years of civil war. Millions more have fled their homes.
Putin has turned down Tokyo's peace offering of a new pet dog ahead of his upcoming visit this week, which will see Russia and Japan hash out a decades-old territorial dispute.

In an attempt at dog diplomacy, Japan had planned to give the Russian president, who is known for being a canine lover, a male Akita when he visits Japan on December 15 and 16.

His visit will include a trip to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's home state of western Yamaguchi.

It was hoped the dog could accompany Putin's pet Akita, a female named 'Yume', which means 'dream' in Japanese.

Japan had wanted to give Putin a new pet Akita to join his pet, a female named 'Yume'

Tokyo presented Yume, who was then a puppy, to Putin four years ago as a thank you gift for Russia's help after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

'Unfortunately, we received a reply yesterday that they will not take him as the bridegroom,' Koichi Hagiuda, one of Abe's close aides, said in a blog Friday.

At the much-anticipated summit, and Putin's first such visit since 2005, Japan is hoping to make progress on a territorial dispute over the status of four Pacific islands near its north coast, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

Tokyo presented Yume, who was then a puppy, to Putin four years ago as a thank you gift for Russia's help after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami

Relations between Moscow and Tokyo have been strained for decades over the territorial row dating back to World War II.

Soviet troops seized the southernmost islands in an archipelago off the northeast coast of Hokkaido just after Japan surrendered.

The seven-decade dispute over the islands' ownership has kept Moscow and Tokyo from signing a formal post-war peace treaty and hindered trade and investment.

Koichi Hagiuda, one of Abe's close aides, said Putin had turned down the offer of a new dog

'The absence of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan is an anachronism inherited from the past and this anachronism should be eliminated,' Putin said in an interview with Japan's Nippon TV and Yomiuri newspaper, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin.

'But how to do this is a difficult question.'

Putin said the absence of a peace treaty was impacting bilateral relations.

Putin brough Yume along to an interview by Nippon Television Network Corporation and Yomiuri Shimbun in the run-up to his official visit to Japan

'We, of course, will strive to conclude this treaty. We want full normalisation of our relations.'

Abe will host Putin at the hot springs of his ancestral city of Nagato, a location the Kremlin strongman said he hoped would be conducive to 'a frank, very substantive and, I hope, fruitful conversation.'

The Russian president had earlier introduced Yume to Abe when he visited the Black Sea city of Sochi in 2014.

Relations between Moscow and Tokyo have been strained for decades over a territorial row dating back to World War II

Putin said Yume is 'in great form,' and is a 'strict' guard dog.

His two-day visit to Japan, which includes a stop in Tokyo, has long been in the works and comes on the heels of two visits by Abe to Russia this year.

Experts view recent rapprochement efforts as a positive development for Moscow's trade ties with Japan but doubt that either side will budge on the territorial issue.
A balaclava-clad man who fired shots while holding up two teenage girls in a carjacking has been arrested.

Horrifying CCTV footage shows the man marching towards the two teens, 17 and 19, on a boat ramp before firing a shot into the water in Toukley, on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

The man, 26, allegedly robbed the girls for their phones, wallets and keys to a white BMW, which was crashed several hours later, reports 7 News.

CCTV footage shows a balaclava-clad firing shots while holding up two teenage girlson a boat ramp

The vision shows the man getting into the car and driving off as the terrified girls cower on the ramp.

A man was arrested about 10am on Tuesday and taken to Wyong Police Station, as police launch an investigation into the robbery.

The incident sent shockwaves through the community and put Lake Haven preschool into lockdown.

Staff, parents and children were kept within the school by emergency service workers just before the man was arrested.

The man, 26, allegedly robbed the girls for their phones, wallets and the keys for their white BMW
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For decades, the Florida mansion of William John Howey was a social hub.

When construction was completed in 1927, the businessman arranged for the entire New York Civic Opera Company to give a free outdoor performance to celebrate.

It attracted a crowd of 15,000, as the 100-strong ensemble delivered a performance that would be one of the highlights of the year.

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The 20-bedroom, 7,200 square foot building which people once flocked to in their droves now sits empty and is falling into disrepair

When construction was completed in 1927, owner William John Howey arranged for the entire New York Civic Opera Company to give a free outdoor performance to celebrate

And yet now, in stark contrast, the 20-room, 7,200 square foot building which people once flocked to in their droves now sits empty.

The rooms which used to host society events laid on by the sociable Howey are now gathering dust and the mansion has fallen into disrepair - with little sign that a buyer will be found.

Police are regularly called to the home in Winter Haven because vandals have forced their way in - although the majority of the time these turn out to be history buffs or photographers.

The rooms which used to host society events laid on by the sociable Howey are now gathering dust and the mansion has fallen into disrepair - with little sign that a buyer will be found

Police are regularly called to the home in Winter Haven because vandals have forced their way in - although the majority of the time these turn out to be history buffs or photographers

The house cost Howey $250,000 to build back in the 1920s - the equivalent of $3.2 million in today's money

It cost Howey - who made his fortune first as a land developer and then as the owner of a car business, before perfecting his citrus farming in Florida - $250,000 to build back in the 1920s. This is the equivalent of $3.2 million in today's money.

Howey died 11 years after the huge concert outside his new home, having suffered a heart attack at the age of 62, but his widow Mary Grace Hastings, continued to reside there until her death in 1981.

It was bought in 1984 by a buyer named Marvel Zona, along with her husband Jack, for around $400,000.

The huge rooms were once a social hub in Florida, where businessman William John Howey lived for 11 years until his death in 1939

Members of the public were given public tours, and in 2003, owner Marvel Zona approached Lake County officials with the idea of turning the home into a museum

Attention to detail: Pictures taken inside the home show the former grandeur of the building, which was completed in 1927

With her husband's health failing - he died in 2000 - she took a $347,000 reverse mortgage, which was set to pay her a fixed income for life.

Members of the public were given public tours, and in 2003, Mrs Zona approached Lake County officials with the idea of turning the home into a museum.

But it was not eligible for state historic preservation grant funds because it was privately owned.

The huge mansion, which now sits empty, was not eligible for state historic preservation grant funds because it was privately owned

The house is currently in disrepair, and it is estimated that it would cost $1.5 million to carry out repairs, including installing air conditioning

Owner Marvel Zona lost the home in 2008, unable to keep up payments on a $1.2 million adjustable rate mortgage which she took out two years previously

She lost the home in 2008, unable to keep up payments on a $1.2 million adjustable rate mortgage which she took out two years previously.

Since then there have been several offers for the home, but no one can afford it.

It is thought the current property owners will not settle for less than $2 million, and repairs to the house including the installation of air conditioning will cost an additional $1.5 million.
A man who strangled his girlfriend with her knickers and cardigan before laying her body in a crucifix position has been given an indefinite hospital order.

Mentally ill Edwin Gyekye, 31, killed beauty student Sarrah Garba at their home in Gateshead on September 23 last year.

Gyekye, who is HIV positive, asked police about God and cannibalism after his arrest then bit one officer on the forearm, Judge Paul Sloan told Newcastle Crown Court yesterday.

Mentally ill Edwin Gyekye, 31, killed beauty student Sarrah Garba (pictured), his girlfriend of 12 years, at their home in Gateshead on September 23 last year

Fortunately, the bite did not break the officer's skin and the disease was not transmitted.

He was apprehended after being found on the porch of an adjoining property on the morning of the killing and was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary.

After officers made enquiries they discovered the lifeless body of his girlfriend and he was charged with murder. However, this was dropped after Gyekye pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter with diminished responsibility.

Judge Sloan sentenced Gyekye, a French national who has suffered numerous psychotic episodes in the past, to an indefinite hospital order.

He was apprehended after being found on the porch of an adjoining property on the morning of the killing and was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary

Gyekye had first suffered a psychotic episode in Paris in 2013 when he threatened violence towards strangers in the French capital.

He was taken to hospital and given anti-psychotic medication, but he did not continue to take this while living in the UK, Mr Recorder Sloan told the court.

Gyekye told a specialist after Sarrah's killing that voices in his head told him his girlfriend was Satan and he had to kill her if he wanted the real Sarrah back.

Judge Sloan said: '[You told the specialist] when you looked at her she had the face of a demon.'

There were at least 12 blows to Sarrah's face, as well as wounds created by a round-edged weapon.

Judge Sloan said: 'You arranged her body so her arms were outstretched in a crucifix position which gives an indication of your mental state.

'There were defensive injuries to her arms from when she tried to deflect your blows.'

He told the court that Sarrah's cause of death was strangulation and she was found with her cardigan and knickers wrapped around her neck.

Sarrah, 28, who was studying beauty at Newcastle College, hoped to become a celebrity make-up artist or open her own salon in the UK or her native France.

Sarrah, the youngest child of seven, and Gyekye had been in an on-off relationship for about 12 years, the court heard, and moved to Moore Street together in July 2014.

Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, read victim impact statements from Sarrah's brother, Mohammed, and two of her sisters, Kalifa and Salifa.

Kalifa Garba described her sister as a very strong woman, kind-hearted and always caring for other people.

She said: 'Her death affects my ability to think clearly; I feel slow and helpless, which has had an affect on my work.

'The way Sarrah was killed disturbs me and I have regular flashbacks about how she must have suffered before her death.

'I would recall he [Gyekye] once told me all he wanted was to make my sister happy.

'What sort of happiness is this?'

Sarrah's brother, Mohammed, said: 'Right now I think about my little sister every day and am reminded of the conversations we had.

'Missing her is a scar that will never heal. However I still keep a beautiful image of my mother's last child in my mind.

'A little girl who I deeply love who never got angry and had this beautiful quality to forgive others.'

Doctors were unanimous in their view that Gyekye had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, Judge Sloan told the court.

Referencing one other incident in which Gyekye had bitten Sarrah's shoulder and put his arms around her throat during a 'play-fight', he said: 'Save for an incident which rose out of play fighting, any violence you have shown in the
Rebecca Dore, pictured, outside court said she overtook the HGV because she believed the Sat Nav showed the road ahead was safe

A driver who caused a horror crash as she overtook two vehicles on a bend during the rush hour claimed she thought she was driving safely - because her SATNAV said so.

NHS dental hygienist Rebecca Dore, 25, left two other drivers injured when she clipped an oncoming Peugeot car then crashed into a 40-tonne truck she was overtaking before both careered off the road.

But when police asked her why she carried out the dangerous manoeuvre, Dore said she had checked her in-car satellite navigation system as she was about to pull out onto the opposite side of the road - and it showed the road ahead as looking 'straight.'

A traffic officer who investigated the crash said: 'Surely a Satnav should never be the judge of whether a road is safe to overtake.'

The driver of the Peugeot whose two children were in the backseat suffered serious injuries in the impact and was off work for six weeks. The HGV driver who ploughed through a stone wall and smashed into a nearby outbuilding said he suffered both 'physical and psychological harm.'

Dore's Toyata Yaris somersaulted several times during the crash but she miraculously escaped serious injury.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, the former aid worker - who admitted causing injury by dangerous driving - begged a judge not to ban her from driving - complaining she would have to take three trains to work.

But she was disqualified for two years after being told a ban would cause her 'inconvenience rather than exceptional hardship'.

The court heard the 8am incident occurred on January 20 when Dore from Stockport was driving to work along the A623 Tidewell Moor Road to Chesterfield.

Ms Dore admitted dangerous driving causing injury at Minshull Street Crown Court

Ms Dore told police she was surprised by the lack of acceleration in her Toyota Yaris

Prosecuting, Gavin Howie said: 'Mrs Catherine Wagner was driving her blue Peugeot at around 30 to 35mph in light traffic and visibility was good. But as she approached a bend in the road she became aware of a white car - a Toyota Yaris on her side of the road.

'The Yaris was trying to overtake a heavy goods vehicle driven by a Mr Gary Bartram and a Ford Fiesta. As the Yaris overtook the Fiesta and then the HGV, a sweeping bend appeared and a head on collision occurred between the Yaris and the Peugeot.

'The Yaris then struck the HGV and both vehicles careered off the road.

'The Yaris did a number of somersaults and the lorry went through a dry stone wall and hit an outhouse on the side of the road. Mr James Watford, who was driving behind Dore said that it was a 'dangerous manoeuvre' and that a crash was 'unavoidable'.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard Ms Dore overtook a Fiesta and a HGV on a long, sweeping bend when she collided with a blue Peugeot heading the other direction

The court heard that Ms Dore had previously volunteered giving dental treatment to children in Uganda and still required her driving licence to get to work or would need three trains

Judge Tina Landale described Ms Dore as 'clearly a law-abiding person' who carries out work in the community but on the morning in question performed a 'seriously dangerous manoeuvre'

'Mrs Wagner received multiple injuries but the most severe was a complete tearing of the ligaments to her knee. She was travelling with her three-year-old and a 12-year-old child in the back - luckily neither of whom were injured in the collision. She was forced to spend six weeks off work and had to undergo an operation.

'It was almost 12 months before she could go back to normal and her son has become nervous about getting into cars. Mrs Wagner now describes herself as a nervous driver.

'Mr Bartram, the driver of the heavy goods vehicle has suffered both physical and psychological harm as a result of the incident and said 'it is a miracle that nobody died.'

Ms Dore pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing injury at the earliest opportunity

Mr Howie added: 'Miss Dore was on her way to work in Chesterfield that morning and she checked the road before overtaking the lorry. She said she looked at the Satnav and that the road looked 'straight.'

'According to Miss Dore, the on-coming vehicle came out of nowhere and her car did not speed up as much as she thought it would when over-taking the vehicles in front.

'She describes her actions as a misjudgement and she pleaded guilty at the earliest possible time.' Upon attending the scene, a PC said: 'Surely a Satnav should never be the judge of whether a road is safe to overtake.'

Dore was ordered a complete a 13 month community order and will be tagged for three months as part of a 9.30pm to 5.30am. She was also ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work.

In mitigation, Dore's lawyer Wayne Goldstein said: 'This is a serious matter but fortunately nobody was seriously injured and there were no life threatening injuries.

'Miss Dore has a substantial amount of travel to get to and from work in a variety of locations and she treats a range of special needs patients who rely on her and she is worried about the effect a driving ban would have on them. She does not know what significance this would have on her job.

'This case has been hanging over her for almost a year and she had worked very hard and done a great deal of charity work and has a worthwhile job in the community.

'Miss Dore has to catch three trains each way to get to work in Chesterfield and has to undergo a substantial amount of travelling each day and a further two-year ban would cause exceptional hardship.'

Ms Dore was travelling through Tideswell Moor, pictured, at the time of the accident

Ms Dore describes herself as a 'dedicated, self-motivated and organised individual'

Passing sentence Judge Tina Landale told Dore: 'You are clearly a law abiding person who carries out work for the community in which you live - but on this particular morning you carried out a seriously dangerous manoeuvre.

'The inconvenience of a driving ban is no more inconvenient than for other people in similar circumstances. I am not satisfied that a ban would cause exceptional hardship - just inconvenience.'

Dore who graduated with a BSc in Oral Health Science at Manchester University did not comment after the hearing.

According to her LinkedIn page she has helped disadvantaged children in rural hospitals in Africa including giving dental treatment to villages in Uganda and helped deliver hot drinks and clothing to the homeless of Manchester.
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. EGAN MARINE CORPORATION and DENNIS MICHAEL EGAN, Defendants-Appellants. Nos. 15-2477 Decided: December 12, 2016

Before EASTERBROOK and ROVNER, Circuit Judges, and SHADID, District Judge.*

Barge EMC-423 exploded on January 19, 2005, while under way between Joliet and Chicago with a cargo of clarified slurry oil. The blast threw deckhand Alex Oliva into the water; he did not survive. Contending that Dennis Egan, master of the tug Lisa E that had been pushing the barge, had told Oliva to warm a pump using a propane torch, the United States obtained an indictment charging Egan and the tug's owner (Egan Marine Corp.) with violating 18 U.S.C.  1115, which penalizes maritime negligence that results in death, plus other statutes that penalize the negligent discharge of oil into navigable waters.

After a bench trial, Judge Zagel found that the prosecution had established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Egan gave the order to Oliva, that the torch caused the explosion, that Oliva died as a result, and that the barge released oil as a further result. That such an order, if given, was negligence (or worse) no one doubted; open flames on oil carriers are forbidden by Coast Guard regulations and normal prudence. The court sentenced Egan to six months' imprisonment, a year's supervised release, and restitution of almost $6.75 million. Egan Marine was placed on probation for three years and ordered to pay the same restitution, for which it and Egan are jointly and severally liable.

The criminal prosecution was the second trial of these allegations. Two years before the grand jury returned its indictment, the United States had filed a civil suit against Egan Marine seeking damages on the same theory: that Egan directed Oliva to warm the pump using a torch, whose flame caused an explosion, a death, and an oil spill. That case, too, went to a bench trial. And Judge Leinenweber, who heard the evidence, determined that the United States had not proved its claim. 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138087 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 13, 2011) at *11 (the Government did not prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Alex Oliva was using a propane torch on the cargo pump of the EMC 423 at the time of the incident). The United States did not appeal from that adverse decision but instead pressed forward with this criminal prosecution.

Egan and Egan Marine sought the benefit of issue preclusion (collateral estoppel), arguing that the United States should not be allowed to contend that they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt after Judge Leinenweber found that the proof did not show culpability even by a preponderance of the evidence. But Judge Zagel rejected this contention.

The Supreme Court has said that the outcome of a civil case has preclusive force in a criminal prosecution. See Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298, 33536 (1957). (Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1 (1978), overruled a different portion of Yates relating to double jeopardy; Burks did not question the portion of Yates dealing with preclusion.) If the United States cannot prove a factual claim on the preponderance standard, it cannot logically show the same thing beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecutor maintains that this statement in Yates was dictum, but we do not think that characterization appropriate. It was integral to the Court's rationalefor although the Justices proceeded to conclude that the civil suit did not block the Yates prosecution under ordinary principles of preclusion, it would not have undertaken that exercise had the Court believed issue preclusion categorically inapplicable to the civilcriminal sequence.

United States v. Weems, 49 F.3d 528 (9th Cir. 1995), and United States v. Rogers, 960 F.2d 1501 (10th Cir. 1992), both took Yates at face value and held that a criminal prosecution can be blocked by the preclusive effect of a decision in a civil case. No court of appeals has held otherwise. But the United States maintains, and Judge Zagel concluded, that our decision in United States v. Alexander, 743 F.2d 472 (7th Cir. 1984), means that preclusion is unavailable notwithstanding Yates.

Alexander held that the outcome of an administrative proceeding cannot be invoked to block the resolution of a criminal indictment. The opinion observed that many administrative systems are designed to be informal and expeditious, and that when the agency loses an administrative adjudication it may not be entitled to judicial review. 743 F.2d at 477. Making the administrative process reliable enough to justify preclusive effect in a criminal prosecution might require a substantial investment of prosecutorial resourcesif that were even possible under the statute in question. The United States' alternative might be to forego the administrative proceeding, which could have bad consequences of its own.

When using these considerations of public policy to decide whether to give preclusive effect to administrative adjudications, Alexander drew on Standefer v. United States, 447 U.S. 10 (1980), which had concluded that it would be unwise to apply nonmutual preclusion from one criminal prosecution to another. Standefer and Niederberger had been charged with joint criminal activity. Niederberger was tried first and acquitted; Standefer maintained that he was entitled to the benefit of that adjudication, because it takes two to tango. The Court held not, observing (447 U.S. at 2123) that nonmutual preclusion (that is, using the result in A's case to determine the result in B's) is designed largely to reduce litigation costs in civil suits, while the criminal process has different and more important goals. The Justices added that acquittals in criminal prosecutions are unreasoned and cannot be reviewed (given the Double Jeopardy Clause); they may reflect compromise or misunderstanding rather than a determination of contested facts. That's why inconsistent verdicts within a single criminal prosecution do not work in a defendant's favor. See, e.g., Bravo-Fernandez v. United States, No. 15537 (U.S. Nov. 29, 2016).

Standefer did not cast doubt on Yates. The considerations that led the Court to abjure nonmutual preclusion in the criminalcriminal sequence do not pertain to mutual preclusion in the civilcriminal sequence. Many a civil decision is fully explained (as Judge Leinenweber's was), and all are reviewable on appeal. The Supreme Court understands mutual preclusion not just as a judicial work-saving device but as a matter of right for the litigants involved. See, e.g., Federated Department Stores, Inc. v. Moitie, 452 U.S. 394 (1981).

This is so even when one of the litigants is the United States. See, e.g., Montana v. United States, 440 U.S. 147 (1979); United States v. Stauffer Chemical Co., 464 U.S. 165 (1984). The prosecutor's brief in our case tells us that allowing Judge Leinenweber's decision to foreclose the criminal charges would cause the United States either to pour extra resources into civil suits, disrupting its litigation strategy, or to forego or postpone such suits pending the outcome of criminal cases. Similar arguments were made by the Solicitor General in Montana and Stauffer Chemical, where the United States maintained that the outcome of a poorly litigated civil case (perhaps pursued by a single Assistant United States Attorney in some remote outpost) should not be allowed to block a new suit that has the Department of Justice's full attention and may be designed to serve a vital public goal. But the Justices had none of this. They concluded that ordinary rules of preclusion apply to the United States and that the Department of Justice must navigate around established legal rules, rather than the rules giving way to bureaucratic convenience. (The Court made an exception for offensive nonmutual issue preclusion in United States v. Mendoza, 464 U.S. 154 (1984), again reflecting Standefer's conclusion that nonmutual preclusion is a matter of wise policy rather than of litigants' entitlements.)

There is of course a potential for nonmutuality in the civilcriminal sequencebut it is the United States that prefers a situation in which it can win but not lose. The United States filed the civil suit seeking damages and hoped to enjoy the fruits of victory. But it tells us that a loss meant little, because after losing it could pursue the criminal prosecution and ask a different judge or jury to reach a different outcome. The principal stakes in both the civil and criminal cases are money. Six months in prison are not to be sneezed at, but the main contest has been about recompense for Oliva's death and the oil released from the barge. What would have been labeled damages in the civil case is called restitution in the criminal case, but the money covers the same losses either way. And had the criminal case gone to trial first and defendants been acquitted, the United States doubtless would be arguing that it could still pursue civil remedies because of the different burdens of persuasion. See, e.g., One Lot Emerald Cut Stones v. United States, 409 U.S. 232, 23435 (1972); Helvering v. Mitchell, 303 U.S. 391, 39798 (1938).

Every litigant would like multiple chances to win; that's what the United States is claiming, while it contends that for Egan and Egan Marine any one loss would be dispositive (at least for financial issues). And, by bringing the civil case first, the United States received the benefit of civil discovery, which is more extensive than that allowed in criminal prosecutions by Fed. R. Crim. P. 16discovery that it could put to use in the criminal case as well as the civil one. We understand why the United States seeks these advantages but do not think it entitled to them, without the detriment of being bound by the civil judgment if it loses. If it fails to show some fact in the civil suit by a preponderance of the evidence, it is precluded from trying to show the same thing beyond a reasonable doubt.

Judge Zagel stated that, even if issue preclusion applies in the civilcriminal sequence (as we have concluded it does), he would exercise discretion not to use that doctrine in this prosecution. He did not say where that discretion comes from or address the significance of decisions such as Federated Department Stores that reject judicial efforts to treat rules of preclusion as dispensable whenever judges prefer another outcome. See 452 U.S. at 399402.

Normal rules of preclusion have some flex. For example, [a] new determination of the issue [may be] warranted by differences in the quality or extensiveness of the procedures followed in the two courts. Restatement (Second) of Judgments  28(3). In other words, if the first forum's procedures do not conduce to sufficiently reliable decisions, the second forum may decide that it is best to determine the issue anew. This is what Alexander said about the difference between administrative adjudication and criminal litigation. But Judge Zagel did not conclude that Judge Leinenweber had conducted the civil trial unreliably or that any of the other exceptions in Restatement  28 had been established; he simply announced that he would disregard the civil judgment because that course seemed best to him. That's not an appropriate way to treat the outcome of a properly conducted federal civil trial.

Egan Marine was the only defendant in the civil suit. The United States maintains that Egan therefore cannot receive the benefit of the judgment, which it sees as the sort of nonmutual issue preclusion forbidden by Standefer. (The United States also contends that Egan forfeited his entitlement to the benefit of issue preclusion, but he preserved his position by telling the district court that he was adopting Egan Marine's arguments on issue preclusion.)

Standefer used the word nonmutual to refer to the use of preclusion across different persons, so that A's victory over C in one case would imply B's victory over C in another. But the law of preclusion has long recognized that if A and B are in a contractual relation (in privity as judges often say) then they are entitled to the same treatment under normal principles of mutual preclusion. Egan and Egan Marine were in such a relation. Indeed, in the civil suit the United States contended that Egan Marine was vicariously liable for Egan's acts precisely because of their employment relation. The civil suit was about Egan's conduct, which was attributed to his employer, and Judge Leinenweber's core finding (which we quoted earlier) was that the United States had not shown that Oliva was using a propane torch at all, let alone that in using a torch he was following Egan's directive. When a court rejects a claim of vicarious liability based on a worker's conduct, the worker is as much entitled to the benefit of that judgment as is the employer. Muhammad v. Oliver, 547 F.3d 874 (7th Cir. 2008); Restatement  51. Cf. Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880, 89395 (2008) (canvassing situations in which a nonparty gets the benefit of a judgment). Having argued in the civil suit that Egan Marine was liable for Egan's conduct, the United States cannot now treat Egan and the corporation as strangers to each other.

Another way to see this is to recall that Standefer dealt with considerations unique to nonmutual preclusion in criminal litigation: acquittals are unexplained and unreview-able on appeal. Judge Leinenweber's decision, by contrast, was accompanied by an opinion and reviewable in this courtthough the United States chose not to appeal. It is much easier to see why a reviewable civil finding that X has not been shown by a preponderance of the evidence should foreclose a contention that X is true beyond a reasonable doubt than it is to carry one criminal acquittal over to a different case.

Because both Egan and Egan Marine are entitled to the benefit of the civil judgment, we need not discuss any of the remaining issues. The convictions are reversed, and the case is remanded for the entry of judgments of acquittal.

EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.
A Scottish model who has appeared in Vogue was yesterday asked in court if she had ever worked for MI5.

Elaine Ford was giving evidence at the trial of former lover Nathan Gray, who is accused of abducting and assaulting her after she broke up with him.

The 28-year-old was asked at Edinburgh Sheriff Court if the security services had asked her to find out secrets about Grays fathers company.

Elaine Ford, from Stirling, was giving evidence at the trial of former lover Nathan Gray, who is accused of abducting and assaulting her after she broke up with him

It came after it emerged that Grays father was involved with aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

The court also heard that the accused believes he may have been drugged on the night that she alleged he attacked her at her Edinburgh flat and held her captive there.

Gray is accused of abducting Miss Ford, assaulting her and conducting a stalking campaign in the weeks after she broke up with him in 2013.

The model has previously claimed in court that Gray dragged her across the bedroom floor and she was forced to shut herself in the bathroom for her own safety after telling him she wanted to end the relationship.

But the trial took an unexpected twist yesterday when defence advocate Iain Smith, QC, told the underwear model that Gray believed she had been enlisted by MI5 and was spying on him to get to his father.

Mr Smith asked her: Did you know what job Mr Grays father worked in? Did you know Mr Gray believes his fathers work had attracted the attention of the security services?

Mr Gray believes the reason your relationship started and ended is connected to you being involved in the security services or some other investigatory body, perhaps the police.

The 28-year-old, from Stirling, told the court Gray (right) was jealous of her male friends

After being asked by Miss Ford to repeat the claims, he said: Mr Gray believes the reason your relationship started was because you were involved in MI5, the police or something like that.

He added: You encouraged him and discouraged him so he would have a breakdown.

'He also believes that on November 27, 2013, during the incident you call abduction, you may have drugged him.

Have you ever worked for MI5, MI6 or the police?

Miss Ford rejected the suggestion of any involvement with the security services and denied that she had drugged Gray.

Prosecutor Aiden Higgins asked her: Sometimes in life you just dont see things coming. Are you a spy, Ms Ford?

He went on: Lets just get this clear in case there is any doubt. Are you a spy, Ms Ford? Were you sent out by MI5 or MI6, GCHQ or any other secret intelligence agency? Did you send any of these to get Nathan Gray?

Miss Ford, who is from Stirling, replied: No.

The court previously heard that the couple had engaged in phone sex when the relationship was in full flow, but Miss Ford denied the pair continued this after she broke up with 27-year-old Gray.

Court: Ms Ford, who has modelled for Vogue, told Edinburgh Sheriff Court (pictured) she met Gray while both were studying different subjects at Edinburgh University earlier that year

The court was shown several screen grabs, purported to be from December 2013, of the couple speaking on video communication app FaceTime showing Miss Ford lying in a bed.

But she said: I did not have phone sex [with Gray] after what happened on November 27, 2013.

She also denied suggestions from Mr Smith that she received a graphic image from a male friend which resulted in Gray, of Weymouth, Dorset, becoming enraged on the night she claims that he attacked her.

Miss Ford, who is signed to Scots modelling agency Superior Model Management, also told the jury she believed Gray had compromising pictures of her and had threatened to upload them to social media sites.

The couple met and began a relationship when both were studying at Edinburgh University in 2013.

Gray denies abducting Miss Ford by holding her against her will and assaulting her on November 27, 2013.

He also denies stealing her belongings, including a computer, house keys and a handbag, between November 27 and December 22, 2013.

Gray has also pleaded not guilty to causing Miss Ford fear and alarm by repeatedly contacting her, repeatedly contacting her friends and refusing to leave her home address between November 27, 2013, and March 10, 2014.
Medics would be on hand to intervene early if people overdose on the drug

The ACMD said it allowed the drugs to be taken in a

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said 'medically supervised injecting facilities' had helped to save lives in Canada and Australia. Pictured: Heroin in use at a clinic in Vancouver

The NHS should open 'shooting galleries' for drug addicts to take heroin in safety if other treatments fail, Government experts advise today.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said 'medically supervised injecting facilities' had helped to save lives in Canada and Australia.

Proposals already exist to set up a clinic in Glasgow city centre, where there are thought to be around 500 active heroin users.

The clinics allow drug users who have bought heroin illegally elsewhere to take the drug in a 'hygienic and medically supervised setting'.

Medical staff are on hand to intervene early on overdoses, the report said.

In a report sent to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, the ACMD said: 'Such facilities have not been found to increase injecting, drug use or local crime rates.

'In addition to preventing overdose deaths, they can provide other benefits, such as reductions in blood borne viruses, improved access to primary care and more intensive forms of drug treatment.

'No deaths from overdoses have ever occurred in such facilities.'

The clinics are recommended for use after after other treatment methods, such as heroin substitutes, have been tried.

The number of heroin-related deaths has begun to rise again after several years of decline.

In 2015, there were 2,677 opioid-related deaths were registered in the UK.

Heroin use in England and Wales has fallen, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

An estimated 191,000 adults said they had taken it in their lifetime in 2015-16, down from 231,000 in 2009-10.

Some 16,000 had taken the drug in the past month, compared with 29,000 in 2009-10.

The report has been sent to Home Secretary Amber Rudd (pictured in Downing Street) today. The Home Office said it had no plans to introduce the clinics

The ACMD report said: 'Through our brief review of the potential causes of recent trends in opioid-related death, the ACMD can assert with a good degree of confidence that the ageing profile of heroin users with increasingly complex health needs (including long-term conditions and poly-substance use), social care needs and continuing multiple risk behaviours has contributed to recent increases in drug related deaths.

'Other possible causes of recent increases include greater availability of heroin at street level, deepening of socio-economic deprivation since the financial crisis of 2008, changes to drug treatment and commissioning practices, and lack of access to mainstream mental and physical health services for this ageing cohort.'

The Home Office welcomed the report and said it would respond in full in due course - but said it was not considering 'shooting galleries'.

An estimated 191,000 adults said they had taken heroin in their lifetime in 2015-16, down from 231,000 in 2009-10 (file picture)

A spokeswoman said: 'Drugs can cause untold harm and this Government is acting to reduce their devastating impact.

'Drug misuse among adults and young people has fallen in the last ten years and we are working to educate young people about the risks, to help those who are dependent through treatment, and to clamp down on the illicit trade.

'This Government has no plans to introduce drug consumption rooms but recovery will remain at the heart of our approach.
A young man gave new shoes to a homeless woman after seeing her wandering around with bare feet.

Rade Jovanovic, 20, was filmed putting trainers on the feet of a homeless woman, called Danijela, and then giving her a bag of food in Belgrade, Serbia.

Danijela then hugged Rade and asked him to sit down and chat to her, which he did.

The kind gesture was filmed by another bus passenger in Belgrade.

Speaking to RTS, a news website in Serbia, he said: 'When I saw her bare feet, I had a huge desire to help her and wanted to find some shoes for her that would stop her feet from being cold.

'At work I had some old shoes that i'd bought and I decided to keep them in my backpack until I met her again.

'She was thrilled, her eyes were watering.'

He added that no matter how people look, their souls are the most important thing as we are all human.

Rade Jovanovic (right) was filmed giving shoes to a homeless woman, called Danijela in Belgrade, Serbia

His sister, Nada, said that she was very proud of her brother.

She said: 'I am very proud and I'm really glad that I have a brother like him.'

She added she hoped people would 'wake up' to the issues surrounding homeless people in Serbia.

The video of Rade helping the homeless woman has since gone viral on the internet, with many people praising him for his good deed.

Mark Munega wrote in the YouTube comments: 'Bravo for the guy!' and Danilo Pavkovic said he was an 'angel'.

Rade has since been hailed an 'angel' and a 'superhero' by several people

Stefan Culafic added: 'Not all superheroes wear capes.'

However, several have claimed the video is 'fake' and the woman is a 'fraud'.
A vet who posed next to a lion he had killed has plunged to his death after slipping on ice and falling 100ft down a ravine on another shoot.

Luciano Ponzetto, 55, became infamous last year after sharing snaps of his trophy kills.

Despite protesting his innocence, people sent him death threats and hate mail, and he died hunting birds to eat in hills above the Italian city of Turin.

A vet who posed next to a lion he had killed has plunged to his death after slipping on ice and falling 100ft down a ravine on another shoot

Luciano Ponzetto, 55, became infamous last year after sharing snaps of his trophy kills

According to The Sun, he died after falling into the ravine in the Colle delle Oche in Italy where he was hunting with friends.

An Italian police spokesman told the paper: 'We were called by the mountain rescue services who had been alerted to the incident by someone who was out with him.

'His body was recovered by helicopter and taken to a local hospital.

'It looks like he slipped and fell when he was out hunting.

'He died instantly and there was nothing that could be done.'

When the pictures of Ponzetto and the lion appeared online, it was compared to the iconic case of Cecil the Lion who was shot dead by an American dentist in Zimbabwe in 2015.

There has been little sympathy online among people reacting to the news of the Italian vet's death with some saying it was 'karma' that he had died on a hunt.

Despite protesting his innocence, people sent him death threats and hate mail, and he died hunting birds to eat in hills above the Italian city of Turin

In November last year, Ponzetto's spokesman said he would take legal action against media that picked up on the story, saying it was ruining his reputation and claiming it was not in the public interest.

He ran a veterinary clinic near Turin, and defended his actions by saying being a vet 'is not incompatible with hunting, either morally or professionally,' according to The Local.

A hate campaign raged against him when he was recognised in a photo posted on the Facebook page of Safari Italian Chapter, the group that organised the safari in Tanzania.
A yachtsman charged with murdering a young British couple in the Caribbean almost 40 years ago was reportedly betrayed to police by his sons.

Detectives in California were investigating Silas Duane Boston, 75, over the death of his former wife, Mary Lou, who was shot dead in Sacramento in 1968, when they stumbled across the couple's murder by chance.

Boston's son Vince told police their father had moved them away from Sacramento to avoid rape charges and ended up in Belize, which was still a British colony at the time and was known as British Honduras.

Silas Duane Boston, 75, has been charged with the 1978 murders of British couple Christopher Farmer and Peta Frampton when they were sailing on his boat in the Caribbean Sea

ABC10 reported that Vince, who was 13 in 1978, and his 11-year-old brother Russell said their father gave boat tours off the coast of Belize, despite not having a license.

The boys distinctly remembered their father taking Christopher Farmer and his girlfriend Peta Frampton, who were both 25, on a trip to Mexico.

They said he lost his temper at one point and stabbed Mr Farmer before throwing him and his girlfriend into the sea, where they drowned.

Boston allegedly attached weights to them and covered their heads before pushing them into the water while both were still alive.

The Times reported that the US investigation was assisted by crucial letters which Miss Frampton, a junior doctor, had written to her family and which had been kept by a retired policeman in Manchester, England.

British tourist Christopher Farmer (middle) was allegedly beaten and bound before being thrown overboard by Silas Duane Boston. The alleged killer's two sons, Russell and Vince (pictured), were on board the boat at the time

Police were probing the death of Boston's former wife, Mary Lou Boston (pictured)

Farmer and Frampton, both from Manchester, England, were fresh university graduates who had decided to take a year off to travel.

The couple had left in December 1977 but they wrote regularly back to their families.

In June 1978 Miss Frampton wrote to her mother from Belize saying they were going to sail to Mexico on a yacht called the Justin B, which was skippered by an American called Dwayne.

Frampton in a letter dated June 29 indicated it was not always smooth sailing on the boat as Boston's two young sons, who were also on board, squabbled frequently and he had a short temper.

Another letter arrived after the couple's bodies were found on July 8, 1978, floating off the coast of Punta de Manabique in Guatemala.

Vince and Russell told police their father posted the letter because he thought it would throw the police off his trail.

Boston was tracked down by the FBI to a convalescent home in the town of Paradise in northern California, where he was arrested last week.

He appeared in federal court in a wheelchair and entered a not guilty plea.

Boston allegedly later bragged about the killings, telling a former friend how he had tied the couple, put bags over their heads and dumped them overboard.

Federal prosecutor Phillip Talbert on Thursday said the persistent efforts of investigators, notably the FBI and the police in Sacramento, had allowed the case to go forward.

'Nothing would have happened if the Sacramento Police Department had not thought to consult with this office about what could be done with a 38-year-old homicide in the Caribbean sea,' he said.
A convicted killer allowed into the UK after he was freed from prison in Poland subjected a woman to a horrific sex attack, a court heard.

Michal Cezary Podlaszczyk was released from a 15 year jail sentence in his native country last year.

But with seemingly no restrictions on him the 29 year-old travelled to England and settled in Leicester.

Michal Cezary Podlaszczyk admitted raping the woman in October in Bede Park, Leicester

And within weeks he pounced on a lone woman as she walked to work and raped her in a violent ordeal.

But after pleading guilty to the attack the UK authorities have now requested details of his previous conviction for committing a killing when he was just 17.

At Leicester Crown Court Podlaszczyk admitted three counts of rape, assault causing actual bodily harm, sexual touching, assault by penetration, robbing her of a bank card and mobile phone, theft of cash and attempted theft.

A judge was he had been released months earlier from jail and travelled to England.

He struck at 7.15am on Saturday, October 29, as the woman strolled to work through Bede Park, off Western Boulevard in Leicester.

James Thomas, prosecuting, requested an adjournment prior to sentencing to check with the Polish authorities the details of the defendant's previous conviction for either murder or manslaughter.

Podlaszczyk, 29, was remanded in custody for sentencing next year at Leicester Crown Court while prosecutors contact Polish authorities to request details of his previous criminal record

He was jailed for 15 years after the killing, but was released on July 26, 2015, after serving about 12-and-a-half years.

Mr Thomas said a second person was thought to have been injured during the murder or manslaughter.

He told the judge: 'What we don't have are the facts of those offences.

'In this case you will have to sentence the defendant for a random violent sexual attack.

'You need a full account of the earlier offending in Poland, which means an international letter of request (for the information) can be sent now that guilty pleas have been entered.'

Judge Brown adjourned sentencing until next year and ordered the preparation of psychiatric and pre-sentence reports.

Podlaszczyk was remanded back into custody, but he is facing a considerable jail term.

While entering his guilty pleas, Podlaszczyk suddenly claimed he was ill and became distressed.

He slumped backwards into a chair in the dock and began gasping for breath.

He said through an interpreter, 'I'm not well', as he held his head in his hands.

Defence barrister Amar Mehta told Judge Robert Brown: 'He's upset but he seems to be unwell and has problems breathing.'

After a 15 minute break, Podlaszczyk, dressed in a blue and a striped open neck shirt and jeans, reappeared looking more composed.He then continued to enter his guilty pleas.

Following the attack the victim was supported by specially trained police officers.

Areas of the park were cordoned off, including the path and in the days prior to Podlaszczyk's arrest, people were urged not to walk through secluded parts of the park on their own.

Podlaszczyk was arrested after he left his belongings in the park after the vicious sex attack.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Katie Leadbetter, from Leicestershire Police, said: 'Podlaszczyk subjected his victim to a violent and sustained assault as she innocently walked through the park while on her way to work that morning.

'In his haste to flee, he left his belongings at the scene and went on to use the woman's bank card and mobile phone.

'Investigations led officers to find Podlaszczyk in Luton, where he was later arrested.

'The victim in this disturbing case was left physically injured and incredibly shaken by the ordeal and thankfully will now not have to face the further trauma of a trial.

'Her bravery in coming forward and reporting this to police must be acknowledged, however, what happened to her that day will be something she will live with for the rest of her life.'
An elderly couple who have been inseparable since they met in 1951 will be forced apart after 65 years because of social care cuts.

Ralph and Cecelia Martin, 89 and 94, from Surrey, who are known for always holding hands, have been devastated by the news.

The couple have only ever been apart for hospital visits but have now been told they must live apart permanently because Ralph's care budget has been reduced.

Heartbroken: Ralph and Cecelia Martin, 89 and 94, from Surrey, who are known for always holding hands, have been devastated by the news they will be split up because of care cuts

Their plight was revealed as council taxes could rise by almost 160 over the next two years to help tackle the crisis in social care.

Ministers are expected to give town halls the power to increase an existing levy that funds support for the elderly.

Mr and Mrs Martin are now weeks away from living apart.

Four weeks ago at a meeting held in their house an occupational therapy aid, a social worker, and care manager told the couple Ralf will have to leave his home as his home care funding will be cut.

The 89-year-old who suffers from dementia and Parkinson's disease was given a month to move out and told he would have to pay 250 a week towards the cost of his care at his new home.

Currently the couple still live together in their house in Epsom, but were told that due to funding cuts Ralf's budget will be taken away and he will have to move from the couple's home into a care facility.

Patricia Hall, the pair's daughter, said: 'Dad was in the army and worked three jobs a day to bring up a family. He never took benefits or signed on in his life.

'Mum is 94-years-old worked most of her life. They have been married 65 years. They still hold hands and want to be together.

'I kept asking if we would have to pay anything towards it and was asked if a financial assessment had been done which it has.

'I kept saying mum and dad and ourselves could not contribute.

'We have wasted a week. Social Care said we dragged our feet looking at homes but we have done our best to go and see homes and it's hard to get us together quickly.

'Why oh why were we sent somewhere they knew we could not afford? We now only have two days to find a home.'

Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested for the first time there would be a review of the controversial target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid. Yesterday, it emerged that Mrs May is preparing to allow town halls to hike council bills by up to 80 next year to help fund the social care system

After waiting a week to get a list of homes to choose from they were finally offered a place last Thursday, the council told the family they would have to contribute A250 a week.

The next day Patricia received a call from the council telling her that her father could go into Hendford House Nursing Home in nearby Ewell at no extra cost.

Patricia added: 'We have another week to sort dad out. We may not be able to keep dad at home but at least he will go into a better one.'

Social care funding has decreased since last year and the Chancellor Phillip Hammond did not set aside any funding for it in the autumn statement.

Over the past five years local authority spending on care for older and disabled people has fallen by 11 per cent.

A Surrey County Council spokesman said: 'We work with individuals, their families and other professionals to ensure the appropriate level of support is in place to ensure people are safe and are receiving the level of care they need.

'Moving anyone into a nursing home is a decision that will be based on the level of care they need to stay safe.'
A Victorian dairy farmer has recalled his terrifying encounter with a one-and-a-half metre goanna in which he was bitten several times.

Bailey Dawson, 20, from Wodonga in north-east Victoria said that the huge lizard attacked him while he was catching yabbies on Monday night.

'I had just finished baiting up my yabby pots down at the dam and was returning to my car when I saw a one-and-a-half metre goanna on the track looking at me,' Bailey told Daily Mail Australia.

Bailey Dawson a 20-year-old dairy farmer was fiercely attacked by a goanna while catching yabbies in north east Victoria on Tuesday

'I though it would be a pretty cool photo so I started heading back to my car and the goanna disappeared.'

Bailey who was on his own when he was attacked said that he walked a little further towards his car and the goanna reappeared right behind him.

'I turned around and the goanna had reared up on to it's back legs and was hissing at me,' he said.

Bailey was then bitten three times on his left hand and said that pain was immense.

Bailey said the one-and-a-half metre goanna reared up on it's hind legs and hissed at him before biting him several times

Bailey said the goanna bit on to the inside of his right elbow (pictured) for what felt like two miuntes

The goanna initially grabbed hold of the young farmers right hand (pictured)as he made his way to get his phone

But the terrifying ordeal was not over for the young man, the goanna then grabbed hold of his right elbow for what Bailey described as feeling like 'two minutes'.

'Once it grabbed hold of my elbow I tried squeezing it as hard as I could to get it off me but wasn't having much luck,' he said.

The 20-year-old said that he also felt the full force of the lizard's powerful tail which whipped him during the struggle.

Bailey had to apply all of his weight to rid himself of the goanna and hurried to his vehicle.

Bailey had to apply all of his weight to rid himself of the goanna and hurried to his vehicle

Bailey spent the night in hospital getting his wounds seen too but said that doctors wouldn't stitch them as they were worried that an infection may occur

The attack made Bailey physically sick and he said that he didn't think that he would be able to make it home and thought about ringing an ambulance but got lucky when a passing police patrol car noticed him in distress.

'I was vomiting on the side of the road when a police patrol car pulled up and thankfully they called an ambulance which arrived quickly,' he said.

Bailey spent the night in hospital getting his wounds seen too but said that doctors wouldn't stitch them as they were worried that an infection may occur.

The dairy farmer has been given time off by his boss who he said has been very good about it all.
Generous: Christian charity workers Matthew and Steph Neville, who used their life savings to buy their first home for 100,000, say they now plan to fill it with asylum seekers

Two Christian charity workers who used their life savings to buy their first home for 100,000 say they now plan to fill it with asylum seekers.

Matthew and Steph Neville, both 35, have even paid all the bills for the first year and are hoping their new tenants will move in before Christmas.

The couple took out a loan and put a deposit down on a three-bedroom mid-terrace house earlier this year.

But they became so concerned about negative media reports about immigrants they decided to open the property up to asylum seekers.

The husband and wife then asked charity Hope Projects to find them some tenants.

The couple currently live in a community flat in Birmingham, not far from the house.

Mrs Neville, a primary school teacher, said: 'Like so many other people, we have been saving for all our working lives with the aim of using our savings to buy a house for ourselves

'But when it came to it, we realised there were people who were destitute and desperate and who needed a house more than we did.

'We dont need a house because weve been living at Carrs Lane Church for three years and are really happy there.

'Matthew and I will continue to own the house but we have asked Hope to find tenants who will live there.

'It is the perfect solution because we are investing our money in a property, yet are helping people who literally have nothing.'

She added: 'Whoever moves into the house wont have any money of their own, so we have managed to raise enough to keep them there for the first year.

The couple took out a loan and put a deposit down on a three-bedroom house earlier this year

But they became so concerned about negative media reports about immigrants they decided to open the property up to asylum seekers. The couple asked a charity to find them tenants

The couple currently live in a community flat in Birmingham, not far from the house (pictured)

Glimpse inside: Matthew and Steph Neville, both 35, have even paid all the bills for the first year and are hoping their new tenants will move in to the Birmingham home before Christmas

'There are some very negative views of asylum seekers, so we dont want the house to be targeted and the people to be picked on.

'They have suffered enough in their own countries and the journey to get here, we dont want them subjected to abuse in their new home.

'We hope what were doing will inspire other people to reach out and help asylum seekers.

'By the time they arrive here they have been through so much they say to us: "were here and were safe and were free - thank you".'

Her husband said: 'We want to do something positive for asylum seekers and as Christians we wanted to practise what we preach.

'We would not feel comfotable living in a house when we know there are families out there with nothing. We wanted to give something back.'

They used their life savings to buy a first home for 100,000 but will fill it with asylum seekers

The home of Matthew and Steph Neville as advertised on the property website Rightmove

The couple currently live in a community flat in Birmingham, not far from the house (pictured)

Caring couple: Mrs Neville, a primary school teacher, said: 'It is the perfect solution because we are investing our money in a property, yet are helping people who literally have nothing'

West Midlands-based charity Hope Projects currently has eight other properties they use to house asylum seekers.

They work to 'support and empower destitute asylum-seekers and others barred from public funds in the West Midlands'.

Phil Davis, co-ordinator at Hope Projects, thanked the Nevilles for their generosity.

The 49-year-old said: 'When they first offered us the house, we didn't have the finances to take it on.

'Even though the house was donated, we're a small charity and we still needed to cover fuel, council tax.

'But they came back to us and said they could fundraise to support the running costs which is an extraordinarily generous offer.

'They're extremely thoughtful people.'

He added: 'We're going to take it year by year but we'll be working with people whose application for asylum has been rejected, but who we believe shouldn't have had their application rejected.'

West Midlands-based charity Hope has eight other properties to house asylum seekers

Wanting to help: Mr Neville said: 'We want to do something positive for asylum seekers and as Christians we wanted to practise what we preach. We wanted to give something back'

Matthew and Steph Neville, both 35, are hoping their new tenants will move in by Christmas
This is the incredible moment a curious cat is rescued from a 110ft tree after spending three days clinging on to tiny brand in freezing temperatures.

The frightened feline found itself stranded on a snow-covered branch with no way of getting back down in Hood River in Oregon, USA.

Tree surgeon Tyler Roth made the petrifying climb to rescue the terrified tabby, aptly named Cat Stevens.

Tree surgeon Tyler Roth made the petrifying climb to rescue the terrified tabby, Cat Stevens, who got himself trapped 110 ft up a tree

He reached out a loving hand to the moggy who had been in the tree for three days, braving freezing temperatures

The cat is perched at the very top of the tall tree and, when he reaches him, Mr Roth jokes: 'Did you come up here for the view?'

The cat was originally left clinging on for dear life at 60 feet but once Mr Roth began to climb the tremendous trunk, the cat fled even higher up the tree to more than 100ft.

When he eventually caught up with Cat Stevens, Mr Roth found him precariously dangling off a thin branch, quivering in fear.

When Mr Roth reaches the exhausted feline it lets out a grateful 'meow'. Mr Roth jokes: 'Did you come up here for the view?'

Once he had grasped the moggy and placed it in his rucksack, Tyler let out a relieved 'woohoo' and shouts down to the worried owner that the cat really is 'in the bag'.

Tyler said: 'I've never had to attempt a rescue from that high before.

'I've been to 60ft for a cat a few times, but never 100. It was quite a rush.

Once he had grasped the moggy and placed it in his rucksack, Tyler let out a relieved 'woohoo'

The cat is in the bag: Mr Roth said he was not truly relaxed until he and the cat were safely secured and 'back on the ground'

'I was relived the cat didn't try to climb any higher.

'It was really risky, because I could've sent the cat flying off the tree by the way I had to grab it.

'I'm never truly relaxed until it's safely secured in my bag and my feet are back on the ground.

'Everyone is amazed that this can actually be a part of my job.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. REYNA ISABEL ALVARADO-GARCIA, Petitioner, v. LORETTA E. LYNCH, Attorney General, Respondent. No. 15-71138 Decided: December 12, 2016

Before: SCHROEDER, WARDLAW, and OWENS, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM*

Reyna Isabel Alvarado-Garcia (Alvarado), a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals's (BIA) decision affirming the Immigration Judge's (IJ) denial of Alvarado's petition for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Where the BIA does not conduct de novo review of the IJ's decision but instead reviews for clear error, we evaluate the reasons explicitly identified by the BIA, and then examine the reasoning articulated in the IJ's oral decision in support of those reasons. Tekle v. Mukasey, 533 F.3d 1044, 1051 (9th Cir. 2008). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C.  1252. We grant the petition in part and remand to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this disposition.

1. Because the BIA did not determine whether Honduran women unable to leave abusive relationships comprise a particular social group, see 8 U.S.C.  1231(b)(3)(A), we remand to the BIA to address that question in the first instance. [U]nder the ordinary remand rule, the agency should be given an opportunity in the first instance to make legal determinations entrusted to it by Congress. Perdomo v. Holder, 611 F.3d 662, 669 (9th Cir. 2010) (noting that the rule is particularly applicable to the question of the existence of a particular social group). Here, the BIA concluded only that the IJ's finding that Alvarado had managed to leave the relationship was not clearly erroneous. The IJ, in turn, determined that Alvarado had not established that she is a member of any particular social group as a result of her prior relationship without first assessing whether Alvarado's proposed social group was legally cognizable. Both the IJ and the BIA thus assumed without deciding that Alvarado's proposed group of Honduran women unable to leave abusive relationships was legally cognizable. We therefore remand to the agency, on an open record limited to this question, for it to make that determination expressly.

Remand is necessary because, if Honduran women unable to leave abusive relationships constitute a particular social group, the record compels the conclusion that Alvarado was persecuted by Jiminson Torres on account of her membership in that group and the Honduran government was unable or unwilling to protect Alvarado from persecution. See Doe v. Holder, 736 F.3d 871, 87778 (9th Cir. 2013). Although the IJ found that Alvarado was able to leave her relationship because, inter alia, she left Torres's home and resisted his initial attempts to reconcile, substantial record evidence compels the conclusion that Torres continued to abuse and control Alvarado: He beat her violently when he discovered that she had reported his abuse to the police; he followed her every time [she] came back from work trying to convince her to reconcile; and, when persuasion failed, he and his gang threatened Alvarado that if she would not follow their laws by returning to the relationship, they would force her to leave town. The record thus compels the conclusion that Alvarado is just as bound by Torres as she was when they lived in the same home and has been unable to leave her relationship, and the IJ clearly erred by finding to the contrary.

In addition, substantial evidence does not support the agency's conclusion that the Honduran authorities appear to have taken some actions to protect the applicant and that the government was therefore willing and able to protect Alvarado. See id. The only evidence purportedly suggesting the government's willingness and ability to assist Alvarado was that when Alvarado reported Torres's abuse, the local police gave her a summons to deliver to Torres. Yet the record overwhelmingly shows that the government was not responsive to Alvarado's requests for protection: The local police required Alvarado to hand the summons to her abuser, notifying him of her police report and subjecting her to further abuse; there were no apparent repercussions for Torres's failure to appear in response to the summons; the police later told Alvarado that she would be required to file a second and a third report before they would investigate because women usually withdrew the request and would go back together with their husbands; and there is nothing in the record to suggest that the police did anything to investigate Alvarado's report. See Afriyie v. Holder, 613 F.3d 924, 93132 (9th Cir. 2010). Thus substantial evidence compels the conclusion that the police were aware of Torres's abuse of Alvarado and were either unwilling or unable to intervene to protect her.

2. Substantial evidence supports the BIA's conclusion that Alvarado is ineligible for CAT relief because it is not more likely than not that she would be tortured upon removal to Honduras. See Maldonado v. Lynch, 786 F.3d 1155, 1162 (9th Cir. 2015). The record does not compel the conclusion that the past abuse Alvarado suffered rises to the level of torture or that Alvarado would more likely than not suffer torture at the hands of Torres's gang or another gang if she returned to Honduras.

GRANTED in part, DENIED in part, and REMANDED.
President-elect Donald Trump will have to give a deposition a few days before his inauguration as part of his ongoing $10 million feud with celebrity chef Jose Andres.

The Spanish-born Andres had agreed to be the star chef at Trump's new hotel in Washington DC but he fell out with the tycoon after he said many Mexican immigrants were 'rapists' and he would build a wall to keep them out.

Trump then sued Andres for breach of contract, claiming $10 million in damages.

Jose Andres (pictured) had agreed to work at Trump's new hotel at the Old Post Office in DC

The Trump International Hotel (pictured) opened in October in the famous Old Post Office building in Pennsylvania Avenue, which was built in 1899

Andres claimed Trump's derogatory comments about illegal immigrants made it impossible for him to run a successful restaurant.

Andres enraged Trump even more in October when he flew to Tampa and appeared on stage with Hillary Clinton on the same day Trump was in Washington for the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel in the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Andres, who became an American citizen recently and voted in his first presidential election last month, told the rally Trump had 'skipped U.S. history class.'

Andres (pictured, left) appeared at a rally for Hillary Clinton in Tampa in October, on the same day Trump (right) was opening his new hotel in Washington, where Andres was supposed to be working

Trump is also involved in another lawsuit against restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian, who had also backed out of running an eatery in Trump's Washington hotel, blaming the tycoon's xenophobic rhetoric. Zakarian is an American, of Armenian origin.

Trump is now due to give a deposition in the Andres lawsuit and the two side's lawyers are arguing about when and where it should take place.

The President-elect wanted the deposition to take place in New York in early January, citing security concerns, while Andres's lawyers wanted him to come to Washington for it.

The real estate tycoon also wants to limit questioning to two hours and prohibit questions covered in a previous deposition.

The Washington Post reported that the chef's attorneys said in a court filing: 'It seems dubious that the President-elect cannot be afforded adequate security in the capital of the United States, but defendants are willing to accommodate that demand.

'Defendants cannot, however, accept Trump LLC's attempt to hamstring defendant's questioning of the man who directed the bringing of this lawsuit.'

The final decision will be up to Judge Jennifer DiToro.

Trump is due in Washington on January 20 to be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.
Police have closed streets around a market in central Peterborough after a 'beeping' public bin caused a bomb scare.

A 100m cordon was set up by the emergency services as a precaution after the alert was raised at 9:30am today.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad was called in and a controlled explosion was carried out around 11:30am.

Peterborough city centre, including the city's market, have been evacuated over bomb fears

The market, which would usually be bustling with Christmas shoppers, lay empty this morning

A bomb disposal team is said to have been called to the city after a 'beeping' sound was heard

Locals reported that a Tannoy called for people to evacuate the scene with an extended cordon along the road.

The nearby Passport Office claimed that the suspected bomb had already been found by local police.

Peterborough City Council have closed their Bayard Place offices as a precaution, with council staff being moved to the Town Hall while the emergency services work at the scene.

Services available at Bayard Place will now be dealt with at the Town Hall, but residents have been warned that only urgent and emergency issues can be addressed there.

Fire crews and police closed off the market - the day after fears were raised of a terror plot

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police asked locals to remain vigilant during the incident

A controlled explosion was carried out at around 11:30, roughly two hours after the first report

It comes 24 hours after terror police launched mass terror raids across the country and arrested six people in Derby, Burton upon Trent and London in the early hours of Monday morning.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said: 'We would ask people to remain alert and vigilant but not to be alarmed and we are grateful for the assistance, support and understanding of people locally.
Bruising: Florence Jarratt, 98, was allegedly severely injured by private care home workers in Hatfield, Hertfordshire

A great grandmother has claimed staff at her 1,000-a-week care home gave her 'a good hiding' that left her with severe bruising on her arms and face.

Florence Jarratt, 98, was allegedly severely injured by private care home workers and left with dark bruises on her arms, nose, right eye and cheek.

Her family were told staff at the Bupa St Christopher's Nursing Home in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, insisted the markings were caused by blood thinners.

But her relatives say she does not take any medication that causes such side effects.

Her granddaughter Ellie Stockbridge, 22, said: 'She was in such a bad way. Her nose even looked like it was broken and the bruises on her arms were horrific.

'My nan told her sister-in-law that one of the women had "given her a good hiding" and when I raised it with Bupa they said "these things happen".

'When I thought about it I realised she wasn't even on Warfarin, it is obviously a cover up because bruises like that do not just appear.

Former biscuit factory worker: Mrs Jarratt, 98, with her great grandchildren Gracie and Danny

'My nan is bed bound so I think they have tried to give us a cover up story.'

Social worker Ms Stockbridge also claims she consulted a doctor who she said told her the bruises were matching and 'had been done by force'.

The local safeguarding team have since been contacted and carried out an investigation into the alleged events of October 21.

They allegedly found that just one care worker was working on the night in question.

Injuries: Mrs Jarratt was left with dark bruises on her arms, nose, right eye and cheek

Ms Stockbridge, of Potters Bar, said: 'Bupa wouldn't get rid of her (care worker), but promised that she would be sent on a training course and she wouldn't be dealing with my grandmother again. We are paying 1,000 a week for my nan to be cared for and it is not happening.

'My nan won't mention anything to us as she knows we are quite vocal, not in a way that we are rude, but she knows we would raise it further.

'I just want to make people aware of the care home itself. There are some really brilliant carers in there but it just seems to be the management and the worker they recruited.

'You think your family are going to be safe in there and it was such a big deal for us to take her there in the first place.'

Former biscuit factory worker Mrs Jarratt has been looked after at the care home since July after her family, who she had lived with, struggled to cope with her medical needs. The grandmother-of-eight lost her husband of 70 years, Thomas, 96, just over a year ago.

The grandmother-of-eight lost her husband of 70 years, Thomas, 96, just over a year ago

Her family decided it would be best for Mrs Jarratt to go into a care home as she had become bed bound and incontinent.

Ms Stockbridge said: 'She's just amazing and she has been another mother to all of us. It's only been the last couple of years where she hasn't been able to cope by herself.'

Mrs Jarratt was born one week before the end of the First World War and worked in a biscuit factory as well as in a shop during her following years.

She then met her husband after he had served in India in the Second World War.

Sarah Melia, Midlands and East director of Bupa Care Services, said: We take all allegations about the care our residents receive in our homes extremely seriously.

The health and wellbeing of all of our residents is always our priority. The social services investigation into Mrs Jarratts care could not determine the cause of her bruising.

Happy couple: Her family decided it would be best for Mrs Jarratt (pictured with her late husband Thomas) to go into a care home as she had become bed bound and incontinent

Once we received the conclusions of the social services investigation we launched our own investigation and are interviewing all of the carers involved.

We have not, and would never, cover up any incidents which arise in our homes - we always investigate them fully.

A Care Quality Commission spokesman said: 'We are aware of an incident concerning St Christopher's Nursing Home in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

'We have been informed that this has been referred to the local authority which takes the lead with regard to any safeguarding matters.

'We are in touch with the provider and the local authority and continue to monitor the home closely. This will include further unannounced inspections.'

A spokesman for Hertfordshire County Council said: 'We are aware of this case and are looking into any safeguarding concerns.'

Hertfordshire Police are not involved in investigating the alleged incident.

Elderly people with dementia face eviction from their care home two days before Christmas over money troubles

Elderly people suffering with dementia are facing eviction from their care home two days before Christmas because it has run out of money.

Sixteen vulnerable residents have just two weeks to find somewhere else to live and 18 members of staff at Highfield Manor in Bournemouth, Dorset, are set to lose their jobs on December 23.

Reshad Koussa, joint director of the care home, said the decision to close was purely financial but the home has been found inadequate by Care Quality Commission inspectors four times in a row.

Sixteen residents have just two weeks to find somewhere else to live and 18 members of staff at Highfield Manor in Bournemouth, Dorset, are set to lose their jobs on December 23

In the most recent report, published in September, inspectors found residents medicines were not consistently safely managed or stored, only one assisted bathroom out of four was safe to use and some carpets in communal areas were heavily stained and needed cleaning.

Some areas of the home were very hot, a problem first identified in 2015 when six residents were found sitting in a corridor with no natural light and no windows in temperatures of around 27C.

In July, it was announced that the care home had six months to improve, or face closure but Mr Koussa announced this month that the home has been sold and gave residents 14 days to leave.

A carer working at the home said staff and residents are devastated. She said: I was told that the home was closing by a residents husband.

Reshad Koussa, joint director of the care home, said the decision to close was purely financial but the home has been found inadequate by Care Quality Commission inspectors

Weve all worked so hard in the past year. We really thought that once Christmas was over we could relax. Its just horrific.

The carer, who didnt want to be named, said many residents are facing a frightening and unsettled Christmas.

She added: It is desperately sad. Were all heartbroken. Its like a family here - weve all supported each other through so much.

Mr Koussa said he cannot keep the home open past December 23.

There is no money. There is nothing left to keep it open. We have been trying for the past six or seven months but we are at the stage where there is nothing more that we can do.

Mr Koussa said residents will be put at risk if the home stays open without adequate funding

He blamed low occupancy for the financial troubles - the home can accommodate 46 people but currently has just 16 residents.

Mr Koussa said part of the problem is a blockage put on admissions by the CQC, which means no new residents can be accepted.

A carer working at the home in Dorset said staff and residents are devastated

He said: Its a big financial problem. You cant have staff working and not getting paid.

You cant have bills going unpaid. Its not nice to have people knocking on your door looking for money. Its unfortunate but thats the situation.

He said the care home will reopen with new management at some point in 2017, adding: It might be open again within seven or eight weeks.

But we cant stretch finances until the new managers take over. Our finances stretch to December 23. Beyond that, its impossible.

He said residents will be put at risk if the home stays open without adequate funding.

Mr Koussa said: At this moment, I can guarantee that we can keep going until December 23 with everything as normal, but not after that.

Bournemouth Council officials have given residents and their families advice and help to find alternative accommodation.

Debbie Ivanova, deputy chief inspector of adult social care at the CQC, said she is incredibly concerned by the homes closure.

Some areas of the home were very hot, a problem first identified in 2015 when six residents were found sitting in a corridor with no natural light and no windows in 27C temperatures

She said: CQC have been informed by the owner of Highfield Manor that he is selling the property and people living there are required to move out by December 23.

CQC would always prefer that people who are moving out of a service in a planned and timely manner so as not to cause them undue distress.

However, I am incredibly concerned that the provider - RYSA Highfield Manor Limited - has only given two weeks notice to all residents to move out of the service.

My thoughts are with the people living at Highfield Manor during this very difficult time.

We are, and will remain, in regular contact with colleagues at Bournemouth Borough Council and other stakeholders who are supporting the people currently living there in moving to new services which would be appropriate for their needs.
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This is the 'House of Horrors' where a married couple dubbed 'Germany's Fred and Rose West' tortured and murdered young women after luring them to their home with lonely hearts adverts, it is claimed.

In the corner of a squalid kitchen sits a freezer in which one of their alleged victims was dismembered had her body parts frozen before she was thawed out and cremated on a log burner in a living room.

In a case that has rocked Germany, 'power obsessed' Wilfried W, and his ex-wife Angelika are said to have tortured at least five women that they tricked into living in their home and murdered two of them.

One of the women answered an that said 'Farmer is looking for a wife. I am kind, nice, gentle.'

But a short time after arrived at the house she was chained to a pigsty with handcuffs, while she stood barefoot in manure wearing only her underpants, it is claimed.

Now on trial for murder, MailOnline can detail their appalling alleged crimes as the first photos emerge of their squalid lair.

Their rambling home, in the Westphalian town of Hoxter-Bosseborn, not far from the British Army garrison town of Paderborn, is no different from a million others in Germany.

But behind its walls the horror pair were power hungry monsters who meted out drugs, torture and murder, claim prosecutors.

Chilling: These are the first pictures inside the 'House of Horrors' - a house where Wilfried W and his ex-wife, Angelika nicknamed Germany's Fred and Rose West allegedly tortured five women and murdered two who answered lonely hearts ads

Squalid: In the corner of a squalid kitchen sits a freezer where one of their alleged victims was stuffed into after she died from a fractured skull. It is claimed the woman's remains were thawed and cremated on a log burner in the living room. She had her ashes tossed out of a car window during a drive in the countryside, it is claimed

Torture bathroom: An alleged victim of the couple slept in this bathtub because she was too weak to go to the toilet and so when she soiled herself it would be easier to clean up Angelika reportedly told prosecutors. The 47-year-old, also on trial for murder, turned on her ex-husband when they were arrested in April and claimed she too was a victim of his abuse

Scene of evil: The couple are accused of placing lonely hearts adverts to lure their victims, all young women, to their home near to the British Army garrison town of Paderborn. They are accused of torturing at least five victims and killing two of them

Germany's Fred and Rose West: The alleged crimes of Wilfried W, 46, left and his former wife, Angelika, 47, right, who cannot be named fully in Germany, are strikingly similar to those of Fred and Rose West, the British couple who committed at least 12 murders between 1967 and 1987 in Gloucestershire, England

During their gruesome trial in Germany, the court heard that their first victim, Anika W was chained to a radiator in their home in the first floor 'cat room', where they kept pets, because she made too much noise with the chain on the radiator in the living room.

Paint that flaked off the heater and the wall as Anika struggled to free herself can be seen in the photo.

Angelika told the court that their 33-year-old victim was often forced to sleep in the bathtub 'because she was too weak to go unaccompanied to the toilet herself and it would not be so bad if she went in there.'

Wooden butterflies above a calendar and butterfly transfers on walls gave an aura of innocence to rooms where only depravity existed in the house. The calendar day marker is stuck on April 26 this year, the date they were arrested and their crimes revealed.

Another photo shows the chest freezer where Anika's cut-up remains were stored before being burned. The court has heard how Angelika nearly drowned her in the bath and, with her skull fractured, was forced to crawl across the forecourt of the house before succumbing to her wounds a day later.

Angelika was once married to Wilfried but the couple divorced. They lived together in the quiet community as brother and sister.

Angelika told the court that she was forced to remove the frozen portions of Anika's body to be burned because he found the act 'too gruesome.' Anika's ashes were thrown from their car as they took a drive through the countryside.

Angelika, 47, claims that she was a victim of 46-year-old Wilfried too, that she obeyed him because she was frightened that he would turn on her.

But prosecutors have painted a different portrait of her, one which suggests she enjoyed the misery she inflicted on the captives.

A shocking video played at the trial showed Angelika mocking her terrified victim and threatening her with death.

'You are too old for him to f**k you. If you emerge now as a bad egg, that is sad for you. Then we must dispose of that!' She added that she would have to find a new slave for him. Anika's head dropped and she looked at the floor and swallowed hard as she was spoken to.

Crime scene: Angelika and Wilfried were once married but have since been divorced. They continued to live together in the quiet community as brother and sister as they allegedly murdered women behind the closed doors of their home

Sedation and disposal: The couple allegedly used their log burner in the living room, left, to cremate one of their victim's body parts as they tried to dispose of her body. They also used drug, right, to sedate their victims, it is claimed

Normality: Wooden butterflies above a calendar and butterfly transfers on walls gave an aura of innocence where only depravity existed in the house. The calendar day marker is stuck on April 26 this year, the date the couple were arrested

Sadism: One alleged victim, Susanne F, 41, fell and hit her head on a cabinet in the couple's dirty, crammed kitchen, left. Her fall triggered the brain bloodclot which lead to her death. Another victim, Anika W, 33, was apparently chained to a radiator in the first floor 'cat room', right, where paint flaked off the wall as she tried to free herself

In another degrading video, taken after Anika had been sick, she yelled at her victim: 'Look, you cannot even stand alone. You've got to get even larger shoes, then maybe you have more room when you're tilting over.

'Too stupid to stand, too goofy to count, too stupid to read, too stupid to cook, too stupid to get up - what more? You're walking around like a gorilla.'

Angelika said Anika died after a 'particularly violent attack' in August 2014. After she crawled naked across the courtyard of the house in a desperate bid to escape because she could no longer walk.

'I helped her up but when I took my supporting arm away she crashed backwards and hit her head hard on the asphalt. The next day I found her dead.'

After the dismemberment of her body, the freezing and the thawing, she was burned bit by bit in the small wood burning stove in the house.

In an act prosecutor Ralf Meyer described as 'perfidious,' Wilfried texted Anika's mother on her own mobile phone after he had killed her to say she had move to Amsterdam 'but is in good health.'

The pair preyed upon lonely hearts across the country, looking for women for Wilfried to marry so that they could fleece them of their savings.

Prosecutors said the couple, who lived from the lowest form of long-term welfare payments available in Germany, racked up debts with almost every newspaper publisher in the country because they placed so many adverts.

Police said that the pair took out so many adverts in so many publications across Germany in their hunt for prey that there were only two newspapers that they did not owe money to. They also trawled for victims with advertisements placed in Czech newspapers.

Accused: Wilfried, pictured in his pants and a t-shirt on a sofa bed, and Angelika preyed upon lonely hearts across the country, looking for women for Wilfried to marry so that they could fleece them of their savings, it is claimed

Debts: The couple lived from the lowest form of long-term welfare payments in Germany and prosecutors said they owed money to almost every newspaper publisher in the country, reportedly because they placed so many adverts

One victim Christel P said she was tricked into moving in because she believed the couple were brother and sister and she fell in love with Wilfried.

She was later chained her to a pigsty with handcuffs and made to stand in manure wearing only her knickers, it is alleged.

She was forbidden to use the bathroom and in desperation had to use the cat's litter tray. She was only permitted to sleep under the computer desk. Her mobile phone, purse, driving license and bankcard were taken from her.

Crucial to the case against the couple is because she is the only known victim giving evidence against the pair to have escaped alive.

Five women at least were abused in the house but so far police have evidence of only two deaths.

It was the death in April this year of Susanne F, 41, a divorced woman who answered one of their bogus adverts, which led to their downfall.

Police said she replied to Wilfried's small ad looking for a girlfriend and moved into the house, believing the lie that his ex-wife was his sister. Immediately she was subjected to savage and sustained abuse.

Ralf Ostermann, the police chief heading up the murder squad codenamed Bosseborn, after the part of town where their house is situated, said: 'She was abused for nothing. If the knife was not laid on the correct side of the plate, that was a trigger for punches, stomping, kicking, abuse.'

During one beating, according to Angelika, who has turned against Wilfried since they were arrested, she fell and hit her head on a cabinet, triggering the brain bloodclot which would lead to her death. The cabinet was inside the rambling, dirty kitchen which, like most of the rooms, was crammed with junk and boxes.

In another room police found drugs, syringes and bandages used to subdue the women.

When the duo sensed that Susanne was on the brink of death they laid her on the backseat of their car intending to drive her to her own apartment. But the car broke down en-route. Ostermann said: 'The pair called an ambulance apparently because they were overwhelmed by the situation.'

Secret abuse: At least five women were abused in the house, prosecutors claim. Detectives who raided the house found evidence suggesting that Wilfried drew up contracts with female victims, in which they were punished for breaking his rules

The woman died two hours later in the hospital on April 21. The doctors found bruises all over her body and called the police.

Her tormentors were arrested and taken to separate jails where Angelika confessed.

Wilfried has remained silent and refused to comment at his trial. His lawyers are hoping to prove that he has a 'sadistic abnormality' that could mean he is sent to psychiatric hospital rather than jail. The court heard that he was sentenced to a jail term in 1995 for torturing his first wife.

But the evidence of his cold and calculating cruelty appears overwhelming. The court heard how detectives who raided the house found 'contracts' he drew up with the women in which they would be punished for breaking his rules. Inside the house police discovered hundreds of slips of paper on which Wilfried had made his female victims declare that all of their injuries to have been self-inflicted.

'The women did things that upset Wilfried and if they repeated their mistakes we set punishments and enforced them,' Angelika said.

A single hair on the kitchen table was an infraction, as was being too slow to respond to a command, or 'taking the p**s.'

His former wife said there were 70 such rules and that if they were breached, Wilfried would take the women to the old pigsty at the back of the house where he would shackle them, hit them with a spade, kick them and pour scalding water over them.

Angelika told police that she was also abused by Wilfried soon after marrying him in 1999.

Four years earlier in August 1995 he was sentenced to two years' jail for inflicting life-threatening injuries on a woman. Angelika was given probation.
A man on the rampage on the Gold Coast has tried to smash his way through a car window as it waited at a red light, horrifying the teenagers inside the vehicle.

Terrifying footage shows the raging man grabbing the car's door handles, banging the roof and trying to break through the passenger-side window.

The petrified teenagers inside were forced to wait for a traffic light to change as the crazed man desperately tried to get into their vehicle, but they eventually escaped.

After they drove away, the man - who remains on the run - punched a tourist and two security guards, witnesses said.

A man on the rampage on the Gold Coast has tried to smash his way through a car window as it waited at a red light, horrifying the teenagers inside

The teenagers were driving down Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise at about midnight on Sunday when the man suddenly appeared.

The young men inside said they had never seen the man before and do not know why he targeted them.

Matthew Mosca, who was inside the car, told 9 News about the horrific ordeal.

'[The man] gets to the car, starts banging on the roof, elbowing the door and windows hard as he could, but thankfully he couldn't get through.'

The petrified teenagers inside were forced to wait for a traffic light to change as the crazed man desperately tried to get into their vehicle, but they eventually escaped

The teenager who was driving the vehicle, who did not wish to be named, added: '[I] just sort of tried to wait for the light to go green so I could get out of there but thankfully Holden Astra windows are pretty secure.'

After the pair drove away, witnesses said the man punched a tourist and two security guards.

Police were called, but by the time they arrived the man had fled. No arrests have been made.
Court battle: Gillian Simpson, 48, is fighting to save her home after being handed a 200,000 bill in a bitter 'transphobia' battle with her parents Graeme, 73, and Glenys

A transsexual engineer is fighting to save her home after being handed a near 200,000 bill in a bitter row with her parents who did not want to see her dressed as a woman, a court heard.

Gillian Simpson, 48, claimed she was subjected to 'hostile and vehement transphobic treatment' following her decision to live as a woman.

She says she was banned from going into her parents' Lancashire home in a dress and, amid a complete family breakdown, the business they operated collapsed.

It led to a 'distressing' court battle, with design engineer Ms Simpson on one side and her parents, Graeme, 73, and Glenys, and brother Gavin, 44, on the other.

She said the dispute was all about the 'battle of wills' that developed within the family after her 'transition to her true self'.

However, her parents and brother denied her 'perceived grievances' and said her gender reassignment was just a 'distraction'.

Ms Simpson ultimately walked away with a bill approaching 200,000 and is now fighting the order in a bid to save her home from being sold.

'This sad litigation has gone on long enough,' her barrister Josephine Davies told the Court of Appeal in London.

The court heard Ms Simpson had run high-tech firm Simtec Electronics for years, with her brother and parents also involved.

But the family fell out when Ms Simpson - then called Gareth - decided to begin living as a woman.

She changed her name by deed poll in 2010 and underwent a gender reassignment procedure, legally becoming a woman in 2013.

Ms Simpson claimed her family did not accept her new identity and she was subjected to prejudicial treatment.

Dispute: She says she was banned from going to her parents' (pictured) home in a dress and, amid a complete family breakdown, the business they operated collapsed

'During 2012 and 2013, Gillian was not welcome in her parents' home,' claimed her barrister.

'They objected to her being seen dressed as a woman, although from 2013, she was female in fact and in law.'

At Preston County Court in 2014, Gillian claimed that her family's reaction had destroyed her business, which made printed circuit boards.

Company stock, which was stored at her parents' home, was withheld from her as the family made it difficult for her to retrieve it, she said.

'[It] included an attempt by her father to restrict Ms Simpson's movement to avoid her being seen by her brother's children dressed as a woman,' said Miss Davies.

The stock was eventually returned to her, but only bit by bit and only when its value had been vastly reduced, Ms Simpson claimed.

County court judge, Phillip Butler, said he had 'not the slightest doubt' that the family relationship had changed because of Ms Simpson's gender reassignment.

Glenys Simpson outside the Court of Appeal after a hearing in a battle with her daughter

The family had fallen apart 'in part, if not entirely, as a consequence of Gillian's gender reassignment', causing 'significant family tension'.

He found that her parents had interfered with her right to access the stock, but awarded her only 500 damages.

Ms Simpson had claimed the stock, consisting of minute electronic components, had at one time been worth 185,000.

Further wrangling over the collapse of the company resulted in her being ordered to pay her brother 57,000 and parents 99,000 - with crushing interest on top.

At the Court of Appeal, Miss Davies said the debts were secured by a charge against Ms Simpson's home, which is worth about the same.

It had been wrong for the judge to award her only nominal damages from her parents for the interference with her access to the stock, she argued.

Instead, she urged Lord Justice Jackson, Lord Justice Patten and Lady Justice Black to award her 90,000 and to quash 22,000 worth of costs.

'If the court were to award damages in the amount we seek, it would make a substantial difference to Miss Simpson,' she said.

'She now has a job, is trying to rebuild her life, and would be in a position to obtain mortgage finance and repay those debts.'

But her parents' barrister, Carly Sandbach, said the case had been used by Ms Simpson as a chance to 'vent her frustrations' about her family and the business failure.

Far from being her parents' fault, the business had gone under because of her 'failure to engage' with it as a result of her 'distraction with her new identity', she claimed.

'Mr and Mrs Simpson agree with Gillian's counsel that this sad litigation has gone on long enough,' said Ms Sandbach.

But she added: 'For Gillian, these proceedings continue to be a vehicle through which she seeks to ventilate her perceived grievances over her family's reaction to her gender reassignment.'

She said Ms Simpson had not managed to put forward evidence to show she should get any more than the 500 she received for interference with her stock.

'It is almost impossible to conceive of a case in which any less evidence as to an alleged loss of 185,000 could have been adduced,' she said.

'Put shortly, no evidence was adduced.'
A group of Belgian gypsies have taken over a village green in Kent, sparking anger among locals.

A fleet of 15 caravans and a group of around 40 travellers arrived on the playing field in the village of Kemsing on Saturday night.

Villagers claim the group, who are from Belgium and visit friends in the UK every six months, have made a mess of the green, with human waste and ashes from outdoor fires visible.

Caravans have taken over a village green in Kemsing, Kent, causing anger among locals

Villagers believe the group are from Belgium, with one man saying they speak French

A Belgian-registered Mercedes and a Bentley were among the vehicles parked with the caravans.

One of the group told MailOnline they were 'visiting friends' in the UK but planned to return to the continent today.

A local, who lives close to the playing field, said: 'The travellers seem quite a friendly bunch, but I only speak basic French, so I don't know exactly what they are saying. They are making quite a mess with fires and such-like and they are pretty noisy.'

He added: 'I know they'll be moved on, but hopefully it will be before Christmas.'

Villager David Global tweeted the local council: 'What are you doing about the illegally parked travellers in Kemsing? Human waste, a dog missing, bicycles stolen already.'

Another web user, Simon T, wrote: 'So now the caravans are coming all the way from France!'

Some locals say the group are friendly, but others are concerned about the mess left behind

A Belgian-registered Mercedes and a Bentley were among the cars which arrived in Kemsing

Police were at the scene today. They say they are working to remove the group

Kemsing Parish Council, which owns the land, say they are aware of the illegal encampment and have urged residents to call Kent Police if they spot any crimes being committed. Kent Police say they are working with the council to evict the travellers.

Marie Cole, chairman of Kemsing Parish Council, said this afternoon that the green had not been too badly damaged.

She added: 'They have moved off now. We have taken all the legal steps in readiness to have them removed, but we understand they left on their own today.'

The same group of travellers came to Britain in the summer, and descended on private land in Derby where they planned to 'chill out and relax' as part of their lengthy break.

The group also pitched up 12 caravans at a new cricket pavilion in Nottingham where they said they planned to spend time enjoying the city's sights and meeting the local women.

A plush Bentley was among the cars at the temporary campsite this afternoon

Pictured is the same Bentley which was parked up at an encampment in July, in Nottingham

The Bentley was also spotted at a travellers' encampment in Derby earlier this year

The same car was then seen leaving the village as the gipsies returned to the continent
A letting company advert showing the nearly bare bottoms of two women has been branded inappropriate and bad taste.

The display on the front of the Avenue-Lets.com office in Hull, East Yorkshire, showed two women in underwear - each with their hand on the other's bottom.

The advert, which includes the slogan Your place or mine?, was so saucy that some people initially thought an adult shop was opening on the street.

Naughty: The display on the front of the Avenue-Lets.com office in Hull, East Yorkshire, shows two women in underwear - each with their hand on the other's bottom

As can be seen from the photograph, the large image completely covered the main office window and shows the women from the waist down. It was later removed.

After a picture of the ad was posted on Facebook, one social media user suggested it was objectifying women in order to sell students a bit of accommodation.

Hull North Labour MP Diana Johnson branded it sleazy and objected to another one on the shop showing two men with their trousers around their ankles.

She said: It's a lettings agency yet looks like an advert for a brothel. Also the photo on the side of the shop front is portraying a sex act.

Criticism: The advert, which includes the slogan Your place or mine?, is so saucy that some people initially thought an adult shop was opening on the street

Mike Ross, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Newland ward in Hull, said: I have received several complaints about the adverts.

Businesses need to think carefully about using advertisements to show exactly what it is they are selling. It is something that has definitely got the residents talking.

A resident added: I hope to bring my sons up to respect women, but how is that going to happen when there are adverts like this in plain sight?

An Avenue-Lets.com spokesman said: The images used are from the Advertisement Standards Agency [sic].

These are not images we have produced ourselves, and we have received more than 20 compliments for using them.

Display: As can be seen from the photograph, the large image completely covers the main office window and shows the women from the waist down

These images were not used to offend or upset anyone, or objectify men or women, and as a marketing campaign we have reached the targeted market.

As with any marketing campaign, these images were due to be changed in January, but we will endeavour to look at bringing that date forward.

The company later added: We would like to apologise for any offence caused. We have received both negative and positive feedback.
Cast your minds back to a few weeks before the US election.

Republican nominee Donald Trump repeatedly stated to anyone who would listen that the system was rigged against him so he would lose and therefore, he might challenge the result.

The response from Democrats, and much of the media, was instant and furious as they raced to denounce this unprecedented attack on democracy.

Hillary Clintons campaign went even further, branding Trump un-American.

Remember just weeks before the election when Hillary Clintons campaign branded Trump un-American for saying he may challenge the election the result? At the time it never crossed their superior arrogant minds that they could lose to him

Of course, at that stage, the Clinton camp all assumed their candidate was going to win.

It never crossed their elitist, arrogant, superior minds that Trump, a man they perceived to be an ignorant, unelectable Neanderthal, had a cat-in-hells chance of beating the woman dubbed the most qualified candidate in history by President Obama.

Then Trump sensationally triumphed, sparking weeks of Biblical scale weeping and wailing from those who opposed him.

Their deluded, defiant, sore loser fury has known no bounds.

Indeed, it has now escalated in its intensity and desperation.

But Hillary won the popular vote! they first shrieked, meaninglessly. As everyone with half a brain knows, the US general election is not and never has been decided by popular vote. If it were, then campaigning would be done in a very different way.

The election results were fixed! they then bellowed, as Green loser Jill Stein launched a pathetic evidence-devoid bid, backed by Clintons campaign, to demand recounts in three states. Her lamentable action was thrown out by judges in Pennsylvania and Michigan. And in Wisconsin, the only state where theres been a full recount, Trumps lead actually increased!

Now, the Clinton camps launched one final, breathtakingly stupid and highly dangerous Hail Mary pass.

In an astonishing development, Hillarys campaign chairman John Podesta has publicly endorsed an attempted coup by members of the Electoral College to try to overturn the election result next week.

There is now a mass Democrat-led effort to thwart Trump's presidency from ever starting - but the blame should lie with Obama and those in his government whose job it is to stop hacks. All the squealing would carry more weight if it hadnt been for their own failures

Ten members of the College have made a formal request to the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, to supply more information on the relationship between Trump and Russia before they finalise their votes on December 19.

They said they are doing so to investigate, discuss and deliberate with our colleagues about whom to vote for in the election and to help them decide if Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.

Podesta, on behalf of Clinton, has supported their move, claiming that Russia intervened in the election to Trumps benefit by hacking into Democrat emails, including his own, and leaking them to Wikileaks who then posted them.

The CIA shares this view.

As does the White House, which even suggested yesterday that Trump was in on the scam because he jokily encouraged the Russians to find the 30,000 emails that Hillary deleted from her infamous private server.

Its thus a mass Democrat-led effort to thwart Trumps presidency from even starting.

Theres just one problem, and its the exact same problem that made a mockery of Jill Steins complaint: there is no actual evidence to support any of this.

Nobody has proven the Russians hacked anyone in this election, and nobody has proven Trump knew about any such hacking even if it ever occurred.

Theyre all just guessing.

Or in the case of the CIA, it is their belief that Russia and Wikileaks were in cahoots. In which case, I suggest they very quickly show us why they believe this, not least because the FBI doesnt apparently share its rival agencys opinion.

But what if it IS true?

Say the Russians did target Democrats emails, and gave them to Julian Assanges vociferously anti-Clinton team to deliberately influence the election.

a) It would hardly be a great surprise and b) whose fault would that be?

Id say the fault of the CIA, FBI and every other US intelligence agency charged with preventing such hacking from occurring.

They all knew about the massive threat of an online attack during this election.

Only last year, Sony was hacked by North Korea to devastating effect.

And its been widely accepted for years that the Chinese hack anything that moves in American cyberspace.

Should they have wished to look a little closer to home for advice, they could have asked Edward Snowden just how easy it is for the NSA to hack into peoples personal information.

So it would be a stupendously dumb and deeply embarrassing breach of supposed intelligence if the Russians HAD been able to do what they all now want us to believe they did.

And the blame would surely lie not with Trump but Obama and those in his government whose job it is to stop these hacks happening.

US intelligence agencies are charged with preventing hackings. They could have asked Edward Snowden just how easy it is for the NSA to hack personal information. And remember, Obama came to Britain and warned against Brexit - his own shameless attempt to 'rig' a vote

All the Democrat squealing now would frankly carry a lot more weight if it hadnt been their own failures that may or may not have led to any hacking in the first place.

Theres also a wider hypocrisy here and thats about the issue of foreign entities trying to interfere in free, democratic elections held in other countries.

Earlier this summer, I seem to remember Barack Obama coming over to my country, Britain, and warning us that if we didnt all vote to stay in the European Union then wed be back of the queue when it came to future trade deals.

That was just about the most deliberate, shameless attempt to rig an election (or in this case, referendum) Ive ever seen. Here was the most powerful man on earth basically putting the arm on a much smaller country to get the result he wanted.

The fact that Obama failed in his mission is immaterial.

What we are witnessing now with the Electoral College is an equally sinister attempt to tamper with the will of the people.

Its also just as disgustingly hypocritical.

Hillary Clinton lost fair and square on November 8 and there is zero concrete evidence to suggest otherwise.

Rather than take her defeat with good grace, she has tried everything to get the result changed.

Now she is targeting the very cornerstone of American democracy, using spurious allegations about unproven Russian hacking to persuade members of the Electoral College to change the votes they are supposed to automatically cast to reflect the votes of their individual state electorate.
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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has sent the death toll to 5,927 in five months and has said the way to stop the slaughter is to stop taking drugs.

The radical leader insists he is not a killer, despite the country's streets being littered with dead bodies due to his crackdown on illicit drugs.

President Duterte said he is not about to pull the plug on his operation, but would happily allow citizens to enjoy Christmas and New Year in peace if people stopped taking drugs.

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Rain pours onto the body of Romeo Torres Fontanilla, who was gunned down, witnesses said, by two unknown men on a motorbike, in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

The basketball court at the Quezon City Jail, which has become a sleeping area, in the Philippines

Police investigators near the body of Michael Araja, 29, who neighbors said was killed by two men riding by on a motorbike, in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

The bodies of Frederick Mafe, 48, and Arjay Lumbago, 23, who were riding together on a motorbike when they were killed by a pair on another motorbike, in Quezon City, Philippines

Police investigators hunched over the body of Romeo Torres Fontanilla, who was gunned down, witnesses said, by two unknown men on a motorbike, as it rains in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

Jimji, 6, cries out in anguish, saying 'Papa' as workers move the body of her father, Jimboy Bolasa, 25, for burial, in Manila, Philippines

He told the Phil Star: 'They say there have been a lot of killings, executions and extrajudicial killings. You want these to end?

'It's simple. You drug users should stop.

'Stop it and there will be a peaceful New Year and Christmas.'

His national police released figures on Monday stating there had been 5,927 deaths linked to the war on drugs in the Philippines since July 1, according to CNN.

Part of President Duterte's manifesto was to crack down on illegal drugs and he was elected to office in May.

In July, 60,000 Filipino drug addicts surrendered themselves to the government after the President urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users.

But the death toll has continued to rise, with 2,086 killed in police operations and 3,841 in extra-judicial or vigilante-style killings.

More than 40,000 suspects have been arrested, but President Duterte has made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his merciless orders.

Duterte has repeatedly denied that police are carrying out extra-judicial killings, which involve victims' faced being taped up, but in September said he would be 'happy to slaughter' three million drug addicts.

Many are thought to have been gunned down by vigilante groups, who are paid in cash for each confirmed kill, with many leaving cards labelled pushers next to bodies to prove the hit.

These groups are a key part in Duterte's pledge to kill 100,000 drug users and dealers and fill Manila Bay with their bodies.

An unidentified body that was found with his head wrapped in packing tape, his hands tied behind his back and a cardboard sign that read, 'A pusher who won't stop will have his life ended,' on a street in Manila, Philippines

Bodies stacked up at a funeral parlor as the families of victims like Danilo Deparine, whose body lay on a metal stretcher on the floor, struggle to pay for burial, in Manila, Philippines

Inmates at a Manila police station watch as drug suspects are processed after their arrests in the Philippines

The funeral of Benjamin Visda, 43, who had left a family birthday celebration to get something from a convenience store when he was snatched off the street and killed, according to relatives, in Manila, Philippines

Four men arrested for possession of drugs cover their faces from the camera in Manila, Philippines

Nellie Diaz hunches over the body of her husband, Crisostomo, a drug user who had surrendered but still ended up dead, in Manila, Philippines

Duterte, 71, won elections in a landslide on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals to fight narco-politics in the Philippines.

Since he took office the crackdown has claimed thousands of lives, but told Phil Star: 'I won't hold back and abandon my job. Somebody has to be sacrificed for it. That's OK with me. It's part of the territory to be disliked.

'I do not offer any excuses or apologies. I will answer God when I face him.'

Some have accused him of crimes against humanity, human rights abuses and mass executions, but Duterte maintains his campaign will transform the country.

'I cannot explain every death in this country,' he added.

But if you tell me to hold back, I cannot because I cannot afford it.

'I cannot now stop the momentum with the four million drug addicts spread all throughout the country.'

People visit the tombs of their loved ones on All Saints Day at the Barangka cemetery in the Marikina area of Manila, Philippines

Relatives overcome with grief at the site where the bodies of Frederick Mafe and Arjay Lumbago lie sprawled in the middle of a street in Manila, Philippines

Funeral parlor workers carry away Edwin Mendoza Alon-Alon, 36, who was shot in the head outside a 7-Eleven store, in the Paranaque area of Manila, Philippines

The blood of Florjohn Cruz, 34, stains the floor in his family's living room, next to an altar displaying images and statues of the Virgin Mary, among other items, in Manila, Philippines

Police at the scene of Ronald Kalau's death, in Manila, Philippines

The busy Tondo neighborhood of Manila, the Philippines where President Rodrigo Duterteis brutal anti-drug campaign rages

Roel Scott, 13, inspects the bloodied spot where his uncle, Joselito Jumaquio, 52, was killed by the police, in Manila, Philippines

Family and friends attend the funeral of Joselito Jumaquio, who was slain by a mob of masked men, in Manila, Philippines

Duterte said he is overwhelmed by the seriousness of the drug problem in the country and has vowed to fight on.

He said the drug industry had infiltrated government, with more than 2,000 officials and local executives involved in the narcotics trade, according to Phil Star.

Despite coming in for criticism, the President is hopeful billionaires would support his campaign, citing the Chinese real estate tycoon Huang Rulun, who helped pay for the rehabilitation facility in Nueva Ecija.
The captain of a migrant ship that sank in the Mediterranean leaving 700 people dead has been jailed for 18 years.

A judge in Sicily convicted Tunisian Mohammad Ali Malek on multiple manslaugther counts for the disaster in April 2015. He was also fined 7.5 million.

His Syrian crewmate, Mahmud Bikhit, was sentenced to five years in prison and also fined 7.5m after being convicted of facilitating illegal immigration.

Mohammad Ali Malek (left) was convicted on multiple manslaugther counts. Crewmate, Mahmud Bikhit (right) was sentenced to five years for facilitating illegal immigration

Malek and Bikhit talk as they wait to disembark from Italian Coast Guard ship Bruno Gregoretti

Malek beingt taken to prison after his conviction in April 2015 for multiple counts of manslaughter in the Mediterranean's worst-known migrant disaster

Prosecutors accused Malek of inadvertently ramming the overloaded fishing boat into the cargo ship that had come to its rescue, destabilising it.

The boat flipped over after migrants rushed to one side. Only 28 survived.

The wreck was brought to the surface and some 700 bodies recovered.

Forensic pathologists have been working ever since to try to identify them, so the remains can be returned to their families.

The wreck prompted the European Union to beef up its Mediterranean rescue flotilla.

Judge Daniela Monaco Crea reads the sentences at a court in in Catania, Italy, where Malek and Bikhit were given 18 and five years respectively

Coffins are shoulder carried into a tent during a funeral service for 24 of the dead in Valetta, Malta

But the waves of migrants have continued: Some 176,678 people arrived in Italy by sea in 2016, more than in either 2014 or 2015, according to the International Organisation of Migration.

The deaths have continued as well: IOM counts 4,244 known deaths in the Libya-Italy smuggling route during 2016, compared to 2,868 last year.

Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro hailed the verdict after the fast-track trial.
A Los Angeles woman says she's reached 'breaking point' after her 'neighbor from hell' repeatedly stole from her front porch and urinated on her car.

Jillian Lester, 27, who lives in Woodland Hills, California, first noticed things were going missing from her front yard six months ago.

She decided to install security cameras and when they reviewed the footage she saw her neighbor Steve standing on her porch, apparently stealing her wind chime.

Jillian Lester (left) says she's reached 'breaking point' after her neighbor from hell Steve (right) repeatedly stole from her front porch and urinated on her car

Lester's mom confronted Steve who initially denied it.

But then the stolen items reappeared back on the porch with a note and a bottle of beer.

Those notes kept coming until Steve asked Lester's mom out. She declined.

After her mother turned him down, Lester says she started noticing marks on her car.

Her boyfriend Michael Kessler claims he then spotted the neighbor urinating on Lester's car.

Jillian Lester, 27, who lives in Woodland Hills, California, first noticed things were going missing from her front yard six months ago

She decided to install security cameras and when they reviewed the footage she saw her neighbor Steve standing on her porch, apparently stealing her wind chime (pictured)

Lester's mom confronted Steve who initially denied it. But then the stolen items reappeared back on their porch with a note and a bottle of beer (left and right)

Then just a few days ago, Lester says she came out of her house to find her car covered in urine, vomit and excrement.

'I feel like I'm at breaking point,' Lester told KTLA. 'Something needs to happen. It's driving me nuts.'

Lester, a receptionist at Calabasas Academy of Dance according to her Facebook account, says that she has made multiple reports to the police and the homeowners association about her neighbor's behavior.

Meanwhile, other Erwin Street residents have also complained about Steve, with one woman, who did not want to be named, saying she was planning to move after the neighbor from hell allegedly threw eggs at her porch and hurled racial slurs.

Btu despite the numerous police reports, no arrests have been made and no action has been taken against him, says Lester who is now planning to file for a restraining order.
A 2million 'anti-migrant' wall funded by the British taxpayer has finally been built in Calais  as the French port's mayor called for it to be torn down.

Natacha Bouchart said the 14ft structure was a ludicrous white elephant that was made redundant following the clearance of the so-called 'Jungle' shantytown.

Some 6,000 UK-bound migrants living there were sent to other parts of France at the end of October, as their tents and huts were burnt and bulldozed to the ground.

A 2million 'anti-migrant' wall funded by the British taxpayer has finally been built in Calais but the port city's mayor Natacha Bouchart has called for it to be torn down

The wall  which was backed by Prime Minister Theresa May when she was Home Secretary  was built next to the site of the camp.

It was originally meant to stop residents getting on to a busy motorway so as to climb aboard lorries heading for the UK.

But Mrs Bouchart said Calais was now effectively a migrant-free zone, and told an administrative court in nearby Lille that it would stay that way.

She is now 'asking the President of France to dismantle the wall because we do not want it,' adding: 'It destroys, it demeans the whole coastline'.

Natacha Bouchart said the structure was a ludicrous white elephant that was made redundant following the clearance of the migrant camp

In turn, the administrative judges said the flow of migrants would not completely 'dry up' in the short tem, and that the wall could still 'prevent possible intrusion attempts'.

They said the prefabricated concrete wall, which is just over half-a-mile long, was being covered in foliage, in an attempt to make it look less ugly.

A spokesman for the local prefecture said: 'Work on the green wall is now complete' after work began on September 20th.

Jean-Marc Puissesseau, head of Calais port, meanwhile said: 'It is an extremely important tool, it shows the motorway is secure.'

The wall was paid for by the British government as part of a 17m Anglo-French package of security measures.

Some 6,000 UK-bound migrants living there were sent to other parts of France at the end of October, as their tents and huts were burnt and bulldozed to the ground




Donald Trump's adult children are already planning to ditch their Secret Service detail, but only once their dad leaves office.

As children of the President-elect, Trump's five children are entitled to Secret Service protection throughout his term, and for 10 years after he leaves office.

But a source close to the Trump family tell theNew York Post that the mogul's four adult children - Donald Jr, 38; Ivanka, 35; Eric, 32; and Tiffany, 23 - plan to decline Secret Service protection as soon as their father is out of the White House.

'It would just be completely unnecessary,' the source told the Post.

President-elect Donald Trump's four adult children (from left to right: Donald Jr, 38; Ivanka, 35; Eric, 32; and Tiffany, 23) plan to decline their Secret Service detail as soon as their dad leaves office

President-elect Trump (left) and his wife Melania (right) will be entitled to Secret Service protection for life. Their son Barron, 10 (center), is entitled to Secret Service protection until at least age 16 and for as long as 10 years after his father leaves the White House

There's no word yet on whether Trump's youngest son, 10-year-old Barron, will take advantage of Secret Service protection for the 10 years after his father leaves office, as is his right by law.

Minor children of current and former presidents are given Secret Service protection until at least age 16 or for 10 years after their parent's term ends. If Trump only serves one term, Barron will be entitled to at least two more years of Secret Service protection. If his father is elected to two terms - Barron will be 18 years old when he leaves office - the same age that first daughter Malia Obama is today. The Washington Post is already reporting that Malia plans to shed her Secret Service detail in the fall, when she starts at Harvard.

President-elect Trump and his wife Melania are entitled to Secret Service protection for life. Former presidents are also allowed to decline Secret Service protection, but Richard Nixon - who resigned in disgrace after the 1974 Watergate scandal - has been the only president to do so since the creation of the agency in 1865.

Former President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill that limited Secret Service protection to former presidents inaugurated after January 1, 1997 to 10 years after leaving office. But in 2013, President Obama reverted the law back to lifetime protection for all future presidents, as well reinstating lifetime protection for himself and President George W. Bush.
The Australian mother charged with murdering a Balinese police officer has offered to pay his family $2500 and maintained her innocence in court, insisting she tried to stop her toyboy British DJ boyfriend from killing him.

But the wife of murdered policeman Wayan Sudarsa - whose battered body was discovered on Kuta Beach in the early hours of August 17 - rejected the offer of a 'donation' from Sara Connor, saying she won't accept 'even a cent from her'.

'I want the court to give the maximum punishment that fits what she did, based on Indonesian laws. That's all Sir,' widow Ketut Arsini told Denpasar Court on Tuesday.

Ms Arsini's two sons applauded loudly in court as their mother read out the powerful statement, eyeing down the Connor for the first time, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Connor and her boyfriend David Taylor face a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.

Australian mother Sara Connor has offered a 'donation' of $A2500 to the family of murdered Balinese police officer Wayan Sudarsa

But Ketut Arsini, the widow of Mr Sudarsa, rejected the offer and instead asked the judge to give Connor the 'maximum punishment' in line with Indonesian law

Connor read sections of a handwritten letter out to the court, in which she offers Ms Arsini a 'donation' of 25 million rupiah

The comments came after Connor read sections of a handwritten letter out to the court, in which she offers Ms Arsini a 'donation' of 25 million rupiah (approximately $A2500).

Expressing her sadness over the death of Mr Sudarsa, Connor said: 'I feel great pain when I remember the tragedy.

'I came to Bali on this little holiday, to relax ... often I think, is it maybe destiny that wanted to change our lives so dramatically,' she scribbled in English on a sheet of paper.

'I'm deeply sorry for you and your family now left alone without Mr Sudarsa to care for you and your children. You have been always in my prayers.'

Connor reiterated her innocence, saying all she had tried to do was separate her British boyfriend David Taylor and Mr Sudarsa after the pair got into a fight over her lost purse.

The battered body of Balinese police officer Wayan Sudarsa was discovered on Kuta Beach in the early hours of August 17

Ms Arsini (pictured giving evidence) said her husband was working the night shift when he died

The Byron Bay mother walks to a holding cell for her murder trial at a Denpasar court

Connor maintained her innocence in court on Tuesday - insisting that all she had tried to do was separate her boyfriend from Mr Sudarsa after the pair got into a fight

Ms Arsini said her husband was working the night shift when he died and that when she heard there had been an 'accident' she couldn't believe it.

I want the court to give the maximum punishment that fits what she did, based on Indonesian laws. That's all Sir Widow of murdered Bali police officer

'(My) son came back from the hospital and he cried ... He said his father has gone.'

Prosecutors allege Taylor became embroiled in a fatal fight with Mr Sudarsa after the British DJ confronted the police officer over the loss of his wallet.

Taylor, the court has heard, hit Mr Sudarsa numerous times, including with a beer bottle.

Before they were arrested on August 19, Connor and Taylor burnt their clothes and destroyed a number of Mr Sudarsa's personal belongings in an alleged bid to cover up evidence.

Both are facing charges of murder, fatal assault in company and assault causing death.

Taylor will face court on Thursday before Connor's matter is expected to return next week.

If found guilty of the charges, Connor (pictured arriving for a trial hearing on Tuesday) and Taylor both face maximum sentences of 15 years behind bars in an Indonesian jail

As part of the murder trial, Connor and Taylor were instructed to re-enact the events (pictured) that led to the death of the Indonesian traffic policeman
A five-month-old baby who died while in the care of his mother's friends had 26 bruises on his body, as well as cerebral swelling and anal injuries, a court heard on Tuesday.

Michael Smedley died in July 2012 in Alice Springs but no one has ever been charged for his death after medical experts disagreed over his cause of death for four years, according to ABC.

A coronial inquest into the death of the infant began this week.

Michael Smedley (pictured), a five-month-old baby from Alice Springs who died in 212, ad 26 bruises on his body, as well as cerebral swelling and anal injuries, a coronial inquest heard on Tuesday

Kelvin Currie, an attorney assisting the coroner, told the court Michael was in the care of his mother's friends Tamara Cole and Oliver Deighton when he died.

Mr Deighton said Michael began jerking and hiccupping after he fell off the change table Mr Deighton had left him on as he gave a set of keys to a friend, the inquest heard.

Mr Currie said Mr Deighton saw the baby falling headfirst to the found but was able to catch him.

An hour later Mr Deighton retrieved Michael after Ms Cole came home, but noticed he was not breathing and his body had become limp, Mr Currie said.

Michael was pronounced dead just after 4pm  more than six hours after Mr Deighton said he fell.

Haemorrhaging on his eyes and swelling on his brain are symptoms of shaken baby syndrome, but blood was also found in his nappy and a swab from his underpants appeared to show sperm, the inquest heard.

Initial reports say Michael died from being shaken violently, but paediatric forensic physician Dr Terry Donald told police in 2013 he did not believe Michael was abused and said the cause of death should be open, ABC reported.

The infant (pictured) died while in the care of his mother's friends Tamara Cole and Oliver Deighton, but no one has ever been charged for his death after medical experts disagreed over his cause of death for four years

Dr Donald appeared to have changed his mind when he told the inquest on Tuesday he believed Michael died from trauma.

The swab containing what appeared to be sperm could not be linked to Mr Deighton because the sample had not been prepared properly and no sperm could be seen two weeks later, a forensic biologist told the inquest.

'That [the different medical findings] leaves the expert opinion in a state of confusion,' Mr Currie said.

'The police were unable to sustain a criminal charge and that left the mother most aggrieved.'
Ironworker Marline Salvat claims she was sexually harassed by a colleague

A construction worker took photographs of his cancer-stricken colleague as she used a portable toilet then threatened to expose them to co-workers unless she had sex with him, it has been alleged.

Marline Salvat, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, claims she was sexually harassed by Anthony Sango while they worked for Construction Resources Corp in Staten Island, New York.

They were completing a job at the Empire Outlets shopping complex in July when Salvat says the harassment began.

Sango first accused her of flirting with a shop steward and threatened to tell her fiance as much unless she gave him her underwear, she said.

Weeks later, Ms Salvat, who is an ovarian cancer survivor, was using a portable toilet at the construction site when she said Sango tried to break in.

He was able to stick his hand through the door to take photographs of her as she sat on the toilet and then threatened to show them to colleagues, it is claimed.

Ms Salvat said he offered not to share them if she had sex with him, the New York Post reported.

She refused and reported the incident to bosses but was fired weeks later, with bosses citing performance problems as the reason for her termination.

Ms Salvat's lawyers dispute them, claiming instead she was fired for reporting the abuse.

Salvat and her colleague were working at the shopping complex Empire Outlets in July when she said the harassment took place

The mother-of-two said she was using a portable toilet when Sango forced one arm in to take photographs of her (file image above)

'Ms. Salvat brought with her a decades worth of experience and an impeccable track record as an ironworker,' her attorney, Jon L. Norinsberg, said.

'What happened to Ms. Salvat should never happen to any woman in the workplace, the lawyer, Jon L. Norinsberg, said.

'It is outrageous to think Ms. Salvat lost her job merely because she complained about a male coworkers sexual harassment,' he said.

Construction Resources Corp. did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Two key ISIS members involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks have been killed in a US-led coalition drone strike in the ISIS 'capital' of Raqqa, the Pentagon has announced.

The strike, which took place on December 4, also killed a third leader, who was linked to another, foiled attack, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told US airmen at a military base in Italy on Tuesday.

'The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike,' Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

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US Defense Secretary Ash Carter (pictured Sunday in Iraq) told US airmen in Italy Tuesday that a US-led coalition strike in Raqqa, Syria, had killed three key ISIS leaders

Two of those leaders were linked to the 2015 Paris attacks (aftermath pictured), which saw 137 people killed and more than 800 others injured. The third was involved in a foiled attack

The attack took place on December 4 in Raqqa, around 100 miles from Aleppo.

Cook said the two involved in the Paris attacks, Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, were close associates of Islamic State external operations leader Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who was killed in August.

Those attacks saw more than 130 people killed across the French capital in a series of coordinated attacks.

He said the third militant, Walid Hamman, had been convicted in absentia in Belgium for a disrupted 2015 planned attack.

Hamman was a 'suicide attack planner', Cook said.

The two Paris-linked leaders were also known affiliates of Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the IS external operations leader who was killed in a strike in November

All three were members of a network once led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, who was linked to the January 2015 attack on the controversial French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

That incident saw 12 people killed and 11 more injured after brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, entered the offices with assault rifles and other weapons and opened fire.

Al-Hakim was killed in November this year, in another drone attack.

Last week the US announced that a total of 50,000 ISIS fighters have been killed over the past two years.

The 2015 Paris attacks saw 137 people killed and another 368 people injured in six attacks across the city.

Those attacks saw the men firing into restaurants and cafes and detonating suicide vests, and climaxed with a mass shooting and hostage situation at the Bataclan theater, where 89 of the 1,500 people attending were killed.

Seven of the nine perpetrators were killed at the scene of their crimes.

The other two were killed in a raid by police and soldiers in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis two days later, alongside a third suspect. Five other suspects were taken in by police.
Muslim groups have lambasted one of Donald Trump's possible Cabinet pics after an Islamophobic meme was posted on his the Facebook page.

The meme, posted Friday on the page of ex-Rep. Allen West, showed Trump's proposed Defense Secretary, General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis, with the message 'Fired by Obama to please the Muslims. Hired by Trump to exterminate them.'

West's Facebook editor blamed the post on an unnamed third party and rebuked its contents, but that wasn't enough for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), ABC Local 10 reported.

Islamophobic: This meme appeared on ex-Florida Rep Allen West's Facebook page on Friday. It depicts Trump's new Secretary of Defense pick, James 'Mad Dog' Mattis

Apology: The editor-in-chief of West's website said a third party put up the 'despicable' image and apologized, saying it didn't represent West's views or her own

No comment? A spokesman for the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) asked why West (pictured entering Trump Tower, Dec 12) didn't apologize for the meme himself

West, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, has been seen entering Trump Tower for meetings with the President-elect several times this month. He is rumored to be in the running for a Cabinet position.

But Hassan Shibly, CEO of CAIR-Florida, demanded that West be pushed out of the running after the meme post, and accused him of being a 'well-known Islamophobe'.

She added that he was an 'integral part of the multimillionaire [sic] and dangerously active Islamophobia industry in America.'

'The former congressman's irresponsible and openly xenophobic Facebook's [sic] posting insinuating that Trump nominated Gen. Mattis to exterminate Muslims should be taken serious by President-elect Trump,' she added.

'This public statement clearly disqualifies Allen West from any future public appointments of nominations.'

West has previously gone on record as describing Islam as 'not a religion' and saying that the violence exhibited by Islamic terrorists is not a 'perversion' of the faith, but what the Koran demands.

He has also described the Islamic Prophet Muhammad as 'a murderous warlord, psychopath and, by modern day standards, a pedophile'.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Michele Hickford, Editor-in-Chief of allenbwest.com, apologized, saying the meme was posted 'without Allen West's knowledge or consent' and that it 'was reprehensible in its message'.

Hickford said she took 'full responsibility... although I was not the one who posted it, and it was posted without my knowledge.'

She also said that the 'despicable' and 'offensive' meme was not created by any of West's staff and 'does not reflect Col. West's beliefs, principles and values'.

In the running: West, a retired army Lieutenant Colonel, is believed to be in the running for a Trump Cabinet position. A CAIR CEO has said he should be kicked out of the running

It was not explained whether the person in question was reprimanded, or how they had been able to post the image on West's page.

The apology from Hickford was not enough for some.

ALLEN WEST ON ISLAM 'You must realize that this is not a religion that you're fighting against. You're fighting against a theo-political belief system and construct. You're fighting against something that's been doing this thing since 622 AD - 7th century - 1,388 years. ... You need to get into the Qur'an, you need to understand their precepts, you need to read the Sunnah, you need to read the Hadith and then you can really understand this is not a perversion: They are doing exactly what this book says.' Speech at Reclaim American Liberty Conference, January 13, 2010 'You could have articulated how a 7th century savage and barbaric ideology inspired by [Muhammad,] a murderous warlord, psychopath, and, by modern day standards, a pedophile, was not a radical but the leader of a militant phase of Islam introduced after the 622 AD event referred to as Al Hijra [the pilgrimage of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, sometimes wrongly identified as the start of the Islamic calendar].' Open letter to Khizr M Khan, a Muslim and father of slain US soldier Humayun Khan, July 31, 2016 Advertisement

In a text message to ABC Local 10, Wilfredo Ruiz, a spokesman for CAIR, a decorated Navy attorney, said: 'And no reaction from West himself? Hmmm.

'In such a delicate issue we [are] still missing any reaction from Allen West himself disowning this xenophobic expression.'

The post was deleted after it was made, though not before it received at least 46,000 reactions on Facebook - the top three being 'like', 'ha ha' and 'love'.

It was also shared by more than 10,000 people.

Mattis, nicknamed 'Mad Dog', is famous both for his tenacious attitude in war and his motto of 'Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.'

He was made commander of United States Central Command in 2010, by President Obama, replacing General David Petraeus.

But according to a Foreign Policy article in 2013, he was pushed out from his position as by the Obama administration because of his constant questioning of the Iran nuclear deal. He retired from the military that same year.

He is now Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, although that will require waiving a rule that holders of that position cannot have served in the preceding seven years.

If he gets the role, it will be the second time the rule has been waived, after President Truman gave George Marshall the position in 1950, during the Korean War.
President Barack Obama took a slap at Donald Trump on Monday over his assertions that 'no one really knows' who hacked Democrats before the election or why.

The departing president smacked Trump for urging the Kremlin to 'hack Hillary's emails so that we can...confirm our conspiracy theories.'

He took aim at the public next, scolding voters for their 'obsession' with stolen emails Wikileaks put out in the final weeks of the presidential campaign that were obtained through a hack on a senior Clinton aide's personal account.

Earlier in the day Obama's spokesman let loose on Trump in his daily briefing. He also accused the president-elect of willful ignorance.

'He called on Russia to hack his opponent. He called on Russia to attack Secretary Clinton,' Josh Earnest said. 'So, he certainly had a pretty good sense of which side this activity was coming down on.'

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President Barack Obama took a slap at Donald Trump on Monday over his assertions that 'no one really knows' who hacked Democrats before the election or why

Earnest and Obama were referring to Trump's plea at a July rally that the Kremlin look for Clinton's deleted emails next after it was revealed that top Democrats had been hacked, likely by Russia.

'Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,' Trump said. 'I think you'll be rewarded mightily by our press!'

Democrats hit him for encouraging foreign espionage.

'The president-elect in some of his political events, specifically said to the Russians, "Hack Hillarys emails so that we can finally find out whats going on and confirm our conspiracy theories," ' Obama claimed in a Monday interview with the Daily Show's Trevor Noah.

The U.S. president said he still doesn't understand why illegally obtained emails from Democratic officials, released online just before the party's nominating convention, and a related hack on Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's account received more attention than revelations that Russia ordered the intrusion.

The departing president smacked Trump for urging the Kremlin to 'hack Hillary's emails so that we can...confirm our conspiracy theories'

'What is it about the state of our democracy where the leaks of what were frankly not very interesting emails, that didnt have any explosive information in them, ended up being an obsession?

'And the fact that the Russians were doing this was not an obsession?' he added.

Obama told Noah, 'The real question that I think we all have to reflect on is whats happened to our political system where some emails that were hacked and released ended up being the overwhelming story and the constant source of coverage, breathless coverage that was depicted as somehow damning in all sorts of ways  when the truth of the matter was it was fairly routine stuff.'

Noah's sit-down interview with Obama at the White House dovetailed an article in the Washington Post on the election hacking that put the current administration and the new one at odds with each other.

The White House pressed pause on a post-election detente with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday to harangue him for rejecting the CIA's assessment that Russia engineered a series of hacks on Democrats to get him elected

The White House pressed pause on a post-election detente with the president-elect on Monday to harangue him for rejecting the CIA's assertion that Russia engineered a series of hacks on Democrats to get him elected.

Trump said Sunday, in response to a Post article disclosing the CIA's stance, that Obama's party was making excuses for Hillary Clinton's electoral loss.

He defend Kremlin in a Fox News interview and a tweet Monday morning.

Obama's spokesman subsequently broke his self-imposed silence on the president-elect in his afternoon briefing.

Earnest said he was presenting 'objective facts' as he ripped Trump for ignoring a pile of evidence he said supported the CIA's belief that Russia did the hacking to benefit the Republican businessman.

'You didn't need a security clearance to figure out who benefited from malicious Russian cyber activity,' Earnest contended.

Trump said Sunday 'no one really knows' who was behind the hacks and claimed the opposing party was looking for an 'excuse' for Hillary Clinton's electoral loss

It is the intelligence community's belief that Russia engaged in 'malicious cyber activity in an attempt to destabilize our political system,' Obama's spokesman repeatedly stated.

That was covered in an October report with the input of 17 intelligence agencies.

Obama likewise said in his interview with Noah, 'None of this should be a big surprise. This was reported on before the election.

'I dont think there was any doubt among anybody in the media or among members of Congress as to who was being advantaged or disadvantaged by the political gossip that was being put out in drip, drip, drip fashion up to the election.'

Furthermore, the hackers pushed out emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, Earnest said in his Monday briefing. 'Not from the RNC and Steve Bannon.'

The White House official rattled off a list of Trump's alleged ties to Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, through financial deals and advisers, including former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

'It was the president-elect who over the course of campaign indicated that he thought that President Putin was a strong leader,' Earnest said. 'It was the president-elect who indicated the potential that he would withdraw from some of our critically important NATO commitments.'

He said, 'The president-elect and his campaign didn't make any effort to obscure this.'

All of that information appeared in the news prior to the election. None of it originated with the White House, he said.

'And its all information that is, as far as I can tell, undisputed,' he stated.

Obama said Monday, 'I dont think there was any doubt among anybody in the media or among members of Congress as to who was being advantaged or disadvantaged' by the hacks. Obama's seen here with Clinton at the Democratic Convention, just after the first round of emails were released

Trump and his aides have disputed several reports that linked them to the Kremlin.

Earnest later stated that 'there certainly should be no dispute' about the intelligence community's assessment after a reporter noted that Trump had already taken issue with some of his statements.

'We had an opportunity to have that debate and that was the subject of an extensive debate, and the election didn't turn out the way that we had hoped, and since then I have gone to great lengths to try to avoid getting into a debate with the president-elect's team,' he said.

The White House official said he wasn't trying to start a fight with them now, either.

'What I've stated is not an argument, but really just a presentation of objective facts about what all of you and the American public knew in advance of the election.'

He redirected his ire to Republicans in Congress, some of whom have called for legislative investigations into the hacking.

The information he referenced was known to lawmakers who backed Trump, he said.

'How they reconcile their political strategy and their patriotism is something they're going to have to explain.'

Trump tweeted Monday that it's 'hard' to know who hacked Democrats' emails before the November election since they weren't caught in the act

A Washington Post report this weekend said the CIA believes that the Kremlin instigated the attacks intending to aid the Republican presidential nominee. The October report confirmed that Russia was behind the hacking but did not conclude the goal was to elect Trump.

The president-elect told Fox News Sunday, 'I think its ridiculous. I think its just another excuse. I dont believe it.'

'Nobody really knows, and hacking is very interesting. Once they hack, if you don't catch them in the act you're not going to catch them,' he said. 'They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place.'

Trump continued to tweet about Russian espionage this morning, saying, 'Unless you catch "hackers" in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?'

'Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!' he wrote.

Trump spokesman Jason Miller told reporters Monday morning that 'this overall narrative that's in the news right now' about Russia 'is an attempt to try to delegitimize President-elect Trump's win. That really seems to be the  what's going on here.'

'First after the election it was the recount nonsense. Then it was discussions of the popular vote. Now it's the anonymous off-the-record sources with conflicting information, trying to raise other issues,' he said.

Obama has ordered a review of the hacking from the intelligence community for his own purposes.

The report may not be made public because it will contain classified information, the White House said.
A student shaved 0.01 seconds off the Rubik's cube speed-solving world record as the previous champion looks on.

The video, shot in Sydney, Australia on Sunday, shows Feliks Zemdegs, 20, solving the famous 1980s toy in just 4.73 seconds.

The previous world record was set by Mats Valk, 20, who is sat next to Mr Zemdegs as he breaks his record.

The video, shot in Sydney, Australia on Sunday, shows Feliks Zemdegs, 20, preparing to solve the famous 1980s toy in record time

Mr Zemdegs, a commerce student at the University of Melbourne, gets ten seconds to inspect the Rubiks cube before he has to solve it

His hands move so fast the camera struggles to pick up his finger movements. He solves the puzzle in just 4.73 seconds.

Mr Zemdegs, a commerce student at the University of Melbourne, gets ten seconds to inspect the Rubiks cube before he has to solve it.

He tells the judge he is ready and the clock starts. His hands move so fast the camera struggles to pick up his individual finger movements.

He throws the cube down, prompting a big cheer from the crowd. When Mr Zemdegs realises he has broken the record he throws his hands up in celebration.

A devastated Mr Valk lets out a swearword and throws his head on the table.

But the misery does not last long and Mr Valk is soon clapping and congratulating his rival on his amazing achievement.

Mr Zemdegs is famous in the 'speedcubing' world and has been posting videos and tutorials on YouTube since around 2008.

The previous world record was set by Mats Valk, 20, (right) is sat next to Mr Zemdegs as he breaks his record. He lets out a swear word and throws his head on the table when he sees his record broken

The first unofficial time he recorded was an average of 19.73 seconds in June 2008 and won the first competition he attended with an average solving time of 13.74 seconds in the final round.

At his next competition, the Melbourne Summer Open (January 2010), Zemdegs set his first world records for 3x3x3 and 4x4x4 average, with times of 9.21 seconds and 42.01 seconds respectively.
A Florida man was arrested twice over the weekend following a bizarre string of incidents that could have potentially put the life of his ex and their four children at risk.

Vincent Palmer III, 27, placed a note with the words 'KKK' and 'Trump' as well as a slew of racial slurs that were directed at his own children on the mailbox of his ex-girlfriend before smashing a brick through the window of her car and setting the vehicle on fire in the early morning hours of Saturday.

He then fled, but returned when his ex, Staci Winn, 35, called him to say what had happened to her car.

Police on the scene then arrested Palmer when they noticed he was acting suspicious and learned there was a warrant out for his arrest over failure to pay child support.

He was released on Sunday, and at that point scrawled a bloody note with more racial slurs claiming that he had been kidnapped, which he left for his grandparents.

His grandfather called authorities to alert them to the note and soon after the officers who had arrested Palmer one day prior eventually found him at a nearby Burger King in Ormond Beach.

At that point Palmer admitted to setting the fire, writing the note and faking his own kidnapping.

He said that he did because the couple had been arguing about the custody of their four boys, who are all under the age of five.

Crime: Vincent Palmer III, 27, set his ex-girlfriend Stacie Winn's car on fire over the weekend after throwing a brick through the window (couple above with Winn's daughter from a previous relationship)

Reason: He said that he did because the couple had been arguing about the custody of their four boys, who are all under the age of five (Winn's car during the blaze)

Hate crime: Palme also left a note for her and their four children, who are all under the age of five, which had the words 'KKK' and Trump' written on it (Winn's car after the fire)

Lines: The note read: 'I HAVE WATHED [ sic ] YOU FOR A LONG TIME YOU AND YOUR N***** KIDS DON'T Belong'

The Ormond Beach Police Department said in their report that Palmer left work shortly after 4am on Saturday and went to a gas station where he filled a Mountain Dew bottle with gasoline before heading off to his ex's home.

Winn lives at the residence with her four children with Palmer, a 9-year-old daughter from a previous relationship and her 67-year-old mother Lynda according to the report.

Palmer then clipped the note he wrote to the side of the mailbox, which read: 'I HAVE WATHED [sic] YOU FOR A LONG TIME YOU AND YOUR N***** KIDS DONT Belong.'

That side also had 'KKK' written on it, and the flip side had the word 'TRUMP.'

Winn was alerted to the fire by a neighbor, and when she went outside and saw what was happening she immediately called Palmer.

'While the police were there the victim called the defendant and told him that her vehicle had been set on fire,' reads the police report.

'The defendant went to the victim's home at that time. When he arrived the officer's on scene ran a warrant's check on the defendant.

Palmer (mugshot above) is charged with arson

'He had a Writ of Bodily Attachment warrant for child support so he was arrested. Ofc Pearson spoke to the defendant while at the scene and said he appeared to be nervous.'

The officers did not suspect Palmer of setting the fire at that time, and early Sunday he was released from jail.

A little after 10am, Palmer's grandfather called police in Daytona Beach to report he had found a bloody note claiming his grandson had been kidnapped, along with drops of blood in the driveway.

That note read: 'KKK....I HATE BLACK MEN WHO F*** WHITE WOMEN....YOU WILL NEVER SEE YOUR 27 GRANDSON AGAIN ALIVE....YOU WILL NEVER FOUND OUT WHO I AM, THIS IS HIS NOTEBOOK...?.NICE DOG, YOU SLEEP HARD.'

Officers quickly pinged Palmer's phone, which revealed his location to be a nearby Burger King.

When police arrived Palmer claimed his name was 'Raquel B Johnson,' but then changed his story when the arresting officers from the previous day appeared, admitting to his real identity.

Palmer also admitted at that time to setting the fire and was taken in to be interviewed by authorities.

Kids: Palmer then fled but returned when Winn called him to reveal what happened, at which point he was arrested on a warrant for failure to pay child support (Winn with her four sons with Palmer and her daughter)

Baby boy: Palmer was released on Sunday at which point he faked how own kidnapping, again implying it was the work of the KKK (above after the births of two of his sons)

Confused: Winn first wrote about the hate crime she believed she suffered, unaware that Palmer was behind the incident (Winn's Facebook post above)

'During the interview the defendant told us that he wrote the note found at the arson before he left work. He also told us that he stopped at the gas station to buy gas specifically for using in the burning of the victim's vehicle,' reads the police report.

'He was very open and told us exactly what he had done. He apologized for the fire and said he never meant to hurt anyone.

'The blood that was found at the Daytona Beach scene was the defendant's. He had pricked his own finger and spread the blood around to add to the abduction illusion.

'He said he had set the victim's vehicle on fire because of problems he was having with her over their children. The defendant and the victim were never threatened by or in danger from anyone in this case. The defendant wrote both notes of his own free will in an attempt to keep investigating officers from thinking he was the suspect.'

He is now facing an arson charge, and his ex has set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of getting some money to get a new vehicle.

'My son is turning 1 in 5 days, another is turning 2 in 10 and Krista will be 10 in 14 days. They are and have been my main focus and will continue to be. Y'all be blessed and keep me and my family in your prayers,' writes a devastated Winn on the page.

'I'm trying to replace my car seats, strollers and any gap from the value on my car and a new car.'
Prince Harry held his girlfriend Meghan Markle's hand as they carried a Christmas tree back to the car after some incognito festive shopping, it has been claimed.

The 32-year-old royal was seen buying a 65 Nordmann Fir from Pines and Needles in Battersea Park, south London, with his actress girlfriend on Monday evening.

Harry and the actress spent around half an hour in the pop-up store, before paying by card and walking hand-in-hand back to a people carrier.

Prince Harry and his girlfriend Meghan Markle were reportedly out buying a Christmas Tree

The pair are said to have visited Pines and Needles in Battersea yesterday evening

The woman that sold them the tree, Zaqia Crawford (pictured), said they were 'doing lots of touching and laughing' as they picked out the tree - although she had no idea who they were

But Britain's most famous couple were served by Zaqia Crawford, originally from New York, who had no idea who they were as she sold her the tree.

Miss Crawford, 30, said: 'It was a really casual situation. I had no idea who they were, so it was just like an ordinary customer conversation.'

She said they were doing 'cute coupley stuff' such as 'making each other laugh and being excited' and she was 'shocked' when her colleague told her who they were.

Although fellow worker Ollie Wilkinson, 22, the actress seemed much keener on the mistletoe than Harry, who didn't offer her a traditional kiss at the London pop-up.

Mr Wilkinson said: 'I knew exactly what it was so I thought I had to. I said 'would you like this mistletoe' and she [Meghan] said 'yes that would be great'.

'He [Harry] then squeezed one of the berries on it and was like 'I find this stuff weird' and then she was like 'oh, I really like it'.

'Then he walked off with the tree on his shoulder, holding her hand, and she was holding in her other hand a bunch of mistletoe.'

Sam Lyle (right), who runs the firm, said staff were shocked by the couple's entrance

But despite trying to maintain their discretion, Miss Crawford said they feelings towards each other were clear from their behaviour.

She described them as 'totally happy, cute, coupley - but not overly mushy and gross'.

'It was totally clear that they were a couple. It wasn't overly affectionate or anything like that - they were just doing cute, coupley stuff, like making each other laugh and being excited. Just lots of touching and laughing. They were just like any other couple,' she added.

They were just doing cute, coupley stuff, like making each other laugh and being excited Zaqia Crawford

Miss Markle told the American sales assistant that she 'missed the food' in her homeland as she struck up a conversation about the US, while Harry asked her how she felt about London.

'I said 'it depends on the day you ask me, really - some days I like it, some days people suck'. He said 'how about today', I said 'today was a good day'... I always get those kind of conversations because of my accent,' she said.

Miss Markle, 35, was wearing a pair of stiletto boots and wool coat, while Harry donned a beanie hat and chinos, Miss Crawford said.

Harry offered to help Miss Crawford carry the tree and gave the suggested 1 donation to the charity Action for Children, before shaking her hand as they left.

Harry, 32, is understood to be spending the Yuletide apart from his new love as he visits Sandringham to be with his grandmother The Queen.

Meghan was out with a friend in Canada on Sunday, but is thought to have since flown to London

The couple's relationship, which began in the summer, was confirmed last month by Harry's communications secretary in a dramatic statement.

It described the 'wave of abuse and harassment' she has experienced since rumours of the couple's romance surfaced.

Kensington Palace declined to comment on the recent sighting.

And Sam Lyle, who runs the Christmas tree pop-up, described how people were utterly enthralled by the sighting yesterday.

He said: 'You could have heard a pin drop - or a needle - when Prince Harry and Meghan walked into the store.

'They were completely charming together and unaware that our jaws had hit the floor.

Actress Meghan Markle with a turkey ahead of American Thanksgiving from Instagram

'They chose a gorgeous Nordmann Fir and walked away after exchanging Christmas pleasantries.'

Fellow shopper Gary Spence said: 'It was a bit weird seeing Prince Harry browsing the Christmas trees. I thought he'd go for the biggest one around, but he just wanted a little six footer.'

Harry now lives in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace on the east side of Hyde Park.

Meghan was out in her home city of Toronto on Sunday but it is believed she may have taken a trans-Atlantic flight on Sunday or yesterday to be with Harry.

Earlier this week, Meghan wrote an essay for Elle UK magazine on racism in Hollywood and in the US.
A drunk driver who smashed his Cadillac into a California home and killed a 60-year-old man as he slept in his bed three years ago has been convicted of second-degree murder.

Orange County jurors deliberated about two hours on Monday before finding Kourosh Keshmiri guilty. He faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in February 2017.

Keshmiri, 30, had been drinking and was speeding on the morning of December 29, 2013, when he lost control of his friend's 2005 Cadillac and plowed into the Mission Viejo home of Kenneth Jackson.

Guilty verdict: Kourosh Keshmiri (left), 30, has been convicted of second-degree murder for plowing into a California home in 2013 and killing Kenneth Jackson (right), 60, as he slept

Devastating impact: Experts said Keshmiri was driving his friend's red Cadillac at a rate of 86mph when he became airborne and sailed through Jackson's window

Police said at the time that the force of the impact rammed a sleeping Jackson through the bedroom wall into the bathroom, and he came to rest beneath the red Cadillac.

The 60-year-old man was extracted from the house in the 2000 block of Pacato Drive by firefighters but died from his injuries en route to the hospital.

Experts calculated that Keshmiri's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit at the time of the collision, and he was doing 86mph in a 25mph speed zone.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker said during Keshmiri's trial that he was driving so fast that 'he flew Dukes of Hazzard-style into [the home's] glass window,' reported OC Register.

Keshmiri suffered only minor injuries to his face when he slammed his head agaisnt the steering wheel because he was not wearing a seat belt.

Jackson was extracted from the house in the 2000 block of Pacato Drive by firefighters but died from his injuries on the way to the hospital. This image shows the victim's covered body on a stretcher

Prosecutors noted that Keshmiri had prior DUI convictions and that just 11 days before the fatal crash, he was ordered by a judge not to drink and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

When he was found guilty of a DUI charge in 2010, Keshmiri was warned that he could be charged with murder if he killed a person while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the station KTLA.

As part of his sentence in the 2010 case, Keshmiri was ordered to complete a three-month alcohol-diversion program that included classes on the dangers of driving under the influence and a presentation by a victim of a DUI crash.

The defense argued that Keshmiri should face only a lesser charge of manslaughter because he did not intend to kill Jackson.

Biker: Jackson, a member of an Orange County biker club, was a recovering alcoholic. He owned a shop where he repaired Harley Davidsons and built custom motorcycles

Jackson was a member of the Loners Motorcycle Club in Orange County who repaired Harley Davidsons and built custom motorcycles out of his shop in San Clementine.

Following his death, friends credited Jackson, himself a recovering alcoholic, with inspiring them to stay clean and sober, reported NBC Los Angeles.
Former Rugby League star Matt Cooper has opened up on his drug addiction after he was hospitalised taking a dangerous cocktail of prescription meds.

The ex-St George star admitted he got a wake-up call last month after taking a large dose of prescription drugs which left him fearing for his life.

Cooper, 37, was admitted to rehab last week on the Illawarra region of New South Wales, after a yearlong battle with the painkiller Endone, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Former Rugby League star Matt Cooper has been admitted to rehab this week

He told the newspaper: I was like Im taking too many pills here. There were times I was like, Im not going to wake up.

Cooper, who retired from his 243 game career in 2011, said he was driven to come clean on his addiction after reading about overdoses from the drug.

He said: I Googled how people die from this drug and they just stop breathing. That is when I realised I had to tell my wife. You can only hold a secret for so long and I was getting tired.

Cooper was admitted to South Coast Private Hospital last Thursday, a month after he was rushed to intensive care.

Cooper admitted he feared his wife of 16 years Dallas (left) would take daughters Starr, 4, and Indie, 7, away after learning of his addiction

Cooper said he was driven to come clean on his addiction after reading about overdoses from the drug

Cooper was admitted to the South Coast Private Hospital on the Illawarra region of New South Wales

Cooper has been with his wife Dallas for 16 years is a father to daughters Starr, 4, and Indie, 7.

He admitted he feared his wife would seek custody of their children after learning of his addiction, which was sparked from a neck injury last year.

He warned others to be vigilant for the warning signs of addiction to prescription medications.
'WHEN I LOOKED UP I SAW A HUGE MAN. HE LOOKED LIKE A MONSTER': THE HORRIFIC ABUSE NADIA MURAD SUFFERED

Nadia Murad said she had to 'take herself off to another world' as she was brutally raped

Nadia was part of the non-Muslim Yazidi community, which was stormed by jihadis in 2014.

Six of her eight brothers were murdered in front of her, alongside 300 other men from her village, before she was snatched and repeatedly raped by 'countless' men several times a day.

Her mother was killed while Nadia and her two sisters and teenage female cousins and nieces, were transported to the ISIS stronghold of Mosul with more than 150 other girls before being subjected to horrific sexual abuse.

She said she had to 'take herself off to another world' as she was brutally raped.

Nadia was eventually able to escape some three months later, fleeing to the safety of a refugee camp before finding asylum in Germany.

The young girls were even raped as they were transported to Mosul. Nadia told the United Nations Security Council in December: 'My mother saw them killing my brothers and then they took my mother and killed her.

'I was already orphaned as I didn't have a father, all I had in the war was my mother.

'But when they took me to Mosul and raped me, I forgot my mother and brothers. Because what they were doing to the women was more difficult than death.

'Imagine until now, for more than a year and a half, girls as young as nine are being rented and sold out [for sex].'

Nadia told politicians at the United Nations: 'I implore you, get rid of Daesh (Islamic State) completely.'

Reliving the horrific abuse, which started when she was being transported to Mosul, she said: 'Along the way, they humiliated us. They touched us and violated us.

'They took us to Mosul with more than 150 other Yazidi families. In a building, there were thousands of Yazidi families and children who were exchanged as gifts.

'One of these people came up to me. He wanted to take me. I looked down at the floor. I was absolutely petrified. When I looked up, I saw a huge man. He looked like a monster.'

The brave Iraqi women have vowed to continue speaking out on behalf of those who suffered a similar fate

She continued: I cried. I cried out, I said Im too young and youre huge. He hit me. He kicked me and beat me.

And a few minutes later, another man came up to me. I still was looking at the floor.

I saw that he was a little bit smaller. I begged him. I implored him for him to take me. I was incredibly scared of the first man.'

Describing the man who took her, she said: 'He forced me to get dressed and put my makeup on and then that terrible night, he did it.

'He forced me to serve as part of his military faction, he humiliated me every day.'

She tried to escape, but was stopped by a guard.

She said: 'Imagine until now, for more than a year and a half, girls as young as nine are being rented and sold out [for sex]'

Nadia recalled: 'That night he beat me. He asked me to take my clothes off. He put me in a room with the guards and then they proceeded to commit their crime until I fainted.'

And she said to politicians: 'I implore you, get rid of Daesh (Islamic State) completely.'

Through tears, she said: ''They were committing all kinds; murder, rape and displacing people by force in the name of Islam.

'Many people may think my story is difficult, but many more had more difficult than mine. They killed six of my brothers, but there are families that have lost 10 brothers.'
A fitness model was punched in the face by her Playboy Playmate pal when she came home from a night out in New York and tried to wake her up, a court has heard.

Mia Raquel, who was the November 2015 Playmate in Playboy's Slovakia edition, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday charged with assaulting her friend Zoe Cacciola at an apartment in Manhattan.

The New York Post said the court heard the Playmate, whose real name is Mia Lytell, was asleep in Miss Cacciola's apartment on October 20 when her friend came in from partying and tried to wake her.

Mia Raquel (pictured) allegedly punched her friend after being woken up in the early hours

Zoe Cacciola (pictured) was allegedly punched in the face when she tried to wake her friend

The Florida-based blonde, whose Instagram page is decorated with selfies and modelling shots in which she shows off her stunning figure, allegedly punched Miss Cacciola, 31, in the face and neck.

Her attorney, Jeremy Saland, told Mail Online: 'Mia adamantly maintains her innocence. We are confident that when the evidence, and lack of credible evidence, is reviewed, the outcome will be what we have asserted all along.

'That is, Mia will continue to maintain the pristine record she had before she was accused of this prevarication and move forward with her life.'

Ms Raquel, 28, who was also Playboy's Miss March 2016 in the Venezuela edition, has been charged with second-degree assault and second-degree harassment.

She is due back in court on February 2.
A father left languishing in a Saudi Arabian jail following a misunderstanding has finally returned to the UK.

Kausar Uddin, 48, was imprisoned at the beginning of the year after being accused of assaulting a police officer in Mecca.

The takeaway owner and taxi driver from Edinburgh was allegedly beaten by police and suffered horrifying conditions behind bars for three-and-a-half months.

Kausar Uddin, pictured, was arrested by Saudi authorities during a pilgrimage to Mecca

Mr Uddin, pictured with his daughter Kaulsom, left, and son Al-Ebrahim, right, spent the first three weeks of his sentence locked in a room with an estimated 500 people

Mr Uddin was accused of assaulting a police officer while on pilgrimage to Mecca, pictured

He then spent a further five months under 'house arrest' battling to get home after his passport was seized by officials.

Since his return he has described his time in prison as 'hell', adding: 'You have to accept it, whatever happens. Muslims believe that whatever comes is from God. Everything happens for a reason.'

Mr Uddin had travelled to Mecca with his wife, three children and a group from Edinburgh's Blackhall Mosque at the beginning of the year.

They were set to take part in Umrah - a Muslim pilgrimage.

But during the final prayer of the day on February 22, Mr Uddin was caught up in the pushing and shoving of the crowd with Islam's most sacred mosque, Al-Masjid al-Haram.

Mr Uddin went to Mecca with his wife, Alayna, rear, daughter Kaulsom, left, and sons, Al-Ebrahim, right and Al-Esmail, front, when he was arrested in February

He said he had tried to move into an area that was closed off and was collared and slapped by a policeman.

Caught off guard, he reached out in self-defence, grabbing hold of the officer to steady himself - it was misinterpreted as an attempted assault.

The policeman then allegedly began beating Mr Uddin with a baton and another officer joined in.

He was taken to hospital, then to a local police station, before being taken to a nearby prison and his passport was seized.

Mr Uddin, pictured said he had a problem communicating in Saudi Arabia as he does not speak Arabic

His desperate family were unable to contact him and could not secure his release.

They were forced to fly home before their visa expired.

Mr Uddin was put on trial on February 29, without proper legal representation, where he was sentenced to 35 days in prison for assaulting a policeman, despite the officer apparently retracting the charge.

He spent three-and-a-half months in jail and a further five months trying to get his passport back.

For the first three weeks of his sentence he was in a room full of more than 500 people.

His fellow prisoners chain-smoked so heavily that the air was full of smoke, with police beating those who complained.

There were frequent fights.

Mr Uddin does not speak Arabic, so communication was near-impossible.

He said it was 'like hell', adding: 'You can't imagine the smoke. You couldn't see people's faces. Every minute, people were fighting.

'One minute, a fight would start from that side. And then it would start at this side.

'I couldn't sleep properly. I was just walking around and around the place. Some people would be sleeping beside the toilet, in water.

'Some people were mentally not well. They should have been going to the hospital. They should have been in another section.'

If a prisoner wanted to use a bunk bed, Mr Uddin said they were required to 'rent' one out for the night using cash sent in by their family and friends.

Otherwise, inmates were forced to sleep on thin mattresses placed in an open corridor.

After complaining to the British Council, the dad was moved to a non-smoking section of the jail, where conditions improved.

But despite complaining of chest pains and headaches, medical attention was not forthcoming.

Mr Uddin said: 'In the jail, the police don't listen to what you're saying. I told them I wanted to see the doctor. I was sick. They just said, "Tomorrow".'

Criticising Saudi Arabia's human rights record, Mr Uddin said he had met others in prison who were being held without explanation.

He said he felt anger at the time, but added: 'My anger did not work in there. I just had to accept it.

'I never thought I'd never get out. I never thought that way. Other people became very miserable, but I never felt miserable. Why should I? I haven't done anything wrong.'

Mr Uddin said he was pleased that he has now been returned to his family in Edinburgh

Family friend Rizwan Raza, an accountant also from Edinburgh, fought for Mr Uddin's release.

He said when the dad-of-three was released he was told he would get his passport back within a week, but it took four-and-a-half months.

He added: 'He was technically under house arrest [at a friend's house in Saudi Arabia]. He wasn't allowed out. He wasn't allowed to go to the shops.

'He was basically just told to sit in the house and wait for his passport to arrive.

'The Foreign Office were a big letdown for us. All they did was email back and forward. They didn't do anything.'

Mr Uddin said he is now 'very happy' to be back with his wife Alaya and three children Kaulsom, 18, Al-Ebrahim, 19, and Al-Esmail, eight.

They were forced to sell his takeaway while he was in Saudi Arabia, and the bank have issued threats about missed payments on his mortgage.

But he has recently applied to get his taxi licence back after it lapsed while he was in Saudi Arabia.

He is determined to get back to work and provide for his family.
He died the next day in hospital of infection, dehydration

A mother-of-two who let her husband rot to death in their filthy, cockroach-infested home is to get just four years in jail.

Paramedics found Mark Fulgham, 36, covered in bed sores and riddled with maggots, after his wife of 12 years Dormanicia called 911 when he began struggling to breathe on December 30, 2015.

He died in hospital just one day later of severe dehydration, malnutrition and infection. Police said he had suffered such severe starvation that his bones were severely pronounced.

Dormanicia Lawson (left, in her mugshot), who let her husband Mark Fulgham (right) rot to death in their filthy, cockroach-infested home is to get just four years in jail

Dormanicia Lawson, 37, was arrested and initially charged with homicide over what California officials deemed 'one of the worst neglect cases' they'd ever seen, NBC News reported.

But jurors were unable to agree on the murder charge last month which has since been dropped by prosecutors.

She is now facing just four years in jail after she agreed to plead guilty to abusing her husband. Lawson was also convicted of two abuse counts related to her children last month.

As the abuse charges are not classed as violent offenses, she could be eligible for release in just two years.

Lawson was arrested after doctors and nurses treating her husband discovered maggots eating his body and infected bed sores.

Paramedics found Mark Fulgham, 36, covered in bed sores and riddled with maggots lying on a filthy stained mattress

Officers entering the building, found a filthy home, infested with cockroaches, flies and maggots

Authorities found rotting garbage, human feces and a ceiling covered in flies

'You would think he was a corpse just by the way he looked,' Corporal Christopher Blakely, Concord police spokesperson, told PEOPLE at the time.

'It was horrific.  (It was) the most severe case of neglect that I've ever seen, and I've been an officer here for 10 years.

'He could not talk. He had shortness of breath. He had maggots that were eating his body.'

The couple were married for 12 years but Fulgham only appeared to have been paralyzed in the past couple of years, according to his Facebook page.

When police arrived at the couple's apartment in Concord, California, they were struck by an 'awful odor.'

Officers entering the building, found a filthy home, infested with cockroaches, flies and maggots.

Authorities found rotting garbage, human feces and a dirty, heavily stained mattress was lying on the floor - on which Mark Fulgham had been left to fester.

Dormanicia Lawson, 37, was arrested and initially charged with homicide over what California officials deemed 'one of the worst neglect cases' they'd ever seen

Lawson was initially facing murder charges over her husband's death but these have been downgraded to abuse after a jury could not reach a verdict

Blakely said that both of Lawson's children were found with a 'foul odor and were dirty.'

He added that when Lawson was asked why she had neglected her husband, she had no answer.

'She had no explanation for it, other than she was tired and stressed,' Blakely said.

The apartment was so unsanitary it had to be sealed off after the discovery.

He added that Lawson's main role had been taking care of her husbands and her two sons, a teenager with severe autism and an 11-year-old. The youngest child was taken in to care.

Lawson was charged with murdering Fulgham through extreme neglect.

During her trial, she testified that Fulgham had been abusive toward her and actively resisted treatment. She claimed that her husband had hit her and cursed at her when she told him to seek help and even when she tried to call 911.

Jurors were split 8-4 on the murder charge.
Britain faces an Alabama rot crisis after experts confirmed the incurable deadly dog disease which causes vicious skin sores and kidney failure is spreading.

As three new cases of the deadly illness were confirmed in the UK, owners have been urged to take extra precautions taking pets for walks this Christmas.

The fresh cases were found in Carlisle, Cumbria, and near Axminster in Devon  with neither county having reported an incidence before, showing it is spreading.

Disease: In total, 81 cases of Alabama rot - which first affected greyhounds in the US in the late 1980s - have now been confirmed, with 17 in 2016 alone

The final new victim was identified in Caldicot, Monmouthshire, making it the Welsh county's third confirmed case.

In total, 81 cases of Alabama rot - which first affected greyhounds in the US in the late 1980s - have now been confirmed, with 17 in 2016 alone.

The disease has now been found in 27 counties across the UK since 2012.

Vets are continuing the search to find the cause and a possible cure, including Alabama rot experts Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists and Vets4Pets.

David Walker of Anderson Moores said: The cause of Alabama rot, clinically known as idiopathic cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV), is still unknown.

Sadly there is no known way to prevent a dog from contracting the disease. But it is useful to understand where in the UK confirmed cases have been found and how to spot signs.

Concerns: As three new cases of the deadly illness were confirmed in the UK, owners have been urged to take extra precautions taking pets for walks this Christmas

To help collate correct data for dog owners, Anderson Moores is hoping all UK vets will contact them if they see a dog they suspect has Alabama rot.

Only tests on a kidney from a dog suspected to be suffering from the disease will give 100 per cent confirmation of the disease.

Alabama rot crisis: Experts said the incurable deadly dog disease which causes vicious skin sores and kidney failure is spreading

Mr Walker added: It's important that vets inform us of any suspected cases of Alabama rot in the UK, so we can continue to learn more about this dreadful disease.

There have been a number of cases confirmed by vets, but unless we carry out analysis of the tissues, we will never be able to confirm the disease.

Vets4Pets, with over 400 practices in the UK, is supporting Alabama rot research by Anderson Moores to help find a possible cure.

Dr Huw Stacey, Vets4Pets director of clinical services, said: The concern among vets in the UK is that, unlike the Alabama rot that affected greyhounds in America, the disease in the UK does not seem to target any specific breed, age, sex or weight of dog.

Treatment is supportive, but is only successful in 20-30 per cent of cases.

That is why we're encouraging all dog owners to use the online interactive guide to help them understand the clinical signs and confirmed locations of Alabama rot.

The first sign that is normally seen is a skin sore that isn't caused by a known injury.

Most commonly these sores are found below the elbow or knee and appear as a distinct swelling, a patch of red skin or are open and ulcer-like.

If a dog becomes affected the best outcome will probably come from early and intensive veterinary care, which has resulted in some dogs successfully recovering.

Any dog owners who are worried that their pet might have Alabama rot should contact their veterinary practice immediately.

This will help build knowledge about the disease and also give a dog the best chance of survival.
She also expressed support for electors wanting to receive an intelligence briefing before casting their Electoral College votes

Palmieri, however, said she blamed FBI Director James Comey's letter to Congress for Clinton's loss in key states

She said that while November 'wasn't the best month,' she's now 'moving on' from Clinton's election loss

Hillary Clinton's Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri sat down with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow for her first post-election interview Monday night.

'I'm glad it's December. November wasn't the best month,' the top press aide said. 'So , yeah, glad to be moving on.'

She moved on, however, to blaming FBI Director James Comey's late-in-the-game letter for Clinton's loss, while also explaining to the liberal TV host why she found Russia's interference in the election 'soul crushing.'

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Hillary Clinton's Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri sat down for her first post-election interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow

Liberal TV host Rachel Maddow (left) tried to find out from top Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri what she thought went wrong in the 2016 election

Palmieri told the MSNBC host that 'when you lose three states by less than 70,000 votes ... you do spend a lot of time thinking about what you could have done differently.'

She said the losing Democratic campaign had made the best decisions they could using the data they had available at the time.

What they found however, was that on election night 'basically, all the battleground states, we ended up being anywhere from five to two points lower than what we had predicted.'

She noted how in states like Virginia and Colorado, where there was a nice cushion, it didn't matter and Clinton won.

'But in Florida, North Carolina, Iowa ... Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, it wasn't enough,' she explained.

'We spent a ton of time in Pennsylvania and we spent a lot of money in Pennsylvania and we still lost,' she noted. 'Actually, we lost that state worse than we lost Wisconsin and Michigan.'

Suggesting that Jill Stein acted as a kind of spoiler for Clinton, Maddow pointed out how the Green Party hopeful received more votes than the difference between Trump and Clinton in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, the three states where Stein championed a recount.

Hillary Clinton's Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri explained to Rachel Maddow why she tweeted the CIA revelations about Russia's intentions were 'soul-crushing'

Palmieri agreed that is all of Stein's votes would have gone to Clinton, the former secretary of state would have won, but it wasn't the Green Party hopeful that the thought was truly responsible for the Democratic nominee's loss.

'But what we think  what we think accounts for the big drop-off  I'm talking about a big drop-off, like five to two points in each of these states, is the Comey letter,' Palmieri said. 'And that isn't to say that there's not things that our campaign could have done better or differently or in retrospect we would do differently.'

'I have dreams that we understand we have a problem, we have a week to fix them and then I wake up and it's not true,' she added.

The Comey letter, sent to members of Congress by the FBI director on October 29, said new emails had been found 'pertinent to the investigation' into Clinton's secret server.

Later, it was discovered that the new emails were found on a laptop given to the feds by disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner, the spouse of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, for an unrelated sexting investigation.

The Comey letter, Palmieri suggested, 'it was one thing too many to absorb.'

Palmieri said she didn't want to believe that Comey was deliberately trying to sway the election toward Trump.

'But it had an impact,' she said.

'I think he was probably most likely just trying to cover himself with Republicans on Capitol Hill who had been giving him a lot of pressure if, you know, if  after the election, he was in a position of having to disclose more,' the aide noted.

'But it was, you know, unprecedented, irresponsible and it had  regardless of what his intentions were, had a devastating impact,' she said.

Upon seeing the Washington Post story in which Russia's intentions were made more clear, Jennifer Palmieri said it was 'soul crushing'

Palmieri had also used the term 'soul-crushing' to describe the story put out by the Washington Post this weekend that said the CIA had come to the conclusion that Russia had interfered in the presidential election to give a hand to Trump.

Maddow asked the press aide why she described the revelations as such.

'I don't even remember that,' Palmieri said.

She had written: 'Soul crushing are the only words I have. Can barely stand to read the story.'

'It came from the bottom of a glass,' the liberal TV host offered.

Palmieri said it was 'helpful' to have the CIA's assessment made public.

'It is soul crushing because it's a little late to be learning this and also because during the campaign, particularly the month of October, we  the Clinton campaign, tried a lot to get more attention paid, particularly during what we were dealing with Wikileaks and John Podesta's emails being released,' she said.

On October 7, the Director of National Intelligence put out a statement saying that Russia was interfering in the U.S. election, however the news cycle was eaten up that day by the release of Trump's tawdry 'Access Hollywood' tape, which looked like it would bring down the Republican's campaign.

'Words we never thought would come out of our mouths: The Russians were trying to influence our election,' Palmieri continued. 'We knew that. We knew that ahead of the election, but it never got the attention that I think it should.'

'And so, it's pretty soul crushing to have that come out now and confirm that they were, in fact, trying to help Donald Trump,' she said, pointing out that 30 years after the Cold War is wasn't 'something I ever imagined we'd have to worry about.'

Palmieri told Maddow it was 'hard to know' if Russia had been successful in electing Trump, though said they 'certainly' succeeded in interfering.

Maddow asked Palmieri about John Podesta's statement in which the Clinton campaign chairman backed efforts by a small percentage of the Electoral College members to receive an intelligence briefing on the Russian matter before making their final vote for president.

'So I would just note that Hillary Clinton conceded the election and that has not changed that,' Palmieri said.

Jennifer Palmieri (left) said she supported John Podesta's move to support electors hoping to get an intelligence briefing before the Electoral College vote

She said that while there are lawsuits swirling around the Electoral College, the Clinton campaign is not choosing to be involved.

'But this we felt, particularly since there was new information that we learned on Friday night about the intent of Russia, we thought this was a worthy ... effort for us to weigh in on,' she explained.

She pointed out how the Electoral College, by design, was supposed to be a deliberative body.

'And one of the reasons it exists is to protect against a foreign government from interfering in our elections,' Palmieri said.

Even though she worked in politics, the top Clinton aide said she didn't know what the Electoral College process was supposed to be and what the role of the elector was supposed to be.

Historically, electors weren't tied to their state's popular vote.

Palmieri pointed out that 'part of the theory is they meet a month later.'
Russian hackers 'probably' swayed the historic EU referendum vote for Brexit, a former Cabinet minister has claimed.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, a prominent Remain supporter, raised doubts about the validity of the result in June as he warned that people were underestimating the extent of cyber-warfare by Vladimir Putin.

Mr Bradshaw was mocked for the comments. One senior Tory deemed them worthy of Soviet-era propaganda paper Pravda while another said Britain was a 'long way from the Cold War if it's now Labour MPs who invent Russian subversion'.

The controversial comments came as Mr Bradshaw spoke in a debate on horrific developments in Syria - where Bashar Assad's Russian-backed forces have been storming the city.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, a prominent Remain supporter, questioned the validity of the referendum result in the Commons today as he warned that people were underestimating Russian hacking

Vladimir Putin has been accused of deploying cyber-warfare techniques as part of his strategy to wield power on the world stage

The MP said we were witnessing the 'collapse' of the 'rule based global order' and governments had not 'begun to wake up to' the scale of President Putin's meddling in foreign affairs.

He said there was now 'proof' that Russian hackers had intervened in the US presidential election - in which Donald Trump secured a shock victory.

American intelligence sources have claimed Moscow was behind leaks of emails from Hillary Clinton's private server. The billionaire tycoon has played down the significance of any incursions.

Dramatically widening the scope of the hacking allegations, Mr Bradshaw said: 'What President Putin cannot achieve militarily he is already achieving using cyber and propaganda warfare.

'I don't think we have even begun to wake up to what Russia is doing when it comes to cyber warfare.

'Not only their interference - now proven - in the American election.

HOW COULD RUSSIA HAVE HACKED THE REFERENDUM? Ben Bradshaw told MPs today he believes Kremlin hacking interfered with the EU referendum. He based his claim on the US elections in which Russia is thought to have tried to help Donald Trump to victory. US intelligence agencies believe Russia was responsible for hacking of Democratic party files. Documents were handed to the WikiLeaks website and they caused repeated embarrassment to Hillary Clinton during her White House run. Mr Bradshaw admitted there was not 'yet' evidence of similar involvement in Britain. But the rapid growth of 'fake news' has dominated some post-referendum discussion amid claims outside contenders could drive dubious stories to prominence on social media. Advertisement

'Probably in our own referendum last year - we don't have the evidence for this but I think it is highly probable.'

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told MailOnline: 'That's a bit rich coming from a prominent Remain supporter who was part of a campaign that employed all the tactics of the discredited Soviet Pravda in pursuit of Project Fear.

'I would ask him to bring forward what evidence he has that Russia hacked the referendum.

'I do know the EU were paying people to Tweet.'

Senior Tory Steve Baker said: 'We've come a long way from the Cold War if it's now Labour MPs who invent Russian subversion.'

Ukip MP Douglas Carswell told MailOnline: 'Did they hack the Sleaford by-election too, making Labour finish fourth?

'Perhaps they rigged the Labour leadership poll to put an unelectable leader in charge too.'

Conservative Michael Tomlinson said: 'I assume he must be joking and this is a crazy claim from someone who does not want to accept the will of the people.'

Asked about the claim, a Number 10 spokesman said: 'I have not come across any evidence that Russian cyber warfare was used to influence the referendum.

'The referendum was run in this country, it was a very clear vote and we are now getting on with delivering on the will of the people to take Britain out of the European Union.'

Mr Bradshaw said Russian hackers had 'probably' intervened in the referendum campaign

Mr Bradshaw was among 83 rebels who voted against a Commons motion last week saying Theresa May should trigger Article 50 by next March.

The Exeter MP said at the time he had not been convinced that the government would fulfil its promise of producing a plan before the mechanism is invoked - starting the formal two-year process for leaving the EU.

In the Commons debate, former chancellor George Osborne condemned the failure of the West to intervene in Syria to defend civilians facing a brutal final assault by regime forces in Aleppo.

He said the refusal of the House to back military action after chemical weapon strikes in 2013 proved staying out of foreign wars also had a price.

Mr Osborne said the bloody scenes in Syria were 'something we could have foreseen done something about'.

In an emergency Commons debate, he warned the vote not to intervene had led to tens of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees and the rise of ISIS.

Responding to the debate, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Britain and France were convening emergency talks at the UN and renewed his condemnation of Russia and China for blocking efforts to find a ceasefire and end the fighting.
Cleared: Diana Lank, 61, pictured, walked free from the Old Bailey after being acquitted by a judge of conspiring with two police detention officers to commit misconduct in a public office

The mother of a public schoolboy turned gangster has been cleared of plotting to find the identity of a protected witness in her son's notorious murder trial.

Wealthy Chelsea boutique owner Diana Lank, 61, was accused of trying to track down the witness who anonymously gave evidence to help convict her 34-year-old son Rupert Ross of murder.

Today Ms Lank, 61, walked free from the Old Bailey after being acquitted by a judge of conspiring with two police detention officers to commit misconduct in a public office.

The court heard how Lydia Lauro, 33, made persistent efforts to discover the identity of the witness by hacking into the intelligence database with the help of fellow police detention officer Hayden Cheremeh.

Earlier this year, Cheremeh, 36, a former police community support officer (PCSO), and Lauro were found guilty of the plot between November 1 2011 and May 22 2013. They will be sentenced on January 20.

Ms Lank, who ran a boutique on the King's Road in Chelsea, was accused of being the 'chief organiser' of the plotters.

But after nearly 40 hours of deliberations, jurors in her retrial were unable to agree a verdict.

Following consideration by the Crown, prosecutor Mark Heywood QC announced it would not seek a second retrial, a move normally reserved for the most serious cases.

Trial Judge Anthony Morris QC was invited to formally enter a not guilty verdict at the Old Bailey hearing.

The case surrounded Ms Lank's son, Dulwich College ex-pupil Rupert Ross, now 35, and Leon De St Aubin, 39, who were jailed for life for the killing of Darcy Austin-Bruce outside Wandsworth jail on May 1 2009.

Aubin's girlfriend Lauro got a job as a civilian worker at Hammersmith Police Station two months after they were convicted in 2011.

No retrial: Ms Lank was accused of trying to track down the witness who anonymously gave evidence to help convict her 34-year-old son Rupert Ross of murder

Lydia Lauro, 33, made persistent efforts to discover the identity of the witness by hacking into the intelligence database with the help of fellow police detention officer Hayden Cheremeh. Both were convicted this year

She accessed the intelligence system at Hammersmith Police Station by persuading fellow Metropolitan Police detention officer Cheremeh into doing her a 'big favour'.

The retrial had heard how Lauro used Cheremeh's log-in to get into the Met's intelligence system and passed information to Ms Lank.

Drug dealer Darcy Austin-Bruce was shot down outside the gates of Wandsworth Prison in 2009

The restricted information was about a young woman who had given evidence from behind a screen, using a voice-altering device and under a pseudonym.

It was then 'passed on to others ... who should not have had access to it', the court was told.

The police detention officers had 'abused the very great trust placed in them', Mr Heywood said.

'A trust which all of us have in those people employed in that kind of role to deal properly with full regard to confidentiality.'

The court heard that Lauro even considered using the detention of a judge's son for being drunk and disorderly to contact his father but was advised by Cheremeh to 'take care'.

In November 2011, Ross, from Fulham, and firefighter Aubin, from Chelsea, were handed a minimum term of 30 years for murder.

Their trial at the Old Bailey had heard how Ross disguised himself as a lawyer to gun down his rival outside Wandsworth jail in south London after getting caught up in the drug-dealing underworld.

He wrote in his diary that he was 'living a gangster lifestyle, making good money and living a fast life'.

Convicted: Rupert Ross, 34, left, and Leon De St Aubin, 39, right, were jailed for life for the killing of Darcy Austin-Bruce outside Wandsworth jail on May 1 2009.

Ross was from a wealthy background, with some of his family working as lawyers, but fell under the spell of drugs.

He shot Mr Austin-Bruce, 20, five times outside the jail in May 2009, having been tipped off from inside the jail that the victim would be visiting someone inside. Afterwards, Ross was sped away on a stolen moped.
A fit and healthy father's dream trip to Peru ended in tragedy when altitude sickness struck him down less than 24 hours after climbing Machu Picchu, an inquest heard.

Andrew Wainright, 60, from Reading in Berkshire, planned the once in a lifetime holiday with wife Liz around the risks posed by the altitude in South America.

But after coming down with altitude sickness his condition deteriorated rapidly when they sat down together for breakfast at their hotel, the day after climbing the 8,000ft peak.

Andrew Wainright, 60, from Reading in Berkshire, planned the once in a lifetime holiday with wife Liz around the risks posed by the altitude in South America

Mrs Wainright at first thought her husband's shortness of breath was a 'regular occurrence' but she called for a doctor when his health suddenly worsened.

The 60-year-old was given oxygen and began coughing blood in his hotel room where he was taken by paramedics as they attempted to save his life.

Mrs Wainright was forced to return to her Berkshire home alone following her husband's death in August and was told he died as a result of altitude sickness.

During a statement read at the inquest in Reading she revealed that Mr Wainright enjoyed good general health but was on medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol.

She said: 'He was an active, fit man who enjoyed fell walking and volunteered as a lock keeper. He liked to be active.

Adter coming down with altitude sickness Mr Wainright's condition deteriorated rapidly when he sat down with Liz for breakfast

'He would be sporadically short of breath and bursts were intermittent. Many tourists suffered the same symptoms and people said my husband's reaction was well within the norm for visitors.

'On August 12 we were collected from the hotel by the guide and travelled by minibus up to Machu Pichu. We stayed there and we did a lot of walking and climbing of steps but he didn't find this difficult.

'The guide left us at lunchtime and we decided to join a long queue for the bus back down to the hotel.'

The couple planned to travel across various popular tourism hotspots and tailored their holiday itinerary to acclimatise to the altitude in Peru gradually.

They decided against going out for a walk the following day due to Mrs Wainright suffering from food poisoning but both walked to breakfast together in the morning.

Mrs Wainright added: 'My husband was short of breath when we got there. It was a relatively routine occurrence and he usually recovered quickly.

'He appeared to be getting worse rather than better. I went to reception and they said a doctor would be available shortly.

'The doctor attended and examined my husband. He was put on a stretcher and taken back to our room.

'He was given medical treatment with oxygen and an IV drip. He was able to talk and I was told he needed to be moved to hospital. Everybody was speaking in Spanish.

The couple had visited Machu Picchu the day before Mr Wainright's sudden death

'He was given an injection to reduce inflammation in the lungs and the doctor put in a catheter. My husband was asking for more oxygen and he was coughing when he had not previously had a cough.

'There appeared to be blood when he was coughing.

'He was perspiring but he described himself as cold. Things became very frenzied very quickly and he was lifted from the floor for CPR. I was then informed he had passed away.'

Mr Wainright was certified dead by doctors shortly before 11am at their hotel room on August 13.

Senior Coroner for Berkshire Peter Bedford, recording a conclusion of accidental death, said: 'It is recognised relevant parts of Peru were high altitude and carried its own risks and Mr Wainright considered these carefully.

'I have sufficient evidence to conclude Andrew Wainright died on August 13 of this year and the place of death is described as the hotel he was staying at.
A 38-year-old man has been charged following a stabbing at a London train station yesterday.

Adrian Brown, 38, has been charged with attempted murder, possession of an offensive weapon and assault after an incident at Forest Hill station.

The victim, who is in his forties, was taken to hospital and remains in a 'serious but stable condition', police said.

A photo taken at the scene is believed to show the suspect in the Forest Hill stabbing

Passengers said they ran for their lives yesterday after a man was seen waving a knife at the station and shouting 'kill all Muslims'.

Members of the public fled as the attacker 'screamed' at other travellers asking them if they were Muslim before knifing his victim who was sat next to his wife, it was said.

As the train pulled into the station, a man then reportedly chased passengers and walked up and down near the entrance as people locked themselves inside nearby shops.

Brown, who is from Forest Hill, has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

Graphic images taken at the scene show blood on the station floor after a man was stabbed

Police at Forest Hill station yesterday after a man stabbed a train passenger and made threats

A British Transport Police spokesperson said: 'A 38-year-old man has been charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of possession of an offensive weapon and one count of assault by battery, in connection with an incident at Forest Hill station yesterday.

'Adrian Brown, of Brockley Rise, Forest Hill, was arrested after a man was assaulted on a train at the station shortly after 1pm.

'He has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
The militants have been named as Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou

Two of the men killed were involved in

A coalition air strike in Syria has killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men involved in facilitating last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said today.

At the time they were killed, they were in the midst of planning another terrorist attack.

'The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike,' Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.

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Coalition warplanes were able to target the car - pinpointed on this map in a tweet from account Raqqa_SL - believed to be carrying the three Islamic State leaders

Cook said the three were killed in an air strike on December 4 in Raqqa: an IS stronghold in Syria.

The militants linked to Paris were named in a Pentagon statement as Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou. Last November, IS militants claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in the French capital that killed 130 people and wounded 350.

The third leader killed, identified as Walid Hamman, had been convicted in absentia in Belgium for a disrupted 2015 planned attack.

Last November, IS militants claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris (aftermath pictured) that killed 130 people and wounded 350

All three were members of a network led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, who was killed in a strike this November and linked to the 2015 attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Elsewhere in Syria, the four-year battle to overtake Aleppo from rebel forces has reached a breaking point.

Government troops and allied militias have seized a wide strip on the southern edge of the city, closing in on tens of thousands of civilians squeezed into the center of the city, Syria's state media reported.

But in some parts of Aleppo still held by the rebels, forces loyal to the Syrian regime have been entering civilians' home and killing them on the spot.

A UN human rights office official reported that 82 people have been shot, including women and children.

In an emergency Commons debate today, ex-chancellor George Osborne blamed the West for not intervening sooner.

'We did not intervene in Syria. Tens of thousands of people have been killed as a result. Millions of refugees have been sent from their homes.
Miami music producer Muhammed-al-Lean (above right, with Chris Brown) has been arrested for masterminding a cough syrup heist

A Miami music producer who calls himself 'Muhammad-al-Lean' has been arrested for masterminding the theft of dozens of bottles of cough syrup to produce the deadly hip hop drink sizzurp.

Harrison Garcia, who also goes by Cuban Harry, is accused of orchestrating burglaries at pharmacies across South Florida to obtain massive quantities of codeine-based cough syrup.

It has been mixed with Sprite by hip-hop musicians for years to make a potent cocktail known as lean, sizzurp and drank.

The drink has caused the deaths of several rappers and is a favorite of Lil Wayne.

Garcia, 26, faces charges of racketeering, grand theft and trafficking in illegal drugs.

Across various social media platforms, Garcia is seen posing in private jets and holding huge wads of cash.

Dusted in diamond and gold jewelry, he is also often pictured next to boxes of the cough syrup and refers to himself as the 'CEO of Purple Drank' in one online biography.

He counts Chris Brown among friends and has appeared in music videos including some of Lil Wayne's.

The Miami Herald reports that Garcia has been linked by authorities to 50 separate pharmacy burglaries.

Garcia, 26, is often seen posing with luxury cars and dressed in diamond and gold on his social media pages

The producer, who also calls himself Muhammed-al-Lean and Cuban Harry, appeared in one Lil Wayne music video with wads of cash (above)

Authorities say Garcia ordered the heist of more than 50 drug stores to where thieves stole large quantities of the syrup. Photographs of bottles of the syrup litter his Facebook page

Garcia was already facing charges for supplying drugs after being arrested in October. He was arrested for orchestrating the syrup heist after the alleged thieves were taken into custody

Police believe he ordered thieves dressed in ski masks and armed with crow bars to break into the stores to steal the drugs.

He was arrested in October on separate charges of supplying the prescription-strength drug on Instagram.

Rapper Lil Wayne is a fan of the deadly syrup. He suffered seizures in June after drinking it in excess

When police searched his home they found more than 3,000 Xanax pills, marijuana and guns including an AK-47.

He was remanded in custody on Monday.

Lean, as it is referred to in rap music, is the deadly concoction of codeine cough syrup and soda.

It is most often mixed with Sprite and consumed in doubled-up Styrofoam cups.

The drink is common place in hip-hop videos and on stage at concerts.

It was blamed in part for the death of Pimp C who died in 2007 after overdosing on the syrup.

In June, Lil Wayne suffered a series of seizures on board his private jet after consuming large quantities of the drink.

He was hospitalized after the plane was forced to make an emergency landing.
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From an overcrowded migrant boat reaching the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos at sunrise, to a protester being hit with pepper spray by riot police in Paris, to Nigel Farage celebrating Britain's vote to leave the EU, these are some of the year's most powerful pictures.

The images have been chosen by The Associated Press, or AP, as part of a collection of its best pictures of 2016.

Every year, The Associated Press chooses a selection of photos that best documents the years top stories as chronicled by photojournalists around the world.

This collection of images showcases some of AP's best pictures taken in Europe and Africa during 2016.

It has been something of a turbulent year in Europe, and the photographs reflect that, with images of the burning Calais 'Jungle' camp after it was finally dismantled in October, and pictures of ongoing political instability in Turkey.

Other images show the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Brussels and Nice, while several pictures depict Europe's ongoing refugee crisis.

Meanwhile, one powerful image from Africa show a child being weighed in the Central African Republic, where 2.5 million people are starving, while another shows unrest during Ugandan elections.

A young child lies in a bucket to be weighed by nurses in Bangui, Central African Republic on February 11. The U.N. estimates that nearly half the country are facing hunger as more than two years of violence has severely disrupted the country

A policeman struggles to keep hold of a box containing voting material, as excited voters surround him after waiting over seven hours without being able to vote, at a polling station in Ggaba, on the outskirts of Kampala, in Uganda on February 18

A woman cries as she crosses a river along with other migrants, north of Idomeni, Greece, as they attempt to reach Macedonia on a route that would bypass the border fence on March 14

The sun rises as migrants and refugees on a dingy arrive at the shore of the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos on March 20, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey

Nidhi Chaphekar, a 40-year-old Jet Airways flight attendant from Mumbai, right, and another unidentified woman are wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions rocked the city on March 22

A young migrant is thrown into the air during a party in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, on March 27

Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives on his pope-mobile for his weekly general audience, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 6

Syrian refugee Fadi Tahhan, 23, right, sings while playing Oud at the former prison of De Koepel in Haarlem, Netherlands on April 21. With crime declining in the Netherlands, the country is looking at new ways to fill its prisons.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, welcomes U.S. President Barack Obama at Herrenhaus Palace in Hannover on April 24, during Obama's official visit to Germany

A policeman reacts during a clash with protesters during a protest against the proposed changes to France's working week and layoff practices, in Lyon on April 28

French riot police officers sprays pepper gas at a demonstrator during a protest in Paris on May 12, after the socialist government decided to force a labour law bill through Parliament without a vote

In this four-picture combo a migrant boat overturns as people try to jump in the water off the Libyan coast on May 25

Oscar Pistorius' prosthetics lie on the floor as he walks on his amputated legs during argument in mitigation of sentence by his defense attorney Barry Roux in the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 15

Nigel Farage celebrates as he poses for photographers as he leaves a 'Leave.EU' victory party in London following the referendum vote on June 23

David Cameron, his wife Samantha and their children leave 10 Downing Street on July 13 before he will formally resigns during a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace

A man lays in front of a tank outside Istanbul's Ataturk airport. Members of Turkey's armed forces said they had taken control of the country, but Turkish officials said the coup attempt had been repelled on Saturday July 16 after night of violence

People gather at a makeshift memorial on July 18 to observe a minute's silence near the area where a truck mowed through Bastille Day revelers on the famed Promenade des Anglais in Nice, southern France

Pro-government supporters gather on the road leading to Istanbul's iconic Bosporus Bridge on July 21 after Turkish lawmakers approved a three-month state of emergency

Members of La Legion, an elite unit of the Spanish Army, sing during a military parade as they celebrate a holiday known as 'Dia de la Hispanidad' or Hispanic Day in Madrid on October 12

Fires burn on October 25 as crews started dismantling squalid migrant camp known as 'The Jungle' in France

People stand on a hill as smoke and flames rise from amidst the tents on October 26, after fires were started in the makeshift migrant camp known as 'The Jungle' near Calais

A migrant shaves himself amid of smoke from burning tents as workers clean-up makeshift migrant camp 'The Jungle' near Calais on October 27
Police got a shock when investigating two abandoned suitcases on a train to Vienna when they discovered two Afghan women stuffed inside them.

Romanian border patrol officers stationed in the town of Curtici entered the luggage compartment of the train which was travelling to the Austrian capital having become suspicious of the bags.

After deciding to open them, they found two women inside, who were trying to reach Austria illegally.

Police got a shock when investigating two abandoned suitcases on a train to Vienna when they discovered two Afghan women stuffed inside them

After deciding to open the bags, they found two women inside, who were trying to reach Austria illegally

The women told police they wanted to get into the Schengen area and had resorted to using suitcases because they did not have a valid visa

Romanian police are now preparing a case against all three for attempting to illegally cross the state border

A spokesman for the police force, on the border of Hungary and Romania, said: 'Following checks we have established that the two people in question are from Afghanistan, aged 25 and 59.'

They said that they had later also arrested a man from Afghanistan who had apparently run away when he spotted the police officers and was hiding in a different part of the train pretending to know nothing about with the suitcases.

The women told police they wanted to get into the Schengen area and had resorted to using suitcases because they did not have a valid visa.

Romanian police are now preparing a case against all three for attempting to illegally cross the state border.
An 11-year-old girl expertly roasted her older sister during the girl's 15th birthday party, hilariously complaining about her sibling's hand-me-downs.

Aneesha stole the show during her sister Natasha's quinceanera in San Jose, California. Natasha, wearing a tiara and a puffy white gown, sat in a chair on stage and laughed with the rest of the crowd while her sister delivered punchline after punchline.

The girls' father is from India and his wife is Nicaraguan, meaning the girls are Indian-Hispanic. Natasha's quinceanera, a Latin American tradition, was a first in the family.

Aneesha wrote her speech with a little help from her father Rajiv, who later posted the video of her performance. The young comedienne, according to her father, hadn't even rehearsed before stepping onstage.

Aneesha (right), an 11-year-old girl from San Jose, California, expertly roasted her older sister Natasha (left) during her sibling's quinceanera

'Her closet, it's as if you have just entered Nordstrom. She has all the new clothes. All her clothes are in season. All her clothes are sparkly, glittery, the prettiest things you've ever seen. You enter mine, and it's like a goodwill,' Aneesha said as the audience erupted in laughter.

She carried on with perfect comedy timing. 'Every single piece of clothing that I have, whether it's a pair of pants, whether it's a T-shirt, whether it's underwear - it has been worn by this girl,' Aneesha said, gesturing furiously at her sibling.

The crowd applauded while Aneesha buried her face in her hands.

Aneesha then explained that she had to wait seven years until she could wear her sister's old clothes, even though Natasha is only three and a half years older than her.

Natasha (left), wearing a tiara and a puffy white gown, sat on a chair and laughed with the crowd while Aneesha (right) delivered punchline after punchline, with perfect timing

That is because, according to Aneesha, Natasha is significantly taller than her.

'Have you seen her height?' Aneesha asked. 'She's like that character from "Jack And The Beanstalk"... not the giant, the beanstalk!'

Aneesha ended her performance by envisioning her own 15th birthday.

'You don't need to come to my quinceanera. You already know what I'm gonna wear,' she told the crowd.

The girls' father said Aneesha wrote it with a bit of help from him all the way until it was her turn to come on stage.

'She is a natural, she is a savage, she is fun to be around,' he said. 'She insults people without hurting them. I bear the brunt of most of her jokes!'
Dispute: Model Faryal Makhdoom Khan (pictured with her boxer husband), 25, claimed last week that for the past three years she had been bullied 'physically and mentally' by her in-law

A rant by Amir Khan's wife claiming his mother wants her to be his 'slave' - or face divorce - sparked the boxer's plea to end their feud or 'lose a son and a husband', MailOnline can reveal today.

Model Faryal Makhdoom Khan, 25, used Snapchat to accuse Falak Khan of encouraging him to end their marriage after just three years.

The British boxer's mother has previously slammed his wife for wearing un-Islamic clothes and no headscarf.

Mrs Khan, who is in Canada on business, wrote on Snapchat: 'Even if YOUR mother tells you to DIVORCE your wife. You should listen to her 'because she is your mother and she comes first - WOW! So what's a wife? Exactly what I've said - a slave!'

Her incendiary remarks came after she said that for the past three years she had been bullied 'physically and mentally' by her in-laws.

She also said she was considered a 'bad Muslim' if she bared any skin and claims she was even cropped out of family photographs.

And Mrs Khan posted a picture of their other son Haroon Khan lying on a bed naked and claimed he was drunk.

Approximately three hours after she said his family were pushing for a divorce, a furious Amir Khan begged his parents and wife to stop 'bashing one another' in public.

He said: 'I apologise for the silly picture and message my wife Faryal put up. Here is me working my ass off helping the less fortunate with charity dinners and my family and wife are just destroying my good name. I didn't want to get involved in this mess. There is NO reality television show.

'My parents are my parents and my wife is my wife. Whatever misunderstanding has happened they should keep it private. This is getting to the point where they will lose a son and a husband.

'Childish behaviour. Both parties need to stop this. I've had enough.'

Today his wife took to social media and said: 'I wanted to apologise for the picture I put out earlier. I was a bit angry and felt I like I needed to justify myself' - but did not mention her husband's call for calm.

She added: 'I was just getting so stressed out reading the comments of people talking about my dressing. Not realising anger took over and that it would hurt so many of my followers, and the young girls that follow me. I really do apologise'.

Rowing back: Today Amir's wife took to Snapchat and said: 'I wanted to apologise for the picture I put out earlier' - hours after she posted a picture of their other son Haroon Khan lying on a bed naked and claimed he was drunk

Falling out: Amir Khan's glamorous wife Faryal, who he married three years ago, insists his family believes she should be his 'slave'

Row: Last night the 25-year-old model and cosmetics entrepreneur claimed Amir's mother Falak was encouraging him to end their marriage after just three years

The parents of British boxer Amir Khan, Sajjad and Falak (pictured), have slammed his wife for wearing un-Islamic clothes and no headscarf while denying she has suffered domestic abuse

Plea: Amir Khan has told his family and wife to stop 'bashing one another' on social media

Yesterday, speaking for the first time over the growing rift, Khan's parents rejected accusations of bullying and domestic abuse by their daughter-in-law.

In an interview with Murtaza Ali Shah at Geo News, Sajjad and Falak Khan rubbished Faryal's allegations, claiming she is 'lying' they never laid a hand on her and treated her like their own daughter.

Mr Khan said: 'Faryal was adopting a dress code which in the Islamic faith was not acceptable.

'I ask Faryal to produce evidence of violence. Where is the evidence? We have always held her in highest esteem and gave her the same level of respect and love that we gave to our two daughters.'

Amir Khan's mother Falak says her daughter-in-law has called them 'paindoo' - Urdu for 'villagers' - used as a slur for primitive people from the Pakistani countryside.

She said: 'I am a proud Pakistani, I have always respected my in-laws and we have our traditions and values. No one abused Faryal and I once asked her to take dupatta (veil) and she didn't listen and I never brought up the subject again.

Amir told us that she doesn't listen to him and that we should tell her parents about that. We lived in the same house but Faryal never mixed with us. She called us 'paindoo'. She has forgotten that the same paindoo parents gave birth to Amir Khan and brought him up'.

Their boxer son last night described the actions of both parties as 'childish'.

In a statement released on Twitter, he said: 'I have supported my wife, and that's because she was in the right.

'Since I've been married I've seen how my family and siblings have treated her. It wasn't fair. I'm not happy that it's come out. It was a private matter and should've kept private.

'My siblings were posting on social media over and over again. I asked my father to have them remove it and no one listened to me.

'I was patient and kept quiet but FARYAL said she couldn't take it anymore and had to speak up. So she did.

'I supported her when it came to family bothering her or upsetting her. But I did not support siblings or my wife to be this childish all over the media, crying and bashing one another. It's really getting out of control and needs an end.'

The family feud appears to have spiralled out of control in recent days.

Khan's father Sajjad, speaking from his home in Bolton, said: 'I am a father to two daughters whom I have treated exactly the same way as I have treated Faryal.

'All this started with the issue of dressing. We kept asking Amir to tell her not to adopt such a dress code. And even if she had to wear such dresses, please don't post it on social media.'

Much loved: Faryal does business in the US and Britain, and has posted selfies like these for her husband while they are apart

Internet star: Faryal has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and YouTube and has become a celebrity in her own right

He denied the allegations of violence, calling them unfounded, but declined to comment further on what he called 'false accusations by Faryal'.

Khan's father also said there had been 'trying times' between Faryal and Amir.

A family photo was cropped to take Faryal out and reposted on social media.

Following the interview, Faryal took to Snapchat to hit back.

She said 'U (sic) can fake tear. But you can't fake proof. I have a mother too, who's cried. Just because she's not done it in the public to look innocent doesn't mean she doesn't have a heart.

'Soon I'll reveal everything, I hate liars! And I will keep speaking up.'

The next message read: 'You can be a robber, a thief, a murderer but as long as you're a 'mother' and you cry, people will sympathize ... whether you're lying or telling the truth? How unfair!'

The third Snapchat said: 'After all, the biggest issue is my dressing?! What the actual f..... my biggest issue is NOT getting accepted and going through 3 years of hell and that's ok? Because? What disgusting thinking. TYPICAL.'

The final message had a picture of Haroon Khan naked.

Under the image, she wrote: 'My dressing is an issue? Double standards? Like harry laying naked and drunk at a girls house, sisters wearing no 'dupatta' I guess that's ok bc that's there blood & I'm just a daughter in law.'

Faryal, who married Khan in 2013, had earlier told The Sun her in-laws said she was 'too modern', adding that she was 'miserable' and 'depressed'.

She said: 'I never felt I could do anything right. I was bullied physically and mentally'.

Blow up: Details of her feud with Amir's family only fully emerged a week ago and her husband has begged both sides to end their war of words

She hit back on Snapchat with a picture of their other son Haroon Khan lying on a bed naked

Faryal posted a number of messages on Snapchat hitting out at Amir Khan's parents

A family photo was cropped to take Faryal out and reposted on social media today

Khan's father Sajjad (pictured with the boxer's sister Mariyah), speaking from his home in Bolton, said: 'Faryal was adopting a dress code which in the Islamic faith was not acceptable'

Couple: Faryal (pictured with her husband), who married Khan in 2013, had earlier told The Sun her in-laws said she was 'too modern', adding that she was 'miserable' and 'depressed'

Praise on Twitter: Amir Khan's wife Faryal made her catwalk debut on Monday last week

'One day I said, 'Enough of this s***, I'm going to speak up'.'

She also claimed her boxer husband had stood up to his parents, saying: 'My husband feels like a man now. He's much happier and so am I.'

Last week Faryal launched an astonishing Snapchat rant in which she accused her in-laws of trying to destroy the couple's marriage.

The model even claimed her 'evil, hating sister-in-law' Mariyah (pictured) 'came to hit' her while her husband was not at home

She suggested that Khan's parents had tried to break them up, adding that the family's treatment of her husband was 'disgusting'.

She claimed the 'abuse' took place while she was pregnant with their now two-year-old daughter.

In the messages, Faryal, who made her catwalk debut on Monday last week, wrote: 'Don't get your sons married if you're going to abuse and bully the wife.

'I've always been so quiet but seriously this message is for everyone! When you bring someone's daughter  treat her as your own. Your son will be much happier & so will you. :)'

She and her husband share a house in Bolton with Khan's father, mother brother Haroon, 25, and sister Mariyah, 19.

Faryal added: 'It's funny how you expect your daughter-in-laws to live with you and be your slaves.

'But your own daughters never lived a day with their in-laws. Think it's OK to boss me around?'.

The model and make-up artist even claimed her 'evil, hating sister-in-law' Mariyah 'came to hit' her while her husband was not at home.

Mariyah then fired back four messages of her own.

In one, she said that she 'didn't need to justify herself on social media as 'Allah is watching'.'

Posting a selfie with SnapChat floral garland filter, she added: 'Do I look like I can beat someone up.'
Claims the Russian state may have been part of a hack to plant indecent images of children on the computer of a dissident living in Britain have been rejected at his trial.

Vladimir Bukovsky, 73, of Cambridge, is accused of accessing photos and images over a 15-year period, a jury at Cambridge Crown Court was told.

A computer expert who has worked for GCHQ said he was confident the images had not been put there by anyone other than the 73-year-old.

Vladimir Bukovsky, 73, of Cambridge, is accused of accessing photos and images over a 15-year period

The wheelchair-bound Russian is regarded as a 'hero' in Russia by pro-democracy supporters

Dr Howard Chivers, a lecturer at the University of York, examined five discs of files recovered from Bukovsky's hard drives at his home in Cambridge.

Asked by defence counsel Francis FitzGibbon QC: 'Can you completely exclude the possibility that some, if not all, of the indecent image files that were on Mr Bukovsky's computer were planted by somebody else without his knowledge?'

He replied: 'I believe I can.'

Russian-born Bukovsky is an author and activist who became well-known internationally as a vocal critic of the Soviet regime.

He spent 12 years in Soviet prisons, forced-labour camps and psychiatric hospitals, which were used by the authorities to incarcerate political dissidents and submit them to compulsory treatment to 'cure' their beliefs.

The wheelchair-bound Russian is regarded as a 'hero' in Russia by pro-democracy supporters.

Mr FitzGibbon put it to Dr Chivers as the trial continued at Cambridge Crown Court: 'Are you aware of this, that the Russian state or organs of the Russian state use computer hacking in various forms to advance their interests in other parts of the world?'

Dr Chivers said it did not require 'secret knowledge' as it had been widely reported.

Mr FitzGibbon also asked him: 'Are you aware that much of the child pornography and child sexual abuse imagery that appears online is controlled by crime gangs in Russia and Eastern Europe?'

Dr Chivers said such material was controlled by gangs all over the world, not limited to Russia and Eastern Europe.

Bukovsky told police he became curious at the end of the 1990s about issues involving control of and censorship of the internet and decided to look into what was available online

Bukovsky denies five counts of making indecent images of children, five of possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

On Monday the court heard the pensioner, who was living alone in Cambridge when he was arrested, said it had become something of a hobby, comparing it to stamp collecting.

Bukovsky, a friend of Alexander Litvinenko, told police he had been researching the images and videos out of 'social' curiosity and not for sexual gratification, according to an agreed summary of his interview which was read to the court.

He said he became interested in the debate around internet censorship at the end of the 1990s and wanted to see if child pornography was as widely available online as people claimed.

He said he did not believe searching for and having the material was criminal or causing any harm.

He referred to sadomasochistic imagery he had seen and told officers he was convinced it was staged because the children taking part appeared to be 'giggling'.

On the prospect of going to jail for having the images he told police he did not care 'a single jot'

Bukovsky acknowledged what he was doing would have been and is forbidden in his native country, but expressed reservations about censorship.

He told police: 'I lived through that, I was part of it. I know that censorship never works.'

On the prospect of going to jail for having the images he told police he did not care 'a single jot'.

He added: 'I did not commit any crime in my heart.'
Europhiles have repeatedly accused Britain of not having a plan for leaving, but Guy Verhofstadt, pictured, said the remaining 27 member states are also ill prepared for the countrys departure

Brussels has no clear plans for the future of the EU without Britain, the European Parliaments chief Brexit negotiator admitted today.

Europhiles have repeatedly accused Britain of not having a plan for leaving, but Guy Verhofstadt said the remaining 27 member states are also ill prepared for the countrys departure.

The MEP and former Belgian prime minister called on leaders to urgently draw up ideas such as developing a European army at a Brussels summit later this week.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, he said: Its the last European Council of 2016 and I think it is not difficult to say it was a very difficult year for the EU with all the crises were facing: the migrant crisis, economic crisis, the Brexit decision, the terrorist attacks and so on.

My hope is that in this last meeting that the European Council preparing the new year, 2017, will have strong conclusions on the way forward with the EU.

I have to tell you that the first draft that I have seen was not very convincing. It was again very general remarks but no clear plans for the future.

Mr Verhofstadt said EU countries such as Germany and France that have their own bilateral agreements on defence cooperation should instead work together within an EU framework.

What could be a breakthrough for the European Defence Union is a decision by the Council that these regional and bilateral cooperation will be incorporated together in a new structure under the title, the European Defence Union, he said.

Speaking later on the BBCs the World at One, Mr Verhofstadt said any transition arrangements following Britain's withdrawal from the EU must be time-limited to prevent them becoming permanent.

His comments came a day after the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, told MPs that a transitional deal could be necessary to avoid instability across the continent.

Guy Verhofstadt warned Britain that any transitional arrangements following Brexit must be time-limited to prevent them becoming permanent. Yesterday Chancellor Philip Hammond, pictured, said a transitional deal could be necessary to avoid instability across the continent

Nigel Farage, now just a Ukip MEP, warned that a transitional deal with the EU after Brexit amounted to backsliding on the June 23 referendum vote for Brexit

But former Ukip leader Nigel Farage sounded an alarm that increasing talk of a transitional period following the completion of two-year withdrawal negotiations amounted to backsliding on the June 23 referendum vote for Brexit.

Mr Verhofstadt said: Transitional arrangements are certainly possible, but it has to be, in my opinion, transitional arrangements with a time limit.

It could be two or three years, I don't know - we are going to see what will be on the table.

But a time limit is necessary because I have seen many times in politics that a so-called transitional agreement becomes an eternal or definitive agreement. That has to be avoided, so if there's a necessity for measures phasing in or phasing out, they have to be time-limited.

Mr Verhofstadt also said he expected hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of British nationals to be interested in taking up associate EU citizenship, under a plan which he is due to table for consideration as part of the Brexit deal.

Meanwhile, the European Commission today rebutted claims that its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, is lazy by bizarrely revealing he uses highlighter pens when reading documents and draws heart shapes on those he likes.

His spokeswoman, Mina Andreeva, told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that aides take extra marker pens on trips in case his pens run dry.
Two 'grinches' have been caught stealing a lavish Christmas tree from outside a top London restaurant.

The pair were caught on a CCTV camera on Sunday morning taking the tree that had been put up outside L'Autre Pied, which is based in Marylebone and boasts Sir Patrick Stewart and Lisa Faulkner among its former guests.

One man, in a grey hoodie which has been pulled up over his head, can be seen taking something out of his pocket before fiddling with the white tree.

These two 'grinches' have been caught stealing a lavish Christmas tree from outside a top London restaurant

One man, in a grey hoodie which has been pulled up over his head, can be seen taking something out of his pocket before fiddling with the white tree

Then another man dressed in a grey cardigan and scarf swipes the tree before they make a speedy getaway.

Now, restaurant owner David Moore has appealed for the safe return of the tree and has even offered a free dinner and wine pairing session.

He told the Evening Standard: 'I'm so gutted someone has stolen it. It was a gorgeous tree, one of the nicest ones we have ever had.'

Then a man dressed in a grey cardigan and scarf swipes the tree before they make a speedy getaway

The owner of L'Autre Pied (pictured), David Moore, has appealed for the safe return of the tree and has even offered a free dinner and wine pairing session

'It's so sad that you can't have anything in London without it being tied down any more. Why can't there just be a little bit of decency left?'

A similar tree outside L'Autre Pied's sister restaurant Pied a Terre, based in Fitzrovia, has been taken down following the theft.
An Ohio artist who creates and sells life-like dolls of newborn babies has been mistakenly reported to the police for trafficking children.

Kathy Cadle, of Sheffield Lake, spends countless hours working up the incredibly realistic-looking dolls for the online business she runs with her sister, Bunny Bundles Reborns.

Cadle posted a photo to eBay advertising her latest model 'Ethan' as brand-new and ready for sale.

However, she was not expecting what was to follow - a knock at the door from the cops, accusing her of selling young children online.

Misunderstood: Kathy Cadle, of Sheffield Lake, spends countless hours working up realistic-looking dolls for the business she runs with her sister, Bunny Bundles Reborns

Life-like: The dolls look and even feel like young children, and often get mistaken for them

Cadle was reported to the police for potentially selling children online after posting a photo of one of her boy dolls to eBay

Cadle explained to Fox 8 News: 'He goes, ''I got a report that you were selling a baby,'' and I was like, ''are you kidding me?''

Still in shock, Cadle went around the corner and grabbed one of her dolls. She then explained to the officer that whoever reported her must been confused at what she was really selling, and the cop began to laugh at the mistake.

'And he let me take his picture because I said, ''nobody's going to believe this'',' said Cadle.

The dolls cost $200 to $500 or more, depending on the detail, and one was recently purchased by a film company to stand in as a child in an upcoming movie.

Oops: Kathy Cadle took a photo with the officer who came to her house and the doll that was mistaken for a real child

Hyper life-like: Photos online show the process by which the dolls are made by Cadle

Kathy Cadle recently began painting and creating the realistic looking dolls with her sister Rachel Smith and her business Bunny Bundles Reborns

The dolls are known as 'reborns' and are part of a growing trend in premiere doll-making.

They come in a kit made from a mold, and can take days, weeks or longer to paint and piece together.

Cadle and her sister, Rachel Smith, inherited a love of baby dolls from their mother.

The dolls appear to be real children, but are made from polls and meticulously painted

Cadle is proud of the fact the dolls are also being used in nursing homes, helping patients with Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

'They talk to them and it kind of brings them back to when they had children,' said Cadle.

'It's nice to see how they react.'
A British man has been jailed for 12 months for trying to grab a policeman's gun at a Donald Trump rally in an alleged bid to kill the now US president-elect.

Michael Sandford, 20, attempted to snatch the weapon at a Las Vegas casino where Mr Trump was addressing supporters in the run-up to the US election in June.

He allegedly told officers after his arrest that his plan was to shoot the tycoon.

Michael Sandford, (left), from Surrey, has been jailed after attempting to shoot Donald Trump in Las Vegas. He is pictured with his mother Lynne (right)

Sandford, who has autism, was sentenced at a federal court in Las Vegas after pleading guilty in September to charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function.

Lawyers acting for Sandford, from Dorking, Surrey, said he suffers a number of mental health problems and he was diagnosed as having had a psychotic episode at the time of the incident on June 18.

Sentencing Sandford to 12 months and a day in prison, Judge James Mahan told him: 'You have a medical problem. You should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it. You need medication.

'You're not a hardened criminal. You're not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people we have.

'I don't think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do.'

Sandford had faced up to 20 years in jail had he been found guilty of the offences at a trial. He had initially denied the charges but pleaded guilty in September following a plea agreement.

Before sentencing, Sandford waved to his mother Lynne, father Paul Davey, grandmother Christine and four-year-old sister Jessica, who were in court.

Sandford, wearing leg irons and an orange prison uniform, became tearful as he addressed the court to apologise for his actions.

Michael Sandford was arrested at the Trump campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas

Lynne Sandford, center, mother of Michael Sandford, walks out of a federal courthouse with Christine Sandford, left, and his father Paul Davey, right

Paul Davey, father of Michael Sandford, walks out of the federal courthouse

He said: 'I know saying sorry is not enough. I really do feel awful about what I did.

'I wish there was some way to make things better. I have cost taxpayers so much money. I feel terrible.'

Addressing the judge, he added: 'I'm really sorry to you and the court for taking up so much time.'

Ms Sandford, whose daughter Jessica was clutching a tiger toy in court, addressed the judge before he delivered his sentence.

'(Michael) means everything to me,' she said. He made a very bad mistake, a huge error of judgment. It breaks my heart to see him in this environment.

'So many people back in England know this is not Michael. Everyone knows he's a good person at heart.

'He needs to get psychiatric help back at home. He's very remorseful for what he did.'

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of up to 18 months.

Sandford's lawyers say he will now serve around four months, having been detained since June, before he is deported back to the UK.

Ms Sandford (left), whose daughter Jessica was clutching a tiger toy in court, addressed the judge before he delivered his sentence

Sandford - whose legs were shaking as he stood in the courtroom - was arrested at Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas where Mr Trump was addressing 1,500 supporters on June 18.

According to court documents, Sandford told a policeman at the rally that he wanted Mr Trump's autograph before he attempted to seize the officer's gun.

He was tackled by officers and frogmarched from the venue.

During a police interview, when asked why he attempted to grab the weapon, Sandford replied: 'To shoot and kill Donald Trump,' court records show.

He had driven to Las Vegas from Californa on June 16, and went to a shooting range the next day, where he said he learnt how to use a gun for the first time.

Sandford told investigators he expected to die in the attempt on June 18, according to court documents.

He also claimed to have booked tickets for another Trump rally in Phoenix, Arizona, in case he was unable to attempt to take the tycoon's life in Las Vegas, prosecutors said.

Trump was speaking to a crowd at the Treasure Island hotel and casino when the incident took place in June

Sandford did not have permission to be in the US after overstaying a visa and was unemployed.

Papers filed at the court said he had been in the country for around 18 months before his arrest and lived in Hoboken, New Jersey.

He had driven across the US to San Bernardino, California, and had been living out of his car before travelling on to Las Vegas for the rally.

Mrs Sandford previously said her son is extremely vulnerable and suffers from various mental health issues including autism, anxiety, depression and anorexia, and said he would not have foreseen the consequences of his actions.

She flew out to America and was granted a meeting with her son in September.

He had been living in America for 18 months prior to the incident but had lost touch with home, and had a 'delusional psychotic episode' at the time of the attack, Mrs Sandford said.
Ohio's Republican governor, John Kasich, signed a bill Tuesday that imposed a 20-week abortion ban on the state.

That ban includes those who have suffered rape or incest, despite attempts by Democrats to add exceptions for those women in amendments.

At the same time, the pro-lifer vetoed provisions in a separate measure that would have barred abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat - which can start at six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (seen in April) signed a bill Tuesday that bans abortions past 20 weeks even in cases of rape or incest. He vetoed another that banned abortions with a fetal heartbeat

The 20-week ban is similar to bans seen in 15 other states, and blocked from enforcement in two.

The new measures are based on the claim that fetuses can feel pain - a claim that opponents argue is unscientific and untrue.

Previously, abortion rules had been guided by the US Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, which legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.

Kasich said his reason for not signing off the so-called 'heartbeat bill' was because it was likely to be found unconstitutional at the federal stage, based on federal court rulings on similar measures elsewhere.

It would also invite challenges to current Ohio abortion prohibitions and would mean costly litigation, he said.

'The State of Ohio will be the losing party in that lawsuit and, as the losing party, the State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees for the pro-choice activists' lawyers,' he explained.

'Therefore, this veto is in the public interest.'

Kasich acted on both proposals the same day they landed on his desk.

The provisions in the so-called 'heartbeat bill' cleared the Republican-led Legislature during a lame-duck flurry last week after being tucked into separate legislation.

Ohio lawmakers still have the option to override his veto. Doing so would require a three-fifths majority of each chamber.

Kasich passed on the 'heartbeat bill', which would have outlawed abortions past six weeks, because he thought it would be found unconstitutional, wasting state money

The developments in Ohio are a prelude to a broad offensive to be launched in January by abortion-rights opponents emboldened by the election success of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

GOP lawmakers in numerous states - including Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky - plan to push for new anti-abortion legislation.

Their efforts are being supported by a national anti-abortion group, Americans United for Life, which released a report Tuesday contending that many abortion clinics are in violation of state health and safety standards.

In Congress, Republicans are expected to advance legislation banning most abortions after 20 weeks and halting federal funding for Planned Parenthood as long as it performs abortions. The president-elect has pledged to support both measures

The Republican-controlled Ohio Senate acted with initial caution on the divisive heartbeat bill before passing it suddenly last week.

Abortion-rights groups oppose it. Ohio Right to Life, the state's oldest anti-abortion group, has remained neutral because of constitutional questions.

Its backers' plan was to spark a challenge to the Roe v Wade ruling that would ultimately outlaw abortion nationwide.

Also on Tuesday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court threw out a law requiring abortion clinics to have doctors who have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of their facility.

The court ruled that measure, which requires doctors with admitting privileges to be present for abortions, violates both the US and Oklahoma constitutions.

Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed it into law in 2014, but courts had blocked it from going into effect.
A groom-to-be was paralyzed in front of his bride after when he broke his back diving into the ocean during their joint bachelor-bachelorette getaway.

Meg Alexander, 29, and Brett Greenhill, 39, were due to tie the knot in just ten weeks before tragedy struck.

The active couple - who loved to run and work out together - were with their friends on a beach in Naples, Florida, on December 3, when Greenhill decided to go swimming.

Meg Alexander, 29, (right) and Brett Greenhill (left) were due to tie the knot in just ten weeks before tragedy struck

In October, Alexander posted a touching photo of her fiance carrying her and giving her a kiss as she counted down the days to their wedding

The active couple - who love to run and work out together - had been holding a joint bachelor- bachelorette party on the beach in Naples, Florida, (file picture) on December 3

While his friends and fiancee stayed on the beach, he dived into the ocean. The next thing friends saw was Greenhill floating motionless.

Alexander says friends helped drag him from the water and called 911.

'I can't feel anything, Meg,' he told Alexander after being pulled out of the water. 'I love you so much and I'm so sorry. I love you so much,' she said he told her, according to People.

'He was just lifeless, I mean it took four or five of us to be able to lift his body out of the water that's when I knew something was really wrong,' friend Emily Sterner added.

Greenhill was air-lifted to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where doctors told him he had shattered part of his vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

They believe that when he dived into the water, he must have hit a submerged sandbar which injured his back. He has just a one percent chance of mobility.

'We're holding on to that one percent because if anyone will do it, it's Brett,' Alexander said. 'He's the hardest-working person you could ever imagine.'

The couple loved to go running, swimming and hiking together (pictured) before the accident

Greenhill (pictured with his fiancee) was air-lifted to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where doctors told him he had shattered part of his vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down

His mother Linda Greenhill, who immediately left her home in Atlanta to be by her son's side, said her son is currently unable to speak because of a temporary tracheotomy.

'He's able to mouth words to us, so that's how he's communicating,' says Linda.

His first words to Alexander was 'I love you,', followed by 'Please be patient with me.'

The injury has hit the formerly energetic, active accountant hard.

His mother Linda Greenhill, (pictured) who immediately left her home in Atlanta to be by her son's side, said her son is currently unable to speak because of a temporary tracheotomy

On Monday, his mother said that he asked her if he was a 'vegetable' after the accident.

'I said to him, 'You're not a vegetable. You're doing very well,'' Linda responded. 'As a mother, I have to stay strong for everyone,' the 68-year-old added.

'It's the most devastating thing. It's something that you never in a million years could dream would ever happen or could happen to anyone you know, let alone your own family.'

The couple had just mailed out invitations to their February wedding when tragedy struck.

In October, Alexander, a fashion consultant at LuLaRoe, posted a touching photo of her fiance carrying her and giving her a kiss as she counted down the days to their wedding which was due to go ahead in February.

For now, the wedding and honeymoon traveling round New Zealand in a camper van is on hold and the couple come to terms with Greenhill's life-changing injuries.

But, Alexander, who met her husband-to-be two years ago, has no plans to permanently cancel their special day.

'We are going to get married someday, and it's going to be amazing,' Alexander told 11 Alive. 'Plans changed a little but we'll get there someday.'

For now, the wedding and honeymoon traveling round New Zealand in a camper van is on hold and the couple come to terms with Greenhill's life-changing injuries

The couple met two years ago and were due to get married in February before the accident

Greenhill's family and friends have started a GoFundMe account to help pay for his spiraling medical expenses. The fund has already raised more than $92,000 of its $250,000 goal.

'Anyone who has met Brett Greenhill, if only for a moment, will tell you how selfless, generous, and genuinely caring he is to everyone he encounters,' the page reads.

Incredibly, the patient is already showing some signs of improvement according to an update on the page.
, Virginia waited on a group of high school students over the weekend

A Filipino waitress got quite the shock over the weekend when a group of high school students decided to skip the tip, and instead left her an offensive message.

Rachel Mau waited on the group of teenagers at an IHOP in Virginia Beach, Virginia on Saturday morning, and realized soon after they left that none of them left her any money.

She then took a look at the receipts and saw that in the tip column one of the students wrote the word 'nah' while another wrote, 'Build that wall, Trump Daddy.'

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Shock: Rachel Mau of Virginia Beach , Virginia waited on a group of high school students over the weekend

Horrible: Instead of tipping her, one wrote the word 'nah' in the tip column (left) while another wrote, 'Build that wall, Trump Daddy' (right)

Disbelief: The Filipino IHOP waitress said she was shocked that a group of people so young would behave that way

'It's very hurtful. I've never actually experienced anything like that so it really hurt my feelings. I'm a really friendly person, and I try to be nice to all my tables,' Mau told WTKR.

'I know they're younger, but I feel like they shouldn't treat people differently because of race.'

She then added: 'I didn't know if I did something wrong while I was waiting on them or anything.'

Another issue that has been weighing on her is how young the group was.

'I was shocked they would even have an opinion like that being in high school. I don't think it's respectful to write that about anybody at all,' said Mau.
Shoppers were left wide eyed after the biggest fish ever seen in Manchester went on display at a fishmongers.

The enormous Brown Grouper is more than seven feet (213cm) long and weighs a whopping 192kg - more than 30 stone, or around 423lbs.

It was caught in the Indian Ocean near the Seychelles on Saturday, where it took seven men to bring it aboard, and is the third largest fish of its kind on record to be caught anywhere in the world.

Owner Anthony Griffin (pictured middle) said in angling terms it was a chance to really 'put Manchester on the map'

It was flown into the UK overnight and delivered to the fish wholesalers Hodgkinsons, based at Openshaw's New Smithfield Market, before being transferred to its new owner based in the Arndale Market on Tuesday morning.

It's been bought for more than 1,000 by Direct Fisheries, based in the historic market in the shopping centre.

After being displayed, the huge exotic fish will be cut up into meat worth more than 5,000, though they have not yet decided whether to steak or fillet it.

It features in many different types of cuisine, including Indian.

After being displayed, the huge exotic fish will be cut up into meat worth more than 5,000, though they have not yet decided whether to steak or fillet it

But this catch is not even half the size of the biggest ever grouper ever caught was in Florida in 1961 and weighed a humongous 392kg (680lbs, 48.5st)

The second was much closer to this latest catch, weighing in at (436lbs, 31.1st), was caught in the Gulf of Mexico in 1985.

Owner Anthony Griffin, 39, said in angling terms it was a chance to really 'put Manchester on the map'.

WHAT IS A GROUPER FISH? It is extremely common for them to grow to more than 100kg

A grouper was captured on video swallowing in one bite a 4ft black tip shark that had been caught by fishermen off the coast of Bonita Springs, Florida

There are more than 100 different types of grouper

Some have bright marks that they are able to change the colour of in order to camouflage

Like other fish, they are all born as female but have the ability to change gender

They can live up to 50 years Advertisement

Anthony, from Salford, who's been a fishmonger for 28 years said: 'It's been a bit of a whirlwind as we only found we were getting it on Saturday.

'But we just thought, Manchester is number one at everything, music, sport.

And this was a chance to make history and really put ourselves on the map.

'The size of it has obviously blown us all away.

'It's a particularly exotic fish so most people in the UK probably won't be familiar with it.

'But it's used in a really wide range of foods and we're expecting a lot of demand from restaurants and different people.'

Wholesaler Emerson Taylor, 42, from Atherton said: 'I get offered a lot of exotic fish but this was something else.

'It's the biggest I've ever seen and by far the biggest we've ever had.

'I only heard about it on Sunday and it was on a flight on its way over that day.
Jack Grynberg (pictured), 84, was charged Tuesday with unlawful sexual contact

An 84-year-old Denver oil and gas tycoon has been charged after a former female employee at his company accused him of forcing himself on her.

Jack Jakob Grynberg was charged Tuesday with one count of unlawful sexual contact with force, a class four felony, according to the Denver District Attorney's Office. He was previously taken into custody and released on a $50,000 bond.

A former employee at Grynberg Petroleum said he pulled her into a room, put his hand inside her shirt and bra and grabbed her breast, according to an arrest affidavit seen by the DailyMail.com. The woman also said Grynberg kissed her neck and asked her if he could kiss her breast, the arrest affidavit shows.

Grynberg has earned hundreds of millions of dollars by suing the country's oil and gas giants, including BP and Kinder Morgan. He has claimed that he has earned more than $800 million that way.

The female employee told authorities she had been hired at a clerical assistant but was told to clean Grynberg's office when she started.

Grynberg then asked her to come to his house and clean his library, according to the arrest affidavit. The woman said he took her out to a restaurant for lunch and touched or brushed her buttocks as they left.

When they returned to the company, Grynberg parked his vehicle in an underground parking area and told the woman to follow him, leading her down a hallway, the affidavit states.

Grynberg then entered a room, which had a 'men's locker room' sign by the entrance, kept the lights off and asked the employee to come in, according to the document.

The woman said she refused and that Grynberg grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside.

'He then placed his hands inside the victim's shirt and bra and grabbed the victim's breast. The defendant also kissed the victim's neck area and asked the victim if he could kiss her breast,' the affidavit states.

The woman said she had told Grynberg to stop and had pushed him away. She told authorities it all happened in August.

A former employee said Grynberg (pictured) pulled her into a room, put his hand inside her shirt and bra and grabbed her breast, according to an arrest affidavit

She said Grynberg reached out to her again later on and asked her to pick fruit at his house. The employee refused and Grynberg said that if the woman wasn't going to do what he said, then he no longer had work for her, according to the affidavit.

The woman said an employee at Grynberg Petroleum had asked her not to call the police and press charges because 'everyone would be out of a job', the document states.

Grynbeg has claimed in the past that his legal actions against energy giants had earned him more than $800 million in court rulings and settlements, Bloomberg reported.

The total amount of Grynberg's fortune couldn't be verified due to confidentiality clauses. But BP once settled a claim with Grynberg for $200 million, a person familiar with the situation told Bloomberg.

Kinder Morgan once said in a filing it had paid Grynberg a $16.8 million settlement.

Grynberg, a Polish native who fought the Nazis aged 12, moved to the United states and studied at the Colorado School of Mines.

He was once called 'the oilman other oilmen love to hate' due to his propensity to sue other energy companies.

Grynberg is scheduled to appear in court on January 10 for his second advisement.
The Obama administration says ISIS' territory is now 'rapidly shrinking' and the terror group has been isolated and no longer has access to foreign borders.

'We're having tremendous success against this enemy,' Brett McGurk, the president's special presidential envoy to the U.S.-led coalition said Tuesday. 'But this remains an unprecedented threat. This fight is not over.'

The president met with McGurk today to discuss the fighting against ISIS as the United Nations Security Council gathered to debate a ceasefire in Syria between Russian-backed forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and militants battling the government in Aleppo.

McGurk turned around and touted the administration's success in Iraq as the administration deflected criticisms of its policy in Syria and refusal to intervene militarily to stop the humanitarian crisis there that's cast a black cloud over Obama's eight years in office.

The Obama administration says ISIS' territory is now 'rapidly shrinking' and the terror group has been isolated and no longer has access to foreign borders.

The diplomat rejoiced over security forces' progress in Raqqa, an ISIS stronghold that's been under siege for the last month, telling reporters after his meeting with Obama that the advance is 'proceeding quite well.'

The battle to retake Mosul, now in its second month, has been slow going.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Sunday that 2,000 ISIS fighters had been killed or wounded in the Mosul fight. Up to 5,000 fighters remain on the battlefield.

McGurk said Tuesday that U.S. coalition is putting 'relentless pressure' on ISIS there, and the military operation to retake Mosul has been the 'most complex to date.'

'In Mosul, it will take as long as it takes,' he stated.

ISIS' 'territory is now rapidly shrinking,' he said. A new map of Iraq and Syria released by the administration today shows ISIS losing 60 percent of territory in Iraq it had claimed and 28 percent in Syria.

The areas where ISIS has gained ground are in areas, primarily in Syria, that are not part of the U.S. operation, McGurk stated.

'It is significant,' he said, 'that to date that ISIL has not retaken control of any ground' in the areas monitored by the U.S. 'In our operations, ISIL has not retaken a speck of ground,' he later stated.

The one city ISIS reclaimed - Palmyra - was part of a Russian operation.

The Russians 'claim to to be fighting' ISIS, McGurk said, but that is the only anti-ISIS mission they've underwent.

'We're not pleased about that,' he said. 'We want to wipe ISIL entirely off this map.'

'We're having tremendous success against this enemy,' Brett McGurk, the president's special presidential envoy to the U.S.-led coalition said Tuesday. But this remains an unprecedented threat. This fight is not over'

The Obama advisor was briefing reporters as the United Nations Security Council met to review the ceasefire agreement in Syria.

As many as 100,000 civilians are trapped in the city, and UN agencies are reporting indiscriminate killings. In one instance, the UN human rights division says, 82 civilians were killed on the spot by the Assad's regime.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs described a 'complete meltdown of humanity.'

McGurk called the deaths 'horrific,' and Obama's spokesman said 'the situation in Aleppo remains deeply troubling.'

Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, told the Security Council this afternoon that militants, their families and the wounded would be evacuated today as part of a ceasefire agreement that has been acknowledged by Syrian rebels.

The fall of the last rebel-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo could seal the fate of the 'Obama Doctrine,' deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis in decades and staining U.S. President Barack Obama's legacy.

With the U.S.-aligned rebels facing defeat by government forces backed by Russia and Iran, Obama's light-footprint approach to the Syrian conflict will suffer a serious blow weeks before he hands power to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.

The rebel loss will underscore the failure of U.S. efforts to stem the carnage from Syria's nearly six-year-old civil war, leading some critics to predict that Obama's record will be tarnished just as President Bill Clinton's was by his refusal to intervene to halt the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

'There is no doubt he will be hammered in historical terms,' said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations. 'The question will be why he didn't do more.'

Meanwhile, Obama's light-footprint approach to the Syrian conflict suffered a serious blow. The fall of the last rebel-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo could seal the fate of the 'Obama Doctrine,' deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis in decades

While the war is expected to grind on, Assad's victory in Aleppo will provide fresh fodder for Trump, who has argued the insurgency has collapsed, and the United States should revamp its fight against Islamic State by joining up with Russia, and by extension, Assad.

Syria has been one of the main testing grounds for Obama's doctrine of relying on local proxy fighters instead of large-scale U.S. military deployments, reflecting his reluctance to be drawn back into unpopular ground conflicts like the Iraq war.

The approach has faltered in Syria, where on Tuesday the Syrian army said it could declare full control over eastern Aleppo by Wednesday.

'Leading from behind leaves a vacuum that is filled by the Bashar Assads and Vladimir Putins of the world,' said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, referring to how an Obama aide described his strategy. 'I think history will judge that these are unintended results that are going to cause great challenges to the United States for years to come.'

Obama has been criticized for refusing to provide sufficient arms and other support to moderate rebel groups to compel Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers to negotiate an end to his authoritarian rule.

'Obama has pursued a policy of calculated dithering in Syria, just agonizing over the choices until they no longer existed,' said Emile Hokayem, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.

The Democratic president has defended his policy as 'judicious.' His spokesman, Josh Earnest, said it was Obama's 'overriding responsibility' to protect the interests and safety of the American people first.

'There's no military solution to the civil war in Syria,' he said Tuesday, fending off criticisms of the president's response to the humanitarian crisis. 'What is the military proposal that would effectively prevent those deaths?'

The suggestion seems to be that the US should just occupy Syria, he said.

'I don't think there's any evidence to substantiate that claim even if it's ones that's being made,' he said. 'The only solution is a diplomatic one.'

The administration tried to change the subject to its success against ISIS on Tuesday. 'It is significant,' McGurk said, 'that to date that ISIS has not taken control of any ground' in the areas monitored by the U.S. 'In our operations, ISIL has not retaken a speck of ground'

A Republican, Trump has vowed a dramatic shift from Obama's cautious strategy toward a more aggressive approach - although exactly how he will proceed remains unclear.

He will inherit an increasingly complicated conflict in Syria, and many analysts fear his lack of foreign policy experience could lead to dangerous miscalculations.

If Trump follows through after Aleppo's fall on his pledge to cooperate with Russia, Assad's military patron, there is a risk that frustrated moderate rebels could gravitate toward militant factions that pose a potential threat to Western interests.

As Assad himself turns from the wreckage of Aleppo to assert his authority over a fractured Syria, he will have to contend with the loss of swaths of his country for the time being and tough pockets of resistance still to crush.

The war has taken some 400,000 lives and made more than 11 million people homeless, driving many into neighboring countries or on a long perilous trek to Europe.

The imminent fall of rebel-held eastern Aleppo - and the sense of U.S. powerlessness as it unfolds - suggests that Obama likely will be judged by history as much for what he did not do as for what he did.

He first called on Assad to leave power in 2011. But Obama never supplied moderate rebels with enough firepower to topple him or force him to the negotiating table.

His failure to carry out threatened air strikes to enforce his 2012 'red line' over Assad's use of banned chemical weapons dealt a heavy blow to U.S. standing, including by some of his staunchest regional allies.

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during clashes with Syrian Army in the Salaheddine neighbourhood of central Aleppo in August. Rebels and the Syrian government agreed to a ceasefire today - a serious blow to the Obama Doctrine

Obama also rejected recommendations, as recently as October, by members of his national security team for tougher action against Assad. Instead, he gave priority to striking ISIS with a U.S.-led bombing campaign and local allies assisted by relatively small numbers of U.S. special forces.

The strategy hewed to a prescription Obama laid out in a 2014 West Point speech in which he made clear he would intervene in foreign conflicts only when he believed U.S. interests were threatened.

That led to the return of thousands of U.S. military personnel to Iraq to support Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State.

But in Syria, despite providing billions of dollars in relief aid for refugees, Obama's approach has failed to quell what some have called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two.

Obama recently told an interviewer that the grim situation in Syria 'haunts me constantly' - although he insisted there was not much he would have done differently.

White House aides privately acknowledge that Syria - and other Arab countries in turmoil, such as Libya and Yemen - could leave a black mark on his legacy.

But they hope his record will be buoyed in other areas, including the landmark Iran nuclear deal, diplomatic openings to Cuba and Myanmar, the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the prevention of a 9/11-style attack on U.S. soil on his watch.
An Italian priest has cancelled his town's annual Nativity scene over fears it may offend the Muslim community.

Father Sante Braggie, a chaplain in Cremona, northern Italy, said the scene would have been set up near a section of the city's cemetery 'reserved for Muslim graves'.

The decision has caused outrage in the town with councillors said to be trying to persuade the priest to change his mind.

Father Sante Braggie, pictured, has caused controversy by cancelling his city's Nativity scene over fears it may 'offend Muslims'

The nativity scene would have been in view of Muslim graves at a local cemetery in Cremona, northern Italy, and Father Braggie said it could be seen as a 'lack of respect'

According to the Corriere della Sera, Father Braggie said: 'A crib positioned within sight of them could be seen as a lack of respect for followers of other faiths, hurt the sensibilities of Muslims, as well as Indians and even atheists.

'In short, it would be a mess.'

But his predecessor Father Oreste Mori said he 'could not believe' the decision and described it as 'renouncing our culture and traditions' and 'an unpardonable weakness'.

He told the paper: 'I am, for the time being at least, in Italy, not Saudi Arabia.'

The scene is an annual event in Cremona, pictured, where city councillors have urged the priest to reconsider the decision

Politicians have also urged the priest to reinstate the nativity scene as a 'symbol of the city's Christian identity'.

According to the Daily Express, Coun Cristina Cappellini said: 'I hope Fr Braggie changes his mind and apologises to the community.
Most of us fear finding bills in the mail, but one Florida man found something a lot scarier than that while checking his letterbox recently.

Louis Camacho walked to the end of his driveway in Apopka, just outside Orlando, to see if there was any mail, only to hear a loud hissing noise. He then felt something that he described as like an earthquake.

'I could hear him and feel him. I could feel it under my feet, the vibration,' Camacho told WFTV.

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Boo: Louis Camacho took this video of a large alligator he found hissing loudly in the drain outside his house in Apopko, Florida

Sewer gator: Fortunately, the dran was too small for the gator to climb out from

Camacho continued: 'It was pretty loud. It definitely got my attention.'

He then got down on his knees and looked inside the sewer opening on the street - only to see a large alligator staring right at him from inside.

'I guess (it wanted) to warn me to back off,' Camacho said.

Camacho was taken aback, especially by how loud the growling was, but he quickly realized the gator would not be able to get out of the drain because of the size of the animal. It was just hanging out there.

Furthermore, Camacho actually recognized the animal - it was the same gator he had seen hanging around the retention reserve out the back of his house.

'I could feel it under my feet, the vibration,' said Louis Camacho of finding the gator

This is the retention reserve behind Camacho's house where he has seen the gator before

Camacho said that any time he has seen the gator, it has always squirmed away in the water. However he has never been bothered.

'Honestly, I love it. I respect nature, you know, and I give it its space and they've given me my space,' Camacho said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife officials said they've seen gators in gutters before, but it's not common and anyone who finds one should call it in.
Monique Earle, 20, is accused of felony conspiracy to commit murder

A pregnant homeless mother has been accused of trying to pay an undercover policeman $500 and a Juicy Couture bag to kill her ex-boyfriend's new lover.

Monique Earle, 20, was arrested earlier this month and charged with conspiracy to murder after allegedly hatching the elaborate plan in a domestic violence shelter.

Police in Claremont, New Hampshire, say she was plotting to have her ex-boyfriend's new lover killed.

On Tuesday, Claremont District Court heard a recording of Earle telling police why she wanted the woman, who has not been named, raped, tortured and killed.

'Wouldnt you want somebody gone if they destroyed your family?.

She told officers she was angry with her ex-partner for 'leaving her in a tent to freeze', according to the The Eagle Times.

It's not clear where the pair were living before the unnamed man took up with his new partner but court reports suggests the change left Earle homeless.

She sough refuge at the shelter on November 28 where she befriended another woman with ties to a group of Hell's Angels.

She offered to help the young mother arrange to have the target killed but went to police to volunteer herself as an informant once Earle had agreed.

An undercover police officer met with Earle who offered him her $200 Juicy Couture bag as payment for the killing.

Earle, 20, shares a baby with the unnamed man. She is pregnant with their second child

Her lawyer claimed the woman who informed police of the plan pushed Earle into it.

In her taped interview with police, Earle complained that her ex-boyfriend's new lover 'knew' they were planning on marrying.

'She [the alleged victim] knew we were going to get married and we were going to have another baby,' she said.

Through tears, she reportedly added: 'I just want my family back.'

The hearing, which will determine whether she will face trial, was delayed until later this month.
On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump got perhaps his most shocking visitor to Trump Tower yet - Kanye West.

The two 'longtime' friends had a brief meeting Wednesday morning before they took the elevator downstairs and posed for pictures with reporters - marking one of Kanye's first public appearances since being discharged from hospital last week after suffering a mental breakdown.

The meeting spawned numerous memes online - mocking both the President-elect and Kanye for the bizarre meeting.

Why so serious? Donald Trump hosted Kanye West for a brief meeting at Trump Tower on Wednesday, and the get together spawned numerous memes like the one above

North, I am your father! The meme above compares Kanye to Darth Vader and Trump as the Sith lord

Sounds like a Netflix hit: Another meme made a pun on the Netflix show Orange is the New Black, by writing 'Black and the New Orange'

Special treatment: One meme compared Trump to Leonardo DiCaprio's slave owner in Django Unchained, with Kanye as the Uncle Tom-esque head slave Stephen

In a change of pace, it was Kanye who received the bulk of the abuse - with memes mocking his new blond hair.

Another meme contrasted two pictures of Kanye, one smiling picture with President Obama and a photo from Wednesday's meeting with Trump in which he wears a super-serious expression. 'America at the start of 2016. America at the end of 2016,' the Instagram user wrote.

One meme maker used Photoshop to turn Kanye into Darth Vader to Trump's Sith master.

Others referenced Trump's plan to keep tabs on Muslims entering the U.S. and Kanye's foray into fashion design.

'Trump is meeting with Kanye because Kanye is designing the uniforms for the camps,' one meme reads, with pictures from Kanye's fashion line.

Trump's proposal to maintain a database of Muslims in the country has drawn comparisons to the WWII internment of Japanese-Americans, but he has never proposed putting Muslims in camps.

Votes for Trump: Before he was hospitalized for a mental breakdown, Kanye went on a long rant at a concert about how he didn't vote - but if he had it would have been for Trump

Kanye Trump? In the lobby of Trump Tower, West refused to make a comment but Trump said the two were catching up about 'life'

Government contract? This meme referenced Trump's plan to keep tabs on Muslims entering the U.S., joking that he wants to use Kanye's fashion line clothing 'for the camps'. Trump's proposal to maintain a database of Muslims in the country has drawn comparisons to the WWII internment of Japanese-Americans, but he has never proposed putting Muslims in camps

Sell out: During their quick photo opp in the Trump lobby, the President-elect said he and Kanye had been friends for years

Serious issues: The above meme makes fun of Kanye's recent stint in the hospital, after suffering a mental break down in the middle of his Saint Pable tour

Imitation is the highest form of flattery: Kanye's new bleach-blond hair was a focal point of many of the memes - which compared his new coif to Trump's never-graying look

Sea change: Multiple memes contrasted pictures of Kanye with President Obama and the new President-elect

Bankrupt: Throughout the campaign, Trump claimed he made his fortune after starting his business with a 'small loan' of $1million dollars from his father
The pin has been used to show solidarity with minorities, women, and immigrants in the wake of Donald Trump's win last month

Chris Weitz tweeted a photo soon after the election of the Rebel insignia with a safety pin through it

Some Star Wars fans say they will be boycotting the latest film in the hugely successful franchise, claiming that the movie has anti-Donald Trump themes.

The outcry began back in November when the film's screenwriter, Oscar-nominee Chris Weitz, made comments about Trump after his win in the election.

He tweeted a photo soon after the election of the Rebel insignia with a safety pin through it, which has been used to show solidarity with minorities, women, and immigrants in the wake of Donald Trump's win last month.

'Star Wars against hate. Spread it,' wrote Weitz.

That led to Trump supporter Jack Posobiec tweeting out a a completely unfounded and unproven statement about the film last week, saying: 'Star Wars writers rewrote and reshot Rogue One to add in Anti Trump scenes calling him a racist. Disgusting.'

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No go: A number of Trump supporters are now boycotting the new Star Wars film (above)

'Star Wars writers rewrote and reshot Rogue One to add in Anti Trump scenes calling him a racist. Disgusting,' claimed one Trump supporter (above)

'I think the whole story has been overblown and, quite frankly, it's silly,' Disney CEO Bob Iger said over the weekend, adding the film is not political (boycott tweet above from Mike Cernovich)

'I think the whole story has been overblown and, quite frankly, it's silly,' Disney CEO Bob Iger told The Hollywood Reporter at the film's premiere on Saturday.

'I have no reaction to [this] story at all. Frankly, this is a film that the world should enjoy. It is not a film that is, in any way, a political film. There are no political statements in it, at all.'

Despite that claim however, a number of vocal Trump supporters are now claiming they will not see the film.

Many of them began using a hashtag as well, '#DumpStarWars.'

'Writers of new Star Wars said people who vote for Trump support Hitler. If you still give them your money, shameful,' wrote Mike Cernovich, one of the most vocal members of the alt-right.

Cause: Screenwriter Chris Weitz tweeted a photo soon after the election of the Rebel insignia with a safety pin through it (above)

Another Twitter user showed Trump and Putin riding atop an AT-AT Walker (above)

Another Twitter user showed Trump and Putin riding atop an AT-AT Walker.

And Posobiec tweeted again, writing: 'I just cancelled my Star Wars Rogue One tickets after the writers said its an Anti-Trump movie. I'll take my dollars elsewhere.'

Weitz meanwhile also tweeted in response to Posobiec, writing: 'A thought for the end of the day: @jackprosobiec is a liar. But then you know that, Jack.'
Harrowing pictures have emerged of the bodies of dead children lined up on the ground in Syria after claims they among 93 victims of a gas attack.

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations released heartbreaking pictures of the dead children after the alleged attack close to the eastern Syrian city of Hama.

According to the charity the gas, which they say was odorless and colourless, was released during heavy airstrikes which lasted over an hour.

Harrowing pictures have emerged of the bodies of dead children lined up on the ground in Syria after claims they among 93 victims of a gas attack

Images showing the bodies of the children, some just toddlers still wearing nappies, were released by the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations

They claim that the majority of the dead were children and they died very quickly after foaming at the mouth due to exposure to the gas.

The charity also says that more than 300 were injured with others experiencing symptoms such as convulsions, suffocation, nausea and vomiting.

They also add that casualty numbers were high due to shortages of medical staff with chemical weapons response training.

Dr Khaula Sawah, CEO of UOSSM USA said: 'I just cannot describe the situation any more. 100 people, mostly children and women die instantly from exposure to an unknown chemical gas.

'While almost 100,000 people are waiting for the moment of death, as many in the Aleppo area are calling out and recording their wills, believing this is their last message.

The charity say that casualty numbers were high due to shortages of medical staff with chemical weapons response training

'We have been calling on the international community and all responsible parties to stop this massacre; yet genocide is occurring, people are being massacred and action has yet to be taken.'

However, head of the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman said he could not confirm if the strikes on the east of Hama province were carried out by Syrian or Russian warplanes.

He said there were cases of suffocation but could not confirm accusations of a chemical attack.

A panel set up by the United Nations, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism, has determined during a year-long probe that Syrian government forces carried out three chlorine gas attacks on villages in 2014 and 2015.

The panel consisting of UN and experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also found that ISIS - which seized a large swathe of Iraq and Syria in 2014 - was behind a mustard gas attack in Syria in August 2015.

The war raging in Syria erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests demanding the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.

But it has since morphed into a multi-front conflict that has drawn in world powers and witnessed the rise of jihadist groups.
Fares are higher in Melbourne and Brisbane at $299 and $209

Sydneysiders can enjoy a one-way ticket for the modest price of

it will be offering discount flights from Australia to Fiji

Travellers looking to enjoy a tropical holiday on a budget will be pleased to know Virgin are now offering flights to Fiji for just $199.

The cut-price fares from Sydney to Nadi Airport, on the west coast of Fiji's main island, will start taking off from January 31.

The one-way ticket, which would normally go for anywhere between $350 and $550, also includes the cost of carrying 23 kilograms of baggage.

Travellers looking to enjoy a tropical holiday on a budget will be pleased to know Virgin are offering flights to Fiji for a meagre $199

Those wanting to kick back and enjoy an in-flight meal as they are transported to the island paradise will only have to fork out an extra $20 for food and beverages.

A trip from Sydney is $100 cheaper than travelling from Melbourne, but only $10 less than those leaving from Brisbane.

The tempting offer does have an expiry date, with travellers urged to make their booking before midnight on December 19, when prices revert back to normal.

The only condition is that holidaymakers must travel between January 31 and April 5, April 30 and June 15 or July 23 and September 14.

Travellers can enjoy breathtaking sunsets, water activities or simply relax at a resort

A trip from Sydney is $100 cheaper than travelling from Melbourne, but only $10 less than those leaving from Brisbane

A holidaymaker takes a quick kip in a hammock overlooking a pristine Fijian beach

A trip from Sydney is $100 cheaper than travelling from Melbourne, but only $10 less than those leaving from Brisbane

The one-way ticket, which would normally go for anywhere between $350 and $550, also includes the cost of carrying 23 kilograms of baggage

The cut-price fares from Sydney to Nadi Airport, on the west coast of Fiji's main island, will start taking off from January 31

The first period of travel dates fall just after the school holidays finish, making it more difficult for families to enjoy.

Holidaymakers must travel between three specified date brackets

The second travel period also commences just as the school holidays finish on April 25.

TripAdvisor claim it is best to travel to the popular South Pacific holiday destination between April and May or in early October when the heat and humidity will not be 'too stifling'.

Between June and September, travellers may experience cooler water temperatures, while between November and March becomes quite humid.

'For those interested in diving or surfing, Fiji's winter months are the best time - for the biggest breaks and the best visibility,' TripAdvisor said.

TripAdvisor claim it is best to travel to the popular South Pacific holiday destination between April and May or in early October when the heat and humidity will not be 'too stifling'

Between June and September, travellers may experience cooler water temperatures, while between November and March becomes quite humid

VIRGIN'S CHEAP FARES Fiji to Sydney one-way - $199 Fiji to Melbourne one-way - $299 Fiji to Brisbane one-way - $209 Advertisement

'For land activities such as hiking, biking or rainforest trekking, the cooler, drier winter months also make for a more pleasurable time.'

This comes after Jetstar announced it would be offering cut-price flights to the tropical Whitsundays for just $59.

The cheap fares from Sydney to the Whitsunday Coast Airport at Proserpine are on sale for the new, three-times-weekly service beginning on April 4, 2017.

But the offer ends at midnight on Thursday December 15.
A man who lived the majority of his life with a giant facial tumour has finally had an operation to remove the two stone mass.

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, 60, developed the tumour in his childhood and suffered with the disfigurement for 47 years.

Doctors in his native Nepal said he was suffering from neurofibromatosis, a rare condition where non-cancerous tumours grow in the nervous system which is caused by mutations in genes.

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, 60, (pictured) developed a huge facial growth as a child due to rare condition neurofibromatosis which causes tumours to form in the nervous system

He underwent a seven-hour surgery to have the growth removed at Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital in his native Kathmandu, Nepal

The growth, pictured, was successfully removed and found to weigh almost two stone

Along with the tumours, it has also caused spots to develop on his skin, and there is no known cure for the condition other than surgery, which Mr Bhattarai could not afford.

After public appeals for help, the surgery was provided for free at Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal.

He was under the knife for seven hours as a team of 11 doctors successfully cut away the swelling on the right side of his face, which had grown so large it hung as far down as his waist.

Mr Bhattarai, pictured after the surgery, is now recovering well, although he still suffers from other effects of the condition including facial spots and boils

The 60-year-old, right, temporarily had his face bandaged, left, and received the surgery for free following public appeals for help with the condition

The medical team was led by Dr Jaswan Shakya, a director at the hospital and cosmetic surgeon.

Mr Bhattarai is now recovering and had his face temporarily bandaged after the procedure.

His facial spots and boils remain but there appear to have been no complications with the removal of the growth.
Chattanooga Bands is hosting a Rock For Toys, a Toys for Tots benefit, at Ziggy's Bar and Music Venue on Saturday, Dec. 17.

The cover charge is a new unwrapped toy or $10.

At the end of the show a Marine will pick up the donations to brighten a child's Christmas morning.

For more information visit the Facebook page.

The lineup includes:

7:30 p.m. The Exception

8:15 p.m. Tessa Plank

8:45 p.m. Jonas Snow

9:15 Silver Tongued Devilz

10 p.m. Sparky, The Band

11 p.m. Cheering Tokyo

Ziggy's Bar and Music Venue is at 607 Cherokee Blvd.
The Australian Taxation Office's online system has been taken down by a world-first glitch in its computers which may have caused the loss of large amounts of data.

The ATO announced its website and other online services were not working just before 9.30am AEDT on Monday and the agency is reportedly attempting to recover a petabyte, or a million gigabytes, of data.

Access to tax and super information were back online on Tuesday evening but tools, calculators and online services including portals were still down.

During the day, many public servants remained unable to work because they could not use their computers, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The Australian Taxation Office's online system has been taken down by a world-first glitch in its computers

The ATO is reportedly attempting to recover a petabyte, or a million gigabytes, of data (stock image)

ATO chief information officer Steve Hamilton said the office was working with provider Hewlett Packard Enterprise to resolve the issues with its online services, portals and website.

But he said no taxpayer information had been compromised.

'Specialist engineers have been working through the night (on Monday) with ATO staff to rectify the outages,' Mr Hamilton said.

'These outages relate to a new hardware storage solution that was upgraded in November 2015. '

Mr Hamilton said the primary back-up systems, which should have kicked in immediately, were also affected.

'We understand this is the first time this problem has been encountered anywhere in the world and we are working with HPE to determine the underlying cause,' Mr Hamilton said.

'While these investigations are ongoing, we have had to implement alternative recovery procedures that are taking longer to complete.'

The ATO said it hoped to resume key services like the tax agent portal and some services on ato.gov.au later on Tuesday.

'We will work with all clients to ensure that nobody is disadvantaged as a result of these systems issues,' a spokesman said.

'Alternative work arrangements have been made for those ATO staff impacted by the outage.'

The ATO apologised for any inconvenience.

The fault was not caused by any external factors such as a denial of service attack, like the one that brought down the 2016 Census.

Revenue Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said the tax office had advised her the problems were being rectified.

'The ATO will undertake a full investigation of its IT systems to ascertain how this event occurred,' she said.

Access to tax and super information were back online on Tuesday evening but tools, calculators and online services including portals were still down (stock image)

Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh said the government needed to explain why it was unable to provide basic online services.

'The tax office site outage is inconveniencing taxpayers and tax agents alike,' he said in a statement.

'This comes just four months after the Turnbull government stuffed up the 2016 Census and wasted millions of hours of Australians' time.'

Website iTnews reported the collapse of two new HPE 3PAR SAN data storage systems, installed late last year, had caused the loss of one petabyte of data.

This comes just four months after the Turnbull government stuffed up the 2016 Census and wasted millions of hours of Australians' time. Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh

A petabyte is the equivalent of 20 million, four-drawer filing cabinets full of text.

Tax Institute president Arthur Athanasiou told AAP the problem was affecting not just taxpayers but tax agents.

'You can't rush to judgment against the ATO without knowledge of all the facts, but if the source of the prolonged failure is because of internal issues, such as defective hardware, the ATO must be better resourced to be able to ensure such failures don't occur, given the wide dependence on ATO systems by tax professionals and taxpayers,' he said.

'We hope the ATO will ensure that taxpayers and agents will not be worse off as a result of the impact of this system disruption to their business.'
A woman has spoken about the moment her grandson brought home a toddler, just after she had seen a photo of the baby on Facebook announcing he was missing.

The 18-month-old, vanished from his New Zealand home on Wednesday about 2am and his mother claims his bedroom window has been opened and the light was on.

The baby's father posted a picture of the baby on his Facebook page in a hope someone would be able to locate him, NZ Herald reported.

Another woman, also from Rotorua, was on Facebook looking at the picture of the boy and was left in complete shock when her grandson walked in with the missing baby just moments later.

A woman has spoken about the moment her grandson brought home a toddler, just after she had seen a photo of the baby on Facebook announcing he was missing (stock image)

The grandmother said she dressed the child in some of her daughter's baby clothes and handed him over to police.

The distraught parents were reunited with their son just after 8am and they said he was smiling and happy despite his ordeal.

They took the child to hospital for a check-up, but he was uninjured and able to immediately return home.

After noticing her son was missing at 2am, the mother said she ran down the street to her father's home and desperately knocked on the window.

A 17-year-old boy, who was not known to the family, was charged with the alleged kidnapping and will front District Court on Wednesday.

Police said they had not seen a case such as this for more than 20 years.
The father of murdered Queens jogger Karina Vetrano said he had a 'bad feeling' just 25 minutes after his daughter left home for her run.

Vetrano, 30, was beaten, raped and strangled in Spring Creek Park near her home in Howard Beach, New York, on August 2.

Her father Phil was meant to go running with her but couldn't because of a back injury.

He warned her not to run in the park alone but couldn't stop her from leaving.

Within 25 minutes of her departure, he knew instinctively something was wrong and phoned police.

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Phil Vetrano said he knew something was 'wrong' instinctively just 25 minutes after his daughter Karina, 30, left their home to go running on August 2

Mr Vetrano was meant to have gone running with his daughter but couldn't because of a back injury

His daughter was last seen on surveillance footage at around 5.45pm. Mr Vetrano found her body in marshland at the park just over three hours later.

'She asked me to go for a run and I said I couldn't go.

'And about 25 minutes later I got a bad feeling. I knew something was wrong. Like something was wrong,' Mr Vetrano told Dr Oz in an appearance that will be aired on Tuesday evening.

Karina was still alive when her father phoned a police chief he knew personally to raise his concerns.

She was captured on a surveillance camera at 5.46pm. Police said it is likely those were some of her final moments alive.

Mr Vetrano found his daughter's lifeless body after a frantic search with detectives that evening.

They were led to it by her phone which lay discarded on the ground nearby.

No arrests have been made in connection with the case despite a sustained campaign by her family.

They have raised tens of thousands of dollars to give as a reward to anyone with information about her killer and are now lobbying NYPD to use familial DNA testing to narrow down a possible list of suspects.

Karina was seen on surveillance footage jogging towards the park at 5.46pm, moments before her death

Her father offered a large reward to anyone with information about Karina's death

The 30-year-old was an enthusiastic runner but normally jogged with her father in the evening

Karina's family and friends are campaigning for information about her death. Above, mourners at the young woman's funeral

Forensic investigators found traces of DNA in beneath Karina's fingernails, on her neck and on her phone.

They believe it likely belongs to her killer but have not been able to find a match on convicted criminal databases.

Familial testing compares the crime scene DNA with others on file that are a close enough match to be family.

It has led to the arrests and convictions of other dangerous criminals but is not common practice in New York.

Karina's death was just five days before that of a jogger in Princeton, Massachusetts, who was taken while running near her mother's home.

Vanessa Marcotte, 27, was found dead in bushes having been sexually assaulted, strangled and set on fire.

DNA at the scene was found but could not be matched to anyone already in police databases.

NYPD is yet to produce a solid lead in the case.
A veteran news reporter claims that Roger Ailes wouldn't give her a position at Fox News after her ex-boyfriend told the now-disgraced media mogul that she wouldn't 'put out'.

Lidia Curanaj, filed a civil complaint against Fox TV Stations accusing it of discrimination on Tuesday, five years after having an interview with Fox News Channel in 2011.

Curanaj says that though she felt she had a successful interview, she was not offered a position after Ailes called her ex-boyfriend, New York State Senator Gregory Ball, to ask details about her sex life and whether or not she would 'put out', according to court documents obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

The veteran reporter, who has previously worked for News 12 Westchester, Fox Carolina and CBS as a reporter, anchor and network producer, says she first met Ailes at a dinner she attended with Ball.

Veteran news reporter Lidia Curanaj filed a civil complaint against Fox TV Stations accusing the media company of discrimination on Tuesday. In 2011 she had an interview with Roger Ailes for a position with Fox News Channel, but didn't get the position

It was at the dinner that he offered to bring her in for an interview for a position with Fox News Channel (FNC).

After meeting several employees and taking part in a group interview, Ailes interviewed her privately in his office, where he sat directly next to her on his couch, Curanaj says.

She says that Ailes explained what he described FNC's 'recipe for success', in which women were shown 'from the feet up', meaning their legs would be visible to the TV audience.

Ailes said that for that reason, it is 'important [for female talent] to look good from head to toe', according to court documents.

Curanaj says that Ailes called her ex-boyfriend, New York Sen Gregory Ball (pictured), to ask details about her sex life and whether or not she would 'put out'

Curanaj claims that Ailes asked her to stand up and 'turn around', so he could see her from behind.

She says that the request made her uncomfortable, but she did as requested and quickly sat back down.

Following the meeting, Curanaj says that Ailes reached out Ball, who she had previously dated, and asked if she would 'put out'. He also asked, 'How's the sex?', according to court documents.

Ball told Ailes that Curanaj was a nice girl and implied that she would not 'put out'.

Ailes then called Curanaj and told her that he didn't believe she was ready to work for the network and suggested that she try to work for local Fox stations.

Curanaj believes, however, that she did not receive the position because she would not submit to Ailes sexually.

Then in November 2011, Curanaj was hired by Fox as a general assignment reporter for FOX5, where she told general manager Byron Harmon that she wanted to be considered for a full time position with a contract.

Despite his praise of Curanaj's work, Harmon hired Liz Dahlem, a woman who had less experience and was eight years younger than the veteran reporter.

When Curanaj eventually got a job at FOX5, a full time position was given to Liz Dahlem (pictured), a woman who had less experience and was eight years younger than the veteran reporter

While she did get a test run as an anchor, Harmon told her she was not special or attractive enough to be an anchor, Curanaj, who has extensive anchor experience, claims.

'In addition to repeatedly expressing his belief that Ms Curanaj is generally unattractive, Harmon often tells Ms Curanaj that she "looks like s***" or that she "looks sick",' court documents say.

FOX5 manager Byron Harmon (pictured) told Curanaj she wasn't 'attractive enough' to be an anchor for the station, according to legal documents

Harmon told her that anchors must be 'very attractive', according to court documents.

The lawsuit says: 'Ms. Curanaj was upset and offended by Harmon's discriminatory statements, and asked him whether he thought she needed plastic surgery, and whether her nose was a problem for him.

'Specifically, Ms. Curanaj offered to undergo rhinoplasty, take voice lessons and meet with a professional makeup artist, in an attempt to have the chance to anchor. Harmon responded by merely shrugging his shoulders.'

To make matters worse, Harmon then made a number of offensive and discriminatory comments about Curanaj's nationality and referred to her as 'Ms Albania', according to court documents.

'Obviously, Harmon does not believe that Ms. Curanaj is capable of succeeding in a professional environment because he believed that she is Albanian  notwithstanding the fact that his bias and prejudice was more evident due to his apparent "confusion" between the two Balkan countries,' court documents say.

Curanaj filed a notice of her claims of unlawful discrimination on November 8, and says that in retaliation, FOX5 has significantly cut her hours and now she only works two days a week.

She filed suit against Fox TV Stations as well as Harmon accusing them of discrimination and creating a hostile work environment.
Donald Trump embraced Kanye West at Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday and said the pair had been friends for a long time.

But seven years ago it was a different story.

Trump once called for a boycott of 'disgusting' West back in 2009.

His comments came a day after West infamously stormed the stage and interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV VMAs seven years ago.

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Donald Trump embraced Kanye West following a 15-minute meeting at Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday and said the pair had been friends for a long time

But their meeting on Tuesday came after Trump once called for a boycott of 'disgusting' West back in 2009 when he interrupted Taylor Swift on stage at the MTV VMAs

Trump told TMZ at the time that the rapper's antics were 'disgusting' and called for people to reject all things Kanye 'so this kind of thing doesn't happen again.'

He also claimed at the time that Kanye did not actually care about Beyonce when he stormed the stage to say she should have won.

'He couldn't care less about Beyonce. It was grandstanding to get attention,' Trump said at the time.

Trump also once fat-shamed Kanye's wife Kim Kardashian saying she had a 'fat a**'.

'Does she have a good body? No. Does she have a fat a**? Absolutely,' Trump said of the reality star during a conversation on Howard Stern's SiriusXM radio show in February 2013.

Kardashian threw her support behind Hillary Clinton in the recent presidential election.

It comes after the 'Famous' rapper dramatically met with the President-elect for a 15-minute meeting at Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday.

Trump said at the time that the rapper's antics were 'disgusting' and called for people to reject all things Kanye 'so this kind of thing doesn't happen again'

Trump invited West to this Trump Tower office, escorted him to the lobby and embraced him in full view of the world, saying: 'Were just friends, just friends. Hes a good man. Going well.'

During the presidential campaign Kanye was seen smiling for a selfie with Hillary Clinton. Months later during a concert he revealed that he would have voted for Trump

Trump said the pair talked about 'life' - and he happily posed, giving his signature thumbs-up, with Kanye and his daughter Ivanka in his personal office.

Then Trump descended to the lobby of Trump Tower to say goodbye to West, an honor he has extended to just one other visitor, and to none of the people he interviewed about top-level posts in his administration.

'We're just friends, just friends. He's a good man. Going well. Long time  We've been friends for a long time,' Trump said. 'Life, we discussed life.'

Kanye - who until last week was in hospital in Los Angeles recovering from a reported nervous breakdown - simply told photographers: 'I just want you to take my picture right now.'

Donald Trump embraced Kanye West after a 15-minute meeting at Trump Tower which the rapper had requested

Donald Trump came to the lobby of Trump Tower with his guest Kanye West - only the second time he had descended to say farewell

Trump said he and Kanye had been long-term friends and were talking about 'life'

West was cleared by the Secret Service to meet Trump.

After the meeting West used Twitter to disclose that he had wanted to discuss 'multicultural issues', which he said were 'bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago'.

'I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change,' he said.

Finally he tweeted: '#2024.'
The head of IBM is getting in good with President-elect Donald Trump with a pledge to hire 25,000 Americans during his administration in advance of a tech summit at Trump Tower on Wednesday.

'At IBM alone, we have thousands of open positions at any given moment, and we intend to hire about 25,000 professionals in the next four years in the United States, 6,000 of those in 2017,' write CEO Ginni Rometty in USA Today.

'IBM will also invest $1 billion in training and development of our U.S. employees in the next four years.'

She made a pitch for 'new collar' jobs, adding, 'We are hiring because the nature of work is evolving  and that is also why so many of these jobs remain hard to fill.'

'As industries from manufacturing to agriculture are reshaped by data science and cloud computing, jobs are being created that demand new skills  which in turn requires new approaches to education, training and recruiting.'

IBM CEO Ginni Rommetty is promising to hire 25,000 people over four years, as she prepares to attend a tech summit at Trump Tower

Her hiring push also sets up a contrast with Apple, a firm Trump has goaded for its production of key products in China and other locales. She called for investments in technical education and other education reforms.

After Trump's election, Rometty wrote a letter pledging to 'achieve the aspiration you articulated and that can advance a national agenda in a time of profound change,' Politico noted.

Trump also added Rometty to his advisory group that he calls his Strategic and Policy Forum.

IBM also has been cutting jobs in recent years, as Fortune noted in one report.

'As part of the Technology CEO Council of which I am a member, we will prepare an updated set of recommendations for how you could use technology and fraud analytics to save the government more than $1 trillion,' she wrote in her post-election letter.

Trump has already drawn controversy for his efforts to push employers to keep jobs here, including his effort to save about 700 jobs at a Carrier plant in Indiana, a move that provided a big PR boost but also is expected to cost about $7 million in incentives.

Trump has also done battle with Boeing over Twitter over the $4.2 billion price tag for a replacement for Air Force One.

Tech giants are headed to New York for a pow-wow on Wednesday with Donald Trump's transition team.

Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump, said Monday 'some very big-league names' are coming to the president-elect's summit for industry leaders at Trump Tower.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Apple's Tim Cook will join the pilgrimage to Trump's New York City headquarters, Yahoo News reports.

So will Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, Google co-founder Larry Page and Erick Schmidt, chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet. Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins have confirmed their participation.

Cook hosted a million-dollar fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Los Angeles last August. Bezos owns the Washington Post and has tussled with Trump.

'Some very big-league names' are coming to the president-elect's summit for industry leaders at Trump Tower on Wednesday. Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Apple's Tim Cook will join the pilgrimage to Trump's New York City headquarters, Yahoo News reports

So will Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg. Trump is set to be represented by tech investor Peter Thiel, a member of Facebook's board

Google co-founder Larry Page, left, and Erick Schmidt, right, chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet, are coming, too

'Amazon is getting away with murder, tax-wise, Trump said in a May interview with Sean Hannity.

The billionaire claimed Bezos was 'using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed.'

Trump also said his campaign was being flooded with calls from Post reporters asking 'ridiculous' questions.

The president-elect, who doesn't use a computer but tweets from his phone with great frequency, is set to be represented by tech investor Peter Thiel, who spoke at the GOP convention in Cleveland and is one of the few major players in the industry to back Trump.

Thiel is on the board of Facebook with Sandberg.

Execs from Microsoft and Intel are reportedly invited, too. Recode reports that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was invited, but he's out of the country on Wednesday. The same goes for Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

Twitter's Jack Dorsey may or may not have been invited. He told Recode he wasn't sure. Netflix, Salesforce and Dropbox executives are not attending, the tech pub said.

Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller said Monday the president-elect's office would have more information to provide on the summit tomorrow or Wednesday.

Tech mogul Peter Thiel, a Trump supporter who spoke at the GOP convention, will represent the president-elect at the meeting

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was also slated to participate, as was incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus.

President Obama had close relations with leading tech executives, including Google's Schmidt, a frequent White House visitor during his tenure.

Trump's relationship with the industry has been considerably more contentious. He called for a 'boycott' of Apple during the early days following the San Bernardino attacks in an effort to pressure the company to help the FBI unlock the rampage suspect's phone.

He also blasted the firm's manufacturing model, including production in China and other overseas nations, although Trump companies have also done manufacturing overseas.

He met last week with former vice president Al Gore, a Clinton backer and Apple board member.

Contributors identified with Internet firms gave $5.6 million to rival Hillary Clinton, according to OpenSecrets.org. Trump, by contrast, merely got $54,000.

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, is slated to participate in the meeting with tech gurus

Trump railed against Apple during the campaign, even calling for a boycott at one point. He skewered Amazon and Bezos, too

According to a study referenced in the Economist, employment in the tech sector in Democratic counties increased 35 per cent between 2000 and 2016. But in Republican counties, it dropped by nearly the same amount, 37 per cent.

Trump met at Trump Tower on Monday with former Hewlett-Packard exec Carly Fiorina.

Fiorina, a rival to Trump for the Republican nomination this year, said they spent a 'fair amount of time talking about China as probably our most important adversary.'

'We talked about hacking, whether its Chinese hacking or reported Russian hacking,' she said.

'We talked about the opportunity that the president elect has to literally reset things, to reset the trajectory of this economy, to reset the role of government, to reset Americas role in the world and how we're perceived in the world.'

Last week Japanese tech mogul Masayoshi Son said he would pour $50 billion in investments into new U.S. startups and committed to producing 50,000 jobs here.

Son is the CEO of SoftBank, which owns Sprint.

'We are going to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and commit to create 50,000 new jobs,' Son told reporters with Trump standing by. 'We (will) invest into the new startup companies in the United States."

The pledge would come from the $100 billion investment fund the firm has already announced in a partnership with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fun, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A moment of silence paid tribute to the fallen and Chinese guards presented wreaths of flowers

was held at Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in 2014

The first National Day of

Thousands of people honoured those killed by Japanese troops in a massacre beginning

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On this day 79 years ago, Imperial Japanese troops ransacked the city of Nanjing killing 300,000 people in a six week reign of terror.

Today Chinese residents, survivors and government leaders stood in the rain to remember the dead for China's third official National Day of Remembrance of the massacre.

Nearly 8,000 paid tribute at 7.00am local time at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall which is built on one of the execution grounds and mass graves.

Thousands stand for a silent tribute for those killed in the Nanjing Massacre at the Memorial Hall

The Chinese People's Liberation Army marches to pay tribute to the 300,000 people killed in the Nanjing Massacre

The third official National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre was held at the memorial hall which was built in 1985

In 2014 the China's National People's Congress made the anniversary of the invasion an official national day of remembrance.

On December 13, 1937 the Japanese invaded Nanjing which only had a few untrained auxiliary troops as their defense. Chinese soldiers and civilians were mercilessly slaughtered and women was raped and taken as 'comfort women'.

Over the weekend people added 110 new names of those killed on the memorial wall also called the 'wailing wall'. People's Daily reports there are now 10,615 names inscribed.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army stood guard of the thousands of people who stood in the rain in a moment of silence.

People came to pay their respects for victims of the Nanjing Massacre and wore ponchos because it was raining

Regina, Ip chairwoman of the New People's Party and former Hong Kong Secretary for Security, attended the memorial

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying paid his respects and signed a condolences book at the ceremony

A slew of government officials also paid respects such as Regina Ip, the chairwoman of the New People's Party and Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

Guards presented wreaths of flowers during the somber affair and Zhao Leji of the Central Committee of the Communist Party spoke to honour the fallen.

Wish walls were built in Nanjing's busiest subway stations back in December and invite residents to pay their respects to the victims.

People stand for a moment of silence at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo is planning to visit Pearl Harbor this month. The Japanese government have not issued a formal apology for the Nanjing Massacre.

The Japanese government did issue a apology to 'comfort women' of South Korea last year, but many thought it was far too little too late.

There are only 108 living survivors of the Nanjing Massacre. Many were just children during the slaughterings which included mass executions.

Bodies fill the streets of Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937

The Nanjing Massacre saw 300,000 people killed and tens of thousands of women sexually assaulted
Humans will become cyborgs is the 'next step of human evolution'.

At least that's according to Amal Graafstra, an amateur biohacker from Seattle who has implanted wireless chips under his skin.

These chips allow him to enter his house, log on to his computer, start his motorcycle and even activate his smart gun, all with just the wave of a hand.

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Amal Graafstra has RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips implanted in his hands that allow him to enter his home, open his car door, log in to his computer and activate his smart gun

The 40-year-old father started a biohacking company, known as Dangerous Things, from his basement in 2013, where he makes implantable devices that can be shipped anywhere in the world.

The chips, called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips, use radio waves to wirelessly communicate with tags attached to objects.

The RFID chips in Mr Graafstra's hands can wirelessly identify tags attached to his house door and car, opening them when he passes his hand near them.

Mr Graafstra got his first implant in 2005, when he was working as an IT consultant for a group of medical clinics, where the only door he had to leave the building was an emergency crash-bar type door that always locked when it closed.

There was no option to unlock it, and he would use the door several times a day and sometimes forget his keys inside.

An x-ray scan showing the RFID chips implanted in Mr Graafstra's hands. Anyone can buy the implant kit, which ships worldwide

THE POPULARITY OF CHIPS The xNT transponder chip is the brainchild of Amal Graafstra, a pioneer of the micro-chip movement. Mr Graafstra founded Dangerous Things, the US company that supplies the microchips and brought them into mass production through a crowdfunding campaign. It is believed there are 10,000 people across the world using microchip technology inside their bodies. There are more extreme examples of biohacking. In 2013, Tim Cannon, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, inserted a biometric sensor a little larger than a matchbox between his skin and arm tissue, which tracks changes in his body's temperature. It's easily visible, bulging beneath his skin, and no doctor would carry out the procedure so a piercer did it for him. Advertisement

He'd be locked out and have to wait, sometimes for hours, for a security guard to arrive and let him in.

He told the MailOnline: 'That got me thinking about keys and how archaic they are.

'I just wanted the door to "know me" and let me in.

'I thought about the RFID chips that pets were getting implanted in their necks for identification purposes, and I realised I could use a similar chip with an access control system to open my door with a wave of the hand.

'I made several calls to manufacturers and found a chip that was suitable for implantation.

'Mostly I use my chips for access control applications like letting me in my house, garage, office, logging into my computer, starting my motorcycle, and more recently - activating my smart gun so only I can fire it.

Mr Graafstra had his first implant administered by a doctor and he says he didn't have a hard time convincing them to do it.

'These doctors were clients of mine.

'They understood I was not some crazy person, so they simply asked a couple questions before agreeing; "What is it? Do you think it's safe?"...that was it.

'They trusted I did my homework.'

Dangerous Things recommends that customers find a professional body piercing artist or body modification partners to implant the chip, but anyone can use the syringe to implant the device themselves

The implant is sold as a pre-loaded sterile injection which is injected into the webbing between the metacarpal bones of the index finger and thumb.

According to the Dangerous Things website: 'The installation process (in the suggested location and orientation) is about as painful as giving blood, getting a bee sting, or about as painful as most typical body piercings.

Dangerous Things sells RFID implant kits that include a sterile injector with a pre-loaded xNT chip and gauze for wound care

'There is a slight sharp pinching sensation as the needle initially pierces the skin, but after that its very easy going.

'Weve had people actually say thats it? afterward.'

After the chip is implanted, there can be some bruising and swelling, and the wound should stop bleeding and scab over after five to ten minutes.

Mr Graafstra told the MailOnline: 'I simply want what everyone wants...to be harder, better, faster, stronger.

' Humans always strive to push boundaries and enhance our capabilities.

'I can augment my humanity by integrating technology inside my body.'

In Washington state, you need a piercing license if you are charging a fee for the service, but since Dangerous Things doesn't charge for installation services, it is not operating a body piercing business so it doesn't require a license.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Mr Graafstra has five implants on his hands and arms. They all give him access control of one type or another. Implant four is an early prototype of the new VivoKey he is developing

Amal Graafstra says biohacking is the next form or phase of human evolution

Mr Graafstra currently has five implants in his hands.

He used to have a magnet implanted in his skin to feel electromagnetic radiation, but he removed it because it was starting to show signs of failure and he wanted to analyse the issue.

'We have since pulled all magnets from the store and were working on a new coating technique that will solve issues with the titanium coating,' he said.

The implant kits range in price from 30.68 ($39.00) for the xBT tag, to 195.89 ($249.00) for the flexDF transponder.

One of his implants is a new project he's been working on: the VivoKey (formerly called UKI).

The VivoKey allows people to carry cryptographic keys in their bodies as opposed to external devices, allowing developers to create apps for it like secure payments.

Mr Graafstra told Vice Motherboard that the VivoKey is: 'A very small, security oriented computer.

'The killer app for something like UKI is going to be payments and transit, so when you think about the ability to get rid of your keys and get rid of your wallet, now you're talking about something the average person can get behind.

'The bottom line is for Dangerous Things, the kind of the mission statement is that we believe that biohacking is the next form or phase of human evolution.'
Six months after iOS users were given access to Googles Gboard, the tech giant is finally rolling it out for Android devices.

The keyboard comes as an update to the standard Google Keyboard, and has a Google search bar built right into the app.

Like its iOS counterpart, users can easily find and share information, GIFs and emojis based on their text - and it is designed with Glide Typing.

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Gboard comes as an update to the Google Keyboard, which offers a Google search bar built right into the top row. Like its iOS counterpart, Users can easily find and share information, GIFs and emojis based on their text - and it is designed with Glide Typing

WHAT CAN GBOARD DO? A Google logo is shown on the keyboard, which represents the search engine for looking up information to send. There is also the emoji search. Users simply tap on the emoji button and a search field will appear  allowing you to search terms to find the right emoji. It also supports multiple languages. Users also have an option to have the number row permanently shown on-screen for every text field. Its currently available as an APK from Google, but should make its way over to the Play Store, as it was designed to replace the Google Keyboard altogether. Advertisement

Google announced the release on iOS back in May and the tech giant said it would eventually hit Android devices.

Although it took six months, the tech giant is keeping to its promises and the search-centric keyboard is now available for the other half.

Its currently available as an separate app from Google, but should make its way over to the Play Store, as it was designed to replace the Google Keyboard altogether.

A Google logo is shown on the keyboard, which represents the search engine for looking up information to send  such as restaurant locations, reports Ars Technica.

There is also the highly anticipated emoji search.

Users simply tap on the emoji button and a search field will appear  allowing you to search terms to find the right emoji.

The keyboard also has a GIF search, which will drop an animated image right into your chat window.

Gboard feels like all of your favorite text apps combined into one location.

Users also have an option to have the number row permanently shown on-screen for every text field.

Unlike the iOS version, Androids will have up to three languages to choose from  Google said more were to come with the iOS when it was first released in May.

'Searching and sending stuff on your phone shouldnt be that difficult,' Google said, referring to the iOS release.

A Google logo is shown on the keyboard, which represents the search engine for looking up information to send  such as restaurant locations. Users tap on the emoji button and a search field will appear  allowing you to search terms to find the right emoji

'With Gboard, you can search and send all kinds of thingsrestaurant info, flight times, news articlesright from your keyboard.

'Anything youd search on Google, you can search with Gboard.'

Results appear as cards with the key information front and center, such as the phone number, ratings and hours.

According to the firm, the keyboard is designed to keep your information private.

Google announced the release on iOS back in May and the tech giant said it would eventually hit Android devices. However, the Android release is packed with the same features that iOS users have enjoyed all year

HOW TO GET IOS GBOARD Gboard is available today through the App Store for iOS 9 or later. After downloading the free Gboard app, users will be prompted to follow a few steps to set up the new keyboard. Once you've added the keyboard and allowed access, Gboard will be ready to use. Open up your text messages, or any app you use a keyboard for, and tap the little globe in the bottom left corner. The keyboard will then switch to Gboard. Advertisement

Your search query will be sent to the servers, and the platform will send anonymous statistics when the app crashes to diagnose problems, and let them know which features are most popular.

Apart from this, the firm says 'everything else,' will not be sent to Google, so your data remains stored on your device, and is not accessible by Google or any other apps.

'With Gboard, you can search and send all kinds of things  restaurant info, flight times, new articles  right from your keyboard,' writes Rajan Patel, Principal Engineer in a Google Blog post.

Apart from a different font and lighter colour-scheme, Gboard doesn't look much different than the standard iOS keyboard.

But, at the top left, Gboard users will see a small Google 'G.'

Pressing this button opens up a search bar right within the keyboard.

So, you can search restaurants, venues, or anything else, and share this information with the person you're texting.

This is done by tapping the website's card in the Google search, and then pasting it into the text.

And, to the delight of many GIF users, the keyboard also has a built-in GIF search.

This can be found by clicking the smiley face at the bottom left, where you'd normally pull-up the emoji catalogue.

Emojis will still be there, but next to this is a now 'GIF' option.

This makes it easier than ever to find the perfect GIF reactions almost instantly. Just search a term, click on the one you like, and paste it into the message.

A similar feature now works to make it easier to find the right emoji as well.

USING THE NEW 'GBOARD' Glide Typing makes it easy to text with one hand Once installed, Gboard is very straightforward. The in-text search option turned out to be really convenient, and I can see this coming in handy in a number of scenarios. I've so far only used this to find local food shops, but the results came up quickly, and sharing was easy. I was able to search and instantly find GIFs or emojis by typing in a relevant term. And, your recent selections are remembered in the 'recently used' tab, so I can easily revisit the GIFs I just found of baby ferrets rolling around happily, and a grumpy cat taking a shower. The emoji search is really nice too, though it did occasionally pull up a few seemingly out of place results (in one example, I searched 'laughing' and was presented with two laughing emojis, the heart-eyes emoji, and a stack of books). The Glide Typing feature is also a major plus, and for the most part, it understood the words I was trying to type. One insignificant issue I ran into was that the keyboard did not always come up right away after I'd set it up in a conversation. But, after toggling between the 'globe' and the 'ABC' buttons a few times, it would appear. The added features are not cumbersome, so you can still use the keyboard for standard text messaging without feeling crowded by options. Advertisement

In the expanse of the ever-growing emoji collection, it can be difficult to quickly locate the one you're looking for.

But now, you can just type in the terms that describe that particular emoji, and those that apply will all show up.

Since these features all work through a single keyboard, these capabilities aren't just limited to text  you can use it in any app, including social media and email.

Glide Typing will allow you to type with one hand, very similar to the 'Swipe' feature used by Android.

To do this, just drag your thumb across the letters to spell out a word, and lift to add a space.

The keyboard also has a built-in GIF search, pictured right. This makes it easier than ever to find the perfect GIF reactions almost instantly. Just search a term, click on the one you like, and paste it into the message. You can also search for specific emojis using the search bar

Setting up the keyboard is fairly straightforward.

After downloading the free Gboard app, users will be prompted to follow a few steps to set up the new keyboard.

Once you've added the keyboard and allowed access, Gboard will be ready to use.

Open up your a text conversation and tap the little globe in the bottom left corner.
The firm, Today Translations, says it is offering a 'competitive salary'

A practical test of emoji knowledge may be given at the interview

Firm says that software translators struggle with subtle cultural differences

For some, emojis are a completely alien language which needs some translation.

With that in mind, a London firm is advertising for its first 'emoji translator'.

In return for a 'competitive salary', the lucky candidate will put together reports on emoji trends and developments as well as areas of confusion and cultural differences.

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A London firm is adertising for an emoji translator. Pictured are new career emoji included in Apple's iOS 10.2 update, which was released yesterday, include a firefighter, welder, astronaut and even rockstar  all which can be selected as male or female and in a range of races

NEW EMOJI IN iOS 10.2 There are 72 new emoji included in Apple's iOS 10.2 update, which was released yesterday. Several new hand images have been introduced, including a 'fingers crossed' emoji, and 'face-palm' character. New career emoji include a firefighter, welder, astronaut and even rockstar  all of which can be selected as male or female and in a range of races. A range of new animals has been added, including a fox, duck, squid and gorilla. A new creepy clown emoji can also now be used. Advertisement

They will also carry out cross-cultural research on differences in emoji usage/interpretation.

'Emoji translation is itself an emerging field  but one dominated to date by software, which is often insensitive to the many cultural differences in usage and interpretation,' explains Today Translations in its job ad.

'We are therefore seeking an exceptional individual to provide the human touch needed where translation software is inadequate  and to help us become the go-to translation experts in this area.

'In the absence of any native speakers, the successful candidate should be able to demonstrate a passion for emojis, combined with cutting-edge knowledge and awareness of areas of confusion and cultural/international differences'.

Selected candidates will also have to carry out a practical test of their emoji knowledge.

A quiz featured on the job ad page involves translating emoji phrases into English and vice versa.

The position is freelance, consultative role, rather than a full-time one.

As such, the company is planning to offer a day rate in line with that of a graduate linguist.

Yesterday, Apple released its iOS 10.2 software update - with 72 new emoji.

Selected candidates will also have to carry out a practical test of their emoji knowledge. A quiz featured on the job ad page involves translating emoji phrases into English and vice versa

Most people think the girl flicking her hair (left) is used to represent sassiness. In fact, this 'information desk person' emoji was initially created to represent a person at an information desk providing people with answers to their questions. The meaning of girl on the right is not widely known, but she is making an 'OK' sign

The new list includes a face-palm, the long-anticipated avocado and a range of different career emoji that can be selected as either male or female.

The new emoji lineup was approved by the Unicode Consortium back in June 2016, as part of the Unicode 9.0 update.

Several new hand images have been introduced, including a 'fingers crossed' emoji, and 'face-palm' character.

A black heart has also been added that can be shared with ex-lovers or when youre feeling cold-hearted. Users can also use a selfie taking emoji, call a friend out for lying and even let friends know that you and your partner are expecting with a pregnant emoji

New career emoji include a firefighter, welder, astronaut and even rock star  all of which can be selected as male or female and in a range of races.

The long-standing red-dress dancing woman has also been joined by a male equivalent, wearing a blue suit while pulling disco moves.

A range of new animals has been added, including a fox, duck, squid and gorilla.

And fittingly for the current 'killer clown' craze, a new creepy clown emoji can now be used.

A study released earlier this year, identified the most commonly misunderstood emojis and revealed what their real meanings actually are.

While most people think the girl flicking her hair is used to represent sassiness, this 'information desk person' emoji was initially created to represent a person at an information desk providing people with answers to their questions.

One emoji that causes constant confusion it the girl with her arms raised above her head - this is gesture meaning 'ok'.

TOP EMOJI FACTS The first emoji was created in 1999 by a team working on Japanese mobile phone provider i-mode's messaging features. Originally meaning 'pictograph', the word emoji literally means 'picture' (e) and 'character' (moji). There are 722 different emoji characters currently available in the standard Unicode set shared by most platforms. The word 'emoji' was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. In April last year, Andy Murray posted a wedding day tweet which described the day in emoji. Advertisement

Another emoji that is commonly misused is the sleepy face, which is often mistaken for a crying face with a tear falling to the side, but the 'tear' actually represents a sleepy snot bubble.

The grinning and grimacing emoji faces are often used interchangeably, even though they are meant to represent two very different emotions.
The 12th Annual Denim and Diamonds Gala, supporting Project Access, announces their planning for the event is underway. "The event is a massive undertaking and wouldnt be possible without the work of an amazing committee," officials said.



Led by co-chairs Joel Henderson, North American Credit Services, and Tracie LeSar, Vascular Institute of Chattanooga, the committee includes: Jeff Alger, Optimal Health; Scott Black, RJ Young; Melissa Curtis, Woodall Agency; Candace Davis, Chattanooga CVB; Ashley Evans, Volunteers in Medicine; Aricia Gallaher, Chambliss, Bahner and Stophel; Vanessa Guin, Erlanger; Shea Hill, CHI Memorial; Ryan King, Keller Williams; Patricia Legere; Dianna Leun, Erlanger; Gene Lovin, honorary chair; Tracy McCarley; Marcus McKamey, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch; Maureen Ragland, First Tennessee Bank; Becky Simpson, The Plastic Surgery Group; Maggie Tanner, Cohutta Bank; and Janda White, University Surgical Associates.



Gene and Brenda Lovin are serving as 2017 honorary chairs.



"The Denim and Diamonds Committee works hand in hand with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society and Medical Foundation of Chattanooga to put together a dynamic and exciting gala to support the Project Access community health partnership and other community health initiatives. Making sure Project Access is available to those in need of specialty care, but who do not have insurance, is what drives co-chair Tracie LeSar," officials said.

Over the past 12 years Project Access has provided care and services to more than 14,000 people, Ms. LeSar said. That number is staggering and it pushes me to help create an event that will fund Project Access and allow it to expand, making specialty medical care available to all who need it.



The celebration of healing will be Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center. It will be an evening of music, food and fellowship with a theme to be announced. The work of nearly 900 area physicians who have donated more than $147 million worth of medical care to the working poor of Hamilton County will be honored. Presenting sponsors for Denim and Diamonds 2017 are Dale Buchanan and Associates, Henderson Hutcherson and McCullough, and Vascular Institute of Chattanooga.



Its amazing to think that the doctors and hospitals that are part of Project Access provide all the necessary care at no cost to the patient, Mr. Henderson said. That kind of care is going above and beyond. Everyone who is part of the massive Project Access partnership deserves to be applauded for their generosity to our community. In addition, we are so blessed to have a great group of caring community leaders to help make Denim & Diamonds an amazing event no one will want to miss.



Project Access is a nationally-recognized, physician-led community health initiative that coordinates free specialty medical care for low-income, uninsured residents of Hamilton County. Partners, who provide free services to Project Access patients, include the Erlanger, Memorial and Parkridge Hospital Systems, and Kindred and Siskin Hospitals.



Sponsorship opportunities, including exclusive sponsorships, are available ranging from $500 to $10,000. Opportunities include exclusive sponsorships of activities and events. For more information, contact Kevin Lusk at 622-2872 or kevin@chattmd.org.
Christmas gifts arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday, courtesy of Japan.

A Japanese cargo ship pulled up at the orbiting lab four days after launching.

The capsule  called Kounotori, or white stork  contains nearly 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other supplies.

This photo provided by NASA TV shows a Japanese cargo ship before it arrives with Christmas gifts to the International Space Station on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. The capsule, called Kounotori, or white stork, contains nearly 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other supplies. NASA said there also are Christmas presents for the two Americans, three Russians and one Frenchman on board.

NASA said there also are Christmas presents for the two Americans, three Russians and one Frenchman on board.

Commander Shane Kimbrough, an American, and France's Thomas Pesquet used the robot arm to grab the capsule 250 miles above Chile.

Flight controllers in Japan and Houston applauded  and some of the Japanese even bowed.

Kimbrough said the crew was 'really excited' to accept delivery and radioed thanks to all.

'The vehicle is beautiful, and it performed flawlessly,' he said.

Barely two weeks ago, a Russian supply ship was destroyed shortly after liftoff.

At the same time, one of NASA's main suppliers, SpaceX, is grounded.

So the Japanese delivery is especially welcome.

The astronauts need the six new lithium-ion batteries for next month's spacewalks.

They will replace the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that store energy generated by the station's big solar panels.
While the possibility of a catastrophic asteroid slamming into Earth is extremely rare, it may only be a matter of time before this threat becomes a reality.

But experts have warned that humans are not prepared for an asteroid impact, and should one head for Earth, there's not much we can do about it.

A Nasa scientist has said that our best hope is building an interceptor rocket to keep in storage that could be used in deflection missions.

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Experts have warned that humans are not prepared for an asteroid impact, and should one head for Earth, there's not much we can do about it (stock image)

NASA'S ASTEROID REDIRECT MISSION Nasa is planning an ambitious mission that will see a robotic spaceship visit an asteroid to create an orbiting base for astronauts. The robot shipwill pluck a large boulder off the space rock and sling it aroundthe moon, becoming a destination to prepare for futurehuman missions to Mars. Nasa plans to study the asteroid for about a year and test deflection techniques that one day may be necessary to save Earth from a potentially catastrophic collision. Advertisement

Dr Joseph Nuth, a researcher at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union earlier this week.

He said: 'The biggest problem, basically, is there's not a hell of a lot we can do about it at the moment.'

While dangerous asteroids and comets rarely hit Earth, Dr Nuth warned that the threat was always there.

He said: 'They are the extinction-level events, things like dinosaur killers, they're 50 to 60 million years apart, essentially.

'You could say, of course, we're due, but it's a random course at that point.'

In the past, comets have come very close to hitting Earth.

In 1996, a comet narrowly missed our planet, instead flying into Jupiter, and again in 2014, a comet passed 'within cosmic spitting distance of Mars', according to Dr Nuth.

And comets are often only discovered when it's too late to launch a deflection mission.

Dr Nuth said: 'If you look at the schedule for high-reliability spacecraft and launching them, it takes five years to launch a spacecraft.

Nasa is planning an ambitious mission that will see a robotic spaceship visit an asteroid to create an orbiting base for astronauts. Nasa plans to study the asteroid and test deflection techniques that one day may be necessary to save Earth from a catastrophic collision

'We had 22 months of total warning.'

Dr Nuth advises that Nasa should build an interceptor rocket alongside an observer spacecraft, which he says could cut the five-year delay to launch in half.

And if a rocket could be devised that could launch within a year, Dr Nuth says it 'could mitigate the possibility of a sneaky asteroid coming in from a place that's hard to observe, like from the sun.'

SAVING EARTH FROM DISASTER WITH THE ASTEROID REDIRECT MISSION Various techniques for deflecting a potentially hazardous asteroid could be tested on Arm to enable planetary defense capabilities. These techniques include Ion Beam Deflection, Enhanced Gravity Tractor, and kinetic impactors. In Ion Beam Deflection, the plumes from the thrusters would be directed towards the asteroid to gently push on its surface over a wide area. A thruster firing in the opposite direction would be needed to keep the spacecraft at a constant distance from the asteroid. The Ion Beam Deflection approach is independent of the size of the asteroid, and it could be demonstrated on either mission option. In the Enhanced Gravity Tractor approach, the spacecraft would first pick up a boulder from the asteroid's surface as in mission Option B. The spacecraft with the collected boulder would then orbit in a circular halo around the asteroid's velocity vector. The mass of the boulder coupled with the mass of the spacecraft would increase the gravitational attraction between the spacecraft and the asteroid. By flying the spacecraft in close formation with the asteroid for several months the very small gravitational forces would produce a measurable change in the asteroid's trajectory. A kinetic impactor could also be launched as a secondary payload with the spacecraft or on a separate launch vehicle, and it would collide with the target asteroid at high velocity while the spacecraft observed the impact. Advertisement

This is not the first time that experts have warned that the Earth is unprepared for an asteroid strike.

In September, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, John Holdren, warned that an impact could 'do a lot of damage to the Earth.'

The expert noted two catastrophic events in recent history that took the world by surprise  the Chelyabinsk strike in 2013, and the Tunguska fireball in 1908.

While scientists have made great strides in detecting potentially hazardous Near-Earth Objects, Mr Holdren explained that there is still much work to be done.

In the 1998 film, Armageddon, humans discover that an asteroid that size of Texas is on course for the Earth. And experts believe that this could one day be the case, if a deflection mission is not sent

'We are not fully prepared, but we are on a trajectory to get much more so,' Mr Holdren said.

Events like the Chelyabinsk strike and the Tunguska explosion are extremely rare, he said, with the first thought to occur once every hundred years and the latter every 1,000.

But, 'if we are going to be as capable a civilization as our technology allows, we need to be prepared for even those rare events, because they could to a lot of damage to the Earth.'

Despite how unusual these events may be, these strikes could have devastating effects on the planet, and Earth must be prepared.

The expert warned: 'Ultimately, we may need to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with the Earth.

'This is a hazard that 65 million years ago the dinosaurs succumbed to. We have to be smarter than the dinosaurs.'

Mr Holdren says that Nasa's Asteroid Redirect Mission could provide the necessary education on how to handle these threats.

The so-called Asteroid Redirect Mission is estimated to cost about 1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) not including launch costs and is targeted for liftoff in December 2021.

In the planned mission, a robot ship will pluck a large boulder off an asteroid and sling it around the moon, becoming a destination to prepare for future human missions to Mars, the US space agency has revealed.

Following a key program review, Nasa has approved the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) to proceed to the next phase of design and development for the mission's robotic segment.

ARM is a two-part mission that will integrate robotic and crewed spacecraft operations in the proving ground of deep space to demonstrate key capabilities needed for Nasa's journey to Mars.

In the Spacecraft Structures Lab at Nasa's Langley Research Center, the Asteroid Redirect Mission robotic contact and restraint system is prototyped and tested

The crewed segment, targeted for launch in 2026, remains in an early mission concept phase, or pre-formulation.

'This is an exciting milestone for the Asteroid Redirect Mission,' said Nasa Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot.

'Not only is ARM leveraging agency-wide capabilities, it will test a number of new technologies already in development.'

The robotic component of the ARM will demonstrate the world's most advanced and most efficient solar electric propulsion system as it travels to a near-Earth asteroid (NEA).

NEAs are asteroids that are fewer than 121 million miles (1.3 AU) from the sun at the closest point in their orbit.

Although the target asteroid is not expected to be officially selected until 2020, Nasa is using 2008 EV5 as the reference asteroid while the search continues for potential alternates.

In the planned mission, a robot ship will pluck a large boulder off an asteroid and sling it around the moon, becoming a destination to prepare for future human missions to Mars, the US space agency has revealed

Before beginning its trip to lunar orbit, the ARM spacecraft will demonstrate a widely supported asteroid deflection technique called a gravity tractor.

The spacecraft plus the mass of the captured boulder will create a small gravitational attraction to alter the orbit of the large asteroid.

After collecting a boulder from the asteroid, the robotic spacecraft will slowly redirect the boulder to an orbit around the moon, using the moon's gravity for an assist, where Nasa plans to conduct a series of proving ground missions in the 2020s.
The final supermoon of 2016 is due to grace the world's skies tonight.

For many, it offers another chance to catch a glimpse of the lunar spectacle, after November's supermoon was overshadowed by clouds in much of the UK and Australia.

The supermoon will appear 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal and will reach peak fullness at 00:05 GMT (19:05pm ET).

This evening, sky gazers across the globe will be treated to a so-called supermoon  one of the closest full moons of the year. The stunning lunar spectacle takes place on the 13th of the month when the full moon will appear 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal

WHAT IS A SUPERMOON? Supermoons are new or full moons that occur when the orbit of the moon brings it particularly close to Earth. For this reason, it appears to be bigger than normal - by about 10 per cent. Star gazers usually get to see between four and six supermoons a year, but this week's is the final event of 2016. The next supermoon won't appear until May 2017, and will be considerably smaller. Advertisement

The next supermoon won't appear until May 2017, and will be considerably smaller.

Though the moon peaks tonight, casual viewers will enjoy the best views the night after, on Wednesday 14.

This month's supermoon will only be about one per cent smaller than the largest in history, which shone last month.

Last month's supermoon was the biggest star gazers will see until 2034, but December's moon comes a close second.

The difference in size between the two will be indistinguishable to the naked eye.

The supermoon - or perigee full moon - usually appears 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter when it's 18,600 miles (30,000 kilometres) closer to Earth than normal.

As long as the sky is clear, experts suggest the best places to gaze upon the full moon are east-facing locations as the moon is rising.

But all viewers with a clear view to the south should be able to see it with clear skies.

During the moon's rise, when it is low on the horizon, an illusion will occur that makes it look unnaturally larger.

But the moon is bad news for those wishing to cast their eyes upon the Geminid meteor shower that evening.

Up to a dozen shooting stars are expected to blaze across the skies per hour when it peaks, but Nasa has warned that the full moon could outshine the stunning display.

'Bright moonlight will reduce the visibility of faint meteors five to ten fold, transforming the usually fantastic Geminids into an astronomical footnote,' Nasa said.

'Sky watchers will be lucky to see a dozen Geminids per hour when the shower peaks.'

This month's supermoon will only be about one per cent smaller than the largest in history, which shone last month. Last month's supermoon is the biggest star gazers will see until 2034, but December's moon comes a close second

WHY WILL THE MOON APPEAR LARGER?

The moons orbit is elliptical rather than perfectly circular, so as the moon moves around the Earth it is sometimes a little bit closer and sometimes a bit further away from us.

'If a full moon happens to occur when the moon is also at its closest point then it will look slightly larger and brighter than usual  this is what is popularly known as a "supermoon",' Dr Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline before November's supermoon.

'Its a natural part of the moons cycle and happens around once a year.

'The differences in apparent size and brightness amount to few percent but they can enhance the already beautiful sight of the full moon, making a supermoon worth looking up for.'

For this reason, it appears to be bigger than normal - by about 10 per cent.

We usually get between four and six supermoons a year, and this December's moon is the final event of 2016.

A winter supermoon is supersized because the Earth is closest to the sun in December each year, which means its gravity pulls the moon closer to the planet.

This makes it appear brighter and larger than those that occur during the rest of the year.

Since the moon's orbit is elliptical, one side (perigee) is about 30,000 miles (48, 280 km) closer to Earth than the other (apogee).

Experts suggest that, provided that the sky is clear and you have a view to the south, the moon will be clearly visible. For an even better view, try viewing from a spot with as little light pollution as possible

WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO VIEW IT?

Experts suggest that, provided that the sky is clear and you have a view to the South, the moon will be clearly visible.

For an even better view, try observing from a spot with as little light pollution as possible.

The extraordinary visual effect of the moon is more pronounced when viewed near the horizon.

'You dont need any special equipment to see it the supermoon  just your eyes and a clear, cloud-free view of the sky,' Dr Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline.

While the full moon can't turn people into werewolves, some people do accuse it of causing a bad night's sleep or creating physical and mental alterations. After this week, the next supermoon won't appear until May 2017, and will be considerably smaller

'WEREWOLF' BIRDS HUNT USING LUNAR TIDES Myth and folklore feature tales of werewolves being affected by phases of the moon, and it appears this behaviour isn't as far-fetched as it may seem. Coastal wading birds shape their lives around the tides and new research shows different species follow prey cycles tied to our lunar satellite. Experts now plan to study how their prey responds to such tidal forces to learn more about this behaviour. Advertisement

DOES A SUPERMOON CAUSE MOOD SWINGS OR LACK OF SLEEP?

While the full moon can't turn people into werewolves, some people do accuse it of causing a bad night's sleep or creating physical and mental alterations.

To establish if lunar phases affect humans, an international group of researchers studied children in May this year to see if their sleeping patterns changed or if there were any differences in their daily activities.

The research studied a total of 5,812 children from five continents.

The children came from a wide range of economic and sociocultural levels, and variables such as age, sex, highest parental education, day of measurement, body mass index score, nocturnal sleep duration, level of physical activity and total sedentary time were considered.

Data collection took place over 28 months, which is equivalent to the same number of lunar cycles.

These were then subdivided into three lunar phases: full moon, half-moon and new moon.

Supermoons are new or full moons that occur when the orbit of the moon brings it particularly close to Earth. For this reason, it appears to be bigger than normal - by about 10 per cent

The findings obtained in the study revealed that in general, nocturnal sleep duration around full moon compared to new moon reported an average decrease of five minutes (or a one per cent variant).

No other activity behaviours were substantially modified.

'Our study provides compelling evidence that the moon does not seem to influence people's behaviour,' said Dr Jean-Philippe Chaput, from the Eastern Ontario Research Institute.

Another study found healthy adults slept for 20 minutes less time during a full moon.

Historically, full moons have been linked to a lack of sleep because of the bright light that shines from them.

One study found healthy adults slept for 20 minutes less time during a full moon. Historically, full moons have been linked to a lack of sleep because of the bright light that shines from them

WHY ARE WE SO FASCINATED BY THE SUPERMOON?

Always surrounded by an aura of mystery, the moon and its possible influence over human behaviour has been object of ancestral fascination and mythical speculation for centuries.

Myth and folklore feature tales of werewolves being affected by phases of the moon.

'Folklore and even certain instances of occupational lore suggest that mental health issues or behaviours of humans and animals are affected by lunar phases,' Dr Chaput said.

'Whether there is science behind the myth or not, the moon mystery will continue to fascinate civilisations in the years to come,' he added.
Unpublished data reveals the first child is healthy, with no sign of inherited disease

The clinic where the treatment was carried out is planning more procedures

the faulty energy-producing units with those of a

The first baby to be born using a controversial three-parent IVF technique could soon be joined by a number of other lab-created infants conceived through the same method.

Earlier this year, a healthy boy was born after being conceived using DNA from three people in an effort to avoid a debilitating genetic disease.

But the fertility clinic in Mexico which carried out the procedure says it plans to conceive a further 20 babies using the technique in the first half of 2017.

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The fertility clinic in Mexico which helped a couple to conceive the world's first 'three-parent baby' says it plans to conceive a further 20 babies using the technique in the first half of 2017 (stock image used)

THREE-PARENT BABY TECHNIQUE The first child to be conceived using the controversial technique was a boy born to Jordanian parents earlier this year. By incorporating a small amount of donor DNA into his cells, the parents have avoided passing on a debilitating genetic condition to their son. The genetic defect is carried in the energy-producing units inside cells, called mitochondria. Unpublished test results of the boy, who is now eight months old, indicate he is healthy and has no sign of the genetic disease carried by his parents. The levels of mutant mitochondria are low, around 3 or 4 per cent, with experts claiming the defective mitochondria will remain at acceptable levels. The clinic where the boy was conceived is working with more couples hoping to avoid similar conditions. Earlier this year, reports suggest this 'three-parent' approach may have already been used by researchers in China, with a child born using the technique. Advertisement

At the heart of the technique is the replacement of faulty mitochondria  the energy producing units found in cells and passed on by the mother  with those of a healthy female donor.

But concerns have been raised around its use as mitochondria contain a small amount of DNA, meaning the child inherits DNA from the mother, father and the donor.

While the initial child, born in April, has shown the technique works, it remains unclear if the procedure is safe and effective in the long term, or if children born using mitochondrial transfer will remain disease free as they grow.

According to reports seen by New Scientist, clinical test results about to be published show the first child is now a healthy eight-month-old, with no sign of the inherited disease carried by his parents.

Analysis of the boys tissues reveals that most of his mitochondria have been inherited from the donor.

However, despite the replacement, trace amounts of mutant mitochondria have been seen in his cells, with levels as high as 9 per cent seen in some cells, with an average of 34 per cent.

But clinicians who carried out the analysis believe the defective mitochondria will remain at acceptable levels.

Medical director of the New Hope Fertility Center Mexico, Alejandro Chavez-Badiola, has said that the clinic is working with a number of other couples looking to avoid related health conditions.

Dr John Zhang, head of the New York City embryonic team, holds the world's first 'three-person' baby after the boy was born in Mexico in April. Dr Zhang carried out the procedure at the Mexican clinic

WHY IS THE METHOD CONTROVERSIAL? Mitochondrial replacement targets faulty mitochondria  the energy producing units found in cells and passed on by the mother  by replacing them with those of a healthy female donor. Concerns have been raised about the technique as mitochondria contain a small amount of DNA, meaning the child inherits DNA from the mother, father and the donor. It remains unclear if the procedure is safe and effective in the long term, or if children born using mitochondrial transfer will remain disease free as they mature. Some trials have shown that faulty mitochondria persist, even after the procedure. The UK's fertility regulatory body is due to decide on whether or not the approach should be approved for use in the UK. Advertisement

He also hit back at claims that the Mexican clinic was chosen because of the country's lack of regulation.

He told New Scientist: 'It is wrong to say there are no rules in Mexico', citing an ethics committee approval and regulatory oversight for the initial procedure.

'I am meeting with the government next week,' he added.

The UK became the first country in the world to table legislation on the technique.

The regulatory body behind the decision, the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, is due to decide on whether or not the approach should be approved for use in the UK this week.

In October, reports emerged in the journal Nature that a child conceived using the technique may have been born in China.

According to reporter Sara Reardon, Nature learned of a scientific paper in review at an unnamed journal which claims a child was conceived using the technique in China.

Further use of the three-parent approach was also reported by New Scientist, with two women in Ukraine receiving treatment to overcome recurrent fertility problems.

While the controversial approach has so far only been used to treat inherited disease, the Ukrainian women  who are due to give birth in early 2017  mark the first use of the approach to treat infertility.

Chinese researchers have caused some controversy with their apparent gung-ho approach to embryonic research, with scientists using gene-editing techniques to edit human embryos earlier this year - something frowned upon by the scientific community at large.

How is the procedure done? (1) Take eggs from mother with damaged mitochondria (2) Take eggs from donor with healthy mitochondria (3) Remove and save nucleus from mother's egg (4) Remove and discard donor's nucleus (5) Place mother's nucleus in donor's egg (6) Fertilised egg with father's sperm

Three-parent IVF has so far been used to treat conditions affecting mitochondria, the energy-producing units inside cells which contain small amounts of DNA.

It involves combining the fertilised egg with healthy mitochondria of a donor, typically by switching the genetic material in the donor egg with that of the mother, before fertilisation.

But the controversy lies in the additional DNA from the donor, which is then copied to every cell in the babys body and can be passed on to their children as well.

The three-parent child which recently hit the headlines, born earlier this year to a Jordanian couple and as part of a procedure carried out by researchers from a New York fertility clinic, is reported to be healthy with no sign of the genetic condition carried by his parents.

As the technique is not approved by the US authorities, the parents were taken to a clinic in Mexico, where regulations are less strict.

HOW IS THE PROCEDURE DONE? 1. Take eggs from a mother with damaged mitochondria. 2. Take eggs from a donor with healthy mitochondria. 3. Remove and save the nucleus from the mother's egg. This contains the majority of her genetic material. 4. Remove and discard the donor's nucleus. 5. Place the mother's nucleus in the donor's egg with the healthy mitochondria. 6. The egg can then be fertilised by the father's sperm. Another technique follows the same approach, but using two fertilised eggs. The genetic material from the donor embryo is switched for that of the parents' embryo - keeping the parents' genetic material and the donor's mitochondria. Advertisement

Speaking ahead of a conference in Utah earlier this year, the surgeon who carried out the technique, Dr John Zhang, told reporters: This new technology, the first time in human history, a healthy live person that is created by two eggs recombined it together with one sperm.

Three-parent IVF has received initial approval in the UK  including the approach used by Dr Zhang and team  for the treatment of mitochondrial disease, although no children have yet been born using the technique.

For the two pregnant women in Ukraine, the team used a slightly different approach, called pro-nuclear transfer.

It involved fertilising both the mothers egg and a donor egg with the fathers sperm.

After fertilisation, the genetic material in the donor-derived embryo is replaced with that of the parents.

Using this approach enabled the team to overcome 'embryo arrest', where implanted IVF embryos die at the earliest stages of cell division.
Weighing just 430 grams, you'd be forgiven for confusing this tiny deer with a child's toy.

But the adorable creature is Chester Zoo's latest resident and the first Philippine mouse deer to be born in the UK.

The zoo's curator says that the deer will add valuable new bloodlines to conservation breeding programmes in the country.

Weighing just 430 grams, you'd be forgiven for confusing this tiny deer with a children's toy. But the adorable creature is Chester Zoo's latest resident and the first Philippine mouse deer to be born in the country

PHILIPPINE MOUSE DEER The Philippine mouse deer typically measures around 40-50 cm in length, and 18cm tall. It has an overall dark-brown colour, with slightly lighter undersides. Its black throat is marked with three white stripes which extend down from the white chin. The animals can live up to 14 years, and start reproducing by five months of age. Philippine mouse deer are mostly nocturnal, seeking shelter in the day and foraging in the more open habitat at night. In 2008, the mouse deer was put on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. Advertisement

The female youngster, born at Chester Zoo to parents Rita and Ramos, is the first Philippine mouse deer to be born in the country.

The zoo's curator of mammals, Tim Rowlands said: 'Our newborn deer is incredibly small - similar in size to a Christmas bauble on tiny little legs, weighing just 430 grams.

'But, while this new arrival may be small in stature, it's big in terms of importance.

'It's the very first time the animal has been bred in the UK and to break new ground like this with a mammal species is really quite rare.

'The Philippine mouse deer is an endangered species.

'It's highly threatened by massive deforestation in South East Asia and so it's great news that our newcomer will add valuable new bloodlines to the conservation breeding programme in zoos.

The female youngster, which is yet to be named, is the first Philippine mouse deer to be born in the country

The baby mouse deer's parents, Rita and Ramos are pictured, although they were not born at Chester Zoo themselves

'It's vitally important that we work to ensure these wonderful animals do not disappear for good.'

The animals are also poached for their meat, which is considered a delicacy in parts of the Philippines.

The newborn is the latest addition to a special European-wide endangered species breeding programme, designed in response to the deforestation of its Asian habitat.

Chester Zoo is only one of seven institutions in the whole of Europe to care for the species.

The newborn is the latest addition to a special European-wide endangered species breeding programme, designed in response to the deforestation of its Asian habitat
Google has turned its self-driving car division into a new company.

Called Waymo, it is expected to continue developing the self driving cars and launch its own ride-sharing service.

'We're now an independent company within the Alphabet umbrella,' Waymo CEO Jon Krafcik told an audience at a press event in California today.

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To date, Google's cars have driven three million miles in autonomous mode, averaging about 25,000 miles per week. Called Waymo, the new firm is expected to continue developing the self driving cars and launch its own ride-sharing service.

'We've talked a lot about the two million miles we've driven on public roads,' Krafcik said at the event.

'Now we've driven another million miles on public roads.

'We don't talk as much about miles we put on in simulation.

'We've done over one billion miles in simulation[] And we have taken over 10,000 trips with Googlers and guests in places like Mountain View, Austin and Phoenix.'

Called Waymo, it is expected to continue developing the self driving cars and launch its own ride-sharing service.

To underscore his point, Krafcik revealed the project had hit a key milestone in the journey to having fully autonomous cars cruising around public roads.

In a trip taken in October 2015 , a pod-like car with no steering wheel and brake pads drove a legally blind passenger around neighborhoods in Austin, Texas without another human in the vehicle.

It marked the first time one of the project's cars had given a passenger a ride without a human on hand to take control of a self-driving car if something went wrong.

Krafcik called that trip taken by Steve Mahan, former director of the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, an 'inflection point' in the development of self-driving cars.

It came a year before a Budweiser beer truck equipped with self-driving technology owned by ride-hailing service Uber completed a 120-mile trip through Colorado while being steered by a robot while a human sat in the back of trailer.

THE GROUNDBREAKING DRIVE THAT CONVINCED GOOGLE A trip taken by Steve Mahan, former director of the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, was an 'inflection point' in the development of self-driving cars. Steve Mahan, who is blind, gestures for a steering wheel that doesn't exist inside a Waymo driverless car during a Google event, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in San Francisco. At left is Waymo principal software engineer Nathaniel Fairfield. The self-driving car project that Google started seven years ago has grown into a company called Waymo. Taken in October 2015 , a pod-like car with no steering wheel and brake pads drove a legally blind passenger around neighborhoods in Austin, Texas without another human in the vehicle. It marked the first time one of the project's cars had given a passenger a ride without a human on hand to take control of a self-driving car if something went wrong. A trip taken by Steve Mahan, former director of the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, was an 'inflection point' in the development of self-driving cars, Google executives said. Advertisement

In doing so, Krafcik and other supporters of self-driving cars believe the technology will drastically reduce the number of deaths on the roads each year because they contend robots don't get distracted or drunk, nor ignore the rules of the road, like humans do.

A skylight is reflected in the rear window of a Waymo driverless car during a Google event Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in San Francisco.

The firm has been hiring auto execs ahead of the change, including the appointment of Krafcik, an ex-Hyundai North America executive.

The announcement marks a crucial step in the development of Google's high-profile program, now in its seventh year.

It has been at the forefront of self-driving technology, but faces increased competition from rivals.

As its own company, Waymo will now face more pressure to generate a profit under Alphabet's management instead of simply focusing on research.

Rather than make its own cars, Waymo intends to license its technology to traditional automakers and trucking companies.

In the latest report on Google's highly anticipated fleet of self-driving vehicles, the firm revealed that it has taught its cars to perform one of the trickiest driving maneuvers to master. Google claims that its cars can perform the turn better than most humans

'It's an indication of the maturity of our technology,' John Krafcik, the project's chief executive, told reporters.

'We can imagine our self-driving tech being used in all sorts of areas.'

Uber is also working with car makers in deploying its own self-driving vehicles for its ride-hailing service, including Ford and Volvo.

Other automakers, like Volkswagen and GM, have opted to build or acquire their own self-driving tech and on-demand mobility service offerings.

Earlier this month it was revealed Google's self-driving cars are now able to perform tricky three-point turns.

The cars are fitted with 360-degree vision, and a complex internal computer that constantly calculates and analyses its surroundings.

They have mastered the driving maneuver so well that they can perform it better than humans.

In the latest report on Google's highly anticipated autonomous fleet, the firm revealed its cars perform thousands of the turns each week on real city streets.

The cars' on-board computers process map and sensor information to determine where they are in the world - on a wide highway or in a narrow alley, for instance.

They then use sensors, including their 360-degree visual system, to determine where objects are around them.

The software in the car's advanced computer system classifies objects around it by size, shape and movement pattern.

This allows it to differentiate and prioritize between a wall and a moving cyclist.

The cars were taught to identify and avoid everything from parked cars to dustbins as they performed the tricky three-point turn. A digital image shows how the car's on-board computer helps it to avoid other vehicles - outlined in purple - as it performs a smooth turn

The software then takes all of this data and projects a safe and efficient route for the car to perform its three-point turn.

'This is one of the trickiest maneuvers to master, as drivers attempt to move a two-ton machine a full 180 degrees,' Google state in its report.

'Often, drivers are forced to tentatively inch forward and backward, in tight spaces, without a full view of the road.

'Our goal is to a develop a fully self-driving car that can handle every part of driving, and that means teaching our car to handle advanced maneuvers like these multi-point turns.'

But computer chips don't navigate the road in the same way a human brain does, and so Google has had to make adjustments to ensure its three-point turn still feels natural.

For example, a computer may calculate that the most efficient turn involves a series of very short adjustments back and forth.

For passengers this jerky movement does not feel natural.

Google fixed this issue by programming its cars to perform three-point turns with wider arcs and more forward motion, the way that a human driver would.

This turn is slower, but feels more natural and comfortable to passengers.

Google currently operates 24 Lexus RX crossovers and 34 of its own gumdrop-style vehicles across four states: Washington, California, Arizona and Texas. It plans to rapidly expand this test fleet in future

Google currently operates 24 Lexus RX crossovers and 34 of its own gumdrop-style vehicles across four states: Washington, California, Arizona and Texas.

To date, the cars have driven 2.2 million miles in autonomous mode, averaging about 25,000 miles per week.

Each month, Google releases a report on its current fleet's development progress.

Within each of these reports, the firm includes a charting of all collisions.

In October, there was one collision.

While at a stop sign and yielding to traffic, one of Google's gumdrop vehicles was rear-ended by a human driver.

Google report that the vehicle was travelling at three miles per hour, and that the only damage sustained was a small amount to the rear hatch.

No injuries were reported at the scene.
Divers have rediscovered a 17th century shipwreck off Cornwall, at exactly the same spot where the shipwreck scene was filmed in 2014 for the TV series Poldark.

First seen by a local diver in 1971 and designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, the wreck of the Schiedam had been buried for many years under the shifting sands of Gunwalloe Church Cove.

The site is now managed by Historic England and dived by a keen local team.

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Divers have rediscovered a 17th century shipwreck off the South of England after, more than 40 years after it was first found

The two divers who rediscovered the site this year were novelist and archaeologist David Gibbins and Mark Milburn of Atlantic Scuba in Penryn.

'We'd searched the cove many times for the Schiedam, but only seen sand,' said Gibbins.

'Then the breakthrough came one day after a storm. Snorkelling north over the cove, we saw not just one cannon but three. It was incredibly exciting.

'One of the guns was among the longest we'd ever seen on a wreck standing proud of the seabed on a rocky ledge with the muzzle poking out almost as if it were on a gun carriage.

'Exploring the reefs around the guns we saw other amazing artefacts  concreted musket barrels, cannon balls, lead musket and pistol shot, and even an iron hand-grenade, the wooden plug for the fuse still intact.

The shipwreck was first discovered in the 1970s, but was later reclaimed by the shifting sands of Gunwalloe Church Cove (pictured) and lost once more to the sea

Earlier this year, divers found the wreck off of Cornwall, at exactly the spot where the shipwreck scene was filmed in 2014 for the TV series Poldark (still pictured)

'We knew that most of what we were seeing was cargo carried from the English colony at Tangier making the wreck a fascinating window into a forgotten corner of history.'

Historic England has management responsibilities for the site but the involvement of divers ensures that the site is monitored.

The approach to the historic wreck sites championed by Historic England is that they are a shared resource for all to access and enjoy.

THE SCHIEDAM The Schiedam was originally a Dutch merchantman sailing from Holland. It had been captured by pirates off Spain in 1683, sailing with a shipment of timber, with the crew enslaved. But the ship was captured again soon afterwards by a Royal Navy ship commanded by captain Cloudesley Shovell, who brought it to Tangier. At the time, Tangier had been acquired by the King Charles II as a dowry with his Portuguese wife, but had been abandoned by the English in the face of threat from the Moors. When it sank in April 1684, the Schiedam was part of a fleet carrying ordnance, tools, horses and people back from Tangier, the port in present-day Morocco. It was driven into the rocks off of Cornwall by a gale, with the cargo, sails and cables plundered by locals. It lay undisturbed on the seafloor off the Cornish coast for centuries before being discovered by divers in 1971. But the shifting sands of the cove reclaimed the wreck and it became lost again. Since then, it has been designated a protected wreck and has been exposed again in 1998, until it was recovered by sands for years until earlier this year. A video posted by diver David Gibbins shows the wreck being explored on the Cornish seabed. The two divers who rediscovered the site this year, David Gibbins and Mark Milburn, say they knew immediately they were looking at the remains of the 17th century cargo ship, which sailed from the former English port of Tangier (illustrated) Advertisement

Historic England's Maritime Archaeologist Alison James said: 'We are delighted to work with divers like Mark and David to help ensure that England's protected wreck sites are enjoyed and protected for years to come.

'They are helping to ensure that the story of the site is not lost and is known to a wider audience.'

The Schiedam has one of the richest backstories of any wreck ever discovered in British waters.

At the time of her loss in April 1684 the ship was part of a fleet carrying cargo from Tangier, the port in present-day Morocco.

The Schiedam herself was originally Dutch, a merchantman sailing from Holland but had been captured by Barbary pirates off Spain in 1683 and her crew enslaved.

Poldark's shipwreck scene involved castmembers re-enacting the old practice of burning fires and lighting torches to lure vessels toward land, only to make off with all the boat's valuables once an inevitable shipwreck had occurred (scene pictured)

Two divers, working on the wreck, say they have spotted cargo transported by the vessel from the Moroccan port of Tangier

The big gun that the divers saw on the wreck was a demi-culverin, one of a number recorded among the ordnance at Tangier but the only one from the colony known to survive. Pictured is demi-culverin cast around 1587

Soon afterwards she was captured again by a Royal Navy ship commanded by a daring young captain named Cloudesley Shovell  later as an admiral to be lost with his fleet in 1707 in the Scilly Isles through a navigational error, the trigger for the race to find a better way of establishing longitude  who brought his prize to Tangier.

As if that were not enough, none other than the diarist Samuel Pepys enters the picture, as he was an Admiralty official sent to Tangier to help oversee the evacuation.

Much of his correspondence relating to the wreck of the Schiedam still survives.

The big gun that the divers saw on the wreck was a demi-culverin, one of a number recorded among the ordnance at Tangier but the only one from the colony known to survive.

The hand-grenade is particularly fascinating as one of the earliest known examples to be found archaeologically, and because their use is well-documented at Tangier.

The remnants of the ship can be seen strewn about the seabed, including early hand grenades (pictured, with diver's knife below for reference)

The strong currents off the Cornish coast meant the wreck was claimed by the shifting sands at Gunwalloe Church Cove (pictured)

HISTORY OF THE GRENADE Although they rose to prominence as weapons during the 20th century, grenades have a long history. They are first thought to have been used by the Byzantine Empire from around the seventh century AD. Clay vessels were filled with flammable liquid known as Greek fire and flung at the enemy. They were often piled into catapults to increase the range and devastation they caused. They were popular weapons in naval battles as the fire could easily spread on ships and cause devastation. From around the 12th century Muslims in Syria were also known to use clay and glass grenades. The Chinese also began packing gunpowder into clay or glass containers to make grenades in around 1044AD. By the 14th Century they had started to use cast iron to hold the gunpowder. By the 17th Century cast iron gunpowder based grenades, which used a fuse in the top, were being used in Europe and regiments of grenadiers were formed. However, by the Napoleonic wars the use of hand grenades had fallen out of use until they were revived in the trench warfare of the First World War. Advertisement

Invented in the 16th century, hand-grenades had only been a standard armament for English regiments for a few years by the time of the Tangier colony.

Nevertheless they were among the first list of equipment requested for the colony in 1662 and played a pivotal role in the defence against the Moors.

When one of the outlying forts was captured by the Moors after savage fighting in 1680 they seized a large store of hand grenades and other armaments, swinging the siege in the Moors' favour and helped to precipitate the English decision to abandon the colony a few years later.

The wreck dates a century before the setting of Poldark, but the similarities are striking.

Poldark's shipwreck scene involved castmembers re-enacting the old practice of burning fires and lighting torches to lure vessels toward land, only to make off with all the boat's valuables once an inevitable shipwreck had occurred.

The series follows the life a British officer who returns to Cornwall after escaping as a POW following the Revolutionary War.

'You would have seen local people lining the shore just as the film crew were that day in 2014 and flotsam coming ashore at exactly the same place,' Mr Gibbins said.

A letter written soon after the wrecking to Lord Dartmouth, Admiral of the Fleet, suggests that the locals availed themselves of what they could but were far from the murderous Cornish wreckers of legend: 'All the guns and mortar pieces may be saved, but palisades, muskets, rigging are mostly embezzled, though the justices and gentlemen of the country are extremely civil and save what they could; and the country very kind to the poor people.'

Investigations of the Schiedam are carried out under the aegis of Historic England which administers the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and issues discretionary licenses for divers to visit protected wreck sites off England.
Warming at the top of the world has gone into overdrive, happening twice as fast as the rest of the globe, and extending unnatural heating into fall and winter, according to a new federal report.

In its annual Arctic Report Card, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday tallied record after record of high temperatures, low sea ice, shrinking ice sheets and glaciers.

Study lead author Jeremy Mathis, NOAA's Arctic research chief, said it shows long-term Arctic warming trends deepening and becoming more obvious, with a disturbing creep into seasons beyond summer, when the Arctic usually rebuilds snow and ice.

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Warming at the top of the world has gone into overdrive, happening twice as fast as the rest of the globe, and extending unnatural heating into fall and winter, according to a new federal report. This map shows temperatures across the Arctic from October 2015-September 2016 compared to the 1981-2010 average.

THE ARCTIC REPORT CARD The Arctic Report Card, released today at the annual American Geophysical Union fall meeting in San Francisco, is a peer-reviewed report that brings together the work of 61 scientists from 11 nations who report on air, ocean, land and ecosystem changes. It is a key tool used around the world to track changes in the Arctic and how those changes may affect communities, businesses and people. Advertisement

Scientists have long said man-made climate change would hit the Arctic fastest. Mathis and others said the data is showing that is what's now happening.

'Personally, I would have to say that this last year has been the most extreme year for the Arctic that I have ever seen,' said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, who wasn't part of the 106-page report. 'It's crazy.'

NOAA's peer-reviewed report said air temperatures over the Arctic from October 2015 to September 2016 were 'by far the highest in the observational record beginning in 1900.'

The graph shows yearly temperatures since 1900 compared to the 1981-2010 average for the Arctic (orange line) and the globe (gray). NOAA Climate.gov map based on NCEP reanalysis data from NOAA's Earth System Research Lab.

The average Arctic air temperature at that time was 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1981-2010 average.

It's 6.3 degrees (3.5 degrees Celsius) warmer than 1900.

'Rarely have we seen the Arctic show a clearer, stronger or more pronounced signal of persistent warming and its cascading effects on the environment than this year,' said Jeremy Mathis, director of NOAA's Arctic Research Program.

 Slide me  The age of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean at winter maximum in March 1985 (left) compared with March 2016 (right). The darker the blue, the younger the ice. The first age class on the scale (1, darkest blue) means "first-year ice,? which formed in the most recent winter. The oldest ice (7 , white) is ice that is more than seven years old. Historically, most of the ice pack was many years old. Today, only a fraction of that very old ice reamins. NOAA Climate.gov maps, based on NOAA/NASA data provided by Mark Tschudi.

'While the science is becoming clearer, we need to improve and extend sustained observations of the Arctic that can inform sound decisions on environmental health and food security as well as emerging opportunities for commerce.'

RECORD BREAKERS Other extremes the report detailed: Ocean temperatures were 9 degrees (5 degrees Celsius) higher than the 30-year average off the coasts of Greenland. Arctic sea ice didn't set a record for the annual minimum, but in October and November when sea ice normally starts growing back, it didn't. Sea ice from mid-October through November was the lowest on record. Dartmouth University professor Donald Perovich, author of the chapter on sea ice, said sea ice conditions have sunk from a B-plus grade 11 years ago to a D-minus grade 'and that's because I'm an easy grader.' Snow cover in North America reached a record low for spring, falling below 1.5 million square miles in May for the first time since satellite observations began in 1967. Though not a record, Greenland's ice sheet continued to shrink , starting early, on April 10. It was the second earliest start of the Greenland melt season on record. the Greenland ice sheet continued to lose mass in 2016, as it has since 2002 when satellite-based measurement began. Melting began the second earliest in the 37-year record of observations, close to the record set in 2012. Graphic shows Greenland ice sheet mass each month since April 2002. (Climate.gov; data provided by Marco Tedesco/Lamont-Doherty) Advertisement

What's happening is due to both man-made warming and a large El Nino that just ended, Mathis said.

'Not only is it extreme in any number of measures  air temperature, loss of sea ice and on and on  but there are so many things we haven't seen, particularly this extremely warm fall,' said study co-author Brendan Kelly, executive director of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

In 1979, Kelly cruised the Bering Straits region with a native hunter who told him dozens of Yupik words for sea ice.

One was tagneghneq, for a charcoal grey thick multi-year ice.

A fisherman drives a boat during Secretary of State John Kerry's tour of the Jakobshavn Glacier and the Ilulissat Icefjord, located near the Arctic Circle in Ilulissat, Greenland. A new federal report says warming at the top of the world went into overdrive, happening twice as fast as the rest of the globe, and extending unnatural heating into fall and winter. In its annual Arctic Report Card, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, tallied record after record of high temperatures, low sea ice, shrinking ice sheets and glaciers.

That ice is pretty much gone, Kelly said.

This is more than an Arctic problem, because the cold air escaping changes weather conditions, such as weakening the jet stream, Mathis said.

'What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic,' Mathis said.

'The Lower 48 may have to deal with more extreme weather events in the future.'
For a long time, friendships between gay men and straight men  what some now call 'bromosexual' friendships  were uncommon.

Homophobia was likely one reason; another was that straight men probably assumed didn't they have much in common with gay men.

But lately, 'bromosexual' friendships have started to receive more attention, acceptance and interest.

Friendships between gay and straight men have always existed, such as Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart's long time friendship. Many straight men hesitated to befriend gay men, fearing harassment, rejection from their straight friends or being called gay

BENEFITS OF BROMOSEXUAL There's a major factor that could foster 'bromosexual' friendships: the ability to give and receive advice from one another. Recent research suggests that advice sharing could be a crucial reason that straight women seek out gay men as friends. Women are able to trust the dating advice from gay male friends because they know their gay friends don't have any ulterior motives: They're not trying to hook up with them or compete with them for guys. Because of the trust they engender from straight women, gay men are uniquely positioned to be excellent 'wing men' for single straight men. Just as a gay man might be able to pass on advice about women to his straight friend, a straight man could connect his gay male friend with another desirable gay man, since neither the gay man nor his straight friend are competing for the same person. Advertisement

They're being explored and depicted in movies, books and blogs.

In October, The New York Times even devoted an article in their Style section to 'The Rise of the 'Bromosexual' Friendship.'

This sort of normalization is good news.

But social scientists still haven't studied the dynamics of these friendships: why they develop and how they're maintained.

We're part of a team of community, evolutionary and social psychologists that has recently begun a research program with the goal of studying this very topic.

Specifically, we're interested in looking at the reasons gay men and straight men become friends (or remain friends after the gay friend comes out).

We currently have a survey investigation underway that explores some of the positive outcomes of 'bromosexual' friendships, including our theory that gay men and straight men can be optimal wing men for one another.

Friendships between gay and straight men have always existed.

But there have also always been roadblocks to their formation.

Many straight men hesitated to befriend gay men, fearing harassment, rejection from their straight friends or being called gay.

The growing acceptance of homosexuality, however, has allayed some of these fears.

There are still barriers.

Gay men  particularly those in conservative and rural environments  remain wary about trying to befriend straight men, fearing prejudice-fueled rejection.

At the same time, many straight men still doubt that they'll be able to relate to gay men in any meaningful way and, for this reason, may not try to initiate a friendship.

Of course, the traditional notion that gay men and straight men cannot be close friends is inherently homophobic and untrue.

Gay and straight men may form friendshipts to give and receive advice from one another. Research suggests that advice sharing could be why straight women seek out gay men as friends. Pictures is Sean Avery (left) and Andy Cohen (right) who are very good friends

We propose gay-straight male friendships are not only possible, but that they can grow to be extremely rewarding.

So rather than focusing on the factors that prevent these friendships, we've decided to focus on why they might form and flourish.

While it's still too early for our team to be sure about our theories, here's what we'll be exploring in our current and future studies.

In some ways, when it comes to 'bromosexual' friendships, the onus is on straight men.

If they're open-minded about befriending gay men and make the effort to try to forge friendships based upon common interests, gay men should feel more comfortable reciprocating.

So which straight men are the most likely to befriend gay men, and vice versa?

And what determines whether these friendships prosper?

For one, the timing of when these friendships form may be crucial.

We know that gay men are now coming out at an earlier age.

Gay men who disclose their sexual orientation to their straight male friends earlier in life may be able to build more open and honest friendships with them into adulthood. Christ Pine (left) and Zachary Quinto (right) co-started on Star Trek and are said to be best friends

Gay men who disclose their sexual orientation to their straight male friends earlier in life may be able to build more open and honest friendships with them into adulthood.

Second, recent research has argued that gender and sexual orientation might not be as black and white as previously thought, which opens up new avenues for exploring how gay and straight men can relate to one another.

If a straight guy and his gay male friend are less rigid about their masculinity and sexuality, they'll probably be more likely to discuss details about their sexual and romantic lives openly with one another.

These discussions are particularly important because they normalize same-gender attraction.

WHY WOMEN HAVE MORE GAY BEST FRIENDS Very pretty women have gay male best friends because they can't trust straight men who will try to 'sexually exploit' them, a study has found. Researchers also found the most attractive females were unpopular with other women. Other, less attractive women felt threatened, or feared they would steal their boyfriends, researchers found. The study, by researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, was in two parts. The first asked 68 young women to be photographed in form-hugging clothes. Their photos were then assessed by a panel who rated them on a scale of 1 to 10 for attractiveness. Then these photos were shown to a group of 103 people comprising heterosexual men and women  who were asked how much they agreed with the statements, on a scale of 1 to 7. The results, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences 'revealed that more attractive targets were more likely to be sexually deceived by straight men and competitively deceived by women.' Advertisement

Friendships also strengthen when each side discloses personal information, which can include discussing sexual experiences.

There's another factor that could foster 'bromosexual' friendships: the ability to give and receive advice from one another.

Recent research has suggested that advice sharing could be a crucial reason that straight women seek out gay men as friends.

In short, women are able to trust the dating advice from gay male friends because they know their gay friends don't have any ulterior motives: They're not trying to hook up with them or compete with them for guys.

We believe that this same sort of unbiased advice sharing might also foster friendships between gay and straight men.

Because of the trust they engender from straight women, gay men are uniquely positioned to be excellent 'wing men' for single straight men.

There's a prevailing belief that men  regardless of their sexual orientation  are more sexually promiscuous than women.

For this reason, women are often wary of their suitors' true intentions, which could be to deceive them in order to have sex.

Because of the trust women engender from straight women, gay men are uniquely positioned to be excellent 'wing men' for single straight men. Pictured is Tom Daley (left) and Liam Payne (right) who have been best buds since 2012

The increasing popularity of dating websites and apps (which are rife with unwanted sexual advances from 'nice guys') has made women more skeptical  and has made it that much harder for men genuinely seeking long-term relationships.

However, straight women do tend to trust the dating advice of gay men (especially more than advice from straight men or women).

Accordingly, straight men could get a leg up in dating from becoming close friends with gay men.

For example, a gay friend could vouch for his straight friend's good intentions to women.

A straight wing man wouldn't be able to perform this tactic as successfully because the woman might be skeptical of the straight wing man's own intentions  which could be to woo the woman for himself.

Straight men who are comfortable with their sexuality may also act as wing men for gay male friends.

Just as a gay man might be able to pass on advice about women to his straight friend, a straight man could connect his gay male friend with another desirable gay man, since neither the gay man nor his straight friend are competing for the same person.
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For Europeans of the 16th century, the lands that lay across the Atlantic harboured wonders both dangerous and unknown  a New World guarded by sea monsters, cannibals, and giants.

A map crafted in 1562 by esteemed chartmaker Diego Gutierrez and Dutch engraver Hieronymous Cock highlights the extraordinary views of the time, revealing a description of the Americas that combines fact with folklore and propaganda.

It was known that advanced indigenous civilizations inhabited these regions, but its thought that the people of Europe instead preferred to see another world unlike their own, giving rise to legends of wild people and dangers, like nature itself.

The map shows the eastern coast of North America and includes the entirety of Central and South America. It was crafted in 1562 by esteemed chartmaker Diego Gutierrez and Dutch engraver Hieronymous Cock highlights the extraordinary views of the time, revealing a description of the Americas that combines fact with folklore and propaganda

MAPPING A 'NEW WORLD' According to curators from the British Library, the map combines fact with legend. While highly civilized populations, like the Aztecs and Maya, were known to have lived in the regions, they say these lifestyles were likely too close to that of the Europeans to spark interest. Instead, the Americas are shown to be full of cannibals, giants, mermaids, and sea monsters. Advertisement

The map was intended not only to be informational, but was a political document and a piece of artwork, according to Atlas Obscura.

Its name translates to The Americas, or A New and Precise Description of the Fourth Part of the World.

At the time, creating a map also acted as a symbol of power over that area, and the work from Gutierrez shows the Spanish Empire in all its glory, the British Library explains.

The Library currently has a major maps exhibition underway, Maps and the 20th Century: Drawing the Line.

This particular map was made for the approval of King Philip II, who is illustrated in the image of Neptune.

It appears to be tremendously informative, said Peter Barber, former Head of Map Collection at the British Library, in a video on the work.

And the imagery, the coats of arms at the top, and the figure of Philip II at sea, all of this makes a point that this vast continent was owned by Spain.

Mermaids and massive sea monsters can be seen throughout the turbulent waters. At the bottom tip of South America, it suggests giants have made their home in Patagonia  and this legend, like many others, was considered credible at the time

The map shows the eastern coast of North America and includes the entirety of Central and South America.

Mermaids and massive sea monsters can be seen throughout the turbulent ocean waters, and in the Brazilian inlands, indigenous people are shown as cannibals.

At the bottom tip of South America, it suggests giants have made their home in Patagonia  and this legend, like many others, was considered credible at the time.

And, mythical beings werent the only things they worried about.

The map also sheds light on the fears of nature itself, showing an erupting volcano in an area thats now Mexico.

While the map is dominated by characters born out of legends, it also correctly captures some geographical features and animals.

In the Brazilian inlands, shown left, indigenous people are depicted as cannibals. And, mythical beings werent the only things they worried about. The map also sheds light on the fears of nature itself, showing an erupting volcano in an area thats now Mexico, and has one of the earliest mentions of California, both shown right

The map shows the snaking body of the Amazon River, among numerous other important bodies of water in the Americas

It shows parts of the European and African western coasts, where images of a lion, rhinoceros, and an elephant can be seen.

These arent the only real creatures included in the map among the many mythical beasts.

There are also monkeys, flying fish, and swordfish  though they have been exaggerated greatly.

According to the Library of Congress, it also makes one of the earliest references to California, with C. California written on the southern tip of Baja.

And, it shows the snaking body of the Amazon River, among numerous other important bodies of water in the Americas.

The coats of arms of Spain, France, and Portugal can be seen in the map as well, acknowledging a number of treaties and agreements made between the countries.

Though the map correctly captures some geographical features and creatures, including drawings of a lion and elephant in Africa, it is dominated by characters born out of legends

If you think about people in Europe in the 16th century, most of them couldnt read.

'So a map was a very important way of telling the story about the specific civilization, said Aquiles Alencar Brayner, Curator of Latin American collections at the British Library, in the video.

And in this case we know that Latin America at that time, very high civilized indigenous population were living in the continent like the Aztecs, the Mayas.

But the map doesnt depict those people, probably because they were already very close to European lives in the sense that they were using artifacts and metals.

According to the curator, the Europeans were more interested in seeing something very different than the world they were used to, and the map captures the relationship between culture and nature.'
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, along with the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs and 42 other Attorneys General, announced Monday a $19.5 million settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. The settlement relates to the drug companys alleged improper marketing of Abilify, an atypical antipsychotic drug. The complaint, which was filed Monday along with the settlement, alleges BMS engaged in unfair or deceptive trade practices when marketing Abilify.



Abilify is the brand name for the prescription drug aripiprazole.

The drug was originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of schizophrenia in 2002. However, the complaint alleges that BMS promoted Abilify for use in elderly patients with symptoms consistent with dementia and Alzheimers disease. This was done despite the lack of FDA approval for these uses and without first establishing the drugs safety and efficacy for those uses. In 2006, Abilify received a black box warning stating that elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis who are treated with antipsychotic drugs have an increased risk of death.Drug manufacturers are prohibited from promoting their drugs for uses that have not been approved by the FDA, General Slatery said. By making false claims and down-playing the risks associated with this drug, the company jeopardized the health of Tennesseans and should be held accountable.The states allege BMS also promoted Abilify for uses in children not approved by the FDA. The complaint states that BMS made false and misleading representations about Abilifys risks and overstated the findings of scientific studies by not revealing limitations that would materially affect the interpretation of the study results.We will continue to work with the State Attorney Generals Office and other partnering organizations to protect Tennessee consumers from unfair and deceptive business practices such as this one, said Director Cynthia Wiel of the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs.As part of the $19.5 million settlement, the state of Tennessee will receive $399,022.According to the terms of the settlement: BMS marketing of any formulation containing the active ingredient aripiprazole will be restricted. BMS will be prohibited from making false or misleading claims regarding Abilify, its safety, or efficacy in comparison with other drugs, or the implications of clinical studies relating to the drug. BMS will also be subject to limitations on financial incentives to sales representatives and health care providers, dissemination of information that may promote off-label use of Abilify, and other practices affecting off-label promotion.

Consumers may file complaints regarding prescription drug advertisements or any other deceptive conduct by going online to www.tn.gov/consumer or calling the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs at 615-741-4737 or toll-free in Tennessee at 1-800-342-8385.
Airbnb has narrowly avoided a hefty fine for advertising lodgings that did not have permits to host tourists.

A Barcelona court has annulled a fine of 30,000 euros (25,000) imposed by the regional government of Catalonia.

The court justified its decision in a ruling dated November 29 on the grounds that there is a legal vacuum regarding the regulation of the 'sharing economy' in Spain.

A Barcelona Court has annulled a hefty fine imposed by the regional government of Catalonia on Airbnb for advertising lodgings that did not have permits to host tourists

That hearing statement, which came after Airbnb appealed the fine, was released by the popular travel website on December 12.

The court said in its ruling: 'The regulation of this new phenomenon of consumption has been left orphaned... and this can't be substituted by imposing a fine.'

It is the first time that a fine against Airbnb has been overturned by a Spanish court.

Catalonia, home to the seaside city of Barcelona, slapped Airbnb with the fine in July 2014 for breaching local laws requiring any flat or house rented to tourists to be registered with the region's tourism authority.

The region tightened its rules on hospitality in 2012, saying this was needed to better control the quality of services on offer.

The San Francisco-based company welcomed the court ruling, saying it was 'key' to solving its legal issues in Catalonia.

Catalonia, home to the seaside city of Barcelona, slapped Airbnb with the fine in July 2014 for breaching local laws requiring any flat or house rented to tourists to be registered with the region's tourism authority

It released a statement that said: 'Airbnb is part of the solution in Barcelona and we want to work with leaders on clear, fair rules for home sharing.

'We hope this ruling will kick-start a new conversation on how we can work together.'

Barcelona city hall, led by a former anti-evictions activist, last month fined Airbnb and its rival HomeAway 600,000 euros (roughly 502,000) each for marketing lodgings that lacked proper tourist permits.

Airbnb, which lets homeowners share their homes for a fee by marketing them online, has become a popular alternative to hotels and mirrors consumers' growing reliance on online sharing services in other areas such as transport, including cars.

Catalonia has figured prominently in its growth, with Barcelona consistently ranking as one of the site's largest markets.

But the company has recently faced mounting criticism from some quarters that it exacerbates housing shortages and squeezes the long-term rental sector.

At the same time, several cities are exasperated by what is regarded as a service which appears to lack the legal and tax constraints of commercial enterprises.
This is the incredible moment that musicians on a Ryanair flight got out their instruments and played a tune in an attempt to cheer up the cabin crew.

The impromptu performance was captured on film by a passenger, as the plane few from Copenhagen to Dublin.

The footage begins when a few musicians pull out their instruments and begin playing uplifting folk music.

A group of musicians travelling from Copenhagen to Dublin decide to give an impromptu performance in the air

Many of the passengers take out their phones to record the performance for themselves, and the entire plane joins in, clapping and cheering along.

The video even shows one member of the crew ducking under the musicians and the camera, so that the show could go on.

At one point the flight attendant comes over the intercom to give landing instructions, they momentarily pause, only to go right back in as soon as the announcement finishes.

When they finish their song, the entire plane erupts into applause.

The person who took the video wrote online: 'On the way home from a trip to Copenhagen, I found myself sitting beside another musician, a flautist from Dublin on his way home from playing a gig in Copenhagen.

'He and his friend had decided to cheer up the air stewards with a wee tune on the plane.

'All the passengers loved it and clapped and whooped along, the air stewards still didn't craic a smile though.'

Many of the passengers take out their phones to record the performance for themselves, and the entire plane joins in with clapping and cheering along

It is not the first time passengers have been treated to a performance in an aircraft.

Earlier this year, a barber shop quartet gave a pitch-perfect rendition of Under The Boardwalk on board a heavily delayed flight bound for New Orleans from Indianapolis, to cheer up other fed-up plane passengers.

The talented group were discovered by flight attendant Kari Mann, who had got chatting to guests having to sit out a five-hour wait in their aircraft at Indianapolis International Airport.

Passengers on a flight bound for New Orleans were given a spectacular singing performance by an elderly barbershop quartet, who performed Under the Boardwalk to the delight of onlookers

When she sensed travellers were getting frustrated, Mann asked the men, who were performers in a group called Port City Sound, to give an impromptu performance.

As the Maine-based men delivered a lively rendition of The Drifters classic, passengers smiled and filmed the action on their phones.
It was claimed on Monday that The Bachelorette's Sam Johnston and The Bachelor's Noni Janur were 'secretly' dating.

Now, the male model has denied the reported romance amid rumours he's in fact still 'seeing' his ex-girlfriend Isabella 'Bella' Varelis.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday, the 28-year-old hit out at the NW magazine report, saying: 'Noni and I are NOT in a relationship.'

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Hitting out: Bachelorette star Sam Johnston denies claims he's dating Bachelor star Noni Janur

His comments comes after the publication quoted an inside source saying the pair were apparently in a 'full-on relationship.'

They also claimed a diner at North Bondi Fish said: 'They were perched at the bar, rubbing each other's thighs quite intensely'.

'Noni was so into it... At one point, they were so all over each other, I almost spat out my food!' they apparently claimed.

Not interested! Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday, the 28-year-old slammed the NW magazine report, saying: 'Noni and I are NOT in a relationship'

Twisted: His remark comes after the publication had quoted an inside source saying the pair were in a 'full-on relationship'

Following the claims published on Monday, a source told Daily Mail Australia that Sam was in fact still seeing his former flame, Bella.

'Sam and Sam's ex are still talking [to each other] and sleeping together,' they revealed.

'They started going out at the end of last year and she was the first serious relationship Sam had in a really long time.

Still on? Following the claims, a source told Daily Mail Australia that Sam was in fact still seeing his former flame, Isabella 'Bella' Vareli (pictured)

Close friendship: Sam later denied the statement to Daily Mail Australia, saying: 'Bella and I are very good mates still, but are certainly not sleeping together'

'She was living with him for a couple of months before he went on The Bachelorette, the source continued but confirmed Bella knew he was applying for the romance reality TV series.

Sam later denied the statement to Daily Mail Australia, saying: 'Bella and I are very good mates still, but are certainly not sleeping together.'

Bella also added: 'Sam and I are very good mates still but we arent sleeping together.'
She was crown Queen of the Jungle after winning I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here earlier this month.

And while Scarlett Moffatt appeared to love her time Down Under, one joyous element of her return was her reunion with boyfriend Luke Crodden, 28, with whom she appears on the cover of this week's OK! magazine.

The 26-year-old Gogglebox star looked sensational in a festive shoot before she described her whirlwind romance with the flame-haired hunk - who she moved in with after just one month of dating.

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The happy couple: While Scarlett Moffatt appeared to love her time in the outback, one joyous element of her return was her reunion with boyfriend Luke Crodden, 28, with whom she appears on the cover of this week's OK! magazine

Scarlett, who got her first taste of TV fame on MTV's now-defunct show Beauty School Cop Outs in 2013, won the hearts of the public in this year's I'm A Celeb.

After languishing in the jungle for three weeks, the Newcastle native admitted she was devastated to be apart from Luke for such a prolonged stint.

In their shoot and interview with OK!, the couple discussed how quickly their relationship progressed - as they admit to moving in together after just a month.

Of their romantic reunion last week, the overjoyed star revealed: 'We couldnt stop crying when we were reunited', before which she turned her attention to her beloved dog Bonnie.

Happy days! She was crown Queen of the Jungle after winning I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here earlier this month

Moving fast: The 26-year-old Gogglebox star looked sensational in a festive shoot before she described her whirlwind romance with the flame-haired hunk - who she moved in with after just one month of dating

Speaking about her canine reunion, she said: 'I ran into the sitting room, grabbed hold of her and didnt let her go for the rest of the night.'

After meeting four years previously in York, the couple met again in a Newcastle bar in January 2015 - after which they were smitten.

Scarlett revealed: 'It sounds a bit crazy but we moved in together after a month! Were moving into a flat in London together in time for Christmas! I want us to have a tree in our new home for our first Christmas together'.

Loved up: After meeting four years previously in York, the couple met again in a Newcastle bar in January 2015 - after which they were smitten

After speaking of her checkered love life, the couple discussed their suitability, as the raven haired reality star admitted they are shockingly similar.

She said: 'I havent necessarily been lucky in love, but Lukes the male me and Im the female him. Ive always been really fussy.

'My dads a real gentleman and set the bar high and Lukes a gentleman like him. Ive never felt this way before.

Peace out! After speaking of her checkered love life, the couple discussed their suitability, as the raven haired reality star admitted they are shockingly similar
She's a rising star in Hollywood thanks to her role as Trish Walker on Netflix's Jessica Jones.

And Rachael Taylor braved America's chilly weather to catch up with fellow Australian actor Luke Baines on Monday.

The 32-year-old actress took to Instagram from a cafe to display her delicious granola breakfast dish to her 137,000 followers.

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Getting cozy! Actress Rachael Taylor rugs up in warm jumper and Mexican blanket for breakfast 'date' with Australian actor and model Luke Baines

Rachael is believed to be living in Los Angeles at the moment, but it's uncertain as to where she had breakfast on this particular outing.

The Australian star captioned the snap: 'Cozy breakfast date.'

She appeared to rug up for the alfresco meal, wearing a warm black jumper and draping a Mexican blanket over her lap for added comfort.

Natural beauty: The model is known for being relaxed when it comes to styling her hair and applying her makeup when away from the camera

The Model wore her blonde locks loosely as she raised a mouthful of muesli, fruit and yoghurt to her mouth.

She applied a minimal application of makeup for the 'date,' consisting of visible eye makeup and nude lipstick.

Luke also took to Instagram to post the same image, captioning it: 'I wouldn't get on the 10 for many people.'

Rising star: Rachael's first leading role was in Australian' drama HeadLand, but has made a name for herself in Hollywood in the past 10 years with her most recent role being Trish Walker on Netflix's Jessica Jones

The former beauty pageant princess is currently dating American photographer Mike Piscitelli, who she has now been with for three years.

Rachael recently hinted an engagement and the possibility of starting a family with Mike to Confidential.

'I am very, very lucky to have [him] in my life,' she said.

Rachael added she hasn't ruled out the possibility of having children in the future and she would like to raise them in Australia.
David Blaine: Beyond Magic

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Time Commanders

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David Blaine has been shot, starved, encased in ice and buried alive. He has come through it all unscathed. But Victoria Beckhams eyes slashed him to ribbons on his latest spectacular, Beyond Magic (C4).

As he demonstrated a gut-wrenching trick to her husband, Posh stood behind the magician with a face like frozen acid. Blaine was visiting their home, so perhaps he had traipsed mud over the carpet, but Im guessing she was angry because he had turned his back on her, as he showed the trick to Becks.

David Blaine has been shot, starved, encased in ice and buried alive. He has come through it all unscathed. But Victoria Beckhams eyes slashed him to ribbons on his latest spectacular, Beyond Magic

The performance ended when the conjuror swallowed Davids wedding ring and fished it out of his stomach with a bent coat-hanger. Told you it was gut-wrenching.

Victoria didnt applaud. She just turned on her lethally pointed heel and stalked out.

We didnt see her again, but she was still there. When Blaine sewed his own mouth shut in their hallway and then snorted live frogs from his nose, Victorias voice echoed ominously from the kitchen: Can anyone make David disappear?

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Which David did she mean? Both men would have been wise to slope off to the pub, just to be on the safe side for a couple of hours.

Blaine has a lot of celebrity friends, and wants us to know it. He took Arnold Schwarzeneggers ample wineglass, drained the half-pint of vin rouge and then chomped off the rim and swallowed the splinters.

Johnny Depp was so shocked by the coat-hanger trick that he could barely stand upright, and slurred his words as he staggered out of frame.

And Blaine did card tricks via a video link, asking Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence to shuffle the pack as she watched him on her phone screen. When he made a card appear in her hand, she shrieked: If you started a religion I would follow it!

These stunts lost most of their impact because there was no build-up, no sense of occasion.

No sooner had we realised that Blaine was performing for Sir Patrick Stewart, than a fistful of cards flew through the air, one stuck to a mobile phone, and the worlds finest actor-who-looks-like-a-boiled-egg was bellowing in disbelief.

All the tension and drama was reserved for the last act, where Blaine caught a bullet in his teeth. Theres no guessing why he thought this old trick was worth all the fuss  magicians have been performing it since Tudor times.

The stunt was invented by Frenchman Coulew of Lorraine, who was beaten to death on stage in 1613 with his own musket by his assistant. Victoria would doubtless have approved.

Gregg Wallace popped up to present a revival of Time Commanders (BBC4)

It was a good night for celebs who look like boiled eggs, as Gregg Wallace popped up to present a revival of Time Commanders (BBC4).

Its previous hosts, about 12 years ago, were Eddie Mair and Richard Hammond, but someone at the Beeb obviously thought the revamped show needed a man whose eyes and gaping mouth appear to be drawn on using a felt-tipped pen.Otherwise, the show was little changed.

On the computer screens, two ancient armies of Romans and Carthaginians lined up. They were controlled by a team of Glaswegian wrestlers, and a trio of posh types who looked like Cub Scouts. If you didnt see the show, you might assume thats an obscure joke, but it is simple, factual reporting. The Cubs soon took against Gregg and his 120 decibel commentary. They responded with polite sarcasm, when Gregg yelled that the Romans were about to rout, their commander snapped: Thank you very much, sir, you are incredibly helpful and I am incredibly appreciative of it.

The more excited Gregg got, the more he repeated himself. Look look look look look! he shouted. Go go go go! Eventually, everyone was ignoring him.
Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson's festive season just got merrier, with the KIIS FM duo claiming the top spot among Sydney's breakfast radio shows, AGAIN.

The results were published in the latest and final ratings survey of the year on Tuesday.

Taking to Instagram to celebrate their win, Kyle and Jackie thanked their fans while sending their seasons greetings, writing: 'It means the world to get number one breakfast show to end the year, thank you so much to our amazing listeners, we LOVE you. Merry Christmas xx (sic).'

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Still on top! KIISFM's Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson have won the breakfast time slot yet again in the latest radio ratings survey

Despite dropping 0.3% to a 10.5% audience share, their 17-year partnership saw them remain the number one breakfast program on FM airwaves, well ahead of their 2DayFM rivals.

Rove McManus and Sam Frost's one-year-old show suffered yet another blow, claiming just 3.8% audience share and slipping to 10th place overall.

It's the comedian and former Bachelorette's lowest score in over six months.

Feeling festive! The duo took to Instagram to celebrate their win and thank their listeners with a Christmas-themed snap

Slipping: Meanwhile, their 2DayFm rivals Rove McManus and Sam Frost slipped by 0.4% to 10th place, with a share of just 3.8%

The pair, who just celebrated their first anniversary on-air recently, dropped 0.4% from the previous month's survey.

Meanwhile, Nova's funny duo Ryan Fitzgerald and Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli grew their audiences by 0.7%, nabbing third place with a share of 7.1%.

WSFM's Brendan 'Jonesy' Jones and Amanda Keller rounded out the FM top three with their show, which had the highest growth of 1.7% to 8.7% this month.

Here for the laughs: Nova's Ryan Fitzgerald and Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli grew their audiences by 0.7%, nabbing third place with a share of 7.1%

Popular: WSFM's Brendan 'Jonesy' Jones and Amanda Keller had the highest growth this month, taking their show to second place

2GB's controversial star Alan Jones dropped 2.4%, but was still the number one show overall with a total share of 14.5%.

In the drive slot, Dave 'Hughesy' Hughes and Kate Langbroek secured the top spot with a 9.5% share.

Nova's Kate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold tied for the second spot along with SmoothFM's Byron Webb, with a share of 9.1% each.

On the drive home: KIISFM's afternoon hosts Kate Langbroek and Dave 'Hughesy' Hughes took out the top spot in their time slot

Second: Hughesy and Kate beat their Nova rivals Kate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Marty SHeargold, who finished second with a drop to 9.1%

Meanwhile in Melbourne, FoxFM's Fifi Box, Dave Thornton and Brendan Fevolva celebrated a win in the breakfast slot, with a 9.4% share.

Former AFL player Brendan took to Instagram to share the joy with his team, writing: 'Congratulations Team ending the year as the Number 1 breakfast show in Melbourne @fifidavefev @foxfm.

'Thank you Melbourne what a great early Xmas present. Have a safe and Merry Xmas, can't wait to get back bigger and better next year.. (sic).'

The 35-year-old joined Fifi and Dave in April this year.

Cause for celebration! Brendan Fevola and his FoxFM team, including Fifi Box and Dave Thornton, was Melbourne's top rated breakfast show




It's a cast packed with some of the biggest names in showbiz.

And Collateral Beauty leading lady Helen Mirren dazzled in the fashion stakes at the premiere of their star-studded drama in New York City on Monday.

Helen, 71, looked absolutely incredible in a blue-silver dress with shimmering floral accents.

Super star style! Collateral Beauty leading lady Helen Mirren dazzled in the fashion stakes at the premiere of her upcoming drama in New York City on Monday

The Queen actress also rocked a floral print coat and a statement pin that let everyone know her ensemble - along with the stunning faux fur jacket - was indeed fur-free.

The Oscar winning actress wore a shade of pink blush, candyfloss hued lipstick, and mascara to polish off her complexion.

Helen slicked her strands across her forehead and dressed up the already picture perfect look up with a layered necklace, chandelier style earrings, and a ring.

And finishing off the look, she stood tall in a pair of baby blue heels.

Making a fashion statement: The Queen actress also rocked a floral print coat and a statement pin that let everyone know her ensemble - along with the stunning faux fur jacket - was indeed fur-free

Gorgeous: Helen slicked her strands across her forehead and dressed up the already picture perfect look up with a layered necklace, chandelier style earrings, and a ring

In Collateral Beauty, Helen stars opposite Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris, and Keira Knightley.

The movie follows a successful advertising executive Howard Inlet (Smith), who withdraws from everyday life after the death of his child, and begins writing letters to 'Love', 'Time', and 'Death' as a form of therapy.

To his shock, he begins to receive responses - from actual people who represent 'Love', 'Time', and 'Death.'

Leading lady: In Collateral Beauty, Helen stars opposite Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris, and Keira Knightley

Springtime style: Naomie rocked a beautiful flower print frock that accentuated her modelesque physique to full effect

Star power: Harris was joined by her dashing Collateral Beauty co-star, Will Smith

Nice seeing you! Harris greeted her co-star with a kiss on the cheek

While Keira plays the role of 'Love', Helen takes on the part of 'Death' and Jacob Latimore portrays 'Time'.

The cast looked nothing short of spectacular as they walked the red carpet.

Naomie rocked a gorgeous flower print frock that accentuated her modelesque physique to full effect.

Girl power! Mirren and Naomie stole the spotlight on the red carpet

It suits him! Smith got goofy on the red carpet as he rocked his sharp grey suit

Doing his part: Edward Norton couldn't have looked prouder to attend the premiere for his film beside his stunning wife, Shauna Robertson

Strike a pose: The couple made for a extremely stylish twosome

Dropping jaws: Shanina Shaik wowed in all red, while Lil Mama was the picture of glamour in her floor-length blue gown

Her hair was slicked back into a sleek and straight style, and she carried a boxy clutch while wearing an extremely eye-catching pair of canary yellow heels.

As usual, Will looked dashing in a sharp grey suit, silver tie, and pocket square.

Edward Norton couldn't have looked prouder to attend the premiere for his film beside his stunning wife, Shauna Robertson.

Starting young on the red carpet! Collateral Beauty stars Alyssa Cheatham and Kylie Rogers showed off their eye for fashion

The whole gang's here! Jacob Latimore and his Collateral Beauty co-stars stole the red carpet spotlight

Others in attendance include Shanina Shaik, who wore an edgy red velvet jumpsuit and black pumps.

Lil Mama was the picture of glamour in her extraordinary floor length blue gown with sparkling accents.

Collateral Beauty will be released on December 16.

Let's get this show on the road! Collateral Beauty will be released on December 16

Rock on! OneRepublic band members Brent Kutzle, Drew Brown, Ryan Tedder, Eddie Fisher, and Zach Filkins squeezed in time for a night at the movies

Showing his support! Will Smith's son Jaden showed his support as he rocked a soccer scarf and long black coat
She and her sisters aren't wallflowers when it comes to getting in front of a camera.

But model Suki Waterhouse's brother Charlie is practically a recluse in comparison, shying away from the limelight despite coming from a family of famous faces.

However, he stepped out with his sister on Monday evening to attend a carol concert in London, clearly eager to get into the festive spirit.

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The lesser-spotted Waterhouse! Model Suki wraps up in Burberry as she attends a carol service on the arm of her seldom seen brother Charlie

Charlie is rarely seen and so the outing with his sibling was somewhat of a special occasion.

Suki, 24, clutched on to her brother's arm as they made their way into the concert - which was also attended by the likes of Mary Berry.

The Burberry and Marks and Spencer model wrapped up in a long, thick camel coat.

Underneath she wore a tartan print dress which covered her slender frame right down to her black boots.

Rare appearance: Suki Waterhouse's brother Charlie is practically a recluse in comparison, shying away from the limelight despite coming from a family of famous faces

Festive cheer? Charlie stepped out with his sister on Monday evening to attend a carol concert in London, clearly eager to get into the festive spirit

The dress was completed with a thin brown belt across her waist and she wore her dark blonde locks loose around her shoulders.

Charlie was looking equally wrapped up, but not quite as glam as his sister.

He wore a navy blue fleece, zipped up to his chin, and some baggy jeans and black trousers.

His long dark locks were covered with a dark green beanie hat and he frowned at the cameras as he guided his sister along the street.

Waterhouse outing: Charlie was looking equally wrapped up, but not quite as glam as his sister

Rather than spend time in the glare of the spotlight, Charlie is known for his entrepreneurial endeavors and has run a T-shirt design label, ChWoody, with another relative, Will Waterhouse.

Cara Delevingne and Georgia May Jagger have designed for the brand - although it's unknown whether it's still trading.

According to Tatler, Charlie is a fanatical QPR fan too.

Suki made a dash across the pond last week to New York to present the award for Best Screenplay at the London Evening Standard Film Awards the previous evening.

She recently admitted to Glamour that she is on a dating app in the hope of finding love, following her split from Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper in March last year.

Stylish Suki: The Burberry and Marks and Spencer model wrapped up in a long, thick camel coat. Underneath she wore a tartan print dress which covered her slender frame right down to her black boots

Suki and the American Sniper star first met the Elle Style Awards in London in 2013, but called an end to their romance two years later.

The split came as a surprise as it was claimed that couple were house hunting together in London.

Suki has been taking her mind off the breakup however by promoting her upcoming film, The Bad Batch, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

The film, which is a follow-up to Ana Lily's directorial debut A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, also stars Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, Jason Momoa and Diego Luna
She never steps out without looking like she's ready to strut down a catwalk.

And Kate Beckinsale proved she was a true fashionista as she pulled off a rockstar chic look leaving LA after the 22nd Critics' Choice Awards on Monday.

The 43-year-old actress - who was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy for her role in Love & Friendship - wore a deep neckline white blouse underneath a stylish cotton candy fur jacket as she headed through LAX.

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Making a statement: Kate Beckinsale proved she was a true fashionista as she pulled off a rockstar chic look leaving LA after the 22nd Critic's Choice Awards on Monday

The Underworld heroine sported some sleek coal trousers that showed off her killer legs which she perfectly complemented with a fierce black pointed boot.

Wearing a black choker from Are You Am I and a daunting pair of shades, Kate was all about keeping her look edgy as she made her way out of Los Angeles.

The brunette bombshell had her ombre locks up in a messy ponytail and wore a simple pink lip as she held on tightly to her phone.

Rockstar look: The 43-year-old actress - who was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy for her role in Love & Friendship - wore a deep neckline white blouse underneath a stylish cotton candy fur jacket as she headed through LAX

Legs for days: The Underworld heroine sported some sleek coal trousers that showed off her killer legs which she perfectly complemented with a fierce black pointed boot

She's on the edge: Wearing a Are You Am I black choker and a daunting pair of shades, Kate was all about keeping her look edgy as she made her way out of Los Angeles

Youthful look: The brunette bombshell had her ombre locks up in a messy ponytail and wore a simple pink lip as she held on tightly to her phone

The previous evening, Kate ensured she was the centre of attentionas she made a show-stopping arrival at the Critics' Choice Awards.

The Van Helsing star looked truly mesmerising in the floor-length gown, which was formed entirely of black mesh to reveal her long legs and killer figure.

The dress was of a traditional ballgown shape, featuring chic puffy satin sleeves and a full skirt and train.

All eyes on her: Kate Beckinsale ensured she was the centre of attention on Sunday night as she made a show-stopping arrival at the 22nd Critic's Choice Awards. The Van Helsing star looked truly mesmerising in the floor-length gown, which was formed entirely of black mesh to reveal her long legs and killer figure

Adding a hint of glitz for her special night, the frock was then adorned with glittering diamante gems all over - which were organised into a low plunging sweetheart neckline to tease at her cleavage.

Kate styled her hair into a soft ponytail with strands falling loose to frame and draw attention to her naturally beautiful features as she smouldered for the cameras.

While she didn't win the category she was nominated for, Kate already nabbed the same gong at the London Evening Standard Film Awards.
Have you ever been glad to pay for a car repair?Grateful to have to call a plumber?Excited to need to enlist the services of an electrician?Me either.But I wonder if we shouldnt sometimes labor to sneak a sort of redemptive filter into the lenses through which we view these aggravations that claim our, so-called, money and our, so-called, time?I don't mean to deny the frustration of spending money that you may not have or that youd ear-marked for another allocation altogether.Its just that there might be another way to think about such inevitabilities.What if we could vaccinate ourselves against the flummoxing irritation that wallops us when we need a new crown at the dentist or are forced to get a new hot water heater?I propose a certain aggravation shot you self-administer (best done in prayer like all shots are taken) that will at least reduce the severity of this influenza of irritation that creates a rash on our souls.Of course, youll be relieved to know that no syringe is needed.Instead of a needle, lets try thinking about Providence as a concept of immunization against all this headache of repair, maintenance and hassle that assails us.Instead of thinking only about your own bank account and your own schedule, fortify your noggin for a minute by considering God and others.Im pretty sure, after all, that God has indicated somewhere or another that such a consideration is worthwhile.Then proceed to consider the doctrine of Providence.Huh?You know, what those dead Puritans from 400 years ago described like this:God's works of Providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all of his creatures and all of their actions. (Westminster Shorter Catechism)A simpler way to put it might be:God never sleeps and is quite busy takin care of everything, wisely and well, all the time.But God, being an ultimate thought-leader, does what many leadership gurus have likewise discovered.Leadership, theyll say,is not merely about getting things done right, but about getting things done through other people. (Andy Stanley).CS Lewis has wisely ascertained that God has been implementing leadership of this sort from the moment he concocted the first community of two.From historys commencement, he suggests, God has been a master delegator.In fact it seems there is little he does directly that, if possible, he can do indirectly through his creatures, thereby dignifying them with meaningful labors.If the front axle snapped on your 1977 Ford Crown Victoria, do you think that the God who breathed the heavens into existence could repair it with a word?Of course!But would he likely do it this way?Probably not.But that doesn't mean he doesn't see that it gets fixed for you.It means that he gives you and Steve, the mechanic down the street, an opportunity to interact in an inter-dependent way.You barely know how to tie your shoe, but Steve can rebuild a transmission on a 65 Chevy with his eyes closed, all the while enjoying Kenny Chesney crooning in the background.So you invite Steve in on the entropy of the universe as it has intersected with your aging chariot.You present him with the specific symptoms of the fall in your Fords life.Of course you might also have to call a tow truck first which Cheryl drives with amazing competence and precision.Sure, God could float your car from Dodds Avenue to the shop on Market Street, like he once lifted Elijah across a different geography, but tends to prefer wreckers when it comes to broken-down rides.And within two days, as you are gliding again down I-75 toward Dalton in your beast of a Ford, you realize that Cheryl and Steve have collaborated with God (whether wittingly or not) to subdue the disorder that has inconvenienced you, AND served their neighbor, earned an income, and gotten to realize how valuable they are.All because your middle-aged 4-door classic wont run perfectly forever without assistance.So you see, right there, smack dab in the middle of your irritation, youve become an unwitting (and perhaps unwilling!) player in the providence of God! Your flustered Thursday afternoon was the occasion for all manner of good to accrue to Steve and Cheryl.Your trouble, in fact, permitted this handy duo to act as agents of providence!Secret agents of the Most High deployed to handle the matters entrusted to them for the sake of those in transportation distress by their competencies, desires, and efforts.You may also have become an embodied answer to prayer, because Steve has no livelihood, no sense of dignity, and no way to provide for his family or to give aid to anyone else, IF your and my cars dont occasionally need new water pumps, brakes, or sniffer sensors.Who would have reckoned that a flat tire or a new radiator could become an occasion to participate in the circulatory system of God's active care on this groaning planet?And all vividly enacted by his choice to employ the competency of others in response to your deficits!My guess is that similar aggravations in the lives of those you know have likewise provided a vocation, a sense of purpose, and a means of provision for you and yours as well.It's anxiety producing, to be sure, to have to spend what you don't have or to save diligently for a vacation, only to have to spend the money on a root canal or a dang roof leak.But I suspect, even these, are ways of God causing us to hunger, so that he can fill us, reminding us that our provision ultimately comes from him, not from our own clevernessAs a good friend once said, Every time I start to get just a little bit ahead, I get a toothache!Do you reckon it's OK with God if you have to spend some money getting your roof repaired and in the process get to stop two leaks in your kitchen, provide tax revenue for asphalted streets, responsive firemen and funded schools for the young---all the while giving Lyle and his hard-working crew climbing on the top of your hot, steep roof, work that satisfies and provides for them?Its worth considering. The frustrations arent going away. But they can be ameliorated when we dont forget God or the needs of our neighbor.To remember that were privileged as agents of our Lords attentive care-taking of everything from an infants need of a changed diaper to grandmas need of help with her estate can be a gladdening relief, especially when were tempted to spit, fuss, and cuss when things break down.-----
She is usually seen sizzling in glamorous designer garments at red carpet events.

But on Monday, Shanina Shaik opted for an unusual choice of attire as she attended the Collateral Beauty world premiere in New York.

For the event, the 25-year-old hid her slender figure with a billowing red pantsuit.

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That's not like her! Shanina Shaik hid her slender figure with a billowing red pantsuit on Monday as she attended the Collateral Beauty world premiere in New York

The Victoria's Secret model ensemble featured long sleeves and a V-neck collar.

To highlight her slender torso, she tied a matching red leather belt around her waistline.

She finished off her look with a pair of black heels while accessorising with a black leather necklace and her gold hexagon-cut engagement ring.

Details: The Victoria's Secret model ensemble featured long sleeves and a V-neck collar

Beauty: The Australian model wore her chocolate brown hair out and styled with a curl while keeping her makeup natural with a nude lipstick

The Australian beauty wore her chocolate brown hair out and styled with a curl at the ends.

She showcased her blemish-free complexion through natural makeup that included a nude lipstick, bronzer and a light brush of black mascara.

Later, she was spotted alongside Jaden Smith, who was clad in a black jacket and printed scarf.

Fancy seeing you here! Later, she was spotted alongside Jaden Smith, who was clad in a black jacket and printed scarf

Shanina covered up in a hounds-tooth coat worn across her shoulders like a cape.

While Shanina smiled sweetly at the camera, Jaden posed with a rather vacant expression on his face.

Shanina's red carpet appearance comes a week after she returned home from a quick holiday to the Bahamas.

Cosy: Shanina covered up in a hounds-tooth coat worn across her shoulders like a cape

Everything all right there? While Shanina smiled sweetly at the camera, Jaden posed with a rather vacant expression on his face

Taken a liking: Earlier this year, Shanina was seen wearing another red leather ensemble

The cover girl has been enjoying her time jet setting around the globe with her fiance DJ Ruckus, born Gregory Andrews, after she shocked fans by not appearing in the Victoria's Secret Show.

The annual event was held in Paris last Wednesday, but the Aussie beauty was nowhere to be seen.

Shanina had previously walked in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 events.
She has never been afraid to poke fun at her personal life with self-depracating Instagram updates.

And comedic Studio 10 host Sarah Harris, 35, was at it again this week when she uploaded a picture of her dismal attempts at cutting her son Paul's hair.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the mother-of-one shared a picture of her 11-month-old tot being held up in her arms, with the caption: 'I cut Paul's hair. With nail scissors. Note the jagged fringe. I'm in trouble'.

'Note the jagged fringe. I'm in trouble': Studio 10 host Sarah Harris, 35, uploaded a picture of her dismal attempts at cutting her son Paul's hair on Tuesday

The hilarious caption prompted Sam's loyal fans to regale their own hairdressing horror stories, with one commenting: 'My mum did the same when I was little and cut off all my curls. My dad didn't speak to her for weeks apparently.'

'My mother-in-law decided she would cut my sons hair when he was little & cut all his curls off, she never done that again,' added another.

It comes after Sarah shared a cute video of Paul climbing up the inside of his crib to see his mother.

Favourite time: The Studio 10 host filmed herself walking into baby Paul's room after he awoke from a nap before adding it to her Instagram story

The Studio 10 host filmed herself walking into baby Paul's room after he awoke from a nap before adding it to her Instagram story last week.

The toddler, clearly excited to see his mother, stood up in his cot to greet her before taking a tumble back onto his bed.

Sarah opened the door to his room while the caption 'my favourite time of the day!!!' appeared on screen.

Nap time: She approached the cot to find the toddler sitting up in his bed before he began to stand up as she approached

He's awake! The proud mother is met by the bright-eyed youngster as he stands upright, clutching a blanket in his hand

Taking a tumble: In an adorable moment, Paul lost his balance and fell onto his mattress before quickly getting to his feet once again

She then approached the cot to find the toddler sitting up in his bed before he stood up as she approached.

After asking her son if he had a nice sleep, the 35-year-old was met by the bright-eyed youngster as he stood upright, clutching a blanket in his hand.

In an adorable moment, Paul lost his balance and fell onto his mattress before quickly getting to his feet once again.

Working mum: The journalist returned to hosting the panel show after just four months of maternity leave

Sarah has been a mother since December last year when she and husband Tom Ward welcomed Paul into the world.

Ever the professional, the journalist returned to hosting the Channel Ten panel show after just four months of maternity leave.

However, Sarah will be enjoying some well-earned time off over the summer with The Bachelorette star Georgia Love filling in for her.

Baby love: The journalist returned to hosting the panel show after just four months of maternity leave
The British actor caused a stir back in August when he stripped completely naked to paddle board with Katy Perry.

And funny men Alan Carr and David Walliams have seized the opportunity to live like Orlando Bloom for the day - as they stripped off to imitate his and his girlfriend's famous moment.

The comic duo posed for the photo as part of Heat magazine's Christmas issue - which sees a host of celebrities imitating the biggest celebrity moments of 2016.

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Spitting image: Funny men Alan Carr and David Walliams have seized the opportunity to live like Orlando Bloom for the day - as they imitated his and his girlfriend's famous moment

Mirroring the exact statures of Orlando and Katy, the pair looked hilariously similar to the iconic holiday snap as they superimposed themselves onto the paddle board in front of the blue Sardinian sea.

Standing upright with the oar in his hand, Alan, 40, looked like he was enjoying every minute of imitating hunky Orlando as he gazed into the distance, completely naked.

Not holding back on the recreation, the Weymouth-born comic even sported the same cap and bracelet as the actor - but made the shot more entertaining with the imprints of his socks still on his ankles, and a confident flaunting of his less-toned physique.

Keith Lemon's Baby: Keith Lemon also joined the fray in a blonde wig and thick knit, smiling coyly at the camera as he disguised himself as Bridget Jones

Meanwhile Britain's Got Talent judge David dressed his hairy male self in a skimpy yellow bikini - even appearing to draw a cleavage line onto his chest for added effect.

Covering his head with a brunette wig and smiling into the sunshine, the Little Britain star gave the impression he was really enjoying his romantic ride with Alan/Orlando - adding to the shot's hilarity.

The famous British comics are not the only celebrities to get involved in the project, organised by Heat for their Christmas issue.

The cast of Loose Women also got involved in the festivities, with Coleen Nolan posing as controversial President Donald Trump

Keith Lemon joined the fray in a blonde wig and thick knit, smiling coyly at the camera as he disguised himself as Bridget Jones - in light of the third installment of the franchise being released this year.

The cast of Loose Women also got involved in the festivities, with Coleen Nolan posing as controversial President Donald Trump, speaking to the masses, and Andrea McClean as his wife Melania.

Taking the tone from funny to dramatic, the cast of EastEnders later rocked pale make-up and false cuts and bloods as they provided headshots for a false promo for show 'Game of Walford' - imitating the popular HBO series.

Not so Loose: Meanwhile Andrea McClean posed as his wife Melania

Coming to HBO soon: The cast of EastEnders later rocked pale make-up and false cuts and bloods as they provided headshots for a false promo for show 'Game of Walford'

The shoot marks the second time this week that fans have seen David strip off.

Walliams appeared delighted to get his kit off once again on Tuesday during his initiation into the Women's Institute for The Royal Variety Performance 2016.

Taking the stage in nothing but a pair of flesh-coloured pants - with some strategically placed iced buns to protect his modesty - the comic no doubt gave royal attendees Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall quite a surprise.

His risque appearance was a reference to hit 2003 film Calendar Girls - and was not revealed to anyone before the show, making the shock seen completely genuine.

The variety show was recorded last week but will be shown on ITV on Tuesday night, with guests including Barry Gibb, Sting and Emeli Sande.

Heat Magazine is out now
Danni Baird suffered a health scare on Sunday during a Key West getaway with her Southern Charm co-stars.

The 32-year-old reality star was at The Porch filming for the Bravo show when she appeared to have a seizure, according to an article on Monday by RadarOnline.com.

Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel, 54, was overheard saying Baird probably was dehydrated.

Health scare: Danni Baird, shown in September in an Instagram photo, suffered a health scare on Sunday during a getaway with Southern Charm costars in Key West, Florida

A source later told Radar that Baird was hospitalized for about an hour due to dehydration.

Baird posted an Instagram shot on Saturday from Charleston International Airport as she was headed to the Florida Keys.

She was back on social media on Monday sharing snaps of herself and friends on a beach just before sunset.

Baird took to social media in July to announce her engagement to Todd Baldree.

Hit show: Craig Conover and Baird are shown in a still from season two of Southern Charm

"Golden Hour" photocred:@chelseameissner58 #keywest #goldenhour #southerncharm A photo posted by Danni Baird (@danni_baird) on Dec 12, 2016 at 4:32pm PST

They got engaged while vacationing in Santorini, Greece.

Baird has been appearing on Bravo's Southern Charm as a friend of the main cast since its premiere in 2014.

Southern Charm concluded its third season in July and has been renewed for a fourth season.

Cute couple: Baird and fiance Todd Baldree are shown in July in an Instagram snap after getting engaged in Greece

The show depicts the lives of wealthy men and their Southern belles set amid the plantations and mansions of Charleston, South Carolina.

Season one of the series attracted over one million viewers on Bravo.

It was announced in October that Southern Charm had spawned a spin-off Southern Charm Savannah that also will be produced by Haymaker Productions.
She's nearing the end of her pregnancy at 33 weeks.

And Phoebe Burgess, who is eagerly awaiting the birth of her first child with NRL husband Sam, took to Instagram on Tuesday, to reveal her large baby bump on Tuesday.

The image captioned 'this is a cover-up working overtime', saw the 27-year-old sporting a black robe left undone, covering her chest with her arms.

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'This cover-up is working overtime': Phoebe Burgess, 27, took to Instagram on Tuesday, sharing a snap of her large baby bump in just a black robe

The snap saw Phoebe posing in front of a large mirror in her Sydney home.

Sporting just the luxurious black robe and a stylish wide-brimmed hat, the journalist concealed her chest with her arms.

One leg was visible as well as her side profile, which appeared to be makeup free.

With her signature blonde locks swept up into an effortless style, Phoebe beamed for the camera.

'Celebrating true love': Just one day prior, Phoebe took to Instagram to share a stunning snap from last week's nuptials of Joanna King and George Burgess

Just one day prior, Phoebe took to Instagram to share a stunning snap from last week's nuptials of Joanna King and George Burgess.

'Beautiful day celebrating true love last week,' the blonde beauty captioned the snap alongside three ring emojis.

Phoebe cut an elegant figure, donning a billowing neutral-hued strapless frock, as she posed with a group of female friends.

The expectant mother's blonde tresses were swept up into a casual style, and appeared to go for a minimal makeup look.

Ready to pop! Phoebe also showed off her large baby bump while at the beach in Queensland's Noosa

Bliss: Phoebe and husband Sam enjoyed a quiet getaway on Queensland's Sunshine Coast for the wedding of Sam's brother George and his expectant partner Joanna Burgess (nee King) (left)

Following George and Joanna's nuptials in Queensland's Noosa, Phoebe and Sam opted to enjoy a few extra days on vacation.

A previous snap saw Phoebe positioned on the beach, caressing her extended stomach, while sporting a bikini and a round-rimmed beach hat.

'Can't wait to meet the little gymnast chilling in here #32 weeks,' the Channel Nine commentator captioned the snap.

The black and white image saw Phoebe wearing a bikini set with high-cut briefs, that revealed not only her large baby bump, but also her toned legs and lithe arms.

Phoebe and Sam are excited for the birth of their first child in early 2017.

At the end of this month, they will celebrate their first anniversary, after tying the knot at Phoebe's parents' lavish Bowral estate last December.

Soaking up every last minute: A previous snap shared to Instagram last Thursday, saw Phoebe reveal that her and husband Sam (left) would be enjoying their last day at resort Maison La Plage, at Noosa Heads

Bumping along nicely: Phoebe often takes to Instagram to share snaps of her burgeoning baby bump on full display
Lisa Vanderpump showed her defiance after the Orlando nightclub massacre by throwing a raucous party during Gay Pride in West Hollywood, California.

The 56-year-old reality star on Monday's episode of Vanderpump Rules filmed six months ago was devastated to hear about the Pulse nightclub shootings.

Lisa the night before planned a huge party at her trendy restaurant in the gay enclave of West Hollywood for a Gay Pride parade.

Showing pride: Lisa Vanderpump showed her defiance after the Orlando gay nightclub massacre on Monday's episode of Vanderpump Rules filmed six months ago

After considering shutting down the event the Brit decided to act in contempt of terrorism  by making the party even bigger.

'This is what we do, we stand defiantly in the face of a heinous act like that,' she yelled to the screaming crowd.

'Now turn the music on and let's f***ing party,' she added.

The staff took her advice, stripping down to their underwear and dancing on the bar.

On the bus: The 56-year-old reality star rode atop a bus during the Gay Pride celebration

Behind the bar: Lisa got behind the bar and poured drinks into the mouths of customers

On the bar: Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval danced on top of the bar

'It's the craziest Pride I've ever been a part of,' remarked Peter Madrigal, Sur's manager.

'People haven't backed away, in fact the LGBTQ community have come out even stronger,' said Lisa proudly.

'I'm happy to have a place where the LGBTQ community feel welcometoday is about love, it's about acceptance and I'm here to celebrate with them,' added the restaurateur.

Craziest one: Peter Madrigal said it was the craziest Pride since being manager at Sur

Not backing down: Lisa said she was proud to have a place for the LGBTQ community

The show opened with the group preparing for the Gay Pride celebrations.

'That looks like a onesie for a baby,' balked Katie Maloney as she examined Ariana Madix' skimpy outfit.

Hostess Lala Kent announced that she wasn't wearing underwear beneath her miniskirt.

Skimpy outfits: The restaurateur showed the staff their skimpy outfits for the celebration

Too small: Katie Maloney scoffed at the size of the sexy outfits

Sexy outfit: Ariana tried on the sexy outfit and displayed her derriere

He's a fan: Jax Taylor wistfully declared that Ariana had a nice rear end

'I hope they burn that chair that she's sitting on,' huffed Katie, 29.

Initially the parade was dampened by the news of the Orlando nightclub massacre.

Lisa and her staff were horrified by the news, with Katie deciding to forego work for the day.

Cause for concern: Lisa wrestled for a bit about what to do after the nightclub massacre

Staying in: Katie stayed away from work after the nightclub massacre

Good reason: Tom Schwartz talked about being proud of the community he lives in as he decided to attend the celebration and show support

Lala too decided that her '$10 per hour' wage was not worth risking her life over.

'It's so scary,' sniffed Stassi Schroeder, as Tom Sandoval sobbed.

Lisa opted to put on a stiff upper lip and attend the parade. The others decided to put their differences aside and join in as well.

Safety first: Lala decided not to go into work due to safety concerns

Getting emotional: Tom Sandoval burst into tears talking about the nightclub massacre

'It's a real wakeup call,' said Ariana, who rubbed a lemon in her bum to make the boys laugh.

'This is what we call not letting the terrorists win,' said Tom Schwartz.

Lisa, dressed in a scarlet gown and jewels, made a rousing speech to the crowd.

Spirited speech: Lisa made a rousing speech in a scarlet gown, jewels and hat

Tender moment: Tom and Lisa had a tender moment as they were each proud of each other

Meanwhile, Ariana was working on a book about cocktails.

'I'm wondering if Ariana knows how big of a feat this book is going to be,' said Tom, who eagerly wanted to work on her project.

'I'm horrified,' grumbled Ariana who later became enraged at his constant interventions.

Getting annoying: Ariana was getting annoyed as Tom tried to take over her cocktails book project

'You're not going to be the face and you're not going to take attention away from medon't roll your eyes you little f***ing b****,' she told him angrily.

Tom then accused her of being 'grumpy' while she said he is 'bitter'.

In a sideline plot Stassi Schroeder was planning a birthday trip to Montauk in The Hamptons.

Her deal: The cocktail book was Ariana's project and she wanted to keep it to herself

Book argument: Ariana told Tom to stop acting like a 'little b****'

Birthday plans: Stassi Schroeder decided to spend her birthday in Montauk

Cheers to that: Scheana Shay and Stassi's friends Lauren and Ashley cheered to going to The Hamptons

Lala boasted that she could get them 'a private jet' if they needed one.

'To me that sounds a lot like, a whore, that just shows how moronic this girl is,' said Katie.

Lala and James Kennedy, who has been ejected from Sur, joined up to 'make some music' but it descended into an argument.

Flying commercial: Katie blasted Lala for talking about getting a private jet

'If you could not make me want to slit your f***ing throat right now that would be amazing,' barked Lala.

She also admitted that she was 'super sensitive' after being dumped by her boyfriend.

Vanderpump Rules continues next week on Bravo.
Spike TV's Rock The Troops special is set to air this Tuesday.

During the televised concert, Katharine McPhee oversaw the wedding ceremony of Air Force Staff Sergeant Kory Hitchens and Marine Corps Sergeant Emily Telesca.

The actress, 32, happily looked on as the lovebirds enjoyed a sweet kiss on stage.

During the Rock The Troops special, Katharine McPhee oversaw the wedding ceremony of Air Force Staff Sergeant Kory Hitchens and Marine Corps Sergeant Emily Telesca.

Looking good: Katharine looked lovely in a patterned white dress that showed off her sculpted legs and hints of her cleavage and toned midriff

The special, which was filmed at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, was hosted by actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

Katharine looked lovely in a patterned white frock that showed off her sculpted legs and hints of her cleavage and toned midriff.

The former American Idol contestant finished off her chic look with strappy heels and a gold bangle.

She complemented the lace-up frock with a thin choker with a gold pendant.

Happily ever after: The actress, 32, looked on as the lovebirds enjoyed a sweet kiss on stage

Stunner: She complemented the lace-up frock with a thin choker around her neck

Strike a pose: The special, which was filmed at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, was hosted by actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Belt it out: The actor, 44, looked like he was having a blast as he showed off his dance moves during the sequence

Beaming: Also at the concert and comedy show was Matthew McConaughey, who looked handsome in a floral emblazoned button up taupe hued bottoms and sneakers

Focused: The star took the mic during the televised special, which took place in Hawaii

The Rock dressed up as Elvis Presley and sang Jailhouse Rock for the show, which honors America's armed forces.

The actor, 44, looked like he was having a blast as he showed off his dance moves during the sequence.

He was later seen sporting a suit and tie as he stood in front of a sign that read 'The Rock' Johnson 2020.

Also at the concert and comedy show was Matthew McConaughey, who looked handsome in a floral emblazoned button up with taupe hued bottoms and sneakers.

Family first: Matthew, who sported a beard, arrived for the special with his mother Kay McConaughey and his kids Levi, eight, and daughter Vida, six

Ready: Scott Eastwood also hit the stage for Rock The Troops

He's very easy on the eyes: The 30-year-old good-looking actor rocked a navy button up with grey bottoms

Having a blast: He was later seen sporting a suit and tie as he stood in front of a sign that read 'The Rock' Johnson 2020; pictured with Keegan-Michael Key

Good times: The Rock donned a floral emblazoned top with a lei around his neck

Taking the mic: The Furious 7 actor later swapped the look for a khaki T-shirt

Talented guy: Kevin Hart entertained the military crowd as well for the Rock The Troops special

Matthew, who sported a beard, arrived for the special with his mother Kay McConaughey and his kids Levi, eight, and daughter Vida, six.

Scott Eastwood also hit the stage for Rock The Troops.

The 30-year-old good-looking actor rocked a navy button up with grey bottoms.

For a great cause: The comedian, 37, beamed as he spoke to the audience while rocking a colorful look; pictured with Air Force Staff Sergeant Kory Hitchens

Patriotic: Jack Black waved an American flag when he took the stage

Having a laugh: Comedian Keegan-Michael Key brought service men and women on stage

Flex: Terry Crews showed off his muscles while hitting the stage shirtless

Honored: Pearl Harbor survivor Herb Weatherwax (second from the right) was brought on stage during the special

In the moment: Actor J.B. Smoove was also part of the star studded concert and comedy event

To the beat: Flo Rida performed his hit songs while a bevy of beauties danced around him

Kevin Hart entertained the military crowd as well for the Rock The Troops special.

The comedian, 37, beamed as he spoke to the audience while rocking a colorful look.

The show, which was taped on October 22, will air Tuesday at 9 pm ET/PT on Spike.

Inspired: Aaron Lewis sang and played his guitar also at the event, which took place at Joint Base - Pearl Harbor and Hickam in Hawaii on October 22

And another one: Prince Royce took the stage soon after to sing his tunes

Pumped: Keegan posed on the carpet before heading inside for the special
Married At First Sight's newest bachelor might want to pick up a shield before he tries to pick up another lady.

The single stripper from Perth, featured in the trailer for the next series of Nine's mad marital reality show, came under fire from reality veteran Dea Jolly on Tuesday afternoon as the former Block champion blasted his dating designs.

Michael outlined his requirements for the perfect partner to camera and Dea believes the show's producers will carefully throw that brief out the window in order to see sparks fly.

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Stop, Drop and Cringe: The Block's Dea Jolly believes Married At First Sight's Michael is 'single for a reason'

'I bet they go against [his wishes]' Dea predicted to Nine's Chatroom, noting that she believes the show's producers will give him precisely the bride he says he doesn't want, and she 'can't wait to watch' Michael get what he deserves.

'He is about to hit the reality TV storm, isn't he? I don't think he knows what he is going to be in for with all of those comments.'

There was very little sympathy for Michael's impending nuptial torture with Dea suggesting: 'I think he is probably single for a very good reason. I think we have just seen probably a lot of good reasons.'

A Storm Is Coming: Dea can't wait to watch as Michael gets what he deserves when producers actively work to give him exactly the bride he doesn't want

Dea described Michael's check list as 'terrifying'.

Outlining a blueprint fit for a Block apartment fit out, Michael specifies small ears, good teeth and a weight under 60kg, while ruling out fake hairs and nails.

Though his desire for 'natural beauty' only stretches so far as 'fake boobs, that doesn't worry me.'

'Small ears, good teeth': Married At First Sight introduced 'Australia's pickiest man' in a promo trailer this week

Dea's fellow guest, 9Honey's Kerri Elstub simply asked 'can you put him back up so I can slap him?'

Before the show even airs, Dea fears it is already too late for Michael to come back in the public's perception.

'I think it is too late,' she told Nine. 'I think he has just said it all.'

Slap the stupid out of him: Kerri Elstub asked 'can you put him back up so I can slap him?'

Dea almost expressed sympathy and his warped view of women. 'Maybe he can back track and perhaps learn from what he is going to see of himself in that promo.'

'It is all very superficial and image-based and I didn't hear him say anything about who the girl needs to be, in terms of who she is as a person, what her aspirations are in life, her family values or anything like that. So, he is obviously focused on the wrong things, which is a shame.'

Kerri's sympathy fell the other way as she said 'I feel sorry for this poor girl they have set up as his potential bride. If he turns around and sees someone that doesn't meet that criteria that does that mean he will just walk away and not try to invest at all?'

'Under 60kg': He has already started making waves on social media after Married At First Sight released a trailer featuring Michael describing his ideal woman.

Michael, who goes by the stage name 'Hollywood Stripper', will walk down the aisle with his mystery bride when the show returns in January next year.

He has already started making waves on social media after Married At First Sight released a trailer featuring Michael describing his ideal woman.

Adult performer: Meanwhile, Michael has maintained quite the reputation in the adult industry

Racy! According to his biography on Dreamgirlz Elite 's website, Michael's menu of services include topless and G-string waitering

He continued: 'I don't like that pretentious, fake look. I hate that. I don't mind fake boobs, fake boobs doesn't worry me in the least. Natural beauty, perfect. Exactly what I want.'

'Somebody who can wake up in the morning and not have to worry about makeup and all that kind of stuff. It doesn't interest me at all,'

He also claimed he would never date someone who was ugly or who already has children, and adamantly stated that he would never move away for love.

Watch out ladies! He also performs 'full monty' strip shows, in which he strips down to his birthday suit

Star stripper! He has also stripped on live television, having performed at Channel Seven Perth's 2012 Telethon (pictured)

Meanwhile, Michael has maintained quite the reputation in the adult industry.

According to his biography on Dreamgirlz Elite's website, Michael's menu of services include topless and G-string waitering and 'full monty' strip shows.

He has also stripped on live television, having performed at Channel Seven Perth's 2012 Telethon and on channel 10 at Queensland Sexpo.

For a fee, he will also do themed performances involving costumes, including policeman, fireman, cowboy, pilot, SWAT and tradie get-ups.

He's not shy! He has also appeared on channel 10 during Queensland Sexpo

Oh dear! He isn't shy about sharing intimate snaps on social media

Dressing up to dress down: For a fee, he will also do themed performances involving costumes, including policeman, fireman, cowboy, pilot, SWAT and tradie get-ups




He's the boy from Perth who is portraying one of the most powerful leaders in the world.

But while Australian actor Devon Terrell might have grown up worlds away from US president Barack Obama, the 24-year-old has revealed they aren't as different as people might think.

On Tuesday, Devon told News Corp about their similar upbringings and how it helped him prepare for his role in the soon-to-be released Netflix movie Barry.

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'I was always shapeshifting': Australian actor Devon Terrell has revealed his struggles growing up mixed race after playing a young Barack Obama in Netflix movie Barry

The rising star was born in the United States to an Anglo-Indian mum and African-American dad, however, moved to Australia with his family at the age of five.

The NIDA graduate landed the role of Barack after one Skype call and audition, something he believes can be attributed to his mixed-race upbringing.

'I told [director] Vikram [Gandhi] my life story. When I moved to Perth I had to change my accent and had to figure out what was going. I didnt know anyone who was Anglo-Indian and African-American so I didnt know if I was Indian or African-American. I was always shapeshifting,' Devon said.

Both made the move: Both Devon and Barack moved to New York City as young adults

'I was very good at shifting in my life and then I became an actor and it became very seamless, this "I know this game of putting on different voices and masks".'

The similarities continue between the president and Devon, with both of them moving to New York City as young adults.

Barack's time in the Big Apple as a student at Columbia University also forms the focus of the film.

Studied hard: The 24-year-old Perth actor also revealed he worked hard to master Barack's unique way of speaking

Major role: The star turn is the first for Devon, whose only previous experience was in an unsuccessful HBO pilot

Playing the future president required Devon to perfect his accent, as well as mastering the demeanor of a talented person who wasn't quite there yet.

'It wasnt the Barack we know today,' he said.

'It was about the flawed young man we dont know. I think the film shows this young, awkward but charismatic young man whos so intelligent but cant articulate what hes trying to say.'

The star-making role is also the first major part for Devon, whose only previous credit includes an unsuccessful HBO pilot shot with Steve McQueen.

The up and coming actor told GQ earlier this year had always been a dream role for him as a performer.

Alike: Devon shares an uncanny similarity in appearance to the future president of the United States
When it comes to dogs, this reality star does not do things by halves.

It was a family affair to launch Lisa Vanderpump's new range of pet accessories on Monday.

The 56-year-old was joined by husband Ken Todd, daughter Pandora and dogs Harrison and Giggy at Petco in West Hollywood, California.

Pet party: It was a family affair to launch Lisa Vanderpump's new range of pet accessories on Monday (seen here with husband Ken Todd) at Petco in West Hollywood, California

Paws and all: The 56-year-old was joined by daughter Pandora and dogs Harrison and Giggy to celebrate Vanderpump Pets releasing a collection exclusive to the national pet retailer

Lisa's Vanderpump Pets is releasing a collection exclusive to the national pet retailer and so her fur and human family all joined her to celebrate and met fans.

For the pink carpet pet event, The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star stepped out at her event wearing an unusual black suit.

The two piece featured high waisted flared black trousers which she paired with a long knee-length coat that had embroidered flowers on it in her favorite shade, pink.

The star wore the suit with an open collared white shirt and a black tie which hung loosely over her chest.

That's different:For the pink carpet pet event, The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star stepped out at her event wearing an unusual black suit

Changing things up: The two piece featured high waisted flared black trousers which she paired with a long knee-length coat that had pink embroidered flowers

Of course what Lisa was wearing was not the most important thing at this event - it was what her pampered pooches had on.

Both Giggy and Harrison modelled pieces from the collection with Giggy wearing a pink and white onsie with pearl accents on it to help which help keep him warm as he suffers from Alopecia.

While Harrison, who also has the condition but not as bad, wore a feather boa-like collar with an iridescent lead.

Style setter: Both Giggy and Harrison modelled pieces from the collection with Giggy wearing a pink and white onsie with pearl accents on it to help which help keep him warm as he suffers from Alopecia

Fluff on fluff: Harrison, who also has the condition but not as bad, wore a feather boa-like collar with an iridescent lead

Pandora meanwhile brought someone pretty special to the event - her new puppy.

The poodle mix was given to Pandora as an early Christmas present from her husband Jason Sabo.

Jason adopted the pooch on Friday from Saving Spot Rescue in West Hollywood and Pandora has dubbed the pup Darling.

Posting a picture of their newest addition on Instagram she gushed: 'Christmas came early at our house!!!!!

Latest addition: Pandora meanwhile brought someone pretty special to the event - her new puppy, Darling

Too cute: The poodle mix was given to Pandora as an early Christmas present from her husband Jason Sabo

'Meet the newest addition to our family, Darling! Best day ever, I already love you so much my little Darling.'

Darling can prepare to get very spoiled by her mom and grandmother, who will no doubt be giving the dog lots from the Petco and Vanderpump Pets collection.

The new range includes toys, clothing, beds, blankets, carriers, collars and leashes.
St. Pauls Artist Series presents EYA: Natus ex Rex, A Medieval Candlelight Christmas, featuring music for womens voices from the 11th through the 15th centuries.

The concert takes place on Tuesday, at 7:30 p.m., at St, Pauls Episcopal Church, 305 W. 7th Street at Pine.

Tickets are $20; $15 for seniors; $10 for students. For more information go to the St. Pauls website: stpaulschatt.org/concert-season.



Allison Mondel, EYAs director, said, Natus est rex! A King is born! This exclamation illustrates what exuberant joy the feast of the Nativity was to the medieval world. A vast array of monastic and secular communities throughout Europe, and well beyond, were anticipating and celebrating this time of year, just as we do now. This was a time of sacred rejoicing, bending hearts towards the virgin mother, her Son, and God the Father through exquisitely crafted music and poetry. EYA is pleased to channel this devotional feeling, as we settle into the quietude of deep winter and prepare ourselves for all that is to come.



Review of EYA:

EYA (Crossley Hawn, soprano; Allison Mondel, soprano, director; Kristen Dubenion-Smith, mezzo-soprano) is an award-winning vocal ensemble based in Washington, DC., specializing in the interpretation of medieval music for womens voices. Launched in 2010 and directed by Allison Mondel, EYA has established its place in the Washington, DC community as an early music ensemble of impeccable vocal quality and deep, creative spirit. EYA presents concert programs that interweave diverse repertories of the 12th through 15th centuries, from Hildegard von Bingen to Notre Dame to the flyleaves of early English manuscripts and beyond. Through this lens, these programs seek to tell a story that forges new points of connection between contemporary audiences and medieval repertoire, underlining our common humanity with these early poets and composers.



PROGRAM



Natus est rex



Virgo pudicitie

Ther is no rose

Salve virgo tonantis solium



Ave regina caelorum

Salve rosa venustatis

Stillat in stellam radium



O frondens virga

Flos regalis



Hodie Christus natus est



Salve mater misericordie

Crist and Sainte Marie

Caeli domina/Ave virgo virginum/ET SUPER



Quia ergo femina

Salve virgo virginum

Ave Maria



O viridissima virga

Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse

Antiphon, St. Martial Repertory, 12th c.



Conductus, Worcester, 13th c.

Carol, English, 15th c.

Conductus, Worcester, 13th c.



Antiphon, plainchant

Conductus, Worcester, 13th c.

Conductus, Notre Dame School, 13th c.



Antiphon, Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

Rondellus, Worcester, 13th c.



Antiphon, plainchant



Rondellus, Worcester, 13th c.

Saint Godric of Finchale (1069-1170)

Motet, Las Huelgas Codex, 13th c.



Antiphon, Hildegard von Bingen

Conductus, Worcester, 13th c.

Jacob Arcadelt (Flemish, 1514-after 1557)



Hildegard von Bingen

Carol, English, 15th c.




Tove Lo donned flame-crotched PVC overalls to perform at Hot 99.5's Jingle Ball in Washington, DC on Monday night.

The Swedish 29-year-old paired her BDSM dungarees with matching patent leather Dr. Martens creepers selected by stylist Crap Diem (real name Christopher Insulander).

The Golden Globe and Grammy nominee left little to the imagination wearing pink pasties beneath an ultra-sheer camouflage long-sleeved top.

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Scorpio songstress: Tove Lo donned flame-crotched PVC overalls to perform at Hot 99.5's Jingle Ball in Washington, DC on Monday night

Racy romper: The Swedish 29-year-old paired her BDSM dungarees with matching patent leather Dr. Martens creepers selected by stylist Crap Diem (real name Christopher Insulander)

Sticker support: The Golden Globe and Grammy nominee left little to the imagination wearing pink pasties beneath an ultra-sheer camouflage long-sleeved top

Tove - born Ebba Nilsson - finished off her edgy, scantily-clad look with a trendy septum piercing and glittery highlighter on her cheekbones.

'Excited to come back to #DC on Feb 24th after this!! Thank you @hot995 #jingleball,' the Love Me like You Do hitmaker - who boasts 2.5M followers - wrote on social media.

Lo is also scheduled to perform at Wednesday's Jingle Ball concert happening at Illinois' Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

But the Habits (Stay High) hitmaker won't officially kick off her 21-date Lady Wood Tour until February 6 at Seattle's Showbox SoDo.

Covered her tattoos: Tove - born Ebba Nilsson - finished off her edgy, scantily-clad look with a trendy septum piercing and glittery highlighter on her cheekbones

The Love Me like You Do hitmaker - who boasts 2.5M followers - wrote on social media: 'Excited to come back to #DC on Feb 24th after this!! Thank you @hot995 #jingleball'

More to come! Lo is also scheduled to perform at Wednesday's Jingle Ball concert happening at Illinois' Allstate Arena in Rosemont

Cuffed denim: But the Habits (Stay High) hitmaker won't officially kick off her 21-date Lady Wood Tour until February 6 at Seattle's Showbox SoDo

Also onstage the Verizon Center was Ellie Goulding, whose song Love Me Like You Do is up for best pop solo performance when the Grammy Awards air February 12 on CBS.

The British belter - who turns 30 this month - was dressed more modesly in a fishnet-wrapped T-shirt and leather shorts selected by stylist duo Radcliffe & Sciamma.

Meanwhile, Fifth Harmony's Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Normani Kordei, and Dinah Jane Hansen hit the stadium stage in coordinating b&w outfits.

The X Factor USA-made girlgroup showcased their distinct personal styles earlier on the red carpet.

Confetti! Also onstage the Verizon Center was Ellie Goulding, whose song Love Me Like You Do is up for best pop solo performance when the Grammy Awards air February 12 on CBS

Hair-raising moment: The British belter - who turns 30 this month - was dressed more modesly in a fishnet-wrapped T-shirt and leather shorts selected by stylist duo Radcliffe & Sciamma

Leggy ladies: Meanwhile, Fifth Harmony's Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Normani Kordei, and Dinah Jane Hansen hit the stadium stage in coordinating b&w outfits

Five-singer act: The X Factor USA-made girlgroup showcased their distinct personal styles earlier on the red carpet

18-year-old Daya - born Grace Tandon - performed her hit Don't Let Me Down while clad in white wide-leg trousers and a black waistcoat selected by stylist Andrew Gelwicks.

Joe Jonas rocked an Abraham Lincoln sweatshirt on the red carpet alongside DNCE bandmates Jack Lawless, JinJoo Lee, and Cole Whittle.

The 27-year-old frontman later ditched his black bomber jacket to sing his track Body Moves onstage the festive event.

Teetering: 18-year-old Daya - born Grace Tandon - performed her hit Don't Let Me Down while clad in white wide-leg trousers and a black waistcoat selected by stylist Andrew Gelwicks

Presidential: Joe Jonas (2-R) rocked an Abraham Lincoln sweatshirt on the red carpet alongside DNCE bandmates Jack Lawless, JinJoo Lee, and Cole Whittle

Trendy hipster undercut hairstyle: The 27-year-old frontman later ditched his black bomber jacket to sing his track Body Moves onstage the festive event

Speaking of boybands, One Direction's Niall Horan put his Irish pipes to use singing his first solo single This Town.

G-Eazy - born Gerald Earl Gillum - rapped his single Me, Myself & I, while Andrew Taggart of the DJ duo The Chainsmokers got on the mic to sing Don't Let Me Down.

And 20-year-old Canadian crooner Alessia Cara bared her belly while performing her debut single from last year, Here.

Guitar strapped: Speaking of boybands, One Direction's Niall Horan put his Irish pipes to use singing his first solo single This Town

Make Me...: G-Eazy - born Gerald Earl Gillum - rapped his single Me, Myself & I, while Andrew Taggart of the DJ duo The Chainsmokers got on the mic to sing Don't Let Me Down

Midriff: And 20-year-old Canadian crooner Alessia Cara bared her belly while performing her debut single from last year, Here




They just celebrated their six year wedding anniversary.

So it's no wonder Nicole Richie and her husband Joel Madden were a little affectionate with each other as they got lunch to-go in Los Angeles on Monday, just one day after their big day.

The couple held hands as they strolled outside, both wearing head-to-toe black.

Love at lunch: Nicole Richie and her husband Joel Madden were showing a bit of PDA as they grabbed lunch to go in Los Angeles on Monday, just one day after celebrating their six year wedding anniversary

Nicole, 35, wore a large pair of sunglasses, a graphic print shirt, and semi-sheer duster.

The star, who is the daughter of Lionel Richie, had her blonde hair pulled back into a neat little updo, and finished off her look with a large tote and a pair of Converse sneakers.

Keeping things casual: Joel, 37, meanwhile, wore a windbreaker vest, black T-shirt, hat, and sweatpants

Joel, 37, meanwhile, wore a windbreaker vest, black T-shirt, hat, and sweatpants.

Just one day earlier, the rocker posted a sweet throwback photo of themselves in honour of their six year wedding anniversary.

The photo was of a violet-haired Nicole as she wore a pink flower crown beside her sharply dressed husband.

Happy anniversary! Just one day earlier, the rocker posted a sweet throwback photo of themselves in honour of their six year wedding anniversary

Joel captioned the photo, '(heart emoticon) 12-11-10 (heart emoticon).'

Together Nicole and Joel have two children - Harlow, aged eight, and Sparrow, aged seven.

In 2010 she told Oprah of the easiest and hardest aspects of her marriage: 'We met and we were partners from day one. And from the second we found out we were going to be parents together, we looked at each other and we said, "OK, both of our parents are divorced. We both have had ups and downs with our parents and we don't really have a strong example of what a healthy family life is."

'But we're recognizing that now, and so let's work at it, and let's go through this together as a team, and it's been great. And I would say that's the easiest and hardest part.'
There has been much speculation about the state of their marriage in recent months.

But Katie Price was adamant that fans knew exactly how strong her relationship with husband Kieran Hayler is as they marked their fourth wedding anniversary.

The 38-year-old posted a very loved-up selfie of her looking longingly into her former stripper partner's eyes as they celebrated the milestone.

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Defiant: Katie Price was adamant that fans knew exactly how strong her relationship with husband Kieran Hayler is as they marked their fourth wedding anniversary after months of split speculation

She simply captioned the Instagram: 'Four year anniversary!'

The defiant snap comes just days after she sent gossips into a spin once again by stepping out with her wedding ring.

Trying to hide her newly pumped-up pout, the Loose Women pannelist held her purse over her mouth - only to make it clear that she had left her sparkler at home.

Katie recently denied she had split from husband Kieran Hayler on her Twitter page, writing: 'From the horses mouth me and kieran are 100% together not splitting up we are very happy and very much in love leave our relationship alone (sic).'

Ring of truth: The defiant snap comes just days after she sent gossips into a spin once again by stepping out with her wedding ring

United: Katie recently took to Twitter to deny she was splitting from husband Kieran after she reportedly said on a night out that her marriage was over

The comment came after the Daily Star reported she was overheard telling friends: 'My marriage is over, Ive got no friends, f*** it.'

Katie married the builder in the Bahamas back in 2013 and the pair have two children together - Jett and Bunny.

However their union has faced turbulence over the years - with Katie claiming she was to divorce her third hubby when he embarked on affairs with two of her best friends.

She has found it hard to let the betrayal go and has constantly talked about his infidelities in public.

Hitting back: She has found it hard to let the betrayal go and has constantly talked about his infidelities in public

Earlier this year she took a month break away from the spotlight to concentrate on her marriage.

And the former glamour model insisted just last week that her union is 'stronger than ever' despite constant claims they are on the rocks.

Katie said: 'Its been three years since it happened [Kieran's affair]. Kieran and I had to relive it with my new book, I wanted to take time out.

'Not that we had problem. I thought "do I need to go back to therapy". But I just talked to Kieran a lot.

'We had our first holiday without the kids but he spoke about them all the time. It drove me nuts. Hes obsessed.'
She never fails to dazzle while on the red carpet.

And Naomie Harris pulled out all the stops for her big night as she attended the Collateral Beauty world premiere at New York City's Lincoln Center on Monday.

The actress, 40, looked absolutely flawless as she slipped into a striking floral strapless dress, which served to accentuate her toned physique.

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Bold and bright: Naomie Harris pulled out all the stops for her big night as she attended the Collateral Beauty world premiere at New York City's Lincoln Center on Monday

The brightly-coloured, figure-hugging garment cinched the screen star's slim waist and fell at a flattering midi-level.

Proving accessories are key, the former Bond girl boosted her height with a pair of fluorescent yellow heels and a matching clutch bag.

Complementing her sleek locks, the London-born beauty enhanced her already striking features with purple eye-shadow and nude lipstick.

Naomie looked in high spirits as she mingled with her dapper co-star Will Smith on the red carpet.

Dazzling: The actress, 40, looked absolutely flawless as she slipped into a striking floral strapless dress, which served to accentuate her toned physique as she posed with Will Smith

Dressed to impress: The brightly-coloured, figure-hugging garment cinched the screen star's slim waist and fell at a flattering midi-level

Stunning: Complementing her sleek locks, the London-born beauty enhanced her already striking features with purple eye-shadow and nude lipstick

Sealed with a kiss: Naomie looked in high spirits as she mingled with her dapper co-star Will Smith on the red carpet

The actor looked typically dashing in a sharp grey suit, silver tie, and pocket square as he put on quite the animated display.

The two pals were joined by the rest of their co-stars including a very glamorous looking Helen Mirren.

The actress, 71, dazzled in a chic grey dress, which boasted shimmering floral accents.

Collateral Beauty, which will be released on December 16, follows a successful advertising executive Howard Inlet (Smith) whose child dies, leading him to retreat from life entirely.

Not so mellow yellow: The former Bond girl boosted her height with a pair of fluorescent yellow heels and a matching clutch bag as she posed with co-star Helen Mirren, 71

Handsome: Will looked dashing in a sharp grey suit and silver tie, while Edward Norton looked sharp in a navy suit and black shirt

Plot: Collateral Beauty follows a successful advertising executive Howard Inlet (Smith) whose child dies, leading him to retreat from life entirely

Squad: (L-R) Jacob Latimore, Helen Mirren, Will Smith, Naomie Harris and Edward Norton

As a therapeutic exercise, Howard starts writing letters to 'Love', 'Time' and 'Death', which he posts.

The film comes from Oscar-winning director David Frankel (Dear Diary, The Devil Wears Prada) and also stars Edward Norton and Michael Pena.

It looks sure to tug on moviegoers' heartstrings as it explores the personal tragedy Howard feels, especially around the Christmas season.

Along with Collateral Beauty and her recent role as a drug-addicted mother in Moonlight, Naomie will play Nisha in the Andy-Serkis-directed version of The Jungle Book.

Out soon: Collateral Beauty will be released on December 18




She had a dramatic meltdown as she flew back from a holiday in Cancun this summer.

But it would seem that Selma Blair has made a complete recovery six-months on from the incident, labelling the incident 'embarrassing'.

Reflecting on the mid-flight meltdown in June, the Cruel Intentions actress, 44, revealed she'd 'fully recovered' from the episode, and labelled it 'very embarrassing'.

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'It was very embarrassing': it would seem that Selma Blair has made a complete recovery six-months on from the incident, labelling the incident 'embarrassing'

Speaking to People at the Baby2Baby Snow Day in Los Angeles, Selma explained she was trying to move on from the 'moment'.

'I can only say that sometimes you just have a moment that you wish you didnt have,' she said. 'And you do whatever you can to rise above that and get through it and be a better person.'

Casting her mind forward, she added she was ready to put the whole incident behind her, adding:

'Im looking forward to how everyone can come together and make this world better and really see the things that make people struggle, and empathy, and helping people, and that we will all have a better 2017 than 2016. Im ready to put it behind me.'

Moving on: Reflecting on the mid-flight meltdown in June, the Cruel Intentions actress, 44 (pictured that month), revealed she'd 'fully recovered' from the episode

Earlier this year The People v. O.J. Simpson star had a complete meltdown as flew back from Mexico - where she'd been holidaying with her son Arthur Saint Bleick.

The actress broke down mid-flight, shouting about physical abuse as she burst into tears.

At the time of the incident a fellow passengers told TMZ that Selma had cried: 'He burns my private parts. He won't let me eat or drink. He beats me. He's going to kill me.'

Getting over it: Reflecting on the incident, she told People: 'I can only say that sometimes you just have a moment that you wish you didnt have'

Forget about it: Casting her mind forward, she added she was ready to put the whole incident to bed, adding: 'Im ready to put it behind me.'

Following the incident she was met by paramedics at LAX, with a source telling People: 'She was met by paramedics at LAX as soon as her plane arrived.

'It looks like she had taken a combination of prescription medication with alcohol. We don't know what sort of prescription medications.'

Prior to landing in Los Angeles the pilot got in touch with air control and told them she had been mixing alcohol and an unknown medication.

Regrettable: Earlier this year The People v. O.J. Simpson star had a complete meltdown as flew back from Mexico - where she'd been holidaying with her son Arthur Saint Bleick

Two nurses were also on the flight and went through the actress' belongings to try and determine what sort of pills the actress might have taken during the trip.

In October the star first addressed the issue on the The Talk, explaining what happened on the flight with her five-year-old son Arthur and his father Jason Bleick was 'so out of character' for her; whilst she also assured fans that she now doesn't drink alcohol.

'I am someone that should never drink, and I rarely do. And I don't drink anymore, but I did,' she said.

'I was going through something, I had a glass of wine. Someone gave me a pill that I thought was something I had taken before which I don't take on a regular basis.'

She added: 'It was something completely different, a very bad choice, and I had a total psychotic blackout. And it was horrible and frightening, and I had empathy for myself actually afterwards, because it was actually so out of character for me, especially now that I'm a mother.'
He's famous for being a figurehead of musical theatre but Lord Andrew said that he also discovered Rihanna - but didn't do anything about it.

Talking to Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, he claimed he heard her singing before she was a global megastar.

He said: 'I saw her singing karaoke in Sandy Lane hotel in Barbados 12 years ago.

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'It's not something I'm proud of': Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber claims he discovered RIHANNA but didn't do anything about it during an interview on GMB on Tuesday

'I turned to my friend and said, "She's very good". I wondered if we brought her back, it might be like a picture you buy on holiday and then you get home and think, why did I buy that?

'I thought I might get her home and then wonder what to do with her.'

'How much money do you think that cost you?'

He said: 'I turned to my friend and said, "She's very good". I wondered if we brought her back, it might be like a picture you buy on holiday and then you get home and think, why did I buy that?'

'It's not something I'm proud of,' he smiled.

As well as Rihanna, Lord Webber another musical talent slip through his fingers.

Susanna Reid told him that she had auditioned for the part of Maria in the Sound Of Music over a decade ago, bu that he turned her down.

She said: 'Yes, I auditioned for you. But the good Lord (Webber) said there are non-singing parts available.'

Awkward: Susanna Reid also revealed Lord Webber TURNED HER DOWN and destroyed her dreams of starring in musical theatre during the interview

'Did you really?' enquired Piers Morgan.

Andrew continued to talk about how he might write a melody while he's in the kitchen or while in conversation.

He said: 'Sometimes I'll be doing an interview that's so boring, I'll glaze over and something will come into my head.

Happy days: Susanna continued to talk about her rejection, adding that Andrew gave her some good advice

She said: 'He said to me, "You need at least two years more tuition"'

'I came up with the song No Matter What when I was cooking and I dropped an onion and then I thought of it.'

Susanna continued to talk about her rejection, adding that Andrew gave her some good advice.

She said: 'He said to me, "You need at least two years more tuition".'

With a piano in the studio, Piers challenged Susanna to show off her talents.

'Give us a song now,' he pushed.

'No,' she replied. 'Funnily enough, I didn't pursue my dream.'
Rebecca Judd is known for her svelte post baby body.

The former Channel Nine weather presenter is often seen honing her stunning physique, but the 33-year-old showed she still finds time for a sweet treat.

Posting to Instagram on Tuesday, the wife of AFL legend Chris drew a heart around her appetising plate of pancakes served with ice cream and a jug of maple syrup.

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Sweet tooth: Rebecca Judd showed she still finds time for the occasional sweet treat when she tucked into some pancakes on Tuesday

After announcing she was quitting her weekend role with the TV network last month, Bec has had her hands full with her two latest arrivals.

The brunette gave birth to twin boys Tom and Darcy in September, rounding up her and Chris's brood to four.

However, after showing off her post-baby body in the ensuing days, Bec's posts were met with a mixed reaction on social media - with a minority saying she set an unrealistic expectation for new mums.

Yummy: Posting to her Instagram storty, the wife of AFL legend Chris drew a heart around her appetising stack of pancakes

The reaction on the whole was a positive as fans expressed their amazement at her body's recovery from pregnancy.

And last week, Bec took a break from motherhood to showcase her post-baby figure at a festive event.

The lifestyle blogger was among the guests at Ann Peacock's Women in Media Christmas luncheon held at The Atlantic in the Crown Casino, in Melbourne.

Bec displayed her beautiful post-baby body in a white jumpsuit.

A bit of all white: Bec rocked an angelic jumpsuit for Ann Peacock's Women in Media Christmas luncheon

The top half included a jewelled halterneck that showed off her slim arms while the bottoms featured a wide leg and belt to cinch in her waist and give some shape.

Bec accessorised the white number with some matching shows and a clutch bag while adding some shimmer with a silver watch.

The mother-of-four completed her look with a stylish wavy blow-dry and smokey brown eye.

All-white everything: Lauren Phillips (L) also opted for a white outfit as posed beside Bec at the fancy bash

Meanwhile, Lauren opted for a white racer-back dress featuring a layered diagonal hemline.

The TV host and travel blogger donned a pair of heels with tie ankle straps and added some colour with a green handbag with a gold chain.

Weather presenter Bec recently told the Herald Sun she will be giving up her duties for Channel Nine to focus on her family .

Santa baby: The TV personalities posed with Father Christmas at the event held at the Atlantic at Crown Casino in Melbourne

Who wore it best? Jo Hall stuck to the white theme too for the society event

'Ive deliberated about it for six months and we need some time together as a family,' she said.

'When I found out I was having twins I thought Im not sure I can go back to working weekends.

'I might go back once the kids are older. Channel Nine were fantastic about it,' she concluded.

No regrets: Bec has decided to step back from her role as Channel Nine's weather presenter

Newborns: Rebecca gave birth to twin sons Tom and Darcy back in September

Channel Nine's Director of News Hugh Nailon supported Bec's decision, saying she 'will always be part of the Nine News family.'

The former model will continue her role as host for the network's travel program Postcards once a week from January.

She will also be working on her active wear label Jaggad and fulfill her duties as a fashion ambassador for Myer.
She's not had the most luck when it comes to matters of the heart - but Lauren Goodger reveals she's planning a baby with a convicted criminal next year.

Speaking to Closer, the 30-year-old said that while she describes Joey Morrison as a 'close friend', she can't wait to become a mother.

She said: 'I'll have one [a baby] next year. I want one right now, really. Hopefully I'll have a little girl, but if I have a boy first, then it's fine because she'll have an older brother.'

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'I'll have a baby next year': Lauren Goodger reveals she is planning a family with convicted criminal Joey Morrison who is serving an 18-year sentence

Lauren's 'love interest' is currently serving an 18-year-sentence but is due to be released in a matter of months after serving half his time.

And the former TOWIE star couldn't be happier.

She told the publication: 'He's not a bad person because he's in prison. Yes, he's not been an angel but people deserve a second chance and his crimes never involved innocent people.'

After talking about Joey (pictured) she said: 'I'll have one [a baby] next year. I want one right now, really. Hopefully I'll have a little girl, but if I have a boy first, then it's fine because she'll have an older brother'

Lauren calls Joey 'a beautiful person inside and out' and said she's said she wishes she could spend Christmas with him.

She said: 'I'm going to visit him over the Christmas period and I really wanted to see him on Christmas Day, but sadly the prison is closed.'

According to the Sunday People, Morrison is currently serving part of his lengthy sentence in HMP Standford Hill, Kent, where Lauren's visits have prompted rumours of a romance.

New romance? Lauren's 'love interest' is currently serving an 18-year-sentence but is due to be released in a matter of months after serving half his time

The prison is rated as category D open prison, meaning prisoners work within the community outside of the jail and there is a more relaxed attitude for visits.

Morrison, alongside accomplice Marvin Russell Jacobs, was convicted of possession with intent to supply, possession of a firearm, kidnap, blackmail, actual bodily harm and aggravated burglary following an eight-week trial at Wood Green in North London.

In one incident, the pair were accused of forcing their way into a home in Enfield and using a stun gun on a 27-year-old man while demanding 2million. When the victim told them the police were outside, the suspects fled.

The judge at the time said the victims were concerned in the supply of drugs.

Lauren's love life has often been thrust into the limelight, and her last serious relationship was with Jake McLean, who also spent time behind bars.

The couple first started dating in 2012 before splitting in 2013, only to rekindle their love for a few months between 2015 and 2016.

Former flame: Lauren's love life has often been thrust into the limelight, and her last serious relationship was with Jake McLean, who also spent time behind bars

McLean was jailed for three-and-a-half years at St Albans Court in 2008 after being found guilty of conning his way into a mother's house two days before Christmas, overpowering her before a masked gang ran in and raided the family home.

Prior to her relationship with Jake, Lauren was engaged to co-star Mark Wright, following a rocky ten year relationship.

However, the couple split in 2012 and he has since gone on to marry actress Michelle Keegan.
She's been friends with Cheryl for more than 14 years after the two of them made it through Popstars: The Rivals auditions to form Girls Aloud back in 2002.

So Kimberly Walsh is better placed than most to discuss her pregnant best friend's journey into motherhood.

'She'll be a brilliant mum,' Kimberly, who is also pregnant, told Closer magazine. 'She has loads of nieces and nephews so she's used to the madness of children.'

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Speaking out: Pregnant Kimberly Walsh, pictured at the end of October, says she thinks Cheryl is 'naturally good' with kids

She added: 'Both she and Nicole (Roberts) are naturally good with kids. I think they've both always planned to settle down and have a family. '

Although Cheryl has yet to confirm her pregnancy, she was spotted with boyfriend Liam Payne at a charity bash just two weeks ago, sporting what appeared to be a visible baby bump.

And Kimberly, 34, can also pass on her own advice when it comes to motherhood.

Expectant: Liam Payne and Cheryl appeared to be showing off a visible baby bump, as they appeared in London late last month

Pregnancy number two: Kimberly posted a snapshot on her Instagram three days ago with the caption: 'Getting excited to meet this little one!'

She is mum to a two-year-old son Bobby by husband Justin Scott and the couple are soon expecting their second baby.,

Kimberly recently posted an Instagram snapshot of herself wearing a Santa hat with a swelling tummy.

'Getting excited to meet this little one!' she wrote.

Best of friends: Along with Nicole Roberts, Kimberly and Cheryl have remained close after Girls Aloud split

Earlier this year Kimberly revealed Cheryl's reaction to her baby news.

'Cheryl knew I wanted to have my children close together so shes happy that Ive got another on the way,' she told OK Magazine. 'Im sure she expected it in a way but shes still over the moon for me.'

Cheryl joined Nicola as a bridesmaid for Kimberly at her Barbados wedding to Justin back in January.

The trio have more of a distant relationship with the remaining ex-Girls Aloud members Sarah Harding and Nadine Coyle.

In fact, as reported by The Mirror, Cheryl's speech to her friend at the rehearsal ceremony included the words: 'I wish you both eternal happiness, filled with love, laughter and a beautiful life with your husband to be and your gorgeous  hopefully growing soon  family.'
She showcased her sensational figure in the infamous jungle shower on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

And Lisa Snowdon was up to her old tricks again as she slipped into skimpy black lace underwear for a steamy Instagram selfie on Tuesday.

The former Britain's Next Top Model host, 44, flaunted her enviably toned abs and ample cleavage in the cheeky shot.

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In the nude: Lisa Snowdon, 44, was up to her old tricks again as she slipped into skimpy black lace underwear for a steamy Instagram selfie on Tuesday

The model looked as youthful as ever in the plunging black bra which was edged with delicate lace and barely-there knickers.

Scraping her hair back and going make-up free, the radio presenter displayed her deep sunkissed glow, no doubt topped up thanks to her stint in the Australian outback.

Sharing the photo with her 106,000 followers, Lisa captioned the shot: 'Love my new @gossarduk bra!'

Making a splahsh: The former Britain's Next Top Model host flaunted her endless legs in another cheeky shot

Back in his arms: Lisa could hardly contain her glee as she hugged her boyfriend George Smart as she left I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here

In November Lisa was the second celebrity to be evicted from the I'm A Celebrity camp after finding herself in the bottom two alongside Carol Vorderman.

Lisa looked delighted to be leaving the camp, and she could hardly contain her glee as she jumped into the arms of her boyfriend George Smart as she made her exit from the show.

As Ant and Dec talked about how jovial the camp is this year, Lisa revealed it felt like a home away from home.

'We really did get on so well,' she admitted. 'It was just a nice atmosphere. It felt like home when we came back to camp from the trials.'

Looking good: She often showcased her sensational figure in the infamous jungle shower on I'm A Celebrity

Wild thing: In November Lisa was the second celebrity to be evicted from the I'm A Celebrity camp after finding herself in the bottom two alongside Carol Vorderman

Asked how she felt about leaving the jungle after two weeks, Lisa chuckled and said:'It feels so surreal. Its been amazing! I didnt get my phone call last night, so I'm so excited to be seeing my dad and boyfriend.'

And Lisa's last request came true, as she was met on the bridge out of the jungle by her boyfriend, George Smart - who she has been dating for six months.

Speaking to Hello! shortly before she went into the jungle, Lisa described her man - whom she has known for 14 years - as the one.

Asked if she'd marry George, she said: 'Yes, at some point. But theres no pressure because we fit  I know well be together forever.'
Dakasha Winton has been promoted by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to the newly created position of chief government relations officer. In this position, Ms. Winton assumes responsibilities previously held by Calvin Anderson, who will retire in January.In her new position, Ms. Winton is responsible for leading all government relations efforts for BlueCross and supervising government relations staff in Nashville and Washington, D.C. The government relations teams supply information to regulators and legislators, monitor legislation that could affect BlueCross members, and advocate for policies that promote access and affordability in health care.Prior to her promotion, Ms.Winton had served as director of state government relations and associate general counsel. Before joining BlueCross in 2009, she was chief counsel for Insurance, Securities and TennCare oversight divisions of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. She was also a staff attorney for the department.Dakasha has proven to be particularly adept at navigating and communicating within the complex regulatory and legislative landscape, while demonstrating the highest levels of knowledge and integrity, said JD Hickey, M.D., BlueCross president and CEO.Ms. Winton graduated cum laude from Tennessee State University and earned her law degree from the University of Memphis. She is a member of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations, the Tennessee Lobbyists Association, and the American Health Lawyers Association.In 2010, she was named a fellow of Americas Health Insurance Plans, and she actively participates in legislative and regulatory workgroups for both AHIP and the BlueCross BlueShield Association. Ms. Winton was named a 2016 fellow of the Nashville Health Care Council, and she is the 2016 recipient of the Napier-Looby Bar Association Trailblazer of the Year Award honoring outstanding achievements in the Nashville legal community.While serving on our government relations team, Dakasha earned the trust and respect of legislators and insurance regulators through her knowledge of the issues related to our industry, and equally her integrity and work ethic, Mr. Anderson said. She is an excellent choice to fill this position, and I have the utmost confidence that she will represent BlueCross and our members very well through this time of change.
He seemed rather tipsy while being interviewed on This Morning last week - and Adam Thomas has since revealed he was so drunk, he doesn't even remember it.

Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Tuesday morning, the 28-year-old Emmerdale hunk said he had always wanted to be on the show but his memory was hazy as the chat happened halfway through I'm A Celeb's afterparty.

He said: 'This is my first time in the studio. The first time, (via VT) I can't remember, but I always wanted to do it.'

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Hilarious: Adam Thomas revealed he was so drunk during his last This Morning interview that he doesn't remember doing it - he returned to the show on Tuesday morning

Giddy: He was rather tipsy during his last time on the show, via VT, along with Joel Dommett (right), as it was halfway through the I'm A Celeb wrap party

Adam also said I'm A Celeb production didn't include his incredibly emotional scenes after he completed 11 trials.

He continued: 'No one saw my reactions, but each time, I would break down and cry like a baby. The trials were at 2am and I had never known fear like it.

'I was sobbing. On my knees crying. I was so scared of the spiders but you either have to scream or keep it in and if you keep it in, you end up crying.'

He said: 'This is my first time in the studio. The first time, (via VT) I can't remember, but I always wanted to do it'

Missed it out: Adam told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that the I'm A Celeb production didn't include his incredibly emotional scenes after he completed 11 trials

He admitted: 'No one saw my reactions, but each time, I would break down and cry like a baby. The trials were at 2am and I had never known fear like it'

Adam said the experience of being in the jungle was so much harder than he thought, so much so, that he wouldn't do it again.

He also said he really got on well with controversial campmate, Martin Roberts, while others had been accused of bullying him.

'I loved Martin,' Adam roared. 'There was a divide and excitement when he and Danny [Baker] came into camp late, which actually made it better.'

Tough: Adam said the experience of being in the jungle was so much harder than he thought, so much so, that he wouldn't do it again

He's got it going on: Adam looked rather handsome wearing skinny jeans and an edgy leather biker jacket

Adam also addressed rumours that he was leaving Emmerdale and heading for Hollywood.

Answering the question with a ginormous laugh, he said: 'Really? I wish I was.'

Adam seemed very giddy and giggly when he joined co-star Joel Dommett on This Morning on December 5.

The boys left their party halfway through to do the interview, following their triumphant turn on the much-loved show, leaving hosts Holly and Phil in hysterics.

'They're going to have a RIOT': Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were in hysterics on Monday during Adam's last interview with them on December 5

Talking about Adam's infectious laugh, Joel burst out with: 'You try living with it for three weeks.'

Holly then asked Joel what he had learned while being on the show and he joked: 'I'm so happy I beat Adam.'

Adding: 'I just love beating Adam. I also learned that I shouldn't be on the phone as much.'

Throwing some shade: Talking about Adam's infectious laugh, Joel Dommett burst out with: 'You try living with it for three weeks'

Truthful: Holly then asked Joel what he had learned while being on the show and he joked: 'I'm so happy I beat Adam'

Adam chimed in: 'You've not been off it since you've been out.'

Talking about the night's events, Adam added: 'We're halfway through the party now. We're going out on the lash.'

Bursting out laughing once again, Holly and Phil urged the boys to go and enjoy the rest of their party.

'I love them,' Holly said. 'They're going to have a riot tonight.'

Off you go: Bursting out laughing once again, Holly and Phil urged the boys to go and enjoy the rest of their party

Laughing their heads off: 'I love them,' Holly said. 'They're going to have a riot tonight'

Earlier in the day, Joel spoke to Lorraine, where he said that he wasn't really a big drinker.

'I might have a thimble of booze tonight,' he told her, explaining that he wasn't going too wild.

Adding: 'Then I am going to go and sleep in the corner.'

Busy Joel also spoke to Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain earlier that day, where he admitted he had ' met someone before the show' who he was hoping to reconnect with.

Taken? While he may have enjoyed some flirty banter with Carol Vorderman in the jungle, it seems that Joel, 30, won't be pursuing a romance with his campmate

Speaking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Monday's Good Morning Britain, the Impractical Jokers star finally put pay to rumours of his attraction to Carol, 55.

Being the only singletons in this year's competition, and following a series of flirty moments fans of the reality show were left questioning if sparks might fly between the two.

But when quizzed about his love-life by Piers and Susanna, Joel admitted his heart had already been stolen by another, explaining:

Just a friend: Speaking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Monday's Good Morning Britain, the Impractical Jokers star finally put pay to rumours of his attraction to Carol, 55

'I met someone I like just before the show but my job and gigging have made things difficult': Following the show's final on Sunday, the comedian admitted he was hoping they'd reconnect

'I met someone I like just before the show but my job and gigging have made things difficult.'

Over the course of the past three weeks fans saw Joel's cheeky charm win over his fellow campmates - in particular, Carol.

The pair's flanter (flirty banter) even saw bosses use the idea of a romance between the pair as the basis for one of the camp's secret trials.

One part of a secret treat mission, saw both of them tasked with convincing their fellow celebs they were attracted to each other.

Over the course of the past three weeks fans saw Joel's cheeky charm win over his fellow campmates - in particular, Carol.

'It was fun to flirt with her. It was wonderful, but then I also flirted with Adam!': Asked if he found the former Countdown star attractive, Joel cheekily quipped: 'Who doesn't!'

'I used to as ask her if it was, "One from the bottom Carol?"': He did admit that Carol have him the inspiration for one of his own favourite jokes in the jungle

And it seems that Piers was keen to grill Joel on his relationship with Carol, despite the actor and comedian's romantic admission.

Asked if he found the former Countdown star attractive, Joel cheekily quipped: 'Who doesn't!'

He added: 'It was fun to flirt with her. It was wonderful, but then I also flirted with Adam!'

However, he did admit that Carol have him the inspiration for one of his own favourite jokes in the jungle.

You won't find that on the menu! Despite clearly enjoying his time in the jungle, Joel said he was so excited when he arrived at the hotel after last night's final he ate three cheesecakes

Back to reality: He admitted to Piers and Susanna that as soon as he got back to the hotel, he 'ate two cheesecakes, hopped in the shower and then had another one'

Recalling the celebrities' daily visits to the dunny, he explained he always had a parting message for Carol as she went to the bathroom.

Grinning as he revealed the Countdown-inspired quip, Joel said: 'I used to as ask her if it was, "One from the bottom Carol?".' A reference to her job on Countdown.

Despite clearly enjoying his time in the Australian outback, Joel said he was so excited when he arrived at the hotel after last night's final that he ate three cheesecakes.

He admitted to Piers and Susanna that as soon as he got back to the hotel, he 'ate two cheesecakes, hopped in the shower and then had another one'.

Joel came in second-place on Sunday night's final, as he was pipped to the show's crown by Gogglebox star, Scarlett Moffatt.
Just last month, former Home and Away star Kate Ritchie shut down persistent rumours she and husband Stuart Webb have split.

And the former NRL star was pictured in Sydney on Tuesday, without his wedding ring.

Sporting grey gym shorts and a black T-shirt, the former St George Illawarra Dragons player looked pensive as he made his way around Bondi with a backpack.

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Low-key outing: Kate Ritchie's husband Stuart Webb was pictured without his wedding ring in Sydney on Tuesday

The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Stuart looked 'drawn' and 'tired' during the outing and that his missing band 'suggests' his and Kate's marriage, 'is over.'

The publication added that Kate was seen at two events in Sydney last week flying solo with her man nowhere to be seen, including at a Nova lunch at Catalina.

Pictured wearing an ethereal white dress, Kate looked to be in good spirits as she arrived in Rose Bay on December 6.

Still wearing her's: Kate was seen with her wedding ring on during an outing in Rose Bay last week

She was seen wearing her diamond ring as she walked alongside friends.

The claims come after Kate gushed about her husband of six years to Tea With Jules.

The 38-year-old admitted she fell for him after observing his 'caring' personality.

Chic: She wore an ethereal white dress paired with brown sandal heels

Breaking up? The couple, who have been married six years, have been faced with persistent split rumours in recent months although they have previously denied reports of marital woes

Interesting timing: The claims come after Kate gushed about her husband while speaking on Tea With Jules

'He was one of these people who really loved his dog,' she laughed, before adding: 'He is very kind and he is very nurturing.'

The couple's relationship has been plagued with split rumours over the past year.

In August, it was claimed the pair had been living separately, with Stuart residing in their newly-purchased Southern Highlands home while Kate and their daughter Mae stayed in Sydney.

Making headlines: The couple's relationship has been plagued with split rumours over the past year

Rumour mill: They further fuelled speculation of 'trouble in paradise' after stepping out without their wedding rings (Kate is seen with her rock two weeks ago)

They further fuelled speculation of 'trouble in paradise' after stepping out without their wedding rings.

In September, she also hit back at the claims, wishing him a happy six year wedding anniversary.

The Daily Telegraph's claims that their marriage is struggling, comes after New Idea reported Stuart cut a lonely figure recently, while out with their two-year-old, Mae.

Stuart's smile 'masked a hidden sadness' when the father-daughter duo paid a low-key visit to a local park on November 25, the publication claimed.

Bonding: Stuart reportedly cut a lonely figure while out with their two-year-old, Mae recently. He is pictured here with Mae on Father's Day earlier this year

As they enjoyed their casual day out, Kate was hobnobbing at a Christmas function with work colleague Tim Blackwell and fellow Nova 96.9 co-host Marty Sheargold.

Kate and Tim sparked controversy after she posted a photo of them to her Instagram (which has since been deleted) with the married father of two's hand comfortably placed on her bottom.

The snap was taken during Nova's Melbourne Cup celebrations in Sydney last month.

Work duties: As Stuart and Mae enjoyed a casual day out, Kate was at a Christmas function with work colleague Tim Blackwell [Left] and fellow Nova 96.9 co-host Marty Sheargold [Right]

Fans immediately drew their own conclusions from the image and didn't hesitate to show their disdain.

'Friends don't touch a married woman's a**,' one person commented, while another wrote, 'Better call HR'.

Kate and her former NRL player husband met in 2008 and married in an intimate country wedding in 2010, a year after getting engaged on holiday in Europe.

Watch that hand! Fans were left outraged after Tim posed with his co-host Kate during Nova's Melbourne Cup celebrations in Sydney recently, while placing his hand on her behind
She's very particular when it comes to her fashion.

And Millie Mackintosh, 27, rocked one of her favourite combinations when she stepped out on a breezy Tuesday in Chelsea.

The designer showed off her slender thighs in a sophisticated double-breasted blazer dress and over-the-knee black boots.

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Stunningly stylish: Millie Mackintosh, 27, rocked one of her favourite combinations when she stepped out on a breezy Tuesday in Chelsea

The beauty placed her hand over her black fedora to ensure it didn't blow off her head.

She clutched her phone as she waited to be collected by a taxi in the affluent London borough.

Her brunette tresses cascaded freely from underneath her hat, and she showcased her natural beauty with only a minimal application of makeup.

Style queen: The designer showed off her slender thighs in a sophisticated double-breasted blazer dress and over-the-knee black boots

Looking good: Her brunette tresses cascaded freely from underneath her hat as she paced along the edge of the road

Radiant: She showcased her natural beauty with only a minimal application of makeup

Breezy: The beauty placed her hand over her black fedora to ensure it didn't blow off her head

Millie was recently seen in the stylish jacket while supporting beau Hugo Taylor, 30, at a party to celebrate his luxury eyewear brand Taylor Morris's collaboration with The Morgan Motor Company.

The couple went public with their rekindled romance in May when they travelled to the Monaco Grand Prix for Hugo's 30th birthday celebrations - the same week that Millie's divorce from rapper husband Professor Green, 33, was finalised.

They previously dated back in 2011 when they met on the E4 reality show, Made In Chelsea.

Patiently waiting: She clutched her phone as she waited to be collected by a taxi in the affluent London borough

Recycling: Millie was recently seen in the stylish jacket while supporting beau Hugo Taylor, 30, at a party to celebrate his luxury eyewear brand Taylor Morris's collaboration with The Morgan Motor Company

Legs for days: The beauty's legs looked endless in the stylish ensemble

Cute couple: Millie spent the weekend in the Scottish Highlands with former Made In Chelsea co-star boyfriend, Hugo Taylor, 30

But the union was not to last and ended rather dramatically when Millie discovered Hugo had cheated on her with her friend, Rosie Fortescue.

At the time, Millie claimed she would always love Hugo, saying in an interview: 'I loved him - those feelings dont disappear  but I just always have to remind myself why were not together.

'I do think that, for the rest of my life, every time I see him, Ill get that feeling in my stomach. I dont think I could ever not get that butterfly feeling.'

Highland fling: The fashion designer ensured her winter wear was on point, teaming a stylish Moose Knuckles parka with skinny jeans and Hunter wellies

Baby, it's cold outside: Millie snuggled into her fur-lined hood as she pouted up a storm in another selfie from her Scottish winter weekend

'Weekend plans': The group seemed to be staying in an idyllic retreat, which overlooked a stunning loch and a beautiful mountain formation
They were dressed to the nines before attending the Global Gift Gala later that evening.

But on Monday afternoon Eva Longoria Baston and Melanie Griffith frolicked through the streets of Dubai in a series of hilarious Snapchat videos and photos.

'I'll do anything for a good angle,' the 41-year-old Telenovela star was clearly not shy as she posted a snapshot of herself sprawled on the ground.

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Mischievous Monday! Eva Longoria Baston and Melanie Griffith frolicked through the streets of Dubai during a playful outing

Power pose! Melanie, 59, stood over Eva in an iconic John Travolta Staying Alive pose from the hit 1983 film

The former Desperate Housewives actress went effortlessly chic in a khaki jumpsuit which showcased her slender waistline.

A black leather quilted Chanel handbag slung across her body in the cheeky image as she flashed the peace sign.

A pair of mirrored lens aviator sunglasses shielded the brunette beauty's eyes and she rounded out her street chic look with a few chunky bangle bracelets.

'I'll do anything for a good angle,' the 41-year-old Telenovela star was clearly not shy as she posted a snapshot of herself sprawled on the ground

Melanie, 59, was ever the ageless beauty in a black and navy leather fitted biker jacket.

The Academy Award-nominated actress donned a pair of skintight black legging that encased her lean limbs.

She completed her look with simple black ballet flats and a plain white tee while standing over Eva in an iconic John Travolta Staying Alive pose from the hit 1983 film.

Gorgeous gals! The A-list actresses went effortlessly chic for their lunch date before attending the Global Gift Gala later that night

Later that evening the blonde beauty received the Global Gift Humanitarian Award.

She has previously worked with the Children's Hospital Los Angeles in rallying support for a pediatric impatient facility.

Melanie was elegant in a red, three-quarter-sleeve gown, which she accessorized with a diamond necklace and dangle earrings.

Eva took to Snapchat to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at her day. In one shot, the actress appears to be giving in an interview.

'Getting ready to star the Global Gift Gala,' read the picture's caption as she was a vision in an off-the-shoulder mermaid-style gown.

The night must have tired the star, who was caught resting on a couch even before the event began.

Showstoppers! Eva and Melanie were dressed to the nines as they attended the Global Gift Gala on Monday evening

Honored! The Working Girl star received the Global Gift Humanitarian Award

'She's already sleeping,' said her post.

Eva has supported the organization for years, attending its events in countries such as Spain and France.

The Global Gift Foundation is a 'non profit organization that aims to create a positive impact on the lives of children, women and families who are in need,' according to their site.
She's taking a welcome break at home before filming picks up again for her hit drama Our Girl.

And Michelle Keegan made the most of her down time as she headed for a pampering session at Dr MediSpa cosmetic clinic in Loughton, Essex, on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old actress showed off her natural beauty as she went make-up free and wrapped up in a chic blue fur-lined parka.

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Furry nice! Michelle Keegan, 29, made the most of her down time as she headed for a pampering session at Dr MediSpa cosmectic clinic in Loughton, Essex, on Tuesday

The brunette beauty subtly flaunted her enviably slender physique in charcoal grey jogging bottoms and a zip-up track jacket.

Warding off the December chill, she later flipped her parka's hood over her hair as she made her way into the spa.

Wearing her glossy raven tresses in an uncharacteristically tousled straight style, she showcased her natural sunkissed glow.

Going incognito: Warding off the December chill, she later flipped her parka's hood over her hair as she made her way into the spa

Cool yet casual: The brunette beauty subtly flaunted her enviably slender physique in charcoal grey jogging bottoms and a zip-up track jacket

It was recently reported that Michelle was house-hunting in South Africa as she prepares to spend eight months away from her husband Mark Wright.

The brunette beauty is said to be looking for a swanky pad in Cape Town where she films the third series of the hit BBC drama Our Girl, in which she plays the role of Georgie Lane.

The star wants a 'modern, airy flat' in Sea Point, Clifton or Camps Bay areas of Cape Town, according to The Sun on Sunday.

Looking good: Wearing her glossy raven tresses in an uncharacteristically tousled straight style, she showcased her natural sunkissed glow

What's up? The former Coronation Street star appeared to be in subdued spirits during the outing

A source told the newspaper: 'The producers have warned that filming could take as long as eight months so she doesn't want to be stuck in hotels like she was during the second series.'

Despite having to spend so long away from home, Michelle - who celebrates her second anniversary with Mark in May - is looking forward to reprising the role of Georgie for her second turn in the BBC drama.

The source said: 'Michelle is looking forward to getting started. She gets on really well with the crew and has become one of the lads onset, so being away from home for so long shouldn't be a huge deal.

'Mark comes to visit occasionally but Michelle tends to get so immersed in her character and the filming that I think she's happy to be left alone for the most part.'

Cool kicks! The actress showed off her dazzling white trainers as she climbed into her car

New beginnings: It was recently reported that Michelle was house-hunting in South Africa as she prepares to spend eight months away from her husband Mark Wright

The former Coronation Street star is expected to fly out to South Africa in March and will reportedly be filming the 10-episode series until November.

Michelle previously admitted to being overwhelmed by the positive response to Our Girl from the public.

She said: 'The reaction to the show has been overwhelming and I'm really thankful to everyone who's watched and supported it.

'It was an amazing experience filming with such an incredible group of people and I can't wait to do it all over again.'

Arm candy: She rocked a minimalist black leather tote for the relaxed outing
She's never been shy about flaunting her impeccable figure.

And Joanna Krupa didn't disappoint as she went completely naked in a provocative photo shoot for BodyBlendz skin scubber.

The 37-year-old stunner - who was named the latest celebrity spokesperson for the brand - showed off her shapely derriere and bare breasts while posing up a storm in several racy snapshots.

Cheeky! Joanna Krupa went completely naked in a provocative photo shoot for Body Blendz body scrub

The two-time Playboy cover model displayed every inch of her svelte figure in the eye-popping sneak peek debuted in Maxim magazine.

She left nothing to the imagination while posing amidst a picturesque backdrop at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.

Covered in Body Blendz' 'Oily Love' body scrub, the former Real Housewives Of Miami star seductively knelt on a plush couch and gave a glimpse of her phenomenal physique.

Bottoms up! The 37-year-old stunner showed off her shapely derriere in several racy snapshots released by Maxim magazine

Eye-popping! The two-time Playboy cover model displayed every inch of her svelte figure

Not camera shy! The blonde beauty exposed her bare breasts in the racy snapshots

With her signature blonde tresses tied up in curlers, the known animal activist posed with a glass of red wine and the book Untreue by Paulo Coelho.

Another look showed the blue-eyed beauty with her hair down in soft curls while she donned a pink smokey eye and glossed lip.

After fronting a bevy of magazine covers and nabbing many modelling contracts, Joanna has soared to prominence of late due to her many reality TV appearances.

Beach babe! The Dancing With the Stars alum left nothing to the imagination while posing amidst a picturesque backdrop at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach

Flawless figure! The former Real Housewives Of Miami star seductively knelt on a plush couch and gave a glimpse of her phenomenal physique

In recent years she has scored roles on Dancing with the Stars, Poland's Next Top Model and her hit Bravo reality show.

Joanna's revealing spread comes shortly after she spoke to the Express newspaper about her love of showing off her hard-earned body.

She said: 'I'm very proud of my body, I work really hard, I workout and try to stay in shape and eat healthy. I'm super proud of it and I believe if you have it you flaunt it! .

Sun-kissed stunner! With her signature blonde tresses tied up in curlers, the known animal activist posed with a glass of red wine and the book Untreue by Paulo Coelho

Leggy blonde! The genetically-gifted model showed off her long bronzed stems in the racy images

'You should feel like a beautiful woman, no matter what and what I do on my Instagram is my business.'

The genetically-gifted looker added: 'It's my personal Instagram, if somebody feels like they shouldn't be looking at the photos that I'm posting then they shouldn't be following me.'

'I'm a model, that's my background, if you look at the biggest top models in the world they've all posed super sexy and naked and in lingerie, so I just think it's part of the industry we are in.'
It was one of the BBC's most popular new drama series of 2015, leaving fans gagging for more as it reached its explosive finale.

So viewers were overjoyed to learn shortly after season one concluded that Doctor Foster would be back for another run of episodes in 2017.

The new season - which will continue the story of protagonist Gemma Foster (Suranne Jones) after she exposed her cheating husband's affair around the dinner table of his mistress' parents - has been shooting over the course of 2016; but little is known about the precise plot.

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What's up Doc? Suranne Jones shares a laugh with co-stars as she shelters from the rain in a hooded jacket on the set of Doctor Foster season two

However, things look to be taking a turn in which Gemma will have a brush with the law if new on-set images are anything to go by.

Star of the series Suranne has been spotted filming scenes in a car park in London with an actress dressed in a policewoman costume.

The former Coronation Street star, 38, looked in good spirits despite shooting the scenes in the torrential rain.

Suranne was seen bundled up in a large hooded jacket, presumably protecting her from the weather.

The Doctor returns: The new season - which will continue the story of protagonist Gemma Foster (Suranne Jones) after she exposed her cheating husband's affair around the dinner table of his mistress' parents - has been shooting over the course of 2016

Brush with the law: Things look to be taking a turn in which Gemma will have a brush with the law if new on-set images are anything to go by

It looked like the cast and crew had ceased filming while the rain came down, as Suranne and the policewoman actress were seen to be laughing hysterically - not likely to be a plotline of the notoriously tense drama series.

The actress has been seen multiple times in recent weeks filming scenes for the upcoming series - including one in which she appears to get a parking ticket, and another involving a heated row with unfaithful husband Simon, played by Bertie Carvel.

The cast and crew reunited at the end of the summer to kick off shooting the second instalment - which drew in over 10 million views for its grand finale last September, establishing the show as the biggest new BBC drama of 2015.

When it was announced that they would be making a follow up season, Suranne said of the news: I am thrilled to announce we will all be reunited to tell Gemma's next chapter, and I can't wait for the audience who invested in these characters to find out the explosive twists and turns Mike [Bartlett, the creator] has in store.

Law enforcement: Star of the series Suranne has been spotted filming scenes in a car park in London with an actress dressed in a policewoman costume

Now we can look into what happens to a woman after divorce, deceit and revenge has taken its toll. What a gift of a part and a dream to work with Mike Bartlett again!

The shows creator, Mike Bartlett, added that he was looking forward to returning to work on betrayed Gemma's life and heartbreak.

I've been astounded by the response to Doctor Foster, he said in a statement. I'm thrilled that alongside Drama Republic and the phenomenal Suranne Jones, we're now going to tell the next chapter in Gemma's story.

Her life in Parminster may look better on the surface, but as she will discover to her cost, every action has its consequences eventually. No one comes through hell unscathed.

When it rains, it pours! The former Coronation Street star, 38, looked in good spirits despite shooting the scenes in the torrential rain

Season one was lauded by the television industry and earned multiple nominations at the National Television Awards 2015.

It's uncertain where the story will go next, given that season one was wrapped up rather neatly at the end - but although Gemma regained her job as a GP and said goodbye to her unfaithful husband, the characters' lives will of course go on.

Many seem to think that there will be a plot twist revolving around Gemma and Simon's custody battle for their young son - something that could turn nasty; and of course Simon's mistress ended the last season pregnant with his child, so that is likely to play a part in things.

The series has been confirmed to feature five episodes, as before, and will likely air in the first half of 2017.

Calm before the storm? Viewers have expressed a desire to see cheating Simon put through more of a punishment for his philandering, with many feeling he got off lightly as season one concluded

It has also been revealed that it will be set two years after the events of the first season, and so won't pick up directly where we last left the story.

Viewers have expressed a desire to see cheating Simon put through more of a punishment for his philandering, with many feeling he got off lightly as season one concluded.

Actor Bertie Carvel spoke to Digital Spy about this shortly after season one ended, saying: 'I don't know what kind of comeuppance people are wishing for - whether there's blood and death and castration involved...

'[I don't] think this is a story with a good guy - or girl - and an evil guy. It's a story about recognisable flawed human beings.'

Actress Jodie Comer - who played the other woman, Kate - added: 'What's exciting for me is people will actually get to know Kate as a person.

A woman scorned: It has been revealed that it will be set two years after the events of the first season, and so won't pick up directly where we last left the story

'I think it's quite cool to come back and hopefully maybe give people a different perspective.'

Star of the show Suranne welcomed her first child with husband Laurence Akers in March of this year, contributing to the delay in filming the next run of episodes.

She also admitted that she wouldn't take on the role unless she was convinced that the next season was worth continuing the story - rather than simply being an attempt to elongate the success of the first.

Sherlock director Jeremy Lovering will be in charge and Sara Stewart is thought to be returning as Susie - Kate's mother - along with Neil Stuke as Chris - Kate's father - with whom Gemma had a one night stand with out of revenge.
She's the leading lady in the hotly-anticipated Stars Wars spin-off, Rogue One.

So Felicity Jones ensured she was dressed to impress as she slipped into a flowing grey gown for a fan screening in London on Tuesday.

Turning heads as she walked the red carpet, the Oscar-nominated actress, 33, oozed glamour in the Grecian style garment.

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Gorgeous in grey: Felicity Jones ensured she was dressed to impress as she slipped into a flowing grey gown for a fan screening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in London on Tuesday

Layered with tulle, the garment was high-necked in design and adorned with a strip of crystals.

The garment also bore ruffled sleeves and flared out to full length, with the hanky hem offering a look at her barely there silver heels.

Adding to the glamour, Felicity wore a glittering diamond bracelet and earring set, whilst her chestnut coloured tresses were swept back into a chic chignon bun.

All eyes on her: Turning heads as she walked the red carpet, the Oscar-nominated actress, 33, oozed glamour in the Grecian style garment

Glitz and glamour: Layered with tulle, the garment was high-necked in design and adorned with a strip of crystals

Leggy lady! The garment also bore ruffled sleeves and flared out to full length, with the hanky hem offering a look at her barely there silver heels

Brunette bombshell: Adding to the glamour, Felicity wore a glittering diamond bracelet and earring set, whilst her chestnut coloured tresses were swept back into a chic chignon bun

Vital adjustments: The actress had her dress fussed over as she waited on the red carpet

Waiting game: Felicity's cast-members patiently idled as an assistant tended to her sweeping gown

Glam: Felicity wowed from all angles as she strode past the photographers

Angelic: Felicity was a vision of beauty as she walked the red carpet

Stunning: The British star looked ravishing as she made her way across the red carpet on Tuesday evening

Starring role: Felicity will hit the big screen as Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which is the first stand alone Star Wars anthology film

Leading lady: Felicity takes centre stage in the new film, a spin-off from the hugely popular Star Wars franchise

In good company: The actress mingled with guests including Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios (L) and co-star Forest Whitaker (R)

Where's R2? C3P0 actor Anthony Daniels posed for a photo alongside the actress

Felicity will hit the big screen as Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which is the first stand alone Star Wars anthology film.

The Theory of Everything starlet recently told Metro that she doesn't think it's a 'big deal' as a female playing the lead role in such a huge film.

'People keep saying how amazing it is having a female lead and I just sort of feel, well, of course, it shouldn't be such a big deal. We are half the population.'

Legs eleven! True Whitaker displayed her enviably lean legs in a black satin gown with a thigh high split as she stormed the red carpet

Family fun: She was at the event with her father Forest Whitaker who stars in the film

Working it: True seemed in great spirits as she posed up a storm for the cameras

Dapper chaps: Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn both opted for sharp tailored suits as they made their way into the fan screening

Watch out: Stormtroopers gathered as the film premiered in London on Tuesday evening

Despite this, Felicity admitted that during her childhood, she would pretend to be a male character rather than the glamorous Princess Leia.

She said: 'I was definitely Han Solo! Or Luke Skywalker. I was a tomboy. I think that's what I tapped into playing Jyn. I was very sporty.'

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, 51, plays Jyn's father Galen, and trailers suggests that he is perhaps the designer of the most powerful space station ever built.

Cast and crew: (L-R) Donnie Yen, Ben Mendelsohn, Kathleen Kennedy, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk and Gareth Edwards

Chirpy: The group seemed in great spirits as they posed for snaps together at the event

Reaching for the stars wars: The cast gathered for a shot inside the venue

Trooping up a storm: The event was invaded by a parade of storm troopers who traipsed past

The force is strong: The storm troopers were a welcome addition to the red carpet event

Set between the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars film, 1977's Episode IV: A New Hope, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first of three standalone spin-off films, is released in the UK on Thursday.

Rogue One sees the Rebel Alliance enlist Jyn to help steal the blueprint of the Galactic Empire's planet-vaporising Death Star.

In the original Star Wars film, those plans wind up in the hands of Princess Leia and then Luke Skywalker, who ultimately destroys it successfully.

Bluetiful! Producer Kathleen Kennedy dazzled in a navy velvet blazer that she wore over a black brocade print midi dress

Looking sharp: Donnie Yen and Diego Luna both looked dapper at the fan screening

Four of a kind: The Vamps seemed in great spirits as they huddled together at the event

Co-stars: Rogue One's Riz Ahmed joined his leading lady for a photo as they prepared for the premiere on Tuesday evening

Behind the scenes: Felicity gave fans an insight into working on the movie as she discussed her experiences on set

Dazzling: Felicity oozed glamour as she walked the red carpet in her stunning gown

Glam: The Oscar nominee seemed in great spirits as she walked the red carpet

Chatting away: One lucky fan got the chance to interview Felicity at the event

Gorgeous: The star had some fun playing around with her gown

Rogue One has received generally positive reviews, with Variety's Peter Dubridge claiming it is the 'prequel they've always wanted.'

Meanwhile, Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy said: 'What fans will get here is loads of action, great effects, good comic relief, stunning locations (Iceland, Jordan and the Maldives) and some intriguing early glimpses of the Galactic Empire as it begins to flex its inter-galactic power.'

Peter Travers from the Rolling Stones claimed: 'Smashing Jones giving us a female warrior to rank with the great ones and a cast that knows how to keep it real even in a sci-fi fantasy, Rogue One proves itself a Star Wars story worth telling.'

Posing up a storm: Genevieve O'Reilly dazzled in a glittering green gown as she posed with one of the storm troopers at the screening after party

Robot to robot: Daniels, best known for his role as C3P0, let his hair down with Rogue One's K-2S0 actor Alan Tudyk

Three's company: A Street Cat Named Bob stars Ruta Gedmintas and Luke Treadaway seemed in good spirits as they posed for snaps at the event

Two of a kind: Daniels pulled some poses in his sharp grey suit

Snap happy: Valene Kane and Mads Mikkelsen posed for snaps

Say cheese! (L to R) Christine Savage, Riz Ahmed and Anthony Daniels
She was forced to spend a month apart from her beau as he competed on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

And Jordan Banjo's girlfriend Naomi Ella showed just how much she was missing her boyfriend as she shared a series of gushing posts to welcome him home.

Taking to Instagram, the model showed just how she celebrated his return, as she shared an adorable picture of the pair cuddled up with their pet pooch in front of balloons baring 'welcome home'.

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Cute couple: Jordan Banjo's girlfriend Naomi Ella showed just how much she was missing her boyfriend as she shared a series of gushing posts to welcome him home

The brunette beauty, also tweeted during his time in the jungle that she was 'the luckiest girl in the world'.

She also revealed in an Instagram post the toll their separation was taking, as she wrote: 'Really missing Jordy today never a dull moment when he's around, forever making me laugh or smile.'

The couple have been dating for just over a year, and Jordan recently admitted that he is thinking about marriage.

Missing him: Naomi was forced to spend a month apart from her beau as he competed on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in the Australian outback

Loving life: The brunette beauty has been sharing her feelings about Jordan in a series of posts

He told the Daily Star: 'Ill never take my family or my girlfriend for granted.'

Asked about marriage, he explained: 'Its the sort of thing where beforehand I was like: "Yeah, yeah one day I will."

'But its dawned on me now that I will actually marry this girl.'

After a fan tweeted her with a snippet of his quotes, an emotional Naomi shared the image with the caption: 'I love you @Jordan_Banjo', to which he swiftly responded: 'I love you too'.

Taking the next step? The couple have been dating for just over a year, and Jordan recently admitted that he is thinking about marriage

So sweet: After a fan tweeted her with a snippet of his quotes, an emotional Naomi shared the image and professed her love for Jordan, who tweeted her back to say the same

Jordan was the fourth star to be eliminated from the I'm A Celebrity jungle in a move that left his campmates in tears.

Speaking about his time in camp, he explained: 'The whole experience has been so overwhelming. To walk up that bridge is so surreal! Saying bye, I cant believe it they look so depressed without me.'

The series was ultimately won by Gogglebox star, Scarlett Moffatt
She announced her split from husband of seven years Tarek this week amid claims her 'champagne tastes' contributed to breakup.

And on Tuesday Flip Or Flop star Christina El Moussa was seen for the first time since the separation was made public running errands in Los Angeles with an expensive Louis Vuitton handbag slung over her arm.

The HGTV personality was wearing a shirt advertising her love of bubbly with the words 'Drink Champagne Can't Complain' scrolled across her chest while engaged in a chat on her phone.

Living the champagne life: Flip Or Flop star Christina El Moussa was seen for the first time since announcing split from husband Tarek while running errands in Los Angeles with an expensive Louis Vuitton handbag slung over her arm on Tuesday

A source claimed this week that Tarek and Christina were incompatible and money only made their differences more apparent.

'In a lot of ways they just seemed wildly incompatible,' the insider told People. 'She has champagne tastes, and he's a beer-from-a-can kind of guy.'

'And that was okay for a while when all they could afford was canned beer - they were on the same page, working together to make it and to do the best with what they had,' the source added.

Can't stop, won't stop: The HGTV personality was wearing a shirt advertising her love of bubbly with the words 'Drink Champagne Can't Complain' scrolled across her chest while engaged in a chat on her phone

The root of all suffering: A source claimed this week that Tarek and Christina were incompatible and money only made their differences more apparent

Holding it close: The TV personality made sure to keep a tight hold on her luxurious handbag

'But the stardom from the show, and the money from the show, meant that she started to feel like she could finally have some of the finer things in life. He just couldn't or didn't want to keep up.'

The Flip Or Flop stars - who had police called out to their home six months ago after receiving a call of 'a possibly suicidal male with a gun' who turned out to be Tarek - announced their separation to People on Monday.

'In a lot of ways they just seemed wildly incompatible,' an insider claimed, 'She has champagne tastes, and he's a beer-from-a-can kind of guy.'

'Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage. We had an unfortunate misunderstanding about six months ago and the police were called to our house in an abundance of caution. There was no violence and no charges were filed,' the pair released in a statement.

A source later told the magazine that the couple, who have two young children, has been living apart since that incident in May, and that they are both seeing other people.

Christina's friendship with a 'fellow design industry professional' has turned romantic as Tarek is also dating, though it was not infidelity that led to their split.

Split! HGTV stars Tarek and Christina called it quits after seven years of marriage following a police-involved altercation at their home six months ago (Here they are seen in March)

The husband and wife real estate agent couple told the publication they attended marriage counseling but decided to separate while assessing 'the future of our marriage.'

Tarek, 35, and Christina, 33 - who star in the home makeover program - added in their statement: 'During the process, we are committed to our kids and being the best parents we can be.'

'We will continue to work through this process civilly and cooperatively, and plan to continue our professional life together.'

Former flames: The couple - who tied the knot in 2009 - share two children, daughter Taylor, six, and one-year-old Brayden, and appeared happier than ever at their son's first birthday in August

The couple - who tied the knot in 2009 - share two children, daughter Taylor, six, and 15-month-old Brayden.

On the same day the shocking announcement was made, Christina shared a sweet Christmas snapshot of her little ones visiting Santa which she shared with her Instagram followers.

Back in May cops were called to the couple's home after an altercation involving guns and a possible suicide attempt, according to TMZ.

Taking aim: Christina, 33, called police back in May to say that Tarek, 35, was suicidal and had a gun - Tarek on the firing range with an AR-15 last week in an Instagram video which has since been deleted

Great news: Tarek announced two weeks ago that he was cancer free after discovering he had thyroid cancer when a viewer of the program noticed a lump in his throat - pictured after surgery when he was fist diagnosed

A helicopter and nearly a dozen deputies responded as witnesses told the site they saw Tarek run out the back door of his home with a gun and tried to escape down a hiking trail.

Sources added they saw Christina run out of the house sobbing and trembling just shortly after.

The site reported that Tarek was eventually spotted by officers and ordered to drop his weapon.

The father-of-two allegedly told police he had no intention of injuring himself and simply wanted to 'blow off some steam.'

Five guns were later seized from the home, including an AR-15.

Precious! The same day their split was announced, Christina shared a sweet Christmas snapshot of her two kids - daughter Taylor, 6, and son Brayden, 15 months - visiting Santa

'Raising kids is the most important thing': Tarek also took to Instagram on the day of the separation announcement with a photo of a book entitled '10 Things Great Dads Do'

That weapon seemed to be back in Tarek's hands however, as he showed off his trigger skills on the firing range with an AR-15 last week in an Instagram video which has since been deleted.

Their separation comes two weeks after Tarek announced he was cancer free after discovering he had thyroid cancer when a viewer of the program noticed a lump in his throat.

A woman watching an episode of their popular show got in contact with Tarek to tell him he should get tested to see if he had cancer after noticing an odd lump in his throat.

It turned out that he did have thyroid cancer, and just two weeks ago he got some great news which he posted on Instagram.

Dramatic altercation: Back in May cops were called to the couple's home after responding to a call of 'a possibly suicidal male with a gun' - according to TMZ

'Rough couple of years.. Today I Went in for another cancer screening and it was all clear!' he captioned a photo of himself and his wife by his side in a hospital bed from when he had his first surgery.

He instead took to Instagram on the day of the separation announcement with a photo of a book entitled '10 Things Great Dads Do.'

He wrote in the caption: 'Raising kids is the most important thing a parent can do. Like anything in life... The harder you work at it the better they will be!'

HGTV announced that Flip or Flop 'will continue production as scheduled,' and comply with any decision the couple makes for their show and their children.
The public is invited to enjoy a variety of events, featuring comedy, music and food during this months schedule at Granfalloon and Adelle's Creperie.

Here is the schedule and review for performers and events:

Tuesday, Dec. 13, at The Granfalloon

Improv Chattanooga Double Header for The Holidays

Come see the talents of the students from the latest workshops at Improv Chattanooga and have a bunch of laughs during this unpredictable comedy double-feature. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the Intro Show starts at 7 p.m. The Advanced Show begins at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for one, or $8 for both. PG-13 show. Cash bar and food available from Adelles Creperie. www.improvchattanooga.com

Thursday, Dec. 15, at The Granfalloon

Appalachian Christmas with River City Sessions

Join River City Sessions and The Granfalloon along with a few of your favorites from previous shows bringing you their favorite holiday memories in song, story and poetry. The River City Sessions is a monthly program featuring local as well as regional artists who join together to deliver a variety of work paying homage to life in the south. All ages are welcome. This show will feature: Trish Ferrell Wileman, Robert Cyphers, Butch Ross, Peggy Douglas, and Michael D. Gray Kemmer Anderson, as well as special guests. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission $5, and all ages are welcome. Adelles Creperie will be open and serving food for this special show http://www.adellescreperie.com/contact/ www.rivercitysessions.com

Saturday, Dec. 17, at Adelles Creperie

Holiday music by Selena Duncan, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Enjoy crepes for brunch in the holiday atmosphere provided by pianist and vocalist Selena Duncan playing our upright Steinway at Adelles. www.adellescreperie.com

Saturday, Dec. 24, at Adelles Creperie

Holiday Brunch, special hours of 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Come experience a new and expanded menu making its debut at Adelles for this special Holiday Brunch. Along with their famous savory and sweet crepes, try the new omelettes, paninis, salads, soups and Belgian waffles. Specialty drinks such as mulled wine, peppermint hot chocolate, eggnog shakes and champagne floats will also be offered. Special music by Carolyn Insler and Jessica Nunn from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. as well as face painting will make this a brunch thats fun for the entire family. Get the kids out of the house while Mom or Dad has some Me time to get that last minute shopping done. www.adellescreperie.com

Monday, Dec. 26, at The Granfalloon

Open AirHolidays Are Over Edition, 7:30-10 p.m.

The holidays are over, but It is still Christmas Break so bring your wee ones to jam and stay up a little late. Or relish in the break with your JamFalloon Family. The evening of networking and play is offered every month for supporters of local music. Bring an instrument and sign up for this Open Mic or make art while you listen. This is a listening room environment, and open free to all ages.

Every last Monday of the month at The Granfalloon we want to see local and touring musicians with friends and fans to come together and share stories and song. Open Air is hosted by Jessica Nunn and The Jamfalloons423. Crepes will be available from Adelles Creperie.

Dec. 28

Milele Roots and Reverse Ferret Holiday Show

Doors open at 7 p.m. and music starts at 8 p.m. with Milele Roots and Reverse Ferret at 9:40 p.m. For the first time a musical stew of Reggae, Rock Steady, Ska and Rock and Roll from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Admission is $10 at the door for ages 18 and up. Food and beverage will be available from Adelles Creperie.

Located at 400 E Main St.






The phrase 'Star Wars prequel' has not exactly been met by diehards with such positivity.

But perhaps that will all change with this latest chapter.

The early reviews of Rogue One: A Star Wars story have generally been pretty good as the film gears up for a wide release later this week.

The Force is strong: The early reviews of Rogue One: A Star Wars story have generally been pretty good as the film gears up for a wide release later this week

As the prequel trilogy featuring Episodes I-III are a bit of a sore subject for many fans of the epic franchise, many will be delighted to know that many critics feel the newest one is not like the others.

Peter Debruge from Variety said: 'For the original generation of Star Wars fans who weren't sure what to make of episodes one, two, and three, Rogue One is the prequel they've always wanted.'

Tony Hicks from the San Jose Mercury News reiterated that point as he wrote: 'Rogue One is a more-than-worthy prequel. Which is a first in the Star Wars universe.'

Proud: Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen and Forest Whitaker - pictured from left to right - at the London premiere on Tuesday

Famed critic and once former partner of Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times, praised the film for it's diverse cast and visual aspects of the film but thought the dialogue was a bit too straight forward and the soundtrack was heavy-handed.

Despite the small issues with the film, he gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five concluding: 'Mostly and most memorably, Rogue One is a bright light in the Star Wars canon.'

Ethan Sacks from the New York Daily News had very high praise as he wrote: 'It stands alone as the best Star Wars entry since 1980's The Empire Strikes Back. Yes, it's that good.'

High praise: Ethan Sacks from the New York Daily News compared the latest flick to 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, which many call the best of the franchise

Despite most of the early reviews being very positive there is a Dark Side, however, as some criticized the flick for being so striking visually but not having enough heart.

Bilge Ebiri for the Village Voice wrote: 'For all its vivid visual imagination, the film left me almost totally cold. And I say that as a man who has cried actual tears at more than one Star Wars movie.'

Stephanie Zacharek of Time Magazine said that this latest movie did something she didn't think was possible; it made her nostalgic for the Star Wars: Episodes I-III prequels as she felt the filmmakers were too careful with Rogue One.

Action man: Some praised the film for it's diversity as Donnie Yen is pictured in his role of Chirrut Imwe

She said: 'Their freak-flag-flying zaniness almost looks progressive next to Rogue One, which is almost pedantic in its inoffensiveness.'

Richard Brody from The New Yorker heavily criticized the upcoming flick and even questioned whether the Star Wars franchise should be abandoned in his review.

He wrote: 'The director of Rogue One, Gareth Edwards, has stepped into a mythopoetic stew so half-baked and overcooked, a morass of pre-instantly overanalyzed implications of such shuddering impact to the series fundamentalists, that he lumbers through, seemingly stunned or constrained or cautious to the vanishing point of passivity, and lets neither the characters nor the formidable cast of actors nor even the special effects, of which he has previously proved himself to be a master, come anywhere close to life.'

'The film left me almost totally cold': Not all of the critics were pleased as Bilge Ebiri for the Village Voice praised the visuals but was not drawn to it emotionally

In the flick Felicity Jones plays Jyn Erso as she leads The Rebellion in a risky move to steal the plans to the Death Star.

The film co-stars Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn and Mads Mikkelsen.

It also features an all-star lineup including Forest Whitaker, James Earl Jones and Jimmy Smits.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story zooms into theatres on December 16 in the US preceded by the UK release on 15 December.
She's the former Home And Away star known for her fabulous bikini body.

And Sharni Vinson was happy to unveil her slender physique during an idyllic trip to the Maldives on Wednesday.

Taking to Instagram, the 33-year-old stunner uploaded a picture of herself clad in a white bikini while floating face-up in a bright blue pool of water.

'Just casually floating in the middle of an overwater restaurant': Sharni Vinson, 33, took to Instagram on Wednesday with a picture of herself clad in a white bikini while floating face-up in a bright blue pool during a trip to the Maldives

'Just casually floating in the middle of an overwater restaurant,' she wrote in the caption, tagging Reethi Beach Resort.

The bronzed thespian added the hash-tags: 'live bait', 'Maldives', 'mermaid', 'fishbowl', 'indian ocean', 'trench' and 'water baby'.

Sharni has been on location in the Maldives working on a screenplay with pal Dawn Sorenson.

'Welcome to our office': Sharni shared a snap on Tuesday, highlighting her slender figure in a skimpy bikini, while appearing to work on a screenplay, during her vacation in the Maldives

On Tuesday, she gave fans a peek at her creative pursuits by sharing a picture of the pair working in their bikinis.

The snap captioned 'welcome to our office', saw the blonde highlighting her slender figure in a skimpy bikini as she appeared to work on the screenplay.

'Welcome to our office! mermaids in the Maldives,' Sharni captioned the snap shared with her 21,600 Instagram followers.

Feeling cheeky: A previous snap shared to Instagram saw the Step Up star flaunting her derriere, toned legs and muscular arms in another skimpy bikini, while on vacation in Sri Lanka

She also added in the hash-tags: 'writers', 'screenplay', 'honeymoon', 'work', 'sangria' and 'making movies'.

The image saw the petite personality revealing her lithe frame in a black triangle bikini and patterned high-cut briefs, as she perched on a sun chair in front of an idyllic backdrop, alongside friend and writer Dawn Sorenson.

While holding onto a glass of sangria and reading from a folder with highlighted notes, Sharni drew attention to her blonde tresses swept underneath a pink cap.

'All we are is love': Another snap shared to Instagram saw the Sydney-born personality offering the camera a good look at her delicate decolletage, incredibly taut torso and lean legs in the same skimpy bikini

She has been keeping her social media followers up-to-date with her recent travels abroad.

A previous image shared to Instagram saw the Step Up star flaunting her derriere, toned legs and defined arms in another skimpy bikini, while on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Captioning the snap with the hashtags #BeachBum and #SriLanka, Sharni accessorised her look with a trendy black fedora and flashed the peace sign for the camera.

The ex-girlfriend of Twilight star Kellan Lutz, previously had to defend her weight after photos of her were criticised online.

She told Heat magazine: 'I've always been a very naturally slim girl. If I was the way I was perceived, I would not physically be able to do what I do.'
She's been documenting her pregnancy on social media since hitting 19 weeks in August.

And on Tuesday, Channel Seven weather reporter Liz Cantor welcomed the arrival of her first child.

The 34-year-old took to Instagram to announce she had given birth to a little boy, Kit Lysaught.

It's a boy! Channel Seven weather reporter Liz Cantor welcomed the arrival of her first child

While sharing the exciting news, the Gold Coast TV presenter admitted: 'It was so scary but the best thing I've EVER done!'

She wrote on social media: '13.12.16 welcome baby boy. Not the afternoon we had planned but better than I could have imagined!

'Sorry to leave you so quickly @hollycasares after travelling all that way from Dublin to see me! Sorry Rick Shores that I didn't have time to cancel my dinner booking!

He's here: The 34-year-old took to Instagram to announce she had given birth to a little boy, naming him Kit Lysaught

Experience: While sharing the exciting news, the Gold Coast TV presenter admitted: 'It was so scary but the best thing I've EVER done'

'And thank you @pindaraprivatematernity and Dr Cary for getting me through this afternoon.

'That was so scary but the best thing I've EVER done. Thrilled. Holly crap... I'm a mum,' she wrapped up.

In August, Liz took to Instagram to 'officially' announce she was pregnant with her first child but admitted she was 'scared' to share the news.

Greetings: Hours before going into labour, she was kicking back in a bikini on the beach with a good friend who had just landed from overseas for a surprise visit

Worries: In August, Liz took to Instagram to 'officially' announce she was pregnant with her first child but admitted she was 'scared' to share the news

'When I fell pregnant I said to [my husband] Ryan there's NO WAY I'm putting pregnancy photos on social media, the thought of sharing something so personal, so publicly, petrified me,' she posted.

'Pregnancy seemed so extremely foreign and such an intimate experience for our family, but now at #18weeks, I've realised this is my life now, bump and all.

'The effort to hide something so obvious was beginning to be exhausting...and while it still scares me to share something so private, publicly, the hope of the tips and advice that may now come my way, as a first time mum make me think it may all be worth it.'
They gave a jaw-dropping performance while flaunting every curve during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last week.

But Josephine Skriver, Taylor Hill and Lais Ribeiro put on an even sexier display while posing in a provocative photo shoot for the luxury lingerie brand on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old Danish model Josephine even went completely topless while frolicking on the beach in Miami for the racy snapshots.

Sizzling! Josephine Skriver went topless in a Victoria's Secret photo shoot while in Miami Beach on Tuesday

The Victoria's Secret Angels sizzled in a sultry shoot as they posed up a storm on the white sandy beach.

Josephine showed off her phenomenal figure in a pair of tiny black panties as she held one arm over her bare breasts.

Her sun-kissed skin looked radiant while she pranced around in the tiny bottoms which exposed her pert derriere.

Beach bum! The 23-year-old Danish model showed off her phenomenal figure and pert derriere in a pair of tiny black panties

Sun-kissed stunner! The Victoria's Secret Angel sizzled in a sultry shoot as she posed up a storm on the white sandy beach

Leaving little to the imagination! Josephine was clearly not camera shy as she merely held one hand over her breasts, barely containing her modesty

White hot! The blonde stunner scintillated in several scantily-clad ensembles including a matching lace bra and panty set

Toned tummy! Her taut torso was on display and she flashed a hefty eyeful of her ample cleavage

The blonde stunner scintillated in several scantily-clad ensembles including a white lace bra and panties set.

Her taut tummy was on display and she flashed a hefty eyeful of her ample cleavage.

The genetically-gifted beauty let her golden blonde tresses down in relaxed waves as she gave the camera her best power poses.

Smouldering! Taylor Hill, 20, posed with a seductive expression in all her toned, bronzed glory

Luscious locks! The genetically-gifted beauty left her long chestnut tresses swept to one side

Hottie Hill! The brunette beauty donned a skimpy navy blue lingerie set as she flaunted her impeccable figure

Lean limbs! The Illinois native slipped on a pair of cutoff shorts which showed off her long endless legs

Taylor, 20, smouldered in a navy bra and panty set and was clearly enjoying the sea breeze as her silky brunette tresses blew in the hot spot beach community.

The Illinois native left her long chestnut locks swept to one side while posing with a seductive expression in all her toned, bronzed glory.

She paired up with Lais, 26, as the models posed seductively while soaking up some rays at the picturesque vacation destination.

Bra-vo! Taylor paired up with Lais Ribeiro, 26, as the models posed seductively while soaking up some rays at the picturesque vacation destination

Radiant! Brazilian beauty Lais made sure to turn heads as her endless lean limbs and sculpted abs glistened in the sun

Eye-popping! The statuesque supermodel put on a busty display in a pastel blue lace bra

The twosome sure looked heavenly on the white sandy shore in coordinating pastel blue and white lingerie sets.

Brazilian model Lais made sure to turn heads as her endless lean limbs and sculpted abs glistened in the sun.

Once the ladies had showed plenty of skin, Taylor changed wardrobes again into sexy Daisy Duke shorts which were adorned with colourful patches throughout.

She donned a skintight plunging white tank which put on an eye-popping display and revealed her decolletage.

Cutoff cutie! Josephine changed wardrobes again into sexy Daisy Duke shorts which were adorned with colourful patches throughout

Taking the plunge! She donned a skintight white tank that revealed her ample decolletage

Pert posterior! She flashed a hint of her bottom in the barely there shorts

Balancing babe! Josephine killed time between shooting on set
She's the up and coming model daughter of makeup king Napoleon Perdis.

And Lianna Perdis wowed in her very first runway show for celebrity designer, Dimitri Petrou in Athens, Greece on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old, who recently signed to CHIC Management, strutted down the the catwalk during The Couture Affair Autumn Winter 2016/17 show and despite oozing confidence, she told Daily Mail Australia that the experience was 'nerve-racking.'

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Rising star! Lianna Perdis, 16, (left) wowed in her very first runway show for celebrity designer, Dimitri Petrou (right) in Athens, Greece on Tuesday

'It was a combination of many feelings,' the cosmetics heiress said in a statement on Wednesday.

'It was so surreal and a tad nerve wrecking. But something I've been dreaming of, since I was five, when I first 'walked' in my mum's heels. And so humbled and excited to be in the finale!!!'

Dimitri Petrou is familiar with the Perdis family as he was commissioned to design her Sweet 16th dress.

Fashionista: The 16-year-old, who recently signed to CHIC Management, strutted down the the catwalk during The Couture Affair Autumn Winter 2016/17 show and despite oozing confidence, she told Daily Mail Australia that the experience was 'nerve-racking.'

Success: 'It was a combination of many feelings,' the cosmetics heiress said in a statement on Wednesday

Reflecting: 'It was so surreal and a tad nerve wrecking. But something I've been dreaming of, since I was five, when I first 'walked' in my mum's heels. And so humbled and excited to be in the finale!!!'

Red carpet photos from the event show Lianna wearing an oriental-inspired gown paired with black velvelt gloves.

Backstage snaps show the teen show her getting her hair and makeup done as she excitedly prepares to walk in her first ever runway show.

In October, she signed to international agency Chic Model Management - signalling a very bright future for the rising star.

The agency manages the likes of Home And Away star Pia Miller, Miss Universe Australia Laura Dundovich and model Chloe Maxwell.

Making moves: Lianna signed with Chic Model Management in October

'Lianna is an impressive young girl who is not only smart and well presented but also stunningly beautiful,' Chic Management told The Daily Telegraph.

It has been a big year for the rising star, with the striking teen gracing the cover of Girlfriend's July issue after launching her own Total Bae cosmetics range in May.

The socialite, who was born in Australia and raised in the US, now splits her time between Athens and Australia with her parents and three younger sisters - Athina, Angelene and Alexia.

Famous family: The young beauty splits her time between Athens and Australia with her parents and three younger sisters - Athina, Angelene and Alexia

And while she was Down Under earlier this year, she spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her stance on plastic surgery and beauty.

With plenty of young celebrities going under the knife in their teens, the natural beauty admitted she felt no pressure to get cosmetic work done.

'Obviously everyone has insecurities and no one is perfect but I don't think you should get work done to change how you look,' she said.

Speaking highly: Chic said the 16-year-old was 'impressive young girl who is not only smart and well presented but also stunningly beautiful'

'You're beautiful the way you are,' Lianna added.

Meanwhile, it's no secret that the young beauty's father has had work done, with Napoleon himself being quite open about his use of Botox injections.

While Lianna says she understands her father's choice, noting he 'does it for age reasons,' cosmetic work is not a path she's keen to go down.

Non-stop: It has been a big year for the rising star, with the striking teen gracing the cover of Girlfriend's July issue after launching her own Total Bae cosmetics range in May

The heir to the multi-million dollar Napoleon Perdis brand also spoke about her decision to enter into the family business and whether she thinks her younger sisters will follow suit.

'Not everyone wants to work with the business,' the teenager said.

'I hope they do, but for right now, that's what I like doing and they're all really proud of me and supportive.'

'If you're doing something that you enjoy, then it's not necessarily hard or stressful for you.'

Confident: Lianna told Daily Mail Australia that she isn't keen on cosmetic surgery, saying: 'You're beautiful the way you are'
It looked to be one hot model conference.

For the past several days some of the top mannequins of the world have been gathered in the Bahamas for a secret photo shoot. Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski Alessandra Ambrosio and Hailey Baldwin have been sharing photos from the gathering.

And on Tuesday Elsa Hosk posted one of the sexiest images from the white sands of the tropical destination.

She's got it: Elsa Hosk shared this selfie from her secret modeling gig in the Bahamas

Her pals: Also on the shoot were Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski

'Coming for you waves,' she captioned the photo.

The 28-year-old Swedish model wore a peach colored string bikini that showed off her incredible curves.

She appeared to be in the bedroom of her hotel and was standing in a front of a mirror as she took her selfie.

Red hot: Before this post, the siren shared several other bikini shots. In one she was sitting on the beach while flashing a peace sign in a red two piece

Getting it white: In another the Vogue model had one leg out while she wore what appeared to be a vintage inspired swimsuit

Before this post, the siren shared several other bikini shots.

In one she was sitting on the beach while flashing a peace sign in a red two piece.

In another the Vogue model had one leg out while she wore what appeared to be a vintage inspired swimsuit.

All of the models have been sharing images from the shoot, and none of them have even dropped a hint what it is for.

Elsa was last seen at the Victoria's Secret Fashion show in Paris where she walked with Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid.
UN chief alarmed by reports of atrocities in Aleppo

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by reports of atrocities against "a large number" of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in the Syrian city of Aleppo, his spokesman said Monday.

"While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary-general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties," said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Ban has asked his envoy Staffan de Mistura to follow up.

A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods George OURFALIAN (AFP/File)

"The United Nations underlines the obligation of all parties on the ground to protect civilians and abide by international humanitarian and human rights law," Dujarric said.

"This is particularly the responsibility of the Syrian government and its allies," notably Russia and Iran, he added.

The Syrian army said its military operations to crush the remaining pockets of resistance from opposition fighters in Aleppo were entering the final phase after months of heavy fighting.

About 10,000 Syrians have fled rebel areas in the past 24 hours, mostly to government-held territory, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.

Last week, the United Nations reported that hundreds of men had gone missing after fleeing the battered city.

The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities.

More than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees.
Egypt accuses Brotherhood of supporting church attackers

Egypt's interior ministry Monday accused fugitive Muslim Brotherhood leaders who have fled to Qatar of training and financing the perpetrators of the bomb attack on a Cairo church that killed 25 people.

It said investigations revealed the group was led by a suspect who received financial and logistical support and instructions to carry out the attacks by Brotherhood leaders residing in Qatar.

The Muslim Brotherhood had denied any involvement with the explosion at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church on Sunday.

Egyptian security forces (L) inspect the scene of a bomb explosion at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Coptic Orthodox Church on December 11, 2016, in Cairo's Abbasiya neighbourhood KHALED DESOUKI (AFP/File)

The incident was the deadliest attack in recent memory on the Christian minority, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population.

In a statement, the interior ministry said investigations showed 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa, the suspected suicide bomber, had been arrested in 2014 while securing Muslim Brotherhood convoys while armed. He was released in May the same year.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had named Mostafa as the suicide bomber earlier on Monday, during a funeral held for the victims.

Mostafa was wanted for two other cases in connection with fundamentalist groups, the ministry said in the statement.

DNA testing of body parts found at the scene matched with his family, it said.

During investigations, authorities found two explosive belts ready to be detonated, as well as other materials used to make explosive devices, at a hideout used by Mostafa and his group.

The attack occurred during Sunday service at the church adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Coptic Christians have been previously targeted in Egypt.

- Suspects named -

The interior ministry also named the four other people whom Sisi said had been arrested.

Rami Mohamed Abdel Hameed Abdel Ghani is suspected to have provided refuge for the suicide bomber, preparing him, and hiding the explosives.

The three others are Mohamed Hamdi Abdel Hamid Abdel Ghani, Mohsen Mostafa el-Sayed Qassem, and Ola Hussein Mohamed Ali, a woman.

The detainees will be presented to state security prosecution, while authorities are still chasing others, according to the statement.

It said the group was led by suspect Mohab Mostafa el-Sayed Qassem, also known as "The Doctor", who travelled to Qatar in 2015 where he met with some Muslim Brotherhood leaders who had fled Egypt.

Qassem was offered financial and logistical support to carry out attacks in Egypt and upon his return, he travelled to North Sinai province, where Islamist insurgents trained him in using weapons and making explosive devices.

When Qassem returned to his home in Cairo, the Brotherhood members residing in Qatar instructed him to start preparing and planning for attacks targeting Copts.

The attacks were "aiming to foment a large-scale sectarian crisis" without linking the group with these attacks, the interior ministry said.

The interior ministry statement claims a group named The Egyptian Revolutionary Council, an alleged arm of the Brotherhood, has issued a statement on December 5 "vowing to target the heads of the Orthodox Church because of its support for the state."

Sunday's blast was the worst attack on the Coptic Christian community since a 2011 suicide bombing killed more than 20 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.

Copts have faced persecution and discrimination dating back to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.

After the 2013 ouster of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi, his Islamist supporters accused the Christian community of supporting his overthrow.

They pointed to the appearance of Tawadros next to Sisi in July 2013, when the then army chief -- also surrounded by Muslim and opposition figures -- announced Morsi's removal on television.
Envoys discuss N. Korea amid political flux in US, S. Korea

Senior US, Japanese and South Korean officials with special responsibility for the North Korean nuclear issue met for talks Tuesday, at a time of political flux and policy uncertainty in Washington and Seoul.

The three envoys get together regularly in each other's capitals and one of their main aims is to shape and maintain a consensus on how best to deal with the growing nuclear weapons threat from Pyongyang.

It's a consensus that is looking particularly frail at the moment.

US President-elect Donald Trump says China should do more to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme GREG BAKER (AFP)

The trio's meeting in Seoul on Tuesday was the first since the eruption of a major political scandal in South Korea that resulted in parliament voting last week to impeach President Park Geun-Hye.

Park took a hard line with North Korea and was a staunch ally of Washington's policy of "strategic patience" -- essentially a refusal to engage in any significant dialogue unless Pyongyang made some tangible commitment to denuclearisation.

Although Park's impeachment still requires approval by the Constitutional Court, most observers are betting on an early election that could result in a more pro-engagement president entering the Blue House.

It's also the first trilateral meeting since Donald Trump became US president-elect -- a result that could presage some tectonic shifts in US foreign policy, including how to deal with the security situation on the Korean peninsula.

In a recent interview that drew expressions of deep concern from Beijing, Trump questioned Washington's traditional "one China policy" -- the cornerstone of decades of Sino-American diplomacy.

Adherence to the policy should be linked to other bilateral issues, Trump argued, citing the need for China to do far more to help pressure North Korea into abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.

"I think it is indeed meaningful that at this time our three countries are meeting again to have an in-depth discussion on how to further strengthen our trilateral coordination on North Korea," the South Korean envoy, Kim Hong-Kyun, said before Tuesday's talks began.

"Given the seriousness of the situation unfolding in the region, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of maintaining close coordination between the three countries," Kim said.

The last time the three envoys met was in Tokyo in June, and this will be the fist trilateral sit down for the new US representative Joseph Yun.

High on the agenda will be implementation of the new sanctions announced earlier this month by the UN Security Council, following North Korea's fifth nuclear test in September.

The measures aimed at blocking Pyongyang's access to hard currency revenues included a cap on North Korea's coal exports -- a key foreign exchange earner.
Migrant disaster boat skipper jailed in Italy

An Italian court ruled Tuesday that the captain of a migrant boat that sank in 2015, killing up to 900 people, was responsible for the disaster, the Mediterranean's worst since World War II.

Judges in the Sicilian port city of Catania ordered Mohammed Ali Malek, a Tunisian national, to serve 18 years in jail for multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the tragedy after the packed boat capsized after colliding with a freighter coming to its aid.

Syrian Mahmoud Bikhit, accused of being his first mate, was handed a five-year sentence for his role in the tragedy off the Libyan coast. Italian forensic scientists spent months sorting through decomposed body parts to count the victims.

Mohammed Ali Malek (2nd L), one of the survivors and understood to be the captain of the boat that overturned off the coasts of Libya, seen onboard the Italian Coast Guard vessel Bruno Gregoretti, in April 2015 Alberto Pizzoli (AFP/File)

The men were ordered to pay nine million euros ($9.5 million) each in compensation.

Both had claimed they were simple migrants and had been made to steer the boat by the real traffickers.

But survivors told investigators that Malek, who had lived in Italy in the past, was the captain. And that it was his lack of sailing skills that caused the deadly collision.

"I spent two years and six months in Italy and I have a young son with an Italian woman: I want to marry her and recognise the baby," Malek told the court in a plea before the verdict.

"It's the truth. I've always told the truth. Just as I immediately gave (police) my real name, and told them I was a passenger," he said.

The boat was carrying people largely from The Gambia, Senegal and Mali, as well as Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia. Only 28 survived.

- 'Scapegoat' -

Up to 900 people were packed into the 27-metre (90-foot) boat when it left Libya.

While prosecutors have put the number of victims at around 700 because there are 700 body bags, forensic scientists who examined the remains put the number at closer to 900, saying many bags contained pieces of more than one person.

Malek's lawyer Massimo Ferrante told AFP his client had been "naturally shocked by the verdict, but told me he wants to fight".

They will be appealing, he said.

Firefighters who recovered the mangled bodies from the rotting ship said they had been "packed in like on the trains for Auschwitz".

The Sicilian court heard from a survivor who lost relatives on the night of the April 18-19 wreck.

The vessel sank in pitch darkness after running into the Portuguese freighter King Jacob which had raced to its rescue, the collision sending its passengers over to one side and causing the vessel to tip over.

The King Jacob's captain, Abdullah Ambrousi, said he saw the migrant boat sailing erratically and cut his engines to avoid a crash, but the smaller vessel sped up and rammed into the freighter.

Malek has claimed the real captain died in the wreck and he is being scapegoated by the other survivors because he is Tunisian.

Italy's navy had the grisly task of raising the corpse-packed trawler from the seabed this year after the government promised to give the victims decent burials as a symbol of respect for all the migrants who have died trying to reach Europe's shores. The salvage cost 10 million euros.

- Desperate fight to escape -

Italian firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari has said the decomposing migrant bodies were found everywhere, from the well of the anchor chain to the tiny underfloor compartment where the bilge pump sits, to the engine room.

It was clear from their positions that many had fought desperately, but in vain, to get out when the boat rolled.

Fingerprints, DNA samples and distinguishing body marks were collected on file from the corpses in the hope the data may helping relatives seeking lost loved ones.

Over 12,000 people are known to have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since the current migrant crisis erupted in 2013. Aid agencies say it is likely many more disappeared without trace.

The departures have not stopped despite the turn in the weather as winter sets in. A record number of 175,000 people have arrived on Italy's shores this year.
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Hixson Pet Wellness Center's grand opening on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. at 5510 Highway 153, Ste. 199.



The Hixson Pet Wellness Center is a veterinary clinic that offers preventative care, general surgery, treatment services, and emergency care with transportation. This center is a part of the Chattanooga Veterinary Network and is owned and operated by Dr. Denise Jones.



Hours of operation are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. The center is closed on Sunday and Wednesday.



For more information about the Hixson Pet Wellness Center, contact Ben Wyatt at 423-254-5370.
Putin heads to Japan for hot spring meet on disputed islands

Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Japan Thursday to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the latest bid to reach a deal on a territorial dispute that has prevented their nations signing a formal treaty to end World War II.

Abe will host Putin at the hot springs in his ancestral city of Nagato in the hope of breaking the ice on an agreement over the Kuril Islands, seized by Soviet troops in 1945 and demanded back by Tokyo ever since.

But despite months of preparatory negotiations, hope is scant that the leaders can finally hammer out the differences over the four islands -- known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan -- during Putin's first visit in more than a decade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold talks to resolve the countries' dispute over the Kuril islands Michael Klimentyev (Sputnik/AFP/File)

"The absence of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan is an anachronism inherited from the past and this anachronism should be eliminated," Putin said in an interview with Japan's Nippon TV and Yomiuri newspaper published on the Kremlin's website Tuesday.

"But how to do this is a difficult question."

He added that Russia would strive to reach a treaty because it wants "full normalisation" of ties with Japan.

Putin's two-day trip, including a forum in Tokyo, has been long in the pipeline and follows two visits by Abe to Russia this year.

Abe has looked to eke out concessions on the Kurils by dangling the prospect of major Japanese investment in front of Moscow, still mired in economic crisis.

"This new approach is very bold," said James Brown, assistant professor in political science at Temple University, Japan. "He is determined to try to make a breakthrough."

But few believe Putin is likely to cave in to Japanese demands to hand back at least some control over the islands, especially after the election of Donald Trump in the US gave him an unexpected fillip.

In the run-up to the meeting, officials have been careful to roll back any expectation of a deal.

- 'Don't trade in territories' -

"It's not simple to bring the two sides' positions closer," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida this month.

And while Tokyo might have been hoping that the mood could be changing, Russia pointedly fired off a timely message of strength ahead of Putin's visit by bolstering its might on the Kurils.

Last month, Moscow reportedly deployed coastal defence missiles to two of the four islands, heightening Japanese anger already piqued by the construction of two modern military compounds.

Putin's meeting with Abe is just the latest attempt to draw a line under World War II since Japan and the Soviet Union began talks in 1956.

Experts view recent rapprochement efforts as a positive development for Moscow's trade ties with a stalwart US ally but doubt that either side will budge on the territorial issue.

Bilateral trade fell last year by 31 percent to $21.3 billion (19 billion euros), in part due to Japan signing up to Western sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine.

But some 30 agreements between Russian and Japanese companies are expected to be signed during Putin's visit, including in the fields of energy, agriculture and technology.

Russia's delegation includes Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin and Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov, as well as business leaders Igor Sechin, the CEO of oil giant Rosneft, and Oleg Deripaska, who heads aluminium producer Rusal.

Analyst Fyodor Lukyanov said that under its current difficult economic circumstances, Moscow is "highly interested in attracting Japanese investments to Russia's far-east".

But Japanese experts doubt that Tokyo will be able to use its economic leverage to force Moscow to make compromises over the islands.

"It's too optimistic to expect that economic cooperation will help win Russian concessions on the territorial row," said Shigeki Hakamada, a political science professor at Japan's University of Niigata Prefecture.

Although Russia is seeking to thaw relations on the economic front, Putin insisted that "we don't trade in territories" in an interview with Bloomberg News in September.

"Throughout this year there have been clear indications that the Russian side is delighted to talk about economic cooperation," analyst Brown said.

"They are willing to build closer relations but they have never really given any sign that a major breakthrough on the territorial issue was a possibility."

Kuril islands
Trump taps ExxonMobil chief Tillerson as top diplomat

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as America's next secretary of state, flouting concerns from allies and foes alike about the oilman's deep ties to Russia.

The nomination, which caps weeks of debate about the right candidate, was the most keenly awaited among Trump's appointments as the world waits to see how the 70-year-old Republican billionaire intends to alter US foreign policy.

Trump has stoked alarm among Democrats and fellow Republicans ahead of his January 20 inauguration by calling for closer ties with Moscow, in contrast to received wisdom in Washington that Russia remains a global security threat.

Rex Tillerson, pictured in 2015, was a vocal opponent of sanctions on Moscow that thwarted his attempt to strike huge oil deals in the Russian Arctic BEN STANSALL (AFP/File)

That sentiment, coupled to the fact that Trump has dismissed a CIA assessment that Russia deployed hackers to help him win the election -- could complicate Tillerson's confirmation hearings before a wary Senate.

Trump said Tillerson, who has spent his entire professional career to date at ExxonMobil, had "second to none" relationships with world leaders.

The 64-year-old Texan, who has no previous government experience, "will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened America's security and standing in the world," Trump said.

The Kremlin welcomed his nomination with an aide praising him as a "very solid figure" with whom President Vladimir Putin and other Russians have "good, business-like relations."

Tillerson, who was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Putin in 2013, has publicly opposed sanctions on Moscow that thwarted his attempt to pursue huge oil deals in the Russian Arctic.

He joined ExxonMobil in 1975 as an engineer, before rising to become president and chief executive, overseeing business activities in more than 50 countries. Appointed CEO in 2006, he had been due to retire in March.

- Putin's friend? -

A series of establishment Republicans, including former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and James Baker, and former defense secretary Robert Gates lined up to praise Tillerson.

The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries hailed the nomination, calling Tillerson "a great asset" to the incoming administration.

As a candidate he beat off a string of arguably more experienced contenders, including former CIA director David Petraeus and erstwhile Trump critic and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

But his lack of formal policy and government experience, and embedded relationship with a hugely powerful energy company is bound to result in sharp questions in the Senate confirmation hearings.

Senior Republican Senator John McCain has called Tillerson's ties to Putin "a matter of concern."

"Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying," McCain has said.

Senator Marco Rubio, a former Trump rival for the Republican White House nomination, tweeted: "Being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryofState."

Leading senators -- including McCain -- have backed a congressional probe into US intelligence assessments on Russian election interference, putting top Republicans on a collision course with Trump, who dismissed the reports as "ridiculous".

If confirmed, Tillerson will face the hugely sensitive job of representing overseas a president apparently intent on trashing protocol and upending relationships built on decades of delicate diplomacy.

Beyond thorny ties with Russia, Sino-US relations are strained after a series of moves by Trump that provoked China, the world's second-largest economy, and controversy is also rife over his global business empire.

- Business controversy -

Critics argue that it would be an unprecedented ethical conflict for Trump to maintain interest in properties spanning the globe -- investments that rely partly on goodwill from foreign governments and regulators.

Trump postponed a press conference originally set for Thursday at which he was to unveil plans for separating himself from his global business dealings, instead taking to Twitter.

"No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office," he tweeted late Monday, adding that his two adult sons, Don and Eric, would manage his company.

With Tillerson's nomination, Trump is wrapping up the process of building a cabinet. Multiple reports say he has chosen former Texas governor Rick Perry to be energy secretary.

He greeted the usual stream of officials at Trump Tower on Tuesday -- along with rapper Kanye West. The president-elect said the unusual pair discussed "life."

Entertainment site E! News later reported that Trump wanted to make West an "ambassador of sorts" involved in "entrepreneurial leadership."

He also met Bill Gates, the richest man on the planet who dedicates his life to philanthropy, and who said Trump had an opportunity to inspire Americans to embrace innovation as John F. Kennedy once promoted space exploration.

"We had a good conversation about innovation, how it can help in health, education, the impact of foreign aid and energy, and a wide-ranging conversation about power of innovation," Gates said afterward.

Later Tuesday, Trump is scheduled to headline yet another "thank you" rally, this time in the traditionally Democrat-leaning state of Wisconsin, which helped to cement his shock defeat of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump administration nominees Christopher HUFFAKER (AFP)

Vladimir Putin (L) speaks with ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson during the 2011 signing of a Rosneft-ExxonMobil strategic partnership agreement in Sochi Alexey Druzhinin (RIA Novosti/AFP/File)

Rex Tillerson currently oversees ExxonMobil's business activities in more than 50 countries
Tensions fly as Mucha's epic Slav paintings set for tour

The giant Slav Epic series by Art Nouveau icon Alfons Mucha is caught in a legal tug-of-war between the city of Prague and the Czech painter's grandson, triggered by plans to send the work on tour to Japan.

Though the late artist seduced early 20th century Paris with his floral posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha considered his masterpiece to be the 20 huge paintings that recount the history of the Slavic people.

But his grandson, John Mucha, has sued the city, questioning Prague's ownership of the allegoric cycle inspired in part by mythology, with a local court scheduled to take up the case in January.

Visitors look at paintings of the Slav Epic, a cycle of 20 allegories tracing the history of the Slavic people and inspired in part by mythology, by Art Nouveau Czech artist Alfons Mucha, at the National Gallery in Prague Michal CIZEK (AFP/File)

The legal wrangling puts a question mark on plans to display the canvases -- ranging between 20 and 50 square metres (215 and 540 square feet) -- in Japan next year.

"The Japanese are great admirers of Alfons Mucha," says Magdalena Jurikova, director of the Prague City Gallery in charge of the work.

"One of the Slav Epic canvases was already on display in Japan and the Japanese side has always sought to welcome the work as a whole."

The National Art Centre in Tokyo wants to exhibit the collection from March to June to coincide with the Year of Czech Culture, marking the 60th anniversary of renewed diplomatic ties between Japan and the Czech Republic.

But John Mucha has cited concerns raised by certain conservators that the transportation as well as the different climate in Asia pose risks of damaging the artwork.

Moving the collection to Asia would be "a risky and irresponsible business," says Karel Stretti, head of the restoration department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.

The Prague City Gallery begs to differ.

"I have rolled, installed and uninstalled these canvases in different galleries across the world and the Czech Republic and we never had to restore them after travel," says curator Tomas Berger, who will accompany the work to Japan.

In addition, the canvases will be flown in air-conditioned boxes and for security reasons put on three different planes, the gallery director says.

- Who's the owner? -

Jurikova also says she does not believe the Tokyo exhibition is in jeopardy because of the court case.

According to a 1913 contract, the work was commissioned by an American Slavophile. Charles Crane, with the intention to donate it to Prague.

John Mucha, who lives in London, believes the contract says Crane donated the work on the condition that the city offer a decent building for it.

The versatile artist, who designed furniture, jewellery, stained glass, theatre sets, postage stamps and bank notes, even left in his files architectural sketches for the building he desired.

However, a century later the paintings have yet to find a permanent home and are temporarily on display at the national gallery in Prague's Trade Fair Palace.

"Prague has not met this clearly formulated condition to the present day," the grandson's lawyer Frantisek Vyskocil said in a letter to city hall.

He said the paintings should therefore return to the family -- a claim the city disputes.

The contract "clearly says that the Slav Epic belongs to the city and the conditions do not include the construction of a new building", said Prague councillor in charge of culture, Jan Wolf.

- Turbulent history -

The row adds another chapter to the work's turbulent history.

In the 1930s and 40s, the canvases were placed in a depository and then hidden under a pile of coal from the Nazis, who considered Mucha a freemason and Jewish sympathiser.

The post-war communist regime in turn denounced Mucha, who died in 1939, as a decadent bourgeois.

It was only in the 1960s that the collection was taken out of obscurity and put on display at the Moravsky Krumlov castle in the Czech countryside.

In 2012, the paintings were moved to Prague as castle conditions deteriorated.

John Mucha would like the work returned to Moravsky Krumlov, which lies only a dozen kilometres from Ivancice, the town where his grandfather was born.

He believes the castle could host a Mucha Centre.

But Jurikova says the castle is "in a sorry state", adding that because of space issues the "the work can't be displayed as a whole there" but would need to be spread across floors.

She believes the only solution is to build an ultra modern pavilion for it.

"We do have the money and we are willing to do that," adds city councillor Wolf.
US declassifies new documents on Argentina's rights abuses

The US government declassified Monday a new batch of documents shedding light on human rights abuses under Argentina's military dictatorship between 1975 and 1984.

The White House released about 500 newly declassified records, part of President Barack Obama's pledge to provide additional documents to help Argentina hold human rights abusers accountable.

Obama, on his March 2016 visit to Argentina, said that more documents would be declassified, following the 2002 release of more than 4,000 records.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) delivered a first set of declassified documents to Argentine President Mauricio Macri in August, 2016 HO (PRESIDENCIA ARGENTINA/AFP)

Those documents showed US officials had encouraged the Argentine junta's purge of leftists.

For the first time, the US this year included military and intelligence records as requested by Argentine President Mauricio Macri and human rights groups.

Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a first batch of 1,000 declassified records to Macri in August.

The initial set and the second set of 500 records are available to the public at www.icontherecord.tumblr.com, the White House said in a statement.

"The declassification project represents a historic effort by US Government agencies and departments to search, identify, review for public access, and provide records that shed light on human rights abuses in Argentina between 1975 and 1984," the Obama administration said.

"These newly declassified records represent a continued commitment by the United States to promote justice and reconciliation in Argentina, to underscore the importance of transparency, and to highlight our shared commitment to human rights," it said.

"These records represent the second step in a lengthy and ambitious declassification process."

Obama's trip to Argentina last March was the first bilateral visit by a US president there since Bill Clinton in 1997.
Japan, China, S. Korea summit postponed on Park woes

Japan is postponing a summit with China and South Korea, the government said Tuesday, after the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

The Asian powers were planning to hold an annual trilateral gathering this month in Japan, which is the rotating chair.

South Korea's parliament voted Friday to impeach Park, who is engulfed in a scandal over her friendship with a long-time confidante charged with meddling in state affairs.

Japan has postponed a summit with South Korea and China after the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye YONHAP (YONHAP/AFP/File)

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, while not directly mentioning Park's impeachment, said "various factors" were behind the decision.

"We decided to re-arrange it and hold the summit at an appropriate time next year," he told reporters after a regular cabinet meeting.

South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed the postponement, with a spokesperson in Seoul saying only that the three sides "had difficulty setting a date this year".

China, meanwhile, said it was important to keep up the "momentum" of three-way cooperation.

"We believe that the summit should be held when the timing and conditions are convenient for all three countries and should be able to reach positive outcomes," said Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesman.

Park has been relieved of official duties as president and is awaiting a decision by the country's Constitutional Court -- a process that could take months -- on whether she will have to permanently step down.

She has been replaced in the interim by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn.

Leaders of the three countries met in November last year in South Korea, marking the first trilateral summit since 2012.
2.2 million Yemen children acutely malnourished: UN

Nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, victims of the near-collapse of the health care system during two years of escalating conflict, UN children's fund UNICEF said on Tuesday.

At least 462,000 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, as food supplies have been disrupted by the devastating war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels, the agency said.

Saada province, a rebel bastion in the far north, has the world's highest stunting rate among children with eight out of 10 children affected in some areas, it added.

Saida Ahmad Baghili, an 18-year-old Yemeni woman lies in bed at the al-Thawra hospital in Hodeidah where she is receiving treatment for severe malnutrition on October 25, 2016

"Malnutrition in Yemen is at an all-time high and increasing," said UNICEF's acting country representative, Meritxell Relano.

"The state of health of children in the Middle East's poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today."

At least one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen because of malnutrition and preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections.

"Diseases such as cholera and measles have spread and, with few health facilities functional, such outbreaks are taking a heavy toll on children," Relano said.

In 2016, UNICEF supported the treatment of 215,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and provided more than four million children under the age of five with vitamin supplements.

But relief operations remain hindered by funding shortfalls and limited access to battleground areas.

"We call on parties to the conflict to give us unhindered access to children in need across the country so we are able to deliver nutrition supplies, treat malnourished children and support Yemen's health services," Relano said.
China warns Trump of 'crushing his own toes' on Taiwan

China offered its sternest rebuke yet to Donald Trump, saying anyone who challenges Beijing's interests in Taiwan will "lift a rock only to crush his own toes".

"If he tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China's core interests, ultimately he will lift a rock only to crush his own toes," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said Monday in Switzerland according to comments posted on the ministry's web site.

China is closely monitoring developments, he said, issuing a warning against "any person or force in the world" looking to play tough with Beijing on Taiwan.

Donald Trump said he could jettison Washington's decades-old "One China policy", allowing the US to do business with both Beijing and Taipei Greg Baker (AFP/File)

The comments come after Trump said he could jettison Washington's decades-old "One China policy" -- a diplomatic dodge allowing the US to simultaneously do business with Beijing and Taipei.

On Tuesday Chinese media sent another fusillade toward the "presumptuous and ill-guided" president-elect, slamming his approach to Taiwan as a recipe for disaster.

"Beijing should be prepared for the worst-case scenarios, particularly regarding Taiwan, as a presumptuous and ill-guided Trump looks set to usher in an era of turmoil," the state-run China Daily said in an editorial accompanied by a cartoon of the billionaire politician sitting on a powder keg.

"Trump's bloated and bloating ego may prevent him from seeing that is the likely outcome that lies ahead if he persists with this gamble."

China regards self-ruling Taiwan as part of its own territory awaiting reunification under Beijing's rule.

The nationalistic Global Times newspaper warned Trump in its editorial Tuesday that "pride goes before a fall", and said he had lost the "strategic initiative" by revealing his strategy of "blackmailing" China.

"Especially in the Taiwan Strait, China is now confident enough to arm-wrestle with Trump," it said.

Trump shocked the diplomatic establishment and angered Beijing by speaking directly with Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen after his election victory.

After fierce criticism of the move, he upped the ante, taking to Twitter to ask why he should not be allowed to speak to Tsai, then attacking Chinese foreign and economic policy.

On Sunday, he went a step further, saying he did not see why Washington must "be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."

The remarks were a step too far for Beijing, which had initially seemed resigned to taking a wait-and-see approach to the president-elect.

Trump's comments also earned a rare rebuke from the White House, with spokesman Josh Earnest warning the president-elect that Taiwan is not a "bargaining chip".
Syria rebels to leave Aleppo under evacuation deal

Civilians and rebel fighters were to start evacuating from Syria's Aleppo Wednesday under a deal that would end years of opposition resistance in the city.

The evacuations which were expected to begin at 0300 GMT, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, had yet to commence more than half an hour after the time had passed, an AFP correspondent in the city said.

About 20 green government buses were gathered at the edges of the divided Salaheddin district. Some entered briefly Tuesday night but returned empty and parked on the outskirts again, the journalist said.

Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards the government-held side on December 13, 2016 during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city Karam Al-Masri (AFP)

Rebel officials, Russia and Turkey confirmed the agreement which, if implemented, would mark a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad over opposition forces who rose up against him in 2011.

The agreement came amid mounting global outrage over reports of atrocities, including dozens of summary executions, as forces loyal to Assad closed in on the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo.

Officials from several rebel groups told AFP there was a deal to allow civilians and fighters to leave Aleppo for opposition-held territory to the west of the city.

"An agreement has been reached," said Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group, adding it had been "sponsored" by Russia and Turkey.

"The first stage will be the evacuation of civilians and wounded, within hours, and afterwards fighters will leave with their light weapons."

- US calls for observers -

Washington said it had not been consulted but would welcome any arrangement that brought safety to the people of Aleppo.

"It matters a lot less to us who or how a ceasefire is arranged or reached, and much more that one is arranged and reached," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

"Even if it is the end of the siege in Aleppo, it is not the end of the war in Syria."

As the UN Security Council met in an emergency session to discuss Aleppo, Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin confirmed there was an agreement for the rebels to leave the city.

US ambassador Samantha Power said Washington wanted international observers to oversee the evacuation, raising concern for "people who wish to leave but who, justifiably, fear that if they try they will be shot in the street or carted off to one of Assad's gulags."

Turkey's foreign ministry said under the agreement civilians would first evacuate, followed by a withdrawal of rebel groups.

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek also said on Twitter that Turkey would "set up a tent city to accommodate up to 80,000 Syrian refugees fleeing Aleppo".

An AFP correspondent in west Aleppo said there had been no sounds of fighting or bombardment since around 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) Tuesday and the Observatory also said it was quiet.

The United Nations and aid agencies had been pleading for an agreement to allow for the evacuation of thousands of civilians trapped in rebel territory.

After weeks of heavy fighting, forces loyal to Assad were on the verge of taking all of the city, dealing the biggest blow to Syria's rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

- Scenes of carnage -

The United Nations said it had received credible reports of at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, being executed by pro-government forces in Aleppo in recent days.

In Geneva, UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said pro-government fighters had in some cases entered homes and killed those inside, and in others "caught and killed on the spot" fleeing civilians.

The UN was "filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner of opposition-held eastern Aleppo," he said.

Witnesses in Aleppo described scenes of carnage in rebel areas, with bodies lying amid the rubble of city streets, as desperate residents sat on pavements with nowhere to shelter.

Syria's army has taken more than 90 percent of the territory once held by rebels in east Aleppo, after launching an all-out offensive last month to seize control of the entire city.

Aleppo, a cultural and economic hub in northern Syria second only to Damascus in importance, had been split between a rebel-controlled east and government-held west since 2012.

- 'Last chance' -

It was unclear how many civilians remained in rebel territory, after an estimated 130,000 fled to other parts of Aleppo during the government advance.

Jan Egeland, head of the UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, told AFP that thousands of civilians were in need of evacuation and safe passage, including hundreds of wounded.

"We need a pause in the fighting but we also need to get the people inside to help organise an evacuation," he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said there was only a "last chance to save lives" in Aleppo.

The government assault has been backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes, with at least 463 civilians, including 62 children, killed in east Aleppo since mid-November, according to the Observatory.

Another 130 people including 40 children have been killed in western districts by rebel rocket fire, the monitoring group says.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees.

Before the evacuation deal was reached, the UN said it had received reports of at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, being executed by pro-government forces Karam Al-Masri (AFP)

Aleppo's human tragedy Valentina BRESCHI, Simon MALFATTO (AFP)

A member of the Syrian pro-government forces walks in eastern Aleppo's al-Kalasseh neighbourhood on December 13, 2016

More than 130,000 civilians have fled eastern parts of Aleppo since the start of the regime's offensive in mid-November, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights George Ourfalian (AFP/File)
African leaders set for showdown with Gambia's Jammeh

Four African heads of state landed in The Gambia on Tuesday with a mission to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to leave office, as the country's election commission was locked down by police.

Jammeh's party has vowed to challenge the result of a presidential election in court, unleashing an avalanche of calls at home and abroad for him to cede power to opponent Adama Barrow, who was officially declared the winner.

After arriving in Banjul, Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari, Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama convened at a luxury hotel before heading for talks with Jammeh around 1330 GMT.

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh, who took office in a coup, has led The Gambia for 22 years Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

They were to be joined later by UN West Africa envoy Mohamed Ibn Chambas, whom Jammeh has refused to meet on several occasions in the past, a spokesman confirmed to AFP.

Jammeh sent his deputy Isatou Njie-Saidy to meet the delegation on the tarmac, reportedly due to security fears for the longtime leader's safety.

"We hope we can talk and that the will of the people will prevail," President Sirleaf, who heads the delegation, told journalists after arrival.

Nigerian foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama said his side was "hopeful" and going into talks with "no preconditions".

After meeting Jammeh the African leaders will hold separate negotiations with Barrow, several sources told AFP.

Influential opposition coalition members were gathering by afternoon in preparation for their round of talks, and were confident of a breakthrough.

"Remember President Buhari is from the military. Jammeh is from the military. I think that will make a difference," said Hamat Bah, a senior coalition official.

Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his regional peers but has never threatened peace in the sub-region, a situation that has dramatically shifted since Jammeh's move to void the election.

In a sign that Jammeh may be serious regarding a legal dispute over the vote, the staff of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) were locked out of their premises on Tuesday, their chairman told AFP.

"I went to work this morning, but personnel of the Police Intervention Unit (riot police) did not allow me to enter the headquarters," IEC chief Alieu Momar Njie told AFP.

No reason was given, he added. The premises remained locked down and surrounded by police by early afternoon.

A readjustment of the votes counted in the election was made by the IEC on Monday last week, reducing the number of ballots for all three candidates but ultimately confirming Barrow's victory.

- Army loyalty -

Meanwhile Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie seemed to reverse a previous declaration of support for Barrow and arrived at delegation preparation talks wearing a badge that featured Jammeh's face on his uniform.

Badjie said he supported the "commander in chief, President Yahya Jammeh" in brief comments to journalists.

This followed comments by the US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, warning that The Gambia faced "a very dangerous moment" if the military continued to side with the president.

If Jammeh and the delegation does not reach an agreement, west African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", a top official with the regional ECOWAS bloc headed by Sirleaf told French radio station RFI late Monday.

Despite the IEC incident, Jammeh's party had not filed a complaint with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, thought to be constitutionally the last day possible to contest the election result, but they have until 6pm to do so.

A group of the country's most influential lawyers has said there is "no legitimate legal mechanism available in The Gambia to hear and determine the election petition", as Jammeh would have to stuff the court with his own appointees.

The legal body has lain dormant since May 2015 as Jammeh himself sacked many of its judges.

- 'Go now' -

Jammeh has led The Gambia for 22 years since taking power in a coup.

President-elect Barrow has told AFP he wants Jammeh to step down "now", though the longtime leader has the legal right to stay in office until mid-January.

The African Union has also promised to dispatch its own delegation as soon as possible to aid the transfer of power, while a statement released Monday said it rejected "any attempt to circumvent or reverse the outcome of the presidential election."

Gambia afp (AFP)
Israel officials snub Swedish minister after row

No Israeli officials will meet Sweden's foreign minister during her trip to the region, a spokesman said Tuesday, after she called for a probe into the killings of Palestinian assailants.

Erik Wirkensjo, spokesman for Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom, told AFP she had wanted to meet both Israeli and Palestinian officials during her visit from Thursday to Saturday.

"This time it was not possible to visit Israel," Wirkensjo said.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom Sebastian Gollnow (dpa/AFP/File)

Asked why there were no meetings planned, he said such questions must be "asked to the Israelis".

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon blamed "schedule problems" and declined to provide further details.

Earlier, Wallstrom told Swedish news agency TT: "I would have gladly seen myself travel to Israel as well, but unfortunately they do not welcome it."

There is no international airport in the Palestinian territories. Wirkensjo declined to comment on whether Wallstrom would fly to an Israeli airport and then travel to the occupied West Bank or go via Jordan.

She was not denied entry to Israel, he said.

Wallstrom will meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and foreign minister Riad al-Malki during her trip.

In January, Israel's deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely said Wallstrom would no longer be welcome in the country after she called for investigations into the killings of Palestinian assailants by Israeli forces.

Wallstrom had earlier said Israel must avoid "extrajudicial executions".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Wallstrom's call as "outrageous".

Israeli forces have faced accusations that they used excessive force in some cases in which knife-wielding Palestinians were killed.

A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks erupted in October 2015, but the violence has greatly subsided in recent months.

Since October 2015, 242 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed, according to an AFP count.
Death toll in Syria war rises to 312,000: monitor

Syria's war has killed just more than 312,000 people since it began in March 2011, over 90,000 of them civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said Tuesday.

The Britain-based group said it had recorded the deaths of 312,001 people since the war began with anti-government protests, including nearly 16,000 children.

The toll includes more than 53,000 rebels and nearly 110,000 pro-regime fighters, among them over 60,000 Syrian soldiers, but also tens of thousands of Syrian militiamen, members of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement and other foreign fighters.

The Britain-based group said it had recorded the deaths of 312,001 people since the war began with anti-government protests, including nearly 16,000 children Achilleas Zavallis (AFP/File)

The group said nearly 55,000 jihadists had also been killed in the fighting, most of them from the Islamic State group or former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, but also from smaller groups.

The Observatory said it had also recorded the deaths of 3,683 people it had not been able to identify.

Syria's conflict began with anti-government protests but spiralled into a brutal civil war after a government crackdown on dissent.

It has drawn in proxy powers and attracted foreign jihadists, but successive attempts to negotiate a political end to the conflict have failed.
Remand hearing for Cairo church bombing suspects

Four suspects in a Cairo church bombing which killed 25 people have been referred to state security prosecutors for a remand hearing, officials said on Tuesday.

Police arrested three men and one woman on suspicion of assisting the suicide bomber who carried out Sunday's attack during a service at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced on Monday.

They will ask prosecutors to remand the four in custody for up to 15 days while the investigation continues.

Egyptian clergymen and officials carry the coffins of the victims of a church bombing in Cairo, on December 12, 2016 Khaled DESOUKI (AFP)

One of the four, identified by the interior ministry as Rami Mohamed Abdel Hameed Abdel Ghani, is suspected of hiding the explosives and the bomber, and of preparing him for the attack.

The president named the bomber as Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa, 22. The interior ministry said he was identified by DNA tests.

Egypt's Coptic Christian minority accounts for up to 10 percent of the population and has long complained of persecution and discrimination.

The church targeted in Sunday's bombing lies next to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

Police are searching for several other suspects.

The interior ministry named the suspected ringleader as Mohab Mostafa el-Sayed Qassem, also known as "The Doctor".

It charged he had travelled to Qatar in 2015 to meet fugitive leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the party of president Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by Sisi in 2013.
Drone strike kills IS figures in Syria, some with Paris attack ties

A coalition drone strike in Syria killed three Islamic State group leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men who helped facilitate last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

They were killed in a December 4 airstrike in Raqa, an IS group stronghold in Syria.

Fighters are pictured on the outskirts of the Islamic State bastion of Raqa, on December 11, 2016 DELIL SOULEIMAN (AFP/File)

Two of those killed -- Salah-Eddine Gourmat and Sammy Djedou -- were involved in facilitating the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died, Cook said.

Gourmat was a French national and Djedou, Belgian.

Both of them were "close associates" of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, an IS spokesman and external operations leader who was killed in a coalition airstrike in August.

The third person killed was Walid Hamman, a Frenchman who Cook said was a suicide-attack planner convicted in absentia in Belgium for a terror plot disrupted in 2015.

They were riding together in a vehicle at the time of the drone strike, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

All three belonged to a network led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, a Tunisian killed in an airstrike last month, officials said.

During last year's IS-claimed attacks in Paris, suicide bombers and gunmen launched a coordinated assault across the French capital, including at the Bataclan, a concert hall where three attackers killed 90 people during a rock gig.

Gourmat had worked on external attacks in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and was involved in the "financial facilitation" of the Paris attacks, Davis said.

Djedou took part in plotting Europe attacks, Davis added without giving details about his role in the Paris attacks.

Djedou was a close associate of Abdelhamid Abaaoud who led the deadly November 13 attacks in Paris before police gunned him down during a raid days later, according to Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

Djedou had left Belgium in 2012 for Syria, where he eventually rose up the Islamic State ranks and helped plan the Paris attacks as well as the attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people in March, RTBF added.

Hamman was a "longtime French terrorist" who helped the IS group seize Mosul, among other operations, Davis said.

A French court sentenced an absent Gourmat, then 24, to four years in prison in March 2014 on charges including trying to conduct jihad in Syria.

He had been arrested with two other men in May 2012 at an airport near Saint-Etienne in central France carrying a revolver, night-vision goggles, camouflage clothing and tactical vests.

They had been trying to fly to Gaziantep in southeast Turkey.

Gourmat and another of the arrested men claimed they were going on a humanitarian trip.

Gourmat, who was not kept in custody ahead of his trial, later fled France.
'Order of Friendship': State Department nominee's Russia ties

As head of US oil major ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson signed deals worth billions of dollars with Russia's state oil giant and received an award for "friendship" from President Vladimir Putin.

Now Tillerson's close ties with Moscow are raising concerns in Washington after President-Elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the oilman as his pick for secretary of state.

Here is what you need to know about Tillerson's relationship with Russia:

President Vladimir Putin (L) and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson in Saint Petersburg in 2013 Michael Klimentyev (SPUTNIK/AFP/File)

- Strictly business... -

A veteran company man of over 40 years, Tillerson helped drive his firm's presence on the lucrative Russian market as international oil majors flocked to try to tap into Moscow's reserves after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the late 1990s, as the head of the company's Russia Unit, the Texan spearheaded the push to get a multi-billion dollar project on the far eastern island of Sakhalin that went on to become one of ExxonMobil's most vaunted overseas ventures.

After becoming CEO in 2006, Tillerson oversaw the agreement of a potentially even more profitable opportunity with the signing in 2011 of a cooperation deal with Russia's biggest oil company Rosneft, headed by close Putin ally Igor Sechin.

The pact opened up the vast riches of Russia's Arctic region to ExxonMobil where Rosneft -- which rose from mediocrity under Putin by snapping up the assets of defunct firm Yukos -- badly needed foreign expertise.

In 2014 the two firms drilled their first joint exploration well in the Arctic.

- Or is it personal? -

After the sealing of the Rosneft deal, Putin in 2012 awarded Tillerson Russia's Order of Friendship medal for his "major contribution to the development and strengthening of cooperation with Russia."

Following Trump's announcement, Russian state television were building Tillerson up by saying that "few Americans have as good relations with the Russian president" and the Kremlin hailed the pair's "good, businesslike relations" ties.

Tillerson's personal acquaintance with Putin goes back to 1999 when the Russian leader was serving as prime minister under then-President Boris Yeltsin.

While Tillerson might have spent more time in the years since dealing with ex-KGB officer Putin than almost any other American, it does not mean that the two have necessarily developed any close personal bond.

In the Kremlin Putin has personally supervised Russia's strategic hydrocarbon sector that has provided the major crux for his rule since he came to power in 2000.

The Russian leader has developed a close working relationship with the bosses of other international oil majors who sought to tap into Russia and handed out state awards to others as well.

- Shadow of sanctions -

In 2014, just as ExxonMobil and Rosneft were cranking up their business cooperation, the geopolitical situation was fast heading in the other direction.

Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine after the ouster of its Kremlin-backed leader saw ties between Washington and Moscow slump to their lowest since the end of the Cold War, with the West beginning to impose sanctions.

As the US cranked up its economic punishment in the summer of 2014 over the pro-Moscow rebellion in east Ukraine -- including sanctions against Rosneft -- the brake was applied to relations between the two giants.

While cooperation did not entirely stop, work was wound down and ExxonMobil said that the sanctions had cost the firm some $1 billion ($940 million) as progress froze on the Arctic projects and stopped the firm picking up its income from Sakhalin.

Tillerson has spoken out against the sanctions and encouraged the White House to consider the "very broad collateral damage" that they inflict on business interests.
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Aleppo at 1700 GMT

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to urgently address the crisis in Aleppo following reports that Syrian forces executed dozens of civilians in the city.

France and Britain requested the meeting scheduled for midday (1700 GMT) as the battle for Syria's second city neared the end, in a turning point for the six-year war.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre called for action to confront "the worst humanitarian tragedy of the 21st century unfolding before our eyes."

A member of the Syrian government forces stands in Aleppo's newly captured Al-Kalasseh district in the eastern part of the war torn city on December 13, 2016 George Ourfalian (AFP)

"Aleppo is experiencing its darkest days," he told reporters.

"We have credible reports of brutal murders of families, summary executions, including women and children, houses put on fire with people trapped inside, continuing targeting of hospitals and medical staff, and the list goes on and on," he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to brief council members after UN rights officials said forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had entered homes and killed civilians inside.

Some civilians managed to flee the advancing forces but others "were reportedly caught and killed on the spot and others were arrested," said a UN spokesman in Geneva.

Delattre said Russia, Assad's ally, "holds the key of an exit strategy, a way out" of the crisis in Aleppo and stressed that Moscow "can't let this happen."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in Paris that if the allegations of targeting of civilians were true, they would amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

"An investigation must be opened as soon as possible, carried out by the United Nations," said Ayrault.

Syria's army has taken more than 90 percent of the territory once held by rebels in east Aleppo, after launching an all-out offensive last month to seize control of the entire city.

"What a tragic day for Aleppo," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

"Even wars have laws, even wars have rules and every single rule, every single law of war has been broken by the regime," he said.
Monsanto shareholders back Bayer takeover

Shareholders of Monsanto overwhelmingly approved Tuesday the $66 billion takeover of the US company by German chemicals giant Bayer.

Nearly 99 percent of Monsanto shareholders who voted on the deal supported the transaction, Monsanto said.

"We are pleased we received such strong support from our shareowners," said Monsanto chief executive Hugh Grant. "This is an important milestone as we work to combine our two complementary companies and deliver on our shared vision for the future of agriculture."

After a months-long pursuit, Bayer announced in September 2016 that Monsanto had accepted an offer of $128 per share Patrik STOLLARZ, John THYS (AFP/File)

The transaction is one of several mega-deals in agriculture that still needs approval by antitrust officials in the US and Europe. Monsanto said it expects the deal to close by the end of 2017.

Shares of Monsanto rose 0.3 percent to $104.86 in mid-morning trade.

After a months-long pursuit, Bayer announced in September that Monsanto had accepted an offer of $128 per share.

But the deal has provoked criticism from environmental groups, who have called it a "marriage made in hell" because of Monsanto's long history of promoting genetically modified crops.
Syrian children trapped in Aleppo attack: UN

Many Syrian children separated from their families are trapped in a building under heavy attack in east Aleppo, the UN children's agency said Tuesday, quoting a doctor in a city.

UNICEF said it was deeply concerned by reports that Syrian forces executed dozens of civilians including children as the battle for Aleppo neared its end, in a turning point in the six-year war.

"According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo," said a UNICEF statement.

A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood on December 13, 2016 STRINGER (AFP)

The UN agency urged all sides to allow the "safe and immediate evacuation of all children" and said it stood ready to provide help to ensure their safety.

"UNICEF is deeply concerned by reports of extra judicial killings of civilians including children and reminds all parties of their responsibilities under international law," it added.

"It is time for the world to stand up for the children of Aleppo and bring their living nightmare to an end."
Last hope for anti-Trump camp is the Electoral College

Americans aghast over the idea of Donald Trump as president are turning to the Electoral College -- the somewhat puzzling, much criticized institution that will make it official -- as a last-ditch recourse to halt the inevitable.

Its 538 members -- the government says it is not even a body, really, but rather a process -- will vote December 19 to formally confirm Trump's stunning win over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election.

Clinton won the popular vote by two percentage points, but Trump took the only thing that mattered: a majority of the electoral college, and a healthy one at that: 306 to 232.

US President-elect Donald Trump, seen December 6, 2016, won the Electoral College with 306 votes to Hillary Clinton's 232, but lost the popular vote with 46.2 percent to Clinton's 48.2 percent Eduardo Munoz Alvarez (AFP/File)

There are Americans out there who want the college to declare Clinton the winner, anyway, because she triumphed in the popular vote.

In 21 states, electors can vote their conscience, regardless of who won the popular vote in their state and -- thus in theory at least -- all that state's electoral votes.

But it is extremely rare for an elector to go rogue.

It has happened just nine times since World War II, says FairVote, a non-partisan group working for electoral reform.

For people opposed to Trump -- the shoot-from-the-hip property tycoon with no experience in government, the man who insulted women, minorities and Muslims during the campaign and has the world watching closely as he hints at upending decades of US foreign policy with blasts of pre-dawn tweets -- the nuclear electoral college option is a godsend.

- 'Something crazy'? -

But it is a fool's errand, to be sure.

It would take 37 Republican electors jumping ship and not voting for Trump.

If that were to happen, in theory at least the choice of the next president would go to the House of Representatives. But before it got there, judicial chaos would almost certainly break out.

Listen to filmmaker Michael Moore, one of the anti-Trump people dreaming of salvation: "54 percent of the voters didn't want Donald Trump. Only 46 percent did."

Indeed, that was Trump's popular vote tally -- actually 46.2 percent -- compared to 48.2 percent for former Secretary of State Clinton.

The election year has been utterly crazy, Moore added.

"So is it possible  just possible  that in these next six weeks, something else might happen, something crazy, something we're not expecting?" he added, speaking last week on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

Jim Himes, a Democratic congressman, is on board. He told CNN the Electoral College now has an inherent responsibility to step up and avert disaster.

Himes said of the college: "If it exists, why would it exist but for any other purpose than what it could do in one week, which is to say -- and something that I think the majority of Americans I think probably believe today -- which is that we're about to make a president who is dangerous."

It is lonely out there for these naysayers. But at least one Republican elector, Chris Suprun of Texas, has said that he cannot vote for Trump, arguing among other things that the Republican tycoon is not qualified for the job.

Democrats are complaining about the electoral college system but the Republicans are not listening.

- Origins -

The process is enshrined in the US Constitution of 1787.

America's founding fathers saw it as a reasonable compromise between electing presidents through a direct popular vote -- which would favor candidates from states with large populations -- and having Congress do the choosing, which was seen as not very democratic.

The Constitution lets states decide how to choose their electors.

In the beginning, state legislatures designated them and it would be decades before it became voters themselves who chose these people.

- Reform attempts fail-

Reforms have been proposed many times -- especially from the late 1940s through 1979, according to a congressional report, but every time, they failed.

Trump himself called the system a mess in 2012, but after he won, he said it was "genius."

After Clinton lost, a bill was proposed -- by retiring Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer-- to simply do away with the electoral college. It has zero chance of passage.

The most solid movement for change circumvents the daunting task of amending the constitution and would instead create a coalition of states that agree to allocate their electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote.

This initiative is called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

So far, 11 states representing 165 electoral votes have adopted this arrangement. They are still far from the 270 needed for the reform to become a reality.

On Monday, 10 electors found another reason to perhaps not vote for Trump: a CIA finding that Russian hacking of US institutions and people during the White House race was aimed specifically at hurting Clinton and therefore helping him win.

"If there is serious interference in our election from a foreign state that impacted the election, that is something that the electors should know and on the basis of that information, vote their conscience," one of them, Clay Pell of Rhode Island, told AFP.

How the US presidential election system works Christopher HUFFAKER (AFP/File)
Israel probes poster of Netanyahu and noose

Israeli police opened an investigation on Tuesday after a poster showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a hangman's noose was displayed at an art school in Jerusalem.

The poster, designed to look like the iconic "Hope" picture of US President Barack Obama but instead reading "Rope", drew sharp condemnation from Culture Minister Miri Regev and led to debate over freedom of expression.

Copies of the poster, which showed a noose dangling in front of Netanyahu's face, hung briefly in a stairwell at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design before it was taken down, Israeli media reported.

A poster of a noose dangling in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's face drew sharp condemnation from officials in Israel, a country particularly sensitive to incitement against its leaders after the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin Abir Sultan (POOL/AFP/File)

Police said they opened an investigation over "suspicions of incitement".

The academy said the poster was "part of an ongoing conversation on what constitutes incitement through art".

"The work in question is an expression by an individual student and in no way, shape or form reflects the views of our institution, our faculty or administration," Michal Turgeman, Bezalel spokeswoman, said in a statement.

"We plan to cooperate fully in the ongoing investigation."

Regev, who has frequently clashed with left-leaning Israeli artists, called for state funding to the academy to be cut.

"Artistic freedom is not freedom to incite," she wrote on her Facebook page.

The academy's student union said "we certainly do not support messages calling for violence and incitement of any kind whatever and even oppose that."

"However, as a design institution, we believe in the freedom of expression and art and are for providing an expression for the entire rainbow of opinions, within the boundaries of the law," it said, quoted by the Ynet news website.

The poster was the second work of art to raise Regev's ire in a week.

On December 6, a four-metre-high golden statue of Netanyahu was raised secretly in a Tel Aviv square in a free speech protest and was later toppled by a member of the public.

Regev criticised the artist and said such moves were driven by "hatred of Netanyahu".

Left-leaning artists have accused Netanyahu's government of seeking to muzzle them, particularly with Regev's promotion of a bill to cut subsidies to cultural institutions deemed not "loyal" to the state.

Former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995 by a Jewish extremist has made the country particularly sensitive to incitement against its leaders.

Netanyahu has faced criticism that he helped feed anger toward Rabin over the Oslo peace accords with inflammatory rhetoric before the assassination.
Nigeria orders witness secrecy in trial of separatist

A Nigerian court on Tuesday ordered that the identities of witnesses in the high-profile treason trial of a separatist leader be kept secret over fears they could be targeted.

Nnamdi Kanu heads the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) group which spearheads the Igbo people of southeast Nigeria's claim for a separate "Biafra state". He is in the dock alongside three other men and they face various allegations including terrorism charges.

Despite having been granted bail, Kanu has been in state custody since his arrest in October 2015.

Pro-Biafran graffiti messages seen on May 3, 2016 in Port Hardcourt STEFAN HEUNIS (AFP/File)

Federal High Court Justice Binta Nyako ruled that the names of security operatives serving as prosecution witnesses should be "classified".

Speaking in the capital Abuja, the judge said the court would separate protected witnesses from the main court using screens as well as providing special entrances for their use.

The prosecution argued that they would be at risk if their identities became known.

"I won't take that. I want my trial in the public," Kanu shouted from the dock.

There were cries of "no to secret trial" from the public gallery following the judge's secrecy order.

Kanu's lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor said they would appeal the ruling.

"He was accused in the open. The trial must be conducted in the open," he said.

The trial was adjourned to January 10.

Prosecutors allege that Kanu, who also ran the London-based Radio Biafra, was head of an armed insurgent group.

In December last year, President Muhammadu Buhari alleged that Kanu committed "atrocities" against Nigeria.
Chicago's Shirtless Runner Went Viral A Year Ago Today. Where Is He Now?

By Mae Rice in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 13, 2016 3:10PM



Ethan Renoe, 25 (photo by Allison Dyer / Facebook)

Ethan Renoe became Chicagos Shirtless Runner, as his Facebook page calls him, a year ago today.

It was a rainy, warm December night, and Renoe, 25, was out for a run on the lakefront when he ran (literally) across a news crew, he told Chicagoist. They invited him to join their weather report about the unusually high temperature, since he was running shirtless.



Renoes on-camera interview with WGNin which he noted he was single and made the international call me gesturewent viral. It also changed his life. Heres the clip, which has at this point been viewed more than 4.5 million times:

So this just happened. Enjoying the weather, are you, "Ethan"? Posted by WGN TV on Sunday, December 13, 2015



Before his weather report cameo, Renoe was blogging and bouncing between part-time jobs. He was, at various points, a nanny, a bouncer and a construction workeraccording to his Facebook, [h]e has lived on 6 out of the 7 continents, had 29 part-time jobs, and done 4 consecutive one-armed pull-ups. (Editor's note: #goals.)

Once the video came out, though, new opportunities arose for Renoe. Literary agents offered to represent him based on his personal blog, where he writes from a Christian perspective about everything from fitness to Halloween to his virginity. (Renoe is still a virgin; hes waiting until marriage.) Currently, hes shopping a proposal for his first book, a nonfiction work tentatively titled The New Lonely. Its a mix of memoir and cultural criticism; as youd expect, its about loneliness.

Its very similar to my blog, Renoe said, explaining that the book focuses on how this generation is more lonely than ever before, despite being more connected than before and being more quote-unquote accepting than ever before. The book covers culture and tech, among other topics. Renoe is stoked about it.

The video didn't just get Renoe a literary agent, though. First, he got a tidal wave of fan mailseveral thousand messages overall, he said. He read all of them.

I feel like every single [message] started out with, So Ive never done this before, and I dont normally do stuff like this, Renoe said. About half the messages were from people who wanted to encourage me or thank me for my blog, and the other half were saying I was attractive and they wanted to meet me.

He met a few dozen of the people who messaged him, but when we spoke over Thanksgiving weekend, Renoe was still single. Nothing worked out, for one reason or another, he said.

One factor in that might be that Renoe has moved around a lot in the past year, spending stretches in Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver. He moved to L.A. immediately after the video came out, invited by a publicist with connections. When none of those panned out, Renoe came back to Chicago for the summer, to see friends and explore media opportunities here. Then, in September, he moved back to Denver, where he was living when the video first came out. (He was just in town visiting Chicago when he went on his fateful shirtless run.)



Photo by Luke Renoe Photography / Facebook

Today, he rents a house in Denver with a roommate. I feel a little less transient, a little bit more settled down, he said. Im actually on the lease now, so I have to stay.

His current routine goes something like this: He writes every day, and works occasionally as a personal trainer. He goes to a great church in Denver; hes so committed to his faith that he actually has Your kingdom come, from the Lords Prayer, tattooed on his chest. You can see it in the video above.

If that all sounds staid, though, dont be fooledRenoe had some wacky experiences after his weather report cameo went viral. He got recognized in the streets in Chicago; he got messages from a lot of people from his past, including exes from middle school; and, last but certainly not least, he met Fabio. The latter had nothing to do with the video, particularly, but it did happen during Renoe's time in L.A.

I used to have really long hair, like down to my chest, so everyone would call me Fabio, Renoe explained. Because I had the long hair and the muscles or whatever. So I was at a sushi restaurant one day in L.A. and Fabio walked in... All my friends were embarrassed because of how much I was freaking out.

Renoe's had some funny encounters with his own fans, tooif you can even call them encounters. Theres been a couple people who would apparently recognize me, and then post on Facebook, like, Oh my gosh, I just saw Ethan Renoe in Starbucks or something, he said. Like, instead of just coming up and saying hi to me [theyd tag me in a status]? That was kind of funny. I just always wish people would come say hi, because Im a big people person.

That's the moral of this story, really: Say hi to Ethan if you see him around. Hes friendly, hes single, and he knows a lot about being an internet celebrity. And his name's on his lease!
Tunisian court okays marriage of pregnant 13-year-old

A Tunisian court has approved the marriage of a 13-year-old girl to a relative who made her pregnant, an official said Tuesday.

The judgement triggered anger from non-governmental organisations which said the girl had been raped.

The girl, from the northwestern region of Kef, had a sexual relationship with the brother of her brother-in-law.

Tunisia is viewed as being ahead of most Arab countries on women's rights. A bill to counter violence against women, proposed in 2014, is still waiting to be discussed in parliament FETHI BELAID (AFP/File)

She was 13 years and 11 months old and "was not raped", said Chokri Mejri, the court official.

"We interviewed the girl and after verifying all the details, we considered her fit for marriage. As proof, she is pregnant," he said.

Under Tunisian law, sex with a girl under 15 without the use of force is punishable by six years in prison, but the culprit can halt proceedings by marrying the victim.

"The two families demanded marriage to avoid a scandal," Mejri said.

The court gave its green light on December 1 and the marriage agreement was signed on December 5, he said.

A wedding party had been planned for Sunday but was cancelled after the government's child protection office called for the marriage to be annulled.

"When it's a 13-year-old child, we can't talk of a sexual relation with consent. It's a rape," the agency's representative Houda Abboudi said.

"The court's decision didn't take into account the interests of this child... who will marry her rapist," she said.

The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) rights group said the decision was "scandalous".

"Judges think that at the age of 13... she can give consent," said ATFD head Monia Ben Jemia.

"At 13 years old, one can't give free and enlightened judgement, especially since there is no sex education at school," she said.

Tunisia is viewed as being ahead of most Arab countries on women's rights.
Lack of funds threatens malaria progress: WHO

Global progress on controlling malaria risks stalling due to an "urgent need" for more funding, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its annual report on Tuesday.

Overall, the number of new cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, and mortality rates fell by 29 percent -- 31 percent in the African region.

But globally there were still 212 million new cases and 429,000 deaths last year -- which could be prevented.

Sub-Saharan Africa was home to 90 percent of global malarial cases and 92 percent of deaths in 2015 PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP/File)

For example, 43 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was not protected by treated nets or indoor spraying.

"The unprecedented progress in malaria is one of the biggest successes in healthcare history," Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, told reporters in London.

"But still, every two minutes a child dies of malaria.

"There's no room for complacency -- a lot more needs to be done. We need to see more domestic resources from the countries affected."

He added: "We need new drugs, drugs that allow us to do more than treatment" and actually prevent the disease.

The report said that "sustained and sufficient funding for malaria control is a serious challenge", noting that after a steep increase between 2000 and 2010, investment had "flat-lined".

"In 2015, malaria funding totalled $2.9 billion, representing only 45 percent of the funding milestone for 2020 ($6.4 billion)," it said.

The United States provided about 35 percent of all malaria funding in 2015, while governments of countries with malaria stumped up about 32 percent, and Britain 16 percent.

Resistance to anti-malarial drugs is also a challenge, as is growing mosquito resistance to insecticides, the report said.

However, it highlighted improvements in sub-Saharan Africa over the past year in providing help for pregnant women and children against malaria.

"Malaria-related deaths among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa are at their lowest point in history," said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for malaria.

"This is largely attributable to the nearly 500 million insecticide-treated bed nets delivered over the past three years, the highest ever, along with significant expansion of diagnosis and treatment."

Deaths from malaria among the under fives globally have fallen by 69 percent since 2000 to 303,000 last year.
Lawyer of Gabon's Ping safe in 'friendly' embassy

A lawyer for opposition leader Jean Ping thought to have gone missing is hiding in a "friendly" country's embassy, the Gabonese politician said on Tuesday.

Ping's party had said on Sunday that Eric Iga Iga, one of two lawyers who represented Ping in a Constitutional Court challenge to President Ali Bongo's controversial election victory in August, had been missing for three days.

But Ping said Iga Iga, who fled after feeling "in danger", is safe and well.

Supporters of Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping wrapped in Gabonese flags gesture after his speech on October 29, 2016 on the Human Rights Esplanade in Paris FRANCOIS GUILLOT (AFP/File)

"Late during the night of Thursday, one of my lawyers, Mr Eric Iga Iga, received a visit from elements presenting themselves as belonging to the defence and security services -- more specifically the military police -- in the most completely illegal way," Ping said in a statement.

"Feeling in danger, Mr Iga Iga chose to hide by going to look for protection from the embassy of a big, friendly country which was happy to host him until now."

Ping's spokesman, Jean-Gaspard Ntoutoume Ayi told AFP that Iga Iga remains in the embassy, but declined to reveal which country was hosting the lawyer.

"Mr Iga Iga has deliberately chosen to break the silence to allow this embassy to let his family know where he is," added Ping's statement, which thanked the embassy for offering his lawyer protection.

"I ask all those around me in this battle to remain vigilant," warned Ping.

Ping has been calling himself the president-elect of Gabon since contesting the official results of the August 27 election that gave Bongo victory.

He called for a recount but that was rejected by Gabon's top court.

On Monday, EU observers questioned the "integrity" of the election results noting the barely credible official figures from Bongo's Haut-Ogooue heartland.

He took 95 percent of the vote there from a 99 percent turnout, compared to a 54.24 percent turnout across the rest of the country.

Bongo, whose family has ruled the tiny oil-rich nation since 1967, won the election by a tiny 6,000 votes.

The election result sparked two days of rioting and protests in which the government said three people died, while the opposition claimed the true toll was 26.
IS grabbed dumped regime gear as they retook Palmyra: Pentagon

Islamic State jihadists seized abandoned war-fighting gear after they recaptured the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra from the Russia-backed Damascus regime, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

IS overran Palmyra on Sunday, nine months after being expelled by Russian air strikes and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad.

It was "probably one of the most significant counter-attacks we've seen by ISIL," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said, using an IS acronym.

The Islamic State group first took the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra in May 2015, was driven out by regime-backed forces and then again overran the city December 11 2016 STRINGER (AFP/File)

"It resulted in ISIL taking whatever material the regime left behind. That could include armored vehicles, it could include artillery."

When IS first swept across neighboring Iraq in 2014, local security forces fled with scant resistance, dumping their weapons and gear -- much of it provided by the United States.

IS first seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics.

The Pentagon and coalition partners have accused Moscow and Damascus of taking their eye off Palmyra to focus on bombing the former rebel bastion of Aleppo.

"There could certainly be an argument made that the regime, which is backed by Russia, had been so singly focused on Aleppo that they failed to watch their six," Davis said.

He said regime troops had departed from Palmyra "very quickly" as IS moved in.

Moscow has accused the United States of failing to coordinate military efforts, thus enabling the IS counter-attack on Palmyra.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said neither Russia nor Assad had ever been committed to fighting IS inside Syria.
Next on Michelle Obama's journey: Figuring out next steps

WASHINGTON (AP)  After eight years as first lady, what Michelle Obama does next will be one of the most talked-about questions when the Obamas leave the White House.

She'll have a variety of options after being a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk-show guest, a Democratic power player and a fashion maven.

Just as the first lady's role is undefined, with each woman molding it to her personality, interests and comfort level, there is no script for what comes after the first lady finishes the job.

FILE - In this June June 6, 2016 file photo, first lady Michelle Obama, joined by school children from across the country, harvest the White House Kitchen Garden at the White House in Washington. What does Michelle Obama do next? After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The widowed Jacqueline Kennedy remarried and became a New York book editor. Laura Bush continues her advocacy for literacy and women in Afghanistan. Hillary Clinton launched her political career with her bid for the U.S. Senate, even before her family left the White House.

Here's a look at what Mrs. Obama is likely to do, or not do, when at 53 years old she returns to "private" life on Jan. 20.

LIKELY TO DO:

R&R

President Barack Obama says he's taking his wife on a "really nice vacation, because she deserves it. She's been putting up with me for quite some time." (Twenty-four years of marriage, to be exact.)

WRITE A MEMOIR

Practically all first ladies do. Book publishers would offer millions for the rights to Mrs. Obama's insider account as the first black woman in the role and as someone who has said little publicly about her private life in the White House. Clinton got an $8 million advance for her 2003 memoir, "Living History."

SET UP HER FAMILY'S NEW HOME

Breaking from post-presidential tradition, the Obamas plan to stay in Washington so their 15-year-old daughter, Sasha, can finish high school. Presidents usually leave Washington when they leave office, but the Obamas are renting a home in the wealthy Kalorama neighborhood, near what will be the official residence of Vice President-elect Mike Pence. The Obamas also still own a home in Chicago.

STICK WITH HER INITIATIVES

Mrs. Obama has said she'll stay engaged in public service and will keep working on the issues she focused on during her tenure. They included childhood obesity and education for girls around the world.

"I've always felt very alive using my gifts and talents to help other people. I sleep better at night. I'm happier," she told Vogue for an interview in the fashion magazine's December issue. "So we'll look back at the issues that I've been working on. The question is: How do I engage in those issues from a new platform? I can't say right now, because we can't spend that much time really doing the hard work of vetting offers or ideas or options because we're still closing things out here."

COULD DO:

JOIN SPEAKER'S CIRCUIT

Mrs. Obama put her oratory on display with a well-received speech on opening night of the Democratic National Convention. She followed with a series of campaign speeches criticizing Republican Donald Trump, now the president-elect, as unsuitable for the nation's highest office. Her friend, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, said the first lady will be "one of the most in-demand speakers" as a result of her convention performance. "That speaking fee just quadrupled," Winfrey said during an interview with The Associated Press.

Clinton earned millions of dollars giving paid speeches after she stepped down as secretary of state in 2013. Laura Bush also keeps a robust public speaking schedule.

HOST A TELEVISION TALK SHOW

Mrs. Obama has demonstrated a knack for talk-show banter, and an ease in front of TV cameras. She co-hosted "The View" before the 2008 election and recently co-hosted Ellen DeGeneres' hourlong gabfest. Roy Ashton, head of television at the Gersh Agency in Los Angeles, says Mrs. Obama would be a "no-brainer" to have a show of her own.

"She could pick up where Oprah left off, or something else," Ashton said. "I think Michelle Obama has a ton to say."

SERVE ON CORPORATE BOARDS

She has some experience with corporate America, but she'll want to choose carefully. Mrs. Obama resigned from the board of a food supplier for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2007, shortly after her husband announced his presidential bid. He had been a critic of the retail giant. Mrs. Obama cited the increased demands of the campaign for leaving the board of Illinois-based TreeHouse Foods Inc.

"It will be fun to see what she actually does," said Kimberly Archer, head of the Washington office of Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search and assessment firm. "Wherever she does decide to focus, I would say, 'Lucky them.'"

LIKELY WON'T DO:

RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

Both Obamas repeatedly have said she will not run for president  despite pressure from Democrats wowed by her campaign speeches against Trump.

Obama has said she doesn't have "the patience or the inclination" to be a candidate and is "too sensible to want to be in politics." Mrs. Obama said: "No, no. Not going to do it," when asked earlier this year about following in her husband's footsteps.

RESUME PRACTICING LAW

Mrs. Obama, a Harvard law school graduate, practiced at a Chicago firm but abandoned a legal career after the deaths of her father and a close friend. She entered public service, working for the city of Chicago and running an AmeriCorps service program before she joined the University of Chicago Medical Center as a vice president for community and external affairs. It was the last paid position she held before become first lady.

Dr. Kurt Newman, president and CEO of Children's National Health System in Washington, noted the first lady's past hospital experience during her annual Christmastime appearance at the facility and said he looked forward to having her back.

"I can always put her to work," Newman said.

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

In this photo taken Oct. 18, 2016, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama waits to greet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife Agnese Landini on the North Portico for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington. What does Michelle Obama do next? After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - In this Oct. 27, 2016 file photo, first lady Michelle Obama takes the stage with then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, during a campaign rally at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. What does Michelle Obama do next? After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2009 file photo, first lady Michelle Obama exercises with a hula hoop during a healthy kids fair on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. What does Michelle Obama do next? After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

FILE - In this June 3, 2015 file photo, first lady Michelle Obama talks with children who participated in events with the "Let's Move!" campaign after preparing and eating food harvested from the White House Kitchen Garden, in the East Room at the White House in Washington. What does Michelle Obama do next? After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - In this April 5, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Malia Obama, reads "Green Eggs and Ham", as they hosted the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. What does Michelle Obama do next? After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month.(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

In this photo taken Dec. 1, 2016, first lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama watch the musical performances at the 2016 National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington. What does Michelle Obama do next? After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Madison, New Jersey-based company provides testing services for cancer, cardiovascular disease, infection disease and neurological disorders

Clients affected by the breach have been

Medical laboratory operator Quest Diagnostics Inc. says a hack of an internet application on its network has exposed the personal health information of about 34,000 people.

The Madison, New Jersey-based company says 'an unauthorized third party' on November 26 gained access to customer information including names, dates of birth, lab results and in some instances, telephone numbers.

The stolen data did not include Social Security numbers, credit card accounts, insurance details or any other financial information.

Madison, New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics (headquarters pictured above) revealed on Tuesday that their computer systems were hacked last month by 'an unauthorized third party'.

Above, a Quest Diagnostics signs hangs outside the New York Stock Exchange on November 14, 2016

'There is no indication that individuals' information has been misused in any way,' the company said in a statement issued Monday.

The company did not specify whether certain parts of the country were impacted more than others. Quest operates labs throughout the U.S. It was an app called MyQuest by Care360 that was the target of the hack.

Quest said it is working with a cybersecurity firm and law enforcement to investigate the breach, while taking steps to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

The company said it has notified affected clients by mail and has set up a dedicated number to field questions regarding the breach at (888) 320-9970.
China says Trump's Taiwan comments cause 'serious concern'

BEIJING (AP)  China's foreign minister warned that any moves to damage Beijing's core interests would be self-detrimental after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he could use the way in which America deals with Taiwan as a bargaining chip.

Wang Yi's comments late Monday came a day after Trump said in a television interview that he didn't feel "bound by a one-China policy." Washington, however, reaffirmed the U.S. government's commitment to the policy that means it maintains only unofficial relations with Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing considers its territory.

Since recognizing the People's Republic of China in 1979, the U.S. has adhered to the one-China policy, recognizing Beijing as the capital of China and maintaining only unofficial relations with Taiwan. American law, however, requires the U.S. to ensure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself and to treat all threats to the island as matters of serious concern.

FILE - This combination of two photos shows U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, left, speaking during a "USA Thank You" tour event in Cincinatti Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, and Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, delivering a speech during National Day celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. An official Chinese newspaper Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2016, called Donald Trump "as ignorant as a child" on Monday after the president-elect again suggested that he was reconsidering how America deals with Taiwan, one of the most sensitive issues in the relationship between the U.S. and China. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Chiang Ying-ying, File)

China split from Taiwan amid civil war in 1949 and continues to regard the island as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

"I can clearly say, whether it is the authorities of Tsai Ing-wen, or anyone else or any power in the world, if they attempt to harm this principle or China's core interests, the only result will be that they will smash their own foot while trying to lift a stone," Wang said after meeting with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter in Switzerland.

Earlier Monday, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said in Beijing that established policy is the "political foundation" of any diplomatic relationship between China and the U.S., and that any damage to it could render cooperation "out of the question."

"We urge the new U.S. leader and government to fully understand the seriousness of the Taiwan issue, and to continue to stick to the one-China policy," Geng said.

The comments by Wang and Geng are the strongest public condemnation China has made of Trump's criticisms of current American policy toward Taiwan.

Beijing was already angered by Trump's Dec. 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai, the first time an American president or president-elect has publicly spoken to a Taiwanese leader in nearly four decades. China considers any reference to a separate Taiwanese head of state to be a grave insult.

Over the weekend, Trump told "Fox News Sunday" that he wouldn't feel "bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."

"Why should some other nation be able to say I can't take a call?" he said. "I think it actually would've been very disrespectful, to be honest with you, not taking it."

In Washington, the White House and State Department both reaffirmed the U.S. government's commitment to a one-China policy.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "the United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy." He added that "the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip."

State Department spokesman John Kirby the department had "continued what has been a bipartisan approach for the past 40 years with respect to a one-China policy."

Chinese officials have been restrained in their responses so far. They may be still trying to learn how to make their positions clear to Trump without feeding a vicious circle of insults and heightened tensions, said Dali Yang, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.

However, Trump's suggestion that he could negotiate on Taiwan likely went too far for China, Yang said.

"He expected for China to bargain again for the one-China position, perhaps by giving up something on trade or something of that nature," Yang said. "This is actually the foundation of the U.S.-China relationship, rather than something to be bargained over."

___

Associated Press writers Louise Watt in Beijing and Matthew Pennington in Washington and AP researchers Yu Bing and Liu Zheng contributed to this report.
Oklahoma State Sen. A.J. Griffin (above), a pro-life Republican, sponsored the bill which aims to make the Sooner State 'abortion free'

Oklahoma approved a controversial measure that would require hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, and schools in the state to hang signs in their restrooms aimed at dissuading women from having abortions.

The provision is part of a more comprehensive piece of legislation that lawmakers passed this year mandating that the State Board of Health provide informational material 'for the purpose of achieving an abortion-free society.'

The measure is generating opposition because the signs, which are to be posted by January 2018, are supposed to be subsidized by the private business establishments and other organizations required to post them.

Hospitals and restaurants have complained that the state's new law adds an additional financial burden.

'We don't have any concern about the information they're trying to get out to women about their babies and their pregnancy. This is just the wrong way to do it,' said Jim Hooper, president of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association.

'It's just another mandate on small businesses. It's not just restaurants. It includes hospitals, nursing homes. It just doesn't make sense.'

The proposed signs would read: 'There are many public and private agencies willing and able to help you carry your child to term and assist you and your child after your child is born, whether you choose to keep your child or to place him or her for adoption. The State of Oklahoma strongly urges you to contact them if you are pregnant.'

An anti-abortion group, Oklahomans for Life, lobbied for the bill's passage.

Anti-abortion activists lobbied for passage of the law, which seeks to provide more information material to pregnant women. Anti-abortion demonstrators stand as pro-abortion advocates lie on the ground during a January 22, 2016 demonstration in Washington, DC

The sponsor of the bill, State Sen. A.J. Griffin, said that she would be open to tweaking the new regulation.

'I do see how it is going to need to be tempered a tad,' said Griffin, a pro-life Republican from Guthrie.

'We need to make sure we have something that's reasonable and still effective.'

Family planning and reproductive rights advocates criticized the measure as unnecessary, saying it would unjustly punish schools and hospitals that are already under financial strain.
Excerpts from AP interview with Mikhail Gorbachev

MOSCOW (AP)  Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev spoke to The Associated Press about the collapse of the Soviet Union 25 years ago, Russia's relations with the West, Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, Russia's domestic problems and President Vladimir Putin's leadership. Here are some excerpts from the rare, hour-long interview:

 ON THE SOVIET COLLAPSE:

"Russia was spearheading the Soviet breakup. (Russian President Boris) Yeltsin was taking part in that (talks on revamping the Soviet Union) and supported it, but he was conspiring behind my back how to get rid of Gorbachev and the (Soviet) Union."

In this photo taken Friday, Dec. 9, 2016 former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev looks through a book about his late wife Raisa Gorbachev during his interview to the Associated Press at his foundation's headquarters, in Moscow, Russia. Gorbachev said the West has wasted a chance to build a safer world after the Cold War while the U.S. has gloated at the Soviet Union's demise. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

"Yeltsin was primarily responsible for that along with Russia's leadership, they were striving for power. It's bad when people are ill with that desire to grab power, to grab turf. It's impossible to build a democratic society with such people."

 ON HIS REFUSAL TO USE FORCE TO PREVENT THE SOVIET BREAKUP

"The country was loaded to the brim with weapons. And it would immediately have pushed the country into a civil war."

 ON THE WEST'S FAILURE TO PROVIDE AID TO HELP PREVENT THE SOVIET BREAKUP:

"They were rubbing their hands in joy: the (Soviet) Union that had been a concern for decades ate up itself!"

 ON WESTERN POLICY TOWARD RUSSIA:

"They have been badgering Russia with accusations and blaming it for everything. And now there is a backlash to that in Russia. Russia wants to have friendly ties with America, but it's difficult to do that when Russia sees that it's being cheated."

 ON THE NEED TO MEND U.S.-RUSSIAN TIES:

"It's necessary that our leaders meet to discuss how we should develop relations. The relations between us are so important and concern everyone else, so we must take the interests of others into account.

"The world needs Russia and the United States to cooperate. Together, they could lead the world ... to a new path.

"If we don't cooperate, if we don't pull our efforts together and talk to each other, everyone will build up arms. If there is a rifle on the wall in the first act of a play, it will go off in the end."

 ON U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP:

"He has little political experience, but, may be, it's good."

 ON RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN:

"I think he's a worthy president, he has proven his worth. He is a strong person."
'Sources': Kanye West Met Donald Trump To Discuss Chicago Violence (Eventually)

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 13, 2016 7:44PM



Donald Trump and Kanye West at Trump Tower, December 13, 2016 (Getty Images)



Updated 2:30 p.m. Kanye filled us in a bit more about his hashtag-2024 plan on Twitter. Scroll down to read.

Everyone has been speculating why secret Trump supporter Kanye West met with President-elect Donald Trump earlier this morning. Will Yeezy head the CIA? Or will he perform at the inauguration? Is it some sort of long con? Well, now "sources" (Kris Kardashian?) tell TMZ that the rapper-turned-fashion designer has been working on a "long-term plan."

The gossip site explains, "Kanye West had a long-term plan when he asked to meet with Donald Trump ... talk about life during the first meeting, and death on the streets during the next one. Sources close to the rapper tell us Kanye has been thinking a lot about the violence in Chicago, and wants to use his name to make a difference. The rapper's had a good relationship with Trump, and he's decided to use it to help promote peace on the streets in Chi-town."

The pair did not discuss the issue during their brief chatTrump told reporters that they talked about "life"but TMZ claims, "Kanye plans to deepen the relationship once Trump becomes Prez. Kanye knows Trump has lots of people in his ear so he wanted a face-to-face to get on the radar now."

In 2009, President Barack Obama famously called West a "jackass."

West has been outspoke about the epidemic of violence in his hometown. He told the BBC a few months ago, "We are numb. We're numb to 500 kids getting killed in Chicago a year. We're numb to the fact that it was seven police shootings in the beginning of July" (the Chicago Tribune points out, "490 people were killed from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2015. That number includes children"). And at the MTV Video Music Awards, West brought up, "When you think about, last week, it was 22 people murdered in Chicago."

West, who cancelled the rest of his Saint Pablo tour after a reported nervous breakdown, is apparently in NYC to put together an East Coast medical team so that he can split his time between the city and LA.

Kanye expounded a bit about his plans to use Trump to help Chicago kids on Twitter this afternoon:


Fear of Trump pledges linger at Our Lady of Guadalupe feast

CHICAGO (AP)  Heckel Villa noticed something different as tens of thousands of Catholics made their annual pilgrimage to a suburban Chicago shrine to Mexico's revered patron saint.

As always, they brought daily concerns about family and health, but the daughter of Mexican immigrants who's worked and worshipped for years at one of the largest shrines to Our Lady of Guadalupe in the U.S. said it was fear and anxiety about President-elect Donald Trump's approach to immigration that permeated their prayers.

"The spirit was there, but people were actually afraid," she said Monday during the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. "Their main goal was to pray to make sure that they get some type of answer and trying to make sure our (incoming) president thinks differently, changes his way of thinking, especially with Hispanic people."

In this Dec. 11, 2016 photo, Volunteer Ismaez Valdez lights candles during the annual feast of Our Lady of the Guadalupe shrine celebration in Wheeling, Ill. From small parishes to big cathedrals, Catholics observing the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the U.S. say the celebration is taking on a different tone after the presidential election. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged churches Monday to make the holiday a "day of prayer" in solidarity with immigrants.(Gilbert R. Boucher II/Daily Herald, via AP)

The sentiment was echoed in small parishes and big city cathedrals across the country as Trump's win and aggressive pledges on immigration changed the dynamic of one of the biggest Catholic holidays, particularly in Latin America.

In response, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops urged churches to make the holiday Monday a "day of prayer" in solidarity with immigrants and their families and reiterated support for immigrants, regardless of legal status.

Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich brought up the issue at a 5 a.m. Monday Mass at the shrine, as did Catholic leaders at Mass in New York. The University of Notre Dame's president cited the school's history of serving immigrants in seeking prayers. In downtown Los Angeles, The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels kicked off a day of prayer for immigrant families with a midnight Mass and celebrations continued into Monday evening.

"We really don't know what the president-elect is going to do," said Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, vice president of the USCCB. He said families are left "wondering how changes to immigration policy might impact them."

While on the campaign trail Trump called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, promised to build a border wall and pledged to deport the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally, including children. The Republican has since walked back the number of people that he thinks should be deported, but hasn't detailed his immigration plans.

Businesses, local elected leaders and activists have responded by seeking more clarity about potential changes and holding demonstrations, but many people have turned to their faith to find solace, said the Rev. Esequiel Sanchez, the rector at the large shrine in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines.

He said calling for support and immigration reform on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was a natural fit.

The feast marks the time when millions make the pilgrimage to a Mexican basilica to honor the virgin believed to have appeared to an Indian peasant on Dec. 12, 1531. Dubbed by several including Pope Francis as "the mother of the Americas," she's viewed as a protector, among other things. Her iconic image with hands held in prayer is found everywhere.

Over 175,000 pilgrims traveled to the Illinois shrine in the days leading up to the official celebration Monday, many of them walking hours to get there, despite a blast of winter weather over the weekend. Worshippers prayed and left flowers by the outdoor shrine featuring a 12-foot-tall replica of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

"It's absolutely ridiculous to talk about deporting 12 million people quickly," Sanchez said. "Faith is always an exercise in hope. Part of our creed is people's minds and hearts can change."

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Trump 'shoot someone' boast tops 2016 list of notable quotes

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)  Donald Trump's boast on the campaign trail that he could shoot somebody and not lose any voters tops a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2016.

Sound bites from the presidential campaign dominated the 11th annual "Yale Book of Quotations" list from Fred Shapiro, an associate director of the library. He chooses quotes that are famous or revealing of the spirit of the times, and not necessarily eloquent or admirable.

The list includes quotes from each of the national party conventions. At the Republicans' gathering in Cleveland, it was Trump saying: "I alone can fix it." At the Democrats' convention a week later, it was Khizr Khan, the father of an American soldier killed in Iraq, addressing Trump and saying: "Have you even read the United States Constitution? ... You have sacrificed nothing and no one."

File - In this Jan. 23, 2016 file photo Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. Trumps boast on the campaign trail that he could shoot somebody and not lose any voters tops a Yale Law School librarians list of the most notable quotes of 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The yearly list is an update to the "Yale Book of Quotations," which was first published in 2006.

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THE LIST

1. "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters."  Donald Trump, speech at campaign rally, Sioux Center, Iowa, Jan. 23.

2. "When they go low, we go high."  Michelle Obama, commencement speech at Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, April 23.

3. "You could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the 'basket of deplorables.'"  Hillary Clinton, remarks at a fundraiser, New York, Sept. 9.

4. "And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside."  Lin-Manuel Miranda, poem about Orlando massacre read at Tony Awards ceremony, New York, June 12.

5. "(In politics) you need both a public and a private position."  Hillary Clinton, speech to National Multi-Housing Council released by WikiLeaks, Oct. 7.

6. "I alone can fix it."  Donald Trump, speech at Republican National Convention, Cleveland, July 21.

7. "Have you even read the United States Constitution? ... You have sacrificed nothing and no one."  Khizr Khan, addressing Donald Trump in speech at Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia, July 28.

8. "Lucifer in the flesh. ... I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life."  Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, describing Ted Cruz during talk at Stanford University, April 27.

9. "His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life."  Dan Turner, letter to judge prior to sentencing of his son, Brock Turner, after Brock's conviction for sexual assault of an unconscious woman, June.

10. "I'm not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I'm the first Simone Biles."  Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, interview, Rio de Janeiro, Aug. 11.
Rebels to evacuate Aleppo in surrender deal as fighting ends

BEIRUT (AP)  Syrian rebels reached a cease-fire deal to evacuate from eastern Aleppo in an effective surrender on Tuesday, as Russia declared all military action had stopped and the Syrian government had assumed control of the former rebel enclave.

The dramatic developments, which appeared to restore the remainder of what was once Syria's largest city to President Bashar Assad's forces after months of heavy fighting and a crippling siege, followed reports of mass killings by government forces closing in on the final few blocks still held by the rebels.

Damascus confirmed the evacuation deal and the U.N. envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called for immediate access to the former rebel enclave to confirm the end of military operations and to oversee the safe departure of tens of thousands of civilians and opposition fighters. He was at the Security Council where an emergency meeting for Aleppo was underway.

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching through the streets of east Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Syrian rebels said Tuesday that they reached a cease-fire deal with Moscow to evacuate civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, after the U.N. and opposition activists reported possible mass killings by government forces closing in on the rebels' last enclave. (SANA via AP)

Russia's U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin took to the floor near the end of the session at the U.N. Security Council to announce fighting had ended.

"According to the latest information that we received ... military actions in eastern Aleppo are over," Churkin said. "The Syrian government has re-established control over eastern Aleppo."

Minutes earlier, he had announced that "all militants" and members of their families, as well as those wounded in the fighting, were being evacuated through "agreed corridors in directions that they have chosen voluntarily," including the rebel stronghold of Idlib province.

As word spread of the deal, celebrations broke out in the government-controlled western sector of Aleppo, with convoys of cars driving around honking their cars and waving Syrian flags from the windows.

Retaking Aleppo, which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012, would be Assad's biggest victory yet in the civil war. Aleppo, the country's former commercial powerhouse, has long been regarded as a major gateway between Turkey and Syria and the biggest prize in the conflict.

The agreement Tuesday came after world leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents, and the U.N. human rights office said that pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians as they closed in on the last remaining rebel areas.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforced fears of atrocities in the final hours of the battle for the city.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the emergency meeting he had received "credible reports" of civilians killed by intense bombing and summary executions by pro-government forces.

"To the Assad regime, Russia and Iran three member states behind the conquest of and carnage in Aleppo  you bear responsibility for these atrocities," said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power.

In Turkey, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul, chanting against Russia's involvement in the push to retake rebel-held areas of Aleppo.

Several residents and opposition activists in Syria told the AP that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in neighborhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military denied the claim, saying such allegations were "a desperate attempt" to gain international sympathy.

None of the residents witnessed the alleged killings, and the reports came amid deepening chaos in the remaining rebel-held areas. Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held parts of the city, said the dead and wounded were being left in the streets.

Bashar al-Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, denied any mass executions or revenge attacks, but added it was Syria's "constitutional right" to go after "terrorists," a reference to all opposition fighters.

"Aleppo has been liberated from terrorists and those who toyed with terrorism," he said. "Aleppo has returned to the nation."

The U.N. children's agency said in a statement that it had received a report of more than 100 unaccompanied children trapped in a building under fire in eastern Aleppo. UNICEF is concerned over reports of "extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children," said the agency's regional director, Geert Cappalaere.

The U.N. human rights office said it had received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians in four neighborhoods of the rapidly-shrinking rebel enclave, including 11 women and 13 children.

Spokesman Rupert Colville, speaking to reporters in Geneva, said the reports described pro-government forces entering homes and killing civilians "on the spot."

A news release by the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources reported dozens of civilians were shot dead Monday by government forces and allied militiamen in the Kallaseh and Bustan al-Qasr neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hundreds of bodies were still under the rubble.

There were conflicting reports about the timing and route of the rebel withdrawal.

Syria's military media said the gunmen would be evacuated through the Ramouseh crossing and from there to rebel-controlled areas of northern Idlib province.

"Aleppo will be declared a secure and liberated city within the coming hours," it said on its Telegram channel.

Osama Abu Zayd, a Turkey-based legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the cease-fire went into effect Tuesday evening and that the first groups of rebel fighters would begin evacuating later that day.

Yasser al-Youssef, a rebel spokesman, confirmed the deal, and another spokesman, Ahmed Karali, said those leaving the city would head to rural areas in western Aleppo province then head north.

A government win in Aleppo would significantly strengthen Assad's hand but does not end the conflict  significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad family's four-decade rule.

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Associated Press Zeina Karam reported this story from Beirut and AP writer Edith M. Lederer reported from the United Nations. APress writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Sarah El Deeb and Philip Issa in Beirut, and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching through the streets of east Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Syrian rebels said Tuesday that they reached a cease-fire deal with Moscow to evacuate civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, after the U.N. and opposition activists reported possible mass killings by government forces closing in on the rebels' last enclave. (SANA via AP)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching walk inside the destroyed Grand Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Government forces and rebel fighters have fought to control the 12th century mosque in the last four years, until Syrian troops seized control of it this week. Syrian rebels said Tuesday that they reached a cease-fire deal with Moscow to evacuate civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, after the U.N. and opposition activists reported possible mass killings by government forces closing in on the rebels' last enclave. (SANA via AP)

A Lebanese woman holds a placard, during a sit-in to express solidarity with residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the attacks in eastern Aleppo, where Syrian government forces appear poised to take the last rebel holdouts. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching through the streets of east Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Syrian rebels said Tuesday that they reached a cease-fire deal with Moscow to evacuate civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, after the U.N. and opposition activists reported possible mass killings by government forces closing in on the rebels' last enclave. (SANA via AP)
Women migrant numbers high in Thai construction

BANGKOK (AP)  They toil high on scaffolding, pouring concrete and twisting iron bars. At night, they squeeze into shipping containers with their husbands by the dozens to get some rest.

They are female migrant construction workers, a rarity in most parts of the world, but not in Thailand. The International Labor Organization said in a report released Tuesday that more than 200,000 women from Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos work in Thailand, accounting for almost 40 percent of the migrant construction workers in the country.

By comparison, less than 9 percent of construction workers in the U.S. are women, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and a 1990 survey found that among 49 developing countries Thailand was the only one where women made up more than 10 percent of the construction workforce.

In this Monday, Dec. 12, 2016 photo, Cambodian migrant construction workers leave a building site in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. The International Labor Organization says in a report Tuesday that women make up almost 40 percent of migrant construction workers in Thailand, more than almost anywhere else in the world. But the large numbers only serve to magnify their problems, including lower pay and the risk of being fired if they get pregnant. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)

They work alongside men to smooth walls, lay bricks, and carry bags of cement on Bangkok's high rises and railway digs.

But their large numbers don't shield them from the same problems women in the workforce face around the world. They're paid less and trained less. Their shipping container homes provide little security from rowdy male workers. Having a husband for protection is almost a prerequisite.

"Employers think of hiring women migrant workers as a 'package' with their husbands," said Rebecca Napier-Moore, a co-author of the study. "They don't value them as highly as men and think of them as secondary or 'tag-alongs.'"

For migrants building stadiums in Qatar or skyscrapers in Dubai, stringent salary requirements for family visas mean that young men tend to leave their families, working to feed mouths thousands of kilometers (miles) away in India, Pakistan and Nepal. But proximity and relatively porous borders allow Cambodians and Burmese to come together as a family to don hard hats in Thailand.

"Thailand's long land borders often run through remote areas," said Nilim Baruah, a migration expert at the ILO. "Many migrant workers enter Thailand informally."

For decades, Thai law has required men and women to receive equal pay for equal work  but managers say that migrant women are paid less because they are less capable. Most women work as manual laborers, cleaning up the site or moving materials around, while men do more skilled work such as welding or masonry.

More than 70 percent of the women surveyed earned wages as low as $5.34 a day. Employers often don't pay on time, and will ask employees to lie about their wages on their contracts to get away with paying below the minimum daily wage of about $8.40.

Some women, eager to earn more, stick around for hours of overtime every day and live in fear of getting pregnant.

Thai labor legislation provides for 90 days of paid maternity leave  but many companies get around this by firing women if they're discovered to be pregnant. Companies skirt safety regulations as well.

"Women go up high places. The structures are makeshift. Boards are tied together. There is no safety equipment, like belts," said Thong Kham, a former construction worker. "It's difficult and dangerous."

Though construction fatality statistics are unreliable, the ILO estimates that construction in developing countries is three to six times risker than in Western nations. But even though the dangers are high for both men and women, some women reported that men had safety equipment training that women were excluded from.

The perils don't stop with chemical burns and heavy machinery. At night, women retreat to company-provided container housing  with clean water and electricity, but with dim lighting, thin walls, and no locks, prompting some to wire their doors shut, scared of the drunk men outside. Some rely on their husbands to keep them safe.

But the tough conditions haven't stopped Cambodian and Burmese women from pouring into Thailand. Many like the relative freedom of construction work, where unlike household cooks and maids they aren't on-call 24 hours a day.

In this Monday Dec. 12, 2016 photo, Cambodian migrant construction workers wait for their transport home outside a building site in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. The International Labor Organization says in a report Tuesday that women make up almost 40 percent of migrant construction workers in Thailand, more than almost anywhere else in the world. But the large numbers only serve to magnify their problems, including lower pay and the risk of being fired if they get pregnant. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)

In this Monday Dec. 12, 2016 photo, Cambodian migrant construction workers wait for their transport home outside a building site in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. The International Labor Organization says in a report Tuesday that women make up almost 40 percent of migrant construction workers in Thailand, more than almost anywhere else in the world. But the large numbers only serve to magnify their problems, including lower pay and the risk of being fired if they get pregnant. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)

In this Monday Dec. 12, 2016 photo, a Cambodian migrant construction worker checks her phone outside a building site in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. The International Labor Organization says in a report Tuesday that women make up almost 40 percent of migrant construction workers in Thailand, more than almost anywhere else in the world. But the large numbers only serve to magnify their problems, including lower pay and the risk of being fired if they get pregnant. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)
With Tillerson, Trump keeps betting big on business leaders

WASHINGTON (AP)  In selecting Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, President-elect Donald Trump is making the same bet he asked voters to make on him: that a track record of business accomplishment will translate into success in government.

Indeed, Trump, the first billionaire businessman to win the White House, is broadly testing that proposition across his administration. He's tapped fast food executive Andy Puzder to lead the Labor Department, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce, financier Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary and Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn as his top economic adviser.

But he's taking perhaps his biggest chance on Tillerson, pulling an executive from the rough-and-tumble world of oil production into the delicate arena of international diplomacy. If confirmed by the Senate  and his deep ties to Russia make that no sure thing  Tillerson will be at the center of discussions over the Syrian civil war, the intractable pursuit of peace in the Middle East, and potential conflicts with China, given Trump's early questioning of longstanding U.S. policy toward Beijing.

FILE - In this Friday, March 27, 2015 file photo, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on the release of a report by the National Petroleum Council on oil drilling in the Arctic, in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump selected Tillerson to lead the State Department on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

To Trump, the deals Tillerson has struck around the world for Exxon, and the relationships he has built doing so, are ample preparation for the challenges he would face as the nation's top diplomat. While Tillerson's ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin are drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill, Trump has had good things to say about Putin, too, and Tillerson's connection doesn't appear to have given him any pause.

"Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none," Trump said Tuesday.

He's been making a similar case about himself all year as he sought to persuade voters that a real estate mogul and political novice had the skills to serve as president. He spent little time trying to show voters that his skills extended beyond the boardroom. Instead, he argued that experience was plenty.

As Trump set about putting his administration together, people close to him say he was quickly drawn to the idea of elite business leaders filling the Cabinet, along with those who have had success in areas outside of politics. He's tapped three retired generals for top jobs: James Mattis to head the Pentagon, John Kelly for the Department of Homeland Security and Michael Flynn as his national security adviser.

While business leaders have served in Cabinet posts under both Republican and Democratic presidents, the scope of private sector influence in Trump's burgeoning team is a stark contrast to modern predecessors. Most of President Barack Obama's Cabinet secretaries had public sector backgrounds, though Interior Secretary Sally Jewell served as CEO of the retail company REI and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald is the retired CEO of Procter & Gamble.

Some of Trump's picks have come from a more traditional mold. Among them will be former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has been asked by Trump to lead the Energy Department, according to people with knowledge of the decision. Trump has also selected a handful of congressional lawmakers for other top jobs.

But Trump is said to have been particularly intrigued by the prospect of breaking the mold with his choice for secretary of state, one of the most powerful and prominent positions and one that often goes to a diplomatic veteran.

Tillerson came to his attention several years ago when he beat back a motion supported by the Rockefellers  Exxon's founding family  that would have split the chairman and chief executive position into two different jobs. The president-elect was drawn to Tillerson's confidence and Texas swagger, according to people with knowledge of the decision.

"Rex Tillerson is a very Trumpian-inspired pick because it's somebody who, like Donald Trump, has a career outside of politics, and he's somebody who is accustomed to making big deals and translating that into big impact," said Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior advisers.

But for some longtime foreign policy hands, Tillerson is an uncomfortable fit.

"Rex Tillerson has done a fantastic job for Exxon Mobil shareholders," said Michael McFaul, Obama's former ambassador to Russia. "I am not sure those same skills qualify him to be secretary of state."

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, he has held posts in the company's central U.S., Yemen and Russia operations.

Early in the company's efforts to gain access to the Russian market, Tillerson cut a deal with state-owned Rosneft. The neglected post-Soviet company didn't have a tremendous amount to offer, but Exxon partnered with it "to be on the same side of the table," Tillerson said, according to "Private Empire," an investigative history of Exxon by Steve Coll.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
Prosecutors give timeline of accused church shooter actions

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)  Through a dozen witnesses on Tuesday, federal prosecutors reconstructed the activities of Dylann Roof in the months leading up to night he went to a black Charleston church and shot nine members to death during a Bible study session.

Using data from a Garmin GPS found in Roof's car when he was arrested, Joseph Hamski, the lead FBI agent on the case, testified that Roof left Columbia at 6:13 p.m. on the night of the shootings at Emanuel AME Church, arriving in downtown Charleston an hour and a half later.

At 8:16 p.m., church surveillance images show him walking into the church. By 9:06 p.m., he's seen walking out, a black gun in his hand.

FILE - In this June 18, 2015 file photo, Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C. Prosecutors who wanted to show that Roof was a cruel, angry racist simply used his own words at his death penalty trial on charges he killed nine black people in June 2015 at a Charleston church. Roof's two-hour videotaped confession less than a day after the shooting and a handwritten journal found in his car when he was arrested were introduced into evidence Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

Roof, who is white, faces 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion. Roof's attorneys have said repeatedly in both federal and state court that their 22-year-old client is willing to plead guilty if capital punishment is taken off the table, a request prosecutors have refused. Roof faces another death penalty trial next year in state court.

Prior to that night, Hamski testified, Roof made multiple trips to Charleston, stopping at plantations in the area and posing for photographs on a beach. Images of Roof's travels around the Charleston area were shown in court and previously appeared on his website, lastrhodesian.com, along with his racially inflammatory writings and photographs of Roof posing with a Confederate flag. An AT&T employee testified a call was made to the church from Roof's home in February.

Justin Britt, a Richland County sheriff's deputy, also testified that Roof's mother collapsed when authorities came to her home the day after the shootings and started asking questions about her son. After recovering, Britt said Roof's mother led him to her son's bedroom, where she showed him a digital camera on which Britt said he saw pictures of Roof with a Confederate flag.

"She said, 'There's something that I think you need to see,'" Britt testified.

Another officer who helped search the home testified she recovered dozens of spent ammunition rounds, saying relatives told her Roof and others would practice shooting in a nearby wooded area. Kristen Polis also testified she photographed a white pillowcase cut into a triangle because "to me, it represents what could be a Ku Klux Klan hood."

Prosecutors also played video of Roof practicing shooting his gun at various objects in his backyard and quickly reloading the weapon.

Witness testimony is expected to wrap up Wednesday, with the government calling a medical examiner to discuss details of the victims' injuries. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson opened his case with Felicia Sanders, a survivor of the June 2015 shooting at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church. He has said he plans to close with testimony of another survivor, Polly Sheppard.

Defense attorney David Bruck, who has previously said he might not call any witnesses, said Tuesday he would likely call some after all.

If Roof is convicted, jurors would decide if he should be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. While he has a defense team at the moment, Roof has said he wants to be his own lawyer for the penalty phase.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP . Read more of her work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/meg-kinnard/ .

FILE - This June 18, 2015, file photo, provided by the Charleston County Sheriff's Office shows Dylann Roof. Prosecutors who wanted to show that Roof was a cruel, angry racist simply used his own words at his death penalty trial on charges he killed nine black people at a Charleston church. Roof's two-hour videotaped confession less than a day after the June 2015 shooting and a handwritten journal found in his car when he was arrested were introduced into evidence Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (Charleston County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
Gov. Ducey heads to border crossing, Sierra Vista

PHOENIX (AP)  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is set to visit a border crossing in Nogales and inspect the facility with the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Ducey's visit to the Mariposa Port of Entry on Tuesday includes a tour of the facility and a briefing on its new cargo inspection process with Ambassador Roberta Jacobson.

The governor also is set to dedicate a new international welcome center sponsored by the Tucson Chamber of Commerce in Nogales and attend a luncheon with Jacobson and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Director William Brooks.
AP Explains: Why China sees Taiwan issue as non-negotiable

BEIJING (AP)  President-elect Donald Trump's questioning of long-established U.S. policy toward Taiwan is sparking a growing backlash in China and warnings about a potentially dangerous disruption in relations between the world's two largest economies.

Trump broke diplomatic precedent by talking on the phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2. Then, this past weekend, he said he might use America's recognition of Beijing as leverage for gaining advantages in trade and other areas.

That is placing him perilously close to touching on China's bottom line that brooks no formal recognition of Taiwan or challenge to its claim to sovereignty over the island.

A copy of a Chinese news magazine fronting a photo of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and a headline "Relations of Great Powers" is displayed for sale at a news stand in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's questioning of long-established U.S. policy toward Taiwan is sparking a growing backlash in Beijing and warnings about potentially dangerous disruption in relations between the world's two largest economies. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A look at the highly sensitive issue of Taiwan in China-U.S. relations:

WHERE THE U.S. STANDS

A former Japanese colony, Taiwan was taken over at the end of World War II by the Chinese Nationalist forces, who then moved their government to the island after fleeing the mainland in 1949 ahead of the Communist victory in the Chinese civil war. Beijing threatens to use military force to unify with Taiwan.

Washington, which changed its recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, technically maintains only unofficial ties with Taiwan, although U.S. law requires the government to ensure that the island has the ability to defend itself and to treat all threats to it as issues of national concern.

The U.S. and China have signed three communiques that guide Washington's approach to Taiwan policy, including acknowledging Beijing's claim to the island and pledging to reduce weapon sales to Taiwan as long as China takes a peaceful approach to unification.

However, a pair of former officials with the George W. Bush administration, Dan Blumenthal and Randall Schriver, recently argued in favor of re-examining that approach, a move that would deeply unsettle those overseeing relations in both Beijing and Washington.

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WHY IT MATTERS

China's bottom line is that it will not allow any formal U.S. recognition of Taiwan's government or a change of position by Washington that would view the island as independent from China. China would likely respond to such a move by severing diplomatic ties and suspending cooperation with the U.S. across a wide range of military, economic and political issues.

Trump's statement is an "act of incredible brinksmanship and hubris  something that threatens some four decades of diplomacy that has preserved peace and promoted prosperity," Boston University China expert Joseph Fewsmith said in an email.

Although Beijing has so far been restrained in its response, should Trump continue on this tack, "China will react, and strongly," Fewsmith said.

China has cut off links with Taiwan's independence-leaning leader since her election in January over her refusal to endorse China's claim that Taiwan and the mainland are part of a single Chinese nation. The number of Chinese tourists visiting the island has been drastically reduced and China has intervened to prevent Taiwan's participation in international forums ranging from the International Civilian Aviation Organization to world police body Interpol.

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR

As Trump seeks to carry out campaign promises to rebalance trade with China, Taiwan will serve as an "essential part of the mission," Miles Yu Maochun, an expert on Chinese politics at the U.S. Naval Academy, said in an email.

A re-evaluation of U.S. policy toward Taiwan might not be a bad thing if it more closely aligns with current realities, Yu said. At the time the U.S. broke official ties with Taiwan, the island was ruled by a military dictatorship that insisted it was still the sole representative government of all China. Today, Taiwan stands as a standard bearer for liberal, multi-party democracy.

"The Trump administration is a revolutionary departure from the established system of diplomatic nuances and 'strategic ambiguity,'" Yu said. "As such, it may well ditch the mother of all diplomatic double-talk called 'the One China policy.'"
Putin ready to meet Trump 'at any moment'

MOSCOW (AP)  Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is prepared to meet President-elect Donald Trump at any time.

When asked by journalists about the possibility of arranging a meeting with Trump, Put said "we are ready at any moment. There are no problems from our side," according to an interview transcript released by the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Putin said that "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this."

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Tver region governor Igor Rudenya in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

He added that "we understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship. But we are prepared to do our bit."
The Latest: Trump praises Speaker Ryan at Wisconsin rally

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump's transition to the White House (all times EST):

8:30 p.m.

President-elect Donald Trump is singing House Speaker Paul Ryan's praises in Wisconsin.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in West Allis, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

At a rally Tuesday in West Allis, Trump praised the Wisconsin politicians in the room. When Ryan drew boos, Trump said he was "like a fine wine. Every day that goes by I get to appreciate his genius more and more."

Trump and Ryan have not always been so cozy. Ryan disinvited Trump from a rally in the fall, saying he was "sickened" by past profane comments from the presidential candidate. But they started mended fences leading up to Election Day.

Ryan was just one of the speakers who opened for Trump Tuesday. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Trump's pick for chief of staff, Reince Priebus, also spoke.

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7:35 p.m.

President-elect Donald Trump is asking Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel to serve as national party chairwoman, in part as a reward for delivering Michigan for the GOP for the first time in 28 years.

The choice of McDaniel to serve as Republican National Committee chairwoman was confirmed Tuesday night by a person familiar with Trump's decision. The person asked for anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made.

McDaniel is the niece of 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. She supported Trump after he won the party's 2016 nomination despite her famous uncle's sharp criticism.

McDaniel would become the second woman to serve as RNC chairwoman, and the first in 40 years.

Trump's decision marks a key victory for outgoing RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, who supported McDaniel for the job.

 Julie Bykowicz

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6 p.m.

It looks like the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress won't be joining the incoming Trump administration and will remain in the House.

Washington state Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers had been considered front-runner to head the Interior Department.

The No. 4 House Republican leader posted on Facebook on Tuesday that she was honored to spend time with President-elect Donald Trump but is "energized more than ever to continue leading in Congress as we think big, reimagine this government and put people back at the center of it."

A source close to McMorris Rodgers said the congresswoman met briefly twice with Trump but was never offered the interior secretary job. The source, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss McMorris Rodgers' status, said reports that she was offered that job were driven by Trump's transition team.

 Alan Fram

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4:15 p.m.

The Energy Department says it won't provide the names of staffers who worked on climate issues to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, even as it pledges to cooperate with the incoming administration.

Trump's transition team is seeking information about agency operations and personnel, including a list of employees and contractors who attended international meetings on climate change over the past five years.

An Energy Department spokesman said Tuesday that while officials "will be forthcoming with all publicly-available information, we will not be providing any individual names to the transition team."

Spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder says some of the questions asked by Trump's team left DOE workers "unsettled." He says DOE officials "respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department."

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1:53 p.m.

Bill Gates says he and Donald Trump talked big ideas Tuesday in Trump Tower.

The co-founder of Microsoft Corp. told reporters that he and the president-elect had a "good conversation about innovation, how it can help in health, education, the impact of foreign aid and energy," as well as "a wide-ranging conversation about power of innovation."

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1:48 p.m.

Donald Trump is expected to be invited to the National Prayer Breakfast in February.

Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Chris Coons, D-Del., are co-chairmen of the breakfast and expected to issue the invitation to Trump on Wednesday. A release about the meeting said they will discuss the long tradition of the breakfast "as an inclusive, positive event focused on prayer."

The event has been held for more than six decades and has often seen as a chance for politicians to pause the debate of the day and gather in fellowship and reflection. But it doesn't always happen that way.

Keynote speaker Ben Carson in 2013 drew attention for complaining about tax laws and offering suggestions for health care changes. Carson was then a neurosurgeon who is now Trump's choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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12:40 p.m.

New York City police say they've arrested a teenager who showed up at the Trump Tower security checkpoint with a knife, handcuffs, fireworks and a water pistol.

Authorities say 19-year-old Alexander Wang of upstate Poughquag, New York was arrested at around 6:30 p.m. Monday.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said Tuesday afternoon that he was awaiting arraignment. There was no immediate information on an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

The Secret Service runs the checkpoint. The NYPD has a security detail at the tower.

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11:55 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump is considering major Republican fundraiser Wayne Berman as the U.S. Trade Representative.

That's according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

Berman is a senior adviser at the Blackstone Group and was a strong supporter of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's failed 2016 presidential campaign. He served in the Commerce Department during President George H.W. Bush's administration.

Trump made his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact and other multilateral trade deals a central part of his campaign. He's pledged to negotiate bilateral trade agreements, work that would fall in part to the trade representative.

The people with knowledge of the discussions insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the internal deliberations.

-By Julie Pace and Julie Bykowicz

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11:25 a.m.

Brazilian President Michel Temer and President-elect Donald Trump have spoken about a "U.S.-Brazil agenda for economic growth."

That's according to a statement from Temer's office, which said the phone call took place Tuesday. The two planned for their teams to meet on the issue in February.

Temer's office said Brazil wants his country to have more U.S. investment and said that Brazilians will continue investing in the United States.

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11:05 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he "look(s) forward" to supporting Donald Trump's nomination of Rex Tillerson for secretary of state.

The Kentucky Republican predicted in a statement Tuesday that Tillerson will "face each problem head on with American interests and security as his top priority." McConnell added that he looks "forward to supporting his nomination."

HIs positive words could carry considerable sway with Senate Republicans, a few of which have said they have serious concerns about Tillerson's ties with Russia. McConnell on Monday told reporters that "the Russians are not our friends." But he made no mention of the ExxonMobil chief's close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump says he regards Tillerson's Russia ties an asset for a secretary of state.

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10:32 a.m.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he is "humbled" that President-elect Donald Trump considered him to be secretary of energy.

The West Virginian, whose state voted overwhelmingly for Trump last month, said he can best serve the Mountaineer State in the Senate. Manchin is up for re-election in 2018.

Manchin's comments came after reports that former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been selected to run the Energy Department.

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10:04 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump says he and musician Kanye West talked "life" in Trump Tower.

The two posed for photos after their meeting Tuesday.

Asked why the musician was visiting, Trump said the two were "just friends" and called West a "good man."

The two did not answer questions on whether West would perform at Trump's inauguration in January.

West stood silently next to Trump. Asked why he wasn't speaking, West said: "I just want to take a picture right now."

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9:32 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department.

That's according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

The two-time presidential candidate had been a harsh critic of Trump during the 2016 race, calling him a "cancer to conservatism." He later endorsed the Republican nominee and said he'd be willing to work in a Trump administration.

One of Perry's best-remembered moments from his first White House run was when he couldn't remember in a debate the third of three federal agencies he promised to eliminate if elected. The one he forgot was the Energy Department.

The two people with knowledge of Trump's pick insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the decision ahead of the official announcement.

-By Ken Thomas and Julie Pace

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9:25 a.m.

Kanye West is visiting Trump Tower this morning.

The musician entered the building shortly after 9 a.m. with a large entourage. West was not accompanied by wife Kim Kardashian West.

The 39-year-old recently spent over a week in Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles for stress and exhaustion.

West did not stop to talk to reporters gathered in the lobby.

At a concert in November, West said he didn't vote, but if he had he "would have voted for Trump."

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9:21 a.m.

An aide to President Vladimir Putin is praising President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Tuesday in remarks reported by the TASS news agency described Tillerson as a "very credible figure" and a "big professional."

The CEO of ExxonMobil has met Putin several times and he received Russia's Order of Friendship in 2013. ExxonMobil works closely with Russian oil giant Rosneft and in 2013 the two companies struck a multi-billion dollar Arctic oil exploration deal.

Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also praised Tillerson's "pragmatism."

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8:50 a.m.

Rudy Giuliani says Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson would do a good job as secretary of state.

Giuliani, at one time in the running for the post, says President-elect Donald Trump has chosen someone who has the experience to understand the world.

"I'm okay with the choice," Giuliani told CNN on Tuesday morning. "I think Donald Trump has selected somebody who knows the world and can advise him on the world."

Giuliani says Trump had several solid candidates on his short list, such as former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton. "I thought John Bolton would have been a great secretary of state," he said. Giuliani said he took himself out of the running last month.

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8:40 a.m.

Russia's foreign minister says the "pragmatism" of the nominee for the next U.S. secretary of state, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, is good basis for future relations.

Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday in the Serbian capital that both President-elect Donald Trump and Tillerson "have not been against our cooperation."

Lavrov says, "we expect that this pragmatism will be a good foundation for building mutually beneficial cooperation" between the U.S. and Russia.

Tillerson has close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, which is certain to draw scrutiny and fuel a potential Senate confirmation fight.

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7:44 a.m.

A top adviser to Donald Trump says the president-elect "hit it off" with his choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.

Reince Priebus said Tuesday that the president-elect chose Tillerson in part because the ExxonMobil CEO is a diplomat who "happens to be able to drill oil."

The Republican National Committee chairman said, "Tillerson had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren't the easiest places to have relationships, during many different (presidential) administrations."

Some Republicans and Democrats said they have concerns about Tillerson's longtime business ties to Russia, raising questions about whether he could win Senate confirmation.

Priebus spoke Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

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7:00 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has settled on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state.

The real estate mogul said in a predawn statement that Tillerson is "among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal makers in the world."

Trump added that Tillerson's career is "the embodiment of the American dream."

Senate Democrats and some Republicans have said they're concerned about Tillerson's business ties to Russia. The subject is likely to come up during Tillerson's Senate confirmation proceedings.

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4:00 a.m.

President Barack Obama is criticizing Trump for saying he'll shun daily intelligence briefings when he takes office.

Appearing Monday evening on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Obama said that a president who isn't getting the benefit of such regular briefings from the intelligence community is likely "flying blind" in managing national security issues for the country.

Trump said in a television interview Sunday that he wasn't interested in getting daily intelligence briefings, a practice that's been a fixture for chief executives of both parties for several years.

Obama also said the reason he's ordered a wide-ranging probe into purported Russian hacking against the U.S. election process is to "really just gather all of the threads of the investigation." He says notions of meddling in the campaign "was not a secret" before Election Day, Nov. 8, in the United States.

3:15 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department, dismissing concerns about the businessman's close ties to Russia and bringing a long public audition process to a conclusion.

Two people close to Trump's transition team said Monday night that Trump had selected Tillerson. They insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the pick ahead of that announcement.

Trump was set to announce his nomination Tuesday morning. The selection could set him up for a potential fight with Congress over confirming Tillerson, who has connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties about Tillerson, as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.

House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks before President-elect Donald Trump at a rally Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in West Allis, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

President-elect Donald Trump talks with Kanye West in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Liu Shirui tunes an erhu fiddle at his workshop in Jining, Shandong Province, on Dec. 4, 2016. [Photo by Wang Qisheng/China.com.cn]

Liu Shirui runs a small instrument shop in a quiet lane in Jining, Shandong Province. Entering his shop, people are always stunned by the variety of erhu fiddles hanging on the walls.

The 54-year-old luthier comes from a carpenter family and said his unique skill of making erhu fiddles has been handed down in his family through generations.

With a history of more than 1,000 years, the erhu is one of the most traditional and important Chinese musical instruments. Although it only has two strings, it has a wonderful tone and can convey a wide range of emotions.

Liu started to learn carpentry from his father at the age of eight. Even during military service, he never gave up practicing his craft. Since retiring from the army in 1982, he has devoted himself to erhu-making.

The process is quite complicated, Liu explained. In his workshop, there are more than 200 tools of different shape, size and function.

"Details determine success or failure. Every single step in making an erhu requires extreme care and caution. The slightest mistake can mean a lot of work going to waste," he said.

Liu's erhu fiddles are made of superior materials, including sandalwood, rosewood, and python skins with black lines and spots on them; many of the materials are inherited from his ancestors.

The price of an erhu fiddle is decided by the materials and manufacturing cycle, varying from 700 yuan (about US$102) to 10,000 yuan (about US$1,450), explained Liu, adding that he can usually finish four or five instruments a month.

Based on years of experience, Liu's erhu fiddles are full of fine workmanship and have an accurate tone. They are well received by customers, with supply often falling short of demand. In the past 40 years, he has made over 10,000 fiddles for clients coming from all parts of the country.

Liu regards the instruments as his own children. "I have devoted myself heart and soul to them. To me, every sound they make is the most beautiful musical note in the world," he said.
Obama: President without briefings would be 'flying blind'

NEW YORK (AP)  President Barack Obama says any president who shuns daily intelligence briefings would be "flying blind" on national security matters, a stiff push-back against Donald Trump's suggestion that that he doesn't need daily read-ins to fulfill his campaign pledge to "make America safe again."

"I think the president-elect may say one thing and do another once he's here" in the White House," Obama said late Monday on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."

Intelligence agencies, Obama said, "are not perfect, they would be the first to acknowledge that. If you're not getting their perspective, their detailed perspective, then you are flying blind."

Trump said on "Fox News Sunday" he's not interested in daily intelligence briefings unless developments have changed enough to merit his attention. Trump campaigned heavily on making national security his priority, crafting one widely seen ad around the phrasing that he'll "make America safe again." He wrapped several campaign proposals in the national security theme, including a temporary ban on Muslim immigration and immediate deportation of millions of people in the country illegally.

Asked whether he's rejecting valuable intelligence, Trump was defiant.

"I get it when I need it," he said of the top-secret briefings sessions, generally designed to present facts for the president to make decisions on when something's changed and what, if any, action should be taken.

"I'm, like, a smart person," Trump continued. "I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years."

The remarks sent Trump allies, such as incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus Tuesday, insisting that the president-elect respects intelligence analysts.

In his Monday night appearance, Obama said the U.S. intelligence agencies are stocked with "extraordinary, hard-working and patriotic and knowledgeable experts."

"It doesn't matter how smart you are," Obama said. "You have to make the best information possible to make the best decisions possible."

Obama also commented on the burgeoning controversy surrounding the CIA's conclusion that Russia was engaged in computer hacking aimed at interfering with the U.S. election process and helping Trump in his campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton. A congressional investigation is in the works, and Obama has ordered a wide-ranging review of the hacking situation.

The aim, Obama told "The Daily Show," was to ensure that "the public and our elected representatives, going forward, can find ways to prevent this kind of interference from having an effect on the elections in the future."

"This was not a secret running up to the election," he added. "The president-elect in some of his political events specifically said to the Russians, hack Hillary's emails so we can finally find out what's going on and confirm our conspiracy theories."

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German police confident they'll catch subway attacker

BERLIN (AP)  Berlin authorities say they're confident they'll apprehend a man caught on surveillance camera brutally kicking a woman down a flight of stairs in a subway station in the German capital.

Prosecutors' spokesman Martin Steltner told n-tv news Tuesday they'd received multiple tips about the incident. He says "we assume that we will apprehend the suspect."

In a video published by police, the man in a group of four is walking casually down a flight of stairs, a bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other, before he kicks a woman from behind down a half-dozen stairs.

Police say the 26-year-old woman had to be hospitalized for her injuries.
Israeli officials will not meet visiting Swedish FM

JERUSALEM (AP)  In an apparent diplomatic snub, Israel said Tuesday that none of its officials will meet with the Swedish foreign minister during a visit this week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon cited a "scheduling issue" for the decision not to meet with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom. It is highly unusual for a visiting high-level dignitary not to meet any Israeli officials.

Wallstrom arrives Thursday and is expected to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

File -- In this April 25, 2016 file photo, Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom speaks after her meeting with Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In an apparent diplomatic snub, Israel says none of its officials will meet with Wallstrom who arrives for a visit Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman cited a "scheduling issue" for the decision not to meet with Wallstrom. It is highly unusual for a visiting high-level dignitary not to meet any Israeli officials. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

Sweden's relations with Israel have been strained since the Social Democratic-led government in 2014 recognized Palestinian statehood, and Wallstrom's comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have elicited angry responses from Israeli officials.

"I would have liked to visit Israel as well, but unfortunately they couldn't confirm it," Wallstrom said in a statement.

As foreign minister, Wallstrom has been outspoken on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Gambia's ruling party petitions for fresh election

DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  Gambia's ruling party pressed for a fresh presidential election Tuesday as West African regional mediators intervened to try to resolve a mounting political crisis in the tiny country that voted its leader of 22 years from power less than two weeks ago.

A petition signed by the secretary-general of President Yahya Jammeh's party on Tuesday demanded a new vote with a revalidated voter registry.

The document, which was also signed by a notary public and seen by The Associated Press, says the election was not conducted fairly or in good faith and therefore should be invalidated.

Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma, left, and Liberia President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, right, on arrival for talks with President Yahya Jammeh, in Banjul, Gambia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Several West African leaders have arrived in Gambia to urge the country's leader to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years. President Yahya Jammeh initially conceded defeat but late last week announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. He alleges voting irregularities. (AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Jammeh initially acknowledged defeat, even calling the Dec. 1 election fair and conceding to President-elect Adama Barrow in a telephone call broadcast on state television. But he announced last week that he was rejecting the election results.

Among the irregularities cited in the petition brought against the Independent Electoral Commission and Gambia's attorney general were the different results reported the day after the election and again on Dec. 5. It also questioned why some 360,000 registered voters did not make it to the polls.

The commission said the vote was transparent, fair and accurate. The results it gave on Dec. 5 were updated totals, but the commission said the new counts did not change the outcome and that Barrow still was the winner.

Tuesday was the deadline for challenging the election. However, Gambia does not have a sitting Supreme Court, so it was unclear with whom Jammeh's party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, filed its petition.

Gambian security forces blocked access to the electoral commission office, refusing to let staffers enter Tuesday, as several West African leaders arrived to urge the president to respect the elections and allow a peaceful transition of power.

"The president and all the entities have assured us that peace and stability will remain in Gambia as a decision process proceeds to a conclusion," Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who headed the delegation of West African regional economic bloc leaders, said.

Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, led separate meetings with Jammeh, President-elect Barrow and the electoral commission head. She was joined by other leaders from the regional economic bloc, known as ECOWAS, including Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana President John Mahama, who also was just voted from office.

Sirleaf said the leaders will meet with other colleagues in the regional body on Saturday in Abuja, Nigeria.

The head of the West African regional bloc, Marcel Alain de Souza, had told French radio RFI that military intervention could be considered if Jammeh does not step down. The bloc has warned that the tiny nation of 1.9 million could be plunged into violence, if its leader does not honor the will of voters.

Soldiers remained in the streets Tuesday as Gambians worried about unrest, a stark contrast to days of celebration in the streets after Jammeh's loss.

Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless 1994 military coup, has long been accused by human rights groups of overseeing a government that imprisons, tortures and sometimes kills its opponents.

Barrow has denounced Jammeh's rejection of the vote and said he lacks the constitutional authority to call for a new vote or to declare the Dec. 1 election null and void. Jammeh's term expires in January.

The United Nations Security Council, the United States and other countries and international organizations have called for a peaceful transition of power.

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An Associated Press reporter in Banjul, Gambia, contributed to this report.

Ghana President, John Dramani Mahama, walks on arrival for talks with President Yahya Jammeh, in Banjul, Gambia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Gambias ruling party pressed for fresh elections, as West African regional mediators intervened Tuesday to try to resolve a political crisis in the tiny West African country that voted its leader of 22 years from power. (AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Gambia President elect, Adama Barrow, centre, walks after a meeting with Ecowas delegation in Banjul, Gambia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Gambia's ruling party pressed for fresh elections, as West African regional mediators intervened Tuesday to try to resolve a political crisis in the tiny West African country that voted its leader of 22 years from power. (AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari, centre, on arrival for talks with Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh, in Banjul, Gambia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Several West African leaders have arrived in Gambia to urge the country's leader to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years. President Yahya Jammeh initially conceded defeat but late last week announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. Jammeh alleges voting irregularities.(AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Ghana President, John Dramani Mahama, on arrival for talks with President Yahya Jammeh, in Banjul, Gambia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Several West African leaders have arrived in Gambia to urge the country's leader to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years. President Yahya Jammeh initially conceded defeat but late last week announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. He alleges voting irregularities. (AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma, centre, on arrival for talks with Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh, in Banjul, Gambia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Several West African leaders have arrived in Gambia to urge the country's leader to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years. President Yahya Jammeh initially conceded defeat but late last week announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. Jammeh alleges voting irregularities. (AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma, left, and Liberia President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, right, on arrival for talks with President Yahya Jammeh, in Banjul, Gambia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Several West African leaders have arrived in Gambia to urge the country's leader to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years. President Yahya Jammeh initially conceded defeat but late last week announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. He alleges voting irregularities. (AP Photo/ Sylvain Cherkaoui)
Greece and IMF squabble over austerity and forecasting

ATHENS, Greece (AP)  The Greek government and the International Monetary Fund squabbled Tuesday over further reforms the debt-hobbled country is being asked to make as part of its bailout.

The left-led government said it refuses to legislate any further cutbacks after the bailout ends in mid-2018, and is accusing the IMF of citing "false" data in calling for sweeping pension and tax reforms.

Officials from the IMF are in Athens along with representatives from Greece's creditors in Europe over what the Greek government has to do next to get more bailout loans, participation in a European Central Bank bond-buying program and longer-term meaningful debt relief.

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses lawmakers during a parliamentary session in Athens, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Greek parliament votes on 2017 budget, as the country's left-wing government is still negotiating a new series of cost-cutting reforms that are expected to remove protection measures for private sector jobs and distressed mortgage holders. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

The talks, which are set to focus on labor reforms and budget savings, were initially scheduled for completion last week but the sniping between the Greek government, increasingly unpopular with austerity-weary Greeks, and the IMF officials could see them run into next year.

Without actually naming the IMF, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras railed against "foolish technocrats ... who can't even get their numbers right" on Greece's economy.

His barb came in response to an article by senior IMF officials Monday, who denied that the fund is seeking more austerity measures in Greece, and urged "a radical restructuring of (Greece's) public sector."

The article on the IMF blog said cuts under the bailout program have "already gone too far," to the degree where "the delivery of basic public services such as transportation and health care is being compromised."

But it also said that Greece has failed to address two major problems  a system that leaves more than one in two Greek households exempt from any income tax, and "extremely generous" state pensions that are commensurate with the "richest" European countries.

"If Greece agrees with its European partners on ambitious fiscal targets, don't criticize the IMF for being the ones insisting on austerity when we ask to see the measures required to make such targets credible," said the article, signed by Poul Thomsen and Maurice Obstfeld.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzannakopoulos urged the IMF to "improve" its economic forecasts as Tsipras' office published a list of past, failed, IMF predictions on Greek GDP growth.

The IMF participated in Greece's two previous bailouts, but is now skeptical of joining in again as both Greece and the Europeans want it to do.

In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt defended bailout policies as "sound," and said an agreement can be reached in the current negotiations "if all program partners engage constructively."

"Greece has already implemented major reforms under the (bailout) program and is on track to reach the agreed fiscal targets," she said. "It is important that all institutions fully recognize these achievements of the Greek program."

Greece has depended on rescue loans since 2010. In return, successive governments have agreed to harsh income cuts, tax hikes and reforms. But the economy has contracted by a quarter, and unemployment remains at 23 percent.
The Latest: Prosecutors ask to put Cosby accusers on stand

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP)  The Latest on Bill Cosby's latest court appearance in a sexual-assault case (all times local):

4:25 p.m.

Prosecutors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case say the 79-year-old comedian used his fame to gain the trust of women before knocking them out with pills and drinks so he could sexually assault them.

Bill Cosby waves as he arrives for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Lawyers for Cosby will battle in court to try to limit the number of other accusers who can testify at the comedian's sexual assault trial. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

District Attorney Kevin Steele told a judge Tuesday he wants 13 Cosby accusers to testify at his trial next year to show that an alleged sexual assault in 2004 was part of a decadeslong pattern.

Judge Steven O'Neill is weighing whether to permit all or some of the women to testify under a state law that allows prosecutors to call witnesses of alleged prior bad acts.

Cosby's lawyers want the women barred from taking the stand. They're expected to make their arguments Wednesday.

Cosby is charged with sexually assaulting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home.

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3 p.m.

A Pennsylvania judge has warned lawyers in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case for a second time after a prosecutor assailed the 79-year-old comedian's lawyers with allegations of witness intimidation.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele blew up at the defense over the positioning of a projection screen at a hearing Tuesday where prosecutors are seeking permission to have 13 Cosby accusers testify at his upcoming trial.

Steele says Cosby's lawyers had the screen placed so the women's names would be seen by dozens of reporters in the courtroom gallery. Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle says courtroom staff positioned the screen.

Judge Steven O'Neill said he'd be forced to call in sheriff's deputies if the lawyers couldn't conduct themselves properly.

Cosby is charged with sexually assaulting a woman at his home in 2004.

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2:25 p.m.

Defense lawyers for Bill Cosby are complaining that celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred fed Pennsylvania prosecutors a list of accusers to use as witnesses at Cosby's sex assault trial.

The 79-year-old Cosby appeared relaxed in court Tuesday as he listened to pretrial arguments about how many other accusers can testify as "prior bad act" witnesses at his spring trial. Cosby is facing charges he sexually assaulted a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Prosecutors hope to call 13 of the approximately 50 Cosby accusers they interviewed to show an alleged pattern of criminal activity.

The defense believes the judge should consider how prosecutors selected those women.

The case is being heard in Montgomery County, near Philadelphia. The hearing is scheduled to run through Wednesday.

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12:05 p.m.

The Pennsylvania judge in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case doesn't want to hear from a memory expert at this week's hearing on the potential testimony of other accusers.

Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill says the memory expert won't help him decide if the accusers can testify against the 79-year-old comedian. He says the expert might be allowed to take the stand at Cosby's trial next year.

The criminal charges involve Cosby's 2004 encounter with Andrea Constant at his home near Philadelphia.

Prosecutors want to call 13 other women as "prior bad act" witnesses. The women say Cosby drugged and molested them.

Defense lawyers are introducing thick binders full of news interviews, police statements, Facebook posts and other information on the women. They call the accusers' accounts irrelevant to the case.

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11 a.m.

A judge has admonished both the prosecution and defense after a courtroom shouting match over the names of the women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault.

Judge Steven O'Neill denounced Tuesday morning's outburst as uncivil.

District Attorney Kevin Steele clashed with Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle over the defense team's practice of publicly identifying accusers.

Steele suggested that Cosby's lawyers are publicizing them in an attempt to intimidate the women.

McMonagle said many of them had already gone public with their allegations.

Cosby's lawyers want the women barred from testifying at the 79-year-old comedian's Pennsylvania sexual assault trial next year.

O'Neill ruled that Cosby's lawyers can identify 11 of the women by name. He said two have remained out of the spotlight and shouldn't be named in court.

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9:15 a.m.

Bill Cosby joked, 'Don't tase me, bro,'" as he was being wanded by security officers on his way into a suburban Philadelphia courtroom.

The actor and comedian entered the courthouse Tuesday morning for a hearing on whether prosecutors will be able to call more than a dozen accusers as witnesses at his upcoming sexual assault trial.

Lawyers for Cosby are trying to limit the number of other accusers who can testify at a trial involving accusations by Andrea Constand. Prosecutors want to show Cosby had a pattern of drugging and molesting women.

The defense will attack their credibility and relevance to his 2004 encounter with Constand.

The hearing is expected to run through Wednesday.

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12:35 a.m.

Lawyers for Bill Cosby will battle in court starting Tuesday to try to limit the number of other accusers who can testify at the comedian's sexual assault trial.

Prosecutors near Philadelphia hope to call 13 other women to show Cosby had a pattern of drugging and molesting women.

The defense will attack their credibility and relevance to his 2004 encounter with accuser Andrea Constand.

The case started a decade ago when the Temple University employee filed a police complaint. A suburban Philadelphia prosecutor declined to file charges.

But scores of women have since gone public with similar accusations. And damaging testimony Cosby gave in the first accuser's civil lawsuit became public last year. That led authorities to reopen the case.

The hearing is expected to run Tuesday through Wednesday.

Bill Cosby arrives for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Lawyers for Cosby will battle in court to try to limit the number of other accusers who can testify at the comedian's sexual assault trial. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bill Cosby arrives for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Lawyers for Cosby will battle in court to try to limit the number of other accusers who can testify at the comedian's sexual assault trial. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Paris exhibit celebrates UNESCO heritage site of Palmyra

PARIS (AP)  Days after the Islamic State group seized back control of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, a prescient exhibit was inaugurated in Paris on Tuesday that aims to educate the public on the wounded wonder that Syrians affectionately call the "Bride of the Desert."

Its organizers said the display opening Wednesday is designed to be an "emotional" experience that takes visitors to Palmyra and other endangered world heritage sites in the Middle East. It's also meant to show how much of the Syrian site's heritage so far has been spared.

The exhibit at the Grand Palais plunges visitors into a three-dimensional, 360-degree projection using never-before-seen images of Palmyra. They were taken by a drone in April days after the city was liberated from Islamic State group fighters.

A bassin made for a sultan by Syrian coppersmiths is displayed at the Palmyra Exhibit, a three-dimensional projection featuring never-before-seen images of Palmyra taken by a drone in April after the city was liberated from IS fighters, at Grand Palais in Paris, Tuesday, Dec.13, 2016. As Islamic State extremists recapture the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the French president and the UNESCO chief are inaugurating an exhibit in Paris to educate the public about the wonders of endangered UNESCO heritage sites in Palmyra and the Middle East. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

But just as the exhibit opens, the threat to the city it honors is ratcheting up.

Islamic State group militants on Sunday re-occupied the site, from which they had been expelled earlier this year, in a surprise attack that took advantage of the Russian and Syrian governments' preoccupation with the front in Aleppo.

French President Francois Hollande, who inaugurated the exhibit alongside UNESCO chief Irina Bokova, spoke about the "terrible, tragic coincidence" of the exhibit's timing.

"At the time we inaugurate this exhibition, there are bombings over Aleppo....Civil populations are being held hostages and martyrized," Hollande said. "And there is the return of Daesh in Palmyra."

Last year, the militants destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to A.D. 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a stone block structure fronted by six towering columns  viewing them as monuments to idolatry. They also blew up a non-religious ancient monument, the Arch of Triumph.

Despite the loss of such archaeological treasures, the researcher behind the 3-D imagery, Yves Ubelmann, called the previously unseen photos he collated "positive" because they illustrate how much of Palmyra remains intact. Experts estimate that some 80 percent of the city's ancient ruins are still unharmed, for now.

A UNESCO world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. Before the war, it was Syria's top tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.

"Instead of responding to extremists with guns, we're fighting to show that heritage and culture matter," Bokova said. "They want to destroy our very understanding of humanity, and this shared understanding is the very spirit of this exhibit."

Ubelmann founded the France-based organization Iconem whose state-of-the art technology is showcased in the exhibit and maps out with arresting realism every nook and cranny of the sites that are found among the Middle East's most hostile places.

As well as Palmyra, they include Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Khorsabad in Iraq, the Umayyad Mosque in Syria and Kerak Castle in Jordan.

Ubelmann was the first person Syria's heritage authority sent to Palmyra following its liberation from militants in March because of his expertise and familiarity with the site.

It's unclear whether President Bashar al-Assad will prioritize retaking the old city and what's left of its archaeological treasure.

"At least we have these photos in April that can be an archive for the memory of humanity," Ubelmann said.

Marielle Pic, the curator of the exhibit and director of the Oriental Antiquities Department in the Louvre Museum, expressed remarkable sangfroid at the prospect of Palmyra's further destruction at the hands of militants.

Archaeologists, she said, must simply "accept it."

"We know that each era can be a new chapter for a site. Now, Palmyra has entered a dark period," Pic said. "But for us the destruction is part of the story of an archaeological site. We need to accept it."

The exhibition, "Eternal Sites, From Bamiyan to Palmyra," runs until Jan. 9.

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Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

Visitors look on in the Palmyra Exhibit, a three-dimensional projection featuring never-before-seen images of Palmyra taken by a drone in April after the city was liberated from IS fighters, at Grand Palais in Paris, Tuesday, Dec.13, 2016. As Islamic State extremists recapture the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the French president and the UNESCO chief are inaugurating an exhibit in Paris to educate the public about the wonders of endangered UNESCO heritage sites in Palmyra and the Middle East. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

FILE -- This file photo released March 28, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows destroyed statues at the damaged Palmyra Museum, in Palmyra city, central Syria. Palmyra, the archaeological gem that Islamic State fighters retook Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, from Syrian troops is a desert oasis surrounded by palm trees, and a UNESCO world heritage site, that boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. It is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country's east and neighboring Iraq. (SANA via AP, File)

FILE -- In this April 8, 2016 file photo provided by Russian Defense Ministry press service, a Russian deminer checks for mines in the Palmyra ancient ruins, Syria. Palmyra, the archaeological gem that Islamic State fighters retook Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, from Syrian troops, is a desert oasis surrounded by palm trees, and a UNESCO world heritage site, that boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. It is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country's east and neighboring Iraq. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service Photo via AP, File)

View of the Palmyra Exhibit, a three-dimensional projection featuring never-before-seen images of Palmyra taken by a drone in April after the city was liberated from IS fighters, at Grand Palais in Paris, Tuesday, Dec.13, 2016. As Islamic State extremists recapture the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the French president and the UNESCO chief are inaugurating an exhibit in Paris to educate the public about the wonders of endangered UNESCO heritage sites in Palmyra and the Middle East. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

FILE - This file photo released March 27, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a destroyed statue outside the damaged Palmyra Museum, in Palmyra city, central Syria. Palmyra, the archaeological gem that Islamic State fighters retook Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, from Syrian troops, is a desert oasis surrounded by palm trees, and a UNESCO world heritage site, that boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. It is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country's east and neighboring Iraq. (SANA via AP, File)

A third century funerary banquet of Palmyre from the Louvre collection is displayed the Palmyra Exhibit, a three-dimensional projection featuring never-before-seen images of Palmyra taken by a drone in April after the city was liberated from IS fighters, at Grand Palais in Paris, Tuesday, Dec.13, 2016. As Islamic State extremists recapture the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the French president and the UNESCO chief are inaugurating an exhibit in Paris to educate the public about the wonders of endangered UNESCO heritage sites in Palmyra and the Middle East. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

French President Francois Hollande, left, attends the opening of the Palmyra Exhibit, a three-dimensional projection featuring never-before-seen images of Palmyra taken by a drone in April after the city was liberated from IS fighters, at Grand Palais in Paris, Tuesday, Dec.13, 2016. As Islamic State extremists recapture the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the French president and the UNESCO chief are inaugurating an exhibit in Paris to educate the public about the wonders of endangered UNESCO heritage sites in Palmyra and the Middle East. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool)
Guyana to invest $11M to expand prison, ease overcrowding

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP)  The South American country of Guyana says it will expand a jungle prison to house violent convicts and ease overcrowding at a city prison where 17 inmates died in riots earlier this year.

President David Granger's office said Tuesday that Guyana will spend $11 million to build a new prison block in the country's west next year.

Officials say that will let them house no more than 500 inmates at the main prison in the capital of Georgetown. The deadly riots occurred in March after inmates set mattresses ablaze to protest prison conditions, trial delays and food issues. The prison held more than 1,100 inmates at the time  double its capacity.
Patterson-UTI Energy plans to acquire Seventy Seven Energy

HOUSTON (AP)  Houston-based Patterson-UTI Energy plans to acquire Seventy Seven Energy in a nearly $1.8 billion stock deal.

The proposed merger was announced Monday night. A statement from Patterson and Oklahoma City-based Seventy Seven Energy says the boards of both companies unanimously approved the deal.

Patterson provides contract drilling and pressure pumping services. Seventy Seven Energy offers contract drilling, pressure pumping and oil field rentals, with a fleet of 40 rigs.
Russia's Igor Moiseyev State Academic Ensemble of Popular Dance is back in Beijing for two shows on Dec 13 and 14, the last stop of its latest China tour, titled Dances of the World Nations. This is the troupe's fourth visit to China since its celebrated founder Moiseyev (1906-2007) first brought his dancers to the country in 1954.

Suite of Moldavian dances Zhok2 [Photo/E. Masalkov]

That year, marking the fifth anniversary of the founding of New China, the celebrated Russian choreographer led around 150 professional artists, including dancers and orchestra members, to the capital and performed with nonprofessional Chinese dancers at Tiananmen Square.

To train the Chinese amateur dancers, Moiseyev spent two weeks in China before the performance.

During his stay, Moiseyev also watched some Chinese folk dances, which inspired him to create dance pieces, including one work based on the Chinese red ribbon dance and another inspired by a popular Chinese Peking Opera work, The Crossroads (Sanchakou).

The classic piece of red ribbon dance is on this week's program list, which also includes the traditional Russian dance Summer, Kalmuk, a work that was inspired by nomadic tribesmen living on Central Asian steppes, and Day On Board A Ship, which was inspired by the sailors of World War II.
Carter says 3 key Islamic State militants killed in Syria

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AP)  U.S. airstrikes killed three key leaders of the Islamic State group in Syria, including two involved in last year's attacks in Paris, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday.

He announced the killings during an address to U.S. airmen at a military base in Italy.

"I can confirm today we took out three of ISIL's key leaders in the last couple of weeks by one strike. These were guys linked to plots right here in Europe ... for example with the Paris attacks," Carter said, referring to the November 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

Carter's spokesman, Peter Cook, said later that the three were killed in an airstrike Dec. 4 in Raqqa.

Cook said the two involved in the Paris attacks, Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, were close associates of Islamic State external operations leader Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who was killed in August.

He said the third person, Walid Hamman, had been convicted in absentia in Belgium for a disrupted 2015 planned attack.

Coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have been taking out an increasing number of Islamic State leaders in recent months, aided by improved intelligence gathering from forces on the ground and from troves of information collected as IS has been driven out of neighborhoods.

Asked at a news conference later about the Islamic State's ability to quickly replace leaders and operatives who are killed in U.S. airstrikes, Carter said his announcement Tuesday was a reminder that U.S. counter-IS operations are aimed at protecting the American homeland.

"We remained focused on, and are consistently operating against, those who intend to conduct attacks upon the United States," he said. "That's an important priority. That is the priority the president gives us."

Carter also said that with the elimination of the final pocket of IS resistance in the Libyan city of Sirte, the U.S. has "concluded" its support to the Government of National Accord in its lengthy effort to regain control of that coastal city.
Government seeks to dismiss Twin Metals mining lease lawsuit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Government attorneys have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a company that's trying to renew its minerals leases so it can build a large underground copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota.

In a motion filed late Monday, attorneys for the Interior Department said that the lawsuit by Twin Metals Minnesota is premature because it doesn't challenge a final agency decision, as required by law. They noted that the department's Bureau of Land Management has yet to decide whether to renew the leases, which were first issued in 1966 last renewed in 2004.

Twin Metals is challenging an opinion issued by the solicitor of the Interior Department in March that said the company doesn't have an automatic right of renewal. The company said when it filed the lawsuit in November that the opinion has cast a "cloud of uncertainty" over the leases that makes it difficult to proceed with its proposed $2.8 billion mine near Ely.

FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2011, file photo, a core sample drilled from underground rock near Ely, Minn., shows a band of shiny minerals containing copper, nickel and precious metals, center, that Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, hopes to mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota. In a motion filed late Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, government attorneys have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Twin Metals that's trying to renew its minerals leases so it can build a large underground copper-nickel mine. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, File)

The mine has drawn opposition because it would be upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The vast untapped reserves of copper, nickel and precious metals under northeastern Minnesota are tied up in sulfide-bearing minerals, which can leach sulfuric acid and heavy metals when exposed to air and water.

Before the bureau can renew the leases, it needs consent from the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters. In June, the service said it was "deeply concerned" about potential acid mine drainage and would conduct a scientific review to help it decide.

Twin Metals says it should be allowed to renew its leases so it can go through the formal environmental review process and prove that it can protect the wilderness while creating hundreds of jobs. The company issued a statement Tuesday saying it "will evaluate the government's response and respond to the court."

One group opposed to the project, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness, filed its own motion to dismiss the lawsuit last month. The group, represented by a former U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Thomas Heffelfinger, made very similar arguments to the government's motion.

"Plaintiffs will have the opportunity to challenge BLM's final decision, whatever it may be, when it is made," the government's motion said. "This Court should not permit them to short-circuit BLM's decision-making process based upon predictions that may or may not prove true."

A hearing on the motions is set for April 28 before U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson.
Ex-boarding school priest charged with abusing boy in 1973

BOSTON (AP)  A former Episcopal priest who worked at several elite boarding schools pleaded not guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 1973 in Boston.

Howard "Howdy" White appeared in Suffolk Superior Court after being indicted on five counts of assault and battery. White, 75, of Bedford, Pennsylvania, was freed on personal recognizance. He was ordered not to contact the victim, to have no unsupervised contact with children and to surrender his passport.

The district attorney's office said the statute of limitations does not bar White's prosecution because he never was a resident of Massachusetts.

White and his lawyer, David Duncan, did not comment outside court.

Prosecutors said White assaulted the boy when he was 15 or 16 during two overnight trips to Boston when White worked at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island, and the boy was a student there. The boy reported the abuse to a teacher in 1974, and White allegedly admitted he had sexually assaulted the boy, the district attorney's office said.

White was fired that year because of inappropriate sexual contact with male students, according to an independent investigator's report about widespread abuse at St. George's, which was released in September.

The report found multiple allegations against White at the school, where he was an associate chaplain for four years. It also found allegations that White sexually abused children in places including New Hampshire, where he worked at St. Paul's School before being hired by St. George's, and in West Virginia and Waynesville, North Carolina, where he worked for churches.

White also worked at Chatham Hall in Virginia and Asheville Country Day School, which later became Carolina Day School, in North Carolina.
Jurors say they are deadlocked in murder-for-hire trial

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  The jurors hearing the case of a Florida woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to murder her husband told a judge Tuesday they are deadlocked, but he refused to call a mistrial, saying they should give their deliberations more time.

The six jurors told Judge Glenn Kelley after seven hours of deliberations Tuesday that they couldn't agree on a verdict in Dalia Dippolito's solicitation of first-degree murder trial. Kelley told them to come back Wednesday and try again. After jurors were sent home, Dippolito's attorneys exchanged hugs.

"We hope that Miss Dippolito gets the justice she deserves," one of her attorneys, Greg Rosenfeld, said outside the courthouse. Prosecutors left without comment.

Dalia Dippolito smiles at someone in the gallery as she leaves court after the jury was sent to deliberate in her murder-for-hire retrial Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Dippolito is accused of trying to hire a hit man to murder her husband. (Lannis Waters/Palm Beach Post via AP, Pool)

If convicted, the 34-year-old Dippolito would face a possible 20-year sentence.

Earlier Tuesday, the jury asked to review the undercover recordings that are the crux of the prosecution's case. In one tape, she tells an informant to find her a hit man. In another, she tells the undercover officer she was "5,000 percent sure" she wanted Michael Dippolito killed. Those 2009 conversations were seen by millions when shown on television's "Cops."

The defense contended the police investigation was skewed by the presence of the reality TV show cameras.

Dippolito was convicted in 2011 but that verdict was thrown out on appeal.

Prosecutors emphasized the audio and video recordings during the trial. In one, Dippolito demanded that informant Mohammed Shihadeh, her former lover, find her a hit man, giving him a $1,200 deposit for his trouble and to buy the killer a gun. In another, she told undercover detective Widy Jean, who posed as the would-be hit man, she was "5,000 percent sure" she wanted her husband dead. She promised to pay Jean $7,000 to carry out the killing or, as an alternative, suggested he kill Michael Dippolito outside a bank after he withdrew $10,000. Jean could then flee with the money as his payment, she suggested. She didn't appear to shed a tear while crying after being told falsely by a detective her husband was dead.

"It was an act," prosecutor Laura Laurie told the jury Tuesday during her rebuttal closing argument. "She was probably dancing inside. She thought she got what she wanted." Pointing to Dippolito's suggestion that Jean kill her husband at the bank, "she wanted her husband to finance his own murder."

Brian Claypool, Dippolito's lead attorney, spent the trial ripping the police investigation, calling it "evil, manipulative, corrupt, self-serving." He said Shihadeh first told detectives Dippolito was a domestic abuse victim, and said they could have handled it simply by calling her.

Instead, he said, detectives "escalated" the investigation to impress "Cops" producers, who were arriving in town to film cases with the department. He slammed detectives for not recording dozens of phone calls and a key meeting between Shihadeh and Dippolito. He said police knew these conversations would damage their "script" by showing she was being pressured to meet with the supposed hit man.

Convicting Dippolito, he had told jurors, would reward the department's "lying and cheating."

Assistant State Attorney Laura Laurie makes the prosecution's closing arguments in Dalia Dippolito's murder-for-hire retrial, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Dippolito is accused of trying to hire a hit man to murder her husband. (Lannis Waters/Palm Beach Post via AP, Pool)

Dalia Dippolito returns to her seat after a meeting with her attorney outside the courtroom during her retrial Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Prosecutors have long contended Dippolito's own words prove she wanted a hit man to murder her newlywed husband. Her attorneys have argued detectives were more interested in starring on the television show "Cops" than they were in pursuing truth and justice. (Lannis Waters/Palm Beach Post via AP, Pool)

Dalia Dippolito listens during her retrial Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Prosecutors have long contended Dippolito's own words prove she wanted a hit man to murder her newlywed husband. Her attorneys have argued detectives were more interested in starring on the television show "Cops" than they were in pursuing truth and justice. (Lannis Waters/Palm Beach Post via AP, Pool)
Review: 'Rogue One' is a dark, exhilarating blast

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story " seemed suspicious on paper, like any film saddled with the dreaded "spinoff" label. For a while all the odds looked stacked against it too  reshoots, script changes and a director in Gareth Edwards whose last blockbuster "Godzilla" had visual flair but no humanity, not to mention the fact that the film would be asking us to learn a dozen new characters with strange names, none of which were Skywalker or Solo. And of course as with any franchise there's that ever-present knowledge that, in some ways, this is another line-item on a corporate profit sheet.

As it turns out, those should-be liabilities were only assets in the end. "Rogue One" is a bold and stirring adventure film that will have both fans and casual observers spellbound. It is easily the most exciting blockbuster in recent memory this side of "Mad Max: Fury Road," and that includes "The Force Awakens," which now looks lazy and bloated with sentimentality and fan service in comparison to the subversive ingenuity of "Rogue One."

How refreshing it is to have a truly contained film that doesn't have any objective beyond the story at hand. There is nothing to advance, nothing to tease, no "maybe we'll find answers in the next movie in 2 years" here. It is just allowed to be what it is, which is an intense and visually engrossing powder keg of a film.

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso in a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

It's a simple idea, really: Who are the rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star? That pivotal action kicked off the original "Star Wars" and it's pretty inherently dramatic.

Loosely, "Rogue One" is rooted around the plight of Jyn Erso, whose father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) is a scientist who once worked for the Empire. He gets drawn back in by the ambitious Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) to help finish the Death Star, leaving Jyn, played by Beau and Dolly Gadsdon as a young girl, and Felicity Jones as an adult, to survive on her own. Jyn is sort of raised by a rebel extremist in Saw Gerrera (an over-the-top Forest Whitaker), but much of this is left both unseen and unexplained.

What we know is she's a child of war, and an almost apathetic one at that, until she's rescued from imprisonment by a group of rebels hoping her familial connections might help with their efforts against the Empire. There she's put together with a deadpan droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk) and a spy, Cassian (Diego Luna), who's given a secret mission within the mission. Eventually they meet the blind Jedi Chirrut (Donnie Yen), his decidedly more practical companion Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang) and the conflicted pilot (Riz Ahmed), forming a motley crew of unlikely heroes.

The real feat of "Rogue One" is that Edwards and screenwriters Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy create a world with actual stakes, making the audience feel for and worry about characters we've just met. It doesn't rely on decades old nostalgia, although there is a bit of that too in mostly unobtrusive ways. There's also some CGI that veers pretty dramatically into the uncanny valley. But like the somewhat slow and disjointed beginning, eventually it all just washes over you, especially as the riveting action kicks in, taking you from the trenches to space and back again. The only downside of the thrilling battles in the third act is that it means less time with the leads  especially Jones, Luna and Mendelsohn, whose performances make up for the script's occasional deficiencies.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is one of the best Star Wars films ever made. Only time will tell if it will surpass "The Empire Strikes Back" as the franchise standard bearer. There's a compelling case to be made.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," a Walt Disney Studios release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action." Running time: 133 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

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MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Follow AP Film Writer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows Forest Whitaker in a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows Felicity Jones and Diego Luna, right, in a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook in a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd shows Ben Mendelsohn as Director Krennic in a scene from "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso in a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." (Lucasfilm Ltd. via AP)
ICC accuses UN council of failing to act on Darfur fugitives

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court accused the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday of failing to take "swift and concrete action" against countries refusing to arrest Sudan's president and others accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Fatou Bensouda told the council that President Omar al-Bashir has crossed international borders 131 times since March 2009, including 14 visits to ICC member countries that are required to carry out arrest warrants.

She said ICC judges have issued 13 decisions against Sudan and countries that are ICC members seeking U.N. action for the failure to arrest al-Bashir and four others.

Recently, Uganda and Djibouti were held in non-compliance and last week the court announced that a public hearing would be held on April 7 "in relation to a possible finding of non-compliance" for South Africa's failure to arrest al-Bashir, she said.

The Security Council's failure to act, Bensouda said, "not only severely undermines the council's credibility and that of the court" but erodes public confidence that the world's most serious crimes will be punished and that victims will receive justice.

At a minimum, the council should adopt a resolution addressing the 13 decisions by the ICC related to Darfur, she said.

The vast western region of Sudan has been gripped by bloodshed since 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination and neglect. The United Nations says 300,000 people have died in the conflict and 2.7 million have fled their homes.

The court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir in 2009 for crimes against humanity and war crimes for allegedly orchestrating atrocities in Darfur. The ICC added genocide to the charges against him in 2010.

Bensouda said the world knows al-Bashir's movements.

"There is ample opportunity for Mr. al-Bashir to be apprehended  if the political will exists among states, and indeed, this council," she said.
4 things to know about Russian presidential hopeful Navalny

MOSCOW (AP)  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny announced Tuesday the formal start of his campaign to become Russian president in elections scheduled for March 2018. Here are some things to know about the politician who seems determined to challenge Vladimir Putin.

PUNCHY ANTI-CORRUPTION BLOG

Navalny first became known for exposes of Russian corruption that he posted on his blog in a sarcastic style. He started out targeting Russian business, and his early investigations were based on information he gleaned through his minority shareholdings in Russian companies.

FILE In this photo taken on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny speaks during an interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia. Navalny on Tuesday Dec. 13, 2016, has officially announced his bid to run in the 2018 presidential election. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, file)

He later moved on to major political figures. In recent years he has used property registries, social media trails and insider tip-offs to highlight the foreign properties owned by the Russian officials and the luxurious life led by many in the elite.

Powerful figures targeted by Navalny often simply deny his accusations, but revelations in his blog have led to resignations, a rare occurrence in Russian politics. In 2013, Vladimir Pekhtin, a senior figure in the ruling United Russia party, stepped down after Navalny alleged he owned an undeclared property in Florida worth over $2 million.

FIRST CROWDFUNDED ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Navalny ran against Sergei Sobyanin, the pro-Putin incumbent, in the 2013 Moscow mayoral elections and succeeded in raising over $2 million from a crowd-funding drive to pay for his campaign, which grew into a huge operation driven by enthusiastic young volunteers. Navalny himself made dozens of appearances at street rallies in the Russian capital while his supporters handed out pamphlets, bumper stickers and agitated on street corners.

A group of prominent businessmen announced they were backing Navalny in a sign that he was even gathering some support among the elite. Such a campaign was something new in Russian politics. Under Putin's rule, elections are rarely closely-fought and see little direct engagement with voters. While Navalny did not win the mayoral race, he surprised many observers by receiving more than 30 percent of the vote.

NATIONALISM

Navalny is widely backed by Russian liberals, but he does not hide his support for ethnic Russian nationalism. For many years he attended the Russian March, an annual demonstration also attended by extreme nationalist groups, and he has campaigned against the subsidies that Moscow provides to Chechnya and other republics in Russia's volatile North Caucasus.

In his presidential program he calls for new restrictions on immigration and the introduction of visas for migrants from ex-Soviet nations in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

LEGAL CASES

Criminal investigations and trials have been a feature of Navalny's life since he became one of the leaders of Russia's anti-Putin protest movement in 2011. His supporters say all of the cases are politically motivated attempts to distract Navalny and discredit him in the eyes of ordinary Russians. He has served several short stints in jail.

Navalny is currently undergoing a re-trial in the city of Kirov after Russia's Supreme Court overturned his conviction on fraud charges in a 2013 case. If the court re-instates his conviction, it will bar him from running for public office.
Trump invites Senate clash with Tillerson State nomination

WASHINGTON (AP)  Donald Trump is inviting a clash in the narrowly divided Senate by choosing Rex Tillerson for secretary of State in the face of well-publicized concerns from several GOP senators over the oil executive's ties to Russia.

The likely confirmation fight could be an early test of Trump's sway over Congress, and demonstrate how much appetite there is among Republicans to stand up to their president.

For now, three Republican senators have publicly voiced concerns about the Tillerson nomination: Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida. All have cited the Exxon Mobil executive's history of making deals in Russia and his close ties with Vladimir Putin, which include opposing sanctions sought by the U.S. and Europe against Russia after it invaded Crimea.

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2016 file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., followed by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., walk on Capitol Hill in Washington. Donald Trump is inviting a clash in a narrowly divided Senate by selecting Rex Tillerson for secretary of State despite well-publicized concerns from several GOP senators over his ties to Russia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

However, none of the three has said thus far that he will oppose Tillerson. And only Rubio sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will hold a confirmation hearing in early January to consider the nomination.

"While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination. The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of America's interests, and will be a forceful advocate for America's foreign policy goals," Rubio said. "I will do my part to ensure he receives a full and fair but also thorough hearing."

The committee currently has 10 Republican and 9 Democratic members, meaning Tillerson needs support from every Republican to get a successful committee vote, presuming Democrats all oppose him. Yet even if the panel rejects him, there is precedent for the full Senate to take up his nomination.

The Senate will be divided 52-48 next year in favor of the Republicans, meaning Tillerson could lose only two Republicans if all Democrats voted "No." It's also possible, though, that Tillerson could garner support from one or more of the moderate Democrats.

The last time the Senate rejected a presidential Cabinet pick was in 1989 when it voted down John Tower as George H.W. Bush's defense secretary after he had already been rejected by the Armed Services committee. More frequently, nominees have withdrawn from consideration when opposition built, as happened in 2009 with Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's first pick for Health and Human Services secretary.

It was unclear Tuesday whether the fight over Tillerson would turn into a major brawl in the Senate or just a minor skirmish. One question is how hard Democrats, who've made clear they want to focus on economic issues, will fight. Several issued statements Tuesday angrily denouncing the nomination, but the Democrats' incoming leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, was more measured, pointing to Tillerson's Russia ties and calling for a thorough and lengthy confirmation hearing "given these serious concerns."

Tillerson immediately picked up support from the top two Senate Republicans, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas. McConnell praised Tillerson's "decades of experience" and concluded: "I look forward to supporting his nomination."

The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker of Tennessee, who was himself passed over for the job at State, also issued a favorable statement, though without saying how he planned to vote. Several other GOP committee members issued statements praising Tillerson or sounding open to his nomination. Still others were taking a wait-and-see approach, including Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, who said: "Congress has the constitutional responsibility of advice and consent and we will rigorously exercise it."

In talking points circulated on Capitol Hill, Trump's transition team sought to portray Tillerson's ties to Russia as a positive. "Mr. Tillerson's experience with Russia and the Russian president will prove to be invaluable. President Putin knows Mr. Tillerson means what he says," the talking points say.

For congressional Republicans and Trump, a major question hanging over their emerging relationship is what steps Trump may take to keep party members in line, and how Republicans will respond in turn. Few GOP lawmakers, especially those up for re-election, want to be on the receiving end of a critical tweet from Trump. The Tillerson confirmation may offer clues to how that dynamic will play out throughout Trump's administration, including when Trump takes policy stances contrary to GOP dogma, such as pushing for stiff tariffs on imports or a massive infrastructure bill.

Electoral considerations may already be playing into lawmakers' posture toward Trump. GOP Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, was one of the most outspoken Republicans against Trump ahead of the election, including challenging him to his face during a Capitol Hill visit in July.

But Flake is up for re-election in 2018 in a state Trump won, and has already drawn a conservative primary opponent. On Tuesday, Flake issued a statement sounding open to Tillerson's nomination, citing his support from former secretaries of State and Defense marshaled by Trump's team.

Backing from former Secretaries of State James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates carry "considerable weight," Flake said. "I look forward to the hearings."

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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Argentina prosecutor launches probe into Macri after decree

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  A prosecutor in Argentina on Tuesday launched an investigation into President Mauricio Macri for signing a decree allowing family members of government officials to deposit their undeclared money into the banking system.

Prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan asked a judge to allow the probe of Macri, Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay and Cabinet Chief Marcos Pena, who signed the decree. Pena said Tuesday that he is confident that they have committed no wrongdoing.

Opposition lawmakers had criticized the decree saying it could benefit the president's father, Franco Macri, one of Argentina's wealthiest men. The latest move comes after opposition lawmaker Victoria Donda questioned the decree, saying it broke an existing amnesty law that was first launched under the former government of President Cristina Fernandez. The plan was to get Argentines to pull their undeclared money out from under their mattresses and from inside bank vaults by promising them they wouldn't be asked where they obtained it or be charged taxes.

Argentines are haunted by memories of their worst economic crisis in 2001-2002, when banks froze deposits and the currency lost value. So they stash their money, especially dollars, in vaults or under mattresses. Others send the cash abroad for safekeeping.
Will Smith channeled personal grief for his latest role

NEW YORK (AP)  Will Smith had already begun researching his role for "Collateral Beauty" when he learned that his father was terminally ill.

Smith said at the film's world premiere in New York on Monday that he had to channel the emotions of that tragic news into a demanding film role. Smith's father, Willard Carroll Smith Jr., died on Nov. 7.

"My father was diagnosed and given six weeks, so you know, to be hit with that in the process and then what we decided to do was just use the preparation of the character to actually deal with what my father was experiencing," Smith said. "It became our way of saying goodbye, essentially. It was a really beautiful confluence of art and life."

Will Smith attends the world premiere of "Collateral Beauty" at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Smith stars in the film as a father who suffers a great tragedy and begins to question the point of existence.

"It is such a beautiful concept. It's a guy that experiences a loss and gets furious at the universe, and writes these letters to Love, Time and Death, and his mind is so twisted that he mails the letters. And then, Love, Time and Death respond. You know, it's that beautiful Christmas twist to it, but dealing with real issues," Smith said.

The film also stars Helen Mirren in the role of Death. She admitted to loving the script, and felt it shared the same vibe as Christmas classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Carol."

"There was something very, very true in the center of it. And kind of as a Christmas movie, you know it's kind of a pretty cool Christmas gift of a movie," Mirren said.

Edward Norton, who plays Smith's best friend and partner in the film, also said he saw a strong similarity with the film to holiday classics like "It's a Wonderful Life."

"They straddle this very difficult balance between, obviously being very heart-winning and heart-warming and hopeful. But if you think about it, they touch on very dark and difficult things. Jimmy Stewart is in such despair he's going to a bridge to jump, right? But somehow they manage to be about deep and important things, while also being a lot of fun," Norton said.

"Collateral Beauty" opens in theaters on Dec. 16.

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Follow John Carucci at http://www.twitter.com/jacarucci

Jacob Latimore, from left, Helen Mirren, Will Smith, Naomie Harris and Edward Norton attend the world premiere of "Collateral Beauty" at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday it has approved a loan to pilot delivery of elderly care services in Yichang City in central China's Hubei Province.

The ADB program will help the city provide residential, community and home-based elderly care services through public-private partnerships (PPP).

The total cost of the project is 128.4 million U.S. dollars, with the Yichang municipal government contributing 55 million U.S. dollars and the private sector expected to invest the remaining 23.4 million U.S. dollars.

In Yichang City, 20 percent of residents are over 60 years of age, among the highest in a country where the national average is 14 percent, according to an ADB statement.

"Yet, elderly care facilities and services available there remain inadequate," said Sofia Shakil, the ADB project team leader.

The elderly care facilities in the city currently have relatively poor standards, with many ill-equipped in terms of staff and basic care, said the bank.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
The Latest: Cell towers down; no fire evacuation text alert

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP)  The Latest on the East Tennessee wildfires (all times local):

1 p.m.

Officials say a text message warning residents to evacuate amid deadly wildfires wasn't sent because cell towers went out of service before agency leaders had a chance to agree on the message's wording.

In a news conference Tuesday, Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said that on Nov. 28 at 8:30 p.m. John Mathews of the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency tried to call the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to discuss sending the text. Miller said that's about when two cell towers went down.

Miller said TEMA tried to reconnect to get approval of the language of the alert, but couldn't, and didn't send the message because the wording wasn't approved.

Miller said an inappropriate message could have evacuated people toward the fire, instead of away from it.

Officials went door-to-door to evacuate people, used social media and news releases, and sounded a downtown siren with a spoken message.

Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters says there will be a comprehensive evaluation of the alert system, among other issues.

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10 a.m.

Local officials estimate that deadly wildfires in East Tennessee have caused more than $500 million in damage.

Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters released the estimate Tuesday for the wildfires in the Gatlinburg area that killed 14 people.

Officials say 2,460 structures were destroyed or damaged, including more than 2,100 homes and almost 60 businesses destroyed.

Also on Tuesday, Deputy Superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Clay Jordan said officials believe there was no way to control the fire in the park before extreme winds brought it into the Gatlinburg area Nov. 28.
Romanian gets 5 years for $5 million ATM theft scheme in US

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)  A Romanian national was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Tuesday for participating in a scheme that stole bank account information from thousands of customers by installing card-reading devices in ATMs.

A federal judge sentenced Robert Mate to 57 months in prison for his role in what the U.S. attorney's office called one of the largest such conspiracies ever uncovered. It is estimated multiple banks were defrauded out of at least $5 million, and thousands of customers were affected.

Mate, 31, who also went by the name Marcel Varga, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He also will be required to pay about $7.4 million in restitution under terms of his plea agreement.

Authorities uncovered the scheme in 2013. Fifteen of 16 people charged in the conspiracy have been convicted and one remains elusive, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Mate and the others, including mastermind Marius Vintila, also of Romania, used the card-reader devices and pinhole cameras at ATMs in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida and other states. The information taken from customers' bank cards through the process known as "skimming" was used to produce fraudulent cards and make withdrawals from other people's account.
Israeli PM visits Azerbaijan, hails close ties

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP)  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hailing close ties with Azerbaijan on a visit to the ex-Soviet Caspian Sea nation.

Following Netanyahu's talks Tuesday with Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, officials signed agreements on taxes and other issues. Netanyahu said Israel is willing to expand trade and cooperation on information technologies.

Aliyev has firmly allied the Shia Muslim nation with the West, helping secure its energy and security interests in the strategic Caspian region.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, Netanyahu said that ties between the two nations are "very close" and "will be even better after this visit."
Federal appeals court upholds Virginia voter ID law

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a Virginia law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, rejecting a challenge from Democrats who argued that it suppresses voting by minorities and young people.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law does not violate the Voting Rights Act or impose an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.

The ruling comes just months after a different panel of the same court struck down a North Carolina law that required voters to produce a photo ID and also scrapped same-day registration and shortened early voting periods. But the panel that issued Tuesday's ruling found that the facts in the North Carolina case "are in no way" like those in the passage of Virginia's bill.

Virginians can obtain free photo IDs at voter registrar offices, but Democrats argued that few people know about that option because the state has done little to spread the word.

Bruce Spiva, an attorney for Virginia Democrats, told the court in September that the law was passed for a single purpose: to make it more difficult for blacks, Latinos and young people to vote. Democrats claimed the photo ID law was a response to shifting demographics that helped President Barack Obama win Virginia in back-to-back elections.

But the panel disagreed, writing that "the law was passed by the Virginia legislature through the normal legislative process, and that process was unaccompanied by any facts or circumstances suggesting the presence of racially discriminatory intent."

Emily Bolton, communications director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said the party is disappointed by the court's decision and is still determining its next steps in the litigation.

"We remain fully committed to fighting unnecessary burdens on the right to vote in the Commonwealth," she said.

A spokesman for the Virginia Department of Elections didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Virginians have had to show some form of identification to vote for decades, but until 2012, people without an ID were still allowed to cast a ballot if they signed a form swearing they're the person they claimed to be. A 2012 law scrapped the affirmation of identity option, but allowed voters to use certain non-photo IDs. A year later, the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed the law requiring photo IDs.

Virginia is among seven states with what the National Conference of State Legislatures considers to be "strict" photo ID laws because voters without identification now must cast a provisional ballot and take additional steps in order for their votes to be counted.

Much of the debate before the 4th Circuit centered on how Virginia's law  and its implementation  differ from North Carolina's.

The ruling striking down North Carolina's law said it targeted black voters with "almost surgical precision" and did nothing to prevent potential voter fraud.

An attorney for the Virginia Department of Elections stressed in September that the Virginia law, which a federal judge upheld in May, is quite different. Attorney Thor Hearne II said the list of IDs Virginians can use is "very generous" compared to other states, in that it includes those from places like private colleges.

The 4th Circuit noted in its ruling that the Virginia legislature "went out of its way to make its impact as burden-free as possible. It allowed a broad scope of IDs to qualify; it provided free IDs to those who lacked a qualifying ID; it issued free IDs without any requirement of presenting documentation; and it provided numerous locations throughout the State where free IDs could be obtained."
4th man charged with murder in quadruple SC killing

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP)  Authorities have charged a fourth man with murder in the killings of four people at a rural South Carolina home nearly 18 months ago in a case the Orangeburg County sheriff calls one of the most frustrating of his career.

Luther Smith, 35, was arrested Monday. Three others were arrested in September in the killings that Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said happened during a July 15, 2015, burglary at a house in Holly Hill where someone was selling illegal drugs.

Even more arrests are possible in a case that Ravenell said has consumed thousands of hours from investigators and had dozens of dead ends and uncooperative people.

"I've been in law enforcement for 30 years. I haven't seen anything like this," Ravenell said at a news conference Tuesday.

The sheriff released almost no details on what led them to arrest Smith some three months after Derrick Warren Coleman, 27; Anthony Jermaine Scott, 35; and Robert Lee Bailey, 30, were taken into custody.

Authorities say 17-year-old Shamekia Sanders, 14-year-old Tamara Perry, 28-year-old Krystal Hutto and 51-year-old Jerome Butler were all shot in the head and died. An 8-year-old boy, also shot in the head, survived, and Ravenell called him a "miracle person."

The boy's father, Christopher Wright, is charged with obstruction of justice. The sheriff said Wright sold drugs from the home and is not telling authorities everything he knows. Wright's lawyer has said he is not hiding anything.

It wasn't known if the other men charged with murder had lawyers to speak on their behalf.

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Mexico rights agency to accompany returning migrant caravan

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Migrants returning to Mexico for the holidays will form a caravan of at least 150 vehicles to travel from Nuevo Laredo to their homes in central Mexico.

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says its inspectors will accompany the caravan from the border to the north-central town of Jalpan, in Queretaro.

The commission said in a statement Tuesday that it will accompany the Dec. 15 caravan to help protect migrants from human rights violations by Mexican officials or organized crime groups.

Migrants frequently return home laden with presents, making them targets for extortion or robbery.

There have been complaints about roving checkpoints set up by tax officials to ensure migrants pay import duties on goods they bring back.
Chief: Fire department unaware of Oakland warehouse concerns

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)  Complaints mounted about the cluttered warehouse converted into an illegal artists' colony before a deadly blaze ripped through earlier this month, but few  if any  made it to the Oakland Fire Department.

Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said Tuesday there are no city records showing her department receiving concerns about the building , which former residents, neighbors and others say was the subject of numerous calls to 911.

"We do not inspect buildings, we inspect businesses," Reed said during a press conference. "There were no indications this was an active business."

Artist John Paul Marcelo paints the scene of a warehouse fire Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Oakland , Calif. The fire killed dozens of people during a electronic dance party as it raced through the building, in the deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

City administrator Sabrina Landreth, who also is in temporary charge of the Oakland Police Department, said officials are compiling and reviewing police records to determine how many times officers responded to complaints about the warehouse.

The deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade broke out during a Dec. 2 late-night dance party in the cluttered warehouse. It killed 36 people. The building had been converted to art studios and illegal living spaces, and former denizens said it was a death trap of piled wood, furniture, snaking electrical cords and only two exits.

Investigators said that they still haven't determined what started the fire, though they say it didn't appear to be intentionally set. Instead, investigators have been focusing on electrical appliances plugged into the rear of the building where the fire started.

The electrical system is still part of the analysis of what sparked the fire, said Jill Snyder, the special agent in charge with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The ATF has finished collecting evidence, Snyder said. The Oakland Fire Department will prepare a final report for handover to prosecutors.

Prosecutors have warned murder charges are possible as they determine whether crimes are linked to the blaze.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said Tuesday the criminal investigation will be "thorough, methodical and calculated."

City and state officials fielded complaints for years about dangerous conditions, drugs, neglected children, trash, thefts and squabbles at the warehouse, raising questions about why it wasn't shut down.

There are no records that inspectors from the fire and building departments ever set foot in the warehouse.

The fire chief said the warehouse wasn't on the department's list of businesses to inspect because no one ever applied for permits to occupy the building.

Derick Ion Almena, the sometime photographer who rented the warehouse and sublet it to artists, has not responded to emails or calls by The AP to phone numbers associated with him. In a brief interview with NBC's "Today" show, Alemena said he didn't attend the Dec. 2 party and that he is sorry. Alemena said he lived at the warehouse with his wife and three young children, though they were staying at a hotel the night the fire broke out.

The warehouse's owner, Chor Ng, has not responded to emails and calls made by The AP to phone numbers associated with her. The landlord's daughter, Eva Ng, told The Los Angeles Times that the Ng family didn't know people were living in the warehouse in violation of city zoning laws.

The blaze was the nation's most lethal structure fire since 100 people perished in a Rhode Island bar in 2003.

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Associated Press writers Kristen Bender and Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2016, file photo, Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed speaks to members of the media after a deadly fire tore through a warehouse during a late-night electronic music party in Oakland, Calif. Authorities say complaints mounted about the cluttered artists' warehouse in Oakland before a deadly blaze ripped through earlier this month. But Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed says Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, there are no city records showing her department received concerns about the building. Former residents, neighbors and others say the warehouse was the subject of numerous calls to 911. Thirty-six people died in the Dec. 2 fire. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson, File)

A ladder stands inside the charred warehouse Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. The fire, which happened on Friday, Dec 2, killed dozens of people during a electronic dance party as it raced through the building, in the deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Flowers, pictures and signs are displayed at the scene of a warehouse fire Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Oakland , Calif. The fire killed dozens of people during a electronic dance party as it raced through the building, in the deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

People look at the scene of a warehouse fire from behind a fence Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Oakland , Calif. The fire killed dozens of people during a electronic dance party as it raced through the building, in the deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Names of the victims of a warehouse fire hang from an art installation in front of the building Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Oakland , Calif. The fire killed dozens of people during a electronic dance party as it raced through the building, in the deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A man takes cell phone photos at the scene of a warehouse fire Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Oakland , Calif. The fire killed dozens of people during a electronic dance party as it raced through the building, in the deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Arkansas sheriff's office hit by ransomware pays hackers

BERRYVILLE, Ark. (AP)  An Arkansas sheriff's office paid hackers the equivalent of $2,400 to regain access to hijacked computer files.

Carroll County Sheriff's Office Lt. Daniel Klatt said the department's system was infected Dec. 5 with ransomware, which typically works by encrypting computer files to deny its owner access unless they pay a ransom, often in the electronic currency bitcoin, which is hard to trace.

"This type of attack is designed to deny the owner of the data access to the data whereas in other attacks, people want to steal the data," Klatt told Fort Smith, Arkansas, television station KHBS (http://bit.ly/2hBNKal ).

Klatt said the department paid three bitcoin  or about $2,400  to unlock the computer system. According to the Harrison Daily Times (http://bit.ly/2gvS3yP ), the hackers encrypted the department's management system, which holds reports, bookings and other day-to-day operational data.

None of the data was stolen and the computer system was operating again on Monday, he said.

The FBI has warned that ransomware attacks are on the rise and are becoming more sophisticated. It said earlier this year that it doesn't recommend paying ransom because there's no guarantee that the hackers will provide a decryption key, however many victims cough up the money.

Last month, an Indiana County paid $21,000 in ransom after its systems were encrypted by hackers, while a Pennsylvania prosecutor's office paid $1,400 in ransom last year. One of the larger hacks involved a hospital in Los Angeles that paid $17,000 to regain control of its computers.

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Sick of seeing their family members kidnapped by the local gang, the furious citizens of the Mexican town of Totolapan have abducted a kingpin's mom to demand their release.

The town is controlled by Raybel Jacobo de Almonte, better known as 'El Tequilero', who has been at war with other bosses in the area. It's believed he kidnapped the citizens either for extortion or because he thought they were helping other gangs.

But this week the citizens struck back, as teams of vigilantes rode through Totolapan waving guns, demanding action - and threatening El Tequilero's mom.

Scroll down for video

Vigilantes: These townspeople from Totolapan, Mexico, formed a vigilante group after their relatives were kidnapped by crime boss 'El Tequilero' for extortion and helping other gangs

Revenge: They then took his mom (pictured left) to negotiate their release. 'El Tequilero' (right) means 'The Tequila Drinker'. His real name is Raybel Jacobo de Almonte

Drunk: The only known video footage shows 'El Tequilero' so drunk that he needs his friends to hold him in a sitting position. He is seen talking to Totolapan's mayor (in white hat)

The latest victims of El Tequilero's reign of terror disappeared last week.

Among the several people kidnapped was local construction engineer Isauro de la Paz Duque, who was snatched on Sunday by men who had threatened to kill him.

The next day, a woman who identified herself as De la Paz Duque's wife said on a video that townspeople had taken El Tequilero's mother, identified as 'Mrs Felix del Monte'.

'We have your mother here, Mr Tequilero,' she said. 'I propose an exchange: I'll give you your mother if you give me my husband, but I want him safe and sound.'

A photograph of the kidnapped woman shows her sitting on the floor of an empty white room, with just a ventilation fan beside her.

The mom was just one of two dozen people kidnapped by teams of vigilantes - known as 'self-defense forces' in the region - in response to El Tequilero's abductions.

All of those kidnapped were suspected - by the vigilantes, at least - to be members of his gang.

The vigilantes had also been seen in the streets carrying shotguns and hunting rifles, and and also appeared in videos, carrying banners and calling for action against El Tequilero.

'We urgently demand the release of the kidnap victims,' a masked man says in one video. 'We are a legitimate self-defense force of the people.'

Demands: The vigilantes - calling themselves a 'self-defense force' - demanded their relatives' return from El Tequilero, whose real name is Raybel Jacobo de Almonte

The government of Guerrero state moved to diffuse the situation Tueday, sending around 220 soldiers and police, as well as a negotiating team, to the area.

'The goal of the team is to ensure that no injury is done to the missing person, nor to the mother of the head of the Tequileros gang, who has apparently been taken by the self-defense forces,' a government statement said.

The end result was the freeing of around five of the kidnap victims and an agreement to release the others on the understanding they would be investigated or charged by police.

But the mom remains in the custody of the vigilantes.

The government has agreed to have state police oversee her exchange for the kidnapped engineer.

The emergence of vigilante groups, also known as self-styled 'community police,' has become a headache for Guerrero's government.

Authorities say they understand residents' frustration but note the groups often wind up kidnapping suspects, fighting among themselves or preventing police from doing their work.

'The truth is, they are not really community forces, nor are they police,' Governor Hector Astudillo has said. 'They are armed groups that unfortunately carry out acts ... that generate more violence and confrontation, rather than help.'

Angry: This woman's husband, Isauro de la Paz Duque, was kidnapped on Sunday. The boss's mom was taken Monday. On Tuesday the government deployed police, army and negotiators

On Tuesday, he said: 'This is something that has to end - that every time somebody gets the idea into their head of kidnapping somebody, they kidnap them.'

'El Tequilero' has lived up to his nickname, which translates roughly as 'The Tequila Drinker.'

In his only known public appearance, he was captured on video drinking with the town's mayor-elect. He mumbles inaudibly and has to be held up in a sitting position by one of his henchmen.

In late November, the Guerrero government said he was believed to have been wounded and was hiding out with his kidnap victims in the mountains.

The state attorney general headed an extensive manhunt using helicopters and troops on the ground in an unsuccessful effort to locate the gang leader.

The area around Totolapan is a hotbed of drug trafficking, killings and extortion. It is the foot of the mountains that produce much of Mexico's opium poppy crop.

Totolapan itself is considered so dangerous that many outlying hamlets in the township have been abandoned by fearful residents.

In 2014, the battered body of the parish priest, the Rev. Ascension Acuna Osorio, was found floating in the Balsas river near the town.
Alternative plans sought for Oregon's oldest state forest

KEIZER, Ore. (AP)  In a public meeting that exposed deep concerns about global warming and deforestation, Oregon's top elected state leaders on Tuesday postponed a decision on the proposed sale of the Elliott State Forest to a timber company, instead making a pitch for alternatives that would maintain public ownership of the state's first public forest.

Speaker after speaker came from cities, towns and farms to pack the meeting room in the Keizer Community Center, north of Salem. They beseeched their leaders to reject the sale of the 82,500-acre forest in the Coastal Range to Lone Rock Timber Co. and its tribal partners.

They said a line must be drawn to preserve public lands, expressing fear that a Trump presidency would try to sell some of the lands to enrich a few, and that the next administration would also ignore the threat of global warming.

More than 200 people, many waving their hands in silent applause, fill a room at the Keizer Community Center during an Oregon State Land Board meeting Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Keizer, Ore., as Oregon's top elected state leaders listen to testimony about the proposed sale of the Elliott State Forest. Many oppose the proposal to sell the forest in the Coastal Range to Lone Rock Timber Co. and its partners, including several Indian tribes. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

The sale of the forest was proposed because timber harvest revenues that go into a school fund have dropped in recent years.

"Teddy Roosevelt and people like our first forester, Francis Elliott, went to great efforts to preserve these last great tracts of unclaimed land for future generations of Americans to enjoy and recreate on. I did not think I would have to be here in 2016 to defend them," Joseph Metzler, a retired Coast Guard rescue swimmer from Coos Bay, told the State Land Board.

Those in flannel outnumbered those wearing suits at the 3-hour meeting attended by more than 200 people.

Some school board representatives backed the sale, saying the $221 million it would fetch should go into the Common School Fund. Several speakers recommended that if the sale does not go forward, that the forest be removed from the Common School Fund portfolio so it would not suffer negative impacts with declining timber harvests.

Lone Rock, based in Roseburg, had said it was confident that it could turn a profit by extracting at least 35 million board feet per year from the forest while providing protections for older forests, streams, recreation opportunities and local jobs. The state has not logged nearly that amount in recent years, at least in part because of environmental protections and lawsuits.

"It is a sustainable harvest level based on the estimated 70+ million board feet of forest growth each year," Jake Gibbs, director of external affairs of Lone Rock Resources, told The Associated Press in an email.

After years of being profitable since 1997, net revenue from the forest fell from $5.8 million in 2012 to losses of $3.3 million in 2013 and $1.8 million in 2014, the Oregon Department of State Lands says. But 2015 saw gains. This year through 2019 are expected to be borderline.

People who came to testify before the board, composed of Gov. Kate Brown, State Treasurer Ted Wheeler and Secretary of State Jeanne P. Atkins, warned that no trespassing signs would go up and that the forest might be resold down the line. They said that a sale could embolden people like Ammon Bundy and his brother Ryan, who led the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon last winter.

Grandmothers and even children were among those who took three seats at a time before the board to testify. Clapping was banned, so people showed silent support for comments that they liked by waving their hands in the air. Some of those who spoke against the deal said Native Americans should get much more than the small share the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians would obtain in the deal.

At the close of the meeting, Brown encouraged those attending to help find a solution.

"This is your opportunity, and I expect that you will work quickly, collaboratively and thoughtfully and hope that we can come up with another proposal that will maintain the Elliott in public ownership," she said to a burst of applause.

She said she is proposing that the state use up to $100 million in bonding authority to pay into the Common School Fund and relieve the Elliott of part of its fiduciary responsibility for the fund.

The Department of State Lands said it will continue to work with the proposers of the purchase plan, including exploring the potential for additional partners, possibly involving public entities. The State Land Board instructed the department to provide an update on Feb. 14.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky

Protest signs are left outside a meeting room as more than 200 people gather at the Keizer Community Center for an Oregon State Land Board meeting Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Keizer, Ore., as Oregon's top elected state leaders listen to testimony about the proposed sale of the Elliott State Forest. Many oppose the proposal to sell the forest in the Coastal Range to Lone Rock Timber Co. and its partners, including several Indian tribes. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)
Tuesday marks the 79th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre.

Ceremony of flying Chinese national flag at half-mast is held on Chinas National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre victims at the memorial hall for the massacre victims in Nanjing, East Chinas Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2016. In February 2014, Chinas top legislature designated Dec 13 as National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims. (Photo: China News Service/ Yang Bo)

A series of memorial activities are being staged in the city, where more than 300,000 people, mostly disarmed soldiers and civilians, were murdered in the space of just six weeks in 1937 by Japanese forces.

79 years ago today, Japanese troops broke into Nanjing and then started a six-week massacre in the capital of then Nationalist government.

Chinese records show more than 300,000 disarmed soldiers and ordinary people were killed while thousands of women were raped.

Since the beginning fo December, wish walls have been erected in some of the city's busiest subway stations, inviting passengers to put up notes or writing down how they feel about the bloodshed as well as their wishes for the future.

One of the walls has been placed in Guo Xiang's station.

"Our Xinjiekou subway station is the largest in passenger flow in Nanjing, with about 130,000 people passing here a day. We have put up the wall at the No. 24 exit, where the passenger flow is not very big. Although not so big, it has won enthusiastic response. See that part of the wall, it is full, with some people leaving notes wishing for peace in the world."

Cong Xiaoyu is a local resident.

"The Nanjing massacre is, in fact, a matter concerning the whole world, as it was the result of war. This time every year, the sirens are sounded and all the vehicles have to stop to observe a minute of silence mourning the victims. We have experienced the event from the day we were born. We will never forget it."

The wish walls are part of the series of memorial activities this month.

Over the weekend, 110 new names were added to a memorial wall at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, bringing the total number of names inscribed on the wall to 10,615.

The "wailing wall", as it's known, was set up in 1995 with an initial 3,000 names inscribed on it, representing the 300,000 victims of the massacre.

More names were added in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014, after the identities of more victims were confirmed.

91-year-old Yang Cuiying is a massacre survivor.

"As long as I am alive, I will tell more people about my experiences in the Nanjing Massacre, tell them never to forget the history."

This year's third memorial day comes just a few days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a planned visit to the U.S. Pearl Harbor later this month, reportedly to remember the thousands killed by Japan's surprise attack 75 years ago.

The Chinese authorities have called on Japan to make a deep self-examination of what it also did during the World War II to the Chinese people.

On Monday, a new book on the Nanjing massacre was published, consisting of around 200 documents and images from China, Japan and other countries which participated in the post-war trials.

Coinciding with the anniversary, a new three-episode documentary providing rare footage of the Tokyo Trials will begin airing across the country.

It contains some rare footage that will be broadcast for the first time in China.
Chicago cousin pleads guilty to advising on Bali killing

CHICAGO (AP)  A 26-year-old has changed his plea to guilty for helping his cousin and the cousin's girlfriend kill the woman's mother in Indonesia by texting tips from 9,000 miles away in Chicago.

Robert Justin Bibbs pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Chicago to conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national. He'll be sentenced March 23. A plea deal recommends a maximum 20-year prison term.

Bibbs, of Chicago, hoped for a cut of 62-year-old Sheila von Wiese-Mack's inheritance by offering advice on killing her while she vacationed in Bali. His texts included emoji symbols illustrating possible killing methods. Wiese-Mack was fatally bludgeoned with a metal fruit bowl and her body found in a suitcase.
Historic Alabama hotel, built in 1837, focus of legal battle

ATLANTA (AP)  A company that sought to redevelop a historic hotel overlooking the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama  the site of a bloody crackdown on Civil Rights marchers  says city leaders broke their contract for the hotel's sale.

The Janee Hotel Corp. made the allegations in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

The Illinois-based company offered to purchase the St. James Hotel for $100,000 and commit $4.5 million to redevelop it, it maintains in the lawsuit. The Selma City Council voted in August to accept the offer, but later backed out, the company said in its complaint.

Phone calls to the Selma mayor's office and to the city attorney were not immediately returned Tuesday.

The hotel, built in 1837, is the only surviving riverfront antebellum hotel in the Southeast, according to the Alabama Department of Tourism's websites.

The hotel, once known as the Gee House Hotel, was managed before the Civil War by an enslaved man named Benjamin Sterling Turner, according to the historical marker outside. After slavery, Turner, succeeded in business and in politics and was eventually elected to Congress as the first African-American U.S. Representative from Alabama.
Tiger seized in Ohio animal crackdown euthanized in Colorado

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP)  A tiger seized in a crackdown on exotic-animal owners in Ohio has been euthanized just months after it was found in poor health at a South Dakota sanctuary.

The tiger had been removed from a roadside sanctuary near Toledo last year. It was among a dozen animals found in poor condition at the Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in South Dakota.

Ohio agriculture officials say the tiger had been suffering from an aggressive form of cancer and was euthanized Sunday at its new home in Colorado.

Ohio took custody of the tiger and several other exotic animals after saying their owner ignored warnings about needing a permit.
Dolly Parton gives support to wildfire victims, 'my people'

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Country music icon Dolly Parton's home and businesses in East Tennessee were spared from deadly wildfires last month, but she's pitching in to help her neighbors recover from the devastation.

She was to headline a telethon Tuesday from Nashville, featuring performances from Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, Hank Williams Jr., Chris Stapleton, Cyndi Lauper and more. The telethon was to be broadcast on Great American Country, AXS-TV, RFD and The Heartland Network at 8 p.m. Eastern and streamed live on USAToday.com and affiliate newspapers in Tennessee.

Parton set a lofty goal of giving $1,000 to every family that has lost their primary residence through the Dollywood Foundation My People Fund.

Dolly Parton talks with Randy Owen of the group Alabama during tapings for Parton's Smoky Mountain Rise Telethon Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Parton has lined up an all-star list of performers for a three-hour telethon to raise money for thousands of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in Tennessee wildfires. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

"It doesn't sound like a lot of money but we're talking about thousands of people, hundreds and hundreds of people," Parton said Tuesday. "If we could give $1,000 a month for six months, that would give people a chance. And if we raise more money than we hope to, then we'll just do more."

This Christmas, she'll return home to East Tennessee to see the damage from the fires that spread to more than 2,500 structures in Sevier County and killed 14 people.

"I'll get to have Christmas with my family in those warm cozy houses, but we know that there are so many this time of year that are not going to get to have Christmas in a warm cozy house because they are gone," Parton said. "So that's why it is so important that we do what we can. But I am sure I will be devastated when I see some of the stuff."

Her famous friends stepped up to help before the telethon even began, with large donations from Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.

Parton said she feels a kinship to all the hard-working mountain people who have lost so much around her.

"We are mountain tough," Parton said. "They have to be tough. You have to be physically tough, you have to be emotionally tough, and you have to be strong. People have to scrape their living out of the soil in a lot of ways."

She added: "That's why it is so important because all of these people, even though they are not blood kin, they really do feel like my people."

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For more information, visit dollywoodfoundation.org

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Follow Kristin M. Hall at Twitter.com/kmhall

Dolly Parton talks with Kenny Alphin, center, and John Rich, right, of the country music duo Big & Rich, during tapings for Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Rise Telethon Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Parton has lined up an all-star list of performers for a three-hour telethon to raise money for thousands of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in Tennessee wildfires. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Dolly Parton is interviewed for her Smoky Mountain Rise Telethon Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Parton has lined up an all-star list of performers for a three-hour telethon to raise money for thousands of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in Tennessee wildfires. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Randy Owen, right, and Jeff Cook of the group Alabama perform a song during a taping for Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Rise Telethon Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Parton has lined up an all-star list of performers for a three-hour telethon to raise money for thousands of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in Tennessee wildfires. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed his choice of Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state, hailing him as among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal makers in the world.

In a release from his transition headquarters in New York, Mr Trump called Mr Tillersons career the embodiment of the American dream.

He said the ExxonMobil CEO rose through the ranks through hard work, dedication and smart deal making.

Rex Tillerson

President-elect Trump also said that as the nations top diplomat, Mr Tillerson will be a world-class leader working on behalf of the American people.

Mr Tillerson has close ties to Russia, and his selection sets up a potential confirmation fight in the Senate.

In an accompanying statement, Mr Tillerson said he was honoured by his selection and shares Mr Trumps vision for restoring the credibility of the United States foreign relations and advancing our countrys national security.

Chinas foreign ministry spokesman said that Beijing was looking forward to working with the new secretary of state.

Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState - MR  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 11, 2016

No matter who will become US secretary of state, China is looking forward to working together with him to push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point, the spokesman, Geng Shuang, said at a regular briefing.

Mr Trump brushed aside concerns about Mr Tillersons close ties to Moscow in bringing the long secretary of state audition process to an end.

Mr Tillerson has connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And on Capitol Hill, leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties about him, as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the US presidential election to help Mr Trump.

For weeks, Mr Trump has teased out the decision process publicly, often exposing rifts in his organisation. He also considered former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney, a one-time vocal Trump critic, and Sen Bob Corker of Tennessee, who leads the Foreign Relations Committee.

It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. My discussions with President-elect... Posted by Mitt Romney on Monday, December 12, 2016

The unconventional vetting procedures are in keeping with Mr Trumps presidential style thus far, unconcerned with tradition or business as usual.

In recent weeks, he has attacked CIA intelligence, spoken to the leader of Taiwan and has continued his late-night Twitter tirades.

Making yet another non-traditional choice, Mr Trump heads out Tuesday for another week of travel, starting with a rally in Wisconsin.

Mr Trump postponed a Thursday announcement about how he will handle his massive business empire, though it appears likely he will not follow other presidents and make a clean break from his personal holdings.

Mr Trump was set to visit supporters as questions swirled about a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on his behalf.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that Congress will investigate the agencys conclusion, which the incoming commander in chief has called ridiculous.

The CIA recently concluded with high confidence that Russia sought to influence the US election on behalf of Mr Trump, raising red flags among politicians concerned about the sanctity of the US voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Mr Trumps administration.
Most people will be boiling their greens and making fluffy roasties to accompany the turkey this Christmas.

But Anna Marlen-Summers, 38, has a truly festive idea to transform them into art.

For the past five years the curriculum manager has been turning humble vegetables into whacky creations.

vegetables art london

"Ive created everything from animals to politicians in vegetable form," Anna, from Brixton, south London said.

"And this year, Christmas was crying out for a red pepper Santa, with a cauliflower face, Rudolph made from carrots, with a red radish nose, and a cauliflower snowman, with blueberry eyes and green beans for arms."

Annas vegetable magic started in 2011 at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, also in south London.

"Id heard of best in show dogs, and sheep sheering competitions, but never vegetable carving", she said.

"Laid out on the tables in Brockwell Park were vegetables carved into all sorts of wonderful things.

"From politician Boris Johnson made from an aubergine, to Harry Potters owl, Hedwig, created with a melon, I felt inspired."

Every year Lambeth Horticultural Society hosts the event, where adults and children enter their sculptures for a modest prize of 2.50.

Anna, an artist in her spare time, was crowned winner in 2011 with her royal scene, `The Royal Veging.

"I am fiercely competitive and really wanted to win the show. It was the year of the Royal Wedding, so I couldnt resist slicing and dicing my own version of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge from the finest veg," she said.

vegetables art london

With a courgette horse and carriage, a pepper jacket for Prince William and white cabbage dress for the Duchess of Cambridge, her entry wowed the judges.

A year later she paid tribute to naturalist Terry Nutkins with almond ears, a beetroot body and okra animals surrounding him. Sadly, it didnt win.

Undeterred though, Anna kept entering, and this year struck gold again.

Anna says she 'the crazy veg lady' (Collect/PA Real Life)

Armed with a knife and a peeler, she crafted Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn out of celery, calling him, Celery Cor-bean.

"The secret to winning is to come up with a clever title", she added.

Inspired by her win, Anna went to Brixton market in the run up to Christmas, filling her bag with 2kg of vegetables, so she could slice and dice a festive vegetable spread.

vegetables art london

"I really enjoy making something amazing out of simple vegetables", Anna said.

"The man on the market does give me some strange looks when I am buying so many vegetables, but they are a lot of fun."

Anna says she listens to the vegetables so they can tell her their potential.

vegetables art london

"I look at them on the market stall and thats when I know what their journey could be", she explained.

"I hope the vegetables are happy with their transformation into characters.
A man who will miss telling his two young children a bedtime story because of the Southern Railway strike is just one of the thousands of angry commuters who have taken to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

Jim Boyden, a management consultant, from Shoreham, West Sussex, told the Press Association he will be forced to stay in a London hotel until Thursday because of the lack of trains between his home and Victoria.

The 38-year-old shared a photo of his one-year-old son Zac and wrote an emotional tweet to Southern: Because of your strike, I am unable to travel home until Thursday and read him and his sister a story. Because of your strike, we will not discover what animal is hiding in his favourite book tonight, or tomorrow night.

Passengers wait for trains

Because of your strike, he will be unable to take me by the hand and show me his favourite toy, which is ironically, a choo choo train.

Because of your strike, I will miss his smile.

You can refund me my Season Ticket. You can refund me my hotel. I can even make up time at work, but how  how  are you going to give me back the things money cant buy?

For Gods sake, sort it out.

Huge tears from my girl today as school trip to @britishmuseum cancelled due to @SouthernRailUK strike #notgoodenough  Monski Mouse (@MonskiMouse) December 13, 2016

Another parent who took to the social media site to complain was a mother whose six-year-old daughter was left in tears after a school trip to the British Museum was called off at the last minute due to the train chaos  which included problems on TfLs Victoria Underground line.

Monica Corduff-Gonzalez, 44, from Forest Hill, south-east London, said: With the anticipated extra pressure on the Overground created by there being no Southern service, and severe delays at Highbury and Islington, the school decided to postpone the trip to the new year.

I was going to be going on the trip with my daughter and my husband was taking the day off work to look after my toddler. My daughter was super excited about the trip and having her mum with her, and there was flood of tears this morning at finding out the trip was cancelled for today.

One commuter who usually uses Southern Rail to get from Sydenham in south-east London to Kings Cross left the house more than two hours early to avoid overcrowding on the alternative Overground service.

Carmen Butterworth left at 5.45am instead of 8am to avoid being late for work.

I left the house at 5.45am because of @SouthernRailUK strikes because I didn't fancy squeezing myself onto the overground. I know right.  Fatsy Cline (@missluvian) December 13, 2016

Miss Butterworth, 33, a personal assistant, told the Press Association: I knew that everyone would be forced to use the already overcrowded Overground and it would probably be a struggle to even board and I cant be late to work.

The blame doesnt just fall with Southern. However I do not think much of how they have handled the strike  telling half a million people not to attempt to travel on a work day isnt practical.

Peoples tweets caused #southernstrike and #southernrail to trend on Twitter.

@SouthernRailUK do we get refunds for Christmas dinners we have prepaid for and can't go to because Southern can't get their shit together? https://t.co/AsQwx5yDL9  Tash Gourlay-Harris (@PaddoTash) December 13, 2016

Natasha Gourlay-Harris took to Twitter to call on Southern to refund her pre-paid 30 Christmas work lunch, which she feared she would miss because of the strike.

Mrs Gourlay-Harris, 45, travels from Cheam, near Sutton, to London Victoria via Hackbridge and was stuck on a bus in appalling traffic for half an hour before finding the main entrance to Sutton station had been closed  with commuters being funnelled through a smaller second entrance.
Commuters on the Greater Anglia rail network have suffered travel chaos due to a series of problems.

Passengers were advised not to travel on several major routes during the morning peak on Tuesday.

No trains were running between Ipswich and Colchester because of a broken-down freight train.

An Abellio Greater Anglia train

#Ipswich - Ticket restrictions for today have been lifted. You can travel earlier/later then your booked train. RH  Greater Anglia (@greateranglia) December 13, 2016

Travellers were warned that journeys could be delayed by up to three hours as the train could only be moved at 3mph and needed to travel eight miles to clear the line.

Trains between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street were disrupted due to signalling problems in the Saffron Walden area between Audley End and Newport.

Network Rail, which is responsible for managing Britains railway infrastructure, said it had found the fault and was working as quickly as possible to restore services.

Customers are asked NOT TO TRAVEL due to signalling problems between #AudleyEnd & Newport Essex.. RH  Greater Anglia (@greateranglia) December 13, 2016

Meanwhile, another broken-down train meant there were no services between Sudbury and Marks Tey.

The Greater Anglia Twitter account was bombarded with angry messages from frustrated travellers.

Paul Barber urged the company to give up, claiming it makes Southern Rail look diligent.

Abellio, give up, you make Southern Rail look diligent! @greateranglia  paul barber (@paulbarber_woo) December 13, 2016

A passenger with the username @CmdrSpace complained that they were one of 30 people waiting at Colchester Town station for a train being described on information boards as delayed when it was actually cancelled.

They added: Ticket office empty. No announcements. Are you going to pay my bus fare?

I know a lot of stuff is going wrong this morning but why is it taking so long to fix? I need to get to work :(  Hayley Thornton (@HayThorn89) December 13, 2016

Simon Mouncey sent a message to the operator stating: Managers dont deal with the issues. Arent visible. Managers at Chelmsford never leave their warm offices.
Drivers who deliver goods for retail giant Argos are to go on strike in a dispute over pay.

Members of Unite employed by Wincanton at a distribution centre in Staffordshire will walk out for three days from next Tuesday, which the union warned threatened the delivery of goods in the run-up to Christmas.

The union is embroiled in a row over holiday back pay.

Argos store in London

#Argos Delivery drivers now going on strike,let's just cancel #Christmas,problem solved.  James Whale (@THEJamesWhale) December 13, 2016

Unite regional officer Rick Coyle said: The drivers have patiently tried to resolve this matter for over two years. Now they would like the money they are owed in time for Christmas, which is not unreasonable.

It is very difficult to understand why Wincanton has allowed this saga to get out of hand because this strike by our members will cause havoc and mayhem to deliveries to Argos shops in the run-up to Christmas.

Drivers who deliver goods for retail giant Argos are to go on strike in a dispute over pay - @unitetheunion  Alan Jones (@AlanJonesPA) December 13, 2016

We can assure Argos customers that strike dates are only being announced as a last resort and that Unites door is open 24/7 to try and settle this long-standing dispute.

An Argos spokesman said: We would encourage both sides to keep talking with the aim of coming to a swift resolution.
Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with the Premier League leaders.

The deal will keep the Spain international at Stamford Bridge until 2020, with the extension coming on the eve of what is expected to be his 200th appearance for the Blues.

Azpilicueta signed from Marseille in 2012 and has lifted the Premier League, EFL Cup and Europa League in his stint at the club.

Cesar Azpilicueta

The 27-year-old was also named as Chelseas Players Player of the Year for the 2013/14 campaign and it set to reach his landmark of 200 games when Antonio Contes side travel to Sunderland on Wednesday night.

Azpilicueta has featured in every game under Conte since the Italians arrival in the summer and said he was pleased to extend his stay in west London.

Im really happy to have signed a new contract, he told the clubs official website.

Conte on Azpilicueta: 'I'm pleased with his work-rate, commitment and ability to play different positions. He's a really good player.' #CFC  Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 13, 2016

Since I arrived here my target was to progress as a player and win trophies. This new contract gives me the chance to continue my relationship with the club, thats what I wanted and obviously Im really happy here.

Weve had some really good moments so far this season. From day one, we started working very hard.
Photo taken on Dec. 13, 2016 shows the scene of state memorial ceremony for China's National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims at the memorial hall for the massacre victims in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The third national memorial day was held in eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on Tuesday to commemorate hundreds of thousands of victims murdered during the Japanese invasion almost eight decades ago.

On Dec. 13, 1937, Nanjing, the ancient Chinese capital for six dynasties, fell to Japanese invaders who went on to slaughter civilians for more than a month. About 300,000 Chinese were killed, and 20,000 women raped.

The Nanjing Massacre left a deep psychological scar on the Chinese for generations to come.

On Tuesday morning, amid chilly wind and drizzle, more than 8,000 people gathered at a square in front of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province. The mourners were dressed in black, with white flowers pinned to their chests.

Sirens blared for one minute throughout the city. Doves flew, cars stopped, and pedestrians stood still to mourn the deceased in silence. The ceremony was broadcast live in Najing's public venues, including subway stations where commuters paused and watched.

Drivers honked horns in a commercial street to echo the siren. One of them, a 36-year-old man surnamed Xu, gestured to a roadside electronic screen with the slogan "Victory for Justice, Victory for People, Victory for Peace," saying, "That's our common aspiration."

Photo taken on Dec. 13, 2016 shows the scene of state memorial ceremony for China's National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims at the memorial hall for the massacre victims in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Among the attendees were several survivors of the war in their 80s.

Xia Shuqin, 87, wept as she watched the ceremony proceed. She and her younger sister were the only survivors in a family of nine. Xia said she had attended the memorial day event for the past three years and would continue to do so.

The Nanjing Massacre is seen in China as the nadir of an era in which it was bullied and humiliated by foreign powers. In February 2014, China's top legislature designated December 13 as the national memorial day.

"Without a strong army and a powerful state, Chinese people would have never stood up," said Shi Jianwei, a Nanjing retiree who attended the ceremony. "We should turn the lessons of humiliation in to a motive for the nation's rejuvenation."
A man has been charged with attempted murder over a stabbing at a London train station where witnesses claimed to have heard shouts of death to Muslims.

Adrian Brown, 38, has also been charged with one count of possession of an offensive weapon and one charge of assault by battery over an incident at Forest Hill, in south-east London.

Police officers at Forest Hill train station.

A man in his 40s was injured on a train at around 1pm and was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition, British Transport Police (BTP) said.
'Great Wall of Calais' barrier completed at a cost of 2.3 million

Work has been completed on a British-funded barrier, nicknamed "the Great Wall of Calais", French officials have said.

Construction of the 4m-high concrete structure along the main motorway to the port in northern France finished on Friday, a spokesman from the Calais prefecture said.

It comes around six weeks after the refugee and migrant camp known as The Jungle was demolished, with thousands of its residents taken by bus to temporary accommodation centres across France.

The temporary National Barrier Assets fencing installed close to the Eurotunnel.

The barrier, intended to add a further layer of protection against attempts to delay or attack vehicles as they approach the port, took around 12 weeks to complete.

The project came under the spotlight in early September when Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill announced security at the port would be stepped up with "better equipment".

He told MPs: "We are going to start building this big new wall very soon. We've done the fence, now we are doing a wall."

The UK has committed around 85 million to reinforce security in the Calais region. French officials estimate the wall has cost 2.7 million euros (2.3 million).

Kate Gibbs, of the Road Haulage Association, said it had had reservations about the wall since it was first proposed.

She said: "It has cost a great deal of money, money that could have been spent on increased numbers of security personnel.

"It is in the wrong place, in as much as, since the camp was demolished, there are fewer migrants at Calais, but they are moving to other areas.

"It has cost too much and it is too little too late."

Dover MP Charlie Elphicke welcomed the completion.

He said: "Now the Jungle camp has been cleared, we must be more vigilant than ever to stop people breaking into Britain.

"We have spent millions of pounds bolstering border security in France. Now it's time to strengthen the Dover frontline."

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We continue to work closely with the French authorities to further bolster security at ports in northern France.
Theresa May leads tributes to former cabinet minister Lord Prior

Theresa May has led tributes to Conservative former cabinet minister Lord Prior ,who has died aged 89.

Jim Prior served for five years in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, where he was regarded as one of the leading "wets" who opposed her monetarist economic policies.

Originally appointed employment secretary when she became prime minister in 1979, he was moved to the post of Northern Ireland secretary two years later.

Jim Prior served for five years in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet

Mrs May praised his "years of public service" and said he was part of the "long line of people who worked to bring peace to Northern Ireland".

But his appointment to the Northern Ireland job was seen at the time as a sign of Mrs Thatcher's frustration at Mr Prior's refusal to press ahead more quickly with her trade union reforms.

First elected to Parliament as MP for Lowestoft in 1959, Mr Prior rose to prominence under Edward Heath - then leader of the opposition - who picked him as his parliamentary private secretary in 1965.

When the Conservatives gained power in 1970, Mr Prior was rewarded with promotion to the Cabinet as agriculture minister, before becoming leader of the Commons two years later.

Following Mr Heath's downfall in the wake of the Tories' 1974 general election defeat, Mr Prior stood for the Conservative leadership but gained the votes of just 19 MPs.

Although on the opposite wing of the party from Mrs Thatcher, who emerged triumphant in the leadership contest, she nevertheless kept him in her top team, handing him the key employment portfolio.

The tensions between the two came to a head in government, as he resisted her programme of reforms designed to break the power of the trade unions following the industrial chaos which brought down the Heath government.

Unafraid to stand up to her, Mr Prior publicly resisted her attempts to lever him out of the employment brief into Northern Ireland, before finally succumbing in September 1981 in return for a token seat on the economic policy committee.

"I was playing for high stakes and I got it wrong," he later admitted.

He nevertheless immersed himself in his new role before finally resigning from the government in September 1984. He stood down as an MP at the 1987 general election and was subsequently made a life peer.

His eldest son, David, was the Conservative MP for North Norfolk between 1997 and 2001 and is currently serving as a junior health minister, having been made a peer in his own right by David Cameron in 2015.

The Prime Minister said: "I was sorry to hear of the death of Jim Prior, who served as a Member of Parliament for 28 years, and a member of the House of Lords for another 30.

"His years of public service include his work as a Cabinet minister under both Ted Heath and Margaret Thatcher. As a Northern Ireland secretary, he sought to re-establish devolved government and was part of the long line of people who worked to bring peace to Northern Ireland.

"My thoughts are with his children and grandchildren - not least his son David, who followed in his father's footsteps as a Norfolk MP and minister - at this sad time."

Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine paid tribute to Lord Prior's "sense of service", which led him to enter politics.

"He was a man who had strong values in politics. He knew what he believed in and no-one was going to shift him. He was a rock, a man of integrity," he told the BBC.

Former cabinet minister Lord Baker of Dorking, who also served under Mrs Thatcher, said Lord Prior had been in government at a "very difficult time" for the country.

"Jim Prior was the epitome of decency. People who knew him and worked with him would say he was a good, upright man," he told the BBC.

"He was dealing with militant trade unionism. The trade unions had actually brought Ted Heath down and James Callaghan down, and Margaret Thatcher was quite determined that she wasn't going to be the third victim.

"Jim Prior struggled very hard at that time to find a way through that would somehow reconcile the interests of organised labour with those of safely continuing government.
Frustrated relatives of missing Flight MH370 passengers scour beach for clues

By Aislinn Laing

ANTANANARIVO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Grieving and frustrated relatives of passengers still missing more than two years after their Malaysia Airlines flight vanished are scouring the east African coast for possible evidence that might help unlock the mystery of their fate.

Flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, vanished on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, sparking a search in the southern Indian Ocean that passed its 1,000th day last Saturday.

Relatives of the missing passengers are deeply unhappy and angry over the lack of progress made by official investigations.

A group of them - Malaysian, Chinese and French nationals - arrived in Madagascar last weekend in the hope of finding debris themselves and of raising awareness of the missing plane among local people and organisations.

On Thursday Jiang Hui, a Chinese man whose mother was on board the plane, discovered a small white piece of board in the sand on Madagascar's Riake Beach that he hoped could be a fragment from the cabin of the missing plane.

"I felt excited but at the same time it was saddening," he said. "It is a small piece and won't really be able to show what happened to the plane but I hope so much that the authorities of Malaysia, China and Australia will try to find more."

Grace Nathan, a spokeswoman for Members of Voice 370, an MH370 next-of-kin support group, wrote on Facebook of Jiang's find: "Such an emotional moment for all of us: sadness, hurt, confusion, excitement, hope."

Some family members have accused Malaysian-led investigators of focusing too much on the deep-sea search for wreckage off the coast of Australia, and have appealed to residents on the east African coast to search for plane debris and hand in anything they find to the authorities.

So far, three pieces of debris found on the beaches of Mauritius, Tanzania and the French island of Reunion have been confirmed to be from MH370. Investigators are examining several other pieces found in Mozambique and South Africa.

"It was a very emotional moment," Blaine Gibson, a self-funded American investigator accompanying the families in Madagascar, said of Jiang's finding.

"He found it at the small rocky cove at the north end of Riake Beach, the same place where I found the monitor case, debris and personal effects in June."

The search is expected to be suspended by the end of the year, when an Australian-led team completes its scouring of a 120,000-sq-km target area.
Canada, cool on the F-35, says Lockheed jet still an option

By David Ljunggren and Leah Schnurr

OTTAWA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Canada will still consider Lockheed Martin Inc's F-35 in an open competition for fighter jets, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday, despite domestic and foreign criticism about the program's cost.

Earlier on Monday, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the cost of Lockheed's F-35 program was "out of control."

A source familiar with the fighter jet replacement effort said Canadian officials found Trump's remark interesting but were not drawing too many conclusions.

"Because the president-elect sends a tweet, is the price a couple of years from now of an F-35 really going to be dramatically different?" said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Canada's ruling Liberals won an election last year on a promise not to buy F-35s because the planes were too expensive. Trudeau told Parliament that the former Conservative government had "clung to a plane that does not work and is far from being able to work."

But the Liberal government has since softened its position and said this year that all suppliers could bid to replace its aging fighter CF-18 jet fleet.

Still, Canada snubbed Lockheed last month when it unveiled plans to buy 18 Boeing Corp Super Hornets as a stop-gap measure while it started the fighter jet competition over again. Officials said the contest could take five years.

"It's an open and transparent competition we're going to be engaged in and the various aircraft and aircraft producers will have an opportunity to make their best case," Trudeau told a news conference when asked whether Canada might be more likely to opt for the F-35 if the costs fell.

Pressed as to how vindicated he felt by Trump's comments, Trudeau declined to answer directly.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, asked about the potential impact of the F-35 becoming cheaper, told reporters on Monday that "we are going to be making sure that we get the right aircraft and making sure it's the right price."

The previous Conservative government announced in 2010 it would buy 65 F-35s but reversed itself after an official probe savaged the way the decision had been made.

Kim Richard Nossal, a Queen's University political studies professor and author of a 2016 book on Canadian defense procurement, said it was likely Ottawa would still buy the F-35 in five years' time because of concerns around future production of the Super Hornet.

Lockheed Martin said it understood concerns about affordability, noting its goal was to reduce the price of the F-35 by 60 percent from original estimates.

Canada is staying in the nine-nation consortium that helped fund development of the F-35. Lockheed Martin said in June it was studying whether to shift work on the plane away from Canadian firms amid uncertainty over Ottawa's intentions.
Brazil prosecutor brings new graft charges against Senate head

SAO PAULO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's top prosecutor brought new charges against Senate President Renan Calheiros on Monday, accusing him of taking part in corruption at state oil company Petrobras and asking the Supreme Court to remove him from office.

Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot's request comes just a week after Calheiros was nearly removed in a separate embezzlement case.

Janot alleges that Calheiros received part of a donation of 800,000 reais ($240,000) in 2010 from an oil and gas contractor in return for keeping a senior Petrobras executive in the post, where he was later convicted of currying favors.

Calheiros rejected the allegation in an emailed statement, and said he was willing to cooperate with any investigation.

It was not clear when the Supreme Court would take any action on the charges, but the justices enter into recess after this week and do not return to work until Feb. 1.

Monday's charges were the first that specifically tied Calheiros to the massive corruption investigation centered around state-run oil company Petrobras, where a political kickback scheme played out for years.

In the embezzlement case, Calheiros was indicted on Dec. 1 by the Supreme Court over allegations of misusing public funds in a nine-year-old case involving the payment of child support for a daughter from an extramarital affair.

A Supreme Court justice ruled last week that Calheiros should be removed from his leadership role, but the full court overturned the injunction, defusing a standoff that threatened to derail the government's agenda of economic reforms.
Trump fills top jobs for his administration

Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump named Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive Gary Cohn on Monday to head his White House National Economic Council, a group tasked with coordinating economic policy across federal agencies.

The following is a list of Republican Trump's selections for top jobs in his administration. All the posts but that of national security adviser, the White House chief of staff, White House director of the National Economic Council and White House strategist require Senate confirmation:

U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: JEFF SESSIONS

Sessions, 69, was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump's presidential bid and has been a close ally since. Son of a country-store owner, the Alabama senator and former federal prosecutor has long taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, opposing any path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

CIA DIRECTOR: MIKE POMPEO

U.S. Representative Pompeo, 52, is a third-term congressman from Kansas who serves on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which oversees the CIA, National Security Agency and cyber security. A retired Army officer and Harvard Law School graduate, Pompeo supports the U.S. government's sweeping collection of Americans' communications data and wants to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran.

COMMERCE SECRETARY: WILBUR ROSS

Ross, 78, heads the private equity firm W.L. Ross & Co. His net worth was pegged by Forbes at about $2.9 billion. A staunch supporter of Trump and an economic adviser, Ross helped shape the Trump campaign's views on trade policy. He blames the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which went into force in 1994, and the 2001 entry of China into the World Trade Organization for causing massive U.S. factory job losses.

DEFENSE SECRETARY: JAMES MATTIS

Mattis is a retired Marine general known for his tough talk, distrust of Iran and battlefield experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. A former leader of Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and South Asia, Mattis, 66, is known by many U.S. forces by his nickname "Mad Dog." He was once rebuked for saying in 2005: "It's fun to shoot some people."

EDUCATION SECRETARY: BETSY DEVOS

DeVos, 58, is a billionaire Republican donor, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and an advocate for the privatization of education. As chair of the American Federation for Children, she has pushed at the state level for vouchers that families can use to send their children to private schools and for the expansion of charter schools.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: SCOTT PRUITT

An ardent opponent of President Barack Obama's measures to stem climate change, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt, 48, has enraged environmental activists. But he fits with the president-elect's promise to cut the agency back and eliminate regulation that he says is stifling oil and gas drilling. Pruitt became the top state prosecutor for Oklahoma, which has extensive oil reserves, in 2011, and has challenged the EPA multiple times since.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: TOM PRICE

U.S. Representative Price, 62, is an orthopedic surgeon who heads the House Budget Committee. A representative from Georgia since 2005, Price has criticized Obamacare and has championed a plan of tax credits, expanded health savings accounts and lawsuit reforms to replace it. He is opposed to abortion.

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: JOHN KELLY

The final leadership role of Kelly's 45-year career was head of the U.S. Southern Command, responsible for U.S. military activities and relationships in Latin America and the Caribbean. The 66-year-old retired Marine general differed with Democratic President Barack Obama on key issues and has warned of vulnerabilities along the United States' southern border with Mexico.

HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY: BEN CARSON

Carson, 65, is a retired neurosurgeon who dropped out of the Republican presidential nominating race in March and threw his support to Trump. A popular writer and speaker in conservative circles, Carson previously indicated reluctance to take a position in the incoming administration because of his lack of experience in the federal government. Carson is the first African-American picked for a Cabinet spot by Trump.

INTERIOR SECRETARY: CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS

McMorris Rodgers, a 47-year-old U.S. congresswoman from Washington state, is the fourth most senior member of the House of Representatives leadership. A member of the House Energy Committee, she has supported efforts to expand the U.S. energy industry such as the recent repeal of the decades-old ban on oil exports and efforts to reject the Environmental Protection Agency's Waters of the United States Act. She has also expressed skepticism about climate change. Before joining Congress in 2004, McMorris Rodgers served for a decades in the Washington state legislature, eventually becoming the first woman there to serve as minority leader.

NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: GARY COHN

Cohn, 56, president and chief operating officer of investment bank Goldman Sachs, had widely been considered heir apparent to Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of the Wall Street firm. Trump hammered Goldman and Blankfein during the presidential campaign, releasing a television ad that called Blankfein part of a "global power structure" that had robbed America's working class.

LABOR SECRETARY: ANDREW PUZDER

Puzder, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Inc , which runs the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast-food chains, has been a vociferous critic of government regulation of the workplace and the National Labor Relations Board. Puzder, 66, has argued that higher minimum wages would hurt workers by forcing restaurants to close, and praises the benefits of automation, so his appointment is likely to antagonize organized labor.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: MICHAEL FLYNN

Retired Lieutenant General Flynn, 57, was an early Trump supporter and serves as vice chairman on his transition team. He began his Army career in 1981 and was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Flynn became head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012 under President Barack Obama but retired a year earlier than expected, according to media reports, and became a fierce critic of Obama's foreign policy.

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR: LINDA MCMAHON

McMahon, 68, is a co-founder and former chief executive of the professional wrestling franchise WWE, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. She ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, and was an early supporter of Trump's presidential campaign.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: ELAINE CHAO

Chao, 63, was labor secretary under President George W. Bush for eight years and the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. She is a director at Ingersoll Rand, News Corp and Vulcan Materials Company. She is married to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky.

TREASURY SECRETARY: STEVEN MNUCHIN

Mnuchin, 53, is a successful private equity investor, hedge fund manager and Hollywood financier who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002. He assembled an investor group to buy a failed California mortgage lender in 2009, rebranded it as OneWest Bank and built it into Southern California's largest bank. Housing advocacy groups criticized the bank for its foreclosure practices, accusing it of being too quick to foreclose on struggling homeowners.

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: NIKKI HALEY

Haley, 44, has been the Republican governor of South Carolina since 2011 and has little experience in foreign policy or the federal government. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she led a successful push last year to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol after the killing of nine black churchgoers in Charleston by a white gunman.

WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: REINCE PRIEBUS

Recently re-elected to serve as Republican National Committee chairman, Priebus will give up his party post to join Trump in the White House, where the low-key Washington operative could help forge ties with Congress to advance Trump's agenda. The 44-year-old was a steadfast supporter of Trump during the presidential campaign even as the party fractured amid the choice.

CHIEF WHITE HOUSE STRATEGIST, SENIOR COUNSELOR: STEVE BANNON,

The former head of the conservative website Breitbart News came aboard as Trump's campaign chairman in August. A rabble-rousing conservative media figure, he helped shift Breitbart's into a forum for the alt-right, a loose confederation of those who reject mainstream politics and includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. His hiring signals Trump's dedication to operating outside the norms of Washington. As White House chief of staff, Bannon, 63, will serve as Trump's gatekeeper and agenda-setter.
European Commission hints at leeway on aid for Italy's banks

By Francesco Guarascio

STRASBOURG, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission is ready to discuss with Italy several options to address problems in its banking sector, the vice president of the EU executive said on Monday, signalling state support would be viewed benignly under EU fiscal rules.

The Italian government is considering different options to rescue Banca Monte Paschi di Siena if the bank fails to get the 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) from private investors it needs to stay in business, a Treasury source said on Monday.

"We are in close contact with the Italian authorities and we are ready to discuss different solutions within our legal framework," Valdis Dombrovskis told the economic committee of the European Parliament in a regular hearing in Strasbourg.

Without a direct reference to Monte Paschi, he said that Italy's problems can be tackled within EU rules on state aid and on the so-called bail-in, a system that imposes losses on private investors before a public bailout.

Italy's third-biggest bank is pressing ahead with a last-ditch attempt to raise the cash in the market despite political uncertainty after Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's resignation following a Dec. 4 constitutional referendum.

But the government did not rule out a possible public intervention if the plan failed.

That would come with losses for private creditors, although it is still unclear how many investors would be affected.

The Commission said in November that Italy's 2017 budget is at risk of breaching EU fiscal rules due to excessive spending. The possible state support for Monte Paschi has triggered further doubts about Italy's compliance with the rules.
Commentary: The lessons of Aleppo's long, pointless siege

By Peter Apps

Dec 12 (Reuters) - In its 7,000 years of existence, Aleppo has been fought over by Babylonians, Greeks and Romans. The modern battle for the ancient Syrian city, however, may yet be as significant for the future of the Middle East as those fought by the kingdoms and empires of the past.

The four-year battle for Aleppo now seems to be reaching its final stages. More than any other place, the city - one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the world - has been the epicenter of the Syria conflict.

In time, Syria may be seen to define the early 21st century the way the Spanish Civil War did the 1930s - a perfect storm of all the worst trends in global politics and conflict. If it is, then Aleppo will be its Guernica, the Spanish town carpet bombed by Nazi aircraft in 1937 in a savage precursor to the horrors of the coming World War Two.

As long as it held out, Aleppo made a mockery of President Bashar al Assad's ambition to once again be seen as ruler of everywhere important in Syria. Even now with Russian support, the Syrian government's attempts to seize it back have been largely unsuccessful. And in diverting its forces to the most recent Aleppo assault, Damascus left Palmyra too lightly defended and vulnerable to Islamic State, which recaptured the ancient city on Sunday.

Aleppo might always have been doomed. The victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election, however, appears to have settled the matter. Had Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton prevailed, those fighting to protect the last handful of rebel enclaves in the city might finally have seen Washington drawn into the fight, if only through enforcing a no-fly zone against Syrian and Russian aircraft.

That might have been dangerous for the rest of the world. But it would have offered at least a limited salvation for those still fighting in Aleppo.

Trump has signaled that he intends to take a very different approach, pledging to work with Moscow and prioritize the fight against Islamic State. European nations still want some kind of political transition deal to remove the Syrian leader - something Washington now seems much less likely to support.

The battle is not quite over. The failure of Assad's forces to take the sprawling city suggests they lack the combat power to do so. Russian and Syrian bombing may kill hundreds if not thousands of civilians, but the attacks will not in themselves bring victory to Damascus.

Nonetheless, it increasingly looks as though that relative lack of military strength will not matter. The opposition now knows it cannot win.

According to a Reuters exclusive report, U.S. and Russian officials have been brokering a deal to allow surviving rebel forces to escape the city. That isn't just the Syrian regime and its backers showing mercy - it is also them taking advantage of an offer that allows them to claim diplomatically a prize that might have required months or years to achieve through force of arms.

The end of the siege will be in some ways a humanitarian blessing, whoever might win. If fighting is over, supplies and medical services will likely get through to a suffering population. Targeting hospitals and blocking aid shipments has been a key part of the Syrian-Russian strategy. Once the city has been captured, restoring such services will likely be a part of reasserting authority.

The darker side of the fighting's end, however, is already also becoming clear, with reports of perhaps hundreds of fighting age men "disappeared" or killed after surrender. If the Assad government regains control over the rebel city, it will likely use brutal measures to reduce any prospect of further insurrection - especially if it feels neither the United States nor other major powers will take any action.

Any harsh response by Assad shouldn't be surprising. What has and will happen in Aleppo is little different to that in thousands of other sieges throughout history. But as it appears to be ending, it's worth examining why it took so long to reach this point.

The West's half-hearted approach to Syria's civil war - giving support to rebel forces, but never enough to beat the government or its Russian allies - has been an unmitigated failure. Perhaps the United States, the United Kingdom and others should share the guilt for the horror that has come with it.

The Syria conflict has always had many moving pieces. Even now, formulating policy is complicated by the myriad rival interests - Kurds, Arabs, Alawites, the competing concerns of half a dozen nations.

In the process, the wider political landscape of the Middle East has been redrawn. In the early days of the uprising, the Assad government was heavily reliant on Iran as its main ally, the opposition on rival Arab states. In the last two years, however, Russia has been calling the shots.

If Aleppo is to fall shortly, then much of the credit - if that is the right word - must go to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia has established a potential new role for itself, a source of military power for autocratic regimes the West might rather see gone. What we don't know is whether that will be a sign of things to come.

In Libya in 2011, the West looked at a similar situation - the looming fall of Benghazi to forces of Muammar Gaddafi - and launched itself into a military intervention that many policymakers now regret. In Aleppo, in contrast, Western governments never did more than dabble.

In some ways, that was inevitable. After the disasters of Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, the feeling in Washington and Europe was that there was little to gain and much to lose. With the migrant crisis, Europe in particular found itself paying a much higher price for the bloodshed in Syria than it ever anticipated - but that in itself did not appear to justify any intervention.

In Islamic State, the West was persuaded it had found an enemy it was necessary to fight - in part because it was indissolubly linked to the fight for the future of Iraq, a battle in which the United States and its allies at least largely knew which side they were on.

Syria - and Aleppo in particular - never had good options. As I've written before, it might just have been best never to have encouraged the opposition at all.
Some Bangladesh Bank officials involved in heist -investigator

By Ruma Paul

DHAKA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal $81 million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, a top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters on Monday.

The comments by Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh police's criminal investigation department, are the first sign that investigators have got a firm lead in one of the world's biggest cyber heists, which had prompted months of international finger-pointing. Arrests are soon likely, he said.

On Thursday, the head of a Bangladesh government panel that investigated the heist said five bank officials were guilty of negligence but that they were only unwitting accomplices.

Alam told Reuters his investigations had discovered that some bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the bank's connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

"Bangladesh Bank's SWIFT network was made insecure by some bank employees in connivance with some foreign people," he said. "They knew what they were doing."

He declined to name the suspects or say how many there were.

Alam said investigators were now trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. Asked if the officials would be arrested, he said: "We are very close to it."

The apparent momentum comes after months of trading blame among Bangladesh Bank, the New York Fed, SWIFT, and a Philippine lender that received much of the stolen funds before they disappeared. The heist prompted an international probe headed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Separately SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, told Reuters its messaging system has been targeted in a "meaningful" number of other attacks this year using a similar approach as the Bangladesh incident.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to comment on Alam's comments. A New York Fed spokeswoman also declined comment.

Another investigator in Dhaka, who declined to be named, said more than 100 Bangladesh Bank employees had been interviewed in connection with the heist, and some were barred from leaving the country.

In early February, the hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed.
China coal miners boost output, but consumption rises as winter nears

By Meng Meng and Josephine Mason

BEIJING, Dec 13 (Reuters) - China's coal miners ramped up output in November, but production was still down year-on-year and power consumption rose at its fastest pace in years, underlining the government's difficulties as it tries to avert a winter energy crisis.

The data was the strongest sign yet that miners are struggling to comply with government orders to crank out more thermal coal supplies for the power sector ahead of the busiest and coldest months of the year.

Production in November fell to 308.1 million tonnes, up 9 percent from October, but still down 5.1 percent from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics data showed.

The pace of output cuts year-on-year slowed compared with double-digit percentage drops since March and analysts expect data to register a rise in December, the first in at least 18 months, as fresh supplies hit the market.

But the data surprised some market followers after a senior industry executive on Monday said output had grown month-on-month and year-on-year and after a series of emergency measures by the government to boost output.

Mining executives say increasing capacity or reopening idled mines has been slow, particularly for smaller companies, as they have to rehire workers and refurbish equipment.

"Production is recovering very slowly towards the year-end," said a Shaanxi Yulin based coal executive, adding that it takes a long time to reopen a small mine.

Separate data on Tuesday showed monthly power consumption rose 9 percent in November on a year earlier, the fastest pace since February 2014.

The jump is partly due a vicious cold snap that gripped northern China early last month and better-than-expected manufacturing levels.

Still, the combined numbers illustrate the task facing Beijing as it scrambles to replenish supplies ahead of the cold winter months and quell a months-long rally in prices, which have doubled since May.

Some of the steps taken reversed major policies introduced earlier this year aimed at tackling a glut and cutting the world's top energy market's dependence on fossil fuels by closing mines and limiting the number of operating days.

POWER DRIVE

Forecasts of warmer-than-usual weather during the upcoming peak demand winter heating days may offer some relief to power companies, and the government.

Electricity producers have slowed their purchases this month suggesting greater comfort with inventories after scrambling to restock, analysts said.

Average stocks at the six largest utilities were 18.6 days by Dec. 9down 1.2 days from the same period last month, data collected by Fenwei Energy showed.

While on the surface falling inventories would be alarming, the Fenwei Energy analysts said in a note it suggests "downstream users are being cautious with purchases. The market has obviously cooled down."

China's year-to-date output was down 10 percent at 3.05 billion tonnes, putting it on track for lower annual production for a third year in a row as its effort to shift to cleaner, renewable fuels takes effect. The government has also closed illegal privately owned mines.

Output of coke, a key ingredient in steelmaking, rose by 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 38.8 million tonnes in November. For the year-to-date, output was down 0.2 percent at 410.53 million tonnes.
Romania - Factors to watch on Dec. 13

Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Tuesday.

ELECTION

Romania's Central Electoral Bureau is expected to release final results of Sunday's parliamentary election at 0800 GMT.

Partial results on Monday showed the leftist PSD party and its junior ally ALDE, on just under 6 percent, will command an outright majority after an election that underscores the growing divide between older voters tired of austerity and the mostly urban young, who are losing trust in the prospect for reforms.

INFLATION DATA

Romanian consumer prices fell a more than expected 0.7 percent on the year in November, compared with October's 0.4 percent fall, data from the National Statistics Board showed on Monday.

TRADE DATA

Romania's trade deficit widened by more than a fifth on the year in the first ten months to 7.9 billion euros ($8.35 billion), the National Statistics Board said on Monday.

ENERGY RESOURCES

Romania's energy production fell 8.1 percent on the year in January-October, and power exports fell by 19.3 percent, data from the National Statistics Board showed on Monday.

DEBT TENDER

Romania sold a less than planned 424.6 million lei ($100.00 million) worth of March 2021 treasury bonds on Monday, with the average accepted yield at 2.47 percent, central bank data showed.

CEE MARKETS

Romania's leu eased while other Central European currencies firmed on Monday while Bucharest stocks rose after the leftist Social Democrats (PSD) won a parliamentary election there on Sunday.

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Slovak Republic - Factors To Watch on Dec 13

BRATISLAVA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Tuesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Slovak Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA======================== Real-time economic data releases.................. Summary of economic data and forecasts......... Recently released economic data................ Previous stories on Slovak data.......... **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: http://emea1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/CountryWeb/#/1C/events-overview ========================EVENTS================================== BRATISLAVA - Slovak central bank Governor Jozef Makuch holds a news conference to update the quarterly macroeconomic forecast. Related stories: =========================NEWS================================== STATE DEBT: Slovakia sold 400 million euros ($423.84 million) worth of treasury bills SK6120000154= due on Nov 27, 2017 at an auction on Monday, the Finance Ministry's Debt and Liquidity Management Agency said. Story: Related stories: For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX Main currency report TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets News editor of the day: Jason Hovet on +420 224 190 476 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (Reporting by Prague Newsroom)
Russia's Putin says Western sanctions an obstacle to talks with Japan - media

TOKYO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Western sanctions imposed after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea are an obstacle to talks on a peace treaty with Japan, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A feud over four islands seized by Moscow at the end of World War Two but claimed by Japan has kept Tokyo and Moscow from formally signing a peace treaty ending the conflict.

Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet in Japan on Thursday and Friday to discuss economic cooperation and the decades-old territorial dispute.

In an interview with the newspaper, Putin said talks on the two larger islands would go beyond the scope of a 1956 joint declaration with Japan, in which the Soviet Union agreed to hand over two smaller isles after a peace treaty was signed.

Putin also said Russia was willing to discuss joint economic activity with Japan on disputed islands at the core of a decades old territorial feud, the newspaper said. But he said any such activity must be under Russian sovereignty, the paper added.

Putin also said Japan's proposal for economic cooperation in eight areas had helped the atmosphere for talks with Japan, the Yomiuri said.

Putin said Japan and Russia needed to agree on conditions for a peace treaty based on trust and large scale joint economic activities could help achieve that. But he questioned whether that was possible if Russia remained the target of Japanese sanctions, the Yomiuri said.

Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko on Monday ruled out any economic deals that would undermine Group of Seven (G7) unity on sanctions imposed after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014.
Turkey talking to Russia on ceasefire, evacuation from Syria's Aleppo

By Orhan Coskun and Humeyra Pamuk

ANKARA/ISTANBUL, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Turkey is negotiating with Russia to open a corridor to evacuate Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from the remaining opposition-held districts of Aleppo, but no agreement has yet been reached, a senior Turkish official said.

Rebel defences in Aleppo collapsed on Monday, leading to a broad advance by the Syrian army across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket in the city and a retreat of opposition fighters to a few districts.

"Efforts are still underway to open a corridor for the rebels and civilians in Aleppo, and evacuate them from the region. There has been no agreement on this issue yet," the Turkish official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Turkish and Russian officials are expected to meet in Turkey tomorrow and evaluate the situation. The meeting will put the issue of opening a corridor, as well as a ceasefire, on the table," the official said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said a ceasefire was needed to allow civilians to be evacuated and Ankara would intensify talks in coming days with Russia and other countries, although he said they were already in constant contact.

"We're seeing the most cruel form of savagery in Aleppo, and the regime and its supporters are responsible for this. The wounded are not being let out and people are dying of starvation," he told a news conference in Ankara.

"However, we will continue our efforts. Even if everyone remains silent, we will not be silenced...We always come up with concrete proposals, but we saw that many countries were not sincere," Cavusoglu said.

A fighter with an opposition group inside Aleppo confirmed that there were talks between Russia and Turkey but had little hope they would succeed.

"They are talking and they are failing because Russia is not really offering anything," he said from inside Syria by phone.

An official from the rebel Turkmen Sultan Murad brigade said there was little incentive for them to accept anything that had been discussed so far.

"They keep coming back with the same unacceptable demands and present it as an offer. These are not real offers," said the official, based in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

Rebel factions did not want to leave Aleppo, he said.
Philippines' Duterte says he suffers from back pains, migraine

MANILA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte suffers from back pains and migraine headaches, he has said in comments about his health, but a spokesman was quick to dismiss the ailments as not being serious.

Duterte also said he suffered from Buerger's disease, a cause of blockages in the blood vessels, associated with smoking during his youth. He no longer smokes and drinks.

The 71 year-old leader, the oldest to be elected president in the Philippines since the post-war period, said he did not fear being removed from power, or assassinated, because of opposition to the rising death toll in his anti-drugs campaign.

Since July 1, about 5,000 people have died in Duterte's war on drugs, a key plank of his May election campaign. Police say 2,004 have been killed by officers in self-defence, with another 3,060 killings "under investigation".

"Oust me, good, assassinate me, better, I have this migraine everyday," he told a meeting of business leaders late on Monday.

"I have a lot of issues with my spine. What I have is really Buerger's disease. It's an acquired thing that you get from smoking, because of nicotine."

Doctors had advised surgery on his spine, he said, but his wife, a nurse who used to work in the United States, did not agree because "a lot of operations for the spine went wrong".

He added, "If you guys see me always in a sad mood, I am actually pushing a nerve here to relieve the pain," and touched the right side of his face.

The health issues have not affected Dueterte's work, however, said presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella. "Nothing serious," he told reporters, when asked to comment on Duterte's remarks.

But Duterte missed some events during meetings of the ASEAN grouping of South East Asian nations in Laos in September and last month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, due to migraine attacks and a bad stomach.

Duterte on Tuesday announced the distribution of 2 billion pesos ($40 million) worth of medicines to poor families plagued by illness, and to drug dependent individuals at rehabilitation centres.
De Beers diamond sales tempered by India's cash crackdown

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Anglo American's latest De Beers diamond sale showed that demand had slowed after India's withdrawal of high-value banknotes, though it was higher than during the commodities slump of a year ago, the company said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to scrap old 500 rupee ($7.40) and 1,000 rupee banknotes as part of a crackdown on tax evasion and counterfeiters has dented consumer spending in a country where most people are paid in cash and buy what they need with cash.

Anglo American said that rough diamond sales for De Beers' final sale of the year amounted to $418 million, compared with $476 million for the previous sales cycle this year.

The last sale of 2015 brought in $248 million.

"While the trade in lower-value rough diamonds is experiencing a temporary slowdown as a result of the demonetisation programme in India, demand across the rest of the product mix continued to be healthy," De Beers' CEO Bruce Cleaver said.

He had previously said that the second half of the year would be tougher after a recovery in the first six months as jewellers restocked following Christmas sales.

Anglo American has put its De Beers diamond business at the centre of its strategy of focusing more sharply on high-value commodities, rather than bulk assets.

India is the third-biggest diamond jewellery market behind the United States and China, accounting for about 8 percent of global demand.

Typically, Indians purchase jewellery in cash and many do not have credit cards. In addition to withdrawing high-value notes from circulation, the government has also capped daily withdawals from cash machines at 2,000 rupees.

London-listed Gemfields said at the start of December that it was postponing the auction of predominantly higher-quality emeralds from its Kagem mine in Zambia to February because of the banknote crackdown and accompanying hit to consumer spending. ($1 = 67.4800 Indian rupees)
Burundi opposition reject mediator days after his arrival

NAIROBI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Burundi opposition groups demanded an international mediator resign just days after he arrived, casting a shadow over already troubled efforts to resolve months of political violence.

Mediator Benjamin Mkapa flew in on Friday at the head of an African peace mission, then gave a speech at the airport that anti-government groups said appeared to recognise the legitimacy of Burundi's leader - the issue at the heart of the conflict.

The main opposition grouping CNARED released a letter dated Monday telling Mkapa, a former president of Tanzania, to go.

"The CNARED does not recognize you as facilitator in inter-Burundian conflicts any more," it said. Mkapa, who is representing the East Africa Community bloc, was not immediately available for comment.

Burundi has been mired in political crisis and sporadic violence for almost two years, triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term in office, which he secured in a disputed election in July 2015.

Opponents accuse the president of violating the constitution and a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005. The government accuses opponents of fomenting unrest and backing rebel groups.

The violence has alarmed a region where memories of the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda remain raw. Like Rwanda, Burundi has an ethnic Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority.

Mkapa told reporters at the airport that his priority was to ensure that the next presidential election in 2020 was free and fair.
Senate fight looms after Trump taps Exxon CEO as top U.S. diplomat

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump named the head of Exxon Mobil Corp, Rex Tillerson, as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and won backing from some Republican foreign policy figures ahead of a possible Senate fight over the oilman's ties to Russia.

The Exxon chief executive potentially faces difficulties getting confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Some lawmakers worry about his links to Moscow and opposition to U.S. sanctions on Russia, which awarded him a friendship medal in 2013.

But several Republican establishment figures, including former Secretaries of State James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates vouched for Tillerson, 64, who has spent more than 40 years at the oil company.

Rice and Gates, who have worked for Exxon as consultants, both issued statements of support on Tuesday.

Their backing could be crucial for Tillerson receiving the approval he needs in the Senate, where Republicans will have a slim majority when Trump takes office on Jan 20.

"The fact that Condi Rice, James Baker and Bob Gates are recommending Tillerson carries considerable weight," said Republican Senator Jeff Flake, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

By choosing Tillerson, Trump adds another person to his Cabinet and circle of advisers who may favor a soft line toward Moscow, which is under U.S. sanctions for its 2014 annexation of Crimea and at the center of allegations that it launched cyber attacks to disrupt the U.S. presidential election.

Republican foreign policy hawks in the Senate like John McCain and Lindsey Graham are likely to give Tillerson a rough time at a confirmation hearing in early January.

"It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin," said McCain, the Republican party's 2008 nominee for president.

Republicans will have a majority of just 52-48 in the Senate, and only a few defections from their ranks would block Tillerson if every Democrat also opposed him.

'FIERCE ADVOCATE'

Trump, on a victory tour of states that backed him in the November election, told supporters in West Allis, Wisconsin, that Tillerson "will be a fierce advocate for American interests around the world." He called him "a strong man, a tough man."

Trump upset U.S. allies during his campaign by calling for a better relationship with Russia and questioning the usefulness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the U.S.-led military bloc created after World War Two to counter the Soviet Union.

Trump has also pledged to confront China on trade and territorial issues and temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, angering many Islamic countries.

Tillerson has foreign experience from years of cutting deals with foreign countries for his company, the world's largest energy firm. In 2012, Tillerson signed a deal with Russian state oil giant Rosneft to jointly develop oil fields in western Siberia.

He has been chief executive of Exxon Mobil since 2006 but like Trump he has never held public office.

Tillerson said in a statement that he shared the president-elect's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States."

Exxon Mobil said its board would meet soon regarding its transition.

Trump was also poised to add another figure with close ties to the oil industry to his Cabinet.

A source close to the transition said Trump had chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry, whose state is a leading oil producer, as his nominee for energy secretary, with an announcement expected soon.

Perry met Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, part of a series of meetings that included rapper Kanye West on Tuesday.

Trump also has offered the position of interior secretary to Montana first-term Representative Ryan Zinke, an ex-Navy SEAL commander who was an early Trump supporter, according to media reports.

Trump appointed Stephen Miller, a top policy aide during the campaign, to be his senior adviser for policy. Miller had been an adviser to U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whom Trump has nominated to be attorney general.

In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honor, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."

There also has been controversy over alleged Russian interference in the Nov. 8 presidential election, with the CIA concluding that Moscow had intervened to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Tillerson's "cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department," Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump and Tillerson were "pragmatic people" who could help America and Russia build a mutually beneficial relationship.

A group of U.S. state attorneys general is investigating Exxon for allegedly misleading the public about climate change and some environmental groups are alarmed Exxon's CEO could be America's top diplomat.

Exxon has said it has acknowledged the reality of climate change for years. Tillerson told a congressional hearing in 2010 he thought humanity contributed to climate change but the science was unclear about the size of the contribution. "It is extremely complicated," he told the hearing.

After Trump's election, Exxon came out in support of the Paris Climate Agreement to combat climate change.

There also are concerns among lawmakers about former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who an adviser to Trump's transition team said was still under consideration for the deputy secretary of state role.

Bolton has urged Washington to do more to counter China's assertiveness in East Asia.
EU Parliament's Brexit negotiator warns against return to violence in Northern Ireland

STRASBOURG, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The European Parliament's negotiator on Britain's divorce from the European Union warned on Tuesday against the risks of a return to violence in Northern Ireland because of Brexit.

"The worst thing that can happen is that we return to violence because of this," Guy Verhofstadt told a news conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The former Belgian prime minister said a new hard border between the Republic of Ireland, which is staying in the EU, and the British province of Northern Ireland would be "politically a big problem and economically a disaster."

Britain and Ireland, which broke away from British rule in 1922, both joined the EU in 1973, ensuring that the openness of their border remained, even during years of violence in the province involving groups favouring rule from either London or Dublin.

However, Brexit will transform the line across the island into the only land frontier between the European Union and Britain, raising the possibility of customs and other controls.

Verhofstadt said he had met representatives of Northern Ireland and cautioned EU and British negotiators to tread carefully on the issue.

The EU chief negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier, said last week he would do all he could to avoid upsetting the peace in Northern Ireland.
Sino-American relations will be of utmost significance during the forthcoming administration of Donald Trump. In this regard, the role of specific persons such as the U.S. ambassador to China can be certainly auxiliary towards an allegedly new course in the bilateral relationship.

If there is a common element in the analysis of Trump's perspective policies, it is the unknown consistency between past words and future deeds. This is obviously the case with his theoretical strategy vis-a-vis China. Undoubtedly, a good understanding between the new U.S. administration and Beijing is a sine qua non parameter for the beginning of a relatively good chapter in their relations from January 20 onwards.

Trump has already made his decision about the new U.S. ambassador to China. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will succeed Max Sieben Baucus who was Barack Obama's nomination in February 2014. Trump is relying on Branstad's qualifications and experience in government. More importantly, he values the personal relationship between his new ambassador and Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping. Trump was quoted by the New York Times as saying that Branstad "knows them all."

A lawyer by training, Branstad started his political career in Iowa in 1972 and was its longest serving governor from 1983 to 1999. After working for some years as President of Des Moines University, he returned to Iowa politics in 2009. He managed to be re-elected as governor one year later and also in 2014.

Xi Jinping met him for the first time in 1985, when a Chinese delegation visited Iowa to study agricultural practices. Twenty-six years later, in 2011, Branstad travelled to China and met with Xi  then Vice President of the country. The year after, Xi went for a second time to Iowa. The visit aimed at boosting trade cooperation but also reflected some nostalgia and emotionalism. Meetings between the two have also taken place during Xi's presidency. In September 2015, for instance, they met on the occasion of the Third Annual U.S.-China Governors Forum and Dialogue. At that time, Branstad stressed the "long lasting friendship [of Iowa with its] sister state Hebei and with President Xi."

The initial climate after the announcement of Branstad's new position has been promising. In particular, he portrays Xi an "old friend." And the spokesman of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lu Kang, regards him an "old friend of the Chinese people" and possibly expects a greater role from him in advancing Sino-American relations.

Another important element following Branstad's appointment has been the reaction within American politics. In a period during which Trump has largely divided the domestic political spectrum, Branstad remains a respectable figure even among Democrats. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praises his attitude for being "tenacious." Additionally, former Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats believes the nomination is "a good pick" because "it creates a personal relationship that is very hard to replicate."

Branstad's new job will be particularly hard. This is because the 45th U.S. president has been vocal against China in economic and trade affairs. Theoretically, an ambassador has little room for personal diplomacy when government lines are strict. However, Trump's policies have not been specified yet. This will possibly give Branstad an opportunity to discuss with Trump the negative effects that a "trade war" with China might entail. The governor of Iowa and future ambassador very well knows the significance of bilateral trade. His state has been shipping agricultural products such as soy to China for years. Furthermore, he was the pioneer for the signing of several commercial accords between companies in the two countries. In September 2015, for example, more than 12 contracts for soybeans and health products were signed.

Experience from recent history suggests that U.S. presidents, who are not experts in foreign policy, are largely influenced by their advisors. This said, Branstad' mission might go beyond that of a typical ambassador serving in a foreign country. Above all, Trump himself seems determined to trust some key positions to experienced politicians irrespective of his continuously eccentric public comments.

George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Italy convicts Tunisian over sinking that killed almost 700 migrants

CATANIA, Sicily, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A Tunisian man accused of captaining a migrant boat that sank in 2015 killing almost 700 people was found guilty of multiple manslaughter on Tuesday by an Italian court and sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Mohammed Ali Malek, 28, had denied being the boat's captain, saying he had paid for passage like everyone else on the small wooden fishing vessel that capsized in April 2015 off the coast of Libya, trapping hundreds of people in the ship's hull.

The court in the Sicilian city of Catania also sentenced 26-year-old Syrian Mahmud Bikhit to five years in prison. Survivors said Bikhit was Malek's cabin boy. He had denied any wrongdoing.

Both men were handed fines of nine million euros ($9.5 million) each.
Philippines bank says no role in heist, Bangladesh Bank responsible

Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Philippines bank through which $81 million stolen from Bangladesh's central bank was channeled in February said on Tuesday that the central bank was responsible for the heist, and so any liability should not be passed on.

Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) was responding to comments by a Bangladeshi investigator that some Bangladesh Bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal the money from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Bangladesh Bank had been demanding that RCBC compensate it for the loss, blaming it for ignoring red flags.

RCBC said it did nothing wrong.

"The statement of the Bangladesh investigator indicating acts of criminal negligence on the part of certain Bangladesh Bank officials validates what RCBC had been saying all along, and that is that Bangladesh Bank's own acts are the cause of its own loss," RCBC's lawyer Thea Daep told Reuters.

"They cannot pass on liability to RCBC that had nothing to do with the theft of the funds."

Daep said RCBC would study legal options to see if Bangladesh Bank can be sued in court for making the accusations.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha could not be reached for comment on a public holiday.

Senior Bangladesh police officer Mohammad Shah Alam, who is leading Bangladesh's investigation into one of the world's biggest cyber heists, told Reuters on Monday some central bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the bank's connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

They had worked with some foreigners, Alam said, without giving details.

Alam said investigators were trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. He said arrests were likely soon.

In early February, the unidentified hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed.

Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed, but, after a series of oversights and miscommunications, the New York Fed ultimately sent $81 million to four fake accounts in a branch of RCBC.

Most of the funds then disappeared into Manila's loosely regulated casino industry.
Italy convicts Tunisian over sinking that killed almost 700 migrants

By Antonio Parrinello

CATANIA, Sicily, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A Tunisian man accused of being the captain of a migrant boat that sank killing almost 700 people was found guilty of multiple manslaughter and people-smuggling on Tuesday and sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Only 28 people survived the disaster in April last year, when the small fishing boat capsized off the coast of Libya, with hundreds trapped in the hold.

Mohammed Ali Malek, 28, was one of those rescued and denied being the captain, saying he had paid for passage like everyone else, but a court in the city of Catania dismissed his defence.

The court also sentenced 26-year-old Syrian Mahmud Bikhit to five years in prison on charges of people-smuggling. Survivors said Bikhit had been Malek's cabin boy. He had denied any wrongdoing.

Both men were also handed fines of nine million euros ($9.5 million). Their lawyers said they would appeal the convictions.

"We think we have some strong arguments and we will try and work on some of the weaker points of our defence," said Massimo Ferrante, representing Malek.

Outrage over the incident prompted European Union leaders to bolster its own search-and-rescue mission in the Mediterranean days after the boat went down.

In the past three years, roughly half a million boat migrants have arrived on Italian shores and almost 12,000 have died in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Prosecutors had told the court that Malek mishandled the grossly overloaded fishing boat, which left from Darabli, Libya, carrying men, women and children from Algeria, Somalia, Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, Mali, Bangladesh and Ghana.

They say he caused the vessel to collide with a Portuguese merchant ship that was coming to its aid.

As passengers rushed away from the side of the boat which had struck the ship, it capsized and sank within minutes.

State prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro said in a statement that the case showed Italy had the right to press smuggling charges over incidents in international waters.

The Italian justice system got involved this time because the survivors were brought to Italy. Italy's navy raised the boat in June and 675 bodies were recovered.
Soaring number of children in UK seeking help over gender identity - charity

By Emma Batha

LONDON, Dec 13 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The number of children in Britain contacting a helpline with concerns about their gender identity has more than doubled this year with some as young as 11 telling counsellors they feel "trapped in the wrong body", a charity said on Tuesday.

Childline, a service run by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), said it held a record 2,796 counselling sessions about gender identity and gender dysphoria in 2015/16 - equivalent to nearly eight a day.

Gender dysphoria is a mental health condition in which a person feels their identity does not match their physical body.

The charity could not explain the rise in requests for help - mainly from children aged between 12 and 15.

Many had suicidal thoughts, harmed themselves or experienced mental health issues stemming from abuse, bullying and lack of support, the charity said.

"When a child is made to feel ashamed about who they are, it can trigger serious mental health issues and crippling shame," the charity's CEO Peter Wanless said in a statement.

The increase reflects a spike in referrals to Britain's only gender identity service for children, which more than doubled to 1,419 in 2015/16 compared with the year before.

Yet the growing number of British children coming out as transgender has fueled fears among activists and experts that children may be simply labeled as transgender when they could be gay, lesbian or curious about exploring their gender.

Last year the British government said surveys showed nearly half of young transgender people attempted suicide.

Many of the children contacting Childline said the abuse they received had left them feeling desperate.

"People shout at me every day and call me stupid and ugly," one 15-year-old transgender girl told the NSPCC. "I can't cope anymore and I wish I could escape from everything."

A 13-year-old transgender boy told the NSPCC he was being bullied on his social network account.

"They constantly send me hateful messages and tell me to kill myself. I have tried blocking them but they make new accounts so I just can't escape it."
Saudi Arabia engineers big shift in oil market sentiment: Kemp

By John Kemp

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has transformed sentiment in the oil market by assembling an unprecedented coalition of oil producing countries to agree output cuts in 2017.

Saudi officials have obtained pledges from OPEC members to cut production by almost 1.2 million barrels per day and from non-OPEC members by an extra 560,000 bpd during the first half of 2017.

In the process, Saudi negotiators wrong-footed many hedge fund managers, who had established large short positions in futures and options last month expecting there would be no deal or only a very weak one.

Hedge fund managers increased their short positions in the three main crude futures and options contracts by more than 200 million barrels between Oct. 18 and Nov. 22 amid scepticism about any deal.

But as negotiators narrowed their differences and then announced a deal among OPEC members nearly all those positions were closed: shorts were reduced by 174 million barrels in just two weeks between Nov. 22 and Dec. 6.

Saudi Arabia thus executed a successful short squeeze (whether that was the intention or not) and forced crude prices higher as bearish fund managers were forced to buy back their loss-making short positions.

Hedge funds in turn fuelled the rally by opening an extra 154 million barrels of crude long positions over the last four weeks, including 94 million barrels opened the week after the OPEC deal was announced.

The hedge fund community has therefore pivoted from a relatively bearish position on Nov. 15 (when funds held a net long position of just 422 million barrels) to a bullish one on Dec. 6 (with a record net long position of 895 million barrels).

Brent prices have been jolted up from less than $45 per barrel in mid-November to over $55 in recent trading.

And Brent time spreads, seen as an indication of the expected supply-demand balance, have strengthened, though most of the tightening has come after the first half of 2017.

SUCCESSFUL DEAL?

The abrupt shift in sentiment has led many analysts to conclude OPEC has returned to its former role as an active market manager after a number of years as a passive onlooker.

OPEC's return may be overstated. As in the past, the key role has been played by Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with its close allies, with Riyadh persuading other producers to lend symbolic support.

Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia has succeeded in banishing the bearishness that haunted the oil market over the last six months and converting most hedge fund managers into oil bulls.

The resulting increase in prices will make all OPEC and non-OPEC producers better off and helps vindicate the deal.

Oil exporters are less likely to cheat if the deal delivers the promised significant improvement in revenues, at least at first.

All the components for a successful deal to restrict oil output, cut excessive stockpiles, and drive crude prices higher have fallen into place.

Market conditions and price movements resemble those during previous successful deals in 1999/2000 and 2008/09.

The International Energy Agency assesses the OPEC and non-OPEC agreements could move the crude market into a deficit of 0.6 million bpd during the first half of 2017, if they are implemented fully.

Full compliance is unlikely. Energy professionals expect OPEC countries to achieve only around half of the promised cuts. But the assessment gives some indication of how much non-compliance could be tolerated before the deal unravels.

The challenge for the Saudis now is to keep the hedge fund managers on side to avert a sell off that could push prices lower again.

Many funds appear to follow momentum-based strategies (buying when prices are rising and selling when they are falling).

So the very large concentration of hedge fund long positions has created significant downside price risk if prices stop rising and start to pull back.

To keep the funds bullish, the Saudis need to turn the OPEC and non-OPEC agreements into a evidence of a real reduction in crude supplies and a drawdown in stocks.

Saudi Arabia and a number of other exporting countries have already begun to notify refiners shipments will be cut in January, with news leaked to the media.

Since stockpiles are most transparent and reported with the highest frequency in the United States, it would make sense to engineer a reduction in shipments to the United States and try to cut stocks on U.S. territory.

Nothing succeeds like success. Saudi Arabia needs clear evidence the deal is working to keep the hedge funds long and prices high, which in turn will encourage compliance with the deal, at least in the early stages.

The biggest risks come from non-compliance by OPEC members or Russia; a sharp rise in shale output; rising production from uncapped producers Libya and Nigeria; a drop in oil demand; or a fall in crude prices themselves.

If oil prices start falling, many hedge funds with long positions may be tempted to reduce them and take some profits.

The risks from all these sources are considerable and are likely to increase over time; any one of them could cause the OPEC and non-OPEC agreement to unravel if the gains from cooperation start to fade.

For now, however, Saudi Arabia has intervened successfully to shift sentiment and been rewarded with a price improvement of more than 20 percent.
Syrian rebels say Aleppo truce deal struck, to take effect shortly

BEIRUT, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said a ceasefire with government forces in Aleppo, agreed after talks between insurgents and Damascus's ally Russia, was to begin late on Tuesday and would include the evacuation of combatants and civilians.

The deal, acknowledged by Russia and Syria, signals Damascus's biggest victory over insurgents fighting to unseat President Bashar al-Assad in nearly six years of civil war, driving them from their last major urban stronghold.

A rebel official told Reuters that Moscow and insurgent factions agreed in their talks to a halt to air strikes, which he said took effect early on Tuesday.

"There was negotiation with the Russians last night ... the first thing (agreed) was that (aerial) bombardments should stop today, so today the bombardment stopped in the morning, but clashes continued," Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group said.

"There's (currently) a cessation of bombardments. Now ... a ceasefire is being discussed, so tonight ... a ceasefire should happen."

He said Russia, Turkey, which supports rebels, the United Nations and insurgent groups were involved in negotiations.

A second rebel official, from the Jabha Shamiya group, said the first group of people were due to leave the remaining eastern, rebel-held pockets of Aleppo in the coming hours.

The official said the wounded would probably leave first, and that the majority of the estimated 50,000 people still in eastern Aleppo would also depart.

A Syrian military source said the evacuation of fighters for the rebel-controlled western Aleppo countryside would start at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Wednesday. The source said fighters' families would also leave, but did not mention other civilian evacuations.
Top Saudi religious body condemns "criminal massacres" in Aleppo

DUBAI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's top religious body on Tuesday condemned what it said were "criminal massacres" by the Syrian government against civilians in Aleppo and called on the Islamic world to help save fellow Muslims.

The appeal came after the United Nations said it had reports that Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters had summarily shot dead 82 civilians in recaptured Aleppo districts, and a military source said the last rebel pocket could fall "at any moment".

"The criminal Syrian regime has committed the ugliest crimes in a way unknown in modern history, where the bodies of the dead fill the streets and under the rubble of destroyed buildings," the secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

"The savage bombardment harvests lives everywhere, including in hospitals and houses of worship, while the international community is helpless or ineffective to take any decision to deter this criminal machine," it added.

Western-allied Saudi Arabia, along with Qatar, has been among the main supporters of rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Sunni-led Saudi Arabia accuses its arch-enemy, Shi'ite Iran, of trying to extend its influence in Arab lands, including Syria.

SPA said the secretariat appealed to the Muslim world "to rise in support of its causes and stand with all its energy for its rights".
Meet Waymo, Google's self-driving car company

By Alexandria Sage

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google self-driving car project recast itself as Waymo on Tuesday, an independent entity within the technology giant, as executives suggested the company is close to bringing its autonomous driving to the public.

Although no deals were announced, the move signals a desire to finally monetize the company's valuable research amid fierce competition from a score of rivals all vying to be the first to launch production-ready self-driving cars.

Google's high-profile program, now in its seventh year, has been at the forefront of self-driving technology, but is now challenged by companies from Uber Technologies Inc to Apple Inc and traditional car companies in the fast-growing industry.

"It's an indication of the maturity of our technology," John Krafcik, Waymo's chief executive, told reporters at a press conference in San Francisco. "We can imagine our self-driving tech being used in all sorts of areas."

The move shows "confidence that we are close to bringing this (technology) to a lot of people," Krafcik said. "We've sort of reached an inflection point."

That came in October 2015, when one of the company's self-driving cars gave the first fully autonomous ride in Austin, Texas, to a blind man with no one else in the car. Normally during testing, an engineer sits in the passenger seat to monitor the technology.

Until now, the program has been part of secretive research unit Google X. Waymo stands for "A new way forward in mobility," according to Krafcik.

Waymo would reveal when the technology will be production-ready "soon", he said.

Krafcik reiterated that Waymo has no interest in producing self-driving cars, but rather in developing the technology to drive them. Possible applications would be in ride-sharing, transportation, trucking, logistics, and personal use vehicles, he said.

Fiat Chrysler, Google's first partner, teamed up with the tech company in May to work together to integrate Google's self-driving system into 100 of the carmaker's minivans.

Google's goal to perfect an autonomous vehicle that requires zero human intervention stands in contrast to that of some other automakers developing partial autonomy, which requires some driver supervision. Google's self-driving cars have driven over 2 million miles and testing now focuses on the trickiest scenarios faced by cars on surface streets.

Google has expanded its program over the past year, hiring more engineers while doubling its testing centers from two U.S. cities to four.

Although there have been some significant departures over the past year - Chief Technical Officer Chris Urmson left in August after leading the project from its inception - some new hires have pointed to the program's readiness to move past its experimental stage.
Aleppo military operation to end within hours -Russian U.N. envoy

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the Security Council on Tuesday that the Russian-backed Syrian Army's military operation in Aleppo would end "in the next few hours."

"All militants, together with members of their family and the injured, currently are going through agreed corridors in directions that they have chosen themselves voluntarily," Churkin said.
Western governments call for investigation of Afghan vice president

By Mirwais Harooni

KABUL, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum came under international pressure on Tuesday after a political rival accused the former warlord of beating, abducting and sexually assaulting him.

Dostum, a former warring faction commander with a fearsome reputation and a lingering power base in northern Afghanistan, was witnessed by hundreds of people, according to The New York Times, beating and then ordering his men to detain Ahmad Ishchi at a public sporting event in late November.

Dostum's office denied the allegations, saying Ishchi had been detained by security forces and that the allegations were part of a plot to undermine the vice president.

"He (Ishchi) was detained by Afghan security forces for allegations of funding the opposition and having a hand in repeated security issues," a spokesperson said in a statement. "For some time there has been a destructive movement by some unknown circles against the First Vice President."

The allegationsreports spurred calls on Tuesday from Afghanistan's Western allies for a full government investigation.

While imprisoned by Dostum's men, Ishchi says he was repeatedly beaten, including by rifles, and assaulted.

"After beating me four times in the basement, he (Dostum) ordered his men to lay me on the ground," Ishchi told Reuters in an interview in Kabul.

"He told his men to let him me first then he ordered his commander to me with nine other bodyguards. He told him to me until the ground is covered with blood."

According to Ishchi, Dostum pantomimed sexual acts on him while a guard took photos.

After being held by men loyal to Dostum for five days, Ishchi said he remained for another 10 days with security forces who provided medical aid.

On Tuesday, as word of Ishchi's release came, delegations from the United States, Britain, European Union, and other governments called for a thorough investigation of the allegations.

"The unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr Ishchi by the First Vice President raises serious concerns," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

"We would welcome the Afghan government's move to swiftly investigate these allegations."

The E.U., along with Australia, Canada, and Norway, also called for a "fair and transparent official investigation" into the reports of "gross human rights violations and abuses".

Dostum joined Afghanistan's National Unity Government in 2014 in a bid by President Ashraf Ghani to attract the support of his mostly ethnic Uzbek constituency, but allegations of past human rights violations have been a source of controversy.

Ghani's office said it would "fully investigate" the claims.

"For the Afghan government, nobody is above the law," said palace spokesman Haroon Chakhansori. "Rule of law and accountability begins in the government itself and we are committed to it."

Warring factions brought bloody chaos to Afghanistan after they forced the withdrawal of Soviet occupying forces in 1989. In the 1990s, many Afghans initially welcomed the rise of the Taliban who defeated and largely banished the "warlord" factions.

But some old faction commanders have made a comeback to positions of influence since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, to the dismay of many ordinary Afghans.

Ishchi was once a member of the same political faction as Dostum, but became a critic of the former warlord.
 Flash

A total of 91,404 men, women, and children have fled the Iraqi city of Mosul since military operations to reclaim one of the Islamic State (IS)'s last strongholds began in October, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday.

Up from 81,108 a week ago, the latest figures from the organization revealed that over 15,200 families have been forced to flee their homes as a result of ongoing fighting in the northern city.

According to statistics, 76 percent of those displaced by military operations are living in formal camps.

A further 14 percent have taken shelter in private settings, while seven percent are at emergency sites, two percent in critical shelter arrangements, and one percent in screening areas.

Supported by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi troops kicked off operations on Oct. 17 to recapture the city which fell into IS hands in June 2014 after government forces fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.

International aircraft as well as Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition artillery units are supporting ground operations there.

According to reports, more than 5,000 IS militants were initially holed up in Mosul.
No deal reached to end Gambia crisis, Liberia's president says

BANJUL, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is heading a mediation delegation to Gambia on behalf of West Africa's ECOWAS bloc, said no deal had been reached on Tuesday to end a deepening political crisis.
Australia's A$2.1 trillion pension funds work to cut out the middleman

By Cecile Lefort

SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Australian pension funds are luring dozens of portfolio managers to work in-house to boost returns in a cut-throat investment environment, a move that could see external fund managers lose A$230 million ($172 million) in annual fees.

Two of Australia's largest pension funds, AustralianSuper and Cbus, intend to manage in-house at least 20 percent of their combined A$140 billion in assets within the next decade.

Both plan to hire in-house investment managers to run their equities, fixed income, infrastructure and property portfolios, rather than relying entirely on external experts.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we had (a team of) 60 over the next few years," said Kristian Fok, CBus's executive manager in investment strategy, which has already doubled the membership of its in-house funds management team to 29.

Around a third of the workforce of AustralianSuper, the nation's largest pension fund with A$105 billion of assets, are in-house investment managers.

Veteran professionals from banks, asset consulting companies and fund managers, have already taken the big leap. George Batsakis, formerly of Goldman Sachs, joined AustralianSuper, while debt portfolio manager Linda Cunningham started with Cbus earlier this year from external asset manager IFM Investors.

Though fund management fees are low by international standards at around 0.78 percent, Australian pension funds are keen to reduce them even further. To do that they are wagering on their market power as Australia's current A$2.1 trillion ($1.57 trillion) pool of retirement savings is set to reach an astronomical A$10 trillion by 2035, according to Deloitte.

Australia's tax-advantaged retirement savings are larger than the country's economy and are the fifth largest such pool after those of the U.S., UK, Japan and Canada.

AustralianSuper estimates that the internalisation model will bring a cost reduction of A$150 million by 2018, a saving it said will be passed to members.

But critics say the amount is vastly exaggerated.

"We are talking about a handful of basis points in savings across a fund, it's not huge," said Geoff Warren, research director at industry body Centre for International Regulation (CIR).

Skeptics also cited onerous risk and compliance systems which, combined with staff retention incentives, will dent the expected net returns.

A rush for high profile hires in Canada, one of the early adopters of internalisation, led to vastly inflated salaries and made its funds the world's most generous in terms of compensation.

It outraged members who saw their earnings eroded, and undermined pension funds' credibility when fighting excessive pay at the companies in which they invested.

Australian in-house adopters, though, say they've learned lessons from the fallout in Canada and won't be matching for-profit sector salaries and bonuses.

But critics argue that they won't be able to attract the top talent needed to make the switch a success without paying the market price.

That's one reason pension fund Hostplus, which manages A$22 billion of assets, is not convinced of the benefit of in-house management on a net return basis.

"(External) star investment managers have been able to outperform their peer groups over a sustained long period of time," said Hostplus Chief Executive David Elia. "It's incredibly difficult to in-source this type of talent because we simply don't have the capacity to pay."

It is too early to tell whether in-house management can deliver higher net returns to members said George Boubouras, chief investment officer at Contango Asset Management.

That verdict would be known in three to four years, he said. Until then the pressure is on asset managers to lower their fees.

"Fund managers have had it too good for way too long," said Hostplus CEO Elia. "They need to be prepared to cut their fees or they will force us to internalise."

Such a cut-throat environment could force mergers or even closures at Australian external fund managers.
Islamic State claims Cairo cathedral bombing - group's Amaq news agency

CAIRO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a suicide bombing at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral and threatened more attacks against Christians.

The militant group said in a statement that a suicide bomber whom it identified as Abu Abdallah al-Masri had detonated his explosive belt inside the church.

"Every infidel and apostate in Egypt and everywhere should know that our war ... continues," the group said in the statement, published by its Amaq news agency.

The name it gave for the suicide bomber differed from that announced by Egyptian authorities on Monday - Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa. It gave no explanation.
Democrats could do business with Trump on these five issues

By Josh Cohen

Dec 13 (Reuters) - After Donald Trump's stunning election victory, Democratic legislators now face a fork in the road: cooperate with Trump or oppose him at every turn.

Given the tenor of the Trump campaign - including its attacks on Latinos, Muslims and other minorities - it's understandable that many Democrats feel the urge to dig in their heels. But many of Trump's campaign promises actually represent long-time Democratic priorities. Given these overlaps, it's in Democrats' best interest to at least explore working with Trump on these issues: Infrastructure

Rebuilding the United States' crumbling infrastructure - which needs $3.6 trillion in spending by 2020, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers - represents the best opportunity for Democrats to advance one of their longtime priorities. Senate Republicans previously blocked two major Democratic-sponsored infrastructure bills, leaving President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats fuming.

Trump, by contrast, made infrastructure a campaign priority, calling for $500 billion in additional spending - even arguing that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's own infrastructure plan was not ambitious enough. But given conservatives' open resistance to Trump's infrastructure spending, the president-elect will almost certainly need Congressional Democrats' help to get an infrastructure bill passed.

This does not mean Democrats should back whatever infrastructure plan Trump proposes - particularly if funding for the plan involves giving tax breaks to private investors without the direct public spending most experts agree is necessary to fix the most dire infrastructure problems. But if Democrats can negotiate a compromise with Trump - perhaps through a program that combines direct government spending supplemented by private investment - then they should help Trump push an infrastructure bill through Congress. Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Research shows that the EITC - which puts additional money into the pockets of the working poor through tax rebates - is an ideal poverty fighting tool. Democrats have long called for expanding it, and both conservative and liberal think tanks agree with them. Most importantly, so does Trump. In fact, Trump even called for supplementing the EITC by creating new Dependent Care Savings Accounts (DCSAs), which would allow families to create tax-deductible accounts to spend on child care expenses or after-school enrichment programs, as well as covering in-home nursing expenses for elderly dependents.

Trump's plan even offers to provide a partial government grant to families' DCSAs once they are established, a step analogous to the 401(K) matching many organizations - including the federal government - provide their employees. If Democrats want to provide direct assistance to lower and middle-income workers, they support a Trump bill to should test Trump's level of commitment to implement his EITC and DCSA proposals. Ending the "Carried Interest" Tax Loophole

Carried interest is a tax loophole that allows partners at hedge funds and private equity funds - generally among the richest Americans - to treat their profits as capital gains rather than ordinary income. This means fund managers' profits are taxed at a maximum of 20 percent, as opposed to the 39.6 percent top salaried workers must pay. Even wealthy investors like Warren Buffet and Bill Gross decry the carried interest loophole, and despite the campaign rancor between them, both Trump and Hillary Clinton agreed that carried interest should be taxed as ordinary income.

Democrats should remind Trump that he publicly committed to finally ending this loophole - and should work with him if he takes the initiative to do so. Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy

During his campaign Trump bemoaned the $4 trillion the United States spent "trying to topple various people," arguing that the money would have been better spent on infrastructure. Since his election, Trump has doubled-down on these views, promising to put forward a non-interventionist foreign policy that focused on confronting Islamic State and other groups.

Democrats such as Sanders in the Senate and Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) in the House share Trump's desire to scale back American interventionism. Even President Obama has gradually developed an aversion to regime change, resisting calls for a no-fly zone in Syria. When Trump inevitably comes under pressure from Republican hawks who want a more interventionist approach, Democrats who share Trump's skepticism about regime change should help him resist these calls. *** While there's no guarantee Democrats and Trump will agree on all of these policies, Democrats lose nothing by at least exploring opportunities to cooperate with Trump. From a policy perspective, declining the opportunity to achieve Democratic goals just to punish Trump only hurts the very working and middle class constituencies Democrats claim to support.

Cooperating with Trump in these areas also makes sense politically, since it could drive a wedge between Trump and the Republicans in Congress who oppose these ideas.

To be clear, Democrats should still resist Trump in a number of areas. First and foremost, if Trump continues the types of attacks on women and minorities he made during his campaign, particularly if he attempts to introduce a Muslim registry, Democrats must condemn him. They should also demand that Trump reproach his most noxious supporters among white nationalists or the so-called "alt-right."

On policy, Democrats must confront any attempts by Trump to roll back the United States' commitment to fighting climate change global warming, particularly if Trump decides to go forward with his pledge to pull out of last year's Paris climate agreement. If Trump tries to dismantle Obamacare - and especially if he pushes a plan that repeals but doesn't replace the program - Democrats must follow up on their plan to block Trump by pointing out the millions Americans who would be left without health insurance and targeting persuadable Republican senators to join them in opposition to the new president.

Democrats must also push back against Trump if he sides with House Speaker Paul Ryan's plan to gut Medicare by privatizing it.

Finally, Democrats should stand firm in their support for a path to citizenship and resist any radical Trump initiatives to deport millions.
Migrants in Libya facing "human rights crisis" - U.N. report

By Aidan Lewis

TUNIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Migrants in Libya are suffering consistent and widespread abuse, including arbitrary detention, forced labour, rape and torture, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.

Record numbers of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, have been trying to reach Europe via Libya, usually in flimsy inflatable boats provided by smugglers.

Armed groups have taken effective control of official detention centres for migrants amid the political chaos that now reigns in Libya and they also run their own centres, competing and cooperating with criminal gangs and smugglers.

"The situation of migrants in Libya is a human rights crisis. The breakdown in the justice system has led to a state of impunity, in which armed groups, criminal gangs, smugglers and traffickers control the flow of migrants through the country," the U.N. report said.

"The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has also received credible information that some members of state institutions and some local officials have participated in the smuggling and trafficking process," it added.

Libyan officials were not immediately available to comment, but in the past have complained of being overwhelmed by migrant flows and of lacking the resources to cope.

The report said migrants were frequently bought and sold and were forced to work to pay for their onward journey, while smugglers and traffickers extort extra money from families through a complex system of money transfers.

Some Sudanese women were advised to take a three-month contraceptive injection before travelling to Libya because of the expectation they could be raped, it said.

A 16-year-old boy from Senegal detained in the southern city of Sabha was quoted as saying: "The women and the very young girls are raped and if they resist, they are beaten and threatened with guns."

DISEASES

Infectious diseases have spread in a number of centres, where migrants are packed into rooms without sufficient space to lie down and are forced to openly defecate and urinate in their cells, the report said.

The report also listed alleged abuses by Libya's coastguard, which sometimes intercepts migrant boats before they reach international waters, where they can be picked up by European rescue ships.

Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 22, 168,542 migrants arrived in Italy from Libya, and 4,164 are known to have died at sea.

The U.N. report urged Libyan authorities to immediately release the most vulnerable migrants, to provide protection from abuse and to prosecute human trafficking and smuggling offences.
Thousands protest against Polish government on martial law's anniversary

By Marcin Goettig

WARSAW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Thousands marched across Poland's capital on Tuesday to protest the policies of the current government on the 35th anniversary of the martial law crackdown by the former communist regime.

Protests also took place in other cities, in a show of strength by the opposition after roughly a year in power for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and its leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

The protesters in Warsaw carried Polish and European Union flags, blew trumpets and chanted "Here is Poland" as they banged on drums and marched from the former headquarters of the communist party to the headquarters of PiS.

"Today the authorities attack us, take away our freedoms as 35 years ago," Mateusz Kijowski, the leader of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy, which organised the protest, told the rally.

The nationalist-minded, euro-sceptic PiS has vowed to revamp Poland's young democracy to better reflect traditional Catholic values, curb corruption and increase welfare.

PiS is the first party to hold an absolute majority in Poland's parliament in nearly three decades. As promised, it has implemented generous child benefits, raised the minimum wage and cut the retirement age, solidifying support among its voters.

But PiS also made it more difficult for the top court to pass rulings, a move that deepened divisions in the society and led the European Union to say Poland's democracy and the rule of law were threatened.

PiS lawmakers also backed a bill last month that human rights campaigners have said would undermine Poles' right to freedom of assembly. The senate has since removed some restrictions that would have been imposed by the bill.

And PiS initially backed a near-total ban on abortion, but later threw out the bill after mass protests.

"I am afraid what is going happen tomorrow. I have lost the feeling of stability," said Anna, 48, a university teacher.

DIVISIONS

Kaczynski, the leader of PiS, told a counter-rally on Tuesday that people with ties to the previous communist regime were trying to immerse the Polish society in a "haze of complete absurdity" by comparing the "ordering of Poland" by PiS to martial law. "We cannot agree to this," Kaczynski said.

Kaczynski holds no official government position, but he is widely assumed to be influencing all major policy decisions in EU-member Poland.

Many analysts say Poland's decision to avoid a purge of people associated with the old regime after the end of communism in 1989 has allowed the country to undergo a smooth transition to a market economy and to grow rapidly afterwards.

But Kaczynski believes that decision has allowed people associated with the communists to retain power and privileges, preventing a fair distribution of the fruits of economic growth following the transition.

"All that happened during the last 20 years or so was something highly unjust and harmful," Kaczynski told the counter-rally. "And we want to change it. But this change is meeting resistance, one can say fierce resistance."

The protest on Tuesday took place on the anniversary of the martial law imposed in 1981 by the communist leader, General Wojciech Jaruzelski. The crackdown was an effort to suppress the Solidarity trade union movement. Hundreds were jailed and dozens were killed.

Solidarity was led by the shipyard electrician Lech Walesa, who was elected president in 1990, after the fall of the Soviet bloc. He appeared on Tuesday at a joint conference on Tuesday with Grzegorz Schetyna, the leader of the opposition Civic Platform party.
Germany to deport 50 rejected Afghan asylum seekers this week - report

BERLIN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Germany will on Wednesday carry out its first group deportation of Afghans whose asylum applications have been rejected, in line with an agreement with Kabul, the news magazine Der Spiegel said on Tuesday, citing government sources.

More than a million migrants from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere have arrived in Germany this year and last, prompting concerns about security and integration and boosting support for anti-immigrant groups such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

In 2016, Afghans are the second biggest group of asylum seekers in Germany after Syrians, according to data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).

A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry did not confirm the exact date but said there would be a repatriation flight to Afghanistan by the end of the year, although details would not be announced in advance to avoid jeopardising it.

She said the deportations were taking place on the basis of an agreement made with the Afghan government in October.

Der Spiegel said on its website that the Afghans would be flown from Frankfurt to Kabul and then ultimately sent back to their home regions as long as these were reasonably safe. It said the next plane had already been chartered for the beginning of January.

Germany has seen protests against the planned deportations in recent weeks; critics say much of Afghanistan is not safe and that returnees might face reprisals.
Sweden won't block Nord Stream harbour deals, but raises defence concerns

STOCKHOLM, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Sweden's government said on Tuesday it would not stop two municipalities from leasing two harbours to Russia's Gazprom to facilitate the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, despite concerns about security.

"The use of the ports would affect Swedish defence interests in a negative way, and we have informed the municipalities about that," Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told reporters on Tuesday.

A deal to lease the two harbours could yield up to 60 million Swedish crowns ($6.5 million) for the island of Gotland and 100 million for Karlshamn, in southeast Sweden.

But the harbours are situated in strategically sensitive areas and both the Swedish military and the security service, as well as the centre-right opposition in parliament, have voiced their opposition.

However, both Hultqvist and Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom have said the Swedish constitution prevents them overruling the municipalities on the issue.

Hultqvist said that, according to current plans, the Nord Stream 2 project would affect implementation of the Swedish defence plan for 2016-2020, which included the reintroduction of a permanent military presence on Gotland.

Gazprom's 9.9 billion euro plan will double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

It has met resistance from countries such as Ukraine, which is set to lose transit earnings on Russian gas crossing its territory, and others such as Poland and the United States, who say it will make the EU too dependent on Russia, already the source of one-third of its gas.

Running more than 1,200 km (750 miles) from the Russian coast west of St Petersburg to northern Germany, the new pipeline will run parallel to the current one, which has been in operation since 2012, and double capacity to 110 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year by 2019.

Since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, its military activity in the Baltic Sea has increased, and Sweden this year re-established a permanent military presence on Gotland for the first time since 2005.
Dr. D. D. A. Hettiarachchi, a traditional ayurvedic doctor from Ganemulla, claims to have found cure for Dengue and several Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) including Herpes and HIV/AIDS, and says he has saved hundreds of lives in his services of over

50 years.



Even though Dengue is not deadly, the society has labelled it so. This is not a new disease. It has existed in the past, as far back as B.C. 92 in ancient China. I have come across it in ancient books as Break-bone fever. The ayurvedic name for Dengue is Dandaka fever - as it hurts like being beaten with a batton. I have also treated many patients with Dengue symptoms in the past, before society even came up with the term. By now, I have been treating Dengue patients for nearly 15 years. Some people have natural antibodies against Dengue, but some do not. Western medicine doesnt have a cure for the disease, which is why it is considered lethal. But there are alternatives like the treatments I give. I have cured western doctors too. However, decent western doctors admit that Dengue could be cured with ayurvedic medicine. Some of them have even sent me patients they failed to cure, the doctor commented.



I can cure any Dengue patient within 18 hours. I have held discussions with many ayurvedic and western doctors regarding my treatment, but they come to a halt after the directors and authorities attempt to snatch my secret formula, which they are determined to have. Using my know-how to treat Dengue-inflicted patients is not their focus. I reiterate, Dengue is curable. I dont want to affront any medical tradition, what I do and want to do is to heal patients. I am ready to face any challenge in the context of curing Dengue patients. The malady should be managed well and it cannot be done by staying at home; it needs the caring of a hospital as doctors and nurses do the necessary blood tests. Dengue is a virus and there are no cures for viruses in western practices. People are hurt by various diseases every day because they give up medicine and the traditional way of life, Dr. Hettiarachchi added.



Many tourists have come to him seeking a cure for their diseases, especially HIV and other STDs. He is treating an HIV-infected person in Botswana by sending her the required medicines on a monthly basis. He has patients from countries like Germany and USA, and most of them have requested him to work abroad, but he wants to remain in his home country and serve it to the best of his ability.

Dr. Hettiarachchi has been visited by a number of patients including military officers, doctors and lawyers. He has many reports requested from the patients related to various stages of sickness.



The treatment



Dengue treatments should be carried out within 18 hours. There are only two medicines to provide - an ointment to be applied on the head and ears, with a powder to drink mixed with a piece of papaya leaf and king coconut flower juice. It is given thrice at six hour intervals. This medicine has saved the lives of many. The doctor suggests that Ebola virus could also be cured by this treatment, if detected in Sri Lanka.



Mother of a three-year-old Dengue patient



Lakmali, a mother of three and half year old son narrated how his was successfully treated for dengue by Dr. Hettiarachchi. My son was detected with Dengue when he was just three years old. He was hospitalized at the IDH for six days. His blood count dropped and he had begun to bleed internally. Doctors had given up on him and it was a visitor to the hospital who told us about Dr. Hettiarachchi. Later, my husband visited the doctor and he was given the medicine. Just one hour after applying the given oil, my son was able to urinate after it being blocked for hours. Although my son bled inside hours before, soon after treatment, he showed signs of recovery. Within only two days, his blood count returned to the normal state, bewildering all doctors. As my sisters son was also affected with Dengue, he was given the same treatment and he too recovered, she said.



History of Dr. Hettiarachchi



Dr. Hettiarachchi was a student of the Hiththatiya Gunarathna Mudalinda Pirivena, the first Pirivena in the South, where he learned traditional ayurvedic medicine. He later schooled at Kajjuwattha weda walawwa. Those two places were leading institutes for training traditional ayurvedic doctors at that time.



treatment for HIV/ Herpes



Dr. Hettiarachchi had conducted a research on HIV at the IDH Hospital only to be interrupted halfway due to lack of funds. He claims that he could cure HIV and many other STDs. According to him, the HIV germ activates three to four months after it first enters the body, and later, detectable side effects appear. If patients come for treatment before the germ activates, he says with eight, 10 or 12 months of treatment, the patient could be cured. If the ELIZA test results negative two or three times, the disease is believed to be cured. He has completely cured eight patients suffering from HIV and nearly 75 patients with Herpes.



A cured Herpes victim



A patient found to be a Herpes victim underwent three years of medical treatment before he came to Dr. Hettiarachchi.

I came to Dr. Hettiarachchi four months after the disease was detected. Now I am having treatment for two years and nine months. My reports show negative results now, he said.



Eternal cycle of diseases



Commenting on diseases and related consequences, the doctor said: Diseases cannot be eliminated forever, as being sick is an eternal cycle. Diseases spread and deplete from time to time. There are antibodies for sicknesses, but there are times when we cannot fight with internal antibodies only. We should always be on guard against what is known to be bad. People should be satisfied with what they get, without running after for more than they have. The more you chase things, the more misery will you have to face. Most of the people who come to me with social diseases are either married but looking for sexual pleasure out of the family or had sought sex at a very young age.



The government officials are not cooperating and the government is not appreciative of my research work, treatment or the yeoman service I render to the needy. Once I informed the former president about my efforts, and as a result, former Director of the Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute Prof. K.K.D.S. Ranaweera had several discussions with me to do a research at the IDH with the Dengue team there, but the discussions didnt turn into a research, the doctor said.



Commenting on his skills and experience, the ayurvedic doctor said: Many helpless patients are deceived by dishonest ayurvedic practitioners who charge huge sums for treatment. Now I am 70 years old, and I want to do as much service as I can to cure patients before my demise. I request the government, the directors of the Ayurveda Medical Council and all those who are responsible to use me for the well-being of the ill. I assure I can cure Dengue, HIV and Herpes and other STDs. If I am sponsored to do research work on HIV and other STDs, if I am given a ward or a unit in an ayurvedic hospital, then I can serve patients with utmost dedication, whether it is Dengue or HIV.

This treatment needs to prove scientifically-



Prof. K.K.D.S. Ranaweera - Former Director of Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute, Maharagama

It is difficult to prove Dr. Hettiarachchis medicine scientifically, and the reports he has cannot prove the miracle of his medicine. We discussed about him with our doctors, as there are people like that everywhere. We were also willing to help him even though we were a little suspicious about him. Therefore, we asked him to bring the patent of his finding. But, he never did so. Actually we dont believe it as a successful treatment, and he is somewhat afraid of being robbed of his formula. We informed him that if he could prove the validity of his treatment, there was no rejection from us. We cannot be satisfied with the method he claims to have used to save Dengue patients. His medicine should start from the first detection of a Dengue patient and be measured with before and after progress. Sometimes, Dengue gets cured even without any treatment. But, I do not reject his cure out of hand. He and many other people who claim to have found a cure for Dengue expect sudden recognition from us. If we give that kind of recognition to anyone, it should happen with a scientific reasoning and systematic research, the professor said.

Address  No. 98/7, Sisira Mawatha, Suwa Asapuwa, Kendaliyaddapaluwa, Ganemulla.

Mobile  071-8564157

Dr. D.D.A. Hettiarachchi
Back row from left: Prof. Gunther Rehme (Technische Universitat Darmstadt), Deepak Kumar Behera (Indian Institute of Technology Madras), Charith Gamage (Central Bank of Sri Lanka), Dr. Sujeetha Jegajeevan (Central Bank of Sri Lanka), Dr. Yannick Lucotte (PSB Paris School of Business), Dr. Raj Rajesh (Reserve Bank of India), Dr. Kithsiri Ehelepola (Central Bank of Sri Lanka) and Rudra Prosad Roy (Jadavpur University)

Front row from left: Economic Research Additional Director Dr. Chandranath Amarasekara, Economic Research Additional Director and Research Advisory Panel Chairperson Dr. Yuthika Indraratne, USA University of St. Thomas Professor of Finance Prof. Lalith Samarakoon, former Republic of India Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Deputy Governor S. Lankatilake, Assistant Governor and Economic Research Director Mahinda Siriwardana and Economic Research Additional Director W.A. Dilrukshini

The ninth International Research Conference of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was held recently at the John Exter International Conference Hall of the Central Bank.



The conference, organised by the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank, aims to stimulate research on contemporary themes while providing a forum for researchers of central banks, monetary authorities, universities and other research institutions to present recent theoretical and empirical work on issues relating to central banking and macroeconomic management.

Since its inception in 2008, the International Research Conference has attracted scholars from across the globe and featured keynote addresses by eminent central bankers, academics and policymakers.



This years conference was held under the broad theme of Sustainable development and macroeconomic policies in a challenging global and domestic environment. The conference brought together distinguished members of academia, government institutions, policymaking bodies and research institutions.

The keynote address of the conference was delivered by former Republic of India Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who has been a key figure in the Indian economic reform process in the last few decades.



In his keynote address, Dr. Ahluwalia highlighted the importance of the ability of central banks to guide the markets through credible policy actions, in which quality research plays a pivotal role. Moreover, he pointed out the importance of shared efforts by the central bank and the fiscal authority to control aggregate demand in the economy by means of appropriate monetary instruments and fiscal tools. As such, he pointed out that the joint credibility of the central bank and fiscal authority, complemented by political stability, plays a critical role in maintaining macroeconomic stability of an economy.

Meanwhile, talking about macroeconomic modelling, Dr. Ahluwalia stated that appropriate modelling of institutional constraints in developing countries and the selection of right models are crucial for providing model-based economic advice for macroeconomic policymaking.

The inaugural address of the conference was delivered by Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy. Speaking on sustainable development, the governor highlighted that social development has to be supplemented by creation of wealth and productive employment, in which quality of growth is an important factor.



Moreover, promotion of inclusive growth primarily through empowering people with education, training and skills development, presence of social safety nets, environment sustainability, gender parity and regional balance are essential for sustainable development. Further, the governor emphasised that in the context of a challenging global economic landscape, developing countries like Sri Lanka need to attach a high premium on prudent macroeconomic management. Under this, developing clear and stable frameworks for macroeconomic policymaking remains imperative. Such frameworks would enhance predictability and certainty of actions of the policymakers, while creating necessary space to weather exogenous shocks.



An invited presentation was delivered by USA University of St. Thomas Professor of Finance Prof. Lalith Samarakoon on A Blueprint for Developing the Sri Lankan Financial Markets. Prof. Samarakoon highlighted the key elements that need to be embedded in a capital market development plan and identified economic development policy and mechanism, financial sector development policy and mechanism and national level policy and high-level commitment as an indispensible trinity in a national framework for capital market development.

During the technical sessions of the conference, eight research papers on monetary policy, macroeconomic issues and financial sector issues, which were carefully selected through a thorough review process, were presented by researchers from various institutions, representing France, Germany, India, as well as researchers from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.



In recognition of excellence in research, the Dr. D.S. Wijesinghe Memorial Award for the Best Research Paper was awarded to Dr. Sujeetha Jegajeevan of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for the paper titled Understanding Sri Lankan Business Cycles through an Estimated DSGE Model.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka intends to hold its next International Research Conference in late 2017.
 Flash

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called for an extension of European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia on Tuesday.

As the implementation of the Minsk Agreement in the Ukraine conflict is "very slow", it will be "necessary" to extend the sanctions against Russia once again, Merkel said on Tuesday during a meeting with Hollande at the chancellery in Berlin.

Hollande also said that "there are always the same blockades" in the conflict, adding that the Minsk Agreement should continue to be applied. "If there is no effort, no progress," he said, he will be in favor of extending the sanctions "like the Chancellor."

Merkel said: "We would like to see that we would continue to implement this process."

Meanwhile, the two leaders also called for a clear signal from the coming EU summit in Brussels to support the suffering people in Syrian Aleppo.

Merkel said it is necessary to ensure that the civilians are protected at all levels and that humanitarian aid becomes accessible.

Hollande demanded that everything must be done to bring the civilian population out of the east of Aleppo and create humanitarian corridors.

In view of the "fragile situation" particularly in the Mediterranean region, Merkel said that Germany and France would advocate at the summit for a prompt settlement of the planned migration partnerships with African countries following the example of the EU-Turkey Agreement.
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) rescue team deployed in a Bell 412 helicopter managed to locate the five persons went missing since last night in Nallathanniya forest.

Five people including two women who entered the Sri Pada forest reserve through the upper division of the Laxapana estate in Nallathanniya had gone missing since this morning.

Four of the pilgrims were residents of Nugegoda while the other was a Laxapana estate worker, Police said.
Q It is both a pleasure and a privilege to have you speak for the first to a Sri Lankan entity - The Daily Mirror. Since we are confined by time, I would appreciate if the answers are kept as brief as possible. To start off with, during the recent election of Donald Trump, we saw a kind of rise of racism and xenophobia, a phenomenon of right wing populism that we are seeing across the world including in Sri Lanka. What are your views on this?



There are many factors but there are some that are pretty common, certainly for the United States and Europe from which I have just returned, incidentally. One factor that is common and which is very significant is the Neo Liberal programme that was instituted globally, roughly around 35 years ago, around 1980 or a little before and picking up afterwards. These were programmes that were designed in such a way that they marginalize and cast aside a considerable majority of the population. So in the United States if you take a look at say the Trump voters, they are not the poorest people. They have homes, they have jobs, and they have small businesses. They may not have the jobs they like but they are not starving and are not living on US$ 2 a day. These are people who have been stuck for 30 years. Their history and their own image of life and history and the country is- that they have worked hard all their lives, they have done all the right things. They have families, they go to Church and they have done everything right just as their parents did. Theyve been moving forward, which they expected to continue: that their children would be better off than they are, but it hasnt happened. It stopped. As if they are in a line, in which they were moving forward and it stopped. Ahead of them in the line are people who have just shot up into the stratosphere: that is Neo Liberalism. It concentrates wealth in tiny sectors. They dont mind that, because part of the American mythology is that you work hard and you get rewards. It is not what happens but that fits the picture, the mythology.



The people behind them are the ones they resent. This is not untypical; scapegoating. Blame your problems on those who are even worse off than you. And their conception is that the Federal Government is their enemy, which works for the people behind them. That the Federal Government gives Food Stamps to people who dont want to work, that it gives welfare payments to women who drive in rich cars to welfare offices. (These are) images that Ronald Reagan concocted. Their thinking is that, the Federal Government is helping to put them in line ahead of me, but nobody is working for me. That picture is all over the West. A large part of it was behind the Brexit vote, in the United States they would blame Mexican immigrants, or Afro Americans, in the UK they would blame the Polish immigrants, in France the North Africans and in Austria the Syrian immigrants. The choice of target depends on the society, but the phenomenon is pretty similar. The general nature is pretty similar. There are streaks of racism, xenophobia, sexism, and opposition to gay rights and all sorts of things. And they coalesce when economic and social policies have been designed in such a way which essentially ignores these people and their concerns and doesnt work for them -- and seems to them to work against them.



Q But dont you think Professor, the notion of an isolationist imperial power, a non-intervening imperial interest that Donald Trump has promised, is something positive for countries like Sri Lanka and the third world at large?



Isolationist is a very funny word. Take Donald Trumps recent appointments -- the important appointments. The most important appointment is his National Strategy Advisor who is Michael Flynn. He is a radical Islamophobe. He thinks we should go to war with the whole Islamic world,-- the whole Islamic world. And his view of Islam is not that of a religion, but that its a political ideology like fascism, and it is at war with us and that we should destroy it. Is that isolationism? Donald Trumps position and that of Paul Ryan and other Right Wingers is that we should sharply build up the Pentagon. They talk about our depleted military forces. I mean you dont know whether to laugh or not. The US spends almost as much on the military as the rest of the world combined. It is technologically far more advanced. No other country has hundreds of military bases all over the world, actually forces fighting all over the world. But we are a depleted military force and everybody is about to attack us and we have to build the military more, is that isolationist?



We have to carry out economic war against other countries, is that isolationist? No of course not. This is vulgar imperialism masked by a fraudulent concern for the working people and the middle class. Is there any such concern apparent from his cabinet appointments? (they are) straight out of Wall Street and Goldman Sachs. Take a look at the stock market, that tells you how people with power are evaluating his Presidency. (it) Shot up as soon as he was elected. The financial institutions zoomed. The worlds biggest Coal Company Peabody which was in bankruptcy had its stock go up by about 50% within days of his election. The military industry, energy industries, pharmaceuticals..they are all going to the sky. Is that an illusion? No, its not. Thats the policy, the appeal is not so much the poor, but working people who have suffered, not suffered in the sense of real deep poverty, but suffered in the sense of a loss of status, a loss of dignity, and a loss of hope for the future. In the United States this is combined with an objective fact. That this country is built on extremist white supremacy, comparative measures of white supremacy across the world has put the United States way in the lead, even ahead of white South Africa, and now the white population is becoming a minority.



Q You bring in two interesting points; one is on white supremacy and the other is on Islam and Islamophobia. Firstly though, this idea of supremacy, we have seen this even in parts of South Asia. If you see the rise of Narendra Modi, it was along the same populist lines and even in post war Sri Lanka we are seeing these same attitudes swelling up. So it is not something confined to the US. What do you think the real reason is for this?



Different reasons for different places. In India its the rise of Hindu nationalism, which is extremely dangerous. It looks like there is an alliance building up with these xenophobic Right Wing forces around the world. If you noticed, the reactions to Trumps election across the world, was great enthusiasm from the ultra-Right all over. In fact, his first contact was with Nigel Farage, the leader of the UKIP in England and it went on like that. There are common features, but different factors in different countries. In India, it is the Muslims, in the United States its Muslims too. But there were also Mexicans and so on. But I think throughout the world you see a similar failure of mainstream establishment institutions to deal with the peoples real problems.



Q Arent these fears about the Muslims real? Even in Sri Lanka, there is this fear about the Muslims, along the lines of the fear prevailing in the West. Arent these fears about the Muslims real?



They are not unreal. Hitlers fears about the Jews under the Nazis were not totally unreal. There were rich Jewish bankers, there were Jewish Bolsheviks. Any propaganda system, no matter how vulgar or disgraceful, can only succeed if there are at least small elements of truth. They may be small. While you are in Boston if you listen to Talk Radio the main radio- all very Right Wing - you will hear people speaking about Syrian refugees and how they are being treated like princes. That they have been given all kinds of money, that they have been given health services, and education - all kinds of things that we dont have the Syrian refugees get- How many Syrian refugees are there? A couple of thousand! They probably do get health services, so it is not totally false. But the typical history of scapegoating is to pick vulnerable people and find something that is not totally false about them- because you have to have some element of truth- and then build it up into a colossus which is about to overcome you. I mean there are states in the United States in the Midwest, where the legislature has passed laws banning Sharia. How likely is Sharia going to be imposed in Oklahoma? I mean you know it is not zero. You can find a woman somewhere who is wearing a veil, so there is something. But thats the way it works. I think in Sri Lanka there is a pretty ugly history after all; I dont have to recount it.



You can find plenty of cases of massive atrocities and crimes and so on. A demagogic leader and the administration which is not working in the interest of the population but in the interest of wealth and power, almost reflexively is going to turn to attacks on the vulnerable with the support of the media and often the intellectual classes, and blow up small elements of truth into a massive attack. The United States is extremely interesting in this respect. It is the most safe and secure country in the world, but it is probably the most frightened country in the world. Do you know any other country where people feel that unless they take a gun to Church or a restaurant they might be attacked? I mean, does it happen in Sri Lanka?



Q No.



Does it happen anywhere else? but it happens in the United States of America. All over the United States people feel terrified -- they are coming after us, and that goes way back in American history, and it has roots. There are historical roots.



Q Going by what you just said Professor, Edward Said, one of your contemporaries and friends writing in the early 80s in his seminal work Orientalism and Covering Islam points out that Islam has been portrayed by the West, as a monolithic entity. That the West ignored the different histories and different cultures and so on. Have the Muslims of today, 30 years on, bought into this propaganda and believe themselves that they are in fact a monolithic entity?



Take the US or the British policy towards Islam. It has been highly supportive of the most radical elements of Islam. That is true of the British and its true of the Americans after they took over from the British. So who is the leading US ally in the Islamic world? Saudi Arabia, perhaps the most extreme, radical, fundamentalist State in the world. But certainly in the Islamic world. And a missionary State, which uses its huge resources to sponsor its Wahabist extremism through Madrasas and so on. It is the main source of Jihadism. The main ally is that -- monolithic. I mean what state power does, and propaganda usually follows, is (to) find what will support a power interest. In these cases imperial policy. If it happens to be radical Islam thats fine. At the same time we might be fighting radical Islam somewhere else. The propaganda system would create images of Islamic terror seeking to destroy us when that turns out to be the plausible kind of scapegoating. So 9/11 happened and the Tamil Tigers atrocities happened. You can use those as ways of building up fear, anger, and anxiety to support the tendency to hide under the umbrella of power from these forces about to destroy us. Like Sharia law in Oklahoma, got to protect ourselves!



Q You spoke of a new shifting of the world order when you spoke of Nigel Farage and other Right wing elements shifting towards Donald Trump. Is there a shift in the international sphere, like we saw during the Cold War, where the world went into two different sides including the non-aligned? A kind of shift today that is happening, between the Right Wing nativists on the one hand and the Left wing internationalist on the other?



First of all, I dont really agree with the conventional version of the Cold War. You take a look at the events of the Cold War. Not what intellectuals talk about, not the ideology. Take a look at the events. The events of the Cold War consisted of violent attacks by the US within its domains -- which is most of the world. And Russian, violent attacks on its much smaller domain, which was Eastern Europe. That was the Cold War. Each side used the alleged threat of the other as a justification for its own internal repression. So the US had to support a terrorist war against Nicaragua because of the Russians, who were not anywhere nearby. The Russians had to invade Hungary because of the Americans. That was the Cold War. There was, in a way, you could describe it as a kind of tacit compact between the two imperial powers: The huge imperial power of the United States, the smaller imperial power of Russia. Kind of a tacit compact in which each side was authorized to carry out violence and repression in its own domains, for the US this means most of the world, without an actual conflict. Now there was a danger, always, a serious danger that an actual conflict might blow up in which case were finished. As soon as there is a major nuclear war, humans are done with. So there was always a fear, if there was a confrontation; but if you look at the events of the Cold War you get a very different picture. And its the events that matter, not the words.



Q But is there a realignment across the world, Professor, between this Right-wing populist xenophobic elements and

No, there is Left liberal populism too, take the United States.



Q You gave me a good precursor to the next question. Isnt the left liberal dead? I know youve had your differences with Slavoj Zizek but as he points out what Clinton personified and is a symbol of is that Left liberal position- a coalition which had you and also Alan Dershowitz, which had Occupy Wall Street and Wall Street together. Isnt this coalesce



There is lack of comparison there. Alan Dershowitz speaks for the, its kind of a mixture, but the xenophobic extremist Right -he is all over the place. The Left liberal media, say NPR, hes on it all the time, Right wing media he is on it all the time. Then theres me. Am I on (them)? In fact, when you leave, take a photograph of one of my favourite front pages of a journal. I liked it so much I framed it. Its the main Left liberal journal  American Prospect  and it has a picture of two evil creatures who are threatening American liberalism, one is Dick Cheney and the other is me. Thats the parallel. And it indicates whats in the mind of American liberals --Were being attacked by these monsters on both sides- One of them who sits in an office and has no access to anything, the other -- the guy who controls the biggest military machine in the world and is invading Iraq, those are the two forces. Same with the rest, Occupy versus Wall Street, whats the comparison? Actually, there is a comparison, but not whats being described. Occupy is very small, it doesnt begin to compare with Wall Street. But the population does. And a lot of the population supports them (Occupy).



In fact take the US elections, in terms of numbers, Clinton won pretty easily. But more interestingly, if you look at younger voters, first of all Clinton won overwhelmingly, but Sanders won even more overwhelmingly. Here is somebody who came out of nowhere, no economic support, no rich supporters, no corporate support, 100% media opposition, basically unknown, talking about socialism, which is a bad word, and overwhelmingly won the youth support. Well, the constituency that supported him does not have money, power, corporate backing, and so on. So they are not considered popular, they are just kind of off the spectrum of discussion, but they are there. And they can change policies.



Q Professor, since you spoke of the youth, we have watched you speaking about how Universities dumb down thinking or intellect. You are a person who, since your early teens, you have questioned the status quo, do you see that among the youth today? Are the youth questioning the status quo as much as they should?



Well, why did an overwhelming majority of young people support Bernie Sanders? That is the answer to your question. Yes, of course they are challenging the status quo. They dont have wealth, military power, corporate backing, media backing, nor support from intellectuals; but sure, they are challenging the status quo. All the time.



Q But across the globe, arent you also seeing them move towards the nativist nation state concept?



You are seeing that, but you are also seeing something like the Sanders phenomenon, Soy Podemos in Spain. I just happened to be in Barcelona, Barcelona is a major city, and the mayor who was just elected is a Left-wing activist. These things exist all over Europe. The Corbyn phenomenon in England, the Labour Party elite is bitterly opposed to it, of course the Tories kind of like it, because they want to see the Labour Party collapsing. But, its substantial. As soon as Corbyn opened a possibility for people, ordinary people, to participate, the Labour Party shot up. These are real opportunities. Take the Trump voters in the United States, many of them voted for Obama in 2008. Why? If you remember the campaign slogan, it was hope and change and they were voting for hope and change. They didnt get any hope and they didnt get any change, so they are disillusioned and now they are voting for someone else who is calling for hope and change.



Q But dont you see that happening even in South Asia? That its either Trump versus Corbyn? That the liberal middle ground, for which I use Hillary Clinton as a symbol is losing ground. That you need to pick a side, instead of staying in the centre?



Everywhere. Everywhere, the mainstream political organisations which are kind of centrist -- centre Left or centre Right -- are diminishing and collapsing. That is true of institutions too. Theres anger at institutions, contempt for them, hatred of them. Not just the political institutions, but the banks, the corporations, just about everything except the military. This, to go back to our original discussion, is a reflection, substantially, of the Neo Liberal policies of the past generation. It has harmed much of the population, offered nothing to them, given power and prestige to extreme wealth and professional elites who are protected. So, it leads to anger and resentment against the established institutions.



Q Moving on, has the media changed landscape since you wrote Manufacturing Consent in 1989? Is the media manufacturing consent now?



Well, we didnt actually say that media was manufacturing consent; we said that -- that was what they were trying to do. We discussed the nature of the media. Theres a separate question  to what extent is it effective? And thats an interesting question, but we didnt discuss it. Theyre still doing it in the same way. In fact, dramatically. Take November 8, two things of critical significance happened on November 8. One of them was massively reported, the other, which was much more important, received no report  that was the Marrakesh Conference of two hundred countries that tried to implement the Paris programmes to try to save the human species from destruction. Thats a lot more important than what happened in the US election. And, in fact, it was undermined by the US election. What happened in Morocco is astounding if you look at it; one country was leading the way to try to save civilization from self-destruction. One country was way behind, trying to lead the way towards self-destruction, the first was China the second was the United States. That is a remarkable spectacle. Did you see a comment on it?



Q Nothing...



That is manufacturing consent.



Q Finally, you have come to the evening of your life after over half-a-century of being the epitome of pioneering thought and intellectual discourse, what are your views on religion? And what is your personal belief of life after death?



Personally, it means nothing to me, but if it means something to other people, that is fine. As long as they dont bother others. I dont ridicule it, I dont have contempt for it, I have respect for their views, but they are not mine.

Q And your views on religion, you were born into a Jewish family and raised



Well, remember that Judaism is fundamentally a religion of practice, more than belief. So, say my grandfather, who was basically still living in the 17th century Eastern Europe was ultra religious. But if I had asked him, did you believe in God? He probably wouldnt have known what I was talking about. Judaism means carrying out the practices. My father was basically secular, but deeply involved in Jewish life. If you go to a New England church on Sunday morning, you would find people who are deeply religious, but not believers. Religion to them means community, associations, helping each other, having some common values and so on. Religion could be all sorts of things. But to me, it doesnt happen to be a value; if other people do, that is their business.
President Mathripala Sirisena will sign several bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Malaysia during his visit to Malaysia from December 15 17, Presidential Media Division said.

Accordingly, MoUs will be signed on cooperation in tourism, training, research, and public administration, between the Sri Lanka Agricultural Research Policy Council and Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, between the Ministry of Plantation Industries in Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities in Malaysia, for cooperation in culture, arts and heritage and youth development.

President Sirisena will return to Colombo on December 17.
A search is underway in Upper Ord River, Australia where a 28 year old Sri Lankan went missing after cliff jumping, Australian media reported.

The friends of a Sri Lankan man who disappeared in the Upper Ord River while cliff jumping thought he was mucking around when his body briefly resurfaced after taking a 19 to 20m plunge.

Senior Sergeant Steve Principe said 28-year-old Oshan Janaka Kumara Jayasooriya Mudiyanselag, known around Kununurra as Oshan Janaka, had travelled up river to Carlton Gorge with four friends on Sunday morning at about 10am. They were there to have a jump off the cliff face, he said.

He jumped off the top feet first and gone straight under and stayed there for up to 20 seconds and was seen to float back, arms out, faced down on top of the water and sunk straight after that. His friends thought he was mucking around, he added.
In this festive season-with the Holy Prophet Mohameds Birthday being marked on Monday, Uduwap Poya yesterday and the ongoing Christmas season  it may be the best time to focus on the need to deepen inter-religious dialogue and unity in diversity. It is based on the hallowed precept that while we respect and practise our own faith, we also respect the faiths and beliefs of others.



President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, speaking at various ceremonies on Sunday, emphasized the need for inter-religious and inter-racial unity in diversity. The President, addressing temple ceremonies in Athurugiriya and Nugegoda, reassured that the constitutional provision giving the foremost place to Buddhism would not be changed in any way. On the contrary the place of Buddhism would be strengthened with extra resources for pirivena education and State sponsorship for the international Vesak Day to be celebrated here in May next year.

The President also outlined the National Governments policy of giving the due place and full freedom to those who practised other religions including Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. On Monday both the President and the Prime Minister paid glowing tributes and made specific references to the positive contributions made by Islam and those who practise it for the upliftment of the noblest virtues and values in Sri Lanka and all over the world.



Premier Wickremesinghe, speaking at the Global Energy Parliaments (GEP) annual sessions held at the Temple Trees Banquet Hall on Sunday, outlined the amazing contributions that could be made when all religions worked together in vital fields such as environmental protection, healthcare and education. The GEP, started by the Swami Isa Foundation in India, was co-hosted this year by the Inter-faith coalition for peace in Sri Lanka, the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka and the National Christian Council.



The GEP sessions, attended by more than 1,000 delegates from various countries, adopted several resolutions which will be given to the Sri Lanka Government and world bodies including the United Nations. For instance, healthcare experts spoke of the rich values in Sri Lankas native medicine or ayurveda which has remedies for diseases which the western allopathic system cannot cure. Some 2,800 years ago, long before any western allopathic system took shape, the Lord Buddha had said there were powerful medicinal properties in hundreds if not thousands of herbs.



For religious unity a vital factor is racial or cultural unity. The President, the Prime Minister and National Government leaders are stressing this in their policy statements. On Sunday, President Sirisena said there was a vital need to bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources in all provinces including the Northern and Eastern Provinces. He said this was the National Governments policy to bring about social justice and development justice. The need was not only for the devolution of power, but also the devolution of resources. The President said that hitherto he believed there had been too much emphasis on the development of the Western Province and too little on others, especially the North-East. He said there was an urgent need for a structural change, and the National Government would go ahead with it though some extremist groups might try to stir up racial or religious tension.



Analysts say important lessons need to be taken from what is happening in the United States today. US President-elect Donald Trumps policies are seen by most analysts as being extremist if not eccentric with the consequences as unpredictable as the business tycoon himself. For instance Mr. Trump is threatening to change the one-China policy which different US administrations have faithfully followed for the past four decades. Mr. Trumps pronouncements during the past two weeks provoked a Chinese Communist Party-sponsored Newspaper to accuse him of acting like a spoilt child. With largely white supremacist populism going global  mainly as a result of the elections in the US and the referendums in Birtain and Italy  orthodox extremism is threatening the world order. Some experts believe that if Mr. Trump further provokes China, it might even invade Taiwan with disastrous consequences.



In such a scenario, Sri Lankas National Government needs to get tough if extremist elements on either side try to abuse the new freedoms we have won. Rights are linked to responsibilities. Those who fail in their responsibilities, forfeit their rights.
A prominent politicians 20 year-old daughter, who drove her defender jeep violating traffic laws, was caught by two policemen attached to the Nittambuwa Police station, after giving chase for three kilometers at the Pasyala area on the Colombo-Kandy main road, police said.

The incident had taken place on Sunday at Weweldeniya in the Radawadunna area, when the policemen signalled to halt a defender jeep coming from Kandy, which had been travelling at high speed, overtaking vehicle by crossing the double lines. Despite the police order, the vehicle had sped away, prompting the policemen to give chase.

After giving chase for about three kilometers, the jeep was confronted by the Policemen. At that time, the driver, who happened to be a girl, had told police that she was the daughter of a politician and admitted her fault. Later the police had taken her driving licence, issued her a temporally licence and asked her to appear in the Attanagalla Magistrate Court for the case. (S.U.W.K.Jayawardane-Watupitiwala)
The Navy today assisted to load 1,086 cars and jeeps onboard a South Korean Vehicles Carrier, Glovis Phoenix which arrived at the Hambantota port for the loading of vehicles, the Navy said.

It said the ship was scheduled to leave the Hambantota Port for its next port of call in Durban, South Africa, having the vehicles loaded expeditiously by tomorrow.

The Naval personnel made an extensive effort to rectify the damages caused on the generators, power supply system and cleared all the obstacles caused to equipment and machinery by these saboteurs.

The swift involvement of the Sri Lanka Navy helped reduce the potential losses that would have been suffered by the Sri Lankan Government due to non-operations of the harbour as a result of the sabotage carried out by port employees, the Navy said in a statement.

The protest campaign staged by the port employees of Hambantota Harbour on 7th December 2016 continues to its seventh day as of today hampering the routine work of the Hambantota Port.

The Navy said it got the tense situation which erupted on 10th December under control restoring back the security of the harbour and establishing normalcy.
Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, who was on a state visit to Sri Lanka, said today Tajikistan was keen to learn from Sri Lanka in areas of youth development, tourism, gem industry, and apparel industry.

He highlighted the need to explore more possibilities in those areas during the bilateral talks he had with President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat.

President Rahmon invited President Sirisena for a state visit of Tajikistan.

President Maitripala Sirisena said Sri Lanka has increased potential to trade with the world and work for economic development.

President Sirisena welcomed Rahmon and the official delegation and emphasized the need to increase cooperation in trade, regional security and drug trafficking between the two countries.

He pointed out that although both Sri Lanka and Tajikistan had shared interests and many commonalities, trade between the two countries had not grown satisfactorily. As such, he invited Tajikistani entrepreneurs and public sector to explore the potential to investment in Sri Lanka.

President Sirisena welcomed the signing of four bilateral agreements and said he looks forward to more corporation between the two countries, specially in national security, drugs control, tourism, hydro power and trade.

Prime Minister Ranil Wicremesinghe elaborated that cultural and youth exchange programmes can be arranged, while exchange of technology and know-how in many areas are possible, as Sri Lanka works towards becoming an economic hub in the Indian Ocean.

After the bilateral talks, four bilateral agreements were entered into in the presence of the two Presidents.
A delegation of defence experts left Sri Lanka following a week long discussion from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Hambantota on Sunday, the US Embassy announced today in a statement.

They were flown out on a US Navy P8A Poseidon aircraft.

The statement said:

The Poseidon arrived in Colombo on December 4, where its crew met with Sri Lanka military personnel to demonstrate the capabilities of the P-8A and exchanged expert advice.

This bilateral partnership with Sri Lanka security forces reinforces the global maritime rules that produces greater prosperity for all of us, said US Embassy Charge dAffaires Robert Hilton.

The Red Lancers are stationed in Jacksonville, Fla and currently on a routine deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific to ensure safety and security of vital sea lanes and trade routes, including integrating air and sea patrol operations. The P-8A is a multi-mission aircraft that provides long-range maritime patrol capabilities, making it the most advanced ocean surveillance aircraft in the world.

We are pleased about the opportunity to partner with our friends in the Sri Lankan government and armed forces, Lt. Anthony Beres, the Detachment Officer in Charge said

The P-8A Poseidon brings advanced capabilities to maritime safety patrols, search and rescue, counter-narcotics, and humanitarian and disaster relief efforts, and we appreciated engaging with the Sri Lankan Navy during this visit, he added.
The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference in Amritsar on December 4 was most notable for the frontal attack by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Pakistan. He addressed Pakistan's adviser on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, by name at the conference to register his grievance at Islamabad's continuing support for terrorism directed at Kabul from its soil.

The Taliban would not survive a month without safe havens in Pakistan, he averred, quoting one of their leaders. In a stinging rebuff, he advised Aziz to spend the $500 million offered for Afghanistan's development on combating extremism inside Pakistan itself.

Frustration

Ghani was remarkably bold in venting his deep frustration with Pakistan before the 42 participants in the HoA conference, and pinpointing it as the real impediment in the way of a regional effort to promote political and economic stability in Afghanistan.

The HoA process needs Pakistan's full cooperation for success. It is from Pakistan's soil that the Taliban emerged and took control of Afghanistan in 1996, and it is from there that the Taliban are re-emerging again as a violent force.

The external threat to Afghanistan emanates today from Pakistani alone. It can only abate if Pakistan gives up its ambition to keep the Kabul government under its tutelage and circumscribe its sovereign right to determine the scope of its ties with India.

So far, Pakistan has withstood US pressure to rein in its strategic ambitions in Afghanistan and end its insidious support for the Haqqani group, even as Islamabad promises to facilitate the reconciliation process between Kabul and the Taliban.

The cost to Pakistan for its duplicitous conduct has not become unbearable till now because of US reluctance to impose meaningful sanctions on it.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani addressed Sartaj Aziz by to register his grievance at Islamabad's continuing support for terrorism.

China has a protective attitude because of its decades-long geopolitical investment in Pakistan. Initially this was to contain India, but now it has the wider dimension of gaining access to the Arabian Sea from East Turkestan, obtaining a naval foothold in Gwadar and consolidating China's increasing dominance of the broader Central Asian region.

Unless Pakistan concludes that it is being progressively isolated and that its Afghan policy is becoming unsustainable, it will not make the required course correction.

That course correction is, however, organically linked to its India policy which will not change in the foreseeable future because friendship with India will inevitably loosen the grip of the armed forces and extremist outfits on Pakistan's polity.

Terrorism

If India and Afghanistan found common language on the spread of terror by Pakistan eastwards and westwards, the surprise was the discordant notes from Russia's presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, while speaking to the press.

He would normally have been expected to be sensitive to the concerns of both countries on terrorism, given Russia's own experience with that menace and its decision to combat such forces in Syria militarily before they spread closer to Russian territory.

Kabulov, who considers the Taliban a legitimate political force in Afghanistan, sees the Islamic State (ISIS) a greater danger there, though many believe that the ISIS threat in Afghanistan is exaggerated. It is not clear whether because of internal differences splinter groups of the Taliban are projecting themselves as the ISIS.

Pakistan's purpose would of course be served by playing up the ISIS threat as that makes the Taliban look moderate and improves Islamabad's case for accommodating them politically. Russia seems to have bought into this game, though why it believes it can trust Pakistan is unexplained.

Isolation

What prompted Kabulov to disapprove of India and Afghanistan scoring "brownie points" against Pakistan at Amritsar is difficult to comprehend. Drawing pointed attention to as serious a question as Pakistan's involvement in terrorism in India and Afghanistan is not intended to gain empty diplomatic advantage, as Kabulov seems to believe.

One understands that at the conference itself, Kabulov belittled the HoA process as "supplementary", presumably to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation where Russia and China would steer matters to the exclusion of US and others.

One hopes that Kabulov would be instructed to be more measured in his comments and avoid the risk of creating political confusion.

A day before the Amritsar conference, Iran's foreign minister underlined at an event in Delhi his country's excellent relations with Pakistan and offered to mediate on Kashmir if asked.

This, along with Russia's overtures to Pakistan, suggests that isolating Pakistan on terrorism will remain a major challenge.
VMware, Inc. provides software solutions in the areas of modern applications, cloud management and infrastructure, networking, security, and digital workspaces in the United States and internationally. It offers VMware multi-cloud solutions, including VMware vSphere, a data center infrastructure that provides the fundamental compute layer; vSAN and VxRail, which offers holistic data storage and protection options to applications running on vSphere; and vRealize Cloud Management solutions that manages hybrid and multi-cloud environments running in virtual machines and containers, as well as VMware Cloud Foundation, a cloud platform that combines its vSphere, vSAN, and NSX with vRealize Cloud Management into an integrated stack and delivers enterprise-ready cloud infrastructure for private and public clouds. The company also provides networking solutions, such as VMware NSX, NSX Distributed and Gateway Firewalls, NSX Network Detection and Response Engine, NSX Advanced Load Balancer, Tanzu Service Mesh, and VMware SASE; security solutions consisting of VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, Workload, and Container; and digital workspace solutions comprising Workspace ONE Unified Endpoint Management, Access, Intelligent Hub, and Horizon. In addition, it offers application modernization solutions, such as Tanzu Application and Operations Platform, Tanzu Application Service Platform, Tanzu Observability, Tanzu Community Edition, and Tanzu Labs; and cloud management solutions, including vRealize Cloud Management, vCloud Suite, and CloudHealth by VMware Suite. The company sells its products through distributors, resellers, system vendors, and systems integrators. VMware, Inc. has a strategic alliance with Amazon Web Services to build and deliver an integrated hybrid solution. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Aetna Inc. operates as a health care benefits company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Health Care, Group Insurance, and Large Case Pensions. The Health Care segment offers medical, pharmacy benefit management service, dental, behavioral health, and vision plans on an insured and employer-funded basis. It also provides point-of-service, preferred provider organization, health maintenance organization, and indemnity benefit plans, as well as health savings accounts and consumer-directed health plans. In addition, this segment offers Medicare and Medicaid products and services, as well as other medical products, such as medical management and data analytics services, medical stop loss insurance, workers' compensation administrative services, and products that provide access to its provider networks in select geographies. The Group Insurance segment offers life insurance products, including group term life insurance, voluntary spouse and dependent term life insurance, group universal life insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance products; and long-term care insurance products, which provide the benefits to cover the cost of care in private home settings, adult day care, assisted living, or nursing facilities. The Large Case Pensions segment manages various retirement products comprising pension and annuity products primarily for tax-qualified pension plans. The company provides its products and services to employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates. Aetna Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in Hartford, Connecticut.
W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writer in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including premises operations, commercial automobile, property, products liability, and general and professional liability lines. It also provides workers' compensation insurance products; accident and health insurance and reinsurance products; insurance for commercial risks; specialty environmental products for contractors, consultants, and property owners and facilities operators; specialized insurance coverages for fine arts and jewelry exposures; umbrella and excess liability coverage products; and liquor liability and inland marine coverage for small to medium-sized insureds. In addition, this segment offers directors and officers, and surety risk products, as well as products for technology, and life sciences and travel industries; cyber risk solutions; casualty, group life, and crime and fidelity related insurance products; personal lines insurance solutions, including home, condo/co-op, auto, and collectibles; automobile, law enforcement, public officials and educator's legal, and employment practices liability, as well as incidental medical insurance products; and at-risk and alternative risk insurance program management services. The Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment provides other insurance companies and self-insureds with assistance in managing their net risk through reinsurance on a portfolio basis through treaty reinsurance or on an individual basis through facultative reinsurance. W. R. Berkley Corporation was founded in 1967 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
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.
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
National Retail Properties is a REIT focused on retail-oriented properties across the United States. The company invests in high-quality retail properties subject to long-term leases that generate stable, consistent, predictable income. The company laid claim to 3,305 properties enclosing 33.8 million square feet of space in 48 states leased to 380 tenants engaged in 37 trades as of October 2022.

National Retail Properties was formed in 1984 as Golden Corral Realty Corporation. The company was intended as a means for employees to invest in Golden Corral but it soon took on a life of its own. The company split from its parent in 1993 and then became a REIT in 1998. Since then a number of mergers and acquisitions resulted in the company that is traded today.

National Retail Properties seeks to generate returns for shareholders through capital appreciation and dividends and is one of the most stable dividend payers in the REIT universe. The company made its 33rd consecutive distribution increase in 2022 ranking it 3rd on the list of REITs with sustained annual dividend increases. In regard to all publicly listed companies, there are less than 90 which have increased their payout for as many years or more as National Retail Properties. The compound annual growth rate runs in the range of 4% to 5%.

National Retail Properties is not limited in scope to the type of business it will lease to. The top four sectors occupying its space, however, are convenience stores, automotive-related, full-service, and limited-service restaurants which command a lions share of retail dollars. These segments made up nearly 49% of the portfolio in 2022 with no tenant making up more than 5% of the total income.

The top three tenants at the time are 7-11, Mister Car Wash, and Camping World followed by L.A. Fitness, GPM Investments (convenience), and Dave & Busters. The firm's average lease runs in the range of 10.6 years and occupancy runs high and above 99%. Properties are all single-occupier and leased on a net basis. Most properties are leased on a triple-net basis which means National Retail Properties is insulated from taxes, maintenance, and insurance costs. Other notable tenants include Yum! Brands and Wendys.

National Retail Properties uses leverage to enhance its returns. The companys debt ratio is low however and its debt carries an investment-grade rating from Standard & Poors and Moodys.
The following companies are subsidiares of Novartis: 1 A Pharma GmbH, Abadia Retuerta S.A, Admune Therapeutics, Advanced Accelerator Applications, Advanced Accelerator Applications, Advanced Accelerator Applications International SA, Advanced Accelerator Applications S.A., Advanced Accelerator Applications S.r.l., Advanced Accelerator Applications USA Inc., Aeropharm GmbH, Alcon, Alcon  Couvreur NV, Amblyotech, Amblyotech Inc., Arctos Medical, Arctos Medical AG, Australia Pty Ltd, Beijing Novartis Pharma Co. Ltd., BioMedical Research Co. Ltd., CELLforCURE, Cadent Therapeutics, Cadent Therapeutics Cambridge, Cellerys, Cellerys AG, CellforCure, Chiron Corporation, Ciba-Geigy Japan Limited, Co. Ltd, CoStim Pharmaceuticals, CoStim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Coalesce Product Development Limited, Corthera, Development Co. Ltd., EBEWE Pharma Ges.m.b.H Nfg. KG, Encore Vision, Endocyte, Endocyte Inc., Eon Labs Inc., Farmanova Saglik Hizmetleri Ltd, Fougera Pharmaceuticals, Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc, Gyroscope Therapeutics, HEXAL AG, Hexal, IDB Holland BV, Iberica S.L.U., Ilaclari Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S, JSC Sandoz, Japat AG, Kedalion Therapeutics Inc., Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d., Lek S.A., Manufacturing Pte Ltd , Navigate BioPharma Services Inc, Neutec Pharma Limited, Novartis (Hellas) S.A.C.I., Novartis (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Novartis (Taiwan) Co. Ltd, Novartis (Thailand) Limited, Novartis Argentina S.A., Novartis Australia Pty Ltd, Novartis Austria GmbH, Novartis Biociencias S.A., Novartis Biosciences Peru S.A., Novartis Bioventures AG, Novartis Business Services GmbH, Novartis Capital Corporation, Novartis Chile S.A., Novartis Corporation, Novartis Corporation Sdn. Bhd., Novartis Deutschland GmbH, Novartis Ecuador S.A., Novartis Farma S.p.A., Novartis Farma  Produtos Farmaceuticos S.A., Novartis Farmaceutica S.A, Novartis Farmaceutica S.A. de C.V., Novartis Finance Corporation, Novartis Finance S.A., Novartis Finance Services Ltd, Novartis Finland Oy Espoo, Novartis Gene Therapies, Novartis Gene Therapies EU Limited, Novartis Gene Therapies Inc., Novartis Grimsby Limited, Novartis Groupe France S.A., Novartis Healthcare A/S, Novartis Healthcare Philippines Inc., Novartis Healthcare Private Limited, Novartis Holding AG, Novartis Hungary Healthcare Limited Liability Company, Novartis India Limited, Novartis Inflammasome Research, Novartis Integrated Services Limited, Novartis International AG, Novartis International Pharmaceutical Investment AG, Novartis Investment Ltd, Novartis Investments S.a r.l., Novartis Ireland Limited, Novartis Israel Ltd, Novartis Korea Ltd., Novartis Middle East FZE, Novartis Netherlands B.V., Novartis Neva LLC, Novartis New Zealand Ltd, Novartis Norge AS, Novartis Ophthalmics AG, Novartis Optogenetics Research Inc., Novartis Overseas Investments AG, Novartis Pharma (Logistics) Inc., Novartis Pharma (Pakistan) Limited, Novartis Pharma AG, Novartis Pharma B.V. , Novartis Pharma GmbH, Novartis Pharma GmbH, Novartis Pharma K.K., Novartis Pharma LLC, Novartis Pharma Maroc SA, Novartis Pharma NV, Novartis Pharma Produktions GmbH, Novartis Pharma S.A.E., Novartis Pharma S.A.S., Novartis Pharma Schweiz AG, Novartis Pharma Schweizerhalle AG, Novartis Pharma Services AG, Novartis Pharma Services Romania S.R.L., Novartis Pharma Stein AG, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Limited, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited, Novartis Poland Sp. z o.o., Novartis Portugal S.G.P.S. Lda., Novartis Ringaskiddy Limited, Novartis Saglik Gida ve Tarim Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S, Novartis Saudi Ltd., Novartis Securities Investment Ltd, Novartis Services Inc., Novartis Slovakia s.r.o., Novartis South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Novartis Sverige AB, Novartis UK Limited, Novartis US Foundation, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Inc, Novartis Vietnam Company Limited, Novartis de Colombia S.A., Novartis de Venezuela S.A., Novartis s.r.o., Oriel Therapeutics Inc., PT. Novartis Indonesia, Protez Pharmaceuticals, Pte Ltd, Research Inc, Salutas Pharma GmbH, Sandoz A/S, Sandoz AG, Sandoz B.V., Sandoz Canada Inc., Sandoz Egypt Pharma S.A.E., Sandoz Farmaceutica S.A., Sandoz Farmaceutica Lda., Sandoz GmbH, Sandoz Hungary Limited Liability Company, Sandoz Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Sandoz Inc, Sandoz Industrial Products S.A, Sandoz International GmbH, Sandoz K.K., Sandoz Limited, Sandoz Manufacturing Inc., Sandoz NV, Sandoz Pharma K.K, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals AG, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals d.d., Sandoz Philippines Corporation, Sandoz Polska Sp. z o.o. , Sandoz Private Limited, Sandoz Pty Ltd, Sandoz S.A. de C.V, Sandoz S.A.S., Sandoz S.R.L., Sandoz S.p.A., Sandoz South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Sandoz Ukraine LLC, Sandoz d.o.o. farmaceutska industrija, Sandoz do Brasil Industria Farmaceutica Ltda, Sandoz s.r.o., Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Shanghai Novartis Trading Ltd., Societe par actions SANDOZ, Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, The Medicines Company, The Medicines Company, Triangle International Reinsurance Limited, Trinity River Insurance Co Ltd, Vedere Bio, Vedere Bio ll, Xiidra, Ziarco, and Ziarco Group Limited.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Aqua Environmental Limited, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bro-Tech Limited, CALGON LLC, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, Cymru Holdings Limited, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, EPN Water Col Ltd., Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH in Liquidation, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co. Compagnie Ecolab, Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Digital Center Private Limited, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab International SDN BHD, Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 SCA, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 16 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 17 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 Sarl, Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Malaysia SDN. BHD., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BV, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios S.A.S., Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM B.V., NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE SAS, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA MANUFACTURING S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC (1), Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Deutschland Manufacturing GmbH, Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Private Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., National Wiper Alliance Inc., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Purolite, Purolite (China) Co. Ltd., Purolite (Int.) Ltd, Purolite (Pty) Ltd, Purolite AG, Purolite GmbH, Purolite Ileri Kimyasal Ticaret Ltd, Purolite KK, Purolite LLC, Purolite Ltd, Purolite NZ Limited, Purolite Private Limited, Purolite Pte. Ltd., Purolite Pty Ltd, Purolite S. de R.L. de C.V., Purolite SAS, Purolite SRL, Purolite do Brasil Ltda, Purolite s.r.o., Purolite sp. z o.o., Purolite C Corporation, QazSorbent LLP, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, TechTex Holdings Limited, Technical Textile Services Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, VanBaele Hygiene AG, Wabasha Leasing LLC, Zhe Jiang Purosoft Home Appliances Sale Co Ltd, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG.

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A relative of Corey Clanagan wept as a photo of his dead body was shown to the jury during day one of defendant Daniel Akordors first-degree murder trial Monday in Culpeper County Circuit Court.

Moments after that woman was escorted from the courtroom, a female juror jumped up in tears, exclaiming, I got to stop! I got to go! before running out of sight into the jury room in spite of Judge Susan Whitlocks instructions to remain seated.

Such was the emotional scene at the initial presentation of evidence in the Nov. 1, 2014, death of 19-year-old Clanagan, who was stabbed following a brawl just before midnight at Halloween party on Cherry Hill Road that started with as many as 120 young people having fun, but ended in horror.

A 14-member jury, including two alternateseight men and six womenwas seated to hear the case against Akordor, 25, of Fredericksburg. The female juror who made the outburst as Culpeper County Detective Justin Brown was on the stand was ultimately excused.

Charlottesville-based defense attorney Michael Hallahan referred to her as a poison pill for the rest of the jury, saying she couldnt control herself and couldnt be trusted to keep her composure. Judge Whitlock agreed, saying she couldnt chance any further such incidences from the woman, who appeared contrite and said she was sorry before being escorted out of the courtroom Monday.

Brown, later testifying about graphic autopsy photos, was the first detective to respond to the scene of the party more than two years ago. He found Clanagan, a recent graduate of Eastern View High School, lying in a ditch at the end of the driveway near the road with multiple stab wounds and what appeared to be a gunshot wound.

No arrests were made at the scene, but as the Sheriffs Office continued its investigation, a list of names came together of potential party-goers from Fredericksburg, according to Brown. Among those names was Tonie Jones, one of five other people charged in Clanagans death. Authorities searched his house and found A Book of Knowledge, describing policies and procedures for gangs, Brown said.

Also on the list of names was Akordor, at whose house authorities executed a search warrant a few weeks after Clanagans death, the detective said. Found in Akordors trash, according to Brown, was empty plastic packaging for a knife and a pair of pants that tested positive for having human blood on them. DNA could not be extracted from the stain, he said, because the pants were damaged.

Surveillance video later obtained by police showed Akordor entering the South Main Street 7-Eleven in Culpeper at 12:24 p.m. on Nov. 2, the day after the incident at the Halloween party. The video showed the defendant going up to the counter, entering the bathroom and then leaving the store. Authorities believe he was wearing the same bloody pants later found in his trash.

The Culpeper County Commonwealths Attorney called nine total witnesses Monday, among them seven young people who were at the party, including hostess Jordan Victoria Tori Bayne. She testified she had hosted the event in her fathers small house off U.S. 522 for several years prior.

There was music, dancing, water pong and a candy bowl at the party, described as being very crowded and very dark by all of the attendees who testified Monday. Clanagan was the life of the party, Bayne said. He was stuffing balloons up his shirt pretending he was pregnant prior to his violent death.

He was always the one that brought laughter, she said.

Bayne said she was in the tiny living room changing the music when she was shoved. She testified that she saw Clanagan and another male fighting, and that she tried to break it up, but Clanagan grabbed her by the waist and said, Tori, watch out.

Others testified Monday that multiple fights broke out and fists were flying before the brawl spilled outside and another partygoer, Conner Settle, was shot in the leg.

Bayne, like the other partygoers, testified that she did not see Akordor that night.

According to authorities, Akordor reportedly arrived with a group of people from Fredericksburg around 11 p.m. and the fight broke out shortly thereafter. Witness DAaron Chapman testified that it was around 11:50 p.m. when the all-out brawl erupted.

Everybody was just running, he said. I couldnt tell you who was on what side. It was pitch black.

Drayton Shanks testified that he joined in to help when he saw Clanagan fighting, but that he didnt know who they were fighting and that he did not know Akordor or see him at the party.

Kyle Talley testified that he didnt know what started the fight and that he tried to look for a way out when Settle came in the house saying he had been shot.

I ran out of the house and down the driveway, he said.

Talley said he stepped over a body at the end of the driveway before he got in the car. He testified he saw Tonie Jones standing near the body, talking on the phone. Talley testified that he also saw defendants Donell Easter and Jonathan Milton at the party.

Taylor Shanks testified that she attempted to render first aid to Settle and that she saw a guy down at the bottom of the hill when police arrived. Shanks said she never saw Clanagan alive again and that she did not see Akordor at the party.

Eric Washington said he didnt see the defendant there either, but that he did see Clanagans body. He testified he saw Jones standing over top of the body, looking around. Clanagan was still alive at the point, Washington said, and it looked like he was holding himself as if to cover his wounds.

I heard there was a gun, so I was trying to get out of the way, Washington said.

Justin Washington testified that he didnt see Akordor at the party either. When people started running outside, Washington said he did, too, and he saw somebody lying on the ground.

I rolled him over and just tried to keep him alive until the ambulance got there, said Justin Washington. It was a lot of blood.

Culpeper County Commonwealths Attorney Paul Walther, in his opening statement, told the jury that it was going to hear pieces of a puzzle from many witnesses that when put together would prove Akordors guilt. Defense attorney Hallahan said probability and suspicion should not be enough to convict his client.

There were a lot of people at that party, people doing bad things, he said.

Hallahan said the others accused in the crime who would testify for the commonwealth this week are a cast of liars.

The trial resumes Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
State Senator Barbara Favola (D-31st) has recently announced her intention to require a study of the cost and feasibility of a firearms registry in Virginia. Her proposal should be recognized for what it is and steadfastly opposed.

In addition to being unlawful under federal law, such a firearms registry would not address the issue Senator Favola uses to justify its existence.

Most importantly, a firearms registry is only the first step in restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

Any restriction compromises our liberty and safety as individual citizens and compromises our collective security.

Our Founding Fathers, understanding the wisdom and necessity of our right to bear arms, enshrined that right in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That right is also protected by the Constitution of Virginia. Every branch of government  judicial, legislative and executive -- has reaffirmed that right.

The senators attempt to commit taxpayer dollars to the study of a patently illegal firearms registry is disturbing.

Her baseless supposition that a registry could help the state identify where and why gun violence is prevalent and potentially whether there should be more restrictions in areas of heavy crime is even more troubling.

If gun violence is the senators true concern, she would do well to tailor her legislative agenda to the criminals committing gun crimes, rather than seeking to curtail the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

This proposal, even if it could get past the illegality of a firearms registry and our rock-solid Second Amendment rights, is merely a smoke screen for a transparent attempt to restrict Second Amendment rights.

As a citizen, I will strongly resist any attempt to limit my Second Amendment rights. As sheriff, I will always do everything within my official power and discretion to see that our constitutional rights, including those rights under the Second Amendment, are protected.

Law-abiding citizens will see this measure for what it is, and should declare their opposition to any attempt to limit their freedoms. If not, our safety and security will be compromised.

Scott H. Jenkins

Sheriff, Culpeper County
LONDON - England - Remoaner Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond is calling for a transitional soft Brexit over 4 - 6 years. His proposal would be a serious watering down of Brexit and for what people voted for on June 23, 2016.

Hammonds EU-centric Brexit would favour Brussels, especially with free movement, and would increase migration exponentially into Britains borders.

Because of Theresa Mays dilly dallying within the first six months of her gaining the role of prime minister, and also her appointment of key Remoaners into the Cabinet, many plots to thwart Brexit flourished including a court case with EU-centric judges presiding over a nonsensical charge brought on by foreigners, and anti-British citizens.

On all fronts, there are multiple attacks to halt Brexit, and due to the current Cabinet having little or no Brexit output, there is little cause for addressing the will of the people. The House of Lords, is a cesspit full of unelected bought-for cronyistic peers intent on destroying anything that even mentions the word Brexit. There is little or no chance that any Commons Bill would ever pass the Remoaner base of the Lords.

The key point for voting for Brexit was to control migration into Britain to a sustainable level, unfortunately, because of Theresa May and her duplicitous diversional political stance, and indecisive nature, there is little hope of halting EU migration in the future, especially if the Hammond transitional plan is implemented.

On June 23 2016, 17.5 million people making up 52% of voters voted to get out of the EU, to take back control of our laws, of our sovereign status, and to limit migration into Britain. These people who voted, who were assured by parliament their vote counted have been betrayed, and so has democracy within the United Kingdom been betrayed, by pandering to the EU, and to Remoaners at every turn, the weak Theresa May and her Remoaner centric Cabinet are nothing to do with Brexit and unless something happens drastically in the future, there will never be a Brexit as prescribed by the general populace.

When all else fails, the country may very well fall into discontent, into violent expression for their disenchantment of what they thought was a democracy. Nationwide civil unrest will break up the UK into many factions, and there could be decades of violent street clashes as people fight for what is right and what they voted for.

By betraying the will of the people established on a democratic vote on June 23, 2016, it is not only elected MPs who will lose their seats and constituencies but the economy will suffer as well. How many years of civil unrest can the government deal with, as people fight in the streets, escalating into open warfare on all fronts?

Defying the will of the populace is a dangerous game, but if Remoaners wish to play, then they should be ready for the uprising after their treacherous attempts at derailing Brexit are unearthed for all to see.
The National Association of REALTORS partnered with the National Boys & Girls Club in 2016 and the Dayton Area Board of REALTORS brought the partnership to the local level.

December 12, 2016 - The Dayton Area Board of Realtors will be following Santa Claus to the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton on Monday, December 12 at 5:30pm. Santa and his Realtor elves will bring a little holiday cheer to approximately one hundred children during the Boys & Girls Clubs annual Christmas party, sponsored by the Dayton Area Board of Realtors.

Cookies, refreshments, gifts, and fun activities are all in store for the children. Plus, the kids will not only receive, they will give: they will be making homemade Christmas cards to be delivered to kids at Childrens Medical Center.

Sponsoring the Boys & Girls Clubs Christmas party is a great way for everyone involved to get into the holiday spirit, stated Michael Martin, president of the Dayton Area Board of Realtors. Its also a great opportunity to show the kids how much enjoyment and satisfaction they can have by giving back at the same time, and the card-making project will highlight that. Its going to be so much fun!

During the party, the Dayton Area Board of Realtors will also unveil a new school supply pantry at the Boys & Girls Club. This pantry will be stocked with paper, pencils, notebooks and many other supplies that the kids will be able to use throughout the year for their homework, crafting, and tutoring needs.

The Boys & Girls Club of Dayton is excited about our relationship with the Dayton Area Board of Realtors, said Natasha Spears, chief executive officer of Boys & Girls Club of Dayton. It means so much when members of the business community become invested in the lives of the students and families we serve.

Realtors are community builders, and they take part in a number of local initiatives throughout the year - from volunteering their muscle with Rebuilding Together Dayton, to donating money and materials to Dayton area schools and credit counseling services. DABRs Foundation provides scholarships to dependents of Realtors, and their annual holiday reception serves as Daytons largest source of donated toys to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots.

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The Dayton Area Board of Realtors is a trade association representing over 2,700 REALTOR and affiliate members in Montgomery, Greene, Darke, Warren, and Preble Counties in Ohio. As members of organized real estate, REALTORS subscribe to a strict code of ethics and have access to numerous services and programs to enhance their professionalism. Since 1909, DABR has provided its members with the resources they need to ensure the continued growth and success of real estate practitioners to better serve the consumer.

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Established in 1930, the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton (BGCD) provides daily afterschool and all day summer programs to children in grades K through 12, getting them off the streets during the most dangerous time of the day, between 2:00 p.m.  7:00 p.m. Each year BGCD provides approximately 600 Montgomery County youth with a safe and positive place to learn and grow. At the Boys & Girls Club children can spend their non-school hours surrounded by caring adults and engaged in enriching, age appropriate youth development activities. Club members have access to an array of programs in the core areas of Academic Success, Civic & Social Engagement, and Healthy Lifestyles. Membership fees are low and affordable and afterschool participation includes a nutritious meal served daily. BGCD is part of the national federation of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which includes some 4,000 Club locations in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and U.S. military bases world wide serving 4.2 million youth annually.
The outstanding credit of banking system stood at Rs 72.92 trillion as of November 25, according to the Reserve Bank data.

Mumbai: The demand destruction unleashed by the November 8 demonetisation drive saw the bank credit shrinking by a whopping Rs 61,000 crore, or 0.8 per cent, during the fortnight to November 25, show the latest RBI data. But at the same time, the note ban also had a positive effect, as borrowers, including some default accounts, paid back as much as Rs 66,000 crore during the same period.

In sharp contrast, during the same fortnight, banks received huge inflows as people deposited as much as Rs 4.03 trillion into the accounts, which as of December 9 crossed Rs 12 trillion, putting all calculations of the Government into a tizzy.

Analysts supporting the cash recall move initially claimed that at least 20 per cent, or a little over Rs 3 trillion - out of the total Rs 15.4 trillion of the banned banknotes - would not come back to the banking system, helping the Government net a windfall from the exercise whose stated aim is to root out black money and curb corruption.

This, they claimed, would be achieved by writing off a similar amount from the balancesheet of the central bank and then transferring the same the Government as surplus.

But with the near total return of the banned notes, all these calculations have gone out of the window. The outstanding credit of banking system stood at Rs 72.92 trillion as of November 25, according to the Reserve Bank data. The year-on-year credit growth was just 6.6 per cent, down from 9.3 per cent a year ago.

Bankers say there has been a sharp plunge in credit demand as the economy began to feel the adverse effects of the decision to withdraw legal tender status of old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

This plunge in bank credit came after another Rs 59,000-crore dip in the previous fortnight to November 11, showing the initial impact of the November 8 announcement to decommission high value notes.

The deposits banks rose by 4 per cent in the fortnight to Rs 105.177 trillion, pushing the annual growth to 15.9 per cent as against 9.8 per cent a year ago. In the fortnight to November 11, deposits grew by Rs 1.31 trillion or 1.3 per cent, according to the RBI data.
ASCI also said it has asked HUL to modify its TVC in which the company made a claim that 'Vim removes grease fastest' saying, "There was a mismatch between the claim and its corresponding disclaimer."

New Delhi: Advertisement regulator ASCI has pulled up FMCG major HUL over its 'misleading' TV commercial for dish washer brand Vim in which it claimed rival Jyothy Laboratories' Exo as "sadharan" (ordinary) bar.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) noted that its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld a complaint against HUL in which it implied that Exo is "ordinary or inferior".

"There being no other criteria for calling out a product as 'ordinary', the CCC considered the TVC to be misleading by ambiguity and implication and unfairly denigrated Exo dish wash bar," ASCI said in a statement.

When contacted, HUL said, "As a responsible marketer and member of ASCI, we have always complied with ASCI guidelines and recommendations. We will suitably modify the advertisement as per ASCI's recommendation."

ASCI also said it has asked HUL to modify its TVC in which the company made a claim that 'Vim removes grease fastest' saying, "There was a mismatch between the claim and its corresponding disclaimer."

ASCI said in the disclaimer HUL stated, "as per independent lab test conducted on burnt food stain" while the claim referred to 'grease', which is as "an oil stain". The advertising watchdog, however, struck down a Jyothy Laboratories' claim that its Exo was superior than Vim bar "in absence of any data to prove that Exo performs better than Vim". The CCC concluded that the TVC claim, "There is nothing else faster than Vim", was substantiated.
Another charge was violation with regard to File & Use guidelines for which the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

New Delhi: Regulator Irdai has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Birla Sun Life Insurance for violation of various regulations including the one relating to prohibition on giving freebies like foreign travel and gift cards to corporate agents and brokers.

The regulator imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh only for violation Corporate Agents guidelines by arranging foreign trips and distribution of gift cards to the employees of corporate agents and brokers.

Birla Sun Life Insurance accepted on providing gift cards, foreign trips to the employees of the corporate agents and brokers during 2011-12 amounting to Rs 3.80 crore. "Any payout to an employee of the corporate agent in relevance to solicitation is deemed to be a payment to the corporate agent himself or as an unlicensed individual encouraged to be involved in soliciting of insurance business," IRDAI said in an order.

Another charge was violation with regard to File & Use guidelines for which the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh. The insurer also violated norms related to premium collection with regard to ULIP products thus inviting a fine of another Rs 5 lakh. "Regulation relating to advance premium was issued on June 20, 2013.

Insurer took more than a year to implement the Authority directions and that too only after the observation by the inspection team," it said. For engagement of business mentor, the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh. "Further, insurer shall discontinue the practice of engaging a licensed entity as business mentor after March 31, 2017," it said.

The penalty of Rs 20 lakh shall be debited to the shareholders account of the life insurer and the amount shall be remitted to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this Order, it said.
Mumbai: RBI has asked banks to preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests to help law enforcement agencies in identifying people engaged in hoarding of new notes post demonetisation.

The Reserve Bank, in a notification issued today, said banks should "preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from November 8 to December 30, 2016, until further instructions".

The central bank said the move will "facilitate coordinated and effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes". Earlier in October, the RBI had asked banks to cover the banking hall/area and counters under CCTV surveillance and recording and preserve the recording to help identify people abetting circulation of counterfeit notes.

After demonetisation, there have been reports of hoarding of new currency notes by unscrupulous elements at various bank branches across the country. The Income-Tax Department is carrying out raids across the country on a regular basis since demonetisation to nab new currency hoarders and several people, both individuals as well as bank officials, have been booked so far for carrying out such illegal activities.

The government has said abolishment of these high denomination banknotes is intended to bring back unaccounted money into the system, curb fake currency circulation as well as to deter terror financing.
New Delhi: Tata Sons today hiked its stake by nearly 2 per cent in Tata Motors by buying additional shares for Rs 2,430 crore, days before the auto maker's shareholders' meet to discuss the ouster of Cyrus Mistry as director.

Tata Sons has purchased a total of 5 crore shares, amounting to 1.73 per cent stake, of Tata Motors, according to bulk deal data available with the stock exchanges.

The shares were bought on an average price of Rs 486.13, valuing the transaction at Rs 2,430.65 crore. Currently, Tata Sons holds 26.98 per cent stake in Tata Motors.

Following the transaction, shares of Tata Motors rose 3.48 per cent to settle at Rs 470.35 apiece on the BSE. During the intra-day trade, the stock surged by around 5 per cent to touch the day's high of Rs 477.

Tata Motors has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on December 22 to seek shareholders' approval for removing Mistry and Nusli Wadia as directors of the company. Ousted from Tata Sons, Mistry continues as chairman of Tata Motors.

In a sudden and dramatic turn of events last month, Mistry was unceremoniously removed as the chairman of Tata Sons and replaced by his predecessor Ratan Tata in the interim, triggering a confrontation between the single-largest shareholder and the Tatas.

Returning to Tata Sons after the abrupt removal of Mistry, Ratan Tata has moved quickly to consolidate his grip over the USD 103 billion salt-to-software group by seeking to remove the ousted chairman from the boards of group firms. Mumbai-based Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of Rs 2,75,561 crore in 2015-16.
The violations listed by the FDA after its latest inspection at Halol include problems with Sun's quality control system, some of which were also cited by the US. health regulator in its warning letter issued to Sun in December 2015.

Mumbai: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has again raised concerns about the quality control process at Indian drugmaker Sun Pharmceutical Industries' Halol factory, an inspection report obtained by Reuters shows.

Earlier this month, Sun said it had been informed by the US health regulator of more concerns about its plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat after a recent inspection, but details of the violations were unclear at the time.

According to the 14-page-long report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters through a Freedom of Information Act Request, FDA has identified nine violations - including a couple of repeat violations - at the plant following an inspection between Nov. 17 and Dec. 1.

The approval of several of Sun's key drugs in its biggest market, the United States, depends on clearance of the Halol plant. The world's No.5 generic drugmaker has been working on improving processes at Halol since the FDA warned it a year ago of concerns with the manufacturing process at the site.

The violations listed by the FDA after its latest inspection at Halol include problems with Sun's quality control system, some of which were also cited by the US. health regulator in its warning letter issued to Sun in December 2015.

"Appropriate controls are not exercised to assure that changes to documents related to the manufacture of drug products are instituted only by authorized personnel," FDA inspectors said in their recent report.

They also listed a lack of proper maintenance of important records related to the manufacturing process and cited concerns about the accuracy of some of the drug testing methods employed.

Other findings included delays in informing the agency of contamination or failure of drug batches.

The FDA procedure requires Sun to respond to the agency this week, detailing the corrective measures the firm plans to take.

A spokesman for Sun did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Shares of the company have dropped about 17 percent so far this year.
Agencies are seizing new notes across the country everyday even as common people are struggling to withdraw money from banks and ATMs.

New Delhi: As new notes is getting seized across country, RBI on Tuesday asked banks to preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from November 08 to December 30, 2016.

RBI said that preservation of CCTV was needed to facilitate effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with illegal accumulation of new notes.

Agencies are seizing new notes across the country everyday even as common people are struggling to withdraw money from banks and ATMs.

Many bankers are also under the lens for helping in money laundering. RBI deputy governor S.S. Mundra said that in an operation of this size, there are always elements that would have behaved otherwise than what is expected of them and we are keeping a constant vigil of the same.

We have issued elaborate instructions to all the bank management to do central data checking and whenever they find any inconsistency, it should be pursued further, he said.
New Delhi: In order to facilitate ease of doing business, Sebi has notified rules to provide permanent registration to merchant bankers, investment advisers, research analysts and eight other categories of market intermediaries.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) already gives permanent registration to stock brokers and sub-brokers subject to their compliance with certain requirements.

The proposal to grant permanent registration to 11 more categories of market intermediaries follows an approval by Sebi in its board meeting in September.

Apart from merchant bankers and investment advisers, permanent registration would be granted to registrar to an issue and share transfer agent, bankers to an issue, underwriters, credit rating agencies and debenture trustees.

The facility has also been extended to depository participants, KYC registration agencies, portfolio managers and research analysts. The decision will help in facilitating ease of doing business for market intermediaries.

For registration of market intermediaries, the regulator has a two-step process. Initially, registration is given for a three to five years before giving the permanent one.

With regard to merchant bankers, Sebi said that it can reject the application after giving an opportunity of being heard in case an application for registration does not satisfy the criteria set out by the regulator.

"The refusal to grant registration, shall be communicated by the board within 30 days of such refusal to the applicant stating therein the grounds on which the application has been rejected," Sebi said in a notification.
The actor was last seen in Sonakshi Sinha's 'Akira'.

Mumbai: Amit Sadh, who will be seen playing a pivotal role in Tigmanshu Dhulias next, learnt how to operate a rifle for an important scene in the movie.

Interestingly, to make the rifle shooting scene appear realistic, the actor sought help from one of his close friends, Gagan Narang, who won the bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics Air Rifle event.

Amit informs, Gagan Narang is one of my closest friends and he is my mentor. Im glad he agreed to be my mentor and help me out with shooting. I was good at shooting; I did the Combined Annual Training Camp for NCC and it was an interesting experience. In context of my character, I am a pistol-shooter.

The talented actor also plans to attend shooting tournaments to practice at actual shooting ranges.

Ill be attending a tournament in Pune from December 12 and spend time at the shooting range, he adds.
Mumbai: Upon release and even prior to that, one of the biggest talking points of Aditya Chopras Befikre was Ranveer Singhs butt naked scene from the film. The film, although got heavily panned by the critics and the audience, did manage to come up with a decent box-office figure.

However, the Censor Board has come under the scanner for having greenlit the nude scene, despite having played spoilsport over seemingly milder sequences on earlier junctures. (Read Udta Punjab and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil).

However, as per the CBFC honcho Pahlaj Nihalani, its just a matter of context. In an interview with DNA, he said, We shortened Ranveer Singhs butt shot quite a lot. Right now its just a glimpse, no more. Whats wrong with it? He is alone with his girlfriend in a room. They are doing what couples do when they are alone. Why is a butt shot objectionable? Weve allowed butt shots in some recent Hollywood films. Also in Madhur Bhandarkars Jail.

Pahlaj also defended the very frequent and intermittent kissing scenes in the film, which starred Vaani Kapoor as the leading lady.

See, unlike Ae Dil Hai Mushkil , Spectre or Tamasha where the kisses were done in lengthy shots, in Befikre the kisses are scattered and largely fleeting and all over the place. They are part of the narration. As a filmmaker, I know what can be cut without hampering the flow of the narrative. In Befikre there is no way we could cut the kisses without interrupting the flow of the story. Aditya Chopra has treated the kisses as part of the story. If we removed the kisses wed be hampering the storytelling, he justified.

While the film has managed to gross 39.63 crore rupees approximately according to popular trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the controversy surrounding the alleged prejudice refuses to die down.

It is just a matter of clout. If Mr Nihalani thinks its okay for people to kiss in Europe, why did he object to James Bond and Monica Bellucci kissing in Spectre? This CBFC has shown complete inconsistency and arbitrariness in their rulings. Everyone should be measured by the same yardstick, DNA quoted popular critic Raja Sen as saying.

Pahlaj concluded defending all his decisions, saying, Weve cut all the close-ups of the kisses and the climactic kiss has been reduced by 50 per cent. The rest we couldnt cut for apprehension of being accused of creative interference.
Mumbai: Filmmaker Vikas Bahl is excited to direct a cross-culture movie tentatively titled 'Interpreter', which will be an Indo-French co-production.

The director will helm the project and has roped in French star Kev Adams in the lead role whereas the search for the leading lady, who will be a big name from India, is still on.

"We are still in the process of finishing the script but it seems like we will shoot here as well as in France. It'll be a co-production. With a big star from there and a good star from India...," Vikas told reporters last night.

"Its truly a collaboration... coming together whether it's the writing or the actors, production. It is not just about going to another country, getting funds from there and shooting. Usually there are part collaborations which happen but this will be a pure collaboration," he added.

The 'Queen' director was speaking at an event last night where he announced the film.

Vikas said it all started when he was working with the Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, who was on a trip to India for a movie.

The 'Shaandaar' director formed a good rapport with Majidi but the duo depended on an interpreter to talk.

One day, however, when the interpreter wasn't there, they couldn't communicate because there was no common language.

Thus, the idea for the film was born almost five years ago.

"It is about two families, cultures meeting and how they deal with each other. But primarily it's about the language. It is the language which enables and disables you at the same time. It's much more based on that," Vikas said.

Kev said he was highly impressed by the director's 'Queen' and is looking forward to working with him.

"This is an important project for me as it'll be my very first Bollywood movie, if we can call it like that. I really wanted to meet Vikas and we met. I loved the modernity and message he gave through Queen."

'Interpreter' will be backed by Phantom films and Reliance in India.
Anil will be seen alongside nephew Arjun Kapoor in Anees Bazmee's '

Mumbai: At 59, Anil Kapoor still has amongst the most enviable manes in tinsel-town, apart from vehemently refusing to age.

The actor, however, seems to be in the mood to reinvent his look, as he believes to not is 'boring'.

The veteran, who opted for the classic undercut looks every bit the charmer that he is, and pulls it off, magnificently.

However, what caught our eyes was how much a close semblance it held with that of the mercurial Arthur Shelby from the popular series 'Peaky Blinders,' played by Paul Anderson.

The series, which stars Cillian Murphy in the lead, alongside Tom Hardy in a superlative supporting role, has unanimously been lauded for its style and content.

The amazingly talented Paul, who's sunk his teeth into Arthur like a veteran, is amongst the biggest attractions of the show.

Well, we won't blame the 'Jhakaas' Kapoor if his latest hairdo is inspired from him, looking at how ridiculously well it suits him.

Probably his look for Anees Bazmee's 'Mubarakan,' co-starring Arjun Kapoor?
Mumbai: The three-time National award winner, Kangana Ranaut is all set to share the screen space with extremely talented stars, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor in her upcoming film Rangoon, which is directed by Vishal Bhardwaj.

While not much was revealed about the films screenplay, we got to hear a lot about the on-going uneasiness between Kangana and her co-stars. B-Town was abuzz with rumours about Kangana's constantly uncalled interference during the shooting of Rangoon which left Saif and Shahid miffed.

However, in her recent interview to mid-day, the actress quashed all the rumours by saying that she has read everything that has been written about her but theres no cold war. I don't pay much heed to mischief-makers, whether they are contemporaries or competition. These mischief-makers are mostly unnecessary publicists who do everything possible to malign you and get you in trouble. I keep a watch on everything. If it's alarming and I foresee a bigger trap, I hit back. I don't care about bugs in the bed, Kangana said.

The actress said that she doesnt go to work with an idea to party. "I am different at work; I don't go in to the set wanting to party. As far as Saif is concerned, he is the classic man. I am a fan of his charms. He and Kareena (Kapoor Khan) have been extremely gracious to me. They hosted a dinner for me when I came down. I love their company.

While she is in a really good terms with Saif and his wife Kareena, Kangana said that she also shares a healthy partnership with her other co-star Shahid Kapoor. As for Shahid, we had a healthy partnership on set and I don't see any trouble between us. Of course, we weren't pally, which [is] probably [what] was misconstrued. People need to understand that we don't go to work to make friends, the actress concluded.
Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra might have been subjected to a lot of ridicule courtey her blink-and-miss appearance in the much hyped Baywatch, but her sister Parineeti Chopra is confident that she will be fantastic in the film.

The actress, at a recent event, was all praise for PeeCee, whos been making waves across the West, courtesy her successful turn as Alex Parrish in Quantico.

"Of course, I have seen the trailer and it's amazing. I have seen the show. 'Baywatch' is a big brand and she is part of it and it's the proudest thing," she said ecstatically.

When prodded on her achingly brief appearance in the grand two minute long trailer of the film, starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario, she was defensive of Priyanka.

"I think a trailer is cut according to the story. I don't think we can get involved in it. She is going to be fantastic in the film. I have seen some stills of the film and she is looking amazing. I am sure she will be amazing in the film as well, she maintained.

Well thats what sisters are for, arent they?
Mumbai: Helmed by Vishal Bharadwaj, Rangoon is Shahid Kapoors first encounter with period films and also the first time he has collaborated with Kangana Ranaut. If rumours are anything to go by, these two are not in good terms with each other. And Kanganas recent comment on Rangoon being a 3-hero film (Shahid, Saif and the actress herself) has only added fuel to the fire.

On a recent chat show with a popular tabloid, Shahid was asked to respond to Kanganas infamous statement.

"Who are these three? According to me, the heroes of the film are director Vishal Bharadwaj and producer Sajid Nadiadwala. You will have to find the third one. As far as I know, there are three principal characters in Rangoon, said Shahid.

Unlike Kangana, Kapoor is of the opinion that it is the director who is the real hero of the film and that an actors role is to bring the directors vision to life. "These filmmakers create their world and provide actors an opportunity to showcase themselves. It is an actor's honour to be working with them. We are all playing characters according to the director's vision, added the Udta Punjab star.

Just last month, Shahid had been to a chat show and was asked to suggest alternate career options for his contemporaries. And guess what, when the host mentioned Ranaut, Shahid was quick to answer that the Queen star should be a politician.

They have taken their creative differences a bit too seriously. Let it pass already!
Thakur Anoop Singh who holds titles like Mr. India, Mr. Asia and Mr. World, and shot to fame playing Dhritharashtra in the Mahabharata series is essaying the powerful antagonist in Suriyas Singam III. DC caught up with Anoop, who is in Chennai, as he talks about his Tollywood entry with a Puri Jagannadh film, on Suriya, Hari, his stylish role in SIII, how he learnt Tamil and much more.

Though I was a trained pilot from New York at the age of 19, when I came back to India, there was a huge recession in the airline industry and I could not pursue that career line. I didnt want to sit idle at home and hence shifted interest towards acting. I was getting offers from television even before I went for my pilot training though, Anoop starts his conversation.

Despite having a stint in modeling and facing the arc lights, getting into the TV world was not an easy proposition for Anoop. I didnt have any training in acting, but I never felt shy in front of the camera as I had modelled for many brands. But I was rejected at almost 129 auditions! I did get offers to play the lead in some series, but they were jinxed. Later, Mahabharata happened... but it was a long journey. Though everything started briskly, it was stopped midway  and after one and half years, the shooting commenced. Again, there were some issues and the shoot stalled! It finally came on air after one year. All said and done, it was a huge success and my role of Dhritharashtra was critically acclaimed. Thereafter, there was no looking back, he says with a smile.

He adds, I had put on a lot of weight for my mythological character by then and needed to shed a few kilos. I was also into theatre, and was applauded many times for my performances. Then, one of my pictures from Mr. World went viral and I got my first break with a Bollywood flick Commander II  in which I play a negative role. The movie is set to release soon.

So, how did SIII happen? Ttowns ace filmmaker Puri Jagganadh signed me for a film Rogue which was a bilingual in Telugu and Kananda, where my character is an interesting one. Yet again, the movie got delayed. Producer Gnanavel Raja saw me during one of his visits to Hyderabad and Puri recommended me to him. Hari sir came to Mumbai and he too liked my look. Soon, I was onboard.

On his role in SIII, he quips, I wont call my character in the film an antagonist. Its more of a stylish, aristocratic guy called Vittal Prasad, an NRI who is half-Tamilian and half-Australian, with shades of gray. I am happy that my role is as powerful as that of Suriya sirs! (smiles)

Heaping laurels on Suriya, he says, He was very humble and down-to-earth. When I first met him, I had a bit of apprehension about how we would get along. Much to my surprise, he said, Hey, I have read a lot about you and made me feel really comfortable on-set. He is a very supportive co-star. We used to dine together during the break and would discuss a lot of things. He would give me many valuable suggestions.

On director Hari  Haris speed while shooting is known to everyone. His knowledge about the nuances of each and everything amazed me. His command over his team and th way he extracts the best from everyone is terrific. Suriya sir and I were always in-sync with his vision.

How was it working in a alien language though? I am the kind of person who always wants to learn the language I am working in. That way, I really worked hard and learnt Tamil  and even dubbed my own voice for SIII. I spent 13 hours at a Chennai Studio for my dubbing... hope it pays off!
Rana Daggubati is all set to produce a film with his cousin Naga Chaitanya. Son of Suresh Babu, the owner of Suresh Productions, this is not the first time that Rana is entering into film production. He has already produced a National Award-winning childrens film Bommalata with his good friend Prakash Kovelamudi as director.

Last year, the actor announced his new production venture along with Hindi actor Akshay Kumar to bankroll some small Telugu films. Now, he is joining hands with EROS to produce Naga Chaitanyas film, says a source.

Naga Chaitanya was supposed to work with Suresh Productions, but the same project is now being produced by Rana.

Rana confirmed the news without divulging any details. It is true and I will give the details shortly, he said.

When asked about his birthday plans, Rana said nonchalantly, No plans. Just shooting during the day and dubbing at night.
London:

Global progress on controlling malaria risks stalling due to an "urgent need" for more funding, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its annual report Tuesday.

Overall, the number of new cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, and mortality rates fell by 29 percent -- 31 percent in the African region.

But globally there were still 212 million new cases and 429,000 deaths last year, and 43 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa were not protected by treated nets or indoor spraying.

The WHO warned that "sustained and sufficient funding for malaria control is a serious challenge", saying that after a steep increase between 2000 and 2010, investment had "flat-lined".

"In 2015, malaria funding totalled $2.9 billion, representing only 45 percent of the funding milestone for 2020 ($6.4 billion)," it said. The United States provided about 35 percent of all malaria funding in 2015, while governments of countries with malaria provided about 32 percent, and Britain provided 16 percent.

"We are definitely seeing progress," said Dr Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, ahead of the report's launch in London. "But the world is still struggling to achieve the high levels of programme coverage that are needed to beat this disease."

Resistance to anti-malarial drugs is also a challenge, as is growing mosquito resistance to insecticides, the report said. The WHO however highlighted improvements in sub-Saharan Africa over the past year in providing help for pregnant women and children against malaria.

"Malaria-related deaths among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa are at their lowest point in history," said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for malaria.

"This is largely attributable to the nearly 500 million insecticide-treated bed nets delivered over the past three years, the highest ever, along with significant expansion of diagnosis and treatment."

Deaths from malaria among the under fives globally have fallen by 69 percent since 2000 to 303,000 last year. Sub-Saharan Africa was home to 90 percent of global malarial cases and 92 percent of deaths.healt

"We must now not grow complacent, but drive forward to end the epidemic once and for all," said Chambers.
Most human misery can be blamed on failed relationships and physical and mental illness rather than money problems and poverty, according to a landmark study by a team of researchers at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Eliminating depression and anxiety would reduce misery by 20 per cent compared to just 5 per cent if policymakers focused on eliminating poverty, the report found. Lord Richard Layard, who led the report, said on average people have become no happier in the last 50 years, despite average incomes more than doubling.

The economist and former adviser to ex-UK PMs Tony Blair and Gordon Brown said the study, called Origins of Happiness, showed that measuring peoples satisfaction with their lives should be a priority for every government. The researchers analysed data from four countries including the US and Germany.

Extra spending on reducing mental illness would be self-financing, the researchers added, because it would be recovered by the government through higher employment and increased tax receipts together with a reduction in NHS costs from fewer GP visits and hospital A&E admissions. Tackling depression and anxiety would be four times as effective as tackling poverty. It would also pay for itself, he said.

The report supports the arguments put forward by Layard over several decades that social and psychological factors are more important to the wellbeing of individuals than income levels. Having a partner is as good for you as being made unemployed is bad for you, he said. The report claims that state-run organisations, including schools, must become more focused on tackling anxiety and mental health issues. This evidence demands a new role for the state  not wealth creation but wellbeing creation, Layard said. In the past, the state has successively taken on poverty, unemployment, education and physical health. But equally important now are domestic violence, alcoholism, depression and anxiety conditions, alienated youth, exam mania and much else. These should become centre stage.

The economist said it was a curse on children that they were judged by society solely on their educational attainment. The report adds, The strongest factor predicting a happy adult life is not childrens qualifications but their emotional health. There is also powerful evidence that schools have a big impact on childrens emotional health, and which school a child goes to will affect their emotional wellbeing as much as it affects their exam performance.

Layard rejected accusations that he was arguing against closing income inequalities but said improvements in mental health services would have a greater impact. The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has pledged to increase funding for mental health services. In September he said the care offered to children and young people was the services biggest weakness. But the Department of Health admitted last month that the number of mental health nurses working in the NHS in England has dropped by almost a sixth since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, from 45,384 in England to 38,774 in July this year.

 Source: www.theguardian.com
Kolkata: The General Manager of the Eastern Railway on Monday received a letter threatening to kill the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and an IED explosion at the Howrah Station.

The letter claiming to be from a man belonging to the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), demanded that the General Manager arrange Rs 50 crore, failing which lakhs of people will be killed in an IED explosion at Howrah Railway station. He added that if his demands are not met, his organisation will kill Mamata Banerjee.

The letter was undersigned as Subhas Chandra Das, a former employee of Doordarshan and also had his number.

The letter claimed that the perpetrator had provided shelter to a few other members of JeM in a flat that he had purchased during his years at Doordarshan.

The letter sent to the General Manager of Easter Railway.

The letter was handed over to the police and the security at the Howrah station has been increased.

After receiving threat letter we conducted probe but nothing was found from the phone number and address mentioned in it, Aryan Mahapatra, CPRO, Eastern Railways, told The Indian Express.

When contacted by Deccan Chronicle (DC), the phone was answered by Subhas Chandra Das, but he confirmed that although his contact and employment details matched, the letter was not written by him.

"I had gone to the Hare Street Police Station. When I saw the letter, I told them it was not my handwriting," he told DC.

He claimed that the police had let him off and asked him to be cautious.
Thane: A 28-year-old man from powerloom-town of Bhiwandi in Thane was arrested after he tried to kill three of his children including two toddlers following a domestic quarrel, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in Kailasnagar area on Sunday night and the alleged accused, identified as Sushil Pandit was arrested on Monday night by Narpoli Police.

According to a complaint filed by Pandit's wife Poonam, the accused was unemployed, an alcoholic and had also taken to drugs which led to frequent quarrels in the house.

On Sunday, when Pandit returned home heavily drunk, a fight erupted again. Enraged, Pandit allegedly roughed up his children badly and threw a container of burning charcoal on them leaving them seriously injured.

When Poonam's brother who lived in the neighbourhood came to the childrens' rescue, he was also allegedly beaten up, police said.

The trio - Laxmi (5), Sunil (3) and Krishna (one-and-a half years) were initially rushed to a hospital at Bhiwandi and later shifted to Thane Civil hospital, where they are undergoing treatment for burns, police said.

An offence under sections 307, 324 and 504 of the IPC has been registered against the accused, police added.
Ghaziabad: Police on Monday busted an inter-state sex determination racket active in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and arrested a lady doctor and her associate, while another doctor managed to flee.

Acting upon secret information, Sonipat police and Health Department of Haryana were trailing a lady doctor Anita and his compounder Gajendra, who was associated with Sahibabad-based doctor Rahul Malik, Deputy Superintendent of police Manish Mishra said.

Gajendra used to bring customers to doctor Anita, who used to perform sex determination tests, he said.

One such lady, who has paid Rs 26,000 as sex determination and abortion fee to doctor Anita, exposed the nexus.

Doctor Anita called her to a clinic which is being run in a residential society of Sahibabad.

As and when the lady reached the clinic to get her fetus checked, health and police department team raided the flat, he said, adding Anita and Gajendra were nabbed while doctor Rahul fled the spot.

An FIR has been registered upon the complaint of Deputy CMO Adarsh Sharma of Haryana Health Department under Section 23, 25 of Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (regulation and prevention of misuse) Act 1994.
The NIA filed charge-sheets against all the other five suspects. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: The key conspirator in the Dilsukhnagar blast, Mohammad Riyaz alias Riyaz Bhatkal, is still absconding.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials believe that he lives in Karachi. He is the only prime suspect who was never arrested.

The 38-year-old Riyaz, who is also known as Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri, is the guiding force behind the blast, National Investigation Agency officials said.

During the investigation, Riyaz Bhatkals role was established. He is absconding. The NIA has issued an Interpol Red Corner notice for his arrest, said an official release by the NIA.

Riyaz is a co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen and the NIA had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to his arrest.

As Riyaz was absconding the trial was split by the prosecution. The NIA filed charge-sheets against all the other five suspects.

Bhatkal was born in Karnataka and studied engineering. He allegedly formed IM and became the top military commander of the outfit to avenge the Gujarat riots.

Besides the Hyderabad blast, Riyaz is suspected to have masterminded the planning, execution and financing of the Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi serial blasts.
Hyderabad: Gokul Cooperative Urban bank ex-chairman Cheemala Jagadish Yadav, who allegedly swindled Rs 3.4 crore from the Telangana state Income-Tax departments e-Seva account, claims that he paid the states money to gangster Nayeemuddin in order to save his life after he was abducted by the gangster.

Electronically Deliver-able Services e-Seva commissioner G.T. Venka-teswara Rao, an IRS official, lodged a complaint with the Central Crime Station. The police subsequently registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust against Mr Yadav and other former directors of the bank.

An e-Seva officials said, Gokul Cooperative Urban Bank is a full-fledged bank, we had opened an account for depositing e-Seva money. Whenever we presented cheques, they bounced. More than `3 crore is with the bank. We filed a criminal case with CCS.

Didnt go to the police, says banker

Yadav defended himself by saying that the government removed him without prior notice. His tenure was supposed to be till December 31.

I have been part of my caste welfare organisation. In 1999, when Belli Lalita Yadav was cut into pieces by Nayeem and his gang, I along with some others, took out his funeral procession on a tractor and spoke against the murder. Nayeem, who gathered information and photos of our support for Belli Lalita, killed two of our bank directors, Mallesh Yadav and Sriamulu Yadav, and a member, Siddhulu, in 2001. I became chairman of bank in 2012. The bank was established in 1996. From 2012 to 2014 I have been continuously getting threats from Nayeem and his gang.

In 2014, Nayeem, through his aides, abducted me and confined me at the Janaharsha Enclave in Ibrahimpatnam. He warned that he will take over the bank and threatened to kill me, stating that my head carries a weight (sic) of Rs 5 crore. So I paid Rs 3.5 crore in instalments in cash. The money is actually cash of e-Seva collections deposited in our bank. Though it was wrong, I used the states money to save my life.

He added, When I talked about this, nobody came to help me. I kept quiet without complaining to the police out of fear. After Nayeems death I met Special Investigation Team director Y. Nagi Reddy and complained to him about this. I also made an application to the Chief Minister and gave a letter to the e-Seva authorities stating that I will repay.

According to Gokul Bank sources, the Telangana government removed Yadav and 14 other directors and appointed one D. Vijaya Lakshmi as special officer to manage the banks affairs.
Hyderabad: The NIA special court on Tuesday convicted five terrorists of the Indian Mujahideen, including Yasin Bhatkal in the 2013 Hyderabad blasts case in Dilsukhnagar. The quantum of sentence would be pronounced on December 19.

This is the first time that a verdict has been handed down against an Indian Mujahideen terrorist. The court convicted Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

At least 17 people were killed and more than 130 others injured in the twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar on February 21, 2013.

Besides Bhatkal, the others convicted were Asadullah Akthar of Uttar Pradesh, Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas of Pakistan, Tahseen Akhthar of Bihar and Aizaz Shaik of Maharashtra. All of them are in judicial custody.

The alleged key conspirator Riyaz Bhatkal, believed to be operating from Karachi, is still at large.

During the probe, Yasin Bhatkal was picked up by the NIA on the Indo-Nepal border along with Asadullah on August 29, 2013. Tehseen and Zia were arrested six months later.

The NIA claimed that Asadullah, Zia and Tehseen conducted a recce of the city and decided to target Dilsukhnagar because it was a predominantly Hindu area.

An elated Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar said "it was a wonderful investigation carried out by the team in which every evidence was examined minutely. This is the first ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres." "We will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits," Kumar added.

In its charge sheet, the NIA had claimed that Indian Mujahideen had hatched a conspiracy to wage a war against India and decided to carry out bomb blasts in Hyderabad to create terror in the minds of people and further the activities of the outfit.

The main operative of the module, Riyaz Bhatkal, who is named as the first accused in the case, had allegedly directed his associates Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas to find a place in Mangalore to be used as a hide-out for explosive materials sent by him, it had allaged.

After receiving the materials sent by Riyaz through an unknown person, and the money sent by him by way of hawala and other channels. Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas reached Hyderabad and started working with Tahseen Akhthar alias Monu, who had already reached there and was living in a hideout in Abdullapurmet area, the NIA probe report claimed. The three of them prepared two IEDs while staying there.

The other materials needed to make the bomb, including a pressure cooker and timers, were arranged in Hyderabad. After the bomb was made, on February 21, they mounted two IEDs on two bicycles (purchased by them for that purpose), and planted them in two separate places in Dilsukhnagar, it alleged.

The NIA investigation has brought to evidence all the financial help received by the accused from abroad.

The NIA also said it learnt that the miscreants, after procuring the explosive materials to Hyderabad, had conducted a test blast in a hillock near Abdullapurmet in Hyderabad.

The main feature of the conspiracy was that the accused were communicating through the Internet, chatting with each other throughout the planning, finding suitable hideouts, purchasing materials for the bombs, until the final escape.

They were also found to have used proxy servers to hide their identity.

The role of Yasin Bhatkal in the planning, procurement of explosives and harbouring of Asadullah Akhthar after the incident, was also unearthed by the NIA, the agency said.

During investigation, a total of 440 witnesses were examined and 251 documents and 300 material objects seized.

Extensive cyber forensic evidence was gathered and placed on record as evidence.
RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundra denied the reports that RBI had issued show-cause notice to Axis Bank and was planning to cancel its banking licence. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: With more and more instances of money laundering and fraudulent currency exchange surfacing, RBI on Tuesday warned of stern action against wrongdoers and asked banks to carry out a thorough central data checking, while it suspended a "junior functionary" who is being investigated.

"We have issued elaborate instructions to all banks to do the central data checking and wherever they find any inconsistency, it should be pursued further through their internal audit mechanism," said Deputy Governor of RBI, S S Mundra, speaking to a select group of reporters in Mumbai.

"Our supervisors are also carrying out similar exercise on various data points of banks and wherever any untoward kind of transactions or actions are noticed, due action would be pursued and due investigation would be carried out," he said.

He denied the reports that RBI had issued show-cause notice to Axis Bank and was planning to cancel its banking licence following massive malpractices in currency exchange at many of its branches.

"There is no such thing at this point of time. As I mentioned a while ago, wherever any such actions are reported, the enquiries are being made but as of now no show-cause notice has been issued (to Axis Bank)," Mundra said.

Stating that many instances of money-laundering have come to the RBI's notice, he said already banks have taken action against the staff who were involved.

About the arrest of an RBI official in Bengaluru earlier today, Mundra said: "Let me clarify it is a junior functionary of RBI and it was reported by the investigating agency that he was recorded to be present in a bank branch where this kind of transaction was happening. We have suspended the employee and have instituted investigation and due action will be taken once the details are known.

"RBI and its team is also coordinating and collaborating with various investigating agencies."
The middlemen were charging between 15 to 35 per cent commission to convert old notes banned on November 8 by the government. (Photo: File)

Bengaluru: A senior Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official was arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly helping convert demonetised currency notes.

According to reports, 8 men have also been arrested in a series of raids in which crores in new notes have been found.

K Micheal, a senior special assistant with the RBI in Bengaluru, has been arrested by the CBI for allegedly helping convert black or untaxed money of a value more than Rs 1.5 crore.

Pretending to be customers, investigators caught the eight middlemen allegedly involved in laundering black or untaxed money for a price. Around Rs. 93 lakh in new notes was found on them in raids over the weekend, said reports.

One of the men is a relative of government engineer SC Jayachandra, who was arrested recently after Rs. 5.7 crore in new notes was found during raids at his home. It was Jayachandras interrogation which led the investigators to the 8 alleged culprits.

The middlemen were charging between 15 to 35 per cent commission to convert old notes banned on November 8 by the government, said reports.

The arrested men are suspected to be part of a wider ring that operated not just in Bengaluru but in other areas too.

Earlier, four bank officers in the city were accused by the police of converting black money after Rs 5.7 crore cash was seized from a hawala operator.

Crores in new cash has been found in raids across the country over the past few weeks, including a stash of Rs 93 lakh found in Jaipur on Monday.

Recently, Rs. 13.50 crore were seized by the Income Tax Department from a law firm in Delhi's Greater Kailash out of which Rs. 2.61 crore were in new currency.
Its been six weeks since a University of Wisconsin-Stout student died the day after an early morning assault. Although a suspect has since been identified by Menomonie police after an investigation lasting nearly three weeks, charges have not yet been filed.

I am working with the police department for some additional investigation to be completed, Dunn County District Attorney Andrea Nodolf said Friday. But primarily what Im waiting for is the final autopsy report from the Madison pathologist who performed the autopsy. I think its really imperative for me to making an accurate and thorough charging decision.

Around 2 a.m. on Oct. 30, Hussain Saeed Alnahdi was found unconscious and bleeding from his nose and mouth in the 400 block of Main Street in Menomonie. Airlifted to an Eau Claire hospital, the 24-year-old student from Saudi Arabia regained consciousness early the following morning, but died later that afternoon.

Witnesses reported that Alnahdi was assaulted by a 6-foot tall man who fled the scene on foot. An international student who came Menomonie in 2015, Alnahdi was a junior majoring in business administration at UW-Stout.

A reward of $20,000 was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for Alnahdis death. A memorial service organized by UW-Stout was attended by nearly 1,000 members of the university and community. A special dinner was also held in Alnahdis honor, following a Saudi tradition of cooking food for family who is mourning the loss of a loved one.

Fairly early on, Menomonie Police Chief Eric Atkinson confirmed that Alnahdis death was not believed to be a hate crime. Other than saying that the suspect is not a Stout student or a Dunn County resident, Menomonie police have not released details about the investigation, including whether alcohol was a factor in the incident.

Believing that there is probable cause, police have recommended charges of felony murder and battery. As of 4 p.m. Monday, neither news of the identity of the suspect nor of charges had been received.
A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan keeps vigil near International Border in RS Pura Sector in Jammu. (Photo: PTI)

Samba: The Border Security Force (BSF) last night arrested a retired Pakistan Army personnel at the International Border in Ramgarh sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Samba.

A suspicious movement on the side of Pakistan was noticed by the Intelligence Bureau which alerted the BSF troops deployed in Ramgarh sector.

The BSF fired few rounds but due to fog and wild growth nothing could be traced.

Later, the Intelligence Bureau again noticed some suspicious movement of a person ahead of fence on Indian side.

Alert BSF person deployed at Naka mound forced the Pakistani Army personnel to surrender.

On interrogation, he revealed that he was a retired person from the Pakistan Army.
New Delhi: As part of its ongoing countrywide operation, CBI on Tuesday lodged a case against a Bank of Baroda official in Kolkata for converting old currency in violation of rules, taking the number of such cases to 10 with 16 arrests and Rs 19 crore as currency in question.

Cashier of Bank of Baroda, Behala branch, Ranjit Kumar Bhattacharya has been booked by CBI for allegedly converting currency worth Rs 50 lakh using fraudulent means in violation of laid down rules post demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes on November 8.

Under its countrywide operation continuing for a few weeks, the agency has so far registered four such cases in Karnataka, four in Hyderabad, one in Rajasthan and one in Kolkata.

CBI sources said so far it was probing currency conversion of Rs 19 crore, which might increase as the probe progresses and more FIRs are registered by it.

The agency sources said it has made 16 arrests across the country which include public servants, middlemen and private persons.

In Karnataka, CBI has arrested a JDS leader who is also a casino operator and an RBI official in separate cases of alleged illegal conversion of old currency.

Reserve Bank official K Michael, posted in Bengaluru, was arrested by CBI while he was allegedly trying to convert Rs 1.51 crore of old currency notes.

CBI sources said Michael, a senior special assistant at RBI, was arrested last week.

The agency has also arrested Veerendra in a separate case relating to seizure of Rs 5.70 crore of new currency from the bathroom of the casino owner by the Income Tax department.

"We have arrested K C Veerendra. He was arrested in Hubballi on December 10 and brought to Bengaluru the following day and produced before the CBI court. He is in our custody for six days," a top CBI official told PTI on Tuesday.

Besides Veerendra, middlemen Thipeswamy and Venkatesh, residents of Chitradurga districts of Karnataka, and unknown officials of four banks -- State Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra -- have also been named in the FIR in this case.

A case has been registered against an ATM servicing company and officials of Karnakata Bank and Dhanluxmi Bank.

Another case has been registered against Central Bank of India officials and private persons for allegedly facilitating exchange of demonetised notes by issuing 149 Demand Drafts of Rs 70 lakh in the name of a private loan company.

In Hyderabad, CBI had registered four cases related to conversion of currency by postal department officials with prime suspect named in the FIR being K Sudheer Reddy, an Indian Postal Service Officer.

The agency has also registered an FIR against officials of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Dausa branch on similar charges.
Chennai: Telecommunication network services were hit the most by Cyclone Vardah that barreled through the city on Monday, leaving many people without any means to contact their near and dear ones.

Mobile services, including of Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, were affected in the city and its neighbouring districts, bringing back memories of the deluge last year.

BSNL landlines were operating at some places but its network services were disrupted.

Several people took to Twitter expressing anguish over the disruption of services.

Telecommunication companies could not be contacted for a comment. However, the state government has asked them to restore their "full network" at the earliest.

"All telecom companies are told to restore their full network as quickly as possible and its being monitored," State Disaster Management Agency said in a tweet.
New Delhi: Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday called demonetisation the biggest scam of the year, while attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking the Opposition into his confidence over the move.

This is the biggest scam of the year and must be investigated, P Chidambaram said, while addressing a press conference in the national capital.

He wondered why Modi did not bother to consult eminent economists like Manmohan Singh on the issue.

Government should have consulted at least Yashwant Sinha, he is their own man. They could have consulted Mr Manmohan Singh. Are they suggesting that the former PM if consulted by the present Prime Minister will betray a secret? he said.

Chidambaram said the confidence in Indian economy has been severely dented by the number of measures undertaken by the current government and said demonetisation was the primary reason.

Even a natural calamity might not cause so much of trouble. This is an illusion that it is intended to hurt the rich and benefit poor. I don't see any rich man getting affected, he said.

He argued that just because people are not protesting the move does not mean they approve the step taken by the government. He also attacked the government for constantly changing the reasons for the move, the latest being that it was done to make India a cashless economy.

"To assume that India will go from 3% to 100% cashless in a matter of few months is an outlandish expectation. Which country has cashless economy? Does US? Does Singapore have it? Where is electricity in country? Where are the machines?" he asked.

"Every bank says no cash, so how does the govt say there is cash? This is why Dr Manmohan Singh said monumental mismanagement," he said.
Remains of a car that was crushed by a tree that fell in Kotturpuram on Monday (Photo: DC)

Chennai: Seven persons, including a 3-year-old and an octogenarian, were killed in incidents and several others injured by the destructive Vardah ahead of its landfall in the City on Monday.

The deceased child, identified as Karthik, was caught in the debris of a brick wall collapse triggered by a tree fall when he was asleep at his grandmother's second floor residence in Bakthavatchalam Colony, Vadapalani, during the small hours on Monday.

Karthik died on the spot while his cousin Prem (3) and grandmother Lakshmi survived with minor injuries. Prem was being treated at the Government Royapettah Hospital (GRH).

In another incident of wall collapse, a senior citizen octogenarian was killed in Nungambakkam. The deceased, identified as K Parvathi (85), was asleep at her residence when the mishap occurred. A tree branch fell on her house causing a partial wall collapse trapping her. Two other family members, Chandru and Hemavathi, injured in the accident, were being treated.

In an incident of pedestrian death reported in Rajamangalam, U. Vaikuntan (42), of Rajamangalam was crushed under a street lamp which got uprooted to a strong gust. He died before rescue could arrive.

In a similar accident involving the death of a pedestrian, Radha (75), resident of Agaram Street in Purasawalkam, was trapped under a tree which fell on her. She too died before rescue could reach her. The mishap occurred near her house.

In a fatality triggered by a hoarding fall, Hamanullah (45) of Pallikaranai, was killed after he a hoarding installed by the state came down on him near Meenambakkam, on Grand South Trunk road.

In an electrocution death, Karna Behra (24), of Odisha, a migrant worker, who was staying in a construction site in Tirupalli Street, Elephant Gate was killed, when he stepped into an electrified water puddle. A power cable to the site had snapped and fallen into the water, which the deceased had failed to notice.

A passenger who was exposed to the inclement weather suffered seizures on board an MTC route 170T bus. The deceased is identified as Mani (60), resident of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, was on board the bus plying to Guindy from Thiru Vi Ka Nagar when the incident occurred.
RBI has issued 21.8 billion pieces of banknotes of various denominations since the note ban, Deputy Governor R Gandhi said.

Mumbai: After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officer from Bengaluru for allegedly helping some individuals convert black money in demonetized notes, the central bank on Tuesday clarified that the official in question had been suspended.

RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundhra said that the accused was a junior official and not a senior one as had been reported in the media. He added that an investigation is on and action will be taken as soon as the facts become known.

Referring to media reports that suggested involvement of bank staff in fraudulent transactions after demonetisation, Mundhra said that given the size of the operation, some officials were bound to behave in a corrupt manner. In this regard, Mundhra asserted that notices have been issued to all banks for data checking. They have been told that whenever they find any inconsistency it should be pursued further through their internal audit mechanisms, he added.

Mundhra said that RBI supervisors were carrying out similar exercises on various data points of banks.

Assuring people in the wake of continuing cash crunch at bank branches and ATMs, RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi said that more and more notes are being issued daily by the central bank.

He asked people to freely use notes they have rather than holding them.

Providing some statistics on banking transactions since November 8, Gandhi said that till December 10, banks have issued notes worth 4,61,000 crore to the public over their counters and through ATMs.

Old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 which have been returned back to RBI and currency chest, amounted to be 12.44 lakh crore as of December 10, he added.

RBI has issued 21.8 billion pieces of banknotes of various denominations since demonetisation, he added.

Meanwhile, CBI has registered a total of 8 cases involving bank officials and post offices in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, seizing Rs 17.36 crores.
Jammu: With the distribution of cheques amounting to Rs 5.5 lakh each among families of the displaced persons of 1947, 1965 and 1971 under 'Prime Minister's Development Plan' for PoK refugees, the BJP state unit on Monday said that the process for providing assistance to these people has officially been kicked off by the coalition government.

"The process for providing assistance to displaced persons of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) refugees of 1947, 1965 and 1971 has officially been kicked off by the BJP-PDP coalition government in Jammu & Kashmir," BJP State Spokesperson Balbir Ram Rattan said in a handout here.

It was indeed a historic moment for the PoK displaced persons, whose three generations have perished while agitating for decades after they left their homes and hearths besides losing their family members, he said.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during the 2014 general elections promised to consider and fulfill the demands of the PoK displaced persons of 1947, 65 and 71.

Within two years of taking over as Prime Minister, he has kept his promise and provided Rs 2000 crore as assistance to be distributed among the affected families residing in the state, he said.



He said that it has been most unfortunate that despite ruling the country for maximum period after independence, the Congress did nothing for the welfare and development of the displaced persons from PoK.



He said that the long pending issue now stands resolved with the continuous efforts of the BJP as coalition partner in the state government, which had been building pressure and kept reminding the Prime Minister about the genuine demand of the displaced persons from PoK.



The BJP spokesperson said that the Modi-led government at the Centre in January 2015, had given its nod to certain concessions for the refugees from West Pakistan residing in Jammu and Kashmir considering the problems faced by them.



Equal employment opportunities, special recruitment drives for induction into paramilitary forces, admission for the children of refugees in Kendriya Vidyalayas, to mention a few, were a part of the concessions granted by the union government.



Balbir said that party has always fully supported the demands of the displaces persons and West Pakistan refugees living in Jammu and Kashmir, who have faced discrimination for the last six decades.
Jammu: Insisting that dialogue is the only way for peace between India and Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday suggested that the Modi government should adopt the policy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had exercised "patience" despite Kargil aggression and attack on Parliament.



She also hit out at Pakistan for "forgetting" its promise to Vajpayee about not allowing its territory to be used for terrorism against India.



Underlining that war is no option to any problem, she said, "How long you can be in the mode of war? Dialogue is the only solution to bring peace."



Referring to Vajpayee's steps, Mehbooba said the former Prime Minister had all the reasons to fight a big war after Kargil aggression by Pakistan happened in 1999, but he did not do it.



"It was followed by Parliament attack but even then he opted for patience and said 'friends can be changed but not neighbours'," the Chief Minister said addressing a gathering of refugees of 1947 while distributing cheques relating to compensation at a function here.



It was only after that the then President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf announced that Pakistani soil cannot be used for terrorism against India and the result was reduced militancy in J and K, she noted.



"The Central government should also think on the lines to bring Pakistan to a level which we witnessed during the period of Vajpayee," she said.



In an apparent reference to the Kashmir issue, she said once the "big knot" is untied, all other "knots" will be automatically removed.



Her comments came amid intense chill in the India- Pakistan relations.
Long queues were seen in front of the Kelakam branch of Federal Bank since early morning as people waited patiently for the rural branch to open. (Photo: File)

Thiruvananthapuram: As banks opened on Tuesday after a three-day break, police had to intervene to calm angry customers at Kelakam in northern Kannur district and Uzhavoor in Kottayam after they turned their ire against bank officials on being informed about shortage of cash.

Long queues were seen in front of the Kelakam branch of Federal Bank since early morning as people waited patiently for the rural branch to open.

The branch caters to the needs of customers in Kelakam and Kottiyoor panchayats of Kannur.

However, when bank officials informed there was no cash, people grew restive and prevented opening of the branch. Police had to step in to bring the matter under control and all customers in the queue were given tokens and asked to come on Wednesday to collect the cash.

"About 300 persons were standing in the queue even before the branch opened. We had put up a no cash board as there was some shortage. The customers insisted that all those standing in the queue should be paid money today itself, which was not possible for us," Bank's Chief Manager, V M Vijayan, told PTI.

The high range branch, bordering Waynad district, has mostly farmers as its customers.

Vijayan said most of the customers demand Rs 24,000 in cash and it was not possible to satisfy all of them.

"All the customers will be paid tomorrow and they have been given tokens," he said.

In the Uzhavoor branch of State Bank of Travancore (SBT) also there was shortage of cash, police said.

Bank officials with police escort had gone to collect cash, police added.
Lucknow: Sniffing a chance because of demonetisation, Congress leaders of Uttar Pradesh are inclined towards an alliance with the ruling Samajwadi Party as they feel it will decisively halt BJP and bolster its prospects in the upcoming Assembly polls.

The party, which has been out of power in the politically important state for 27 years and has tried its best to revive its electoral fortunes by pushing its vice president Rahul Gandhi to hold a 'kisan yatra' across the state, is believed to be open to a "respectable" seat-sharing formula to tie up with SP for the elections.

"The aim and target of Congress is not just to halt BJP in Uttar Pradesh but also in the country for which it believes that all parties having similar ideology need to come together," a senior leader said.

Amid reports of possibility of such an alliance, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said if such a tie-up fructifies, it would win over 300 seats.

"Though Samajwadis are going to form majority government in the state, if an alliance takes place, it will win over 300 (of the 403) seats. The final decision in this regard will be taken by party National president (Mulayam Singh Yadav)," he said when asked about possibility of his party's alliance with Congress.

Though no senior Congress leader was forthcoming on the issue of alliance, the UP poll scenario was discussed threadbare at a recent high level meeting with Rahul Gandhi,

Priyanka, UPCC President Raj Babbar and AICC general secretary incharge of UP Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi.

"We had successfully tried this formula in Bihar and halted the march of the BJP...and now after the negative wave against it post demonetisation, we find such an experience could be repeated in UP," the leader said on condition of anonymity.

Another leader said, "In politics, all possibilities need to be explored."
The victim told her mother that her school teacher had allegedly raped her twice by threatening her with dire consequences. (Photo: Representational Image)

Mumbai: A 13-year-old girl studying at a school in Navi Mumbai was allegedly raped by a teacher, following which her parents and local residents stormed the school premises on Tuesday, police said.

The school principal was arrested on Tuesday as she did not inform the police about the alleged offence after the girl's parents told her about it, they said.

The alleged rape incident happened in the last couple of months. But, it came to light recently after the girl complained of stomach pain to her mother. She took her to a private doctor, who informed that the girl was four weeks pregnant. The mother then told about it to her husband, who works in Pune, police said.

The victim told her mother that her school teacher had allegedly raped her twice by threatening her with dire consequences, they said.

A rape case was registered against the teacher at Nerul police station under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The school principal has been arrested while the teacher who allegedly raped the girl is absconding, police said.
Lakhs of commuters drive through the city each day, passing through nerve centers like Indiranagar, Koramangala and HAL to get to Whitefield, Electronics City and Sarjapur - the IT hubs. Bumper-to-bumper traffic and pollution are an everyday affair in these areas, rendering the Namma Metro, completely irrelevant. Its time for BMRCL, hampered as it is by land acquisition delays, to get its act together.

The IT boom brought with it many good things for Bengaluru, taking its peace and calm in return. The erstwhile pensioners paradise transformed into a veritable nightmare of bumper-to-bumper traffic, pollution and concrete. The Namma Metro arrived like a boon, raising the hope of many a weary citizen. Sadly for us, the much-awaited network of trains has done nothing to ease our traffic woes, functioning as it does in areas that have little or no connection to the citys choke points.

Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield

Hundreds of thousands of vehicles go through the city centre to arrive at these neighbourhoods, with no help from Metros Phase 2, which has been peppered with delays concerning land acquisition. Surajit, a Whitefield resident, says, I have lived here for seven years and havent used the Metro once. The existing links are of no use to me. It doesnt make sense for me to drive to one spot and then board the Metro, its easier to drive straight to M.G. Road or Indiranagar!

Bommasandra to RV Road line

This line should improve last-mile connectivity to those who live or work in Electronics city. Land acquisition has marred the proceedings once more, however, said Srinidhi, an expert from Praja. Land for the RV road station is still to be finalized, as the current owner has filed a PIL against the cutting of trees. The delay in the RV road station has slowed the progress of Phase 1, as it falls on the Green Line.

Indiranagar to Koramangala

Koramangala and Indiranagar are high-density areas and the Inner Ring Road that connects them is chaotic during the rush-hours. Those traveling to and from Koramangala still have to drive to the nearest station, either in Indiranagar or M.G. Road, braving the traffic, which, in essence, brings them back to square 1. And relief isn't' on the horizon either. According to BMRCL's Chief PRO Vasanth Rao, "The department has chosen to connect the N-S and E-W corridor first, after which they will connect areas like Koramangla, forming a spoke hub design.

According to Srinidhi, the expert from Praja, "BMRCL should coordinate with the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, which is responsible for buying and selling land," said Srinidhi. He added that BMRCL is severely shortstaffed with its MD, Pradeep Singh Kharola, handling multiple charges. "They don't even have the manpower to coordinate with KIADB," he explained.

Major traffic hubs have been ignored: Experts

The BMRCLs pet project, Namma Metro has been plagued with delays and hassles all the way. Although Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, laid the foundation stone for it over a decade ago, in June 2006, it is still not complete, with delays dogging it at every step and pushing up the project cost.

Additionally, it has failed to touch the main traffic hubs of the city, defeating its purpose of easing traffic on Bengalurus roads. Mr R. K. Misra, founder director, Center for SMART Cities, believes the planning has been faulty right from the start.

The Metro was not planned properly. The plan totally ignored areas like Whitefield, Electronic city, ITPL and Manyata Tech Park, which have seen a rise in traffic in recent times. Even the international airport is not connected. The Metro has missed the basic point of its conception which is to help people commute to work and back, he regrets.

Echoing his views, civic evangelist V. Ravichander too deplores that the BMRCL has ignored major traffic hubs like the Majestic, Whitefield and Marathahalli. Whitefield should have been connected in phase 1. Instead they chose to connect Byapanahalli and MG Road and sat on the line for six years, he notes disparagingly.

In his view the BMRCL sees itself as an engineering company rather than as a complete provider of mobility solutions. There is still no inter-modal convenience using feeder services and no last-mile connectivity. Also there are no citizen conveniences such as toilets at the stations. These conveniences need to be integrated with the Metro, he emphasises.

Mr Misra believes the Metro should have been planned like those around the world. Toilets, a food court, parking space and bus bays should be mandatory and the authorities need to look into public conveniences as well, he says.

Guest Column: Dont pick the lowest bidder, says Ashwin Mahesh

Namma Metro is being built as a track rather than a complete mobility option. It should be built for a hundred years. People in 2050 should be able to use it and they too should pay for the Metro, which should have a long term loan option rather than the short term loans it is being currently built on.

It's also wrong that Namma Metro is owned by the state and Union governments, rather than the city itself. Only if Bengaluru owns it will a sense of ownership creep in. Also, the Metro should be allowed to run the feeder services to avoid confusion.

Most importantly, an agency such as the UMTA is needed to run the Metro, BMTC and various other services involved in the project. Look at London. It has an excellent transport service because all modes of transport come under one agency, which can co-ordinate and solve the niggles.

Another important point is that the Metro should take care of footpaths. If there is no proper footpath and a person wants to walk to a Metro station then what does he or she do? That is the reason I have insisted that TenderSure should not be confined to a few roads, but extended to at least a 1000 roads.

Moreover, the way the government contracts work is wrong. Unlike the standard procedure, which chooses the lowest bid, if one wants top class technology then one must be willing to pay top dollar for it.

The problem is that the government is trying to build the Metro as cheaply as possible. Instead the cost should be increased and spread over a few decades to help the Metro realise its true potential.
Dadri: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday stepped up attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation, saying his vision of a cashless economy has rendered the poor "cashless", robbing them of their hard-earned money.

Gandhi accused Modi of "waging a war" against the poor ofthe country through his announcement on the night of November 8. The measure has enabled the conversion of black money into white, he charged.

Gandhi alleged that the BJP government has "blocked" the money of the poor through currency ban to favour a "handful of industrialists" and to liquidate banks that have extended loans worth "Rs 8 lakh crore" to them.

Addressing a gathering at a wholesale market here, he said, "The Prime Minister has brought honest people on the streets while the rich and the corrupt are taking money through the backdoor of banks.

"It was done to ensure that the poor deposit their money in the banks, which will be used to repay the debt of around Rs 8 lakh crore owed by these industrialists to the banks. Modiji's wants the money of the poor to remain in the banks for the next six to eight months," he said.

Rahul said the measure will "injure" the country. He also accused the Prime Minister of shifting goalposts over the issue by listing the objective of the measures ranging from unearthing black money to curbing counterfeit currency.

"Only 2 paise out of Rs 100 is counterfeit. Two days after Modiji made the announcement, terrorists, after they were slain, were found having new currency. Then he says he will make the economy cashless. He has made it cashless indeed, with the poor having no cash," he said.
New Delhi: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday came under attack over allegations that he influenced Power Ministry to clear bills related to a power project in Arunachal Pradesh, with Congress demanding his sacking but the minister denied any wrongdoing.

Alleging that it was a Rs 450-crore scam in the form of false and inflated transportation bills, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala released an audio tape of a purported conversation of the minister's cousin, a contractor in the 600 MW power project, and Rijiju's letter recommending that held up payments be released.

"Kiren Rijiju has no right to stay in office. He should either be dismissed by the Prime Minister or asked to resign till an independent probe is complete," the Cogress spokesman said.

The Opposition party also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his "tall claims" of bringing transparency have "fallen flat" as had happened with several other scandals in the past including Vyapam, Lalitgate and the Vijay Mallya issue.

"Mr Modi's claims of transparency ad honesty is now under question. People of India are looking at what action he takes on this issue," Surjewala said.

Hitting back, Rijiju, who is Minister of State for Home, said, "I have written the letter to the Power Minister after I received representations from some people in my constituency in Arunachal West regarding pending bills. I have done no wrong and there is no corruption."

Peeved at the allegations, the Minister said, "Those who planted the story will be beaten up with shoes when they will come to our area."

Rijiju also tweeted copies of the representation he received and the letter he had sent to the Power Minister.

"Really cheap!... Is it a corruption helping poor Tribals?," he said on twitter.

Stating that the contracts were given and most of the payments made during the Congress rule, he asked the opposition party to apologise.

Reports claimed that Rijiju, his cousin, a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh, Goboi Rijiju, and several top officials of the state-run NEEPCO, including its Chairman and Managing

Director, have been named in a 129-page report by the PSU's

Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma that alleges corruption in construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project, one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in

Arunachal Pradesh. NEEPC comes under the Union Power Ministry.

"I pity Congress party ... I feel that Congress should

apologise to the nation for creating an issue which is non-existent. If local people have approached me to tell me that bills are pending and the bills are of small amount and what they are saying of Rs 150 crores, it is not like that," Rijiju said.

"Small pending bills, pending since 2012, 2013, 2014 before we came to power, the contracts were awarded when we were not in the government, the payments were paid when we were not in the government. Only I was told that some 20-30 per cent of payments were remaining which NEEPCO is not releasing the money. So I wrote a letter to the Power Minister that just look into the matter, thats it," the Minister said.

Verma's report was sent to the CBI, CVC and the Ministry of Power in July this year. It alleges an "elaborate conspiracy" involving contractors, North East Power

Corporation (NEPCO) officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds that "may extend up to Rs 450 crore".

West Kameng, the site of the project, falls in Arunachal West which is the parliamentary constituency of Rijiju.

The CBI has made two "surprise checks" but no FIR has been registered yet, reports said.

Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was pulled up by NEEPCO for "unauthorised absence," and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report.

Verma was also part of the three-member SIT set up to probe the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat in 2004 when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister.

Verma had said Ishrat's killing was a "premeditated murder".

Surjewala said, "This is a very serious issue. The Prime Minister should speak out on this issue....

"If PM has courage of conviction, he must either sack Kiren Rijiju or ask him to resign and conduct a fair and free probe so that truth comes out...Till then, Rijiju should be divested of his post."

"The Prime in the run up to elections used to say that he will neither do or allow corruption to happen. But there have been a series of charges of corruption that came to light in the Modi government," he said.

Payments were stopped after a letter by the Chief Vigilance Officer conducted a probe into the issue, he claimed.

Targeting the CBI, Surjewala alleged that the premier investigation agency has become a "puppet" in the hands of the Modi government and has not even registered an FIR in the matter despite the report by the vigilance officer.

Surjewala also played out a purported audio conversation between Goboi and Verma and the opposition party claimed it also had a mention of the goings on that led to pulling down of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed Rijiju's relative was clearly attempting to influence the CVO in the 28-minute tape and was using his Minister brother's name to seek his help in getting the bills cleared and was also enticing him with a promotion.

"There seems to be a connection with making of these payments and were some of these payments used to buy and sell legislators is a matter that needs to be seriously probed," he said.

Alleging that "inflated" bills were put up for bringing boulders for the dam construction, he said some of the huge boulders were shown to be carried on scooters, motorcyles and cars by a single driver at the same time.

Meanwhile, rejecting graft charges against Kiren Rijiju as "baseless", BJP on Tuesday said Congress was trying to blame the Union Minister for its "sins" as it was in power at the Centre as well as in Arunachal Pradesh when the project under question was sanctioned.

The party said Congress and its "friend", a reference to the vigilance officer who has flagged the alleged corruption involving Rijiju, had conspired to smear its name as the Opposition party had not been able to find a single case of corruption in its two-and-a-half years of rule at the Centre.

BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma also insisted that the contractor, who is at the centre of allegations, is not Rijiju's cousin as alleged.

"It is a completely baseless charge. Congress and its friends have hatched a conspiracy to target BJP as they have not been able to find a single case of corruption against our government. "The said project was sanctioned in 2005 when Congress was in power at the Centre as well as in the state," he said.

The letter written by Rijiju to Power Minister Piyush Goyal was meant to help subcontractors involved in the project as their dues were not cleared, Sharma said.
New Delhi: India on Tuesday said World Bank's decision to temporarily halt two simultaneous processes to look into Indo-Pak dispute over Kishenganga and Ratle project confirms that pursuing the two concurrent processes could have rendered the Indus Water Treaty unworkable over time.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India remains fully conscious of its international obligations and is ready to engage in further consultations on the matter of resolving current differences regarding these two projects.

"The government had pointed out on 10 November, 2016 the legal untenability of the World Bank launching two simultaneous processes-- for appointment of a Neutral Expert as requested by India and establishment of a Court of Arbitration requested by Pakistan-- to adjudicate technical differences between India and a Pakistan on Kishenganga and Ralte projects.

"By temporarily halting both the processes now, the Bank has confirmed that pursuing the two concurrent processes can render the Treaty unworkable over time," Swarup said.

The World Bank's move to pause the process came nearly a month after India had strongly objected to the global body's "inexplicable" decision, saying going ahead with two separate mechanisms was "legally untenable".

Group President of World Bank Jim Yong Kim said,"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants."

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan. It was also emphasised that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan and also the World Bank in 1960, the World Bank has a specified role in the process of resolution of differences and disputes.
Chennai: Endorsed by chief minister O. Panneerselvam and backed by a host of other ministers and MPs, the AIADMK cadres continue to urge former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa's aide V.K. Sasikala to take up the reins of general secretary of the party.

Since Wednesday, a section of the party leaders and functionaries, who have been supporting Ms. Sasikala to lead the ruling party, have erected posters carrying her images across Tamil Nadu. The party's official Twitter handle had even tweeted: "AIADMK party functionaries urged Thirumathi Sasikala to lead the party on the path shown by Puratchi Thalaivi Amma."

On Saturday, the CM, referring to Sasikala as Chinnamma, said that she should become general secretary and lead the AIADMK. "Like Amma, Chinnamma knows each and every party worker. To ensure continuance of the party's functioning with the same level of discipline one can find in the army, brought about by Amma, the only way out in the present situation is for Chinnamma to become the general secretary and lead the party," he had said.

While praising Sasikala for supporting Jayalalithaa till the end, he said "to fill the void in the party created by the demise of Amma, AIADMK senior party leaders and ministers have urged Chinnamma to take on the mantle of general secretary."

But Monday was a hectic day for the AIADMK members on a different front. Several leaders joined the government machinery in helping the families displaced by tropical cyclone Vardah. The AIADMK social media took up an effective campaign urging people to exercise precaution during the cyclone and provided updates on the relief and rescue measures being taken by the state government.
New Delhi: Hitting back at the Congress, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the party is uncomfortable with the Modi governments demonetisation move because of its scandalous record during its 10 years in power from 2004 to 2014.

There were two striking features of the two Congress regimes. No steps against corruption and no steps against black money, the Finance Minister said.

Stating that corruption scandals peaked during the Congress regime, Jaitley said this was the reason the party was uncomfortable with demonetisation.

In perhaps an assurance to those still facing inconvenience due to shortage of cash, Jaitley said the government is rapidly completing the process of demonetisation by injecting significant amounts of cash into the system within the next three weeks.

From 2004 to 2014, high denomination currency increased to 80% from 36% of total currency. Our goal is to move to a low cash economy, Jaitley said pushing for digitisation.

"There are economic costs of dealing in cash, there are social costs of dealing in cash. These are the costs which system has to bear," he said.

The Finance Minister claimed that future transactions in the country will be mostly digital, and this will in turn help catch black money hoarders in the tax net.

Besides, restrictions on cash spending together with mandatory furnishing of PAN will help bring down the level of corruption, he said.

Speaking about the IT raids in the country which have unearthed crores stashed in cash of new denominations, Jaitley said that every person who indulges in such activities will be caught.

Jaitley also appealed to the Opposition to allow the Parliament to function as the government was ready for a debate on the issue of demonetisation, and asked them to look at the long-term advantages of demonetisation.

Earlier on Tuesday, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had called demonetisation the biggest scam of the year, while attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking the Opposition into his confidence over the move.

This is the biggest scam of the year and must be investigated, P Chidambaram said, while addressing a press conference in the national capital.

He wondered why Modi did not bother to consult eminent economists like Manmohan Singh on the issue.

Government should have consulted at least Yashwant Sinha, he is their own man. They could have consulted Mr Manmohan Singh. Are they suggesting that the former PM if consulted by the present Prime Minister will betray a secret? he said.

Chidambaram said the confidence in Indian economy has been severely dented by the number of measures undertaken by the current government and said demonetisation was the primary reason.

Even a natural calamity might not cause so much of trouble. This is an illusion that it is intended to hurt the rich and benefit poor. I don't see any rich man getting affected, he said.

He argued that just because people are not protesting the move does not mean they approve the step taken by the government. He also attacked the government for constantly changing the reasons for the move, the latest being that it was done to make India a cashless economy.

"To assume that India will go from 3% to 100% cashless in a matter of few months is an outlandish expectation. Which country has cashless economy? Does US? Does Singapore have it? Where is electricity in country? Where are the machines?" he asked.

"Every bank says no cash, so how does the govt say there is cash? This is why Dr Manmohan Singh said monumental mismanagement," he said.
New Delhi: The CBI is set to question Tata Group director Vijay Singh in the VVIP choppers scam case, just days after the group's ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry accused him of playing a key role in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland deal.

According to an Indian Express report, the CBI is going to quiz Vijay Singh, who was the Defence Secretary when the deal transpired, along with Shashi Kant Sharma, the current Comptroller and Auditor General of India in the case.

Singh was reportedly under CBI scanner for his alleged role and the agency may even question officers who were part of Manmohan Singhs office when he was the Prime Minister.

The former Defence Secretary had however vehemently denied having any role in the chopper deal and claimed that the deal was struck after he had retired from the government post.

"I was defence secretary from 2007-2009 and the present cases being prosecuted by CBI pertain to 2004-2005. The Augusta Westland acquisition was approved by the Cabinet well after my retirement," he said in an emailed statement. Singh in one of the directors of the Tata group.

Earlier on Sunday, Mistry had alleged: "As Defence Secretary, Singh was a key official involved in award of Rs 3600 crore VVIP helicopter contract to AugustaWestland in 2010".

"To connect me with this matter is slanderous and malicious," Singh, an independent director on Tata Sons board, said.
The human chain will be formed to herald the second phase of a campaign in support of prohibition, he said at a workshop of the JD(U) in Patna. (Photo: Representational Image)

Patna: Bihar is planning to form the world's longest human chain, which will be over 3,000 km long, on January 21, involving more than two crore people, to express its commitment towards liquor ban, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday.

The human chain will be formed to herald the second phase of a campaign in support of prohibition, he said at a workshop of the JD(U) in Patna.

Briefing party MPs, legislators and office bearers on prohibition and 'seven resolves' of his government, Kumar said 2,000 people will participate in one km of the proposed human chain.

About 56 lakh participants will hold each others hands on the main route. While, more than 1.5 crore citizens will form human chain in sub-routes within the districts, the Chief Minister said, adding the exercise will involve more than two crore people.

The human chain will be formed at 10 am on January 21 for half an hour. The participants will stand in queue on the left side of the road, he said.

The human chain will herald the launch of the second phase of the campaign in support of liquor ban enforced in April this year, which will continue till March 22 next year, Kumar said.

Giving details of the routes, the Chief Minister said the human chain in North Bihar will cover 1,821 km and in South Bihar 1,186 km connecting all districts.

In North Bihar, a 274 km human chain will be formed from Banuani to Mushridharari, Muzaffarpur, Motihari, Bettiah and Mangalpur. There will be a 163 km human chain from Patna to Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sonebarsa, he said.

In South Bihar, a 223 km human chain will be formed from Durgawati (on the border of Uttar Pradesh) to Mohania, Sasaram, Aurangabad, Arwal and Jehanabad. Another one will be 155 km-long from Patna to Dobhi (Gaya) and Barachatti (on theborder of Jharkhand), he said.

Photography of the gigantic human chain will be done with the help of drone/low flying helicopter and satellite, the Chief Minister said, adding government officials, teachers, students (above class V) and members of NGOs will participate in the human chain for which traffic police will make proper arrangements.
Lucknow: The over 100 leaders including former MPs, sitting legislators, former ministers and even retired bureaucrats who have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh, are now posing a major problem for the party in ticket distribution.

The leaders, 107 to be precise, who have joined the party in recent months, are now claiming tickets for themselves as well as their kin.

A number of these leaders want tickets not only for themselves but also for their sons and daughters. For instance, Dr Rita Bahuguna Joshi wants a ticket for herself as well as for her son while Swami Prasad Maurya wants tickets for himself, his daughter and son. Former BSP MP Jugal Kishore wants his wife to be accommodated as well, said a party functionary.

Another former BSP MP Brijesh Pathak has also a list of supporters for whom he wants tickets. State BJP president Keshav Maurya categorically said, We have not promised tickets to those who have come for other parties.

They have joined the BJP because they believe in the party ideology and have faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our workers will get preference and tickets will be given on basis of winnability, loyalty and acceptability. The party should not be taken for granted.

A senior leader, on the other hand, said that leaders who came from other parties were apparently promised tickets. A retired bureaucrat who had joined the BJP, told this correspondent that prior to his joining the party, he had detailed discussions with the concerned leaders and was assured of his ticket.

I have already been working in my constituency for the past few months and denial of ticket would amount to breach of trust, he said. It is this situation that forced the BJP to delay announcement of its candidate list.
NAGPUR: Calling the seizure of Rs 35 crore in Rs 2,000 notes in Tamil Nadu as the biggest scam, former finance minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Tuesday demanded a high-level investigation into the matter.

He also questioned the seizure of Rs 2,000 notes in a Delhi lawyer's chamber.

The Congress leader even said that the peoples problems post-demonetisation would not reduce any time soon despite the Modi governments promises.

Mr Chidambaram also alleged that 91 people have died due to the note ban.

Referring to a cash seizure from mining baron Shekhar Reddy in Chennai three days ago, Mr Chidambaram expressed surprise over new notes of `2,000 and Rs 500 denominations being found in the raid.

How is it that these people have received the new notes in such a (high) volume when others are still struggling? Is it that the new currency is going to these people directly from the printing press? This is the biggest scam in the country and a criminal investigation is needed. The government should explain the issue, Mr Chidambaram said.

He also referred to a case in Delhi wherein a little-known lawyer was found with Rs 13.48 crore cash in new notes. Lashing out at the Modi government for making 11 crore people stand in queues before banks everyday after demonetisation, Mr Chidambaram said that the situation would not change for seven months at least.

Meanwhile, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi stepped up attack on Prime Minister, saying his vision of a cashless economy has rendered the poor cashless, robbing them of their hard-earned money.
New Delhi: Concerned over the havoc created by demonetisation in the banking system and the gross inconvenience being caused to the common man, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has summoned Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel on December 22.

Sources privy to developments said that the Parliamentary panel is likely to grill Mr Patel about the extent of RBIs role in planning the entire demonetisation exercise and whether it had prepared any back-up plan to combat its negative fallout.

The panel led by Congress MP M. Veerappa Moily will be discussing the burning issue for the first time since Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement last month making Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes invalid from November 8 midnight onwards.

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Sources said the panel is quite worried over the fallout of the entire exercise, which has been causing a great deal of pain to the common man, and it mainly wants to know from the RBI Governor as to how much say did he have in the entire process.

They further added that Mr Patel is also likely to be asked about the kind of planning done by the Government over the issue, mainly on what were the key reasons which led to the entire exercise.

Also whether the Government and the RBI were aware of the quantum of impact the demonetisation exercise would have on the common man, is another aspect which the Parliamentary panel is likely to discuss with the RBI Governor.

Incidentally, December 22 will only be the second time the Parliamentary panel will be meeting since the demonetisation policy was announced by the Prime Minister on November 8.

The panel had met on November 9 to discuss security related issues concerning payments in the banking sector. During that meeting, it had summoned representatives of State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank to discuss security related issues. Since the committee meetings are pre-planned, it could not discuss the demonetisation issue on November 9.
Hyderabad: After the successful implementation of cashless payments system in a village in Siddipet district, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the project would be implemented in the entire Siddipet Assembly constituency. This will be followed by Siddipet district and the entire state.

Speaking at a meeting with ministers, government officers and representatives of 12 banks at his residence on Tuesday, Mr Rao said 4,000 card swipe machines were required to switch to cashless mode in the constituency.

He directed officials to open bank accounts for everyone in Siddipet and provide them with debit cards. He asked RTC to introduce swipe machines in all buses.
Hyderabad: Relatives of Dilsukhnagar blast victims want nothing less than capital punishment for the culprits. Most of them are relieved to find out that the court has convicted the terrorists and that charges have been proven. For many, it was a three year long wait for justice.

They should be hanged to death as soon as possible. The trial and probe have already taken years. If they are allowed to live in prison they would again endanger teh lives of innocent people. They are a threat to humanity, says Mohammed Shamsuddin, whose younger brother Mohammed Rafiuddin, 21, was killed in the bomb blast.

Hundreds of people are still suffering because of their heinous act. They are still capable of inflicting pain with terrorist acts. So, capital punishment should be the sentence, Shamsuddin added.

Mohd. Rafiuddin, was a resident of Hafis Baba Nagar, Chandrayangutta and he was returning from Dilsukhnagar after buying something for his business.

Mohammed Azgar Ali, father of another victim 16-year-old Aijaz Ahmed, says that not only the five culprits, but everybody else behind this terror act should be arrested and punished soon.

The pain we went through all these years cannot be expressed through words. I had lost my world that day when my son died in the blast. Only when all those people are punished, me and my family would feel relieved, Asgar Ali says.

He adds that punishment to terrorists won't solve the issue.

The government should take stern steps to stop terrorist acts across the country. Many families like mine lost their beloved ones in terrorist attacks in the past. Many more might suffer the same fate in the future, before that they should be stopped, he says.

Aijaz, a first year student of SGM Polytechnic and resident of Premnagar, Amberpet, was returning home from college. He got down from the first bus, and was waiting for the next bus when the blast occurred.
Hyderabad: A special National Investigation Agency court on Tuesday convicted Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal and four others for their involvement in the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts.

Eighteen people were killed and more than 130 were injured in the twin blasts that rocked Dilsukhnagar on February 21, 2013. This is the first-ever conviction of banned IM cadres in a terror case.

They were convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for murder, waging war against the country, conspiracy, attempt to murder and several other criminal charges.

The judge will announce the sentences for all the accused on December 19, when the court will hear the argument of the defence counsel for the last time.

Public prosecutor V. Surender Rao said the NIA will seek capital punishment for all four. The minimum sentence is life imprisonment and the maximum punishment is death sentence. Considering the heinous nature of the crime, we will be seeking capital punishment for the culprits, Mr Surender Rao said.

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All charges proven in court: Prosecutor

A special National Investigation Agency court on Tuesday convicted Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal and four others for their involvement in the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts.

Yasin Bhatkal alias Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa from Karnataka, Asadullah Akthar from Uttar Pradesh, Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas from Pakistan, Tahseen Akhthar from Bihar and Aizaz Shaik from Maharashtra are the four men convicted. All of them are in judicial custody at Cherlapally Jail, where the special court was set up for the trial. The key conspirator in the case, Riyaz Bhatkal, is absconding.

The public prosecutor said that all the charges slapped against the five men have been proven in court and the court found them guilty. After finding them guilty the court has given them a chance to argue on Monday regarding the punishment. After the arguments by both sides (defence and prosecution), the court will decide the quantum of punishment on Monday said Mr Surender Rao.

NIA director general, Sharad Kumar called the NIA investigation wonderful.

It was a wonderful investigation carried out by the team in which every piece of evidence was examined minutely. This is the first-ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres, and we will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits, he said.

As many as 157 witnesses witnesses were examined and a total of 486 exhibits and 173 material objects were marked as evidence. Extensive cyber forensic evidence was gathered and placed on record as evidence.
Hyderabad: The High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to explain its stand on placing Vigilance Commission reports before the State Assembly.

A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana was hearing a petition by Forum for Good Governance that stated that the state government was neither vetting the recommendations nor placing them before the Assembly.

Ms B. Rachana, counsel for the petitioner, told the court that GO Ms No. 421 mandated the state government to place the VC reports before the legislature along with a memorandum. The government had not placed the reports before the legislature for 18 years.

Pointing out that prima facie the state executive had to place the reports before the legislature, the bench sought the governments response.

Mr Mahender Reddy, special counsel for the government, said the Telangana state government had come into existence in 2014; it was the responsibility of the erstwhile AP government to respond to the reports of VC prior to 2014.

While suggesting that the petitioner make the AP government a party to the petition, the bench asked Telangana state government counsel to file an affidavit explaining the governments stand within two weeks.

HC quizzes TS on HSRP

The High Court on Tuesday directed the Telangana state and AP governments to file affidavits explaining their stand on implementing the High Security Registration Plates scheme for motor vehicles.

A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranga-nathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana was hearing two PILs filed by one Swatantra Rai from Uttar Pradesh, seeking a direction to both governments to implement the HSRP norms as laid down in Rule 50 of the Central Motor Rules, 1989 and directions of the Supreme Court. These mandated the governments to convert fit HSRPs on vehicles that were registered before December 2, 2013. He asked Link Autotech Pvt. Ltd, appointed by both states, to implement the scheme.
Hyderabad: Indian medical students who are getting their MBBS degrees from foreign universities will now have an opportunity to work in India without giving their exams here according to a proposal sent by the Union health ministry to the Medical Council of India.

The government says that this is to overcome the shortage of six lakh doctors in the country. Doctors who graduate from China, Russia, Nepal, South East Asian and Eastern European countries have to write the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination, and if they pass they can register and practise in India.

Data from the Medical Council of India shows that since 2002, 29,968 students have appeared for the foreign medical examination and only 3,610 have passed.

Dr G. Srinivas, president of Telangana Junior Doctors Association thinks the new measure is unfair.

The medical education and bedside experience of foreign doctors are minimal. The teaching standards are different and they are not on par with Indian standards. On one side the government wants us to write exams after passing our MBBS and on the other side they want to recruit foreign doctors without exams, which is not fair. We are going to strongly protest against it, he said.

Its the ridiculous division of seats in private medical colleges that forces many students to study abroad. A junior doctor on condition of anonymity explained, In private medical colleges, 50 per cent of seats are reserved for the government, 20 per cent is in the management quota and the remaining are paid seats which are very expensive. These seats cost allegedly Rs 1.5 core. That is one of the major reasons that many students opt for seats outside India.

Telangana Medical Council chairman Dr Ravinder Reddy says, As of today, writing a medical exam for the foreign medical graduate is as per the MCI act and it is being followed.

But when there is a shortage of doctors, why are trained doctors not being allowed to practise in India? Why must people in rural areas go to RMPs?

A senior doctor on condition of anonymity explained, The problem is that none of the Indian doctors who are trained in India or abroad want to practise in rural areas. Hence, there will be a growing competition in urban and semi-urban areas only. A foreign doctor will come with a different set of expertise. Also, the name that he is foreign-returned will attract a lot of patients and this is what many are scared about.

At present, several Indian doctors who got their degrees abroad and were rejected in India are practising in the countries they passed out from. According to sources in the Medical Council of India, many of them have got employment in the Middle East and South East Asian countries where the patient load is manageable.
Hyderabad: Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Raos push for cashless payments, a majority of government organisations are insisting on making payments in cash as they dont have required infrastructure to accept card payments.

Passengers, who use RTCs monthly bus passes, could renew their passes as RTC counter and MeeSeva centres do not have Point of Sale machines to accept card payments.

Recently, transport minister P. Mahender Reddy had asked officials to adopt cashless payments as soon as possible at both RTA and RTC.

Similarly, most Mee-Seva centres do not have PoS machines. As a result, people are facing inconvenience for paying fee for services.

MeeSeva deputy director P. Srinivas said: All MeeSeva centres will have PoS machine soon.

Government hospitals also dont have cashless system. Prominent hospitals like Nature Cure have put up banners stating that it will accept only cash payment.

The situation is no different at the Central government organisations. The postal department, which offers basic banking services in remote places, dont have PoS machines. People are required to pay in cash for purchasing postal stamps, etc. Still some BSNL customer service centres are insisting on cash to pay bills.
A centuries-old tradition offering puja to bhootha (demon) by way of fighting against the bad influences of other demons continues in Rayalaseema and adjacent Karnataka areas.

Anantapur: A centuries-old tradition offering puja to bhootha (demon) by way of fighting against the bad influences of other demons continues in Rayalaseema and adjacent Karnataka areas. Bhutan Raja, seen as the king of demons, is under the control of gurus, and is being prayed and offered puja during full moon days and other important occasions.

The main temple of Brahmarakshasa is located at Sonda in Karnataka where the Vrindavan of saint Vadiraja guru is located. It is believed that Brahma Rakshasa was born as Narayanacharya, a Brahmin, in Narala, South Kannada district. He became a close disciple of saint Sri Vadiraja Swamy, and is believed to have even accompanied him to Vijayanagar to meet his guru, saint Vyasaraja Swamy. Saint Vyasaraja Swamy was ruler of the Vijayanagar empire five centuries ago.

On one day, which was a Sadhana Dwadashi day, Sri Vadirajaru did not wake up early in the morning as he was immersed in his dhyana the previous night. Vyasarayaru and others were waiting for meals. Vadiraja Swamy hurriedly had his bath, skipped his daily puja and had meals. Once settled, Vadirajaru miraculously brought out all the food he had partaken separately, and fresh, and laid them out on the plantain leaf in front of him. He then had his bath in the river, did his regular daily ritualistic puja and one the way back, he saw Narayancharya who was hiding on a tree.

He cursed him that he would become a Brahma Rakshasa. Immediately, however, Narayancharya realised his folly and begged for his forgiveness. Later on, after several years, while on his yatra to Badari, Sri Vadirajaru entered the same forest. Bhootaraja or Bhoothanatha or Narayana Bhootha got blessed by the guru and is believed serving Sri Vadiraja even till date.

He too has a temple close to the Vrindavan and for centuries continues to stand there protecting the place and easing the difficulties of the pilgrims and devotees of Sri Vadiraja Teertha. The pilgrims, in turn, first visit the shrine of Bhootharaja and roll a coconut towards him before they visit the Vrindavan.

Lakshmjnarayana Charya, priest from the Bhootharaja temple in Anantapur, said the demon god has a large following of devotees. Bhootharaja seva is done every year at Bhaktharahalli, the historic temple in Anantapur district. At least two lakh devotees take part in the procession every year, said temple executive officer Narasimha Murthy.
Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate has decided to seek the help of national agencies to unearth more details of the case related to a firm in Kochi receiving Rs 55 crore from Bulgaria-based Zevzda, a vegetable oil supplier. According to sources, Jose George, the owner of the company is yet to furnish documents to prove that the money was deposited legally. A case was registered against Jose George, owner of Trade International, for evading tax by depositing unaccounted money received from abroad in the accounts of his relatives.

According to authorities, Trade International claimed that it had entered into a deal with the Bulgarian firm for supply of around 1 lakh tonne of sunflower oil and sugar, for one year from June 2016. The ED is planning to confiscate the amount deposited prompting Jose to move the courts to get the money. Sources added that Jose was acting as an agent for a big hawala dealer.

The Customs Department had found that the documents submitted by the businessman to encash the Rs 59 crore sent by Bulgarian company Zevzda in the form of Letter of Credit bore forged seals of the Mumbai Port. It is learnt that of the Rs 59 crore transferred from a Bulgarian bank, Jose George deposited Rs 30 crore in the accounts of his relatives, which the businessman and his relatives did not declare in the tax returns.
School systems have long been tasked with educating students, but increasingly they are also being asked to do the preparation work that can lead students to area employers.

With unemployment rates falling and many area businesses looking for workers to fill open positions, schools are leaping into action to produce workers to fill those local jobs.

This is a tide that is turning in education, said Dr. Heidi Eliopoulos, superintendent of the Chippewa Falls School District. This is a significant responsibility we have in our communities, were also a talent pipeline.

With that in mind, last month she invited Ginger Dutton and Deb Leslie of Workforce Resource to meet with the joint boards of McDonell Area Catholic Schools and CFAUSD.

Were trying to be part of the solution through the programs we offer, Leslie, the groups CEO, said. We have many services to assist people in climbing the career ladder.

Workforce Resource is a private non-profit that for more than three decades has partnered with organizations and schools. It also operates seven job centers in nine west-central Wisconsin counties.

Need workers

Jeff Heinzen, president of MACS, stressed how schools need to be aware of the expectations of area employers.

It was clear with the presentation by Workforce Resource that our demographics are changing as to where our future populations will live and work, he said. Educational centers like the Chippewa Valley provide real opportunities for us to not only educate our children, but to also have them return to the area over time for employment and a great quality of life where they can raise our next generation of MACS and Cardinals.

Heinzens reference was to statistical proof offered by Dutton, showing the problems the Chippewa Valley is encountering now and what looms in the future. Chippewa Countys latest unemployment rate is 3.2 percent.

That is below state average, which is why employers are screaming for more people, she said. In the future, well be facing a workforce quantity challenge. The labor force is tapering off, but our population is continuing to grow.

While the population from 2015-2035 is expected to increase by 9 percent in Eau Claire and 10 percent in Chippewa, figures show no rise from 2015-2025 in the number of 18- to 24-year-olds entering the local workforce. Making matters worse, Dutton said, is the exodus of people age 65 and over who are projected to leave the workforce in the next 20 years.

But we dont have the backfill of those entering the workforce, she said. We need to target some of the special populations who may not be in the workforce  or the older workforce, and continue to engage them.

Health care and manufacturing employers in the Chippewa Valley have the biggest current needs, but there are others at all pay ranges.

I could walk in almost any business, and they would say, if you can find people, I can hire them, Leslie said. Assisted living facilities arent opening their doors right now because they cant find CNAs and workers.

She acknowledged in answer to a question that pay is an obstacle to filling some jobs, but there are also highly-paid jobs, many of which parents and students may not be aware of.

Other factors are at play, Dutton said. She regularly sees entry-level jobs go unfilled because prospective employees dont want to risk losing financial support through Food Share, Badger Care or other programs.

Key programs

Career Venture is one local youth initiative Dutton said Workforce Resource is trying out that targets students in grades 7-12. From Chippewa Falls, 390 eighth graders are entering the program this year. In May, 2,500 kids are scheduled to attend a one-day, hands-on career fair.

We hope that in that short visit, it maybe sparks an interest in that career, Dutton said.

The manufacturing boot camp held this past summer in Chippewa Falls for students of high school age and some out-of-school youth was one of the better examples of a local community coming together, she said. Seven local employers hosted the event.

It has been a wonderful success. It still just floors me, Dutton said, noting all but one of the 23 students finished the camp.

The Rutledge Foundation funded a grant allowing a stipend to be paid to the students. She said Workforce Resource hopes to continue the program and replicate it.

Other programs are underway, many in conjunction with partnerships between school districts, area nonprofits and for-profit businesses, which is the groups biggest focus.

We should all be talking about the same thing: continued partnerships, she said. All of these local things are only successful because were working with local agencies and local schools.

Area employers need people, Eliopoulos said, putting schools squarely in the role of being able to help.

We have people. And we want to bring to light that piece of our role, so our talent stays here in Chippewa and continues to thrive, she said.
KOCHI: Bilateral cooperation between Germany and Kochi is going to be strengthened further with the German Consul General offering all support for the projects to be undertaken under the Smart City Mission in the city. Margit Hellwig Botte, Consul General from Bangalore, while visiting Mayor Soumini Jain on Tuesday, promised technical support for various development schemes being carried out. The city already has three projects which are being implemented with German support such as the decentralized sewage treatment plant, executed with the technical support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), climate change mitigation programmes under the technical guidance of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEL) and the European Unions SOLUTIONS  climate change mitigation project supported by the German scientific institution Wuppertal International Institute.

The Consul General asked about the progress of the implementation of the three projects during the discussions with the Mayor. Deputy Mayor T.J Vinod, additional secretary A.S Anuja, German consul member Dr. Sayed Ibrahim, councillors David Parambithara, Delena Pinheiro were also present. Later, she visited the Kochi Metro and the sites for the Water Metro project. She also held discussions with the senior staff of Kochi Metro Rail Limited including managing director Elias George.
Panaji: The Goa unit of Congress on Monday demanded that President's rule be imposed in the state in view of bickering within the BJP-led ruling coalition.



"I fully agree with the demand of MGP (ruling ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party) that Assembly be dissolved and fresh elections be held. The state should be brought under President's rule so that all have a level playing field in the rup-up to 2017 Assembly elections," Goa Congress chief Luizinho Faleiro said here.



MGP leader and state minister Sudin Dhavalikar recently accused the Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar of taking the state back by ten years, while the latter asked him to quit the cabinet before making comments against the government.



"Never in the history of democratic India a ruling party minister has been seen mocking his own Chief Minister and the government," Faleiro said.



"When a prominent and a senior cabinet minister makes a statement that all is not good in the government, one has to believe him....I am happy that finally MGP has realised that the economic, financial governance of Goa has totally collapsed under BJP," the Congress leader said.
Panaji: In a significant development, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Monday night dropped two of his Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party colleagues from cabinet following their outburst against the BJP-led government, raising prospects of new permutations and combinations in the state going to polls in 2017.

Parsekar faxed the communication to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha late night recommended dropping of Sudin Dhavlikar and Dipak Dhavlikar from the cabinet. With this, the total number of ministers in Parsekar-led cabinet is reduced to ten.

"I have recommended that both the ministers be dropped under article 164 (1) of Constitution of India," the CM said.

He said all the portfolios which were allotted to both the ministers are reverted to him, till they are allotted to anyone else.

MGP was represented by Sudin and Dipak Dhavlikar in the cabinet.

MGP had fought 2012 Assembly election in alliance with BJP. While BJP won 21 seats in the 40-member house, MGP was victorious on three. Hence, ouster of two MGP ministers won't pose any threat to the government.

While Sudin Dhavalikar held important portfolios like Transport and Public Works Department, Dipak Dhavlikar headed Rural Development Agency.

Responding to a question, Parsekar said he was yet to decide on filling both the vacancies.

When contacted, Dipak Dhavalikar said he was yet to receive any communication about his removal from the cabinet.

"I can't comment as we are yet to receive any communication," he said.

MGP, the first regional ruling party after Goa was liberated from Portuguese in 1961, had recently decided not to have a pre-poll alliance with the BJP if Parsekar continues to lead the party.

Sudin recently accused Parsekar of taking Goa ten years backward during his rule of two-and-half years, while Dipak, the MGP President, had dared the BJP to dissolve the Assembly and face election on their own and win the majority seats.

"So if BJP wants us to go, they should dissolve the Assembly. It is not the government of their own. We also have a share in it. Let BJP dissolve the Assembly and face election on their own and win the majority seats," Dipak said.

Interestingly, RSS rebel Subhash Velingkar-led Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) had proposed alliance with MGP for polls.
PM Modi had contested from Vadodara and Varanasi during the 2014 General Elections. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Election Commission has asked the government to amend laws to bar people from contesting from two seats or, at least as a deterrent, a candidate who vacates a seat necessitating a bypoll should be asked to deposit an "appropriate" amount in state coffers.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 allows a person to contest a general election or by-elections or biennial elections from a maximum of two constituencies but the candidate can retain only one.

Before a 1996 amendment in the electoral laws, there was no bar on the number of seats a person could contest.

In a compendium of electoral reforms proposed by the poll panel to the Law Ministry, released earlier this month, the Commission said it has proposed amendment to Section 33(7) of the Act.

In its 2004 proposal, the EC had said that if the law cannot be changed to bar people from contesting on more than one seat, then the winning candidate should bear the cost of the by-election to the seat he or she vacates.

The amount then proposed was Rs 5 lakh for state assembly and state legislative council elections and Rs 10 lakh for Lok Sabha polls.

"When a candidate contests from two seats, it is imperative that he has to vacate one of the two seats should he win both.

"This, apart from the consequent unavoidable financial burden on the public exchequer and the manpower and other resources for holding by-election against the resultant vacancy, would be an injustice to the voters of the constituency which the candidate is quitting from," the compendium read.

It said the amount it recommended in 2004 should be increased to "something more appropriate for serving as deterrence to the candidates".

In its report on electoral reforms a couple of years back, the then Law Commission headed by Justice AP Shah (Retd) had also recommended barring candidates from contesting polls from more than one seat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vacated his Vadodara seat and retained the Varanasi seat after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In the same elections, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had vacated Mainpuri and retained Azamgarh.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has said that India and Indonesia provide a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance.

Welcoming the President of Indonesia to India, the President said India and Indonesia have has age-old bilateral ties. The two countries share a common experience of struggle for freedom from colonial rule.

President Mukherjee on Monday received Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Madame Iriana Widodo at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He also hosted a banquet in their honour.

The President said India welcomes Indonesia's emergence as a vibrant democracy.

"India attaches high importance to Indonesia's success as a pluralistic democracy with an open society based on the shared values of syncretism, tolerance and respect for diversity. India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and trans-national threats. Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve for strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes," he added.

The President said Indonesia is the largest economy in ASEAN and India's number one trade partner in the region.

"Our bilateral trade was about US$16 billion last year. We can try to realise the actual potential of our trade by diversifying our trade basket. India would value Indonesia's active support for strengthening India-ASEAN relations during 2017 when we will be celebrating 15 years of Summit level interaction," he added.

Subsequently, in his banquet speech, President Mukherjee said Indonesia and India helped to write the closing chapters of colonialism and started the Non-Aligned Movement.

"India looks forward to work with Indonesia to achieve the full potential of economic co-operation, maritime and air links and in increasing reciprocal investments. India would be happy to contribute to Indonesia's 'maritime fulcrum vision' of Indonesia Nusantaraand, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region. In the multilateral and global context of facing the common challenges of the 21st Century, India and Indonesia, together, are factors of stability for the world," he added.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said that the problem caused due to demonetisation will take a year to solve.

"The people, who had asked for 50 days, are counting more 50 days. This problem will not be solved on 50 days but it will take at least one year," he told media here.

"We all want to curb corruption and the flow of black money in the nation, but they took the decision without planning and preparation," he said.

"They had assured that the situation will become normal but still I can find people standing in the queue in such cold weather," he added.

Hinting indirectly at the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, he said, "The people who are queued up for cash now, will queued up again to cast their vote against the Centre, which has caused pain to them."
Bhopal: Union Minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Tuesday parried questions on her prospects of becoming a contender for the chief ministerial post in Uttar Pradesh but expressed confidence of her party forming the government in the state, which is going to polls next year.

"I can't comment about the claim on the chief minister's post but the BJP is surely going to form a government there," Bharti said when asked about reports of being the claimant for the top post in UP.

The Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation was talking to journalists after offering prayers at Ganesha temple at Sehore, about 55-kilometers from here.

In reply of another query about Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's 'Narmada Sewa Yatra,' Bharti said that this campaign would save the future of this river.

"Mining has been the biggest impediment in the conservation of Narmada. A mining ban on the banks of Narmada would naturally conserve and save this river," she added.

Bharti said she would extend all possible help to the state government in the campaign to conserve Narmada river.

"Narmada has been cleanest river of the country. After Chouhan's efforts, the river would continue to be free of pollution. Plantation on both sides of the river would further beautify it," she added.
Donald Trump shook the world by winning the US presidential election, yet again demonstrating that poll forecasting is an imperfect process. And now he is shaking both his country and the wider world by choosing his future Cabinet that is full of surprises, some of them outlandish, and seemingly turning long-held US policy positions on their head. As the chancelleries in world capitals sit down to analyse the string of Cabinet-level appointments he has made, they strive to find a common thread. The only pattern they can discern is that he favours successful businessmen like himself and has an appetite for articulate generals for jobs that had previously been left to civilians. Mr Trumps announcement that he would scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Barack Obamas legacy work in his pivot to Asia, the day he enters office was no surprise because of his shrill pitch for maintaining and creating American jobs in consonance with his Make America Great Again slogan and his main constituency. Free trade agreements, in his view, rob American jobs. But the biggest surprise of all, apart from reopening the One China chapter, was his choice of secretary of state.

By springing Rex Tillerson, chief of ExxonMobil, as his choice for secretary of state on an unsuspecting public after considering his old Republican rival Mitt Romney and his loyalist Rudy Giuliani for the job, he has chosen a businessman and a dealmaker, a man in the good books of President Vladimir Putin and once awarded the Order of Friendship by Moscow. He is sceptical of Western sanctions against Moscow. If there is a parallel, it is in his appointment of Terry Branstad, Iowa governor, as the countrys ambassador to Beijing. He has a decade-long relationship with President Xi Jinping, calls him an old friend, a compliment returned by the official spokesman of the Chinese foreign office, who described him as an old friend of the Chinese people. In contrast to this gesture, Mr Trump had the Chinese grinding their teeth when, for the first time since the 1970s, a sitting US President or President-elect has spoken over the telephone with Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen. In his election campaign, he had been railing against China on its currency tactics, military buildup in the South China Sea and its attitude to North Korea without storming into the One China policy.

Far from retreating, Mr Trump declared on television: I dont see why we have to be bound to the One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things. In other words, the One China proclamation is a bargaining chip for him. Last year the US imported $483 billion worth of goods from China, exporting to that country $811 billion worth. The President-elect is now suggesting that the One China policy, which was the basis of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Communist China and the US, is an open question. Washington closed its embassy in Taiwan while maintaining an interests section and is supplying arms to Taipei to protect itself. The Chinese have reacted to this new barb with a firm but measured tone because the relationship with the US is simply too important for them. As Mr Trump has amply proved, he is no respecter of norms and conventions. But many Americans have been scandalised that after meeting Al Gore, the prominent environmentalist, he nominated Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

He is a friend of the oil and gas industry and opposes Obamacare, the assisted healthcare landmark of Obama legislation. Mr Trump himself had expressed scepticism over industrial activity and global warming, although he has moderated his views after the election. Mr Trump had other surprises up his sleeve. He nominated Nikki Haley of Indian origin and South Carolina governor as US ambassador to the United Nations. She has little experience of international diplomacy although she made a name for herself as a resolute governor. The tough-talking Gen. James Mattis was nominated defence secretary and Steven Mnuchin, who worked for 17 years with Goldman Sachs, is the new treasury secretary. Homeland security goes to Marine Gen. John Kelly while Gary Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs, is director of the National Executive Council. No one can be surprised by the fact that Mr Trumps choices are right-wing, with little care for what the US prides itself on: keeping the civilian establishment firmly in charge of the military. The President-elect has no time for this separation nor is he overawed by conventions. Indeed, he won the presidential election by being unconventional and unabashedly populist.

In a sense, America is passing through a new phase for a variety of reasons that have been amply cited. But the question is how permanent this tilt to the right will be in a new world of privation for the working man at the bottom of the ladder? Mr Trump has been pressing American business not to move abroad to take advantage of cheaper labour. While two corporations have heeded his advice to save American jobs, US businesses are looking forward to promised lower taxes and a more business-friendly environment at home. The President-elect is fond of communicating through tweets, which have now become must-read for the business community. Imagine making Andrew Puzder, CEO of a restaurant chain, his new labour secretary. He is against government intervention in the labour market and says higher wages are bad for workers because they lead to unemployment. One objective Mr Trump has achieved by the nature of his appointments is unpredictability. The results can only be a matter of speculation at this early stage. If he believes that he has his country and the world befuddled, he is right. Counting the costs of the exercise is another matter. The US is yet to discover the wages of Mr Trumps ascent to the political world as the leader of what is still the most powerful nation on the planet.
Cyclone Vardahs trail of destruction was immense as the eye of the storm ripped through Chennai, but the loss of lives (around 18 in Tamil Nadu) was minimal, that shows how much we have improved our readiness to face such extreme weather events. It is heartening we have learnt to value lives and take steps to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, that affect the poor and the underprivileged more than others. It was touching that the disaster relief teams forcibly evacuated people in low-lying areas and near the sea in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to safe shelters. The gesture of the chief minister of Andhra, a state which suffered less, in asking everyone to help Tamil Nadu in disaster mitigation efforts was commendable. Indias preparedness in tackling Vardah was impressive as the same tropical storm took a toll of over 100 lives in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, while the death toll was far less in India, including in the Andamans.

As global warming keeps contributing to climate change, we are likely to see more extreme weather events like storms and intensive rainfall, and the least we can do is prepare for such events. The path of cyclones is most accurately predicted these days and this enables preparedness. The same expertise is not yet available for predicting floods and earthquakes, with the woes from the former being exacerbated by human settlements on wetlands and brazen encroachments as seen in the extreme Chennai floods last year, that took a toll of over 500 lives. The political will to take on flagrant violations of planning rules/regulations should help as cyclones dont often come without bringing substantial rains, leading to flash floods.

Where the two South Indian governments scored in taking on Vardah was in seeking employment of Central disaster response forces in time and in coordinating the efforts of state and Central personnel with free use of tools available today like social media and communication platforms. The Tamil Nadu governments efforts, amidst the difficult transition following J. Jayalalithaas death, were led from the front by third-time chief minister O. Panneerselvam, who was available through the day, accessible to senior bureaucrats, doing mitigation management in a transparent way. Precautions like closing schools and colleges and asking offices to shut may seem ridiculous at times when predicted storms dont make landfall as spectacularly as Vardah did. But there is logic behind this as most deaths in such disasters occur from people stepping out of the safety of their homes. The lessons learnt from the Vardah experience should help further refine disaster management processes in times when nature might have become our biggest threat, but also as we have abused the Earths resources and invited global warming and climate change.
Era Sezhiyan, 94, is one of Tamil Nadu's oldest politicians from the Dravidian era. He became a Lok Sabha member before the age of 40 and has keenly observed the political scene in the state for close to seven decades. A powerful writer, Mr Sezhiyan tries to recapture the history of the Dravidian movement and how it has served or failed Tamil Nadu.

How would you analyse the rise of Jayalalithaa in a Dravidian state despite her being a Kannadiga and a Brahmin?

I have an instinctive feeling that all the major states of south India are together called Dravidam. The language has similarity and so do the people. To strengthen this thought, our national anthem has a line Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravida, Utkala Vanga. There is no special mention of the four states individually but they are collectively mentioned as Dravida. So it is not a wonder for me to see a Kannadiga or a Malayali ruling Tamil Nadu.

Does the popularity of Jayalalithaa show that the people of Tamil Nadu do not care for labels such as outsider and Brahmin? MGR, too, won against Karunanidhis campaign that, being a Malayali, he was an outsider?

Tamil Nadu people were forward-thinking. There was less of caste or feeling of outsider in the old days when all they wanted was good leaders in power. Tamil Nadu was for federalism but also for a lot of autonomy. Being federal does not imply liaison with caste and creed politics. Moreover, there are so many castes within a caste and I would urge our future generations to get rid of these labels. Our leaders surpassed that stage long ago. To quote, I would remind the union of Aringar Anna with Rajagopalachari and Quaid-e-Millath in 1967. Caste is just a vague notion and the cheap stunts of lower-level political persons has brought us now to where we are on caste and community.

In your 90 years, you have observed several political leaders from close quarters. The Dravidian movement ousted the mighty Congress in 1967. What led to that Congress debacle?

Dont make me young. Im 94 years old. The Congress had a good reputation among the people. The names of Gandhi and Nehru made them so strong it could win in most of the states. In Tamil Nadu, Kamaraj rendered remarkable service and brought smiles to the lives of the needy and poor, adding more value to the Congress. In Tamil Nadu, Anna became a symbol of revolution and gained the status of a leader. The crowd was attracted to this party when MGR and Karunanidhi joined hands. The charisma of MGR and the speeches of Karunanidhi were vital in creating such an impact among the people as to muscle out the mighty Kamaraj.

In early signs of freebie politics, it was clear Annadurai and his DMK caught the imagination of the middle class and the poor with the promise of cheap rice and equal opportunities for the marginalised and so on. What were the promises that gave the Tamil Nadu voter the confidence to elect Annadurai?

Mainly it was cheap rice. Second, it was eradication of corruption. Apart from those, movies created a huge image for the party.

Would it have been better for the people and the politics of Tamil Nadu if Anna had lived longer?

Surely it wouldve been better to have leaders like Anna and Nehru even now. MGR somehow added a pearl to Annas crown, but in case of Nehru, his heirs ruined the name of their forefathers.

When you recall Karuna-nidhi succeeding Anna, what strikes you the most? Karu-nanidhis competence and drive, or do you think he was just too smart and outplayed seniors like Sampath and Nedunchezhiyan?

Karunanidhi was smart. He changed the posting hierarchy and gave Annadurais post to Nedunchezhiyan. But Karunanidhi called himself president and represented the party as CM candidate. This irked both MGR and Nedunchezhiyan. Unlike Nedunchezhiyan, MGR was not silent. He asked for details of party funds and accounts justifying his position as treasurer of the party. He was suspended and the party issue soon became a public issue. MGR had the peoples support and hence began a new party Anna DMK and renamed it as All-India ADMK.

Why do you think MGR backed Karunanidhi to succeed Annadurai?

Annadurai was a renowned leader. It is well known that MGR started his political career with his party. He had similar principles like Anna and Periyar. He named his party as Anna DMK thus recognising Anna as his leader. He did not compete much with Karuna-nidhi for the leading post in DMK. He started his own party.

MGR and Karunanidhi were buddies, friends to start with. What led to their estrangement?

It was mainly due to the suspension of MGR from the party, as mentioned.

How did followers gravitate towards MGR? Was there any ideology behind their decision or was it just their love for their matinee idol?

Mainly because of his charisma people flocked to him.

How much of Dravidianism and Annaism did MGR follow? Why did the people so strongly and blindly back MGR against Karunanidhi despite the latter swearing every now and then that he was the greatest practitioner of Periyars Dravidianism and Annaism?

There is no Dravidianism or Annaism. In case of MGR, it is mostly because of the person and not the party. I need not mention well-known politicians struggling to get recognition from the masses due to their failure in being able to instil faith among the public and even among their party members.

How sincere are Dravidian politicians in following and practising Periyars ideals of social equality, womens empowerment and overall development?

I should rate them low as women were ill-treated within the Assembly itself. Overall development was best only during the MGR reign. Most of the members were lacking in education and thus the execution of sensitive reforms was a complicated process. I strongly believe that a degree taken at the convocation is not education in itself, but the actual knowledge gained from studies. When true learning blooms, there will be progress towards peace and prosperity, which is the need of the hour.

Are you disappointed at the dilution of Dravidian ideals of social equality, womens empowerment, etc, for the sake of family considerations, sycophancy and high corruption?

When selfishness takes over, politicians and leaders do not perform. Too many other considerations like personal welfare of their ministers and close party followers come into the picture. If you look at the history of Indian politics, you will see a progressive decline in standards everywhere. Maybe, we were luckier than other states as we had leaders who also did things for people. We are far from achieving Dravidian ideals, but to achieve them we must first educate our people. Only then will we see real progress. People also tend to get the leaders they deserve.
MADISON  Madison-area folk upset that he called their city communist and full of Democrats who dont believe in democracy also dont have a sense of humor, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy tweeted last Wednesday.

As a Madisonian, I can confirm that at least one of us has a sense of humor. I thought it was funny that a guy who starred in MTVs The Real World got elected to Congress, and that being in a cheesy 1990s reality show apparently isnt a cure for hubris.

People who take Duffys provocations seriously enough to respond in kind are just punching down, in other words. Because, come on, does he really want to get into a fight about the relative merits of Madison versus, say, the area he calls home?

At the top of the list of timely Duffy-area drawbacks is his districts support of Donald Trump. Say what you want about Hillary Clinton  and she was, at the least, a terrible candidate  she wasnt caught on tape bragging about being a sexual predator, characterizing Mexican immigrants as rapists and exposing ignorance of the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. Census data show Madison is better educated, richer and healthier than Duffys home city of Wausau. Were also harder-working, with 72.5 percent of the 16-and-over crowd in the workforce, compared with 65.8 percent in Wausau.

As for sense of humor, this is a city where a guy rides around town on a scooter dressed in a cape and a thong, where university students have been known to hold regattas with boats carved out of giant pumpkins and where the city bird is a plastic pink flamingo.

Democracy might be Madisons strongest suit, and anyone whos ever sat through a Madison City Council budget meeting knows Madison has democracy of the participatory type coming out the yin-yang.

In short, Madison is consistently listed as among the best places to live in the country for a reason.

And yet this doesnt spur local elected officials to crassly demean the rest of the state.

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton responded to Duffys harsh assessment of Madison not by making cracks about Duffyville but by noting there are smart people all over the state and beautiful places all over the state, and by emphasizing that no matter where you live in Wisconsin, youre still a Wisconsinite.

If anyone is going to make Madison look ridiculous, it wont be a guy who spouts hackneyed potshots on cable television and Twitter. It will be the notoriously intelligent, creative and oversensitive Madisonians themselves.

We are, among other things, a people who bemoan racial disparities in the schools but oppose merit pay for teachers; where a Madison City Council member can start crying or feel risk of physical harm because the police chief penned a mean blog post; where the mayor-for-life still has nice things to say about the human- and democratic-rights violating Fidel Castro; and where the Solidarity Sing Along sings on and on and on.

Duffy was about 20 percent correct. Madison isnt anti-democratic, humorless or communist, but it does flirt with communisms close cousin, socialism.

Unlike Duffy, though, Madisonians get things correct way more than 20 percent of the time.

Duffy was about 20 percent correct. Madison isnt anti-democratic, humorless or communist, but it does flirt with communisms close cousin, socialism.
A look at the history of science shows that it flourished in India up to about a millennium ago, at which time it languished in Europe. However, this situation changed and one finds that the progress of science slowed down in India while it began to grow faster in Europe. Why did it happen? There are numerous reasons for this reversal. They have been discussed and debated extensively by scientists and sociologists of science. Many reasons are usually given, but we will highlight one that may also have a bearing on the present question of why science is not a popular subject amongst schoolchildren in India. That reason is the lack of experimentation as part of learning science. It goes without saying that the growth in our understanding of science is linked up with the role of experiments. A scientist may be stimulated to solve a riddle posed by nature.

While observing certain phenomenon he may wish to find out why it progresses in a particular way. What are the controlling factors? What will happen if any of them undergo a change? Experiments give him the clue to these questions and through them he will get a far better understanding of the physical process under observation. Without such studies, the scientist will not get a proper clue to the answer he is looking for. If, as the story goes, Isaac Newton, sitting under an apple tree, thought of gravitation when an apple fell on him, the real enlightenment came to him by studying how planets go round the Sun, how the Moon orbits round the Earth, how comets move, etc. Numerous experiments with electricity and magnetism enabled the scientists to put together an elegant set of equations that describe the observed phenomena related to these subjects.

Looking back at the history of science shows us starkly how the experimental part was missing in India. Writing in the Indian Journal of the History of Science, Professor D.P. Roy from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research highlights this fact. Indeed, doyens of Indian science, like Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray and Meghnad Saha had worried over this issue a good deal. The science of chemistry, for example, grew out of the early interest and work on alchemy. Chinese scholar and tourist Hsuan Tsang has recorded that in India there was a famous Buddhist alchemist called Nagarjuna. His influence was considerable and probably thanks to his influence the universities of Nalanda and Vikramasila continued for several centuries to teach alchemy. After the destruction by Bakhtiyar Khilji the alchemists fled to Tibet and the Deccan. From this source eventually Indian chemistry developed. But this development was away from the recognised and respected topics the intellectuals liked to talk about.

Metallurgy was another practical science that flourished around 500-1,000 AD. The famous pillar near the Qutub Minar in Delhi dates back to 400 AD. Made largely of iron, the material is rust resistant. How did the makers of the pillar manage to make an alloy with 98 per cent iron that did not rust? Why did the technological knowhow not survive? Studies of our ancient heritage show that frequent attacks by invaders like Ghaznavi and Ghori destroyed the iron industry. Although revived in a low key during the Mughal period, its death knell came when the British started exporting iron ore to plants in Britain rather than use it for making finished products in India as part of helping their own industry at the cost of Indian industry.

Ayurveda has also an interesting history as explored by experts in modern medicine. The two ancient manuscripts relevant to the medical developments are the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita dealing respectively with medicine and surgery. The Charaka Samhita is encyclopaedic in its description of different aspects of medical science and dates back to the first century AD. It had wide influence extending beyond the Indian subcontinent and by 2-3 centuries AD it was translated into Persian, Arabic and Tibetan. Sushruta Samhita on the other hand deals with many different types of surgery. Apart from operating procedures, it also describes the many different types of instruments used. The details seem to be compiled by a Buddhist hands on experimentalist rather than a theoretical scholar. The book was translated in Arabic and was highly regarded even by those outside the subcontinent.

Despite the popularity of Sushruta Samhita, the contemporary social stigma attached to blood, dead body or dissection meant that the higher caste members of the society kept away from surgery. The procedures described by Sushruta were therefore acted on by people who were denied access to higher education. As such, any intellectual advance of surgical science was stopped. Rather, it remained frozen at the level when Sushruta described it. The example of plastic surgery illustrates the situation. Since punishment in the form of cutting the nose was common, there were cases for plastic surgery to restore the nose by adding skin from the forehead. This procedure was used not by brahmin doctors of Ayurveda but by Koomar caste men who, however, followed the prescribed procedure without knowing the rationale or theory behind it. Officials of the East India Company came to know of this practice and they arranged to study it. They discovered that the procedure was unknown in Europe and seemed to work well. This was an example of what later came to be known as plastic surgery.

But the worrying aspect of this episode is that it shows how experimental procedures that are so important for the growth of science carried a stigma for the intellectuals of Indian society. This could be one of the reasons why science declined in India and had to be revived in the colonial era. Reverting to modern times, we find that in our schools experimentation is in low key, if present at all, as part of science teaching. The ideal situation of children learning through experiments performed by them is rare. In some cases the teacher may perform the experiment watched by the class while in many cases the children simply memorise the description of an experiment without watching a real one. It is not surprising that they miss the thrill of doing an experiment and learning the facts themselves. This image of science through rote learning naturally makes it a subject to be avoided!
NASA is rescheduling the launch of its CYGNSS spacecraft for no earlier than Wednesday, Dec. 14, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, during a one-hour window that opens at 8:20 a.m. EST.

Live launch commentary will begin at 7 a.m. from nearby NASA Kennedy Space Center, and carried live on NASA Television and the agencys website. A prelaunch program by NASA EDGE will begin at 6 a.m.

CYGNSS will take off aboard an Orbital Sciences ATK air-launched Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The rocket is scheduled for deployment at 8:25 a.m. over the Atlantic Ocean from Orbitals L-1011 carrier aircraft.

Mondays launch was aborted due to an issue with the launch vehicle release system on the L-1011 Stargazer. A hydraulic system operates the mechanism that releases the Pegasus rocket from the carrier aircraft. The hydraulic system functioned properly during the pre-flight checks of the airplane.

The current targeted Wednesday launch time will allow for a replacement L-1011 carrier aircraft component to arrive from Mojave, California, and be installed, as well as support the required crew rest requirements.

 inputs from NASA

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Japan's H-IIB rocket with a capsule called Kounotori, or stork, lifts off at the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, southern Japan, Friday evening, Dec. 9, 2016. The Japanese capsule contains nearly 5 tons of food, water and other supplies, including new lithium-ion batteries for the International Space Stations solar power system. (Ryosuke Uematsu/Kyodo News via AP)

A Japanese capsule blasted off with much-needed supplies for the International Space Station on Friday, a week after a Russian shipment was destroyed shortly after liftoff.

The Russian rocket accident and the grounding of one of NASA's commercial suppliers make this delivery all the more urgent. The spacecraft should arrive at the station Tuesday.

"Have a safe flight," French astronaut Thomas Pesquet said in a tweet from the space station. "Looking forward to your arrival!"

The capsule  called Kounotori, or white stork  contains nearly 5 tons of food, water and other supplies, including six new lithium-ion batteries for the station's solar power system. Astronauts will conduct spacewalks next month to replace the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that store energy generated by the station's big solar panels.

This is Japan's sixth shipment to the 250-mile-high outpost, currently home to Pesquet, two Americans and three Russians. It launched from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

Launches by SpaceX, meanwhile, have been on hold since a September rocket explosion on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The helium pressurization system in the rocket's upper stage was breached, resulting in a massive fireball.

The company hopes to resume flights next month from Southern California. Iridium Communications satellites will be aboard that initial launch. A space station supply run is supposed to follow a few weeks later from Cape Canaveral.

In a televised interview from the space station following Friday's launch, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson said there are already enough supplies to last until spring. The Japanese shipment will stretch that out even further. The Russians lost a spacesuit in the Dec. 1 launch accident, among many other items, she noted.

"Spaceflight's not an easy thing," Whitson said. "We just have to keep pressing ourselves to do the right thing, make sure we're doing all the right tests ... so that we don't have these problems."

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Japan Display Inc will pay more than $100 million to boost its stake in an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel maker, the Nikkei business daily said - a step that would improve its position in a key technology where it lags far behind rivals.

Manufacturers of consumer and other electronics are increasingly looking to adopt OLED screens, which are generally thinner and more flexible than liquid crystal display (LCD) screens. South Korean display makers in particular are investing billions of dollars in production lines.

Japan Display will raise its stake in Tokyo-based Joled to more than 50 percent from 15 percent by the end of 2017 and will also receive 75 billion yen ($650 million) from a state-backed fund to expand its LCD and OLED businesses, the Nikkei said - a report that sent its shares surging 5 percent.

Japan Display and Joled declined to comment. Representatives for the state-backed fund, the Innovation Network Corp of Japan, which owns 75 percent of Japan Display, were not immediately available to comment.

The company, which has been looking to invest in advanced screens for cars and gaming headsets as growth in the smartphone market slows, set up a pilot OLED production line in 2014 and plans to start mass production of OLED screens for smartphones by 2018.

Japan Display's finances have withered on fluctuating demand from Apple Inc, prompting the company to request support from INCJ this year after a funding crunch saw it take out short-term loans.

But even with help, Japan Display is likely to be one of the smaller players in OLED.

By comparison, LG Display Co Ltd said last year it would invest 10 trillion won ($8.6 billion)in a new plant to make the ultra-thin panels. Samsung Display, a unit of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd that's the largest maker of OLEDs for smartphones, is investing 4 trillion won by 2017 in an OLED production line.

Domestic competitor Sharp Corp said in August it will spend $570 million on its OLED business.

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New York: President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, calling him "among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal makers in the world."

"Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest and most respected companies," the billionaire real estate mogul said in a pre-dawn news release from Trump Tower in New York.

Tillerson "knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department," Trump said. In a tweet, Trump added that Tillerson "has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments."

In an accompanying statement, Tillerson said he was "honored" by his selection and shares Trump's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security."

But Tillerson has close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, which is certain to draw scrutiny and fuel a potential Senate confirmation fight. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.

Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will hold confirmation hearings in January, called Tillerson "a very impressive individual" with "an extraordinary working knowledge of the world." Corker, who had been considered for the secretary of state job, said Trump called him Monday to inform him of the pick.

Reince Priebus, Trump's incoming chief of staff, said on Tuesday that Tillerson was chosen because he is "a diplomat that happens to be able to drill oil." Tillerson has "had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren't the easiest places to have relationships," Priebus said on MSNBC.

"The good Lord didn't put oil in all freedom-loving democracies across the world and yet Rex Tillerson was able to make this work. Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson, they hit it off and they have a similar vision of how to get things done," Priebus said.

Trump has made it clear he sees Tillerson's deep relations with Moscow as a selling point. As ExxonMobil's head, Tillerson maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded by President Vladimir Putin with the Order of Friendship in 2013, an honor for a foreign citizen.

For weeks, Trump has teased out the secretary of state decision process publicly, often exposing rifts in his organization. Besides Corker, he also considered former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a one-time vocal Trump critic. Romney wrote on Facebook Monday that it "was an honor to have been considered" for the job.

Trump's unconventional Cabinet vetting procedures are in keeping with his presidential style thus far, unconcerned with tradition or business as usual. In recent weeks, he's attacked CIA intelligence, spoken to the leader of Taiwan - irritating China - and has continued his late-night Twitter tirades.

Beijing is looking forward to working with the new secretary of state "to push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point," China's foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Tuesday.

In Washington, a congressional investigation is in the works over a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on his behalf, a conclusion Trump has called "ridiculous."

The issue is raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about the sanctity of the U.S. voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Trump's administration.

On Twitter Monday, Trump pushed back, saying: "Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!"

Putin, meanwhile, said he was ready to meet with Trump "at any moment."

In the transcript of his interview with journalists which was released Tuesday in Moscow, Putin said "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this." Putin added that he thought a meeting with Trump would be more likely after Trump's January inauguration.

"We understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship," he said. "But we are prepared to do our bit."

If confirmed, Tillerson would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages on, and in China, given Trump's recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to ExxonMobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, Tillerson came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the company's central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

Early in the company's efforts to gain access to the Russian market, Tillerson cut a deal with state-owned Rosneft. The neglected post-Soviet company didn't have a tremendous amount to offer, but Exxon partnered with it "to be on the same side of the table," Tillerson said, according to "Private Empire," an investigative history of Exxon by Steve Coll.
McPherson followed their orders and held out a ring for Blackmon, who quickly went from being frightened to overjoyed. (Photo: Pixabay)

Mobile, Alabama: Police in one Alabama city helped stage a man's arrest so he could kneel down and propose to his terrified girlfriend.

Local news organizations in Mobile report Daiwon McPherson duped his girlfriend, Shawna Blackmon, into thinking he had fled from officers and had a gun. On Friday night, two officers converged on McPherson, Blackmon and their friends standing outside a gas station.

A video shows officers pulled out stun guns and demanded McPherson get on the ground.

McPherson followed their orders and held out a ring for Blackmon, who quickly went from being frightened to overjoyed.

Mobile Police Spokesman Terrence Perkins says the officers were holding unloaded stun guns. Police say they made sure the scene was safe by informing all other on-duty officers before the fake call went out.
Washington: The Obama administration has made it clear that Taiwan was not a "bargaining chip" and America was firmly committed to the decades-old "One-China" policy, an assertion that came after President-elect Donald Trump questioned the policy's relevance.

"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy. That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

"One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip," he said, adding that Taiwan is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US.

Earnest made the remarks after Trump questioned the relevance of continuing with the "One-China" policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. He had said that China was "very badly" hurting the US by devaluing its currency and accused the communist nation of not helping in reigning in North Korea.

Trump has suggested he can leverage Taiwan by questioning the "One China" policy and force China to "make a deal".

Trump's "One China" rhetoric prompted the strongest public warning from China on Monday that bilateral ties will be damaged.

"Adherence to one-China principle is the political bedrock of the China-US relations. If it is compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relationship as well as bilateral cooperation in major field would be out of question," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

The US since 1979 has respected China's stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province. But Trump said, without concessions from China, he did not see why it should continue.

"Bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is in our best interest. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to make the case that it's in the interest of Taiwan," Earnest said.

Under Obama administration, the US has been able to lower tensions around cyber issues and they have been able to work effectively with the Chinese to ramp up pressure on the North.

"We certainly don't agree with the Chinese on everything, but where common ground does exist, we've been able to make progress in a way that benefits the American people and benefits the Chinese people. That kind of progress is much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our one-China policy," Earnest said.

Obama, he noted, has worked hard to manage relationships with China and Russia in a way that gives the US theopportunity to capitalise on common ground where it exists.

"In each case, our differences are substantial, but in each case effective diplomacy resulted in both those countries bolstering our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and further isolate the North Korean regime for their destabilising activities on the (Korean) peninsula," he said.

Taiwan not 'bargaining chip', committed to 'One China': White House

White House, One china policy, Donald Trump

Trump earlier questioned the relevance of continuing with the One-China policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade.

PTI

Washington: The Obama administration has made it clear that Taiwan was not a "bargaining chip" and America was firmly committed to the decades-old "One-China" policy, an assertion that came after President-elect Donald Trump questioned the policy's relevance.

"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to ourone-China policy. That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

"One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip," he said, adding that Taiwan is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US.

Earnest made the remarks after Trump questioned the relevance of continuing with the "One-China" policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. He had said that China was "very badly" hurting the US by devaluing its currency and accused the communist nation of not helping in reigning in North Korea.

Trump has suggested he can leverage Taiwan by questioning the "One China" policy and force China to "make a deal".

Trump's "One China" rhetoric prompted the strongest public warning from China on Monday that bilateral ties will be damaged.

"Adherence to one-China principle is the political bedrock of the China-US relations. If it is compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relationship as well as bilateral cooperation in major field would be out of question," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

The US since 1979 has respected China's stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province. But Trump said, without concessions from China, he did not see why it should continue.

"Bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is in our best interest. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to make the case that it's in the interest of Taiwan," Earnest said.

Under Obama administration, the US has been able to lower tensions around cyber issues and they have been able to work effectively with the Chinese to ramp up pressure on the North.

"We certainly don't agree with the Chinese on everything, but where common ground does exist, we've been able to make progress in a way that benefits the American people and benefits the Chinese people. That kind of progress is much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our one-China policy," Earnest said.

Obama, he noted, has worked hard to manage relationships with China and Russia in a way that gives the US the opportunity to capitalise on common ground where it exists.

"In each case, our differences are substantial, but in each case effective diplomacy resulted in both those countries bolstering our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and further isolate the North Korean regime for their destabilising activities on the (Korean) peninsula," he said.
Trump yesterday questioned the relevance of continuing the "One-China" policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. (Photo: AP)

Washington: President Barack Obama's White House on Tuesday made it clear that US' ties with Taiwan was not a "bargaining chip" and that America was firmly committee to the decades-old "One-China" policy, a day after president-elect Donald Trump questioned the relevance of pursuing the policy.

"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy. That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

"One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip," he said adding that Taiwan is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US.

Trump yesterday questioned the relevance of continuing the "One-China" policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. He had said that China was "very badly" hurting the US by devaluing its currecy and accused the communist nation of not helping in reigning in North Korea.

Trump has suggested he can leverage Taiwan by questioning the "One China" policy and force China to "make a deal". Trump's "One China" rhetoric prompted the strongest public warning from China today that bilateral ties will be damaged.

"Adherence to one-China principle is the political bedrock of the China-US relations. If it is compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relationship as well as bilateral cooperation in major field would be out of question," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

The US since 1979 has respected China's stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province. But Trump said without concessions from China, he did not see why it should continue. "Bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is in our best interest. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to make the case that it's in the interest of Taiwan," Earnest said.

Under Obama administration, the US has been able to lower tensions around cyber issues and they have been able to work effectively with the Chinese to ramp up pressure on the North.

"We certainly don't agree with the Chinese on everything, but where common ground does exist, we've been able to make progress in a way that benefits the American people and benefits the Chinese people... That kind of progress is much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our one-China policy," Earnest said.

Obama, he noted, has worked hard to manage relationships with China and Russia in a way that gives the US the opportunity to capitalise on common ground where it exists.

"In each case, our differences are substantial, but in each case effective diplomacy resulted in both those countries bolstering our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and further isolate the North Korean regime for their destabilising activities on the (Korean) peninsula," he said.
The Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict. (Photo: Representational Image)

Washington: In a significant development, the World Bank has paused the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said.

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan. It was also emphasised that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty.

Pausing the process for now, the Bank would hold off from appointing the Chairman for the Court of Arbitration or the Neutral Expert -- appointments that had been expected on December 12 as earlier communicated by the Bank.

India had taken strong exception last month to the World Bank's decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistan's complaint against it over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

Surprised at the World Bank's decision to appoint a Neutral Expert, as sought by the Indian government and at the same time establish a Court of Arbitration as wanted by Pakistan, India had said proceeding with both the steps simultaneously was "legally untenable".

Both processes initiated by the respective countries were advancing at the same time, creating a risk of contradictory outcomes that could potentially endanger the Treaty, the Bank noted.

"This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January," Kim said.

The current processes under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants. The power plants are being built by India on, respectively, the Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers. Neither of the two plants are being financed by the World Bank.

The bank said the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

In September, the World Bank, which had mediated the Indus Water Treaty, had said it was approached by India and Pakistan and it is "responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the treaty".

"India and Pakistan have informed the World Bank that each has initiated proceedings pursuant to the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and the World Bank Group is responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the Treaty," it had said.

The Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries.

It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties.
Mohammed Ali Ahmed, from Birmingham, who had pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism last month was sentenced to eight years yesterday. (Representational Image)

London: Two men, who were found guilty of giving 3,000 pounds to a key suspect in the Paris and Brussels terror attacks during a meeting in a Birmingham park, have been jailed by a UK court.

Mohammed Ali Ahmed, from Birmingham, who had pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism last month was sentenced to eight years yesterday.

Co-defendant Zakaria Boufassil, also from Birmingham, was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court of the same charge at the end of a trial last week and was sentenced to three years. They handed over the cash to Mohamed Abrini - who became known as the "man in the hat" after his face was caught on CCTV footage following the deadly attack on Brussels airport in March.

"I am sure that you are an individual who has for some time, and continues to hold extreme Islamist beliefs, and that you are committed to the cause of Islamic State," Justice Jeremy Baker told Ahmed.

He said that Boufassil's motivations had been less clear. "There is no evidence, beyond your participation in the offence, that you hold extreme Islamist beliefs and have an ongoing commitment to the cause of Islamic State," he said. Justice Baker also imposed an additional one year licence or restrictions on both men, which will apply on their eventual release from prison.

"We know that Abrini visited several locations during his visit to the UK, but that his sole purpose of being here was to collect the money and our case - whilst not focused on attack planning - acts as reminder of why our work to prepare for and prevent such incidents in the UK is important," said Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, Counter Terrorism Lead for West Midlands Police.

"We are working hard with partner agencies and community groups around the West Midlands to alert the public to the dangers of radicalisation and explain what help is available to those vulnerable to negative influences," he said.

The money had been withdrawn from the bank account of one Anouar Haddouchi, a Belgian national who had been claiming UK state-funded welfare benefits while living in the West Midlands with his wife.

Haddouchi is believed to have fled to Syria since. The court heard that hours after collecting the money from Boufassil and Ahmed, Abrini visited the Grosvenor Casino in Birmingham where he took a photograph of a gambling machine on his mobile phone.

In March this year, Abrini was captured on CCTV alongside Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui, who detonated bombs hidden in suitcases killing 12 people at Brussels airport.

Another 20 people died in an attack on Maalbeek metro station less than two hours later.

Jurors were also told he is also wanted by the French authorities in connection with the attacks in Paris last November.

Boufassil had denied one charge of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.

Abrini remains in custody in Brussels.
BEIJING  What does Donald Trump want?

Chinese foreign policy experts are scrambling for an answer to this question after the president-elects precedent-breaking phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, which rattled the Beijing leadership and the region.

Their uncertainty is so great that a visiting American is grilled at every meeting about whether Trump was just trying to signal hes a tough guy, or whether he really wanted to totally upend U.S.-Chinese relations.

I have no more idea about Trumps plans than they do. But whats clear after meeting prominent academics and think tankers in Beijing is how unnerved they are by Trumps unpredictable behavior. I was repeatedly told that ill-considered Trump moves on Taiwan  which China considers the most sensitive issue between our two countries  could spark a military confrontation.

This is a wake-up call, says Wang Dong, a senior official at the Pangoal Institution, a new think tank that focuses on international issues. There has been too much wishful thinking that (Trump) is a businessman and pragmatic and wants to make a deal. Adds Li Juqian, associate dean at the International Law School, Trump is a businessman, but he is also a president. He may act without caution and he can launch a war.

So why has a single phone call caused such a hullabaloo?

A little history is needed. When the Chinese communists defeated Chinas Nationalist government in 1949, the Nationalist leaders fled to the offshore island of Taiwan and set up a government. In 1979, seven years after Richard Nixons breakthrough visit to China, the United States switched its recognition from the Taiwan government to the Beijing government. Most other governments did likewise.

Since then no American president or president-elect is known to have spoken with a Taiwanese president, although Washington maintains close informal ties with Taiwans democratically elected leaders. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province, but has formal understandings with Washington that it wont forcibly retake the island but will seek to negotiate a solution. The United States sells Taiwan defensive arms; in 1996, when tensions flared between Taiwan and Beijing, Bill Clinton sent two aircraft carrier groups into the Taiwan Strait.

Yet the Taiwan issue had been on the back burner in recent years; Trump railed during the campaign about unfair Chinese trade practices but not about the island. Indeed, within Chinese foreign policy establishment circles, there was some sentiment in favor of candidate Trump because he had no interest in human rights and seemed skeptical about U.S. alliances in Asia.

Ultimately, Im told, the government preferred Hillary Clinton, despite her human rights advocacy and tough attitude toward China, because it was more familiar with her and her foreign policy advisers. Trump was a black box, who could be better or worse, and represented uncertainty, one think tanker told me.

Now Trumps phone talk with Taiwans president  whose party considers Taiwan to be a separate, sovereign country  has stoked immense uncertainty about whether he intends to cross two of the Beijing regimes most sensitive Taiwan red lines.

Does he mean to upgrade relations with Taiwan, perhaps elevating Taiwans cultural office in New York to something closer to embassy status? Or, will he send senior advisers to greet Tsai  or even meet her himself  if shes granted permission to stop over in the United States on her way to Central America in early January before Trump takes office.

Either move is described here as crossing a Chinese government red line. There is a fear that Trump, or his pro-Taiwan advisers, may not realize how sensitive the regime is on the Taiwan issue and the outrage it can stir from the Chinese public.

Of course, Trump the tweeter may have little patience with such warnings. And he may be misled by the Chinese governments relatively mild response to the Taiwan phone call. Chinese analysts ascribe this response to a government hope that Trump will moderate his position on Taiwan once he formally takes office.

What does he want? We cant yet draw a conclusion, says An Gang, editor of World Affairs Fortnightly. So the Chinese government has to keep a wait-and-see attitude. This provides an opportunity for Trump to cool down.

But some prominent Chinese intellectuals are already calling for Beijing to take a much harsher position toward the incoming Trump administration. I think this time the Chinese response is too soft, says Yan Xuetong, a dean at Tsinghua University. If China moved some troops as a warning it would be safer.

Many (Chinese) will be disappointed with Chinas response, he went on. If it is continued, things will become worse. Trump will escalate.

And so, before Trump even comes to office, a debate is bubbling here over whether the Chinese government must prepare to react harshly if Trump ups the ante on Taiwan. Perhaps his phone call was merely a signal that he will be tough on trade talks. But perhaps he doesnt realize the degree of neuralgia that the Taiwan issue triggers in Beijing.

Right now it doesnt even appear that the Chinese government has a good direct channel of communications to the Trump team. Lets hope that Iowa Gov. Terry Branstead, Trumps China-savvy choice as ambassador to Beijing, gets confirmed soon and has the presidents ear on Taiwan.

This is an issue that must be skillfully handled in the context of a broader policy for the whole region, including the need for Beijings cooperation on North Korea. Otherwise, the Taiwan issue could spark the first big foreign policy crisis of the Trump presidency.
This is an isolated incident and at this time is being treated as hate crime, British Transport Police officials said. (Photo: Reresentational Image/AP)

London: A 38-year-old man, who shouted "death to Muslims" before stabbing a passenger at a south-east London Overground station, has been arrested.

British Transport Police (BTP) officers were called to Forest Hill station in south-east London last evening after receiving reports that a man had been assaulted on a train.

"The man, in his forties, was rushed to hospital with injuries consistent with having been stabbed. He remains in hospital in a serious, but not life threatening, condition, a BTP statement said.

It said a 38-year-old man from London was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm. "He remains in police custody," it added.

"The circumstances are being investigated but the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related at this time," it adds.

Eyewitness accounts claim that the attacker was shouting phrases like "death to Muslims" and "go back to Syria".

"This is an isolated incident and at this time is being treated as hate crime. We have no reasons to believe that it has any links to terrorism. Investigations are ongoing and officers are working to establish the circumstances around todays events," Superintendent Jenny Gilmer said.

She said that BTP was increasing officer visibility in the area to reassure members of the public throughout London that incidents of this nature are "very rare".
The move comes despite recent UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures indicating there has been a drastic drop in students coming to the UK from outside Europe. (Representational Image)

London: The UK government is finalising plans to cut annual student visa figures by nearly half, from the current 300,000 to 170,000, a media report said on Tuesday amid a sharp fall in students coming to the country from outside Europe including India.

Some university chiefs are also warning that many Indian students are already being denied visas on minor grounds as part of a wider move to cut immigration into the UK. "They are telling some students there is exactly the same quality of course available in India so why are you coming here. That is outrageous," a UK vice-chancellor was quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper.

The move comes despite recent UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures indicating there has been a drastic drop in students coming to the UK from outside Europe. "There was a statistically significant decline in the number of non-EU citizens migrating to the UK to study, from 134,000 in the previous year to 111,000...there was a statistically significant decline in citizens of South Asia, with the number coming to study having almost halved," ONS said in its 'Migration Statistics Quarterly Report: August 2016'.

India is the third-largest category in terms of student visa applications after the US and China, with 10,664 granted between June 2015 and 2016.

"International students contribute, directly and indirectly, 14 billion pounds to the UK economy, making higher education one of this country's most valuable exports...Over the last five years, the number of Indian students attending UK universities has halved. I have consistently asked the government to remove students from the net migration target," said Lord Bilimoria, leading Indian-origin entrepreneur and Cobra Beer founder, who himself came to the UK as a student.

"We should immediately re-introduce the two-year post-study work visa, which I fought hard to introduce before its withdrawal in 2012, to allow foreign students to implement their much-needed skills here and help boost our economy," he added.

During British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to India last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stressed on the importance of access for Indian students to UK institutions.

"Education is vital for our students and will define our engagement in a shared future. We must therefore encourage greater mobility and participation of young people in educational and research opportunities," PM Modi had told May in his address at the UK India Tech Summit in New Delhi.

However, senior university sources indicate the UK Home Office is on track for some dramatic immigration cuts in student visa numbers. While it has dismissed rumours of an annual cutback of more than two-thirds, the likely cut to around 170,000 seems likely to be enforced.

A UK Home Office spokesperson said: "Claims the Home Office is modelling cuts to reduce international students to a third [ie 100,000 a year] are categorically untrue".

"We want to strengthen the system to support the best universities - and those that stick to the rules - to attract the best talent. The British people have sent a clear message that they want more control of immigration and we are committed to getting net migration down to sustainable levels in the tens of thousands," he said.
Paris: A wall funded by Britain to try and stop migrants from the former Calais "jungle" camp reaching its shores has been completed -- seven weeks after the site was cleared, a French official said.

The four-metre-high (13-foot) wall runs along a kilometre-long stretch of the main road leading to Calais port, next to the area that used to house the sprawling camp.

The concrete barrier -- estimated to cost 2.7 million euros ($3 million) -- aims to prevent new arrivals stowing away on trucks bound for Britain.

Work on the wall, which is covered with plants on the traffic side, began in September. The squalid camp was razed after thousands of migrants were taken to shelters around France in October.

The structure is complete, a spokesman for the local prefecture told AFP late Monday.

The wall was built to boost a network of wire fences that had failed to prevent near nightly attempts by migrants to waylay trucks en route to Europe's second-busiest port.

This year alone, several migrants died after falling off trucks or being run over.

Calais has for years been a staging post for attempts by migrants to sneak into Britain by stowing away on trucks or trains crossing the Channel.

The Jungle camp was first demolished in 2009 only to sprout up again in 2015 when migrants from the Middle East and Africa began pouring into Europe in unprecedented numbers.

Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart attempted to stop construction of the wall, saying there was no need for it once the camp was cleared.
Paris: IMF boss Christine Lagarde faced a grilling on the second day of her trial on Tuesday over the colossal damages authorised for a French tycoon while she was French finance minister. Presiding judge Martine Ract Madoux forced the head of the International Monetary Fund on the defensive as she questioned $48 million had been paid to Bernard Tapie in personal damages. These so-called moral damages  to compensate for his emotional and physical suffering  were part of a 404 million euro settlement with Tapie in 2008 over a case he brought against the state.
Syria's conflict began with anti-government protests but spiralled into a brutal civil war after a government crackdown on dissent. (Photo: AP)

Beirut: Syria's war has killed just more than 312,000 people since it began in March 2011, over 90,000 of them civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said on Tuesday.

The Britain-based group said it had recorded the deaths of 312,001 people since the war began with anti-government protests, including nearly 16,000 children.

The toll includes more than 53,000 rebels and nearly110,000 pro-regime fighters, among them over 60,000 Syrian soldiers, but also tens of thousands of Syrian militiamen, members of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement and other foreign fighters.

The group said nearly 55,000 jihadists had also been killed in the fighting, most of them from the Islamic State group or former al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, but also from smaller groups.

The Observatory said it had also recorded the deaths of3,683 people it had not been able to identify.

Syria's conflict began with anti-government protests but spiralled into a brutal civil war after a government crackdown on dissent.

It has drawn in proxy powers and attracted foreign jihadists, but successive attempts to negotiate a political end to the conflict have failed.

Today Syrian pro-government forces were on the verge of retaking all of the city of Aleppo from rebel fighters, in what would be the biggest victory yet for President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict.
Several websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri, who triggered a huge backlash on social media after posing without the hijab in a main Riyadh street last month. (Photo: Twitter)

Riyadh: Police in the Saudi capital said on Monday they had arrested a woman for taking off her veil in public and posting pictures of her daring action on Twitter.

Police spokesman Fawaz al-Maiman did not name the woman, but several websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri, who triggered a huge backlash on social media after posing without the hijab in a main Riyadh street last month.

Maiman said in a statement that the police in the ultra-conservative kingdom acted in line with their duty to monitor "violations of general morals".

He said the woman posted a tweet of herself standing next to a popular Riyadh cafe but without wearing the Islamic headscarf that is required in Saudi society.

The woman, in her 20s, was taken to prison, he said, also accusing her of "speaking openly about prohibited relations with (non-related) men".

"Riyadh police stress that the action of this woman violates the laws applied in this country," Maiman said, urging the public to "adhere to the teachings of Islam".

The oil-rich desert kingdom has some of the world's tightest restrictions on women and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive.

Women in Saudi Arabia are expected to cover from head to toe when in public.
Police spokesman Fawaz al-Maiman did not name the woman, but several websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri, who triggered a huge backlash on social media after posing without the hijab in a main Riyadh street last month. (Photo: Twitter)

Riyadh: Police in the Saudi capital said on Monday they had arrested a woman for taking off her veil in public and posting pictures of her daring action on Twitter.

Police spokesman Fawaz al-Maiman did not name the woman, but several websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri, who triggered a huge backlash on social media after posing without the hijab in a main Riyadh street last month.

Maiman said in a statement that the police in the ultra-conservative kingdom acted in line with their duty to monitor "violations of general morals".

He said the woman posted a tweet of herself standing next to a popular Riyadh cafe but without wearing the Islamic headscarf that is required in Saudi society.

The woman, in her 20s, was taken to prison, he said, also accusing her of "speaking openly about prohibited relations with (non-related) men".

"Riyadh police stress that the action of this woman violates the laws applied in this country," Maiman said, urging the public to "adhere to the teachings of Islam".

The oil-rich desert kingdom has some of the world's tightest restrictions on women and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive.

Women in Saudi Arabia are expected to cover from head to toe when in public.
In the year 1569 CE, the Mughal emperor Akbar decided to build a new imperial capital. Some of the best architects of the time strove to translate Akbars vision into a utopian city raised on a rocky sandstone ridge not far from Agra.





Fourteen years later, the city of victory (Fatehpur Sikri) lay abandoned, as a nearby rivulet  the citys primary source of water had dried out. Clearly, it takes much more than imposing sandstone buildings, spacious courtyards and grand gateways to make a city.



A citys ecosystem is much more than a source of water, food and energy  it regulates air quality, temperature and waste decomposition, among others. While some of these services, referred to as ecosystem services are derived from within the city, many of these are sourced from elsewhere. For instance, a substantial portion of Delhis water and electricity needs is met by the Tehri dam, which is 350 km away.



Often, we dont recognise those benefits that cities derive from their ecosystems that arent so obvious. Bengaluru owes its fabled salubrious climate not only to its elevation but also to a green belt formed by Bannerghatta National Park. Locally produced ecosystem services such as avenue trees, parks, rivers and lakes are equally crucial for the health of a city. Most urban stormwater drainage systems are built over pre-existing water channels.



Urban metabolism



Abel Wolman, an American civil engineer, conceptualised a city as an organism that consumes resources, grows and generates waste. Continuing with the physiological model, he initiated the study of urban metabolism. This is an analysis of the

supply, circulation and consumption of materials and energy in the city as well as a study of the various kinds of waste it discharges. The multiple, interlinked circuits of metabolism enable a city to function smoothly.



The metaphor of metabolism is particularly useful to holistically understand some topical challenges such as those of water supply or garbage disposal. It draws our attention to oft-ignored questions such as where do we derive our resources from? and what happens to them after we consume them? The concept of urban metabolism puts the spotlight on the changing relationships between the city and its ecological support systems; necessitating a study of their interconnections over space and time. For example, any interventions towards Delhis smog problem that dont address the practice of burning agricultural residues in Haryana and

Punjab are going to be futile.



Another example is Mumbai. Not many people in Mumbai had heard about a river called Mithi till the evening of July 26, 2005, when unprecedented rainfall of nearly 980 mm in the northern parts of the city brought the city to a standstill. Media reports blamed a breach on the Mithi as the primary cause for floods. Mithi is a small coastal river that originates near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and it makes its way to the Arabian sea through the Mahim estuary.



Almost 16% of Mumbais area falls within its catchment. Extensive encroachments of mangroves in the Mahim estuary, reclamation of vast stretches of wetlands for real estate development and years of solid waste dumped along the river have obstructed its normal drainage. Furthermore, the river had been diverted multiple times to expand the runway at the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport. All of this resulted in floods that submerged the airport, with over 700 flights cancelled. The deluge of July 26 affected almost 13 million people, claiming nearly 1,000 lives.



This is just one among the many examples that highlight the prevailing attitudes towards infrastructure development in Indian cities. Urban centres are growing at the expense of metabolic processes that sustain them. Instead of working with an appreciation of the ecosystem elements, infrastructure development is treating them as hindrances or dispensable commodities.



It is precisely this sort of thinking that recognises a steel flyover in Bengaluru as infrastructure but not the 812 trees that it will wipe out. The agency that initiated this mega infrastructural project in the face of widespread opposition elaborated on how they intend to compensate the felling of trees: by planting 60,000 ornamental plants! In the current paradigm of urban development, the only purpose of nature seems to be cosmetic  as strips of landscaping between concrete megaliths.



We are living in an increasingly urbanising world. Estimates suggest that by 2030, 60% of the world will reside in cities. Much of this transition is projected to be in parts of Asia and Africa. The resource requirements for this scale of transformation will be massive and will have global ramifications. As it is, cities consume the bulk of the worlds resources and most modern cities evolved in a world that had abundant resources. We do not have that choice anymore.



Changing city landscapes



As a first step, we need newer ways of looking at cities, ways that present a commitment to understanding the natural realities. In this sense, the concept of urban metabolism will help us make better sense of the rapidly shifting contours of urbanisation in the 21st century. It places the ecosystems health and associated metabolic flows at the core of the urbanisation process which has been relegated to the margins currently. It is no coincidence that fiction set in with dystopian futures are invariably set in cities bereft of everything natural.



Cities are currently reeling under a medley of problems such as shortage of basic services, traffic congestion, pollution and social disparities among others. These problems are only going to amplify in future, given the scale of ecosystem degradation and the projected impacts of climate change. A metabolic lens would provide vital apparatus to steer cities to enhance their socio-economic potential in harmony with their wider ecological support systems. In order to appropriately realise urban metabolism, there is a greater need to re-align urban governance institutions around ecological principles.



This, of course, is going to be difficult and would require quite a bit of imagination and political will. Besides, it is not enough for cities to grow efficiently, but also take an active role in conserving their ecological support systems that are beyond their boundaries. Deforestation in Kodagu that happens to be the catchment of River Cauvery should concern Bengalurus urban policy makers.



With all this talk of smart cities in India, it is important to realise that there is a great deal of smartness in being sensitive to the ambient ecosystems. The aristocrats of Fatehpur Sikri at least had a choice to migrate elsewhere, a luxury that we wont have.



(The author is a researcher with McGill University, Canada)


Orchid mantiss secrets





Its common for female insects to be larger than the males, by far. The bigger the female, the more eggs she can lay, is the usual explanation. Gavin Svenson, head of invertebrate biology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, USA, has found another reason for size differences in some elegant praying mantises of Southeast Asia. In the orchid mantises, the females, a rich creamy white with brown patches and flower-petal-mimicking lobes on their legs, are up to 4 inches long, much bigger than the males.



The females evolved their size and colouring to both mimic flowers and to be large enough to prey on the bees and other larger insects they attracted. The males stayed small and camouflaged, so they can stay hidden even while they move around to seek out females. Gavin and his colleagues, who reported their study in the journal Scientific Reports, said this kind of evolutionary split between the sexes, based on one sex being a better predator appears, to be unique.



Gavin said people are intrigued by mantises because they react differently from other insects. They will turn and look at you, he said. Museum visitors who encounter the occasional praying mantis display are often taken aback. Theyll say, Whoa, that thing made eye contact.

James Gorman



Explaining the other side of autumn leaves



As the autumn leaves change colour, you would have noticed that the top of the leaf is the most colourful, sometimes bright red, while the underside is comparatively drab. Why? Within the complex layered structure of a thin leaf, the largest share of the pigments involved in the colour change is found in a type of cell near the top surface called palisade cells, or the palisade parenchyma. Inside the palisade cells, in structures called chloroplasts, most of the leafs business of photosynthesis is carried on using the familiar green pigment called chlorophyll. The cells are near the top of the leaf, allowing the chlorophyll to absorb light energy to power the process. The cells of the underside, with far fewer chloroplasts, carry out other functions that do not rely on sunlight.



Responding to signals from the changing light, the aging leaf shuts down the water supply to its chlorophyll factories in the fall, often revealing yellow to orange pigments, called xanthophylls and carotenoids. The leaf also increases the production of the predominantly red pigments called anthocyanins, which are deposited in the palisade cells. Recent research has suggested that the anthocyanins have a protective role, keeping the leaf from suffering too much damage from sunlight and oxidation as its function tapers off. They, too, may show bright red as chlorophyll fades away. Eventually, all these bright pigments fade, leaving only the drab brown tannins.

C Claiborne Ray



Flamingo mating rules



Flamingoes are very good dancers. They twist and preen, they scratch their heads, they march in unison. They poke a wing in one direction and a leg in another. They bend forward, sticking their tails up; they vigorously flap their wings in a flashy red and black display. Flamingoes are serially monogamous. They mate for one year, get divorced, and find a new mate the next year. New mates are mutually agreed upon.



Now, researchers have discovered that birds with the largest repertoire of dance moves, and the ability to switch moves more quickly, are the ones who most often succeed in finding mates. Scientists carefully watched and photographed 50 male and 50 female birds during the mating season in the Camargue, in southern France, recording the type, timing and frequency of their gyrations.



During the average five-minute courtship sequence, the number of postures varied between two and eight, while the number of transitions between postures varied between two and 17. Combining the two numbers, the researchers created a sexual display complexity score for each bird. Then they tracked the dancers to see who succeeded in producing chicks. As the mating season progressed, all the flamingoes improved their dancing with more varied moves and transitions, but both the youngest and the oldest birds received lower scores than the 20-year-olds.



In the end, successful breeders averaged 61 in sexual display complexity, while those that remained single came in at 41. But pairs tended to have similar scores  good dancers preferred similarly skilled partners. Why? Good motor function is necessary in reproduction, said the lead author, Charlotte Perrot. Breeding in a very dense colony where space is limited requires birds to be adroit, and foraging to feed a chick also requires good motor performance.






The Allahabad High Courts ruling that triple talaq is unconstitutional and violative of the rights of Muslim women is yet another confirmation of the illegality and unjustness of this controversial method of divorce. Triple talaq is a method used by some men of the community for instant and arbitrary divorce of women. It is not the first time triple talaq is being subjected to judicial scrutiny. The Supreme Court has, in the past, criticised it in the Shamim Ara case, and high courts have held that it is illegal. But the matter has not been finally settled and the Supreme Court is now considering the matter. A comprehensive and final verdict on the matter by the Supreme Court is awaited. The clear verdict by the Allahabad High Court will hopefully aid the apex court in that. In the Shamim Ara case, the court had quoted from high court judgements which had disfavoured the practice of triple talaq.



The wrong and unjust nature of triple talaq should be clear to anyone. It has been used to divorce women even through SMS. It is against the principle of equality which is a basic right granted to citizens by the Constitution. It is also against the norms of natural and gender justice which are basic to democracy. There is no need for expertise in the Constitution and the law to know this. The Allahabad High Court has also observed that no personal law board is above the Constitution and that the constitutional rights of individuals override personal laws if there is a conflict between the two. Personal laws and the demand for a Uniform Civil Code are unnecessarily mixed up with the issue of triple talaq. Many people who oppose the idea of a Uniform Civil Code agree that triple talaq is a wrong and unjust practice and should be done away with.



It is the backward-looking and conservative elements in the Muslim community which defend and support triple talaq. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) presented the most absurd arguments in support of triple talaq in the Supreme Court. It claimed that quick divorce is better than killing a wife. It is the entrenched bias in favour of the power and domination of men and the refusal to accept the freedom and independence of women that makes the AIMPLB and some others support triple talaq. Religion has nothing to do with it. A number of Muslim countries have outlawed it. Some of the petitioners who have sought a ban on the practice are Muslim women. The Allahabad High Court judgement should give confidence and hope to them and others.






President Barack Obama's White House today made it clear that US' ties with Taiwan was not a "bargaining chip" and that America was firmly committee to the decades-old "One-China" policy, a day after president-elect Donald Trump questioned the relevance of pursuing the policy.



"The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy. That's also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.



"One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip," he said adding that Taiwan is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US.



Trump yesterday questioned the relevance of continuing the "One-China" policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. He had said that China was "very badly" hurting the US by devaluing its currecy and accused the communist nation of not helping in reigning in North Korea.



Trump has suggested he can leverage Taiwan by questioning the "One China" policy and force China to "make a deal".



Trump's "One China" rhetoric prompted the strongest public warning from China today that bilateral ties will be damaged. "Adherence to one-China principle is the political bedrock of the China-US relations. If it is compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relationship as well as bilateral cooperation in major field would be out of question," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.



The US since 1979 has respected China's stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province. But Trump said without concessions from China, he did not see why it should continue.



"Bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is in our best interest. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to make the case that it's in the interest of Taiwan," Earnest said.



Under Obama administration, the US has been able to lower tensions around cyber issues and they have been able to work effectively with the Chinese to ramp up pressure on the North.



"We certainly don't agree with the Chinese on everything, but where common ground does exist, we've been able to make progress in a way that benefits the American people and benefits the Chinese people... That kind of progress is much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our one-China policy," Earnest said.



Obama, he noted, has worked hard to manage relationships with China and Russia in a way that gives the US the opportunity to capitalise on common ground where it exists.



"In each case, our differences are substantial, but in each case effective diplomacy resulted in both those countries bolstering our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and further isolate the North Korean regime for their destabilising activities on the (Korean) peninsula," he said.
US President-elect Donald Trump has picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State, media reports said today amid speculation that the oil executive's close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin could complicate his confirmation prospects.





"I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning," Trump tweeted. However, soon after that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who was one of the leading contenders for the post, said he would not be the Secretary of State.



"It was an honour to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. My discussions with President- elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace," Romney said.



Hours later, The Wall Street Journal, citing a transition official, reported that Trump has selected Tillerson to be his top diplomat. Tillerson is a veteran chief executive who has had extensive overseas business dealings but his relationships with foreign leaders could complicate his confirmation prospects, the daily said.



If confirmed by the Senate, Tillerson would replace John Kerry as the Secretary of State. Over the weekend, Trump had praised Tillerson. "He's more than a business executive; he's a world-class player. He's in charge of I guess the largest company in the world," Trump had said.



"To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company -- not for himself, for the company," Trump said.



Gauging by the opposition to his name so far by the Democratic Senators, the Senate confirmation of Tillerson is unlikely to be a smooth sailing. "The nomination of ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, which was confirmed by a person involved with the transition, likely faces a tough fight in the Senate, where some Republicans have said they are worried about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin," The Washington Post reported.



In addition to Romney, other names in consideration for the position were the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and the former CIA Director Gen (rtd) David Petraeus.



One of Trump's closest friend Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, had withdrawn his name from being considered for any position in the Trump Administration. He was also being widely speculated in the race for Secretary of State.



Several US Senators have already come out in open against the nomination of Tillerson. "Nominating Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State would be handing over the keys to US foreign policy to Big Oil. Donald Trump would be sending a strong signal to OPEC and the entire global fossil fuel industry that oil will be America's primary foreign policy priority. We cannot allow oil to replace diplomacy as the currency of the State Department," Senator Edward Markey said in a statement.



"This nomination is clear confirmation that a Trump administration will doggedly pursue an 'oil above all' energy agenda, at the expense of clean energy and climate solutions," he said.



Senator Chris Coons said, "I am deeply concerned that Tillerson's long and close ties to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin could unduly influence his decision-making at a time when we need to be direct and tough with Russia, given recent credible reports of Russian efforts to interfere in our democracy, and events in Syria and Ukraine."



"The role of Secretary of State should not be bestowed upon someone whose only notable experience with foreign governments involve multi-million dollar deals with Russia and whose experience with the federal government seems to be limited to campaigns against the effects of climate change," demanded Senator Robert Menendez.



However, Indian-American attorney from New York Ravi Batra said that Tillerson, after confirmation, may end up being a worthy successor to Secretary of State George Marshall.



"For the world after 2008, and globalisation, both its benefits and it's ills, is in dire need of real sustained recovery that every hard-working American can enjoy while every other person across the world enjoys improved human rights," he said.



"Rex Tillerson's innate ability to remain sharply focused on the prize, aided by mastery of the nuance and a warm comfortable demeanor will represent Trump's resurgent and confident America to everyone on earth: friend and foe alike. Only a confident America can deliver enhanced global peace and security for all," Batra said.
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The Home Ministry is unlikely to reconsider its decision banning a US-based donor from funding Indian NGOs notwithstanding consistent appeals by American authorities.





"We have no immediate plans to reconsider the case of Compassion International, the US donor, which was put under 'prior permission category' for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)," a senior Home Ministry official said.



However, the Home Ministry has allowed the US NGO, accused of promoting religious conversion, to donate to some Indian NGOs after examining its applications on a case-to-case basis.



Recently, Compassion International sought Home Ministry's approval to fund 35 Indian NGOs of which 10 have been sanctioned by the Ministry, while 25 others are under scrutiny.



Compassion International was put under prior permission category in May last. When a donor organisation is put under prior permission category, it is barred from funding any Indian NGO without the nod from the government.



The US donor works in the field of child rights and is accused of promoting religious conversion and funding non-FCRA registered NGOs.



The Home Ministry took the action after receiving reports that funds from Compassion International were being received by Chennai-based 'Caruna Bal Vikas', which in turn was distributing the aid to non-registered NGOs.



US Secretary of State John Kerry, during a visit to India in September, is said to have asked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to reconsider the decision to place Compassion International in the prior permission category.



The US Embassy officials too have been following up the issue with the Home Ministry through the Ministry of External Affairs.


India is among the four countries that account for 81 per cent of estimated deaths caused by Plasmodium vivax, the WHO said today and asserted that more than 18 crore people in the country are at high risk of malaria.





Noting that sustained and sufficient funding for malaria control is a "serious" challenge, the global body's World Malaria Report, 2016, said despite a steep increase in global investment for fighting malaria between 2000 and 2010, funding has "flat-lined" since then.



"Four countries (Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan) accounted for 78 per cent of Plasmodium vivax cases. Last year, these four countries accounted for 81 per cent of estimated deaths due to P. vivax malaria, the report said adding 18,35,47,074 people were high risk of malaria last year.



Plasmodium vivax is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. It is one of the five species of malaria parasites that commonly infect humans and the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. It is less virulent than Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the five.



According to estimated malaria cases and deaths from 2000 to 2015, while there were 36,000 malaria deaths in 2000, the figures rose to 41,000 in 2005. In 2010, 33,000 estimated malaria deaths took place, while in 2015 it was 24,000.



The report said in 2015, an estimated 212 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide a fall of 22 per cent since 2000 and of 14 per cent since 2010.



"Most of the cases in 2015 were in the WHO African Region (90 per cent), followed by the WHO South-East Asia Region including India (7 per cent) and the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (2 per cent)," it said.



The WHO report said "sustained and sufficient" funding for malaria control is a serious challenge.



"Despite a steep increase in global investment for malaria between 2000 and 2010, funding has since flat-lined. In 2015, malaria funding totalled USD 2.9 billion, representing only 45 per cent of the funding milestone for 2020 (USD 6.4 billion)," it said.



The report said in many countries of the region, substantial gaps in programme coverage remain. Funding shortfalls and fragile health systems are undermining overall progress, jeopardizing the attainment of global targets.



"If global targets are to be met, funding from both domestic and international sources must increase substantially," the WHO report said.



The WHO report said governments of malaria-endemic countries provided about 31 per cent of total malaria funding in 2015.



The US is the largest international malaria fund provider, accounting for about 35 per cent of the total funding last year, followed by the UK (16 per cent).



With respect to southeast Asian region, which includes India, funding for malaria decreased from USD 170 million to USD 92 million between 2010 and 2015, an international consulting company, which analysed the report, said.



The report also said between 2013 and 2015, 510 million insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs) were reported by manufacturers as having been delivered to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which exceeds the minimum amount required to achieve universal access to an ITN in the household (491 million).



"Outside sub-Saharan Africa, 73 million ITNs were delivered by manufacturers between 2013 and 2015, with more than half of those deliveries accounted for by five countries (India, 13 million ITNs, Indonesia, 9.3 million, Myanmar 8.9 million, Cambodia, 4.3 million and Papua New Guinea 4.1 million)," the report said.



It also underlined that National Malaria Control Programme (NMCPs) reported that 106 million people worldwide were protected by Indoor Residual spray (IRS) in 2015.



This figure includes 49 million people in WHO African Region and 44 million people in the WHO southeast Asia Region, of whom over 41 million are in India.



The report said in the WHO African Region, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, the WHO southeast Asia Region and the WHO Western Pacific Region, a large proportion of patients seek treatment in the private sector, and these cases are not captured by existing surveillance systems.



"The regional patterns are sometimes dominated by individual countries with the highest number of cases. For instance, a large proportion of patients in India seek treatment in the private sector," it said.
Indias largest private full-service carrier Jet Airways has expressed its vision to make Bengaluru its third hub in the country, after Mumbai and Delhi, in a bid to make the most of the burgeoing opportunities here.





While the airline has not yet announced the exact timeline for this development, it has reposed more faith in the Bengaluru airline market.



Bengalurus rise as a prominent global investment destination, apart from its large young (working) population, has resulted in significant growth in aviation traffic  inbound and outbound  both domestic and international. Today, the city houses Indias third busiest airport, which hopefully, will rise to at least the second position in future, Jet Airways Vice President (Commercial  India Sales) Praveen Iyer told DH, adding that with this view, the airline intends to make its presence felt here, and to turn it into a hub sometime in the months to come.



Airline hubs or hub airports are used by an airline to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations at that given airport, which in turn, serves as transfer (or stop-over) points to get passengers to their final destination.



The ratio of traffic to population in Bengaluru stands at a robust 1.6 (Bengaluru has a population of 12 million, recording annual air traffic of 19 million), and this is continuously growing, he said.



The Bengaluru market, which is growing at 30% year-on-year, has the ability to take on more departures, considering that the other metros are largely saturated. Also, it provides a gateway to regional points, apart from links to metros and tier-II cities.



We connect to 45 destination from Bengaluru, with 53 domestic flights a day. Until now, we had one international destination from Bengaluru (Abu Dhabi). From Wednesday, well be launching our Bengaluru-Singapore service, while a Bengaluru-Colombo flight will commence from January 5, Iyer said.



Jet Airways carried two million passengers out of Bengaluru in 2015-16. It achieved 20% average annual growth rate, based on passenger numbers.



While the airline operates its Boeing 737 and ATR fleet out of Bengaluru, come January 15, it will fly an Airbus A330 on the busy Bengaluru-Mumbai sector.


Two weeks after a presidential election that could have vaulted him to the head of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), John Grunsfeld reached across his peanut curry at a small restaurant on the far west side of Manhattan, grabbed my notebook and sketched out a plan for a trip to Mars.





Grunsfeld, astronomer, astronaut and former associate administrator of Nasa, was in town to promote a National Geographic TV series about Martian exploration. On his shirt was a picture of a space shuttle and the Hubble Space Telescope.



Weve been having a kind of Mars moment lately. Audiences filled theatres last year to watch Matt Damon as The Martian. Personalities as diverse as President Barack Obama and Elon Musk have declared the Red Planet as the next great destination.



In the days leading up the election, Grunsfeld said, Nasa was thinking about a Mars mission to get ready for the transition. He was rumoured to be on the short list to run the space agency should Hillary Clinton have won. Nasa has never had a scientist as administrator; you and I would have had fun, he said.



Now, nobody knows where Nasas rockets are going on their biblical smoke pillars. Donald Trumps one mention of the space programme during his campaign was to tell a kid that potholes on Earth need fixing first. But he also campaigned on the promise to make America great again, and hardly anything in recent history says that more clearly than the Apollo moon landings. That has some space buffs hoping that a Trump administration will put its weight behind another grand adventure in space, most likely a return for good to the moon.



At the same time, there is no evidence that Congress would give Nasa any more money than it is already getting to carry out these adventures. Trumps potholes, a military buildup and tax cuts beckon.



Early in December, the first member of Trumps transition landing team, Christopher Shank, policy director for the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and a former member of Nasa, arrived at its headquarters to begin taking stock of the agency. He did not respond to an email request for an interview and no one else on the team, which now numbers seven, has commented publicly.



Even Nasa insiders are reduced to reading tea leaves and possible smoke signals, clues scattered by Trump and Republican space and science insiders during the last year. In a recent speech in Washington, Bob Walker, a former congressman who advised the Trump campaign on space, reiterated his desire for Nasa to concentrate on basic science and exploration and farm out climate research, which he has referred to as politicised science, to other agencies like NOAA. Thats a notion that alarmed climate scientists regard as either naive or cynical.



Walker also said that Vice President-elect Mike Pence would be presiding over a reinstated National Space Council, last used during George W Bushs administration, to oversee and coordinate civilian and military space efforts. One of its jobs would be to decide how much Nasa should depend on commercial space entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to shoulder the rocket load.



Last summer, many of these insiders, including Michael Griffin, a former Nasa administrator, gathered around a television at Shanks house to cheer on Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a space shuttle mission, as she spoke at the Republican National Convention. Denouncing what she saw as a lack of US leadership, at least as far as human spaceflight was concerned, she noted that it had been five years since an American was launched into space from US soil. We are a nation of explorers, she declared. Nations that lead on the frontier lead in the world.



Ever since John Glenn orbited Earth in 1962, the US space programme has limped through a series of auspicious starts and stops. Americans landed on the moon in 1969 and abandoned it in 1972. We built the space shuttle and then retired it, embarked on the Constellation programme to return to the moon, then cancelled it in favour of eventually going to Mars. The International Space Station was supposed to get us ready for deep space travel, but we havent gone anywhere.



Glenn died last week, at the ripe age of 95. Reflecting on the long arc of his life and the space programme, Grunsfeld asked, What do we have to show for it? Are we in for another outer space pivot back to the moon? Among the many Trump advisers is Newt Gingrich, who promised a lunar colony by 2020 when he was running for president four years ago, quipping that it could apply for statehood someday.



At the time eyes rolled, but times have changed. Recently, Jeb Bush declared it a cool idea. Europe, China and Russia are all reportedly eager to establish a base on the moon. Jim Bridenstine, an Oklahoma congressman rumoured to be in the hunt for Nasa administrator, said in a recent speech: This is our Sputnik moment. America must forever be the pre-eminent spacefaring nation, and the moon is our path to being so.



Lunar base

Among the attractions of a lunar base, its adherents say, would be the ability to mine ice at the moons poles to produce rocket fuel. According to recent studies, refuelling at the moon, or nearby, would be the cheapest way to go to Mars. It could be the mother of all infrastructure projects, perhaps a notion attractive to Trumps developer instincts, in effect paving a highway to Mars and beyond.



It would also take a lot of money, time and political capital. The moons a nice place to visit, but you wouldnt want to live there, Grunsfeld said. But we can go to Mars without breaking Nasas budget, Grunsfeld said, reaching for my notebook. First he drew a line of rockets. Forget the giant heavy-lift super booster rocket. Assemble a Mars spacecraft in orbit using the kinds of rockets like Atlas or Delta we already have. Suppose it takes 10 launches to get all the pieces up there, he said. At $350 million a launch, that adds up to $3.5 billion. Adding in another $500 million to launch the crew brings the total to $4 billion.



If the spaceship segments themselves cost $1 billion apiece, the whole Mars ship is $14 billion. Make two, just to be on the safe side. For $4 billion a year for seven years you get a Martian spaceship including a full spare, he said. Where does the money come from? As it happens, this is the amount of money Nasa now spends on the space station every year, money that will be available one day to go someplace.



They could only go around Mars, without landing. But it would still be an epochal voyage, the interplanetary version of Apollo 8s Christmas voyage around the moon in 1968, setting the stage for what is to come if people are ever going to live off-planet. Someone should do it. All that money would be spent here  on things we say we care about, like science, technological development and education, things that stimulate the economy and inspire generations.



Going to Mars would make Nasa great again, Grunsfeld said. I asked him how long it would all take. Seven to 10 years, he texted me later. Whenever someone decides to start.


India is facing a cardiac disease epidemic. Participants at a recent international conference at Kochi pointed out that while the diseases prevalence is rising across the world, in India, it is doing so at an alarming rate. It is estimated that there has been a four-fold increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in India during the past 40 years. Around 7%-13% of urban Indians and 2%-7% of rural Indians are said to be suffering from cardiovascular diseases (CVD).



Worryingly, Indias CVD death rate of 272 per 1,00,000 population is way above the world average of 235 per 1,00,000 population. Heart disease is the top killer of Indians in rural and urban areas, accounting for 23% of all deaths in 2010-13 compared to 20% in 2004-06. If this prevalence persists, it could account for 35.9% of Indian deaths by the year 2030. It is clear that cardiac disease is a giant killer in India; four people die of heart attack every minute in the country. Unlike the West where it is the aged that suffer most heart attack deaths, in India, people below the age of 40 are increasingly dying of heart attacks. So why is India so vulnerable to cardiac problems? Genetics is partly to blame; around 4% of Indians carry a gene that almost guarantees heart disease. Also, there has been an alarming rise in the prevalence of coronary risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, obesity etc. Importantly, our lifestyles are becoming more conducive to cardiac problems. Excessive smoking and drinking, eating junk food, stress and sedentary lifestyles have become the norm in urban India and these make a person more

vulnerable to cardiac diseases.



India needs to take cardiac diseases more seriously. Besides its high fatality rate, the economic burden it imposes on the individual, her family and society, is staggering. Consequently, we need to focus on prevention of these diseases. Changes in lifestyles are important. It is necessary that intervention begins during childhood. Schools must encourage their students to engage in physical activity and eat healthy food. Children need to be taught how to deal with stress. Cardiologists often lament that fatalities due to cardiac diseases can be reduced if patients overcome mental block to accept medication and surgical intervention readily. This is a narrow perception of the problem. Patients avoid medication and surgery because it is over-priced. In this regard, the

governments recent decision to reduce the price of stents is welcome. Interestingly, it is being resisted by the industry. Cardiac disease is no more a problem that afflicts the rich and the aged. It is a public health problem.




Founder Dr. David Olson Transitions to Emeritus Status; PREPARE/ENRICH Celebrates Successful 2016 and Announces Ambitious 2017 Roadmap Under New Ownership

Contact: Laura Waldvogel, Manager of Product and Platform, PREPARE/ENRICH, 651-259-2432, lauraw@prepare-enrich.com



ST PAUL, Minn., Dec. 13, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- After 40+ years of research and innovation, PREPARE/ENRICH announced its founder, Dr. David Olson, has transitioned into emeritus status. Dr. Olson continues to provide strategic consulting related to the next phase of growth for PREPARE/ENRICH.



2016 is another record year with over tens of thousands of couples benefiting from the expert care of Facilitators and thousands of counselors, clergy, and churches joining the PREPARE/ENRICH family. The Parenting Version, introduced in 2014, leverages the real-time customized assessment capability introduced in 2008 and has achieved widespread adoption with over 100% growth relative to 2015 and has increased parenting satisfaction for thousands of families.



Anticipation for 2017 is high, with a significantly larger team prepared to implement an ambitious roadmap, including new assessment versions and resources, as well as a refreshed website launching in early 2017. Additional momentum is provided by new positioning of the company under the umbrella of not-for-profit membership organization, Thrivent Financial, whose mission is to help Christians be wise with money and live generously. Bill Johnson, President of PREPARE/ENRICH commented, "In acquiring PREPARE/ENRICH, Thrivent has acknowledged the tension money can create in relationships and is demonstrating their commitment to continuing and extending PREPARE/ENRICH's mission to 'build strong marriages and healthy relationships.'"



Legacy of David and Karen Olson

Motivated to address increasing divorce rates, Dr. Olson and his wife Karen launched PREPARE, Inc. in 1980. Its flagship assessment, PREPARE, provided counselors, clergy, and other professionals with a tool to increase effectiveness of premarital counseling. The PREPARE assessment was the first of its kind to deliver insights into a couple's strength and growth areas, personality dynamics, and family of origin. As a pioneer in the field of family science at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Olson enabled professionals to connect theory and practice by developing the Circumplex Model and its accompanying measure, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES). FACES has provided the basis for thousands of research studies, and served as the foundation for what became the PREPARE/ENRICH assessment.



The PREPARE assessment was quickly adopted by thousands of counselors, clergy, and other professionals as it became the global standard for marriage preparation. In 1981, the ENRICH assessment was introduced as a version of PREPARE intended for married couples. Throughout the next decade additional assessments were developed for blended/step-family premarital couples, cohabitating premarital couples, and older adult married couples. Originally administered using paper/pencil, the assessments were made available online in 2004. In 2008, the highly anticipated PREPARE/ENRICH Customized Version was released, which employs sophisticated real-time logic to select one of over 1,500 combinations of scales for each couple based on factors including relationship status, past relationships, age, parenting status, and faith perspective.



Propagating primarily through word of mouth, PREPARE/ENRICH has transformed into a global family of people who care passionately about strengthening relationships and marriage. By the numbers:

110,000+ PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitators trained and operating in over 70 countries



4,000,000+ couples have gained insight into their relationships



30,000+ churches and 25,000+ counseling practices leveraging the PREPARE/ENRICH assessment and skill-building content



Translation into 12 languages: Spanish, French, German, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish, and Hungarian

About PREPARE/ENRICH

PREPARE/ENRICH is the leading relationship inventory and skill-building program used by clergy and professional counselors nationally and internationally. Live workshops and online training teach proficiency in the PREPARE/ENRICH program and certifies Facilitators to administer the assessment, interpret reports, and give feedback using skill building exercises. PREPARE/ENRICH, LLC is based in Roseville, Minnesota, with Facilitators throughout the United States and around the world.
As Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to visit India soon, her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Tuesday set up a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.





Khan, who is on a four-day visit to Kolkata, is expected to hard sell the Teesta water treaty, which has become a bone of contention between the two countries. He is expected to meet Mamata between December 14 and 18.



While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in favour of the treaty  which has been on the burner for years  Mamata has emerged as an obstacle. Although Mamata accompanied Modi on his trip to Dhaka in June 2015, she backed out of signing the treaty at the last moment, forcing India to shelve the agreement. While both India and Bangladesh, this time, are looking at a more fruitful meeting between the leaders of the two countries, the central government officials feel the visit will be of no importance if they fail to get Mamata on board.



Mamata has always maintained that Teesta, a river which flows from North Bengal into Bangladesh, does not have enough water to be shared. While Bangladesh contended this claim during the bilateral talks, experts point out that Teesta had an average flow of 330 cusec water during the lean season of March end in 2015 compared to 550 cusec during the same period in 2014.



Sources said the Centre will initiate fresh dialogue with Mamata on the Teesta pact post elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. They further said that defence minister Manohar Parrikar, who met Hasina in Dhaka on December 1, discussed matters related to military and security ties but the Teesta treaty also featured prominently in the talks.
Describing demonetisation as the biggest scam of the year, the Congress on Tuesday stepped up its attack on the the Centre and demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into how some have crores worth of Rs 2,000.





I cant get a Rs 2,000 note, yet crores in Rs 2,000 notes have found their way to individuals being raided all over the country, senior Congressman and former finance minister P Chidambaram said, adding that there should be a criminal investigation and not just a probe by the Income-Tax department as initiated by the government.



World over small transactions are done in cash, not by card. To assume that India will go from 3% to 100% cashless in a matter of a few months, is an outlandish expectation, he told reporters in Nagpur. Which country has cashless economy? Does the US? Does Singapore have it? Where is electricity in the country? Where are the machines? he asked. What calculations did the government do to say that one may withdraw Rs 24,000 when banks don't have enough cash to dispense, Chidambaram said.



Over Rs 1 cr in Rs 2,000 notes seized



The police on Tuesday evening seized more than Rs 1 crore in the new currency notes and detained three persons from Thane, PTI reports.



Senior police inspector Nitin Thackeray who led the team which seized the notes from near Thane Civil Hospital said that three men, Chintan Rambhia, Govrav Pichar and Harish Raut, were detained.



Joint Commissioner of Police Ashutosh Dumbre said that three persons were going to exchange the new Rs 2,000 notes totalling Rs one crore for the defunct Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes totalling Rs 1.20 crore, thus charging 20%

commission.






The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry is not in favour of an all-India Education Service on the lines of civil services to enable posting of education administrators across the country.





A government-appointed committee headed by former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian, had recommended in its report last year, creation of an Indian Education Service (IES) with officers to be recruited through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).



I dont think there is any merit in it. Personally, I am not in favour of creating any such special service (cadre). Education is predominantly a teacher-student centric sector. It should remain within the domain of academicians, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said during an interaction with the media.



Persons from the (IES) cadre would progressively man the higher level policy posts in the states and at the Centre; they will be, like other AIS (all India service) officers, deployed in teaching or managerial positions; there is also the possibility of lending IES officers to educational institutions, which will broaden the experience and in course of time enhance their efficacy. Part of manning the national institutions attached with HRD ministry could also come from this cadre, the panel had suggested.



Javadekar said that the process was on to set up a committee under an eminent educationist for giving final shape to a draft new education policy.



I hope in the next three to four months we will have the draft of the new education policy, he added.



Replying to another question, the HRD minister assured that the new education policy will be formulated keeping in mind the "diverse culture and pluralistic society" of the country.



He trashed the Opposition parties' fears that the Narendra Modi government would toe the line of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) in finalising the new education policy.



"It is a deliberate attempt to politicise a non-political issue. The formulation of a new education policy is an exercise targeted at not just the next few years but one whole generation," the Union minister said.
Men who died in the police firing during the Jat quota agitation early this year are being hailed as martyrs in Haryana.





The process of erecting statues of slain youth began on Sunday in Jhajjar village. Statues of Sandeep Khakhar and Arjun Jakhar of Akehri Madanpur village have already been unveiled by the Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samithi - the prime body spearheading the fight for Jat reservation.
US president-elect Donald Trump settled on Rex W Tillerson, the chief executive of ExxonMobil, to be his secretary of state, transition officials said.





In naming him, the president-elect is dismissing bipartisan concerns that Tillerson, the globe-trotting leader of an energy giant, has a too-cosy relationship with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia.



Trump planned to announce the selection on Tuesday morning, bringing to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over the nations top diplomat -- a process that at times veered from rewarding Rudy Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.



Instead, Trump has decided to risk what looks to be a bruising confirmation fight in the Senate.



In the past several days, Republican and Democratic lawmakers had warned Tillerson would face intense scrutiny over his two-decade relationship with Russia, which awarded him its Order of Friendship in 2013, and with Putin.



The hearings will also put a focus on ExxonMobils business dealings with Moscow.

The company has billions of dollars in oil contracts that can go forward only if the US lifts sanctions against Russia, and Tillersons stake in Russias energy industry could create a very blurry line between his interests as an oilman and his role as the USs leading diplomat.



Tillerson has been publicly skeptical about the sanctions, which have halted some of ExxonMobils biggest projects in Russia, including an agreement with the state oil company to explore and pump in Siberia that could be worth tens of billions of dollars.



Republican Senator John McCain said on Fox News, Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying.



Business in 50 countries



A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, who speaks with a strong Texas twang, Tillerson (64) runs a company with operations in about 50 countries, and has cut deals to expand business in Venezuela, Qatar, Kurdistan and elsewhere.



If confirmed as secretary of state, Tillerson would face a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.



That could prove to be a special test when it comes to Russia, where Tillerson has fought for years to strengthen connections through business negotiations worth billions of dollars.



Under his leadership, Exxon has entered into joint ventures with Rosneft, a Russian-backed oil company, and donated to the countrys health and social programmes.












Christianity Today Receives $2 Million Capacity-Building Grant from Lilly Endowment



CAROL STREAM, Ill., Dec. 13, 2016 /



"This generous gift will work to expand CT's ministry capacity and our cause of



The capacity-building grant will strengthen CT's core journalistic calling for years to come, fulfilling the ministry's two-part vision to (1) Build a digital-first technological foundation upon which content can be expanded, and (2) Support an ongoing fundraising infrastructure important to CT's future.



"The print magazine remains an integral part of CT's publishing strategy," said Publisher Jake Walsh, "but the reality is that millions more read our content online, and a growing number are mobile-first."



"This grant will help us adapt our publishing strategy and better serve those readers across all platforms."



CT plans to expand online content in areas like news and reporting, and digitally package the complete 60-year history of CT magazine.



Christianity Today will also build on its fundraising vision.



"The church needs CT more than ever," said Cory Whitehead, executive director of development. "And yet the economics of publishing quality, thoughtful, and balanced content is perhaps greater today than ever before."



"With this grant, we can more fully share our ministry's story with potential partners and fulfill our mission to Christian leaders globally."



To learn more or partner with Christianity Today,



is a nonprofit, global media ministry centered on Beautiful Orthodoxystrengthening the church by richly communicating the breadth of the true, good, and beautiful gospel. Reaching over four million people monthly with various digital and print resources, the ministry equips Christians to renew their minds, serve the church, and create culture to the glory of God.



is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family  J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli  through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business. The Endowment supports causes in religion, education and community development. Lilly Endowments religion grantmaking is designed to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes.

Share Tweet Contact: Cory Whitehead, Christianity Today , 630-384-7223, cwhitehead@christianitytoday.com CAROL STREAM, Ill., Dec. 13, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a $2 million grant to the nonprofit, global media ministry Christianity Today in support of Christian thought journalism and to help sustain meaningful discourse in the digital age."This generous gift will work to expand CT's ministry capacity and our cause of Beautiful Orthodoxy beyond the four million readers we reach monthly," said President and CEO Harold Smith. "We are humbled and grateful by Lilly Endowment's generosity and thankful for how we've seen God at work through this entire grant process."The capacity-building grant will strengthen CT's core journalistic calling for years to come, fulfilling the ministry's two-part vision to (1) Build a digital-first technological foundation upon which content can be expanded, and (2) Support an ongoing fundraising infrastructure important to CT's future."The print magazine remains an integral part of CT's publishing strategy," said Publisher Jake Walsh, "but the reality is that millions more read our content online, and a growing number are mobile-first.""This grant will help us adapt our publishing strategy and better serve those readers across all platforms."CT plans to expand online content in areas like news and reporting, and digitally package the complete 60-year history of CT magazine.Christianity Today will also build on its fundraising vision."The church needs CT more than ever," said Cory Whitehead, executive director of development. "And yet the economics of publishing quality, thoughtful, and balanced content is perhaps greater today than ever before.""With this grant, we can more fully share our ministry's story with potential partners and fulfill our mission to Christian leaders globally."To learn more or partner with Christianity Today, visit here Christianity Today is a nonprofit, global media ministry centered on Beautiful Orthodoxystrengthening the church by richly communicating the breadth of the true, good, and beautiful gospel. Reaching over four million people monthly with various digital and print resources, the ministry equips Christians to renew their minds, serve the church, and create culture to the glory of God. Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family  J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli  through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business. The Endowment supports causes in religion, education and community development. Lilly Endowments religion grantmaking is designed to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes.
The green signal by the high court to implement the long-pending Akrama-Sakrama scheme has come as a big relief to the cash-strapped BBMP.





The civic body is looking to fill up its coffers by implementing it. The scheme, aimed at regularising unauthorised constructions in urban areas, is set to fetch Rs 500 crore to the BBMP, said Mayor G Padmavathi. Speaking to DH, she said, We are happy with the high courts decision. The government has to first give us the guidelines on the scheme and then, regularisation rates will be fixed based on the zones the properties come under. Once the scheme is operational, we will be able to collect a minimum of Rs 500 crore.



She said that the amount collected would be used for development works and on getting mortgaged properties of the Palike released. Padmavathi said, A couple of Palike-owned buildings are mortgaged presently due to a financial crunch. BBMP sources said that a meeting would be held at 3 pm on Wednesday with Bengaluru Development Minister K J George on how to go about it. The government had issued a final notification on the draft rules for implementing Akrama Sakrama on May 28, 2014. However, it is not clear whether the government will issue a fresh one for implementing the scheme, sources said.



They said that the government would decide on the cut-off date for regularisation in a few days. The earlier cut-off date was October 19, 2013. The approved bill allows regularisation of plan deviations up to 50% for residential buildings and up to 25% deviations for commercial buildings.



As per the report submitted to the high court by the BBMP, there are at least 1.53 lakh illegal and unauthorised buildings which fall under the Akrama-Sakrama scheme.


A National Investigation Agency special court here convicted Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and four others for carrying out twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar in 2013.





The blasts killed 22 people and injured 140.

Those convicted with Yasin include Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi of Uttar Pradesh, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu of Bihar and Aijaz Sheikh of Maharashtra. The convicts are now lodged in the Cherlapally prison.



The quantum of punishment will be declared on December 19. The convicts were tried under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and other relevant Acts, besides the Indian Penal Code.



However, the main accused Riaz Bhatkal  the Indian Mujahideen founder  is reportedly taking shelter in Pakistan. Riaz and Yasin, known as Bhatkal brothers, are experts in making explosives. They are natives of Bhatkal town in Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka.



The duo are accused of carrying out a series of terror attacks in different parts of the country. Yasin received arms training in Pakistan in 2006 and was arrested near Motihari in Bihar in 2013.



The NIA charge sheet says Indian Mujahideen hatched a conspiracy to wage a war against India and decided to carry out blasts in Hyderabad. Riyaz directed his associates Haddi and Waqas to find a hideout in Mangaluru to store the explosives. After receiving the materials sent by Riyaz through an unknown person, and money through hawala and other channels, Haddi and Waqas reached Hyderabad and started working with Monu who was staying in a hideout in Abdullapurmet.
Bengalureans collective yearning for a suburban rail to decongest its roads has hit a serious roadblock: The Centres draft Suburban Rail System policy that makes it tough for any such service to run on existing tracks. The onus of making land available for dedicated suburban tracks has now been shifted to the state government.





The policy has come as a rude shock for everyone campaigning for a full-fledged commuter rail system. A local train network was considered cheaper than Metro, because the need for land acquisition was minimal. The existing tracks were under-utilised and could have easily accommodated a dedicated suburban service.



Heres how the policy draft justifies the move to halt any sharing of current assets: Running suburban services on existing tracks adversely affects the capacity of freight trains and long-distance trains. It would not be possible for Railways to use existing infrastructure for the purpose of suburban services.



Long-distance trains occupy the tracks only for a short period of time. Why cant local trains use the same lines by automating the signals and upgrading stations? This is the campaigners contention, who have dubbed the policy retrograde. The policy also talks about creating a Special Project Vehicle (SPV). But why leave out the existing non-congested lines? asks urban rail analyst Satya Sankaran.



Urban transport fund

To finance the SPV, the state governments will have to set up a dedicated urban transport fund. This, says the draft, can be achieved through levy of dedicated taxes, betterment tax and impact fee. Once the state government acquires 70% of the land, the Indian Railways will only contribute its equity share to the SPV.



On lease basis

The policy makes it clear that Indian Railways would provide land on lease basis only where feasible, considering its future requirements. Effectively, despite the state bearing up to 66% of the costs in projects such as the Bengaluru-Mysuru track doubling, it will have no say in the kind of train service to be run. This policy will put spokes in the efforts to put some commuter rail service in place, notes Sankaran.



A very skeletal service currently operates with MEMU and DEMU trains. This, according to analyst Sanjeev Dyamannavar, should ideally come under the SPV. The cost and losses, if any, should be shared.


At the Dec. 8 meeting, the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) board approved one new method they that they hope will help the bottom line this year: a one-time retirement stipend for employees who provide early notice. Per the new offer, employees who provide a notice of intent to retire in January will receive an amount equal to 5 percent of their annual salary. Those who provide their notice to retire in the month of February will receive an amount equal to 2 percent.

The district hopes that the stipend will encourage a significant number of employees to submit retirement notices early rather than wait until the end of the year. The early retirements will help find the best qualified applicants in a shrinking pool, according to SDUHSD Interim Superintendent Eric Dill.

The shortage of highly-qualified teachers in California is well-documented, Dill said, noting that 75 percent of California districts are facing shortages.

The main reason for the shortage stems from fewer college students enrolling in teacher prep programs paired with a growing number of teachers reaching retirement age.

Shortages are even higher at the high school level because teachers require single-subject credentials  the most difficult areas to recruit are special education, mathematics and science.

Dill said in the last year, SDUHSD has struggled in finding teachers with the appropriate credentials to meet the districts needs. The longer they wait to recruit, the more difficult it is to find qualified candidates. As has been addressed by parents in a previous meeting, many classes began this fall with substitutes and the district currently has three certificated openings with no qualified applicants.

The earlier we can determine the number of teachers who intend to retire and the credentials held by those teachers, the earlier we can begin our efforts to recruit highly-qualified teachers to fill those vacancies, Dill said.

Prior to the recession, about a dozen teachers retired each year, however, over the past three years retirements have been in the single digits and the number of teachers reaching retirement age has ballooned. Dill believes they have over 40 teachers who are eligible to retire, which could result in $2 million in savings.

Because of the spread in compensation between starting and experienced teachers, the district can recognize substantial savings when a new teacher replaces a retiree, Dill said. The earlier that staff can determine what savings they will achieve from retirements, the better they can plan for the budget.

The vote for the retirement stipend was not unanimous, with Salazar voting against it.

Paying our own teachers a bonus or whatever you want to call it to retire makes zero sense, Salazar said.

He said a more proactive solution would be signing bonuses for positions such as much-needed science teachers.

To encourage senior teachers to retire by paying them a 5 percent bonus I think makes no sense at all. Plus, all of these studies I have read about teacher shortages say that theyre all primarily in rural and economically-disadvantaged areas, which were not, Salazar said. To have a policy where we need our teachers to retire in order to reduce our deficit and prevent bankruptcy or insolvency, I think, is ludicrous.

I dont want to lose any good teachers, Im afraid of that, SDUHSD Trustee Mo Muir said, although she did vote for the one-time stipend due to her concerns with the projected $9.7 million deficit.

Parent Steven McDowell also spoke out against the stipend, claiming it was doubtful that it would save the district any money and questioning the need when staff is already given the highest compensation in the county.

The district is not in a situation where it needs to significantly reduce total staffing. These valued employees will need to be replaced and many of the retirements will happen without this incentive, McDowell wrote in a letter to the board, noting that the proposed incentive also does not have a cap or a limit. The district already stated they are having a hard time finding some replacements. This action could make that situation worse.

McDowell said the stipend also appears to be a salary spikeand since the money will be owed prior to an employee retiring, employees could request that it be included in their compensation for determining future retirement benefits, costing the state money through higher pension payments.

This decision will have long-term consequences to taxpayers statewide paying the bill, McDowell said.

McDowell also said 5 percent seemed excessive and that the money could be better used in the classroom.

Dill said what the board approved is really providing an incentive for employees to give an early notice so the district can know how many teachers they need to replace and what credential areas they need to target. Before the shortage, retirements were manageable because there were many teachers to pick and choose from to find the best, whereas now, they are just trying to get people to apply.

This is not an incentive to retire and I agree with Mr. McDowell that retirement incentives dont make sense and they often dont pay off, thats why weve never done a traditional retirement incentiveThis is recognizing that we have a very big bubble, well over 40 teachers, who are retiring age, Dill said. If we see this bubble all make a move at the same time in one year it will be extraordinarily difficult to react to if it comes too late.

Dill said strategies that other districts have taken include offering signing bonuses or stipends for hard-to-recruit, high-need positions, increasing compensation and removing salary caps on experience. A similar school district to SDUHSD in Irvine offers a flat $5,000 retirement stipend every year.

SDUHSD Trustee Beth Hergesheimer said she, too, felt that the stipends were maybe too generous but at a recent California School Boards Association meeting she learned how critical an issue the shortage was. She said she would like to see a conversation in the future about removing salary caps.

What I want to understand is that (the retirement stipend) is a one-year approach and then were looking at other approaches in future years, Hergesheimer said.

Salazar agreed that signing bonuses for special education or science where they have the most needs would be the most proactive solution.

I think that this is not proactive, I think, if anything, you already know a vast majority of teachers are going to retire anyway and this is really just a waste of money, Salazar said.
Proven ASIC IP solution will enable significant performance and power efficiency improvements for next-generation high-speed applications

Santa Clara, Calif., December 13, 2016  GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced that it has demonstrated true long-reach 56Gbps SerDes performance in silicon on the companys 14nm FinFET process. As a part of GLOBALFOUNDRIES high-performance ASIC offering, FX-14, the 56Gbps SerDes is designed for customers seeking to improve power and performance efficiency while handling the most demanding long-reach high-performance applications.

GFs 56Gbps SerDes core supports both PAM4 and NRZ signaling, with the capability to equalize over 35dB of insertion loss, eliminating the need for expensive and power-hungry repeaters currently employed in the most challenging system environments. With a groundbreaking architecture, the 56Gbps SerDes achieves market-leading long-reach performance that will exceed emerging 50Gbps industry standards such as OIF CEI-56G-LR and IEEE 802.3cd.

The FX-14 offering provides a broad range of High-Speed SerDes (HSS) solutions and is manufactured on the companys mature, production-proven 14nm FinFET (14LPP) platform at its Fab 8 facility in Malta, N.Y. The best-in-class architecture for high-performance 56Gbps delivers industry-leading jitter performance and equalization support for enhanced system performance over a wide range of high-speed interface standards and will enable high-speed connectivity and low-power solutions for current and future leading-edge networking, compute and storage applications.

"This milestone demonstrates our ability to design best-in-class ASIC solutions and deliver industry-leading performance at 56Gbps in the most demanding networking and datacenter applications at very competitive power and area," said Mike Cadigan, senior vice president of global sales and business development at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. The long history of proven success in SerDes development and ASIC expertise, combined with GFs 14LPP technology, enables our customers to bring new applications to market in a timely and cost-effective manner through integrated and high-performance cores."

"The explosive growth in network bandwidth continues to drive the need for ASIC solutions with industry-leading interface speed and density," said Bob Wheeler, principal analyst at The Linley Group. "GLOBALFOUNDRIES has delivered a sophisticated SerDes core that enables a fast time to market for best-in-class ASIC solutions that will improve bandwidth capacity, scalability, and power efficiency in next-generation networking equipment.

GFs FX-14 design system extends the companys HSS leadership with an ultra-high performance 56Gbps SerDes, PCI Express, and multiple 30Gbps SerDes designs, as well as support for various external memory interfaces. GFs embedded memory solutions include the industrys fastest and lowest power embedded TCAM, which offers up to 60 percent better performance and 80 percent less leakage than its predecessor, along with density and performance-optimized SRAMs.

Customers are presently designing advanced ASIC solutions in 14LPP process technology using the 56Gbps and other FX-14 SerDes cores. GF is currently demonstrating its 56Gbps SerDes in customer channels and will begin shipping development boards in early Q1 2017. For next-generation data communication networks, GF is developing an advanced electrical solution for ease of migration, as well as optical variants, enabling a broad array of technology to achieve 112Gbps and beyond.

To learn more about GF's high-performance ASIC solutions, go to www.globalfoundries.com/ASICs.

About GLOBALFOUNDRIES

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a leading full-service semiconductor foundry providing a unique combination of design, development, and fabrication services to some of the world's most inspired technology companies. With a global manufacturing footprint spanning three continents, GLOBALFOUNDRIES makes possible the technologies and systems that transform industries and give customers the power to shape their markets. GLOBALFOUNDRIES is owned by Mubadala Development Company. For more information, visit www.globalfoundries.com.






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Slowing sales of mobile devices in the wake of a government initiative have led to Indian manufacturers cutting both working hours and output.

Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation strategy to remove the high-value INR500 and INR1000 (<$15) notes from circulation has resulted in a sales drop of 50%, prompting several Indian manufacturers  along with Taiwans Foxconn  to wind down operations across their sites, leaving workers idle.

Reportedly, Foxconn  which is the largest electronics manufacturer in the world, which makes devices for Apple along with major Chinese firms such as Gionee, Oppo and Xiaomi  has given 8000 of its factory workers two weeks of paid leave as it halves its output.

Indian manufacturers including Intex, Karbonn, Lava and Micromax are planning to cut between 10% and 40% of their work forces following the demonetisation initiative. Lava has shut down a plant which provides jobs to 5000 workers for at least a week, while Micromax has also reduced production at sites in Rudrapur and Telangana.

Modis demonetisation strategy was implemented on November 8th within a day as a measure to combat fraud. However, the initiative has attracted criticism for removing trillions of rupees from circulation, creating a cash shortage and instigating a slump in consumer demand  particularly in the mobile phone industry, as most devices are purchased with cash.

Indias smartphone user base is on course to reach half a billion by 2021, according to Counterpoint Research. Earlier this year it overtook the US to become the worlds second largest smartphone market by user numbers, and it is one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets globally.

Its manufacturing sector has been boosted by the governments Make in India campaign, which has seen local production of mobile phones rise from 14% in 2014 to 67% this year. In just 18 months, 12 plants for the manufacture of mobile components and accessories have opened in India, along with 40 assembly facilities.
AIM-listed oil and gas explorer LGO Energy has raised 1.18m in equity to accelerate the drilling of its sandstone wells in Trinidad.

The company will use the 1.funds raised to hasten the drilling of the Mayaro sandstone infill wells at its Goudron Field in Trinidad, and for use as working capital.

Before the placement, the company had enough funds to commit to the first well of the initial ten well Mayaro sandstone program and expected to fund further wells from free-cash flow. With the flexibility provided by the equity raising the company will now be able to commit to a program featuring multiple wells.

Chief executive Neil Ritson said: "With the company's debt re-financing completed, all major Goudron creditors resolved and with stronger oil price expectations, the board is keen to move as quickly as possible to progress the development drilling at Goudron to take advantage of the availability of services at competitive prices.

Raising new funds will allow us to immediately accelerate the low risk development drilling campaign and bring forward the production that comes with that investment."

The company raised the 1.18m from a share placing of 984.6m shares of 0.05p, which were sold at 0.12p each.

The shares will be admitted to trade on AIM around 19 December and the company now has a share capital of 8.3bn with voting rights.
Australian explorer Oilex has made a formal offer to buy the remaining 55% stake that it does not already own in the Cambay oil field in India.

The company's partner, state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, is selling its interest in Cambay, subject to regulatory approval.

If the AIM-listed companys bid is accepted it would increase its current 45% stake to 100% of Cambay.

Oilex is the operator of Cambay and holds a pre-emptive right to bid before the stake is sold to a third party.

The company said it will consider its strategic options for Cambay in order to realise value for shareholders.

Shares in Oilex were down 5.65% to 0.401p at 0947 GMT.
Battery grade lithium carbonate has been produced from Rare Earth Minerals  part-owned Cinovec lithium project in the Czech Republic.

The explorer reported that more than 99.5% of pure lithium carbonate has been manufactured from mica-concentrate using a sodium sulphate roast-based flow-sheet, a simplified version of the technology currently used by lithium carbonate plants to convert spodumene concentrate to lithium carbonate

About 87% of roast recoveries have been achieved and roasting reagent has been recycled back to the roast, which has lowered costs.

The AIM-listed company conducted minimal leaching of unwanted impurities, resulting in simpler precipitation of battery grade lithium carbonate.

It has also started production of lithium carbonate samples for offtake and end user testing.

Rare Earth, through its interest in European Metals Holdings, holds a 20.76% stake in Cinovec, which the company claims has the largest lithium resource in Europe and one of the largest undeveloped tin resources in the world.

Chief executive Kiran Morzaria said: "We are extremely pleased with the progress being made at Cinovec. The production of battery grade lithium from a well-established process route is a significant milestone in the commercialisation of the largest lithium deposit in Europe."

Shares in Rare Earth Minerals were up 4.4% to 0.522p at 1122 GMT.
Small scale gas-to-liquids company Velocys announced the results of its strategic review on Tuesday, following the completion of construction of its commercial reference plant in Oklahoma City, where commissioning was ongoing.

The AIM-traded firm said the new strategy would build on that and Velocys' leadership position, adopting a business model to increase control over project delivery through a partnership approach and focussing on the most attractive markets.

It said there were four core themes underpinning the new Velocys strategy, with the first being to implement alliances with partners that have the required resources, scale and capabilities to access large, high value markets and drive growth.

The second part was to become the clear market leader alongside its partners by taking control of multiple projects, reducing delivery risk and accelerating growth, whilst remaining capital light, with strong economics from technology sales.

Thirdly, the board said it wanted to deliver a "one-stop-shop" offer to customers, and finally it said it will leverage its differentiated technology, engineering and operational capabilities, working with partners to modularise and drive down costs of the complete offer.

Velocys has achieved significant milestones over the last 15 years, culminating in the construction of our commercial reference plant in Oklahoma City, which is now being commissioned, said CEO David Pummell.

The time is now right to build on our position of strength; we are mobilising to create world-class partnerships to take leadership positions in key high-value markets.

Pummell said he was confident that the company has the right strategy to deliver a substantive growth business.

I look forward to providing further details of the strategic alliances that will underpin this strategy as we roll them out.
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European stocks advanced further as investors priced in a rate hike by the Federal Reserve and welcomed a restructuring plan by Italy's UniCredit.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.8%, Frances CAC 40 was ahead 0.69% and Germanys DAX was 0.75% higher. The FTSE MIB rose 1.76% as Italian bank stocks gained on the back of Unicredit initiating Italys biggest ever share issue.

The FTSE Italia All-Share banks index was up 2.9%.

Meanwhile, oil prices were higher as the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report that the agreement by OPEC to cut production by 1.2m barrels a day and by non-OPEC nations to cut by 558,000 barrels should help balance supply and demand by the first half of 2017. West texas Intermediate rose 0.77% to $53.24 per barrel and Brent crude was up 0.9% to $56.20.

Accendo Markets' head of research Mike van Dulken said: Sentiment is buoyed by suggestions of progress in recapitalising Italys troubled banks as well as expectations that the Fed will - tomorrow night - still signal a cautious path for further rate hikes.

In corporate news, UniCredit shares rallied as investors welcomed the banks announcement of a rights issue of up to 13bn and further job cuts as part of a turnaround plan to boost profitability.

In a restructuring plan unveiled on Tuesday, UniCredit said it intends to launch the rights issue in the first quarter of next year to help remove 17.7bn of bad loans from its balance sheet.

Anheuser Busch InBev nudged a touch higher on news Japanese brewer Asahi will pay $7.8bn for some of its beer brands.

Infrastructure construction group Balfour Beatty was a little firmer after saying it expects to finish the year with a positive cash balance as it completes the first phase of chief executive Leo Quinn's two-year turnaround process.

UBM advanced after agreeing to buy privately-owned Asian exhibitions company Allworld Exhibitions for a cash consideration that values the business at $485m on a debt and cash free basis.

Old Mutual pushed up after saying its asset management business will float on the London Stock Exchange with an offering of 13m shares and the equity raised will be used for general corporate purposes.

Housebuilder Bellway ticked up as it reported a 7% jump in reservations in the 18-week period to 4 December and said it expects housing completions for the year to the end of July 2017 to rise by 5%.

Frances Vivendi edged down after revealing it has taken a 3% stake in Italian broadcaster Mediaset, whose shares surged 25%.

On the data front, German economic sentiment was unchanged in December at 13.8, a touch below expectations for a reading of 14.0, according to the latest survey from the ZEW Center for European Economic Research.

However, the current situation index rose to 63.5 from 58.8 the month before, beating estimates of 59.1.

ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach said: The ZEW indicator of economic sentiment remains at the same level; however, given the fact that the evaluation of the current situation has once again recorded an improvement, the overall assessment is quite positive.
Sterling moved higher, tracking the ebb and flow of reports regarding the likelihood of a 'hard' Brexit or not.

Versus the US dollar, the pound finished at 1.2701, up from 1.2567 in the previous session, as the Chancellor told the Treasury Select Committee that a transition period following Brexit would be in the interest of both the UK and the European Union.

Philip Hammond said that businesses, regulators and thoughtful politicians were increasingly in favour of a transition period.

Jane Foley, senior FX strategist at Rabobank, explained to clients that "GBP has adopted a fairly binary set of reactions to UK political news dependent on whether it is deemed to support a hard or soft Brexit. The market appears to be evaluating the risk of a hard Brexit as noticeably lower than in October."

Acting as a backdrop, traders were anxiously waiting on upcoming policy decisions by the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve and mulling whether either would drop any hint of a regime change following the election victory by Donald Trump.

Dollar/yen meanwhile continued to rise, apparently intent on attacking its 2015 highs towards the 120.0 area.

The currency cross edged higher, rising from 115.02 on 9 December to 115.29, and hitting an intraday high of 116.13 at one point in Mondays session, as US 10-year Treasury note yields hit their highest level since September 2015, at 2.53%.

On a related note, Foley pointed out how net yen shorts soared over the week ending on 6 December, according to the latest US CFTC data.

"The recovery in the USD is the primary factor behind this move", Foley said.

Weakness in the yen came despite the release of data revealing a 4.1% month-on-month rise in 'core' Japanese machinery orders for October.

In parallel, figures from the Bank of Japan showed that yen weakness was feeding into lessened domestic price declines.

The countrys corporate goods price index retreated at a 2.2% year-on-year clip in November (consensus: -2.3%), for a 20th consecutive monthly drop.

Acting as a backdrop, investors took note of yuan weakness coinciding with remarks from US President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend regarding his thinking on the Asian giants so-called 'One China' policy.
The Chancellor told the Treasury Select Committee that a transition period following Brexit would be in the interest of both the UK and the European Union.

Philip Hammond said that businesses, regulators and thoughtful politicians were increasingly in favour of a transition period.

There is, I think, an emerging view among businesses, among regulators and among thoughtful politicians, as well as quite a universal view among civil servants on both sides of the English Channel, that having a longer period to manage the adjustment between where we are now as full members of the European Union and where we get to in the future as a result of the negotiations that we will be conducting would be generally helpful, Hammond said.

The further we go into this discussion, the more likely it is that we will mutually conclude that we need a longer period to deliver.

Hammonds remarks saw the pound finish the day at 1.2701, up from 1.2567 in the previous session.

Jane Foley, senior FX strategist at Rabobank explained to clients that "GBP has adopted a fairly binary set of reactions to UK political news dependent on whether it is deemed to support a hard or soft Brexit. The market appears to be evaluating the risk of a hard Brexit as noticeably lower than in October."

In parallel, citing a draft of a statement from the European Union Bloomberg reported that EU governments would be asked to proceed swiftly in starting negotiations with the UK once the Prime Minister trigerred Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

EU leaders were expected to debate their Brexit strategy at a dinner in Brussels on 16 December following their summit earlier that same day.
Japanese brewer Asahi has agreed to buy Anheuser Busch InBev s beer businesses in five countries in Central and Eastern Europe for $7.8bn.

AB InBev has agreed to sell the brands in order to get clearance from competition regulators for its $100bn takeover of SABMiller.

Under the terms of the deal, Asahi will buy businesses and operations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Romania as well as the intellectual property rights relating to the brands, including Pilsner, Urquell, Tyskie, Lecher and Dreier.

Asahi said the target business was highly compatible with its existing business in Western Europe and will strengthen its platform, allowing the company to grow sustainably across Europe.

Through the acquisition of the target business, together with Super Dry, Peroni and Grolsch, Asahi aims to establish a unique position as a global player, mainly focusing on a leading premium brand portfolio to achieve sustainable growth, it said.

Asahi said its strategy is to enhance its cash generating power through its international business by maximising synergies with its existing business in Europe, the second-largest platform next to its domestic operations, along with merging the brand power and cost competitiveness it has cultivated in Japan.
A former forensic expert for ride hailing company Uber has accused the company's employees of abusing its technology to spy on celebrities, politicians and others.

Samuel Ward Spangenberg is suing Uber in a San Francisco court for alleged age discrimination and whistleblower retaliation, and made the spying claims in a statement to the court in October.

Uber has defended its actions following the accusations, saying that it has "hundreds of security and privacy experts working around the clock" to prevent users from having their data breached.

Through the company's "God View" app, the case alleges that employees can monitor the location of passengers at any given time.

"Uber's lack of security regarding its customer data was resulting in Uber employees being able to track high-profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances of Uber employees, including ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, and ex-spouses," Ward Spangenberg told the court.

Earlier this year, the company agreed to settle a case in New York related to usage of the God View technology, with a promise to restrict its employees' access to it.

The forensic expert also claimed that when government bodies were suspicious of Uber's actions, he and others would be tasked with making sure their information was blocked.

"As part of Ubers incident response team, I would be called when governmental agencies raided Ubers offices due to concerns regarding noncompliance with governmental regulations," Spangenberg said.

"In those instances, Uber would lock down the office and immediately cut all connectivity so that law enforcement could not access Ubers information."
Spain could well be aligned with Britain on the world clock again soon as the country's labour minister has said the government is considering a move to roll the clocks back by an hour.

Historically, Spain was part of Greenwich Mean Time like the UK and neighbours Portugal, but the country was pushed forward by one hour during the Second World War in an attempt by dictator Francisco Franco to bring it closer to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany.

Franco presided over a dictatorship in Spain from his side's victory in the civil war in the late 1930s until his death in 1975.

Many in the country have called for the change in an attempt to bring its working practices in line with the rest of Europe, and as a result increase its poor record of productivity.

"We want our workdays to finish at six oclock and to achieve this we will work towards striking a deal with representatives from both companies and trade unions," said Labour minister Fatima Banez.

Spaniards traditionally work longer hours than most of their European neighbours, with most finishing an average work day at 7pm or later.

Prime minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular party is expected to receive support from the fellow right Citizens party, as well as the socialist party, granting the legislation a likely passage through the Spanish parliament.
European stocks were little changed in early trade as investors digested news that UniCredit was planning Italys biggest ever share issue and as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting.

At 0840 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index and Frances CAC 40 were up 0.1%, while Germanys DAX was 0.3% firmer.

Andy McLevey, head of dealing at Interactive Investor, said: "With the two-day Fed meeting getting underway ahead of tomorrow's rate announcement many investors will be content to look on from the sidelines. Although a rate hike is largely priced in investors will be examining the statement in detail for clues on future policy following Donald Trump's surprise election victory."

Meanwhile, oil prices retreated, with investors taking profits after they surged to mid-2015 highs following an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC members to cut production. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.5% to $52.57 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.4% lower at $55.46.

In corporate news, UniCredit was higher, reversing brief losses incurred immediately after the Italian bank announced plans to raise 13bn and cut jobs as it looks to clean up its balance sheet.

Tony Cross, market analyst for TopTradr, said: On the basis that the funding gap is less pressing, we shouldnt see the knee-jerk reaction Monte dei Paschis woes generated last week.

Anheuser Busch InBev nudged a touch higher on news Japanese brewer Asahi will pay $7.8bn for some of its beer brands.

Frances Vivendi edged down after revealing it has taken a 3% stake in Italian broadcaster Mediaset, whose shares surged 25%.

Infrastructure construction group Balfour Beatty was a little firmer after saying it expects to finish the year with a positive cash balance as it completes the first phase of chief executive Leo Quinn's two-year turnaround process.

UBM advanced after agreeing to buy privately-owned Asian exhibitions company Allworld Exhibitions for a cash consideration that values the business at $485m on a debt and cash free basis.

Old Mutual pushed up after saying its asset management business will float on the London Stock Exchange with an offering of 13m shares and the equity raised will be used for general corporate purposes.

Housebuilder Bellway rallied s it reported a 7% jump in reservations in the 18-week period to 4 December and said it expects housing completions for the year to the end of July 2017 to rise by 5%.

Still to come on the data front, the German ZEW survey is at 1000 GMT.
Old Mutual will float two thirds of its asset management business on the London Stock Exchange for what is expected to be around $1.1bn and then continue to reduce it holdings, using the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

Some 13m shares will be sold in the public offering by Old Mutual, brokered by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Credit Suisse and Evercore. The underwriters have a 30-day option to buy an additional 1.95m shares.

The bank said it will continue to reduce its holdings in the asset management business in a way that balances value, cost, time and risk.

The public offering is subject to a registration statement from the US Securities and Exchange Commission and a preliminary prospectus supplement has been filed with the SEC.
Digital payment systems provider Paysafe tumbled on Tuesday, with traders pointing to a note by anonymous short seller Spotlight Research, which highlighted material risks from regulatory enforcement action.

Paysafe released a statement in response to the share price slump, saying all material information in the report is either factually inaccurate or has been previously disclosed.

The group has a history of significant, transparent disclosure to the market, publishing two prospectuses in 2015 and being subject to substantial additional scrutiny through a full UKLA listing process as part of its move to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

The short seller pointed out that Paysafes largest customer, most likely to be Bet365 and which represents around 50% of its earnings, is operating a business that appears to facilitate and engage in illegal gambling.

Paysafe does not disclose that Gibraltar-based gambling company Bet365 is its largest customer in company filings but Spotlight said multiple checks with analysts who follow the stock confirm it is most likely to be the unnamed large customer mentioned in the groups filings.

Spotlight reckons Bet365 is running a gambling website catering to Chinese customers and said this would likely be considered illegal and could be used to evade Chinese capital controls.

It pointed out that a big chunk of Bet365s revenue is generated in China, where gambling is explicitly illegal.

Paysafe appears to be enabling both illegal gambling and Chinese capital control evasion through undisclosed related parties run by recent former executives, it said.

Paysafe is headquartered and listed in the UK and may face risk of criminal prosecution and sanctions by the Financial Conduct Authority, while the Chinese business (an estimated 50%+ of earnings) may be at risk of being shut down by Chinese authorities."

Spotlight said recent Chinese court cases may link a recent former Paysafe executive, an alleged undisclosed related party, likely customer Bet365, and by implication, Paysafe itself, together in an illegal gambling ring.

In addition, Spotlight Research said the remainder of Paysafes voucher card business is at risk from new EU anti-money laundering regulations that are likely to come into force in 2017 and may eliminate anonymous payments, which it believes to be the core value proposition of the voucher and card business.

We believe that many other red flags exist, including potentially aggressive accounting that obfuscates the true earnings power and free cash flow generation potential.

On Monday, the companys chief financial officer, Brian McArthur-Muscroft exercised options over 516,844 ordinary shares at 0.01p each in respect of the awards granted to him under the long-term incentive plan.

He sold 243,778 shares on the open market at 371.85p each to satisfy tax and national insurance obligations and the option cost of the exercise.

At 1240 GMT, Paysafe shares were down 15% to 313.78p.
Pro-government forces in Syria have been shooting civilians "on the spot" as they move in to take the few remaining rebel-held areas in the key city of Aleppo , according to the United Nations .

The UN reported that 82 people were killed in four different neighbourhoods in the area on Tuesday by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Human rights spokesperson for the UN Rupert Colville said that Aleppo had suffered a "complete meltdown of humanity", as it looks as if rebel factions will lose their four-year stronghold on the area.

"We're filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner," Colville said.

As Assad's troops descend on the last remaining areas held by rebels, thousands of civilians remain trapped in the eastern area of the city as the government intensifies its bombing campaign.

In close to five years of brutal fighting among the various factions in the Syrian conflict, over 250,000 have lost their lives, with countless more injured and made homeless.

In a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, Colville confirmed the reports.

"Yesterday evening, we received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets," Colville added. "The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight."

Russian officials have responded to the reports by placing the blame towards the rebel side. Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the atrocities were "actually being committed by terrorist groups".

Jan Egeland, the UNs humanitarian adviser on Syria, said on Twitter that the Russian and Syrian governments would be responsible for any such abuses.

The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing! he wrote.
Londons FTSE 250 was up 0.3% to 17,688.90 in afternoon trade.

Greencore was higher amid an ongoing rights issue. Investec cut its price target on the stock to 330p from 400p post rights issue and kept its buy recommendation.

The acquisition of Peacock will create a step change in Greencores US revenue, manufacturing scale and category reach, fast-tracking its international ambitions. We expect to see EPS accretion from the acquisition in the first full year, assisted by synergy delivery.

However, in the medium term, we would expect the US to become a second growth engine to complement its UK convenience businesses.

OneSavings Bank was also on the front foot as Liberum initiated coverage of a number of challenger banks, highlighting its preference for OSB, which it started at buy.

It said OneSavings is making regulatory change in the buy-to-let market work in its favour.

Our buy-to-let matrix shows that it is the most positively geared to the fastest growing segments, namely corporate and multi-property landlords, of its peers. Advantageous market positioning, a risk management track record as strong as its peers and a rising CET1 capital ratio make OSBs 10% valuation discount to the peer group average.

On the downside, digital payment systems provider Paysafe suffered the heaviest losses, with traders pointing to a note by anonymous short seller Spotlight Research, which highlighted material risks from regulatory enforcement action.

Paysafe released a statement in response to the share price slump, saying all material information in the report is either factually inaccurate or has been previously disclosed.

The short seller pointed out that Paysafes largest customer, most likely to be Bet365 and which represents around 50% of its earnings, is operating a business that appears to facility and engage in illegal gambling.

Paysafe appears to be enabling both illegal gambling and Chinese capital control evasion through undisclosed related parties run by recent former executives, it said.

Paysafe is headquartered and listed in the UK and may face risk of criminal prosecution and sanctions by the Financial Conduct Authority, while the Chinese business (an estimated 50%+ of earnings) may be at risk of being shut down by Chinese authorities.

NCC was also under the cosh as the cyber security expert issued a profit warning due to losses and delays of several contracts in the core IT assurance division.

For the year to end-May 2017, the group said it now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation would be 45.5-47.5m.

Energy services provider Hunting was weaker despite saying that results for the full-year 2016 are likely to be in line with expectations and that earnings are expected to move into positive territory next year.

Kaz Minerals fell as it announced an agreement on a new $300m credit facility with the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, which is scheduled to be signed on 14 December.

The company said the DBK facility will finance the completion of the Aktogay project which began commissioning of its main sulphide concentrator on 6 December.

Risers

Greencore Group (GNC) 246.30p 5.26%

Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 88.80p 3.62%

P2P Global Investments (P2P) 766.00p 3.51%

OneSavings Bank (OSB) 349.50p 3.49%

IP Group (IPO) 160.00p 3.09%

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 260.60p 2.92%

Dunelm Group (DNLM) 795.50p 2.58%

Inmarsat (ISAT) 732.50p 2.45%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 333.40p 2.43%

Unite Group (UTG) 572.00p 2.42%

Fallers

Paysafe Group (PAYS) 307.70p -17.02%

NCC Group (NCC) 187.40p -8.45%

Evraz (EVR) 257.90p -5.53%

Hunting (HTG) 602.00p -4.52%

Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 396.10p -4.25%

GVC Holdings (GVC) 610.00p -2.94%

Vedanta Resources (VED) 935.50p -2.86%

Playtech (PTEC) 780.00p -2.74%

Restaurant Group (RTN) 320.00p -2.74%

Mitie Group (MTO) 219.60p -2.36%
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Holiday lights in Columbus: What to know about Wildlights, others
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Supporters say it is one of the most endangered historic sites in the nation, where George Washington first struck British lines in 1777.



PRINCETON, N.J. (AP)  Historical activists on Monday announced an agreement to save a portion of a Revolutionary War battlefield in New Jersey from development.

The Civil War Trust told The Associated Press it has an agreement to buy nearly 15 acres of land across from Princeton Battlefield State Park for $4 million. The group has raised $1.4 million to buy the land from the Institute for Advanced Study and will now begin fundraising for the rest, spokesman Jim Campi said.





. . .
Google inks deal to speed up internet in Cuba

Google announced on Monday that it has signed a new deal with Cuba's state-run telecommunications company to speed up internet service for Cubans using YouTube and other Google products.

The move seems akin to Facebook's failed attempt to provide a free but limited service in India. However, it will affect only a small percentage of Cubans since the vast majority of communist country's 11 million residents do not have access to the internet.

The Mountain View, California, internet giant has been making small inroads into Cuba over the past two years as the United States works to re-establish diplomatic relations with its Cold War foe. On Monday, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt signed the latest deal in Havana with Mayra Arevich Marin, president of State Enterprise of Telecommunications of Cuba, the government-run communications company known as ETECSA that handles all internet and phone services in Cuba.

The deal will provide Google's "Global Cache" service to the island, which reduces the amount of time it takes high-bandwidth content to load by storing data on servers on the island. Google previously made available some of its other products on the island nation, including its Google Chrome Web browser and Google Play music service.

"Taken together, all these projects are tied to Google's core values to make the world's information useful and accessible to everyone regardless of cost, connectivity, and language barriers," the company wrote in a statement Monday.

While some services will load faster in Cuba, Google's deals have not expanded the number of Cubans who have access to the internet. Freedom House, a US-based organization that promotes freedom and democracy, estimates only 5 per cent to 30 per cent of Cubans have any kind of internet access, meaning Cuba "continues to have some of the most restrictive internet access in the world".

The Cuban government has long restricted internet access on the island. It wasn't until after Cuban President Raul Castro took power from his ailing brother Fidel in 2008 that Cubans were even allowed to own cellphones or home computers.

Even then, finding internet service remained difficult. ETECSA recently created Wi-Fi hot spots in some of Cuba's biggest cities, allowing residents to sit in parks and plazas to get online. But that service is very expensive for Cubans - about $2 an hour, compared to the average Cuban salary of $25 a month.

ETECSA is also experimenting with providing internet service directly to people's homes and businesses, but that only began this year, and Cubans say it can cost hundreds of dollars a month.

"The fact that now the 3 per cent of Cubans who do have access can do faster searches and watch videos, that's a good thing," Jose Azel of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami told The Boston Globe. "But what we should focus on is making sure that all Cubans have access to the internet."

While Google's deal does not expand service to more Cubans, it does lay the groundwork for doing so in the future, according to Alana Tummino, head of the Cuba working group at Americas Society / Council of the Americas.

President Obama's administration has created several openings for US telecommunications companies to work in Cuba to expand and improve its Internet service. But Tummino said the Cuban government has been very suspicious, fearing that the US government would exploit the access and threaten Cuba's national security.

That's why Monday's deal with Google is so important, Tummino said, to continue the "trust-building" process that can eventually lead to broader service on the island.
Excerpts from Business as Usual

Chapter: Choices and Convictions)

It was business as usual.

As the summer evening of May was gradually descending upon The Oberoi, Bangalore, the intensity of activity was rapidly picking pace. While there were some day-long conferences that were coming to an end, there were those evening events for which preparations had begun.

Located on MG Road, the heart of business, financial and shopping districts of Bangalore, The Oberoi had a distinct advantage that made it a preferred destination for conferences and meetings, small group meetings and regular business and pleasure visitors. As the evening approached after a long and sultry day, the pool area was gradually being swarmed by the vacationers either taking a dip in the pool or sipping chilled beverages by the poolside.

The corridor down the Orchid Room was a picture of typical end-of-the-conference scenes. The just concluded conference was witnessing the familiar sights of some delegates exchanging business cards, some in discussion with the conference speakers, others rushing towards the valet to call for their cars. The conclave, organized by the Global HR Association, intended to bring together HR practitioners from some of the leading companies of India to discuss their challenges, had just concluded. On any other day, Rani would have been out of the conference venue within minutes of its conclusion.

But today was different. It had been over twenty minutes since the conference was over and Rani was still around. And she knew she would be around for quite some time. She was desperately uncomfortable attending such conferences and seminars. However, at times like these, she found it extremely difficult to refuse when the Head of Department nominated her.

Rani knew the basic reason for professionals to attend these conferences was ''networking''. Networking for a job change, for a consultancy contract or just to know people in the fraternity whom they could reach out at any time for a presentation, or sharing a practice or for finding something about someone in another organization.

Rani somehow detested the word ''networking'' though it was perfectly accepted practice and terminology. She found the undertones of this word full of manipulation and pretence. She couldn't understand why people had to ''Network''. Why couldn't people just be with each other and share with each other? Why did there have to be a covert reason to meet people? Nevertheless, as she saw people ''networking'' with Raj, she had no option but to wait till he was done. She could however sense Raj's restlessness too as he tried to politely come out of all this.

While she was struggling to reach out to Raj, who too seemed to be going through the same motions of shaking hands and giving away plastic smiles along with his business card, Rani knew Raj would take longer than she would to get out of the crowd.

Being a speaker and being a delegate at a conference are two different things. As a delegate, one can quickly leave the crowd, but as a speaker, one needs to oblige the swarm of delegates and hosts with some of their time.

Rani was always comfortable being a delegate and Raj loved being a speaker.

Rani wondered how she would have handled the matter had she known in advance that Raj would be on the panel of speakers today. Surely, she could not have avoided being at the conference, but knowing in advance and bumping into him most unexpectedly were two different experiences.

It was a strange feeling that both Rani and Raj were undergoing through the day. There was excitement as well as anxiety on seeing each other. It is not unusual for professionals to run into peers and ex-colleagues at such seminars or conclaves, but Rani and Raj had not spoken to or met each other for almost four years!

Neither of them had made any attempt to stay in touch over these years.

Neither of them had expected to bump into each other today.

Raj saw Rani waiting in the corner of the corridor and beckoned her to wait. Rani nodded her head, as she exchanged a few pleasantries with some of the delegates too, trying to hurriedly see them off.

In the morning, when Rani had walked into the Orchid Room and seen the tall, fair, well bult man with a full head of hair and a dense moustache, in a formal black suit, interacting with the delegates, she couldn't believe her eyes. Rani couldn't believe that the person standing right in front of her was actually Rajkumar Bakshi, the same man with whom she had worked together at Silverspot Corporation a few years ago.

Throughout the day, during the conference, while they did try to catch up with each other during the session breaks, Rani knew it would not be before the end of the conference that Raj and her would actually get some quality time with each other.

However Rani was surprised at her sudden and unexpected keenness to talk to and be with Raj. Rani had never thought she would, ever in her life, catch up with him again. She had completely lost touch with Raj and she had never found a compelling enough reason to stay in touch with him.

And so had Raj.

(See interview: Being at 'The Write Place' at the right time)
A presentation function took place recently at the Church of Our Lady of the Wayside, Jenkinstown.

A presentation function took place recently at the Church of Our Lady of the Wayside, Jenkinstown.

Fr Padraig Murphy PP was the principal celebrant at the Mass while Bishop Gerard Clifford and Fr Patrick Larkin (retired PP) concelebrated. Conor McCaughley, on behalf of the parishioners of Lordship and Ballymascanlon, presented the bishop with an inscribed Belleek china replica of the Ardagh Chalice.

Mary Cumiskey presented the bishops sister, Rose Briody, with a bouquet of flowers while Rose McEneaney gave an address and Aileen Murphy made a presentation on behalf of the parish pastoral council.

Bishop Clifford is a native of the area, so it seemed appropriate that the parish of Lordship and Ballymascanlon should mark his retirement as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Armagh. It is the parish where he has lived during his 23 years as a bishop in the diocese.

While many know of his work as a bishop in the archdiocese, few may realise the contribution he has made to the Church in general.

After more than 10 years as catechetical advisor (or ecclesiastical inspector) in the primary schools of the diocese he was, while a curate in Portadown, appointed in 1979 as Diocesan Director for Ecumenism.

The following year he moved as curate to the parish of Kilmore in Armagh and continued his work in ecumenism. In 1984 he was appointed the first full-time executive secretary of the Irish Bishops Conference and held that post until 1991 when he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh.

The episcopal motto he chose Ut Unum Sint, (that they may be one), expresses the hoped-for reconciliation of the two principal Christian traditions in Ireland, something for which Bishop Gerard has worked assiduously over the years.

His many gifts and selfless contribution to the work of the Irish Bishops Conference over the last twenty years have been particularly marked in the areas of ecumenism, education and in pastoral care. He was a member of the Bishops Commission for Ecumenism, the Advisory Committee on Ecumenism, the Inter-Church Standing Committee on Mixed Marriages, the Irish Inter-Church Committee (also known as the Ballymascanlon Conference).

He was a member of the Episcopal Commission for Missions and in more recent years his sensitivity and compassion were evident in Cura during his successful tenure as president of the crisis pregnancy agency. Bishop Gerard is the longest serving auxiliary bishop in the history of the diocese, and the longest serving bishop in the diocese since Cardinal Michael Logue who died in 1924.
The death has occurred of Dundalk born Bishop Gerard Clifford.

Archbishop Eamon Martin released this statement:

"Together with Cardinal Sean Brady, my fellow bishops and the people, clergy and religious of the Archdiocese of Armagh I am deeply saddened to hear of the death today in Dublin, of my dear episcopal colleague and friend Bishop Gerard Clifford.

We have always held Bishop Gerry in great affection and esteem. He was a devoted and generous priest and bishop who reluctantly had to resign from active ministry in 2013 due to ill health. Sadly, since then, he has had to endure increasing frailty and illness and he has done so with characteristic courage, patience and faith. When he retired, Bishop Gerry acknowledged and thanked the people of the diocese for their great warmth and affection. These were precisely the qualities that everyone received from this good and faithful priest and bishop.

Bishop Clifford was a holy and humble man who instinctively placed the concerns of others first, as befits a true messenger of the Gospel.

Born in the border parish of his beloved Lordship and Ballymascanlon, Bishop Gerry was a tireless peacemaker and bridge-builder. He was one of the great figures of the ecumenical movement in Ireland - a role he accomplished through gentle friendship and witness. His episcopal motto in 1991 was That all may be one, from Christs prayer at the Last Supper. Bishop Gerry said at the time that the unity implied is a firm yes to the way of love and a firm no to the way of hatred. He placed great store in the innate decency of people and he used every opportunity to heal the wounds created by violence, distrust and fear.

Bishop Clifford served with distinction as a member of the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference for more than twenty years, having previously served as its Executive Secretary. His episcopal ministry involved working in ecumenism, education and, as President of Cura, in the pastoral care area of crisis pregnancy.

In my visits to Bishop Gerry in recent weeks and months he seemed at peace. As he was a man of deep faith I ask you to join with me in prayer for the repose of his soul. May he rest forever in the peace of The Lord whom he generously and faithfully served. May God console his sister Rose, brother Christopher, his extended family, the people, priests and religious of the Archdiocese of Armagh along with his many friends.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis."

Gerard Clifford was born on 24 June 1941 into a farming family, the second child of the late Thomas and Margaret Clifford of Bellurgan. He was educated at Bellurgan National School, Bush Vocational School, Saint Mary' s College, Dundalk, and Saint Patrick's College, Armagh, he studied for the priesthood at Saint Patricks College, Maynooth. Ordained to the priesthood on 18 June 1967, he undertook post-graduate studies both at Maynooth and at Lumen Vitae, the international catechetical centre in Brussels.

From 1969 to 1979 he was appointed Director of Religious Education in the Archdiocese of Armagh. He liaised with all the schools of the diocese and published several guides to help parents in the religious formation of their children. After the 1979 pilgrimage by Pope Saint John Paul II to Ireland, Father Clifford was part of the response by the Catholic Church in Ireland to the late Popes special appeal for Churches to work more closely together. He undertook this work in partnership with the late Church of Ireland Canon William Arlow. In 1979 the late CardinalTomas O Fiaich appointed him ecumenical and reconciliation officer of the diocese, with a base in Richill, near Portadown. He worked closely with Canon William Arlow, who held a similar post in the Church of Ireland. Bishop Clifford regarded his ecumenical involvement as one of the most important aspects of his life as a priest. His interest in ecumenism went back to his student days - his theological degree was awarded for a study of ministry in the Anglican Church.

As ecumenical and reconciliation officer, he organised ecumenical talks twice a year between the diocese and Saint Annes Cathedral, Belfast. He was responsible for organising the inter-church services in Armagh Cathedral during the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which brought a number of prominent ecumenists from abroad to Northern Ireland. With Canon Arlow he organised a major ecumenical pilgrimage to Iona in 1984. Also in the 1980s he brought a group of young people from Portadown to Philadelphia as part of an exchange programme . He was a member of the Ballymascanlon Inter-Church committee and co-chairman of its joint working party on social problems. With Bishop Anthony Farquhar he was observer for the Irish Catholic Bishops to the then newly-formed Council of Churches of Britain and Ireland.

In 1984 Father Clifford was appointed first full-time executive secretary of the Irish Bishops' Conference. He was also joint secretary of the liaison committee which links the bishops of Britain and Ireland, and regularly represented the Bishops Conference at meetings abroad.

Bishop Clifford was appointed as Titular Bishop of Geron on 25 March 1991 and his episcopal consecration took place on 21 April 1991. As a member of the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference, Bishop Clifford was a member of its Council for Ecumenism (and Dialogue); a member of the Episcopal Commission for Pastoral Care, and was President of CURA from 2010 until 2013.
Most, if not all, self-funded entrepreneurs understand the challenges that go hand in hand with starting a business in todays competitive start-up environment. For those that choose the self-funding route, the stress factor can go through the roof if youre unprepared. At the same time, the benefits of self-funding can far surpass the challenges  and I wouldnt have it any other way.

When launching Abakus Apps  a smartphone app that streamlines the property tax management process  I became my own boss, but I also took on all the business risk myself. I made lots of mistakes, and some of these came with a financial cost.

What was my biggest oversight? Legal costs. While I knew this was important, copyright, intellectual property, and trademarking set me back tens of thousands of dollars  which I paid for out of my own back pocket. Finding the right attorney who was well versed in the complexities of online and copyright law was also a challenge.

One of the biggest lessons for any self-funded startup is learning to rely on their own resources, and this can mean making sacrifices along the way to keep the business and vision alive. To fund Abakus Apps, I had to work a full time job to ensure I had enough income coming in to pay for the business, and I would encourage any aspiring self-funded entrepreneur to be prepared to do the same. Ive regularly worked late at night finalising products while constantly adjusting financial spending. I even sold one of my own properties to funnel a large sum of money into my business. But seeing your business develop in front of you is life changing and highly rewarding.

While the early days are challenging, its important to keep your eye on the long term goal. As your business grows, you will be in a better position to finance additional support.

Here are my top five tips for aspiring entrepreneurs considering self-funding:

Get a grip on budget

Sometimes the hardest thing to deal with as an entrepreneur is inconsistent income. This increases tenfold when you start a new venture out of your own pocket. Firstly, separate your business and personal bank accounts, then develop a twelve month budget, five year prediction, and an analysis of ambitious and worst case scenarios. Determine what money is available to be spent and hold yourself accountable for money coming in and going out. Spending money on a quality business financial advisor and accountant is also a wise investment every startup should consider.

Utilise government incentives and programs

As Australia places more of a much needed focus on the startup sector, a helping hand is being extended to entrepreneurs. The National Innovation & Science Agenda offers a range of support strategies to help startups raise more funding, attract new talent, and provide assistance for startups to grow. I would also encourage startups to research their eligibility for the Federal Governments R&D Tax Incentive.

Trust in your idea and its contribution

Being able to have total trust in your concept requires a whole lot of self-reflection and critical thinking. Receiving negative feedback at some stage is to be expected, but dont take it personally  use this feedback as an opportunity to make adjustments to your offering or service. In order to have faith in your idea entirely, you need to ask yourself the hard questions, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your venture and adjusting them accordingly.

Take advantage of social media

If advertising and marketing are outside of your budget, get creative with social media and develop a simple content sharing strategy. Facebook and Instagram are great platforms to target consumers, whilst LinkedIn and Twitter are core platforms to target businesses. Its best to choose one platform and build a solid, supportive presence on here before delving into other platforms. When in doubt, look to other brands social media channels to find inspiration on how to develop and position your business pages and the types of content to post.

Develop strategic partnerships

In recent years, successful startups have utilised strategic partnerships to overcome business challenges. Spend time researching, identifying and collaborating with businesses where mutual gains and exchange of services can be made. Team up with larger companies that share a similar market as your own and learn as much as you can but, dont be afraid to walk away if the benefits for you arent measurable in return.

My advice for entrepreneurs? If youve got a healthy balance in your savings account, self-funding might be a good way to bring your endeavours to life, while at the same time, offer you more control over the direction of your business  which can be constricted if you seek outside investment.

If you choose self-funding, be prepared to work a full-time job in the early days to pay the bills, as well as work long hours  I regularly work late at night finalising products and constantly adjusting financial spending. Its a juggling act, but its worth it. I even sold one of my own properties to finance Abakus Apps, but seeing your vision and business develop in front of you is very rewarding and life changing.

About the author
Interview with Bankfokus

Interview with Vitor Constancio, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Par Krause and published on 13 December 2016

What will be required to strengthen the economy of the EU? What role does the banking industry play in strengthening growth and employment?

The world economy faces a high degree of uncertainty and that can influence the European situation. We need more expansionary macroeconomic policies as well as reforms in competition and in the regulation of markets to foster the supply side of the economy. Monetary policy has so far been the only expansionary macroeconomic policy to support the recovery. Now, we also need a more visible contribution from other policies.

It is also important to stabilise the European banking sector. The recovery requires strong banks that are able to increase credit to the real economy. At present, loans to the private sector are growing at only 2% yearly. So we need support from the banking sector, and the banks must overcome the problems that affect their low level of profitability.

Does the ECB have a clear position in the ongoing discussion in the Basel Committee concerning restrictions on the use of internal models? Do you see risks connected with further restricting the use of internal models?

Overall, the commitment is that there will be no significant increases in capital requirements on top of the last adjustments to the Basel regulations. Some restrictions on the use of internal models will come, and they are justified. The consensus view is that internal models were overused before the crisis, e.g. in the absence of sufficient data. Reflecting this are two studies conducted by the European Banking Authority and the Basel Committee that showed large variability in risk-weighted assets across banks and countries for the same portfolio. The studies also showed that much of the variation in the risk assigned by banks was driven by differences in banking practices when using internal models rather than differences in risk in banks portfolios. So some corrections are necessary and I hope we will reach an agreement in Basel.

Apart from the many new regulations and a weak European economy, what are the biggest challenges for European banks?

Its difficult to generalise, but I think that there is a need for consolidation among European banks. We must have more pan-European banks and we need banking groups that are able compete in the investment bank segment. European banks have been losing out to American banks because of a lack of competitiveness.

Another challenge is the excess capacity in banking within the European Union. Banks need to reduce costs significantly and that includes reducing the number of branches. They also need to deal with the transformation to a more digital-based business model.

How do you think Brexit will affect the financial markets and the building of the banking union?

The banking union per se will not be affected much because the UK was not part of it from the start. But the consequences will probably be more significant for the UK than for the rest of the EU. We can, for instance, expect some decline in Londons importance as a financial centre in Europe. That also depends very much on the decisions of banks from other parts of the world now based in London. Maybe they will decide to relocate.

What is your opinion of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM)? Has it been successful? What challenges do you still see?

Yes, I think it has been successful. The creation of the SSM in 2014 contributed to an increase in the capital ratio of euro area banks. Ahead of its operational start, we conducted a complete assessment of the robustness of the SSM banks and called for higher capital levels, although banks had already started enhancing their capital position in preparation for the assessment. So the robustness of the balance sheets has very much improved.

But there is still much work to do. Despite the SSM process there are still too many national options and discretions that do not contribute to a complete and unified banking market. We need harmonisation to continue in order to complete the banking union project.
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By Kit Kennedy

With the flip of a switch Monday, the countrys first offshore wind power project began commercial operations. Thats something to celebrateand its only the beginning for this abundant energy resource!

An American First: The nations first offshore wind power project, located off the Rhode Island coast, can be the first of many, as long as federal and state governments continue to lead with smart policies.

Developed by U.S.-based Deepwater Wind, the Block Island Wind Farm is located three miles southeast of Block Island, in Rhode Island waters and features five 6-megawatt turbinesenough to power 17,000 homes; transmission cables connect the turbines to Block Island and the mainland. Four of the turbines went online Monday and Deepwater expects the fifth to be operating next month once a minor fix is made.

Previously, Block Island relied on an electricity plant that burned polluting and expensive diesel oil. By displacing that plant, the Block Island Wind Farm will not only improve public health and air quality, but also reduce the cost of electricity for Block Islanders by as much as 40 percent.

Deepwater employed more than 300 local workers in the construction process, including welders, ironworkers, electricians and carpenters, with vessels moving in and out of four Rhode Island ports. The massive steel support structures for the turbines were built by Gulf Island Fabrication, a Louisiana- and Texas-based offshore oil and gas platform manufacturer.

And these jobs will be only the beginning, if the U.S. continues to commit to offshore wind power. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that by 2050, with the right policies in place, the offshore wind industry could support 160,000 jobs here in America.

Deepwater worked hard, with stakeholders and others, to build support for the project and minimize conflicts. And the Natural Resources Defense Council was proud to join them, other environmental groups and the New England Aquarium in developing specific steps to protect endangered North Atlantic Right Whales in the area during project construction; Deepwater will follow similar protective measures in building other offshore wind projects in the area.

NRDC is proud to have joined other environmental groups, the New England Aquarium, and developer Deepwater Wind in developing steps to protect endangered North Atlantic Right Whales during construction. Thats me visiting during the initial construction.

Block Island is Just the Start for Wind Power

At least ten other U.S. offshore wind projects are already poised to move forward. And soon, the Long Island Power Authority, with the support of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is slated to approve a contract for a 90-megawatt offshore wind project 30 miles northeast of Montauk.

https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus/statuses/775361848040382465 expand=1]

The federal agency in charge of offshore wind power sitingthe Bureau of Ocean Energy Managementhas already granted 11 leases to offshore wind developers in designated wind energy areas along the Atlantic coast. These developers include American companies such as Deepwater Wind and Fishermens Energy, as well as leading European developers like DONG Energy. Overall, the U.S. Department of Energy sees the potential to develop 86 gigawatts of offshore wind power capacity by 2050, enough to power 31 million homes.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management s next offshore wind leasing auction is scheduled for Dec. 15 for the New York wind energy area, an 80,000-acre area located 12 miles south of the Rockaways and Long Beach. New Yorks clean energy agency, NYSERDA, will participate in that auction as part of an innovative plan for the state to guide offshore wind development and promote competition.

Next up: The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is slated to auction leasing rights to an offshore wind energy area on Dec. 15, as offshore wind power continues to make progress here in the U.S. after decades of success in Europe. U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Offshore Wind Costs are Coming Down

Eighty-two offshore wind power projects in a dozen European countries now supply electricity to 8 million European homes. As offshore wind in Europe has scaled up, a robust supply chain has developed and technology has advanced, resulting in plummeting costs there. In fact, prices have dropped by 28 percent since the second half of 2015 alone and continue to fall.

The U.S. offshore wind industry will also experience these lower costs as more projects are built and the U.S. creates its own supply chain. In some areas, such as Long Islands South Fork where electricity prices are high and land for generation or transmission is scarce, offshore wind power is already cost-competitive. The Long Island Power Authority, for instance, has stated that the South Fork offshore wind project is the lowest cost option for that regions needs.

Offshore wind will add economic value in other ways, too. Eighty percent of the electricity used in the U.S. is consumed in coastal states, much of it in population centers close to offshore winds. By avoiding the need for lengthy and expensive new transmission infrastructure, offshore wind can reduce system costs. And because offshore wind power produces the most electricity when demand is highon hot summer afternoons and cold winter days and nightsit can help make the electric grid more reliable and lower wholesale electricity costs, which skyrocket when demand soars. Offshore wind also produces health benefits by displacing fossil fuel power generation, not only protecting our communities but avoiding an array of health-related costs.

Moving Forward

Because of its jobs, infrastructure, clean energy and public health benefits, offshore wind has won bipartisan support at the state level. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, for instance, signed legislation this summer that will lead to the construction of 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind capacity off Massachusetts within a decade. New Yorks Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has committed to making offshore wind a key part of his plan to get 50 percent of New Yorks electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

While offshore wind generation is just beginning, Americas onshore wind industry continues to surge, providing almost 5 percent of U.S. electricity generation last year and surpassing 75 gigawatts of total capacity this year.

During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to strengthen American infrastructure and create jobs. Investing in clean energyfrom energy efficiency to land-based wind to solar and offshore wind poweris the smartest way to do this. For progress on offshore wind to continue at the right pace, the federal government must continue to be an active partner with states like Massachusetts and New York in siting offshore wind infrastructure. As the new administration and Congress take office, the Natural Resources Defense Council will work with other clean energy stakeholders to build the case for this partnership and all the benefits it can produce.

Check out this new video about the Block Island Wind Farm:

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/nrdc.org/videos/10154743067369454/

Kit Kennedy oversees many Natural Resources Defense Council projects relating to energy efficiency, renewable energy and global-warming solutions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its widely anticipated final report on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, confirming that the controversial drilling process indeed impacts drinking water under some circumstances. Notably, the report also removes the EPAs misleading line that fracking has not led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources.

The report, done at the request of Congress, provides scientific evidence that hydraulic fracturing activities can impact drinking water resources in the United States under some circumstances, the agency stated in a media advisory.

This conclusion is a major reversal from the EPAs June 2015 pro-fracking draft report. That specific widespread, systemic line baffled many experts, scientists and landowners whodespite the egregious headlinessaw clear evidence of fracking-related contamination in water samples. Conversely, the EPAs top line encouraged Big Oil and Gas to push for more drilling around the globe.

But as it turns out, a damning expose from Marketplace and APM Reports revealed last month that top EPA officials made critical, last-minute alterations to the agencys draft report and corresponding press materials to soft-pedal clear evidence of frackings ill effects on the environment and public health.

Thomas Burke, EPA deputy assistant administrator and science advisor, discussed the agencys final report released Tuesday.

There are instances when hyrdofracking has impacted drinking water resources. Thats an important conclusion, an important consideration for moving forward, Burke told reporters today, according to The Hill.

Regarding the EPAs contentious national, systemic conclusion, Burke said, thats a different question that this study does not have adequate evidence to really make a conclusive, quantified statement.

In the new report, the authors heeded to the EPAs independent Science Advisory Boards advice to review the widespread systemic impacts line from the June 2015 draft study. The final 1,200-page report omits that line.

Scientists put that language in the draft report, and scientists made the decision not to include it in the final report based on feedback from the Science Advisory Board and their interpretation of the available science, Burke explained.

The Science Advisory Board also took issue with how the draft report inexplicably omitted three critical fracking-contamination casesDimock, Pennsylvania; Parker County, Texas; and Pavillion, Wyoming.

As Pavillion rancher and affected landowner John Fenton testified last year, When EPA launched its national study of frackings drinking water impacts, we thought theyd look first here in Pavillion where theyd already found pollution. But instead they ignored us without explanation. Science means taking the facts as they are. But EPA seems to be intent on finding the facts to support the conclusion theyve already reachedfracking is safe.'

These specific cases studies are now mentioned in the final report.

In the new report, the EPA has identified cases of impacts on drinking water at each stage in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle:

Water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing in times or areas of low water availability, particularly in areas with limited or declining groundwater resources;

Spills during the management of hydraulic fracturing fluids and chemicals or produced water that result in large volumes or high concentrations of chemicals reaching groundwater resources;

Injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into wells with inadequate mechanical integrity, allowing gases or liquids to move to groundwater resources;

Injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids directly into groundwater resources;

Discharge of inadequately treated hydraulic fracturing wastewater to surface water resources; and

Disposal or storage of hydraulic fracturing wastewater in unlined pits, resulting in contamination of groundwater resources.

Burke said that the EPAs assessment provides the scientific foundation for local decision makers, industry, and communities that are looking to protect public health and drinking water resources and make more informed decisions about hydraulic fracturing activities.

This assessment is the most complete compilation to date of national scientific data on the relationship of drinking water resources and hydraulic fracturing, he added.

Unsurprisingly, the oil and gas industry has criticized the report.

It is beyond absurd for the administration to reverse course on its way out the door, American Petroleum Institute Upstream Director Erik Milito told The Hill. The science and data clearly demonstrate that hydraulic fracturing does not lead to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water resources. Unfortunately, consumers have witnessed five years and millions of dollars expended only to see conclusion based in science changed to a conclusion based in political ambiguity.

The industry-funded group Energy In Depth added that despite change in the central conclusion, the report still blows apart the anti-fracking campaigns most common claim, namely that hydraulic fracturing is polluting groundwater all across America.

Meanwhile, public health and environmental groups and activists are saying the opposite.

At last the EPA confirms what independent science has overwhelmingly determined for years, that drilling and fracking contaminate drinking water, said actor and prominent environmentalist Mark Ruffalo on behalf of the national Americans Against Fracking coalition.

Across the country, Americans have had their lives turned upside down as fracking has poisoned the water coming out of their faucets and has made their families sick. Now all of our federal and state elected officials need to take action to protect Americans by banning fracking. Water is life, Ruffalo said.

Five-year @EPA study confirms that #fracking contaminates drinking water https://t.co/ds5XIzbzYf Now officials need to help affected people  Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) December 13, 2016

Greenpeace researcher Jesse Coleman agreed. The EPAs final report on impacts of fracking on groundwater has concluded what too many Americans already know from personal experience: Fracking has caused lasting harm to drinking water sources throughout the country, Coleman said. The most important findings from this study is that drilling, fracking, and the use of hazardous chemicals necessary to frack have caused groundwater contamination. This puts to rest the widely repeated lie that fracking is safe and has never caused drinking water contamination.

Julia Walsh from Frack Action said, The EPA has rightly reported that fracking causes water contamination. For all of the Americans living with this tragedy every day, they are finally validated by the federal government.

Similarly, David Braun, Rootskeeper director, said Kudos to President Obamas EPA for embracing the science about fracking, which clearly demonstrates serious and inherent problems with the practice.

The EPA could have bowed to pressure from the oil and gas industry and didnt, however, now that the EPA has acknowledged the serious inherent problems with fracking, it is incumbent upon the Obama Administration to stand with the thousands of Americans who have had their water poisoned, and protect them from this dangerous practice, Braun continued.

Earthworks policy director Lauren Pagel said that President-elect Donald Trump and his pro-fossil fuels cabinet should take the EPA report to heart.

By listening to its scientists instead of its political advisors, EPAs fracking study sets an example that we hope, but do not expect, the Trump Administration to follow, Pagel said. But a Scott Pruitt EPA would have to ignore 5 years of scientific study, and years of community impacts, to do otherwise. Unfortunately for the still suffering citizens of Pavillion, WY, Dimock, PA and Weatherford, TX, their EPA investigations didnt have advisory boards to publicly remind EPA that science trumps politics.

And Wenonah Hauter, the executive director of Food & Water Watch, said that the EPA has confirmed what weve known all along: fracking can and does contaminate drinking water. We are pleased that the agency has acted on the recommendations of its Science Advisory Board and chosen be frank about the inherent harms and hazards of fracking.
Despite an understanding of environmental risk and knowledge that international climate action would hurt their bottom line, Exxon aggressively pursued development of carbon-heavy Canadian tar sands for decades, a new investigation from InsideClimate News finds. The investigation is published on the heels of Fridays Canadian carbon tax announcement that could drive down tar sands pricing even further.

In another blow for Exxon, a judge ordered Monday that Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey would not have to appear in Dallas for a deposition.

Healey is being sued with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman by the oil giant for investigating Exxons internal climate change research, based on InsideClimate Newss original 2015 series.

For a deeper dive:

Healey: WSJ, Politico PRO, The Hill, AP, Boston Globe, Boston Herald

Commentary: Huffington Post, David Halperin op-ed

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
By Steve Horn

Former Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry, a board member of Energy Transfer Partnersowner of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)has been named U.S. Secretary of Energy by President-elect Donald Trump.

Perry, the former chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), ran for president as part of the Republican Party primaries in 2015, but his campaign ended quickly. He announced his run for the Oval Office in 2015 while facing felony charges for official state corruption in Texas.

Former Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry, a board member of Energy Transfer Partnersowner of the Dakota Access Pipelinehas been named U.S. Secretary of Energy. Wikimedia

As reported by DeSmog at the time, at a 2015 town hall meeting in Iowa during his short-lived presidential run, Perry was asked by someone in the audience about his Energy Transfer Partners board position. Perry said that he thought his ties to DAPL were irrelevant, frankly in response to the question.

All of our sources of energy in this country will be important, Perry said at the town hall. If America is going to be energy secure, were going to have to have infrastructure. I happen to think its important for us as a country to have these sources of energy.

Trump and DAPL

One of Perrys donors for his short-lived presidential run was Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, who also served as a major donor to Trumps presidential campaign. Warren also sat on the advisory board for Perrys 2015 run for president.

After Trumps election, Warren expressed a sense of elation over the future of the hotly-contested DAPL, which has erupted into the largest and most prolonged grassroots direct action mobilization against a pipeline in U.S. history at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes reservation in North Dakota.

Having a government that actually backs up what they say that were going to support infrastructure, were going to support job creation, were going to support growth in America and then actually does it?, Warren told The Dallas Morning News. My God, this is going to be refreshing.

In a recent interview with Fox News Chris Wallace, Trump said that when he takes office on Jan. 20, 2017, he plans to move forward and approve the currently stalled DAPL. Until recently, Trump owned tens of thousands of dollars worth of Energy Transfer Partners stock. Trumps energy adviser for his presidential campaign and major donor, Harold HammCEO and founder of Continental Resourcesalso will see some of his companys oil flow through DAPL.

Ironically, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Perry will now head up is an agency he said he would get rid of during his run for the presidency during the 2012 election cycle. In a 2011 GOP primary debates, in a now unforgettable gaffe, Perry actually forgot the name of it when he proclaimed hed throw it by the wayside.

Climate Denier, Former Head of IOGCC

Perry, a vocal supporter of slashing regulations as applied to the oil and gas industry, is also a climate change denier.

He does have some experienced heading up an energy-related agency, or at least a quasi-agency which functions much more like a lobbying organization: the IOGCC. IOGCC serves as an interstate compact of the 30 oil and gas states.

Under Perrys leadership, IOGCC pushed through a model resolution in multiple states which called for the maintenance of what is often referred to as the Halliburton Loophole. That provision tucked into the Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement exemption, as applied to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for oil and gas, for the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act.

At the time, a bill called the FRAC Act was moving through Congress, which called for the lifting of the exemption. Trumps choice to head the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), as reported by DeSmog, introduced the first Halliburton Loophole bill back in 1999.

Serious Conflicts of Interest

In a press statement reacting to Trumps nomination of Perry to serve as Energy Secretary, the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth said that Perry is uniquely unqualified for the job.

Rick Perry might be uniquely unqualified to run the Department of Energy, said Friends of the Earth Executive Director Ben Schrieber. He has so little regard for the agency that he has pushed for it to be eliminated during his presidential race.

Governor Perry also has serious conflicts of interest that should disqualify him from the job. Perry is on the payroll of the company that attacked Indigenous people in an effort to forcibly construct the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The future of DAPL is somewhat up in the air and those on the ground in Standing Rock have pledged continued resistance through the winter as necessary. But at least in so far as the Trump Administration goes, with the naming of Perry to head the DOE, the old adage applies: personnel is policy.

Reposted with permission from our media associate DeSmogBlog.
Following weeks of speculation, President-elect Donald Trump has officially nominated Rex Tillersonthe longtime leader of worlds largest fossil fuel company, ExxonMobilto be secretary of state.

On the president-elects favorite mode of communication, Trump tweeted that Tillerson is one of the truly great business leaders of the world and likes his vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/statuses/808653723639697408

The confirmation of Tillerson as the nations top diplomat, however, will face intense scrutiny not only because the Exxon chairman and CEO has no governmental or diplomatic experience, but also due to his two-decade relationship with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, who awarded Tillerson with the Order of Friendship in 2013, one of the highest honors Russia awards to foreigners. As the New York Times reported, Exxon has a partnership with Rosneft, the Russian state oil company. Drilling deals worth tens of billions of dollars in Russias Arctic can only move forward if American sanctions are lifted.

#TrumpWatch: Trump Picks Exxon CEO for Secretary of State Despite Close Ties to Putin https://t.co/801iX2gKEu @greenpeaceusa @foe_us  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) December 10, 2016

Tillerson has been critical of sanctions. We do not support sanctions, generally, because we dont find them to be effective unless they are very well implemented comprehensibly, and thats a very hard thing to do, he said at Exxons annual meeting in 2014. So we always encourage the people who are making those decisions to consider the very broad collateral damage of who are they really harming.

Trumps latest controversial cabinet choice comes amid news of CIA officials saying they have intelligence showing Russian email hacking to tip the balance of the presidential election in favor of Trump.

Politico Pro also notes that Exxons interests in Western Canadas oil sands is another potential confirmation roadblock.

According Politico, some of Tillersons biggest backers have a financial stake a successful confirmation, including James Baker, the George H.W. Bush secretary of state, who is a partner at a law firm that has represented Exxon as well as Rosneft. Former Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Sec. Robert Gates, who reportedly recommended Tillerson, work for Exxon through their international consulting firm, Rice Hadley Gates.

Incidentally, with the choice of the Exxon boss, Trump has picked someone who, unlike himself, actually believes in climate change. Exxons own website clearly acknowledges climate change and announced its support of the Paris climate agreement. Even Tillerson himself said this past October that its risks are real and require serious action.

But there is no denying that Tillersons company sells a product that fuels climate change and has spent years and millions of dollars funding climate change denial, even though Exxon corporate documents from the late 1970 stated there is no doubt that carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels was a growing problem. Attorneys general across several states are pursuing a high-profile investigations into what Exxon knew about climate change.

The outcry against Tillerson is unprecedented. Environmental organizations and even Republican senators Marco Rubio and John McCain have voiced concern over Trumps latest controversial nomination.

I dont know what Mr. Tillersons relationship with Vladimir Putin was, but Ill tell you it is a matter of concern to me, McCain told Fox News.

Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState  MR  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 11, 2016

Trumps cabinet members and top staff choices have been a circus parade of climate change deniers with clear ties to fossil fuel interests who plan on dismantling the very agencies they will be heading, such as Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

#TrumpWatch: Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, 'Puppet of the Fossil Fuel Industry,' to Head EPA https://t.co/ADubM0DjDU @Ethical_Corp @CleanTec  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) December 9, 2016

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is officially Trumps pick for secretary of energy, a federal agency Perry infamously wanted to eliminate but could not name during a Republican presidential primary debate in November 2011.

Perry happens to sit on the corporate board for Energy Transfer Partners which operates the contested Dakota Access Pipeline, which Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Director Benjamin Schreiber called a serious conflict of interest that should disqualify him from the job.

Rhea Suh, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, also said the cabinet choices become more absurd every day.

By nominating Perry, President-elect Trump is continuing to pack his cabinet with allies of big polluters who put profits over people, Suh said. The American people didnt vote to return to the dirty old days when smog choked our cities. And we didnt vote to turn a blind eye to the dangers of climate change. We oppose Perry and this entire special interest take-over of the American government.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune similarly expressed dismay over Tillerson and Trumps incoming administration.

Trumps cabinet represents a whos who of climate-deniers and fossil fuel hacks, so were shocked but not surprised that he chose the head of one of the worlds largest and most environmentally disastrous oil companies to be his ambassador to the world. Tillersons nomination cements the fact that clean air, clean water, and our climate are public enemy number one in Trumps America, he said.

ExxonMobil not only deliberately concealed its knowledge of climate change for decades but is responsible for one of the costliest environmental disasters in history, Brune continued. At a time when the climate crisis is deepening, both the United States and the world deserve much better than having one of the planets top fossil fuel tycoons run U.S. foreign policy. We urge Senators, who are elected to represent and protect the American people, to stand up for families across the country and the world and oppose this nomination.

Annie Leonard, Greenpeace executive director, said the appointment of Tillerson to be our chief diplomat is an affront to global progress and will place the US economy, our security, and our standing in the world in the same failing predicament Exxon is in right now. The global community continues to send a strong, collective message that it is ditching fossil fuels for clean energy. Rex Tillerson hid climate science so he could cash in on disaster, instead of transitioning his company to a position of true leadership. This appointment is a desperate grab for power by a failing industry that is perfectly fine bringing the American people down with it.

Tillerson is beloved by Russian oligarchs and oil magnates. He has used legal action to harass civil society daring enough to attempt to protect itself from existential harm. He has led his company and his industry to double down on an energy source that is literally poisoning the world and making it harder for humans to survive on it. At this moment in time, choosing a man who knows the world through the single frame of the oil and gas industry may actually be more dangerous than picking somebody with no understanding of the world at all, Leonard concluded.

Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen said that the choice of Tillerson is grim news for essential U.S. leadership in tackling climate change.

Rex Tillerson and his company are disproportionately responsible for unconscionable backsliding and delay on climate action. A lifelong employee of Exxon, Tillerson has overseen the companys aggressive attack on state Attorneys General who are investigating Exxons deception regarding climate science. His company is a main sponsor of the false debate that climate change-denying EPA appointee Scott Pruitt and others are using to slow crucial progress, Van Noppen said.

The sad irony is that by acknowledging the existence of man-made climate change and paying lip service to the Paris global climate agreement, Rex Tillerson may actually appear somewhat responsible in comparison to the rest of the incoming Trump administrationa sign of just how abysmally low the bar has been set by the President-elect and his cabinet, Van Noppen continued.

By appointing Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, Donald Trump is showing Americans and the world that he quite literally intends the interests of large powerful corporations to dominate our countrys decision-makingmaking it all the more important for Americans to fiercely resist the big corporate takeover of our democracy. Earthjustice will be playing its role in the courts and we are proud to stand with strong allies who will be organizing and mobilizing on all fronts.

Stephen Kretzmann, the executive director of Oil Change International, also criticized the nomination.

Donald Trump made it clear during the campaign that he wants to take the oiland in Rex Tillerson, hes found his man. Trump has spotlighted what most of the world already knows: U.S. foreign policy is governed by the myopic, perceived need to access and control oil. The honesty and naked truth of the revealed petrostate is actually quite refreshing, Kretzmann said.

To everyone keeping score at home, you can mark this up as Putins payback for election intervention. The nomination of Rex Tillerson has revealed with startling clarity that our government is being set up to support the interests of Big Oil and Putin, not the American people or the planet. Now more than ever, we demand a Separation of Oil and State.

Dr. Andrew Steer, the president and CEO of World Resources Institute added, as the leader of U.S. diplomatic efforts, Rex Tillerson would carry a serious obligation to look out for the interests of all Americans. Climate change is one of the greatest risks facing humanityand for the sake of our health, economy and security, America must continue to lead on this issue.

ExxonMobil has long opposed action to slow climate change. While the company has recently acknowledged the human role in climate change and declared support for the Paris Agreement, Tillerson would need to go much further, Steer said. One of the critical tests at his confirmation hearings must be his demonstration of a true commitment to Americas leadership on climate action, including fully supporting the Paris Agreement and honoring the countrys international climate commitments. Anything short of that would be unacceptable to the majority of Americansmore than 70 percent of whom support the nations participation in the Agreement.
COLUMBUS  A 38-year-old local woman pleaded not guilty to stealing an Oklahoma womans identity to work illegally at a Columbus manufacturing plant and will go to trial next month in Platte County District Court.

Maria Vega pleaded not guilty to two counts of identity theft after she was accused of using the Oklahoma womans name and Social Security number to work illegally at Behlen Mfg. Co. for eight years beginning in 2008.

District Judge Robert Steinke scheduled Vega for a Jan. 30 jury trial on the charges, one a Class 2A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and the other a Class 3 felony with a penalty of up to four years in prison and two years of post-release supervision.

Vega has been free from jail after posting a $25,000 bond, 10 percent allowed for release, shortly after her arrest in November.

Court documents describe a Platte County Sheriffs Office investigation that got underway when Investigator Dane Jensen was contacted by Grace A. Moreno of Okemah, Oklahoma, who claimed to be the victim of identity theft.

The 35-year-old victim said that for the last several years Behlen in Nebraska appeared on her tax documents reporting she earned income from the company, Jensen wrote in his probable cause arrest statement.

Grace believed that someone was working at Behlen Manufacturing using her identity, including her name, Social Security number and date of birth, the investigator wrote in his statement.

Jensen said the Oklahoman was able to provide a copy of her birth certificate, Social Security card, an Oklahoma identification card, Oklahoma drivers license and other documentation.

I determined that a female was employed there (at Behlen Mfg.) by the name of Grace A. Moreno and was using the same Social Security as Grace A. Moreno of Okemah, Oklahoma, Jensen wrote.

During subsequent questioning, the Columbus woman admitted she was born in Mexico and worked under the false identity since 2008, the investigator said.
Students with disabilities will soon have an easier time requesting test accommodations from the College Board.

Starting on Jan. 1, most students who use testing accommodations at their schools through an individualized education program or a 504 plan will have those same accommodations automatically approved for taking a range of College Board tests, including the SAT, the Preliminary SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and Advanced Placement exams.

The College Board announced the changesand that it would begin to provide additional testing supports to some English-language learners who are taking the SATearlier this month, following criticism for its testing practices regarding students with disabilities.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justices civil rights division began to look into the College Boards and ACT Inc.'s practices after hearing persistent complaints that they reject many requests for accommodations that are routinely provided by schools, such as extra time or frequent breaks. Students who are used to having testing accommodations at school typically have to take the exams without them and risk a compromised performance, or, in some states, they can take the tests with their usual accommodations but not receive a certified college-reportable score.

This has posed challenges for students with disabilities, particularly those in the states that require high school students to take either the SAT or the ACT. Beginning in January, school testing accommodation coordinators will have to answer two questions affirmatively to have most students requests be approved: Is the requested accommodation(s) in the students plan? and Has the student used the accommodation(s) for school testing? This change is expected to reduce the approval time for a vast majority of accommodation requests, the College Board said.

Their Best Work

The accommodations that will be automatically approved under this new policy include extended time, extra or extended breaks, the use of a computer to type essays or short-answer responses, the use of a four-function calculator, and the use of a reader or a scribe, said Zachary Goldberg, a spokesman for the College Board.

If a student requests the use of assistive technology, such as a screen reader, the College Board may follow up to determine what the technology is, that it functions appropriately with our assistive technology test form, and that it doesnt violate test construct, Goldberg said in an email.

He added that there will be rare instances where a student might not receive a requested accommodation after reviewfor example, when theaccommodation would compromise test construct or validity. A student requesting to see the test in advance would fall under that category.

However, our primary objective is to ensure that students receive the accommodations they need to show their best work on our assessments, Goldberg said.

Lingering Concerns

When Robbi Cooper, a parent in Austin, Texas, who is involved in the state chapter of the parent-led grassroots group Decoding Dyslexia, heard the news, she was cautiously grateful. She has been advocating for a fairer process for testing accommodations for months now.

Her son, Ben, who has dyslexia, is in 10th grade and uses a screenreader daily in his public school. His initial request to the College Board to use a screen reader on the PSAT and AP exams was denied.

Frustrated with what she felt was a systemic problem that puts students with disabilities at a disadvantage, Cooper filed a complaint with the Justice Departments civil rights division. She also started a petition calling for the College Board to allow screen readers on tests for students with dyslexia.

Cooper also appealed the College Boards decision, and her son was ultimately allowed to use a screen reader on his PSATbut she said the process was expensive and time-consuming. The College Boards new policy, she said, should help students who dont have the resources to go through that process. This changes the dynamic 180 [degrees] for kids with disabilities, for families, and for schools, Cooper said. But shes still waiting to see exactly how the College Board will judge assistive technology accommodationsmany of which, she said, are standard in schools and needed.

Until I see those clearly written down, Im not ready to celebrate quite yet, she said.

Supports for English-Learners

Also starting Jan. 1, English-learners who take a state-funded SAT during the school day will receive test instructions in their native language, and will be able to use an approved word-to-word bilingual glossary.

Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, and other widely used languages willbe among the first to be offered, the College Boards Goldberg said.

In the fall, ELL students taking a state-funded SAT during the school day can also receive extended time on the exam (up to time-and-a-half) and will be able to take the test in a room with fewer distractions.

Only a handful of states fund the SAT during the school day: Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, plus the District of Columbia. The College Board expects to expand its ELL-testing supports to students taking the SAT in all states soon, Goldberg said.

This change comes just a few weeks after ACT Inc. announced it would start providing the same accommodations for English-learners in the fall of 2017.
A multitiered system of supports for students is a model with a lot of moving parts and cooperation needed at every level, from the classroom to the state education agency. As a study of Michigans statewide MTSS initiative found, initial implementation is fragile, and sustained support must be provided to expect sustained implementation.

Problems can arise at any level of the system, from the core instruction for all students at Tier 1, to Tier 2 interventions for students falling behind, to the intensive services provided for students at Tier 3. Heres how Ingham Intermediate school districta regional agency serving 12 local districts and 10 charter schoolsbroke out the costs and common challenges at every phase of its multitiered system of supports model for academic and behavioral improvement.

Shared Leadership

What it is: Building consensus among critical leaders and staff members and setting up infrastructure to begin a multitiered system of supports in a new school.

Annual cost per student: $1.59 for the first three years; no ongoing cost.

Challenges: Ingham won early buy-in from school and district leaders for its mutltitiered-supports initiative in 2009 with $11 million in start-up funding from the federal stimulus package. But principal and superintendent turnover has led to uneven support from school to school and district to district. Districts have suspended implementation for a few years at a time when leaders were not interested or did not understand the model.

Universal Screening

What it is: Assessing all students academic and behavioral status, both initially and at regular times during the school year. This includes literacy and math screening for all students in K-8 and for 9-12 students previously identified as at risk of falling behind academically, as well as behavior evaluations for all K-12 students.

Annual cost per student: $7.50 for the first three years; $7.75 ongoing.

Challenges: Setup includes both the buying the tests themselves and training teachers and staff to use them, and in Ingham, training and winning buy-in from staff was the bigger hurdle. Screening was a battle in the beginning, said Laura Colligan, Inghams supervisor for student instructional services. People were worried we would be tracking kids. You always heard one horror story of [someone who heard] some child was put in a special [education] program based on one assessment screener.

Progress Monitoring

What it is: Using formative assessments, observations, and other data to track students progress and gauge whether a particular intervention is helping them.

Annual cost per student: $5.50 for the first three years; 55 cents ongoing.

Challenges: We had to look at how we used our personnel resources, said Lisa Francisco, the principal of Alaiedon Elementary School in the Mason, Mich., school district (part of Ingham). We use paraprofessionals a lot more instructionally than they were before, in progress monitoring. They needed training. We brought them into planning. ... They are very stressed right now, but they are far more valuable there.

Monitoring individual students has also led to tough conversations about teachers expectations for particular groups of students. Sometimes, there were kids who were not put in Tier 3, as teachers requested, because the teachers had not shown that they were really accessing the [Tier 1] core curriculum, said Pamela Westfall, an interventionist at Elliott Elementary School, part of the Holt public school system.

Data-Based Decisionmaking and Problem-Solving

What it is: Collecting, analyzing, and summarizing students data, alone or in a group, to answer questions and match students with appropriate instruction and interventions.

Annual cost per student: $9.60 for the first three years; 96 cents ongoing.

Challenges: One of our mistakes was just bringing together data on everything, said Helen McNamara, Inghams assistant superintendent for budget and financing. It was too much data; people got overwhelmed, and we never really had time to say what is the so what? of this data. Now, [school] teams meet and talk about one or two things. You have math, reading, behavior: Just focus on your weakest area and start unpacking that.

Research-Based Instruction, Intervention, and Practices

What it is: Using programs and practicesin core instruction and for interventionsthat have reliable scientific evidence of being effective with the students who are using them.

Annual cost per student: The core curriculum cost $100-$120 for reading and $85-$100 for math. Interventions ranged considerably, from $12 to $710.

Challenges: Ingham got some pushback against uniform curricula: Many of our districts had no core reading curriculum when we started, and only one had a research-based one, McNamara said. Now, 11 out of 12 do.

Ingham also constantly works to provide a big enough pool of evidence-based interventions for every subject and grade level, with high school interventions particularly scarce.

Student and Family Involvement

What it is: Providing online and in-person training for parents to understand the multitiered system and to support and monitor their students progress at home.

Annual cost per student: $3.63 for the first three years; no ongoing costs.

Challenges: You have to make sure you have a lot of consensus, but we didnt get a lot of training on how you build that consensus, Francisco said. How do you hear the voices of the naysayers, help them know theyve been heard and yet that we are still moving forward?
Officials with the U.S. Department of Education said recently that an Idaho school district violated federal law when it segregated elementary students into single-sex classrooms.

Middleton Heights Elementary was among the dozens of public schools targeted by the American Civil Liberties Union over whether single-sex learning should be continued.

According to the Education Department, Idaho school officials violated Title IXa federal law banning sex discrimination in educationbecause they failed to adequately justify the need to separate the boys from the girls for all school subjects in grades 2-4.

Furthermore, the investigation found that the school offered larger classroom space for the boys to exercise and move around, while the girls were encouraged to maintain a quiet environment. School officials also emphasized competition for boys and cooperation for girls.

The department sent a letter informing the ACLU of its decision earlier this month.
Nearly 40 teenagers came together at a public library late on a Wednesday afternoon here last month to listen to a marine biologist talk about phytoplankton. These microscopic marine plants live suspended in water and can grow out of control, causing harmful algal blooms that form what is known as a red tide.

The setting was informal: As they snacked on pizza and soda, the students sat around large tables or stretched out on the floor while Jennifer Vreeland went through her scientific presentation.

These students were taking part in whats known as a teen science cafe, one of a growing number of such events happening across the country.

Teen science cafes bring young people together with professional scientists outside of school to discuss newsworthy topics in the field. In many cases, the participants get a chance to do some sort of hands-on activity. The meetings are designed to be casual and fun. The teenagers also take charge of the events with the help of adult mentors.

Its empowering for kids to be able to ask questions and meet scientists, said David Evans , the executive director of the National Science Teachers Association . When you get that kind of engagement going, magic happens sometimes. Its a lot closer to the real thing than what they might see in a classroom or out of a book.

Science cafes for adults began in England in the 1990s and quickly spread across the world. These events are often held in bars, and while the beer and wine are flowing, participants have lively discussions with creative titles such as SeaSI and Waiter, Theres a Carcinogen in My Soup.

Broadening the Age Range

In 2007, the National Science Foundation provided a grant to Science Education Solutions, a New Mexico-based research and development company invested in promoting science and technology literacy, to see if the idea could be modified to work for teenagers, and Cafe Scientifique New Mexico was born. NSF provided funds to establish the Teen Science Cafe Network in 2012 to enable and encourage other organizations to develop their own teen science cafes. There are now more than 50 teen science cafes in operation around the country, and theyre located in 27 states.

The Florida Teen SciCafe Partnership was one of five founding members of the network. And the teen science cafe here in Sarasota is part of that partnership.

A team of teenage interns at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium runs the cafes, assisted by alumni of the one-year program.

In Sarasota, the students listened as Vreeland covered several topics, including: her unusual background (she was a model before becoming a scientist); how her lab monitors red tides; the dangers of brevetoxins, which are neurotoxic substances found in red tide that can cause fish kills; and how drones are being used to collect water samples during inclement weather.

Afterward, there was a lively question-and-answer session, and the students had an opportunity to see phytoplankton under a microscope.

Vreeland said the teenagers in the audience really impressed her by how well they were able to follow her lecture.

These kids are asking questions that I know at their age I would not even dream of thinking about, she said. Theyre super talented.

Sixteen-year-old Garrett Turner said Vreelands talk about phytoplankton was fascinating.

Not many kids really know about the importance of this organism to the ecosystem or how its effects are widespread, said Turner, whos a junior at Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota.

Turner was a Mote intern last year, and this year hes in the alumni program. He has attended several different teen science cafes and plans to study science when he goes to college.

Cool Line of Work

Going to these cafes makes me lean a little bit towards marine biology as a possible major, said Turner. Some of the professions of some of the speakers have been really interesting. It seemed like a cool line of work.

Lauren France is a senior at Cardinal Mooney High School, who is also an alumna of the teen intern program.

Its really cool getting to work and speak with actual scientists, said France.

The 17-year-old called her school science classes awesome, but said she prefers the informal lessons offered through the teen science cafes.

Its a lot of hands-on work, said France of the cafes. Its more fun. Its not just answer questions, do some homework. Its very interactive. Its a completely different setting than school, so I enjoy it much more.

But not all of the teenagers in attendance plan to pursue a science-related career.

Mae Fahnestock is an 18-year-old senior at Sarasota High School whos also in the teen intern alumni program.

She said she plans to major in international studies or cultural anthropology, but she expects that the skills shes learned through the program will still help her down the line.

She helps to promote the program through social media and by spreading the word at her school, and she said the program taught her how to collaborate with other teens to achieve a common goal.

I learned how to start from the bottom and build from that, and I think this is definitely a good life skill, said Fahnestock.

Some science teachers in the Sarasota area also give their students extra credit for attending teen science cafes. The events are free and are open to any teenager in the community.
The last time you grappled with a needlessly complicated problem, did you say something like, Hey, this isnt rocket science? After all, rocket science does serve well as a standard against which to measure the difficulty of a problemjust look at some of those equations . But teachers work on hard problems, too, and not many can be as neatly quantified as the formula for a rockets equivalent engine exhaust velocity . In fact, some years ago a rocket scientist I know told me that we work on harder problems than he does.

During the past year, Ive learned that teachers and rocket scientists have much more in common than working on hard problemsso much so, that we should consider ourselves kindred spirits.

This realization began last January when Raytheon Missile Systems , a long-time supporter of public education, named elementary teacher Ashley Curtis, high school teacher Cymry DeBoucher, and me as their inaugural Leaders in Education . Since then, weve had a chance to dine with Raytheon vice presidents, tour a Raytheon factory, and attend the companys Presidents Award Ceremony dinner. During those activities, Ive noticed three traits that teachers and rocket scientists share in our professional DNA.

1. Were both idealistic true believers.

Teachers and rocket scientists are idealists who truly believe that our nations freedom, growth, and security depend on the work we do in our respective careers. Teachers believe in the Center for Teaching Quality s Executive Director Barnett Berrys quote that teaching is the career that makes all others possible. So the countrys success, by whatever measures you consider, ultimately depends on teachers properly developing our human resources. Beyond developing our workforce, our success depends on teachers to develop a critical mass of citizens knowledgeable enough to responsibly execute their civic duties.

Existential threat is no cliche to rocket scientists in the defense industry. Ever mindful of the danger that exists beyond our allies and our frontiers, rocket scientists know that when diplomacy breaks down and the unimaginable becomes real, the path to survival may depend on the missile systems they develop. After our lunch at Raytheon, we were walking across the property and some F-16s loudly flew overhead. Our host, quoting the well-known expression, said, that was the sound of freedom. Hyperbole? I dont think its an exaggeration any more than Berrys quote.

Its easy to expect that rocket scientists in other endeavors, like communications or space exploration, also see their work as vital to the country by keeping us connected, informed, and curious.

2. We both have to face public perception.

Teachers and rocket scientists often face negative and misinformed public perceptions of what we do, in spite of the fact that most people trust teachers and support our national defense. The teacher-leader movement has spawned multiple pathways to make our work more visible. Now, more teachers run for local school boards. We also reach out directly to lawmakers to inform them of the impact policy has on our practice. In Arizona, through our Take Your Legislator to School program , we invite lawmakers to spend a day in our schools to see our expertise and needs.

One acquaintance from the defense industry told me she also tries to make her work more visible. She related that she used to shy away from discussing her job in social settings in order to avoid pushback for being in the defense industry. Now, she openly discusses the non-classified parts of what she does and why its important.

Raytheons web page illustrates its commitment to public engagement. It features their work with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and a profile of engineer Kristy Madigo , who battled severe disabilities to become an engineer. (Raytheon is included in the Disability Equality Index of the best places to work, developed by the American Association of People with Disabilities and the U. S. Business Leadership Network.)

Raytheon works directly with schools as well. In Tucson, Ariz., for example, it collaborates with schools that sponsor a Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program. MESA is an early outreach program designed to prepare members to major in technical fields. A Raytheon engineer adopts each school and attends meetings, serving as a mentor and role model. The capstone event each year is MESA Day, in which students compete in engineering events. Raytheon engineers volunteer to help design and judge events. The company freely admits its motive in supporting educationRaytheon knows what Barnett Barry knows: Teachers lay the foundation for their future employees. (Disclosure: I facilitated the MESA program at my school for 21 years. The rocket scientist who told me that teachers work on harder problems than he does was the engineer who mentored my students for a couple of years.)

3. We both collaborate on a day-to-day basis.

In addition to big-picture matters like public perception and contributing to the welfare of the country, teachers and rocket scientists have at least one thing in common in their daily work: They cant function without collaboration with their peers. In the open floor design of the factory we visited, different teams worked in sight of each other on their various components, and nobody worked alone. At the Presidents Awards Ceremony, my teaching colleagues and I noted it was clear that Raytheon Missiles Systems President Taylor W. Lawrence was passionate about rewarding exceptional teams.

Kindred Spirits, not Identical Twins

For all we have in common, Id speculate that in three key areasopen positions, evaluations, and career pathsteachers and rocket scientists part ways.

Everyone knows about the teacher shortage in education, and we read that the nations demand for engineers is not being met by the number of graduates. Although open positions in rocket science result from the difficulty in finding qualified applicants, open positions in schools often result from qualified teachers leaving the profession because of the current attitudes toward public education.

When Ive asked my rocket scientist friends how theyre evaluated, theyre vague in their answers. Theyre not deceptive or secretive, mind you, its more like the concept is unfamiliar to them. I have no doubt that in some manner their job performance is periodically reviewed, but ultimately, Id guess their evaluation is tightly linked to the teams objective product performance, rather the imprecise and subjective means by which teachers are evaluated.

Its clear from Raytheons career page that they dont expect every employee to be a graduate of the same department at the university. Rather, over 70 talent areas can be searched for open jobs. (Oddly, rocket science doesnt make the list, illustrating the distributed nature of the work). The site also lists 11 career paths, ranging from accounting to engineering to supply chainonly a bit of a wider range than in education.

Clearly, getting rockets to their targets takes an exceptionally diverse set of aptitudes, a lot like teaching. But unlike teaching, it doesnt appear that there is a one size fits all approach to career development in the space industry.

A Lasting Impression

During the lunch with vice presidents at Raytheon, the three teacher Leaders in Education learned much about the companys missions and operations. In turn, Raytheon staff members peppered us with thoughtful questions about education policy and problems, as well as what we considered to be paths to solutions.

They were particularly interested in our ideas about how the company could help. It left a deep impression that when one of the worlds leading companies reaches out to learn about schools, it didnt turn to district administrators; it turned to full-time classroom teachers. This illustrates one final commonality between our professions: Rocket scientists, like teacher leaders, recognize that any discussion about teaching must include teachers themselves. Its not rocket science.
Earlier today the Board of the European Investment Bank approved more than EUR 10.5 billion of new financing for innovation, resource efficiency, education, water infrastructure and sustainable transport, as well as small business investment, across Europe and around the world. The approval of 26 new projects backed by the EFSI guarantee under the Investment Plan for Europe brought the total related investment to over EUR 162 billion, well over half the EUR 315 billion target set for the end of 2018.

The shareholders of the European Investment Bank also approved the EIB Groups first ever Gender Strategy that will strengthen the impact on gender equality of EIB lending and support for projects that increase the economic participation of women.

At the end of a difficult year for Europe, the EIB Group has delivered on its challenging commitments. After little over a year since the start of the Investment Plan for Europe, we have financed projects that will mobilise well over 50% of the additional investment the plan is supposed to generate in three years. This is a tremendous success. We have done so while exceeding the EIB Groups overall investment targets, in particular on SMEs, responding to local needs across Europe and beyond. We have also continued to contribute to innovation, and remained the single largest source of financing for climate action. said Werner Hoyer, European Investment Bank President.

Empowering women to support sustainability around the world

The Board also approved the EIB Groups Gender Strategy aimed at embedding gender equality in the Groups activities. The strategy covers EIB lending, blending and advisory activity both inside and outside the European Union. The Gender Strategy will take effect in January 2017. It will support the protection of womens and girls rights, enable the EIB to increase its positive impact on gender equality, and help focus support on projects that increase the participation of women in the labour market and economy.

Werner Hoyer said, There is abundant evidence to show that gender equality and the economic empowerment of women leads to faster economic development, increased competitiveness, and more prosperous communities. That in turn helps to create to more efficient and effective businesses, better management of our natural resources and overall more socially cohesive and stable societies. I welcome this important decision by our board today. It will ensure the EUs Bank has better tools at its disposal to address discrimination and boost inclusive growth by empowering women.

Todays approval was welcomed by the EC Commissioner in charge of gender equality and anti-discrimination policy, Vera Jourova who said: "The EU Bank and the European Investment Fund are taking an important step towards protecting womens and girls rights and on operations that will empower women economically."

Following implementation of the new gender strategy the EIB will identify targeted investment opportunities that increase female participation and support economic empowerment, access to employment and support female entrepreneurs.

Strengthening innovation and research across Europe

Todays board meeting approved EUR 1.2 billion for new investment to strengthen Europes knowledge economy. This included new investment to expand facilities at nine public universities across Greece, support for cutting edge neurology and genetics research in Cyprus, and to expand university research and teaching facilities in Rome.

The EIB also approved new corporate financing of innovation to improve medical technology in Germany, the use of membrane cells in Spain, and the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in Italy.

Funding for innovation included initiatives to modernise food production and related innovation in Austria and Hungary, improving the health impact of dairy products in Finland, improving anti-allergy treatment in Denmark, and developing new steel products in France, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.

Reducing energy use and improving energy infrastructure

Reflecting the European Investment Banks leading global role supporting climate related investment the banks shareholders approved new lending totalling EUR 1.9 billion to enable more efficient use of energy and other natural resources and energy.

Following todays meeting the EIB expects to support new schemes that will improve the construction of energy efficient buildings in France, enhance the provision of energy efficient social housing in Scotland, expand district heating networks in Italy, back adaptation of municipal buildings in Romania to reduce energy use, and continue support for near-zero energy buildings in Sweden.

New projects to increase the provision of hydrogen buses in France, support small scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Germany and strengthen sustainable forestry in Ireland were also approved.

Recognising the need to address the security of energy supply across Europe and beyond the board also approved financing of a new electricity interconnector between Norway and Germany, investment in local electricity networks in Finland and improving gas distribution in Italy, Romania, Moldova and Northern Ireland.

Backing continued investment in crucial infrastructure

Across Europe significant investment is needed in key national and local infrastructure. Reflecting these specific needs the EIB board approved support for new investment in strategic infrastructure totalling EUR 3.3 billion. This includes new financing for sustainable transport in Spain and France, improvements to ports in Spain and Italy, backed new railway investment in Italy, Montenegro, Poland and Turkey and new roads in Poland.

Proposed new investment to improve water distribution in Hamburg, Romania and the Dutch province of Brabant were also supported.

Reflecting acute housing needs the board also backed plans to finance new social housing developments in Ireland, the United Kingdom and in Italy. New EIB financing will also improve agricultural storage and logistics facilities across Ukraine.

Ensuring that companies across Europe can expand

Recognising the crucial role played by small business to create jobs and grasp new opportunities the EIB board approved more than EUR 2.5 billion of new support for SME lending by local banks and financial institution partners.

This will build on the success of the existing trade finance facility in Greece and also support new SME lending in 15 European countries. Outside Europe new lending programmes will support private sector investment in Argentina, Ethiopia, Turkey and East Africa.

New EIB lending under the Investment Plan for Europe

New support for a total of 26 schemes, representing more than EUR 2.6 billion of new lending supported by the EU Budget guarantee under the Investment Plan for Europe, were given the go-ahead. These included SME lending with local banks, sustainable transport, cross border electricity interconnection, corporate innovation and water investment. New lending backed by the joint EIB-European Commission EFSI guarantee will support investment in 22 EU member states and Norway.

The board meeting included representatives of the banks 28 EU member state shareholders, as well as the European Commission.

This weeks EIB board meeting follows a meeting of the EFSI Investment Committee, held on 8 December. It approved 26 transactions which the Investment Committee had cleared for financing under the Investment Plan for Europe guarantee from the EU Budget. Projects approved by the EFSI committee may be submitted to the next or future EIB board meetings.

Negotiations for the approved loans are expected to be finalised in the coming months. All projects, including those earmarked for support under the EU budget guarantee, need to receive approval of the EIB Board prior to loan contracts being finalised. Loans and guarantees approved by the Board of Directors will be finalised in cooperation with promoters and beneficiaries, and figures may vary.

Background information

Overview of projects approved by the EIB Board

Overview of projects approved by the EIB Board of Directors following positive assessment by the EFSI Investment Committee

The EIB Group Gender Strategy will come into force in January 2017. A Gender Action Plan to implement the Strategy will be developed over the course of that same year, and will define specific milestones, prioritisation and phasing of activities across the Bank and the Fund.

The Gender Strategy seeks to increase the impact of the Groups actions on gender equality by focusing on three strategic objectives, whilst recognising regional and sectoral specificities in the Groups portfolio:

Protect: To protect womens rights and avoid doing harm or reinforcing pre-existing gender inequalities. This will be addressed through the systematic consideration of gender-specific needs, impacts, vulnerabilities and barriers in the EIBs environmental and social due diligence, where experts would include attention to gendered impacts and gender-tailored mitigation measures. The EIB will require that its clients and promoters consider gender risks in the application of its standards, analysing the projects gender dimensions, conducting gender-balanced stakeholder engagement and, where risks are identified, proposing alternative measures.

Impact: To avoid gender discrimination in the ability to access the assets, benefits and opportunities generated by EIB Group operations, thus increasing the positive impact of EIB Group operations on gender equality . This would be achieved by applying a gender perspective in the EIB Group investment and/or project cycle and by working with willing clients and promoters that actively support the promotion of gender equality in the workplace, in job creation and in decision-making. Building the Groups staff capacity and disseminating good practices will be essential. The establishment of dedicated technical assistance may be needed to support the design and implementation of projects with a high potential for positive gender equality impact.

Invest: To reduce gender gaps in employment and promote womens economic empowerment, relevant services across the EIB and EIF would work to identify relevant targeted investment opportunities and markets that increase womens participation, on equal terms, in the economy and labour market, e.g. focusing on increasing womens access to credit and financial services, and supporting female entrepreneurship. This will build on the EIB Group experience and existing products and should lead to the introduction of new and dedicated approaches.

Examples of how the EIB Group promotes female economic empowerment around the world:
A photograph by Michael Forsberg of sandhill cranes flying near the Platte River at sunset will be used for a U.S. postage stamp celebrating Nebraskas 150th birthday as a state.

The stamp is part of the Postal Services statehood series and Lincoln Postmaster Kerry Kowalski said it will likely be available in March, Nebraskas birthday month and the official beginning of the states sesquicentennial celebration.

Forsberg, a Lincoln conservation and wildlife photographer, said the photograph was shot about 15 years ago near Wood River.

These cranes were among the first wave of the evening landing on a sandbar. Once one group lands, others decide it is safe to land and join them, Forsberg said.

He said he wanted to make a picture that was different. He used a wide-angle view that included the prairie, "where it sort of feels like you are hunkered down in the grass right next to the river and the birds are part of the landscape."

"It took several nights to make all that come together because it is not easy. But you get lucky once in a while. This was a special picture for me."

The Postal Service wanted something with the Platte River, which is fitting, said Forsberg. "The Platte is our lifeline.

Forsberg, who said he is honored and happy with this stamp, pointed out some of the symbolism in the image.

The image gets to what Nebraska really is, he said, "a place of prairie grassland and a place with this beautiful braided river" that is the ecological and economic artery of the Great Plains.

The cranes have been moving north and south through the heartland for a lot longer than we have been here, he said.

"The picture shows the nexus of an east-west road, and a north-south road. One is in the sky and one is our river.

"And we have arguably the best sunsets in the nation."

"I hope we can maintain everything we see in that image for another 150 years. Its going to be a big challenge. But I think we are up to it.

This is the second time the Postal Service has used a Forsberg photograph for a stamp. An international airmail stamp issued in 2001 used a photo he shot of Nine Mile Prairie outside of Lincoln.

Both times the Postal Service approached Forsberg for an image, he said.

It doesnt happen often, but there are a few renowned artists who have had a picture or images used for stamps on more than one occasion, said Postmaster Kowalski.
14 July 2019

14 July 2019  When Elizabeth Hoff was appointed as WHO Representative in Syria in 2012, she didnt expect that she would spend the next several years leading the emergency health response in what has been described as the worlds largest and most complex humanitarian emergency. After seven years of working in the war-ravaged country, the next chapter of her career will take her to Libya, where she has been nominated WHO Representative. I leave Syria with a heavy heart, she says. This has been the richest and most rewarding position...
Audi driver raced away from crash

Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses to a driving incident in the south of the Island.

A white Audi saloon with UK plates collided with another vehicle on the dual carriageway section outside Ronaldsway Airport on Sunday night before speeding off in the direction of Castletown.

Officers from the southern neighbourhood policing team confirmed that the man was arrested a short time later, but are still keen to speak to anyone who saw the incident.

Anyone who witnessed what happened and hasn't already spoken to officers is asked to contact Castletown Police Station on 822222.
UK committee want to keep Common Travel Area

The UK's House of Lords European Union Committee wants to maintain the Common Travel Area between the UK, Ireland and the British Crown Dependencies, including the Isle of Man.

The latest report from the committee says bringing in restrictions on movement between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland border would negatively impact on the Irish economy.

The UK wants to ensure residents from Ireland still have the right to live and work in the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands and vice versa.

The arrangement will have to be agreed with the European Union, of which the Republic of Ireland will still be a member state after the UK's withdrawal.

The body also wants the EU to agree to allow Britain and Ireland to have a customs and trade agreement if the UK leaves the customs union.
Citrix Lands in Gartner Web Conferencing Magic Quadrant

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By Michael Guta

Contributing Writer By Michael GutaContributing Writer

We now have more options than ever when it comes to communication solutions, but this doesn't always translate to an efficient system if the right technologies are not chosen. For businesses, it means integrating voice, data, conferencing, collaboration and other tools effectively so everyone can access them from anywhere. In recognizing the Citrix GoTo product line in its 2016 Magic Quadrant for Web Conferencing as a leader, Gartner (News - Alert) highlighted GoToAssist, GoToMeeting, GoToTraining and GoToWebinar, which bring together many of the tools employees and companies need today to communicate effectively.





The 2016 Magic Quadrant for Web Conferencing report evaluated 14 vendors, and in addition to Citrix, Adobe, Cisco, Microsoft (News - Alert) and Zoom were named leaders in the quadrant. The leaders were put in this category for having products that are robust and scalable with a wide range of features, an installed base that is considerable in size, adequate financial performance and good distribution. They also must hold a significant market share compared to their competitors while addressing the needs of their customers.

According to Gartner's evaluation of Web conferencing, the products in question had to provide real-time collaboration tools supporting interactions over networks between participants in multiple meeting formats. Webinars, remote training, online meetings, and audio and video communications are the types of meeting and communication that come under the category.

Chris Battles, vice president and general manager, Citrix (News - Alert), said, We believe our sustained leadership position in this years Gartner Magic Quadrant highlights the value and success that our GoTo products bring to our customers. As a web conferencing industry leader, we continue to build easy to use products that help employees connect and collaborate from any location to achieve better business outcomes.

The GoTo product suite includes GoToMeeting for meeting and collaboration that lets users join remotely from anywhere on any device; GoToAssist for IT and support agents; GoToWebinar for marketers and salespeople; and GoToTraining for educators.

Some of the strengths Gartner recognized with Citrix is its ability to provide the products and services it offers in a manner that is easy and clear with flexible bundling for its products and that of its partners. Gartner also said Citrix was able to address the need of enterprise use cases for massive webcasts without support from additional vendors or partners, while at the same time being able to carry out small meetings with equal efficiency.

As for the challenges the company is facing, Gartner reported Citrix has a limited market presence in Japan and South America compared to its rivals, it only offers cloud deployment, and some of its customers expressed integration with more identity and access management providers' products.

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Edited by Alicia Young
Chief Minister says Brexit won't change IoM-UK relationship



Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK

The Chief Minister says the Isle of Man's future relationship with the European Union depends on how the UK's exit negotiations process.

The Council of Minister has published its third report on the implications of Britain's withdrawal from the EU following the latest update from the UK's EU Advisory Group.

Howard Quayle insists the Isle of Man is still keen to trade with the EU, but it's difficult to predict what options will be available until the British Government completes its exit talks.

Mr Quayle adds that there will be no changes to the Island's relationship with the UK, and that talks between the Manx and British Governments are ongoing.
Final Tynwald sitting of 2016 today



Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer will present plans to shorten the horse tram tracks at the final Tynwald sitting of 2016.

The future of Douglas promenade, the Island's ferry services and public sector housing will be discussed when Tynwald sits later today.

Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer will ask members to approve plans for the reconstruction of Douglas promenade, including shortening the horse tram tracks.

Several schemes have already been before Tynwald, but disagreement over the future of the horse trams has so far proved a sticking point.

The Manx parliament will also discuss the future of sea services between the Isle of Man and the UK.

On the question paper, there are a series of enquiries about public sector housing, including a request for details about void and empty properties.

The possibility of introducing a sugar tax, Manx Utilities' accounts and the single resident record are also up for discussion.

The sitting gets underway from 10.30am.
2

SE7EN

Alien 3 director David Fincher came up with what could possibly be dubbed as one of the best psychological thrillers of all time. And if youre a lover of gore, youre in for a treat because this film does cater to its audience very well. Released in 1995 and starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as detectives, the movie focuses on the two trying to solve serial murders that are based on the 7 deadly sins. And heres the twist  this is one of the many movies like Saw on Netflix, or rather Saw is one of the movies that like SE7EN on Netflix. When Saw came out in 2004, a LOT of parallels were drawn with SE7EN. If you dont believe us, just watch the movie.
Fabian Willermain and Anca Cioriciu (Egmont  The Royal Institute for International Relations)

In late June, the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini presented the new Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (EUGS) at the European Council meeting. This is already the second version because the EUs first security strategy was introduced in 2003. Almost three months have passed since its introduction but the plan for the implementation of this document was submitted to Member States only at the end of November. Can the strategy be considered successful so far? Are its objectives being met?

Within this concept, we encounter two battalions with a varying size of their power when on standby. It is these battle groups that have been the subject of discussions for a long time. Criticism is raised particularly regarding their automatic accessibility, which is a measure for how fast they can be deployed. This debate has yielded a proposal to increase the EUs military ambitions. The battalions could be increased by merging the two battle groups into one brigade and four battalions instead of two, which would double their power. However, in order to keep the EUGS operational, this boost would still be insufficient.

Those who think that the EUGS comes up with greater military ambitions of the EU Member States are mistaken. The aim of the EU battle groups is not their readiness to fight, but, as agreed on in 1998, their readiness to be deployed as corps (ie. 60,000 troops) of air and naval forces for a period of up to one year.

Another problem, which the EU has to deal with, is the fact that Member States are not autonomous in their military strategies. This fact stems from the EU Member States cooperation with the UN or NATO during military operations. Obtaining this strategic autonomy is necessary, among others, also because unless European countries have demonstrated their willingness and ability to act in the military area, this can negatively influence their mutual relations with the US. There is a risk that European countries could even lose the United States as a key ally.

The Union seeks to use the EUGS as a tool to enhance the armys strategic goals, but it foremost obliges Member States to carry out the tasks to attain these strategic goals themselves. But more questions remain unanswered: Will the EUGS lead the European nations to a greater strategic autonomy? And is it possible to achieve the EUGS objectives without a revision of the basic assumptions of this document?

(The study can be downloaded here)
The EU chief of diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, said yesterday (12 December) that the situation is clearly not positive and not encouraging  to use an euphemism when talking about the humanitarian situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which has been under constant bombardment for several weeks. During yesterdays meeting in Brussels, foreign ministers omitted discussions on new sanctions against Syrian or Russian authorities despite the grave situation and the accusations that the regime forces turned Aleppo to ashes. The city is reported to be 90-percent-controlled by Syrian-Russian forces.

The EU leaders agreed that a priority should be given to the provision of more humanitarian aid and added that no Member State is asking for additional work on sanctions. The EU previously blacklisted 17 Syrian ministers and the governor of the central bank, freezing their assets and imposing travel bans. EU foreign ministers also voiced their outrage at Moscows role in the Aleppo bombardment and a few of EU countries, including the UK, proposed adding Russian names to the blacklist.

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault commented that no ceasefire in Aleppo could be agreed because of Russian dual language and Russias kind of permanent lie. He also said that even if Syrian and Russian troops conquered 100 percent Aleppo, only naifs and supporters of realpolitik thought that this would put an end to the conflict. What will make peace is a total ceasefire and resumption of negotiations, he said. German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, also said that Russias role was clear and that it was an illusion to believe that fighting would end soon. He added even if there had been Islamist fighters in Aleppo, there was no justification to reduce a whole city to ashes, bomb hospitals and leave citizens exposed to a situation in which they can at best just survive.
Leo Michel (The Finnish Institute of International Affairs)

The vision of Sweden and Finland calling for a defense treaty with the United States sounds like a logical step. Neither of the two countries is a full-fledged NATO member, and therefore the question remains to what extent these countries are safe at the time of increasing tensions between the West and Russia. Currently, there is already a hint of deeper cooperation between Sweden and the United States and a similar agreement is also being discussed with Finland. It seems that a bilateral cooperation in the security area of these countries can bring positive results. Is it really the case or is there a reason for these two Scandinavian countries to prefer to choose a different path?

The main problem is the United States itself. The cooperation would be intensified more than just in the field of technological cooperation  it would also be in safety, information and research. This is something that Washington will not agree with. NATO was not intended only to make the United States send its forces to Europe. The Europeans and Canadians are also obliged to provide their resources for the defense of others, which hasnt, however, been mostly happening. US officials regularly point out that Europeans and Canadians do not meet their obligations and that their security forces usually rely on American support.

The United States, however, cannot afford to leave abandon their allies, especially in the time of a crisis. In the event of an aggression by Russia, the US will be obliged to act regardless of whether it is a NATO Member Country attacked or a country of a defense pact. The signing of a bilateral agreement between the US and some of the Scandinavian countries would, however, most likely undermine the provisions of the security structures in Europe. The main problem would be the weakening of NATOs authority. Sweden and Finland would remain more vulnerable to a possible Russian aggression and the Americans would look like they have lost faith in the project of one defense alliance.

Administrative complications would be yet another problem. Nobody in Washington wants to create  in addition to NATO  two more European alliances for Finland and Sweden. Many people, however, recommended to create, as a minimum, a temporary mechanism to protect these countries, at least until they fully participate in the NATO structures. Even so, this situation would be problematic  bilateral alliance does not make any sense in the case of Sweden and Finland.

(The study can be downloaded here)
The Committee on Fisheries held a public hearing entitled "The Impact of the Energy Price Crisis on the Fisheries Sector and the Future of Fuels" on Wednesday, 26 October at 14:30-17:00.
A study in Science Advances indicates that monkeys could speak  they have the anatomic wherewithal, an adequate vocal tract  if only they had the brains to go with it.

The miracle of the Darwinian mechanism is that it gives to creatures, or rather retains on their behalf, what is adaptive, that is to say, useful. So evolving the sophisticated equipment specially required for a skill your species will never develop seems a bit puzzling.

Christian Science Monitor:

A talking monkey seems like a thing of science-fiction, cartoons, and goofy advertisements. But new research suggests monkey speech may be closer to reality than commonly thought. Macaques actually have vocal anatomy capable of human-like speech, according to a study published Friday in the journal Science Advances. This suggests that what makes people unique among primates is our ability to control the vocal apparatus, not the apparatus itself, Thore Jon Bergman, an evolutionary biopsychologist at the University of Michigan who was not part of the research, writes in an email to The Christian Science Monitor.

New York Times:

On Friday, a team of researchers reported that monkeys have a vocal tract capable of human speech. They argue that other primates cant talk because they lack the right wiring in their brains.

So far this overlooks the question of why animals would evolve a capacity for which they had no use. Its not as if an appropriate vocal tract is simply a gimme. Monkeys were previously thought not to be furnished with one. Finally, a science reporter ventured to ask about this.

Live Science:

I hope that this new data dispels forever the widespread myth that monkeys and apes cannot speak because of anatomical limitations of their vocal tract, lead author Tecumseh Fitch of the University of Viennas Department of Cognitive Biology told Seeker. Fitch, senior author Asif Ghazanfar, Bart de Boer and Neil Mathur investigated the range of movements that primate vocal anatomy could produce. Using X-ray videos, they captured and then traced the movements of a macaques tongue, lips, larynx and more as the monkey vocalized, ate and made facial expressions. The researchers then used these X-rays to build a computer model of a monkey vocal tract, allowing them to answer the question: What would monkey speech sound like, if a human brain were in control?  The experiment worked out great, and yet were still left with the fact that monkeys and apes do not talk as we do. The explanation turns out to be more complex, and controversial, than you might think. First, Fitch and his team believe that most mammals possess flexible, speech-ready vocal tracts. He said, It seems clear that this type of flexibility evolved early on, for reasons other than vocalization, probably initially for food processing  manipulating and swallowing food. [Emphasis added.]

Oh, it evolved for food processing, they say. To go with every biological mystery, evolution never fails to puts its finger on a speculative story. Yet again, previously scientists looked at monkeys and other mammals, which universally share the practice of nourishing themselves by eating food, and concluded that that they were not speech-ready.

On the plus side, the new view underlines what Wesley Smith calls human exceptionalism. From New Scientist:

Philip Lieberman at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, says: Ive pointed out for decades that monkeys could talk, with reduced intelligibility, if their brains could learn and execute the motor acts involved in speech.

Thats a big if. Now that anatomy is removed as an explanation for their reticence, the obvious truth is left as the remainder: Monkey dont speak because they are not human.

Photo: Japanese macaques, by Dariusz Jemielniak (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Im on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer.
British expats who are concerned about their pension investments when the UK leaves the European Union need to be aware of new changes announced by the Government, particularly if they are planning to move back.UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has confirmed that Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) tax rules will become more closely aligned with UK pension schemes rules.  He indicated that the eligibility of criteria for the QROPS schemes will become tighter and member payment provisions will be extended from five to 10 years with the changes taking effect in April 2017.The Chancellor also announced that section 615 schemes, which allow UK companies to set up workplace pensions for their overseas employees, would be closed to new contributions from April next year.QRPPS, an offshore pension for expats, has boomed in popularity with 2,500 transfers in 2006/2007 to a peak of 20,100 transfers in 2014/2015, falling back to 13,700 in the last financial year. HMRC data shows funds have been put in 1.228 QROPS products in 40 countries.QROPS pensions were introduced to give British expats and international workers with UK pension rights easier access to their retirement cash after moving to another European State. Retirement savers who do not live in a country offering a QROPS service can move their funds to third party pensions in financial centres such as Gibraltar, the Isle of Man and Malta.The major change announced by the Chancellor is the scrapping of the 70% rule which says that any QROPS outside the European Union must ring fence 70% of any tax relieved funds switched from a UK pension to a QROPS to provide retirement benefits.Losing the 70% rule means QROPS providers can let any retirement saver aged 55 or over draw down their pension fund as they wish. This includes taking all the cash in one go, drawing a regular income or taking money in lump sums as the saver wishes.According to Nigel Green, chief executive of the de Vere Group which advises expats on finance matters, it means that QROPS will be taxed in the same way as a UK pension for anyone who then later returns to the UK. Currently only 90% of income from a QROPS is subject to income tax as opposed to 100% in a UK pension scheme.I welcome the Governments plans as they will help ensure that QROPS are not misused and or mis-sold. QROPS are designed to provide an income in retirement for those permanently living outside the UK or planning to do so, as well as to offer all the many associated financial benefits of having an HMRC recognised pension scheme based in a jurisdiction outside the UK, he said.He also believe it is a good idea to update the QROPS rules. It means that clients are even more protected, making QROPS an even more attractive option. It further highlights that QROPS still keep the same standards or equivalent as UK pensions, that they are fully part of the retirement planning establishment and the deployment of more and more of Government resources demonstrates that the market is well governed, he pointed out.Green also welcomed the tightening on eligibility criteria and said that this will prevent jurisdictions who are failing to meet the stringent requirements demanded by HMRC from bending the rules whilst other jurisdictions, including Malta, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar, which are fully compliant with HMRC rules and standards, will benefit.As the world becomes ever more internationally mobile, international pension planning is, of course, by default, an enormous growth area. As such, I welcome the plans to make the overseas pension transfer market even more robust, Green added.
As we know, Griff may or may not be a right-on activist but he certainly has some seedy-looking friends who are all going to a gig. Peter h...
Tuesday, December 13, 2016

How do you create a tangible object to remember a loved one, before that person dies? Heres an answer in todays guest post contributed by Laurel Lagoni.

All too often, people are advised to put everything away that reminds them of a loved one who has died. The false belief is that the best way to recover from loss is to cut off all memories that might cause feelings of sadness and grief.

But grief experts say maintaining a bond with a loved one so it continues beyond death is usually a healthier way to grieve. Continuing bonds honor relationships, even while the surviving loved ones move forward with their lives.

ClayLinks Prints, with their beautiful, decorative accessories, are one way to create those on-going, treasured connections.

Betty Hart learned about ClayLinks Prints when she showed her funeral planner a photo of her eight-year-old grandchild, Lola.

I dont see her often enough, but I tell her shes always in my heart, Betty said. And, since my last name is Hart, she calls me her Heart Grandma! Since Im pre-planning my funeral arrangements today, is there something I can include in this plan that will be a special remembrance for her?

The planner suggested that Betty could make a personalized keepsake  often called a linking object  for Lola. She showed her an example of a finished ClayLinks handprint and explained that a linking object like this would help Betty and her granddaughter stay forever connected in a comforting way.

The handprint is a symbol of the continuing bond you will always share, the planner explained. We can make a print of your hand, decorate it and bake it all before you leave today.

Betty loved the idea so, when they were finished with their meeting, she and the planner made the impression and decorated it with several, colorful heart charms. Betty stamped the words Love always from your Heart Grandma into the clay and finished it off with a bright purple ribbon tied in a bow.

Now, Lola will be able to hold your hand every day for the rest of her life, the planner said. Betty hugged her and, after she left, the planner made a note to include the precious handprint with Bettys paperwork once it was completed.

To learn more about ClayLinks Kits, visit www.caringwisdom.com.

Laurel Lagoni is the Co-owner and CEO of World by the Tail, Inc., the creator and distributor of CaringWisdom and Veterinary Wisdom bereavement support products. Laurel is also the co-founder and former Director of the Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine, a pioneering veterinary grief education and support program at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University. Laurel holds a Masters Degree in Human Development and Family Studies, with specialties in family therapy and grief counseling, from Colorado State University.
Suspended San Antonio attorney Todd Prins defied a Houston bankruptcy judges order by failing to turn over $2.4 million by a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday, according to a court filing.

Prins, 50, who was suspended from practicing law Friday over his own legal troubles in San Antonio, now faces a contempt hearing and possible arrest in Houston Wednesday for not following the courts instructions to wire the money to a bankruptcy trustees bank account.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm warned in an order last week that Prins would be held in contempt and arrested by U.S. Marshals if he doesnt appear in court Wednesday.

Prins attorney Carlos Solis didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the order, Prins violated bankruptcy court rules by conducting a foreclosure sale on a house in Houston without the judges approval and then failing to turn over the $2.4 million in proceeds from the sale to the bankruptcy official. The money was being held in a trust account at his now-defunct law firm, he said at a Nov. 8 court hearing.

The company that bought the house at the the foreclosure sale never received the title to the property and, thus far, is out of its money. The lender that Prins was representing hasnt received any payment either.

Prins finds himself in hot water in San Antonio, as well. He stands accused of fabricating court documents and forging judges signatures to conceal from his clients the status of 2009 lawsuit. Those allegations spilled out in a lawsuit filed last month against Prins in his own personal bankruptcy case in San Antonio. Prins bankruptcy lawyer filed a request last week to have the lawsuit dismissed.

On Friday, Bexar County District Court Judge Michael Mery granted a State Bar of Texas committees request to immediately suspend Prins law license based on the revelations in the lawsuit.

In separate matter earlier last week, Bexar County Probate Judge Kelly Cross signed an order for Prins arrest after he failed to appear for a contempt hearing set after he disobeyed her order to turn over $360,092 that belonged to a deceased client.

Prins invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 25 times at a separate bankruptcy proceeding last week regarding his personal bankruptcy, which was filed Sept. 29. The amendment protects an individuals right not to incriminate themselves.

Prins abruptly shut down his law practice last month in the wake of his personal and financial turmoil. He reported earning $416,329 in gross income this year up until the bankruptcy filing. His gross income was $674,441 last year and $758,703 in 2014. In addition, he received a corporate distribution of $366,233 last year, a court filing shows.

Prins has another date in Houstons bankruptcy court next month. Hes been ordered to appear at a Jan. 9 hearing on the foreclosure sale and proceeds he received from the buyer. Bohm said in his order last week that the money from the sale is, at a minimum, arguable property of the (bankruptcy) estate in Houston.

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.

pdanner@express-news.net

Twitter: @AlamoPD
WASHINGTON  Donald Trumps choice to lead U.S. foreign policy is known for his long-standing support of free trade, international law and an expansive presence in the Middle East that doesnt fit with Trumps pitch to supporters.

ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson also is known for his Russia connections and would be Trumps most concrete outreach yet to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Success in Russia required alignment between the companys interests and those of the Russian government, mettle and good relations with Putin. Exxon steadily expanded its Russian business even as its rivals faced expropriation and regulatory obstacles. In 2013, Putin bestowed the Order of Friendship on Tillerson.

Hes a world-class player, Trump said of Tillerson on Fox News Sunday. To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia, he does massive deals, not for himself, for the company.

Trumps own relationship with Russia was an issue through much of the campaign. The CIA has concluded with high confidence that Russia sought to influence the U.S. election on behalf of the Republican, an assessment Trump has rejected.

On Sunday, Trump called that assessment ridiculous.

As for Tillerson, he has claimed to have a very close relationship with Putin and will have deep knowledge of the countrys power structure, having led ExxonMobil into a rare oil exploration deal with Russias state-owned energy company.

His ties, however, could cast a shadow over important decisions on relations with Russia, from whether to extend sanctions to the handling of the intelligence reports that Russia interfered with the election.

As an oil executive, Tillerson has argued against sanctions that the U.S. and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

The sanctions are aimed against key sectors of the Russian economy, including financial services, energy, mining and defense, but also individuals in Putins inner circle. Experts say that if they remain in the long term, the sanctions could affect Exxons joint venture with Russias state oil company.

A native of Wichita Falls, Tillerson came to ExxonMobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, Tillerson came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the companys central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

In 2006, Tillerson won the battle to succeed former Exxon CEO Lee Raymond. Under the Texans leadership, oil prices broke records and Exxons profits helped make it the most valuable public company in the world, with a security force totaling thousands of employees, direct channels with governments worldwide and a strong aversion to American sanctions or limitations on where it could operate.

Like other oil companies, Exxon has had to develop its own diplomacy and foreign relations, so many skills Tillerson honed at Exxon could help in his new role, said Antoine Halff, head of the global oil markets program at Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy.

Tillerson has used Exxons enormous profits to explore new regions for oil and gas and to invest in new acquisitions such as XTO Resources, a company that had helped pioneer drilling for natural gas in U.S. shale formations. But over the years, oil has become more difficult and expensive to find as large, easy-to-tap reservoirs in stable countries were slowly depleted. Exxon and other giant oil corporations found it ever more difficult to replace the oil they sold every day with new resources, and they were forced to look in every more difficult and hostile regions for oil and gas.

Energy made in America is not as important as energy simply made wherever it is most economic, he said in 2007 in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. We are free-market, free-trade advocates, he said in another speech to the group five years later, declaring that the greatest boon for American energy security would be support for oil production and trading worldwide.

While Tillerson advocates a hands-off approach to markets, hes backed continued American engagement in the Middle East. After the Iraq war, Exxon agreed to develop a large project in still unstable southern Iraq at terms that were less favorable to Exxon than most deals. In 2011, Tillerson announced an expansive relationship with Russias Rosneft that will spend years and billions of dollars developing technology to explore and produce oil and gas in icy waters in the Russian Arctic.

While the revolutionary gains from shale fracking have poised the U.S. to supply far more of its own energy, Tillerson has said it would be a mistake to step back.

The question you have to ask is, Well then, who steps into that void, he said, suggesting it would be a large consuming country such as China.

While his predecessor was a firm skeptic about the link between fossil fuel combustion and climate change, Tillerson has softened the companys position on the issue, even if hes unconvinced by the most dire predictions of the consequences.

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.

At an industry conference in 2007, Tillerson acknowledged Earths climate is changing, the average temperature is rising and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. He also noted that climate remains a complex area of scientific study. Exxon remains under fire for its past efforts to undercut climate change  even as recently exposed internal documents show the companys own scientists recognized climate changes legitimacy as early as the 1970s.

But he said its clear the risks of climate change to society and ecosystems could be significant, and its prudent to develop and implement sensible strategies that address these risks while not reducing our ability to progress other global priorities such as economic development, poverty eradication and public health.

Tillerson was slated to retire in March at age 65 under the companys mandatory retirement policy. Paid $27.3 million last year, Tillerson has accumulated roughly $160 million in Exxon stock along with $149 million of unvested stock options, according a proxy statement the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As secretary of state, by law, he would have to either sell his Exxon shares and stock options or recuse himself from government matters that have a direct and predictable effect on his financial interests, said Richard W. Painter, a University of Minnesota corporate law professor who served as President George W. Bushs chief ethics lawyer. Failure to do one or the other would likely result in criminal charges, since Cabinet members, unlike the president and vice-president, are covered by statutes designed to prevent conflicts of interest.

If Tillerson didnt sell the stock, he would have to stay out of decisions for a wide swath of the secretarys job including climate change matters, the oil industry or many dealings with Russia. There are going to have to be some pretty broad recusals in the State Department on anything that involves oil, Painter said. In my view, personally, its unacceptable to have a secretary of state who has a lot of oil company stock or stock options.

Putting the stock in a blind trust would not be allowed because it would remain a financial interest for Tillerson, Painter said.

Still, its not unheard of for a high-profile businessman to serve as secretary of state.

Bechtel, the big, privately held San Francisco engineering and construction firm, gained stature and prestige when President Ronald Reagan picked George Shultz as secretary of state and Caspar Weinberger as secretary of defense. Both had been top Bechtel executives.

At the time, critics said Bechtel had its own foreign policy, especially in the Middle East and didnt particularly care if its objectives were not aligned with those of the U.S.
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When out on patrol, Greg Huston and other soldiers in his unit would carve fallen branches into walking sticks. Today, Huston, 46, carves walking sticks and canes for veterans out of his home in Seguin.

The hours spent whittling serve a therapeutic purpose for Huston, who served 12 years in the Army, including a deployment to Iraq in 2010.

Huston said he has service-connected PTSD. Due to a head injury, his limbs and face sometimes twitch against his control. After his days working as a state arson investigator, Huston said he comes home, takes a piece of wood, and carves. Crafting a walking stick from a raw tree branch focuses his mind, he said.

Huston began his hobby in November. He said he has helped nine veterans with walking sticks and canes, with 143 requests upcoming.

Neighbors donate the materials -- mostly cedar, mesquite and pecan wood. One cane began as a cedar limb donated by friends in La Vernia. Huston took those limbs and dried them. Afterward, he stripped the bark with a whittling knife.

Huston sat on a piano stool near the workbench in his garage. He angled his knife below the bark of a fresh limb and ran the knife upward. The branchs rough skin curled and dropped into a tall pile of shavings on his garage floor. Stripping the bark takes about an hour, Huston said.

Huston placed the now-naked branch on his workbench and cut into the limbs lighter inner layer, which fell into another pile of shavings at his feet. Whittling a limb into the right size and shape can take three times longer than stripping its bark, he said.

Sanding the canes and walking sticks by hand takes the most time, Huston said. One cane needed 12 hours of sanding, due to small, hardened corners that needed extra attention. Staining the wood can take hours or days, depending on the weather. After a few more hours sealing the stick with lacquer and finishing wax, and then sanding it again, the stick is ready to ship.

The design of each of his canes, Huston said, references something in the veterans past. In one cane, he illustrated the veteran's unit patch onto the handle. In another project, he weaved into the cane a blue cord to represent the Army infantry. In another, his carving revealed a vein of darker wood within the limb, which Huston called heart of the stick and incorporated into his design.

I refuse to make two alike, Huston said. Its something thats theirs and no one elses.

The cane Huston made for John Overstreet, a San Antonio veteran, has the unit crest of the 4th Infantry Division on its side. A personalized cane that he can be proud of reframes his disability, Overstreet said.

You have a bit more of an identity, Overstreet said. Youre not just a disability. Its not something to feel bad about.

Overstreet recalled a friend who lost his leg in Afghanistan. The man got a tattoo of an arrow pointing to his missing leg. The tattoo said: One foot in the grave.

Youve got to make things your own, Overstreet said.

Huston places a semicolon on top of each walking stick. A few years ago, he hit rock bottom, drank and withdrew from his friends and family, Huston said. He thought of killing himself. Then he sought help.

His walking sticks and canes, which began as scrap wood, are marked with a semicolon, which is a symbol, Huston said, that means My story is not finished.

jlawrence@express-news.net
A satchel containing identifying information on seniors at Edison, Burbank, Taft and Churchill high schools was stolen from the car of a San Antonio Education Partnership employee more than a week ago, the college readiness organization said Monday.

The bag contained a USB drive with the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of all seniors at Burbank and Edison high schools in the San Antonio Independent School District, said Adriana Contreras, the organizations executive director. That totals more than 600 students, SAISD spokeswoman Leslie Price said.

Scholarship application forms from dozens of students at Taft High School in Northside ISD and Churchill High School in North East ISD were also in the bag, Contreras said.

The San Antonio Education Partnership is providing free data breach monitoring to the affected students and their families, Contreras said. The organization is also providing information sessions for people who need training on reading credit reports and monitoring credit.

We cant apologize enough, Contreras said. There arent any words to express how difficult this has been for us. We just want to be there for the students.

There are no indications yet that the data has been misused, Contreras said.

The bag was taken late Dec. 2 or early Dec. 3 from the car of a college access and success adviser parked at her home in San Antonio, Contreras said. The employee violated the organizations policy requiring student data to be secured at all times and faces possible disciplinary action in a process has not yet concluded, Contreras said.

The San Antonio Education Partnership is also re-evaluating its policies and is retraining staff as a result of the incident, Contreras said.

The principals of Burbank and Edison high schools met last week with their senior classes to discuss the theft, Price said. Letters also went home urging parents to place fraud alerts on their credit reports, she said.

Price said the incident was disappointing but praised the San Antonio Education Partnerships 27-year history of providing scholarships to SAISD students.

Its so important to safeguard this kind of confidential information, she said.

The organization collected the Social Security numbers to identify which students enroll in college, as high school and college student identification numbers dont match, Contreras said. The adviser was able to pinpoint which Taft and Churchill students had scholarship applications in the stolen bag based on the dates the forms were submitted, Contreras said.

In addition to scholarships, the Partnership provides advising at 25 area high schools. The organization also runs cafecollege, a city-funded center for college advising and truancy intervention.

amalik@express-news.net

Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN
A man who prosecutors allege is the father-in-law of a top-ranking member of the Zetas drug gang and was involved in their U.S. money laundering operations appeared Monday in a Texas federal court.

Jesus Fernandez de Luna, who a Drug Enforcement Administration agent alleged in an arrest warrant affidavit, took part in a scheme to launder money through the purchase of quarter horses in the U.S.  even after federal authorities raided ranches tied to the Zetas  according to court records. A federal magistrate judge in Austin ordered Fernandez held without bond on one count of money laundering conspiracy. The Mexican attorney generals office announced Fernandezs extradition Monday.
AUSTIN - Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar told state leaders heading into a tight budget session that they shouldnt overlook long-term fiscal challenges with the potential to affect the states favorable credit rating.

Texas is fortunate to benefit from AAA ratings from all the major rating agencies, which saves the state millions of dollars in debt service, Hegar wrote to Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus.

Successful maintenance of these ratings over the long term requires active management of the various fiscal stresses that put downward pressure on the ratings, including funding for pension obligations and other post-employment benefits, Hegar wrote in the letter, which is dated Dec. 6.

The letter echoes one that Hegar wrote late in the 2015 legislative session, warning that long-term fiscal issues were just as important as the tax-relief tussle that dominated much of that session.

The legislative session that begins in January will pose more budget challenges since the economy hasnt performed as strongly as predicted in generating revenue for state coffers.

In the Dec. 6 letter, Hegar applauded leaders for putting money into long-postponed maintenance of state buildings in 2015 and urged continued progress. He was a leading voice in the last session urging lawmakers to care for public structures, citing his own state office building with problems including a damaged restroom wall that had been repaired in a makeshift manner with toilet paper.

On other key issues, Hegar highlighted an unfunded liability at the Texas Tomorrow Fund guaranteed tuition program. He also said rating agencies are paying close attention to the states pension obligations while recognizing positive action on that front by lawmakers in 2015.

In addition, Hegar voiced concern about the future solvency of TRS-Care, the health care plan administered by the Teacher Retirement System. A recent report estimated the plans shortfall to be $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion for the next two-year budget period, he pointed out, and at least $4 billion in the fiscal period after that.

As rating agencies monitor the state, Hegar said they are evaluating its use of its Economic Stabilization Fund, a $10.1 billion account also known as the rainy day fund.

Thus far, the state has received the benefit of a strong balance and its past prudent use of the ESF (rainy day fund) when fiscal circumstances warrant, Hegar wrote. Continued inclusion of the ESF in the discussion of all pending fiscal challenges will help ensure continued positive consideration of our AAA ratings.

Hegar said that as a former state lawmaker who served on budget-writing committees in the House and Senate, he saw value in listing the challenges in one place for those making decisions about spending.

The lesson is, just be cognizant that there are some long-term balance-sheet issues, Hegar said in a Monday interview.

If leaders work on those issues in the good sessions and the bad, he said, that shows that Texas has a commitment to the long-term health of this state.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac
The San Antonio-based digital media director of Donald Trumps presidential campaign has purchased several domains that redirect people to Mayor Ivy Taylors mayoral website, employing techniques that he used during the national election.

Brad Parscale, a strong supporter of Taylor who has said hell do whatever he can to help her win another term next year, purchased the domain ronforsa.org on March 15, according to publicly available registration documentation. Parscale said he had a company employee purchase domain names for anyone he thought might run for mayor.

Over the weekend, District 8 City Councilman Ron Nirenberg announced his intention to unseat Taylor.

Registration information also shows that Parscale owns reyforsa.com, a nod to rumors that District 4 Councilman Rey Saldana might also enter the mayoral race, and brockhouseforsa.com, for District 6 council candidate Greg Brockhouse. Parscale also owns other variations of those URLs, registration data show.

Each website redirects traffic to Taylors campaign site, voteivy.com.

If I can help Ivy win, personally, then I will, Parscale said. We point the domain names of anything we have that we feel could somehow drive traffic to her website. ... I think its a way to garner social traffic and get people to see the mayors standpoint. And anything that can drive traffic to a website is a positive direction for a campaign.

People shared on Facebook late Sunday and on Monday their displeasure that Parscale owns ronforsa.org, a domain that Nirenberg might have bought for his campaign.

Greg Jefferson, spokesman for Taylors campaign, said he learned of the domain purchase late Sunday.

We knew absolutely nothing about this, he said. Parscale did this all on his own.  He does not have a role in our campaign at all.

Last year, Parscale played a significant role with TechBloc and its push for Taylor to bring transportation-network companies such as Uber and Lyft back to San Antonio. His firm also built Taylors campaign website about 18 months ago.

I imagine we bought the domain name when we were out thinking who was going to run, Parscale said. Our company would have just bought them  it looks like we forwarded to Ivys website after we bought it.

Nirenberg said he wasnt particularly bothered by the revelation that Parscale owns several sites connected to local politicians.

Its just kind of a distraction for them more than anyone else  for Parscale and Ivy, he said. Theyre having to answer questions about it, and Im sure theyd like to be talking about what they plan to do differently for San Antonio.

In 2013, Nirenberg was on the other side of the keyboard. His campaign purchased rolandobriones.com, the moniker of the perceived front-runner in a three-way council race. The site briefly disparaged Briones on a number of matters.

Parscale pointed to another domain he owns: clintonkaine.com. Visitors there are met with an unappealing photo of failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, followed by dozens of links to what Parscale called opposition research.

Parscale said that if Taylor asks him to help, he will work for the campaign.

If I brought my whole operation back to San Antonio, of what I have now, I think we would be a devastating force inside the city, he said. I think Ive proven myself on a national playing field.

After news began to spread that Parscales domains were pointing to Taylors site, another URL was purchased Monday  ivyforsa.com  but not by Parscale.

The registrant information is masked by a third-party company, a common tactic when someone wants to remain anonymous. The company that masked the domain, which redirects to Trumps website, is based in Panama.

Manuel Medina, the Bexar County Democratic Party chairman, who has done political work in Panama, said he wasnt behind the purchase of ivyforsa.com.

Still, he said hes considering entering the mayoral race. He said he hasnt checked into domain purchases yet. By late Monday, manuelforsa.com was still available for purchase.

At this point, Im doing my homework and looking at the numbers and making the decision this month. So playing games with peoples websites certainly doesnt have my attention, Medina said. I have no idea what games Ivy and Ron are playing right now with each other. When I decide to get into this race, I know there will be at least one adult at the table.

jbaugh@express-news.net

Twitter: @jbaugh
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has agreed to give 24-hour notice before future large releases of families that will require assistance from San Antonio aid workers, according to people who attended a meeting with the agency over the weekend.

ICE has also said that the numbers of families released over the weekend of Dec. 3-4 was not unusually high; what was unusual was how many were released without travel documents. On a given day, hundreds of women and children might be released from the family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes City, but the vast majority quickly board buses or airplanes, ICE officials told those at the meeting, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-San Antonio, said.

ICE San Antonio Field Office Director Daniel Bible promised he would take steps to make sure it wouldnt happen again and pledged to provide notice to the city and to aid groups like Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services if future releases are imminent, Doggett said.

There will be 24 hours notice to the city  and the same notice to RAICES or any group like Catholic Charities that they're expecting to care for incoming asylum seekers, he said. Secondly, they will not have anyone, barring extraordinary circumstances, that comes to the city after 9 in the evening.

During the meeting, Bible said there was a miss-communication about the number of families going to the San Antonio Mennonite Church, according to ICE.

The number of people released that weekend was within the average number of our recent releases the agency said. However, a higher percentage of family units during that weekend did not have prior travel arrangements, so ICE referred a larger than usual number of people to local non-governmental organizations following their release from ICE custody.

Aid workers were overwhelmed Dec. 3-4 by the release of nearly 500 women and children, some of them well after midnight. Almost all were bound for other cities in the U.S. and hundreds didnt have bus or airplane tickets. The Mennonite Church served as a temporary shelter, with air mattresses filling rooms and hallways, but the city deemed those unsafe conditions.

District 4 Councilman Rey Saldana praised Bible for taking responsibility, but expressed frustration with what he described as an unwillingness on ICEs part to provide details about who theyd be releasing. His concerns were echoed by Jonathan Ryan, RAICESs executive director.

They were almost allergic to sharing information with the city, Saldana said. The folks who were responsible for this could not assure us that this would not happen again.

He said the city needs to know whether families will need treatment, how many have travel documents and, for those using the bus, how many have unconfirmed tickets, which means theyre not guaranteed a seat on a bus that day. The city needs that information to know whether to create additional shelter space or arrange for more police officers, Saldana said.

It was worse than listening to a meteorologist, he said. I could not not get a good sense if we should be preparing for a storm every single day, or if we have a willing partner whos going to let us know we need to be boarding up the windows.

District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino said he came out of the meeting with a more positive outlook. He said the city has designated Department of Human Services Director Melody Woosley as a point person who ICE can communicate with about future releases and that opening lines of communication with ICE was absolutely a benefit.

jbuch@express-news.net

Twitter: @jlbuch
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Local delegates destined for Austin next month met with county officials Monday to get a sense of what issues matter most ahead of the next legislative session.

With more than 5,000 bills expected to be filed during the 140-day session, a prioritized list of local issues could come in handy, especially at a time when the state is expected to see a budget deficit of more than $1 billion, making a balanced budget a challenge for legislators.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the major issue at hand is that the state is simply not meeting obligations, citing transportation as an example of something local governments pay for, often without assistance from Austin.

While the breakfast meeting covered funding for I-35 construction, online voter registration, more beds in state hospitals and changes to pretrial practices, property tax reform stood out as the most pressing matter.

It could have devastating effects, Wolff said, speaking of the proposed bill to limit property tax increases to 4 percent per year, instead of the current cap of 8 percent. Wolff said this would be a revenue cap, particularly for growing counties.

The fact that the bill is labeled with the number 2 signifies its a big priority, said Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio. He asked local departments to provide real life examples of how such proposed bills would hurt the county. Currently, more than 60 percent of Bexar Countys general fund comes from property taxes.

Some [items] we just couldnt get across the finish line, said Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen of topics she wanted addressed in previous sessions.

Callanen urged the room of delegates to sponsor a bill that would allow for online voter registration. A bill in the last session passed in the Senate but not the House. She also wanted to see a bill that would let the state use voting equipment certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, minus additional certifications.

Guess what, Texas is not as welcoming as other states, Callanen said.

Other priorities included changes to current pretrial detention practices for first-time offenders and a suggestion to suspend instead of end benefits for inmates in jail. When people are released, they have to go through setting up social security and other benefits all over again, said Mike Lozito, director of Judicial Services in Bexar County.

All were asking is to suspend benefits like other states do, he said.

The 85th Legislature will assemble Jan. 10.

frahman@express-news.net
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About 20 members of the public gathered at City Hall on Monday for the fourth meeting of the Mayors Council on Police-Community Relations, touching on topics ranging from the importance of gun control laws to the need to keep future meetings open to the public.

Five of them spoke during a community listening session, including Denise McVea, an East Side resident who said shes had numerous bad interactions with police.

During one such interaction, she said, she called police to report criminal activity near her home, and a police officer told her that if this type of crime bothered her, she should not have moved to this part of the city.

Police calls get us nowhere, she said.

Police Chief William McManus, who attended the meeting, addressed some of the concerns that were discussed but remained silent on others, which caught the attention of council members and the audience.

Chief, you seem a little defensive, said Martin Henderson, a council member and founder of Fatherhood Matters Inc. Its not about a debate. Its not about any of that. Its obvious these things didnt work. Lets just be honest. We want to know going forward, what are you going to do?

Some audience members also commended the chief and Mayor Ivy Taylor for actively seeking a solution to the tensions that exist in the community regarding policing.

The mayor started the meeting by reiterating the framework and goals of the group, which was created in September in response to a rash of police shootings of black men, often unarmed, across the country. In San Antonio, tense discussions regarding a police collective bargaining agreement divided the community and local officials earlier this year.

We werent created to appease critics, and we werent created in hopes of promoting my profile or the City Council members who are here today, Taylor said. This group was founded as a way to improve policing.

Taylor said that while listening to the community is important, that format alone cannot allow the group to reach its goal of establishing a list of policy solutions for the council to consider.

We cant just listen. We have to act, she said.

The council consists of 50 community representatives, including religious leaders; police union members; City Council members Rebecca Viagran, Alan Warrick and Rey Saldana; and District Attorney Nico LaHood.

On Monday, roughly 15 members were in attendance, including Viagran, Saldana and LaHood.

Taylor said she will seek the advice of the community council members to decide how future meetings will be structured. The council has received some criticism for holding two of its four meetings behind closed doors.

Taylor decided to close the first meeting on the advice of a University of Texas at San Antonio professor who facilitated the meeting and wanted participants to freely discuss their feelings about law enforcement and policing.

The second meeting was open to the public and the media. The third was closed because it was held at FBI headquarters, where everyone who attended had to undergo a criminal background check in advance.

Will McLeod, a local activist who has run for mayor, said all meetings need to be open in the future.

Open government is transparent government, he said.

The community council members did not discuss whether meetings should be open, but they did say they believed that the group needs to hold more listening sessions in places where the community feels comfortable attending.

Utilize spaces where the public feels at home, like parks, community centers and schools, said Darrell Boyce, a council member who works at San Antonio Fighting Back. A lot of times, its intimidating for people to come to City Council chambers, let alone FBI headquarters. Thats the start of great collaboration. If people are at home, if people feel comfortable, they are more apt to communicate.

Taylor said her staff would compile the topics discussed during Mondays meeting and begin establishing the groundwork for holding continued listening sessions. She said she would need volunteers from the community council to help lead some of those sessions.

Taylor also said she thought it would be beneficial to hold one meeting to exclusively talk about the police collective bargaining agreement and concerns about the San Antonio Police Officers Association, which came up repeatedly in conversations. She said another meeting to discuss the role the media plays in dispersing information regarding police might also be beneficial.

I remain committed to being able to improve our (police-community) relationships, Taylor said. I know that 2017 will be a great year for this group and well come up with a great set of recommendations.
WASHINGTON  President-elect Donald Trump on Monday settled on Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, to be his secretary of state, dismissing bipartisan concerns that the globe-trotting leader of the energy giant had forged a too-cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, transition officials said.

Trump planned to announce the selection on Tuesday morning, finally bringing to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over choosing the nations top diplomat  a process that at times veered from rewarding Rudy Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.

In the end, Trump did neither, discarding not only Giuliani and Romney, but also passing over an endlessly changing list that at times included Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; David H. Petraeus, the former U.S. Army general and CIA director; and Jon Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor and presidential candidate in 2012.

Romney, Petraeus and Corker  the three leading runners-up for the diplomatic posts  all received calls late Monday informing them of Trumps decision, according to people familiar with the president-elects final choice.

Trump teased his imminent announcement of Tillerson on Monday night on Twitter, saying that I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning.

He settled on Tillerson, a dealmaker who has spent the past four decades at Exxon, much of it in search of oil and gas agreements in troubled parts of the world. A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, who speaks with a strong Texas twang, Tillerson, 64, runs a company with operations in about 50 countries, cutting deals to expand business in Venezuela, Qatar, Kurdistan and elsewhere.

If confirmed as secretary of state, Tillerson would face a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.

That could prove to be a special test when it comes to Russia, where Tillerson has fought for years to strengthen ties through business negotiations worth billions of dollars. Under his leadership, Exxon has entered into joint ventures with Rosneft, a Russian-backed oil comapny, and donated to that countrys health and social programs.

In his new role, Tillerson would have to manage the difficult relationship between the United States and Putins Russia, including economic sanctions imposed on Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine. Last month, President Barack Obama and European leaders agreed to keep sanctions in place until Putin agrees to a cease-fire and to withdraw heavy weapons from front lines in eastern Ukraine.

In the past several days, as officials close to Trump suggested that he was close to choosing Tillerson, Republican and Democratic lawmakers warned Tillerson would face intense scrutiny over his two-decade relationship with the Russian leader. Russia awarded Tillerson its Order of Friendship in 2013.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Saturday that Tillersons ties to Putin were a matter of concern to me and promised to examine them closely were he to be nominated.

Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying, McCain said on Fox News.

Other Republicans who have challenged Tillersons potential selection include Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who expressed concern in a Twitter post Monday about the Exxon chiefs relationship with Putin.

But the president-elect has decided to risk a bruising confirmation fight in the Senate, apparently concluding that Tillerson will ultimately be allowed to lead the State Department.

Trump had favored Giuliani initially, but he quickly grew weary of the former New York mayors penchant for drawing outsize news media attention. Trump was also troubled by reports of Giulianis business entanglements overseas. And some of the president-elects closest advisers, including his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, saw Giuliani as a poor fit for the job.

That led to interest in Romney, who had called Trump a fraud and a phony during the campaign. Romney also had highlighted Russia as a danger to U.S. interests during the 2012 race.

Trump and Romney made peace, meeting twice and speaking periodically by phone. But some of Trumps advisers, including his last campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, warned publicly in a series of television interviews that some of his supporters would quickly drift away if Romney were tapped for the job.

Tillerson emerged as a contender on the strong recommendations of James Baker III, the secretary of state under the first President George Bush, and Robert M. Gates, the former defense secretary, according to a person briefed on the process.

Kushner and Trumps chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, advocated strongly for Tillerson, and the president-elect became intrigued.

Trump met with Tillerson for more than two hours Saturday at Trump Tower in Manhattan, and was said to have established a clear rapport with him. To his aides, Trump described Tillerson as in a different league than his other options, language that Bannon and Kushner had both used.

Romney acknowledged late Monday in a Facebook post that he had been passed over, writing that it was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country.

My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening, Romney wrote, adding that he had very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace.
All of the moral outrage at the behavior of President-elect Donald Trump ginned up by the failed Clinton campaign now seems quaint and inconsequential  counterproductive, even.

As he seeks to unseat Mayor Ivy Taylor in May, Councilman Ron Nirenberg should take Hillary Clintons hard lesson to heart: Moralizing about your opponents failings is not enough. To win, a candidate has to articulate an inspiring message of his or her own.

So far, in his uphill run for mayor that began last week, Nirenberg has focused primarily on the mayors inadequacies, painting her as weak, vindictive and unethical, and her office as a political vacuum that has brought the city to a grinding halt.

We have lost our momentum and we are not demonstrating a vision for San Antonio, Nirenberg told the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board. I love the work of City Council, but it is not fun beating your head against the wall because leadership is making decisions that are so out of touch with the constituencies that they represent.

Launching his bid publicly at a defunct car lot near downtown, Nirenberg placed Taylors moral failings front and center. The mayor, he told the weekend crowd, had cut funding to a community safety-net; had surrendered to the police union on contract negotiations; had even knowingly violated the citys code of ethics.

If they listen closely, voters might discern a way past the mayor.

We continue to defer difficult decisions on things like transportation reform, Nirenberg said. We are not tackling the job of smart growth and development, and we continue to lead in categories like socioeconomic segregation. Our graduation rates have stagnated, and were losing the high-wage, middle-class jobs to places like Austin and Houston and Dallas.

Mostly, though, Nirenberg is painting in shades of gloom.

This worked for Trump on the national stage because he located in the American psyche a nihilistic niche where nothing was worth preserving. To demonstrate this, he violated norm after norm, and enough voters were tired of liberal moralizing to find his amorality attractive.

Meanwhile, Clinton took every outrage too seriously, bogging herself down in Trumps gloom and neglecting to light a way out. This only energized Trumps supporters, who delighted in his destructiveness and took Clintons outcries as proof of his potency.

Locally, its unlikely that Nirenberg could bottle enough disillusion or anger at the mayor to take her down. Taylor suggested this on Saturday with a deft response to his attacks on her tenure.

Im not sure which city hes talking about, she said in a statement. In the one that I have the privilege of leading, weve made tremendous progress over the last several years. Weve secured our water future, so well have the water we need to grow and add jobs. I broke a political impasse to negotiate a contract with the police union thats good for both SAPD officers and taxpayers. Were training workers for 21st century jobs, were keeping rideshare, and soon well have ultra high-speed Internet. By any definition, thats momentum.

Nirenberg could be correct; maybe the city has stopped rising since Julian Castro left town. But to counter Taylors incumbency, he needs to stop beating his head against the wall and light a way forward to inspire voters.

On Monday, I asked him whether he had a positive message.

I think that it has to do with articulating San Antonios potential at being the great city that we know our citizens want it to become, he told me. Its a city that no matter what side of town you live on, no matter where you work or how much money you make, you believe your city is working for you and you love it here and you wouldnt want to live anywhere else.

A city that functions for all of its citizens and not just for those that are better connected, he added. A city that invests equitably in its citizens whether they ride the bus or have a three-car garage.

Its a fine populist message, for now. To find momentum in his campaign, though, Nirenberg should offer details on how, exactly, he would make San Antonio great again.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
The Prairie Doc: Men, you can thank women for your good health

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Action must be taken to address shortages in migrant labour on British farms which could leave crops to rot, the National Farmers' Union has said.

Deputy President of the NFU, Minette Batters said they had already seen less numbers wanting to come to the UK and work.

Lincolnshire farmer Tim Casey told the BBC that his business is having 'acute problems' in finding workers which he expects will present 'real problems' in the future.

"In about three to five years I can see us starting to have some quite acute problems in finding workers and there are going to be some real problems in what we are able to do."

During the Conservative Party conference, the farming industry told the government that it would struggle to survive without seasonal flow of labour from the continent. CLA President Ross Murray said workers from the EU and beyond play a "crucial role" in the rural economy.

"In agriculture alone more than 30,000 permanent workers and an estimated 67,000 seasonal workers overseas help keep our shops and market stalls stocked with UK produce. Farms and other rural businesses need to know that after Brexit there will still be a flexible, skilled and secure workforce so they can plan for the future, invest in their businesses and secure or create jobs."

Ms Batters said: "Also with the exchange rate they are coming here and earning less money, so the problem has been fast tracked and that is why we are asking the government to stretch the net wider and to trial a global visa restricted scheme."

'Struggle to survive'

A pig industry survey recently found that one in five farms and businesses connected to the pig industry would 'struggle to survive' without migrant labour.

The survey, by the National Pig Association (NPA), shows a further one in four would have to significantly alter how they operated if the supply of migrant workers, primarily from the EU, was cut off, the survey showed.

The NPA is one of a number of organisations across the farming sectors currently seeking information on the extent to which the industry relies on EU labour, as the Brexit vote casts uncertainty over the future of current arrangements.

The online NPA survey received well over 100 responses from across the pig industry.

NPA chairman Richard Lister expressed concern that the governments Brexit migration policy was likely to favour skilled workers over unskilled, which would not be helpful to the pig industry.

He said: "Any future schemes set up to ensure the future supply of migrant labour must encourage full-time workers to come and live in the UK, which is what the pig industry requires, rather than focus on short-term seasonal work, as previous schemes have."
With three months to go until Brexit is triggered, NFU Scotland has used a Westminster meeting to reaffirm its priorities as the UK looks to negotiate an exit from the European Union.

A team from NFU Scotland, which included President Allan Bowie, met yesterday (12 December) with David Jones MP, Minister of State at the recently created Department for Exiting the European Union.

At the meeting in London, the Union laid out what it believes needs to be done to secure productive agriculture in Scotland.

Speaking from London, Mr Bowie said: The UK Government is already in the process of establishing its priorities and it is vitally important that we engage with them now and make sure they are clear on what Scottish farmers and crofters want.

There is strong recognition that Scottish agricultures needs from Brexit negotiations will differ from the rest of the UK and that this must be a factor under any future arrangements. There are already marked differences between different parts of the UK. In Scotland, for example, we have opted to use part of our existing support package to target key sectors like beef and hill sheep and the ability of Scotland to make such decisions will clearly need to be maintained.

While assurances have been given about support levels during the Brexit negotiating period, we pressed the case for funding levels to be maintained once we are outside of the EU and that they go hand-in-hand with an agricultural policy, focussed on active production, that fits with Scottish agricultures needs.

Mr Bowie added: That requires a future UK agricultural policy that is truly representative of all parts of the UK and recognises the differences and the drivers of the industry in Scotland. We must make the most of the opportunities for our farming, food and drink sectors that Brexit presents. We can support jobs and grow income but only if we prioritise the needs of farming."

Holyrood could gain powers over Scottish fishing and farming once the UK leaves the EU, Scotland's only Conservative MEP Ian Duncan has said.

The SNP administration is expected to call for more control in the week before Christmas and has already written to Scottish secretary David Mundell to urge a meeting to clarify what powers might be devolved further.

Mr Duncan MEP said: "I would argue those powers would be given to Scotland but I would hope there would be UK-wide standards. There are opportunities to streamline some of the rules and reduce some of the compliance costs.

"I think it will come to the Scottish Parliament and I think they need to be ready and realise the challenge."

The importance of a trade deal with Europe, future trading arrangements with the rest of the world and access to non-UK labour are all issues which have been discussed in with UK farming unions in discussions with politicians since the EU Referendum result.
A further meeting with farmers poisoned by organophosphate (OP) sheep dip would not be 'beneficial', according to Defra minister George Eustice.

Government orders to use dangerous organophosphate chemicals left hundreds of sheep farmers with debilitating ill health.

The Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group (SDSSG) has called for a better diagnosis after labelling it 'one of the biggest medical cover ups in history' and is seeking official recognition that farmers were poisoned.

Farmers have said they were disappointed at Mr Eustice's refusal to take the problem seriously.

Mr Eustice said: "I met the SDSSG about a year ago and discussed this issue in depth. To the best of my knowledge there is no new scientific evidence available that would alter this conclusion.

"I am sympathetic to farmers suffering from ill health, but at this time I do not feel a further meeting would be beneficial."

"The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has recorded the number of reports of suspected adverse reactions in humans to OP dips received each year since records began in 1985. To date this figure is 634. To the best of the VMD's knowledge this is most comprehensive dataset available."

Last November Mr Eustice met representatives from the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group.

At the meeting in November members of the group expressed a number of concerns. Representatives from the group explained that they had suffered ill effects for a number of years which they attributed to their use of organophosphate sheep dips.

They also shared experiences of blood test results that they said had been lost from GPs and from Guys Hospital in the 90s.

OPs are one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide. There are nearly 3 million poisonings per year resulting in two hundred thousand death. Around 15% of people who are poisoned die as a result.
Worries about trespass and public rights of way are the most common health and safety concerns raised by farmers according to rural insurer Cornish Mutual.

The South West insurance company compiled a list of the most commonly asked questions put to their experts over the year, and by far the biggest concern was how farmers manage the public on their land.

Arthur Denton, Member Services Advisor, for Cornish Mutual, said the events had been a huge success and raised a number of concerns that affect those in agricultural communities throughout the areas the insurer covers: Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

Mr Denton said: It was clear to us from very early on that Members and non-Members attending our events needed clarification on the law surrounding the rights of the land owner when it comes to the public, so we were talking about Rights of Way and trespass at every event.

Farmers want to make sure that they are acting in the most responsible way, so that they can run their business properly and that the public can access the land safely and legally. We were delighted to be able to share our expert knowledge with farmers and land owners who were unsure about what they are and are not allowed to do on their own land. Hopefully releasing the eight most frequently asked questions will be helpful to others.

Cornish Mutual's quick guide

Q: What if someone strays from the path on a Right of Way?

A: Once a person strays from the Right of Way they usually become a trespasser and you normally have the right to ask them to return to the Right of Way, or to leave your land. Also, a Right of Way is not a Right to Stay!

Q: Can I erect a gate to stop people from entering my land?

A: Yes. So long as you are not blocking or hindering the entrance to a Public Right of Way and subject to any local planning permissions that you may require.

Q: What if someone falls down a cattle grid?

A: It would depend on the level of the duty of care, however if you have a warning sign highlighting the danger then you may absolve yourself of any liability if the other person decides to take the risk and cross the cattle grid

Q: How can we protect people who are careless?

A: The answer to this question is that you cant completely! You must, however, ensure that your land is made as free as possible from all obvious hazards and then any risk (that is willingly accepted by any person) that the person takes which causes them damage or injury maybe at their own risk.

Q: Can the Local Authority just erect stiles on my land?

A: If the stile is erected on a Right of Way the local authority can. The Right of Way remains part of the Queens Highway.
Post-Brexit uncertainty for the Welsh red meat industry has made the need for fair funding 'urgent', according to a Welsh politician.

Huw Irranca-Davies AM said the potential impact of Brexit on crucial areas of the Welsh red meat industry, like EU exports and PGI status, meant that repatriating more than 1m a year of marketing and development cash now 'unfairly residing' in England was 'more urgent than ever'.

He referred to the Red Meat Levy, under which farmers and processors pay a contribution on every animal towards promotion, marketing and development work by Hybu Cig Cymru-Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).

Because of the structure of the slaughterhouse industry, many Welsh farmers were using facilities across the border, which means funding ended up in England. The English, Welsh and Scottish levy bodies are agreed on proposals for reform but steps have not yet been taken by the UK Government to implement them.

The slaughter industrys restructuring over decades to the disadvantage of that Welsh red meat levy means that you have a lot less funds available to do the essential marketing and promotion work for this industry, Huw Irranca-Davies told the HCC-organised AMs briefing on the implications of Brexit.

There have been signals from the UK Government that they are willing to engage with us and other devolved administrations and bring forward proposals that would have a fairer settlement.

It sounds like there is a will up there to do it  but we have to bolt that down. There may be some role for this place in actually pushing harder with all of our political parties in saying we need a fairer deal.

So there again is a message for us as an Assembly and for cross-party colleagues: we need to bang the drum on this, said Mr. Irranca-Davies.

'Free and unfettered trade access'

He reiterated the concerns of HCC Chairman Dai Davies who, in also addressing the meeting, said that more than 90 per cent of the Welsh red meat export trade relied on the EU, stressing the need for a Brexit with free and unfettered trade access.

He also wanted to see a resolution to the uncertainty over the EUs highly-prized Protected Geographical Indication status that Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef enjoyed and that made a major difference in boosting overseas marketing and sales.

This was up in the air at the moment and we have to make sure this special status was protected, Mr. Irranca-Davies said.
NFU Cymru Conference: Farmers need more help to 'weather current storms'
"A bad result would have been 30pc on each structure and we wouldn't know where to go but this gives the board really clear direction on where to go and gives us a mandate to act on what has been suggested."
Two 14-year-old boys have been charged in connection with having a gun at Unity Reed High School in Manassas this week. The gun was not brandished toward other students and was not part of an
Where to eat and drink in the Fayetteville area this weekend
Kanye West and Donald Trump did not discuss politics during their meeting this week.

Kanye West

The 39-year-old rapper and the 70-year-old US president elect met at Trump Tower in New York, where Donald told reporters that they just discussed "life".

A source added to PEOPLE: "Kanye reached out to Trump and asked to come by. They didn't talk about politics. Kanye is in New York for meetings and he is also working with a realtor to find an apartment. He loves New York and wants to spend more time there."

'Celebrity Apprentice' star Donald also revealed the pair have been pals for some time, explaining: "We've been friends for a long time."

Kanye was accompanied by Kris Jenner's boyfriend Corey Gamble on the visit.

Although Kanye has revealed his plans to run for president in 2020, he refused to answer questions on whether he discussed his bid with Trump, insisting he just wanted to "take a picture right now".

Meanwhile, sources close to the star say he is much calmer following his recent stint in hospital for exhaustion and sleep deprivation after cancelling his US tour.

A source said: "Kanye seems more subdued and less manic than he usually has been, but still in a creative headspace. He's being low-key but seems focused on the future - future projects and moving forward. He's slowed down a little but he's still very focused on projects, personal and professional. And he does still seem exhausted from everything. You can tell the experience [canceling the tour and time in the hospital] was very trying."
Peter Andre doesn't want his eldest son "involved" in the music industry yet.

Emily MacDonagh and Peter Andre

The 'Mysterious Girl' hitmaker has weighed into the debate around David and Victoria Beckham's decision to let their 11-year-old son Cruz release a charity single and whilst he is supporting their choice, Peter admits it isn't something he'd want his 11-year-old son Junior to do.

He shared: "Junior asks me all the time if he can audition for shows like 'Britain's Got Talent', but I don't want him involved in that world yet."

And commenting on David and Victoria's decision to let Cruz release the track in his new! magazine column, he added: "They're great parents. If both parents agree and they keep a close eye on him, it's up to them."

Meanwhile, Peter - who has Junior and Princess, nine, with his ex-wife Katie Price and Amelia, two, and three-week-old Theodore, with his spouse Emily MacDonagh - previously admitted he would love to have another son as Junior is his "best mate".

Speaking before Emily had given birth to their second child, he said: "I'm usually the only one in the house who thinks we're having a boy. I'll be so happy if we have a girl but I'll be even more buzzing if it's a boy. Junior is my best mate so it would be nice to have another little boy to be pals with, especially as Junior is only with me half of the week ...

"For a two year old, her vocabulary is insane. She tells Emily, 'Don't worry mummy, Millie will stroke your tummy.' And she says hello to the bump. Here's a weird thing - Amelia keeps saying that she knows the baby is a boy. Imagine if she gets it right."
Erin McNaught is good friends with Princess Beatrice.

Princess Beatrice

The 34-year-old model has struck up a bond with the 28-year-old royal - who is the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth - after she and her husband Example, whose real name is Elliott Gleave, went out to dinner with her in London.

Speaking on Australia's 'The Morning Show' on Monday (12.12.16), she said: "We've been out for dinner with Princess Beatrice... in London you really do just hang out with people. She's really lovely, really ambitious girl."

And Beatrice's friendship with the model will unlikely sit well with her father Prince Andrew as he recently asked his mother to help improve the status of Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie, 26, as well as their partners, because he doesn't want his grandchildren to be viewed as lower class "commoners".

Speaking about the reason behind the Duke of York's plan in Ephraim Hardcastle's column in the Daily Mail newspaper, a source said: "His daughters' children will be commoners, defined as one of the ordinary or common people, as opposed to the aristocracy or to royalty."

However, the Royal convention ensures all of the monarch's children claim the title Her Royal Highness, which is then subsequently inherited by her grandchildren, who are born to her sons.

And if Beatrice or Eugenie marry non-aristocrats or to anyone who is not considered a royal and decide to have a family, their children will have no right to the title, which Andrew doesn't agree with.

This news comes after a recent discussion over whether Andrew's daughters - who are seventh and eighth in line to the throne - should be given full-time royal duties, to be funded by tax payers and to reside in the apartments at Kensington Palace.

Although Andrew is in favour of allowing his brood more prominent roles within the Royal family, Prince Charles - who has sons Prince William and Prince Harry - reportedly disapproves of the request.

And it has been reported the 90-year-old monarch was undecided how to settle the dispute, and she has passed it on to her private secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt, to come up with a solution.
Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla have released their official Christmas card.

Duchess Camilla and Prince Charles

Clarence House have given royal fans a sneak peak at the couple's seasonal card, which features the pair on the front, on its official Twitter account.

The royals - who got married in 2005 - have seemingly put a lot of thought into their festive mini poster this year as they've picked out a special photograph of them during their Spring tour to the Western Balkans and Croatia.

The sweet shot, which sees them surrounded by the locals in their traditional national costumes while at the Cultural Heritage Festival in Osijek, Croatia, where the group performed a dance, was surrounded by a red border.

The message reads: "Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year."

The pair are no doubt looking forward to winding down over the festive period and seeing their family as they've had a busy 12 months over the past year.

And it doesn't look like their schedule is set to slow down next year either as Charles is keen to get stuck in to the refurbishments at Buckingham Palace.

The 68-year-old prince, who is a huge environmental campaigner, is keen to have solar panels put on the roof to make it environmentally friendly.

It comes following the news that Queen Elizabeth has been urged to foot the bill for the renovations.

A petition of more than 100,000 people was signed demanding the 90-year-old monarch pay for the repairs, which will take 10 years to complete.

The campaign called 38 Degrees is headed up by Mark Johnson, who feels more money should be spent on education and health care rather than the upkeep of the royal residence in London.

He said: "There is a national housing crisis, the NHS is in crisis, austerity is forcing cuts in many frontline services.

"Now the Royals expect us to dig deeper to refurbish Buckingham Palace."
Princess Diana's dress has sold at auction for 56,250.

Princess Diana

A purple crushed velvet frock worn by the late royal, who tragically passed away in a car accident in Paris, France, in 1997, during an official visit to Lisbon, Portugal, in February 1987 went under the hammer at the KerryTaylor Auctions in London along with two other gowns on Monday (12.12.16) afternoon.

The long-sleeved off-the-shoulder item was undoubtedly the most popular piece as it had bids flying in from all over the place - even online at thesaleroom.com.

The other two dresses - a Caroline Charles tartan woollen frock worn by the princess at the Braemar Highland Games in September 1982 and a Catherine Walker turquoise silk gown she sported in Gisborne, New Zealand, during a royal tour in April 1983 - fetched much lower prices of 6,875 and 5,250.

Anu Menon, director of thesaleroom.com told the Express newspaper: "Diana is the ultimate icon and she is known for her impeccable style and love of fashion."

This isn't the first time the purple dress, which is complete with a trained overskirt, inner skirt and a front slit showing just a hint of flesh, has gone to auction as it also was put up in June 1997 to raise money for charity.
Queen Elizabeth attended her cousin's funeral on Monday (12.12.16).

Queen Elizabeth

The 90-year-old monarch and her husband Prince Philip - who rarely attend funerals except for the royal family - joined mourners, including the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park yesterday to say goodbye to Margaret Rhodes.

The monarch, who was dressed all in black, was close friends with Mrs. Rhodes and was spotted gathering with her family before the private funeral service.

Mrs. Rhodes' funeral comes a year after the queen attended the service for her corgi keeper Nancy Fenwick, who looked after her dogs, at the same chapel.

Mrs. Rhodes - who played with the queen as a child - sadly passed away at the age of 91 on November 25 following a short battle with an illness.

Despite the many decades passing, Mrs. Rhodes and the monarch have remained close friends and they regularly visited one another when they had spare time.

Speaking in 2006, Mrs. Rhodes described how she and the queen used to pretend they were horses when they were youngsters.

She said at the time: "We were circus horses, or riding ponies or anything you like but it involved a lot of neighing, and cantering and galloping."
There's one thing that's certainly not in Joaquin Phoenix's wardrobe and that's wool, even if it is cold outside. In the new campaign for PETA he announces; "cruelty doesn't suit me". He encourages, "Please leave wool out of your wardrobe."

Joaquin Phoenix for PETA

The actor is pictured alongside rescued sheep and is wearing a vegan suit by Brave GentleMan, PETA Menswear Brand of the Year.

The ad is timely, after six wool industry workers were charged with cruelty to animals in a recent landmark case. The court case came after a PETA expose showed shearers beating sheep in the face with clippers in Australia.

Phoenix does not often give interviews and we rarely see him in a suit in photographs but in the exclusive video for PETA he openly tells us why he decided to do both.

"When PETA [US] sent me that video of this undercover investigation of what happened in these shearing farms, that was really eye-opening", he says after feeding one of the rescue sheep. "I had that rationalization, 'Well, it's something that is just taken off them, and there's not a lot of abuse."

"After seeing this footage, it's pretty undeniable that  it's impossible to do that in a humane way. And so, it seems that the only option is to not use wool. That's become abundantly clear".

PETA - whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to wear" - has released other exposes showing sheep being punched, jabbed and stamped on.

Phoenix reminds us in his interview that shearers are often paid by volume, not by the hour. This encourages both fast and rough work that can lead to open wounds on sheep's bodies. The wounds are then stitched closed - without giving the animals any painkillers.

Phoenix is part of a long list of celebrities - including Eva Mendes, Alicia Silverstone, Mark Ronson, Pamela Anderson, Iggy Pop, and many more - who have teamed up with PETA and its international affiliates to promote kinder wardrobe choices.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.
Yesterday Pamela Anderson; actress and animal rights advocate, along with rescue dog Zorro, hand delivered a petition to the High Commissions of Mauritius. The petition had 179,000 signatures on it to urge the country to introduce a spay and neuter programme to help its stray dog problem.

Pamela Anderson and Zorro with petition

This follows video footage from November by International Animal Rescue and PETA, which captured dogs being hunted down, caught and killed with painful hit or miss injections.

The eyewitness footage (which you can find on You Tube- 'Dogs Killed in Cruel Ways in Mauritius') showed a number of dogs being killed in front of one another as they tried to escape the gates and walls of the kennels.

"How can people enjoy a vacation on your 'Paradise Island' while knowing that such horrors are taking place near their hotels?" pleads Anderson. "Dogs are very loving and sensitive beings. We owe it to them to find a compassionate solution to the overpopulation crisis in Mauritius."

Anderson is a longstanding PETA supporter who joins Tom Hardy, Krysten Ritter, Mickey Rourke, and Sia in teaming up with PETA or its international affiliates to raise awareness of dogs in need.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

by Lucy Moore for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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The Government of Thailand and Alibaba Group have signed an agreement to cooperate on a range of initiatives to develop e-commerce in the Southeast Asian nation. The initiatives include providing training to SMEs and individuals, and exploring ways to enhance the countrys logistics capabilities to support Thailand 4.0 and Digital Economy strategies.

The Government of Thailand and Alibaba Group have signed an agreement to cooperate on a range of initiatives to develop e-commerce in the Southeast Asian nation. The initiatives include providing training to SMEs and individuals, and exploring ways to enhance the country's logistics capabilities to support Thailand 4.0 and Digital Economy strategies.#

The Letter of Intent, signed in presence of Thailands deputy prime minister Somkid Jatusripitak and Alibaba Groups executive chairman Jack Ma in Hangzhou, China, covers four key areas. The first involves offering e-commerce training to 30,000 Thai SMEs to aid their access to both domestic and international e-commerce platforms. Alibaba and its majority owned e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, Lazada Group, will help provide the training. They will also share their experience and expertise with the Thai government to help build Thailands own National E-Commerce Platform.

The Government of Thailand and Alibaba Group have signed an agreement to cooperate on a range of initiatives to develop e-commerce in the Southeast Asian nation. The initiatives include providing training to SMEs and individuals, and exploring ways to enhance the country's logistics capabilities to support Thailand 4.0 and Digital Economy strategies.#

Secondly, Thailand and Alibaba will collaborate on the creation of a nationwide People and Talent Development Programme, which aims to train around 10,000 individuals so they can be proficient in digital technology. The two sides will also work together to nurture software developers who will be given access to the China market via Alibaba Clouds marketplace for their software apps creations. Furthermore, senior government officials will receive training at the Thailand Digital Government Academy, initially on big data and artificial intelligence technologies. Alibaba and Lazada will jointly run a train-the-trainer programme to groom e-commerce business coordinators who will in turn help SMEs establish their own online export capabilities.

The Government of Thailand and Alibaba Group have signed an agreement to cooperate on a range of initiatives to develop e-commerce in the Southeast Asian nation. The initiatives include providing training to SMEs and individuals, and exploring ways to enhance the country's logistics capabilities to support Thailand 4.0 and Digital Economy strategies.#

Thirdly, Alibaba and Lazada will contribute to the development of the countrys supply chain and logistics systems by sharing their experience and expertise with Thailand Post, in a bid to expand the coverage of domestic delivery services to all provinces across Thailand in 2017. Studies on Alibabas inventory management systems and international e-commerce fulfillment services will also be undertaken by Thailand Post to gain insight into the establishment of bonded warehouses and fulfilment centres.

The Government of Thailand and Alibaba Group have signed an agreement to cooperate on a range of initiatives to develop e-commerce in the Southeast Asian nation. The initiatives include providing training to SMEs and individuals, and exploring ways to enhance the country's logistics capabilities to support Thailand 4.0 and Digital Economy strategies.#

Lastly, Alibaba and the Thai government will explore cooperation opportunities under the Eastern Economic Corridor Development project and help establish Thailand as a hub of digital technology and regional data centres in Southeast Asia. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  China
A new skills development programme titled Skills 21  Empowering citizens for inclusive and sustainable growth was launched in Bangladesh. The new European Union (EU) programme implemented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) will build on the achievements of earlier EU/ILO initiatives and continue to modernise the TVET system in Bangladesh.The joint declaration was signed and launched by representatives of the Bangladesh government, EU and ILO. The total budget for the programme is 20 million of which the EU will contribute 19.5 million.

A new skills development programme titled 'Skills 21  Empowering citizens for inclusive and sustainable growth' was launched in Bangladesh. The new European Union (EU) programme implemented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) will build on the achievements of earlier EU/ILO initiatives and continue to modernise the TVET system in Bangladesh.#

The Skills 21 programme will also aim at creating conditions for a sector wide approach for the TVET policy area in Bangladesh. In doing so, it will also be instrumental in creating more skilled trainers and more diversified job opportunities.According to the education minister in Bangladesh, Nurul Islam Nahid, this initiative will support the Governments commitments to inclusive economic growth and full and productive employment for all.The launch of the Skills 21 project will provide further assistance to our national efforts to create an effective, demand driven skills system that will meet the needs and aspirations of our people, especially the two million who enter the workforce every year, Nahid said. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Bangladesh partner countries, viz the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have signed a memorandum of intent to continue with a second phase of the Improving Working Conditions in the Bangladesh Ready Made Garment Sector programme. The first phase, which was launched in October 2013, is set to end in June 2017.

The programme is implemented by the ILO and funded by Canada, the Netherlands and the UK. Since its launch, the programme has supported government efforts to inspect over 1,500 readymade garment (RMG) factories for structural, fire and electrical safety. The capacity of the department of inspections for factories and establishments has been greatly enhanced while steps have also been made to boost safety and health in the industry. Rana Plaza survivors have been supported while the Better Work programme has been launched in Bangladesh which currently works to enhance compliance and productivity in over 100 RMG factories.

For the second phase of the project, areas under consideration include support for the establishment of a Remediation Coordination Cell to oversee remediation of RMG factories, ILO said in a statement. Work to strengthen regulatory capacity as well as build the occupational safety and health capabilities of employers and workers organisations is also likely to continue. (RKS)

Bangladesh partner countries, viz the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have signed a memorandum of intent to continue with a second phase of the 'Improving Working Conditions in the Bangladesh Ready Made Garment Sector programme'. The first phase, which was launched in October 2013, is set to end in June 2017.#

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Brand: Atelier Gardeur

Company: Gardeur GmbH

Location: Norwegian Fashion Center, Fornebu, Norway

Product profile: Womens and mens trousers

About the company: The Monchengladbach-based trouser specialist Gardeur GmbH manufactures high-quality womens and mens trousers. At the only trouser atelier in the sector all steps of trouser development  from design through to the finished pair of trousers  are kept in house and are pooled at the company headquarters in Monchengladbach: an in-house team of expert designers, specialised prototype development, its own sample making department workshop as well as a fully matured quality assurance system guarantee the perfect fit. Atelier Gardeur makes no compromises in terms of quality and sustainability in the selection of materials. The trouser specialist can reliably manage and seamlessly control all stages of production thanks to its own production sites. Perfection the way that employees live and deliver it day after day requires experience and well-founded knowledge. The Groups portfolio includes the brands Atelier GARDEUR with the capsule collection Anna & Jan by Atelier Gardeur and the brand Thomas Rath Trousers.
Propylene prices moved up in Asia in the last week due to strong buying sentiments.

Propylene prices moved up in Asia in the last week due to strong buying sentiments. In Korea, average prices increased by...#

In Korea, average prices increased by US$ 5/ton and assessed at US$ 795/ton in the last week as compared to previous week, a rise of 0.63 per cent.

Propylene prices moved up in Asia in the last week due to strong buying sentiments. In Korea, average prices increased by...#

In China, average prices surged by US$ 15/ton and assessed at US$ 850/ton in the last week, registering an increase of 1.80 per cent from the previous week.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
India has been witnessing a steady rise in the export of handmade carpets and floor coverings since last three years. Carpet exports increased form Rs 7108.31 crore in FY13-14 to Rs 8441.95 crore in FY14-15, and then to Rs 9481.36 crore in FY15-16. In the ongoing financial year 2016-17, carpet exports have already touched Rs 5786.85 crore till October.

The data on Indias carpet exports was given by Union textiles minister Smriti Irani in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha last week. The minister said that the ministry does not maintain state/UT wise export statistics.

The government is implementing various schemes to improve the exports of handmade carpets and other floor coverings. These include 5 per cent Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) Scrip on exports of handmade carpets and other floor coverings.

In order to increase manufacturing and exports of the carpet industry, government is planning to establish mega clusters in Bhadohi-Mirzapur and Srinagar. It also intends to set up Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) at Bhadohi.

In a bid to boost the exports of the carpet industry, the government announced 3 per cent interest equalisation scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit with effect from April 1, 2015 for five years.

Under Market Development Assistance (MDA) and Market Access Initiative (MAI) schemes of the department of commerce, the government provides financial assistance to the carpet industry for participation in fairs, exhibitions and buyer-seller meets in India and abroad. Support is provided for market study, branding, involvement in social and welfare programmes among others through Marketing Support and Service Scheme.

Meanwhile, the government is imparting skill development training for carpet weaving and providing financial aid for functioning of carpet weaving training centres in the areas of Bhadohi-Varanasi-Mirzapur. Stipend is also given to the trainees. The carpet manufacturers and exporters are also benefitting with the refund of excise and custom duties paid on import through duty drawback channel. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.8 per cent in 2017, the Asian Development Bank has projected. For South Asia too, the Manila based organisation expects growth to bounce back in 2017 to 7.3 per cent. In a supplement to its Asian Development Outlook 2016 Update report, ADB has retained its growth projection for developing Asia at 5.7 per cent.

Asian economies continue their robust expansion in the face of global economic uncertainties, said ADB deputy chief economist Juzhong Zhuang. Structural reforms to boost productivity, improve investment climate, and support domestic demand can help maintain growth momentum into the future.

Combined growth for the major industrial economies exceeded expectations in the Update, ticking up 0.1 percentage point to 1.5 per cent in 2016. Growth in 2017 is maintained at 1.8 per cent. Robust consumer spending supported the US economy, with supportive monetary policy and improved labour markets fuelling growth in the euro area. Japans expansion, meanwhile, will be buoyed by strong exports, despite the stronger local currency, the report said.

Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.8 per cent in 2017, the Asian Development Bank has projected. For South Asia too, the Manila based organisation expects growth to bounce back in 2017 to 7.3 per cent. In a supplement to its Asian Development Outlook 2016 Update report, ADB has retained its growth projection for developing Asia at 5.7 per cent.#

While downgrading its forecast for South Asia from 6.9 per cent to 6.6 per cent in 2016, the report adds that growth will bounce bank next year, reaching 7.3 per cent. On India, the report expects the effects of the transition to be short-lived, and projects the economy to grow at 7.8 per cent in 2017.

Growth in Chinathe worlds second largest economyis expected to hit 6.6 per cent this year, driven by strong domestic consumption, solid wage growth, urban job creation, and public infrastructure investment. The forecast for China in 2017 is maintained at 6.4 per cent, the report states.

In Southeast Asia, growth forecasts remain unchanged at 4.5 per cent in 2016 and 4.6 per cent in 2017. Likewise, the outlook in Central Asia is maintained at 1.5 per cent in 2016 and 2.6 per cent in 2017. The Pacific will see growth of 2.7 per cent in 2016, picking up to 3.3 per cent in 2017. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
A Monforts, a Germany-based textile machinery manufacturer, displayed latest developments in finishing techniques at the recently held India ITME 2016, the 10th India international textile machinery exhibition, from December 3 to 8, 2016, at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre, NSE Complex, Goregaon, Mumbai, in hall 5, booth A14/B13.Monforts, participating at India ITMA on the stand of its local representative, ATA, highlighted its latest developments for finishing under low moisture application with Eco Applicator; advanced concepts for continuous dying with Econtrol T-CA process jointly developed with DyStar; and new solutions for energy saving finishing of denim fabrics with the new ECO Denim stretching unit; and double rubber twin compressive shrinking unit.

A Monforts, a Germany-based textile machinery manufacturer, displayed latest developments in finishing techniques at the recently held India ITME 2016, the 10th India international textile machinery exhibition, from December 3 to 8, 2016, at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre, NSE Complex, Goregaon, Mumbai, in hall 5, booth A14/B13.#

The Company also highlighted new solutions for energy saving and heat recovery with the integrated Eco Booster self-cleaning heat recovery unit and a non-stop processing conditions. The additional exhaust air cleaning unit can be directly linked to the Eco Booster.Experienced Monforts technologists were on hand to provide detailed advice at the exhibition. The Monforts Advanced Technology Centre in Monchengladbach could also be booked at the show for trials with all kinds of fabrics including coating of technical textiles under high temperature conditions. (GK)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Rudolf Atul Chemicals Ltd (RACL) has inaugurated its ultra-modern Application Development Centre to provide enhanced technical support to its customers in India. The inauguration was part of RACLs 5anniversary celebration, commemorated with stakeholders and distributors to acknowledge their efforts and contributions towards its consistent growth.

Wolfgang Schumann, managing director, Rudolf Group was special guest on the occasion, along with Dr WA Schumann, chairman, RACL; Sunil Lalbhai, chairman and managing director, Atul Ltd, and Dr GVG Rao, managing director, RACL and the board of directors.

Exactly five years ago Rudolf and Atul signed an agreement which began our partnership that was in reality a fusion of the better of our own two companies. The idea was to ensure that our synergy gave us a competitive edge in the challenging market environment. Five years is a short time and we are still growing but in a sector that is constantly and rapidly changing, it means we have managed to create a niche for ourselves. I am convinced that together we will achieve much more because we have the best team with a single goal  to make RACL one of the key players in Indian market, said Dr WA Schumann while addressing the stakeholders.

Rudolf Atul Chemicals Ltd (RACL) has inaugurated its ultra-modern Application Development Centre to provide enhanced technical support to its customers in India. The inauguration was part of RACL's 5th anniversary celebration, commemorated with stakeholders and distributors to acknowledge their efforts and contributions towards its consistent growth.#

In his address, Lalbhai said, At Atul, we have always valued partnership and have understood the importance of synergies. The partnership of Rudolf and Atul has involved harnessing unique abilities of each one of us to achieve a larger goal. Looking ahead, we are focused on accelerating the execution of our growth strategy while continuing to build on the strengths of our brands. I am excited about this journey and look forward to creating many milestones over years. I truly believe the best is yet to come.

On the occasion, Dr GVG Rao presented Vision 2020 and said, Our success is an outcome of the amazing team spirit of our people who work relentlessly to promote our image. We thought it would be apt to dedicate this celebration to our team and acknowledge that Together Everybody Achieves More. The journey has just begun and we are committed to accelerate our growth and reach new heights of excellence together.

A souvenir tracing the five-year journey of RACL and messages from the directors was also released on the occasion. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Swedish home furnishings and furniture retailer Ikea is starting Hej Homes, its pop up store format in those Indian cities, where it plans to open Ikea brand stores and has plans to start 50 outlets by 2025. A typical Hej House store is of between 4,000-7,000 sq feet and also houses a cafe and is normally started in malls, which have high footfalls.The aim of these Hej Stores is to give a slice of the Ikea brand to our customers and we will be unveiling the first store in Hyderabad, where our first Ikea store is also planned to be started, Ulf Smedberg, country marketing manager, Ikea India told a leading daily.

Swedish home furnishings and furniture retailer Ikea is starting Hej Homes, its pop up store format in those Indian cities, where it plans to open Ikea brand stores and has plans to start 50 outlets by 2025. A typical Hej House store is of between 4,000-7,000 sq feet and also houses a cafe and is normally started in malls, which have high footfalls. #

The Swedish retailer has already started construction of the Hyderabad Ikea store, while the second store is expected to come up in Navi Mumbai, with plans to start 25 Ikea stores in India by 2025, at an investment of around Rs 10,500 crore.Smedberg also added that the retailer will be introducing catalogues as part of its branding strategies, and will also be launching Ikea stores in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru in the first phase. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Well, we are as surprised as you are! But as you all know Bollywood is full of surprises and anything can happen in the glamour world! And when Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh can be friends why not Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif?

Deepika and Katrina, who shared cold vibes for years, were seen bonding at the recently held Golden Rose Awards. Talking about the same, a source told TOI, ''During the event, Deepika went into Shahrukh Khan's vanity van to chat with him. And guess what! A short while later, Katrina stepped in there to join the two. That's one 'wow' moment we are sure the photogs would have loved to capture. They hung out for about a good half an hour.'' Unbelievable, isn't it?

Meanwhile, check out the pictures of Deepika & Katrina from the same award show below.

Gorgeous Deepika On The Red Carpet Donning a thigh-high slit gown, Deepika Padukone was hotness personified as she slayed on the red carpet. She carried her beautiful outfit with much grace and poise. Katrina On The Red Carpet Katrina walked the red carpet of the first ever Lux Golden Rose Awards wearing a gown by Lebanese designer, Ziad Nakad. As always, the diva was looking stunning at the event. Inside Pics Of Deepika These inside pictures of the very beautiful Deepika Padukone with Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan and Sharmila Tagore are definitely a treat for the eyes. Katrina With Shahrukh Oh wow! The iconic jodi of Jab Tak Hai Jaan still look so wonderful! Well, we are dying to see them romance together on-screen once again. What about you? Shahrukh With Deepika This picture clearly shows how close Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone are. Even the box office clash between Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani failed to create a crack in their friendship. Katrina Burning The Stage Katrina Kaif once said that she was a non dancer when she entered Bollywood. Well, it's really hard to believe it now because the lady surely knows how to burn the stage with her hot moves. Deepika Padukone With A Fan A cute picture of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone posing with her fan at the Lux Golden Rose Awards. Oh So Stunning! It seems that God took a weekend off to make Deepika Padukone. See how mesmerising she is looking in all these pictures. Well, we must say she is a deadly combination of beauty and brains.

On the work front, Deepika Padukone has started the shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Padmavati. Soon, she will also start the promotions of her upcoming Hollywood film xXx: The Return Of The Xander Cage.

Also Read: Lovely Couple! Asin Looks So Beautiful In This Picture With Hubby Rahul At A Wedding

On the other hand, Katrina Kaif is busy with the shooting of Jagga Jasoos, which also stars her ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor. Apart from this, she has also signed Tiger Zinda Hai with Salman Khan.
Sometime back there were several reports doing the rounds about Kangana Ranaut having ego tussles with her Rangoon co-actors, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor. There were rumours that she would meddle with the creative decisions on the sets, owing to her triple win at the National awards, as a result of which her co-stars were miffed with her.

However, finally Kangana has broken her silence and clarified her stand to Mid-day. She was quoted saying, "We had a healthy partnership on set and I don't see any trouble between us. Of course, we weren't pally, which is probably what was misconstrued. People need to understand that we don't go to work to make friends.

On the other hand, she had some good things to say about her other co-star Saif Ali Khan. She added, "As far as Saif is concerned. He is the classic man. I am a fan of his charms. He and Kareena have been extremely gracious to me. They hosted a dinner for me when I came down. I love their company."

Meanwhile, Kangana will also be seen in Hansal Mehta's Simran which is slated to release next year.
Malayalam film industry and its followers were eagerly waiting for the big Christmas releases to hit the theatres. But now, here is a disappointing news for all of them. According to the latest developments, the Producers Association has decided to stop the release of all the upcoming Malayalam films.

Reportedly, the Producers Association is planning to go for a strike from December 16, 2016 onwards due to their ongoing issue with the Exhibitors Federation. The shoot of the upcoming films will also come to a halt due to the upcoming strike.

Issues between Producers Association and Exhibitors Federation fuelled when Exhibitors Federation started demanding half the amount of the theatre share, to which both the Producers and Distributors Associations were against. Despite holding several discussions, both the associations couldn't come to a settlement.

Four big Malayalam films have been slated for release during the Christmas season. Dulquer Salmaan starrer Jomonte Suvisheshangal, Mohanlal's Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, Prithviraj starrer Ezra and Siddique-Jayasurya team's Fukri were the movies scheduled as the big releases of this season. Now, the upcoming strike has put the release of all these movies under crisis.
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/12/16 -- Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSX: CNQ)(NYSE: CNQ) ("Canadian Natural" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement to monetize the Company's non-core ownership interest in the Cold Lake Pipeline, to Inter Pipeline Ltd ("Inter Pipeline"). The transaction consists of the monetization of the Company's entire 15% ownership interest of Cold Lake Pipeline Ltd. and its 14.7% ownership interest in the Cold Lake Limited Partnership. Upon closing of the transaction the Company will receive gross proceeds of $350 million in cash and 6,417,740 common shares of Inter Pipeline at an ascribed value of $177.5 million for total value of approximately $527.5 million. The transaction is targeted to close in 2016.

Canadian Natural expects to record an after-tax gain on disposition of approximately $200 million, based upon preliminary value allocations.

As previously announced, Canadian Natural has reinitiated Phase 1 of the Kirby North Project ("Kirby North"). To transport Kirby North volumes, Canadian Natural has, concurrently with this disposition, secured firm pipeline transportation capacity with Inter Pipeline for the Kirby North production and diluent volumes, with first production targeted for the first quarter of 2020. This will effectively integrate with the existing transportation arrangements for Canadian Natural's producing Kirby South volumes.

The Cold Lake Pipeline equity ownership was a non-core asset for Canadian Natural and monetization of the asset brings forward significant value for the Company's shareholders, not previously recognized, and does not alter the Company's rights, pricing and access to the Cold Lake Pipeline itself. After completion of the sale, Canadian Natural will retain access to the Cold Lake Pipeline system for portions of the Company's crude oil volumes.

Canadian Natural retained BMO Capital Markets to act as financial advisor for the transaction.

Canadian Natural is a senior oil and natural gas production company, with continuing operations in its core areas located in Western Canada, the U.K. portion of the North Sea and Offshore Africa.

Certain information regarding the Company contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Such statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Refer to our website for complete forward-looking statements www.cnrl.com

Contacts:

Steve W. Laut

President



Corey B. Bieber

Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President, Finance



Mark A. Stainthorpe

Director, Treasury and Investor Relations



Canadian Natural Resources Limited

2100, 855 - 2nd Street S.W.

Calgary, Alberta, T2P 4J8 Canada

Phone: (403) 514-7777

(403) 514-7888 (FAX)

ir@cnrl.com

www.cnrl.com




SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --A famous announcer in the UAE, Manal, recently donated her right liverto her father in Korea.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161209/447406

Mr. Ahmed Rashed Alshehhi, diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, came to Korea in July 2016. The Korean team of experts from Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), Pf. Suh, Kyung-Suk and Pf. Lee, Kwang-Woong, successfully performed laparoscopic living donor liver transplantation on him with his daughter as the donor, in August 2016. They all returned to the UAE healthy and without complications.

All the family members offered to be a donor for their father's liver transplantation, but the medical team's judgment was that Manal was the most suitable candidate and proceeded with the operation. In particular, they underwent surgery, by laparoscope, which is a highly sophisticated procedure performed only in a limited number of centers worldwide. SNUH started to perform almost all donor surgeries by pure laparoscopy, since late last year.

Manal said, "The medical staff in Korea was fantastic. Despite the surgery beinglong and difficult, their dedicated service, gave me a pleasant memory. I am so happy that my father is healthy. His recovery was quick due to the laparoscopic surgery, and above anything else I am glad there is minimal scarring."

The level of organ transplantation in Korea is world-class, there are about 1,400 cases performed annually and are under the government's strict management.

There are strict ethical regulations, especially when a foreign patient, such as one from theUAE, is undergoing organ transplantation. They have to bring a family member as a donor for living donor liver transplantation. The documents to prove family relationship should be submitted after notarization by local Korean Embassy.

Pf. Lee Kwang-Woong, said, "In Korea, there are about 900 cases of living donor liver transplantation every year to treat liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and the success rate is very high." He also said, "SNUH carried out liver transplantation surgeries last year for Russian and Mongolian patients, and recorded a 0% death rate."

Meanwhile, SNUH has been sending their medical staff to Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital (SKSH) since 2015 topromote advanced medical technologyin the UAE. SNUH participated in the 'Korea Medical Tourism Convention in UAE' held in Abu Dhabi on November 10th, which attracted the attention of many Arabic countries by promoting Korean medical care through medical consultation and presentation for about more than 150 patients who visited SNUH booth.

Media Contact:

Maria Jung

International Healthcare Center

Seoul National University Hospital

Tel: +82-2-2072-2783

E-mail: hayoungjsnuh@naver.com

Web: www.snuh.org/english










HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - December 12, 2016) - On January 7-8, 2017, the 33 rd annual Bridal Extravaganza Show will be held at downtown Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center.

A citywide search was conducted for the next Houston area bride to appear on billboards. The winner is Lakeshia Zeno. She appears on billboards citywide to promote the upcoming Bridal Extravaganza Show. Lakeshia and her fiance met on a church mission trip to Colorado and became Facebook friends. Three years later Lakeshia moved to Afghanistan. She lived there a year before her fiance saw a picture of her and her travels on Instagram and contacted her. The rest is history! She is now planning her Houston wedding. Now Lakeshia is the Billboard Bride and her image will grace giant billboards throughout the Greater Houston area, inviting lucky brides-to-be to the George R. Brown Convention Center to enjoy two full days of wedding inspiration. Billboard bride sponsors include: Ventura's Bridal, ANA&IVAN photography, Simple Beauty Artistry, and The Grand Hall at Deer Lake Lodge.

The opportunity to appear on billboards is open to all Houston area brides in attendance at the January event. Complete information is available at www.BridalExtravaganzaShow.com and www.billboardbride.com.

At the Bridal Extravaganza Show, thousands of brides, bridesmaids, mothers-of-the-bride, grooms, and wedding planners have their pick of over 345 vendors in 700 display showcases who cater exclusively to the ever fashionable, stylish, and romantic wedding industry. This huge event, held twice annually, draws marriage bound couples from all over Texas and beyond to find invaluable resources and to register to win honeymoons and shopping sprees. Brides may walk away with a honeymoon in the Riviera Maya, or a free wedding announcement in Texas Weddings Magazine.

From cakes to stationery, from DJs to live music, from gowns to catering, this is the event brides plan to attend. Brides also enjoy formal fashion shows presented on the 60-foot New York style runway. Best of all, brides can interview Houston's most trusted vendors and make selections.

Tickets are $15 on line and $20 at the door. For more information call (281) 340-7777 or log on to www.BridalExtravaganzaShow.com

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/12/11G124946/Images/Poster_Billboard-86e43a15f5ee8c58b6e6da394970f613.jpg

Contact:

Laurette Veres

713-206-1915
SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 12/12/16 -- Amobee, a global leader in marketing technology, today announced the appointment of data and technology expert Todd Chu to the position of Senior Vice President, Global Operator Innovation. Chu will be charged with leading Amobee's new product offerings that are driven by and utilize telecommunications operator assets.

In his role at Amobee, Chu will lead the Solutions Architecture team, delivering marketing and advertising technology stack services, and developing the product map for Amobee's data relationships with service providers. Chu will also work with the company's global business development team to advance its proprietary Amobee Brand Intelligence solutions.

Chu was most recently SVP of Global Innovation at Signal, an identity management provider, where he was an early member of the founding team. With over 15 years of senior leadership experience in the digital marketing industry, Chu also held positions at aQuantive and DoubleClick.

"Amobee is a leader in marketing technology and I look forward to making an impact across the global business," said Todd Chu. "Amobee has a competitive advantage with the expansive footprint across the Singtel Group, with 600 million mobile subscribers across Asia, Africa and Australia. I am excited to be spearheading operator innovation and creating products and services that can be leveraged for a multitude of opportunities including digital marketing, on and off-domain personalisation, market research and analytics."

Amobee's President, Kim Perell, stated: "Amobee's goal is to become the leading marketing technology solution for operator assets by leveraging our strong position in the digital advertising ecosystem. There is a unique opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region resulting from Amobee's expertise in marketing technology underpinned by Singtel's presence and investment commitment."

"I am thrilled to welcome Todd to Amobee; his deep technology skills and operational expertise will contribute greatly to our strategy of delivering high quality innovation," continued Perell.

ABOUT AMOBEE

Amobee is a global marketing technology company serving the world's leading brands and agencies. Amobee's patented Brand Intelligence technology measures digital engagement to provide a deeper understanding of audiences, their mindset and interests. Amobee's unified platform enables marketers to seamlessly plan and activate cross channel, programmatic media campaigns using Brand Intelligence, and includes ads API integrations with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat. Amobee is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singtel, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world with over 600 million mobile subscribers. Amobee operates across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. www.amobee.com
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/12/16 -- Winston Gold Mining Corp. ("Winston Gold" or the "Corporation") (CSE: WGC) (CSE: WGC.CN) (OTCQB: WGMCF) is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") held on December 12, 2016, in Vancouver. At the Meeting, the shareholders of the Corporation unanimously approved all resolutions put before them by management, including the election of directors, re-appointment of the auditor, continuation of the Corporation into British Columbia from Manitoba and the accompanying provisions, and the Corporation's 10% rolling stock option plan.

At the Meeting, the Corporation's shareholders re-elected Murray Nye, Max Polinsky, Darwin Ben Porterfield, and Allan Fabbro as directors of the Corporation. In addition, the shareholders elected Stanley Stewin as a director.

About Stanley Stewin

Mr. Stewin is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba (2007 to present) and obtained a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) - University of Manitoba. Mr. Stewin has over 20 years' experience in the agricultural industry. Mr. Stewin is currently Head of Audits at the Canadian Grain Commission located in Winnipeg, Manitoba (from 2007 to present) and is managing a staff of five professionals. Mr. Stewin was previously Head of Country Operation Eastern Region at Agricore United, Winnipeg Manitoba (from 1985 to 2007), an agricultural business with a grain handle in excess of 11 million Metric tons and with Crop Production Sales in excess of $900 million. Mr. Stewin has extensive experience in restructuring and re-organizing departments/organizations involving business analysis, developing business plans, leading negotiations and community consultations.

The Corporation is also pleased to announce the appointment of Ronan Sabo-Walsh as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Sabo-Walsh's appointment is effective immediately. He replaces Mr. Max Polinsky, who has acted as the Corporation's Chief Financial Officer since September 29, 2014. Mr. Polinsky will retain his status as the President and a director of the Corporation.

About Ronan Sabo-Walsh

Mr. Sabo-Walsh holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance from the University of British Columbia and has over 5 years' experience in corporate finance. He has been employed by V Baron Global Financial Canada Ltd., a full-service merchant bank providing ongoing financial and back-office support to public companies, since 2011 and currently holds the title of Assistant Manager, Corporate Finance. Mr. Sabo-Walsh is also the VP, Finance of Novo Resources Corp., a mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Mr. Sabo-Walsh has extensive experience with public listings, merger transactions, and public company management.

About Winston Gold

Winston Gold is a junior mining company focused on advancing high-grade, low cost mining opportunities into production. Towards that end, the Corporation has acquired two under-explored and under-exploited gold/silver mining opportunities, being the Winston Gold project near Helena, Montana, and the Gold Ridge project, near Willcox, Arizona.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company

Murray Nye, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Winston Gold

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.

Contacts:

Winston Gold

Murray Nye

Chief Executive Officer

(204) 989-2434

murray@winstongold.com




LONDON, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

ResponseTek, a Customer Experience Management (CEM) software provider, announced its strategic partnership with IBM. ResponseTek is the first CEM vendor to join IBM's Universal Behaviour Exchange (UBX), an open exchange ecosystem consisting of IBM partners that enables the sharing of customer data in real-time between certified solutions. ResponseTek's Listening Platform is pre-integrated with UBX and allows end clients to utilise a wide range of downstream marketing-specific solutions.

With the ResponseTek and UBX integration, the two companies are providing a powerful gateway for Marketing professionals to access dynamic, real-time customer experience (CX) data that feeds directly into the IBM Marketing Cloud to drive compelling, transactional marketing campaigns. The integration automates repetitive and time-consuming data mining and validation tasks required to integrate CX data into campaign distribution lists. Clients can engage in relevant, two-way dialogue with both their detractors and promoters, and reap the benefits of improving service recovery, retention, and upsell revenue.

Syed Hasan, Chief Executive Officer at ResponseTek said, "Working with IBM UBX, ResponseTek is changing the definition of Customer Experience Management from a sole focus on customer retention into systems that drive customer acquisition and upsell as well. We believe that the large volume of real-time customer feedback data which ResponseTek collects for its clients should be used to personalise marketing campaigns powered by solutions such as those in the IBM Marketing Cloud. We are bringing the world of customer experience and marketing automation together seamlessly to drive customer loyalty, retention, and engagement."

To learn more about the ResponseTek and IBM UBX partnership, visit the ResponseTek webpage here or the IBM partner page here.

About ResponseTek

ResponseTek is a global leader in enterprise Customer Experience Management software connecting over 720 million customers to the brands that service them. With over sixteen years of experience in the CEM space, the company has 5 offices spanning 4 continents, programmes operating in over 60 countries and hundreds of CEM solution implementations under their belt. The company stays true to helping clients listen to their customers, learn from the feedback they collect, and ultimately act to respond to that feedback. To learn more about ResponseTek, visit their website: http://www.responsetek.com.

Media Contact: Bimal Parmar, Director of Marketing, ResponseTek, Bimal.Parmar@ResponseTek.com
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - December 13, 2016) - Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), and leading provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, announced today that Airbus will take delivery of a state-of-the-art Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM') 110 System in December 2016. The renowned aircraft manufacturer will utilize Sciaky's industrial-scale metal 3D printing system to produce large structural parts made of titanium.

Sciaky's EBAM process combines computer-aided design (CAD), additive manufacturing processing principles, and an electron beam heat source. Starting with a 3D model from a CAD program, Sciaky's fully-articulated, moving electron beam gun deposits metal via wire feedstock, layer by layer, until the part reaches near-net shape. From there, the near-net shape part requires heat treatment and post-production machining. In the end, there is minimal material waste.

Sciaky brings quality and control together in one step with IRISS' - the Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System. IRISS is the only real-time monitoring and control system in the metal 3D printing market that can sense and digitally self-adjust metal deposition with precision and repeatability. This closed-loop control is the primary reason that Sciaky's EBAM 3D printing process delivers consistent part geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and metal chemistry, from the first part to the last.

As mentioned above, EBAM utilizes wire feedstock, which can accommodate a wide variety of metals and refractory alloys, such as titanium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, Inconel, and stainless steels. Sciaky's EBAM 110 System has a work envelope of 70" (1778 mm) x 47" (1194 mm) x 63" (1600 mm).

"Sciaky is very proud to partner with a world-class innovator like Airbus," said Bob Phillips, Vice President of Marketing for Sciaky, Inc. "We all know that metal 3D printing technology is going to revolutionize manufacturing in the aerospace industry, and Sciaky is committed to being at the forefront of this movement."

As the most widely scalable metal 3D printing solution in the industry in terms of work envelope, Sciaky's lineup of EBAM systems can produce parts ranging from 8 inches (203 mm) to 19 feet (5.79 meters) in length. EBAM is also the fastest deposition process in the metal additive manufacturing market, with gross deposition rates ranging from 7 to 20 lbs. (3.18 to 9.07 kg) of metal per hour.

To learn more about Sciaky, visit www.sciaky.com. You can also follow Sciaky on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn.

For more information on Airbus, visit www.airbus.com.

About Sciaky, Inc.

Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, is a world leader in metal 3D printing solutions. Our exclusive Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM') process is the fastest, most cost-effective 3D printing process in the market for large-scale metal parts, allowing manufacturers to save significant time and money over traditional manufacturing and rapid prototyping processes. Sciaky also provides industry-leading electron beam (EB) and advanced arc welding systems, as well as the most robust EB job shop welding services in the world, for the aerospace, defense, automotive, healthcare and other manufacturing industries. Our welding equipment meets rigid military specifications to manufacture items such as airframes, landing gear, jet engines, guided missiles and vehicle parts. Sciaky is a member of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association (MAMA). For more information on MAMA, visit www.MichMan.com.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/9/11G124765/Images/mw1b3ik4utq1sbh1844158kb90d8e2-40da0d005824a43bbbd85fe34501b7f1.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/9/11G124765/Images/Sciaky-110-EBAM-System-556abd805aa6841aad64713f009aa315.jpg

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxwrJNWIT3E

CONTACT:

Jay Hollingsworth

Public Relations Manager

Phillips Service Industries (PSI)

(734) 853-5211

jay.hollingsworth@psi-corp.com
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.


ROME (dpa-AFX) - Italian lender UniCredit SpA (UCG, UNCFF.PK) on Tuesday said its Board of Directors has approved its 2016-2019 Strategic Plan, Transform 2019. As part of the plan, the company announced a 13 billion euros rights issue aiming to strengthen its capital base.



Separately, the company said it has signed two agreements for the disposal of a 17.7 billion euros Italian non-performing loan portfolio.



The company noted that the rights issue will be submitted for approval to the Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting to be held on January 12, fully underwritten by volume by a consortium of leading international banks which entered into a pre-underwriting agreement.



Apart from this, other main Transform 2019 actions aimed at strengthening the capital base are no payment of dividends for 2016, thereafter a 20-50 percent cash dividend pay-out policy, and the agreed disposals of the whole interest in Pekao and Pioneer as well as the already finalised disposal of Ukraine and rightsizing of shareholding in Fineco altogether contributing by 164bps to the fully loaded CET1 ratio.



By 2019, the company aims net income of 4.7 billion euros and revenues, CAGR 2015-2019 at plus 0.6 percent.



Jean Pierre Mustier, Chief Executive Officer, UniCredit said, 'All these actions will allow us to generate a return on tangible equity of above 9 per cent in 2019 and allow for a cash dividend pay-out policy of between 20 to 50 per cent..... we will in 2019 have a fully loaded CET1 ratio above 12.5 per cent, well in line with other best in class G-SIFIs.'



Regarding the sale of its loan portfolio, the company announced that, as part of its efforts to accelerate the deleveraging of its non-core portfolio, it has entered into two separate agreements, one with Fortress Investment Group (FIG) and one with PIMCO to transfer two portfolios of non-performing loans to newly setup and independent entities in which UniCredit will retain a minority position. Each of the two entities will be managed by the respective investment partner who will each have a majority position.



The transactions involve the transfer of a combined about 17.7 billion euros of gross book value as at the end at the second quarter of 2016. The completion of the transactions is subject to customary conditions and is targeted to close by the end of the first half of 2017.



Morgan Stanley & Co. International and UniCredit CIB acted as Financial and Structuring Advisors to UniCredit in these transactions.



The company also announced that, in the context of the Rights Issue, UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley and UBS will act as structuring advisors and, alongside BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, and Mediobanca, as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners. In addition, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International and HSBC will act as co-global coordinators and joint bookrunners.



UniCredit Board of Directors resolved to call an Extraordinary and Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting to be held on January 12th.



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LINKOPING, Sweden, Dec 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Defence and security company Saab has appointed Anders Carp as new head of business area Surveillance. Anders Carp also becomes a member of Group Management.

Anders Carp is today head of business unit Traffic Management and will take up his new position from 1 January 2017. Current head of the business area, Micael Johansson, will at the same time, as previously communicated, take up the position as Deputy CEO and Executive Vice President.

Business area Surveillance provides efficient solutions for surveillance, safety and security, decision support and products for threat detection and protection. The portfolio covers for example airborne, ground-based and naval radars, electronic warfare, combat systems and C4I solutions as well as traffic management systems.

For further information, please contact:

Saab Press Centre,

+46 (0)734180018

presscentre@saabgroup.com

www.saabgroup.com

www.saabgroup.com/YouTube

Follow us on twitter: @saab

Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions within military defence and civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents around the world. Through innovative, collaborative and pragmatic thinking, Saab develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers' changing needs.

CONTACT:

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/saab/r/new-head-of-saab-business-area-surveillance,c2147486

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AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Payvision, an award-winning global acquirer and data-driven omnichannel solutions provider, has released the results of its annual global cross-border ecommerce survey, revealing merchants' reduced enthusiasm for selling into international markets. After tracking three years of solid growth, cross-border ecommerce uptake by respondents to Payvision's 2016 edition of this global survey is flat.

This waning appetite for cross-border ecommerce by merchants links directly to the unstable political and economic landscape in 2016. This includes a complicated UK extraction from the EU, a downturn in the Chinese economy, and a controversial presidential election campaign in the US, implying future tariffs on US trade with China and the withdrawal of the US from the TTP.

Merchants confessed they are unclear but concerned about the implications of this current instability. They report, as a consequence, more preference for doing cross-border business with consumers of shared languages and cultures this year, deeming other markets to be riskier. This is despite the increasing influence of the millennial, global consumer.

"The omnichannel consumer mindset is quite the opposite of merchants'," explains Gijs op de Weegh, Chief Operating Officer at Payvision. "Consider Alibaba's Singles' Day, the largest revenue-driving ecommerce day in the world. This year, it generated nearly $18 billion in sales in China, and almost a third of this was driven by foreign purchases. With a maturing set of millennial consumers, with more and more disposable income, the modern shopper is no longer domestic or cross-border, neither mobile nor in-store, they are everywhere."

Merchants agreed that modern consumers are always connected, shopping on their own terms, through multiple channels. So, when asked about omnichannel capabilities, 55% of respondents answered that they currently offer omnichannel retail and a further 41% plan to offer it in the near future.

Despite catering to this global, omnichannel shopper, merchants are still warier of selling cross-border than in previous years. This could be explained, in part, by the hurdles that merchants are facing when expanding into new markets. According to the survey, almost 50% of merchants find overseas regulation the biggest pain point, despite governmental efforts to lower barriers to entry in key markets such as China. Without a knowledgeable partner to navigate local legalities and localization, cross-border ecommerce can be a fruitless exercise.

The survey also revealed the growth of mobile commerce as the biggest game changer to cross-border trade for the third year running, selected by over 24%.

Payvision's fourth annual cross-border ecommerce report includes in-depth cross-border data, online payment preferences and trends in over 30 markets, establishing itself as the most thorough report on global cross-border ecommerce available. Download your free copy of the report.

About Payvision

Awarded with "Best Acquirer" at MPE Berlin 2016 and 'Best Merchant Acquirer/Processor' at the 2015 Payments Awards, Payvision is one of the fastest-growing global acquiring networks in the world. In the last decade, Payvision has independently built an international acquiring network connecting banks, PSPs, ISOs and their global merchants in the USA, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Payvision simplifies the complexity of cross-border ecommerce through a single, highly secure payment processing platform for all transactions processed worldwide, with domestic processing, a next-generation reporting interface, and a solid risk management solution.

Together with its subsidiary company, Acapture - a new, scalable, data-driven PSP, Payvision combines the experience of an industry leader and the flexibility and speed of a start-up, transforming itself into a data-driven omnichannel enterprise. Payvision and Acapture maximize the revenues of merchants and help them grow their business globally through a data-driven omnichannel approach, a complete and reliable payment platform, and a single REST API integration.

Payvision is headquartered in Amsterdam and, over the past decade, the company has expanded its geographical footprint in over 40 countries with offices in New York, Utah, San Francisco, Madrid, London, Toronto, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Macau, and Auckland. For more information about Payvision, please check www.payvision.com and follow us on: Twitter @payvision, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Corporate blog.

Contacts:

Payvision

Alina Geosanu

PR & Communications Assistant

a.geosanu@payvision.com




LONDON, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The brand new Telecoms Customer: 2017 Report has just been released by the editorial team at the Customer Experience Exchange for Telecoms, featuring interviews, articles and commentary on three challenging areas that continue to affect the telecoms industry - Churn; Digital Evolution; Insight & Analytics.

This exclusive Report features the thoughts of some of the industry's biggest brands including EE, Deutsche Telecoms, eir, Three, Telefonica and many more.

See the full report here >> http://bit.ly/2hp2ypR <<

The report explores some of the key strategies telecom brands are using to successfully deliver a consistently positive customer experience in an increasingly complex digital world and features:

Case studies from Time Warner Cable , Eesti Telekoms and Comcast

and Exclusive interviews from Deutsche Telekom, eir, Three, Telefonica, EE and Orange who give their expert insight on customer turnover, loyalty, retention strategies, the digital evolution and customer insight & analytics

Plus much more >> http://bit.ly/2hp2ypR <<

Nick Turner, Director at the Customer Experience Exchange for Telecoms said, "It's clear that the telecoms industry has had a big year. Fierce competition, hefty fines and M&A throughout the industry have paved the way for some significant trends as we move into 2017, which is why we've complied this report featuring the opinions of experts from across the telecoms field"

Consumers are now informed, have a voice, know what they want, and are essentially the driving force of change in the industry. As such, being able to deliver a seamless customer experience in an increasingly joined-up, multi-channel world whilst reducing internal churn, has become a critical priority for the telecoms industry and a key differentiator in a crowded market >> http://bit.ly/2hp2ypR <<

The Telecoms Customer: 2017 Report was produced ahead of the Customer Experience Exchange for Telecoms (24 - 25 April 2017, London), to find out about how you can get involved with the Exchange email the team directly on exchangeinfo@iqpc.com or call Nick Turner at+44(0)207-368-9484.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 --StaffConnect Group, provider of the world's leading enterprise SaaS mobile employee communications platform, today announced a deal with Tasnee to roll out its platform across their workforce in Saudi Arabia. It is thought this will be the first implementation of its kind to go live in this region and will bring this emerging technology to the forefront of the Employee Communications industry in Middle East countries.

Tasnee is Saudi Arabia's first joint-stock industrial company fully owned by the private sector. They required a solution that would unite their global workforce of 7,000 employees and enable effective communication both to, from and between employees. With a high proportion of non-desk employees working in factories and on manufacturing sites, StaffConnect's customer branded mobile app delivers on demand, real-time connectivity wherever the employee is located.

StaffConnect was selected for its end to end mobile platform that delivers a leading feature set designed specifically to create a better connected, more engaged workforce. The StaffConnect platform is one of few mobile-first solutions available that effectively tackle the huge proportion of non-desk employees, representing 80% of the world's workforce. Tasnee were particularly impressed with the platform's Communities feature which embraces the 'Voice of the Employee' by encouraging employees to generate and share content to collaborate with colleagues around the world.

Tasnee employees can look forward to accessing the Tasnee-branded employee app on their personal smartphones or tablets next year. The secure cloud platform will ensure only current employees are allowed access through Active Directory integration. It also fully supports content in Arabic for those based in the Middle East by utilising the Arabic language and keyboards on their devices. Administrators, managing the app via the Admin Console, will be able to use the Analytics Dashboard to gain greater insights by measuring employee interaction, engagement and sentiment within the company.

Karina Dostalova, Global Internal Communications, Tasnee states, "We chose StaffConnect because we have a high proportion of non-desk employees working in remote locations worldwide and needed a way to make them feel more connected and engaged. StaffConnect supported our internal selection process by creating a fully branded demo app that delivered the key features we were looking for. We were also impressed with their AppSuccess program which supports the implementation and internal launch of the app to ensure our employees can quickly get the most out of it."

Bulent Osman, Founder and CEO, StaffConnect states, "We are thrilled to have our first customer from the Middle East. Tasnee is a forward thinking organisation that understand the importance of greater employee engagement and are embracing the role of mobile technology in the workplace.

"Deloitte research found that business leaders rank employee engagement as the fourth most important trend in 2016 and we are really starting to see evidence of this board level priority across our customers. Organisations are seeing the emergence of mobile technology to deliver the financial and cultural benefits of putting their employees first by creating a united and open environment where every employee has a voice.

"Enabling the emotionally connected organisation is our mission at StaffConnect and we are excited that Tasnee are taking their first step toward this by rolling out our mobile platform for all of their employees."

About StaffConnect

StaffConnect is about enabling the emotionally connected organisation. Empowering your entire workforce to interact, share and collaborate with any form of employee communication, no matter where they are or what they do. With offices in London and San Francisco, StaffConnect is led by a passionate team of internal communications, HR and technology professionals who ensure large organisations can effectively and easily communicate with their employees. www.StaffConnectApp.com

About Tasnee

Tasnee was established in 1985 as the Saudi private sector's first fully owned joint stock industrial company, with the aim of advancing the economic diversification in Saudi Arabia. Driven by best business practices and the goal of achieving profitable and sustainable growth for its stakeholders and society at large, Tasnee is today Saudi Arabia's second largest industrial company and one of the world's largest producers of titanium dioxide.

Tasnee is strongly committed to technology and innovation and supports product innovations through its Nipras Center for Research and Development in Jubail Industrial City. Tasnee allocates 1% of its profits to support charitable and humanitarian projects in Saudi Arabia. www.tasnee.com

For StaffConnect press queries, please contact



Jenny Caldecourt

Marketing Manager

StaffConnect

+44 (0)203 418 0500

email: Email Contact



For Tasnee press queries, please contact



Rebecca Kirvan-Rodgers

Corporate Communications

Tasnee

+44 (0)1469 553 155

email: Email Contact








Experienced SaaS executive Andy Champion joins as Vice President, Northern Europe.

LONDON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Yext, the global leader in Location Data Management, has hired Andy Champion to lead its revenue operations in Northern Europe amid elevated demand for a comprehensive Location Data Management solution in the region. Champion brings over fifteen years of SaaS sales and leadership experience from Oracle and Responsys to his new role. The announcement comes as Yext ramps up its European operations and grows its London office, adding senior leaders to its European presence.

"Mobile and voice search are transforming the way businesses bring customers to their locations. With the rise of automation, artificial intelligence and smartphone usage, it has never been more important for brands to own and control their physical location data in the digital world," said Andy Champion, Vice President, Northern Europe for Yext. "I am therefore extremely excited about the opportunity to help businesses in Northern Europe better serve their customers through the adoption of Yext's platform."

Champion most recently served as Oracle Marketing Cloud's Head of Sales for EMEA, where he and his team quadrupled revenues in the first two years after the acquisition of Responsys, where he served as Vice President of Sales, EMEA.

"As we tackle the massive opportunity to put European businesses on the map, we're fortunate to have some of the best talent in SaaS on our team," said Jon Buss, Yext's Managing Director, UK and Northern Europe. "Welcoming Andy to Yext is a key part of our strategy, as he will play a critical role growing our footprint here in the United Kingdom and across Europe."

Champion earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biological Sciences from Loughbrough University, and served 6 years as an infantry officer in the British Army before commencing his career in Sales.

About Yext

Yext puts business on the map with the award-winning Yext Location Cloud. We enable companies of all sizes to manage location data across their websites, mobile apps, internal systems, and the industry's largest ecosystem of maps, apps, social networks, directories, and search engines including Google, Apple, Facebook, Bing, and Yahoo. Our products - Listings, Pages, and Reviews - enable the world's millions of businesses to drive face-to-face and digital interactions that boost brand awareness, drive foot traffic, and increase sales.

Yext is rapidly growing our footprint across Europe, with operations in London and Berlin in addition to New York City, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington D.C. Yext has been recognized as one of America's fastest-growing companies by the Inc. 5000 (2015 & 2016), one of Forbes' Most Promising Companies (2014 & 2015) and one of Fortune's Best Places to Work (2014, 2015, & 2016).




The EU is providing a 30 million ($31.8 million) grant to help the Water Authority of Jordan build a new solar PV plant to power three-to-five water pumping stations across the country. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will manage the grant funds and supervise the implementation of the project. The project aims to help the country manage an increased population, which now includes 1.3 million refugees from Syria. Jordan is one of the first countries that Syrians flee to escape the civil war and terrorism threat in their home country next door. This is not the first time that Jordan has turned to the solar PV technology to better cope with the refugee crisis. Last year, pv magazine ...

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.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The extra general meeting ("EGM") of Crown Energy AB (publ) ("Crown Energy" or the "Company") was held on 12 December 2016 and the following resolutions were passed by the meeting.

Change of the Company's articles of association

The EGM resolved to change the Company's articles of association regarding (i) the objects of the Company to also include the real estate industry because of the acquisition of the shares in ESI Group S.A., (ii) introduction of new share classes in the Company, whereby shares may be issued in two series, ordinary shares and C shares, (iii) introduction of a conversion clause to enable conversion of C shares into ordinary shares, (iv) introduction of a redemption clause that allow for redemption of C shares through reduction of the share capital, (v) change of the term of office for the Company's auditor to one year, (vi) introduction of a post-sale purchase right clause for C shares, and (vii) the limits of the Company's share capital and number of shares, and (viii) certain minor editorial changes.

Issuance of maximum 363,401,823 C shares under the quota value

The EGM resolved to issue 363,401,823 C shares. The issuance is carried out under the quota value, whereby an amount of SEK 10,683,855.205284, corresponding to the difference between the subscription price SEK 1/363,401,823 per share, in total SEK 1.00, and the shares' quota value, must be covered through transfer from unrestricted equity in accordance with the Swedish Companies Act, so that the share capital of the Company through the share issue and the transfer from unrestricted equity may be increased by app. SEK 0.02939956414 per subscribed, allotted and paid shares, in total SEK 10,683,856.205284. The transfer from unrestricted equity must be carried out prior to the share issue is registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office. The shares were issued to YBE Ventures Ltd. as payment for the acquisition of ESI Group S.A.

The share issue will lead to an initial dilution for the current shareholders' holdings amounting to 79.90 per cent based on shares currently issued in the Company and 28.20 per cent of the votes based on the current votes in the Company. After completed conversion of C-shares to ordinary shares, YBE Ventures Ltd. could own approximately 75-80 per cent of the share capital and votes in Crown Energy

Election of the board of directors and remuneration

The EGM resolved that the board of directors shall comprise of four directors and no deputy directors.

It was further noted that the remuneration to the newly elected director shall be SEK 75,000, i.e., the same remuneration to which the other directors, except the chairman, are entitled to in accordance with the resolution made by the annual general meeting held on 4 May 2016.

Jean Benaim, Alan Simonian and Pierre-Emmanuel Weil remain as directors and Yoav Ben-Eli was elected as new director. Nick Johnson has declinedre-election and will leave the board of directors. Pierre-Emmanuel Weil remains as the chairman of the board.

Stockholm in December 2016

Crown Energy AB (publ)

The board of directors

This information is information that Crown Energy AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 10:45 AM CET on 13 December 2016.

MORE INFORMATION

Please contact Andreas Forssell, CEO, Crown Energy AB

+46 8400207 20

+46 707 51 41 84

ABOUT CROWN ENERGY

Crown Energy is an international oil and gas company engaged in exploration in Africa and Middle East. Growth is created by developing assets in early stages and then maximizing value by introducing appropriate industry partners in the development and production stages. For more information please visit www.crownenergy.se

CONTACT:

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ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Flying to more countries than any other airline in the world, Turkish Airlines reaches 50 destinations in Africa

Turkish Airlines has launched its flights between Istanbul and Zanzibar today. Following the addition of Zanzibar, Turkish Airlines will now be flying to 293 destinations worldwide; 50 of which are in Africa. These include the east African city hubs of Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar, Nairobi, Mogadishu, Djibouti, Asmara, Addis Ababa, Kigali and Entebbe.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161024/431899 )

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448780/Turkish_Airlines.jpg )





Flight TK567 will provide a direct link to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, from where passengers will be able to conveniently reach top global destinations including Frankfurt, Muscat, Munchen, Dubai, Paris, London, Milano, Amsterdam, Zurich, Bombay, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg, Tel-Aviv, Dusseldorf, and Prague.

Mr. Ahmet OlmuAYtur, Chief Marketing Officer at Turkish Airlines, said "Turkish Airlines is proud to transport people around the globe to experience new cultures, share ideas and create memories that will stay with them for a lifetime. We are delighted to open the new route to Zanzibar, a truly remarkable destination. We continually seek out opportunities to expand our network and look forward to welcoming passengers on their way to Zanzibar in the near future."

To view schedule of flights, please visits http://www.turkishairlines.com or visit any Turkish Airlines sales office.

About Turkish Airlines:

Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines is a 4-star airline today with a fleet of 334(passenger and cargo)aircraft flying to 293destinations worldwide with 244international and 49 domestic. According to the 2016 Skytrax survey, Turkish Airlines was chosen as "Europe's Best Airline" for the sixth and "Best Airline in Southern Europe" for the eighth consecutive time. Having won in 2010 the world's "Best Economy Catering Service", in 2013 and also in 2014 the world's "Best Business Catering Service", and "Best Business Class Lounge Dining", "Best Business Airline Lounge" awards in last year's survey, Turkish Airlines was awarded again the world's "Best Business Class Dining Lounge" and "Best Business Class On-Board Catering" prizes in this year's survey. More information about Turkish Airlines can be found on its official websitehttp://www.turkishairlines.com or its social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, andInstagram.

Turkish Airlines Inc.

Office of Media Relations

Tel: +90(212)463-63-63 - 11153 / 11173

Fax: +90(212)465-20-78

press@thy.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - McGraw-Hill Education Inc., backed by Apollo Global Management LLC, has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to its initial public offering, reports said. The company did not establish any pricing terms in its seventh amendment to its filing of the initial prospectus, except that it is valued up to $100 million. The New York-based education publisher intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MHED. In this filing, McGraw-Hill Education listed its underwriters as Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, BMO Capital Markets, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Jefferies, RBC Capital Markets, Wells Fargo, Piper Jaffray and Apollo Global Securities. The company previously planned to go public early this year, but a January 2016 report stated that it would go ahead with the IPO plan in the second half of the year due to market volatility and weak stock performance of publicly traded competitors. McGraw-Hill Education, which was part of McGraw-Hill Cos. till 2013, provides outcome-focused learning solutions, delivering both curated content and digital learning tools and platforms to the students. The solutions are offered to approximately 250,000 higher education instructors, 13,000 pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school districts and a wide variety of academic institutions, professionals and companies in over 135 countries. For the year 2015, the company generated revenue of $1.84 billion and a net loss of $175 million, and it generated Billings of $2.06 billion. Apollo bought McGraw-Hill Education in 2013 for about $2.4 billion. Following the planned IPO, Apollo would continue to control a majority of the company, as per the regulatory filings. McGraw-Hill intends to use its net proceeds from the offering to repay its debt and for general corporate purposes. 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.
NEW YORK, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the latest report published by Persistence Market Research titled,"Global Market Study on n-Hexane: Oil Extraction End-Use Segment to Dominate Consumption over the Forecast Period" the globaln-Hexane Marketis anticipated to witness a Y-o-Y growth of more than 3% in 2016. Increasing population coupled along with shooting refined oil demand is expected to propel the demand for n-Hexane. As a special-purpose solvent, n-Hexane has applications across a diverse set of industries which is expected to boost demand of n-hexane.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161114/438683LOGO )



Globaln-Hexane market dynamics

Demand for n-Hexane, especially in developing region such Asia Pacific, is expected to boost the demand of the global n-Hexane market over the forecast period. Excellent properties of n-Hexane to remove odor and unwanted taste are expected to propel the demand of n-Hexane from the edible oil industry. n-Hexane has the ability to remove unwanted taste and odor and this is the precise reason that the demand for n-Hexane has increased in edible oil industry. However, the consumers from developed regions are shifting from refined oil to cold-pressed oil owing to its superior health benefits. Cold pressing is a natural way to produce oil which does not contain solvent residues, no preservatives with natural antioxidants. In addition, Isohexane, a hexane isomer is used as a substitute of n-Hexane in few oilseed extraction applications. Due to toxic nature of n-Hexane, it has been substituted by n-heptane in some pharmaceutical applications. This may retard the growth of the n-Hexane market.

Browse Market overview and Research Methodology@ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/n-hexane-market.asp

Global n-Hexane market forecast

Based on application, oil extraction will continue to lead the market share, representing nearly 57% of total revenues in 2016. High demand for n-Hexane in oil extraction owing to its effectiveness and high yield is expected to propel the global n-Hexane Market. Polymerization is expected to reach more than 200KT in 2016. Oil Extraction, Pharmaceutical, and Polymerization will remain top 3 end-users in global n-Hexane Market.

Grade wise, oil extraction followed by industrial will dominate the Global n-Hexane Market in 2016 and is anticipated to reach more than US$ 600 Mn in 2016. Demand for industrial grade n-Hexane is expected to reach closed to 560 KT in 2016.

View Report Table of Contents, Figures, and Tables@ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/n-hexane-market/toc

On the basis of the region, APAC has the largest market in n-Hexane market across the world. China recorded a dominant market share of more than 40% in 2015. Asia-Pacific is estimated to lead the market in 2016, followed by Europe and North America. Moderate growth is expected from the mature markets such as North America and Europe. Europe will witness sluggish growth owing to the gradual economic recovery. In addition, important players in the market have been shifting their production bases to Asia Pacific region in order to capitalize on scale economies. Rising environmental concerns in developed regions over the use of n-Hexane and its adverse impact on health and environment may inhibit the growth of the n-Hexane market. APAC is expected to drive the global n-Hexane market and is expected to register closed to 5% of volume CAGR over the forecast period 2016-2024.

Sample Request@ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12709

Global n-Hexane market: Key players

Key participant of global n-Hexane market are Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Sak Chaisidhi Company Limited, Liangxin petrochemical company, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Chevron Philips Chemicals LLC, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., , Royal Dutch Shell plc., Rompetrol Rafinare S.A, DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH, Dongying Liaoning Yufeng Chemical Co., Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.

Buy Full Report for Single user@ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/12709

PMR Overview

Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.

To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.

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MAPLEWOOD (dpa-AFX) - Technology company 3M Co. (MMM) on Tuesday said it is well-positioned for success in 2017 and beyond. For the full-year 2017, the company expects earnings per share of $8.45 to $8.80, an increase of 4 to 8 percent, and organic local-currency sales growth of 1 to 3 percent. On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of $8.64 per share for the year 2017. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. This is compared to fiscal 2016 forecast for earnings of $8.15 to $8.20, and organic local-currency sales growth to be approximately flat. Further, the company stated that in 2017, it plans to invest approximately $1.8 billion in research and development to support organic growth, and enhance the company's strong margins and return on invested capital. 3M also said its Business Transformation lever will deliver $500 to $700 million in annual operational savings, and an additional $500 million reduction in working capital by 2020. 3M Chairman, President and CEO Inge Thulin, at the company's annual outlook meeting in New York City, will provide an update on the company's execution of the 3M playbook, and emphasize ongoing investments to drive efficient growth and build strength-on-strength across the enterprise. At today's meeting, Chief Financial Officer Nick Gangestad will announce the company's 2017 expectations and capital deployment plans. 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.
CHESTER, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Optymyze, a worldwide provider of enterprise cloud applications and services for improving sales and channel performance, is the bronze-level award winner in Best in Biz's Fastest-Growing Company of the Year, Medium category. The Best in Biz Awards are the only independent business awards program judged by members of the press and industry analysts. Winning a total of three awards, Optymyze was also recognized as one of the Most Awarded companies of the 2016 competition for its innovative products and offerings that help businesses improve sales operations.

Optymyze has grown considerably in recent years, with Best in Biz recognizing its strong total revenue growth in 2015, the period in which financial results were reviewed. In the same time frame, Optymyze has nearly doubled its client base as more companies around the globe leverage its solutions to align sales goals and compensation, execute their sales strategies and gain greater visibility into sales performance. Optymyze also retained all existing customers, while net new growth in same-client Annual Contract Value also rose. In addition, Optymyze expanded its hiring within its Sales, Marketing, and Research and Development departments, increasing its global workforce significantly.

"At a time of growing competition, increasing customer demands, and greater M&A activity, more businesses around the world have come to rely on Optymyze solutions to improve their sales operations and ensure their salespeople are aligned with company and individual goals," said Mark Stiffler, CEO of Optymyze. "Our continued success is the direct result of our industry-leading technology, best practice processes and expertise that enable our clients to drive positive business outcomes. We are honored that the judges of the Best in Biz Awards have recognized our robust growth and strong results and honored to receive this award in the Fastest-Growing Company of the Year category."

The sixth annual Best in Biz Awards program in North America received more than 600 entries, from an impressive array of public and private companies of all sizes and from a variety of industries and geographic regions in the U.S. and Canada. Best in Biz Awards 2016 honors were presented in 60 categories, including Company of the Year, Fastest-Growing Company of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, Best Place to Work, Technology Department of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Product of the Year, Best New Product of the Year, App of the Year, PR Campaign of the Year and Website of the Year.

Winners of Best in Biz Awards 2016 were determined based on scoring from an independent panel of 50 judges from widely known newspapers, business, consumer and technology publications, TV outlets, and analyst firms. In addition to numerous judges returning from the 2011-2015 judging panels, this year's panel included several worthy additions to the high-profile group. The panel included Accounting Today, AdWeek, Associated Press, Atlanta Tribune, Business News Daily, CNET, Computerworld, Consumer Affairs, Entrepreneur, eWeek Channel Insider, Forbes, Healthcare Innovation News, Inc., Information Week, InfoWorld, Investment Advisor Magazine, MediaPost, Multifamily Executive, Network World, Portland Business Journal, Security Products Magazine, South Florida Business Journal, Wall Street Journal, Wired, WLRN and ZDNet.

"If companies are going to stand out from the crowd and remain competitive in future years, innovation is key. The market is tough and there is no guarantee that today's dominant players will remain so -- unless time and effort are concentrated on research and development," said Charlie Osborne, ZDNet, one of Best in Biz Awards' judges this year. "This year's entries in Best in Biz Awards highlighted not only innovative business practices but the emergence of next-generation technologies which will keep companies current and relevant."

About Optymyze

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PERTH, AUSTRALIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Bannerman Resources Limited (ASX: BMN) (NAMIBIAN: BMN) is pleased to announce that Ms Twapewa Kadhikwa has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Bannerman's 100%-owned Namibian subsidiary, Bannerman Mining Resources (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd. Ms Kadhikwa's appointment co-incides with the resignation of Ms Monica Kalondo after serving the company as a director since 2010.

Ms Kadhikwa is a successful Namibian businesswoman and a role model for young entrepreneurs. In addition to her impressive business track record, Ms Kadhikwa brings to the company a highly respected passion for SME development. Her industry profile and insights will be invaluable in guiding the development of the Etango uranium project.

Monica Kalondo has stepped down from the board as part of her scaling down and re-alignment of corporate interests. The Board thanks Ms Kalondo for her guidance and support during the last six years.

Ms Kalondo said, "Bannerman has shown exemplary conduct in the crucial areas of corporate social responsibility, environmental care, employee relations and governance. I have been proud to be involved with Bannerman."

Bannerman's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Brandon Munro, said, "I am delighted to welcome Twapewa as a director of our Namibian subsidiary. I know that her energy and profile positions her as an ideal ambassador within Namibia for the Etango Project."

The board of directors of Bannerman Mining Resources (Namibia) now consists of Ms Twapewa Kadhikwa (Non-Executive Director), Mr Werner Ewald (Managing Director) and Mr Brandon Munro (Chairperson).

About Bannerman - Bannerman Resources Limited is an ASX and NSX listed exploration and development company with uranium interests in Namibia, a southern African country which is a premier uranium mining jurisdiction. Bannerman's principal asset is its 100%-owned Etango Project situated near Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine, Paladin's Langer Heinrich uranium mine and CGNPC's Husab uranium mine currently under construction. A definitive feasibility study has confirmed the technical, environmental and financial (at consensus long term uranium prices) viability of a large open pit and heap leach operation at one of the world's largest undeveloped uranium deposits. Since 2015, Bannerman has conducted a large scale heap leach demonstration program to provide further assurance to financing parties, generate process information for the detailed engineering design phase and build and enhance internal capability. More information is available on Bannerman's website at www.bannermanresources.com.

ABN 34 113 017 128

Contacts:

Brandon Munro

Chief Executive Officer

Perth, Western Australia

Tel: +61 (8) 9381 1436

info@bannermanresources.com.au



Robert Dalton

Company Secretary

Perth, Western Australia

Tel: +61 (8) 9381 1436

info@bannermanresources.com.au



Spyros Karellas

Investor Relations

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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NEWTON, MA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- BRIDGE Energy Group (BRIDGE) today announced that Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is using their new SCADA Data Availability Dashboard (SDAD) to monitor and track SCADA Data Accuracy. This dashboard provides users with a graphical representation of Transmission & Distribution Substation SCADA availability metrics, improving grid reliability and customer satisfaction.

Based in San Francisco, PG&E is one of the largest combination natural gas and electric utilities in the U.S. With approximately 20,000 employees, the company provides service to nearly 16 million customers across a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California.

To meet its corporate objectives involving safety, grid reliability and customer service, PG&E's Grid Managers and Sub-Station Automation & Engineering Groups (Engineering, Planners, Operations, Control Center Dispatchers, Asset Management) must be able to rely on accurate data from SCADA systems. The new SDAD improves availability and accuracy metrics, identifies inconsistencies across the data path and significantly increases the operational performance of PG&E's field crews, planners and engineers, lessening the manual efforts needed to plan, operate and maintain PG&E's electric system.

PG&E selected BRIDGE to create the SDAD which provides users with the means to easily analyze data trends across a specified time and determine SCADA data health and performance trends. The new dashboard also allows users to drill-down into, or summarize the SCADA availability metrics in various ways (e.g. headquarter, substation, or asset), as well as easily run reports to export the data into a variety of formats for presentations and sharing. Automated reporting enables a consistent approach to evaluating and validating estimates.

"BRIDGE provides deep T&D Operations expertise, knowledge of industry best practices, and a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end SCADA data acquisition process," said Scott Bricker, Manager, System Automation and SCADA. "The BRIDGE team helped identify gaps in data governance and technology support processes, substation equipment, communications infrastructure and data accuracy and provided PG&E the SCADA Data Availability Dashboard (SDAD) to improve PG&E Operational Performance."

The infrastructure and architecture that BRIDGE developed for SDAD was designed leveraging OSIsoft PI Asset Framework. "We are proud to support PG&E's continuous improvement initiative by delivering the tools that provide transparency and awareness of SCADA data availability and accuracy," said Mike Bianco, Vice President of Grid Operations Solutions, BRIDGE Energy Group. "Using the new SDAD system, PG&E is now able to accurately optimize maintenance schedules and prioritize improvement investments to continuously improve the efficiency and reliability of their system."

To empower your utility organization with grid analytics, reliability, transformation, security and management contact BRIDGE at 1.888.351.8999 or via www.bridgeenergygroup.com/contact-us/.

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BRIDGE Energy Group is the leading consulting and systems integration company focused on improving utility operational performance. BRIDGE combines business, OT and IT domain expertise to deliver and optimize innovative grid operations solutions. BRIDGE's capabilities and expert services enable engagement at any stage in the lifecycle, from strategy & regulatory to implementation & optimization. Founded in 2004, BRIDGE is headquartered in Newton, MA. For more information on BRIDGE, please contact 888-351-8999 or visit www.BridgeEnergyGroup.com.

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KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- HIGHLIGHTS

Initial option for a single 4 Mtpa mine

-- The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) results finalized this week present two initial scenarios for development of the high-grade copper deposits at the Kamoa-Kakula Project on the Central African Copperbelt, west of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga mining region. -- One initial option analyzed in the PEA is the development of a four- million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) Kakula Phase 1 Mine at the Kakula Deposit, in the southerly portion of the project's discovery area. For this option, the PEA envisages an average annual production rate of 216,000 tonnes of copper at a mine-site cash cost of US$0.37/lb copper for the first 10 years of operations (see details Table 4, page 10), and peak copper production of 262,000 tonnes by year three. -- A pre-production capital cost of US$1.0 billion for this option would result in an after-tax net present value at an 8% discount rate (NPV8%) of US$3.7 billion - an increase of 272% compared to the after-tax NPV8% of US$986 million that was projected in the March 2016 Kamoa pre- feasibility study. The internal rate of return of 38% would be more than double the return that was estimated in the March 2016 Kamoa pre- feasibility study.

Initial option for two mines producing a total of 8 Mtpa

-- The PEA also analyzed an alternative initial option that could involve a two-phase sequential expansion of production to 8 Mtpa from the proposed Kakula Phase 1 Mine at the Kakula Deposit and also the Kansoko Mine at the adjacent Kamoa Deposit. -- Under this alternative, the PEA envisages US$1.0 billion in capital costs and an average annual production rate of 292,000 tonnes of copper at a mine-site cash cost of US$0.42/lb copper during the first 10 years of operations, (see details Table 8, page 18), and peak production of 370,000 tonnes by year seven.

Under study: New option for one mine producing 8 Mtpa, plus expanded output options of up to 16 Mtpa from two mines

-- The follow-on PEA, now underway, is examining an alternative approach that would see development of a single 8 Mtpa mine on the Kakula Deposit. This option is expected to have substantial advantages over the development of two mines to achieve the same production rate. Planned studies also will assess higher mining rates of up to 16 Mtpa, which would utilize high-grade copper mineralization from both the Kakula Deposit and the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas of the adjacent Kamoa Deposit.

Update on strategic discussions

-- In an update today of earlier announcements, Ivanhoe Mines also reported that strategic discussions are continuing with significant global mining companies and investors.

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN)(OTCQX: IVPAF) Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and Chief Executive Officer Lars-Eric Johansson today welcomed the positive findings of an independent PEA for the development of the Kakula Deposit at the Kamoa-Kakula Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Kamoa-Kakula Project - a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - has been independently ranked as the world's largest high-grade copper discovery by international mining consultant Wood Mackenzie.

The Kakula 2016 PEA was independently prepared by OreWin Pty. Ltd., Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services Inc. and SRK Consulting Inc. (The same team of consulting engineers was involved in planning the development of the Oyu Tolgoi Project in Mongolia.)

The Kakula 2016 PEA assesses the planned first phase of development of the Kakula Deposit - a discovery that was announced in January this year - as a 4 Mtpa underground mining and processing complex that would be known as the Kakula Phase 1 Mine at the Kamoa-Kakula Project.

Incorporated within the Kakula 2016 PEA is an option for an integrated, 8 Mtpa, two-stage development scenario involving an initial mining operation at the Kakula Deposit and a subsequent, separate mining operation at the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas of the adjacent Kamoa Deposit, discovered in 2008, which would be known as the Kansoko Mine.

A NI 43-101 technical report will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Ivanhoe Mines' website at www.ivanhoemines.com within 45 days of the issuance of this news release.

The Kakula 2016 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes an economic analysis that is based, in part, on Inferred Mineral Resources. Inferred Mineral Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would allow them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the results will be realized. Mineral Resources do not have demonstrated economic viability and are not Mineral Reserves.

Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining are continuing with the drilling program in and around the Kakula Deposit area, using six drill rigs, to expand the extent of the known mineralization and support potential upgrades in resource confidence categories. Ivanhoe Mines expects an updated resource estimate for the Kakula Deposit will be issued in the first quarter of 2017. In addition, a pre-feasibility study also is underway to enhance the findings of the Kakula 2016 PEA and to advance the project toward production.

Conference call will be held Thursday, December 15

A conference call to discuss the Kakula 2016 PEA results will be held on Thursday, December 15, 2016, at 9:00AM EST (6:00AM PST / 2:00PM GMT).

The conference call may be accessed by dialling +1-416-340-2216 or 1-866-223-7781 (Canada and U.S. toll-free number). Callers outside North America may check their country-specific, toll-free dial-in number at https://www.confsolutions.ca/ILT?oss=1P29R8662237781.

The conference call will be archived for later playback until January 18, 2017, and may be accessed by dialling +1-905-694-9451 or 1-800-408-3053 and entering the passcode 6300478.

Summary of the PEA's key results for an initial Kakula Phase 1 Mine

1. Very high-grade initial phase of production is projected to have a grade of 8.1% copper in year two and an average grade of 7.52% copper over the initial five years of operations, resulting in estimated average annual copper production of 209,000 tonnes. 2. Peak annual copper production is estimated at 262,000 tonnes in year three. 3. Initial capital cost, including contingency, is estimated at US$1.0 billion, approximately US$200 million lower than previously estimated in the March 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study. 4. Average mine-site cash cost of US$0.37/lb of copper during the first 10 years (see details Table 4, page 10). 5. After-tax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of US$3.7 billion, an increase of 272% compared to the after-tax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of US$986 million estimated in the March 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study. 6. After-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 38.0%, which is more than double the IRR of the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study, and a payback period of 2.3 years. 7. Kakula is expected to produce a very-high-grade copper concentrate in excess of 50% copper, with extremely low arsenic levels.

Greatly expanded production scenario now under study as part of a new PEA could double the mining rate and is expected to further improve net present value

A subsequent PEA now is underway to examine a doubling of the proposed mining rate at the Kakula Phase 1 Mine to 8 Mtpa. This next PEA is expected to be released in early 2017. Michael Gray, Ivanhoe Mines' senior mining advisor and former President and co-founder of McIntosh Engineering, will assist with the expansion studies for the Kamoa-Kakula Project. Mr. Gray has extensive experience in underground mine development and previously has worked on major projects such as San Manuel (BHP), Grasberg (Freeport Indonesia), Bingham Canyon (Rio Tinto), El Teniente (Codelco), Olympic Dam (BHP Billiton) and Oyu Tolgoi (the original Ivanhoe Mines).

Given the extremely high copper grades and bottom-loaded nature of the mineralization at the Kakula Deposit, Ivanhoe Mines expects that the results of having a single, 8 Mtpa mine at the Kakula Deposit will be even better than the results of an integrated, 8 Mtpa, two-stage, two-mine development scenario. The project engineering team is targeting a life-of-mine average annual copper production scenario for a single 8 Mtpa mine at Kakula in excess of 400,000 tonnes per annum. Given that the initial capital costs for the two options examined in the Kakula 2016 PEA are the same at US$1.0 billion, it can be expected that an expansion to 8 Mtpa also will have essentially unchanged initial capital costs and, in particular, given that the expansion then could be funded from future cash flows.

Based on initial metallurgical test work, the chalcocite-rich nature of the copper mineralization at the Kakula Deposit is expected to yield higher metallurgical recoveries and higher concentrate grades, which in turn are expected to reduce unit transportation costs and therefore improve financial returns.

Additional expansion studies are planned for 2017 in which the project engineering team will assess higher mining rates of up to 16 Mtpa, incorporating high-grade copper mineralization from both the Kakula Deposit and the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas of the Kamoa Deposit.

Strategic discussions continuing with potential partners

Continuing strategic discussions concerning Ivanhoe Mines and its projects are intensifying with several significant mining companies and investors across Asia, Europe, Africa and elsewhere. Several investors that have expressed interest have no material limit on the provision of capital.

Ivanhoe Mines will provide further comment only if a specific transaction or process is concluded, or if further disclosure is required or deemed appropriate. There can be no assurance that the company will pursue any transaction or that a transaction, if pursued, will be completed.

"Kamoa-Kakula is an incredibly disruptive, district-scale, Tier-One copper project that is still in its early days of discovery and development," said Mr. Friedland. "Kakula's high copper grades and thicknesses establish Kamoa-Kakula as the most remarkable and rapidly-growing mineral discovery with which I've been associated during my 30-plus years in the exploration business.

"We've already discovered as much copper in Measured and Indicated Resources as we found with the original Ivanhoe Mines at Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolia's South Gobi - but this time at much higher grades. Significantly, both the Kamoa and Kakula discoveries are open for future expansions. We remain focused on expediting development of Kamoa and Kakula. The engineering team has been assigned to produce an improved 8- to 10-million-tonne-per-annum study for Kakula, hopefully in time for the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town in early February next year."

Mr. Johansson added, "We will be working with our partners Zijin Mining and the DRC government to develop Kamoa-Kakula into the world's next great copper mine, generating widely shared economic benefits that will help to sustain communities, and deliver jobs and skills training, in conjunction with effective environmental management."

Figure 1. Planned Kakula 2016 PEA development and infrastructure for Kakula and Kansoko mines: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F1.pdf

Principal initial projections from the Kakula 2016 PEA

The report assesses the potential development of the Kakula Deposit as a 4 Mtpa mining and processing complex. The life-of-mine production scenario schedules 82.6 million tonnes to be mined at an average grade of 5.76% copper, producing 7.5 million tonnes of high-grade copper concentrate, containing approximately 9.1 billion pounds of copper.

Figure 2. Start-up of 4 Mtpa Kakula Phase 1 Mine development scenario: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F2.pdf

The economic analysis uses a long-term price assumption of US$3.00/lb of copper and returns an after-tax NPV at an 8% discount rate of US$3.7 billion. It has an after-tax IRR of 38.0% and a payback period of 2.3 years.

The estimated initial capital cost, including contingency, is US$1.0 billion. The capital expenditure for off-site power, which is included in the initial capital cost, includes a US$147 million advance payment to the DRC state-owned electricity company, SNEL, to upgrade two hydropower plants (Koni and Mwadingusha) to provide the Kamoa-Kakula Project with access to clean electricity for its planned operations. The upgrading work is being led by Stucky Ltd., of Switzerland, and the advance payment will be recovered through a reduction in the power tariff.

Solar power and high-capacity, grid-scale battery storage of electricity under study

The project team also is evaluating the installation of up to 100 megawatts of solar power and large-scale vanadium redox batteries for high-capacity storage of both solar and hydro-electric power.

"It is our intention to implement new technologies in efficient, eco-friendly power generation and power storage and establish the Kamoa-Kakula Project as one of the 'greenest' mines in the world," said Mr. Friedland.

Key results of the Kakula 2016 PEA for a single 4 Mtpa mine are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Kakula Phase 1 Mine results summary for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Item Unit Total ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Processed Quantity Milled kt 82,566 Copper Feed Grade % 5.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Concentrate Produced Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 7,534 Copper Recovery % 87.01 Copper Concentrate Grade % 54.94 Contained Metal in Concentrate Mlb 9,126 Contained Metal in Concentrate kt 4,139 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key Financial Results Initial Capital US$M 999 After-Tax NPV8% US$M 3,664 After-Tax IRR % 38.0 Project Payback Period Years 2.3 Initial Project Life Years 23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 2 summarizes the financial results and Table 3 summarizes planned mine production and processing statistics.

Table 2. Kakula Phase 1 Mine financial results for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Present Value (US$M) Discount Rate Before Taxation After Taxation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Undiscounted 15,561 10,935 4.0% 8,876 6,180 6.0% 6,843 4,735 8.0% 5,337 3,664 10.0% 4,203 2,859 12.0% 3,338 2,245 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internal Rate of Return - 44.9% 38.0% Project Payback Period (Years) - 2.2 2.3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 3. Kakula Phase 1 Mine average estimated production and processing statistics for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- YEARS YEARS Item Unit 1-5 1-10 LOM AVERAGE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Processed Quantity Milled Kt 3,163 3,584 3,590 Copper Feed Grade % 7.52 6.90 5.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Concentrate Produced Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 380 394 328 Copper Recovery % 87.74 87.50 87.01 Copper Concentrate Grade % 54.94 54.94 54.94 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contained Metal in Concentrate Copper Mlb 460 477 397 Copper Kt 209 216 180 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Metal Copper Mlb 449 465 387 Copper kt 204 211 176 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Kakula concentrator production is shown in Figure 3 and the concentrate and metal production is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 3. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated concentrator production for the first 20 years: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F3.pdf

Figure 4. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated concentrate and metal production for the first 20 years: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F4.pdf

Figure 5. World's projected top 20 largest copper concentrate mines by 2027: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F5.pdf

Figure 6. Target annual production and head grade for Wood Mackenzie's "highly probable" and "probable" copper concentrate projects: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F6.pdf

Table 4 summarizes unit operating costs and Table 5 provides a breakdown of revenue and operating costs. The capital costs for the project are detailed in Table 6.

Table 4. Kakula Phase 1 Mine unit operating costs for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $/lb Payable Copper ------------------------------------------ YEARS 1-5 YEARS 1-10 LOM AVERAGE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mine Site 0.34 0.37 0.45 Transport 0.31 0.31 0.31 Treatment & Refining Charges 0.15 0.15 0.15 Royalties & Export Tax 0.14 0.14 0.14 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Cash Costs 0.94 0.97 1.05 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 7. 2021 estimated mine-site copper cash costs: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F7.pdf

Table 5. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated revenue and operating costs for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- YEARS 1-5 YEARS 1-10 TOTAL ------------------------------------------ US$/t Milled US$M ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- REVENUE Copper in Concentrate 426.00 389.65 26,729 Gross Sales Revenue 426.00 389.65 26,729 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Less: Realisation Costs Transport 44.58 40.25 2,745 Treatment & Refining 21.24 19.43 1,333 Royalties & Export Tax 19.32 17.68 1,213 Total Realisation Costs 85.14 77.36 5,291 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Sales Revenue 340.86 312.29 21,438 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SITE OPERATING COSTS UG Mining 28.46 29.13 2,455 Processing 15.15 14.54 1,178 Tailings 0.31 0.28 22 General & Administration 6.81 6.47 521 SNEL Discount -2.51 -2.46 -201 Customs 0.55 0.74 61 Total 48.77 48.70 4,037 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating Margin 292.09 263.58 17,401 Operating Margin 85.69% 84.40% 81.17% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 6. Kakula Phase 1 Mine estimated capital investment summary for 4 Mtpa steady-state production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Initial Expansion Sustaining Description Capital Capital Capital Total ------------------------------------------------- US$M US$M US$M US$M ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINING Underground Mining 275 - 404 679 Capitalised Pre- Production 16 - - 16 Subtotal 291 - 404 695 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWER Power Infrastructure On Site 32 - - 32 Power Supply Off Site 115 - - 115 Subtotal 148 - - 148 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONCENTRATE & TAILINGS Process Plant 143 31 78 253 Tailings 32 - 74 106 Subtotal 176 31 152 359 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFRASTRUCTURE Plant Infrastructure 23 - 52 75 Plant mobile equipment 3 0 - 4 Buildings & Structures 20 - - 20 Camps 20 - - 20 Rail - 36 - 36 Subtotal 66 36 52 154 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDIRECTS EPCM 53 7 - 61 Owners Cost 80 7 - 86 Closure - - 67 67 Subtotal 133 14 67 214 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BEFORE CONTINGENCY 812 81 676 1,569 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTINGENCY 187 20 30 237 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AFTER CONTINGENCY 999 101 706 1,806 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 8. Capital intensity for Wood Mackenzie's "highly probable" projects currently under construction: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F8.pdf

The after-tax NPV sensitivity to metal price variation is shown in Table 7 for copper prices from US$2.00/lb to US$4.00/lb. The annual and cumulative cash flows for the combined base case and each operation are shown in Figure 9.

Table 7. Kakula Phase 1 Mine copper price sensitivity.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Tax NPV (US$M) Copper Price - US$/lb ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discount Rate 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Undiscounted 4,884 7,911 10,935 13,960 16,985 4.0% 2,629 4,406 6,180 7,954 9,728 6.0% 1,942 3,340 4,735 6,129 7,524 8.0% 1,433 2,551 3,664 4,778 5,891 10.0% 1,052 1,958 2,859 3,761 4,662 12.0% 762 1,506 2,245 2,984 3,723 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRR 23.2% 31.3% 38.0% 43.7% 48.9% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 9. Kakula Phase 1 Mine projected cumulative cash flow for the first 20 years: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F9.pdf

Alternative 8 Mtpa development scenario for the Kakula and Kamoa deposits

The Kakula 2016 PEA also assesses the development of the Kakula and Kamoa deposits as an integrated, 8 Mtpa mining and processing complex. This scenario envisages the construction and operation of two separate facilities: the Kakula Phase 1 Mine on the Kakula Deposit and the Kansoko Mine on the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas of the Kamoa Deposit. Each operation is expected to be a separate underground mine with an associated processing facility and surface infrastructure.

Summary of the PEA's key results for the alternative 8 Mtpa development scenario

1. Very high-grade initial phase projected to have a grade of 8.1% copper in year two and an average grade of 7.10% copper over the initial five years of operations, results in average annual copper production of 224,000 tonnes. 2. Combined, the Kakula and Kansoko mines are projected to produce an annual average of 292,000 tonnes of copper at an average grade of 5.81% copper during the first 10 years of operations. 3. Peak annual copper production of 370,000 tonnes by year seven. 4. Initial capital cost, including contingency, is US$1.0 billion. 5. Average mine-site cash cost of US$0.42 /lb of copper during the first ten years. 6. After-tax NPV at an 8% discount rate of US$4.7 billion, an increase of 382% compared to the after-tax NPV at an 8% discount rate of US$986 million estimated in the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study. 7. After-tax IRR of 34.6%, which is more than double the IRR of the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study, and a payback period of 3.5 years.

Figure 10. Alternative 8 Mtpa development scenario: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F10.pdf

Key results of this alternative development scenario are summarized in figures 11 & 12 and Table 8.

Figure 11. Kakula Phase 1 Mine & Kansoko Mine concentrator production for the first 20 years: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F11.pdf

Figure 12. Kakula Phase 1 Mine & Kansoko Mine concentrate and metal production for the first 20 years: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079994-F12.pdf

Table 8. Alternative 8 Mtpa development results summary.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Item Unit Total ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Processed Quantity Milled kt 179,492 Copper Feed Grade % 4.68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Concentrate Produced Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 15,548 Copper Recovery % 86.66 Copper Concentrate Grade % 46.83 Contained Metal in Concentrate Mlb 16,052 Contained Metal in Concentrate kt 7,281 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ten Year Average ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copper Concentrate Produced kt (dry) 586 Contained Metal in Concentrate kt 292 Mine-Site Cash Cost US$/lb 0.42 Total Cash Cost US$/lb 1.06 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key Financial Results Initial Capital US$M 999 After-Tax NPV8% US$M 4,748 After-Tax IRR % 34.6 Initial Project Life Years 29 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Current partners in the Kamoa-Kakula Project

The Kamoa-Kakula Project is a very large, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, located approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of Lubumbashi. The Kamoa copper deposit was discovered by Ivanhoe Mines (then named Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum) in 2008 and the Kakula Deposit in early 2016.

In August 2012, the DRC government granted mining licences to Ivanhoe Mines for the Kamoa-Kakula Project that cover a total of 400 square kilometres. The licences are valid for 30 years and can be renewed at 15-year intervals. Mine development work at the project began in July 2014 with construction of a box cut for the decline ramps for the Kansoko Mine that will provide underground access to the high-grade mining areas in Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale.

Following the recently signed agreement with the DRC government, Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining each hold an indirect 39.6% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project, Crystal River Global Limited (Crystal River) holds an indirect 0.8% interest and the DRC Government holds a direct 20% interest.

In addition, Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining and Crystal River have recently amended their Shareholder, Governance and Option Agreement that originally became effective on December 8, 2015, and under which their relationship in the Kamoa-Kakula Project is governed, to, among other things, codify the operation of the project committee and the management of the DRC subsidiary, Kamoa Copper SA, so that the agreement is consistent with existing, on-the-ground practice. The amendments also clarify that if Ivanhoe Mines arranges project financing for 65% of the capital required to develop the first phase of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, then Ivanhoe Mines will be entitled to acquire the indirect 0.8% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project held by Crystal River for a price equal to the then current market value of that interest as determined by an independent expert valuator. The acquisition of Crystal River's indirect 0.8% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project would give Ivanhoe Mines majority control of Kamoa Holding Limited (the entity that presently owns 80% of the Kamoa-Kakula Project). Zijin Mining already had committed to use its best efforts to arrange or procure project financing for 65% of the capital required to develop the first phase of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, as set out in a feasibility study, without any recourse, and on terms acceptable to Ivanhoe Mines. In the event Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining cannot agree on project financing, the matter will be referred to binding arbitration in Hong Kong.

At the request of Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining and subject to the satisfaction of the applicable conditions, the DRC will provide its assistance in obtaining the advantages contemplated by the DRC's special law - No. 14/005, enacted to facilitate Sino-Congolese cooperation - relating to the tax, customs, parafiscal tax, non-tax revenues and currency exchange regime applicable to cooperation projects.

Kamoa-Kakula Project Mineral Resource estimate

Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources for the Kakula Deposit have an effective date of October 9, 2016. Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources for the Kamoa Deposit have an effective date of May 5, 2014. Mineral Resources are summarized in Table 9 and are reported on a 100% basis.

Table 9. Consolidated Mineral Resource statement, Kamoa-Kakula Project, at a 1% copper cut-off over minimum thickness of 3 metres.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contained Area True Contained Copper Tonnes (sq. Copper Thickness Copper (billion Deposit Category (millions) km) Grade (metres) (kt) lbs) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kamoa Indicated 752 50.5 2.67% 5.2 20,110 44.3 --------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred 185 16.8 2.08% 3.8 3,840 8.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kakula Indicated 192 4.6 3.45% 14.3 6,630 14.6 --------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred 101 3.3 2.74% 10.3 2,763 6.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Kamoa- Kakula Project Indicated 944 55.1 2.83% 6.0 26,740 58.9 --------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred 286 20.1 2.31% 4.9 6,603 14.6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes to accompany Kamoa-Kakula Project Mineral Resource table

1. Ivanhoe Mines Mineral Resources Manager, George Gilchrist, Professional Natural Scientist (Pr. Sci. Nat) with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), estimated the Mineral Resources under the supervision of Dr. Harry Parker and Gordon Seibel, both RM of Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), who are the Qualified Persons for the Mineral Resource estimate. The effective date of the estimate for the Kakula Deposit is October 9, 2016 and for the Kamoa Deposit is May 5, 2014. Mineral Resources are estimated using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. 2. Mineral Resources are estimated assuming underground mining methods, a copper price of US$3.30/lb (Kamoa) and US$3.00/lb (Kakula Discovery), a cut-off of 1% total copper, a minimum thickness of 3 m, and that concentrates will be produced and sent to a smelter. 3. Tonnage and contained-copper tonnes are reported in metric units, contained-copper pounds are reported in imperial units and grades are reported as percentages. 4. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal content.

The Kakula Deposit remains open along a northwesterly-southeasterly strike and there is considerable potential for resource expansion. High-grade copper mineralization has been outlined along a corridor that is currently approximately one kilometre wide and at least four kilometres in length. This high-grade corridor lies within an area of 8.7 square kilometres over which resources have been delineated. Given the outstanding success to date in delineating high-grade copper resources, the Kakula drilling program has been expanded by 60,000 metres and will continue unabated into 2017.

Combination of mining methods selected

Mining methods in the Kakula 2016 PEA are assumed to be a combination of controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining and room-and-pillar mining with hydraulic fill. At the Kakula Phase 1 Mine, the room-and-pillar mining method with hydraulic fill was selected to maximize the extraction of the Mineral Resource where the selected mining height is greater than six metres and two or three mining lifts are required to achieve maximum extraction. At the planned Kansoko Mine, in the Kansoko Sud and Centrale areas, only the controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining method is required as the mining height is six metres or less. The design for the Kansoko Sud and Centrale mining areas is based on the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study mine design, which includes a service decline and a conveyor decline. The production rate envisaged in the Kakula 2016 PEA increased to 4 Mtpa compared to 3 Mtpa outlined in the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study. At Kakula, the Kakula Deposit similarly is accessed by twin declines and the Kakula Phase 1 Mine also has a productive mining rate of 4 Mtpa.

Controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining does not require cemented backfill and instead pillars are stripped to allow the controlled convergence of the backs and floors of the mine; this is a productive method that provides very good extractive rates at relatively low costs. The controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining method has been successfully implemented by KGHM at its copper-mining operations in Poland for the past 20 years. Ivanhoe Mines engaged KGHM Cuprum R&D Centre Ltd. to study the applicability of this method to Kamoa. The results of the study indicate that the Kamoa Deposit is suited to the application of the controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining method.

Metallurgical test work and concentrator design

Between 2010 and 2015, a series of metallurgical test work programs were completed on drill-core samples of known Kamoa copper mineralization. These investigations focused on metallurgical characterization and flow-sheet development for the processing of hypogene and supergene copper mineralization.

Bench-scale metallurgical flotation test work, carried out at XPS Consulting and Testwork Services laboratories in Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada, has shown positive results. This test work was conducted on composite samples of drill core from the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas in the southern part of the Kamoa Mineral Resource area. Test work on a composite grading 3.61% copper produced a copper recovery of 85.4% at a concentrate grade of 37.0% copper. The second composite, grading 3.20% copper, produced a copper recovery of 89.2% at a concentrate grade of 35.0% copper using the same flowsheet.

Additional bench-scale metallurgical flotation test work was carried out in 2016 on two chalcocite-rich composites from the Kakula Deposit at a Zijin Mining laboratory and by XPS Consulting and Testwork Services. The initial composite, grading 4.1% copper, produced a copper recovery of 86% at a concentrate grade of 53% copper at a Zijin Mining laboratory in July 2016. The second composite, grading 8.1% copper, produced a recovery of 87% at an extremely high concentrate grade of 56% copper. The flotation tests were conducted using the circuit developed during the 2016 Kamoa pre-feasibility study.

Average arsenic levels in the concentrate were measured to be approximately 0.02%, which is significantly lower than the limit of 0.5% imposed by Chinese smelters. Extremely low arsenic levels in concentrate are expected to attract a premium from copper-concentrate traders.

The concentrator design incorporates a run-of-mine stockpile, followed by primary and secondary crushing on surface. The crushed material with a design-size distribution of 80% passing (or p80) nine millimetres (mm), is fed into a two-stage ball-milling circuit for further size reduction to a target grind size p80 of 53 micrometres. The milled slurry will be passed through a rougher and scavenger. The high-grade, or fast-floating rougher concentrate, and medium-grade, or slow-floating scavenger concentrate, will be collected separately. The rougher concentrate is upgraded in two stages to produce a high-grade concentrate. The medium-grade scavenger concentrate and tailings from the two rougher cleaning stages, representing approximately 25% of the feed mass, will be combined and re-ground to a p80 of 10 micrometres before being cleaned in two stages. The cleaned scavenger concentrate then will be combined with the cleaned rougher concentrate to form the final concentrate. The final concentrate will be thickened before being pumped to the concentrate filter where the filter cake then will be bagged for shipment to market.

Electricity supply arrangements

Electrical power for the Kamoa-Kakula Project is planned to be sourced on a priority basis from the DRC national grid in return for the financing of the rehabilitation of three hydropower plants: Koni, Mwadingusha and Nzilo. A financing agreement with SNEL has been finalized for upgrading these plants to secure a long-term, clean, sustainable power supply to meet the requirements of the Kamoa-Kakula Project.

The Kakula 2016 PEA's estimated initial capital cost of US$1.0 billion includes a US$147 million advance payment to SNEL to upgrade two of the hydropower plants, Koni and Mwadingusha, to provide the Kamoa-Kakula Project with hydroelectric power for its operations. The upgrading work is being led by Stucky Ltd. and the advance payment will be recovered through a reduction in the power tariff. The Kamoa-Kakula Project initially will be powered by existing capacity on the national grid, until upgrading work on the hydropower plants has been completed.

The upgrading work on the first of six generators at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant was completed in August 2016 and the plant began supplying 11 megawatts of electricity to the national interconnected grid in September. The Kamoa-Kakula Project began drawing power from the national grid in October 2016.

Transportation routes to international markets

A phased logistics solution is proposed in the Kakula 2016 PEA. Initially, the corridor between southern DRC and Durban in South Africa is viewed as the most attractive and reliable export route. As soon as the railway between Kolwezi and Dilolo, a town near the DRC-Angolan border, is upgraded, the Kamoa-Kakula Project's production is expected to be transported by rail to the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola. In addition, there is the potential to negotiate off-take arrangements with smelters in Zambia.

Qualified persons

The following companies have undertaken work in preparation of the Kakula 2016 PEA:

1. OreWin - Overall report preparation, mining, logistics, power and economic analysis. 2. MDM/Amec Foster Wheeler - Mineral Resource estimation, processing and infrastructure. 3. SRK Consulting - Mine geotechnical recommendations.

The independent Qualified Persons responsible for preparing the Kakula 2016 PEA, on which the technical report will be based are Bernard Peters (OreWin); Dr. Harry Parker (Amec Foster Wheeler); Gordon Seibel (Amec Foster Wheeler); John Edwards (MDM/Amec Foster Wheeler); and William Joughin (SRK). Each Qualified Person has reviewed and approved the information in this news release relevant to the portion of the Kakula 2016 PEA for which they are responsible.

Other scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Stephen Torr, P.Geo., Ivanhoe Mines' Vice President, Project Geology and Evaluation, a Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Torr has verified the technical data disclosed in this news release.

Wood Mackenzie provided data based on public disclosure of comparable copper projects for the compilation of certain figures used in this release; however, Wood Mackenzie did not review the Kakula 2016 PEA.

A NI 43-101 technical report will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Ivanhoe Mines' website at www.ivanhoemines.com within 45 days of the issuance of this news release.

Kamoa 2016 PFS Mineral Reserve

The Kakula 2016 PEA assumes changes to the project production rate for both mining and processing of the Kamoa Mineral Resources and that a separate mine and processing plant is to be constructed at Kakula. The Kamoa 2016 PFS Mineral Reserve remains valid and is the current Mineral Reserve for the Kamoa-Kakula Project. The Mineral Reserve has an effective date of March 29, 2016 and has been estimated by Qualified Person Bernard Peters, Technical Director - Mining, OreWin Pty. Ltd. using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves to conform to the Canadian NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Mineral Reserve is based on the planned Kansoko Mine operation at a production rate of 3 Mtpa and is entirely a Probable Mineral Reserve that was converted from Indicated Mineral Resources.

Data verification and quality control and assurance

Amec Foster Wheeler reviewed the sample chain of custody, quality assurance and control procedures, and qualifications of analytical laboratories. Amec Foster Wheeler is of the opinion that the procedures and QA/QC control are acceptable to support Mineral Resource estimation. Amec Foster Wheeler also audited the assay database, core logging and geological interpretations on a number of occasions between 2009 and 2015 and has found no material issues with the data as a result of these audits.

In the opinion of the Amec Foster Wheeler Qualified Persons, the data verification programs undertaken on the data collected from the Kamoa-Kakula Project support the geological interpretations. The analytical and database quality and the data collected can support Mineral Resource estimation.

Ivanhoe Mines maintains a comprehensive chain of custody and QA/QC program on assays from its Kamoa-Kakula Project. Half-sawn core is processed at its on-site preparation laboratory in Kamoa, prepared samples then are shipped by secure courier to Bureau Veritas Minerals (BVM) Laboratories in Australia, an ISO17025 accredited facility. Copper assays are determined at BVM by mixed-acid digestion with ICP finish. Industry-standard certified reference materials and blanks are inserted into the sample stream prior to dispatch to BVM. For detailed information about assay methods and data verification measures used to support the scientific and technical information, please refer to the current technical report on the Kamoa-Kakula Project on the SEDAR profile of Ivanhoe Mines at www.sedar.com.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines is advancing its three principal projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: Mine development at the Platreef platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper discovery on the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex; mine development and exploration at the Kamoa-Kakula Project on the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC; and upgrading at the historic, high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine, also on the DRC's Copperbelt. For details, visit www.ivanhoemines.com.

Cautionary statement on forward-looking information

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including without limitation: (i) the results of the preliminary economic assessment; (ii) the use of the controlled convergence room-and-pillar mining method; (iii) the expectation that concentrate with extremely low arsenic levels will attract a premium from traders; (iv) the expectation that the Kamoa-Kakula Project's production is to be transported by rail to the port of Lobito once the the railroad between Kolwezi and Dilolo is rehabilitated; (v) the timing, results and completion of future studies, including an expansion study to double the planned mining rate of the Kakula Phase 1 Mine to 8 Mtpa and an expansion to higher mining rates of up to 16 Mtpa, (vi) the potential that Ivanhoe Mines will be entitled to acquire Crystal River Global's indirect 0.8% interest in the Kamoa-Kakula Project, (vii) the completion of 60,000 metres of additional Kakula drilling into 2017, (viii) the expectation that the advance payment to SNEL will be recovered through a reduction in the power tariff, (ix) the expectation that the refurbished Koni and Mwadingusha hydroelectric plants will provide power to the Kamoa-Kakula Project, and (x) the expectation that an updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Kakula deposit will be completed in Q1 2017. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Ivanhoe Mines, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Ivanhoe Mine's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this news release.

As well, all of the results of the 2016 Kakula preliminary economic assessment constitute forward-looking information, including estimates of internal rates of return (including an after tax internal rate of return of 38.0% with a payback period of 2.3 years), net present value (including a project NPV of US$4.7 billion at an 8% discount rate in a two mine Kamoa and Kakula integrated development scenario and US$3.7 billion at an 8% discount rate in the initial Kakula Phase 1 Mine option), future production (including an average annual production rate of 209,000 tonnes of copper during the first five years of operations and peak production of 262,000 tonnes in year three in the initial Kakula Phase 1 Mine option), estimates of cash cost (including average mine-site cash cost of US$0.37/lb during the first ten years of operations), assumed long term price for copper of US$3.00 per pound, proposed mining plans and methods (including the potential to use the controlled convergence room-and-pillar mining method), mine life estimates, cash flow forecasts, metal recoveries, production of copper concentrate in excess of 50% copper with extremely low arsenic levels, and estimates of capital and operating costs (including initial capital costs of US$1.0 billion in either option considered in the Kakula 2016 PEA). Furthermore, with respect to this specific forward-looking information concerning the development of the Kamoa-Kakula Project, Ivanhoe Mines has based its assumptions and analysis on certain factors that are inherently uncertain. Uncertainties include among others: (i) the adequacy of infrastructure (including the rehabilitation of the Koni, Mwadingusha and Nzilo 1 hydroelectric power plants); (ii) unforeseen changes in geological characteristics; (iii) changes in the metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization; (iv) the ability to develop adequate processing capacity; (v) the price of copper; (vi) the availability of equipment and facilities necessary to complete development; (vii) the size of future processing plants and future mining rates, (viii) the cost of consumables and mining and processing equipment; (ix) unforeseen technological and engineering problems; (x) accidents or acts of sabotage or terrorism; (xi) currency fluctuations; (xii) changes in laws or regulations; (xiii) the availability and productivity of skilled labour; (xiv) the regulation of the mining industry by various governmental agencies; (xv) political factors, including political stability; (xvi) the potential application of the DRC's special law - No. 14/005, enacted to facilitate Sino-Congolese cooperation to the Kamoa-Kakula Project; and (xvii) the completion of the railway upgrade between Kolwezi and Dilolo.

This release also contains references to estimates of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The estimation of Mineral Resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation (including estimated future production from the Kamoa-Kakula Project, the anticipated tonnages and grades that will be mined and the estimated level of recovery that will be realized), which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results and statistical inferences that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve estimates may have to be re-estimated based on: (i) fluctuations in copper price; (ii) results of drilling, (iii) metallurgical testing and other studies; (iv) proposed mining operations, including dilution; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to the date of any estimates; and (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licenses or changes to existing mining licences.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed here, as well as unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with Ivanhoe Mines and its subsidiaries to perform as agreed; social, political or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices (and copper in particular); limitations and availability of capital; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results (including the actual results of drilling and exploration activities), or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon what management of Ivanhoe Mines believes are reasonable assumptions, Ivanhoe Mines cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, Ivanhoe Mines does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.

Ivanhoe Mine's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the Ivanhoe Mines' most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis report and Annual Information Form, available at www.sedar.com.

Contacts:

Ivanhoe Mines - Investors:

Bill Trenaman

+1.604.331.9834



Ivanhoe Mines - Media

North America:

Bob Williamson

+1.604.512.4856



South Africa:

Jeremy Michaels

+27.82.939.4812

www.ivanhoemines.com




BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Fang Holdings Limited (SFUN), real estate Internet portal in China, provided a further update on its proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in Chongqing Wanli New Energy Co., Ltd., and the sale of Wanli's assets. Wanli recently advised Fang that it intends to explore avenues to terminate the Restructuring. To date, the transacting parties have not agreed or entered into any agreement to terminate the Restructuring. The consummation of the Restructuring remains subject to the requisite internal approvals of the relevant parties and regulatory clearance, including by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. There is no assurance that these approvals or regulatory clearance will be obtained within an expected timeframe, or at all. 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.
Providing services to support airport's sustainable expansion

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) has been awarded a four-year contract by London's Heathrow Airport Ltd to provide airport planning and engineering services to support the airport's sustainable expansion.

Jacobs joins Heathrow's new Integrated Design Team (IDT) of seven aviation planning and design organizations selected to develop plans for the airport's expansion. The team will collaborate to help deliver one of the most complex airport developments in the world. Heathrow Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and the busiest airport in Europe.

Jacobs's role includes overseeing design activities for the airfield, highways and earthworks and supporting the IDT with a range of engineering, planning and environmental services.

"Jacobs has worked with Heathrow Airport for the past 15 years delivering both airside and landside projects," said Jacobs Senior Vice President Buildings and Infrastructure Bob Duff. "Around the world, we've worked in collaborative roles for several major terminal and runway expansion projects and, as a member of the IDT, we look forward to contributing our proven expertise to help Heathrow create resilient and efficient plans for sustainable expansion."

"With their institutional knowledge of Heathrow, and proven record in building complex infrastructure projects, Jacobs and the other members of the IDT will allow us to hit the ground running to deliver Heathrow expansion," said Heathrow Airport's Head of Design Barry Weekes. "Finalizing the IDT members is a significant milestone in what will be a fast paced design and engineering schedule. We are now well on our way to delivering Britain's newest runway, providing the additional capacity our country needs to maintain its place in the world as a prosperous, outward looking trading nation."

Jacobs also recently won a three-year framework contract with Heathrow Airport to provide inspection of civil engineering assets and heavy rail, design consultancy, and a wide range of other civil airport infrastructure works across the airport.

The company provides professional services to aviation markets globally, including supporting programs for international airports such as Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Manchester. Services range from strategic planning and financial consulting to planning, asset management, design, program management and construction management.

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs over 54,000 people and operates in more than 25 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.jacobs.com.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our 2015 Form 10-K, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 Business, 1A Risk Factors, 3 Legal Proceedings, and 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005463/en/

Contacts:

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Salim Rahimi, 214-583-8428
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- On December 12, 2016, Lloyd I. Miller, III acquired ownership, control or direction over 17,000 common shares ("Common Shares") of Southern Arc Minerals Inc. ("Southern"), representing an increase in Mr. Miller's securityholding percentage of approximately 0.10% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis taking into account only the outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Southern, and the Common Shares and Common Share purchase warrants ("Warrants") owned or controlled by Mr. Miller and no others. Mr. Miller acquired the foregoing Common Shares through MILFAM II L.P. ("M2"), a partnership of which Mr. Miller is the managing member of the general partner.

Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Miller acquired ownership, control or direction over 323,000 Common Shares through M2 and another entity, bringing his ownership, control or direction to 1,904,000 Common Shares and 575,000 Warrants, representing an increase in Mr. Miller's securityholding percentage from 13.76%, as previously reported, to 15.73% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis taking into account only the outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Southern, and the Common Shares and Warrants owned or controlled by Mr. Miller and no others.

Immediately after the acquisition, Mr. Miller, through M2 and other entities, had ownership, control or direction over an aggregate of 1,921,000 Shares and 575,000 Warrants, representing approximately 15.83% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis taking into account only the outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Southern, and the Common Shares and Warrants owned or controlled by Mr. Miller and no others.

The Common Shares were acquired through the facilities of the TSX Venture Exchange at a price of US$0.3506 per Common Share, which based on the Bank of Canada noon exchange rate on December 12, 2016 equals CDN$0.4016 per Common Share for a total consideration of CDN$6,826.49.

The Common Shares were acquired for investment purposes. Depending on the evolution of Southern's business, financial condition, the market, if any, for Southern's securities, general economic conditions and other factors, Mr. Miller and his joint actors may acquire additional securities of Southern, or sell some or all of the securities they hold, in the open market, by private agreement or otherwise, subject to their availability at attractive prices, market conditions and other relevant factors.

For inquiries or a copy of the related early warning report, a copy of which will be filed on www.sedar.com under Southern's profile.

Contacts:

Lloyd I. Miller, III

3300 South Dixie Highway, Suite 1-365

West Palm Beach, Florida

USA 33405

(561) 287-5399

info@limadvisory.com



Eric Fangmann

3300 South Dixie Highway, Suite 1-365

West Palm Beach, Florida

USA 33405

(561) 287-5399

info@limadvisory.com




ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Aurion Resources Ltd. ("Aurion") (TSX VENTURE: AU) is pleased to report its partner B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO)(NYSE MKT: BTG)(NAMIBIAN: B2G); ("B2Gold") has completed an inaugural drill program intersecting high grade gold at the Kutuvuoma project in northern Finland.

Aurion is also pleased to report that B2Gold has advised that its 2017 JV exploration budget is US$2.6 million (CAN$3.5 million). The program will comprise extensive geochemical surveying, trenching and diamond drilling of multiple targets across the JV.

2016 Drill Program

The drill program comprised 5 HQ sized diamond drillholes with total meterage of 535 m. Two holes were drilled west of the Kutuvuoma deposit, one into the deposit and two east of the deposit over an aggregate distance of approximately 1 km. The program was designed to test for lateral continuity of the Kutuvuoma main mineralized zone east and west of the Kutuvuoma deposit. See attached map for drillhole locations.

The best hole of the program was drillhole KU16003 which was drilled into the known deposit. It intersected two mineralized zones, the first zone assayed 8.59 g/t Au over 2.15 m starting at 21.4 m downhole. The second zone assayed 11.37 g/t Au over 13.3 m starting at 71.85 m downhole. The upper zone intersection occurs in the structural hanging wall, and represents a promising zone to follow up. Previous hanging wall intercepts include 96.5 g/t Au over 1.2 m from Outokumpu ddh KUV-47, drilled in 1993. The second zone was a twin of Outokumpu ddh KUV-36 which assayed 7.2 g/t Au over 19.4 m, also drilled in 1993.

All holes intersected the main Kutuvuoma horizon and were variably mineralized. Hole KU16001 located approximately 370 m west of the Kutuvuoma deposit intersected a zone assaying 1.76 g/t Au over 8.85 m starting at 38.55 m downhole. Hole KU16004 was drilled 240 m west of the deposit and interested a 27.35 m wide zone of anomalous gold assaying 0.1 to 0.4 g/t Au with a best assay of 2.21 g/t Au over 1.2 m starting at 71.1 m downhole. Hole KU16002 was drilled approximately 100 m east of the deposit and intersected a mineralized zone at 42.55 m downhole which assayed 1.43 g/t Au over 5.05 m. Hole KU16005 was a 650 m step-out to the east of the deposit and intersected a 32.9 m wide zone of anomalous mineralization assaying 0.1-0.4 g/t Au including 2.4 g/t Au over 0.65 m starting at 60.75 m downhole and 10.1 g/t Au over 0.45 m starting at 65.35 m downhole. The deposit remains open at depth and along strike in both directions.

Mike Basha, President and CEO of Aurion commented: "This inaugural drill program, the first since the mid-1990's, is another milestone for Aurion in Finland. The five widely spaced drillholes over a greater than 1 km distance confirm our original expectations that a laterally continuous mineralized horizon existed at Kutuvuoma. We look forward to B2Gold continuing to advance and systematically explore the more than 5 km long trend in which the Kutuvuoma prospect occurs."

Table 1: Kutuvuoma 2016 drill results summary

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HoleID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KU16001 38.65 47.50 8.85 1.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl 43.45 44.70 1.25 5.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KU16002 42.55 47.60 5.05 1.67 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl 46.70 47.60 0.90 6.19 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KU16003 21.40 23.55 2.15 8.59 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl 22.35 23.55 1.20 11.05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- And 71.85 85.15 13.3 11.37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl 72.40 73.60 1.20 16.65 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl 76.65 77.30 0.65 26.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl 78.40 79.60 1.20 24.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl 79.60 80.80 1.20 47.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KU16004 71.10 72.30 1.20 2.21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KU16005 60.75 61.40 0.65 2.41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 65.35 65.80 0.45 10.10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: assay composites were calculated using uncut assays and are reported as drilled lengths. All drill intercepts are downhole widths, true widths appear to be approximately 80-85% of downhole widths but there has been insufficient drilling to date to sufficiently determine true widths.

The 2016 field program was fully funded by B2Gold under an agreement whereby B2Gold can earn up to an undivided 75% interest from Aurion in a project area of approximately 25,000 hectares by completing $15 million in exploration expenditures, a positive feasibility study and issuing 550,000 B2Gold shares (see Aurion news release of January 20, 2016 for details).

Other - Kutuvuoma Purchase Agreement

Aurion is also pleased to announce that it has met the obligations for purchase of 100% of the Kutuvuoma project including other tenements from Dragon Mining Oy by issuing 6.75 million Aurion shares and completing EUR1 million in exploration expenditures, subject to a 3% NSR, in accordance with the purchase agreement (for further details see Aurion press release dated May 27, 2014).

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Quality assurance and quality control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the core sample strings. The results of the control samples are evaluated on a regular basis with batches re-analysed and/or resubmitted as needed. All results stated in this announcement have passed B2Gold's quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") protocols. The primary laboratory for Kutuvuoma drilling is ALS Scandinavia where samples are analysed by metallic screen fire assay and/or fire assay with atomic absorption finish and/or gravimetric finish.

Qualified Person

Mike Basha, P.Eng., P.Geo., Aurion's President and CEO, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companies' current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and Aurion is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

On behalf of the Board,

Mike Basha, President & CEO

For further information on these projects please visit our website at www.aurionresources.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Aurion Resources Ltd.

Mike Basha

(709) 699-8300 or (709) 722-2141

mbasha@aurionresources.ca

www.aurionresources.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- San Marco Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SMN) ("San Marco" or the "Company") announces receipt of all necessary permits from the Mexican environmental and natural resources ministry, Secretaria del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) allowing the Company to carry out additional surface exploration activities, including trenching and drilling, on its Chunibas property. As announced November 1st, 2016, the Company also has agreements with local ejidos (communal agricultural land authorities) allowing surface access for an indefinite period.

The Chunibas property is an intrusive hosted, intermediate sulphidation gold system, together with anomalous concentrations of silver, copper, lead and zinc. Gold is hosted in shear zones of various orientations with mineralization open in all directions. Historic drill results demonstrate that significant gold values occur not only within discrete, metric scale structures but within broad haloes of lower grade material.

Chunibas surface exploration will continue until about December 15th, 2016 and then re-commence in mid-January 2017 after data review and budget approvals. An extensive soil sampling program covering the primary mineralized area (1.5 km X 1.0 km) has been conducted. A total of 850 samples were collected and submitted for analyses. San Marco expects that final assay results will be announced in early January 2017.

The primary purpose of this extensive sampling program is to confirm covered projections of known mineralized structures, as well as new targets buried under the thin veneer of colluvial sediments that cover approximately 80% of the property. Reconnaissance soil sampling completed during 2015 demonstrates this is a successful and cost-effective means to trace mineralization under cover.

During the current phase of work, mineralized structures have been identified over a broad area, which extends up to one kilometre west from the main historic mine workings. An additional 250 soil samples are being collected covering this expanded target footprint. Although surface outcrop is restricted, select sampling of informal mine workings and sub-cropping shear zones have yielded significant gold assays up to 46.1 g/t gold.

All rock chip and soil sample results will be integrated into a new geochemical map of the project area, which can then be utilized to generate new drill targets.

San Marco's CEO, Bob Willis states, "Chunibas continues to show us we have yet to find the limits of the mineralization in all directions. Based on our revised geological model and expanded deposit footprint, we are confident that the 2016 program will lead to further exploration and diamond drilling."

About San Marco

San Marco Resources Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of promising projects in mining-friendly Mexico, including the Chunibas and Mariana Projects in Sonora State.

San Marco actively pursues strategic project generation program focused on high-caliber, low acquisition cost opportunities in the North-western Mexico. The Company has a committed management team with extensive experience in Mexico and a proven track record of building shareholder value.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Robert Willis, P. Eng., President & CEO

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

This news release has been approved by San Marco's CEO, Robert D. Willis, P. Eng. a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

This news release includes technical information generated prior to the introduction of National Instrument 43-101. Details of the sampling methods, handling, and quality control methods used in the generation of this historical technical data are unknown to San Marco, and the drill material, assay results, true width of intercepts herein cannot be and have not been verified by the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

Forward Looking Information

Information set forth in this document may include forward-looking statements. While these statements reflect management's current plans, projections and intents, by their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond the control of San Marco Resources Inc. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. San Marco's actual results, programs, activities and financial position could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Nancy Curry

info@sanmarcocorp.com




NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and the founder of Shake Shack, will receive the Torch Award during the upcoming International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York (Sunday, March 5 - Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at the Javits Center in New York).

The Torch Award, presented by The Food Shows and Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum, was created to honor outstanding restaurateurs who embody all the qualities and characteristics of the word Torch which symbolizes, including illumination, energy, joy, victory, enlightenment, hope and education. As a restaurateur extraordinaire and enlightened hospitality guru, Danny Meyer's ability to teach and share clearly demonstrates the definition of the Torch.

"Since the start of his career 30 years ago, Meyer has launched a number of highly successful restaurants with locations throughout the country, and is an exemplary leader in the restaurant industry," said Master Chef Metz. "We are thrilled to present Danny with this prestigious award for his commitment to the industry, his teams, the public they serve, and the communities they support."

Union Square Hospitality Group includes Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, The Modern, Maialino, Untitled, North End Grill, Marta, Porchlight, Union Square Events, and Hospitality Quotient, a learning and consulting business. Danny, his restaurants and chefs have earned an unprecedented 28 James Beard Awards, and in 2015, Danny was named to the TIME 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World. Danny's first business book, Setting the Table (HarperCollins, 2006), a New York Times bestseller, examines the power of hospitality in restaurants, business and life. An active national leader in the fight against hunger, Danny serves on the board of Share Our Strength and has long supported hunger relief initiatives including City Harvest, God's Love We Deliver, and the Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger.

The Torch award will be presented on Monday, March 6, 2017 in the Culinary Demonstration Theater on the show floor. All attendees are invited to attend the presentation, which will be followed by a conversation with Danny Meyer and Ferdinand Metz, Certified Master Chef, former President of the Culinary Institute of America for more than 20 years, and Chairman of the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum.

"On behalf of Urban Expositions, event producers, we are thrilled to recognize Danny Meyer with this award which recognizes his commitment to driving innovation and hospitality in the restaurant community," said Ron Mathews, Vice President for the Urban Expositions Family of Foodservice Events. "Meyer joins previous Torch Award Winners Thomas Keller, Chef and Proprietor, The Thomas Keller Restaurant Group; and Drew Nieporent, founder and inspiration behind the Myriad Restaurant Group."

Melissa Fleischut, president of the New York State Restaurant Association, adds, "Danny Meyer and Union Square Hospitality Group have enhanced the New York restaurant scene tremendously by setting a high bar for food and service across many dining segments. We are proud to count them among our members, and add our congratulations."

The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, sponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association, will bring together 550+ vendors and 16,000 restaurant, foodservice and retail professionals to the Jacob Javits Convention Center March 5-7, 2017. Attendees of the Expo will have the opportunity to participate in over 30 educational sessions at the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum, the gold standard, industry-leading educational conference dedicated to foodservice professional development. For more information, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com or www.thefoodshows.com

ABOUT UNION SQUARE HOSPITALITY GROUP (USHG)

Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) was founded by Danny Meyer and includes some of New York City's most beloved restaurants: Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, The Modern, Cafe 2 and Terrace 5 (located at the Museum of Modern Art), Maialino, Untitled and Studio Cafe at the Whitney Museum of American Art, North End Grill, Marta, and Porchlight. The company also includes Union Square Events, a catering and venue hospitality business, and Hospitality Quotient, an organizational consulting business empowering companies to transform their business through the power of hospitality. Each USHG restaurant is lovingly hand crafted and distinctive, and each strives to distinguish itself for warm hospitality and consistent excellence. Danny, his restaurants, and chefs have earned an unprecedented 28 James Beard Awards, including: Outstanding Restaurant of the Year; Outstanding Service; Outstanding Wine Service; Humanitarian of the Year; Who's Who of Food & Beverage; and Best Restaurant Design. Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern are perennially ranked on the top of the 'Most Popular' list in the Zagat Survey, with Union Square Cafe holding the #1 spot nine times. www.ushgnyc.com

ABOUT URBAN EXPOSITIONS

Based in Kennesaw, GA, and founded in 1995, Urban Expositions produces and manages a portfolio of 36 events. Urban serves seven industry sectors including Gift, Souvenir, Art, Aviation, Foodservice, Pet and Gaming. Urban also produces Airport Revenue News, a publication focused on the airport concession industry. Urban has offices in Shelton, CT and Boca Raton, FL, and is represented by employees in California, Colorado and Illinois. www.urban-expo.com

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For Further Information, Contact:

Amy Riemer

Media Relations

978-475-4441 (office)

978-502-4895 (cell)

Email Contact




MARKHAM, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- VIQ Solutions Inc. ("VIQ Solutions" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: VQS) is pleased to announce that Spark & Cannon, VIQ's Australia based reporting and transcription services and technology distributor, was awarded a major new contract with the New South Wales Police Force ("NSWPF") for the provision of secure transcription of police recordings.

Revenue expected for Spark & Cannon is AUD$2.085M per year based on historical workflow. The contract term is three years with two options to extend for an additional year each.

"This is a significant win. This prestigious contract cements Spark & Cannon's position as the leader for secure law enforcement technology and services in Australia," said Sebastien Pare, President and CEO of VIQ Solutions. "It assures solid revenue for many years as the Company continues to expand beyond historical court markets."

The NSWPF is Australia's oldest and largest police organization and one of the largest in the English speaking world with 16,000 employees. NSWPF serves a population of more than seven million in New South Wales from more than 400 police stations.

Spark & Cannon has provided secure transcription services to NSWPF since 2007. As with previous awards, Spark & Cannon will be a participant on a panel of multiple transcription contractors appointed by NSWPF.

With the new contract, Spark & Cannon's portion of the workflow has more than tripled, making them the predominant transcription supplier for the NSWPF.

"The significant expansion of our portion of the workflow demonstrates the confidence that the NSWPF has in Spark & Cannon to provide quality, efficient and secure transcription services," said Matthew Fowler, Managing Director at Spark & Cannon. "We're pleased that NSWPF recognizes Spark & Cannon's leadership in these areas as we continue to increase our law enforcement market."

Spark & Cannon also provides transcription services to the Victoria Police through a similar multiyear contract.

"As Spark & Cannon continues to win new contracts with police, medical and legal customers across Australia, we look forward to expanding our offerings to these customers to include additional secure technology and services," added Mr. Pare.

For more information on what is making the news at VIQ Solutions, please visit our website at http://www.viqsolutions.com/news.html.

About VIQ Solutions Inc.

VIQ Solutions is the leading technology and service platform provider for digital evidence capture and content management. Our secure modular software allows customers to onboard the VIQ platform at any stage of their organization's digitization, from the capture of digital content from video and audio devices through to online collaboration, mobility, data analytics and integration with sensors, facial recognition, speech recognition and case management or patient record systems. VIQ's technology leads the industry in security, meeting the highest international standards for digital/cyber security and privacy, including military and medical regulations.

Our solutions are in use in over 20 countries with tens of thousands of users in over 200 government and private agencies including law enforcement, immigration, medical, legal, insurance, courts, and transportation and transcription services. VIQ also provides end to end transcription services to several large government agencies through our Australia-based reporting and transcription partners. VIQ operates worldwide with partners like security integrators, audio-video specialists, and hardware and data storage suppliers. Managing digital media evidence is what we do, and we do it better than anyone else. For more information about VIQ Solutions, please visit www.viqsolutions.com.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward looking statements or forward looking information under applicable securities legislation. Such forward looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward looking statements or information typically contain statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "project" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward looking statements or information in this news release include, but are not limited to, the expected workflow volume and associated revenues of Spark & Cannon attributable to the contract with the New South Wales Police Force.

The forward looking statements or information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and VIQ Solutions undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws. The forward looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

VIQ Solutions

Tara Bednarz

(905) 948-8266 ext. 225

tbednarz@viqsolutions.com




DRUMMONDVILLE, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- NAPEC Inc. ("NAPEC" or the "Corporation") (TSX: NPC) today announced that its subsidiaries have recently been awarded new contracts representing an aggregate value estimated at more than $185.0 million.

First, the U.S. subsidiary Riggs Distler & Company, Inc. ("RDC") was awarded several contracts with a total value of approximately US $113.8 million, equivalent to about Cdn $150.0 million based on the current exchange rate. These agreements include :

-- A five-year extension to an existing agreement to provide construction and maintenance services for the gas and electricity distribution networks of a major utility service provider in Pennsylvania. The extension period begins in January 2017 and ends in December 2021. -- A five-year extension to an existing agreement for construction, replacement and maintenance services on the gas distribution network of a large-scale utility service provider in Maryland. The renewal period extends from January 2017 through December 2021. -- A contract to rebuild a five-mile (eight kilometres) section of a 69 kV electricity transmission line for a municipal utility company in New Jersey. Work will be carried out through March 2017. -- A contract to provide road matting and environment control services related to an electricity transmission line project for a major utility service provider in New England. This contract is expected to be completed in September 2017.

Second, the Canadian subsidiary Thirau Inc. ("Thirau") obtained an important contract from Hydro-Quebec related to the large-scale Chamouchouane-Bout-de-l'Ile project. The contract calls for the construction of a 77-kilometre section of a 735 kV electricity transmission line linking the Taureau reservoir to the municipality of Saint-Zenon, in the Lanaudiere region. Work also includes the partial demolition and reconstruction of a section from another neighbouring transmission line. The total value of the contract amounts to nearly $35.5 million. Work is scheduled to begin in December 2016 and should spread out until October 2017.

"These contracts illustrate the wide reach of NAPEC's service offering for major utility companies in its main markets. We are continuing to grow our presence in the U.S. gas market and we believe it will further expand by deploying the expertise of PCT Contracting LLC, a company acquired in November 2016, across our network. In Canada, Thirau is looking forward to once again demonstrate its ability to execute large-scale, complex work for the construction of electricity transmission lines. These contracts will strongly contribute to our 2017 results and beyond, as per the terms of each agreement", said Pierre L. Gauthier, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAPEC.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of factors and include risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from forecast results. Management assumes no obligation beyond what is required under the law to update or revise forward-looking statements pursuant to new information or future events.

OVERVIEW OF THE CORPORATION

NAPEC is a company operating in the energy sector. The Corporation is a leading provider of construction and maintenance services to the public utility and heavy industrial markets, mainly in Quebec, Ontario, and the eastern United States. NAPEC and its subsidiaries build and maintain electrical transmission and distribution systems and natural gas networks. The Corporation also installs gas-powered and electric-powered heavy equipment for utilities, gas-fired industrial power plants, petrochemical facilities, and solar panel farms in North America. The Corporation also offers environmental construction and road matting services.

Additional information on NAPEC can be found in the SEDAR database (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporation's website, at www.napec.ca.

Contacts:

Source:

NAPEC Inc.



Pierre L. Gauthier

President and Chief Executive Officer

819-479-7771

p.gauthier@napec.ca



Mario Trahan, CPA, CMA

Chief Financial Officer

819-479-7771

m.trahan@napec.ca



MaisonBrison

Martin Goulet, CFA

514-731-0000

martin@maisonbrison.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- LITE ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (the "Company") (CSE: LTE)(CSE: LTE.CN)(OTC PINK: LTCCF), an integrated fibre optic solutions provider, is pleased to advise that its common shares will be listed on the TSX Venture Exchange effective December 14, 2016. The Company will be listed as a Tier 1 Industrial Issuer under the stock symbol "LTE". Effective the close of trading on December 13, 2016, the Company will delist its common shares from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

"This is another significant milestone in the development of our company and marks an important step as we accelerate deployment of our fibre optic connectivity solutions, including our innovative micro-trench installation methodologies and proprietary Microduct and air-blown fibre technologies," said Mike Plotnikoff, CEO of Lite Access Technologies. "The TSX Venture Exchange is one of the world's leading public venture markets for fast growing public technology companies and we see this listing enabling the Company to add value for its shareholders, increase liquidity for its shares and increase access to capital markets."

About Lite Access

Lite Access is a world leader in Microduct and fibre optic technologies. Using its specially designed and innovative micro-trench and alternate methods of deployment, Lite Access' proprietary Microduct technology extends a network provider's ability to deliver true broadband connectivity directly to end-users, such as homes, government and educational institutions, and emergency response facilities. Providing a full portfolio of fibre connectivity solutions for many types of Telecom infrastructure, Lite Access has successfully deployed thousands of kilometres of Microduct networks throughout North and South America, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, Australia and Asia.

Lite Access' products have been deployed in many high profile communication networks including the Whistler 2010 Winter Olympic facilities, builds within the state of New York including Central Park, the Las Vegas strip and surrounding areas of Nevada, fibre to the home at Stanford University and numerous other locations around the globe that have adopted Lite Access as the "solution of choice" for future proof fibre optic connectivity.

Forward Looking Information

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: receipt of further purchase orders in South Africa and the risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Annual Listing Statement available on www.cnsx.ca. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Lite Access Technologies Inc.

1-604-247-4704

www.liteaccess.com



For investor relations please contact:

Contact Financial Corp.

Rob Gamley

1-604-689-7422

rob@contactfinancial.com




ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Altius Minerals Corporation (TSX: ALS) is pleased to report that together with select strategic investors it is participating in the co-founding of a new company, Adventus Zinc Corporation, that intends to become publicly traded and which will focus on the acquisition and advancement of zinc exploration and development projects.

Altius is contributing an extensive portfolio of zinc exploration projects in Ireland and Eastern Canada, which it has been opportunistically assembling over the past 4 years, and will be providing a portion of Adventus Zinc's pre-IPO seed capital funding.

In addition to advancing its exploration lands, Adventus Zinc intends to pursue the acquisition of advanced zinc projects that range from resource delineation through to feasibility stage. Altius and the co-founding strategic investors of Adventus Zinc will each contribute technical and financial strength to this effort.

Christian Kargl-Simard, P. Eng., has been appointed as the President and CEO of Adventus Zinc. Christian has had a 13-year mining-related career, including close to 10 years in mining investment banking at Raymond James Ltd. and Haywood Securities Inc., and brings a strong combination of technical and financial evaluation skills and corporate financing and M&A experience to Adventus.

Adventus Zinc intends to file a preliminary prospectus in connection with an IPO in the near future, at which time further details regarding the major strategic investors, board composition and projects will be provided.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information. Forward looking information contained in this new release includes, but is not limited to, the intentions of Adventus Zinc to become publicly traded and to file a preliminary prospectus, its plans to pursue the acquisition and advancement of zinc projects, and the expected future contributions of Altius and strategic investors to Adventus Zinc. These statements are based on information currently available to Altius and Altius provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, the ability of Adventus Zinc to complete an IPO, and other similar matters. While Altius considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Although Altius believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking information are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, among other things, changes in market conditions, changes in the prices of commodities, unanticipated changes in key management personnel, general economic and political conditions, the risk that Adventus Zinc's IPO may not be completed or that it may not receive sufficient seed capital funding, and the failure to receive applicable regulatory approvals. Accordingly, actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward-looking information in this news release. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information in this news release. Altius does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that may be made from time to time by Altius or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

About Altius

Altius' diversified royalties and streams generate revenue from 14 operating mines located in Canada and Brazil that produce copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, precious metals, potash and thermal (electrical) and metallurgical coal. The portfolio also includes numerous pre-development stage royalties covering a wide spectrum of mineral commodities and jurisdictions. It also holds a large portfolio of exploration stage projects which it has generated for deal making with industry partners and which will result in third party funding, equity and minority interests and newly created royalty interests.

Altius has 43,335,654 shares issued and outstanding that are listed on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a member of both the S&P/TSX Small Cap and S&P/TSX Global Mining Indices.

Contacts:

Altius Minerals Corporation

Chad Wells

Vice President Corporate Development

Toll Free: 1-877-576-2209

709-576-3441 (FAX)

info@altiusminerals.com

www.altiusminerals.com




BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Labor Department's Import and Export Prices for November will be released at 8.30 am ET Tuesday. The economists are looking for consensus of a decline of 0.4 percent for the import prices, while export prices are expected to be slightly down from the prior month. Ahead of the data, the greenback traded mixed against its major rivals. While greenback held steady against the yen and the pound, it declined against the Swiss franc. Against the euro, the greenback rose. The greenback was worth 1.0608 against the euro, 115.31 against the yen, 1.0128 against the franc and 1.2707 against the pound as of 8:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Three top Democratic Senators have called for the creation of an independent, nonpartisan commission to comprehensively investigate alleged Russian interference in the US Presidential election. The call was made in a joint statement Monday by Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The panel they proposed would investigate alleged Russian cyberattacks on U.S. political entities and election infrastructure, seek to identify those responsible, and recommend a response as well as actions the U.S. can take to defend itself in the future. They want the Commission, appointed by the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leadership, report its findings to Congress within 18 months. In October, the Director of National Intelligence confirmed that senior-level Russian officials were involved in the hacks of the emails of the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. 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.
Conference designed to transform the way we think about work named Event of the Year

Globoforce, a leading provider of social recognition solutions, today announced that its WorkHuman 2016 conference was named the gold winner in the Event of the Year category at the Best in Biz Awards 2016. The Best in Biz Awards is the only independent business awards program judged by members of the press and industry analysts.

Launched in June 2015, WorkHuman is designed to galvanize leaders and organizations worldwide to harness the transformative power of people for the next generation of HR. WorkHuman celebrates breakthrough organizations building human-centric workplaces where employees achieve their fullest potential where people feel appreciated, connected, and empowered for who they are and what they do. Globoforce's WorkHuman 2017 conference will be held May 30-June 1, at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. The annual event has grown three times in size since the inaugural conference in 2015.

WorkHuman 2017 will feature keynote addresses from top-rated Wharton professor and author Adam Grant, and bestselling author and Quiet Revolution co-founder Susan Cain. Main tracks designed to change the future of the human workplace at WorkHuman 2017 include: The Crowdsourced Enterprise, The Human Visionaries, The Organization of the Future, The ROI of Social Recognition, The WorkHuman Leader: Executive Forums, and Your Whole Self.

"WorkHuman continues to mobilize HR leaders to build workplaces that humanize and provide a positive employee experience," said Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce. "This award affirms the strength of the event and its impact on transforming workplace practices and cultures. It is also a testament to our speakers, customers, partners, influencers and Globoforce employees who tirelessly commit their time to making this conference a rewarding and life-changing experience for all who attend."

The sixth annual Best in Biz Awards program in North America garnered more than 600 entries, from public and private companies in the U.S. and Canada. Winners of the Best in Biz Awards 2016 were determined based on scoring from an independent panel of 50 judges from widely known newspapers, business, consumer and technology publications, TV outlets, and analyst firms. This year's panel included judges from Accounting Today, AdWeek, Associated Press, Atlanta Tribune, Business News Daily, CNET, Computerworld, Consumer Affairs, Entrepreneur, eWeek Channel Insider, Forbes, Healthcare Innovation News, Inc., Information Week, InfoWorld, Investment Advisor Magazine, MediaPost, Multifamily Executive, Network World, Portland Business Journal, Security Products Magazine, South Florida Business Journal, Wall Street Journal, Wired, WLRN and ZDNet.For a full list of gold, silver and bronze winners in Best in Biz Awards 2016, visit: http://www.bestinbizawards.com/2016-winners.

About Globoforce

Globoforce is a leading provider of social recognition solutions, helping companies build stronger, more human cultures through the power of thanks. Named one of the Best Workplaces by the Great Place To Work Institute, Globoforce is trusted by some of the most admired companies in the world to inspire and energize employees and create best places to work. Our award-winning SaaS technology and proven methodologies empower HR and business leaders to take a modern, more strategic approach to recognition programs. What results is measurable business success, qualified by increases in employee engagement, retention and productivity. The company pioneered the WorkHuman movement, created to galvanize organizations and leaders worldwide to create a more human workplace. This movement culminates annually at the WorkHuman conference, taking place May 30-June 1, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona. Globoforce is co-headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland.

To learn more:

Visit: http://www.globoforce.com

Read: http://globoforce.com/globoblog

Follow: Twitter @Globoforce LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/globoforce Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/globoforce



View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005211/en/

Contacts:

Globoforce

Shweta Agarwal, 508-229-1541

Senior Manager Public Relations

Shweta.Agarwal@globoforce.com
LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. (OTC PINK: PNOW), parent Company of the Central American-Caribbean Online Travel Agency (OTA) Oveedia and Numismatic specialist (Meso Numismatics), announced today, that the Company has achieved FAST Eligibility, becoming DWAC approved with The Depository Trust Clearing Corporation ("DTCC").

The Deposit Withdrawal at Custodian ("DWAC") operates by way of the FAST Automated Securities Transfer Program ("FAST"). DWAC/FAST allows for securities to be held by shareholders, as the registered owner, in electronic form, on the books of the company's Transfer Agent. This is a particularly special service; one that the DTCC claims as a premium service offering. Management indicated that in the past, it was advised that the Company would not have been able to receive DWAC approval at that time, given certain elements that needed to be fixed.

Since then, with the assistance of Mr. Melvin Pereira, President and CEO of Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc., management has been able to clearly define its business model, make acquisitions, eliminate nearly all of its toxic convertible debt, and dramatically reduced the number of private investors involved with the Company. The result... a significant reduction in share issuances, share transfers, and negatively impactful dilution. The Company even generated its first revenues under Mr. Pereira's direction. Which to date, with the recent acquisition of Meso Numismatics, Pure generates revenue daily.

Also, given the strict requirements that Transfer Agents must maintain with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which includes maintaining a minimum of $1M in Errors and Omissions Insurance -- along with Bond coverage between $10M and $25M -- not all Transfer Agents are qualified to be FAST Agents. This means, not all Transfer Agents can sponsor companies like Pure for DWAC. Likewise, qualified Transfer Agents are less likely to comfortably sponsor companies, such as PNOW, unless there is belief in the company's viability and legitimacy, to negate any possible risk.

"I do not profess to be an expert, and I'm relatively new to the chaos that is the microcap markets, but it would seem obvious that the strict review and high level of criteria that must be met by both the Transfer Agent and a company, is due to the great benefit of being DWAC approved," stated Melvin Pereira. "As an electronic system, DWAC greatly reduces the transfer, delivery and deposit time of securities from an investor to their brokerage house. This of course significantly accelerates the settlement process while eliminating the risk of lost certificates and the high cost of handling and transportation associated with the delivery of such physical certificates.

"But let's be honest here. In the wrong hands, having DWAC capabilities can be a complete disaster. Imagine, fourteen possibly highly toxic convertible noteholders, having access to DWAC at the same time... the Company's market would never have a chance to recover. So, while no one ever knows for sure why the DTCC approves or declines an applicant, I'm hopeful in suggesting that our approval was a result of the evident and significant changes we've made, and will continue to make, to protect shareholder interest and prepare for our audit."

Management perceives that the recent DWAC approval will speak positively to the Company's plans to complete its upgrade to the OTCQB. Approaching the next phase of its business plan, management anticipates that this recent approval by the DTCC, will be a supporting factor with the Company continuing to secure responsible, long-term capital investments.

"Next stop, DRS approval and the OTCQB!" Pereira concluded.

About Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc.

PURE provides proprietary technology, marketing solutions and branding services to hotel operators and condominium owners. The Company's vision is to build competitive operations in the areas of (i) online marketing and hotel internet booking engine services, (ii) hotel branding and, (iii) own, operate and in some instances develop, boutique hotels under the new, "by PURE" brand. PURE is the creator of Oveedia, the Central American-Caribbean online travel hub.

Related Links:

Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Pinterest

Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Facebook

Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Twitter

Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Google +

Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. LinkedIn

Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Investors Hangout

Oveedia Google +

Meso Numismatic

Safe Harbor Statements in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements about plans and expectations regarding products and opportunities, demand and acceptance of new or existing products, capital resources and future financial results are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from those expressed. These uncertainties and risks include changing consumer preferences, lack of success of new products, loss of the Company's customers, competition and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Team PURE

IR Div.

(800) 889-9509




MISSION, KS -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- (Family Features) A national survey reports that students getting ready to enter the workforce are often overlooking one of the top hiring sectors -- agriculture.

The research, sponsored by the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, found that agriculture is not being considered by many high school and college students, despite it being one of the country's major industries. In fact, only 3 percent of students recognize the agriculture industry as a top hiring sector.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, employers have nearly 60,000 job openings in agriculture annually, but only approximately 35,000 students with the proper training and education to fill these jobs each year.

Part of the awareness gap may be attributed to a lack of understanding of the varied job prospects and technology focus in the agriculture industry. Fewer than one in five students (19 percent) students surveyed felt they understood the career opportunities in agriculture, and only one in three students (35 percent) described agriculture as a technology-driven industry.

However, today's agriculture industry offers a wide array of career paths for individuals with interest in technology, science, education, agronomy and business -- among other fields. From agriculture economists and agronomists, to crop consultants, food scientists and engineers, experts in multiple fields -- especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas are needed to drive innovations growers need to feed the world's growing population.

To help close this gap, the America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, awards scholarships to help develop the next generation of agriculture leaders. Students looking to pursue higher education in an agriculture-related field of study from a two- or four-year program or trade school are eligible to apply for a $1,500 scholarship until Feb. 1, 2017.

"The field of agriculture provides many exciting and important career opportunities for today's students, and we feel it's important to support youth who are pursuing their studies in this growing and dynamic industry," said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president.

To find more information or to apply for the program, visit www.GrowAgLeaders.com, or learn more about the program at Facebook.com/AmericasFarmers.

About Family Features Editorial Syndicate

Established in 1974, Family Features is a leading provider of free food and lifestyle content for print and online publications. Our articles, photos, videos and web content solutions save you time, money and help create advertising opportunities. Registration is fast and free -- with absolutely no obligation. Visit editors.familyfeatures.com for more information.

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Michael French

mfrench@familyfeatures.com

1-888-824-3337

editors.familyfeatures.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- George W. Sanders, President of Goldcliff Resource Corporation ("Goldcliff" or the Company) reports that the resource expansion drill program has been completed on the Wilson patented claims at the Pine Grove project. Goldcliff funded a 14 hole, 6,962.5-foot (2,132.6 metres) drill program designed to extend mineralization from the last line of drilling to the northern boundary of the patented claims. Goldcliff is earning a 40% joint venture interest in the Pine Grove project, Lyon County, Nevada from Lincoln Mining Corporation. Lincoln managed the recent drill program.

Thirteen vertical reverse-circulation drill holes were completed in two fences and an additional angle hole was drilled near the southern boundary of the patented claim block for required geochemical information. The first fence of holes stepped out 100 feet beyond the northern limit of previous drilling and the second fence stepped out a further 100 feet to the northern patented claim boundary. The Wilson patented claims are surrounded by located claims which are also part of the Pine Grove joint venture. All holes intersected favorable granodiorite host rock which is a host for gold mineralization at Pine Grove, including some zones with conspicuous iron oxides. All assays are pending.

Jeffrey Wilson, Vice President of Exploration of Lincoln Mining Corporation, and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 has reviewed the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

For further information, please contact George W. Sanders, President, at 250-764-8879, toll free at 1-866-769-4802 or email at info@directroyalty.com.

GOLDCLIFF RESOURCE CORPORATION

George W. Sanders, President

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this news release.

Contacts:

Goldcliff Resource Corporation

George W. Sanders

President

250-764-8879 of Toll Free: 1-866-769-4802

info@directroyalty.com

www.goldcliff.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Irving Resources Inc. (CSE: IRV)(CSE: IRV.CN) ("Irving" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has received high-grade assays from surface samples recently collected at its newly acquired, 100%-controlled Omui gold-silver project, Hokkaido, Japan. As detailed in a news release dated October 17, 2016, reconnaissance sampling focused on areas around the historic Omui and Hokuryu mines where high-grade epithermal Au-Ag veins were exploited prior to World War II. Irving staff with assistance from personnel from Mitsui Mineral Development Engineering Co., Ltd. ("MINDECO") collected 130 rock chip samples.

At the Honpi ("Main Vein" in English) occurrence, rock chip samples collected from float boulders of vein material returned exceptional assays including 480 gpt gold ("Au") and 9,660 gpt silver ("Ag"), 143.5 gpt Au and 2,090 gpt Ag, 67.6 gpt Au and 1,060 gpt Ag, 55.6 gpt Au and 290 gpt Ag, and 48.2 gpt Au and 1,030 gpt Ag (See Figures 1 and 2). A further 14 samples assayed greater than 10 gpt Au and 13 samples assayed greater than 200 gpt Ag.

Many high grade samples originate from areas north of the Main Vein. The Main Vein is an E-W trending epithermal quartz vein that was exploited during the 1920's by a 70 m deep shaft and four working levels including several stopes, now collapsed to surface. Approximately 0.4 tonne of Au and 9 tonnes of Ag were mined at Omui during that time. Irving believes the boulders it sampled originate from subcropping veins that were neither recognized nor exploited during that early period of mining. Further work including drilling is needed to evaluate this possibility.

At Nanko, approximately one km south of Honpi, Irving collected float and subcrop samples of siliceous material thought to be sinter, a hard material deposited from hydrothermal fluids in shallow hot spring pools. Sinter typically contains low level gold whereas fractures, or feeders, below hot springs can host high grade gold, deposited there by boiling fluids. Most samples of sinter from Nanko are anomalous in Au up to 1 gpt. Two samples of breccia contain notable high grades, 29.6 gpt Au and 73.8 gpt Ag, and 21.2 gpt Au and 154 gpt Ag, respectively. These high-grade samples appear to originate from subcropping feeder structures that may indicate the presence of high grades at depth. Further work including drilling is needed to test this potential.

Four select samples of vein material collected from a mine dump adjacent to the uppermost workings of the Hokuryu mine returned 58.9 gpt Au and 495 gpt Ag, 51.4 gpt Au and 637 gpt Ag, 37.0 gpt Au and 378 gpt Ag, and 22.8 gpt Au and 321 gpt Ag. Another two select samples of vein material from the main Hokuryu mine dump assayed 31.4 gpt Au and 201 gpt Ag, and 11.4 gpt Au and 38.2 gpt Ag. One sample of silicified and pyritized rhyolite wallrock taken from the main dump assayed 2.2 gpt Au and 245 gpt Ag.

Hokuryu mine produced approximately 2.8 tonnes Au and 11.5 tonnes Ag prior to 1943 when it was abruptly closed due to the Gold Mine Closure Act near the end of World War II. Irving thinks exploration potential around Hokuryu is very good, particularly along a major NE-trending graben-bounding fault that extends about 12 km to the coast. Irving has recently discovered new, extensive sinter deposits along this structure. Such sinter indicates this fault was a focus for hydrothermal activity.

High-grade samples from Omui and Hokuryu are predominantly comprised of silica with less than 100 ppm arsenic ("As") and antimony ("Sb") and less than 0.02% sulfur ("S"). Because of the clean, high-silica nature of this material, it could potentially be used as smelter flux in many of the base metal smelters throughout Japan. In smelters, recovery of precious metals occurs during the smelting and refining process. As an example, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. treats ores from its high grade Hishikari epithermal vein deposit by utilizing them as smelter flux in its copper smelter. Irving is focused on identifying similar high-silica, high-grade epithermal vein deposits in Japan.

All samples discussed in this news release are "spot" samples taken from boulders of float, subcropping rock, or historic mining dumps. They are not necessarily representative. Irving submitted rock samples to ALS Laboratory, Vancouver, BC, for analysis. Au and Ag were analyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish. Multi-elements were analyzed by mass spectrometry following three acid digestion.

Quinton Hennigh (Ph.D., P.Geo.) is the Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 responsible for, and having reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is a technical advisor and director of Irving Resources Inc.

About Irving Resources Inc.:

Irving is a junior exploration company searching for opportunities in certain countries, including Japan. Irving also holds, through a subsidiary, three Project Venture Agreements with JOGMEC for joint regional exploration programs in the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Malawi and the Republic of Madagascar. JOGMEC is a government organization established under the law of Japan, administrated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and is responsible for stable supply of various resources to Japan through the discovery of sizable economic deposits of base, precious and rare metals.

Additional information can be found on the Company's website: www.IRVresources.com.

Akiko Levinson, President & Director

Forward-looking information

Some statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, customary risks of the mineral resource exploration industry as well as Irving having sufficient cash to fund any planned drilling and other exploration activities.

THE CSE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Figure 1 and 2 are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1079929maps.pdf

Contacts:

Irving Resources Inc.

Tel: (604) 682-3234

Toll free: 1 (888) 242-3234

Fax: (604) 682-0537

info@IRVresources.com






WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - US President-elect Donald Trump has tapped oil giant Exxon Mobil's chief executive Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State.



The New York business tycoon announced the nomination on Twitter: 'I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State.'



Tillerson's confirmation is not expected to be easy as his close ties to Russia and its President Vladimir Putin have reportedly alarmed both Democrats and some Republicans.



The latest appointment in Trump Cabinet coincides with top Democratic Senators' demand for an independent inquiry into the alleged Russian meddling in the US election. It emerged last week that US intelligence agencies believe Russia acted covertly to boost Trump in the election.



The Secretary of State is in effect the most senior US diplomat, and the President's key man in charge of Washington's relations with other governments. It is rare in American politics that a non-politician with no formal government experience heading the State Department.



Trump tweeted that 'The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.'



Joining the rank of an engineer in Exxon Mobil more than 40 years ago, Tillerson, 64, spent several years as a globetrotter running the company's extensive international operations.



'Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest and most respected companies,' Trump said about his nominee in a statement. Trump expressed confidence that he will 'promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States.'



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Do-it-yourself approach to cyber security proves inadequate for highly dynamic business assets, finds Frost & Sullivan's Network Security Team

SANTA CLARA, California, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --The complexity of network security is increasing due to the growing sophistication of distributed denial of service (DDoS) and the subsequent proliferation of security point solutions. The abundance of security solutions, along with stricter compliance requirements and policies, has stoked the demand for expert security professionals, who are in short supply. In response to this human resource crunch and the need to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations, business and public entities of all sizes are turning to managed security service providers (MSSPs).

"Enterprises are re-evaluating and strengthening their relationships with MSSPs as they recognize the need for advanced analysis engines to process potential incident data from several sources," said Frost & Sullivan Digital Transformation Vice President of Research Michael Suby. "Additionally, the complicated and potentially conflicting laws and regulations, privacy concerns and possible e-discovery requests are compelling organizations to outsource at least parts of their security functions to MSSPs."

"2016 North American Managed Security Services" is part of the Cyber Security team's Growth Partnership Subscription that includes insights on related topics such as: addressing the threats IoT present; controlling user and machine access to critical internal systems, Web sites, and cloud services; devising approaches to combat constantly evolving malware families, and reducing the time window between compromise and remediation.

Click here for complimentary access to more information on this analysis and to register for a Growth Strategy Dialogue, a free interactive briefing with Frost & Sullivan's thought leaders.

The risk management value of MSSPs is very difficult for enterprises opting for a do-it-yourself approach to duplicate. Only the largest of enterprises can gather the range and volume of threat intelligence as MSSPs, effectively process multiple streaming data feeds, and have the security expertise to determine and act on an optimal risk mitigation approach. By building scalable operations, serving customers across multiple verticals, being fluent in security technologies, and staffing with security expertise, MSSPs are well positioned to support organizations of all sizes.

The two types of MSSPs that are best poised to succeed in this market are network service providers that offer DDoS identification and mitigation services, and MSSPs with a broad library of threat intelligence and an ability to translate that to actionable intelligence.

"Customers want solutions that solve problems, rather than mere alerts to a potential problem," noted Suby. "Therefore, MSSPs that offer consulting, professional and technical services could well outpace the overall market."

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

2016 North American Managed Security Services

K12F-74

Contact:

Mariana Fernandez

Corporate Communications - North America

P: +54.(11) 4778.3540

E: mariana.fernandez@frost.com

http://www.frost.com
DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- T5 Data Centers (www.t5datacenters.com), innovators in providing state-of-the-art, customizable and highly reliable computing support environments, has named Melissa Justice as Director of Business Development for the company's T5@Dallas facility. In her new role, Justice will be responsible for promoting the T5@Dallas data center's superior infrastructure, interconnectivity capabilities, and top tier facilities management in the competitive Dallas data center market.

Justice brings more than a decade of sales and marketing expertise to the business development role. She sees her role as continuing the success that T5 has established with their existing campus. T5@Dallas is a showcase facility among T5's stable of data centers nationwide, providing superior data center capabilities, redundant power, and a hardened infrastructure in a purpose-built, enterprise-grade facility.

"As a Dallas native, I know what a great place the Plano submarket in Dallas/Fort Worth market is for businesses," said Justice. "We have a strong economic climate with a superior talent pool, low energy costs, and a great quality of life. As more Fortune 500 companies consider Dallas for relocation or expansion, we want them to know T5@Dallas is here with superior data center services that can grow with their needs."

"Melissa is a great addition to our business development team," said Aaron Wangenheim, Chief Operating Officer of T5 Data Centers. "The Dallas data center market continues to be a robust destination for enterprise users, and we're excited to have Melissa promoting T5's market differentiators, such as our robust structure, reliable infrastructure and professional operations team. T5@Dallas is poised for growth and we are confident that Melissa can help us reach our expansion goals."

For more information about T5@Dallas and T5's other retail colocation and data center services, visit www.t5datacenters.com.

About T5 Data Centers

T5 Data Centers (T5) is a leading national data center owner and operator, committed to delivering customizable, scalable data centers that provide an "always on" computing environment to power mission critical business applications. T5 Data Centers provides enterprise colocation data center services to organizations across North America using proven, best-in-class technology and techniques to design and develop facilities that deliver the lowest possible total cost of operations for its clients. T5 currently has business-critical data center facilities in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, Portland, Charlotte, and Chicago with new projects announced in New York, and Colorado. All of T5's data center projects are purpose-built facilities featuring robust design, redundant and reliable power and telecommunications, and have 24-hour staff to support mission-critical computing applications.

For more information, visit www.t5datacenters.com.

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Contact:



Aaron Wangenheim

T5 Data Centers

(415) 292-7700

aaron@t5datacenters.com




SANTA CLARA, California, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric rail and laser weapons and hypersonic missiles will begin to replace current weapons. Defense majors are focusing on missile defense, counter rocket artillery and mortar, counter space and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications. South Korea, Japan, India, Poland and Brazil will gain market share, mostly thanks to platform manufacturing. Countries with advanced defense technology will work on enhancing speed, range, accuracy and networking of weapons, leaving the manufacture of aircraft, ship and ground vehicles to mid-tier nations.

Global Defense Vision is part of Frost & Sullivan's Defense Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes insights on airports, US Department of Defense spending, unmanned aircraft systems payloads, security control rooms and missile defense.

Click here for complimentary access to more information on this analysis and to register for a Growth Strategy Dialogue, a free interactive briefing with Frost & Sullivan's thought leaders.

Unmanned systems of all types, which will have the fastest growth, and Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)-based IT networks will be in high demand in the Middle East and Asia. By 2026, the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance/electronic warfare/information operations (C4ISR/EW/IO) segment will continue to be the largest defense segment in the $715 billion defense procurement market.

"The most interesting near-term markets for defense equipment are proving to be Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and Europe, as the governments modernize their forces and systems," said Aerospace & Defense Principal Analyst Brad Curran. "Although North America will lose some of their market share, it will remain the largest regional defense market worldwide."

Employing COTS standards-based products, mature platforms and good-enough technology designs will reduce costs , ease integration, enable technology refresh, and lower training requirements. This will help to reduce overall systems costs and speed acquisition.

"Furthermore, the industry could witness consolidation due to overcapacity, but this will enable local firms to benefit from joint ventures and technology transfers," noted Curran. "The emphasis on national borders and more independent foreign policy will also open up the market for border security and collaboration tools by 2026."

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Global Defense Vision

K10C-16

Contact:

Mariana Fernandez

Corporate Communications - North America

P: +54 (11) 4778.3540

E: mariana.fernandez@frost.com
Hilger poised to expand industry-leading position of talent solutions pioneer

HANOVER, Maryland, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Allegis Group, the global leader in talent solutions, announces Andy Hilger's appointment to president. In this new role, he will drive initiatives that deliver industry-leading growth and foster a shared vision across the Allegis Group companies. He will also direct efforts to respond to a changing marketplace while staying true to the company's core values of character, competitive spirit, relationships and serving others.

"In his nearly 20 years with Allegis Group, Andy has earned the respect and trust of the senior leadership team, as well as all those who have had the privilege of working with him," said the company's Chairman Jim Davis. "We have always strived to be a great company that creates significant opportunity for our people, and I'm confident that Andy is the perfect leader to build on our strong foundation and create a brighter future for all of us at Allegis Group."

Having held a variety of strategic leadership roles across the Allegis Group network of companies, Hilger has been instrumental in helping to fuel Allegis Group's growth into an $11.2 billion global enterprise, as well as SIA's largest staffing firm in the United States for 10 years running.

Most recently serving as chief information officer, and vice president of strategy and technology before that, Hilger has been driving a critical evolution in the way Allegis Group leverages technology to create an exceptional experience for its customers - on-line and off. For example, he spearheaded a key innovation program for Allegis Group that ensures a holistic, scalable and agile approach to product development and delivery. Hilger also played a pivotal role in bringing renewed focus to the company's enterprise data and analytics to deliver a more personalized and compelling customer experience across every Allegis Group company. Additionally, Hilger fostered Allegis Group's global expansion, leading the integration of the Talent2 and Aston Carter acquisitions, which expanded the enterprise's footprint in APAC and EMEA, respectively.

"Known for his ability to solve complex problems, Andy is a world-class talent who cares deeply for the people he serves and who fosters an inclusive work environment that gives everyone the chance to contribute," Davis said. "Combine Andy's purposeful approach to living our values with his proven track record of facilitating positive change, and it's clear that he'll successfully elevate our company to the next level."

Hilger joined Allegis Group in 1997. His earlier roles include vice president of product development for Aerotek, vice president of chairman accounts for Allegis Group Services, vice president of strategy for Aerotek and vice president of strategic management for Allegis Group.

He currently serves as a board member for Boys Hope Girls Hope Baltimore and has been involved with the organization, which provides at-risk children with stable homes, education and financial and emotional support, since 2007. Hilger holds a bachelor's degree in English and philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and a master's in English from Temple University.

About Allegis Group

Allegis Group is the global leader in talent solutions focused on working harder and caring more than any other provider. We'll go further to understand the needs of our people - our clients, our candidates and our employees - and to consistently deliver on our promise of an unsurpassed quality experience. That's the Allegis Group difference, and it's consistent across every Allegis Group company. With more than $11 billion in annual revenues and over 500 locations across the globe, our network provides businesses with a comprehensive suite of talent solutions - without sacrificing the niche expertise required to ensure a successful partnership. Our specialized group of companies includes: Aerotek; TEKsystems; Aston Carter; Allegis Global Solutions; Major, Lindsey & Africa; Allegis Partners; MarketSource; EASi; The Stamford Group; and GettingHired. Visit www.AllegisGroup.com to learn more.

Julie McClure

410-694-5215

jumcclur@allegisgroup.com

allegisgroup.com




OSLO, Norway, Dec 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES

Reference is made to the stock exchange releases from Axactor AB (publ) ("AXA" or the "Company") published 13 October 2016 regarding the preliminary results of the subsequent repair offering of up to 50,000,000 new shares ("Offer Shares") in the Company (the "Subsequent Offering").

The subscription period in the Subsequent Offering expired at 16:30 hours (CET) yesterday, 12 December 2016.

Based on the Subsequent Offering being oversubscribed, the Board of Directors has resolved to allocate and issue 50,000,000 shares at NOK 2.60 per Offer Share raising gross proceeds of NOK 130,000,000. The allocation of the Offer Shares was made according to the allocation principles set out in the prospectus dated 25 November 2016.

Cipriano AS, a company owned by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Einar J. Greve, was allocated 1,950,084 Offer Shares in the Subsequent Offering and will after the completion of the Subsequent Offering hold 15,600,084 shares in the Company representing 1.3% per cent of the share capital of the Company after completion of the Subsequent Offering.

Solan Capital AS, a company owned by the member of Board of Directors, Gunnar Hvammen, was allocated 5,143,079 Offer Shares in the Subsequent Offering and will after the completion of the Subsequent Offering hold 41,143,079 shares in the Company representing 3.4% per cent of the share capital of the Company after completion of the Subsequent Offering.

Alpette AS, a company owned by the CEO, Endre Rangnes, was allocated 1,278,187 Offer Shares in the Subsequent Offering and will after the completion of the Subsequent Offering hold 16,616,431 shares in the Company representing 1.4% per cent of the share capital of the Company after completion of the Subsequent Offering.

Latino Invest AS, a company owned by Executive Vice President, Strategy & Projects Johnny Tsolis, was allocated 800,000 Offer Shares in the Subsequent Offering and will after the completion of the Subsequent Offering hold 10,300,000 shares in the Company representing 0.8% per cent of the share capital of the Company after completion of the Subsequent Offering.

All subscribers being allocated Offer Shares will receive an allocation letter confirming the number of Offer Shares allocated to the subscriber and the corresponding amount to be paid. This allocation letter is expected to be distributed today, 13 December 2016.

Payment of the Offer Shares will fall due on or about 16 December 2016. The Offer Shares are expected to registered in the Swedish Companies Registry on or about 23 December 2016. Delivery of the Offer Shares to investors' accounts in the Norwegian Central Securities Depository (VPS) is expected to take place on or about 28 December 2016. Trading in the Offer Shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange is expected to commence on or about 28 December 2016 under the trading symbol "AXA".

Following registration of the share capital related to the Subsequent Offering, the Company will have 1,226,488,769 shares outstanding with a par value of SEK 0.50 per share. The total share capital will thus be SEK 613,244,384.50 following completion of the Subsequent Offering.

Carnegie and DNB Markets acted as Managers for the Subsequent Offering.

For further information, please contact:

Endre Rangnes

Chief Executive Officer

Mail: endre.rangnes@axactor.com

Tel: + 46 8 402 28 00

Cell Phone: +47 48 22 11 11

Geir Johansen

Chief Financial Officer

Mail: geir.johansen@axactor.com

Cell Phone: +47 47 71 04 51

Important information:

The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia).

This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations, and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. It is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States. The issue, exercise, purchase or sale of subscription rights and the subscription or purchase of shares in the Company are subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions.

Neither the Company nor the Managers assumes any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.

The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The Managers are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Subsequent Offering and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Subsequent Offering and/or any other matter referred to in this release.

Forward-looking statements:

This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the Company's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

CONTACT:

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/axactor-ab/r/axactor---allocation-of-shares-in-the-subsequent-offering,c2148013

The following files are available for download:
MONACO--(Marketwired - December 13, 2016) - Scorpio Bulkers Inc. (NYSE: SALT) (the "Company") announced today that it has entered into a time charter-out agreement for one Kamsarmax vessel.

Time Charter-Out Agreement

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vessel Type Duration Earliest Redelivery Rate Date ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SBI Zumba Kamsarmax Min 5 - Max 7 05/11/2017 $10,500 months

About Scorpio Bulkers Inc.

Scorpio Bulkers Inc. is a provider of marine transportation of dry bulk commodities. Scorpio Bulkers Inc. currently owns 42 vessels, consisting of 16 Kamsarmax vessels and 26 Ultramax vessels. The Company also time charters-in two dry bulk vessels (consisting of one Panamax and one Kamsarmax vessel) and has contracted for six dry bulk vessels consisting of four Kamsarmax and two Ultramax), from shipyards in China. Upon final delivery of all of the vessels the owned fleet is expected to have a total carrying capacity of approximately 3.4 million deadweight tonnes. Additional information about the Company is available on the Company's website www.scorpiobulkers.com, which is not a part of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the failure of counterparties to fully perform their contracts with us, the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk vessel capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, charter counterparty performance, ability to obtain financing and comply with covenants in such financing arrangements, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.

Contact:

Scorpio Bulkers Inc.

+377-9798-5715 (Monaco)

+1-646-432-1675 (New York)
WARSAW (dpa-AFX) - Poland's core consumer price index continued to fall in November, but the pace of decline eased, figures from the National Bank of Poland showed Tuesday. The consumer price index excluding food and energy dropped 0.1 percent year-on-year following 0.2 percent decrease in October. On a month-on-month basis, the core CPI was unchanged in November after a 0.4 percent rise in the previous month. The headline CPI was unchanged on an annual basis in November, but rose 0.1 percent from the previous month. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

iView Systems, leaders in physical security information management reporting solutions, today announced the next evolution of its powerful flagship reporting platform, the iTrak Incident Reporting & Risk Management System Version 6.0. This release includes the addition of significant enhancements and feature updates, including the collaborative Case Management and automated iDispatch Security Kiosk Modules. The Case Management module provides a unique user-friendly, secure environment to create, manage and complete the investigation life-cycle, while the iDispatch Security Kiosk Module streamlines dispatch resources in real-time.

Managing security operations is more complex than ever for organizations faced with evolving mandates, shifting risk priorities and restrictive budgets. The iTrak Platform centralizes information from disparate sources into an integrated framework to collect, manage, track and report on all incidents and activities in one cohesive platform. "In Version 6.0, iView responded to customers' needs and the demands of security and surveillance operations to close the loop on full investigation reporting. iView added powerful new modules and features that make the iTrak software a complete reporting solution to meet the needs of enterprises of all sizes," said Martin Drew, President and CEO, iView Systems. "iTrak Version 6.0 features several innovations that increase usability, aiding organizations in managing their own unique security, surveillance, risk and loss prevention environments."

Building on the proven technology developed and refined for over a decade in highly regulated industries, iView's newest platform version 6.0 is a major release with the deployment of new modules including:

- Case Management

- iDispatch Security Officer Management Kiosk

Plus over 60 customer requested new features and enhancements in the following modules:

-- Ad-hoc Reporting -- Administration -- API (Software Development Kit) -- Best Practices -- Audit -- Incident File -- iPass Visitor Management -- iKiosk Security Management -- Lost and Found -- Media -- Notifications -- Personnel -- Subjects

The iTrak Case Management Module offers an enhanced and integrated investigation and case management tool that supports the dynamic work that occurs during an investigation. It allows routing information to the right users, managing content- and context-centric workflows, while tracking investigation processes for strong investigative and case-collaboration. Ease of use, accuracy and clarity are important elements of the design and enables single click escalation of any incident to a formal case investigation.

"We are very excited to bring a radically new graphical user interface (GUI) design to the security and loss prevention marketplace. The interface has been designed around the needs of the investigators with unique features such as instant views to all case information, without having to switch between elements and forms, including an interactive Case Time Line view, said Martin Drew, CPP, President, iView Systems. The case "container" captures and organizes all relevant content and activity on an investigation, providing a single, consistent view of the case to all members of the investigative team, while the case elements can be laid out visually to suit the individual investigator's preferences and requirements.

Incident and case management tools are the core of any investigations group. A collaborative case management environment fosters efficiency and transparency in the investigative process for a holistically driven approach reducing the complexity, time associated expenses.

For security, surveillance, loss prevention and risk managers to properly conduct investigations, the iTrak Case Management Module leverages the existing capabilities of the iTrak Incident Reporting Platform. This facilitates the investigation process by using the software's existing integrated incident and subject centric approach to seamlessly tie a variety of incident data sources to the case.

iDispatch Security Officer Management Kiosk

Properties, campuses and other large facilities with sizable multi shift security frontline officer pools face significant challenges in managing availability and individual officer resources. This includes the requirement to brief, provide post orders, all while checking officers in efficiently and effectively, during high traffic shift starts and changes. When combined with the additional in shift requirements to constantly change availability and break status, the whole process becomes very time-consuming. Dispatcher or operations centre managers who process high volumes of phone and/or radio calls for availability, know this can be a tedious and inefficient process, with less time spent on actual frontline security, safety or calls for service.

The iDispatch Security Officer Management Kiosk solution works in conjunction with the iDispatch Module to automate officer sign-in/out/status with simple integrated authentication and management. The officer can sign in with their unique employee RFID card, optionally authenticated with fingerprint biometrics that then updates their availability in real-time to the back office iDispatch System.

The interface is entirely "self service" and easy to use. Once signed in and authenticated, the officer simply selects their status as: available; unavailable, on break, off duty as well as log radio ID and location codes as required. Upon sign-in the officer is presented with their daily brief or post orders specific to their location. This provides an effective method of delivering up-to-date details pertaining to the specific property, be on the lookout (BOLO), VIP special events, while delivering specific relevant post orders to officer podiums or locations.

The iDispatch Security Officer Management Kiosk:

-- Replaces single point of management for dispatch officers -- Automates the sign in/out/break process -- Automatically provides Security briefing/location based post orders on sign in -- RFID support

About iView Systems

iView Systems specializes in the development and deployment of a complete integrated and converged physical security information management (PSIM) reporting platform for security, surveillance and loss prevention environments. iView Systems addresses the needs of multiple industries for a single desktop incident management and reporting system, providing both an incident and subject centric approach. iView Systems has rapidly attained industry recognition for its unique solutions and provides incident reporting, dispatch, identification and visitor management platforms and services to the global security marketplace, including the gaming, banking, corporate security and other loss prevention environments. iView Systems is located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

For more information on iView Systems, please visit www.iviewsystems.com.

To view the photo / video associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20161212-Version6banner800.jpg

Contacts:

Direct Contact:

iView Systems

Julie Taylor

Marketing Communications Manager

866-705-9671

jtaylor@iviewsystems.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Paul Saxton, President of Lincoln Mining Corporation ("Lincoln" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: LMG) reports that 14 reverse-circulation drill holes (6,962.5 feet or 2,132.6 metres) were completed on the Pine Grove property in Lyon County, Nevada. The resource expansion drill program was conducted on the Wilson patented claims. Goldcliff Resource Corporation, which is earning in to a 40% interest in the Pine Grove project, funded the drill program designed to extend mineralization from the last line of drilling to the northern boundary of the patented claims. Lincoln's technical personnel managed the recent drill program.

Thirteen vertical reverse-circulation drill holes were completed in two fences and an additional angle hole was drilled near the southern boundary of the patented claims block for required geochemical information. The first fence of holes stepped out 100 feet beyond the northern limit of previous drilling and the second fence stepped out a further 100 feet to the northern edge of the patented claims boundary. The Wilson patented claims are surrounded by located claims which are also part of the Pine Grove joint venture. All holes intersected favorable granodiorite host rock which is a host rock for mineralization at Pine Grove, including some zones with conspicuous iron oxides. All assays are pending.

Jeffrey Wilson, Vice President of Exploration of Lincoln Mining Corporation, and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 has reviewed the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

Lincoln also announces that Robert (Bob) Schafer has stepped down as a Director of Lincoln Mining Corporation. Bob will remain as an advisor to the Company. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Schafer for his contribution in guiding the Company over the last number of years. We wish Bob the very best in his future endeavours.

Lincoln Mining Corp. is a Canadian precious metals exploration and development company with two projects in various stages of exploration and development, which include the advanced stage Pine Grove gold property in Nevada and the pre-development stage Oro Cruz gold property in California. In the United States, the Company operates under Lincoln Gold US Corp. and Lincoln Resource Group Corp., both are Nevada corporations.

On behalf of Lincoln Mining Corporation

- Paul Saxton, Paul Saxton, President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY INCLUDE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS OR INFORMATION. ALL STATEMENTS OTHER THAN STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FACT INCLUDED IN THIS RELEASE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, STATEMENTS REGARDING THE STATUS OF THE COMPANY'S PROPERTIES ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THAT INVOLVE VARIOUS RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT SUCH STATEMENTS WILL PROVE TO BE ACCURATE AND ACTUAL RESULTS AND FUTURE EVENTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN SUCH STATEMENTS. IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THE COMPANY'S PLANS OR EXPECTATIONS INCLUDE AVAILABILITY OF CAPITAL AND FINANCING TO MAINTAIN THE COMPANY'S PROJECTS; GENERAL ECONOMIC, MARKET OR BUSINESS CONDITIONS; FLUCTUATING METAL PRICES; REGULATORY CHANGES; TIMELINESS OF GOVERNMENT OR REGULATORY APPROVALS AND OTHER RISKS DETAILED HEREIN AND FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE FILINGS MADE BY THE COMPANY. THE COMPANY MAKES ALL REASONABLE EFFORTS TO UPDATE ITS CORPORATE MATERIAL, DOCUMENTATION AND FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION ON A TIMELY BASIS.

Contacts:

Lincoln Mining Corporation

Investor Relations

604-688-7377

www.lincolnmining.com




HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Ucore Rare Metals, Inc. (TSX VENTURE: UCU)(OTCQX: UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to comment on the incoming U.S. presidential administration concerning trade policy and the implications for an independent domestic strategic metals industry.

"China continues to control more than 90 percent of the global mining and production of rare earth containing ore and exhibits near complete control over each subsequent stage of the supply chain," said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "Dependence on foreign sources of rare earths leaves the Department of Defense vulnerable to supply interruptions and without a fall-back for critical materials production should conflicts arise between the super powers, an issue addressed in a recent article in the Asia Times(1). President-elect Donald Trump has been outspoken through his campaign regarding the protection of American workers and industry from damaging and unfair foreign trade practices. His proposed policies coincide well with our vision of creating a self-contained strategic metals hub on US soil, independent of international political disruption. The movement toward US self-reliance, especially in areas of the highest military and industrial vulnerability, speaks well to our plan to develop our recently announced Strategic Metals Complex."

(1)Reference Link: http://www.atimes.com/article/china-holds-trump-card-rare-earths-trade/

According to President-Elect Trump, the trade disparity that exists between the U.S. and China has undercut U.S. exports and constrained American manufacturing. In order to ensure fair and transparent trade, Trump has proposed plans to levy tariffs against unfair Chinese imports up to 45 percent. If enacted, a large tariff will have significant implications for the American rare earths market leading to increased urgency of investment in U.S. strategic materials. Moreover, a tariff on strategic materials would drive downstream manufacturing, stimulating domestic job creation, and secure the supply chain for materials crucial to the proper function of numerous defense end-items, thus alleviating a dangerous risk currently posed to U.S. national security. The Department of Defense has indicated that the lack of substitutability for rare earths in defense applications will necessitate their increasing use on a go forward basis. A secure supply chain of rare earths is an essential component of a robust national security policy, given the increasing reliance on materials such as dysprosium, terbium, praseodymium and neodymium for the proper function of defense end-items such as precision-guided munitions, lasers, satellite communications, and military equipment and vehicles.

The proposed trade policies additionally speak well to innovation and a transition to more environmentally friendly technologies for the separation of rare earths. China relies on antiquated separation and extraction techniques with low selectivity for individual rare earths and necessitates the use of many separation stages and corrosive chemicals resulting in the generation of vast amounts of highly toxic, organic waste. These processes have enabled China to artificially suppress rare earth prices and force competition from the marketplace at the cost of extensive environmental degradation and human health and safety. In turn, processes such as solvent extraction are expensive, both in terms of environmental cost and capital outlay, and highly problematic in terms of permitting in US jurisdictions.

Additionally, much of the Chinese rare earth market remains opaque, leaving it vulnerable to an influx of low-cost black market materials that drive down prices and threaten to disrupt American access to strategic materials. The proposed tariff on China would hold the country accountable ensuring internationally recognized regulations are adhered to, and will go a long way toward enhancing America's leverage in international negotiations pertaining to security and defense. America needs an independent and robust strategic materials market and Ucore is proud to provide a domestic platform for such, utilizing world class molecular recognition technologies already proven over decades of development.

"Ucore looks forward to cooperating with the Trump Administration's efforts to return the U.S. strategic materials market to self-sufficiency," said McKenzie. "What's more, we look forward to continued collaboration with legislators in their efforts to break the United States of critical material dependencies."

Background

Ucore Rare Metals is a development-phase company focused on rare metals resources, extraction and beneficiation technologies with near term potential for production, growth and scalability. On March 3, 2015, Ucore announced the right to acquire a controlling ownership interest in the exclusive rights to IBC SuperLig technology for rare earths and multi-metallic tailings processing applications in North America and associated world markets. The Company has a 100% ownership stake in the Bokan project. On March 31, 2014, Ucore announced the unanimous support of the Alaska State Legislature for the investment of up to USD $145 Million in the Bokan project at the discretion of the Alaska Import Development and Export Agency ("AIDEA").

For further information, please visit http://www.ucore.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined by the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Ucore Rare Metals Inc.

Jim McKenzie

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1 (902) 482-5214

www.ucore.com




NEW YORK, 2016-12-13 15:36 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlindedByTheLight.com today announces the auction of Bruce Springsteen's 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible where he wrote his signature songs "Born To Run," "Thunder Road" and "Backstreets." The original vehicle registration, temporary insurance card, and Allstate insurance card issued in Springsteen's name and address are included with the car.A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6ac41cd0-9764-4423-8686-e0d11 6b95647After the release of Bruce's record "Born To Run," the car was featured in the October issues of both Time and Newsweek magazines, ironically both on page 57.The car is also featured in Bruce's autobiography titled, "Songs." He writes, "In '70's New Jersey, the car was still a powerful image. That summer I bought my first set of wheels for two thousand dollars. It was a '57 Chevy with dual, four-barrel carbs, a Hurst on the floor and orange flames spread across the hood."From October 2008 to January 2010, the Chevy was featured in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York City quickly becoming the most popular artifact in the museum.In January 2010, the Chevy was moved to the main Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH where it became part of the largest Bruce Springsteen exhibit ever.The car is in great running condition since the electrical and mechanical systems have been overhauled; the body and frame are untouched just the way it was when Bruce owned it.A detailed color book has been compiled by the owner and noted Bruce Springsteen historian, Michael Crane, entitled "Out in the Street: Bruce Springsteen's 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible" (80 pages) is included in the sale. The book documents ownership, history of the vehicle, the appraisal, and includes many rare photographs never seen before.Link to Auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/272484092740About BlindedByTheLight.comBlindedByTheLight.com was founded by Michael Crane, who has been an ardent fan of Bruce's since he was seven years old. Crane, who is a recognized Bruce Springsteen historian (contributing to exhibits in both The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio and the Rock Annex in New York City), created BBTL.com as a "one-stop shop" for all that is best about Bruce. Created by a fan for fans, it grants them the unique opportunity of having a totally intimate viewing experience with the quintessential rock legend of our time from the convenience of a computer, tablet or Smartphone.Contact: Susan Blond Susan Blond Group, Inc. 212-333-7728, ext. 101 SBlond@SusanBlondGroupInc.comJoshua Plant Susan Blond Group, Inc. 646-853-0609 Joshua@SusanBlondGroupInc.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- As Canadians focus on the upcoming holiday season and consider shopping for gifts the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is trying to relieve the pressure and stress. For shoppers looking for practical items to give the nature lovers on their list, NCC has you covered.

NCC is launching its 22nd annual Gifts of Canadian Nature. The alternative gift-giving program, offers shoppers a chance to plan meaningful gifts for their loved ones while also helping to help conserve critical habitat for native Canadian species. It's the perfect gift this holiday season.

The on-line catalogue makes it easy. Choose from one of nine different species you would like to symbolically protect. Your symbolic gift will help the Nature Conservancy of Canada protect our country's natural spaces and the species they sustain.

Native species available this year include: wolf, swift fox, snowy owl, moose, Canada lynx, American badger, and bald eagle. With any purchase of a Gift of Canadian Nature, you will receive a package that includes a full-colour certificate, an impressive 2017 Nature Conservancy of Canada wall calendar showcasing some of the country's most beautiful landscapes, and an eight-page booklet about the species of your choice. New this year, is a paperless gift option.

Gifts range from $40.00 to $1,000.00. Charitable tax receipts are issued for all gift purchases. Learn more at www.giftsofnature.ca or by calling toll-free 1-800-465-8005.

Quotes:

"These are great gifts for anyone on your list, especially the nature lover and the outdoor enthusiast. Here is a way for people to ensure the gifts they give and receive are unique and memorable. We are offering green ideas to conserve habitat for many species, while saving people time and frustration. Avoid mall line ups, buy local and help the Nature Conservancy of Canada care for our natural spaces and wildlife." Aaron Bilyea, Director of Marketing, Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Facts:

-- A member of the weasel family, the American badger is equipped with extremely long front paws for digging dens and burrows. The subspecies found in British Columbia and Ontario are endangered, and thought to contain between 100 and 200 individuals. -- Among the largest birds of prey and one of the largest birds in North America, the bald eagle currently enjoys a healthy population across its range. But 40 years ago this species faced extinction in some parts of Canada. -- More than 80% of all funds raised by NCC go directly to on-the-ground conservation work. -- For the seventh year in a row, NCC has been ranked the top environmental charity on MoneySense magazine's Charity 100 list.

About:

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is Canada's leading not-for-profit private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the plants and animals they sustain. Since 1962, NCC has helped to protect 2.8 million acres (more than 1.1 million hectares) across the country.

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Andrew Holland

National Media Relations Director

Nature Conservancy of Canada

1-877-231-4400

Andrew.Holland@natureconservancy.ca




HOUSTON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vinson & Elkins announces the promotion of eight lawyers to its partnership, effective January 1, 2017: Mark Brasher, Jason McIntosh, Becky Petereit, Bailey Pham, Simon Rootsey, Lande Spottswood, Thomas Zentner and Craig Zieminski.

"Our new partners are outstanding attorneys who have shown tremendous dedication to the firm and its clients," said V&E Chairman Mark Kelly. "From the courtroom to the boardroom, each of these exceptional lawyers has demonstrated a high level of skill in their respective practice area. We are thrilled to call them partners."

The new partners span six of the firm's key practice areas, including complex commercial litigation, energy transactions and projects, finance, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets, restructuring and reorganization and tax.

"We are proud to welcome these talented and accomplished lawyers to the firm's partnership," said V&E Managing Partner Scott Wulfe. "We are grateful for the contributions these deserving attorneys have made to V&E and we look forward to their continued success."

The following is a list of V&E's new partners by practice:

Complex Commercial Litigation:

Craig Zieminski, Dallas. Zieminski's practice focuses on representing companies and their directors in lawsuits brought by Delaware stockholders, master limited partnership (MLP) unitholders and deal partners. Zieminski has helped secure key victories for major energy clients. He played a significant role on the V&E team that represented Energy Transfer Equity in its successful defense of litigation concerning a $37.7 billion merger with The Williams Companies. Zieminski also helped win dismissal of a stockholder suit challenging C&J Energy's $2.9 billion merger with a unit of Nabors Industries. He has also helped companies defeat expedited lawsuits seeking to enjoin major transactions, such as a lawsuit that sought to enjoin Targa Resources' $6.7 billion merger with an affiliated entity and a lawsuit that attempted to enjoin Inergy's $2 billion merger with an affiliated partnership. Zieminski received his law degree from Stanford Law School in 2008 and graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2005 with degrees in economics and accounting.

Energy Transactions and Projects:

Mark Brasher, Houston. Brasher's practice focuses on project development and related business transactions concerning domestic and international energy and infrastructure projects. His clients include a wide range of participants in the oil and gas industry, renewable energy companies, power producers, infrastructure developers, banks and private equity funds. Brasher is the lead attorney advising Noble Energy on the project development aspects of its 20Tcf Leviathan natural gas project, offshore Israel. He counsels a number of Occidental Petroleum's business units in relation to projects in the United States and the Middle East. He is also an integral member of the V&E team representing Texas Central Partners in connection with the Dallas to Houston high-speed rail project. Recently, Brasher played a key role advising Riverstone in its acquisition from Kinder Morgan of a 50 percent interest in the Utopia Pipeline Project, a common carrier pipeline that will connect ethane gas sources from Ohio to Sarnia, Canada. Brasher received his LL.M. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 and his LL.B. from Monash University in Australia in 2006.

Finance:

Bailey Pham, Dallas. Pham's practice focuses on representing financial institutions, corporate lenders and businesses in all types of financing arrangements, including acquisition loans, asset-based loans and energy loans. She assists in the representation of both agent banks, including JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and borrowers in domestic and international syndicated loan transactions, particularly in secured, leveraged credits covering various markets and industries, including retail, manufacturing and oilfield services. Pham has also advised on a number of high-stakes deals, including Holly Corporation's $7 billion merger with Frontier Oil Corporation, which created one of the largest independent refiners in the United States. Pham received her law degree from Southern Methodist University in 2008 and her bachelor's and master's degrees in accountancy from Wake Forest University in 2002.

Mergers and Acquisitions/Capital Markets:

Simon Rootsey, London. Rootsey's practice focuses on cross-border M&A and private equity, advising on all aspects of private cross-border M&A, private equity transactions, joint ventures and public takeovers. His experience includes advising the Vitol Group on its recent sale of a 50% stake in the VTTI Group to Buckeye Partners for US$1.15 billion, and advising the Vitol Group and Helios Investment Partners in their US$1 billion acquisition of an 80 percent stake in the African downstream oil operations of Royal Dutch Shell plc, and acquisition of a 60 percent stake in the Nigerian downstream oil operations of Oando plc. On the private equity side, he advises leading private equity houses based in Europe and the United States investing in the U.K., Europe and Africa. Rootsey is a graduate of the University of Western Australia, where he received both his Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and his Bachelor of Commerce.

Lande Spottswood, Houston. Spottswood advises public and private companies, including MLPs, private equity investors and their portfolio companies, in connection with mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, restructurings, spinoffs, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. She also advises on public company change-of-control transactions. Her experience also includes advising issuers in initial public offerings, as well as public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, and on general corporate matters. She has teamed on some of V&E's largest recent deals, including representing Sunoco Logistics in its pending $22 billion acquisition of Energy Transfer; Plains GP Holdings in its simplification transaction with Plains All American Pipeline for $7.2 billion; Nexeo Solution's $1.575 billion merger with WL Ross Holding Corp.; and Western Refining's $2.4 billion merger agreement with Northern Tier Energy LP. Spottswood received her law degree from Harvard Law School in 2008 and her bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 2005.

Thomas Zentner, Houston. Zentner's practice focuses on corporate finance and securities law, including securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate representation. His capital markets experience includes representation of both issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings, as well as public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. He also works with public and private companies, including private equity funds and their portfolio companies, in connection with mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and strategic investments. Zentner advised Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in its $2.1 billion public offering of common stock and in its $3 billion offering of senior notes. He also advised Targa Resources Corp. in its $360 million initial public offering and in its $6.7 billion acquisition of Targa Resources Partners in an all stock-for-unit transaction. Zentner received his law degree in 2008 and bachelor's degree in 2005, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Restructuring and Reorganization:

Becky Petereit, Dallas. Petereit's practice focuses on all aspects of restructuring and reorganization work, including the representation of debtors, lenders, creditors, landlords and trustees. She represents clients in lawsuits, contested matters, adversary proceedings and other actions before federal district courts, state courts and bankruptcy courts with respect to all types of litigation arising from financially distressed situations. She has represented debtors in complex cross-border insolvency proceedings; tried several fraudulent transfer actions (both jury and bench trials); represented the administrative agent for syndicated secured lenders who were owed approximately $7 billion in a Chapter 11 case of one of the largest publishers of yellow pages directories in the United States; and represented the liquidating trustee of a bankrupt financial services firm in litigation against its former officers and directors. Petereit received her J.D. from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2005 and her bachelor's degree from University of Delaware in 2002.

Tax:

Jason McIntosh, Houston. McIntosh focuses on tax planning with respect to complex international and domestic transactions. His experience spans a broad range of industries, including energy, banking and finance, power generation, petrochemicals, shipping and transport, aircraft leasing and sales, manufacturing and distribution of consumer products and real estate. Among his notable representations, McIntosh was part of the V&E team advising Riverstone Holdings in the formation and $525 million (aggregate) initial capitalization of Sierra Oil & Gas, Mexico's first independent exploration and production company. He recently represented Buckeye Partners in structuring its $1.15 billion acquisition of a 50% interest in VTTI BV, which operates one of the world's largest global energy terminal businesses. McIntosh received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and his bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Vinson & Elkins LLP is an international law firm with approximately 700 lawyers across 16 officesworldwide. For more information, please contact Carrie Dugasat +1.713.758.4330.

1001 Fannin Street, Suite 2500

Houston, TX 77002-6760

+1.713.758.2222

www.velaw.com

This communication may be considered advertising under law regulating the use of e-mail. This communication is provided by Vinson & Elkins LLP for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended, nor should it be construed, as legal advice.
STAMFORD, Connecticut and LUCCA, Italy, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Guest Speaker, VP and Principal Analyst Paul Hamerman discusses market trends, the EPM Q4 2016 report, and evaluation recommendations

Tagetik, a leader in global performance management software solutions, today announced the availability of a special complimentary webinar recording, "The Latest EPM Trends and Insights from Forrester." The 60-minute presentation features a detailed discussion by Paul Hamerman, Forrester vice president and principal analyst and a recognized enterprise performance management (EPM) expert, on market trends, the latest Forrester Wave results for the EPM market, an explanation of Forrester's research methodology, and evaluation recommendations.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140625/694014 )



For those interested in learning more about the enterprise performance management market, the webinar presentation is an excellent companion to the complete research report, "The Forrester Wave': Enterprise Performance Management, Q4 2016," which is available for download, compliments of Tagetik.

Other topics covered in the presentation include:

EPM deployment trends and common enterprise use cases

Technologies driving EPM innovation

The migration of finance to the cloud and SaaS, as well as a ranking of benefits identified in recent Forrester research

What to look for in four key areas: collaboration, user experience, integration, and analytics

Detailed evaluation criteria for products, vendor strategy, and vendor viability

Requirements for EPM selection success

"The goal of EPM is to provide an ongoing, detailed analysis of a company's past, present, and future. Therefore, a comprehensive, unified solution is superior to multiple niche products," said Hamerman. "Additionally, a cloud-based solution offers distinct advantages, such as business agility, speed of implementation and deployment, and lower upfront costs. We predict the market will see a critical mass migration to the cloud within the next two years."

"Forrester does an excellent job with its EPM research and evaluation tools, which detail meaningful evaluation criteria and recommended weightings," said Dave Kasabian, Tagetik chief marketing officer. "We strongly urge anyone considering the implementation of an EPM solution - whether it's new or a replacement - to view this highly informative presentation and to download the complete research report."

To access the recorded webinar, click here. To download a complimentary copy of "The Forrester Wave' Enterprise Performance Management, Q4 2016," click here.

About Tagetik

Tagetik understands the complex challenges that face the Office of Finance and translates that knowledge into intuitive, enterprise-scale performance management software solutions that drive business results. With Tagetik, companies get the simplicity of the Cloud and the power to unify financial and operational planning; shorten the consolidation and close process; immediately analyze results, model and compare full financial statement impact of business scenarios; adjust strategic plans; seamlessly update rolling forecasts; produce formatted and auditable financial statements and management reports; collaborate on business reviews, and automate disclosure and board reporting. Tagetik has built-in financial intelligence so that CFOs, finance managers, and operations executives can orchestrate multiple or all processes in one software solution. More than 850 customers across 35 countries count on Tagetik to improve efficiency, reduce risk, save money and deliver results. For more information, visit http://www.tagetik.com. We get Finance. You get results.

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CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Holiday travel is expected to soar this season according to AAA who estimates 93 percent of all travelers (approximately 85.7 million people) will drive to their destination, while 2.75 million travelers are expended to fly. Both travel statistics are up several points from last year with holiday travelers expected to spend $694 per person. But there is an untapped deal that few travelers are aware of according to the newly launched FlyOtto that says you can put that same amount of money towards a more luxurious and less stressful travel experience that, in the end, will buy you more holiday time with friends and family.

"In the United States we have an astonishing, and nearly untapped infrastructure of 5,000 public use airports that are widely accessible in parts of the country that large commercial airports do not service," said Rod Rakic, a FAA commercial pilot and founder of FlyOtto. "We've created a new experience for the everyday traveler. If you anticipate traveling 4-8 hours by car, FlyOtto is a viable, safe, accessible option that can get you there quicker in your own private plane."

Rakic and his team of pilots launched FlyOtto in September, the first of its kind online experience for booking on-demand private flights that is easily searchable and provides instant quotes on trips and bookings with departures possible in less than 24 hours. It's a concept that automobile black car on-demand apps have been toying with (allowing for customers to rent helicopters and seaplanes during special events) but have not fully executed. Some of these companies expect to have on-demand personal flights up and running in the next 10 years but the aviation experts with FlyOtto have made that vision a reality that travelers can use now. The biggest difference with FlyOtto is that their approach is designed to comply with the FAA regulations that govern private aviation, which makes traveling safer they are solving supply and demand more efficiently than any other company.

"Our company is made up of pilots so we know the rules and regulations when it comes to aviation; customers will always have that assurance when using FlyOtto," said Rakic who also volunteers as a Civil Air Patrol officer. "Every pilot is operating under the FAA's Federal Air Regulation Part 135, which is subject to strict oversight by FAA and TSA and means pilots must have a commercial license and the plane is certified and part of a small airline business; these are simply airlines that hold non-scheduled flights so you have the luxury to book them at your convenience."

There is no membership required to use FlyOtto. The traveler simply goes to www.flyotto.com and selects a pick-up location and destination. In seconds a map of options is generated showing the closest public use airports and list of private planes or helicopters available to be booked at varying costs. The traveler then selects an option and FlyOtto works to make the match with the private charter company.

Large commercial flights only have access to 300 airports across the country. The advantage of using FlyOtto is having access to 5,000 public use airports located in underserved communities that are more difficult to travel in and out of, especially on short notice. FlyOtto is ideal for passengers traveling with pets or children who want to skip the extra hassles of boarding; it's also ideal for people with time constraints or those carrying luggage that requires more scrutiny at commercial airports (i.e.: hunters, photographers, or anyone with precious cargo). Private, on-demand flights can be booked for as little as $1,200 one-way. If you have three passengers, the travel cost becomes more economical than flying commercial or wasting time and money in traffic driving. Aircraft available for use includes planes, seaplanes and helicopters that are held to significantly higher maintenance standards than privately flown aircraft.

"Our company is named after one of the first pioneers in aviation, Otto Lilienthal, whose innovations with gliders paved the way for the Wright Brothers, Boeing and SpaceX," said Rakic whose 20-year career has been focused on virtual innovation for the user experience. "Lilienthal created this idea that it was possible for anyone to fly. With FlyOtto we also want everyone to know it is possible to fly and more importantly on their own terms and schedule."

On-demand air charter is a growing $15 billion business but Rakic says most of this is fueled by jet travel. FlyOtto is looking to generate more airplane travel for the everyday traveler looking to have that same black car service they are now accustomed to accessing on the ground, but just in the air. To book flights anytime visit, www.flyotto.com.

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ROME (dpa-AFX) - ENI SpA's(E) CEO, Claudio Descalzi provided an update to the international financial community on the evolution of the Group's transformation strategy, launched in 2014. Eni said it will continue to grow, reaching an all-time high output of about 1.84 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2017.



Claudio Descalzi said, 'In less than three years we achieved the highest organic growth in the industry with a 15% increase in production, over 250,000 barrels per day, and are close to reaching Eni's record production levels, despite a 33% reduction in Capex and 23% in Opex.'



The projects started by Eni in 2016-2017, together with Kashagan and Goliat, will produce at plateau more than 500,000 barrels per day and generate an overall operating cash flow of more than 4 billion euros in 2018 in a $60/bbl price environment. Despite the reduction in upstream Capex, which it plans to further reduce next year, Eni will continue to grow, reaching an all-time high output of about 1.84 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2017.



Eni reduced Capex by 33% in 2016 versus 2014, leveraging the flexibility of its portfolio which was further enhanced by recent discoveries, pursuing a strict and constant revision of the supply chain through contract renegotiations, leveraging cost deflation, carrying on the optimization of the engineering through phased developments, and leveraging synergies with existing facilities.



In terms of Opex, Eni achieved a reduction of 23% in 2016 versus 2014, even though the company was already at the lowest levels in the industry. All of these actions, together with the reduction of G&A costs (700 million euros per year) have led to an overall cost saving of 10 billion euros since 2014.



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BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - More journalists are jailed around the world than at any time, with Turkey accounting for nearly a third of the global total, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday on its annual census of journalists imprisoned worldwide. Amid an ongoing crackdown that accelerated after a failed coup attempt in July, Turkey is jailing at least 81 journalists in relation to their work, the highest number in any one country at any time, according to CPJ's records. The global total of 259 journalists jailed as on December 1, 2016, compares with 199 behind bars worldwide in 2015. The previous global record, since CPJ began keeping detailed records in 1990, was 232 journalists in jail in 2012. After Turkey, the worst offenders in 2016 are China, Egypt, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, CPJ says. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --



In a tender process conducted by the Helsinki region public traffic authority (HSL), Nobina has won two contracts to operate urban and regional traffic in north area of Vanda and between Helsinki and Helsinki-Vanda airport region. The total value is estimated at about SEK 260 million over a seven-year and a two-year period respectively. HSL also announced that Nobina is being awarded an environmental bonus of about SEK 1 million.

The new traffic contract in the north area of Vanda extends over seven years, with the possibility of a three-year extension. The contract is approximately 60 per cent of the value of the two contracts. The contract regarding traffic between Helsinki and Helsinki-Vanda airport region extends over two years, with the possibility of a two-year extension. The new traffic contracts start in August 2017 and cover 27 buses of which Nobina will invest in 8 new buses. Under the contracts, there is a possibility to increase compensation through a high customer satisfaction level during the contract period.

-I'm grateful that HSL has given us renewed vote of confidence to operate traffic and for the environmental bonus we have been awarded. The contracts strengthen our position as market leader in the Helsinki region, says Tom Ward, Managing Director, Nobina Finland.

The award decision can be appealed no later than 27 December 2016.

HSL's decision to award Nobina an environmental bonus of SEK 1.06 million is a result of Nobina's offer to switch from diesel to biodiesel during 2017. Nobina's switch from diesel to biodiesel covers 680 000 liters of biodiesel, and will result in a reduction of 80 per cent in carbon dioxide emissions, 30 per cent in particulate emissions and 10 per cent in nitrogen oxide emissions compared with using normal diesel. The environmental bonus is a part of HSLs' environmental programme of reducing emissions from public transport and thereby contributing to an improved air quality.

The information comprises such as Nobina AB (publ) is obliged to publicly disclose pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Market Act. Through the above contact person, the information was submitted for publication at 4.00 pm CET on 13 December 2016.

CONTACT:

For further information, please contact:

Annika Molander, Communications Director Nobina AB, +46733 55 06 16

Tom Ward, Managing Director Nobina Finland, +358 40 580 2115

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/nobina-ab/r/nobina-wins-traffic-contracts-worth-sek-260-million-and-is-awarded-environmental-bonus-of-sek-1-mill,c2148027

The following files are available for download:

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SOURCE Nobina AB
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Supreme" or the "Company") (CSE: SL) is pleased to announce the closing of its $50 million bought deal private placement (the "Brokered Offering") and concurrent $5 million non-brokered private placement (together with the Brokered Offering, the "Offering") for aggregate gross proceeds of $55 million.

Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued a total of $55 million of 10% unsecured convertible debentures ("Debentures") and 42,350,000 common share purchase warrants ("Warrants"). Please refer to the Company's new releases dated November 14, 16, and 17 for further details on the Offering terms.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to expand the operating footprint of the Company's Hybrid Greenhouse facility in Kincardine, Ontario and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

The syndicate for the Brokered Offering was led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and included Dundee Securities Ltd., Beacon Securities Limited and Cormark Securities Inc.

All securities issued in the Offering are subject to a statutory four month hold period in accordance with Canadian securities law.

About Supreme

Supreme is a Canadian publicly traded company committed to becoming a leading supplier of affordable medical cannabis through its wholly-owned subsidiary 7 ACRES. 7ACRES is a federally licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations operating a 342,000 sq. ft. Hybrid Greenhouse facility. The Hybrid Greenhouse combines the best technology of indoor production with the efficiencies and sustainability of a greenhouse, in a single large-format production footprint. Please visit www.supreme.ca and www.7acres.com for more information.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements including the anticipated closing of the above-referenced offerings and anticipated use of proceeds and other statements of fact.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; limited operating history; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use marijuana industry; and regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and the Company does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

Contacts:

Investor Relations

202 - 20 De Boers Dr

Toronto ON M3J 0H1

Phone: (416) 630-7272

Email: info@supreme.ca

Website: www.supreme.ca




BELLWAY p.l.c.

(the 'Company')

Results of Annual General Meeting ('AGM')

13 December 2016

The Company is pleased to announce that all the resolutions proposed at the AGM held on 13 December 2016 were duly passed by a unanimous show of hands. A breakdown of proxy votes lodged prior to the AGM is set out below.

Resolution In favour * Against Withheld Total proxy votes cast Proxy cards received Votes % Votes % Shares 1. To adopt the reports and accounts. 88,322,416 445 87,544,153 99.12 778,263 0.88 10,583 2. To approve the Report of the Board on Directors' Remuneration. 86,564,556 445 86,002,698 99.35 561,858 0.65 1,768,443 3. To declare a final dividend. 88,312,899 445 88,312,899 100.00 0 0.00 20,100 4. To re-elect Mr J K Watson. 87,317,271 445 82,290,110 94.24 5,027,161 5.76 1,015,728 5. To re-elect Mr E F Ayres. 88,311,138 445 88,000,346 99.65 310,792 0.35 21,861 6. To re-elect Mr K D Adey. 88,311,138 445 87,957,040 99.60 354,098 0.40 21,861 7. To re-elect Mr M R Toms. 88,311,138 445 88,182,921 99.85 128,217 0.15 21,861 8. To re-elect Mr J A Cuthbert. 88,311,138 445 86,955,595 98.47 1,355,543 1.53 21,861 9. To re-elect Mr P N Hampden Smith. 88,311,138 445 88,144,645 99.81 166,493 0.19 21,861 10. To re-elect Mrs D N Jagger. 88,311,138 445 88,178,322 99.85 132,816 0.15 21,861 11. To appoint the auditor. 88,331,606 445 85,994,374 97.35 2,337,232 2.65 1,393 12. To agree the auditor's remuneration. 88,332,900 445 88,308,850 99.97 24,050 0.03 99 13. To approve the sale of a property by Bellway Homes Limited to E F Ayres, a director of the Company. 87,850,426 445 87,845,587 99.99 4,839 0.01 482,573 14. To authorise the directors to allot shares. 88,097,394 445 87,512,150 99.34 585,244 0.66 235,605 15. To authorise the dis-application of pre-emption rights. 88,308,572 445 87,421,281 99.00 887,291 1.00 24,427 16. To authorise the dis-application of pre-emption rights. 88,329,072 445 84,812,045 96.02 3,517,027 3.98 3,927 17. To authorise market purchases of the Company's own shares. 88,312,899 445 87,083,290 98.61 1,229,609 1.39 20,100 18. To approve the amended rules of the Bellway plc (2013) Savings Related Share Option Scheme. 88,308,893 445 88,286,727 99.97 22,166 0.03 24,106 19. To allow the Company to hold general meetings (other than AGMs) at 14 days' notice. 88,332,934 445 81,820,806 92.63 6,512,128 7.37 65

The percentage of votes cast exclude Withheld votes. Votes in favour include votes at Chairman's discretion.

The total number of votes cast by proxy: 88,332,934.

Number of shares in issue and therefore the total number of voting rights: 122,689,275.

Number of shareholders at meeting date: 2,855.
STUTTGART, Germany, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Haselmeier is pleased to announce that its newest production facility in Bengaluru (India) received its official certification from TUV SUD on 21st September 2016. Thus, the Indian plant is compliant with the necessary international requirements in all areas and demonstrates the high standards with which Haselmeier has achieved its excellent reputation in the industry.

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The final measures to qualify the machines and systems at the Bengaluru facility were executed from January to late summer 2016. This also involved preparing the documentation needed for proper manufacturing of insulin pens, e.g. process descriptions and releases. The plant was audited by TUV SUD in July 2016, and the official TUV certification document was received on 21st September 2016, confirming that our new facility in Bengaluru is compliant with international regulations and standards. TUV SUD Certificate No. Q2N 16 07 96203 005 relates to the "manufacturing of injection systems for self-injection and their components". It includes applied standard EN ISO 13485:2012 + AC 2012 and describes the specific requirements for quality management systems in the medical products industry. Extensive staff recruitments to fill all the positions needed in a smooth-running factory accompanied these activities and procedural processes. The new colleagues were highly qualified for their particular fields of work.

Haselmeier is now in a position to supply the Asian market more easily and more effectively with medication dosage systems and, as a result, significantly improve life for patients. Our Plant Director, Indrajith Natarajan, explains: "Having Haselmeier built similar infrastructure to the existing German Facilities in Bengaluru - India, helps us to provide a quality focused atmosphere for our employees. This leads to the production of self-injection devices on the same quality level as the other Haselmeier facilities. The TUV certification helps our customers to easily recognize our quality standards."

About Haselmeier

Haselmeier stands for the development and production of innovative self-injection devices with award-winning designs. The Haselmeier Group primarily works on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to improve the lives of patients by manufacturing pens and auto-injectors that are easy to use and that can be dosed with precision. The family business covers all steps-from design to planning to industrialisation-in the creation of high-quality self-injection systems.

Founded as early as in 1920 in Stuttgart, Haselmeier has long been an established name in the medtech industry, thanks to its proprietary technologies and international award-winning designs. In four years from now, this well-established company shall be able to look back on a 100 year old success story. Spread across eight global locations on three different continents, the Haselmeier Group employs a workforce of about 220 employees. While the Development department is located in Stuttgart, Haselmeier products are manufactured in the most modern production facilities in Buchen in Odenwald (Germany), Dnesice (Czech Republic) and Bengaluru (India). The international sales are controlled from Stuttgart and have representations in Zurich (Switzerland), Lowell, Maryland (USA), Gurgaon (India) and Guangzhou (China).

For further information, please go to: http://www.haselmeier.com

Media contact:

Wilhelm Haselmeier GmbH & Co. KG

Vaihinger Strae 48

70567 Stuttgart

Germany



Jana Heidrich

Marketing and Sales Coordinator

49 711 71978 176

j.heidrich@haselmeier.com


SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Glympse, the pioneer of location technology services, is now working with Rogers Communications, the leading Canadian media and communications company, to provide the technology that powers Rogers technical support ETA tool for residential customers. With this latest announcement, Rogers joins other leading North American cable companies integrating with Glympse, including Comcast and Time Warner Cable, now Charter Spectrum.

"No one likes to sit around waiting for their technician to arrive," said Deepak Khandelwal, chief customer officer, Rogers. "We know our customers are busy and their time is valuable, so now they can track a technician's ETA right on their phone. It's just one more way we're putting people in control to get help how they want."

By incorporating Glympse technology, Rogers is able to provide updates, real-time location information, and estimated time of arrival (ETA) into each step of the appointment lifecycle, including a live map of their technician on the day of service. Now, with the new Glympse enabled technician-tracking service, Rogers customers will be proactively notified of their technician ETA. Customers can spend less time waiting and more time doing what they need to do.

"Today's customers expect more. Whether it's the cable guy, or a food or package delivery, waiting for service providers is no longer acceptable for mobile-centric, on-demand consumers accustomed to getting information in real-time," said David Troll, senior vice president of Sales and Customer Operations, Glympse. "By enabling companies to provide transparency around service events and show consumers the exact time a technician or delivery will arrive, we are helping to improve customer engagement and satisfaction."

With this new service, once a Rogers customer books an appointment they'll receive a unique URL sent by email or text, which includes a service window and relevant information. On the day of the appointment, they get a notification with an updated ETA, culminating in a live map with real-time location updates once the technician is on the way. Along with this location information, customers receive other important details like the technician's name and photo, so they know exactly who will be knocking on their door.

Now available in Hamilton, Ontario, the Rogers service will roll out across the company's residential footprint this year and into early 2017. Also, Fido is offering its technician tracking service for Internet customers today.

For more information on Glympse, visit: www.Glympse.com. For additional details on Rogers visit http://www.rogers.com/web/support/account/educational/395

About Glympse

Glympse is the pioneer of real-time location sharing technology. With an intuitive, integrative and platform forward approach, Glympse easily brings location sharing into everyday activities, across all of your devices. Glympse has partnered with many top-tier companies, including Blackberry, BMW/MINI, Comcast, Ford, Garmin, GM, Gogo Inflight, Kik, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes, NAVIGON, Pebble, Pizza Hut, Samsung, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and Vodafone, which have integrated the Glympse brand and enterprise platform into their own products and applications. The company is backed by Menlo Ventures, Ignition Partners, Verizon Ventures, and UMC Capital.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - December 13, 2016) - Sarama Resources Ltd. ("Sarama" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: SWA) is issuing this news release to replace the release issued earlier today. Sarama is pleased to announce an update with respect to its transaction to acquire a 100% interest in the Bondi gold deposit ("Bondi") in Burkina Faso, West Africa from Orezone Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: ORE). For details of transaction see news release dated May 24, 2016.

Agreements supporting the acquisition have been executed and shares of Sarama issued in consideration of the acquisition have been placed in escrow. The shares will remain in escrow until related approvals and opinions from the government of Burkina Faso have been received and the transfer of the underlying Djarkadougou exploration permit from Orezone to Sarama has been completed. Sarama is hopeful the transaction can be completed in due course such that a planned exploration program can commence in Q1 2017.

Orezone and Sarama consider Bondi to be a strategic permit within the package of land currently being explored by Sarama and its partners. The acquisition of Bondi puts Sarama in a unique position to play a key role in the consolidation of the area, as Sarama will have ownership interests in three advanced projects including the 2.1 million ounce inferred mineral resource at the South Hounde Project and the 0.7 million ounce inferred mineral resource at the Karankasso JV Project where Sarama holds 75% and 31% interests, respectively. On closing, Sarama will control 100% of the Bondi deposit and the surrounding Djarkadougou exploration permit.

Bondi is located immediately adjacent to Sarama's South Hounde Project in south-western Burkina Faso. The deposit has a historical estimate of Mineral Resources of Au comprised of 0.06 million ounces of measured mineral resources and 0.22 million ounces of indicated mineral resources (0.28 million ounce Au measured and indicated in total) and 0.15 million ounce Au (inferred) 5,6 and is within trucking distance of Sarama's South Hounde Project. A qualified person acting on behlf of Sarama has not done sufficient work to classify this historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves; and Sarama is therefoer not treating this historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The historical estimate is provided to assist investors to assess the Bondi deposit. Completion of this acquisition bolsters Sarama's position in the region, consolidates ownership of advanced assets and provides Sarama with various options to pursue the development of a mine in the region.

Sarama's President and CEO, Andrew Dinning, commented:

"Sarama looks forward to completing the process of acquiring the Bondi deposit, and we are pleased that a successful industry player like Orezone recognises the value of combining the project with others in the belt. In our opinion, this transaction starts the consolidation of the highly prospective southern Hounde Belt.

We look forward to the completion of this transaction which will result in Sarama having significant interests in three advanced gold projects that, collectively, provide optionality and pathways for potential project development."

ABOUT SARAMA RESOURCES LTD

Sarama Resources Ltd (TSX VENTURE: SWA) is a West African focused gold explorer with substantial landholdings in Burkina Faso.

Sarama's flagship properties are situated within the Company's South Hounde Project area in south-west Burkina Faso. Located within the prolific Hounde greenstone belt, Sarama's exploration programs have built on significant early success to deliver an inferred mineral resource estimate of 2.1 Moz gold 1,2 . Acacia Mining plc is earning up to a 70% interest in the South Hounde Project by satisfying certain conditions, including funding earn-in expenditures of up to US$14 million, over a 4-year earn-in period and may acquire an additional 5% interest, for an aggregate 75% interest in the Project, upon declaration of a minimum mineral reserve of 1.6 million ounces of gold. Sarama is focused on consolidating under-explored landholdings in Burkina Faso and other established mining jurisdictions.

Sarama holds a 31% participating interest in the Karankasso Project Joint Venture ("JV") which is situated adjacent to the Company's South Hounde Project in Burkina Faso and is a JV between Sarama and Savary Gold Corp. ("Savary"). Savary is the operator of the JV and in October 2015, declared a maiden inferred mineral resource estimate of 671,000 ounces of contained gold 3,4 at the Karankasso Project JV.

Incorporated in 2010, the Company's Board and management team have a proven track record in Africa and a strong history in the discovery and development of large-scale gold deposits. Sarama is well positioned to build on its current success with a sound exploration strategy across its property portfolio.

43.0 Mt @ 1.5 g/t Au (reported above cut-off grades ranging 0.3-2.2 g/t Au, reflecting the mining methods and processing flowsheets assumed to assess the likelihood of the inferred mineral resources having reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction) The effective date of the Company's inferred mineral resource estimate is February 4, 2016. For further information regarding the mineral resource estimate please refer to the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Independent Technical Report South Hounde Project Update, Bougouriba and Ioba Provinces, Burkina Faso", dated March 31, 2016. The technical report is available under Sarama Resources Ltd.'s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. 9.2 Mt @ 2.3 g/t Au (at a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off) The effective date of the Karankasso Project JV mineral resource estimate is October 7, 2015. For further information regarding the mineral resource estimate please refer to the technical report titled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Karankasso Project, Burkina Faso", dated October 7, 2015. The technical report is available under Savary Gold Corp's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Sarama has not independently verified Savary's mineral resource estimate and takes no responsibility for its accuracy. 4.1Mt @ 2.1g/t Au for 282,000 oz Au (64,000 ounces of measured resources and 218,000 ounces of indicated resources) and 2.5Mt @ 1.8g/t Au for 149,700 oz Au (inferred), reported at a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off. The effective date of the historical estimate of the Bondi deposit mineral resource estimate is February 20, 2009. For further information regarding the mineral resource estimate, including the key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare the historical estimate, please refer to the technical report titled "Technical Report on the Mineral Resource of the Bondigui Gold Project", dated February 20, 2009. The technical report is available under Orezone Gold Corporation's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The historical estimate does not use categories of resources that are not set out in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Sarama has no more recent estimates or data in respect of the Bondi deposit than those set out in the historical estimate. In order to verify the historical estimate, Sarama will be required to verify input data and QAQC supporting the generation of the historical resource.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information in this news release that is not a statement of historical fact constitutes forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information includes statements regarding the Company's plans for drilling and geochemical and geophysical surveys at the South Hounde Project, the Earn-In Agreement with Acacia, including the amounts that may be spent on exploration and interests in the South Hounde Project that may be earned by Acacia upon making certain expenditures and estimating a minimum reserve, the potential to expand the present oxide component of the Company's existing estimated mineral resources, and future exploration plans. Actual results, performance or achievements of the Company may vary from the results suggested by such forward-looking statements due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such factors include, among others, that the business of exploration for gold and other precious minerals involves a high degree of risk and is highly speculative in nature; Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves, they do not have demonstrated economic viability, and there is no certainty that they can be upgraded to Mineral Reserves through continued exploration; few properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; the actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. There can be no assurance that any mineralisation that is discovered will be proven to be economic, or that future required regulatory licensing or approvals will be obtained. However, the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, Acacia's continued funding of exploration activities, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration activities, the sufficiency of funding, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold and other precious metals, that the Company will not be affected by adverse political events, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain further financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Sarama does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

QUALIFIED PERSONS' STATEMENT

Other than as set forth below, scientific or technical information in this news release, including information that relates to the Company's exploration activities in Burkina Faso, has been compiled or approved by Guy Scherrer. Guy Scherrer is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Guy Scherrer consents to the inclusion in this report of the information, in the form and context in which it appears.

Scientific or technical information in this news release that relates to the preparation of the Company's mineral resource estimate is based on information compiled or approved by Adrian Shepherd. Adrian Shepherd is an employee of Cube Consulting Pty Ltd and is considered to be independent of Sarama Resources Ltd. Adrian Shepherd is a Chartered Professional Member in good standing of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Adrian Shepherd consents to the inclusion in this news release of the information, in the form and context in which it appears.

Scientific or technical information in this news release that relates to the preparation of the Karankasso Project's mineral resource estimate is based on information compiled or approved by Eugene Puritch and Antoine Yassa. Eugene Puritch and Antoine Yassa are employees of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. and are considered to be independent of Savary Gold Corp. and Sarama Resources Ltd. Antoine Yassa is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and Eugene Puritch is a member in good standing of Professional Engineers Ontario. Eugene Puritch and Antoine Yassa have sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which they are undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Eugene Puritch and Antoine Yassa consent to the inclusion in this news release of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Sarama has not independently verified Savary's mineral resource estimate and takes no responsibility for its accuracy.

Scientific or technical information in this news release, in respect of the Bondi gold deposit, relating to metallurgical testwork information drawn from the Technical Report prepared for Orezone on that deposit and the Metallurgical Report prepared for Orezone on that deposit has been approved by Fred Kock. Fred Kock is an employee of Orway Mineral Consultants Pty. Ltd. and is considered independent of Sarama Resources Ltd. Fred Kock is a Fellow in good standing of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Fred Kock consents to the inclusion in this news release of the information, in the form and context in which it appears.

Scientific or technical information in this news release, in respect of the Bondi gold deposit relating to mineral resource and exploration information drawn from the Technical Report prepared for Orezone on that deposit has been approved by Guy Scherrer. Guy Scherrer is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Guy Scherrer consents to the inclusion in this report of the information, in the form and context in which it appears.

For further information on Sarama's activities, please contact:

Andrew Dinning

e: info@saramaresources.com

t: +61 (0) 8 9363 7600
ONTARIO, CA--(Marketwired - December 13, 2016) - ANTOP Antenna is inviting cord cutters, antenna buyers and industry media to visit their newly redesigned website. Key updates include improved navigation, better functionality, and a responsive web design. This redesigned site allows users to experience optimum navigation across a wider range of devices and browsers.

This redesign is part of ANTOP's strategy to further their branding efforts and provide users with the full 101 on antennas, new technologies and cord cutting. It will also provide wholesalers with their own portal to access the information they need to better serve their customers. "I believe this new site will allow us to grow our market presence and inform both consumers and wholesalers why a TV antenna is a critical part of the cord cutting equation," said Eric Jiang, ANTOP Antenna president.

One way ANTOP has made it even easier to determine which antenna to purchase, is the Signals Map tab. This map allows users to make both an informed decision and maximize their cord cutting capabilities. By typing in their address, customers can determine which channels they can access for free and in what direction the signals are located. This helps customers determine if they need an indoor or outdoor antenna, omni-directional or multi-directional, and what range is needed to pick up the signals from their location. For even more guidance during the selection process, visitors can check the Learn and Q&A tab. Once a decision has been made, purchases can be made directly online or at the nearest dealer.

Connecting with new customers, delivering product information, and providing tools to make antenna selection easier is only one objective of this new site. ANTOP also strives to continuously deliver the latest cord cutting, antenna tech, and TV viewing option news. By expanding their online content and providing the latest company and industry news, ANTOP's website will become both a resource center and antenna market for customers.

Those interested in further brand communications from ANTOP Antenna can join the newsletter to get the lasts news delivered to their inbox. Plus, it is now even easier to connect on social media and press releases can be viewed directly on the site.

About ANTOP Antenna: Established in 1980, ANTOP has become one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of digital indoor and outdoor TV antennas. Focused on providing superior customer service and offering the best Over-The-Air TV signal reception solutions for consumer Home, Recreational Vehicle, and Marine antenna use. In addition to digital TV antennas, ANTOP has also successfully developed, manufactured and marketed professional grade CATV, MATV and SMATV signal distribution products and telecommunication antennas. For additional information visit our website (antopantenna.com).

Contact:

Jaime Leon

jaime@antopantenna.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- China Wind Power International Corp. (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed the previously announced sale of all or substantially all of the Company's assets to Ruihao Trust ("Ruihao"), a major shareholder of the Company, for $12,310,000 (the "Purchase Price") by way of a plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the "OBCA").

The Purchase Price was satisfied in full by Ruihao by assuming certain liabilities in the amount of $3,728,104.18, and by payment of $2,858,799.08 in cash and $5,723,096.74 as an interest bearing promissory note (the "Promissory Note").

After payment of all or substantially all of any remaining liabilities, the remaining balance of the Purchase Price will be distributed to shareholders of the Company (the "Shareholders") by way of a return of capital allocated to the common shares of the Company through the distribution of the Promissory Note to Ruihao and the distribution of cash to all other Shareholders. Each Shareholder, other than Ruihao, can expect to receive a cash distribution in the amount of $0.1314 per common share of the Company held.

The Arrangement was approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) on October 18, 2016. The Company expects to voluntarily dissolve pursuant to section 237(a) of the OBCA (the "Dissolution") as soon as practicable. For additional information on the Arrangement and the Dissolution, please refer to the Company's July 29, 2016 press release and the Company's management information circular dated August 23, 2016, both of which are available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

Certain statements that are not historical facts made in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (forward-looking information and forward-looking statements being collectively herein after referred to as "forward-looking statements") and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Statements containing words such as "will", "could", "expect", "may", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "plan" and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements that represent management's beliefs at the time the statements are made and are based on certain factors and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the expected return of capital to Shareholders and the Dissolution.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include uncertainties regarding the completion of the Dissolution, the expected benefits of the Arrangement to the Shareholders, and receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals and other risks and uncertainties as more fully described in the Company's regulatory filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which are available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing lists of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other actors are not exhaustive; therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made.

Contacts:

China Wind Power International Corp.

Walter Huang

Senior VP

416-916-4205

walter.huang@yahoo.com




CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - Tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) Tuesday announced that AirPods are available to order online now from Apple.com. The bluetooth headset that was unveiled along with iPhone 7 will arrive in Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers next week. Apple's AirPods are now available to order from the company's online store for $159.00. Initially, the AirPods were planned to ship in 'late October,' however, it got delayed due to unspecified reasons from Apple. 'AirPods will be shipping in limited quantities at launch and customers are encouraged to check online for updates on availability and estimated delivery dates. Stores will receive regular AirPod shipments,' the company said in a statement. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
PALO ALTO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- OpsPanda, a leader in SaaS applications for Sales Resource Planning, today announced the appointment of John Boucher to its Board of Directors.

The addition bolsters OpsPanda's seasoned executive team led by sales and engineering veterans and Co-Founders Jon Kondo, Robert Gersten and Hung Vo, and guided by Oracle and Siebel alum Steve Mankoff at TDF Ventures and Tim Connors at PivotNorth Capital.

John Boucher brings deep experience accelerating the growth of startups and large global enterprise organizations. Boucher serves on the Board of Vlocity, a leading venture-backed provider of Industry Cloud Applications. Previously, Boucher was Executive Vice President of Global Sales at ServiceSource, the global leader in Outsourced Customer Success and Recurring Revenue Management solutions. As Senior Vice President of North America Applications at Oracle, Boucher helped lead sales teams of 1,500 employees, led go-to-market strategies and integrated sales organizations from more than ten application company acquisitions.

"We are thrilled to have John join our board," said Jon Kondo, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, OpsPanda. "John brings a deep understanding of the challenges Sales leaders face growing large sales organizations and the critical need to help customers align business goals with sales results. John is also as committed as we are to the advancement of technology for sales management. We're ending an exciting 2016 with remarkable momentum, customer interest, exciting product innovations and a powerhouse leadership team to drive substantial growth in the year ahead."

OpsPanda also announced the appointments of Kelly Cole as Vice President of Customer Experience and Jo Ann Hartley as Senior Director of Product Management.

Kelly Cole joins OpsPanda with 30+ years of senior-level international operations experience leading and transforming customer experience, sales and professional services organizations for enterprise technology companies. Cole most recently served as Chief Customer Officer at Navis and previously held senior leadership positions in Sales Operations and Business Operations for Sanctum, Responsys and Hyperion.

Jo Ann Hartley brings 15+ years of product management, sales operations, and marketing analytics expertise in cloud and on-premise enterprise business applications for companies such as Anaplan, Oracle and C3 Energy.

OpsPanda's application helps Sales leaders increase confidence in making sales targets with easy, but rigorous, planning of sales teams and quotas. OpsPanda transforms one-time capacity planning into a dynamic process of monitoring and adapting assumptions that create a gap between sales goals and results. Deployed by leaders in technology, environmental services and other industries, customers such as Arimo and REV Sustainability praise OpsPanda for enabling them to test scenarios and achieve goals.

About OpsPanda

OpsPanda helps leaders in sales, sales operations and finance set accurate targets and optimize teams to hit them. The application is purpose-built for sales resource planning and makes it easy to be rigorous in sales capacity forecasting, headcount planning and quota assignment. Based in Palo Alto, California, OpsPanda was founded in 2014 by sales and engineering veterans of the Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software industry. OpsPanda is backed by TDF Ventures, PivotNorth Capital and a leading private university. Learn more and request a demo at www.opspanda.com.

OpsPanda is a registered trademark of OpsPanda, Inc. Other trademarks and brands mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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Media contact:



Joanna Rustin

Email Contact

866-496-8028




According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the global military aircraft modernization, upgrade, and retrofit market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 2% during the forecast period.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005080/en/

Technavio publishes a new market research report on the global military aircraft modernization, upgrade, and retrofit market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

This market research report titled 'Global Military Aircraft Modernization, Upgrade, And Retrofit Market 2017-2021' provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes an up to date market analysis and forecasts for various segments and all geographical regions.

"With growing technological advancements and innovations, defense authorities of major countries are focusing on upgrading their older military airborne fleet with improved and upgraded communications, navigation, and surveillance systems," says Moutushi Saha, a lead analyst at Technavio for defense research.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=54983

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

The market research analysis categorizes the global military aircraft modernization, upgrade, and retrofit market into three major segments based on aircraft type. They are:

Combat aircraft

Transport aircraft

Other military aircraft

Global combat aircraft modernization, upgrade, and retrofit market

The combat aircraft modernization, upgrade, and retrofit market is expected to have the largest share in the global market. These aircraft play the most vital role in battlegrounds and are immensely overused by armed forces, resulting in significant deterioration. Since, these aircraft are used to counter enemy attacks and launch attacks on enemy grounds; they are equipped with the most advanced offensive and defensive mechanisms and equipment.

Nations across the globe are focusing on enhancing the readiness and performance of their combat aircraft. Governments are also emphasizing on the life cycle extension programs of combat aircraft that are of strategic importance in times of crisis.

Global transport aircraft modernization, upgrade, and retrofit market

Military transport aircraft constitute a large portion of a country's fleet of military aircraft, and they are widely used for a range of missions including transporting troops and militaryequipment, as well as for training pilots and aircrews.

"One of the main drivers behind the development of new aircraft and the replacement of aging fleets of military transport aircraft is to integrate improvements in technology as per evolving demands and requirements," says Moutushi

Currently, several countries have an aging fleet of debilitated transport aircraft, which were used for rigorous missions during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Therefore, governments are collaborating with companies for the modernization of several transport aircraft. For instance, Israel is upgrading its fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130H transport aircraft with advanced avionics suite, with Elbit Systems as its prime contractor. These technological improvements are expected to pave the way for further developments in this sector.

Global other military aircraft modernization, upgrade, and retrofit market

Militaries deploy aircraft for conducting special missions such as reconnaissance and surveillance, patrolling of land and maritime borders, and mid-air refueling of combat aircraft. Countries also use specially designed aircraft to conduct training for soldiers and for military drills. These aircraft require constant upgrades to sustain their high-performance and extend their service life.

The US is currently directing considerable funds toward the modernization of special mission, tankers, and training aircraft. Similarly, in 2014, Brazil undertook the upgradation program for nine P-3 Orion anti-submarine warfare aircraft and awarded the contract to Airbus Defence and Space.

The top vendors highlighted by Technavio's aerospace and defense market research analysts in this report are:

Boeing

Elbit Systems

Israel Aerospace Industries

Lockheed Martin

Rockwell Collins

Browse Related Reports:

Global Civil Helicopter MRO Market 2016-2020

Global Airborne Laser Obstacle Avoidance Monitoring Systems Market 2016-2020

Global Military Biometrics Market 2016-2020

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005080/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the global military biometrics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 7% during the forecast period.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005078/en/

Technavio publishes a new market research report on the global military biometrics market from 2016-2020. (Graphic: Business Wire)

This report titled 'Global Military Biometrics Market 2016-2020' provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes an up to date market analysis and forecasts for various segments and all geographical regions.

According to Moutushi Saha, a lead analyst at Technavio for defense research, "The global military biometrics market is forecasted to grow at a steady pace owing to the growing security concerns and increasing illegal migration of people worldwide. Many countries have set up biometric infrastructures to control illicit flows of people."

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=54928

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

The market research analysis categorizes the global military biometrics market into four major product segments, of which the top three are discussed in detail below. They are:

Fingerprint identification

Facial recognition

Iris recognition

Others

Global fingerprint identification biometrics market in military

The global fingerprint identification biometrics market in the military sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to 7%. The fingerprint technology is the most widely adopted among biometric technologies because of its low cost of hardware systems and easy implementation.

The growing adoption of mobile and hand-held biometrics has increased the adoption of fingerprint biometric technology. The US military is planning to upgrade its tactical biometrics with Identity Dominance System 2. The military has been enrolling Afghanistan citizens' fingerprints into CrossMatch's Secure Electronic Enrollment Kit (SEEK-II) system. It is a ruggedized computer with a built-in fingerprint scanner, digital camera, and iris scanner. The SEEK II digital fingerprint reader requires the finger to be rolled to get a complete print, in addition to 'flat' prints.

Global facial recognition biometrics market in military

The global facial recognition biometrics market in the military sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to 9%. The facial recognition biometrics is widely used in border security and surveillance. The growing terrorist activities and illegal immigration across the Europe, Asia, and North America is leading to increasing demand for better surveillance across country borders, which will help the growth of facial recognition technologies.

To counter this, the governments are increasing investments in installing surveillance cameras with facial recognition to identify potential criminals. For instance, India is planning to install Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and other sensors across its borders with Pakistan owing to the rising incidents of terrorist infiltration.

Global iris recognition biometrics market in military

The global iris recognition biometrics market in the military sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 9%. The iris recognition technology is increasingly being used as it is considered the most accurate identification biometric technology. An iris scanner captures high-resolution pictures of an individual's eye and provides real-time identification of an individual. This technology is predominantly used in places that demand high and strict security such as R&D labs of defense ministries, technology development centers, and critical infrastructure facilities.

"The US military has been using iris scan technology for over a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan to authorize selected individual's entry into the military facilities in the US bases," says Moutushi.

Countries across the globe are rapidly adopting this technology, and several security programs are based on iris scanning. These include e-passports, multiple advanced authentication mechanisms, the US Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program, the Next Generation Automated Biometric Identification System (NG-ABIS), the Joint Personnel Identification (JPI) project, the Unique Identification (Number) Authority of India (UIDAI) Project, and ABIS.

The top vendors highlighted by Technavio's aerospace and defense market research analysts in this report are:

3M Cogent

Crossmatch

M2SYS Technology

NEC

Safran

Browse Related Reports:

Global Biometrics Market in BFSI Sector 2016-2020

Global Biometric in Workforce Management 2015-2019

Global Law Enforcement Biometrics Market 2015-2019

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161213005078/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- It is with regret that Agave Silver Corporation ("Agave" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: AGV)(OTCBB: ASKDF)(FRANKFURT: DFL) has accepted the resignation of Sherri Odribege as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company. We wish to thank Ms. Odribege for her years of valuable and dedicated service to the Company.

The Company warmly welcomes Dennis Cojuco as its new CFO and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Cojuco is a graduate of the University of British Columbia (BSc. Chemistry and Diploma in Accounting) and is a Chartered Accountant in British Columbia. Since the fall of 2009, he has been working in senior accounting capacities with junior mining companies, including serving as CFO of Rokmaster Resources Corp.

Additional information when available will be posted on the Company's website: www.agavesilver.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

AGAVE SILVER CORPORATION

Ron Lang, President & Chief Executive Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and forward-looking information within the meaning of the Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements about Dennis Cojuco taking over as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company.

In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions, regarding, among other things: the continued availability of Mr. Cojuco to act as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Known risk factors include, among others: Mr. Cojuco may no longer be able to act as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company.

A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company is disclosed in the Company's continuous disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.

U.S. 20-F Registration: 000-29870

Contacts:

Agave Silver Corporation

Ron Lang

President and Chief Executive Officer

604-558-3908

604-687-4212 (FAX)

ron.lang@agavesilver.com

www.agavesilver.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc. ("DST" or the "Corporation") (CSE: DST)(CSE: DST.CN) is pleased to announce successful extraction results on gold concentrates (the "Concentrate") from Chile using DST's proprietary chlorination technology at its Demonstration Plant in Quebec.

A gold extraction yield of 97.3% has been achieved at the outlet of the chlorination reactor with full environmental controls over the sulfur and mercury content.

"These results are another important demonstration of the efficiency and effectiveness of the DST chlorination process and of its potential as a robust and environmentally friendly alternative to cyanide extraction in the gold mining industry," said Mr. Brian Howlett, President and CEO of DST. "We are partnering with a number of mining companies in an effort to advance our technology and further explore the commercialization of our patented process."

In September 2015, DST entered into an agreement with a Chilean mining company for the processing of gold concentrate at the pilot scale using the chlorination process. Excellent results at the pilot scale enabled DST to move forward on to the next stage, which involved the processing of the concentrate which contained an estimated 110 g/tonne of gold, copper grades of 9.0% and mercury content in excess of 700 g/tonne at the Demonstration Plant.

DST processed 40 tonnes of this complex material which is difficult to process using conventional processing methods without the associated environmental liabilities and metallurgical challenges (Refer to September 23, 2015, March 1, 2016 and May 31, 2016 press releases). In particular, the 700 g/tonne of mercury was effectively removed during processing to a level of 99%.

DST has completed the processing of this concentrate and is in the final stages of completing the technical report related to this demonstration campaign. Management looks forward to beginning the technological economic study for the location of the first commercial DST plant.

The Company also announced the resignation of Mr. John Mercer from the Board of Directors and wishes to thank him for his contribution.

About Dundee Sustainable Technologies, a company controlled by Dundee Corporation

The Corporation is engaged in the development and commercialization of environment-friendly technologies for the treatment of materials in the mining industry. Through the development of patented, proprietary processes, DST extracts precious and base metals from ores, concentrates and tailings, while stabilizing contaminants such as arsenic, which could not otherwise be extracted or stabilized with conventional processes because of metallurgical issues or environmental considerations.

At present, DST's most advanced proprietary process is associated with the extraction of precious metals using a chlorination to provide a cyanide-free alternative for the exploitation of gold deposits. The primary benefits of this innovative technology are shorter processing times, a closed-loop operation eliminating the need for costly tailings pond, and reducing environmental footprint related to the inert and stable cyanide-free tailings.

The chlorination process developed by DST is a recognized "green technology" for which it was awarded a $5 million grant by the Government of Canada, through its Sustainable Development Technology Fund ("SDTC") for the construction and operation of a demonstration plant. The plant serves as a demonstration platform for the chlorination process on an industrial scale and under continuous operating conditions. The Corporation has received, from Environment Canada, through the Canadian Environmental Technology Verification Program ("ETV"), an independent certification of the performance of its cyanide-free gold extraction process.

In addition to the chlorination process, DST operates a pilot plant designed to demonstrate its arsenic stabilization process for the sequestration of arsenic in a stable glass form. This process involves a technique to segregate arsenic and therefore provides opportunities to process materials considered too toxic to be exploited or stabilized using conventional mining methods.

DST has filed, published and was granted patents for these processes in several countries.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements that address future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, some of which may be beyond the Corporation's control. These factors include: general market and industry conditions, risks related to continuous operations and to commercialization of new technologies and other risks disclosed in the Corporation's filings with Canadian Securities Regulators.

Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Corporation's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Corporation expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/goldingot.jpg

Contacts:

Brian Howlett

President and CEO

Dundee Sustainable Technologies

(514) 866-6001 # 239

Cell: (647) 227-3035

info@dundeetechnologies.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- The Executive Director of the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has issued a temporary order and notice of hearing alleging that Volkmar Guido Hable orchestrated a pump and dump scheme and submitted false information to the Commission.

The notice alleges that between February 18 and 22, 2013, Hable orchestrated a pump and dump scheme involving the securities of Samaranta Mining Corporation. As part of the scheme, Hable wrote and published a news release that claimed Samarium Group Holding Ltd. was commencing an offer to acquire a minimum of 51 per cent of the shares of Samaranta. This news release was false, as Samarium had no intention of proceeding with the offer described in the news release.

The notice alleges that after issuing the news release, the price of Samaranta shares increased. Hable sold his Samaranta shares for net proceeds of $157,597. After trading closed on February 22, 2013, Hable wrote and published a second news release that claimed that Samarium withdrew its offer to acquire Samaranta's shares.

The notice also alleges that when Commission staff asked Hable to show that Samarium had the financial resources to follow through on the Samaranta offer, Hable submitted a false financial report for Samarium.

Hable, a B.C. resident during the relevant period, is a director of Samarium, an investment company based in Singapore. He also held various senior positions with Samaranta, including president and CEO, executive vice president of mining and exploration, and director.

The Executive Director has issued a temporary order against Hable, prohibiting him from trading in or purchasing securities, becoming or acting as a director or officer of any issuer or registrant, becoming or acting as a registrant or promoter, acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with activities in the securities market, and engaging in investor relations activities.

These allegations have not been proven. Counsel for the Executive Director will apply to extend the temporary order before a panel of commissioners on December 22, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.

You may view the notice of hearing on our website, www.bcsc.bc.ca, by typing Volkmar Guido Hable or 2016 BCSECCOM 409 in the search box. Information about disciplinary proceedings can be found in the Enforcement section of the BCSC website.

Please visit the Canadian Securities Administrators' (CSA) Disciplined List for information relating to persons disciplined by provincial securities regulators, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA).

About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)

The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:

-- A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence -- A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital

Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org.

Contacts:

Media Contact: British Columbia Securities Commission

Alison Walker

604-899-6713

www.bcsc.bc.ca



Public inquiries:

604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free)

inquiries@bcsc.bc.ca




OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- On December 9, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI). The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws, Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, including allegations of issuing a series of material or false misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price during the Class Period, which is April 6, 2012 through June 23, 2016.

If you wish to discuss this action, obtain further information and participate in this or any other securities litigation, or should you have any questions or concerns regarding this notice or preservation of your rights, please contact: Robin Hester, FEDERMAN & SHERWOOD, 10205 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73120, Email to: rkh@federmanlaw.com Or, visit the firm's website at www.federmanlaw.com

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all Monaker Group, Inc. shareholders who purchased common stock during the Class Period and are therefore a member of the Class as described above. You may move the Court no later than 60 days from the date of this notice to serve as a lead plaintiff for the entire Class. However, in order to do so, you must meet certain legal requirements pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Robin Hester

FEDERMAN & SHERWOOD

10205 North Pennsylvania Avenue

Oklahoma City, OK 73120

Email to: rkh@federmanlaw.com

Or, visit the firm's website at www.federmanlaw.com




BROOKFIELD, NEWS -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE: BBU)(TSX: BBU.UN) ("Brookfield Business Partners") today announced that it has agreed to issue 8,000,000 limited partnership units ("units"), on a bought deal basis, to a syndicate of underwriters (collectively, the "Underwriters") at a price of C$32.80 per unit (the "Offering Price") for gross proceeds of approximately C$262 million (the "Offering").

In addition, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM)(TSX: BAM.A)(EURONEXT: BAMA) and certain of its related entities (other than Brookfield Business Partners) (collectively, "Brookfield") will, concurrent with the Offering, purchase, directly or indirectly, 8,000,000 redeemable-exchangeable units of Brookfield Business Partners' holding limited partnership ("REUs") based on the U.S. dollar equivalent of the Offering Price at the time of the Offering (net of underwriting commissions), for a total amount of approximately US$192 million (the "Concurrent Private Placement"). The aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering and the Concurrent Private Placement will be approximately C$514 million.

Brookfield Business Partners has granted the Underwriters an over-allotment option, exercisable in whole or in part for a period of 30 days following closing of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 1,200,000 units at the Offering Price. If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the gross offering size would increase to approximately C$554 million.

Brookfield Business Partners intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering, together with the proceeds of the Concurrent Private Placement, for general corporate purposes, including for working capital requirements and to fund growth opportunities.

The Offering and the Concurrent Private Placement are expected to close on or about December 21, 2016.

This news release shall not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The limited partnership units offered will not be and have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold into the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. There shall not be any public offering of the limited partnership units in the United States.

Brookfield Business Partners is a business services and industrial company focused on owning and operating high-quality businesses that benefit from barriers to entry and/or low production costs. Brookfield Business Partners is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges.

Brookfield Business Partners is the flagship listed business services and industrials company of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM)(TSX: BAM.A)(EURONEXT: BAMA), a leading, a global alternative asset manager with approximately US$250 billion of assets under management.

Contacts:

Media:

Claire Holland

(416) 369-8236

claire.holland@brookfield.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 -- (TSX: ERM) Eclipse Residential Mortgage Investment Corporation ("Eclipse") announces the temporary suspension of its distribution reinvestment plan for the December 30, 2016 record date for Class A Shares. All Class A shareholders of record on December 30, 2016 will receive cash distributions for payment date on January 16, 2017.

As previously announced, on November 30, 2016, Shareholders approved an extraordinary resolution to transition Eclipse from the Canadian securities regulatory regime for investment funds to the Canadian securities regulatory regime for reporting issuers that are not investment funds. The transition includes exchanging Class A shares for Common shares which is expected to occur on or about January 4, 2017. As a result of the exchange of shares, the distribution reinvestment plan will be temporarily suspended for the December 30, 2016 record date. The distribution reinvestment plan is expected to be amended as a result of the transition based on substantially similar terms as the original plan. It is anticipated that the amended plan will be in place for the distribution record date on January 31, 2017. An announcement of the implementation of the amended plan will be made prior to the record date.

About Brompton Funds

Brompton Funds, a division of Brompton Group which was founded in 2000, is an experienced investment fund manager with approximately $2 billion in assets under management. Brompton's investment solutions include TSX listed closed-end funds, mutual funds, hedge funds and flow-through limited partnerships. For further information, please contact your investment advisor, call Brompton's investor relations line at 416-642-6000 (toll-free at 1-866-642-6001), email info@bromptongroup.com or visit our website at www.bromptongroup.com.

About MCAP Financial Corporation

One of Canada's largest mortgage financing companies, MCAP Financial Corporation ("MCAP") originates and services all mortgages for Eclipse. MCAP has more than 20 years of experience underwriting and servicing Canadian Single Family Residential Mortgages, with over $60 billion in mortgage assets managed for banks, lifecos, credit unions and institutional investors.

You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell shares of the investment fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange or other alternative Canadian trading system (an "exchange"). If the shares are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying shares of the investment fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them.

There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning shares of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about Eclipse. You can find more detailed information about Eclipse in the public filings available at www.sedar.com. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in share value and reinvestment of all dividends and do not take into account certain fees such as redemption costs or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this press release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to Eclipse, to the future outlook of Eclipse and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Fund. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Contacts:

Brompton's investor relations line

416-642-6000 (toll-free at 1-866-642-6001)

info@bromptongroup.com

www.bromptongroup.com




WESTON, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 12/13/16 --Monaker Group (the "Company") (OTCQB: MKGI), a travel and technology Company focused on the alternative lodging rental (ALR) market, today responded to a report that a class action has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Monaker Group alleging violations of federal securities laws Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, including allegations of issuing a series of material or false misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price during the Class Period, which is April 6, 2012 through June 23, 2016. "The action claims that Monaker supported RealBiz Media Group, to the detriment of Monaker's shareholders, without fully disclosing the support provided to RealBiz Media Group. Monaker Group believes that this action is without merit and intends to vigorously defend the action."

About Monaker

Monaker Group is atechnology driven Travel Company with multiple divisions and brands, leveraging more than 65 years of operation in leisure travel. Monaker's flagship is NextTrip.com, the industry's first booking engine featuring alternative lodging (vacation home rentals, resort residences and unused timeshares) as well as a vast array of airlines, hotels, cruises, rental cars, tours and concierge services all combined in one platform giving customers the power of choice when booking their vacations. The NextTrip site is powered by Monaker's booking engine utilizing rich content, imagery and high-quality video to maximize the traveler's experience and assist them in the search, decision and purchasing process of alternative lodging. By combining key features and functionality with advanced proprietary and licensed technology, NextTrip is able to present comprehensive vacation alternatives at best pricing. With key partnerships and established travel brands used as cornerstones, the Company's mission is to continue to expand offerings to become the "one stop" vacation center. Headquartered in South Florida, the Company employs a dedicated team of travel and technology professionals. For more information visit the company's website at www.monakergroup.com

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning the plans and expectations of Monaker Group. These statements are only predictions and actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are out of our control. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, or the expectations of future growth may not be realized. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and Monaker Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the "Risk Factors" and other cautionary statements included in Monaker Group's annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended February 29, 2016 which has been filed with the SEC and is available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

CONTACT



Monaker Group

Attention: Richard Marshall

Director of Corporate Development

Email: rmarshall@monakergroup.com

Tel: (954) 888-9779



Chesapeake Group

Investor Relations

Tel: (410) 825-3930




TEL AVIV, Israel, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Votiro, a global provider of exploit neutralization solutions for protecting organizations against ongoing cyber threats, announced today that it has signed a distribution agreement with leading security solutions provider Netpoleon Solutions to provide its cybersecurity solutions to the Singaporean market.

Under the agreement, Netpoleon Solutions will distribute Votiro's products in Singapore, provide customer installation and support and represent the product in marketing activities and at relevant industry events.

"As Singapore pushes forward towards becoming a Smart Nation, cybersecurity has to become a top priority," said Itay Glick, CEO of Votiro. "We see great potential in Singapore for Votiro's solutions to help counter cyberattacks, specifically advanced persistent threats that use undisclosed and Zero-Day exploits."

Over the next two to five years, the data security market in Singapore is expected to be worth billions of Singapore dollars, due to increasing adoption of mobile, cloud, social and information technology. As Singapore aspires to become a "Smart Nation," the country has put forth a holistic national cybersecurity strategy, calling for advanced cybersecurity solutions.

"Votiro offers a unique proposition in neutralizing zero-day exploits with it's patented Advanced Content Disarm and Reconstruction technology. Attackers today are deploying sophisticated evasion techniques posing massive security challenges for all organizations, big or small alike." said Francis Goh, Managing Director of Netpoleon Solutions Singapore. "We are excited to partner with Votiro, which greatly complements our security offerings to help our customers address such an increasingly complex threat landscape."

About Netpoleon Solutions "Netpoleon Solutions is an industry leader for distributing a holistic bundle of network and security solutions to leading organizations. Headquartered in Singapore, the company is expanding its network and security expertise across the ASEAN region, spearheading emerging technologies and delivering future-proofed solutions built for consolidation, virtualization, big data analytics, security operations center and cloud computing. For more information, visit http://www.netpoleons.com.

About Votiro" "Votiro provides organizations with essential protection against undisclosed and zero-day exploit utilized in cyber-attacks. The company's Secure Email Gateway provides a robust process and patent Advanced Content Disarm and Reconstruction technology for cleansing files from potential cyber-threats. Founded in 2010, Votiro is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with its sales office in the United States.

For more information, visit http://www.votiro.com

Follow Votiro on Twitter - @votiro.

Media Contact:

Idan Yatziv

marketing@votiro.com

+972-52-330-9099


Boatsetter, a Miami, Florida-based online boat rental marketplace, completed a $13m Series A funding.

Backers included Great Oaks Venture Capital, Stanford University DAPER Fund, ZG Ventures and Peninsula Ventures, as well as high impact angel investors.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its sales and marketing efforts as well as broaden and accelerate its operations in the United States.

Led by Jaclyn Baumgarten, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Boatsetter is a peer-to-peer boating marketplace that offers a worldwide fleet to choose from, connecting boat owners and licensed captains to renters. The platform is expected to host 10,000 high quality rental boats, activate 200 marinas and connect boating travelers to 2,000 captains nearly anywhere in the world in 2017.

The company also provides 24/7 customer service support and offers insurance coverage, both in the U.S. and internationally, for renters, boat owners, and captains.

FinSMEs

13/12/2016
Signal Media, a London, UK-based AI-powered information intelligence company, raised a further 5.8m ($7.4m) in funding.

Backers included MMC Ventures and Hearst Ventures.

The company, which has raised 8.3m ($10.5m) in total funding to date, intends to use the funds to take its business into new industry verticals such as to new verticals including Health, Pharma and Technology, and grow in the financial, legal and professional services markets, to further bolster the senior team and partnerships with universities, expand into the US during 2017 and strengthen the existing product.

Co-founded in 2013 by David Benigson and Dr. Miguel Martinez, Signal Media provides an AI-powered information intelligence platform that allows businesses to access to information to track changes in real-time  from competitors, to regulation, to their own reputation  to make faster business decisions.

Knowledge workers, communications teams and research executives use Signals AI to monitor the worlds news media. Signal principally targets the financial services, legal and professional services sectors analyzing more than two million articles per day across 90 countries to curate real-time, accessible, actionable knowledge on everything from competitor activity to reputational threats and market movement.

The platform is used by businesses such as Freshfields, Old Mutual Wealth and PageGroup to track as many different keywords, issues and topics as they like in real time from 2.7m websites, 67,000 print feeds and 300 broadcast channels. It also can auto-translate titles from over 90 countries in over 40 languages.

The company currently employs 50 people worldwide.

FinSMEs

13/12/2016
Filmmaker Christopher Nolan has released the poster of his next, the much-awaited period war drama Dunkirk, based on Operation Dynamo, the mega evacuation operation undertaken by the Allied powers from the harbour and beaches of Dunkirk, France after the German troops had surrounded them back in 1940 during World War II.

"We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations," then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had said to the House of Commons later that year while terming the evacuation as the 'Miracle of Dunkirk' in his famous speech called We shall fight on the beaches.

Going by the poster, the scenic beaches and harbour of Dunkirk have turned into battlegrounds as evident by the warships, aircraft and ruins that dominate the landscape. The flames amidst the waves is symbolic of the middle ground that Nolan is expected to explore in the film. There are elements in the poster that reflect the thin line between valour and wisdom. While greatness lies in holding the battlefield, the wise are known to save the fight for another day.

The lone figure standing on the shore gives out the feeling of a sole warrior ready to fight against the army all by himself. However, his posture and body language hint that he may be planning the great escape. His gun rests in his bag and he allows his brodie helmet to hang on his fingers. His fist is not clinched in resolve. Rather, it appears as conflicted as the soldier himself.

If one observes the land closely, one can see a host of army helmets just strewn across the shore. They may belong to the army men who managed to escape or those who lost their lives while trying to do so. Also, the poster has been set at the time of either the dawn or the dusk, which is the brief time-period between when the soldiers wage war and when they return to their base camps.

Nolan's genius overflows the poster and the tagline, 'The event that shaped our world', gives the film a rather larger-than-life touch, on the lines of his past blockbusters Inception and Interstellar.

Dunkirk is slated to release on 21 July, 2017.
NEW DELHI Ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry made a final appeal to shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) before they cast their vote on his removal as director at an extraordinary general meeting later on Tuesday.In a bitter boardroom coup in October, Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding firm for the $100 billion steel-to-software conglomerate, and group patriarch Ratan Tata returned to the helm temporarily. A public power struggle has since ensued between the two sides. Mistry, however, still sits on the boards of several group companies, including Tata Motors, Tata Steel and crown jewel TCS, which is 73 percent owned by Tata Sons and contributes the bulk of the group's revenue and profit. Tata Sons has called shareholder meetings at these companies over the next few days to vote on the removal of Mistry as director, starting with TCS, India's biggest technology services firm by sales.

"The fight is a matter of principle rather than facing the foregone outcome (of this meeting)," Mistry said in a note, indicating that Tata Sons' majority shareholding in TCS means he will be removed as director."The very future of TCS hinges on good governance and ethical practices. In the past several weeks, we have seen good governance being thrown to the wind in every sense of the term, replaced by whims, fancies and personal agenda."

Since his ouster, Mistry has attacked Tata's corporate governance standards several times, saying that his efforts to establish stronger guidelines contributed to his removal. "Whatever be the decibel level of the voice that would drown your vote, I call on you to vote with your conscience and send a signal that catalyses a larger discussion on governance reforms," Mistry said.

Indian Hotels Co Ltd, Tata Steel and Tata Motors will hold their shareholder meetings next week. (Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The Delhi BJP's decision to go door-to-door with laddoos for those queuing up for their own money post demonetisation may be inspired by the old Indian age of the mithai, err, fruit of patience being sweet. But, in India's hinterland, the reward of this patience is not just laddoos: Those in the queues are feasting on aloos (potatoes), foreign currency and even on bites of flesh.

A few days ago, while driving through a town in western Rajasthan, we came across a sight that's now part of the Indian landscape. Outside a SBI Bank branch, people were queuing up at 5 am for currency notes.

"The situation has improved. Things are getting better. Earlier they used to queue up at 4 am," our local driver said with a smirk. "Ok, now watch the fun," he said. So we decided to wait.

Within a few minutes, pandemonium broke out in a queue meant for women. Amidst the fisticuffs, one women bit another's arm, leading to a free-for-all, necessitating the arrival of cops, who quickly dispersed the queue with their sticks.

Start again, please. In the meantime, eat laddoos.

In the past week, traders in Kanpur distributed hundreds of kilos of potatoes free on Express Road, a busy intersection in the country's leather capital. The reason: potato prices had slumped to less than Re 1 per kg since the demand had fallen because of shortage of cash. Since cold-storage of potatoes costs much more, traders decided to distribute potatoes gratis before they turn into garbage.

So there, at least one recorded benefit of demonetisation: Free potatoes.

Five days ago, a panic-stricken friend called up from Mauritius to find out if he should cancel his India tour with a family of 12, including six kids. "I hear they are not exchanging foreign currency. How will we survive?" he asked.

So, I decided to find out. "Sorry, there are no new currency notes available. They have all been sucked out of supply," the owner of a currency exchange told me. "But, if you are ready to pay a premium, I can arrange some new notes," he volunteered. How much? "The exchange rate is Rs 71.75, but I can get you 67," he replies. That's a neat profit (in black, of course) of around Rs 5 on every Euro (or Dollar) exchanged. And a mind-boggling rate of return on almost negligible investment. "Hoo-ah", as Al Pacino famously exclaimed in Scent of a Woman, achche din are already there for those in the business of exchanging notes. Calls for laddoos!

Incredible India! Yes, of course, wait till the tourists go back to their countries and narrate incredible stories about how they had to beg, borrow and sing for survival during their dream vacation in India.

Let me come to the point: Demonetisation has had a huge impact. But, not only where it was intended. If the government was intending to act like a pinch-hitter before polls in Punjab and UP, it has also ended up scoring some self-goals. If it was counting on a surgical strike, some of the blast from the missile has hit its supporters too.

Soon after the decision was announced, the BJP relied on the Prime Minister's charisma to build the narrative of the momentary pain being a sacrifice for the cause of the nation. As Firstpost has argued out in the past, suffering is noble only till it is less than that of the neighbour. What passes off as suffering in our pop culture of hypocrisy is just envy; the misplaced belief that cutting off your nose would spite the neighbour's face. Doesn't work.

In the context of demonetisation, the light at the end of the suffering was greed. Many held on to the belief that once the rich are deprived of their loot, the Robin hood of politics would distribute the largesse among the poor, especially through cash rewards in bank accounts. The imagery of the surgical strike on demonetisation was similar to a marauder raiding the enemy land at the head of mercenaries, promising them a share of the war-exploits. They thought, as the saying goes, there were laddoos in both hands.

But, that doesn't seem to be happening. Windfall gains for RBI that were expected in various circles now appear a distant dream. The economy is reeling because of the lack of supply of notes and the consequent fall in demand. The unorganised sector is facing a temporary shutdown. Erstwhile Modi supporters like former HDFC chief Deepak Parekh and journalist Tavleen Singh are now worried about its impact. And, as former finance minister P Chidambaram argues, the decision has been slammed by a large number of economists and hurt the livelihoods of several Indians.

Also, the hunters themselves now appear turning into the hunted. A report in Rajasthan Patrika claims a sting operation by the government has revealed the evidence of widespread corruption in the entire system. The newspaper says the home ministry is sitting on the evidence of fraudulent transactions in thousands of bank accounts. In addition, a large number of the nearly 25 crore Jan Dhan accounts are under the scanner of income tax sleuths.

If, and it is a big if because of the numbers involved and the impact on elections, thousands of account holders and bank staff are grilled or prosecuted, they would certainly not be eating laddoos, or letting the BJP devour them in the next polls.

Since this is about sweets, let us revisit a famous laddoo story of the BJP. On 8 November last year, on the morning of the counting of votes in Bihar, the BJP started distributing laddoos the moment it heard that the first trends were predicting victory for it.

Within a few hours, as results pointed to a BJP rout, the sweets were all thrown away on Patna's Bir Chand Patel Road for cows to eat.

On demonetisation too, the BJP should perhaps hold back the laddoos till people count their cash.
Over the past month or so, the main topic of national conversation has been about the demonetisation issue. Every citizen is now an expert, and is not reluctant to air his/her views. Each political party has settled on its own non-nuanced black or white posture.

No sensible person can seriously question that the future of India, as a nation/democracy, is bleak unless the issue of corruption and parallel economy is addressed. The demonetisation move, whatever its proximate immediate purpose, is designed to address this fundamental systemic flaw in our society and economy. The unacceptable levels of abject poverty, escalating economic disparity, coupled with poor educational and public health standards are incompatible with the ideals of a democracy, and can be traced clearly to faulty public policies followed for seven decades. Now that the first major shot to reinvent the country, and to redeem it from a downward spiral has been fired, it remains to be seen as to what the next large consequences will follow, after the initial churning is over. The expectation is that in a relatively short term, the immediate pain will subside, and the long term consequences will kick-in.

Meanwhile, we have to accept the ground realities, not keep cribbing forever, and see what further long term changes are now ushered in to consolidate this major social and economic move.

One criticism of the move has related to lack of advance preparation. This charge is not altogether valid. The fact is that over the past few years, many significant advances have been made to improve communication, digital spread, and identity creation. The Aadhaar Card system, initiated by the UPA, has been adopted by the present government with great success  the coverage even in the remotest area of Aadhaar identity is unbelievably high. Even ten years back, when the 2G scam was raging, very few would have imagined the penetration by the ubiquitous cell phone into the remotest darkest corner  with among the highest densities in the world.

The spread of Jan Dhan Accounts was treated as a joke a couple of years back  the fact is that leaving aside the children, almost all families have Jan Dhan Accounts. Digital India, with an ambitious target to cover three lakh villages was launched earlier  the programme got a major boost in the last couple of years; more than 2 lakh post offices are likely to be covered digitally in a short period of time. The use of the hand-held mobile digital transaction device, with capability to handle over 2000 transactions in one shift, even in the remotest area with no electricity or digital connectivity, capable of uploading the transactions into the digital stream on the press of a button is now a reality in most parts of India  states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat have pioneered this technology, which is rapidly used for covering the remotest area. The fact is that much preparation, quietly and unceremoniously, without fanfare has already been made in the last couple of years. Does one recall the horrible stories of leakage of MNREGA funds through unscrupulous middlemen which were in wide circulations five years back,  what happened to those stories?  the MNREGA payments now enter the accounts of the worker directly. Much quiet revolution has already taken place.

It is in this background that the question needs to be asked whether the central government mobilised all its resources in spreading the gospel of shift to digitisation in financial transactions, used all its assets on the ground and the full information machinery to support this move. In the past weeks, we have heard on the TV many experts briefly expounding on the ease of embarking on digital transactions  Amitabh Kant of Niti Aayog, Nandan Nilekani and many others have spoken of alternate means of making payments, referring to e-wallets, transfer through smart phones, use of Aadhaar Card, and indeed utilising ones own humble cell phone for this purpose. Clearly many new possibilities are now technologically available. Why have there been no publicity blitz in the TV and other media, expounding the details, enlisting the precautions, analysing the procedures, outlining the necessary steps to reach a successful outcome. Why have these not been done in the past three weeks? It is not only the illiterate villager who is afraid of the digital transaction  even many educated city people, and large segments of the population need to be induced to use digital payment routes, explained the procedures and precautions, convinced of its safety, and with gentle hand-holding brought up to change the ways in which they make the payments. Why did we not have a two-hour tutorial, explaining the various aspects in lucid terms, understandable by a common man, prepared in the various languages of India, brought into public space? Why has not this been thought of earlier? Why only make cryptic comments about possibilities, when the state apparatus can put out TV tutorials on the Youtube, Internet, film theatres, encourage replay in every village panchayat and rural school  why have these not been attempted? This is a serious gap in the implementation of the programme  at least now this gap can be filled starting from now.

The other collateral question relates to the seemingly non-optional use of the wide-spread postal department outlets, numbering 2.5 lakhs, available in nearly every village of the country. It is well known that the postal system enjoys an excellent reputation among the various government institutions, particularly in the rural areas. Why the system hasnt be seriously engaged to spread the message, and brought in to help in the cause of payments transfers is not clear. By its very nature of functioning, the banking structure is much more expensive in operation, compared to the postal structure, which has simpler less expensive operational procedures. Has the Postal system been fully utilised? Is there a rivalry between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Posts, with the elder brother wanting to garner all the credit and the glory, even while catering to a national urgency? Has the postal department been overly pusillanimous, and conservative, and unwilling to rise to the occasion? Here is a huge national resource which has not been harnessed at this time of great need. Why has this serious neglect taken place? Some questions need to be raised, deserving credible answers?

The die is cast. We cant roll back the past. Bold new further moves are now required to transform this country. The nations good wishes are with the present Prime Minister in encouraging this new wave of transformation.
Hyderabad: In the first ever conviction of banned Indian Mujahideen cadres in a terror case, a special NIA court here convicted Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal and four others for being involved in 2013 twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar which had claimed 18 lives.

The NIA special court convicted Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Besides Bhatkal, the others convicted were Asadullah Akthar of Uttar Pradesh, Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas of Pakistan, Tahseen Akhthar of Bihar and Aizaz Shaik of Maharashtra. All of them are in judicial custody.

The alleged key conspirator Riyaz Bhatkal, believed to be operating from Karachi, is still at large.

The court will announce the sentences for all the accused on 19 December.

The final arguments in the case concerning the attack, carried out on 21 February, 2013 in which 18 people were killed and 131 injured others, concluded last month during which 157 witnesses were examined. Trial in the case had begun on August 24 last year.

An elated Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar said "it was a wonderful investigation carried out by the team in which every evidence was examined minutely. This is the first ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres."

"We will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits," Kumar said.

In its charge sheet, the NIA had claimed that Indian Mujahideen had hatched a conspiracy to wage a war against India and decided to carry out bomb blasts in Hyderabad to create terror in the minds of people and further the activities of the outfit.

The main operative of the module, Riyaz Bhatkal, who is named as the first accused in the case, had allegedly directed his associates Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas to find a place in Mangalore to be used as a hide-out for explosive materials sent by him, it had alleged.
A Catholic bishop in Kerala has called on Christian couples to competitively produce children till the end of their reproductive capacity.

Idukki Bishop Mar Mathew Anikuzhikattil has given the call in a pastoral letter issued on the occasion of Christmas. The letter to be read in all parishes in the diocese on any Sunday during December termed creation a divine process and predicted miseries for those who upset it.

The Bishops call is viewed in social and political circles in the state as a reflection of the growing concern in the Church about the dwindling numbers of Christians in the state. Several other bishops had made similar calls before Anikuzhikattil.

Some churches even offered incentives to couples to have more children. While most churches offered free education and medical care in Church-run institutions, one in Wayanad district introduced cash incentives to couples who produce more children.

The St Vincent De Paul Forane Church at Kalpetta offered Rs 10,000 as fixed deposit in the name of every fifth child born in the family in the parish. The church set aside a part of the weekly Sunday collection to fund the programme.

None of these efforts seem to have brought any change in the mindset of the faithful, who continue to limit the size of families by using either natural or artificial contraception that the Catholic Church dubs as sin. Studies showed that the Christian community had the highest rate of sterilisation in the state.

According to a study by KC Zachariah, former senior demographer with the World Bank and honorary fellow at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram, the proportion of Christian couples who had undergone sterilisation by 1991 was nearly 50 percent as against 34 percent among Muslims and upper caste Hindus.

As a result of this, the population of Christians continued to decline. The 2011 census data shows that the share of Christians in the total population of the state had come down from 21 percent in 1971 to 18.4 percent in 2011.

Hindus have also witnessed a sharp decline in their population during the period. The share of the Hindus came down from 58.2 percent in 1971 to 53.6 percent in 2011. The gainer is apparently the Muslim community. Its share went up from 21.3 percent to 26.6 percent in the last four decades.

Christians had a growth rate higher than that of non-Christians in Kerala in the early part of the twentieth century. But the trend reversed by 1961, when the non-Christians started gaining upper hand. They maintained higher growth rates through the rest of the century.

After 1971, Christians grew at a rate lower than the average for other communities. By the end of the century, the rate of growth of the Christians was only 60 percent of the Hindu growth rate and less than half the growth rate of the Muslims.

Christians had outnumbered Muslims for much of the last century. The latter overtook the Christians in 1971 and is continuing their dominance. A study on religious denominations based on the 2011 census by Zachariah says that the numerical dominance of Muslims over the Christians is likely to accelerate in the coming decades.

"By the middle of the century, Muslims could constitute more than a third and Christians less than one-sixth of Keralas population. Similarly, by 2051, the Hindus could be less than 50 percent of the States population for the first time in Keralas history. However, they are unlikely to be outnumbered in the state by any other community at any time," says Zachariah.

Numerically, Christians are the smallest among the three major religious groups in the state at present. They numbered just about 6.057 million according to the 2001 Census, and 6.141 million according to the 2011 Census.

None of these efforts seem to have brought any change in the mindset of the faithful, who continue to limit the size of families by using either natural or artificial contraception that the Catholic Church dubs as sin

Zachariah feels that the proportion of the Christian population in the total population would decrease to about 17 percent at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. This means that the population of the community would come down to 5.9 million by 2031.

Zachariah believes that this would push down the Christian share from nearly one-fourth of the population before 1970 to less than one-sixth by the middle of the century. Among the Christian denominations, the non-Catholic Episcopal Syrian Christian communities and the Syro-Malankara Catholics are witnessing a decline in their population.

According to Zachariah, a major factor behind the decline is the below replacement fertility that the state reached in 1990s. Migration to other states in India and to other countries outside India and movement from one Christian denomination to another are other major factors cited by Zachariah.

The Idukki bishop has blamed the family planning for the present state of the Christian community. He believes that parents were adopting birth control measures for the sake of luxury.

"They consider children as a hurdle to their modern style of living. Our forefathers had welcomed new life even when there were no modern facilities to support life. They did not discard children by looking at their number or their quality. They treated every child as Gods gift," Anikuzhikattil said.

The bishop said that the people who adopt birth control measures will be sowing seeds of anxiety and frustration in families. Life will be miserable for such people, the bishop said, adding that the loneliness faced by the elders was a result of this.

Describing those who say "no one needs to be born and live after they become a part of the population" as selfish and arrogant, the bishop has urged Christian couples to engage in creation as long as their body allows.

Rationalists have viewed the bishops call anti-democratic. U Kalanadhan, president of Kerala Rationalists Association, said that the Church was indulging in this kind of anti-democratic activities because they fear that they will lose their clout in the state.

Kalanadhan told Firstpost that the Church and other religious groups have been flexing their muscles because of the policy of religious appeasement followed by mainstream parties. He has called for the separation of religion from politics to end this menace.

Idukki diocese Family Apostolate Director Fr Joseph Kollakombil denied any motives behind the pastoral letter issued by the bishop. He said that the prelate had only tried to explain the Churchs stand on life.

"Christmas reminds us of the divine process of creation. It is quite natural for the clergy to underline the importance of life on the occasion. Bishop Anikuzhikattil has done only this. There is no need for reading between the lines," said Fr Joseph.

However, his critics are not ready to take it without a pinch of salt, since the bishop has been raking up the issue in one form or the other for some time now. Last year, he kicked off a big controversy by accusing an Ezhava community organisation of weaning away Christian girls through 'love jihad'.

The bishop had also come out against inter-faith marriages and delaying of marriage by youths. He termed inter-caste marriages 'against Christianity' and urged the faithful to resist the government's attempts to promote them.

The bishop said that the youths were delaying marriages for the sake of education and career. He urged youths to give marriage priority over education.

Many of these remarks had created a big uproar in the state. Anikuzhikattil was forced to withdraw his statement on 'love jihad' and tender an apology after Hindu organisations joined hands against him. They accused him of spewing communal venom.
New Delhi: Springing to the defence of minister Kiran Rijiju, the Power Ministry has said payments to a contractor of power plant in Arunachal Pradesh were released even before the minister forwarded a representation for the same.

Dubbing allegation of Rijiju using his influence to clear bills as "unsubstantiated, false and baseless", the ministry said the vigilance officer SC Verma, who alleged corruption in the construction of two dams for NEEPCO's 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh, had himself authorised the release of substantial payments to the contractor.

The ministry in a statement said Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiran Rijiju had on 9 November, 2015, forwarded a representation of local inhabitants of his constituency, complaining about the stoppage of payments to the sub-contractor of Patel Engineering Ltd for transportation of boulders/sand.

"At no point did Shri Rijiju recommend that payment be released but only requested that 'kindly get this petition considered in your Ministry sympathetically on priority'," it said, making public the copy of the letter.

But as much as 60 percent of the payment due to PEL was released on 4 November, 2015, on instruction of Verma, much before the letter of Rijiju. "Hence, the letter written by Hon'ble MoS Home Affairs has no bearing on any payments released by NEEPCO as the payment had already been released before his letter under authorisation of Shri Verma," the statement said.

NEEPCO, it said, is a Mini Ratna PSU and the government does not interfere in the operational matters of PSUs. "No instructions or directions by the government were given to NEEPCO at any time for making any payments. Thus, the allegations made are baseless, totally false and seem to be motivated by the charge-sheet issued against an officer for violation of CVC instructions and service conduct rules," it said.
The man who dragged Union Minister for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju into the alleged Rs 450 crore scam at the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited's 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project, Gujarat cadre IPS officer Satish Verma, is no stranger to controversies.

Verma, as chief vigilance officer of the Neepco, had prepared a 129-page report of the ongoing irregularities in the power project. The officer now serves as an inspector-general in the Central Reserved Police Force in Tripura.

According to a report in The Economic Times, Verma as one of the three members of the Gujarat High Court-appointed SIT to probe the Ishrat Jahan encounter differed with his fellow panelists and doubted if the 19-year-old girl shot down by cops in an alleged gunfight was at all a Lashkar-e-Taiba cadre.

The 1986-batch officer doesn't share an enviable relationship with the Gujarat government and was even charged in January 2015 for prolonged absence from duty as the principal of Police Training College in Junagadh, a report in the DNA said.

Although the officer was granted Central deputation on request, he was apparently unhappy with his posting as the CVO at Neepco headquarters in Shillong. According to the DNA, the Central Administrative Tribunal, which he had approached seeking reprieve, refused to entertain his plea for a better posting.

His tenure in Neepco was cut short and it was not without controversy. Soon after he submitted his report involving Rijiju and his cousin Goboi, the officer was soon transferred out as IGP, Tripura sector of the CRPF as a lateral shift on deputation in July this year.

"Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was pulled up by NEEPCO for unauthorised absence, and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report. He attributes the absence to his investigation."a report in The Indian Express said.

Appointed as Neepco CVO in August 2014, Verma soon had run-in with the company and the power ministry itself which finally got him out of the public sector enterprise by formally lodging a complaint against him with the Ministry of Home Affairs for alleged 'high-handedness'. The official line is of course long absence from duty.

Before being shunted out of Neepco, the former CVO was given three show cause notices for unauthorised absence.

It is unlikely that the Tripura-based CRPF officer would have much popularity among colleagues from the IPS fraternity as well. His stand in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case resulted in seven IPS officers going behind bars which include high profile names like PP Pandey, DG Vanzara and GL Singhal among others.

Verma was on deputation with the Central Bureau of Investigation when he was made a member of the Special Investigation Team following court orders.

The IPS officer grabbed headlines in March this year as well when in a startling revelation, RVS Mani, former under secretary in the home ministry had told Times Now that he was coerced to file the second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan case. Mani directly accused Verma of torturing him.

"What Satish Verma did to me was unprecedented...On 21 June 2013, Satish Verma burnt me with cigarettes," he told Times Now. "He was not collecting evidence, but engineering evidence," he further said. "I was chased by so many officers and people," he said.

Verma, however, rejected the charges.

Further, Mr. Mani has spoken about physical torture by cigarette; I must say the CBI never tortures anybody in such a way in any of their investigations. Suppose, I had done what Mr. Mani was claiming  it would be a big misconduct and perhaps it would be a crime under law. He was an officer of the Government of India, he must be aware of the fact that he could take legal action against me (for misconduct). Also, the highest investigating agency like the CBI, which doesnt tolerate such misconducts, would also have taken some action. Hence, the charges are baseless," the IPS officer was quoted as saying by ABP News.

The IPS officer was also entangled with the Gujarat state over a government accommodation allotted to him but later withdrew the plea.

A report in The Indian Express said that Verma approached the Gujarat High Court to get a state government order quashed asking him to vacate a flat on Ahmedabads CG Road allotted to him in 2013 when he was with the state police.

However, on legal advice, the officer decided to approach the CAT after withdrawing the case from the high court.

A NDTV report said that the Verma's family occupies a flat at the Samarpan Government Colony in Ahmedabad. The state government wants the officer to vacate the Ahmedabad accommodation as he is on deputation with the CRPF now.
By Maya Palit

Last week, in its eagerness to cover two apparently sensational legal developments, national media bungled facts and produced misleading reports. First, it confused the difference between a High Court ruling and observation made by Chief Justice Suneet Kumar while hearing a case on 5 November, where a Muslim couple was seeking police protection. The husband revealed during the course of the hearing that he had divorced his previous wife with triple talaq, a fact that prompted the court to pass certain opinions about the practice. Somehow, the fact that these were observations rather than a ruling on triple talaq was distorted by the media: Allahabad High Court rules triple talaq as 'unconstitutional' or similar headlines were visible all over major newspapers, everywhere from the The New Indian Express, The Statesman, The Times of India to the Odisha Sun Times. But in fact, as Aditya AK clarified in an article published by the legal journal Bar and Bench, there was no court ruling, and the Supreme Court is responsible for passing the verdict on triple talaq:

Contrary to various news reports, the Allahabad High Court did not determine the constitutionality or the legality of the Islamic practice of triple talaq. It did, however, note that its judicial conscience was disturbed by the practice, which it described as a monstrosity.

Another way to view the incident, as constitutional expert Alok Prasanna Kumar confirmed, is that the court merely said stuff, but this does not mean it struck down triple talaq. What, then, is the reason behind all the hype? Most court reporters dont have a background in law, Aditya said, in an interview with The Ladies Finger, suggesting that this could be a possible reason for frequent wrong reportage. Kumar elaborated on this tendency within the media of capitalising on throw-away comments that could provide the public with a warped picture of the actual judgment:

In my experience, it is at the (editorial) desk where there is usually a loss in translation. When I have examined past cases of misleading facts in legal reporting, I have heard from court reporters that they sent the report to someone at the news desk. Then again, reporters often sit at the back of the court and if they cant hear what is being said, speak amongst themselves to corroborate information, which can easily get mangled. What really needs to be done is to ensure that people at the desk take a few minutes to double check the copy with the court reporters so that terms like ruling are not used interchangeably with other words.

Murali Krishnan, Associate Editor of Bar and Bench, who has previously reported from the Supreme Court, said that in his experience reporters are often unable to hear the court proceedings in entirety because the courtroom is very loud. What is said is often not very audible. In this age of breaking news, reporters might hear only part of the judgment and end up going with something the court might never have said.

In the case of the Allahabad High Court, perhaps there were other factors at play behind the misrepresentation. Gender rights lawyer Flavia Agnes suggested in an interview with Firstpost that the medias emphasis on public criticism of Muslim law can be linked to right-wing propaganda. Kumar agreed with Agnes suggestion that media jumped on the bandwagon despite there being nothing new in the Allahabad High Court judgment because triple talaq has been an inflammatory and sensational issue for a while. He wondered why the judge passed an observation about triple talaq in a case about a couple applying for police protection. Is it because a storm is being kicked up about it in the media already? The question is whether the court is being influenced by popular discourse, and realises that these observations will make headlines. Are the court and the media perversely feeding into each other?

However, it could also just be a case of careless fact-checking, which was certainly the reason that several media outlets announced erroneously that the Kerala High Court had banned women from wearing salwar kameezes inside the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, when all the court concluded was that the final word on the dress code lies with the chief priest and that no one else was entitled to change it. A lawyer who wished to remain anonymous said such misleading headlines could have serious implications. Someone reading these articles and seeing the word bans or ruling could misinterpret them and think that if a court has said it, even if it is an observation (by which I mean opinion) then that is the final rule of law. While ruling determines the ultimate fate of a law suit, an observation would simply be ranting.

Funnily enough, another series of misinterpretations on 18 November, 2016 suggested that a law degree was essential for journalists regularly reporting on Kerala High Court proceedings, but Judge P Ubaid confirmed on 26 November that this was a misunderstanding  the High Court had created norms to provide additional benefits to accredited legal correspondents.

The solution to misleading headlines and distorted legal reporting might not lie in the rather extreme measure of insisting that reporters have a legal background. Kian Ganz, Publishing Editor of the news portal Legally India, recommended other measures like providing basic training for journalists in news organisations while reporting on legal issues. The courts could set up a public relations department which could liaise with the media. They could also be more proactive in publishing the full judgments soon after hearings, which would mean that news desks would be able to check facts, understand the court proceedings prior to publishing, and [thereby] avoid ambiguity, he added. One thing is for certain though: its about time that court reporters and the editorial desk at newspapers corresponded carefully to make things a little less confusing for the rest of us.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine delivering fresh and witty perspectives on politics, culture, health, sex, work and everything in between.
Hyderabad: Hitting out at the government over demonetisation, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a "tyrant" and alleged banks and ATMs in Muslim dominated areas in the city were not functioning.

"Every family is in distress today...I cannot withdraw my money. Who made this law," the Hyderabad MP said, addressing a public meeting on the occasion of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad 'Milad-un-Nabi'.

The Prime Minister should remember that those standing in queues now to withdraw their money would stand in queue again to vote against him (in the elections), Owaisi said.

Talking about Modi's 'fakir' remark, he asked whether a 'fakir' wears a "Rs 15 lakh suit".

"What type of a 'fakir' is he?...Would any 'fakir' give pain..You are not a 'fakir', you are a 'zalim' (tyrant)," he said.

Modi should come to the old city of Hyderabad to see the suffering of the people as they cannot withdraw their money, said the AIMIM chief about the constituency he represents in Parliament which has large Muslim population.

"Why cashless economy? We will not do cashless economy. Give me my money. Credit card, how many credit cards are there in India. I bet there won't be even one or two per cent of credit cards with Muslims. Not with Dalits.

"Banks are not open in our Muslim localities. If bank is open, it is declared 'red zone' and loans are not available. If ATM is installed, money is not coming out of them in our localities," he alleged.

Claiming that demonetisation would not have any fruitful outcome, he said experts have estimated a loss of three per cent of GDP due to this decision.

The NDA government has failed to check price rise and bringing back black money, Owaisi alleged.

On December 3, the Prime Minister at his rally in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh had said he was being targeted for cracking down on those with black money.

"I am being hounded as if I have committed some crime by waging a battle against graft. But, what can my opponents do to me? I am a fakir (hermit)jhola ley kar chaley jayenge (I will exit with my little belongings)," Modi had said.
By Laila Bassam and Stephanie Nebehay

| ALEPPO, Syria/GENEVA

ALEPPO, Syria/GENEVA The United Nations said on Tuesday it had reports that Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters had summarily shot dead 82 children, women and men in recaptured east Aleppo and a military source said the last rebel pocket could fall "at any moment".The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, and its main ally Russia said on Tuesday rebels had "kept over 100,000 people as human shields". The rout of rebels from their ever-shrinking territory in Aleppo has sparked a mass flight of civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity". Hopes for a last-ditch deal to end the fighting by withdrawing fighters also seemed in doubt, with Moscow rejecting calls for an immediate ceasefire as concern grew over the fate of civilians. "The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. office. "There could be many more."France said it had called for an immediate U.N. Security Council meeting over the alleged atrocities to focus on possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed.Colville said the rebel-held area was "a hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre, adding its capture was imminent.The Syrian army and its allies could declare victory at any moment, a Syrian military source said, predicting the final fall of the rebel enclave on Tuesday or Wednesday, after insurgent defences collapsed on Monday."WANTON SLAUGHTER"

Turkish and Russian officials will meet on Wednesday to examine a possible ceasefire and opening a corridor, a senior Turkish official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.But Moscow, the Syrian government's most powerful ally, rejected any immediate call for a ceasefire. "The Russian side wants to do that only when the corridors are established," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. The spokesman for the civil defence force in the former rebel area of Aleppo reckoned rebels controlled an area of less than three sq km. "The situation is very, very bad. The civil defence has stopped operating in the city," he told Reuters.A surrender or withdrawal of the rebels from Aleppo would mean the end of the rebellion in the city, Syria's largest until the outbreak of war after mass protests in 2011, but it is unclear if such a deal can be struck by world powers.

By finally dousing the last embers of resistance burning in Aleppo, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military coalition of the army, Russian air power and Iran-backed militias will have delivered him his biggest battlefield victory of the war.However, while the rebels, including groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist groups that the West does not support, will suffer a crushing defeat in Aleppo, the war will be far from over. "The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement."FLEEING IN PANIC"

Aleppo's loss will leave the rebels without a significant presence in any of Syria's main cities, but they still hold much of the countryside west of Aleppo and the province of Idlib, also in northwest Syria. Islamic State also has a big presence in Syria and has advanced in recent days, taking the desert city of Palmyra.

The army and its allies were advancing towards the Sukkari, Tel al-Zarazir and parts of Seif al-Dawla and al-Amariya districts, the Syrian military source said. "When the army regains control of these areas, its operation in the eastern areas of the city... will have finished". After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night as the weather deteriorated, a Reuters reporter in the city said. However, rocket fire pounded rebel-held areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, reported. Rebels and government forces still fought at points around the reduced enclave, the Observatory said. The U.N. children's agency UNICEF cited an unnamed doctor in Aleppo as saying that many unaccompanied children were trapped in a building that was under attack, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had no knowledge of the incident. "Artillery shelling is continuing but because of the weather the aerial bombing has stopped. Many of the families and children have not left for areas under the control of the regime because their fathers are from the rebels," said Abu Ibrahim, a resident of Aleppo in a text message. Colville said he feared retribution. "In all, as of yesterday evening we have received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children," Colville told a news briefing, naming the Iraqi armed group Harakat al-Nujaba as reportedly involved in the killings. The military official said the rebels were fleeing "in a state of panic", but a Turkish-based official with the Jabha Shamiya insurgent group in Aleppo said on Monday night that they had established a new frontline along the river. "The bombardment is not on the frontlines, the greater burden of the bombardment is on the civilians, and this is what is causing a burden on us," the official said.

Terrible conditions were described by city residents. Abu Malek al-Shamali, a resident in the rebel area, said dead bodies lay in the streets. "There are many corpses in Fardous and Bustan al-Qasr with no one to bury them, he said. "Last night people slept in the streets and in buildings where every flat has several families crowded in," he added. Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night, with fighters shooting rounds into the sky in triumph. TIDE OF REFUGEES

A daily bulletin issued by the Russian Defence Ministry's "reconciliation centre" from the Hmeimin airbase used by its warplanes, reported that more than 8,000 civilians, more than half of them children, had left east Aleppo in 24 hours. State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings. One man pushed a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a cart on which sat an elderly woman. Another man carried on his back a small girl wearing a pink hat.At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic. In some recaptured areas, people were returning to their shattered homes. A woman in her sixties, who identified herself as Umm Ali, or "Ali's mother", said that she, her husband and her disabled daughter had no water. They were looking after the orphaned children of another daughter killed in the bombing, she said, and were reduced to putting pots and pans in the street to collect rainwater. In another building near al-Shaar district, which was taken by the army last week, a man was fixing the balcony of his house with his children. "No matter the circumstances, our home is better than displacement," he said. (Reporting By Laila Bassam in Aleppo, Orhan Coskun in Ankara, Lisa Barrington and Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Pravin Char and Peter Millership)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Noah Barkin

| BERLIN

BERLIN Late last month, Chancellor Angela Merkel's top foreign policy adviser was asked what a Donald Trump presidency would mean for Germany and offered a rather hopeful assessment.The realities of the presidency would force Trump to change his tone, Christoph Heusgen told an audience in Berlin. Trump had German roots. And he was considering former critics such as Mitt Romney, a more centrist Republican, for top cabinet posts in a sign that he would be inclusive."This is reassuring," Heusgen said.Two weeks later, the hopes in major European capitals that Trump would shift into "presidential mode", distance himself from the controversial stances of his campaign and bring a diverse group of outsiders into his administration are fading and a new anxiety is taking hold.Government officials say recent decisions - from the appointment of a climate change sceptic to run the Environmental Protection Agency, to Trump's clash with China over Taiwan and his appointment of several Goldman Sachs bankers to top positions - suggest he could be far more disruptive to European interests than initially assumed.And so, after the shock of the U.S. election and a period of wishful reflection on how Trump might change, a shaken Europe is bracing for confrontations with Washington on a range of issues, from Russia and the Iran nuclear deal, to free trade, climate change and even European integration. "It is becoming clearer by the day that this is not going to be about an evolving set of consistent policies but rather the opposite," said a senior western European diplomat, who visited Washington recently to assess the mood."It is all about being disruptive. No one knows where and how he will choose to be disruptive. But we are coming around to the view that this is who Trump is, and that it's part of his strategy."DRAWN OUT SPECTACLE

A little over a month since the U.S. vote, European officials are still struggling to understand exactly what Trump will do when he enters the White House next month, beyond the expectation that he focuses chiefly on domestic priorities.

The confusion is partly because filling out Trump's cabinet has become such a drawn-out process, with candidates such as Romney being paraded into the president-elect's New York base at Trump Tower and praised by him on Twitter, only to be jettisoned or forgotten days later as new contenders emerge.The most important appointment for many foreign capitals was finalised on Tuesday, with the CEO of oil giant Exxon, Rex Tillerson, named secretary of state over pretenders like Romney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and retired general David Petraeus.Tillerson elicited a range of reactions, with some European officials expressing concerns about his close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, and others reassured that the head of a major corporation with international experience would become America's top diplomat."Optically, it's not good at all," said a senior eastern European diplomat whose country looks to the United States and NATO to protect it from Moscow's regional ambitions. "But the thought of a U.S. secretary of state who actually knows Russia is intriguing."Trump's overtures towards Russia have deeply worried Merkel's entourage. The German chancellor has led the European Union's tough response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its role in eastern Ukraine, moving in lockstep with President Barack Obama in punishing Moscow with international sanctions.Should Trump decide to ditch the U.S. sanctions, German officials acknowledge that the European consensus would crumble, leaving Merkel's Russia policy in tatters and Ukraine yet more vulnerable.

But there is also growing anxiety about the nuclear deal between western powers and Iran, especially after the appointment of leading Tehran critic Michael Flynn as Trump's national security adviser.Because the Iran deal is an international agreement backed by the United Nations Security Council, it will be more difficult for Trump to withdraw from it unilaterally; other powers could also refuse to follow suit if he did.The concern in Europe is that Trump could stick to the deal but ratchet up sanctions in non-nuclear areas, a move that could produce a tit-for-tat response from Tehran that might ultimately doom the nuclear pact."If we see tension increase with Iran, it will be a test for the snapback mechanism," said a French official, referring to a tool that allows sanctions to be reinstated if Tehran is found to be violating the terms of the agreement.REVOLUTIONARY EVENT

The list of transatlantic flashpoints goes far beyond Russia and Iran. Trump's stance on Israeli settlements on the West Bank, financial deregulation, China, trade and climate change are all concerns for Europe.His decision to take a phone call from the president of Taiwan, calling into question nearly four decades of American "one China" policy, was an early sign that he will flout diplomatic protocol and tradition. Volker Perthes, head of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, says Trump's copious use of Twitter is also worrying European governments, many of whom assumed this would stop after the election. "Will Merkel have to be woken up at 3 a.m. because Trump sends a tweet saying Putin told him the Russia sanctions were stupid?" said Perthes. "You can't rule this out."Some see the potential for an even deeper rift over elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany next year, and possibly in Italy and Britain in 2017.Trump was quick to applaud Britain's vote to leave the EU in June. He has also cozied up to leading Brexiteer Nigel Farage, raising questions about how he might behave in the forthcoming campaigns - such as the French presidential election where far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen is expected to perform strongly on a eurosceptic platform.The senior western European diplomat said governments would be closely watching whether Steve Bannon, the former head of right-wing website Breitbart News, would try to spread populist conspiracy theories across the Atlantic from his new perch as a senior strategist in the Trump White House.Breitbart has announced plans to expand into Germany and France in anticipation of the elections."The Europeans are in a state of shock," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, who was in Washington last week with Perthes to discuss a Trump presidency with U.S. officials."If Trump were to support Marine Le Pen like he supported Farage that would be a revolutionary event in transatlantic relations," he said. "If you're supporting someone who wants to destroy the euro, the EU and the western liberal order and who is a friend of Russia, then you're not just setting back transatlantic relations, you're destroying them." (Additional reporting by John Irish, Alastair Macdonald, Francesco Guarascio, Andreas Rinke; editing by David Stamp)

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By Matt Spetalnick and Jonathan Landay

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON The fall of the last rebel-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo could seal the fate of the "Obama Doctrine," deepening the worlds worst humanitarian crisis in decades and staining U.S. President Barack Obama's legacy.With the U.S.-aligned rebels facing defeat by government forces backed by Russia and Iran, Obamas light-footprint approach to the Syrian conflict will suffer a serious blow weeks before he hands power to President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.The rebel loss would underscore the failure of U.S. efforts to stem the carnage from Syrias nearly six-year-old civil war, leading some critics to predict that Obamas record will be tarnished just as President Bill Clintons was by his refusal to intervene to halt the 1994 Rwandan genocide.There is no doubt he will be hammered in historical terms, said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations. The question will be why he didnt do more.While the war is expected to grind on, Syrian President Bashar al-Assads victory in Aleppo would provide fresh fodder for Trump, who has argued the insurgency has collapsed, and the United States should revamp its fight against Islamic State by joining up with Russia, and by extension, Assad.Syria has been one of the main testing grounds for Obamas doctrine of relying on local proxy fighters instead of large-scale U.S. military deployments, reflecting his reluctance to be drawn back into unpopular ground conflicts like the Iraq war.The approach has faltered in Syria, where on Tuesday the Syrian army said it could declare full control over eastern Aleppo by Wednesday. A deal was struck to allow the remaining rebel fighters to evacuate their last enclave there, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said."Leading from behind leaves a vacuum that is filled by the Bashar Assads and Vladimir Putins of the world," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, referring to how an Obama aide described his strategy. "I think history will judge that these are unintended results that are going to cause great challenges to the United States for years to come."Obama has been criticized for refusing to provide sufficient arms and other support to moderate rebel groups to compel Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers to negotiate an end to his authoritarian rule.Obama has pursued a policy of calculated dithering in Syria, just agonizing over the choices until they no longer existed, said Emile Hokayem, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.The Democratic president has defended his policy as judicious. His spokesman, Josh Earnest, said it was Obamas overriding responsibility to protect the interests and safety of the American people first.

A Republican, Trump has vowed a dramatic shift from Obama's cautious strategy toward a more aggressive approach - although exactly how he will proceed remains unclear.He will inherit an increasingly complicated conflict in Syria, and many analysts fear his lack of foreign policy experience could lead to dangerous miscalculations.If Trump follows through after Aleppos fall on his pledge to cooperate with Russia, Assads military patron, there is a risk that frustrated moderate rebels could gravitate toward militant factions that pose a potential threat to Western interests.As Assad himself turns from the wreckage of Aleppo to assert his authority over a fractured Syria, he will have to contend with the loss of swaths of his country for the time being and tough pockets of resistance still to crush.The war has taken some 400,000 lives and made more than 11 million people homeless, driving many into neighboring countries or on a long perilous trek to Europe.

COST OF INACTION

The imminent fall of rebel-held eastern Aleppo  and the sense of U.S. powerlessness as it unfolds  suggests that Obama likely will be judged by history as much for what he did not do as for what he did.He first called on Assad to leave power in 2011. But Obama never supplied moderate rebels with enough firepower to topple him or force him to the negotiating table. His failure to carry out threatened air strikes to enforce his 2012 red line over Assad's use of banned chemical weapons dealt a heavy blow to U.S. standing, including by some of his staunchest regional allies.Obama also rejected recommendations, as recently as October, by members of his national security team for tougher action against Assad. Instead, he gave priority to striking Islamic State with a U.S.-led bombing campaign and local allies assisted by relatively small numbers of U.S. special forces.The strategy hewed to a prescription Obama laid out in a 2014 West Point speech in which he made clear he would intervene in foreign conflicts only when he believed U.S. interests were threatened.

That led to the return of thousands of U.S. military personnel to Iraq to support Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State.But in Syria, despite providing billions of dollars in relief aid for refugees, Obamas approach has failed to quell what some have called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two.Obama recently told an interviewer that the grim situation in Syria haunts me constantly - although he insisted there was not much he would have done differently.James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, said Obamas risk-averse approach had not only allowed Assad to attack the opposition with impunity but also opened the door to greater Russian and Iranian influence in the Middle East.But Paul Pillar, a former top U.S. intelligence analyst on the Middle East, said Obama was right to hold back in Syria because it was no place to commit U.S. prestige and resources for regime change.Earnest said on Thursday that historians may end up quibbling about Obamas Syria policy, when he was asked about a Syrian opposition leader who told the Wall Street Journal that history will never forgive Obama for what he has done to the Syrian people.White House aides privately acknowledge that Syria  and other Arab countries in turmoil, such as Libya and Yemen  could leave a black mark on his legacy.But they hope his record will be buoyed in other areas, including the landmark Iran nuclear deal, diplomatic openings to Cuba and Myanmar, the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the prevention of a 9/11-style attack on U.S. soil on his watch.Still, reflecting deep unease in Washington over the bloodshed in Aleppo, Robert Ford, who resigned in 2014 as U.S. ambassador to Syria over policy disagreements, and is now at the Middle East Institute, said: Im personally sad that after we thought we had learned lessons in places like Sarajevo, Srebrenica and Rwanda, it's in fact very clear that this administration doesn't really care. (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Peter Cooney)

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By Laila Bassam, Angus McDowall and Stephanie Nebehay

| ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT/GENEVA

ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT/GENEVA Rebel resistance in the Syrian city of Aleppo ended on Tuesday after years of fighting and months of bitter siege and bombardment that culminated in a bloody retreat, as insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire. The battle of Aleppo, one of the worst of a civil war that has drawn in global and regional powers, has ended with victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and regional Shi'ite militias. For rebels, their expected departure with light weapons starting on Wednesday morning for opposition-held regions west of the city is a crushing blow to their hopes of ousting Assad after revolting against him during the 2011 Arab uprisings.However, the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province to the southwest of Aleppo, and the jihadist Islamic State group holding swathes of the east and recapturing Palmyra this week."The fighters are going to leave the city," Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters in New York. Rebel officials said fighting would end on Tuesday evening and a source in the pro-Assad military alliance said the evacuation of fighters would begin at around dawn on Wednesday. A Reuters reporter in Aleppo said late on Tuesday that the booms of the bombardment could no longer be heard. Fighters and their families, along with civilians who have thrown in their lot with the rebels, will have until Wednesday evening to quit the city, a Turkish government source said on Tuesday. The ceasefire was negotiated by Turkey and Russia. A commander with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said that Aleppo was a moral victory for the insurgents. "We were steadfast ... but unfortunately nobody stood with us at all", the commander, who declined to be identified, told Reuters."UNCOMPROMISING VICTORY"

The plight of civilians has caused global outrage in the wake of a sudden series of advances by the Syrian army and its allies across the rebel enclave over the past two weeks. "We appear to be witnessing nothing less than an all-out effort by the Syrian government and its allies to end the country's internal conflict through a total uncompromising military victory," U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon told the Security Council on Tuesday.The rout of rebels from their ever-shrinking territory in Aleppo sparked a mass flight of terrified civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity". There were food and water shortages in rebel areas with all hospitals closed.The United Nations earlier on Tuesday voiced deep concern about reports it had received of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people in recaptured east Aleppo districts. It accused them of "slaughter"."The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said U.N. spokesman Rupert Colville. "There could be many more."

The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, and its main ally Russia said on Tuesday rebels had "kept over 100,000 people in east Aleppo as human shields". An official with an Aleppo rebel group said the bulk of about 50,000 people were expected to be evacuated. Fear stalked the city's streets. Some survivors trudged in the rain past dead bodies to the government-held west or the few districts still in rebel hands. Others stayed in their homes and awaited the Syrian army's arrival.For all of them, fear of arrest, conscription or summary execution added to the daily terror of bombardment. "People are saying the troops have lists of families of fighters and are asking them if they had sons with the terrorists. (They are) then either left or shot and left to die," said Abu Malek al-Shamali in Seif al-Dawla, one of the last rebel-held districts. WASTELAND OF RUBBLE

A Syrian military source said the evacuation of fighters would start at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Wednesday. The source said fighters' families would also leave, but did not mention other civilian evacuations.Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed.

The once-flourishing economic centre with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverised during the war which has killed more than 300,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State. The U.N.'s Colville said the rebel-held area had become "a hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre. Its capture was imminent, he added.The Syrian army and its allies could declare victory at any moment, a Syrian military source had said earlier, predicting the final fall of the rebel enclave on Tuesday or Wednesday, after insurgent defences collapsed on Monday. After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night as the weather deteriorated."Artillery shelling is continuing but because of the weather the aerial bombing has stopped. Many of the families and children have not left for areas under the control of the regime because their fathers are from the rebels," said Abu Ibrahim, a resident of Aleppo in a text message before the ceasefire. Terrible conditions were described by city residents. Abu Malek al-Shamali, a resident in the rebel area, said dead bodies lay in the streets. "There are many corpses in Fardous and Bustan al-Qasr with no one to bury them, he said. "Last night people slept in the streets and in buildings where every flat has several families crowded in," he added.

Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night after a day of sudden army advances brought final victory in the city within its grasp, with fighters shooting rounds into the sky in triumph. TIDE OF REFUGEES

State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings. One man pushed a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a cart on which sat an elderly woman. Another man carried on his back a small girl wearing a pink hat.At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic. In some recaptured areas, people were returning to their shattered homes. A woman in her sixties, who identified herself as Umm Ali, or "Ali's mother", said that she, her husband and her disabled daughter had no water. They were looking after the orphaned children of another daughter killed in the bombing, she said, and were reduced to putting pots and pans in the street to collect rainwater. In another building near al-Shaar district, which was taken by the army last week, a man was fixing the balcony of his house with his children. "No matter the circumstances, our home is better than displacement," he said. By finally dousing the last embers of resistance burning in Aleppo, Assad's military coalition of the army, Russian air power and Iran-backed militias will have delivered him his biggest battlefield victory of the war leaving the rebels without a significant presence in Syria's main cities.However, while the rebels, including groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist groups that the West does not support, have suffered a crushing defeat in Aleppo, the conflict is not over. Saying victory in Aleppo would change the course of the war, Assad himself has said that his military would then need to march on other rebel-held enclaves."The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement. (Reporting By Laila Bassam in Aleppo, Orhan Coskun in Ankara, Lisa Barrington, John Davison and Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Peter Millership)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Laila Bassam and Stephanie Nebehay

| ALEPPO, Syria/GENEVA

ALEPPO, Syria/GENEVA Rebel resistance in Syria's Aleppo ended on Tuesday after years of fighting and months of bitter siege and bombardment that culminated in a bloody collapse of their defences this week, as insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire. Rebel officials said fighting would end on Tuesday evening and insurgents and the civilians who have been trapped in the tiny pocket of territory they hold in Aleppo would leave the city for opposition-held areas of the countryside to the west. News of the deal, confirmed by Russia's U.N. envoy, came after the United Nations voiced deep concern about reports it had received of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people in recaptured east Aleppo districts. It accused them of "slaughter"."My latest information is that they indeed have an arrangement achieved on the ground that the fighters are going to leave the city," Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters. It could happen "within hours maybe", he said. A surrender or withdrawal of the rebels from Aleppo would mean the end of the rebellion in the city, Syria's largest until the outbreak of war after mass protests in 2011.By finally dousing the last embers of resistance burning in Aleppo, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military coalition of the army, Russian air power and Iran-backed militias will have delivered him his biggest battlefield victory of the war.

However, while the rebels, including groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist groups that the West does not support, will suffer a crushing defeat in Aleppo, the war will be far from over. "The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction  and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said in a statement."MELTDOWN OF HUMANITY"

The rout of rebels from their ever-shrinking territory in Aleppo has sparked a mass flight of civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity". "The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said U.N. spokesman Rupert Colville. "There could be many more."The Syrian army has denied carrying out killings or torture among those captured, and its main ally Russia said on Tuesday rebels had "kept over 100,000 people as human shields".

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the 15-member U.N. Security Council at 12 p.m. (1700 GMT) at the request of Britain and France. France said it had called for a meeting to focus on possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed.Colville said the rebel-held area was "a hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre, adding its capture was imminent.The Syrian army and its allies could declare victory at any moment, a Syrian military source had said, predicting the final fall of the rebel enclave on Tuesday or Wednesday, after insurgent defences collapsed on Monday. (Reporting By Laila Bassam in Aleppo, Orhan Coskun in Ankara, Lisa Barrington and Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; Editing by Pravin Char and Peter Millership)

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By Anthony Boadle

| BRASILIA

BRASILIA President Michel Temer, fighting for survival over corruption allegations against him and his government, is planning new measures to jump start Brazil's stalled economy, improve his dismal approval ratings and stifle calls for his resignation.The stimulus measures, to be unveiled this week, include steps to relieve indebted consumers and also force credit card companies to pay businesses faster than the current 30 days, government sources said on Monday.Temer is gambling the micro-economic measures will counter discontent over his failure to deliver on his promise to recover Latin America's largest economy from a two-year recession.Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles confirmed measures to revive the economy could be unveiled after a key public spending cap passes Congress. Dismissing tax breaks or fiscal stimulus resorted to by the previous government, he said the steps would raise productivity and make it easier to set up businesses.The Senate is expected to give final approval on Tuesday to the 20-year spending ceiling that is the centerpiece of the president's plan to restore fiscal discipline. But fallout from more corruption allegations in the sweeping probe into kickbacks at state-run oil company Petrobras could complicate passage of pension reforms needed to bring Brazil's budget deficit under control.

Six months after he took over from impeached leftist Dilma Rousseff, Temer's political survival is threatened by accusations that he, members of his Cabinet and his party's leaders received under-the-table payments from engineering conglomerate Odebrecht.Odebrecht, the company prosecutors say benefited the most from the Petrobras scam, agreed to a leniency deal with federal prosecutors that requires 77 of its executives and employees to turn state's witness and likely implicate over 200 politicians. In the first leaked testimony, one Odebrecht executive alleged that Temer requested 10 million reais ($3 million) for his PMDB party's 2014 election campaign.

Disapproval of Temer's government rose to 51 percent from 31 percent in July, according to a Datafolha poll published on Sunday. More worrying for Temer, 63 percent of those polled said they would like to see him resign and a new president chosen in direct elections and not by a Congress discredited by scandals.Under Brazil's constitution, if Temer were to resign after Dec. 31, Congress would elect his successor, an intolerable option, according to lawmaker Miro Teixeira of the leftist Rede party. "In this tense national environment, the people would not accept a president imposed by Congress," said Teixeira, who authored a legal amendment to allow a direct vote.

To shore up his scandal-buffeted government, Temer hopes to strengthen his Cabinet by giving the centrist PSDB party a larger role. Several PSDB senators were involved in shaping the stimulus package.The PSDB is Brazil's third-largest party and already holds three cabinet positions, and it could greatly help Temer get his unpopular austerity measures passed, including pension reforms that will mean Brazilians will need to work longer years before retiring.Left-wing parties obstructed debate of the pension proposal for hours in a committee hearing on Monday. (Editing by Alan Crosby)

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Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump has picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State, media reports said on Tuesday amid speculation that the oil executive's close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin could complicate his confirmation prospects.

"I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning," Trump tweeted.

However, soon after that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who was one of the leading contenders for the post, said he would not be the Secretary of State.

"It was an honour to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. My discussions with President- elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace," Romney said.

Hours later, The Wall Street Journal, citing a transition official, reported that Trump has selected Tillerson to be his top diplomat.

Tillerson is a veteran chief executive who has had extensive overseas business dealings but his relationships with foreign leaders could complicate his confirmation prospects, the daily said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Tillerson would replace John Kerry as the Secretary of State. Over the weekend, Trump had praised Tillerson.

"He's more than a business executive; he's a world-class player. He's in charge of I guess the largest company in the world," Trump had said.

"To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company  not for himself, for the company," Trump said.

Gauging by the opposition to his name so far by the Democratic Senators, the Senate confirmation of Tillerson is unlikely to be a smooth sailing.

"The nomination of ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, which was confirmed by a person involved with the transition, likely faces a tough fight in the Senate, where some Republicans have said they are worried about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin," The Washington Post reported.

In addition to Romney, other names in consideration for the position were the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and the former CIA Director Gen (rtd) David Petraeus.

One of Trump's closest friend Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, had withdrawn his name from being considered for any position in the Trump Administration.

He was also being widely speculated in the race for Secretary of State.

Several US Senators have already come out in open against the nomination of Tillerson.

"Nominating Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State would be handing over the keys to US foreign policy to Big Oil. Donald Trump would be sending a strong signal to OPEC and the entire global fossil fuel industry that oil will be America's primary foreign policy priority. We cannot allow oil to replace diplomacy as the currency of the State Department," Senator Edward Markey said in a statement.

"This nomination is clear confirmation that a Trump administration will doggedly pursue an 'oil above all' energy agenda, at the expense of clean energy and climate solutions," he said.

Senator Chris Coons said, "I am deeply concerned that Tillerson's long and close ties to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin could unduly influence his decision-making at a time when we need to be direct and tough with Russia, given recent credible reports of Russian efforts to interfere in our democracy, and events in Syria and Ukraine."

"The role of Secretary of State should not be bestowed upon someone whose only notable experience with foreign governments involve multi-million dollar deals with Russia and whose experience with the federal government seems to be limited to campaigns against the effects of climate change," demanded Senator Robert Menendez.

However, Indian-American attorney from New York Ravi Batra said that Tillerson, after confirmation, may end up being a worthy successor to Secretary of State George Marshall.

"For the world after 2008, and globalisation, both its benefits and it's ills, is in dire need of real sustained recovery that every hard-working American can enjoy while every other person across the world enjoys improved human rights," he said.

"Rex Tillerson's innate ability to remain sharply focused on the prize, aided by mastery of the nuance and a warm comfortable demeanor will represent Trump's resurgent and confident America to everyone on earth: friend and foe alike. Only a confident America can deliver enhanced global peace and security for all," Batra said.
Washington: President-elect Donald Trump has tapped ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, US media reported late on Monday, setting up what will likely be contentious confirmation hearings over the oilman's ties to Russia.

"I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning," Trump said Monday evening using his favored medium, Twitter.

News outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post and NBC News cited sources as saying the real estate mogul had settled on Tillerson after a drawn-out and public search for the nation's top diplomat.

There had been eight or nine contenders for the job, including former CIA director David Petraeus, former UN ambassador John Bolton and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker.

Also on that list was erstwhile Trump critic and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who indicated on Facebook he was out of the running shortly after Trump said he would soon make his choice official.

"It was an honor to have been considered for secretary of state of our great country," Romney wrote.

"My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace."

CNN reported that Trump had called Romney to tell him he had not been selected.

Sharp questions

Trump's secretary of state will be tasked with overseeing international relations for a political novice who seems intent on trashing protocol and upending relationships built on decades of delicate diplomacy.

If he is indeed nominated on Tuesday, Tillerson  who has no formal foreign policy background  is sure to face sharp questions in Senate confirmation hearings.

As ExxonMobil's president and CEO, the 64-year-old Texan oversees the company's business activities in more than 50 countries.

He has opposed sanctions on Russia and in 2013 was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin following several years of Exxon projects in the country.

Trump has praised Tillerson as "much more than a business executive."

"I mean, he's a world-class player," the president-elect told Fox News Sunday. "He knows many of the players and he knows them well.

"He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company, not for himself, for the company."

Ruffling feathers

With more than five weeks to go before he is sworn in, Trump is already ruffling feathers with his statements about two major world powers: Russia and China.

The president-elect has stoked alarm  even among fellow Republicans  by calling for closer ties with Moscow, in contrast to received wisdom in Washington that Russia remains a global security threat.

He has dismissed as "ridiculous" reports that US intelligence has concluded that Russia interfered in last month's presidential election to sway the vote in his favor.

And Sino-US relations are strained after a series of moves by Trump that provoked China, America's biggest single goods trading partner and the holder of almost a trillion dollars in US government debt.

The incoming president has suggested that Beijing may have to make concessions on trade if US policy toward China is to stay the same. He also directly challenged China over its currency and its takeover of disputed islets in the South China Sea.

That came after Trump raised eyebrows by taking a congratulatory call from the president of Taiwan, a self-ruling island that Beijing considers a rogue province awaiting unification.

It was a break from the "One China policy"  which recognizes Beijing as the sole representative of China  the cornerstone of the relationship between the countries since Richard Nixon went to China in 1972.

China's foreign ministry has warned that if the One China policy is "compromised or disrupted," cooperation in major fields would be "out of the question."
By Phil Stewart and Warren Strobel

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, U.S. officials told Reuters.The United States will also revamp future training of the kingdom's air force to focus on improving Saudi targeting practices, a persistent source of concern for Washington. The decision reflects deep frustration within President Barack Obama's government over Saudi Arabia's practices in Yemen's 20-month-old war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and sparked humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Middle East.It could also further strain ties between Washington and Riyadh in the remaining days of Obama's administration and put the question of Saudi-U.S. relations squarely before the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015 and has launched thousands of air strikes against the Iran-allied Houthi movement.Rights groups say attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes. Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas and has said it has tried to reduce civilian casualties.An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "systemic, endemic" problems in Saudi Arabia's targeting drove the U.S. decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions."We've decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs (precision-guided munitions)," the official said."That's obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties," the official said. A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry.The officials declined to offer details. But a specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon Co that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets. At the same time, the United States has decided to increase efforts to address long-standing Saudi concerns by focusing more on border security, the official said. The kingdom has been subject to cross-border attacks by the Iran-allied Houthis."Theyve made a very strong request for greater intelligence sharing and more support for their border," the official said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi embassy officials.The White House launched a review of U.S. assistance for the Saudi-led coalition after planes struck mourners at a funeral in the capital, Sanaa, in October, killing 140 people, according to one U.N. estimate.The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for roughly 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015.Human rights groups have criticized the United States for supporting the Saudi war effort by selling the kingdom arms and refueling coalition jets. The United States says it has not vetted or selected Saudi targets in Yemen.The Obama administration official said the United States would not halt refueling of the Saudi-led coalition planes."For now that's not going to be touched. Again, the review could continue and people could make a different decision in the coming weeks," the official said.

SMART VERSUS DUMB BOMBS

The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration. Officials have long argued that supplying so-called "smart weapons" helped in reducing civilian casualties.Last year, the Obama administration even had the U.S. military send precision-guided munitions from its own stocks to replenish dwindling Saudi-led coalition supplies, a source close to the Saudi government has said.But that argument ultimately failed to convince the Obama administration during its review, which the first official said was still ongoing. "It's not a matter of how smart or dumb the bombs are, it's that they're not picking the right targets. The case in point ... is the one on the funeral," the official said.

The airstrikes on the funeral took place after the Saudi-led coalition received incorrect information from Yemeni military figures that armed Houthi leaders were in the area, an investigative body set up by the coalition said in October.In an effort to reduce civilian casualties, the United States gave the Saudis detailed lists of sites to avoid bombing, Reuters has previously reported. But jets in the Saudi-led coalition have hit at least one target on that list. US STILL SELLING HELICOPTERS

Earlier this year, the U.S. military reduced the number of U.S. military personnel coordinating with the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign, slashing it to six people from a peak of 45 personnel. "Their responsibilities are being adjusted and limited so that they are less enmeshed in some of the offensive operations in Yemen," the official said.Reuters reported earlier this year on concerns by some U.S. officials that the United States could be implicated in possible Saudi violations of the laws of war.In the view of some officials, U.S. refueling and logistical support of Riyadh's air force - even more than the arms sales - risked making the United States a party to the Yemen conflict under international law.In May, Washington suspended sales to Riyadh of cluster munitions, which release dozens of bomblets and are considered particularly dangerous to civilians.Last week, the State Department announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51 billion. U.S. officials said the weaponry would help Saudi defend its border, not conduct offensive operations in Yemen. (Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Ross Colvin)

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By Doina Chiacu and Gina Cherelus

| WASHINGTON/NEW YORK

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, the front-runner to be named secretary of state in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, faces a struggle getting confirmed by U.S. senators concerned about his close ties to Russia.Trump said on Twitter on Monday he would name his pick as secretary of state on Tuesday morning, and Fox News, citing unnamed sources, said it would be Tillerson.Lawmakers from both major parties have raised questions about Tillerson and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 State Department official and has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran.Republicans and Democrats said Tillerson, who is also president of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), would be asked about his ties to Russia, having met President Vladimir Putin several times. He won fresh praise from Moscow on Monday.In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honour, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."Senator John McCain, a leading foreign policy voice and 2008 Republican candidate for president, told Reuters in an interview: I have concerns. Its very well known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin.Calling Putin "a KGB agent who is bent on restoring the Russian Empire, McCain said he would await confirmation hearings if Tillerson is nominated before making a judgment on the nomination. Another Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that would review a Tillerson nomination, has voiced similar worries.

Renewed allegations of Russian hackers meddling in the Nov. 8 election, coupled with Trump's stated admiration of Putin, have stoked concern. Washington is at odds with Moscow over a range of issues that include Syria, Ukraine and NATO's presence in Eastern Europe. Trump, a Republican, is due to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. During Trump's presidential campaign, Democrats and longtime government officials voiced alarm when Trump repeatedly praised Putin.BOLTON ALSO A CONCERN

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was optimistic Trump's nominees would be confirmed by the Senate, but he declined to comment on any future nominees such as Tillerson.McConnell called all of Trump's choices so far "pretty impressive."Senator Charles Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader, told CBS "This Morning" that "the bottom line is, every one of these nominees, particularly a guy like Tillerson, needs a thorough, thorough hearing.""Talks about his closeness with Putin will come forward," Schumer said.

Bolton has also generated bipartisan concern. On Sunday, Republican Senator Rand Paul said he would work to stop Bolton from being confirmed to any Trump administration post."His worldview is naive," Paul said on ABCs This Week. "He still believes in regime change. He's still a big cheerleader for the Iraq war. He's promoted a nuclear attack by Israel on Iran. He wants to do regime change in Iran."In 2005, then-President George W. Bush installed Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in a temporary "recess appointment" that sidestepped U.S. Senate confirmation. He took that step after Democrats used procedural rules in place at the time to block the nomination.Bolton left the job at the end of 2006 when the temporary appointment was ending.Senate rules have since changed, making it harder for a minority of senators to stop judicial and executive branch nominations. Republicans will hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate session that begins on Jan. 3. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Matt Spetalnick and Jonathan Landay in Washington and Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)

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By Antonio Parrinello

| CATANIA, Sicily

CATANIA, Sicily A Tunisian man accused of being the captain of a migrant boat that sank killing almost 700 people was found guilty of multiple manslaughter and people-smuggling on Tuesday and sentenced to 18 years in jail.Only 28 people survived the disaster in April last year, when the small fishing boat capsized off the coast of Libya, with hundreds trapped in the hold.Mohammed Ali Malek, 28, was one of those rescued and denied being the captain, saying he had paid for passage like everyone else, but a court in the city of Catania dismissed his defence.The court also sentenced 26-year-old Syrian Mahmud Bikhit to five years in prison on charges of people-smuggling. Survivors said Bikhit had been Malek's cabin boy. He had denied any wrongdoing. Both men were also handed fines of nine million euros ($9.5 million). Their lawyers said they would appeal the convictions."We think we have some strong arguments and we will try and work on some of the weaker points of our defence," said Massimo Ferrante, representing Malek.

Outrage over the incident prompted European Union leaders to bolster its own search-and-rescue mission in the Mediterranean days after the boat went down. In the past three years, roughly half a million boat migrants have arrived on Italian shores and almost 12,000 have died in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration. Prosecutors had told the court that Malek mishandled the grossly overloaded fishing boat, which left from Darabli, Libya, carrying men, women and children from Algeria, Somalia, Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, Mali, Bangladesh and Ghana.

They say he caused the vessel to collide with a Portuguese merchant ship that was coming to its aid. As passengers rushed away from the side of the boat which had struck the ship, it capsized and sank within minutes.State prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro said in a statement that the case showed Italy had the right to press smuggling charges over incidents in international waters.

The Italian justice system got involved this time because the survivors were brought to Italy. Italy's navy raised the boat in June and 675 bodies were recovered.Earlier this year another migrant boat sank in the Mediterranean killing around 500 people, with the survivors taken to Greece. A Reuters investigation found that no official body, national or multinational, has held anyone to account for the deaths or even opened an inquiry.($1 = 0.9426 euros) (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Philip Pullella and Andrew Roche)

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LAGOS Nigeria has arrested two Chinese and two locals for running a fake visa office in the commercial capital Lagos, police said on Monday."They issued fake visas to Trinidad and Tobago to people for huge sums of money," a police spokeswoman, Dolapo Badmus, said, adding that the arrested had operated out of a Lagos hotel.The arrest came after Ghana busted a fake U.S. embassy in the capital Accra run by a criminal network that for a decade issued illegally obtained authentic visas.

Until it was shut down this summer, the sham embassy was housed in a run-down, pink two-storey building with a corrugated iron roof and flew a U.S. flag outside.

(Reporting by Anamesere Igboeroteonwu; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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By Dustin Volz and Patricia Zengerle

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON The top Senate Republican broke with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday over whether Russian hacking during the U.S. election merited closer scrutiny, a fissure between Trump and his party that appeared to grow as lawmakers pressed for a special investigation into the matter.The divide raised the possibility of enduring clashes between Trump and Republicans during his presidency over how to handle Russian President Vladimir Putin, a leader long viewed by many in the party as a calculating, untrustworthy foe but whom Trump has repeatedly praised for his leadership."The Russians are not our friends," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a news conference.Calls on Sunday by two leading Republican foreign policy voices, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, to investigate Russia's hacking were buoyed on Monday by McConnell, who said Russia's involvement needed further investigation."Any foreign breach of our cyber security measures is disturbing and I strongly condemn any such efforts," McConnell said. "This simply cannot be a partisan issue."McConnell said it "defies belief" that Republicans would be reluctant to investigate to Russian actions.McConnell's remarks contrasted with those of Trump and his staff, who scoffed at reports that the CIA had concluded the hacks and leaks of Democratic emails were carried out with the goal of helping Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump said the conclusion was "ridiculous."Some lawmakers have called for a special committee to investigate the hacking but McConnell did not back that idea, saying he has confidence in the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees. Cory Gardner, a Republican, said the Russian hacking reflected the need for a permanent committee dedicated to cyber security.

It was not clear how the House of Representatives would respond to the hacking and calls for investigations. House committees have not announced plans for hearings and Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a statement criticizing Russia but blasting what he termed "exploiting the work of our intelligence committee for partisan purposes."ELECTORS WANT BRIEFING ON HACK

Separately on Monday, nine Democratic and one Republican electors led by the daughter of the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, wrote to James Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, requesting a briefing on the hacking reports before the Electoral College formally decides the election on Dec. 19.

John Podesta, chairman of Clinton's presidential campaign, said in a statement the campaign supported the electors' letter, which raises "very grave issues involving our national security."Clapper's office did not respond to a request for comment about the letter. Charles Schumer, who will be the Senate Democratic leader next year, said he welcomed McConnell's support for "a deep and thorough bipartisan investigation" with access to all relevant intelligence.Trump and his staff have repeatedly dismissed the reports as "ridiculous," blaming them on Democrats unhappy that Trump won.[L1N1E60BH]

"Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card," Trump said on Twitter on Monday. "It would be called conspiracy theory!"A second tweet said, "Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?"White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Monday pointed to a public statement from the intelligence community in early October that concluded the hacking had been authorized by "Russia's senior-most officials" and wanted to sow discord in the U.S. election. That statement stopped short of alleging that Russia wanted to help Trump. But Earnest suggested on Monday that may have been the intent."You didn't need a security clearance to figure out who benefited from malicious Russian cyber activity," Earnest said. "The president-elect didn't call it into question. He called on Russia to hack his opponent. He called on Russia to hack Secretary Clinton." (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Trott)

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By Steve Holland

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump announced Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday, despite concerns from lawmakers in both political parties over the oilman's ties to Russia.Tillerson's experience in diplomacy stems from making deals with foreign countries for Exxon, the world's largest energy company, and Trump praised him as a successful international dealmaker who leads a global operation."He will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened America's security and standing in the world," Trump said in a statement.Tillerson has been chief executive of Exxon Mobil since 2006 and, like Trump, has never held public office. Tillerson said in a statement that he shared the president-elect's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security."Some lawmakers raised concerns about Tillerson's relationship with Moscow. His appointment requires Senate confirmation. Senator John McCain, a leading Republican foreign policy voice and his party's 2008 nominee for president, told Reuters: "I have concerns. It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin."Trump was poised to add another figure with close ties to the oil industry to his Cabinet.A source close to the transition said Trump had chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry, whose state is a leading oil producer, as his nominee for energy secretary, with an announcement expected soon. Perry met Trump on Monday at Trump Tower in New York.Trump picked Tillerson, 64, after the Texan was backed by several Republican establishment figures, including former Secretary of State James Baker, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a senior transition official said.Rice and Gates, who have worked for Exxon as consultants, both issued statements of support on Tuesday.Their backing is seen as crucial to helping Tillerson get past a possibly contentious Senate confirmation battle likely to focus on his relationship with Putin.Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said he would hold a confirmation hearing in early January. He called Tillerson "a very impressive individual" with "an extraordinary working knowledge of the world."

Exxon Mobil's board will meet soon regarding its transition, CNBC reported citing a company statement.RUSSIAN TIES

In 2013, Putin bestowed on Tillerson a Russian state honor, the Order of Friendship, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."There also has been controversy over alleged Russian interference in the Nov. 8 presidential election, with the CIA concluding Moscow had intervened to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.Tillerson's "cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department," Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement he also had serious concerns.

"The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of America's interests, and will be a forceful advocate for America's foreign policy goals to the president, within the administration, and on the world stage," Rubio said.Trump is confident that Tillerson can get past questions about his ties to Russia, the transition official said."His relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none," Trump's statement said.There also are concerns among lawmakers about former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 State Department official and who has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran, as well as on China and Taiwan.Republicans and Democrats said they would ask Tillerson, who has met Putin several times, about his contacts with Russia. He won fresh support from Moscow on Tuesday, with a Kremlin foreign policy aide saying Tillerson has good relations not only with Putin but with many other Russian officials as well.The U.S. business community welcomed Trump's choice of Tillerson, with GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt calling him "a great negotiator."

"We are pleased that Rex will bring a business perspective to the State Department," the National Association of Manufacturers added.Human rights, environmental and other advocacy groups decried the choice, questioning Exxon deals with various governments and environmental impact under Tillerson."This sets a very alarming path for the new administration," Global Witness said in a statement.BUSINESS INTERESTS

While busily filling out his Cabinet, Trump is seeking to answer questions about how he will separate himself from his far-flung business empire before taking office on Jan. 20. He had planned a news conference on Thursday to lay out the details but delayed it until Tuesday due to what aides said was the crush of picking people to serve in his administration.In a series of late-night tweets on Monday, Trump said he would be leaving his business before his Jan. 20 inauguration so he can focus full-time on the presidency and that he would leave his two sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, to manage it.He did not mention his daughter Ivanka, who has been a central player in his business affairs, as well as his campaign, and who is said to be considering a move to Washington to help her father."No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office," Trump said, adding that he would hold a news conference "in the near future." (Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart; Editing by Bill Trott and Will Dunham)

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London: Two men, who were found guilty of giving 3,000 pounds to a key suspect in the Paris and Brussels terror attacks during a meeting in a Birmingham park, have been jailed by a UK court.

Mohammed Ali Ahmed, from Birmingham, who had pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism last month was sentenced to eight years on Monday.

Co-defendant Zakaria Boufassil, also from Birmingham, was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court of the same charge at the end of a trial last week and was sentenced to three years.

They handed over the cash to Mohamed Abrini  who became known as the "man in the hat" after his face was caught on CCTV footage following the deadly attack on Brussels airport in March.

"I am sure that you are an individual who has for some time, and continues to hold extreme Islamist beliefs, and that you are committed to the cause of Islamic State," Justice Jeremy Baker told Ahmed.

He said that Boufassil's motivations had been less clear.

"There is no evidence, beyond your participation in the offence, that you hold extreme Islamist beliefs and have an ongoing commitment to the cause of Islamic State," he said.

Justice Baker also imposed an additional one year licence or restrictions on both men, which will apply on their eventual release from prison.

"We know that Abrini visited several locations during his visit to the UK, but that his sole purpose of being here was to collect the money and our case  whilst not focused on attack planning  acts as reminder of why our work to prepare for and prevent such incidents in the UK is important," said Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, Counter Terrorism Lead for West Midlands Police.

"We are working hard with partner agencies and community groups around the West Midlands to alert the public to the dangers of radicalisation and explain what help is available to those vulnerable to negative influences," he said.

The money had been withdrawn from the bank account of one Anouar Haddouchi, a Belgian national who had been claiming UK state-funded welfare benefits while living in the West Midlands with his wife.

Haddouchi is believed to have fled to Syria since.

The court heard that hours after collecting the money from Boufassil and Ahmed, Abrini visited the Grosvenor Casino in Birmingham where he took a photograph of a gambling machine on his mobile phone.

In March this year, Abrini was captured on CCTV alongside Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui, who detonated bombs hidden in suitcases killing 12 people at Brussels airport.

Another 20 people died in an attack on Maalbeek metro station less than two hours later.

Jurors were also told he is also wanted by the French authorities in connection with the attacks in Paris last November.

Boufassil had denied one charge of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.

Abrini remains in custody in Brussels.
By Patricia Zengerle

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama's administration has decided to include a massive report on the CIA's use of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" in his presidential papers, meaning it may eventually be declassified.The White House wrote to Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Dec. 9 informing them of its decision.Feinstein, who released the letter on Monday, said Obama had refused to declassify the report at this time but she was pleased it would go into his archive, meaning it would one day be available for declassification."The report represents six years of hard work by dedicated staff, and I firmly believe its 6,700 pages and 38,000 footnotes will stand the test of time. I also strongly believe that this must be a lesson learned  that torture doesnt work," Feinstein said in a statement.

A White House spokesman confirmed the decision. Burr's office had no immediate comment.Feinstein and other congressional Democrats had urged Obama to declassify and release the report before Republican President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.Feinstein chaired the intelligence panel as it researched and wrote the report on the interrogation techniques used in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, and she spearheaded the effort to expose the CIA's actions.

The committee, then led by Democrats, released a 525-page executive summary of its findings in December 2014. But the full report has been deemed by Obama and others as too sensitive to release.Trump promised during his campaign that he would not only revive waterboarding, but bring back "a hell of a lot worse" if elected. However, he said more recently that retired Marine Corps General James Mattis, his nominee for secretary of defence, had persuasively argued against it.

Obama ended the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" via executive order just after he took office in January 2009. Led by Republican Senator John McCain and Feinstein, Congress has since passed legislation outlawing their use. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Tom Brown)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Doina Chiacu and Gina Cherelus

| WASHINGTON/NEW YORK

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK The front-runner for secretary of state in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, faces a struggle getting confirmed by U.S. senators concerned about his close ties to Russia.Lawmakers from both major parties also raised questions on Monday about former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 State Department official and has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran.Republicans and Democrats said Tillerson, who is also president of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), would be asked about his ties to Russia, having met President Vladimir Putin several times and won fresh praise from Moscow on Monday.In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honour, the Order of Friendship, upon Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."In television interviews, Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said Tillerson is a "leading candidate" for the top diplomat job and a decision may come this week.Senator John McCain, a leading foreign policy voice and 2008 Republican candidate for president, told Reuters in an interview: I have concerns. Its very well known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin.Calling Putin "a KGB agent who is bent on restoring the Russian Empire, McCain said he would await confirmation hearings if Tillerson is nominated before making a judgment on the nomination.

Another Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that would review a Tillerson nomination, has voiced similar worries.Renewed allegations of Russian hackers meddling in the Nov. 8 election, coupled with Trump's stated admiration of Putin, have stoked concern. Washington is at odds with Moscow over a range of issues that include Syria, Ukraine and NATO's presence in eastern Europe. Trump is due to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. During Trump's presidential campaign, Democrats and longtime government officials voiced alarm when Trump repeatedly praised Putin.BOLTON ALSO A CONCERN

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was optimistic Trump's nominees would be confirmed by the Senate, but he declined to comment on any future nominees such as Tillerson.McConnell called all of Trump's choices so far "pretty impressive."Senator Charles Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader, told CBS "This Morning" that "The bottom line is, every one of these nominees, particularly a guy like Tillerson, needs a thorough, thorough hearing.""Talks about his closeness with Putin will come forward," Schumer said.

Bolton also has drawn bipartisan concern. On Sunday, Republican Senator Rand Paul said he would work to stop Bolton from being confirmed to any Trump administration post."His worldview is naive," Paul said on ABCs This Week. "He still believes in regime change. He's still a big cheerleader for the Iraq war. He's promoted a nuclear attack by Israel on Iran. He wants to do regime change in Iran."In 2005, then-President George W. Bush installed Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in a temporary "recess appointment" that sidestepped U.S. Senate confirmation. He took that step after Democrats used procedural rules in place at the time to block the nomination.Bolton left the job at the end of 2006 when the temporary appointment was ending.Since then, Senate rules have changed, making it harder for a minority of senators to stop judicial and executive branch nominations. Republicans will hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate session that begins on Jan. 3. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Matt Spetalnick and Jonathan Landay in Washington and Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Howard Goller and Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
If sources are to be believed, Apple would be investing a lot of money into a tech fund being setup by the Japanese technology firm SoftBank to explore emerging technologies.

It is reported that Apple may invest around 1 Billion US$ into the tech fund which itself is estimated to raise around 100 Billion US$.

SoftBank themselves are investing around 25 Billion US$ while an investment from Saudi Arabia could contribute as much as 45 Billion US$ towards the funding foal.

SoftBank said that it plans to make future large scale investments using the tech fund rather than shelling out money of its own especially since it has a debt of around 13.7 trillion yen (US$ 119 Billion).

Japanese smartphones are often ground breaking in terms of the technology that it packs inside and most of them are often confined to the country itself considering that they cant really work to their full potential anywhere else. However, quite a bit of the tech that they use has made its way to global smartphones in the past.

Apple is possibly seeing this as a potential to get insights into emerging technologies which could in turn help it build more unique products of its own. While such a move is quite plausible, neither Apple nor SoftBank spokespersons were available to comment on the matter.

Source
You don't have to be a stock market maven to understand that Valeant Pharmaceuticals (BHC -5.36%) has had a brutal year. The embattled drugmaker is down more than 80% year to date, and it's off more than 94% since hitting its all-time highs during the summer of 2015.

Valeant has a laundry list of serious problems

Valeant's troubles continue to boil primarily around its crushingly high debt levels, its legal woes, and its struggling flagship operating segment, dermatology.

Valeant ended the third quarter with $30.4 billion in debt, a slight decrease from the sequential second quarter, but certainly not enough for Wall Street and investors to cheer. Valeant's new CEO, Joseph Papa, has made it clear that Valeant needs to sell some of its assets to reduce the crippling pressure that its debt is placing on the company.

The problem is that Valeant is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If Valeant chooses to sell its non-core assets, which compose about 20% of its annual revenue, it may not generate enough capital to make a big enough dent in its debt load. We've already seen assets it attempted to sell sitting on the market longer than anticipated (ahem, iNova Pharmaceuticals), which is probably because its peers understand its troubles and thus don't want to pay a premium for its assets.

On the flip side, if Valeant sells core assets like Salix Pharmaceuticals or Bausch & Lomb, which is something Papa hasn't ruled out for the right price, it could give up a big pathway to future growth. Aside from Salix, a number of Valeant's therapies are older and reliant on price increases to drive growth. With lawmakers on Capitol Hill closely monitoring Valeant's pricing practices following the Nitropress/Isuprel price-hike "mistakes," relying on price increases to drive growth going forward probably won't cut it for Valeant.

The cloud of uncertainty overhanging Valeant because of its ongoing legal woes is another reason Wall Street has headed for the exit. In recent weeks we've learned that federal prosecutors have charged former Valeant exec Gary Tanner and former Philidor Rx Services CEO Andrew Davenport with accounting fraud. Allegedly, Tanner was funneling an inordinately large amount of business to Philidor, an entity owned by Valeant, lining Davenport's pockets in the process. In return, Tanner received some hefty kickbacks. Drug distributors are supposed to act as neutral parties, or at least disclose their relationship with a drug developer. It appears that may not have happened with Philidor. It's possible the criminal charges end there, but there's also a genuine possibility that Valeant could be fined or face sales restrictions for its seemingly anti-competitive actions.

In terms of its ongoing business, Valeant has clearly faced issues with its existing product portfolio. Dermatology sales have been halved in recent quarters, and the company's new drug distribution deal with Walgreens Boots Alliance hasn't panned so far.

Now it's dealing with an internal exodus

These factors are more than enough reason to send Wall Street and investors scurrying. Apparently, they're also enough to send Valeant executives packing, too.

According to a press release from Valeant on Monday, Dec. 12, three high-level executives are leaving the company, including former chief financial officer Rob Rosiello, who has been transitioning the CFO role to Paul Herendeen; Ari Kellen, an executive VP and company group chairman responsible for assisting the company's pipeline; and Anne Whitaker, also an executive VP and company group chairman responsible for supporting the dermatology business.

In one sense, change could be good for Valeant. After its share price has lost more than 90% of its value since the summer of 2015, any change in direction would probably be considered a good one at this point. Both the company's previous CEO, J. Michael Pearson, and former CFO, Howard Schiller, have also left their positions.

On the other hand, this exodus could also imply that Valeant is in worse shape than Wall Street realizes. We obviously don't know the reason for many of these departures. It could be that these executives are being squeezed out by the poor performance of Valeant's share price -- or it may be that they don't see a long-term future with the company based on its current trajectory. Most importantly, it could be worrisome to see Valeant losing talent in key growth areas, such as dermatology and its pipeline.

Regardless of the reason, seeing three major executive departures announced on the same day isn't very reassuring to investors, and it provides yet another reason to keep your distance from the company. Until we see a clear reversal of fortune in Valeant's underlying core businesses, witness a decisive reduction in its debt and an improvement in its financial flexibility, and have a better understanding of how its legal issues could affect its business and balance sheet, Valeant doesn't have enough redeeming qualities to make it a worthy investment -- no matter how low its P/E gets.
What happened

Shares of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (HTZG.Q) were up 10% as of 2:00 p.m. EST Tuesday following reports the rental car specialist may be a takeover target.



So what

More specifically, Hertz is spiking amid renewed rumors that activist investor Carl Icahn is in talks with other potential bidders in an effort to acquire the ailing company.

Now what

That wouldn't be entirely surprising considering Icahn bought 15 million shares of Hertz last month, after the stock crashed as much as 52% following its painful quarterly earnings report and reduced full-year guidance. In doing so, Icahn more than doubled his stake, and increased his share of the company to more than a third.

However, this hardly guarantees a deal will be made. In the meantime, I think investors would be wise to focus on Hertz's actual business when formulating an investment thesis.
In the waters off Malaysia, Royal Dutch Shell is finding gas quickly and cheaply to replenish depleting fields where only a few years ago geologists had lost hope of discovering any new reserves.

The Anglo-Dutch group is combining the latest technology with the wisdom of industry veterans to unlock new oil and gas deposits where it already operates, usually within 20 km (12 miles) of existing platforms.

The result has been a string of finds which, while modest in size, can generate cash rapidly to suit an era of drastically reduced exploration budgets across the energy industry.

After a costly flop in Alaska, Shell has turned away from giant "frontier" projects, focusing instead on exploring closer to home, such as in Malaysia where it has been producing oil for more than a century. Many of its rivals are following suit.

"With new data, new seismic and new brain power you can find extraordinary amount of hydrocarbons for the future," Ceri Powell, Shell's head of exploration, told Reuters.

Analysts say the industry will still need large discoveries in areas where the risk of failure is greater, but the cheaper and easier approach is paying dividends in the short term.

State-of-the-art technology such as 3-dimensional seismic imaging enabled Shell to unlock new prospects that quickly led to a string of discoveries, transforming the region off the Malaysian state of Sarawak into one of its most prolific basins.

Breaking with decades of traditional drilling techniques which used rudimentary technology, Shell combined the use of sonar waves with satellite images and super computers to pinpoint oil and gas deposits beneath layers of salt in rock.

This has proved so effective that Shell moved from holding only one exploration license in shallow waters off Malaysia in 2013 to nine now, searching at greater depths and further offshore than ever.

Today, it is exploring 27,000 square km (10,500 square miles) off Sarawak for oil and gas. It has made 16 discoveries in the last 28 months that unlocked one billion barrels of oil equivalent. Shell and other oil companies, including state-run Petronas , now plan to map geologically the entire Malaysian coast.

Shell, like many of its peers including BP and Exxon Mobil , have been forced into such strategies as the chances of finding new and huge reservoirs in hitherto unexplored frontier areas has diminished.

Per Magnus Nysveen, head of analysis at Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy, said the average distance of exploration wells to the closest fields fell from 113 km (70 miles) in 2015 to just 29 km in 2016 and is set to drop further next year.

Hugely expensive and risky frontier projects are often falling from favor due to the sharp decline in global oil prices since mid-2014 - which has made energy firms slash their exploration budgets - and the new supplies from cheaper sources ranging from U.S. shale deposits to the Malaysian discoveries.

Last year, Shell angered investors when it wrote down $7 billion after failing to find any oil or gas in the pristine Chukchi sea off Alaska's northwest coast. This followed years of complex work and a rig accident that drew heavy criticism from environmental activists.

The rate of successful exploration has dropped sharply in the last decade, with the proportion of projects finding any oil or gas down from around 40 percent to about 30 percent, according Andrew Latham, vice president of exploration at consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Fewer than half of the finds go into commercial production.

Across the industry, exploration budgets have sunk to $40 billion in 2016 from $95 billion two years earlier. Shell's spending dropped to less than $2 billion from around $5 billion.

"In the last two years, intense focus on new seismic and relooking at the basins that we have in our portfolio already is really paying dividends," said Powell, a geologist who joined Shell in 1990 and became head of exploration three years ago.

She is now applying the techniques used in Malaysia to other hubs such as Brunei and Egypt, where seismic imaging, advanced rigs and super computers are giving them a new lease of life.

Falling costs in some areas are also helping to stretch the tight exploration budgets. The cost of hiring vessels for seismic surveys has dropped around 60 percent from late 2013 to around $140,000 per day, according to Shell, which is using this to expand and accelerate its seismic plans into 2017 and 2018.

DOGMAS

It's not only technology that has helped to turn around the fortunes of the exploration business. Several times a year Powell brings industry veterans, some of them retired, together with the new generation of geologists.

The idea is to combine the experience and instincts of the old-school explorers with the younger generation's technological know-how to come up with ideas on where to find new reserves and how to unlock them.

"You put them all in one room and they look at the dogmas. They think about the wells they would have drilled in 1972 but didn't and why, and it has been astonishing." In Oman, where Shell has been exploring for 60 years, this exercise helped to identify six new geological prospects in a week, she said.

These brainstorming sessions have only one rule: to concentrate minds, no computers are allowed.

But while drilling closer to home is attractive in the short term, it comes at the expense of huge discoveries such as Exxon's Liza field in Guyana and Eni's Zohr in Egypt. These are crucial for replacing a natural decline of oil and gas reserves that in some reservoirs can reach 10 percent a year.

"Lead times are shorter and the value per oil equivalent is higher, but the cons are that discoveries are smaller. In general we would expect the largest discoveries to be coming from new plays and new frontiers, as has happened in recent years," said Latham.

Wood Mackenzie expects global exploration activity to accelerate in 2017 as oil prices recover.

RAPID CASH

While the Alaskan project failed, Shell added huge resources in Brazil, Australia, Egypt and southeast Asia to its reserves by buying BG Group in February for $54 billion.

This means it can now allocate around 80 percent of its exploration budget to areas up to only 20 km from existing platforms. In some cases, such as in Brunei, an exploration well can be completed and linked to production within days.

"Those will not necessarily be giant discoveries but (will be) very efficient and very rapid to get to production, and therefore to cash," Powell said. In the past six years exploration has added 6.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent to Shell's reserves, which reached 11.75 billion at the end of 2015, while the time from exploration to production has come down significantly, she added.

Other oil majors have adopted similar strategies. BP has begun drilling hundreds of meters below a reservoir produced by the Ravenspurn ST2 platform in the southern North Sea, searching for a new gas resource that could transform a basin first exploited 50 years ago and extend the life of infrastructure.

For Shell, the success of the new strategy and the Alaskan failure mean it will not return to frontier areas in the near future, but Powell still sees opportunities for big discoveries in the likes of west Africa, Namibia, South Africa, Uruguay, eastern Canada.

For a graphic of oil and gas exploration spending click http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/SHELL-EXPLORATION/010030ZJ24W/SHELL-EXPLORATION.jpg

(editing by David Stamp)
Image source: IBM.

Shares of International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) have surged so far this year, up about 20% year to date. This rally was preceded by a multiyear decline; the stock is down about 15% over the past five years. IBM has been engaged in a prolonged effort to transform itself into a company that can thrive in the cloud. The result has been years of revenue and earnings declines that have knocked down the stock.

The good news for IBM investors is that there have been clear signs of progress. Revenue is still in decline as legacy business shrink, but IBM's growth businesses, which now account for around 40% of revenue, continue to grow at an impressive pace. Looking forward to 2017, here are three reasons IBM stock could continue to rise.

IBM data by YCharts.

A possible return to growth

IBM expects to produce adjusted EPS of at least $13.50 this year. That's down from $14.92 in 2015 $16.53 in 2014. This year will also mark the company's fifth consecutive annual revenue decline. Divestitures and currency fluctuations have contributed to IBM's shrinking top line, so the situation isn't quite as bad as it seems. But a half-decade of slumping sales is never good news.

IBM has been focused on growing its strategic imperatives, which include cloud, analytics, mobile, social, and security. These businesses generated $8 billion of revenue during the third quarter, growing by 15% year over year. Cloud revenue was up 42% to $3.4 billion, and the annual run rate of IBM's cloud-as-a-service businesses reached $7.5 billion, up 65%.

This growth is being balanced by declines in legacy businesses, but an inflection point could be on the horizon. IBM will report its fourth-quarter results in January, along with guidance for 2017. An outlook that includes higher earnings next year could light a fire under the stock. Even flat earnings guidance would show that IBM is stabilizing, and that the worst is over. The moment IBM returns to growth, the stock could soar.

Watson

Watson, IBM's cognitive computing system, is the face of the company's transformation. The system was used to win Jeopardy! in 2011, and has since been unleashed into a variety of industries. IBM is making a big push in the healthcare industry, where Watson is being used as part of various partnerships to improve diagnoses and patient outcomes. The company shelled out $2.6 billion earlier this year for Truven Health Analytics as part of this effort.

IBM CEO Virginia Rometty saw Watson becoming a $10 billion business within a decade back in 2013. Unfortunately, the company doesn't break out Watson revenue directly. A recent reorganization of its reporting segments provided no insight, with the cognitive solutions segment including legacy software that muddles the numbers.

At some point, IBM is going to need to show that Watson is capable of producing a significant amount of revenue. The big question: will IBM have an "AWS moment," where the business turns out to be far more successful than nearly anyone expected? Or will Watson's results fail to live up to the expectations? A reveal of Watson's financials could send the stock higher if investors like what they see.

A big dividend increase

IBM has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years, and it has paid a quarterly dividend without fail since 1916. A dividend increase is very likely coming next year, with an announcement in late April or early May.

I wouldn't expect anything more than a mid-to-high single-digit percentage increase. But IBM could go bigger, especially if its earnings guidance for next year beats expectations. The company reduced how much it spends on share buybacks in 2015 and 2016, and it may slow down its pace of acquisitions after going on a buying spree over the past year. This could free up more cash for a larger dividend hike.

A big dividend increase would likely require a return to earnings growth, but it would give investors more confidence that IBM is committed to growing its dividend. Coupled with solid guidance, a larger-than-expected dividend hike next year could keep the party going for IBM stock.

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After eight years as first lady, what Michelle Obama does next will be one of the most talked-about questions when the Obamas leave the White House.

She'll have a variety of options after being a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk-show guest, a Democratic power player and a fashion maven.

Just as the first lady's role is undefined, with each woman molding it to her personality, interests and comfort level, there is no script for what comes after the first lady finishes the job.

The widowed Jacqueline Kennedy remarried and became a New York book editor. Laura Bush continues her advocacy for literacy and women in Afghanistan. Hillary Clinton launched her political career with her bid for the U.S. Senate, even before her family left the White House.

Here's a look at what Mrs. Obama is likely to do, or not do, when at 53 years old she returns to "private" life on Jan. 20.

LIKELY TO DO:

R&R

President Barack Obama says he's taking his wife on a "really nice vacation, because she deserves it. She's been putting up with me for quite some time." (Twenty-four years of marriage, to be exact.)

WRITE A MEMOIR

Practically all first ladies do. Book publishers would offer millions for the rights to Mrs. Obama's insider account as the first black woman in the role and as someone who has said little publicly about her private life in the White House. Clinton got an $8 million advance for her 2003 memoir, "Living History."

SET UP HER FAMILY'S NEW HOME

Breaking from post-presidential tradition, the Obamas plan to stay in Washington so their 15-year-old daughter, Sasha, can finish high school. Presidents usually leave Washington when they leave office, but the Obamas are renting a home in the wealthy Kalorama neighborhood, near what will be the official residence of Vice President-elect Mike Pence. The Obamas also still own a home in Chicago.

STICK WITH HER INITIATIVES

Mrs. Obama has said she'll stay engaged in public service and will keep working on the issues she focused on during her tenure. They included childhood obesity and education for girls around the world.

"I've always felt very alive using my gifts and talents to help other people. I sleep better at night. I'm happier," she told Vogue for an interview in the fashion magazine's December issue. "So we'll look back at the issues that I've been working on. The question is: How do I engage in those issues from a new platform? I can't say right now, because we can't spend that much time really doing the hard work of vetting offers or ideas or options because we're still closing things out here."

COULD DO:

JOIN SPEAKER'S CIRCUIT

Mrs. Obama put her oratory on display with a well-received speech on opening night of the Democratic National Convention. She followed with a series of campaign speeches criticizing Republican Donald Trump, now the president-elect, as unsuitable for the nation's highest office. Her friend, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, said the first lady will be "one of the most in-demand speakers" as a result of her convention performance. "That speaking fee just quadrupled," Winfrey said during an interview with The Associated Press.

Clinton earned millions of dollars giving paid speeches after she stepped down as secretary of state in 2013. Laura Bush also keeps a robust public speaking schedule.

HOST A TELEVISION TALK SHOW

Mrs. Obama has demonstrated a knack for talk-show banter, and an ease in front of TV cameras. She co-hosted "The View" before the 2008 election and recently co-hosted Ellen DeGeneres' hourlong gabfest. Roy Ashton, head of television at the Gersh Agency in Los Angeles, says Mrs. Obama would be a "no-brainer" to have a show of her own.

"She could pick up where Oprah left off, or something else," Ashton said. "I think Michelle Obama has a ton to say."

SERVE ON CORPORATE BOARDS

She has some experience with corporate America, but she'll want to choose carefully. Mrs. Obama resigned from the board of a food supplier for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2007, shortly after her husband announced his presidential bid. He had been a critic of the retail giant. Mrs. Obama cited the increased demands of the campaign for leaving the board of Illinois-based TreeHouse Foods Inc.

"It will be fun to see what she actually does," said Kimberly Archer, head of the Washington office of Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search and assessment firm. "Wherever she does decide to focus, I would say, 'Lucky them.'"

LIKELY WON'T DO:

RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

Both Obamas repeatedly have said she will not run for president  despite pressure from Democrats wowed by her campaign speeches against Trump.

Obama has said she doesn't have "the patience or the inclination" to be a candidate and is "too sensible to want to be in politics." Mrs. Obama said: "No, no. Not going to do it," when asked earlier this year about following in her husband's footsteps.

RESUME PRACTICING LAW

Mrs. Obama, a Harvard law school graduate, practiced at a Chicago firm but abandoned a legal career after the deaths of her father and a close friend. She entered public service, working for the city of Chicago and running an AmeriCorps service program before she joined the University of Chicago Medical Center as a vice president for community and external affairs. It was the last paid position she held before become first lady.

Dr. Kurt Newman, president and CEO of Children's National Health System in Washington, noted the first lady's past hospital experience during her annual Christmastime appearance at the facility and said he looked forward to having her back.

"I can always put her to work," Newman said.

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap
Media mogul Sumner Redstone's National Amusements is abandoning a proposal that CBS and Viacom reunite after a 10 year split.

National Amusements, which owns most of the voting shares of the two companies, urged the companies to combine in September.

Now, the company says that following management changes at Viacom and strength at CBS, which operates CBS, Showtime and other entities, under Les Moonves it makes more sense for the companies to continue as separate entities. Viacom, which owns cable channels MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1, named Robert Bakish as acting president in late October.

National Amusements is a movie theater operator run by Redstone, who orchestrated the split of CBS and Viacom in 2006, and his daughter Shari Redstone.
The Energy Department said Tuesday it won't provide the names of staffers who worked on climate policy or other issues to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, even as it pledges to cooperate with the incoming administration.

Trump's transition team is seeking information about the agency's operations and personnel, including a list of employees and contractors who attended international meetings on climate change over the past five years.

An Energy Department spokesman said that while officials will be forthcoming with all publicly available information, "we will not be providing any individual names to the transition team."

Some of the questions asked by Trump's team left DOE workers "unsettled," spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder said, adding that DOE officials "respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department."

Trump's transition team submitted 74 questions to DOE last week, including two that asked for identities of staffers who worked on Obama administration climate policy efforts.

One Energy Department official called the 74 questions a hit list and said Trump's team appeared to be going after top scientists and employees who work on subjects ranging from the Iran nuclear deal to the internal operations of the national energy labs. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity to discuss the document.

The official said questions about professional society memberships and websites that staff at the Energy Department's national laboratories maintain or contribute to could raise questions about Trump's commitment to scientific independence  a fundamental tenet at the agency.

The Energy Department has a $32 billion annual budget, yet the bulk of its workforce  nearly 100,000 employees  comes from private contractors. The agency has 14,000 government employees.

"Our career workforce, including our contractors and employees at our labs, comprise the backbone of DOE and the important work our department does to benefit the American people," Burnham-Snyder said.

Democrats have called the questionnaire a modern-day political witch hunt that could have a chilling impact on federal workers.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple says he and Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault have met to discuss reducing tensions between law enforcement officers and Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents.

The pipeline is stalled while developer Energy Transfer Partners and the Army battle in court over permission to cross under the Missouri River. Opponents who've protested for months have been leaving their main camp in southern North Dakota.

Dalrymple says only about 300 remain in the main camp, and Archambault told him in a Monday meeting that it could be vacated by Jan. 1. Other protesters remain in another camp nearby.

Dalrymple says an effort will be made to inspect and reopen a highway bridge in the camp area that's been closed since being damaged by fire in late October.
The Latest on the protest against the Dakota Access oil pipeline (all times local):

12:35 p.m.

A North Dakota prosecutor wants people arrested for protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline to reimburse the state for the costs of their court-appointed attorneys.

Ladd Erickson says the protests have created an unprecedented burden for the state's court system. Erickson says it would be up to a judge in each case to determine if attorney costs should be recouped.

Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents Executive Director H. Jean Delaney says North Dakota law allows the court to seek reimbursement for court-appointed attorneys.

The commission has accepted 287 protest-related cases that are being handled by 82 defense attorneys. She says her group also is seeking $670,000 from the Legislature to help cover the costs of protest-related cases.

Erickson says the protests already have cost the state about $17 million.

___

11:35 a.m.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple says he and Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault have met to discuss reducing tensions between law enforcement officers and Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents.

The pipeline is stalled while developer Energy Transfer Partners and the Army battle in court over permission to cross under the Missouri River. Opponents who've protested for months have been leaving their main camp in southern North Dakota.

Dalrymple says only about 300 remain in the main camp, and Archambault told him in a Monday meeting that it could be vacated by Jan. 1. Other protesters remain in another camp nearby.

Dalrymple says an effort will be made to inspect and reopen a highway bridge in the camp area that's been closed since being damaged by fire in late October.
The Philippines bank through which $81 million stolen from Bangladesh's central bank was channeled in February said on Tuesday that the central bank was responsible for the heist, and so any liability should not be passed on.

Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) was responding to comments by a Bangladeshi investigator that some Bangladesh Bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal the money from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Bangladesh Bank had been demanding that RCBC compensate it for the loss, blaming it for ignoring red flags.

RCBC said it did nothing wrong.

"The statement of the Bangladesh investigator indicating acts of criminal negligence on the part of certain Bangladesh Bank officials validates what RCBC had been saying all along, and that is that Bangladesh Bank's own acts are the cause of its own loss," RCBC's lawyer Thea Daep told Reuters.

"They cannot pass on liability to RCBC that had nothing to do with the theft of the funds."

Daep said RCBC would study legal options to see if Bangladesh Bank can be sued in court for making the accusations.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha could not be reached for comment on a public holiday.

Senior Bangladesh police officer Mohammad Shah Alam, who is leading Bangladesh's investigation into one of the world's biggest cyber heists, told Reuters on Monday some central bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the bank's connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

They had worked with some foreigners, Alam said, without giving details.

Alam said investigators were trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. He said arrests were likely soon.

In early February, the unidentified hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed.

Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed, but, after a series of oversights and miscommunications, the New York Fed ultimately sent $81 million to four fake accounts in a branch of RCBC.

Most of the funds then disappeared into Manila's loosely regulated casino industry.

Only around $15 million of the loot has been returned to Bangladesh.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Karen Lema; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
President-elect Donald Trump announced Exxon-Mobil Corp's Rex Tillerson as his choice for secretary of state on Tuesday, praising the business leader as a successful international dealmaker who has led a global operation.

Tillerson's experience in diplomacy stems from making deals with foreign countries for the world's largest energy company, although questions have been raised about the oil executive's relations with Russia.

"He will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for Americas vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened Americas security and standing in the world," Trump said in a statement.

Tillerson said he shared Trump's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States foreign relations and advancing our countrys national security."

Trump picked Tillerson, 64, after the Texan was backed by several Republican establishment figures including former Secretary of State James Baker, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the transition official said.

Their support is seen as key to helping Tillerson get past a possibly contentious Senate confirmation battle likely to focus on his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honor, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector".

Trump judged in making the pick that Tillerson could adequately address questions about his relations with Russia, an official said.

Lawmakers from both major parties have raised questions about Tillerson and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 State Department official and who has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran.

Separately, a source close to the transition said Trump had chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry as his nominee for energy secretary, with an announcement expected soon. Perry met Trump on Monday at Trump Tower in New York.

Republicans and Democrats said Tillerson, who is president of Exxon Mobil Corp, would be asked about his contacts with Russia, having met Putin several times. He won fresh praise from Moscow on Monday.

Senator John McCain, a leading foreign policy voice and the 2008 Republican candidate for president, told Reuters in an interview: "I have concerns. It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin."

There has been controversy over the role alleged Russian cyber hacking may have had on the outcome of the Nov. 8 presidential election, in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

BUSINESS INTERESTS

While busily filling out his Cabinet, Trump is seeking to answer questions about how he will separate himself from his far-flung business empire before taking over the presidency on Jan. 20.

He had planned a news conference on Thursday to lay out the details but delayed it until Tuesday due to what aides said was the crush of picking people to serve in his administration.

In a series of late-night tweets on Monday, Trump said he would be leaving his business before Jan. 20 so he can focus full-time on the presidency and that he would leave his two sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, to manage it.

He did not mention his daughter, Ivanka, who has been a central player in Trump's business affairs and who is said to be considering a move to Washington to help her father.

"No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office," Trump said.

He said he would hold a press conference "in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest. Busy times!"

Trump chose Tillerson over 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who had famously criticized Trump during the party's fight for a nominee this year. Trump called Romney to tell him he had decided to choose someone else for the job.

"It was an honor to have been considered for secretary of state of our great country," Romney said in a Facebook posting on Monday night.

"My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace."

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) Chief Executive Rex Tillerson as his choice for Secretary of State. But Mr. Tillerson may face bipartisan resistance from Congress over his ties to the Middle East and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, others see Tillersons global relations as a positive. Robert Jordan, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said Tillersons worldwide experience as CEO of Exxon is the type of leadership needed to run the State Department.

I think its important to remember that Exxon is a massive company. They have about as many employees as the State Department, but their annual revenue is about four times what the budget is of the State Department. Rex knows how to run a complex organization and I think the State Department is in great need of a management overhaul, Ambassador Jordan said during an interview on FOX Business Network Countdown to the Closing Bell.

Tillerson has received support from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. But, how do Tillersons close ties with gulf oil producers and Exxon Mobils operations in Saudi Arabia square up with Trumps support for Israel?

The gulf oil producing states are increasingly closer with Israel because of their common enemy in Iran. So, I think that issue is almost a nonissue at this stage, Jordan told host Liz Claman.

The Ambassador said Tillerson can handle the continued conflict in the Middle East and clearly understands American foreign policy priorities.

I think Rex Tillerson is completely capable of dealing with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, you name it. And I think he will understand and has clearly understood through his career the importance of our relationship with Israel, he said.
Rapper Kanye West turned up at Trump Tower on Tuesday for a meeting with Republican President-elect Donald Trump, firing up social media and fueling speculation West may have discussed performing at Trump's inauguration.

West, 39, and Trump posed for photographers in the lobby of Trump Tower after meeting privately upstairs. It was the first major outing by West since he was released on Nov. 30 after a week in a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital with an unexplained condition, and quickly became the top trending topic on Twitter.

Asked about the purpose of the 15-minute meeting, Trump told reporters: "Friends, just friends. He's a good man. Long time. Friends for a long time."

Trump added that the two had talked about "Life. We discussed life."

West, looking solemn and sporting a new blond hairdo, gave no explanation for their meeting, saying only, "I'm just here to take a picture right now," and giving the media a thumbs up sign. He was without his reality television star wife Kim Kardashian.

West made headlines in November when he was booed at his San Jose, California, concert for declaring his support for Trump, although he also said he had not voted in the Nov. 8 presidential election. The "Jesus Walks" rapper also had declared he planned to run for U.S. president in 2020.

Tuesday's visit came as Trump's team was planning details of his Jan. 20 inauguration and sparked speculation that the two men may have discussed a role for West.

Many of America's biggest music stars, including Beyonce, Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the election and no celebrities have yet been announced as taking part in the inauguration, although country singer Garth Brooks is in discussions to perform.

"Will Kanye perform at Trump's presidential inauguration"? celebrity commentator Lailah Lynn asked on Twitter.

"Is Kanye West gunning to perform at the inauguration?" the New York Post wondered in an online report.

Others speculated that West, who also has a popular fashion line, may have discussed designing for soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump.

West was hospitalized last month after a series of rants about politics and the music industry and after he abruptly canceled the remainder of his U.S. tour.

No official explanation has been given about his condition, which was initially attributed to exhaustion. (Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York and Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Jill Serjeant; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
Armed with a masters degree in Security Studies with a Middle East regional concentration from Georgetown University and a video camera and motorcycle, Baltimore native Matthew VanDyke set out in 2007 to put his academics to the test.



Little did the then-timid 27-year-old with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder know he would be freewheeling through Northern Africa and the Middle East, eventually joining his Libyan hippie friend in the fight against then-dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

Audiences are surprised that an American can get around and be treated well and make friends and not be killed or harassed, and that I was serving openly in the Libyan revolution, openly as an American. I was treated with respect, said VanDyke, who teamed up with two-time Academy Award nominated director Marshall Curry to turn his story into the Tribeca Film Festival documentary Point and Shoot. Its not that people hate America, if they did they wouldnt have welcomed an American into their military unit.

Some audience members are simply impressed that VanDyke survived his time in the Middle East. The self-proclaimed freedom fighter fought and filmed in the Libyan civil war until he was captured by Qaddafi forces in March 2011 and subsequently held for six months in solitary confinement.

My experience in Libya really transformed me as a person and gave me an ideology and cause I strongly believe in, VanDyke told FOX411, adding that at times the American perceptions of the Arab world are distorted. There are a lot of misconceptions. The main person I was serving with was a hippie, and all over the streets there are other motorcycle enthusiasts driving around doing wheelies.

Point and Shoot also highlights an array of similarities between American troops and the Libyan soldiers. Not only do we see footage of U.S. soldiers in Iraq trying to tailor their images for VanDykes cameras, but audiences are also exposed to the way Libyan soldiers are influenced by movies they've seen and the presence of a camera.

Even though they were engaged in the most dangerous, high-minded acts of self-sacrifice, they wanted to have footage of themselves looking like Hollywood heroes. And at the end of the war, there were rebels who filmed gruesome selfies as they killed Qaddafi, Curry explained. My goal for this film is to encourage conversation and reflection.

Indeed VanDykes somewhat reckless, perhaps revolutionary, journey does raise a multitude of questions: What drives us to do the things that we do? What do we need to consider before diving into international conflict? Does filming ourselves and broadcasting our faces across social media change who we are? What are our moral obligations for those afflicted in foreign countries?



It looked like Libyans would be on their own and I wanted to go and help them. But the film incorporates a lot of things beyond that, VanDyke added. I wanted to get my story out, to inspire people to get up off their sofa and pursue their dreams or support a cause or something they believe in rather than just giving a thumbs up to their television screen from the comfort of their sofa.

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A judge admonished lawyers on both sides of Bill Cosby's sexual assault case Tuesday after a courtroom shouting match over the defense team's practice of publicizing the names of the women accusing the comedian of sexual assault.

Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill denounced the outburst as uncivil. It came at the start of what is expected to be a two-day hearing on whether prosecutors will be allowed to call 13 accusers as trial witnesses, a key part of their strategy to show the 79-year-old Cosby had a decadeslong habit of drugging and molesting women.

Cosby's lawyers want the accusers barred from testifying at his trial on charges that he sexually assaulted a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The defense was expected to attack their credibility and relevance as they try to keep them off the witness stand.

They encountered an early setback Tuesday when O'Neill refused to hear from one of their experts, Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist who has questioned the reliability of eyewitness and witness memory. The judge said Loftus wouldn't help him decide if the accusers can testify but added she might be allowed to take the stand at Cosby's trial next year.

The high-stakes hearing was testy from the start, as District Attorney Kevin Steele clashed with Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle over the defense's insistence on identifying accusers by name in public documents and a court hearing.

Steele became enraged when McMonagle argued that prosecutors had provided him with the names of the accusers. Arguing that the names were disclosed during the pretrial discovery process and were not part of the public record, Steele suggested that Cosby's lawyers were publicizing them in an attempt to intimidate the women.

McMonagle said many of them had already gone public with their allegations.

"These are witnesses in a trial. They are not children," McMonagle argued.

O'Neill ultimately ruled Cosby's lawyers could identify 11 of the women by name. He said two of the women have remained out of the spotlight and shouldn't be identified in court.

The defense asserts they should be removed altogether from the case, which began a decade ago when Temple University employee Andrea Constand filed a police complaint against Cosby, her friend and mentor, over an encounter at his home. A prosecutor at the time declined to file charges.

But authorities reopened the case last year after scores of women raised similar accusations and after Cosby's damaging deposition testimony from Constand's lawsuit became public. The trial judge last week said the deposition was fair game at trial, arming prosecutors with Cosby's testimony about his affairs with young women, his use of quaaludes as a seduction tool and his version of the sexual encounter with Constand the night in question.

Cosby's lawyers had hoped to question the women in person, but O'Neill rejected the idea.

Some of the women had ongoing friendships or romantic relationships with Cosby, while others knew him for only a few days after meeting him on a plane or at a casino. Some, like Constand, took pills knowingly  she said she thought it was an herbal drug; he later said it was Benadryl  while others believe he slipped something stronger in their drinks.

McMonagle has petitioned to ask each accuser as many as 80 questions as he tries to defend what he calls decades-old, vague accusations that were never vetted at the time. The defense has also questioned the women's motivation, noting many are clients of celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who has suggested Cosby should put up a $100 million settlement fund for potential sexual assault and defamation claims.

Allred told The Associated Press last week that her clients have a duty to testify if the court wants to hear from them. She called the defense's dismissal of their accounts "out of context or just plain wrong."

Cosby greeted security officers with a joke before Tuesday's hearing, quipping, "Don't tase me, bro," as they wanded him on his way into court.
Talk about some serious Bieber fever.

A group of high school students in Israel asked the Ministry of Education to change the date of a national biology exam because they want to attend a Justin Bieber concert the night before the scheduled test, but their request was denied.



According to the Washington Post, many students have taken to social media demanding the education minister move the exam. Bieber has not performed in Israel since 2011.

"With due respect to biology, Justin Bieber does not come to Israel every year. This exam will prevent many high school kids from going to his performance," one student wrote on the Facebook page of Israels National Student and Youth Council, the Washington Post reported.

However, the students' efforts proved fruitless. The Education Ministry stated that the exam is at 2:30 p.m. the day after the Tel Aviv concert, leaving the students ample time to attend the show and take the exam.

Bieber is set to perform at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv on May 3, 2017.
"Star Wars" has gone rogue from the original saga with its first stand-alone film and the Force is still strong. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is great and director Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla") doesn't hold back; "Rogue One" is pure, unbridled "Star Wars."

With a much darker  and violent  tone from most "Star Wars" films, "Rogue One" carries an energy and rawness not seen in a "Star Wars" film since 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back". "Rogue" carries an air-tight script with new and memorable characters and is fused with some truly dynamic action sequences that at once tap into nostalgia while also creating fresh awe, which is no easy feat in 2017, since we've just about seen all there is to see in an action flick.

The wheel is hardly re-invented here but "Rogue One" does itself a huge favor by creating a fresh new story without relying too much on callbacks to the rest of the franchise. Sure, those callbacks exist  some less subtle than others  but thankfully this is mostly new material here. Fans should be enamored by some revisiting characters and props, but "Rogue One's" strength is derived from weaving an entirely new tapestry for "Star Wars" fans to digest.

Written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, "Rogue One" harkens back to classic Hollywood war films like "The Guns of Navarone" and "Saving Private Ryan." While there are action scenes aplenty, the story focuses more on the interplay between the brotherhood of the Rogue One team. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is a disillusioned child of the Empire. When she reaches word from the Alliance that her long-lost father (Mads Mikkelsen)  architect of the Death Star - has surfaced and is attempting to make contact, she is assigned as leader or a small team tasked with retrieving the Death Star plans.

"Star Wars" aside, "Rogue One" is a superb action film. Gareth Edwards pulls out all the stops with some phenomenal set pieces. Like many great Hollywood war films, the action sequences intensify as the film progresses and the stakes become higher.

Both heroes and villains are given equal weight in this stand-alone story. Jones' Jyn Erso is another strong and welcome addition to the "Star Wars" universe, though she is clearly lacking the spark immediately noticeable with Daisy Ridley's Rae in "The Force Awakens." It takes Jyn almost two-thirds of the film to strike a strong emotional connection. Jones, though, does the best with her character, showing grit and humor that's been the cornerstone of all "Star Wars" heroes. This, compared with Jones' devastating performance in "A Monster Calls" (also in theaters) shows what a dynamic actor she is.

Jyn is joined by a ragtag team of rebels, a staple of those great Golden and Silver-aged Hollywood war films. Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, and Riz Ahmed flesh out this band of brothers. Alan Tudyk, as the vitriolic droid K-2SO, carries the band with his frequent caustic remarks. He will surely become a new fan favorite.

No "Star Wars" film is complete without memorable villains and the great Ben Mendelsohn takes the lead villain gig as Krennic, the director behind the Death Star operation. His sly delivery, which has made him such a compelling character actor, plays off very well here. Krennic is evil but also pathetic with his fleeting attempts to please the Emperor. Mendelsohn's balancing act is perfect and one of the most enjoyable aspects of the film. The other major villain is Governor Tarkin, played by Peter Cushing in "A New Hope." This may create consternation among old fans as Cushing's face is digital added to another actor's. While it's great to see an old favorite again, it does take some getting used to and runs the risk of not aging well as technology improves in the years ahead.

Although he is shown in the trailers, it is still a showstopper to see Darth Vader return as the frightening movie monster he was originally intended to be.

And "Rogue One" answers an age-old question: How does Darth Vader take a bath? Seriously.

Each and every scene is plastered with detail and creature effects, which clearly harkens back to that tangibility of the original trilogy. "The Force Awakens" certainly made a valiant effort to bring the franchise back to the good-old-days with physical models and practical effects, but "Rogue One" puts even that film to shame with its seamless blend of digital and practical effects. There might be more new creatures in "Rogue One" alone than the original three films combined. It's a feast of delights for fans of creatures.

Composer Michael Giacchino has the unenviable task of being the first composer not named John Williams to score a "Star Wars" movie. Giacchino has unequivocally written a knock-out score steeped in "Star Wars" tradition without sacrificing his own unique voice. The score features memorable themes  something that is also very difficult to accomplish in 2017  while occasionally weaving in some of Williams' classics. Jyn's theme, which grounds the entire score, is a highlight in Giacchino's body of work.

"Rogue One" could have been the start of the watering down for the "Star Wars" franchise by breaking away from the saga trilogies, but this is anything but. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is just pure "Star Wars" from start to finish.

Walt Disney Picture. Running time: 2 hours and 13 minutes. MPAA Rating: PG-13.
In the wake of a grisly attack in Miami in which an assailant chewed off a large portion of a homeless man's face while allegedly high on a drug known as "bath salts," authorities are viewing the drug as an increasing health and security concern.

The Miami incident occurred last week, when Rudy Eugene, 31, stripped naked and attacked 65-year-old Ronald Poppo, who remains in critical condition. Miami police shot Eugene dead when he refused an order to stop attacking Poppo. The unusual incident has come to be known as the "zombie attack."

Some police and doctors believe that Eugene -- described by his friends as nonviolent, though he had several run-ins with the law in his past -- may have attacked while under the influence of a little-known drug referred to as bath salts, Reuters reports.

The Miami case would not be an isolated incident of violence associated with bath salts, a drug capable of inducing psychotic episodes.

The strangulation death of a 19-year-old Colorado man who authorities say had ingested a synthetic drug could be an indication of the emerging threat posed by such compounds, a federal drug agent said Friday.

Investigators believe Daniel J. Richards of Grand Junction was acting violently under the influence of the drug called Alpha-PVP -- one of several synthetic drugs marketed as bath salts -- on April 10 and was strangled when his friends tried to subdue him.

Friends took Richards to a hospital, and he died a few days later when he was taken off life support, police said.

Toxicology tests found Alpha-PVP in Richards' body, Mesa County Chief Deputy Coroner Kim Hollingshead said. He ruled the death a homicide.

No arrests have been made. Police spokeswoman Kate Porras said investigators haven't yet determined whether a crime was committed.

Richards' cause of death was first reported by The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Authorities say the drugs mimic the effects of potent stimulants such as cocaine.

The drugs are known to cause agitation and increased heart rate and blood pressure. In severe cases, paranoia, hallucinations and aggressive behavior can occur, Hollingshead said.

Violent side effects have been reported nationwide. The Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center said it received 10 reports this year of people using bath salts or other combinations of the compounds. Last year, 44 cases were reported.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said it can't determine yet if the synthetics have been linked to any other deaths in the state because such cases are so new.

Hollingshead and Jim Schrant, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, believe Richards' death is the first involving bath salts in western Colorado.

"It's an emerging drug of concern," Schrant said.

The DEA issued an emergency ban in October on three ingredients often found in bath salts, and Congress is debating whether to impose a permanent ban.

DEA spokeswoman Barbara Carreno said it is unclear whether the chemical found in Richards' body is one of the three compounds banned by the agency, but she said it could have been a substance created to provide the same effects.

Colorado lawmakers passed a bill this year to ban several combinations of synthetics that could be behind bath salts.

"Hopefully we can keep these people from coming back with something else," said Rep. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, the House sponsor.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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"Pink slime," the beef product that made headlines earlier this year, is no longer a part of most public school lunches. The nation's school districts are choosing alternatives to the filler.

Most schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have decided to skip on ordering the product.

Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota were the only three states who chose to order beef containing pink slime.

The product, known as lean finely textured beef, has been used for decades and is safe to eat, federal regulators say.

The national hubbub over the product came when the nickname "pink slime" was coined in a New York Times article on the safety of meat processing methods.

The slime is made of fatty bits of beef that are heated then treated with ammonia to kill bacteria.

The USDA responded to public concern over its use in March. The agency said it would for the first time offer schools the choice to purchase beef without the filler for the coming 2012-2013 school year.

Based upon the misrepresentations that have been pervasive in the media to this point, it comes as no surprise that the majority of states have currently elected to purchase ground beef that does not contain lean finely textured beef," Craig Letch, Beef Products Inc. director of food safety and quality.  Craig Letch, Beef Products Inc.

Though the option is on the table, the USDA has affirmed that lean finely textured beef is a safe, affordable and nutritious product that reduces overall fat content.

Beef Products Inc., the South Dakota company that makes the filler, said in an emailed statement that the development is not reflective of the quality or safety of the beef it produces.

"Based upon the misrepresentations that have been pervasive in the media to this point, it comes as no surprise that the majority of states have currently elected to purchase ground beef that does not contain lean finely textured beef," Craig Letch, Beef Products Inc. director of food safety and quality, said in the statement.

Back in March, the company's former director of food safety, Kit Foshee did not run to BPI's defense.

"BPI is marketing themselves as a pinnacle of safety," Foshee said. "It's all lies. It's all marketing."

To combat misconceptions, the company has set up a website, beefisbeef.com.

As of May 18, the USDA says states ordered more than 20 million pounds of ground beef products that don't contain lean finely textured beef. Orders for beef that may contain the filler came to about 1 million pounds.

Because schools were not given a choice last year, all states may have previously received beef with the product mixed in. The USDA estimates that lean finely textured beef accounted for about 6.5 percent of ground beef orders.

The agency is still accepting orders for the upcoming school year; beef that does not contain the product is expected to cost 3 percent more than beef that contains it.

The USDA purchases LFTB from beef vendors who must meet the agency's specifications for orders; no more than 15 percent of the product.

About 60 percent of the ground beef acquired by schools was through the USDA's National School Lunch Program. The rest are acquired directly by schools through private meat vendors.

Schools aren't the only ones rejecting the product. Fast food chains and supermarkets have also jumped on the bandwagon and promised to stop selling beef containing pink slime.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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This guest blog comes to us from Astronomy magazine Contributing Editor Mike Reynolds.

As people reflect on John Glenn and his passing, many have stated he was a hero. John Glenn was  and still is  my hero.

I was nearly eight years old when Glenn flew his first historic mission. I was already enamored with astronomy and space travel; Alan Shepards 15-minute suborbital flight had done that to me. I followed closely everything I could read about space. I wanted to build my own spacecraft to follow Glenn into space. So, one day my Dad brought home a large box and I built my spacecraft  made up of crayon-marked switches and a blanket-and-pillow astronauts seat.

I finally met Glenn in 1985. Being a finalist for the NASA Teacher-in-Space Program provided me the opportunity to meet my hero. I shook his hand as someone snapped a photo. I told Glenn, I really became very passionate about space with your flight. Glenn said, So did I! Appropriate response.

In 2001, as executive director of the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California, I received a call that John and Annie Glenn would like to visit the Science Center, and specifically the Liberty Bell 7 exhibit, Gus Grissoms spacecraft. Liberty Bell 7 had been recovered from the ocean floor, and was then traveling to several science centers and museums. Glenn was Grissoms backup for the mission, so he had a lot of interest in Liberty Bell 7.

As John and Annie accompanied me through Chabot, they were genuinely interested in what we had to offer the public. Other visitors soon realized who they were and started coming up asking for autographs and photos with Glenn. I was amazed at his patience and kindness to everyone. I asked Annie, Is he always like this? She replied, Yes, all of the time!

As we approached the Liberty Bell 7 exhibit, the crowds thinned a bit, I found myself with John, Annie, and Conrad Jung (another Chabot staffer), and no one else. As I recall there were two major sections to the exhibit: an outer section that detailed Grissoms mission, and then the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft itself. The spacecraft was in a shrouded area. Remember this is a priceless artifact and we needed to protect the spacecraft from unnecessary light. And, to be honest, I suppose it was to build the suspense and allure of seeing Liberty Bell 7.

As we entered the area Liberty Bell 7 occupied, Glenn, Conrad, and I went in; Annie stayed back. The two of us also stood back a bit as the former astronaut went up to the spacecraft. I must admit that seeing Glenn and the spacecraft was an emotional moment for me, so I cannot even imagine what it was like for him.

He looked at Liberty Bell 7 for quite a while, then turned to us and said, The last time I saw Liberty Bell 7 was in 1961, right before its launch. After a long pause, he continued, I probably spent more time in this spacecraft than Gus.

We proceeded out of the exhibit and waited for Annie. From there we went to the Telescope Plaza, and into Chabots two observatories: an 8-inch Clark refractor named Leah and a 20-inch Brashear refractor named Rachel. Both John and Annie seemed appreciative of the opportunity to see the telescopes, as Conrad, Terry Galloway (a Chabot Board member and one of the individuals who kept the Chabot dream alive through all of the years), and I told the couple a little about the telescopes. Both said they wanted to come back some time and actually look through the telescopes.

People have said Glenn had the right stuff; hes been called the astronauts astronaut and even the boy scout of the astronauts. And one more thing: He will always be a true American hero in the eyes of that 7-year-old those many years ago.
Latinos living in the United States are more than twice as likely to be at risk of hunger than white, non-Hispanic households, according to Feeding America, a network of food banks that serve nearly six million people each week.

Map the Meal Gap provides data on food insecurity at the county and congressional district level. Food Insecurity is a term used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to describe the lack of access to enough food to lead a healthy life.

Many of the figures and findings about Latinos living at risk of hunger in our nation are truly upsetting. We are especially concerned about children.

Sadly, nearly 1 in 3 (29 percent) of Latino/Hispanic children in the U.S. live in families served by the Feeding Americas network of 61,000 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, as compared with nearly 1 in 9 (11 percent) of white, non-Hispanic children. We know that lack of adequate nutrition can have devastating consequences for children. It can not only stunt their growth, but it can also result in delayed cognitive, physical and emotional development.

The facts about food insecurity among Latinos living in the U.S. are troubling:

 There are more than 50.5 million Latinos living in the U.S. and they are twice as likely to be food insecure as white, non-Hispanic households.

 Counties that have majority Latino populations are disproportionately represented among the top 10 percent of counties where food insecurity is the highest.

 The Map the Meal Gap analysis showed us that unemployment is a major contributing factor to food insecurity. Currently, unemployment is significantly higher among Latinos (11 percent) than among white, non-Hispanics (8 percent).

 Obesity is often caused by lack of access to protein-rich, nutritious food. Hispanics are at greater risk of obesity than other racial and ethnic groups. In 2009, Hispanic Americans were 1.2 times as likely to be obese than non-Hispanic whites. Lifetime risk estimates for developing diabetes is higher for both Hispanic men and women than for other ethnic groups

Sadly, data also shows us that many Latino households do not get all the help for which they qualify. Latino households are less likely to receive SNAP benefits than white, non-Hispanic households even though they are more likely to be food insecure. Others, like seniors, sometimes do not seek help because of cultural barriers, particularly a reticence to accept charitable help.

What can you do to help your neighbors in need? First of all, encourage them to seek assistance. Help them find an agency that will help them to determine if they qualify for food stamps or other government programs. Try to communicate that there is no shame in seeking help feeding themselves and their families.

Other ways to help:

 Donate: For every dollar donated to Feeding America, eight meals can be provided to someone in need.

 Volunteer: Give your time to one of Feeding Americas 61,000 local food kitchens and pantries.

 Advocate: Tell your local congressman how important hunger relief and assistance is to you, the voter.

And of course, for more information on the issue of hunger in the Latino community, visit FeedingAmerica.org.
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A West Virginia man raped and killed his neighbors pygmy goat. A Louisiana man gnawed off a chunk of his neighbors face during a fight. A Biloxi burglar stabbed a sleeping man along his neck at 5 am and then begged for permission to stitch up the wound.

The unusual acts had one thing in common: the people who committed them were allegedly under the influence of a cocktail of synthetic amphetamines and hallucinogens, commonly known as bath salts.

The designer drug caught national attention after Rudy Eugene mauled a homeless man and ate half his face. Though no police source has confirmed that the man who has become known as the Miami Zombie took bath salts, speculation that he did has fueled interest in the drug, catapulting it to the top of web searches for days after the attack.

Jeffrey Scott, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Agency, told Fox News Latino that while it had not been confirmed that Eugene used bath salts, his behavior was consistent with cases of violence reported by others who have overdosed on the drug.

Theres absolutely zero idea of what theyre putting in these things. If youre an user and youre trying it, youre playing Russian roulette  DEA Spokesman Jeffrey Scott

Bath salts, a catch-all name for a group of at least three synthetic drugs, began appearing around 2008first in Europe and Asia, and then in the United States, Scott said. The chemicals themselves are produced mostly in India and China and then shipped to the United States, where they are mixed, put in bags and distributed at head shops and gas stations or mailed to customers who find the product online.

Theyre literally mixing it in a cement mixer in a garage somewhere, Scott said. Theres absolutely zero idea of what theyre putting in these things. If youre an user and youre trying it, youre playing Russian roulette.

Marketed toward young adults as a legal high, the synthetic drugs arent concentrated in any particular area, according to Scott.



We have seen this flare up everywhere, said Scott.

Depending on the mix, bath salts can provoke effects that mimic those of both stimulants and hallucinogens, and have the capacity to provoke psychotic episodes.

The federal government banned three of the chemicals used in bath salts-- mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone and methylonin October of last year, while regulators assess whether the chemicals have any use more productive than getting violently high.

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The next drug dealer to hit the market may be the Uruguayan government.

The left-leaning Jose Pepe Mujica administration plans to propose a measure to legalize marijuana sales as a crime-fighting measure, the local press reports. Only the government could sell marijuana, in the form of cigarettes, and only to adult registered users.

Uruguayan pot smokers would have to exercise moderation under the new plan. Those who exceed a limited number of permitted marijuana cigarettes would have to undergo rehabilitation.

The state would take responsibility for quality control under the plan and sales would include a tax to fund rehabilitation programs, an unnamed government source told Uruguayan daily El Pais.

The world is moving this way, the source said, according to El Pais. The debate is moving toward liberalization as a way to fight organized crime

The government hopes the measure will snatch profits from drug dealers and divert users from harder drugs. Growing use of crack cocaine, in particular, worries public officials.

There are no laws against marijuana use itself in Uruguay.

A spokeswoman for the Uruguayan presidency told Fox News Latino that the government does not yet have an official statement about state marijuana sales, but said such a proposal would likely be submitted to Congress for consideration, though it is possible to enact the change by decree.

Uruguayan marijuana smokers cheered the possibility of government-sold joints.

This will help to separate markets, said Juan Vaz of the Movement to Liberate Cannabis, according to El Pais. The way things are now, if someone wants to buy marijuana, they have to go to a place where other drugs are sold. These are places where people are committing crimes, and working with drug traffickers.

The news immediately made a splash on social media, where politicians clashed and marijuana enthusiasts played the news for laughs.

Luis Lacalle Pou, a congressman who had presented a proposal to allow people to grow marijuana for their personal use, criticized the measure on Twitter.

I dont think its a good thing to keep associating marijuana with money, Lacalle Pou tweeted. Thats why my project deals with growing for personal use.

Mujica, lets be serious about public security, Congresswoman Ana Lia Pineyrua tweeted. I dont accept proposals that would increase drug consumption.

On Facebook, users created a page called El Porro del PepeSpanish for Pepes Joint, a reference to the presidentwhere they shared doctored photos of the president walking through a field of marijuana and dressed as a Rastafarian.

Users also tweeted both jokes and news articles to the hashtag #elporrodelpepe.

Rehabilitation centers greeted the news with less enthusiasm. .

This is putting out a fire with gasoline, Pablo Rossi, the director of a Manantiales Foundation, a rehab center, told Uruguayan daily El Pais.

Ruling party Sen. Monica Xavier tells local TV that if the measure passes, it should be accompanied by efforts to get people off drugs.

In recent years, a coalition of Latin American leaders have turned against the U.S.-led war on drugs, calling for the hemisphere-wide decriminalization of soft drugs and an increased focus on public health rather than eradication.
Seven months later, life has changed dramatically for Carmen Tisch.

I was a pill popper, heroin addict. I was in the methadone clinic for while, Tisch said. And when I got off the methadone that`s when I started drinking a lot. That`s when I was doing the bath salt.

Tisch blames dangerous bath salts for the day last November when she walked into the Clyfford Still Museum, approached a painting valued at around $30 million and urinated while leaning up against it.

Surveillance cameras rolled.

They actually measured my pee puddle, Tisch said. I Don`t know why. Evidence, I guess."

I'm kind of scared to watch it just to see myself like that. Friends were telling me that it looked like I had something in my hand hitting and scratching it, or whatever.

Tisch doesnt remember any of that. She finally came to hours later in jail.

After police told her what she had done, amazingly, her first thought was how lucky she was.

I was in shock, Tisch said. I was ashamed and also a little relieved that I didn`t murder somebody.

Tisch has since spent time in jail, two psychiatric wards and is now on intensive probation.

She is tested for drugs and alcohol every week but says there are only two things she needs to inspire her sobriety. She has a tattoo on her right ankle to remind her what they are.

I got God, and I also have a daughter, Tisch said. My daughter, she comes in my mind every time now.

That, and the reminder of the most painful day in her life.

I'm an artist myself, Tisch said. I`m sorry. I`m ashamed about what happened.

Read more at Fox31 Denver.

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The wheels of justice are rolling in Brazil.

The countrys Santa Rita do Sapucai prison has offered inmates a reduction in their sentences  albeit a light one  if they use their legs to charge batteries using special bikes.

City judge Jose Henrique Mallmann got the idea for his battery-charging bikes from other prisons that offer prisoners incentives for riding bikes, including Phoenix, Ariz.'s Tent City Jail that requires female inmates to ride a bike while watching television.

For every 16 hours a Brazilian prisoner pedals, he can reduce his sentence by one day.

The batteries the inmates charge while pedaling are taken every night into the city center, where they keep citizens out of the dark by illuminating street lamps. The program has become popular among inmates as it alleviates boredom and keeps them in shape.

One inmate even said he has so far lost "about four pounds."

The prison will soon add eight more bikes to the original two due to the programs popularity. The ten bikes would generate enough power to lighten a city block, so if the city wants to be fully prison-powered it will need a lot more inmates saddling up.

The Arizona model, which influenced the Brazilian program, was started back in 2010 by controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Named Pedal Vision, the Maricopa County sheriff, known for his tough stance toward undocumented immigrants, let female inmates pedal stationary bikes with one hour on the bike equaling one hour of television.

The TVs power was generated from pedaling the bikes.

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The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first rapid, over-the-counter HIV test, which allows Americans to test themselves in the privacy of their homes for the virus that causes AIDS.

The OraQuick test detects the presence of HIV antibodies using a mouth swab and returns a result in 20 to 40 minutes.

Government officials estimate that about 240,000 people, or one-fifth of the roughly 1.2 million people carrying HIV in the U.S., don't know they are infected. Testing is a chief means of slowing new infections, which have held steady at about 50,000 per year for two decades.

FDA officials said the test is designed for people who might not otherwise get tested.

"The availability of a home-use HIV test kit provides another option for individuals to get tested so that they can seek medical care, if appropriate," said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Orasure plans to start selling the test in October, both online and through retailers like Walgreens, CVS and Walmart. It hasn't set a price yet but expects the consumer version to cost less than $60 but more than the one marketed to health professionals, which costs about $17.50. CEO Doug Michels said the price increase will help pay for a toll-free call center to provide counseling and medical referrals to test users.

The availability of a home-use HIV test kit provides another option for individuals to get tested so that they can seek medical care, if appropriate.  Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

"Each of the call-center operators is bilingual in English and Spanish, they've gone through 160 hours of training on HIV counseling and testing," Michels said in an interview with the Associated Press. "So they are highly trained professionals and they'll be there to support the consumer."

Michels said the company's marketing efforts will focus on populations at greatest risk of being infected with HIV, including gay and bisexual men, African Americans and Hispanics.

FDA stressed in its approval announcement that the test is not 100 percent accurate in identifying people with the virus. A trial conducted by test maker Orasure showed OraQuick detected HIV in those carrying the virus only 92 percent of the time, though it was 99.9 percent accurate in ruling out HIV in patients not carrying the virus.

That means the test could miss one in 12 HIV-infected people who use it but would incorrectly identify only one patient as having HIV for every 5,000 HIV-negative people tested, the FDA said.

People who test negative should get re-tested after three months, because it can take several weeks for detectable antibodies to HIV to appear, according to Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HIV unit.

The FDA has approved several other HIV test kits designed for home use, but they usually require a blood sample that must be sent to a laboratory for development.

HIV awareness groups hailed the approval as an important step in expanding testing for the virus.

"This test will allow anyone to empower themselves to know their HIV status when, how and with whom they want to," said Tom Donohue, founding director of Who's Positive.

Experts say it's difficult to predict how widely the test will be used.

According to the Orasure's study, 41 percent of people who discovered they were HIV-positive using OraQuick had never been tested. The company estimates that 9,000 new HIV carriers would be identified for every 1 million people who use the test.

Based in Bethlehem, Pa., Orasure has marketed a version of OraQuick to doctors, nurses and other health care practitioners since 2002. When used by professionals, the test is shown to accurately identify both carriers and non-carriers 99 percent of the time. It's not clear why the test is less accurate in consumer trials, but researchers said they expected its sensitivity to drop when it was used by consumers.

HIV eventually develops into AIDS, unless treated with antiviral drugs. AIDS causes the body's immune system to breakdown, leading to infections which become fatal.

Shares of Orasure Technologies rose 60 cents, or 5.2 percent, to close at $12.10 on Tuesday.

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Scientists are determined to end AIDS in the world and now they have the tools to slash the spread of HIV even without a vaccine

The U.S. is donating an extra $150 million to help poor countries put them in place, the Obama administration told the world's largest AIDS conference Monday.

"We want to get to the end of AIDS," declared the top U.S. HIV researcher, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health.

We want to get to the end of AIDS  Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health

How long it takes depends on how quickly the world can adopt those tools, he said  including getting more of the millions of untreated people onto life-saving drugs that come with the bonus of keeping them from infecting others.

"No promises, no dates, but we know it can happen," Fauci told the International AIDS Conference.

Some 34.2 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and 2.5 million were infected last year.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the goal is an AIDS-free generation. That would mean no babies would be born infected, young people would have a much lower risk than today of becoming infected and people who already have HIV would receive life-saving drugs so they wouldn't develop AIDS or spread the virus.

"I am here today to make it absolutely clear the U.S. is committed and will remain committed to achieving an AIDS-free generation," Clinton told the more than 20,000 scientists, people living with HIV and policymakers assembled for the conference.

But it will require smart targeting of prevention tools where they can have the greatest effect  including to high-risk populations that are particularly hard to reach because of stigma.

"If we want to save more lives, we need to go where the virus is," she said.

First, Clinton said it's possible to virtually eliminate the transmission of HIV from infected pregnant women to their babies by 2015, by getting the mothers onto anti-AIDS drugs. HIV-infected births are rare in the United States and are dropping steadily worldwide, although some 330,000 children became infected last year. Clinton said the U.S. has invested more than $1 billion toward that goal in recent years and is providing an extra $80 million to help poor countries finish the job.

Much of the AIDS conference is focused on how to get treatment to all people with HIV, because good treatment can cut by 96 percent their chances of spreading the virus to sexual partners. Fauci pointed to South Africa, where healthy people who live in a region that has increased medication now have a 38 percent lower risk of infection compared with neighbors in an area where HIV treatment is less common.

Drugs aren't the only effective protection. Fauci said male circumcision is "stunningly successful," too, at protecting men from becoming infected by a heterosexual partner. Clinton said the U.S. will provide $40 million to help South Africa reach its goal of providing voluntary circumcision to half a million boys and men this year.

A tougher issue is how best to reach particularly high-risk populations: gay and bisexual men, sex workers and injecting drug users. In many countries, stigma and laws that make their activities illegal drive those populations away from AIDS programs that could teach them how to reduce their risk of infection, Clinton said.

"If we're going to beat AIDS, we can't afford to avoid sensitive conversations, and we can't afford not to reach the people who are at the highest risk," she said.

So the U.S. will spend an additional $15 million on research to identify the best HIV prevention tools to reach those key populations in different countries, and then launch a $20 million challenge fund to support country-led efforts to implement that science.

Better prevention for gay and bisexual men is a huge issue in the U.S. as well  and a striking study presented Monday added evidence that those men are especially at risk if they're young and black.

Government-funded researchers tracked black gay and bisexual men in six U.S. cities and found that 2.8 percent a year are becoming infected, a rate 50 percent higher than their white counterparts. Worse, the rate was nearly 6 percent a year in those men who are 30 or younger.

Phill Wilson of the Black AIDS Institute said these men are engaged "in a raging epidemic" that doesn't get enough attention. He estimated that nearly 60 percent of black gay men are infected by age 40.

The world spent $16.8 billion fighting AIDS in poor countries, the hardest-hit, last year, and the United States is the leading donor.

But Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, said the world is facing incredible uncertainty about whether wealthy nations will continue funding AIDS programs with the same vigor as in the past.

"As these budget tradeoffs are made, the voices of the AIDS community and the global health community are going to have to be louder than ever," said Gates, whose Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged more than $1 billion to global AIDS efforts.

Another $7 billion a year is needed to get to 15 million people in low- and middle-income countries by 2015, a United Nations goal. A record 8 million received potentially life-saving drugs last year.

"This gap is killing people," UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe told the conference. "My friends, the end of AIDS is not free. It is not too expensive. It is priceless."

The prices of generic AIDS drugs in developing countries are dropping every year. One philanthropy, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, said 70 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean that participate in its drug-procurement program now can purchase the main combination for less than $200 a year.

"We have to be innovative," said Sheila Tlou, the former health minister of Botswana, now with UNAIDS. "We have to look at new ways of funding."

Speaking to the conference via video, French President Francois Hollande said his country was doing that by beginning what's called a financial transaction tax next month. The tax idea has received a lukewarm reception in other parts of Europe and the U.S.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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Fifteen years ago, Juan Cuba was forced to spend 52 weeks in a court-appointed program for physically violent abusers. Who would have known one year would be so life altering for him? This August, in conjunction with Bay Area Women Against Rape, or BAWAR, Cuba will launch his own program--Latino Men Survivors of Sexual Abuse Group--the only one of its kind in the Bay area.

Born in Peru, Cubas family moved him to Los Angeles during his second year of college. There was a civil war going on at the time, and his family was afraid Cuba would fall prey to the ongoing violence. Little did they know how the violence in his own neighborhood, growing up fighting regularly with local boys, had already made an indelible impact on the young man.

Finishing college and moving to the Bay area, Cuba says he began to have serious anger issues. It started slowly and escalated to full-on physical violence against his partners--not something hes proud of.

When one of his girlfriends finally called the police, Cuba was arrested and ordered to attend a program for abusers.

The program forced me to analyze myself. I came to the realization that every perpetrator is a survivor and every survivor can be a perpetrator. Its about not continuing the history of abuse  Juan Cuba

The program forced me to analyze myself," Cuba said. "I came to the realization that every perpetrator is a survivor and every survivor can be a perpetrator. Its about not continuing the history of abuse. I was in a violent neighborhood, forced to defend myself. I became a very angry person. I acted out in violent ways against the people I was supposed to care about."

When Cubas program ended, he says he spent time volunteering at the nonprofit organization Men Overcoming Violence (MOVE), and then San Francisco Women Against Rape. In his work sharing his story with women who had been in violent relationships as the victim, he was able to help himself and others.

He knew this would be his lifes work. After training and volunteering, he eventually landed his first job at La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland, working in the mental health department. He was also working with BAWAR.

Cuba worked almost exclusively with women, but because he could speak Spanish, he became the go-to guy for any and all Latinos. And little by little, a small group of Latino men began to find him. These men werent abusers though like Cuba, they were victims of sexual violence and abuse. His work with these men grew from a few random guys to larger group sessions.

Cuba describes the two groups of Latino men he commonly works with.

One is a member of the LGBT community," Cuba said. "Sadly, these men believe the abuse they suffered is collateral damage of being gay. They internalize this. It hinders their ability to come forward and healing is really hard."

The second group are men who identify as heterosexual, but have been raped or abused by men in a homosexual act.

"These can be men abused by priests for examplenot a small number believe it or not, Cuba said.

Cuba talks a lot about the particulars of helping Latino men within the context of their cultures. Theres a stigma in our community about confronting abuse. Its a direct threat to masculinity and theres the belief that if a man gets raped or abused, its because hes not a real man. In essence saying to men, they deserve it. With regard to religion theres still the antiquated attitude that if youre gay, and youve been raped or abused its a curse from God, Cuba says.

The program Cuba is launching will be a savior for many Latino men. They can receive multiple free sessions of traditional mental health counseling and access to alternative therapies Cuba feels they can relate to more easily, such as drumming, Santeria, and dancetools Cuba says he uses to help integrate their culture into their healing process.

Theres less money in general for men in this country, but for Latino men even less," Cuba said. "Recently the Department of Justice began to allocate money to provide more mens programsmentoring for young men and sexual abuse victims. Attitudes are changing, and thats the first step, but very slowly."
For most of his teen years, Luis Canelos, now 17, has lived without his genitalia. He lost it at age 9 when he accidently shot himself after picking up his dads rifle.

Now Luis, who is from the jungles of Peru, is getting a new penis thanks to a University of Miami doctor who heard about his story.

I want to recover my body, be young again, Luis told the Miami Herald.

International Kids Fun Wonderfund is helping pay for the $50,000 surgery, which will give Luis a fully functioning penis. The Ronald McDonald House will provide housing.

The organization helped the teenager not only because of the physical situation but also because of the emotional side effects that come with the situation, Executive Director Maria Luisa Chea told The Herald.

The shooting incident destroyed his entire genitalia, leaving only a small part of his right testicle. His surgery, which will happen in Miami, is scheduled for August at Holtz Childrens Hospital at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

His treatment will be similar to John Wayne Bobbitts, who became a household name in 1993 after his wife cut off part of his penis. After it was reattached, Bobbits penis was fully functioning. He later went on to star in porn flicks.

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Drones may be helping mass shooting and natural disaster victims in the near future. Medical experts from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine and an aviation expert at Hinds Community College, also in Mississippi, teamed up to develop a medical drone that could be deployed before first responders arrive.

The Health Integrated Rescue Operations, (HiRO) Project uses a drone to deliver a medical kit containing emergency supplies and Google Glass for video conference capability. This allows first responders to instruct bystanders on how to assist those in need.

Co-developers Italo Subbarao and Guy Paul Cooper came up with the idea after an EF-4 tornado struck Hattiesburg, Miss. in 2013.

We were able to create somewhat [of] an ambulance drone to be able to go out to where theres a victim of an unfortunate event, Subbarao said.

The device cannot replace an ambulance but buys a victim much needed time before emergency personnel arrive on the scene. The medical kits were put together using recommendations from the Department of Homeland Securitys Stop the Bleed initiative. They include tourniquets and other items that slow the loss of blood.

Richard Patrick, senior advisor of first responder policy for the DHS, said more research needs to be done before the drones are deployed during a mass shooter incident, but there is a need.

Theres a definite utility not just in medical use in certain areas but in a broad spectrum of the first responder and homeland security responsibilities, Patrick said.

Current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations limit drone flights to below an altitude of 400 feet and the devices must be flown within the line of sight of the operator.

Thats very restrictive for us to be able to go out and deploy in disaster areas where we need to fly some distances to reach the people in need, said Dennis Lott, director of the Hinds Community College drone program, who assisted with the pairing of the medical kits and drones.

The FAA does make exceptions by granting government agencies such as fire departments and police stations the right to fly drones in U.S. airspace but approval could take hours, making it difficult to respond to emergency situations.

So far, the developers of the HiRO drone have received interest from state, local and national agencies. Subbarao said that he currently has four working prototypes and hopes to work with local governments first in the development and use of the HiRO drone.

It is just a matter of time before the drones are universally adopted for emergency and disaster response toolkits, Subbarao said.

The new technology shows promise but it may take some time to perfect. During a demonstration, a remote for one of the devices malfunctioned forcing the drone the land on its side rather than upright. Lott admitted that a newly paired remote for the drone was the main issue but hes optimistic about the benefits of the technology. The FAA doesnt plan on releasing an updated rule on drones and crash avoidance systems until sometime in 2017. The proposed rule would then be open for public comment, meaning it could be years before medical drones are in operation.
Two months ago, when new mom Mara Glick should have been happily celebrating her son Jacksons bris, she was marooned upstairs in her parents home with a fever, unable to feed the baby.

Even though 100 people were in the house, she felt wretched and alone.

Fast-forward 24 hours, and a guardian angel arrived in the form of postpartum doula Brenna Griffin, who identified the problem as a clogged milk duct. A combination of warm compresses and massage soon had Glicks supply up and running again  and baby Jackson eating and sleeping contentedly.

[Brenna] saved me in those first few weeks of motherhood, says 31-year-old Glick, who owns a realty-services company and lives in the East Village.

While doulas are associated with providing support during labor, and the focus of a baby nurse or nanny is on the baby, more professionals in New York City are mothering the mother following birth.

The service is another example of how the European trend of having a secondary team to the OB-GYN catering to the mom before and after the delivery is being embraced by well-heeled Gotham families.

Charging an average of $50 an hour, postpartum doulas visit parents homes for anywhere between three and 40 hours per week. Most certified doulas earn qualifications from organizations such as DONA International. They are usually CPR certified and devote themselves to nurturing moms  cooking, cleaning, running errands, and giving child-rearing tips.

Its the same logic as first putting the oxygen mask on the mother on the airplane, says Ruth Callahan, founder and director of Manhattans Doula Care, which counts Griffin among its staff. In America, there is this perception that the woman has to get on and do it all on her own, but, of course, in a place like New York City, help is at hand.

Click for more from NYPost.com.
According to a new online survey by Nashville-based LifeWay Research, a company that offers tools to measure how churches and Christian ministries are helping the needs of their congregations, 69 percent of Hispanics agree it is morally acceptable for terminally-ill patients to ask their doctors for help in ending their lives.

The findings are not sitting well within the Catholic community, whose pull among Latinos has been dwindling steadily in the last decade.

To say that we have the right to death is shocking to hear. As a person who believes in an afterlife, I believe death is a tragedy, said Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, a radiologist in the Miami area and advisory board member of The Catholic Association.

It diminishes all of us when we lose someone. To think about making the passage in a hurry is shocking to me, she added.

But the trend is there.

Compassion & Choices is one of the leading organizations in the U.S. working to improve patient rights and individual choice at the end of life. Its National Latino Communications Manager, Patricia Gonzalez-Portillo, told Fox News shes personally committed to educating Latinos about end of life options for the terminally ill.

Im a Catholic and I lost a brother to cancer. I made a promise to Miguel that I wouldnt stop working on this issue. He said 'Im going to be gone, but I want you to keep carrying this on.' I made a promise to a man who was dying. At the end of the day Im getting a message to my people, Gonzalez-Portillo said.

The LifeWay survey comes to light a few months after the case of Miguel Carrasquillo, a 35-year-old Catholic who lived in Puerto Rico and died from an aggressive form of brain cancer back in June.

He suffered from headaches, unbearable pain, blackouts and electric shocks through his body. But until the end of his life in June, he was an advocate of physician-assited dying, urging Puerto Rican legislators and those from his former home states of New York and Illinois to pass medical aid-in-dying laws.

In Puerto Rico physician-assisted deaths are not allowed under any circumstance.

The official position of the Catholic Church is strict. As a Christian we talk a lot about a right to life, and as humans we have rights because of our humanity, said Dr. Pozo Christie.

According to the Pew Research Center, 55 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. identified themselves as Catholic in 2013, down from 67 percent in 2010.

Dr. Christie says theres complacency on the Catholic side in talking about things.

Weve already discussed this. We say from conception to natural end, but were assuming that people understand that and agreed on it and that we dont need to keep explaining it. But as it is gaining traction in the world, people are afraid to bring it up and ruffle feathers. The Church needs to do better, she said.
Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump slammed the Central Intelligence Agencys analysis of Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. Fingers are pointing in all directions, with a bipartisan group of Senators demanding a full investigation, while the FBI and CIA cant seem to agree on the severity of the threat  or if there was one at all.

Lost in the back and forth is a levelheaded examination of how we got here, and what to do next. Indeed, how we manage this issue will speak less about the Russians and more about the health of our democracy  and our ability to move forward.

Mr. Trump and President Obama agree on one thing: the 2016 election results accurately represented the will of the American people. Our voting machines were not hacked. Jill Steins recount will prove nothing.

Still, most reasonable people agree that Russian spies and hackers were engaged in a covert influence campaign. This should come as a surprise to no one. The dark arts of espionage are used by every nation, every day.

Trump is smart to emphasize that we can  and should  have a different relationship with Russia. The foreign policies of the past two presidents have not helped us deal with Moscow to our mutual benefit. At the same time, its clear that Russia is no friend.

As a former CIA ops officer, I believe that President Putin  a former KGB spy  had a mission: sow anger and doubt amongst the American people about our political system and our politicians.

Why would Moscow do this? Three reasons:

1. Global Order. From Putins perspective, the past 15 years have been a nightmare for global order. He believes that President Bushs war in Iraq was a disaster, resulting in the spread of terrorist groups like ISIS and their Saudi ideology, Salafi Islam. Clinton backed this war.

Next, Western nations and their leaders  including Clinton  managed to kill the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi but failed to stick around to rebuild. The result is an Arab state in flames and a new safe haven for ISIS. In Syria, Putin saw Clinton advocating for more of the same.

2. Ukraine. The Russians were deeply angered by American and European attempts to bring Ukraine into the European Union. Historically, the country had been under Soviet  and later Russian  control. To Putins mind, taking Ukraine from his orbit was as if Russia had grabbed Hawaii from ours.

3. Revenge. Putin is driven by pride, ego, and revenge, namely because he views the collapse of the U.S.S.R. as a tragedy; he wants to make Russia great again. That means taking down his old enemy  the United States  and weakening neighboring countries. Putin wants global power and influence at our expense.

Irrespective of Russias motivations, we cannot tolerate foreign interference in our elections. It doesnt matter your political party or preferred candidate.

Yet a collection of new facts and analysis around Russian activity will likely not answer the most pressing question: did the covert influence operation result in Trumps election? The honest answer will almost assuredly be we dont know. Its very difficult to prove that these kinds of operations work.

How difficult? Just ask the British.

In the years preceding our entrance into World War II, U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was desperate to involve the United States  and our military  in the fight against the Nazis. At the time, neither President Roosevelt nor the American people were in any mood for war. In response, Churchill launched a covert influence campaign blandly called the British Security Coordination. Starting in 1940, the British invaded American eyes and ears with propaganda to send our children to war.

Did it work? To this day, historians arent certain. The bombing of Pearl Harbor seems far more likely.

To be sure, Putin is no Churchill, and Russia is no Britain. The analogy falls short when considering Russias treatment of journalists, critics, and minorities. Its also clear that theyre targeting civilians in the Syrian war and Ukraine crisis.

Still, its unlikely that anyone will prove Russian meddling was ultimately responsible for electing Trump. Its far more likely that Obamas initial assessment was right: the American people made their own decision. Accordingly, we must focus on our path forward.

Trump is smart to emphasize that we can  and should  have a different relationship with Russia. The foreign policies of the past two presidents have not helped us deal with Moscow to our mutual benefit. At the same time, its clear that Russia is no friend.

In order to strike the right balance, Mr. Trump will have to work closely with members of the intelligence community. Regrettably, the President-elect has made that process more challenging given his incendiary remarks against the hardworking spies at Langley. Even still, these men and women are professionals and will salute him as their commander in chief regardless.

More broadly, all Americans would do well to avoid partisan anger and heated rhetoric on the Russia dispute. If we dont, we will only fall further into Putins trap of anger and doubt. We ought to instead embrace the ethos of our British friends: Keep Calm and Carry On. It was a mantra  and piece of propaganda  that helped guide that nation through its darkest days of WWII. We would be wise to adopt it once again.
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the new eBook "Electing Trump: Newt Gingrich on the 2016 Election."

One morning in late January of 2015, Callista and I woke up at the Marriott in Des Moines, Iowa, a hotel where we had spent many nights over the years. This time, we were in town for the Iowa Freedom Summit, the first big event of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. Id been asked to attend by our friend Dave Bossie, who helped organized the Summit and invited me to speak even though I wasnt planning to run for president myself.

Sometime that morning, the phone in our hotel room rang. On the other end was Donald Trump. He invited us to meet him for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

At the time, the media and the Washington political establishment gave almost no thought to Donald Trump. They were certain he wouldnt enter the race--that his hints about running for president were only a ploy to get attention. As a result, they determinedly ignored him.

Callista and I left breakfast that morning convinced that Trump would run.

For over an hour, he peppered us with questions about how to run for president. It was clear that he was serious. And we took him seriously.

The media and the political establishment didnt take Donald Trump seriously when he announced his campaign the following June. They didnt take him seriously when he sped to the top of the polls. They didnt take him seriously when almost every indicator on social media showed he won the first debate. And as their shock on election night proved, many didnt take him seriously right up until the moment he won the election.

What didnt they understand?

The signs of the American peoples discontent were there from the beginning.

After the American people voted for real change in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2014, things had gotten worse, not better.

Fifteen years into the 21st century, Americans had suffered through 9/11, two wars without victory, a housing bubble, a financial crisis, a Wall Street bailout, a failed stimulus, a weak recovery, a health care law passed over the strong objections of the public, its disastrous implementation, a lawless administration, and a media elite that was increasingly disdainful of ordinary Americans.

By mid-2015, it had been more than a year since the corruption at the Veterans Administration had come to light. The problems werent fixed and no one had been held accountable. The border was not under control (in fact the administration had illegally suspended immigration enforcement), the U.S. had reached a dangerous nuclear deal with Iran, Baltimore was burning, the left was pushing transgender bathroom bills in many states and cities, the EPA caused millions of gallons of toxic chemicals to be spilled into the Colorado River, and the stories of Hillary Clintons appalling corruption were coming to light.

Americans were disgusted with all of this. In September of 2015, 75 percent of Americans told Gallup they believed corruption was widespread in government.

The stage was set for an outsider who would bring real change to reverse the years of failure and decline.

And Donald Trump arrived on the scene, promising to Make America Great Again and seeming big and brash enough to actually do it.

Electing Trump, my new short ebook, tells story of the 2016 campaign through excerpts of my commentary on television, in my twice-weekly columns, and in other interviews. The commentary reflected my belief that a majority of the American people had finally arrived at a conclusion I reached long ago and have made a principle of my career. That principle is that Real Change requires Real Change.

Having voted for well-intentioned change in 2008, Americans finally understood that a government managed by the same people with the same ideas was not going to suddenly upend a system they created, owned, and thrived in.

So Americans were open to someone radically new--someone who understood the problems they faced and offered common-sense, clear commitments to get back to a government that works. As I put it at the time, they were not looking for a candidate who could play chess by the establishments rules. They were looking for a candidate who would kick over the table.

This is what the media didnt understand, and why they were so surprised when attacks they expected to end Trumps campaign didnt have much effect. People understood the difference between the important and the trivial--and they werent going to let trivia ruin their only chance at real change.

In the excerpts I highlight, you can observe Trumps growth from one of 17 candidates--a non-politician who almost everyone wrote off--to the President-elect of the United States. The currents that propelled his candidacy were strong and consistent: populism, disgust with the Washington establishment in both parties, opposition to corruption, distrust of the media, resistance to a policy of managed decline, and a desire for revolutionary change.

Trumps message was strong and consistent over time, as well. He was for the people over special interests. He was for America over the global elites. And he was for common sense over continuing stupidity.

In addition to excerpts of my commentary, I have also included several documents that are key to understanding how Trump closed the deal with the American people. First is Trumps historic speech at Gettysburg in the final month of the campaign, in which he laid out perhaps the most ambitious reform agenda of any presidential candidate in recent memory--his Contract with the American Voter. Another is his New Deal for Black America, an explicit appeal to African Americans to vote for real change.

President-elect Trump now has the opportunity to follow through on this bold change agenda he campaigned on.

My hope is that this ebook will serve to illuminate why the American people elected Donald Trump to the presidency, and to remind us of the job we must now help him do.
School children in Wake County, North Carolina will no longer be allowed to sing Christmas carols at an annual Nativity celebration after they received a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of atheists, agnostics and free-thinkers.

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The Freedom From Religion Foundation said the performances at the annual Apex Christmas Nativity Celebration were unconstitutional and could not continue.

The whole purpose of the event is to display and honor nativity scenes, which highlight an exclusively Christian aspect of the holiday season, rather than a secular Christmas celebration, FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott wrote in a complaint to the district last year. Students are intentionally brought to the church to be exposed to hundreds of depictions of the Christian legend of Jesus birth.

Legend? Well, if that doesnt jingle your bells

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Anyway, the school district decided it would be best to ban student choirs from taking part in this years celebration  most certainly breaking the hearts of children who wanted to spread a bit of Christmas cheer.

No one was particularly happy with the outcome of this, school district spokesman Tim Simmons told The News & Observer. Some schools had been participating for several years.

The annual event is a three-day celebration of the birth and ministry of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, sponsored by the Church of Latter-day Saints in Apex.

When school choirs ask students to attend a church event, a reasonable student will perceive that the school is endorsing religion, Elliott wrote in his letter.

I hardly doubt a grade school choir is going to spontaneously convert to the Mormon faith simply because they were singing I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.

I reached out to Steven Bodhaine, who oversees nine Mormon congregations in Wake County -- a very nice gentleman. He assured me there has never been any proselytizing at the celebration.

Theres never been a single incident or concern in the past 13 years, he said. In fact, these schools often look forward to this because its such a beautiful venue to perform.

Simmons told the newspaper that their legal counsel opined that letting the choirs perform would put the district in the position of potentially endorsing a religious viewpoint.

According to the nativity event website, its a three-day celebration of the birth and ministry of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation says they are dedicated to the separation of church and state. But in reality they are a bunch of mean-spirited Christophobic agitators who prey on small towns and innocent school children.

If FFRFs brand of religious hostility was so attractive, they wouldnt have to bully people into submission, said Hiram Sasser, with First Liberty Institute - a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases.

FFRF said they took action after a concerned parent complained  obviously someone who has a checkered past with Jolly Old Saint Nick.

Public schools are a place for all students regardless of religious belief or non-belief, Elliott told the newspaper in a Tuesday interview. To have public schools involved in a Christian event celebrating the birth of Jesus is a problem.

What a heartless thing for someone to do  setting loose a bunch of godless Grinches so they could bully children.

Folks, if that doesnt curdle your egg nog, I dont know what will.
On Tuesday morning, after a weekend of anonymously-sourced winks and nudges, President-elect Trump formally announced that he will nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be the next Secretary of State.

Tillersons nomination would be a disaster.

He is a CEO, not an experienced diplomat. Moreover, he is simply too close to Russia and Vladimir Putin to be an effective or credible advocate for American interests around the world.

Tillerson has direct economic interests in Russia having cut multi-billion dollar deals with Putin himself as well as Kremlin confidant Igor Sechin, the head of Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft. When Sechin isnt palling around with Tillerson, he keeps busy selling nuclear capabilities to Venezuela or negotiating oil deals with Cuba. Tillerson doesnt seem to mind, and even appeared with Sechin after he had been formally sanctioned by the United States.

We cannot allow the State Department to be led by a friend and ally of Vladimir Putin and continue the disastrous diplomacy of negotiation and appeasement that has handed Putin his greatest victories.

Tillersons loyalty to Russia has not gone unnoticed, and Putin personally awarded him Russias Order of Friendship in 2013.

Since then, Putin has invaded Ukraine, murdered 298 civilians on Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, and directed the Russian Air Force to attack aid convoys and hospitals in Syria. Yet Tillerson has remained a staunch and vocal opponent of sanctions against Russia, even as Putins body count continues to climb.

This hasnt gone unnoticed.

Senator John McCain has called Tillersons friendship award from a butcher [] an issue that I think needs to be examined. Marco Rubio has expressed serious concerns about his nomination, since the next Secretary of State must be someone who views the world with moral clarity.

And its not as if Tillerson would be the first Putin pal in Trumps cabinet.

Michael Flynn, Trumps choice for National Security Advisor, has been honored by Russian state propaganda network RT, sitting at Putins right hand during the awards dinner. Just as Tillerson has opposed sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, so too has Flynn urged that America move forward from Putins bloody interventions in Ukraine and Syria.

Together, Tillerson and Flynn are a dangerous pro-Putin combination that threatens to undermine American values, allies, and interests around the world.

Neither Tillerson nor Flynn are likely to take the urgent action needed to successfully deal with the Russians, or apply the pressure that will get Putin to back down. They will not strengthen NATO, finish the missile shield in Europe, arm Ukraine, or aggressively disrupt Putins relentless cyberwarfare and propaganda operations.

Indeed, we agree with the bipartisan group of senators calling for a full investigation of Russian hacking and election meddling.

To Rex Tillerson, we say: keep your day job. To Michael Flynn, we say: seek new employment, as your son is now doing.

There are perfectly good candidates for Secretary of State who share our worldview and would perform admirably, such as Mitt Romney and John Bolton.

We dont need a National Security Advisor or a Secretary of State who believes that we just need to negotiate better with Vladimir Putin.

Thats the same trap that snared George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and enabled Putins decade of aggression. We need a National Security Advisor and a Secretary of State who see Russia as among the greatest, if not the greatest threat, our country faces.

We cannot allow the State Department to be led by a friend and ally of Vladimir Putin and continue the disastrous diplomacy of negotiation and appeasement that has handed Putin his greatest victories.

America needs a Secretary of State who will stand up to Putin. Rex Tillerson is not the man for the job.
Wisconsin is one of four states whose elections the U.S. Justice Department is monitoring this week to ensure against discrimination.

The federal officials will be monitoring the elections to make sure they comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. In addition, the act requires certain covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process.

In Wisconsin, the federal agency is sending observers to the city of Milwaukee, which is required to provide assistance in Spanish.

The officials will monitor polling places during Tuesday's recall elections, and Justice Department attorneys will maintain contact with local election officials.

Wisconsin's attorney general also plans to send state investigators and lawyers to the polls to discourage fraud. Those officials will help ensure that voters comply with state election laws.

The federal Justice Department is providing similar monitoring in California, New Mexico and South Dakota, where elections are also being held Tuesday.

The Justice Department routinely sends out hundreds of observers each year to monitor elections across the country, according to the agencys website.

It instructs the public to file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, with the Voting Section of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker becomes the third governor in U.S. history to face a recall vote.

The effort to remove him from office began last year, when the Republican governor released a plan that called on public workers to give up nearly all of their collective bargaining rights in an effort to control the state budget.

Protests as large as 100,000 swelled at the state Capitol, but despite the outcry, the bill was signed into law.

Since then, Walker has remained a rising national star while fighting the recall campaign at home. If he wins Tuesday's race, he will retain his seat until 2014. If he loses, he will be required to quickly leave office.

This story contains reporting from The Associated Press.

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In a Fox News Latino exclusive, Juan Williams interviews former U.S. Attorney General under President George W. Bush, Alberto Gonzales.

JUAN WILLIAMS: Judge Alberto Gonzales, thank you so much for coming in to join us for this exclusive Fox News Latino interview.

FORMER US ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO GONZALES: Juan, its always a pleasure to visit with you.

WILLIAMS: Judge, lets start with Fast and Furious. This is a gunrunning operation, operated by the US government. At the moment, Congressman Darryl Issa of the Oversight Committee is threatening a contempt citation against the current Attorney General, Eric Holder. How do you view this case?

GONZALES: Well first of all, its a tragedy to have a member of our government services killed in connection with this operation. I cant say that Im totally familiar with, all the intimate details of this case. Obviously, something terribly wrong happened here and Congress has not only the right, but an obligation, to find out what went wrong. As does the Attorney General. The power of oversight includes the right and duty to request information. And apparently theres a stalemate right now. Obviously certain information, the executive branch seeks to protect, as being privileged. And I certainly understand that.

Normally in these kinds of situations, an accommodation can be reached. That apparently hasnt happened here. And its not unusual to hear threats of subpoenas, and things of that nature. I think its important to find out what happened. I have no reason to believe that General Holder is doing anything inappropriate, or has done anything inappropriate. But thats what Congress is trying to find out.

WILLIAMS: You know people often cite the fact that there was a similar operation, I think it was called Operation Wide Receiver, under the Bush Administration. Attorney General Michael Mukasey has not been asked to come and testify. Do you see this as just politics, at some level? Or do you think that there was a legitimate purpose, in both administrations, Bush and Obama, in trying to stop the trade of illegal drugs, from the US, flowing into Mexico?

GONZALES: No question about it. For President Bush, this was a serious issue. It was an issue raised by Mexican authorities --that we needed to stop the flow of illegal weapons across the border. The question here is the success, or the failure, of this particular operation. You know it is customary within police procedure to sometimes allow contraband to move.

WILLIAMS: Right.

GONZALES: And for the police to follow it, because it leads them to people who are higher up in the conspiracy.

WILLIAMS: Right.

I dont think Hispanics are going to support Governor Romney, simply because he puts Marco Rubio on the ticket, or any other Hispanic on the ticket.  Alberto Gonzales, Former U.S. Attorney General

GONZALES: Thats typical. Now the key, of course, is to be able to follow the contraband. And apparently that did not happen here. And so, in that respect, its a different operation. The operation failed and there was the loss of life. Its appropriate to find out what happened, and to make sure it doesnt happen again.

WILLIAMS: Lets talk a little bit about the immigration law in Arizona. Highly controversial, now before the Supreme Court. Your experience in Texas, your family history, how do you view this, as a Republican?

GONZALES: The Arizona law?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

GONZALES: Well, first of all I respect the rights of states to deal with issues. I used to be a state official in Texas, and youre sensitive to the complaints of your constituents. But

WILLIAMS: You were

GONZALES: I was a Secretary of State, for the Supreme Court of Texas.

WILLIAMS: Supreme Court of Texas, yes.

GONZALES: The real story here is not what Arizona and other states like Alabama are doing. The real story is the failure of the federal government to deal with immigration policy. In a perfect world, these states wouldnt be passing these kinds of laws. Congress and the President would work together, and pass comprehensive immigration reform. We have failed in that respect, and thats why you see laws like Arizona's.

I understand the controversy. Its a very controversial law. I think its generally unpopular within the Hispanic community, and probably has been harmful to the Republican Party. Well see what the court says. My own view, going into the arguments, was that immigration is an area thats been preempted by the federal government, and the states do not have the authority. But the arguments did not go very well. I think most court observers would say that the court seemed rather hostile to the governments position. So well have to wait and see what happens.

WILLIAMS: When you look at the law itself, do you agree with people who argue that it includes the potential for racial profiling, of Hispanic people?

GONZALES: Theres always a potential for racial profiling, in the application of a myriad of laws. Thats why you have other laws that permit the Department of Justice to prosecute that kind of behavior. That doesnt mean that you give up a perfectly, otherwise lawful, law enforcement tool that may be very effective in finding, crime, or finding wrongdoing. We have laws on the books to ensure that government action, state action, does not adversely affect minorities, based upon the color of your skin.

WILLIAMS: And do you think that it could in fact, act in a way that would be intimidating, or discriminatory, with regard

GONZALES: It could.

WILLIAMS: To the Latino community?

GONZALES: It could, but I think its very telling that the US government did not make the basis of their argument in the courts, this issue of discrimination and racial profiling. And the reason for that is because you have to see how the law is applied first. The law could be applied in a way that does not result in discrimination. Instead the governments primary argument was that this is an issue thats been preempted by the federal government. But clearly it does provide an opportunity for discrimination, and intimidation, and thats why, if this law is upheld, its going to be important to have the appropriate training, and appropriate oversight, to ensure that discrimination and intimidation doesnt occur.

WILLIAMS: The law closely relates to the politics of the moment, as we are in the midst now of a campaign for the presidency. And overwhelmingly, Judge Gonzales, what you see is that the Latino community strongly backs the incumbent Democrat, Barack Obama. Numbers in the high sixties, if not seventy percent. Why do you think that is, and do you connect it to SB-1070?

GONZALES: There may be a connection for some people. My own sense is that, like many Americans, I think many Hispanic families are struggling today. And theyre more focused on their own personal economic situation. I think, as we get closer to the election, I think more Hispanics, more American families, are going to look more closely at their own economic situation, and make a decision as to whether or not we better off today than we were four years ago. I understand what the numbers are today, but I think Governor Romney still has time to persuade Hispanic voters that he is someone that can provide a better future for all Hispanics, for all Americans, quite frankly. So I think that theres still, but no question, that some of the policies, some of the rhetoric, particularly on immigration, has been particularly harsh, been particularly mean. I think its hurt the party, with respect to bringing onboard additional Hispanic voters.

WILLIAMS: Which is a lost opportunity. I think you would agree that there is a tremendous possibility of Republicans winning the Latino vote given the values in the Latino community, social values, family values, religious values. But we dont see it translating, thus far.

GONZALES: We havent seen it translate, thus far. Obviously, President Bush was successful at making a much stronger connection with the Hispanic community, in 2000, and 2004 elections. From my perspective, you know, Governor Romney is going to have to make a personal connection, in some way

WILLIAMS: Well how can he do it?

GONZALES: With the Hispanic community.

WILLIAMS: How can he do it?

GONZALES: I dont know whether or not it involves, you know, giving a speech on race, to the Hispanic community, at a place, like, say, San Antonio. But he needs to; he needs to make a very concerted effort to reach out to the Hispanic community. At the end of the day, you know the policies will be, I think policies are important, on immigration.

Having key Hispanics advising him, I think is important. But at the end of the day, its going to be whether or not he can make that personal connection, like George W. Bush did.

WILLIAMS: Bush did, yeah.

GONZALES: And that remains to be seen. But again, I think the good news for Governor Romney is that he has time and well see whether or not he takes advantage of that time.

WILLIAMS: Have you endorsed him?

GONZALES: I havent endorsed him, officially. But I will say here to you, that I will be supporting Governor Romney. For a variety of reasons, when I think about the future of this country, about the direction of this country, I think Governor Romney represents a better choice for this country from my perspective.

WILLIAMS: And has he reached out to you?

GONZALES: Hasnt been any Ive been in contact with one of his senior advisors, but beyond that, Ive had limited contact. I dont know Governor Romney. Thats one of the reasons that makes it somewhat difficult for me. I had the advantage of knowing George W. Bush extremely well. I dont have that same kind of relationship with Governor Romney. And so, I sometimes hesitate, when asked about giving advice to Governor Romney about reaching out to the Hispanic community, because I dont know what kind of person he is, I dont know about his capabilities. He obviously is a very talented man, a very successful businessman. I think he was a successful Governor in Massachusetts. So hes obviously a man of great skills and talents. But Im hopeful that hes going to be able to make that connection thats going to be so important to the Hispanic community.

WILLIAMS: Did you support any of the candidates, in the Republic primaries?

GONZALES: No, I didnt. I made no formal endorsement and did not go out and campaign for any of the candidates. And, the truth of the matter is, Im pretty tied to George W. Bush and some of the more controversial policies of the Bush Administration and I would understand it if some of the candidates would think: Maybe well wait and we dont need Gonzales' support or advice now, because do we want to bring on that some would characterize as baggage, into this campaign. So, I understand that.

WILLIAMS: Right. Before we leave that point, Im always taken by the idea that people somehow forget the legacy of George W. Bush, with regard to the diversity of his cabinet. He had you, obviously as the Attorney General, but he had people like Condoleezza Rice, as Secretary of State.

GONZALES: Colin Powell...Susana Martinez.

WILLIAMS: Ed Housing.

GONZALES: Of course, Gutierrez. Alphonso Jackson. It was a pretty diverse cabinet. And I recognized early on, when Bush was Governor of Texas, that this was, this was a man who really appreciated the diversity of the great state of Texas, and the diversity of this country, and the talents that existed in the minority community, and the importance of bringing people into positions of power. And the other thing, I always sense in Bush is that he liked my story...the American story.

WILLIAMS: Right.

GONZALES: He liked that. He appreciated that. I think that resonated with him.

WILLIAMS: And that story, tell us very briefly, that story.

GONZALES: Well, the fact that the son of a cotton-picker and construction worker, who had a second grade education, who grew up in a family grew up in a home that my dad built, with no hot running water, no telephone --and this person becomes the Attorney General of the United States. This is still a country where dreams still come true. And for that reason, Americas worth fighting for, and America is worth dying for.

WILLIAMS: And you grew up in what town?

GONZALES: I grew up in a little town called Humble, Texas, right outside of Houston.

WILLIAMS: And your family emigrated from Mexico?

GONZALES: Well, my grandparents did. Both of my parents were born in Texas.

WILLIAMS: By the way, lets go back for a second. You know that the Department of Justice now has a lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio.What are your thoughts on that suit?

GONZALES: Well, again there are laws that are on the book, that are intended to prosecute wrongdoing, either discrimination or intimidation. And, if in fact the Sheriff was engaged in that kind of conduct, then the department should look at it. Obviously the Sheriff is a very high profile. But, you dont want to use the department in a way to discourage, or needlessly discourage, or sort of put your thumb on a public official whos elected by the people of Arizona. But, again, if there are allegations and theyre credible allegations of wrongdoing, you have an obligation, as the Attorney General, at the Department of Justice, to at least look at them, to consider them. But you need to be careful, because again, something like this is very high profile. You need to be sure, before you start moving down that road.

WILLIAMS: Okay. The Dream Act. Coming back to your own personal story. Right now, as you know, Republicans have opposed the passage of a Dream Act that would allow young people who are in school, or in the military, to get on a pathway to citizenship. Do you support that Dream Act?

GONZALES: I dont get so hung up on the pathway to citizenship portion of it.

I do believe its important to put certain kids who are brought here by their parents when they were young into some kind of legal status. If we do that, these are going to be young adults who will have gone to college, or have served in the military, and, at the end of the day, were going to end up wanting them to be citizens anyway. So, my sense is that the better policy is to go ahead and include some kind of legislation that provides them a pathway to citizenship, but to me, its not absolutely necessary. And I dont think, for quite frankly, that the Hispanic community would get hung-up on not having it included in the legislation, either. For the most majority of Hispanics, what they want to see is that these kids be given an opportunity to stay in this country, to go to school, to serve in the military. And I think the citizenship part is secondary, as far as Im concerned.

WILLIAMS: Well in fact, Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, is now working on legislation, just like that, and weve seen Representative Luis Gutierrez, of Illinoissay that he too, wants to stop the deportations.

GONZALES: Right.

WILLIAMS: Thats the critical element.

GONZALES: And thats my perspective, thats where Im at, and I think that for many Hispanics thats whats really important. But again, at the end of the day, you know, these are people who are going to want to stay here permanently, probably, cause theyre going to be well-educated

WILLIAMS: I heard you say that Yeah.

GONZALES: And have served in the military. So, if thats where were going to end up, down the road, you know, is that something we ought to consider now?

WILLIAMS: Now, when I asked you about what Governor Romney can do in terms of reaching out to the Latino community, you did not mention Marco Rubio. Many Americans, and many Republicans, say that he is the number one choice to be on the ticket, as Romneys running mate, in part, to try to win over the Latino vote. Is that a flawed strategy?

GONZALES: I dont think people are going to vote for Governor Romney based upon who he chooses as his number two. I really dont. I dont think its going to make a difference to the Hispanic community, if they view Governor Romneys policies as something that they just simply dont agree with.

At the end of the day, and Ive said this publicly, I think a nominee should consider three things in choosing a running mate. The first and most important is: this a person who can be President on day one, in case something happened to me. Secondly, is this a person who can help me govern? Because it is the Vice President who is often the last person in the Oval Office, right before the President makes a tough decision. And you want the Vice President to be someone who has wisdom. And you only gain wisdom through experience.

WILLIAMS: Right.

GONZALES: And then finally, you know, assuming those two criteria are met is you might choose someone as a running mate, who helps you win an important state, or win, you know, a particular segment of the voting public. So those are the things that I would look at, and I dont think Hispanics are going to support Governor Romney, simply because he puts Marco Rubio, or any other Hispanic on the ticket.

WILLIAMS: Right.

GONZALES: Its going to depend on following the policies that they believe Governor Romney champions.

WILLIAMS: Do you know Rubio?

GONZALES: I dont know him. I dont know him at all. Obviously he is a very talented individual. I honor his service and, you know, the choice is a very personal one, in terms of who will be the running mate and I hope and pray that Governor Romney makes the best decision for his campaign, and for this country.

WILLIAMS: Now, you spoke earlier about your time as Attorney General and the controversies over memos and the like. You mustve heard the news about the President having approval of a so-called kill list. And, he has not released any memos about justification for this kind of thing. What are your thoughts?

GONZALES: Well, I think that I cant confirm that no memos have been released. I do know that General Holder did give a speech, sort of outlining the justification for the decisions. Im assuming that Congress has been fully briefed. If I were in Congress, Id want to know

WILLIAMS: Right.

GONZALES:  if in fact the President is targeting American citizens, in particular to be placed on a kill list. Id like to know that. But it does raise a very interesting question: whether or not the Executive, the Commander In-Chief, in a time of war, can, on his own, can the Executive branch, on its own, put an American citizen on a kill list?

I dont know whether or not there are five votes on the court that would agree with that. The question is whether or not this is this the kind of issue that is non-discussible, meaning that the courts going to say, well this is sort of a political question, you know, were not going to deal with it. But I worry about the notion, and some people might be surprised to hear me say this, I worry about the notion that you have the most powerful person in the world, the Commander In-Chief, whos unconstrained, in any way making this decision.

So, its a very difficult issue and its one that Im hoping Congress is working closely with the White House, to understand, you know, what is happening, whats going to happen, going forward.

WILLIAMS: Well, I mention it because obviously there was such controversy over the memos, coming out of your administration, and then the Justice Department, with regard to enhanced interrogation. But you dont see a parallel there.

GONZALES: Well, Im assuming, again, this is an assumption, that before these actions were taken, that the Department of Justice penned a lengthy legal opinion, saying, Mr. President, you have the authority to do this.

WILLIAMS: Right.

GONZALES: And, typically, certainly initially, I think those kinds of opinions, that the Executive branch would try to protect you, and you would try to work with Congress in providing an accommodation, by briefing the Chair and the ranking member of both the House and the Senate Intelligence Committees, about what youre doing in the justification. And the same thing with the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. If the briefing is insufficient, then you might provide some kind of summary of the opinion. So, you work with a series of steps before you actually get to the point where you decide, Im either going to release a memo, or Im not going to release a memo.

WILLIAMS: Now, when you look forward coming out of the Bush years, what are you doing and what do you plan to do in the future? Do you have any political ambitions?

GONZALES: My wife tells me I have no political ambitions.

WILLIAMS: [LAUGHS]

GONZALES: Im practicing law again, which I enjoy.

WILLIAMS: What kind of law do you practice?

GONZALES: I help companies deal with crisis situations and government investigations, something that I have some experience in with the Waller Law Firm in Nashville. But Im also teaching Constitutional law, presidential power, and national security law, at Belmont University in Nashville.

Im also doing a lot of writing. I give a lot of speeches; I do interviews like this one. And so I like that. I like commenting on issues. I think that, I do have a perspective thats a little different than other people and to the extent that I can be helpful in the debate, I like doing that.

WILLIAMS: MisterI was going to call you Mr. Attorney General, but Judge Gonzales is your preference, so Judge Gonzales, thank you so much for joining us for this Fox News Latino interview.

GONZALES: Thank you, Juan.

Juan Williams is a writer, author and Fox News political analyst and special contributor to Fox News Latino. His latest book "Muzzled: The Assault On Honest Debate" (Crown/Random House) was released in 2011. He also writes for The Hill and on TheHill.com.

This interview was produced by Victor Garcia. Follow him on twitter @MrVicGarcia.

FULL UNEDITED INTERVIEW

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker becomes only the third governor in U.S. history to face a recall vote.

The Wisconsin recall election highlights elections in a number of states which feature contested elections and ballot measures in California, New Jersey, and New Mexico, in addition to presidential primaries.

In Wisconsin, the effort to remove Walker from office began last year, when the Republican governor released a plan that called on public workers to give up nearly all of their collective bargaining rights in an effort to control the state budget.

Protests as large as 100,000 swelled at the state Capitol, but despite the outcry, the bill was signed into law.

Since then, Walker has remained a rising national star while fighting the recall campaign at home. His Democratic opponent is Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost the gubernatorial election to Walker in 2010.

Wisconsin is one of four states whose elections the U.S. Justice Department is monitoring to ensure against discrimination.

The federal officials will be monitoring the elections to make sure they comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. In addition, the act requires certain covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process.

In Wisconsin, the federal agency is sending observers to the city of Milwaukee, which is required to provide assistance in Spanish.

In California, Twenty-four names are on the primary ballot in the race for the U.S. Senate. Under a new primary system, the top two choices will compete in the general election regardless of party affiliation. Voters will also weigh in on a proposal to raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack to fund cancer research.

In New Jersey, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is unopposed in the party primary. Republican state Sen. Joe Kyrillos faces three relatively unknown challengers and is expected to oppose Menendez in the general election.

In New Mexico, Former Rep. Heather Wilson is expected to win the Republican primary to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman. Rep. Martin Heinrich and state auditor Hector Balderas are seeking the Democratic nomination.

A close race is expected in the Democratic primary for Albuquerque's 1st Congressional District, which is being vacated by Heinrich. In a three-way race are former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez, state Sen. Eric Griego and Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham. The winner will face former Republican state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones.

This article is based on The Assicated Press reporting.

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Was the Supreme Court's decision on Arizona's tough immigration law a win for those who don't want states creating their own laws on the matter, or was it a win for those who support enforcement at the local level?

Yes and yes -- depending on whom you ask.

But the fact is that neither side scored a complete victory.

The Supreme Court's much anticipated ruling struck down three of four contested provisions of the Arizona law, known as SB 1070. The decision prohibits Arizona from making it a state crime for undocumented immigrants to reside in the state or seek work there, and invalidates a provision that would have given police the power to arrest those suspected of residing in the country illegally.

But the ruling left perhaps the most controversial element intact: section 2B, often referred to as the show me your papers provision. The section instructs police officers to check the immigration status of those they stop or arrest for other crimes if they have reason to suspect the person is residing in the country illegally.

President Barack Obama painted the ruling as a limited triumph, but lamented the Courts approval of section 2B.

I am pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizona's immigration law, Obama said in a statement. Going forward, we must ensure that Arizona law enforcement officials do not enforce this law in a manner that undermines the civil rights of Americans, as the Courts decision recognizes.

Obama wasnt the only one celebrating. Focusing on the survival of section 2B, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer also praised the ruling.

Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a victory for the rule of law, Brewer said in a statement. After more than two years of legal challenges, the heart of SB 1070 can now be implemented in accordance with the U.S. Constitution.

If the Courts approval of section 2B was a victory for SB 1070 supporters, it was not the total triumph they wanted.

The opinion delivered by Justice Kennedy requires Arizona to apply section 2B narrowly. If immigration checks wind up lengthening the time suspects spend in detention, it could raise objections, according to Kennedys opinion. Neither could state officers hold undocumented immigrants in custody for possible unlawful presence without federal direction and supervision.

If section 2B only requires state officers to conduct a status check during the course of an authorized, lawful detention or after a detainee has been released, the provision likely would survive preemption, Justice Kennedy wrote, but added: at least absent some showing that it has other consequences that are adverse to federal law and its objectives.

That interpretation leaves open the possibility that the law could be challenged on the allegation that it leads to racial profilinga process that is already in the works. The American Civil Liberties Union said Monday it has amassed a fund of $8.7 million to file as many lawsuits as possible against show me papers laws in Arizona and other states.

And they arent the only ones who plan to sueSB 1070 supporters are also expected to file lawsuits, taking advantage of a section of the Arizona immigration law that allows the states residents to sue state agencies that dont enforce the law.

"We are in uncharted territory on this issue, said Tuscon Police Chief Roberto Villasenor in a statement. "Police and sheriffs departments in Arizona may be sued by people who believe they are not aggressive enough in enforcing the lawor by others who believe that police are being too aggressive or are engaging in racial profiling."

"This will result in our officers being tied up in court rather than working on the streets to reduce crime.

Pressure by some law enforcement officials to aggressively act on it may not result in an uptick in deportations. Even if state police enforce the new law as aggressively as possiblewhich Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, for his part, insists he willthe Department of Homeland Security is not likely to cooperate.

Anticipating a flood of calls in coming weeks as Arizonas law is implemented, DHS is directing its immigration agents to continue following its prosecutorial discretion guidelines to prioritize the deportation of criminals and repeat crossers, while exempting those 30 and under who were brought here as children.

It remains to be seen how Arizona will implement its newly approved law. Whats clear for now is that Mondays ruling did not settle the conflict over the Arizonas SB 1070. The decision handed no one a total victory and litigation will continue for the foreseeable future.
As the Supreme Court delivered its much anticipated decision on the Arizona immigration law, a separate legal drama unfolded in Florida on Monday, where the state has taken steps to establish what some describe as its own foreign policy aimed at Cuba.

The Supreme Court declined to hear a law that bars public universities from sending faculty and students to countries classified by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism. The law targets Cuba, whose Communist government is resented by many in South Floridas large Cuban-American community, but would also affect travel to countries including Syria and Iran.

With the Supreme Courts refusal to review the case, the law now takes effect.

Howard Simon of the American Civil Liberties, which sued Florida along with a group of professors, called Supreme Courts refusal to review the case devastating, according to the Miami Herald.

The research is not going to end. It will just be done by universities elsewhere outside of Florida, Simon said, according to the Miami Herald. It will keep us in an enforced state of ignorance.

Florida Republican David Rivera, who sponsored the bill as a state legislator before going on to become a U.S. Congressman, applauded the decision, calling it a victory for Florida taxpayers, the Miami Herald reports.

A federal court enjoined a second Florida law on Tuesday that also targeted Cuba, CBS News reports. The suspended law would prohibit the state government from contracting companies that do business with the island for deals worth more than $1 million. The law also applies to Syria.

The U.S. subsidiary of Brazil's Odebrecht --an engineering and construction company that is renewing the Cuban port of Mariel-- sued Florida, saying the state doesnt have the authority to make its own foreign policy.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill in May, but had warned that Congress would need to pass a complimentary law to make the measure enforceable.

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Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King told The Daily Caller that the immigration lawsuit he is leading against President Barack Obama should be filed within weeks.

Kings lawsuit is a response to Obama's new immigration policy announced in June under executive order, an order he believes is unconstitutional.

"If the president can just pick and choose the laws he wants to enforce, you get a breakdown in the constitutional order because he's charged with enforcing the laws," said Steven Camarota, Director of the Research Center for Immigration Studies, to Fox News in support of King's argument.

Though Camarota said, "it's very tough" to win - unless he can show that an act of Congress is being nullified by the president than you might have standing or the right to sue.

Obama laid out details of his new immigration policy that will stop deporting and will issue work permits to up to 800,000 young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children and have never committed a crime.

The congressman detailed a meeting held last Tuesday with "potential co-plaintiffs" interest in signing on to King's lawsuit.

According to King, If the case is heard on the merits, were in an excellent position to succeed.

King is worried that letting Obama use an executive order to bypass Congress could lead to a "dangerous precedent."

My ideal would be to ask for a writ of mandamus to direct the president to enforce the law, King told the Caller. That might be hard. Behind that would be to ask for an injunction to block his implementation because it is a constitutional overreach.

Under the new policy, undocumented immigrants will be immune from deportation if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16 and are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED, or served in the military. Those who qualify for the program can apply for a work permit that will be good for two years with no limits on how many times it can be renewed.

"Well, the question is, can he get his colleagues to try to make the issue clear that it's not really an immigration issue, it's fundamentally a constitutional issue?" Camarota said.

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Latino leaders in San Antonio will host a fundraiser for the Barack Obama reelection campaign on Tuesday that organizers say is expected to top his previous visits to the state.

Obama will visit a luncheon hosted by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, U.S. Rep. Charles Rodriguez and actress Eva Longoria.

The event was originally scheduled to take place at the Marriot River Center, but organizers had to move it to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center to handle high demand.

Over 1,000 Obama supporters are expected to attend the event, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The original venue could only accommodate 300 people.

It's clear that President Obama has strong support in the San Antonio area, Castro told the San Antonio Express-News. There's been a tremendous amount of enthusiasm since he visited in 2007.

Castro serves as a co-chairman for Obamas national campaign.

Three busloads of supporters from South Texas, an area where many districts are majority-Mexican American, will drive up for the campaign event.

Democrats hope to pull in between $3 million and $4 million at the fundraiser, in an effort to break Obamas previous fundraising visits to the state. Tickets range from $250 for general admission to $5,000, which comes with a photo shoot with Obama.

In the afternoon, Obama will travel to Austin for a two smaller fundraisersone at Austin Music Hall, hosted by the LGBT Leadership Council, and a second hosted by Dells former finance chief Tom Meredith.

Obama isnt the only one reaching into Texan pockets to bolster his campaign finances. Presumptive GOP candidate Mitt Romney raised some $3 million in San Antonio last month, according to KXAN.com.
A new Mitt Romney campaign ad praises the United States as a nation of immigrants and stresses the presumptive GOP presidential nominees family link to Mexico.

The ad, in which Romneys son Craig narrates in Spanish, is the campaigns ninth released in Spanish.

I would like to tell you how my father, Mitt Romney, thinks, says Craig Romney. He values very much that we are a nation of immigrants. My grandfather George was born in Mexico.

The younger Romney says his father is committed to finding a permanent solution to the immigration system, working with leaders of both parties.

The campaign of President Barack Obama called Romneys latest ad hypocritical.

His new ad in Spanish says hes committed to finding a solution for fixing the broken immigration system in the long term, but in English hes said that the solution is self-deportation, said an Obama campaign statement emailed to the press. Romney can have hope that the truth will be lost in translation, but Hispanic voters will not let themselves be deceived.

Romney's campaign has generally avoided delving into the topic of immigration -- specifically, what to do with the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants who live in the United States.

But with the intense focus on immigration recently -- because of Obama's deportation announcement, and the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Arizona's immigration law-- many said the Romney campaign would feel more pressed to address a topic they have treated as almost toxic.

During the GOP primary, Romney often took hard-line stances on immigration, and vowed to veto the DREAM Act a measure that would give such immigrants a path to legalization as long they meet a strict set of criteria, including graduating from a U.S. high school, going to college or serving in the military, and staying out of trouble with police.

The former Massachusetts governor also rarely brought up his familys connection to Mexico.

According to published reports, Romneys great grandfather, Miles Parker Romney, and about 40 other relatives fled to Mexico from Utah in the 1800s because of U.S. anti-polygamy laws. His great-grandfather is said to have had four wives, a violation of laws passed just two years earlier making multiple marriages a felony.

The Romney clan then returned to the United States in 1912, fleeing the chaos of the Pancho Villa chapter of the Mexican Revolution, and ending up in Michigan. George Romney, the GOP candidates father, became an auto executive and governor of Michigan.

Romney has lagged behind Obama among Latino voters, according to polls. Many Latino voters cite Romneys hard-line rhetoric on immigration during the GOP primary as one reason for their negative view of him.

Recently, Romney has softened his public approach to immigration.

At the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) conference in Orlando recently, Romney said that as President, he would give undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors the chance to stay in the country permanently --and an eventual path to U.S. citizenship-- but only if they serve in the U.S. military.

Political analysts say that Romney must win at least 40 percent of the Latino vote to have a shot at winning the election in November.

On Wednesday, Latino Decisions released a new national poll of Latino registered voters that showed Obama winning 70 percent of the Latino vote compared to 22 percent for Romney. A poll by Quinnipiac University released last week, however, showed that Obamas support among Latino voters dropping to a new low to 59 percent  ableit still well ahead of Romney, who had 30 percent support.

Romney's announcement to NALEO about his support for a military-centric path to legalization for some undocumented youth came less than a week after Obama said he was going to give a two-year reprieve to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as minors before the age of 16 years old, as long as they met other criteria, including those currently in school or have graduated from high school as well as serving in the military.

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The American Dream, that wonderful notion that anyone -- anyone -- can make it in America, will not only survive, but will become stronger, in spite of President Obamas remarks last Friday, when he said at a campaign rally: If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made it happen."

What?

That statement goes against everything America stands for.

I had to reread that statement and listen to his entire speech with an immigrants perspective in mind.

My heart shrunk.

Immigrants risk their lives; they leave everything behind because they believe they will make it in America.

Show me an immigrant, I will show you an entrepreneur. They have the greatest percentage of new businesses. However small they start, their businesses eventually grow just like everyone else's.

I understand the President continues on his divide-and-conquer strategy.

That is clear. We have seen how methodically he pits one group of people against another.

This time though, he has gone too far.

Why does he have to make it a zero-sum game, where someones win means someones loss?

In a zero-sum game there is only one pie. When that pie is divided, if someone gets a big piece, someone else gets a smaller piece. In America we believe in making more pies.

Time after time we have witnessed the greatness of America, where someones win becomes everyone elses win.

Just to name a couple of small businessmen, consider Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Their wins became everyones win.

Their entrepreneurial spirit, indomitable pursuit and sheer determination created new and improved technologies, enriched livelihoods worldwide and accumulated massive wealth. For the President to diminish the efforts of entrepreneurs, to scold them ever so sanctimoniously, and to admonish them for their successes, is to go against the fabric of America.

At a time when the economy is in dire need of more entrepreneurs, when business people need to be cheered, and when investors need to be encouraged, this president is attacking the job creators; he is vilifying the very means that could get us out of the hole he has plowed us in.

In excoriating them, he demonstrates how little he understands the inner workings of the economy.

It takes people willing to risk everything they own to create a new company, develop a new gadget, provide a new service and hopefully make a profit.

In the America I love, that risk is applauded and rewarded.

It is painfully ironic that a President, who epitomizes what America stands for, is the one who uses the bully pulpit to chisel away our most sacred belief.

But America is greater than the President and our belief is stronger than his politics. The conviction that anything is possible in America has bonded us together our entire history and will continue to unite us past November.
President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Monday evening that he would announce his nominee for the secretary of state position on Tuesday.

Two sources close to the transition told Fox News late Sunday that ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson would be the pick, apparently putting an end to one of the biggest political guessing games since Trump's election victory over Hillary Clinton. However, the sources warned that nothing was official until the president-elect announces it.

EXPECTED TILLERSON PICK LATEST BLOW FOR DEMS' EXXONMOBIL SHAME CAMPAIGN

Trump's search for America's top diplomat had been carried out in highly public fashion. Speculation focused on Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who heads the Foreign Relations Committee; former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who removed himself from contention for a Trump administration post last week; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; and, most tantalizingly, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, once a vocal Trump critic.

Late Monday, Romney indicated that he had not been given the job in a post on Facebook.

Trump spoke highly of Tillerson in an interview aired on "Fox News Sunday," calling him much more than a business executive.

TRUMP TO NOMINATE EXXONMOBIL CEO REX TILLERSON AS SECRETARY OF STATE, SOURCES SAY

He's in charge of an oil company that's pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor," Trump told host Chris Wallace. Its been a company that's been unbelievably managed, and to me a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia, he does massive deals for the company. Not for himself, for the company.

Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState - MR  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 11, 2016

If Trump picks Tillerson, the executive is likely to face scrutiny from Republican senators, some of whom have expressed concerns about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted strong, if thinly veiled, criticism of Tillerson Sunday.

Tillersons possible selection has also been condemned by a number of environmentalists, who have allied with Democratic attorneys general to pursue a high-profile, multi-state probe into ExxonMobil that has sputtered in recent months.

May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, called Tillerson an unfathomable pick, adding, "Tillerson may be a friend of Putins, but hes no friend of the planet. ExxonMobil is still a leading funder of climate denial and is pursuing a business plan that will destroy our future. Tillerson deserves a federal investigation, not federal office."

The 64-year-old Tillerson began his career at Exxon in 1975 as an engineer, rising through the ranks and becoming president and director in 2004 and CEO two years later. He was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and studied civil engineering at University of Texas.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Fox News Sunday Morning Futures that Tillerson would be a smart pick.

Speaking on ABC News This Week, incoming Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus also defended Tillerson as an incredible businessman and American patriot.

While noting a conclusion has not been made, he stressed that Tillerson is in the business of finding oil around the world, and said the fact that he actually has a relationship with people like Vladimir Putin and others across the globe is something that [we] shouldn't be ... embarrassed by.

Asked about tough questions from Republican senators, he said, We don't have concerns about confirmation.

Should he become America's top diplomat, he will have a pay cut and complicated financial situation to sort out. Tillerson reportedly makes more than $40 million per year and owns more than $100 million of stock in a company that has holdings and dealings throughout the world.

Fox News' Serafin Gomez and FoxNews.com's Adam Shaw contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
Days after President-elect Donald Trump lambasted Boeing and called for the U.S. government to cancel a contract with the aerospace giant, the company on Monday approved a decision to move its defense unit headquarters from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., in an effort to boost relations with -- and proximity to -- government officials.

The move had been in the works for months, DefenseOne reported, and a Boeing spokesman told FoxNews.com that Trumps critical statements played no role in Boeings timetable.

The President-elects tweets didnt influence the decision, Todd Blecher said in an email. This is a small manpower move. Initially about a dozen people. Over time that could increase to about 50 people.

TRUMP: F-35 PROGRAM COST IS 'OUT OF CONTROL'

The headquarters move means some local jobs will be lost, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported; however, Boeing also plans to move 500 jobs to St. Louis from California as it continues a consolidation process. Boeing plans to maintain a huge presence  approximately 14,000 people  in its traditional St. Louis home.

Trump name-checked Boeing for the first time on Dec. 6, questioning the ballooning price tag on a new fleet of presidential planes.

Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order! he tweeted.

Trump later repeated his concerns to reporters inside Trump Tower.

The plane is totally out of control, Trump said. Its going to be over $4 billion for the Air Force One program and I think its ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.

But Trumps relationship with Boeing was not always so sour.

Trump tweeted in January 2013 that Boeing was a Great company! after the business mogul-turned politician bought stock in the corporation. Trump sold that stock in June, a spokesman told reporters last week. Trumps personal aircraft, often called Trump Force One, is a Boeing 757.

Additionally, Trump recently appointed an ex-Boeing chairman to chair a board of executive advisers on economic, regulatory and labor matters.
The former director of the CIA says the debate over who leaked emails belonging to Hillary Clintons campaign staff is obstructing the real concern: the hacking of U.S. government systems and the information that is being stolen.

I dont know why we are focusing on what probably is publicly available information that the Russians are putting out, James Woolsey, now a senior adviser to president-elect Donald Trump, told Fox News on Tuesday.

Woolsey said he believes the data breach at the Office of Personnel Management  where more than 21 million Social Security numbers were stolen  is more important than alleged pay-to-play schemes and other revelations coming out of the Clinton emails.

His comments came following a Reuters report Monday in which U.S. officials said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has not endorsed the CIAs assessment that Russian cyberattacks were aimed at helping out Trump over Clinton in the election. Trump has also rejected the CIAs analysis.

The Russians go after everybody, Woolsey said. They go after Jews, they go after Catholics.

TOP INTEL OFFICE NOT ON SAME PAGE AS CIA REGARDING RUSSIA HACK ASSESSMENT

As for the criticism Trump has taken over announcing that he will not need daily intelligence briefings, Woolsey called it a small matter.

I think its fine. President Clinton virtually never had briefings given to him as briefings, he took it as paper and read it, Woolsey told Fox News. I think a president has a lot of flexibility in how he absorbs that information.

Woolsey also played down concerns of Trumps Secretary of State pick, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, of being close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

TRUMP TAPS TILLERSON FOR SECRETARY OF STATE, CONFIRMATION FIGHT LOOMS

I think its really kind of a nothingburger, Woolsey said, noting that the Russian Order of Friendship award that Tillerson received has also been given to athletes, musicians and "lots of people.

I see absolutely no evidence he has done anything improper or that hes asked for some kind of special treatment, Woolsey said. He seems to be a smart, tough businessman, whats the problem?
Democrats are already moving past their November losses to revamp for a 2018 comeback but so far appear to be sticking closely to a familiar playbook -- re-electing the same leaders and trying to woo minority voters.

Just days after House Democrats voted to extend California Rep. Nancy Pelosis long reign atop their caucus, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee gave New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Lujan a second term as chairman.

The DCCC also announced a new, more diverse set of senior staffers, following public exchanges about controlling Democratic leaders and members not paying their dues.

But the group has yet to outline the kind of economic message that many rank-and-file Democrats think will be necessary to attract younger voters and reconnect with the working-class Midwesterners who helped Donald Trump win the White House and his Republican Party keep its House and Senate majority.

Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who last month challenged Pelosi for the post of Democratic House leader, made the economy a centerpiece of his bid and continued to hit that message after his loss.

We need to talk about economics  jobs, pensions, wages, he said. We got off that message.  We cant keep going down the same road.

However, House members, particularly the handful who backed Ryans attempted coup, appear to have halted their public criticism, in part because Pelosi agreed to hold a vote for DCCC chairman, instead of leadership handpicking one.

DCCC spokeswoman Meredith Kelly on Tuesday acknowledged the group's need for a clearer jobs message but also argued House Democrats had a good election cycle considering the tough environment for her party, gaining six seats and losing only one incumbent race.

It is critical that Democrats better convey our economic message, so that working families from upstate New York to Colorado and Florida know which party truly has their back, she said.

Republican strategist David Payne suggests Democrats do not see November as a cause for serious introspection.

When a party loses big, they change big, Payne, a partner at Vox Global, said Tuesday. Their 2016 loss doesnt strike most Democrats as a major loss. They look at Clintons win in the popular vote and loss in the Electoral College as a small loss, overall.

But he said Democrats need to be developing a unified message to the nation -- one focused on jobs and economic vitality.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, charged with electing and reelecting members in the chamber, is also going with a party stalwart in the top slot. It will be led by incoming Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who ran the DCCC for four years while serving seven terms in the House.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Van Hollen was the caucus first choice, in having to defend 25 Democratic senators seeking reelection in 2018.

Van Hollen already is looking for an executive director. And among those being considered are Addisu Demissie, a former Hillary Clinton campaign director, and Paul Tencher, who ran Democrat Evan Bayh's failed effort this year to win a Senate seat in Indiana, according to Politico.

The front-runner in the race to lead the Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, is liberal Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Labor Secretary Tom Perez reportedly is planning to mount a bid for the DNC position, amid criticism about Ellisons past comments about Israel and his support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
The headlines sound downright scary.

Donald Trump could be getting an unfettered propaganda arm. He might finally have his own Trump TV. He could install a right-wing ideologue at taxpayer expense.

Pretty chilling stuff -- except for the fact that the media operation in question is backed by the Obama administration and the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The episode provides a stark example of the medias double standard when it comes to Trump, in which something barely treated as news mushrooms into a calamity because he, rather than Hillary Clinton, will be sitting in the Oval Office.

The focus of this heated coverage is a congressional amendment to abolish the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other government communications agencies.

In the wake of a bipartisan consensus that the board is ineffective and sometimes incompetent, Congress recently voted to replace it with a single chief executive now appointed by the president. Obama is expected to sign a defense authorization bill that includes the amendment as early as today.

Ed Royce, the California Republican who chairs the Foreign Affairs panel, dismissed what he called the media spin. In an interview, he told me: Its hysteria. Its a smokescreen that some have put up. This has nothing to do with the incoming president of the United States. This has nothing to do with Donald Trump.

Royce announced the legislation last year with support from the committees top Democrat, Eliot Engel of New York, who said he was proud to join the effort to to breathe new life into American international broadcasting by modernizing and streamlining the BBG. They had proposed a similar measure in 2014.

President Obamas handpicked chairman of the governors board, Jeff Shell, who is also an NBC film executive, agreed the changes were long overdue. And no one much cared. Clinton has also criticized the board of governors.

But now that Trump will be appointing the chief executive, Politico quoted an unnamed government official as warning that eliminating the board will make it susceptible to the influence of Trumps allies, including Steve Bannon, who ran Breitbart News. It was Politico that said this could turn into Trump TV, a propaganda arm of the White House.

A Washington Post editorial said the new president will be able to install the editor of Breitbart News or another propagandist of his choice to direct how the United States is presented to the world. There is only the hope that Trump picks someone committed to independent journalism rather than a political loyalist or alt-right ideologue, the paper said.

So a legislative change that would have been unremarkable in a Hillary Clinton administration has become, for some in the media, a story about Breitbart and the alt-right.

Royce said in the interview that the programs have been crippled, and part of that is the bureaucracy. This hasnt been a partisan issue.

Noting that any Trump appointee would be subject to Senate confirmation, the congressman said the recent media warnings have zero grounding in fact. Ill never allow the BBG to be transformed into some kind of White House propaganda machine, nor will Congress. The American people wont stand for it.

Under a three-year-old legislative change, the agencies' content can also be broadcast in the United States.

The VOA and related agencies, with an $800-million budget, were designed to provide an independent source of news to closed societies and dictatorships, and pride themselves on their journalistic independence. The effort has taken on new importance in an era of ISIS propaganda and Russian cyberhacking.

The nine-member board was originally created as a political buffer. Among the problems is that its members serve part time and meet once a month, with action often delayed if they cant obtain a quorum.

Royce said, for instance, that it took the board six months to produce one 30-minute Russian-language program, at a cost of $2.5 million, after Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, and the viewership was abysmal. He also noted that the VOA has stopped broadcasting in Arabic to the Middle East.

Even Clinton, as secretary of State, said in 2013 that our Broadcasting Board of Governors is practically defunct in terms of its capacity to tell a message around the world. So were abdicating the ideological arena and we need to get back into it.

Engel said today that he supports having the agencies producing high-quality, unbiased news and information for audiences abroad, not propaganda, and that Chairman Royces reforms will help move us toward that goal.

VOA Director Amanda Bennett, a former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, told staffers that the legislation makes no changes to the BBGs statutory firewall, which will ensure the professional independence of our journalists and broadcasters. Her email was provided to the BBC.

The Politico story noted some of the bipartisan support for the change, yet also says the move to consolidate the agencies under a single CEO could pave the way for Trump-approved content created by the U.S. diplomacy arm, if he chooses to exploit the opportunity.

But the same could be said for any president. Only Trumps election transformed this into big news.
LANCASTER  EMS crews were called to nearly two dozen drug-related overdoses over the weekend in Lancaster County, authorities said Monday.

Of those 23 overdoses, three were reportedly fatal.

Executive Director of Lancaster EMS Robert May says heroin abuse is suspected in all 23 cases.

We obviously have a problem in our communities, and its not isolated to Lancaster County, May said.

Recent spikes have also been reported in York and Philadelphia counties.

Three people died of suspected overdose in five hours on Nov. 30, according to York County coroner Pam Gay.

In Philadelphia, officials say as many as 35 people died in overdoses between Dec. 1 and 5.

The frequency in which we were going out for overdoses today versus even last year for that matter is concerning, May said.

Lancaster EMS is the countys busiest emergency provider.

May said the rash of calls put a strain on their resources. He said its also is putting everyone at risk.

When you have a stroke or a cardiac problem time is of the essence, May said. Response times do matter. If were tied up on an overdose, or an overdose involving for the same individual within the same week, it does pull resources down and it could also increase response times.

Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said people should be upset about the strain on the resources. He said he wasnt surprised about the spike in overdoses and added that more needs to be done to fix the heroin problem.

Its going take everyone in all aspects from the culture, Stedman said. Theres no one bullet solution to this.

Stedman said it was too early to tell why the weekend was so bad.
Five weeks after the election, a war has broken out over Donald Trumps foreign policy.

The media troops are charging hard, saying the president-elect is dissing the CIA and likely to turn over the State Department to a friend of Vladimir Putin and an overly hawkish deputy.

For all the controversy that Trump has generated since winning the election, this is the biggest storm, generated by a press corps that remains suspicious of the country's new leader.

Trump was indeed dismissive of the CIA findings, leaked to the Washington Post, that the Russian government used hackers to try to help him win the presidency. Ridiculous, he told Chris Wallace, and an excuse by the Democrats for losing. He also put out a statement saying this is the same bunch that brought us Saddams WMDs. (Now under different management than in the Bush years, of course.)

Now Trump may have gone a step too far in alienating the intelligence agencies hell have to rely on as president. But he does have a point that the findings are less than rock-solid, as is often the case in the murky world of spycraft.

The New York Times yesterday acknowledged that Langley had no new information, just what many believe is overwhelming circumstantial evidence:

American spy and law enforcement agencies were united in the belief, in the weeks before the presidential election, that the Russian government had deployed computer hackers to sow chaos during the campaign. But they had conflicting views about the specific goals of the subterfuge. And the FBI has a more ambiguous view.



Still, the media are demanding investigations. Look at the tone of this Washington Post headline:

Key GOP senators join call for bipartisan Russia election probe, even as their leaders remain mum.



The implication is that Republicans who dont side with John McCain and Lindsey Graham in supporting a probe are just partisan hacks. In any event, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan made clear yesterday that there will be an investigation.

Liberal NYT columnist Paul Krugman yesterday declared this a "tainted" election and "illegitimate in important ways," including the hacking, Hillary's popular-vote win and James Comey's late intervention.

Its worth pointing out that this whole episode is marked by hypocrisy. If Hillary Clinton had won the election and the CIA said Russian hackers had tried to help her, the Republicans would be apoplectic and the Democrats would be playing it down.

Imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory! Trump tweeted yesterday.

Which brings us to Rex Tillerson, the Exxon-Mobil CEO, who has known Putin for two decades -- and whom Trump announced as his choice for secretary of State on Tuesday.

Its certainly fair for the press to question whether a corporate chieftain with zero political experience is suited to be the nations top diplomat. And Tillersons friendly relations with Russia, which gave him an Order of Friendship award, has fueled concern about the president-elects approach, especially in the McCain-Graham wing of the GOP.

According to the Times, which painted him as something of a hothead, his unconventional approach could open up Mr. Tillerson to closer scrutiny in Senate confirmation hearings, particularly when it comes to his close relations with Russia.



Meanwhile, there is also sniping over reports that Trump may name as Tillersons deputy John Bolton, the Fox News contributor and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

MSNBCs Joe Scarborough called the potential pick madness, saying, Why would Donald Trump pick a guy who still thinks invading Iraq was a good idea? (So did Hillary Clinton and many others at the time.)

What really set off Boltons critics was what he said on Fox over the weekend about the CIAs findings on Russian hackers: Its not at all clear to me just viewing this from the outside that this hacking into the DNC and the RNC computers was not a false flag operationperhaps making the extraordinary suggestion (as the Post put it) that the Obama administration was stirring things up.

A spokesman for Bolton emailed last night to say that "assumption" was "false" and that the ex-ambassador "made it unambiguously clear that 'false flag' is a reference to foreign entities such as China, North Korea, Iran, etc."

Just for good measure, Politico kicks around a former Fox contributor, K.T. McFarland, without an on-the-record source criticizing her selection as deputy national security adviserand even implying shes too old for the job. McFarland, 65, worked for the Pentagon during the Reagan administration.

Many of those who are skeptical of the McFarland appointment, Politico says, speaking under condition of anonymityinsist she is a policy lightweight with no real personnel or crisis management experience. Several said her job would test the stamina even of someone a decade younger.



Politico does include some on-the-record praise for McFarland, an Oxford graduate, with Ed Rollins calling her extraordinarily smart.

All in all, the attacks involving the CIA, Tillerson, Bolton and McFarland, along with the Taiwan call, feel like an assault on how Trump is approaching foreign policy. Maybe thats why hes pushing back so hard.
Congressional Republicans are vowing to fight a $16.6 billion deal between Boeing and Iran after the air giant announced Sunday it had agreed to sell 80 aircraft to Iran Air -- and cast the deal in Trumpian terms as good for American jobs.

GOP lawmakers had criticized the Chicago-based company when the deal was still being worked out in June. Reps. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., and Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, fired off a letter to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg at the time warning the deal could weaponize the regime.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) systematically uses commercial aircraft to transport troops, weapons, military-related parts, rockets and missiles to hostile actors around the world, they wrote. ... These terrorist groups and rogue regimes have American blood on their hands. Your potential customers do as well.

In the wake of Sundays announcement, the lawmakers showed no sign of budging, with a senior aide to Roskam telling FoxNews.com he intends to aggressively fight the deal in the next Congress, and expressing hope that the political winds would shift in their favor once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The incoming appointees at Treasury and State will no longer report to a White House willing to bend over backward and ignore national security concerns to keep Iran from walking away from the nuclear deal, the aide said.

Hensarling, meanwhile, called the deal disappointing to say the least and placed blame at the feet of President Obama.

The President wants us to sell planes not just to this dangerous regime, but to an airline that his own Treasury Department sanctioned in 2011. President Obama even wants U.S. banks to draw on American citizens' deposits to finance Iran, a regime that Treasury calls a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern,' Hensarling said.

If a U.S. financial institution attempts to bankroll Iran in the waning days of the Obama administration, it will have to answer to Congress, he warned.

Hensarling is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Roskam leads the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight.

The House already has passed measures opposing the sale, including a bill in November prohibiting the Treasury Department from financing aircraft sales to Iran. That bill has not yet gone to the Senate for consideration, and would almost certainly be vetoed by President Obama if it passed.

However, it is not clear what President-elect Trump would do with such legislation, and he has not yet commented on the Iran Air deal. While Trump has been a critic of the Iran nuclear agreement, he also has been an advocate for American manufacturing jobs, reaching out to both Ford and Carrier among other companies in an effort to keep jobs in the country.

In its announcement, Boeing framed the deal as one that would support American jobs, possibly as a way to sway the president-elect on the issue and stave off congressional dissent.

Today's agreement will support tens of thousands of U.S. jobs directly associated with production and delivery of the 777-300ERs and nearly 100,000 U.S. jobs in the U.S. aerospace value stream for the full course of deliveries, the company said, before noting it currently supports more than 1.5 million American jobs.

Other lawmakers backed the deal on the basis it would create jobs for American workers.

This deal is good news for Washington state and will help support the thousands of good-paying jobs in my district that rely on trade and Boeings ability to compete in the global marketplace. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said in a statement.

Trump put Boeing on its toes earlier this month when he tweeted that he wants to cancel an order with the company for a new Air Force One, saying the costs are out of control.

The latest Boeing deal was made possible after trade sanctions on Iran were removed in January as part of the nuclear accord. The first planes are set to be delivered to Iran in 2018.
The brief era of good feelings between President-elect Donald Trump and his soon-to-be predecessor may be over, with President Obama sounding off Monday night on Trumps reluctance to receive regular intelligence briefings and further questioning the relationships between Russian officials and members of Trumps campaign team.

Trump told Fox News Sunday he receives intelligence briefings when I need them and criticized many of the reports as repetitive.

On The Daily Show Monday night, Obama said shunning a daily intel briefing is like flying blind.

I think the president-elect may say one thing and do another once hes here, because the truth of the matter is its a big complicated world, said Obama, who himself has been criticized for not attending many of his Presidential Daily Briefs while in office. It doesnt matter how smart you are. You have to have the best information possible to make the best decisions possible.

CLINTON CAMPAIGN BACKS CALL FOR ELECTORS TO GET TRUMP-RUSSIA INTEL BRIEFING

Obama also followed up on criticism leveled earlier in the day by Press Secretary Josh Earnest regarding the Trump team's Russia connections, amid reports that Moscow meddled in the race to boost Trump.

You had what was very clear relationships between members of the President-elects campaign team and the Russians and a professed shared view on a bunch of issues, Obama said.

Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has been tied to Russian interests, in particular. Manafort resigned in August amid increasing questions over his lobbying role for a group of pro-Russian elements in Ukraine. Trump also expressed admiration for Vladimir Putins leadership on numerous occasions.

Though Trump throughout the campaign was a fierce critic of Obama -- and vice-versa -- it appeared the two men had reached some sort of detente following Trumps visit to the White House on Nov. 10, two days after Trump won the presidential election.

Trump has remained remarkably complimentary of the man whose eligibility for office he once questioned, as recently as Sunday saying that Obama has been terrific and very respectful of the process and everything else.

He has treated me really well, Trump told Fox News' Chris Wallace. Hes made us feel very welcome.

Trump added that he was surprised at how well we get along, and I think he might say the same thing.

Obama, for his part, mostly has steered clear of taking shots at his successor. But an avalanche of criticism on Monday about alleged Russian interference in the presidential election, mostly from Democratic leaders, gave way to an extended critique from Earnest during the White House press briefing.

Speaking later with Trevor Noah, Obama echoed Earnest in noting that Trump had joked the Russians should hack Democratic rival Hillary Clintons secret email server to recover tens of thousands of emails she had deleted prior to an FBI investigation.

"The President-elect in some of his political events specifically said to the Russians, hack Hillary's emails so we can finally find out what's going on and confirm our conspiracy theories, Obama said.

Obama said a U.S. intelligence review of any Russian misdeeds was in the works and being produced to prevent this kind of interference from having an effect on the elections in the future.
Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Tuesday imposing a 20-week abortion ban while vetoing stricter provisions in a separate measure that would have barred the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.

Kasich acted on both proposals the same day they landed on his desk.

The so-called heartbeat bill would have prohibited most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy  or before many women know they are pregnant. Its provisions cleared the Republican-led Legislature during a lame-duck flurry last week after being tucked into separate legislation.

Similar measures elsewhere have faced legal challenges, and detractors in Ohio feared such legislation would lead to a costly fight in the courts. Opponents predicted it would be found unconstitutional, a concern Kasich shared.

Kasich said the heartbeat provision would have been struck down based on federal court rulings on similar measures elsewhere. Enacting the law would also invite challenges to current Ohio abortion prohibitions and would mean costly litigation.

"The State of Ohio will be the losing party in that lawsuit and, as the losing party, the State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees for the pro-choice activists' lawyers," Kasich said.

"Therefore, this veto is in the public interest," the governor said.

Kasich, an abortion-rights opponent, chose instead to sign off on a 20-week ban similar to those now in effect in 15 states and blocked from enforcement in two others. The measures are based on the assertion that fetuses can feel pain then. Opponents have challenged the "pain-capable" characterization as scientifically unsound. Ohio lawmakers rejected a Democratic amendment that would have added exceptions for rape and incest.

Ohio lawmakers still have the option to override his veto. Doing so would require a three-fifths majority of each chamber.

The developments in Ohio are a prelude to a broad offensive to be launched in January by abortion-rights opponents emboldened by the election success of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

GOP lawmakers in numerous states  including Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky  plan to push for new anti-abortion legislation. Their efforts are being supported by a national anti-abortion group, Americans United for Life, which released a report Tuesday contending that many abortion clinics are in violation of state health and safety standards.

In Congress, Republicans are expected to advance legislation banning most abortions after 20 weeks and halting federal funding for Planned Parenthood as long as it performs abortions. The president-elect has pledged to support both measures

The Republican-controlled Ohio Senate acted with initial caution on the divisive heartbeat bill before passing it suddenly last week.

Abortion-rights groups oppose it and Ohio Right to Life, the state's oldest anti-abortion group, has remained neutral because of constitutional questions.

The idea of its backers was to spark a challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks, that would ultimately outlaw abortion nationwide.

Also on Tuesday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court threw out a law requiring abortion clinics to have doctors who have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of their facility.

The court ruled that measure, which requires doctors with admitting privileges to be present for abortions, violates both the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed it into law in 2014, but courts had blocked it from going into effect. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year struck down a similar provision in Texas.
Reaffirming its reputation as the most sheltering sanctuary city in the country, San Francisco is doubling down on its support of illegal immigrants with a proposal to fund legal assistance for those facing deportation.

The initiative was introduced by San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, a staunch immigrant-rights advocate.

"We are proud to be a sanctuary city," Campos said. "And we're not only proud to stand up for that, but we're going to invest the resources needed to make sure that the 44,000 undocumented people who live in the city and county of San Francisco have, at a minimum, legal representation if they're taken into immigration court."

The legislation would offer legal defense to anyone who ends up being detained.

"People who are facing criminal charges, no matter their immigration status, already have the right to an attorney under the Constitution," Tamara Aparton, a spokesperson with San Francisco's Public Defender's office, told Fox News. "People whose only crime is being in the country illegally currently do not have that same protection."

But critics say moves like the citys proposed legal aid lay out the welcome mat for illegal immigrants.

"We've seen for the past two administrations, at least, encouragement to illegal immigration," immigration reform activist Rick Oltman said. "What we need to be sending is a message around the world of discouragement to reduce the flow to our border. That will make securing the border easier."

President-elect Donald Trump has said he will deport convicted felons who are in the country illegally, and throughout his campaign pointed to the 2015 shooting death of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier by a repeat felon who had been deported several times.

At recent rally outside San Francisco City Hall, former detainees said that they deserve the same legal rights as anyone else, and that their lack of access to an immigration lawyer turned their lives upside down.

Isolda Matamoros said when she was jailed after passing a bad check in 2014, her young son became suicidal and still suffers from post-traumatic stress.

"It's so important to get the lawyer and get these families back together," Matamoros said, "because the American citizen children, of America, will get affected  extremely  when they wake up and their parents are not there."

In the wake of the election, cities including New York and Chicago are looking to set aside millions of dollars to try to block deportations.

In San Francisco, a proposal calls for spending $5 million, half of which would go to the Public Defender's office. Mayor Ed Lee opposes that part of the plan, saying he only wants to fund community-based legal groups that specialize in deportation defense. Even so, the legislation is going through the budget committee process, with a vote by the full Board of Supervisors expected early next year.

Eventually, city leaders also may have to consider which programs will have to go. Trump has vowed to cut funding to sanctuary cities, a sum that could total about a billion dollars a year in San Francisco alone.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he intends to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of State, setting up what could be a contentious confirmation process amid bipartisan concerns about the oil titan's Russia ties.

Trump, in a statement, described Tillersons career as the embodiment of the American dream -- and called him one of the truly great business leaders of the world in a tweet.

Tillerson impressed Trump during the two meetings they had in the lead-up to the announcement. Trump called him a world-class player during an interview on Fox News Sunday, and on Tuesday said he values Tillersons vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.

Trump has pointed to Tillersons relations with Moscow and other political hot spots as a selling point. As ExxonMobils chief, he maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the Order of Friendship in 2013, a high honor for a foreign citizen.

However, his ties to Russia havent sat well with some in Congress.

Leading Republicans already have expressed reservations about Tillerson, as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia meddled in the U.S. presidential election to help Trump  assessments Trump disputes.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted strong, if thinly veiled, criticism of Tillerson on Sunday. He said: Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState.

Rubio reiterated those concerns Tuesday, while saying he looks forward to learning more about Tillersons background and will ensure he receives a full and fair but also thorough hearing.

While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination, Rubio said in a statement. The next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest, has a clear sense of America's interests, and will be a forceful advocate for America's foreign policy goals to the president, within the administration, and on the world stage.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also has raised concerns  as have environmentalist groups.

But other Republicans, including those considered along with Tillerson for the State Department post, praised his qualifications for the job on Tuesday.

Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will hold confirmation hearings in January, called Tillerson "a very impressive individual" with "an extraordinary working knowledge of the world." Corker, who had been considered for the secretary of state job, said Trump called him Monday to inform him of the pick.

The 64-year-old Tillerson began his career at Exxon in 1975 as an engineer, rising through the ranks and becoming president and director in 2004 and CEO two years later. He was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and studied civil engineering at University of Texas.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Fox News Sunday Morning Futures that Tillerson would be a smart pick.

Speaking on ABC News This Week, incoming Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus also defended Tillerson as an incredible businessman and American patriot.

He said the fact that he actually has a relationship with people like Vladimir Putin and others across the globe is something that [we] shouldn't be ... embarrassed by.

Asked about tough questions from Republican senators, he said, We don't have concerns about confirmation.

Should he be confirmed as America's top diplomat, he will have a pay cut and complicated financial situation to sort out. Tillerson reportedly makes more than $40 million per year and owns more than $100 million of stock in a company that has holdings and dealings throughout the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump considers moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv a very big priority, senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said in a radio interview Monday, describing a step that would represent a major reversal of longstanding U.S. policy.

Both Israel and the Palestinians have claims to the contested city, and the U.S. has held that Jerusalems final status should be the subject of broader international negotiations aimed at resolving the long-simmering dispute.

He made that very clear during the campaign. And as president-elect Ive heard him repeat it several times, privately if not publicly, Ms. Conway said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. Its something that our friend in Israel, a great friend in the Middle East, Israel, would appreciate and something that a lot of Jewish Americans also have expressed their preference for.

Maen Rashid Areikat, the chief representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the U.S., said the Palestinians hope Mr. Trumps administration will adhere to the longstanding U.S. position of keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv. He said moving the embassy would make it more difficult to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Congress has bristled at the executive branchs refusal to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital and in 1995 passed legislation requiring that the U.S. embassy be relocated there.

But the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy act allows the president to waive that order for six month periods for national security reasons, which presidents from both parties have consistently done since the law took effect.

Its a great move, its an easy thing for him to do based on how much he talked about that I think, in the debates, on the stump why its important to do, Ms. Conway said, adding that such a move was also important to Evangelical Christians.

Evangelical Christians always have Israel on the top of their list, she said.

Mr. Trump pledged repeatedly on the campaign trail to move the embassy. However, former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made similar comments as candidates that went unfulfilled.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.
President-elect Donald Trump will pick former Texas Gov. Rick Perry for secretary of Energy, sources tell Fox News.

The two sides finalized the decision during a meeting Monday evening at Trump Tower.

The pick could be seen as ironic for some as Perry famously forgot that he wanted to torpedo the Energy Department during a 2011 presidential debate. He couldnt remember the department when he was ticking off which departments he would eliminate.

"I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the  Whats the third one there? Lets see. ... Oops," Perry said, in a gaffe that effectively derailed his 2012 bid.

The former Texas governor is a board member for Energy Transfer Partners, which is attempting to build the Dakota Access pipeline. The construction of the pipeline sparked protests and its attempted passage through Lake Oahe in North Dakota was blocked recently by the Army Corps of Engineers over concerns it could damage the water supply in tribal lands.

Trump supports the completion of the pipeline and had vowed to solve the situation quickly.

Perry ran for president in both the 2012 and 2016 campaigns, bowing out in both.

Perrys 2016 presidential campaign was supposed to be his self-described second chance. However, Perry never broke through as a top candidate and was never invited to participate on the main debate stage.

After minimal fundraising and being forced to stop paying campaign staff in late August, Perry suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination.

In August 2014, Perry was indicted by a grand jury for abuse of power. He threatened to defund a statewide Public Integrity Unit as a way to force the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat who had pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. The indictment added to the multitude of distractions for Perrys presidential campaign; the charges were later dismissed.

Perry initially endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz after dropping out of the presidential race, but then turned around to support Trump.

Fox News Chris Wallace and John Roberts contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump's victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were certified Monday, further affirming his win over Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month's presidential election.

Wisconsin finalized its recount, which showed Trump beating Clinton by more than 22,000 votes, on the same day that a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvania's presidential election and scan some counties' election systems for signs of hacking.

Later Monday, Pennsylvania certified the state's results in the Nov. 8 election, which saw Trump defeat Clinton by more than 44,000 votes.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein successfully requested, and paid for, the Wisconsin recount. In addition to her failed Pennsylvania recount attempt, Stein's bid for a similar statewide recount in Michigan was blocked by the courts. Stein only got about 1 percent of the vote in each of the three states, which Trump swept on his way to the White House. She argued, without evidence, that voting machines in all three states were susceptible to hacking.



The numbers barely budged in Wisconsin after nearly 3 million votes were recounted. Trump picked up a net 131 votes and the final results changed just 0.06 percent.

In Pennsylvania, U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond said there were at least six grounds that required him to reject the Green Party's lawsuit, which had been opposed by Trump, the Pennsylvania Republican Party and the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.

Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election "borders on the irrational" while granting the Green Party's recount bid could "ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts" given Tuesday's federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College, wrote Diamond, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, a Republican.



"Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any `hack' occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania's voting system was not in any way compromised," Diamond wrote. He also said the lawsuit suffered from a lack of standing, potentially the lack of federal jurisdiction and an "unexplained, highly prejudicial" wait before filing last week's lawsuit, four weeks after the Nov. 8 election.



The decision was the Green Party's latest roadblock in Pennsylvania after hitting numerous walls in county and state courts. Green Party-backed lawyers argue that it was possible that computer hackers changed the election outcome and that Pennsylvania's heavy use of paperless machines makes it a prime target. Stein also contended that Pennsylvania has erected unconstitutional barriers to voters seeking a recount.



A lawyer for the Green Party said Monday they were disappointed and unable to immediately say whether they would appeal.



"But one thing is clear," said the lawyer, Ilann Maazel. "The Pennsylvania election system is not fair to voters and voters don't know if their votes counted, and that's a very large problem."



A federal judge halted Michigan's recount last week after three days. Trump won Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes out of nearly 4.8 million votes cast. It was not immediately clear when the state would certify its results.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jill Stein's rowdy recount push ended with a whimper overnight, giving Donald Trump even more votes than he started with after final certification -- but it wasn't a total wash for the Green Party candidate, who brought in millions and put herself in a position to redistribute the leftover cash.

Stein raised about $7.3 million in three weeks to fund recount efforts, more than double what she raised for her failed presidential campaign.

The money poured in from 161,300 donors across the country. Another 10,000 volunteers signed up to help the drive. Its unclear exactly how much remains -- millions went to recount costs and legal fees -- but she announced Tuesday she plans to donate leftover funds to election-reform and voting-rights groups.

It was an amazing affirmation of the power of the American people to have a voice in their voting system and demand elections with integrity, Stein said in a statement Tuesday.

On the surface, the recounts accomplished little. Her attempts to get fresh tallies in Michigan and Pennsylvania were blocked in court. Stein had suggested  without evidence  that voting machines in those states and Wisconsin could have been hacked in the November election.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schutte, a Republican, argued in the lawsuit that a hand recount would cost taxpayers around $2 million. Other esimates put it as high as $12 million.

Though unsuccessful in Michigan, Stein was able to request and pay for the Wisconsin recount which started on Dec. 1. But that effort resulted in Trump picking up 131 net votes, as his victory was certified in all three states.

Trump boasted on Twitter: The final Wisconsin vote is in and guess what - we just picked up an additional 131 votes. The Dems and Green Party can now rest. Scam!

On Tuesday at a stop on this "Thank You" Tour in West Allis, Wisconsin, Trump said the recount showed "how important every single vote in America is."

"All that money, all that time, all that effort, we got 131 votes more than we had before," he told supporters.

The fizzling finish came after Stein faced accusations of wasting time and draining grassroots resources.

Steins own running mate initially was against the recount, as was Hillary Clintons campaign.

But Stein insisted all along her goal wasnt to overturn the results of the presidential election but instead to instill confidence in the election results and voting systems. At the least, the effort has allowed her to stay in the spotlight, and with her announcement Tuesday puts her in charge of distributing the leftover funds she raised. It also connected her with more donors.

Jordan Brueckner, a spokeswoman for Steins recount drive, told FoxNews.com that all 161,000-plus donors will have a say in where the extra money is donated  a task perhaps easier said than done.

The campaign has pledged to divvy up the funds to a set of non-partisan organizations.

We dont have a name for the organizations but well give the donors an option [of where the money will go], she said during a telephone interview.

The amount of cash given to the groups will be based on a ranked-choice vote which will be made public on Steins website in the coming weeks, Brueckner said.

Democratic strategist Joe Trippi told The Hill he thought recount efforts were a way for Stein to stay relevant, raise some money and take the stink off of them.

Instead of everybody screaming, You made Trump happen, she is counting the votes to change that whole narrative.
Cumberland Countys government notified the press during a meeting Monday evening that it is asking for the City of Harrisburgs partnership in regionalizing transit service.

Such a move would radically alter, or end, the current Capital Area Transit organization. CAT is a municipal agency run by Cumberland and Dauphin counties and Harrisburg city, providing fixed-route bus service.

Cumberland County Chief Clerk Larry Thomas likened the proceedings to a divorce, with Cumberland and Dauphin likely to go separate ways, and Cumberland trying to convince Harrisburg to go with it.

Its always been our hope, and PennDOTs hope, that all the counties would go the same way, Thomas said. In lieu of that, we have to come up with the best thing we can.

PennDOT funds the majority of the physical capital  namely the buses  for CAT as well as for other municipal transit groups. But over the last several years, PennDOT has pushed for further mergers and regionalization efforts in order to cut overhead costs.

The state is pushing hefty incentives for CAT to merge with another government-backed transit service, including a five-year waiver on local match payments for county/municipal governments, and assistance in paying off about $4 million in CATs pension deficit.

Cumberland and Dauphin, however, have been unable to come to terms on who to merge with. Dauphin would rather consolidate with Lebanon Transit, but keep CAT intact; Cumberland wants CAT to be absorbed by the Central Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, an agency formed around Yorks Rabbit Transit.

The resulting stalemate has caused Cumberland officials to become increasingly vocal in their objection to Dauphins apparent refusal to allow CAT to split.

If they want to go another way, then Cumberland should be allowed its own destiny, but that requires the concurrence of the other members [of CAT], said Cumberland Commissioner Gary Eichelberger.

It would be much preferred if Dauphin and Lebanon come with us [to CPTA], but we cant continue to pass up opportunities to improve our transit, said Cumberland Commissioner Jim Hertzler.

Likewise, Cumberland Commissioner Vince DiFilippo noted that PennDOT had recommended regionalization  with a projected savings of $2 million for Cumberland over 10 years  since before he was elected.

When I came on board, the question was why has this already taken five years? DiFilippo said.

If Harrisburgs representation were to throw in with Cumberland, there would be enough votes to pass a resolution allowing CATs separation, Thomas noted. The organization may still continue to exist, but not in its current form.

The other way is for all parties to agree beforehand and have not a bilateral resolution, but a trilateral one, Thomas said.

Cumberland officials also stressed that the breakup, while likely eliminating most of CATs current administrative personnel, would not affect bus drivers, mechanics or other service staff, who would join CPTA.

Cumberland is a partner in CPTA, having moved the countys ride-share service for seniors and other users in need  a service which was never part of CAT  over to the York-based group.

All of the countys ride-share personnel now work for the CPTA, but the county has saved considerably on overhead by using the CPTAs administration, Thomas said.

Harrisburg and Dauphin officials were not available as of press time Monday night to provide an update on their current positions.

Thomas said discussions with Dauphin to allow the partial dissolution of CAT have been more amicable in recent weeks.
Joe Sheahan is in the fight of his life to save his familys Nevada mine from being swallowed up by the federal government's mysterious Area 51.

Technically, Sheahans family no longer even holds title to Groom Mine, which it owned for 130 years. The federal government took the deed through eminent domain after first offering the Sheahans $333,300, a price family lawyer James Leavitt called embarrassingly low. The family is fighting back in federal court, but if the Sheahans and Uncle Sam cant agree on a value, it could wind up before a jury.

Possibly more interesting is what the federal government wants with a parched stretch of rural Nevada desert and an old mine that hasnt been active in decades. The area is known for two of the feds most closely guarded secrets: nuclear testing and UFOs.

So far, the family has not been paid for the land. Initially, the family was sued by the federal government in September of 2015 in a complaint case of eminent domain. A few days later the government then filed a motion to take the over the property. Now, Appraisal reports are being exchanged in the discovery phase of the litigation. If the parties cannot reach a sufficient value for the land, the Sheahans are prepared to fight it in a jury trial.

The mine hasnt been in full operation since 1954, but until fall of 2015 family members went out from time to time to blast for minerals. The 400 acres of land sits almost 6,000 feet above sea level with panoramic views of the surrounding Groom Mountain Range and borders the Nevada Test and Training Range, which includes Area 51. According to Sheahan, his familys land had always been highly sought after by the U.S. Air Force base looking to expand its flight-testing range, They told me the land was like a suit hemmed in too tight that needed to breathe, thats why they want our land Sheahan said.

REAL-LIFE 'X-FILES'? CIA POSTS TROVE OF UFO DOCUMENTS

Sheahan told Fox News that Air Force officials started showing up unannounced on the property in the 40s and 50s, intimidating his grandparents. He said his family complained to the Air Force, but nothing happened. Then nuclear tests came without warning. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal archives, on Jan. 27, 1951, the Air Force detonated the first above-ground test on land next to the Groom Mine. Sheahan says his family wasnt told about the test. This bomb goes off, who do you call, who do you Google, theres no one  those blasts did significant damage to the property, not only in radiation, he said. Sheahan claims family members and mine workers suffered long-term radiation effects and says some livestock died from beta burns.

In the winter of 2014, government officials from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force approached the Sheahan family about purchasing the property. At that time, Sheahan and other family members had never had the property appraised but he says the family thought offers of $2.4 million, $5.2 million, and $1.5 million from the Air Force were too low and so they rejected them. Were not going to sit down with those numbers at the table. said Sheahan.

The Air Force confiscated the property on Sept. 16, 2015 through a federal court ruling in US District Court in Nevada. The family had three outside experts appraise the property after the seizure. Due to its proximity to Area 51 and the mineral rights to the land, each appraiser recognized the unique value of the property and came to the conclusion that the real value of the land was worth upwards of $44 million to $116 million dollars, Leavitt told Fox News.

AUSTRALIAN TELESCOPE JOINS $100 MILLION SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE

In a statement on Nov. 9, 2016 obtained by Fox News, a prior commander at Nellis Air Force Base, Col. Thomas E. Dempsey explained the reason for seizing the land; Over the years, technology has increased demand for the test and training range assets and the Air Force has developed infrastructure that directly supports range activities that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

Leavitt is fighting to get the family just compensation, which real estate expert and Fox News Legal Analyst Bob Massi explains as an objective understanding of the value of that property.

Fox News reached out for a comment from Justice Department, which is representing the Air Force but was told by deputy press secretary Wyn Hornbuckle the department will not comment on pending litigation.

'IT WAS NOT FROM THIS WORLD': WITNESS TO 'BRITAIN'S ROSWELL' UFO INCIDENT BREAKS 36-YEAR SILENCE

Freelance local investigative reporter Glen Meek has been researching the Sheahan case since the government seized the land and is making a documentary about the land dispute. He noted governments unwillingness to provide answers and boiled it down to two major fundamental issues - individual rights and national security, saying the governments position is pretty much, the testing thats going on there now is incompatible with civilians having private land in that area.

The case is currently in discovery. Sheahan says he is a God-loving American and does not want to be portrayed as unpatriotic but wants his family to receive just compensation. Sheahan and Leavitt expect a late spring or early summer court date where a jury will decide on the matter of just compensation.
London may be known for its drizzly weather, but in 1952 the city's quintessential fog cover turned deadly, and no one knew why  until now.

For five days in December 1952, a fog that contained pollutants enveloped all of London. By the time the dense fog cover lifted, more than 150,000 people had been hospitalized and at least 4,000 people had died. Researchers now estimate that the total death count was likely more than 12,000 people, as well as thousands of animals. Despite its lethal nature, the exact cause and nature of the killer fog has largely remained a mystery. Recently, a team of researchers has determined the likely reasons for its formation.

Researchers have for a long time connected emissions from burning coal with the killer fog, but the specific chemical processes that led to the deadly mix of pollution and fog were not fully understood. To determine what turned the fog into a killer, an international team of scientists from China, the U.S. and the U.K. recreated the fog in a lab using results from laboratory experiments and atmospheric measurements from Beijing and Xian, two heavily polluted cities in China. [In Photos: World's Most Polluted Places]

Study lead author Renyi Zhang, an atmospheric scientist at Texas A&M University, said that sulfate was a big contributor to the deadly London fog. Sulfuric acid particles, which formed from the sulfur dioxide that was released from the burning of coal, were also a component of the fog. The question was, How did sulfur dioxide get turned into sulfuric acid?

"Our results showed that this process was facilitated by nitrogen dioxide, another co-product of coal burning, and occurred initially on natural fog," Zhang said in a statement. "Another key aspect in the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfate is that it produces acidic particles, which subsequently inhibits this process."

The natural fog contained larger particles, Zhang explained, with the smaller acidic particles evenly distributed throughout. When those fog particles evaporated, an acidic-haze was left covering the city.

The 1952 killer fog led to the creation of the Clean Air Act, which the British Parliament passed in 1956. Researchers still consider it the worst air pollution event in European history.

The air of cities in China, which is often heavily polluted, has a chemistry that's similar to the killer fog in London, Zhang and his colleagues found. China has battled air pollution for decades, and it is home to 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities, according to the researchers. For instance, air pollution in Beijing often far exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's acceptable air standards.

The researchers said that the main difference between China's smog and the killer London fog is that China's haze is made up of much smaller nanoparticles. Also, the formation of sulfate is only possible with ammonia, the scientists added.

"In China, sulfur dioxide is mainly emitted by power plants. Nitrogen dioxide is from power plants and automobiles, and ammonia comes from fertilizer use and automobiles," Zhang said. "Again, the right chemical processes have to interplay for the deadly haze to occur in China. Interestingly, while the London fog was highly acidic, contemporary Chinese haze is basically neutral."

A better understanding of air chemistry is key to developing effective regulatory actions in China, Zhang said.

"We think we have helped solve the 1952 London fog mystery and also have given China some ideas of how to improve its air quality," Zhang said. "Reduction in emissions for nitrogen oxides and ammonia is likely effective in disrupting this sulfate-formation process."

The research was published online Nov. 9 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

Original article on Live Science .
President Bush, getting a hero's welcome as the first American president to visit this Balkan nation, said Sunday that there cannot be endless dialogue about achieving independence for neighboring Kosovo.

"Sooner rather than later you've got to say 'Enough's enough. Kosovo's independent,"' Bush said during a news conference with the prime minister of this tiny, impoverished country.

Bush's press for statehood was aimed at Russia and others that object to Kosovo's independence. Standing alongside Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Bush said any extension of talks on Kosovo must have "certain independence" as the goal.

In response to Albania's push for NATO membership, Bush said additional political and military reforms were needed before that could be considered  something the country's leaders said they understood.

 Learn more in FOXNews.com's Europe center.

"We are determined to take any decision, pass any law and undertake any reform to make Albania appropriate to receive the invitation" to join the western military alliance, Berisha said.

When Bush arrived to begin his brief visit, the hills overlooking the capital boomed as military cannons fired a 21-gun salute, and thousands gathered in a downtown square on a brilliantly sunny day to see him and first lady Laura Bush.

Huge banners proclaimed "Proud to be Partners" and billboards said "President Bush in Albania Making History." Red-white-and-blue paper top hats with stars on top were passed out to well-wishers.

"It is a bright day today when in our land there came the greatest and most distinguished friend we have had in all our times, the president of the U.S.A., leader of the free world," Berisha said.

Albania also issued three postage stamps with Bush's picture and the Statue of Liberty, and renamed a street in front of parliament in his honor.

Bush said he was proud to be the first sitting American president to visit. "I love to come to countries that are working hard to establish institutions necessary for democracies to survive," he said.

The issue of independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo is another issue on which the U.S. and Russia disagree.

Russia, an ally of Serbia, contends independence for Kosovo would set a dangerous precedent for the world's other breakaway regions. Serbia also opposes statehood for Kosovo, which it sees as the heart of its historic homeland.

The U.S. and key European countries that support Kosovo independence are trying to narrow differences with Russia over the future of Kosovo, which has been administered by the U.N. since a 1999 war between Serb forces and ethnic Albanian rebels. The U.N. Security Council is divided over the issue.

Last month, the U.S. and European nations introduced a revised U.N. resolution supporting independence for Kosovo under international supervision, but it was immediately rejected by Russia  which hinted it would veto the measure.

The new draft addressed Russia's concern that Kosovo's multiethnic character is preserved, but left out Russia's main proposal for new negotiations between the province's majority ethnic Albanians, who demand independence, and its minority Serbs, who want to remain part of Serbia.

"I happen to believe it's important to push the process along," Bush said. "The time is now. ... Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice will be moving hard to see if we can't reach an agreement. If not, we're going to have to move. Independence is the goal."

Russia also opposes NATO's spread into eastern Europe, and is concerned about the prospect that its neighbors Ukraine and Georgia may be brought into the western military alliance.

Berisha said 93 percent of his country's people support NATO membership for Albania.

Bush said he commended Berisha on Albania's progress on reforming its defense forces and meeting performance-based standards required for membership. "I look forward to welcoming you sometime into NATO," he said.

But he said additional political and military reforms were needed, along with more progress in fighting organized crime and corruption. Berisha said he understood and is committed to making the changes.

"I said, 'We're committed to help you,"' Bush said.

In saluting Albania's democracy, Bush praised it as a country that has "cast off the shackles of a very oppressive society and is now showing the world what's possible."

During the visit, Bush met with Albanian President Alfred Moisiu and greeted troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Albania recently decided to triple its deployment in Afghanistan to 140 troops. It also has about 120 troops in Iraq  a presence that Moisiu says will not end as long as Americans are engaged there.

Bush also had lunch with the prime ministers of Albania, Macedonia and Croatia, which hope to join NATO next year.

Get complete coverage in FOXNews.com's Europe center.
Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua's Miskito Coast as a record-setting Category 5 storm Tuesday, whipping metal rooftops through the air like razors and forcing thousands to flee.

"The winds are horrible," Red Cross official Claudio Vanegas said by phone from the Nicaraguan town of Puerto Cabezas shortly after Felix struck land nearby with 160 mph winds. "They send roofs flying through the air, so we aren't going outside because it is too dangerous."

Felix landed around dawn, destroying many homes. "There are some that are nothing more than a few remaing walls," he said.

Only two weeks earlier, Hurricane Dean struck Mexico further up the Caribbean coast. Never before in recorded hurricane history have two Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes made landfall in the same year. Only 31 Category 5 storms have been seen in the Atlantic since record-keeping began in 1886, including eight in the last five seasons.

 Click here to track Hurricane Felix.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Henriette roared into Mexico's Baja California peninsula. The eye of the storm struck Los Cabos at around 4 p.m. EDT (2 p.m. local time), said Daniel Brown, a specialist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes making landfall on the same day is unprecedented, according to National Hurricane Center records dating back to 1949.

As Felix roared inland, its winds weakened to 100 mph. Forecasters said the storm was on a path to drench central Honduras and Guatemala before passing as a weakened tropical storm over Mexico's Tehuantepec Peninsula.

"The major concern now shifts to the threat of torrential rains over the mountains of Central America. Isolated maximum totals of 25 inches are possible. Persons living in flood-prone areas should take all precautions to protect life and property," said senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch at the Hurricane Center in Miami.

In Nicaragua's remote northeast corner, more than 12,000 people were evacuated just ahead of Felix's landfall, including from a local hospital, but some refused to leave vulnerable coastal communities, and distress calls were received from three boats with a total of 49 people on board, civil defense official Rogelio Flores said.

In neighboring Honduras, about 5,000 residents and 3,000 tourists were evacuated from offshore islands just before Felix hit. Grupo Taca Airlines airlifted tourists from Roatan, popular for its pristine reefs and diving resorts, and a U.S. Chinook helicopter evacuated 19 Americans who were visiting the island, according to the U.S. Southern Command.

"I only got seven dives in. I hope they didn't jump the gun too soon," said Bob Shearer, 54, of Butler, Pa., who was disappointed his family's scuba-diving trip was cut short.

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises changed itineraries for a total of six cruises to avoid ports in the area.

Phones and power were out in much of the Miskito Coast, making it difficult to find out what was happening in the remote, swampy area where many people get around on canoes. Radio reports said a Catholic church in Puerto Cabezas was destroyed by winds.

 Monitor the situation in FOXNews.com's Natural Disasters Center.

Rogelio Perez, a local emergency official, said the army was preparing to fly over the area and assess damage. However, emergency officials said they had no immediate reports of victims, and that most people in low-lying areas had been moved to shelters on higher ground.

"Some refused to leave their homes, but most are safe," Vanegas said.

The only path to safety for many of those Indians was up rivers and across lakes that are too shallow for regular boats, and the damaging winds and floods could wipe out their small crops of beans, rice, cassava and plantains.

Felix was following a similar path to 1998's Hurricane Mitch, a sluggish storm that stalled for a week over Central America, killing nearly 11,000 people and leaving more than 8,000 missing, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua.

In the highland capital of Tegucigalpa, more than 100 miles inland, authorities cleared vendors from markets prone to flooding.

In Honduras' seaside resort of La Ceiba, residents spent the night reinforcing flimsy house walls with plywood and sandbags.

"It's going to be strong, but we have faith that Christ will protect us," said 37-year-old housewife Sandra Hernandez, watching satellite images of the storm on television.
Authorities arrested at least 25 militants with suspected links to Al Qaeda in connection with the deadly attack on the U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital, a senior security official said Thursday.

Also on Thursday the U.S. State Department confirmed an American woman was among those killed in the attack.

U.S. officials have verified reports from the family of Susan Elbaneh that the 18-year-old from Lackawanna, N.Y., was outside the embassy with her husband apparently waiting to complete paperwork, according to her brother.

The Yemeni official said the 25 militants have been rounded up from various parts of Yemen over the past 24 hours and were being questioned by Yemeni and U.S. investigators.

It is not unusual for authorities in Yemen, a key partner in the U.S.-led war on terror but for years an Al Qaeda stronghold, to round up a large number of suspects in the wake of a terror attack.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said a U.S. team, possibly from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was on its way to Yemen to take charge of the investigation.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Ryan Gliha would only say that it is "standard procedure" to dispatch an FBI team in cases of attacks against U.S. interests abroad.

The attack Wednesday killed 16 people but failed to breach the compound's walls. None of those killed or wounded were U.S. diplomats or embassy employees.

Also Thursday, an Associated Press reporter who visited the embassy saw a group of non-Yemeni men investigating the damage caused by the attack outside the embassy's large walls. The men were sifting through the debris, plastering what appeared to be white tag cards on several objects scattered on the ground.

Wednesday's attack was the deadliest direct assault on a U.S. Embassy in a decade. The attackers fired automatic weapons and set off grenades and a car bomb. Six attackers, six Yemeni guards and four civilians were killed.

The heavily guarded embassy is located in the affluent Dhahr Himyar district, a residential area dotted with five-star hotels and other embassies. Palls of black smoke rose over the street, lined with modern buildings in the style of the centuries-old white-trimmed mud brick houses that are a landmark of San'a's Old City.

Snipers hidden across the street fired on emergency personnel rushing to the scene.

The attackers, some dressed in army uniforms, were stopped short of the compound's walls by guards and massive security barriers, but civilians waiting in line for visas outside the embassy were among the casualties.

Three police officers and seven civilians were injured, including children in a residential compound across the street from the embassy, home to many Westerners.

Susan Elbaneh, 18, a U.S. citizen from Lackawanna, N.Y., who was recently wed in Yemen in an arranged marriage, was killed along with her Yemeni husband as they stood outside the embassy, family members said Wednesday.

They were apparently there to do paperwork for the husband's move to the U.S. when the attackers struck, said Elbaneh's brother, Ahmed. Elbaneh's family was gathering at her father Ali's house Wednesday afternoon.

The U.S. counts Yemen as an ally in the war on terrorism. But American officials have long been frustrated over what is seen as a "revolving door" policy toward Al Qaeda militants by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government.

Yemen has let some convicted militants go free after promising to refrain from violence.

In 2006, a group of 23 militants escaped from a high-security prison, including 10 figures convicted in Al Qaeda's 2000 bombing of the USS Cole destroyer in Aden harbor. There were widespread reports of security officials' collusion in the escape, and experts say Yemen's security and intelligence services are riddled with militant sympathizers.

State control is weak in the impoverished country  the ancestral homeland of Usama bin Laden  tribes are strong and many mountainous rural areas are lawless, giving ample room for militant training camps.

The U.S. Embassy has been attacked four times since 2003, most recently in March when a volley of mortars targeting the compound hit a neighboring girls high school instead, killing a Yemeni guard and wounding dozens of girls.

Just last month, the State Department allowed the return of nonessential embassy personnel and family members who had been ordered to leave after the mortars.

There has not been a public claim of responsibility for the attack. Some Yemeni security officials said a local militant group called Islamic Jihad, which Yemeni authorities have cracked down on previously, claimed responsibility. But Yemeni authorities have blamed the group in past attacks that have later been claimed by Al Qaeda.

The group is unrelated to the Palestinian group of the same name.

Suspicion about Wednesday's attack was immediately centered on Al Qaeda, which has long operated in the country on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula.

Yemen has been a focus of American counterterrorism efforts ever since the 2000 Cole attack, in which 17 American sailors were killed by suicide bombers on a boat. A similar attack two years later hit a French oil tanker, killing one person. Since that attack and the Sept. 11 attacks, Yemen has been cracking down on militants, earning praise from Washington.

Seventeen suspects in the Cole bombing were arrested, but 10 escaped in the 2006 prison break although some have since been recaptured or killed or surrendered.

Click here for photos.

U.S. State Department Sean McCormack said Wednesday that the sophisticated attack "bears all the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda attack."

One source told FOX News the apparent attack on the embassy in Yemen did not "happen in a vacuum." In the last two months, Yemen has broken up or arrested members of a significant number of cells  some related to Al Qaeda.

A senior U.S. official earlier said the bombings were carefully orchestrated, with sniper fire and some attackers apparently dressed as soldiers.

President Bush said the attack is a reminder that "we are at war with extremists."

In mid-August, the U.S. Embassy applauded the series of recent arrests, according to the official news agency in Yemen.

On Monday, security forces arrested five operatives of Al Qaeda in Yemen in the al-Qatten district of southeastern Hadramout province, a security source told FOX News.

The Asssociated Press contributed to this report.
Fox News' Brainroom has compiled a list of everything leading up to Haiti's earthquake.





 Haiti Earthquake

 Earthquakes 2008-09

 FAST FACTS: Haiti

 Natural Disasters

 Haiti Overview

 Economy

 Emergency Services

 Committed Aid





Fast facts  Haiti Earthquake

 USGS: USGS called it the strongest earthquake since 1770 in what is now Haiti

 The quake struck on January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.

 The 7.0 magnitude quake's epicenter hit just 10 miles west of Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million inhabitants

 3 million people in need of emergency aid after major earthquake

 The major quake sent 33 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.2 to 5.9

 The Red Cross dispatched a relief team from Geneva and the UN's World Food Program is flying in two planes with emergency food aid.

 The Inter-American Development Bank said it was immediately approving a $200,000 grant for emergency aid.

 Some 9,000 peacekeepers have been in Haiti since 2004, including 1,266 Brazilians.

 Haiti has no real construction standards.

 November 2008: Following the collapse of a school in Petionville, the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated about 60% of buildings were shoddily built and unsafe in normal circumstances.

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Fast facts - Haiti

 Discovered by Columbus in 1492.

 Haiti won its independence from France on January 1, 1804.

 Population of nearly 10 million people.

 Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

 80% of the population in Haiti is living under the poverty line.

 Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day.

 More than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs.

 Haiti is slightly smaller than Maryland.

 The Haiti telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean.

 Haiti has 14 airports; 4 have paved runways.

 Haitis capital is Porte-au-Prince, a coastal city with about 2 million inhabitants.

 After decades of dictatorship, former Roman Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide became Haiti's first freely elected leader in 1990.

 Aristide was ousted by a military coup in 1991 but reinstated with U.S. backing.

 Aristide was forced out of the country and into exile in 2004 by a rebellion of gangs and former soldiers.

 Democratic rule was restored in 2006.

 Haiti has been led by President Rene Preval since May 2006 when the country returned to constitutional rule.

 Haiti is one of the original members of the United Nations and several of its specialized and related agencies, as well as a member of the Organization of American States (OAS).





 In July 2004, $1.085 billion was pledged through 2006 at the World Bank Donors' Conference. Donors included the U.S., Canada, the EU, France, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Greece, Norway, Mexico, and Ireland

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Fast facts  Earthquakes 2008-09

 2009: 17 earthquakes 7.0 magnitude or greater worldwide, 1 of which broke 8.0

 2008: 12 earthquakes above magnitude 7.0; none over 8.0

 2009: Deadliest earthquake takes the lives of 1,117 people in Indonesia

 2009: At least 1,783 deaths worldwide from earthquake activity

 2008: 88,000+ die worldwide in earthquakes

 2009: 15 countries on 4 continents continents report deaths due to earthquakes

 2009: Alaska's Fox Islands measure biggest earthquake in the U.S. at 6.5 magnitude

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Other Haitian Natural Disasters

 August and September 2008: Four separate hurricanes or tropical storms - Tropical Storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike - in the space of 30 days killing a total of 793 people and leaving more than 300 others missing, according to government figures. About 60 per cent of the country's harvest was destroyed and entire cities were rendered desolate and uninhabitable.

 September 2004: Hurricane Jeanne deluged the tiny Caribbean country. Resulting flooding and landslides killed up to 2,500 people and displacing thousands more.

 September 1998: Hurricane George killed more than 400 people while destroying 80 per cent of all the crops in the country.

 1994: Hurricane Gordon killed over 1000 Haitians.

 1963: Hurricane Flora killed over 8000 people, making it the 6th most deadly hurricane ever.

 1954: Hurricane Hazel killed more than 100 people and destroyed several towns. The storm also wiped out 40 per cent of the coffee trees and 50 per cent of the cacao crop.

 November 1946: The largest recorded earthquake in modern times on the island of Hispaniola was an 8.1-magnitude temblor that produced a tsunami and killed 1,790 people. Centered in the Dominican Republic, it extended into Haiti.

 1935: An unnamed storm killed more than 2000 people.

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Haiti Overview

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Land: 27,560 sq km (slightly smaller than Maryland)

Population: 9,035,536 (U.S. 307,212,123)

Population Growth rate: 1.84% (U.S. 0.98%)

Urban population: 47% of total population (U.S. 82% of population)

Ethnic groups: black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

Life expectancy at birth: 60.78 years (U.S. 78.11)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 7,200 (2007 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% - note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52.9%

Independence: January 1, 1804 (from France)

Chief of state: President Rene PREVAL (since 14 May 2006)

Head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Max BELLERIVE (since 7 November 2009)

U.S. Ambassador to Haiti: Ambassador Kenneth H. MERTEN

Haitian Ambassador to U.S.: Ambassador Raymond Joseph

GDP: $11.53 billion  154th in the World (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,300  203rd in the world (2008 est.)

Labor force: 3.643 million (2008 est)

Population below poverty line: 80%

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Economy

 GDP (purchasing power parity): $11.53 billion (2008 est.)

 GDP (official exchange rate): $6.943 billion (2008 est.)

 GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,300 (2008 est.)

 GDP - composition by sector: Agriculture: 28%, Industry: 20%, Services: 52% (2004 est.)

 Labor force: 3.643 million

 Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture: 66%

 Population below poverty line: 80% and 54% in abject poverty.

 Haiti now ranks 146th of 177 countries in the UN's Human Development Index.

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Resources  Emergency Services

 Haiti has no regular military forces. The Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized.

 Haiti has a small Coast Guard.

 The Haitian National Police has nearly 10,000 officers.

 The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti consists of a military component of up to 6,940 troops and a police component of up to 2,211 police.

As of November 30, 2009 (latest data), the UN peacekeeping staff in Haiti consisted of:

- 9,065 total uniformed personnel (7,031 troops and 2,034 police)

- 488 international civilian personnel



- 1,212 local civilian staff



- 214 United Nations Volunteers

 Countries that contributed military personnel include: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Jordan, Nepal, Paraguay, Peru, Phillipines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, United States and Uruguay.

 Countries that contributed police personnel include: Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Columbia, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Guinea, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Togo, Turkey, United States, Uruguay and Yemen.

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Committed Aid and Assets

 Venezuela: Said it would send a military plane with canned foods, medicine and drinking water and provide 50 rescue workers.

 Mexico: Suffered an earthquake in 1985 that killed some 10,000 people, planned to send doctors, search and rescue dogs and infrastructure damage experts.

 Italy: Sending a C-130 cargo plane with a field hospital and emergency medical personnel as well as a team to assess aid needs.

 France: Sending 65 clearing specialists, with six sniffer dogs, and two doctors and two nurses were leaving.

 Spain: Will provide $4.3 million in aid.

 The Netherlands: Has pledged $2.9 million in aid.

 Germany: Has pledged $1.45 million in aid.

 China: Has pledged $1 million.

 Ireland: Irish telecommunications company Digicel said it was donating $5 million to aid agencies working in Haiti. The company  a major cell-phone operator in the Caribbean  also was sending specialists there to help repair the damaged phone network.

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Some 4 percent of Americans have been victims of revenge porn, according to a report released Tuesday by the Data & Society Research Institute and the Center for Innovative Public Health Research.

Revenge porn is described as displaying nude or nearly nude photos or videos of someone without their consent. The report is the first of its kind, and is based on research conducted by Princeton Survey Research International from May 17 to July 31 of this year. The survey gathered answers from 3,002 American Internet users ages 15 and up.

Respondents ages 15 to 29 were the most likely group to be targeted, with 7 percent of victims falling under the age of 30 and 2 percent over 30. The report also found that 10 percent of women under 30 have had someone threaten to post explicit photos of them. In that same age category, 4 percent of men and 6 percent of women said someone had posted a nearly nude or nude image of them without their consent.

MILLENNIALS FALL FOR TECH SCAMS TOO, SURVEY WARNS

Nonconsensual pornography can have a devastating and lasting impact on victims, said Amanda Lenhart, a researcher at Data & Society Research Institute, and one of the authors of the report in a press release. So its vital that we understand how common this is and who is affected.

The report also found that many victims of nonconsensual image sharing and related threats were also victims of hacking. Although it was not clear whether the incidents were related, 43 percent of victims who had been threatened also reported that they were hacked.

In addition, the report showed that victims who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual were 15 percent more likely to be threatened, with 7 percent saying someone had posted explicit images of them online.

Lawmakers are crossing the aisles to combat the issue of revenge porn. This past summer, a bipartisan team proposed a bill entitled The Intimate Privacy Protection Act (IPPA). In a press release, California Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D) said that predators could destroy lives with the click of a button or tap of a cell phone.

MYSTERIOUS CYBER ATTACKS DISRUPT TWITTER, NETFLIX, SPOTIFY SERVICE

What makes these acts even more despicable is that many predators have gleefully acknowledged that the vast majority of their victims have no way to fight back, said Speier. Celebrities and other high profile victims might be able take on these predators in civil courts, but the average person cant afford that option. Even more disturbing is the number of victims who have mustered the courage and strength to pursue criminal charges, only to learn there is no law that protects them.
Anyone who keeps money in the bank knows that there different types of checking accounts. One offers this type of perk, the other comes with that feature. One of the common offerings from banks is something called "overdraft protection." You spend more than you actually have in the account, and the bank covers the charge. For a nice fee, of course.

So consider the case of an Australian man named Luke Moore. Gizmodo says that in March of 2010, he was, as many of us have been, a "broke college student on government benefits," and applied at his bank, St. George, for an enticing " Complete Freedom Account" that came with overdraft coverage. The bank calls it "A great everyday account packed full of features. Open one in just three minutes!" In Moore's case, it was packed with a lot more than that.

Gizmodo says that in no time, Moore ran up $9,000 in overdraft charges. Ooops. He soon noticed that the bank never stopped him from taking out cash. He never hit the proverbial paywall. So in the true style of Robin Leach's "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" -- he got busy. Gizmodo says that he traveled all over, and bought exotic cars like an Aston Martin, a Maserati, and  a Hyundai.

Speed boats, a signed Michael Jordan jersey, and Banksy art were also on the shopping list among other items, along with regular mundane things like, oh, insurance and the mortgage.

Moore's life-in-the-very-fast-lane adventure eventually ended after the bank woke up and noticed the error. The New York Post says the total tab was $1.5 million (AU $2.1 million). Gizmodo reports that he was sentenced to "a maximum of four and half years for obtaining financial advantage by deception and three years for dealing with proceeds of crime, to be served concurrently."

Despite all this, Moore only spent five months in jail. Why? An appeals court overturned his conviction on December 1, saying that he had not been intentionally (the key word here) deceptive when making the withdrawals. The Post adds that, in an ironic postscript, "He is now broke and living with his mother in Goulburn, New South Wales, ironically while studying to become a criminal lawyer."
If you own a drone, you'll already know to keep your flying machine well away from airports and national parks. And now you might want to add weddings to the list, too.

Two guests at a New Hampshire wedding recently filed a negligence lawsuit against groom Barry Billcliff and wedding planning firm Searles Castle after a quadcopter smashed into their faces during the event.

The out-of-control copter caused some pretty nasty injuries, with one of the women suffering a gash to her head that needed 20 stitches to fix, and the other a fractured nose and broken bone around the eye, the Boston Herald reported.

The wedding guests had been enjoying themselves on a dance floor under a large tent at the event earlier this year when the drone suddenly came flying toward them.

The suit, filed last week at Rockingham Superior Court near Manchester, New Hampshire, alleges that Billcliff was piloting the machine when the accident occurred. But the groom has always denied involvement, insisting he was among a crowd of guests near the stage when the crash took place. He told the Herald he's still trying to discover who was flying the drone at the time of the incident.

However, Scott Robb, vice president of Searles Castle, said he told Billcliff earlier in the day to stop flying his drone, and claims he never gave the groom permission to use it during the wedding event. While Billcliff at first agreed to Robb's request to stop using the flying machine, it's alleged that he fired it up again later on.

Regardless of whether Billcliff was at the controls or not, this regrettable story of a more unusual kind of wedding crasher serves as a stark reminder of the kind of damage a quadcopter can cause if handled without due care and attention -- an issue Enrique Iglesias knows all about.

But while the incident at Billcliff's wedding was unfortunate to say the least, we're likely to see more camera-equipped quadcopters flying over such events in the near future. Thanks to their ability to capture stunning shots from up high, and the FAA's decision this year to relax rules for commercial drone pilots, a growing number of wedding photographers are becoming interested in using the machines to grab aerial photos and video of outdoor ceremonies and parties.

At the end of the day it's really all about skill and experience, with at least one early adopter of the technology known to have adopted it a little too early, as his wedding video from a couple of years ago clearly demonstrates.

This article originally appeared on Digital Trends.
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A former top diplomat in Libya on Wednesday delivered a riveting minute-by-minute account of the chaotic events during the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi last September, with a 2 a.m. call from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and confusion about the fate of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

In a slow, halting and sometimes emotional voice, Gregory Hicks, the deputy chief of mission who was in Tripoli, described for a House committee how a routine day on Sept. 11, 2012, quickly devolved as insurgents launched two nighttime attacks on the facility in eastern Libya, killing Stevens and three other Americans.

The hours-long hearing produced no major revelation while reviving disputes over the widely debunked comments made by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice five days after the attacks and the inability of the U.S. military to respond quickly.

"I don't think there's a smoking gun today. I don't think there's a lukewarm slingshot," said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis.

The session exposed bitter partisan divisions as Republicans who are pressing ahead with the investigation eight months after the attacks insist the Obama administration is covering up information and Democrats decry politicization of a national security issue.

A scathing independent review in December faulted the State Department for inadequate security at the mission, but it has not been the final word. Nor has congressional testimony from former Obama Cabinet officials and military leaders.

In a jam-packed hearing room where Republicans and Democrats furiously traded charges, the soft-spoken Hicks presented a lengthy recollection of the events and expressed frustration with a military that he argued could have prevented the second attack.

Hicks and two other State Department witnesses criticized the review conducted by former top diplomat Thomas Pickering and retired Gen. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Their complaints centered on a report they consider incomplete, with individuals who weren't interviewed and a focus on the assistant secretary level and lower.

Hicks said he was watching television at his villa in Tripoli when he first got word of the initial attack. He listened to two messages on his cell phone and Stevens' chilling words.

"Greg, we're under attack," the ambassador said.

Hicks described a series of phone calls to the State Department and Libyan officials, frustrating efforts to find out what was happening in Benghazi, and a call from Clinton.

"Secretary of State Clinton called me along with her senior staff ... and she asked me what was going on. And, I briefed her on developments," he said. "Most of the conversation was about the search for Ambassador Stevens. It was also about what we were going to do with our personnel in Benghazi, and I told her that we would need to evacuate, and that was  she said that was the right thing to do."

He recalled another phone call from the Libyan prime minister with word that Stevens was dead.

"I think it is the saddest phone call I have ever had in my life," Hicks said.

Hicks said that shortly after he was told Stevens was dead, unidentified Libyans called Hicks' staff from the phone that had been with the ambassador that night. These Libyans said Stevens was with them, and U.S. officials should come fetch him, Hicks said. Hicks said he believed Stevens' body was at a hospital at that point, but he could not be certain.

"We suspected we were being baited into a trap," Hicks told the committee, so the U.S. personnel did not follow the callers' instructions. "We did not want to send our people into an ambush," he testified.

Republicans at the hearing focused on the talking points used by Rice on the Sunday talk shows in which she said the attacks appeared to be associated with demonstrations in Egypt and Libya over an anti-Islam video.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said Rice's comments contradicted statements by Libyan leaders and others who called the attacks pre-meditated assaults by terrorists.

Gowdy said Rice's comments "perpetuated a demonstrably false narrative." Hicks, asked his reaction to the Rice's remarks on the talk shows, said: "I was stunned. My jaw dropped and I was embarrassed."

Democrats countered with a video clip of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper telling a Senate panel earlier this year that the hit on Rice was unfair.

"She was going on what we were giving her," Clapper said of the talking points.

Hicks insisted that the second attack in Benghazi could have been prevented if the U.S. military had scrambled jet fighters or sent in a C-130 cargo plane to scare off the insurgents with a show of force. He said he learned in conversations with veteran Libyan revolutionaries that they understood decisive air power after the U.S.-led NATO operation that helped oust Moammar Gadhafi.

"The defense attache said to me that fighter aircraft in Aviano might be able to" get to Benghazi in two to three hours, Hicks said.

Democrats pointed out that this contradicted the testimony of former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who testified before a Senate panel on Feb. 7.

"The bottom line is this: That we were not dealing with a prolonged or continuous assault which could have been brought to an end by a U.S. military response," Panetta testified. "Very simply, although we had forces deployed to the region, time, distance, the lack of an adequate warning, events that moved very quickly on the ground prevented a more immediate response."

After the first attack, a security team left Tripoli for Benghazi with two military personnel. Hicks said four members of a special forces team in Tripoli wanted to go in a second wave but were told to stand down.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said Wednesday that the commander told the team leader to stay in Tripoli because the evacuation of U.S. personnel out of Benghazi was already beginning and the team would not arrive in Benghazi in time to provide any assistance.

Col. David Lapan, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that by the time the team would have left Tripoli, the second attack in Benghazi was over.

Republicans on five House committees, in an interim report released last month, also said that "no U.S. government element refused or denied requests for emergency assistance during the crisis."

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, insisted that the investigation is necessary despite Democratic and administration complaints.

"These witnesses deserve to be heard on the Benghazi attacks, the flaws in the accountability review board's methodology, process and conclusion," he said at the start of the hearing.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat, challenged the select disclosure of information and comments from Republicans in the days leading up to the hearing.

"I am not questioning the motives of our witnesses. I am questioning the motives of those who want to use their statements for political purposes," Cummings said.

Also testifying at the hearing were Mark Thompson, acting deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism, and Eric Nordstrom, a former regional security officer in Libya who testified before the panel in October.
India, Indonesia sign three agreements to enhance strategic partnership

Published: December 13, 2016

India and Indonesia have signed three agreements in various areas to enhance strategic partnership.

These agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of Indonesia Joko Widodo in New Delhi.

Signed Agreements are

MoU on Youth and Sports Cooperation.

MoU on Standardization Cooperation.

Joint Communique on Voluntary International Cooperation to Combat Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) Fishing and to promote Sustainable Fisheries Governance.

Besides, both countries decided to strengthen their defence and maritime security relations and resolved to effectively address the issue of terrorism.

Outcomes of delegation level talks

Terrorism: Condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in the strongest terms. Emphasized zero tolerance for acts of terrorism.

Condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in the strongest terms. Emphasized zero tolerance for acts of terrorism. Called upon all countries to implement the UNSC Resolution 1267 (banning militant groups and their leaders) and other resolutions designating terrorist entities.

Called upon all countries to work towards eliminating terrorist safe havens and infrastructure in disrupting terrorist networks and financing channels, and stopping cross-border terrorism.

Economic and Development : Agreed to build a strong economic and development partnership to strengthen the flow of trade, capital and people between them.

: Agreed to build a strong economic and development partnership to strengthen the flow of trade, capital and people between them. Defence and security cooperation: Agreed to prioritize defence and security cooperation to ensure safety and security of sea lanes, environmental protection and disaster response.

Agreed to prioritize defence and security cooperation to ensure safety and security of sea lanes, environmental protection and disaster response. Further boost partnership for combating terrorism, organized crime, drugs and human trafficking.

ASEAN and RCEP: Agreed for an early implementation of India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Services and investment, and finalization of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2016

Topics: fisheries sector  India-Indonesia  Joko Widodo  Narendra Modi  Sports  Terrorism

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Two Georgia police officers were recovering from non-life threatening injuries Tuesday after being shot during a traffic stop.

Authorities said two Lavonia police officers attempted to pull over a vehicle near Interstate 85. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said after the officers got the car to stop near a Zaxbys restaurant, the driver pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and fired upon the officers.

According to Fox 5 Atlanta, investigators believe the officers didnt return fire before the gunman fled on foot.

Authorities arrested Khari Anthony Dashaun Gordon, 22, of Greenville, S.C., hours after the manhunt.

Gordon was charged with two counts each of aggravated assault on a police officer and criminal attempt to commit murder. He was also charged with a single count of possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony.

Police said Gordon had a long rap sheet, but didnt give any details.

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The owner of an Ohio home that burned down late last year, killing a local firefighter, was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated arson and murder, authorities said.

Lester Parker, 66, was arrested at a home near the site of the one that went up in flames last Dec. 28, Hamilton police Chief Craig Bucheit said.

Hamilton firefighter Patrick Wolterman, 28, crashed through a floor soon after entering the smoke-filled house and was killed. A coroner ruled the case a homicide and said Wolterman died of smoke inhalation.



He "died in the line of duty fighting to save lives believed at risk," county prosecutor Mike Gmoser said in a statement.



Firefighters thought there could be people trapped inside but later were told the residents were on vacation.



Bucheit said the investigation continues and he expects more arrests. He declined to discuss a motive in the case.



Uniformed firefighters from across the country were among thousands of people who turned out for a procession and the funeral for Wolterman, the first Hamilton firefighter killed in the line of duty since 1971.



Authorities in the city of 62,000 residents announced in January that the house fire had been ruled arson and that Wolterman's death was being investigated as a homicide. State fire marshal's investigators and the investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined local investigators in the probe.



A $25,000 reward was offered, but Bucheit said no one had claimed it.



The murder charge carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life upon conviction; aggravated arson carries a potential maximum term of 11 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Authorities have charged a fourth man with murder in the killings of four people at a rural South Carolina home nearly 18 months ago in a case the Orangeburg County sheriff calls one of the most frustrating of his career.

Luther Smith, 35, was arrested Monday. Three others were arrested in September in the killings that Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said happened during a July 15, 2015, burglary at a house in Holly Hill where someone was selling illegal drugs.

Even more arrests are possible in a case that Ravenell said has consumed thousands of hours from investigators and had dozens of dead ends and uncooperative people.

"I've been in law enforcement for 30 years. I haven't seen anything like this," Ravenell said at a news conference Tuesday.

The sheriff released almost no details on what led them to arrest Smith some three months after Derrick Warren Coleman, 27; Anthony Jermaine Scott, 35; and Robert Lee Bailey, 30, were taken into custody.

Authorities say 17-year-old Shamekia Sanders, 14-year-old Tamara Perry, 28-year-old Krystal Hutto and 51-year-old Jerome Butler were all shot in the head and died. An 8-year-old boy, also shot in the head, survived, and Ravenell called him a "miracle person."

The boy's father, Christopher Wright, is charged with obstruction of justice. The sheriff said Wright sold drugs from the home and is not telling authorities everything he knows. Wright's lawyer has said he is not hiding anything.

It wasn't known if the other men charged with murder had lawyers to speak on their behalf.

___

This story has been corrected to note that Smith is the fourth man charged with murder.
An Arizona police officer has lost his eye after a woman that was being placed under arrest became erratic and started flailing her legs wildly.

Pima County Sheriffs Deputy Cody Gress said that officers arrested Yesennia Gonzalez, 28, for DUI and placed her into handcuffs. Gress said as she was being placed into the patrol car, she began kicking those around her and kicked the heel of her boot into Traffic Unit Sergeant Mark Bustamantes left eye.

According to Fox 10 Phoenix, Bustamante was transported to a local hospital and doctors attempted to surgically repair his eye, but were unable to repair the damage that was done. The officer will receive a prosthetic eye.

"My hopes are high for him. I know that he will have some struggles and he's going to have to make some decisions, but the biggest decision for him to make is to get healthy," Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.

Gonzalez, of Tucson, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, one county of resisting arrest and one count of DUI. Shes being held on a $300,000 bond.

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Authorities say a Maine man used a front-end loader to repeatedly pick up and drop his son's mobile home during a family dispute and only stopped when he learned his 7-year-old grandson was inside.

FAMILY FIGHTS GOVERNMENT IN LAND DISPUTE NEAR AREA 51

The York County sheriff's department says 50-year-old John Bubar was involved in a dispute with his 27-year-old son, Michael, on Sunday over rent payments and debris in the yard, the AP reports.

The son and his family live in a mobile home on John Bubar's property in Parsonsfield.

Bubar was arrested on a charge of domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon. His grandson wasn't hurt.

This was at least the seventh time this year police have been called to the property, reports the Portland Press Herald.

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The mother of the Charleston church massacre suspect collapsed when investigators came to her home the day after the shootings and started asking questions about her son, a sheriff's deputy testified Tuesday during the trial in South Carolina.

GUNMAN DEAD AFTER SHOOTING THAT WOUNDED NASHVILLE POLICE OFFICER

Once the mother, Amelia "Amy" Roof, recovered, she showed the investigators her son's room, Richland County deputy Justin Britt told the jury. "We entered his bedroom and on the corner of his desk she grabs a camera, turns it on and shows the photos... pictures of Dylann with confederate flags at historical sites, holding a black gun. It was very evident why she thought this was important for us to see."

Amy Roof had suffered a heart attack in court during opening statements last week, according to defense attorneys. They did not give specifics on her condition.

LOUISVILLE FOOTBALL PLAYERS CELEBRATING TEAMMATE'S HEISMAN WIN ARE SHOT

Roof faces 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion, in connection with the shooting that killed nine people during a Bible study at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church in June 2015. Roof's attorneys have said repeatedly in both federal and state court that their 22-year-old client was willing to plead guilty if capital punishment were taken off the table, a request prosecutors have refused. Roof faces another death penalty trial next year in state court.

Also Tuesday, Roof's attorneys said they planned to call witnesses to testify in his defense after all.

Last week, attorney David Bruck said he didn't plan to put up much of a defense of Roof, adding that the facts of the case were largely undisputed. But before jurors returned to court Tuesday, Bruck told U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel he planned to call "several" witnesses. He did not specify who.

Jurors have heard five days of testimony from prosecutors' witnesses, including law enforcement agents, forensic examiners and tech experts. An employee of Garmin, the company that made a GPS found in Roof's car, testified Tuesday that data from the device show he rode by the church in months leading up to the shootings. Timestamps from the device showed his car arrived at the church at around 7:45 p.m. the night of the shootings and left more than an hour later.

Another officer who helped search the home testified she recovered dozens of spent ammunition rounds, saying relatives told her Roof and others would practice shooting in a nearby wooded area. Kristen Polis also testified she photographed a white pillowcase cut into a triangle because "to me, it represents what could be a Ku Klux Klan hood."

Prosecutors have said they could wrap up their case as early as Wednesday. Late Monday, Gergel ruled Roof's attorneys couldn't present evidence related to their client's mental health during the guilt phase of his trial, saying it was more appropriate for the penalty phase.

If Roof is convicted, jurors would decide if he should be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. While he has a defense team at the moment, Roof has said he wants to be his own lawyer for the penalty phase.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson opened his case with Felicia Sanders, a survivor of the June 2015 shooting at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church. He has said he plans to close with testimony of another survivor, Polly Sheppard.

Fox News Multimedia Reporter Terace Garnier in Charleston and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From small parishes to big cathedrals, Catholics observing the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the U.S. say the celebration is taking on a different tone this year.

Heckel Villa (VEE-yah) works and worships at a suburban Chicago shrine for Mexico's revered patron saint. She says people are afraid because of President-elect Donald Trump's aggressive approach to immigration.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops urged churches to make Monday's holiday a "day of prayer" in solidarity with immigrants and their families. The issue came up during Mass in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles and the University of Notre Dame.

The feast marks the time when millions make the pilgrimage to a Mexican basilica to honor the virgin believed to have appeared to an Indian peasant in 1531.
The Latest on developments in the Dec. 2 Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 (all times local):

11:15 a.m.

Investigators say they still can't pinpoint a specific cause in the fire that killed 36 partygoers in an Oakland warehouse.

They focused their investigation on electrical appliances plugged into the rear of the building where the fire started.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said Tuesday it has finished collecting evidence. The Oakland Fire Department will prepare a final report for handover to prosecutors.

Prosecutors have warned murder charges are possible as they determine whether crimes are linked to the blaze.

The deadliest building fire in the U.S. in more than a decade erupted during a dance party Dec. 2. The warehouse had been converted into art studios and illegal living spaces. Former denizens said it was a death trap of piled wood, furniture and electrical cords with only two exits.

Building department inspectors had not gone into the warehouse since at least 1986.
Authorities say a Florida sheriff's deputy shot and wounded a man who pointed a rifle at him.

The incident happened Monday in Largo after deputies were asked to do a welfare check on 25-year-old Logan Ullrich.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that deputies met with Ullrich and his parents and determined he didn't meet the criteria for an involuntary mental assessment. They left, but returned when his father called to say his behavior had gotten worse.

A report says Ullrich ran toward deputies with a rifle. He was asked to drop it, but instead pointed it at them. They fired striking him in the leg.

Ullrich is charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. It's not known whether he has a lawyer.
A man inspired by an internet conspiracy theory to fire an assault weapon multiple times inside a pizza restaurant in the nation's capital now faces a federal gun charge, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

HOW AN INTERNET CONSPIRACY THEORY LED A GUNMAN INTO A DC PIZZA PARLOR

The new federal charge against Edgar Maddison Welch is interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a crime. It carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and potential financial penalties.

At a brief hearing Tuesday prosecutors dismissed local charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and other weapons offenses against Welch now that he's charged federally. It's not clear when Welch will appear in federal court.

PIZZAGATE GUNMAN REFUSES TO DISMISS ONLINE CONSPIRACY THEORY CLAIMS ABOUT CHILD SEX RING

Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina, has been in jail since the Dec. 4 shooting at Comet Ping Pong, which has been targeted by purveyors and consumers of fake news who spread false rumors that it's the site of a child sex trafficking ring run by prominent Democrats.

Welch told police "he had read online that the Comet restaurant was harboring child sex slaves and that he wanted to see for himself if they were there," and that "he was armed to help rescue them," court documents said.

Police said he walked through the restaurant's front door and pointed an AR-15 assault weapon in the direction of an employee. The employee and others fled, and Welch fired, striking a door, walls a computer desktop, according to the documents filed in Superior Court to support the initial local charges.

Welch "surrendered peacefully when he found no evidence that underage children were being harbored in the restaurant," the documents said. No one was hurt.

His parents, Terri Welch and Harry Welch Jr., were in court on Tuesday, but declined to speak to an Associated Press reporter.

They did speak with The Washington Post at their son's public defender's office on Monday, saying he shifted from energetic and outgoing to melancholy and quiet after he hit a 13-year-old pedestrian with his car in October. He began having nightmares, but did not to seek help, they said.

No charges were filed in the crash, but Harry Welch said his son felt guilty and worried about the long-term impact on the child, who had to be airlifted to a hospital with broken bones and a head injury.

"He was very traumatized. We feel that accident changed him," Harry Welch said, and his wife said they have wondered whether it could have been a catalyst for the gun violence. The couple had not spoken with their son since the shooting.

Edgar Welch's parents described him as loving and responsible, an affectionate father to two young girls, and so religious that he has two Bible verses, Isaiah 40:30-31, tattooed across his back. After Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake, he spent weeks there building houses with a church.
Kolkata-Mizoram trade route via Myanmar to open soon

Published: December 12, 2016

A deep water port built in Myanmars Sittwe by India is ready to be commissioned. Thus, open Kolkata-Mizoram trade route via Myanmar.

The Sittwe port is starting point for the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar.

Once shipments arrive at Sittwe port from Kolkata, they will be transferred to smaller freight carriers which would sail upstream into Mizoram.

Significance

Provides alternative route to India to ship goods to the landlocked north-eastern States.

Significantly lower the cost and distance of movement from Kolkata to Mizoram and beyond.

Reduces dependency on only route narrow strip dubbed as the Chickens Neck in West Bengal, sandwiched between Bhutan and Bangladesh.

India has piped post Chinese endeavour to create a deep-sea berthing infrastructure and SEZ at Kyaukphyu in Rakhine.

Background

Sittwe is the capital of Rakhine State situtated in south-western Myanmar. It is located at the mouth of the Kaladan river, which flows into Mizoram in north-eastern India. The work on Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project was conceived in 2010. Construction of the sea port is the first phase of an integrated $500-million project being funded by a long-term interest-free loan provided by India.



Month: Current Affairs - December, 2016

Topics: India-Myanmar  Kaladan Project  Kolkata Mizoram Trade route  National  Northeast

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A New Hampshire couple was looking for the person who stole Mary from their Nativity scene in their yard last week and is trying to lure the culprit back with a creative message.

Please help! Mary Missing, Joseph Doesnt Want to be a Single Dad the message read. It was posted on a piece of cardboard next to the Nativity in Manchester.

Shirl Kula says she and her husband have put up the set almost every Christmas in the 16 years they've lived in their home and consider it a gift to the neighborhood. She says they've never tied down the figures because the Nativity scene "belongs to the neighborhood."

We figured a little bit of humor is always good and that it would get a lot of attention and it certainly has, Kula told Fox 25 Boston on Tuesday.

Kula says she's not looking to punish whoever took Mary. She simply wants Mary back.

Lets face it. Its not much of a Nativity set without Mary. Wed like her back, she added.

Jesus isn't in his cradle but hasn't been stolen. Kula and her husband wait until midnight each Christmas to put him out.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A North Carolina woman who disappeared as a teenager in 2011 turned up in Ohio after she went to great lengths to hide her whereabouts and change her identity, investigators said Friday.

Rachael Natacha Owens left the area and remained in Columbus, Ohio, at her own will, the Brunswick County Sheriffs Office reported in a Facebook post.

Police said Owens, now 21, even assumed a false identity and date of birth. They said there was no foul play in her disappearance and no charges would be filed at this time.

Owens was reported missing on May 5, 2011 after being last seen getting off a school bus at South Brunswick High School in Boiling Spring Lakes, WECT reported. Owens, who was 15 at the time, was seen getting into a dark-colored car with an apparent South Carolina license plate, investigators said.

Fox 8 Cleveland reported that the FBI received information that Owens couldve been living in Ohio and gone by the name of Raquel or Rakel. She even reportedly talked about running away to Mexico before the time of her disappearance.

Owens had not had contact with her friends or family since she vanished.

Click for more from Fox 8.
A police officer was in stable condition after being shot in the shoulder Tuesday morning in Tennessee, according to police, who said the suspect died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head inside a motel room.

Officer Terrance McBride, a 3-year veteran with the Metro Nashville Police Department, was shot while serving a warrant at the Cumberland Inn on West Trinity Lane in East Nashville.

The 28-year-old officer was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and was expected to make a full recovery, according to the police chief.

The initial shooting unfolded around 5:30 a.m. when McBride and a partner went to the motel on a tip that a person staying there had an outstanding warrant.

Police Chief Steve Anderson said a woman answered the door when the officers knocked at the hotel room. She let them in and fled the scene, News Channel 5 reported.

The two officers saw there was drug activity inside the room and began searching the rest of the room. When they reached the bathroom, the suspect reportedly pulled out a shotgun and fired.

The officers opened fire and didn't see the shooter before leaving the room.

Anderson said the female suspect is not in police custody.

Guests at the motel were evacuated as a SWAT team worked to secure the scene.
A generous mystery man paid off nearly $50,000 worth of layaway at a Walmart in Pennsylvania, sending a woman named "Santa" to deliver the check, local media reported on Thursday.

The check paid off all debts for 194 accounts at the Walmart in Everett, the Bedford County Free Press reported.

REMARKABLE REUNION: POODLE RETURNS TO OWNER AFTER VANISHING 9 YEARS AGO

"When customers quietly pay off others' layaway items, we're reminded how good people can be," the company told CNBC.

Walmart told the Free Press a woman walked into the store last Wednesday, saying her name was "Santa B." Then she reportedly handed over a cashier's check totaling $46,265.59.

FACEBOOK HELPS REUNITE WOMAN WITH PHOTO OF BOYFRIEND WHO DIED IN WAREHOUSE FIRE

Officials did not name the donor but said the person who signed the check was a male.

It's the third straight year that a Walmart in Pennsylvania had its layaway accounts paid off -- and it was the largest single donation any store has received this year, CNBC added.

One shopper said her family was extremely grateful for the donation. Sandy Terry told the network she had still owed $75 for an Xbox she bought her grandson -- and wasn't sure how she was going to pay for it, after complications from surgery forced her out of her job.

"I'm just so thankful that he's going to get it this year," she told CNBC.

Everett is about 100 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Texas waitress Rachel Ali said she took two photographs next to a police car on the night of May 4: One giving the peace sign and one with each of her middle fingers extended in the air.

Both pictures made it online. Only one of the snapshots went viral.

Months after Ali posed for the photos, she was fired from her job at Los Cucos in Kingwood on Monday morning after the restaurant succumbed to community pressure, KHOU reported.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET PULLED OVER WHILE LEGALLY ARMED

It was a stupid decision to put it on social media, said Ali, who insists she has no animus toward police officers. I regret posting it where people could see it. It was careless, but it was harmless.

Law enforcement officers, however, saw the obscene gesture in a different light.

They're disgusted, especially by seeing this happen so close to home, president of the Harris County Fraternal Order of Police Tom Moore told KHOU. I think she's going to learn from her actions that there's consequences  and they're not all good. She needs to be unemployable in the service industry.

Ali still hopes to get her job back.

Im not a bad person at all, she said. Im sorry people are taking it the wrong way.
U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has a penchant for doling out interesting and unconventional names for new warships, but a petition currently on the White House website wants the next major warship to be named something that may be too outlandish even for him.

The petition suggests that the next major vessel be christened USS The Deplorables, as the petition notes, to honor those citizens who rose up to defend America and the Constitution from the globalists.

The name is taken from a remark Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made on the campaign trail to refer to supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.

"You know, just to be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables, Clinton said at a rally in September. "The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic  you name it. And, unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.

The remark initially offended many Trump supporters, and Clinton apologized for it. But the term quickly turned into a rallying cry for Trumps campaign and helped the GOP candidate win the White House. Now it appears at least some of his supporters would like the Navys next ship to be deplorable as well.

The petition, which was started by someone with the initials D.S., has so far only garnered 768 votes since being launched on December 4, 2016  99,232 short of the 100,000 needed by January 3, 2017, to receive an official response from the White House.

Would you like to be a sailor deployed on a ship called the USS The Deplorables?  David Winkler, director of programs at the Naval Historical Foundation

My gut reaction when I heard about this was, Would you like to be a sailor deployed on a ship called the USS The Deplorables? David Winkler, director of programs at the Naval Historical Foundation, told FoxNews.com. Do you think someone would really want to say, Look at that ship out there  its deplorable?

While USS The Deplorables may not be cruising through open waters anytime soon, it is not unprecedented for a U.S. Navy ship to be named after someone other than a famous naval officer, president or war hero.

Eschewing the traditional picks of military men in naming ships (i.e. the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower or the USS Ronald Reagan), Mabus recently drew criticism for naming ships in honor of the late gay rights leader Harvey Milk, former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis among others.

"It just doesn't help at all for what the basic sailor or officer thinks of his chain of command, up to the secretary of the navy," retired Vice Adm. Doug Crowder told the Associated Press. "Is it catastrophic? No. But that's the risk you run."

Mabus argued that he is honoring people who have shown heroism, just as past secretaries have done. He said he believes that by looking outside the military for heroes, he can help connect people with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

"I have named ships after presidents. I have named ships after members of Congress who have been forceful advocates for the Navy and Marine Corps," Mabus said. "But I think you have to represent all the values that we hold as Americans, that we hold as a country. And so that's why I've named ships the Medgar Evers, Cesar Chavez, John Lewis, the Harvey Milk. Because these are American heroes too, just in a different arena."

Would The Deplorables pass muster?

Theres been some controversy in the past with names having some political undertones, Winkler told FoxNews.com. Mabus is trying to reach out to different groups of people with his choices, but naming a ship Deplorable is not the way to do that.

Controversy over what to name American naval vessels goes back to the earliest days of the United States. George Washington wanted the names of the Navy's first six ships to be inspired by the Constitution.

The first five were, but the nation's first Navy secretary, Benjamin Stoddert, arbitrarily named the sixth the USS Chesapeake.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Teenagers in blue-and-white uniforms pour out of classrooms of this boarding school at the edge of Haiti's capital, chattering in their native language of Creole about the science test they have just taken.

"Eske ou te byen konpoze?" asks one boy in the campus courtyard. In English, it translates as "How do you think you did?"

"I'm not so sure," a girl answers back in Creole with a shrug of her shoulders. "The exam was really difficult."

The students don't speak much French at the school, although it remains the primary language of instruction in most Haitian classrooms. In fact, less than 10 percent of the country's 10 million people speak French fluently, and in most schools, even the teachers don't understand it very well although they're asked to teach in it.

The private Louverture Cleary School has already broken from that linguistic tradition and is instead emphasizing the Haitian Creole children speak at home. The school is also introducing students to Spanish from other parts of the Caribbean and the English they will likely need in the future.

"It is a practical issue," said Deacon Patrick Moynihan about the Creole language-based curriculum at the boarding school. "It really is about being part of this region."

Elsewhere, students struggle using French text books and coping with what largely remains a foreign language in a country once colonized by France, but more and more under the sway of the powerful economies of the United States and Latin America.

In many schools, children copy French lessons by rote from the chalkboard, understanding little.

"I really have to work hard, because I don't speak French at home. My parents don't speak French at home," said 14-year-old Alexandra Julien, who attends another school, as she walked to class one recent morning. "They speak Creole."

Three years after a devastating earthquake killed more than 200,000 people here, Haiti's abysmal educational system remains an obstacle to building the expertise and skills needed to help this impoverished country recover.

Haiti's 1805 Constitution declared that tuition would be free and attendance compulsory for primary students. But the quality of education lagged through the years, and plunged during the 29-year-long dynasty of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude, or "Baby Doc," which ended in 1986. Haiti's professionals fled into exile to escape political repression, spawning a major brain drain the country has never bounced back from.

About 30 percent of the country's youth are now illiterate, according to the U.N.'s children agency, UNICEF, and only half of all children can afford to attend primary school. Less than a quarter attend secondary school.

In a 2011 report published in the journal "The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs," author Brendan McNulty wrote that 80 percent of Haiti's 16,500 or so primary schools are private, and they adhere to no academic standards. The article focused on rebuilding Haiti's education system after the quake.

Like the Louverture Cleary School, more organizations inside and outside the country are saying Haiti's educational crisis can be eased by educating the nation's children primarily in Creole, which all students and teachers truly understand, and bid adieu to French as Haiti's primary teaching language.

"We have lost, we have wasted, so many Einsteins because of the language barrier," said Michel DeGraff, a leading Creole scholar and Haiti-born linguistics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. DeGraff led a four-day workshop in January to help Haitian teachers incorporate Creole into math and science curricula, challenging the notion that the language is not sophisticated enough for the hard sciences.

In a sign of growing interest in Creole's educational potential, the U.S. Agency for International Development last fall awarded a $12.9 million contract to the North Carolina nonprofit group, RTI International, to create a basic reading curriculum that includes the language.

The humanitarian group Concern Worldwide is also developing Creole course materials and training teachers in the language. Duke University recently held a Creole linguistics workshop for U.S. and Haitian scholars in Durham, North Carolina, that treats Haiti's native tongue as a subject worth serious academic study.

Haitian Creole, which grew out of a mix of 18th-century French and West African languages, is the nation's lingua franca, but it wasn't until 1961 that it joined French as one of the country's two official tongues.

President Michel Martelly and other government officials switch between Creole and French in public settings, depending on whether the audience is Haitian or foreign, and many speak English and Spanish fluently from years of living abroad. More English than French can be heard on the streets of the capital as Haitian teens increasingly listen to artists popular in the U.S. such as Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne.

But French remains the language of affluence and privilege, employed in polite society and government communiques and openly spoken in the upscale supermarkets selling brie and baguettes in the mountains high above the capital's shanties. Although used by Haitians of all social strata, Creole is seen by some as the language of the impoverished masses.

As a result, Haitian parents are often all too willing to let their children stumble in their coursework to "learn" a language that even their teachers barely speak. Children whose parents can afford tuition typically spend the first three years of primary school being taught in Creole, then move to French for the remaining years. Students often learn little, and few pass their national exams.

President Michel Martelly campaigned on promises to improve Haiti's school system, and the government says it has paid tuition at private and public schools for more than a million students though some believe the number may be lower.

Some education officials, however, are reluctant to let go of French-centered instruction.

The government has run workshops helping teachers better understand French, with some officials saying French instruction is necessary because few Creole textbooks exist.

"French remains a language that is very symbolic for Haitians," said Pierre Michel Laguerre, an Education Ministry consultant who oversees the school system's curriculum. "There is a history with that language. We have many of our authors who have won prestigious literary prizes in the Francophone world. We cannot leave French behind."

Creole advocates say that there's no shortage of Creole-language books and point to publishing houses such as Educa Vision, Inc. in Florida, which produce such materials. But they acknowledge that shipping the materials to Haiti is expensive and goods are often held up in customs.

The Louverture Cleary school, which was founded by St. Joseph Parish in Providence, Rhode Island, has a history of success in the classroom.

It serves smart children from families with modest means and says it has notched a 98 percent rate of students passing the national high school exam, compared to the countrywide average of 30 percent.

A challenge painted on a wall at the school appears not in the customary French but in Creole: "Nou pare poun rebate ayiti, e ou?"  "We're ready to rebuild Haiti, are you?"

Jeff Thomas says he is. The 18-year-old sees his new linguistic skills as more than a path to a career as a computer programmer.

"If we meet a foreigner ... in order to help him we should speak English to understand what he's saying," Thomas said in English, with a heavy accent.

Moynihan emphasizes that Louverture Cleary is only one possible model for the rest of Haiti's schools and that it follows Ministry of Education guidelines. Unlike most secondary schools, the children have already mastered written and spoken Creole, some of them in the school's morning day care program.

"What is beautiful about language at Louverture Cleary is that we know it's a bridge," Moynihan said. "It's a bridge for communicating."

___

Associated Press reporter Evens Sanon and videographer Pierre-Richard Luxama contributed to this report.

___

Trenton Daniel on Twitter: http://twitter.com/trentondaniel
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Police in Belarus are going after gays, raiding their clubs and locking up clubbers overnight, and summoning gay activists for questioning. One activist accuses police of beating him during questioning, while others say they were interrogated about their sex lives. The leader of a gay rights organization was stripped of his passport just ahead of a planned trip to the United States.

That is the government's response to a decision by gay activists across the country to try in January to legally register their rights organization, GayBelarus. It marked a more resolute attempt to emerge from the shadows after being slapped down repeatedly by the authorities.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who once said "it's better to be a dictator than a gay," has long denigrated homosexuals in the former Soviet republic. As he counters discontent from Belarusians who want to see democratic reforms and a more European-oriented society, Lukashenko has portrayed gays as agents of a decadent West. Gay rights activists are part of the broader opposition to Lukashenko, who has ruled the nation's 10 million people with an iron hand for the past 18 years, earning the nickname of "Europe's last dictator" in the West.

A similar dynamic is at work in Russia, where gay rights activists have joined the protest marches against President Vladimir Putin. Such public promotions of gay rights will be illegal if legislation now working its way through Russia's parliament becomes law.

Homosexuality was formally decriminalized in Russia and Belarus with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, but anti-gay sentiments still run high in both Slavic countries.

"In the 21st century in the middle of Europe we are forced to prove to the government that homosexuality is not an illness and not a crime," said Nasta Senyuhovich, a gay activist in Belarus.

She and about 70 other GayBelarus members signed the documents necessary to formally establish the organization and submitted them to the Justice Ministry in January. They did not have to wait long for a response.

Three days later, police burst into a gay night club in the city of Vitebsk and ordered everyone to stand against the wall. With a video camera rolling, the club patrons had to state their name, place of work and sexual orientation, according to Siarhey Androsenka, the 24-year-old leader of GayBelarus, who was in the club at the time.

"This was more like a special operation against criminals," Androsenka said. "Of course, this action was intended to frighten and intimidate those who dared to proclaim their homosexuality publicly in Belarus."

Three similar raids have been conducted in gay clubs in Minsk, the capital. The most recent raid took place last Saturday when seven club patrons were taken to a police station and held overnight, Androsenka said. He said police have told him that the raids are connected to the activities of GayBelarus.

Separately, more than 60 founders of GayBelarus have been summoned by the police for questioning in Minsk and seven other cities.

"During the police interrogation the majority of the questions were about my private life: how I became gay, how many partners I have, what role I prefer for sex, where I met my partners," said Artem Ivanou, a 21-year-old welder from Brest. He said police threatened to inform his employers.

One activist said police dragged him out of a hospital where he was undergoing treatment and took him to a police station, where he was beaten. "They hit me in the stomach with their knees, and when I fell they began to hit me on the head," said Ihar Tsikchanyuk, who lives in the city of Grodno. He said they called him derogatory names and went through the information stored on his cell phone.

Police have refused to comment on the questioning of the gay activists, as has the Justice Ministry.

The repression has caused panic among gays in Belarus. Many are cleaning out their accounts on social networking sites, deleting photographs and any references to gay culture.

"We are tired of being afraid and are thinking more about emigrating as a last resort," said 23-year-old designer Iryna Zhebrak, holding the hand of her partner, 24-year-old Karyna Trus.

The women, who have been together for 1  years, said they planned to go to Europe to get married, but they hoped to be able to build a life together in Belarus.

"We want social change, integration with Europe," Trus said. "In today's Belarus we have no future. The state stirs up hatred of people who have an untraditional sexual orientation, which only strengthens the already high level of intolerance in society."

Lukashenko has openly insulted gays, who he has said should be sent off to collective farms to perform public works.

After a meeting in 2011 with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who is gay, Lukashenko made his now famous statement that "it's better to be a dictator than a gay."

Lukashenko, an admirer of the Soviet Union, has relentlessly stifled dissent and extended his rule through elections that Western observers have criticized as undemocratic. The United States and the European Union have imposed economic and travel sanctions on the Belarusian government over its crackdown on opposition groups and independent news media.

Any attempt to stage a gay rights demonstration in Belarus is usually quickly dispersed by police. But last year, activists managed to evade police by renting a streetcar and driving it through Minsk decorated with rainbow flags and signs.

Members of GayBelarus hold underground educational seminars and meetings in small towns, where gays have even a more difficult time. In Grodno, where Tsikchanyuk claims he was beaten, several seminars are planned for February.

"Gays for the first time got some hope that they could change their marginal existence, they came to believe that they could fight for their rights even in Belarus," said Androsenka, who has led the gay rights group for three years. The rented apartment where he lives with his partner is the group's headquarters, strewn with books, brochures and rainbow flags.

Androsenka was supposed to leave Feb. 2 for the United States to participate in a program for civil society leaders sponsored by the State Department.

But Belarusian border guards seized his passport under what appears to be an absurd pretext. Androsenka said they told him his passport was listed as lost, and that he himself had reported it missing.
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After an absence of 10 years, the Miss Algeria beauty contest was held Friday in the western city of Oran, with 19-year-old science student Rym Amari taking the pageant honours.

The competition was suspended in 2003 after the death of Cheradi Hamdad, who launched the beauty contest in 1996 during Algeria's devastating civil war and whose son Faycal Hamdad has now taken up the mantle.

"I have picked up the torch for this year only, because my father died last year of lung cancer," said the new pageant director, a rights activist and a performer in his own right.

The revamped beauty show demonstrates that "the Algerian woman has evolved, Algeria has evolved", said Hamdad.

After wiping away tears of joy, beauty contest winner Amari declared: "I am your Miss Algeria. I am 19 years old and I am a materials science student."

She came out on top from the 20 contestants, aged between 18 and 26, who were carefully selected from Algeria's main cities to compete in front of 2,000 spectators in an Oran hotel.

While there was a minimum height requirement, there was no posing in swimsuits, with the Miss Algeria hopefuls parading in traditional outfits, sportswear and evening dresses.

Miss Algeria 2013 has been crowned too late to be able to participate in this year's Miss World contest, due to be held in Bali in September.
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Vines stretch to the horizon under the hot summer sun in a vineyard near Casablanca, one of the oldest in Morocco, where despite the pressures from a conservative Muslim society, wine production -- and consumption -- is flourishing.

"In Morocco we are undeniably in a land of vines," says wine specialist Stephane Mariot.

"Here there is a microclimate which favours the production of 'warm wines', even though we aren't far from the ocean," adds the manager of Oulad Thaleb, a 2,000-hectare vineyard in Benslimane, 30 kilometres (18 miles) northeast of Casablanca, which he has run for five years.

The social climate in the North African county is less propitious, however, with the election of the Islamist Party of Justice and Development in 2011, and the fact that Moroccan law prohibits the sale of alcohol to Muslims, who make up 98 percent of the population.

In practice though alcohol is tolerated and well-stocked supermarkets do a brisk trade in the main cities where there is a growing appetite for decent wine.

According to some estimates, 85 percent of domestic production is drunk locally, while around half of total output is considered good quality.

"Morocco today produces some good wine, mostly for the domestic market, but a part of it for export, particularly to France," says Mariot.

Annual output currently stands at about 400,000 hectolitres, or more than 40 million bottles of wine, industry sources say, making the former French protectorate the second biggest producer in the Arab world.

By comparison, neighbouring Algeria, whose vineyards were cultivated for a much longer period during French colonial rule, produces 500,000 hectolitres on average, and Lebanon, with its ancient viticulture dating to the pre-Roman era, fills about six million bottles annually.

Some of Morocco's wine regions -- such as Boulaouane, Benslimane, Berkane and Guerrouane -- are gaining notoriety.

Already it has one Appellation d'Origine Controlee -- controlled designation of origin, or officially recognised region -- named "Les Coteaux de l'Atlas", and 14 areas with guaranteed designation of origin status, most of them concentrated around Meknes, as well as Casablanca and Essaouira.

And in March last year, an association of Moroccan sommeliers was set up in Marrakesh bringing together 20 wine experts.

In the central Meknes region, nestled between the Rif Mountains and the Middle Atlas, there is evidence that wine production dates back some 2,500 years.

But the industry was transformed during the time of the protectorate (1912-1956), when the kingdom served as a haven for migrating French winemakers after the phylloxera pest decimated Europe's vineyards around the turn of the 20th century.

As in Algeria and Tunisia, the French planted vineyards extensively, with Morocco's annual production exceeding three million hectolitres in the 1950s.

The main grape varieties used to produce the country's red wines are those commonly found around the Mediterranean, such as Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot.

Mariot, the manager of Oulad Thaleb, boasts that the domain, which he says has the oldest wine cellar in use in the kingdom, built by a Belgian firm in 1923, produces one of Morocco's "most popular wines".

Standing by a barrel, he casts a proud eye on the vintage, describing it as a "warm and virile wine".

Abderrahim Zahid, a businessman and self-styled "lover of fine Moroccan wines" who sells them abroad, says the country now produces "a mature wine which we can be proud of".

Morocco's wine industry now employs up to 20,000 people, according to unofficial figures, and generated about 130 million euros ($170 million) in 2011.

But the remarkable progress made by the sector in recent years has taken place within a sensitive social environment.

While alcohol production is permitted by state law, and supermarkets and bars enforce no special restrictions on Muslim customers, officially the sale and gift of alcoholic drinks to Muslims is illegal. They are unavailable during Islamic festivals, including throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

Separately, the Islamist-led government decided last year to raise taxes on alcoholic drinks from 450 dirhams (40 euros, $53) per hectolitre to more than 500 dirhams.

So far this has not noticeably deterred consumption among Morocco's population of 35 million, although economic realities certainly influence local drinking habits.

The wine favoured by Moroccans is a cheap red called Moghrabi, which comes in plastic bottles and costs 30 dirhams (less than three euros) a litre.
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An unexpected moment during the Good Friday service in a long-abandoned church in Cyprus' breakaway north illustrated how religion is helping to bring together Christian Greek Cypriots and Muslim Turkish Cypriots on this ethnically divided island.

It came when Turkish Cypriot Umit Inatci handed the key of the church of Agios Georgios Exorinos in the medieval center of Famagusta to the city's Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Vasilios, saying: "This is not gift, it's something that is surrendered to its owner."

Rapturous applause greeted the announcement by Inatci, who helped make possible the first Holy Week service at the 14th-century church in nearly 60 years.

Among the hundreds of faithful there was Mikis Lakatamitis, who was baptized at the church eight decades ago. Tears welled up in his eyes as worshippers lined up nearby to kiss an embroidered cloth depicting Christ's preparation for burial.

"I want to live in this moment because I don't know if I'll relive it again," said Lakatamitis, whose family abandoned their nearby home at the start of ethnic strife in the late 1950s.

Cyprus was divided along ethnic lines in 1974 into a Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot north after Turkey invaded following a coup aiming to unite the island with Greece.

For decades, there was no contact between the religious leaders of the two communities. In the north, about 500 churches and monasteries  many hundreds of years old  were left to ruin, looted or converted for other uses. In the south, only eight of about 110 mosques still operate.

But that changed in 2009 with a kind of faith-based diplomacy that has quietly been conducted between the leader of the island's Greek Orthodox Christian Church Archbishop Chrysostomos II and Turkish Cypriot Muslim Grand Mufti Talip Atalay.

"We have to give a good example to the Middle East," Atalay told The Associated Press. "This is our gift to the Middle East."

The Good Friday service was the result of a grassroots initiative by ordinary Greek and Turkish Cypriots seeking to chip away at the wall of mistrust built up over decades.

"Perhaps we all understood that being constantly at odds with each other is getting us nowhere," said Nikos Karoullas, a member of the citizens' movement that spawned the initiative. Karoullas said Turkish Cypriots warmly embraced the idea of the church service. Abandoned since the late 1950s, the church was later used as a cultural center by a nearby university.

"This helps us to understand that we share the same country," said 35-year-old Xenia Constantinou. Katerina Mina, whose parents hail from Famagusta, said she's hopeful for a permanent peace that make such services routine rather than the exception.

Although the island's conflict was never about religion, clerics have played an outsized political role in the past. The conflict that has left Nicosia as the world's last divided capital boils down to power sharing and territorial control between the majority Greek Cypriots and minority Turkish Cypriots. But the Good Friday service is viewed as an example of how religion can help mend the island's ethnic division in a part of the world where it has often been used to drive a wedge between people.

The archbishop has historically wielded great influence over the Greek Cypriots as the guardian of their ethnic identity  a vestige of the island's Ottoman-ruled past. That culminated in the 1960 election of Archbishop Makarios III as Cyprus' first president after independence from British rule. The charismatic Makarios held on to power until his death in 1977 effectively ended a blurring of lines between church and state.

The church's influence over political matters has faded to the point where it can no longer sway public opinion, University of Nicosia Law Professor Achilles Emilianides said.

But Chrysostomos, a firebrand who famously told Pope Benedict XVI on a 2010 visit to Cyprus that Turkey seeks to conquer the entire island and erase Greek and Christian culture from the north, remains a force.

A recent poll showed most Greek Cypriots view the Orthodox Church as the only credible institution in the wake of the country's recent near-bankruptcy.

The faith-based meetings have produced small  but symbolically significant  steps. Last October, they agreed on lifting bans preventing Atalay and an Orthodox bishop from crossing into the south and the north respectively. Chrysostomos for the first time accepted Atalay's invitation to a meal at his office in the north.

Equally significant was an unprecedented, united call of support for renewed reunification talks between Nicos Anastasiades, president of the south's internationally recognized government and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

Anastasiades hailed the religious rapprochement as proof of "the positive role that religion can play in resolving political and other differences."

The positive vibes from the religious leaders' meetings have also helped the work of a joint Greek and Turkish Cypriot committee tasked with restoring places of worship and other monuments across the island, including starting work on the highly revered but crumbling Apostolos Andreas monastery.

"All places of worship should be respected fully and unconditionally, wherever they may be located," Atalay said.

Atalay said meetings can help break down "psychological barriers" such as extremist views which obstruct peace, just as long as religious leaders refrain from making political remarks.

"We as religious leaders are obliged to use a different language than the politicians, otherwise a solution will never come," he said.
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Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood has formally split after 70 years  a breakup blamed on long-running ideological disputes, but also on a government attempt to further weaken what was once the country's main opposition group.

The split deals a new blow to the region-wide Brotherhood movement, which has been outlawed as a terror group by close Jordan allies Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In Jordan, some warned that the government's apparent divide-and-control policy could backfire by pushing more Brotherhood supporters into the ranks of extremists like the Islamic State group, seen as the main threat to the country's stability.

The new, officially licensed Brotherhood offshoot defines itself as a strictly Jordanian group, saying it cut ties with the regional movement to avoid being branded as militant.

"We were concerned that we would be considered as a terrorist organization if we continued to be a branch of an organization branded as a terrorist group," the group's leader, Abdel-Majid Thnaibat, told The Associated Press.

The larger Brotherhood faction, still loyal to the regional movement, alleged the government engineered the division to weaken the group.

"This is a coup sponsored by the regime," spokesman Murad Adaileh told the AP.

Jordan's government has declined to address the allegation.

The split was formalized earlier this month when the government licensed Thnaibat's breakaway faction, and the core movement promptly expelled the defectors.

The status of the second faction now remains unclear.

A government official said that while Thnaibat's group registered with the authorities, the other faction "did not correct" its status, suggesting it is legally vulnerable. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue with reporters.

It's not clear if Jordan's authorities eventually will outlaw the original movement, which is deeply rooted in Jordanian society through its social outreach and welfare system. There have been some signs of a crackdown in recent months, including the arrests of about two dozen activists and the sentencing of the group's No. 2  Zaki Bani Ersheid  to 18 month in prison for criticizing the Emirates.

The problems have put the Brotherhood in Jordan at its lowest point in years. It has no representation in parliament because of self-imposed election boycotts and is losing some of its young to extremist groups.

"The Brotherhood, by relative standards, is fairly innocuous, it's not a significant threat to the kingdom," said David Schenker of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank. "Many are asking what (is the) utility of kicking the Brotherhood when it is down."

The division was preceded by long-running ideological disagreements between "doves" and "hawks," exacerbated by 2007 Gaza takeover of the Islamic militant Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood.

The doves emphasize their Jordanian identity, want to keep Hamas at arm's length, appear more willing to play by the restrictive rules set by the monarchy and want to focus on "dawa," or preaching. The hawks criticize government policies more openly, particularly Jordan's peace treaty with Israel, embrace Hamas and see the Brotherhood as a transnational movement.

Tribal identities also appear to play a role, as Thnaibat and some of his key supporters are members of Jordan's Bedouin tribes, while some of the leading hawks are descendants of Palestinian refugees.

For years, the Brotherhood was Jordan's largest and most cohesive opposition group, seeking political reform, but stopping short of seeking the ouster of the king. With the hawks in charge, friction between the Brotherhood and the government has grown in recent years.

At the same time, the Jordanian Brotherhood has been weakened by regional developments in recent years, including the growing ideological competition from Islamic extremists following the outbreak of the Arab Spring uprising in 2011.

Some warn the government crackdown could radicalize Brotherhood supporters and help swell the ranks of the Islamic State group. Jordan has taken on a high-profile role in a U.S.-led military coalition that carries out airstrikes against the militants, after they burned a captive Jordanian pilot to death in a cage. Jordan's King Abdullah II has framed the battle as an ideological fight to the finish.

"The Muslim Brotherhood failed to deal with the young generation and to lead them in the right direction," said Mahmoud al-Kharabseh, a pro-government legislator.

Analyst Labib Kamhawi said the Brotherhood's troubles offered an opportunity for the government to encourage the split.

"Jordan is simply trying to trim the Brotherhood in power and size, to be able to manage it easily," he said.

It's not clear how the rival factions will now deal with each other, and whether court battles over the Brotherhood brand and the movement's properties, such as hospitals and real estate, are looming.

Adaileh alleged that trying to entangle the Brotherhood in legal battles is part of the government's alleged strategy of weakening the movement.

Thnaibat left open the possibility that his group will participate in future elections, after the Brotherhood boycotted the last two rounds over claims the system favored conservative candidates. He also said his group would try to persuade the rank and file to join them.

"We are going to contact our Brothers in the provinces to explain to them why a Brother shouldn't stay in an illegal organization," he said.

___

Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank.

___

Follow Karin Laub on Twitter at www.twitter.com/karin_laub .
The daughter of Efrain Rios Montt, the former dictator facing charges of genocide for massacres committed during his 1982-83 regime, is running for president of Guatemala.

Zury Rios Sosa, a three-time member of congress, announced Thursday that she would accept the nomination of the Christian conservative Vision with Values party to compete in general elections later this year.

"Before God and all of you, I take the responsibility and the decision to return to the political arena, to public politics, to the office of a public servant, to submit myself to the judgment of the people," she said.

Rios Sosa married Jerry Weller, who at the time was a Republican U.S. congressman from Illinois, in 2004.

She was 14 years old when her father, an army general, seized power in a coup. The regime he led suspended the constitution and launched a brutal campaign against political dissidents.

In 2013, he was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity for the killings of 1,771 Mayan Indians by soldiers under his command. A court later overturned the ruling, and a retrial that was supposed to begin in January has been delayed.

Rios Sosa, 47, declined to comment on whether her father's legal case could affect her race. She said women who run for office often face questions from those who say that "she's running because she's someone's daughter or wife."

"I respect, love and support my father, just as I respect and will support the Guatemalan people," Rios Sosa said.

Before announcing her candidacy, Rios Sosa spent several months inviting Guatemalans to send her messages suggesting political changes they wish to see.

Rios Montt's brief military regime was one of the bloodiest periods of Guatemala's civil war. According to the United Nations, about 245,000 people were killed or disappeared during the 1960-96 conflict, with the vast majority of killings blamed on the army and paramilitary groups.

Weller had been in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly a decade when he and Rios Sosa wed.

In 2008 he declined to seek an eighth term after a Chicago Tribune investigation found he failed to disclose land deals he made in Nicaragua and did not report Rios Sosa's finances to Congress.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had named Weller one of the most corrupt members of Congress.

Rios Sosa holds bachelor's and master's degrees in political science and speaks Spanish, English and French, according to her website.
A bloody confrontation this month between Macedonian police and Albanian Muslims has touched off widespread protests and threatens to ignite a geopolitical powder keg whose effects could be felt well beyond the impoverished Balkan nation, warn analysts.

"If the conflict escalates in Macedonia, it could produce a domino effect, transferred to the Balkans, or the other former Yugoslav republics in which the security situation is bad.  Ivan Babanovski, a former Macedonian intelligence officer

More than 20 people, including eight police officers, were killed in the May 9 police raid and ensuing riots in the northern city of Kumanovos ethnic Albanian neighborhoods, where Skopje officials say Muslim groups are training terrorists and seeking to secede. On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters waving Macedonian and Albanian flags marched in Skopje in a powerful show of ethnic unity against a reeling and scandal-scarred government. Experts say the raid and ensuing protests could imperil the regime of Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

"If the conflict escalates in Macedonia, it could produce a domino effect, transferred to the Balkans, or the other former Yugoslav republics in which the security situation is bad, said Ivan Babanovski, a former Macedonian intelligence officer and a professor at Skopjes Faculty of Security.

World powers -- including the U.S., Europe, Russia and Turkey -- are monitoring the complex situation closely, issuing warnings and pointing fingers.

Russia, thwarted repeatedly by the West in its bid to pipe natural gas to Europe, has settled on the so-called Turkish Stream, a route that passes through Turkey and Macedonia. Moscow suspects the U.S. and Europe, opposed to its plans to supply energy to Europe, is fomenting unrest in a bid to change the Russia-friendly regime of Gruevski and scuttle the pipeline.

The U.S. has been lobbying Greece to support an alternative pipeline project that would receive gas from Azerbaijan rather than Russia.

The West denies playing a role in the uprising, which, coupled with political scandals involving secret audio of Gruevski and resignations of government officials, has Moscow fearing a replay of last years toppling of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Yanukovychs ouster ended one version of Russias pipeline plan, and Bulgaria was later pressured by the West to block an alternative that would have passed through its territory. The current plan would be to pipe Russias natural gas under the Black Seat, through northwestern Turkey and to a hub in Greece, from which pipelines leading to southern Europe would extend, including a key segment running through Macedonia.

Macedonia is the weakest link in Turkish Stream that needs to go through Russia, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, Macedonian military analyst Miroslav Lazanski told FoxNews.com. Here it is most easily cut.

Russian leaders, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, say Macedonias Albanian Muslims are being used in a bid to undermine the pro-pipeline government in Skopje. Erdogan warned that heavy-handedness in putting down protests could lead to more regional religious conflict.

Meanwhile, Skopje is scrambling to put the incident behind it and show the world that Macedonia, a poor, landlocked Balkan country of 2 million, is safe for investment.

The terrorist incident on Saturday and Sunday is certainly a one-off isolated incident, Viktor Mizo, CEO of the Macedonian Free Zone Authority, told Emerging Markets. We do not foresee, and dont expect, any influence on normal activity in the Macedonian economy, nor on the plans of foreign investors in our country.

The European Unions delegation to Macedonia and the U.S. Embassy in Skopje issued a joint statement following the violence in Kumanovo urging calm.

"We also hope that this will be the moment in which the country's leaders will engage together in dialogue on all issues facing the country, including the long-running political crisis and the necessary reforms," said the statement.

While protests in the capital have been peaceful, Muslim separatists have vowed to avenge the deadly raid. And Gruevski pledged to deal swiftly with any coming violence.

If I back down it would be a cowardly move," he told pro-government Sitel TV. "Ill face down the attacks.
Thousands of residents of this small city in northern Chile were sleeping outside Thursday after a powerful earthquake destroyed their homes, forced more than 1 million to evacuate and killed at least eight people in the quake-prone South American nation.

Several coastal towns were flooded from small tsunami waves set off by late Wednesday's quake, which shook the Earth so strongly that rumbles were felt across South America.

The magnitude-8.3 quake lasted for three minutes, causing buildings to sway in the capital, Santiago, and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for the Andean nation's entire Pacific coast. People sought safety in the streets of inland cities, while others along the shore took to their cars to race to higher ground.

"I thought it was the end of the world and we were going to die," said teary-eyed Manuel Moya, 38, sleeping with his wife on the ground outside their destroyed home in Illapel, 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of Santiago and 34 miles (55 kilometers) east of the quake's epicenter. The town and surrounding areas have about 35,000 residents.

Moya said he and his wife were in bed and watching television when the quake hit. Fearing they would be killed if they remained inside, they ran outside in their underwear. By the end of the shaking, their home, made of concrete, had been reduced to rubble.

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"They said it was a magnitude 8 but it felt like a 10," said Moya, adding that neighbors had brought them clothes.

Speaking to the nation late Wednesday, President Michelle Bachelet urged people who had been evacuated to stay on high ground until authorities could fully evaluate the situation. Officials said schools would be closed in most of the country Thursday.

In the past year, the nation of 17 million has endured devastating floods in the north, wildfires in the south and two volcano eruptions.

"Once again we must confront a powerful blow from nature," said Bachelet.

Authorities said eight people had been killed, a number that could climb as emergency crews are able to get into hard-hit areas on Thursday. Mahmud Aleuy, the Interior Ministry's deputy secretary, said 1 million people were forced out of their homes and electrical power was cut off to 240,000 households.

Dozens of aftershocks, including one at magnitude-7 and seven at magnitude-6 or above, shook the region after the initial earthquake - the strongest tremor since a magnitude-8.8 quake and tsunami killed hundreds in 2010 and leveled part of the city of Concepcion in south-central Chile.

Tsunami advisories were in effect for Hawaii and parts of California. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center originally issued a tsunami watch for Hawaii but downgraded the alert to an advisory. Tsunami warnings in Chile were lifted early Thursday.

It appeared that Wednesday's quake had a much smaller impact than the more powerful 2010 tremor. Chile's traditionally strong risk-reduction measures and emergency planning have gotten better in the past five years.

"Earthquake impact is a little like real estate: What matters is location, location, location," said Susan Hough, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. "But it is true that preparedness and risk reduction in Chile is ahead of that in much of the world, and that makes a difference."

The tremor was so strong that people in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the other side of the continent, felt it. People in Peru and Brazil also reported feeling the shakes. No injuries were reported outside of Chile.

Claudio Moreno was in a Santiago bar when the quake hit. The shaking was powerful, but more worrisome was how long it lasted, he said.

"We went out in the street when we felt it was going on too long," he said. "It was more than a minute."

The 2010 quake killed more than 500 people, destroyed 220,000 homes, and washed away docks, riverfronts and seaside resorts. That quake released so much energy it actually it shortened the Earth's day by a fraction of a second by changing the planet's rotation.

The quake had huge ramifications, both political and practical, prompting the Andean nation to improve its alert systems for both quakes and tsunamis.

While Wednesday's tremor was strong by any estimation, the 2010 quake was 5.6 times more powerful in terms of energy released, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries because just off the coast the Nazca tectonic plate plunges beneath the South American plate, pushing the towering Andes cordillera to ever-higher altitudes. The strongest earthquake ever recorded on Earth happened in Chile - a magnitude-9.5 tremor in 1960 that killed more than 5,000 people.
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New shocking images from a Venezuela hospital reveal the extent of the country's austerity: lacking cribs, newborn babies are placed in cardboard boxes.

The photos were taken at the Domingo Guzman Lander hospital in Barcelona, in the northeastern state of Anzoategui, and leaked by a doctor who asked to remained anonymous to avoid possible retributions. The doctor reached out to an opposition lawmaker, Manuel Ferreira, who posted them on his Twitter account for the world to see.

"The babies spent all night in the cardboard boxes until the pictures were made public, Congressman Manuel Ferreira told Fox News Latino on Thursday morning. After that they discharged the babies to avoid further exposure."

Ferreira added that the babies sleeping in cardboard boxes is just one instance of the demise of health care within Venezuelas hospitals.

"This week we had 15 cases of newborn deaths here in Anzoategui's Razetti hospital," he told FNL. "Mothers are not fed properly and babies are born really weak. On top of that, the shortage of medicines and vaccines creates a mortal situation that is like a death cocktail."

Everything from common painkillers to cancer and HIV drugs have become almost impossible to find across the country and some doctors have resorted to using veterinary medications in lieu of human ones  according to the Pharmaceutical Federation, the shortage of medicines is more than 80 percent.

Additionally, the president of the Venezuelan Medical Federation Douglas Leon told the Daily Mail that some hospitals are working with just 5 percent of the medical equipment that they need and around 13,000 doctors (more than 20 percent of the medical staff in the country) have emigrated in the last four years.

Venezuelan officials reacted angrily to the images of the newborn babies and claimed that the media was manipulating images to paint the countrys hospitals in a bad light.

We do not justify the actions taken by a professional without the authorization of the management, Carlos Rotondaro, the countrys director of social security said. Our hospitals have to deal with hundreds of patients despite the efforts of the media to manipulate things. Unlike many, we recognize our fault and we continue.

The shocking images of the babies inside cardboard boxes came to light at the same time that many Latin American leaders at the United Nations General Assembly are decrying the decaying political situation in Venezuela.

"It is unavoidable that I mention our concern for the very critical political, economic and social situation that our friendly nation of Venezuela is experiencing," Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said.

"Full-fledged democracy requires absolute respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as due process. It also requires the full guarantee of the respect of the separation of powers and checks and balances."

Since global oil prices plunged in 2015, Venezuela hasnt had the funds to import basic goods such as food and medicine, creating acute shortages and stirring anger toward the socialist administration of President Nicolas Maduro.

Adding to the overall misery are a drastic rise in violent crime, especially in the capital city of Caracas, rolling blackouts and widespread and often times bloody protests against the government. There have been casualties and deaths on both sides of the protests and accusations from the international community of human rights abuses and political oppression.

Franz von Bergen contributed reporting from Caracas.

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Venezuela's opposition said Tuesday it would skip a meeting with the government, endangering ongoing talks aimed at diffusing the country's political crisis.

Opposition spokesman Jesus Torrealba said that the coalition would not attend Tuesday's sit-down because the government has not made any concessions more than a month into the mediation effort.

The Vatican-sponsored dialogue is aimed at steering the country away from violence as a majority of voters want socialist President Nicolas Maduro out, and the government refuses to allow a recall referendum to proceed.

The opposition has demanded that the government release political prisoners and allow a vote. Opposition leaders have made concessions including suspending planned street protests, ending a symbolic impeachment effort in congress and giving up the effort to seat three contested lawmakers.

"It would be insincere to keep sitting there as if nothing has happened," Torrealba said.

The talks come as the government is under increasing international pressure to show respect for the democratic process. On Friday, South American nations suspended Venezuela from the Mercosur trade group over what they said was its failure to comply with commitments made when it joined the group in 2012.

That strong rebuke from Venezuela's one-time friends could open the door to stronger action from other regional players. The head of the Organization of American States has for months threatened to move against Venezuela for its increasing authoritarianism and some U.S. Congress members are calling for additional sanctions.

Earlier in the week, the wives and mothers of Venezuela's highest-profile political prisoners chained themselves to the Vatican to demand the release of imprisoned activists.

On Monday, powerful socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello suggested the government is also chafing at the talks. He said the cardinal involved in the effort is spending too much time with the opposition taking a high-handed approach with the government.

"It's irresponsible and disrespectful to think the Vatican is going to tutor Venezuela. When we say we're free and have sovereignty, it's because we're free and have sovereignty. We don't accept anyone trying to teach us," he said.

The two sides have tried dialogue during previous crises with little effect, and hope is already fading for the current talks. Although Venezuelans overwhelmingly blame Maduro for their economic woes, the ruling party has almost complete control of institutions like the courts and the military and has shown no interest in yielding to the opposition.

The mediation effort began shortly after critics of Maduro paralyzed the capital with a massive street protest, and many of the young people who were ready to keep taking to the streets believe the process is just a stalling tactic to allow the government to diffuse the opposition's momentum and regroup.

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It was Christmas Eve last year when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi extended his support to the Coptic Christian community, attending Mass at St. Marks Orthodox Coptic Churcha symbolic act that showed the former Army generals resolve to bring together the nations 10 million Christians and the Muslim majority of 70 million.

But in the year since that olive branch was offered, extremists on the fringe of the Muslim majority have carried out a number of attacks on the Coptic community, including Sundays bombing of St. Marks  the largest such attack since the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood president that el-Sisi ousted on July 3, 2013.

That coup was supported by the Coptic pope, Tawadros II, and now, Christian advocates tell FoxNews.com, it appears that members of the Brotherhood and other Muslim extremists are targeting Copts during the Christmas season, when they attend church in larger numbers and are more vulnerable.

Copts make up about 9 percent of Egypt's population, and the Morsi regime caused a rift in state unity based on worship that brought with it a rise in sectarian violence against Copts.

According to a recent report from the Vatican agency, Aid to the Church in Need, while the situation for Copts has improved somewhat under el-Sisi, they have faced many incidents of discrimination and persecution.

"A few years ago there was a massive attack that destroyed hundreds of Coptic churches and homes. But the attack this past weekend has been one of the more deadly attacks in recent times," David Curry, executive director of Open Doors USA, a California-based non-profit that helps persecuted Christians around the world, told FoxNews.com. "It's difficult to know the motivation of the attackers, but we often see an increase in attacks in this region around the Christmas season. It is when Christians are most vulnerable. The number of Christians visiting churches spikes as they flock to honor this holy day."

When asked if it's possible that the attackers chose St. Mark's because of el-Sisi's visit last year, Curry said it was very possible.

"It is a well-known church, and, for extremists trying to draw attention and fear, it is a prime spot," he said.

In a statement circulated online on Tuesday, The Islamic State [ISIS] claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed 25 people. They also alleged that the bomber had actually killed and injured 80 people, while vowing "to continue war against apostates."

Funerals for the victims of the attack were held on Monday in Cairo, at which Pope Tawadros II said the bombing is not a tragedy for the church alone but for everyone, for Egypt.

El-Sisi also attended, and he was quoted by local media condemning the Muslim Brotherhood for attempting to destroy the country and divide its people. Its consistent with the presidents efforts to reach out to the Coptic community, including the repeal this past September of an Ottoman-era law that banned the construction of new Christian churches.

Even so, extremists have lashed out at Copts repeatedly.

In May, a church in Minya, some 170 miles south of Cairo, was burned to ground after an attack by what local clergy describes as extremists. Local media reported that the cause of the fire was a short circuit in the churchs wiring, which was a deliberate falsehood, church officials say.

In the southern part of the country, there are frequent attempts to extort money from Copts by Muslim clans, people in the community report, with more than 20 known cases that were reported to police and in which nothing was ever done to rectify the matter.

We often see an increase in attacks in this region around the Christmas season. It is when Christians are most vulnerable. The number of Christians visiting churches spikes as they flock to honor this holy day.  David Curry, executive director of Open Doors USA

In one incident in al-Qusiya, a village about 50 miles south of Minya, members of various Coptic families were forced to barricade themselves in one house when extortionists from a local Muslim clan attacked them for not paying taxes.

Its a symptom of an underlying problem in Egypt, Edward Clancy, director of outreach for Aid to the Church in Need, told FoxNews.com. The Muslim Brotherhood hijacked the constitution when they were in power to now, where we have President el-Sisi moving towards including the Coptic community. Is the government making strides, or is it just window-dressing?

What it comes down to, Clancy said, is, Will the Christian community be able to worship openly?
The family of an American man imprisoned in Iran has expressed serious concern for his well-being after he penned a suicide note.

CLICK TO SEE THE NOTE ON FOREIGNDESKNEWS.COM

Robin Shahini, 46, a dual Iranian-American citizen and resident of San Diego for the past 16 years, was sentenced in October to 18 years in prison for collaborating with a hostile government," referring to the United States.

NETANYAHU HOPES TO WORK WITH TRUMP TO UNDO IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL

His sentence also included a blasphemy charge for insulting the revered on a Facebook page, according to the official sentence handed to Shahini.

His trial lasted just three hours, his family said.

In an emotionally charged letter to his girlfriend, that was shared with The Foreign Desk, Shahini wrote, The situation that I am in is ridiculous and my brain cannot cope with this situation. Most of the time thinking to end my life to become free.

Click for more from The Foreign Desk.
Cops have arrested a man in connection with an unprovoked attack on a woman at a Berlin underground station  after a bodyguard to Hollywood stars offered a reward.

PRIEST NIXES NATIVITY SCENE TO AVOID OFFENDING MUSLIMS

Michael Kuehr, 54, whose clients include Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron, offered more than $2,000 for information relating to the disgusting assault which was captured on CCTV.

Released by police, the shocking footage showed an innocent woman being kicked down a flight of stairs by a cowardly hooligan in October.

SAUDI WOMAN WHO FACED DEATH THREATS FOR REMOVING HIJAB COULD GET LASHED INSTEAD

Heroic strongman Kuehr said he almost had to vomit during breakfast when he saw the disturbing video.

He offered the money in a bid to bring the thug and his three thug friends  who watched the attack and did nothing  to justice.

Authorities have now detained a suspect in relation to the assault.

The footage shocked Germany and Kuehr was reportedly not the only person to offer an award.

CCTV from the metro station showed a young woman in a black coat walking down a tiled staircase.

A man in blue jeans and a leather jacket clutching a beer bottle while smoking a cigarette can be seen following her.

He trots a few steps down the staircase behind her.

Then, when she is halfway down the steps, he raises his leg and kicks her hard in the back, sending her flying several feet down to the ground.

She lands painfully on her face, sprawling on the hard surface, the contents of her handbag scattering across the floor.

The attacker, flanked by three companions, walks back up the stairs and saunters away.

One of his mates lingers for a second to retrieve a dropped bottle and then strolls away with the rest.

Down the stairs on the platform, fellow commuters rush to help the woman. She was taken to hospital and left the same day after receiving treatment.

The incident happened shortly after midnight on October 27 in the borough of Neukoelln.

At the time of the video's release, a police spokeswoman said: "Police are investigating a case of dangerous bodily injury."

This story first appeared in The Sun.
Brazil's President Michel Temer called U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, agreeing to work together to improve business relations between the two largest economies in the Americas, a statement from Temer's office said.

Brazil is keen to explore business opportunities that could open up if Trump follows through on campaign promises to rewrite a trade deal with Mexico.

"Temer and Trump agreed to launch, immediately after the swearing in of the new American president, an agenda for Brazil-U.S. growth," the statement said.

"(Temer) emphasized Brazil's interest in receiving more American investment," the statement added.

Reuters reported last week that Temer planned to call Trump, having sent a telegram of congratulations following his election.

Trump's calls during the campaign to protect U.S. companies by limiting trade worried some Brazilian investors, but the Temer administration, under pressure to rescue an economy stuck in a two-year recession, sees a silver lining for local businesses.

Brazilian industries, benefiting from a weaker real currency could increase their market share in the United States if Trump makes good on his threats to rework or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement with neighboring Mexico and Canada. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

In Tuesday's call, Trump and Temer agreed to put together teams to work on a mutual growth program from February next year.

According to the statement, Temer said that business leaders from both the United States and Brazil already understood each other well and wanted to work more closely together.

Robson Andrade, head of Brazil's most powerful industrial lobby, the CNI, said Trump could open up opportunities for Brazilian businesses if he drops or re-works U.S. trade partnerships currently being negotiated across the Pacific and with the European Union.

"That will make it easier for Brazil to forge new trade alliances," Andrade told Reuters. "I don't think Trump will cause the economic cataclysm people are talking about."

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Additional reporting and writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Paul Simao)
China and Mexico pledged on Monday to deepen ties at a meeting between their top diplomats following last month's U.S. presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has tested Washington's relationship with both countries.

Before arriving in Mexico on Sunday, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met with members of Trump's team in New York, including his pick for national security adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

Mexico has been exploring ways to lessen its economic dependence on the United States out of fear that access to its No. 1 trade partner will be restricted by policies under Trump, who promises to protect American jobs from going outside the country.

Yang's meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu included discussions of enhancing trade and investment ties, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, as well as improving flight connections between the two countries.

"They agreed to deepen mutual trust and develop the bilateral dialogue about subjects of mutual interest via the Mexico-China Strategic Dialogue," the ministry said, without giving more details.

Yang said in the meeting that China's comprehensive partnership with Mexico was "flourishing" day by day, adding that China wishes to deepen cooperation on trade, investment, resources, infrastructure and financial services, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website.

After his meeting with Ruiz Massieu, Yang had a "courtesy visit" with President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trump's moves in recent days, protesting his decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan's president and voicing concern after a weekend interview on "Fox News Sunday" in which Trump questioned whether the United States had to stick with a "one China" policy. China considers Taiwan a renegade province.

Mexico's relationship with China appeared to cool after Pena Nieto scrapped high-profile rail and retail projects that were supposed to usher in a new era of business between the manufacturing rivals.

But Mexico last week awarded two deepwater oil blocks to China's Offshore Oil Corporation during a historic auction that was part of the country's energy reform.

"The China-Mexico relationship is back on again," said Evan Ellis, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College who specializes in China's presence in Latin America.

"The election of President Trump and the associated threat to NAFTA probably was one driver for (Pena Nieto) to position Mexico to diversify its foreign economic engagements," Ellis added.

Trump has vowed to renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trade deal important to Mexico, which includes the United States and Canada.
She fought against the Islamic State  and now risks jail time for doing so.

Joanna Palani, a 23-year-old Danish woman, was facing a 6-month prison sentence after fighting alongside Kurdish peshmerga forces in Iraq and Syria, The Local reported.

PARIS ATTACK PLANNERS AMONG 3 ISIS FIGHTERS KILLED IN DRONE STRIKE, PENTAGON SAYS

Palani had her passport confiscated last year after she returned to Denmark, and was hit with a one-year travel ban, for violating the nation's so-called "foreign fighter" rules. The regulations were aimed at stopping Danish citizens from joining terror groups, but could punish people who fight on the other side, according to analysts.

Palani has also been associated with the Kurdish militia group YPG, which is linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, deemed a terrorist organization by the European Union and the U.S., according to The Local.

How can I pose a threat to Denmark and other countries by being a soldier in an official army that Denmark trains and supports directly in the fight against the Islamic State? she wrote on Facebook after officials took her passport.

The potential 6-month prison sentence stems from the travel ban violation. Palani admitted to traveling to Qatar in June and was detained last week, The Local reported.

Palanis lawyer says she will return to Copenhagen City Court on Dec. 20.

Click for more from The Local.
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The European Union is debating how to move forward in membership talks with Turkey amid a push to freeze the negotiations in response to the government's security crackdown since the failed coup.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said Tuesday that his country "will say that it's impossible to open new chapters for the accession process."

Reynders said it is important to cooperate with Turkey to fight terrorism, exchange information about foreign fighters from Europe traveling to Syria and Iraq and to manage the refugee crisis.

But on membership, he said, "it's difficult to go further with such a situation in Turkey."

Turkish authorities have arrested almost 38,000 people and purged more than 100,000 others from government jobs since the thwarted coup on July 15.
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France's new prime minister has given his first speech to parliament, arguing for an extension of a year-old state of emergency to keep France secure through its 2017 presidential election.

Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve vowed to "protect the French" as a priority and insisted he would continue the fight against terrorism despite the fact that he has only five months before the end of President Francois Hollande's term.

The Senate is voting Thursday on the fifth extension of a state of emergency that was declared the day after the Paris attacks by Islamic extremists that left 130 people dead on Nov. 13, 2015.

Cazeneuve last week replaced former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who stepped down to seek the French presidency in the nation's two-part vote in April and May.
In an apparent diplomatic snub, Israel says none of its officials will meet with the Swedish foreign minister during a visit this week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon cited a "scheduling issue" for the decision not to meet with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom. It is highly unusual for a visiting high-level dignitary not to meet any Israeli officials.

The move comes at a time of icy relations between Israel and Stockholm, which have been strained since the Social Democratic-led government recognized Palestinian statehood in 2014. Comments by Wallstrom on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have also elicited angry responses from Israeli officials.

Wallstrom arrives Thursday and is expected to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

There was no immediate reaction from Sweden.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hailing close ties with Azerbaijan on a visit to the ex-Soviet Caspian Sea nation.

Following Netanyahu's talks Tuesday with Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, officials signed agreements on taxes and other issues. Netanyahu said Israel is willing to expand trade and cooperation on information technologies.

Aliyev has firmly allied the Shia Muslim nation with the West, helping secure its energy and security interests in the strategic Caspian region.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, Netanyahu said that ties between the two nations are "very close" and "will be even better after this visit."

Before this trip that will also take him to Kazakhstan, Netanyahu underlined his intention to strengthen diplomatic, security and economic relations with both nations.
An Italian priest has decided to break with tradition and not set up a Nativity scene in his towns cemetery this Christmas -- in order to avoid offending Muslims, Milans Corriere della Sera reported on Friday.

Father Sante Braggie, chaplain of the Municipal Cemetery of Cremona and curate of the local parish in Northern Italy, said the display was typically set up within eyesight of a small corner of the cemetery that was reserved for Muslim graves.

COUPLE TURN TO HUMOR AFTER MARY STOLEN FROM NATIVITY

A crib positioned within sight of them could be seen as a lack of respect for followers of other faiths, hurt the sensibilities of Muslims, as well as Indians and even atheists, Braggie said, according to a translation published in Express. In short, it would be a mess.

Braggies predecessor, Father Oreste Mori, was incredulous.

Seriously? I cant believe it, Mori said. We cannot renounce our culture and traditions. That would be an unpardonable weakness.

Local lawmaker Cristina Cappellini was among the town councilors urging Braggie to reinstate the Nativity scene as a symbol of our culture, of our traditions, of our Christian identity.

Said Mori: I am, for the time being at least, in Italy, not Saudi Arabia.
Gov. Jay Nixon participated on Monday in a dedication ceremony of the new shooting range complex at St. Joe State Park called the Sgt. Darrell S. Cole Memorial Shooting Range.

The range was designed to attract additional outdoor recreation enthusiasts to the area and assist Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy, area law enforcement agencies and Missouri State Park Rangers.

Bill Bryan, director of the Missouri state park system, which falls under the Department of Natural Resources, started off the ceremony with a few remarks, welcoming all who attended, including the large number of law enforcement representatives from all around the region.

He said that past research indicated Missouri parks visitors wanted to see more shooting and target ranges available.

When the unique opportunity to build a range here at St. Joe State Park arose, we jumped on it, said Bryan, before commenting on the contributions of the projects principal participants and contributors, with a special thanks to Taylor Engineering in Farmington, which handled the design of the project, and Brockmiller Construction Company, which handled the construction of the range.

Bryan also remarked on the collaboration between the park system and Mineral Area College.

It certainly wouldnt have been possible to be here today without the partnership of Mineral Area College, he said. Their efforts to safely operate this range will make sure it meets the needs of local law enforcement, members of the academy and the community.

Nixon began his remarks by recognizing a special guest in attendance at the ceremony.

This is the Sgt. Darrell S. Cole Memorial Shooting Range, Nixon said, and I want to recognize Sgt. Coles nephew, Darrell Cole, who is with us today also for this important moment.

The range was named in honor of Sgt. Cole, a Marine from St. Francois County, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nations highest military honor, for his heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.

It will come as no surprise to all of you that Im excited to be here and inspired by whats been accomplished, said Nixon, because I love Missouri outdoors and I treasure our Missouri state park and trails system, which I consider the finest in the nation. I also know how important it is to Missourians to become involved in outdoor recreation and activities like hunting, fishing, hiking and shooting.

This outstanding addition to our state parks here in St. Francois County will help to do just that. These activities not only connect us to the outdoors, they connect us with our heritage and the people who settled our state. They help us teach our youngsters about responsibility and conservation, and how important it is to leave things in nature as we found them.

Nixon also commented on the economic benefits brought to the area by park visitors and the specific benefits the range will provide to Parkland residents.

This range will not only help attract more people to St. Joe State Park and connect more Missourians to outdoor recreational opportunities, it will serve Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy recruits and area law enforcement agencies that have had to travel and wait in line to schedule their required shooting range training and qualifications, he said. It is fitting that it be named to honor a Missourian who sacrificed his life on behalf of our country.

Before moving on to the ribbon-cutting part of the ceremony, Nixon took some time to speak about Sgt. Cole and why the shooting range was named in his honor.

Darrell S. Cole was the son of Flat River, Missouri, which we now call Park Hills, he said. As a youth, he enjoyed hunting and the outdoors and served in the New Deal program called the Civilian Conservation Corps. The C.C.C. put young people to work in natural resources conservation projects in rural lands all across our great country. Following his C.C.C. experience, Darrell Cole joined the Marine Corps where he would serve with distinction as a machine gunner in several major campaigns of World War II 

Then during the February 19, 1945 assault on Iwo Jima, Sgt. Cole would distinguish himself with incredible courage to protect the men under his command and to continue the U.S. advance against the Japanese. Under a barrage of enemy fire, Sgt. Cole made two successful one-man hand grenade attacks against Japanese guns, allowing his unit to continue to advance.

Cole made two more one-man grenade attacks against the Japanese before finally being killed by an enemy grenade.

For his extraordinary bravery, Darrell Cole posthumously received the highest United States military decoration, Nixon said, the Medal of Honor. The Navy Destroyer, The U.S.S. Cole, is also named in his honor. I can personally think of no finer person for whom to name this outstanding shooting range than a favorite son and a native son of this area, Sgt. Darrell S. Cole.

After cutting the ceremonial red ribbon, Nixon christened the range by firing the first shot at a target downrange.

Dr. Steven Kurtz, president of Mineral Area College, also spoke, thanking numerous supporters in attendance and those who helped make the shooting range a reality.

The five-acre shooting range complex includes a 100-meter, no blue sky rifle/pistol/shotgun range with 12 covered booths with target placement at three, seven, 15, 25 50 and 100 yards, and 100 meters. There is a 30-space parking lot, an office and restrooms. The range is fully ADA compliant.

Missouri State Parks provided park land and contracted for construction of the shooting range complex. Mineral Area College will staff the facility with certified range instructors and has responsibility for daily operations and expenses.

The entrance to the range is at the Missouri Mines State Historic Site, two miles west of Leadington on Highway 32. Additional information on the shooting range is available from the Mineral Area College website.
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A judge in Sicily has convicted a ship captain and crew member in the April 2015 sinking that left 700 people dead in one of the Mediterranean's worst migrant disasters.

The Tunisian captain, Mohammad Ali Malek, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined 9 million euros. He was convicted of multiple manslaughter counts. His Syrian crewmate, Mahmud Bikhit, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 9 million euros after being convicted of facilitating illegal immigration.

Prosecutors accused Malek of inadvertently ramming the overloaded fishing boat into the cargo ship that had come to its rescue on April 18, 2015, destabilizing it. The boat flipped after migrants rushed to one side. Only 28 survived.

The wreck was brought to the surface and some 700 bodies recovered.
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Funded by Britain, a wall has been built to stop migrants from jumping onto trucks in the northern French city of Calais heading across the English Channel.

The threat, however, appears to have already receded.

Regional spokesman Steve Barbet says no migrants have been reported trying to hop a truck since French authorities dismantled Calais' refugee slum in October. He says Tuesday that police scouring the city and the surrounding area daily have found no new camps, though a handful of migrants still gather at the Calais port.

He says the new 4 meter-high (13 foot-high) concrete wall along a Calais highway aims to deter future migrants.

Thousands of migrants from the Mideast and Africa, who had converged on Calais after fleeing conflict and poverty, have now been dispersed across France.
A U.S.-led coalition drone strike in Raqqa, Syria, killed three Islamic State fighters, two of whom helped facilitate the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday.

SYRIAN TROOPS DESCENDING ON ALEPPO KILL DOZENS 'ON THE SPOT,' UNITED NATIONS WARNS

The third fighter killed on December 4 was involved in a foiled suicide attack plot targeting Europe in 2015, U.S. officials said. A Belgian court had convicted him in absentia.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters. He said the fighters were involved in a terror network led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, who was killed in a coalition airstrike last month.

ELEVEN DETAINED IN BASTILLE DAY TRUCK ATTACK IN FRANCE

The U.S.-led coalition has conducted more than 300 airstrikesaround Raqqa in the past month.

A drone conducted last week's airstrike, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News. A senior military official said just last week the coalition has killed 50,000 ISIS fighters in the past two years.

Cook identified the Paris attack facilitators as Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, and said the third fighter was Walid Hamman.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter first announced the killings during an address Tuesday to U.S. airmen at a military base in Italy.

Cook said the two involved in the Paris attacks were close associates of ISIS external operations leader Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who was killed in August. The Paris massacre killed 130 people and has left Europe on edge for months.

"Since mid-November, the coalition has now successfully targeted five top ISIL external plotters, further disrupting ISIL's ability to carry out terrorist operations beyond Syria and Iraq," Cook added.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Days after the Islamic State group seized back control of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, a prescient exhibit was inaugurated in Paris on Tuesday that aims to educate the public on the wounded wonder that Syrians affectionately call the "Bride of the Desert."

Its organizers said the display opening Wednesday is designed to be an "emotional" experience that takes visitors to Palmyra and other endangered world heritage sites in the Middle East. It's also meant to show how much of the Syrian site's heritage so far has been spared.

The exhibit at the Grand Palais plunges visitors into a three-dimensional, 360-degree projection using never-before-seen images of Palmyra. They were taken by a drone in April days after the city was liberated from Islamic State group fighters.

Last year, the militants destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to A.D. 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a stone block structure fronted by six towering columns  viewing them as monuments to idolatry. They also blew up a non-religious ancient monument, the Arch of Triumph.

Despite the loss of such archaeological treasures, the researcher behind the 3-D imagery, Yves Ubelmann, called the previously unseen photos he collated "positive" because they illustrate how much of Palmyra remains intact. Experts estimate that some 80 percent of the city's ancient ruins are still unharmed, for now.

A UNESCO world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. Before the war, it was Syria's top tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Just as the exhibit opens, the threat to the city it honors is ratcheting up.

Islamic State group militants on Sunday re-occupied the site, from which they had been expelled earlier this year, in a surprise attack that took advantage of the Russian and Syrian governments' preoccupation with the front in Aleppo.

It's unclear whether President Bashar al-Assad will prioritize retaking Palmyra, with what's left of its archaeological treasure.

Ubelmann said he was "scared... because we don't know what they'll destroy."

"At least we have these photos in April that can be an archive for the memory of humanity," he added.

Ubelmann founded the France-based organization Iconem whose state-of-the art technology is showcased in the exhibit and maps out with arresting realism every nook and cranny of the sites that are found among the Middle East's most hostile places.

As well as Palmyra, they include Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Khorsabad in Iraq, the Umayyad Mosque in Syria and Kerak Castle in Jordan.

Marielle Pic, the curator of the exhibit and director of the Oriental Antiquities Department in the Louvre Museum, expressed remarkable sangfroid at the prospect of the Palmyra's further destruction at the hands of militants.

Archaeologists, she said, must simply "accept it."

"We fight with our minds, and not with arms. We know that each era can be a new chapter for a site. Now, Palmyra has entered a dark period," Pic said. "But for us the destruction is part of the story of an archaeological site. We need to accept it."

French President Francois Hollande and UNESCO chief Irina Bokova inaugurated the exhibit, "Eternal Sites, From Bamiyan to Palmyra," on Tuesday in collaboration with the Louvre. It runs until Jan. 9.

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP
A young woman who received death threats after going out without her full-body dress in Saudi Arabia now faces being lashed after she was arrested.

A Saudi woman went out yesterday without an Abaya or a hijab in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and many Saudis are now demanding her execution. pic.twitter.com/gPMOz5bRAr  Anon #FreeMalak (@dontcarebut) November 29, 2016

PRIEST NIXES NATIVITY SCENE TO AVOID OFFENDING MUSLIMS

The woman, identified as Malak Al Shehri, shared a photograph of herself without a hijab or abaya  a traditional body covering  on a street in the capital city of Riyadh.

Al Shehri sparked fury on social media after she went out in public in the conservative capital, with some even calling for her execution.

INDIA ARRESTS 12 FOR NOT STANDING DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM

Some raged that she should be thrown to the dogs or beheaded for daring to stand against the countrys strict rules.

But hundreds came to her defense and praised her bravery for sharing the picture on Twitter.

A student from the Saudi city Dammam, who used the name Sara Ahmed, shared the shot, which showed Malak wearing a black coat over a brightly-coloured calf-length dress.

Malak also donned over-sized sunglasses and brown ankle boots which offered a glimpse of a tattoo on her lower right leg in the picture.

A Saudi woman went out yesterday without an Abaya or a hijab in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and many Saudis are now demanding her execution, Sara captioned the image.

Dozens of social media users immediately issued death threats and insulted Malaks morals.

Kill her and throw her corpse to the dogs, one Twitter user wrote.

Another said: We want blood.

While some vented their outrage, many voiced their support and encouraged others to stand with Malak.

The picture also sparked a hashtag which called for Malaks imprisonment.

Sara said Malak received so many death threats that she was forced to delete her account.

So many people re-tweeted it and what she did reached extremists, so she got threats, the student told the International Business Times.

She deleted her tweets but they didnt stop, so she deleted her account.

All women in Saudi Arabia  local and foreign  are legally required to wear an abaya  which is a traditional full-body covering.

Muslim women must also wear a headscarf  or hijab  but foreigners do not need to.

Click for more from The Sun.
Mexican police have discovered two additional tunnels that officials believed drug traffickers used to sneak from the border city of Tijuana into the United States.

Entrances to the tunnels were spotted in an area of warehouses across from Otay Mesa, officials said. One of them reached to San Diego while the other was unfinished.

Photos and videos provided to Fox News by Attorney Generals Office showed wooden steps leading to the tunnels equipped with rails and trolleys. They were hidden behind fake cinder block and metal doors.

Prosecutors did not say how long the tunnels were or where they ended in San Diego.

The Attorney Generals Office said the notorious Sinaloa cartel apparently used the tunnels to move drugs into the United States.

The U.S. consulate in Tijuana had reported the tunnels were being reactivated after drug traffickers apparently abandoned them for a while.

Investigators found similar tunnels earlier this year including one running a half-mile from a Tijuana house equipped with a large elevator to a lot in San Diego that was advertised as a wooden pallet business.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey crashed roughly 6 miles off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, on Tuesday, marking the second crash of a Marine aircraft in the area in less than a week, two Pentagon officials told Fox News.

PARIS ATTACK PLANNERS AMONG 3 ISIS FIGHTERS KILLED IN DRONE STRIKE, PENTAGON SAYS

The Marine aircraft had five crew members onboard. Two were injured, but crews recovered all of them, a U.S. defense official said.

The extent of the injuries was unclear. The Marines were recovering at the United States Naval Hospital at Camp Foster.

'NEVER TOOK A KNEE': ADMIRAL CALLS OUT COLIN KAEPERNICK FOR ANTHEM PROTEST

Marine officials launched an investigation into what may have caused the crash. The service members were with Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Last Wednesday, a U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet crashed off the coast of Japan killing the pilot, Capt. Jake Frederick, 32.

Tuesday's crash was the eighth involving Marine Corps aircraft this year. All have occurred during training flights. The Marines reported six such crashes in 2015 and three in 2014.

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ship found Frederick's body last Thursday during an extensive search at sea. The Pentagon was investigating what may have triggered that crash.

"We have lost a fine American patriot who volunteered to serve for freedom," said Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. "I want to sincerely thank the Japanese government for the tremendous efforts they made during search operations following the mishap."

Frederick was on a rotational deployment to Japan. His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

Fox News' Leonard Balducci, Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Security forces across Western Europe have been rounding up terror suspects during the month of December as concerns grow over the possibility of a holiday-timed attack after intel suggested that there may be plans for attacks in a number of countries.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested in recent weeks in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other countries. Its seen as a pre-emptive strike by law-enforcement officials hoping to avoid the worst-case scenario.

Its like the broken windows approach that we have seen here in the U.S., Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis for global intelligence firm Stratfor, told FoxNews.com. Its common after attacks like we saw in Nice and Brussels to see them round up the usual suspects.

Since the beginning of December, nearly 30 people have been arrested for alleged involvement in terrorist activities. On Monday, 11 people were arrested in France in connection with the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice. In an unrelated incident, authorities in the UK arrested six people on suspicion of preparing to launch a terrorist attack.

Just two days earlier, authorities in France also arrested a sixth suspect in a thwarted plot to attack a number of sites in the metropolitan area of Paris, including the Champs Elysees and Disneyland Paris.

In the Netherlands, a man found with an AK-47 and two loaded magazines in his apartment was arrested. And in London a man was arrested on suspicion that he was preparing a terrorist act at Stansted Airport, 30 miles northeast of Central London.

On Dec. 6, authorities in Sweden arrested a Syrian national on suspicion of terrorism for an October arson attack at a Shiite prayer room in Malmo.

Last Friday, two teens in Germany were arrested on suspicion of plotting an Islamist-motivated attack on a public institution near Aschaffenburg. German authorities also arrested an Afghan man earlier this month on suspicion of being a member of the Taliban.

"These arrests are for involvement in terrorist plots or clear material involvement with terrorist groups, Ryan Mauro, national security analyst for the Clarion Project, told FoxNews.com. This is the last stage where the evidence necessary for action is in its greatest abundance.

The problem is that the number of extremists who become terrorists will grow while resources for stopping them in that last stage of action becomes less available."

Stratfors Stewart says that most of the attacks that were foiled were likely small in scale.

Its obvious that the threat will always remain, he said, but with the holidays and many of the Christmas markets that are normally set up this time of year, it proves to be a tempting soft target.

He added No ones worried about a hard attack.

Most, if not all, of those arrested, he also noted, likely will be released.

I anticipate that we will see most of these guys kicked loose, Stewart said. [Law-enforcement officials] go on a fishing expedition.

They just dont want people to be killed.
Uganda's Rwenzururu King Charles Mumbere charged with terrorism - BBC News

The king of a region in Uganda has been charged with terrorism at a hearing in the east of the country before a courtroom packed with royal supporters. Charles Mumbere was arrested last month after a government raid on his palace in which more than 80 people died.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38302529?ocid=socialflow_twitter
St. Francois County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that the suspects wanted for a Leadwood assault were arrested Sunday in Union County, Georgia.

The department confirmed Sunday night that Angela Laycock and Timothy Perkins were arrested. No other information was available Sunday night.

Earlier that afternoon, the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department was notified the four children who had been with the couple were found.

Sheriff Dan Bullock said the children were picked up in Georgia by the grandfather and were being taken back to Florida. He added they were advising the police department there to contact the childrens division.

At this time it is unclear how the children were located and found to be in the grandfathers custody.

The assault took part at the home at 221 Fifth St. where the victim, Silas Laycock, 43, and suspects Angela Laycock, 43, and Perkins, 37, all lived together, along with the Silass and Angelas four children.

The sheriffs department took over the case Tuesday night at the request of the Leadwood Police Department.

Silas was assaulted by the couple, which included being stabbed with a knife, being struck multiple times with an ax and being shot with a shotgun. Its believed that the victim, the two suspects and the four children were all at the home at the time of the assault. An argument began about drug paraphernalia that was reportedly found inside the house.

Laycock was transported by ambulance to a St. Louis area hospital Tuesday afternoon after he drove himself to a Leadwood convenience store seeking help. He was rushed into surgery and is expected to survive his injuries.

According to Bullock, Leadwood Police Chief Will Dickey responded about 1:30 p.m. to a call from an individual at the Leadwood BP gas station and convenience store reporting that someone there had been shot and stabbed.

Upon his arrival, Dickey reportedly found Silas laid over in the seat of a pickup truck and was told by the victim that his wife and her boyfriend had stabbed him and shot him.

On Thursday, the suspects, were spotted in Jefferson City by a law enforcement officer and a pursuit began, but was ended due to bad weather before the pickup was stopped. Formal charges were also filed against the couple.

Both Angela and Perkins are being charged with one Class A felony of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of felony restraint.

On Friday, the state police in Arkansas were notified to be on the lookout for the couple and the white 2006 Chevrolet pickup truck, possibly with Montana plates, although the plates may have been removed.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries Now Open at The Shoppes at Parma

PARMA, Ohio - December 12, 2016 - (BUSINESS WIRE) - The Shoppes at Parma is pleased to announce that Five Guys Burgers and Fries has opened for business. The rapidly growing burger chain is the latest to join the expanding list of restaurants at the 750,000-square-foot redeveloped shopping center. Five Guys is located at 8249 W. Ridgewood Dr. in the multi-tenant building along with T-Mobile and Mission BBQ.

Five Guys Parma showcases the newest Five Guys design with its handspun shakes and reimagined decor. "We are thrilled to bring Five Guys to Parma, said Michele Nicholls, Vice President of Operations. We have hired and trained an amazing group of local people to deliver the hand-formed burgers, fresh-cut fries and customizable milkshakes Five Guys customers have come to expect."

"I am extremely excited about opening our latest location here in Parma and also getting the opportunity to be a part of a great community of people," said Mike Mosko, General Manager of Five Guys Parma.

About Five Guys

Family-owned, Five Guys started near Washington, D.C. in 1986 by the Murrell family and, as the name suggests, includes five sons, the five guys. Five Guys has more than 1,400 locations throughout 49 states and nine countries, including the Unites States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, France and Spain. The overwhelming success of franchising a local restaurant made national news with articles in trade publications such as Nation's Restaurant News, Restaurant Business Magazine, and the Franchise Times.

About The Shoppes at Parma

The Shoppes at Parma is in the midst of an exciting transformation through its multi-phase redevelopment. The 750,000 square-foot open air center is anchored by J.C. Penney, Dicks Sporting Goods, Gordmans department store, Walmart Supercenter and Marcs grocery store and features specialty retailers, services and a wide variety of dining options. The Shoppes at Parma is located just eight miles southwest of downtown Cleveland at the intersection of Ridge Road and West Ridgewood Drive. For more information, visit www.shoppesatParmaOH.com.

New to The Shoppes at Parma in 2016: American Commodore Tuxedo, Aspen Dental, FITWORKS, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Gordmans, Kay Jewelers, MISSION BBQ, Pearle Vision, PetValu, PIZZAFIRE, Pulp Juice & Smoothie Bar, Rally House, rue21, Shoe Dept. ENCORE, T-Mobile, Ulta Beauty

Opening in 2017: Piada Italian Street Food, Sprint

About PECO Real Estate Partners (PREP)

PECO Real Estate Partners (PREP), Cincinnati-based owner of The Shoppes at Parma, has incorporated Phillips Edison & Companys former development and strategic retail divisions and will focus on the acquisition, repositioning and management of power and lifestyle centers, enclosed malls, mixed-use retail projects and single-tenant developments. www.pecorep.com.

SOURCE The Shoppes at Parma

Contact:

Betty Weibel

Yopko Penhallurick

440-543-8615

bw@yp-pr.com

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Go Minis Expands Award-Winning Portable Storage Franchise to North Carolina

December 13, 2016 // Franchising.com // Simi Valley, CA - Go Minis, the fastest-growing portable storage and moving company in North America, today announced it is expanding its franchise business into North Carolina. With 78 franchise locations throughout the United States managing thousands of portable storage units, Go Minis has created a proven business model for franchisees to succeed.

Housing starts are up more than 31 percent over last year and incomes continue to rise in North Carolina creating the ideal environment for franchisees and entrepreneurs to invest in and grow their own Go Minis franchise, according to Michael Lohman, chief executive officer of Go Minis. Weve built a repeatable business model based on superior products, exemplary services and an honest, above-board process that ensures our franchise owners are the ultimate fit for our company. And, for these reasons, weve never had a franchise fail.

Most Americans move more than 12 times in their lives either voluntarily or due to emergencies such as fire, floods and storms. This trend has exponentially increased the need for temporary portable storage and created a $9 billion industry.

For entrepreneurs choosing to franchise and enter the market for the first time or for existing business owners looking for ways to diversify and expand their current operations, Go Minis offers an operational model that is simple yet effective. It doesnt require a large staff, warehouse or retail front, instead it utilizes superior construction and climate-controlled containers, as well as advanced internet marketing and operation systems.

According to John Sowards, a multi-business owner in Utah and now a franchise owner, The Go Minis business model is so simple that you can literally manage it from your phone, even while driving. As an owner of more than one business, this has been essential to the success of my Go Minis franchise.

According to Rick Paulk, a former moving company owner in New Orleans who started with one Go Minis container and is now the largest franchise owner with 800 containers in Louisiana and Texas, Being a mover is how I knew I wanted a piece of the DIY market and saw that the majority of people do it themselves versus hiring a company for full service. I wanted a piece of that pie and Go Minis provided the entrance into that market. They know exactly how and where to generate new business and their knowledge of todays marketing tools including the internet and social media has been instrumental to my success. Go Minis has certainly kept our phones ringing!

Go Minis currently offers franchise opportunities in 13 states including Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and now North Carolina. For more information, visit www.gominisfranchise.com.

About Go Minis

Founded in 2002, Go Minis has become one of fastest growing portable storage and moving companys in North America with more than 200 locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 2012, Go Minis transitioned to a franchise model and now has 80 franchise locations within the United States. Entrepreneur Franchise ranked Go Mini's #2 in its category for 2014 and Entrepreneur Magazine has called Go Mini's a Promising New Franchise, and ranked it in the Top 20 New Franchises for 2014. Go Minis offers local and long distance moving services and temporary storage solutions. For more information about Go Minis, visit www.gominis.com. For more information about franchise opportunities with Go Minis, visit www.gominisfranchise.com.

SOURCE Go Minis

Media Contact:

Suzanne Tormollen

stormollen@engage54.com

919-260-6813

More Information

www.gominisfranchise.com

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OXXO Care Cleaners  Launches Aggressive Multi-Unit Franchise Sales Strategy

OXXO Closed Agreements for Palm Beach County & Floridas I4 Corridor

December 13, 2016 // Franchising.com // Hollywood, FL - On the heels of its international expansion via multi-unit franchise sales in Indonesia, OXXO Care Cleaners, the environmentally friendly garment cleaning franchise that was first to use Greenearth solvents while offering 24/7 ATM-style service in a European boutique setting, announced today the pursuit of an aggressive multi-unit franchise strategy across the United States.

Having sold 50 franchises stores to date, Salomon Mishaan, Founder & CEO, has developed a winning strategy that is now aimed at multi-unit franchisees, in an effort to fully consolidate the OXXO, brand. OXXO recently signed an agreement with Guillermo Gallegos and Alexander Quintanilla, area developers who will own the region from Orlando to Jacksonville. They are charged with building out twenty franchises in ten years. Prior to this, a franchisee purchased five stores in Palm Beach County. For multiple store purchases and area development, OXXO offers franchisees unbeatable incentives and discounts that area developers are finding hard to turn down. An individual OXXO store costs approximately 450k whereas competitors start at 1.25k The more OXXO stores you buy, the more you save.

Competitors have come onto the market in the last ten years with copies of some of our unique qualities, but none have been able to perfectly replicate what OXXO does and more importantly, the service and quality we offer our customers, says Salomon Mishaan, OXXOs Founder & CEO. We are proud of the brand we have built and continue to enhance our offering with regular updates to our clean technology. Multi-unit sales are the logical natural next step to our growth roadmap, he adds.

Henry Soesanto, who owns six OXXO stores in Indonesia, said, After an intensive market study and competitor analysis, I approached OXXO for expansion via multi-unit franchises into Indonesia because of their truly unique and cost-effective offering. OXXO is the only cleaning franchise, worldwide, that strictly requires the use of Greenearth, and fully electric equipment. I looked across the globe for a modern, green, environmentally responsible dry cleaning system, and OXXO is the only option.

For more information about multiunit franchise sales opportunities, please contact salomon@oxxousa.com.

OXXOs Story

Since the opening of the first store in Hollywood, Florida in 2002, Salomon Mishaan OXXO Care Cleaners, Franchise Founder, decided to enforce the use of a dermatologic and eco-friendly cleaning solvent called GreenEarth,  instead of the commonly used chemical perc (Perclorethelyne) a carcinogenic which is unhealthy for both human skin and garments, and that emits vapors so strong that most dry cleaners have to leave doors open permanently. He also eliminated the traditional industrial boiler system which works off fossil fuels and vapor piping that emit heat to warm equipment, installing instead independently heated (electric) equipment, allowing for the air-conditioned boutique style concept imported from Europe.

Eliminating the industrial boiler and using a safe and healthy cleaning solvent, as well as remodeling the look of the traditional dry cleaner and installing a 24/7 Style pick-p system has allowed OXXO to experience a fast payback as the franchise has opened doors dozens of shopping malls, which previously held certain resistance to cleaners due to the volatility of the boilers and to strong chemical odors and contamination.

Mishaan decided to enter this sector because he saw that dry cleaning lacked innovation. He was looking to make peoples lives easier and improve living standards via convenience, quality and nontoxic environmental safety. While he wasnt familiar with the industrys details, he brought with him all of his experience from the textile industry. From the beginning, he knew that he and his team had to transform the traditional system and generate a distinctive and better offering. Instead of surrounding himself only with experienced persons in the service industry, he also incorporated a team of technicians with industrial experience. Mishaan and his team had dedicated their entire lives to generating efficiency and convenience. This formula is what has tilted the balance in their favor.

The inspiration for this Colombo-Venezuelan entrepreneur came from Europe, where ironing takes place both in front of the customer and can be observed through the store window. In OXXOs boutiques, this occurs for practical reasons like space limits, but Mishaan discovered it to be excellent for marketing and promotion purposes.

A great franchise, however, is not born solely from using modern high-tech machinery and a novel idea. Between 2000 and 2001, a team of executives and industrialists led by Mishaan reinvigorated the concepts of customer service, marketing and service processing and created OXXO tailored use, maintenance, and operation manuals for franchisees.

From a functional perspective, each store can clean up to 700 garments in twelve hours with just seven employees, including the manager on duty. The shops internal system is computerized and automated. This combination of planning and technology leads to savings in space, time and money and drastically reduces the possibility for human error.

With just above average industry prices, clothing is returned by the third day, although OXXO also can deliver results in six hours upon request. Most stores offer alterations and dry cleaning services. We are trying to educate the client by teaching them that it is always best to have their shirts delivered on hangers and to use little starch, indicates Mishaan.

Customer service at OXXO goes beyond a friendly smile and on-time delivery of gently cleaned garments. OXXO was the first cleaning franchise in the United States to allow customers the option of picking up their clothing at any hour through an innovative 24/7 ATM-style pick up machine with an intelligent magnetic card or QR code on their phone.

The card serves to pay for and pick up garments, and can be recharged in the store or via the company APP. OXXO Care Cards contain the clients information and transaction history. As soon as the system recognizes the card or QR code, the computer searches for the order which is then delivered through a small window on the machine. Instead of going to the dry cleaner once a week because it is closed after 7pm, people are getting used to picking up their clothing when it is convenient for them. In addition, customers can leave their clothing to be washed, says Mishaan.

OXXO franchises range in price from 450k to 650k USD depending on certain variables. Apart from providing franchisees with strict usage and operations manuals, and compulsory and extensive training sessions, Mishaans team works hard to assure that both location and surrounding characteristics fulfill brand prerequisites and maintain quality standards. The process of opening a 1,500 square foot store takes on average six months.

Notwithstanding, for the Management team, the sale of franchises is not as important as is the care of the brand itself. Store employees are trained to pay meticulous attention to each and every garment and customer and if a potential franchisee doesnt possess the necessary qualities of business leadership, the franchise goes unsold.

Mishaan takes care of every detail which is probably why he has an impeccable and wrinkle-free brand. Entrepreneur magazine has ranked OXXO among the top five hundred best new franchises in the United States. It should surprise no one that OXXO aims to enter into the best 100 franchises in the country next year. In the meantime, starchy competitors are trying to follow his footsteps, but this visionarys brand has succeeded in racing so far ahead that it will be hard for anyone to catch up .

About OXXO Care Cleaners, Inc.

OXXO is an environmentally-responsible dry cleaning franchise in the United States. At OXXO, customers experience the ultimate in garment care with the use of environmentally safe GreenEarth solvents (no use of Perc (Perclorethelyne) chemicals common at other dry cleaners), the latest 24/7 ATM-style pick up service, the most technologically advanced European manufactured garment care equipment and the traditional method of hand  ironing. All garments are cleaned right the first time and personally inspected by OXXO garment care specialists to ensure superior handling and meticulous attention to detail. Visit www.oxxousa.com for more information.



SOURCE OXXO Care Cleaners, Inc.

Media Contact:

Beatriz Arana

Beatriz.arana@energiacommunications.com

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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.
Spencer Devon Brewings plan to revitalize a blighted downtown lot received a $54,000 shot in the arm Monday.

The Virginia Tourism Growth Fund approved a $27,000 grant to the project, announced at an event at the George Street brewery and restaurant.

The Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority provided a matching $27,000 grant, which was approved in June pending the state money.

Spencer Devon owner Shawn Phillips wants to build a 2,000-square-foot beer deck on the vacant lot at 823 Caroline St., between Wallys Homemade Ice Cream Shoppe and Bangkok Cafe.

He estimates the deck, with construction, furniture, expanded service and below-deck cooling and storage, will cost about $200,000.

Using the lot as a beer deck allows Spencer Devon to have Caroline Street access, and Phillips said people will be welcome to bring food from elsewhere to come together with the community over a beer.

The growth fund, a program of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, was established earlier this year to grow tourism development projects in Virginia.

Eligible projects include new or expanded facilities or products designed to attract travelers to the Commonwealth.

Craft breweries are now a $1 billion industry in Virginia due to risk takers like Shawn, said president and CEO of the Virginia Manufacturers Association Brett Vassey, who also oversees the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild.

Vassey called Phillips a leader who has helped create excitement in the industry and is working with a statewide committee to implement quality standards at craft breweries.

Amy LaMarca, EDA chairwoman, touted Phillips commitment to supporting the local economy by commissioning work by the local woodworkers guild, buying food from local farms and displaying local art.

Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw said Spencer Devon has definitely enriched the downtown scene.

Phillips hopes to have site planning and permits done by February and start building then.

Wirt Confroy, business development director for the Virginia Tourism Corporation, said after the funds became available in July, the proposal by Phillips and Fredericksburg Economic Development Director Bill Freehling was one of its first requests.

One of the things we loved about it is that it goes beyond Spencer Devon to be a real community meeting place, he said. And it had what we were most looking for, a passionate business owner.

The expansion would mean the lot would be occupied for the first time in more than 55 years.

Owned by local businessman and restaurateur Jim Nikitakis, the lot last featured a jewelry store operated by Bliss Walker Jewelers, which used the slogan Older Than The Century, according to a 1957 advertisement.

The building burned a year later and the address ceased to appear in local business directories in 1959.

Phillips also has launched an Indiegogo campaign to finance the project. The campaign has raised a little under $1,000 so far.
Vietnam veteran Charles Clifton Jameson served his country honorably like the ancestors who came before him, including his third great-grandfather Col. David Jameson, flag bearer for the original Culpeper Minutemen who marched to fight the British during the American Revolution.

The fact that Charles Jameson is black and his ancestor was white reveals a rich, yet suppressed tapestry of shared history of which he is both proud and doggedly curious.

Recently, the 69-year-old retired highway construction manager, a college graduate and Army veteran, became the first AfricanAmerican to be inducted into the Culpeper Minutemen chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, a patriotic organization comprising descendants of those who served in the Colonial war with the English.

It made me feel very proud, said Charles Jameson. This was something I had known, but didnt have the whole picture.

The Jameson brothers and segregation

Jameson became interested in his bloodline a few years ago after a cousin completed genealogy work showing a clear link to Col. David Jameson, born in 1752 in Virginia.

David was the brother of the more famous Col. John Jameson, also with the Culpeper Minutemen, who helped thwart Benedict Arnolds 1780 plot to capture and destroy West Point. Col. Jameson Boulevard in the town of Culpeper was named for the older brother, John, when it was completed two years ago.

Charles Jameson always had a hunch that he had European ancestors, even though during segregation in Culpeper County he was considered black. He therefore attended the George Washington Carver Regional High School for AfricanAmerican students along U.S. 15 and now acts as president of the alumni association.

Growing up in Culpeper, his family socialized and worked with both blacks and whites, Jameson said.

Most of the time we were by ourselvessometimes its hard to fit in with any group, he said. Too light for one group, but not light enough for the other. It was almost like because you were different from both sides, you were in the middle.

Charles Jameson recalled his father, the late Saint Jameson, telling him about how when he was a child, he would walk down the street in the town of Culpeper with his white grandfather, George Washington Jameson.

An unlawful union

George Jameson was a Confederate veteran from Culpeper who later fathered 11 children with Ada Tutt, a mixed-race woman whose father was Scottish and mother was black. When he died, George left land to all of his children, who according to family lore were well loved and cared for by their father.

George and Ada never married, because it was illegal at the time. In fact, it wasnt until 1967 that interracial marriage was allowed in Virginia through the landmark Loving case in the Supreme Court.

Mixed-race affairs were frowned upon and people were disenfranchised because of these relationships, said Charles Jameson.

The fact that George and Ada never married made it challenging to establish Charles lineage to David Jameson, said Bill Schwetke, president of the Culpeper Minutemen Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Charles has been active in our chapter for over a year and it took that long to gather the evidence to prove his lineage, he said.

On Dec. 3, with all the paperwork in order, the modern-day Jameson became the newest member of the storied Minutemen chapter at a ceremony conducted after the 241st Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle of Great Bridge in Chesapeake. David Jameson, in fact, fought at Great Bridge in 1775.

Charles Jameson is the first AfricanAmerican member of the Culpeper Minutemen Chapter, which is a reminder of the rich heritage we all sharea heritage that was won by the sacrifices of our ancestors, Schwetke said.

Jameson said he was honored to know as fact some of the things he had always heard as conjecture. He insisted, however, that he is no more special than any other members of the Sons of the American Revolution.

I am proud to join them and the good work they do in the community, Charles Jameson said.

Courageous achievements

At the recent induction ceremony, he was also presented with the Sons War Service Medal with Vietnam bar and Purple Heart pin for an injury sustained outside of Saigon in 1971 when Jameson was struck in the head with a piece of shrapnel.

It was just mortar rounds and a HEAT round that was supposed to burn before it explodes so I just caught a little from itI was very fortunate, he said. At the time, I was worried because of the chemical warfare, but they got it out that night and said you can go back to your unit.

The Army citation Jameson subsequently received mentioned an exceptionally meritorious achievement during which he surmounted extremely adverse conditions to consistently achieve superior results.

The complimentary language sounds similar to words used to describe the service of his ancestor Col. David Jameson in an 1839 obituary. He had carried the celebrated Minuteman flag bearing as its emblem the rattlesnake in his coil with the monitory motto, Dont tread on me!

The courage of David Jameson and his brother was conspicuous, the obituary said.

Following Great Bridge, David returned to Culpeper to fill his older brothers post as a clerk of the court, but was frequently called back out with the militia. He became a farmer after the war, was High Sheriff and a state delegate for Culpeper County in 1790 and 1791.

He was a good soldier in war and a good citizen in peace, according to David Jamesons obituary.

In spite of the prejudice he saw at a different time in our countrys history, Charles Jameson accepts his mixed-race background that is 70 percent European and 30 percent African, according to DNA analysis.

He identifies as an American, including the Colonial side that fought for freedom.

It is my history too and I feel that no matter what you are you have to recognize it all, Jameson said.
A man suspected of robbing a King George County store Sunday night made it back to his home state, but his freedom was short-lived, authorities said.

King George Sheriffs spokeswoman Kecia Wharton said the suspect, who had already had his license scanned while conducting business at the Auto Zone in Dahlgren, was stopped about 10 minutes after the heist and taken into custody.

Charles Earl Robinson, 34, is being held in the Charles County Detention Center in Maryland pending extradition to Virginia on robbery and other charges. King George and Charles County, Md., are connected by the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge.

According to Wharton, a man was returning an item at the Auto Zone about 7:22 p.m. when a manager began removing cash from another register. The man grabbed an undisclosed amount of money from the managers hand and began running out of the store.

The manager chased the suspect, but stopped when the man got to the store exit, indicated that he had a weapon and threatened to shoot the employees, Wharton said. But witnesses called 911 and gave King George authorities a description of the suspect and his vehicle.

A lookout was broadcast and about 10 minutes later a Charles County deputy stopped a vehicle matching the description just across the bridge into Maryland. A King George detective responded to the traffic stop and, during the ensuing investigation, identified Robinson as the man suspected in the Auto Zone incident.

Maryland authorities arrested Robinson on a fugitive warrant and are holding him until the paperwork is done to have him returned to Virginia for prosecution.
A sleepy juror and a technology mishap resulted in a mistrial Monday for a man accused of a string of robberies along the U.S. 17 corridor in Stafford early this year.

Corwin Curtis Vanier, 46, is charged with five counts of robbery and related firearms charges. He is accused of robbing the Shell station, Comfort Suites, Americas Best Value Inn, the 7-Eleven on Solomon Drive and the Holiday Inn Express, all in January.

The spree ended Jan. 25 shortly after the Holiday Inn Express at 560 Warrenton Road was robbed. The clerk, Jintia Khan, testified at an earlier hearing that a man walked in, pointed a gun at her and left with just over $500.

Khan was the only witness to take the stand during Mondays aborted trial. Defense attorneys Eugene Frost and Cali Lee asked Judge Levy to declare a mistrial after it was learned that audio from the courtroom had spilled out into the hallway where other would-be witnesses were sitting.

As is customary, the witnesses were excluded from the courtroom so that their testimony would not be tainted by things they heard on the witnesses stand.

Frost also pointed out to the judge that one juror had fallen asleep repeatedly during the early portion of the trial and kept going back to sleep even after being roused by a bailiff.

Judge Michael Levy granted the mistrial and set a new trial for Vanier for March 15 and 16.

According to testimony at a preliminary hearing, Deputy Alex Smith spotted a man matching the robbers description shortly after the Holiday Inn Express robbery. The man went into the Days Inn at 14 Simpson Lane and police found Vanier and the stolen money in the room, according to testimony.

The item that Khan thought was a gun was actually a bottle of lotion wrapped in a black plastic bag.

In her opening statement Monday, Lee said that Vanier was the victim of mistaken identity and inadequate police work.
Somewhere in heaven, George Washington and his friend Hugh Mercer must be smiling.

Ground on the New Jersey battlefield where they showed great bravery will be saved from the bulldozer.

The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the Washington-based Civil War Trust announced Monday that theyve crafted a compromise to preserve a key site from the Battle of Princeton.

Called Maxwells Field, the site is where historians believe George Washingtons counterattack struck British lines during the battle on Jan. 3, 1777. The Continental Armys commander in chief rode into a maelstrom to rally his troops when their lines broke after British troops charged forces led by Gen. Mercer, a physician from Fredericksburg who served with Washington in the French and Indian War.

The British clubbed and bayoneted Mercer, one of only two American generals to die of bayonet wounds. The Clarke House where he lingered and died nine days later, remains on the battlefield in the state park. A bronze statue of Mercererected by the U.S. government in 1906adorns the mall on Washington Avenue in Fredericksburg opposite Kenmore, home of Washingtons sister Betty and her husband, the patriot Fielding Lewis.

Fighting in the Princeton counterattack, U.S. Marines met the enemy on land for the first time. The charge by Washington and the reinforcements he led broke the enemys grip and won the battle.

Pursuing the British on horseback, Washington joyously shouted to his men, Its a fine fox chase, boys!

He was completely unrestrained in the moment of victory, historian Richard M. Ketchum writes in his book Winter Soldiers. It was the first time in a military career that dated back to the French and Indian War two decades earlier that he had seen an enemy in full flight across an open field, and he could not resist the chase, leaving to the other generals the job of taking the garrison in the town.

The prospect of the sites preservation cheered advocates across the globe.

The preservation of Maxwells Field ... is the most important accomplishment in Revolutionary War battlefield preservation since the 1970s, when several national and state battlefield parks were established in connection with the 200th anniversary of the Revolutionary War, said Jack Warren, executive director of the Society of the Cincinnati, a lineage group of descendants of Washingtons officers founded in 1783.

Preservation of this placewhere George Washington led the charge that saved the Revolutionis as critical for Washingtons memory as Ferry Farm was 20 years ago, he added. The Princeton battlefield without Maxwells Field would be like the Fredericksburg battlefield without the Sunken Road.

Washingtons victory came on the heels of the Continental Armys Christmas Day crossing of the icy Delaware River to raid the Hessian garrison at Trenton. The twin turnabouts stunned the British high command, which until then had the Americans on the run, and kept Washingtons army in the fight for years to come.

The trust and the IAS, where Albert Einstein and other eminent scientists have worked, plan to preserve most of the historic Maxwells Field next to Princeton Battlefield State Park while enabling the institute to construct faculty housing on its campus. Both are long-sought goals of both parties.

Their agreement, once complete next year, will end a 45-year dispute over the fate of part of the Princeton battlefield. They aim to transfer the property by July 2017. The deal requires votes by the IAS and the Civil War Trust, and wont take effect until local review boards have approved the revamped housing project.

The trust launched its Campaign 1776 initiative at Princeton in 2014 to oppose the IAS development and preserve it and other Revolutionary War sites of national significance. The group has raised $1.4 million to buy the land from the institute and will start fundraising for the rest, a spokesman said.

Under the plan, the trust will buy 14.8 acres from the institute for $4 million, to be conveyed to New Jersey as an addition to the state park. The tract includes two-thirds of the Maxwells Field property, plus a 1.12-acre tract north of it that historians identified as part of the battlefield.

The institutewhich isnt affiliated with Princeton Universitywill shrink the footprint of its housing project and shift it east of Godel Lane, off the bulk of Maxwells Field. It will build 16 clustered townhomes instead of single-family houses.

The plan avoids development within the Princeton Battlefield National Historic Landmark boundary designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1961. National landmarks are the federal governments highest recognition of a sites historic value.

Robbert Dijkgraaf, director and Leon Levy Professor at the institute, joined Civil War Trust President James Lighthizer in saying, We are delighted to reach this agreement, which both meets the needs of the institute and ensures the preservation of this site through an enlarged and revitalized Princeton Battlefield State Park.

This landmark agreement will enable us to preserve one of the defining moments in American history, Lighthizer said. We are pleased by this opportunity to work with the Institute for Advanced Study to save an important part of our Revolutionary War heritage.

News of the agreement cheered Elizabeth Merritt, deputy general counsel of National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The compromise negotiated by the parties is an extraordinarily effective solution leading to the permanent protection of 15 acres of highly significant battlefield land that otherwise would have been lost, Merritt said. We are deeply indebted to the Civil War Trust for their leadership on this effort, and we look forward to collaborating with them to implement this preservation plan.

On the site on the south side of the IAS campus, archaeological surveys have found British and American artillery shells in a pattern matching the American advance and British retreat, said Bruce Afran, attorney for the Princeton Battlefield Society.

The society, formed decades ago to resist the IAS development, expressed pleasure at the deal.

We have worked for decades to ensure that the Princeton battlefield and the men who fought on this land 240 years ago are appropriately commemorated, society President Jerry Hurwitz said. This agreement honors that commitment and guarantees that a historically significant part of the battlefield is preserved forever.
Jack D. Warren, executive director of The Society of the Cincinnati, a centuries-old group of descendants of George Washingtons Revolutionary War officers, answered a few questions Monday about the Battle of Princeton.

On Monday afternoon, the Institute for Advanced Study and the Civil War Trust announced they have negotiated an agreement that will preserve almost 15 acres of the Princeton battlefield.

A preservationist who wrote the National Historic Landmark nomination for Ferry Farm, Washingtons boyhood home in Stafford County, Warren is author of The Presidency of George Washington, among other works.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: You have described the counterattack that decided the Battle of Princeton on Jan. 3, 1777, as Washington's finest moment. Please elaborate.

WARREN: The British and Americans encountered one another in a field near the town. In the opening minutes of the battle the British drove the Americans, as they had driven them in every encounter. The British charged with bayonets, and the Americansmost of them without bayonets with which to resist the British in a desperate, hand-to-hand battlewithered and fell back. Gen. Hugh Mercer, Washingtons friend, fell mortally wounded, and was bayoneted repeatedly as British troops overran the American position. The center of Washingtons army disintegrated under the centrifugal force of blind panic. The battle, and with it the entire American cause, seemed lost.

What happened then proved to be the great moment in Washingtons life. It was the moment for which all his experiencehis years in the saddle, the rugged outdoor life of a youthful backcountry surveyor, the fierce combat of the French and Indian War, the daily work of managing a great plantation and its people, giving orders and seeing them obeyedhad prepared him.

He rallied his men, and with a calm determination that astonished everyone who watched, Washington drew his men back into a compact line of battle. His casual, unstudied indifference to danger reminded men of the courage of a general of ancient Rome. In an instant that must have seen interminable to breathless observers, Washington surveyed the oncoming British line as it closed to within 100 feet.

I shall never forget what I felt, a young officer wrote, when I saw him brave all the dangers of the field and his important life hanging as it were by a single hair with a thousand deaths flying around him. Believe me, I thought not of myself.

Washington dressed his line and sent it forward to deliver what he termed a heavy platoon fire on the march. The fire of Washingtons compact line shattered the British advance, which had been disorganized by its success. The redcoats wavered, then broke. A resolution was taken to retreat, wrote one of Lt. Col. Charles Mawhoods junior officers, as if the decision had been made by vote in an impromptu council of war. He added, with more candor, i.e., run away as fast as we could.

For the first time in the war, Americans cheered as the British turned their backs and ran. Its a fine fox chase, my boys! Washington shouted as he spurred his horse and took off after them. By the time he drew rein, the surviving remnant of the British force was in full flight toward Trenton. For Washington, this must have been, Yorktown aside, the happiest moment of the war.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: Today, you described this preservation action at Princeton as the biggest Revolutionary War battlefield preservation news since the years of the American bicentennial. Why is that so?

WARREN: The preservation of Maxwells Fieldscene of the decisive charge that won the battle of Princetonis the most important accomplishment in Revolutionary War battlefield preservation since the 1970s, when several national and state battlefield parks were established in connection with the 200th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. No Revolutionary War battlefield land of comparable importance has been saved since then, and much has been lost. The preservation of Maxwells Field may prove to be the beginning of a new and exciting period of Revolutionary War battlefield preservationa period that may include a revival of interest in the neglected history of the Revolutionary War.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: What's the evidence that Washington's counterattack occurred on Maxwell's Field, since the Institute for Advanced Study had disputed that?

WARREN: Revolutionary War battlefields were not comprehensively mapped during the war, as the battlefields of the Civil War were, so identifying the specific locations where particular units fought during fluid battles like Princeton is challenging. At Princeton, we know that Mercers men fell back from the William Clarke orchard, which is on the north side of the battlefield, southward toward the Thomas Clarke House, which still stands. Their retreat in the face of a British bayonet chargemost of Mercers men lacked bayonets, so after firing a volley at close range they had no choice but to fall backcrossed the downslope from the orchard site toward the Clarke House, which is the largest open space in the park, bordered by Maxwells Field to the east.

Washington tried to rally Mercers men and then ordered reinforcements, chiefly Cadwaladers Brigade, to form a line of battle extending to the right of Mercer. This line extended into Maxwells Fieldfrom a purely practical standpoint, it had to. There is not enough space between Mercers position near the Clarke House and the present park boundary for Cadwaladers men and the other reinforcements to have deployed inside the boundary of the present park. Most of them were to the east of the park boundary. This placed the attack toward the British left, which it overlapped.

All of this is clear enough from the contemporary narrative accounts of the battle. The importance of Maxwells Field was verified by an archaeological survey done in 2007 conducted by the widely-resected Battlefield Restoration of Archaeological Volunteer Organization (BRAVO), which turned up 54 relics of the battle in a single short sweep of a portion of Maxwells Field, which the investigators calculated was probably less than 5 percent of the artifacts remaining to be found in Maxwells Field. More recently, an American Battlefield Protection Program mapping study has found that Maxwells Field was the center of Washingtons counterattack.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: How long have historians and others wanted to see this land preserved?

WARREN: Princeton Battlefield State Park was established in 1946, embracing about 40 acres of the battlefield, including the Thomas Clarke House, where Mercer died. In 1971 the Institute for Advanced Study, which owned much of the battlefield, announced intentions to build on the land. The Princeton Battlefield Society was formed to resist this development and preserve the land, so the preservation effort that is now concluding has been going on nearly 46 yearsone of the longest-running battlefield preservation efforts in the country.

The Institute for Advanced Study agreed to sell a part of the battlefieldsome 35 acresto the state in 1976. But this left undeveloped Maxwells Field outside the boundaries of the park to the east and under the ownership of the Institute for Advanced Study.

The controversy heated up in 2003 when the Institute for Advanced Study announced plans to build faculty housing on Maxwells Field. The Princeton Battlefield Society spent nearly 13 years urging preservation of the property before the Civil War Trust and its allies, like my organization, became actively involved.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: Please describe the relationship between George Washington and Hugh Mercer.

WARREN: Washington and Mercer met during the French and Indian War, and became good friends. Washington undoubtedly suggested Fredericksburg as a good place for Mercer to establish himself as a physician and apothecary, and the Washington and Field Lewis families patronized Mercer and knew him wella fact reflected by George Washingtons decision to sell Ferry Farm to his friend after Washingtons mother moved into town.

Washington regarded Mercer as a reliable officer, and entrusted him with important responsibilities during the defense of New York City. Washington shifted troops to Mercer late in 1776 as the enlistments of Mercers men began to expire. Surrounded by men he did not know well, Washington relied on his friend in ways he did relied on few others.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: How significant was Mercer's role in the Battle of Princeton? Is it true that he was mistaken, at first, by the British for Washington, and hence was clubbed and bayoneted by them?

WARREN: He played a critical role in the first minutes of the battle. Mercer commanded the first American troops engaged. He deployed his men to confront the advancing British in William Clarkes orchard, and directed careful volleys that forced the British to regroup and then advance under heavy fire. He was probably mortally wounded by soldiers of the 17th Regiment of Foot. They may, indeed, have believed he was Washington. But they killed him because he refused to surrender.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: How significant was the Marines' participation in the battle? And why?

WARREN: The Marines were not numerous, but this was the first occasion when the Marines fought on landthe first of many times to comeand they sustained their first casualties in battle in Washingtons charge.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: Why were the battles of Trenton and Princeton pivotal to the Revolution, and to our liberty today?

WARREN: When Washington took refuge on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware in December 1776, the Revolutionary War seemed to be grinding to an end. Beaten repeatedly around New York City in the late summer and fall, the army that took refuge in Pennsylvania was a demoralized fragment of the army Washington had commanded at the battle of Brooklyn in August. Most of the armys enlistments expired at the end of December, and Washingtons army would effectively dissolve. The British knew this as well as Washington did, and were content to let Washington escape across the Delaware. British Gen. William Howe expected to resume operations in the spring, mop up the last resistance, and negotiate a peace that would bring the rebellious colonies to subordination as part of the British Empire.

With nothing to lose, Washington crossed the Delaware at Christmas and captured the Hessian garrison at Trenton. This bold move revived the spirits of the army and encouraged re-enlistments, but it was only a raid. When Washington recrossed the Delaware, faced the British at Trenton and then gave them the slip and fell on the British rear at Princeton, he was challenging British control of New Jersey. As a consequence of Washingtons victory at Princeton, the British fell back to New York City and Washington took up a position at Morristown, west of the city, in a position to prevent the British from gathering supplies in most of New Jersey.

This was an enormous blow to the British. They had attacked Washingtons army in the summer of 1776 with the largest army any European power had ever sent overseas. Their goal had been to knock Washington out of the war quickly. The British understood that a prolonged war, in which they would have to supply their army by sea, was not one that would be easy for them to win.

Washington understood that, too. At Princeton and in the weeks that followed, Washington retook most of New Jersey and effectively pinned the British in and immediately around New York City. The victory at Princeton saved the Revolution, and pointed the way to ultimate American victory.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: Why did Congress fund the Mercer statue in Fredericksburg when it did (1906)?

WARREN: The Mercer statue was completed during a remarkable burst of monument building, when hundreds of monuments were erected in all parts of the country. This movement was stimulated by the impulse to memorialize the generals and soldiers of the Civil War, who were dying off after the turn of the century.

Many of the soldiers in bronzeRevolutionary War and Civil Wardate from this period. The monuments to Revolutionary officers Casmir Pulaski and Friedrich von Wilhem Steuben in Lafayette Park in Washington, John Paul Jones in Washington, the British prison-ship martyrs in Brooklyn (not to mention the Lincoln Memorial in Washington)were all erected in 1900-1915. Congress got in the habit of making appropriations for this purpose, and congressmen from all over got into the act to secure monuments in their districts.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: How did Mercer die, and what were his last days like inside the battlefields Clarke House?

WARREN: Dr. Benjamin Rush, who attended Mercer for seven days but left the Clarke House two days before Mercer died, wrote to Richard Henry Lee that Mercer is wounded in seven places with a bayonet. One of these wounds is in his forehead, but the most alarming of them are in his belly. Later in his autobiography, Rush wrote that Mercer had been wounded by a bayonet in his belly in several places, but he received a stroke with a butt of a musquet on the side of his head, which put an end to his life a week after the battle. In retrospect, Rush attributed the generals death to head trauma.

William Stryker, who wrote the pioneering scholarly account of Trenton and Princeton a century ago, related the story that George Lewis (son of Fredericksburg residents Betty and Fielding Lewis, of Kenmore, and thus someone who knew Mercer perfectly well) attended him with Rush, and remained after Rush left, and that Mercer showed him the wound under his arm that he predicted would be fatal. I have never been able to trace this story to its source. That said, although the documentation does not allow a clear and certain picture of what happened, we know a good deal about Mercers final days and what was going on around him at the Clarke House from contemporary sources.

THE FREE LANCE-STAR: What else?

WARREN: The announcement that the Institute for Advanced Study has agreed to sell most of Maxwells Field so it can be preserved is not the end of this effort. It is the end of the beginning. We have to raise the money to pay for the land. Then we have to see that the battlefield is properly interpreted and marked, so future generations will learn from it and will cherish it, as it should have been cherished all along.

Clint Schemmer, The Free Lance-Star
Theres a memorable moment for Spotsylvania Countys Ken Biggs every year when he starts putting up his familys amazing array of Christmas lights and decorations.

It comes when he pulls out the wooden snowmen cutouts he made by hand many years ago.

I made them the height of my three oldest children that year, said Biggs, pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Spotsylvania. Theyre much older now, but the snowmen remind me of that Christmas when they were still so young.

Its that sweet sense of holiday spiritand a dazzling collection of holiday lights and yard decorationsthat makes the Biggs family this years winner of the Grand Holiday Displays column feature.

This years complete list of the areas most highly decorated homes appeared in Sundays newspaper, and is still accessible at fredericksburg.com. You can check out the Biggs display at 4 Bradbury Circle in Breezewood.

I joined Ken Biggs and his wife, Joyce, on a recent afternoon to ask how putting out a seriously large Christmas yard display became one of their holiday traditions.

I grew up in Chicago, where decorating for the holiday was a big thing, he said, noting that two families nearby had somewhat of an annual tradition of going all out to try to top each other.

Theyd each add something on Christmas Eve to put things over the top, he said, smiling at the memory. It was neat to follow.

He said there was also a neighboring town where a succession of houses would tell the Christmas story from the Bible in yard displays.

Add to that a grandfather who was a big fan of Christmas lights, and Biggs said the tradition of holiday decorating was planted in his youth.

We started decorating our own home about 25 years ago, and it didnt take it long to grow, said Biggs, noting that many of his pieces are molded plastic figures he purchased in Chicago from a store that specialized in them.

We started with a big Nativity scene and plastic toy soldiers, he said. Many of those pieces are still part of the yard display, joining wooden cutouts and plastic blowups.

He notes that the familys tradition is to begin putting up the thousands of lights and dozens of figures in time to have it finished by the night before Thanksgiving.

We often travel on Thanksgiving so our habit is to work the day before to get the display up and then to sit down to a nice Thanksgiving meal that evening, said Biggs. We usually light it all up the next day or the day after that.

Some contingent of the Biggs four sons and two daughterssome grown, married and living on their own in the areatypically turn out to help with the setup of the display, which he says takes about 90 hours to put up.

Two of my sons rigged safety lines to put the lights and other things on the roof, said Biggs. I try to keep from going up there anymore.

One improvement hes made these days is a custom upgrade to his homes electrical system, a panel in his garage that handles the many electrical circuits the light display demands.

In years before we had that, wed try to use a microwave or the vacuum cleaner and all the lights would go out, he recalled with a laugh.

There is also a system for safely storing all the lights, cutouts and figures in the familys large sheds and basement.

The family, which lived in Waynesboro and several different spots in Spotsylvania before ending up in Breezewood, enjoys seeing the lines of cars that pass by each evening to take in their holiday display.

I dont go out there and bother them, but its fun to see them stopping to see it all, said Biggs. We have people from our church come out with their kids. Its a big part of our Christmas, with the Nativity and the Christmas story at the center of it all.

Asked where she fits into the setup of the Christmas display, Joyce Biggs had a response ready.

The running joke is that my job is asking Ken when hes going to start putting things up, she said with a laugh. That and provide hot chocolate when its happening.
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OK, class, todays lesson is Why Its Irrelevant that Hillary Clinton Won More Votes Than Donald Trump.

Oh, we already see some Republican eyes sparkling.

Yes, over on the left? No, Democrats, cant have a safe space. You need to learn this lesson more than anyone else in the room.

Yes, Clinton won more votes than Trumpmore than 2.6 million at last count. But heres why that doesnt give Democrats a moral claim that she really should have won. If the presidential election had been decided by the popular vote, both candidates would have run completely different campaignsso different that we really cant speculate what would have happened.

Heres how the system works: Neither candidate is trying to get the most votes. Theyre trying to get 270 electoral votes. Every decision is made with that 270 figure in mind.

Lets look at that in practice: New Hampshire is one of the smallest states in the country. Yet Trump made about a dozen visits to Granite State. Why? Because the race there was close and he hoped to win the states four electoral votes.

Likewise, Trump made five trips to Maine, trying to win just a single electoral vote thereMaine being just one of two states in the country that awards its electoral votes based on congressional districts. Trumps trips to Maine paid off he won that one electoral vote, which wound up not mattering that much since he won so many other places. His trips to New Hampshire didnt pan out, but he came close.

Meanwhile, neither candidate had any reason to campaign in some of the biggest statesCalifornia, New York and Illinois, for instance, were locks for Clinton, while Texas was a sure thing for Trump.

Now, lets try to imagine how the campaign would have looked if there were no Electoral College, only the popular vote. Should be pretty clear, right?

Trump wouldnt have gone to Bangor, Mainehed have gone to Bakersfield, Calif. He wouldnt have gone to New Hampshirehed have gone to upstate New York. For her part, Clinton wouldnt have spent so much time in Nevada trying to win six electoral votesinstead, shed have been in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Instead of Las Vegas, shed have been trying to pump up her turnout in Los Angeles.

So many things would have been different that we really cant say who would have won.

If the election were decided by the popular vote, you can bet that Trump would have invested in California. How many Trump supporters there simply didnt vote because they knew their vote wouldnt count? You can ask the same question about Clinton supporters in Texas, or states in the Deep South.

Clintons lead in the popular vote is both awkwardand accidental. The question is: Should we change how we elect presidents?

This is one of those be careful what you wish for moments. You think campaigns are polarized now? Theyd be even more polarized in a popular vote election. Right now, candidates do feel some mild tug toward the center to be able to win some of these contested states. In a popular vote election, theyd feel none and focus even more on simply energizing their base.

Also, voting irregularities now are confined to a single state. In a popular vote election, theyd contaminate the entire pool. In a close race, we might have a national recount. Fun!

Question over on the right? You ask about Trumps claim that there was serious voter fraud in Virginia? You mean other than the fact theres no evidence? If millions voted illegally as Trump claims (presumably for Clinton), why didnt they vote for Democratic candidates for Congress, too?

Even in Northern Virginia, which went heavily for Clinton, voters in the hotly contested 10th District re-elected Republican Barbara Comstock. Did these phantom illegal voters split their tickets?

Anyway, back to the lesson: There are now lots of proposals to do away with the Electoral College. These will go nowhere for one simple reason: The current set-up benefits Republicans. Since the Electoral College is based on states, it has a slight skew toward less populated, more rural states, which presently vote Republican.

There are other proposals to modify right here in Virginia. Del. Mark Cole, RSpotsylvania County, has proposed the commonwealth junk its winner-take-all system for awarding electoral votes and instead award them by congressional district, the way Maine and Nebraska do.

This is simply an attempt to game the system and secure some Republican electoral votes from a state that has now voted Democratic three times in a row. Congressional districts are routinely gerrymandered (thats one reason why Virginia presently has eight Republicans and three Democrats in its congressional delegation). Cole simply proposes to gerrymander the presidency, too. Nice try, but no. At least state lines are not subject to being redrawn by partisan mapmakers. Wed call this a bald-faced power grab except Cole has a beard.

Class dismissed.
Global Protective Relay Market by Voltage Range, by Type, by End User, by Region & Forecast to 2027

Description: Global Protective Relay Market Information by Voltage Range (High, Medium, Low), by Type , by End User , and Region - Forecast to 2027

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Market Highlights

The Protective relay market is expected to register a CAGR of around 6% during the forecast period. Ongoing Substation Automation projects are expected to induce growth in the Protective Relay market. The growing need of Electric Power in developed as well as developing nations will result in an imminent growth in the Protective relay market.

Segmentation

The Protective Relay Market can be categorized on the basis of Voltage as: High, Medium and Low. On the basis of Protection Mechanism it can be categorized as: Feeder, Transmission Line, Motor, Transformer, Generator, and Busbar. On the basis of End User it can be segmented as: Marine, Renewable, Utilities. On the basis of regions it can be segmented as North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

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The key players of Protective Relay Market

General Electric (U.S.)

Littelfuse Inc.(U.S.)

Eaton Corporation Plc (U.S.)

Beckwith Electric Co. Inc.(Ireland)

ZIV Inc. (U.S.)

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (U.S.)

Schneider Electric (France)

Alstom Group (France)

NR Electric (China)

Cooper Industries (Ireland)

ERL Phase Power Technologies Ltd. (Canada)

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan)

Industry News

The growing transmission & distribution network across the globe is one of the main reasons which is expected to contribute toward the growth of the Protective Relay Market. Asia-Pacific is currently housing the maximum number of transmission and distribution projects as a result of which it is one of the leading markets in this segment. Europe and North America are other regions which are expected to be highly lucrative for the players in the Protective Relay Market.

Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 60 market data tables and figures spread in 115 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on "Global Protective Relay Market Research Report - Forecast to 2027"

Brief TOC of Protective relay Market

1 Executive Summary

2 Market Introductions

2.1 Definition

2.2 Scope of the study

2.3 Markets Structure

2.4 Stakeholders

3 Research methodology

3.1 Research process

3.2 Secondary research

3.3 Primary research

3.4 Forecast model

3.5 Market Size estimation

4 MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1 Drivers

4.2 Restraints

4.3 Opportunities

4.4 Challenges

5 MARKET TRENDS

5.1 Trends in Supply/Production

5.2 Trends in Demand/Consumption

5.3 Emerging Markets (Supply & Demand)

5.4 Emerging Brands

6 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Value chain analysis

6.3 Porter's five forces

6.4 Supply Chain Analysis

Continued......

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LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1 PESTLE ANALYSIS - U.S., UK

TABLE 2 PESTLE ANALYSIS- INDIA

TABLE 3 PESTLE ANALYSIS- CHINA

TABLE 4 PESTLE ANALYSIS- JAPAN

TABLE 5 PESTLE ANALYSIS- GERMANY

Continued....

Study Objectives of Protective Relays

To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Protective Relay market

To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth

To Analyze the Protective Relay Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.

To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, South America, Middle East & Africa

To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective

To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by Type, End-Users, Voltage Range and Regions

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Marcus Hiles - To Expand Rental Offerings in San Antonio

San Antonios upward-trending growth has created an increased need for more rental options in the area, a need that Marcus Hiles is eager to meet.

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Marcus Hiles, Founder of Western Rim Property Services, has spent the last three decades building and cultivating successful properties around the largest urban hubs in Texas. San Antonio is home to some of these communities, and now Hiles is set to expand his rental offerings in the area by building the highest end apartments the city has ever seen. While the future sites have been fully acquired, their exact locations are to be revealed at a later date. The upcoming apartments will retain all of the trademark characteristics that Western Rim properties are known for, while still offering affordable prices, an emphasis on energy efficiency, and strategic layouts that provide both open space and modern flair.

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San Antonio is expanding at a record pace, adding over 8,000 new jobs and $1.1 billion worth of revenue in 2015 alone. The San Antonio Economic Development Foundation fully expects this to sustain for several years, as manufacturing, healthcare, and information technology sectors are all projected to continue flourishing. Such positive and upward-trending growth has created an increased need for more rental options in the area, a need that Marcus Hiles is eager to meet. The forthcoming apartments will be established in low-density, fast-growing areas of the city, making them ideal for both new and longtime residents who are in the market for an exceptional rental choice.

Marcus Hiles is Chairman and CEO of Western Rim Property Services, a real estate development company managing high-end residential units all throughout the largest urban areas in Texas, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and New Braunfels. Hiles has single-handedly changed the landscape of the Lone Star State with the creation of affordable luxury properties, each offering a unique home experience that combines the best traits of both city and suburban living. A prolific philanthropist and son of an inner-city minister, Marcus Hiles provides significant financial contributions and land donations to the betterment and growth of Texas public parks, lakes and streams, while also supporting programs that help the disadvantaged.

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Tex Custom Homes Website Launched In Light Of Surging Interest In Custom Builds

Offering in-depth information on the home building industry helps empower pending homeowners, publishes texcustomhomes.com.

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According to reports released earlier this year, the construction industry has seen an annual uptick of more than 10 percent over the last five years with growth expected to continue along these lines for the years to come. While this figure encompasses the entire industry, the greatest increase in demand lies in new home builds. In response to this surging interest, Tex Custom Homes has been launched, a new website focusing on the custom home building sector.

"Tex Custom Homes was created to give pending homeowners a new level of insight into the home building process," said a spokesperson for the website. "We provide reviews on the custom home builders across the state, information on the latest options and technology available and an array of other details geared toward those looking to have a custom home built. We invite Texas residents to Click here to find out more about what our website has to offer."

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Tex Custom Homes focuses on the rising concept of green building and smart technology as they apply to the residential sector. An outline of the top local custom home builders is available highlighting the strong points of each along with recognition received by those companies for their craftsmanship and work ethics. Additional topics include pricing and choosing features to include in a custom home. For more information click here to view the company website.

Concluded the Tex Custom Homes spokesperson, "Having a custom home built is an exciting prospect, and knowing you have full control over each aspect of the process can be quite empowering. At the same time, it places a great deal of responsibility on the shoulders of the homeowners. We're here to help our readers get a better idea of what to expect and enable them to make more informed decisions about every aspect of the process from narrowing down the list of contractors to choosing which floor plans would best suit their needs. Want more information? Check this out."

About Tex Custom Homes:

Offering a broad range of information on the home building process, Tex Custom homes helps hopeful homeowners overcome their fears and demystifies what consumers need to focus on when having a custom home built.

For more information, please visit http://texcustomhomes.com

Contact Info:

Name: John

Organization: Tex Custom Homes

Address: Austin, TX 73301

Phone: (214) 401-9143

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/tex-custom-homes-website-launched-in-light-of-surging-interest-in-custom-builds/153851

Release ID: 153851

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2nd Chance Water Restoration Expands Services Into Texas

Already the highest-rated restoration services company in Chicago, the company aims to achieve the same in the Dallas / Ft. Worth Area, reports 2ndchancewaterrestoration.com.

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Chicago-based restoration company 2nd Chance Water Restoration is celebrating the successful cross-country expansion of their company into Texas. 2nd Chance has already worked hard to become the highest-rated restoration services company in their hometown of Chicago and is aiming to achieve the same as they serve the residents in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area. Those facing water, fire, or mold damage in their Texas home are encouraged to reach out to the 2nd Chance Water Restoration team at http://www.2ndchancewaterrestoration.com.

"We have worked hard to build our reputation in Chicago and the surrounding areas. Our team increased its certifications and has been able to maintain an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau. We've got thousands of Facebook likes and dozens of positive reviews on both Yelp and Google. We want homeowners in Dallas / Ft. Worth to know that we have brought the same customer service philosophies that won us the praise of so many Chicago residents with us as we continue to expand our territory in their area," said Patrick O'Connor, owner of 2nd Chance Water Restoration.

2nd Chance Water Restoration provides 24/7 same-day service to residents who have experienced damage because of fire, storms, broken sewage systems, flooded basements, and other disasters. Their certified technicians promise to be on site within one hour of the call to prevent further damage due to sitting water or lingering ash. At http://www.2ndchancewaterrestoration.com, the company provides tips on preventing fire and water problems in the home as well as their contact information for those who may be already experiencing an emergency.

O'Connor added, "We know that sustaining water or fire damage due to an unexpected disaster can wreak havoc on our customer's lives. We don't strive for five star ratings simply because it boosts our business. We give our all to each and every one of our customers because we want to be a bright spot in their lives during a difficult time. We've served the people of Chicago well for many years and wholeheartedly look forward to doing the same for Texas residents."

Those who are interested in learning more about 2nd Chance Water Restoration or taking advantage of their highly-rated services can do so at http://www.2ndchancewaterrestoration.com.

About 2nd Chance Water Restoration:

In business since 2010, 2nd Chance Water Restoration has become the leading authority on issues related to water, fire, and mold damage in the greater Chicago area and are on their way to accomplishing the same in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area. Their team of professional service providers offers a complete range of restoration services, from water extraction and drying, mold removal, fire restoration and storm damage repair, as well as structural restoration, all designed to return a homeowner's property its pre-loss condition as soon as possible. They offer same-day emergency service, the industry's most comprehensive guarantee, and IICRC-certified personnel.

For more information, please visit http://www.2ndchancewaterrestoration.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Patrick O'Connor

Organization: 2nd Chance Water Restoration

Address: Garland, TX 75041

Phone: (469) 909-8249

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/2nd-chance-water-restoration-expands-services-into-texas/153853

Release ID: 153853

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MHS Lift Secures Crown Equipment Corporation Ascent Award

Award highlights company as one of Crown's top North American dealers of last year, with "Throw Cancer a Curve Ball" fundraising effort also going well, MHS Lift reports.

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MHS Lift, one of the world's leading materials handling specialists, announced at http://www.mhslift.com its recent reception of an Ascent Award from Crown Equipment Corporation. Of over 100 authorized Crown dealers in North America, MHS Lift was among a handful honored for their "outstanding achievements in sales and customer satisfaction." Since 1970, MHS Lift has upheld the highest standards of materials handling equipment sales and service, and has represented Crown as an authorized dealer for more than four decades.

In addition to pursuing materials handling excellence and innovation, MHS Lift is also an actively engaged member of the communities it serves. An ongoing MHS Lift fundraising initiative, for example, has the company donating $100 from every forklift sale to help pay treatment costs for a young New Jersey resident who is battling osteosarcoma. More information about the effort can be found at http://www.mhslift.com, including a link to a YouCaring crowdfunding page where donations are being accepted.

"Crown is a legendary name in the materials handling industry, and we're proud to have been an authorized dealer for over forty years," said MHS Lift owner Brett Levin, "One important reason for our long-running success is that we sell only the best to our customers, and our relationship with Crown helps make that possible. It was an honor to once again be recognized as one of Crown's top dealers, and we're committed to providing the same level of service that keeps our clients so satisfied, year after year. Awards like these really drive home the value of the excellence-focused, ethical approach to the materials handling industry that has served us and our clients so well."

Family-owned Crown Equipment Corporation is the world's fourth-largest manufacturer of forklifts. Based in New Bremen, Ohio, since its 1945 founding, Crown currently employs over 13,000 workers around the world.

Since 1970, MHS Lift has provided a full range of materials handling equipment, supplies, and services. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, since last year, MHS Lift also operates offices in New Castle and Seaford, Delaware. In addition to always pursuing materials handling excellence and innovation, MHS Lift has developed a strong reputation as an especially ethical company and a supportive, worker-empowering employer, qualities that all contributed to its recent Crown Ascent Award.

Another important feature of MHS Lift's corporate character is its consistent community involvement. MHS Lift employees are encouraged to look for ways the company can contribute back to the communities it serves. Currently, the MHS Lift "Throw Cancer a Curve Ball" initiative has the company raising money to help defray the cancer treatment costs for a young Medford, New Jersey, resident. Visitors to http://www.mhslift.com can read more about that effort and the company's history, products, and services.

About MHS Lift:

With a full range of materials handling equipment, parts, and services, MHS Lift has been an industry leader in the Delaware Valley and beyond since 1970.

For more information, please visit http://www.mhslift.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Brett Levin

Organization: MHS Lift

Address: 6965 Airport Hwy Lane Pennsauken, NJ 08109

Phone: 877 647 9320

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/mhs-lift-secures-crown-equipment-corporation-ascent-award/153862

Release ID: 153862

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My IP Locator Introduces Geolocation Tool

The site is helping visitors find their IP address and learn how to protect themselves online, reports http://myiplocator.net.

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My IP Locator recently announced the introduction of their online geolocation tool. The site is helping visitors find their unique IP address as well as giving them all the information they need to know about how geolocation works and how they can protect themselves and their identities online. The My IP Locator site also includes a plethora of information about the best virtual private networks and how they can help users stay safe while browsing the internet.

"Many people find themselves asking about geolocation and wondering what is my ip. Geolocation involves the pairing of an internet protocol address to a geographical or physical location. This technology has been used by everyone from online store owners to law enforcement to locate people online and determine their browsing habits. Not only do we believe that it is of the utmost importance for anyone using the internet to know their own IP address, but we also want to give them vital information about how they can protect themselves online. It is for these critical reasons that we've launched this tool," said Kashyap Asavadiya of My IP Locator.

The My IP Locator tool helps users determine their IP address details, including their Internet service provider, city, region, country and even postal code. The site uses a reliable database to display a user's IP address details on the homepage as soon as they log on to the site. The my ip locater site also includes an IP Lookup feature for those who wish to get specific location information for an IP address they already have.

As Asavadiya continued, "While geolocation technology may seem like a complicated arena, we've taken the steps to simplify the concept for even the most casual internet user and allow anyone to quickly find my ip address. Whether it's an ecommerce store owner who wants to prevent international fraud, a law enforcement official who needs to uncover a suspect's location, or a consumer who desires to keep their browsing habits private and protect their identities online, the My IP Locator website provides them with the tools and information they need."

About My IP Locator:

With a belief that knowing one's IP address is it is critical for their online safety and browsing experience, MY IP Locator provides online geolocation tools that are easy for any internet user to operate. Their website provides IP address details for a user's own location as well as IP lookup capabilities. The My IP Locator site also provides users with information and advice about how to use virtual private networks to protect themselves and their identities online.

For more information, please visit http://myiplocator.net

Contact Info:

Name: Kashyap Asavadiya

Organization: My IP Locator

Address: 304 Drainer Avenue, Valparaiso, Florida, 32580

Phone: 850-678-5300

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/my-ip-locator-introduces-geolocation-tool/153865

Release ID: 153865

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Sim-Unlock.net Introduces Smartphone Unlocking Tool

The site is giving smartphone users a fully-automated way to unlock their devices in record time, reports http://sim-unlock.net.

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Sim-Unlock.net recently announced the introduction of their smartphone unlocking tool. The site is providing smartphone users with a fully-automated way to unlock their devices in a short time span without the hassle and cost associated with going through a carrier. The tool is currently available for smartphone users to take advantage of at http://sim-unlock.net.

Jacek Brodalka of Sim-Unlock.net commented "Unlocked phones are becoming increasingly popular with smartphone users around the world simply because of the freedom they provide in allowing them to switch carriers and contracts and travel without restraint. Unfortunately, many service carriers and smartphone manufacturers have caught on to this trend and now charge outrageous rates to get an unlocked phone. The good news is that Sim-Unlock.net solves this problem. Those who currently have phones that are locked into their carrier can use our site to unlock those devices in a very short time span and for much less than they would pay for an unlocked phone from their cell phone company."

At http://sim-unlock.net, smartphone users can select their device from a list of nearly 8,000 available models. Once a user finds and selects their device, they can use the site to unlock their phone in three easy steps. First, they'll enter their individual IMEI number, which can often be found on the device packaging or obtained from the carrier. Then, they'll make payment on the site. Finally, they'll be prompted to enter their phone's special code. The smartphone will then be unlocked via Sim-Unlock.net's automated system. The site also includes a free warranty checker for those who would like to view their warranty information before using the unlocking tool.

As Brodalka further commented, "We wholeheartedly believe that smartphone users should be able to use their devices wherever and however they please without having to pay excessive fees. Being tied down to one carrier can be expensive, but we've provided them with a way to sidestep those expenses so they can finally have the freedom they deserve."

Those who are interested in learning more about Sim-Unlock.net or taking advantage of their smartphone unlocking services can log on to http://sim-unlock.net for more information.

About Sim-Unlock.net:

Sim-unlock.net is a fully automatic system to assist mobile phone users in unlocking their own devices without help from a carrier. The technology is based on several years of experience in the industry. The automated processes allow smartphone users to avoid the hassle and wait time for an unlock code so they can finally use their devices however they please.

For more information, please visit http://sim-unlock.net

Contact Info:

Name: Jacek Brodalka

Organization: Sim-Unlock.net

Address: Radom, Poland

Phone: +48 48 3600946

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/sim-unlock-net-introduces-smartphone-unlocking-tool/153850

Release ID: 153850

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Medical Automation Market Grow At CAGR Of 8.8% 2016 And Forecast To 2022

Medical Automation -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and analysis of Top Key Player Forecast to 2021

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Medical Automation Industry

Description

Wiseguyreports.Com Adds "Medical Automation -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and analysis of Top Key Player Forecast to 2021" To Its Research Database

According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Medical Automation Technologies Market is estimated to be $52.67 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $95.2 billion growing at a CAGR of 8.8%. The factors that are influencing the market growth include rising healthcare costs, investment by venture capitalists and the increase in use of point of care testing devices (glucose meters, digital blood pressure monitors, pregnancy test kits and HIV test kits). However the tax imposed by the U.S government on medical devices manufacturers and rigorous approval procedures to launch a product or services by companies is likely to hinder the market growth.

North America is anticipated to hold the largest market share, followed by Europe. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing aged population, growing occurrence of CVDs, diabetes, and cancer, increased funding on healthcare and life sciences research are propelling the growth of the Asia-Pacific market. Furthermore, the rising need of automation in various other medical fields represents the growth opportunities for this market.

Some of the major players in the Global Medical Automation Technologies Market include

GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, Tecan Group Ltd., Stanley Black and Decker, Inc., Intuitive Surgical, Inc., CAE Ltd., Brainlab AG, Given Imaging Ltd. and Medtronic, Inc.

Request for Sample Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/649650-medical-automation-global-market-outlook-2016-2022

Applications Covered:

o Therapeutic Automation

o Lab and Pharmacy Automation

o Logistics and Training Automation

o Diagnostics and Monitoring Automation

End Users Covered:

o Research Labs and Institutes

o Hospitals and Diagnostic Centers

o Pharmacies

o Home/Ambulatory and Others

Type of Technologies Covered:

o Robotic and computer-assisted surgical equipment

o Surgical robots

o Surgical planners and simulators

o Intelligent operating rooms and related equipment

o Surgical navigation systems

o Automated therapeutic (non-surgical) devices

o Automated medication delivery systems

o Automated defibrillators

o Automated prescription fulfillment devices

o Dispensing machines

o Intravenous compounders

o Packaging machines

o Automated medical imaging and image analysis

o Automated microscopy

o Automated radiography and fluoroscopy

o Automated skin cancer detection

o Automated whole-breast ultrasound

o Computer-aided detection

o Endoscopic capsules

o Automated laboratory testing and analysis

o Point-of-care Testing Systems

o Central Laboratory Systems

o Automated healthcare logistics, resource and patient tracking

o Hospital asset/patient/staff tracking systems

o Automated hospital pickup and delivery

o Automated health assessment and monitoring technologies

o Wearable monitors

o Telehealth kiosks

o Automated home monitoring and telemetry

o Automated eye examination devices

o Automated drug testing

Leave a Query @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/649650-medical-automation-global-market-outlook-2016-2022

Regions Covered:

o North America

o US

o Canada

o Mexico

o Europe

o Germany

o France

o Italy

o UK

o Spain

o Rest of Europe

o Asia Pacific

o Japan

o China

o India

o Australia

o New Zealand

o Rest of Asia Pacific

o Rest of the World

o Middle East

o Brazil

o Argentina

o South Africa

o Egypt

What our report offers:

- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments

- Market share analysis of the top industry players

- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants

- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets

- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)

- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations

- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends

- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments

- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements

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Continued...

Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (US) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)

For more information, please visit https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/649650-medical-automation-global-market-outlook-2016-2022

Contact Info:

Name: Norah Trent

Email: info@wiseguyreports.com

Organization: WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTD

Address: Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India

Phone: +91 841 198 5042

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/medical-automation-market-grow-at-cagr-of-8-8-2016-and-forecast-to-2022/153834

Release ID: 153834

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Chicago Theft Attorney Shoplifting Retail Crime Defense Legal Services Launched

Purav Bhatt, a Chicago criminal defense lawyer with experience as a prosecutor, launched a wide range of legal services including legal representation in cases of theft, shoplifting, retail theft and other crimes. The Chicago theft and shoplifting lawyer specializes in both felony and misdemeanor cases.

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Purav Bhatt, a Chicago criminal defense attorney, announced a wide range of law services including legal court representation in theft, shoplifting, and retail theft cases.

More information is available at http://bhattchicagodefenselaw.com.

Legal representation is crucial in criminal cases, with many people consulting lawyers even before the cases go to court. The most appropriate course of action from a legal perspective is difficult to discern without the help of a legal specialist, so working with a criminal defense lawyer as early as possible is imperative.

Criminal lawyers work with clients in cases of felony or misdemeanor. A criminal lawyer will be able to assess the individual case, and help the client decide on the best legal course of action.

Chicago is an area with particularly high level of legal prosecution for cases of theft and shoplifting, as well as for crimes in general. Misunderstanding or mis-identification can sometimes lead to charges, too, and without legal help it is many times difficult to avoid the negative legal consequences of such errors.

Purav Bhatt has experience working as a police prosecutor before becoming a criminal defense lawyer. This experience gave him the opportunity to know the inside procedure of case construction, and be familiar with many of the most common prosecution vulnerabilities.

As a Chicago theft and shoplifting attorney, among others, he strives to identify the errors of procedure in prosecution, thereby helping his clients avoid any erroneous legal actions.

His experience includes cases of both felony and misdemeanor, and he constantly attempts to obtain the most client-favorable legal outcome in either case.

Purav Bhatt specializes in a wide range of cases, including federal crimes, weapon charges, theft and shoplifting, probation violation, drug offense, domestic violence and more.

By working directly with the client, Purav Bhatt strives to offer a clear picture of the legal situation throughout the entire process, thereby enabling the client to take the best decision.

Interested parties can find more information by visiting the above-mentioned website.

For more information, please visit http://bhattchicagodefenselaw.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Purav Bhatt

Organization: The Law Office of Purav Bhatt

Address: 1655 S Blue Island Ave #312, Chicago, IL 60608 United States

Phone: (773) 791-9682

Release ID: 153433

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Elliott Tasmania Commercial Cleaning Carpet Window Office Experts Site Launched

The popular commercial cleaning service North West Cleaning, providing free estimates at 0455-610-468, launched a new website detailing its comprehensive and industry leading range of office, window, floor and carpet cleaning solutions available for businesses, retail stores and industries in the North West of Tasmania.

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The renowned North West Cleaning has announced the launch of a new website detailing its trusted, advanced and complete range of commercial cleaning services to ensure a pristine work environment for business owners in the North West of Tasmania, namely; Burnie - Somerset, Wynyard, Penguin, Ulverston, and Devonport areas.

More information is available at http://northwest-cleaning.com.au.

The North West Cleaning is an acclaimed and professional commercial cleaning service based in Elliot, Tasmania, providing the most reliable, complete and state of the art commercial cleaning solutions for businesses, retail stores, industry, shipping & mining sites or government facilities across the North West of Tasmania.

The business announced the launch of a new website detailing its comprehensive and trusted range of cleaning services, from full-service commercial office, retail or industrial cleaning to improve the atmosphere of an establishment and project a pristine image to customers while impacting employee happiness and productivity to interior/exterior window washing, floor finishing and carpet or upholstery cleaning.

The new website also provides extensive information on the state of the art equipment used by the certified North West cleaning professionals, including an advanced Ionic window reach and wash pure water window cleaning system which is the only one of its kind in the region, new Rocket XP backpack vacuum cleaners or industry leading deep and steam cleaning technology, to ensure superior results in a more timely, affordable and stress-free manner.

Free quotes on all its professional commercial cleaning services and more information on its experienced and certified staff, unique state of the art equipment and proven track record helping businesses, industries, government facilities or retail stores ensure a pristine and welcoming atmosphere for employees, visitors or clients can be requested at 0455 610 468 or through the website link provided above along with multiple client testimonials.

The North West Cleaning explains that "from impressing and increasing clientele to maximizing the productivity of employees, a pristine work environment can be a key factor in the success and growth of a businesses. That's why many of northwest Tasmania's business community settle for nothing less than the North West Cleaning standard.

"We strive for excellence and treat every business like it's our own."

For more information, please visit http://www.northwest-cleaning.com.au

Contact Info:

Name: Louise Muddle

Organization: North West Cleaning

Address: 870 Murchison Hwy, Elliott, TAS 7325, Australia, Elliott, Tasmania

Phone: 0 455 610 468

Release ID: 153754

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High Voltage Cables Market to grow USD 41.27 Billion by 2021,at a CAGR 6.0%

Offshore windfarms, high voltage direct current links, and grid interconnections are the major drivers of the high voltage cables & accessories market.

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The report "High Voltage Cables Market by Type of Use (Overhead, Underground, Submarine), Overhead Products (Conductors, Fittings & Fixtures), Underground & Submarine Products (XLPE Cables, MI Cables, Cable Joints & Terminations), and Region - Global Forecast to 2021", The high voltage cables & accessories market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 30.83 Billion in 2016 to USD 41.27 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 6.0%. Major factors, such as grid interconnections, offshore windfarm connections, connections of islands with mainland, power from shore links to offshore oil & gas installations, and projects integrating renewable generation with the power transmission grid are driving the market across the globe.

Browse 121 market data Tables and 55 Figures spread through 174 Pages and in-depth TOC on "High Voltage Cables Market - Global Forecast to 2021"

Make an Enquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=95892251

XLPE cables is the biggest underground products market

XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) cables are the most commonly used cables in undergrounding systems. The cable technology has advanced significantly, which has enabled the use of XLPE cables over the fluid-filled cable technology. XLPE provides insulation to cables to make it withstand the electric field under rated and transient operating conditions. XLPE cable was the largest segment in the underground cable systems market in 2015.

Asia-Pacific is the dominant market for high voltage cables & accessories

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for high voltage cables & accessories among other regions studied in this report. This region will continue to dominate the high voltage cables & accessories market, seeking high voltage transmission projects in the region. China is leading the regional high voltage cables & accessories market, whereas other global key markets include the U.S., India, Germany, U.K., Brazil, and Egypt. The manufacturers and service providers are focusing and creating huge prospects in this service industry. Also, governments, private producers & service providers, and cables & accessories manufacturers are continuously trying to integrate their existing technologies and develop new ones extensively to increase the capacity of high voltage transmission and reduce the impact of high voltage transmission near residential areas.

To provide an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes profiles of some of the leading players in the high voltage cables & accessories market such as ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Prysmian Group (Italy), Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Japan), Nexans (France), NKT Cables (Germany), and General Cable Corporation (U.S.) among others. Dominant players are trying to penetrate developing and developed economies and adopting contracts & agreements strategy to increase their market share.

Buy Now: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Purchase/purchase_report1.asp?id=95892251

Stakeholders

This report includes the following stakeholders:

Raw material suppliers

Manufacturers

Power companies

Cable manufacturing companies

High voltage cable accessories equipment manufacturers

Government and research organizations

Energy associations

Environmental associations

Investment banks

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Source: http://marketersmedia.com/high-voltage-cables-market-to-grow-usd-41-27-billion-by-2021at-a-cagr-6-0/154017

Release ID: 154017

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Kids Like That Launches New Inventory Expansion Catering to Children Worldwide

Unique items from brands around the globe come together in a single location, publishes kidslikethat.com.au.

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According to current census reports, Earth is currently home to 1.9 billion children with an additional 131 million or so expected to arrive during the coming year. As the younger generation continues to grow and evolve, the search for unique clothes and toys surges onward and upward. Having watched the under-18 population as well as the market geared toward this genre expand over the years, the staff of Australian-based children's boutique, Kids Like That provides a collection of distinctive products gathered from around the globe.

With the ongoing uptick of youngsters in mind, spokesperson Ms Young has launched the company's latest inventory expansion. Said Young, "From clothing and accessories to educational games and toys, new children's items are constantly entering the market, giving parents, grandparents, loved ones and friends an unbelievable selection of interesting gift ideas for any occasion. We hand pick items from highly sought-after brands throughout Australia and around the globe, bringing them all here to a single location to make the quest for uniqueness and diversity a bit simpler and less time-consuming."

Among the names included in the company's release is German toy maker, Goki. Kids Like That New Products include this manufacturer's counting puzzle and wooden Gog Wheel game. Though most widely known for its wooden toys, the company also offers a metal top featuring a colorful retro design available through Kids Like That. French wooden toy producer, Janod's contributions to the company's lineup include its wooden DIY foldable workbench and musical instrument set.

Kids Like That is likewise featuring a large number of arts and crafts sets from New Zealand's Seedling company. A variety of models from Switzerland-born Micro Scooters have also made their way into the company's inventory. The multi award winning Wheely Bug that designed by Australian Designers is perfect ride-on toy for toddlers. Wheely bugs are designed to offer hours of fun and to provide great opportunities for little ones to promote their gross motor skills and balance.

For babies and toddlers, versatile clothing and accessories from Aden + Anais are available as well. The very unique, stylish, cool and functional bibs from Elodie Details are definitely accessories that you wouldn't want to miss for your precious little ones' wardrobe. More information and the company's full selection can be found at kidslikethat.com.au.

Concluded Young, "We're proud to offer a broad selection of products from around the world, all consolidated into a single source. From practical and comfortable items for infants to educational games and arts and crafts, we carry items from brands such as Kaloo, EverEarth, Le Toy Van, Djeco, Fiesta Crafts, The World of Eric Carle, 3 Sprouts, Boon and many more. We welcome anyone looking for unique gifts for the little men and ladies in their lives to visit our store or browse our collection online, and we'll continue to update our inventory as new items catch our attention."

About Kids Like That:

An independent children's boutique based in Australia, Kids Like That is dedicated to offering a vast selection of products from well-known and trusted brands around the world.

For more information, please visit https://www.kidslikethat.com.au/whats-new/

Contact Info:

Name: Pei Young

Organization: Kids Like That

Address: Henley Beach, SA 5022

Phone: +618 8355 3269

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/kids-like-that-launches-new-inventory-expansion-catering-to-children-worldwide/154083

Release ID: 154083

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Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

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TOUR TRAVEL by ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING presents their exclusive tour called "Vampire Dracula Tour Transylvania"

TOUR TRAVEL by ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING is proudly to announce their exclusive tour for 2017, which is principally suited for the tourists interested in culture, spirituality and epic history of Count Dracula.

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TOUR TRAVEL by ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING is proudly to announce their exclusive tour for 2017, which is principally suited for the tourists interested in culture, spirituality and epic history of Count Dracula. The travel company invites tourists to follow the footsteps of Dracula, born in Transylvania into a noble family, in 1431.

"Vampire Dracula Tour Transylvania" is once in a lifetime experience and takes travelers into a mystical land, full field with legends and folktales.

The Transylvanian Count is well known worldwide, because of the author Bram Stoker, which wrote the classic vampire story "Dracula". Dracula's name is Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia) and his life inspired the legend. The obscure nickname is a tribute to the Wallachia prince's favorite method to fight against his enemies. Romanian history describes him as one of the cruelest leaders.

"We are delighted to present our beautiful country to everyone who wants to discover unique places. In the last 10 years, during my career experience, I had the opportunity to appreciate other cultures and places, but as a Romanian I always wanted to work for a travel company dedicated to highlight the natural beauties of this unique country.

Vampires and Count Dracula are part of our history and we are honored to take all our tourists through the most stunning places in Transylvania", announced Erika Maria Kovari, Travel Agency Manager.

During "Vampire Dracula Tour Transylvania", people will have the opportunity to visit the most popular places related to Transylvanian Count Dracula, such as place of birth, castles, unique restaurants and a beautiful monastery, Snagov Manastery, which became legendary because is considered to be one of the supposed burial sites of the Transylvanian Count.

The trip starts in Bucharest, capital of Romania and after enjoying beautiful Snagov Monastery, travelers will be guided through the remarkable Carpathian mountain range, into the heart of Transylvania.

More information about TOUR TRAVEL by ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING

TOUR TRAVEL by ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING is part of ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING LTD, a Romanian company which provides business and management consultancy to the highest quality standards. ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING LTD was founded in 2003 and since then has been dynamically involving by offering a wide range of services, from business and management consultancy to governmental, structural and international funds consultancy and feasibility studies.

TOUR TRAVEL by ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING mission statement is "to offer you and your family a safe and memorable experience, an unforgettable journey".

For more information regarding this unique tour, you can always contact our professional team at: +40744 TRAVEL (872 835) or office@discoveringtransylvania.ro.

For more information, please visit http://www.discoveringtransylvania.ro

Contact Info:

Name: Erika Maria Kovari

Email: office@discoveringtransylvania.ro

Organization: TOUR TRAVEL BY ODAS GLOBAL CONSULTING

Address: Mihai Viteazu Square, 1-3 I.P. Voitesti Street, Cluj Napoca

Phone: 0744872835

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/tour-travel-by-odas-global-consulting-presents-their-exclusive-tour-called-vampire-dracula-tour-transylvania/154155

Release ID: 154155

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Green Ivy Publishing A+ BBB Self-Publishing Company Launches Publishing Services

Green Ivy Publishing, an A+ BBB rated self-publishing company, launched a wide range of publishing services aimed at new and experienced writers alike. The company offers step-by-step assistance in writing, editing, printing, distributing and promotion books in a variety of genres.

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Green Ivy Publishing, a traditional and online self-publishing company, launched a comprehensive range of publishing services for new and experienced writers alike.

More information is available at http://greenivybooks.com/index.php.

Finding an initial publisher for a finished manuscript might be the most challenging step for an aspiring author. While many have complete manuscripts that are ready to undergo the publishing process, most established publishers are not willing to work with new writers, as the editing process is usually more strenuous.

Green Ivy Publishing provides a wide range of self-publishing services for new and experienced writers alike. By working closely with new writers in getting the manuscript ready for publishing, the company aspires to familiarize new writers with the publishing process, as well as help them get started in the publishing industry.

Green Ivy Publishing has been rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau, and they strive to live up to this rating by constantly focusing on delivering competitive publishing services, both traditional and online.

Their editing team works alongside the writer from the very first stages of the publishing process.

The initial stage consists of the submission coordinators and publishing advisers checking the manuscript for structure, grammar, and overall narrative coherence. Individual, professional feedback is given to each author.

The next stage consists of full copy editing, in which the editors work with the editor in addressing potential style and readability issues.

Green Ivy Publishing provides full cover art and illustration services. The team of design artists collaborates with the writers in determining the appropriate design, and the illustrators provide a wide range of interior illustrations, depending on the subject matter and target audience.

Finally, the company provides full printing options according to the writer's marketing plans, with different book formats tailored for a variety of genres. The company also offers comprehensive social media and offline promotion, distributing the works both as e-books and physical books to over 39,000 online book sellers and a comprehensive network of brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Interested parties can find more information by visiting the above-mentioned website.

For more information, please visit http://www.greenivybooks.com/index.php/

Contact Info:

Name: Alan

Email: customerservice@greenivybooks.com

Organization: Green Ivy Publishing

Address: One Lincoln Center 18W140 Butterfield Road Suite 1500 Oakbrook Terrace IL 60181, illinois United States

Phone: 1-866-838-5988

Release ID: 154208

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Childrens Teamwork Story Santa's Snowy Adventure Free Audiobook Launched

Tracy Elman, the author of Santa's Snowy Adventure and a range of other books, has launched a new free audiobook campaign. Customers can get the audiobook with every purchase of the print book.

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Children's author Tracy Elman has launched a free audiobook campaign for customers who buy a print copy of Santa's Snowy Adventure, which is available on Amazon. The book details what happens when Santa's sleigh gets frozen to the ice, and it takes a lot of teamwork and some creative thinking by Jeffery the Surfer Reindeer to help ensure that children around the world don't miss out on Christmas.

More information can be found on her author page at: http://TracyElmanBooks.com.

The site explains that Tracy Elman has brought Christmas time to life in a magical way, and inside the story is hidden a message for children about the virtues of working together, keeping promises, and being good year round so that Santa will visit them.

Buying the book now gives customers access to the free audiobook, which children can listen along to as their parents read out the book, following in the adventure and listening to the story at the same time.

Tracy Elman is an author, storyteller, narrator and public speaker, and has written a wide range of books across numerous different topics. She has been awarded the Excellence eLit Bronze Medal for the book, and served as a judge for the SAG-AFTRA Awards.

She was born in Los Angeles, and grew up with a love of acting, singing, and writing. Her Amazon page listing explains that she is an engaging and vibrant storyteller who is knowledgeable and versatile in many areas, and as a narrator has voiced over 65 recorded characters, with appearances including commercials, magazines, newspapers and radio interviews.

Santa's Snowy Adventure begins with Santa setting off for his yearly adventure. He kisses Mother Christmas goodbye and sets off in his sleigh laden with presents and pulled by Jeffrey the Surfer Reindeer and his friends. But when the sleigh stops, it gets stuck in the snow and ice.

It raises questions over whether Santa and his helpers will be able to free their sleigh in time to deliver presents to all the good boys and girls waiting for Christmas.

Interested parties wanting to get the latest news from Tracy can subscribe here: http://tracyelmanbooks.com/contact--subscribe.html.

For more information, please visit http://www.TracyElmanBooks.com

Contact Info:

Name: Tracy Elman

Organization: Tracy Elman

Address: 25350 Magic Mountain Parkway, Ste 300 Valencia, CA 91355, Santa Clarita United States

Phone: (818) 453-0242

Release ID: 154187

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Now that President-elect Donald J. Trump has finished nominating the members of his cabinet, Gambling 911 takes a look at those nominations to see if any of them could have an impact on the gambling industry.

The Secretary of Labor or the Secretary of Commerce could potentially have to deal with issues involving casinos.

And since online casinos in the past have been used by terrorists to launder money, that issue might come up for the Secretary of Homeland Security.

But for sure the most important cabinet position in regards to the gambling industry is the Attorney General of the United States.

The federal government's war on Internet gambling began in 1998 when then-Attorney General Janet Reno issued arrest warrants for 21 Americans involved with operating offshore and online sportsbooks and casinos based in Costa Rica and the Caribbean--the infamous "Internet 21" case--so an A.G.'s views on gambling are of paramount importance.

For the position of the next Attorney General of the USA, Trump has nominated Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III of Alabama, who currently serves as a U.S. senator from that state.

Sessions will turn 70 years old on the day before Christmas.

But unfortunately for the gambling industry, when it comes to gambling issues he's no Santa Claus bearing goodwill--he's more like the Grinch who stole Christmas.

The Republican and arch-conservative Sessions, who's been a senator for 20 years, is no friend of the gambling industry.

In 2006, he worked vigorously to prevent an Indian tribe from opening a casino in Alabama.

According to a press release posted at the time on Sessions' Senate website and still available online here the senator was adamant that a tribal casino not be built in Fort Payne, a town of about 14,000 people in northeast Alabama, some 180 miles north of Montgomery.

I dont believe its right that a tribe outside the State of Alabama can operate gambling facilities in Alabama when state law prohibits Alabama citizens from doing so," Sessions declared in the press release.

Today, I met with officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior to discuss Indian gambling in Alabama.

"There is a long administrative process that a tribe must follow before Indian gaming is allowed, and I intend to work diligently to block it every step of the way.

It is also my understanding that current law gives Governor Riley the right to veto a proposal such as the one discussed in Fort Payne.

The tribal casino was never built.

Earlier, in 1997, before Reno had acted, Sessions issued a press release condemning Internet gambling.

The condemnation came as another senator, Jon Kyl of Arizona, was sponsoring early legislation to make Internet gambling illegal in the U.S.

I am troubled by how easy it is for children to pick up their parents credit cards and gamble on the Internet, Sessions said. This legislation is an attempt to keep-up with the rapid changes taking place in cyberspace.

When the U.S. Senate unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation in 1997 and 1998 that would have made Internet gambling illegal in the USA, Sessions voted in support of the ban both times.

So it looks like Sessions, if confirmed as Attorney General, would likely continue the federal crackdown on Internet gambling, or at least support that action should a President Trump want it.

That's not good news for the effort to legalize it nationally.

Unless, of course, Trump, who once owned casinos in Atlantic City and is viewed as pro-gambling, orders Sessions to back off on Internet gambling.

Knowing Trump's penchant for making money, the new President could even legalize Internet gambling nationally and let the federal government run the only legal online casinos in the U.S.

Such a scheme would earn billions of dollars for the government, enough that maybe people wouldn't even have to pay income taxes any more.

That makes too much sense--which is why the government would probably never do it.

By Tom Somach

Gambling 911 Staff Writer

tomsomach@yahoo.com
'Maze Runner 3' Resumes Production Early? Dylan O'Brien Finally Ready To Return To Sequel's Dangerous Set?

It certainly has taken a lot of time, but Dylan O'Brien might finally ready to go back to the set where he suffered a shocking accident earlier this year. Is the "Teen Wolf" Season 6 star returning early to shoot for "Maze Runner: The Death Cure"?

"Maze Runner 3" was originally scheduled to resume production in February next year, but some believe that Dylan O'Brien is already done with his previous commitments with "American Assassin" and "Teen Wolf" Season 6. Will the highly anticipated sequel start filming again in January to ensure its early 2018 release?

Dylan O'Brien Finished With 'American Assassin' And 'Teen Wolf' Season 6, Prepping To Film 'Maze Runner 3'?

It has previously reported on speculations that Dylan O'Brien has almost completed work on his film "American Assassin". The star of "Teen Wolf" Season 6 might have already shot for his last episodes with the MTV series, where he plays Stiles Stilinski. In line with that, it is possible that O'Brien will take a short breather during the holidays then jump right back into working on "Maze Runner 3".

The return to "Maze Runner 3" might not be an easy one for Dylan O'Brien following his accident on the set. According to Deadline, the "Teen Wolf" Season 6 actor had several facial injuries which may have included a fractured cheekbone or orbital socket. Nevertheless, O'Brien appears to have recovered well from the disaster.

Will 'Maze Runner 3' Get An Early Release Date Following Dylan O'Brien's Return To The Set?

Prior to Dylan O'Brien's accident, "Maze Runner 3" was scheduled for release on February 17, 2017. However, the sequel has been moved back to a January 12, 2018 premiere. There are no announcements yet on whether the film could get an earlier release date if production gets moved up to January next year.
Most Rumored Releases Of 2017: Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Nokia

2017 is almost here and fans are excited to see what will be up in the smartphone world next year. Right now, a bunch of 2017 flagships have already showed up in the rumor world, hyping up tech fans even more. Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and even Nokia are all expected to be showing something off next year.

Apple 2017 iPhones

It has been rumored that an all-glass iPhone 8 with an OLED screen will be making an appearance next year and be wireless charging-enabled. However, just recently, a new rumor came out that there may not be an iPhone 8. Instead, regular iPhone 7 successors will show up and they will be powered by an A11 chipset. A red color model has also been leaked. Needless to say, there's still a good chance that there will be iPhone 7 successors and a premium iPhone 8 coming in next year.

Microsoft Surface Phone 2017 Rumors

Although Microsoft hasn't really been saying anything about the alleged Surface Phone, rumors about this device continue to surface online. It was said that this device will sport a display technology similar to the alleged iPhone 8. It was said that the Surface Phone will feature an all-display front surface wherein the fingerprint scanner has to be tucked inside the display panel. There should also be three variants with varying level of specs.

Samsung 2017 Smartphones

Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 are anticipated from Samsung this coming 2017. The Galaxy S8 should come first at Q1 of next year and the Galaxy Note 8 could come a few months after, around mid-year. It has also been said that the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8 would also ditch their home buttons and rely on a virtual fingerprint scanner (and possible iris scanner) for its identity recognition. There should also be a new Samsung AI coming in the way. A removable battery for the Note 8 is also a possible thing after the Note 7 controversy.

Nokia 2017 Smartphones

After Nokia's non-competition agreement with Microsoft ends this year, the company is bound to release new smartphones for next year. The new license-holder of the name Nokia is HMD Global and they have already confirmed the arrival of new Nokia Androids this 2017. Take note that HMD Global is also composed of Nokia pioneers so it will be interesting to see if they can once again hit it big time when they release their new smartphones.


'Aquaman' Casting News and Updates: DC Hero Movie Gets Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master

With "Justice League" maintaining momentum for it's opening on November 2017, casting for the inevitable "Aquaman" movie is in full swing. The solo hero flick, as you probably already know will feature Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, heir to the throne of Atlantis and protector of the waters.

News has surfaced that Patrick Wilson, known in the superhero universe of Zack Snyder as Night Owl in "The Watchmen", will be playing Aquaman's half-brother and nemesis Orm also known as the Ocean Master. Orm is a full born son of Alantis while Arthur lived in the surface with his father.

In the comics, Orm assumed leadership of Atlantis until Arthur returned as an adult. Since Arthur was the firstborn, the title was passed on to him, making his brother extremely jealous. This prompts Orm to seek the destruction of his half-brother, which assumedly will be a main plot point in the new DC Cinematic Universe version of "Aquaman". One cannot deny the parallelisms between these siblings in the DC Universe to that of their Marvel counterparts Thor and Loki.

Patrick Wilson will join Amber Heard and Willem Dafoe as the main characters in "Aquaman" in the early stages of its development. Heard will play Aquaman's love interest Mera, while Dafoe will play Vulko. One character who has not been cast yet is the role of Black Manta, another villain in the DC Cinematic Universe.

Our first look at Aquaman happened when he made a quick appearance via a blurry video hiding under a sea cave in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" We have continued to see him in other videos more significantly that which was released in the San Diego Comic con for the Justice League Movie. "Aquaman" will be directed by James Wan and is set to open on October 5 2018. Here is a character feature with Kevin Smith and Zack Snyder discussing the development of the DC heroes in the upcoming Justice League Movie:
Samsung Latest News & Update: Galaxy Note 7 Software Update Available; Causing Device To Stop Charging; Leads To Danger?

As the growing number of petition and unsatisfied consumers on Samsung Galaxy Note 7's battery explosion, Samsung has now developed a software update that can disable Galaxy Note 7 units in the US.

In the past few months, Samsung with its best efforts to get all the units back still has not yet ended. There are some units left that were not turned over to the said company. That is why this software update has been developed.

It can be remembered that, Samsung has first recalled the Galaxy Note 7 in the middle of September after the discovery of the multiple units allegedly to have catch a fire; it then recalled its replacement campaign in mid-October, after the discovery that such replaced units were also prone to overheating.

Galaxy Samsung Note 7 phones still in use to be restricted to 30% charge after next update. Learn more on our blog https://t.co/zcQlnEW0sf pic.twitter.com/rbrTIHuNDN  The One Point (@theonepoint) December 12, 2016

Now that Samsung has developed the software update, the public feels safer. Reports then began flashing as a new return rate was unveiled at a 93 percent.

In fact, The Verge confirmed that Samsung began limiting the Galaxy Note 7 in US last month "placing restrictions that stops the phones from charging past 60 percent." The update even added a pop-up icon which appears every time the screen is turned on, constantly reminding the user that the device has been recalled and is needed to be returned.

Moreover, the alert went out by at least one Note 7 owner on US Cellular stating that Samsung will be modifying its software as of December 15 to prevent Galaxy Note 7 from charging. "The phone will no longer work."

But on a side note, Tech Crunch compared the update to New Zealand to be more advantageous as this doesn't cut off the phone from mobile networks and from accessing the Wi-Fi. So owners can still use it while being plugged.

With this being said, the device is not totally disabled. Does this mean that the software update could lead to danger as it allows owner to use the device while being plugged?
Samsung Galaxy Note 7's Surviving Phones

Over 2.7 Million of 3.06 units sold was collected as per samsung company claimed. This could be a tough situation for Samsung to mitigate. The tech giant is yet to release charge limiting or otherwise damaging updates to its local Note7 users, but those might be coming shorting if numbers don't improve.

The company has also announced the official disconnection or disabling of Note 7 units in New Zealand and Australia for December 15. Also, all samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones was also banned in the USA as well as the Caribbean countries and all others around the world.

St. Luke's Health System says it's banning all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones at its facilities in Idaho.https://t.co/jJ0TjsXuu5 pic.twitter.com/zG7MZSxbXh  KTVB.COM (@KTVB) December 12, 2016

It had already recalled 2.5 million Note 7s in 10 markets complaining that its lithium-ion battery exploded while charging. As per reported by news.com, samsung has offered financial incentives for people to return the phones, but some of them have decided to keep their smartphones.

Engineers have finally worked out why the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 kept exploding https://t.co/6JAi4laBFG pic.twitter.com/YLw7qil2Mh  Mirror Tech (@MirrorTech) December 6, 2016

In addition, CNET reported that Samsung is going to turn all surviving Note 7s into very expensive bricks. The South Korean electronics giant is realising an update that will deactivate all Note 7 after its recall due to batteries that caught fire.

To further increase participation, to those who retured their smartphones, a software update will be released starting on December 19 and will be distributed within 30 days. The said software will prevent Galaxy Note 7 from charging and will eliminate their ability to work as mobile devices.
'Jane the Virgin' Season 3 Episode 8 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: January Return Confirmed; Brett Dier Quits; Jane, Rafael Together?

"Jane the Virgin" Season 3 Episode 8 was supposed to be released on December 5, but was apparently postponed due to undisclosed reasons. With this, the show has taken a bit of a break as the last episode had been aired last November 28.

Some reports have said that Michael Cordeno Jr. (Brett Dier) will not be getting back with the group, as he will be thriving as a stand-up comedian. Rogelio de la Vega (Jaime Camil) will then want to have a baby with his matchmaker in "Jane the Virgin" Season 3. Xiomara Villanueva (Andrea Navedo) will then confess to Jane (Gina Rodriguez) that she already knew that Bruce (Ricardo Chavira) had already been married even before their love affair ignited.

Rafael turns out to be an adopted child of Emilio Solena (Carlo Rota), as he was actually born in Italy. There have been rumors saying that he will ask Michael for help in finding his real parents in "Jane the Virgin" Season 3. This will then lead the two to Catalina (Sofia Pernas), who is actually Jane's cousin. She is also set to be the new love interest of Rafael.

Another report has stated that "Jane the Virgin" Season 3 Episode 8 will be answering a lot of the glaring questions from the fans. Petra (Yael Grobglas) has not been the same person fans came to know previously. As it turns out, it was actually her twin sister, Anezka.

"Jane the Virgin" Season 3 Episode 7 turned out to be the show's winter finale, introducing Catalina to the group. With the midseason break coming in unannounced, there have been rumors suggesting that there might actually be major plot changes to the show.

It has been speculated that Brett Dier might actually be leaving "Jane the Virgin" Season 3. With this, the future of Michael and Jane are hanging on a balance. It would also be interesting to see how Michael will be leaving the show, and if Jane eventually ends up with Rafael. "Jane the Virgin" Season 3 Episode 8 will return from its hiatus on January 2017.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare News & Update: Latest Installment Tops PS4 Sales In North America & Europe Despite Reported Sales Nosedive

"Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" was expected to sell more than last year's "Black Ops III," but recent reports suggest that the decline in sales have been atrociously dramatic. Still, the latest installment managed to nab the top spot on PlayStation 4 as the best-selling game for the month of November.

"Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" Enjoyed A Big Month

November was a high time for "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare," having been named the most-downloaded game on PS4 in North America, and the best-selling game in Europe, according to the PlayStation Blog's November report. "Final Fantasy XV" debuted 3rd in North America and 5th in Europe, even though it launched late November. Another new release enjoying the ranks is "Watch Dogs 2," which opened 7th in North America and 3rd in Europe.

"Battlefield 1" came next to "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare." Other big games that made the top 10 list in North America are "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition," "Star Wars Battlefront," "Grand Theft Auto V," "FIFA 17" and "Far Cry Primal."

Over on PlayStation VR games, sales brought "Job Simulator" and "Carnival Games VR" to first and second, respectively. Like "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare," "Need for Speed Most Wanted" aced among PS3 games, "Jak and Daxter Collection" for PS Vita and "Psychonauts" for PS Classics, all in North America.

Catch "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" Free For Five Days!

GameSpot reports that part of "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" will be playable starting December 15 at 10AM PST, through December 20. All three modes are available, which include Zombies in Spaceland with a level cap of three, multiplayer at 15 and the campaign's first two missions as well.

PS4 users looking to try out Zombies or "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" multiplayer require PlayStation Plus, and progress will be carried over from this version to the full game. Digital copy owners need not re-download anything as this is the full, approximately 60 GB version that you'll have to download to join the trial.

You can view the full list of PlayStation's top-selling games along with "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" at the PlayStation Blog. For last month's rankings, head onto PlayStation Lifestyle.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 Release Date, Specs, Features, News & Update: Foldable OLED Display, Bendable Screen Handset to Beat Competition

As everybody is anticipating, Samsung may be coming up with something big in 2017 to bury the Galaxy Note 7 disaster. The "big" could very well be the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8, two smartphones that are already highly anticipated. Moreover, if Samsung is going with foldable screens, fans may finally choose to let go off their Note 7 frustration and rejoice.

Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 need to be smash hits for the company and for that to happen, the South Korean giant is ready to take a risk with the designs of the devices. Foldable screen it is! If latest reports are to be believed, Samsung is currently experimenting with two-screen and bendable display models as part of its two-track strategy for the flagships.

According to a report by Korean website ET News, the dual screen smartphone that Samsung is developing will use a flat display on both sides. It's also developing a foldable handset, bending a single flexible OLED display. The two types of foldable handsets will be totally different from each other. If these smartphones are the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8, it means users will have breakthrough designs in their hands in 2017.

Tech Times reports via the Korean website that the dual screen model could be released first for assessing users' reaction. Based on the feedback, Samsung will release the foldable handset. One of the two handsets, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or Galaxy S8, will have a rectangular design with a foldable OLED display.

The second model will be more tablet-like that will bend in half from the middle. It will have screens on both front and back. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 could sport dual cameras, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835/Exynos 8895 chipsets, 4-6GB RAM, 4K resolution displays & AI Assistant. Just like the Apple iPhone 7, the two Samsung flagships may also drop the 3.5mm headphone jack. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 may be released during MWC 2017.
Late last Thursday, as death row inmate Ronald Bert Smith was strapped to a gurney in Alabama  burning alive from the inside out  he heaved, coughed, clenched his fists, moved his lips, and opened his left eye.





The tremors of this savagery and the cruel and unusual punishment Smith suffered are a deplorable new addition to an already abominable list of recent botched executions in the U.S.





Indeed, the vibrations of Smiths thirteen-minute death-rattle were so strong they stretched hundreds of miles away to Washington, D.C., and the Supreme Court. Just how sick was this premeditated, prolonged torture?





It caused equal, majestically etched underneath the Courts venerable, greyish-white frieze  where it says equal justice under law boldly for the whole world to see, and hopefully to emulate  to careen, crash, crater in an already overflowing cesspool of constitutional crises eating our country alive, literally every day.





Im not saying you cant actually see the word equal up there anymore  you can.





But, after Smiths savage killing in which courtesy, or in Smiths case, discourtesy, trumped fundamental constitutional rights, equal protection under the law, a once revered principle, is gone.





Smiths federal public defenders explained this best in their last-minute filings with the high court pleading for a stay of execution: For a fifth courtesy vote to grant [death row inmate Tommy Arthur] a stay of execution but for this court to fail to do so on Mr. Smiths behalf is arbitrary action that violates the due process clause and the equal protection clause. Inconsistent practices in capital cases clash with the appearance and reality both of equal justice under law and of sound judicial decision-making.





In laymans terms, whats good for Tommy Arthur should logically, fairly, and constitutionally be so for Ronald Smith. [R]espect of the administration of criminal justice requires no different degree or higher punishment shall be imposed on one that is not imposed on all for like offenses. Moore v. Missouri, 159 U.S. 673, 678 (1895).





But it was not to be.





Despite Chief Justice John Roberts giving Tommy Arthur a courtesy vote for a stay of execution on November 3rd (to give the other justices the opportunity to more fully consider the suitability of [Arthurs] case for review), he refused one for Smith.





Why?





Despite our countrys claim to a transparent legal system, no one but the Supreme Court knows the reason for this disparate treatment. Only the justices know why Tommy Arthur was treated more courteously  and allowed to keep living to fight on, even if only temporarily  but not Smith.





Speculating in The Washington Post the morning after Smiths bungled execution, University of Chicago law professor William Baude, a former law clerk to Chief Justice Roberts wrote , Perhaps the courtesy vote was a one-time experiment, and for some reason unknown to us, it has been deemed a failure. Baude cautioned however, it is not clear whether we will ever know why the two cases [Arthur and Smiths] were treated differently. Because he is no longer privy to the Courts inner-workings, Baude was essentially conceding that anyone, including the French novelist and playwright Honore de Balzac, might have as much insight on the juridical machinations that went on in Smiths case.





Insightful, albeit gloomy, Balzac wrote, [c]ourtesy is only a thin veneer on the general selfishness.





But you know, maybe bringing Balzac and Baude into the mix complicates matters too much.





All thats really needed to understand how Chief Justice Roberts could extend courtesy, and with it continued life to Arthur but without explanation, or a distinction that makes a difference, deny it to Smith, is a bit of homespun wisdom from avant-garde political writer, Mercy Otis Warren, (an advisor to presidents and generals during the Revolutionary War). Ms. Warren observed, that man in a state of nature, is more disposed to cruelty than courtesy.





What is certain about this sad and sorry state of affairs is Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.s observation, dissenting in McClesky v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 320 (1987), and quoting his brother, the incomparable Justice Thurgood Marshall: Nothing could carry more powerfully the intractable reality of the death penalty: that the effort to eliminate arbitrariness in the infliction of that ultimate sanction is as plainly doomed to failure that it  and the death penalty  must be abandoned altogether.





In Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 579 (2003), Justice Kennedy wrote, times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress. Eventually, this will be true for the death penalty.





The only urgent, (literally) still burning question left is, when?





Source: The Hill , Stephen Cooper, December 13, 2016. Mr. Cooper is a former D.C. public defender who worked as an assistant federal public defender in Alabama between 2012 and 2015. He has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers in the United States and overseas. He writes full-time and lives in Woodland Hills, California.

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Google Nexus 7 Tablet Release Date, News & Update: No More Nexus 7 Tablet; Device Canceled

Amidst all the fuzz about leaked specifications of the Google Nexus 7 Tablet is making on the internet, it is said to have been benched. Some believed that the Nexus 7 line is dead. There has been a lot of speculated reasons, here are some of them.

First reason for the rumored cancellation of the Google Nexus 7 Tablet is its size. For the technology trend nowadays, consumers tend to desire gadgets that are alluring to the eyes - the bigger the better. In today's generation, large screened tablets are more of a demand rather than the smaller ones. So, if Google will continue this tablet line, they will only lose money.

The second reason is that the Chinese manufacturer Huawei backed out due to a disagreement on how to market the Google Nexus 7 Tablet as reported earlier in Gamenguide. It was reported that Google tapped the said Chinese company to manufacture their future phones. But when Google asserted that Huawei's logo is not be included in the Google Nexus 7 Tablet, they declined the contract.

The Consumer Business VP of Huawei, Colin Giles, said that the company would like to be recognized for all its work, especially in the Google Nexus 7 Tablet. The Chinese phone manufacturer is no longer satisfied staying in the background as an anonymous service provider. Giles also stated that Huawei was willing to work on the project tasked by Google until the search engine company decided not to include Huawei's logo in the upcoming Google Nexus 7 Tablet. It is said that for this reason, that Huawei declined the contract for the Pixel smartphone as well.

Nonetheless, there are still whispers of an upcoming Google device. If the Google Nexus 7 Tablet is really not happening, then Google might release the upcoming mobile device in its new branding, Pixel. Chatters point out that it could be a Pixel Pro or Pixel 7.
Nintendo Switch: Region Free Gaming Speculations

Ever since its announcement, the Nintendo Switch has generated many speculations from fans. Players were able to see the portable console's commercials, which showcased most of its features like multiplayer, portability, controller configuration and design. However, one of the most nagging questions most players are asking about is the consoles region lock.

Players have always resorted to third party accessories or even modifications in order to play region-locked software. Software companies usually imposed these limitations to prevent some games from being played on a region-specific console. This is apparently due to some game content ratings, which might not be approved for a certain territory. Nintendo has always applied region-locking to its consoles. According to Siliconera, the Japanese company is speculated to make the Nintendo Switch region-free.

The Nintendo Switch made a surprise debut last week on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." Fans were quick to analyze everything about the hybrid console during its limited time in the limelight. Rumors have been going around claiming the console would be region-free. Sony and Microsoft have already removed the region-lock limitation from its flagship consoles, which leads gamers to assume Nintendo would follow suit. However a close-up shot of the Switch's back side reveals a hint that says otherwise.

Jimmy Fallon appears to have been playing on a Nintendo Switch with a European CE mark. While it does not really confirm a region lock, the mark indicates that the console is intended for European markets. The CE mark is an equivalent to the FCC of the United States. Electronics meant for sale in Europe are required to have that mark. However, other European consoles bearing the same mark are also region-free.

A region-free Nintendo Switch could mark another first for the Japanese gaming company. The console has reportedly received positive remarks from most gamers. The console's image promotes portability, which means players are sure to bring it with them on trips. Nintendo is scheduled to officially unveil the hybrid console on Jan. 13, 2017.
Jennifer Lawrence Called Chriss Pratt A Rat!

Jennifer Lawrence and Chriss pratt can be seen together now a days a lot. They are promoting their upcoming movie "Passengers". This movie is an American romantic science fiction thriller film. It is directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Jon Spaihts. Both the actors are good friends and they keep teasing each other constantly.

Recently they were seen at "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where jen spray painted on Chris' face and called him a rat. Chris Rat!When Jimmy asked Jen about their way of promoting their upcoming movie by takig pictures she said 'Its always a bad sign when Chris seems sincere about something.' Her sense of humor has always been great. She also said : 'I cant talk about this movie any more. Its not that its not good - you can see Chris Pratt's butt.' Previously the stars went to a school to surprise the students.

They visited the Ghetto Film School to give a surprise to the students and answer their questions as well. Even after having a very busy scheduled the two actors somehow managed to give time for such an event. When the students saw them they were astonished and extremely happy. Chris kept cropping Jennifer out of his photos and then posted it on Instagram. But later he posted a beautiful portrait of Jennifer and wrote "My best buddy #jenniferlawrence Sorry for messing with you guys before."

Jennifer was also involved in a butt controversy as she said recently during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show", about scratching her butt on the rocks of a sacred Hawaiian site. She told it very casually. "There were sacred rocks," Lawrence said to Norton. "I don't know. They were ancestors. Who knows? After that she faced a huge backlash on Twitter as the people were very angry about it.
Nokia Latest News and Updates: Nokia Might Combine Power and Affordability with Its Latest Smartphone Release

Nokia will soon be back in the smartphone battle and will release its Android phone D1C at a reported price for as low as $150 at the Mobile World Congress next year. Fans are speculating that the Nokia D1C will come in two 2 GB RAM with a 5-inch Full HD display and a 5. 5-inch Full HD display with 3 GB RAM for only $250.

According to News 18, Nokia has yet to release any confirmation on the phone prices but it's expected to be aggressively priced. The Nokia D1C Android phone is said to be powered by a Snapdragon 430 processor and will run on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat which is the latest operating system by Android. The Nokia D1C phone will also have a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. This produces some great shots at an affordable cost. The bigger phone version of the phone is rumored to have a 16MP rear camera.

HMD has recently confirmed that the company is set to bring a new generation of Nokia phone to its consumers, with its first smartphone merchandises scheduled to be launched in 2017. The company already has come a long way months after they signed a strategic licensing agreement with Nokia. This gives them an exclusive use of the Nokia Brand on both mobile phone devices and tablets across the world within 10 years. They also have an access to some technology companies such as Nokia, Google, and FIH Mobile Limited, Nokia Power User reported.

Nokia is banking on its brand recognition and strong consumer trust. Hence it is expected that the phone that will be released will be a solid phone. However, with all the innovations that other mobile phone giants are releasing, it will be hard to predict if Nokia will present any new features in the industry.
Gucci Mane Is Back As A Freeman And All Set to Rock Again

The 36 year old rapper Radric Delantic Davis professionally known as Gucci Mane performed in the NPR Music's Tiny Desk concert. The American rapper performed at Howard University's homecoming in October. While in Washington D.C., Guwop and Zaytoven also stopped by NPR for the station's Tiny Desk concert series.

Gucci Mane was released from the Federal Prison after which he proposed his long time girlfriend to which she said yes!The rapper performed for ten minutes in the concert. He sang First Day Out," "Waybach" and "Last Time."Gucci completed two new albums -Everybody Lookin and Woptober-where as his latest one, The Return of East Atlanta Santa will be coming on Dec. 16 on Apple Music. The performance he recorded in October was amazing.

Mane was pleaded guilty into a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after reaching an agreement with prosecutors. The judge also sentenced him to serve three years of supervised release with extra limitations on his travel during that time and to pay a $5,000 fine.his lawyer said "He understands he has some work ahead of him, and his goal is to bring a resolution to this case through this sentence and to get back to something that is very important to him and his fans and that is to perform."

He went hrough a lot of things during his sentence in prison one of which was being raped by the fellow prisoners. Sources said "He got beat brutally and is suffering many facial and rectal injuries from the attack. Some gang members here at the prison held him hostage in a cell and threatened him with knives," sources explained. "What they did to him is absolutely disgusting. There is no words to describe it. He feels dirty. No one should ever be violated of their personal s*xual space."
Apple iOS 10.2 Release Date, News & Update: Shrug, Facepalm, Selfie & More; Why Are We Obsessed With Emojis?

Apple has released iOs 10.2 to the general public today. While the update offers a load of kinks including new wallpapers, a new TV app and others, it's pretty obvious most iPhone users only care about this one but important update: the new and redesigned emojis - and there are over 100 of them. What gives?

Apple iOS 10.2's Emojis Redefined What Pictures Used To Say

Remember the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words?" You can forget about that. Today's generation believe in an emoji says a thousand words. And with the Apple iOS 10.2's over 100 emojis, your text message could well amount to a Swiss bank account, or two.

"Emoji are a great way to add personality to a text-based conversation," said Jeremy Burge, the founder of website Emojipedia. Come to think of it, today's generation that's been blessed with Apple's iOS 10.2 has an encyclopedia cataloguing all sorts of emoji.

Generation quick texters find it easier to send one tiny emoji than typing up a lengthy response. Sure, we can't be all eloquent, but in the world we're living in today, everything needs to be conveyed immediately, even if it means choosing among Apple's iOS 10.2 emojis.

Apple iOS 10.2 Update: The Psychology Behind Emoji Obsession

Dr. Owen Churches of the school of psychology at Flinders University in Australia conducted a study on emoticons in 2014. His research showed that people reacted to emoticons the same way they would react to a real human face.

According to The Telegraph, Churches said that emoji are similar to human faces from a vision of perspective. "I would expect the response of face sensitive parts of the cortex to emoji would be very similar to that of real faces," the professor explained. What this implies is, your choice of Apple iOS 10.2 emojis makes your message more personal than just being a digital cartoon on a screen.

In a way, emoji encompass our culture. Our brain has learned to adapt their popularity so in effect, we respond to these stimuli. What left for all us to do now is to dig in. Go ahead and put that heart eyes next to an astronaut next to the Apple iOS 10.2 newly revived peach butt. Whatever that means is entirely up to you.
Suits Actress & Prince Harrys Girlfriend, Meghan Markle Skipped Her Co-stars Wedding Day

Suits star and Prince Harrys real-life sweetheart, Meghan Markle, did not attend the wedding of her co-star and fiance, Patrick J, Adams and Pretty Little Liars, actress Troian Bellisario. The wedding was held in Rancho Dos Pueblos last weekend.

Some are calling her a class act by skipping her leading mans wedding event. However, the Suits co-stars seemed to have agreed for Markles absence on the wedding. Both do not like the idea but they agreed it was for the best of everyone.

According to an Inside Edition report, the Suits actress intentionally skipped the wedding of Adams and Bellisario to prevent making the wedding event about her. As Markle continues to become a paparazzis favorite target because of her current relationship with UKs Prince Harry, it is no surprise that her attendance at the couples wedding will get the unwanted attention.

While Markle was seen out to the cold weather, according to People, her onscreen partner in Suits Patrick J. Adams is in southern California to marry his real-life fiance, Troian Bellisario. It seems that the actress was in a relaxed and subtle mood while she headed to her yoga class. Later on, she was seen shopping with a friend.

After spending two days with her boyfriend, Prince Harry, the Suits actress was seen doing her routine activities. The only Instagram post made by Markle that coincided during the wedding was a photo of a girl and a sign that talked about liking ones self.

Prior to the wedding of Suits star, Patrick J. Adams, his co-star, Markle, made headlines after Prince Harry made a detour in Toronto, Canada after a two-week long royal Caribbean trip. The couple just spent the days holed up in the actress home.

So, the actress didnt let the cold weather to stop her to just simply enjoy an ordinary day. Though she might have been one of the 200 guests for the wedding, the event went on. It was still a fun and beautiful wedding filled with family and celebrity friends from Pretty Little Liars and Suits.
Days of Our Lives Spoilers, News & Update: Villain Actor Joseph Mascolo Dies at 87; Will Chad Finally Find Out About Abigail?

"Days of Our Lives" fans are grieving over the death of one of its veteran actors, crime boss Joseph Mascolo. He has been part of the soap opera for three decades already, playing the role of Stefano DiMera, who brought lots of despair and problems in the town of Salem.

According to The New York Times, the "Days of Our Lives" actor died at the age of 87. His wife Patricia Schultz-Mascolo revealed to NBC that he battled with Alzheimer's disease before departing the world. "Days of Our Lives" executive producer Ken Corday issued a statement saying that Mascolo will be "sorely missed." He also said: "His larger than life presence, kind heart, and unwavering positivity has impacted us all for decades, and will live on in the memories of his many fans."

Mascolo last appeared in "Days of Our Lives" in July when his character was killed by Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso). And now, after months of hiding the truth from everyone, Hope is in prison for the death of Stefano. Spoilers also reveal that the moment that fans have been waiting for will finally come. Many have been waiting for the reunion of Abigail Devereaux (Marci Miller) and Chad DiMera (Billy Flynn) and it may take place this week.

According to "Days of Our Lives" spoilers, Gabi Hernandez (Camilla Banus) will be the one who may drop the bombshell. She will overhear a talk between JJ Deveraux (Casey Moss) and his mother Jennifer Horton (Melissa Reeves) about Abigail being alive. She will be shocked with their discussion but she will also want a confirmation. She will make a way to confront JJ and let him spill the truth.

Gabi will be persistent but she will soon face a new challenge, the man that she has fallen for is not a widower and his wife is set to return to his life soon. "Days of Our Lives" spoilers reveal that Gabi will be torn between telling Chad everything about Abigail and keeping things from him so that she can have Chad all to herself.

Will Gabi reveal the truth? Fans will have to stay tuned and watch out what happens next in "Days of Our Lives" which airs every Monday to Friday on NBC.
American Gigolo Air Date, Spoilers & Update: Showtime Reboots '80s Classic For TV Series; LaBute, Schrader To Collaborate!

A 1980 film "American Gigolo" which starred Richard Gere is being developed to adapt a TV drama series on Showtime. The film is said to be the stepping stone of Richard Gere to stardom after accepting the role as a male escort.

"American Gigolo" is a thriller and drama film that was released in the 1980s, which starred Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo, Nina Van Pallandt and Bill Duke. The film was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and was written and directed by Paul Schrader.

'American Gigolo' adaptation into TV series

The producer Jerry Bruckheimer first announced that "American Gigolo" will be adapted as a TV series on Showtime last October 2014. However, the only update for the planned TV series is that Neil LaBute is confirmed to write the show, which the story is set in present day, Slashfilm reported.

The officials of Paramount TV and Jerry Bruckheimer joined forces to adapt the "American Gigolo" into a TV series. Bruckheimer will executive produce the series along with Jonathan Littman. Kristie Anne Reed will be the co-executive producer and James Oh as producer of the series. The 1980 "American Gigolo" director will work as an executive consultant for the TV series.

'American Gigolo' story and Richard Gere's role as an escort

"American Gigolo" is set in Los Angeles introducing Julian Kaye (Richard Gere) as a high-end male escort. His being materialistic put Julian to a situation with a framed murder case that nobody wants to help even though he has a witness and a valid alibi, TVLine reported.

In the Rolling Stone interview, Richard Gere said that he accepted the role in "American Gigolo" that Christopher Reeve rejected not because he wanted to become a sex symbol. However, he said that becoming "a movie star, rock star, whatever part of that is, yes, you want to be desired." He explained that he took the role because he wanted to be recognized and wanted "to be watched and appreciated."

Meanwhile, the "American Gigolo" movie received mixed reviews from the movie critics with Paul Schrader's vision for the movie. The critics are yet to see how the screenwriter and director Neil LaBute will collaborate with Paul Schrader and adapt "American Gigolo" into an interesting TV series.
Takata Latest News & Update: Aggressive Recall To 42 Million Vehicles With Defective Airbags Including Tesla, Ferrari, McLaren

The U.S. government asked automakers to speed up in fixing 42 million vehicles that were recalled due to a potentially defective Takata airbag inflators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released an order to automakers to set a deadline for replacements.

Takata, an automated parts company based in Japan, is the major supplier of airbags installed in cars from the year 2002 to 2015 model. Apparently, Takata knew the risk of its airbags since 2004 and hid the information to the public while designing a possible fix for its airbags.

Takata Airbag issue sparked

The Takata airbag controversy sparked when New York Times reported that two former employees of Takata revealed that the company secretly conducted tests on 50 airbags in 2004. The tests were done due to a report that metal debris was spewed to one driver in Alabama after the Takata airbag was ruptured. Four years after, Takata has made its first recall in November 2008 after confirming that there's a problem with its airbags.

Automakers started to recall with Takata airbag problem

The affected automakers have been recalling its model cars with installed Takata airbag inflator since the issue sparked. Recently, the Department of Transportation released a more aggressive recall schedule which will impact 42 million vehicles in the United States out of 64 to 69 million total airbags.

According to Fox News, the officials in NHTSA will require 19 automakers to follow the released schedule and to submit plans on how the automakers plan to replace Takata airbags. NHTSA believes that the automakers were not doing enough with the recall as only 12.5 million or 18 percent of the inflators were replaced.

500,000 and Luxury vehicles with Takata airbag

A civic and community leaders from North Texas calls out the attention of thousands of motorists to comply with the government massive recall of their vehicles with defective Takata airbags. According to Dallas News, an estimated 500,000 vehicles in North Texas may be affected by the recall. This includes even the luxury cars like the Tesla, Ferrari, and McLaren as an updated list of affected car brands was released.

As of the moment, car owners may check their car if it's part of the Takata airbag recall by noting down their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and use NHTSA link, Recalls Lookup by VIN. The complete list of car brands that are under recall and future to be recalled can be checked on www.safercar.gov.
Justice Stephen G. Breyer

WASHINGTON  Continuing his sustained critique of the American capital justice system, Justice Stephen G. Breyer on Monday issued an unusual dissent from the Supreme Courts decision not to hear the case of a Florida death row inmate who said his conviction had been based on flawed evidence and false testimony.





Justice Breyer did not discuss the evidence against the inmate, Henry P. Sireci. Instead, he again urged his colleagues to reconsider the use of the death penalty, which he said was unreliable, arbitrary and shot through with racism. In the process, he addressed two other recent death penalty cases, from Ohio and Alabama, in which he said the court had also gone astray.





In Mr. Sirecis case, Justice Breyer returned to a longstanding concern, saying the court should have considered whether the inmates four decades on death row violated the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishment.





He has lived in prison under threat of execution for 40 years, Justice Breyer wrote of Mr. Sireci. When he was first sentenced to death, the Berlin Wall stood firmly in place. Saigon had just fallen. Few Americans knew of the personal computer or the internet. And over half of all Americans now alive had not yet been born.





Forty years is more time than an average person could expect to live his entire life when America constitutionally forbade the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments, Justice Breyer wrote.





Justice Breyer has long been troubled by what he said were excessive delays between death sentences and executions.





It is difficult to deny the suffering inherent in a prolonged wait for execution, Justice Breyer wrote in a dissent in 1999, adding that our Constitution was written at a time when delay between sentencing and execution could be measured in days or weeks, not decades.





In response at the time, Justice Clarence Thomas said he found that argument unpersuasive.





I am unaware, Justice Thomas wrote, of any support in the American constitutional tradition or in this courts precedent for the proposition that a defendant can avail himself of the panoply of appellate and collateral procedures and then complain when his execution is delayed.





Justice Breyer also used his dissent on Monday in Sireci v. Florida, No. 16-5247, to explain his thinking about two other cases.





He said he would have agreed to hear the case of an Ohio death row inmate, Romell Broom, who had sought to avoid a second attempt to execute him after a first one had gone awry





Medical team members tried for over two hours to find a usable vein, repeatedly injecting him with needles and striking bone in the process, all causing a great deal of pain, Justice Breyer wrote of the first attempt to execute Mr. Broom, quoting a court decision. The state now wishes to try to execute Broom once again. Given its first failure, does its second attempt amount to a cruel and unusual punishment?





Justice Breyer said the question was at least worthy of the courts attention, and he suggested that the answer was yes. But the Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the case, Broom v. Ohio, No. 16-5580.





As is their custom, the justices in the majority gave no reasons for turning down the case. Justice Elena Kagan indicated that she had voted to hear it, but she did not join Justice Breyers dissent.





Justice Breyer is the courts leading critic of the death penalty. In a sweeping 46-page dissent last year, he urged the court to take a fresh look at the constitutionality of the punishment.





On Monday, he summarized part of his critique.





As I and other justices have previously pointed out, Justice Breyer wrote, individuals who are executed are not the worst of the worst, but, rather, are individuals chosen at random, on the basis, perhaps of geography, perhaps of the views of individual prosecutors, or still worse on the basis of race.





He gave one recent example of another case in which he said he would have granted review.





On Thursday, he wrote, this court, by an equally divided vote, denied a stay of execution to Ronald B. Smith, an Alabama man who was sent to death row after the trial judge rejected the jurys 7-to-5 vote in favor of a life sentence. Mr. Smith was executed that night.

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Source: T he New York Times , Adam Liptak, December 12, 2016
Nintendo NES Classic Edition Latest News & Update: Fans Waiting for Best Buy, ThinkGeek & Smyths to Give the Good News

The Nintendo NES Classic Edition could be re-stocked real soon, which means there is still hope for those before Christmas who desperately want to get their hands on it. Two retail stores will be offering the insanely in-demand console. Lack of the console in the US has become common and some countries are faring better.

Limited stocks of the Nintendo NES Classic Edition will be available with ThinkGeek on Dec. 20. Customers who have sign up with the company earlier will be favored. ThinkGeek will choose the lucky ones who will be offered the console. In fact, the website accepted reservations from Dec. 7 till Dec. 12. Customers were then asked to save the item on their Wish List.

Those who signed up for the Nintendo NES Classic Edition were sent the codes via email. They had 24 hours to use the code to get a chance to buy the console. Best Buy will also be offering limited console units at the company's three retail stores on Dec. 20 on a first-cum-first-serve basis.

Thankfully, Nintendo America's Reggie Fils-Aime earlier assured fans that "consumers will be able to get their hands on" the Nintendo NES Classic Edition before Christmas, reported Forbes. Apart from Best Buy and ThinkGeek, there is a chance that Smyths, Amazon and Target will also restock the console. Smyths has already hinted that the stock is already on the way.

Argos has informed customers that there are no plans to restock the Nintendo NES Classic Edition and that they have discontinued selling the device. Fans are still hoping that Amazon may be able to fulfil their wish of possessing the console. Target is now focusing on its Australian fans.

With barely few days left for Christmas, Nintendo fans are going absolutely crazy to buy the Nintendo NES Classic Edition. Hopefully they will have a smile on their faces on or before Christmas.
Members of Linn-Benton Community Colleges Part-Time Faculty Association have ratified an initial contract, which the LBCC Board of Education approved at a special meeting Thursday.

The contract increases LBCC part-time faculty salaries to the average of Oregon community colleges of similar size as LBCC before the end of the four-year contract term, according to LBCC.

The contract also includes enhancements in sick leave, tuition waivers and retirement contribution provisions.

This agreement will help us retain and attract the excellent faculty members we need to fulfill our mission, said LBCC President Greg Hamann.

The ratification votes by the association and the board were unanimous.

Tak Suyama, chairman of negotiations for the Part-Time Faculty Association and its past president, said members still will be low paid by comparison and dont have much job security.

The salary issue wasnt dealt with as well as wed like. Were still glad we have a contract, but that was a sacrifice we had to make, said Suyama, a chemistry instructor.

This is definitely better than not having anything, which was the status quo for decades, he added. Under the circumstances, this was the best deal we could get, especially because the college forced mediation on us.

Suyama said that LBCCs part-time instructors make up about two-thirds of all the people who teach at the college.

The number is kind of hard to pinpoint, but there are about 300 of us. In any given term, theres about 220 of us who teach, he added.

Dale Stowell, LBCC executive director of advancement/foundation, said that part-time faculty teach a bit less than half of the classes at the colleges campuses. By the end of the contract, they should be caught up regarding pay, he added.

The next contract, well have to make sure that our salaries remain competitive, Stowell said.

The bottom line for us is weve got great part-time faculty and we value what they do. A common interest in helping our students succeed is what led both sides to make a compromise to come to a contract agreement, he said.

The agreement was reached after two sessions with a mediator and took just over a year to negotiate  a relatively quick timeline for an initial contract, according to LBCC. Its not uncommon for an initial contract to take two years or more of negotiations, Stowell said.

Part-time faculty members will receive an average of a 4.2 percent pay increase this year, which will vary individually from 3.1 percent to 5.4 percent, depending on the salary schedule step they are on, which is based on length of service.

Pay increases for the following two years will be 3.1 percent and 3.25 percent. The raise in the fourth year of the contract will be decided by the Consumer Price Index, and will be between 3 percent and 4.5 percent.

Among the other details of the contract:

 Part-time faculty will receive paid sick leave early in an instructional term rather than needing to accrue it first, which would occur later in a term.

 The tuition waiver for part-time faculty will also increase from 3 credits to 5 credits per term.

 The college will make a 6 percent contribution to the Public Employee Retirement System for part-time faculty, the majority of whom are PERS-eligible. This also brings the contract into alignment with part-time faculty compensation at similar-sized colleges.

Another benefit of the contract is that it consolidates key employment and benefit related information in a single location where part-time faculty members can easily find it, said LBCC Human Resources Director Scott Rolen. Previously, that information was distributed in a variety of channels such as college board policies, administrative rules and faculty handbooks.
Oct. 7, 1938  Dec. 12, 2016

Gloyd Skip Harold Adams, 78, of Lebanon passed away at his home on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016.

Skip was born Oct. 7, 1938, in Clatskanie the son of Gloyd E. and Marian (Schuttich) Adams. The family resided in Vernonia and then they moved to Sweet Home where Skip attended school and graduated from Sweet Home High School in 1956.

He married Shirley Ferguson on April 19, 1957. In the late 1960s, the couple moved to Lebanon, where they built their own home. Skip was a millwright in Foster and then later owned and operated GH Adams Mobile Home Set-Up Service.

Skip enjoyed hunting, fishing, ATV rides, raising cattle and sheep and watching western movies. He was an avid rock-hound and was a member of the Sweet Home Rock & Mineral Society for over 20 years. He and Shirley were vendors at many rock shows throughout Oregon and Arizona.

He is survived by sons Mark and wife Cindy Adams of Lebanon, and Brian and wife Kathy Adams, also of Lebanon; sisters Marlene Zurcher of Sweet Home and Trudy Cardwell of Portland; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley in 2015, and his parents.

A gathering of friends and family will be held at a later time.

Family suggests memorial donations be sent to SafeHaven Humane Society in care of Huston-Jost Funeral Home, 86 W. Grant St., Lebanon, OR 97355.
The city of Corvallis on Monday passed a sanctuary city resolution and also approved the work of its climate action task force.

The meeting at the downtown fire station attracted a standing-room-only crowd of approximately 100 people. The session was in its fourth hour as the Gazette-Times presstime approached.

The sanctuary city resolution passed on an 8-1 vote after a series of amendments, with Ward 2 Councilor Roen Hogg the lone dissenter. Hogg expressed concerns about using the amendment process to edit the resolution on the fly and requested that councilors continue to work on the resolution and revisit it on Jan. 3.

Language, language, said Ward 6 Councilor Joel Hirsch. Its more important to get this done. Its important for us to put a marker down. Lets do this! he said as he smacked his hand on the table.

A total of 26 people spoke during the community comments period, with 11 speaking in favor of the sanctuary resolution, seven backing the climate plan and seven more supporting both issues. Two former councilors spoke, Jeanne Raymond (backing both issues) and Tina Empol, who spoke on the sanctuary item.

The testimony at times was emotional, with community activist Shelly Moon noting two occasions since the presidential election in which she was called the n-word.

Ryan Blough, a veteran and Linn-Benton Community College student, told councilors if you do the wrong thing there will be a backlash to strong applause, leading Mayor Biff Traber to admonish the audience that this is not a game show.

Councilors amended the resolution five times during deliberations. A couple of the changes were minor editing tweaks, but others sought to add more punch to the resolution based on suggestions from the citys King Legacy Advisory Board.

Corvallis is just one of dozens of U.S. cities, counties and other entities that has passed sanctuary resolutions in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, who has vowed to deport undocumented immigrants and withdraw federal funds from those who pass sanctuary measures.

No one who testified Monday noted the risk involved. The city receives millions of dollars in federal funding each year, mainly for transportation, road improvement and housing projects. City officials say they have not done a risk assessment and Traber, in a statement that accompanied the draft resolution in the council packet, said that council members could address it if federal funding was at risk.

Deliberations on the climate action plan were shorter and sweeter, with the discussion mainly focusing on thanking those who had worked on the plan rather than debating the goals and targets contained in the 81-page document.

Traber hopes to extend the life of the task force that developed the climate plan another six months, but the details of the extension still remain to be worked out.

Monday nights meeting was the final session for outgoing Councilors Mike Beilstein (Ward 5), Hirsch, Zach Baker (Ward 3) and Frank Hann (Ward 8). Beilstein is retiring after six terms. Hirsch was defeated by Nancy Wyse in a bid for a fifth term. Baker and Hann both are bowing out after one term because of the difficulty of juggling personal schedules with council work.
House Deputy Speaker Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro yesterday said the discussions on the bill to reinstate death penalty, a priority legislative measure of President Duterte, will be moved to early next year, so that congressmen would have a thorough plenary debate.





In a radio interview, Castro said he was responsible for moving back the bill's discussion on the floor because he wanted to prepare to defend it at the plenary.





Castro is one of the principal authors of House Bill No. 1, which seeks to reimpose capital punishment for heinous crimes after it was abolished by then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.





"We have to let people know, make them understand and study this measure because at first glance, you could say you don't want this bill because life should be respected. This is a reason that is based on one's belief in God and what they call human rights," Castro said in Filipino.





"It's funny because our people might again be misled. This is why I myself said I want to prepare for the debate because I will be the one to stand at the plenary. I will be the one to fight for this bill...there would be very good interpellators who are now saying they have not made up their mind whether or not they would support this bill," Castro said.





He said the measure could be passed in the Lower House if there would be daily plenary debates on it.





Castro also said he informed House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Farinas, his coauthors, that the proposal should not single out drug dealing and drug use.





Castro said if he had his way, he would add more crimes that are as heinous as the use and sale of illegal drugs to be punishable by death - crimes such as illegal recruitment, plunder, economic sabotage and human trafficking, including the ones conducted via cyberspace.





There are 21 heinous crimes proposed to be punishable by death in the bill approved by the House justice committee - a number which Castro still considers "too small."





Among the "heinous crimes" included in House Bill No. 1 are treason, qualified piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, infanticide, rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with violence, destructive arson, plunder.





It also includes dangerous drug importation, sale and trading, manufacture, possession, cultivation and unlawful prescription, misappropriating confiscated illegal drugs and planting of evidence by public officers, and car theft.

Thousands join march against death penalty

Thousands of Catholic church parishioners, students and officials in Pangasinan joined Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President and Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocess Bishop Socrates Villegas on Monday afternoon in a prayer rally against the passage of the death penalty bill and the drug-related killings.





The rally, organized by Catholic leaders, was also joined by seminarians, nuns and former and incumbent politicians from the different towns of the province at about 3:45 p.m.





The protesters walked along the streets of this city holding placards and streamers bearing their grievances against the passage of the death penalty.





In a homily before the start of the rally, Villegas said the government, particularly members of both Congress, are pro-death and pro-poor, which is in violation of the gospel of the lord and the No.5 of the 10 commandments - "Thou shall not kill."





He urged Catholic lawmakers to withhold support from any attempt to restore the penalty, as well as the Catholic jurists to study the issue and to oppose through proper proceedings, the reintroduction of the capital punishment.





According to Villegas, the government pushes for the reimposition of the death punishment to justify the rampant extra-judicial killings in the country allegedly perpetrated by law enforcers.





He urged the participants to join them in other big ralliesto be staged in the provinces of Visayas, Mindanao and other parts of Luzon to convince the politicians not to pursue their plans to again impose the death penalty.





"Look at our surroundings now. There are a lot of killings even without the death penalty and if it will be reimposed, I am sure it will double the number of those killed whose victims are mostly indigents," the bishop said.





Former Pangasinan Vice Gov. Oscar Lambino, who also joined the protest march, saying the reimposition of the death penalty is not necessary to address the rampant criminality in the country especially the government's campaign against illegal drugs.

 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net, December 12, 2016Source: The Manila Times, December 12, 2016
Washington D.C., Dec 10, 2016 / 04:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- More than 10 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in two separate cases that the death penalty is unconstitutional when applied to juveniles or the intellectually disabled.





But today, over a decade later, many states still execute inmates with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.





And Catholic advocates say the rules need to change.





As Catholics we are called to uphold the dignity of all life, and supporting a Severe Mental Illness exemption bill is a vital part of our call to live where justice and mercy meet, said Karen Clifton, executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network. The group advocates for an end to the use of capital punishment.





The death penalty for the severely mentally ill does not further the retributive goals of the punishment, as this population simply does not have the requisite moral culpability, a new report by the American Bar Association on the death penalty stated.





Their illnesses can impair the ability to interpret reality accurately, comprehend fully the consequences of their actions, and control their actions.





Two years ago, a federal court halted at the last minute the execution of a man diagnosed with schizophrenia. Advocates are citing his case in favor of a death penalty ban for the severely mentally ill.





Scott Panetti, the man at the center of the Texas case, killed his in-laws in 1992 and was sentenced to death in 1995.





Before his crime, he had been hospitalized 14 times in 11 years for symptoms of mental illness. Panetti was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and suffered from hallucinations. At his trial, he dressed in a purple cowboy outfit and attempted to subpoena John F. Kennedy, the Pope, and Jesus Christ. Yet he testified in court against the wishes of his attorney, and the jury sentenced him to death.





A federal appeals court granted a temporary halt to his scheduled execution in 2014, just hours before it was to take place. Texas Catholic bishops approved of the move and restated their opposition to his execution.





The Texas Bishops have long taught about the immorality of the death penalty and were particularly vocal seeking mercy for Panetti, who has been diagnosed by several doctors as suffering from severe mental illness, they stated, adding that the death penalty in his case would violate the constitutions prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.





Yet despite prohibitions on the execution of juveniles and persons with Intellectual Disability (formerly referred to as mental retardation), decided by the Supreme Court in 2002 and 2005 respectively, many states that use the death penalty have no specific prohibition on the its use on persons who had severe mental illness at the time of their crime.





Thus, controversial executions of people with evidence of mental illness continue. For instance, in 2015 Georgia executed Andrew Brannan, a Vietnam War veteran whose lawyers said was ruled 100 percent disabled with PTSD by the Department of Veterans Affairs and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder before he shot and killed a police officer.





A coalition of groups, including the Catholic Mobilizing Network, the American Bar Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and other religious and mental health groups have been pushing for this legal protection.





Several states, including Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina, are expected to consider severe mental illness exemptions to their death penalty law next year, said Hilarie Bass, president-elect of the American Bar Association. These legislative proposals are bipartisan, she added, speaking at a keynote luncheon on severe mental illness and the death penalty at Georgetown University.





Getting into the details





What might this prohibition look like and why is it so important to this coalition?





In its new report, the American Bar Association quoted from the American Psychological Associations definition to clarify what mentally ill person might be exempt from the death penalty.





Someone with severe mental illness would have a specific diagnosis like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder, would have had it for at least a year, and would have comparatively severe impairment in major areas of functioning.





Before a capital murder trial, the judge would need testimony from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist who would reevaluate the defendant and his or her health history, Bass explained. Witnesses familiar with the defendant could give testimony for or against their claim of severe mental illness.





It would have to be clear that the judgment of the defendant would have been impaired at the time of their crime, and not just in the present moment.





And these exemptions would not create a total defense for murder, or mean that the defendant would not be punished if found guilty, Bass insisted, as someone committing a capital crime could still receive a life sentence without parole.





Severe mental illness like schizophrenia can clearly impair someones judgment to the extent that their guilt for a capital crime is reduced as it is for juvenile offenders and the Intellectually Disabled, Bass argued.





In those cases, she said, our society considers both groups less morally culpable than the worst of the worst, and less able to appreciate the consequences of their actions, less able to participate fully in their defense, and more likely to be wrongfully convicted.





Yet the same applies for persons with severe mental illness, she said. Someone could competently plot a crime yet be delusional while doing so  which was the case of Russell Weston, who drove from Illinois to Washington, D.C. and shot two Capitol Hill police officers in 1998.





According to the Washington Post, Weston afterward told a court-appointed psychologist that he had come to the Capitol seeking the ruby satellite which would protect citizens from diseases spread by cannibalism. He had also previously stayed 53 days in a mental hospital.





Calls for greater action





There are some ways that a defendant with mental illness can currently escape a death sentence. Juries can consider their mental health, they can plead insanity, they could be judged incompetent to stand trial, or be judged incompetent at the time of their execution.





However, these arent reliable methods of ensuring a just sentence, Bass said.





For one, a defendant with severe mental illness could be seriously impaired in court. It can strongly affect defendants decision-making about their defense, leading them to refuse to cooperate with their attorneys or reject the presentation of any mitigating evidence related to their illness, the American Bar Association noted in its report.





However, mental illness can also be an aggravating factor for the jury in someones sentence, and it is worsened when a defendant has a bizarre or flat affect in the courtroom, the report said. Juries can also view people with mental illness as intrinsically dangerous, thus bringing a significant risk that a death sentence may be imposed because of  not simply in spite of  a defendants mental illness.





The delusion that can haunt a person with severe mental illness is all the more reason why they should receive treatment  not the death penalty, advocates insist.





The U.S. bishops have advocated for the overall repeal of the death penalty, but also emphasized what they called particular abuses of it, in their 2000 statement on criminal justice reform, Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration.





While government has an obligation to protect the community from those who become aggressive or violent because of mental illness, it also has a responsibility to see that the offender receives the proper treatment for his or her illness, the bishops stated.





Mentally ill inmates need treatment for their condition and not just punishment, they said. Far too often mental illness goes undiagnosed, and many in our prison system would do better in other settings more equipped to handle their particular needs.





And one of the bishops recommendations was to push for a death penalty ban for the mentally ill: In states that sanction the death penalty, join organizations that work to curtail its use (e.g., prohibit the execution of teenagers or the mentally ill) and those that call for its abolition.





Catholic Mobilizing Network agrees that treatment and rehabilitation can be more effective ways of dealing with crime in cases where criminals are severely mentally ill.





Another reason why a death penalty exemption must be considered for them, the network added, is because such persons are overrepresented in the prison population and on death row. According to one estimate, around 20 percent of those on death row suffer from severe mental illness.





Ultimately, protecting those with serious mental disorders from the death penalty is part of Catholic practice, Clifton stressed, and a vital part of our Churchs pro-life mission.

 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Source: CNA , Matt Hadro, December 10, 2016
Blog Hinangai

While there is much discussion in Guam about the economic benefits of increasing the islands military presence, the damages/dangers that they represent are rarely mentioned. This blog, a supplement to the Peace and Justice for Guam Petition, is meant to counter that by providing information about the US military in Guam, with the hopes of steering policy away from a dangerous unilateralist course to more sustainable notions of regional development and a strengthening international solidarity.
Police search successful : Young woman sexually harassed: Police investigating suspect

Bonn Bonn police had asked for help from the public to identify a man accused of sexually harassing a young woman on a bus. They are now investigating the suspect.

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Police had been searching for the suspect, accused of sexually harassing a young woman during a bus ride. According to police information, the incident already took place on November 24.

On Wednesday, police reported that the suspect was now being investigated. They had released his photo to the public; it been taken by a surveillance camera on the bus.
UN Campus : Worker buried in construction mishap

Bonn A worker at a building site on the UN campus suffered a mishap when he became buried in a trench. He was freed and taken to the hospital.

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A worker at the construction zone on the UN Campus was lucky in his misfortune. On Monday morning, he became buried in a trench all the way to his upper body, covered by earth. His co-workers alarmed the fire department but were fortunately able to free him from his predicament before fire and rescue crews arrived.
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
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Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
bohlah at 13-12-2016 09:38 PM (5 years ago) (m)

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has arrived Algeria on a two-day official visit to Algeria, on the invitation of the government. .Osinbajo's spokesman Laolu Akande said in a statement last night that his boss would hold talks with Algerian President Abdellaziz Bouteflika and interact with the country's parliamentarians.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has arrived Algeria on a two-day official visit to Algeria, on the invitation of the government. .Osinbajo's spokesman Laolu Akande said in a statement last night that his boss would hold talks with Algerian President Abdellaziz Bouteflika and interact with the country's parliamentarians.



Akande stated that the visit would deepen diplomatic and economic relations between Nigeria and Algeria as well as review specific areas of security co-operation.



He said both countries would harmonise their positions on multi-lateral issues of common interests and share ideas on how to address global challenges, especially those confronting Africa.



Akande added that the vice president would also visit a food processing plant in Algeria and meet representatives of the Nigerian community there.























Akande stated that the visit would deepen diplomatic and economic relations between Nigeria and Algeria as well as review specific areas of security co-operation.He said both countries would harmonise their positions on multi-lateral issues of common interests and share ideas on how to address global challenges, especially those confronting Africa.Akande added that the vice president would also visit a food processing plant in Algeria and meet representatives of the Nigerian community there.

Post Reply I have been reporting on latest news from Nigeria for almost 10 years now. I report on every possible news area I come across, but always ensure my reports are compiled with dignity and fact to uphold my personal values and duty as a journalist Posted: at 13-12-2016 09:38 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
Netflix VR App Launched for Google Daydream VR Headsets News oi -Samden Sherpa Netflix users can experience VR with the VR app.

In a bid to expand its virtual reality footprint, Netflix, the on-demand video streaming service has now introduced a dedicated VR app for users who want to watch their popular series in an immersive manner. Dubbed the Netflix VR App, it will support Google's virtual reality platform Daydream.

With this launch, the app will only work for Google's Daydream VR headset, but once other hardware manufacturers start building their own headsets from the Daydream View blueprints, it's likely that the app will work for those as well.

SEE ALSO: Apple Releases iOS 10.2 with SOS Button, TV App, New Emojis and More: Here's How to Get it

But for now, interestingly, the Netflix VR app is offered separately to the regular Netflix app. Users need to download the VR-specific app in order to access Netflix content with a virtual reality experience. As such, the Netflix VR app is a standalone application and has been aimed at Android users who own Google's first Daydream VR headset.

However, Netflix VR doesn't appear to be radically different from the standard Netflix app. Instead of having a traditional welcome screen where users selected their flicks, Netflix VR now puts people in a digital version of a living room.

People can look around in the room, which contains some red chairs, a sofa, and a few little lamps, and choose their movies from a digital television that contains the standard Netflix selection screen.

SEE ALSO: Here's How You Can Improve Your YouTube Viewing Experience

On the other hand, according to a report by BGR, the Netflix VR app will allow the subscribers with the Google Daydream View headset to watch content in 360-degree immersive form. Subscribers will also be able to watch all the content currently available on Netflix using the Daydream View's virtual interface with the help of the controller.

The Netflix subscribers who do not own a Daydream headset need to wait until the app starts supporting alternative VR headsets. In near future, Netflix VR app might bring in support for Samsung Gear VR and other headsets.

The app is available for download on the Google Play Store.

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What is Google Daydream?

The first question that comes to mind is the when someone speaks about Google Daydream is: What is it? Here's the answer to this question. Google's new Daydream project fulfills the company's aim of building a virtual reality scheme and Google officially manage the software and hardware of the product, thus managing to create a complete virtual reality platform.

Several smartphone brands have already announced and released their own VR headset's, but none of them are quite useful on the mobile market. But, Google's Daydream has been entirely satisfactory, and several users all over the country are waiting to grab one.

How the Google Daydream works?

The Google Daydream has three essential aspects: VR headset and motion controller and a smartphone which has support for Daydream. As of now, there is not much for the Daydream project, as Google's Daydream VR headset is the only headset available in the market right now to support Daydream.

Nevertheless, Google has released a reference design of their VR headset, so that every other manufacturer can release their VR headsets.



So, all you need is a Google VR headset (comes bundled with motion controller as well) and the Daydream supported smartphone. And, you're right to go. As said earlier, application developers are already releasing their apps in support with the Google Daydream. We'll get back to this in our next section.

Google Daydream Compatible Smartphones

Currently, this is the only drawback with the Google's Daydream project. The Google Pixel and Pixel XL are the only phones to support the Google's Daydream project for now. It is worth noticing that Motorola's Moto Z and Z Force are also getting the Daydream features with the Android 7.1 Nougat update.

Additionally, if a manufacturer releases their smartphone with support for Daydream, Google has to approve it separately. But, there are several other smartphones with powerful hardware sufficient enough to support Google Daydream, they additionally require Google's permission to feature the service in the final release.

Google Daydream Supported Apps and Games

Google's Daydream project is live with the Android 7.1 Nougat update. As we already know that Google pushed the API Level 25 to GITHUB, developers started working on the applications which support the Daydream.

Firstly, you need to download the Google Daydream app from the Google Play Store and browse through all the apps and games that have support for Google Daydream. As of now, Google Play Store have more than 50 apps and games that support Daydream and the pool will be increasing in coming days.
Moto M Launching in India Today: Watch the Event Live News oi -Sneha Moto M is set to officially launch in India today. Watch the event live and get the updates.

Lenovo is all set to unveil it's first ever all-metal smartphone, Moto M, in India at the launch event to be held in Mumbai today. The event will start off at 12:30 AM and the users can watch the live streaming of the Moto M launch on the company's official Facebook Page.

The smartphone was earlier kicked off in China at a price tag of nearly Rs. 20,000. The highlight of the new launch is said to be the 16-megapixel rear camera and fast charging capability that comes inbuilt with the phone. Moto M will also embody an 8-megapixel front camera, which makes it suitable for the selfie lovers.

SEE ALSO: Like Micromax, Zen Mobile Launches Sub-Rs. 5,500 4G VoLTE Smartphones: And the Winner is?



The smartphone is expected to be available in India with quite a similar price tag as that of China in two color variants including Gold and Silver. Weighing nearly 163 grams and measuring 151.35x75.35x7.85mm, Moto M will be bagged with 4G VoLTE support and will let the users get easy access to Reliance Jio SIM card enabling them to enjoy the unlimited and free voice calls and internet access until March 2017 with the Happy New Year offer.

Running on Android Marshmallow, Moto M will be packed with dual-SIM card slots. The hybrid dual-SIM card slot will enable users to utilize the second card slot as a memory card slot as well. It is also expected to sport a 5.5-inch with a curved-glass IPS display and use a 2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P15 processor coupled with 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM.

SEE ALSO: Samsung to Launch Two New Foldable Smartphones With Dual Screen Display in 2017



Along with that, the smartphone will also come bagged with 32GB inbuilt storage capability which can be expanded via microSD card up to 128GB, USB type-C, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS/ A-GPS and 3.5mm audio jack. Adding on to the variant of features, the smartphone is also expected to include an accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, magnetometer, and a proximity sensor.

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Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual-SIM Phones Launched at Rs 1,700 News oi -Samden Sherpa HMD Global has announced its first phones under Nokia branding.

HMD Global, a Finnish mobile manufacturing company has announced the launch of two new feature phones under the Nokia branding.

Essentially, the two feature phones are Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual SIM devices and will be rolled out in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Europe in the first quarter of 2017. These two new devices are basic handsets priced at $26 translating to around Rs. 1,700.

SEE ALSO: Netflix VR App Launched for Google Daydream VR Headsets

According to a report by the Indian Express, both the phones features a 2.4-inch QVGA display, built-in FM radio, and a mp3 player. In addition, the feature phone is powered by a 1,020 mAh replaceable battery, which will provide a talktime of up to 22 hours, and a standby time of up to 31 days for the single SIM and 25 days for the dual SIM variant. The feature phone comes with microSD support for storage up to 32GB.

Furthermore, the Nokia 150 comes with a hard polycarbonate frame at the back, which is scratch-resistant. The company claims that this will make the device more durable. The smartphone measures 118.050.213.5mm in dimensions and weighs 81 grams. The phone comes pre-loaded with classic games like the Snake Xenzia and Nitro Racing by Gameloft.

Earlier this year, Nokia disclosed that it had licensed HMD to produce Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets. Now, HMD Global has announced its first phones under Nokia branding.

SEE ALSO: Here's How You Can Improve Your YouTube Viewing Experience

This comes as HMD had already reached agreements with both Microsoft and Nokia about the use of the Nokia brand and some design rights. The agreement HMD signed with Nokia is exclusive and valid for 10 years. However, the agreement with Microsoft has some conditions and only covers the use of the Nokia name in basic phones.

HMD is planning to further spend around 400 million euros on marketing the Nokia brand for the next three years. Going forward, HMD Global has assured that it will further expand the Nokia-branded feature phone portfolio, which will be comprised of breakthrough phones.

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Best Mobiles in India
Overall, Double XL is a well-made film that might be liked by gentry in all shapes, sizes, and age too. By the way, do not miss the interval!!
Carter Helps Top Israeli Officials Celebrate Arrival of F-35s

By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2016  At Israel's Nevatim Air Base this evening, Defense Secretary Ash Carter helped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and hundreds of observers celebrate the arrival of two F-35A Lightning II jet fighters the United States sent to one of its most important Middle East allies.

The fighters are the first of 50 aircraft that will help build the future of the Israeli air force, Carter said, as part of a memorandum of understanding signed this year in which the United States pledged an unprecedented $38 billion in security assistance over the next 10 years.

"This evening we're celebrating the remarkable progress of the U.S.-Israel defense relationship, and also of an [Israeli] air force that began by flying leftover World War II planes and is now flying the most advanced aircraft in history," the secretary said.

First in the Region

As of today, Carter added, "Israel is our first and only friend in the region that's flying F-35s. And it's my honor to be here marking the delivery of these planes  to America's closest friend and ally in the region."

Netanyahu thanked Carter for celebrating the "important milestone" with Israeli leaders.

"It's a sign of your personal friendship, your personal commitment to the U.S.-Israel alliance and  I wish to thank as well, on behalf of all the people of Israel, President [Barack] Obama, the American Congress and the American people," Netanyahu said.

"Israel is your best and your most reliable ally in the Middle East -- in my opinion beyond the Middle East -- we will always remain so," he added.

The Israelis call the F-35s "Adir," which in Hebrew means "the mighty one." Carter called this an "apt name for aircraft that represent the full force of military might."

Dominating the Skies

From its stealth technology to its fighter capabilities, Carter said, the F-35 is designed to enable pilots to evade detection and fly at supersonic speeds while conducting air defense, ground-attack missions and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The stealth fighter also features advanced sensors and data collection-capabilities that allow it to share data with other aircraft, the secretary added, noting that the information-sharing features make it an ideal aircraft for joint and coalition operations.

"Together," Carter said to applause from the audience, "we will dominate the skies."

He added that Israeli and U.S. companies were important to the creation of the state-of-the-art aircraft.

"From wing production to the helmet-mounted display to fuselage components, Israel's innovative technologies have helped define this aircraft and its capabilities," Carter said.

Beneficial Partnership

The F-35 is an important symbol of America's commitment to Israel's qualitative military edge, the secretary added, but "it's only the most recent example of how our security cooperation continues to soar to new heights."

The two nations have expanded cooperation into new domains in the last few years, including space and cyberspace, to prepare for 21st-Century threats," Carter said. "And we'll continue to provide Israel with the most advanced capabilities."

"As we gather here today," Carter said, "the U.S.-Israel defense relationship is stronger than it's ever been, and America's pledge to defend Israel's security remains unwavering. Indeed, with the current turmoil in the region we're more committed to Israel's security today than ever before."

Carter is on an around-the-world trip to thank deployed U.S. troops for their service over the holidays, meet with regional partners, and advance U.S. priorities, including the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and the lasting defeat of ISIL. The trip has included visits to Japan, India, Afghanistan, Bahrain and Israel.

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-002-16 December 28, 2016

Readout of Secretary Carter's Meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met today with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The meeting took place in Tel Aviv ahead of Secretary Carter and Minister Liberman's participation in the arrival ceremony for Israel's first two F-35 fighter aircraft. The delivery of the F-35 is a symbol of the United States' unshakable commitment to Israel's security, and will ensure its qualitative military edge in the region for decades.

Secretary Carter and Minister Liberman discussed the depth and strength of the U.S.-Israeli relationship and reflected on the unprecedented defense cooperation between our two countries over the last eight years - including robust developments on missile defense, counter-tunneling, cyber security and intelligence sharing.

They also discussed regional security challenges in the Middle East and shared perspectives on recent advances in the campaign to defeat ISIL. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the U.S.- Israeli defense relationship and the United States' unwavering commitment to Israel's security in the future.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1027289/

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Carter arrives in Israel over Tel Aviv purchase of F-35s

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:18PM

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is visiting Israel to celebrate delivery of two F-35 fighter planes to the regime.

The pentagon chief was welcomed by the Israeli minister of military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, as he arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday.

The regime is reportedly planning to buy 50 next-generation F-35s, which the Israeli military chief claimed would "present another component in maintaining air superiority in our region."

The jets' arrival from Italy in the afternoon was initially delayed due to bad weather condition.

US President-elect Donald Trump has criticized the F-35 manufacturing program over its high costs as well as long delays in development.

In a tweet on Monday, the future president vowed to change that when he takes control of the White House on January 20th, 2017.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th," he said.

The jet manufacturing company, Lockheed Martin, faced a sharp decline in its shares after the Twitter post.

The fighters are being procured as part of a military aid deal between the US and Israel. The estimated cost for each plane is around $110 million.

According to congressional reports released earlier in the year, Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since World War II. America's military assistance to Israel has amounted to $124.3 billion since it began in 1962.

In September, Washington and Tel Aviv agreed on a new package of at least $38 billion in US military aid over a 10-year period.

The deal requires at least $3.8 billion in annual aid, up from $3.1 billion per year under the current pact, which expires in 2018. Israel had originally requested at least $4.5 billion a year.

The deal was clinched despite the Tel Aviv regime's blatant violation of human rights in occupied Palestine as well as its ever growing expansionist policies.

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Gambia opposition demands Jammeh hand over power

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 2:30PM

The opposition coalition of Gambian president-elect Adama Barrow has called on long-time President Yahya Jammeh to step down immediately.

Mai Ahmad Fatty, the opposition coalition representative, in a statement read to reporters in the capital Banjul on Monday demanded that Jammeh, who lost the election on December 1, to hand over power.

"We demand that outgoing President Jammeh immediately step down and hand over power," Fatty said in the statement, adding, "We do not recognize that the outgoing president has the constitutional authority in the last days of his presidency, to appoint any Supreme Court judges in the Gambia for the purpose of receiving his petition."

This comes after Jammeh announced plans to challenge in court opposition candidate Barrow's election victory.

The Supreme Court judges will have to be appointed before they can consider the president's legal complaint. Therefore, Barrow's inauguration may be delayed.

On December 9, Jammeh claimed that authorities had made "unacceptable errors," rejecting his defeat at the polls.

Jammeh, who has ruled the Gambia for more than 22 years, added that he had previously accepted the electoral results "believing that the Independent Electoral Commission was independent and honest and reliable."

According to official figures, Barrow won 43.29 percent of the vote in the presidential election, while Jammeh took 39.64 percent. The turnout was 59 percent.

A correction issued on December 5 by election authorities showed a slim victory for Barrow, by just over 19,000 votes.

Western governments have been especially critical of Jammeh's rule in the Gambia due to his decisions to quit the Commonwealth of former British colonies and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In quitting the Commonwealth in 2013, Jammeh described the organization as a "neo-colonial institution." He also announced in October that the Gambia would leave the ICC, which he dismissed as "International Caucasian Court."

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Japan denies its fighter jets endangered Chinese aircraft

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:7AM

Japan says it has filed a strong protest with China over Beijing's allegation that Japanese warplanes had endangered Chinese military aircraft over the East China Sea.

China's Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun had said two Japanese F-15s launched "decoy flares" as six Chinese aircraft flew over waters between Japan's southern Okinawa and Miyako islands on Saturday, calling the alleged move "dangerous and unprofessional."

He said the Japanese jets were "jeopardizing the security of Chinese aircraft and pilots," during the latter's "routine" drills over the waters.

The Japanese government said on Monday, however, that no dangerous maneuvers had been conducted during the encounter.

"It is extremely regrettable that the Chinese Defense Ministry one-sidedly made a clearly untrue announcement," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

"I have received a report from the defense minister that the Japanese planes did not conduct any close-range interference toward the Chinese military planes... or threaten the safety of Chinese military planes or its personnel," he added.

Suga also warned Beijing against what he described as China's "expanding and increasing" military moves. He said Japan would make every effort toward "firmly protecting our country's land, sea and air space and, in accordance with international and domestic law, take strict measures against any invasion of our airspace."

Japan and China are locked in a territorial row over an uninhabited yet strategically important island group in the East China Sea. The islets are located about 220 kilometers west of Taiwan and are controlled by Japan but are also claimed by China. The two countries even use different names to refer to the islands.

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Bahraini appeals court confirms Salman's 9-year sentence

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 5:58AM

Bahrain's appeals court has ruled to uphold a nine-year jail sentence handed down to senior Shia opposition cleric, Sheikh Ali Salman, despite widespread criticism both at home and abroad against his imprisonment.

A judicial source said the verdict was issued during a Monday trial session.

On the eve of the trial, hundreds of Bahrainis staged anti-regime protest rallies across the Persian Gulf kingdom to demand the immediate release of Sheikh Salman, the secretary general of the country's dissolved al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

The protesters poured out into the streets in the villages of Diraz, al-Markh and Saar as well as the town of Bilad al-Qadeem on Sunday evening.

On October 16, Bahrain's Court of Cassation overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial of the senior Shia opposition figure, who had been sentenced to nine years in jail in previous trials.

Earlier this month, the tribunal adjourned the trial of Sheikh Salman to December 12.

He was arrested in December 2014 on charges of attempting to overthrow the Manama regime and collaborating with foreign powers. Sheikh Salman denies the charges, saying he has merely been seeking reforms in the country through peaceful means.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have slammed his arrest and called for his release.

During the Sunday rallies, the demonstrators also expressed their solidarity with top Shia scholar Sheikh Isa Qassim, who was stripped of his citizenship on June 20 in yet another repressive measure by the regime against political dissent.

Besides al-Wefaq, the regime has also dissolved the opposition al-Risala Islamic Association and Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by Sheikh Qassim.

Bahrain has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifah dynasty since mid-February 2011.

Manama's heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrations, aided by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has left scores of people dead and hundreds more injured.

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Trump Promises Changes to 'Out of Control' F-35 Program

Sputnik News

22:11 12.12.2016(updated 01:57 13.12.2016)

After campaigning to reduce wasteful government spending, US President-elect Donald Trump announced that he is poised to modify the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, on the same day that Israel was supposed to receive its first two F-35 fighters.

The markets quickly responded to Trump's post-midnight tweet, causing Lockheed Martin's shares to tumble during morning trading. US pilots that have test-flown F-35s say they prefer the flight capabilities of the F-22, a confidential source recently told Sputnik.

Some $400 billion has been spent by the US on the beleaguered program to date, but Washington is not Lockheed Martin's sole source of revenue for its F-35s. Israel, as part of the massive $38 billion ten-year military handout it is receiving from the US, will acquire 50 F-35s over the coming years, and just last week Japan received its first F-35 at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

But if it is not mid-flight fires reigning havoc on the F-35s, it's the weather. The highly-anticipated arrival of the next-generation stealth warcraft in Israel has been postponed due to poor weather in Italy, where the jets will depart. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was set to attend a celebration in Israel as the country received its first two F-35s. The F-35s will no longer be arriving on Monday, however.

Regarding the F-35 acquisitions, Israel will be "very strong for a long time," an Israeli air force officer told Reuters. "It's a message for everybody that Israel will keep on holding the high-end technology in this area."

F-35s have suffered a series of mechanical and technical failures. In October, 15 operational F-35A aircraft were indefinitely grounded to repair insulated coolant tubes. Officials also indicated that the F-35A's ejector seats could also jeopardize the lives of pilots weighing fewer than 165 pounds. Further, the $400,000 helmets worn by F-35 pilots have reportedly blinded them with a green glow, an issue that makes landing at night especially difficult.

Beyond technical issues, last week an internal memo surfaced demonstrating that Michael Gilmore, chief director of testing at the Pentagon, accused other Pentagon officials of preparing to talk about the F-35s in a way he described as misleading at best and pure deception at worst.

 Sputnik

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Drum roll please..........Time's Person of the Year! And, they've really outdone themselves this time. A work of art. Here's why.Time Magazines annual Person of the Year announcement is, year after year, grossly misunderstood. Time Magazine is clear on its sole criterion  the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year  yet, do a simple search on Twitter and you will find countless people who seem to think that the Person of the Year selection is tantamount to an endorsement. Previous winners have included Joseph Stalin (1939, 1942), Ayatollah Khomeini (1979), Adolf Hitler (1938 ), and other figures who I think it is safe to assume the Time staff does not endorse.This year, it should come as no surprise that President-elect Donald Trump was chosen to grace the cover of Times annual issue (shot by Jewish photographer Nadav Kander). For better or worse, Trump, during his campaign and now after his election, has certainly been among the greatest influences on the events of the year. For clues as to how Time feels about that question  is it for better or worse?  we can look to the image chosen for the cover of the issue. The decisions that Time made regarding how to photograph Trump reveal a layered, nuanced field of references that place the image among, in this viewers opinion, the magazines greatest covers.The color. The pose. The chair. The W so perfectly placed.Read more: Why Time?s Trump Cover Is a Subversive Work of Political Art - Culture ? Forward.com
US Army Tactical Missile System Passes Second Flight Test - Lockheed Martin

Sputnik News

21:32 12.12.2016

As part of the US Army's TACMS Service Life Extension Program inventory refurbishment effort, the modernized missile includes new state-of-the-art guidance electronics and added capability to defeat area targets without leaving behind unexploded ordnance, according to the statement of US defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  A second of five tests of the modernized Tactical Missile System (TACMS) has been successfully completed, which will also made the system complaint with the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, US defense contractor Lockheed Martin said in a press release on Monday.

"As part of the US Army's TACMS Service Life Extension Program inventory refurbishment effort, the modernized missile includes new state-of-the-art guidance electronics and added capability to defeat area targets without leaving behind unexploded ordnance," the release stated.

Lockheed Martin explained that the system's modernization process "disassembles and demilitarizes TACMS Block 1 and 1A sub-munition warheads, which do not comply with the Convention on Cluster Munitions of 2008, replacing them with new unitary warheads."

The upgraded TACMS was fired from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launcher, known by its acronym HIMARS, at a target approximately 53 miles away. The warhead precisely engaged and destroyed the target, demonstrating the missile's Proximity Sensor Height of Burst enhancement, the release noted.

The missile carries a high explosive fragmentation warhead useful in destroying targets and personnel underground and underwater, and against heavily armored targets.

 Sputnik

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Serbia Seeks to Buy Russian Weapons to Ensure Nobody Can Threaten Its Integrity

Sputnik News

20:27 12.12.2016(updated 20:28 12.12.2016)

Belgrade has asked Moscow for deliveries of Russian-made weaponry with the goal to increase Serbia's defense potential, Serbian Foreign Minster Ivica Dacic said Monday.

BELGRADE (Sputnik)  At a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade, Dacic said:

"We are hoping to significantly increase our defense capabilityto ensure that nobody can threaten out territorial integrity and independence."

According to Dacic, Serbia is looking for supplies of Russian-made combat planes and other modern military equipment.

 Sputnik

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Next Year US-Philippine Military Drills Canceled at by President Duterte

Sputnik News

18:35 12.12.2016

A joint US-Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) will not be held in 2017 after a call by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for an end to the maneuvers, according to local media.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  A joint US-Philippine amphibious landing exercise has been canceled in 2017 following a call by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for an end to the maneuvers, according to published reports on Monday.

"In 2017, PHIBLEX will not be executed," Marine Capt. Rachel Nolan, a liaison officer at the US Embassy in Manila said in an email, as quoted by the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

Uncertainty clouded the Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) in October 2016, following blunt and often profane denunciations of the United States and the US-Philippine military alliance by Duterte.

October's exercise brought Marines from Okinawa's 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade to the Philippines to practice amphibious landings and live-fire training with Philippine troops.

 Sputnik

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Japan Lodges Protest Against China's Claims Concerning Air Incident Near Okinawa

Sputnik News

13:28 12.12.2016

Japan's government lodged a protest on Monday against the Chinese authorities' claims that Japanese fighter jets approached at a close range endangering the safety of the Chinese aircraft near Japan's Okinawa island.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  On Saturday, Japanese aircraft were scrambled, when six Chinese planes were flying over the Miyako Strait near Okinawa. The Chinese Defense Ministry accused Japan of interfering with the Chinese Air Forces' training and endangering safety of its jets.

"The Chinese Defense Ministry's announcement of something so obviously contrary to the facts is extremely regrettable and impairs the improvement of Japan-China relations, so we have lodged a stern protest with China," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was quoted as saying at a press conference by Kyodo news agency.

He stressed that Air Self-Defense Force fighters had not endangered the safety of the Chinese aircraft and conducted an "appropriate surveillance."

A similar incident involving Japanese and Chinese jets took place on November 27.

Miyako Strait is an international waterway, which lies between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa islands and is commonly used by the Chinese Armed Forces for military exercises in the Pacific Ocean.

 Sputnik

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High-Ranking Taliban Commander Killed in Central Afghanistan

Sputnik News

13:13 12.12.2016(updated 13:14 12.12.2016)

According to Afghanistan's interior ministry, the commander was involved in terrorist activities across the Parwan province.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A top commander of the Taliban group, Mullah Naiem Kor, was killed in the central Afghan province of Parwan, the country's interior ministry said on Monday.

"Yesterday, Afghan National Civil Order Police launched a special operation in the Siah Gard district of Parwan province, in which a Taliban's key member Mullah Naiem Kor known as Umaduddin was killed," the ministerial statement said, as quoted by Kabul-based Khaama Press newspaper.

The ministry said that the commander had been involved in terrorist activities across the Parwan province.

Three militants are said to have been injured during the special operation. The Taliban group has not commented on the reports yet.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with Taliban insurgents and other extremist factions such as the Daesh jihadist group, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, taking advantage of the instability in the country.

 Sputnik

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Ash Carter Visits Israel to Welcome F-35 Jets

By VOA News December 12, 2016

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Israel Monday to help celebrate the arrival of the country's first two next-generation F-35 fighter planes built by U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Israel is among several countries that have ordered the jets and has plans to buy 50 of them, at a cost of about $100 million each.

Carter said the United States is "committed to providing Israel with the most advanced military capabilities. ... And, of course, there is no better symbol of the U.S. commitment to Israel's security than the F-35, the most capable aircraft in the skies."

Speaking at an air force base in Tel Aviv, Carter said the U.S.-Israel defense relationship is stronger than it's ever been and that with the current turmoil in the region, "We're more committed to Israel's security today than ever before."

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman touted the F-35 as a key to the country's military future, saying the planes "present another component in maintaining air superiority in our region."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has threatened in the past to attack Iran's nuclear program, said Israel's "long arm has just become longer."

Netanyahu said history shows that "weak countries do not survive, but power creates deterrence." He then made a veiled reference to Iranian threats to "wipe Israel off the map."

"Anyone who attacks us will be attacked," he said. "And anyone who threatens Israel's existence will put his own survival in danger."

The jets were supposed to land in Israel from Italy in the afternoon, but their arrival was delayed because of weather conditions, officials said.

The F-35 program has faced criticism for cost overruns, long delays in development and problems during testing.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday took to Twitter to criticize the program.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th," when Trump takes office, Trump said in the tweet.

Following the tweet, Lockheed Martin shares dropped sharply in early trading.

Lockheed Martin responded to Trump's criticism, saying the company has invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" to reduce the price of the F-35 stealth fighter program. Jeff Babione, the executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 program, said he would "welcome the opportunity to address any question that the president-elect would have about the program."

Last week, Trump took aim at another aircraft builder, Boeing, threatening in a tweet to cancel the company's plans to build new Air Force One planes because of spiraling costs.

VOA's Robert Berger in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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Kenya President: International Criminal Court Not Impartial

December 12, 2016

Kenya's president on Monday criticized the International Criminal Court as "not impartial," saying his government "will give serious thought" to its membership of the court.

In a speech during celebrations marking 53 years since Kenya became independent, President Uhuru Kenyatta said he believed he would win a second term next year despite what he called "divisive politicians, external powers, the ICC or paid protesters."

Kenyatta was elected in 2013 as he and his running mate, William Ruto, faced criminal charges at the ICC over their alleged roles in post-election violence in 2007-2008.

The charges against Kenyatta were withdrawn in 2014 while the case against Ruto was terminated earlier this year.

"In our pursuit of a more stable and just order, we are champions of global institutions grounded in fairness and respect for national sovereignty," Kenyatta said Monday. "The Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court have ended but the experience has given us cause to observe that this institution has become a tool of global power politics and not the justice it was built to dispense."

He added: "We have started to see many more nations openly recognizing that the ICC is not impartial. Some have withdrawn. Others have considered that step. Twice, our parliament has passed motions to withdraw. We have sought the changes that will align the ICC to respect national sovereignty. Those changes have not been forthcoming. We will therefore need to give serious thought to our membership."

South Africa, Burundi and Gambia have announced plans to withdraw from The Hague-based court.

Meanwhile, Kenyan police fired tear gas on Monday to disperse a protest march against government corruption.

The march was part of a protest movement by activists who want the government to do more to stem what they charge is rampant graft within the administration.

Police arrested at least three protesters in the capital, Nairobi, when they broke up the demonstration. The group later reunited at another location and resumed the march.

Kenya is considered to be among the world's most corrupt countries, ranking 139 out of 168 countries in a 2015 index by Transparency International.

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West African Leaders to Ask Gambia's Jammeh to Step Down

VOA News December 12, 2016

West African leaders will travel to Gambia on Tuesday in an effort to convince longtime President Yahya Jammeh to step down after his loss in the December 1 election.

Jammeh initially conceded defeat to election winner Adama Barrow but withdrew his concession late Friday, saying "unacceptable errors" were found by election officials.

Reports from West Africa Monday say Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will lead a delegation that will travel to the Gambian capital, Banjul, and ask Jammeh to accept the election result.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said the delegation will include Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone leader Ernest Bai Koroma and outgoing Ghanaian President John Mahama. She said it is significant that Mahama is included because he conceded defeat on Friday after losing Ghana's presidential election.

"The delegation that is visiting tomorrow (Tuesday) is extremely significant," she said.

Power described the situation in Gambia as "a very dangerous moment" for the country. "We know that there are some military officers that have sided with President Jammeh since his retreat from his prior recognition that he had lost the election, and that's a very alarming circumstance," she said.

Power said everyone in the international community is "singing from the same sheet of music and the song is clear: you have lost the election, President Jammeh, and you must give up power peacefully to your freely elected successor."

Reversal 'unacceptable'

In her role as chairperson of the West African ECOWAS bloc, Johnson Sirleaf said Saturday that Jammeh's reversal was "unacceptable" and threatened peace in Gambia and the entire West African sub-region.

She called on Jammeh to "do the right thing" and facilitate a smooth transfer of power. She also called on President-elect Barrow and his supporters to exercise restraint.

After the Gambian election results were announced, state media broadcast a phone call in which President Jammeh told Barrow that he wanted to hand over power graciously and vowed not to contest the results.

Jammeh congratulated Barrow for his "clear victory" and praised the elections as "transparent" and "rig-proof." He also said, "Allah is telling me my time is up," and added he would move to his farm after leaving office in January.

Barrow, 51, represented a coalition of seven opposition parties that challenged Jammeh.

Jammeh, also 51, has ruled the tiny West African nation since taking power in a military coup in 1994. He won four subsequent elections that critics said were neither free nor fair, and supported a 2002 constitutional amendment that removed presidential term limits. He once said he could rule Gambia for "a billion years."

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Obama admin. may be behind Russia hacking 'false flag': Bolton

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:23AM

The administration of US President Barack Obama may have carried out a series of deliberate hacking 'false flags' against some American political organizations to make a case against Russia, says former US ambassador to United Nations John Bolton.

In the run-up to the November 8 face-off between President-elect Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Washington claimed that some Republican and Democratic organizations were hacked by Russian hackers in favor of Trump.

This is while at the same time, the FBI said it could not find any direct evidence of foreign intelligence service penetration in Clinton's email case.

When asked about the contrast, Bolton told Fox News on Sunday that if Moscow was behind the cyber attacks American intelligence services would not have been able to track them so easily.

"It is not at all clear to me just viewing this from the outside, that this hacking into the DNC (Democratic National Convention) and the RNC (Republican National Convention) computers was not a false flag," Bolton said. "So the question has to be asked, why did the Russians run their smart intelligence service against Hillary's server, but their dumb intelligence service against the election?"

When pressed to say whether he was accusing the Obama administration for the "false flag," Bolton said nothing would be clear unless an independent probe is conducted.

"The whole thing has been called into question, which is why the notion of some kind of independent investigation becomes extremely important," Bolton said. "I do think it's critical to answer the question that I posed: If you think the Russians did this, then why did they leave fingerprints?"

Obama has ordered CIA to carry out a full review of the alleged hackings by Russians into the 2016 vote.

Bolton, who is shortlisted for a number of high-profile positions in the Trump administration, criticized Obama for politicizing the issue and said he was concerned that the outgoing president was trying to conclude the ongoing review of the matter before Trump's inauguration on January 20.

Bolton said he was looking forward to see Mike Pompeo, Trump's nominee for director of the CIA, launch a fair investigation into the case.

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Intelligence reports Russia influenced US election 'ridiculous': Trump

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 5:30AM

US President-elect Donald Trump has turned down "ridiculous" intelligence reports that Russia intervened in the November 8 election to help him win the White House.

On Friday, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) concluded that Russia had moved deliberately to help elect Trump as president, rather than just undermine the US political process generally.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, ordered a full review of alleged hacking by Russians into the 2016 US election even before The Washington Post published a report on the CIA findings.

In an interview on Sunday with Fox News, Trump said Democrats were behind news reports on intelligence assessments that Russian hackers had intervened to help Trump defeat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the election.

Trump challenged whether the CIA was behind the reports that indicated Moscow had sought to boost his prospects in the election.

"I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it," Trump said. "I think the Democrats are putting it out."

The president-elect argued that even the intelligence community did not agree on Russian intervention. "They're fighting among themselves. They're not sure," he said.

Trump's remarks have triggered expressions of concern and confusion.

An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denounced Trump's rejection of the assessment.

"It's concerning that intelligence on Russian actions related to the US election is being dismissed out of hand as false or politically partisan," the official was quoted by Reuters as saying.

"The inclination to ignore such intelligence and impugn the integrity of US intelligence officials is contrary to all that is sacred to national security professionals who work day and night to protect this country," he stated.

Republican Senator John McCain was also amazed that Trump had repudiated intelligence claims.

"I don't know what to make of it because it's clear the Russians interfered," McCain said on CBS on Sunday.

"Whether they intended to interfere to the degree that they were trying to elect a certain candidate, I think that's a subject of investigation, but the facts are stubborn things," he said.

McCain, along with fellow Senators Lindsey Graham, Chuck Schumer and Jack Reed, issued a joint statement on Sunday, expressing concern over possible Russian meddling.

"Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American," they said in a statement. "This cannot become a partisan issue. The stakes are too high for our country."

Trump has repeatedly rejected reports that Russian hackers were working to help his campaign as politically motivated.

"I don't believe it. I don't believe they interfered," Trump told Time magazine in a recent interview about the alleged Russians cyber attacks.

Trump's transition office issued a statement Friday questioning the credibility of the CIA assessment about Russian cyber attacks aimed at influencing the US election.

The statement said the CIA had discredited itself over faulty intelligence assessments about Iraq's weapons stockpile more than a dozen years ago.

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LEBANON  Everyone knows that Santas toy workshop is at the North Pole, but for the last 13 years  in the name of greater efficiency  his toy annex has at been the River Center.

Thats where volunteers, local businesses, the Road Maggots motorcycle group and Lebanon Fire District gather and distribute toys to more than 300 families and 1,000 children through the annual Lebanon Christmas Toy Program.

Monday, dozens of families were lined up awaiting the 9 a.m. opening, according to volunteer Will Tucker, who also serves on the Linn County Board of Commissioners. He was joined by his wife, Lynne, and their daughter, Becky Lang.

Tucker said the Road Maggots had another big toy run on Sunday, starting at Walgreens, a major supporter of the program.

Father and son Road Maggots Paul and Drew Briese and Jerry Page were among the riders.

It was awesome, Paul Briese said. We had lots of motorcycles and old cars from the Rollin Oldies and Willamette VW Club.

The men said that Road Maggots volunteers had stuffed more than 135 stockings with goodies on Saturday and after the toy run Sunday, and distributed them to children at the River Center.

We had a ton of food, too, Briese said. It was very humbling to be able to help these children.

Toys are sorted by boy or girl and ages, by elves including Judy Purkerson and Steve Barnett. They were busy whittling down mounds of dolls and Tonka dump trucks.

It would break my heart to see my grandchildren not get something for Christmas, Purkerson said of why she volunteers. Im doing this for all of the grandmothers in Lebanon.

Her husband, Neil, took part in Sundays toy run as well.

Each family had the opportunity to pick out one large and one smaller gift for each child. In addition, each family could take home a board game.

It didnt take long for Laci Rose and Glenn Davis to find a bright yellow Tonka dump truck for their 7-year-old son. They were assisted by volunteer Naomi Angellford.

Its my first year, Angellford said. Its a lot of fun and an interesting process. Its great.

Nearby, Tracee Flaska had her arms full with a giant stuffed bear and her work was cut out for her.

She was shopping for eight children ages 3 to 15.

Its great and it really helps out a lot, Flaska said. It also really helps that they let us pick out the toys.

Coordinator Heidi Durrett said this was her 10th year as a volunteer and noted it is the first year families were allowed to actually pick out toys. In the past, toys were bagged in groups.

This empowers parents to play Santa Claus for their families, she said. And, every toy stays in Lebanon.

The only restrictions are that children be 18 or under and live in the Lebanon School District.

Parents and grandparents can drop by the River Center at 3000 South Santiam Highway from 9 a.m. to noon and 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. They fill out an application and then are escorted by a volunteer into a room filled from floor to ceiling with toys.

Durrett said employees at Samaritan Health Systems supported 200 youngsters, and Weyerhaeuser employees also were major sponsors, along with the River Center church, the Presbyterian Church, Pineway Ladies, Rollin Oldies Car Club, Girl Scouts of Lebanon, the Salvation Army Lebanon Bell Ringers, Backyard Boys Barbecue and Kris Kitchen.
Ukraine Searches For Culprit After Cyberattacks On Finance Ministry, Treasury

Christopher Miller December 12, 2016

KYIV -- Ukrainian authorities are still looking for the culprits nearly a week after troublesome cyberattacks against official financial institutions that appeared to be designed to inflict maximum chaos on end-of-the-year payments.

But the head of staff of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) identified the so-called malware used in the December 6 attack as the same disruptive software employed in an unprecedented incident a year earlier, blamed on Russia, that cut off power to hundreds of thousands of homes in Ukraine.

Hundreds of thousands of hryvnyas' worth of remittances were delayed or stopped completely over the course of two days after hackers knocked the websites and payment systems of the Ministry of Finance, State Treasury, and pension fund offline, according to statements posted to those sites and local reports.

The National Police are leading the investigation and have discussed the case with the SBU, Oleksandr Tkachuk, chief of staff of the SBU, told RFE/RL on December 12.

The Finance Ministry, which described the incident as a "coordinated professional hacking attack," also claimed the attack had damaged its network equipment.

Tkachuk confirmed that "some data was destroyed and access to networks was blocked."

He said authorities were not prepared to discuss many details publicly because it would take time to fully assess them, adding that attribution in the cybersecurity sphere is a tricky business.

Tkachuk said the attack appeared to bear some similarity to a December 2015 attack against the Prykarpattyaoblenergo power company in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region that cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes.

Critical Infrastructure

Ukrainian officials blamed that cyberattack on Russia and speculated that it might have been retaliation for Kyiv cutting off electricity one month earlier to Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in early 2014.

But experts at the time warned that the greater message might be that hackers had the power to shut down critical infrastructure -- something that cybersecurity experts had long feared but never seen in practice.

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, also blamed Russia for the December 2015 cyberattack.

In that case, the hackers used malicious software called KillDisk, which deletes or overwrites data in system files, causing computers to crash.

KillDisk was also used in the December 6 attacks, the SBU's Tkachuk told RFE/RL.

Relations between Kyiv and Moscow soured after Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in March 2014, and Russia has been accused by Kyiv and Western powers of backing a separatist conflict in eastern in Ukraine that has killed more than 9,750 people.

Kyiv has on several occasions blamed Russia for cyberattacks -- including one on Ukraine's election system ahead of the presidential vote in May 2014 -- that it claims are part of Moscow's greater "hybrid war," a military strategy that combines conventional warfare, irregular warfare, and cyberwarfare.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine- cyberattacks-finance-ministry-treasury infrastructure-russia/28172004.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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U.S. Senate To Probe Alleged Pro-Trump Hacking By Russia

Mike Eckel December 12, 2016

WASHINGTON -- The top Republican in the U.S. Senate has said Congress will investigate the CIA's conclusions that the Russian government used computer hackers to help President-elect Donald Trump win the election.

The announcement by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on December 12 comes amid growing alarm and debate among U.S. policymakers, elected officials, and the intelligence community about the extent and intent of the hacking.

The White House, which has ordered a separate in-depth investigation into cyberattacks during the election campaign, welcomed news of the investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Speaking to reporters on December 12, McConnell condemned possible Russian hacking into computers of the Democratic National Committee and other U.S. political organizations.

He also said the investigation into possible Russian interference should not be a partisan issue.

"Russians are not our friends," he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama is due to receive the results of the investigation he ordered before Trump takes office on January 20.

Public Accusation

On October 7, before the election, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper publicly accused the Russian government of involvement in the breach of Democratic Party computers.

Clapper's statement was made on behalf of the CIA and 16 other agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community.

On December 9, The Washington Post reported that the CIA has determined the intent of the Russia hackers was to help Trump win the presidency, not just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system.

The New York Times also reported that intelligence officials had concluded Russian hackers accessed Republican Party computers but didn't release potentially damaging e-mails or other materials.

That led analysts to conclude that the intent of the Russian hacking was to in fact help propel Trump to the White House.

Those conclusions have been dismissed by Trump, who said in a December 11 television interview that the CIA conclusions were being used by Democrats to undermine his electoral victory

"I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it," Trump told Fox News.

But congressional leaders from both parties have called for a full inquiry into the extent of Russian hacking.

"For years, foreign adversaries have directed cyberattacks at America's physical, economic, and military infrastructure, while stealing our intellectual property," said the statement released on December 11 by John McCain (Republican-Arizona), Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina), Jack Reed (Democrat-Rhode Island), and Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York). "Now our democratic institutions have been targeted."

"Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American," they said.

'Especially Problematic'

Speaking to reporters in Washington on December 12, McConnell said: "Obviously any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing, and I strongly condemn any such efforts."

Because Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Senate, McConnell has broad authority to control the schedule, the agenda of the chamber, and other matters.

The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, also backed the idea of having his chamber's intelligence committee examine cyberthreats to the U.S. election process.

"Any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable," Ryan said in a statement. "And any intervention by Russia is especially problematic, because under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that has undermined American interests."

Nevertheless, Ryan argued that that inquiry should not undermine Trump's electoral victory.

Some members of Congress have also pushed back against the man thought to be Trump's leading candidate for secretary of state, ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson.

Tillerson has long business contacts in Russia, and has met repeatedly with Putin over the years.

ExxonMobil also has major investments in Russia's oil and gas industry, including one in the Far Eastern region of Sakhalin, that has been effectively frozen by the Russian government.

Trump's transition team said in a post to Twitter on December 11 that no announcement on his choice for secretary of state would be made before next week "at the earliest."

With additional reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia -hacking-u-s-election- mcconnell/28172031.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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Security Council underlines need for stronger judicial cooperation to combat terrorism

12 December 2016  Condemning acts of terrorism and their impact on innocent civilians and on peace and stability, the United Nations Security Council emphasized the need for establishing wilful violation of prohibition on financing of terrorist organizations or individual terrorists as serious criminal offenses in national laws and regulations.

In a resolution adopted unanimously today, the 15-member Council further called on UN Member States to share, where appropriate, information about foreign terrorist fighters, individual terrorists and terrorist organizations, bilateral, regional and global law enforcement agencies, in compliance with international and domestic national law and policy.

The adoption of this resolution comes against the backdrop of at-least three major terrorist attacks around the globe this weekend. Turkey's capital, Istanbul; Egypt's capital, Cairo; and Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, each were targets of terrorist bombings and attacks that killed many civilians and injured many more.

Further in the resolution today, the Council also called upon countries to consider the possibility of allowing, through appropriate laws and mechanisms, the transfer of criminal proceedings, as appropriate, in terrorist-related cases as well as enhancing cooperation to prevent terrorists from benefiting from transnational organized crime as well as to investigate and to build the capacity to prosecute such terrorists and transnational organized criminals working with them.

The adoption of the resolution was followed by a high-level meeting of the Security Council on the theme of 'international judicial cooperation in countering terrorism.'

Presided over by the Minister of Justice of Spain, Rafael Catala Polo, the meeting was participated in my senior officials and representatives of countries including, inter alia, Angola, China, Egypt, France, Japan, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The meeting also heard briefings from Jean-Paul Laborde, the Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate of the UN; Dorcas Oduor, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in Kenya; and Robert Strang, the Executive Secretary of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law.

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US Congress to Investigate Alleged Russian Attempts to Ensure Trump Victory

By Ken Bredemeier December 12, 2016

Intelligence committees in both houses of Congress launched investigations Monday into accusations that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election to boost the chances that President-elect Donald Trump would win.

The separate probes about allegations of Russian cyberattacks to influence the outcome of last month's election amounted to an early rebuke of Trump, who over the weekend said the Central Intelligence Agency conclusion was "ridiculous" that Russia engaged in cyberattacks to help him win. He continued to assail the finding Monday.

Even before he assumes power next month, the Republican Trump's mocking of the CIA conclusion about Russian interference on his behalf put him at odds with both of the top Republican lawmakers, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. They endorsed bipartisan probes conducted by the intelligence committees in each chamber of Congress.

"The Russians are not our friends," McConnell said. He added that the investigation should be undertaken with the idea that "the Russians do not wish us well." Ryan said the House probe "should not cast doubt" on Trump's victory, but that foreign interference in a U.S. election was "entirely unacceptable" and Russian involvement "especially problematic."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the congressional review "is certainly warranted when you consider the stakes and the consequences."

But Trump spokesman Jason Miller called the CIA conclusion about Russian interference "an attempt to delegitimize President-elect Trump's win."

Clinton camp responds

Trump's election opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, has been silent about the Russian hacking allegations. But her campaign manager, John Podesta, on Monday demanded that the administration of President Barack Obama declassify and release all the information it has about Russia meddling in the election.

Clinton won the national popular vote against Trump but lost where it mattered, in the state-by-state contests that decide U.S. presidential elections. Podesta called for release of the intelligence data before electors in the Electoral College vote to formally ratify Trump's victory on December 19.

In a pair of comments on Twitter, Trump questioned why information about the computer hacking was not widely known before the election.

He contended that if Clinton had won the election and Republicans "tried to play the Russia/CIA card, it would be called conspiracy theory."

He added, "Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?"

But Obama spokesman Earnest said, "This was all material that was known by Republican politicians in the Congress that endorsed the president-elect. And how they reconcile their political strategy and their patriotism is something they'll have to explain."

Trump: I don't believe it

Trump's latest remarks came after he told Fox News in an interview aired Sunday that the CIA conclusion about Russian cyberattacks to boost his chances of winning was "just another excuse" by Democrats to explain his stunning upset of Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state.

"I don't believe it. If you take a look at what [the CIA] said, there's great confusion," Trump said Sunday. "Nobody really knows. They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace."

Trump told Fox News that he does not oppose Obama's order to review cyberattacks the CIA concluded came from Russia during the lengthy presidential campaign, but said, "You should not just say 'Russia.' You should say other countries also, and maybe other individuals." The CIA said it had "high confidence" that Russia sought to help Trump win.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russia interfered in the final stretch of the presidential campaign to help Trump win the presidency, and not simply meddle in the U.S. electoral process as previously believed, according to senior Obama administration officials. The conclusion is based to some extent on a finding that Russians hacked the Republican National Committee's computer systems, in addition to those of Democratic organizations, but disclosed only embarrassing emails from the Democrats, via WikiLeaks.

Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee and Trump's pick for White House chief of staff, told ABC News the party was not hacked.

"The entire report is based on unnamed sources who are perhaps doing something they shouldn't be doing by speaking to reporters or someone talking out of line about something that is absolutely not true," Priebus said Sunday.

Trump's rejection of the CIA conclusion came as Arizona Senator John McCain, the losing 2008 Republican presidential candidate, and three other senators called for the investigation into Moscow's interference in the election, saying that it "should alarm every American." McCain, along with Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrats Jack Reed and Chuck Schumer, said the United States needs to stop "the grave threats that cyberattacks conducted by foreign governments pose to our national security."

Reservations about top diplomat pick

The investigation of Russia's interference in the election could complicate Senate confirmation for ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, Trump's likely pick as the country's secretary of state.

In the Fox interview, Trump praised Tillerson for the contacts he has across the world and the oil deals he's made with Russia; but, McCain and Graham voiced concern about the selection of the 64-year-old Tillerson and his connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump aides say the president-elect has settled on Tillerson as the top U.S. diplomat after a monthlong search, although no announcement has been made. Trump, while not confirming the appointment, said Tillerson has the "great advantage" that he knows many world leaders across the globe and "knows them well."

His longstanding support for free trade and an expansive presence in the Middle East, however, are at odds with positions Trump took during the long U.S. presidential campaign.

"He's much more than a business executive," Trump said. "He's a world-class player. He's in charge of an oil company that pretty much doubled the size of his next nearest competitor. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company, not for himself, for the company."

McCain said the choice of Tillerson was "a matter of concern to me."

"You want to give the president of the United States the benefit of the doubt because the people have spoken," McCain said of the election. "But Vladimir Putin is a thug, a bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying."

After Tillerson's oil agreements with Russia, the Kremlin in 2013 awarded him the Order of Friendship, an honor reserved for foreigners. Tillerson's appointment would have to be confirmed by the Senate, and Graham said that with his award from Russia, "We'll have some questions. I don't want to prejudge the guy, but that's a bit unnerving."

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told television interviewers Monday that Tillerson and Putin are business partners, not close friends.

"It's not like Vladimir Putin and Rex Tillerson are pounding down vodka at the local bar," she said. "They're not intimate friends, but they deal with each other through business interests."

Capitol Hill correspondent Michael Bowman contributed to this report

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Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force Move Forward with Ground System Upgrade to Support Contingency GPS III Operations

DENVER, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Air Force approved Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) design to upgrade the current GPS satellite ground control system with new capabilities that will enable it to operate more powerful and accurate GPS III satellites.

The successful Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Contingency Operations (COps) contract, completed on November 17, gives Lockheed Martin a green light to proceed with software development and systems engineering to modify the existing GPS ground control system, called the Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control Segment. The AEP is currently maintained by Lockheed Martin and controls the 31 GPS IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites in orbit today.

The COps modifications will allow the AEP to support the more powerful, next generation GPS Block III satellites, enabling them to perform their positioning, navigation and timing mission, once they are launched. COps is envisioned as a temporary gap filler prior to the entire GPS constellation's transition to operations onto the next generation Operational Control System (OCX) Block 1, currently in development.

"The GPS constellation is a valuable asset to our warfighters, our nation and the world. This risk-reduction effort ensures the Air Force has the ability to maintain the constellation at full strength," said Mark Stewart, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Navigation Systems mission area. "We are here to support the Air Force and the GPS III program any way we can."

The Air Force awarded the $96 million COps services and supplies contract to Lockheed Martin on February 3. The government approved the company's proposed ground system modification during a Preliminary Design Review on May 11.

On October 15, under a separate contract, Lockheed Martin completed the Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Upgrade #2 (CUP2) project -- part of a multi-year plan to refresh the AEP's technology and enhance the system's ability to protect data and infrastructure from internal and external cyber threats, as well as improve its overall sustainability and operability. CUP2 is now fully operational and managing the current GPS constellation.

Lockheed Martin has a long history of supporting ground systems, providing operations, sustainment and logistics support for nearly 60 Department of Defense satellites, including GPS, often allowing them to double their on-orbit operational design life.

Lockheed Martin also is under contract to develop and build the Air Force's first ten GPS III satellites, which will deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities and extend spacecraft life to 15 years, 25 percent longer than the newest GPS satellites on-orbit today. GPS III's new L1C civil signal also will make it the first GPS satellite to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems.

For additional GPS III information, photos and video visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/gps.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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China may end cooperation with US over Trump remarks: Beijing

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 6:16AM

The Chinese government says it is "seriously concerned" by US President-elect Donald Trump's recent remarks signaling that he may end Washington's commitment to the so-called One China policy.

Under the policy, the self-ruled Taiwan is considered part of Chinese territory. The US has been committed to that policy since 1979, when it cut official ties with Taipei and recognized Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.

However, Trump, who has been taking calls from foreign leaders in a freewheeling style since being elected US president on November 8, acted in breach of that long-standing protocol when he talked to Taiwan's leader, Tsai Ing-wen, on the phone earlier this month.

Later, when asked in a Fox News interview about the call, Trump stood his ground. He said he did not know "why we have to be bound by a 'One China policy' unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."

'The bedrock of relations with US'

On Monday, the Chinese government said the US dropping the "One China" policy could result in China ending cooperation with the US in major fields.

If the principle is "compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relations as well as bilateral cooperation in major fields would be out of the question," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Monday.

He said that Beijing considered Taiwan a "core interest" that affects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that adherence to the "One China" policy was the "political bedrock" for relations with the US.

Earlier on Monday, a Chinese paper warned Trump that China might "arm" US enemies if his incoming administration did not adhere to the "One China" policy.

The Chinese-language daily Global Times said in a Monday online commentary, which did not carry a by-line, that the "One China" policy was "non-negotiable."

'As ignorant as a child'

A businessman with no background in governance or diplomacy, Trump has in words and behavior signaled his preference for business profit over perceived political normality.

In its Monday commentary, the Chinese Global Times said, "The One China policy cannot be traded," and called Trump "as ignorant of diplomacy as a child."

It said in solemn wording that if the US openly supported Taiwan's independence from China under Trump, China could aid "forces hostile to the US."

"Why couldn't we publicly support them, or secretly sell arms to them?" it said, without specifying who it was referring to.

The Global Times is published under the auspices of The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.

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China Expresses Concern With Trump's Rejection of One-China Policy on Taiwan

Sputnik News

14:04 12.12.2016

China is "seriously concerned" with the statements of US President-elect Donald Trump on One-China policy regarding relations with Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.

BEIJING (Sputnik)  On Sunday, Trump said he would not be bound by the One-China policy regarding relations with Taiwan. Trump also addressed a note of protest from China filed over his earlier phone call with the president of Taiwan, saying that he does not want Beijing dictating to him.

"We ask the new administration of the United States and all of the officials to fully understand the high level of sensitivity of Taiwanese issue. Maintenance of One-China Policy is critical in order to avoid deterioration of US-Chinese relations in the future," Geng Shuang said at the press briefing.

Shuang also emphasized that the Taiwanese issue is the subject of government sovereignty and territorial integrity, with One-China policy being a cornerstone of US-Chinese relations.

On November 9, Trump and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen had a phone conversation. The call broke with the White House's four-decade-long adherence to the One-China policy on what China considers its breakaway province. Trump became the first US president or president-elect to speak with a Taiwanese leader in an official capacity since the United States severed ties with the island nation in 1979 in favor of improving relations with Beijing.

Both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC), more widely known as Taiwan, claim sovereignty over the Chinese territory. The future of cross-strait relations remains uncertain following Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) victory in Taiwan's January elections. The DPP rejects the PRC's claim over Taiwan, instead supporting Taiwanese independence.

 Sputnik

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Big Trouble With Big China: Trump's Comments Spark Outrage in Chinese Media

Sputnik News

13:28 12.12.2016(updated 17:06 12.12.2016)

On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News that he may not be bound by the One China policy regarding US relations with Taiwan. Chinese state newspaper Global Times issued a fiery response, stressing that Beijing would not accept any attempt to try and bargain over the One China policy.

Speaking to Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Sunday, Trump said that he didn't know "why we have to be bound by the One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."

"I don't want China dictating to me," Trump added, addressing a formal note of protest Beijing had filed over his telephone call with Taiwanese President Tsai In-wen earlier this month. That brief conversation, initiated by the Taiwanese side, involved Tsai congratulating Trump on his election victory.

But the phone call also broke with four decades of US policy, in which the US acknowledged that there is only one state called China, in spite of the existence of two governments making such a claim  the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

On Monday, the Global Times, a daily newspaper affiliated with the People's Daily  which is in turn affiliated with the country's ruling Communist Party, issued a blistering reply to Trump, stressing that "in response to Trump's provocations, Beijing could offer support, even military assistance, to US foes."

The paper's unsigned editorial noted this would be done "if Trump gave up the One China policy, publically supported Taiwan independence and wantonly sold weapons to Taiwan." Global Times emphasized that such a move would indicate "China would have no grounds to partner with Washington on international affairs and contain forces hostile to the US."

Stepping up a notch, the paper even suggested that the abandonment of the One China could result in military conflict. China "would introduce a series of new Taiwan policies, and may not prioritize peaceful reunification over a military takeover if Trump insisted on his provocations." The paper warned that "nothing is impossible if the Trump administration goes too far."

Global Times chalked down Trump's "commercial thinking," and trying to drive a hard bargain with Beijing to "naivety for diplomacy." The paper also noted that "Trump is naive to think he can use the One China policy as a bargaining chip to win economic benefits from China."

Suggesting that the reality was that Trump probably "may not have put too much thought" into his comments, Global Times proposed that Trump "needs to learn to handle foreign affairs modestly, especially in the China-US relationship. More importantly, a hard struggle against Trump is needed to let him know that China and other world powers cannot be easily taken advantage of."

Backtracking, the paper noted that Trump "is no geopolitical maniac, but just has little experience in diplomacy. He doesn't understand how dangerous it can be when he involves the US in such an explosive game. After all, this requires some personal experience."

Ultimately, suggesting that Beijing must now wait to see what happens after Trump is sworn in, Global Times noted that China "needs to be fully armed and prepared to take a Sino-US rollercoaster relationship together with Trump. And many others in the world will probably also need to fasten their seatbelts."

 Sputnik

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China: 'Serious Concern' About Trump's Taiwan Comments

By VOA News December 12, 2016

China said Monday it has "serious concern" about comments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump questioning whether the United States should continue its "one China" policy unless the Chinese government offers trade concessions.

In the 1979 U.S.-China Joint Communique, the U.S. recognized Beijing as the sole legal government of China, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the policy, which acknowledges Taiwan is part of China, is the foundation of U.S.-China relations and urged the Trump administration to "understand the seriousness" of the issue.

The state-controlled Global Times further said Trump is "naive" to think he can use Taiwan policy for leverage in economic negotiations and that he "needs to learn to handle foreign affairs modestly."

It also suggested that if Trump supports Taiwan independence or weapons sales then China "would have no grounds to partner with Washington on international affairs" and could offer military and other support to U.S. opponents.

Defends Taiwan call

During an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump defended his recent phone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, the first contact between a Taiwan leader and a U.S. president or president-elect since 1979, when the United States acknowledged that Taiwan was part of a unified China.

He also said he does not want China telling him what to do.

"I don't know why we have to be bound by a one China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump said.

The president-elect criticized China over its currency policies, its military build-up in the South China Sea and its failure to block neighboring North Korea from conducting nuclear arms tests.

"We're being hurt very badly by China with devaluation, with taxing us heavy at the borders when we don't tax them, with building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea, which they shouldn't be doing, and frankly with not helping us at all with North Korea," Trump said. "You have North Korea. You have nuclear weapons and China could solve that problem and they're not helping us at all."

Trump's statement miscast Chinese and U.S. tariffs on exported products entering each country. China imposes levies ranging from five to 9.7 percent on U.S. goods, while the United States collects 2.5 to 2.9 percent tariffs.

Trump said it would have been disrespectful to not take the call from the Taiwan leader congratulating him on his election, saying he had a couple hours notice that the call was coming, not weeks or longer as some U.S. media reports have indicated.

"It was a very nice call, short," Trump said."And why should some other nation be able to say I can't take a call?"

China criticized Trump's acceptance of the call, but had no immediate reaction to his comments in the interview. After Trump's phone conversation with the Taiwan leader, senior White House officials assured Chinese officials that Washington's "one China" policy remained intact.

Doesn't need daily intelligence briefings

During the interview, Trump also said he does not need to receive a presidential intelligence briefing every day because he said they are repetitive from day to day.

"You know, I'm, like, a smart person," Trump said. "I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years. Could be eight years, but eight years I don't need that.But I do say, 'If something should change, let us know.'"

He said that when he becomes president on January 20, his eldest children and his Trump company executives would run his global business empire and he would have nothing to do with its management. But he stopped short of saying he would divest his holdings, as ethics critics have said he needs to do in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest with the decisions he makes as the U.S. leader.

Trump is planning to make a statement Thursday on the details of how he will separate himself from the Trump Organization when he assumes power.

He said he is "open-minded" on environmental issues and whether the United States should remain supportive of the worldwide agreement reached in Paris for controlling greenhouse gas emissions that scientists have concluded are leading to dangerous global climate changes.

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Iran has contingency plans for JCPOA violations: Velayati

Iran Press TV

Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:39AM

A senior Iranian official says Tehran has prepared contingency plans for responding to any manner of violation of its nuclear deal with the world powers.

"Without a doubt the people will be happy after they hear of Iran's decisive response while Iran's enemies will lose hope," said Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, on Monday.

He went on to stress that Iran will remain true to its commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council  the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia  plus Germany in Vienna in July 2015.

"If there is even the slightest defect in the execution of US's commitments, Washington will face Tehran's clear and decisive response," said Velayati.

He also went on to condemn the US Senate's recent approval of a bill which extends Washington's anti-Iran sanctions, stressing that such a move will not remain unanswered.

The US Senate on December 1 voted to extend Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for another 10 years. The sanctions law, which would authorize the US president to re-impose sanctions on Iran, was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program and its support for anti-Israeli resistance groups. The ISA now needs President Barack Obama's signature to turn into law.

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LEBANON  One of the goals of the Milken Educator Awards, often described as "the Oscars of teaching," is to inspire excellent teachers to stick with the job.

But Lisa Richard of Pioneer School insisted Tuesday she needs no national honor to stay in her classroom  even one that comes with $25,000 in cash.

"I love being here," she said. "Every day, these guys are the reason I get out of bed."

However, the cash is a pretty nice fringe benefit, she told her third-graders after Tuesday's surprise assembly. "I think there's going to be a really good field trip happening in third grade," she said.

Richard is the first Linn County teacher and the only one in Oregon this year to receive a Milken Educator Award. The award program is now in its 30th year.

Up to 35 Milken Educators will be recognized across the country for the 2016-17 school year. Recipients are sought out by the Milken Family Foundation and cannot apply or nominate someone for the honor.

Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards Milken Family Foundation, presented the award and check to Richard on Tuesday as students stood and cheered.

School officials had been told only they were to schedule a special assembly and that Oregon Department of Education officials and others would be on hand to discuss the school's college preparation program, AVID. Pupils wore AVID T-shirts in class colors as part of the assembly.

AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is an important factor in academic success, Foley told the audience. But just as important are the teachers who lead the classes.

"Educators have the most important job in the country," she said. "At the Milken Foundation, we don't think teachers get enough recognition. We don't say 'Thank you' enough."

The annual awards  which come with an all-expense-paid trip to New Orleans to a Milken gathering as well as the cash prize  are meant to give the message that teaching is valued and appreciated, Foley said, and to bring public attention to the good work happening there.

"There are many great educators and teachers in this country. You can believe me when I say that. I've been everywhere," Foley told the children. "But one of the best teachers in the entire country is here, in your school."

Richard, sitting with her third-graders, put her hands to her face in shock as her name was announced, then made her way slowly to the microphone.

"First of all, I'm blown away," she said. "I am only as good as I am because of the people I'm around, and you are the best staff ever."

Richard, 48, began pursuing a teaching career only after several years as a stay-at-home mom and day care operator.

She has been at Pioneer for all her 12 years in education to date, teaching both second and third grade, and said she plans to stay.

"It's so simple. I want to teach," she said. "It's my passion, and to be honored for it is mind-blowing."

In Richard's classroom, students have studied important figures in American history by dressing in costume, memorizing biographies and presenting their own living "wax museum." Classroom families gather for pizza parties in the summer.

For the Lebanon Community School District, Richard helps with new teacher induction and mentoring. She led a schoolwide digital portfolio project to help teachers document teaching practices and their effects on students, and also heads the district's grade-level team.

When Richard learned last year many of her students had never gone camping, she and her fellow second-grade teacher, Colleen Floro, organized parents and put on an end-of-year "camping" trip for an afternoon on the school lawn, complete with tents and s'mores.

"She's just the best," third-grader Josiah Borntrager said.

Added JoJo Reeves: "She was so happy she was crying. All of us were crying, too. We were all so happy that our teacher won."

Richard said she still can't quite believe it. "All I want to do is inspire, and somebody noticed."

Milken awards are meant to be inspiring for future generations, too, Foley said. She encouraged the children in the audience to tell their parents about the assembly and to find other teachers to thank.

"We know some of them will go home tonight and say, 'I'm going to be a teacher just like Miss Richard,'" Foley said.
Suspicious foreign efforts aim to create rift in Iraq: Iran official

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 2:17PM

A senior Iranian official has underlined the need for consultation and cooperation among Iraqi groups of various faiths and ethnicities, warning of foreign plots in the Arab country to cause rifts among people.

In a meeting with the head of the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), Ammar al-Hakim, in Tehran on Monday, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani urged all Iraqi groups to remain vigilant and boost their convergence to thwart such "suspicious attempts."

"The only way to establish sustainable stability in Iraq is to popularize the process of defense and establish security," Shamkhani said.

He hailed the recent victories of the Iraqi army soldiers and popular forces in operations to rid different locations of terrorists, particularly in the strategic northern city of Mosul.

A unified and strong campaign by all Shia, Sunni, Kurd, Turkmen and Izadi Iraqis against acts of aggression and crimes by terrorists is a clear symbol of national unity and integrity in Iraq, the SNSC secretary said.

Iraqi army and volunteer fighters have been leading a large offensive to retake Mosul since October 17. The city fell to Daesh in 2014, when the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in the Arab country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul would be fully liberated by the end of 2016.

Shamkhani also urged all Muslim countries and the international community to effectively fight Takfiri extremism and its regional supporters.

Need for political integrity, national unity in Iraq

Hakim, for his part, said political integrity and national unity are the most important needs of Iraq in the country's fight against Takfiri terrorism and the establishment of stability as well as economic and social development.

The INA head praised Iran's continuous support for Iraq in the campaign against terrorism and said strong bonds between the Iranian and Iraqi people in addition to the two countries' resolve have prepared unique grounds for bolstering cooperation.

On Sunday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei received Hakim, who has served as the head of the INA, comprising Shia political parties, since September.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the United States has never been seeking to root out Takfiri terrorism, but it is rather making efforts to preserve some terror groups in the Middle East to advance its goals.

The Leader advised the Iraqi National Alliance not to trust the Americans, warning that Washington has always been against powerful Muslim countries such as Iraq.

The alliance, which holds the majority of seats in the Iraqi parliament, includes four political parties, namely the State of Law Coalition, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, the National Reform Trend Party and the Sadrist Movement.

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Iraqi forces take nine villages from Daesh west of Mosul

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:52AM

Iraqi forces have managed to liberate several villages near Mosul from the grip of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group as part of larger operations to fully recapture the northern city.

The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said Popular Mobilization Units, known as Hashd al-Sha'abi, purged six villages, west of the city, of Daesh terrorists on Sunday.

According to Iraq's Shafaq News website, Yarallah added that Daesh terrorists lost the villages of Hazimiyah al-Janubiyah, Moshayrfat al-Jisr, Zaid al-Mos'ab, Yassin al-Halbous, Tal Maidan Qoly and al-Bota al-Gharbiyah.

Some 450 families were also evacuated from Yassin al-Halbous village, west of Tal Abta district.

The terrorists suffered heavy losses in the military operations, the report added.

Meanwhile, Iraq's al-Sumaria news website said the Iraqi Badr Organization announced the liberation of three other villages west of Mosul.

The organization said in a statement on Sunday that the villages of Tal Ghazal, Tal Majan and Shwira have been purged of Daesh, adding that Iraqi forces managed to thwart a terrorist attack targeting the troops advancing in the area.

The organization added that 163 civilians have been evacuated from the villages.

The Iraqi forces also found a workshop for booby-trapping vehicles and explosive devices in the liberated villages.

The developments come as part of operations launched by Iraqi Hashd al-Sha'abi forces in the areas to the west of Tal Afar in western Nineveh Province on Sunday. The operations aim to purge the villages and areas which are still under Daesh control and to regain control of the roads connecting the areas west of Mosul.

The Iraqi army and volunteer fighters have been leading a large offensive to retake Mosul since October 17.

The northern city of Mosul fell to Daesh in 2014, when the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in the Arab country.

Also on Sunday, Iraq's anti-terrorism forces took control of the neighborhood of Nour in the left bank of Mosul.

Shafaq News reported on Monday that the Daesh terrorists, along with their families, began to flee the neighborhood of al-Zera'i, al-Mohandessin and al-Thaqafi in northern Mosul towards the right side of the city.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul would be fully recaptured by the end of 2016.

Iraqi forces unearth mass grave south of Mosul

In another development on Sunday, First-Lieutenant Saied al-Moselhi told Anadolu News Agency that the army found 15 corpses thrown into a well in the village of Saf al-Tout of al-Shura district, 40 kilometers south of Mosul.

He added based on initial information the 15 people were massacred by Daesh terrorists.

Meanwhile, War Media Cell said the Iraqi security forces, backed by residents, found the remains of some people killed by Daesh in the Hammam al-Alil district, south of Mosul.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in June 2014.

The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

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Israel getting first batch of F-35 stealth jets from US

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:51AM

The first fleet of Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter jets has been delivered to Israel and is expected to land in the occupied Palestinian lands on Monday afternoon, the Pentagon says.

According to a statement by the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was in Israel to address a welcoming ceremony at Nevatim Air Force Base near Beersheba, where two Lightning II fifth generation fighters were expected to touch down.

The ceremony will be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Military Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, among others.

"The arrival of the aircraft highlights the close defense cooperation between the US and Israel," the Pentagon added.

Israel has ordered up to 50 F-35s. The aircraft, dubbed "Adir" or "Mighty," would replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a 1970-era fighter jet which is the Israeli air force's main weapon.

Two of the six Israeli pilots trained in the US would take over the control of the first pair of the F-35s on Tuesday.

In a statement on Sunday, Lieberman thanked his American counterpart for the aircraft's delivery, saying the move showed that he was "a true friend of Israel."

Israel has shown strong enthusiasm for the planes, claiming that they would give it air superiority for the next 40 years.

However, recently leaked remarks by the Pentagon's chief weapon tester Michael Gilmore cast new doubts on the fighter jet's true abilities.

In a memo leaked to Bloomberg last week, Gilmore blasted what he called "misleading" reports about the F-35's performance.

He also expressed dissatisfaction with the project's slow progress, which has missed the deadline by 10 years while blowing out its budget by about 70 percent.

Often referred to as the world's most expensive weapon, the nearly $1 trillion weapon has been dogged by software bugs and design issues.

The US Air Force grounded at least 15 of its F-35s in September, citing the discovery of faulty cooling lines.

A fuel system deficiency, faulty diagnostic systems, cracks in wing spars, lack of high-fidelity simulators for combat missions, and a pilot escape system that could kill ejecting pilots were some of the planes' other problems mentioned in Gilmore's earlier reports.

US President-elect Donald Trump also doesn't seem to be satisfied with the aircraft, calling it "out of control" in terms of costs.



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S Korea Slams North for Drills Simulating Attack on Presidential Office in Seoul

Sputnik News

11:14 12.12.2016(updated 11:27 12.12.2016)

According to media reports, Seoul has criticized Pyongyang for its military exercises simulating an attack on the official residence of the South Korean president in Seoul.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Seoul has criticized Pyongyang for its military exercises simulating an attack on the official residence of the South Korean president in Seoul, local media reported Monday.

The reports about the drills emerged in the North Korean media on Sunday.

Seoul criticized the decision of Pyongyang to hold the drills as it was raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the Yonhap news agency reported citing the spokesman for South Korea's Ministry of Unification.

According to the spokesman, the drills were aimed at showing that the political regime in North Korea was stable, while South Korea was going through a political crisis that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

South Korea and the North are still formally at war, as no peace treaty was ever signed after the Korean War of 1950-1953.

The parliament of South Korea voted on Friday to start Park's impeachment trial after she was implicated in a corruption scandal involving her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil, accused of using her ties to extort money from businesses.

 Sputnik

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Russia offers most advanced anti-terror tech to world: Putin

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:11PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country is ready to share its most advanced anti-terrorism technologies with the world.

"We are prepared to offer our customers the most advanced anti-terrorist means, including combat planes, air defense systems, multiple-launch rocket systems and armored vehicles," said Putin during a meeting of the Commission for Russia's Military-Technical Cooperation with Foreign States on Monday.

While stressing that Russia contributes significantly to the battle against international terrorism, Putin noted that an ever-increasing number of countries around the globe are dealing with the threat of terrorism.

He went on to note that terrorists around the world have formed large armed groups of well trained experts and Western-made arms.

Putin added that Russia "confidently ranks second in the world" on the weapons market, being "ahead of France, Germany and the UK," adding that Moscow's arms export portfolio is currently over $50 billion, with 100 foreign countries among Russia's partners.

He noted that in 2015 Russia sold arms and munitions to some 58 foreign countries.

"At the same time we [Russia] act in traditionally tough competitive conditions and sometimes even face misbehavior by some partners," he said.

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Moscow Considers Calls for NATO Permanent Task Force in Black Sea as Provocation

Sputnik News

21:19 12.12.2016(updated 21:20 12.12.2016)

Russia views proposals by Ukraine and Romania to form a NATO permanent naval task force in the Black Sea as a provocative act, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

BELGRADE, (Sputnik)  At a joint press conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic in Belgrade, Lavrov said:

"We are convinced that all decisions regarding the Black Sea must be taken by coastal states alone, especially when it comes to security issues."

"That's why we consider the idea expressed by Ukraine and our Romanian Black Sea neighbors about the creation of a NATO permanent naval task force [in the Black Sea] as provocative," Lavrov stressed.

The Russian minister also emphasized that violations of the Montreux Convention on Bosporus Straits and the Dardanelles are unacceptable.

 Sputnik

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Pentagon Deems Russian Nuclear-Capable Drone Sub a 'Major Strategic Threat'

Sputnik News

15:42 12.12.2016(updated 17:54 12.12.2016)

Late last week, the Pentagon confirmed that a new top-secret Russian unmanned drone-based nuclear delivery system was real, and had been tested late last month, three years earlier than expected.

On Thursday, intelligence officials speaking to the Washington Free Beacon said that Russia had conducted a test of a "revolutionary" new nuclear-capable drone sub. Unnamed Pentagon officials told the paper that the new sub, which poses "a major strategic threat" to US ports and coastal military installations, underwent testing on November 27.

The unmanned underwater vehicle is designed to deliver a nuclear weapon armed with 'tens of megatons' distances up to 10,000 km to launch destinations off enemy shores. Believed capable of submerging up to 1,000 meters, the vehicle can accelerate to speeds up to 56 knots, which is faster than any current-generation NATO homing torpedo. The highly maneuverable drone is believed to be nuclear powered, which would make its operations quiet, and is to be controlled remotely by Navy ships using ultra-long waves.

The Pentagon told the Free Beacon that the drone sub was launched for testing from a Sarov-class submarine, itself a relatively mysterious vessel believed to be an upgrade of the Kilo-class diesel-electric attack sub. The Sarov, serving with the Russian Northern Fleet, is regularly used to test new weapons technology.

The secret drone is part of an underwater drone program known as Ocean Multipurpose System 'Status-6', which is being developed by the St. Petersburg-based Rubin Design Bureau. The program's NATO code name is the 'Kanyon'. US intelligence originally suspected that Russia planned to build a prototype of the drone only by 2019. Reports of the vehicle's testing, if accurate, indicate that the project has progressed much faster than expected.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis declined to make an official comment on the news, saying only that the Pentagon "closely monitor[s] Russian underwater military developments."

The existence of Status-6 was accidentally revealed last year, with a presentation slide with top secret information about the initiative accidentally broadcast on Russian television as part of a story about President Vladimir Putin's meeting with defense officials in Sochi. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov subsequently confirmed that "some classified information had been captured on camera."

Some analysts have since suggested that the leak was not accidental, and that it was meant to send a signal to Washington about the capabilities of the Russian strategic deterrent. The new weapon would provide an effective asymmetrical response to the construction of US missile defense systems in Europe. The drone would be capable of circumventing missile defense systems and retaliating even in the event of a US nuclear first strike.

The US media response to the project has been borderline hysterical, with officials and military analysts calling the project "nuts" and "insane", classifying Status-6 as a "doomsday drone" and complaining that the US's submarine drone program does not have any nuclear-armed projects. Popular Mechanics even cited 'reports from Russia' saying that the weapon carried by the drone will be a massive dirty bomb. Russian observers have countered by suggested that such fear-mongering is an indication that the Pentagon has stood up and taken note of Russia's new potential deterrent.

For his part, independent Russian military analyst Vladimir Tuchkov wrote that Status-6 is actually the spiritual successor of Soviet-era projects going back to the 1960s. These projects, he noted, included experimental weapons such as the T-15 torpedo  a 23 meter-long, 40-metric ton weapon with a 100-megaton thermonuclear charge. In its own time, the miniaturized nuclear reactors necessary to power the torpedo didn't exist, and its electric batteries were able to propel it a distance of only 30 kilometers.

Half a century later, the commentator noted, "the problem with the reactor has been solved. At the same time, significant progress has taken place not just in nuclear power engineering, but also with electronic components and control systems, materials, as well as other constituent elements of the torpedo. Additionally, changes have been made to the Navy's strategy and tactics." Accordingly, Tuchkov suggested that "Status-6 is a completely new development; all that it has in common with the T-15 is its 100-megaton charge."

It's significant to point out that the experimental drone is not just a torpedo, but a robotic submersible equipped with elements of artificial intelligence, hypothetically allowing it to act independently thousands of kilometers from its specially-purposed submarine host.

At the same time, Tuchkov noted that the 'asymmetrical' nature of the deterrent's design also lies in its low cost, with the drive train, for instance, expected to cost about $12 million.

Given the drone's expected capabilities (including autonomous and quiet operating potential), it seems likely that in addition to its role as a nuclear launch platform, Status 6 could also be used for intelligence-gathering missions.

There is circumstantial evidence to believe that two new subs being converted for special use by Russian shipbuilders at the Sevmash shipyards in Severodvinsk  the Belgorod and Khabarovsk, may be used to carry the Status-6 drone sub. According to Tuchkov, these are expected to come online by the end of the decade.

 Sputnik

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Operation to liberate Aleppo 'reaches end, militants leave last holdouts'

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:16PM

Syrian forces are almost in full control of the northern city of Aleppo, nearly three weeks after Damascus and its allies launched a major offensive to recapture the militant-held part of the city, a pro-opposition monitoring group says.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday that the battle for Aleppo had reached its end and the government forces were making sweeping advances into the militant-held sector of the city.

The group's director, Rami Abdulrahman, said the militants had now withdrawn from six neighborhoods in the city, their last holdouts in Aleppo.

"The battle of Aleppo has reached its end. It is just a matter of a small period of time, no more, no less... it's a total collapse," Abdulrahman added.

Syria opposition not to make concessions with Damascus

Meanwhile, Syria's chief opposition coordinator, Riyad Hijab, said the opposition won't make concessions with the Damascus.

Hijab, who presides over the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said on Monday that defeat in Aleppo would not change the position of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's opponents, who seek his removal from power.

"If Assad and his allies think that a military advance in certain quarters of Aleppo will signify that we will make concessions, then (I say) that will not happen. We will not make any concessions," Hijab told reporters after meeting French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Monday.

Syrian forces announced earlier on Monday that they were in the last steps of liberating Aleppo, saying almost all but two percent of the neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, which was under the control of the militants, had been liberated.

The Syrian military said it had regained control over 98 percent of eastern Aleppo and that there were only some pockets of militants and civilians in a small sliver of territory in the center of the city.

The announcement came hours after Syrians and allied forces managed to retake Sheikh Saeed, one of the largest neighborhoods in the southern part of Aleppo's militant-dominated east. The army also seized control of al-Fardous neighborhood, one of the most populated districts to the north of Sheikh Saeed.

Militants had earlier admitted the loss of key areas in Aleppo, saying they were being squeezed from every side. They, however, insisted that they were holding seven percent of the areas they used to control.

Maps distributed by the army on Monday showed that the tiny portion of Aleppo remaining under the control of militants was a small silver of land located adjacent to the government-held parts of Aleppo in its center.

Aleppo's complete liberation from the foreign-backed militants would mark a significant victory for Syria in its nearly six-year-long campaign against foreign-backed militants. The liberation of Aleppo would deny the militants their main supply routes across the Turkish border while it would hugely undermine the morale of the militant groups.

34 civilians killed in Daesh-held territories in Hama

Meanwhile, reports on Monday said 11 children and 23 other people were killed in airstrikes in Daesh-held territories in the central province of Hama.

Daesh militants use civilians as human shields against the Syrian forces, preventing them from leaving militant-held areas.

US to blame for Palmyra fall

Russia, a major ally of Syria in the fight against Daesh, has warned that Daesh is still a major threat despite the terrorist group's defeats in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Monday that the fall of the ancient city of Palmyra into the hands of Daesh over the weekend showed the seriousness of the Daesh threat.

"The threat of losing Palmyra is a loss for all civilized humankind, not just for Russia," Peskov said, blaming the United States for the loss of the city, which the Syrians had recaptured earlier this year.

Peskov said the unwillingness of the US to work with Moscow in Syria helped the fall of Palmyra, adding that "cooperation would have probably allowed us to more effectively avoid such attacks from terrorists."

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Syrian forces retake 90 percent of eastern Aleppo: Monitor

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:16AM

Syrian forces have reclaimed major districts in Aleppo as they push deeper into the last remaining militant-held parts of the northwestern city.

"The army is now in full control of Sheikh Saeed," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the UK-based so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP early Monday.

The army has been in control of Aleppo's western half. Less than a month ago, it started a wholesale push to drive the militants out of their stronghold in the city's eastern side, making great strides in the process.

The gain, Abdel Rahman said, has put the army in control of 98 percent of eastern Aleppo.

On Friday, however, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the forces had wrested back 93 percent of the eastern sector. Russia has been lending airpower to the counter-terror push in Syria since last September.

The militants have been carrying out indiscriminate attacks against western Aleppo amid the government's drive to restore its control over the city, the monitor has reported.

According to the group, some 10,000 more civilians have fled Aleppo's militant-held parts to areas controlled by the government during the past 24 hours. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, put the number at over 13,300 in a statement on Monday.

Since the start of the Aleppo battle, some 130,000 people have managed to reach government-controlled parts, the Observatory added.

On Monday, the Syrian army also said in a statement that its forces have seized control of al-Fardous, one of the largest neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo.

Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the Aleppo security committee, said "the battle in east Aleppo should end quickly. They (militants) don't have much time. They either have to surrender or die."

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 728 militants have laid down their weapons over the past 24 hours and relocated to western Aleppo.

Daesh pushing to overrun Palmyra

In recent days, Daesh, the most brutal of the terror groups operating in Syria since 2014, has resurfaced in the ancient city of Palmyra in the west-central province of Homs.

The group was driven out of the city back in March after holding it for some 10 months.

Recently, it mobilized more than 4,000 terrorists, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency, re-entering the city of Palmyra amid fierce clashes with the army.

Homs Governor Talal Barazi has described the Daesh inroad as a "desperate" reaction to the government's recent victories.

Reports on Sunday morning indicated that Daesh attempts to re-enter Palmyra had been reversed, but various sources said later in the day that they had managed to force their way back into the city.

The militants then went door to door, looking for any remaining forces loyal to the Syrian government, opposition activists in the city said.

The Observatory claims Daesh has managed to advance in the city's western and southwestern areas.

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Syrian Army Declares Victory in Aleppo

Sputnik News

22:35 12.12.2016(updated 01:57 13.12.2016)

The Syrian Army has officially liberated Aleppo after ousting rebels from their last bastions in the eastern part of the city.

Earlier on Monday, the Syrian Arab Army made significant advances leaving only three residential blocks in the hands of anti-government forces.

The rebels had little choice but to "surrender or die," Lieutenant Gen. Zaid al-Saleh, director of Syria's security committee, told reporters in the Sheik Saeed district.

The Battle of Aleppo lasted more than four years after fighting broke out on July 19, 2012. In 24 hours leading up to the victory, approximately 10,000 to 13,000 civilians fled the city, bringing the total number of refugees up to around 130,000, according to reports.

After local TV outlets reported the victory, residents flooded the streets, firing guns in the air in celebration.

Syrian government television channel Sana showed President Bashar al-Assad congratulating Syrian troops following the proclamations of victory in Aleppo.

Throughout the battle of Aleppo, government forces repeatedly urged civilians to leave the area, organizing humanitarian corridors to arrange the safe passage of those who wanted to escape furious street battles. However, terrorist groups fighting in Aleppo forcibly prevented civilians from leaving the area whilst using them as human shields. "Civilians are being used as pawns and prevented from leaving," UN spokesman Rupert Colville said recently.

Meanwhile, on Monday morning some 4,000 Daesh militants launched an offensive on Palmyra, Syria armed with heavy weaponry, armored vehicles, and tanks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted the offensive may have been "orchestrated," while former UK ambassador to Syria said the US and its allies "didn't lift a finger to try to stop [the Daesh offensive] happening," despite having sophisticated and well-developed surveillance capabilities that likely could have detected the regrouping of Daesh militants and their vehicles en route to Palmyra.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Democratic Forces Launch Next Phase of Raqqa Operation

Sputnik News

18:17 12.12.2016

The Syrian Democratic Forces have started a new phase of the offensive to recapture Raqqa from Daesh.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have liberated more than 700 square miles (some 1,813 square kilometers) of Daesh-held territory near the Syrian city of Raqqa and have launched a new phase of the offensive to recapture the city, Operation Inherent Resolve said in a release on Monday.

"The Syrian Democratic Forces announced the start of the next phase of their operation to isolate ISIL [Daesh]'s self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa, Dec. 10," the release stated. "In their march toward Raqqa, the SDF has already liberated dozens of villages and more than 700 square miles of ISIL-held terrain."

Earlier in November, the Kurdish-led SDF announced Operation Wrath of Euphrates to reclaim the city of Raqqa from the militants. Captured in 2013, Raqqa serves as Daesh's de facto capital in Syria.

The US-led coalition has conducted more than 300 airstrikes delivering more than 850 munitions in support of the Raqqa operation, according to Operation Inherent Resolve.

On Saturday, Department of Defense spokesman Peter Cook said the United States will send additional 200 soldiers to Syria to aid in the Raqqa offensive.

The US-led coalition of more than 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh, a designated terrorist group by the United States, Russia and other nations, in Syria and Iraq since 2014.

 Sputnik

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Remaining Syrian Rebel-held Aleppo Districts Possibly Hours from Falling

By Jamie Dettmer December 12, 2016

The fall of rebel-controlled districts of eastern Aleppo to the forces of President Bashar al-Assad is likely to prove a decisive victory in the five-year civil war. The fall has major symbolic significance and leaves the regime and its foreign backers, Russia and Iran, free to focus their military might on remaining rebel strongholds in the rest of western Syria.

While rebel commanders and opposition politicians insist the loss of Aleppo won't mark the end of the uprising, few doubt battlefield fortunes have swung heavily against them and with the regime possibly hours away from seizing what is left of insurgent-controlled eastern Aleppo, the dynamic of resistance will have to change to guerrilla warfare to keep the revolution alive.

The focus of the conflict will swing quickly to the neighboring Idlib province, says Gen. Salim Idris, a former commander-in-chief of the Free Syrian Army, who fears the loss of Aleppo will deal an irreversible blow to the status of what remains of moderate and more secular militias. After Aleppo, "the Assad forces will then focus west on Idlib province and then that will be the end," Idris said.

Rebels lose territory

The Syrian military claimed Monday that 98 percent of eastern Aleppo is in the hands of regime forces. And while there is some dispute about that  independent monitors calculate 10 percent of the eastern half of the city still is occupied by insurgents  it is clear rebels are now contained in a small pocket and likely won't be able to hold out in the face of overwhelming firepower for more than a few hours or, at best, a handful of days, say Western diplomats based in Turkey.

Zakaria Malahefji, the political officer of the 3,000-member Fastaqim Kama Umirt, a militia aligned with the Free Syrian Army, estimated 85 percent of eastern Aleppo is in government hands.

Two key neighborhoods fell Monday: Sheikh Saeed and Saliheen. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that receives on-the-ground information from a network of activists, says Assad forces are pushing into six remaining rebel neighborhoods, including Bustan al-Qasr and Souq al-Hal.

"The battle for Aleppo has begun to enter the final phase," said the observatory's director, Rami Abdel Rahman.

Syrian generals agree. "The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly," Gen. Zaid al-Saleh told Syrian state media in the recaptured Sheikh Saeed. "They [rebels] don't have much time. They either have to surrender or die."

Fighting intensifies

Advances Monday came after a ferocious overnight bombardment, civilians and rebel commanders in Aleppo told VOA in frequently interrupted communications. They likened the situation inside the rebel pocket to doomsday, saying there's little help now for the wounded, with many injured buried under rubble. The White Helmets, a first responders group which accused the Assad regime of dropping chlorine-filled bombs over the weekend, says there are dozens of civilian casualties and rescuers can't move because of the frequency of the shelling and airstrikes.

Journalists in government-held neighborhoods confirmed that shelling of rebel areas was nonstop overnight.

Syrian state television showed pictures of devastation with collapsed buildings and dead bodies in the streets. Dazed civilians, many of them women and children, carried bundles.

Fatemah, who along with her seven-year-old daughter, Bana Alabed, has been tweeting since September 26 from a rebel-held district, posted Monday: "Final message - people are dying since last night. I am very surprised I am tweeting right now & still alive. - Fatemah."

On Sunday, Fatemah tweeted: "The army is so near now. I don't know what to do. only way to flee is to regime side which I fear coz they will kill me."

Pro-opposition activists working for the local news site Aleppo 24 alleged that regime forces executed 70 people, included seven women, Monday in the al-Fardous district after it was captured from rebels. VOA is unable to verify the claim. That report was among several alleging that summary executions are being carried out in districts overrun by regime militiamen.

Jan Egeland, who heads the Norwegian Refugee Council and leads an international task force on humanitarian access to Syria, tweeted later that the Syrian and Russian governments "are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!"

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is "alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in Aleppo."

Few ways out

Many civilians are fleeing, some following rebel fighters into the districts they still occupy, but most heading to government-controlled west Aleppo. The Russian Defense Ministry said 13,346 civilians left rebel-controlled districts in the past 24 hours. It also claimed 728 rebels surrendered.

Syria's official SANA news agency said more than 3,500 people fled Sheikh Saeed at dawn as regime militiamen moved into the district. The Syrian Observatory said in the past month at least 415 civilians, including 47 children, had been killed in rebel-held territory, with hundreds injured. The group said 364 rebel fighters were killed.

Opposition activists and civilians say regime forces are arresting and rounding up males, including medics and aid workers, who are fleeing eastern Aleppo, accusing them of supporting or being active in the rebel militias. Other young males are being press-ganged into army units and sent east to fight, according to opposition activists.

"The Russians are not willing to negotiate safe passage and are stubborn about the evacuation of civilians even," said Zakaria Malahefji of the Fastaqim Kama Umirt militia.

There is increasing bitterness in rebel ranks at what they see as an abandonment of their cause by the West. Opposition politicians remain furious at recent comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who blamed them for the failure of cease-fire negotiations, accusing them of not wanting a pause in fighting.

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Military conscription to stop completely from 2018: defense minister

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/12 17:51:30

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan () said Monday that military conscription will cease, setting 2017 as the last year in which young men will be required to serve national conscription.

Feng said at a hearing of the legislative Foreign and National Defense Committee that from 2018, there will be no compulsory enlistment for military service.

The minister announced the decision when answering a question by ruling Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei () about why the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced to the public that Chinese military aircraft had flown around Taiwan twice in the past month.

Feng replied the MND wants to let the people of the country know that the threat from China is accelerating and that he hopes this will encourage patriotic young people to join the military as volunteers.

"The decision to cease the draft in 2018 will not be changed," he stressed.

Compared with Feng's firmness on the issue, however, MND spokesman Chen Chung-chi () appeared more flexible, saying that "if the recruitment of an all-volunteer force reaches its goal, it will not be necessary to draft men born in 1993 and before into military service in 2018."

As part of a shift to an all-volunteer force, the MND decided to stop the compulsory draft in January 2016. The decision, however, has since been changed several times due to lower-than-expected recruitment numbers.

(By Wang Cheng-chung and Elizabeth Hsu)

ENDITEM/J

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Taiwan to accept Chinese military aircraft in distress: MND

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/12 22:02:31

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) If Chinese military aircraft have to land on Taiwan because of a mechanical failure, Taiwan will allow them to do so based on humanitarian grounds, Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan () said on Monday.

"Because the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not at war at present, we should accept them out of humanitarian concerns," Feng said.

But the Chinese military aircraft will be required to leave immediately after being repaired, Feng said at a Foreign and National Defense Committee hearing at the Legislative Yuan.

Also at the hearing, Legislator Tsai Shih-ying () of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party asked about Chinese aircraft that flew around Taiwan again on Dec. 10.

Tsai wondered why Japan claimed there were only six aircraft on the mission, while the ministry said there were more than 10 aircraft.

Feng responded that Japan was withholding information so that China was in the dark about its ability to collect information, and said the ministry's making public its knowledge of more than 10 aircraft was also a strategy related to its reconnaissance abilities.

He declined to elaborate further, saying simply "the approaches of both Taiwan and Japan are correct."

Chinese military aircraft circled around Taiwan for the second time in two weeks but did not enter the country's air defense identification zone.

The four aircraft that passed outside the zone in southern Taiwan were part of a fleet of 10 from the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army Air Force that was on a long-distance training mission.

A similar mission was flown by China on Nov. 25 when six of its military aircraft -- two H-6K bombers, one TU-154 surveillance aircraft, one Y-8 surveillance plane and two Su-30 fighters -- circled outside Taiwan air defense identification zone.

(By Wang Cheng-chung and Lilian Wu)

Enditem/ls

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NSC secretary-general visits Washington as exchanges heat up

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/12 19:08:30

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu () recently visited Washington D.C. amid increased exchanges following a call between President Tsai Ing-wen () and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, a local newspaper reported Monday.

In a front page report, the United Daily News said Wu, who served as the representative to the United States (2007-2008), has maintained close relations with U.S. officials, congressmen and think tanks, but it did not say what the purpose of his trip was or whom he came in contact with.

The Presidential Office would not confirm or deny if Wu, who was one of a few present during the Dec. 2 Tsai-Trump call, visited the United States.

It said only that the public should not speculate too much on the situation, given that Wu often travels between the United States and Taiwan.

The report also said that Foreign Minister David Lee () will arrive in San Francisco on Monday to preside over a meeting of foreign missions there.

Because President Tsai will make a transit stop in San Francisco on her visit to Central America next month, Lee is expected to help arrange her trip.

Meanwhile, although President Tsai said the conversation with Trump did not indicate a major policy change between Taiwan and the United States, several U.S. officials have come or will soon be coming to Taiwan.

President Tsai met with Matthew J. Matthews, deputy assistant secretary of state and U.S. senior official for APEC on Monday.

It was Matthews' third visit to Taiwan since assuming his position in June 2015, showing that the United States attaches great importance to cooperation with Taiwan on Asian and Pacific economic issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Also in Taiwan recently was Stephen Yates, an adviser to Trump's transition team and a deputy national security adviser to then-U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005. He met separately with Tsai and Foreign Minister Lee during his stay between Dec. 3 and Dec. 11.

Wendy Sherman, a member of Hillary Clinton's team and a former deputy secretary of state, will attend a Taiwan-U.S.-Japan Trilateral Security Dialogue Conference in Taipei on Wednesday.

The conference was initiated by Taiwan in 2011, with the Foreign Ministry commissioning a local think tank to co-sponsor the event with think tanks from the United States and Japan.

(By Lilian Wu)

Enditem/ls

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U.S. scholars unsure of Trump Administration stance on Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/12 12:18:28

Washington, Dec. 11 (CNA) Two U.S. scholars specializing in Asian affairs expressed very different views on Sunday as to whether Taiwan will be used as a bargaining chip by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump in his dealings with China and whether Washington will change its one China policy.

Walter Lohman, director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, said in an e-mail response to CNA that he does not think Taiwan is becoming a bargaining chip or that the U.S. will discard its one China policy.

"This does not mean, however, that it (the United States) will not change details of how it talks about the policy and interacts with Taiwan. It should." Lohman said.

Lohman was responding to CNA when asked whether Trump's comments on his controversial call with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen ()in an interview with Fox News broadcast on Sunday signals that Taiwan is set to become a bargaining chip for Trump in dealing with China.

Speaking in the interview, Trump said: "I fully understand the One-China policy. But I don't know why we have to be bound by a One-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade."

Trump also said China was not co-operating with the U.S. on its handling of its currency, on North Korea, or on tensions in the South China Sea.

"So, I don't want China dictating to me. And this was a call put into me," Trump said in the interview.

"It was a very nice call. Short. And why should some other nation be able to say I can't take a call? I think it would have been very disrespectful, to be honest with you, not taking it," he said.

Turning to the interview, Lohman said "One thing Trump's comments on the one China policy do point out is that we are far more respectful of China's core interests than it is of ours."

Making trade-offs on one China or on Taiwan would be a mistake. "We should continue to maintain our one-China policy because it is in our national interest whatever is going on elsewhere in the relationship. The same goes for our commitment to Taiwan," Lohman said.

However, the U.S. should also insist China had better respect America's core interests, especially freedom of the seas, Lohman stressed.

Shelley Rigger, a professor of political science at Davidson College in North Carolina, said in an e-mail response to CNA that in the interview with Fox News, Trump explicitly said that Taiwan policy should be part of a quid pro quo to get China to cooperate on other issues, which is "pretty much the definition of a bargaining chip."

Asked if this policy will help preserve the interests of both the U.S. and Taiwan in the region, Rigger said U.S. Taiwan policy has been consistent for decades and while it hasn't gotten Taiwan everything some people may have wanted, it has allowed the island to remain free and prosperous, while enabling engagement and peace among the U.S., Taiwan and China.

"Any change in approach should be done with the utmost caution," she said.

"To be honest, I don't see Trump exercising that level of caution right now. The risks for Taiwan are very high," Rigger added.

Asked about the possibility of the U.S. changing its one China policy under the Trump administration or implementing the policy in a new way, Rigger said it is difficult to know.

"I think anything is possible with Trump. He has some great people advising him on Taiwan policy, but I'm not sure he's listening to them. This interview only increases my concern. The idea that he only heard about the phone call a few hours before it happens suggests that either he is not getting the information he needs, or he's getting it, but not taking it in," Rigger said.

Taiwan officials have said that Tsai called Trump on December 2 after weeks of preparation.

Rigger, the author of the book Why Taiwan Matters, is a leading expert on Taiwan and a consultant to the U.S. administration about Taiwan affairs.

(By Rita Cheng and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/AW

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US concerned about more Turkish attacks on Kurds in fight for Raqqah

Iran Press TV

Mon Dec 12, 2016 2:16AM

US military officials are concerned about more attacks by Turkey against Kurdish forces fighting to push Daesh Takfiri terrorists out of their de facto capital, Raqqah, in northern Syria.

The United States is sending 200 additional forces to Syria apparently to back up an offensive by the People's Protection Units (YPG), fighting for Raqqah.

A senior US official told military.com that the Kurdish forces are "the horse we're riding to Raqqah."

The Kurds' "biggest concern is the Turks behind them," not the terrorists they are facing in battles, added the official.

On August 24, the Turkish air force and special ground forces kicked off Operation Euphrates Shield inside Syria in a declared bid to support the so-called Free Syrian Army and rid the border area of Daesh Takfiris as well as fighters with the YPG and Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The US has, meanwhile, been providing the Kurds with support as part of a so-called coalition allegedly to tackle ISIL.

The Turks "hate who we're working with," the senior official said.

Disregarding that, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said earlier on Sunday that the US would dispatch the additional 200 forces.

"The United States will deploy approximately 200 additional US forces to Syria, including Special Operations forces, trainers, advisors, and explosive ordnance disposal teams," Carter said at a major address on Middle East policy at a security conference with Arab leaders in Bahrain.

"These uniquely skilled operators will join the 300 US special operations forces already in Syria, to continue organizing, training, equipping, and otherwise enabling capable, motivated, local forces to take the fight to ISIL, and also bringing down to bear the full weight of US forces around the theater of operations like the funnel of a giant tornado," he added.

Carter's speech was expected to be his last one on Middle East security as the US future president, Donald Trump, has vowed to assign retired Marine General James Mattis at the helm of the Pentagon.

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New Secretary-General Guterres Takes Oath, Outlines Vision for United Nations

Sputnik News

20:34 12.12.2016(updated 21:56 12.12.2016)

Antonio Guterres took the oath of office at the UN General Assembly.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Recently-elected UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was sworn in as chief United Nations executive Monday in front of representatives of the world body's member states.

"I, Antonio Guterres, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and consciousness the functions entrusted to me as Secretary-General of the UN to discharge these functions and regulate my conduct with the interest of the United Nations only in view," he said.

After the oath-taking ceremony, Guterres addressed the General Assembly, offering his vision of the United Nations and critical global issues.

"It is time to reconstruct relations between people and leaders, national and international. Time for leaders to listen and show that they care  about their own people and about the global stability and solidarity on which we all depend," Guterres said.

He told the representatives that despite numerous, increasingly complex challenges that sometimes "surpass our ability to respond," the United Nations as an institution must adapt and meet these.

Earlier during the meeting, UN General Assembly members' representatives paid tribute to the outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose term officially ends December 31.

"We are so grateful to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his service and for doing so much for making the United Nations into the beacon of hope he has always seen it to be," US Ambassador Samantha Power said.

Ban wished Guterres success and said it had been an honor serving as UN chief. The South Korean diplomat also thanked member states for their "support and continued commitment for the noble purposes and principles of the United Nations."

Guterres, 67, was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and the UN high commissioner for refugees from 2005 to 2015. He was approved by the General Assembly on October 13 for a five-year term as secretary-general, starting January 1, 2017.

 Sputnik

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Taking oath of office, Antonio Guterres pledges to work for peace, development and a reformed United Nations

12 December 2016  Sworn in today as the ninth and next United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres pledged to reposition development at the centre of the Organization's work and ensure that the UN can change to effectively meet the myriad challenges facing the international community.

"The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy," said Mr. Guterres after taking the oath of office at a ceremony before the 193-member UN General Assembly.

Mr. Guterres, a former Prime Minister of Portugal (1995 to 2002) and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005-2015) took the oath of office following the Assembly's tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of the month after leading the global Organization for the past 10 years.

At the onset of his remarks at the swearing-in-ceremony, the Secretary-General-designate paid tribute to Secretary-General Ban for his "principled leadership [that] helped to chart the future of the UN  through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; through [his] commitment to peace and security; through [his] initiative to put human rights at the heart of [UN's] work."

Mr. Guterres then highlighted three strategic priorities for the Organization: working for peace; supporting sustainable development; and reforming its internal management.

Peace

Noting that, often, the UN is tasked with peacekeeping in places where there is no peace to keep, he said that a greater conceptual clarity and a shared understanding of the scope of peacekeeping was needed so as to pave the way for urgent reforms.

"Inspired by the new concept of sustaining peace, it is time for us all to engage in a comprehensive reform of the UN strategy, operational set-up and structures for peace and security," he highlighted.

Mr. Guterres also emphasized the need to do more to prevent and respond to the sexual violence and exploitation committed by those serving under the UN flag against those they are supposed to protect.

"I will work closely with Member States on structural, legal and operational measures to make the zero-tolerance policy [] a reality," he underscored, adding:

"We must ensure transparency and accountability  and offer protection and effective remedies to the victims."

Sustainable development

On the second key element of the reform agenda, concerning the UN support to Member States in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mr. Guterres said that development will form the centre of the UN's work, and that he will engage in a comprehensive reform of the UN development system  both at headquarters and at country levels.

"This must involve leadership, coordination, delivery and accountability. We will build on the outcome of the recent discussions among Member States," he said, underlining the need to bring humanitarian and development spheres closer together from the very beginning of a crisis.

"Humanitarian response, sustainable development and sustaining peace are three sides of the same triangle," he highlighted.

Management reform

On management reforms, Mr. Guterres underlined the need to build on existing efforts and to implement recent reform initiatives.

"Looking at UN staff and budgetary rules and regulations, one might think some of them were designed to prevent, rather than enable, the effective delivery of our mandates," he said, adding: "It benefits no one if it takes nine months to deploy a staff member to the field,"

He also underlined the need to foster a culture of accountability and effective protection for whistleblowers, as well as to better communicate the work of the UN, so that people understand it better.

"We need a substantial reform of our communications strategy, upgrading our tools and platforms to reach people around the world," he said.

Pledge to reach gender parity

He also pledged to respect gender parity from the start in all appointments to the Senior Management Group (SMG) and the Chief Executives Board (CEB), stressing: "By the end of my mandate, we should reach full gender parity at the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General levels, including special representatives and special envoys."

Conclusion

Concluding his remarks, Secretary-General-designate Guterres said that while the world is getting better connected, fragmentations within societies are increasing, and that more and more people are living within their own bubbles, unable to appreciate their links with the whole human family.

"In the end, it comes down to values, as was said so many times today. We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the UN Charter: peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance and solidarity," he said, adding:

"The threats to these values are most often based on fear. Our duty to the peoples we serve is to work together to move from fear of each other, to trust in each other."

"Trust in the values that bind us, and trust in the institutions that serve and protect us," he emphasized.

Mr. Guterres, was appointed by the General Assembly on 13 October this year in what was the culmination of an historic process Member States set in motion late last year: the selection of a new UN Secretary-General, traditionally decided behind closed-doors by a few powerful countries, for the first time in history, involved public discussions with each candidate vying for the leadership position.

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Alan Burkitt-Gray speaks to Don MacNeil, chief operating officer of GTT, about its company restructuring after coming out of Chapter 11 and its strategic roadmap for the next 12 months.
NEW YORK , Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mid-Atlantic Bio Angels (MABA) announces today that NangioTx, Inc.(http://www.nangiotx.com) was voted as Best of the Best among past winners of MABA's 1st Pitch Life Science events for 2016. The competition took place on December 6, 2016, at Medidata Solutions at 350 Hudson Street in New York City. NangioTx is a Houston-based drug development company developing a novel drug that promotes the growth of new blood vessels in the muscles of patients with peripheral artery disease, which causes muscle atrophy and cell death.



"Nine companies that have previously won Best in Show titles in 2016 1st Pitch competitions competed for the coveted Best of the Best title at MABA's end of year competition. All the previous winners had significantly improved their pitches, and the competition was fierce, said Yaniv Sneor, MABA co-founder and president of Blue Cactus Consulting. Vivek Kumar, NangioTx's CEO, delivered a compelling and engaging pitch that won the majority of audience votes, and the well-earned title of 2016 Best of the Best. I see a bright future for him and his company.



We left the 1st Pitch competition in February with a number of ideas of how to improve the approach to our business plan, while continuing to pursue our science. We are grateful to have been able to apply that knowledge in order to be chosen as Best of the Best, said Vivek Kumar, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of NangioTx. Peripheral artery disease sufferers remain an extremely underserved population  more than 8 million Americans  and we are dedicated to developing a potential treatment to preserve their muscle tissue for as long as possible.

NangioTxs flagship product, V-10,is a thixotropic self-assembling peptide drug that promotes angiogenesis for muscle preservation. V-10 presents a mimic of VEGF in much higher epitope density stimulating localized blood vessel growth in an injectable hydrogel. V-10 has shown therapeutic benefit in the preclinical efficacy model of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Studies of the drug demonstrate that it improves perfusion and gait in the mice with hind limb ischemia. The company is currently developing it for evaluation in a Phase I clinical trial for intermittent claudication in PAD.

After more than two hours of pitches and despite being second to the last of the nine presenters, the audience of nearly 150 who remained through the evening expressed great enthusiasm for NangioTxs pitch and its revascularization technology, added Stephen M. Goodman, co-founder of MABA and a partner at New York law firm Pryor Cashman, LP. 1st Pitch advertises that its presenting companies are not quite ready for investment. NangioTxs pitch, like the other pitches at this event, showed that Vivek Kumar took the assessments offered at the companys earlier presentation this year and used them to advance the case that his company may, in fact, be ready.

As winner of Best of the Best, NangioTx will receive select services free of charge from sponsors of the event, including, intellectual property counsel from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; FDA counsel from BakerHostetler; general corporate, corporate governance and finance counsel from McCarter & English, LLP; technology transfer and licensing counsel from Pryor Cashman, LP; business commercialization strategy and execution from Blue Cactus Consulting; a free press release developed by JQA Partners, Inc.; and advisory on becoming desirable to investors from Capgenic Advisors.

About NangioTx

NangioTx is a Houston-based company developing a platform regenerative technology to engineer tissue by returning blood flow to dying organs. Reduced blood flow (ischemia) to the legs in peripheral artery disease results in tissue damage and ultimately limb amputation or death. NangioTxs flagship technology, V-10, is an injectable material that helps create new blood vessels. V-10 promotes growth and maturity of new vessels through proprietary, patent pending technology.

About Mid Atlantic Bio Angels

Mid Atlantic Bio Angels (http://bioangels.net) is a group of active angel investors, which meets in New York City monthly (except July and August) solely to hear from pre-screened early-stage life science companies. MABA members consist of individuals from Delaware to Massachusetts with significant expertise and experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, including former and current corporate executives, doctors and Ph.D. scientists with product development backgrounds, successful medical entrepreneurs and analyst/investors focused on life sciences. MABA's goal is to create an environment where the depth of investors' knowledge coupled with the pre-screening of presenting companies enhances the potential for meaningful investment.
Members of Danvilles Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints traveled to North and South Carolina for three weekends to help heal the communities hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew.

Wed show up, let them know what people and equipment we had, and the larger group would coordinate the groups to make sure every group had everything they needed, Bishop Matt Evans said.

Hurricane Matthew ravaged the southeastern United States in early October, causing wind damage and flooding in many areas from Florida to North Carolina.

Several areas had massive amounts of damage that required aid from FEMA, including Orangeburg and Florence, South Carolina, and Goldsboro, North Carolina.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints asked the FEMA call centers where they could help. Members of Latter Day Saints churches throughout the nation gathered in each of those places as part of the Mormon Helping Hands program, working alongside FEMA, Red Cross and local service organizations to help get people back on their feet in the time before government aid was available.

Mormon Helping Hands is a priest-directed program to provide community service and disaster relief. Its also used to dispel stereotypes often held about the church, according to the Latter Day Saints website.

The groups from Danville were a group of 10 to 15 people, going down in three separate trips, but they werent working alone.

Most of the work they did in South Carolina was tree removal, for families that were unable to chop up the fallen trees that had fallen in their yards and on power lines.

Sometimes wed get a work order, and wed show up, and their neighbor would need help, so wed help them too. Because the government lags, theres an immediate need that we fulfill, Evans said. Theres less need for additional boots on the ground at that point. 

In Goldsboro and Lumberton, they did more work removing trees, as well as repairing flood damage to houses  replacing drywall and repairing porches in the communities that needed them the most.

As you go down and spend your time, energy and money for people that cant do it for themselves., Evans said. Theres a feeling that comes that you cant replicate. That feeling only comes when you serve.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Monday proposed sweeping organizational changes to how the Virginia Economic Development Partnership is run - urging increases in gubernatorial authority and agency accountability and oversight for the millions it spends each year to lure businesses to the state.

The proposed changes come on the heels of a scathing report last month by the legislature's watchdog, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. It documented a long history at the quasi-independent state authority of operating with little oversight or accountability for the taxpayer money that VEDP uses to attract new businesses, expand existing ones, and promote Virginias trade interests abroad.

As part of the reorganization, McAuliffe proposed making the Secretary of Commerce and Trade for each administration the "permanent chair" of the VEDP board, which currently selects its chairman from its members.

He also proposed that the CEO of the state-funded organization produce an operational plan and create a separate department to monitor and enforce whether companies that are given money and incentives to locate and grow in Virginia are living up to their part of the deal.

He said VEDP should have a separate audit function that reports directly to the board and that the public and government be informed on whether the projects it supports produce the return on investment they promise.

"No more can VEDP act like an island unto itself," McAuliffe said during a news conference at the state Capitol in Richmond, where he was joined by Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, Secretary of Commerce Todd Haymore and Secretary of Finance Richard D. "Ric" Brown.

November JLARC report

Last month the JLARC report warned that the partnership has left the state vulnerable to fraud by failing to establish policies for awarding incentive grants to new and expanding businesses or requiring them to perform to their requirements, despite giving out nearly $400 million in incentive grants over the past 10 years.

State legislators had reacted with disbelief and fury to the report's findings.

We spend boatloads of money (on economic development) every year, House Appropriations Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, a member of the legislative commission, said of the JLARC report. To read this really made me sick to my stomach.

Jones made clear that he supports the reports recommendation that the General Assembly withhold $1.5 million in the current state budget for partnership programs and tie future appropriations to improved performance.

Theyve got a lot of proving to do before Im willing to allocate any more dollars to them, he said at the end of a 90-minute presentation of the staffs findings and 35 recommendations.

McAuliffe's proposals

The legislation we are announcing today will strengthen weaknesses in the management of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and put the organization on the path to become the economic driver for our commonwealth we know it can be, said McAuliffe.

VEDP was formed 21 years ago under the administration of then-Gov. George Allen. It is run by a volunteer board that meets quarterly and is responsible for making decisions about the organizations future, including hiring its CEO. Funded by the legislature, it is by far the largest recipient of state funds devoted to economic development in the commonwealth.

At Monday's news conference, McAuliffe proposed changes to how VEDP board members are selected, such as reducing terms from six years to four years, and staggering the terms so that a sitting governor could conceivably have a majority on the board at some point during his term.

The governor also proposed that appointments to the board that are based on congressional districts be eliminated, because he said it limits the possibility of having appointees who might have greater expertise in "the emerging economy."

But he said the partnership should also solicit greater input and cooperation from local and regional governments and nonprofits in determining opportunities for economic development.

McAuliffe said he expects there to be bipartisan support for his proposals, which would require legislation by the General Assembly.
The second round of Altavistas entrepreneurship program, Pop-Up Altavista, has wrapped up, and four business owners were awarded grant money to start up or expand their ventures.

Altavista On Track, the towns downtown-revitalization program, and the Small Business Development Center at Central Virginia Community College led the nine-week program that walked participants through the basics of business.

The course included information on writing a business plan, marketing, handling finances plus question-and-answer sessions with veteran local business owners.

At the end of the class expo on Nov. 10th, participants were eligible to pitch business ideas and compete for grant money. There was no set award for successful pitches; businesses asked specifically for what they need to launch or expand successfully.

All four businesses are owned by women. They span a variety of services, from industrial welding to trendy womens clothes and home decor.

One of the businesses, Blum Esthetics, owned and operated by Jessica Sundblom out of Mitchells Salon on 7th, received a $5,000 grant. Sundblom could not be reached for an interview last week.

Here is a look at the other three grant winners:

C&C Piping and Fabrication

For the past year, Codie Cyrus has operated C&C Piping and Fabrication out of her home office while her husband Cody Hurd has completed industrial welding projects for clients in the barn behind their house. Specializing in industrial piping and maintenance, the company has been over the top busy in the last year and is looking to expand to a 10,000-square-foot industrial space to accommodate larger projects.

Originally, Cyrus and Hurd signed up for the Pop-Up program to grow their knowledge of business. They applied for the grant after deciding to expand. They earned the largest grant, $15,000.

We decided to go for the grant since were doing well enough in our first year to expand and weve got clients asking us to do things and we cant take bigger jobs because we dont have the space to store the material before the job happens, Cyrus said.

While the grant money stipulates the company must get a space within Altavista to use the money, she said they are reaching a point where they must expand no matter what.

Were going to expand either way, and the grant makes it more cost-efficient for us, but if we cant use it, its not going to stop us, she said.

Along with using the money to expand into a workshop, they want to invest in three new metalworking machines to streamline their processes. Right now, a majority of their projects happen on-site at local factories and industrial businesses that contract with C&C, but a workshop will allow more pre-fabrication beforehand for more complex projects.

For Cyrus, the most helpful part of Pop-Up was gaining a support system so she could ask for help when she needed it.

When I began my business, it felt like I was spinning my wheels, she said. What we do is competitive, and its hard to find someone to ask for help. Finding out about the Small Business Development Center was a huge jump for us to know we have a place to get an unbiased answer to our questions.

Despite welding being a field dominated by men, Cyrus said she has not encountered much prejudice, and her experience working in construction gave her a thick skin.

Ive met with some people who dont want to talk to me and say, Wheres the guy at? she said. I dont let someones predisposed idea of my inability to bother me. If you dont want to talk to me and you want to talk to [Hurd], great, lets put him on the phone, because thats going to make me money.

Hurd spent years as a traveling welder before settling down locally eight years ago. When he and Cyrus decided to start the business, they aimed to fill a need for mid-sized projects that are too big for individual welders to handle but are too small for large companies to prioritize.

The larger your company gets, you have the inability to take smaller projects because your overhead costs get too high and theres things the smaller companies cant or wont bid on, Cyrus said. Weve had great wonderful luck with being able to fill that gap.

Pretty Please on Broad

After the closure of Emily Kathryn Boutique in June in Altavista, Melina Irby was disappointed. After venting her frustration to some friends that she now would have to travel to Lynchburg or Danville to shop for trendy womens clothes, she sprang into action.

She reached out to the boutiques owner, Emily Walker, who was selling the shop to focus solely on her photography business, to collaborate. Now, Irby has taken over the shop, and Walker has a room in the back for her photography business. Walkers clients use the shops clothes and jewelry for shoots, and she takes the product photos for Pretty Please.

Open since August, Pretty Please on Broad sells a variety of contemporary clothing aimed at women in their late teens up through their 50s.

We wanted to have something to offer for the local ladies that was a little different and a little trendy that you couldnt get at your normal Target without having to drive to Lynchburg or Danville, Irby said. Comfortable, soft and affordable: those are my three things.

The store stocks clothing in a variety of sizes, styles and colors and aims for whats popular. Alongside the printed pants and brightly colored flowing tops, Irby stocks gift items targeted toward women, purses in different styles and sizes and handmade jewelry sourced locally.

While Irby wants to be trendy, she also wants to be affordable.

Were affordable fashion, she said. The most expensive thing on the floor is $50, and Im taking 15 percent off that right now for the holiday sale.

Pretty Please was awarded $10,000, and Irby will use the money to purchase a monogram machine for the store. She hopes to capitalize on customers who would otherwise take their items to get monogrammed in Danville or Forest.

Everything is monogrammable and everybody wants it, she said. Its going to be nice to have folks that will be buying things here and who would otherwise be taking them elsewhere to get them monogrammed be able to do that in house.

Even though she has been open for several months now, Irby said the Pop-Up class was immensely helpful for her to find her focus as a business owner.

When you first take over a business, its extremely overwhelming because everything needs your attention, she said. Being able to take a look at where I am currently and where I would like to be one, two or three years down the road and figuring out what my gaps and opportunities are so I can focus was great.

Adalyns

When Addison and Chad Brafford began looking for furniture for their home two years ago, they knew exactly what they wanted. As they searched for high-quality farmhouse style furniture for their home, they were disappointed by what they found.

After finding some ideas online for furniture they liked, the Braffords decided to start making their own furniture. While in the beginning it was just a hobby, Chad said it soon became more than that.

We spent time figuring out designs and ways to make things, and pretty soon it turned into our friends and family saying, Hey, can you make this for me? or Hey, can you build this? he said.

The couple is preparing to open a storefront in downtown Altavista before Christmas to sell furniture and other farmhouse and shabby-chic-style home decor items. After presenting their business plan and homemade solid wood table to the judges, they won $8,000 from the Pop-Up program to help them get their retail space and order inventory.

We didnt know anything really about the funding when we signed up, but when we learned about it, it seemed like a win-win, Addison said. We got the education to start our own business, and it was just perfect timing. It pushed us over the edge and told us how to get started.

For Addison, the best part of the course was being able to ask questions of business owners that have been operating for a while to learn from their mistakes.

I asked, What is the biggest mistake you made when you first started out? she said. I didnt want to make that mistake, so it was just really helpful learning from all of the different business owners.

Half their store will be for items they found or made themselves. The other half will be called Adalyns Additions and will feature handmade items from local vendors and crafters who do not have a space of their own.

We wanted to give other people like us that are dabbling that same opportunity without having to pay the high cost of rent, Addison said. It helps us out a little bit too, because just starting out we dont have a whole building worth of stuff.

The store, named after their young daughter Adalyn, will have some furniture stocked for customers to choose from, but they will also be taking custom orders for tables, beds and other pieces of furniture. Customers will be able to choose the style, color and size for their items and it will be made to order.

The stuff you can get here is stuff you wont find anywhere else, Chad said. Were going for a modern yet simplistic style that will give your home the feeling of a country farmhouse, where the way of life is more relaxed and simple.
Tell us the basics: Who are you, whats your companys name, and how long have you been at this company? I am public relations and marketing specialist at Danville Community College. I started in this position in October 2016, but my history with the college goes back to when I was a student there in 2007. I loved my time as a student at DCC and I am thrilled to be a part of making the student experience there the best it can be today.

Describe your business  what do you do? Danville Community College is a two-year institution of higher education under the state-wide Virginia Community College System. DCC's service area includes the City of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Halifax County. Danville Community College is one of 23 colleges in the Virginia Community College System. The associate degree curricula of the College have been approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Danville Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the associate degree. Danville Community College values the multicultural diversity of its students, faculty, and staff. We are committed to creating and nurturing a campus environment which both welcomes and empowers all individuals. We recognize cultural differences of background, experience, and national origin, and we seek to promote the common bonds of humanity which cross the boundaries of cultural difference. The college's 86-acre main campus is located approximately two miles from downtown Danville on South Main Street (Route 86). I help market the college in support of its mission to provide quality comprehensive higher education and workforce programs and services to promote student success and to enhance business and community development.

How did you get into this business? I majored in communication studies and journalism during my undergraduate experience at Averett University and, more recently, earned a master of business administration degree with a concentration in marketing. Public relations and marketing have always held my interest and a career in integrated marketing communications represents the natural progression and development of those interests into practical application.

Whats the market like for your business? Higher education represents many opportunities for the people of Southern Virginia. Market trends and state and federal initiatives indicate the continued growth and development of new industry jobs in fields such as advanced manufacturing, precision machining, information systems technology, and cyber security. Danville Community College serves a crucial role in producing a workforce to meet the future demand of companies that local economic development offices are attracting to Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Halifax County with its programs in these fields and more than 100 others.

Whats a lesson youve learned during the recession? A strong academic experience serves as the foundation for whatever future you hope to build for yourself. No matter what your professional interests might be, higher education makes it possible to realize those ambitions and to reach new heights you previously thought impossible.

Is there a secret to your personal success? Perhaps a piece of advice youve always remembered? In her song "You Learn," Alanis Morissette recommends living in such a way that, when you reflect on the experience, you think "How did I manage to do all of that?" Realizing that, even though you may have "bitten off more than you could chew," you still accomplished what you set out to do is an amazing feeling that empowers you to meet your next challenge with more vigor and more tenacity than you previously thought you had--that is because our greatest challenges result in our greatest personal growth. In summary, the advice I carry with me is: Rise to meet your challenges.

Whats coming up in the next year for you and your company? What about in the next five years? DCC has a lot of exciting programs, projects, and initiatives coming up in the next year and beyond and I am so excited to have the opportunity to be involved with all of them. Please visit our website at www.danville.edu and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dccpr to read about our latest exciting developments!

Whats the part of your job you dread the most? Nothing at all. I love everything about what I do and I've been told that feeling that way is how you know you are where you belong.

Whats the part of your job that excites you the most, the thing that makes you want to hurry to work? Variety makes my job interesting. Having an assortment of projects active at any given time keeps me engaged and excited about what's next. I look forward to going to work each day because each day feels like a fresh, new adventure.

If you werent in this career, what would you do for a living? I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 12, 2016) -

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Rupert Resources Ltd. ("Rupert" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:RUP) is pleased to announce that it has now closed both tranches of its previously announced non-brokered private placement, and in total has issued 17,692,307 common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at a price of $0.65 per Common Share (the "Private Placement"), for gross proceeds of $11,500,000.

The second and final tranche of the Private Placement that closed today consisted of 4,638,462 Common Shares for gross proceeds of $3,015,000. The securities issued in connection with the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period, in accordance with applicable securities laws, and the net proceeds will be utilized at the permitted underground Pathavaara gold mine in Northern Finland.

"With this support from shareholders, Rupert will be able to advance required underground development and modernization programs at the Pahtavaara mine, working with key contractors and its own personnel," said Brian Hinchcliffe, President and CEO of Rupert.

The Company has agreed to pay to Mirabaud Securities LLP a cash finder's fee of $194,635.24 in respect of certain sales under the Private Placement.

Furthermore, and subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company has agreed to pay to Canaccord Genuity Corp. a cash finder's fee of $9,230.00 in respect of certain sales under the Private Placement.

The securities being offered pursuant to the Private Placement have not been, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. federal and state registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, the securities in the United States.

About Rupert

Rupert is a Canadian based gold exploration and development company that is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "RUP". The Company owns the Pahtavaara gold mine, mill, and exploration permits and concessions located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in Northern Finland (see the Company's November 9, 2016 press release). The Company also holds a 100% interest in the Gold Centre property, which consists of mineral claims located in the Balmer Township, Red Lake Mining Division of Ontario.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking statements", including the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement, the approval by the TSX Venture Exchange of the payment of a finder's fee to Canaccord, statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the general risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended February 29, 2016 available at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.
VANCOUVER, Dec. 13, 2016 /CNW/ - Arizona Mining Inc. (TSX: AZ) ("Arizona Mining" or the "Company") announces that further to its news release of December 12, 2016, The Global Mining Observer has fully retracted its article of Sunday, December 11, 2016 on the Company. The Global Mining Observer has indicated that it "regrets any damage which the statements in that article may have caused".

About Arizona Mining

Arizona Mining Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on the exploration and development of its 100% owned Hermosa Project located in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The Taylor Deposit, a zinc-lead-silver carbonate replacement deposit, has a resource of 31.1 million tons in the Indicated Mineral Resource category grading 10.9% zinc equivalent ("ZnEq") and 82.7 million tons in the Inferred Mineral Resource category grading 11.1% ZnEq both utilizing a 4% ZnEq cutoff grade calculated in accordance with NI 43-101 guidelines (refer to the Company's news release dated October 31, 2016). The Taylor Deposit remains open to the north, west and south over land controlled by the Company and will be aggressively drilled to test the limits of the resource. The Company's other project on the Hermosa property is the Central Deposit, a silver-manganese manto oxide project.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward looking statements including statements with respect to the Company's intentions for its Hermosa Project in Arizona, including, without limitation, performing additional drilling and metallurgical testwork on the Taylor Deposit. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as may, will, seek, anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, budget, schedule, forecast, project, expect, intend, or similar expressions.

The forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which, while considered reasonable by Arizona Mining, are subject to risks and uncertainties. In addition to the assumptions herein, these assumptions include the assumptions described in Arizona Mining's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2015 ("MD&A"). Arizona Mining cautions readers that forward-looking statements involve and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results, performance or achievement. These risks, uncertainties and factors include general business, economic, competitive, political, regulatory and social uncertainties; actual results of exploration activities and economic evaluations; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in project parameters; changes in costs, including labour, infrastructure, operating and production costs; future prices of zinc, lead, silver and other minerals; variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, development or mining activities, including the failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; delays in completion of exploration, development or construction activities; changes in government legislation and regulation; the ability to maintain and renew existing licenses and permits or obtain required licenses and permits in a timely manner; the ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms in a timely manner; contests over title to properties; employee relations and shortages of skilled personnel and contractors; the speculative nature of, and the risks involved in, the exploration, development and mining business; and the factors discussed in the section entitled "Risks and Uncertainties" in the MD&A.

Although Arizona Mining has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual performance, achievements, actions, events, results or conditions to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking information, there may be other risks, uncertainties and other factors that cause performance, achievements, actions, events, results or conditions to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements contained herein are as of the date hereof and Arizona Mining disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Arizona Mining Inc.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec 13, 2016) - Paul Saxton, President of Lincoln Mining Corp. ("Lincoln" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:LMG) reports that 14 reverse-circulation drill holes (6,962.5 feet or 2,132.6 metres) were completed on the Pine Grove property in Lyon County, Nevada. The resource expansion drill program was conducted on the Wilson patented claims. Goldcliff Resource Corporation, which is earning in to a 40% interest in the Pine Grove project, funded the drill program designed to extend mineralization from the last line of drilling to the northern boundary of the patented claims. Lincoln's technical personnel managed the recent drill program.

Thirteen vertical reverse-circulation drill holes were completed in two fences and an additional angle hole was drilled near the southern boundary of the patented claims block for required geochemical information. The first fence of holes stepped out 100 feet beyond the northern limit of previous drilling and the second fence stepped out a further 100 feet to the northern edge of the patented claims boundary. The Wilson patented claims are surrounded by located claims which are also part of the Pine Grove joint venture. All holes intersected favorable granodiorite host rock which is a host rock for mineralization at Pine Grove, including some zones with conspicuous iron oxides. All assays are pending.

Jeffrey Wilson, Vice President of Exploration of Lincoln Mining Corp., and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 has reviewed the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

Lincoln also announces that Robert (Bob) Schafer has stepped down as a Director of Lincoln Mining Corp.. Bob will remain as an advisor to the Company. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Schafer for his contribution in guiding the Company over the last number of years. We wish Bob the very best in his future endeavours.

Lincoln Mining Corp. is a Canadian precious metals exploration and development company with two projects in various stages of exploration and development, which include the advanced stage Pine Grove gold property in Nevada and the pre-development stage Oro Cruz gold property in California. In the United States, the Company operates under Lincoln Gold US Corp. and Lincoln Resource Group Corp., both are Nevada corporations.

On behalf of Lincoln Mining Corp.

- Paul Saxton, Paul Saxton, President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY INCLUDE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS OR INFORMATION. ALL STATEMENTS OTHER THAN STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FACT INCLUDED IN THIS RELEASE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, STATEMENTS REGARDING THE STATUS OF THE COMPANY'S PROPERTIES ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THAT INVOLVE VARIOUS RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT SUCH STATEMENTS WILL PROVE TO BE ACCURATE AND ACTUAL RESULTS AND FUTURE EVENTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN SUCH STATEMENTS. IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THE COMPANY'S PLANS OR EXPECTATIONS INCLUDE AVAILABILITY OF CAPITAL AND FINANCING TO MAINTAIN THE COMPANY'S PROJECTS; GENERAL ECONOMIC, MARKET OR BUSINESS CONDITIONS; FLUCTUATING METAL PRICES; REGULATORY CHANGES; TIMELINESS OF GOVERNMENT OR REGULATORY APPROVALS AND OTHER RISKS DETAILED HEREIN AND FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE FILINGS MADE BY THE COMPANY. THE COMPANY MAKES ALL REASONABLE EFFORTS TO UPDATE ITS CORPORATE MATERIAL, DOCUMENTATION AND FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION ON A TIMELY BASIS.
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - Dec 13, 2016) - Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to comment on the incoming U.S. presidential administration concerning trade policy and the implications for an independent domestic strategic metals industry.

"China continues to control more than 90 percent of the global mining and production of rare earth containing ore and exhibits near complete control over each subsequent stage of the supply chain," said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "Dependence on foreign sources of rare earths leaves the Department of Defense vulnerable to supply interruptions and without a fall-back for critical materials production should conflicts arise between the super powers, an issue addressed in a recent article in the Asia Times1. President-elect Donald Trump has been outspoken through his campaign regarding the protection of American workers and industry from damaging and unfair foreign trade practices. His proposed policies coincide well with our vision of creating a self-contained strategic metals hub on US soil, independent of international political disruption. The movement toward US self-reliance, especially in areas of the highest military and industrial vulnerability, speaks well to our plan to develop our recently announced Strategic Metals Complex."

1Reference Link: http://www.atimes.com/article/china-holds-trump-card-rare-earths-trade/

According to President-Elect Trump, the trade disparity that exists between the U.S. and China has undercut U.S. exports and constrained American manufacturing. In order to ensure fair and transparent trade, Trump has proposed plans to levy tariffs against unfair Chinese imports up to 45 percent. If enacted, a large tariff will have significant implications for the American rare earths market leading to increased urgency of investment in U.S. strategic materials. Moreover, a tariff on strategic materials would drive downstream manufacturing, stimulating domestic job creation, and secure the supply chain for materials crucial to the proper function of numerous defense end-items, thus alleviating a dangerous risk currently posed to U.S. national security. The Department of Defense has indicated that the lack of substitutability for rare earths in defense applications will necessitate their increasing use on a go forward basis. A secure supply chain of rare earths is an essential component of a robust national security policy, given the increasing reliance on materials such as dysprosium, terbium, praseodymium and neodymium for the proper function of defense end-items such as precision-guided munitions, lasers, satellite communications, and military equipment and vehicles.

The proposed trade policies additionally speak well to innovation and a transition to more environmentally friendly technologies for the separation of rare earths. China relies on antiquated separation and extraction techniques with low selectivity for individual rare earths and necessitates the use of many separation stages and corrosive chemicals resulting in the generation of vast amounts of highly toxic, organic waste. These processes have enabled China to artificially suppress rare earth prices and force competition from the marketplace at the cost of extensive environmental degradation and human health and safety. In turn, processes such as solvent extraction are expensive, both in terms of environmental cost and capital outlay, and highly problematic in terms of permitting in US jurisdictions.

Additionally, much of the Chinese rare earth market remains opaque, leaving it vulnerable to an influx of low-cost black market materials that drive down prices and threaten to disrupt American access to strategic materials. The proposed tariff on China would hold the country accountable ensuring internationally recognized regulations are adhered to, and will go a long way toward enhancing America's leverage in international negotiations pertaining to security and defense. America needs an independent and robust strategic materials market and Ucore is proud to provide a domestic platform for such, utilizing world class molecular recognition technologies already proven over decades of development.

"Ucore looks forward to cooperating with the Trump Administration's efforts to return the U.S. strategic materials market to self-sufficiency," said McKenzie. "What's more, we look forward to continued collaboration with legislators in their efforts to break the United States of critical material dependencies."

Background

Ucore Rare Metals is a development-phase company focused on rare metals resources, extraction and beneficiation technologies with near term potential for production, growth and scalability. On March 3, 2015, Ucore announced the right to acquire a controlling ownership interest in the exclusive rights to IBC SuperLig technology for rare earths and multi-metallic tailings processing applications in North America and associated world markets. The Company has a 100% ownership stake in the Bokan project. On March 31, 2014, Ucore announced the unanimous support of the Alaska State Legislature for the investment of up to USD $145 Million in the Bokan project at the discretion of the Alaska Import Development and Export Agency ("AIDEA").

For further information, please visit http://www.ucore.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined by the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ABN) (OTCBB:ABNAF) (Frankfurt:E2L2) ("Aben" or the "Company") and Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:EPL) have executed a formal Option Agreement whereby Aben has the exclusive right to earn an undivided 80% interest in the Chico gold project, located 125 km east of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 40 km south of Silver Standard Resources' Seabee / Santoy mine complex. Aben may earn an initial 60% interest by incurring $1,500,000 in exploration expenditures, issuing 1,500,000 common shares and making cash payments totalling $100,000 over 4 years. Upon earning this 60% interest in the Chico Gold Project, Aben may elect to exercise a second option to earn a further 20% interest by incurring an additional $2,000,000 in exploration expenditures, issuing 1,000,000 common shares, and making $50,000 cash payments within two years of the date of election.

Chico Gold Project location map, Saskatchewan:

http://www.abenresources.com/i/maps/ABN_Chico_Location_and_Highlights.jpg

Eagle Plains recently completed fieldwork on the 2915 hectare property, which consisted of a 661 line-km airborne geophysical survey, mapping, trenching and soil geochemical surveys designed to define high-grade gold targets for upcoming drilling activity. Results of this work were summarized in an Eagle Plains news release dated December 6th, 2016.

Chico property highlights include the presence of a 1.5 km mineralized structural corridor which is confirmed by geophysical surveys, geological mapping and recent soil sample coverage which included numerous highly anomalous samples ranging up to 4.5 g/t gold. Sporadic historical drilling has been completed in the area and has returned high-grade intercepts. Rock samples collected in 2016 by Eagle Plains along this structural corridor ranged from trace quantities to 20.2 g/t gold. Recent work resulted in numerous high-priority drill targets being identified.

The overall objective of the 2016 program was to identify mineralization similar to that at the nearby Seabee and Santoy deposits. The Seabee gold operation has been in continuous production since 1991 and has produced 1.2M ounces of gold from the Seabee and the Santoy deposits. Ore geology at Seabee/Santoy consists of high-grade vein mineralization associated with volcanic and mafic intrusive rocks which have been structurally disrupted by splays of the deep crustal Tabbernor Fault system. The Tabbernor Fault is a 1500 km long regional structure which has been traced from as far north as the Rabbit Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan to as far south as the Black Hills of South Dakota, the latter of which hosts the 40M oz Homestake gold deposit. The shared proximity to the Tabbernor fault and similarities in terms of age and tectonic history to the Homestake and Seabee deposits was the main driving force behind both Eagle Plains' and Aben's interest in the Chico property. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the subject properties.

Chico Project Summary and History

The Chico structural zone comprises a north/northeast-trending 20m- to 150m-wide multi-episodic shear system comprising both ductile and brittle gold-bearing quartz vein systems. Trenching and drilling activities carried out by Corona Corporation and Cameco from 1988 to 1993 defined a mineralized strike length of over 1400m. Trenching by Corona at the Royex showing returned five chip samples greater than 1000 ppb gold with a best (chip) sample of 14.3 g/t gold over 1m (AR 63M06-0034). Follow-up diamond drilling by Cameco near the Royex trench returned five significant intercepts ranging from 0.51 g/t gold over 1.5m, to 36.0 g/t gold over 0.3m (AR 63M06-0041).

Mineralized shear zones and quartz veining that define the Chico zone are hosted in diorite and granite and especially along the sheared contact between these two units. The Chico and the adjacent parallel Ed and Western structural zones are related splay structures off the larger Tabbernor fault system. Despite the significant surface discoveries of gold along these structural trends, mineralization remains largely untested at depth and along strike extensions. Eagle Plains has initiated permitting for future drilling within the property area.

President of Aben Resources Ltd., Jim Pettit comments, "The Company is pleased to add the 'Chico Gold Project' to its portfolio of high-value properties. Based on past and recent exploration results, this region of Saskatchewan appears to be on the verge of a renaissance of significant new exploration in the coming years. On top of that, Saskatchewan is considered one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world as ranked by the Fraser Institute. This exciting new project allows the Company to potentially drill through the winter while it is compiling data and permitting for summer work and drilling programs on its BC based Forrest Kerr Project and Yukon based Justin Project."

Eagle Plains has two common directors with Aben Resources Ltd., each of whom abstained from voting regarding this transaction.

About Aben Resources:

Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing projects in British Columbia's Golden Triangle, the Yukon and now Saskatchewan.

For further information on Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ABN), visit our Company's web site at www.abenresources.com.

Aben Resources has approx. 30 million shares issued and outstanding.

Aben Resources Ltd.

"Jim Pettit"

____________________________

JAMES G. PETTIT

President

For further information contact myself or:

Don Myers

Aben Resources Ltd.

Corporate Communications

Telephone: 604-687-3376

Toll Free: 800-567-8181

Facsimile: 604-687-3119

Email: info@abenresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
Amid Donald Trump's largely unexpected victory on Election Day, it was easy to miss an emerging trend in local elections: In about a dozen communities around the country, voters approved tax hikes for children's services and measures that will keep policymakers from dipping into those funds for other purposes.Some places have had a dedicated children's fund, which legally can't be spent on anything else, since the 1990s. But the funds are becoming increasingly common.Its definitely a budding movement, said Elizabeth Gaines, a senior fellow at the Forum for Youth Investment, a research and advocacy group in Washington, D.C.The measures passed in November will help fund a wide range of programs, from youth homelessness prevention to preschool to foster care. They passed in cities and counties on the East and West Coasts (Baltimore, Oakland, Calif.; San Francisco) and in several Midwestern localities, such as Cincinnati and Jackson County, Mo.With cash-strapped states and localities often taking money that was supposed to be spent on one thing and spending it on something else, the idea of dedicated funds is also growing in other areas, such as transportation Getting it institutionalized provides stability, said Margaret Brodkin, who helped establish a dedicated childrens fund in San Francisco in 1991. Budget battles are war, and we are not sacred cows in the budget.At the state level, voters in both red and blue states sent a strong anti-tax message on Election Day this year. Most tax-raising measures failed -- even if they were meant to fund largely noncontroversial services like education. But at the local level, it's typically more likely for tax hikes to pass.The success of the child services measures has spurred some advocates to establish a national network solely for helping local leaders get more of these initiatives on the ballot. Earlier this month, The Forum for Youth Investment debuted The Children's Funding Project, which will offer local nonprofits and government leaders guidance on every aspect of local ballot campaigns, from identifying the best revenue source to building a coalition to collect signatures and win voters' support. To some degree, the Forum is borrowing from a manual developed by Brodkin for localities in California.The push for local funding comes at a time when the share of federal discretionary spending on children has declined about 7 percent since 2010. The Urban Institute predicts that share will continue to shrink as more of the federal budget goes to health and retirement spending on adults, and to paying down interest on the debt.That's where the voters can help.In Jackson County, Mo., a budget shortfall of $180 million was preventing county commissioners from increasing spending on mental health and addiction treatment for teenagers. So advocates went to the voters for an increase of one-eighth of one cent on the county sales tax to generate about $15 million in annual revenue for its existing children's fund. It passed with 58 percent of the vote.Republican women were critical to the ballot measures success. Earlier in the year, internal polling showed that only about 48 percent of likely voters supported the measure, said Todd Patterson, a consultant who helped with the Jackson County campaign. After the campaign targeted female Trump supporters with children, they found their bipartisan majority. Patterson called them free-style Evangelicals, shorthand for religious conservatives who still support public programs that benefit childrens health and well-being.Although more children's funds are popping up around the country, they don't always succeed at the ballot box. Rather than take issue with the purpose of the funds, opponents often cite the burden of extra taxes as a reason to vote against the measures.Only two states, Florida and Missouri, have laws explicitly allowing counties to create a dedicated tax fund for children's services. Since 2004, eight Missouri counties have created such funds. Eight counties in Florida also have childrens funds, though those have the distinction of being run as special tax districts.Localities in other states have established funds because the state hasnt preempted them from doing so. The Forum for Youth Investment is in the process of assembling a database of every city and county with a voter-approved childrens tax fund. So far, they've found 30 around the country.
On Tuesday, in the morning, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC hosted a morning tea for staff of the Appointments and Constitutional Services Unit, Department of Premier and Cabinet.

In the afternoon, at Government House, the Governor received Air Commodore Scott Winchester and Air Commodore Ken Robinson CSC, the respective outgoing and incoming Commanders, Combat Support Group, Royal Australian Air Force.
Description

GIS  13 December 2016: Research, combined with innovation, can take Mauritius forward. Innovation is vital to provide support in emerging areas of growth that are geared towards ensuring the economic development of our country on the global scene. Thus the need for our people to think and act smart, said the Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation ( MTCI), Mr Etienne Sinatambou, last night at Ebene Cyber Tower 1.

The Minister was speaking at the 3rd edition of the Best Mauritian Scientist Award Ceremony. The Award, an initiative of the Mauritius Research Council (MRC), which operates under the aegis of the MTCI, is meant to recognise and reward the work of the best Mauritian scientist. The Award covers all forms of sciences, including Natural, Technology and Social Sciences.

In his address at the event, Mr Sinatambou observed that while research is often associated with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), not enough young people take up STEM subjects despite special efforts made by the authorities to increase the intake. However, he said, we cannot beat the fact that we are a small nation. Only around 20 000 pupils took the end of primary cycle examinations this year and out of those 20 000, probably 6 000 will be taking A levels in the years to come, stated the Minister.

According to the MTCI Minister, if we cannot have numbers or quantity, we must have quality, which is why we have to congratulate the MRC for initiatives such as the hosting of the Best Mauritian Scientist Award but also for the launching of the National Innovation Challenge a few weeks ago.

Moreover, Mr Sinatambou spoke about the importance of developing , among young people, a spirit of creativity and innovation as well as measures taken by Government in that regard. These include the introduction of a module on creativity and innovation for students of Grades 7 to 9 (Forms 1 to 3); and, the setting up shortly of a Faculty dedicated to Digital Technology and ICT Engineering at the University of Mauritius. It is expected that these measures will enable the country progress sufficiently to reach the level of growth required, added the Minister.

The 2016 Awardee

The Awardee, Dr Ponnadurai Ramasami, Professor in Chemistry from the Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, was declared, in absentia, Best Mauritian Scientist for this 3rd edition. He received a cash prize of Rs 200 000, a Trophy, a Recognition Certificate and support grant to a maximum of Rs 50 000 for a short term attachment in a University abroad for research or a study tour.

On that occasion, certificates were presented to four nominees for the Best Mauritian Scientist Award.

A Jury made up of local and international eminent intellectuals was set up to assess the participants submissions. Selected/shortlisted participants were called for a presentation and an interview.

It is recalled that the Best Mauritian Scientist Award was first organised in 2011. It is a Government-approved award scheme which targets resident individual Mauritian citizens and researchers whereby the best candidate is recognised for his/her work in the field of Science.
Description

GIS - 13 December, 2016: Mauritius is a staunch advocate of participatory diplomacy and will continue to work closely with like-minded nations who aspire to a fairer, more equitable, safer international environment and that relentlessly commit and endeavour for a more sustainable world where stability and a civilised order will prevail.

This is the essence of the address of the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, during the annual diplomatic dinner in honour of diplomatic corps held yesterday at Le Meridien Hotel, Pointe aux Piments.

In his speech Prime Minister Jugnauth recalled the various events that have marked the year 2016 adding that the diplomatic dinner is also an opportunity to reflect on the direction in which the world is evolving while reiterating the commitment of Mauritius to democracy, the rule of law and a civilized world order.

According to Sir Anerood Jugnauth, as a small island nation Mauritius very much value its democratic traditions and stand guided by the rules and principles of international law while at the same strengthening the countrys contributions to advance the ideals of longstanding global peace and security.

On this score, he stressed that Mauritius will continue to make its way in international affairs, driving an active diplomacy which remains perennially focused and engaged on interactions with its bilateral, international and other parties.

He also highlighted the status of Mauritius relations and links with the world which remains of sterling standing adding that the present time is more than ever warranting us to promote solidarity and collaboration amongst states.

Such solidarity and collaboration he said, can help us advance on the UN 2030 agenda for SDGs and the African Union Agenda 2063 which focus on how best to ensure equitable and inclusive socio-economic development. Hence, he emphasised on the Vision 2030 Economic Mission Statement which according to him espouses that same imperative which is people centric.

He concluded by reiterating his philosophy which is to have an integrated approach for the promotion of sustainable development that reflects our desire for shared prosperity for our people, for the region and for greater partnership among nations.


(TNS) -- Hawaii Gov. David Ige has pledged to propose $10 million of the state budget be used to help build the innovation sector.Ige said he would request the funds be used for the state-run HI Growth Initiative, which was created to attract private investment to innovation in Hawaii.It really is about how we can encourage and invest in our people and our companies, Ige said Monday as keynote speaker at a Hawaii Venture Capital Association luncheon focusing on a statewide startup collaboration called Startup Paradise Ige said he is committed to creating more innovation jobs to build career opportunities that young people want in the state.We all know the story of our children going away to college and never coming back, Ige said. Its about stopping that brain drain.  Thats what Startup Paradise means to me.Ige said that to build a successful sector, the state needs to improve the quality of public education, and the government has to keep up with the changing community.Meli James, head of new ventures at Honolulu investment firm Sultan Ventures, said a supportive government is vital to creating more opportunities for companies in the growing industry.Government support is crucial to the startup ecosystem, she said.Tarik Sultan, managing partner at Sultan Ventures, said the number of startups that are part of Hawaiis Startup Paradise has grown exponentially. There are now 145 companies in the innovation community, up from 18 in 2012 when the collective effort to build an innovation sector in the state was launched.Startup Paradise has really taken off, Sultan said. Every year there is exponential growth, exponential momentum.Startup Paradise is a coalition of startup boot-camp programs, investment firms and co-working spaces in Hawaii seeking to promote and brand innovation in Hawaii. The coalition includes Blue Startups, Energy Excelerator, Sultan Ventures and the University of Hawaiis startup program XLR8UH.Sultan said that according to a survey of four accelerators in the state, startups created more than 1,000 jobs over the last four years and raised more than $251 million across the budding ecosystem.James said in addition to HI Growth Initiative, investing in the University of Hawaii, Hawaiis High Technology Development Corp. and the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii also would help the ecosystem thrive.
(TNS) -- More than 200 university students from across the Pacific will converge in Honolulu this week to launch autonomous robotic boats off Sand Island and compete for $100,000 in prizes.The public is invited to check out the Maritime RobotX Challenge, which features a team from the University of Hawaii at Manoa vying against 12 other teams from the United States, Australia, Japan, Korea and Singapore.Each team starts with a standardized boat platform, then designs an autonomous robotic system for it so the vessel can perform a series of tasks on the water on its own. Students install sensors, software, power, communications, an electrical propulsion system and buoyancy pads.Working on something thats state of the art, that can impact the future, thats a huge benefit for us, Aaron Nagamine, a UH-Manoa engineering student, said in a news release from the university.The competition started Sunday, and the best days for public viewing are the semifinals Saturday and finals Sunday. There will also be hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities on those days onshore for the family, such as a miniature underwater glider.The RobotX Challenge is hosted by Honolulu Community College and will be held at its Marine Education and Training Center at Sand Island, which also is home to the Polynesian Voyaging Society.Its a unique opportunity for Hawaii and Hawaiis students to participate in such a prestigious competition, said A. Zachary Trimble, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UH-Manoa.The Maritime RobotX Challenge was first staged in Singapore in 2014 and is held every two years. The competition is being organized by the nonprofit RoboNation and Navatek, with funding from the U.S. Office of Naval Research.The lead sponsor is Northrop Grumman, with additional sponsorship by MathWorks and Marine Advanced Research Inc.
Holy Grail is Chicago

Ignoring high-speed rail?

Didnt make sense

(TNS) -- The prospect of a high-speed rail line slicing through the rural stretch of land between the Twin Cities and Rochester, and financed by Chinese and other private investors, is to some an exquisite dream.To others, its folly.The proposed $4.2 billion train would travel between the two cities at 220 miles an hour in 30 to 45 minutes, a trip that takes twice as long by car. Once known as Zip Rail, the project was abandoned earlier this year by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Olmsted County after nearly 25 years of study, due to a dearth of funds.But a privately held Bloomington firm called the North American High Speed Rail Group (NAHSR) is keeping the idea of a high-speed rail line alive. Recently the group said that it was reorganizing and is now known as the Minnesota Corridor Project. None of NAHSRs officers has experience developing such a project.The groups reorganization will continue to meet opposition from a determined grass-roots group called Citizens Concerned About Rail Line (CCARL) and several southern Minnesota lawmakers.Do we want Chinese foreign nationals owning the major transportation corridor cutting through the southern portion of Minnesota? said Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa. I dont think so. He plans on reintroducing legislation next year that would cripple efforts to build high-speed rail.Some residents along the route fear that their farms and homes could be taken for public use through eminent domain, a prospect they find even more distasteful because it would be a private company engaged in the taking. They also worry about the projects impact on the areas environment, safety and quality of life. And they question whether theres sufficient ridership to sustain the service.Theres nowhere near the capacity to support this, said CCARL co-founder Heather Arndt, whose farm in Hader is a few miles away from the proposed rail corridor. Theres no economic benefit for us or local businesses. By taking our farmland, theyre decreasing our income and devaluing our land.If it fails, Arndt asks, would the state be left holding the bag?Details about the proposed project are unclear. The line could perhaps begin in Bloomington, somewhere south of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and follow Hwy. 52 on an elevated track along its median through Dakota, Goodhue and Olmsted counties to either Rochesters downtown area, or the airport there. The line could have just one stop -- in Rosemount.The ultimate goal would be a high-speed connection to Chicago, said Wendy Meadley, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Corridor Project. The true Holy Grail is Chicago.The fact that Rochester is home to the famed Mayo Clinic is unspoken but implicit in the marketing of the line. Meadley refers questions about the health care giants involvement to Mayo officials. But, she notes, Do you think all the stakeholders and investors would be moving forward if all the right players werent interested?Mayo Clinic Spokesman Karl Oestreich said in a statement, Mayo Clinic is pleased with the private investor interest in the project, but has not provided financial assistance for the project.Officials with the Mayo-driven Destination Medical Center, a $5 billion public-private development planned for Rochester, said in a statement that developing multimodal and transit solutions is part of the groups plan. DMC is interested in seeing how the private investor project evolves.A DMC development plan is more pointed, noting the proposed Central Station in Rochester is positioned to support a future high-speed rail connection with the Twin Cities.DMC Executive Director Lisa Clarke recently spoke at a meeting at St. Pauls Town & Country Club that hosted a delegation from China Railway International. Meadley declined to reveal who else attended the event.If successful, the project would be an anomaly in the United States -- especially if it is privately funded. To date, no high-speed rail lines are located in North America, although projects are underway or planned in California, Florida, Texas and other regions. (Amtraks Acela line is the fastest in the country, traveling up to 150 mph between Boston and New Haven, Conn.)Twenty countries rely on high-speed rail as their main form of transportation, and another 15 countries are developing similar systems, said Andy Kunz, president and CEO of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.Weve been ignoring rail as a form of transportation quite foolishly, Kunz said. He maintains high-speed rail is more efficient and environmentally cleaner than cars and planes, and that the oil, automotive and aviation industries have lobbied for decades to block it.President Obama is a champion of high-speed rail, declaring in his 2011 State of the Union speech that 80 percent of Americans would have access to the service within 25 years. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 set aside $8 billion in grants to realize that goal -- which was met with strong opposition from Republicans.President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to upgrade the nations transportation infrastructure, but its unclear where he stands on high-speed rail.When MnDOT and Olmsted County backed out of the Zip Rail project in January, NAHSR approached the state with its version of a high-speed rail project that featured a different technology and route, said Dan Krom, MnDOTs director of Passenger Rail. At that point, it didnt make sense for us to move forward.About the same time, NAHSR co-founder Joe Sperber left the group in what he describes as a cordial break. Sperber, now a rail consultant working elsewhere in the country, believes transit-oriented development should come first for these projects. The remaining principals at NAHSR opted to concentrate on building the rail component first.Beyond construction, Meadley says operational costs would be covered by passenger fares, revenue from hauling high-value freight, such as medical samples, and real estate development along the route.MnDOT issued two permits to NAHSR beginning in January, allowing their engineering folks to do what they need to do, Krom said. Meadley claimed that the group gathered information on topographic and geologic features of the planned corridor.On Dec. 1, the groups permit expired, and Meadley said it wont be pursuing a third. Instead, the group said in a statement that it would now be part of a consortium of technical and strategic partners that are joining hands to participate with regional stakeholders.She would not share the names of these six to 12 entities, saying only that were working with legal to pull that entity together.China Railway, which has global experience building and operating high-speed rail, is engaged in discussions with the consortium, Meadley said. The firm could not be reached for comment.
The Snapchat apps user interface was not the easiest thing for me to get the hang of. Is this where I should swipe left, down or press? The camera is on me again  quick, duck! But despite my initial experiences, the fact is that theres an extremely large (and growing) group of people who totally get it.Snapchat has carved out an interesting niche in the social media world, considering that about 60 percent of active users are under the age of 25. This offers a lot of opportunity for government agencies that want to reach out to a younger demographic in nontraditional ways.Its funny that a lot of agencies are considering Snapchat as a new tool in their social media strategy. The social platform actually launched way back in 2011 and has been silently engaging young people for years.The gist is that users send Snaps to each other  an image or video clip, usually of themselves, spiced up with filter overlays and other bling. Once read, the Snap disappears and they cant see it again. A user can also create Stories, a collection of snaps that all followers can see with a much longer shelf life of 24 hours.Because people use this app on their mobile device with location services, the company launched Geofilters. This is where the government agencies with profiles on Snapchat are focusing their efforts, because you can create a filter with your agency branding. The filter will be available at the time and location you specify.But Snapchat is not all rainbows and kittens for government despite its opportunities, as there are a few big challenges. Many agencies are required to archive social media, some even down to the metadata level. Although an agency can save screenshots of Snaps and there is an option to download stories, that approach wouldnt capture the metadata.One challenge for busy government social media managers trying to juggle multiple platforms is that Snaps happen in real time. While weve mastered planning and scheduling content for most other social platforms, the in-the-moment nature of Snapchat can be time-consuming.In late September, Snap Inc. amended its terms of service for U.S. government users. These federal-compatible terms offered amendments favorable to government agencies in the area of advertisements, endorsements and liabilities. This is definitely a sign that the company sees the value in public-sector participation on the platform.The consensus among agencies that have a profile on Snapchat is that it can be used both as a unique story-telling platform, as well as an interesting way to get engagement at events. If your agency is not ready to start a Snapchat account, remember that you can still create a free community Geofilter.If youre looking at learning from some of the agencies already using the platform, make sure to find these friends: Las Vegas; Tampa, Fla.; Jefferson County Sheriffs Office in Colorado; West Hollywood, Calif.; BeReadyUtah; and the Fort Collins, Colo., Police Department.As with any social media platform, make sure your onboarding approach includes trying it yourself, observing what has worked for others and reaching out for help. Although the casual style of Snapchat is not going to work for every government agency, the ones that have tried it at least have a story to tell.
Many state, city and county IT offices are caught in a bit of a-ian time warp  professional staff members originally recruited for an on-premises business model face substantial obstacles when moving application software and hosting to the cloud. CIOs must align their staffers skill sets with the constantly evolving demands of cloud computing, but few IT offices can keep pace.Cook County, Ill.s Bureau of Technology (BOT) is a positive outlier to the trend of IT offices that struggle to upgrade and adapt staff talent to the cloud. In 2015, Cook County awarded $154 million in IT contracts to fund the BOTs four major application modernization projects known within the bureau as the big bang  integrated justice, integrated property, integrated revenue and an enterprise resource planning system.Simona Rollinson, the county CIO, paired the influx of new IT contracts with a novel approach to staffing. In 2014 and 2015 combined, Rollinson hired or promoted roughly a third of the bureaus employees. In the same period, she wrote or revised a third of its job postings. I recently spoke with Rollinson about the logic behind her new staffing approach and how she is taking the BOT into the cloud.To manage so many large-scale projects simultaneously, Rollinson divided the BOTs procurement portfolio among a number of cloud service providers, each specializing in different areas. Internally, she hired service-oriented workers with an eye for management and systems integration to facilitate these vendor relations  people who, as Rollinson put it, understand the business of Cook County. She charged these workers not only with making sure individual IT services are fully functional, but also with communicating both internally and externally to ensure that Cook Countys many clouds each serve a greater networked system.Many of the new hires came from the private sector, where vendor management and system architecture have long been priorities. Rollinson targeted the BOTs job description language to appeal to these workers and their experience. She also combined formerly separate job postings in order to get maximum value out of new employees and increase system integration. Of the $154 million in new IT contracts, $132 million serve more than one agency, so Rollinson promoted IT staffers with previous experience in different areas of the Cook County government who could communicate effectively across silos.Importantly, the staffing transformation presents opportunities for public-sector IT workers operating in a changing job market  as commodity work like server maintenance moves out, employees can focus their career development on the high-value analytic work moving in.To facilitate such a large volume of contracts, Rollinson set up an in-house law firm in the form of two attorneys dedicated to reviewing contracts and building templates for working with vendors. Finally, she established a change management group to ensure new technology didnt interfere with existing practices.The pace of innovation is unmistakable. As Rollinson said, government is a target-rich environment for disruption, and that process starts with revolutionizing the skill set of the IT office. Now is a pivotal moment when government agencies are moving their work into the cloud, and it is critical that this transition is capably managed by knowledgeable staff members.
Felipe Massa has ruled out going it alone to put Brazil back on track for a healthy future in F1.

With the former Ferrari and Williams driver now retiring, it seems the only other Brazilian on the grid, Felipe Nasr, looks set to lose his place at Sauber.

So with his respected reputation, experience, money and now time on his hands, Massa was asked by UOL Esporte if he can help bring along the next generation of Brazilian F1 drivers.

"I would help," the 35-year-old answered, "but only with the (Brazilian) federation supporting me. I would not get anything done alone.

"I think it's the mentality that needs to change so that it's possible to put together categories that will help drivers get to F1 again," Massa added.

Massa actually founded the Brazilian category Formula Futuro Fiat in 2010, but it collapsed after two seasons.

"I tried a lot to help, I did my best to help Brazilian motor sport and spent money doing it, but I understood at that moment that Brazilian motor racing did not want to be helped.

"So who am I to say what should be done?"

Massa also brought together big name drivers like Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso to an annual Brazilian kart race that ran until 2014, but that was also axed.

"My initial idea was to have fun and help people -- not to make money," he said. "But the event was too big and it became a financial issue, and some situations appeared that I did not feel comfortable about."

Massa is yet to announce his plans for 2017, but he is expected to race in Formula E or DTM whilst attending some grands prix to commentate for Italian TV.

(GMM)
Pastor Maldonado says he is working on his return to formula one.

With a controversial driving style, the 31-year-old raced for Williams and Lotus until 2015, when his sponsor PDVSA struck trouble amid the Venezuelan oil crisis.

But Maldonado said at an event at Colombia's Autodromo de Tocancipa: "I'm talking to some teams and I'm quite optimistic."

The FIA released its provisional 2017 entry list recently showing vacancies only at Sauber and Manor, but Nico Rosberg's shock retirement could be set to shake up the driver market.

Maldonado said: "Unfortunately, some situations pushed me out of formula one and, as you know, getting back in through the front door is never easy.

"At first it was hard to accept not being in formula one, but since I saw the performance of Renault I would say I was fine. Now I am discussing again with some teams and hope to be on the grid in Australia.

"Obviously I do not exclude other categories, but my intention is to be in F1," he insisted.

(GMM)
BY: Kweku Zurek (With additional files from Al Jazeera)

Category: General News
Cairo, revolution



The Strange Round Bird is coming out in a few months, the third book in her trilogy, The Young Inventors Guild. It must have been at least a couple years ago that I asked her to share some of her thoughts about the Egyptian revolution with DWT readers. There's already been a counter-revolution, but today she sent in her post! You know metal people, right? And sculptors? Writers? Egyptians? I met Eden Unger because I used to do a alt-metal rock show on KUSF in San Francisco and she was in an all girl hard core band, Rude Girl . Great band! Eventually, Sandy Pearlman (Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, The Clash) was going to produce their debut album for my record label and CBS, which had bought my company, was going to release it. But it never happened and I can't remember what exactly why or what transpired next. I remember Eden being a metal sculptor working with a blow torch and then the next thing I knew decades had passed, she was an author with a family and living in Cairo, teaching at the American University. Time flies. Her new bookis coming out in a few months, the third book in her trilogy,. It must have been at least a couple years ago that I asked her to share some of her thoughts about the Egyptian revolution withreaders. There's already been a counter-revolution, but today she sent in her post! You know metal people, right? And sculptors? Writers? Egyptians?









Aftershocks of a Revolution

-by Eden Unger Bowditch





The strangest thing was that we learned to live with the sounds of gunfire. As daylight began to fade each evening, Nate and Julius, our eldest son, who was 15 at the time, would join the other men in our building and barricade the glass entry. This was how the Egyptian revolution unfolded for us, in Cairo, in 2011.





Actually, that was how the unfolding continued. The beginning was just as much of a surprise for us as the rest of the world. Lyric, our daughter, was in Abu Dhabi for a Global Issues Network conference with other 7th graders from Cairo American College. She had plans for a slumber party with her two best friends when she returned that Friday. Julius had the lead in the HS musical, and Cyrus, then 6, was hanging out and being cute. And there was Olive, the dog, too.





The first night of the HS musical was Thursday, 27 January. There had been a massive protest on Tuesday, 25 January (now the date considered to be the Egyptian revolution) but that was on the other side of town. In truth, it was the 28th that everything went crazy. When Julius went to school to prepare for the Friday performance, he was told the school was closed. Closed? After months of preparation, his first thought was Crap! No show? Looking around, he realized everything was closed. It wasnt until later that the revolution dawned on us all.





Actually, technically, it wasnt a revolution. It was the deposing of a dictator with nothing to fill the gap. At the time, we only knew we were in the middle of it, whatever it was. At 3am on Saturday, our car disappeared along with fifty other cars on the street. Tanks were filling the streets. At dusk, we and the other tenants barricaded the glass front doors of the building. Curfew was set at random hours, one day 4pm, the next day 1pm. Wed have to run home, hiding behind the ad hoc militias safe points (broken fences, benches, tires or chairs or other detritus blocking the road) where the local shop owners and bawabs (doormen) would band together to check for bombs and guns and folks who did not belong. Every few blocks, there was a different color of arm band, made from plastic bags. We had yellow. This allowed us to pass without being searched.





Then, they shut off the internet and mobile phone service. We had the only land line in the neighborhood that could call out of the country. This is how we contacted friends in Germany who contacted the hotel where Lyric was in Abu Dhabi. They found the teacher and told her to assure the kids that parents were OK. The teacher had no idea what was happening. They had been at the conference and had gone to sleep, never checking the news. Once they knew, The Global Issues Network kids crowded around the television, watching the tanks in the streets and the burning buildings. Still, it was surreal to them and they could not relate this to their own neighbourhood.





Back in Cairo, we had lines of friends and colleagues coming to our flat. Everyone was calling loved ones abroad to let them know they were alright. Many were scrambling to get to the airport. Those who tried to leave first were stranded at the airport for days before getting flights anywhere. Evacuations began in earnest and buses of colleagues started leaving. One of our dearest friend, former bureau chief of the New York Times in Cairo, now in Berlin, would call every few hours to let us know what was happening since we were cut off from our own news. He wanted us to leave, but we couldnt. Lyric was still in Abu Dhabi and we had to be here when she got back. She was, we had heard, en route.Then we heard that flights were blocked leaving from Abu Dhabi to Cairo. The kids had to fly back through Bahrain. They flew from Bahrain to Cairo. Days later, Bahrain fell under a violent rebellion. That was too close.





When Lyric returned from Abu Dhabi, life had changed. Utterly. The friends who were planning the slumber party had evacuated, never to return. There were blockades in the streets, our jeep was gone, and there were tanks in the streets in front of our apartment building. The curfew sent people running through the streets for shelter. Lyric arrived at curfew. We ran.





For the next week or so, we would close the window when the gunfire became too loud or if we could smell clouds of teargas coming. Wed make whatever we had in the house since, without internet or ATMs, no use of credit cards or means of getting cash, we had few resources to buy food. Then, Cyrus began having nightmares of Bionicles taking over the city. The curfew became The Curfew, like The Bogeyman, and make us all run through the streets for shelter. It was time to get out of Dodge.





When you evacuate, you are flying away from something, not going to something, so you just get on the next plane out. We were put on a plane to Germany. In Frankfurt, they met us with blankets and fresh water. It was surreal. We called our New York Times friends when we landed and took the train from Frankfurt to Berlin. I remember thinking how strange the tanks at the airport looked until I realized they were luggage vans. In Berlin, I was anxious about making lunch plans because of the curfew. But of course, we left that behind. Or did we? We were touched in ways we could not measure. Having been in uncertain circumstances has made us all more aware of the residual effects, the reverberations, of every experience we have in our lives.
Creating fail-safe, centralized domain controller hardware leveraging Visteons industry-first cockpit domain controller, Smartcore. (Earlier post.)

Unlocking the innovation potential of algorithm developers through an easy-to-access open framework and test/simulation environment.

Applying artificial intelligence for object detection, classification, perception and decision-making in future autonomous vehicles.

Most current advanced driver assistance systems based on radar and cameras are not capable of accurately detecting and classifying objectssuch as cars, pedestrians or bicyclesat a level required for autonomous driving. We need to achieve virtually 100 percent accuracy for autonomous driving, which will require innovative solutions based on deep machine learning technology. Our Silicon Valley team, with its focus on machine learning software development, will be a critical part of our autonomous driving technology initiative. Sachin Lawande, president and CEO of Visteon

Visteons recently opened facility in the heart of Silicon Valley will house a team of engineers specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The center is located close to the West Coast offices of various automakers and tech companies, as well as Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeleytwo of the leading universities for artificial intelligence and deep learning in the US.

In addition to leading Visteons artificial intelligence efforts, the Silicon Valley office will play a key role in delivering control systems, localization and vision processinginterpreting live camera data and converting it to information required for autonomous driving. Visteon is targeting launching its first autonomous driving domain controller platform in 2018.

Leading Visteons artificial intelligence effort based in Silicon Valley is Vijay Nadkarni, who joined Visteon earlier this year from Chalkzen, Inc., where he developed and launched a SaaS (software as a service) and connected car services platform.

Visteon has been continually expanding its resources to support development of next-generation ADAS development and autonomous driving. On 1 April, Markus Schupfner joined the company as chief technology officer, bringing more than 20 years of experience leading software development for global automotive suppliers. Visteon recently announced that Matthias Schulze will join the company in January 2017 from Daimler AG; he will lead Visteons ADAS development, including overseeing the Silicon Valley facility.


-by Helen Klein



Washington Post. It is about all I can take these days, as reading the details in each piece is too nauseating. I also find watching the news on television way too difficult, as looking at Trumps face and listening to him speak about his plans and appointments make me ill. (And I thought looking at Johnson, Nixon and Bushs countenances was bad!) What struck me in the Post was the Op Ed piece entitled, Yesterday I was perusing the headlines of the. It is about all I can take these days, as reading the details in each piece is too nauseating. I also find watching the news on television way too difficult, as looking at Trumps face and listening to him speak about his plans and appointments make me ill. (And I thought looking at Johnson, Nixon and Bushs countenances was bad!) What struck me in thewas the Op Ed piece entitled, Donald Trump Is Actually A Fascist . Hey, lets call a spade a spade. Howie is already on it . While more and more has been coming out in this vein, the mainstream media had better do a full court press on this, and soon. Who knew how bad Trump would actually be? Worse than our worst nightmares.



The Op Ed notes that over the past year, people have been trying to figure out what Trump really thinks and stands for. He was so inconsistent, so far removed from reality and such a big liar that while it all looked very bad, the big picture was-- likely purposefully so-- unclear. Well, it is all becoming quite clear, and quickly. He is not even in office yet and just look at the people he is inserting into his government. A horror show. A Bizarro Superman world, where every person he is considering for an appointment has a personal agenda in direct conflict with the department he/she will head. The head of the EPA who denies science and climate change? The Secretary of Education whose children only went to private schools, knows nothing about public education and wants to privatize it? A billionaire from the coal industry who was fined many times and was responsible for poor safety standards and many miners deaths for the Secretary of the Commerce ? A CEO of Exxon-Mobil and a friend of Russia for Secretary of State ? The list goes on and on.



Trump is a fascist, and this simple term clarifies everything.



From the Op Ed:

Now that weve seen a bit of him in action, it seems that Trump actually does have a recognizable agenda that explains how he simultaneously can pander to big business while strong-arming.an air conditioning manufacturer to save a few hundred jobs for a while. Or how he can make nice with the authoritarian Vladimir Putin while making bellicose foreign policy noises in general. Or how he can blithely upset with a phone call the absurdly delicate balance of our relations with China and Taiwan. All of this seemingly erratic behavior can be explained  if not justified  by thinking of Trump as a fascist...in the sense that the toxic combination of strong government and strong corporations should run the nation and the world. Another piece that struck me in a similar vein was an article a couple of weeks ago in the Huffington Post entitled, History Teacher Removed From Classroom After Comparing Trump to Hitler . Frank Navarro had been teaching history at Mountain View High School for forty years.

A California high school teacher has been placed on paid leave after drawing comparisons between Adolf Hitler and President-elect Donald Trump in his classroom. History teacher Frank Navarro was asked to leave after a parent wrote an email to the school complaining about his lecture.



Navarro, who is a Holocaust scholar, said his lesson was based on facts. Both Trump and Hitler, during their rise to power, vowed to deport foreigners and make the country great again, he noted.



This feels like were trying to squash free speech...Everything I talk about is factually based. They can go check it out. Its not propaganda or bias if its based on hard facts.



Many public figures have made comparisons between Trump and HitlerSocial media users have also compared the two. Here is a list from the article comparing Trump to Hitler:









The good news is: more than 6,500 parents wrote letters to the district demanding that Navarro be reinstated. And he was! One small battle won.





I'm not a puppet; I'm a real boy









Baby Boomers: Where are You Now?





Many of the older people who voted for Trump are baby boomers, after all. I do not understand how they seem to have forgotten that their parents fought against Hitler and fascism in World War II.





The importance of knowing history and the dangers we now face will be critical for this country. What fascism is and why it must be fought need to be spotlighted and emphasized to the American public.





During World War II, my father was part of an educational unit in the army. He was in the Orientation Branch, Special Services Division. His group was tasked with educating soldiers about fascism so they would understand what they were fighting for and why winning this war was so important. They provided lectures and led discussions for soldiers on the front lines, which helped to motivate them and honor their fight against fascism. It is striking and shocking to me that my fathers war efforts have become what is now needed for Americans. Educate and motivate to fight the good fight! His papers, which have been in boxes for over seventy years, now have current meaning. He would be very saddened by this, as he loved this country, but he would be unsurprised. He always had his eyes wide open about the efforts within to destroy what is good about this country and I often heard about it at the dinner table. Whenever my teenage friends came over, he would expound on the Vietnam War-- while this was much to my embarrassment, they were all enlightened by it and respected him. The government was not always right and did not always do the right thing. Although my father has been gone for sixteen years, I still can hear his voice in my head, explaining what is really going on and backing it up with facts.





In his later years, my father continued to speak out against oppression and was a champion of civil rights and womens rights. He occasionally spoke to history classes at his local high school about World War II, fascism and the Holocaust. Among his papers are thank you notes from the students, telling him how much they learned from his presentations. Our country now needs more people like him to stand up and speak out.





The key to this fight is education and knowledge. The media (while we still have a free press) must take it on and report to Americans the facts and dangers before us. Fascism has a tremendous propaganda machine attached to it, which we have all been seeing more than ever in this election and this must be combated.





There is far more to come on fascism, unfortunately. It is not going away. Just wait until Trump actually takes office. We have a tremendous battle ahead of us.
Two years after states around the country passed an unprecedented number of police reforms after the killing of George Floyd, some are struggling to make the new policies stick. The momentum for change has slowed from its earlier frenetic pace. Some of the reforms have been rolled back or at least tweaked after police complained that the new policies were hindering their ability to catch criminals. Legal experts say police killings of Black people over the last decade  epitomized by Floyds killing  have altered the trajectory of policing. But change has come about unevenly in thousands of police departments across the U.S.




Jimmy Gomez is a young guy from my neighborhood. When Xavier Becerra was appointed by Jerry Brown to become California Attorney General-- filling the vacancy created by Kamala Harris' election to the Senate last month-- my first thought was to wonder if Jimmy could be persuaded to run for the congressional seat. It's a deep blue seat and there's no Republican who could ever compete there. Obama got 83% of the vote in 2012. So it is going to be a campaign about who who would be the best Democratic candidate, the one with the best proven vision for the job. Before Jimmy decided to run, I started tweeting about his accomplishments and suggesting that Congress needed his unique combination of heartfelt progressivism and hard-headed ability to work with political adversaries to accomplish his goals. The first "push back" I got came, not unexpectedly, from Sacramento. It was from a top staffer of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. "Please," the staffer wrote to me, "don't do this. We desperately need Jimmy here in Sacramento."





Eventually Jimmy decided he would run-- and Speaker Rendon endorsed him, as did the President Pro Tem of the state Senate, Kevin de Leon and dozens and dozens of Jimmy's colleagues in the legislature. Monday morning, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti weighed in on behalf of Jimmy-- and in the district that is the center of Garcetti's political power.



But when I looked through Jimmy's twitter account, what I found was endorsement after endorsement from grassroots activists who no one knows outside of their own communities-- like Cynthia Ruiz, a civic leader in El Sereno, Joselyn Geaga-Rosenthal, a board member in the Rampart Village and Echo Park Neighborhood Council, Luanna Allard, an officer in the Hillside Village Property Owners Association, Yolanda Nogueira, a board member of Highland Park's Chamber of Commerce, Tammy Membreno, Executive Director, Barrio Action in El Sereno, Lani Stapp, the impressive former president of Eagle Rock's Womens Twentieth Century Club and Carol Jacques, the former president of the Mount Washington Association. These people are part of the backbone of the 34th district and they know exactly what Jimmy has accomplished as a grassroots organizer and later as a member of the state Assembly. This morning our old friend, former congresswoman, former Secretary of Labor and current County Supervisor Hilda Solis added her name to the growing list of public servants backing Jimmy. She wrote that "Jimmy Gomez has proven to be the State Assembly's most effective and dedicated champion for working families. He wrote the nation's strongest family leave laws, and stands up for equality in the workplace, in our schools and colleges, and for women's health care. In fact, I've been proud of him from the days he worked for me in Congress, from his years fighting for better health care for all at the United Nurses Association of California and throughout his career in the Assembly. We need him in Congress, protecting the people of Los Angeles, and I'm proud to support him." Moments ago-- just as we were about to press "publish"-- a very reliably sourced rumor started circulating in Sacramento that Kamala Harris had also endorsed Jimmy.





Saturday I had dinner with Jimmy and his wife Mary in a neighborhood diner. He talked to me about his vision for the people in his district and how he's gone about implementing it in the state legislature. Halfway through I cursed myself for not having a tape recorder. Knowing how busy he is organizing his campaign in a field that grows more and more crowded every day, I asked him if he would write down everything he had just said so I could run it as a guest post. I think he stayed up later than he wanted to to do it.

Making The Progressive Reform Agenda Work For Everyone, Including Those Who Need It Most

-by Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez



Im proud of California because we are a state of firsts . . . we are the first to pass paid family leave, the 15 dollar minimum wage, paid sick days, and groundbreaking climate change legislation to reduce green house gas emissions and preserve our environment for future generations.



Yet, California isnt perfect. Although our state continues to improve, we still rank last or near last when it comes to a number of social indicators: education, health, economic and environmental.



Why?



Why are the laws that we pass not working the way we intend and why are we not seeing the improvements we would expect to see?



Why are certain parts of the state getting left behind, while others are thriving?



I believe it's because a lot of our laws, policies, and programs are built on a misguided concept that anything that divides the pie equally must be fair and it must be effective in dealing with the problems we are trying to solve.



As we know, that is definitely not always the case.



There is a big difference between what is equal and what is equitable. And policy makers and politicians confuse the two. And just because it is equal doesnt make it fair. And it definitely doesnt make it effective.



A good example of this is Californias first-in-the-nation Paid Family Leave program that provides workers with a 55% wage replacement for up to 6 weeks to bond with a new child or care for an ill family member. Although the program has benefited millions of Californians, a Senate Labor committee report found that the people using the program the most were those making $82,000 a year or more, and those who were using it the least were workers making minimum wage or barely above minimum wage. Why is that?



Because it is unrealistic to expect a worker who is already living paycheck to paycheck on 100 percent of their salary to use a program for 6 weeks at only 55 percent of their wages. For many workers, Californias current Paid Family Leave program was simply an illusion. Thats why I authored AB 908, to fix this inequity and ensure all who pay into this vital program can afford to use it, regardless of their income.



Simply, my bill AB908 restructured the Paid Family Leave program and State Disability to increase the wage replacement for workers earning minimum wage to 70 percent, and 60 percent wage replacement for all other workers. This bill ensures that every worker gets the necessary funds to actually use the program and spend time with their newborn child or sick family member. When Governor Brown signed AB908, California was not only the first state to have paid family leave, it also became the first state to have a paid family leave program built on the concept of equity. A program that ensures that every family on the economic ladder gets what they need. And Im proud of that.

Jimmy worked across the aisle to pass that bill with support from rural Republicans who genuinely wanted to embrace a way to help their own largely forgotten constituents. And he did the same thing with AB1550, the revolutionary climate change bill that wasn't just about wealthy homeowners who could get subsidies to buy solar panels and $80,000 Teslas. The bill requires that at least 25% of cap-and-trade funds go to projects directly in disadvantaged communities and another 10% to benefit low-income residents or communities anywhere in the state. Jimmy: "No matter where you live, no matter what you make, you deserve to breath clean air and drink clean water. With the signing of AB1550, we begin to bridge the green divide." Watch:












As a business owner myself, and the proud father of three, I dont always have the time to binge-watch the latest Netflix series on the weekend. I do, however, sit myself down and watch a documentary every now and then. Not only are documentaries a great way to relax and decompress -- they're also, in my view, one of the best ways to stay motivated and enrich your business knowledge.

Related: 10 Movies Every Entrepreneur Needs to Watch

Which ones to watch? Hundreds of documentaries are currently streaming on Netflix, but here are seven recommendations that you, like me, may find particularly inspirational for business owners.

1. Jiro Dreams of Sushi

This 2011 documentary focuses on Jiro One, owner of a humble 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station. What makes the story of Jiro, who at the time of the films release was 85 years old, compelling, is that hes spent his life striving to become the greatest sushi chef in the world. Has it worked? His restaurant is a three-star Michelin recipient and he has customers willing to spend $300 a plate.

The takeaway: This documentary shows how the most successful owners are so passionate about their businesses that those emotions sometimes cross into the realm of obsession and how these owners are willing to pass that knowledge on to the next generation.

2. Crafting a Nation

As with Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Crafting a Nation depicts the dedication and passion that business owners must possess. Released in 2013, Crafting a Nation follows a number of craft breweries around the nation, highlighting their hard work, struggles and success. The film also explores the positive impact these breweries have on their communities, employing local farmers, for example, to grow hops for their product.

The takeaway: While passion and creativity is an essential component, business owners should also look for ways to enhance their local communities.

Related: 5 Movies With Great Lessons for Entrepreneurs

3. Steve Jobs: One Last Thing

Regardless whether we're Apple fans or not, most of us respect what Steve Jobs accomplished at a company he left and returned to, rescuing it from the brink of failure. Originally airing on PBS in November 2011, Steve Jobs: One Last Thing takes a closer look at this visionary through interviews that discuss how his talent, style and imagination changed the world.

The takeaway: The most powerful part of this 60-minute documentary is the exclusive interview with Jobs himself where he states; "Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you . . . the minute that you understand that, you can poke life . . . you can change it, you can mold it . . . that's maybe the most important thing."

4. Burts Buzz

This 2013 documentary takes a look at the life of Burt Shavitz. Shavitz was a beekeeper when he co-founded Burts Bees in 1984, but became essentially a recluse despite the resulting fame and fortune.

The takeaway: While the humble beginnings of Burts Bee are inspirational, one of the documentary's main points is the importance of choosing and working with the right co-founder, which can make or break a company. In this case, the documentary discusses the struggles between Shavitz and co-founder Roxanne Quimby who bought out Shavitz and sold the company to Clorox in 2007 for more than $900 million.

5. Happy

In this film, a group of scientists, researchers and thought leaders share data on what really makes people happy. Heres a hint: Its not how much money is in their bank accounts. So what really makes people happy? Academy Award winning director Roko Belic also attempts to answer that question by going on a motivational global journey to uncover what really makes us happy.

6. Print the Legend

Unlike most of the other selections on this list, Print the Legend explores the ugly side of starting a business. Consider, for example, Bre Pettis, founder of MakerBots. Pettis was willing to sacrifice friendships in order to give his 3D printing company a chance to succeed. On the other side was the more humble Formlabs, struggling to fund its projects.

The takeaway: Whats more important for business owners than success? Friends? Innovation? The business itself? These are tough questions that we all must answer at some point.

7. Sunshine Superman

This exhilarating 2015 documentary chronicles the life of Carl Boenish, one of the pioneers of BASE jumping -- BASE standing for "building, antenna, span, or Earth. What makes this such an inspirational film is the passion and fearlessness that Boenish had when it came to BASE. On top of that, Boenish was known for his work as a cinematographer, filmmaker, philosopher and promoter of BASE jumping.

Related: 5 Famous Movie Quotes That Can Inspire Entrepreneurs

The takeaway: Starting a business can be terrifying, but if youre not willing to take that leap, are you really living your life to the fullest? Another business lesson to take away from Sunshine Superman is that as business owners, were bound to take on multiple responsibilities, but that the very drive to do that helps us conquer those tasks and ultimately succeed.

Related:

7 Inspiring Documentaries Every Business Owner Must Watch

Don't Commit These 7 Party Fouls Inspired by 'Office Christmas Party'

7 Innovators, Creatives and Entrepreneurs in New Movies You Can't Miss This Month



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
If you've ever been to a developing country, the very first thing that you notice is entrepreneurship. It starts at the airport and can be seen throughout the country. Jobs in these countries aren't abundant and the ones that are available to the average working person don't pay well. To survive, people in these countries become entrepreneurs. It can be selling food they made, jewelry they designed, games, candy, toys, performing and much more. They figure out how they can make a couple of dollars every day they operate their businesses. There's a lot to be learned from their example.

I'm writing this article from Medellin, Colombia. This is the twentieth country I've traveled to this year for my lifestyle business. Driving around this amazing city, I see entrepreneurship all around. When stopped at a street light, I'll see street performers, people selling things, and people offering tours. I can't tell you how much these mini-businesses and entrepreneurs make, I can only tell you that they are focused and consistent. They have to be to survive. If one business doesn't work, they figure out what other business they can start and they do it.

Being an entrepreneur is hard work. There are more times than not when you feel like giving up. There are times when you feel like all the stars have to be aligned for you to start or grow your business. At some point, you need to stop what you're doing and become an entrepreneur, much like the entrepreneurs in poorer countries who have no other option. You have to stop listening to your doubt, fear and the negative voices of others. Build your business despite how you feel. There are four things that you should stop doing if you want to be successful in entrepreneurship.

1. Stop all the learning.

The internet and social media have created incredible ways for us to consume the information we need to grow our business. It has also created an easy path to information overload that can keep you stuck. The reality is that you probably have more knowledge than you realize about your business and the industry that it's in.

Set aside specific days and times dedicated to learning new information that will help you grow your business. Don't let the latest and greatest Facebook Live, Webinar or three-video series suck you into what feels like compelling information but is not what you need right now. Don't let good copy distract you from taking action. You could end up learning that what worked for someone else but doesn't work for you.

Related: This Former Inmate Found a New Life Through Entrepreneurship

2. Stop all the talking.

You've met that entrepreneur who is always talking about all the interesting things they are working on and will finish some day. You see them months later and nothing has changed. Don't be that entrepreneur. Let your actions speak for themselves. Let the things that you do show what you're about. Stop talking about what you want or will do, and just do it. Better to risk failing by taking action than resting behind the comfort of your words.

Related: 37 Free Online Marketing and Social Media Classes to Elevate Your Skills

3. Stopping making excuses.

You might have a hard past. Things might be happening to you right now that make you feel like giving up. You might be afraid. Whatever is happening or has happened, you have a decision to make. You decide if you'll let your circumstances dictate your life and future. You have to open your eyes and realize when you have been making excuses and you have to stop. Excuses won't build your business and will keep you complacent instead of hungry. Don't let excuses have any part in your business.

Related: 5 Steps You Can Take Now to Get Wealthy in 2017 Steps You Can Take Now to Get Wealthy in 2017

4. Stopping worrying about what other people think.

It's natural to worry about what other people think but worrying about others won't get you towards your goals. This is your life. This is your business. Other people's opinions won't put dollars into your pocket. They won't be there during the good times and the bad. You have to get over what other people think and be willing to take the hard road that sometimes leads to failure. That road is usually where breakthroughs happen. Breakthroughs and milestones don't happen in other people's minds.

There's a lot to be learned from entrepreneurship in places where that is the main way to survive and make an income. In those circumstances, the business is driven by action versus all of the other self-limiting beliefs that can derail a business. You don't have to be in a third-world country to be a successful entrepreneur. But, you do have to stop talking and do even more. Let your actions show how serious you are.

Related:

Stop Dawdling and Get Real About Entrepreneurship

How Tai Lopez Took Over Social Media

Steve Wozniak Offers 4 Pieces of Advice for First-Time Entrepreneurs



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
People dine on a double-decker bus which has been converted to a mobile restaurant as it travels through the streets of Ahmedabad June 23, 2010. Photo by Reuters/Amit Dave

A new way for tourists to explore major cities in Vietnam.

Double-decker tour buses will hit the streets of Hanoi and Da Nang soon in a new initiative to boost tourism, the Saigon Times has reported.

In Da Nang, a local business will use about 30 buses, including sightseeing double-deckers, for the new service starting in January, said Tran Chi Cuong, deputy head of the citys tourism department.

The open-top double-decker buses will take passengers to attractions around the city, Cuong said, who said the service has been planned for quite a long time.

Meanwhile, tourism companies in Ho Chi Minh City, the countrys southern commercial hub, are not really into the idea of double-decker buses plying narrow and congested streets.

But Nguyen Khoa Lua, chief executive of Anh Viet Tourist, said there's great potential because many countries have launched and operated similar services successfully. The company is already running hop-on hop-off sightseeing tours in Ho Chi Minh City on minibuses.

According to the World Tourism and Travel Council, last year, tourism revenue directly contributed 6.6 percent of Vietnams gross domestic product.

The country is on track to receive more than 10 million tourists by the end of this year, which would far exceed the full-year target by 17.6 percent and last years arrivals by 26 percent, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Related News:

> Tourism a driving force behind Vietnams economic growth: report

> Hanoi spends $2 million on CNN ads to promote tourism, investment
The day will consist of a series of 6 high-level conferences addressing issues relating to renewable energy and just transition.
Maybe hes feeling it? Photo: Steve Pope/Getty Images

Anyone hoping for a week sans #Pizzagate news, apologies  you only made it to Tuesday: NOPE, an anti-Trump coalition based in the same D.C. neighborhood as Comet Ping Pong, has posted an open letter asking Mike Pence to dine with them at the pizzeria besieged by a debacle that somehow began with the insane claim that Hillary Clinton is hiding child hostages in its backrooms. We invite you to join us for pizza at Comet Ping Pong, their post on Medium reads. In doing so, we hope that you will help us quell the damaging impact of a bizarre fake news story that has put us all in harms way.



The vice-president-elects presence, they figure, will help bring an end to this madness thats resulted in, among other things, a man self-investigating the pizzeria with an assault weapon, and Comet begging supporters to help pay for hired security. Its worth noting Pence isnt exactly renowned for his ability to resolve pizza-related controversies  his Religious Freedom Restoration Act as Indianas governor is what emboldened that tiny pizzeria Memories to hypothetically refuse to cater gay weddings, a blow that backfired immensely, then kept festering for months.



Its a rational letter, asking Pence to basically just think of the effects on Chevy Chase, the neighborhood his family has also picked to rent in:



We are a small town in the city, rich with small neighborhood businesses like the Politics and Prose bookstore where children and seniors gather for readings, and Comet Ping Pong which just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Along with Politics and Prose, Comet anchors the business district on our Main Street, Connecticut Avenue. Families come together along the Avenue to buy books, ride scooters, walk dogs, and enjoy meals beside their neighbors.



Now, your new neighbors are hurting. Parents and grandparents are left struggling to explain to our traumatized children why a man would fire a gun in a family gathering place in the heart of the community. Families are frightened for their own safety. Our small businesses are vulnerable. Police now patrol the block. And our small Main Street has been catapulted to the center of a firestorm. Meanwhile, social media continues to fan the flames.

The simple act of breaking bread would send a powerful message about Trumps tolerance for this kind of crap, they write (hope?), adding: Last Sundays assault on Comet ended peacefully. The next attack may not. Their letter went up late yesterday afternoon. So far, no one representing Pence or the Trump administration has responded.
Youll have a much more pleasant night at any one of these restaurants. Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

New Years Eve is supposed to be all fun and games, but expectations can turn it into an unnecessarily stressful night. Where to go? What to do? Party or no party, there are tons of excellent restaurants where you can have a memorable last meal of a year many are eager to say goodbye to. Here, 35 restaurants in New York where youll absolutely have a great New Years Eve.

Agern

Price: $195 for 10 courses during early seatings (5:30 to 6:30 p.m. reservations) or $225 for 12 courses during later seatings (8:30 to 9:30 p.m. reservations), $125 wine pairing or $85 non-alcoholic pairing

Claus Meyers restaurant is doing a blowout dinner with langoustines with pine, venison with caramelized cream and juniper berries, caviar and langoustine, various desserts, and more.

Augustine

Price: $300 for tasting menu

Keith McNallys newest restaurant will serve a special tasting menu with caviar and smoked-salmon gougers, foie-gras torchon with vanilla, wagyu sirloin with oxtail daube, and the obsessed-over Vacherin for a cheese course. There will be seatings at 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., and 10 p.m.

Aquavit

Price: $175 for eight courses and $295 for wine pairing from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., $275 for food and $395 for wine from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The Scandinavian restaurant will say good riddance to 2016 with a luxe menu featuring Kristal caviar, honey squash with truffles and sea urchin, lobster with bisque, and Saint Maure, a dessert of salted pear, hay, and honey. There will also be live music from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.



Benoit

Price: $140 for four courses

At the midtown bistro, there will be an amuse-bouche of artichoke with an herb condiment, roasted sea scallops with black truffles, red snapper with citrus sauce, squab with seared foie gras, and a chestnut-clementine contemporary Vacherin.

Cafe Altro Paradiso

Price: $85 for four courses during first seating, $120 for four courses during second seating

At Ignacio Mattos and Thomas Carters Soho restaurant, theyll serve appetizers like fish crudo and chicory salad and pastas including agnolotti in brodo and lasagna with squash and fonduta. There will be guinea hen with black truffles and pesce al cartoccio for entrees and desserts like lemon crostata to finish the meal.

The Cecil

Price: $65 for three courses at or before 8 p.m., $90 for four courses at or after 9 p.m.

Harlem can say goodbye to the Cecil while ringing out 2016. Dinner before or at 8 p.m. is three courses, plus biscuits to start, and will include options like short-rib toast, crab fritters, braised pork shank, and goat-cheese cake. After 9 p.m., there will be an additional course of the restaurants popular oxtail dumplings with green-apple curry.



Cherche Midi

Price: $135 for three courses with Champagne pairings

Over on the Bowery, kick off your last meal of the year with either a foie-gras terrine with huckleberries or escargots a la Bourguignonne. Entree options include a white-truffle risotto with castelrosso cream, butter and sherry-poached lobster, and New Zealand venison, and dessert means Sauternes custard or chocolate dacquoise.

Diner

Price: A la carte

Hit up the retro diner on Williamsburgs south side for specials like caviar with brown-butter crepes; a lamb plate with rack, saddle, and sausage; and beef bourguignon.

Elis Night Shift

Price: Entry is free, a la carte

Can you do without pomp and circumstance? The bar from grocery czar Eli Zabar will keep it simple on New Years Eve, serving a Champagne toast at midnight, a special cocktail, and by showing the ball drop on a projector.

Edi & The Wolf

Price: $69 for three courses

Head to the East Village and pretend youre in Vienna. After an amuse-bouche of blini with hackleback caviar, have an appetizer of fresh-pea soup with ham hock or veal blanquette tagliatelle with Parmesan crisp. Entrees include braised ossobuco and pan-seared scallops with onion soubise, and dessert is your choice of apple strudel with creme anglaise or a sachertorte with whipped cream.

El Atoradero Brooklyn

Price: A la carte

Already booked for the night, but looking to fortify during the day before the evenings festivities? The Prospect Heights restaurant will extend its brunch service until 5 p.m., giving you plenty of time to have a late lunch of carnitas tacos, a chorizo-and-potato sandwich, or chilaquiles.

Eleven Madison Park

Price: $325 for six courses and $175 for wine pairing during the first seating, $675 for nine courses and $295 for wine pairing with midnight toast during the second seating

The elegant tasting-menu restaurant will serve dishes like its black-and-white cookie with apple, foie-gras terrine with maple syrup, lobster poached with white truffle, beef Wellington, and its milk-and-custard dessert with bee-pollen ice cream. The second seating menu is a touch more luxe, with three additional courses including a sea-urchin cappuccino with peekytoe crab, turbot poached with truffle and celery, and an assortment of mignardises to finish the meal.



Fancy Nancy

Price: $60 for four courses during the first seating, $75 for four courses and Champagne during the second seating

The owners of this Bed-Stuy restaurant want you to have fun, which is why theyre offering Champagne until we kick you out during the second seating. Dinner means deviled eggs with crispy potato, masa-fried shrimp with tomatillo mocktail sauce or duck confit salad, beef brisket en croute or miso bluefish, and a dessert of chocolate-cherry cheesecake ice cream.

Faun

Price: $100 for three courses, $45 optional wine pairing

At the Italianish spot in Prospect Heights, theyre serving roasted oysters with Parmesan cream and fluke crudo to start, pumpkin tortelli and duck-liver ravioli for a second course, and beef cheek with polenta popover and celeriac with truffle fonduta for the main show.

Flora Bar

Price: $165 for six courses

If youre uptown and want the Estela treatment without having to travel downtown, head to the Met Breuer. The six-course dinner will feature dishes like a sea urchin and lobster wrap, tuna tartare with black truffles, duck breast with greens and chestnuts, and date cake with sabayon and pears.

F.O.B.

Price: A la carte

The barbecue-focused Filipino restaurant will keep things casual and serve its usual menu of overnight chicken adobo, grilled spare ribs, chicken and pork skewers smothered in Filipino barbecue sauce, and more.

Freud

Price: $60 for four courses

At the Austrian brasserie, dinner starts with either pear and chicory salad or foie-gras mousse with Yorkshire popovers. For a second course its butternut ravioli or seared scallops with celery-root puree, and the entree is a New York strip with pommes mousseline or Icelandic cod. Dessert means a sachertorte or tiramisu.

Hao Noodle and Tea by Madam Zhus Kitchen

Price: A la carte

In the West Village, the Chinese import will serve specials like salted chicken, Cantonese beef ribs, and shrimp wonton.



Harolds Meat + Three

Price: $165

At Harold Moores Southern restaurant, theyre keeping it classic with appetizers like shrimp cocktail and seared foie gras, a mushroom casserole with truffles and prime rib for entrees, and a spread of holiday cookies and cake for dessert.



Harts

Price: $75 for five courses

The cozy wine bar will certainly be a pleasant place to say goodbye to 2016. Dinner here means marinated mussels and oysters and small plates like a Spanish tortilla with aioli and caviar and marinated artichokes with olives and dolmas.



Le Coq Rico

Price: $135

Before 8 p.m., the restaurants regular menu will be served. Afterwards and until midnight, there will be a special six-course meal that starts with a foie-gras tartine and oysters baked with truffle butter. Thats followed by frogs-legs chervil soup with egg ravioli, chicken and lobster bisque, a stuffed goose, and a chestnut ice-cream yule log.



Mermaid Inn

Price: $55 four courses at the downtown locations, $75 for five courses on the Upper West Side

Its happy hour at the seafood spots three locations from 4 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., after which it will start serving a prix fixe. Uptown there will be an everything bagelcured salmon and roasted scallops, while there will be crab cakes in the East Village and broiled barcat oysters in the West Village.

Mama Guidaras at the Nomad Bar

Price: $125 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. or $175 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Sundays at the Nomad Bar means red sauce, and theyll keep that up with antipasto, Caesar salad, baked clams, and meatballs. For your entree, its chicken in classic preparations like Parmesan, marsala, and piccata, or spaghetti with cacio e pepe or marinara sauce. Dessert means, of course, tiramisu and cannoli.

Momofuku Ssam Bar

Price: From $115 to $130 with various prix fixe options, depending on party size and inclusion of large-format meals

You wont be without options at David Changs second restaurant, where the special menus feature dishes like beef tartare with shrimp crackers, smoked-beef short rib, and country ham with his classic red-eye mayo. Bigger groups will get to indulge in one of the restaurants large-format meals including the recently introduced seven-spice brisket ssam.



Ma Peche

Price: $115 for a five-course tasting menu for parties of one to eight, $115 for a five-course family meal for parties of nine or more, and $75 for an optional beverage pairing

The prix fixe dinners here will include dishes like sirloin beef tataki, cauliflower custard with yuzu, charred octopus with aqua chili, roast pork rack or pork-rack char siu, and ricotta cheesecake.

Marlow & Sons

Price: A la carte

Say sayonara to 2016 with seafood towers of lobster, uni, littleneck clams, and optional caviar. Lobster-tails, dry-aged rib eyes, and Champagne will all be available in abundance during the two seatings from 6 to 7 p.m. and after 9 p.m.

Narcissa

Price: $95 for five courses and $45 for wine pairing during first seating, $175 for five courses and $55 for wine pairing during second seating

Dinner at the Standards restaurant starts with an oyster-shooter amuse-bouche, followed by appetizers like winter-green salad and chilled lobster. Second courses include pan-seared scallops and chestnut polenta, entrees mean halibut confit and fillet of prime beef, and dessert is your choice of bubbles and berries, drunken chocolate, or a sundae.



Nishi

Price: $110 for four courses

David Changs newest restaurant will serve a tasting menu featuring its signature butter noodles, a cacio e pepe riff made with its chickpea hozon. There will also be beef carpaccio with ponzu, a seafood bento box for two (an additional $10), and entrees like smoked duck breast with Sichuan sweet-and-sour sauce and an okonomiyaki with pumpkin melange. For dessert, theres soy-cream brulee, an apple tart for two, and its much-talked about pistachio Bundt cake.



The Nomad

Price: $145 for four courses during first seating, $225 for four courses during first seating

Daniel Humm and Will Guidaras restaurant in the Nomad Hotel is a great option if you want to go extra-fancy. Kick off dinner with a seafood tower, followed by appetizers like foie gras with beef carpaccio and black-truffle tortelloni with celery root. Entrees include lobster poached with citrus monte and bone-marrow-crusted beef, and youll finish with desserts like a milk-chocolate ganache with malted ice cream and an orange Creamsicle.

Ops

Price: A la carte

What better way to celebrate the New Year than with pizza and wine? Along with food specials on oysters, calzones, pies, and beef stew, the Buswhick restaurant will serve lots of special wines by the glass including a Nathalie Falmet Brut Nature Champagne.

Pizzeria Sirenetta

Price: $55 for four courses

At the Upper West Side Italian restaurant, your prix fixe will include appetizer choices like scallop crudo or seared pork sausage. Pizza is the second course, either with spinach or tomato and fennel sausage. For your main, there will be cacio e pepe, grilled branzino, and Barolo-braised short rib, and dessert is a red-velvet cupcake.

Porchlight

Price: $170, all inclusive

From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., Danny Meyers Chelsea bar will throw a cocktail party, Camp Porchlight, inspired by childhood camp experiences. There will be food like hot dogs and packed lunches and drinks including the Cabin Fever and Adults Only Hot Chocolate, plus bluegrass, games, and more.

Raines Law Room

Price: $175 or $240 for VIP

The fancy midtown bar will throw a Prohibition Party starting at 9 p.m., with an open bar, punch, and live music.



Seabird

Prices: A la carte first seating, $75 for three-course second seating, $95 for four-course final seating.

Head here early if you want a more casual meal of your choosing. Afterwards, three and four-course meals will be offered. There will be dishes like tuna crudo, lobster risotto, and chocolate truffles.

The Smile

Price: $60 for three courses

At the low-key cafe, there will be a set menu with a choice of winter-green salad or campagne beets for an appetizer. The second course is zaatar-braised short ribs with truffled celery, cauliflower ossobuco with chermoula, or poached sole with steamed mussels and cockles. Dessert means a choice of meringue and mousse or pot de creme for dessert.

Reynard

Price: $115 for four courses

The Wythe Hotels restaurant will go Southern for dinner. The meal starts with oysters with boudin blanc and appetizers like black-eyed peas with Carolina rice and chicken-fried foie gras. For your entree you can choose from black sea bass with crab or a grass-fed steak with Henry Baine sauce, while dessert is a Key-lime fizz and red-velvet cake.
Back in September Google decided to delay the final public release of Android Wear 2.0 until next year, not obeying its initially promised "fall 2016" timeline for the outing. This was probably done in order to make sure all the new things in Android Wear 2.0 work well and the whole experience is devoid of any nasty bugs. And since there are quite a few new features in Wear 2.0, that probably makes sense.

Today Google is releasing the fourth Developer Preview of Android Wear 2.0. The previous developer-focused software brought the Play Store to your wrist, and the new version builds upon that by enabling in-app billing on your wrist. A 4-digit Google Account PIN will let you confirm purchases.

Since Android Wear 2.0 supports standalone watch apps, you're going to have to log into some of those obviously. To make this process as painless as possible, the new Developer Preview has "seamless authentication" built-in. You tap a button on the watch that will open an authentication screen on your phone - and you can enter your details there, which should be a lot easier than on your watch.

The swipe-to-dismiss gesture is back in this release, while the hardware button now maps to "power" instead of "back". From this point on, Android Wear 2.0 is compatible with Wear 1.0 apps. When you install an app on your phone that has an embedded Wear experience, you'll get a notification prompting you to install that to your watch. If you choose not to, you can do it later by selecting the app from the new "Apps you've used" section in the Play Store on Android Wear.

Finally, the build has support for burn-in protection icons for complications. Complication data providers can have special icons for screens prone to burn-in. Generally such icons will basically be the outline of the 'normal' icon in interactive mode.

Google notes that there will be an Android Wear Developer Preview 5 in the future, so this isn't the last testing release before the public version goes out. That means the Android Wear 2.0 release for consumers is probably still at least a couple of months off at this point (if there isn't going to be a sixth preview too, of course).

Source | Via
Samsung is reportedly bringing the Y-OCTA display tech, first seen on the Galaxy Note7, to the upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship. Even better, Samsung may end up using the exact same display on the S8.

The Galaxy S8 has been subjected to some wild speculations over the past few months. The interest towards the upcoming flagship is huge post the Note7 global recall. Recently we heard the S8 may end up using an RGB AMOLED screen, an arrangement the company last used in the Galaxy S II. It was unclear if it will be put on the 5.7" or the 6.2" flavors of the S8, or both.

Today, a source is claiming Samsung may end up using the same 5.7" Super AMOLED panels with Quad HD resolution and Y-OCTA technology that were put on the retired Note7 phablet.

The Y-OCTA is a new manufacturing process that allows Samsung to cut display costs and thickness by embedding the touch sensors within the screen panel itself, instead of putting a touch layer between the panel and the protective glass. This way Samsung isn't relying on another manufacturer to make the touch layer and the final display is thinner and produced entirely by Samsung.

So, if this is true, the smaller Galaxy S8 may have the same awesome display as the Note7. On the other hand, this doesn't exclude the rumor about the full RGB AMOLED panel, as it may end up the key feature on the bigger and bezel-less 6.2" Galaxy S8 version.

Samsung will be unpacking the Galaxy S8 at the MWC in Barcelona in just three months, so we wont have to wait that long to get all the answers.

Source  Via
If you recall, back in May this year, there were reports that Samsung is working on a version of Samsung Pay that is aimed at non-Galaxy Androids and iPhones. Well, according to a new report, the service - dubbed Samsung Pay Mini - won't be available on iOS devices, at-least at launch.

The report notes that Samsung's application for launching the service on the App Store has been rejected by Apple. While the reason for rejection isn't yet known, the report says that the South Korean company has decided not to reapply.

"After Apple rejected registration of Samsung Pay Mini onto its app store, we have decided to focus on Smartphones with Android OS," a Samsung representative said.

For those who aren't aware, Samsung Pay Mini - as the name suggests - is a stripped down version of the company's mobile payments service Samsung Pay. The main difference between the two is that Pay Mini is only capable of handling online payments, meaning it can't be used to make in-store payments. The service is set for launch next month.

Source
President-elect Trumps selection of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be the next EPA Administrator has the left in a tizzy and the right engaging in excessive exuberance. In all likelihood, he will not be as bad as the left fears or the dragon slayer that the right is expecting.

EPA is a bureaucracy of about 15,000 employees, most of who are there because they are environmentalists. Bureaucrats routinely get criticized for being bureaucratic, which means they can excel in following rules and being able to grind progress to a halt when that suits their agenda. As career employees, we were here before the political appointees and we will be here after they leave, they are wont to admit in private.

The vast majority of federal employees are hardworking and capable, but they are not value-free, and they know how to pursue their agendas. As public choice economics makes clear, government officials respond to pressures and incentives like everyone else and attempt to advance their own self-interest.

The challenge for Pruitt is how to roll back the excesses of the Obama era without causing the EPA bureaucracy to rebel in ways that will thwart the Presidents agenda. That is not an easy task, but it also is not an impossible one. Pruitts first action should be to appoint deputy and assistant administrators who are eminently qualified, not seen as ideologues but who support a reform agenda.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, all appointees need to take the time to learn how the agencys culture, how it actually operates, and who the key influentials are in each of the offices under the assistant administrators. Third, regional administrators need to be appointed who will support the administrators agenda. Finally, successful executives will focus on a small number of priorities and delegate other issues to their deputies. Pruitt could easily become overwhelmed unless he identifies a small number of issues that have the highest value to the President and focuses on their accomplishment.

Undoing misguided Obama regulations will be difficult and time-consuming. The administrator needs to decide which ones he should attempt to reverse. Since the courts, and then perhaps Congress, will decide the fate of the Clean Power Plan rule, other issues should have the highest priority for change. Reversing the rule, though clearly justified, will ultimately end up in court.

EPA has a number of tools it can use to modify and alter the direction of existing regulations-- technical guidance, enforcement discretion, revising its interpretation of authority under the Clean Air Act, revising methodologies for establishing guidelines, and using the mid-term CAFE evaluation to modify out year standards. Learning how to bring these tools effectively to bear will pay large dividends.

Beyond targeting specific regulations, the EPA leadership should establish new standards and criteria to ensure that the agency relies on the best available science, data, and analyses. EPA should increase transparency to provide a rock solid foundation for all of its actions. That would also help to garner support from the bureaucracy.

The tremendous progress in environmental improvement over the last several decades leads to two obvious conclusions. First, the cost of pursuing additional gains gets ever more expensive. Second, states should have greater flexibility in determining how to achieve regulatory objectives most cost-effectively. EPAs mission should be changed to move away from the current command-and-control approach to one of collaboration, to assist states in identifying and addressing their specific pollution problems. The agency should give a higher priority to providing technical information, analyses, and guidance.

Like most federal agencies, EPA has continued to expand its regulatory reach even though the character of environmental problems has changed. The new administrator should initiate a top-to-bottom review of all activities and eliminate those that are no longer relevant so that resources can be better focused on real environmental problems that demand a federal solution. Taming and changing EPA is a multi-year challenge that will require patience and farsightedness.

William O'Keefe is the President of Solutions Consulting. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, E21 delivers a short email that includes E21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the E21 Morning Ebrief.




Haiti - News : Zapping politics...





500 more prisoners, soon released

As part of the Fight Against Extended Pre-Trial Detention, Jean Danton Leger, the Port-au-Prince Government Commissioner confirmed that approximately 500 prisoners will be released before 31 December in addition to the 250 detainees released on Monday 12 December .



Andre Michel fears violence

According to Me Andre Michel, one of the lawyers of Jude Celestin, presidential candidate under the banner "LAPEH", other violence are to be feared in a post-election crisis, other sectors could use violence to fight what he calls an electoral coup.



A transparent CEP according to the COE

The Electoral Observation Coalition (WCC), composed of 5 organizations: National Observatory Council (NOC), Haitian Council of Non-State Actors (CONHANE) National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), Center for Analysis and Research In Human Rights (CARDH) and the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH), is convinced that since the establishment of the new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), the electoral authorities have made an effort of transparency in the various Stages of electoral operations.



Catholic bishops deplore violence...

The Haitian Catholic bishops deplore the acts of violence recorded in the country following the publication of the results of the elections. The Bishop of Hinche, Jean Desinor, member of the episcopal conference urges candidates to follow the path laid down by law. The bishops ask the victors of elections to avoid triumphalism and to reach out to the losers.



Next International Conference of the Bars in Haiti

Friday, at the end of the 31st annual congress of lawyers from countries with a common legal tradition, held in Yaounde (Cameroon), which gathered 1,200 lawyers from 37 countries, Haiti won the right to organize the 32nd annual congress of this corporation after a vote. Me Stanley Gaston, the President of the Order of Lawyers Port-au-Prince, who led a delegation of 26 lawyers, was elected by acclamation to the Board of Directors of the International Conference of Bar Associations (CIB) of countries with a common legal tradition.



Haiti at the World Summit of the Partnership

Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles, participated in the World Summit of the Partnership for an Open Government (7-9 dec.). The major challenge of the Paris Summit this year was to demonstrate that open government has a very concrete impact on the lives of citizens and on the way democracy works. The new summit brought together thousands of participants, representing States, parliaments, local authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.



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With the stroke of a pen and a decisive vote by Colombias congress, the longest running conflict in the Western Hemisphere ended. On November 24, Colombias President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, signed a peace agreement, and on November 30, Colombias congress approved the accord.

It was a difficult process, and a long time coming. Four years of difficult negotiations led to the first signing of an agreement in late September which both sides hoped would end Colombias 52-year internal conflict. But six days later, the Colombian people rejected the agreement by a narrow margin. Many voters felt it did not go far enough to hold FARC members accountable for their past actions.

So it was back to the negotiating table for both sides, where a revised version of the document was agreed upon. On November 30th, Colombia's congress voted to approve the revised accord. It now includes a requirement that FARC members declare and hand over all of their assets to pay for reparations to victims. FARC members must also declare the full truth about their involvement in drugtrafficking. The agreement further defined the restrictions of liberty for those who committed crimes against humanity, and it clarified that the accord will not be incorporated into Colombias constitution, as had been previously proposed.

The United States welcomes the approval of the peace accord, which we believe will help achieve a just and lasting peace for all Colombians, said Secretary of State John Kerry.

The Colombian people deserve enormous credit for their persistence, commitment, and focus in this endeavor. Special recognition must go to President Juan Manuel Santos, who has earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, he said.

Our Paz Colombia initiative, aimed at supporting continued institutional development, aiding conflict victims, removing landmines, combating narcotics, and addressing remaining security issues, is designed to help our Colombian partners achieve the lasting peace that they have fought so hard for, and that they so richly deserve.
Four months after the official launch, Mexicos Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, known as the SESNSP, marked the completion of the Instructor Training Course for Criminal Investigation under the New Accusatory Criminal Justice System. A ceremony was held recently at La Muralla Police and Forensics Training Centre of the federal Attorney Generals office. The course strengthens the technical and operational capabilities of law enforcement officers who are responsible for criminal investigations.

Implemented through the Merida Initiative, the course was jointly coordinated by the SESNSP and the Embassy of the United States in Mexico. It is part of a national program aimed at training criminal investigators in the accusatory criminal justice system.

Since the start of the course in July of this year, over 600 investigative police from Mexican state prosecutors offices, the Attorney Generals office, and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit have been trained as Instructors in Criminal Investigation. The training includes the core competencies that are fundamental for law enforcement and successful criminal prosecution, including proper procedures for detention or arrest of individuals, criminal analysis, and preservation of a crime scene and evidence. Graduates received a kit donated by the U.S. Embassy containing tools needed to complete a thorough investigation at the scene of a crime, which they will use to train other investigative police throughout Mexico.

Speaking during the ceremony on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the SESNSP, Deputy Executive Secretary Lazaro Gaytan Aguirre recognized U.S. government support for the program, emphasizing the importance of achieving consolidation of the accusatory criminal justice system and continuing efforts for professionalization and specialization of Mexican law enforcement.

Kyle Grimes, Senior Consultant for the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program from the U.S. Embassy, underscored the importance of replicating the training for investigative police throughout Mexico to acquire the necessary skills that will enable them to meet their responsibilities under the new criminal justice system.

The United States is proud to partner with Mexico to help the brave men and women of law enforcement there better serve the Mexican people.
By Jesse Wood

Grandfather Vineyard and Winery slapped its first Appalachian High Country AVA label on a bottle of Seyval Blanc wine yesterday.

A local achievement about 15 years in the making, the Appalachian High Country American Viticultural Area is a federal designation that legitimizes a wine grape-growing region.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially placed the Appalachian High Country AVA in the Federal Register at the end of October and the establishment of the AVA went into effect a few weeks ago  at which time local wineries were allowed to submit AVA labels for federal approval.

AVA-labeled wine must feature 85 percent local grapes within the AVA territory. In this case, the Appalachian High Country spans 2,400 acres in eight counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell and Watauga counties in North Carolina; Carter and Johnson counties in Tennessee; and Grayson County in Virginia.

Grandfather Vineyard and Winery owner Steve Tatum said that the 2016 Seyval Blanc features 100-percent locally-grown grapes from Sterling Carrolls vineyard in Deep Gap, which is managed by Grandfather Vineyard and Winerys assistant winemaker Chris Denesha.

Weve been getting grapes from Sterling for the past four years, Tatum said.

Tatum said that Grandfather Vineyard and Winery will have two or three more AVA-labeled wines in the spring, perhaps a Marquette, a Foche and a Traminette wine  in addition to the Seyval Blanc.

The Appalachian High Country AVA application process was a project of the High Country Winegrowers Association and spearheaded primarily by Johnnie James of Bethel Valley Farms, which grows wine grapes and of other fruits.

The group has launched a new website for the AVA at http://www.highcountrywines.com. It will also be seeking more support from local Tourism Development Authorities to publicize the AVA next year. Supporters of the AVA tout the economic benefits of a wine trail and say it will also have a positive impact on local farmers.

Tatum said that unlike in California, where more than half of the 234 other AVAs exist, an AVA isnt well known in this part of the country.

Hopefully, well fix that, Tatum said. People just dont realize what it is, and its really a big deal.

For much more details about the AVA and the history of modern winemaking in the High Country, checkout High Country Magazines cover story from the August/September 2016 issue.

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Blood Sweat and Gears is holding its Winter Warmer Project drive on Saturday, Dec. 17 from noon to 7 p.m. at Appalachian Mountain Brewery. New or gently-used-and-clean coats, hats, gloves and blankets are accepted. Canned food is also requested.

In addition to the canned food and warm clothing, BSG is also accepting monetary donations to buy warm clothing, blankets, firewood and food to help folks stay warm during the holiday and greater winter seasons.

So far, about $6,000 has already been collected and two BSG riders donated 550 sets of thermal underwear and 240 pairs of socks. 50 coats, sweaters and pullovers have been donated as well.

On top of the regular Winter Warmer Project drive, organizers have thrown in an interesting twist this season after seeing an article about a Secret Santa in Pennsylvania who paid off behind individual food lunch accounts in an elementary school.

We called the Watauga and Avery county schools offices to get an assessment. The numbers are high, about $16,000 for both, but some of that will be paid, BSG Ride Director Scott Nelson said. They are scrubbing the numbers to give us a better idea of the hardship case amount.

Five BSG riders have agreed to match donations up to $3,500 (combined) for the school lunch relief effort. Whatever monies collected will be distributed to the two school systems before the holiday break to help pay down the roughly $16,000 amount in arrears.

We challenge the High Country community to match these funds by stopping by AMB this Saturday and making a donation, Nelson said.

BSG, which hosts three charity bicycle rides throughout the year in the High Country, is a 501c3 non-profit and donations are tax deductible.

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The United States is committed to helping the Democratic Republic of the Congo find a peaceful way forward after President Joseph Kabila's second term in office ends on December 19. On October 18, the government concluded an agreement with several opposition groups, facilitated by the African Union (AU) that calls for elections in April of 2018.

The October 18 agreement was a step in the right direction, but its timeline for holding elections fails to meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of the DRC. In addition, important parts of the opposition did not take part in the discussions that led to the agreement.

The highly-respected DRCs Conference of Catholic Bishops, or CENCO, is leading further discussions in pursuit of a more inclusive and strengthened agreement on the electoral calendar and transfer of power. The United States strongly supports CENCO in this role, given its credibility and neutrality, and believes its efforts provide the best chance of reaching a consensus agreement and guaranteeing the holding of elections.

"Supporting CENCOs efforts is our top priority," said U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa Tom Perriello recently. "I believe there is still a window for the Bishops to succeed." U.S. government officials are in near constant contact with stakeholders, including within the DRC government and the opposition, pressing them to work with CENCO in good faith and to prioritize consensus over individual or party gain.

The U.S. strongly believes that the key elements in an agreement likely to attract consensus include an electoral timeline that calls for presidential elections in 2017; a guarantee that the Constitution will not be amended and that President will Kabila not seek a third term; and electoral safeguards to ensure a free and fair election, including impartial electoral commission leadership.

The United States will continue to support efforts to advance democracy, stability, and prosperity for the people of the DRC.
KHO delivered yesterday its ruling in the case of a man who has been convicted of several sex offences, including aggravated rape and aggravated child sexual abuse, since his arrival in Finland from Saudi Arabia in 1996.

Several convictions of sex offences can constitute sufficient grounds for stripping quota refugees of their refugee status and deporting them to their country of origin, according to the Supreme Administrative Court (KHO).

The Iraqi man was stripped of his status as a quota refugee and ordered to leave the country on grounds of his criminal history at the beginning of last year by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). The man, however, lodged an appeal against the decision, stating that, if deported, he would be in mortal danger due to his previous political activity and would likely be arrested due to his criminal convictions in Finland.

The man arrived in Finland as a quota refugee with his wife and children in 1996, after having participated in a revolt against the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1991. He was granted a permanent residence permit in 1999.

The Supreme Administrative Court determined that the circumstances under which [the appellant] had become a refugee have ceased to exist. The change in circumstances has been significant and permanent. [The appellant] is no longer in need of international protection, the ruling reads.

KHO also ruled that the man was rightfully stripped of his refugee status and ordered to leave the country because he had demonstrated that he poses a risk to the safety of others with his behaviour during the roughly two decades he spent in Finland. The appellant, it added, had despite his long stay also failed to establish important ties with the local community.

His deportation is therefore not in violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to the KHO.

KHO thereby upheld an earlier ruling in the case by the Administrative Court of Helsinki.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Vesa Moilanen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
The theft and illegal excavation of antiquities are crimes as old as civilization itself. Anything of value is fair game to a thief, and the older and more unique the artifact, the higher the price it commands. In most cases, such items are smuggled out of the country of origin, to be sold primarily to collectors who are willing to pay enormous prices for one of a kind, very old and culturally-significant artifacts.

The fact is, trafficking in stolen cultural property is very profitable for transnational organized criminals and, in some cases, terrorist organizations.

Egypt is, and has for centuries been, one of the main source countries for smuggled items of cultural and archeological value. According to Egypts Ministry of State for Antiquities, its archeological treasures have been targeted by looters since the around the end of the 18th century, and shifted into high gear after the 2011 Arab Spring revolution. Today, Egyptian authorities are attempting to recover millions of dollars worth of antiquities stolen during the political instability that followed the uprising. Taking advantage of the chaos, thieves raided and looted countless museums and historical sites.

One of the destinations for stolen antiquities is the United States. So it makes sense that the United States and Egypt work together to stop the illicit trade and smuggling of Egypts cultural and archeological artifacts. That is why, in late November, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry signed a memorandum of understanding that will help protect Egypts cultural heritage. Under this agreement, the United States has imposed import restrictions effective December 5, 2016 on archaeological material representing Egypts cultural heritage dating from 5200 B.C.E. through 1517 A.D.

This memorandum of understanding has been years in the making, and represents the first bilateral agreement in the Middle East or North Africa regarding the protection of antiquities, said Secretary of State Kerry.



These antiquities are priceless treasures that do not belong to traffickers and crooks and should not be sold illegally and bought by wealthy people to hide away somewhere, he said. They are antiquities that belong to the world.
A woman and her daughter watched in fear as a drunk tried to open their front door, a court was told.

Vincent Shortt (44), a chronic alcoholic, had got into their car before attempting to enter the house.

The court heard he had been drinking vodka before the incident and had "very little re- collection" of it.

He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service instead of five months in jail.

Shortt, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to trespass causing fear and interfering with a car on July 23.

Gda Gabriel Murphy told Dublin District Court it was reported that a man was in the driveway of a house in Templeogue Wood at 4.35pm.

There was a car in the driveway and the accused tried the door of the vehicle before opening it and getting into the driver's seat.

While in the car, he interfered with it, causing minor damage, the court heard.

The woman was watching from her window as Shortt, originally from Crumlin, app-roached the house.

He tried to open the front door, but it was locked.

The victim and her daughter were both "extremely frightened", the court was told.

Shortt returned to the car, before leaving the driveway.

Abusive

When gardai arrived, he was still in the housing estate. He was intoxicated and abusive to them.

Shortt was arrested, but made no reply to the charges when cautioned, Gda Murphy said.

The accused had a different demeanour and was a "very pleasant man" when sober, his solicitor told the court.

He had apologised the next day and indicated early on that he was going to plead guilty.

"It must have been a very frightening experience for the people in the house," Judge Bryan Smyth said.

Shortt had 28 previous convictions for offences including theft and breach of the peace, but this was "by far the most serious", his solicitor said.

He had no prior convictions for trespass or interfering with a vehicle.

Shortt was a chronic alcoholic, was homeless and had been going through a "bad patch".

He had been drinking vodka on the day of the incident and had very little recollection of what had happened.

He was now taking daily medication to help him stop drinking.

Judge Smyth imposed the community service order on the trespass charge and said he took the other into consideration.
It is likely that Afghanistan will take in more than a million returning Afghans by the end of the year. Since January 2016, more than 380,000 registered Afghan refugees have returned home to Afghanistan. In addition to registered refugees, over 600,000 migrants and deportees have returned from Pakistan and Iran. This places a heavy burden on the government in Kabul at a time when it is battling a resurgent Taliban and a growing Islamic State presence.

In order to meet the extraordinary needs of returning Afghan refugees, the United States is pleased to announce that it is providing over $39 million. This brings the total U.S. contribution to the Afghan humanitarian response to more than $207 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2016.

U.S. funding includes more than $19 million in support for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to help address the urgent needs of these vulnerable individuals, including by providing them with shelter, essential household items, and supplies for winter.

The United States is also providing $20 million to the World Food Programs Afghanistan Emergency Operation targeting vulnerable returnees and refugees in eastern Afghanistan and people displaced by ongoing war with the Taliban and Islamic State. This response to the World Food Program's recent special appeal for these populations represents enough to serve 548,000 people for nine months.

These vulnerable people urgently need the international communitys assistance and support in the coming winter months. The United States urges all countries to contribute the remaining funds still needed for UN humanitarian appeals for Afghanistan.
Janet Morrissey has not yet indicated how she will plead

A woman has been sent for trial accused of possession of more than 117,000 in cash, which gardai believe to be the proceeds of crime.

Janet Morrissey (35) had a book of evidence served on her when she appeared before Blanchardstown District Court.

She is accused of engaging in the possession of property - 117,800 - that was the proceeds of criminal conduct, or that she was reckless as to whether the money was the proceeds of crime.

The alleged incident took place at her home in Lucan on April 4.

A state solicitor told Judge David McHugh that the book of evidence was ready and it was served on the defendant.

Judge McHugh gave Ms Morrissey the formal notice that she must provide to the prosecution within 14 days details of any alibi she intends to rely on.

He also made an order for disclosure by the State of the accused's garda interview video.

Arrest

The judge sent Ms Morrissey forward to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, remanding her on bail under existing terms.

She did not address the court during the brief hearing.

Previously, Det Gda Jerome Twomey, from the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Unit, gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution in the case.

Det Gda Twomey said the acc- used, with an address at Meile An Ri Drive, Balgaddy, Lucan, was handed a copy of the charge sheet and she made no reply to the charge after caution.

On that occasion, earlier this year, Det Gda Twomey said he was not seeking any conditions of bail.

Defence barrister Ciaran MacLoughlin applied for free legal aid, telling the court that the accused was not working.

Judge McHugh assigned def-ence solicitor Michael Staines on legal aid.

Ms Morrissey has not yet indicated how she is pleading to the charge.

She is due to appear in the circuit court later this week, when her case will be mentioned before a judge.
Jim Gavin, Stephen Cluxton and Michael Darragh MacAuley help out at Shelton Abbey prison farm. Pic: Maxwell's Dublin

Dublin stars swapped the pitch for pitchforks as they lent a hand tending to calves at the Shelton Abbey prison farm.

Manager Jim Gavin, All-Ireland winning captain Stephen Cluxton and Michael Darragh MacAuley crossed the county lines into Wicklow on Sunday to help out with aid agency Bothar's Christmas appeal.

Expand Close The Trio got to see Shelton's Bothar programme which raises calves and goats for impoverished African and Balkan families. Pic: Maxwells Dublin / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Trio got to see Shelton's Bothar programme which raises calves and goats for impoverished African and Balkan families. Pic: Maxwells Dublin

Shelton Abbey open prison is raising calves and goats for the Bothar programmes in Africa, which transport livestock to countries like Rwanda, Malawi and Uganda.

The jail houses men aged from 19 years who are regarded as requiring lower levels of security. For the past nine years, as part of a restorative justice programme, the inmates have reared almost 1,500 animals that have been transported to African nations and the Balkans.

Appeal

Dubs manager Jim Gavin has issued a final Christmas appeal to help raise funds for a new-year airlift by Bothar of cows to widows of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

In October, Gavin joined Bothar on its 25th anniversary airlift to Rwanda and he said the trip was an eye-opener on the difference Bothar's aid can make.

"I saw for myself first-hand only two months ago just how much an Irish cow can turn lives around," he said.

"Many of the cows that were sent out there were reared in Shelton so it was great to see how their project works.

"The beauty of this programme is that these animals begin making a difference from when they are very young.

"The prisoners who hand-rear them get a sense of responsibility, which is important as part of their rehabilitation."

After getting an introduction to farm labouring, the trio met inmates and their families.

"Today was a big day for our inmates as there is just one more visiting day before Christmas, so there was a particular buzz to have Jim and the lads in," prison chief officer Padraig O'Brien said.

"He has been out to Rwanda to see for himself the impact that this programme can have. We have been partnering with Bothar on this programme for nine years now and it has been hugely successful."

See www.bothar.ie
TV presenter Gay Byrne will not return to the airwaves until 2017 as he continues his fight with prostate cancer.

The much-loved presenter is currently taking time out at home after his shock revelation on his Lyric FM Sunday show that he had "a bit of cancer in the prostate".

The former Late Late Show presenter took time off from his programme last month as he awaited test results to see if the cancer had moved up his back.

He is now being looked after at his Ballsbridge home by his wife Kathleen Watkins and their large family. An RTE source said that he is "doing OK".

"His show finished up last Sunday for Christmas anyway and there's no return date yet for when he'll be back on air but he's in good form and is in good hands," she said.

The legendary broadcaster, whose career in Irish media has spanned 60 years, said he originally decided to reveal his cancer diagnosis in order to put any rumours to rest.

He said that he has been blessed with his health for most of his life.

Battled

"I've had the most wonderful, fantastic, robust, good health all my broadcasting life," he said.

"It's my turn now. Many, many people are much worse off."

The presenter has battled a number of health concerns in recent years.

Just days after celebrating Christmas last year, he was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin after collapsing with heart problems at his Dublin apartment.

He joked at the time that the fact that he lived beside the hospital probably helped save his life.

As well as presenting a Sunday show on Lyric FM, Gay has made several hit series of religious programme The Meaning of Life, which sees him interview big-name celebrities, such as actor Colin Farrell, on their spirituality.
Five gardai who had expected to be promoted to chief superintendent have written to Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald claiming their "unblemished careers" are being tarnished by delays in the process.

The officers are the final five from a list of 18 selected in May for promotion, but will have to go through a new series of interviews as the panel expires on December 31.

This is despite the fact eight key chief superintendent positions are vacant, including in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), which oversees requests for access to the force's Armed Response Unit.

Ms Fitzgerald is expected to take part in an event to highlight the roll-out of new garda vehicles and equipment later this week as part of the ongoing battle against gangland crime in the city.

Power

The row over appointments comes ahead of the transfer of power for promotions from the Government to the Policing Authority.

The Tanaiste's department said the superintendents were informed by Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan that, when they applied for promotion, they would be placed on a panel that would lapse at the end of year or when the authority took over appointments.

"It is normal practice for panels to have an expiry date so as to facilitate fresh competitions," a spokesperson said.

However, the officers' letter says the declaration relating to the expiration of the panel "was presented in such a way that if the candidate didn't sign, then the interview wouldn't continue". They added that the gardai have received "advice" that the "significance of that declaration may be nullified in the way it was presented".

The letter, which has also been sent to Ms O'Sullivan and the Policing Authority, says the manner in which the five officers are being treated is "inherently unfair".

Vacancies

In the meantime, four of the country's chief superintendents are currently responsible for two roles due to the long list of vacancies.

Among the unfilled positions is the role of chief superintendent for the DMR, based in Harcourt Square. The chief superintendent for DMR East is currently double-jobbing in this role.

"This is the person that has a say in whether the Armed Response Unit is deployed in the city, but they are tasked with two jobs," a source said.

Similarly, the chief superintendent charged with ensuring professional standards are adhered to nationwide is also now responsible for the Garda Technical Bureau.

A garda spokesman said the appointment of chief superintendents is a matter for the Government.

"The commissioner has publicly commented on several occasions on the need for critical vacancies in the organisation to be filled," they said.
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During the final year of his life, Jung wrote the first chapter of a book that was intended to explain his complex theories to the masses. It 
Candidates with no legislative history not uncommon

Maryland's candidates for governor do not have long legislative records. Wes Moore has none at all. Analysis shows that is not uncommon.
Nov. 30

James Glenn Robbins, 48, was sentenced to serve 180 days in Elko County Jail, suspended on conditions of the court, and placed on probation for 36 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance.

Dec. 1

Krystal Marie Oppenhein, 35, was ordered to serve 364 days in Elko County Jail, suspended on conditions of the court, and placed on probation for 36 months after pleading guilty to child abuse committed by a person responsible for the safety or welfare of a child perpetrated by the neglect or endangerment of a child.



Nicholas James Roderick, 24, was sentenced to two 32-month terms in prison, suspended on conditions of the court, and placed on probation for five years after pleading guilty to two counts of uttering a forged instrument. He also was ordered to pay $1,450 restitution to the victim.

Dec. 6

Enrique Hernandez. 31, was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of uttering a forged instrument. The sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation for five years, based on conditions including restriction on gambling and drug and alcohol use. He was also ordered to pay $1,162.13 restitution to the Rainbow Casino and $244.58 in extradition fees to the Nevada Attorney Generals Office.

Dec. 8

Christopher Paul Wilkins, 48, was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with credit for 69 days, and fined $1,000 after pleading no contest to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance.
ELKO  Nevadas gas prices have been on the decline but Elkos are still slightly higher than the statewide average, according to the latest AAA monthly survey of gas prices in selected cities.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded in Elko was listed at $2.45, compared to the statewide average of $2.40.

An informal survey of stations by the Free Press indicated that motorists in one part of town could be paying as much as 63 cents more per gallon than in another part of town. The Sinclair station on Ruby Vista was selling gas for $2.29 on Tuesday morning, compared with $2.92 at the Chevron on Idaho Street.

Nevadas average price is 13 cents less than a month ago. Of the Nevada cities surveyed by AAA , Henderson and Las Vegas posted the lowest price at $2.34, and Sparks has the highest average at $2.62.

The nationwide average price is $2.21.

Despite nationwide retail gas prices increasing steadily, following the news of the OPEC production crude oil cut agreement, Nevada state gas prices have continued to decrease in the past week, stated AAA.

OPEC reached an agreement on November 30 to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day beginning in January 2017. The agreement caused oil prices to increase and pushed the national average price higher, said Cynthia Harris, AAA Nevada spokesperson. While the proposed cuts in production have had the intended effect on prices, market watchers look to sustained compliance to these production cuts among oil-producing countries to determine their long-term effectiveness.

Over the weekend, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to reduce global over supply and rebalance the market by limiting oil output. Producers from outside the 14-country group agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day.
Mr. President, as we approach the end of this Congress, I rise today to discuss not only what we have accomplished as a Chamber but also what specifically we have accomplished for the state of Nevada.

Im especially proud that many of my priorities have been able to move forward to help Nevadans thrive  from veterans to health care to infrastructure.

These accomplishments prove that this Majority was prepared to work and produced lasting results. And I look forward to advancing even more priorities that benefit Nevada in the 115th Congress.

As a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, I have been proud to advocate on behalf of Nevadas brave heroes.

My focus has always been the issues impacting Nevadas veterans most:

Guaranteeing our veterans have access to care;

Ensuring they receive care quickly;

Working to hire more VA doctors;

Providing health care for rural veterans; and

Addressing the disability claims backlog.

And in this Congress, there has been a lot of progress.

As the Co-Chair of the Senate VA Backlog Working Group, Ive been holding the VAs feet to the fire on the disability claims backlog.

The VA has adopted many of my Working Groups policy recommendations, and this pressure has helped reduced the backlog from 405,000 claims in 2014 to 92,000 today.

Although there is still much to improve, Nevadas veterans are far better off submitting a claim to our Nevada VA Regional Office today than they were two years ago. Nevada was once worst in the nation, and now it is in the top 25% for performance.

Another issue plaguing veterans in Nevada and nationwide is VA doctor shortages. It is hard for the VA to recruit and retain medical professionals, and that impacts how quickly our veterans can get their care.

Ive asked the Government Accountability Office to examine the VAs current policies for recruitment and retention and report back to me on what improvements can be made.

I look forward to receiving that report next year and acting to ensure we address this issue that affects urban areas like Las Vegas, and our rural veterans in Elko, Ely, and Winnemucca.

And when it comes to bringing high-quality care to Nevada, Im also proud that the VA finally opened a brand new VA clinic in Pahrump.

While there have been many positive steps forward for Nevadas veteran community, there is still more to be accomplished next Congress.

In fact, Im working to pass legislation through the Senate right now that would bring greater accountability to the VA by reporting each year on bonuses awarded to critical positions like VA hospital directors.

While I recognize that my colleague from West Virginia would like to ensure passage of one of his legislative priorities, I would hate for this important measure to be blocked. Im hopeful that we may be able to move this commonsense transparency legislation for our veterans before we go home for the holidays.

We still have a 20% disability claims backlog, and a growing appeals backlog. The VA Choice Program must be re-visited in 2017 for reauthorization and improvements.

The VA still struggles to fire employees who are poorly-performing. Rural veterans still struggle to find doctors to serve in their area.

These are priorities for Nevadas veterans that I am committed to advancing every day I am in the Senate.

I am also particularly proud of the work weve done here in the 114th Congress on infrastructure.

Those efforts yielded major results for the state of the Nevada. Last year, we enacted the first long-term highway bill in nearly a decade, the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation Act or FAST Act.

This five year bill provides states the resources and tools to advance high priority projects, such as the new Interstate 11 connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas, the Carson City freeway, and the widening of the Nevadas busiest freeway Interstate 15 in Las Vegas.

The bill also included my top infrastructure priority  the expansion of Interstate-11 to northern Nevada. I have been working for years to improve mobility between Las Vegas and Reno. Surface transportation projects like these spur economic development opportunities, reduce congestion, and increase safety  the recipe for creating short-term jobs and long-term economic growth.

In July, the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act was enacted into law. This important legislation implemented important reforms that make U.S. air travel safer and more efficient, essential to tourism destinations like Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe.

And again later this weekend, we will debate yet another important infrastructure bill the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act.

Included in that package is a bill I sponsored and have been working on with my Nevada and California colleagues for nearly a decade  the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act.

This initiative will reduce wildfire threats, jumpstart transportation and infrastructure projects, and combat invasive species at Lake Tahoe, ensuring the Jewel of the Sierras is preserved for generations to come.

It also includes a provision I crafted with Senator Heinrich that improves the water security of rural western communities. I hope my colleagues will agree to quickly take up and pass this critically important legislation for my state, sending it to the Presidents desk before the end of the year.

With a new majority in the Senate, we were also able to make good on a number of promises to the American people on the health care front.

First and foremost was being able to send an Obamacare repeal bill to the Presidents desk within the first year of our new majority.

One of my top priorities in our Obamacare repeal efforts was to fully repeal the 40 percent excise tax on employee health benefits.

In Nevada, 1.3 million workers who have employer-sponsored health insurance plans will be hit by the Cadillac tax.

I knew the devastating impact this tax would have on Nevadans  but I also knew that in order to get anything done, we needed a bipartisan effort. My friend Senator Heinrich from New Mexico and I teamed up to successfully include a delay of the Cadillac tax in the Omnibus bill at the end of last year. Rest assured I will continue to fight for a full repeal in the next Congress.

This week we were also able to pass the 21st Century Cures Act, which was a two year process to work in a bipartisan way to advance medical research and clear out government red-tape at the Food and Drug Administration.

I was very pleased that two of my bills that focus on mental health and protecting seniors Medicare benefits were included in this health care package.

First, my bill Bringing Post-Partum Depression Out of the Shadows Act was included in the mental health title of the bill.

After working with mental health care providers in my home state, I learned that Nevadans lack access to the appropriate treatment, screenings, and community support needed to provide effective care for new mothers struggling with post-partum depression.

I worked with Senator Gillibrand and HELP Committee Chairman Alexander on this important piece of legislation, which builds upon existing state and local efforts by providing targeted federal grants to assist states in developing programs to better screen and treat maternal depression.

Another bill we were able to pass as part of the Cures package was my legislation, the Medicare Advantage Coverage Transparency Act.

This legislation requires more transparency of Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug benefits enjoyed by seniors throughout the state.

It will also ensure that these benefits continue to provide meaningful coverage to seniors and will help us protect important health care benefits for current and future retirees.

More than 30 percent of Nevadas seniors enjoy their Medicare Advantage benefits, and enrollment continues to grow in the state.

Successfully passing a number of health care bills will surely set the tone for early next year when a united Republican government finally repeals Obamacare.

I am optimistic that with a willing partner in the White House, we can build on these successes.

And I plan on using my role on the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to tackle the challenges facing Nevadans across the state.

I know that we will do everything in our power to protect our constituents access to care as we transition out of Obamacare, and into a new era of a 21st Century health care system that works for patients.

I know we will honor our veterans by improving the quality of care and benefits they have earned.

And we will invest in roads, bridges, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, and other pressing domestic infrastructure needs.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the United States Senate on these important priorities in the coming year.
Thirty of Spains leading flamenco couturiers have joined a project led by Spanish NGO Teranga, which is working in Senegal to help train marginalized women and children in the art of fabric craft and design. Each dressmaker has produced a garment using African fabric, the colors of which are traditionally believed to influence the person who wears it. Now the dresses have been sold at an online auction by Duran and the proceeds earmarked to finance Terangas scheme.

The dresses using Senegalese cloth sold at auction. Jaime Villanueva

Teranga was set up a year and a half ago by three friends from Seville  Cristina Ramos, Beatriz Casero and Azucena Mongil. The idea, says Cristina, was to be useful to others, an objective that took them to the Senegalese city of Sebikotane, 30km from Dakar, more than 90% of whose population of 21,000 consists of women and boys under the age of 15. There, the three visited a project run by local NGO Gie Fedde Amdy Raby, which, after providing training, sells the crafts and designs produced by the women and children and uses the money to improve their lives.

When we have the money, we will go back to Senegal to work with these women Cristina Ramos, Teranga

During the trip, we realized that although the NGO was doing a great job, the sale of the products was limited to the immediate surroundings, says Ramos. So we thought we could design the products with them and adapt them to the European market. That way, we would create an efficient production line. All we were lacking was the means to finance the idea.

The three friends used the trip to buy typical Senegalese fabrics with which they made the ruffled dresses known in Spain as faralaes for the annual Seville Fair, held in April. People were very complimentary about the dresses and the eye-catching colors, recalls Ramos. And one friend gave us the idea of using the dresses as a way to finance our project. He suggested contacting Raquel Revuelta to gain visibility. A former model, Revuelta now promotes the Salon Internacional de la Moda Flamenca (Simof).

Revuelta immediately agreed to back the initiative and dedicated Salon Internacionals runway benefit to it. More than 30 Spanish designers specializing in flamenco fashion joined the initiative, making dresses with the fabric that the three Teranga friends had brought from Senegal.

I fell in love with the fabrics from the word go, explains Amparo Pardal, one of the 30 designers. I thought it could be complicated but the fabric dictated the design.

People were very complimentary about the dresses and the eye-catching colors Cristina Ramos, Teranga

Sonia Barco and Isabel Bizcocho, from Seville-based design firm Sonibel, were also glad to have been part of the project. Apart from the solidarity aspect, the fabrics were beautiful and very adaptable. We loved being able to help.

After the success of the catwalk show, the Teranga trio decided to exhibit the outfits before selling them so that the work put in by the 30 designers could be fully appreciated. And so the dresses went on show in the Duran jewelers in Seville until the auction was over. When we have the money, we will go back to Senegal to work with these women, the three friends explain.

They are going to be self-sufficient and able to own their home and their future where they want it, in their own country.

English version by Heather Galloway.
HICKORY  To help bolster reading scores, Hickory Public Schools superintendent Robbie Adell recently proposed a consolidation plan between Southwest and Longview Elementary schools.

Hickory Public Schools (HPS) is considering converting Southwest Elementary to a primary school serving only students in kindergarten through second grade, a Hickory Public Schools press release said. Southwest Elementary School would be changed to Southwest Primary School.

With the proposed change at Southwest, Longview Elementary School would then serve only students in third through fifth grade, with a concentrated focus on leadership and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) program learning, according to the release. The changes will affect only the students in these two schools

The primary school concept, with a heavy concentration on literacy, would be new for Hickory Public Schools, Adell said via email.

However, this concept is currently used, successfully, in other North Carolina districts including Buncombe County, Gaston County, Lexington City, Lincoln County, Moore County, Mooresville, Mount Airy City, Pitt County and Thomasville City Schools.

We are reviewing the best options in selecting a reform model to help improve the literacy rate for all students.

These proposed changes could also play a key role in helping students meet the requirements of North Carolinas Read to Achieve program.

Third grade students receive extra attention in North Carolina because of the states Read to Achieve legislative initiative, a part of the Excellent Public Schools Act, according to ncpublicschools.org.

Under this state law, third grade students who are not reading at grade level by the end of third grade will receive special help, including summer reading camp and other interventions to make sure that they can read well enough to be able to do fourth grade work.

According to HPS Read to Achieve end-of-year (2015-16) results for first grade, the percentage of students in the school system overall demonstrating reading comprehension at grade level was 48.4 percent. The percentage of first grade students not demonstrating reading comprehension at grade level was 51.6 percent.

In second grade, the number demonstrating reading comprehension at grade level was 59.8 percent while the percentage of those not demonstrating comprehension at grade level was 40.2 percent.

As part of the review process of these potential changes, Town Hall meetings have been scheduled for the parents/guardians of children who attend these two Hickory Public Schools.

Adell will present research and data to reflect instructional opportunities designed to break boundaries and improve literacy for all students, the release said.

The first meeting will be Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the media center of Longview Elementary. The meeting will last approximately 60-90 minutes.

The second meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the media center of Southwest Elementary. The meeting will again last approximately 60-90 minutes.

The HPS superintendent, members of the HPS administrative team, principals from both Southwest and Longview, and members of the Board of Education, will attend the Town Hall meetings.
HICKORY  Publix Super Markets kicked off a job fair at the Hickory Metro Convention Center on Tuesday and will run through Friday.

Those interested can make an appointment at https://storejobapplication.publix.com/. Walk-ins are accepted as well, according to the company's website.

The fair is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each of the four days.

Donna Hefner came to the fair Tuesday because she was looking for a change and because of the good things she had heard about Publix.

"I am interested in Publix because I learned that they have excellent benefits," Hefner said.

Hefner said she got help filling out the online application.

"Oh it was very pleasant, very pleasant, very laid back and it was very organized," Hefner said.

Publix is expected to open in Hickory in 2017, and the typical store employs between 125 to 150 associates. Plans call for more than 100 area residents to be offered employment, Publix Media and Community Relations Manager Kimberly Reynolds wrote in an email earlier this year.

Publix bills itself as the "largest employee-owned grocery chain in the United States," with employees receiving company stock in their retirement plans as well as opportunities to purchase company stock on their own, according to the company website.
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MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans brother-in-law Sanjay Singh Masani on Monday filed a complaint with the cyber police after Vyapam scam whistleblower Anand Rai claimed his Twitter account had been hacked.

Earlier, Masani had accused Rai of maligning his image on social media, to which the latter said he hadnt abused anyone and speculated that his Twitter account may have been hacked.

Masani said he had filed the complaint with the cyber police to bring out the truth.

Rai is trying to save himself by spreading these rumours of hacking. If someone has tried to hack his Twitter account, it is a crime. I am sure the cyber police will find out the truth behind his claim and will also answer who had hacked his account and when, Masani said.

However, Rai seemed less than convinced. I am a whistleblower in the Vyapam scam. This is the same police who were allegedly involved in tampering with the hard disk containing details about the Vyapam Scam. I cant trust them, he said.

Rai also claimed that he was yet to receive Masanis notice against him that was purportedly sent on Saturday. Some sources informed me that the notice has been sent to the wrong address, he said.
The state-run Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal is set for a major renovation, with the work on the project set to begin early next year. The state public works department (PWD) has been assigned the job to implement the  435-crore project.

As per the sources in the PWD, renovation work would begin with demolition of the wing housing three units--- the ophthalmology department, the swine flu ward and the hospital kitchen. Sources said, the PWD had initially planned to demolish 80% of the premises. It, however, changed the the plan after the Hamidia authorities stated their inability to shift all the departments to other places.

The three departments, which would be demolished and re-constructed, have been chosen after proper planning. We have identified areas in the Kamla Nehru Hospital, in the same premises, to shift the three departments, said Dr D K Pal, superintendent Hamidia Hospital.

The 800-bed facility with a daily inflow of about 1,500 patients would be upgraded to 2,000 beds, Pal said. Newer technology will also be introduced. A time limit of 24 months has been set for completing the project, he added.

Activists, however, are skeptical about the deadline. The cite the non-completion of six projects that were sanctioned and launched at the hospital in the last eight years.

A 9 crore project was sanctioned in 2009 to build a central OPD. It is not been completed. Similarly, some projects launched in 2012 such as virology lab, new operation theatre complex, new private ward complex and geriatric centre too are lying incomplete.

Funds were granted for all the projects at Hamidia but none of them have been completed. The emergency unit get a new lift at 85 lakh, till date it hasnt become operational, claimed Pradeep Khandelwal, an activist.

The hospital supreintendent, however, claimed that the work on central OPD will be over soon.

Pending projects at Hamidia hospital

Central OPD: Pending since 2009

New private ward: Pending since 2012

Geriatric centre: Pending since 2012

New OT complex: Pending since 2012

Virology lab: Pending since 2013

New pvt ward complex: Pending since 2013
Spanish taxpayers will pick up the tab when the government nationalizes nine loss-making privately managed toll roads , Public Works Minister Inigo de la Serna said on Monday. The announcement follows more than two years of talks between the government, the operators of the highways , and creditor banks. An agreement to settle this is difficult, because many banks have already sold their debt on, De la Serna told state television.

The R-2 ring road outside Madrid. uly martin

No official figures are available regarding the scale of the highway operators debt and the cost of nationalizing them. Seopan, the Spanish construction industrys confederation, put the figure at around 5.5 billion in 2015.

De la Serna said he believed the roads could be made profitable in the long term.

Spanish courts have called for the highway operators to be put into liquidation

The banks that lent money to the highway operators are owed a total of 3.4 billion. But a number of these institutions, notably foreign players, have already sold their debt on to so-called vulture funds.

The highways will revert to the state and the state will decide how to manage them, said De la Serna on Monday morning, highlighting the importance of keeping the roads open.

He added that he would be reviving a plan announced in 2014 by his predecessor that involves creating a 100% state-owned company to bring together nine toll roads after writing off 50% of their debt. Under the deal, creditors would receive a negotiable 30-year bond.

The highway operators have already provisioned for their losses with the money invested in the roads, which were financed in large part with loans from around 20 banks.

The government believes the toll roads can make a profit

The state is now obliged to take over the struggling concessions because it acted as a guarantor when the private companies took out loans. The investment that was required to expropriate adjoining land and build the roads was expected to be recouped through long concessions. But the economic crisis and the existence of nearby toll-free roads covering the same routes has meant that few drivers were willing to pay the premium to use them.

Four of the nine concessions are the R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5 ring roads that provide access to the radial routes out of Madrid to Barcelona, Valencia, Andalusia and Portugal, run by a consortium headed by Abertis, ACS, Sacyr and Bankia. The M-12 is a link to Barajas airport, the AP-41 connects Madrid with Toledo, while the AP-36 is a ring road round Alicante run by Ciralsa. The last route is part of the AP-7, between Cartagena and Vera, which is managed by Aucosta.

Spanish courts have called for the highway operators to be put into liquidation, as happened with the R-3 and the R-5. The Public Works Ministry has succeeded in delaying any such move until July 2017 to avoid road closures.

English version by Nick Lyne.
MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday announced that mining will be banned in the Amarkantak area, the source of the Narmada river.

A letter will be sent to the Centre in this regard. Narmada will be made pollution free by this and the flow will become strong, Chouhan said, while addressing a public gathering at Dindori districts Karanjia on day two of the Narmada Sewa Yatra.

Maa Narmada is the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, which has given us water for irrigation and electricity. We all should cooperate fully to make it clean and to make its flow strong. This yatra is set out to fulfil these objectives, he said.

Chouhan said intensive plantation will be undertaken on empty forest land. Beside this, an amount of 20,000 per hectare till three years will be given to the farmers of both the banks for plantation on their lands and 40% of the plantation cost will be given. Moreover, a grant of 12,000 will be given to construct toilet in villages situated on the banks of the river, he said.

The chief minister urged the villagers not to put flowers, leaves and poojan material in the river. Also do not perform jal samadhi. The poojan kunds and mukti dham crematoriums will be constructed at ghats, he said.

Chouhan said that an amount of 1.2 lakh will be provided to the poor to construct pakka houses. Also, land will be provided to those who are landless to construct houses, he said.

On Sunday, Chouhan flagged off the 144-day long Narmada Sewa Yatra from Annuppur districts Amarkantak in presence of various saints. The yatra will move through 16 districts and conclude at Amarkantak on May 5, 2017.

On Monday, Chouhan reached Karanjia from the Arandi Ashram on foot, walking five km with the yatra.

The chief minister also addressed gatherings at Kabir Chabootra, Jagatpur, Narigwara, Bonder and other villages. He also administered a pledge to the villagers for planting trees, construction of toilets, sanitation and environment protection.
Move over Salman and Shah Rukh, its time to welcome a totally different line-up of stars in Bollywood. More specifically, third-generation stars, if you may. After Sharmila Tagore and Saif Ali Khan, its the granddaughter of the family, Sara Ali Khan, who is ready to take baby-steps in the industry.

The 24-year-old actor was earlier supposed to make her debut in one of Dharma Productions films, but an alleged fall-out between Saras mother Amrita and Karan Johar didnt let that happen.

Apparently, things are back on track now, and Sara is likely to feature in Dharma Productions blue-eyed boy Karan Malhotras next comedy. The Times Of India quoted a source saying, She is back on-board, but with a bigger and better project, after the differences have been ironed out. She will be the leading lady of Karan Malhotras comedy film, a first-of-its-kind journey.

Despite no official confirmation, its believed that Hrithik Roshan is playing the lead in the film.

Karan and Hrithik earlier collaborated in the remake of Agneepath in 2014, so they both would be hoping for a repeat of the same success.
Work hard, play hard. Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt is all about living the good life post the success of her latest film, Dear Zindagi.

Alia, who recently completed the shoot for her upcoming film Badrinath Ki Dulhania with Varun Dhawan, decided that she deserves a good, long break from work.

She is currently vacationing at the gorgeous beaches of Maldives with her family  her sister Shaheen, mother Soni Razdan and dad Mahesh Bhatt. They are posting pictures from their holiday on their social media accounts and making their many followers jealous.

They are chilling in infinity pools, relaxing with some anti-gravity yoga and just having a great time.

Check out the pics:

Look ma, I can fly!! #girlpower #antigravityyoga A video posted by Alia  (@aliaabhatt) on Dec 12, 2016 at 11:15pm PST

Had the most amazing Anti Gravity Yoga Class today (yes we work out even on holiday ) with my dearest one :) #antigravityyoga #girlpower A photo posted by Alia  (@aliaabhatt) on Dec 12, 2016 at 11:19pm PST

Peek-a-boo  A photo posted by Alia  (@aliaabhatt) on Dec 12, 2016 at 8:13pm PST

Fruit by the ocean  A photo posted by Alia  (@aliaabhatt) on Dec 11, 2016 at 10:35pm PST

Thank you all for the 11M love!!!!! Sending you bright happy kisses from the holiday!!! Love you all  A video posted by Alia  (@aliaabhatt) on Dec 12, 2016 at 1:31am PST

Bae A photo posted by Shaheen Bhatt (@shaheenb) on Dec 12, 2016 at 8:45am PST

Mood. A photo posted by Shaheen Bhatt (@shaheenb) on Dec 12, 2016 at 12:25am PST

I'mma name my band Caution Propeller. A photo posted by Shaheen Bhatt (@shaheenb) on Dec 11, 2016 at 8:35am PST

A family is a gift that lasts forever !! Landed in Male. pic.twitter.com/BiQWJDpMCr  Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) December 11, 2016

We are going on a family Holiday . No more working for a day or two !! pic.twitter.com/iZoCwicSoG  Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) December 11, 2016

Moments rather than possessions are the true treasures of life !Heading to the exotic Maldives for a family holiday pic.twitter.com/cg8GsytFmt  Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) December 11, 2016

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Tens of hundreds of people formed serpentine queues across the country as banks re-opened on Tuesday after a three-day holiday that had aggravated problems for millions of Indians struggling to withdraw cash after last months shock culling of high-value banknotes.

Long queues were also seen at ATMs, most of which had run dry during the extended weekend.

It was the first time banks were closed for three consecutive days since the government announced the recall of 1000 and 500-rupee notes on November 8, a move it said was a war on illicit cash and counterfeit currency.

People have been queuing up since morning to ensure that they got their moneymany ATMs had no money in the last couple of daysthe ATMs that had money got dry within just a few hours, said a senior official at a public sector bank in Delhi.

In the Chandni Chowk area, that has dozens of banks on both sides of the main road, long queues extending more than 200 metres could be seen.

The banks in this area are usually crowded as it is a business hub and traders deals in running currency, said Mohammad Arif, a trader.

Read | Delhi: Long queues outside ATMs, next two days could be worse

Long queue out side the ATM at Connaught Place, New Delhi, Dec 13, 2016. Ravi Choudhary.. (Ravi Choudhary / HT Photo )

Bankers said most of the people were trying to withdraw money and only a very few people are depositing the new notes.

Faced with a shortage of cash, banks continued to cap withdrawals, with some dispensing about Rs 6000. Others with more cash were giving around Rs 16,000, officials added.

We had done away with the token system but seeing the rush, it has been re-introduced, said a State Bank of India official in Central Delhi.

Security personnel were deployed at many bank branches as the cash crunch has led to violence in many places with customers venting their anger on bankers and infrastructure.

CH Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Banks Employees Association said bankers are under tremendous pressure from customers demand.

They are being attacked by customers for no fault of theirs, Venkatachalam added.

In the countrys economic hub, Mumbai, too, long queues were seen at banks with people lining as early as 8.30 in the morning. Banks open at 10 am.

Long queues were seen outside banks and some ATMs in Wadala, Sion, Parel, Kandivli and in the western suburbs in the city.

People stand in queue outside HDFC bank at Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, Dec 13, 2016. (Sakib Ali / HT Photo )

While Saturday and Sunday are regular weekend holidays, banks remained closed on Monday for Id-e-Milad.

A private sector banker said that although about 95 per cent of the two lakh-odd ATMs have been recalibrated, there is cash shortage due to logistics issue. ATMs are fed only once a day and most of them are running out of money shortly due to heavy withdrawals.

Bankers on the condition of anonymity said despite assurances by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government, they are not getting adequate cash from currency chests to meet the withdrawal pressure.

(With agency inputs)
The board of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is likely to vote out ousted group chairman Cyrus Mistry as director on Tuesday, a crucial leadership battle at Indias largest software company at a time of restrictive business rules in its big western markets.

Mistry was removed as chairman of Tata Sons, the groups holding company, in October and patriarch Ratan Tata has returned to the helm temporarily. A very public power struggle has since ensued between Tata Sons and Mistry.

Tuesdays extraordinary general meeting at TCS is part of efforts by Tata Sons to drive Mistry out of the boards of Tata companies where he still sits as director. Sources said a majority of TCS board members favour the principal shareholders, the Tata Sons.

Read: Full text: Nusli Wadias letter to Tata Steel shareholders

A majority endorsement of the resolution is vital for the Tatas as it establishes clear control over a group jewel, which along with Tata Motors, accounts for 90% of the groups profits.

The row Tuesdays extraordinary general meeting at TCS is part of efforts by Tata Sons to drive Cyrus Mistry out of the boards of Tata companies where he still sits as director. Mistry was removed as chairman of Tata Sons, the groups holding company, in October and patriarch Ratan Tata has returned to the helm temporarily. A majority endorsement of the resolution is vital for the Tatas as it establishes clear control over a group jewel, which along with Tata Motors, accounts for 90% of the groups profits.

A win at TCS is also vital for Ratan Tata as it will send a strong signal to investors and other stakeholders the world over about stability of the leadership at the software behemoth. Analysts say this is crucial at a time when US President-elect Donald Trump has hinted at tightening visa norms which could impact TCS as a large part of its workforce is located there.

The optimism on TCS vote was also reflected on the exchanges on Monday with the stock rising 0.58% up at Rs 2,206 on a day when the broader BSE index fell 0.8% on fears that US would tighten visa norms.

The BSEs September 2016 data showed the promoter group, which includes Tata Sons and other Tata companies, own 73.33% in TCS. Ahead of a board meeting on November 17, there were widespread rumors that the Tata group wanted to increase stake in TCS and also nip any possible effort by Mistry to exert any control.

Just before the TCS board meet, senior executives at Bombay House were of the view that Mistry who has been contesting his ouster, would prefer to increase his control as he was also the chairman, said a senior group official, using the popular name of the conglomerates headquarters in Mumbai.

Read: Cyrus Mistrys presence a disruptive influence: Ratan Tata

This was also in line with the charges that Tatas subsequently announced saying that Mistry has been steadily trying to separate Tata Sons control over key group companies such as TCS.

The TCS board then decided to nominate group veteran Ishaat Husain as interim chairman of the company, replacing Mistry. The company also decided at a board meeting on Nov 17, to convene an EGM to vote on removing Mistry as director.

Shareholder advisory firms, which have been active in the dispute over leadership at Tata Sons, have recommended voting for the resolution to replace Mistry as it would ensure minimum disruption that is vital to extending the profitability and corporate leadership of TCS.
Going home for the holidays should be an uplifting experience, something to look forward to. But as I pack my bags for my second visit to New York in as many months, Im in an even gloomier mood than I was the last time. The last time, it was to vote in the presidential election involving two uninspiring candidates. This time, theres the rebarbative prospect of having to watch, at close quarters, the horror show that is Donald Trumps transition to the presidency.

Its been frightening enough to observe from a distance. Not only is Trump the least-prepared president-elect in American history, but he compounds this by showing no interest in preparing  if anything, he seems absolutely determined not to prepare  for the most important job in the world. Most worrisome of all is the news that he has been avoiding daily security briefings by the intelligence services. A man so plainly ignorant about the world should be asking for a double dose of briefings, but Trump has decided that he can do without them because Well, why dont you hear from the man himself, in this exchange in a TV interview:

INTERVIEWER: I just want to ask you about your skepticism about the intelligence community. You are getting the presidential daily brief only once a week.

TRUMP: Yes. Well, I get it when I need it.

INTERVIEWER: But, if there is some skepticism ...

TRUMP: Look, first of all, these are very good people giving me the briefings. And I say if something should change from this point, immediately call me, Im available on one minutes notice. I dont have to be told, you know, Im, like, a smart person. I dont have to be told the same thing and the same words every single day for the next 8 years. Could be 8 years, but 8 years. I dont need that.

The sheer absurdity of his attitude is heightened by the third-standard syntax: I dont have to be told, you know, Im, like, a smart person.

Read: Would love to see Pakistan and India get along: Donald Trump

Worse yet, he has actively undermined his intelligence agencies by suggesting that they are in cahoots with Hillary Clinton, and making excuses for her defeat. (Never mind that Clinton herself attributes her defeat to FBI director Jim Comeys pre-election statement about her email server.) Trump has dismissed as ridiculous a CIA report that Russia actively interfered in the election by hacking into the Democratic National Committees servers, and feeding material about Clinton to WikiLeaks. In a statement, he pointed out that the CIA are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Hes right about that, of course, but the CIA has also got plenty of things right, and such blithe dismissal suggests Trump is keen to draw attention away from the report. In any case, it ill behooves a president to display such open contempt of his own intelligence agencies  especially when he has nominated, as his national security advisor, Gen. Michael Flynn, an Islamophobe, racist and conspiracy theorist who has frequently clashed with those same agencies. In a world where threats to American interests come from State actors (Russia, China) as well as non-State entities (ISIS, Al Qaeda and sundry terrorist groups), the US cant afford an open rupture between the intelligence community and the White House.

Read: Trump threat to jail Clinton borrows a dangerous practice from India

Instead of educating himself about the problems of the world, many of which will have a bearing on everything he does as president, Trump has spent a great deal of time using his Twitter account to attack his critics, and pass judgment on Saturday Night Live, a comedy sketch show that lampoons him. He seems to have left most important decisions to his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, an unabashed White-supremacist demagogue. Bannons hand is plainly visible in most of the nominations to Trumps cabinet, from Jeff Sessions (soon to be attorney general, a man who was denied a judgeship because he was found to be too racist) to Andrew Puzder (the next labour secretary, a man who is opposed to minimum wage laws), to Scott Pruitt (a climate-change denier who will be the next head of the environmental protection agency).

Read: The fragile ego and dreams of the US president-elect

Should Indians care about this faraway circus? Yes, absolutely. As Ive argued in these columns before, any American president who represents a danger to his own country and to the world order also poses a danger to India, which now has a great deal at stake in both. But the threat from a Trump presidency is much more specific than that. For all his claims to love the Hindu, the president-elects protectionist impulses  he wants to bring jobs back to the US, and to punish American companies that take jobs out  can only be bad for India. At an event in Iowa last week, be made his position perfectly clear: My administration will follow a simple rule  buy American, hire American We love our companies, but we dont love them when they go out of our country.

Then, sending a chill down the spine of the Indian IT industry, he went on to fulminate against the misuse of the H1-B visa, referring to the specific example of Walt Disney World in Orlando, involving Indians hired on that particular visa. You have to be an incorrigible optimist to harbour any lingering hope that Trump might be good for India. Or you have to believe that, contrary to all evidence, he is like, a smart person.

Bobby Ghosh is editor-in-chief of Hindustan TimesTwitter: @ghoshworld

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Eight residents of Delhi write open letters discussing sexual abuse and rape. In Part 1, a mother addresses her son.

Dear Son,

I write to you today, not only as your mother but also as a woman.

I write to you because stalking, eve-teasing, molesting, sexual harassment, rape arent words you only hear in the news and as debating topics in school. They are a reality faced by most women, their age, economic or marital status notwithstanding.

Im sure it disgusts you to know that your mother has been on the receiving end of harassment many a time. So have your sisters, aunts and friends. Not even your grandmothers have been spared.

When you were younger, I remember switching channels on TV when news of rape and sexual harassment were played on loop. I wanted to protect your innocence. I remember chatting a bit about the December 16, 2012, gang-rape case that you had heard about in school. We discussed respect and personal space, especially when interacting with girls.

Read | Lets Talk About Rape: Rape threat hangs over women even at homes

Im sure it disgusts you to know that your mother has been on the receiving end of harassment many a time.

You may not be aware of how rampant these issues are. Remember Rahul uncle almost slapping aunty because the food she had made contained a lot of salt? Remember our maid who you thought bruises herself because she falls on the stairs on most days? Can you forget Anu crying hysterically at the bus stop? All of them faced different forms of violence and abuse.

What has this got to do with you? I should be talking to girls and teaching them ways to stay safe. These are womens issues. You are a boy, a good one, right?

The fact is, if every boy is brought up to respect women, we wouldnt have these issues.

Boys will be boys! You have heard this a million times. Dont believe it. Your friend in the park bullies and teases a girl just for fun. You laugh along instead of stopping him -- you are guilty of harassment too. Instead of that girl running home crying, the boy should be boycotted by all of you till he rectifies his action.

Read | Lets talk about rape: Farhan Akhtars open letter to his daughter

Oppression and violence occur when there is support from peers and a lack of accountability to society. The social stigma falls on the victim rather than the oppressor. When the victims clothing, profession, character, personality and lifestyle become the centre of attention, the true problem is obscured. Sometimes, appallingly, the blame is shifted on the way the aggressors mother brought him up.

Think why abuses are based on sexual references with females or their anatomy...People hysterically laugh at the word balatkar in a film. Why

Think why abuses are based on sexual references with females or their anatomy. You are brought into this world by a woman. Half the worlds population is female too. Why does the shaming of women become a socially acceptable way to vent frustration or create humour? People hysterically laugh at the word balatkar in a film. Why? Movies portray stalking as romance, perpetuating the notion that a girls No actually means Yes.

Read | Delhi, Indias rape capital, ranks 2nd in stalking cases

I dont want you to take my word or anyone elses. I want you to think for yourself. Is this acceptable? Debate this regressive thought process with your friends, both girls and boys.

Youd be tempted to tell me, What can I do alone? You are not alone. People want to make a difference but keep waiting for someone else to make a beginning. You could be the one to make the first domino fall.

I wish you all the success in the world. But nothing would make me prouder than knowing that youre a true feminist. Much maligned, the word feminism is now used only to refer to bra-burning, men-bashing women. I would like you to know that nothing could be as far from the truth. The dictionary defines feminism as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.

Be a proud feminist. Let your pride come from the fact that you are sensitive to others. Let your power come from being gentle and not brawny or brash, as people would like you to believe. And above all, let your manliness come from respecting women and their rights.

Always remember, if youre not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

In hope and love,

Your mum.

Read | Lets Talk About Rape: Eight eminent personalities write open letters

Preeti Agarwal Mehta, is a 41-year old freelance creative artiste, who explores different mediums like writing, theatre, film, photography and social media. She is a special needs educator and counsellor by training. She works with Karm Marg, an NGO for children. She believes that it is the love of her 15-year-old son, Suryansh Mehta, whom she addresses here, and the children she works with at Karm Marg, that keeps her grounded.

Next in the series: A cab driver writes to his colleagues
A Delhi assembly panel on Tuesday recommended contempt proceedings against south MCD commissioner Puneet Goel and urban development secretary of Delhi government, Janak Diggal, for not appearing before it.

The Questions and References Committee had summoned the department heads of south MCD, urban development department and power utility BSES to depose before it in a matter related to local area development fund of AAP legislators.

The two officers, however, failed to appear and were instead represented by their deputies and other officers, citing other government engagements.

The committee termed their absence a breach of privilege of Delhi assembly, hence recommended contempt proceedings to the Speaker against the two officers, besides directing the officers to be present in the next sitting of the committee on December 19.

The development comes at a time when the Aam Aadmi Party has been accusing the BJP-ruled civic bodies of stalling development work being recommended by AAP legislators from their local area fund.

Read | Eye on civic polls, AAP sharpens attack on BJP-ruled municipalities

The SDMC commissioner has failed to appear in any of the meetings of the committee in the past on this issue. In absence of the department heads, the entire exercise of two-and-a-half hours today did not yield any result. Therefore, we have recommended contempt proceedings against the officers, said Rakhi Bidlan, deputy speaker and chairman of the questions and reference committee.

The committee had summoned the officers to record statements of south MCD and urban development department officers related to information about the status of development work being carried out from MLA fund. The matter was referred to the committee by the Speaker on request from AAP legislator Saurabh Bharadwaj , who did the most of the questioning from the officers present at the meeting on Tuesday.

The AAP legislators have been alleging that the BJP-ruled MCDs have been deliberately putting up obstacles in the way of their implementation.

Delhi assembly officials said the recommendation will go to Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, who will take a call on it further. If the Speaker prima facie finds merit in the arguments of the committee, he would forward it for action to the Privileges Committee for further action, a senior official said.
A constable was attacked with chilli powder and bricks when he tried to stop seven suspicious looking men in south west Delhis Bindapur area on Monday.

The incident was captured on CCTV and police have identified the accused.

Police officials said the incident took place around 3.45 am when constable Pawan and home guard Laxmi Narayan were on night duty in the area of Manas Kunj T point at Mangal Bazar road. They spotted at least seven men walking together in a group, going towards Uttam Nagar.

The presence of so many men at such an odd hour alerted Pawan and he stopped them.

In his complaint to the police, Pawan said that he became suspicious about them while enquiring them. He decided to question them further and so asked them to sit near a shop. The men agreed but one of them refused and began verbally abusing Pawan and Narayan.

Sensing that the men could attack them, Pawan took out his pistol, made a phone call to Bindapur police station and asked for back-up. While he was asking for more policemen to come to the spot, one of the men suddenly stood up and threw chilli powder in Pawans eyes, said a senior police officer.

Later, the men started hurling bricks at Pawan and Narayan. When the latter tried to restrain them, all of them forced him to the ground and threw more bricks at him. When a brick hit Narayan on the head, Pawan fired two times from his pistol. The men fled away from the spot, leaving behind an injured Narayan.

A case under sections 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC was registered against unknown persons at Bindapur police station.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Surender Kumar said that that based on CCTV footages, the accused persons have been identified and their locations traced. They will be nabbed soon, Kumar added.

COPS ATTACKED AGAIN AND AGAIN

1A policeman was allegedly stabbed in his stomach and thigh by a man after the victim and his colleague had gone to attend a PCR call of quarrel in South East Delhis Molarband area. The incident happened in the wee hours of November 1 after police received a call of a brawl taking place in Molarbands Mohanbaba Nagar.

2A head constable was allegedly beaten up, his uniform ripped off and the PCR van he was using damaged when he tried to stop two men from verbally abusing a victim in west Delhis Nilothi Extension on November 27.

3 A gang of robbers fired and wounded a constable when two police cars blocked their vehicle in northwest Delhis Rohini area on August 21.

4 Two brothers were arrested for allegedly attacking policemen who tried to stop them from creating nuisance after getting drunk in outer Delhis north Rohini. The incident occurred on September 13.
Arjun, the prime suspect in the two Munirka murder cases that were solved on Saturday, fled to his hometown in Nepal with Govind, his partner-in-crime, immediately after killing the two women and disposing of their bodies on November 16 and 17.

Arjuns live-in partner Mini Sangam alias Neha and cook Jeevan were arrested in the case.

The Delhi Police are now mulling over options to secure the extradition of Arjun and Govind from Nepal. They are planning to approach the ministry of external affairs (MEA) through the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to contact their counterparts in Nepal and seek the custody of the two fugitives.

Two freelance spa therapists, Sushma Rai alias Sonam from Assam and Nayesha from Nepal, were murdered by the four on November 16 and 17 nights respectively at Arjuns flat. They chopped off Sonams head and dumped her torso in a sewer on the ground floor of a Munirka building, where Arjun lived on rent a year ago. Her decapitates body was pulled out of the sewer on November 25, a week after Nayeshas body, stuffed in a bag, was found dumped near Baba Gang Nath temple, some 100 meters away from the sewer.

Investigators said that Arjun left behind Neha and Jeevan to keep a watch on the police action and update him about the progress made in the case. They said that Arjun remained in touch with Neha over phone, using a new SIM card that he procured after reaching Nepal.

Arjun had kept Neha and Jeevan in dark about his plans that he along with Govind will flee to Nepal after the crimes. The two were asked to dispose of the weapons of the offences  a Khukri and knife  but remain present in the locality, every time the police visited the area for probe.

Read: A call to victims ex-boyfriend helped crack Munirka sex worker murders

Arjun was so smart that he secretly asked his aunt to bring back his two children to Neapl. The children were with Neha but even she was not told where they were taken to. Arjun did not want to leave behind his any weakness, said an investigating officer.

Neha learnt about Arjuns plans only when she got a call from him from an international number. Arjun, however, convinced her that he will return soon and take her along to Nepal.

Senior police officers said they have evidence to prove that Arjun and Neha were constantly in touch with each other over phone. Nehas cell phone number was put on surveillance to track down Arjuns movements, after they established their involvements behind the crimes. Teams were sent to Indo-Nepal border but Arjun and Govind could not be nabbed.

Arjuns greed and philandering ways, jealousy between Sonam and Neha, and Nayeshas pressure on the main suspect to return her money led to the double murder. Despite being in a live-in relationship with Neha, Arjun secretly married Sonam at a south Delhi temple, as part of a ploy to stop her from asking for her money.

Sonam was jealous of Neha because of her proximity to Arjun. To taunt Neha, Sonam sent photographs of her wedding with Arjun via WhatsApp. An enraged Neha then asked Arjun to choose between her and Sonam. Cornered, Arjun decided to teach Sonam and Nayesha a lesson. He included Neha, Govind and Jeevan, their cook, in the conspiracy and together killed the two women, an officer said.

Read: Love triangle, sex ring, money behind chopped bodies found in Delhis Munirka
Spain is preparing a list of advantageous conditions to attract London-based banks looking to relocate after Britain leaves the European Union . These incentives could include income tax incentives for non-residents. Madrid has put together a task force comprising members of the Bank of Spain , the CNMV securities watchdog and the Economy Ministry. Their mission is to attract financial institutions wishing to move to a EU member state after Brexit becomes effective.

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos (l) wants to attract City lenders to Spain. Jaime Villanueva

The group is working to activate a complete package of measures with the goal of attracting to Spain those UK-based financial institutions wishing to transfer part of their business to Spain as a result of Brexit, said the CNMV in a release.

So far, the Spanish executive has been in touch with several US and Japanese lenders.

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Nomura and other investment banks have been weighing their options

But Madrid is not the only European city to flirt with the Citys bankers: Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Milan are all vying for their favors. Even Luxembourg, Bratislava and La Valeta in Malta have shown an interest in attracting the Citys future financial diaspora.

In Spain, besides the tax incentives, relocating lenders would be offered more streamlined dealings with the CNMV.

Despite reticence from the Treasury Ministry, the economy minister wants to offer foreign bank executives tax incentives, mirroring steps announced by France a few weeks ago.

The French strategy has already yielded results: HSBC said it will transfer around 1,000 employees, representing 20% of its London staff, to Paris.

HSBC said it will transfer 20% of its London workforce to Paris because of its incentives. AFP

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Nomura and other investment banks have been weighing their options for months, preparing for the possibility of a hard Brexit that would deny British lenders easy access to the European single market.

The advantages of Spain are its infrastructure, attractive real estate conditions and recent regulatory changes to achieve a more agile CNMV, which is bankings great concern, said sources at the Economy Ministry. Besides that, there is a tax regime in line with other countries, to which a touch-up to income tax will be added in order to make it more attractive.

English version by Susana Urra.
A day after iron grilles were installed by the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration to block students access to two spots at the administration building, JNU students union said the university was more keen to curb protests instead of engaging with them.

Students and administration has been at loggerheads ever since a postgraduate student Najeeb Ahmad went missing from the campus following a scuffle with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in October.

The university recently ordered hostel transfer of four students as punishment for beating up Najeeb.

After sending show-cause notices warning students to not protest at Freedom Square, the administration on Sunday installed iron grilles and said it was a move to get extra office space in the building.

The students, however, see it as an attempt to clampdown on dissent. They will be taking out a march on Wednesday from Mandi House to the Parliament to raise concern over Ahmads disappearance for two months now.

Read: JNU lockdown: Grille springs up around Freedom Square

It has been 59 days since Najeeb is missing. Even the High Court has questioned police and the VC about what is being done. He has given a token punishment to those who beat Najeeb by ordering hostel transfer. And when we protest against such steps, he puts a cage here, said Mohit Pandey, president JNU students union (JNUSU) on Tuesday.

The VC M Jagadesh Kumar had said grilles have been put up only in the car parking area at the side entrance to the administrative block to carve out some space. There is space crunch in the administrative block and this extra space will be used for creating office facilities, he said.

Saurabh Sharma, former joint secretary JNUSU said that Ahmads disappearance is being made into a political issue by JNUSU, some teachers and political parties. We dont need this small space for protesting. We can get our voices heard even without this space. The way Leftists and others are behaving on the grille issue is sad and worrying, he said.

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Every time a woman steps out of her house, she is warned: Be careful; try and not go out at night. Society scares her with the spectre of the vicious stranger lurking in dark alleys ready to strike. She is told to be unassuming and be aware of her surroundings.

But a far-less asked question is how safe women are within the confines of the four walls of their own homes. This is dangerous, considering statistics show that an increasing number of women face sexual assault inside their houses at the hands of people they know.

Incestuous abuse, domestic violence, child sexual abuse and marital rape have become a part of many households dirty laundry but are too taboo to be discussed in public  but this reticence only hurts the victims who struggle to report their abuse.

Read | A mothers open letter: Dear son, lets talk about rape

Women are not safe anywhere, not at home and not when they step out. Abuse at home is not just an aberration, says Anuja Gupta, founder and executive director of RAHI foundation, a one-of-its-kind NGO that offers support to survivors of incestuous abuse.

Facts 8 of 10 women surveyed reported sexual abuse during their childhood and adolescence, according to a RAHI foundation survey in 1998. 40% respondents said they were survivors of incestuous abuse, ie, they had been assaulted or harassed by at least one family member. Govt enacted the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act in 2012, but its impact has been limited. In Delhi, 82 cases were registered under Pocso in 2015, 107 cases in 2014, and 136 cases in 2013. Indian Penal Codes section 375 says a man cannot rape his wife unless the wife is less than 15 years of age. In 97.7% rapes of married women, victims said their husband was the aggressor: A 2014 Rice Institute study

The subjugation of women at the hands of men and patriarchal power begins early and inside the home. Many women have their first brush with abuse, harassment and molestation at a young age.

There are hidden secrets in every family. Incestuous abuse is the biggest one, says Gupta. Such incidents cut across socio-economic backgrounds, she adds.

A study by her foundation revealed that eight of 10 women surveyed reported some form of sexual abuse during their childhood and adolescence.

40% of these women also said they were survivors of incestuous abuse and had been assaulted or harassed by at least one family member. In fact, in many cases the abuser is the father, says Ashwini Ailawadi, the co-founder of RAHI.

A 26-year-old child sexual abuse survivor recalls her own personal nightmare. I was six when I was first made to touch somebody; 13 when somebody first touched me-- a cousin spent the entire duration of a movie with his hands between my legs. My brother was sitting right next to me, on the other side. But in the darkened movie hall, I was frozen with fear and could not find my voice to call out to him, she says.

A 2007 woman and child development ministry study said more than half the child population in India (53.22%) faced sexual assault.

To bring the massive number down, the government enacted the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act in 2012 but its impact has been limited.

Over the past four years, 15,039 children have been identified as victims of assault under Pocso, the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) says.

But experts say the numbers dont reflect the thousands of people who dont report their abuse or are silenced by a web of shame and intimidation.

It is practically impossible for a child to speak up against an adult; especially if the adult is liked by family members. The silence is built into the abuse itself; the kind of influence the abuser might have on the child. Some might be worried about angering their parents, says Gupta.

Child sexual abuse been discussed in movies such as Monsoon Wedding where Shefali Shahs character is left a shadow of her former self after surviving abuse at the hands of an older uncle. In the 2014 movie Highway, Alia Bhatt renders a powerful monologue confronting her Shukla Tayaji who abused her as a child.

Shahs character is admonished by her family, including women, who say she is overreacting because she is unmarried. In real life too, this reluctance to believe their narrative can further violate children, who may be discouraged to discuss any assault further.

But anyway, it is not the responsibility of the child to talk about it; the question should be what can adults do to create conditions of disclosure, says Gupta. Adults and guardians should take signs of abuse  such as sudden change in behaviour  seriously and try to have open, honest conversations with their children.

But it is not just minors but also adult women who face violence at home. Marital rape is still spoken of in hushed tones and not considered a crime because it is assumed a husband has rights over his wifes body.

A 2014 study conducted by the Rice Institute showed that in 97.7% of instances of rapes, the victims identified their husband as the aggressor. According to sociologist Patricia Uberoi, this could be because sex is seen as the husbands right, a womans consent be damned.

There is this general understanding that marriage entitles a man to his wifes body. The woman is expected to be available just by virtue of marriage, she explains.

Most of such cases go unreported  the Rice Institute study said only 0.6% of rapes by husbands make it to the police books as complaints. Last year, the NCRB said just 2% of Indias 34,651 rape cases identified the husband as the perpetrator.

Experts say the low numbers are spurred on by the law, which doesnt recognise marital rape -- section 375 of the Indian penal code says a man cannot rape his wife unless the wife is less than 15 years of age.

The Verma commission initially agreed on the idea of marital rape but it was not acceptable to the parliamentary committee. This may be because Parliament is predominantly men, and men do not want to accept that this occurs. They argued that you cant bring the state into the bedroom, says Ranjani Kumari, an expert who presented arguments before the Justice Verma Commission set up after the 2012 Delhi gangrape case.

Human rights lawyer Karuna Nandy busts another supposed myth around marital rape  that of false complaints.

False claims are very few, and convictions based on these are fewer. We need to understand though a womans claims have weight, the court still needs proof and evidence for a conviction, explains Nandy.

She also calls the marriage is sacred claim dubious. Marriage may be sacred, but are you also making rape sacred?

Such attitudes further discourage women from reporting cases of abuse. In a society that worships women as gods, it is disheartening to know that women are left without support and vulnerable to violence even in the supposed safety of their own homes.

Lets Talk About Rape has been illustrated by Liza Donnelly, a celebrated New-York based cartoonist and writer best known for her work in The New Yorker Magazine.

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Three of a family were killed and two children orphaned when the bike they were travelling on was hit by a speeding truck in southeast Delhis Kalindi Kunj on Tuesday afternoon.

CRPF personnel Raj Kumar (38), his wife, Seema (35), and daughter, Ritu (12), died on the spot. His two sons Avinash (7) and Surya (4) escaped with minor injuries.

The family was returning to Delhi from Noida after a holiday.

Police arrested the truck driver, Rambir. A case of rash and negligent driving causing death was registered against him. Police are questioning Rambir.

According to the police, Kumar, who was posted at old JNU, was the only one wearing a helmet. When he reached Kalindi Kunj, a speeding truck hit the bikes edge from behind. While the couple and their daughter fell to the left, the two boys fell to the right.

The truck dragged the bike for 100 metres and turned towards the left, running over the couple and their daughter. The truck mowed down the couple and crushed their daughter under the rear wheel. The three died on the spot while the other two, escaped with minor injuries, a senior police officer said.

Following the incident, passersby chased the truck driver and intercepted him. The locals thrashed him and handed him over to police.

We heard the woman cry for her children, after which she fainted. The truck had mercilessly crushed the family under its wheels. We managed to catch hold of the driver and even made a call to the police control room. The two boys were rushed to the hospital. Even they sustained head injuries and were unconscious, an eyewitness told HT.

Police said the two boys were not informed about their parents death. They fell unconscious after the accident. They are being treated at a hospital. They have been asking about their sister and mother but have not been told anything about their death. In their statement, they said a truck hit them from behind and that they saw the truck running over their parents and sister. Their statements are not consistent, a police source said.

The police have also accessed the CCTV footage of the area.
A terror alert on Saturday evening led the police to a mazar inside a forest at the Bodyguard Lines, opposite President Estate, where a 70-year-old maulvi had been staying for the past 42 years.

The maulvi, Gazi Norool Hassan, who claims to be a preacher and a teacher to former president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, was detained on suspicion by the police and questioned for over seven hours.

He was later released after he furnished documents including his passport, ID card, voter card, a valid electricity connection and other address proofs to the police.

According to sources, on Saturday night, a patrolling van spotted Hassan scaling the wall of Bodyguard Lines, going inside the forest.

Unaware of a mazar inside the forest, which could be someones home, the personnel reported the matter to higher authorities. Hours later, a team of personnel reached Hassans door asking him to accompany them to the police station for questioning.

I had retired to my room when the police knocked at my door. I was surprised. They asked me to come with them to the police station for questioning. They took me and kept me there for over seven hours. They kept asking me how I have a house inside the Bodyguard Lines and since when I have been living there. This has never happened to me before, Hassan said.

Read more: Gang of pack-and-move robbers busted by Delhi cops

Hassan said that not many people know of the mazar inside the forest and since there is no proper gate to enter, one has to climb the wall and get inside. Hassan has carved out a room inside the mazar where he has been staying for the past 42 years, preaching the Quran to his handful of followers.

According to sources, a terror alert was issued on Saturday and the PCR spotted Hassan climbing a wall near President Estate, which created panic. A search operation was then launched inside the forest and the police stumbled upon the mazar.

They asked me to prove my purpose of stay here. I told them I stayed there and only after I showed them all proofs they let me go, he said.

When contacted, police said that it was a part of the routine check and he was detained as he was around the VIP zone in Lutyens Delhi.

The personnel patrolling the area were unaware of the mazar inside the forest and found Hassans movement suspicious when they saw him scaling the wall, a police source said.
Beijing seems set to miss another opportunity to change the cold wind that blows through its bilateral relationship with New Delhi. The Chinese foreign ministry indicated it would continue to block Indias attempts to sanction Masood Azhar. Just to rub it in, the ministry also indicated it would continue to oppose Indias entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Superficially these are both about Chinas closeness to Pakistan, arguably Beijings closest thing to an ally in the international system. But they are also further evidence, along with Chinas opposition to Indias bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat, that Beijing is more than willing to be seen as an active and open opponent to Indias global aspirations.

Read | China to continue opposing UN ban on Masood Azhar, says position unchanged

India-China relations should not be seen as being in a state of crisis. They are competitive, and increasingly so, but in a largely well-managed way. The India-China border is in a permanent state of friction, but one both have designed not to catch fire. The two governments work together opportunistically in areas like climate change, some trade issues and in emerging economy fora like Brics. The two Asian giants have impermanent interests in common and so have impermanent points of cooperation as well.

Read | US says one China policy should not be used as a bargaining chip

The problem, as is increasingly apparent, is that with Indias power trajectory beginning to mimic that of an earlier China the traditional policy of administrative band-aids will struggle to bind down the widening geopolitical differences between the two countries.

Read | Why a US-China war cannot be ruled out under Donald Trumps leadership

China is increasingly abandoning its earlier stance of trying to publicly stay aloof from India-Pakistan differences. New Delhi is taking harder stances on issues, like endorsing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, that ruffle Beijings core concerns. This new-found openness means official differences these days become reflected in hostility in the public opinion of both countries. Over time, this will make bilateral relations even more difficult to handle. It now seems clear that both countries will become ever more vociferous in their criticism of areas that no common ground can be found  most of which touch Pakistan in some way. India will seek to play a deck of geopolitical cards that include Japan and the United States. China, ever more confident of its superpower status, is likely to ignore such gambits.

In the meantime, the two countries are beginning to see a nascent but fast-growing investment relationship. They may also start to see some genuine interoperability in areas like climate change as their clean energy programmes pick up steam. But India and China are set to ride a roller-coaster of relationship in the coming years. The trick will be to keep it from going off the track, despite ups and downs, before the two reach a certain plateau in their own geopolitical development.
The application process for filling 400 probationary officer (PO) vacancies in Syndicate Bank through admission to one year Post Graduate Diploma in Banking and Finance (PGDBF) course offered through Manipal Global Education Services Pvt Ltd. (MaGE), Bangalore and Nitte Education International Pvt Ltd. (NEIPL) Greater Noida/Mangalore begins on Wednesday (December 14, 2016). The application process will continue until December 28, 2016. The number of vacancies is provisional and may vary according to the actual requirement of the bank.

Interested candidates can apply by visiting the official website of the Syndicate Bank from December 14.

Steps to apply for 400 PO jobs in Syndicate Bank:

1) Visit the Syndicate Banks official website

2) Click on the Career tab at the bottom of the page

3) Click on the link Apply Online in the Career page under PGDBF PROGRAMME 2017-18 section

4) Click on New Registration tab

5) Enter details as required carefully

7) A provisional registration number and password will be generated and displayed

8) Note it down

9) In case the candidate is unable to complete the application form in one go, he/she can save the data already entered by choosing SAVE AND NEXT tab

10 Candidates can reopen the saved data and edit.

10) Submit the application after it is filled and checked properly by clicking the Final Submit Button.

11) No change will be allowed in the application after its final submission

12) Pay the fees/in online mode by following the instruction

13) An e-receipt will be generated on successful completion of the process

14) Take a printout of the on-line application form and save it for future reference

The application process can only be completed in the online mode.

Candidates will be selected through a process consisting of online exam followed by group discussion or/and personal interview.

The selected students will be inducted in two batches to Manipal Global Education Services Pvt Ltd, Bangalore (MaGE) and Nitte Education International Pvt Ltd.(NEIPL), Greater Noida/ Mangaluru. The intake of students in each batch will be decided by the Bank, according to the requirement.

On successful completion of the course within the stipulated time period, candidates will be offered appointment as probationary officer (Junior Management Grade / Scale-I) in the Syndicate Bank.

The details about eligibility criteria, essential qualification, exam pattern and much more can be found in the recruitment notification, which was issued on banks official website on December 5, 2016. You can also check it at the bottom of the text here.

Note: Candidates are advised to regularly keep in touch with banks official website for details and updates.

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Recognise her? Yes, shes the model who dared to challenge the modelling industry. Deddeh Howard recently set the internet abuzz with her powerful pictures as part of her Black Mirror project. She replicated images from popular brand shoots to make a point about racial discrimination, and lack of diversity when it comes to models worldwide.

When I was growing up, I wanted to be a doctor but people would tell me that I can be a model, says the 27-year-old medical student and fashion blogger in the United States. I was born in Liberia and raised mostly in West Africa. When I came to the US, I auditioned for a show and walked out with many awards. I thought Ill get big agencies to work for. But thats where I faced discrimination. She was told: We already have people who look like you.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything! Stand up and make progress!!#blackmirror Thanks to @raffaelphoto_com @donlemast1 and @kiwiindianmotorcycles #blackmirrorchallenge A photo posted by Deddeh Howard (@secretofdd) on Dec 8, 2016 at 9:49pm PST

#blackmirror fashion diversity project #chanel @secretofdd A photo posted by Raffael Dickreuter (@raffaelphoto_com) on Dec 6, 2016 at 11:33pm PST

Thats what ticked Howard off. Why are just one or two black girls sufficient to represent the entire race when there are hundreds of white models? She and her boyfriend, photographer Raffael Dickreuter, took three months recreating images from popular brand shoots for her project, Black Mirror. The campaigns included those by Dolce & Gabbana, Victorias Secret, Chanel, Guess, Calvin Klein and David Yurman. She recently posted her pictures on social media, and the world took notice.

It was her boyfriends idea. Why not show it to the world that you can do anything that a white girl can, Dickreuter had told her. He says he was sure Howard could do this. I knew shed have to go against some of the worlds biggest names. But I also knew that when people see her pictures, they will admit that she is one of the few girls who can do it. Not everybody can.

Its not just America but everywhere that fair skin is always the first choice. I know that even in India, fair skin is a fad. But, we need to stop discriminating. We need to step up and change things. Its 2017, and we need to change, at least for the next generation, says Howard. When we did the shoot we didnt know that itd become a campaign. Now, were thinking of doing a shoot with diverse women. Because discrimination needs to be talked about and not burried, she adds.

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The chargesheet in the 2013 death case of Geetanjali Garg before the CBI court raised questions after the agency suggested that she committed suicide even though there were four injuries on her body. Not only that, the agency also exonerated her husband, suspended judge Ravneet Garg and his family members of murder, but filed a case for dowry death. However, there are some questions left unanswered that concern the recovery of a bullet fired from a countrymade pistol and its missing case, a sixth bullet fired from Ravneets revolver and a red dupatta of the victim that went missing from the crime scene.

Geetanjali , wife of then Gurgaon chief judicial magistrate Ravneet Garg, was found dead in a park at police lines in Gurgaon on July 17, 2013, with the licenced revolver of the judge lying near her. There were bullet injuries on her lower abdomen, left part of the chest and below the chin and another injury on right of her scalp. The post-mortem concluded that she died within a few minutes of the injuries and those on her chest and below the chin were sufficient to cause death. No bullet was recovered from the womans body.

CBI quotes forensic experts

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) quoted an expert from the department of forensic medicine and toxicology of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. The medical board is of unanimous opinion that the cause of death in this case was haemorrhagic shock due to firearm projectile injuries and it is suggestive of suicidal in nature which may be corroborated with the circumstantial and legal evidences of investigations.

The CBI also suggested suicide on the basis of a forensic psychological autopsy report. An assistant sub-inspector Saroj Bala had spotted Geetanjali coming out alone from the rear gate of police lines a day or two before the incident late in the evening and had greeted her but Geetanjali had ignored her.

Unanswered questions

The forensic report stated six bullets were fired from Ravneets revolver. On searching the place between July 22 and July 26, four fired bullets were found. Three of them were fired from Ravneets revolver while one was fired from a countrymade pistol. There was no blood on them.

The CBI had recovered two more fired bullets on August 27, 2013, which belonged to Ravneets revolver. So, in total, five bullets fired from the judges revolver were found. But where did the sixth bullet go?

Questions also arise over who fired from the countrymade pistol and where did the missing case of this bullet go? The inquest proceedings mentioned a red dupatta on the womans body which went missing when the body was sent for post-mortem. All efforts were made to solve the mystery behind the missing dupatta but it could not be traced, said the CBI. The dupatta was visible in the photographs of the body as well.

Read more: Geetanjali dowry death: After Rs 51 lakh, 101 gold coins, two luxury cars, Garg wanted more

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Amy Adams says that her six-year-old daughter Aviana is always on cleavage patrol when she dresses up for awards ceremonies.

Aviana is constantly on the lookout to see if her mother is showing off too much of her assets when she dresses up for glitzy events.

Amy Adams with husband Darren Le Gallo arrive at the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards. (REUTERS)

Shes a little concerned about this region. So sorry about that, Av. I was saying that American Hustle ruined that for her - shes like, Oh, mama, Adams told People magazine.

Amy Adams in a still from American Hustle.

Seeing the posters... she was like, Ugh! So shes now always on, like, cleavage patrol, she added.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
At least 12 people were killed in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh overnight as a severe cyclonic storm barrelled through Indias southeast coast, uprooting trees, flattening homes and overturning vehicles and leaving worst-hit Chennai without power since Monday afternoon.

At least four of the deaths were reported from Chennai, which fell in the path of Cyclone Vardah after it made landfall close to the coast of Tamil Nadus capital on Monday afternoon.

The other deaths were reported from Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Villupuram and Nagapattinam, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, but did not give details of the incidents.

In Andhra Pradesh, two people were electrocuted in Chittor town when they touched live power cables felled during the storm. The Coast Guard also mounted search for two fishermen reported missing in Kakinada.

Officials said the very severe Cyclone Vardah  meaning red rose  was the most intense storm to have hit Chennai in two decades and packed windspeed of upto 140 kmph at its peak.

The remnants of the cyclone continued to dump heavy rains across several districts in the two states, officials added.

Read More: Worst over for Chennai as Cyclone Vardah passes, storm to move towards Karnataka

Though the Chennai airport was re-opened for traffic on Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu government ordered all educational institutions be kept shut for the second day in Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts. Educational institutions were closed for the day at in Nellore and Chittoor.

After 1994, this is the first very severe cyclonic storm to hit Chennai coast, PTI quoted a senior met official as saying in Chennai.

Civic workers used hand-held battery-operated wood cutters to remove hundreds of uprooted trees, some of them falling over vehicles.

Amateur videos and photographs posted on social media gave a glimpse of the magnitude of the storm with a mobile clip showing a hatchback toppling over under the impact of the fierce winds.

Watch: In the eye of the storm

Another clip showed what appeared to be a plastic panel being blown off the facade of a luxury hotel in the Tamil Nadu capital, a major automobile and IT hub. HT could not verify the authenticity of the clips.

A home ministry spokesperson said in Delhi six teams of the central and state disaster response forces were engaged in rescue efforts.

About 8,000 people from low-lying areas in north Chennai, Pazhaverkadu in Tiruvallur district and villages off Mamallapuram, in Kanchipuram district were safely evacuated to 95 relief shelters, officials said.

In Andhra Pradesh, over 9,400 people living along the Bay of Bengal were evacuated to relief camps amid heavy rain.

Also, separate teams of personnel drawn from the health, sanitary and electricity departments were deployed for relief operations in low-lying areas of the three storm-hit Tamil Nadu districts.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to take stock of the situation in the two states and promised all help.

The Southern Railway said the cyclone caused severe impact to its infrastructure and prompted cancellation, diversion and suspension of rail services.

The intensity of the cyclone has had a severe impact on the infrastructure of Chennai Division, resulting in considerable damage. Overhead electrical lines have been

damaged at several locations, Anupam Sharma, divisional railway manager, Southern Railway said.

Operations at Chennai airport were suspended for the night, with nearly 170 services being disrupted through the day even as 10 flights were cancelled.

Read More: Cyclone Vardah: Rail and air services affected in Chennai

Indias cyclone season usually runs from April to December, with storms often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people and widespread damage to crops and property.

Wind speeds topped 300 km per hour (186 mph) in a super-cyclone that killed 10,000 people in 1999 in Odisha, while a cyclone packing speeds of more than 200 kph (124 mph) lashed the east coast in 2013.

(With agency inputs)
For the 32 years that she was a sex worker in La Merced, one of the toughest neighborhoods in downtown Mexico City, Merida was beaten, threatened and humiliated. She clearly remembers the police raids, the rapes, the insults and the arrests, which could last as long as three days.

A woman enters an association to help Mexican sex workers. N. Lopez

More information La dificil ley de la venta de sexo

That was the way things worked. When they werent groping you, they were having sex with you, and if you had any money they took it from you. Thats what we needed to be able to feed our children, she recalls angrily.

A 2014 court decision recognized Meridas status as a non-salaried sex worker. The proceedings took two years, although the battle for her working rights took nearly two decades.

A legislative bill seeking to recognize these guarantees in the Mexican capitals new constitution has opened a fresh breach between those seeking to eradicate prostitution, which they view as denigrating, and those who defend its constitutional recognition as a way to take thousands of at-risk individuals out of the shadows.

I never figured out why they treated us that way, we are not criminals, we work on a corner to make a living

Merica, Mexican sex worker

I never figured out why they treated us that way, we are not criminals, we work on a corner to make a living, says Merida, 49.

She is one of nearly 200 beneficiaries of a decision by a federal judge forcing Mexico City to recognize sex workers, just like any other trade.

The decision said that, given the lack of better job alternatives, authorities are obliged to respect these workers decision to sell sex.

This is the most valuable thing we have earned, because if a police officer does not respect my credentials, he is going straight to jail, says Merida.

Mexico City is getting its own constitution following an administrative change. Saul Ruiz

It is important for sex work to be recognized as a job because we all have rights, and the rights of some are not above the rights of others; there are no first-class and second-class citizens, says Elvira Madrid, founder of the Elisa Martinez Street Brigade, a civil association that offers medical, psychological and legal advice to 5,000 sex workers across the country.

But Olivia Tena, a psychologist at Mexicos Autonomous National University, does not feel that the 2014 decision is going to help these women.

We dont consider it a job because the people who benefit from this are the clients and the traffickers; job recognition does not automatically entail inclusion and rights, she says.

The debate rages on. There is a conflict between those who equate the sex trade with human trafficking, and those who support treating the voluntary exchange of sex as a labor relation, just like any other job, says Regina Tames, director of GIRE, a Mexican reproductive-rights association.

We dont consider it a job because the people who benefit from this are the clients and the traffickers

Olivia Tena, psychologist

While one group rejects treating the female body like merchandise, another asks for action against trafficking, but not against those who voluntarily decide to work in the sex trade.

Mexico does not have very puritanical laws, sex work is not illegal, but there is a long-standing conflict around sexuality, says the anthropologist Marta Lamas. A difference is drawn between easy women, those who have sexual relations for pleasure, and the decent ones.

Lamas laments that the government is not acting against the structural causes  social, economic and gender inequality  and is instead focusing on a battle that she calls reactionary and sensationalist.

Hundreds of thousands of Mexican women work in the sex trade, but no official figures are available. Some government estimates talk about 0.25% of the female population, or around 150,000 people. But Brigada Callejera says that the real figure is closer to 800,000.

Its a job like any other  you do your work, you get paid, and everyones happy, although you are always exposed in this line of work, says Kenya Cuevas, who stopped sex work a few weeks ago after a friend was killed in September.

English version by Susana Urra.
A 13-year-old girl studying at a school in Navi Mumbai was allegedly raped by a teacher, following which her parents and local residents stormed the school premises on Tuesday, police said.

The school principal was arrested as she did not inform about the alleged offence to police after the girls parents told her about it, they said.

The alleged rape incident happened in the last couple of months. But, it came to light recently after the girl complained of stomach pain to her mother. She took her to a private doctor, who informed that the girl was four weeks pregnant. The mother then told about it to her husband, who works in Pune, police said.

The victim told her mother that her school teacher had allegedly raped her twice by threatening her with dire consequences, they said.

A rape case was registered against the teacher at Nerul police station under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The school principal has been arrested while the teacher who allegedly raped the girl is absconding, police said.
A 163-year-old municipality administering a small town in West Bengal has shown the world how to manage solid waste in an eco-friendly way, potentially giving urban planners and administrators the key to tackling one of the biggest civic problems.

The initiatives of Uttarpara-Kotrung municipality helped the Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project win a global award, defeating nearest contenders Auckland and Milan in urban solid waste management category in the C40 Mayors Summit held in Mexico City on December 1.

Uttarpara, a 10.9 sq km small city with a population of 1.9 lakh, is one of Indias 415 cities with a population of 1 lakh or more. It also boasts of Asias oldest free public library.

The recognition should provide the entire country a reason to rejoice.

With rapid urbanisation, the country is faced with a massive waste management challenge. Over 377 million urban people -- 31% of the population -- live in 7,935 towns and cities and generate 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per annum. Only 43 million tonne is collected, 11.9 million is treated and 31 million tonne is dumped in landfill sites.

Waste generation is estimated to reach 165 million tonne per year by 2030, according to union environment minister Prakash Javadekar.

In April, Javadekar said the revised solid waste management rules mandate all local bodies with a population of one million or more to set up waste processing facilities within two years. The revised rules also ask municipal authorities to channelise the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse and recycle and to integrate rag pickers and waste dealers in the formal system.

A close look at the way the Uttarpara-Kotrung project reveals that the minister may well showcase it as a model, as his grand plan for solid waste management resembles this model closely.

A ride down the streets of Uttarpara  often flanked by palatial 19th and 20th century houses  reveal roadsides and market places that are mostly free of garbage, a common sight in most urban centres. Municipal workers collect bio-degradable and non-degradable solid waste stored in designated bins at households, carry them in vans having separate chambers and dump them separately at the transfer centre.

At this centre, the non-degradable waste is temporarily stored before being compressed in compactor machines and dumped at the sanitary landfill. Here rag pickers who scour vats in the town are seen collecting things for selling to waste dealers. They are provided masks, gloves, gumboots and uniform by the municipality and are required to wear them while sifting through the garbage.

Rag-pickers segregate waste at the plant. The bio-degradable waste goes to the compost where it is turned into manure. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT PHOTO)

As dumping by the roads stopped, civic authorities engaged more than two dozen rag-pickers at the transfer site. While collecting things, they further segregate whatever bio-degradable waste had remained in the non-degradable lot.

We are really happy with the new system. We live a cleaner life. Civic authorities are also considering employing us on contractual basis, said Kapil Bhuniya, a rag-picker.

The bio-degradable waste goes to the adjacent compost plant. The municipality sells the bio-manure produced at the plant from its counter and through marketing agents.

The municipality collects 12-14 tonnes of waste every day and produces 3-4 tonne manure daily. They, however, have the capacity of producing up to 10 tonnes of manure per day.

Uttarpara municipality also collects waste from the sewerage system with suction cum jetting machines. We have a plan to cover all drains across the town, said civic chief Dilip Yadav who received the award in Mexico City.

According to the website of the C40 group, prior to the project, waste was piled up to 15 meters (50 ft) high at dumping sites, polluting land, water and air in Uttarpara-Kotrung.

Poor sewage management and waste dumping in the Ganga River had resulted in the extinction of several hundred aquatic animals and insects, damaging biodiversity Adoption and promotion of the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, recycle) has had positive environmental effects, drastically reducing indiscriminate waste dumping in the city, the website wrote.

Though the projects name includes Kolkata, it actually covers six municipalities in Hooghly district  Baidyabati, Champdani, Rishra, Serampore, Konnagar and Uttarpara-Kotrung. However, only the last named managed to complete the cycle  from segregation at source to production and sale of bio manure. Segregation at source has also started Konnagar and Baidyabati as well but production of bio-manure is having trial run, as the civic bodies are awaiting quality test report from Jadavpur University.

The Rs 170-crore project involving six civic bodies was funded by Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) but the funding tenure is scheduled to end in 2017, from when the state government will have to take up funding.

Even though there is the scope for recovering a portion of the expenses through sales of bio-manure, such projects will always require financial assistance unless residents are charged for the service, a senior official at the state municipal affairs department said.

While Javadekar had also proposed charging user fees, none of the municipalities covered under this project is likely to charge any fee.
The Congress on Tuesday demanded the sacking of junior home minister Kiren Rijiju for his alleged role in what it said was a Rs 450-crore scam in a hydropower project in his home state Arunachal Pradesh.

Rijiju refuted the allegations and said those spreading lies against him will be thrashed with shoes in Arunachal Pradesh.

Jo news plant kar rahe hain wo hamare yehan ayyenge to joota khayenge (Those who planted the story will be beaten up with shoes when they will come to our area), the Tawang MP told reporters.

The main Opposition party released an audio tape that purportedly contains a conversation between the ministers cousin Goboi Rijuju, a contractor, and the chief vigilance officer of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) Satish Verma.

Rijiju said contractor Gaboi Rijiju was not related to him but part of the same Rijiju clan and also from his village.

In our village we call everyone cousin, however, they need not be necessarily a blood relation, Rijiju told news agency ANI on Tuesday.

The contracts and payments were awarded when Congress was in the Centre, they have to apologise, he added.

Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was part of a three-member panel that probe the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat in 2004 when Narendra Modi was the chief minister. Verma had said Ishrats killing was a premeditated murder.

In the tape, Goboi purportedly asks Verma to clear payments related to a power project and in return Kiren Rijuju will help in his promotion.

Rijujus role is under a cloud of suspicion. He should be sacked or asked to resign, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

The Congress also dragged Union power minister Piyush Goyal in the matter and threatened to raise the issue in and outside Parliament. The Congress also demanded a probe into the matter.

The alleged corruption has given a fresh handle to the opposition to attack the BJP-led NDA government, which is already facing the heat over the November 8 demonetisation move.

In a 129-page report to the CBI and the union power ministry, Verma alleged corruption in the construction of two dams for the 600 MW Kameng hydro electric project. He alleged an elaborate conspiracy involving contractors, NEEPCO officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds to the tune of Rs 450 crore.

Verma was pulled up by NEEPCO for unauthorised absence and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report.

NEEPCO comes under the power ministry.

West Kameng, the site of the project, falls in Arunachal West which is the parliamentary constituency of Rijiju.

The CBI has made two surprise checks but no FIR has been registered yet, reports said.

(With agency inputs)
Military-grade equipment banned for sale to civilians, including a device used by terrorists during a deadly attack in Punjab last year, can be bought online in India, an investigation by Hindustan Times reveals.

Among the merchandise listed for sale by popular shopping portal Amazon India are night vision telescopic sights for rifles, helmet-mounted night vision goggles and monocular sights that help in precision shooting even in darkness.

Indian law states goggles, rifle scopes and optical sights with night vision capability are restricted items and can be used only by the armed forces, police and government agencies. Civilians possessing or trading in night vision devices (NVDs) without Union home ministry permission can be prosecuted.

Asked about the availability of such devices, a defence ministry official said, We are not aware of any rule that permits civilians to buy or use military-grade NVDs.

A customs department official said, NVDs are a part of 428 items classified as restricted in the governments import list.

Amazon, however, offers them for prices ranging from Rs 14,190 to Rs 296,000. EMI option is available for the costly devices though the cash-on-delivery is reserved only for those with a lower price tag.

Most of the NVDs available on Amazon state they are made in the US, a few carry British brand names and the rest do not mention their origin. The average prices are four to six times higher than in the US. Some of the high-end products carry a statutory US government warning: This item is restricted for sale to the state of California and outside the US.

NVDs have become an essential part of warfare, especially the one against terror. Its shocking to know these are selling online, said a serving lieutenant colonel.

In 2013, the National Investigation Agency had arrested the director of a Delhi-based company and four others for importing NVDs for rifles from a California-based corporation by forging receipts and non-transfer certificates (end-user certificates) in the name of Chhattisgarh police. These NVDs were sold to Maoist guerrillas, according to the charge sheet in the case.

Security agencies say Maoist rebels use American monoculars (they come with a single lens and are worn in front of the eye to take aim with a firearm). The PVS-14 American monocular device was found to have been used by terrorists when they attacked Dinanagar police station in Punjabs Gurdaspur in July 2015, killing three civilians and four policemen. The attackers had come dressed in army fatigues and were killed after a prolonged encounter.

When HT contacted, a spokesperson for Amazon India promised an investigation. We have taken note of your concern and will investigate this matter at our end. As you are aware, Amazon.in is a pure marketplace and products are listed on Amazon.in by independent sellers. We will take this up with the concerned sellers to take the necessary corrective actions, if required.

The spokesperson failed to readily state how many such devices had been sold in India.

Bharat Electronics Limited (a defence ministry subsidiary) and a few private companies manufacture NVDs in India. About 70-odd registered private agencies across India also import NVDs when permitted by the home ministry.

Yes, we import night vision binoculars but to buy one you will need permission from the home ministry. We cannot sell these to civilians without authorisation from the government, said a spokesperson of the Delhi-based Betar Communication Systems Private Ltd.

A spokesperson for Sure Safety Solutions, a Mumbai-based importer of NVDs, said the company doesnt entertain business queries from civilians.

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The Jammu and Kashmir government has cleared ex-gratia payments to the next of kin of 17 persons, including Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wanis brother, killed in militancy-related incidents in the Valley, while giving one weeks time for filing of any objection before formal orders are issued.

Burhan Wanis killing by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmirs Kokernag area on July 8 this year triggered unrest in the Valley which has left as many as 86 people dead.

According to a notification issued on Monday by deputy commissioner, Pulwama, ex-gratia relief under rules has been cleared by the district-level screening-cum-consultative committee (DLSCC) in favour of next of kin of those persons who died in militancy-related incidents.

Among the 17 names in the list of persons killed in militancy-related incidents is Wanis brother, Khalid Muzaffar Wani, who died in firing by security forces in Buchoo forest area of Tral on April 13 last year.

The DLSCC meeting took place under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner, Pulwama, Muneer-ul-Islam, on November 24. The deputy commissioner has sought objections, if any, to the notice within seven days before the formal orders are issued.

Under the rules, an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh is sanctioned in such cases.

Army had said that Khalid was an over-ground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed in an encounter. However, locals claimed that he had no links with militancy.

Khalid (25) was pursuing Masters Degree in Political Science from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Also on the list is Shabir Ahmad Mangoo, a contractual lecturer who died when he was allegedly beaten up by the army personnel at Khrew in Pulwama on August 17 this year.

Locals had claimed that army conducted house to house searches for the youths, who were leading violent protests in the area, which was resisted by the residents of Khrew.

In the ensuing clash, 30-year-old Mangoo died.

Army had ordered an inquiry into the incident, saying such incidents would not be tolerated.

These raids were not sanctioned in the first place. It is unjustified. Nobody can support it and it will not be tolerated, the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda had said.

Read: Burhan Wani: Better living than dead?
After Prime Minister Narendra Modis November 8 decision to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, India has been grappling with the after-effects.

Most of the narrative has centered on urban India, where long queues outside banks and dry ATMs are a common sight. But Indias hinterland has started feeling the cash crunch, though the effects were slow to materialize.

From the hard-to-reach mangroves of Sunderbans to the Maoist hotbed of Bastar, Keralas cash-rich temples to Kashmirs calm and the struggle of farmers in Maharashtra and Punjab, we bring you six stories of how demonetisation has unfolded across the country.

For more coverage of demonetisation and the currency ban on old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, visit http://read.ht/BPGo.
A child born out of rape is entitled to compensation, independent of any such relief granted to the mother, the Delhi high court has observed in a case.

A child born out of rape, either of a minor or a woman who is an adult, is clearly a victim of the act of the offender and entitled to compensation independent of the amount of compensation paid to his/her mother, a bench of Justices Gita Mittal and R K Gauba said on Tuesday.

The high court noted that until now there was no such provision under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act or under the Delhi governments victim compensation scheme.

It also observed that no victim compensation fund has been set up under the 2011 scheme despite directions in this regard by the high court in a PIL.

This vacuum in the law came to the courts attention when it was hearing the appeal of a man convicted and awarded life term for raping his minor step-daughter who, as a result of the crime, gave birth at the tender age of 14 years.

Noting the sordid scenario in the instant case, where the trust and confidence reposed in the man by his wife and step-daughter, was abused by him to bring about, out of sheer lust, untold miseries on the body, mind and psyche of the prosecutrix child leaving scars which would not ever heal, the court upheld his conviction and sentence.

It also clarified that the man shall remain behind bars for the remainder of his natural life, saying we see no scope for any ruth (pity) in the matter of punishment.

The high court also reiterated its earlier direction to all trial courts not to disclose the identity of minor victims in POCSO cases.
Bengal BJP chief and former RSS pracharak Dilip Ghosh has always been known for shooting from the hip. His recent comments on Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee are no exception.

When Mamata (Banerjee) was doing her theatrics in Delhi, we could have dragged her away by her hair if we wanted to. Our police are there but we didnt do it, Ghosh had said on Sunday.

Ghosh said Banerjee has lost her mind and is crying for losing thousand of crores of rupees in the recent demonetisation of higher currency notes. The chief minister has been most vocal against Narendra Modis demonetisation move.

Read | Pelt stones at Dilip Ghosh, throw him out of WB: Kolkata imam issues fatwa

While the Trinamool Congress condemned Ghosh for using abusive and goonda-like language against the CM, the imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, Maulana Noor-ur Rahman Barkati, went one step ahead and issued a fatwa against Ghosh for making the filthy comments.

This, however, is not the first time Ghosh has made a controversial comment.

Heres a look at some of his past statements:

 In March this year, Ghosh warned those raising anti-national slogans. Anyone who raises slogans of Pakistan Zindabad will be chopped by six inches from the top, he said while addressing party workers in Birbhum.

 In the same month, Ghosh threatened to kick Jadavpur University students if they support Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. He also threatened them with dire consequences if they try to raise any anti-national slogans in or around the campus.

Jadavpur Viswavidyalaya boshey Pakistan Zindabad bolche. Baire bolle jutiye soja kore debo. Choddo purusher naam bhuliye debo (They are raisings slogans of Pakistan Zindabad at Jadavpur University. Let them utter these words outside campus, will beat them with sandals. They will forget their ancestors names), Ghosh said.

 In May, Ghosh said female students of Jadavpur University were shameless and constantly seeking the company of male students. At least four women were allegedly molested by ABVP workers during a scuffle with Left-leaning students over the screening of Vivek Agnihotris film, Buddha in a Traffic Jam, at Jadavpur University (JU).

Reacting to the allegation, Ghosh said: Those allegations of molestation are baseless. The girl students of JU who are levelling those allegations are themselves below standard, shameless and always in search of an opportunity to be in the company of male students.

 Ghosh kicked up a storm with his remarks that his party workers are trained by the RSS and can break your shoulders (Trinamool Congress activists) with bare hands. He had reportedly asked Trinamool workers to stop violence, mend their ways or face consequences when they travel outside Bengal.

The sound of breaking shoulders will reach Kalighat, Ghosh had added referring to the residence of Banerjee.
The Jammu and Kashmir government announced an ex gratia to the kin of slain militant Burhan Wanis brother, which army sources said would not only demoralise the forces but would also put PDPs coalition partner  BJP on the back foot.

The state government cleared compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the kin of 17 people, who were not involved in anti-state activities, but died in any militancy-related incident. The list of beneficiaries includes Burhan Wanis brother Khalid Muzaffar Wani, who was killed by security forces in Buchoo forest area on April 13 last year.

Reacting to the development, Khalids father Muzaffar Wani told local news agency CNS, It is a really good news for me. At least the government has now admitted that my son was innocent and was killed in cold blood by the army...The governments announcement vindicated my stand that Khalid was innocent.

The army, however, maintained that Khalid was an Over Ground Worker of the Hizbul Mujahedeen and was killed when a party of the armed forces retaliated to a militant attack.

Speaking to HT on the condition of anonymity, a top army general said, (The relief) is a retrograde step. On one hand the CM wants to improve law and order in the Valley but on the other hand she is rewarding wrong-doers.

According to Brigadier (retd) SS Saini, the state governments decision was an offshoot of vote bank politics. In vote bank-driven politics, these are all games of political compulsions. It is demoralising for soldiers, who have been combating terrorism and sacrificing their life in the line of duty, he said.

War veteran Major General (retd) Goverdhan Singh Jamwal said Mehboobas decision was an attempt to regain political ground in the Valley but it had put the BJP in a spot.

She should also understand the position of the BJP. The approach of the state government is not rightand it has weakened the BJP he said.

State BJP president Sat Sharma, however, said that the saffron party opposed the decision to give compensation to the family of a militant sympathiser.

BJP is of the view that a terrorist is a terrorist and an OGW (Over Ground Worker) of a militant outfit is an OGW. Armys findings cannot be wrong. BJP doesnt want to demoralise security forces. We stand by them, he said. He added that at present only a list of beneficiaries had been prepared but no one was compensated and the BJP will hold a meeting to discuss the matter.
Three Tamil Nadu-based persons were killed when the car they were travelling in collided with a bus coming from Rupnagar on the Jalandhar-Chandigarh highway (NH-344A) at Bharthala village near Kathgarh town of SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr) district in the wee hours of Tuesday.

The deceased have been identified as B Ravichandran, V Ashoka and P Swami of Chennai. Their friend R Chandran and driver Manoj Kumar of Jalandhar received injuries and have been admitted to a hospital.

Police said four youths from Tamil Nadu were going to Chandigarh after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in Tata Indica (PB08-BN-4314). While crossing Bharthala village bus stop, the car driver couldnt spot the tourist bus (JK02-AW-1827) coming from the Rupnagar side due to dense fog and collided with it.

The victims were to catch a flight from the Chandigarh airport to Chennai on Tuesday at 10am.

A case under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 427 (mischief causing damage), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against bus driver who is yet to be identified.

The police have informed the family members of victims in Chennai and bodies have been kept at the mortuary in the civil hospital.
In a small step forward for the internet in Cuba, US technology giant Google and Cubas state telecommunications provider ETECSA have signed off on a deal that will boost download times for Google products  including Google search and email service Gmail  on the island.

Home internet is banned in Cuba.

More information Google y Cuba firman un acuerdo para mejorar Internet en la isla

Under the deal signed on November 23 and announced on Tuesday, Cuba will for the first time have access to the Google Global Cache service, which will cut access times to Google content, providing greater service speed and quality, and optimizing the capacities of the ETECSA network, the provider said in a statement.

This deal allows ETECSA to use our technology to reduce latency by caching some of our most popular high bandwidth content like YouTube videos at a local level, a Google statement said.

Google first began its involvement in Cuba in 2014, just months before US President Barack Obama initiated a thaw in relations between Washington and Havana, launching products including Google Chrome, Google Play and Google Analytics.

Since the beginning of that thaw, which has seen the opening of a US embassy on the island and direct flights with America reestablished, Washington has also been keen to promote the opening up of internet access in a country with one of the lowest penetrations in the world. Trade restrictions have also been loosened to this end.

Home internet is banned in Cuba but some 25o,000 people a day use the countrys 1,066 public access points

But authorities in Cuba say US measures have had little effect as the trade embargo remains in place, making the purchase of both software and IT technology difficult.

In March, Google opened its first technology test center in Cuba. Based at the studio of artist Alexis Leiva (or Kcho) in Havana it allows people to experience the speed of new-generation internet connections, far faster than that seen elsewhere on the island.

In Cuba, home internet access remains banned for now except in the case of professionals such as journalists, lawyers and academics, and even then only with prior government approval.

However, the Cuban government has established hundreds of wireless internet hotspots where people can go online for $2 an hour, a very high amount for most people in a country where government workers take home around $20 to $30 a month. Cuba has 1,066 public internet access points used by 250,000 people a day, according to ETECSA figures from September.

The company is also rolling out a pilot plan to test home internet connection, a project involving Chinese telecoms company Huawei and 2,000 residents in Havanas old town.

English version by George Mills.
An ex-army man from Pakistan was arrested by the BSF while he was trying to sneak into the country from the International Border (IB) along Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Late evening on Monday a suspicious movement beyond fence on the International Border in Ramgarh Sector was noticed by alert BSF troops and they fired few rounds as a preventive measure, said a senior BSF officer.

Due to fog and wild growth, the suspicious movement could not be further observed. Later, at about 0100 hours alert BSF personnel on duty at a Naka mound again observed suspicious movement of a person beyond fence on the Indian side of IB. Alert BSF troops forced him to surrender and arrested him, he added

The officer said that he has been identified as Mohammed Baksh, 65, son of Firozdin of Gandyal village in Pasroor Tehsil of Sialkot district of Punjab in Pakistan.

The intruder was forced to surrender and was arrested, the officer said.

Earlier this month, a similar intrusion was reported in on the Line of Control in Poonch district and was arrested after being injured in firing. Army sources said the intruder had crossed into the Indian side of LoC from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in Rangard nallah in Chakan-Da-Bangh in Poonch.
That the six ATMs are mostly out of currency isnt surprising, given the cash crunch sweeping the country following last months demonetisation of high-value notes. Yet, the irony is not lost since the money-vending machines are located just outside what is thought to be one of the countrys cash-rich temples.

Guruvayoor Sri Krishna temple in the southern state of Kerala has deposits to the tune of Rs 1,500 crores in banks, besides gold reserves of 500 kg and 53 captive elephants. But like the rest of the country, demonetisation has come to bite it as well and the ATMs in its immediate vicinity are mostly running dry.

It seems even the gods cant help, said an agitated devotee as he stormed out of an ATM that failed to spew out much-needed cash. Amid fraying tempers, a bank official pleaded helplessness. These machines run out of cash every two or three hours and we dont have the mechanism to fill them up so frequently.

There is a 40 per cent dip in our revenue. Every month, our hundi collection was Rs 6 to 7 crores. Last month it has gone down to Rs 4 crores.

In normal times, Guruvayoor alongside three other big temples of the state  Sabarimala, Padmanabha Swamy and shrines in Malabar  are flush with funds. Compared to the 42 Kerala public sector undertakings that together earn an annual average revenue of Rs 200 crores, the four net Rs 1,000 crores every year.

But since Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation announcement on November 8, there has been a decline in both the number of devotees and earnings. There is a 40 per cent dip in our revenue. Every month, our hundi collection was Rs 6 to 7 crores. Last month it has gone down to Rs 4 crores, said Peethambara Kurup, the chairman of the Guruvayoor temple board.

A former Congress MP, Kurup is critical of the demonetisation drive. Modi wanted to become an Indira Gandhi overnight, but he is reduced to Tughlaq now, he said, referring to the ex-prime ministers radical bank nationalisation move and an analogy of the 14th century Delhi sultanate emperor Mohd bin Tughlaq.

Doubts about demonetisation are beginning to swirl among many others in the neighbourhood of the temple.

NK Gopi, 55, is engaged in the manufacture of the famous Guruvayoor papad known for its flaky crispness. But his business is appearing to be more brittle by the day as the continuing cash crunch dries up sales.

N K Gopi, who owns a papad unit in Guruvayoor, says business has seen a significant dip. (Vivek Nair/Hindustan Times)

More and more shopkeepers are refusing to keep my papad packets, saying old stocks still remain on their shelves. When people have no money, papad is the last thing on their mind, Gopi said. As against his normal daily sale of 100 kg, he now manages to sell 30 kgs a day.

This is not a well thought out plan, Gopi said about the chaos in the aftermath of demonetisation.

His frustration is shared by EV Komalvally and her four colleagues at the nearby Thaikkad Service Cooperative Bank. The cooperative secretary said desperation has set in among people and their inability to lay hands on money has resulted in a gloom that she has not seen ever.

A customer who had deposited his retirement benefits with the bank came knocking last week, begging to be allowed to withdraw money. He urgently needed Rs 5 lakhs for his daughters wedding, she said. Another threatened suicide if turned back. We are speechless.

Known as Gods Own Country, many in Kerala are not limiting themselves only to prayers. Jagan, 45, a grocer, was forced to apply for a card swiping machine to save his business that has slumped 40 percent last month.

With a card swiping machine, I hope I can contain the damage, he said. He also wants Modi to intervene immediately to check the mounting liquidity woes.

This is the concluding part of our series which explored the effect of demonetisation on rural India. The earlier parts focussed on Sunderbans, Bastar, Jammu & Kashmir, Vidarbha and Patiala.

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High court judges cannot be exempted from pre-embarkation security clearance at airports, the Centre has told the Supreme Court, justifying it with a reason.

The courtesy, it said, might be misused and virtually preclude the possibility of any prohibited or dangerous items being introduced on board an aircraft through such dignitary or his/ her baggage.

In a statement before the court last week, additional solicitor general Pinky Anand and Rajasthan government counsel Shamsherry Singh said only certain categories of VVIPs enjoyed exemption from frisking. These VVIPs were those provided with twenty-four hour security.

The lawyers told a bench headed by chief justice TS Thakur that the 1,079 HC judges were not VVIPs.

The submission was made during the hearing of the Rajasthan governments appeal against the state HCs decade-old verdict that said judges should not be frisked at airports, at par with other Constitutional dignitaries.

Though the top court had in January 2006 stayed the HC direction, the matter came up for hearing before the CJI bench after 10 years. The CJI has reserved orders to deliver a final pronouncement.

Civil aviation operations are highly vulnerable from the security point. Hijacking and other forms of unlawful interference in civil aviation are one of the most attractive targets for terrorists and other perpetrators, the Centre said.

The President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, former Presidents, speaker of Lok Sabha, CJI, judges of the Supreme Court, chief justices of high courts, Union ministers of cabinet rank, governors of states, lt governors of Union Territories, chief ministers of states and Union Territories, ambassadors of countries, charge daffaires, high commissioners and their spouses, cabinet secretary besides visiting foreign dignitaries like Presidents, Vice-Presidents etc, are exempted from the security drill.

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While the Goods and Services Tax faces a possible delayed rollout, another bold reform of the NDA government in the labour sector faces an uncertain future.

Out of the proposed four labour bills, the labour ministry has been able to prepare just one bill for review. And it is too sensitive to push the bill when demonetisation has rendered millions of labourers jobless.

We have rejected the wage code bill outright. Instead of pushing the bill, the government must focus on how workers can get cash in hand. The Centre must also see how to check the massive job loss arising out of demonetization, said Tapan Sen general secretary of the leftist Centre of Indian Trade unions (CITU).

The inability to push labour reforms, after status-quo on the land acquisition bill, may put a question mark on the governments appetite for reforms.

The wage code bill was sent to the cabinet by the labour ministry, but has been returned to the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley for further review.

Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya who had earlier announced that the bill would be passed in the winter session, has now set the new deadline for the bills clearance: Budget session 2017.

The GoM will soon give its report. We are hopeful to pass it in the Budget session, Dattatreya told HT.

It is easier said than done as the Opposition may not agree to push the sensitive bill.

The trade unions have rejected the bill on several grounds. It proposes that for going on strike for a day, salary of 8 days will be deducted. How can the government expect to get support for this? said Sen.

The Congress-affiliated trade union INTUC has also opposed the bill. Trinamool Congress, the fourth largest party in Parliament had warned earlier that if the bill is anti-labour, it will not support the legislation.

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Nitish Kumar is in the news for his support for the demonetisation drive. On the sidelines of the HT Leadership Summit, he spoke to HT. Excerpts:

PM Modi has pushed the idea of simultaneous elections for the Centre and the state. How do you see the proposal?

This is not a new thing. Elections were simultaneous earlier. It changed after 1967. Now to do it, without consensus, is difficult. If you say that you will hold elections for an assembly before time, there is no provision in the Constitution for it. This is not possible till the assembly itself agrees. You cannot make a law and do it.

But if you really want to solve corruption and back economy, then demonetisation alone will not be able to do it. This is the right moment to hit benami property and ban liquor trade nationally.

But feasibility is one issue, desirability is another. Is it desirable?

If it is not feasible, then why discuss desirability? What we need is wider reform, transparent functioning of parties, and a proper procedure for expenditure of parties.

You supported demonetisation. Was this because of moral, economic or political reasons?

The central government said this will help tackle corruption, black money and terrorism, extremist activities and counterfeit currency. If the centre feels there are such advantages, then we should support it. People then got inconvenienced, and voices were heard they should have prepared more for it. But if you really want to solve corruption and back economy, then demonetisation alone will not be able to do it. This is the right moment to hit benami property and ban liquor trade nationally.

Have you opened the doors for BJP?

How? Where can you see the door? Supporting an issue is one thing. If some are finding political meaning in it, it is their problem.

Till last year you were the leader of the anti-Modi space in the polity. Today, it is Mamata Banerjee.

This is all impractical. If you want to create an alternative, then one will have to rise above these sentiments  of I can capture this space, or he can capture this space. That is not important at all. If you keep a person in the forefront, then nothing will happen. There are so many parties; who will accept someone else. Every party has a leader; the cadre of that party thinks his leader is the best. Any alternative that is created can only be on the basis of issues.

Do you think there can be such a wider alliance for 2019?

You know I keep trying. I will keep making an effort. But to interpret a particular view on a particular issue, find political meaning in it, and then spoil the political atmosphere on the basis of it in the opposition camp is wrong. This should not happen.

How important is the UP election for national politics?

Every state election is important. You saw the victory in Delhi elections, then the Bihar elections. In Assam, Congress did not ally with anyone, and BJP won. So after two losses, the BJP was demoralised but then its morale got lifted.

So is the lesson that there should be an alliance?

Yes, of course. In the national context, we should strive for the maximum possible unity among parties active in different states. We know that unity of all is not possible  for instance, we know the SP-BSP, or DMK-AIADMK dynamic. We may not see the kind of liberal attitude that RJD and JDU showed to each other in all other places. So we should aim for maximum possible unity.

Read| Nitish backs demonetisation, but says Centre should have done its homework

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One month after demonetisation of two high-value currency notes, the woes of farmers and the co-operative banks they depend on seem to be never-ending.

Last week, furious farmers in Nashik district locked out their bank when they realised that despite standing in a line for hours, their turn for receiving cash would never come. The incident happened at the Nagarsul branch of the Nashik District Co-operative Bank (NDCC) when the managers after distributing Rs 2 lakh in cash to the first 100 people in the queue announced that they had run out of funds. Police had to intervene and the farmers agreed to unlock the doors only after bank officials agreed to disburse another Rs 2 lakh to those waiting in line.

But that immediately brought into question that where had the additional funds come from? The NDCC is already under the scanner of the income tax authorities for unusual activity within various taluka branches of the bank between November 10 and 13, days after the demonetisation of high denomination notes by the Union government. A total of 1.93 lakh account holders deposited Rs 312 crore and that is being seen as a suspicious activity by authorities.

Read: Plight of the migrants: Jobless labourers return home after demonetisation

On Thursday, chairperson of the bank Narendra Darade submitted a 6,000-page report detailing all deposits at the banks 213 branches to the I-T authorities, who have launched an investigation into the furious activity on those few days. Though bank managers maintain that debtors repaid their crop loans in old notes at this time, it is taking some convincing because the bank, like many other co-operative banks across the state, is promoted and headed by several sitting and former legislators and politician across all political parties.

It has not helped that various small-time leaders connected with the co-operative sector have been discovered in possession of large amounts of new bank notes within a short period of the demonetisation - for example a car belonging to current minister for cooperatives Subhash Deshmukhs Lok Mangal group was caught with Rs 92 lakh in cash on November 18 and have tended to pass it off as money withdrawn to pay farmers and workers at various factories.

The issue has been compounded by the fact that, according to the existing law, farmers need to be paid in cash instantly for their produce  this season, sugarcane is arriving at factories in large quantities  to insulate them against fraudsters who may want to pay them through dud cheques. No delay in such cash payments is also countenanced for the same reason.

Such compulsions and possible violations under the guise of needed cash payment to farmers is also making the lives of the intended beneficiaries even more miserable. They have no money to buy, spend or deposit and all their activities are at a standstill. That is why angry farmers across districts of Maharashtra are locking out their banks.

Read: Demonetisation will cause grievous injury to the honest Indian: Manmohan Singh

However, co-operative banks are sandwiched between such genuine account holders and those who might be using some accounts fraudulently - that suspicion, according to Hemant Fitter, associated with a co-operative bank in Surat in the neighbouring state of Gujarat, is keeping them undersupplied by the Reserve Bank of India. It is true that in the first few days the top directors of banks here made use of the first funds to change their own money, nothing came to the poor farmers. Now farmers anger is rising but co-operative banks have come under suspicion so they are the last priority on the RBIs list, Fitter told Hindustan Times.

So what happens to farmers bringing their produce to the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee yards? Brinjal sold at Rs 2 per kilo last week. Coriander on Thursday sold at Re 1 per bunch. Nashik produces large quantities of this herb and farmers from the district were looking at markets in Surat and other nearby towns in neighbouring Gujarat to tide over their crisis. But now that coriander from Gujarat has begun to flood the markets there, Maharashtras farmers are faced with crashing prices and no buyers  even Re 1 and Rs 5 coins and smaller notes of 10s and 20s are in short supply at the wholesale markets.

Then, again, onions which are beginning to arrive at the APMC yards across the district, are staring at a crash in prices which could fall below even that of onions exported from Pakistan and China, according to the Lasalgaon APMC chairperson Jaidatt Holkar. The APMC was shut for several days until last week as traders refused to hold auctions of farm produce due to the cash crunch. But now, says Holkar, We have decided to pay farmers by cheque to tide over the crisis.

In a tragedy of almost comic proportions, traders have now run out of cheques and banks which are snowed under the cash deposit and withdrawal duties, have told them they have no time to print and despatch fresh chequebooks, according to Shivaji Patil. Patil is a trader at the Nashik APMC and has been running from pillar to post for the last three days to secure one.

Farmers are then back to square one. Their distress slowly turning into anger. Traders fear it could be their turn next to face their ire.

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The aftermath of cyclone Vardah has not just been a test of state and central machinery in dealing with natural disasters, but has also exposed the chinks in Indias tech-driven utilities.

With the storm disrupting electrical lines, internet services and mobile telephony in Tamil Nadu districts, the breakdown added to the sufferings of thousands of people already reeling under the impact of demonetisation of high-value currency.

People in the three affected districts of Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram were left in a lurch on Tuesday with shops, hotels, restaurants and petrol pumps not accepting payments through cards or other digital means due to network failures.

Most of the ATMs were dysfunctional causing greater hardship to those hard pressed for cash and need of basic amenities.

Occurring at a time the country is still dealing with the demonetisation effects, the cyclone has bruised the governments push for cashless economy.

The act of god has completely derailed the push for cashless economy, said Srinivasan Chitluri, a private sector employee in Mylapore, adding that the impact of natural calamities should be factored in while drawing any policy that will affect people directly.

However, Vikram S, a college student, hopes this is just a temporary setback. Natural disaster is something that no government can anticipate.

Chennai worst-hit

The cyclone hit production at North Chennai Thermal Power Stations (NCTPS) 600MW Unit 1, said Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO) on Tuesday. Two other units of NCTPS (one 600 MW and another 210 MW) had gone out of operation on Monday. It is still unclear when these units will resume production.

The two units of 220 MW units at Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) also stopped operations due to tripping of the power evacuation lines.

Officials said power restoration to Chennai, Kancipuram, Tiruvallur districts will take at least two days.

There was no power at home and no milk. So we decided to go to a hotel and have brunch. However the hotel said they are not accepting card payments as the swipe machine was not working. We had to come back to have a home-cooked meal, K Muralidharan, a public sector employee said.

Man replacing broken roof as his wife looks on after cyclone Vardah which threw life off gear in Chennai. (PTI)

The central government must think of natural calamities when taking major decisions that have large impact on people like demonetisation. There is neither real money nor plastic money with us, P Kumar, a private sector employee said.

The power outages also added to disrupted mobile telephony and internet services, hitting the IT and ITES sectors adversely.

Damage after Cyclone Vardah in Chennai. (V. Srinivasulu / HT Photo)

Communication lines were also severely disrupted. BSNL landlines were operating at some places but its network was disrupted in many areas.

Due to the severe cyclone at Chennai coast yesterday, one of our international undersea cables has been damaged and Internet traffic has been partially impacted. As a result, customers in some locations may be experiencing slow internet/data speeds, an Airtel spokesperson said.

All telecom companies are told to restore their full network as quickly as possible and its being monitored, the State Disaster Management Agency said in a tweet.

Trail of destruction

Meanwhile, many parts of Chennai resembled a war-zone with uprooted trees, hoardings, electricity poles, snapped power and television cables. Environmentalists estimate that some 4000 trees were uprooted by the cyclone.

The tree that fell outside my complex and smashed into the electric transformer is over 60 years old. I always thought that it would outlive all of us, but it has gone before us, said 56-year-old Shekhar Sitaraman, a resident of Adyar.

Environmentalists like Nityanand Jayaraman expressed sadness that Chennais green cover was blown away and it might take many many years to replenish it.

The theosophical society and its surroundings in and around Beasant Nagar was like a forest in the morning, and even walking across was a challenge, said S Chinaswamy, a tax consultant.

It is as if we are in the midst of a forest, said, A Viswanath, a Chennai-based businessman.

The municipal corporation and NDRF teams along with locals helped clear roadways by using battery-operated cutters to clear fallen trees.

Around 200 students of Ramakrishna Mission Home also joined in on the effort. (V. Srinivasulu / HT Photo)

But a resilient Chennai, by now used to its December Date with Disaster  last year it was floods and now a cyclone  began repairing itself with help from the NDRF and SDRF teams deployed all over to clear the roads and byroads.

Municipal corporation workers too got into the act from early morning, which witnessed bright sunshine briefly and stayed cloudy for better part of the day, only to have the bright sun greeting Tamil Nadu by evening.

Rain predicted by Met office failed to materialize, providing much respite to the relief and rescue teams working all across the affected areas.

In some areas, where municipal corporation workers could not reach, the residents themselves got into the act, just like they did during the Chennai floods of last year.

By evening, many of the main roads were de-clogged and traffic began to roll by almost smoothly, barring in some areas that witnessed water logging.

Residents look at the uprooted trees, hanging telephone lines in a residential area in Chennai. (PTI)

Chief minister O Pannerselvam said the TNEB has deployed personnel to repair damaged power lines, saying the operation would take a couple of days.

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has deployed 4,000 personnel to set right power lines damaged due to high speed winds that blew at a speed of 130 kmph when the cyclone Vardah crossed coast near Chennai Port, Panneerselvam said in a statement.

Cyclone weakens

Vardah weakened on Tuesday but could cause rain over northern interior parts of Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of south interior Karnataka and North Kerala, the meteorological department said.

Home minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the relief operations on Tuesday with senior officials from disaster management agencies and ministry of home affairs.

(With inputs from agencies)
Sharad Pawar,76, completes 50 years in politics in February, 2017. The president of the Nationalist Congress Party -- a three-time Maharashtra chief minister and a former union minister -- was first elected to the assembly in 1967.

HT looks at other popular leaders who have had a long innings.

VS Achuthanandan, 93, CPI(M): Former Kerala chief mininster, former CPI(M) Politburo member, and one of the founding members of the CPI(M).

78 years in active politics: Achuthanandan joined the State Congress in 1938 and the Communist Party of India two years later in 1940. He was part of the 32-member team that created the CPI(M) in 1964. He served as the CM of Kerala from 2006 to 2011.

Muthuvel Karunanidhi, 92, DMK: Five-time former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

78 years in active politics, beginning with the Justice Party at age 14.

Parkash Singh Badal, 89, SAD: Chief minister of Punjab.

69 years in active politics, beginning in 1947. He was elected to the Punjab assembly 10 years after joining politics.

LK Advani, 89, BJP: Senior party leader and former deputy Prime Minister.

74 years in active politics: Advani having joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1942. He later joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh  the predecessor of BJP -- soon after it was founded in 1951.

HD Deve Gowda, 83, JD-S: Former Prime Minister of India (June 1996 to April 1997), former chief minister of Karnataka (1994 to 1996).

63 years in active politics, beginning with joining Congress in 1953.

Tarun Gogoi, 80, Congress: Former chief minister of Assam.

53 years in active politics, beginning with joining Congress in 1963.

Farooq Abdullah, 79, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference: Three-time former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and a former Union minister.

36 years in active politics: Abdullah was elected from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in the 1980 General Election.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, 77, Samajwadi Party: SP chairperson and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Yadav has also previously served as a Union minister of defence.

49 years in active politics: Yadav was elected as an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh in 1967.

Pinarayi Vijayan, 72, CPI(M): Kerala chief minister since 2016 and member of the CPI(M) Politburo. He has formerly served as Kerala State Committee secretary and as state minister of Electric Power and Co-operatives.

52 years in active politics: Vijayan joined the Communist Party in 1964.

Lalu Prasad Yadav, 68,RJD: Former chief minister of Bihar, former Railways minister.

At least 39 years in active politics: Yadav joined the Janata Party in 1977.

Narendra Modi, 66, BJP: Prime Minister of India since 2014, former chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.

45 years in active politics, beginning with the RSS, which he joined as a pracharak in 1971.

Rajnath Singh, 65, BJP: Home minister of India, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

At least 42 years in active politics: Singh joined the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1974.

Sushma Swaraj, 64, BJP: Current minister of external affairs, she was also briefly the chief minister of Delhi in 1998.

39 years in active politics: Swaraj formally joined the BJP after the Emergency in 1977.

Mamata Banerjee, 61, AITMC: Chief minister of West Bengal and founder of the All India Trinamool Congress. She has formerly held several cabinet positions, including the ministry of railways and the ministry of coal.

40 years in active politics, beginning with her appointment as general secretary of Mahila Congress in West Bengal in 1976.

Mayawati, 60, Bahujan Samaj Party: Party national president and four-time former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

32 years in active politics: She was drafted into the newly formed BSP in 1984.
Venezuela has pulled its 100-bolivar currency bills out of circulation but the Latin American nations envoy to New Delhi, Augusto Montiel, insisted that his countrys initiative was not similar to Indias demonitisation move.

Our central bank informed people three weeks in advance that we would bring out new notes. The only surprise was the sudden withdrawal of 100 denomination bills. But all new bills will be available from December 15, the envoy said in an interview to Hindustan Times.

But why did his country choose to target 100-bolivar currency notes?

We found that 50% of the 100 denomination notes were outside Venezuela, mostly in Colombia. These notes were smuggled out in a bid to pump them back to de-stabilise our country, he said.

The envoy also justified Venezuelas decision to shut down its western border with Colombia for 72 hours in order to combat currency smuggling.

Even before the announcement of border sealing was made, our security forces stopped truckloads of 100-bolivar currency coming to the country from Colombia.

Venezuelas central bank will begin circulating new denominations from 500 to 20,000 bolivars, as well as new 10, 50 and 100-bolivar coins from Thursday.

The envoy, however, said several reports on the economic troubles of the country were biased.

The western media would love to paint us in a bad light. They want the world order in a particular way, so most of the reports tend to be exaggerated, he said.

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Assam police have urged banks to keep strict track of transactions fearing that militant outfits in Assam will try to convert their old currency into new post-demonetisation.

The police asked the banks to be careful especially regarding huge deposits in places where it is mostly unlikely, officials said on Tuesday.

During a recent meeting chaired by special director general (law and order) Kuladhar Saikia, police asked 14 major banks in Assam, including Reserve Bank of Indias Guwahati office, to keep a lookout for ways in which militants may possibly get their money converted into new currency notes.

The banks have been told to alert the state police in case there is any exchange of money through contractors and traders involved in business across the border.

Keeping in view the modus operandi in earlier cases, the bankers have been told to be alert about sudden huge money transfers to accounts of companies, firms and business entities if there was an attempt at extortion.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 evening, he stated curbing terror funding as one of the objectives behind the move.

The banks in Assam have also been told to inform police in case there was an extra submission of school fees termed children education allowance either for the children of militants or the children of their kin.

Banks officials have also been told to strictly monitor third party transfers which is what militants could resort to get their money exchanged.

Scarcity of cash has handicapped the ultras in terms of extortion. Any sort of covert or overt collusion with militants in collecting the money and extortion could be taken as part of facilitating terror financing, Saika told IANS.

Informed sources said that eagerness among the militant groups in Assam to get their money exchanged is more as some of them are trying to regroup themselves on a common platform.

According to Assam police, districts like Charaideo and Dibrugarh have witnessed apprehension of militants while collecting money through various means recently.

Similar cases were also witnessed in Bodo Territorial Area Districts of the state leading to the arrest of a number of militants and recovery of arms.

The militant groups currently active in the state are the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) and a number of Karbi militant outfits.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that poor peoples money is being used to waive off bad loans of corporates in the name of demonetisation as he took his battle against Prime Minister Narendra Modi out of Delhi.

Talking to locals at a market in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi said, (PM) Modi ji wants your money to stay in banks for the maximum time. Modi wants the money of the poor people parked in banks for 6-8 months so that the banks can waive off Rs 8 lakh crore corporate bad loans, he said.

He also told the villagers that in cashless economy, 5% of the money transacted will go to big corporates.

In October, the Supreme Court had said the Reserve Bank of Indias list of loan defaulters, submitted in a sealed cover, showed that 57 debtors had defaulted on repaying around Rs 85,000 crore.

Gandhi attacked the PM minutes after former finance minister P Chidambaram slammed the governments move to replace high-value bank notes with new ones as the biggest scam of the year.

The Congress vice-president said while poor people are suffering the rich and the black money hoarders have no such problem.

Do you see a single rich person? Do you see any black money holder in the queue? They are taking from the back door, he said.

He also refuted the governments argument that the demonetisation drive is against fake currency.

Fake currency is only 0.02 paisa in every Rs 100, Gandhi told villagers.

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The Laksha Chandi Maha Yagya that is reportedly being organised with support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came under scanner on Monday after the organisers paid dakshina (donation given after a religious ceremony) in scrapped Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes to around 2,000 priests.

The Chairman of Haryana Livestock Development Board, Rishi Prakash Sharma, was an active organiser of the nine-day-long event that was also attended by education minister Ram Bilas Sharma and agriculture minister OP Dhankar.

Around 2,000 priests were called from Vrindavan, Ujjain and Mathura to recite shlokas in accordance to the rituals of the yagya. At the end, each of them was given around Rs 3,000 - Rs 5,000 as dakshina. However, the amount comprised of demonetised banknotes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500.

Angered by this, the priests questioned the organisers about it. They also asked how they will return to their homes without valid cash. However, it is learnt that initially the organisers did not pay any heed to their protests. Later, to pacify some of them, they increased the amount to Rs 5,100 and arranged bus tickets for some of them.

Sources at the venue estimated that around Rs 80 lakh in demonetised banknotes were distributed to the priests.

Rishi Prakash Sharma however termed the reports to be false. As per the rituals, every member in the organising committee had pledged for the sadhus and had brought them here. It was up to them to give the dakshina. We did not even check that they were given demonetised banknotes until we found that some priests had problems in arranging their return tickets.

He added, What is wrong in it? Giving scrapped banknotes in daan (donation) is valid up to December 30.

The BJP leader said they had earlier decided to issue cheques to the priests. However, he claimed the priests were reluctant to accept that. The dakshina was around Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 given to each priest. This is not a huge amount to be worried of, he said.
Chaotic, long queues returned to banks after a three-day holiday on Tuesday, even as the government and the Opposition exchanged barbs and braced for a faceoff in Parliament over the shock recall of high-value banknotes that has led to a cash crunch.

Many banks ran out of money within hours as officials struggled to cope with a backlog in moving cash after the break. In Delhi, people in woollen and jackets lined up early in the morning. In the old quarters of Chandni Chowk, police guarded crowded banks and ATMs.

The pressure was huge more currency is needed. There is a big demand and supply mismatch with 500 notes there are more 2000-rupee notes which is a problem, said a senior official of State Bank if India.

Prime Minister Modi has sought 50 days to tide over the cash crunch but that hasnt pacified the Opposition. Protests over the move have virtually washed out the winter session of Parliament, and little legislative business is expected in its remaining three days.

Prospects of legislative business has further dimmed with the opposition gearing up to demand the sacking of minister of state for home, Kiren Rijiju, for his alleged role in a Rs 450-hydro power project in Arunachal Pradesh that is mired in corruption.

We dont know what will happen tomorrow. After Rahul speaks, Congress MPs will not allow Modi ji to speak. We will not let it happen, said a BJP floor manager.

Indication of a stormy session came on Tuesday when the government and the opposition Congress once again carped against each other over the demonetisation move.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the Congress was extremely uncomfortable with demonetisation because of its scandalous record, responding to his predecessor P Chidambaram who termed the move as the biggest scam of the year and the worst assault on the poor.

Read | Cash Tales: From Kashmir to Bastar, demonetisation has hit Indias hinterland

Chidambaram also demanded a special investigation into demonetisation, demanding the RBI publish minutes of its November 8 board meeting before Modi announced his decision to scrap high-value notes.

Earlier in the day, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi continued his attack on Modi, accusing him of waging a war against the poor.

Modi wants the money of the poor people parked in banks for 6-8 months so that the banks could waive off Rs 8 lakh crore corporate bad loans, he told people at a market in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.

He also told villagers that in a cashless economy 5% of the money transacted will go to big corporates.

Meanwhile, the government said Prime Minister Modi will be present in Parliament for the next three days and it is ready for a debate, although both sides will take a final call on their strategies on Wednesday morning. The ruling BJP has issued a three-line whip to its MPs to be present.

Rahul Gandhi has also called a meeting of party MPs later on Wednesday to discuss how to take the partys campaign against demonetisation forward.

Read | A month of demonetisation: From peoples pain, job losses to political war
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks on Tuesday to ensure that all transactions at their branches and currency chests are done under CCTV surveillance to prevent discrepancies and promote transparency.

In its guidelines issued on Tuesday, the central bank also asked financial institutions to preserve recordings of their operations from November 8 to December 30.

The RBI took the step after the tax department and investigating agencies found several bank officials across the country indulging in malpractices. This is to facilitate coordinated and effective action by enforcement agencies in dealing with matters related to illegal accumulation of new currency notes, it said.

Banks had been instructed as early as October to install CCTV cameras at banking halls as well as counters, and preserve recordings so that people indulging in illegal activities could be identified.

Addressing a press meet, RBI deputy governor SS Mundra said while banks have injected Rs 4.61 lakh crore into the system, they collected old currency notes amounting to Rs 12.44 lakh crore till December 10. As many as 21.8 billion currency notes of various denominations have been issued, of which 20.1 billion pieces were of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100 denominations. Around 1.7 billion of the notes issued were of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations, he added.

The RBI deputy governor urged the public to use their paper currency instead of hoarding it.

Referring to an RBI functionary in Bengaluru who was suspended for his alleged involvement in an illegal currency exchange, Mundra said: Let me clarify (he) is a junior RBI functionary, and it was reported by the investigating agency that he was present at a bank branch where a transaction of this kind was happening We have suspended the employee and instituted an investigation. Due action will be taken once further details emerge.

The central bank was working in tandem with investigating agencies to identify such occurrences, he added.

The RBI has instructed banks to undergo central data checking, and warned that inconsistencies would be pursued through an internal audit mechanism. Our supervisors are also carrying out similar exercises on various data points of banks, and due action would be taken whenever untoward transactions are noticed, said Mundra.

He revealed that all banks  including the RBI  harbour a team of whistleblowers. Any case cited by them would also be taken up for investigation, Mundra said.

The RBI has already mandated banks to maintain branch-wise reports of counterfeit cash detected among specified currency  scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes  that have been deposited till December 30, 2016. They have also been asked to send it a report on counterfeit notes detected between November 10 and December 9 by Friday.
The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday asked banks to retain their CCTV recordings of branch operations and currency chests between November 8 and December 30, to deal with any unlawful activities.

It said this was necessary to facilitate coordinated and effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes.

The apex bank had earlier issued a notification on October 27, prior to demonetisation, asking the banks to cover the banking hall or area and counters under CCTV surveillance and record to facilitate identification of people abetting circulation of counterfeit notes.

The government has kept December 30 as the last date to deposit the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
Erstwhile rulers need not pay tax on the income earned by letting out a portion of their residential palace, the Supreme Court held recently.

A bench of justice Ranjan Gogoi and justice AM Sapre gave the ruling, bringing down the curtains on a 38-year-old dispute between the legal heirs of Maharao Bhim Singh of Kota and the Income Tax department.

The royal family, owners of the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Rajasthan, moved the top court against a full bench decision of the Rajasthan high court.

Two differing views by separate benches led to the constitution of a larger bench in the HC.

The family challenged the HC decision that held it was not entitled to exemption under the Income Tax Act because part of the palace was let out to the ministry of defence.

It placed reliance on a 1950 order and said the palace was declared inalienable ancestral property, not to be subjected to any taxes.

It was in possession of the legal heirs of the maharaja and was in use for residence.

Accepting the proposition, the SC declared the royal family was entitled to exemption under the 1950 rule.

It noted that it was not possible to split the property in different parts for the purpose of taxation once it was held to be exempt under the relevant concession rules. Hence, the owner would continue to enjoy the exemption in respect of the entire property.

The Supreme Court noted that the property was in the exception category until 1978 when the department opened the issue, which the court said should not have been done.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, 64, was shifted from intensive care unit to a private room on Tuesday, three days after she underwent a kidney transplant at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Saturday.

Mrs Sushma Swaraj ... has shown steady recovery and has been shifted out of ICU today, a press statement from the hospital read.

During the recovery process, she will be monitored by a team of transplant surgeons, nephrologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, pulmonologist, anaesthetists and critical-care experts, physiotherapists and specialised transplant nurses.

The minister had been admitted to AIIMS on November 7 with kidney failure and was undergoing dialysis. She underwent a transplant surgery on December 10 after all the necessary immunological tests were done and a donor match was found.

The donor was unrelated to the minister and clearances had to be obtained from an authorisation committee. Swarajs daughter wanted to donate but was found to be medically unfit for donation.

To prevent organ trafficking, Indias Transplantation of Human Organs Act allows transplantations to be done only in hospitals registered with the government, and live transplants (such as kidneys) only from close relatives, such as the parents, siblings, children or spouse.

Cadaver and altruistic donations, such as in Swarajs case, are allowed only after being screened by an authorisation committee  which has a government representative -- to ensure the donors was not forced or paid.

Over 1.5 lakh people suffer end-stage kidney failure in India every year and need a transplant, but barely 3,500 find donors.
Even as some enthusiasts are working on an electoral alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress for the forthcoming 2017 assembly elections, an analysis of the 2012 poll results present some insurmountable grey areas.

Going by the winner and the runner-up formula, often adopted for the sharing of assembly seats, 403 seats should be divided between the three partners (assuming Rashtriya Lok Dal is also an ally) in the order of 286 to the SP, 41 to the Congress and 18 to the RLD.

On the remaining 37 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) were either winner or runner-up. And the contentious seats are the 21 on which the Congress and SP were either winner or runner up.

The solution sounds simple but actually it is not considering the importance of the seats in question. Six of the 21 seats fall in the Gandhis stronghold, said a source in the party.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has often spared the two Lok Sabha seats from a contest on a quid pro quo basis but in an assembly election, every seat will matter. For instance, Congress would want to contest the Amethi assembly constituency where Mulayams favourite minister Gayatri Prajapati was declared elected. He defeated Amita Singh, wife of senior Congress leader Sanjay Singh.

In fact, party sources say that the Congress high command would want to contest all the 10 assembly segments that are part of Gandhis Lok Sabha constituencies - Rae Bareli and Amethi.

After the partys dismal performance in 2012, Priyanka Gandhi had conceded that the Congress defeat in the two prime constituencies sent a wrong signal across the nation.

Another difficult seat could be the Marihan assembly constituency in east Uttar Pradesh where Lalitesh Pati Tripathi is trying to recreate the magic of the famous Tripathi family in the region, including parts of the Bihar. Lalitesh is Kamlapati Tripathis great grandson and has been described as Rahul Gandhis yuva (youth) face.

Also, on many of these seats, the victory margin ranges between a few hundred to 2,000 votes. Party sources indicate that often talks fail on few prime seats even after the bulk of seats have been agreed upon.

In fact, Congressmen are sceptical about the seat-sharing plans as efforts in the past have always come to a nought. The talks for the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 did not fructify. Mulayam had found an unnatural ally in Kalyan Singh.

Thus, many believe the alliance talks are on to ensure that the BSP does not enter into an electoral understanding with the Congress to check a resurgent BJP and defeat arch-rival SP.

Former chief minister Mayawati, who has already tasted alliance with the Congress in the mid-1990s, would prefer an independent trek.

Though much water has flown down the Gomti since then, she is not inclined as in her own assessment seat sharing helps the poll partner more than her party, for the simple reason that while her own votes are transferable, others fail to transfer their votes to the BSP.

It is common knowledge that while the younger leadership of the two parties may be willing to go in for an alliance, the Congress may push a wholesome plan up to the 2019 general elections.

Some senior leaders insist that would happen only if the Congress agreed to play second fiddle to the SP in state elections and vice versa. Moreover, a key position will have to be offered to the senior Yadav.

Seniors share a mutual mistrust for each other and Congress cannot be trusted is Mulayams repeated statement. Congress too finds Mulayam undependable having betrayed several times.

While Rahuls voice will prevail in Congress, its hard to say whether Akhilesh Yadav would have the same say in the SP where his father is seemingly siding with his brother Shivpal Singh Yadav.
Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday approved monetary assistance of Rs 5 lakh to parents of policemen who lose their lives in the line of duty.

At a cabinet meeting in Lucknow presided by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, it was decided to extend an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to parents of serving policemen losing their lives in line of duty, an official release said.

This help will be besides Rs 20 lakh given to the widows or children of the officials or employees. The government took the decision keeping in mind the plight of parents who are left to fend for themselves in case of death of their sons, the release added.

The scheme will cover those serving in central paramilitary forces in other states and Indian Army as well as natives of other states losing their lives in UP.

The cabinet also gave its nod to Samajwadi Swasthya Beema Yojna for the family members of beneficiaries of Samajwadi Pension Yojna extending help of up to Rs 2 lakh in case of critical illness.

The insurance scheme will be run by SACHI (State Agency for Comprehensive Health Insurance) Scheme, that has been asked to take into account practical problems faced in running the National Health Insurance Scheme and include them in states interest, the release said.

The cabinet also decided to launch an encouragement policy to restart closed cinema halls in the state.
Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal and four other men were held guilty on Tuesday in the 2013 Hyderabad twin bomb blasts case by a special court, in the first ever conviction of banned outfits cadres in a terror case.

Pronouncing the judgement, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Hyderabad fixed December 19 as the date for announcing the quantum of punishment for the five IM operatives.

The five accused found guilty are Bhatkal alias Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, Pakistani national Zia ur Rehman alias Waqas, and Ajaz Shaikh.

It was a wonderful investigation carried out by the team in which every evidence was examined minutely. This is the first ever conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadres, NIA director general Sharad Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.

We will be appealing for maximum punishment for the culprits, he said.

The twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar area in Hyderabad on February 21, 2013, claimed 18 lives and injured over 130 people. The blasts occurred within a distance of 100 metres at crowded places in Dilsukhnagar on the evening of February 21, 2013.

The NIA, which probed the case, concluded that the blasts were engineered by the IM operatives. Out of the six accused in the case, the investigating agency arrested five. Main accused Riyaz Bhatkal alias Shah Riyaz Ahmad Mohammed Ismail Shahbandari is absconding.

For the last one year, the trial had been going on in the special court at Cherlapally Central Prison on the outskirts of the city where the five accused are currently lodged. The NIA produced 158 witnesses, seized 201 pieces of material evidence and furnished over 500 documents in the court.

Six months after the blasts, Yasin and Asadullah were arrested from an area in Bihar close to the Nepal border. Three other accused were arrested subsequently and the NIA filed two chargesheets against the five accused.

Yasin Bhatkal, named for the coastal Karnataka town where he was born, had risen over a decade to become the IMs executioner-in-chief, playing a key role in blasts across India that killed scores.

He became IMs India operations head after founders Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal fled to Pakistan in 2008 after the Batla House encounter in Delhi.

The 33-year-old is suspected to be the mastermind of five blasts as well as the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune that killed 17 and the Dilsukhnagar blasts. He is also suspected to have played an active role in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts in which 187 people were killed.

Read: How India got Yasin Bhatkal from Nepal town

The IM, patronised by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, was designated a terrorist group by the government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in June 2010. The banned outfit was declared by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2011.

Hatching a terror plot

In its charge sheet, the NIA claimed that IM hatched a conspiracy to wage a war against India and decided to carry out bomb blasts in Hyderabad to create terror in the minds of people and further the activities of the outfit.

Riyaz Bhatkal, the main operative of the module and who is named as the first accused in the case, allegedly directed his associates Asadullah and Waqas to find a place in Mangalore to be used as a hide-out for explosive materials sent by him.

After receiving the material that Riyaz sent through an unknown person and the money by way of hawala and other channels, Asadullah and Waqas reached Hyderabad and started working with Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, who was already there and was living in a hideout in Abdullapurmet area, the NIA probe report stated.

The three of them prepared two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) while staying in the area.

The other material needed to make the bomb, including a pressure cooker and timers, were arranged in Hyderabad. After the bomb was made, on February 21, they mounted two IEDs on two bicycles (purchased by them for that purpose), and planted them in two separate places in Dilsukhnagar, it said.

The NIA investigation has brought to evidence all the financial help received by the accused from abroad.

The NIA also said it learnt that the miscreants, after procuring the explosive materials to Hyderabad, had conducted a test blast in a hillock near Abdullapurmet in Hyderabad.

The main feature of the conspiracy was that the accused were communicating through the internet, chatting with each other throughout the planning, finding suitable hideouts, purchasing material for the bombs, until the final escape. They were also found to have used proxy servers to hide their identity.

The role of Yasin Bhatkal in the planning, procurement of explosives and harbouring of Asadullah after the incident, was also unearthed by the NIA, the agency said.
While domestic air connectivity from Indore has improved in 2016 with new flights to Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the regional connectivity scheme planned by state-run Air India and other proposals to launch international flights are yet to take off.

In July this year, Air India had announced plans to launch new flights from Indore to Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Kolkata and Bhopal, and also planned to connect to other airports of MP including Jabalpur under the scheme. The airlines company is slated to get new ATR (Avions de Transport Regional) aircrafts towards this soon.

Air India is yet to get approval from Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the proposed routes, said an airport official requesting anonymity.

While Indore airport has got international status, no international flights have been launched yet.

In September 2014, Air Arabia and Emirates Airlines had applied to Union civil aviation ministry for permission to launch international flights from Indore. However, there is little progress on ground towards this regard.

Emirates Airlines had conducted a survey at Indore airport in 2014 to access passenger demand for Indore-Dubai route. The government had also provided statistics related to the export of medicines from the region to the foreign destinations, following which Emirates showed interest to link the international flight with cargo service.

However, the airlines have not taken interest in launching the flights afterwards, since they were doubtful of the feasibility of operations. The last time a passenger traffic survey was conducted was in 2014, the airport official said.

Meanwhile, Indore airport director Manoj Chansoria said the airport is ready for launch of international flights. Indore airport has the infrastructure to launch international flights, but ultimately it is up to the airline companies to launch the flights, he said.
Decades before I finally met Dr Ramesh Prabhoo  when I was researching for my book on Bal Thackeray  I had some second-hand experience of his humility. A rather young and brazen colleague, who just recently became a journalist, thought he could hold the then Mayor personally responsible for a pile of garbage gathering a stink before his house.

I was horrified when I heard his side of the conversation on the phone. He had called up Dr Prabhoo on his personal line and said If that garbage does not disappear within two days, I will have to report it.

Chhagan Bhujbal had just preceded Dr Prabhoo in that office and I was sure, in typical Shiv Sena style, my young colleague would get a blasting earful. But the Mayor was humble and polite in offering to look into the matter personally. My colleague thought he had scared the Sena leader. But whoever was personally acquainted with Dr Prabhoo would know that his was not the typical Shiv Sena style of brash arrogance. In fact, Dr Prabhoo was the antithesis of everything that was the Shiv Sena at the peak of its powers in the 1980s. He was humble, understated, an educated achiever (he was a medical professional), hailing from a family of Congressmen (his father-in-law was the governor of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana around the same time that he was getting noticed in the Shiv Sena).

This unlikely Shiv Sainik was personal physician to Bal Thackeray from the 1970s to when they fell out in 2004 -- and that falling out was the result of a betrayal by the party of a man who had stood by Thackeray through thick and thin and also offered himself up as the sacrificial lamb for Thackerays experimentation with Hindutva. At the 1987 by-election to the Assembly from Vile Parle, Dr Prabhoo did not say much but Thackeray at his campaign made the defining, and definitive, shift from region to religion.The defeated Congress candidate went to court and, a decade later, Dr Prabhoo ended up as the first person, along with Thackeray, in independent India to be disenfranchised and barred from contesting elections for six years for having based his by-election on religion. That ruined his career.

For by the time the ban was lifted, Uddhav Thackeray had grown in influence within the party. Balasaheb had promised a ticket to his personal doctor the moment he became eligible again but Uddhav would have none of it. And here we saw a retaliatory streak emerge in this quiet self effacing man  he contested as a rebel and ensured the defeat of the official Sena candidate, refusing to withdraw despite several appeals by Bal Thackeray.

Many years later, I was surprised to hear the note of quiet requital in his voice as he told me, I did not win. But I made sure the Shiv Sena did not win either.

I would have thought he would have been full of bitterness about Thackeray but when I asked him what had attracted him to a party like the Shiv Sena in the 1960s  the party then was goonish and full of lumpen elements  his face lit up like a thousand candles as he said just two words Bal Thackeray.

I failed to understand how he could have reconciled the violence that defined the Shiv Sena in those days with his Hippocratic oath of saving lives. But then, there was the streak of quiet defiance in the good doctor who went out to save the lives of tens of Muslims in his constituency, even as his party was targeting members of that community during the 1992-93 Bombay riots.

Before joining Raj Thackerays Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Dr Prabhoo had briefly joined Sharad Pawars Nationalist Congress Party. It would have been the right party for a man of his considerable intellect. But as he told me then, Have you taken a look at that party lately? Every one there is a leader. No one is a worker. No one wants to build the party but every one of those leaders wants to become the next chief minister.

That quite encapsulates what the the NCP is even today. But then Dr Prabhoo never wanted to be the chief minister. All he ever wanted was for the Sena to honour Thackerays promise. And for the Thackerays to acknowledge his sacrifice of a lifetime  in his lifetime. It was a wish destined to remain unfulfilled.

READ: No cash, no coins, now no cheques amid crashing prices irk farmers

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When residents of a housing society in Borivli found buffalo carcasses dumped into the Dahisar river nearby, they were shocked.

Fearing a health hazard , they along with environment activists have complained to the police and the Brihanmubai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Residents of Srikrishna Complex, a housing society with over 250 families located near the 18 cow sheds and the river, were the first ones to notice the carcasses on Sunday and report the case.

Pankaj Trivedi, a resident who contacted the BMCs disaster management department and the local police station, said he checks the river every morning to ensure that the housing colonys residents do not dump garbage into it.

He was shocked to see rotting buffalo carcasses strewn in the river.

Dogs and crows were eating the bodies and there was a strong stench in the area, said Trivedi, who is also a member of local river conservation group, River March, which is planning to clean the Dahisar river.

There is a tunnel beneath our building from which water flows into the river. The owners of these cow shed have been using it to dump cattle dung and carcasses. It has been happening for ages, said Biren Desai, another resident of the society.

A local cow shed owner, Nagesh Singh, admitted that cattle owners have been dumping carcasses of calves.

The owners have been fined repeatedly by the BMC for functioning with an expired licence. Some of us had instructed them not to dump dung or carcasses in the tunnel. But if calves die, the owners of the cow sheds call people to skin them and then dump the carcasses in the tunnel that releases water into the river, said Singh.

He added that the other four cow sheds have been informing BMC officials of cattle deaths so that the carcasses are disposed of according to prescribed norms.

The BMC has a designated cattle disposal centre at Kora Kendra in Borivli.

Municipal officials said they are unable to take action since they are not sure which cow shed owner had dumped cattle carcasses.

We will book the culprits under section 381 (public nuisance) after we investigate who is responsible for the offence, said Kishor Gandhi, ward officer of R Central municipal ward.

Also, we will block the tunnel flowing from the cow shed to the river after assessing if it is also used as a sewage line for any residential areas, added Gandhi.

Janak Daftari, water conservationist, said that the National Green Tribunal directed the state government to form a committee to restore rivers in Mumbai.

However, no schemes have been launched to ensure that this is looked into.

The Dahisar river is already plagued by poor water quality combined with the constructions of walls around the river. Now, there have been complaints of animal carcasses being dumped into the river. All these amount to criminal activities, said Daftari.

Doctors say the practice is harmful

Dr Om Srivastava, a senior infectious diseases expert shared the residents concerns and said there are a number of airborne and waterborne infections that can spread owing to the decomposing carcasses

Along with bacterial and viral infections, there is also a risk of people coming in contact with a range of fungal organisms that originate from decomposing flesh of cattle. There have been scenarios in which some viruses which are known to die once they are out of the the infected animals bloodstream  have survived for a week or longer and infected people, said Srivastava.

Dr Suresh Jagdale, senior researcher from Bombay Veterinary College said there are a range of infections such as Anthrax  a serious bacterial disease originating from sheep and cattle  that affect the skin and lungs and can be transmitted to humans, causing severe skin ulceration

The bacteria that killed the animal can certainly spread through air and water and infect people living in the periphery of the area. It can be both water and airborne, said Jagdale.

Read

Carcass of 7-foot dolphin washes ashore in Mumbai
Actor Kapil Sharma has made unauthorised alterations in his flat beyond approved plans, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in an affidavit in the Bombay high court, defending the demolition notice it sent to him, and urged the court to dismiss the comedians petition challenging the notice.

According to BMC, it granted Sharma a chance to remove the unauthorized work carried out contrary to the corporations full occupation certificate, when it issued him a notice in April. The actor, however, neither filed a reply to the notice, nor submitted any papers to prove that the alterations made in his ninth floor flat were authorized, the BMC affidavit said.

The affidavit was filed pursuant to an earlier direction of the court in November, during the last hearing in the case. At the time, the court had granted interim relief to Shrama, actor Irrfan Khan, and one Gurdeep Narang, all three of whom were served notices by the civic body.

Sharma, Khan, Narang and the developer of the said building, DLH Constructions, have challenged the notices issued to them. The notices said that the BMC had decided to demolish illegal portions of their flats and other areas of the building.

As per the pleas filed through advocate Pradeep Thorat and VS Yadav, the developer acquired the land and constructed the 18-storey building in Goregaon in 2010. It was subsequently granted an occupation certificate (OC) by the BMC. However, in December 2014, the BMC issued the developer a notice under Section 351 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, stating that the developer had flouted its construction norms and will, thus, have to face demolition.

DLH approached a civil court against the notice and obtained an interim stay.

In April, however, the BMC issued another demolition notice to DLH, and 15 occupants of the building.

Sharma, Khan, Narang and the developer then approached the high court challenging the April notice, stating that while the civil suit was pending, the BMC could not issue another notice on the same issue, warning of the same punitive action.

The civic body, however, has argued in its affidavit that the civil court had only stayed the demolition notice against the developer and, thus, it was well within its rights to have issued separate, individual notices to occupants who flouted norms.

Read: Relief for Kapil Sharma as Bombay HC stays BMC demolition notice

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An army man and his wife were arrested after their car dashed into two children, killing them on spot at Cuffe Parade on Sunday. The man was teaching his wife how to drive.

The boys, aged 12 and 7 years, were on their bicycles and were crossing the road when the car came and hit them. The woman had panicked upon the two coming on the way of the vehicle. Both the husband and wife have been booked for rash and negligent driving.

According to the police, the incident took place on Sunday at around 2.30 pm when the army man was teaching his wife how to drive. The boys, who were riding a bicycle, were crossing the road when the car was on them. The woman, a new learner, pressed the accelerator instead of the brake and collided with the two boys.

The police said that the driver Sangeeta Santoshkumar Rai (34) and her husband Santoshkumar Rai (36), a lance naik with the Army, rushed the boys to the hospital with the help of locals. Doctors at INS Ashwini hospital declared them dead.

An officer from the Cuffe Parade police station, who did not wish to be named, said, Sangeeta increased the speed, due to which the younger one of the boys, Abhay Dhyani, came under the car. The older one, Akshansh, was dragged on with the car for a while, until the driver crashed against a tree. The children were brothers.

The boys were sons of Ravindraprasad Dhyani, another army man, posted in Assam. Both the deceased and the accuseds family are residents of Suvidha Complex at Navi Nagar in Cuffe Parade.

The complainant and eyewitness, Vishwanath Jadhav, also a Lance Naik with the army, in his statement to the police, said, I was riding my bike past the spot and suddenly heard a colossal crash, only to find that the two kids had been hit by a car. I reached the spot and took one of the boys to the hospital along with the accused. I came to know later that the man was teaching his man how to drive.

The accused have been booked under sections 279 (rash driving or riding in a public place), 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and were bailed out for a bail bond of Rs15,000 each, after they were produced in court on Monday.

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Noise levels at the first procession of the 10-day Mahim Fair, which began on Tuesday, touched 117.3 decibel (dB)  equivalent to the noise from a rock drilling machine. Ironically, the procession was that of the Mumbai police, which is authorised to book noise rules violators.

Whats worse: the procession went through an area that is designated as a silence zone because of the religious shrine and a school in the vicinity. A Bombay high court order has not only banned use of loudspeakers in silence zones, but even the use of drums, horns, trumpets and playing of any music using sound amplifiers.

Police personnel, who traditionally lead the first procession, walk from the Mahim police station to the dargah, carrying offerings of sandalwood paste, perfume or attar, flowers, silver utensils and a silk chaddar to honour the Sufi saint Makhdoom Ali Mahimi on his birthday.

The loudspeakers and brass music instruments used in the procession recorded sound levels between 98dB and 117.3dB between 2.15pm and 3pm, as recorded by anti-noise campaigner Awaaz Foundation.

It is the function of the police to take action and they are the law breakers this time, said Sumaira Abdulali, convenor, Awaaz Foundation, which filed a complaint with the Mumbai police commissioner. In spite of being reminded of the HC order and being the enforcement authority, the Mahim police said that it was a traditional event, therefore noise would be allowed to continue until such time as the police took their own readings on their own decibel meters.

Awaaz Foundation, however, said there was a marginal dip in noise levels compared to previous years. Last year, the Mahim Fair registered 119.9dB during the police procession, which was higher than the 118dB recorded in 2014. Norms under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, state that noise levels in residential and silence zones should be between 50dB and 55dB during the day and 40dB and 45dB during the night, respectively.

Officials from the Mumbai police told HT that if norms are violated, action will be taken. Every sandal (procession) organiser was called for a meeting and information regarding the relevant legal provisions was given, said Pramajit Singh Dahiya, deputy commissioner of police, zone 5. The Mahim Fair will go on till December 22. We have deployed our decibel metres, too. Irrespective of whose procession it is, if any infractions are found, legal action will be taken.

Mahim residents said the police violated norms even after several letters were written to the state government, senior police officials and the civic body. It is a matter of serious concern that even after repeated reminders to curtail noise levels through letters dispatched weeks ago, the polices own procession violated noise norms, said Farooque Dhala, resident of Mahim. Not only was it a nuisance for residents, but even for birds and animals in the area.

Noise standards as laid down in Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.

Category of area Day time limit (in dB) (6.30am to 8.30pm) Night time limit (in dB) (8.30pm  6.30am)

Residential area 55 45

Silence zone 50 40

HOW MUCH NOISE IS TOO MUCH?

Healthy hearing threshold - 0dB

Pin dropping - 10dB

Rustling leaves - 20dB

Sound of river water - 40dB

Light traffic, refrigerator - 50dB

Conversational speech, air conditioner - 60dB

Vacuum cleaner - 75dB

Alarm clock - 80dB

Discotheque/pneumatic hammer - 100dB

Live Rock Band - 115dB

Rock drilling machine  117 dB

Steel mill - 120dB

Thunderclap, chain saw - 130dB

Jet take-off (at 25 metres) - 150dB

Read: Mumbai HC wants noise pollution controlled. Is Delhi listening?

Bombay High Court says no to loudspeakers on Christmas and New Years eve

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The Nerul police on Tuesday detained a school principal after hundreds of people staged a protest over the rape of a minor girl by a teacher of the same school. The principal has been accused of protecting the accused and threatening to harm the girls parents if they refused to keep mum. The minors father told HT that the principal even offered Rs1 crore, asking him not to approach the police.

Even as the incident took place in September, the Nerul police allegedly did not take the matter seriously and the accused went into hiding taking advantage of the lax attitude of the investigating officers, claimed the girls parents. The teacher is still on the run.

After the girls parents brought this matter to the notice of the police chief Hemant Nagrale, an assistant police inspector from Nerul police station was suspended on Monday for not paying due attention to the case. The incident however, could open a can of worms as the girls parents claim that many other students were also sexually abused by the same teacher.

I know many other parents who have similar experiences. But they are not coming out as they are more concerned about the future of their children, said the girls father.

The accused teaches English and is said to have raped the minor during her PT class in April and September, following which the girl got pregnant.

The principal first offered me Rs1 crore to keep quiet. When we refused to accept the money, she started threatening us. She told me that the accused is a powerful man and that we will not be able to do anything as we are not from Maharashtra. She also tried to lure us by giving free admissions to our daughter, he said.

The protest was lead by MP Rajan Vichare. If minor girls are not safe in their schools, then where will they be safe? The police should take all possible action to bring accused to book, he said.

Meanwhile, two police teams has left for Uttar Pradesh and Delhi search and arrest the accused. The Navi Mumbai crime branch is also investigating the case simultaneously.

Assistant commissioner of police Dhanraj Dayama said, We detained the principal for enquiries, but are yet to arrest her. We are investigating to find out if she really protected the accused. So far, no other parents have come to us with similar complaints.

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Four minors detained for sexually assaulting six-year-old girl in Pune

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Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, who turned 76 on Monday, will complete 50 years of active politics on February 22, 2017, the day he was announced winner of Assembly elections in 1967.

The party and the institutions managed by him are planning a grand show to commemorate his five-decade career as a politician.

The challenges before the leader as a party chief are huge.

The dwindling credibility resulting in poor show in the elections being held in the state and unrest among the Marathas and Dalits over the partys stance have posed a crisis before the party.

Pawars flip-flop on the demonitisation issue and his hobnobbing with prime minster Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders have not gone down well with the electorate.

The partys OBC face Chhagan Bhujbal has been in jail for the past eight months over corruption charges. Two other leaders, Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare, are facing allegations of involvement in irrigation scam.

Pawar has the challenge of choosing his successor as the choice between daughter Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar would not be an easy task.

As an attempt to boost the morale of party workers, the party has decided to put up a grand show early next year.

There is no doubt that the country has no parallel stature like Pawar in terms of his political intellect, command over administration, inquisitive knowledge of social, agriculture issues, but he has been continuously losing his credibility, said Prakash Bal, political analyst.

After 1978 (when he toppled the Congress government), he has been on shaky ground. The stand taken by his party after 2014 assembly elections is the latest of his incredible moves. If this continues, he may even lose his popularity rapidly, said Bal.

Pawar was sworn in as an MLA in Maharashtra Assembly on March 13, 1967. At 38, he was the youngest chief minister of state and later held the chair four times.

Yashwantrao Chavan Centre has chalked out programmes which will go on for a few months. The essay writing and elocution competition being held across the state for school and college students will culminate on January 15 with Pawarsaheb interacting with the finalists for couple of hours in Baramati, said Datta Balsaraf, programme manager, YB Chavan Centre.

Workshops, conferences spread over next few months are part of the programme. There will be a grand political conference in which parliamentarians, scholars, analysts will speak.

The code of conduct of the municipal corporation and district council elections has, however, upset plans of a grand political show.

We have planned around 50 programmes but the dates will be finalised once the dates for the civic bodies and assembly elections are declared. If not on February 22, the functions could be held on March 13, when he was sworn in as an MLA, said a senior party leader.

Read

Sharad Pawar likens demonetisation to Emergency, predicts Narendra Modis fall

Beating both sides of the drum

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The proceedings of the state legislature were disrupted on Tuesday by the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) opposition demanding immediate sacking of the dairy development minister Mahadev Jankar, following a case filed by the police against him for allegedly pressurising an election officer in connection with the civic polls.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis turned down the demand saying that the allegations against Jankar were yet to be proved. The angry opposition members then resorted to sloganeering, which disrupted the proceedings of both the houses of the Legislature.

The state Election Commission has filed a case against Jankar for allegedly pressurising a returning officer appointed for a civic poll in Gadchiroli district. The action was taken after a video clip showing Jankar asking the returning officer to disqualify a Congress nomination for the election to the civic bodys presidents post went viral. Jankar was also seen asking the officer to allot a specific symbol to an independent candidate.

The Opposition created a ruckus demanding the ouster of the minister, who belongs to Rashtriya Samaj Paksh, an ally of the BJP.

In the Assembly, former chief minister and senior Congress legislator Prithviraj Chavan demanded that Fadnavis should sack the minister immediately as he was caught misusing his position as a minister in the government to influence the election machinery. It is the moral responsibility of the chief minister to oust the minister. Else his partys public stance over corruption wont have any meaning,he said. Senior NCP legislators Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse-Patil also pointed out that Jankar had violated his oath as a minister that he would not favour anybody. Fadnavis is supposed to have clean image which will get tarnished if he shields Jankar,remarked Jayant Patil.

In reply, Fadnavis said the case filed against Jankar was a non-cognisable offence and it will be investigated if he is guilty of pressuring the returning officer. The case is filed under Section 155 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the court has powers to decide if the minister misused his position. He is a gentleman and it will be an injustice to him if we sack him before he is proved guilty, Fadnavis said. Speaker Haribhau Bagde said he will examine the precedents and then decide on what to do next.

The Opposition was not impressed and shouted slogans which led to three adjournments. The proceedings were wound up without discussing the other topics on the days agenda. The ruling side, however, got the supplementary demands of five departments and two bills cleared amidst the din. The proceedings of the upper house were wound up amidst the disruption too. The council also saw a verbal exchange between the chairman of the House, Ramraje Nimbalkar, and senior Congress legislator Narayan Rane, after the latter was denied permission to speak on the issue.

READ MORE

Maharashtra to spend Rs 75.8 lakh to do up homes, office of 3 BJP ministers

Did parties give money to voters during Maharashtra council polls?

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A 30-year-old man, who was living as a tenant in a chawl, was allegedly murdered by his sub-tenants after he asked them to vacate the room in Goregaon east on Monday night. The police said the deceased was not returning the deposit paid by the sub-tenants which led them into a fight.

According to Dindoshi police, the incident took place at around 9 pm in Sharma compound, Santosh Nagar on Film City Road. The deceased Savan Kharva and his wife Bhavna used to live in single-storied structure on rent.

Kharva without informing the real estate agent, who got him the place,had rented out the upper floor to the two accused four months back.

When the agent learnt about this, he asked Kharva to throw them out. When Kharva tried to get them out on Monday night the duo started demanding their deposit of few thousand rupees which led to a physical fight.

The fight broke out at around 9pm when in a fit of rage the duo hit Kharva and one of them bashed his head against an iron grill multiple times. Kharva died of head injuries and his wife, who deals in old clothes, complaint against them.

Read

Man murders tenant for staying in his ancestral flat

Now, tenants too have redevelopment rights in Mumbai
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Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

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Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

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A woman jumped off a moving train with her 10-month-old daughter , who had blood cancer, in her arms early on Monday near the Vashi creek. The woman died, the baby was found alive nearly five hours later.

Police said the 30-year-old woman (we are not identifying her to protect the child) was travelling with her baby in a ladies compartment of a Panvel-bound train from Kurla around 12.05 am. As the train entered the bridge over Vashi creek, she jumped out clutching her baby to her chest.

A few passengers spotted her jumping off the train and informed our constables about it. Our officials reached the spot after sometime but could not find the woman and the child in the dark. Around 5 am, we sent another team to the spot and they found the two. Because of low tide, they did not fall in the water and were lying on the marshy land under the bridge, said Pramod Dhawade, senior police inspector of Vashi government railway police.

We rushed both of them to Rajawadi hospital in Mumbai, but the mother was declared brought dead by the doctors. The baby has suffered injuries to different parts of her body. She is now under medical observation in the same hospital, Dhawade said.

Police identified the woman from a ration card they recovered from her bag and then informed her parents who live in Seawoods. Dhawade said the womans family told him the baby was suffering from blood cancer and that she had been struggling to arrange funds for treatment.

A friend of the family said, the woman married a man from Pune against the wishes of her parents in 2014 after her first marriage did not work out. However, she did not have a smooth family life with her second husband either. Around two months ago, her husband brought her and the baby to her parents place at Seawoods and went away saying that he would not take them back. He was the babys father.

The womans father works with a private company and her mother is a home maker. Though a local organisation was helping pay for her babys treatment, it was not enough and so the woman started working in a shopping mall around two weeks ago, the family friend added.

She called her husband on Sunday on his phone, but the conversation turned into a heated argument within a few minutes. She might have lost hope and thus decided to take the drastic step, this person added.

Inspector Dhawade said, Her husband is still in Pune and we have not called him for enquiries so far. We have registered an accidental death case. Her body has been delivered to her family after post-mortem was conducted in the hospital. The post-mortem reports are yet to come.

Read

Constable found dead under the Vashi bridge, cops suspect suicide

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Two persons fell in a drain and died after their bike collided with the pavement, police said. The incident occurred near Ishaan College in Knowledge Park area of Greater Noida on late Monday night. The deceased, Ummed Ram, 25 and Kamlesh, 26, worked as cooks at a private hostel. Police said the duo was returning from the hostel when the incident occurred.

The passersby had informed us about the accident at about 10.30 pm. A police team reached the spot within few minutes and rushed the victims to the hospital where they were declared dead on arrival, said Manish Kumar Sharma, station house officer, Knowledge Park police station.

Police said that the water level in the drain was low.

The passersby told us that the deceased were riding a bike on a very high speed. They lost balance and collided with the pavement. The bike was tossed in the air and then crashed into the wall of the 10-ft wide drain, said Sharma.

Police said the deceased had apparently lost consciousness or might have died due to the impact of the accident and then landed into the drain.

Bodies were sent for postmortem, reports of which are still awaited, to ascertain the reason of their death. Their families were informed about the incident. The bodies will be handed over to them after the autopsy, said Sharma.

He said no FIR has been registered in the case so far.

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Cyclone Vardah that lashed Indias east coast on December 12 with a wind speed of 120 km per hour has once again demonstrated that Indias cyclone preparedness has reached its mark. Three severe cyclones in a row - Phailin in Odisha (2013), Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh (2014), and now Vardah in Tamil Nadu - have proved conclusively that India has won the battle against the natural hazard that used to create havoc to the coastal area not so long ago.

The Indian Meteorological Department was able to track the movement of Vardah with precision and issue early warnings to the state governments and district administrations.

Read: Meteorologist warns of second arm of Cyclone Vardah

The Tamil Nadu government rose to the occasion to evacuate thousands of people to cyclone shelters and other safe places. The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh cancelled his official trip to the Gulf to supervise the response in Nellore and other places in his state.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed its search and rescue team at vulnerable locations. Relief teams were ready with men and materials to provide food to the affected people. The highways and railways controlled the movement of traffic and emergency support teams were seen restoring power and water supplies and removing uprooted trees and signboards to minimise the time taken for restoration of essential services.

Read: Cyclone Vardah: All 2,376 tourists stranded in Andamans evacuated

Earlier Vardah had crossed over the Malay Peninsula affecting coastal areas of Thailand, parts of Penang state of Malaysia and Western Sumatra of Indonesia. The devastations in these three countries were much more severe - 112 persons were dead, over 4 million affected and assets worth $45 million were lost. The storm blew over Andaman & Nicobar Islands, stranding tourists and confining locals but no significant damage was reported from the island.

While it may be too early to assess the damage and losses in India, early reports indicate that damages to life and economy are not significant.

Read: NDRF teams were ready for Vardah impact; fallen trees, poles being cleared: DG

The success of our cyclone preparedness raises the question why similar success has not been achieved in our preparedness for earthquake, flood, landslide or other natural disasters. The reasons are partly the nature of cyclone itself, which makes it possible to track its growth and movement for three to four days before it strikes, but it is mainly due to the series initiatives taken after the Orissa super cyclone of 1999. This included setting up Doppler radars, constructing cyclone shelters, regenerating mangroves, strengthening community based disaster preparedness, and more recently the World Bank assisted National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Programme that is currently under implementation.

Similar preparedness is not seen for other natural hazards. Early warning of earthquake is not possible at the current stage of scientific knowledge and understanding of this hazard. Early warning of landslide is coming up and it may take years before the system passes through the process of trial. We have a flood warning system that is still primitive.

Read: Andhra govt braces for cyclone Vardah, CM cancels Gulf trip to monitor situation

The system is based mostly on rainfall and river discharge, but other causative factors like settlements pattern, encroachments, drainage system and maintenance of embankments etc. are hardly taken into account. An effective flood warning requires collaborative efforts of central, state and local governments that have been lacking.

Our success in cyclone preparedness surely offers a lesson for improving our preparedness for earthquake, flood and landslides: if we make concerted efforts involving scientists, policy makers, practitioners and communities and invest resources for risk mitigation and disaster preparedness we can certainly replicate the success despite the constraints, difficulties and challenges.

PG Dhar Chakrabarti is former secretary, National Disaster Management Authority and Executive Director, National Institute of Disaster Management

The views are personal
On September 25, 2015, at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, and fight inequality and injustice. One of the targets is, By 2030, end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Closing gender gaps in agriculture and investing in smallholder women farmers will have a profound impact on the achievement of these goals.

Read: Indian women are rapidly leaving the workforce

In the last decade, the number of women farmers in India and other developing countries around the world has increased significantly, with men migrating towards off farm jobs and moving to cities. Today, women are over 40 % of the agricultural workforce in India. In fact, 80% of all working women of the country are employed in agriculture. The increasing proportion of women farmers also means that agricultural yields and the overall agricultural output of India depends, to a large extent, on womens participation. According to some estimates, if women farmers are provided the same resources as their male counterparts, such as land ownership, availability of credit, access to farming equipment and new technologies, yields can increase by as much as 30% per household, and countries can experience an increase of 2.5 to 4 % in agricultural output. To achieve such outcomes, countries need to eliminate gender inequalities in agriculture.

Less than 10% of Indias land is owned by women. The inability to show land in their names deprives women of access to credit and many government schemes. Moreover, women are unable to afford newer technologies that will increase yields, are unaware of or cannot afford expensive and improved seed varieties, do not have adequate knowledge about the new farming systems in India, and also carry the additional burden of domestic responsibilities.

Read: Women, farmers are the biggest focus of Budget 2016: PM Modi

In India, the word kisan or farmer is perceived to be addressing a male farmer. As a result, the mindset of the masses, and to a great extent that of policy makers, continues to address issues for the kisan community as catering to male farmers only. As a result, there still exists a wide gap between the policies, plans and related enabling programmes on the one hand and the situational reality of women farmers on the other. To this end, government initiatives such as the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) are a welcome beginning.

It is time to ensure that women farmers in India and around the world get the recognition they deserve as farmers.

Purvi Mehta is senior adviser and head of agriculture, Asia, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The views expressed are personal.
Donald Trump has disgraced American democracy with his election campaign and he is wasting no time overturning US foreign policy and disrupting world politics as well.

He has picked Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, as his Secretary of State. Strategic analysts are dismayed by this as Tillerson has a history of close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin  who conferred the Order of Friendship on the former in 2013.

Trump is also going out of his way to provoke China. He first took a congratulatory call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. If that could be dismissed as a colourful way of communicating to Beijing that it was no longer business as usual, Trump went one step further on December 11 telling Fox News that he fully understood the One China policy but didnt know why the US should be bound by it unless we make a deal with China having to do other things, including trade.

Trump is essentially saying that he will question Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity if Beijing is unwilling to do deals that the US wants. This is not the kind of challenge that Chinas leadership can be seen as ignoring  because territorial integrity is, alongside high economic growth, a key source of legitimacy for the unelected, authoritarian rule of the Communist Party of China. President Xi Jinping has emerged as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, the Party recently conferred on him the title core leader and with a personality cult centred on him, he cannot be seen as backing down since his own people, Chinas neighbours and indeed the US will be watching.

It may well be that Trump chooses to defuse the situation, persuaded over time by the globalising corporate collective that is making its way into his Cabinet. Obama is still in charge for more than a month, which gives China the chance to limit its reaction for the moment to only sharp warnings. Be that as it may, Trumps comments are reason enough to wonder about the prospect of a US-China war.

Read: From Pakistan to Taiwan, Trumps phone calls upsetting diplomacy: NYT

Few expect great powers to go to war in a globalised world. The dominant liberal view is that economic interdependence has made war obsolete and the US and China have too much to lose to risk such a confrontation. Not necessarily so, says Christopher Coker, a professor at the London School of Economics, in his 2015 book The Improbable War: China, the United States and the Logic of Great Power Conflict. Looking back at the history of great power confrontations and periods of confrontation, Coker writes that the possibility of a conflict between China and the US is a possibility inherent in the present although it is not yet an inescapable fact.

The book points to parallels between the situation recently and the period before the First World War in 1914, a time marked by commercial interdependence and an expectation that war between civilized nations will be considered as antiquated as the duel, as one historian put it in 1911. Historians say that the great powers did not so much sleepwalk into war as blunder into it, in part because they thought such a conflict was so improbable and indeed that leaders eventually took too many risks because they genuinely believed that great power conflict was unlikely.

We too do not envisage a conflict now but the risks are real. US-China tensions have risen in recent years owing to several developments including Beijings territorial claims in the South China Sea that have unnerved its neighbours. The US has interpreted this as a challenge to its dominance which it has sought to counter through forging strategic partnerships in Asia. There has till now been a tenuous stalemate, with Obama signalling a pivot to Asia without necessarily confronting China directly while Beijing has occasionally challenged the US while avoiding escalation. As the Obama

presidency was winding down, the focus away from US-China tensions to Chinas One Belt One Road initiative that plans to develop road, rail and sea links to Central Asia, West Asia and Europe as part of an effort to outflank US containment efforts on the high seas. The question about whether China would challenge US dominance or whether Washington would test the emerging powers strength and resolve was somewhat suspended as Obamas presidency was drawing to a close. Writing in 2015 Coker viewed Beijing as the problem but at least the situation was under control.

It turns out now that a US administration under Trump poses an immediate threat to stability. Material factors have produced a tense balance of power in Asia but Trumps impetuosity makes it worse by introducing an element of irrationality, thereby heightening the risk of misperception and miscalculation. Trump may be giving China the chance it may have been seeking to test itself in the rough and tumble of world politics.

Cokers arguments about emotions and war are worth noting in particular. He argues that nations, like individuals, can be swayed by passions and have a history of acting against their best interests. Rational calculations of self-interest do not always prevail. Societies are also driven by beliefs and narratives about the way the world works, or ought to work. Resentments rankle and morph into policy. For the Germans in 1914 war served the need for greater respect. Honour, reputation and status matter a great deal in international relations. Coker cites the work of political scientist Richard Ned Lebow who has written that of the 94 wars (between 1648 to 2008) he investigated only 19 were motivated by the search for security, sixty-two were attributed to standing as a motive. China has a well-developed myth about being humiliated by the West and being denied due status. The US has rapidly moved from being a city on a hill to being a disgruntled nation, unsettled enough by the effects of globalisation to generate an unsavoury figure like Trump. Both societies are poised to allow wrongheaded nationalism get the better of them.

A US-China conflict is not necessarily a given, yet. There are, of course, hawks and moderates on both sides. Both the economies have weaknesses; the US desperately needs to rebuild infrastructure and China has many internal challenges and is focused on becoming a moderately prosperous society by 2021. As Coker spells out in detail in his brilliant book, warfighting strategies do not assure desired outcomes and run the risk of escalation. The US has the technological edge and the global reach but China is seeking to compensate through a focus on developing space-related weapons and cyberwarfare. And it is in the domain of cyberwarfare that analysts expect China to exert pressure and secure bargaining advantage, discreetly. But even there risks of escalation exist.

In a point pertinent for the present, Coker writes that strategic thinking is merely a grand term we give to social intelligencethe capacity to devise a set of options that take into account the opponents view of the world. The American establishment is coming to terms with a president-elect who sorely lacks that and is putting his country and the world at risk.

How China reacts remains to be seen. There will be those who will hope that Beijing looks to ancient wisdom at this time. Coker mentions that in Chinese thought the logic of strategy demands that the propensity inherent in events is exploited. Since the time of Sun Tzu Chinese strategic thought has emphasised the need to adapt to the movements of the enemy rather than to confront an enemy in a direct battle. Sun Tzus advice with regard to seeking a confrontation with the enemy only after the war has been won is very different from the emphasis in Western strategic thought on bringing the enemy to battle early.

For now Beijing is keeping its cool, warning Trump that there will be nothing to discuss if the US adherence to the One China policy is compromised. But more US adventurism will be construed as a direct challenge to Xi Jinpings authority. He will not want to be seen as backing down on the issue of Taiwan.

Views expressed by the author are personal. He tweets as @SushilAaron
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was here to campaign for BJP candidates for the upcoming MC polls and appealed to residents to vote for the party for the citys holistic development. The municipal corporation elections are slated for December 18.

On Monday, Khattar campaigned in different parts of the city that included Manimajra in support of ward 26 candidate Vinod Aggarwal, Ram Darbar in support of ward 23 candidate Bharat Kumar, Sector 22 in support of ward 3 candidate Ravi Kant Sharma and Sector 37 in support of ward 8 candidate Arun Sood, who is also the mayor.

At a public gathering in Ram Darbar, Khattar also welcomed several senior Congress leaders and supporters who joined the BJP. The list including senior leaders BN Tewari and Karam Chand Sood, advocate Heera Lal Kundra, Mukesh Dhingra, Hem Chand, Nanak Singh and Gurdeep Singh, among others.

Khattar said, We are all aware of the adage Strike while the iron is hot. Your support in favour of the BJP candidates during the upcoming MC elections will act as a strike to eradicate corruption from the city. A clean sweep will not only push the corrupts out of the city but will also set a foundation for the overall development of the smartest city in the country.
In a jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), its national executive member and Hoshiarpur candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls Yamini Gomar resigned from the primary membership of the party on Tuesday.

The move comes a day after the party expelled national executive member Naveen Jairth and NRI fundraising coordinator Virinder Parihar for anti-party activities. With this, the party is finding itself in a tight spot in Hoshiarpur as all three leaders belong to the district. Gomar, Jairath and Parihar were opposing the candidature of Paramjit Singh Sachdeva from the Hoshiarpur seat on the grounds that his name had surfaced in a multi-crore land acquisition scam.

Terming the party anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh at a press conference, Gomar, one of the founding members and a prominent Dalit face of the party, alleged that volunteers were being forced to work as slaves and it has become a private limited company of AAPs Punjab affairs in-charge Sanjay Singh and head of the partys national organisation-building head Durgesh Pathak.

The party volunteers are not involved in the decision-making process and corrupt leaders from Delhi have captured state leadership, Gomar, who was partys spokesperson, alleged. She said party was giving tickets to corrupt and outsiders.

Also read | Kejriwal stares at boycott in Haryana hometown for taking Punjab side on SYL canal

She said Kejriwal was fooling people by promise that a Dalit would be made the deputy chief minister. The AAP convener refused to appoint Fatehgarh Sahib MP Harinder Singh Khalsa as leader of party parliamentary group because he was a Sikh and Dalit, she alleged.

Gomars name was considered from Sham Chaurasi and Phagwara seat but she could not make it from either. On being asked if she would join the Congress or the Akali Dal, Gomar said she would prefer to run her academy.

Former income tax chief commissioner LR Nayyar, who was also one of the founding members of the party, and AAPs youth wing vice-president Baljit Singh from Gurdaspur also announced resignations from the party.

Resentment was simmering in the party ever since the candidates were announced for the assembly seats but in the hope that senior leadership would lend them an ear, the disgruntled leaders had not resigned. However, all hopes were dashed when partys national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who was in the city of Monday, did not make any efforts to placate them and instead expelled Jairath and Parihar.
After 40 days, Rakesh Kumar, 29, one of two men from Punjab protesting atop a 110-ft tower in Chandigarh, came down on Tuesday evening after he was picked for a job in a list of 600 teachers announced by the state government. The other, Deepak Kumar, 35, said he would come down when he too gets a job as a primary school teacher.

Members of the Elementary Teacher Training and Teacher Eligibility Test Pass Union (or ETT-TET union), Rakesh from Gurdaspur district and Deepak from Fazilka had climbed the tower in the high-security zone of Sector 3, near the Punjab chief ministers residence, on November 3.

Rakesh came down around 7.30pm after lawyer Tanu Bedi, who is assisting the high court in a case related to such protests by aspiring teachers, accompanied area police station house officer (SHO) to convince the duo. A member of the union, too, went with them, said SHO Poonam Dilawari.

Deepak told HT over phone that they had seen the list on WhatsApp as forwarded by their union on Monday. Rakeshs wife had gone to Gurdaspur to fetch the joining letter. She was told that the letter will be given only to Rakesh. Thats why he climbed down.

Another list of 800 is expected to be finalised by tomorrow (Wednesday), said Deepak, If my name figures on that, only then will I come down. I decided to stay back so that the government does not backtrack.

Rakesh, too, said that though he had come down, We have had enough of assurances from the Punjab government, but this time we will not unless we get jobs. We will immolate ourselves if the government doesnt listen.

Rakesh is a graduate besides having done the ETT course. He is married and has a child. Deepak has a postgraduate degree, besides ETT. He is married and has a child; and stays with his parents. This is their fourth such protest this year. In the latest before this, they and two others stayed atop a water tank for five days in Badal village, Muktsar, in October.

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At least 21 civilians including five children were killed Monday in air strikes targeting the Islamic State groups Syrian de facto capital of Raqa, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was not able to determine who carried out the raids, but the city has been targeted regularly by aircraft of the US-led coalition and sometimes by regime warplanes.

The death toll could increase as some people are gravely wounded and others have gone missing, said the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a large network of sources inside Syria for its information.

A US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance last month launched an assault to retake Raqa city from the jihadist group.

In the central province of Hama, meanwhile, at least 53 civilians including 16 children were killed earlier Monday in air strikes targeting areas also under IS control.

Mondays raids come a day after IS recaptured all of the desert city of Palmyra, sparking new concerns about the remaining ancient treasures at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Syrian army backed by air strikes from regime ally Russia had expelled the jihadists from Palmyra in March, after IS first seized the city in May 2015.
Civilians and rebel fighters were to start evacuating from Syrias Aleppo within hours under a deal reached Tuesday that would end years of opposition resistance in the city.

Rebel officials, Russia and Turkey confirmed the agreement which, if implemented, would mark a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad over opposition forces who rose up against him in 2011.

Russias UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said the Syrian military had stopped its operations in Aleppo under the agreement, adding: The fighting around eastern Aleppo is over.

The agreement came amid mounting global outrage over reports of atrocities, including dozens of summary executions, as forces loyal to Assad closed in on the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo.

Officials from several rebel groups told AFP it had been agreed to allow civilians and fighters to leave Aleppo for opposition-held territory to the west of the city.

A member of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attempts to erect the Syrian national flag inside the Umayyad mosque (Reuters)

An agreement has been reached, said Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group, adding that the deal had been sponsored by Russia and Turkey.

The first stage will be the evacuation of civilians and wounded, within hours, and afterwards fighters will leave with their light weapons.

As the UN Security Council met in emergency session to discuss Aleppo, Churkin said: There is indeed an arrangement achieved on the ground that the fighters are going to leave the city.

Read | Get us out of here: Desperate Aleppo citizens fear arrest, death as siege ends

US calls for observers

Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Huseyin Muftuoglu said that under the agreement civilians would first evacuate, followed by a withdrawal of rebel groups.

While we are pleased with todays step taken to secure a ceasefire, at the same time we must always be aware of the fragile situation in front of us and it is wise to be cautious, he told reporters.

US ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council Washington wanted international observers in Aleppo to oversee the evacuation.

She raised concern for people who wish to leave but who, justifiably, fear that if they try they will be shot in the street or carted off to one of Assads gulags.

Children walk together as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo (REUTERS)

An AFP correspondent in west Aleppo said there had been no sounds of fighting or bombardment since around 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said a ceasefire was in place and confirmed there had been no fighting or air strikes in recent hours.

The United Nations and aid agencies had been pleading for an agreement to allow for the evacuation of thousands of civilians trapped in rebel territory.

After weeks of heavy fighting, forces loyal to Assad were in the last hours of a push to take full control of the city, dealing the biggest blow to Syrias rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

Killed on the spot

The United Nations said it had received credible reports of at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, being executed by pro-government forces in Aleppo in recent days.

Speaking in Geneva, UN rights office spokesperson Rupert Colville said pro-government fighters had in some cases entered homes and killed those inside, and in others caught and killed on the spot fleeing civilians.

The UN was filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner of opposition-held eastern Aleppo, he said.

Witnesses in Aleppo described scenes of carnage in rebel areas, with bodies lying amid the rubble of city streets, as desperate residents sat on pavements with nowhere to shelter.

Syrias army has taken more than 90% of the territory once held by rebels in east Aleppo, after launching an all-out offensive last month to seize control of the entire city.

Aleppo, a cultural and economic hub in northern Syria second only to Damascus in importance, had been split between a rebel-controlled east and government-held west since 2012.

Recapturing all of Aleppo would leave Assads regime in control of all five of Syrias main cities.

As of early Tuesday, rebels were reported to be confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods, including Mashhad and part of Sukkari.

Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards the government-held side on Tuesday during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city. (AFP)

Last chance to save lives

It was unclear how many civilians remained in rebel territory, after an estimated 130,000 fled to other parts of Aleppo during the government advance.

Jan Egeland, head of the UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, told AFP that thousands of civilians were in need of evacuation and safe passage, including hundreds of wounded.

We need a pause in the fighting but we also need to get the people inside to help organise an evacuation, he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said there was only a last chance to save lives in Aleppo.

As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run, it said.

The government assault has been backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes, with at least 463 civilians, including 62 children, killed in east Aleppo since mid-November, according to the Observatory.

Another 130 people including 40 children have been killed in western districts by rebel rocket fire, the monitoring group says.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees.
France has called for an immediate UN Security Council resolution to discuss alleged atrocities being carried out in eastern Aleppo, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Tuesday.

In the face of allegations of exactions in Aleppo, France calls for a UN Security Council meeting, Ayrault said on his Twitter account.

He earlier told LCI television that the meeting, which should take place as soon as possible, should discuss the possible war crimes and crimes against humanity that were being carried out and that a UN investigation should begin immediately to determine the culprits.
As the four-month siege of eastern Aleppo neared its end, some survivors trudged in the rain past dead bodies to the government-held west or the few districts still in rebel hands.

Others stayed in their homes and awaited the Syrian armys arrival.

For all of them, fear of arrest, conscription or summary execution had added to the daily terror of bombardment.

People are saying the troops have lists of families of fighters and are asking them if they had sons with the terrorists. (They are) then either left or shot and left to die, said Abu Malek al-Shamali in Seif al-Dawla, one of the last rebel-held neighbourhoods.

The United Nations said it had reports that Syrian government troops and their Iraqi militia allies had killed civilians in eastern Aleppo, including 82 people in four different neighbourhoods in the last few days.

Speaking from a small area still under rebel control, father of five Abu Ibrahim, said he knew of two families executed by the advancing militias that have formed the vanguard of the assault on Syrias second city.

The United Nations also said it was concerned about reports that hundreds of young men leaving rebel-held territory had been detained.

President Bashar al-Assads opponents have accused the government of mass arrests and forced conscription. The government has denied this and accused rebels of compelling men to fight in their ranks.

On Sunday foreign journalists were invited to a ceremony where Syrias army enlisted 220 men, including former rebels and others from areas captured by the government.

You have been recalled to obligatory service, Brigadier Habib Safia told the men in the military police headquarters in a government-held Aleppo district.

One of the men, Mohammed Hilal, in his 20s, said he and some comrades had escaped from the east along with more than 60 families and that he was ready to join the army.

Read | Nearly 6 yrs of civil war in Aleppo to end as rebels, govt forces strike truce

Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards the government-held side on Tuesday during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city. (AFP)

Wiped off the world

Those still trapped in eastern Aleppo have been using social media to distribute messages they feared would be their last.

This is a message from someone saying farewell and who could face death or arrest at any time, a medic working in Aleppo wrote via WhatsApp.

Trapped from all sides, death comes from the sky in barrels ... Remember what you had in Aleppo, that there was a city called Aleppo wiped off the map and from history by the world.

Abu Yousef, in his thirties, said he and his family fled bombardments, tanks and executions in his home neighbourhood of Bustan al-Qasr.

Thanks to god, we are still alive ... the regime is constantly bombing us. My two children are injured, I am injured. The regime wants to kill us all. We are very afraid, he said.

You tell me may God protect you. I dont want God to protect us, we want a solution! We want a cessation of hostilities. We want someone to get us out of here. Its enough. People are dying, he said.

The UN has called for international oversight for civilians and rebel fighters as the government takes over.

The only way to alleviate the deep foreboding and suspicion that massive crimes may be under way both within Aleppo, and in relation to some of those who fled or were captured, whether fighters or civilians, is for there to be monitoring by external bodies, such as the UN, UN human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said.

Childrens charity War Child said: What we are witnessing in Aleppo is a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions, bearing comparison to infamous disasters of the past - such as Srebrenica and Guernica.

Read | Mass killing reported in Aleppo as Syria troops near victory

People carry their belongings as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo. The Arabic words read, "No to monopolising commodities and raising prices under the siege". (Reuters)

Its hell

East Aleppos civil defence rescue organisation, which pulled many hundreds of dead and injured from rubble over years of the war, told Reuters rescue services had stopped.

Our machinery and equipment is all broken. We have nothing left ... We are working with our hands just to get people from under the rubble, said Ibrahim Abu Laith, an official from the civil defence group also known as the White Helmets.

The civil defence wrote on its Twitter account on Tuesday it could no longer keep track of the numbers of dead.

There is no total number of casualties in besieged Aleppo today, all streets and destroyed buildings are full with dead bodies. Its hell.

With hospitals bombed out of service, aid stocks exhausted and a brutal bombing campaign in recent weeks, people in east Aleppo are desperate.

People, even those wanted (by the regime) have started to flee to the regime from the intensity of the shelling, hunger, cold and amount of injuries which are not treated, in addition to the corpses in the streets ... Planes and artillery are hitting strongly places where civilians are gathering, the medic said in his message.

UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al Hussein warned that what we are seeing now in Aleppo could happen to populations of other towns outside government control such as Douma, Raqqa and Idlib.

The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destruction - and we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict, Zeid said.
Months after India dragged the US to WTO over imposing increased fees on H-1B and L-1 visas, a Congressional report has warned American lawmakers that if the dispute moves to formal settlement phase it could possibly result in a WTO-authorised trade retaliation against the US.

If the dispute moves to the formal dispute settlement panel phase, one potential outcome could be a WTO determination that the disputed statutes are inconsistent with GATS obligations and a recommendation that the US should modify its laws to comply with the GATS, said the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.

CRS, an independent research wing of the US Congress, warned lawmakers that in such a scenario compliance procedures could subject the US to WTO-authorised trade retaliation if Congress does not amend the pertinent laws.

The brief two-page report and analysis on India challenging H-1B and L1 visa fee increase before the WTP was provided to American lawmakers on November 16.

In March this year, India dragged the US to WTOs dispute settlement body against the latters measures imposing increased fees on certain applicants for L-1 and H-1B visa categories. India has stated that the move would impact Indian IT professionals.

The CRS said the dispute concerns US immigration laws which increased fees for certain temporary foreign workers and allotted a specific number of temporary worker visas to Chilean and Singaporean nationals.

India has alleged that the US is violating its obligations under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), a binding agreement for all WTO member countries, as well as the GATS Annex on Movement of Natural Persons Supplying Services, to not discriminate against or between non-US service providers.

Based on CRS records, this appears to be the first time a WTO member has formally filed a dispute challenging the immigration laws of another member as a violation of the GATS, the CRS said.

With the help of eminent subject experts, CRS periodically prepares reports and analyzes on issues of interest to the lawmakers so that they can take informed decisions. CRS reports are not the official view or report of the US Congress.

In its analysis, CRS said, for several years certain US observers cautioned that fee increases for temporary foreign worker petitions and other immigration changes might be disputed as GATS violations.

Others suggested that this challenge is an attempt to offset Indias loss to the US in another recent WTO dispute over Indias laws regulating solar energy, it said.

CRS said India contends, among other things, that the 2010 and 2015 fee increases do not comply with most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment under the GATS, which generally prohibits a WTO member from treating the services and service suppliers of one WTO member less favorably than it treats comparable services and suppliers of another.

While the fee hike does not specifically mention Indian companies, such a provision has been tailored in such a manner that it impacts only Indian IT companies, many experts alleged, the report said.

This alleged effect might be relevant to Indias claim because the WTO has recognised that a GATS MFN violation may result when a facially neutral measure has a comparatively disproportionate negative impact on service suppliers of one WTO Member, the CRS said.
A new Islamic State attack on Palmyra in Syria from the besieged Mosul region of Iraq could be orchestrated to divert the attention of Syrian government forces from Aleppo and spare the militants entrenched in the city, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

The fact that the Islamic State militants launched their offensive on Palmyra from Iraq and apparently from Mosul and marched through the territories patrolled by the aircraft of the US-led coalition makes one think that -- and I really hope to be wrong here -- that it was orchestrated and coordinated to give a respite to those thugs, who are entrenched in eastern Aleppo, the Foreign Minister was cited by RT news as saying.

Read | Islamic State militants re-enter Palmyra in Syria

Lavrov went on to say that the US has been conducting a two-faced policy towards terrorist groups in Syria from the very beginning of the Syrian crisis. The US-led coalition is fighting the Islamic State but was studiously avoiding targeting another terrorist group, which is Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, he said.

There is a significant number of reasons to believe that (Al-Nusra) was being spared as the most effective combat-capable force, which opposes the governmental (forces) of the ground in order to be used for overthrowing the legitimate Syrian government when the time comes, Lavrov told journalists.

At the same time, he said Russia is still ready to guarantee that the corridors allowing the militants to leave Aleppo will not be targeted by the Syrian government forces and once again asked the US to persuade the armed groups to leave the city.

Those who want to be the part of the reconciliation process should immediately join the ceasefire regime, as all the others would be regarded as legitimate targets, the Minister said, referring to the armed groups fighting the government forces in Syria.

He also expressed hope that the US will stop exonerate the militants and will confirm its commitment to the fundamental agreement on uncompromising struggle against terrorism. At the same time, he admitted that the talks between Russia and the US on Syria were difficult.

Read more | A look at Palmyra, the historic Syrian city retaken by Islamic State
The first and second stones did not kill her. But the woman accused of adultery by Islamic State group extremists would not survive the third.

The womans killing in a public square was, for those who witnessed it, the cruelest moment in the descent of this once proud city into fear, hunger and isolation under the two-and-a-half years of rule by the militants.

Iraqs second-largest city Mosul was once arguably the most multicultural place in Iraq, with a Sunni Muslim Arab majority but also thriving communities of Kurds, Shia, Christians and Yazidis. Together, they had created Mosuls distinct identity, with its own cuisine, intellectual life and economy.

But the Islamic State group turned Mosul into a place of literal and spiritual darkness. It began with promises of order and a religious utopia that appealed to some, but over time, the militants turned crueler, the economy crumbled under the weight of war and shortages set in. Those who resisted watched neighbours who joined the extremists turn prosperous and vindictive. Parents feared for the brainwashing of their children. By the end, as Iraqi troops besieged Mosul, the militants hanged suspected spies from lampposts.

The Associated Press interviewed more than two dozen residents who have left Mosul since Iraqi troops began retaking outlying districts last month. They gave a glimpse into life in a place that has been virtually sealed off from the outside under the rule of the Islamic State group.

For many among Mosuls Sunni Arabs, IS rule started as a respite from what they considered the heavy hand of Iraqs Shia-led central government in Baghdad.

Civilians fleeing fighting between Islamic State group militants and Iraqi forces cross the frontline from the Samah neighborhood of Mosul in this Nov. 6, 2016 photo taken in Gogjali, Iraq. (AP)

Iraqi soldiers melted away, and in those first few weeks, people were happy to see hated security checkpoints pulled down and traffic moving smoothly.

But within a month, the homes of Mosuls Christians and other minorities were tagged with official stickers  for statistical purposes, IS officials said, according to Mosul Eye. Christians and Shia soon fled.

If you turned in a Kurdish family, they gave you a car, said Hassan Ali Mustapha, a retired prison guard. He said he moved to a home deserted by a Kurdish family, after the family asked him through a mutual friend to keep the extremists from taking it over.

The group imposed the severe vision of Islamic law that they had introduced across their zone of control. Dress was strictly regulated, and clothes manufacturers were told the acceptable measurements by Islamic State offices. Women were required to hide their faces and don black down to their fingertips. The fine for violations  even as small as the wrong kind of stocking  was 25,000 dinars, around 20 dollars. Repeat offenders got lashes.

Volunteer medics assist an Iraqi civilian injured while fleeing his Islamic State group-controlled neighbourhood of Mosul in this Nov. 5, 2016 photo (AP)

There was another, widely feared and loathed punishment as well: Female enforcers used a metal-toothed device to deliver vicious, infection-prone bites on women they deemed as dressing improperly, according to two women.

The groups propaganda insisted all was fine. John Cantlie, a British journalist held hostage by the Islamic State group for four years, has made periodic appearances in videos filmed in Mosul, showing a market, an efficient IS motorcycle police force and a city continuing to function.

Away from the cameras, however, the economy fell apart. The government in Baghdad cut off the salaries it had been paying civil servants, and airstrikes cut into Islamic States oil revenue and cash reserves. Infrastructure and services initially provided by IS broke down. Electricity cuts forced people to rely on oil lamps. Communications cut off, although people still managed to make periodic, hushed calls to Alghan FM, a radio station founded by an exiled Mosul resident that has become a sounding board to those trapped in the city.

Four months ago, satellite television went down. Six months ago, it was the internet, said the stations founder, who asked to identified only by his first name, Mohammed, for his safety. ISIL wanted people to be isolated completely.

To further instill fearful obedience, IS forced people to watch as they hacked off hands and lashed, beheaded or stoned offenders. The fighters routinely herded people into squares and markets to watch, residents said.

The womans killing in Mosuls Samah district shook to the core those in the crowd forced to watch as their neighbour was dragged before them. It was in August, after the militants had lost strongholds in other parts of Iraq and Syria, prompting them to heighten their repression.

Several witnesses described to The Associated Press how the woman and her alleged lover were paraded blindfolded through the streets. The militants summoned everyone they could find to watch.

Still not dead, Samira Hamid recalled the militant pronouncing after he checked the womans pulse, before the lethal blow to her head. The man accused of being her lover was flogged 150 times and forced to go to Syria to fight in IS ranks.

Another witness, Sarmad Raad, found recalling the killing nearly unbearable.

I shut down, the 26-year-old said, I just lost my mind.

With the militants digging in as they lost territory elsewhere, Mosuls residents saw food supplies dwindle until onions and bread were all that was left. Prices began to spiral. With food and work in short supply, people started selling anything of value.

Khodr Ahmed and his wife Khodriya Ahmed stand with their children after escaping fighting in Mosul in this Nov. 12, 2016 photo taken in Gogjali, Iraq. (AP)

Khodr Ahmed sold his car for $400 dollars. But as that money ran out, he sent his young boys Bashir and Mushal out to hunt for scrap metal.

As they scrounged, 9-year-old Bashir picked up what turned out to be an abandoned IS explosive. It blew off his hand and gouged a hole in his 10-year-old brothers shin.

Ahmed blamed poverty and hunger caused by IS for the injuries.

For them, they were living the good life. They had food to eat, but because we did not join, there was nothing for us.
Authorities say a Lufthansa flight has been diverted to New Yorks John F Kennedy International Airport due to a bomb threat.

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman says Lufthansa Flight 441 was heading from Houston, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany, Monday night when a threat was called in to the airlines corporate headquarters in Cologne, Germany.

Coleman says the pilot was notified and chose to divert to JFK as a precaution. The plane was taken to a remote area of the airport where 530 passengers and crew were evacuated.

Officials searched the plane. Coleman says nothing suspicious was found.

The flight has been rescheduled.

The incident did not impact flight operations at JFK.
Pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians on the spot as they closed in on the last rebel enclave in Syrias Aleppo Tuesday, the UN human rights office said, while world leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforce fears of atrocities in eastern Aleppo in the final hours of the battle for the city, which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012.

Several residents and opposition activists have told The Associated Press that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in the streets in neighbourhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military flatly denied the claims, saying such allegations were a desperate attempt to try gain international sympathy.

None of the residents reached by AP witnessed the alleged killings. Their statements reflected the deepening chaos in the remaining rebel-held areas. Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held parts of the city, said people who were killed or wounded are being left in the streets.

Aref al-Aref, a nurse and activist in eastern Aleppo, said civilians had taken cover in a medical center in one of the last rebel holdouts after its staff evacuated two days earlier. He said the army killed them, but pressed for details, he said he only heard it from others.

Monther Etaky, a resident of eastern Aleppo, said he also heard reports of summary killings and knows the name of three families who have reportedly been killed.

My name is Bana, I'm 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die. - Bana  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 13, 2016

The last news about mass executions of the people who are arrested by the Assad regime and reports of hundreds of men disappeared, missing and thousands taken to fight with the Assad army, all that will push people to stay here, Etaky said.

The UNs children agency said in a statement on Tuesday that there could be more than 100 unaccompanied children trapped in building under fire in eastern Aleppo, citing a report from an unnamed doctor in the city. UNICEF regional director Geert Cappalaere said UNICEF is concerned over the unverified reports of extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children.

The UNs human rights office said it has received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians in four neighbourhoods of the rapidly-shrinking rebel enclave, including 11 women and 13 children.

Spokesman Rupert Colville said the reports recount pro-government forces entering homes and killing some civilians on the spot in the former rebel enclave. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, he said the reports came in late the previous evening and that he doesnt know exactly when the killings took place.

Read | Syrian army seizes key Aleppo district from rebels

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement late Monday that he is alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in the past hours in Aleppo. While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the UN chief said he conveyed his grave concern to the relevant parties.

A press release by the UN human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources reported that tens of civilians were shot dead on Monday in al-Ahrar Square in Kallaseh neighborhood, and also in Bustan al-Qasr, by government forces and their allies, including an Iraqi Shiite militia known as al-Nujabaa.

The dramatic appeals for sparing civilian lives came a day after the Syrian military announced it now holds 99 percent of the former rebel neighbourhoods of Aleppo, signalling an impending end to the rebels four-year hold over parts of the city.

Retaking Aleppo would be Assads biggest victory yet in the civil war. Aleppo has long been regarded as a major gateway between Turkey and Syria.

But a government win in Aleppo does not end the conflict  significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad familys four-decade rule.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hundreds of bodies are still under the rubble.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged all fighting in Aleppo to spare civilian lives. It said that thousands of people in eastern Aleppo with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run.

In order for this to happen, we appeal to the parties to put humanity ahead of military objectives, said ICRCs head of delegation in Syria, Marianne Gasser, who is currently in Aleppo.

Russia, which has been a key ally of Assad, said the rebels are holding out in a neighborhood roughly the size of 3 square kilometers (1.16 square miles).

Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus called for an immediate cease-fire and, if that is too late, for an international aid convoy.

French President Francois Hollande pressed for Russia to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in rebel-held parts of the city, saying the Aleppo humanitarian situation ... is unacceptable.

The French leader said 120,000 people were being held hostage, there is no other word for it  who are victims of bombing, who are victims of repression in Aleppo and that everything must be done to allow the populations evacuation.

Read | Thousands flee Syrias Aleppo as Assad nears victory

Without the Russians, there is no Syrian regime that can carry out operations on the scale of what is happening in Aleppo, Hollande added, saying that the Russians will be responsible for a situation that they helped create if they do nothing to allow access for humanitarian aid.

Russia said it was fed up with calls for a halt to the fighting, singling out the Obama administration, which has spent months trying to negotiate a cease-fire.

We are tired of hearing this whining from our American colleagues in the current administration that we need to immediately halt military action, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists during a visit to Serbia.

Read more | Syria president Bashar Al Assad says victory in Aleppo wont end the war
The leaders of France and Germany, speaking two days before an EU summit which will discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine, said they want to extend sanctions against Russia due to a lack of progress in implementing a ceasefire deal.

The conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since it erupted in 2014. Germany and France have tried to convince both sides to implement a peace deal agreed in Minsk last year but with little success so far.

EU leaders will on Thursday discuss extending sanctions, which include restricting access to international financing and curbs on defence and energy cooperation with Russia.

Merkel, speaking with Hollande who was visiting a Franco-German conference on the digital economy in Berlin, said implementation of the ceasefire deal was very sluggish.

It will be necessary to extend the sanctions against Russia again - although we would have wished for better progress in the implementation of this process, she said.

Hollande agreed. We must continue to apply the terms of the Minsk agreement and when they are not carried out, we must continue with sanctions, he said.

The sanctions were extended several times and are due to expire at the end of January.

Kiev and the West accuse Russia of stoking the separatist movement and aiding the rebels. The Kremlin denies these charges and accuses Ukraine of perpetuating the violence and violating the Minsk deal.

At the end of last month, four-way talks on ending the separatist conflict ended without a breakthrough.
Nepals three major political parties agreed in principle on Tuesday to hold polls in order to implement the new Constitution, with the first step being the holding of elections to local bodies.

But the Madhes-based parties, which are opposing the Constitution, have not made their position clear at a time when the government has registered a bill in Parliament to amend the statute to address the demands of the people of the southern plains bordering India.

The fate of the amendment bill is in limbo due to the obstruction of Parliament by the main opposition CPN-UML party.

The Madhes-based parties been said elections to local bodies should be held only after the bodies are restructured on the basis of population.

The Madhes region accounts for just 17% of Nepals total area but it has more than 50% of the population but because of its fertile soil and plains.

If the local bodies are restructured on the basis of population, Madhes will have a larger pie in local bodies and the upper house, which is constituted by local representatives.

A meeting of top leaders called by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda on Tuesday decided to go in for elections to local bodies but remained silent on the status of the proposal to amend the Constitution.

Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma Oli, the main opposition leader, attended the meeting and agreed to the hold of polls at an early date to implement the Constitution.

According to a constitutional mandate, Nepal should hold elections to local bodies, provincial assemblies and parliament by February 2018.

I had a very positive meeting today with top leaders of two major political parties, where we agreed to go for local polls and my government is focusing on it, Prachanda told a function in Kathmandu after the meeting.

The focus of my government is to make the Constitution more acceptable to all, ranging from the mountains and hills to the plain, he said. My focus is also to strengthening national unity by bringing all on board.

Deuba said the three big political parties had agreed to hold elections to local bodies according to the existing structure. Addressing a party event, he said, Parties are bound to hold the local body elections in the old structures as part of the implementation of the Constitution. As the country has adopted federalism, there is no option but to hold elections at all three levels by February 2018.
Asserting that the UN must focus more on delivery and less on process, newly-sworn in UN chief Antonio Guterres has pledged to engage personally in helping resolve long-standing disputes and reforming the 71- year-old world body to meet the current global challenges.

Guterres, Portugals Prime Minister from 1995 to 2002 and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015, became the ninth UN Secretary-General after he was administered the oath of office by General Assembly President Peter Thomson here yesterday in a special session of the 193-member world body.

Guterres succeeds Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of this month after leading the global organisation for the past 10 years. He was elected to the top job in October and takes over from Ban on January 1.

Giving a clarion call that the UN must be ready to change, Guterres pledged to reposition development at the centre of the organisations work and ensure that the UN can change to effectively meet the myriad challenges facing the international community.

The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy...The scale of the challenges we face requires us to work together on a deep and continued process of UN reform, Guterres said after taking the oath of office.

He said globalisation and technological progress have also contributed to growing inequalities, countries are battling youth unemployment and globalisation has also broadened the reach of organised crime and trafficking, deepening the divide between people and political establishments.

In some countries, we have seen growing instability, social unrest -- even violence and conflict. A little bit everywhere, voters now tend to reject the status quo, and whatever government proposal is put to a referendum. Many have lost confidence not only in their governments, but in global institutions -- including the United Nations, he said.

Guterres said, in the current global enviorment, fear is driving the decisions of many people around the world.

We must understand their anxieties and meet their needs, without losing sight of our universal values. It is time to reconstruct relations between people and leaders -- national and international; time for leaders to listen and show that they care, about their own people and about the global stability and solidarity on which we all depend. And it is time for the United Nations to do the same: to recognise its shortcomings and to reform the way it works, he said.

This organisation is the cornerstone of multilateralism, and has contributed to decades of relative peace. But, the challenges are now surpassing our ability to respond. The United Nations must be ready to change, he said.

Guterres also vowed to use his good offices to help mediate in long-standing disputes between nations. MORE PTI YAS ASK ASK
Pakistan has set up a special naval force to protect the sea lanes under the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) linking western China with the Arabian Sea.

The creation of the special force was announced on Tuesday at an International Maritime Conference on CPEC held at Gwadar which houses the deep seaport.

The Dawn reported that a senior naval official said that the new force is called Task Force-88 (TF-88) for maritime security of Gwadar port and protection of associated sea lanes against both conventional and non-traditional threats.

The creation of the special maritime force has been necessitated by the operationalisation of CPEC which is expected to lead to a surge in maritime activity at Gwadar -- the nodal point for CPEC -- and the sea lanes. This has in turn increased the maritime threats there.

TF-88 is to comprise ships, fast attack craft, aircraft, drones and surveillance assets.

Additionally, marines would be deployed at sea and around Gwadar for security operations, said a senior navy official.

Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, naval chief Admiral Zakaullah and Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman attended the conference.
Thailands new King Maha Vajiralongkorn will pardon or commute the sentences of up to 150,000 prison inmates, including some jailed under one of the worlds toughest laws against royal insult, officials said on Tuesday.

King Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne on December 1 after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, on October 13.

This is the first opportunity since his majestys ascension to show his mercy, the Royal Gazette said in a statement, announcing that 150,000 inmates could be eligible for release or to have sentences cut, under the pardon.

Officials do not have a figure for the number of inmates who will benefit from the pardon, with decisions to be made by different prisons depending on factors including the inmates age, how much of the sentence has been served and behaviour.

Prisoners jailed for insulting the monarchy and drug offences will be eligible, said Kobkiat Kasivivat, director general of the department of corrections.

Prisoners convicted of 112 and prisoners convicted of drug offences will be included for consideration for release or commuting of sentence, Kobkiat said, referring to the royal insult law by its article number in the criminal code.

The government has not released a figure for the number of people who are in jail for royal insult but there have been more than 80 prosecutions under the law since mid-2014, according to figures from the legal monitoring group iLaw.

The inmates will be looked at on a case by case basis at each individual corrections facility, Chanchao Chaiyanukit, the permanent secretary at the ministry of justice, said.

Those convicted of murder and rape will not be eligible for release or to have sentences cut, officials said.

Thailands prison population has soared in recent years, largely because of tough drug laws.

Corrections department figures for July showed a prison population of 321,347 in Thailand, with about 70% jailed for drugs offences.
A coalition air strike in Syria killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men who helped facilitate last years attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.

They were killed in a December 4 air strike in Raqa, an IS stronghold in Syria.

Cook said two of those killed -- Salah-Eddine Gourmat and Sammy Djedou -- were involved in facilitating the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died.

Both of those men were close associates of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, an IS spokesman and an external operations leader who was killed in a coalition air strike in August.

The third person killed was Walid Hamman, who Cook said was a suicide-attack planner who was convicted in absentia in Belgium for a terror plot disrupted in 2015.

All three were part of a network led by Boubaker Al-Hakim, a Tunisian killed in an air strike last month.

Last years devastating attacks in Paris saw suicide bombers and gunmen launch a coordinated assault across the French capital, including at the Bataclan, a concert hall where 90 people were killed by three attackers during a rock gig in the culmination of the carnage.

IS claimed the attacks.

In March 2014, a French court sentenced an absent Gourmat, then 24, to four years in prison for charges including trying to conduct jihad in Syria.

He had been arrested with two other men in May 2012 at an airport near Saint-Etienne in central France carrying a revolver, night-vision goggles, camouflage clothing and tactical vests.

They had been trying to fly to Gaziantep in southeast Turkey.

Gourmat and another of the men arrested claimed they were going on a humanitarian trip.

Gourmat had not been kept in custody ahead of his trial and fled France.

The US-led coalition has since 2014 been striking IS targets in Iraq and Syria, pushing the extremist group out of vast areas and forcing it try to cling to two remaining power centers, Mosul in Iraq and Raqa in Syria.

Read more | Big blunders behind botched US-led air strike in Syria in September - enquiry
It was in 2001 that India got a taste of the unparalleled clout of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who was on Tuesday chosen by US president-elect Donald Trump as his nominee for secretary of state.

At the time, ONGC was to join the Sakhalin I consortium on Sakhalin Island but was facing inordinate delays from ExxonMobil, which was leading the grouping.

At a meeting at the White House, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked President George W Bush for help. Why dont you just tell them what to do? Singh asked. Nobody tells those guys what to do, Bush replied. Not even the US president, said to be the leader of the free world.

Trumps decision to opt for Tillerson ended a messy search but set up a contentious confirmation over the 64-year-old oil executives close ties to Russia.

Tillerson had led the Russia operations of his company, and shares a cozy relationship with President Vladimir Putin, which might have served him well at another time, but not after recent allegations of Moscow meddling in US elections.

Some Republican senators who sit on the committee that will confirm, or reject, Tillerson have said they have serious concerns with the nomination and announced their intention to take a thorough look at his ties with Russia.

They had been warning from before, but Trump went ahead anyway. His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for secretary of state, Trump said in a statement announcing his pick.

Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful state department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none.

And one of them, with Putin, could make for a messy confirmation.

Tillerson said in a statement that he shares with Trump his vision for restoring the credibility of Americas foreign relations and added, We must focus on strengthening our alliances, pursuing shared national interests and enhancing the strength, security and sovereignty of the United States.

The executive has no experience in diplomacy or foreign policy, but has forged extensive ties around the world with global leaders during the conduct of business operations for his company, which measures its worldwide presence in continents, not countries.

Tillerson is from Texas, born and raised there, and joined ExxonMobil when it was still called Exxon in 1975 as a production engineer. He rose through the ranks rapidly to become production adviser to the company in 1992.

He was promoted as vice president of Exxon Ventures Inc and president of Exxon Neftegas Limited in 1998, making him responsible for the companys holdings in Russia and the Caspian Sea as well as the Sakhalin I consortium operations.

Tillerson will now listen to a president, of course. But will he follow through, given some known differences with Trump on key issues? Tillerson is a believer in climate change, for one.

The risk of climate change is clear and the risk warrants action, ExxonMobil said on its website. Increasing carbon emissions in the atmosphere are having a warming effect.

Trump has called climate change a hoax played by the Chinese.

Tillerson is also a firm believer in free trade, which is currently in Trumps bad books unless it favours the US. He says sanctions are useless, while the president-elect and Republicans have pushed for new ones, especially against Iran.

Trump will have his way if it came to that, but India will be relieved to have a disbeliever in sanctions at the state department, which enforces them. It was forced to go off Iran in the last round of sanctions, disrupting a time-tested supply line for its crude imports.

Rick Perry to head energy department

Trump is also reported to have named Rick Perry to head the energy department, which the former Texas governor had once wanted to abolish.

Running for the Republican president ticket in 2012, Perry had said at a debate he would abolish three departments if elected, but couldnt name all of them.

He mentioned education and commerce, and was stuck for the third. The third one, I cant. Sorry. Oops. Those words destroyed his run  though he did mention energy, but later.

Now he is likely to head the department, which spends most its budget on maintaining the US stockpile of nuclear weapons but also funds research.
Donald Trump signalled that his businesses will carry out no new deals during his presidency in a series of tweets late Monday, adding that his two adult sons would manage his companies.

Writing on Twitter, Trump -- who has been criticized for the conflict of interest that his vast business empire would pose for a US president -- said: Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses (sic) before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the Presidency.

Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the......  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016

Presidency. Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016

Critics argue that it would be an unprecedented ethical conflict for Trump to maintain interest in properties spanning the globe -- investments that rely partly on goodwill from foreign governments and regulators.

Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office, the president-elect tweeted.

Trumps daughter Ivanka was notably absent from the list. Her husband, Jared Kushner, is a close adviser to her father who is expected to play a role in Trumps presidency.

I will hold a press conference in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest, Trump wrote on Twitter.

The 70-year-old tycoon, who has multi-billion-dollar global property and luxury branding interests, had previously scheduled a press conference on his global business dealings for December 15, but on Monday he postponed it until January.

Speaking on CNN, his top advisor Kellyanne Conway attributed the delay to how convoluted and complex many of these business holdings are, adding that Trump still intends to relinquish operational control of his company while serving as president.

Hes just a man whos been incredibly successful and has holdings all across the globe.

US law does not require Trump to give up his business portfolio, although the Constitution states no federal official can receive a gift or emolument from a foreign government.

Some previous presidents have placed their investments in a blind trust, but they were not required to do so and since winning the election in early November, Trump has said his lawyers believe it unnecessary.

Even on home soil, his company has been attacked for marketing the new Trump International Hotel in Washington -- just blocks from the White House -- to foreign diplomats.

Read| US President-elect Donald Trump continues avoiding formal news conferences
Donald Trumps boast on the campaign trail that he could shoot somebody and not lose any voters tops a Yale Law School librarians list of the most notable quotes of 2016.

Sound bites from the presidential campaign dominated the 11th annual Yale Book of Quotations list from Fred Shapiro, an associate director of the library. He chooses quotes that are famous or revealing of the spirit of the times, and not necessarily eloquent or admirable.

The list includes quotes from each of the national party conventions. At the Republicans gathering in Cleveland, it was Trump saying: I alone can fix it.

At the Democrats convention a week later, it was Khizr Khan, the father of an American soldier killed in Iraq, addressing Trump and saying: You have sacrificed nothing and no one.

The yearly list is an update to the Yale Book of Quotations, which was first published in 2006.
US president-elect Donald Trump is set to pick Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state, overriding concerns about the high-profile ExxonMobil chief executives relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports said on Tuesday.

Tillerson, 64, has no formal exposure to diplomacy but he comes highly recommended for his contacts and reach by Bob Gates and Condoleezza Rice, former secretaries to President George W Bush, the reports said.

Trump is likely to formally name Tillerson on Tuesday. He said in a series of tweets he had been partial to Tillerson because of his deal-making around the world and the contacts he forged with world leaders as the head of ExxonMobil.

Tillerson is close to many of them, and his links with Putin could run into trouble with a bipartisan group of senators, including armed services committee chairman John McCain, who are calling for a probe into allegations Russia interfered in the election to help Trump win the presidency.

In this Aug. 30, 2011, file photo, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil's chief executive smile during a signing ceremony in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. (AP)

Others in the running for the job included Republican Mitt Romney; Bob Corker, chairman of the powerful senate foreign relations committee; former CIA director and celebrated general David Petraeus; and retired admiral James Stavridis.

Tillerson had a two-hour meeting with Trump on Saturday, the day after another major contender, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, took himself out of the race.

Tillersons Russian connection has become the highlight of most of the reporting on his candidacy for secretary of state, and some publications ran pictures of him with Putin to further underline that link.

The Trump transition team is vigorously pushing back on allegations that Russia interfered with the elections to ensure his victory, and might have to now explain Tillersons links to Moscow.

Tillerson has been with Exxon for more than 45 years, starting as a production engineer. He became chairperson and CEO in 2006 and beat back an attempt by founder John D Rockefellers family to separate the two offices in 2008.

And if Trump goes with Tillerson despite the backlash over his Russia links, he would be one more CEO and millionaire in the president-elects team, which is already the wealthiest in US history with a combined worth of $35 billion.
The United Nations is calling for immediate access to eastern Aleppo to confirm Russias announcement of the end of military operations and to monitor the evacuation of civilians and the withdrawal of opposition fighters.

The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters Tuesday after an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that armed groups are still estimated to control up to 5 sq. kilometers (1.9 sq. miles) in eastern Aleppo.

He says the UNs main concern is the up to 50,000 civilians still believed to be in eastern Aleppo.

Read | Get us out of here: Desperate Aleppo citizens fear arrest, death as siege ends

He says an estimated 1,500 fighters are still there, about 30% of them from the al-Qaida linked Fatah al-Sham Front, previously known as the Nusra Front. De Mistura says such figures must be taken very cautiously because the UN isnt there.

He says it isnt clear whether the fighters are leaving with their weapons, which was an issue being discussed.

De Mistura said the UN is insisting that civilians who want to go with the fighters to rebel-held Idlib province be allowed to do so. He also expressed concern that Idlib could become the next target of the Syrian military.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syria and its allies Russia and Iran to urgently allow the remaining civilians to escape the area and provide aid to those still in the city.

Ban Ki-moon on Aleppo: "Immediate task is to do all we can to stop carnage [...] Laws of war & universal human rights must be respected." pic.twitter.com/KreHR20TId  United Nations (@UN) December 13, 2016

Syria has refused to allow UN officials in Aleppo to verify the situation but Ban said thousands of civilians were at risk.

Russia declares Aleppo offensive over

The Syrian military has stopped its operations in Aleppo in order to allow opposition fighters to leave and the government to establish full control over the city, Russias UN envoy said Tuesday.

An agreement was reached earlier Tuesday with Syria President Bashar al-Assads government on the evacuation of the fighters along with their families and some of the injured, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters.

In the process of that, the military operations stopped. There is no need for military operations because they are leaving, he said.

Read | Aleppo battle over: Civilians, rebels to evacuate as Syrian army takes control

The bottom line is -- if everything is okay -- that means that the fighting around eastern Aleppo is over, Churkin said following a Security Council meeting on the crisis in Syrias second city.

The Russian ambassador told the council that the fighters are currently going through agreed corridors, going in directions they have chosen themselves voluntarily including towards Idlib, the rebel-controlled province.

According to the latest information that we received in the last hour, military actions in eastern Aleppo are over, so there is no issue of some cessation of hostilities or some special humanitarian operation, he said.

The Syrian government has re-established control over eastern Aleppo.

But several AFP journalists in the government-held quarter of Aleppo that was supposed to be evacuated said there was no sign of movement as of 2000 GMT.

Numerous empty buses that were to be used for the evacuation were still parked near the Salaheddin section of the city.

US wants observers in Aleppo

The council held an emergency meeting at the request of France and Britain following UN reports that Syrian forces had executed dozens of civilians during house-to-house searches.

US Ambassador Samantha Power called for international observers to be sent to Aleppo to oversee the safe evacuation of the people who wish to leave but who, justifiably fear that if they try, they will be shot in the street or carted off to one of Assads gulags.

Churkin rejected reports of atrocities, saying Russian officers had investigated the allegations on the ground.

Not a single fact of ill-treatment, of violations of international humanitarian law against civilians of east Aleppo was discovered, he said.

The United Nations is calling for immediate access to eastern Aleppo to confirm Russias announcement of the end of military operations and to monitor the evacuation of civilians and the withdrawal of opposition fighters.

The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syrias conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the countrys five major cities.

More than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees.

Moscow launched an air war in support of Assads forces last year, while Washington has supported rebel forces battling the regime.

Read more | Thousands flee Syrias Aleppo as Assad nears victory
The United States is terminating some sales of military arms to Saudi Arabia over concerns about the killing of civilians in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, a senior US official said Tuesday, while ramping up support for Saudis border defenses and other intelligence-sharing.

The decision to pull back planned sales of precision-guided munitions stems from a review ordered by the White House in October following the bombing of a funeral hall in Yemen that killed more than 140 people, thrusting longstanding concerns about civilian casualties into the spotlight. The official wasnt authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.

Human rights groups have said the Saudis have targeted houses, hospitals and schools, and have pressured the U.S. to withdraw support for the Saudi coalition, which is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In addition to halting the sales of munitions, the Obama administration is curbing some intelligence-sharing with Saudi Arabia that could be used in ways that would lead to civilian casualties, officials said, though they declined to offer details. The US also is looking to refocus the training it conducts for Saudi Arabias air force to address US concerns about how the Saudis choose their targets.

Other US support for Saudis coalition will continue unimpeded, including refueling of coalition aircraft by the US military. And the US is increasing the amount of information and analysis it shares with Saudi Arabia about threats to the Saudi border, reflecting Saudi concerns about extremists crossing over the border from Yemen to launch attacks inside Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis are leading a coalition of mostly Arab countries fighting on behalf of an internationally recognized government in Yemen, against Houthi rebels that the US says are receiving arms supplies from Iran. The conflict began in March 2015 and has killed roughly 9,000 people, creating a humanitarian crisis and famine conditions in Yemen, the Arab worlds poorest nation.
The White House on Monday insisted that Washingtons one China policy should not be used as a bargaining chip with Beijing after President-elect Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to be bound by its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of China.

Signaling further resistance Trump will face in Washington if he tries to overturn a principle that has underpinned more than four decades of US-China relations, Republican US Senator John McCain said he personally backed the China policy and no one should leap to conclusions that the president-elect would abandon it.

I do not respond to every comment by the president-elect because it may be reversed the next day, McCain told Reuters when asked about Trumps statement in an interview broadcast over the weekend.

Trump set off a diplomatic firestorm when he told Fox News: I dont know why we have to be bound by a one China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade. This followed an earlier protest from China over the Republican president-elects decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2.

The issue is highly sensitive for China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province, and Beijing expressed serious concern about Trumps latest remarks.

It called the one China policy the basis for relations, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned against moves to damage Chinas core interests, saying that in the end, they are lifting a rock only to drop it on their feet.

Some US analysts warn that Trump could provoke a military confrontation if he presses the Taiwan issue too far. Scott Kennedy, director of the Project on Chinese Business & Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington called Taiwan the third rail of US-China relations.

Disruptive effect

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the United States is committed to the one China principle and will not use the Taiwan issue to gain leverage in any dealings with Beijing.

The United States does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip, he told a daily briefing, calling Taiwan a close partner. And bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is our best interest.

Disrupting this policy, he said, could have a disruptive effect on our ability to work with China in those areas where our interests do align. That reflects the high priority that China puts on the policy and on Taiwan.

While saying the one China policy should remain intact, McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and an outspoken critic of Democratic President Barack Obamas foreign policy, said that somebody should hold China responsible for its behavior with regard to Taiwan, Hong Kong, island building in the South China Sea and propping up North Korea.

After Trumps phone conversation with Taiwans president, the Obama administration said senior White House aides had spoken with Chinese officials to insist that Washingtons one China policy remained unchanged.

Chinas official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary on Tuesday it was clear Trump did not understand the policy.

The one-China policy is the cornerstone for any country, including the United States, to engage with China diplomatically, and is simply non-negotiable: no exceptions, Xinhua said.

The State Departments senior diplomat for Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, was due to speak to Chinas ambassador to Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Trump has tempered his strong criticisms of China and call to Taiwans president by announcing plans last week to nominate a long-standing friend of Beijing, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, as the next US ambassador to China.

However, he is also considering John Bolton, a former Bush administration official who has urged a tougher line on Beijing, for the No. 2 job at the US State Department, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Bolton has said the next US president should take bolder steps to halt China military aggressiveness in the South and East China seas and consider a diplomatic ladder of escalation that could lead to restoring full diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.
Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

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The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh
The White House and leading senators lined up against President-elect Donald Trump Monday in calling for a Congressional investigation into US intelligence that Russia interfered to sway last months election.

The row has pitted the incoming Republican president, who has never previously held elective office, against influential senators on both sides of the aisle, the Central Intelligence Agency and now the outgoing Democratic White House.

US media has reported for days on secret CIA findings that Moscow sought to bolster Trumps election bid, against Democratic former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, by releasing hacked Democratic Party documents.

We have long supported the principle of congressional review of this matter, said a White House spokesman.

Trump has called the findings ridiculous, dismissing them as an effort by Democrats to refight an election that they lost against opinion poll odds.

We have long supported the principle of congressional review of this matter, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, saying one was certainly warranted.

You didnt need a security clearance to figure out who benefited from malicious Russian cyber activity, Earnest added.

But a defiant Trump on Monday again rejected the CIA conclusions.

Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory! the president-elect tweeted before another day of cabinet-building talks.

Unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasnt this brought up before election?

The Kremlin dismissed the reported CIA assessment as absolutely unfounded, unprofessional, amateur accusations that have nothing to do with reality.

Not our friends

A Trump transition spokesman told reporters it was an attempt to try to delegitimize president-elect Trumps win

But Republican and Democratic senators insisted there were serious indications Russia had sought to undermine the US democratic system, and called for a bipartisan probe.

Republican Senator John McCain told CBS television that there was no doubt about the hacking.

Its another form of warfare and the entire issue is going to be examined by the Armed Services Committee because its a threat to our national security, he said.

Mitch McConnell, the powerful Senate majority leader whose wife Elaine Chao is Trumps transportation secretary nominee, said the issue should be handled by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Russians are not our friends, he said.

The incoming president has called for closer ties to Moscow, perhaps at their worst since the end of the Cold War, in contrast to received wisdom in Washington that Russia remains a global security threat.

US intelligence previously linked Russia to damaging email leaks from the Clinton campaign but saw it as a broad bid to undermine confidence in the US political process.

On Friday, however, the Washington Post reported that the CIA has since concluded that the aim of the cyber intrusions was to help Trump win.

The report came on the heels of President Barack Obamas order to review all cyberattacks that took place during the 2016 election cycle amid growing calls from Congress for more information on the extent of Russian interference.

Trump-CIA rough start

Trumps rejection of the CIA conclusions signals a likely rough start to relations between the White House and the spy agency when the president-elect takes office on January 20.

He believes that the CIA is a political institution and hes going to have to learn that its not. It is apolitical, former deputy CIA director Michael Morell told the CBS This Morning show.

Trump has also come under fire for reportedly agreeing to one intelligence briefing a week, instead leaving vice president-elect Mike Pence to get the more customary daily briefing.

Cybersecurity experts rebuffed Trumps assertion that the source of the hacks was not clear.

Dmitri Alperovitch, whose Crowdstrike firm detected the Russian intrusion at the Democratic National Committee in May, said in a tweet that his company was able to watch everything they (the intruders) did for weeks.

They were caught in the act, added Matt Tait, another expert.

The scandal raised new questions about whether Trumps apparent favored choice for US secretary of state, ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, will be able to pass Senate confirmation.

Tillersons extensive dealings on behalf of Exxon with Russian leader Vladimir Putin have raised conflict of interest questions.

Putin bestowed Russias Order of Friendship on Tillerson.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs committee which must approve the nomination, tweeted: Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState.
Apple already has released the iOS 10.2 Beta 5 but Pangu still did not release the jailbreaking tool for the iOS 10. The latest operating system may be considered the most challenging one and this might be the reason why hackers have not cracked it open yet. However, there are alternatives to get around Apple's apparently fortified iOS 10.

According to 9 to 5 Mac, Apple is planning to release iOS Beta 7 soon. If the new update rolls out, then it will surely challenge the hackers like Pangu to create a Jailbreak for iOS 10.

Pangu has no real update since earlier in July this year. According to reports, alternative jailbreak tools that users can use for the iOS 10 are coming from Cydia and TweakBox which were named as the next best hacks aside from Pangu.

In addition, iOS users can also use the older versions of Pangu's jailbreak tools to get around the iOS 10. However, this may involve a lot of direction which may confuse beginners who are not as skilful with hacking their devices so it is recommended to not upgrade yet until Pangu releases its official iOS 10 jailbreak tools.

There also have been some rumors that Pangu is all set to release the iOS 10 jailbreak tool but there have been no signals of that yet. According to our previous report, Pangu was supposed to release the tool only after Apple releases the iOS 10.2 updates. However, this did not happen. Some people are saying that Apple's newest OS is simply too strong to break for the Chinese hacking group.

Apple said that the iOS updates will not allow jailbreaking after Luca Todesco's warning to people on not to install iOS 10.2 to jailbreak iOS 10 easily. Some jailbreakers might stick to iOS 10.1.1 if they plan to jailbreak their device.

Now, waiting for the iOS 10 jailbreak is quite getting a bit longer. Some people have created fake iOS 10 jailbreak tools and sites offering the jailbreaking tools with the aim to get information and money leaving people with nothing after getting what they wanted. You should stay away from the jailbreak scams as there is no active tool present in the market right now.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
When it comes to intelligence updates, US President-elect Donald Trump is a contrasting figure from his latest predecessors. The routine submission of discrete files to the Office of the President of the United States may need some adjustments.

As of late, an average of one presidential intelligence briefing a week is being forwarded to the upcoming American leader. The number is a mile off when compared to the number of reports previous Presidents had been receiving.

The President's Daily Brief (PDB) is a regular document on the US Commander-in-Chief's desk. Although it is not compulsory, having the report provides the President with an edge and an inside look into the highly-classified and closely-secured government data.

Trump's approach to his daily intelligence briefing has somewhat baffled many. The real estate magnate has just decided to receive the files from time to time which means that getting the information daily is being ruled out.

One official on the transition team has shared that the new President is being briefed about national security situations. However, the frequency that the billionaire businessman received the notes has not been disclosed.

Although Trump has requested for more files from the intelligence community, it has not been revealed what type of topics he wanted. Subjects coming into his office have not included Russia or Iran.

On the other hand, Vice President-elect Mike Pence is getting his own briefs six days a week.

According to former CIA briefer David Priess, a tradition calls top US leaders to have close intelligence sit-ins between their elections and their inaugurations.

The writer of a book about PDBs also shares that daily briefings for incoming Presidents have been delayed at some point. Both Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter have theirs later in November while George W. Bush has his in December.

Meanwhile, Richard Nixon has not been in favor of having the PDBs delivered to his office. In fact, a pile of them has been returned to the CIA unopened.

Democrat representative Adam Schiff of the House Intelligence Committee has noted that it is distressing to know that Trump doesn't have time for regular intelligence briefings.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Pirate Bay is notorious for both highly demanded as well as most censored website on the Internet. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) believe that blocking the torrent site and many similar sites is a dangerous form of censorship.

According to Yibada, well-known companies like Nordisk Film, the Swedish Film industry, Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music have legally appealed against The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites and requested to bring them down.

ISPs Telenor and Bredbandsbolaget have warned that piracy sites blockade will not be good for anybody. They have asked the copyright holders to work with them and find better solutions to the piracy problem.

According to the ISPs, the blockade will result in various ISPs to review and monitor content, violating the rights of their customers. Torrent Freak has revealed a statement by the two ISPs regarding the matter.

"It is a dangerous path to go down, which forces Internet providers to monitor and evaluate content on the Internet and block websites with illegal content in order to avoid becoming accomplices," the ISPs wrote in a joint statement.

Bredbandsbolaget and Telenor have asked the media companies and Internet providers to start collaborating and come up with a solution which is both effective and mutually agreeable. But so far, none of the parties have taken any step towards working together.

Meanwhile, it is been rumored that major movie piracy sites like The Pirate Bay may get removed from Google's search engine. Google has been criticized fpr not being stringent enough against piracy for a long time.

Although many requests have been filed to take down movie piracy sites, Google has never confirmed heading any of the requests. However, streaming and piracy sites such as such as 123movies and Fmovies.to can no longer be found in Google's search results currently.

Many are speculating that The Pirate Bay will be next at getting removed from Google's Search Engine as well. Google has not officially confirmed removing any sites from its index.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Upcoming US President Donald Trump continues to downplay the role of the Russians during November's polls. The real estate mogul has ridiculed the CIA about its hacking report that supposedly involved Moscow.

On Twitter, he declares that deploying the spy game between the Russians and the US intelligence circle but with a different election result will always be about conspiracy theory.

If there is one thing that baffles the President-elect, it will definitely about the motives behind the revelation. For Trump, the timing of the CIA assessment release is questionable.

With the way things are shaping right now, the elite intelligence agency is in collision course against the Commander-in-Chief of the United States. Trump has consistently reiterated that determining who masterminded the hacking operation against the Democratic Party's email servers will be difficult.

According to the billionaire businessman, catching the online intruders is the easiest way to solve the problem. Still, he queries why the incident hasn't been brought up prior to the election.

The truth is the FBI has already unraveled the hacking incident back in October. The CIA has blown the story further that the involvement of the Kremlin was meant to back Trump during his presidential bid.

As of late, the camp of Hillary Clinton has supported the Electoral College about its request for an intelligence briefing about the cyber attacks.

Clinton's campaign Chairman John Podesta shares that sensitive concerns related to national security have been mentioned in the bipartisan electors' document.

The development has come on the heels of the forthcoming ratification of the election results.

As the CIA drums up the probability that Russian infiltrators had a hand in Trump's victory, the President-elect has sharply criticized the agency's efforts by pointing out the organization's miscalculations about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq. It can be recalled that the ouster of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had been due to his possession of WMDs which apparently turned out to be untrue.

Although Trump has actually won the polls, it must be noted that he is trailing Clinton by 2.8 million ballots in the popular voting. It is highly likely that such a scenario has triggered the incoming President to defend the legitimacy of his win.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In an unprecedented act of mercy, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn will pardon up to 150,000 inmates, even including many who were imprisoned for insulting the royal family of the Southeast Asian country.

The new king, who took over after the death of his father Bhumibol Adulyadej in October, will release thousands of inmates or see their terms shortened. In fact, each inmate's case will be assessed separately by the officials, according to a report in the Independent.

The royal family believes the show of a soft heart will see the freed individuals becoming good citizens. "This is the first opportunity since his majesty's ascension to show his mercy," a Royal Gazette statement said on Saturday (December 10).

Two years ago, a coup in Thailand saw the maximum number of people being thrown behind the bars for insulting the monarchy, something which is a criminal offense in the country.

The Thai government though has not said about the number of people who are in prison for insulting royals but over 80 people have reportedly been prosecuted since mid-2014 under the law, an International Business Times report said while citing a legal monitoring group as the source. However, those convicted of rape and murder will neither be eligible for pardon nor will have their sentences slashed, added the report.

While Thailand mourned the death of their long-serving king on October 13 who had been the symbol of unity of the country, the coronation of his son was seen as a move to help the country's stability through ways of reconciliation. Thailand has experienced cycles of political protest and coup for a long time now.

Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne on December 1.

Thailand's corrections department showed a prison population of 321,347 in the country and of them, around 70 percent have been jailed for drug addiction.

The BBC also came under investigation in Thailand for allegedly defaming the new king after it faced the wrath for publishing a profile of the latter online.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
UN Ambassador Samantha Power warns against dangers of Armenian Genocide denial

UN Marks International Day for Dignity of Victims of the Crime of Genocide WASHINGTON, D.C. - During the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's remembrance service last week for Holocaust survivor, author, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and human rights activist Elie Wiesel (1928-2016), U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power expressed concern about the denial of the Armenian Genocide. Power, America's second highest ranked diplomat, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who wrote about U.S. response to the Genocide prior to taking office. Referring to Elie Wiesel's book titled Night, Power said: "Indeed, arguably no single work did so much to puncture the silence that had previously enveloped survivors, and bring what happened in the Night out into the light, for all to see. And yet. Injustice was still all around. Genocide denial against the Armenians, the horrors of his lifetime - Pol Pot, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, Syria, in his later years. He lived to see more and more people bear witness to unspeakable atrocities, but he also saw indifference remained too widespread." Mainstream media carried reports earlier this week that President Obama's UN envoy cited the Armenian Genocide at the Wiesel tribute, asking the question "Has the Obama administration quietly recognized the World War I-era killing of Armenians as genocide?" The story was reported by the Associated Press (AP), and was picked up by other news sources including the Washington Post, New York Times, McClatchyDC, ABC News, Yahoo News, and more. "I have great respect for Samantha Power as a scholar and publicist, and was encouraged that she has condemned the denial of the Armenian Genocide," stated former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, who acknowledged the Armenian Genocide while giving a speech at an event in 2005 in California, and was subsequently recalled as a result. Earlier this year, Ambassador Evans's book, "Truth Held Hostage," was published and debuted in Los Angeles. Today marks the United Nations International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, initiated by Armenia in 2015 and based on the anniversary of the adoption of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer and Holocaust survivor who coined the term genocide, repeatedly cited the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust as prototypes for the crime of genocide. Lemkin worked tirelessly toward the adoption of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which the United States ratified in 1988. "We welcome and support the efforts of the international community and of the member states of the United Nations to advance the agenda of prevention of future genocides, including by way of commemorating the victims of this heinous crime and honoring their dignity," stated Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Armenia's Ambassador to the United Nations and one of the main panelists of today's commemoration event at the UN. "December 9 is a reminder of our collective guilt for past inaction. December 9 bears a function of raising awareness and promoting education about the dangers of genocide, about the Convention, its goals and purposes. December 9 is a platform to advance and promote our collective dialogue on the moral and political imperative to consistently elaborate a strong and effective national and international system of prevention...We cannot possibly diverge from our commitment to prevent lest we forget that we are duty bound before the victims and before our collective conscience," he continued. "As the United Nations commemorates the dignity of the victims of the crime of genocide, we stand united in our resolve to prevent future genocides," stated Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "On this day, the Assembly also reiterates Power's warning about the danger of genocide denial, and calls attention to the just published report on the atrocities committed by Azerbaijan during the April 2016 war," Ardouny added. Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
Vienna/Kronberg (D)  Vienna House has signed the lease agreement for a 96-room hotel project in Kronberg im Taunus. Construction of the new design hotel is scheduled to start in 2017; the grand opening is planned for the first quarter of 2019.

Vienna House, Austria's largest hotel group, signed the lease agreement with development firm Contraco GmbH on 7 December 2016. The design hotel to be built in the town of Kronberg near Frankfurt will offer a timeless and relaxed experience in 96 rooms, with two creative meeting rooms, a casual bistro, a cosy lobby lounge with bar and terrace as well as a fitness area with a view of the surrounding green space. The hotel building forms part of a new urban development plan that also includes the construction of the adjacent chamber music hall and the integration of the historic railway station. Musikquartier Kronberg, as the ensemble will be called, was designed by Staab Architekten of Berlin.

Daniel Rinck, managing director of Contraco, and Rupert Simoner, CEO of Vienna House, agree on the positioning of the hotel. "Kronberg is a picturesque city and an important centre of business and research. This combination, plus the direct commuter access to Frankfurt, make Kronberg such an interesting destination for a Vienna House. The concept  contemporary style and a luxurious, premium lightness  sealed the deal," Rinck explains. "A Vienna House fits perfectly to Kronberg and its high cultural standards."

"We want to encourage travel and adventure. Vienna House hotels are casual yet high-class. Our focus isn't on short-lived lifestyle fads, but on fantastic and timeless design, a local connection, sophisticated products, and employees who are authentic hosts," says Simoner, describing his strategy. What sounds simple requires seeing everything from the guests' point of view and focusing on the beauty of the simple things in life. Raimund Trenkler, Chairman of the Kronberg Academy Foundation, is clearly delighted at the management agreement concluded with Vienna House: "The hotel is an important contribution toward the development of the Musikquartier and will offer our artists and guests the familiar atmosphere they are looking for."

The hotel plays with the themes of travel, business and music and will subtly use the historic train station and adjacent chamber music hall as inclusive style elements. The lobby is the heart of the hotel and will beat with a relaxed and easy-going rhythm. It will be a meeting place with a living room atmosphere, friendly bar and sun terrace. Breakfast will be served in a home-style kitchen environment, lunch and dinner will reflect the freshness and variety of a weekly market, and the bar will beckon with a lounge-like atmosphere and the coolest drinks. The new hotel in Kronberg will also offer a creative meeting concept in its two 50 square metre meeting rooms. Anyone who has experienced a meeting in this casual atmosphere with healthy power food will never again want to sit through a normal conference setting. A fitness area, an underground car park and a bus parking lot will also from part of the hotel.

State-of-the-art technology with just as much digitalisation as needed will be found throughout the entire hotel, including free high-speed WiFi, mobile concierge, self check-in/check-out and an environmentally friendly mobility concept. Following the grand opening, Vienna House will operate 16 hotels in Germany and 17 more all over Europe.

Betina Welter

Head of PR & Brand Communication

+43 1 333 73 7355

Vienna House
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Driving Ancillary Revenues With Your Hotel Property Management System

In the travel industry, 48% of airline passengers and 59% of hotel guests said they were interested in upgrades or additional services. The airline industry has found a model that enables more revenues by compelling the traveler to pay for luggage, food and a growing list of other items. The problem with this scenario is the fact that they are not letting the traveler to choose, they are forcing added purchases upon him or her, thus creating an environment of angst.

The hotel industry has an opportunity to not only drive ancillary sales on-property, but also to develop long lasting relationships with their guests by presenting products and services that are valued. Hotels usually focus on increasing on-property spend through room service, gift shops, mini-bar sales and hotel dining establishments. Today, through the use of SaaS hotel property management systems, hotels have the flexibility to exceed service expectations and still increase their top line revenues.

Room Upsells and Monetizing Early Check-In/Late Check-Out

Even before a guest checks in, cloud-based hotel technology enables you to send relevant offers that the guest may want to purchase pre-arrival. The most popular of these is the upsell to an upgraded room type, perhaps a room with a better view and breakfast package  the variables are endless. Hotels can also enable the guest to check-in early or check-out later for a nominal fee. By offering these types of options, you are giving greater choice to the guest and enabling them to personalize their stay on their own terms. Some guests may not decide to do so - but those who do will be willing to pay for what they want. Upselling isnt just a sales tactic; its a guest happiness tactic that can help you build deeper relationships with guests by delivering more value.

Tracking the Guest Journey to Help Drive Revenues

There is an immediate data effect occurring today, and this is allowing hoteliers to understand what drives the booking of a hotel room, on-property amenities, as well as guest preferences. Having all this data at your fingertips ensures that you can guide the guest through the journey that he or she may find most attractive. For example, if you have information on a guest that suggests an affinity to spa treatments, why not offer them something additional to a basic massage, like a pedicure or a manicure to upsell more services, driving ancillary revenues as well as tailored service. Capturing data to gain a deeper understanding of guest preferences, and then using that information to market enhancements, upgrades, or add-ons is all about creating a better experience.

None of this can be successfully achieved without the integration of on property hotel PMS as well as supporting external platforms. Though we may have cracked the code related to connecting multiple solutions and platforms to each other; we still need to use the collective data to proactively engage with guests and give them what they want, plus a little bit more.

Immediate Gratification Due to Instant Contact

We live in a world today where immediate gratification is becoming the norm. People want to receive information immediately. The responsiveness of the Internet and the countless apps that reside on a guests smart device have motivated this exciting shift.

With a single click, people can now book an Uber, purchase a book, or hire a cleaning service. But this is all powered by instant contact. Enabling guests to make requests at any given moment, whether on-property or off, will increase revenues by capitalizing on the myriad of special requests that are available. There is also another benefit to this immediate gratification phenomenon. By delivering what the guest wants, when they want it, the hotel will invariably garner better reviews and win loyalty based on great experiences, not on points. Better reviews can directly equate to better rankings and more business. Dont forget - hotels are in the service business. However, by aligning your hotel with a technology infrastructure that provides these types of guest relationship enhancers, hotels will ultimately come out on top.

Guest Relationship Building Develops Trust

There has been a separation between the hotel employee and the guest for far too long. There are many companies on the market that profess to offer guest engagement solutions but essentially, they are just communications providers. By empowering hotel employees to break away from the front desk and authentically build connections with guests upon arrival is very powerful. This type of interaction would not be imaginable, once again, without the advancements in technological flexibility. By having employees use mobile devices to check-in guests or facilitate special requests to another department, it ensures that the rapport between the guest and the hotel can solidify and flourish. It all comes down to delivering personalized services in new and innovative ways that build trust and enhance relationships.

Choice is Key

Finally, it truly is about choice. If options are readily available to guests, they will feel in control and invariably want to continue a long-term relationship with the hotel. Not all guests are alike. Some will want to navigate through the hotel on their own terms and may never want to speak to an employee while others will want white glove treatment and expect all the service elements that a hotel can offer. Whatever type of guest your hotel caters to, you must ensure that you have tools and processes in place to deliver the level of amenity that the guest chooses - whether it be high touch, no-touch or somewhere in between. The key to increasing on-property sales is to offer what your guest might not even know they need or want, and to do it at the right time, and in a way where they dont feel pressured or that all you want is their money.

About the Author:

Jos Schaap, CEO  Founder of StayNTouch

Jos has a 20+ year track record in hotel software technology. He began StayNTouch with the vision of re-inventing the hotel PMS technology; making it simple, mobile and transitioning the software to the cloud. Prior to StayNTouch, Jos spent 17 years at MICROS Systems Inc. (Now Oracle Hospitality), as a Senior Vice President in charge of global product development and strategy for the Lodging and eCommerce divisions. During his tenure, MICROS hospitality products became the global market leader growing the companys revenues from less than $300 million to $1.1 billion. Jos was responsible for introducing a number of new products enabling MICROS to enter all hospitality segments from limited to full-service hotels. Connect with Jos on linkedin.com/in/josschaap.

About StayNTouch

StayNTouch is a Software as a Service hotel property management systems (PMS) company focused on developing solutions that help hotels raise service levels, drive revenues, reduce costs, and ultimately change the way hotels can captivate their guests. Developed with mobility in mind, the pioneering platform enables hotels to create long lasting relationships with their guests by delivering personalized service levels that todays guests require. StayNTouch operates on tablets and smartphones, empowering hotel employees to go above and beyond in exceeding guest expectations at every touch point.

Powering over 65,000 rooms globally, our game-changing solution frees hotels from the constraints of legacy or premise systems, dramatically streamlines operations, increases margins, and revolutionizes how front-line staff connect with guests. StayNTouch is a trusted partner to many of the most forward-thinking hotels, resorts, casinos and chains in the industry, including Yotel, Zoku Amsterdam, Valencia Hotels, The Freehand Hotels, Porto Vista San Diego and the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. To learn more watch our video "THE NEW WAY... TO HOTEL!"
Hotel Industry Leading Indicator - HIL - Report on Future Business Activity

Future business activity in U.S. hotels rose in October according to the latest reading of the Hotels' future business conditions (HIL) indicator. eforecasting.com's HIL, a composite indicator that gauges future monthly overall business conditions in the U.S. hotel industry, increased by 0.4% in October to 130.7, following an increase of 0.5% in September. The index is set to equal 100 in 2010.

"The probability of the hotel industry entering into recession in the near-term, which is detected in real-time from HIL with the help of sophisticated statistical techniques, registered 5.1% in October, down from 7.1% in September," said Maria Sogard, CEO at eforecasting.com. "When this gauge of the risk for an upcoming recession passes the threshold probability of 50% for a more than three months, the U.S. hotel industry will enter a recession phase in its business cycle," Maria added.

Seven of the forward looking indicators of business activity that comprise Hotel Industry Leading (HIL) Indicator had a positive contribution to its change in October: Jobs Market; Hotel Worker Hours; Hotel Profitability; Foreign Demand; Yield Curve; Housing Activity and Vacation Barometer. Two indicators of future business activity had a negative or zero contribution to HIL's change in October: New Orders and Oil Prices.

"The six month annualized smoothed growth rate of HIL, a long-range growth predictive analytic which confirms the underlying cyclical business trend for US hoteliers, posted a positive rate of 3.3% in October, compared to a 30-year average annual growth rate of 2%," said Evangelos Simos, professor of economics at the University of New Hampshire and series editor for predictive analytics databases at e-forecasting .com."When the six month growth in HIL enters a near zero to negative range for 2-4 consecutive months, the industry will go to recession," Evangelos added.

About e-forecasting.com

e-forecasting.com, an international economic research and consulting firm, offers forecasts of the economic environment using proprietary, real-time economic indicators to produce customized solutions for whats next. eforecasting.com collaborates with domestic and international clients and publications to provide timely economic content for use as predictive intelligence to strengthen its clients competitive advantage.

The US hotel industry leading indicator, or U.S.-HIL for short, is a monthly leading indicator for the industry. Building off the tracking success of HIP, the real-time indicator for the U.S. hotel industry, U.S.-HIL was built as a composite indicator that uses nine different components that, on average, when put together have led the industry four to five months in advance of a change in direction in the industry business cycle. U.S.-HIL provides useful information about the future direction of the U.S. hotel industry. Monthly HIL indicators and predictive analytics are also available for the following countries: Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
BAPE has teamed up with K-Swiss for an offshoot project dubbed the AAPE x K-Swiss Classic 66, a sneaker that features BAPES familiar camo print atop the Classic 66 silhouette.

The kicks include the five-striped sides and d-ring eyelets which are synonymous with the K-Swiss brand, as well as the new AAPE branding on the tongue, heel and one of the aforementioned stripes on the lateral side of the sneaker.

Nobody thought wed be getting a BAPE x K-Swiss collab this year but if you were hoping for one youre prayers have been answered. The AAPE x K-Swiss Classic 66 will be hitting retailers this Thursday, December 15th for $140.

BAPE x K-Swiss
After a lengthy siege that saw many worldwide calling for a ceasefire so that civilians could vacate the already war-torn city, it appears the brunt of the battle is over. It did not come without much bloodshed, including a report from the UN which accuses the victorious pro-government forces of indiscriminately killing women and children.

Eastern Aleppo was one of two remaining strongholds for the partially United States-backed forces, with the neighboring Idlib province the only one left after the fall of Eastern Aleppo. With the help of Russia, pro-Assad government forces were able to drive the rebels to agree to a reported ceasefire while their families evacuate the city.

The rebels rely heavily on support from Turkey to continue their fight, although Turkey has recently come under fire for its government having ties to ISIS and acting undemocratically. With only one stronghold remaining, the Assad government may find itself in power again soon. However, nothing is promised in this lengthy conflict.

If this seems confusing, it is. The ongoing Syria conflict has become a key proxy-battle between the United States and Russia, and will continue to be a point of interest as the Russian-friendly Trump regime is set to begin next month. Check the chart above to see which countries are the power players behind each of the on-the-ground forces.

[via CNN/NYTimes]

AleppoFalls
A reprehensible political meme was posted to the Facebook page of former Republican congressman and Tea Party leader Allen West on Friday night (Dec. 9). West, who represented Floridas 22nd congressional district in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, is a prominent conservative political commentator with over 2.5 million Facebook followers. This particular meme  which effectively called for the extermination of Muslims  was shared over 10,000 times and received almost 50,000 likes in the hours that it was up on Wests page.

The meme shows an image of James Mad Dog Mattis, who was recently selected by Donald Trump to be the Secretary of Defense upon his inauguration. Mattis had been appointed by President Obama as commander of the United States Central Command in 2010, but upon conflict with the President over military strategy in Iran, he left the post in 2013. The meme reads: Fired by Obama to please the Muslims / Hired by Trump to exterminate them.

On Saturday, Michele Hickford, the editor-in-chief of Wests website, released a statement on Wests Facebook page apologizing for the bigoted meme. She originally wrote, Last night I posted a meme without Col. Wests knowledge or consent which was inappropriate and crossed the line, reports New York Daily News. Though Hickfords apology has since been amended, now stating that she had nothing to do with the meme, writing, I was not the one who posted it, and it was posted without my knowledge.

In both the initial and newly edited apology, she absolves West of any responsibility. Its message was despicable, offensive to many, and a terrible error in judgement by the person who posted it, reads the latest version of Hickfords Facebook statement.

It so happens that West visited Trump Tower today to potentially meet with the president-elect. When asked if he was meeting with Trump to discuss security issues, West responded, Well see when I get up there.

For the record, West once referred to the prophet Mohammed a murderous, psychopath, and, by modern-day standards, a pedophile.

Allen West
The Air Jordan 11 is the talk of the sneaker world right now with the Space Jam 11s having just released and the Heiress and Suede joints still to come.

That said, rumors are already swirling about next years annual Holiday Air Jordan 11 which will reportedly be of the Midnight Navy variety. The product code for the 2017 Air Jordan 11 is reportedly listed as White/Midnight Navy/University Blue.

These Midnight Navy 11s have never released but there have been a couple of sample pairs (shown in the gallery) in the past that could be the inspiration behind next years release. Well just have to wait and see but for now let us know which, if any, of the two samples youd like to see hit retailers.

Midnight Navy 11s
The urgent need for a coordinated harm reduction response was highlighted this morning on Newstalk.

Hot Press Stuart Clark appeared this morning on Pat Kennys Newstalk show to discuss the Irish chemsex scene, and the drugs like GHB that fuel it. Heres the report he compiled during the summer on what appears to be a growing phenomenon, and one which needs a coordinated response from government, the medical profession and the LGBT community and its support networks.

You can help us find out how prevalent chemsex drugs are here by taking part in the Global Drug Survey, for which Hot Press is once again the official Irish partner.

To take part in the Global Drug Survey 2017 click here .

The Global Drug Survey is 100% confidential and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Have your say and help shape the future of Irish drug policy.

The truth behind Dublin's gay chemsex scene:

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Previously regarded as a UK phenomenon, parties at which gay men take GHB and crystal meth and indulge in high-risk sex are now a regular occurrence in Dublin.

Its been notable down through the years that Irish and UK drug-taking habits havent always mirrored each other. While we tend to stick to tried and tested psychoactives like cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy, the Brits are always mad to try something new like 2CB, DOC, DMT and synthetic cannabis, which do crop up here but in far smaller quantities.

Theres as much heroin on this side of the Irish Sea as there is theirs, but thankfully we havent imported the UKs major crack cocaine problem.

When Dublin experienced an alarming increase last year in new HIV cases, we wondered if it could be down to the sort of gay chemsex that Global Drug Survey coordinator and addiction psychiatrist Dr. Adam Winstock has encountered, in his central London clinic.

A minority of gay men are injecting mephedrone and, because it makes you horny, they end up having multiple partners, he told us 12 months ago. They dont know how to inject drugs and are sharing needles, so theyre engaging in two types of high-risk behaviour. The sex tends to be pretty fast and furious, so you get anal tears and blood coming into the equation. Why are they doing it? Because it feels fucking amazing!

We subsequently talked to several addiction specialist GPs and discovered that although mephedrone was widely available in the capital, it was pre-existing heroin users that were shooting it up.

Fast-forward 12 months and things have changed dramatically: Hot Press has learned from sources within the gay community that there are between 20 and 30 private chemsex parties taking place every week in the capital.

That the latest chemsex drug of choice, GHB, is widely available in Dublin isnt in doubt.

The Rialto Community Drug Team has started working with people who are having problems with GHB, AKA liquid ecstasy, and its various derivatives. Meanwhile, the HSE National Drug Treatment Centre has for the past ten months been running a GHB clinic, which refers clients to Beaumont Hospital where a number of people have undergone G detox this year. Launching soon is chemsex.ie, which will act as a gateway for those seeking information on the subject.

Just how widespread the practice is in Ireland is likely to become apparent on June 10, when Gay Switchboard Ireland Director, Adam Shanley, gives a chemsex presentation in Dublin Castle, as part of the Gay Sex Forum.

Well look at what weve done to date in terms of interventions, and what we plan for the future, Shanley tells Hot Press. There will be information gathered from the Mens Internet Sex Survey, which had about 3,500 Irish respondents and questions relating to the sexualised use of drugs. Im also involved in an HSE project to survey the clients attending the Gay Mens Health Service on Baggot Street, so rather than relying on anecdotal evidence  which theres plenty of  well have some hard facts.

The Mens Internet Sex Survey is likely to confirm the popularity here of crystal meth, which among users  who believe it to be simply the best  is referred to as Tina.

A year ago Id never been offered crystal, now its everywhere, proffers 27-year-old Ciaran, a Dubliner who doesnt participate in chemsex himself, but has friends of the same age who do. People dont come up to you in pubs and clubs and say, Do you want to come home and have mad chemsex with me. Most of the hookups take place through Apps like Grindr and GROWLr. You have five or six guys going to someones house late on Saturday night and non-stop fucking on drugs until Sunday evening. Theyre taking crystal and GHB to get horny and then using cannabis or benzos to come down. Theres definitely slamming going on, although my friend cant stand the sight of needles and wont inject or be injected. Sometimes condoms are used, sometimes theyre not.

Ciaran makes the point that, While a lot of people on the gay scene here are talking about chemsex, its only a small minority who are at these parties.

The Amsterdam-based Mainline agency, who are considered world leaders in chemsex harm reduction, quote one of their 42-year-old clients as saying: The effect of slamming is very intense, and for me is the equivalent to freedom. No hassle with condoms, HIV status or hepatitis C, and I feel liberated from past sexual issues.

In the Slamming Dos And Donts booklet they hand out in clubs and saunas, the agency explain that, Chems like Tina (crystal meth), ketamine, mephedrone and new substances like 3-mmc, mxe and 4-mec are being injected before or during sex sessions. The rush of slamming is euphoric and sexually stimulating. All inhibition is lost and sex lasts longer. Chems increase self-confidence, concentration and energy levels, but slamming is also risky. It can lead to paranoid thoughts, hallucinations, delusions and panic attacks.

SEXUAL ASSAULT: Over in the UK, their PIP PAC counterparts are supplying 3.99 safer injecting and sex packs, comprising of fixed needle syringes, alcohol prep pads, spoons with filters, a measuring syringe, tooting straws, anal lubricant, a GHB/GBL Intro Guide, condoms, vitamin pills  most chemsex drugs act as an appetite suppressant  and latex-free gloves, to be worn while fisting. Packs are also handed out for free in parks and forests, where chemsex takes place either outside or in cars or vans.

Its understood that there are many Chemsex parties taking place in Ireland each weekend, the Director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, Tony Duffin reflects. The risks people may take, knowingly or unknowingly, at chemsex parties is of concern to us. Engaging in chemsex can result in significant and chronic health problems for some people; minimising the risks is essential and will save lives and taxpayers money.

At chemsex parties people are at risk of STIs, blood borne viruses and overdose, he continues. We must ensure that people who decide to attend a chemsex party have the best information, advice and equipment that will keep them healthy and alive. For example, up-to-date harm reduction info and advice; sterile injecting equipment; sterile snorting equipment and an abundance of condoms is vital. The Ana Liffey Drug Project will work with people involved in the chemsex culture to ensure that they are a safe as they can be.

The chemsex scene has spawned its own glossary of terms such as booty bump, which is injecting into the anus with a needle-less syringe; PnP, which is App shorthand for Party and Play and bug chasers  who, scarily, are people actively looking to contract HIV.

I imagine quite a few of your readers just did a double-take when they read that, Dr. Adam Winstock said when contacted again this week by Hot Press. Ive had some really heavy conversations with gay men who have significant internalised homophobia. They very often come from strict Catholic backgrounds and put themselves in extreme risk situations where contracting HIV is almost inevitable. For them, thats both the punishment and the sin. One patient said to me, Im only going to change my fucking behaviour when I get HIV. I know then that Ill have to get healthy.

The media has tended to portray chemsex as a new phenomenon involving a single group of people, but its not, he continues. Ive met guys in their 40s and 50s whove been running parties for 15 years. They have a registrar at the front door who asks your name, what drugs youre on and what/when your last dose was. Theres always a named first-aider, whos either a health care professional or trained in how to put somebody in the recovery position, and picks up their syringes and puts them in a sharps box. Thats entirely different to the more extreme events you read about.

While your teeth and your insides wont thank you for taking Tina  meth bladder is apparently a thing  GHB is taken in such small quantities that its almost inevitable that regular users will at some point overdose on it. At 9 a vial its cheap and available for anyone to order online, with India and China being the main producers.

Our number one piece of advice to people is, Use a syringe to measure your own dosage of GHB, Adam Winstock resumes. Theres only a tiny difference between a dose that gets you high and horny and one that causes you to black out. By tiny I mean 0.5ml too much, so under no circumstances swig from the bottle. One in six men using GBH report on occasion passing out, which means theres also a risk of sexual assault. Youve said no unprotected sex and come to discover that somebodys fucked you without using a condom. I have a patient who only found out what had happened to him at a party when a video was posted onto the darknet without his consent.

If you use G for a couple of days, dont overdose, and take a break, its relatively safe. Use it constantly, though, for a fortnight and you start running the risk of withdrawal, which when not done through proper detox is highly unpleasant.

Consent is something, which also concerns the Gay Switchboard Irelands Adam Shanley.

Its important to understand what consent is, he resumes. Ive heard stories about guys whod say, I went to a sex party, I took too much G, and it feels like somebody had sex with me whilst under. I was there, though, so it wasnt rape. Yes, it was rape!

Wanting to encourage debate of that and other key issues, Shanley recently organised a screening of Vice magazines Chemsex documentary in the Lighthouse Cinema, as part of the GAZE LGBT Film Festival.

Two hundred people got a front-seat look at the more extreme side of chemsex in London, which is the epicentre of this phenomenon, Shanley explains. Most of the participants in the documentary were HIV+ and it also dealt with the psychotic episodes and other mental health issues that arise from the extended use of chemsex drugs. What I found particularly interesting was the motivations people have for getting involved, which often revolve around loneliness and intimacy.

The next day I brought together as many of the sexual health and drug addiction services as I could for a training session, so everyone has the same understanding of whats involved. The overall theme being, What do we need to start doing together? You can see from the film that, in London at the moment, theyre overwhelmed. We need to be ahead of the curve. Moralising and finger-pointing dont work, harm reduction does.

Itd be a mistake, says Shanley, to solely regard chemsex as being a gay issue.

At the moment, its the homosexual community thats disproportionately affected by chemsex, but the evidence from London and further afield is that there are also plenty of heterosexual people indulging in it, who face the same health risks, he suggests. Shanley has been working in tandem with the After Party Service, whose 2014 survey found that 33% of gay/bisexual men and 22.9% of gay/bisexual women in the UK use illicit drugs. The comparative figures for heterosexual men and women are 11.1% and 5.1%.

Chemsex directors William Fairman and Max Gogerty found one aspect of the phenomenon particularly surprising. What started as a look into a healthcare emergency, soon evolved into a complex revelation, they said in a joint statement. It wasnt the sex or the drugs that shocked. Neither was it the danger or the consequences. It was the realisation that, for the majority of people, it was intimacy and not lust nor hedonism that was the driving force behind their behavior. The decision to turn a camera on this subject came from seeing first-hand how this community were starting to respond to this crisis.

Also getting a lot of media attention is Stars, Cars And Crystal Meth, a warts and even more warts memoir by Jack Sutherland, whos been a PA and bodyguard to the likes of Michael Stipe, RuPaul and Mickey Rourke.

You only need to get on Grindr or any other sex App, theres always someone looking for a chem hook-up, no matter what time or day of the week, he told the Standard newspaper. People come to London to be gay. A lot of them are young and naive and get caught up in drugs, which are relatively inexpensive and accessible. Its glamorous: hot bodies, no shirts on in a club and then 10 hours of what they call a chill-out. My understanding is that excessive amounts of crystal meth and GHB create about 2,600 whatever levels of dopamine. A normal sexual encounter is less than 10% of that. Its such an extreme that this isnt even going to register.

The last word goes to Dr. Adam Winstock who says: We did a survey asking: Which of the following drugs have you had sex on over the last year? and, of course, number one was alcohol. We then asked, Whats the worst drug to have sex on? and, again, it was alcohol. So, chemsex is also going to the pub, getting pissed and getting laid.
Ahead of their concerts in Dublin and Belfast next June, Green Day have announced that they will be part of a new documentary focussing on punk rock in the U.S.

Due for release next year, the documentary will also be produced by Green Days manager Pat Magnarella.

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk is set to feature appearances by Green Day, Rancid (who will support the band on their tour), NOFXs Fat Mike, AFIs Davey Havok and Dead Kennedys pair Jello Biafra and East Bay Ray, among others.

The film is described as exploring Northern Californias pivotal role in evolution of punk rock, adding the loud, intense and anti-authoritarian philosophy of music and politics that arose in the late 1970s.

Early San Francisco Bay Area punk pioneers like Dead Kennedys, Avengers and Flipper, as well as the MaximumRocknRoll fanzine, helped take the punk underground global.

Green Day also took time to pay tribute to victims of the Oakland warehouse fire when they performed at the city on Saturday night.

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The punk band were active in Oaklands DIY scene in the late 80s and early 90s, and spoke about the community people find in places like Ghost Ship during their performance, dedicating the performance of their song Boulevard Of Broken Dreams to those who lost their lives.

These are people that are just here looking for themselves, just trying to have a moment where they could all just celebrate just being artists and being weird and having fun, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong told the crowd.
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WASHINGTON - The "drill, baby, drill" policies championed by Republicans eight years ago gained new momentum Tuesday with the announcement that Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson was President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State and reports that former Gov. Rick Perry his Energy Secretary.

The symbolism of naming one of Texas' consummate oil men in Tillerson and one of the industry's most ardent champions in Perry drew cheers across the Texas oil industry.

James A. Baker III, a former secretary of state under former President George H.W. Bush who now advises oil companies through his Houston law firm Baker Botts, praised Tillerson's intellect and knowledge of global affairs.

"As CEO of one of the world's largest and best-run companies, he has demonstrated the management and negotiating skills, and has the international experience, that are required in the job," he said in a statement.

Over the past eight years, the oil and gas industry has increasingly clashed with President Barack Obama over regulations designed to reduce the risk of water pollution from hydraulic fracturing and limit the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to do away with what he described as overly burdensome regulatory environment. And in Tillerson and Perry he seems to have found two willing partners to help him affect change.

The Exxon CEO has acknowledged man-made climate change and put his company's support behind the Paris agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which close to 200 world leaders agreed to last year. But at the same time, Tillerson has questioned the economic ramifications of shifting away from fossil fuels when they provide such an outsized portion of the world's energy.

Environmental groups are already expressing wariness as to the future of climate change regulation in the United States.

"ExxonMobil has long opposed action to slow climate change. While the company has recently acknowledged the human role in climate change and declared support for the Paris Agreement, Tillerson would need to go much further," said Andrew Steer, President of World Resources Institute.

Champion of oil industry

For oil and gas drillers across the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin shale fields that have struggled during historic lows in crude prices since 2014, a Tillerson and Perry cabinet seemed to affirm hopes that Trump would carry through with his promise to reduce regulation and open up drilling on federal lands.

On Tuesday, Ryan Sitton, a Texas Railroad Commissioner and frequent critic of the EPA, forecasted "expeditious approval" for pipeline projects and trade deals benefitting the oil and gas industry.

"Rex Tillerson and Gov. Rick Perry are universally known in the energy industry and both understand the importance of oil and gas to Texas' economy," he said.

Over a more than 40-year career at Exxon, Tillerson has been the prototypical Texas oil man, traveling the world in search of crude while defending his industry when it fell within the gun sights of politicians and the media.

When oil prices were skyrocketing in 2008 he appeared on the "Today" show to explain the vagaries of the international oil markets. Three years later, he appeared before the Senate Finance Committee to respond to Democrats' push to increase taxes on U.S. oil companies.

Relationship to Russia

As other CEOs got into testy exchanges with senators over their outsized profits, Tillerson kept his cool, explaining, "We understand the enormous challenges facing the American people."

His long resume - replete with long stints running Exxon operations in Yemen and Russia  is already drawing scrutiny from Senate Republicans whose support Tillerson will need to win confirmation.

"Some of this is associated with Wikileaks, but there are concerns that far predate the election," said Joe Barnes, a former diplomat with the State Department and now a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute. "There will also be lots of questions about conflict of interest but I think (Tillerson) can manage them. He's a good sturdy effective speaker and obviously a very, very intelligent man."

Tillerson's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin - who in 2013 awarded Tillerson one of Russia's highest honors for foreigners, the Order of Friendship - is of particular interest. Tillerson has also been critical of U.S. sanctions against Russia, which were enacted after Putin sent troops into the Ukraine in 2014. That halted Exxon plans to drill in the Russian Arctic through a partnership with state-owned Rosneft, a deal that promised to create a steady supply of oil and gas for decades to come.

"Being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState" Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, tweeted Monday.

Already Texas politicians in Washington were rallying around Tillerson, as are former Secretaries of State including Bob Gates and Condoleezza Rice.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate Majority Whip, said he was "looking forward" to supporting Tillerson's nomination.

"His experience will be critical as the next Secretary of State will face a broad array of diplomatic challenges that will define the security and success of our nation for generations. A lifelong Texan, I've long valued Rex's insight," Cornyn said in a statement.
The downturn in Texas is definitely not the story of Dallas, where the economic growth rate over the past year has rocketed ahead of Houston's.

In fact, Dallas is doing better than the nation's 11 biggest metropolitan areas, at least where employment is concerned. It posted 3.3 percent year-over-year job growth in October, beating everyone from Atlanta on down to Houston, where employment grew only 0.4 percent over the same period.

In addition, Dallas is gaining on Houston in population, and it maintains an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent, while Houston's has crept up to 5.1 percent.

So how is Dallas doing so well while Houston languishes? It's not as dependent on oil. And this asymmetry between the cities is a longstanding feature of Texas' urban economy. And it's even considered a strength.

The theory was developed by none other than Bill Gilmer, the oft-quoted economist at the University of Houston's Bauer School of Business. Before he was the Bayou City's chief prognosticator, he worked at the Dallas Federal Reserve, where he observed the development of something he called the "Texas Triangle": Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, big cities connected by big highways, with Austin stuck in the middle.

The key to the Texas Triangle is that each of the four cities developed complementary strengths.

Houston is the state's biggest port and oil capital, San Antonio is a hub for military activity and the trade that exploded under NAFTA, and Austin is the locus of state government as well as tech and academic activity.

When taken together, their industry composition doesn't significantly differ from other urban megalopolises like New York and Los Angeles.

Dallas, by contrast, has few distinguishing characteristics.

Out of all of Texas' big cities, it's the most reflective of the U.S. economy overall, not overly dependent on the ups and downs of technology, trade, or energy. The oil and gas sector directly accounts for only 8 percent of its jobs. That's the biggest reason why it's surged ahead of the rest of the state: The national economy is doing fairly well. Therefore, so is Dallas-Fort Worth.

"A strengthening economy is really providing a boost to DFW, giving us an advantage over state economic performance this year," Amy Jordan, assistant economist with the Dallas Fed, said at a conference in November.

A lot of that growth has come from well-paid jobs in the business and financial services sectors: Banking, lawyering, consulting, etc. JPMorgan Chase, for example, has 12,000 employees in Dallas - the most of any city outside its headquarters in New York. It's also attractive to many kinds of business headquarters because of its central location and easy access to cheap office space. Cinepolis, a large chain of movie theaters, moved its U.S. headquarters there from California in July, citing a need for a larger footprint and the desire to expand to the East Coast.

Of course, that means that if the U.S. economy tanks, then it's more likely to take Dallas down with it, by which time Houston may have emerged from its oily malaise - and the cycle will begin again.


Among the names being floated as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson stands out.

If he is offered the job and confirmed, Tillerson would be the first secretary of state in modern history with no public sector experience. Instead, America's top diplomat spent his entire career at oil and gas company ExxonMobil, first joining in 1975 before becoming chairman and chief executive in 2006.

But ExxonMobil isn't just any company - it's a giant. In fact, due to its enormous size and the geopolitical implications of its actions, it may be better to think of it as something more akin to a state - and Tillerson might be considered the head of that state.

As Robert McNally, president of the consulting firm Rapidan Group and a director for energy on President George W. Bush's national security council, told The Washington Post: "The closest thing we have to a secretary of state outside government is the CEO of Exxon."

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The economy

The best way to understand ExxonMobil as a country is to consider its economic might.

The company is one of the largest in the world, second only to another American giant: Walmart. Last year, the company took in revenue of $268.88 billion. That's a lot of money, though it should be noted its actually quite a drop from previous years due to low oil and gas prices during the period.

If you compare that revenue to a list from the World Bank of gross domestic product around the world last year, you see that ExxonMobil would be the 41st biggest economy in the world if it were a country. While it's far smaller than the United States or China, it's only just behind Pakistan or the Philippines and a little bigger than Chile, Ireland and Finland.

That enormous revenue comes from ExxonMobil's vast oil and gas resources. Earlier this year, it was estimated that the company was producing the equivalent of 4.1 million barrels of oil per day. That would likely make ExxonMobil the fourth largest oil producer in the world, ahead of Iran (3.5 million barrels a day) according to recent figures, though its production is smaller than the amount of oil coming from Russia (10.5 million), Saudi Arabia (10 million) and the U.S. (9.2 million). It's just behind Iraq (4.3 million).

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The population

Working out an ExxonMobil country's population would be a little more tricky. According to its own estimate, the company employs 75,300 people. If we were to think of that as a country's population, that isn't so big: It's a little less than the Isle of Man off the coast of the British Isles and slightly more than Dominica, the Caribbean island.

However, that may not be the right way to think about those employees. Perhaps they are more like an ExxonMobil state's government employees. This is still a low number of government employees for a state, though it is more than double the number of State Department employees (more than 34,000).

To really estimate an ExxonMobil state's population, it may be better to think of it in terms of shareholders - the people to whom Tillerson is ultimately responsible. This is tricky too, however. There are over 4 billion outstanding ExxonMobil shares, but many shareholders own multiple shares and large institutional investors, such as pension funds, own significant chunks of the company. This still means that many people, likely millions, are directly or indirectly influenced by Tillerson's policy decisions.

---

A global influence

Much has been made of Tillerson's international links. In particular, his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin - Tillerson received the Order of Friendship from Putin in 2013 after working closely on a number of oil deals - is already the subject of scrutiny.

These links may be the best way of understanding ExxonMobil's international clout: It doesn't exercise power as a state, but as a web of economic relationships. Former Washington Post managing editor Steve Coll dubbed the company a "private empire" in an exhaustive 2012 book on ExxonMobil.

By ExxonMobil's own count, the company has operations in 58 countries. It recruits people from the State Department, the Pentagon and the CIA to help manage its own foreign policy. It has an extensive lobbying operation in D.C., though it is often willing to flout Washington's foreign policy, such as when it undermined Baghdad by agreeing to an independent oil deal with Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government.

While Tillerson is already close to powerful figures like Putin, in other cases the countries ExxonMobil works with do not have so much heft. Consider its complicated relationship with the African nation Chad, for example, which has a GDP of $11.1 billion - less than a 20th the size of ExxonMobil's revenue. In 1999, a cable from the United States Embassy there said that Exxon was ignoring American diplomats there. "And why should it be otherwise?" the note then asked. "Exxon Mobil's investments in the Chad-Cameroon oil project would amount to $4.2 billion. Annual aid to Chad from the United States was only about $3 million."

This October, Chad hit ExxonMobil with a fine five times the size of its own GDP - $71.65 billion - over underpaid royalties.

Self-interest has pushed the company to take stances at odds with much of the world. The company also become notorious over the years for pushing climate change denial before Tillerson's leadership, though it has stepped back from that position over recent years - shortly before the election, ExxonMobil issued a statement in support of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Such pragmatism may be a mark of Tillerson's leadership as head of the ExxonMobil state. As Coll notes in a recent appraisal of Tillerson for the New Yorker, under his leadership ExxonMobil is a "rule-bound" company that has avoided charges of corruption, even while behaving in an aggressive and purely self-interested way all around the world.



Adam Taylor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. Originally from London, he studied at the University of Manchester and Columbia University.




Boom times may not be just around the corner for Houston's oil and gas companies, but 2017 is looking more like a year of recovery.

Oil prices reached 18-month highs on Monday in the wake of OPEC, Russia and other nations confirming their plans to scale back production. Optimism has been rising along with crude prices since Nov. 30, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reached the historic deal to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day. That momentum, led by Saudi Arabia, continued over the weekend after Russia and 10 other non-OPEC nations agreed to cut about 550,000 barrels a day.

The U.S. benchmark for oil settled Monday at $52.83 a barrel, up $1.33 - the highest settlement since early July 2015 and double this year's low of $26.21 back in February.

The magnitude of the production cuts are so large that $60 oil should be a reality soon, even if some countries cheat on their promised production quotas, said Andy Lipow, an analyst with the Houston research firm Lipow Oil Associates. Further, oil companies are in a much better position to take advantage of the rising prices, regardless of whether they reach $100 per barrel, he added. "The bust forced oil companies to learn how to profit at much lower oil prices," Lipow said. "The efficiencies and technological improvements gained since could make "$60 the new $90."

Optimism is growing in Houston and actual economic improvements should follow, said David Pursell, a managing director and research manager at Houston energy investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. The Lone Star State shed over 100,000 oil and gas jobs during the bust, considered the worst in 30 years.

"Things aren't as dire as they once seemed," Pursell said. "We think 2017 will be a year of patching holes, hiring new people and fixing old equipment."

The biggest news wasn't Russia agreeing to cut 300,000 barrels daily as anticipated, but Saudi Arabia suggesting it will depress its production even more than planned.

"We're going to cut and cut substantially to be below the level that we have committed to," Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said Saturday.

Al-Falih's comments translate to: "We're going to put an exclamation point on this bad boy and cut more," Pursell said. "That means the compliance risk is certainly fading."

Saudi Arabia should see the deal through even if other countries cheat a bit. Pursell said he believes oil prices could grow to $75 a barrel by the end of next year.

Several steps remain, though, and it won't be until February when production data confirms whether OPEC, Russia and others are seeing their promises through.

Any energy sector gains will see fits and starts and global oil demand may grow slower than anticipated. The U.S. could prove its own worst enemy if producers attempt to recovery too quickly and boost output too high again.

The signs of recovery already are seeping in though, even if spending levels aren't expected to grow substantially for some time. Companies are hiring again in the busy West Texas Permian Basin, and the pace of layoffs and bankruptcies slowed dramatically.

The U.S. last week saw its biggest weekly jump in drilling activity in more than two years with 27 rigs added to oil and gas fields, including 17 just in Texas. North of the border, Canada tacked on 30 rigs, many in the costly oil sands.

As for OPEC, the cartel may not want oil prices to rise too high. It is trying to balance oil prices closer to $60 - healthy enough for some recovery, but not too healthy to the point that U.S. shale producers start churning out far more oil than demand can satiate.

Nigerian petroleum minister Emmanuel Kachikwu on Monday told Bloomberg that $60 a barrel oil is "ideal" because it shouldn't trigger a full-scale U.S. shale recovery.
Levon Zurabyan: We have no illusions about intentions of these authorities (video)

Republican Hermine Naghdalyan is concerned that civil society in Armenia has refused to participate in the 4+4+4 format meetings. Civil society is not limited to those representatives, institutions and organizations that participated in the process, she said. The vice-speaker of the Armenian parliament is not similarly concerned by the fact that civil society does not participate in the organization of elections; she says the main job is done. They have participated in the resolution of main issues and many of them have been resolved in this period, she said. In fact, Hermine Naghdalyan did not know that civil society had rejected to participate in the 4+4+4 format meetings and she had no time to listen to their justifications. Unlike the Republican official, head of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) faction, Levon Zurabyan, was informed of the refusal. This is not a failure, because the process will continue irrespective of their participation, he said. It was Mr. Zurabyan who insisted that civil society be involved in the 4+4+4 format negotiations over the new Electoral Code. He regrets that civil society left the opposition alone in the talks with the authorities. But we are resolute It will not reduce or hinder our determination. Levon Zurabyan refrained from commenting on the reasons given by civil society. Six organizations signed a document which says, for example, that the government is not interested in the elimination of restrictions on the rights of observers and media. We have no illusions about intentions of these authorities, said Mr. Zurabyan. He added that the attitude of international organizations would not change after the decision of civil society.  They have expressed their positive attitude towards this agreement." The opposition lawmaker hopes that civil society will be useful in the elections even without participating in the negotiations.
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Texans are not talking enough about money.

Like politics, sex and religion, our finances are not considered part of polite conversation. But according to a recent study by Champlain College's Center for Financial Literacy, Texans scored a failing grade when it comes to understanding money matters.

That's bad news, considering how a few mistakes early in life can cause a decade of heartache. And how financially unprepared people drag down the rest of the economy.

"We must take the subject of personal finance seriously in high school, college and beyond," said John Pelletier, director of the center located in Burlington Vermont. "It needs to be a priority, like math and reading."

There are 71 factors that went into assigning the grade for the state's financial literacy, and Texans scored a C,D or F on 49 of them.

The average Vantage Credit Score in Texas is only 655, compared to a national average of 666. Only 73 percent of Texans pay their bills on time, and only 40 percent have prime credit. In both cases, Texans scored well behind national averages.

When it comes to credit cards, only half pay their bill in full, about 35 percent make only minimum payments and the average credit card balance is more than 10 percent of annual household income.

That should come as no surprise, though, since only 18 percent of Texans have taken any financial education courses, and on a test with only six question about credit, the mean number of correct answers was 2.81

In category after category, Texans scored below national averages, except when it came to mortgages and bankruptcies. But that has more to do with Texas homestead laws than personal responsibility.

The real problem, though, is in retirement investing, where we scored an F. And here is where employers are partially to blame.

Only 50 percent of Texans have access to a retirement plan at work, and only 22.9 percent invest in an outside plan. Only a third of Texans have calculated the income they will need in retirement, and a quarter rely on Social Security for at least 90 percent of their retirement income.

Dismal, depressing and frightening are the only words to sum our state's understanding of personal finances. And when these people reach retirement, they will create a huge burden on social safety net programs like Medicaid, which helps the elderly poor pay for what Medicare doesn't cover.

Therefore I repeat the call I made last year and ask everyone who knows about managing personal finances to have those hard conversations with loved ones. Find out what they don't know, and put them on a responsible track.

Financial literacy remains the most valuable gift of all.
Angry property owners filled the Montrose Management District's board meeting Monday demanding answers as to why their signatures on a petition seeking to dissolve the district were denied.

Some who intended to speak at the meeting's open session left after having to wait close to an hour for the opportunity to have their say. Officials began the noon meeting by calling for an executive session, which is closed to the public.

Small business and commercial property owners who have been assessed thousands of dollars by the district in recent years eagerly waited to be called back into the meeting, in a boardroom on the University of St. Thomas campus.

"This whole concept of an improvement district was just rammed down our throats," said property owner Lelia Rodgers, holding a stack of petition forms that had been denied.

Hundreds of commercial property owners who are assessed by the district signed the petition for dissolution, which was denied in September.

Some said their signatures were determined to be invalid, but they were never told why.

When officials opened the meeting for public comment, many of those who spoke made a similar plea: "Accept my petition or drop me from the assessment rolls."

More than a dozen property owners spoke at the meeting, often to applause despite the district's continued requests to remain quiet.

"Every one of those petitions was good, which is why you have so may people here today to tell you the same thing," said Daphne Scarbrough, who questioned an analysis that led to the denial of the petition.

Others questioned how the money collected by the district has been spent.

The Montrose Management District is one of dozens in the Houston area created by the Legislature to promote economic development and make improvements to public areas in individual neighborhoods.

Property owners have tried to dissolve the district before.

An earlier petition effort led to a 2012 lawsuit accusing the management district of collecting assessments illegally and seeking its dissolution.

Last month, a Harris County court ruled in favor of the commercial property owner who filed that lawsuit and stated that the management district must reimburse property owners in the area for money collected. The judgment said the district has assessed and collected $6,589,092.

The judge's finding pertained to the district's state-required petition that allowed it to begin making assessments on commercial property owners after it was formed in 2009. Residential property owners are not assessed.

Once the district was established, organizers were required to collect signatures from at least 25 commercial property owners in the area to begin making assessments.

The court found the petition, signed by 26 property owners, included some residential property owners who were not assessed and therefore "none of the levied assessments were valid and are void as a matter of law.

Commercial property owners are assessed at a rate of 12.5 cents per each $100 of property value.

At the start of the meeting, the district's general counsel Clark Lord read a statement explaining that the lawsuit remains pending. Last week, the district filed a request that the court amend its findings.

"Unless and until the trial court judgment becomes final, which will not occur until after all additional activities in the trial court have taken place and after any appeal has been concluded, the district will have no obligation to refund any assessments collected by the West Montrose Management District," Lord said.

Officials said property owners could email their concerns to Hawes Hill Calderon, the management and consulting firm that administers the district.

"We'll continue to respond to everyone's requests," Lord said.
Have you heard? Texas is down in the dumps. Low oil prices are still holding back the onetime breakneck pace of job growth, while the loss of well-paid oilfield work is sucking billions of dollars of wages out of the economy.

That's one story, at least, applying well to Houston and any other area with a large exposure to energy. It's definitely not the story of Dallas, where the economic growth rate over the past year has rocketed ahead of Houston's.

In fact, Dallas is doing better than the nation's 11 biggest metropolitan areas, at least where employment is concerned. It posted 3.3 percent year-over-year job growth in October, beating everyone from Atlanta on down to Houston, where employment grew only 0.4 percent over the same period.

Here's what that looks like over a longer time frame:

In addition, Dallas is gaining on Houston in terms of population, while maintaining an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent, while Houston's has crept up to 5.1 percent. (It's worth noting that on a broader measure of economic growth, which incorporates variables like wages and company profits, Austin is still beating everyone).

So how is Dallas doing so well while Houston languishes? No surprise  this asymmetry is a longstanding feature of Texas' urban economy. And it's even considered a strength.

The theory was developed by none other than Bill Gilmer, the oft-quoted economist at the University of Houston's Bauer School of Business. Before he was the bayou city's chief prognosticator, he worked at the Dallas Federal Reserve, where he observed the development of something he called the "Texas Triangle": Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, big cities connected by big highways, with Austin stuck in the middle.

The key to the Texas Triangle is that each of the four cities developed complementary strengths. Houston is the state's biggest port and oil capital, San Antonio is a hub for military activity and the trade that exploded under NAFTA, and Austin is the locus of state government as well as tech and academic activity. When taken together, their industry composition doesn't significantly differ from other urban megalopolises like New York and Los Angeles.

Dallas, by contrast, has few distinguishing characteristics. Out of all of Texas' big cities, it's the most reflective of the U.S. economy overall, not overly dependent on the ups and downs of technology, trade, or energy. The oil and gas sector directly accounts for only 8 percent of its jobs. That's the biggest reason why it's surged ahead of the rest of the state: The national economy is doing fairly well. Therefore, so is Dallas-Fort Worth.

"A strengthening economy is really providing a boost to DFW, giving us an advantage over state economic performance this year," said Amy Jordan, assistant economist with the Dallas Fed at a conference in November.

A lot of that growth has come from well-paid jobs in the business and financial services sectors: Banking, lawyering, consulting, etc. JPMorgan Chase, for example, has 12,000 employees in Dallas  the most of any city outside its headquarters in New York. It's also attractive to many kinds of business headquarters because of its central location and easy access to cheap office space. Cinepolis, a large chain of movie theaters, moved its U.S. headquarters there from California in July, citing a need for a larger footprint and the desire to expand to the east coast.

As a report from the Center for Opportunity Urbanism recently pointed out, offering all that in combination with mild winters and a cost of living that's much lower than most major cities has shifted the center of gravity for logistics and back-office functions from Chicago southward.

Of course, that means that if the U.S. economy tanks, then it's more likely to take Dallas down with it, by which time Houston may have emerged from its oily malaise  and the cycle will begin again.
A wrenching portrayal of black masculinity. The most cleverly relevant animated comedy since "The Simpsons." The breakout television performance of the year.

These were just some of the achievements in film and television that were overlooked by the 2017 Golden Globe Awards, whose nominees were announced Monday morning.

Sure, there were excellent mentions - Thandie Newton for "Westworld," Issa Rae for "Insecure," Casey Affleck for "Manchester by the Sea" - as well as attention paid to under-heralded films like "Hell or High Water" and "The Lobster." And the appearance of prestige television shows like "Stranger Things" and "Westworld" was welcome, if expected.

Still, the list of nominations offers an inadequate picture of the best achievements in 2016 and several stellar performances were ignored entirely - Martin Scorsese's "Silence" and Tom Hanks' "Sully" among them. But among the ignored, here are the five biggest nomination snubs for the Golden Globes this year.

1. Millie Bobby Brown, "Stranger Things"

Brown was the breakout performer in television this year. As Eleven in the Netflix sci-fi/monster series "Stranger Things," she wasn't just a badass girl with superpowers. Her character was also a victim of abuse, alienation and imprisonment who had to delve into her traumatic past in order to grow into a hero. In "Stranger Things," Brown didn't just triumph over abuse - she gave what could have been a pat tragic backstory maturity and complexity.

2. "BoJack Horseman"

Not since "The Simpsons" had an animated series so perfectly captured the current culture in America. Raphael Bob-Waksberg's Netflix show, in its third season this year, took a witty, cynical look at society's obsession with glamour and narcissism, then punched you in the gut with BoJack (Will Arnett), a washed-up television star, in one the best portrayals of addiction, depression and alcoholism on television. BoJack's world of celebrity may have seemed fake, but none of the show's insights were superficial.

3. Trevante Rhodes, "Moonlight"

In awards shows, films with an ensemble cast tend to get snubbed in the best actor/actress category. Trevante Rhodes was one-third of the age-jumping main character in "Moonlight," which means he was never meant to steal the show but to instead contribute to the film's tapestry of black, male and gay identity. His role as adult Chiron, a sensitive soul trapped in the body of a criminal, is every bit as nuanced as best-actor-nominated Casey Affleck's performance in "Manchester by the Sea," of another tight-lipped man with deep-seated trauma.

4. "Horace and Pete"

People seem to have forgotten about Louis C.K.'s pet project "Horace and Pete," a one-season, 10-episode web series that he released directly to his personal website without any marketing. The show, which is moving to Hulu, stars C.K. and Steve Buscemi as brothers, and Alan Alda as a bigoted patriarch who fight each other over what to do with a family-owned Brooklyn bar. The show was utterly surprising in how it delivered both comedy and tragedy. Like much of C.K.'s work, "Horace and Pete" blended genres - and in this case art forms (theater, television and film) - to tell a gut-wrenching story about loyalty, mortality and mental illness.

5. Commentators: Samantha Bee, John Oliver and Kate McKinnon

Talk shows aren't eligible for the Golden Globes. But if the Globes are to continue honoring television's best work, it needs to adapt. During the election year, Samantha Bee, with "Full Frontal," and John Oliver, with "Last Week Tonight," helped shaped popular thought, while Kate McKinnon, as Hillary Clinton, was the star of "Saturday Night Live" during one of the show's strongest seasons.
From top European fashion houses opening free-standing stores to the expansion of beloved local boutiques, Houston's high-style landscape is on the rise. These are five buzzy retailers heating up the scene.

 Forty Five Ten

Venerable Dallas retail empire Forty Five Ten has expanded to a primo corner of River Oaks District for its first location beyond Big D. Designed by Dallas-based Droese Raney Architecture, the 3,300-square-foot store touts 20-foot ceilings, steel-and-glass walls, Knoll furnishings and midcentury modern fixtures that display apparel from labels such as Marni, Nicholas Kirkwood, Commes des Garcons and Lanvin, alongside a handbag and shoe salon, Assouline book department and a men's area curated by style icon Nick Wooster. Housewares, gifts and beauty products also are available. Exclusive to Houston: Christopher Kane and Goop Skincare. River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer, Suite B01

 Celine

Terrazzo floors and a soft, neutral palette give way to floating shelves lined with iconic tricolored luggage totes and Phantom bags at Houston's first Celine boutique, located in the Galleria. Near a sitting area with contemporary white end tables, there's a tightly edited mix of jewelry, shoes and ready-to-wear pieces in the bold colors and striking silhouettes for which the French label is known. Large potted plants flank fitting rooms with ethereal water color-patterned doors. Galleria, 5015 Westheimer, 713-850-1285

 Abejas

After nearly two decades cultivating a loyal customer base that trusts her aesthetic of relaxed, California-inspired staples, owner Christina Mitchell has moved to a free-standing building near Southampton. Once a cement factory, the 3,600-square-foot space has been redesigned by Barbara Hill. The Abejas shopper tends to stay a while, so the larger layout includes an open kitchen with salads and other catered grab-and-go dishes (available to take onto the pebbled patio), and more room for new lines such as Tome, Sofie D'Hoore and Pedro Garcia. The staff might send customers - many of whom are area moms from adjacent West U - home with fresh eggs from on-site chicken coop, too. (Kids can feed the chickens on their way out.) 2517 South Blvd., 713-522-3025

 Christian Louboutin

A navy metal studded facade marks the entrance of Houston's first Christian Louboutin boutique, located in the designer wing of the Galleria. The opulent 2,259-square-foot space features the brand's signature red carpet, gold-and-glass shelves and deep-purple furnishings. In the men's area, locally made wood tiles, leather-paneled walls and high-top sneakers encased in glass lend a masculine feel. In addition to shoes, bags and small leather accessories for men and women, the shop stocks Christian Louboutin Beaute. Galleria, 5015 Westheimer, Suite A2265, 832-941-5923

 Whim

Cindy Reich operated Wink boutique on Bissonnet until 2008, bringing in then-emerging brands like Catherine Malandrino, Rebecca Taylor and Nanette Lepore, before bowing out of the business to focus on her family. Now she's back with Whim, a gallerylike space in Hollywood Square outfitted with rotating art, much of it local. On the racks for fall/winter: Warm by Winnie Beattie, Katharine Kidd, Sphere One, Allina Liu, Parisian line La Prestic and Spanish label Massob join Jenny Kayne and Grey by Jason Wu. 3637 W. Alabama, Suite 160, 713-714-6776
It started with classroom tensions and escalated to heated exchanges, shouting matches and scared students coming to Catherine Nolan-Ferrell's office, crying and asking for support.

Nolan-Ferrell, associate professor of Latin American history at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was witnessing the ripple effect of a polarizing presidential election, one in which President-elect Donald Trump promised to end an immigration program that protects hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.

The potential threat to that program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has left universities in San Antonio and around the country struggling to come to terms with that promise.

At UTSA, Nolan-Ferrell is circulating a petition to make the university a sanctuary campus. It is a controversial effort, but its supporters are undaunted.

"We vow not to be silent or passive when members of our community face fear and intimidation," the petition reads.

Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted last week that he would cut funding for any state campus that establishes sanctuary status for those students, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said much the same thing - although how a "sanctuary campus" is defined varies. The name is similar to the term "sanctuary cities," often referring to cities such as San Antonio that encourage police officers not to ask about immigrants' status at routine traffic stops, though even that term has legislators quibbling over its exact definition.

At some schools, administrations have come forward, writing open letters to the student body expressing their support for DACA. But at many others, including Texas State University and University of Texas campuses, faculty and staff are demanding that their administrations take a stronger stand, urging them to make their university a sanctuary for those students.

Nolan-Ferrell said she drafted a petition to UTSA President Ricardo Romo on Nov. 18 asking him to make the university a sanctuary campus because she sensed a growing climate of oppression, particularly toward student immigrants, and because at the time there had been no word from the UTSA administration on its stance on DACA students.

Since then, Romo and UT System Chancellor William McRaven have joined more than 300 other colleges in signing an open letter defending DACA. The leadership at St. Mary's University, the University of the Incarnate Word and San Antonio College also have signed the letter.

That's an important show of support, Nolan-Ferrell agreed, but she said it doesn't go far enough and continued to circulate the petition, which had almost 500 signatures when it was presented to Romo last week. Meanwhile, the faculty senate is conducting an electronic vote on a resolution to support the DACA students; it doesn't mention the term sanctuary campus. Nolan-Ferrell; Omar Valerio-Jimenez, a professor who helped draft the petition; Alistair Welchman, a faculty senator; and student representatives are scheduled to discuss the issue with university administration Tuesday.

By the numbers

UTSA reported 284 undocumented students, and Texas A&M University-San Antonio reported 55. Both campuses said they do not track how many DACA students they serve. The Alamo Colleges district of five community colleges has 746 students taking classes this semester who are listed as residents under DACA, according to spokesman Mario Muniz.

Representatives of Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of the Incarnate Word and St. Mary's University said they don't track the number of students protected by DACA but indicated that they do provide support for those students. St. Mary's Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, for example, held informational sessions for DACA students Nov. 29 and Dec. 1.

While Romo hasn't publicly mentioned the sanctuary campus issue, he issued a written statement: "I am grateful to our campus community for its expression of support and unity with our DACA students. I remain hopeful that our nation's leaders will continue to recognize the value of allowing these students to pursue their education in the United States."

Leaders at Texas A&M University and A&M-San Antonio did not sign the open letter of 300-plus colleges' support. After requests by community members that A&M-San Antonio become a sanctuary campus, however, President Cynthia Teniente-Matson sent an email campus-wide that was published in the university's newspaper, the Mesquite, last week.

"As an institution that embraces all forms of diversity, it is important that we act thoughtfully and project visible signs of commitment, equity and inclusive excellence for everyone," she said, but she also reminded the community that the university most comply with state and federal laws, which include immigration laws in addition to certain student protections.

At Alamo Colleges, Chancellor Bruce Leslie sent a letter just before Thanksgiving to the district's 52,000 students, directed at undocumented students who came here as children, known as DREAMers.

"I pledge to you on behalf of the entire Alamo Colleges family that we will continue to do all that is possible to ensure that you are supported at the Alamo Colleges," Leslie wrote. "We value your success and that of your families and community. We are committed to increasing the achievement of your personal and professional goals, and those of each and all of our students."

Although there was no pledge to become a sanctuary campus, Leslie said in an email that he and trustees would advocate for appropriate immigration policies along with other elected officials.

"We will work with them closely should change be proposed that would impact our students," Leslie said, adding that the board of trustees has the authority to direct him in responding to any changes in current practice.

Though exact definitions of sanctuary campuses vary, asking to be one seems to go one step further beyond symbolic support. The UTSA petition asks the university to promise not to release the immigration status of its students, to assign an office that would solely assist DACA students and to guarantee in-state tuition to students should their DACA protection get removed. It also urges that the university provide anti-bullying and "de-escalation intervention" training for faculty and students and that it provide information on what rights the campus has in the face of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Nolan-Ferrell has been outspoken about protecting the students she perceives as vulnerable to oppression on campus, and she has been both a source of support and recently, a target. Last week, she got a phone call she perceives as threatening. A young voice with a bad Spanish accent yelled expletives at her in a voicemail, she said, which she reported to UTSA police.

"We can disagree, but we can disagree respectfully. We don't have to say this person should not be here, or this person is fundamentally wrong - as in they don't have the right to exist. It's that stripping them of humanity, stripping them of their very basic protections, that's happening," she said. "The goal (of the petition) is to essentially have the administration reaffirm that UTSA respects diversity and that we will not tolerate hate speech."

Looking to the future

Carlos Aguilar, 25, remembers when President Barack Obama signed DACA into law.

"They said 'Carlos, watch the TV because something big is going to happen.' And I saw it on TV and I just started crying. It was like a telenovela. I was crying and crying and so excited," said Aguilar, who is getting his master's degree at UTSA. He moved to Texas when he was 14 because his mother married a U.S. citizen.

When Aguilar got DACA status in May 2013, a lot of things changed: He could legally drive a car, hold a job and receive financial aid. He didn't have to live with the constant feeling that he had something more to fear than his peers did. He didn't have to keep a secret.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"One of the things that (DACA) did is give students hope that they were going to be able to pursue an education in this country," said Erica Schommer, a clinical assistant professor of law at St. Mary's University.

While Aguilar had told select friends and mentors about his immigration status, it wasn't until he attended a highly publicized roundtable hosted by actress America Ferrera in February that he came out publicly.

"I thought I was living a double life: the undocumented student who couldn't work and do this and that, but also the American student whose education system raises him to think he has all the opportunity to achieve the American dream," he said. "But after that, I was like, why can't I be the same person? An undocumented American?"

If termination of the DACA program did come to pass, its students could be forced to drop out of college - not because they're not allowed to attend, but because they could lose their ability to pay for school, Schommer said. Without DACA, she said, students might lose their financial aid, might not be able to participate in work-study and would likely be unable to continue any part-time job they have.

Aguilar, now the leader of a student group he founded called the Immigrant Youth Leadership Organization, said he is optimistic. He said his community persevered before, noting that the Obama administration conducted the largest number of deportations in the history of the presidency. And so they will persevere now.

"For the longest time, our community has been scared to act. They think if we come out of the shadows, it's going to affect us. But that's not the case. I think if we all unite and call for action, we can do something about it," Aguilar said. "We shouldn't be freaking out at this moment until whatever happens, happens. And whatever happens, we're going to be OK because we're all together."

***

Calle Houston

sfosterfrau@express-news.net

Staff Writers Alia Malik and Lauren Caruba contributed to this report.
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When world-renowned architect Thom Mayne visits Houston, he doesn't think first about the diverse population, the delicious restaurant scene or the beautiful new parks.

"It's one of the most dispersed, horizontal, unplanned cities in the U.S., if not the world," he said recently.

Mayne wasn't thrilled that he spent an hour getting from Bush airport to Houston's center recently. The city sprawls farther even than L.A., his hometown. And it has no subway system like New York, his other hometown.

"I had no idea how horizontal it was," Mayne said. "It's going to share some of the problems L.A. has. As you're developing the horizontal city, you're limiting some of the options for transportation."

But the city he finds most like Houston?

"It's closer to Bangkok than any other city I could name, at every level," he said. "It barely functions as a city, in terms of a lot of people's ideas."

He was thinking about flooding and the lack of zoning.

"The ad-hocness of the way it grows is like Bangkok. You could put two high-rises together a meter apart and do anything you wanted to," Mayne said. "And when it floods, they just roll up their pants and walk into a brand-new building like it's normal.... This place floods all the time, and you tolerate it. When does it become untolerable?"

Mayne was in town to collaborate with University of Houston architecture professors Peter Zweig, Matt Johnson and Jason Logan on a "Vertical Studio" -- a deep-dive, conceptual project that dovetails with the work of the Now Institute at Mayne's firm, Morphosis, in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

Zweig said the professors wanted to investigate crises that Houston may face or is already facing: How might the built environment support or mitigate flooding? How will people live in the city? How will people get around? What will happen to the Ship Channel if industries go into decline or disappear?

Each professor chose a subject he feels has been overlooked in planning discussions  the port, the lack of zoning and the vacancies that come with boom-bust cycles  then asked students to explore the issues and suggest ways Houston's downtown could adapt.

Conceivably, some of the ideas could be realized one day, but that's not the point.

"They're provocations that force us to look at a situation in a certain way," Mayne said. "And the solution might take more than 30 students. It might take a really concerted, multi-disciplinary effort."

It's important that cities not "wait to break," Johnson said. "In Houston, we're going to reach a crisis quickly.... We need to up-armor the city to deal with those issues. But part of that is to identify what those issues are.

"Students come into school and think, 'I'm going to design buildings.' But in fact a lot of what they're doing is trying to come up with strategies for how to approach a problem. Sometimes the solution isn't architectural at all. Sometimes it's policy, or ecological. Or sometimes there's no solution or it isn't necessary."

To get a handle on this mode of thinking, fast-forward 60 years, when Houston could be a post-industrial city: The world will rely more on what we currently call alternative forms of energy, so petrochemical production won't be so important. That means the Port of Houston won't be as busy as it is today, and office building vacancies could be more permanent. The one thing pretty much guaranteed to flow, however, is flood water, with four or five major storm events each year.

For Mayne's visit, the students filled a gallery with slickly-produced posters  impressive graphics that could make your head swim, based on months of research into aspects of the region's infrastructure, land-use patterns, population, ecology, economy and policies.

Teaching assistant Munjer Hashim, a native of Bangladesh, produced cool renderings that imagine a downtown where floods might no longer be a negative, and where empty spaces in office buildings are filled with people-pleasing amenities.

He wanted to examine how downtown could become a better destination for people to live, play and work.

In spite of the city's efforts to add residential towers downtown, the area is still overwhelmingly a work environment. The nine-to-five population of 150,000 drops to 4,500 people after five  "and about 1,000 of them are in prison," Hashim said.

His Jetsons-esque drawings propose a network of skywalks that connect the"vacant" areas of skyscrapers, which could be re-purposed as indoor park spaces or hydroponic farms.

Take the CenterPoint Energy building, for example. "Right now, it's 80 percent occupied," Hashim said. "But with energy shifts, that could evolve. What if it becomes more vacant and becomes not just an office building, and it's more connected to other buildings?"

Hashim also imagines the downtown tunnel system moving water instead of people when it floods. Different architecture would accept floods as "more of a normalcy," he said, perhaps even forming some sort of cistern that could also be used for leisure.

Hashim said his work is just a small example of what the studio has produced, with "23 bright individuals and three amazing professors who have helped us look at Houston globally."

The Vertical Studio ends in June with an exhibition at the architecture gallery Aedas in Berlin, where Mayne, Wolf Prix, Gerald Hines and other global practitioners will participate in a symposium.

Bookmark Gray Matters. The ad-hocness of the way it grows is like Bangkok.
How are we going to save Spanish?

Yes, I know that a call to preserve the Spanish language might seem ludicrous at a time when more than 37 million people speak it in the U.S., up from 11 million in 1980. And yes, my question about saving Spanish may seem especially daft now, as Americas deranged politics pit hysterical Trumpian xenophobia, with its fear of being overrun by foreigners and their languages, against liberal triumphalism about growing diversity.

Butand I speak to that small, hardy tribe of Americans who still prefer to be ruled by facts and not fearsthe realities of immigration, education and language acquisition put the lie to the notion that Spanish has nowhere to go but up. To the contrary, there are clear signs that the Spanish language has already begun its decline. Which is why we should start thinking now about how we are going to preserve it.

Charts: What languages does Houston speak?

Spanish is confronting what might be called the Three Generation Death law of non-English languages here. German, Italian, and Polish all but disappeared after three generationsa first, immigrant generation that learned some English, a second, U.S.-born bilingual generation that lost its proficiency in the non-English language over time, and a third generation that grew up speaking English only, and knew the old language only by studying it.

Its possible that Spanish in the 21st century U.S. may prove more durable, given the undeniable cultural power of the language and the geographic (and now digital) proximity of the Spanish-speaking world. But its far more likely that Spanish will simply become the latest and largest tombstone in the language graveyard that is America.

Census statistics and Pew Research Center analysis tell the tale. While nearly 80 percent of all people nationwide who identify as Hispanic (and are age 5 and older) spoke Spanish in the previous decade, that number is expected to fall to about two-thirds by 2020. While 25 percent of Hispanics spoke only English at home in 2010, that figure is estimated to reach 34 percent in 2020.

Spanishs decline is likely to accelerate even as the percentage of people who trace their heritage to the Spanish-language world accelerates. To a great extent, this reflects the law of the three generations. While 53 percent of first-generation Latino arrivals to this country are Spanish-dominant and 40 percent are bilingual, some 80 percent of third-generation Latinos are English-dominant, and 15 percent are bilingual.

Other trends also will hurt Spanish. Even before the U.S. elected a Mexican-slurring bigot threatening a border wall, immigration to the U.S. from Mexico was at or below net zero, and immigration from Latin America was in deep decline. Thats unlikely to change, given growing middle-class prosperity, lower birth rates and higher education levels across much of Latin America. In this country, the U.S.-born constitute a rapidly increasing percentage of people of Spanish-speaking heritage. Greater integration of families is another factor; more than a quarter of Latino babies have a non-Latino parent.

The Spanish-language media are already grappling with the pressures of this change. Univision helped create Fusion, an English-language network, to woo the rising generations of English-speaking Latinos. (More recently, the network has repositioned itself to focus on millennials of all backgrounds). But there is likely to be considerable carnage among U.S.-based Spanish-language broadcasters and newspapers, which have been losing audiences as more Latino adults consume their news in English. Also troubling for such media: surveys suggest that the percentage of Latino adults who get their news in both languages is also declining.

At root, this is less the story of the decline of Spanish than it is the familiar tale of immigrants and their descendants integrating enthusiastically into American life. Another branch of the story involves the unrivaled and growing power of English as our planets dominant tongue. English proficiency is on the rise in every corner of the earthas the language of global commerce, culture and technology. Its also a wonderfully democratic language, without the divisive gender or class distinctions of Romance and other languages, without the tricky tones of Asian languages, and without the complex grammatical constructions that make German and Russian such slogs.

Preserving Spanish would serve history, and not just by honoring those Americans with roots in the Spanish-speaking world. States like Texas, California, and New Mexico have histories that can't be told without the language.

Preserving Spanish would serve the present and the future as well. There's big money to be made if we can increase trade with a Spanish-speaking world on the rise. And it would be a huge step up for our education system to make Spanish a core requirement. Right now, you can graduate from a Texas high school without taking even one course in a foreign language. And even Texas' top public universities require only two years of foreign language for admission. That borders on the criminally negligent, given all we know about the good that learning another language does for our brains.

Spanish needs much more, including state requirements and investment so that instruction is available to all. I'm very grateful to have attended Southern California private schools that made Spanish a full academic subject, with the same number of class hours as math and science and English, from grades six to 12. We'd all be better off if that were the standard in public schools as well.

States that preserve Spanish will have a comparative advantage over the rest of the country, where the language is likely to wither. In such states, Spanish could become a special force for distinguishing us and binding us together.

And with that happy thought, I wish you Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo.

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zocalo Public Square.

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This story appeared in the Houston Chronicle on July 4, 1954. The words and headlines are reprinted as they ran then.

A six-foot native Texan, father of five sons, was named Metropolitan Houston's millionth citizen Saturday night by the Chamber of Commerce.

He is 36-year-old Barney Cliffton McCasland, a geologist who moved his family here Thursday from Jackson, Miss.

The smiling newcomer, born in Novice, Coleman County, Texas, told Jesse H. Jones, who introduced him to some 2000 celebrants at Miller Memorial Theatre in Hermann Park:

"It's great to return to Texas. I'm mighty proud to be counted as the millionth citizen."

Thus the Chamber of Commerce rang down the curtain on a week-long program in which it told the world that the South's metropolis now ranks among the nation's dozen largest.

Mr. Houston

Jones, who was introduced to the gathering as "Mr. Houston," turned to the applauding crowd and remarked:

"Now, my friends, we must go to work on the next million."

When the financier introduced McCasland, he smiled and said:

"I'm very glad of the opportunity to introduce the millionth citizen. But there are really more, not one, but six others. They are his five sons and his wife, a fine family."

With the shirt-sleeved McCasland on the platform stood his wife, Mrs. Frances Titus McCasland, and their five sons, Barney III, who is 13; Pike, 11; Scott, 9; Mark, 7, and Bruce, 9 months.

They'll go with "Mr. Million" on an all-expense air trip to the 11 other cities in the nation in the million population class. That's just one of the $10,000 in gifts that the family was awarded.

Three gifts were given to the family on the platform. Master of Ceremonies Fred Nahas pointed to an elaborate floral arrangement and told McCasland that it was a gift from Jones.

An orchid was given to Mrs. McCasland by Jones and Nahas presented the family with a Bible.

1954 Chevrolet

The family drove home in a 1954 Chevrolet, gift of the chamber's industry committee.

Among the speakers during the two-hour program were Mayor Roy Hofheinz, County Judge Bob Casey and Chamber President Howard Tellepsen.

The mayor said that it was a great day for the "greatest city on earth." It is, he said, the beginning of a new era. He complimented the millionth citizen for his choice of a community.

Judge Casey said that metropolitan Houston is proud of its people, for, he said, it is the people who make the city.

Mr. Tellepsen said the "M" in "M" Day might well stand for "mission," since a great city like Houston has many missions.

There is a mission, he said, in education, industry, merchandising, agriculture, and many other facets of the city and county's life.

"Houston has had a mission to perform," he said, "and it will continue to serve that mission."

Busiest Man

Probably the busiest man during the program was tireless James Miller, the chamber's "M" Day chairman.

From the time 722nd Air Force Band from Ellington Air Force Base opened the program with a concert until the program's end, Miller rushed about taking care of details, pausing to go to the platform when he was scheduled to participate in the program.

He got one of the biggest laughs of the night when he detailed McCasland's air flight to visit the 11 other population cities.

Tracing the flight plan, Mr. Miller concluded:

"And then Mr. Million will start back to Houston, passing through Dallas."

The history of Houston, presented in tableaux by Minerva Black Dramatic School was colorful affair narrated by Nahas.

Presentation of McCasland and his family was the end of the story. The family was surprised and happy. The children seemed to get as much kick out of the television and news photographers as they did the ceremony.

Milwaukee Edged

This was the chamber of commerce's way of announcing that Houston has edged Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, ranked ahead of Houston in the 1950 census.

In the 1950 census Houston was listed as the biggest city in the South.

Cities in the nation with greater populations than Houston are New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, Washington, Boston and San Francisco.

UPDATE

McCasland lived in Houston for two more years and was transferred to Olney, Ill., in 1956.

In addition to the trip, the McCaslands received a new 1954 Chevrolet; a lot for a beach house, 100 shares of Texas Gulf Investment Corp. stock, restaurant meals, school supplies for a year for the children and lifetime memberships to the Houston Symphony Society, Contemporary Arts Museum, Museum of Natural Science and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,

"We had just bought a Ford station wagon, our first new car, so we traded the Chevrolet to a builder as a down payment on a house in Spring Branch," Frances McCasland, McCasland's wife, later told the Chronicle.

He died of cancer in 2004 in Midland at age 86.

Houston is now the fourth largest city in the country with 2.2 million people, according to census data. New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago are now the only cities that have larger populations The Houston-Galveston Area Council projects Houston will reach 2.9 million by 2040.

- Erin Mulvaney
Seven adopted children removed last month from their Richmond-area home amid allegations that they were abused and confined to a single filthy room have been placed together in a foster home, officials said Tuesday.

Tiffani Butler, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Family and Protective Services, confirmed that the children had been moved from the hospital to the foster home. But Butler said she could not comment further on the placement.
Two top Texas universities are joining a national effort to expand recruiting of and support for lower-income students.

Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin will be founding members of a Bloomberg Philanthropies-backed American Talent Initiative, through which institutions will share strategies and data on student recruitment and retention. Nationwide, member institutions hope to enroll 50,000 more low-income students by 2025 - right now, the initiative pegs that figure at about 430,000 students.

Bloomberg Philanthropies will put $1.7 million toward data collection, research dissemination andconferences for the program, which will be managed by the Aspen Institute's College Excellence Program and Ithaka S&R, an education nonprofit.

At least 12,500 low-income and middle-income high school graduates with strong academic credentials annually do not enroll in an institution where at least 70 percent of students graduate in six years, according to recent research cited by Ithaka S&R.

Member institutions will focus on recruiting students and making sure they are prepared for rigorous environments, sharing best practices. They will set their own goals and will not be bound to program-wide benchmarks, said Ithaka S&R Managing Director Catharine Hill.

"To make this work at institutions, you have to intervene along the pipeline," from encouraging students to apply to making sure they receive academic support, Hill said. "The returns of getting a BA are higher and more important now than ever."

Rice and UT, like many member institutions, already have programs dedicated to recruiting and retaining students from disadvantaged high schools.

Rice President David Leebron said the university will work to expand applications among students who may not think to apply to Rice. The university, he said, looks forward to learning more about other schools' programs.

Rice, where a semester's tuition is about $21,600, says students whose annual family income is $80,000 or less do not have to take out loans.

About 60 percent of Rice undergraduates have tuition subsidized by grants, loans and work-study programs, and about 15 percent of students receive Pell Grants, a federal program for low-income students. Rice is also a member of QuestBridge, a nonprofit that helps high-achieving, low-income students to and through college.

Leebron said his office is considering the long pipeline for lower-income students, including questions like whether students will arrive on campus with laptops.

"We don't want them to feel like, here are opportunities they can't take advantage of," he said.

'Rice believes in us'

A summer program at Rice brings incoming freshmen who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to Houston for lectures, homework and exams to prepare them for academic life.

The National Science Foundation gave this program nearly $1 million in May to fund 13 additional participants in the next five years. The program also receives support from the Hearst Foundations; the Houston Chronicle is owned by Hearst.

"(These students) have blown the doors off of every math course they've had," Leebron said, adding that the program is not a remedial course but teaches effective studying and collaboration tactics that students at more prestigious high schools may already know.

Briana Farias participated last summer. The 19-year-old freshman said the summer session refreshed key topics before she began studying chemical and biomolecular engineering.

Farias, a first-generation college student from Katy, said she didn't expect to get into Rice. She'd already started wearing red apparel from the University of Houston last spring, assuming she'd enroll there.

She recalls screaming, "Mom, I got in!" when she saw her acceptance notification as she drove through a Sonic Drive-in to buy a cherry slush.

When she feels overwhelmed by academics, she said she'll connect with other program participants. "I'm not the only one who feels kind of inadequate, in a way," she said. "But Rice believes in us. We all got the same acceptance letter."

National collaboration

Tuition at UT is about $5,000 per semester for in-state undergraduates. Roughly a quarter of UT students receive Pell Grants, and slightly more than half receive some form of financial aid, said Harrison Keller, deputy to the president for strategy and policy at UT-Austin.

Several UT programs aim to recruit, retain and hasten time to degree for lower-income students, he said.

UT's University Leadership Network, for example, has garnered national attention for its programming for 500 students annually. These students have demonstrated financial need and may not be prepared for the university's academic rigor. The program started with the Class of 2017, and UT says that participant retention is similar to that of the overall student population.

In October, the program received a $265,000 grant to support 50 students in the current academic year. The incentive program ties access to additional scholarship money to participation in program trainings and events - as well as keeping up with required annual credit hours.

Another program called OnRamps brings the university's materials and instructional strategies to 106 Texas high schools serving thousands of students.

The ability to collaborate with universities nationwide, Keller said, will hopefully spread knowledge of effective programing across institutions.

"We feel like we have a lot to contribute to the discussions, but also a lot, still, to learn," he said.
Hundreds of angry and frustrated parents turned out on Monday night at separate forums in Houston and Dallas to tell federal education officials how hard it has been to get their children special education services and demand an end to an arbitrary cap that has made special education enrollments in Texas the lowest in the nation.

In Houston, an overflow crowd of 200 educators, politicians, parents and family members filled a cavernous meeting room northwest of downtown, providing often emotional remarks to officials from the U.S. Department of Education, who had called the "listening sessions," and the Texas Education Agency.

The meeting went well past the two-hour limit, as indignant parents demanded to be heard and voiced outrage over the struggles they've endured trying to obtain special education services for their disabled children. Some came from more than 150 miles away.

"We need to make sure no parent is discouraged, pushed out, or challenged from seeking assistance for their child no matter what language or special need that child may have," said state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat, kicking off the session.

DENIED: How Texas keeps thousands of kids out of special ed

In the Dallas suburb of Richardson, a crowd of more than 100 included dozens of parents who shared their special education horror stories, extending the session for more than an hour beyond its scheduled two hours.

"Welcome to my journey from hell," said Morgan Lyles, whose son attended a Harmony charter school in Dallas. She said he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at age 5 and has failed the state STAAR test 14 times but has never been evaluated to see if he qualified for special education services.

Chronicle investigation

The listening sessions were part of a federal probe launched in October in response to a Houston Chronicle investigation that revealed the TEA arbitrarily decided in 2004 that only 8.5 percent of students should get special education services such as counseling, tutoring and therapy.

In the years since, the agency has audited school districts for serving too many children. Schools have responded by dramatically curtailing services, dropping the percentage of students in special education from near the national average of 13 percent to exactly 8.5 percent, by far the lowest of any state in the nation.

Texas set its 8.5 percent "benchmark" while facing a $1.1 billion state budget cut and without consulting the federal government, state lawmakers or any research.

In response to the revelations, the U.S. Department of Education ordered the TEA to end the benchmark unless it could prove that no children with disabilities have been deprived of services. Federal officials also asked the state to come up with a plan to "remedy" the past denial of services.

The TEA told the federal government it immediately would suspend and eventually eliminate the benchmark. But it also vigorously defended the policy, saying it was not a "cap" on students allowed to get special education services, was not designed to save money and that the agency did not seriously punish districts that gave services to more than 8.5 percent of students.

Tearful testimonies

Both sessions Monday night ran high on emotion.

In Houston, parents - at times growing tearful as they shared their frustrations - raised a variety of issues, complained of being ignored by principals, administrators and teachers who made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to receive services for their children that are guaranteed by federal law. Several said they had to pull their child out of public school and find a private education for them, often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, urged federal officials to sanction the TEA and Texas. "It's important, as the TEA listens, that they understand the response they gave to the Department of Education was not satisfactory," she said.

Tracy Atkins, the mother of two children in Klein Independent School District, said educators called her daughter cute and sweet but ignored her learning needs.

"My child is seven, and she can't identify the word 'the,' and that's wrong," Atkins said.

Special education enrollments in Houston have dropped from 10.1 percent when TEA officials first implemented the 8.5 percent benchmark as part of a school district monitoring system, to 7.1 percent in 2015, even as overall enrollments have grown. HISD officials - along with others from more than a half dozen of Texas' largest school districts - have said recently that they oppose the state's benchmark.

KIDS LEFT OUT: Under pressure, Texas schools shut out English Language Learners

"Parents have gone through tremendous struggles here, there certainly seem to be some issues we need to look into further," said Gregory Corr, with the U.S. Office of Special Ed Programs, noting they had received a very different perspective from teachers at a different meeting earlier in the day. "Our job is to try to figure out - to be as objective as possible - and see where the truth lies."

"We're just concerned. We heard a lot of stories about delays - a lot of accusations that services were denied - those are the very things that triggered our visit. The Chronicle's article saying there were these benchmarks or caps placed on districts for the percentage of kids who could be considered eligible for special ed."

The visit was "unusual," he said, adding that he it had been about a decade since the Department of Education had conducted a listening tour like they were performing this week in Texas.

All walks of life

At the session in Richardson, parents came from all over North Texas  and beyond. One woman flew in from Lubbock. A dozen of them spoke only Spanish.

The parents had children of all ages, with all types of disabilities, and they were of every socioeconomic class. But out of their stories emerged common themes.

They described being denied requests for getting children with disabilities evaluated for special education. They said they had experienced delays in providing services. In the end, they said, their unserved students had ended up failing classes and, in some cases, dropping out of school.

Out of 50 speakers, just one parent said she was happy with the process for getting into special education.

And only one educator defended the way that special education is handled - Sheila Jones, the special education director at Quinlan ISD, which has a special education rate of 11.8 percent, far above the state's 8.5 percent average.

"People do not get into education to deny services to children," Jones said.

But immediately after her testimony, another educator, school psychologist Abel Tomatis, offered a different perspective.

Tomatis, who worked in Dallas ISD between 2005 and 2015, said he agreed that people do not go into education to deny services. But it happens frequently, in part due to the TEA's special education enrollment target, he said.

"Every single thing I've heard from parents, I've seen firsthand," said Tomatis, now a Southern Methodist University employee, who said he saw schools keep kids out of special education through "a million and one reasons for delay."

Many educators agreed with Tomatis - including a high-ranking former Dallas ISD administrator, Daphne LaMontagne, who said she resigned due to concerns about the denial of special education services.

Dallas ISD frequently denied special education services in order to keep its numbers low to avoid "special education jail," LaMontagne said.

Toward the end of the listening session, Plano parent Shane Watson implored the federal government to take action.

"What I am asking for tonight is not to let the state of Texas go by and do things as normal," he said.

In North Texas, some school districts gave special education services to a stunningly small number of students even before the TEA benchmark began.

In Dallas ISD, the second biggest in the state, for example, only about 8 percent of students received services in the year before the benchmark began. In the years since, as the state has pressured all to curtail services, the district has gone even lower. Last school year, Dallas ISD served just 6.9 percent of students in special ed, half the national average and the lowest of any major urban district in the United States.

CLOSED DOORS: Mentally ill lose out as special ed declines

When the Houston Chronicle first asked the district to justify how it could provide services to so few students, a spokeswoman defended the district's percentage by saying it "falls within the state's acceptable range of 0-8.5 percent."

After the Chronicle published the first installment of its series, Dallas ISD's superintendent announced he was launching an internal review to find out the reason that the rate is so low.

In the region's other major urban school district, Fort Worth ISD, the percentage of students in special education has fallen from around 10 percent before the benchmark to roughly 7.5 percent.

In Richardson, the suburb where the meeting was held, the percentage receiving services has dropped from 12.4 percent to 10.5 percent.

Rachael Gleason contributed to this report.
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Hundreds of angry and frustrated parents turned out on Monday night at separate forums in Houston and Dallas to tell federal education officials how hard it has been to get their children special education services and demand an end to an arbitrary cap that has made special education enrollments in Texas the lowest in the nation.

In Houston, an overflow crowd of 200 educators, politicians, parents and family members filled a cavernous meeting room northwest of downtown, providing often emotional remarks to officials from the U.S. Department of Education, who had called the "listening sessions," and the Texas Education Agency.

The meeting went well past the two-hour limit, as indignant parents demanded to be heard and voiced outrage over the struggles they've endured trying to obtain special education services for their disabled children. Some came from more than 150 miles away.

"We need to make sure no parent is discouraged, pushed out, or challenged from seeking assistance for their child no matter what language or special need that child may have," said state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat, kicking off the session.

In the Dallas suburb of Richardson, a crowd of more than 100 included dozens of parents who shared their special education horror stories, extending the session for more than an hour beyond its scheduled two hours.

"Welcome to my journey from hell," said Morgan Lyles, whose son attended a Harmony charter school in Dallas. She said he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at age 5 and has failed the state STAAR test 14 times but has never been evaluated to see if he qualified for special education services.

Chronicle investigation

The listening sessions were part of a federal probe launched in October in response to a Houston Chronicle investigation that revealed the TEA arbitrarily decided in 2004 that only 8.5 percent of students should get special education services such as counseling, tutoring and therapy.

In the years since, the agency has audited school districts for serving too many children. Schools have responded by dramatically curtailing services, dropping the percentage of students in special education from near the national average of 13 percent to exactly 8.5 percent, by far the lowest of any state in the nation.

Texas set its 8.5 percent "benchmark" while facing a $1.1 billion state budget cut and without consulting the federal government, state lawmakers or any research.

In response to the revelations, the U.S. Department of Education ordered the TEA to end the benchmark unless it could prove that no children with disabilities have been deprived of services. Federal officials also asked the state to come up with a plan to "remedy" the past denial of services.

The TEA told the federal government it immediately would suspend and eventually eliminate the benchmark. But it also vigorously defended the policy, saying it was not a "cap" on students allowed to get special education services, was not designed to save money and that the agency did not seriously punish districts that gave services to more than 8.5 percent of students.

Tearful testimonies

Both sessions Monday night ran high on emotion.

In Houston, parents - at times growing tearful as they shared their frustrations - raised a variety of issues, complained of being ignored by principals, administrators and teachers who made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to receive services for their children that are guaranteed by federal law. Several said they had to pull their child out of public school and find a private education for them, often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, urged federal officials to sanction the TEA and Texas. "It's important, as the TEA listens, that they understand the response they gave to the Department of Education was not satisfactory," she said.

Tracy Atkins, the mother of two children in Klein Independent School District, said educators called her daughter cute and sweet but ignored her learning needs.

"My child is seven, and she can't identify the word 'the,' and that's wrong," Atkins said.

Special education enrollments in Houston have dropped from 10.1 percent when TEA officials first implemented the 8.5 percent benchmark as part of a school district monitoring system, to 7.1 percent in 2015, even as overall enrollments have grown. HISD officials - along with others from more than a half dozen of Texas' largest school districts - have said recently that they oppose the state's benchmark.

"Parents have gone through tremendous struggles here, there certainly seem to be some issues we need to look into further," said Gregory Corr, with the U.S. Office of Special Ed Programs, noting they had received a very different perspective from teachers at a different meeting earlier in the day. "Our job is to try to figure out - to be as objective as possible - and see where the truth lies."

"We're just concerned. We heard a lot of stories about delays - a lot of accusations that services were denied - those are the very things that triggered our visit. The Chronicle's article saying there were these benchmarks or caps placed on districts for the percentage of kids who could be considered eligible for special ed."

The visit was "unusual," he said, adding that he it had been about a decade since the Department of Education had conducted a listening tour like they were performing this week in Texas.

All walks of life

At the session in Richardson, parents came from all over North Texas  and beyond. One woman flew in from Lubbock. A dozen of them spoke only Spanish.

The parents had children of all ages, with all types of disabilities, and they were of every socioeconomic class. But out of their stories emerged common themes.

They described being denied requests for getting children with disabilities evaluated for special education. They said they had experienced delays in providing services. In the end, they said, their unserved students had ended up failing classes and, in some cases, dropping out of school.

Out of 50 speakers, just one parent said she was happy with the process for getting into special education.

And only one educator defended the way that special education is handled - Sheila Jones, the special education director at Quinlan ISD, which has a special education rate of 11.8 percent, far above the state's 8.5 percent average.

"People do not get into education to deny services to children," Jones said.

But immediately after her testimony, another educator, school psychologist Abel Tomatis, offered a different perspective.

Tomatis, who worked in Dallas ISD between 2005 and 2015, said he agreed that people do not go into education to deny services. But it happens frequently, in part due to the TEA's special education enrollment target, he said.

"Every single thing I've heard from parents, I've seen firsthand," said Tomatis, now a Southern Methodist University employee, who said he saw schools keep kids out of special education through "a million and one reasons for delay."

Many educators agreed with Tomatis - including a high-ranking former Dallas ISD administrator, Daphne LaMontagne, who said she resigned due to concerns about the denial of special education services.

Dallas ISD frequently denied special education services in order to keep its numbers low to avoid "special education jail," LaMontagne said.

Toward the end of the listening session, Plano parent Shane Watson implored the federal government to take action.

"What I am asking for tonight is not to let the state of Texas go by and do things as normal," he said.

In North Texas, some school districts gave special education services to a stunningly small number of students even before the TEA benchmark began.

In Dallas ISD, the second biggest in the state, for example, only about 8 percent of students received services in the year before the benchmark began. In the years since, as the state has pressured all to curtail services, the district has gone even lower. Last school year, Dallas ISD served just 6.9 percent of students in special ed, half the national average and the lowest of any major urban district in the United States.

When the Houston Chronicle first asked the district to justify how it could provide services to so few students, a spokeswoman defended the district's percentage by saying it "falls within the state's acceptable range of 0-8.5 percent."

After the Chronicle published the first installment of its series, Dallas ISD's superintendent announced he was launching an internal review to find out the reason that the rate is so low.

In the region's other major urban school district, Fort Worth ISD, the percentage of students in special education has fallen from around 10 percent before the benchmark to roughly 7.5 percent.

In Richardson, the suburb where the meeting was held, the percentage receiving services has dropped from 12.4 percent to 10.5 percent.

Rachael Gleason contributed to this report.




Chad Holley's name became a rallying cry six years ago for Houstonians protesting police brutality after video surfaced showing officers beating and kicking the prone teenager.

Marches, protests and courthouse shouting matches erupted as officials and community organizers clashed, laying bare discontent about the treatment of minorities by local law enforcement and leading to criminal charges against four officers.

This week, in a stunning twist, the 22-year-old one-time burglar has been charged with capital murder in the Sept. 21 shooting of a man during an alleged robbery in north Houston, one in a series of three crimes he is accused of committing near his home over a two-week period.

Attorneys representing Holley did not return callsMonday, but community activist Quanell X issued a statement in his defense.

"I've had a chance to speak with the Holley family and I've spoken to Chad," Quanell said. "He vigorously denies he has killed anyone. I've known Chad since he was 15 years old. Chad has had many problems but the Chad Holley I know I would be hard pressed to believe he's a killer."

Holley was charged Sunday in the fatal shooting of David Trejo-Gonzalez, 42, who was approached by a man as he walked from the parking lot of his apartment in the 100 block of East Crosstimbers about 9:30 p.m., according to court records.

The man demanded money, and Trejo-Gonzalez was shot in the course of the robbery, officials said. The shooter is believed to have fled the scene in a low-rider SUV or pickup driven by an accomplice.

Facing other charges

Holley was already in custody on misdemeanor theft and trespassing charges when he was charged with capital murder in Trejo-Gonzalez's death.

According to court documents, he is also accused of stealing a woman's cellphone on Sept. 27 and with trespassing on Oct. 9, the day he was arrested.

An alleged accomplice in the trespassing case who was also arrested on Oct. 9 was convicted of the misdemeanor offense and sentenced to 20 days in jail. He has since been released.

In 2010, Holley was a 15-year-old sophomore at Elsik High School when he landed in the national spotlight. A surveillance video showed Houston police officers beating the unarmed teen after he fled during a burglary arrest.

Afterward, a dozen officers were disciplined and four were indicted on misdemeanor charges. Raad Hassan and Phil Bryan pleaded no contest in 2013 and were sentenced to two years of probation.

Andrew Blomberg was found not guilty after a trial, while his partner Drew Ryser was convicted on a misdemeanor oppression charge.

Ryser was accused of kicking Holley in the head, a charge he denied even after the jury's verdict.

"I didn't kick him. If it looks that way to somebody, it looks that way, but I'm not going to lie about it," he said at the time.

Holley settled claims with the four accused officers in 2014 but a federal judge tossed out his lawsuit against the city in 2015.

"The parties do not dispute that Holley had a constitutional right to be free from unreasonable and excessive force and that the offending officers violated that right, but they dispute whether the city is liable for that violation," the judge wrote.

Pleaded for leniency

Holley made headlines again in 2013 by pleading guilty to a June 2012 burglary and asking for leniency.

The prosecutor argued that Holley deserved four years in prison because of a prior burglary conviction.

Holley, however, told the judge that he was a new father and had enrolled in trade school to learn massage therapy. His family also urged the judge to be lenient, saying the structure of probation would help him build a better life.

The judge sentenced him to seven years of deferred adjudication, a form of probation that does not lead to a conviction if the probationary term is completed without incident.

The arrest in October, however, triggered efforts by prosecutors to convert the deferred adjudication to a conviction for the 2012 burglary. A judge was scheduled to decide later this month if he should be sent to prison.

Holley is expected to appear in court Tuesday on the capital murder charge.

If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty, if the district attorney's office decides to proceed with capital punishment.
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Dogs and searchers on horseback combed the fields and woods near a Buc-ee's convenience store in Madisonville, searching for an escapee from the Galveston County Jail spotted there early Tuesday.

Dominic Potter, a 38-year-old offender awaiting trial on a felony forgery charge, escaped Monday evening while taking out trash from the jail kitchen, police said.

A few hours later, a local law-enforcement officer spotted the pickup that Potter allegedly stole at the busy store and gas station about 100 miles north of Houston on Interstate 45. Store surveillance video shows the escapee running through the store, moving through the deli and exiting through a rear door.

Though Potter was wearing a blue jail jumpsuit when he fled, the video showed him wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt. Police do not believe the 5-foot-11, 170-pound man is armed.

After more than 12 hours of searching did not yield any clues, the Madison County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday afternoon that deputies from Madison and Galveston counties would return to normal duties, handing off the search to state police and a fugitive task force.

Potter's court-appointed defense attorney, Ben Sullivant, had a message for his client: "Turn yourself in."

"I can't represent him when he's on the run," he said, adding that he likely would represent Potter on any charges related to his flight from jail.

The investigation of Potter's escape will continue, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said, adding that only one other prisoner has escaped the jail since he was elected sheriff in 2012.

Alex Washington, 38, escaped in March by switching an identification armband with a prisoner who was scheduled to be released. Washington was captured after about 24 hours.

Potter escaped about 7 p.m. Monday, said Trochesset, who gave the following account:

Potter and another prisoner, accompanied by a deputy, were carrying trash to a dumpster near a loading dock. The loading dock is in an area enclosed by high walls topped with concertina wire, which has large coils designed to prevent escapes.

Trucks carrying supplies enter the loading dock through a tall gate that is opened and closed by deputies in a control room inside the jail. The gate was open when the deputy escorted the trash detail by foot to the docks because a cook had just driven out through the gate.

The deputy saw the open gate and realized he had to notify the control room using an intercom on the loading dock. As the deputy turned his back on the inmates for a moment to push the intercom button, Potter sprinted about 30 yards and ran through the gate before it closed.

Jail deputies are unarmed. Even if they did carry firearms, fleeing prisoners cannot be shot unless they pose a threat to human life.

Potter ran across a wide field that separates the jail from Broadway Boulevard, the main thoroughfare in Galveston. Deputies quickly discovered that a pickup had been stolen from a business in the area and put out a bulletin to other law-enforcement agencies in the state.

The sheriff said cooks will no longer be able to park in the area nearing the loading dock.

When he escaped, Potter was being held on $50,000 bail on a charge of forging a government document. He also was wanted in Tarrant County on suspicion of theft.

Records show Potter has convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping in 1998 in addition to theft convictions in 1997 and 1999. Potter now faces stolen-car and escape charges.

Anyone with information about Potter should not approach him but should contact local law enforcement, officials said.
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Austin Tice's family will soon observe their fourth holiday season without him.

The Houston native's father said the hole he feels in his family every day grows more pronounced around the holidays.

"We'll still have joyous family gatherings," he said, "but there'll be that empty space that Austin is usually filling with his outsize personality."

Marc Tice, father of the journalist abducted four years ago in war-torn Syria, said he was buoyed by comments from Texas' senior U.S. senator.

Sen. John Cornyn said Friday that the president's special envoy for hostage affairs expressed "high confidence" that the Houston native is still alive and held along with other American captives. In his remarks on the Senate floor, the Republican celebrated the "positive yet cautious news" about the freelance reporter abducted in August 2012.

The family of Tice, who grew up in southwest Houston's Westbury neighborhood, welcomed the speech.

"We were really happy to see Sen. Cornyn publicly share the same optimism that we have," Austin's father, Marc, said Monday in a phone interview.

"People understand this is not just blind optimism on our part," he added. "There's every real reason to keep pushing for Austin's return."

Marc Tice said his family had received the same news from special envoy James O'Brien and the interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, which was established in June 2015 partly to improve communication with families like the Tices.

"Since that time there's just been a sea change," he said. "We went from, for us, more than a couple of years of struggling to get information ... to the situation now where we are in constant contact, and we're frequently briefed on the latest efforts."

He hopes the government's work does not slow down. "It's the end of the year, it's the end of the administration, but we don't want to see any let-up in their focus," he said.

Tice is the only American journalist still held in Syria, according to the Reporters Without Borders advocacy group. Another group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, counts 107 killed in war-torn country since the regime first cracked down on protests in 2011. Among them were James Foley and Steven Sotloff, American freelancers whose executions was broadcast online by the Islamic State militant group.

Cornyn's press secretary said the senator declined to comment on the latest news about Tice beyond his public remarks. The CIA also declined comment.

A State Department spokesperson said Tice's case "has the attention of the highest levels in the U.S. government."

The spokesperson said in an email that U.S. diplomats gather information about Tice through the Czech mission in Syria, where the U.S. embassy closed in 2012.

"We are in regular contact with the families of U.S. citizens who are detained abroad," the spokesperson added. "Because of privacy considerations, we have nothing further to add at this time."

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio and a member of the House intelligence committee, cheered the reports of Tice's survival.

"His safe return, and the safe return of all Americans held captive in Syria and around the world, must be a priority for our nation," Castro said in an email from his press secretary. "I call for his immediate release and remain hopeful that he will be reunited with his parents."

Austin Tice, a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, was abducted in August 2012 while working in Syria as a freelance journalist for McClatchy, the Washington Post and other news outlets. He was reporting about rebels fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

He was last seen on a shaky YouTube video posted a month after his disappearance, as his captors led him, blindfolded, into a scrubby hillside. The 46-second video ends abruptly with Tice speaking in fractured Arabic before saying, "Jesus. Oh, Jesus."

His mother, Debra Tice, wrote in a Chronicle guest column two years ago about "the myriad questions that have haunted us for the last 17,520 hours. What is Austin's life like today? Is he safe? Is he eating enough? Is he alone? Can he see the sky? How does he pass the time? Does he know how many people are praying and working for his safe return?"

Last month the Newseum, a journalism museum in Washington, unveiled a 24-foot-tall banner of Tice meant to boost public awareness of his continued captivity and urge the U.S. government to keep working for his release. If Tice is still missing on Jan. 20, the new president will drive past his banner on the inaugural parade route.

Marc Tice encouraged supporters to sign a Reporters Without Borders petition calling for his son's return and to contact senators, representatives and the White House. He also welcomed prayers for Austin's safety and good health, and for the Tice family.
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BEIRUT - Syrian rebels retreated from former strongholds in eastern Aleppo in a "terrifying" collapse Monday, holding onto a small sliver of territory packed with fighters and thousands of civilians as government troops pressed on with their rapid advance.

The Syrian military said it had gained control of 99 percent of the former opposition enclave in eastern Aleppo, signaling an impending end to the rebels' four-year hold over parts of the city as the final hours of battle played out.

"The situation is very, very critical," said Ibrahim al-Haj of the Syrian Civil Defense, volunteer first responders who operate in rebel-held areas. He said he was seeking shelter for himself and his family, fearing clashes or capture by the government.

Conflict continues

Retaking Aleppo, which has been divided between rebel- and government-controlled zones since 2012, would be President Bashar Assad's biggest victory yet in the country's civil war. But it does not end the conflict: Significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed.

On Sunday, the Islamic State group re-occupied the ancient town of Palmyra, taking advantage of the Syrian army and its Russian backers' preoccupation with the fighting in Aleppo. On Monday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS fighters were on the verge of imposing a siege on a nearby army base known as T4.

The ISIS recapture of Palmyra nine months after it was retaken by Syrian government and Russian troops led to mutual recriminations between Western officials and Moscow.

Defending what's left

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault accused Russia of "pretending to fight terrorism" while it concentrated on Aleppo, leaving room for the militants to retake Palmyra. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lashed back, accusing the U.S.-led coalition of orchestrating the Palmyra takeover "in order to give a respite to the bandits sitting in eastern Aleppo."

In Aleppo, staff members of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held territory huddled in a shelter as Syrian government forces pushed in. "Those killed and wounded are left on the streets," said the clinic's administrator, Mohammed Abu Rajab.

"The collapse is terrifying," said Bassam Haj Mustafa, a rebel spokesman in contact with fighters in the city. Opposition fighters were "doing their best to defend what is left," he said.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 60 civilians and fighters were killed in rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo on Monday alone.

Earlier Monday, Syrian troops and allied Shiite militiamen from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran captured Sheikh Saeed, a sprawling neighborhood in eastern Aleppo. The military also claimed to have retaken al-Fardous, one of the most populous districts.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled to government-held western Aleppo since the offensive began last month.
WASHINGTON - The top two Republicans in Congress said on Monday that they supported investigations into possible Russian cyberattacks to influence the American election, setting up a potential confrontation with President-elect Donald Trump in his first days in office.

"Any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing, and I strongly condemn any such efforts," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., adding that "the Russians are not our friends."

McConnell's support for investigating U.S. intelligence findings that Moscow had intervened in the election on Trump's behalf presages possible friction between the Republicans who control Congress, and who have long taken a hard line against Russia, and the president-elect, who has mocked the findings.

McConnell also went out of his way to address Trump's claim that the CIA could not be trusted because of flawed intelligence in the runup to the Iraq War.

"Let me say that I have the highest confidence in the intelligence community," McConnell said, "and especially the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA is filled with selfless patriots, many of whom anonymously risk their lives for the American people."

The top Republican in the House, Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, said he supported an ongoing investigation by Rep. Devin Nunes of California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In a statement, Ryan said: "As I've said before, any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable. And any intervention by Russia is especially problematic because, under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests."

Fear of offending

Congressional Republicans' support for inquiries came after Trump railed for much of the weekend against the intelligence findings. But their remarks, especially Ryan's, were far from fiery, reflecting both a fear of offending Trump, who has taken many positions against traditional Republican orthodoxy, and the Republicans' belief that Democrats have selectively leaked intelligence information for political gain.

The call for congressional investigations into Russian hacking comes as critics from both parties are questioning Trump's consideration of Rex Tillerson, chief executive of Exxon Mobil, as secretary of state, particularly over his long-standing business ties with Russia and his close relationship with President Vladimir Putin, whom he has known for two decades.

Trump said in a Twitter post on Monday night that he would make a formal announcement on the post on Tuesday morning.

Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida, both Republican, have expressed concern about the reports of cyberattacks, as have numerous Democrats.

But Rubio, in an apparent reference to Tillerson, went a step further on Monday, saying on Twitter: "Being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for from a Secretary Of State."

McConnell said the Senate investigation would be driven by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, will add a subcommittee to look into cyberattacks, led by Graham.

"The first thing we want to establish is, 'Did the Russians hack into our political system?'" Graham said in an interview Monday. "Then you work outward from there. I have a high degree of confidence Russia did this."

Nunes, a member of Trump's transition team, said in a statement that the intelligence committee has been "conducting vigorous oversight of the investigations into election-related cyberattacks."

Nunes also noted that his committee would be scrutinizing the review of the Russian effort to influence the election ordered by President Barack Obama last week.

Democrats have used the latest intelligence findings to renew their calls for an urgent inquiry. John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, on Monday demanded that all information about Russia's meddling be declassified, and that the Obama administration explain what it knows about the hacking and when it knew it.

Distress every American

"We now know that the CIA has determined Russia's interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump," Podesta wrote in a statement. "This should distress every American. Never before in the history of our republic have we seen such an effort to undermine the bedrock of our democracy."

Three Senate Democrats - Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, Dianne Feinstein of California and Patrick Leahy of Vermont - called on Monday for the creation of an independent, nonpartisan commission to comprehensively investigate allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

But McConnell stopped short of calling for a special select committee, saying that the Senate intelligence committee was "more than capable of conducting a complete review" of the matter.

While he stopped short of saying whether he agreed that Russia had interfered in the election in support of Trump, McConnell said, "We need to approach all these on the assumption the Russians do not wish us well."
AUSTIN - Abortion rights advocates sued Texas Monday, accusing state officials of playing politics with women's health by mandating medically unnecessary burials or cremations of fetal remains.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, on behalf of several abortion providers, argues in its lawsuit that the Texas Department of State Health Services' new rule requiring health centers provide for the burial or cremation of fetal remains from an abortion or miscarriage amounts to an unconstitutional barrier to the procedure in "direct defiance" of a U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against the state in June.

"These regulations are an insult to Texas women, the rule of law and the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared less than six months ago that medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion access are unconstitutional," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a national abortion rights advocacy organization.

The lawsuit also alleges the state's rule shames women and will artificially drive up the cost of an abortion.

Filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas, the suit comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to curtail the state's restrictive 2013 abortion law commonly referred to as House Bill 2. The high court struck down two provisions of that law - a requirement that abortion clinics meet the same costly standards as ambulatory surgical centers and that doctors who perform abortions obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals - as unconstitutional.

The court ruled in that case that abortion restrictions must provide a medical benefit.

"Also like HB 2, the regulation has no public health benefit," read the lawsuit. "It does nothing to improve public health or safety, as DSHS alleges; rather, it is a pretext for restricting abortion access."

The rule, which goes into effect Dec. 19, for the first time treats fetal tissue differently from other human tissue and organs following a medical procedure. Human remains, including fetal tissue, currently may be disposed of via incineration, burial, removal to a sanitary landfill or ground up and washed down a sanitary sewer.

The new regulation will force health care providers to work with a limited number of third-party vendors for burial or cremation, according to the suit, which could drive up costs for women seeking an abortion or having a miscarriage.

Gov. Greg Abbott takes credit for pushing the rule change and told supporters in a fundraising email the policy will ensure the "human dignity" of the unborn and the "sanctity of life." It was not until September that the department revised the proposal to add that the new rules would help "prevent the spread of disease."

Abbott did not respond Monday to repeated requests for comment on the plaintiffs' claim that the regulation has no bearing on public health or medical safety.

Attorney General Ken Paxton's office plans to "proudly" defend the new rules in court, according to a spokesman.

"These new rules simply provide for the humane disposal of fetal tissue instead of sending it to landfills like unwanted trash, as is the abortion industry's current practice. They do not, in any way, interfere with a woman's access to abortion," said Marc Rylander.

More than 90 percent of reported abortions in Texas were performed during the first trimester, according to 2014 data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The state received more than 35,000 public comments on the rule change, among them concerns from the Texas Funeral Directors Association. It fears members would have to hire more people to handle the workload but absorb the cost for women who cannot afford burial, which could run as much as $2,000, or a cremation which could cost $450 to $1,000.

State officials say responsibility should rest with health care providers to pay for the cremation or burial.

Abbott touted the new rule just days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on HB 2.

More than half the state's 41 abortion clinics have closed since the Texas Legislature passed the 2013 law.
BRUCE WEAVER/Stringer

A modest exhibit at Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs says a lot about the man whose life it depicts. Photographs on three small curved panels, arranged like a sequence of sound waves, chart an ordinary citizen's journey through an extraordinary life. We encounter the New Concord, Ohio, plumber's son who married his childhood sweetheart; the decorated U.S. Marine fighter pilot who flew 149 combat missions in World War II's Pacific theater and Korea; and the test pilot who became an astronaut and the first American to orbit the earth. The exhibit's final panel documents Glenn's four terms in the U.S. Senate and his return to space at age 77.

Yet the exhibit's most striking feature is not devoted to John Glenn, but to someone else. A small square opening in each of the panels reveals the image of Glenn's high school civics teacher in New Concord. It is a photograph of Harford Steele, who inspired in John Glenn a belief in the importance of citizenship and public service, "igniting a fire in me that never did go out."
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Over the past few months, I had the privilege of taking part in a ground-breaking research project. It leveraged the Visier Insights database  a workforce database unmatched in the world in its breadth and depth, which allowed us to examine gender equity like never before. Heres what we found. Discovering the truth behind the gender wage gap is no easy task  and neither is closing it. In the last 20 years, despite considerable attention, the gender wage gap has only improved by 8%  a slow pace of improvement that indicates removing the gap entirely is more than a generation away. Although significant progress has been made in employers proactively pursuing policies of equal pay for equal positions, this alone will not close the gap: gender equity is a complex and systemic issue that requires action on many fronts. But, there is good news: a new finding (released this week) that may provide HR with the key to accelerating pay equity  and the economic and social benefits that come with it. The Manager Divide: A New Finding to Watch The Manager Divide clearly links an underrepresentation of women in manager positions  at key points in their careers  to a widening of the gender wage gap. Eliminating the Manager Divide, which coincides with the years in which women typically have children, would cut the gender wage gap by nearly one-third. Furthermore, eliminating the Manager Divide and ensuring gender pay equ...
There is a gradual shift happening in the HR industry. Human Resources is reinventing itself. More focus is on people. The most progressive companies have replaced HR with new People Teams. Maia Josebachvili in her article, HR Reinvented says, the main objective of People Teams is to maximize the value of employees and drive business results. To find out the modern trends that are driving this shift from HR to People, read her article. Coming to another HR hot topic, Candidate Pre-Screening, author Greta Roberts says candidate screening process is a losing battle. The process cant learn from past successes and mistakes. According to her, candidate pre-screening is a wonderful choice. She talks further on why it is a perfect predictive analytics project for HR. As an HR manager, you balance many different aspects of a company. One task that is likely is that of managing your companys vehicle fleet. With the number of businesses growing their fleets each year, the management of these vehicles requires additional time and energy. To help reduce the amount of work needed to effectively and efficiently manage a fleet of vehicles, Jennifer Costabile in her article Managing A Vehicle Fleet puts forth five important factors to consider. From time immemorial, the role of HR in driving employee productivity and efficiency has been a never changing reality. Only things that keep evolving are the methods to achieve this goal. The software category o...
Tags : hr solutions technology

The role of human resources is increasingly important to an organizations success beyondtraditional functionsand recent studies show that HR managers believe they could contribute even more if they could free themselves of manual tasks, including those surrounding records management, employee onboarding, payroll, benefits administration and more. Key objectives of HR are shifting away from these time-intensive administrative duties and instead toward understanding organizational behavior, driving operational performance and informing business decisions. Technology now enables HR organizations to automate repeatable business processesand support this move toward more strategic activities.But with a wide array of options available, how do HR managers select the right solution for their organization? As with any technology investment, there is no one-size-fits-allsolution, however, implementing an enterprise content management (ECM) system is the first step to reclaiming HR professionals time. An ECM system digitizesan organizations documents and centralizes them in one electronic repository, making them easily searchable and trackable. The most powerful ECM systems also give HR managers the ability to automate business processes by building workflows that automatically route documents for necessary reviews and approvals.Here arefive key characteristics that can help guide HR managers toward an ECM system that best serves their needs. ...
The Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on October 20, 2016 is not a change in law, but it is a fair warning to human resources professionals that they can be prosecuted criminally just like any other business executive if they conspire with competitors in violation of federal antitrust laws. The crux of the guidance is that an HR professional likely is breaking the antitrust laws if he or she: agrees with individual(s) at another company about employee salary or other terms of compensation, either at a specific level or within a range (so-called wage-fixing agreements), or agrees with individual(s) at another company to refuse to solicit or hire that other companys employees (so-called no poaching agreements). The DOJ and FTC warned that these types of [n]aked wage-fixing or no-poaching agreements among employers, whether entered into directly or through a third party intermediary, are per se illegal under the antitrust laws, and that [g]oing forward, the DOJ intends to proceed criminally against naked wage-fixing or no-poaching agreements. While the threat of criminal prosecution is severe, the guidance provided by the DOJ and FTC is limited in scope and based on well-established rules of antitrust law. Here are a few observations for HR professionals who may...
A San Diego staffing company that does business as Eastridge Workforce Solutions settled with the Department of Justice following claims it discriminated against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens. Eastridge, officially called TEG Staffing Inc., resolved allegations some new hires at its Mira Mesa, California, location faced discriminatory practices while completing certain work authorization verification requirements. The government alleged Eastridge hiring professionals requested specific documents from non-U.S. citizens while opening E-Verify cases and filling out the Form I-9. This is a breach of certain of Immigration and Nationality Act provisions that prohibit placing excess burdens on new hires who are not U.S. citizens. The INA requires employers to ask all new hires for the same documents, regardless of citizenship status. The safest route is to request the proper combination of List A, B and C documents to satisfy work authorization verification requirements. For example, telling permanent lawful residents they have to show their green cards is a violation of the INA because it places an excess burden on these non-citizens. "Telling permanent lawful residents they have to show their green cards is a violation of the INA." Employment Agencies see Series of Large Fines Staffing agencies comprise an industry rife with discrimination claims and Form I-9 nonco...
Threatening marketing materials stating, "Important Open Immediately" and "Final Notice," which appear to come from governmental agencies get your attention and increase your blood pressure. For some businesses, profit is sweet even if it is the result of deception. Disreputable companies are tough to find too. Most threatening mailers fail to contain a phone number and the P.O. Box listed on the mailer is simply a conduit address. Though many industries have their bad apples, the bad actors in the labor postings industry are particularly aggressive. Disreputable labor poster companies often purchase the government lists for new business entities and automatically mail threatening and deceptive marketing materials to those new businesses. This practice is especially reprehensible considering the fact that the majority of such businesses have no employees and usually do not even need labor posters. The cost of purchasing labor posters from companies who employ scare tactics is usually very high. What is more, if you order one, it may never be delivered. Further, our investigations have found that the people responsible for these activities have been in trouble in the past for other scams. The human resource industry is quickly becoming wise to these scams. As a consequence, the new target has become the naive small business startup. Before doing business with a company, consider following these simple rules:  Do Your Research ...
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It might sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but Dark Web is actually a very real portion of the Internet. In fact, it makes up almost ALL of the Internet. The search engines that most of us use every day only give us access to a tiny percentage of what is really available on the web. So how do you access the rest of the Internet? Via Tor (short for The Onion Router). With Tor, people can access the Dark Web, which in turn makes everything they do on the Internet untraceable. Unlike the regular Internet which traces users via their IP address, Tor essentially cloaks a persons location, meaning that they can stay anonymous as they use the Dark Web. As you can imagine, this means that criminal behavior is a common occurrencefrom drug sales to snuff films to child pornography, the Dark Web can be a gruesome place. For this reason, many employers have become concerned about employees using the Dark Web on company time and on company computers. This is a worthwhile fear, as the Dark Web has been growing in popularity as more people have become curious about what the secret Internet is all about. And, while accessing the Dark Web is not illegal in itself, much of the activity which takes place there is criminal, or at the very least unsavory and inappropriate for the workplace. So how can employers ensure that employees are not abusing their web privileges? How can you prevent staff from u...
With the regulatory landscape constantly evolving, its not surprising that growing businesses are finding it tough to stay on top of the numerous changes in the law. According to the ADP Midsized Business Owners Study, keeping up with the level and volume of government regulations is a top concern of more than half of midsized business owners. Not to mention that non-compliance can be costly. Compliance Mistakes Midsized Businesses Regularly make According to our research, the leading reason midsized employers were fined last year was failure to comply with workers compensation laws. This is surprising because the proper practices in this area are among the most cut and dried, so I wouldnt expect so many mistakes. Other common compliance mistakes include mishandling employee terminations, and not complying with rules around the secure handling of employee data. Why Business Owners make these Mistakes? Midsized business owners are expected to operate with the agility of smaller businesses, but abide by many of the same regulations that govern larger companies. In addition, they now manage a larger workforce than they did as a startup, so the decisions they make impact more employees. Taking that into consideration, its no surprise that constant regulatory changes, coupled with the heightened responsibility of managing a larger staff can lead to compliance mistakes. As they grow, companies spend so much time focusing o...
the latest statistics are anything to go by, men are not just outnumbered in HR - theyre well and truly the minority.



Frazer Jones Global HR Survey sought the opinion of nearly 3,500 HR professionals around the world and 62% of the respondents globally were female.



Moreover, a survey conducted by the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand found that 84% of respondents said HR was significantly over-represented by women.



So what are the consequences of having so many women in one profession?



Lisa Annese, CEO of the Diversity Council Australia (DCA), told HC that when women are in the majority in particular careers then those professions are at risk of being seen as devalued.



So if you have many women congregating in particular professions, as you do in HR, then those careers tend to be less valued in an organisation compared to other careers such as finance, sales, engineering or science, she said.



However, looking after people is one of the most important roles an organisation can play, so its unfortunate that this is the case.



For Annese, all professions would benefit by having greater gender balance and its vital that we move past the hackneyed stereotypes.



Women are traditionally seen to have better soft skills, communication skills, language skills and caring skills. But actually the science doesnt bear that out, she said.



Women can still be very analytical, logical and have really good spatial awareness, so you have women who are really good engineers and scientists.



Conversely, men can be really good at HR and the real danger is if they start to believe the stereotypes and become the myth that people believe to be true.



Indeed, the view of the DCA is that professions are much better and fairer when they have a really diverse representation of people because then things like group think are avoided.



Annese adds that there should be more work done to proactively attract men to the profession. This is for a number of reasons, namely because it would provide men with more options in terms of what careers are appropriate for them.



As organisations, we should always be trying to strive for a more diverse workforce, she said.



Naomi Mourra, head of HR for Australia & New Zealand, at BBC Worldwide, agrees that having a better gender balance is beneficial in any field because industries which are not diverse risk losing credibility.



As the role of HR becomes more influential, I think it will be a more attractive role to men, says Mourra.



In a company where HR has a bigger role to play, I think you do get more diversity. However if the perception of HR is the fluffy people stuff, that may not be attractive to men.


One part-time Santa Claus has everyone in tears, including himself, after he recounted a recent visit.

Eric Schmitt-Matzen, who lives in Tennessee, received a call from a local hospital several weeks ago to visit a very sick boy who wanted to see Santa, he told WBIR 10News.

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"He was more concerned about missing Christmas, than dying," Schmitt-Matzen said.

When he arrived at the hospital 15 minutes later, the boys family was there to greet him. The mom handed him a toy to give to the boy.

He told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he then warned everyone that they couldnt come into the boys room with him if they were going to cry. They all watched from a window instead.

The five-year-old in the bed looked incredibly weak, he told the News-Sentinel. He tried to cheer him up.

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I sat down on his bed and asked, Say, whats this I hear about youre gonna miss Christmas? Theres no way you can miss Christmas! Why, youre my Number One elf!

The boy seemed surprised. After he opened his present, he asked Santa a question.

He wanted to know where he was going to go when he died, according to BBC News.

Schmitt-Matzen told him hed be welcomed at the North Pole, because he was Santas number one elf.

"He was more concerned about missing Christmas, than dying."

The boy then sat up to give Saint Nick a hug and asked him, "Santa, can you help me?"

He then died in Schmitt-Matzens arms.

"When I felt the life go from him, I looked up, tears running down my face, and looked over at the window and that's when mom started screaming," the 60-year-old said.

The impersonator told BBC News that he has paid four death bed visits as Father Christmas.

This particular one tempted him to put the Santa suit back on the shelf, but he managed to do it one more time.

"I spent four years in the Army with the 75th Rangers, and Ive seen my share of (stuff), he told the News Sentinel.

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"But I ran by the nurses station bawling my head off. I know nurses and doctors see things like that every day, but I dont know how they can take it.'"

His story has spread far and wide since he first shared it. We say it proves that Santa does exist.

UPDATE: Dec. 14: The Knoxville News Sentinel, where the story first appeared, now says it can't stand by the story because it can't verify Schmitt-Matzen's account.

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'Twas the weeks before Christmas, and the Liberals were spinning the max,

Trekking across Canada promoting their carbon tax;

Families and industries cried out in fear,

Knowing the carbon tax was looming oh so near;

With job losses growing, and unemployment rates high,

The Liberals seem oblivious, their heads in the sky;

Now Harper has retired they have no one to blame,

As their tax and spend scheme goes up in flames;

UN seats and selfies are the prime minister's goal,

While neglecting good-paying jobs like mining of coal;

The surplus we left them has gone in a flash,

The trees in Liberal ridings must be growing with cash;

Paying off their deficit will be no easy job,

Hardworking Canadians are the ones they will rob;

Deficits and tax hikes are the Liberal way,

But fear not, soon Canadians will have their say;

Election '19 will be one for the books,

The Liberals won't win on their leader's good looks;

Conservative voices will ring out with cheer,

As we celebrate with family over a sweet victory beer.
Aria Watson was two weeks too young to vote in this years American presidential election, but she still wanted to do something about it.

I never really cared for or understood politics, but this year was different, the Oregon community college student told The Huffington Post. When I saw that Donald Trump actually won, my heart shattered.

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The 18-year-old felt so strongly about the election results, she decided to create a series of photos for photography class. The images showcase things that Trump has said about women, on womens bodies.

All I wanted from these photos was to help people realize who Donald Trump really is, Watson told BuzzFeed News.

Some readers may find these images NSFW.

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Sometimes babies are just born big, and theres no explanation why. This year, some of the worlds heaviest babies were born, with one infant even breaking last years record birth weight of 14.77 pounds!

Here we round up the biggest babies born in 2016.

Birth weight: 15 pounds

Teen mum gives birth to 'world's heaviest' baby weighing whopping 15lbs (the same as a 6-month-old) #Indiapic.twitter.com/qwQYDLsVJk  RaajjeTV (@Raajje_tv) May 25, 2016

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A 19-year-old woman named Nandini welcomed a 15-pound baby girl via C-section in May. The infants birth weight is the same as an average six-month-old, the Daily Mail reports.

In my 25 years of experience, I had never seen such a big baby, said Dr. Venkatesh Raju.

The newborn could be the heaviest baby girl born in the world.

Birth weight: 14.4 pounds

On #KAKEnews at 6pm, we'll introduce you to baby Moses. He's one of the heaviest babies born at @HutchRegionalHS. pic.twitter.com/5yN7k73sih  KAKE Lily Wu (@KansasLily) June 7, 2016

Gina Hilton gave birth to a baby boy, Moses William Hilton, in June. The infant made headlines after his nurse gave him the nickname mini sumo wrestler for his size.

Birth weight: 13.3 pounds

The Mighty Quinn: Nova Scotia woman gives birth to 13.3-pound baby girl. https://t.co/VFh4qO3fk0pic.twitter.com/0GfymDsTm0  Metro Halifax (@metrohalifax) March 17, 2016

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Brandy MacNeil gave birth to her daughter, Quinn, in March. She is one of the biggest babies ever born in Cape Breton, Metro News reports.

MacNeil has no clue how her daughter got so big. Theres no rhyme nor reason  I wasnt diabetic and I had a perfectly healthy pregnancy, she said.

Birth weight: 13.2 pounds

Baby Ziad Kadic is possibly the biggest baby born in Western Australia. First-time mom Breanna Sykes gave birth to him in April.

The doctors said it could be genetics, the mom said about his size. They have done all these tests and all the blood work, hes perfectly healthy.

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Many tech entrepreneurs were already concerned that Bill C-51  the controversial piece of national security legislation passed by the Harper government  is turning Canada into a horrible place for tech companies to do business, as one put it.

Now, they are growing worried that the federal Liberals are apparently considering expanding online surveillance as part of their review of Bill C-51.

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Public Safety Canada is considering warrantless access to Canadian Internet users identifying information, as well as a rule that would require Internet providers to keep track of all web surfers activities.

More than 60 entrepreneurs from Canadian tech and new media companies have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, expressing serious economic and data security concerns with the direction of the federal governments national security consultation.

Among the signatories is Tim Bray, the founder of OpenText, Canadas largest software company and one of the countrys overall largest businesses.

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Although the Liberals voted in favour of Bill C-51 while in opposition, Trudeau has expressed some regrets on the matter, and Goodale vowed to remove the problematic elements of Bill C-51.

But the consultation launched this fall focuses its attention on ways to expand government powers online, and doesnt ask the public if they would like to see any scaling back of the new powers given security agencies and police under Bill C-51.

One of the ideas being considered is an order that would force Internet providers to keep track of all their users Internet activities. A new law passed in the U.K. this fall does just that, requiring online data retention for a period of one year.

But the open letter from tech executives argues that Internet providers actually should delete their users data.

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Such practices actually strengthen data security and customer privacy, the letter stated.

The Public Safety consultation appears to be looking at ways of reinstating lawful access  the principle that police should be able to access data about Internet subscribers without a warrant.

In a 2014 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada severely restricted the ability of law enforcement to collect this information without a warrant, and police forces say that since then, Internet providers have been demanding warrants before they provide that data.

The Public Safety consultation at one point states that warrantless access to subscriber information is like looking an address up in a phone book.

This is an appalling and frankly incorrect analogy for a piece of data that can unlock the highly intimate details of the lives of law-abiding Canadians, the open letter states.

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UPDATE 12/13/2016: The Public Safety department is distancing itself from the "phone book" analogy, suggesting warrantless access to subscriber data, if it were to be introduced, would have safeguards in place. In an email to HuffPost Canada, the department said:

As the national security consultation discussion paper explains, accessing basic subscriber information (BSI) is NOT the same as looking up an address in the phone book. While both BSI and a phone book can be used to identify someone, BSI requires safeguards because some of it can reveal intimate details of a persons activities when linked to other information. That principle has been affirmed by the courts. The government is committed to protecting both Canadians safety and their rights, including their privacy rights.

The consultation also focuses heavily on the issue of encryption. Law enforcement officials say criminals use encryption to plan terrorist attacks or share child pornography.

That has led to speculation that Public Safety Canada is looking at the possibility of requiring backdoors into encrypted data, which would make it easier for police to crack but would make it more vulnerable to hackers.

The letters signatories note that many of our businesses and workers rely on encrypted data for the security of their operations.

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However, Public Safety Canada has suggested that rules on encryption could be limited to requiring companies and individuals to decrypt files in specific investigations.

"The message to the technology industry is clear: Canada is a horrible place to build or store intellectual property."  Frederick Ghahramani, founder of airGames

Many of those who signed the letter say Bill C-51 is already enough of a threat to Canadas tech sector as it is, without further expansion.

One year after Bill C-51 gave our national security apparatus 'kinetic' policing powers, we've seen an all-out assault on Canadians privacy rights," said Frederick Ghahramani, a B.C.-based privacy rights advocate and founder of airGames.

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"The message to the technology industry is clear: Canada is a horrible place to build or store intellectual property."

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We all know birth control affects the amount of sex we have, but one study has been able to pin down exactly how much.

A new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of New Mexico found a correlation between contraceptives and how often heterosexual couples have sex.

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"The function of sex in humans outside ovulation is an evolutionary mystery. But we believe that it has to do with binding the parties in the relationship together," Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, a professor of psychology at NTNU, said in a statement.

More specifically, the research found heterosexual women in long-term relationships who were using contraception with more estrogen were having more intercourse in less committed relationships. On the flip side, women who used contraception with more progesterone were more sexually active when they were committed to their partners.

"Before we did this study, we didn't know how much difference there was between the two types of hormonal contraceptives," said Trond Viggo Grntvedt of the University of New Mexico.

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For the data, researchers surveyed two groups of women: one group of 112 women using hormonal contraception in committed relationships and another group of 275 women using hormonal contraception in long-term relationships.

The first group was followed over a 12-week period and the second group wasn't followed. Researchers noted both groups were asked what type of contraception they used and how often they had sex.

"Since we examined these two groups using different methods  a snapshot for the one group and a longitudinal study for the other  we can be confident that the results provide a reliable overall picture," Grntvedt said.

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And hormonal contraceptives may even alter, to a point, what traits women may find appealing in their significant other, Shape magazine notes.

This kind of data could explain why so many couples see things not work out around the time the woman goes off birth control. Theres not hard evidence of a connection. But its suspected," psychologist Lisa Welling at Oakland University told the magazine.

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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is ending the year as the least popular provincial leader in Canada, a new poll suggests.

The Angus Reid Institute, which measures the approval ratings of premiers each quarter, released numbers Tuesday suggesting Wynne is sitting at just 16 per cent  a dip of four percentage points since September.

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Seventy-eight per cent of those surveyed said they disapprove of Wynnes performance.

Theres no amount of ginger or spice or sugar plum coating to put any kind of Christmas glow on Kathleen Wynnes holiday season, Shachi Kurl, executive director of the firm, told The Huffington Post Canada.

Wynnes numbers are the lowest theyve been in an Angus Reid Institute survey since she came to office in 2013.

Kurl said premiers who reach such depths typically start thinking about how much longer they want to stay in politics, pointing to the example of former Alberta premier Alison Redford who called it quits in the face of similar gloomy numbers.

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Though Wynne has never boasted a sky-high approval rating, Kurl said this has been a long, slow descent that has only trended in one direction. If backbenchers nervous about their own re-election prospects in 2018 start calling for change at the top, Kurl suggested, Wynne could decide its best to step down.

If we start to see a fraying of caucus unity or solidarity that will be something that can make the difference as to whether she stays or is able to turn it around, Kurl said.

This level of disapproval can spell the end of the road.

Wynne has faced backlash over her governments sale of Hydro One and sky-high electricity rates that are hitting rural Ontario particularly hard.

In a speech to Ontario Liberals last month, Wynne conceded that those high electricity costs were her mistake and pledged relief for struggling families. Her government will bring in an eight per cent rebate on electricity bills on Jan. 1.

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Wynne took the ignominious title of Canadas least popular premier from Newfoundland and Labradors Dwight Ball last quarter. Ball now sits at 20 per cent approval.

Story continues after slideshow:

Least, Most Popular Premiers (Dec. 2016) See Gallery

On the other side of the coin, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall remains the most popular provincial leader with 58 per cent approval.

Wall has vowed not to sign on to Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus plans to implement a national carbon tax, something the Saskatchewan leader believes will hurt his resource-dependent province. Wall and Trudeau openly squabbled at a press conference after a meeting of first ministers in Ottawa last week.

Another holdout to the federal governments climate plan  Manitobas Brian Pallister  has the second-best approval rating at 50 per cent.

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil suffered the biggest drop of the quarter. He now sits at 31 per cent approval, compared to 38 per cent just months ago. McNeil appears to be losing some political capital thanks to an ongoing, nasty labour dispute with teachers in his province.

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The 31 per cent approval rating of Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is unchanged from the last quarter, despite heated debate over a $20-per-tonne carbon tax her government will institute on Jan. 1. At a recent rally outside of the Alberta legislature, some in the crowd chanted for Notley to be locked up over the plan.

But Notley scored a big win to cap the year when the Trudeau government greenlit the controversial Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, something the premier lauded as very good news for Albertans.

That pipeline will run through suburban Vancouver, which means it will be a key issue for British Columbia Premier Christy Clark next year as she prepares for a provincial election in May. Clarks approval rating of 35 per cent makes her the third most popular premier in the country.

New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallants approval rating of just 29 per cent may not seem like much to write home about, but that represents a five-point spike from last quarter.

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Gallant is hoping for a pipeline win of his own in 2017  Energy East  which would carry Alberta oil to a refinery in Saint John.

And that pipeline, if approved, would run through Quebec, where Premier Philippe Couillard sits at 30 per cent approval, up two points from September.

The firm does not test the approval rating of Prince Edward Island Premier Wade MacLauchlan because the sample size for the province is too small.

The online poll was conducted between Dec. 5-12 among a representative, randomized sample of 5,300 Canadians who are part of the Angus Reid Forum. The firm says that, for comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
No adventure to Southeast Asia is complete without a trip to Thailand, and no trip to Thailand is complete without sampling the country's cuisine untill you're feeling just short of ill.

But if costs or dwindling vacation days are holding you back, there's are plenty of Thai restaurants where you can get your fix. And if that's out of reach, you can even try to recreate some of these dishes at home.

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Starting with...

Kao Pad Gaprao Gai Kai Dao

A savoury stir-fry from city streets, Kao Pad Gaprao Gai Kai Dao is a mouthful but when you break everything down, it's not that complicated. When ordering, expect chicken and basil tossed in a wok, served over a bed of rice and topped with an egg. Oh and plenty of spice. Kao Pad Gaprao Gai Kai Dao without chillies is pretty much a oxymoron on a plate.

Khanom Buang

If you're looking for a Thai taco, you'd best keep searching. But that doesn't mean these mung-bean-and-rice-flour shells stuffed with sweetened shredded coconut and topped with threads of duck yolk are any less delicious. Another variation features sticky meringue and topped with candied fruit. You'll find these sweet crepes sold in stalls in Thailand's busier cities going for 10 to 30 baht, says travel blog The Real Travelers.

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Tom Yum

Some like it sweet. Some like it sour. But if you like it both ways, "tom yam" is the way to go. The tangy and herbal broth gets its flavour through lemongrass, fish sauce, lime leaves, galangal (think ginger's distant cousin), lime leaves, among other key ingredients. You'll also find mushrooms and shrimp but there's also variations made with chicken.

Khao Soi

If your journey to the north has left you famished, pull up a seat and order yourself a bowl of khao soi. The curry-based noodle soup has found it's way into many North American eateries and it's not hard not to see why. Long strands of al-dente egg noodles soak up a rich coconut-milk curry. They're joined by bean sprouts and slices or beef or chicken -- with some spots serving up an entire drum stick. Top it all off with crispy noodles and pickled mustard greens for a texture and flavour contrast and you've got yourself satisfaction in a bowl.

Pad See Ew

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What this noodle dish lacks in colour, it makes up with balance in flavour and texture. Wide, flat rice noodles are stir-fried alongside crunchy stalks of Chinese broccoli, egg and your choice of chicken, beef or pork. Where the dish attracts attention is in the sauce: a blend of dark and light soy sauce for saltiness, molasses for sweetness and sometimes oyster sauce for that umami punch. You'll find it anywhere from street stalls to sit-down restaurants.

Khao Pad Pu

When it comes to comfort food, locals can't pass up a dish of fried rice. Maybe it's because of the dish's simplicity. Perhaps it's due to the sweet-and-spicy favours that pair so well with fresh lumps of crab meat. Or maybe it's because if you can't finish it all, you can count on the leftovers to taste just as good the day after. You can find this in many sit-down restaurants, particularly in cities like Phuket and Koh Samui.

Bamee

If you had to pick one dish to eat on repeat while in Thailand, you could do worse than Bamee. That's because you can find this dish at just about any noodle stall in the country and no dish will be exactly the same. Fans of Chinese soups will find comfort in this as the dish calls for egg-and-wheat noodles, pork broth and slices of roasted pork. But order somewhere else and you might find shrimp wontons, pork belly, or even roasted duck, according to Lucky Peach.

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Larb

Before their was fusion cuisine, there was Thai cuisine. Many of the country's iconic dishes are influenced from neighbouring countries like China or visiting Arab traders who brought with them spices found in the country's curries. Larb is neither but hails from Thailand's northern neighbour of Laos. It's a mincemeat dish consisting of either ground pork, beef, chicken or duck seasoned in herbs, fish sauce and lime juice. A dusting of roasted rice powder and fresh vegetables or sticky rice typically come with each order.

Massaman Curry

When it comes to curries, Thailand offers choice. Red? Green? Yellow? How's a hungry traveller supposed to choose? Well, you can put down the pantone cards, pick up the menu and order a bowl of Massman curry. Like larb, this curry gets its flavour profile from outside influences. Arabic traders who landed in Thailand's south brought with them spices from the Middle East, which is how notes of cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon find their way into this aromatic curry. Thai staples like garlic, shallots, peanuts, palm sugar and fish sauce round out the dish with chunks of potatoes and protein to leave you sated.

Som Tam

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Stand aside Caesar, papaya salad is the one who reigns king in Thailand. A street-food staple across the country, travellers can watch as vendors whip up carrots, tomatoes, bean sprouts, peanuts, fish sauce, chilies, lime juice, and yes, shaved papaya in a mortar. Ingredients are put through a quick grind to release and meld all the flavours together. The result is a fresh street snack packed with sweet and salty notes.

Did we miss any dishes? Let us know in the comments below or leave us a photo on our Facebook page.

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Times are changing, but in Hollywood much of the old remains the same.

In an interview with Korean website Dalian via Nextshark, South Korean film star Lee Byung-hun dished on how his Hollywood career has come with a side of not-so-subtle racism.

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Actor Lee Byung-hun attends the 2016 LACMA Art + Film Gala honoring Robert Irwin and Kathryn Bigelow presented by Gucci at LACMA on October 29, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

"Hollywood really has not changed that much. I went to a local coffee shop [in America] for a cup of coffee and a barista who was working there approached me and asked, Are you a movie star? At the time, I was beaming with pride that I was finally getting acknowledged for my movie roles. But unexpectedly, he then told me that he enjoyed the movie Hangover.' It was that moment when I realized that we Asians all looked alike to [white people], Lee said in the interview, which was translated on Reddit by Redditor Hangryforpeace.

Lee went on to recall moments of racism he experienced on set.

I do not want to name any individual names, but I felt like when I was working in Hollywood, there were some fellow colleagues of mine who didnt even look me in the eyes because I was Asian. I tried to [introduce myself] and shake their hands, but they would all ignore me and walk past me. I couldnt shake their hands until we had finished filming the movie.

Despite wanting to confront his racist costars, Lee said he was unable to at the time because of "cultural and language barriers" he had yet to overcome.

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"I felt like when I was working in Hollywood, there were some fellow colleagues of mine who didnt even look me in the eyes because I was Asian."

Fortunately, the bad experiences haven't left a sour taste in his mouth. "I havent given up on Hollywood yet, I still want to [make movies there] and fight for [more Hollywood representation], he said.

Lee has starred in countless films around the world. You may recognize him from American films like "G.I. Joe," "Red 2" and "Terminator Genisys." He most recently starred in "The Magnificent Seven" alongside Chris Pratt and Danzel Washington.

While promoting the film, Lee said: "It was great to be able to play a hero in 'The Magnificent Seven' in a film industry where Asian actors are often limited to playing a villain."

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Swoon-Worthy Asian Actors See Gallery
Sometimes it's not always obvious when a person has a disability, but just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Rikki Poynter, a vlogger based in Charlotte, NC., posted a video to her YouTube channel on Dec. 12, where she discusses her frustration with people who don't believe that some people with disabilities are actually disabled.

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"My friend Abby and I were having this conversation a couple of days ago. We were talking about how people, especially friends, don't believe that you are disabled," Poynter, who is deaf, says in the video.

Vlogger Rikki Poynter. (YouTube)

"So, when people don't believe that you're deaf, when people don't believe that you're blind, when people don't believe that you're chronically ill, mentally ill, that whole shebang," she continues, before telling a story about how her friend, who is hard of hearing and is chronically ill, hasn't been diagnosed, which is "part of the problem."

Another friend of hers, who has AMC (arthrogryposis multiplex congenita) was yelled at by strangers because she parked in the handicapped parking spot.

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"People yell at her because they're like 'Oh my God you're too young for this, you can't be disabled.' I've seen the girl, I've seen her walk, yeah she can walk and yes, chronically ill people can walk but sometimes they need the freaking scooter eventually. They need a wheelchair eventually," she says.

Poynter also points out the should-be-obvious that not all people with disabilities are the same.

"Deaf people are not the same. Not everyone of us wears hearing aids or cochlear implants," she says. "Not every single one of us signs, not every single one of us talks. Not all blind people are the same. Not everybody wears sunglasses like Stevie Wonder and not everybody has their eyes closed like Tommy Edison."

"Yes, chronically ill people can walk but sometimes they need the freaking scooter eventually."

Aside from being deaf, Poynter reveals she's been dealing with chronic back pain for the past two decades. After a car crash a couple years ago made her condition worse, she says that some days are harder than others.

"I have days when I can stand around just fine, I can work out just fine. Some days I cannot move, my back is killing me," she says.

"So it's frustrating to me when no matter how often we talk about these things people just like to invalidate us and they don't believe us, especially if the disability is invisible."

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Poynter believes part of the reason why some people don't believe that others have disabilities is because of age.

"People will believe old people like that but if you're younger, no you're too young to do this, you're too young to be deaf, you're too young to be blind... that's not the way it works in real life," she says.

"Stop invalidating people, stop telling people that they're lying, stop saying what they have isn't real."

"Disability does not care. You can be 25 years old and then one day you wake up and your hearing is gone or your sight is gone or you are just in a crap ton of pain."

Stop invalidating people, stop telling people that they're lying, stop saying what they have isn't real."

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In October, Poyner vented her frustration with a movie theatre in Toronto that didn't offer closed captioning for a Tim Burton film.

"FYI, if you want to see the new Tim Burton movie and you're deaf and in Toronto, the Queensway @CineplexMovies won't have CC for it," she tweeted.
A British man who suffered a stroke because an artery was damaged during a routine haircut has reportedly received C$150,000 (90,000) in compensation from the salon.

Dave Tyler, a 45-year-old father of two, collapsed two days later during a business meeting, prompting a trip to hospital where a consultant asked him: "Have you had your hair cut recently?"

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Tyler had his hair washed and cut at the Headmasters salon in his home town of Brighton, southern England, according to reports in The Times and Mail on Sunday.

Doctors believe an artery was injured when Tyler's head was bent backwards over the basin to wash his hair, causing a blood clot that led to the debilitating stroke.

He reportedly spent three months in hospital and was left only able to walk with a stick and unable to drive because of blurred vision.

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The salon agreed to pay 90,000 after Tyler's lawyers claimed it had failed to adequately protect his head during the visit in 2011.

The salon referred AFP's questions about the case to the headquarters of Headmasters, a chain, but no one was immediately available for comment.

Not first case of "beauty parlour syndrome"

According to The Times, similar incidents have been previously recorded in medical journals, and the newspaper cited two other cases of so-called "beauty parlour syndrome."

In January 2014, mother-of-two Elizabeth Smith reportedly had a stroke after visiting a salon in San Diego, in the United States.

And in 2000, Pamela Crabb, from Poole, in southern England, also suffered a stroke believed to have been caused by a salon visit.

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THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

The first electrons of power flowed across the seabed in Nova Scotia's Minas Basin recently delivering electricity to homes, from a giant instream tidal device. It's planned to be the first of many such devices, covering multiple designs and arrays, to see if tidal energy can be made cost effective and safe. I hope it works. I want to be excited about it. Happy even.

Instead, it's tainted by the dismissive attitude of Nova Scotia's government towards indigenous people and fishers, or really anyone in the province who raises concerns about the potential impact on their lives from these experiments.

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Most of those raising concerns aren't opposed to the development of instream tidal energy in the province. They just want it done right, with science based monitoring, and their questions answered. It doesn't seem unreasonable.

I first worked on tidal energy research in 1991. Since then I've often found myself working on tidal and other energy projects. In early 2014, as Nova Scotia's energy minister I prioritized tidal energy development. I successfully got cabinet approval for money to connect instream projects to the grid.

Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaq have raised concerns about fish habitat and lack of meaningful inclusion of traditional indigenous knowledge.

The benefit for Nova Scotians, as I saw it, was primarily in the research and engineering opportunities. Nova Scotia didn't need the energy itself, construction jobs would be short term as turbines would always be built close to the installation location due to their size, and while export opportunities existed, they would require significant transmission upgrades paid by someone other than Nova Scotia ratepayers. But the opportunity to create a research and engineering center of excellence is almost unlimited, and offers the chance to spin off into other industries over time (Nova Scotia's own space program if you will).

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Andrew Younger (right) signing an agreement on tidal energy research with British Deputy High Commissioner for Canada, Corin Robertson, and Offshore Research Association Executive Director Stephen Dempsey - Photo courtesy Communications NS.

This should be the exciting time I want it to be and in many respects it is. But with one turbine in the water, fishers and indigenous communities are correct that the opportunity already suffers from a lack of baseline research undermining the basis of credible science.

In 2014 I led a trade mission to Europe to discuss the cooperative development of tidal energy. In both Scotland and Ireland one thing was clear, you don't move ahead with ocean energy projects without having the cooperation, participation, and understanding of the existing resource users. At meetings with developers, researchers, government, and other stakeholders one thing was made clear -- the success of ocean energy projects requires working with groups like fishers and indigenous communities, not ignoring them.

Yet, in Nova Scotia a growing chorus of people are raising concerns that their questions have gone unanswered. That they have been shut out of participation and discussions. In some cases developers have not even showed up to meetings. Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaq have raised concerns about fish habitat and lack of meaningful inclusion of traditional indigenous knowledge.

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The Chief of the Annapolis Valley First Nation says Mi'kmaq concerns are not being listened to and that Mi'kmaq understand why others also have concerns. Ignoring the Mi'kmaq in the deployment of these projects is ever more concerning given the Nova Scotia government's recent claim in a court proceeding related to a different energy project that at least some Mi'kmaq are a "conquered people," and therefore not entitled to consultation.

Despite concerns, Nova Scotia's Energy Department has largely ignored those who have raised questions. They respond that tidal devices have been installed elsewhere in the world without incident.

The problem is that statement is at best misleading, and at worst, a lie.

When I was minister, I removed that claim from department communications. Now it has returned. This goes to the heart of the government's credibility because they know it's misleading. Most of the sites where demonstration tidal devices have been installed around the world are channels, not funnel shaped bays like Nova Scotia's site.

Tidal energy, and ocean energy generally, could have amazing potential for Nova Scotia, Canada, and the world.

The reason the Bay of Fundy area is so attractive for tidal development is for the very reason that it is like no other site in the world. The tidal turbines are bigger, the power of the water stronger, and the potential greater. The fishing opportunities are richer and biodiversity more, well, diverse. So it's meaningless that there have been no incidents in the few installations elsewhere.

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This is why complete baseline environmental studies (which were not done) are so important. How do you know if there is an impact if you don't know what the conditions were before installation? How do you know what conflict occur if you don't have a credible and broadly accepted way to monitor conditions under the ocean surface?

Corporate social responsibility, social license, public engagement. These are all supposed to be top tier conditions in the development of energy projects. While to some extent these have become buzzwords, their importance to the social and economic success of energy projects in this time of polarized confrontation on every project cannot be underestimated. Despite that, we see them sidelined as after thoughts time and time again.

Tidal energy, and ocean energy generally, could have amazing potential for Nova Scotia, Canada, and the world. As we move faster towards low carbon energy sources I truly hope it succeeds. Energy cost for ocean energy, which is currently many times the average cost of production (even in high cost Nova Scotia) will need to come down significantly. Efficiency will need to greatly improve.

It's not inconceivable to consider 300 or more devices in the Bay of Fundy one day. Beyond engineering and cost successes, that can only happen if industry and, especially government, stop ignoring their responsibility to fully engage and partner with stakeholders such as fishers and indigenous communities.

Read more about my views on politics and the issues of the day on my website.

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Once-stalwart organizations, clubs and charities across Canada all have a problem in common: they are facing a shortage of members and volunteers.

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Voter turnout over 50 per cent is cause for minor celebration these days, and it is well-documented that the 18 to 25 demographic doesn't vote.

The fact of the matter is that people today are not as engaged as they once were. It would then behoove any organization to never try to limit the number of new members wishing to join.

Unfortunately, the Manitoba NDP did not get the memo. As a new member I have joined to find a provincial party in disarray. In fact, some are actively trying to prevent new members from joining the party by capping the number of those who can join.

If you want to look at how to renew a party or not renew a party, you need look no further than the approaches of the federal NDP and Manitoba NDP.

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The NDP cannot afford to disenfranchise anyone, and to do so is extremely shortsighted.

Both parties will be electing new leaders in 2017 after controversy over leadership issues in recent times.

The federal party decided at its convention to elect a new leader after a vote on a leadership review. The vote took place. The leader agreed to remain as interim leader and continues to represent the New Democrats. In 2017, the federal NDP will be electing a leader using the one member, one vote system. Every member of the party, no matter where they live or whatever their background, will receive a vote.

Candidates will have the opportunity to reach out to new members and broaden the support base of the party. Given the party's fall to third place, this newfound openness couldn't come at a better time in terms of rebuilding the organization.

Then there's the Manitoba NDP. After an unprecedented attack on Premier Greg Selinger, the party had a conflict-ridden leadership convention in 2015. With this open divisiveness, it's not surprising that the party lost badly in the 2016 provincial election.

Instead of instituting a one member, one vote system and opening the party up, the Manitoba party establishment has inexplicably brought in a proposed series of changes that would give it some of the most restrictive membership and leadership processes of any NDP section in the country.

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Instead of a 30-day cut off for new members, it will have a 90 day cut off. It would create hundreds of new delegates who would not have to seek election -- instead, delegates would be automatically appointed, not unlike the super delegates of the Democratic party in the U.S..

(Democrats. Picture Debbie Wasserman Schultz and all the barriers she put in front of Bernie Sanders. Now picture a whole committee stacking the deck against new potential members in the provincial NDP.)

The NDP cannot afford to disenfranchise anyone, and to do so is extremely shortsighted. Furthermore, anyone that advocates for such a system has turned their back on the values of the party and should do some serious soul searching or find another party that permits this type of abhorrent behaviour.

Refusing new memberships is like cutting off one's nose to spite their face.

In another particularly bizarre move, they also want to put a virtual cap on how many delegates constituencies would receive where there are high membership numbers. Not coincidentally, these regions are constituencies where there are large number of aboriginal people and new Canadians. Some are already calling this a deliberate attempt to shut out racialized, aboriginal and young voters.

The proposed changes would also ensure that Winnipeg will select the leader of the provincial NDP, as those in the northern part of the province have difficulty getting to the provincial capital. The Federal NDP have an online voting system in place for the upcoming election. Frankly, the only reason not to embrace technology is if you have an agenda.

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Now is not the time to divide. In fact, both the federal and Manitoba NDP face a choice between relevancy and oblivion. The difference is taht while the federal NDP is on the right track, the Manitoba NDP is on track to a political disaster.

In 2017, people want democracy. They will not accept party elites dictating the direction of a party and the selection of its leader.

Refusing new memberships is like cutting off one's nose to spite their face. These are uncertain times both federally and provincially, and many among the NDP have indicated that they are ready to rebuild. Only a select few are determined to hinder progress.

I ask these individuals to step aside so that positive, forward-thinking democratic socialists can unite the left. We can ill afford to ignore the real challenges ahead of us and allow stagnation to overtake the party.

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Every winter, the Ontario Standing Committee on Finance invites groups to make submissions about what they would like to see in the spring budget. Every year, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation does what no other group in Ontario does: they ask the government to spend less money, not more.

With the government up against their ninth consecutive deficit, the message of restraint is one that they desperately need to hear. The government will add $64 billion to the debt over the next five years, and they continue to waste nearly a billion dollars every month on interest.

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There are five specific areas that the government should focus on so that Ontario once again becomes a place that offers a bright future for everyone.

We must pursue the path that saves Ontario consumers the most money.

First, the government needs to pursue sensible changes to the electricity sector. Current hydro rates are unsustainable. Media coverage over the past year has been filled with tragic stories of Ontarians faced with hydro bills that they simply can't continue to pay, and over which they've lost all control.

To help reduce rates, the government needs to examine contracts for new electricity generation that were recently signed, but which have not yet begun construction. Even though we are producing so much electricity we are paying to get rid of it, in 2016 the government still awarded new wind power contracts that will cost consumers $65 million annually, and $1.3 billion over 20 years. The government also concluded a new procurement through FIT 5.0 -- the same kind of small-scale generation that has driven rates up across the province.

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The government needs to review these contracts and assess whether the cost of cancellation will be less than the cost of going ahead. We must pursue the path that saves Ontario consumers the most money.

The government should also end the $400 million each year being spent on conservation programs. In large part because of the high cost of electricity, average household consumption is now 25 per cent less than a decade ago.

In fact, consumption has dropped so much that the Ontario Energy Board in April actually raised rates because of reduced consumption. Conservation program spending is good money after bad, and ending it would save $2 billion over five years.

This is a cost that families cannot bear.

The second thing the Ontario government should do in their spring budget is end the cap and trade carbon tax.

Although the government has claimed that cap and trade "will not make your electricity more expensive," the truth is that it will. The auditor general found that cap and trade is expected to hike electricity prices by 25 per cent for households. This is a cost that families cannot bear.

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And that's just the increased cost of electricity. Cap and trade will also raise the cost of keeping your family warm in the winter by adding to the cost of natural gas, and it will make your commute to work more expensive by adding to the cost of gasoline.

The tax will also drive business out of the province. Cap and trade will cost small manufacturers $136,000 in the first year, and costs will escalate quickly. By 2030, the tax will cost each large participant at least $2 million.

Cap and trade will send billions out of Ontario -- by 2030, $2.2 billion of Ontario money will be sent to Quebec and California.

And for what? So the government can claim a greenhouse gas emission reduction target was met?

This creates a situation rife with opportunity for fraud.

Most of that target will not even be achieved by emission reductions that occur within Ontario. The auditor general found that only 20 per cent of the target would be achieved by Ontario reductions, and the rest would be achieved by reductions in California and Quebec. Yet, the government plans on taking credit for them.

And that's if the reductions actually occur. The current system could allow for reductions to be claimed by multiple jurisdictions, potentially tripling the amount of reduction being claimed on paper. This creates a situation rife with opportunity for fraud.

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That's not the only example of a lack of transparency with cap and trade. The Ontario government will not list the carbon tax as a separate line item on natural gas bills, and will apply HST on top of the carbon tax. This is unique to Ontario, as British Columbia discloses the cost of the tax and also rebates the HST.

Third, the government needs to increase transparency and accountability in other areas, including by reversing their plans to provide a taxpayer subsidy to political parties. Asking people in this province who can barely make ends meet to pay for political attack ads is not just wasteful, it's insulting and unethical.

Accountability could also be improved by restoring the auditor general's power to review government advertising for partisan content. Since that power was removed, the amount the government has spent on ads has more than doubled, and there are numerous examples of inappropriate and partisan ads being run on the taxpayer dime.

At a time when the Ontario families are tightening their belts, the government is bloating.

Fourth, the government needs to reduce spending, especially program spending and corporate welfare, and reign in government employee wages. A recent study by the Fraser Institute found that government employees are earning an 11 per cent wage premium over their private-sector counterparts. On top of this, government managers just received massive raises, some as high as 35 per cent on top of their already six-figure salaries. At a time when the Ontario families are tightening their belts, the government is bloating.

Finally, the government must focus on debt reduction, and develop a realistic plan for balancing the budget that is long term and sustainable, and does not rely on the one-time sale of assets.

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This was the message delivered to Finance Committee by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. It is a message that is unfortunately rare, but one we hope -- for the sake of the future of this province -- that the government heeds.

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Something happened in Toronto real estate over the past year that really shouldn't happen in a free market. As home prices shot through the roof, the number of homes being built in the city dropped dramatically.

New housing starts fell by 46 per cent in the past year. And even though nearby Hamilton and Oshawa are seeing some of the country's fastest house price growth, building permits issued there dropped by 29 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. That's even though the average resale price in the region soared 22.7 per cent at the same time.

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Vancouver seems to be experiencing a similar problem.

"When you have a 40 per cent increase in prices in a year, the skyline should be absolutely saturated with cranes," Thomas Davidoff of the University of British Columbia's Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate told Bloomberg. "That's not what you see in Vancouver."

So what's going on here? Why is the supply of housing not keeping up with demand, even though there is so much money to be made? The answer, according to a growing number of experts, is that local policies and public opposition to development are killing off home construction, causing home prices to skyrocket. Not a good thing in a country whose population grows by more than 300,000 every year.

A number of phenomena are working to fuel rapid price growth. Nimbyism and restrictive land use policies are two of the largest.

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Why is the supply of housing not keeping up with demand, even though there is so much money to be made?

Nimbyism, the "not in my back yard" phenomenon, has made it difficult to densify existing neighbourhoods inside cities. Toronto and Vancouver, easily the two cities in Canada that most need to densify, are also two places where NIMBYs often set the agenda.

"Community opposition to intensification is a growing challenge in Greater Toronto, and outdated zoning bylaws play a significant role," BILD GTA, Toronto's building and development industry group said in a recent blog post.

Zoning rules reaching back to the 1950s have frozen entire neighbourhoods in time, effectively barring new development -- and that's the way residents seemingly want it.

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But halting development in these neighbourhoods isn't an option anymore. Urban planners have shifted their focus in recent years from building infrastructure to controlling sprawl. And sooner or later that will have to mean new, higher-density construction inside existing neighbourhoods.

That's creating a mismatch between supply and demand, driving up prices.

The 8,000-square-kilometre Greenbelt surrounding Ontario's Greater Toronto Area has been lauded as a visionary attempt at ending urban sprawl. The plan leaves a "whitebelt" of developable land inside the Greenbelt, but municipalities will have to build much of that as higher-density housing -- on the fringes of the city, where transit and highways haven't been built. That's creating a mismatch between supply and demand, driving up prices.

It's a similar situation in Vancouver, where, according to Anne McMullin of the Urban Development Institute, two-thirds of city land is zoned for single-family homes -- which now average more than $1.5 million. In other words, two-thirds of Vancouver's space is now reserved for the wealthy, or descendants of homeowners lucky enough to have bought at the right time.

Meanwhile, federal policy -- under two consecutive governments now -- is to tighten mortgage rules, which reduces homebuyers' ability to pay.

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"Those kinds of policies tend to favour those who are already in the market," economist Shamubeel Eaqub told me in an interview last month. "Young people, poor people won't meet the stress test" that the Liberal government has mandated for borrowers, he predicted.

Indeed, according to Ratehub, buyers will now need a 20-per-cent or more raise to afford the same house as before the new rules. (Or, more realistically, they will have to settle for less.)

If the problem is a lack of homes, then tightening mortgage rules is not the solution. People will simply borrow as much as they can, or spend as much on rent as they can. After all, everyone needs to live somewhere.

Faced with a housing shortage caused by government policy, homebuyers are simply borrowing more, and Canadians now have the heaviest debt burden of people in any G7 country.

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Economists like Eaqub and industry groups like BILD are urging policymakers to allow more development -- either by standing up to nimbyism and densifying neighbourhoods, or by relaxing anti-sprawl measures. Some economists also suggest that governments get back in the business of building social housing, which they argue is part of the reason free-market homes were affordable in the first place.

None of these options are politically easy, but there aren't really any other alternatives.

Canada's most economically vibrant cities risk choking off their own growth.

But something has to change in government policy, one way or another. Otherwise, Canada's most economically vibrant cities risk choking off their own growth and doing serious damage to the Canadian dream of owning one's own home.

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Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters People attend a protest calling for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to step down in central Seoul, South Korea, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

When the Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592, King Seonjo of Joseon fled to north. He abandoned the people of capital city to the marauding Japanese troops. The majority of aristocrats also fled with the king. In contrast, the commoners, slaves, and even women ceaselessly volunteered to fight until Korea's victory in 1598.

Korea has suffered numerous foreign invasion since the time of immemorial. But what always made the situation worse for Koreans was the corrupt, incompetent leadership, disloyal to the very people that they serve. Nevertheless, the spirit of resistance that made Koreans stand against foreign invaders later become a seed for resistance against tyranny in the modern era.

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Since 1945, Koreans have ousted their presidents three times. The April Revolution of 1960, was a first mass democratization movement in East Asia. People were sickened of the corrupt dictatorship of Syngman Rhee, the first president of South Korea. More than a hundred citizens, both old and young, were shot on the streets. But the people refused to go back to their homes. Rhee stepped down in the end.

The people's victory was soon trumped by a military coup occurred in 1961. The leader of the coup was General Park Chung-hee, the impeached President Park Geun-hye's father. He eventually became the strongman president who ruled South Korea for 18 years. Since it was the height of the Cold War, McCarthyism became a convenient tool fork Park. Numbers of activists, members of opposition party, and numbers of ordinary citizens were purposefully mislabeled as "commies." Thousands were tortured, killed, or went missing during his presidency.

General Chun Doo-hwan took power by coup shortly after Park Chung-hee's assassination. He imposed martial law, and hundreds died during the Gwangju uprising , a mass democratization movement in 1980. The spirit of resistance became vibrant once again in June, 1987. A university student was killed in a protest. Angered by the young student's death, the people flooded the streets. Although Chun was at the height of his power, it was impossible to detain thousands of people participating in a mass civil disobedience. Chun stepped down in February 1988.

Fast forward to 2016, a different kind of revolution occurred in South Korea. Unlike the mass demonstration of yesteryears, it is a bloodless revolution. But just like the ones occurred before, the movement was organized by the people, for the people. When the leaders have betrayed their people, and the opposition remained idle, ordinary citizens came out to the streets to condemn the corrupt, incompetent President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached by the National Assembly on December 9th.

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Koreans had more than enough reason to go out to the streets. They are tired of insecurity and hardship. Opposition parties were often too busy fighting each other. Economy has worsen under Park Geun-hye. College students are overburdened with debt, and have little hope for finding a stable employment after graduation.

The scandal and stories of luxurious lifestyle of Choi Sun-sil and her daughter was what ignited the powder keg. But much of it has to do with the people finding out Park's true character. Park has shown that she lack empathy for the ordinary people. Stories of Park's whereabouts during the tragic Sewol ferry incident infuriated many Koreans. While hundreds of children were drowning inside the ferry, she was getting her hair done.

The 2016 "Candlelight Revolution" in South Korea carries a huge historical significance. Indeed, it was a rise of the people against the establishment. But unlike the political movement elsewhere, it was not fueled by xenophobia and hate. The revolution is fueled by people's desire to live in dignity. The revolution is not about destroying the system, but to press on the system to restore the rule of law and punish the wrongdoers.

The revolution has yet ended. Rather, it's only the beginning. People are still waiting for the constitutional court to impeach Park, and the prosecutor to send her and her friends behind bars. Still, what Koreans have achieved so far is already historic. The ordinary Koreans, flawed and imperfect, have accomplished what the exceptional few could not. What's more, they carry on the resistance without resorting to violence.

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Image of Flying the American Flag on Flag Day by slgckgc on flickr through Creative Commons

I'm just going to come right out and say it: I think Americans have a lot to be concerned about unless, among other things, they don't care about their freedom to choose and their basic human rights.

Have you been paying attention to Donald Trump's nominees? Do you know what they believe in and stand for? I have been keeping up with his picks and their platforms. And let me tell you, unless I was an affluent, white, heterosexual, conservative Christian man, I'd be more than a little nervous.

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Let's start with VP-elect Mike Pence.

Even though allegations that he supports the highly-controversial and widely discredited gay "conversation therapy" practice have not been proven, he is on record as saying: "Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior."

While governor of Indiana he signed into law a measure that could allow businesses to turn away gay and lesbian customers in the name of "religious freedom."

Still not convinced he is one scary dude? Well take a gander at this Huffington Post article. Just look at his record on abortion, Planned Parenthood, immigration, education, the environment and guns. If that doesn't give you the heebie-jeebies I don't know what will.

But wait, Pence is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Thirty years ago Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for Attorney General, was seen as being too racist for senate approval as a federal judge."

Consider the ultra right-wing conservative, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former campaign chair and recently-appointed chief strategist. There are those -- senior Democrats, some Republican strategists and civil rights groups among them -- who fear, not without reason, that Bannon with bring anti-semitic, nationalist and racist views to the West Wing.

Thirty years ago Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for Attorney General, was seen as being too racist for senate approval as a federal judge.

As chair of the pro-school-choice advocacy group American Federation for Children, Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for Education Secretary, led the charge to privatize public education.

The billionaire can also be thanked for the spread of charter schools in Michigan -- most of which are responsible for reading and math test scores that are lower than than the state average.

There are an increasing number of physicians who are worried about Trump's appointment of Tom Price -- an early and vocal critic of Obamacare -- as Secretary of Health and Human Services. They fear his proposed policies could harm the vulnerable, including poor children who count on CHIP (the Children's Health Insurance Program).

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How about a few more?

"The threats these people represent are real."

Steve Mnuchin, a multimillionaire and ex Goldman Sachs banker who profited from the 2008 financial crisis, has been tapped, by Trump, for the Secretary of the Treasury gig. His nickname is "foreclosure king" because he bought up distressed mortgages and then evicted thousands of homeowners.

Yep, I'm sure we can count on him to take care of all those unemployed white men and struggling minorities who voted for Trump.

Then there's Scott Pruitt. "Who's he?" you ask. Well, currently he's Oklahoma's attorney general, where he's spent much of his time suing the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). An interesting choice for Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency, don't you think? Yet, he's President-elect Trump's nominee.

You're getting the picture, right? And it ain't pretty. There's plenty more, but I'm going to exceed my word limit if I keep this up.

That being said, I am a woman and I cannot wrap this up without referencing a comment made by Paul Ryan when Jake Tapper interviewed him recently.

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The question was about birth control and whether or not the Obamacare replacement would fully cover its cost. You know the answer, don't you? Right. Paul Ryan made no promises.

This is no joke, folks. I'm not making this stuff up. The threats these people represent are real. To quote the headline of a Rolling Stone article that was published last week, "Trump's Presidency Is Shaping Up to Be an American Tragedy."

If you enjoyed this story click on "become a fan" at the top of the article, right next to my name. You'll be notified every time I post.

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Dear Pakistan,

I have lots of love for you. You raised my parents, taught them what it meant to work hard and provided them with shelter. You didn't however, provide them with religious freedom. And that's why we left.

The Ahmadi story of persecution in your country has a rich history. In 1974 you introduced the second amendment in the Pakistani constitution and declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims, denying us our basic and fundamental rights as human beings. In 1984, your Prime Minister Zia-ul-Haq added Ordinance XX to the Constitution, making it a crime for Ahmadi Muslims to profess their faith. Since then, Ahmadis have been subject to state-sponsored hate, violence and gruesome persecution.

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This persecution has personally affected me and continues to cause me great pain, grief and sorrow. I'd like to fall in love with Pakistan again, but something holds me back. It seems to be fear of continuing to lose those that I love most.

And so, I have to ask, O Pakistan, when will you stop?

On July 27, 2008, you murdered one of my good friend's father in front of his very eyes. He was 14 visiting Pakistan with his family. He was hopeless, shocked and scarred forever.

On May 28, 2010, you killed my good friend's father and brother. He thought his brother was alive, but as he was painfully lifting covers off dead bodies at hospitals, hoping his brother wasn't next, he saw his face and broke down. There lay his brother as one of the 94 Ahmadis martyred on May 28 for their faith.

On May 4, 2014, I attended the burial of my friend's uncle, Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar, who visited Pakistan to selflessly serve the less fortunate as a practitioner. What crime did he commit by going back to his country to help the less fortunate?

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On June 21, 2016, you killed a homeopathic doctor in your country, serving your people.

O Pakistan, when will you stop?

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that this persecution has not only resulted in brutal and unjust behaviour towards Ahmadis, but has resulted in your limited growth as a country.

You failed to recognize a Pakistani jurist and diplomat who served as 1st Foreign Minister of Pakistan and was the first Muslim, Asian and the only Pakistani to preside over the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice -- Sir Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan. He was an Ahmadi, but he was also a Pakistani. He was a source of motivation for youth aspiring to make a positive change in our world today, but you tried to suppress his achievement.

You failed to recognize the first Muslim Nobel Laureate that your country produced, Dr. Abdus Salam. He was ignored for 30 years while you questioned your baseless morals and had no answer to; "Can we recognize an Ahmadi Pakistani Nobel Laureate?"

Finally, 37 years later Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved a plan to rename the Quaid-e-Azam university's Physics Department to the Dr Abdus Salam Centre for Physics.

Even this victory was bittersweet. While you now recognize Dr. Abdus Salam as a scientist, when will you recognize him as a Muslim? On the same day of this achievement, the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya community were attacked in Rabwah, Pakistan.

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This past week on December 5, police authorities forcefully broke into the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community without any warrants or justification. The contingent of roughly 28 armed and masked unidentified police officers then assaulted the Ahmadi employees. Two Ahmadi Imams and an administrative staffer from the publisher's office were arrested and taken into custody without charges.

The irony of this attack was that it was done under the guise of terrorism charges, when Ahmadis are known throughout the world as the most peaceful and law abiding citizens. Had we even remotely endorsed terrorism, at the very least we would've fought back against the police. But we didn't.

And again, today you crossed the line. Thousands of your citizens attacked our mosque in Chakwal, ironically claiming to be lovers of Prophet Muhammad. Was this what the Prophet taught?

And yet again, it is us who will respond in the way of prophets -- with patience and steadfastness. We are responding with love, not hate. For our community to progress and become the predominant voice of Islam in the world, we will make all sorts of sacrifices, and we're ready.

In the wise words of His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (May God be pleased with him),

"Swords can win territories, but not hearts. Force can bend heads, but not minds."

Your persecution has backfired. We may be hated by the Government in Pakistan, but we are loved across the world.

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With love,

Jari Qudrat

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Rest assured, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits its target like the filmmakers were Luke Skywalker bullseyeing womp rats in his T-16 back home on Tatooine.

That's not just a too-clever comparison, either.

The farm boy-turned-Jedi's memorable boast from Star Wars: A New Hope was Luke claiming he could shoot a two-metre-wide thermal exhaust port on the Death Star that, if hit precisely, would blow the whole thing up.

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Rogue One is the story of why the moon-sized, planet-killing super weapon had that singular flaw and how the Rebel Alliance secured the top-secret Death Star blueprints that R2D2 would later deliver to Obi-Wan to kick off the original film.

Many have preemptively called this new Stars Wars film superfluous. Admittedly, this darker-hued, smaller-scale tale of bravery during wartime is arguably not a necessary addition to the canon for casual fans who don't care about filling in plot points.

But the movie is far more than its functional linkage between the two completed trilogies.

For one, it's the first Star Wars movie to be truly led by a woman -- Daisy Ridley's Rey was a breakout character in The Force Awakens, but Felicity Jones's Jyn Erso is the undeniable star of Rogue One.

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It also has a cast diverse enough to inspire an boycott by the alt-right, a U.S.-based white nationalist movement.

Trump supporters launched a #DumpStarWars campaign after the election in response to screenwriters Chris Weitz and Gary Whitta, who respectively tweeted "Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization" and "Opposed by a multi-cultural group led by brave women."

The tweets were deleted, but Weitz's subsequent twitpic of the Rebel symbol with a safety pin through it was left up:

Star Wars against hate. Spread it. pic.twitter.com/Dtf5uqpxba  Chris Weitz (@chrisweitz) November 11, 2016

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Of course, neo-Nazi sites like Daily Stormer had been complaining since August about the lack of white male characters, which apparently counts as "white genocide." (They tried to do the same to The Force Awakens for having female and black leads, and that worked out well for them.)

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Those of you who are sane, however, can again rest assured that there is zero tokenism to the multicultural cast's instantly iconic portrayals -- Mexican actor Diego Luna's Rebel captain, Cassian Andorby; African-American icon Forest Whitaker's radicalized Rebel leader, Saw Gerrera; British Muslim actor Riz Ahmed's Imperial defector, Bodhi Rook; and Chinese stars Jiang Wen playing bad-ass insurgent Baze Malbus and Donnie Yen as blind warrior monk Chirrut Imwe.

Yen, in particular, is destined to become a fan favourite, as is new droid K-2SO, a comic relief character voiced by a Firefly pilot Alan Tudyk that is to C-3PO what BB-8 was to R2-D2.

This Jyn-led team is as well-cast as Guardians of the Galaxy, another film that some argued pre-release was an unnecessary part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a massive risk.

Rogue One is the first of what Disney is dubbing their "Star Wars Anthology" movies, morphing the film franchise from a narratively straightforward, nine-part story into a Marvel-style shared universe.

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Now, George Lucas always structured his concept as three movie trilogies. That's why the first film was "Episode IV," and back when I was a kid we always imagined what the other movies might one day contain thanks to onscreen references to unseen "historical" events like the Clone Wars.

Even though we were following the Skywalker family, other stories were unspooling elsewhere.

But that was the movies, and part of their power was the notion that even though we were following the Skywalker family, other stories were unspooling elsewhere. Indeed, decades of licensed comic books, novels, cartoons and video games long ago turned this galaxy far, far away into a sprawling shared universe.

(Disney's cinematic resurrection kicked much of this "Expanded Universe" content out of official canon, albeit to reboot a new slate of "interconnected storytelling [that] will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before.")

This sort of storytelling may seem like a cash grab to the uninitiated, but not to fans of Marvel and DC comic books, which have always been similar to jazz in that different writers and artists come in and riff off core themes before stepping aside so someone else can solo.

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The same approach applies to tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, video games like Halo, fantasy books like Dragonlance or even J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth which contained more tales than just The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

All of these art forms focus on world-building so that any number of stories can take place within a shared setting.

In fact, one could argue that this tradition goes all the way back to the Bible which pulled together an incredible amount of loosely connected stories spanning millennia.

In the introduction to the 1996 re-release of the first Star Wars novel, 1978's Splinter of the Mind's Eye, which was set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas himself wrote:

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"After Star Wars was released, it became apparent that my story -- however many films it took to tell -- was only one of thousands that could be told about the characters who inhabit its galaxy. But these were not stories that I was destined to tell. Instead, they would spring from the imagination of other writers, inspired by the glimpse of a galaxy that Star Wars provided. Today, it is an amazing, if unexpected, legacy of Star Wars that so many gifted writers are contributing new stories to the Saga."

The creative success of Rogue One simply proves that this applies as much to movies as to the other media that Lucas' Star Wars saga has expanded into.

Director Gareth Edwards is able to play with our nostalgia through self-referential visual cues, meta dialogue, Michael Giacchino's John Williams-nodding score and, of course, the pre-established story skeleton.

To paraphrase Obi-Wan, this is the Star Wars story we are looking for.

But being relatively self-contained from the main series provides an unexpected freedom that comes from telling a smaller side story, even if we already know how this particular tale fits into the larger narrative puzzle.

With the plot a literal foregone conclusion, the surprisingly gritty film focuses on developing the new characters without having to position them for a sequel, creating shocking war movie action sequences and updating the series' through line themes of imperialism, insurgency and weapons of mass destruction for our Trump and Brexit times.

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To paraphrase Obi-Wan, this is the Star Wars story we are looking for, and audiences will likely leave the theatre as excited about the 2018 young Han Solo anthology film as they are about next year's "Episode VIII."

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Chris Wattie / Reuters Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (3rd L) speaks during a news conference with Transport Minister Marc Garneau (L), Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc (2nd L), Environment Minister Catherine McKenna (3rd R), Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr (2nd R) and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

It's been a year since Canada returned from Paris victorious.

At the COP21 climate change talks, Canada joined the global community in setting a course for international climate action with the adoption of the Paris Agreement. During the negotiations, Canada's Environment Minster, Catherine McKenna, expressed support for global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

She also made a strong push for human rights language -- especially indigenous rights -- in the body of the Paris text, and clearly stated that the Harper government's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target (30 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030) would serve as a "floor" not a ceiling.

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And now, the first ministers have delivered Canada's climate plan.

This is no doubt, a historic development. For the first time, Canada's climate target is backed by an actual plan. And this plan is supported by (almost) all of the provincial and territorial premiers.

Unfortunately, however, that's about where the good news ends.

Canada's "Paris commitment" vs. the "Paris Agreement"

The new climate framework is only a starting point for serious climate action. It could have been so much more, except that it is built on a vastly inadequate emissions reduction target. What the federal government had signaled as insufficient now serves as its highest aspiration.

But hasn't the government claimed that its new plan is consistent with its "Paris commitment"?

Yes, and here's the rub.

The Paris Agreement, ratified by the House of Commons in October, seeks to "strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change ... [by] holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels".

Canada's Paris commitment, however, is the short-hand used by the government for its "nationally determined contribution," the emissions-reduction goal it has set for itself. The Liberal government is using the same target it inherited from the Conservatives: to reduce GHG emissions 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

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That means getting us down to 524 megatons (Mt) of COe emissions annually by 2030. In 2014, Canada emitted 732 Mt .

Canada's Paris commitment, therefore, is fundamentally incompatible with the Paris Agreement. It does not represent Canada's fair share in the global effort to reduce emissions. Put simply, it is an unacceptably unambitious baseline.

Estimates of a "fair share" contribution suggest that at a minimum, Canada should align with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommended reductions of 25-40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. Canada's current target translates to only about 14 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

Pipelines prevent more ambitious Paris target

The new federal-provincial/territorial climate framework includes several measures -- a modest carbon pricing benchmark, industry regulations, and significant investment in public transportation -- that should get them to their established target.

At the same time, the government continues to support the expansion of the oil and gas sector, Canada's largest source of GHG emissions.

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Over the next nine years, the fossil fuel industry will continue to receive an estimated $3.3 billion annually in direct federal and provincial support before these subsidies are phased out in 2025.

Both Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Notley highlight Alberta's new legislated absolute cap of 100 Mt a year on emissions from the oil sands sector as a major contribution to Canada's climate plan. But they omit a critical detail: under this cap, oil sands emissions are allowed to grow. (In 2014, they totaled 68 Mt).

Closely related to oil sands expansion, of course, is the recent approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline and the Line 3 replacement project. Science suggests that due to associated lifecycle emissions, the climate impact of these two pipelines will be staggering.

A good first step, but with a big caveat

There was a long moment on Friday evening when the fate of Canada's new climate plan was in doubt. In that moment, the tremendous significance of having a plan at all, even one based on an inadequate target, was brought into clear focus. So, despite shortfalls and limitations, this is indeed a good news story.

Still, the current moment, defined so fully by the global climate crisis, presents our country with a unique opportunity to chart a better course to put the Canadian economy at the service of people and the planet.

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Moving forward, our government must look carefully at its approach to energy development and infrastructure. Canada needs a justice-based approach that respects the rights of indigenous peoples, includes a just transition plan for Canadian workers, and supports adaptation and mitigation efforts in the Global South.

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Darkwoods, British Columbia (Photo by Bruce Kirby)

Japanese people are generally familiar with shinrin-yoku or forest bathing -- the practice of being immersed in a forest. In Germany, the concept is referred to as Waldsehligkeit, a feeling of profound well-being that comes from being surrounded by trees.

But where does this impact originate, from the tree or trees nearest to the person enjoying the forest? From the undergrowth, the ground cover? From the soil, the forest air? As any forest enthusiast will know, a forest is more than a sum of adjacent parts. It can only be experienced -- and even described -- as an interconnected entity.

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A forest is an intricately linked ecosystem and Suzanne Simard, professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia's Department, goes one step further. She says forests represent an intelligence that is able to behave as though it's a single organism.

Suzanne Simard discovers interactions in forest

Growing up in British Columbia, Simard first learned about forests from her grandfather, who, as a horse logger, used to selectively cut cedar poles from the rainforest. His way of regarding the forest stood in stark contrast to the forestry Simard came in contact with during her undergraduate studies.

Simard returned to university to study how trees might share information below ground, and conducted experiments deep in the forest. "Twenty-five years ago, I grew 80 replicates of three species: paper birch, Douglas-fir, and western redcedar. Then I put plastic bags over the trees and injected the bags with tracer isotope carbon dioxide gases," she explains. "The evidence was clear, showing me that paper birch and Douglas-fir were in a lively two-way conversation."

Simard knew she had found something big, something that would change the way we look at how trees interact in forests. Scientists had long discovered a symbiotic association between fungi and roots of forest plants. Forest fungi interact with root cells, trading carbon for nutrients, and connecting the different individuals -- and species -- in the forest.

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Tooth fungi from Happy Valley Forest, Ontario (Photo by NCC)

Fungi, the internet of the forest

Simard says, "The forest works kind of like the Internet." Underground forest fungi networks have nodes and links, with the biggest hubs around the so-called "mother trees," which support their young. "In a single forest, a mother tree can be connected to hundreds of other trees," she says. "Mother trees will send their excess carbon through the forest fungi network to the understory seedlings, and we associate this with increased seedling survival by four times."

She has also found that mother trees recognize their kin -- sending them more carbon and reducing their own network of roots to make space. "When mother trees are injured or dying, they send messages of wisdom to the next generation, "Simard explains. "Trees talk."

"Forests aren't simply collections of trees, they're complex systems with hubs and networks that overlap and connect trees and allow them to communicate," says Simard. While this can make forests resilient, it also makes them vulnerable.

"You can take out one or two mother trees, but there comes a tipping point where a massive disturbance can affect hydrological cycles, degrade wildlife habitat, and emit greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere, which creates more disturbance and more tree diebacks," she explains.

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Simard has four pieces of advice for forest lovers:

1. We need to get out in the forest. We need to re-establish local involvement in our own forests, since good forest stewardship requires knowledge of local conditions.

2. We need to save our old-growth forests. These are the repositories of genes and mother trees and forest fungi networks.

3. When we do cut, we need to save the legacies, the mother trees and networks, and the wood, the genes, so they can pass their wisdom onto the next generation of trees.

4. We need to regenerate our forests with a diversity of species and genotypes and structures by planting and allowing natural regeneration. That way, we give Mother Nature the tools she needs to self-heal.

This post originally appeared in the Globe and Mail and was produced with the support of Randall Anthony Communications Inc.

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The five things you need to know on Tuesday, December 13

1) THE THINKER

Despite the PMs edict on not giving a running commentary on Brexit, Philip Hammond is turning into the May Governments very own David Coleman. Days after hed offered handy quotes on EU contributions last week (following up David Daviss remarks), the Chancellor yesterday made plain to the Treasury Select Committee his preference for a transitional deal for Brexit. He even lobbed in a hint that the overseas aid ringfence would be up for grabs in his spending review.

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The most telling quote seemed to be Hammonds remark that it would be "generally helpful" to have more than two years to negotiate what exactly Brexit will look like - and that "thoughtful politicians as well as civil servants and business all agreed. DD had told City types last week that he was "not really interested" in a transitional deal (a point underlined by the long-lens memo of his chat with Mark Field).

Still, I'm told DD is intensely relaxed (as Peter Mandelson would put it) about Hammonds remark, with allies suggesting the Chancellor was referring to European not British politicians when he talked about thoughtful types. Davis has an 80% approval rating among ConHome members, dont forget. And there is common ground between DD and Hammond, not least on the need for a smooth Brexit. Today's Cabinet should be fun, nevertheless.

Todays Brexit Week report from Lords EU committees says a "clear game plan" is needed on trade.  It is unlikely that a bespoke EU trade agreement can be agreed within Article 50s two-year period, so a transitional deal is vital for protecting UK trade, and jobs that rely on trade.

Maybe we will get more light when a former deputy director general of the WTO appears before the International Trade Committee at 10.15am today. Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer also has a speech today warning of the dangers of Hard Brexit, but with Labour still split on immigration, its own problems are perhaps just as bad as the Governments.

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2) RESTIVE SEASON

Jeremy Corbyn was in good spirits at his Christmas drinks party for the media in the Commons last night. Allies say the coming break will be his first un-broken holiday since 2014. But the Sun suggests Christmas has come early for the Labour leader, with a leaked version of the party grid showing a virtually empty diary for next week - although Friday Dec 16 is listed as Concert for Corbyn, Christmas Jumper Day.

Corbyn these days treats such reports like water off a ducks back and seems even more Zen-like than ever. Last night he thanked the Sun for sending a reporter up a tree to watch him on his allotment. He also had some gags.

There was this: I wouldnt dream of wearing any rubbishy old pair of trousers costing a thousand quid so Nicky Morgan and I are going off shopping later on to get some new gear for me for next year. And then this: I know fully understand what George Osborne meant when he said Britain was going to be on the March of the Makers. Anyone who can get so much money for a one-hour speech has to got to be seriously on the make.

John McDonnell was on hand with his own jokes too. I would like to thank you for your loyal support over the past 12 monthsI would like to, he told the gathered hacks. He had a jibe at one particular commentators Mystic Meg skills: It was predictable that we were going to lose the referendum as soon as Dan Hodges predicted a massive win for Remain.

And with McDonnell theres always bite to the humour. After yesterdays Commons Urgent Question saw Labour urge an Ofcom referral of the Murdoch BSkyB bid, he also couldnt resist a jab at Karen Bradleys current special adviser - a former reporter on the Sun: As a former Murdoch employee moving to DCMS, its a complete coincidence that Rupert Murdoch has now put a bid for Sky. And I wont have anyone say any different.

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Corbyn pointed out HuffPost had already reported, just minutes earlier, from the PLP. But Nick Brown may not be as sanguine about the growing restive mood in the ranks. Some Labour MPs are threatening a work to rule after Brown addressed a Momentum meeting that called for mandatory reselection of MPs. Theyre just as upset that there was no sanction for three shadow ministers who defied the whip on Brexit last week. See my story HERE.

Amid worries over Labours 4th place in Sleaford, Vernon Coaker told the PLP that voters had stopped listening to Labour on the doorstep, despite a local A&E being closed, because the only issue the voters wanted to talk about was Brexit. Corbyn allies counter that just seven MPs (including Corbyn and McDonnell) went on the Sleaford stump - and wonder why Tom Watson was not out campaigning. Funnily enough, the deputy leader (who joined JC for his Xmas drinks last year) was not present last night. He has his own reception tonight.

As for Labours empty grid, it seemed to lack the House of Lords activity, where last night there was a Government defeat as peers approved a Jan Royall amendment for longer sentences for stalking. On the Wales Bill, it looks like Labour have got ministers to agree to devolve to the Welsh Assembly fixed odds betting regulation. Small wins but Opposition wins nevertheless.

3) THE XMAS STRIKES BACK

A quarter of a million people will be hit by the Southern trains strike by Aslef drivers today. And the Communication Workers Union has also announced five days of strikes at Crown Post Offices starting Monday and including Christmas Eve. Having been on, then off, the winters first real industrial action is very much back on.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has again said that the train dispute is politically motivated because there are no job losses under Southerns plan to axe train door roles. The Sun urges Grayling to hand the franchise to someone with the will to "crush the strikers. Grayling gifts the papers a headline by revealing what Aslef chief Mick Whelan told him soon after he got the Transport job this summer: With virtually his first breath he promised me ten years of industrial action. On the Today prog, Whelan cited claims that DfT civil servant had wanted to break the union.

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The Mail carries a photo of a smiling Jeremy Corbyn at the train drivers' union Aslef's Christmas dinner last week. Not surprisingly, the Conservatives are very keen to land a lot of the political flak at Labours door, with the when will you condemn the strike? game already started. Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald shows no sign of playing, blaming instead intransigent management. The Times points out that Labour received 118k in donations from Aslef and 770k from the CWU last year (including 40,000 to Jezza's leadership campaign).

To make matters worse, London's Tubes seem to be grinding to a halt. The Piccadilly line has been dire for weeks and today the Victoria Line has huge delays. Add in all those suburban lines like South West Trains and you can see why commuters are getting very grumpy indeed.

BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR

Watch this car passenger prove that wearing a seatbelt is normally a good idea

4) COYNE EXCHANGE

Speakign of unions, Gerard Coyne is a name youre going to hear a lot of over the next four months as he takes on Len McCluskey for the job of general secretary of Unite. The BBCs Laura Kuenssberg reveals that Coyne, the unions West Midlands regional secretary, will formally launch his campaign today.

As I wrote last week, its worth noting that Coynes father-in-law is Bill (now Lord) Jordan, the former leader of the AEU engineering union (now part of Unite). Jordan, like Ken Jackson, was among the moderate union leaders who could be called on to support the Labour leadership in battles against the Left. Since those days, the Left has proved much more adept at organising to win elections on very low turnouts (which are blamed on Government refusal to allow electronic balloting).

Having started life as a shop worker at Sainsburys, Coynes pitch is that he wants to focus more on representing members of Britains biggest union rather than getting into party politics. The model is the kind of constructive engagement such as the GMB-Community-Unite deal on pensions that looks like it has saved 8,000 steel jobs in Port Talbot. Having said that, if Coyne wins he could have a huge role in party politics - as hed decisively shift the balance of power on Labours NEC. But its a massive task to unseat McCluskey. Let alone Corbyn.

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5) SYRIAN TRAGEDY

Donald Trump tweeted last night that he will today finally announce his choice for US Secretary of State. Mitt Romney announced on Facebook that it would not be him, but the former Republican Presidential contenders words in 2012 about the threat posed by Russia now look awfully prescient - and no more than in Syria.

The Commons has an emergency debate on Aleppo this morning, as the rebellion against President Assad appears to reach its endgame. The Guardian splashes on desperate messages imploring the international community to save civilians in besieged districts, with one doctor saying This is a final distress call to the world. Save Aleppo. Teacher Abdulhafi al-Hamdo Tweeted: I can tweet now but I might not do it forever. Please save my daughters life

Russias role in the Aleppo seige will be picked over by historians, as will support for Putin from Trump, Farage, Nuttall and others. But right here, right now, the Morning Star has a front page that has staggered Labour MPs with its headline: Final Liberation For Aleppo Is In Sight. Stephen Doughty calls it vile and disgusting, others compared it to the Daily Workers infamous front page welcoming the Nazi-Soviet pact.

Will Trump really pick as his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the ex-ExxonMobil CEO who was given a 'friendship' award by Putin? The Kremlin praised Tillerson yesterday as 'highly professional'.

If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox.
On the telephone, he had not mentioned the beard. "Have you still got some hair left?" I had asked. "A few strands" he replied. "I don't use Brylcreem any more."

"How about you?"

"You'll know me because I'm squat, broad-shouldered and a bit tubby"

"You always were. Still got your own teeth?"

"Most of them."

I'd just arrived in Durham. The London to Newcastle Express was pulling out of the station, I had rounded the railings on the station platform, and our eyes met. Mine grey-green (so I am told) and his blue, with the same slightly rebellious, almost insolent look that used to exasperate the masters at the grammar school we both went to in Kent. For a split-second we looked at each other. The he leapt from the bench, pointed an old Pentax at me, and squeezed the trigger.

"You ain't half gone grey" he said.

"Well, I am six months older than you" I said.

"That accounts for it, then" he said. "But your eyes look familiar."

It was our first meeting for 40 years. The lanky Ted, with his sullen good looks, was once my best friend. Strangely, we had little in common except a strong rebellious streak, a bohemian lifestyle and a love of the open air. We used to go bird watching together, walking miles into the wildest countryside Kent has to offer - estuaries, marshes, that sort of thing. Waders, sea birds, etc. Lots of LBJs too (birdwatch speak for Little Brown Jobs).

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We swam in the sea together, too. One year we took a monthly dip at Herne Bay for 12 consecutive months, braving icy waters throughout the winter. John Fitzgerald Kennedy had just become president of the USA, Vivien Leigh was divorcing Sir Laurence Olivier, the Everly Brothers had a huge hit with Cathy's Clown, and the legendary Flying Scotsman was still in service. Now, on a crisp spring morning, I had alighted from Kings Cross on a rather nondescript diesel to meet a man I had not seen for more than half a lifetime.

The last time I'd seen him, his spindly legs had been trailing out of short trousers, and he had barely started shaving, if at all. Now, as I walked along the platform it was the beard I had seen first, framed between the phone box, the railings and the overhanging roof of the station. In fact, for a moment that was all of him that I could see. The rest of his body was hidden from view, but there was just a glimpse of a huge, straggly but quite magnificent grey beard. No other facial detail yet, but I knew, instinctively it was him.

Yet during our telephone conversations prior to meeting, me in West Sussex, him above the Arctic Circle - it had never occurred to me that he'd be sporting such an all-consuming thatch. But as soon as I saw it, I knew. Why would such a rebellious spirit, living in the Arctic Circle, ever bother to shave?

"If we run out of conversation there's a tomb at Durham Cathedral we can sit on" he had said.

"You're not allowed to talk there."

To be charitable, Ted looked every inch a Viking. Six feet five inches, to be inexact, for my old school chum reckoned he had shrunk at least an inch. To be uncharitable, he could have walked away with the part of Rip Van Winkle.

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"Let's find a restaurant" I said, studying him more carefully. "That beard doesn't do anything for you" I said, noting that beneath it was the handsome face of old that I knew so well.

Ted was living in a place called Stora, not far from Narvik, close to the Swedish border. He was briefly back in the UK to visit his mother. When I went to see him on that special day 10 years ago, he even sounded slightly Norwegian.

Our school song was "40 years on when afar and asunder, parted are those who are singing today, then it may be we regretfully wonder, what we were like in our work and our play."

Now, here we were in Durham, chatting away as if only 40 minutes had passed since we last met.

Before I knew it, it was time to go.

Time to go, and we'd hardly started! We parted on the bridge across the river. I wanted to hug him, but I didn't want to embarrass him. To my surprise, the great Kentish Viking leaned across and wrapped his arms around me. "Take care of yourself" he said.
A British man is due to appear in an Australian court on Monday, accused of photographing 49 women as they undressed in fitting rooms. In a world saturated with CCTV and phone cameras, can we ever really rely on privacy when we need to undress? Research suggests that, more often than not, we undress with the expectation that we are being watched.

Fitting rooms are awkwardly private and public at the same time. They are filled with strangers, and yet designated as spaces for the very private act of undressing. In most cases, there is only a flexible, temporary barrier between ourselves and other shoppers. When we strip naked in these vulnerable, exposed spaces, we can only hope that no one is looking too closely at the gap between the curtains.

Undressing in a semi-public space such as a gym changing room makes us conscious of how our gestures affect the appearance of our bodies. In order to exchange one garment for another, we have to contort ourselves into all sorts of unattractive shapes. The fear that we might be seen, or worse, photographed, in these ungraceful poses, arises from a shift in our perception of our body. In these moments, we are hyperaware that our bodies are not only "lived in" by ourselves, but also observed by others. This self-consciousness leads us to carefully choreograph our undressing: towels are knotted under armpits as makeshift curtains; bras are pulled out through shirt sleeves; and underpants are pulled off through the leg holes of swimwear.

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This affects men too. A study by Donn Short identified that "informal policing" occurs in men's locker rooms. Men of today are more likely than previous generations to try to conceal their bodies under a towel or robe while they are undressing for the gym. This, Short argues, is an emerging practice, resulting from shifting "codes of masculinity" that acknowledge the homosexual and homophobic gaze.

Product designers recognize the need for alternatives to these awkwardly choreographed gestures. Dennis Caco and April Estrada's "Undress" is perhaps the most widely publicized solution, marketed primarily at women with active lifestyles as a "dress system" for women who are forced to change out of their sportswear in public spaces. Surfers and swimmers can also buy products including elongated ponchos that function as mobile changing rooms, shrouding the body as the wearer removes a swimsuit.

Undressing has long been an activity that is awkwardly public and private at the same time. Though it is typically carried out in private spaces, those spaces have historically been populated not only by the individual who is undressing, but also other participants and observers, including family and domestic servants. For women in the West, it is only since the end of the Victorian era that undressing has been possible in private, when new front-busk fastening enabled women to tighten and untighten their corsets without assistance. When undressing became a solitary act, the presence of an observer in the dressing room took on new significance.

Tongue-in-cheek domestic advice from the 1930s advised women to always undress as if they were being watched, even when in their own home. Life magazine published an article that outlined the most "graceful method" of removing one's clothes, asserting that it was a wife's duty to undress in an "artful" manner. A short exploitation film by Dwain Esper, How to Undress in Front of Your Husband (1937), went one step further, suggesting that even single women should be prepared that a Peeping Tom with a long-lens camera could be watching them at any moment. The film advised that a woman should always undress gracefully, just in case she is being watched.

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Even when we are home alone, mirrors make us conscious of how our gestures might look to an observer. There is almost always a mirror on the wall of the bathroom and bedroom - the two rooms where we are most likely to undress. Mirrors become substitutes for observers, allowing us to watch ourselves as if the eyes gazing back at us belong to someone else. Revelations that phone and webcams can be switched on remotely might make us constantly conscious of undressing as a performance rather than a private act.
There was a sigh of relief amongst many Muslims in Europe upon the news that Austria's far right presidential candidate, Norbert Hofer, had been defeated. A welcome result, but one that provides only temporary respite for a community that is the main target of the prejudice and hatred whipped up by far right populist leaders. There is a feeling of despair and hopelessness amongst Muslim communities, as though all we can do is watch as passive bystanders, as the tide of far right populism sweeps all before it. Yet Muslims can and should respond to tackle the populism of the far right, our futures depend on it, and inaction is no longer an option.

How do we respond? Firstly, political apathy amongst Muslims living in the West must be overcome. Historically, turnout amongst Muslims eligible to vote has been significantly lower than that of the wider population, both in the UK as well as in wider Europe. Undoubtedly much of this is borne out of a feeling of despair, that even if our voices are heard, nothing much will change. Add to this mix that over previous decades the political centre has shifted to the right when it comes to Islam and Muslims, whereby demonization of Muslim communities has become normalised, there is little wonder that Muslim communities don't really see the benefits of political engagement.

Yet it is down to religious and political leaders and activists within our communities to understand and convey the benefits of political engagement, no matter how angry and frustrated we may feel with the status quo. There is a feeling that things could not get any worse, but they can get a lot worse. We must act to stop those whose electoral success depends on whipping up hatred and animosity towards Muslim communities in order to deflect from the real causes of inequality and lack of opportunities that exist.

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Addressing political apathy amongst young Muslims must become a major priority. From my own experience, young Muslims often cite their frustration at a wide range of socio-political issues, ranging from Islamophobia to lack of equal opportunities to social cohesion. Yet often these frustrations do not translate into political activism nearly as much as they should.

The link between these issues and political participation must be highlighted and reinforced. We must not allow our communities to become echo chambers for one another, but popularise our concerns and struggles with others, through political participation and engagement with progressives from diverse backgrounds. For a failure to engage politically and to strengthen the progressive forces against populism, will only serve to strengthen the far right who thrive off the isolation of the Muslim community.

We must also acknowledge that the issue of sectarianism has come to affect the Muslim community, with some religious leaders keen to emphasise their differences between other Muslims as opposed to the common challenges we face. Put simply, 'united we stand divided we fall' holds truer in the case of addressing the populism of the far right. Religious leaders must come together to face a threat that is very real and is blind to the differences between Muslims that some amongst us are so keen to emphasise. This will require bold and decisive action from religious leaders.

The issue of tackling fake news has come to the fore in recent weeks and months. Yet as Muslims we are no strangers to fake news. When it comes to issues around Islam and Muslims, sections of the mainstream media have often pushed disinformation and outright lies. The populist right rely on the hostility and prejudice pushed within the media about Muslims in order to increase their popularity. As Muslims, we must continue to challenge the negative stereotypes that exist within sections of the press, whether this be through highlighting incorrect media portrayals or by achieving a greater representation within the media.

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Jack Taylor via Getty Images

I was disappointed to learn that Culture Secretary Karen Bradley had rejected the appointment of the only female candidate and person of colour to the Channel 4 board. This is a worrying intervention which calls into question the government's commitment to board diversity.

Five candidates were recommended to the Culture Secretary by Ofcom. This came after a long, rigorous vetting process and the candidates were described to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee last month as "an outstanding range of recommendations". Yet one was rejected.

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It is not clear why the only person of colour was rejected, especially after they had been deemed sufficiently qualified by Ofcom. In fact it is an unprecedented move by Karen Bradley as it turns out that no recommendation for the Channel 4 board had been rejected before.

Channel 4's own Chairman previously stressed the need for greater diversity on its board. But as a result of the Culture Secretary's decision not only will the board remain entirely white, but the number of female executives will drop from five to three. This is a disappointing backwards step.

After all it is widely agreed that diversity on boards leads to better decisions by bringing different perspectives to the table. Channel 4 boasts a very diverse audience and are in the process of implementing their diversity strategy leading up to 2020. This makes it all the more concerning.

I had thought that there was a consensus about the need to for more diversity in boardrooms. The Parker Review reported only last month that the Boardrooms of leading public companies do not reflect the ethnic diversity of the UK or the people that they seek to engage with and represent.

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We also heard warm words from the Prime Minister on the steps of Number 10 about the need for positive change. Indeed one of the first things Theresa May did as PM was to commission a race audit of public services to examine the unequal treatment of minority ethnic people in the UK.

But we do not need the government to just speak of their desire for greater diversity and equality, we need them to show it in their actions. The decision to reject the only person of colour for the Channel 4 board shows that they talk the talk but as yet, have not walked the walk.

Candidates should always be appointed based on skills and experience. But when you have such a qualified and highly-recommended candidate who also happens to be from a massively underrepresented community, it beggars belief and seems incredibly unfair to not appoint all five.

I have reviewed the first response from the Secretary of State. I find it unsatisfactory as she has not addressed my questions and serious concerns. I would not expect her to divulge personal information, but we need reasons to justify her intervention given that she could have easily appointed all five highly qualified candidates.

When making key decisions it is important to recognise and acknowledge transferable skills. This is often overlooked in preference for something which the decision maker recognises or feels comfortable with. The response from the Culture Secretary reads to me that transferable skills were overlooked for a tick-box exercise. Diversity of thought is as important as diversity of colour or sex.

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We may never know why this decision was made but in order to progress we must all work together cross party to ensure that we have enough people applying for positions and that transferable skills are taken into consideration. I am happy to meet with the Secretary of State and help this process and move forward in a positive way.

I hope that my letter signed by a cross party group of MPs will make them reflect. The government have heard many reviews and statements but they don't appear to have got the message on diversity. Change does not come about through talk but through action. It's time for the government to show it.
I want to tell you the story of how Food Design fell in love with Food Psychology.

Or better, let me tell you why food designers should fall in love with Food Psychology!

Let's start by clarifying these terms: Food Design is the design process that leads to innovation on products, services, or systems for food and eating: from production, procurement, preservation, and transportation, to preparation, presentation, consumption, and disposal.

Food Psychology is a term coined by Professor Brian Wansink, one of the most accomplished academics ever, and a brilliant researcher. It is the discipline that answers the questions: Why do we eat as much as we eat? Why do we eat what we eat? Why do we eat how we eat? It looks at the relationship between humans and food from a psychological and sometimes sociological perspective. It looks at how human beings behave around food, think about food, and sometimes don't think about food, looking at all the unconscious things we do but that we're not aware of.

Which means that this discipline is a great resource for food designers! I think food designers must not only be aware that this discipline exists, but also use its findings in their food design process.

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At the beginning of the design process, designers start looking around. This is where they try and understand their design context and target users. The goal is to search for existing information, before gathering additional complementary information. Well, I am confident saying that whatever the design project, there is information within food psychology that a food designer would need and that they would find very useful in their design process.

To demonstrate this, I am going to give you three examples from three of my favorite articles published by Professor Wansink, just to give you a taste of how little we know about ourselves when it comes to food, and therefore, how many wrong assumptions food designers can make!!! And this is the point, because assumptions are a designer's worst enemy, and overcoming them is the reason why preliminary research is conducted.

Okay, article number one: Descriptive menu labels' effect on sales. In this study Professor Wansink went into a faculty cafeteria and changed the names of the dishes on the menu. For six weeks two items had regular names and two items had new names, a "descriptive label", as he puts it. The new names went from Grilled Chicken to Tender Grilled Chicken, from Seafood Fillet to Succulent Italian Seafood Filet. They let people choose their food and then they gave them a questionnaire.

What did they learn? First of all, more people chose the item with the fancy name, no surprise there. Then the results showed that the items with the descriptive label were considered as having higher quality and higher value. They improved the attitude towards the entire establishment and influenced people's purchase intention, saying they would eat it again! All of this just because the name of the dish had fancier words or more adjectives! What is also great about this article is that at the end, there is an appendix that gives suggestions on how to improve the names of dishes. So food designers, restaurant managers, and chefs, take note:

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1)Use geographic labels, which refer to the place where flavors come from. E.g.: Southwestern Tex-Mex Salad, and Country Peach Tart.

2)Use nostalgia labels alluding to past times to trigger happy memories of family, tradition, and nationalism. E.g.: Nana's Favorite Chicken Soup, and Legendary Chocolate Mousse Pie

3)Use sensory labels that accurately describe the taste, smell, and mouth feel of the menu item. E.g.: Hearty Wholesome Steaks, and Snappy Seasonal Carrots.

4)Use brand labels that involve a cross-promotion with a related brand that has important associations. E.g.: Jack Daniels BBQ Ribs, and Butterfinger Blizzard.

Article number two: Environmental factors that increase the food intake and consumption volume of unknowing consumers. This is a spectacular, huge literature review article in which Professor Wansink shows how the eating environment (atmosphere, eating effort, socialisation, distractions, etc.) and the food environment (variety, size of package and portions, stockpiling of food, shape of food vessel, etc.) influence consumption volume. Basically, what and how much we eat is mostly subconscious and we don't realise it! Just with regards to lighting, for example, we know that harsh and bright illumination decreases how long people stay in a restaurant, whereas soft or warm lighting makes people stay for longer and maybe even have a dessert. But also, the more variety we have available, the more we eat; the bigger the packaging, the more we eat; the more food we have available at home, the more we eat; the bigger the plate, the more we eat.

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Food Psychology and studies like this have shown us that we should - consciously - pay more attention to what we buy and what we eat. And the point here is that if food designers are aware of these studies, they can combine this knowledge with their skills for improving people's lives, and make people eat less junk food and more healthy food!

This is a huge article that is impossible to summarise. If you had to read only one article on Food Psychology ever, I'd suggest you to read this one. If you are then interested in more, it leads you to 151 more articles that are cited in the text.

And finally, article number three: Bad popcorn in big buckets. I kept the best for last. Professor Wansink asked himself: What would happen if I gave people food when they were not hungry and food that wasn't any good? So he set an experiment in a movie theatre, and to people who had dinner before going into the movie theatre, he gave big buckets of popcorn... five-day-old, stale popcorn! Now... when people eat good popcorn during a movie, they eat, eat, and eat. When people eat nasty, stale popcorn, they get a bite, make a face of disgust, and put it down. Three minutes later they turn around, and, "Hey! Popcorn!" And eat again. And so on and so forth for the duration of the movie. At the end of the movie, they ate 25% more popcorn! This proves that we don't know how much we eat... even when the food is bad!

This was just a hint of Food Psychology for you, just a little sprinkle of information. As a food designer you must be aware of behavioural and psychological aspects of people around food. Hope this has inspired you to make this prolific discipline one of your sources of information for your research in future food design projects.

Happy Food Design!

References:

Wansink, B. (2004). Environmental factors that increase the food intake and consumption volume of unknowing consumers. Annual Review of Nutrition, 24, 455-479.

Wansink, B., & Kim, J. (2005). Bad popcorn in big buckets: portion size can influence intake as much as taste. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 37(5), 242-245.
As we rapidly approach the end of another challenging year, my mind strays once more to the Middle East North Africa (MENA) and to the atrocities visited upon much of it during the past twelve months. Yes, it was hardly six years ago that the residents of this region rose up in arms to shake off the yoke of oppression and acquire the rights associated with true citizenship. But given the levels of sheer brutality that we have witnessed over social media almost daily, it often feels that this has been going on for longer than six years.

In a nutshell, what has been happening over the past few years echoes the endemic despair in a region that was once a hub of progress, creativity and authenticity. It then shifted to periods of feudalism, coupled with political quiescence and economic tumescence, and is now in a state of unpredictable and almost inconsequential uncertainty. In some MENA countries, life continues with wary and cautious normality. In others, it is truly a question of the last straw that might break the camel's back anew. But if we sidestep Palestine that was the emotional hub of the Arab and Muslim Worlds a decade ago but is no longer so today, I would argue that Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya are the four countries where polarisation and vitriol are at their highest pitch. It would take decades before some modicum of stability let alone reconciliation can take root again. And this assumes of course that those states will not end up partitioned or federated, or become the junkyard of the world where their resources are pillaged without any palpable dividends for their rightful owners.

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What many politicians overlook is that force alone will not resolve the issues at hand. Force is a catharsis for feeble politicians and rogue chieftains, but it is often political dialogue that alone could import peace - and then prosperity - to a country. Just imagine, if the world community manages to eliminate Daesh (ISIS) literally from the MENA map, but does not in the process help address the problems of the Arab men, women and children who live in abject poverty and who are oppressed to their back teeth, does one really think that stability would be possible? Not only will there be another 'Arab Spring' round the corner, but the terrorists of today will come back to haunt us with different labels tomorrow. Just remember how many mutations Al-Qaeda underwent - and in how many countries - before it morphed into Daesh!

As many prominent Arab intellectuals and philosophers - not least the late Syrian scholar Sadiq Jalal Al-Azm - have written for decades, there is an urgent need to understand that reverting to heavy-handed security measures against those aspiring for their fundamental freedoms will not solve problems. Rather, they will simply mutate those problems, alter their political DNA and make them even harder to deal with once the next eruption takes place. And there is no way the world can insulate itself or firewall its borders: globalisation means that what happens in one part of the world today physically affects another part thousands of miles away tomorrow.

But understand we clearly do not! As the former UK ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, wrote (albeit in a somewhat different context) in his Naked Diplomacy, "Ironically, at a time when the world faces a more dramatic combination of change and challenge than ever before, we are overwhelmed by that change. At a time when we have the tools to react globally, we are failing to use them. We face massive global transition at a time when there is a lack of global leadership, and a growing realisation that we are leaderless. No one has a plan. We have not begun to adapt our institutions to the new realities".

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It seems to me that some politicians in the MENA do not fathom that we no longer live in an era where leadership means whipping people into submission, imposing diktats upon them, claiming an authority over them that is either God-given or man-made, and depriving them of their sense of participatory mouwatana or citizenship? The Arab World contains millions of men and women who no longer accept subservience: they thirst for fairness and justice and use social media to demonstrate their refusal to be cowed by those wielding [often patriarchal] power. Remember the likes of Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia or Ashraf Mohammed Shaheen in Egypt who self-immolated in protest against unbearable living conditions. Much as the pendulum in the MENA has swung away from ideas of basic liberties toward autocracy - purportedly to bring stability and safety - the whole concept of a pendulum is that the counter-motion inevitably happens again.
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Prime Minister Theresa May declared this week, at a speech to the Conservative Friends of Israel, that next year's centenary of the Balfour Declaration would be marked by Britain "with pride".

This is the latest government statement about an anniversary which, let's face it, must look to many in Whitehall like one big headache. No word can be spoken about the document - which left indelible British fingerprints on the Jewish-Arab struggle - without angering someone, or several million someones. Ministers could be forgiven for wanting to hide until it's over.

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But Britain's historical legacy is unavoidable. For Jews the Declaration is to be celebrated, whilst for Palestinians and their supporters it is a mark of shame against Britain. The Palestinian Authority has threatened to sue Britain for its 'crime', and anti-Zionist campaigners in the West will seek to tar Zionism, once again, with the brush of imperialism.

What then is a reasonable way for British politicians to relate to the Balfour Declaration today?

Millions of words have been written about its origins from a British perspective, through the lenses of Britain's ambivalent relationship with its imperial past. What British leaders need to keep in mind is what it means for the nations whose destinies it touched.

Understanding the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires looking simultaneously at the two overlapping, but very different, perspectives of Jews and Palestinian-Arabs. Like a stereogram, if you can avoid going cross eyed and getting a headache, a picture with depth emerges.

For Jews, Britain's 1917 expression of support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people", later given legal force by the League of Nations, is part of their narrative of salvation. Hundreds of thousands of Jews who fled from Europe to Palestine between the wars, and their descendants, owe their lives to it. Those left behind perished in the Holocaust (Shoah). For Jews, the 1939 White Paper, in which Britain restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine, closing one of the last escape routes from Europe, is the mark of British shame.

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And for many Jews, Israel's establishment - restoring Jewish sovereignty in what Jews consider their historic homeland - was the anti-Shoah, giving Jewish identity a positive future. In 1917 Zionism divided Jews, after the Holocaust, it united them. In a 2015 survey, 90% of British Jews supported Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state and 93% said it formed some part of their Jewish identity.

Appreciate therefore, how clankingly offensive demands for Britain to apologise for the Balfour Declaration are for Jews. Though perhaps understandable from Palestinians, from others it reflects a conspicuous disdain for Jewish sensitivities. It is no surprise that a recent Parliamentary event launching a 'Balfour Apology Campaign' became a shameful forum for anti-Semitic bluster.

That said, everyone who cares about Israel must also recognise that the process that created the State of Israel - the Jewish narrative of salvation - is for Palestinians their narrative of catastrophe, or 'Nakba'. Around six hundred thousand Palestinians fled their homes in the 1948 war in which Israel was established. Setting aside the vexed question of who is to blame for their plight, their loss is undeniable, as is the suffering of their descendants.

What's then a British politician to do? Ministers have rightly rejected calls for an apology. But they should also avoid suggesting retrospective amendments to the Balfour Declaration, as Middle East Minister Tobias Elwood awkwardly did in a recent parliamentary debate - stating that the Balfour Declaration should have asserted the political (rather than only civil and religious) rights of the non-Jews in Palestine.

Redrafting a one century old letter to assuage today's political sensitivities can only going distort the historical picture. Rather than rewrite the past, Britain should use the spotlight to increase understanding of it, and promote a positive vision for the future, using a vocabulary that acknowledges the conflicting emotions.

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The Balfour Declaration was an aspirational statement of what Britain "viewed with favour", and what it would use its "best endeavours to facilitate". What should Britain view with favour today?

Firstly, that with Israel's establishment, centuries of Jewish homelessness and persecution have ended; that Israel is democratic, affirms the rights of non-Jewish citizens, and is an extraordinary engine for creativity; and that it has a fruitful relationship with Britain based on shared interests and values.

But Britain should also view with favour - indeed reaffirm with vigour - the urgency of establishing a Palestinian state that would afford long overdue self-determination, due dignity, and economic and political opportunity to the Palestinian people.

Perhaps most importantly, it should affirm that these goals are mutually reinforcing. The surest way to secure Israel's future as a Jewish national home - in terms of demography, security, and legitimacy - is through the creation of a separate Palestinian state. Many Israeli politicians, including at times Prime Minister Netanyahu, have acknowledged this. At the same time, a conflict ending agreement will require the Palestinians to agree to a refugee solution that is consistent with two states - two 'national homes' - for two peoples, and does not undermine Israel's Jewish character.

Yet Britain must also recognise that unlike in 1917, it does not have the power to enforce its will. The future will be shaped by Israelis and Palestinians. Britain should use 'it's best endeavours' to improve the chances of the pragmatists among them who recognise that two national homes is the only way to reconcile the demands of two nations, and end a century of conflict.

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Dr. Toby Greene is senior research associate for BICOM and an Israel Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations at Hebrew University.
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It's easy to forget how lucky we are to be able to make choices about our lives and have control over our futures. But people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and dementia, lack the freedom we take for granted. Their voices are excluded from key conversations and decision making that affect their lives.

The palpable effects of this exclusion make things even more difficult for those who have challenges in communicating with others, whether that's due to a mental health issue, dementia or learning disability. Their vulnerability often means they feel lonely and isolated -- separated from the rest of society.

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In our work at The Advocacy Project we see a great deal of loneliness and know from first-hand experience the devastating effect that this can have on people. It affects their self worth -- the very core of their being.

We often have a romantic idea of what life in a care home is like. You will have seen the sitcoms where older people have jolly japes and retain their fighting spirit. But the reality is often different. A Care Quality Commission inspector told me earlier this week that "loneliness is pervasive" and described the care home experience, for some people, as a "waiting room for death".

In fact, research by the University of Bedfordshire shows that more than 80% of older people with mental health problems feel lonely in their care home. People long for meaningful contact with others, rather than the cursory interaction with a care worker who's rushing off elsewhere because of their heavy caseload.

We recently met a woman with dementia who couldn't speak and could only communicate through singing. No one realised that's what she was doing until our advocate spent time getting to know her.

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And for people with mental health conditions in inpatient wards, loneliness is compounded by stigma and shame. While everyone else on the outside world is carrying on with their lives, they feel shunned and forgotten about.

The Mental Health Foundation's Fundamental Facts About Mental Health 2016 report says social isolation is a particular issue for those with severe mental health conditions. It also states that the quality of life reported by this group of people is worse than that experienced by many other vulnerable groups.

At this time of year, loneliness can be particularly acute for vulnerable groups of people. There is the sense that everyone else is having a wonderful time with friends and family and you're not. That's why many of the churches hold Blue Carol Services for people whose personal circumstances mean they are alone at Christmas and going through a difficult time.

Many of the people we support can't go home at Christmas and don't see their friends and family. They may be in care homes or inpatient wards, facing the festive period alone.

This inspired us to create our own Christmas cards to reach out to these people. The Advocacy Project is shaped by those we work with, and we felt the design of the cards needed to come from the very same people -- as an act of solidarity. Seven people with mental health issues, learning disabilities, and dementia, created their own original artwork for the cards.

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Artwork: Giorgina

The cards are being sold to help The Advocacy Project cover the cost of producing and sending these cards to people in hospitals and care homes, who may not receive any visitors or Christmas cards.

One of the seven artists lives in a care home and has dementia. She has no family or friends to visit. Apart from the company of staff, she will be spending Christmas alone this year.
Recent media reports highlighting what content will be defined as prohibited material under the terms of the Digital Economy Bill could have given an inaccurate impression of the serious nature of the harmful material that the BBFC generally refuses to classify. The BBFC works only to the BBFC Classification Guidelines and UK law, with guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and enforcement bodies, and not to any other lists.

The Digital Economy Bill aims to reduce the risk of children and young people accessing, or stumbling across, pornographic content online. It proposes that the BBFC check whether (i) robust age verification is in place on websites containing pornographic content and (ii) whether the website or app contains pornographic content that is prohibited. An amendment to the Digital Economy Bill, passed in the House of Commons, would also permit the BBFC to ask Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block pornographic websites that refuse to offer effective age verification or contain prohibited material such as sexually violent pornography.

In making any assessment of content, the BBFC will apply the standards used to classify pornography that is distributed offline. Under the Video Recordings Act 1984 the BBFC is obliged to consider harm when classifying any content including 18 and R18 rated sex works. Examples of material that the BBFC refuses to classify include pornographic works that: depict and encourage rape, including gang rape; depict non-consensual violent abuse against women; promote an interest in incestuous behaviour; and promote an interest in sex with children. The Digital Economy Bill defines this type of unclassifiable material as "prohibited".

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Under its letters of designation the BBFC may not classify anything that may breach criminal law, including the Obscene Publications Act (OPA) as currently interpreted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS provides guidance on acts which are most commonly prosecuted under the OPA. The BBFC is required to follow this guidance when classifying content offline and will be required to do the same under the Digital Economy Bill. In 2015, 12% of all cuts made to pornographic works classified by the BBFC were compulsory cuts under the OPA. The majority of these cuts were to scenes involving urolagnia which is in breach of CPS guidance and could be subject to prosecution.
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On Saturday Jeremy Corbyn took political complacency on the issue of gender violence to a jaw dropping level. In a speech to mark Human Rights Day he lambasted the Conservative Government for failing to ratify the Istanbul Convention and allowing a historic international treaty...to tackle domestic abuse" to remain "nothing but a piece of paper". He pledged that a future Labour government would change this. He failed to mention however, there will be an opportunity to ratify this very same historic international treaty in the House of Commons this Friday. Apparently he only wants to tackle gender violence when its a win for the Labour Party.

In case you missed it, the Istanbul Convention is basically the best thing you've never heard of. It's the most comprehensive legal framework ever created to tackle violence against women and girls. It was signed by 44 countries in 2012, over half which have now ratified it into their own domestic law. The UK, embarrassingly, has not. The brilliant Eilidh Whiteford MP (SNP) launched a Private Member's Bill to resolve this, which will have its second reading on 16 December. What's needed is for 100 MPs to turn up and vote. So what's happened is every women's rights organisation and activist in the country has gone into overdrive, bombarding MPs.

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I've been writing to Jeremy Corbyn for weeks now. We all have. Cajoling and pleading with him and other MPs to turn up and vote. The response has been underwhelming: radio silence from Mr Corbyn and most of his party. Nick Clegg and Emily Thornberry have sent gushing letters explaining that whilst they are also big fans of the Istanbul Convention, they'll be too busy to actually vote. There was a tense phone conversation with Meg Hillier MP's team; apparently she's still "undecided"... and some sort of nonsense from John Howell MP about how the Istanbul Convention cannot be ratified until domestic law has been amended (speaking as a lawyer, that is total BS).

Well, you can imagine my total indignation when Jeremy Corbyn got up on Saturday, grabbed a bat, took a running leap at the Istanbul Convention and whacked it into the long grass, pledging proudly that "a [future] Labour government will ratify [it]". So the good news is we now know that Jeremy Corbyn does actually support the ratification of the Istanbul Convention (provided he gets to do it himself and scoop some gender-friendly brownie points) but the bad news is, he's not going to whip his MPs to support the Bill on Friday, which may or may not be due to the fact it has been proposed by a member of the SNP, during the course of a Tory Government.

Problematically, politicians including Jeremy Corbyn don't seem to really understand the Istanbul Convention. On Saturday, for example, Corbyn authoritatively stated that the UK is largely compliant, having "measures already in place to protect women and girls from violence [which] comply with, or go further, than the Convention requires." He is referring to the fact the UK already has a full range of criminal offences.

This macho, punitive attitude to gender violence law and policy is deeply unhelpful. Enacting reams of criminal offences to 'punish' perpetrators simply does not 'protect women and girls from violence'. A case in point: Female Genital Mutilation has been a criminal offence in the UK since the 1980s, resulting in not a single conviction whilst many thousands of girls continue to be 'cut'. In fact, all forms of domestic abuse have been criminalised and yet last year only one in five women using domestic abuse services saw criminal proceedings taken against their perpetrators.

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So if we already have a wide range of offences, why ratify the Convention? Well, the UK's domestic violence services are woefully inadequate. Last year 66% of women and children referred to refuges were turned away, largely due to lack of bed space. The Istanbul Convention requires its signatories to protect funding for shelters, rape crisis centres, 24/7 helplines and counselling for survivors. Ratifying the Convention would also require the UK to ensure that schools provide education on healthy relationships and to guarantee awareness-raising campaigns. In fact, if ratified, this Convention would constitute the UK's first ever attempt at actually tackling the root causes of domestic abuse as opposed to just treating the symptoms. No doubt compliance with the Convention will be expensive, but failure to fund domestic violence services properly has always been a false economy. Domestic abuse costs the UK 5.5billion a year through criminal prosecutions, medical costs, loss of earnings, social services and housing. The emotional costs to the 20% of the UK's children who are exposed to domestic abuse is unquantifiable.
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I have a friend, her name is Rosi Orozco and she is a former Mexican senator. I met her two years ago at a conference in the Vatican. She was there to speak about human trafficking in Mexico, I was there to speak about the human trafficking of Eritrean refugees. The speakers of that years' conference became very close and for the past years we have all stayed in touched, supported each other's work and seen each other at least one time a year at the annual conference in the Vatican. When we saw each other last month, Rosi really needed our help.

Rosi had been working with human trafficking victims in Mexico for a big part of her life when she realized that it was only so much she could do from outside. She decided to try to get elected to the Senate and make some systematic change. She succeeded and in 2012, she helped push a bill that dramatically changed the business of human trafficking in Mexico and the reality of many victims. One of the biggest change this law created was that the burden of proof fell on the court instead of the victim, which made it easier for victims to dare to step forward and give their testimonies. She claims that this is the reason for the dramatic increase of prosecuted pimps and lockdown of thousands of brothels. It is a law that works, and yet now it is threatened to be repealed. When we met, it had already been voted to be repealed in the the Senate. Now, Rosi and her team are doing everything they can to stop it from being repealed in the lower house of the Mexican Congress when the vote on it later this week.

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I am not an expert on human trafficking in Mexico but I am friends with many activists working to fight it and have had the honor to listen to testimonies from some survivors. Each time I hear them speak I am stunned by their strength. One of the women I have met is Karla Jacinto. She told the audience how she had been raped 43,200 times in the course of four years. After she fled, she was scarred deeply but with time and support from civil society, she started healing. Today, she is married, has a daughter and is a dedicated advocate and a phenomenal public speaker. There is a very conscious decision in calling these girls survivors, and not victims.

The new bill that they want to replace the old law is essentially removing article 10 which Rosi describes as the "engine of the car that is making everything run". The burden of proof will fall on the victim, giving them a bigger role in the proceedings and exposing them to their former trafficker which is putting them in an even more dangerous position than they already are in. This will discourage victims from daring to step forward. On top of that, the victims will have to wait three days after that they denounce a trafficker, and have given the police their personal information, to give their testimonies. In a country with widespread corruption and terrible records of female killings, three days can be deadly. Rosi is arguing that this result is the only reason to why they would suggest this change. Less girls like Karla would be able to flee, survive and thrive. I am a law student and I asked my criminal law professor if he possibly could come up with any other logical explanation to why they would suggest such a law. He could not.

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When Rosi introduced me to one of her colleagues she explained to her that we were family. She was right. My uncle Seyoum Tsehaye has been imprisoned without a trial in Eritrea since 2001. Everyone I met at the first conference in the Vatican two years ago, including Rosi and the other Mexican activists, have since we met helped me share his story and advocate for his release. When they asked me to do write about this, I did not hesitate. When family is in need, you need to do help. But I also wanted people to understand that this is not just about Mexico, girls are being trafficked into the country from all over the continent and many of the customers are coming from the United States. This is not even just about the Americas, human trafficking exist in all of our countries and most importantly, human rights abuses are prevalent everywhere you go. When our government fails us, we are dependent on the outer world to join in solidarity.

When I needed their help, my Mexican family took on my story, shared it to their communities and firmly declared that Seyoum was their brother. Now it is time for me to do my job, and your time to do yours. Join us on our call to the Mexican Congress to put the interests of innocent girls in front of those of powerful cartels and costumers. Use your social media platforms, tell all your friends and family and ask them to do the same. Solidarity needs to cross borders and in this case, international solidarity will be essential if we want stop this bill from going through. We do not need more victims, we need more survivors. We do not need more numbers, we need more Karla's.
While Brexit and the American election have sent shockwaves across the globe, I thought it is important I do not become overwhelmed by negativity, and look at some positive stories happening around me. Despite the liberation of far right discourses, diversity is here to stay and grassroots initiatives show us that people from diasporic cultures and spiritualities are already building a better society. White supremacy is only one of the symptoms of a Western hegemony which, more than anything, wants people to conform to a specific set of conventions which have not only to do with ethnicity. The dominant culture is not only white, it is masculine, straight, Christian or secular and neoliberal (people who do not pursue productivity and profit are rejected). However, people have the confidence and the courage to express and celebrate their diverse identities, cultures and legacies to disrupt narratives of power. Whether it is in the fashion industry, Arts, blogs or businesses, I feel humbled by these five brilliant people who work concretely for a more harmonious world:

Kai, BA in Journalism from the London College of Communications, is an activist, blogger, and a self-taught web designer and video journalist. She founded Diversity Matters, an awareness platform with a focus on Race Matters and BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) representation in the Arts and Media, Education and Work Environments. Appalled by the lack of fair representation of students at her university, she decided to take action: "When you see something not right, either you feel angry, or you turn your anger into making a change." Diversity Matters started as a hashtag when she was president of the African Caribbean Society (UAL ACS), and now provides workshops and organises international events for people from different minorities to speak up. She also set up Let's Do Lunch for connecting women in the creative industry.

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Salahuddine is all about connecting people too, but through fashion with his Instagram Adventures in Fashionistan. Growing up between a father from the Indian subcontinent and a Syrian mother, he felt the need to make sense of his multiple and layered identity. He connected with various people during his travels through faith, and grew a fascination for the diversity of clothing styles across the Muslim diaspora: "fashion is a platform to discuss deeper things, it is a way to kickstart conversations about identity. People are scared from the unknown, I'm trying to bring people together." He remains conscious about his initiative: "we have to be people of meaning, those fashion vloggers have a responsibility. They need to avoid falling in the trap of capitalist modern monster that lives on the lives of other people working in sweatshops."

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Responsibility is a key word for Sarah (see SaraKBlog), an auto-entrepreneur and fashion blogger with a mission. Sarah defies conventions not only through the quality of her work, but also through her ethics and vision: "Women are moulded according to expectations of the family or society. For girls, look is number one, people are taught that way. Women are not really empowered, so they need to work 10 times more to get somewhere. There are self-esteem problems because of the image imposed by male domination. People have to realise that they are beautiful being themselves." Aware of the superficiality of consumerism and corporate-like behaviours, she focuses on quality work, building sustainable and meaningful relationships: "Our decisions are often based on conventions while it should be based on what makes better mankind. When I wake up, I first ask myself: "What can I do for people?" I make people see their potential and help them hit their goal."

Still in the fashion industry, Aneta is a model, and a lucid one. She came to Britain from Slovakia and has been showcasing collections of clothes, jewellery and make-up for top designers. Despite working in a universe revolving around appearances, she was affected by how people compare themselves through the lens of money, looks and status, but she realised that: "a successful life: not measurable by money." Conscious about conventions that are "dictates of the society," she is concerned by the suicide of factory workers in India as a consequence of the race for lower costs. "But it's difficult to be picky in the fashion industry; people will tell you that there are 20 more girls waiting... if you're not happy just leave." Aware of the impact she can have as a model, she is planning to set-up a Youtube channel to raise awareness.

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Aneta Kocisova. Photo: Ioana Mitroi / HMUA: Kitty Noofah

Shemiza, a teacher, artivist, and a radio presenter for Luton Inspire FM, is convinced that the future resides in being more moderate by Fasting from Fast Fashion. "As a Muslim, she realised that "there is more to us than just the prayer, it's about how are we dealing with those around us, with issues like animal welfare, food poverty, helping the homeless, food waste, the environment... being a voice and empowering others." She is aiming to stop buying new garments and explains her challenge: "it's not about criminalising fashion, it's about being more consumer conscious... Muslim modest fashion is not Islamic, if the garments have been sourced on cheap labour...Shifting to a more ethical lifestyle could lead to a greater consciousness and help balance inequality and a greater appreciation for want over need and human nature, for a fairer just world."

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When a South Carolina judge announced a mistrial in the murder case of Michael Slager, a police officer accused of shooting and killing Walter Scott as he ran away, shock, outrage, and confusion were among the primary reactions from many by the news.

At the time of the announcement, and still today, a fair amount of people do not understand what this means for the case. Would this be the end of the charges against Slager? Would he go free? Did this mean he was found innocent? How could a case with video evidence of an officer shooting an unarmed man in the back as he fled end in anything but a conviction, if not for murder, then at least for manslaughter?

Even seemingly reputable news sources appeared to be confused, as The Atlantic initially reported that Slager was "acquitted."

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So before we look at how a mistrial could happen, let's first clear up a little legalese.

An acquittal happens when a judge or jury finds a criminal defendant not guilty of a crime. This is the opposite of a conviction, in which the defendant is found guilty. An acquittal does not necessarily mean a person is factually innocent, but it does mean that there was insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Remember, the verdict is "not guilty" as opposed to "innocent."

Regardless, because of the law of double jeopardy, a person acquitted of a crime cannot be tried a second time for the same offense.

A mistrial occurs when something happens during the trial or deliberations that prevents justice from being served, i.e., prevents the jury from returning a verdict of not guilty or guilty. In the Slager case, it was a deadlocked jury incapable of reaching a unanimous verdict. The verdict must be unanimous in every state except Oregon and Louisiana.

Some reports say that a lone juror refused to budge in his decision not to convict. That juror sent a message to the judge, saying, "I cannot in good conscience consider a guilty verdict." One juror, however, told reporters after the fact that the media misconstrued the idea of a single holdout, saying that five of the jurors were "undecided." Juror Dorsey Montgomery II told reporters, "I believe we could have deliberated just a little bit more to see if we could sway that particular juror and get those who were undecided to make a decision."

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This is an integral part of jury deliberations. Each juror is tasked with bringing his or her own personal experiences and common sense to the discussion in order to aid in a combined conversation regarding the evidence presented during the trial. As a defense attorney, I don't always like the idea of individuals trying to "sway" others to their respective viewpoint; often times, that can lead to a "compromise" verdict: "If your side agrees to convict, our side will agree to recommend the minimum sentence." This happens often in Oklahoma where the jury decides both guilt and punishment, unlike many other states.

However, based on reports from the jurors during deliberation, the South Carolina judge determined the jury was hopelessly deadlocked and declared a mistrial.

But a hung jury is not the only reason a judge might declare a mistrial. Other grounds for mistrial include:

death of a juror or attorney

improper jury selection

inclusion of a prejudicial error that could not be remedied by appropriate juror instructions

juror misconduct

prosecutorial misconduct

Both the prosecution and the defense can request a mistrial if they believe one of the above-listed issues occurred. A judge can order a mistrial on his or her own motion as well. Regardless, when a judge declares a mistrial, it is not the same thing as an acquittal. The defendant is not "off the hook," so to speak. While the prosecution could dismiss a case after a mistrial, the more likely scenario is that the case will start over. A new jury will be selected, and the prosecution and defense will again present their cases, hopefully taking note of what did and did not work the first go-around.

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No one is happy with a mistrial, especially after evidence has been presented, and the jury has gone into deliberation only to inform the judge that it is deadlocked and can't reach a unanimous verdict. I've had it happen to me in a long, emotionally charged forty-count child-sexual abuse trial. The prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof, and the jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict: some people thought my client was completely innocent, and some thought he was completely guilty.

Most folks will call the mistrial a win for the defense. I guess technically it is. After all, when the jury deadlocks, that means the defense attorney kept the prosecution from carrying its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the defendant is still "innocent until proven guilty."

In reality though, a mistrial feels like a draw with no clear winner or loser: everyone must go back to the drawing board and start all over. On top of that, the prosecution has a chance to go back and patch any and all holes that the defense punched in their case. The prosecution gets a chance to fix all of its problems, and the defense is left guessing how those "fixes" will effect the evidence to be presented at the next trial.

Moreover, as any experienced attorney will tell you, jury trials start and finish with the jury you end up with after voir dire (jury selection). The Slager case resulted in a mistrial because of the particular jurors. The jurors next time may be more prone to prosecution...or possibly prone to the defense.
Heather Taylor

If you take a stroll down the cereal aisle, youre bound to find this icon and his cheery grin, white hair, and Quaker hat greeting you from a box of instant oatmeal. Hes Larry, the Quaker man mascot for Quaker Oats, and the second mascot named Larry weve profiled on this blog.

In 1877, Quaker made a splash in the news when they registered as the first trademark for a breakfast cereal. Their trademark was a man wearing Quaker garb with the name Quaker chosen by former owners Henry Seymour and William Heston as a symbol of honest value and pure goodness. Since his first print ad launch in 1882, Larry has undergone a few alterations in his design but fans will be relieved to hear that the changes have only been made by the spoonful in keeping with his heritage.

Is Larry based on a real Quaker?

Officially, no. While many have thought the Quaker man was designed after William Penn, Quaker has stated he was chosen due to the Quaker faith projecting the values of honesty, integrity, purity, and strength.

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Unofficially, there was a real person who sat in for one of his redesigns. Designer Jim Nash is responsible for Larrys black and white 1946 headshot while Finnish-American artist Haddon Sundblom (of Coca-Colas Santa fame) painted him in color in 1957  and Illustrator Harold W. McCauley posed for Sundblom as the Quaker man.

In the 1970s, graphic designer Saul Bass put his spin on the Quaker man with a blue and white stylized new look. Quaker brought back Sundbloms iconic interpretation with branding and design agency Wallace Church adding the Quaker man to packaging along with a lighter font, Archer, in 2010.

Looking back at 2012s major redesign.

2012 saw the dawn of a new Quaker man, but his changes from Sundbloms vision were very subtle. Part of a larger global campaign made in an effort to globalize the brand and underscore Quakers leadership and expertise, it was time to hit refresh on the logo with the help of design agency Hornall Anderson.

The agency noted Quakers roots and where they wanted to be in the future  as a heritage brand that provided a healthy breakfast choice  when they set about adjusting the logo. The refresh took a modern approach through elements including color, typography, and texture. The newly revamped Quaker man was slimmer (five pounds thinner), given a haircut, and had prominently displayed shoulders. A bit more youthful in appearance, Larry still kept his crows feet and sparkle in his eyes.

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Larry wasnt the only part of the logo getting a touchup. His backdrop was also colored in two shades of red to convey a sense of movement. A band of gold was added to the bottom chevron; along with the year the brand was established to emphasize the brands legacy and quality.
Amy Naughton, Client Services Director, Jaywing

With 98.6% of millennials owning a mobile phone in the UK, theyre officially known as the mobile generation. For millennials, a smart phone acts as an integral part of their life. One in five browse the internet exclusively via a mobile or tablet, they are constantly connected to their devices for social media updates, selfie uploads and shopping. For brands wanting to engage with millennials, theyll have to do so via their smart phones.

But brands mustnt fall into the trap of treating millennials as one entity. There are two distinct groups, Gen Y and Gen Z and each react differently to the media and consume content in different ways.

Generation Y, the internet generation, were born between 1980 and the early 1990s and are aged between 22 and 36. They have witnessed the birth of the internet and have grown up embracing technology.

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Generation Z, the screenagers, were born between 1995 and 2010 and are aged between six and 21. They are a diverse group who dont remember a time without the internet and social media.

By 2020, millenials will make up to nearly two fifths (40%) of all consumers and are predicted to have the greatest spending power of any generation by 2018. Marketers need to adapt to these generations demands now to future proof their brand. So what are the techniques for maximising brand engagement with generations Y & Z? Which methods do you deploy to meet your brand objectives and how can you capture the attention of this hard to reach audience?

1. Does your content standout and engage?

Generation Y has grown up with SMS in the mobile era, has a typically linear way of communicating and is swift at processing information with an eight to 10 second attention filter. Generation Z had to adopt a hypersonic speed to process information and is even faster at processing information with a two to six second attention filter. The window to grab their attention is getting smaller and as such short, sharp content is proving popular.

Although this platform may have ultimately failed, Vine was one of the original pioneers to bring short-form content to our social feeds. It forged the way for brands to understand the potential for succinct message delivery, and shaking up storytelling for brands within a six second timeframe.

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The three-second rule for video content, the amount of time a brand has to engage with the consumer, also reflects the instinct consumers have been forced to develop to enable them to process and accept or dismiss information. Recently, Facebook suggested that fast is getting faster with only 1.2 seconds to capture a consumers attention. In that very short moment of time, an evaluation is made as to whether a message, piece of content or advertising is relevant.

In reaction to hypersonic decision-making, brands must adapt the whole narrative of their content; advertising is simply no longer consumed in the same way. Not only do brands have to stand out and engage, but also land their story, cut through the noise and the mechanisms that consumers have developed to screen content out.

2. Is your publishing strategy visual?

Generation Y reads articles, writes emails and watches video content with these later adopters of Twitter moving towards consuming more digestible content. Whereas, generation Z uses instant messaging, browses Snapchat stories and Instagram, and subscribes to vloggers. Generation Zs use of social media is having a big influence on the type of content brands are producing.

The way in which brands connect visually with the content they produce needs to be considered within any publishing strategy. Creating visual posts for social enables brands to tell a story and build a connection to both the brand and the products and services it offers. Easily digestible, engaging content is key. A good example of this is WWFs #EndangeredEmoji campaign which invited Twitter users to donate every time they tweeted one of the 17 endangered animal emojis.

To drive visual connections, its important to be genuine, authentic and clever. Try and provoke a reaction by demanding a pause point from the audience. Think outside the box; not every piece of content needs to be video; crafted images and clever copy also work well.

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3. Are you offering intuitive experiences?

Generation Y uses multiple screens, sometimes using up to three screens on one given task. Generation Z however, takes this to the next level and uses up to five devices at once. Because of this, their attention span can be very limited and very task driven on what they want to consume.

With shorter attention spans across an increasing number of devices, it is important to ensure marketing content is mobile-ready to capture attention. In 2015 a third of all transactions were made on mobile; a 20 billion market, and with Gen X three times (29%) more likely to purchase online than Gen Y, the importance continues to grow.
This piece will run in newspapers in my conservative congressional District (VA-06).

Trump's election to the presidency, while welcomed by some, was devastating news for a great many people. It would be useful, I believe, for Trump voters to understand why.

We've all experienced being on the losing side in one election or another. But for many, this election feels entirely different. Weeks after the election, deep suffering over this outcome is still the dominant reality of their lives.

Recently, I asked several dozen people I know, who clearly wanted a different outcome, to describe the impact the 2016 election result has had on them. About half of those people indicated that it was the most painful big-world event in their lifetimes (more traumatic, they said, than the attacks of 9/11, or the assassination of JFK).

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Clearly, they perceived something in this election that goes deeper than the usual level of liberal-vs.-conservative politics.

Those usual kinds of elections divide people who disagree about what direction they want our nation to move. But this time, what many on the losing side fear is that the nation will change in ways that hardly anyone - including those now celebrating - want.

What people fear is that the spirit of America will now become something fundamentally different, and profoundly darker, than that of the America we have always known.

Here are some of the fears that have made the election just past devastating for some:

Will America move decisively away from the spirit of "Love thy neighbor" and toward greater hostility between different groups of Americans?

Will America lose its allegiance to any ethic of fairness and give freer rein to unlimited greed, widening the already troubling inequalities of wealth and power?

Will America surrender the values of our founders - for democracy and the rights of the individual -- in favor of more authoritarian rule from the top, as in Putin's Russia?

Will the long-standing American practice of pragmatic decision-making based on hard-won real-world knowledge be abandoned in favor of charting our course on the basis of ideology, or prejudice, or ignorance, or mere whim?

Will the American values of kindness and compassion be pushed aside by impulses of anger and cruelty?

Will what the Declaration of Independence called "a decent respect for the opinion of mankind" be replaced by an overweening national arrogance?

Will a respect for the truth be drowned in a tide of power-serving lies?

Will America slough off its role the guarantor of the peace and become the nation that picks needless fights?

These pairs of opposing values reveal the fundamental truth about why this election has had so deep an impact on so many:

the fundamental issue raised by this election arises at the level of the spirit.

This becomes clear if we assemble these pairs into their two opposing groups.

The more benign options in each pair add up to a coherent picture of a beautiful spirit: love and justice and compassion and peace and regard for the human spirit. It is a spirit that should be familiar to anyone with an awareness of biblical morality.

When put together, the other parts of these pairs also present a coherent picture--a picture of the spirit of darkness.

Time will tell whether the fears felt by many today, in the aftermath of the 2016 election, are needless, or whether they are well-founded. But as I think we can assume that few Americans want to move in that dark direction, and a great many Americans - who are not fools -- see that shadow hanging over our future, it behooves all of us to monitor where this election takes this nation.

There was a time when we understood better that "We are all Americans," and the time to revive that understanding may soon be upon us.

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If the fears of those who feel devastated prove valid, it behooves us to be ready to join forces to protect the better kind of America that almost all Americans presumably want.
The government of Mexico is deploying a start-up, open data and a wildly popular group of comedians to force itself to become more accountable to citizens.

[This article was republished from Apolitical]

The comedians are called Los Supercivicos and for ten years they have been waging a laugh campaign in Mexico City that shames the government when it fails to do its job. Instead of complaining about enormous pot-holes, for instance, they fill them with water, add some mermaid barbies and thank the authorities for the lovely new pool.

'They're huge YouTube and Facebook stars,' said Diego Mendiburu, CEO of the start-up working with them, Factico. 'These guys have really created a movement. They've been doing this for more than ten years and people really love them.'

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Los Supercivicos and Factico have now jointly launched an app in which ordinary people make 30-second videos about problems with infrastructure or public services, and have them geo-tagged. Some ten thousand signed up in the first two weeks. 'We want to make a huge army of Supercivicos reporters and empower all Mexico City citizens to do what the Supercivicos do,' said Mendiburu. 'And at the same time create a huge database of all the problems that Mexico City has.'

This database can be used by government bodies to see what's going wrong in the areas they're responsible for, and also works as a goad to action, pushing them to do something about it. This project is being furthered by the Mexican government itself. Specifically, it is part of a scheme called Labora, which supports entrepreneurs using government data for a social purpose. It helps give them the data they require for their business and shows them how to navigate the bureaucracy to make the most of it.

In the case of Factico and Supercivicos, Labora provide advice on which of a confusing hotchpotch of federal, city and borough authorities are responsible for the particular problems reported. Labora may also pass on data about specific government projects or funding allocations so the citizen reporters can check up on them.

'We're basically looking to accelerate the impact of entrepreneurs that use open data to create social good,' said Ania Calderon Mariscal, Mexico's director general of open data.

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Labora is currently reaching the end of its first generation of the program, with eight start-ups. Alongside Factico, they include a cyber-security system, Bayonet; a program for using smartphones to track the movement of crowds and so redesign public space, called Klustera; and an app that connects people with depression to sources of help, called Yana, an acronym for You Are Not Alone.

As well as the data, the scheme provides mentoring, introductions to investors and help expanding the business to neighbouring countries - something crucial for attracting big investment. The program may also in future directly fund the start-ups, either by providing grants or by becoming an investor with an equity share.

Andrea Colin, the official who looks after Labora, said, 'It's a very tailored, custom-made suit for them. It's not like school, where you go and have to take all the classes. We do weekly presentations on the things they need, for example, user experience or programming, coding, marketing.'

The scheme is a collaboration with the British Foreign Office, which provides funding, the Open Data Institute, which provides data expertise and a global network, and Demos, a Mexican initiative that provides access to local entrepreneurs and coders and runs the programme day to day.

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'To me part of why it's such a special program is because it's genuinely unusual to have such a successful partnership between government, a local NGO and an international institute,' said Emma Truswell, who looks after the project for the ODI [full disclosure: Apolitical collaborates with the ODI]. 'It really strengthens what we can offer start-ups. Getting real about what is actually useful for entrepreneurs is really hard and this program found a way to do it.'

A vital aspect of that usefulness is its internationalism. 'We spoke to investors before we launched Labora,' said Ania Calderon, 'and one of the things they mentioned was that they're more willing to invest in companies that have the potential to access similar data in other countries, so they can also grow their product there. But there's a lot of lack of knowledge among investors; we have a lot to do to inform people about the economic potential of companies using open data.'

Via the ODI, Labora is in contact with similar schemes in the UK and Malaysia, so that the start-ups can learn from each other. And Labora is separately in contact with governments in the region, such as Argentina, which wants to copy the scheme, as well as Colombia and Chile. The plan is ultimately to make Labora a regional hub, allowing exchange of help and expertise throughout Latin America.
I'm addicted to the spirit of Christmas - so much so that I would happily pull up roots and move to Santa's Village if the big guy extended an invite.

This ever-present craving for all things jolly, cheery and evergreen-y pulled me to downtown San Francisco two weeks before The Big Day. I wanted a chance for my young son, husband and I to get away for a mini and merry trip before we were absorbed into the loving chaos of our extended family.

While most Christmas themed areas leave me wanting more (more mistletoe, more lights, more hot chocolate, more classic holiday tunes, more wreaths, more red, more green, and more cheer) I left my holiday getaway to SF full of joy, wonder and peppermint flavored spirits.

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Have a hankering for your own holiday themed sojourn? Here are events and activities in downtown San Francisco to help you create the ultimate Christmas family vacation.

Breakfast with Santa at Hyatt Regency San Francisco. Walking into the Hyatt Regency, located in the heart of the festive Embarcadero Center in downtown San Francisco, filled me with that holiday giddiness I experienced as a Santa-believing child: they have mastered the art of conjuring a legit Wintertide Wonderland. The giddiness was amped up as I saw the face of my three-year-old son: he wasn't blinking.

We had a reservation for breakfast with Santa, which I assumed meant gorging on a buffet then meeting Santa for a moment under the Hyatt's massive Christmas tree. But no, we actually had breakfast with Santa: he sat down at our table and regaled my son with tales of eating too much pumpkin pie, getting stuck in our chimney last Christmas, a hiccup with getting the reindeers on the roof of the hotel and more, as my son sipped on the best hot chocolate EVER- and continued to not blink.

We could have ended our day then, with our tank of stokedness overflowing. But there was more . . .

After my son re-filled his plate at the (tiny and adorable!) children's buffet with Christmas cookies, he noticed fake snow falling in the center of the hotel: he ran into the snow and danced in happy spastic circles around a ho-ho-ho-ing Santa.

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Drop the mic.

Donate Toys at Embarcadero Center. As we walked off our buffet-bellies in the decorated walkways of the Embarcadero Center attached to the Hyatt we felt abundant: so abundant we wanted to give some away.

Luckily, there are toy donation boxes scattered around this center. My son's initial inclination was to swipe a toy for him self, which offered an excellent teaching opportunity about the delicious emotions attached to giving; much to his dismay we bought a new toy and convinced him to abandon it in the box.

Cable Car Caroling. To get the full flavor of San Francisco we traveled via cable cars - many of which have been in service since the 1940's. During the holidays, these classic rides are decorated with festive wreaths and a surprising amount of folks dressed in Santa costumes.

To amp up the jolliness of the cable car experience, hop on during the annual Cable Car Caroling event, where carolers travel via cable car to sing to isolated older adults and adults with disabilities at assisted living centers, skilled nursing facilities and individual homes. Funds from this event support IOA's Friendship Line, a 24-hour toll-free hotline for seniors and adults with disabilities.

Aquarium at the Bay. There are few things as magical as watching alien-like creatures glide through elaborate aqua-scapes - with the exception of watching a toddler watching the creatures. And to connect to that warm and fuzzy festive feeling, think on the fact that a portion of the aquarium's proceeds go towards protecting and restoring San Francisco Bay, and its watershed.



If you're able to make it to the aquarium on a Wednesday in December you'll see the three resident otters romping in 1,000 pounds of snow in their river habitat.

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The Velveteen Rabbit. San Francisco offers as many live performances as it does drool-worthy eateries, but the show that exudes that holiday je ne sais quoi (and won't put the kid to sleep) is the Velveteen Rabbit, performed at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts by the OCD dance company.

I was skeptical about a live performance being able to soothe my son's constant impulse to fidget and talk, but the colorful costumes, creative choreography and dramatic atmosphere captured his attention, and held it for a few days: we now have a lot of scribbled drawings of dancing rabbits.

Ice Rink at Embarcadero Center. If a white Christmas isn't an option, an expanse of ice that's suitable to slide on is a jolly alternative. The ice rink at Embarcadero pumps fun tunes to slide around to, and is surrounded by mega-decorations. My three-year decided he wanted to strap on some skates - and the shenanigans that followed were epic . . .

So, my merry friends, if you ever find yourself in short supply of holiday cheer, head to the heart of The Golden City to recharge your gingerbread scented jolly juju.
How many of you find yourself smacking your head and mumbling, 'What the hell is happening to my country?' I know I'm not alone and it happens so often lately I have a perpetual headache.

Vacillating between fear and hope, laughing and crying, anger and despair is a tough way to live, day to day. As someone who has been a political junky for most of my adult life, this is very new to me. I don't like it.

Growing up during the cold war meant you never trusted Russia. Ever. I realize there have been moments of calm between dictatorships in communist countries but never trust. I feel the same way about our 'President-elect', never trusting.

So many things are wrong in our political world now and nothing is trustworthy, in my opinion.

Many of you elected the next President of the U.S. expecting he would honor the highest office in our country only to find out he thinks it's his new 'reality show'. He says he's so smart he doesn't need daily briefings and thinks you're a fool for believing he was really going to help you bring back manufacturing jobs.

His cabinet picks are the antithesis of what he campaigned on and none of those folks are going to help bring back your jobs or find new ones for you. You're screwed.

Let's start with his choice for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. A billionaire who has spent most of her adult life advocating for School Choice and Voucher programs, with the express intent of ending public schools as we know them. She is diametrically opposed to public education.

I realize public schools vary widely from community to community, and the variation depends on your neighborhood. Inner city schools can be war zones, it's no secret. Rural schools, like many in the Rust Belt, are as deficient as inner city schools. These children will not benefit from Ms. DeVos' programs.

Then there's his choice for Secretary of Labor, Andrew Puzder, who wants to eliminate the minimum wage. He owns a chain of fast food restaurants and thinks his ads with 'beautiful women in bikinis eating burgers is very American.' Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO says Puzder's business record is defined by fighting against working people.

What do these two choices alone tell you about how badly Trump duped his core followers? And they're just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure he chose Elaine Chao, Mitch McConnell's wife, to get on the good side with Republicans in Congress but, now McConnell is participating in the investigation of Russian hacking.

The latest choice for Secretary of State is an old buddy of Putin's. Rex Tillerson, head of Exxon, has very close ties to Russia and this seems so blatant it's embarrassing. I would wager a guess that this is what prompted the CIA to come out about their investigation into the election hacking by Russia.

What a tangled web they're weaving.

I know many of my left-leaning friends say, "Pence is worse!" and I used to agree but, I can't anymore. Trump has turned this into a reality show circus and put each and every one of us in a dangerous place.

Mike Pence was the VP choice because he's a sheeple in Trumpland. He knew he was going to lose his governorship in Indiana this year and couldn't believe his good fortune when he got that call from the golden tower. He brought all the religious right with him.

Yes, with Pence, it's going to be a fight for sanity on the Supreme Court and women's rights for starters but, we won't be looking over our shoulder fearing the return of the 1950's.


Every year since its first broadcast in 1928, a magnificent tradition has been performed on December 24th (Christmas Eve) It's called The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and is performed by The Kings College Choir in Cambridge. The service includes carols and readings from the Bible. The opening carol is always 'Once in Royal David's City', and each year there's always a new, specially commissioned carol. The composer of this year's commissioned Christmas carol is British composer Michael Berkeley CBE. who has set to music the traditional 15th century Christmas text This Endernight. The carol will receive its first public performance on Christmas Eve at this years Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

As a young boy, I attended Lancing College, an English independent boarding school in the British public school tradition whose alumni include such literary icons as Evelyn Waugh (Novelist. Brideshead Revisited,) and Tom Sharpe (the satirical novelist). Other alumni include Sir Peter Pears (tenor), and my peers and fellow students in 1962, Sir Tim Rice (Lyricist. Jesus Christ Superstar) Chris Hampton CBE. (Playwright. Dangerous Liaisons) Sir David Hare (Playwright. The Hours, The Reader) and Jeremy Sinden (Actor. As Time Goes By, Middlemarch). The year before I arrived at Lancing I was chosen to sing the solo for "Once in Royal David's City," at my prep school Carol service. During my years, at Lancing (1962-1967) we were required to attend "chapel" twice a day (matins and evensong), seven days a week, and I would sit there lost in the pageantry and beauty of the music.I fell in love with choral music from the first day I sang "Once in Royal David's City in 1961, and continue my passion for it to this day. 4000 miles away in Arlington Virginia, around the same time, my future wife and musical partner was singing in The Rock Springs Children's Choir. She also, to this day, has an enduring passion for classical and choral music.

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The Kings College Choir reputation resonates with millions of people around the world. They're one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. The choir was first founded in 1441 by King Henry VI when he also founded its namesake college as part of Cambridge University.

Nowadays, Kings College Cambridge Choir comprises 16 boy choristers, between 9 and 13 years old, and 14 male Cambridge University undergraduates who're studying for various degrees. The 14 male chorister undergraduates all reside at Kings College, while the boy choristers are educated just across the river at King's College School where their education is the same as all their fellow students except that their choral commitments are handled before or after school hours.

Henry VI specified originally that the "16 choristers were to be poor boys, of strong constitution and of 'honest conversation'. They had to be under twelve years of age when admitted, and able to read and sing. In addition to their choral duties singing Matins, Mass and Vespers, they were required to wait at table in Hall."

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Much of the choir's fame derives from The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols that is broadcast worldwide to millions of people on Christmas Eve. The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a service of Christian worship celebrating the birth of Jesus. From 1931, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has been broadcast consistently every year until modern day. The Nine Lessons, which are the same every year, are read by representatives of the college and of the City of Cambridge from the 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Bible. The singing is divided into "carols" which are sung by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, and "hymns" that are sung by the Choir and congregation.

Stephen Cleobury CBE. is the Director of Music at Kings College Cambridge and Choir Master and Organist. He was born in Bromley Kent in 1948 to John and Brenda Cleobury, and educated at Kings School Worcester after which he became an organ scholar at St John's College Cambridge. During the mid-70's he was head of music at St Matthews Church Northampton and Northampton grammar school and in 1979 became Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral. In 1982 he took up the position of Director of Music for the Choir of King's College Cambridge which he holds to this day. In addition, he was conductor of Cambridge University Musical Society from 1983 until 2009.

Stephen Cleobury became the President of the Royal College of Organists from 1990 until 1992. Also, a Fellow of the Royal College of Music he became a visiting Fellow at the Louisiana State University School of Music for a year in 2013. He's married to Emma Cleobury, and they live in Cambridge with their two youngest daughters. He was appointed CBE. in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honors for services to music. It's no surprise therefore, that all the accomplishments that have been bestowed on him during his tenure as Director of Music at Kings College have added to the true excellence of the Choir. Stephen Cleobury's dedication, artistic integrity, and passion for music is palpable in every King's College choir performance.

On November 29th 2016 The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Kings College. Their Royal Highnesses were on a visit to Cambridge to mark the bicentenary of the Fitzwilliam Museum and to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Cambridge University Library. After their visit to the Fitzwilliam museum, The Prince and The Duchess visited King's College Chapel to attend a Choir rehearsal. They were escorted to the Chapel by the Provost and greeted by the Dean, The Rev Dr Stephen Cherry. After enjoying the rehearsal, the royal couple met members of the College and Choir. The Prince of Wales attended Trinity College (1970) and is also a Patron of the Cambridge Commonwealth



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This festive season we will bustle around shopping, wrapping, and planning special meals to commemorate what we hold dear. We'll reach out to family and friends and, hopefully, a few strangers who need a bit of extra love. We'll walk our dogs, work and play, and probably complain a little bit about how hectic it all is. When the glorious moment arrives, we'll gather together. and pop our champagne, crack open some Andes Gran Malbec, or warm ourselves with wassail. Everything'll be ready, everything'll be perfect. Hang on, what about the music? What music appropriately conjures the beauty, tradition, and the majesty of our most prized celebrations? We suggest, if you haven't had the privilege of hearing the Kings College Choir of Cambridge led by Stephen Cleobury, that you tune in on Christmas Eve to either watch the Choir on PBSTV, or listen on BBC Radio 4 World Service, as well as treat yourself to something splendid and purchase 12 Days of Christmas, The King's Men's latest album, which was released on Friday 14 October 2016. It's available in CD format from the Shop at King's or as a download from iTunes. Many other fine recordings and DVD's are also available for sale at The Official Shop at King's College.

"I am delighted that, after the success of the first King's Men recording on the College label, the Choral Scholars have recorded this outstanding new collection of Christmas music. That they have planned, rehearsed and performed for this recording themselves is testament to the professionalism of Choral Scholars at King's, and the results speak for themselves." STEPHEN CLEOBURY

It truly is amazing what mankind can achieve when we raise our voices together. The dedication and passion that fine arts musicians and vocalists put into their performances take a lifetime to achieve. They practice, and practice, and practice so they can offer us the perfect reflection of our hearts for a few moments. So, when we're toasting this year, raise a glass of respect for the truly accomplished artists who bring us such joy and meaning through music, making us proud to be human beings.

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Global Divestment Day 2015 on Wall Street, New York City. Credit: Matthew Anderson

An anti-Environmental Protection Agency zealot will be the next head of the EPA; President-elect Donald Trump has promised to abrogate the Paris climate accord; and temperatures in the Arctic last week were as much as 35 degrees above normal, as polar ice stubbornly refused to refreeze.

So maybe you'd like a little good news on the environmental front? The fossil fuel divestment campaign -- which turns four years old this month -- has been almost bizarrely successful. And as other avenues for change start to get closed off by the Trump administration, divestment is likely to become an even more crucial part of the fight for a livable planet.

In 2012, divestment was just an idea. A small report by a small London think tank had uncovered a very big truth: the world's coal, oil and gas companies had four or five times as much carbon in their reserves than we could burn if we hoped to stay below the temperature targets the world's governments had pledged to respect. That is: if these companies carried out their business plans, the planet would tank.

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When activist and author Naomi Klein and I read that report from the Carbon Tracker Initiative, it struck us that it no longer made sense to think of these companies as just normal enterprises. Like the companies that funded apartheid South Africa a generation ago, they were engaged in something so dangerous that no one should partner with them. And so 350.org, the environmental organization I co-founded, and then a host of other groups, began calling on institutions to sell their holdings in these firms.

The effort began on a handful of American college campuses. This week, the global Divest-Invest network announced that portfolios and endowments with assets reaching $5 trillion have committed to divest those assets from coal, gas and oil. The announcement comes simultaneously from London, New York, Tokyo, Cape Town and Sydney, and it includes news of some of the most recent high-profile divestments.

Just last week, the American Museum of Natural History, the largest and oldest museum in the country, decided it made no sense to chronicle the natural world and also invest in its demise, slashing fossil fuel investments from its $650 million portfolio.

Even bigger developments are on the horizon. The Divest New York coalition, for instance, will turn out folks on Thursday when the city's pension fund meets. Three years after Superstorm Sandy, the Empire State is still putting its money in companies like Exxon, even as Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's investigations make clear that the company misled both the general public and investors about its knowledge of global warming.

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Withdrawing that $5 trillion from the industry has had real effects: when Peabody Coal announced its bankruptcy last year, it cited the divestment campaign as one of the reasons.

But the even bigger effect has been to spread the new math about climate change. When we began, only a few people on the planet really understood this horrifying new math. "It was incomprehensible" to most investment analysts that we'd have to leave fossil fuels in the ground, says Mark Campanale, the head of the Carbon Tracker Initiative and the man who was the first to add up the numbers. By now, though, the thousands of campaigns at colleges, churches, foundations, museums and even zoos have made sure that all the powerful people who sit on their boards are now well acquainted with the problem.

The math has worked its way to the very top: everyone from the World Bank to Deutsche Bank now talks about the need to leave oil in the soil and coal in the hole. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, told the world's insurers not long ago that the two-degree target agreed at Paris "would render the vast majority of reserves 'stranded' -- oil, gas and coal that will be literally unburnable."

The Trump administration, of course, disagrees -- he and his colleagues have made it clear that they want to ramp up fossil fuel production. And at least for a while, given the GOP's grip on power, the Exxons of the world will be getting their way in Washington. This makes it all the more important that everyone who cares about the planet's future focuses on more malleable targets: investors and our institutions. With anticipated regression at the federal level, it's more critical than ever that our institutions at the city and state level step up.
In certain areas of our lives, size matters, but in journalism, scale is not a determinant of quality, accuracy, or truth.

Craig Silverman's Buzzfeed story on "fake" news outstripping the real news on the Internet has set off a wave of reaction both at social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and in the media itself. According to Silverman, 8.7m shares, reactions and comments were generated by fake news, 7.4m by "real" news.

Mr. Silverman then does what good journalists are supposed to do, or does he? He sources his "data." He posts a simple Google Spreadsheet with a few numbers entered into it that demonstrates absolutely no proof of his data, how it was gathered, etc.. You or I could create numbers just as easily. It does, however, say "Buzzfeed" on it, so we must assume, therefore, that it is accurate, because they said so, and, with 770 employees and $167M in revenues, it must be legit, right?

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If "real" news is separated by being well vetted and easily provable, the Buzzfeed story, with a baseline of a loose spreadsheet, is equally unfounded.

If you want to know if something is legit or not, you follow the sources, provided right there in the article for you.

Real news is well documented. Facts are backed up by links that you can click on to the real data with its own sourcing. When an author quotes someone, or a publication they should be referenced with hyperlinks to the source material.

In recent days "fake" news has become the buzz in the traditional, web news, and social media outlets. For good reason: There are acres of bogus news stories, op-eds and memes published around the Internet.

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There is the now infamous story of the North Carolina man who went to Comet Pizza in Washington, D.C. armed with an assault rifle to put an end to the alleged child sex ring being run from the restaurant's back rooms. The story, dubbed "pizzagate" was false. Yet it was flying around social media, seen and repeated by many users on Facebook and Twitter.

One of taller tales that arose was that Clinton Campaign Manager John Podesta and Hillary Clinton were drinking blood in occult rituals to influence the election. Thousands of people, especially those in alt-right circles, spread the story. It arose from a misinterpretation of a story about an artist who uses bodily fluids in performance art. Ultimately, the Washington Post debunked the story, as did others.

There has been a call, usually by the same mainstream media that has been hemorrhaging readers and television viewers to the Internet, to stick to the "reliable," tried and true news sources. Yet their accuracy and credibility is anything but perfect.

Fox News is an alleged "mainstream" source of news, yet 59% of their information is false. Politifact rates statements made on air by Fox, Fox News and Fox Business on-air personalities and their paid pundits as mostly false (21%) , false (29%), or "Pants on Fire" (9%). If you add in their half true statements, (19%) only 22% of what is heard on Fox is truthful and accurate.

MSNBC has been beating the drum about how media outlet size and history are legitimacy. They and their parent, NBC News, don't have much to crow about either though, in the accuracy department. Politifact finds that 41% of their statements made on air are mostly false to pants on fire, with only 34% as mostly true to true.

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Even when a story is accurate in the mainstream media, it may be handled in a way that benefits the company putting it out. Most media outlets did not call Florida until later on election night 2016, even though Clinton campaign staffers knew by 8:15p that their candidate had lost the state, according to South Florida staffers who received the news hours before the major networks called the state. Keeping the notorious swing-state alive in the narrative kept people tuned in, and advertisers generating revenue.

There are many many legit media outlets on the web. Buzzfeed.com, VOX.com, Slate, and Vice are the larger rising star players who put out generally well-vetted and legitimate news.

There are many worthwhile smaller independent news and op-ed pubications like truthout, AllSides, propublica.org or my truth-2-Power.com (t2P), all of which maintain the same standards of good journalistic practice for news and opinion pieces.

They offer what most of the larger news outlets, including rising stars like Vice and Vox do not: Independendence. When billions are spent on elections, the money finds its way into the media. Many media outlets are owned by an increasingly small circle of holding companies and owners, which means that the parent's agenda, or simply profit motives, can bias the flow of news and information on their networks.

So size, or decades in their sector of news, are not the standards by which readers should rely. Sticking with good sourcing of facts and quotes, with easy links to document the point, is a bedrock standard for all web-based publications.

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In social media, many groups have suggested using sites like Snopes.com to verify the accuracy of information. There are sites like Factcheck.org and the well-known Politifact.com, but there are also partisan sources like the conservative watchdog group Accuracy In Media, and the liberal Fair.org which tend to affirm the point-of-view of their politics rather than remain neutral.

The web is where the majority of Americans now get their news and opinion. According to Pew Research, 62% of Americans get news on social media, with 18% doing so often.

Thousands of pages and social groups of all political stripes share news articles, opinion pieces and memes that most often affirm their point-of-view on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and others. With little or no filtration, and, in the case of Facebook, virtually no accountability for those posting information or disinformation, it makes these spaces rife for rumors and fake news to pick up steam.

Often information spreads, or opinion is formed, not on facts, or deliberating information put in front of readers, but on quick glances at headlines and photos. People don't read; They react.

According to Inc. 81% of people just skim what they read when they are online. "(Usability expert Jakob Nielsen has written that the average user reads at most 20 to 28 percent of words during an average visit.)" and they note that "People form a first impression in a mere 50 milliseconds."

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So the fix to the so-called "fake news" epidemic is reasonably easy: Read, don't react. Question what you read. Follow the links to the sources of articles by writers or publications that are new to you. Do they go to legitimate news, or to a quality primary or secondary news source, or do they just regurgitate what another site aggregating information reported, based on a story even further back? They should also be quoting their sources up-front, and in the article.

From HuffPo to the humblest of blogs, follow the information in a few articles to test the outlet's credibility. If they aren't sourcing well, don't read, and, more importantly, never share an article unless you vet that article and make sure that it connects up to bottom line facts.

Even opinion pieces need to be based in fact, and good op-ed writers will make sure that they reference articles, studies, and data that affirm why they are voicing that opinion.

If you find someone who is sharing bogus material, unfriend them, and tell your friends to do the same. Report purveyors of fake news in your social groups at Facebook and elsewhere to their admins. If the admin doesn't act, leave the group.
I was recently having a conversation with a friend when the topic of the Rolling Stones came up. Though we are of the same generation, he is no longer enamored with the Stones' attempts to hold back the hands of time.

He shared with me that the only way he would attend one of their concerts would be to hold up a sign that reads: "Stop, Just Stop!"

While I do not share his feelings about the Stones, I do find his sign reflective of my feelings about your party and some liberals: "Stop, Just Stop!"

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Take a break. Use the holiday season for some honest self-reflection, a moratorium perhaps, but stop, just stop with the reflexive commentary on why you lost the presidential election.

It may not be as bad as you project; a mere 100,000 vote swing in two key states and it would have been the Republicans packing their bags, headed temporarily for the political wilderness. It's a cruel irony to have won the popular vote in four of the five elections this century only to have lost the presidency three of those times.

So stop with the silly hyperbole that, unless you change, the Democrats may not win another presidential election for another generation. Really?

You speak as if America is stagnant. Politics is America's ultimate cyclical enterprise.

I'm not advocating that you sit dormant. You have a Supreme Court battle that awaits, and the manner that Republican Senate usurped the Constitution in order to be in a position to replace the late Atonin Scalia justifies the fight.

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I also understand the need to uncover what went wrong, but do you have enough information to make a valid assessment, roughly one month after the election? Some of your cohorts have offered that the marginalized white male is the new kingmaker of presidential elections.

You do realize there has never been a presidential election void of a segment of America that was not marginalized in some manner. Emphasizing the white male in this reactionary manner suggests that other constituencies that are part of your coalition are not as important.

That is not to offer that a portion of the white male population has not been marginalized -- they have. But the public discourse has portrayed white males as the only group that has been marginalized, at a minimum, the only group that truly matters.

I don't think that's what you're saying, but it could easily be understood that way.

Who is truly marginalized in America? How are you defining it? Is your definition based on economic factors, education or zip code? Perhaps if you sought to answer that question authentically, you may create a different coalition going forward -- a multicultural alliance based on shared economic and social aspirations.

It's not enough to engage in a battle over a diminishing slice of the pie. Maybe your task is a larger one -- one that will require a more Herculean effort. Part of your defeat in 2016 was your failure to excite members of the Apathetic Party -- the estimated 90 million who did not vote.

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It is easy to doctor the numbers on the monthly jobs report by not counting those who have given up on seeking employment, not so when it comes to winning elections. Maybe it's time to rethink identity politics in its present form.

Identity politics finds its roots in the 19th century with the passage of the 15th Amendment, which gave black males the right to vote. A coalition of abolitionists, black, white and women, originally led a campaign for the ratification of universal suffrage.

When the 15th Amendment was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification, it created a split within the abolitionist coalition. The result became a more bifurcated approach where groups based their politics on race, gender, orientation as well as other social factors.

How long will groups be pitted against each other with similar social locations, separated only by the percentage on melanin in their skin or XY chromosomes?

Is this 146-year phenomenon still applicable in the 21st century? What's the common denominator in poor white, poor black and poor Hispanic?

Reactionary responses as to why you lost are also fueled with emotionalism that can blind you to certain truths.

But rarely has a political party remade itself inspired by knee-jerk responses. The task before you is to reclaim the spirit of the words echoed by Martin Luther King:

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It's curious: The electoral college - that formerly laughable and supposedly ceremonial leftover from America's slave era - looms like a sinister savior. It's sinister because its very existence paved the path for Donald Trump's election despite his popular rebuff; a savior because it can reject Putin's cheerleader. Thus the e-mail onslaught begging it to do just that: "No pressure, but the world's safety lies in your hands. Do your Hamiltonian duty and rescue us."

Most urge the electors to opt for Hillary Clinton. After all, she won the popular vote. But that's a non-starter. The potential "faithless electors" are Republicans. They probably loathe her. So, in my e-mail, I suggest something completely different.

Here it is, for what it's worth, slightly expanded (would be letter-writers should follow this link):

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I'm one of many Americans deeply concerned about our nation's welfare, the future of which lies in your hands. I know many electors feel bound to vote for Donald Trump because majorities in their states cast their ballots for him. They'll pay a fine if they don't. But consider: a solid nation-wide plurality opted for his opponent; the Trump majorities in some states were paper thin; and, perhaps most important, the CIA concluded that a foreign dictator and former KGB agent meddled in our election via cyber warfare. His agents hacked e-mails and spread fake news to influence the vote in Russia's favor. In other words, "President Trump" will be beholden to a semi-hostile power.

Our national security is imperiled. Which would be ironic: The party of cold warriors like Richard Nixon, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan is poised to place our nation's welfare in Russia's pocket. After all, it seems the former KGB agent's minions hacked the Republican National Committee's computers but chose not to release its e-mails. I'm sure they're now in a safe place, available for future blackmail.

I'm sure Republican electors are leery of presidents morphing into Russian puppets.

I know e-mails are pouring in urging you to vote for Hillary Clinton. In my opinion, that would be problematic. Support for Clinton was lukewarm and many Trump supporters will claim a rigged election. A Clinton presidency only promises gridlock and scandal-mongering. I suggest another wise candidate, someone like former Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine. She is highly respected by members in both parties and can establish much-needed coalitions.

Remember the original reasons for establishing the electoral college, one of which was to fend off disqualified candidates. Now is the time for courage, which includes the willingness to pay a fine for the sake of your country.

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Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate and respect the role you serve in our electoral process.
Despite the fact that cyber-attacks occur with greater frequency and intensity around the world, many either go unreported or are under-reported, leaving the public with a false sense of security about the threat they pose and the lives and property they impact. While governments, businesses and individuals are all being targeted on an exponential basis, infrastructure is becoming a target of choice among both individual and state-sponsored cyber-attackers, who recognize the value of disrupting what were previously thought of as impenetrable security systems. This has served to demonstrate just how vulnerable businesses, cities and countries have become, and the growing importance of achieving global risk agility in the face of such a threat.

As an example of the growing vulnerability of critical infrastructure, in December 2015 a presumed Russian cyber-attacker successfully seized control of the Prykarpattyaoblenergo Control Center (PCC) in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Western Ukraine, leaving 230,000 without power for up to 6 hours. This marked the first time that a cyber weapon was successfully used against a nation's power grid. The attackers were skilled strategists who carefully planned their assault over many months, first doing reconnaissance to study the networks and siphon operator credentials, then launching a synchronized assault in a well-choreographed dance. The control systems in Ukraine were surprisingly more secure than some in the U.S., since they were well-segmented from the control center business networks with robust firewalls (Wired, 3/3/16), emphasizing just how vulnerable power systems are globally.

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The PCC operated a common form of industrial control system known as a supervisory control and data acquisition system, which allows for remote controlling and monitoring of industrial processes -- in this case the distribution of electricity. The attackers overwrote firmware on critical devices at 16 substations, leaving them unresponsive to any remote commands from operators (Wired, 3/3/16), effectively leaving plant operators blind. It now seems clear, given the degree of sophistication of the intrusion, that the attackers could have rendered the system permanently inoperable.

If that is the case for a sophisticated power station, does an ordinary business stand a chance if hackers choose to penetrate its security system? Cyber-attacks are difficult to prevent, given the relative ease with which hackers can find a single system vulnerability, and the impossibility of plugging every conceivable security hole. Cyber-security professionals are in essence playing an endless game of cat and mouse, whereby a would-be attacker attempts to enter a system while security professionals attempt to defend a computer system from attack by applying continuous patches. The adversary then quickly moves to exploit the latest discovered vulnerability. That is why many computer security programs produce patches numerous times per day - even for home computers.

Cyber-Vigilance and the Need for More Resources

High profile cases of cyber-attack are increasingly becoming the norm. The U.S. government had little difficulty finding evidence to assign blame (to China) for the theft of personal information of more than 22 million government employees from the computer systems of the Office of Personnel Management in 2015. Similarly, it did not take long for the U.S. to determine that North Korea was responsible for the cyber-attack against Sony in 2015. Cyber-attacks essentially give nations of all sizes, degrees of wealth and resources a seat at the table of the super powers, affording them a disproportionate amount of clout. While China, the U.S. and Russia lead the world in cyber-attacks, virtually every government engages in such attacks, and nearly every country has its share of computer hackers.

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International treaties intended to address the problem have limited impact because of the inability to hold signatories accountable and the difficulty associated with accurately determining the identity of responsible actors. Enhanced information sharing, combined with a mandate to swiftly and accurately release information regarding attacks to impacted citizens, provide a sensible foundation for designing a protocol to effectively address future attacks, yet very few governments routinely engage in this practice.

Clearly, governments, businesses and individuals must devote greater resources to becoming more cyber-vigilant, which means they must devote more resources toward anticipating and protecting against attacks. Governments and businesses need to also engage in more public-private partnerships in order to adequately address the issue. The European Union has recently implemented the "Network and Information Security Directive", which forces member states to adopt more rigid cyber-security standards, and creates an avenue for the 28 member states -- and the operators of essential services such as energy, transportation, and healthcare sectors -- to communicate (European Commission, Digital Single Marketplace). Other nations are in the process of acting accordingly. However, no nation allocates sufficient resources to adequately respond to the increasing threat of a cyber-attack against critical infrastructure, nor does any nation have a truly comprehensive plan to prevent or meaningfully react to the outcome of such attacks.

Taking Precautions

Taking precautions against cyber-attacks has become essential, particularly among financial institutions, which are frequently targeted for attack. Serious incidents have occurred this year across the globe, including among banks in Vietnam, Ecuador, and the best-known example -- the central bank of Bangladesh, in which $81 million was successfully stolen. For financial institutions, cyber-attacks have become so serious that in October of this year, the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory on cyber-crime as well as guidelines for how and when to report suspicious activity. According to a recent report by Verizon, which involved 67 organizations in the private and public sectors, 48% of data breach incidents among banks in 2015 involved compromised web applications, prompting many financial institutions to require two-step verification procedures, and a host of other protective measures.

While cyber-attacks can pose a nuisance for countries with cyber defense capability, for businesses without it, cyber-attacks can pose an existential threat, not just operationally, but in terms of reputation risk, so they must create a sturdy defense. A large variety of insurance carriers now provide cyber-risk insurance, which can provide meaningful protection. But businesses must go further than to take out insurance. Business continuity plans must be carefully crafted, and an implementation plan must be both realistic and executable. Employees must be trained what not to do (i.e. click on the wrong email link), as well as what to do in the event of an attack. And crisis management programs should be put into place in advance of actually needing to do so, so as to be able to respond in a meaningful fashion.

Apart from heightening awareness to cyber-attacks, a number of actions should also be taken so as to avoid the gaze of regulatory and legal action that can occur after an attack has occurred. To the extent possible, avoid collecting or retaining unnecessary personal information of customers. Restrict access to sensitive information to a small pool of employees. Deploy best practice methods to store and transmit sensitive information, and be sure to require that third party partners and service providers do the same. If there is a data breach, be sure to carefully weigh the key messages you wish to convey to your customers, partners, and employees. Don't make matters worse by sending the wrong message to the marketplace.

Conclusion

Governments around the world have plans in place to deal with the consequences of natural disasters, yet none have disaster relief plans for a downed power grid. Clearly, this must change. Local and state governments must work together with their national counterparts to produce and quickly implement plans to address future attacks. The same may certainly be said of the need for businesses to put cyber-risk on the front burner, stop presuming it is someone else's problem, and devote the resources necessary to seriously and effectively combat the problem. Doing so will take as much will and determination as successfully tackling any other risk that poses a potentially existential threat to a firm. If a child can hack into the Pentagon, as has been done, there really is no place to hide. The only solution is to confront this menace head on.

*Dante Disparte is the CEO and Daniel Wagner is Managing Director of Risk Cooperative. They are the co-authors of the new book "Global Risk Agility and Decision Making".
On November 23, the long-delayed trial of human rights defender Issa Amro began in a military court in the occupied West Bank. Charges against Amro, a 36-year-old Palestinian activist who heads the non-violent human rights group, Youth Against Settlements, stem from 18 alleged crimes stretching back three years. Among the charges-- "insulting" an Israeli officer. Other changes include organizing demonstrations and "incitement," a catch-all term that has been particularly used to arrest and detain people for postings on social media. What is highly significant in this case is that by reaching back this far in time and gathering together these charges in one bundle, what were relatively minor "crimes" are now consolidated into charges that can earn him a much longer sentence. Haaretz calls the charges against him an "unusually broad" indictment. Amro faces up to three years in prison. His attorney, Gabby Lasky, has submitted a motion to have 14 of the 18 charged dismissed on the grounds that those charges are several years old and in some cases the charges were already investigated and closed without indictment. Issa Amro's arrest has garnered international attention--many see it as one of the most serious examples of Israel's intent to clamp down on all forms of resistance--violent or non-violent. The hearings promise to be a landmark legal battle over what Israel will permit in terms of peaceful protest and the consequences that face those who engage in it.

Over several years Amro's work has been recognized and commended by the international community. In 2010 he was named Human Rights Defender of the Year for Palestine by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in 2011 he was a guest of the US State Department as part of their International Visitor Leadership Program, and in 2013 Amro was declared a Human Rights Defender by the European Union, testifying that year and the next before the United Nations. In a 2015 op-ed he wrote for The Guardian, Amro explained how he became involved in activism and how he adopted the tactics of others to use in his struggle for Palestinian rights, "I read books by Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. I became convinced that their non-violent method was the best strategy for community resistance."

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Thus it is not surprising that this case is being monitored carefully. Present at the trial were representatives from the embassies and consulates of the US, UK, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Also in attendance were representatives from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and other international organizations.

According to Ariel Gold of CODEPINK, "the US State Department said that they have been aware of and are following his case due both to all of the international attention and because that have received requests from congressional representatives to support him. They expressed a strong interest in supporting Issa Amro. I requested that they have Secretary Kerry make a statement acknowledging that Amro is a recognized human rights defender and should not face political persecution. They said that there was a strong possibility that this could happen." She added, "On October 25, 2016 Amro had an in-person meeting in New York City with the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Michael Lynk, to discuss the situation in Hebron and his pending charges. Mr. Lynk indicated that he will likely put out an urgent appeal and press release calling for Mr. Amro's protection."

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In the spring, Amnesty International issued a statement condemning the Israeli government's stepped-up harassment of Palestinian human rights activists, including Youth Against Settlements, entitled, "Israeli government must cease intimidation of human rights defenders, protect them from attacks." Now it has issued a strong statement calling on Israel to "drop baseless charges."

Magdalena Mugrabi, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa says "Issa Amro has faced a sustained campaign of harassment and assault at the hands of the Israeli military and settlers because of his activism. His case is emblematic of the climate of increasing hostility towards activists who protest the settlements, which are illegal under international law." She added, "The deluge of charges against Issa Amro does not stand up to any scrutiny. In their determination to silence him and stifle his human rights work, the Israeli authorities have apparently even reopened a closed case file. If he is convicted we will consider Issa Amro a prisoner of conscience."

Israel's pressure on human rights work was dramatically in evidence last December, when a group of young Palestinian human rights workers were attacked for protesting Israel's expansive, and illegal, settlement building. Israel conducted raids on the homes of members of this group and "prevented journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and others from access to the organization's members and center, effectively sealing them off and at the same time leaving them open to physical attacks from settlers." The International Middle East Media Center reported then that "Italian journalist, Francesca Borri, German activist, Lukas Wiehler, YAS coordinator, Issa Amro, and YAS activists, Ahmad Amro, Mohannad Azzeh, Ali Amro, and Zidane Sharabati were held hostage, their phones and computer confiscated and all connections to the outside world severed." On December 18 the United Nations issued a report that "expressed grave concerns at continued reports that human rights defenders are being subjected to physical attacks, harassment, arrest and detention, and death threats ... The continued harassment of human rights defenders in the OPT, who are exercising their rights to freedoms of expression and association, is simply unacceptable. It should cease immediately."

The co-founder of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement Omar Barghouti describes the historical arc that gave rise to this youth movement: "The current shaking off of Israel's chains, almost entirely led by groups of very young men and women, has its roots in decades of popular Palestinian resistance to Israel's regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid. Its immediate objective is putting a stop to Israel's crusade to take over what is left of occupied Jerusalem, especially the Old City and its holy sites. A new generation of Palestinians is not just carrying on the struggle for self-determination and liberation of the land; it is crucially decolonizing minds as well, expressing an inextinguishable aspiration for freedom, justice and dignity."

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From the nature of the indictment, it is fair to see this expenditure of time, energy, and resources as an attempt to intimidate and harass. It is not clear why Israel is so intent on shutting down what the international community regards as legitimate non-violent protest. Prime Minister Netanyahu's recent address to the United Nations put this in perspective, however, especially when he described the General Assembly as a "disgrace," the UN Human Rights Council as a "joke" and UNESCO, the UN's cultural organization as a "circus." It is because of this open contempt for international law and human rights conventions that Palestinian human rights workers are reaching out to the international community.

When Issa Amro spoke with me in October, he noted the growing success in getting support from other groups: "There are a lot of groups doing a great job supporting Palestine. You have Christian groups, you have Jewish groups, you have Palestinian groups, you have Black Lives Matter. They visited me in Hebron, and I visited them in Washington, D.C. It's not about ethnic support. It's not about religion. It's not about nationality. It's about human rights and Palestinian rights." Amro then expressed his belief that it was precisely because of this sort of success that he was eventually put on trial:

"I started getting international attention, especially in the United States. I started reaching more people, especially the American Jewish community, and organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace. Our group organized an activity with the Jewish Center for Nonviolence. It was a big activity, a big action to start a cinema in Hebron. The authorities nearly went crazy because they saw high-profile people, including American Jews, saying it's not in our faith to have the Occupation, to see that kind of discrimination in Hebron. They went crazy. They wanted to get rid of me. They tried to arrest me that day. The authorities didn't find any real excuse to put me in jail, so they started another plan, plan B, which was to reactivate all those charges against me and put me in jail."

He asked that two points be emphasized. First, the goals of Youth Against Settlements: "We want to make Israel accountable for its human rights violations, for the Occupation, for the discrimination, for apartheid, for injustice. That's all what we want as Palestine human rights defenders. That is what the international community can do--help us make Israel accountable. We are calling for freedom, justice, and equality for all. We don't want Israel only to end the occupation. We want Israel to be fully accountable according to international law, according to the human rights law, according to all treaties that restrict any kind of violence, any kind of occupation." To do this, he stressed the importance of humanizing the Palestinians despite the distortions of the mainstream media:

"We need to inform Americans, especially the media, about what is happening back in Palestine, without any kind of politics and without any kind of make-up. Unfortunately, the media, when it's coming from Palestine and Israel to the US, it's filtered. We are stereotyped, as Palestinians. You don't believe that we have a Palestine human rights defender who is convicted because of human rights work. We want to change that image and start working and showing the reality on the ground. Come see with your own eyes, write about the truth."

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Me: Mr. Trump, you have recently said that you do not believe in the findings of 17 intelligence organizations that Russia hacked into our computer infrastructure in order to compromise the election. Your reaction, sir?

DT: I don't believe it.

Me: Okay. Moving on. I'd like to discuss oxygen.

DT: It's not there.

Me: Air? Air is not there?

DT: I can't see it. Can't smell it. How the hell do you know?

Me: So... it's not there?

DT: Look I'm bigly smart. If my wife wears perfume I better smell it because I bought it.

Me: So the perfume is there because...

DT Because I can smell it! What the hell is wrong with you?

Me: The telephone. That was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

DT: Not true.

Me: What?

DT: Did you ever meet him?

Me: Uh, he died in 1922.

DT: So you're telling me that you know for a fact that you are 100% certain that Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone. Why? Because you read it in some textbook? Who wrote the textbook? You don't even know that. For all we know both the phone and the textbook were invented by some guy in New Jersey sitting on his bed.

Me: How about climate change?

DT: I believe in it bigly.

Me: Really? You do?

DT: Again: I'm a smart guy. I know the way the world works. The climate changes with every season. You don't have to be a world-class scientist who, by the way, do we believe everything that they say they discovered just because they say that they did?

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Me: But... you are doing the same thing. You are saying we should believe everything you say.

DT: That's because first of all, I have lived my entire life in New York, which is a fantastic reason because the people, most of the people, I'm not naming who, are not so fantastic.

Me: What?

DT: Take Michelle Williams in that trailer for that movie. What the hell is it called? Rochester got a C?

Me: "Manchester by the Sea"

DT: Okay, fine. I'm sure if I look that up you will be proven wrong. Anyway, in that commercial, for the movie I mean, when she's crying and talking at the same time. I have no idea what the hell she is saying. It might as well be Chinese or baby talk or whatever. Now you can say to me she's boo-hoo, crying about God knows what, but for all we know she broke her tiny little pinky toe.

Me: Let's play a little word association. I'll throw a few words out at you and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. Okay? Just blurt out whatever comes to your mind. Ready? God.

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DT: Burping from too much Pepsi.

Me: Freedom of speech.

DT: Hugh Jackman. A terrific guy. I met him in Hawaii. He has the pecs of a 17-year-old.

Me: Trade.

DT: For what?

Me: Donald, Jr.

DT: Buy shoelaces. And gum. But not Dentyne. Never Dentyne. Dentyne sucks. Why is that even a flavor?

Me: Kelly Ann Conway.

DT: Carl's Junior. Yum.

Me: Steve Bannon.

DT: Sears tires.

Me: Obamacare.

DT: Mozart in the Jungle. Who the hell would want to watch such a thing? Tarzan I understand. Okay? But a composer who lived like a million years ago swinging on a vine? I don't think so. Gimme a break.

Me: China

DT: Larry Gelbart. Mash? Just terrific. Terrific.

Me: The earth.

DT: Knuckle sandwich.

Me: Women rights?

DT: Small feet.

Me: Mexicans.

DT: Spankslish. Which I believe is Spanish for panties. I have, by the way, what I've been told is the single biggest collection of women's panties in possibly the world. I actually have a room completely dedicated to them. Many have names.

Me: Islam.

DT: It feels like an unfinished word! Finish the damn word! It could be Islamaboombah for God's sake. I have people working on that.

Me: The Cabinet.

DT: Michael Jackson named his monkey Bubbles. How ridiculous was that? You name a stripper Bubbles. A kid's shampoo maybe. But a monkey? How do you arrive at that? It makes zero sense.

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Me: Okay...

DT: My two favorite letters.

Me: No. I meant we're done.

DT: Rich people, especially guys, should never wear penny loafers because who are we kidding? We could stuff those shoes with so much cash it would make your head spin. Believe me.

Me: Thank you.

DT: Why does everyone try to get me to say that? No one in my house ever said that. They just grabbed things and yelled, "Mine!" And if you tried to stop them they kicked you right in the balls. Especially my mother. Just try to pry those pearl earrings out of her clenched fist. You'd limp for a goddamn week.

Me: I'm speechless.

DT: Well I have someone who can write one for you that can sound so much like Michelle Obama, you'll cry.
The Tweet

On December 6, Donald Trump tweeted:

"Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!"



The Facts:

There will be two new Boeing's 747-8 presidential aircraft.

Boeing is not building the new presidential aircraft at this time.

Boeing:

"We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the president of the United States... We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer."

Earlier in 2016, Boeing received a $170 million contract to design a replacement for the aging pair of Air Force Ones used by the president. Boeing is not actually building the jet, though logically it is the only U.S. manufacturer with the capability to build such an aircraft. :: Cost have actually not been set. The Defense Department's five-year plan indicates a cost of $2.9 billion over the next five years for design and development. It's logical to assume at least another $1 billion in additional expenses to complete and procure the aircraft.

"That [$170 million] is all that the government has spent on the new Air Force One, so far. The Air Force has budgeted, but not spent, roughly $500 million a year between 2017 and 2020 to develop systems for the new presidential transport, acquire two 747-8s from Boeing for around $380 million apiece, and outfit them to military and FAA standards. There could be additional costs after 2020." says David Axe at The Daily Beast



On cancelling the "order"

Secretary of the Air Force, Deborah James:

Any program can be advanced, it can be modified, it can be canceled...These are all within the realm of the possible. But we did the best that we could to create an acquisition strategy around the requirements that were developed by the professionals in the White House who are charged with that.

The Washington Post:

Nothing has been ordered yet. But the program could be eliminated. This may not be a problem for Trump, but certainly would affect his successors, especially if no order is placed before Boeing stops making 747s. The current aircraft were delivered in 1990, and as we noted, the life cycle is about 30 years. The Pentagon says the current fleet "faces capability gaps, rising maintenance costs, and parts obsolescence as it reaches the end of its planned 30-year life-cycle."

Why so expensive?

The Washington Post:

So an estimate of $4 billion -- for design, testing and manufacture of at least two jets -- is not completely out of line. But the budget is subject to approval by Congress and the actual design of the aircraft. Boeing literally needs to re-engineer the plane from the ground up, so there are many one-time expenses. Air Force One needs to be designed to survive a nuclear war. It requires all sorts of undisclosed security upgrades and countermeasures. It can refuel in flight. The actual cost of the plane will depend on the equipment that goes into it. There also needs to be extensive testing, probably lasting two years, before the plane is deemed ready for presidential travel.

The features, including protecting the aircraft from missile attacks and the ability to communicate with nuclear forces, are not only intended to protect the commander-in-chief but also to allow him or her to run the government for extended periods of time during a national emergency.

Air Fore Secretary Deborah Lee James:

Air Force One, although it is a 747 platform, is way, way more than what you would think of as a commercial airliner...It really is, in many ways, a flying White House, in terms of the security. There's [electronic] countermeasures built in, communications, very high level communications, security of all types. After all, this is carrying the president of the United States. It has to go long distances, it has to survive under difficult circumstances, much more difficult than a normal civilian airliner. So it is a bit more complicated than perhaps meets the eye.



Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Melcher said, according to the National Defense Magazine that it will be up to members of the transition team who are versed in defense acquisitions to explain to the president-elect the complex requirements of the future Air Force One, and why these airplanes cost far more than commercial passenger planes. Presidential airplanes are nuclear-hardened, outfitted with highly advanced communications technology and come with security features that would be unthinkable for any other airplane.

According to the Stars and Stripes, Loren Thompson, a defense consultant, said, "Air Force One has unique communications, safety and self-protection features so that the president can function under the most trying circumstances - like nuclear war." The price tag, he said, "is driven by the demands of the mission."

While based on an existing design, the price for an Air Force One are massive compared to what a basic 747-8 commercial jet would cost, due to the electronic suites and defensive systems needed on the presidential plane.

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Todd Harrison, a budget expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, responded: "To be clear, it's $4B for two planes that operate as a flying command post for POTUS in a national emergency, have EMP protection, etc."

The backlash

Again National Defense Magazine: "The irony is rich, tweets Rep. Suzan DelBene, of Boeing's home state of Washington. Donald Trump, she said, is "using unsubstantiated facts to publicly attack American aerospace workers, despite saying he'll protect U.S. jobs."

Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, where the aircraft will be built, told POLITICO, "The workers of my state and the workers of Boeing across this country do an incredible job and build and incredible airplane...I hope the president-elect takes the time to talk to the Pentagon and the Air Force and Boeing about how defense contracts work before he tweets."

Her fellow Washington Democrat, Rep. Suzan DelBene, took to Twitter herself, accusing Trump of "using unsubstantiated facts to publicly attack American aerospace workers, despite saying he'll protect U.S. jobs."

There are professional security people who are in the White House who develop requirements for Air Force One...They are not political appointees; they are professional security people. Those requirements then come to the Air Force and our job is to build the acquisition strategy around it to deliver those requirements. In other words, we didn't make up all these security factors and communications standards.

Pointing to the fact that the new aircraft, now barely in the research and development phase, "is not scheduled to be ready for another decade, after Trump is already out of office," James says "It will be the president after the next president who actually flies on this Air Force One."

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, which oversees defense contracts, was perplexed by Trump's claims. "I don't know where he got the number -- he certainly didn't get it from Boeing," she said. "All of it has been contracted -- it is a planning contract -- in order for the Air Force to avoid cost overruns and unreasonable requirements. So I don't know how he tweets a number when no one knows where it comes from."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, when asked about Trump's comments, referred questions about contract details to the Department of Defense but said, "Some of the statistics that have been, uh, cited, shall we say, don't appear to reflect the nature of the financial agreement between Boeing and the Department of Defense,"

In a stunning rebuke of the President-elect, a new poll shows that a majority of Americans favor keeping Air Force One and canceling Donald Trump. According to the poll, ninety-four per cent of Americans believe that Air Force One is qualified to be an airplane, while only twenty-one per cent feel that way about Trump as President. When told that Air Force One has a mobile command center capable of launching a nuclear attack, a broad majority said that they would feel safer with Air Force One flying around with no one in it for four years than with Trump on board.



CODA:

Read the January 28 Air Force announcement of the selection of Boeing to provide the next presidential aircraft here

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Read more about the Boeing 747-8 here
Finally, Fidel Castro's ashes have been buried. President-elect Donald Trump is facing his first international challenge, the death of the former Cuban dictator. Unfortunately, Trump looks set to flunk the test.

Anyone who believes in human liberty should welcome Castro's passing. Whatever the alleged social progress of his communist regime--in fact, it left the Cuban people mired in poverty--cannot justify a half century of repression. There's no excuse for imprisoning and executing political opponents, despite the hagiographic nonsense spouted by some of Castro's admirers.

When Castro's forces ousted the corrupt and brutal Fulgencio Batista, many Americans admired the young, English-speaking revolutionary. But Castro showed his true beliefs when he embraced the Soviet Union. Washington feared that the island, barely 90 miles from U.S. territory, would become a Soviet base, as it did during the Cuban Missile Crisis. American officials also worried that Cuba would attempt to spread communism throughout a region filled with decrepit, corrupt, impoverished--and thus vulnerable--regimes.

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The U.S. backed a military invasion, which failed spectacularly, and a series of sometimes comical assassination attempts, which failed embarrassingly. This left economic war. The Eisenhower administration cut Cuban sugar imports in July 1960. Later presidents and Congresses successively limited U.S. exports and investments and other Cuban imports, froze Cuban assets in America, restricted travel, downgraded diplomatic relations, and pressed other nations to follow suit.

Failure never fazed sanctions advocates. Congress voted to prohibit American subsidiaries from doing business in Cuba in 1992; four years later Congress targeted foreign firms doing business on the island and even barred company executives from traveling to America. These steps achieved nothing other than satisfy a desperate desire to do something.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, ending subsidies for the Castro regime, many analysts believed that Cuban communism was doomed. Washington need only wait a little longer. For instance, the Heritage Foundation's John Sweeney proclaimed: "the embargo remains the only effective instrument available to the U.S. government in trying to force the economic and democratic concessions it has been demanding of Castro for over three decades. Maintaining the embargo will help end the Castro regime more quickly." The latter's collapse, he wrote, is "more likely in the near term than ever before."

But 22 years later the Castro regime staggers on, an embarrassing specter from the past. Vintage 1950s autos held together with wire and tape compete with primitive Soviet models and modern luxury vehicles. Buildings look like they were last painted during the Mesozoic era. Food supplies are limited, even with a ration book.

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But real money, "hard currency" from foreign nations, buys anything one desires. When I visited Havana (legally) with a journalism group a decade ago, we stayed at a very nice European-owned hotel. Hard currency stores offered foreign goods, and representatives of foreign companies enjoyed all the luxuries of life. Cubans routinely approached tourists, selling cigars, touting private restaurants, and offering to act as tour guides--all for a modest price. So much for Fidel Castro's vision of a revolutionary society.

Washington's attempt to cripple a nearby Soviet ally during the Cold War made sense, but the belief that doing ever more of the same decades later would yield a different result suggests that U.S. policymakers suffer from at least a touch of insanity. More than a half century of sanctions failed to spark a popular uprising, force the Castros and allies from power, moderate the regime, deliver democracy, promote economic liberalization, cut regime ties with other communist systems, stop foreign investment, or achieve much else of note.

In fact, this is a fairly common experience for sanctions. They can work, the broader the application and narrower the objective. But few governments are inclined to dismantle themselves under foreign pressure. Certainly not Fidel Castro. Not likely Raul Castro and those around him.

That shouldn't surprise conservative Republicans, who never fell for the Castros' humanitarian myth-making, or Donald Trump, who seems practical-minded. Yet after Fidel's death the president-elect tweeted: "If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal." During the campaign he told a Florida audience that unless the Castro (now Raul rather than Fidel) regime allowed political and religious freedom and released political prisoners, he would reverse Barack Obama's opening to Cuba.

Such is the political power of Cuban Americans and political significance of Florida. Even serious Republicans who know better must act as if they believe a few more years of sanctions will turned Cuba into the beau ideal of capitalist democracy. Yet another ethnic lobby has badly distorted U.S. foreign policy to reflect its peculiar priorities.

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It would be wonderful, of course, if the Donald could end Cuban communism by simply speaking the word. Alas, a system that survived for a half century and withstood military invasion, assassination plots, and economic sanctions isn't likely to collapse or surrender. It almost certainly will have to be pushed into history's trash can by its own people. But the embargo won't help them to do that.

Better to flood Cuba with Americans bearing dollars. Then the rewards from engagement would be obvious to all. That wouldn't guarantee Cuba would become free--the fearful regime actually has stepped up political repression and religious persecution over the last two years--but openness offers a better long-term alternative.

The Cuban regime has done its best to manipulate foreign investment to its advantage in the past, but the more the country is immersed in the world, the harder it would be for the regime to preserve its control over the sclerotic, impoverished, repressive system. Western contact was critical for China's transformation. That hasn't eliminated challenges from the U.S.-China relationship, but has resulted in a much freer and more prosperous country.

One of the most important benefits of eliminating the embargo would be to prevent the regime from blaming America for its problems. For this reason Cuban dissidents who I met more than a decade ago were skeptical of the embargo. Before becoming House speaker even Paul Ryan admitted: "The embargo doesn't work. It is a failed policy. It was probably justified when the Soviet Union existed and posed a threat through Cuba. I think it's become more of a crutch for Castro to use to repress his people. All the problems he has, he blames the American embargo."

In fact, Cuba's poverty reflects socialist mismanagement, not U.S. sanctions. After all, if socialism is such a wonderful economic system, the culmination of human history, why should its success require access to the American market? Moreover, Cuba is not isolated: European cash circulates widely around the island. Sanctions target Americans more than Cubans, and Cuban people more than Cuban elites.

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Thankfully Fidel was unique in the way that he was transformed from murderous windbag into international icon. Neither Raul nor any other Cuban figure possesses his charisma. And successive communist revolutions have proved to be bloody and selfish power grabs. Nevertheless, even Fidel would have gained little foreign acclaim had he not been able to present himself as the heroic defender against arrogant Yanqui Imperialists. In effect, Washington made Commandante Fidel.

Cuba is a potential vacation spot, not a security threat, for Americans. The communist regime is obsolete, an artifact of what should be ancient history. The Cuban people deserve to be free, but neither Donald Trump nor America can liberate them. The embargo certainly won't do so. Washington has tried for a half century. The experiment has failed.
Dec 10, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; United States of America president elect Donald Trump waves to the crowd from a suit during the first quarter of the 117 annual Army Navy game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

It is clear that most Republicans have decided to accept that their new president is a pathological liar. The attitude now seems to be along the lines of: "Yes, heh, he does tell amusing whoppers, doesn't he? Such a character."

Some have even decided that this characteristic is quaint enough to emulate. The new vice president, for instance, chose to endorse one of his boss's most egregious lies: which is to say, chose to lie with cheerful abandon himself. When asked whether Trump's cynical untruth -- that "millions of people... voted illegally" -- was untrue, Mike Pence had this to say: "Look, I don't know that is a false statement."

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Well, yes, Michael, you do know. You don't always have to see something to know it with certainty. You have unimpeachable knowledge, for instance -- even without looking in the mirror or feeling your head -- that you haven't in the past few minutes grown horns and a tail. In short: you're a liar.

Dishonesty is contagious. Reince Priebus, Chairman of the RNC and once considered relatively decent, also decided he'd experiment with this same monstrous fib.

Now, what if lying isn't just a quirky, adorable attribute, like stubby fingers or fake hair? What if it matters deeply, when it comes to, say, the safety and integrity of the republic? I ask you to entertain this wacky possibility, just for a moment, before shrugging it off as partisan neurosis.

I pointed out on Saturday that the president-to-be is likely to occupy that office primarily because of radical intervention on the part of Vladimir Putin and James Comey. Yesterday, Paul Krugman came to the same conclusion: "Did the combination of Russian and F.B.I. intervention swing the election? Yes. Mrs. Clinton lost three states -- Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania -- by less than a percentage point, and Florida by only slightly more. If she had won any three of those states, she would be president-elect. Is there any reasonable doubt that Putin/Comey made the difference?"

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Trump of course vehemently denies this: Russia's helpful subversion of the American electoral process on his behalf. And, by sheer coincidence, this denial proves to be simply the latest in a thematic stream of calculated lies. You see, Donald Trump has been misleading the nation regarding Putin -- and his relationship to that autocrat -- for years. Let's revisit some of those falsehoods, which seemed kind of innocuous at the time.

Trump has explained that he has "no relationship with" Putin; he has also stated, "I do have a relationship with him." One of these has to be a lie, don't you think?

Trump has insisted that he has "never met" Putin; he has also stated that he has met Putin: "Yes. One time, yes. Long time ago." Again, both of these cannot be true.

Trump has reported that "he spoke to Putin directly and indirectly." Here we don't have a lie, just an oddly cagey revision: "Trump sat down for an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, who asked if he'd ever spoken directly to Vladimir Putin. 'Yeah, I have no comment on that,' Trump replied. 'No comment.' Reminded that he rarely shies away from questions, the presidential candidate added, 'Yeah, but I don't want to comment.'"

So, two lies and a nervous evasion. What precisely is Trump trying to hide here? This tyrant whom he has both met and not met; with whom he has both a relationship and no relationship -- this same dictator has proven integral to the Orange Man seizing the White House.

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Suddenly the act of lying doesn't seem quite so quaint, does it. If you'd like to investigate this alarming business further, I highly recommend that you read these:

"Trump and Putin: A Love Story" (David Remnick, The New Yorker)

"Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Ties to Russia" (Jeff Nesbit, Time)

Last week I wrote "A Plea To Concerned Republicans: Urge The Electoral College To Save The Nation From Trump." That was even before we were presented with the CIA's statement -- delivered with "high confidence" -- that Russia swayed the election to benefit the mother of all liars. This week, my plea has become that much more urgent.

You see, Alexander Hamilton was prescient here. He told us, in The Federalist Papers: No. 68, that the Electoral College was designed to protect the office of the president from "cabal, intrigue, and corruption." Why? Because these are "deadly adversaries of republican government." These pernicious influences can take many forms -- corrupt Senators, criminal business partners, etc. -- but Hamilton was especially concerned about one manifest danger: "the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils."

What's the single most terrifying possibility? The one that Hamilton warned against with special dread? The one that he insisted the Electoral College was crucially devised to prevent? That would be the catastrophe of a foreign power "raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union."

The liar-elect -- soon to be the liar-in-chief -- has been revealed as precisely this: a creature raised by a foreign power (Russia) to the chief magistracy of the Union (the presidency).

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"Altruism is a benevolent state of mind. To be altruistic is to be concerned about the fate of all those around us and to wish them well. This should be done together with the determination to act for their benefit. Valuing others is the main state of mind that leads to altruism." Mathieu Ricard, CEO of Nature Conservancy and author of Nature's Fortune.

As I walked into the First AME Church to attend funeral services for my friend Dr. Anthony Jackson or Dr. J as he was known to his friends I was thinking about altruism. He wore a ready smile that went well with the twinkle in his eye. His heart was as big as he was, all six feet four of him, with a burning passion for justice, for the desperate and the indigent. He loved jazz but his love didn't end there. Anthony was a special man in an increasingly uncaring world. He was the real deal.

Cancer took him out at the age of 68. He left a wife Ruby and two boys of his own and her two nephews. As the mourners swayed to the sweet tones of 'Round Midnight' played by the president of the National Medical Association, I could not help consider for a moment the footprint this man left behind. Diane Feinstein our State Senator sent her condolences and other distinguished guests paid tribute to this man. He spent his life in medicine but especially helping those in need. He ran a downtown skid row clinic. He had the passion.

Back in the Kennedy era we were imbued with the idea of what we could do for our country. I had the great fortune to win a Teacher Corps Fellowship and was impassioned to work with inner city kids and bring new teaching methods to upgrade the schools in South Central Los Angeles. It was eye opening for a kid from the San Fernando Valley who had rarely fell across anyone of color. I got to know the people in the neighborhood and whatever prejudice I had was soon erased by the humanity of the community. There were as many variations in the people as colors in a rainbow.

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What Anthony stood for was justice, equality, opportunity, and care. We all want that. We lose our way when we believe that one group is superior to all other life forms. We can't afford to be greedy, our planet will not sustain itself if we are exclusive. There are no handles on this crisis and it's flying off the rails. We are careening off the highway at 110 miles an hour hurling ourselves over the cliffs of rational thinking. We've become self-centered, flatulent, and fraudulent. Fake news and saying whatever works to achieve selfish goals and to bend the minds of the fearful and the faithful seemingly goes unchecked. Even our news outlets are consistently hoodwinked. They think they are covering the news but it's just made up to create an effect. It has no truth. We are in crisis over the spirit of altruism and for those who need our help to live decent lives.

So what's the answer? The answer is to practice altruism. Altruism does not mean we stop caring about ourselves. It doesn't mean we step away from our own needs. It means that everyone counts, including us. If everyone matters, then what everyone does matters. It's the only thing that will save us from extinction. It means caring about climate, about poverty, about women, about children, about each other beyond just thinking but doing something that involves giving to something other than ourselves. We are all in the same boat, on a spinning planet that is heading straight for the sun. If we are to avoid burning up, literally, we need to start thinking about how to come together, to lend a hand, to create altruistic living standards. Everyone can make out, there is enough to go around. Some of us must give more than others because we have so much more.

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During the 1950's taxes on the wealthy were 90 percent. It was the most prosperous time in U.S. history. It turned out that rich people didn't actually need more money. Somehow, we have come to believe as a nation, that the wealthy are superior and entitled even though they are truly not.
Here is why it is happening; Assad simply does not have the manpower to control heavily populated Sunni Muslim areas, and Aleppo, while having many non-Sunni minorities in the city itself and in its environs, is basically a Sunni city, whose population was 5 to 6 million prior to the civil war. It is brutally simple, but Assad cannot control such heavily Sunni area, unless he changes its demographic composition, and ''changing demographic composition'' is a euphemism to ethnic cleansing. Aleppo will not have so many Sunnis anymore, and it is the foregone conclusion of the current events. Many fled already, many are trying to flee, many will be massacred and according to reports, random mass executions of Sunnis already started. While it is difficult to verify these reports, it is the case, that a very important actor in the unfolding drama believes them, and this is Turkey. The Turks officially condemned the alleged executions, and this is just the beginning. They will not just verbally condemn, as they already have troops in Syria, and Aleppo's environs are the homeground of hundreds of thousands of Turkomen, who will get Turkish patronage and actual umbrella of defense. The battle against the Sunni rebels and civilians in Aleppo may be over for now, but the battle against the Sunni Turkish state may be the next to come. Assad is in a trap here. He will have to have strong, large garrison staying in Aleppo and he does not have the men for the task, so more killings and continued outside Shi'ite support will be needed, and the consequence will be inevitable. The Syrian acute shortage of human power and its repercussions was just now dramatically on display in Tadmor. The ancient city was taken by ISIS, and few weeks ago was retaken by Assad following heavy and lethal Russian bombardment, but because of the need to send troops to Aleppo, Tadmor was again retaken by ISIS. There will be more changing hands situations there and in other parts of Syria, and the simple demographic fact, that 3 to 4 million Alawites cannot subjugate 12 million Sunnis [not inclusive of Sunni Kurds] will affect the situation there for long time to come. With millions of migrants from Syria who are mostly Sunnis, and large scale massacres of Sunnis in Syria, there is already now a changing demographic balance in the country. In fact, there were Sunni writers who warned exactly about that a few years ago, and they were not taken seriously. The reality of Syria therefore, by far surpasses even the wildest imagination.
This week's guest author is Michael Holzman.

What are we to do now that the national scene looks increasingly bleak for matters of racial and income equality? One thing that can be done is to focus on local issues. There is, for example, the continuing tragedy affecting young Black men in Chicago, and their families and neighborhoods.

Statistics make for rather unexciting reading, bloodless, one might say, unless they are statistics about Chicago. Chicago's statistics count hundreds of murders, but even that horror is just the tip of the iceberg. 53,000 of Chicago's male Black adults, ages 21 to 60, are "missing." What is the explanation for that?

The gender balance for Blacks, Whites and Hispanics under age 18 in the city is about equal, 50-50 boys and girls. As a matter of fact, for the White population of Chicago - of which there are about 1.2 million - the gender balance for the entire group, birth to death, is just about perfect: there are only 44 more White females than males. The story is quite different for the Black population of the city. There are many more Black females than Black males in the population of 920,000 African-American residents of Chicago. This difference begins to show up at the cohort of 21-year-olds and plateaus between the ages of 25 to 60. To put it as plainly as possible, again, 53,000 of Chicago's working age Black men are missing: dying early from disease, murdered, incarcerated.

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That is one indicator of the condition of Chicago's African-American community. There are other indicators: four out of five African-American residents of Chicago have not graduated from college, including 84 percent of Black men; more than half of all Black adult residents of Chicago are either unemployed or not in the labor force; a quarter of Black Chicagoans live in poverty, two-thirds do not own their own homes and two-thirds have incomes below the national average. According to a recent study by MacArthur "Genius" award winner Raj Chetty of Stanford University, a child born into a lower-income family in Chicago's Cook County will have lifetime earnings 13 percent below the national average, just from growing up in Chicago. This contrasts with the prospects of a child born into a lower income family in nearby DuPage County, who is likely to have lifetime earnings 15 percent higher than the national average. In other words, there is nearly a 30 percent lifetime earnings penalty for lower income children growing up in Chicago as compared to those growing up in the nearby suburbs.

Why is that?

We can start with the schools. It is reasonable to estimate that a male Black student entering the Chicago schools has little better than a 50-50 chance of graduating from high school, even within five years. One result of this, according to a recent study by the Brookings Institution, is that 23 percent of African-Americans ages 20-24 in Chicago fall into the category of "disconnected youth:" neither employed, nor graduated from high school, nor taking classes of any kind. This is an issue about race, not age. The rate of disconnected male Black youth is well over 25 percent, some 7,800 young men out of the 31,200 in the age group, or about half of those the Chicago Public Schools failed to graduate within five years of entering high school. Much of the crisis affecting the Black residents of Chicago is chronic, for which long-term treatments are called. The crisis of disconnected Black youth is acute. If something is not done immediately, hundreds more will be killed, thousands more will lose their chance for a better life.

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Which brings us back to the issue of gun violence, that is, murder. The Chicago Tribune counts 679 homicides so far this year, as compared to 492 for all of last year. The killing sites densely cover the West Side and more evenly pockmark the South Side. Most of those shot, as well as those shooting, are young Black men: four times as many victims are Black as Hispanic; 15 times as many are Black as White; more than 10 times as many are male as female; the great majority are between the ages of 20 and 34. Over the years, many of those who survive the killing streets end up incarcerated. In 2010, 7,400 Chicago Black men between the ages of 18 and 64 were in prison or jail (as were another 400 under the age of 18). Given average jail terms, this would have been a harvest of about 1,500 Black men from the streets of Chicago each year.

Chicago's dysfunctional schools could be improved if those who control them wished to do so. Redlining and racist job discrimination could be eliminated if those who have the power to do so, did so. Guns could be taken off the streets of Chicago if politicians wanted to do that. While the people of Chicago wait for politicians to decide to improve the schools, end housing discrimination and remove guns from the streets, there are nearly 8,000 young Black men in Chicago who are undereducated and unemployed, ready, if given the chance, to make a positive contribution to their communities. Connecting these "disconnected youth" to work and education would benefit them and would benefit their communities. How might that connection to be made?

There is no need to consult Silicon Valley or Wall Street gurus for at least one useful answer. The Civilian Conservation Corps and related agencies put the "disconnected" of the Great Depression to work, providing millions with skills and incomes while building the country. Revived in the 1970s in such organizations as the California Conservation Corps (CCC) and similar groups in cities such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York, the model was extended to include educational activities. "Corpsmembers," as they are called in California, earn a basic wage while learning the skills necessary to build their communities and obtaining the academic skills and knowledge that they did not find in school. The CCC requires corpsmembers to attend school and work toward completing their high school diploma. Each corpsmember works a paid 40-hour week and attends school in the afternoons for at least 10 hours a week. Another model, that of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, requires every corpsmember who does not have a high school diploma to work on projects in the field for three months (30 hours paid per week) and then move to the classroom for three months (with a $100/week stipend). This rotation is repeated until the corpsmember receives a high school diploma while gaining valuable work experiences. If a person already has their diploma (in both programs), vocational education or community college attendance is required and matched with the various trade skills that the corpsmember is working on.

These initiatives have worked well for thousands of young adults and their communities. It may be time to revive this idea in Chicago.

A Chicago Reconstruction Corps (CRC) would offer disconnected youth and others the opportunity to serve their neighborhoods, rather than afflict them; to join with their peers in positive activities, rather than murdering them; to learn the skills and knowledge that the schools failed to provide, laying the foundations for fulfilling and productive lives and providing them with work experience which can be parlayed into a job or prepare them for college or a training program. The projects undertaken by the CRC could be identified in cooperation with local community-based organizations, suiting the needs and priorities of Chicago's neighborhoods block by block. It would be best practice if the actual planning for each project were done by the relevant CRC unit as a group so that each corpsmember would learn how to estimate needed materials, budgets and the like. Funding could come from governmental sources, as with the California Conservation Corps, from foundations and individual donors, as with the various urban groups. The "return on investment," much talked about these days, would be seen in more and better housing, cleaner streets, more and better parks and the improved life prospects of the participating young people themselves: no longer disconnected.

This is an idea for incremental improvement. It will not improve the schools against the wishes of unwilling politicians. It will not change the racist policies of banks and employers. It will not, in itself, remove guns from the streets. It does, however, have the virtue of practicality, of a virtual "turn-key" implementation of actions that will quite possibly alleviate the acute problem of disconnected youth in Chicago. There are probably other ideas equally if not more helpful, including ideas about how to improve this concept itself. In the meantime, remembering that all too often the best is the enemy of better, it is something that can be done even while the residents of Chicago's Black neighborhoods work toward more fundamental change.

Michael Holzman is a writer and historian. His most recent books are The Chains of Black America: The Hammer of the Police; The Anvil of the Schools and Pax 1934 - 1941 (a novel), forthcoming. He can be reached at: michaelholzman42@gmail.com

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Driven by our healing mission, the health profession has a duty to protect the health of patients, families, and communities. Every day, we witness firsthand the health consequences of our continued reliance on fossil fuels.

The incoming Trump Administration's energy ambitions - increased oil drilling, burning more coal, scrapping the nation's climate action plan, and pulling out of the Paris Climate Treaty - will endanger the health of Americans, suppress the growth of clean energy jobs, and reject the global consensus to immediately address climate change. This is unacceptable.

Momentum to shift to a clean energy economy has been growing for the last decade. In 2015 the number of jobs in solar energy surpassed those in fossil fuels. In many places around the country, solar and wind energy is cheaper than coal. Most importantly, clean renewable energy is not harmful to people's health, while coal production and combustion can cause asthma, respiratory and heart diseases, and brain damage in developing children.

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When we operate our health care facilities with solar and wind energy, we support healthy communities, shore up our infrastructure to withstand extreme weather events and save money in the process. When we buy healthier, locally and sustainably produced food for our hospitals, we support a healthier food system and teach our patients that nutrition is an essential part of care. Reducing our facilities' energy and waste and detoxing our supply chains are not just good for business, but also good for public health. These smart business decisions reduce health care's carbon footprint and lead to lower costs for patients and health care providers.

Donald Trump rose to the presidency by claiming to be both a smart businessman and the voice of forgotten Americans. But Trump's energy plans make no business sense, and are vastly out of touch with what's happening in people's lives. Dangerous, extreme weather is causing economic devastation, health and social strain in our communities. We're experiencing profound heat waves and floods that are deadly. Droughts are killing crops and livestock and increasing food prices. Scientists are now tracking the dangerous spread of Dengue fever and Malaria and West Nile disease in America. All of these impacts can be traced back to climate change.

In 2015, Health Care Without Harm launched the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge to build momentum and support for the Paris Climate Agreement, and clean up the climate impact of the health care sector in the process. Today, health care institutions representing more than 9,000 hospitals in 23 countries have signed onto the commitment to reduce their system's climate footprint. The health care sector in the United States and throughout the world is increasingly understanding that in this age of climate change, we have a healing mission that goes beyond treating individual patients to healing communities and the planet.

This momentum for making the transition to low-carbon health care will continue regardless of whatever damaging policies the new Administration enacts.

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A petition asking the Electoral College not to vote on the next president until a full investigation is done of Russian interference in the 2016 US election can be signed here.

Why?

Because according to the New York Times and the Washington Post and other mainstream media sources, the Central Intelligence Agency has confirmed substantial evidence that the government of Russia may have hacked this election.

But at least one top-ranked Republican leader -- US Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) -- agrees.

The Agency says it has "high confidence" the Russians meant to help make Donald Trump president.

Trump is now attacking the agency, the hacking, he told Time Magazine, "could be Russia, it could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey."

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As the CIA has reported it, such foreign meddling in an American election is unprecedented -- and illegal. If Trump or any of his staff or associates conspired with the Russians to thus win the U.S. presidency, it would clearly be an impeachable offense. The legal ramifications would ignite a Constitutional crisis even before Trump could take office.

Meanwhile, preliminary citizen-funded attempts to require recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are under continual attack from well-funded Trump interventions. The recounts have been spearheaded by Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

Trump claims 3 million people illegally voted in 2016. But he's relentlessly sabotaged recounts in three states that could decide the Electoral vote.

In those and many other states, massive disenfranchisement, inconsistencies, irregularities, targeted machine breakdowns and more have already been uncovered.

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It's been suggested that more than enough 2016 votes were cast on hackable black-box electronic voting machines to flip the outcome of the Electoral College vote. Perhaps those machines could have been hacked by computer experts from Russia. Until that possibility is also fully investigated, no Electoral College vote should proceed.

The Clinton campaign and Democratic party have sent legal observers but no tangible support for these recounts. These new revelations about Russian intervention make them more critical than ever. A petition asking Clinton's tangible support for the recounts can be signed at www.solartopia.org.

The CIA's evidence indicates Russia hacked internal Democratic National Committee Party emails indicating party leaders conspired to deny the nomination to US Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT). The revelations led to the resignation of DNC Chair Deborah Wasserman (no relation) Schultz.



Trump has repeatedly urged the Russians to hack and release Clinton's own emails. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing" from Clinton's email servers, he has said. But he's denied conspiring with the Russians. Clinton was also slammed by FBI Director James Comey's announcement that the Bureau was investigating an aide's emails.

As the Times reported, an October report issued by Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, Jr., and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson says the DNC hack "had to have been approved at the highest levels of the Russian government."

But the Times says that "until now, intelligence findings have been scattered in fragmentary reports". On Friday, December 9, White House aide Lisa Monaco said, "we may have crossed into a new threshold here."

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President Obama wants the investigation done before he's slated to leave office on January 20. The Electoral College is currently scheduled to vote on December 19.

But the Electors should not certify anyone implicated in an impeachable offense. Nor should it entrust him, once president, to act on or make public a report that might indict him of one.

President Obama should require the CIA to complete and release this report before December 19. The Electoral College should not vote until it can be fully examined.

Nor should the Electoral College certify an outcome prior to a full recount of an election in which more than enough votes were cast on hackable electronic machines to flip the outcome, and where the presumptive winner still claims more than three million were fraudulent.

Harvey Wasserman co-wrote (with Bob Fitrakis) THE STRIP & FLIP SELECTION OF 2016: FIVE JIM CROWS & ELECTRONIC ELECTION THEFT, at freepress.org and solartopia.org, where his SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH also appears. He is Secretary of Energy in Jill Stein's Green Party shadow cabinet.
Securing the Safety of the Business Traveler using Cross Board Preparedness Planning

Growth-minded companies should be mindful of preparing their employees to succeed, be safe and be engaged in an increasingly global environment.

Going global is already a mindset many companies have. And as growth-minded companies are expanding their international businesses, securing the safety of their business travelers and overseas workers should be on the priority in this day and age of global unrest.

The Cross border preparedness planning is a must for the future corporate leaders to effectively manage operations on an international level.

In the global arena, cultural adaptation plays a vital role. The ability to understand the cultural diversity is a must to accomplish successful business deals and overseas assignments especially when it involves global leadership transition.

"We are clearly a global economy," says Daniel Orchant, partner at KPMG's International Executive Services Practice. "Companies have to look at things from a global perspective rather than from a unique set of country-specific facts and circumstances [that apply worldwide]."

Companies operating in the business world today are facing with numerous challenges in sending employees abroad to work in remote facilities, opening new plants, or interfacing with international clientele. As you venture into managing global businesses, remember that Americans and the American way of doing things -- and these methods may not always be well received in a diverse global marketplace Therefore, companies should be prepared to provide their traveling and overseas workforce with assistance in legal matters, spousal and family support, social and educational support, destination support and insurance /tax issues as part of the global mobility package and process.

The questions business should be concern with are:

What measures are businesses taking toward securing the safety of their workforce

How will businesses mitigate the risks for their global expansion?

Are businesses sensitive to the legal and other systems to understand cultural and business norms?

Do businesses understand the government rules and structure, and the legal aspects of doing business in a foreign country?

Are businesses aware that their business traveler may fall into an accidental expat category.
One weakness of the standard mortgage in the US, discussed last week, is the extreme rigidity of the payment obligation, which makes it very difficult to manage the repayment process efficiently. In last week's article, I suggested that this problem could be fixed best by defining the borrower's contractual obligation in terms of a maximum loan balance that would decline month by month, rather than a minimum payment. The second weakness, discussed below, is that the borrower must assume a risk that her equity in the property will decline due to circumstances beyond her control. This happened to most homeowners during 2006-2011.

The purchase of a house is an investment, and for most purchasers it is a highly leveraged investment. While a consumer who purchases securities can borrow only 50% of the value of the securities, when she buys a house she can borrow 80-97% of its value. High leverage means high risk. If you borrow 97% of the value of a house, it takes only a 3% decline in the value of the house to wipe out your equity.

Most of the time, highly-leveraged house purchases have worked out well for the purchasers, but during my lifetime there have been two episodes in which price declines wiped out enormous amounts of homeowner equity. These were 1929-35 and 2006-11. In both periods, the increases in mortgage defaults and foreclosures played a major role in depressing economic activity.

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In their recent book House of Debt, Atif Mian and Amir Sufi show that reduced consumption by consumers who had lost equity in their homes was a major factor in prolonging the recent recession. To prevent that happening again, they propose that the existing standard mortgage be replaced by what they call the " shared responsibility mortgage", or SRM. The key feature of the SRM is that the mortgage loan balance is reduced when a home price index declines.

For example, if a home is purchased for $400,000 with a $360,000 loan and the price index declines 5%, the loan balance would be written down to $342,000, preserving most of the owner's equity. The larger the loan, the larger the write-down. From the homeowner's perspective, this would be a really nice feature. It fits very neatly into a loan contract where the borrower's contractual obligation is defined in terms of a maximum loan balance rather than a minimum payment, The key issue is the offsetting benefit to investors that would make the instrument acceptable to them.

The procedure of changing the loan balance in response to a change in a house price index can't be symmetrical, because house prices rise much more often and for longer periods than they decline. A mortgage subject to future increases in the balance would be unworkable, with many borrowers unable to get out of debt. Mian and Sufi suggest that the quid pro quo to investors could be a share of the appreciation on the house, but that would mean that most borrowers would pay a price for which, in their eyes, they received no benefit because prices did not decline. Shared appreciation is also messy to administer, raising all sorts of issues such as when the payment is due.

A simpler approach would retain balance reductions in response to all price index reductions, but price index increases would result in loan balance increases only for borrowers whose balances had previously declined in response to past house price declines. Further, the balance increases should be limited to prior balance decreases. Hence, in a normal state of the world when house prices are rising, balances would not be affected. When there is a recession-induced period of house price declines, balances would be written down, and when prices started up again, loan balances would be raised. but the increases would be limited to the previous declines.

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The drawback to the investor is that price declines would be larger than the subsequent price increases because some borrowers would avoid the balance increases by refinancing, and some might even pay off their loan. On the other hand, the balance reductions would reduce the volume of recession-induced defaults, and lenders would be free to price the new approach based on their appraisals of the risk involved.
Fountain House Gallery's recent Mad About Art was an event for the record books. This annual art auction and benefit is a perennially glittering celebration that raises funds to support the extraordinary work of Fountain House Gallery, the premier venue in New York City representing artists living with mental illness. This year's event, held at the venue Metropolitan West, was an unqualified triumph - artistically and financially.



Gallery Director Ariel Willmott, Honorees Lawrence Benenson

and Phong Bui, as well as Frank Maresca of Ricco/Maresca Gallery.

Photo: Leslie Barbaro Photography/Fountain House.

The theme of the evening was "Starry Night," a tip of the hat to the iconic Vincent van Gogh masterpiece The Starry Night, which is a fixture of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Among the varied works made for the art auction were a number of interpretations of the Van Gogh original, as seen through the eyes of the artists of Fountain House Gallery.

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All Gallery artists are members of Fountain House, the leading community-based center for mental health recovery and the model for more than 300 programs throughout the United States and around the world.



Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" inspired the event theme.

Image public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

One noteworthy Fountain House member (and prolific Gallery artist) is Jonathan Glass, who took to the podium to address the assembled guests. He spoke movingly of the transformative influence of Fountain House and the Gallery on his way of living, particularly in "providing the structure that has made me a better artist." Jon wove into his personal account elements of Van Gogh's life and art, referencing not only the visionary Post-Impressionist's genius but also his struggle with mental illness.

Jon's artwork is striking. His specialty is pen-and-ink drawings of musicians (primarily jazz players) in live performance. He frequently exhibits at music venues around town and was profiled last year in The New York Times. Images of Jon's work were recently incorporated into fashion designs by the Alexandra Reboul Collection, including a limited edition "Gypsy Jazz" scarf created expressly for the Mad About Art event.



The scene at Metropolitan West. More than

400 attendees turned out to support Fountain House Gallery.

Photo: Leslie Barbaro Photography/Fountain House.

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Ariel Willmott, Director of Fountain House Gallery, shared some splendid news with the gathering: The artists' long-held dream of having a studio in which to create and collaborate has become a reality. The ink is dry on the lease for a commodious Long Island City space, soon to be abuzz with artistic activity.



Among the Event Chairs were Francis Greenburger and Carmel Fromson, here with Fountain House President Kenn Dudek and Rebecca Hoffberger, Founding Director of the American Visionary Art Museum and member of Fountain House Gallery's Art Advisory Council. Photo: Leslie Barbaro Photography/Fountain House.

As the electronic auction bidding hummed along, I was delighted to renew acquaintance with Francis Greenburger, sporting one of his signature bow ties. I first met Francis when he was honored with the Esther Montanez Leadership Award at last year's Mad About Art; this year he served as a Chair of the event. Francis - real estate investor, entrepreneur, literary agent, and art enthusiast - is a man on a mission: Via the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, he is leading an effort to reform the criminal justice system, with an emphasis on fostering more enlightened treatment of people in the system who have mental illness.

Francis believes that "creativity is a core value that transcends cultural and cognitive challenges and unites humanity in a common impulse of expression." It's no wonder that he's a booster of Fountain House Gallery, and of Fountain House's groundbreaking programs in areas such as employment, education, and wellness.



Gallery artist Jonathan Glass with his "jazz drawings."

Jon shared his personal story with the assembled guests.

Photo: Leslie Barbaro Photography/Fountain House.

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This year's recipients of the Esther Montanez Leadership Award were Lawrence Benenson and Phong Bui. The Award, established in memory of Fountain House Gallery's founding director, honors individuals for outstanding support of the Gallery and its artists - and these two honorees have delivered mightily on that score. Their most recent service: Lawrence and Phong, gentlemen of art and goodwill, curated the Mad About Art auction exhibition. The Award was presented by Frank Maresca of the prestigious Ricco/Maresca Gallery. Frank is a past Fountain House Gallery honoree and an invaluable member of its Art Advisory Board.



Sold!

Photo: Leslie Barbaro Photography/Fountain House.

Honoree Lawrence Benenson has a charmingly witty presence and regaled the audience with quips and aphorisms. With great sincerity, he lauded Fountain House as "a shining example of grassroots community building." I was fortunate to view Lawrence's prodigious personal art collection last fall, and the impact of the myriad works was profoundly amplified by his informed and droll commentary. Lawrence, a Partner of Benenson Capital Partners, serves on the Boards of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the American Folk Art Museum, and contributes to the community through participation in a host of other organizations. His motto: "People who have more should help people who have less." Amen.



Exhibition Catalogue. Cover art: Gallery artist Alyson Vega's

"New York Starry Night," inspired by the Van Gogh original.

Photo: Leslie Barbaro Photography/Fountain House.

Honoree Phong Bui spoke of his journey to a greater understanding of the intersection between art and mental health, and of the importance of taking action on this realization. "Action" could be the middle name of the irrepressible Phong, an artist, writer, and independent curator who serves on the Fountain House Gallery Art Advisory Council. He is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the cutting-edge monthly The Brooklyn Rail, which offers critical perspectives on the arts, politics, and culture. Phong elicited hearty laughter from the crowd as he closed his remarks with a memorable one-liner: "An artist who has not had a nervous breakdown cannot be trusted!"



The author with Honorees Phong Bui and Lawrence Benenson.

Photo: Leslie Barbaro Photography/Fountain House.

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This year's magical Mad About Art is now in the rearview mirror, but there's no need to wait until next year's event to get a fix of Fountain House Gallery art. The Gallery hosts six exhibitions per year at 702 Ninth Avenue, its home base since 2000. There's still time to head over to a Gallery show that has become an annual favorite with collectors and holiday shoppers: "Small Works: $100 & Under," on view through December 22. Go. See. Enjoy.

With Camille Tibaldeo.
This piece was written by Dr. Kate Yanina DeConinck, who teaches at the University of San Diego.

Like many Americans, I woke up on November 9th not knowing how to process the events that had transpired the previous night. Wednesday mornings are usually a time for me to prep my lessons for the rest of the week, make sure that I haven't left messages sitting in my inbox for too long, or catch up on grading. But that day I sat at my kitchen table for nearly two hours letting my tea grow cold as I read post after post of reactions to the election on Facebook.

Most striking were the conversations that developed among my old friends and peers from my childhood hometown in New Hampshire. "Conversations" in which it was obvious that neither person had heard anything that the other had had to say. One young, conservative, Christian woman I grew up with wrote that the results represented divine intervention, that God was rewarding conservatives after eight long years of difficult times under President Obama. Her post set off a series of responses--some encouraging, some critical--including comments from a young liberal man from our hometown, who responded that it was hard to take her remarks about freedom of faith seriously given that her candidate wanted to ban millions of people on the basis of their religion. They and others bantered back and forth for hours, only to conclude with the sentiment that they would have to "agree to disagree."

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I watched dozens of exchanges like this one play out and the trend of talking past one another only continued in the days thereafter. Yet, frustrating as it was to observe these dynamics, they also partly inspired the lesson plan that I would use in my class at the University of San Diego that Wednesday evening.

This semester, I am teaching a special topics course on "Religion in America." Every week, 28 undergraduate students join me in analyzing the complicated status that religion has held in the United States across time and in the contemporary world. Our approach to the subject material is both historical and "lived," and we utilize a team-based learning model in our weekly sessions.

Before class last Wednesday, I emailed my class to let them know that we were going to discuss the presidential election in class that evening. I wrote:

"While we each hold our own opinions about what the results mean for our nation, I'm going to ask us to return to the academic question of "what is at stake" that we have been pursuing all semester. We will set aside time tonight to discuss why the election of Donald Trump is such a sign of hope for those who voted for him and also why persons who voted for other candidates may be feeling distraught about the future. In a way, this conversation will be a true test of what I've been teaching you all semester--how to step outside your own perspective for a moment to consider both sides of an issue."

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To their credit, not a single student was absent from my class that night and I could not have been prouder of the generative discussion that ensued. My students were so thorough in analyzing the many issues at stake in this election from different perspectives that, by the end of the conversation, I had no idea which of them had actually voted for whom. In the days that followed, as I continued to hear horror stories from other teachers and professors about things that were coming up in their classrooms or on their campuses, I sent out a short follow-up survey to my class to find out more about how they thought our discussion had gone.

Here are some of their responses:

From a young man who voted for Gary Johnson: "The organization of our discussion helped make me feel safe in sharing my opinions without judgment. Because we didn't have to share our vote, we were able to discuss the things we have heard about both candidates and their supporters from an objective mindset."

From a young woman who voted for Trump: "Our discussion in class was the only conversation about the election that I had on campus in which I felt comfortable. I had discussed the election in most of my classes and it usually entailed yelling and name calling which made me feel very unsafe. It makes me sad that our community fosters this kind of hostility and animosity because I believe that Universities are a place of learning and in order to learn you must look at something from many different viewpoints and backgrounds. This is why our discussion in 'Religion in America' was so successful--because throughout the semester we have learned how to look at events thought different viewpoints, remaining unbiased and understanding of others. This is the only class in which I have learned this skill and I think that if other classes focused on this kind of behavior the attitude of animosity on campus would disappear."

From a young woman who voted for Clinton: "Had our class not focused so much at looking at things from all perspectives, I absolutely would not have been able to have a conversation about the election that was that civil. I could not completely dismiss my own biases, but our conversation helped me truly understand why so many people did not want Clinton as president. It is still very difficult for me to not judge those who voted for Trump, but it is definitely easier for me to see why people didn't like Clinton."

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From another young woman who supported Clinton: "My opinion of the future president has not changed but I no longer see his supporters as unintelligent, racist, and evil humans. This discussion has reminded me that people have their own reasons for doing something and I cannot control the actions of others, but I can respect the process and continue to pray for the future administration."

Reading the comments that my students offered, I realized that the success of our discussion had not hinged on the specific lesson plan that I had come up with for that one particular day in class. Rather, it was the product of a semester's worth of fostering a classroom environment in which every student felt respected and heard. It was the product of ten weeks imagining what the world looks like for people with different life experiences. It was the product of trust and a willingness to listen.

As I look at the violence, argumentation, and hatred that have characterized American public life in the days since the election, my students give me hope. If these twenty-eight students whose political views ran the full spectrum were able to come together to listen--really listen--to one another, then perhaps our nation can find ways of healing the deep wounds that have resulted from years of talking past one another.
In the movie "A View to a Kill," the Russians award James Bond the Order of Lenin, for saving Silicon Valley, with the line "Where would Russian Technology be without America?" One wonders where Russia's geopolitical ambitions be without the election of Donald Trump.

In selecting ExxonMobil CEO for Secretary of State, Trump chose a man who has very close ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. In fact, they are so close that Russia awarded Rex Tillerson the Order of Friendship in 2013.

Tillerson spoke out against sanctions against Russia, imposed in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea (an invasion Trump approves of) and the dispatch of Russian troops to aid antigovernment rebels in Ukraine. But now we know that ExxonMobil was poised to make a billion dollar deal with Russia, halted because of those sanctions, according to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

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Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke glowingly of Tillerson's nomination. Then we learned that she's an ExxonMobil consultant, so the support is understandable. Also, Rice was Secretary of State when stood by as Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia in 2008, seizing large chunks of territory, leaving the country in a precarious position.

We can fully expect those sanctions to be lifted in 2017, so Tillerson's deals can go through. As Russia is able to rebuild their economy, look for them to engage in a full-scale invasion of the Ukraine, under the guise of "supporting rebels" (the same ones that shot down a Malaysian passenger jet) while America looks on as unconcerned as it did back in 2008. Expect the same corrupt leader (Viktor Yanukovych) who looted the country (with ties to Trump's former Campaign Chair Paul Manafort) or an ally of his to be installed as Putin's puppet.

We can also count on American troops to be withdrawn from the Baltics by 2019, and possibly from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Expect Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to lose their freedom shortly thereafter, as they did to Stalin before WWII. We can expect the same fate for Moldova, and possibly Central Asian Republics in a hypothetical second term for Trump.

And that's not all. Russia's full-fledged support of Israel's enemies, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will make life harder for our Jewish ally. Fearful of a Russian comeback, East European countries will likely kowtow to Putin as America disengages from the NATO Alliance. Look for Canada and West Europe to adopt a policy of neutrality, praying for an American leader to restart the alliance of democracies.

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It's a dream scenario for the ex-KGB spymaster Vladimir Putin. Sure the Soviets could be stymied by a strong America and its loyal allies. They lost the Cold War. But Putin figured out how to get an ally into the White House, supported whole-heartedly by the people who ironically consider themselves the most patriotic and most anti-communist in America.

It's too bad Mitt Romney wasn't chosen. Back in the 2012 debates, he labeled Russia as America's number one enemy. Because of this, it is likely that Romney was considered unacceptable to "our new friend" Putin, which could explain why he wasn't allowed to lead the State Department. The rest isn't history. It's the future.
REDFISH GRILL

115 Bourbon Street

504-598-1200

www.redfishgrill.com

It is high praise to say of a restaurant, "I've never had a bad meal there," which can apply to the grandest of haute cuisine restaurants as much as to storefront eateries. Redfish Grill is that kind of a casual place where every dish belongs on this menu of traditional and modern Creole cookery.

Ralph Brennan is one of several family members of the Brennan clan who separately run restaurants in and out of New Orleans, including Brennan's on Royal Street, profiled last week. This is a far more homey place with a canny road-house look of peeling brick walls, folkloric murals, and a funky fake palm tree in the middle of the dining room.



Best way to go is with Chef Austin Kirzner's seafood sampler: barbecued crab claws; alligator boudin balls with peach pepper jelly; and Creole fresh Gulf shrimp with red pepper and onions ($29.95). There are plenty of oyster offerings, of course, and the Redfish bisque ($7) and alligator sausage and seafood gumbo ($8.50) are as good as any in the city. The crabcakes are made with true sweet lump crabmeat ($28), and shrimp and grits are lavished with parmesan cheese, roasted tomatoes, fried okra and a jalapeno buttermilk ranch dressing ($25).

Otherwise, stay simple with any of a dozen local fish ($21-$34) cooked over a wood-fired grill, with a selection of six sauces. Then finish off with double chocolate bread pudding ($9.50) or a bourbon-laced pecan pie ($8.50); there's also a bananas foster ice cream cake with rum ice cream flamed tableside ($9).

I could eat here three times a week and take a couple of months to go through the menu, and it would always be with enormous pleasure.

Open for lunch & dinner daily.

HERBSAINT

701 St. Charles Street

504-524-4114

I put Donald Link in with chefs like Mike Lata of Fig in Charleston, Steven Satterfield of Miller Union in Atlanta and Frank Stitt III of Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham who have truly changed the way Southern food is regarded in their cities. When Link opened Herbsaint more than a decade ago, he not only went beyond the entrenched cliches of Creole cuisine, but he lightened things up and brought in global influences, not least French and Italian notes.

The restaurant itself has always been one of the cheeriest and brightest, with yellow and white colors throughout, big windows on the corner, a nice small bar and a small peek into the kitchen. Alas, like Link's other restaurants, Cochon and Peche, Herbsaint can get very very loud, piped in music included, so go early or late (New Orleans restaurants start to empty by 9 p.m.), and you'll probably get a window seat.



Then tuck into Executive Chef Rebecca Wilcomb's sumptuous dishes like an excellent duck and andouille gumbo ($8) and some of the small plates, like marvelously lusty beef short rib with roesti potatoes and horseradish cream ($15), or baked asiago cheese with a sprinkling of oregano and a touch of lemon ($11) to slather on warm country bread. Gnocchi with tomato, pancetta and purple hull peas ($14) is a bit overwrought; the spaghetti with guanciale ham and a fried-poached egg ($14) is a better choice as pasta.



For entrees there's always a fish of the day, simply prepared, and I most recently favored jumbo shrimp callaloo with tomato-chili vinaigrette and crispy rice ($29), and the very rich, slowly roasted kurobuta pork belly with bacon-braised field peas and pickled chilies ($28). It was also good to see fideo, a Spanish thin pasta dish cooked in broth with a tomato confit ($9), as a side dish.

For dessert you won't go wrong with any ($8-$9): coconut custard pie with buttermilk Chantilly and orange caramel, a brown butter banana tart, and especially a malted milk chocolate mousse with malted creme anglaise. Consider one of the many dessert wines suggested on the menu with these sweets.

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Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner nightly.

CAFE ADELAIDE

Loew's New Orleans Hotel

300 Poydras Street

504-595-3305

www.cafeadelaide.com
A few months ago, I wrote about Syria that "as bad as the situation is today from a humanitarian perspective, it could get even worse." Now we have seen that terrible prediction come to pass, as pro-government forces bombard and wantonly execute civilians in Aleppo.

Indeed, today, Nedzad Avdic, a survivor of the Srebrenica genocide, wrote in The Guardian that "Every time we thought it couldn't get worse, it did."

Civilians facing execution in Aleppo are pleading, 'Oh, God, help us.'

As the terror unfolds in Eastern Aleppo, we see the soul-crushing images of ordinary civilians, including countless children, running from place to place in the cold rain trying to find shelter from the constant bombing. One person was seen carrying his baby as the IV drip was still attached to his baby. Other reports indicated that more than a hundred children were trapped under the rubble of one building, but no one could reach them. In another area in Syria, the media reported on another chemical attack that resulted in the death of more than 80 civilians, including women and children.

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These images haunt all of us.

However, the Jewish community has a special responsibility to speak out, having learned the price of the world's silence. The phrase "Never Again," means not only a commitment to fight anti-Semitism, but ensuring that no group or people ever be subjected to such brutality.

Alas, the international community has not done well in preventing genocide and mass murder.

Cambodia. Sarajevo. Rwanda. The Congo. Darfur. These names rightfully invoke outrage and shame because we stood idly by as innocents were slaughtered en masse.

Now we have Syria.

With all the legitimate questions about the complexity of the conflict, uncertainty of the potential outcome of military action this crisis has deteriorated over a five-year period to reach this devastating nadir.

We grieve at the images of the historic city of Aleppo crumbling under the constant barbaric siege by Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies. We have seen that for every moment it seems that from a humanitarian perspective it could not get any worse, it has.

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Today we ask, how much longer can we stand by and allow the Assad regime, and his Russian and Iranian allies to murder and maim with impunity?

When the genocide in Rwanda took place 20 years ago, then too America did not act. President Bill Clinton described that decision in retrospect as the biggest mistake of his presidency.

Perhaps in time we will hear similar reflections from our current leadership.

But it is still not too late to act.

There is an urgent need to ensure aid access to Syrian civilians who are lack basic necessities of food, water, and medical supplies. The United States and our allies must insist and ensure that there is some measure of safe haven to those subject to the crushing attacks leveled by Assad and his ally Russia.

There is no safe place for civilians to flee.

We are hopeful that a ceasefire and evacuation agreement will enable safe egress for civilians. But the United States must be ready to raise the costs to Assad and his allies of their current approach which disregards basic humanitarian norms. Because the fall of Aleppo does not mean the end of the civil war, but only the continuation of suffering to the people of Syria.

The Assad regime will continue its ruthless campaign of destroying schools, clinics and markets to bring local communities to their knees, as it proved to work quite effectively for him--as he has met little international repercussion for these crimes.

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It is crucial that the next administration begin to think now how the U.S. can take a leading role in helping those under threat from Assad and his allies. It is time the United States matches rhetoric with actions. It is time to do more to ease the suffering of Syrians.

The test of the future U.S. administration of president-elect Donald Trump will be whether he is willing to stand up to the aggression of the Russian Federation and to the nefarious behavior of Iran throughout the region. An unhindered Russia and a triumphant Iran will surely spread further violence not only in Syria, but across the region and around the world.

The complexity of the conflict cannot be an excuse for continued inaction in the facing of increasing atrocity. We have seen the cost of this approach.
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2016/12/12: Hundreds of activists, mostly women, gathered in front of Trump International in Columbus Circle for a 'Not My President!' rally and march against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. After speeches from protesters that included playwright & activist Eve Ensler, activists marched across 59th Street to Trump Tower on 5th Avenue. (Photo by Andy Katz/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

On Monday, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump selected Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of state. As I've previously explained, Tillerson presided over an appalling reputation management strategy at the helm of Exxon. And if confirmed as the nation's chief diplomat, he will face a problem he won't be able to singlehandedly solve: The election of Donald Trump has damaged America's reputation around the globe.

The French newspaper Liberation has called Trump the "American nightmare." The German newspaper Der Spiegel characterized Trump's win as an abdication of America's leadership of the West. Mexico's La Jornada predicted that Trump will reverse 50 years of social progress. Canada's National Post described Trump's win as confirming that "America is a bedlam of partisan hysterics" and proposed that Canada therefore distance itself from the U.S.

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Citizens around the globe agree. Just one percent of Greeks, four percent of Germans, and five percent of Swedes have confidence that, when it comes to world affairs, Trump will do the right thing.

Writing in Foreign Policy, the renowned Harvard Professor of International Affairs Stephen M. Walt warns that the damage Trump has done to America's reputation abroad "could be insurmountable." He's wrong. Despite whatever actions Trump may take, individual Americans can improve our country's standing in the world on our own.

According to Simon Anholt, one of the world's leading experts on country reputations, a government's policies are just one of six elements that influence a nation's reputation. America's brands, business climate, cultural products, the behavior of ordinary U.S. citizens, and the experiences of tourists also affect how our country is viewed abroad.

This means that citizens and groups besides Trump will have major influence over how the U.S. is perceived around the world over the next four years - and can counteract some of the damage done by the president.

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One of the best ways for individuals and groups outside of the government to help restore America's reputation abroad is by organizing exchanges between U.S. citizens and their international counterparts. This is because, as former NATO information officer James Thomas Snyder notes, research shows that people who get to know individual Americans - or even have family and friends who know Americans - are more likely to like both Americans and America.

U.S. universities can send their students and professors abroad and invite foreign students and researchers to visit their campuses. Museums can organize interactions between artists and international exhibitions. Media organizations can initiate exchanges among journalists. Civil society groups can arrange contacts between activists.

Of course, these types of exchanges come with some risk. For example, University of Leiden professor Giles Scott-Smith notes that when the Egyptian civil servant Seyyed Qutb came to the U.S. to study our educational system, he found Americans to be immoral and grossly materialistic, and returned home to become a key voice in the Anti-American fundamentalist movement. However, such cases are rare.

Since people's impressions of America are profoundly influenced by their encounters with ordinary Americans, our country's reputation will also be improved if individual citizens treat locals with respect when they travel abroad and are friendly to the foreign tourists they encounter at home. "Americans take 60 million trips outside the U.S. a year," says Keith Reinhard, President of Business for Diplomatic Action. "Sixty million trips is 60 million chances to make an impression. And they can be good, or they can be bad."

The organization has published a guide with 25 tips for how Americans can represent our country well when traveling abroad. The first suggestion? Be humble. "In many countries, boasting is considered very rude," the guide explains. "When Americans meet each other for the first time, our job (and implied status) is a key part of 'who' we are, and how we introduce ourselves. This is less important elsewhere, and can be perceived as braggadocio."

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Thanks to the Internet, international exchanges can also happen remotely - and on a shoestring. For example, after studying International Relations at New York University, Kayvon Afshari created The Mideast Show, a comedy program similar to The Daily Show which uses humor in an effort to promote understanding and bonds between people in the West and the Middle East.

The business community also has a huge role to play. Reinhard argues that American businesses should stop pretending to be global. "The goal should be dual citizenship - a company proud to be American and proud of its informed and respectful worldview," he says. "An American company that hides its national identity denies itself the opportunity to represent the best of American values to the world."

Reinhard says companies should also practice corporate social responsibility, provide cultural sensitivity training to their employees who interact with partners abroad, and educate employees on how America's standing in the world impacts their long-term business prospects.

Hollywood and Madison Avenue also play a leading role in our national reputation. (I once told a taxi driver in New Delhi that I was from New York. He informed me that he had been there many times, and then started naming all the movies he had seen that had taken him to Manhattan). So, for example, while Donald Trump has proposed banning Muslims from the country, Hollywood can tell the real-life stories of Americans who are offering their homes to Syrian refugees. While Mike Pence has argued that women don't have a place in the U.S. military, our cultural industries can highlight the powerful women - from Marissa Mayer to Nancy Pelosi - who are reshaping American business, politics, and society.

In fact, there is a growing recognition among public diplomacy scholars that exchanges initiated by ordinary people might be more effective at improving a country's reputation than official government initiatives. For example, one study of college students in five Arab nations found that the more they listened to Radio Sawa and Television Alhurra - U.S. government-run stations which broadcast the news from an American perspective - the less favorable their views towards the U.S. became.

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The author of the study speculated that the reason for this was "the very knowledge of being manipulated, of knowing you are being manipulated, can really backfire."

As a result, over the past several decades, America's public diplomacy initiatives have moved from such forms of what is essentially propaganda to promoting greater exchanges between citizens of the U.S. and other nations. Often the State Department will hire outside organizations to manage such programs so that the government is seen as being at arm's length.
Now that President-elect Donald Trump is positioning ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as head of the U.S. State Department and America's top diplomat, expect U.S. foreign policy to adopt a more overt and explicit commitment to resource-based warfare.

There is no question that Tillerson will steer diplomacy in the direction of resource exploitation and resource control, using "American security" framing to justify it. Watch for the narrative. America's diplomats and White House officials are already using it. Tillerson, however, will take it to another level.

To be clear, Tillerson isn't unmindful of climate change - in fact, Exxon has known about global warming for years - and knows well that land grabs, water grabs, and food grabs are happening here and now and will only increase in frequency and ferocity.

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While the U.S. Defense Department, CIA and State Department were already deeply entrenched in the business of resource domination for decades (see America's overthrow of Iran's democratically elected Mohammad Mosaddegh, for example, after the nationalization of his country's oil supply), this appointment is a sinister preview of the kind of resource wars that await.

America's more recent resource grabs - for Iraq's oil, Afghanistan's minerals, and even Libya's oil - may soon pale in comparison to what a Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would implement.

What's most maddening is the mental mindset behind this appointment. Trump and Tillerson are both exploiters. That's their business modus operandi. When it comes to energy, for Tillerson, it's about drilling farther and further. And while we should, indeed, be pioneering if we want to meet the increasing energy demands of a rapidly growing population, there are much more sustainable ways to secure our future.

Ten years ago, I wrote about this very topic - how pioneers can secure our future - with a very different kind of Republican, a Member of Congress named Roscoe Bartlett who understood that foreign land grabs - the likes of which Rex Tillerson would approve and commission - were problematic and not sustainable for America or any other superpower.

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It's time to stop land grabbing and start wind grabbing and sun grabbing. That's the only thing that'll save us now. This is what we said a full ten years ago. How we've lost time. Take a look at how relevant our Republican-written words remain:

Russia, Canada, and the United States are rushing to the North Pole in a pioneer-like land grab for an estimated 25 percent of the world's unknown oil and gas reserves. One wonders when we will learn. Oil and gas are not forever. We need to change course and save some to ensure a secure energy future.

The National Petroleum Council recently warned, in "Facing the Hard Truths About Energy," that oil and gas supplies are unlikely to meet projected world demand in 2030. Rather than depleting finite fossil fuels upon which future generations will depend, and considering their effects upon our planet's environment, we must invest in efficiency and renewable alternatives.

Congress has an opportunity to show real teeth on this matter as it reconciles Senate and House omnibus energy bills in conference. Since electricity and transportation are the top two sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., at 34 and 26 percent, we think the final bill should contain the following two components:

First, the Conference Report should include a flexible, affordable, achievable national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for electricity generation. Requiring some but not all utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from certain sources and limiting energy efficiency is controversial. Some regions will have an easier time extracting sun, wind, or biomass than others. For many utilities and states, the renewable infrastructure does not exist, or if it does, it is negligible. So how to reduce the transition cost and gain the support of renewable-light states, utilities, and their customers and the members of Congress who represent them?

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Since we depend upon energy and global warming impacts all of us, teamwork is critical. To capture support for a national RPS, changes may be necessary. It should be affordable for low-renewable utilities to purchase energy credits from high-renewable states to meet the 15-percent mark by 2020. We need to prevent driving energy-intensive, high-paying manufacturing jobs overseas. Low-renewable states could be afforded a higher ceiling on energy efficiency, perhaps double or triple the 4-percent limit. Some argue all utilities should be included to level the playing field. Others advocate reducing the goal to 10 percent.

Second, the Conference Report should include stronger vehicle efficiency standards. Americans want a cleaner environment and are tired of paying more to drive to work. Lower-emission, higher-mileage vehicles, such as hybrids, are gaining in popularity. That is a key reason Toyota surpassed the U.S. Big Three as the world's top manufacturer. Foreign manufacturers now outsell American makers in the U.S. Incentivizing Detroit to go green will allow Americans to do our wallets and our pride good and make our domestic auto industry more competitive in world markets.

North Pole scavenging will get us little but a brief reprieve in the world's current race to the bottom of the oil barrel. More efficient and cleaner electricity and vehicles, given their combined 60-percent responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, would help the environment and Americans' pocketbooks. Americans need political pioneers, not the glacier flag-planting types, to ensure a secure energy future.

Michael Shank [was] an analyst with George Mason University's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Roscoe Bartlett [was] a Republican who [represented] Maryland's 6th District and [was] the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Peak Oil Caucus.
I have been thinking a lot about the song Pete Seeger wrote in 1969 called "Quite Early Morning" where he sings, "You know it's darkest before the dawn and it's this thought that keeps me moving on..."

1969 was a pretty rough year for American progressives. 1968 had seen the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, and the election of arguably the most appalling man ever elected president of these United States, Richard Nixon -- up until the 2016 election anyway. The Vietnam War was at its worst moment. Riots raged in the streets of America, frequently instigated by FBI and CIA domestic spies trying to discredit the peace and civil rights movements.

Seeger, who a generation before had seen his and many of his friends' careers almost destroyed by McCarthyism, knew a thing or two about darkness. He wrote this song at that awful moment, and over the next five years, his hope was proven true: Nixon destroyed himself in an orgy of corruption unseen before in American history; the peace movement finally forced an end to the Vietnam War; the environmental movement blossomed and made the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the EPA a reality; and the feminist movement blossomed as well, bringing about profound changes in the lives of women.

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This darkest-before-the-dawn pattern is a recurrent theme in American history, as some of our worst periods in history have directly preceded some of our biggest progressive change moments. The decade before the abolition of slavery and three of the most profoundly progressive amendments to the U.S. Constitution saw the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision, three of the most dreadful, slavery-promoting actions our government had ever taken.

The Robber Baron era and the height of Social Darwinism in the 1880s and 1890s came immediately before the Progressive Era in American history which ended child labor; created the National Park System; advanced food and consumer safety; and resulted in the right to vote for women. The 1920s, which brought the crushing of unions and rampant corruption and speculation in an unchecked stock market, were followed immediately by FDR's New Deal and economic reforms that created 40 years of economic stability and prosperity for the largest middle class in the history of the world. In the decade before the civil rights breakthroughs and the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s, we had McCarthyism and rising anti-civil rights violence in the South.

Just a decade ago, we got another example. After the 2004 re-election of George W. Bush and Republican control of both houses of Congress, Karl Rove was bragging confidently about the permanent Republican majority they were creating. In great part due to GOP overreach on Social Security and the Iraq war, Democrats came back in 2006 to take over both houses of Congress, and in 2008 gained more seats in both and the presidency of Barack Obama as well.

Today, we are at another profoundly dark and frightening moment in American history. Trump's administration full of bigots, right-wing generals, and big business barons is confirming all of progressives' worst fears about what we face in the next four years. An enormous amount of damage will be done in the years ahead. The biggest question being discussed among Democrats and progressive movement leaders today is whether this nation's democratic institutions of checks and balances will be strong enough to withstand the authoritarianism that is at the heart of Trumpism. This is a truly scary time.

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Trump's presidency will be the ultimate test of progressives and progressivism: do we have the courage, the vision, the creativity, the solidarity, and the passion to stick together and keep our worst fears from happening? But I also believe that if we can work together and forge a strategy that meets the moment, we could easily come out of the Trump years stronger than ever before and ready for another moment of great progress in American history. Think about the following:

1. Trump is going to make a lot of mistakes. Trump is a clever communicator, but he is too narcissistic, too petty, and too shortsighted to not mess up a whole lot. It's not like he ran a flawless campaign -- he veered off the track at many different moments and had the biggest negatives of any presidential candidate in history.

2. The economy is going to run into some trouble. This economic expansion has been the longest expansion by far in modern history, and just the business cycle alone will likely slow this economy down. Add to that Trump's erratic Twitter habits and off-the-cuff statements that will almost certainly spook investors on a semi-regular basis and will make long-term investment less likely. His general economic and budget policies will be a contradictory mess of mostly bad things; rampant corruption and cronyism that we are already seeing will corrode markets; and the likely deregulation of the financial industry will result in more risk than we have seen since the financial panic of 2008-9. The bottom line is that we are likely to see a very troubled economy in Trump's first term in office.

3. Populism on both the right and the left is growing in political strength. On the right, sadly, it has produced Donald Trump, but the better version of populism opens the door for strong progressive populists to run and win for offices at every level. With Trump creating an administration full of billionaire CEO types, that kind of progressive-style populism will be on the rise in the next four years.

4. Underneath the current wave of people kissing the victor's ring, the Republican Party remains as deeply divided today as it ever has been, with Trump-style populists, corporate establishment types, neo-conservatives, and Tea Party radicals all still jockeying for power and openly opposing each other on all kinds of issues. If Trump is indeed making lots of mistakes and politically weakening himself, other Republicans won't mind sticking the knife in and twisting.

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Look, let's be clear about something: Trump's presidency will be the most unpredictable of any in American history. With this guy, we just don't know what will happen next, and we've all been imagining some pretty bleak scenarios. I take nothing off the table in terms of what's possible in the next four years, including Trump turning out to be a very successful president or calling a state of emergency. Maybe he will call off all future elections, and jail dissidents like me in a gulag. But it is also quite possible this country reacts to Trump the way it has reacted to other terrible turns to the right in our history: that we foment a rebellion on the other side and successfully turn the tide.

Here's a scenario I think is entirely possible: Trump and the Republicans overreach on their far right and unpopular agenda, which includes cutting and restructuring programs the older, blue collar base of their party counts on like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; Trump is involved in a series of running controversies that weaken him over time; the economy starts to weaken; Trump gets more and more defensive and irritable. In this rapidly souring environment, Democrats have a very big wave election in 2018.

With this as the backdrop, Democrats enter the 2020 cycle with arguably the most wide open presidential nominating fight since 1992 and some strong progressive populists as viable potential candidates. In fact, I think 2020 is the best chance progressive populists have had in modern political history. In the past, we have had populist protest candidates with little chance of winning the nomination like Jesse Jackson and Dennis Kucinch; or candidates like John Edwards who ran as a DLC moderate the first time he ran and took on faux populism because he thought it might work.

In 2016, Bernie Sanders shocked the political world when he switched political parties and came out of nowhere to come close to winning the nomination against an overwhelming frontrunner with all the endorsements, name ID, money, branding, and experience in the world. In 2020, with Trump having almost certainly spent his entire term in service to the big business, trickle-down agenda, voters in both the Democratic primary and the general election are going to be in a feisty populist mood. We could certainly see a candidate such as Elizabeth Warren fire up the Democratic base; appeal to working class swing voters; and sweep to a big victory.

And don't forget that 2020 is the election before redistricting. If a candidate with a powerful populist message and brand is leading the Democratic Party to a big win that year (and we do well in 2018 as well), Democrats could end up dominating the re-districting process. That would build the Democratic Party with progressive candidates in both Congress and state legislatures all over the country.

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So here's my message: assume nothing; work your ass off for the greater good; but always, always keep hope alive. Our beloved nation has schizophrenia built into its DNA -- I guess that's what happens when the man who wrote our country's founding document declaring that we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was also a slaveholder.

The same government that handed down Dred Scott emancipated the slaves six years later. The most pro-corporate trust president ever elected (McKinley) had his VP (Teddy Roosevelt) follow him in office and launch a trust-busting campaign. The president who signed into law the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, and the War on Poverty took us deep into Vietnam. And now our first black president, the one with the Muslim immigrant's name, will be succeeded by Donald J Trump.
In his Lyceum address, President Lincoln asked a vital question. "At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time, or die by suicide."

Suicide does not need to be a large-scale dramatic gesture. It can be one of apathy or cynicism. All it takes is a failure to appreciate and expect the approach of danger and an inability or lack of willingness to act in such a way that would prevent the fulfillment of a catastrophe.

I have never been so concerned for this county as I am now. We are in the middle of a Second Cold War.

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Back in July, David Ignatius, writing from the Aspen Security Conference pointed out that "for decades, Russian intelligence agencies have used what they call 'active measures' to destabilize their rivals. Now they seem to be turning those tools on the U.S. political system, though in the process they appear to have violated Rule No. 1 of the spy business: Don't get caught."

But Putin, who understands the culture of the KGB he grew up in where the employment of hacking, black propaganda and other covert tools are part of standard tradecraft, also understands that a key change has occurred. In the era of fake news and the army of internet trolls that he mobilized as an effective tool throughout the election, there has been a vital change to Rule No. 1. If there is complete apathy in the face of even outrageous revelation, then it simply doesn't matter whether or not you get caught.

Leaked or not, the official CIA assessment is now out. Russia attempted (successfully) to throw the election to Trump.

President-elect Trump called for a Russian hack of Hillary Clinton's emails in July. We now see that the Kremlin was in possession of thousands of DNC emails including correspondence from John Podesta, other top Democratic advisors and Hillary Clinton herself to say nothing of other key Democrats.

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Despite having left any official involvement in the Trump campaign by the summer, Yanokovich-Putin lobbyist Paul Manafort made a major comeback in the days preceding the Election Day. Buried in a Bloomberg report (29th paragraph) is a note on Manafort encouraging Trump to "go after Michigan." It was only a matter of time before we were looking at discrepancies on a massive level in full display. The breakdown of 87 optical scanners on Election Day. Now we know that 59% of the voting machines in Detroit malfunctioned on Election Day. This warrants further investigation to be sure especially in light of studies of electronic manipulation.

Disturbing questions need to be asked and asked now. How deep is the infiltration into the FBI? The president-elect and the CIA are at war. The FBI and the CIA are also engaged in open war the likes of which I have never seen. From the looks of them, the unprecedented and disturbing hacking powers now granted to the FBI will make any inquiry, let alone resistance to an attack on America, impossible. And now it seems that Comey was not simply aware of but, actively involved in a cover-up of the Russian hack? What are the real implications of this? Remember that this was apparent to Sen. Reid long before Dir. Comey's 11th hour false alarm that may have fatally damaged Hillary Clinton's campaign just a week before Election day. The investigations over the coming days may prove even worse if we are to look at the leads soberly.

Rex Tillerson's ties to Putin have finally become a "cause of concern" according to Sen. McCain. Given the circumstances, that he is being brought forward for Secretary of State, I'd say that this is something of an understatement.

Today the only thing that has changed is that the Kremlin isn't even bothering to deny the allegations of infiltration into the U.S. and collusion with Trump. "Just ask Trump" is their reply now. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected?

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To be sure, Trump did not emerge from a vacuum. It takes the creation and sustenance of a special kind of dysfunctional atmosphere to make that happen. In a liberal democracy, the spirit of post-partisan dialogue and open discourse has to significantly erode in order to allow an opening for authoritarian personalities to flourish. Even as we've watched our political culture erode into a shutdown of dialogue between our parties at best and a shutdown of the government at worst, we never thought that this would happen in America.

But here we are.

Trump has given the Republicans control of the White House and Congress. He is now only valuable as long as he keeps them in power. Once he ceases to be a blank check that will enable the institution of anything from Paul Ryan's healthcare plans to a new Supreme Court Justice and tax policies that the GOP has dreamed about for decades, he is disposable to them. And those specific Republicans who dispose of Trump will assume unprecedented control over the party and the country. The day that Republicans turn on Trump will be a glorious day, or at least thats the plan: Pence, Ryan and their cohorts will get to assume control of government while shedding the party and nation of undesirable baggage.

That is risky political calculus. And what if the chaos of Trump, as a witting or unwitting agent of one of the most dangerous forces in the world, cannot be controlled? What if the approach of danger is not being fully appreciated? Republican calculus here will amount to a national suicide pact.
It's no secret that the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's signature healthcare legislation, is facing an uncertain future. The incoming administration has pledged to repeal the law and offer an alternative in its place. But this uncertain future should not keep you from taking advantage of what is available to you and your loved ones today.

Thursday is the deadline to ensure coverage under the ACA when the calendar turns to 2017. This goes for both uninsured Americans seeking coverage and those who need to re-enroll. Missing the deadline doesn't mean you're out; it just means you won't have coverage Jan. 1. The final day to enroll is Jan. 31 for coverage that will start March 1.

We don't know what changes will occur to the ACA or when they'll go into effect. But we do know it's quite likely that you will need medical care before lawmakers decide what they are going to do. So on behalf of the American Heart Association -- an organization with a mission to improve the health of all Americans -- I urge you to meet the Dec. 15 deadline to protect you and your loved ones.

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Over the past three years, the ACA has provided health coverage to millions of people, including an estimated 7.3 million Americans confronted with cardiovascular diseases and its risk factors.

We also know that while it is important that all Americans have access to the care they need, we also must keep people from ever developing those problems. The ACA provides important preventative coverage such as blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, smoking cessation services, behavioral counseling for obesity and access to primary care and the medications needed to effectively manage risk factors and diseases.

Simply put, having insurance coverage matters.

Consider this: People who lack health insurance experience up to a 56 percent higher risk of death from stroke than those who are insured. The uninsured and underinsured are also less likely to take needed medications and to forego preventive care. Having coverage can literally be the difference between life or death for someone with a cardiovascular disease, and it also protects families from devastating medical bills that can result from inadequate coverage.

There has been a lot of talk about the importance of protections relating to pre-existing conditions. Before the ACA, heart and stroke patients struggled to find companies willing to offer them adequate coverage at an affordable cost. For years, families with a baby born with a heart problem had to worry about whether they could get insurance coverage for their child, and wonder if the coverage was adequate to cover their medical expenses. The law frees families to focus on their loved ones and their care, recovery and rehabilitation without worrying about medical bills piling up.

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Enrolling in coverage at HealthCare.gov should be easier than ever. Improvements to the website include Plan Compare 2.0, which takes users through the process step-by-step.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the average consumer can choose from 30 health plans, and more than 70 percent of consumers will be able to purchase plans for less than $75 per month, while 85 percent of Marketplace-eligible uninsured Americans could qualify for tax credits to help make premiums affordable.

The Affordable Care Act has made it possible for millions of Americans fighting cardiovascular diseases to focus on improving their health, instead of worrying about whether they can obtain or afford the quality care they deserve, and we are proud to continue our work to enroll as many Americans as possible.

While the future is uncertain -- for each of us, and for the options available to all of us under ACA -- the most important thing to do right now is ensure you are covered.

For more information on getting covered, check out the American Heart Association's healthcare reform website www.HeartsForHealthCare.org or visit HealthCare.gov.
A High-Level Event with Leaders from Europe, India, Israel and the United States

Elected members of the US Congress, members of the European Parliament, a distinguished delegation from India and leading figures from within Israel will participate in the second annual Jerusalem Leaders Summit at the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem on December 19, 2016. They will be joined by leaders from business, government, think tanks and media.

The second Jerusalem Leaders Summit provides the first post-US presidential election opportunity for US legislators, leaders from business, think tanks, media and academic circles to affirm Americas strong ties with Israel, and advance U.S.s leadership in foreign policy, security and trade with long-standing partners.

During the Second Jerusalem Leaders Summit, Europe, India, Israel and US's legislators and leaders from business, think tanks and media will gather to discuss joint strategies in the fight against terrorism, strengthening security and advancing trade. The Jerusalem Leaders Summits key topics include strengthening the rule of law, dealing with security threats facing free societies, economic freedom, and Israels contributions of innovation and technology that benefit citizens around the world.

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Individuals interested in attending the second annual Jerusalem Leaders Summit, by-invitation only event, can receive their personal invitation by registering at:

First Jerusalem Leaders Summit 2015

The First Jerusalem Leaders Summit, held during November 3-4, 2015 in Jerusalem was launched by the International Leaders Summit, and joined by partners from Europe, US and Israel, including Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE), The Heritage Foundation and The Jerusalem Post. The Summit strategically focused on the economy, investment, trade and security.

During the special visit to Knesset in 2015, legislators and principled leaders from the U.S., New Zealand and Europe were briefed by Tzachi Hanegbi, head of the Knessets Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, about the security and defense issues in Israel and the Middle East.
"Did China ask us if it was OK to... build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!" tweeted President-Elect Donald Trump after shattering nearly 40 years of U.S.-China diplomatic protocol by having a telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

The call -- the first official contact between a U.S. president or president-elect and Taipei since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in the late 1970s -- was prime Trump. So was the tweet, a no-nonsense response to typical Chinese military provocations.

At least, that's one way to look at it.

Of course, if China's president Xi Jinping was a social media blowhard, he could have easily tweeted back: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... maintain a massive military complex of more than 100 bases in nearby Japan? I don't think so!"

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Or the Chinese leader could have tweeted: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... rent space at the massive U-Tapao military complex in nearby Thailand? I don't think so!"

Or Xi could have tweeted: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... use portions of the military complexes at Antonio Bautista Air Base, Basa Air Base, Fort Magsaysay, Lumbia Air Base, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in the nearby Philippines? I don't think so!"

China's president might have tweeted: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... deploy troops to a military complex near Darwin, Australia? I don't think so!"

Xi could have even tweeted "Did America ask us if it was OK to... maintain four major Army facilities in nearby South Korea at Daegu and Yongsan as well as Camps Red Cloud and Humphreys; not to mention air bases at Osan and Kunsan and a naval facility at Chinhae? I don't think so!"

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Had he enough characters to spare, Xi might have mentioned U.S. access to key facilities in Singapore or its other Pacific military strongholds like Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan. He could even have mentioned the "massive" U.S. military presence in Asia -- the U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Army Pacific, U.S. Pacific Air Force, U.S. Marine Forces Pacific, U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific, and U.S. Forces Korea as well as the U.S. Eighth Army (also in Korea) -- for which there are no Chinese analogs operating in or around the Americas.

Even if Xi Jinping were to counter Trump's twitter storm with gale-force tweets of his own, it's fair to assume that the president-elect wouldn't be swayed. American leaders don't view U.S. power projection through the lens of those on the receiving end. Meanwhile, the American public remains mostly ignorant of the ways in which the U.S. garrisons the globe and rings its rivals with military bases.


Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, at Trump Tower this week, is on the board of Energy Transfer Partners, and its CEO was the biggest funder of his 2016 presidential bid. (Photo: Albin Lohr-Jones / Pool via CNP /MediaPunch/IPX)

BY: ASHLEY BALCERZAK

The Dakota Access Pipeline protesters just got a new reason to keep their Standing Rock encampment intact: former Texas governor and two-time presidential candidate Rick Perry, tapped today by President-elect Donald Trump to head his Energy Department.

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Now the department will be helmed by a man whose biggest fan -- as measured by donations supporting Perry's presidential bids -- is Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the controversial pipeline. Warren gave super PACs supporting Perry's presidential bid $6 million last year, though he got nearly $4 million of it back after Perry dropped out.

And beyond that, Perry is on the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners -- a position he would have to relinquish if he's to become secretary. Earlier this month, the Army Corps of Engineers, in response to the protests in North Dakota, said it would explore alternate routes for the pipeline segment at issue, but the demonstrators on site fear the Trump administration will reverse that decision.

Perry raised just $1.4 million for his 2016 campaign, a fraction of what he brought in four years earlier. But his super PAC, Opportunity and Freedom PAC, brought in almost 10 times that much. Besides Warren, the most generous donors included rancher Julianna Holt and her husband, Peter Holt, CEO of Holt Companies, the largest U.S. Caterpillar dealership ($500,000). The Holts are more than just donors, though: According to a financial disclosure form Perry filed last year, the candidate had a $250,000 consulting gig with Holt.

Warren and Darwin Deason of Deason Capital Services (whose son, Doug, is a big player in the Koch network) each donated $5 million to a second super PAC, creatively named Opportunity and Freedom I, but were reimbursed most of the funds in late August. The group didn't report any independent expenditures, refunding $8.8 million and transferring the additional $1 million to the first Opportunity and Freedom PAC.

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Top Household Donors to Rick Perry, 1998-2016

Data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, OpenSecrets

Mostly thanks to these large donations, the oil & gas ($1.6 million) industry led the way in giving to Perry's campaign committee and super PACs combined. And that's a pattern that's been in place pretty much throughout Perry's political career; renewable energy advocates aren't likely to find much interest in their projects at the top of DOE's organizational chart for a while, assuming Perry is confirmed by the Senate.

The miscellaneous finance ($480,000) and livestock ($376,000) industries were a distant second and third.

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Data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, OpenSecrets

His biggest outside backer, Make Us Great Again (sound familiar?), spent almost $4 million trying to get Perry to the White House, with large donations coming from Dallas-based Contran Corp., formerly headed by now-deceased GOP funder Harold Simmons ($1 million); Kelcy Warren and Darwin Deason again ($250,000 each); and trial lawyer Tony Buzbee (also $250,000), who became Perry's general counsel two years later when a grand jury indicted him on two felony counts, later dismissed. (The Travis County grand jury charged him with "abuse of official capacity" for threatening to veto $7.5 million in funds for a public corruption department, and "coercion of a public servant" for pushing for the resignation of a district attorney after she was convicted of drunk driving.)

Data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics and OpenSecrets.

Perry's first presidential run came while he was still governor of Texas, a slot he occupied from 2000 to 2015, making him the longest-serving chief executive of that state. Voters elected Perry to three full terms: He raised $24.7 million in 2002, $30.4 million in 2006 and $49 million in 2010, according to data from the National Institute on Money In State Politics.

In his last state election in 2010, he received $5.9 million from -- guess who? -- oil & gas interests, $3.8 million from lawyers and lobbyists and $3 million from conservative policy organizations. (These industries top the list of his previous elections as well, including his successful 1998 run for lieutenant governor, where he raised $12.3 million. He became governor in late 2000 when George W. Bush was elected president.)

Perry's personal holdings also reflect his comfort level with the fossil fuel industry. The financial disclosure form he filed in July 2015 indicated that his wife owned up to $15,000 in Energy Transfer stock, along with the same amount of another pipeline company and of Sunoco Logistics, the future operator of the pipeline being protested at Standing Rock. (According to Reuters, Sunoco Logistics outdoes all its competitors in spilled crude.)

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What do you do when the bottom falls out?

The Practice:

Take heart.

Why?

It takes heart to live in even ordinary times.

By "taking heart," I mean several related things:

Sensing your heart and chest

Finding encouragement in what is good both around you and inside you

Resting in your own warmth, compassion, and kindness; resting in the caring for you from others; love flowing in and love flowing out

Being courageous, whole-hearted and strong-hearted - going forward wisely even when anxious, knowing your own truth and as you can speaking it

When you take heart, you're more able to deal with challenges like aging, illness, trauma, or conflicts with others. You're also more able to take advantage of opportunities with confidence and grit.

Additionally, it takes heart to live in, live with, and live beyond times that are really hard. Your personal hard time might be bad news about your health, the death of a parent, or betrayal by others. Or it could be related to changes in your country and world, and your concerns about their effects on others and yourself; I've written about the importance of finding and facing facts at the level of society (feel free to skip it if you don't want my take on politics).

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There are so many examples of honorable people facing great difficulty with dignity, principle, and courage. They did it. We can, too.

How?

Start by riding out the storm. When big things happen at any scale - in your child's schoolyard or in a refugee camp on the other side of the world - it is completely natural and normal to be shocked and disturbed by them.

As best you can, stay with the raw experience, the body sensations, the deep feelings, the stirred up fears and anger and perhaps paralysis. Whatever it is, it is your experience; some may be upset about a big event while others may be glad about it; I am definitely not trying to talk you out of your experience. Be mindful of whatever is passing through the big open space of awareness, observing it without being flooded by it. Painful and counter-intuitive as it may be, this is the foundation of releasing really hard experiences and replacing them gradually and authentically with thoughts and feelings that are helpful, wholesome, wise, and even happy.

Do things that help you come back to center and find your footing. Personally, I prioritize exercise, sleep, and meditation; I try to feel the truth of being basically alright right now, in this moment, moment after moment (alongside and deeper than pain or sorrow); I do the dishes and make the bed. Walk the dog, call a friend, eat something, look at trees and sky, get a cup of tea and stare into space. Take good care of your body.

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Guard and guide your attention. It's one thing to find facts and form the best plans you can. It's another thing to get distracted or upset by news or other people that do not add any useful value.

Take heart in the good that is real. Outside you, there is the kindness in others, the beauty of a single leaf, the stars that still shine no matter what hides them. Right now as you read, all over the world children are laughing in delight, families are sitting down to a meal, babies are being born, and loving arms are holding people who are dying. Inside you, there is your compassion, sincere efforts, sweet memories, capabilities - and much more. Take heart with others, sharing worries, support, and friendship.

Do the things you can. The more that events are turbulent, alarming, and beyond your influence, the more important it is to grow stability, safety, and agency inside you and around you.

Have courage. At all human scales, strong forces have always tried to confuse and frighten others. Whatever outward action is necessary, you can preserve an inner freedom, never cowed or bowed in your core.

Last, I've found it really helps to have perspective. Without minimizing one bit of whatever is awful, it is also true that humans like you and I have been walking this earth for nearly 200,000 years. I see the trees, the land, the ocean - all of it here before me and lasting long after me. Empires rise and fall. Sometimes the center does not hold - in a body, marriage, or nation - and still. And still people love each other, go out of their way for a stranger, and marvel at a rainbow. Nothing, nothing at all can change this. We keep putting one foot in front of the other one, lifting each other up along the way.
What does it tell us when leading Democrats are more upset about alleged Russian election-rigging than they are about proven Republican election-rigging? After all, American oligarchs like the Koch Brothers have no more right to undermine our democracy than Russian oligarchs do.

GOP voting laws systematically discriminate against minority voters and working people. Yes, leading Democrats have lodged pro-forma protests against them, but they should be shouting about it from the rooftops. They seem more comfortable challenging Russians than they do challenging a party that's undermining the electoral process much closer to home.

Maybe voters in places like North Carolina and Texas were "hacked" by the wrong people.

The CIA said last week that the Russian government was trying to help Trump win. They certainly stood to gain, as Trump's Secretary of State pick proves. But even if that proves true -- something that shouldn't be taken on faith, given the agency's track record -- it's not likely to change the election outcome. That would take a wave of Republican electors and House members switching sides.

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And if it isn't proven -- if the CIA don't offer any hard evidence, or if its evidence is weak -- many Americans may conclude that we still have a fully functioning democracy. That would be tragic, because we don't.

Like so much liberal debate, this hue and cry over Russia focuses exclusively on the presidential race. But Clinton-centric conspiracy talk doesn't explain the loss of Democratic power up and down the ticket. The Democratic Party has lost the presidency and both houses of Congress, and only holds 18 governors' seats. Republicans also hold overwhelming power in state legislatures.

Russian electoral sabotage can't help us understand that. But Republican electoral sabotage can, and does.

It's a conspiracy in plain sight. It came out of the woodwork as soon as the conservative Supreme Court majority struck down key portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Two hours after the ruling was announced, Texas' Republican Attorney General issued a statement re-implementing a voter ID law and redistricting plan that had been blocked because they targeted voters of color.

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A recent analysis showed that photo ID laws have had a drastic effect on democracy. They've reduced the Latino vote by 10.8 percent and the mixed-race vote by 12.8 percent. They doubled the participation gap between whites and Latinos, to 11.9 percent, and nearly doubled the participation gap between whites and African Americans, to 8.9 percent. They reduced Democratic voter turnout by 7.7 percent, while reducing Republican turnout by a smaller 4.6 percent. That almost certainly threw some down-ballot elections to the Republicans.

These laws are supposedly intended to prevent voter impersonation fraud, which Republicans claim is a widespread problem. But a study of 1 billion votes found only 31 cases of it.

Voter ID laws are the modern-day version of Jim Crow laws like poll taxes and "literacy tests," as courts have increasingly recognized. These laws are popular, but they're profoundly undemocratic. Surely Democrats can make an effective case against them -- once they find the courage and common sense to fight them.

Other kinds of Republican laws have had the same racist effect. North Carolina's sweeping vote overhaul -- the so-called "monster" law -- aggressively suppressed the African-American vote. Was that deliberate? The Washington Post reviewed Republican legislators' emails and other evidence, and the result is damning. Republicans asked for reports that showed that African Americans and other minorities were more likely to vote in the first week of early voting, use out-of-precinct voting, and vote without ID. Then, as the Post reports:

"Months later, the North Carolina legislature passed a law that cut a week of early voting, eliminated out-of-precinct voting and required voters to show specific types of photo ID ..."

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Turns out that these self-described "defenders of the Constitution" are surprisingly comfortable undermining its 14 and 15 amendments.

Author David Daley documented the GOP assault on democracy. In his book, Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy, Daley writes of "new mapping technologies so exact that they're re-sorted and resegregated Americans." Unless state laws are changed, gerrymandering will ensure the Republicans' lock on Congress for the foreseeable future, no matter what most voters want.

What about the presidency? Turnout for voters who are black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) was down this year by nearly 400,000 in five key Rust Belt states.

Voter suppression is systematic. Lower-income voters from all groups are discouraged from voting by our lack of an automatic voter registration process, and by the fact that voting takes place on a work day. Voters are purged from the rolls through caging, wrongful purges, and "no match no vote." Long waits times suppress future vote participation and discriminate against minority and lower-income voters.

Democrats should propose comprehensive pro-democracy reforms, and then explain why Republicans are blocking them.

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Why don't they? Are they afraid they'll lose the white vote? Lower-income white voters are being deterred by these restrictions too -- including, in all likelihood, the 4.6 percent of Republican voters effectively disenfranchised by voter ID laws.

Democrats who rail at Russia should be equally outraged that the United States ranks only 47 on a ranking of 139 nations for "electoral integrity." The report found that:

"In the United States, the 2012 Presidential election and the 2014 Congressional elections were ranked worst of any long-established democracy, especially on campaign finance and electoral registration."

Clinton supporter Paul Krugman argues that, in Krugman's tweeted words, "Faced with subversion of American democracy by foreign govt and rogue FBI, 'Hillary should have run a better campaign' (is) not a good response."

That's a false choice, and a dangerous one. Many factors affected the outcome. The Republicans' antidemocratic voter strategy probably had a greater influence on the election than WikiLeaks did. Other factors certainly included Clinton's lackluster candidacy (yes, she should have run a better campaign), economic conditions for many voters (including those who didn't go to the polls), and FBI Director Comey's actions.

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When key states are decided by so few votes, many things will prove decisive.

But Democrats are losing ground at all electoral levels. It would be tragic if the Russian charges stifled all discussion about how to change that. But then, that's what charges like these are often meant to do: suppress meaningful debate, and turn constructive criticism into collaboration with the enemy.

The Clinton team weighed in on the Russia question in support of ten electors (nine of them Democrats) who want a briefing on Russia's involvement before they vote. They're entitled to that. But do Democrats really want to ground their fight for democracy on the Electoral College -- an institution they were decrying as undemocratic as recently as last week? That only makes sense if they have hard proof that the outcome was changed by the Russians.

And do they really want to cite Alexander Hamilton, as the ten electors did in their statement? Granted, Hamilton's had a recent surge in popularity, but he was democracy's greatest skeptic among the Founders.

(On hearing someone describe himself as "a friend of the people," Hamilton reportedly slammed his hand on the table and said: "Your people, Sir, is a great beast.")

Democrats should be pushing for more democracy, not less.

By all means, let's find out what the Russians did and didn't do. Hold hearings. Declassify as much information as possible. The people deserve to know.

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But every charge of electoral subversion that can't be proven will weaken the case for the ones that can. If Democrats want to challenge the electoral outcome, it would be better to do it on behalf of the minority and lower-income voters disenfranchised by Republican lawmakers. That's a charge we can prove.

Some Democrats are calling other Americans "traitors" and "Putinites," based on unsubstantiated allegations from the same intelligence agencies that told us there were weapons of mass destruction. We've been down that road before and it leads nowhere. The search for simplistic answers is a distraction from the hard work that lies ahead, the many-faceted work of building a party and a movement.
Why, in the midst of the growing indications that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and leading people in the Hillary Clinton campaign to influence the election to help make Donald Trump president, are Mr. Trump and his aides so adamant in their focus on rejecting the claim that the Russians also hacked the Republican National Committee and other Republicans?

The first and lesser reason is that the Russians not releasing Republican electronic communications while they were doing so with the Democrats' messages is further proof that their intent was to help to elect Donald Trump. Releasing any damaging private messages among Republicans would hurt Trump, and that, plainly, was not the objective of Vladimir Putin and his minions.

The far more significant reason--and one which virtually no one seems to be addressing--is what the Russians having hacked Republicans but not released what they found will almost certainly mean for their ability to control Trump as president. All President Putin's men will be in a position to threaten to release during a Trump Administration what they held back, for their own purposes, before the election, unless he does their bidding even more completely than he might otherwise do.

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Now Mr. Trump has decided to postpone until January a news conference he said he would hold later this week. He had said that he would announce at the conference his detailed plan for how he would separate the presidency from his business interests. The gullible are saying that he must not yet have a plausible plan to do that and so has postponed the press conference. Isn't it far more likely that he just doesn't want to face questions from the media, which would undoubtedly include the Russian intervention in the election, until after the Electors vote on December 19?

Unless the media, leading politicians of both parties, and the American public insist on full disclosure before December 19 of the evidence gathered by the intelligence services on Russian actions to bring about Trump's election, we will find ourselves with a president put into office by Russia, with a very friendly attitude toward Vladimir Putin, a National Security Adviser close to Putin, a Secretary of State who was presented by Putin with the "Order of Friendship, one of the highest honors a foreigner may be awarded from Russia," and the potential to be blackmailed by the Russians because of hacked information they may have on him. It is a plot so fantastic that a publisher would have rejected it as unbelievable had it been floated by John le Carre.

Ronald Reagan completed the winning of the Cold War. Donald Trump as president would be very likely to transform that American victory into a Russian triumph.

Are Republicans prepared to live with that outcome? Those who aren't need immediately to join with concerned Democrats and hammer out a Compromise of 2016 that will create a National Unity Government without a Putin puppet in the Oval Office.

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Finding the right nanny or childcare giver can be one of the most challenging and intimidating decisions that a parent has to make. Each family has its own unique idea of what the "perfect" nanny will look like, be like and how he or she will fit into their family.



As the demand for childcare continues to rise, relying on hope and luck alone to get it right is clearly way too risky. Once you've read all of the incoming resumes, met all of the best candidates and followed through with calling all of the listed references, how do you ultimately know which nanny is right for you?



Fortunately, one woman known as the Windy City Nanny, Florence Ann Romano, a former nanny herself with over 15 years of experience, is trying to make this choice easier for parents all over the United States. I had the opportunity to interview Florence Ann and explore some of her most salient advice on how parents can go about finding the best childcare giver for their most precious possessions- someone they can trust to be an extension of their eyes, ears, and heart and a positive role model for their children.





The Windy City Nanny Florence Ann Romano

Dr. Robi: Florence, how did you become known as the Windy City Nanny?

Florence Ann: I was born and raised in Illinois, and nannied for all my "kids" in both the city and suburbs of Chicago for 15 years! Though many think Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City" for it'sits fluctuating weather, it was actually named for the long-winded politicians! As the Windy City Nanny, I tend to be quite verbose in nature, and don't have a problem sharing my opinion regarding childcare. With that said, my nickname certainly suits! Being the voice of childcare in the new millennium is such an honor and blessing.

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Dr. Robi: Why do you think Nannies are so much more commonplace now than in the past? Do you think this is a good thing?

Florence Ann: Over 60% of families in America have childcare, and that statistic rises in line with the employment rate. What we're seeing here is not a "trend"; it is a way of life. Childcare is a necessity in the world today, and it is not going anywhere! Families tend to feel guilty about needing help in their home, and I am here to push back against that guilt! Push back against the stigma! Push back against the folks that have made the subject of childcare taboo! This is a national conversation that is living in the hearts of millions of families in America and beyond, and it is time to shed light on the subject for the positive experience that it is. Nanny is NOT a dirty word like society has sadly deemed it to be. Let's re-define what a nanny is: it is truly anyone who helps take care of your child/children in the parents' absence. A nanny doesn't have to be a stranger - it could be a grandparent! Having a nanny does NOT make you a bad parent. It's quite the opposite! You are surrounding your children with additional love, and that is the best gift you could ever give your family .... as much love as possible!

Dr. Robi: Is this one of the reasons why you wrote your latest book, Nanny and Me? What important themes do you address in your book? What are you hoping the takeaway is for both parents and kids?

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Florence Ann: Absolutely! I saw a severe void in the children's book marketplace. The transition of being cared for by your parents to being cared for by someone else can be a difficult transition for a child. No one was addressing this in an accessible way for children, and I needed to remedy that based on my personal experiences in childcare. Nanny and Me is told from the child's perspective to help them children relate to the subject matter, and help the child feel more in control of the situation. Parents, as well, can learn something very valuable from this book: it's a tool for them to use to help facilitate a tough conversation with their young children; and brings peace of mind, as well, as they hire someone to care for their most precious possessions. Nanny and Me has become a very popular book for a baby shower gift and beyond! The most important takeaway from Nanny and Me is that parents and children feel prepared to let love into their home. If parents can stop competing with the nanny, that will allow the nanny relationship with the family to foster, cultivate, grow and ultimately become a beautiful blessing in the home. The core theme in Nanny and Me is looking at the nanny and seeing that this person symbolizes your love for your children.: She or he is a beacon of protection and joy for your family,; not a source of guilt and neglect.

Dr. Robi: Some of the topics you've addressed as an expert in this field are how to hire the right nanny? What would you advise parents to do?

Florence Ann: A nanny is an integral part of a family, but it takes time to make this a successful relationship,; and it starts with the evaluation of your OWN family. That's right! It starts with YOU. I see many parents run into issues with their nannies, and it led me to research what was happening at the core level. I found that the lack of proper vetting, when it comes to the emphasis on values, is the culprit for nanny turnover and overall issues in the home. The word '"values'" tends to scare people because they immediately associate it with religion or morality. While values are absolutely aligned with religion and morality has a place within both those words, every family and every person defines their values it differently. You need to evaluate your family values before hiring a nanny,; before the interview process. Example questions: 1) Do Do you want the nanny to be of a specific religion? Ethnicity? Speak a certain language? Will the nanny be taking your children to church? What religion is the nanny? If different than yours, are they comfortable taking the children to church, or being part of a home where religion is a part of their routine? These may seem like very specific questions, but they are absolutely necessary and vital; and an example of the values your family possesses. You must remember that the nanny is an extension of YOU - they are your eyes, ears and heart; and a role model for your children.

Dr. Robi: Now, we've all heard about the dangers of hiring a "hot" nanny....as a former nanny who was also pretty, any insights about how to handle this sometimes touchy situation?

Florence Ann: I get this question almost every single day and from every single family! They say that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder,", and that holds true in this situation, as well. First of all, I hate the use of the word "hot" to describe women in general, and it makes me shudder when I see it attached to the word '"nanny'"! I would love to see women described as beautiful, enchanting, or attractive. - hHot is just so crass. But, I digress! And you'reAnd you're right;, this is a touchy subject. The most simple and true advice? Do what is going to bring you peace of mind in your marriage and in your home. There is nothing wrong with hiring a nanny that is attractive, as long as it doesn't distract from their job - TAKING CARE OF YOUR KIDS. If you and your spouse both agree that you are 100% comfortable with this man or woman being in your home, then by all means, go right ahead and hire that beautiful nanny! But, if you have ANY doubt about fidelity or temptation, do NOT go there. Be as open and honest with your spouse as possible. Do NOT get mad at the other if he or she admits that they find the prospective nanny to be attractive. That's the honesty you need to make the proper decision! There will always be another nanny that is right for you that doesn't provide a threat. Remember: it's about peace of mind for YOU and taking care of your kids. End of story! Non-negotiable!

Dr. Robi: What do you tell parents who are jealous of their nanny's relationship with their child? Do you come across this a lot?



Florence Ann: If the '"hot'" nanny question is number one, then this question is definitely tied for first place! It breaks my heart to see parents competing with their nannies because it's NOT a competition.: it'sA nanny is another person to love them,; another person to comfort and protect,; another person to give them a childhood filled with joy and memories. If you, the parent, can get out of your own way, then you will see that you are doing the RIGHT thing for your child. Beyond that, you are LOVING them fully and deeply. Look at the nanny and think of them as an aAunt, uUncle, or gGodparent for your child. That is a beautiful relationship to encourage! What parent wouldn't want their child to be surrounded by as much love as possible, and positive role models? You are giving your children a pure and gorgeous gift. You will always be their parent and no one can take that away from you. Give your children a chance to become the best versions of themselves by putting people in their lives that are an extension of the things you respect in yourself or others.

Dr. Robi: In addition to being the expert voice behind the www.WindyCityNanny.com, you also run the Original Six Six Media production company. Do these two business ventures compliment complement each other, or are they totally separate businesses for you?

Florence Ann: This business was started separately from my Windy City Nanny brand. However, the businesses do complement one another, as they are based on creativity. So much of my time spent as a nanny was based in imagination, outside-the-box thinking, and emotion. Original Six Media - a full-service video production company - brings your narrative to life, and creates digital content for businesses that is based purely on emotion. OSM has many non-profit clients, many of whom work with children, and children are the most important message of my soul. I believe life is about plucking heartstrings, and that is done in both my businesses.

Dr. Robi: What is has been the most challenging family/nanny situation you've been asked to deal with?



Florence Ann: I developed unbelievable bonds with each of my "kids". I was exposed to their struggles,; their accomplishments,; their heartaches, and their dreams. But, the hardest part of my job was seeing how the parents didn't notice the damage they were doing to their own children. One little girl, specifically, had very demanding parents when it came to academics - her performance always had to be exemplary in everything she did. One evening, I heard her throwing up in the bathroom and she was throwing up. I flew through the door and lay on the floor with her. She confessed to me that she couldn't take the pressure from her parents and didn't know what to do; she felt lost and out of control. And this was something that I saw this continue until I couldn't take it anymore - I had to say something to her parents. I sat down with them and told them what I was witnessing; and said I wanted to come up with a plan to motivate their daughter, while also making her feel safe. I am happy to report that things did change in the home, but this was a situation I wasn't prepared to deal with at the young age I was. You learn on the job! But, these are moments that can't help but your rock you, heart and soul.

Dr. Robi: Where can people find out more about you?
Just last Wednesday, Trump tapped Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as the new U.S. Ambassador to China. Branstad's long-time friendship with President Xi Jinping and close ties to the Beijing establishment will surely assist him in his role. During his six terms as governor, he shied away from criticizing Chinese illegal trade practices, a major sticking point in this election cycle. While Branstad is likely to bring positive momentum to an often-rocky bilateral relationship, Trump also needs advisors that are willing to draw a hard line with China. This makes his pick for U.S. trade representative (USTR) that much more important.

In recent days it has emerged that Representative Charles Boustany is aggressively lobbying the Trump transition team to lead the office of the USTR, which is ironic given his personal attacks on President-elect Trump during the campaign. Boustany had his eye on securing Louisiana's vacant Senate seat, but he lost before the final runoff. Now it looks like he is trying his hand at USTR, which would be a slap in the face to hard-working Americans who are looking for a buffer against harmful trade practices. Boustany and Trump represent diametrically opposed perspectives on trade.

Boustany has limited trade experience, and his record reveals a troubling history of another Washington insider catering to big business and special interests. During his time in the U.S. Congress, he voted in favor of policies supporting big business, and is in total alignment with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, voting with them 92% of the time.

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Boustany consistently voted to put the interests of big corporations over the interests of hard-working Americans. Over the past few decades, middle class Americans have borne the brunt of unchecked trade policies. In 1929, the U.S. hit a record high of 20 million factory jobs. Today, we are down to 12.3 million--that's a loss of eight million jobs, and things are only getting worse. Having another Washington insider such as Boustany leading USTR would harm Democrats, union leaders and American workers. We would see more of the same failed trade policies, when American workers are looking to our political leaders to stand up to countries that don't play by the rules.

President-elect Trump will look to the next head of USTR for guidance on all things trade--a role that has longstanding implications for hard-working Americans in my home state of Pennsylvania and across the U.S. The new head of USTR will act as judge and jury for future cases against countries engaging in illegal trade practices that continue to wreak havoc on American industries.



Some Democrats are deeply concerned by Boustany's strong vocal support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). While arguments exist on both sides, many American workers believe that TPP would injure traditional American industries. Boustany was even the co-founder of the Friends of the Trans-Pacific Partnership caucus, and he has never been a friend of American workers. Adding insult to injury, when Boustany voted for the Enforce and Protect Act, legislation that prevents the circumvention of antidumping or countervailing trade cases against U.S. importers, Boustany chose the watered-down version of the Act, which allows countries that are not playing by the rules off the hook. As a big-business Republican, Boustany has a record of pushing trade deals that negatively impact hard-working Americans while benefiting large corporations.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who has never been on the side of American workers, is keen to see Boustany as USTR. Sen. Rob Portman, former USTR under President George W. Bush, has urged Trump to choose an experienced candidate. Many other qualified candidates exist and we need a Washington outsider with a strong business acumen who will fight to protect Americans jobs. What we don't need is another failed Washington insider leading USTR.

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Every so often the practice of neonatal male circumcision becomes a news item, typically when some medical association issues a statement on the practice. Last week it was the turn of the Danish Medical Association, which recommended the practice be stopped. Prominent among the reasons cited for this conclusion was that the procedure permanently alters a child's body, something which should not be done, the Danish doctors argue, without the informed consent of the person whose body is affected.

The Danish doctors' recommendations are in line with most Europeans' thoughts on this issue. By contrast in 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics emphasized that there were definite health benefits to male circumcision, a conclusion which the Centers for Disease Control seconded in draft guidelines in 2014. In particular, male circumcision reduces the risk of infant urinary tract infection and the risk of contracting STDs later in life. There is also a reduced risk of other health problems, such as penile cancer.

However, even those who maintain that circumcision has health benefits recognize that the most that can be said in favor of circumcision is that "the health benefits ... outweigh the risks [but] existing scientific evidence is not sufficient to recommend routine circumcision." Although circumcision reduces the risk of developing various medical problems, the overall risk of these medical problems is small, whether one is circumcised or not, especially if one is prudent in one's sexual practices (e.g., by wearing a condom).

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For the most part, the empirical information relied upon by the dueling medical associations is the same -- but their interpretation of the data is different. The difference in views among the various medical associations, and other health groups, appears to be due, in part, to cultural factors. Most Europeans are not circumcised, whereas circumcision is not uncommon in the United States.

Given this background, one might conclude that circumcision should be largely a non-issue: it's a procedure that's medically justified, but not necessary. Whether the procedure should be performed on one's newborn is something that can be left to parental discretion.

That conclusion, however, would be fiercely resisted by many opponents of circumcision, some of whom are adamant in their rejection of the practice. For them, male circumcision is "genital mutilation." One critical principle animates this opposition and it is the one alluded to by the Danish Medical Association, namely that no permanent changes should be made to a person's body without their consent, which, of course cannot be obtained until that person is legally an adult.

This principle has strong intuitive appeal, at least in our contemporary world. Who could argue with self-determination? But upon reflection, the principle that no permanent changes should be made to somebody's body without their consent is impossible to comply with.

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To put it mildly, the brain is an important part of a person's body. It's certainly more important than the foreskin of the penis. One's brain is inevitably shaped by the parents or guardians one has as a child. This is not some metaphorical allusion to the information that's put into one's brain nor am I referring to one's genetic inheritance -- no, the physical structures of one's brain are changed based upon one's training and education. For example, the brains of literate people differ from the brains of illiterates. Similarly, musical training affects the architecture of the brain.

Most developed countries do exercise some control over the training and education children receive, imposing various legal standards and restrictions, but even so, wide scope is given to parents in terms of how they raise their children. Homeschooling is permitted in the United States, for example, with minimal oversight in most states. (Interestingly, homeschooling is forbidden in some European countries, such as Germany--again a significant cultural difference.) With respect to training in music or sports, parents can subject their children to extensive training, just short of physical abuse. Hour after hour of piano practice or swimming lessons. When grown, these children might be grateful for their training, or they may resent the physical or psychic pain they had to endure while forced to pursue an activity which they never liked. On the other hand, some children will receive no training in music or sports, something which they may regard as a handicap in later life. Either way the bodies of these children will have been permanently altered by their parents.

We rightly value self-determination, but our ability to choose our own path and make our own decisions about our bodies begins after our bodies have already been shaped by our parents in ways we are powerless to change. In this light, agonizing over the loss of a foreskin is an unwarranted, excessive reaction.
If there is a list of urgent priorities facing the president-elect and a new Congress, at the top of that list should be an investigation of the attempts by Russia to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

Criminal behavior by a foreign government attempting to interfere with U.S. elections is a direct threat to our democracy.

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We don't have to speculate about whether this happened. U.S. Intelligence Agencies have told the Congress and the president that this criminal behavior happened. According to reports, the evidence points to a foreign government engaging in computer hacking to steal private information and using it to help the candidate they prefer. It is believed they created and distributed fake news for the same purpose...to influence the presidential election. It should send a shiver down the spine of the American people.

The election is over and a new president has been selected. No one will ever know whether the Russian activities affected the outcome of the presidential election but we do know these brazen crimes committed by Russia to interfere in our elections are a serious threat to our democracy.

Last week Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain have said they are going to conduct an investigation into Russian interference in our election. Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Jack Reed have also called for an investigation. Thanks for their leadership. They are serious, thoughtful legislators who get it!

However, I think this matter calls for the creation of a Bipartisan Select Congressional Investigating Committee. Foreign interference in U.S. presidential election is criminal behavior. We need to know who did it, how they did it and how to prevent it in the future.

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In the past the U.S. Congress has demonstrated it can conduct important, bipartisan investigations on matters of national importance. This needs to be one of those occasions. And it should start immediately.

A Select House/Senate Committee with Bipartisan Co-Chairs and subpoena power should open a comprehensive investigation with a goal discovering the identity of those responsible and providing that information to the justice officials for prosecution.

The Select Committee should be staffed with our best investigators and top technology experts and work in close coordination with intelligence and justice department officials to track and trace the perpetrators.

When completed, the results of the investigation should be made available to the American people.
As a Millennial I love all that is social media: creating new real relationships, engaging in interesting content, discovering how my brand can effect other people's life just by having a social presence. It is really fascinating. I always look into the latest news, follow tech gurus, and this time I wanted to share something that can help a lot of people - and businesses, make their lives a bit easier.

In the social media world there is one big truth: GIVE LOVE. If you genuinely love people, the majority of them will love you back; just like in real life you need a lot of effort. The same thing is necessary in building your social media. There are however developers out there that are trying to save people's valuable time. They created an app, specifically for Instagram. This app works by registering your hashtags, who you want to target as your audience, and it will engage on your behalf. You can interact constantly with your audience and you should. This app though, will work like you x 1000, and I found it genius. The inventors of this app called River are Asia and Karol and they are Millennial entrepreneurs from Poland that are conquering the world of social media.

"We want to make a difference in the Instagram world by bringing the real people back to everyone's Instagram profile, not bot-coin-likes. River was made to make brand building and engaging on Instagram easier. Increasing engagement is the key to success on Instagram. With River you can attract real people and get real love back to your Instagram profile. The more you engage with your audience by liking their photos and following them, the more they will engage with your profile in return. Which, in turn, will lead to more followers and more targeted traffic, buying your products, visiting your website, etc. With River can easily and quickly engage several hundreds of users so that your work will be much more effective."

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I was curious to learn more about these two innovators and let my readers know that there is something out there legit. They also give costumers a one week free trial, so that you can experiment whether it works for you or not. I decided to interview them and find out who is behind River.

When you were a child, did you wish for the career and for the life that you have manifested today?

Karol:

Of course! Even when I was very young, I have always been thinking about marketing and sales, and development and coding. I have started very early. I was still in elementary school. This is what people call growth hacking now.

I probably did not really project that I would have become a CEO of a company.

My dad, Jerzy Pokojowczyk, was a master chess player, he traveled a lot. He brought me books and magazines from abroad. I am self-taught!

My older son started to code when he was 10 years old, same like me. So I assume that it is in our genes.

** I am blown away: I have never heard about a child interested in sales, marketing and coding. It must have been a past life experience :)

Asia:

No! Never :) I always wanted to work in an advertising agency and I did it for 13 years. I was sure that I would never have had my own company.

Why? Stress, sleepless nights, working more than 80 hours per week, being a psychologist, accountant, business analyst and god knows who else ... Well, everyone's dreaming about it, right? 

But I am a very hard-working person. I started working when I studied in high school. At first it was some odd jobs, but quite stable and flexible temporarily.

For over 13 years I worked for a large advertising agency for which I was building brands, communication and sales strategies for their customers. But then there came a moment when I did not see a future for me anymore.

In the meantime I met Karol, whom I actively supported from the very beginning of his company, Colibri IO.

After 2 years of cooperation I decided to join the Colibri IO's Team permanently and we created River, an app dedicated to growing people's Instagram (www.getriver.com).

I feel that all my past experiences were most useful, to build the brand awareness for River and for our users.

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Name a wish that you had for your life or for humanity that finally came true.

Karol:

I still remember stories from people living in the communist time in Poland. I'm very happy that this is all gone now, and that our life is just full of opportunities and borders are mostly open - especially in Europe. This was a huge change for the world and it had a strong impact on my life as well.

Asia:

I can divide my life into two parts: before being a startup co-founder my life was super simple. I worked a lot and my wish was to become a Sales Director before my 30th birthday. I did it. For over 10 years I dreamed to reach advanced positions at work but I did not really think about me. My new life began at the end of 2015, when we started our trip to South East Asia and we created our new company: River beta. This was a wish come true.

I met a lot of great people. We traveled around South East Asia for 2 years and were able to create a lot of beautiful friendships in Penang (Malaysia), Bali (Indonesia) and Mui Ne (Vietnam).

Now I wish to go back to South East Asia!

If you were granted one wish for humanity or for our planet, what would it be?

Karol:

Definitely to colonize other planets! I'm tracing the work of Elon Musk with bated breath!

** From Wekipedia "Elon Musk s the founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla Motors; co-founder and chairman of SolarCity; co-chairman of OpenAI; co-founder of Zip2; and founder of X.com which merged with PayPal of Confinity. As of June 2016, he has an estimated net worth of US$11.5 billion, making him the 83rd wealthiest person in the world.

Musk has stated that the goals of SolarCity, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX revolve around his vision to change the world and humanity.[24] His goals include reducing global warming through sustainable energy production and consumption, and reducing the "risk of human extinction" by "making life multiplanetary" by setting up a human colony on Mars.

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In addition to his primary business pursuits, he has also envisioned a high-speed transportation system known as the Hyperloop, and has proposed a VTOL supersonic jet aircraft with electric fan propulsion, known as the Musk electric jet."

Asia:

We need to protect tropical forests from deforestation and degradation, if we want to protect the planet against the worst global warming impacts. Ending deforestation will not solve global warming by itself, of course--urgent actions are needed to cut the other 90 percent of emissions. But the problem cannot be solved if the role of tropical deforestation is ignored.

If you could go back in time and ask one question from anyone from history, who would you want to meet and what question would you ask?

Karol:

Hank Moody!

It might sound funny, but I really enjoy with this series and they always helped me to relax after work. I can watch Californication over and over again :)

Asia:

Nikola Tesla - I'd like to show him what his contributions made towards our present technology, and ask him to discover more for our future generations.

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**Nikola Tesla said:"Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine."

What does it mean for you to be a Millennial Entrepreneur?

Karol:

It gives me freedom! I can live in a place where I want and meet the people that I would love to meet. I can do the things that I love to do. The freedom of choices is the most important factor for me! If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, don't start out wanting to be one. Start out with a customer problem and a product that solves it. Get capital. Make the product, market it, win customers. Someday you'll wake up and realize what you've become: a guy who took a risk, started a business, and made money.

Being an entrepreneur is about giving everything you have when the going gets tough, and never giving up. If you truly love and believe in what you're doing, then you must hang in there. Entrepreneurship is not knowing everything about your business. You must humble yourself and not work from your ego. Always be willing to grow, change and learn.

Asia:

An entrepreneur is a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money. If there's no real business or risk, you're not an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is the mind-set that allows you to see opportunity everywhere. It could be a business idea, but it could also be seeing the possibilities in the people that can help you grow that business. But it is not easy, and the road can be windy!



What are your suggestions for using correctly social media and particularly Instagram?

Karol:

Just do not try to build your audience by buying the followers and focus on one think that you do better than the others. Fulfill your dreams and fill your profile with photos that your audience might be interested in. Always try to reach your target audience as much as possible.

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Asia:

As you certainly know, many millions of users use Instagram every day. So do your customers. If you want to make your brand look more human, real and closer to your customers, you should be on Instagram too.

Here are my 7 steps to use Instagram like a PRO.

Check what your competitors do - this will help you create your way of communication.

Find suitable hashtags - this is the best way to reach your target group.

Prepare your content - at the beginning, this is the worst part, but I promise that this will be nice over time.

Set up publishing calendar - it will make your work simpler, you probably have another thing to do other than just using Instagram.

Research potential costumers - of course, Instagram is great fun, but your point is to talk to your potential costumers.

Attract and Engage - probably the most important part.

Create a shortened link in the bio - this link is not measured by default, so you have to pass it through bit.ly or whatever another service that can help you measure incoming traffic

If you want more, just click here: https://getriver.com/guides/how-to-use-instagram-like-a-pro

What is your final message for our readers?

Karol:

Whatever you are doing in your life, whatever it is business or personal, always try to be better than others.

Asia:

I would like to say something similar as Karol, but in my opinion much more important than just doing is to create something that will be useful. Because our life is full of useless things! This life is pretty AMAZING! Just stop and look around.

**It is the constant research to be better that will keep you humble. It is by trying to be innovative that you can try to change things. I applaud these young entrepreneurs that with their idea are helping so many other entrepreneurs all over the world.

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As always, make your wishes come true.

From Philadelphia, The Celebrity Wishmaker Simonetta Lein
"These unhappy times call for the building of plans that rest upon the forgotten, the unorganized but the indispensable units of economic power, for plans... that build from the bottom up and not from the top down, that put their faith once more in the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid." President Franklin D. Roosevelt, April 7, 1932

Even after a month has gone by, I'm sure many political pundits and "experts" are still wondering how exactly former Secretary Hillary Clinton managed to lose the Rust Belt. I'm no expert, but I'm guessing Secretary Clinton lost because she abandoned or didn't connect with blue collar Catholic voters on three key issues: jobs, guns, and abortion. That was a critical mistake for Secretary Clinton, since Catholics have been the critical swing vote for president since 1972.

President-elect Donald Trump took full advantage of this mistake. Skillfully channeling the words of FDR, Trump stated at his victory speech, "The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer." I imagine for blue collar Catholics in Pennsylvania towns like Levittown, Pottsville, Ambridge, and Clearfield, that line got one of the biggest applauses of the night.

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President-elect Trump promises to deport illegal immigrants, build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, and reject or re-negotiate trade deals like NAFTA and TPP. Yet this populist agenda will likely do little to bring back the kind of manufacturing jobs blue collar Catholics in the Rust Belt are clamoring for.

From 2000 to 2010, the government calculated around 5.6 million manufacturing jobs have been lost. And according to a study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana, only 13 percent of those jobs lost can be explained by trade. The rest of the loss, the study contends, is from increased automation and productivity. In an article for the New York Times, economist Douglas A. Irwin, from Dartmouth College, recently said, "We have a public policy toward trade. We don't have a public policy on automation."

The likelihood a President Trump and a pro-Wall Street Republican Congress imposing regulations to stop Silicon Valley from rolling out these automated, blue collar job killers is highly unlikely. Sure, companies are still required through federal and state regulations to have someone sitting in the driver's seat, but what are the chances the salary of a truck($40,000), taxi($30,000) or Uber($90,766 claim) driver will drastically decrease if between 95 to 99 percent of the driving is done by a machine? Uber's CEO already admitted his long-term goal "is to wean us off of having drivers in the car." If this is true, the forces of unbridled, free market capitalism will race to catch up to Uber; likely at the expense of the blue collar Catholics in the Rust Belt. If left unchecked, this unrelenting worship of the golden calf, Pope Francis warns, will usher in "an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal."

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To be fair, there's probably very little Secretary Clinton could've done differently to combat the enticing populist message President-elect Trump offered. There was, however, one noticeable instance during the campaign where I recall Secretary Clinton clearly addressed automation. Clinton called Trump's slogan "make America great again" a "cruel fantasy." Even if she's correct, I'm sure that wasn't the blunt response blue collar Catholics in the Rust Belt were looking for.

On guns, Secretary Clinton and Democrats were completely tone deaf to the culture of the Rust Belt.

While mass shootings and gun related homicides are certainly a tragedy, they aren't going to be solved by restricting the kind of gun someone owns or by creating more gun free zones. Frankly, the National Rifle Association eats up that kind of talk by liberals and progressives. For hunters and firearm enthusiasts in the Rust Belt, such talk by liberals and progressives was culturally and politically alienating. Truth be told, I don't even own a firearm and I thought such policies were weak and ineffective.

Suicides by guns are the real and immediate crisis to protecting and promoting life.

Death by gun suicide for 2010 alone was a staggering 19,392. From 1982 to 2015, almost 600 Americans have died in mass shootings. It takes only two weeks for gun suicides to surpass mass shootings in America. Yet which gets the most attention in the news?

If Democrats truly care about gun violence, they have to start by addressing the lack of mental health services for those at risk of committing suicide. Another major reason for gun violence can be linked to poor economic conditions. Eight out of ten states with the highest poverty rates also have high levels of gun violence. Connect mental healthcare and poverty with gun violence and Democrats will find greater supporter among blue collar Catholics in the Rust Belt.

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On abortion, pro-life Democrats gathering in Philadelphia for the Democratic Convention in July warned the party was leaving them(21 million to be exact) behind. This was especially true after the official Democratic Party platform called for repealing the Hyde and Helms Amendment, which restricts taxpayer dollars being used to fund abortions. Polling a couple weeks before the election found that while repeal was strong among die-hard Clinton supporters, the general electorate was firmly opposed.

I find it hard to accept, as do many blue collar Catholics apparently, that the Democratic Party promotes itself as being pro-life on other issues, such a gun safety, the death penalty, war, healthcare, and the environment, yet bills itself so prominently as pro-abortion. Essentially, millions of pro-life Democrats were told they weren't welcome in the party that supposedly prides itself on inclusion and diversity. If Democrats opened the door on the abortion issue specifically, the diverse coalition FDR established during the Great Depression and World War II -- which at its core included blue collar Catholics -- could be restored once more.

It should be noted that one of the last Democratic Governors recently elected in the Deep South was John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, a pro-life Catholic. While at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, Governor Edwards stated, "I am a proud Democrat and I am also very proudly pro-life. I know that is a challenge and a bigger challenge than it should be. It is our task to prove our party is the Big Tent party if we have only a small presence. We have to make our voices heard and this is an opportunity to do that."
The glitz and glam of exclusive parties, record-breaking sales, and provocative performances came to an end as curtains fell on Art Basel Miami last week. However, all the hype in the United State's seaport city can be a poignant reminder for many art-lovers of yet another aesthete region that is oftentimes synonymous with instability, repression, and at times "anti-western" sentiments.

In the Middle East region today--for many, especially young women--art appears as a bullet-proof mask, an escape valve, or at points, a liberating window of opportunity. While it may come as a shock, many Middle Eastern women are an integral part to and often on the forefront of some of the most innovative art that emerges from the region. This is while the majority of art organizations, institutions, commercial galleries and residency programs are formed and run by women.

In this centuries-old region, while political turmoil and social confinements often dominate news headlines, fresh female voices continue to emerge from countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. These are women whose artistic instincts act as a fresh breath of air into the stagnant narrative that often emerges from their politicized societies--among the most powerful and creative of these women are the curators whose vision has the power to frame the industry's hungry appetite . Featured here are five emerging female curators from Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Turkey, and Palestine who expand on the meaning of art in their country and what's its like to be an art-industry professional in this region.

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Raneen Bukhari

Lives and works between Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Bukhari grew up in what she calls "a business/art environment" with an artist mother and a self-made successful businessman father. In 1990, her parents opened Desert Designs. Upon graduation Bukhari opened up a cafe in the Desert Designs store named Cafea Arab and also manages the Desert Designs art gallery with her team. In addition to her involvement in the family business, Bukhari is the creator and curator of LOUD Art, a Saudi initiative and brainchild of Desert Designs Art Gallery and a co-organizer of Huna Art, a platform for casual art talks. She is now expanding to go beyond the confines of the gallery walls and create pop up art shows in all kinds of locations.



Photo Credit: Khaleejesque

TK: Define Saudi Arabia's art scene.

RB: It's still in the beginning and in our country we only have 50 years of art with the giant 30 years of gap where nothing happened during the Islamic revolution. We have a lot to learn and explore, and very few artistic expressions are devoid of Western influence.

TK: How does your curatorial practice shed light on the socio-cultural and political issues facing your country and the region?

I try to give space to artists that might be exploring the gray area of artistic freedoms in Saudi Arabia. There is a fear of what the government and society will accept; so in that way I think giving them the freedom to create sociocultural and political work is shedding light on the topics.

TK: What are some of the challenges of working in your country?

RB: Little or no formal education for artists can be a disadvantage. There is very limited public funding and awareness of the importance of art in private and public spaces. Also, there is high restriction on creative freedom; for example, sculpture is still looked on as a provocative medium as it relates to idolatry.

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TK: If you could curate an art show for the US president-elect Donald Trump, what theme would you choose?

RB: A Kara Walker-esque art show about American People of color and minority groups whose traditions and cultures have become a major part of American history. To use artists from each community to highlight what being American really is, and continue the conversation about why the white majority seems to find it so hard to accept and embrace them.

TK: Tell us about your upcoming project.

RB: LoudArt's fifth edition and also a show with a collective that I am a part of where the British Council has trained to increase their capabilities as curators. LoudArt will be next May and the graduation project of the BC training will be October 2017.

Lila Nazemian

Lives and works between Tehran and New York.

Nazemian is the Curatorial and Special Projects Associate at Leila Heller Gallery in New York. Her independent projects include curating Spheres of Influence, the first group show of Arab contemporary art in Iran, at Tehran's Mohsen Gallery in April 2016 and two co-curated shows in collaboration with Culturunners at the Redbull House of Art, Detroit in June 2015.



TK: Define Iran's art scene.

LN: Although Iran has a rich centuries-old art history and has even had a prolific modern artistic movement (the Saqqa-khaneh) in the 1960s, the contemporary art scene has been relatively isolated from the global arts community due a variety of factors such as revolution, Iran-Iraq war, and crippling sanctions. Despite such challenges in the past three decades, new private galleries regularly open in various established commercial spaces. The local Tehran Auction has organized several auctions since 2012 and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMOCA) has contributed and taken initiative by launching a dynamic international program alongside displays of its infamous collection of Postwar and Modern Western Art. Private residencies such as KOOSHK in Tehran and Va in Isfahan host international artists and provide a collaborative exchange between local and international creatives. As the country is slowly reintegrating into the globalized world and opening its doors to foreigners, the scope of the arts community will undoubtedly continue to expand and evolve.

TK: How does your curatorial practice shed light on the socio-cultural and political issues facing your country and the region?

LN: Within every society, artists, curators, and critics often observe and respond to particular moments in history. With each project, I strive to connect themes, historical moments, and people by raising--at times-- uncomfortable truths. In the Middle East there are multiple layers of competitive, controversial, and contextually specific relationships both on the macro level such as countries, religious groups, ethnic groups as well as micro level like: laws, environmental initiatives, and nation building. I strongly believe that where there is conflict there is room to learn about one's self and others. I look to bring together groups of artists whose works not only have a dialogue with one another, but also constitute various pieces of a puzzle, which ultimately can address a contentious topic,place, and situation--hopefully with a bit of irony.

TK: What are some of the challenges of working in your country?

LN: One of the main challenges in this part of the world is censorship. I do believe however, that obstacles and censorship compel the artistic community to be more creative. The artists' criticisms and messages are ultimately revealed not in an obvious manner, but in a much more cryptic and complex fashion. In some ways, censorship ends up being both a curse and a blessing; while artists are not permitted to speak freely, once they find their way to voice their opinions, their messages are richer and more profound.

TK: If you could curate an art show for the US president-elect Donald Trump, what theme would you choose?

LN: I would commission a group of artists around the world to create video works around the theme of Trump Towers in cities in different countries like Azerbaijan, Argentina, Russia, the Philippines and of course, the United States. Central to this project would be the medium of video art, and furthermore the voices of artists from around the world describing, questioning and challenging the impact of such real estate developments in their local cities and communities.

TK: Tell us about your upcoming project.

LN: I am currently working on a show around the theme of mainstream media and the ways in which narratives shape opinions by ignoring or accentuating certain facts. In my upcoming show, Emphasis and Omission: Accounts of a Hospital Airstrike, five Yemeni new-media artists are invited to weigh in on the current war taking place in Yemen and to create new work based on the conflicting news media reports on an airstrike attack on a hospital in Yemen's northwestern region on August 15, 2016. As expected, by comparing reports from various international media outlets, inconsistencies in the accounts are evident, which will ultimately reveal various underlying global political allegiances.

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Munira Al Sayegh

Lives and works in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Al Sayegh holds an undergraduate degree in History of Art and Archaeology from University of London's School of African and Oriental Studies with a focus on the Middle East. She has worked at NYU Abu Dhabi as an assistant producer on the FIND project and was the co-curator of Art Dubai Projects 2014 as well as assistant curator of Emirati Expressions in 2015. She is currently working on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project as a Programs Officer. Al Sayegh sits on the advisory council board of the NYUAD gallery and has published various articles on the contemporary art scene in the region. She is curating the 2017 edition of UAE Unlimited Exhibition hosted in Abu Dhabi titled Bayn.



TK: Define the Emirates' art scene.

MAS: Unlike what many think, the art scene in the UAE is not a recent phenomena, but has been around since the 1970's. In the present, Sharjah leads with its grassroots initiatives, always integrating the art scene within the already existing community spaces. In the early 2000's Dubai proved itself to be the commercial hub for the Arts--in the present day we have spaces such as Al-Serkal Avenue, which is home to local and international galleries and creative spaces in the heart of the industrial neighborhood.

In the capital, Abu Dhabi, an entire island known as Saadiyat is being built and will be home the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the Zayed National museum. So in a nutshell, I would say that the ecosystem in the UAE is in constant evolution and that evolution has become a part of the identity of the country's art scene.

TK: How does your curatorial practice shed light on the socio-cultural and political issues facing your country and the region?

MAS: Being from the UAE I grew up in a multi-national society. So my curiosity as to how we are looking at 'change' from an anthropological and sociological way is very important when it comes to my work. The end result of an exhibition is always a reflection of the current issues as well as the ideas discussed in the UAE and the Gulf. With the rapid change that this young country has gone through in addition to the consistent shifts that continue to take place around us, questions of identity, social hierarchies, and the rearranging sense of language are all major factors reflected in the art scene.

TK: What are some of the challenges of working in your country?

MAS: One of the main challenges is the way that each country works as a separate entity. There needs to be a bridge that combines the Gulf as a whole in order for the multiplicity of voices to be heard from a grassroots perspective. This brings up a second point that addresses the need for non-formal institutions to also rise alongside the large-scale international institutions in order to satisfy that which does not trickle down from the top. I would say once the challenges are satisfied, only then we can have what could be considered as a more holistic art scene.

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TK: If you could curate an art show for the US president-elect Donald Trump, what theme would you choose?

MAS: I would look at the theme of separation in order to get the point of unity across by blurring boundaries of borders by engaging artists in producing works that look at division. Furthermore, I would open up the conversation to look at the insensitivities that are derived from hate in order to discuss the perspectives found in the lack of understanding of what unifies us as a global population.

TK: Tell us about your upcoming project.

MAS: It's a project under the patronage of His Highness, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan's foundation, UAE Unlimited in collaboration with Sheikha Salama Foundation, New York University Abu Dhabi, and Marayah Arts Center. The upcoming exhibition, "Bayn"; looks to deconstruct and reconstruct labels, boundaries, and identities assigned, defining this constant state of transformation as a part of the present genetic make up of the UAE shedding light on personal, social, and environmental changes currently taking place.

Ulya Soley

Lives and works in Istanbul.

Upon her graduation from Robert College, Ulya studied art history and psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She spent a year at the University of Glasgow as an exchange student focusing on art history and comparative literature. In Berlin she participated in a round table discussion on historicizing video art as a speaker at the Moving Image fair, Istanbul. Currently she works at Pera Museum in Istanbul and writes for Sanatatak and Istanbul Art News. She is a co-founder and curator at Maybe Art Projects.



TK: Define Turkey's art scene.

US: Turkey's art scene is changing and evolving rapidly. It is definitely exciting to watch it expand in all dimensions, but quite hard to explain the complexities that define it. Private museums and investors that are key players to the development of the art scene have only been around for the past 10-15 years. Unfortunately the state support to contemporary art is minimum. The Istanbul Biennial is another very influential international event that has a 30 years long history. Although in its short history, Turkey's art scene has grown to become an interesting case due to the country's complex geographical and political situation.

TK: How does your curatorial practice shed light on the socio-cultural and political issues facing your country and the region?

US: I'm hoping to develop and work on projects that focus on contemporary thoughts and concerns at a global level. I'm interested in introducing, developing or contributing to these ideas and raising awareness in our present-day context.

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TK: What are some of the challenges of working in your country?

US: Freedom of expression is problematic, and insufficient funding is challenging. Instability of the political environment makes art a privilege. However, international perception about the area makes it difficult to collaborate with international partners.

TK: If you could curate an art show for the US president-elect Donald Trump, what theme would you choose?

US: I choose not to do a show for one specific person and have no answer for this question.

TK: Tell us about your upcoming project.

US: I'm part of Maybe Art Projects, a curatorial duo and we are currently working on a screening and talk program that brings together visual artists who engage with intersections of video art and film in their work.

Lara Khaldi

Lives and works in Jerusalem

Khalidi is an independent Palestinian curator. She currently teaches art history and theory at the International Academy of Art, Palestine, Ramallah and at Dar Al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, Bethlehem and is the interlocutor for the upcoming Sharjah Biennial 13 project in Ramallah.



TK: Define your home country's art scene.

LK: It's an art scene continuously in flux because of the political instability. In Ramallah and Bethlehem for example many new institutions are opening and growing because of a relatively more stable political and international and local private funding situation. Possibilities for artists to exhibit and show their work has also been growing with new exhibition spaces like the artist-run space Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center, the Birzeit Museum, and the AM Qattan Foundation. An interesting debate in the Palestinian art scene is taking place now with the opening of many new museums, and many artists have been making art works around lost archives and new museums.

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In Gaza the cultural scene suffers from the general problems of infrastructure caused by the Israeli siege and the many wars waged against them. As for the volatile city of Jerusalem, institutions suffer a lack of funding and a daily challenge in inviting audiences to immerse in public life, as there has been a withdrawal caused by a very tense public sphere.

Although the fragmented territory and contexts make it difficult for us to collaborate, it is for this very reason we have started Qalandiya International in 2012 which is a bi-annual program of exhibitions and artistic events run by a steering committee of visual arts institutions across Palestine.

TK: How does your curatorial practice shed light on the socio-cultural and political issues facing your country and the region?

LK: For the past few years I have been very interested in the proliferation of museums in the region and specifically in Palestine. In a paper for the Institute for Palestinian Studies conference I presented notes on artist's' work which portray museums in the region as flat and self referential, and where the museum becomes a space for the announcement for the death of a struggle for emancipation, especially in the Palestinian case. I also formed a due with artist Yazan Khalili where we work on lecture performances, some of which have dealt with the history of the conflicted history of the Arab Union (Love Letters to a Union).

TK: What are some of the challenges of working in your country?

One of the many problems we face here in Palestine in the cultural scene is an isolation and a disconnection from other practices and practitioners in the Arab world and abroad, travel between our neighboring countries (and travel in general) has been near impossible since the Nakba of 1948, and so we have suffered a cultural caesura which is quite incommensurable. However there are advantages in these challenges that could more often be seen in the conceptual questions born out of the complexities of the region. For example, the question around building museums here in Palestine becomes a very interesting one which could subvert and change the question around the museum globally.

TK: If you could curate an art show for the US president-elect Donald Trump, what theme would you choose?

LK: One can either take this question seriously or sarcastically, as I think there is something very sarcastic in the fact that Trump is the president of the United States; or perhaps it is not sarcasm but simply the truth finally revealed, whereby the real leaders of America, capitalists, are now "officially" or "legally" ruling. To answer this question, I will use an anecdote. The Museum on the Seam is a Palestinian house built in 1932 by the Baramki family and was occupied by the Israeli military in 1948. Today it is called Museum on the Seam because it is located on the "1949 armistice line" which divides Jerusalem into West and East. The curators attempt to invite Arab and Palestinian artists along with international artists to reflect on 'borders' mostly because the museum is located on the now invisible but very palpable 'seam'. Of course many artists declined the invitation until one day an artist did express interest and accepted the invitation. After a few months of research on the history of the building, the artist submitted a detailed proposal for the museum. His proposed art work was that the building of the museum be returned back to it's rightful owners, the Palestinian Baramki family. Naturally the proposal was turned down by the museum curators and staff, and every document pertaining to this proposal was destroyed. I would basically invite this artist for an unconditional solo project for US president-elect Donald Trump at the white House.

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In 1968, during my first year of teaching in a Pennsylvania public high school, I tried to persuade my students to take an interest in history. I had the following quotation on my classroom bulletin board: "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."

One day a student asked me, in all sincerity, "Why must I study history? I just want to train horses." To this day I still struggle with her question. Why do we think coercion is a good approach to learning?

She got good grades in my course, but she said she forgot almost everything because she really didn't care. Given the chance to talk about horses, on the other hand, she seemed to know everything and forget nothing.

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In truth, I had my own personal struggles with compulsory schooling. By the time I reached high school, I was frustrated with what school imposed on me. I loved history and I wanted to learn what I wanted to learn. But I would get in trouble for reading a history book in math class. I often felt that school got in the way of my education.

However, not until I read "Deschooling Society" in 1971 did I realize that the institution of school itself is the obstacle to learning for many young people. The author, Ivan Illich, pointed out that the costs of schooling kept going up while the outcomes kept going down.

Decades later it's the same. The costs at every level of schooling are still climbing -- but with growing skepticism as to whether school is worth the return on investment. Yes, there are excellent schools and excellent students, but many more people than we realize simply don't like school and the results show that. If schools fail to meet the needs of many students, why do they still have a monopoly on the resources and good will available for education in our society?

We have come to confuse learning with schooling. Learning is now measured by the number of years in school and the number of diplomas collected. Informal learning, acquired through direct experience, or self-directed learning, driven by personal interest, are regarded as inferior to school learning.

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Yet there is a growing resistance to school and the hallmark measure of school progress: standardized testing. Last year a half million school children opted out of standardized testing. The parents of more than two million American children of school age refused to send their children to school at all and "home-schooled" them instead.

Some parents turn to self-directed learning programs, such as North Star in Massachusetts, where my eldest son Josh works part-time as an advisor and teacher. Ever since I read about the concept of deschooling, I wondered what it might look like in practice.

Ken Danford, a former middle school teacher, founded North Star in 1996 to assist teenagers who wanted to leave school and to give them a place where they could learn in their own way. Danford is against compulsory schooling, not schools themselves. His own children chose the more conventional path of schooling.

But Danford's North Star program has demonstrated that many young people who hate school still want to learn. They don't need to be forced or persuaded and they don't have to stay in school to learn -- if they can choose what they study. Voluntary classes and the absence of tests encourage young people to rely on their own self-motivation. Adults assist young people as facilitators, not dictators, whose role is to "make possible" rather than "make sure." They help young people choose their activities, including those that North Star itself offers -- from learning a musical instrument to a variety of classes taught without tests or grades.

I heard one of North Star's former learners speak about how, despite hating high school, he started to attend community college classes because he chose to do so. Without ever having graduated high school, he went on to graduate from college, as do many North Star kids, because he chose to do so. North Star now serves as the model for "Liberated Learners," a network that helps new programs replicate North Star's successful efforts to support learning beyond the schoolhouse.

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Author James Herndon once suggested that freedom of education in Western democracies will eventually come to pass, like freedom of religion. He said, "There is no law anymore that people must go to church...so many people don't while others do." Eventually, our society must recognize the simple truth in North Star's slogan: "Learning is natural. School is optional."
by Rick McGahey, former assistant secretary of labor, and Teresa Ghilarducci, economics professor at The New School for Social Research

On December 8, a month after the election, President-Elect Donald Trump used Twitter to attack a white male steelworker - a representative of the voting block that tipped the election in his favor. For his part, Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999 in Indianapolis, started the fight by calling the President-elect a liar. Jones claimed that only 800 Carrier heating and air conditioning jobs would not be moving to Mexico, rather than the "more than 1,000 jobs" Trump claimed to save.

Notably, President-elect Trump blamed unions for manufacturing job losses. In the 1970s, unions were blamed for being uncompetitive, and unions fell over themselves to negotiate concessions. But most research showed the concessions mostly raised profits and made it cheaper for companies to close down and move jobs. So the jobs left faster. Smashing unions didn't work. In Ohio, for instance, workers couldn't compete with Chinese labor markets.

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So what to do? How to keep good paying jobs in the United States?

The Carrier deal lifts up the one question taxpayers and voters have to answer. How much should a president, governor, or mayor pay to keep a job in the United States?

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the current Governor of Indiana, gave Carrier $7 million in tax breaks from Indiana taxpayers. That is under $9000 per job. But the total cost to Indiana could run well beyond $7 million should the Carrier deal replicate previous practices of hiding the full costs of such agreements in various state accounts and budgets. But transparency issues aside, is it economically worthwhile for states to offer tax breaks as an incentive for companies to remain in-state, and at least preserve the incomes of a portion of their work force?

A consensus among economists from a variety of perspectives holds that subsidizing individual firms is wasteful, doesn't boost long-term prosperity, and creates "economic war among the states." In 1994, economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis argued against the practice because state tax incentives drain public budgets, create unhealthy competition to move businesses from one location to another, and ignore the economic fundamentals that determine optimal business location. The conventional economic view is that states and cities can compete by offering lower overall taxes and regulations, and other advantages such as lower crime rates, more effective transportation, and a better-educated labor force.

Many economists argue against giving particular firms tax breaks because most go to big firms. Big firms often exploit their economic position to capture "rents" of various sorts, including tax and regulatory advantages not available to smaller businesses. And subsidy policies are often allied with calls for lower overall taxes and broader attacks on minimum wages, unions, and other labor policies. Their combined effect is to depress incomes.

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Instead, the economy could be boosted more by strengthening public sector and labor bargaining power and tying tax breaks to clear, measurable benefits that, if not met, can result in those tax breaks being recaptured, or "clawed back."

The only major economists who have argued for firm-specific tax breaks are Michael Greenstone and Enrico Moretti, who found that winners of inter-state competition to host industry can see increases in related property values without significant overall revenue loss. But their research covers the construction of new plants rather than subsidies to existing ones, and the dominant finding is that plant-specific subsidies--such as those to Carrier--are inefficient rents captured by healthy, large firms, with little benefit flowing to employees.

Some analyses go further, finding that state subsidies increase inequality by strengthening anti-union, anti-regulation, "low-road" employers relative to other companies.
Better living conditions in Greece would encourage more migrants to stay. Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

The European Commission has decided to start returning migrants from other European countries back to Greece, lifting a ban on the practice that was put in place in 2011. The decision is influenced by concerns that 13,000 migrants recently disappeared from camps in Northern Greece and may have migrated onwards into Northern Europe. European leaders also want Greece to start returning migrants to Turkey under the EU-Turkey agreement.

As the current migration and refugee crisis has unfolded, one question has frequently been asked: why don't refugees just stay in Turkey or Greece?

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Because migration research tends to focus on why people leave their home countries in the first place, we often miss the critical in-between step. Indeed, migrants may try to establish a life in an intended destination country, such as Turkey or Greece, but then be compelled for different reasons to move on. Alternatively, refugees may become "stuck" in a country that was intended to be a stop-over on a longer journey.

We wanted to find out how migrants in Greece and Turkey viewed their current situations and planned for the future. From May to June 2015, we interviewed more than 1,000 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria. The respondents included both migrants who had only recently arrived at Turkish or Greek refugee camps as well as people who had lived there for several years.

Why refugees want to leave

Overwhelmingly, we found that most respondents wanted to migrate onwards from Turkey and Greece, and surprisingly, more so from Greece than from Turkey. Of migrants in Greece, 73% wanted to move on. In Turkey the figure was 53%.

In Greece, the desire to continue migrating did not vary according to migrants' current legal status. That is, respondents designated as refugees were just as likely to want to move on from Greece as those without that status. This was contrary to our expectations, because when refugees migrate irregularly onwards, they give up their right to protection in Greece.

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Why did they want to move on? There were two key reasons. First: living conditions. Respondents who stated that their current living conditions were average, good or very good were significantly less likely to want to continue migrating. In Greece, 58% of refugees said their current living conditions were bad or very bad.

Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

Our research also shows that the destination migrants had most wanted to reach when leaving their country of origin significantly affected their current migration intention. Respondents who had initially planned to migrate to Greece or Turkey were, of course, less likely to want to move on from those places.

In Turkey, we found that refugees who were employed were significantly less likely to seek to leave, despite the fact that nearly all respondents were employed without permission. Having any kind of job in Turkey was a critical factor in wanting to stay.

Those who want to stay

A much smaller group of respondents intended to settle in Greece or Turkey. For these migrants, the most significant factor influencing their decision was that the current host country was peaceful. The second most important factor was money: they lacked resources to continue the trip.

Very few respondents intended to return to their home country - less than 2% in Greece and 7% in Turkey. The most important factors for them were the inability to satisfy their initial migration goals, followed by a desire to be reunited with family

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Umit Bektas/Reuters

Where to next?

The decision of where to move on to is critical for asylum seekers and refugees. The figure below shows the destination of choice for the respondents who wanted to migrate onwards.

Germany was the top destination choice country by a significant margin. It's important to note that we conducted these interviews before Chancellor Angela Merkel openly welcomed refugees to Germany in August 2015. This suggests that, contrary to the media reports claiming that Merkel created the refugee crisis in Germany by opening the borders, migrants and refugees were already on their way.

Sweden is the second most desired destination country among the migrants we interviewed. This finding is reflected in the geography of asylum claims made in the EU in 2015, of which Germany and Sweden had the highest number. Among other EU countries, differences in migrants' interest levels are mostly marginal.

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However, two other responses to the question of where migrants wanted to move on to were significant. For 37 respondents, the intended destination was simply "Europe"; another 34 did not have a planned destination in mind at all, they simply wanted to move on.

It is thus likely that these migrants were being driven by circumstances in Greece or Turkey, not attracted by specific conditions in target destination countries.

Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Dreaming of a better life

The EU-Turkey agreement allows for the return of people crossing by boat from Turkey to Greece if they do not have a valid asylum claim. It has significantly reduced the flows of people coming to Europe via these two countries. The closing of the northern borders in Greece has also trapped roughly 61,000 people in Greece.

Based on our research, it is likely that the majority of migrants and refugees who are now effectively stuck in both Greece and Turkey want to migrate onwards.

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The reasons for this are clear: poor living conditions, lack of employment opportunities and the desire to fulfil their initial plans. It is concerning that the EU seeks to start returning migrants again to Greece, considering the conditions they face there.

Europe's current political focus is on preventing migrants in Turkey and Greece from migrating onwards, but without understanding what compels people to stay or go. Without a long-term solution, migrants will continue to wait for an opportunity to create a life for themselves and their families elsewhere.
Thomas Worcester, SJ

Pope Francis at 80

Pope Francis turns 80 on December 17th. Elected less than four years ago at the age of 76, he continues to exhibit an amazing degree of energy and zeal. It is reasonable to suppose that he could well serve another five years or so as bishop of Rome before stepping down. For Americans, and indeed for many others, a question that arises in the wake of the US election is how Pope Francis may offer a model of leadership that is different from what we usually see from US presidents. With this question in the background, I recall here some of what we have seen so far from Pope Francis.

Other popes had visited the US, but none had addressed Congress. Speaking slowly and distinctly, in English, Pope Francis stood before the assembled lawmakers in September 2015 and singled out four Americans as especially exemplary: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Thomas Merton, and Dorothy Day. Lincoln and King stand out for their efforts to end injustices grounded in racism; they suffered martyrdom for their work. Not long before his trip to the US, Pope Francis had beatified Oscar Romero, the El Salvador bishop assassinated for his defense of the poor against the violence and predation of the greedy rich. In speaking to the US Congress, Pope Francis also made clear that a pro-life agenda is not solely concerned with abortion; the example of a pro-life issue he highlighted was the urgent need for a global abolition of the death penalty. And in praising Merton and Day, Francis lauded two articulate, prophetic voices for an end to war everywhere.

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Eschewing narrow national and institutional interests, Pope Francis has again and again promoted international cooperation between peoples, better relations among diverse Christians, and inter-religious dialogue that can overcome hatred between Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others. No matter how discouraging the daily onslaught of news of violence may be, Francis does not give up, but rather he re-doubles his efforts for reconciliation and peace.

Accepting and endorsing the scientific consensus on climate change and related environmental questions, Pope Francis published an encyclical entitled Laudato si', a document that applies the moral principles of Catholic Social Teaching to the matter of human agency in environmental degradation. Francis shows how it is the poor that suffer the most from environmental damage, while the rich insulate themselves from having to acknowledge or in any way change their wasteful, destructive ways. Catholic Social Teaching stresses the common good and what must be done to foster it, a theme to which Francis returns constantly. He sees individual greed--in traditional Catholic teaching a deadly sin--as the enemy of the common good and as central to environmental destruction. Appealing for local, national, international collaboration to stop global warming and other damage, Francis places solidarity in care for the earth, our common home, far above private interests and profits.

In 1980, Jesuit superior general Pedro Arrupe created the Jesuit Refugee Service, an international organization sponsored by the Society of Jesus and devoted to providing various kinds of assistance and support to refugees. Pope Francis, himself a Jesuit, has been relentless in speaking out in defense of refugees and migrants, against those that use them as scapegoats for unemployment and crime, and against those that slander them for the sake of political or other personal gain. For Pope Francis, the poor are Christ among us, the Jesus for whom there was no room in Bethlehem, and who was taken as a refugee into Egypt to flee the murderous designs of the power-hungry King Herod.

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Mercy is the dominant theme of the current papacy. Francis is tireless in exhorting priests to get out of their comfort zones, and to minister up close to the people, listening to them in person, while literally getting their own shoes dirty in poorer neighborhoods, as their hearts are transformed from cold and distant to warm and loving. Priests are to listen to the very human stories of broken marriages and bring discernment to bear on such matters, rather than merely repeat rules that may not fit the concrete and messy situations of actual people.

The job description of a pope also includes internal administration of the Catholic Church, starting with the Vatican offices and officials known as the Roman Curia, along with appointment of cardinals and bishops around the world. In a talk to the Curia in 2014 Francis seemed especially eager for major reform of both persons and institutions, but some commentators have noted the continuing slow pace of any actual reform. Still, the cardinals Francis has named have been a strong indication of a new way of doing things. No longer are holders of large, wealthy archdioceses more-or-less automatically made cardinals, but they are often passed over in favor of bishops from relatively obscure, poor dioceses, at the ends of the earth. In naming bishops, Francis does not hesitate to choose those that make care for the poor, the migrants and the refugees, the outcasts and the discarded, their priority. Pope Francis surely has both supporters and critics, some of the latter rather harsh, in the Curia and among the bishops and cardinals in various countries. But he has avoided a vindictive agenda, and seeks dialogue and consensus whenever possible.

In the US, some persons have been disappointed by the slow pace of change regarding the roles of women in the Church. Defenders of Francis in this regard point to his amicable resolution of an investigation of nuns that had been initiated by his predecessor, and to his appointment of a commission to study the historical precedents for women deacons.
Michael D. Linares is a Puerto Rican artist who works in a variety of media. He currently (October - December 2016) lives and works in Basel (Switzerland) thanks to a three-month artist residency at Atelier Mondial in collaboration with the Institute of Art at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design. The residency is part of the artist residency program of the Davidoff Art Initiative, which supports contemporary art and artists in the Caribbean, and fosters cultural engagement between the Caribbean and the rest of the world. The Davidoff Art Residency offers residency opportunities for Caribbean artists in selected leading artist residency programs worldwide, as well as for international artists in the Dominican Republic. These annual residencies aim to connect today's Caribbean art more closely with the international art world. This video is a short documentary about Michael D. Linares' residency in Basel.


Reggie Austin rehearsing with Grace Kelly in Taos NM. NC Heikin

Over the weekend, I met NC Heikin*, a fellow filmmaker for a drink in Paris. She ordered a green healthy juice and I had a cosmopolitan, my toddler was sleeping in her stroller next to us, then we started talking about our projects as filmmakers usually do. NC told me she'd been following the story of Reggie Austin, a man who'd killed his girlfriend when he was high on heroine. He was given parole after 35 years in prison. I'm very aware of the issue of mass incarceration in the US and how it affects people of color over white people, however I never came so close to consider the story of a man who was guilty of something more than selling drugs, this was confronting to me. Why did she want to make a film about a murderer? I asked her, if she could forgive him and NC told me, it wasn't about forgiveness, it was about justice. Then I asked if Reggie is black, and she said he is. She also told me that "One of the reasons so many African-American men are in jail is because once they're in, they don't get out."

Her film isn't about guilt or innocence it's about justice, a man who could have been an accomplished musician today works as a garbage man.



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This is an interview I did with her after.

What did you feel the first time you met Reggie Austin?

I met Austin in 2012 when he was still inmate #B57661. He was an imposing guy, but very polite and well spoken. He seemed really nice. When he told me he was in for second-degree murder, I literally backed away. I wasn't afraid of him, but I was definitely put off. He was not threatening, but I had never to my knowledge spoken with someone who had taken a life. He disarmed me by openly talking about his crime and that you "couldn't take away from the seriousness" of some of the San Quentin inmates' crimes, then impressed me with his cogent statement about how nevertheless there were abuses going on in the prison system. Then he said he needed a piano, and I felt like I was being conned, but really he was just saying he needed a piano and probably thought I could help.

Why did you decide to make a film about a man who killed another person?

What drew me to Reggie's story was the fact that he played with the band I had brought into San Quentin to do a concert. The concert itself was all about redemption--specifically of the late Frank Morgan, who spent more than his share of time in San Quentin because of drug abuse. We were all blown away by the experience-- the all-star jazz band, the crew, and most of all, the inmates in the audience. Incredibly, Reggie Austin knew Frank Morgan. He had the courage to get up and play with the all-stars, but afterwards he let me know that the evening changed his life. He felt reborn because of something I had brought about. That's when I felt I had a stake in his future, for better or worse.



Reggie Austin in 2012, playing with band in San Quentin Prison. NC Heikin

Mass Incarceration is one of the most talked about topics in America today. Why is this story different?

I'm approaching the problem from a new angle, and through a very personal experience. One of the reasons so many African-American men are in jail is because once they're in, they don't get out. A recent New York Times report found that in New York State, one in four white men get parole, while only one in six black men do. Black men are more likely to get life sentences and serve much more time on that sentence than their white counterparts. In the case of murder, we expect parole boards to want to protect public safety, but the same prejudices that occur among police toward black men, occur in parole boards toward prisoners petitioning for parole. Indeed, many of the people serving on parole boards are former law enforcement. The repeated denial of parole becomes de facto resentencing. Additionally, anywhere there are private corporations running the prisons, there is zero incentive to let an inmate out. Private prisons make money on each prisoner, so the more prisoners they keep, the higher their profits. With little oversight, they cut corners where they can to increase profitability. This translates into worsening conditions for the prisoners.

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What is the relationship between race and lifers in the US?

In California alone, there are 34,000 lifers--quite a few more than the next highest state. Many of them were handed life sentences under the "three strikes and you're out" law, often for relatively minor offenses. The three-strikes law fell disproportionately on black men, who could be picked up for minor offenses such as possession of marijuana, that would not have resulted in prosecution for a white guy. Black men know they are a hair's breadth from being arrested almost all the time. If they are only slightly unlucky they can get picked up for disorderly conduct, possession of drugs, resisting arrest, all of which might not be construed as offences if the perpetrator is white. Once arrested, black men are typically counseled to cop a plea by public defenders who don't have the time to fight the system for all the disadvantaged people going through it. Without a good lawyer, chances are you're going to jail. Black men wind up convicted felons and in the system. Three of these and you're sent away for life. My personal statistical observation: I met eight lifers in San Francisco while filming for Life Crime, five still inside and three who had gotten out. Of the eight, seven were black.





I know you spend your time between France and the US. Is the system in France any different?

Notably, the French, like their European counterparts, do not have the death penalty. Their maximum sentence for truly heinous crimes, such as those involving terrorism, assassination, or the murder of a child, is life. But other murders have a maximum of thirty years or twenty years depending on the severity of the crime. Reggie Austin would probably have been sentenced to twenty years in France, and had he been as model a prisoner in France as he mostly was in the US, he would have gotten out after the twenty, if not before. The International Criminal Court sentences mass murderers to thirty years. Reggie was in for thirty-five!



Reggie playing outside in Marin County 2015. NC Heikin

You talk about music/art as a way to change someone's life, but how?

The minute you can focus a person's attention on something creative, you give that person an outlet. A prisoner has had all his freedoms taken away, but participation in any art form provides a kind of liberation. When you are completely involved in music, or dance, or writing, you forget your surroundings and immerse yourself in your art. This can only be good for a prisoner, to be able to experience that kind of release and realize he can do it at any time, that it is not dangerous to him or others, and that in most cases it fosters community with the other inmates on a non-confrontational level. The prisoner learns to work with others in a new way and gains confidence as well. (Think putting on that school play in high school.) Many prisoners are completely locked up inside--traumatized by what they have done on the outside as well as by being in prison. Playing music or putting on a show gives them an avenue of expression that can help them sort their feelings and feel a little joy. The punishment is being in prison. They don't have to also be punished with totally dehumanizing privation.

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In the end I asked NC how she was going with the film and she told me she was running a kickstarter campaign but it was really tough because it is a film about a guy who committed a terrible crime, it's not the typical story of an innocent man sent to prison, it's about the complexity of mass incarceration and how injustice is rooted within the justice system.

I think is an important issue and I have donated to NC's campaign, if you like to donate here is the link, the campaign ends in three days.
Reno Commission puts liquor by drink without food sales on 2023 ballot

Hutchinson board acts quickly to respond to brewery's dilemma, but vote is more than a year away.
Congress Brings Sanity To Appointment Of Head Of US Copyright

It looks as though the churning waters in the U.S. Copyright Office are beginning to calm somewhat following the retaliatory constructive termination of Maria Pallante. Since then congress has taken corrective action and issued a warning to the current Librarian of Congress.

_______________________

Guest Post by Chris Castle on Music Tech Solutions

As you may have read, the newly appointed Librarian of Congress terminated the head of the U.S. Copyright Office (called the Register of Copyrights) through a process that I believe would be considered whats called retaliatory constructive termination. This is when an employer doesnt actually fire an employeeusually a senior employee or whistleblowerbut puts them in what is effectively a demoted position to make them miserable enough to quit and then announces that the person quit.

This hasnt worked since Cinderella, and it doesnt work today. By demoting the Register of Copyrights, who was Maria Pallante, the new Librarian effectively fired her in a move that was condemned by two former Registers and both current and former Members of Congress as well as songwriters like Don Henley. The firing was condemned as Google-backed chicanery by no less than the august Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal.

No one should have been surprised when Pallante quit.

While several in the anti-copyright crowd crowed about Pallantes demotion being business as usual because Pallante wanted greater independence for the Copyright Office, the justification that they gave was that the Librarian has the power to appoint the Register, so she also has the power to constructively terminate a Register that someone else appointed. I guess they didnt realize that they were actually strengthening Pallantes constructive termination case if anybody cared to listen.

So it looks like somebody did care to listenin the form of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. This is, after all, the Library of Congress after all. If anybody forgot who they worked for, it now looks like that person was the Librarian, Dr. Carla Hayden.

The House Judiciary Committee has just issued a carefully worded policy paper regarding the appointment of the next Registernotwithstanding the rather mean spirited and your little dog, too justifications given by some in the anti-copyright crowd who are promoting the Librarys recent deal with the Berkman Centers Digital Public Library of America to turn a digitized Library of Congress into a kind of feeder to Kickass Torrents with sovereign immunity. (You wont be surprised to learn that DPLA is overseen by at least one director formerly of the Google Books project.)

Heres the money line from the House Memo:

Currently, the Register is not subject to the same nomination and consent process as other senior government officials. To ensure that the American people have an opportunity to provide input into the selection of future Registers of Copyright through their elected officials, the next Register and all that follow should be subject to a nomination and consent process with a 10-year term limit, subject to potential re-nomination.

Let it not be lost on anyone that Congress is about to adjourn for the year and will return in January with a new Congress in a new session. This memo served as a warning to the Librarian that Dr. Hayden should not get any further delusions of grandeur that manifested in appointing a new Register during the recess. Not only should she not be thinking about a recess appointment, but she just lost the unilateral right to appoint the Register forever.

The Committee should be commended for coming up with a real solution to put a stop to what was a shabby little story of inside Washington back stabbing that was widely condemned by fair minded people everywhere and exposed the anti-copyright crowd for what they really are.

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Lowry said that currently, about a quarter of the Irish population rents accommodation, but it is not known why exactly that cohort do so, because, he asserts, we have never asked them.

How might we use data to drive policy? the government CIO Barry Lowry asked the attendees of the Public Sector IT Conference 2016.

It would be wrong to make the assumption that everyone who rents does so because they cant buy a house, he said. We need to ask people what they want, what they find useful and what they need.

Lowry made the comments in the context of the National Data Infrastructure (NDI) initiative, emphasising its importance in the overall Public Sector ICT Strategy.

NDI

The NDI is of major importance, he said, to harness the power of individuals data for a better user experience, as well as harnessing the power of collective data for better policy making. It will assist more open and transparent government too, which is of increasing importance as more and more services are made available.

Furthermore, the NDI will facilitate alignment to Digital Single Market, while helping to deliver modern government, and improve data management and security, said Lowry.

Lowry said that the progress of the Public Sector ICT Strategy, combined with the NDI, is starting to create an environment where government is transparent and pushing data out here.

Lowry cited several examples of good e-government, and citizen services, from Estonia where there had been little, option post-independence, but to go digital, and Denmark where the lifeindenmark.dk provides information and service access for potential immigrants.

Lowry quoted Andrus Ansip, former prime minister of Estonia and now vice president of the Digital Single Market for the European Commission, The digital transformation of government is key element to the success of the Single Market.

It is harder to create a digital single market than a physical one, said Ansip.

Anazon and government

Lowry posed another question, asking How would Amazon do government?

Citing Amazons level of trust with its users, as well as its usability and acceptance, he gave the example of how an Amazon user can make a single purchase with minimal information footprint, or they can create a profile for a lasting relationship.

With one, the transaction is a simple, one time interaction from which minimal details are recorded, for the other, a profile is created that allows a rich experience in future dealings. Lowry said this should be a model for citizen engagement with eGovernment.

This transparency and level of service is achievable, said Lowry, on the basis of shared services, with particular respect to information.

He said, however, that this would not necessarily mean moving everything to the cloud.

I dont agree with governments that put everything in the cloud, because it just kicks the can down the road, Lowry.

He said the build to share element of the national strategy was not outsourcing or consolidation, but rather a logical rationalisation for both greater flexibility and access for all sections of government.

GDPR

Seamus Carroll, Department of Justice and Equality spoke about the upcoming General Data Protection (GDPR) regulation, and emphasised points relevant to the public sector.

Carrol said there was a distinct need for consistent application of data protection law in digital single market, in light of data provisions being struck down, showing the need for updated and fit for purpose instruments.

There are benefits for business, said Carroll, despite the breadth of the regulation and its likely burden of compliance. He said that benefits will arise from more streamlined and less burdensome procedures. But also, that the private sector will benefit from more harmonised application of data protection law across the EU digital market.

Absolute right

Carroll pointed out that while the GDRP improves the rights of the individual in terms of how their data is collected and used, data protection is not an absolute right.

Citing Article 85, and Recital 153, Carroll pointed out that member states must reconcile the right to the protection of personal data pursuant to this Regulation with the right to freedom of expression and information, including processing for journalistic purposes and the purposes of academic, artistic or literary expression.

Another important aspect, for the public sector said Carroll, will be data pseudonymisation. This the action by which the most identifying fields within a data record are replaced by one or more artificial identifiers, or pseudonyms.

Pseudonymisation, said Carroll, will be important to make research, such as health research, compatible with the legislation.

Source: http://www.techcentral.ie/using-data-drive-policy-egovernment/
(Our) philosophy is to create a multi-cultural, well-rounded experience for (our) customers with its diverse group of agents. (I) believe that the diversity of the agency has been the key to (our) success and expansion.Matthew Trittschuh made this statement to local media outlet Richland Source during the housewarming of his agencys new office in 1230 Lexington Avenue in Mansfield, Ohio.The Matthew Trittschuh Insurance Agency covers home, auto, life and commercial risk and has been operating for five years.Its proprietor takes great pride in accommodating a diverse group of partners, including the only bi-lingual insurance agent in the area.This philosophy has served the firm in good stead, driving growth, which led to its move to its new space in Mansfield.We needed a more conducive space to the style of business we are doing. This is more of a professional office, Trittschuh added.Richland County Chamber president Jodie Perry expressed her enthusiasm over the move in the same report.I think anytime a business wants to move to a new location, I think its always a positive thing, she noted. I love seeing business locate in this area - just continuing the central focus that is vital to Mansfield.Related Stories:
The Wisconsin Group Insurance Board is set to decide which of the seven restructuring options it will adopt to reform workers compensation in the state.A vote will be taken to determine whether the state will move to self-insurance, which is expected to save money and exert greater control over benefits. However, state employees are reportedly worried that the move could disrupt the competitive health insurance marketplace in the area.The changes in the benefits for Wisconsins 250,000 public employees will take effect in either 2018 or 2019, a Department of Employee Trust funds memo said, according to an online report by Wisconsin State Journal.These employees and their dependents are currently enrolled in a $1.5 billion compensation program covered by 17 HMOs who receive the premiums and assume the risk for workers compensation insurance.If Wisconsin moves to self-insurance, it could assume the risk and direct the rates for three premium tiers, in which companies can choose to participate.Various estimates from consultants say the state could either save $42 million a year from the scheme, or shell out $100 million more.However, the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, which represents the majority of the 17 HMOS currently covering state employees, and the Association of Career Employees both oppose the move, saying as much as 15% of the health insurance market would decline from self-insurance and reduce the number of providers in some areas.Related Stories:
The three-member Redevelopment Authority approved the use of a vacant city building as the site of a needle exchange program.

Needle Exchange Program Gets Final OK in North Adams



Liz Whynott of Tapestry explains some of the services that will be provided through the needle exchange program.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Tapestry Health will open a needle exchange in the city at the beginning of February.



The nonprofit health agency was given approval on Monday night by the Redevelopment Authority to operate out of 6 West Main St., a building owned by the city and formerly used by the School Department. It received approval from the Board of Health in June.



Tapestry already runs needle exchanges in Northampton and Holyoke and is in the process of opening one each in Pittsfield and Greenfield through the state Department of Public Health.



Liz Whynott, director of Tapestry's Syringe Access Program, said the office hoped to open by Feb. 1 with three full-time staff, one of whom will be the manager, under her oversight. It is expected to run Monday through Friday.



"We provide comprehensive services and our main population that we target are opioid users, mainly people that inject drugs," she said. "We want to be as low a threshold as possible. ... syringe access programs are very successful in accessing this population."



The program had initially considered operating on Main Street near the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition office's with Josh Bressette Commit To Save A Life but the city offered the use of the currently vacant building for now. Mayor Richard Alcombright, a member of NBCC's heroin working group and the Massachusetts Municipal Association's Opiate Abuse Task Force, has been strongly supportive of efforts to address substance abuse in the city.



The walk-in clinic will be free and confidential and will offer Narcan training and availability, screenings for HIV, Hepatitis C, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, and substance abuse counseling.



"We do a lot of referrals, referrals to treatment primarily, but also we do things related to health care such as if a test comes back positive," Whynott said.



Tapestry runs a reproductive health program at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and will refer as needed with that program. Whynott, who was accompanied by NBCC Director of Prevention and Wellness Wendy Penner, also said the program has "good relationship with all of the substance abuse treatment programs."
Chad Gumlaw of Stained Glass Resources installs the restored rose window at All Saints last week. Layouts and diagrams ensure the right piece goes in the right spot. All of the glass pieces were removed and releaded. Site Foreman Wade Webb hands a section up. Once the frame was in, the stained glass went in swiftly. Tarps protected the work. PreviousNext

North Adams Church Restores Stained Glass Window



An employee of the woodworking company that built the frame works on the outside while the stained glass is installed on the inside.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The distinctive rose, or circular, window in All Saints Episcopal Church is back in place after three months of reconditioning and repairs.



First installed 77 years ago last month, the frame holding the 13 stained-glass pieces in place was showing the signs of significant deterioration.



The Rev. Mary Curns said gaps were noticeable in the frame and pointed out by Junior Warden Al McLain



"Inside there were a couple spots and he said when he put is knife  his 6-inch knife  it went through to the shaft," she said last week as the window was being reinstalled by Stained Glass Resources Inc. of Hampden. "With all the wind you get in the wintertime, it just comes down this valley."



McLain said the wooden frame had rotted. "I think there was a little bit of work done on it 20 years, just to try to get it by," he said.



As junior warden, McLain is responsible for tracking the condition of the building. He began investigating options a couple years ago for the window created by Charles J. Connick Studio and said he was appreciative that the vestry was willing to invest the $94,000 to make it happen.



"I talked to the vestry about it and I was really surprised that they were willing to go forward," he said. "I really appreciate everyone's support."



Some $51,000 so far in donations, largely from a bequest and a few other donors, has been put toward the restoration.



The window is a gift from the Gallup family, which had contributed much to the 1850 church. William Arthur Gallup, president of Arnold Print Works, was elected to the vestry of what was then St. John's in 1875 and had been treasurer, clerk and junior and senior warden before his death in 1930. His wife, Florence Houghton Gallup, daughter of the city's first mayor, had ordered the "preparation of a handsome stained glass memorial window to the church" for her husband prior to her own death in May 1939, according to the North Adams Transcript.



Their son, William Albert Gallup, followed through with the window and had it dedicated to his parents in November 1939.



Created by Charles J. Connick, the window is believed to the last piece he personally worked on. According to the historical notes kept by the church, "He considered it his finest piece of work."



McLaren and Curns are hoping to find the receipt for the window at some point as documents are archived, especially with those from St. Mark's, which merged with St. John's six years ago.



The archives at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which holds the Connick records collection, indicates the glass cost all of $3,500 back in 1939, with Harvey Gallup providing the scaffolding to put it in place.

Connick opened his Boston studio in 1913 and left it to his craftsmen upon his death in 1945. It produced more than 15,000 works until its closing in 1986. His work can be found in Pittsfield's St. Charles' Church and at St. John's Episcopal Church and the Sprague Mausoleum, both in Williamstown. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts also has window in what had been Mark Hopkins School that was dedicated to the school's Principal Donna D. Couch.
Guest Column: Getting Smart About Art

The North Adams Public School district boasts one of the finest art programs in the commonwealth.

Students of all grade levels participate in classes and field trips that nurture their creativity in a fun and hands-on way. Our elementary schools offer choral and instrumental programs during the school day and perform concerts throughout the academic year. They make frequent field trips to Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Through a partnership with Berkshire Children and Families and Brayton Elementary School, students are introduced to classical music through the innovative Kids 4 Harmony program.



Arts programming at Drury High School has grown so much that the school has created the Drury Performing Arts Center (DPAC). Students get training in performance and visual art, and music. They learn about set design, costuming, lighting, and sound as well as the business end of performance art through instruction on management. The Drury Stage Company initiative began four years ago as an inclusive, community and school arts-department experience and has thrived with participation from more than 100 students, faculty, and community members. The Drury band, chorus and drama programming are exemplary with all of the above coming together in the spectacular performance of "Copacabana" last week.



It is obvious that offering art to students is incredibly important to shaping the student experience, and thus the whole person. These classes and opportunities for creativity keep some of our students, who might not otherwise be as engaged with their schools, excited about coming to class. They also foster much more parent and community involvement in our schools. Anyone who has attended one of our wonderful stage performances or band concerts can see the excitement and pride for themselves on the faces of the students and those attending.



Anyone who has seen the beautiful pieces of art that adorn the Cascade School Supply building in the city, understand the positive impact our kids (and their art) have on this community. These options should be available to every student in the commonwealth. And every district, including North Adams, should have flexibility and additional funding in choosing to offer more arts classes from kindergarten up through high school. The recent overhaul of federal education standards makes this possible.






iciHaiti - Telecommunications : The CONATEL in Geneva





On Monday, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, personalities and senior executives from the public and private sectors around the world as part of the 110th anniversary celebration of the so-called "Radio Regulations" governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and telecommunications satellite orbits.



This Regulation guarantees the interference-free operation of radiocommunication systems. It provides equitable access for all countries to the spectrum of radio frequencies, a limited natural resource that does not know national boundaries and requires global harmonization.



As a Member of the ITU, Haiti is supporting this global event. Jean Marie Altema, the Director General of the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) seized the opportunity to reiterate the Council's commitment to work hand in hand with mobile operators and partners in the sector in order to connect everyone for a better future "Let us undertake this task in the same spirit of inventiveness and collaboration that inspired participants in the early work of ITU 110 years ago."



It should be recalled that the first International Radiotelegraph Conference in 1906 brought together, in Berlin, 30 States for the signing of the "International Radiotelegraph Convention", thus establishing the principle of the obligation of communication between ships at sea and between these ships and coast stations. These standards, which have since been supplemented and revised by numerous world radiocommunication conferences, are now known as the Radio Regulations.



IH/ iciHaiti


















Project Spotlight: Tikva Childrens Home

The Fellowship | December 13, 2016 Project Spotlight: Tikva Children's Home

Fellowship-supported Tikva Childrens Home cares for homeless, abandoned, and abused Jewish children in Ukraine and neighboring regions of the former Soviet Union. Through their three childrens homes  an infants and toddlers home for ages 0-6, a girls home for ages 7-16, and a boys home for ages 7-16  they provide loving care and a quality education that emphasizes Jewish faith. The goal is to empower the children to grow into self-sufficient individuals who give back to the community.

From Neglected to Hopeful

Sofia, 4, came to Fellowship-supported Tikva Childrens Home nearly starving, very undernourished, and with dirty, torn clothing. The medical team examined her right away and found that she only weighed as much as a 10 month old, but really she was 2 years old when she arrived.

Her father had abandoned the family and Sofias mother struggled with alcoholism, so neither parent provided food for Sofia. Also, her mothers home had no water or electricity. Her brothers and sisters begged on the streets for food, but they didnt receive much. With no one to support her, Sofia needed to be rescued.

Now Sofia lives in a home with staff that loves her. She is treated by the medical team to make sure she is developing properly and getting the right nutrition to help her grow. Over the past year, she has gained weight and started walking normally and playing nicely with the other children. She is a happy girl who, thanks to the generous support of Fellowship friends, has hopeful future.

Learn how you can help at-risk children and other needy populations in the former Soviet Union.
She Called Them Mommy and Daddy

The Fellowship | December 14, 2016 She Called Them Mommy and Daddy

Vladimir and Galina Imshennik



Lives:

Vladimir (1904-1978)

Antonia (1912-2011)

In 1941, the Nazis occupied Wilno County in Poland (now a part of modern-day Belarus), establishing a ghetto in a nearby town for the areas Jews. Among the ghettos inmates was a Jewish doctor named Abraham Zodziszski. Dr. Zodziszski was allowed to leave the ghetto in order to care for his Gentile patients, and used this freedom to smuggle out Jewish children and give them to his patients, who cared for them and saved them from certain death. In December of that year, he asked a Christian couple, Vladimir and Galina Imshennik, to save his own daughter, two-year-old Yelena.

Vladimir, a Russian Orthodox priest, and Galina selflessly took in young Yelena, harboring her in the small home they shared with their own six-year-old son and Galinas elderly parents. Yelena was kept out of sight, and came to think of the Imshennik family as her own, calling Vladimir and Galina mommy and daddy.

Six months later, the Nazis liquidated the ghetto that held little Yelenas family. More than sixty of her family members were murdered, including her father, when the Germans herded the ghettos Jews into a barn and set it on fire.

After this massacre, the Gestapo received an anonymous tip that the Imshenniks were harboring a Jewish child. Vladimir, Galina, and the little Jewish girl were arrested and interrogated. Luckily, Yelena no longer remembered her biological family, so the Nazis could find no proof of her true identity.

After the area was liberated in 1944, it seemed as if all of Yelenas family had been wiped out. But miraculously, her mother appeared, having survived all that time hiding in the forest. So, too, did Yelenas older brother survive, having been sheltered by another family in the area.

Parting from the only family she knew was very hard on young Yelena, but after moving to Leningrad with her mother and brother, she kept in touch with Vladimir and Galina.

In 1978, Vladimir passed away and Galina began visiting Yelena in Leningrad. In 1991, Yelena and her husband made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel, taking the elderly Galina with them. For nearly 20 years she lived in Jerusalem with the girl she had long ago rescued from the Holocaust, and died in Yelenas arms at the age of 98.

In 1993, Vladimir and Galina Imshennik were recognized for their heroism when Yad Vashem named them Righteous Among the Nations.
Imperial Valley News Center

Global Counterterrorism Forum Hosted Launch Meeting of Protection of Soft Targets in a Counterterrorism Context Initiative

Antalya, Turkey - The Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) hosted the inaugural meeting of the Protection of Soft Targets in a Counterterrorism Context Initiative in Antalya, Turkey.

Over the past year, there have been widespread terrorist attacks by ISIL/Daesh and al-Qaida-affiliated groups, as well as other terrorist organizations including the Kurdistan Workers Party, against soft targets, including hotels, restaurants, stadiums, and other public spaces. Attacks in Bamako, Brussels, Grand-Bassam, Istanbul, Ouagadougou, Paris, and elsewhere underscore the clear human, economic, and political consequences of these types of attacks and demonstrate the need for improved international preparedness focused on soft target protection.



Turkey and the United States launched this initiative at the GCTF Seventh Ministerial Plenary Meeting in Istanbul on December 8-9. The initiative aims to raise awareness, identify needs, and leverage expertise to better protect potential soft targets. The initiative also works to develop a set of internationally-recognized, non-binding good practices to guide international engagement to enhance the security of the soft targets.



The GCTF will lead these efforts through a series of practitioner-level regional workshops to be convened in 2017. Participants will include representatives of governments and local administrations.
Imperial Valley News Center

Alala Release Candidates Named

San Diego, California - The Alala Working Group has announced the names of five young Alalacritically endangered Hawaiian birdsthat are being prepared for release at the Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The names, all in the Hawaiian language, were selected by project supporters.

The five birds names are: Pewa, meaning a wedge that is used to mend a wood item to give it life; Manaolana, which means hope; Ike, meaning to see, know, feel, greet, recognize, perceive or experience; KiaikumokuhaliI, meaning guardian of the forest; and Kauikauikalani, which means the beauty high in the heavens.

Each Alala receives a Hawaiian name, as it is thought that these names play a role in shaping the character, personality and even the fate and fortunes of the bearer. The hope is to bestow these honorable characteristics upon the Alala.

The public has been invited to be part of the selection of Hawaiian names for the second group of birds, expected to be released early next year. At the Alala community celebration held Nov. 19 in Hilo, community members voted for their favorite names. The name Kaukahi, meaning unobstructed and free from interference, won the most votes and will be the name given to one of the Alala in the next group of releases.

Elementary school students from across the island of Hawaii also helped in the process of naming the young Alala this year. Involving these young students with naming Alala helps them make a personal connection to these very special birds, said Lea Kaahaaina, education and outreach coordinator for the Alala Project. Looking at these names, you can see that the Hawaii Island community has high hopes for the Alala who are returning to the wild. Everyone wants to help these released birds do well in the wild, and naming them is one way they can contribute.

The birds were moved to an aviary at the Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve in mid-October, to allow them to acclimate to the sights and sounds of the Hawaiian forest in preparation for their upcoming release. This reserve is an area where conservationists have worked to preserve and protect native plants and species, and it represents the type of habitat where Alala originally lived before they began to decline.

The Alala, also known as the Hawaiian crow, has been extinct in the wild since 2002, preserved only at the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers managed by San Diego Zoo Globals Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. With more than 100 individuals of the species now preserved at the centers, conservationists are ready to return them to their native forests. Alala are an important part of the life of the Hawaiian forest, eating and assisting with the dispersal of native plant seeds. The reintroduction of this species, which has been gone from the forest for more than a decade, is expected to be an important part of the overall recovery of the ecosystem.

The mission of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources is to enhance, protect, conserve and manage Hawaiis unique and limited natural, cultural and historic resources, held in public trust for current and future generations of the people of Hawaii and its visitors, in partnership with others from the public and private sectors.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The mission of the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office is to conserve and restore native biodiversity and ecological integrity of Pacific island ecosystems for the benefit of present and future generations through leadership, science-based management and collaborative partnerships.

Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is inspiring children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in childrens hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
Nutrition program improves food stamp family's food security

West Lafayette, Indiana - Food stamp participants who participated in a supplemental nutrition education program were able to improve their food security by 25 percent, according to a study by Purdue University.

"Food assistance is very important and this shows that nutrition education is an effective part of improving food security as the lessons focused on practical ways to stretch food dollars while eating nutritiously," said Heather Eicher-Miller, an assistant professor of nutrition science. "In Indiana, Snap Ed is making a significant impact, and it is amazing that an education program that is shared with just one person in a household has the power to change how an entire family is eating for one year. What these families learn can last longer than the food assistance they receive."

These findings are published in The Journal of Nutrition. During 2013, 19.5 percent of U. S. households with children experienced food insecurity at some time during the year, and children can suffer from psychological, behavioral and physical problems if they do not consume enough food.

The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, serves millions of low-income individuals and families. SNAP is a part of the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP-Ed programs can vary from state to state. The direct education provided through SNAP-Ed programs in Indiana are hands on, and all lessons combine maximizing the food budget while focusing on nutritional components, such as consuming lean meats and vegetables and fruits. One lesson includes visiting a grocery story to compare prices while studying items' nutritional labels. These lessons are provided through local Purdue Extension offices.

In this randomized controlled study, 575 individuals from low-income Indiana households, each with at least one child, participated in the first four Indiana SNAP-Ed curriculum lessons. The lessons were taught by 41 SNAP-Ed educators from 38 Indiana counties. The individuals were interviewed before they started the education program and a year later.

"The fact that what they learned made a difference months later is remarkable," said Eicher-Miller, who also is director of Indiana's Emergency Food Resource Network. "This educational program is voluntary for SNAP participants. We may not see such a large increase in food security over time if the program was required for the population it serves."

This research was supported by a grant from the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research through funding by the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service.
Special Envoy for Climate Change to Travel to Seattle and San Francisco

Washington, DC - U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Dr. Jonathan Pershing will travel December 13-16 to Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California. In Seattle, Special Envoy Pershing will visit the Microsoft campus to discuss their sustainability program and how the private sector is participating in climate-related initiatives. Special Envoy Pershing will give a talk at the University of Washington Clean Energy Institute addressing the importance of the clean energy transition to mitigating climate change consequences, and he will meet with state lawmakers on the role of subnational entities in taking action on climate issues.

In San Francisco, Special Envoy Pershing will give remarks at the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley on the evolution of the international climate agenda and the next steps moving forward, and meet with members of the academic and clean energy community at the Stanford Woods Institute. Special Envoy Pershing will also visit the X moonshot factory and a renewable energy incubator space to learn about low-carbon technology opportunities, as well as meet with business leaders to discuss private sector investment in climate solutions.
Republic of Kenya's National Day

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I send our best wishes to the people of Kenya as you celebrate 53 years of independence on December 12. As you mark the establishment of Kenya as a Republic, let us also celebrate the strong partnership between our two nations.

"The United States will continue to support Kenyas ongoing effort to build a prosperous and democratic society that allows all of Kenyas people to flourish. Congratulations on this special day, and best wishes for a year filled with peace and prosperity."
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The Sundance Film Festival will open in January with a new climate change movie from Al Gore  and the timing, unfortunately, could not be better.

Paramount Pictures and Participant Media have announced that the follow-up to the 2006 Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth  in which filmmaker Davis Guggenheim documented Gores traveling slide show on global warming  will follow the former vice president as he travels around the world exploring advances and challenges in the fight against climate change.

In a statement, Gore said: Now more than ever we must rededicate ourselves to solving the climate crisis. But we have reason to be hopeful; the solutions to the crisis are at hand.

So thats good news, yes? Presumably, Gore said as much to President-Elect Donald Trump when the two met a few weeks ago for a chat that Gore described, somewhat enigmatically, as an extremely interesting conversation, and to be continued.

Not so fast. Three days after that meeting, Trump named Scott Pruitt, Oklahomas attorney general  and a climate change skeptic, who is currently suing the Environmental Protection Agency  to head that agency, provoking outrage from environmentalists.

Perhaps Gore can reserve a couple of seats to the screening of his new film for Trump and Pruitt. The as-yet-unnamed documentary, directed by Bonnie Cohen and Jon Shenk ('Audrie & Daisy'), will premiere on opening night of the festival, which will have an environmental focus throughout its 11-day run (19-29 Jan).

Legendary actor and Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford said in a statement: My own engagement on climate change began more than 40 years ago, and the urgency I felt then has only grown stronger given its very real and increasingly severe consequences. If were going to avoid the worst-case scenario, then we must act boldly and immediately, even in the face of indifference, apathy and opposition.

In truth, Trump probably wont be able to make it to the films debut in Park City, Utah. His inauguration is scheduled for the next morning in Washington. But were guessing his new friend Al Gore could arrange for a special screening. Trump will, after all, soon have his own private cinema in the White House.

Copyright The Washington Post
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The business world is pressing ahead with the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy despite the election of climate change denier Donald Trump as the next US President.

Royal Dutch Shell, fellow oil firm Schlumberger and energy giant Eon have announced they will invest in a novel form of wind energy  high-altitude kites.

This comes after Microsoft founder Bill Gates and other leading business tycoons, including Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Jack Ma, revealed they had set up a fund worth more than $1bn (about 790m) to invest in clean energy.

And new figures revealed investors are pulling out of fossil fuels at an increasing pace, with funds held by institutions and individuals committed to divestment doubling to $5 trillion.

Google is also planning to run entirely on renewable energy within a year.

Mr Trump has caused alarm by appointing known climate science deniers to key positions in his administration, such as Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is also expected to become Energy Secretary, despite once saying he would abolish the Energy Department if he became President.

However Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: While many of President-Elect Trumps choices for his incoming team do not inspire great confidence in future federal policy on climate change in the United States, there are many indications that many [US] states, cities and companies will continue to act strongly against emissions of greenhouse gases.

Renewable energy is growing in many states, including Texas and California, and coal does not have much future with cheaper power available from wind, solar and natural gas.

Most of Americas top companies recognise the competitive advantages of business practices that are less wasteful, less polluting and more efficient.

They also know that the economy of the United States will only thrive if there is increased investment in sustainable infrastructure for energy, transport and cities.

The Financial Times reported that Royal Dutch Shell, Schlumberger and Eon had all taken stakes in renewable energy firm Kite Power Systems as the start-up firm races for leadership in the technology.

The system involves two kites blown skyward at speeds of up to 100mph, pulling a tether which drives a turbine. As one falls, the other rises providing a constant supply of power as long as the wind blows.

Scotlands west coast wind blows almost constantly with fewer than 10 days a year when there is not enough to generate electricity.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Geert van de Wouw, managing director of Shell Technology Ventures, which is investing 5m, told the FT that kite power could be a game changer for renewable energy.

Traditional wind power is less efficient because it requires a lot of steel infrastructure, of which only the tip of the blade is really harnessing energy, he said.

Wind turbines have, however, made a major difference to the amount of carbon emissions produced by the UK.

A study by Edinburgh University academics found wind farms had prevented the production of nearly 36 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels between 2008 and 2014, the equivalent of taking some 2.3 million cars off the road.

On Monday, it emerged a group of investors with a combined wealth of an estimated $170bn, including Mr Gates, had set up a clean energy fund worth more than $1bn.

 Trump comments on Paris Climate deal

Mr Gates said the Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) fund would invest in anything that leads to cheap, clean, reliable energy, according to QZ.com.

In contrast, there is a growing movement to stop investing in fossil fuels  for both ethical and strictly economic reasons.

A report by legal group Arabella Advisors found that the total amount of assets held by companies and other bodies committed to divestment had doubled to $5 trillion over the past 15 months, the AFP news agency reported.

There is growing talk that investors who put money into fossil fuels could face losing it if the world decides it must stop carbon emissions.

Pension funds and insurance companies now represent the largest sectors committing to divestment, reflecting increased financial and fiduciary risks of holding fossil fuels, Arabella Advisors said.
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The United States top environment official under George W Bush has condemned Donald Trumps decision to appoint a renowned climate science denier as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Christine Todd Whitman said she could think of no other EPA head as disdainful of the agency and the science as Scott Pruitt.

Mr Pruitt, who has close ties to the fossil fuel industry, sued the EPA 13 times in five years in his role as Oklahomas attorney general and is currently involved in a case against Barack Obamas flagship policy on climate change, the Clean Power Plan.

Speaking to environmental news website Grist, Ms Whitman, a Republican who was in charge of the EPA from 2001 to 2003, predicted trouble ahead.

I dont recall ever having seen an appointment of someone who is so disdainful of the agency and the science behind what the agency does, she said.

It doesnt put us in a good place, in my mind. And hes going to have trouble within the agency if he does convey that kind of disdain to the career staff.

He obviously doesnt care much for the agency or any of the regulations it has promulgated.

He doesnt believe in climate change; he wants to roll back the Clean Power Plan.

She said she feared experienced EPA staff might decide to leave because of Mr Pruitts appointment.

I worry about people retiring and losing institutional knowledge, Ms Whitman said.

However others might stay to oppose their new boss.

They can slow things down, but he could too, and put a hard stop to regulations, she said.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Mr Pruitt has said the science behind climate change is subject to considerable debate.

But this debate no longer exists in the scientific community, with researchers from an array of different fields  from climate scientists to geologists and biologists  finding concrete evidence that it is already causing negative effects after about one degree Celsius of warming since the 1880s.

Dr Rush Holt, the chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), has suggested climate denial is like disputing the existence of gravity.

If a person jumped off a building because he said gravitation is only a theory, one would say he is delusional. So too, any policy maker who would base national policy on denial of climate science because there is debate would be called dangerously irresponsible, he said.



Mr Trump is expected to pick former Texas Governor Rick Perry, also a climate change sceptic, to run the US Department of Energy.

While trying to become the Republican presidential candidate, Mr Perry said he would scrap three government departments, including Energy, but embarrassingly forgot this during a TV debate.
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Cork has been the go-to wine stopper since the 17th century and for good reason, but it turns out not all corks are created equal.

While it has a multitude of uses, the wine industry, and us for that matter, have cork to thank for the successful sealing of vino but did you know there are in fact seven different types?

From synthetic stoppers to champagne cork, a wine expert writing for wine app Vivino explains the numerous ways there are to plug your favourite bottle of plonk.

Agglomerate Cork

This is the cheapest of all the corks and is usually held together by chips that have been glued together. Unsurprisingly, this also means that theyre at a greater risk of taint so shouldnt be used for wines that need aging.

Champagne Cork

We all love the celebratory sound of a cork being pulled from a bottle of champers, but with all those bubbles to withstand they need to be made of sturdier stuff. The average bottle contains well over a million bubbles and more air pressure than your average car so accordingly, champagne stoppers are always produced from high quality compressed cork.

Regular Cork

This is the standard cork you will find in most bottles of vino but there is another type. A longer version, which is used by only a few wineries in the world, has an additional inch in length and as a result, is said to allow wines to keep for much longer.

Synthetic Cork

In the face of traditionalists, many New World producers are favouring plastic corks because of their ability to significantly reduce the risk of tainted wine. And, while theyre not intended for vino that needs aging, they still offer consumers the much loved act of pulling a cork.

Screw Cap

An area of contention in the world of wine, screw caps are often derided but theyre surprisingly beneficial. While they may not give drinkers the most authentic experience, they have been scientifically proven as the best short-term wine stopper for fruit-forward red and whites that dont require aging.

Vino-Lok

Perhaps the strangest and most technical of all, this stopper is usually made with plastic or glass and uses a hermetic seal to prevent oxygen and bacteria from affecting the wine. It certainly looks the part but, like most refined wines, a classy stopper is going to cost you.

Zork

While this type seals just like a screw cap, it still has that same popping experience we associate with a cork. Theyre most commonly found on Leese-Fitch bottles and rose to fame as the worlds first on-bottle re-sealable stopper for sparkling wines.
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Some diabetics are risking blindness, coma and even death by skipping insulin injections in an attempt to lose weight.

But because it's not classified as a mental illness it's harder to get help, and charities like Diabetics With Eating Disorder are now pushing for it to be re-categorised so that both sides can be treated at the same time.

One woman said: When I was injecting insulin, I felt like I was injecting fat.

She told Broadly she began injecting just enough to survive, meaning she felt awful but did lose weight.

But when her eyes started swelling up she said it was the kick up the arse she needed to sort her life out, and is now in treatment.

"I had a friend in inpatient treatment and they were watching her eat, but they werent watching her inject so the whole time she was losing weight. Eventually she actually keeled over and died on the ward," another woman told Vice.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body isnt making its own insulin - a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy.

As a result, the body is unable to control the amount of sugar there is in the blood.

William Doan's art tackling mental health Show all 13 1 /13 William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health William Doan's art tackling mental health

It is estimated that about 400,000 people live in the UK with the condition but startlingly, up to 40 percent of women aged between 15-30 with Type 1 diabetes arent giving themselves the life-sustaining injections they need.

Unlike Type 2 diabetes which has a later onset and is linked to obesity, Type 1 has no known cause and cannot be cured.

With studies showing that those with the condition are more than twice as likely to develop an eating disorder, the UK has launched its first ever service to support women dealing with diabulimia.

At Kings College in London, a new unit aims to unite psychiatrists and diabetes experts in a bit to treat both conditions.

They never meet patients together and it's an inefficient use of current resources, Professor Khalida Ismail, who leads the clinic told the BBC.

I would argue we'd actually be saving money by joining up services, she adds.

In a bid to raise awareness of the condition, a documentary called 'Diabulimia: The World's Most Dangerous Eating Disorder' has just been published on BBC iPlayer, which follows the lives of three young sufferers and their quest to get the specialised care they need.
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Midwives are being flown to the UK to carry out female genital mutilation (FGM) on several girls at a time at specially-organised parties, charities have said.

The Black Health Initiative (BHI) in Leeds said it was aware of girls being subjected to the horrific illegal practice at gatherings in West Yorkshire and cities across the country.

And another women's health charity told The Independent it often heard talk of such events.

Heather Nelson, the BHIs chief executive, said specialist midwives are now flown over and several girls are cut at the same time, which then leads to a celebration," reported the BBC.

FGM is the partial or total removal, injury or other alteration to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is internationally recognised as a human rights violation.

More than 200 million girls and women worldwide have been affected by FGM, and the practice is mainly concentrated in African countries as well as the Middle East and Asia, according to the World Health Organisation.

Ms Nelson said the BHI recently broke up an event of this kind in West Yorkshire and had stopped another from taking place. West Yorkshire Police said they were aware of girls undergoing FGM in the area.

Womens health charity Forward told The Independent there was often anecdotal mention of these so-called cutting parties taking place in the UK.

However the London-based organisation said it did not have hard evidence of such events as they were often hidden from authorities and support groups.

The reality is that without effective engagement of communities on the issue of FGM, it [is] very difficult to get effective reporting of such cases of women being flown into the UK for the purpose of FGM, said a charity spokesperson.

Anti-FGM campaigner interview - London Live

There were 5,700 newly recorded cases of FGM in England last year, with 18 of those having taken place in the UK, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

This does not necessarily mean the FGM had been recently undertaken, or that the visit was the first time the girl or woman had seen the doctor for an FGM-related injury, an NHS Digital spokesperson said.

Of these 18 cases, 11 women and girls affected were also born in the UK, and around 10 were known to be genital piercings.

The most common age range for FGM to be carried out was five to nine years old.

FGM has been illegal in this country since 1985 and in 2003 taking a girl to have FGM abroad from the UK was also outlawed. The offence carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Around 137,000 women living in England and Wales have undergone the procedure, according to research from City University.

Birmingham was the city with the highest recorded number of FGM cases last year, with 435 victims identified. London boroughs were each counted separately.

Around seven to nine women came to an FGM clinic run by Womens Aid in Birmingham each day it was open, Monika Borchardt, Safety Unit Manager for Birmingham and Solihull Women's Aid, told The Independent.

We see a lot of women, she said. Their ages range from 17 to 44 or 48.

Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Show all 10 1 /10 Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Brazilian women march in Sao Paulo during a protest following the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl Rex Features Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl There have been calls for protests to end to what campaigners call Brazil's 'culture of rape' after the attack Rex Features Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl An online campaign has been set up in response to the crime, using the hashtag #EstuproNuncaMais, meaning 'rape never again' Rex Features Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl The 16-year-old victim was attacked in a poor neighbourhood in the west of the city on 21 May 2016 Rex Features Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Two of the attackers posted pictures and video on Twitter of the assault, which has shocked the country Rex Features Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Brazilian women protest in front of the Candelaria Church in Rio de Janeiro AFP/Getty Images Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Seven men have been charged in connection with the attack AFP/Getty Images Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Women's underwear and photos from Brazilian photographer Marcio Freitas displayed on Copacabana beach during a protest by non-governmental organization Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace) against rape and violence against women REUTERS Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Women's underwear smeared with paint is seen during a protest against rape and violence against women in Brasilia, Brazil REUTERS Feminist protests demand end to violence against women in Brazil after gang rape of teenage girl Demonstrators attend a protest against rape and violence against women in Brasilia, Brazil REUTERS

Ms Borchardt said all the women she had worked with had undergone FGM in their home countries, most often when they were children.

However, she recently helped a woman who had had part or all of her clitoris removed as a child  known as type one FGM  and had suffered further horrific injuries at the hands of a doctor when she gave birth to her first child.

Recently a woman told us she had FGM type one: she was cut as a child while she was back home.

When she gave birth to her first child, also back home, the doctor who took the birth, during the birth, performed FGM type three on her even though she didnt consent, said Ms Borchardt.

Type three FGM is the narrowing of the vaginal opening by creating a seal by cutting and repositioning the surrounding genitalia.

During labour the doctor performed FGM even though she didnt consent, her husband didnt want her to have it, but the doctor just did that, said Ms Borchardt.

Now she is giving birth to her second child in England, and the midwife has talked to her. The women is traumatised about giving birth again.

The government introduced compulsory reporting of FGM for NHS trusts and GPs in October 2015, and the Health and Social Care Information Centre statistics for 2015-16 are the first to be recorded.

No one in the UK has ever been successfully prosecuted for a FGM offence, which a recent report by the Home Affairs Select Committee called a national scandal, reported the BBC.

Reports of FGM are always deeply concerning, as not only is it extremely dangerous, it is a criminal offence, said an NSPCC spokesperson.

It is a form of abuse which causes appalling damage for its victims. Many of them will have been targeted at a young age, and no child should be forced into this painful and shocking practice.

It is vital that communities, families and professionals report any concerns, to help eradicate this barbaric act that can have devastating consequences for victims.
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Donald Trumps flurry of tweets on Monday night was seen as significant because it shows he wont clear up the issue of his conflicts of interest before the Electoral College meets on 19 December.

But the President-elects late-night activity also gave possibly the clearest indication yet that his daughter Ivanka - not even mentioned in the tweets themselves - is about to assume a very senior role in his administration.

Mr Trump said in his tweets that: Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the presidency.

Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office.

Thats significant, because it has previously been the case that Mr Trumps three oldest children - Don, Eric and Ivanka, have been presented as running the Trump Organisation more or less on an equal footing.

The fact that Ivanka Trump is not mentioned appears to confirm that she is taking a step back from the business, as the New York Times reported late last week, initially to focus on being an advocate on issues in which she has a personal interest, like child care.

The Times reports that Ivankas husband Jared Kushner is in line for an as-yet undetermined role advising his father-in-law, and that the pair are likely exploring a move to Washington DC as a result.

There is, in turn, speculation that Mr Trumps wife Melania will stay in New York with the pairs young son Barron. It leaves the coast clear for Ivanka to assume a First Lady-like role alongside her father.

Throughout the Trump campaign, Ivanka played an important role as the publicly likeable, reasonable-sounding and women-advocating foil to her father. She gave a key interview shortly after the grab em by the p***y scandal erupted, defending Mr Trumps track record.

Mr Kushner and Ms Trump are unable to receive official roles in Mr Trumps Cabinet, due to the USs clear-cut nepotism laws. But that doesnt mean they wont be influential figures in Washington for the next four - or eight, as the President-elect also hinted in his tweets - years.
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President-elect Donald Trumps campaign manager once worked closely with a group of anti-immigrant extremists and conspiracy theorists, creating polls aimed at generating ill feeling towards Muslim Americans.

Kellyanne Conway, who now acts as a senior aide to Mr Trump, ran a polling firm which has worked with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)  an organisation described as an anti-immigrant hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center  for 20 years.

FAIR is known for its hard-line stance on immigration and in its early years received large donations from the Pioneer Fund, an organisation dedicated to promoting eugenics and ethnic cleansing programmes.

 Shouting match erupts between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump aides in post-election review

In June 2015, Ms Conways polling firm conducted a survey for the Centre for Security Policy, a right-wing think tank, which found that 51 per cent of Muslims in the US believed they should be governed by Shariah law.

According to the poll, 20 per cent of Muslim Americans believed the use of violence is justified to make Shariah the law of the land. Ms Conways research was heavily criticised by human rights advocates as being skewed to support right-wing ideology, according to Mother Jones.

Despite doubts over its accuracy, this poll was used by Mr Trump during presidential campaigning following the Paris terror attacks last November, as the then-Republican candidate attempted to justify his proposed ban on allowing Muslims to enter the United States.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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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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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. 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In the past Ms Conway has also been criticised for her close association with Frank Gaffney, a former defence official under Ronald Reagan who frequently promotes conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Last week, Ms Conway suggested she might turn down a senior role in Mr Trumps White House if it is offered to her, to spare her family from the strain.

Ms Conway was recently involved in an angry confrontation with former presidential candidate Ms Clintons aide, after she was accused of providing a platform for white supremacists.
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One hundred and five years ago, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led the first expedition to the South Pole.

Today, his achievement is being honoured with a Google Doodle depicting his crew taking a moment to bask in their glory as the Antarctic wind rages outside their tent.

Mr Amundsen, known as "the last of the Vikings" managed to reach the South Pole five weeks ahead of the British expedition led by Robert F Scott.

Here are four facts about the courageous explorer and namesake of the novelist Roald Dahl, who lived from 1972 to 1928:

First expedition to reach south pole

Roald Amundsen's achievement is being honoured with a Google Doodle depicting his crew taking a moment to bask in their glory at the South Pole, as the Antarctic wind rages outside their tent (Google Doodle)

The Norwegian explorer wanted to beat Mr Scott's expedition to the South Pole.

His expedition team consisted of 19 people and nearly 100 Greenland sled dogs  which were key to the team's success.

Mr Amundsen and four others arrived at the Pole by 14 December, 1911, 35 days ahead of Mr Scott's Terra Nova Expedition.

How did he beat the British expedition?

Members of Robert F Scott's party discover the tent of Roald Amundsen at the South Pole (Central Press/Getty Images)

Mr Amundsen beat his rival by using lighter sleds and more appropriate clothing and equipment, including skis to cross the treacherous Antarctic terrain.

Mr Scott and his team did not arrive until 17 January, 1912, and Mr Amundsen later learned Mr Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.

A gift for organisation and planning

Mr Amundsen had a gift for organisation and planning.

"Victory awaits him who has everything in order," he wrote in account of his race to reach the South Pole.

"Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time."

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However, while preparing for his expedition to the South Pole, his team kept up their sense of fun by holding guess-the-temperature contests, celebrating each other's birthdays and telling stories.

How he became an explorer

By the age of 15, Mr Amundsen had decided on a career of exploration.

He studied numerous sailing techniques, steam navigation and terrestrial magnetism.

He also learned vital lessons about how to survive in cold conditions for the Eskimos, who taught him about wearing animal skins instead of heavy furs.

Mystery surrounding his death

On 18 June, 1928, Mr Amundsen and five of his crewmates disappeared while flying a rescue mission in the Arctic.

It is assumed his plane crashed, although no bodies or wreckage were ever found.

In 2004 and 2009, the Royal Norwegian Navy used an unmanned submarine to search for the wreckage of Mr Amundsen's plane.

The searches focused on a 40-square-mile area of the sea floor, but found nothing from his doomed flight.
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Longtime Scientologist John Travolta has dismissed Leah Reminis new documentary series about the religion and insisted he is not interested in watching it.

Remini was a committed member of the church for more than 30 years before announcing she was leaving in 2013. Since then she has become a vocal critic of the Church of Scientology, releasing a memoir titled Troublemaker last year and appearing in a number of interviews.

Travolta, who has been a practitioner of Scientology since 1975, said he had not watched any of the episodes and he is uninterested in learning what Remini or other former members of the church have to say.

The actor said the church had helped him for four decades and been a source of support when he lost his girlfriend, mother, and his son.

It's been nothing but helpful to me for 40 years, through all my losses of my mother, my girlfriend, my son, he told E! News. They never left my side, so why would I want buy into something that's not what I feel?

People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. 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The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. 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He said while he was kind of surprised Remini had decided to do the documentary, he wished her no ill feelings.

As long as I get to still do it and my family gets to do it. Im happy, he said.

At the end of last month, Remini said she did not expect to hear from Travolta or Tom Cruise, another prominent member in the Church of Scientology, regarding the television show.

They will not reach out to me. They are not allowed to reach out to me. John Travolta, by the way, is one of the nicest, sweetest people you're ever going to meet, Remini, whose new series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath premiered at the end of last month, said.

Remini, who is known for her roles in The King of Queens, became a member of the Church of Scientology when she was introduced by her mother at a young age.

The Church has dismissed Reminis allegations regarding the church in a statement on Scientology newsroom - the official media resource center for the church. A Scientology spokesperson criticised her revisionist history and denounced her as a bitter former member and a professional anti-Scientologist.

Scientology was established by the science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard in 1953. The Church believes in immortality through reincarnation.
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Kanye West has met with Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, weeks after endorsing him during a concert.

The rapper strolled past the press pool now permanently stationed at the foot of the gilded building and walked inside at 9.30am, flanked by his entourage.

A smiling West emerged shortly after making his entrance with Mr Trump in tow. When asked by the press pool what they discussed, Mr Trump responded: Just friends and hes a good man. Weve been friends for a long time.

When pressed again on what they discussed, Mr Trump replied: Life.

President Trump protests Show all 20 1 /20 President Trump protests President Trump protests Patrons hold a sign as people march by while protesting the election of Republican Donald Trump as the president of the United States in downtown Los Angeles, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators rally following the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States, in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators march following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States Reuters President Trump protests Thousands of protesters rallied across the United States expressing shock and anger over Donald Trump's election, vowing to oppose divisive views they say helped the Republican billionaire win the presidency AFP/Getty Images President Trump protests Demonstrators protest outside the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois Getty President Trump protests A police officer aims a launcher after demonstrators threw projectiles toward a line of officers during a demonstration in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests An officer examines a vandalized police vehicle as demonstrators riot in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators take over the Hollywood 101 Freeway just north of Los Angeles City Hall in protest against the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States Reuters President Trump protests A woman holds up a sign reading 'Trump you are an Idiot' as demonstrators gather during a protest against President-elect Donald Trump outside the City Hall building in Los Angeles, California EPA President Trump protests A masked demonstrator gestures toward a police line during a demonstration in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators protest against the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States, near the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada Reuters President Trump protests Musician Lagy Gaga stages a protest against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on a sanitation truck outside Trump Tower in New York City Getty President Trump protests A woman yells as she takes part in a protest against President-elect Donald Trump in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood AP President Trump protests A man dressed in red-white-and-blue sits on the curb during a protest against President-elect Donald Trump in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood AP President Trump protests A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against President-elect Donald Trumpin Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood AP President Trump protests University of California, Davis students protest on campus in Davis, California, U.S. following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States Reuters President Trump protests An Oakland police officer checks out damage after a window was broken by protesters at a car dealership in downtown Oakland, Calif AP President Trump protests A protester faces a police line in downtown Oakland, Calif AP President Trump protests President-elect Donald Trumpis victory set off multiple protests AP President Trump protests A fire burns during protests in Oakland, Calif AP

West ignored questions from reporters on whether he is still considering running for president or whether he would perform at Mr Trumps inauguration.

I just want you to take a picture right now, he eventually replied before leaving the building.

His wife Kim Kardashian was not with him at the time.

The rapper has made no secret of his own political ambitions and repeated his plans to run in 2020 at a concert in November, meaning he would likely run against Mr Trump.

President Donald Trump life in pictures Show all 16 1 /16 President Donald Trump life in pictures President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump poses in a rocking chair once used by President John F. Kennedy at his New York City residence Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump with his new bride Marla Maples after their wedding at the Plaza hotel in New York Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Celina Midelfart watch the match between Conchita Martinez and Amanda Coetzer during U.S. Open. She was the date whom Donald Trump was with when he met his current wife Melania at a party in 1996 Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas serving as the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, speaks to Donald Trump and Melania Knauss on the starting grid at the Daytona International Speedwa Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump talks with his former wife Ivana Trump during the men's final at the U.S. Open Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and his friend Melania Knauss pose for photographers as they arrive at the New York premiere of Star Wars Episode : 'The Phantom Menace,' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump talks with host Larry King. Trump told King that he was moving toward a possible bid for the United States presidency with the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump answers questions as Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura looks on in Brooklyn Park. Trump said on Friday he 'very well might' make a run for president under the Reform Party banner but had not made a final decision Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump makes a face at a friend as he sits next to Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso before the start of the 2003 Miss Universe pageant in Panama City Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Entrepreneur Donald Trump is greeted by a Marilyn Monroe character look-a-alike, as he arrives at Universal Studios Hollywood to attend the an open casting call for his NBC television network reality series 'The Apprentice.' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Simon Cowell present an Emmy during the 56th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Megan Mullally perform at the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump, poses with his children, son Donald Trump, Jr., and daughters Tiffany and Ivanka Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump told Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner on Tuesday she would be given a second chance after reported misbehavior Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump holds a replica of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as his wife Melania holds their son Barron in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. property mogul Donald Trump stands next to a bagpiper during a media event on the sand dunes of the Menie estate, the site for Trump's proposed golf resort, near Aberdeen, north east Scotland Reuters

Despite this, he also expressed his support for the President-elect, telling an audience in California: I told yall I didnt vote, right? But if I wouldve voted I wouldve voted for Trump.

West was hospitalised on 21 November after suffering from exhaustion and discharged after a week.

A spokesperson for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Donald Trump has picked Rex Tillerson, the CEO of oil and gas multinational ExxonMobil, to be his Secretary of State.

Mr Tillerson, 64, has attracted significant criticism from Republicans for his apparent ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

His company has billions of dollars in oil contracts with Russia that can only go forward if the US lifts its sanctions against the country, The New York Times reports.

While the Texan has ample experience dealing with other nations, he has worked strictly as a businessman, not a diplomat.

"I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State," the President-elect announced on Twitter.

"The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments," he added.

Diplomatic experience

Mr Tillerson's diplomatic experience stems from the deals he made with foreign countries as the head of the world's largest energy company, ExxonMobil.

He is known for his Russian connections and represents Mr Trump's most concrete outreach yet to Mr Putin.

World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Show all 29 1 /29 World reaction to President Trump: In pictures World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty Images World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mosul , Iraq Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures New Delhi, India Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Karachi, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kabul, Afghanistan AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem. Israel Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Moscow, Russia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Seoul, South Korea AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Peshawar, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Hyderabad, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kolkata, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Aleppo, Syria Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem, Israel EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Baghdad, Iraq Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Tokyo, Japan Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico Getty

In 2011, he negotiated an energy partnership with Russia believed to be valued at approximately $500bn (394bn), The Wall Street Journal reported.

A year later, the Kremlin awarded him the Order of Friendship, the country's highest honour for foreign nationals.

"My relationship with Vladimir Putin, which dates back almost 15 years now, I've known him since 1999 and have a very close relationship with him," Mr Tillerson said in a speech a few years ago, at the University of Texas-Austin.

 Donald Trump brands Russian hacking claims 'ridiculous'

He has previously argued against sanctions placed on Russia by the US and its European allies after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and could work to lift sanctions in his role as the top US diplomat.

Foreign policy challenges

Mr Tillerson has also backed free trade and an expansive US presence in the Middle East, which puts him at odds with the more isolationist approach Mr Trump has pitched.

He will face immediate challenges in Syria, where the country's nearly six-year civil war rages on, and in China, where Mr Trump has suggested he will take a more aggressive approach to deals.

Stance on climate change

Mr Tillerson also differs with Mr Trump on climate change. While he led ExxonMobil, he expressed his support for the Paris climate agreement, in which countries around the globe vowed to cut their carbon emissions.

Mr Trump has said he will back away from the agreement.

Mr Tillerson has also acknowledged the existence of climate change and stated the importance of addressing it.

"We believe that addressing the risk of climate change is a global issue," he said in May, during a company shareholder meeting.

Mr Tillerson said he was "honoured" by his selection and shares Mr Trump's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security."

The US Senate now needs to approve Mr Tillerson's nomination before he can take up the post.
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Anna Wintour has apologised after she was overheard criticising Donald Trump on a train.

Vogues editor-in-chief was reportedly heard making negative comments about the President-elect and claiming that his charitable foundation the Trump foundation has done nothing and speaking, reports the Sunday Mirror.

She also claimed its board, which includes Mr Trump and his three eldest children: Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, is packed with relatives and hes going to use his presidency to sell himself and his brand and profit personally for himself and his family.

Anna Wintour's signature looks Show all 8 1 /8 Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour at the Met Ball in New York in May 2014 Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour wore a white Prada gown in 2012 Getty Images Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour wearing Chanel Haute Coutoure in 2008 Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour at the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 wearing a green number and her signature shoes in 2011 Getty Images Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour in sequined Chanel Haute Couture in 2011 REUTERS Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Wintour wearing a patterned coat in 2012 GETTY IMAGES Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Wintour at the Burberry Spring/Summer 2009 show in Milan REUTERS/Alessandro Garofal Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour's signature looks Anna Wintour with Grace Coddington at a Versace show, 1998 Arthur Elgort

It is not known where this train journey took place but the 67-year-old has now apologised for the comments in a statement saying: I immediately regretted my comments and I apologise. I hope that President-elect Trump will be a successful president for us all.

Wintour, who was born and raised in Britain, is now a US citizen and is based in New York where she has been at the helm of the fashion magazine since 1988.

In October, Vogue endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in its history due to the profound stakes of the election.

The magazine rallied its readers to vote for Hillary Clinton praising her "fierce intelligence and considerable experience". Separately, Wintour  an ardent Democrat  was spotted in numerous t-shirts supporting the candidate and organised fundraising events for her campaign.

Over the years she has also been pictured at events with Mr Trump and the incoming First Lady Melania. Wintour also attended their lavish Palm Beach wedding in 2005 and put the newlywed Mrs Trump on the cover of the prestigious magazine in her Christian Dior wedding dress.
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A man has been charged with attempted murder after an incident at Forest Hill station.

Adrian Brown, 38, has also been charged with possession of an offensive weapon and assault, British Transport Police confirmed.

Brown was arrested after a man was assaulted on a train shortly after 1pm on Monday and has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.

An injured man in his forties was taken to hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition.
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A teenager has been warned he faces jail for his involvement in the multi-million pound TalkTalk data hack.

Custody is inevitable and you should prepare yourself," Judge Paul Worsley told 19-year-old Daniel Kelley after he pleaded guilty to 11 charges of hacking, blackmail, fraud and money laundering at Londons Old Bailey.

They included hacking into TalkTalk to get customer data and demanding a payment of 465 Bitcoins worth around 285,000 at today's rate in October last year.

The Crown accepted the pleas and said a further eight charges will lie on file as it was not in the "public interest" to pursue a trial, the prosecution said.

Recommended Fox News host says investigating Russian hacking is unpatriotic

The defendant of Heol Dinbych, Llanelli, South Wales, was remanded on conditional bailed until sentencing on 6 March.

Kelley admitted five charges of blackmail, including targeting staff at TalkTalk over stolen data that was "of great concern to those affected", said prosecutor Robert Davies.

He also admitted two computer hacking offences, fraud-related crimes and money-laundering, the court heard.

They included hacking into the website of Coleg Sir Gar, a Welsh college where he was a student, which had the effect of keeping doctors waiting for results.

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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. 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The defendant accepted that on 4 November last year he offered to supply computer files containing details of the users of the TalkTalk website, Telecom Group Plc, JJ Fox Ltd and TAFE Queensland.

The court heard he possessed about 5,000 sets of credit card data which were "clearly of interest to those who want to commit fraud, Mr Davies said.

He also posted on a "hacker type site", offering for sale or otherwise sensitive data, the court heard.

One of the blackmail charges related to a company RC Hobbies in Australia which makes remote controlled cars.

He demanded "with menaces" 15 Bitcoins, the court heard.

Adjourning for reports, Judge Paul Worsley told Kelley: "You are a young man of 19 with no previous convictions.

"I renew your bail on the same terms as before but I warn you of this: in any view these offences to which you have pleaded guilty, custody is inevitable and you should prepare yourself."

Speaking after the case Detective Chief Inspector Jason Tunn, from the Metropolitan Police's cyber crime unit called Kelley "a prolific and calculating cyber-criminal who has caused considerable damage, harm and loss; not only to those he directly blackmailed, but to the hundreds of thousands of customers of the companies whose personal details have either been stolen or used to try and extort money."

He said: The fact that Kelley was taking part in the cyber-attack against TalkTalk whilst on police bail for other similar offences shows his total disregard for the law. Excellent digital forensic and investigative work by all the officers has shown that cyber criminals cannot hide themselves totally and we will do all we can to identify and prosecute them.

Two other men Matthew Hanley, 21, and Conner Douglas Allsopp, 19, are facing trial for hacking into TalkTalk and a series of other websites in July next year.

Kelley, Hanley and Allsopp were charged on 26 September following a investigation by the Met's Falcon Cyber Crime Unit into an alleged data theft from the TalkTalk website.

It is alleged Hanley and Allsopp gained unauthorised access in October 2015 to data and programmes on various other organisations' websites including Merit Badges as well as universities in Cambridge, Manchester, Sheffield and Bournemouth.

Two other suspects, a 16 year-old boy and a 19 year-old man, remain on police bail.

Press Association
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British MPs have been accused of taking a distinct lack of action over the crisis unfolding in Syria after just a handful attended an emergency debate on the matter.

Members of the public expressed anger after seats in the House of Commons appeared starkly empty during the debate over a motion on international action to protect civilians in eastern Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria.

During the debate, Twitter user Joshua Tindall, tweeted: Just a handful of MPs at the emergency debate on Syria this afternoon, while Charlotte Howells wrote: The number of MPs attending the emergency Syria debate is shameful.

Emily Munro said she was saddened by the low turnout, while Susan Russel responded by tweeting: Shame on us.

Louise Finan meanwhile said the debate showed a lack of action, tweeting: Watching UK MPs hand-wringing about the lack of action for Syria during the Aleppo debate in which there is a distinct lack of action.

In response to the small number of attendees, Amnesty International UKs Syria Campaign Manager Kristyan Benedict told The Independent: While Aleppo was rapidly being transformed into one mass grave today, it was shameful to see so many empty spaces during the Syria debate in the Commons.

Why on earth wasnt the Commons full to capacity with MPs desperate to see what can still be done to alleviate further suffering and save men, women and children in Aleppo?

Anyone in Syria who sees images of those empty green leather benches will be entitled to think that large numbers of British MPs have essentially given up on trying to help them.

During the debate, former Chancellor George Osborne said the Government is deluding itself if it does not take responsibility for the slaughter unfolding in the east of Aleppo, adding that he personally took responsibility for Britains failure to intervene to support rebels.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

Meanwhile Emily Thornberry, the shadow Foreign Secretary, questioned whether the Government believed a moderate rebellion was still underway in Syria and whether it had a chance of success.

The emergency debate was called on Monday by the Speaker John Bercow after former development secretary Andrew Mitchell warned that eastern Aleppo now resembles Stalingrad at the end of its destruction.

The UN has warned that concerns for the safety of civilians in eastern Aleppo is more pressing than ever, as militia forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were reported to have entered homes and killed at least 82 during their advance on rebel-held territory.
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Millions of British citizens still feel European and would benefit from a proposal to allow them to retain associate EU citizenship, the European Parliaments chief negotiator has said.

Guy Verhofstadt said the European Union had to offer something to the large numbers of UK citizens who had voted Remain and who wanted to remain linked to the bloc in some way.

The idea of associate citizenship as originally conceived in an amendment would allow British people to keep freedom of movement and work across the bloc, as well as vote in European Parliament elections.

The MEP Mr Verhofstadt, who will be the point-man for the Parliament in negotiations with the UK, has previously said he would fast-track the idea to the negotiating table and that he would include it in his mandate for talks between EU institutions and the UK.

Asked again about the idea on Tuesday in Strasbourg Mr Verhofstadt said: That was a proposal that has been launched here in the Parliament and what I have said as Brexit negotiator for the European Parliament is that I will take this idea on-board when we discuss the resolution of the Europe Parliament and were going to see in that resolution what is possible, what is not possible, what can be offered to these many, many British citizens who want to have a link with Europe.

That is something that I have felt the last weeks and the last months  how many thousands, several hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of British citizens are saying Im still a European.

He made the comment on BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.

The European Parliament, which Mr Verhofstadt represents in talks, will have a key role in the post-Brexit deal because it will vote on any final package. Rejection by the Parliament would veto the plan.

The European Commission and European Council will lead negotiations and are expected to be less amenable to granting UK citizens such concessions, however  while the Parliaments parties are far from united on what any deal should look like.

What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Show all 5 1 /5 What's the European Parliament ever done for us? What's the European Parliament ever done for us? A cap on the amount of hours an employer can make you work The Working Time directive provides legal standards to ensure the health and safety of employees in Europe. Among the many rules are a working week of a maximum 48 hours, including overtime, a daily rest period of 11 hours in every 24, a break if a person works for six hours or more, and one day off in every seven. It also includes provisions for paid annual leave of at least four weeks every year Getty Images What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Helping the people of Britain to avoid smoking In 2014 MEPs passed the Tobacco Products Directive strengthening existing rules on the manufacture, production and presentation of tobacco products. This includes things like reduced branding, restrictions on products containing flavoured tobacco, health warnings on cigarette packets and provisions for e-cigarettes to ensure they are safe What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Helping you to make the right choices with your food Thanks to the European Parliament, UK consumers have access to more information than ever about their food and drink. This includes amount of fat, and how much of it is saturated, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and so on. It also includes portion sizes and guideline daily amount information so people can make informed choices about their diet. All facts must be clear and easy to understand What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Two year guarantees and 14-day returns policy for all products Consumers across the EU have access to a number of rights, from things which are potentially very useful, to things which used to be annoying. For example, shoppers in the UK receive a two-year guarantee on all products, and a 14-day period to change their minds and return a purchase, these things are useful www.PeopleImages.com-licence restrictions apply What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Keeping your air nice and fresh (and safe) Believe it or not, although the situation is improving, some areas of the UK have appalling air quality. A report by the Royal College of Physicians released on 23 February says 40,000 deaths are caused by outdoor air pollution in the UK every year. Air pollution is linked to a number of illnesses and conditions, from Asthma to diabetes and dementia. The report estimates the costs to British business and the health service add up to 20 billion every year

Existing treaty rules and the attitude of the UK government are also a potential barrier to such a plan coming to fruition.

Downing Street on Monday signalled it would be willing to do a deal whereby Theresa May would find a way to allow people from the UK to live and work in the EU after Brexit.

A spokesperson suggested the UK was not wedded to any particular approach to solving this problem, however.
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Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said British aid drops into Aleppo or other parts of Syria would not get past the country's Russian installed anti-aircraft systems, making relief efforts all but impossible.

In a two hour debate on the emergency situation in Aleppo, Mr Johnson said Russia has deployed its most advanced jet fighters and surface-to-air missiles inside Syria, making aid drops achievable only with Russian permission, something it is unlikely to give.

The Foreign Secretary was damning of the 2013 vote, taken while he was Mayor of London and not an MP, not to intervene against Assad in Syria, a vote on which Labour's then leader Ed Miliband whipped his MPs. Mr Johnson said that vote had, "vacated a psace into which Russia has stepped' adding that, 'The dictator [Assad] had been left to do his work."

He accused Syrian president Bashar Assad of being "content" for his people "to be reduced to starvation even though there are UN warehouses full of food within easy reach".

Asked what action he and the Prime Minister will request from European leaders next week, Mr Johnson said: "What the Russians need to do, and this is what our European colleagues should do as well, is institute an immediate ceasefire.

"It is up to the Russians, and I'm afraid to the Assad regime, to institute a ceasefire."

Johnson warned that in the fallout the Islamic State had surged forward to recapture Palmyra, as he made a plea for Russia and Iran to stop their co-operation with the Syrian regime.

He said: "We are doing everything we can within the constraints that we face.

"I hope that Russia will see sense and join with us to secure the transition away from Assad, that is the only hope for a peaceful Syria.

"It's up to them. It's up to the Russians, it's up to Iran. They have the future of Syria in their hands."
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Ex-Conservative minister Anna Soubry has said a transitional period taking the UK out of the EU could go on for years, as Tory divisions on Brexit re-emerged.

Ms Soubry said a transition period after 2019 in which Britain could negotiate details of its new status and adjust smoothly to Brexit should be as long as business needs.

It comes after Chancellor Philip Hammond appeared to challenge Leave-backing colleagues, some of whom favour a fast and hard Brexit, by saying that thoughtful politicians should be in favour of a transition.

Ms Soubry told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Im not saying how long that period should be, its as long as business needs.

Responding to whether it could go on for years she said that it could.

She said Britain would leave the EU by 2019, but a transitional period would then smooth that exit fully as we have a new relationship negotiated.

Ms Soubry added: It makes a great deal of common sense. Its certainly the view of the businesses that Ive been speaking to and their trading bodies.

 Will you be able to remain an EU citizen after Brexit?

They see the real benefits of this period where we smoothly get a new arrangement with the EU up and running, giving us the time to negotiate and get that deal, but without jeopardising the economy.

Thats what a transitional approach would absolutely deliver and I think its very good idea.

Former Trade Secretary Peter Lilley, now a Brexit backing Tory backbencher, said a transitional period would be acceptable only if it was to implement changes that had already been decided.

But he added: If there is any suggestion that we have a temporary agreement lasting a period followed by a permanent agreement, then that cant be what the Chancellor was saying.

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

It would take as long to agree a temporary agreement as it would a permanent agreement so you may as well just go to permanent agreement.

At a select committee on Monday, Mr Hammond called for a smoother transition to withdrawal  saying thoughtful politicians are now swinging behind an interim trade deal to cushion the harsh impact.

The comments go much further than Theresa Mays public statements, after her spokesman denied she was exploring a transitional deal.

A Lords committee has also said Ms May must secure a transitional deal that will see the UK remain a part of the EUs customs union after 2019.
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George Osborne has said he personally takes responsibility for the situation in Aleppo and insisted that Parliament is deluding itself if it doesn't share some of the blame.

The former Chancellor said Britain failed to intervene to support rebels in besieged eastern districts and others across Syria when it had the chance.

Speaking at an emergency debate help in the House of Commons, the Conservative MP said massacres currently reported to be unfolding had not come out of the blue.

 UN says pro-government forces slaughter at least 82 civilians while closing in on Aleppo

The Syrian civil war has been raging since 2011 and therefore it is something that we should have foreseen and done something about, Mr Osborne said.

I think we are deceiving ourselves in this Parliament if we believe that we have no responsibility for what has happened in Syria.

The tragedy in Aleppo did not come out of a vacuum - it was created by a vacuum. A vacuum of Western leadership, of American leadership, of British leadership.

I take responsibility as someone who sat on the national security council throughout those years. Parliament should take responsibility for what it prevented being done. There were multiple opportunities to intervene.

As well as referring to David Camerons failed push for air strikes against President Bashar al-Assad following chemical attacks in 2013, he said a CIA plan for stronger support for moderate rebels including lethal support was also rejected in 2012.

Mr Osborne said Britain gave other forms of aid, including protective gear and medical supplies, but that there was no Parliamentary backing for the supply of weapons to opposition groups.

In pictures: Aleppo bombing Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Aleppo bombing In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Smoke rises after airstrikes on the rebel-held al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family runs for cover amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Qatarji in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man reacts as he stands on blood stains at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo's al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damage of the airstrikes in the rebel-held area of Aleppo on April 28 Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an air strike on a rebel-held of Aleppo on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man leads a woman in tears and child out of the scene after airstrikes hit Aleppo AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Civil defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in the Bustan al-Qasr rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers and rescuers remove a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers evacuate people from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo

We all know the price of intervention, he added, listing the killing, chaos and cost of the Iraq war. We are now beginning to learn the price of not intervening.

He listed the deaths of tens of thousands of people, displacement of millions more, emergence of the terrorist state of Isis, refugee crisis and resurgence of the far-right across Europe.

Emily Thornberry, the shadow Foreign Secretary, questioned whether the Government believed a moderate rebellion was still underway in Syria and whether it had a chance of success.

If not, what end game is the Government now working towards? she asked, warning that civilians in Isis-controlled cities were just as vulnerable to the effects of bombing and siege by British allies as those in Aleppo.

Ms Thornberry, the Labour MP for South Islington and Finsbury, said what appeared to be the final push against rebel-held Aleppo on Tuesday were hours of shame and disgrace for the governments of Syria, Russia and Iran.

And they should be hours of sorrow and deep reflection for every international institution and governments who did not stop this from happening and did not do enough to help the people of Aleppo while there was still time to do so, she added.

The Russian-backed Syrian military has announced it has gained control of 99 per cent of the former opposition enclave of east Aleppo and its victory in the crucial battleground now appears inevitable.
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Nicola Sturgeon has threatened to add to Labour woes by saying she is "tempted" to stand SNP candidates in England.

Scotland's First Minister said voters across the border told her they have nobody speaking up for them  describing her partys London branch as "booming".

And she made clear she would have dealings with Donald Trump, saying: He's going to be the President of America. There's no point in pretending otherwise.

Recommended Donald Trump discusses links with Scotland in call to Nicola Sturgeon

The SNP is believed to have about 1,000 members in England, a number boosted by Ms Sturgeons much-praised performances in the 2015 general election TV debates.

Asked, by the Big Issue magazine, if the party would stand candidates in English elections, she replied: I'm tempted.

There are a lot (of people) in England - a lot who contact me - who feel completely disenfranchised that there is nobody speaking up for them.

Our London branch is booming at the moment.

SNP candidates would add to the squeeze on Labour, which is already plunging in the polls under Jeremy Corbyns leadership.

Its faces the twin threats of Ukip candidates targeting its traditional working class voters  while the Liberal Democrats' clearer anti-hard Brexit stance is wooing urban supporters.

Ms Sturgeon was speaking before a recent phone call from Mr Trump, despite her strong criticism of the US president-elect.

She told Scottish actor Alan Cumming that she would meet the tycoon if he comes to Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon said: Obviously he spends time in Scotland, he has Scottish ancestry and if he comes - as I'm sure he will - he's the President of America and if the opportunity is there, I'd meet him.

"I've written to him to congratulate him.

I don't think it's any secret that I would rather that he hadn't been elected, but he has, and so I'm going to respect that.

But I'm not going to abandon my own values, just as I'm sure he's not going to abandon the things he believes in.

"Hopefully we can have a relationship based on values, although I do hope he does abandon some of the values that he campaigned on.

Mr Trump called Ms Sturgeon last Friday to discuss the "long-standing relationship between Scotland and the United States" despite being stripped of his role as a business ambassador for Scotland over controversial comments during his presidential campaign.

Asked by Mr Cumming for her hopes for 2017, Ms Sturgeon said: "That it is slightly calmer than 2016."
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Nigel Farage has accused EU authorities of behaving like the Soviet inquisitors after an investigation was launched into the alleged misspending of taxpayers cash by his party.

Mr Farage, who still leads the Ukip group of MEPs in the European Parliament but has stepped down as overall leader, said he and other eurosceptics were being victimised.

The UKs Electoral Commission last month opened an investigation into whether Ukip misspent around 400,000 of taxpayers EU funding in its own electioneering.

Separately, the European Parliament has also drawn up a report alleging that money meant to support the party's fuctions at a European level was used as indirect financing of a national political party and a referendum campaign  both of which are prohibited.

Mr Farage told the BBCs World At One programme: What weve seen since Brexit is all the wills being thrown out of the window and every single eurosceptic party and group wilfully being victimised by a system that really reminds me of the Soviet inquisitors.

Theyve made their minds up that youre guilty regardless of the evidence. We utterly, utterly reject whats being said and well go to court over it.

Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Show all 12 1 /12 Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he unveiled that 'breaking point' poster during the referendum Mr Farage was accused of deploying Nazi-style propaganda when he unveiled a poster showing Syrian refugees travelling to Europe under the next Breaking point. Users on social media were quick to compare the advert to a Nazi propaganda film with similar visuals and featuring Jewish refugees. The poster was particularly controversial because it was unveiled the morning of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox Rex Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said hed be concerned if his neighbours were Romanian In May 2014 Mr Farage was accused of a racial slur against Romanians after he suggested he would be concerned living next to a house of them. I was asked if a group of Romanian men moved in next to you, would you be concerned? And if you lived in London, I think you would be, he told LBC radio during an interview. Asked whether he would also object to living next to German children, he said: You know the difference Bongarts/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the EU campaign was won 'without a bullet being fired' Nigel Farage has said the next Prime Minister has to be a Leave supporter AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he resigned as Ukip leader and came back days later After failing to win the seat of South Thanet at the general election, Nigel Farage stepped down as Ukip leader  as he had promised to do during the campaign. Days later on 11 May he un-resigned and said he would stay after being convinced by supporters within the party. Well see how long his resignation lasts this time AP/Matt Dunham Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he blamed immigrants for making him late Mr Farage turned up late to a 25-a-head meet the leader style event in Port Talbot, Wales in December 2014. Asked why he was late, he blamed immigrants. It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here - it should have taken three-and-a-half to four, he said. That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he wanted to ban immigrants with HIV from Britain Mr Farage has used his platform as Ukip leader call for people with HIV to be banned from coming to Britain. Asked in an interview with Newsweek Europe in October 2014 who he thought should be allowed to come to the UK, he said: People who do not have HIV, to be frank. Thats a good start. And people with a skill. He also repeated similar comments in the 2015 general election leadership debates Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he defended the use of a racial slur against Chinese people Defending one of Ukips candidates, who used the word ch**ky to describe a Chinese person, Mr Farage said: If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you're going for?" When he was told by the presented that he honestly would not use the slur, Mr Farage replied: A lot would Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said parts of Britain were like a foreign land The Ukip leader used his 2014 conference speech to declare parts of Britain as being like a foreign land. He told his audience in Torquay that parts of the country were unrecognisable because of the number of foreigners there. Mr Farage has also previously said he felt uncomfortable when people spoke other language on a train Screengrab Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the British army should be deployed to France At the height of trouble at Britains Calais border Mr Farage proposed a novel solution. The Ukip leader called for the British army to be sent to France to put down a migrant rebellion. In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a Territorial Army as well and we have a very, very overburdened police force and border agency, he said. If in a crisis to make sure weve actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in, to stop people illegally coming to Britain, if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said breastfeeding women should sit in the corner Mr Farage sparked protests from mothers after he told women to sit on the corner if they wanted to breastfeed their children. I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isnt too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that's not openly ostentatious, Mr Farage said. He added: "Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be AFP/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the gender pay gap exists because women are worth less At a Q&A on the European Union in January 2014 Mr Farage said there was no discrimination against women causing the gender pay gap. Instead, he said, women were paid less because they were simply worth far less than many of their male counterparts. A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio, he said Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said he actually couldnt guarantee 350m to the NHS after Brexit During the EU referendum campaign the Leave side pledged to spend 350 million a week on the National Health Service  claiming that this is what the UK sends to Brussels. Nigel Farage didnt speak out against this figure and also pledged to spend EU cash on the health service and other public services himself. Then the day of the election result he suddenly changed his tone, saying he couldnt guarantee the cash for the NHS and that to pledge to do so was a mistake Getty

Asked why Ukip was yet to publish a round of expenses, Mr Farage said: Weve been busy doing other stuff. He clarified that this was a separate issue to the EU funding investigation.

Mr Farage was replaced by Paul Nuttal as his party's leader in the most recent election. He was previously replaced by Diane James, who lasted a matter of days in the role before she stepped down and triggered a further leadership election, during which time Mr Farage returned as interim leader.
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An outspoken Conservative critic of feminism has been elected to the Parliamentary committee in charge of holding the Government to account on equalities and womens issues.

Philip Davies was elected unopposed to fill a Conservative spot on the Commons Women and Equalities Committee that was vacated after another member joined the Government.

The MP for Shipley said in August that feminist zealots were stirring up problems and that a number of women wanted equality but only when it suits.

Recommended Tory MP Philip Davies says more women should be sent to prison

He has campaigned hard for the recognition of International Mens Day in Parliament, arguing last month that men has lost their voice in the national discourse in recent years.

Last year Mr Davies caused a storm after he said more women should be sent to prison in order to achieve equality with men.

Mr Davies confirmed his appointment with a post on social media. At the time of writing Women and Equalities Committees office said the election of a replacement Tory candidate was a matter for the Conservative party and that it had not yet been notified.

The membership of select committees reflects the party balance in the House of Commons and Mr Davies would have been chosen to represent the Tories on the committee by a ballot of his fellow Conservative MPs, though he was unopposed.

The countries with anti-women laws Show all 5 1 /5 The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws

Mr Davies currently serves on the Justice Committee and previously served on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

The Women and Equalities Committee, which was created last year, scrutinises the progress and policies of the Government Equalities Office and the Government's overall performance on issues of sex, age, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, pregnancy and maternity, marriage or civil partnership status.
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A Labour MP has claimed that it is "highly probable" that Vladimir Putins Russia interfered in the UKs Brexit referendum.

Ben Bradshaw said Moscows likely interference in the vote would fit a pattern of meddling in other nations affairs, following the CIAs accusation that Russian hackers tried to influence the recent US elections.

Speaking in the Commons debate on Aleppo, Mr Bradshaw also claimed that the huge flows of migrants into Europe had been deliberately encouraged by Russia to destabilise the EU.

He said: "I dont think we have even begun to wake up to what Russia is doing when it comes to cyber warfare.

"Not only their interference, now proven, in the American presidential campaign, [but] probably in our referendum last year. We dont have the evidence for that yet. But I think its highly probable."

Last week the CIA claimed that Russia had interfered with the US election and actively helped Donald Trump win the White House.

The agency suggested emails hacked from the Democratic Party and given to the WikiLeaks website aided the Republican candidates win in Novembers race.

Mr Bradshaw also pointed to French elections where Marine Le Pens National Front asked Russia for a 23m loan to help it fight presidential and parliamentary campaigns in 2017.

 Putin quotes

German politicians and intelligence officers have warned that hackers and others acting for the Russian state could undermine Germany's general elections next year.

Mr Bradshaw went on: "When will we realise that Russias strategy is to weaken and divide the free world and that driving the biggest refugee flows into Europe since World War Two is a deliberate, a deliberate, part of that plan.

"When will we admit that what Putin cant achieve militarily he is already achieving using cyber and propaganda warfare."

A Downing Street spokesman said he had not seen any evidence of Russian interference in the EU referendum.
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Social care is under threat in parts of the country, No.10 has admitted  paving the way for council tax rises next year to rescue services.

The growing controversy provoked the "lengthiest discussion" among ministers at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Theresa May's spokeswoman said.

It is the first time ministers have acknowledged the threat to social care systems, having previously preferred the phrase under pressure.

Recommended Councils planning tax rises to cover cost of care

And it came as Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, said care services  rather than the NHS - should be at the "front of the queue" for any Government cash injection.

He told a House of Lords inquiry: It is quite obvious that the knock-on consequences of a deteriorating social care offer - not only for vulnerable people, but also into hospitals - is now unarguable.

"I think there is a very strong case for some immediate support now."

Town hall chiefs are known to have discussed proposals with ministers to fill a black hole in funding for adult social care expected to reach 2.6bn by 2020.

They are strongly rumoured to include increasing the current two per cent "social care precept", an extra levy on council tax introduced by George Osborne last year.

One possible option is to scrap the limit on the precept altogether  prompting speculation that the typical bill could rise by up to 100 a year, in an announcement on Thursday.

Ms Mays spokeswoman insisted it was possible for councils to provide high quality social care within existing budgets if reform was followed through.

But she added: The ability to provide social care for local communities is under threat and Thursday's announcement on the local government finance settlement will address this issue while making clear the need for reform.

"The PM emphasised the importance of finding a long-term, sustainable way of addressing the issue."

Asked whether councils in under-pressure areas would be allowed to increase the two per cent precept, the spokeswoman said: "I suggest you wait for Thursday's announcement."

There have been widespread warnings of a social care crisis, with the closure of 250 residential care homes since March and the loss of 5,000 beds over the past 18 months.

The number of days hospital patients wait on wards for suitable home care packages has soared by 224 per cent since 2010.

And the chief executive of Care England, which represents care home providers, warned that rising demand, combined with spending cuts, have created a "house of cards".

Conservative ministers and MPs, fearful of a public backlash, have been lobbying Downing Street to find a long-term solution.

Only yesterday, Downing Street played down talk of a crisis, arguing just 20 local authorities are behind half of all delayed discharges from hospitals because of a lack of available care packages.

Last month, the Prime Minister told Jeremy Corbyn that 'social care funding is going up, while Labour had pledged to freeze cash for local councils at the last election.

The Treasury has insisted councils will gain an extra 3.5bn of social care funding by 2020, money diverted from the NHS under the Better Care Fund.

Labour has accused the Government of unfairly "dumping" the funding crisis on council taxpayers, demanding to know why ministers had not "fought harder to get extra, vital funding for social care" in the Autumn Statement.
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Britains foreign aid budget is likely to be cut in the next parliament, Theresa May signalled today.

The law requiring 0.7 per cent of gross national income to be spent on aid will be reviewed before 2020, the Prime Ministers spokeswoman said

The move follows fierce attacks by Conservative MPs and newspapers of the legal commitment, while domestic spending continues to be cut.

There has also been growing criticism of the way some of the 12bn budget is spent, particularly the cash directed through the Governments private equity arm.

Nevertheless, any move to change the law will be the clearest breach yet with David Camerons legacy  and will be condemned by aid agencies.

The possibility of a review first emerged when Chancellor Philip Hammond said that all areas of spending would be re-examined, probably in 2019, before the next Conservative manifesto is produced

However, foreign aid is more difficult to cut  because the 0.7 per cent figure is legally protected.

Today, Ms Mays spokeswoman made clear that overseas aid would be part of the review, saying there were no commitments beyond the current Parliament.

She said: That will be the point when we set out our commitments moving forward - and commitments that will rightly be left for the manifesto.

Ministers have already hinted the review could see the scrapping of the so-called triple lock protecting pensioner incomes.

Save the Children urged Ms May not to scrap the legal commitment, pointing out that it was an internationally agreed target, set by the UN.

A spokeswoman said: Over the last 15 years, British aid has bought the mosquito nets that helped stop six million people dying from malaria, provided the equipment and training that ensured five million childbirths happened safely, and given 11 million children a chance in life by supporting them through education.

There is cross-party support for 0.7 per cent precisely because it is important to have a standard measurement across countries, and across time, for the commitment were willing to make to the worlds poorest people.

Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary, has been accused of planning to privatise much of the aid budget, by funnelling the money through the private equity arm.

CDC Group  formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation  has been criticised for pouring money into gated communities, shopping centres and luxury property in poor countries.

A draft Bill will allow the Department for International Development (DfiD) to hike the amount it can give to CDC Group from 1.5bn to 6bn.

Ms Patel also sparked controversy when she suggested some of the aid budget will be switched to help win post-Brexit trade deals.
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Women have suffered a staggering 86 per cent of the impact of tax hikes and benefit cuts since 2010, an official analysis shows.

Labour, which commissioned the research, accused ministers of a woeful record towards women and a complete disinterest in the problem.

The Government had repeatedly failed to carry out gender-audits of their own economic policies, despite requests from the Commons committee overseeing equalities issues.

Meanwhile, the disparity was getting worse  with the financial hit suffered by women up from 81 per cent of the austerity measures at the same point last year.

Sarah Champion, Labours women and equalities spokeswoman, said: Theresa May and Philip Hammond have talked the talk on equality but the figures speak for themselves.

Warm words and half-hearted promises on improving the economy for women are not enough.

The Governments attitude to the impact of their policies on women has now shifted from a blithering dismissiveness to wilful and deliberate evasion.

Ms Champion pointed to hikes in the state pension age, maternity discrimination and public service cuts as examples of how women were bearing the brunt.

The controversy will be raised in a Commons debate on Wednesday, when the Government will again be urged to commit to gender audits.

Ms Champion added: I hope that fellow MPs across Parliament will join me tomorrow in imploring the government to stop ignoring the voices of millions of women.

The figures, obtained from the House of Commons library, show that total tax and benefit changes between 2010 and 2020 are expected to bring in savings of 94.1bn.

Of those, no less than 80.7bn will fall on women  or 86 per cent of the total.

The Conservative-led Women and Equalities Select Committee has called for policies to be assessed for their different impacts on men and women.

Ms Champion said the research also showed that black and minority ethnic women in all income groups have been hit hardest by the changes.
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A motorcyclist who was declared dead at the scene of an accident was found alive in a mortuary fridge the next day.

A worker discovered Msizi Mkhize was still breathing when his family arrived at the morgue in Durban, South Africa to identify his body.

The 28-year-old man was rushed to hospital where doctors attempted to resuscitate and warm him, but despite their best efforts he was pronounced dead five hours later.

The Kwa-Zulu Natal Health Authority said it had launched an investigation into how paramedics came to mistakenly believe Mr Mkhize had died after being hit by a car on Monday 5 December.

Family members accused paramedics of negligence and demanded a full explanation from authorities.

Mr Mkhize's parents said they wanted to know if their son could have been saved if he had been taken to hospital earlier.

His father, Peter, told the Daily News: I have no words to express how I feel about what happened to my child. To spend the entire night and morning in the mortuary refrigerator is wrong.

He added: We arrived there at 8am to do the paperwork and view the body of my child. It was after 12pm when an employee told one of the doctors my son was alive.

That day will forever be etched in my mind."

He urged journalists to let the family bury Mr Mkhize in peace before they would answer questions about the incident in greater detail.

Mr Mkhize's sister, Hlobisile, said she wanted to know who had judged her brother, from KwaMashu township, to have passed away.

Ms Mkhize said: We want to know who declared him dead. Is that person experienced enough to handle and make decisions in such situations?

This is painful and stressful for the family to establish that our brother and son had spent the night in the morgue.

Somewhere, somehow someone did not do their job. We want a full explanation from all concerned.

After he was found to be alive, Mr Mkhize was rushed to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where medical staff fought to save him.

Dr Rishigen Viranna, a GP at the hospital, echoed calls for an investigation into the incident, which he said highlighted extreme shortcomings within the provincial paramedic and mortuary services.

He said the family had received extensive counselling at the hospital throughout the entire process.

Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals Show all 4 1 /4 Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals 5563362.jpg Robert Yager Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals 5563363.jpg Robert Yager Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals 5563364.jpg Robert Yager Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals 5563365.jpg Robert Yager

There is a concept in emergency medicine care known as the Golden Hour, where after trauma a patient has the best chance of good outcome if hospital or medical treatment is received within the first hour.

This did not occur in this case. However, the true cause of death will be determined after a post-mortem has been completed, he said.

A provincial health department spokesman said: The passing away of any individual is a painful experience.

The department can confirm that an internal inquiry is under way.
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The smuggler walked through the back door of the convenience store and into the metal shed where the migrants were hiding. It was a Monday in one of the worlds human-smuggling capitals, the day when trucks crammed with Africans roar off in a weekly convoy bound for Libya, the threshold of Europe.

For Musa, an expert in sneaking people across the Sahara, it was time to get ready. He walked around the white Toyota pickup parked next to the shed, loaded with jugs of water. Then he glanced at the cluster of 30 people waiting to climb atop the load. One of them, an 11-year-old girl from Burkina Faso, sucked a lollipop. A mother held her wailing six-month-old baby. Next to them, 27 men, from five countries, shifted their eyes nervously between Musa and the truck.

If they were not caught or stranded or killed, it would take three days to get to Libya. We need to leave soon, Musa said, examining the truck, its windows tinted, its licence plate missing, prayer beads hanging from the rear-view mirror.

Migrants sit on the open cargo of pick-up trucks, holding wooden sticks tied to the vehicle to avoid falling from it, as they leave the outskirts of Agadez for Libya (AFP)

Since the 15th century, Agadez has been one of the continents most important trading hubs, the gateway between West and North Africa. Now, it is a city run by human smugglers. And, across the developing world, the business of human cargo is thriving.

Musa, 38, knew the risks. He knew that if his truck broke down in the nearly 50C heat, he and the migrants might survive no more than two days. He knew that his pistol was little help against the bandits who roamed the Sahara. But he also knew how to bribe the police and military to let him pass. And he knew the desert as well as anyone. Or he claimed to.

On this Monday, like every other Monday, he and his brothers counted the men and women who had arrived at the stash house tucked behind the grey shopfront advertising soap and baby food. The sun had set. The migrants were covering their faces with scarves. Musa strolled past them in a long white robe, as if preparing for a leisurely drive.

Before we had migrants, but not like now, he said. Now, there are so many that I cant remember them all. Every week, the trucks are full.

A pigeon tower in Agadez, Niger in 1965 (Getty)

In Agadez, there are dozens of stash houses, which locals call ghettos. They are hidden behind homes, next to mosques and market stalls, part of the citys secret geography, the architecture of a booming illicit economy.

It is a boom driven by the collapse of the Libyan government, which has left a vast stretch of the North African coast virtually unguarded. Africas explosion of mobile phones and social networks has linked smugglers to potential migrants.

Now, in sub-Saharan Africa, youre never more than two conversations away from someone who can get you to Europe, said Tuesday Reitano, a human-trafficking expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, a think tank.

Hundreds of men and women from across West and Central Africa pour into the desert outpost every week. The majority are fleeing abject poverty. Others are escaping violence in Mali, north-eastern Nigeria or the Central African Republic. They have only one thing in common: they arrived in Agadez with Musas phone number.

Konissa had stepped off the bus in Agadez just after 11 oclock on a recent Sunday night. He had been travelling for three days from the Ivory Coast. When he walked through the parking lot, men started approaching him, his small black backpack giving him away as a migrant.

You going to Libya? they asked in French and Hausa. You need some help? But Konissa, 25, already had a contact in Agadez. His uncle had left for Libya last year.

This man can help you, the uncle wrote in a text in May, pasting in Musas number. A few minutes after getting off the bus, Konissa dialled the number. The parking lot was full of young men sleeping on the ground. On the wall was graffiti in several languages. Ali from Cameroon was here, one line read. A Guinean was here, said another.

Konissa had spent two years saving for the trip to Europe, eking out a living as a tailor. If he made it to France or Italy, the money he sent back would change the lives of his parents and siblings and their children. Je suis arrive, he said to Musa.

Fifteen minutes later, Konissa was driven to the large shed where Musa and his brothers kept the migrants. The ground was strewn with cardboard boxes and old tires. Five wild antelope, captured from the desert, skittered around the adjacent dirt yard.

Before going to sleep, Konissa called his father in a village in the Ivory Coast. I found the place, he said.

Western officials portray smugglers as hardened criminals who have driven the surge in migrants to European shores  where more than 100,000 have arrived this year. But in Agadez, smugglers see themselves as businessmen, providing a service that Nigers desert tribes have mastered.

Musas father shuttled goods for years between Agadez and Libya, where US and UN sanctions made legal trade difficult. By the time Musa was 20, he was crossing the Sahara, too. He learned to navigate by ruts in the sand during the day and by the stars at night. When, in 2011, Muammar Gaddafi, Libyas leader, was overthrown, suddenly no one was stopping boats from leaving the countrys ports for Italy, just 200 miles away. Throngs of migrants began to arrive in Agadez. Musa was ready to profit.

He and his brothers bought a fleet of Toyota pickups stolen from Libya. They built the shed in the stores backyard and laid down old mats and carpets where the migrants could sleep. They started taking between 25 and 100 migrants across the Sahara every week, charging about 200 each. My phone number became famous across West Africa, he said. In three years, Musa was a millionaire. He bought homes in Niger and Libya. He bought cars and camels and smartphones, his selfies reflecting his swagger, a man lying next to a pistol in the desert. He married one woman in Niger and another in Libya. He tried to hide his enterprise from his four children, telling them that he was a trader.

Last month, a delegation from the European Union travelled to Agadez seeking to strengthen Nigers law-enforcement agencies and stop the smugglers. Police and soldiers, however, are deeply involved in the trade. Many of them earn exponentially more in bribes from smugglers and migrants than they do from their salaries.

Perhaps the most glaring sign of the complicity comes each Monday, when the smugglers and their migrant cargoes leave Agadez in a loose convoy led by a military escort.

The diplomats come and talk about stopping migration, but its just talk, Mohammed Anacko, president of Agadezs regional government council, said. The smuggling networks are strong and the migrants are desperate.

The Niger government has made sporadic attempts to shut down the smugglers. After the bodies of 92 migrants were found in the desert outside Agadez in 2013, officers raided a number of the citys stash houses, arresting owners.

Musa was caught smuggling migrants and spent one month in jail. He resumed his business nearly immediately after being released, shifting his route to more remote stretches of desert. Earlier this year, Nigers government passed a law that would allow judges to sentence smugglers to prison for up to 30 years, but experts say it hasnt yet been enforced.

If you pay the police, its no problem getting to Libya, even a truck full of migrants without papers, said Maliki Amadou Hamadane, head of the Agadez office for the International Organisation for Migration.

While the images of boats capsized in the Mediterranean have come to symbolise the dangers of illegal migration to Europe, the trip through the Sahara is no less risky. Last month, the bodies of 48 migrants were found in two locations a few hundred miles outside Agadez. Musa shrugs off the risks of the journeys. If God writes that you will die in the desert, then that is how you will die, he said.

On this Monday afternoon, when the migrants staying with Musa went to purchase water containers for the three-day journey, most returned with a gallon jug. It was all they could afford. They took turns filling them from a spigot.

Konissa carried a jug and a small loaf of bread. He had raced through the market to buy them. I am scared to be caught, he said. Musa didnt ask questions when the migrants arrived. When the 11-year-old girl from Burkina Faso named Saly showed up, wearing a long skirt with red birds on it, he looked at her but said nothing.

He knew, like other smugglers in Agadez, that not everyone he transported was choosing to make the journey. But he saw himself as a man providing a service. They call me and ask for a trip to Libya, and I do it for them, he said. I dont force them to travel anywhere.

Just two days before Musas truck departed, an estate car full of 12 Nigerian girls had entered Agadez, driven by a short, bald man named Jagondi, who even Musa described as a big smuggler.

The girls had been sold by their parents into a trafficking network, Jagondi said. It was not an unusual event. He had been driving girls, mostly from Nigeria, to Libya for years, taking extra care to hide his passengers. They will become prostitutes in Europe, he said, claiming that he was not involved in that part of the business.

After dropping the girls at a stash house, Jagondi parked his vehicle in front of his own house, next to a large mosque. He sat outside and ate a bowl of rice and porridge. He recalled how, one night, he was driving around Agadez when he spotted a 14-year-old girl whom he had shuttled there. He remembered her fondly; she had called him Daddy. But that night, she was standing in a poorly lit back alley, working as a prostitute.

She saw him in his car and screamed, Daddy, Daddy, he recounted. He kept driving. I was very, very sad, he said.

For his part, Musa appeared less concerned about his human cargo. After he walked away from 11-year-old Saly, her uncle, who had accompanied her on the 1,000-mile journey from Burkina Faso, explained that she had been sent by her parents to make money in Libya. She will wash clothes or do other work in the house, said the uncle. Back home, some women said, Dont bring the girl, but she wants to have a job to help her parents.

When she was asked why she was leaving home, Saly stared ahead and said nothing.

Where is the little girl? asked Musas brother Abdul Karim, standing next to the truck on Monday night. Saly was sitting on a backpack on the ground. Three men lifted her on to the bed of the pickup, seven feet above the ground.

Then, one by one, the men climbed aboard. Musa and his brothers had stuck tree limbs between the bags and supplies so that the men sitting on the edge of the vehicle could hold on, their legs hanging just above the ground.

Do we need money to pay the police? one migrant asked. Whatever I give you, they will take, said a short, thin man named Mohammed, who works for Musa. We will pay for everyone together.

Will there be bandits on the way? asked another. You will be fine, said Mohammed. Musa is a professional. He never loses the road.

Konissas uncle was living somewhere in Italy. The plan was to call him once the truck arrived in the Libyan city of Sabha, the next staging ground for migrants. Konissa already had the phone number of a smuggler there.

When the truck was full, two of Musas employees opened the metal gates that separated the stash house from a main road. The truck shot on to the street and past a mosque where women were praying outside. Libya! one woman cheered.

The vehicle flew by the last mud-baked houses of Agadez and within minutes it was in the desert, in near total darkness.

The next morning, the police in Agadez announced that they had arrested about a dozen smugglers and 40 migrants.

Back at Musas store, his employees scanned photos of the detained. Neither Musa nor his brother was among them. Behind the counter, another of his brothers, Abdul Salam, laughed. Even when he was young, we called Musa The Warrior, he said. He wasnt scared of anyone.

Then Abdul Salam went back to work. There was always more work: the next migrants were to arrive soon.

 The Washington Post
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The last 24 hours in Aleppo have been the worst in the bitter fight for the city, a UN representative has said, as the Syrian government closes in on the last pockets of rebel resistance.

Aid organisations have renewed desperate pleas to reinstate a ceasefire in order to evacuate the estimated 50,000 - 100,000 civilians that remain in what a World Food Programme spokesperson described as the citys slow descent into hell.

Many activists and residents The Independent has spoken with in recent months have blamed Western politicians for not doing more to end months of intense Russian-backed air strikes.

A Turkey and Russia brokered ceasefire agreement which went into effect Tuesday night was ruptured Wednesday morning after claims of violations on both sides, cruelling dashing the last hopes of those who had been promised evacuations. "We want to leave, we don't want more massacres, let us leave," one activist said in a Whatsapp message on Wednesday.

Families have already been ripped apart by violence inflicted by both the regime and rebels, and anyone accused of helping the opposition now awaits possible detention or execution by regime forces. For many people inside east Aleppo, help will come too late.

Although regaining control of the city will amount to a huge victory for President Bashar al-Assad, the war is far from over. Many more civilians all over the country will suffer before the complex conflict ends.

 Syria conflict: Aleppo civilians post 'goodbye' videos

To help end the bloodshed caused by the Syrian crisis, you can:

1. Join demonstrations where you live

In London, protesters are meeting outside 10 Downing Street at 8.30pm, outside the Syrian Embassy at 9pm, and at other events scheduled in Liverpool and Manchester on Tuesday 13th December. Use the hashtag #StandWithAleppo to find demonstrations in your area - and if there isnt one, organise one.

2. Call and email your MP and MEP

Let them know you want the government to do more than condemn the violence. Petition them to start aid drops for Aleppo and other starving areas of Syria, and ask them to consider measures such as sanctions or diplomatic repercussions for the Syrian and Russian governments.

The EU has taken discussion of sanctions on Russia over its actions in Aleppo - first proposed in October - off the agenda for a summit in Brussels on Thursday.

3. Donate to relief efforts

The Syrian government has blocked UN aid shipments from entering Aleppo since the siege barricades went up in July. A list of trustworthy local and international NGOs working on the ground in Syria can be found here.

4. If you have a specific skill set, volunteer your time

Medical professionals have helped saved innumerable lives by assisting the beleaguered doctors and nurses in Aleppo by giving advice via Skype. Get in touch with US-based SAMS, a medical charity that operates all over Syria, for how to get involved.

If you speak Arabic and can offer translation services for aid organisations, contact your local branch.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

5. Support the global refugee effort

Refugee resettlement in the UK is done on a voluntary basis by constituency. Tell your Local Government Association if you would be willing to foster an unaccompanied refugee child, and that refugee families are welcome in your area.

Tell your local council and MP that you want the UK to agree to take in more refugees. Jordan and Lebanon - Syrias neighbours - are currently home to almost three million Syrians. The UK has agreed to resettle 20,000 by 2020, and is currently not on track to reach that target.
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Barack Obama has said there are very clear relationships between members of Donald Trumps team and Moscow, after he ordered a full review of possible Russian hacking in the US election.

Mr Obama said his acknowledgement of the link should come as no "big surprise, since the US government has previously publicly blamed Moscow for hacking against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the lead up to the vote.

The incumbent leader called the hacked emails not a particularly fancy brand of espionage or propaganda, and expressed concern that "frankly not very interesting" documents were able to dominate debate ahead of election day.

The President-elect in some of his political events specifically said to the Russians, Hack Hillarys emails so that we can finally find out whats going on, and confirm our conspiracy theories, Mr Obama told The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

You had what was very clear relationships between members of the President-elects campaign team and Russians, and a professed shared view on a bunch of issues.

In October, the director of national intelligence and the secretary of homeland security accused the senior-most levels of Russian government of directing the cyber attacks.

Recommended Trump to confirm oil company CEO with ties to Russia as chief diplomat

Multiple members of the President-elects team  past and present  have been affiliated with Moscow, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who exited the team after an avalanche of stories raised questions about his involvement with pro-Putin movements in Ukraine.

Other Russian-affiliated Trump team members include his choice of national security advisor, Michael Flynn, a retired general who was paid last year to speak at an event hosted by Vladimir Putin.

Mr Obama added: I dont think there was any doubt among anybody in the media or among members of Congress as to who was being advantaged or disadvantaged by the political gossip that was being put out in drip-drip-drip fashion leading up to the election.

Revelations from emails belonging to the DNC repeatedly shook the Clinton campaign in the run up to the election, and critics have held them as partly responsible for the Democrat's loss.

President Donald Trump life in pictures Show all 16 1 /16 President Donald Trump life in pictures President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump poses in a rocking chair once used by President John F. Kennedy at his New York City residence Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump with his new bride Marla Maples after their wedding at the Plaza hotel in New York Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Celina Midelfart watch the match between Conchita Martinez and Amanda Coetzer during U.S. Open. She was the date whom Donald Trump was with when he met his current wife Melania at a party in 1996 Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas serving as the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, speaks to Donald Trump and Melania Knauss on the starting grid at the Daytona International Speedwa Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump talks with his former wife Ivana Trump during the men's final at the U.S. Open Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and his friend Melania Knauss pose for photographers as they arrive at the New York premiere of Star Wars Episode : 'The Phantom Menace,' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump talks with host Larry King. Trump told King that he was moving toward a possible bid for the United States presidency with the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump answers questions as Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura looks on in Brooklyn Park. Trump said on Friday he 'very well might' make a run for president under the Reform Party banner but had not made a final decision Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump makes a face at a friend as he sits next to Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso before the start of the 2003 Miss Universe pageant in Panama City Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Entrepreneur Donald Trump is greeted by a Marilyn Monroe character look-a-alike, as he arrives at Universal Studios Hollywood to attend the an open casting call for his NBC television network reality series 'The Apprentice.' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Simon Cowell present an Emmy during the 56th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Megan Mullally perform at the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump, poses with his children, son Donald Trump, Jr., and daughters Tiffany and Ivanka Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump told Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner on Tuesday she would be given a second chance after reported misbehavior Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump holds a replica of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as his wife Melania holds their son Barron in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. property mogul Donald Trump stands next to a bagpiper during a media event on the sand dunes of the Menie estate, the site for Trump's proposed golf resort, near Aberdeen, north east Scotland Reuters

Mr Obama asked: What is it about our political ecosystem, what is it about the state of our democracy where the leaks of what were frankly not very interesting emails that didnt have any explosive information in them [...] ended up being an obsession, and the fact that the Russians were doing this was not an obsession?

The probe into Russian interference by US intelligence will be one of the incumbent Presidents final instructions to the intelligence agencies, which will soon report to Donald Trump.

After announcing the review, deputy White House press secretary Eric Schultz denied it was an attempt to challenge the outcome of the election, saying Mr Obamas team acknowledged who won.

The inquiry will scour the last three presidential election cycles for evidence of foreign interference and Mr Obama expects it to be completed before he leaves office, the White House has said.

The government has yet to detect any increased cyber activity on the 2016 election day and Mr Trump's team has criticised the review, saying it was "time to move on".
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Two faithless electors are appealing a judges decision to uphold a Colorado law which requires electoral college members to vote for the winning candidate in their state - thwarting an attempt to stage a protest vote against Donald Trump

US district judge Wiley Daniel denied a request by two electors in Colorado to scrap the law which requires the nine electors in the state to vote for the candidate who won the most votes. In Colorado, that was Hillary Clinton.

The two electors lawyer, Jason Wesoky, said he will seek an emergency appeal in a last-ditch attempt to block the law before his clients must cast their vote for Ms Clinton on 19 December.

Recommended Texas elector becomes first Republican to vow to block Trump victory

The two electors who contested the law, Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich, are registered Democrats. But they wanted to vote for an alternative Republican candidate and urge other Republican electors to do the same to stop Mr Trump entering the White House.

The state law reads: "Each presidential elector shall vote for the presidential candidate and, by separate ballot, vice-presidential candidate who received the highest number of votes at the preceding general election in this state."

But Ms Baca and Mr Nemanich argued in their lawsuit that the electoral college is supposed to be an independent body that is free to decide who deserves to be president. Mr Nemanich has also called for electoral college voters to receive briefings on Russian influence on the election before they cast their votes, and briefing for judges who face electoral college-related lawsuits.

The Bill Clinton-appointed judge found that suspending the Colorado law would have harmed the voters and put at risk a smooth and peaceful presidential transition.

"Part of me thinks this is really a political stunt to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president," said Mr Daniel.

All 538 electors are meeting in their respective states on 19 December to rubber stamp the election of Mr Trump.

 Electoral college members demand information on Russian relations before voting to make Donald Trump

The president-elect won a big majority of 306 electoral votes around the US, compared to Ms Clintons 232 votes. The winner only needed 270. While a handful of Democrat electoral voters said they would stage a protest vote, choosing an alternative like Mitt Romney, only one Republican voter in Texas said he would not vote for Mr Trump as it would "dishonour God".

Mr Trumps lawyers had contested the two electors lawsuit in Colorado.

"This is very serious stuff," Christopher Murray, a lawyer for the Colorado Republican Party, said in court. "If you vote as a free agent in the electoral college, you're taking Colorado voters' voices away."

The ruling in Mr Trumps favour comes as Ms Clinton has won a majority in the popular vote of close to 3 million. Mr Trump insisted he would also have won the popular vote if he had campaigned harder in a smaller number of states.

Green party presidential candidate Jill Stein has also been the figurehead of the recount movement, focusing on recounting votes in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. She said the voting system was "messed up" with broken voting equipment, missing boxes of ballots and communities of colour and poor people being left out altogether.

The movement raised millions of dollars with an average donation of less than $50 to recount the votes through an army of volunteers.

In Wisconsin, Mr Trump still came out on top by an extra 131 votes, widening his majority over Ms Clinton.
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Addicted to crack cocaine, 20-years ago Charles and Renate Cole were struggling to beat their habit and raise their children.

But after getting clean and returning to college, the couple both managed to graduate earlier this month.

The couple said they were inspired by seeing the eldest of their three children, Charles, achieve the same feat and they decided to return to education at Sacramento Theological Seminary.

After a great deal of soul-searching, the couple decided to study and both achieved a BA in Biblical Studies, and both intend to earn doctorates in the near future.

Their son Charles Cole III posted a photograph on Twitter of his happy parents as they attended their belated graduation. The picture quickly went viral, gaining over 2,000 retweets and 5,000 likes.

It he can do it, we can do it too, the elder Mr Cole told ABC News. We embedded this in him."

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. 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A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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"Our son is a go-getter. By seeing his energy [and] his drive to just do it, that kind of pushes us."

The couple say they have achieved their life-long dreams in returning to their studies, and now plan to provide help to homeless veterans.

"It was our purpose in life to be educated in this way," Renate said. "To just see the fruit [of your labor] that if you continue to work hard, if you continue to believe, if you continue to hold on, God will help you do whatever it is you're called to do."
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Donald Trumps postponement of an announcement regarding his many conflicts of interest could be grounds for the Electoral College to block his presidency, leading US ethicists have said.

The President-elect had promised to clear up the situation before electors meet to approve his candidacy on 19 December, scheduling a press conference for this Thursday.

But on Tuesday evening, Mr Trump announced that he would be delaying any decisions until January - meaning members of the Electoral College will be expected to vote him in despite the real danger he could violate the US Constitution from the moment he is inaugurated.

 Electoral college members demand information on Russian relations before voting to make Donald Trump

Recommended Donald Trump postpones announcing business plans until January

Mr Trumps various overseas business interests, as they stand, are almost certainly in breach of the Emoluments clause of the Constitution - stating that no elected official may take payment or profit in any kind from a foreign leader or state.

His domestic businesses, particularly the public lease on the new Trump International Hotel in Washington, will also throw up conflicts of interest when he becomes president.

Ethicists have said the only satisfactory way Mr Trump could assuage these conflicts is to hand his entire business empire over to a blind trust, as other presidents have done before him.

But in a series of tweets on Tuesday night, in which he said he would hold a press conference in the near future to provide more detail, Mr Trump said he would hand control of his businesses over to his adult sons - a measure which would not remove the appearance of a conflict.

He also said he would be simply "leaving" his businesses rather than fully divesting, and added there would be "no new deals will be done during my term(s) in office".

Former White House ethics lawyers Richard Painter, who served under George W Bush, and Norman Eisen, who served under Barack Obama, have issued a joint statement explaining why thats so problematic.

They said: With Trump's cancellation of his announcement of how he will handle his admitted business conflicts, electors are now confronted with voting for a man who will be in violation of the Constitution on day one unless he divests, and who has not told us his plan to do that.

As we have previously said, electors should search their consciences. Now they must search twice as hard.

One Republican elector has already pledged not to vote for Mr Trump on the basis that he is unqualified to lead, meaning 36 more would need to join him in under a week if there were to be any chance of the Electoral College blocking the election result.

But the conflicts in particular represent a difficult situation for the College which, according to founding father Alexander Hamilton, was set up to ensure that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.

President Donald Trump life in pictures Show all 16 1 /16 President Donald Trump life in pictures President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump poses in a rocking chair once used by President John F. Kennedy at his New York City residence Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump with his new bride Marla Maples after their wedding at the Plaza hotel in New York Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Celina Midelfart watch the match between Conchita Martinez and Amanda Coetzer during U.S. Open. She was the date whom Donald Trump was with when he met his current wife Melania at a party in 1996 Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas serving as the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, speaks to Donald Trump and Melania Knauss on the starting grid at the Daytona International Speedwa Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump talks with his former wife Ivana Trump during the men's final at the U.S. Open Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and his friend Melania Knauss pose for photographers as they arrive at the New York premiere of Star Wars Episode : 'The Phantom Menace,' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump talks with host Larry King. Trump told King that he was moving toward a possible bid for the United States presidency with the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump answers questions as Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura looks on in Brooklyn Park. Trump said on Friday he 'very well might' make a run for president under the Reform Party banner but had not made a final decision Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump makes a face at a friend as he sits next to Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso before the start of the 2003 Miss Universe pageant in Panama City Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Entrepreneur Donald Trump is greeted by a Marilyn Monroe character look-a-alike, as he arrives at Universal Studios Hollywood to attend the an open casting call for his NBC television network reality series 'The Apprentice.' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Simon Cowell present an Emmy during the 56th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Megan Mullally perform at the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump, poses with his children, son Donald Trump, Jr., and daughters Tiffany and Ivanka Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump told Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner on Tuesday she would be given a second chance after reported misbehavior Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump holds a replica of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as his wife Melania holds their son Barron in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. property mogul Donald Trump stands next to a bagpiper during a media event on the sand dunes of the Menie estate, the site for Trump's proposed golf resort, near Aberdeen, north east Scotland Reuters

Eisen told Quartz: He is hesitating in response to an outcry including last weeks bipartisan letter, and to the fact that two thirds of Americans are concerned about his conflicts. This is the latest in a series of backtracks by the President-elect.

Lets hope he takes the additional time to do the right thing, follow every president for the past four decades, and divest into a blind trust or the equivalent.

Mr Trumps assertion in his tweets that he is not mandated by law to give up control of his businesses is debatable at best, as ethicists have previously documented. In short, being the President will shield him from some aspects of conflict-of-interest laws - but by no means all of them.

His activities since becoming President-elect suggest he holds little regard for the public appearance of conflicts. This week we learned he will not even give up his role as executive producer on the Celebrity Apprentice, despite the fact that the company which makes it relies on government permits to build its casinos.

He considered making his son-in-law Jared Kushner a White House advisor, and then a Middle East envoy, despite clear anti-nepotism laws.

And he allowed his daughter Ivanka Trump - an executive in his business empire - to sit in on a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister.
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Donald Trump has pushed back an announcement about how he would manage potential conflicts of interest between being the president and owning a real estate empire.

His spokesman Sean Spicer told Reuters: The announcement will be in January.

The announcement had been scheduled for 15 December, four days before the electoral college are to convene across the US and rubber stamp the official election of Mr Trump as president.

Recommended Donald Trump promises to move US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem

His plans on how he would separate himself in total from his global businesses was widely anticipated. He had promised to hold a press conference - something he has not done since July.

But the president-elect is still embroiled in the selection of his cabinet, including secretary of state, and another 4,000 government positions.

Time is running out for Mr Trump. He must make all his appointments and sort out potential conflicts of interest before he is inaugurated on 20 January.

His campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said the announcement has been delayed to ensure "he gets it right".

"There's no reason to rush if the procedure is not ready," she told CNN.

She blamed the holiday season as a contributor to the delay, as well as the complex nature of his many and varied business holdings around the world, as he and the team work out how to transfer his business interests to his adult children and his other trusted business associates.

Several lawyers, including George W Bush and president Barack Obamas former ethics lawyers, argued that Mr Trump could be in risk of breaching the US constitution on day one of his presidency due to his holdings in businesses around the world.

Most presidents answer questions a few days after the election. It has been five weeks since the 2016 election and the press has only heard of Mr Trump via rallies on his "thank you tour" and via his twitter account.

The most recent potential of conflict, and the closest to the White House, is his new hotel in Washington DC.

The Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue has already held groups of foreign diplomats, showcasing the hotel's most expensive suites for when they are next in town.

Mr Trump previously said he would put his assets in a blind trust, which would be managed by his children.

But the waters became muddied as it was reported that he sought security clearances for his children, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Mr Trump denied seeking clearances for his family.

His eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, had sat in on meetings with world leaders like Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

He then declared he would divest "in total" from his companies but did not offer further details.

The news of the delays comes shortly after it was revealed the president-elect would remain an executive producer to his former reality show, The Apprentice. His campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said he would only be involved in the show in "his spare time".
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ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's apparent choice to lead the State Department, has ample experience in dealing with other nations, but strictly as a businessman, not a diplomat.

Exxon has operations in dozens of countries, some of them politically volatile or estranged from the US. First among them is Russia, which has leaned heavily on Western companies for technology and know-how to tap its vast oil and gas resources.

The prospect of Tillerson's nomination for secretary of state has raised concerns, given intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the US presidential election to help Trump.

Two people close to Trump's transition team said late Monday that Trump had selected Tillerson to be America's top diplomat. They insisted on anonymity because they were not authorised to disclose the pick ahead of that announcement.

Tillerson has argued against sanctions that the US and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. He also has backed free trade and an expansive US presence in the Middle East, stances at odds with the more isolationist approach Trump has pitched to his supporters.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, 64-year-old Tillerson is a career Exxon employee, having joined the company after graduating from the University of Texas in 1975 with an engineering degree. Groomed for an executive position, he spent years in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, working in Exxon's central US, Yemen and Russian operations.

By the 1990s, Tillerson was overseeing many of Exxon's foreign operations. He played a key role in Exxon's involvement in the huge Sakhalin oil and natural gas project on Russia's eastern coast. That was a warm-up for a $3.2 billion deal in which Exxon and Russian state-controlled Rosneft announced they would work together to explore for oil in Russia's Arctic region. Production is expected to begin in the next decade.

In 2011, Tillerson flew to the Russian resort town of Sochi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the announcement. As news photographers recorded the scene, the men shook hands and smiled broadly at each other.

This project promises to be highly interesting and ambitious, Putin said, according to a Rosneft press release. Exxon exploration in Russia, he said, will open new horizons.

Success in Russia required aligning the company's interests with those of the Russian government, mettle and good relations with Putin. Exxon steadily expanded its Russian business while its rivals faced expropriation and regulatory obstacles. In 2013 Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, an honor given to foreigners who improve relations with Russia.

My relationship with Vladimir Putin, which dates back almost 15 years now, I've known him since 1999 and have a very close relationship with him, Tillerson said in a speech a few years ago at the University of Texas-Austin.

The sanctions against Russia, if they remain in place for an extended time, could threaten the joint venture with Rosneft, and at Exxon's annual meeting in 2014, Tillerson urged Western political leaders to consider the very broad collateral damage of who are they really harming with sanctions.

Exxon also has operations in Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and many other countries. Africa and Asia were its leading sources of oil production in 2015. The company says its diverse global portfolio of oil and gas projects helps mitigate risks.

Tillerson became Exxon's CEO on Jan. 1, 2006, and is expected to retire next year. His heir apparent, Darren Woods, has been in place for a year, so there would be virtually no disruption to Exxon's succession plans if Tillerson were to become secretary of state.

In 2015, Exxon paid Tillerson compensation that the company valued at $27.3 million, most of it in stock awards. At the end of 2015, he held awards that had not yet vested that were worth $149.2 million.

If he becomes secretary of state, by law, he would have to either sell his Exxon shares and stock options or recuse himself from government matters that have a direct and predictable effect on his financial interests, said Richard W. Painter, a University of Minnesota corporate law professor who served as President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer. Failure to do one or the other would likely result in criminal charges, since Cabinet members, unlike the president and vice-president, are covered by statutes designed to prevent conflicts of interest.

If Tillerson didn't sell the stock, he would have to stay out of decisions for a wide swath of the secretary's job including climate change matters, the oil industry or many dealings with Russia. There are going to have to be some pretty broad recusals in the State Department on anything that involves oil, Painter said. In my view personally it's unacceptable to have a secretary of state who has a lot of oil company stock or stock options.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall  and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

Putting the stock in a blind trust would not be allowed because it would remain a financial interest for Tillerson, Painter said. You can't put it into a blind trust and pretend you don't own it, he said.

Still, it's not unheard of for a high-profile businessman to serve as secretary of state.

Bechtel, the big, privately held San Francisco engineering and construction firm, gained stature and prestige - and likely an advantage in bidding for foreign contracts - when President Ronald Reagan picked George Shultz as secretary of state and Caspar Weinberger as secretary of defense. Both had been top Bechtel executives.

At the time, critics said Bechtel had its own foreign policy, especially in the Middle East and didn't particularly care if its objectives were not aligned with those of the US.

AP
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Donald Trump has formally nominated Rex Tillerson, CEO of oil and gas multinational ExxonMobil, as his Secretary of State.

Mr Tillerson, 64, emerged as Mr Trump's top pick for the position despite significant criticism for his apparent ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The President-elect made his choice on Monday morning after a weekend of unofficial reports all but confirming the positon.

 Obama discusses Trump's involvement in possible Russian hacking of US election

In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the businessman's "tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State".

"He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States, Trump said, according to his transition team.

The US Senate needs to approve Mr Tillerson's nomination before he can assume the position, raising the possibility of a confirmation fight sparked by Democrats and some Republicans alarmed by the businessman's good relationship with Mr Putin.

World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Show all 29 1 /29 World reaction to President Trump: In pictures World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty Images World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mosul , Iraq Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures New Delhi, India Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Karachi, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kabul, Afghanistan AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem. Israel Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Moscow, Russia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Seoul, South Korea AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Peshawar, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Hyderabad, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kolkata, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Aleppo, Syria Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem, Israel EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Baghdad, Iraq Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Tokyo, Japan Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico Getty

Mr Tillerson has no diplomatic experience, but he has brokered deals with foreign countries for America's largest energy company, which has operations in dozens of countries, some of them politically volatile or estranged from the US.

Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, has been named the new US Secretary of State (Rex Features)

Tillerson negotiated an energy partnership with Russia in 2011. The Russian President said the could be valued at approximatly $500bn. The following year, the Kremlin awarded Mr Tillerson with the Order of Friendship, the country's highest honour for foreign nationals.

Russia faced sanctions after the illegal annexation of Crimea, and thus ExxonMobil had to cease operations in 2014. But the head of the oil giant's Russian operations, Glenn Waller, said the company would return to the project once the sanctions were lifted. Mr Tillerson could certainly expedite the lift of those sanctions as the US's top diplomat.

Recommended Trump picks man honoured by Putin as Secretary of State

Mr Tillerson, from Wichita Falls in Texas, has argued against sanctions that the US and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

"If you are trying to lift sanctions on Russia and get back to business with Vladimir Putin, Rex Tillerson would be an excellent choice," former US ambassador to Russia for the Obama administration, Michael McFaul, told BuzzFeed News.

He also has backed free trade and an expansive US presence in the Middle East, stances at odds with the more isolationist approach Mr Trump has pitched to his supporters.

The career Exxon employee joined the company after graduating from the University of Texas in 1975 with an engineering degree.

He spent years in oil production, working in Exxon's central US, Yemen and Russian operations, and was groomed for an executive position.

Top Republican Sen John McCain called for the examination of Mr Tillerson's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I believe that Vladimir Putin is a thug and a bully and a murderer," he told reporters, "and I believe the relationship between Mr Tillerson and Vladimir Putin needs to be examined."

[Mr Tillerson] will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened America's security and standing in the world, Mr Trump said in his statement.

Mr Tillerson said he shared the President-elect's vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security.

In a tweet, Mr Trump added: "I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State."

The CIA recently concluded with high confidence that Russia sought to influence the US election on behalf of Trump, raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about the sanctity of the voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Trump's administration.

Additional reporting from agencies
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A prominent businessman with close ties to Donald Trump has been arrested in Turkey so the country can use him as leverage in their dealings with the US President-elect, it has been claimed.

Barbaros Muratoglu, a senior executive at Dogan Holding was detained on 1 December on threadbare allegations according to an investigation by Kurt Eichenwald, a veteran investigative journalist at Newsweek magazine.

One of the top industrial conglomerates in Turkey, operating in the energy, media, industry, trade, insurance and tourism industries, Dogan Holding built a pair of buildings, Trump Towers in Istanbul.

Mr Trumps company has been paid up to $10 million by the developers since 2014 to affix his name atop of the buildings, one of which is residential and the other offices.

During a phone call with Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the day after his election win, Mr Trump mentioned Mr Muratoglu by name only for him to be arrested shortly afterwards, according US TV host Rachel Maddow, who was given an exclusive of the magazine's story.

It goes on to claim that they plan to use his detention as leverage in a deal that would see the US extradite the Imam, Fethullah Gulen, who Mr Erdogan has blamed for masterminding an attempted coup in the country earlier this year  a charge he denies.

The one time ally of Mr Erdogan is currently living in the US which has refused to extradite him to Turkey despite repeated requests.

Mr Muratoglu was arrested in capital city Ankara in connection with an investigation into Mr Gulen's followers, reported. Dogan Holding said at the time it was "clear there is no connection between our group and this illegal structure".

Now the Newsweek article has alleged that if Mr Erdogans government puts more pressure on the company that's paying millions of dollars to Trump and his children, revenue flowing from the tower complex in Istanbul could be cut off."

It said "that means Erdogan has leverage with Trump, who will soon have the power to get Gulen extradited."

The Independent could not independently verify these claims but Ms Maddow said Turkey had "figured out how to turn that to their advantage and how to put the United States over a barrel in the process".

Mr Erdogan's government has purged and detained thousands of people following the coup, and will soon submit proposals to parliament for constitutional changes to expand his powers.
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A Muslim man was stabbed in an apparent hate crime near a mosque in California and one of the suspects is still on the loose, according to authorities.

The stabbing at the Jamiaa Raazi Islamic Center in Simi Valley led to the arrest of 29-year-old John Henry Matteson.

Police say the suspect in custody was involved in the fight with a group of people leaving the mosque but did not commit the stabbing, as reported by the LA Times. Another man is still being sought.

Recommended Former US Congressman deletes Facebook post on exterminating Muslims

On Saturday night the two men approached the group of worshippers who were leaving the mosque about 11pm. They allegedly yelled racial slurs at the group, and the situation quickly escalated into a physical fight.

The unidentified man then stabbed one person who had been in the mosque. The victim was taken to Simi Valley Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The news comes as mosques around the state reported receiving letters, calling Muslims vile and filthy people and theatening genocide.

Matteson was taken into custody on suspicion of committing a hate crime, making criminal threats and fighting in public.

He is being held on $250,000 bail. He was injured in the fight, read a statement from the local police department.

Our belief is they hadnt staked out the mosque at this point, said Simi Valley Police Sergeant Travis Coffey. It appears to be an opportunity crime.

Hussam Ayloush, executive director of its Greater Los Angeles chapter of the The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said that Muslims in Simi Valley were heartbroken after the attack.

Its hard to believe that in this day and age we still have to deal with such hate and violence in our country, and especially in a place as diverse as Southern California, Mr Ayloush said.

CAIR has reported more than 200 such attacks against Muslims across the US since the election.

The FBI also reported that hate crimes against Muslims grew 6.8 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year, with a total of 5,850 crimes reported.

The number is likely to be much larger, they said, taking unreported crimes into account.
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A British man has been jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to charges relating to an incident in which he tried to grab a policemans gun to shoot Donald Trump at a rally.

Michael Sandford, 20, attempted to snatch the weapon as Mr Trump addressed crowds in a casino during his campaign in June.

Sandford, who has autism, allegedly told police officers that he had driven from California to Las Vegas with the plan to shoot the Republican presidential candidate.

He did not succeed in getting hold of the gun and no shots were fired.

Sandford was sentenced at a federal court in Las Vegas, having pleaded guilty in September to charges of possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function.

Lawyers acting for Sandford said he suffers a number of mental health problems and he was diagnosed as having had a psychotic episode at the time of the incident on June 18.

Sentencing Sandford to 12 months and a day in prison, Judge James Mahan told him: You have a medical problem. You should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it. You need medication.

You're not a hardened criminal. You're not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people we have.

I don't think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do.

World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Show all 29 1 /29 World reaction to President Trump: In pictures World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty Images World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mosul , Iraq Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures New Delhi, India Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Karachi, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kabul, Afghanistan AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem. Israel Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Moscow, Russia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Seoul, South Korea AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Peshawar, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Hyderabad, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kolkata, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Aleppo, Syria Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem, Israel EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Baghdad, Iraq Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Tokyo, Japan Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico Getty

Sandford, of Dorking, Surrey, had faced up to 20 years in jail had he been found guilty of the offences at a trial. He had initially denied the charges but pleaded guilty in September following a plea agreement.

Before sentencing, Sandford waved to his mother Lynne, father Paul Davey, grandmother Christine and four-year-old sister Jessica, who were in court.

Ms Sandford has called for her son to be allowed to serve his sentence in the UK so he can receive psychiatric help.

Press Association contributed to this report
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Rex Tillerson has good ties with Vladimir Putin and many Russian officials, the Kremlin has said.

Reacting to Donald Trump's nomination of the oil tycoon as US Secretary of State, a Kremlin spokesperson told reporters Mr Tillerson was "known to everyone" in Russia's government.

Foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the Russian President and other representatives have "good, businesslike relations" with the ExxonMobil CEO, reported AFP news agency.

Recommended Trump appoints oil tycoon with links to Putin as Secretary of State

[Mr Tillerson] has actively assisted business cooperation and is known to everyone, said Mr Ushakov.

Asked whether Mr Tillerson becoming secretary of state could help mend US-Russian ties, he said: We want to get out of the crisis state [of our relations], which does not satisfy neither the Russian nor the American side.

Mr Tillerson, 64, emerged as Mr Trump's top pick for the position despite significant criticism for his apparent ties to the Russian President.

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The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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. 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In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the businessman's tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State.

He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States, the President-elect said, according to his transition team.

The US Senate needs to approve Mr Tillerson's nomination before he can assume the position.

This could spark a confirmation fight from Democrats and some Republicans alarmed by the businessman's good relationship with Mr Putin.

Mr Tillerson's experience in diplomacy stems from making deals with foreign countries for America's largest energy company, which has operations in dozens of countries, some of them politically volatile or estranged from the US.

Russia has leaned heavily on Western companies for technology and know-how to tap its vast oil and gas resources.

Recommended Trump picks man honoured by Putin as Secretary of State

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mr Tillerson negotiated an energy partnership with Russia believed to be valued at approximately $500bn (394bn) in 2011.

The following year, the Kremlin awarded Mr Tillerson the Order of Friendship, the country's highest honour for foreign nationals.

Mr Tillerson, from Wichita Falls in Texas, has argued against sanctions that the US and European allies imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

He also has backed free trade and an expansive US presence in the Middle East, stances at odds with the more isolationist approach Mr Trump has pitched to his supporters.

The career Exxon employee joined the company after graduating from the University of Texas in 1975 with an engineering degree.

He spent years in oil production, working in Exxon's central US, Yemen and Russian operations, and was groomed for an executive position.

[Mr Tillerson] will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened America's security and standing in the world, Mr Trump said in his statement.

Mr Tillerson said he shared the President-elect's vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security.

In a tweet, Mr Trump added: "I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State."

The CIA recently concluded with high confidence that Russia sought to influence the US election on behalf of Trump, raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about the sanctity of the voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Trump's administration.

Additional reporting from agencies
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Donald Trumps campaign team was in on Russias election hacking, according to the Democrat leader of the US Senate.

Senator Harry Reid also accused the Republican's camp of colluding with Wikileaks to discredit Hillary Clinton in the run-up to Novembers presidential election.

While he claimed to be unsure whether Mr Trump was aware of any possible collusion, Mr Reid insisted his camp definitely would have been.

Speaking of intelligence connecting Russian operatives and the Trump campaign, he told The Huffington Post: Someone in the Trump campaign organization was in on the deal. I have no doubt.

Now, whether they told [Trump] or not, I dont know. I assume they did. But there is no question about that. So there is collusion there, clearly.

He also urged Americans not to put blindfolds on, referring to the possibility of outside involvement in the election result.

Dont put blindfolds on. Here is the deal: We have a situation where during the campaign, especially the last few months of the campaign, WikiLeaks was heavily involved in trying to hurt Hillary Clinton and it helped Trump, he said.

And you have Trump who said he likes Putin better than he likes Obama.

However, WikiLeaks rejected Mr Reids accusations.

WikiLeaks is an independent media organization entirely funded by its readers. The statement is false. Congress should start an immediate inquiry into the interference by the CIA in US domestic politics, a spokesperson told The Huffington Post.

Mr Reid spoke ahead of the Electoral College vote on 19 December that will see members formally cast their ballots for president.

He called their responsibility tremendous and urged them to be fair.

What I say to somebody that is pledged to Donald Trump is, Be fair. Be fair.' This is a tremendous responsibility that you have to do the right thing, he said.

While Mr Reid conceded the likelihood of electors rejecting Mr Trump was slim, he claimed the latest revelations of Russian interference were an important new element to be considered.

After the shock election result, which saw Mr Trump win the electoral college despite Ms Clinton's victory in the popular vote, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) concluded that Russias release of Ms Clinton campaigns hacked emails served to bolster Mr Trumps presidential candidacy.

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However, Mr Trump refuted the claim.

Mr Reid said he pushed for Republican leaders of the Senate to make any possible link public, however his efforts were unsuccessful.

While he didn't accuse Russia of swinging the election result, he did blame those capable of exposing any potential ties for not making them public.

He claimed to have written a request to FBI director James Comey in August to investigate Russias involvement in the hacking of Democratic National Committee and the possibility it infiltrated election systems.

Obviously, what I didnt know was that Comey was a front for the Republican Party, Mr Reid said.

The Independent has approached WikiLeaks and the Trump administration for comment.
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A vote recount has confirmed Donald Trump's presidential election win in the state of Wisconsin.

It was announced on Monday that the Republican candidate had defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000 votes, the same number recorded in the original count.

Three million votes cast statewide were re-examined at the request of Green Party candidate Jill Stein, but the immense undertaking yielded a change of just 0.06 per cent, with the President-elect picking up an extra 162 votes.

The audit was finalised on the same day a federal judge rejected a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvania's presidential election and scan some counties' election systems for signs of hacking.

Ms Stein, who paid for the Wisconsin recount by raising $7 million from grass-roots donors, has had several attempts to instigate similar statewide recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan blocked by the courts.

Her request to have every vote checked by hand in Wisconsin, which was backed by Ms Clinton, was also rejected.

In a statement on Monday, Ms Stein thanked the states election employees for working to complete the recount by the Tuesday deadline mandated by the federal government to resolve any election disputes. But she also said that the refusal of some counties to conduct a hand recount of ballots left many questions unanswered about the integrity of the process.

This recount was never about changing the outcome; it was about validating the vote and restoring confidence in our voting system to Americans across the country who have doubts. The recount in Wisconsin raised a number of important election integrity issues that bear further assessment and serious action to ensure we have integrity and confidence in our electoral system, she said in a statement.

A lawsuit filed by Ms Steins campaign alleged there had been irregularities in Wisconsins vote totals that indicate potential tampering with electronic voting systems".

Ms Stein, who got about 1 per cent of the vote in each of the states Mr Trump narrowly won, argued that voting machines in all three states were susceptible to hacking.

In Pennsylvania, US District Judge Paul Diamond said there were at least six grounds that required him to reject the Green Party's lawsuit, which had been opposed by Mr Trump, the Pennsylvania Republican Party, and the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.

Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election borders on the irrational and granting the Green Party's recount bid could ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts, given Tuesday's federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College, wrote Mr Diamond, an appointee of former Republican President George W. Bush.

Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any 'hack' occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania's voting system was not in any way compromised, Mr Diamond wrote. He also said there had been an unexplained, highly prejudicial wait by the Green Party before filing the lawsuit, four weeks after the 8 November election.

The Green Party has hit numerous barriers in county and state courts as it has sought to have votes recounted.

A lawyer for the Green Party said Monday they were disappointed and unable to immediately say whether they would appeal the decision in Pennsylvania.

In pictures: US Elections 2016 Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: US Elections 2016 In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters after rival candidate Hillary Clinton was projected as the winner in the Nevada Democratic caucuses Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes photos with workers at her campaign office in Des Moines, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, second from left, prays before lunch with supporters at Drake Diner in Des Moines, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Maryland Governor. Martin O'Malley, speaks during a campaign stop in Waterloo, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks, as his wife Jane OMeara Sanders looks on, at a campaign event at Iowa State University Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio speaks at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a campaign event at Fireside Pub and Steak House in Manchester, Iowa. Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum visiting supporters at a house party in West Des Moines, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican candidate Ted Cruz campaigns at Greene County Community Centre in Jefferson, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Senator Rand Paul speaks during a Caucus rally at his Des Moines headquarters in Iowa Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican candidate Jeb Bush speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa AFP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin introducing the arrival of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 A portrait of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders at his campaign headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Campaign badges on sale ahead of a Trump rally at the Ramada Waterloo Hotel and Convention Centre in Waterloo, Iowa Getty

But one thing is clear, said the lawyer, Ilann Maazel. The Pennsylvania election system is not fair to voters and voters don't know if their votes counted, and that's a very large problem.

In Pennsylvania, Mr Trump beat Ms Clinton by about 44,000 votes out of 6 million cast.

A federal judge halted Michigan's recount last week after three days. Mr Trump won Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes out of nearly 4.8 million votes cast.
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The US has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, US officials have said.

The United States will also revamp future training of the kingdom's air force to focus on improving Saudi targeting practices, a source told Reuters.

The decision reflects deep frustration within President Barack Obama's government over Saudi Arabia's practices in Yemen's 20-month-old war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and sparked humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Middle East.

It could also further strain ties between Washington and Riyadh in the remaining days of Obama's administration and put the question of Saudi-U.S. relations squarely before the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.

A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015 and has launched thousands of air strikes against the Iran-allied Houthi movement.

Rights groups say attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes. Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas and has said it has tried to reduce civilian casualties.

An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "systemic, endemic" problems in Saudi Arabia's targeting drove the U.S. decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions.

"We've decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs (precision-guided munitions)," the official said.

"That's obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties," the official said. A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry.

The officials declined to offer details. But a specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon Co that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets.

At the same time, the United States has decided to increase efforts to address long-standing Saudi concerns by focusing more on border security, the official said. The kingdom has been subject to cross-border attacks by the Iran-allied Houthis.

"They've made a very strong request for greater intelligence sharing and more support for their border," the official said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi embassy officials.

The White House launched a review of U.S. assistance for the Saudi-led coalition after planes struck mourners at a funeral in the capital, Sanaa, in October, killing 140 people, according to one U.N. estimate.

The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for roughly 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015.

Human rights groups have criticized the United States for supporting the Saudi war effort by selling the kingdom arms and refueling coalition jets. The United States says it has not vetted or selected Saudi targets in Yemen.

The Obama administration official said the United States would not halt refueling of the Saudi-led coalition planes.

"For now that's not going to be touched. Again, the review could continue and people could make a different decision in the coming weeks," the official said.

SMART VERSUS DUMB BOMBS

The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration. Officials have long argued that supplying so-called "smart weapons" helped in reducing civilian casualties.

Last year, the Obama administration even had the U.S. military send precision-guided munitions from its own stocks to replenish dwindling Saudi-led coalition supplies, a source close to the Saudi government has said.

But that argument ultimately failed to convince the Obama administration during its review, which the first official said was still ongoing.

"It's not a matter of how smart or dumb the bombs are, it's that they're not picking the right targets. The case in point ... is the one on the funeral," the official said.

The airstrikes on the funeral took place after the Saudi-led coalition received incorrect information from Yemeni military figures that armed Houthi leaders were in the area, an investigative body set up by the coalition said in October.

In an effort to reduce civilian casualties, the United States gave the Saudis detailed lists of sites to avoid bombing, Reuters has previously reported. But jets in the Saudi-led coalition have hit at least one target on that list.

US STILL SELLING HELICOPTERS

Earlier this year, the U.S. military reduced the number of U.S. military personnel coordinating with the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign, slashing it to six people from a peak of 45 personnel.

"Their responsibilities are being adjusted and limited so that they are less enmeshed in some of the offensive operations in Yemen," the official said.

Reuters reported earlier this year on concerns by some U.S. officials that the United States could be implicated in possible Saudi violations of the laws of war.

In the view of some officials, U.S. refueling and logistical support of Riyadh's air force - even more than the arms sales - risked making the United States a party to the Yemen conflict under international law.

In May, Washington suspended sales to Riyadh of cluster munitions, which release dozens of bomblets and are considered particularly dangerous to civilians.

Last week, the State Department announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51 billion. U.S. officials said the weaponry would help Saudi defend its border, not conduct offensive operations in Yemen.

Reuters
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A Chinese state-run newspaper has launched an unprecedented attack on Donald Trump, accusing the President-elect of having no knowledge what hes talking about while warning that "pride comes before a fall".

The Global Times published an editorial warning Mr Trump that China has a whole raft of tools to combat his economic and diplomatic threats in an arm-wrestle with the US, less than a week after accusing the President-elect of having tantrums following his controversial pohne call with the Taiwan leader.

At the start of December, Mr Trump risked fury from the Chinese government by conducting a 10-minute phone call with Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen, breaking with the established US policy of acknowledging Taiwan as part of One China.

The newspaper said Mr Trump had demonstrated he despises China strategically, before delivering a stern warning to the President-elect: Pride goes before a fall. It added that China must win respect from Trumps team if relations were going to stabilise.

The calculating businessman might feel shrewd about seizing China's fate by the throat through the Taiwan question, the piece read. However, the truth is this inexperienced President-elect probably has no knowledge of what he's talking about.

He has overestimated the US's capability of dominating the world and fails to understand the limitation of US powers in the current era...China is now confident enough to arm-wrestle with the US."

On Monday, the Chinese government said it was "seriously concerned" about Donald Trump's threat to change the US's stance on the recognition of Taiwan as an independent state.

A series of outrageous remarks from Trump reflect that he despises China strategically," the editorial continued. "Pride goes before a fall. Even before entering the White House, he has already put his cards over blackmailing China on the table.

If Trump wants to play tough, China will not fail. What reason do we have to accept a most unfair and humiliating deal from Trump?

The newspaper suggested China should start by severely punishing Taiwan independence forces for seeking to cause trouble and reigniting an issue which has been contested since 1949.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall  and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

Experts in Beijing have suggested China could weaken its currency and create closer links with North Korea to hurt the US, in reaction to Mr Trumps provocations, according to the New York Times.

Shortly after the phone call between Mr Trump and President Tsai, Chinese Foreign Minister Wan Yi sought to blame Taiwan for the exchange, perhaps to avoid a rift before Mr Trump assumes the presidency.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr Trump defended the conversation, saying: I dont want China dictating to me. It was a very nice call. Short. And why should some other nation be able to say I can't take a call?

Throughout presidential campaigning, Mr Trump was overtly critical of China and its alleged impact on US industry and policies. We cant allow China to rape our country, the president-elect said at a campaign rally in May.
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When Donald Trump took a call from Taiwans Tsai Ing-Wen, he became the first president or president-elect in 40 years to speak to the islands leader.

The call has plunged the superpowers into a diplomatic incident over a key foundation of US-China relations: American support for the "One China" policy.

The island of Taiwan is democratically-governed, and consistently ranks highly in terms of healthcare, press freedom and public education, but is considered by China to be a breakaway province, not an independent state free to talk to the wider international community.

Within 24 hours of the call, Beijing criticised the incoming presidents freewheeling diplomatic style and reminded the US of its historic commitment to One China.

Mr Trump doubled down in a Fox News interview on Sunday, saying the US future position on Taiwan could be tied to trade deals. The Chinese government said it was seriously concerned by the policy shift.

What does 'One China' mean?

Since the Chinese Civil War of 1949, Taiwan has been the home of the government of The Republic of China (ROC), which retreated to the island after defeat on the mainland by Mao Zedongs Communist Party.

The victorious Peoples Republic of China (PRC), which took a seat on the UN Security Council in 1971, also laid claim to Taiwan, forcing the international community to accept a divided China, and commit to diplomatic relations with one side or the other.

During the Cold War, Western states retained diplomatic ties to the ROC, which saw itself as the last stronghold of a country overrun by Communist rebels, while the Soviet Union and its allies supported and traded with the Communist PRC.

World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Show all 29 1 /29 World reaction to President Trump: In pictures World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty Images World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mosul , Iraq Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures New Delhi, India Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Karachi, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kabul, Afghanistan AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem. Israel Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Moscow, Russia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Seoul, South Korea AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Peshawar, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Hyderabad, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kolkata, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Aleppo, Syria Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem, Israel EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Baghdad, Iraq Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Tokyo, Japan Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico Getty

The two sides struck a formal agreement in 1992, under which there is only one China, but agreed to disagree on which government was legitimate.

The PRCs constitution says it is "the lofty duty of the entire Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great task of reunifying the motherland", and insists that any country seeking diplomatic relations with them must agree to their version of One China.

This includes severing all diplomatic contact with Taiwan. As a result, Taiwan is recognised officially by just 21 countries, as well as the Vatican. The most significant of those, Paraguay, is the world's 100th largest economy, according to the World Bank.

What has been the US stance toward 'One China'?

In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the first of three joint communiques laying out the US official stance on Taiwan. It read: Taiwan is a part of China. The United States does not challenge that position.

But the US still dealt with the ROC government in Taipei until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter switched the diplomatic focus of the US from Taipei to Beijing.

Mr Carters administration maintained relations with Taiwan but stopped short of officially recognising the ROC as the government of an independent state. Mr Carter was the last US President to speak to a Taiwanese leader.

In 1989, President George W Bush told a state dinner in Beijing that "based on the bedrock principle that there is but One China, we have found ways to address Taiwan constructively, without rancor".

Even while President Obama angered the Chinese authorities by repeatedly meeting with the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the contested province of Tibet, a White House spokesman told the Taipei Times in September that we remain firmly committed to our One China policy - a position which Mr Trump looks set to reverse.

What is Mr Trump hoping to get out of Taiwan?

The President-elect considers himself the arch-dealmaker, and could be hoping to use Taiwan to extract concessions from Beijing on other issues.

His campaigning rhetoric toward China has been hostile: in May, Mr Trump accused China of "raping our country" over the US' trade deficit, while he took to Twitter in typically antagonistic fashion after the call with Taipei:

In re-opening an old wound over Taiwan, Mr Trump is positioning himself at the negotiating table, and using One China as leverage.

Joanna Lei, head of Taipei's Chung Hua 21th Century Think Tank, told CNN: "being the lever isn't a good place for Taiwan."

Taipei might sleep easier believing the renewed focus on their predicament is a just a factor of Mr Trump's irreverent style, and his mandate to shake up the established order.

Xenia Wickett, head of the US and Americas Project at international relations think tank Chatham House, said "we shouldn't be surprised" at Mr Trump's behaviour over Taiwan.

She told The Independent: "He says 'I have no preconception, no ideology', so it should be no great surprise that he's said why shouldn't I talk to this other country? I have nothing against them'.

 White House suggests Trump benefited from Russia hacking

"Entering into this without preconceptions, without a sense that what's gone before should matter - that does give him a strength. And now the Chinese are giving him wiggle room, because they don't know how seriously he's taking this. This plays to his desire for unpredictability.

Unpredictability may wrongfoot Mr Trump's opponents in the short-term, but Ms Wickett believes an unpredictable America could ultimately play into Chinese hands.

"Trump plays the short game," she said.

"The Chinese play the long game."

Could Mr Trump really negotiate on 'One China'?

The billlionaire businessman has already made it clear that no topic is off the table. But an editorial by the Global Times, a tabloid mouthpiece for the country's ruling Communist Party, likened any negotiation over the One China policy to putting a price on the US constitution.

It said the One China policy is not for selling", called Mr Trump naive", and advocated a hard struggle to let him know that China and other world powers cannot be easily taken advantage of.

Professor Rosemary Foot, of the University of Oxford, told The Independent the US had too much vested interest in China for Mr Trump to turn his words into action.

She said: "Many individual states in the US count China as a really important economic market.

"Also China knows that many of its neighbours do not want to see intensified rivalry between the US and China. If Trump raises the tension unduly, these same states will stop projecting the United States as the source of stability in the region, and move closer to China."

Ultimately, says Professor Foot, "China is not in the business of a trade on this issue. The recovery of Taiwan is a core interest."

A second editorial by Global Times on Monday warned that the strength gap between China and the US for the moment is the narrowest in history.

Chinese retaliation for US probing on Taiwan could involve an expansion of economic aid to North Korea, or hurting US exporters through currency devaluation. The paper goes so far as to suggest military force as means to realise unification and put an end the One China question.
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The new king of Thailand will pardon up to 150,000 prisoners in an unprecedented display of mercy, including some inmates jailed for insulting the royal family.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who assumed power after his father Bhumibol Adulyadej died in October, will allow thousands of prisoners to be released or have their sentences shortened, with each case being assessed individually according to state officials.

Those jailed for insulting the king and his family, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison under section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, will be considered for release alongside prisoners convicted of drug offences.

This is the first opportunity since his majestys ascension to show his mercy, the royal family said in a statement. This will provide a chance for these individuals to behave as good citizens.

The 2014 coup detat in Thailand saw the largest amount of people jailed for insulting royalty in the nations history, including one man who was jailed for 60 years.

In July, Thailands Department for Corrections said there were 321,347 people being held in Thai prisons, with around 70 per cent of those jailed for drugs-related offences. Inmates will be considered for release based on age, length of sentence and behaviour.

The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, who has spent much of his adult life in Europe, was praised by diplomats as highlighting a desire for stability and continuity in Thailand.

The king will seek to mend a nation which has seen a cycle of political protests and coups by an arch-royalist military over the past decade.

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

In October, a Thai woman accused of insulting the kings late father was forced to kneel in front of his portrait at a police station, while awaiting trial and a likely prison sentence.

Last year, a factory worker was sent to prison for posting a sarcastic comment on social media about the kings dog, which was noticed by the authorities.

The BBC is currently under investigation in Thailand for allegedly defaming the country's newly crowned king, after it published a profile of him online and attracted criticism on social media

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Rohingya Muslims have described horrific rapes, massacres and atrocities at the hands of Burmese forces as the government continues to deny allegations of genocide.

Tens of thousands of people from the ethnic minority have been fleeing into Bangladesh to escape the violence, described as anti-terror clearance operations by the Presidents office.

A young mother told the Associated Press how soldiers raided her village in Rakhine state and set light to the thatched homes before shooting anyone trying to flee into surrounding fields.

Boys stand among debris after fire destroyed shelters at a camp for internally displaced Rohingya Muslims in the western Rakhine State (Reuters)

They drove us out of our houses, men and women in separate lines, ordering us to keep our hands folded on the back of our heads, says 20-year-old Mohsena Begum.

She said that when about 50 people had been gathered together, the soldiers, along with a group of local men, pulled four leaders of Caira Fara village from the crowd and slit their throats.

Ms Begum, who fled to Bangladesh with her son, said her husband was among those killed in the ensuing violence, and that she was also raped.

In a separate attack, a 25-year-old Rohingya woman told Time magazine how troops torched her village, and that one soldier snatched her eight-year-old son away and threw him back into their burning home.

The Rohingya have faced persecution for decades in Buddhist-majority Burma, where most are regarded as immigrants from Bangladesh and denied citizenship.

This latest outbreak of violence was triggered by attacks on guard posts near the Bangladesh border in October that killed nine police officers, with the government launching a huge sweep through Rohingya majority areas in Rakhine state after blaming sympathisers of the minority for the attacks.

Ground troops and helicopter gunships have been used in the operations, which have forced up to 30,000 people to abandon their homes, according to the UN.

Satellite images analysed by Human Rights Watch showed 1,250 structures were destroyed in November in Rohingya villages.

In pictures: Burma protests against Rohingya Muslims Show all 5 1 /5 In pictures: Burma protests against Rohingya Muslims In pictures: Burma protests against Rohingya Muslims Burma Buddhist nationalists demonstrate against the UN and the return of Rohingya Muslims in Yangon In pictures: Burma protests against Rohingya Muslims Burma Hard-line Buddhist monks lead a demonstration against Rohingya migrants who were resettled in Rakhine state after being found at sea while fleeing Burma following anti-Muslim violence EPA In pictures: Burma protests against Rohingya Muslims Burma Buddhist monks demonstrate against the UN and the return of Rohingya Muslims in Yangon In pictures: Burma protests against Rohingya Muslims Burma Buddhist nationalists demonstrate against the UN and the return of Rohingya Muslims In pictures: Burma protests against Rohingya Muslims Burma Radical Buddhist nationalists protest the international pressure on Myanmar to accept the repatriation of persecuted Rohingya boat refugees

Osman Gani, an Arabic teacher, fled after his village was attacked on 11 November.

They came and killed mercilessly. They burned our homes, he told AP after fleeing to Bangladesh. No one was there to save us.

As he fled north from Gouzo Bil, he used his mobile phone to film destruction in other Rohingya villages he passed through. In some, the blackened remains of what appear to be children can be seen amid the wreckage of homes.

They (the army) oppressed us and fired at us from aircraft, Mr Gani said. People were killed in front of my house. They chased the girls and gunned them down. And they burned many people. They burned them in front of my house.

The Burmese government called an emergency meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as regional tensions deepen over the crisis.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak lashed out at leader Aung San Suu Kyi for allowing genocide last week, speaking before thousands of angry protesters in Kuala Lumpur.

The Nobel Peace prize winners party won the countrys first democratic elections in a generation last year but she has been criticised over the military crackdown by the UN, whose special adviser said it had caused frustration locally and disappointment internationally.

(Getty)

The UNs Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, said that instead of opening impartial investigations into human rights abuses, the Government has mostly responded with a blanket denial.

Ms Suu Kyi has accused the international community of stoking unrest over the reported killings and said refugees and the media were exaggerating incidents so that everything seems worse than it really is.

It doesnt help if everybody is just concentrating on the negative side of the situation, in spite of the fact that there were attacks on police outposts, she said in a recent interview on Singapores Channel News Asia.

State media report almost 100 people have been killed  17 soldiers and 76 suspects  in the army operation in Rakhine that followed the border post attacks on 9 October.

Advocacy groups put the death toll in the hundreds, but foreign journalists and independent investigators have been barred from visiting the area to verify the figures.

Much of Rakhine has been closed to outsiders, including reporters, since the violence began but former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, leader of a commission formed to investigate the situation in the state, was expected to hold a press conference on its findings this week.

Meanwhile, the Burmese government has sent its own commission to villages reported to be the scene of massacres in western media.

The presidents office sent out a press release on Tuesday claiming residents of Kyetyoepyin in Maungtaw, the site of alleged rapes and killings of Muslim children, told state investigators the claimed atrocities did not happen. The names of the villagers or any details of the alleged interviews were not released.
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The new Prime Minister of the rebel Houthi government in Yemen has accused the UK of war crimes.

It comes amid reported discoveries of Britain-made weapons in bombed parts of the country.

Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtour claimed the UK Government cared more about making profits from arms sales than the humanitarian crisis enveloping his country.

Mr Habtour told Sky News: They have sold cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. They know the Saudis are going to drop them on Yemen [...] in Saadah and in Sana'a and other provinces.

"I don't think they are guilty of war crimes, I believe so. They are participating in the bombing of Yemen people."

British Prime Minister Theresa May is meeting Gulf leaders during the annual two-day Gulf Cooperation Council where she has discussed regional issues including the situations in Yemen and Syria and the perceived regional threat posed by Iran (Getty)

Sky reported that a soldier had told them the army had found a number of UK-made cluster bombs and showed photos of British cluster bombs he said had been found in fields in the city, which have been shared widely locally.

A resident of Sa'adah, a city located on the border of Saudi Arabia which has seen some of the worst bombing of the civil war, was also recorded saying: First we thought Britain was a first, but now we feel the British Government are criminals, because of whats happening here.

Theyre committing crime: killing children and pregnant women.

Britain agreed to stop using and selling cluster bombs around six years ago, and in June Defence Secretary Michael Fallon denied that any UK-supplied cluster munitions had been used in the current conflict.

Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, suffers from severe acute malnutrition and is among around half of Yemen's 28 million ppoulation who are food insecure ( REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad) (REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad)

Nearly two years of war between a Saudi-led Arab coalition and the Iran-allied Houthi movement has worsened the plight of millions of Yemenis.

Even before the start of the conflict in March 2015, Yemen was suffering a humanitarian crisis, including widespread hunger that was brought on by decades of poverty and internal strife.

Around half of Yemen's 28 million people are food insecure, according to the United Nations, and seven million of them do not know where they will get their next meal.

In total more than 10,000 people are reported to have been killed and nearly 37,000 wounded during the Yemeni civil war.
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A British backpacker has been rescued from an alleged kidnapper in Australia after she managed share her location with her father in the UK.

Mary Kate Heys, 20, from Manchester, said she was kidnapped from a hostel on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland on Monday.

She told The Courier Mail she was woken up around 4.30am by the 22-year-old Swedish man, who appeared to be in a "manic state" and asked her to "go on an adventure" to Brisbane.

Worried about his safety, she got into the car with him to try and help but she realised she was in trouble when he sped away.

After convincing the man she needed to stop for a drink, he pulled over at a petrol station where Ms Heys told a woman at the counter to call the police.

However, after driving for another hour, she decided to message her dad in the UK and get him to call the Australian police.

"Dad are you awake," she asked in her first text.

"Yeah it's only 7 at night x Are you okay x," he replied.

Ms Heys then shared her location to her father and said: "I need you to call the Australian police. Do not ring me. And tell them I'm in a silver Peugeot."

She added: "I've been taken by a man. I don't think he's dangerous. Please hurry."

In one text, she said: "He thinks he's an alien."

Her father called police and asked her to keep sending him messages with her location.

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

"I said dont worry but I knew getting a message like that would be a parents worst nightmare," she told The Courier Mail.

Eventually, a police car pulled the car over and Ms Heys jumped out of the moving vehicle.

"I didnt even wait for it to stop moving, I just ran out because I was so terrified," she said.

The man was later taken to a mental health hospital and Ms Heys said she had decided not to press charges.
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A multi-million wall built to separate the Calais Jungle from passing trucks has finally been completed, two months after the camp was bulldozed and its thousands of refugee residents scattered around France.

The British-funded wall cost 2.3m. That's more expensive than the modern, wood-shelter camp which houses 2,500 refugees in nearby Dunkirk, or enough to house and support nearly 300 Syrian refugees in Britain for a year.

A four-metre high concrete barrier, it runs along a kilometre of the main road beside the razed Jungle camp, reinforcing a pre-existing tangle of wire fences.

Calais refugee camp evacuation Show all 15 1 /15 Calais refugee camp evacuation Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees run past a fire in the makeshift migrant camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French authorities say the closure of the slum-like camp in Calais will last approximately a week in what they describe as a "humanitarian" operation, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation A painted message saying 'Bye Jungle' on a tent in the camp in Calais, October 2016 Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees set rubbish bins alight as a protest in the makeshift camp 'the Jungle' in Calais, France, October 2016 EPA Calais refugee camp evacuation French riot police advance through tear gas and smoke from a fire to disperse refugees throwing stones and lighting fires at the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in France Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Journalists run away from smoke during clashes near a makeshift refugee camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in Franc Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Migrants queue for transportation by bus to reception centres across France, from the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees line-up to register at a processing centre in the 'jungle' near Calais, northern France, as the mass exodus from the migrant camp begins PA wire Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees 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 Calais refugee camp evacuation French far-right Front National (FN) party's member of parliament Marion Marechal-Le Pen (L) delivers a speech next to a banner reading "They arrive in Vaucluse, no migrants in our place" as she attends a rally against the hosting of refugees in La Tour d'Aigues Getty Images Calais refugee camp evacuation French police forces secure the area near the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees carry their belongings and transfer to reception centers in France

Tina Brocklebank of Help Refugees still works in a Calais warehouse, sending aid to nearby resettlement camps and to Paris, where thousands of refugees are now sleeping rough.

"It's a complete joke, a very costly political point-scoring exercise," she told the Independent. "That money could have been used to put a warm roof over refugees' heads. If refugees are seen in Calais, they're immediately taken to detention centres, so it's not a safe place for them to be anyway."

After the demolition, refugees were bussed to new camps around France, but in the confusion one in three child refugees from the camp went missing. Others were sleeping rough among the wreckage of the camp, or engaged in "forced labour" in resettlement centres like "prisons".

"There's been a huge decrease in donations and volunteers, but we still desperately need warm clothing, blankets, sleeping bags and volunteers," said Ms Brocklebank.

 Calais 'Jungle' exodus: Charity boss likens refugee treatment to Nazi persecution

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart attempted to block the construction of the wall, arguing it was unneccessary since the Jungle had been demolished, but this move was overturned in court by the local government  which stands to profit from construction in the Calais port area.

"Border regimes like the one in Calais fund corporates that make a killing from anti-migrant barriers, and that would have no need to exist if the borders were open," a spokeswoman for the Calais Research Network told the Independent.

The wall was built by Vinci, a construction company heavily involved in the 900 million expansion planned for the Calais port. Vinci subsidiary Sogea was paid by the French government to demolish sections of the Jungle.

"There are no dangerous people here to be kept off the road by this bungled wall," added Ms Brocklebank. "There are people across France who need our support and compassion."
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Public support for controversial far-right leader Geert Wilders continues to rise in the Netherlands, despite his recent conviction for inciting racial hatred.

Mr Wilders Party for Freedom (PVV) has risen from a predicted 27 to 36 seats during his course of his hate speech trial, making it the strongest party in the country in the lead up to the election next March according to a poll by the Maurice de Hond Institute.

The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, would be pushed into second if the vote was tomorrow according to the poll, with their coalition partner Labour Party trailing behind in third place. As the PVV currently holds 12 seats, it could conceivably triple its representation in parliament.

Mr Wilders was found guilty of inciting discrimination after leading a chant against allowing Moroccans to live in the Netherlands in 2014. The incident was filmed by TV cameras and Mr Wilders allegedly vowed to take care of immigration.

The court opted not to fine him and said a sentence would not be imposed, arguing the conviction itself was sufficient punishment for a politician. The PVV leader said the trial endangered freedom of speech and was a politically-motivated "charade".

In a televised message following his conviction, Mr Wilders said: I still cannot believe it, but I have just been convicted because I asked a question about Moroccans. The Netherlands has become a sick country.

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. 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I have a message for the judges who convicted me: you have restricted the freedom of speech of millions of Dutch people and hence convicted everyone. No-one trusts you anymore. I will never be silent. You will not be able to stop me.

In August, Mr Wilders said he wants to ban all Islamic symbols, mosques and the Quran from the Netherlands, as part of a total de-Islamification. Under the PVV, politicians say refugee asylum centres will be closed, and borders shut to migrants from Muslim countries.
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Donald Trumps lack of political experience maybe good, according to the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who went on to accuse the West of "provoking Russia".

The former Soviet leader who helped put an end to the Cold War said he had not met the US President-elect in person so he could not judge his views and policies.

It's an interesting situation. In Russia everyone thought the Democrats would win - me included, although I didn't say it, he told the BBC.

In a separate interview with the Associated Press (AP), the 85-year-old added that Mr Trump has little political experience, but maybe its good.

He also praised the outgoing President Obama but he said that US policy towards Russia had been misguided.

"They have been badgering Russia with accusations and blaming it for everything," he said. "And now, there is a backlash to that in Russia. Russia wants to have friendly ties with America, but it's difficult to do that when Russia sees that it's being cheated."

Russian and US leaders should sit down for talks and "stay at the table until they reach agreement", he said.

"The world needs Russia and the United States to cooperate," he added. "Together, they could lead the world ... to a new path."

Mr Gorbachev, also blamed Western media for inadvertently boosting president Putins popularity and for pushing an agenda to "get rid of him."

"I'm sure that the Western press - and that includes you - has been given special instructions to discredit Putin and get rid of him, he said. Not physically. Just to make sure he steps aside.

But, he said that as a result of this, Mr Putins popularity rating had reached 86 per cent and would soon, reach 120 per cent.

Speaking of the fall of the USSR under his leadership, Mr Gorbachev claimed its collapse was due to treachery.

In 1991, the leaders of Russia, Belorussia and Ukraine agreed to dissolve the Soviet Union and form a Commonwealth of Independent States and Mr Gorbachev was forced to resign/

"What happened to the USSR was my drama. And a drama for everyone who lived in the Soviet Union, he told the BBC.

"Behind our backs there was treachery. Behind my back. They were burning down the whole house just to light a cigarette. Just to get power. They couldn't get it through democratic means. So they committed a crime. It was a coup.

Asked whether freedom is under threat in today's Russia, he said: This process hasn't been completed. We need to speak frankly about this. There are some people for whom freedom is an annoyance. They don't feel good with it.

Pushed as to whether he was referring directly to Vladimir Putin, he replied: "You'll have to guess who I mean. This is one question I'll leave you to answer."

He also made it clear he doesnt necessarily see eye to eye with the current Russian leader.

Asked whether President Putin ever asks him for advice he said: "He knows everything already. Everybody likes to do things their own way. C'est la vie, as the French say."

But he was more critical of one of President Putins closest allies, Igor Sechin.

Bureaucrats stole the nation's riches and began to create corporations, he said.

Mr Gorbachev was known to have had close ties with the late US President Ronald Reagan, which many believe helped facilitate the end to the Cold War.
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A Tunisian people smuggler has been jailed for 18 years for causing the worst boat disaster in the Mediterranean since the Second World War.

Mohammed Ali Malek was at the helm of an overcrowded vessel carrying up to 800 refugees that went down between Libya and Italy in April 2015. Judges in Sicily sentenced him to 18 years in prison on Tuesday for manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the disaster, fining him 9m (7.5m).

Mahmoud Bikhit, a 26-year-old Syrian man accused of being his first mate, was handed a five-year sentence by judges in Catania for facilitating illegal immigration and a 9m (7.5m) fine.

The pair were found to have commandeered a former fishing trawler crammed with desperate migrants, dangerously overloading the vessel before accidentally ramming it into a Portuguese container ship attempting to rescue those on board and causing it to capsize.

Mohammed Ali Malek (L) and Mahmud Bikhit who have been arrested on suspicion of being respectively captain and crew member of the migrant ship that capsized off the Libyan coast (EPA)

Malek and Bikhit were among only 28 people who survived the disaster that killed at least 700 refugees, including many who had been locked in the boats hold.

While getting onto the boat I heard the smugglers say that they were going to try to get 1,200 on to the boat and thats why they beat us to get us onto the boat, said Said, a 16-year-old survivor from Somalia.

But they stopped at 800 because it was full  we couldnt even move. There was no food or water, the people that were put below were locked underneath.

The boat got into trouble within hours of departing from the port city of Zuwarah, near Tripoli, on 18 April and started taking on water as passengers started to panic, with some attempting to escape to the deck and those on deck trying to find safety below.

Once in international waters, it sent out a distress call and Italian commanders dispatched the Portugese King Jacob container ship to help.

Its crew attempted to steer the ship to avoid collision and switched off its engines, but its captain said the refugee boat suddenly increased speed and smashed into its port side. The trawler swiftly lost balance and overturned. In less than five minutes it sunk.

Malek claimed he was neither a criminal nor a murderer in a letter to the BBC, claiming an unidentified African man had been steering the boat and blaming the King Jacob for causing the collision and sinking.

But officials in Sicily put the capsizing down to Maleks steering of the trawler into the cargo ship and the panicked movement of passengers after the crash.

Speaking last year, Catania prosecutor Giovanni Salvi stressed that none of the Portugese crew were under investigation and that their attempts to help the ship in distress in no way contributed to the deadly event.

In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Migrant boat disaster In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster Rescuers help children to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster A child is carried by a rescue worker as he arrives with migrants on the boat at the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster A migrant is helped disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster A boat transporting migrants arrives in the port of Messina after a rescue operation at sea Getty In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster Italian Coast Guard officers disembark the body of a dead migrant off the ship Bruno Gregoretti, in Valletta's Grand Harbour In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster Armed Forces of Malta personnel in protective clothing carry the body of a dead immigrant off Italian coastguard ship Bruno Gregoretti as surviving migrants watch in Senglea, in Valletta's Grand Harbour In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster Rescued migrants talk to a member of the Malta Order after a fishing boat carrying migrants capsized off the Libyan coast, is brought ashore along with 23 others retreived by the Italian Coast Guard vessel Bruno Gregoretti at Boiler Wharf, Senglea in Malta In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster Bodies of dead immigrants lie on the deck of the Italian coastguard ship Bruno Gregoretti in Senglea, in Valletta's Grand Harbour In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster Italian coastguard personnel in protective clothing carry the body of a dead immigrant off their ship Bruno Gregoretti in Senglea, in Valletta's Grand Harbour In pictures: Migrant boat disaster Migrant boat disaster Italian coastguard personnel in protective clothing stand on the deck of their ship 'Bruno Gregoretti', carrying dead immigrants on board, as it arrives in Senglea, in Valletta's Grand, Harbour

A 32-year-old Bangladeshi man, the first survivor to arrive in Sicily, said: I and the others managed to survive because we were outside, but many of the others remained prisoners in the hold of the boat because the traffickers had locked them in and they finished at the bottom of the sea.

Volunteers who joined the recovery effort described finding childrens bodies, shoes, life jackets and backpacks floating in the water.

It was the second disaster that week in the Central Mediterranean, following another sinking where more than 400 migrants drowned.

The successive tragedies drove calls for Europe to provide refugees from across the Middle East and Africa with safe passage to the continent but early rescue efforts have largely morphed into missions targeting smugglers, with humanitarian rescues a secondary objective.

Shortly after the April disasters, the main refugee route switched to the comparatively shorter and safer crossing over the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece.

But attempts by authorities to close the passage with the controversial EU-Turkey deal have made the treacherous Central Mediterranean crossing, now the deadliest in the world, the dominant passage for those fleeing war and persecution.

A record of more than 4,700 migrants and refugees have been killed attempting to reach Europe so far this year, with 350,000 reaching the shores of Italy, Greece and Spain.
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More than 100 unaccompanied children in eastern Aleppo are reported to be trapped under a building that is under heavy attack.

The UN children's agency warned of "alarming" reports from a doctor in the city that many youngsters who had been separated from their families were trapped in the building in the east of the city.

Regional director of UNICEF, Geert Cappelaere, said in a statement: According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo.

Mr Cappelaere did not give further details on the doctor or the location of the children but he said it was time for the world to stand up for the children of Aleppo and bring their living nightmare to an end.

He added: "We urge all parties to the conflict to allow the safe and immediate evacuation of all children. Unaccompanied and separated children have the right to be registered by a neutral humanitarian organisation and be reunified with their families  wherever they may be.

Unicef is deeply concerned by reports of extra judicial killings of civilians including children and reminds all parties of their responsibilities under international law."

The comments came as pro-government forces continued their assault on Aleppo's few remaining rebel-held areas, trapping thousands of civilians.

Militia forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are reported to have entered homes and killed at least 82 civilians during their advance on rebel-held territory.

The Syrian military has denied the claims, calling them a desperate attempt to garner international sympathy. The army will declare control of the whole of Aleppo at any moment, Syrian state television said on Tuesday.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

Aid workers and activists in the east of the city meanwhile pleaded for the international community to save them from what they said are arbitrary executions of non-combatants by Syrian government forces as the regime finally closes in on the rebel-held areas.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians are still thought to be trapped by fighting in the rebel enclave, which is now as small as 2.5 square miles (four square kilometres).

Downing Street has described reports from Aleppo that Syrian regime forces have executed scores of civilians in the bombarded city as extremely concerning.
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Around 100,000 civilians and rebels are thought to be left in the slivers of east Aleppo still under opposition control as the Syrian army and allied militias close in.

In the past few days, civilian activists including doctors and teachers who have kept journalists abreast of developments inside the citys siege barricades have sent increasingly fearful messages as the reality of what awaits them once Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fully retakes the city sets in.

They also expressed anger at the international community for not doing more to implement a ceasefire in the fighting or pressure the Russian and Syrian governments into stopping the bombings that have decimated the rebel enclave since September.

In other places recaptured by the government in the civil war, human rights monitors say the Syrian army and foreign Shia militias have carried out brutal attacks on civilians, arbitrarily executing men and boys and in some cases burning the bodies.

"Anyone who knows anything about the Assad regime should know what to expect. Death will be a wish for those captured and deemed [to be] opposition, weather [sic] military or civil," one activist wrote in a WhatsApp message on Tuesday.

An August report from Amnesty International estimated that 18,000 people have been tortured and died in regime prisons since the beginning of the war in 2011. Thousands more remain unaccounted for.

Families got together awaiting death together. This is what's happening, another wrote on Monday.

While perhaps the revolutions greatest communication tool since supply lines were cut off by government forces in August, social media has also opened Aleppos rebel activists up to criticism.

 Video shows Syrian Army taking Aleppo

They have been accused of faking accounts of the damage caused by aerial attacks, and of covering up the true intentions of rebel fighters - many of whom are thought to be hardline extremists with links to al-Qaeda.

Internet service in east Aleppo was reportedly out for several hours overnight on Monday.

While the fate of many activists and civilians The Independent has been in contact with in the past few months remains unknown, below are some of the last communications sent from inside the last rebel enclave before the city inevitably falls.

Ameen al-Halabi, photographer

I am waiting to die or be captured by the Assad regime... Pray for me and always remember us.

Bana Alabed, a seven-year-old who tweets from Aleppo with the help of her English speaking mother Fatemah. Bana added that her father had been injured.

Abdulkafi al-Hamdo, teacher and activist

Lina Shamy, activist

To everyone who can hear me, we are being exposed to a genocide in east Aleppo. This may be my last message. More than 50,000 civilians who rebelled against the dictator al-Assad are threatened with execution or dying under bombing. There is no safe zone, no life save Aleppo.

Monther Etaky, activist

Bilal Abdul Kareem, American journalist and activist

I am not coming to you at this time as a representative of On The Ground news, Im coming to you as an average person from besieged Aleppo we may not be able to send any more messages. To the Muslim ummah [community] that is out there... you really blew it this time You had the opportunity to fly in here with a cape and help these poor people.
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As Aleppo entered the final hours of battle and rebels cling on to tiny pockets of the city, rebel officials have said a ceasefire agreement with the government has been reached.

Osama Abu Zayd, a legal adviser for umbrella group the Free Syrian Army, said a ceasefire was due to go into effect on Tuesday evening, and five buses of both rebels and civilians are supposed to leave the city Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

Details on the Turkish-Russian-brokered deal are thin on the ground. Diplomatic and humanitarian sources told The Independent it was unclear how long the truce would be in place, or how many people would be allowed to leave the rebel enclave.

There had been worries ahead of the deal that the Syrian government, so close to victory, would not heed the international community's call for a truce. The army will declare control of the whole of Aleppo at any moment, Syrian state television said on Tuesday afternoon, before the ceasefire was announced.

We warily welcome [the ceasefire], one Western diplomat said. We'll believe it when we see it.

Nobody is going to harm the civilians, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's envoy to the UN, stressed during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York to address the crisis.

Concerns for civilians' safety are more pressing than ever as militia forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were reported to have entered homes and killed at least 82 civilians during their advance on rebel-held territory.

Head of the UN's human rights office Rupert Colville said that six different sources had confirmed 82 non-combatants were shot in four different neighbourhoods overnight on Monday. The reports included 11 women and 13 children killed.

Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo (Getty)

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

Yesterday evening, we received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets, he told reporters in Geneva. The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight.

There has been a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo, UN spokesperson Jens Laerke added. About 100 children were trapped in a building under fire and separated from remaining family members on Tuesday, a doctor told Unicef.

An activist still in the city also said that snipers had shot at people on the streets.

Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty International's Beirut office, said the reports that civilians, including children, were being massacred in cold blood were deeply shocking but not unexpected, given other such incidents in the war. She went on to call the allegations war crimes.

The Syrian military has denied the claims, calling them a desperate attempt to garner international sympathy.

On the government controlled side of the city, residents have been celebrating the fall of the rebels  who have killed hundreds of civilians in west Aleppo in rocket attacks  with music, dancing and fireworks.

Exact figures are difficult to verify, but between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians are still thought to be trapped by fighting in the rebel enclave, which is now as small as 2.5 square miles.

Videos reportedly taken inside the city show scenes of horrific destruction and human misery caused by intense bombing, as almost all medical and aid services have broken down. Scores of bodies remained trapped under rubble which are unreachable, the local White Helmets civil defence service said, and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed.

For those left alive, what comes after the city falls may be even worse. Civilians and activists are afraid of detention or more executions by Shia militias allied to the Syrian government and army troops if they are suspected of being members of the opposition.

Several activists posted goodbye messages on Monday before going silent. Anyone who knows anything about the Assad regime should know what to expect. Death will be a wish for those captured and deemed [to be] opposition, weather [sic] military or civil, one wrote in a Whatsapp message to journalists.

 Video shows Syrian Army taking Aleppo

Jan Egeland, the UNs humanitarian adviser on Syria, tweeted that the Russian and Syrian governments would be responsible for any such abuses.

The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!, he wrote.

Reports have already emerged of up to 6,000 men in territory recaptured by the government being detained in the last month. There wherabouts are still unknown, the UN says.

Aleppo has been divided into a government-controlled west and rebel-controlled east more than four years.

East Aleppos supply chains were cut off in August, leaving its 250,000 residents and around 8,000 fighters  among them al-Qaeda affiliated forces  under siege conditions.

With rebel opposition relegated to tiny slivers of their former stronghold, Mr Assad is set to recapture the entire city in what will be his biggest victory yet in the almost-six-year-old civil war.
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The Russian Foreign Minister has said it is fed up of calls from the US for an immediate ceasefire in the war torn Syrian city of Aleppo.

We are tired of hearing this whining from our American colleagues in the current administration that we need to immediately halt military action, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters from Belgrade on Tuesday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assads army and loyal foreign Shia militias were ready to declare the entire city recaptured at any moment, Syrian state TV reported, with rebels and between 50,000 - 100,000 civilians squeezed into just four remaining neighbourhoods by Tuesday afternoon.

The UN said horrific reports of civilian executions by regime-allied militias on Monday night had been confirmed by six different sources, as scores more continue to die buried in rubble from intensive air strikes.

We received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets, Rupert Colville, head of the UNs human rights office said. The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight.

Rebel factions and the international community have called for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow medical evacuations. All last-minute talks between the US - which supports some Sunni rebels in Aleppo - and Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, have ended in deadlock.

Mr Lavrov criticised the US for failing to differentiate between moderate rebels and terrorists operating inside Aleppo, which has been divided between a government-controlled west and opposition-held east since 2012.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

He also criticised Western governments for what he said were untrue accusations that Russia was blocking aid convoys to Syria.

The Syrian government views all opposition to the regime as the activity of terrorists. The tide of the almost six-year-long war has turned in Mr Assads favour since Russian began military intervention on behalf of the government in September 2015.

Intense bombing of besieged east Aleppo since September 2016 has killed more than 1,000 people, decimated medical infrastructure, and bought the population to the brink of starvation.

Also on Tuesday, France called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss what can be done to save the people of Aleppo.

Russia has used its veto as a permanent member of the body to veto the last six UN resolutions on the six-year-old conflict.
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Military action has ended in eastern Aleppo, Russia's ambassador to the UN has said.

Vitaly Churkin said Syrian regime troops had regained control of the last areas of the previously rebel-held parts of the city.

Speaking at an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, he said: According to the latest information that we received in the last hour, military actions in eastern Aleppo are over.

The civilians, they can stay, they can go to safe places, they can take advantage of the humanitarian arrangements that are on the ground. Nobody is going to harm the civilians."

Rebels are expected to begin departing on Wednesday morning, according to Reuters, in what will be a crushing blow to their hopes of ousting President Bashar al-Assad.

The latest developments could bring an end to more than four years of fighting in the city, which has been ravaged by civil war since rebels launched an offensive in 2012.

If the militia forces loyal to Mr Assad have recaptured the entire city, which appears likely, it will be the Syrian President's biggest victory yet in the almost-six-year-old civil war.

Reports of the agreement come as the UN reported summary killings by pro-government forces on Tuesday, with concern for civilians' safety more pressing than ever as government forces reportedly entered homes and killed scores of civilians during their advance on rebel-held territory.

Head of the UN's human rights office Rupert Colville said that six different sources had confirmed 82 non-combatants were shot in four different neighbourhoods overnight on Monday. The reports included 11 women and 13 children killed.

Yesterday evening, we received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets, he told reporters in Geneva. The residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment and their fear of being shot on sight.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

There has been a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo, UN spokesperson Jens Laerke added. About 100 children were trapped in a building under fire and separated from remaining family members on Tuesday, a doctor told Unicef.

An activist still in the city also said that snipers had shot at people on the streets.

Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty International's Beirut office, said the reports that civilians, including children, were being massacred in cold blood were deeply shocking but not unexpected, given other such incidents in the war. She went on to call the allegations war crimes.

The Syrian military has denied the claims, calling them a desperate attempt to garner international sympathy.

On the government controlled side of the city, residents have been celebrating the fall of the rebels  who have killed hundreds of civilians in west Aleppo in rocket attacks  with music, dancing and fireworks.

Exact figures are difficult to verify, but between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians are still thought to be trapped by fighting in the rebel enclave, which is now as small as 2.5 square miles.

Videos reportedly taken inside the city show scenes of horrific destruction and human misery caused by intense bombing, as almost all medical and aid services have broken down. Scores of bodies remained trapped under rubble which are unreachable, the local White Helmets civil defence service said, and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed.

For those left alive, what comes after the city falls may be even worse. Civilians and activists are afraid of detention or more executions by Shia militias allied to the Syrian government and army troops if they are suspected of being members of the opposition.

Several activists posted goodbye messages on Monday before going silent. Anyone who knows anything about the Assad regime should know what to expect. Death will be a wish for those captured and deemed [to be] opposition, weather [sic] military or civil, one wrote in a Whatsapp message to journalists.

Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Show all 12 1 /12 Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man crosses a street in Aleppo, December 12, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A vendor sits inside an antique shop in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, December 12, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A view shows part of Aleppo's historic citadel, overlooking Aleppo city, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A view shows part of Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Visitors walk inside Aleppo's Umayyad mosque, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk inside the Khan al-Shounah market, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man walks past shops in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk along an alley in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Visitors tour Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A general view shows the Old City of Aleppo as seen from Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk near Aleppo's Bab al-Faraj Clock Tower, Syria October 6, 2010 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man stands inside Aleppo's historic citadel, overlooking Aleppo city, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters

The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!, he wrote.

Reports have already emerged of up to 6,000 men in territory recaptured by the government being detained in the last month. Their whereabouts are still unknown, the UN says.

East Aleppos supply chains were cut off in August, leaving its 250,000 residents and around 8,000 fighters  among them al-Qaeda affiliated forces  under siege conditions.

The latest development is expected to see an end to the brutal conflict in Aleppo, which has been divided into a government-controlled west and rebel-controlled east for more than four years.
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Aid workers and activists inside embattled east Aleppo have pleaded for the international community to save them from what they say are arbitrary executions of non-combatants by Syrian government forces as the regime finally closes in on the rebel enclave.

The White Helmets civil defence and rescue service, as well as three other trapped aid groups operating in the city, made a final appeal for the United Nations and others to arrange a humanitarian corridor for civilians to flee the fighting late on Monday night.

If we stay, we fear for our lives. The women may be taken to camps, the men disappeared and anyone who is known to have supported civilians will face detention or execution, they said in a statement.

The pocket in which around 100,000 civilians and rebels are left is now less than 2.5 miles (4 square kilometres) big and suffering heavy bombardment.

"As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run," the International Red Cross said on Tuesday, appealing for all sides to respect human life and for an immediate ceasefire.

A Syrian military source told Reuters that government soldiers and allied Iranian-backed militias were "in the last moments before victory" in Aleppo after more than four years of battle.

On the government controlled side of the city, residents celebrated the fall of the rebels - who have killed hundreds of civilians in west Aleppo in rocket attacks - with dancing and fireworks.

Several activists posted goodbye messages on Monday before going silent. "Anyone who knows anything about the Assad regime should know what to expect. Death will be a wish for those captured and deemed [to be] opposition, weather [sic] military or civil," one wrote in a Whatsapp message to journalists.

The Independent has not been able to make contact with other sources inside rebel areas since. Phone calls and texts have gone unanswered.

Videos reportedly from inside east Aleppo over the last few days show the wounded and dying lying on the streets during bombing raids, with no one left to help them. Ammar al-Selmo, head of the local White Helmets, said that his workers could hear those trapped under rubble they were unable to reach crying for help.

Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Show all 16 1 /16 Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo A girl who fled areas of conflict rides a vehicle in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigade have a tea in a building under construction Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo A rebel fighters' armoured vehicle in Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigades sit on a tank Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Abandoned magazine of shells after rebel fighters took control of Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Rebel fighters ride a pick-up truck with civilians who fled areas of conflict in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo A rebel fighter gestures with a girl who fled areas of conflict while they ride a pick-up truck in Dahiyet al-Assad Reuters Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Smoke rises near a damaged road in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Syrians carry their belongings as they leave the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-,Assad Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo A view shows a damaged minaret of a mosque after rebel fighters took control of Dahiyet al-Assad, Syria Reuters Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Rebel groups have pledged to push from newly captured positions in the Dahiyet al-Assad district towards Hamdaniyeh. Rebels and allied jihadists launched a major offensive on October 28, 2016 to break through government lines and reach the 250,000 people living in the city's east Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Rebel groups have pledged to push from newly captured positions in the Dahiyet al-Assad district towards Hamdaniyeh Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah (or Army of Conquest) brigades hold a position at an entrance to Aleppo, in the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-Assad Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Smoke billows from the frontline district of Dahiyet al-Assad following an attack by rebels on Syrian regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo Syrians carry their belongings as they leave the southwestern frontline neighbourhood of Dahiyet al-Assad Getty Dahiyet al-Assad - Aleppo People who fled areas of conflict ride a pick-up truck in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria Reuters

Unconfirmed reports from overnight on Monday also suggested that at least 79 civilians, including women and boys, had been lined up against walls by pro-government militias and shot in the neighbourhoods of Fardous and Saliheen. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which uses an extensive network of sources on the ground, said that Every hour, butcheries are carried out.

Jan Egeland, the UNs humanitarian adviser on Syria, tweeted that the Russian and Syrian governments would be responsible for any such abuses.

The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!, Egeland wrote.

There are already reports, confirmed by the UNs commission for human rights, that men who have crossed into government controlled territory have gone missing, their whereabouts still unknown by their families.

Several UN, US and Russian-backed attempts to broker a ceasefire in the humanitarian crisis have failed.

Aid groups had even revised their request for three days in which to evacuate the wounded, young and elderly down from three days to three hours, to no avail.

 Opposition activists accuse Syrian regime of chlorine attack in Aleppo

We only need a temporary cessation of 60 minutes to save them all," said British surgeon Dr David Nott, who has assisted with medical training for Aleppos beleaguered medics via Skype.

The US State Department said Russia had turned down the proposal for an immediate ceasefire and said it could not start for several days.

East Aleppos supply chains were cut off in August, leaving its 250,000 residents and around 8,000 fighters - among them al-Qaeda affiliated forces - under siege conditions.

An intense Russian-backed bombing campaign since September followed by a ground assault had bought the rebel neighbourhoods to their knees.

Retaking the whole city - divided since 2012 - will be a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syrias bloody six-year-long civil war.
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Donald Trumps presidency "could lead to a world war" and bring about the destruction of Israel, Irans defence minister has warned.

The Republican's election victory has raised the possibility of the US withdrawing from a nuclear deal struck in 2015 with Iran to prevent Tehran from developing atomic weapons.

The US along with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, including the UK, Russia, France, ratified the accord.

But during his election campaign the property billionaire vowed he would rip it "to shreds, calling it the worst deal ever negotiated.

But Iran's defence minister Hossein Dehghan said that even though the US President-elect was a businessman, his assistants "may map a different path for him, and this has led to unease, particularly among Persian Gulf countries.

According to the Mehr news agency, he he told a security conference in Tehran: Considering Trump's character and that he measures the cost of everything in dollars, it does not seem likely that he would take strong action against our country. Enemies may want to impose a war on us based on false calculations and only taking into consideration their material capabilities."

He added: Such a war would mean the destruction of the Zionist regime [Israel] and will engulf the whole region and could lead to a world war."

Among other consequences of the war, would be the destruction of the city-states on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, because they lack popular support, Mr Dehghan added, referring to small Western-allied Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.

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

Iran and most these states are on opposite sides in the multiple conflicts in the region. The country is a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war and of the Houthi movement fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Relations between the Shia Muslim-majority nation and Israel became hostile in the 1990s, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The defence minister's remarks come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that he would work with Mr Trump to dismantle the Iranian nuclear deal.

The historic accord faced further problems when Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday ordered the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organisation to start to develop nuclear-powered ships in response to the extension of US Sanctions against the country.
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The French foreign minister has accused Russia of "lying" about the nature of its role in the Syrian conflict, and said Moscow risked being complicit in violent acts of "vengeance and terror" in Aleppo.

Jean-Marc Ayrault has claimed Russia and President Vladimir Putin are guilty of double-talk and a sort of permanent lie" while professing to prioritise the fight against IS militants over support for President Bashar al-Assad.

"On the one hand they say: let's talk, let's talk and get a cease-fire," Mr Ayrault said at an EU meeting in Brussels. "On the other hand, they continue the war and this war is a total war, aimed at saving Assad and capturing Aleppo. There is double-talk and a sort of permanent lie.

No progress was made during talks between the US and Russia over the weekend, which were aimed at preventing Aleppo being completely destroyed as government forces cleared out the last remaining rebel strongholds in the city.

On Tuesday morning, the UN reported that militia forces loyal to President Assad entered homes in east Aleppo and killed at least 82 civilians. Russia has yet to respond to the reports.

The backers of the [Assad] regime, starting with Russia, cannot allow this logic of vengeance and terror without taking the risk of being complicit, the foreign minister added.

I call on the United Nations to use without delay all mechanisms to establish the truth of what is happening in Aleppo so that the international community does not let crimes remain unpunished.

In pictures: Aleppo bombing Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Aleppo bombing In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Smoke rises after airstrikes on the rebel-held al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family runs for cover amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Qatarji in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man reacts as he stands on blood stains at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo's al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damage of the airstrikes in the rebel-held area of Aleppo on April 28 Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an air strike on a rebel-held of Aleppo on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man leads a woman in tears and child out of the scene after airstrikes hit Aleppo AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Civil defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in the Bustan al-Qasr rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers and rescuers remove a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers evacuate people from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo

In October, Mr Ayrault confirmed he was planning to ask the International Court of Justice to investigate Russia over possible war crimes in Syria. Russia has denied such allegations.

"We do not agree with what Russia is doing, bombarding Aleppo. France is committed as never before to saving the population of Aleppo," Mr Ayrault said at the time.

A day later, President Putin cancelled his planned trip to Paris after the French government made it clear that the Syrian conflict would be the only item on the agenda.
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Irans President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the head of the countrys Atomic Energy Organisation to start planning the development of nuclear-powered ships in reaction to what he called the United States violation of their nuclear deal.

Earlier in December the US Senate voted to extend the Iran Sanctions Act by 10 years, a decision that was criticised by the Iranian foreign minister at the time who said it showed the US government had a lack of credibility.

In a letter read out on Tuesday on state television, Mr Rouhani condemned the move as a breach of the 2015 nuclear accord and told the nations scientists to begin planning the design and production of fuel and nuclear power plants for maritime transport.

The leader also said he had ordered the foreign minister to mount a legal challenge against the US.

The 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers lifted a variety of sanctions against the nation in exchange for restrictions on the Iranian nuclear programme.

Yet the US keeps its own set of trade restrictions against the country  separate from the agreement  which were set to expire at the end of the year.

Politicians in the Senate said the sanctions were extended not only because of nuclear issues, but also over concerns about ballistic missile-testing and human rights in the country.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the extension into law in the coming days.

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 nuclear marine propulsion technology Iran has vowed to develop uses a nuclear reactor to generate electricity on a ship.

Tensions in the Middle East have grown since the US elected Donald Trump as President, Iran's defence minister said on Sunday.
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Iraqis fleeing the assault on Isis stronghold of Mosul have revealed the extent of the groups atrocities and repression as the city slips from its grasp.

The jihadis took less than a week to overrun Iraqs third-largest city in June 2014, with leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi using its historic Great Mosque to declare his caliphate days later.

Isis fighters initially slaked their thirst for violence on government troops and security forces, massacring troops with suicide bombs and rounding up and executing local police officers, before dumping their bodies in mass graves.

Oday Mustapha Suleiman, a former soldier, knew of two police officers killed by militants, as well as his brother and spent most of his time inside his house for fear of being caught.

 Iraqi forces enter Mosul

They drove through the streets with a microphone, calling our names, he told the Associated Press. For 10 days I hid, just pacing between my room and the front door because they wanted to cut off my head.

Azhar Yonas went into hiding after hearing his name was on an Isis list of police officers, estimating that a third of the 30,000 strong force was killed - tossed into a natural pit outside the city believed to hold thousands of bodies.

They said they put them in the hole so they would not make the land unclean, Yonas said.

The persecution soon turned to the citys residents as Christian, Kurdish and Shia houses were marked out and the group started to enforce its hardline interpretation of Sharia law.

An estimated half of a million people fled the formerly cosmopolitan city in those first weeks, with those that left subjected to tightening surveillance and a punishing regime governing everything from work, to education and the methods of dress.

Infractions were punished by fines, flogging, amputations and death by a variety of gory execution methods including shooting, beheading, drowning, stoning and  reportedly  being roasted alive in a commercial oven.

Former residents told AP how Isis fighters rounded them up and forced them to watch a young woman being stoned to death on accusations of adultery  one of a number capital offences including insulting God, sorcery, blasphemy and homosexuality.

She was paraded blindfolded with her supposed lover through in Samah district in August before being murdered. As the group continued to lose territory in Syria, it seemed to be stepping up its vindictiveness.

"Still not dead," Samira Hamid recalled the militant pronouncing as he checked the woman's pulse after two stones were thrown, before the third and lethal blow to her head.

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

The man accused of being her lover was flogged 150 times and forced to go to Syria to fight for Isis. Another witness, Sarmad Raad, found recalling the killing nearly unbearable.

I shut down, the 26-year-old said, I just lost my mind.

Recommended Hundreds of bodies discovered in mass graves near Mosul

Isis also took control of education, replacing learning with its own ideology and programmes to train up a new generation of jihadi recruits.

At the same time it cracked down on media, destroying satellite dishes and banning foreign television while pumping out its own propaganda showing the damage caused by crusader air strikes and success of the so-called Islamic State.

The Independent met Shaimaa, her baby son Adam and his five-year-old brother Arran at a refugee camp in Lesbos last year.

The family had taken five months to reach Europe, carrying with them just one rucksack carrying nappies and clothes, in the hope of starting a new life in Germany.

The Isis men are terrifying, Shaimaa said. They control every aspect of your life, we couldn't even watch television.

The children can't go to school, there's no water, no electricity, we can't work so we have no money.

As the siege wore on, the Iraqi government cut off the flow of money it had been paying civil servants, and air strikes cut into Isis oil revenue and cash reserves.

Iraqi forces are battling Isis in eastern Mosul (Reuters)

Infrastructure broke down, electricity failed and communications were cut off for the vast majority of residents.

As Iraqi forces and allies close in on the city, Isis has been preventing people from leaving while hanging the bodies of suspected spies from street lamps to deter dissenters.

Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the United Nations had received continuous reports of extrajudicial killings, summary executions and atrocities during the offensive.

In one village outside the city, Isis tied six civilians to a vehicle by their hands and dragged them through the streets because they were related to an opposing tribal fighting, while in another village the bodies of 70 civilians were discovered shot dead inside their homes.

While forcing to move a group of civilians to relocate to use them as human shields, militants reportedly shot three women and three girls dead because they weren't keeping up.

The victims were lagging behind because one of the children had a disability, Mr Colville said. She was apparently amongst those shot and killed.

As Iraqi forces continued to advance on Tuesday, Shia fighters with the Popular Mobilisation Committees were clearing an area of land west of the city to prevent jihadis fleeing into the desert to prepare for counter attacks.

Residents who remain trapped said efforts to cut off routes to Syria had caused soaring fuel prices and food shortages.

One trader said told Reuters no fresh fruit or vegetables other than potatoes and onions had reached the city in the past week. Residents are worried how they can get bread. If the siege continues at this level many people will die from lack of food, he said.

As the worlds eyes continued to focus on the plight of besieged Aleppo as Syrian forces closed in on Tuesday, MPs urged the government to ensure the slaughter is not repeated by Western-backed campaigns against Isis territories.

Emily Thornberry, the shadow Foreign Secretary, warned that civilians in Isis-controlled cities were just as vulnerable to the effects of bombing and siege by British allies as those in Aleppo.
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Distressing footage of a crying man consoling a distraught little boy has emerged from the hellish final hours of the battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Holding the toddler in his arms, the man, whose eyes are red from crying, tries to tell the child his father wont be coming back as he repeatly asks for baba.

Daddy went to heaven, the man says, identified by a local journalist as the babys uncle.

The heartbreaking video is just one of thousands of similiar stories occuring in the embattled city right now as Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces regain control of the rebel-held east side of Aleppo after four years of fighting.

Regime bombing has been relentless in the past few days. Videos of the wounded and dying lying in the street during shelling have horrified people around the world. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that 415 civilians have been killed in regime air strike in the last month.

Several activists in the city recorded farewell messages during which explosions and the whirr of warplanes and helicopters could be heard in the background.

Between 50,000 - 100,000 people, among them al-Qaeda linked rebels, were thought to remain in the last pockets of rebel resistance to the regime on Tuesday.

In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Children play underground in Syria In pictures: Children play underground in Syria A child plays in the ball pit at the 'Land of Childhood,' an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Abdulaziz, 10, plays in the 'Land of Childhood' underground playground in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Boys look through a show window inside the tunnel that provides a safe passage for children between the two basements that form the 'Land of Childhood' in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children play at the underground 'Land of Childhood' in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Two girls play at the 'Land of Childhood' underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children on the ride on a ferris wheel at the 'Land of Childhood', an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Seven-year-old Massa at the "Land of Childhood" underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children wait in line to buy sweets at the 'Land of Childhood,' an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef

For those who avoid death in the rubble of aerial attacks, there is a fresh threat in the form of government allied Shia militias, who reportedly executed 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, overnight on Monday. Unicef said 100 children were trapped without family members in a building under fire from government forces on Tuesday afternoon.

Many non-combatant activists including the doctors and aid workers left in the rebel enclave fear detention or execution at the hands of the regime, as has been the case in several other instances in Syrias bloody civil war.

Last-ditch attempts to broker a ceasefire have not succeeded in any agreement between the Syrian government and rebel factions.
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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has raised alarm over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children in Aleppo, his spokesman said.

Syrias army, loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, are reportedly close to capturing all of east Aleppo which has been a rebel stronghold in the country's civil war.

Residents in the besieged areas of the city have described the situation as doomsday, with many unable to flee the fighting.

Families got together awaiting death together. This is whats happening, one activist wrote in a Whatsapp message to journalists on Monday.

The Secretary-General is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties. He has instructed his Special Envoy for Syria to follow up urgently with the parties concerned, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary-general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties.

He has instructed his special envoy for Syria to follow up urgently with the parties concerned, the statement added.

The United Nations humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, said in an earlier tweet on Monday that the Syrian and Russian governments must be held responsible for atrocities committed by militias loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo.

The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing! Mr Egeland tweeted, as President Assad's forces bombarded the last rebel-held pockets in eastern parts of the city.

Russia and Syrias governments are yet to issue public statements on the issue.

The final stages of the battle are expected to conclude swiftly. The Syrian military claimed to have taken control of 98 per cent of rebel-held east Aleppo early on Monday morning after seizing the large industrial district of Sheikh Saeed.

In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Children play underground in Syria In pictures: Children play underground in Syria A child plays in the ball pit at the 'Land of Childhood,' an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Abdulaziz, 10, plays in the 'Land of Childhood' underground playground in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Boys look through a show window inside the tunnel that provides a safe passage for children between the two basements that form the 'Land of Childhood' in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children play at the underground 'Land of Childhood' in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Two girls play at the 'Land of Childhood' underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children on the ride on a ferris wheel at the 'Land of Childhood', an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Seven-year-old Massa at the "Land of Childhood" underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef In pictures: Children play underground in Syria Children wait in line to buy sweets at the 'Land of Childhood,' an underground playground in a besieged town in Syria Unicef

They [the rebels] don't have much time. They either have to surrender or die, Lieutenant General Zaid al-Saleh, head of the government's Aleppo security committee, told reporters.
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A major charity appeal has been launched to help the civilians facing hunger in war-torn Yemen.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which represents 13 UK aid charities, said the country was at "breaking point" following 20 months of conflict as it announced the fundraiser.

More than seven million people in the country did not know where their next meal would come from and many children are dying from malnutrition, the organisation said.

The British Red Cross, Oxfam, Save The Children and Christian Aid are among the charities supporting the Yemen Crisis Appeal.

Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, suffers from severe acute malnutrition ( REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad) (REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad)

Actor Tom Hardy and television presenter Clare Balding will announce the launch of the appeal on Tuesday.

The DEC said member charities were already reaching "millions of people" with aid, but said: "Much more needs to be done to help those in dire need."

 The world has forgotten the Yemen war, says senior UN humanitarian official

The senior UN humanitarian official in the country has warned that the world is ignoring the worsening humanitarian crisis affecting the country.

Even before the start of the conflict in March 2015, Yemen was suffering a humanitarian crisis including widespread hunger, brought on by decades of poverty and internal strife.

Around half of Yemen's 28 million people are "food insecure," according to the United Nations, and seven million of them do not know where they will get their next meal.

A malnourished boy sits on a bed at a malnutrition treatment center in Sanaa, Yemen, on October 30 2016 (Reuters)

The appeal comes after Foreign Secretary Boris johnson said he had a "deep concern" about the suffering of Yemenis but backed the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in the country.

DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed, said: Now is the time to save lives in Yemen before it is too late. Children face the greatest risk of starvation  almost half a million infants and young children need immediate treatment for malnutrition.

"DEC members are already providing treatment for malnutrition, running mobile health teams, distributing emergency food and cash but they need funds to reach more people.

 Footage shows extent of child malnutrition in Yemen as Britain continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia

The UK Government has pledged to match public donations to the appeal.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: Yemen faces a humanitarian crisis that the international community cannot ignore.

"Yemen has become the forgotten crisis despite more than 10 million people desperately needing help and the threat of famine hanging over the country.

She added: The UK has led the international community to step up its efforts but more support is urgently needed, as this DEC Appeal shows.

By matching pound for pound public donations to the DEC Appeal, we will double the difference British people can make to the lives of undernourished children with clean water, lifesaving food and medical treatment."

To make a donation visit http://www.dec.org.uk, call 0370 60 60 900, visit any high street bank or Post Office, or donate 5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.
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Reports that Oxford Universitys Student Union has advised students to use gender neutral pronouns on campus are false, the union claims, prompting disappointment and confusion among campaigners.

According to The Times, leaflets were distributed by OUSU encouraging members to refer to each other using ze rather than he or she, in a bid to prevent transgender discrimination.

The move was welcomed by LGBT campaigners, but in a statement on Monday, union officers said the information was in fact incorrect.

Human rights campaigner and LGBT activist Peter Tatchell, who had also praised the reported decision, said: I am disappointed that the Students Union seems to have backed down under pressure.

What it was trying to do was commendable. The idea of giving people the 'ze' option was a thoughtful, considerate move.

It is a positive thing to not always emphasise gender divisions and barriers. Differentiation based on gender is often unnecessary. We are all human."

He added: It is good to have gender-neutral pronouns for those who want them but it shouldn't be compulsory.

Publishing a statement on the OUSU website, union officers said they were equally "disappointed" that some media coverage had painted the issue in a negative light.

The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 10. Seoul The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 9. Berlin The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 8. Hong Kong The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 7. Montreal The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 6. Singapore The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 5. London The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 4. Sydney The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 3. Tokyo The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 2. Melbourne The 10 best cities to be a student in 2016 1. Paris

Officers said they believed the information had originated from support materials used by student leaders and welfare representatives to advise on the importance of not assuming pronouns.

Instead, it suggests the use of genderless pronouns such as they to refer to individuals whose pronouns have not been confirmed.

They said: We would also like to clearly state that we would never tell anyone to use ze pronouns instead of he or she if he or she is the pronoun someone wishes to use.

Requesting that people state their pronouns, and do not assume the pronouns of others, is not particularly radical or controversial.

Its a standard practice, not just in Oxford but in student communities and LGBTQ-friendly spaces all over, and we encourage its spread.

We find it disappointing that a piece of misinformation has resulted in a media storm around what is a very basic effort to ensure our trans students feel welcome within the Oxford community.

OUSU vice president for women, Orla White, added: No, we didn't publish a leaflet banning gendered pronouns. But we do stand against transphobia."

She told The Independent: The factual incorrectness of these articles is one thing; the way that it's used to make basic human decency towards trans people seem laughable is quite another.

Deliberately using the wrong pronoun for a transgender person is an offence under the universitys behaviour code.

Cambridge University is making similar moves to encourage the use of gender neural pronouns, it has been reported.

Sophie Buck, welfare officer at Cambridge University students union, said: Events start with a speaker introducing themselves using a gender neutral pronoun. Its part of a drive to make the union intersectional.
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An hours drive south of Berlin, where temperatures currently hover around 0C, you can find a tropical paradise of sweltering rainforest, gushing waterfalls and steamy grottos. Of course, this place shouldnt exist. In the late Nineties, at the height of the dotcom craze, this was a hangar erected to build airships. But when the company went bust, an opportunistic Malaysian business man, Colin Au, bought the dome for a snip at 20m and opened Tropical Islands  a lush wonderland where you can sip colourful cocktails in 26C and even camp in canvas tents on the beach.

Tropical Islands immense dome is the biggest self-supported hall in the world. And its huge. Thats 5 million cubic metres huge. You could slide the Eiffel Tower in on its side, or put the Houses of Parliament in  twice. It makes Centre Parcs look like a shed. In here, theres a makeshift sea  3,000 square metres of it, to be exact  not to mention the 200-metre-long beach that stretches along its shoreline, and the Truman Show-esque backdrop of blue sky with fluffy white clouds completing the scene.

And quite frankly, the results are mind-boggling. I arrive from temperatures of -4C, into a pleasantly hot holiday resort. Swimsuit-clad, barefooted punters are casually walking around, some hoisting giant shark inflatables. The contrast is comical, and Im immediately surprised too at how many young couples and groups of friends are here. Id expected only families  Im here with my partner and two young sons  but it seems Tropical Islands has a wider, unbeatably kitschy appeal.

You can camp out on the 'beach' in the former aircraft hangar (Celia Topping)

After disrobing, we explore the lagoon, complete with water slides and whirlpools. It actually does look and feel tropical... if you can ignore the giant dome and the constant sound of the generators. After a dip, we take a walk around the site, where Bali, Thailand, the Caribbean and Borneo all meet in an ersatz reproduction of tropical. And its brilliant.

Cute little lodges and beach huts nestle among the lush vegetation, each one housing restaurants, shops, bars and guest rooms if you dont fancy the tents. I cant wipe the incredulous smile off my face, yet everyone is just acting as if its the most normal thing on Earth. I withhold the urge to yell, Its not real you know! and just take in the bizarre verisimilitude.

Even stranger, you really can get a suntan here  the transparent film across the centre of the dome allows through UV light, so in the summer, make sure you get up early to get your towel down on one of the 2,500 seashore deckchairs (it is Germany, after all). This sunlight is also the key to the near-miraculous rainforest at the centre of the dome, the largest of its kind in the world, and home to 50,000 plants of 600 different species, plus various exotic birds, turtles and fish. My son is thrilled at the sight of the flamingos hanging out in a corner of the mangroves.

A tropical paradise of rainforest, beaches and waterslides, all under one roof (Tropical Islands)

But this is Tropical Islands, not Club Tropicana, which means the drinks are certainly not free  but for a theme park of this kind, I dont think the prices are extortionate. A meal for two with a drink costs around 30 and a cocktail is about 7. Because you pay for everything with a very convenient wristwatch-style pass, theres no need for cash anywhere on site, and it feels free. Until you receive the bill at the end

Aside from the water attractions, theres also a fantastic spa area, where I indulge in a painfully authentic Thai massage. High above our heads, the hot air balloon ride looks fun, but if you cant spare the 29 it costs for a ride, you can always climb the 27 metres up to the top of Germanys highest waterslide tower for an equally thrilling view. Frankly, I dont have the nerve for the turbo slide, but my partner does, and enthusiastically tells me he reached at least 70kmph.

Okay, so in these times of ecological catastrophe, keeping the air temperature in its mid-20Cs, and the water temperature at around 30C, plus the air-con in the guest rooms, cant be especially good for the environment. But as one couple from England, who have come here for their first wedding anniversary, tell me: We can be wilfully blind to that while were here. Its just a bit of fun, where we dont have to be adults.

Find real flamingos among the mangroves (Celia Topping)

Kitsch is a German word, difficult to translate, and often used pejoratively, but Tropical Islands is pure kitsch. Its wrong on so many levels but I cant help but love it. As a female artist from Berlin confides in me, Im afraid Im a repeat offender, Tropical Islands is my guilty pleasure, and I can understand why. Whilst sipping a pina colada Del Boy would be proud of, on a deckchair overlooking the lagoon, warm and comfortable, away from the freezing temperatures outside, I relax  and I really dont care if the drinks arent free.

Travel essentials

Getting there

From the UK, Berlin Schonefeld Airport is served by Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and Norwegian. Tropical Islands is a 50km drive south of Berlin Schonefeld Airport.

Visiting there

Day guests from 42 for adults and 33 for children from the age of six (sauna and spa access costs extra).

Staying there

Overnight guests (including buffet breakfast): guest rooms from 115 pppn; lodges from 95 pppn; tents from 69 pppn.

Its also possible to stay outside the dome, in holiday homes, mobile homes, tents, or you can bring your own tent/campervan/caravan and stay on the adjoining campsite.

More information

tropical-islands.de/en
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At least today, the first of three days of strikes by drivers, he knows for certain that he will not be able to reach his office in the capital.

It is impossible to hold down a job in London from here in these circumstances, and no amount of compensation can make up for that.

I will take my bitterness to the grave.

 Southern Rail strike causes chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers

The dispute is over Driver Only Operation: whether the driver or the guard opens and closes the doors. Southern wants the driver to push the button on all its trains, rather just some of them. Aslef, the drivers union, and the RMT union, mainly representing guards, say this will endanger passengers. They insist the dispute is purely about safety.

The national loss and disruption must be almost incalculable, says Mr Swan.

So why has an apparently minor operational issue been allowed to drag on for months? The reason: it is a deeply political dispute that has implications for the nation, with echoes of the miners' strike. As the Government and unions know full well, but are not prepared to acknowledge, the issue is not a he said/she said squabble about safety. This is a proxy war about modernisation, being fought out in the commuter belt.

The Government regards the railway as the last bastion of 20th-century trades unionism, and  to the enduring pain of a third of a million commuters  sees Southern as the battleground for rationalising one of Europe's most inefficient railways. Senior politicians believe that improved productivity must be forced through despite the human and economic cost.

UK rail operators ranked Show all 22 1 /22 UK rail operators ranked UK rail operators ranked Grand Central - 79% Here is the list of best and worst train operators with their overall customer score UK rail operators ranked Hull Trains - 73% UK rail operators ranked Merseyrail - 70% UK rail operators ranked Virgin Trains West Coast - 69% UK rail operators ranked C2C - 62% UK rail operators ranked East Coast/Virgin Trains East Coast - 61% UK rail operators ranked Chiltern Railways - 60% UK rail operators ranked Scotrail - 59% UK rail operators ranked East Midlands Trains - 58% UK rail operators ranked London Overground - 56% UK rail operators ranked Cross Country Trains - 55% UK rail operators ranked First TransPennine Express - 55% UK rail operators ranked London Midland - 55% UK rail operators ranked TfL Rail - 52% UK rail operators ranked South West Trains - 51% UK rail operators ranked First Great Western/Great Western Railway- 50% UK rail operators ranked Northern Rail - 50% Phil Sangwell UK rail operators ranked Arriva Trains Wales - 49% UK rail operators ranked Southern - 48% UK rail operators ranked Abellio Greater Anglia - 47% UK rail operators ranked Southeastern - 46% UK rail operators ranked Thameslink and Great Northern - 46%

The unions, meanwhile, are playing the safety card for all it is worth rather than acknowledging their real concerns: that hard-won employment conditions will be eroded and that their power will be weakened.

That is why commuters such as Bill Swan face much more disruption in the coming weeks. They believe that the dispute will drag on for many more months, and that only when it is resolved will GTR be stripped of its franchise, having taken the heat for the Governments strategy.

After the drivers strike on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week, it is the turn of Southern guards. RMT members will stop work on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 December, with a four-day strike across the New Year from Saturday 31 December to Tuesday 2 January. Drivers will then strike for most of the second week of the New Year: Monday 9 to Saturday 14 January.

A glimpse at Aslef's Conditions of Service  Southern Drivers, published four years ago, reveals that staff are still working according to rules agreed in the early 20th century. A dispute about the rosters at the Three Bridges depot in Sussex turns on regulations from 1928, an era when steam traction prevailed. The document also goes into considerable detail about Driver Only Operation (DOO) of trains, first agreed nationally in 1985.

Some of the arrangements on the practice agreed between the union and the management look almost comical: If the conductor is left behind by driver error, the duty may run DOO until the conductor can be reunited with the service. But the document demonstrates that the practice at the heart of the dispute has been running safely for decades.

While the unions quaint name  the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen  endures, society and technology have moved on. But the railways, in general, have not.

Trains across the country run on Sundays only because staff work overtime. In a seven-day-a-week nation, relying upon staff working above their stipulated hours to run a railway is no way to, well, run a railway.

Britains trains devour billions in taxpayer subsidies, while at the same time aggrieved peak-hour travellers complain they are spending a fortune on tickets. But not today. Conditions of Service  Southern Drivers prescribes the walking time from the crew room at Victoria to the platform as 10 minutes. This morning, it would have been a more lonely walk.

At the main Southern terminus in London, Victoria, the only trains running on the lines south of the capital are Gatwick Express services to the Sussex airport. A skeleton service is operating every half-hour, in theory at least. But the 7am southbound departure, with a driver but no guard, departed late  apparently because of a problem with the doors.
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Western politicians, experts and journalists are going to have to reboot their stories over the next few days now that Bashar al-Assads army has retaken control of eastern Aleppo. Were going to find out if the 250,000 civilians trapped in the city were indeed that numerous. Were going to hear far more about why they were not able to leave when the Syrian government and Russian air force staged their ferocious bombardment of the eastern part of the city.

And were going to learn a lot more about the rebels whom we in the West  the US, Britain and our head-chopping mates in the Gulf  have been supporting.

They did, after all, include al-Qaeda (alias Jabhat al-Nusra, alias Jabhat Fateh al-Sham), the folk  as George W Bush called them  who committed the crimes against humanity in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on 11 September 2001. Remember the War on Terror? Remember the pure evil of al-Qaeda. Remember all the warnings from our beloved security services in the UK about how al-Qaeda can still strike terror in London?

Recommended If Assad takes eastern Aleppo he thinks he will have won the war

Not when the rebels, including al-Qaeda, were bravely defending east Aleppo, we didnt  because a powerful tale of heroism, democracy and suffering was being woven for us, a narrative of good guys versus bad guys as explosive and dishonest as weapons of mass destruction.

Back in the days of Saddam Hussein  when a few of us argued that the illegal invasion of Iraq would lead to catastrophe and untold suffering, and that Tony Blair and George Bush were taking us down the path to perdition  it was incumbent upon us, always, to profess our repugnance of Saddam and his regime. We had to remind readers, constantly, that Saddam was one of the Triple Pillars of the Axis of Evil.

So here goes the usual mantra again, which we must repeat ad nauseam to avoid the usual hate mail and abuse that will today be cast at anyone veering away from the approved and deeply flawed version of the Syrian tragedy.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

Yes, Bashar al-Assad has brutally destroyed vast tracts of his cities in his battle against those who wish to overthrow his regime. Yes, that regime has a multitude of sins to its name: torture, executions, secret prisons, the killing of civilians, and  if we include the Syrian militia thugs under nominal control of the regime  a frightening version of ethnic cleansing.

Yes, we should fear for the lives of the courageous doctors of eastern Aleppo and the people for whom they have been caring. Anyone who saw the footage of the young man taken out of the line of refugees fleeing Aleppo last week by the regimes intelligence men should fear for all those who have not been permitted to cross the government lines. And lets remember how the UN grimly reported it had been told of 82 civilians massacred in their homes in the last 24 hours.

But its time to tell the other truth: that many of the rebels whom we in the West have been supporting  and which our preposterous Prime Minister Theresa May indirectly blessed when she grovelled to the Gulf head-choppers last week  are among the cruellest and most ruthless of fighters in the Middle East. And while we have been tut-tutting at the frightfulness of Isis during the siege of Mosul (an event all too similar to Aleppo, although you wouldnt think so from reading our narrative of the story), we have been willfully ignoring the behaviour of the rebels of Aleppo.

Only a few weeks ago, I interviewed one of the very first Muslim families to flee eastern Aleppo during a ceasefire. The father had just been told that his brother was to be executed by the rebels because he crossed the frontline with his wife and son. He condemned the rebels for closing the schools and putting weapons close to hospitals. And he was no pro-regime stooge; he even admired Isis for their good behaviour in the early days of the siege.

Around the same time, Syrian soldiers were privately expressing their belief to me that the Americans would allow Isis to leave Mosul to again attack the regime in Syria. An American general had actually expressed his fear that Iraqi Shiite militiamen might prevent Isis from fleeing across the Iraqi border to Syria.

 Opposition activists accuse Syrian regime of chlorine attack in Aleppo

Well, so it came to pass. In three vast columns of suicide trucks and thousands of armed supporters, Isis has just swarmed across the desert from Mosul in Iraq, and from Raqqa and Deir ez-Zour in eastern Syria to seize the beautiful city of Palmyra all over again.

It is highly instructive to look at our reporting of these two parallel events. Almost every headline today speaks of the fall of Aleppo to the Syrian army  when in any other circumstances, we would have surely said that the army had recaptured it from the rebels  while Isis was reported to have recaptured Palmyra when (given their own murderous behaviour) we should surely have announced that the Roman city had fallen once more under their grotesque rule.

Words matter. These are the men  our chaps, I suppose, if we keep to the current jihadi narrative  who after their first occupation of the city last year beheaded the 82-year-old scholar who tried to protect the Roman treasures and then placed his spectacles back on his decapitated head.

By their own admission, the Russians flew 64 bombing sorties against the Isis attackers outside Palmyra. But given the huge columns of dust thrown up by the Isis convoys, why didnt the American air force join in the bombardment of their greatest enemy? But no: for some reason, the US satellites and drones and intelligence just didnt spot them  any more than they did when Isis drove identical convoys of suicide trucks to seize Palmyra when they first took the city in May 2015.

Theres no doubting what a setback Palmyra represents for both the Syrian army and the Russians  however symbolic rather than military. Syrian officers told me in Palmyra earlier this year that Isis would never be allowed to return. There was a Russian military base in the city. Russian aircraft flew overhead. A Russian orchestra had just played in the Roman ruins to celebrate Palmyras liberation.

So what happened? Most likely is that the Syrian military simply didnt have the manpower to defend Palmyra while closing in on eastern Aleppo.

They will have to take Palmyra back  quickly. But for Bashar al-Assad, the end of the Aleppo siege means that Isis, al-Nusra, al-Qaeda and all the other Salafist groups and their allies can no longer claim a base, or create a capital, in the long line of great cities that form the spine of Syria: Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo.

Back to Aleppo. The familiar and now tired political-journalistic narrative is in need of refreshing. The evidence has been clear for some days. After months of condemning the iniquities of the Syrian regime while obscuring the identity and brutality of its opponents in Aleppo, the human rights organisations  sniffing defeat for the rebels  began only a few days ago to spread their criticism to include the defenders of eastern Aleppo.

Take the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. After last week running through its usual  and perfectly understandable  fears for the civilian population of eastern Aleppo and their medical workers, and for civilians subject to government reprisals and for hundreds of men who may have gone missing after crossing the frontlines, the UN suddenly expressed other concerns.

During the last two weeks, Fatah al-Sham Front [in other words, al-Qaeda] and the Abu Amara Battalion are alleged to have abducted and killed an unknown number of civilians who requested the armed groups to leave their neighbourhoods, to spare the lives of civilians..., it stated.

We have also received reports that between 30 November and 1 December, armed opposition groups fired on civilians attempting to leave. Furthermore, indiscriminate attacks had been conducted on heavily civilian areas of government-held western as well as rebel eastern Aleppo.

I suspect we shall be hearing more of this in the coming days. Next month, we shall also be reading a frightening new book, Merchants of Men, by Italian journalist Loretta Napoleoni, on the funding of the war in Syria. She catalogues kidnapping-for-cash by both government and rebel forces in Syria, but also has harsh words for our own profession of journalism.

 Seven-year-old girl tweeting from Aleppo siege pleads for help

Reporters who were kidnapped by armed groups in eastern Syria, she writes, fell victim to a sort of Hemingway syndrome: war correspondents supporting the insurgency trust the rebels and place their lives in their hands because they are in league with them. But, the insurgency is just a variation of criminal jihadism, a modern phenomenon that has only one loyalty: money.

Is this too harsh on my profession? Are we really in league with the rebels?

Certainly our political masters are  and for the same reason as the rebels kidnap their victims: money. Hence the disgrace of Brexit May and her buffoonerie of ministers who last week prostrated themselves to the Sunni autocrats who fund the jihadis of Syria in the hope of winning billions of pounds in post-Brexit arms sales to the Gulf.

In a few hours, the British parliament is to debate the plight of the doctors, nurses, wounded children and civilians of Aleppo and other areas of Syria. The grotesque behaviour of the UK Government has ensured that neither the Syrians nor the Russians will pay the slightest attention to our pitiful wails. That, too, must become part of the story.
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The defeat of the insurgents in east Aleppo came faster than was expected, though there are still some districts under their control. They were reported to number between 8,000 and 10,000 fighters in the enclave two weeks ago, of whom some 4,000 were experienced combatants belonging to Jabhat al-Nusra (formerly the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria) and their close ally the Ahrar al-Sham group.

The weakness of the resistance is probably the result of being under intense artillery fire for over a month without the ability to retaliate. Though the Syrian government and Russian air strikes have been the main focus of the foreign media, it is shelling by artillery which does most of the damage in easy Aleppo and other besieged rebel strongholds in the rest of Syria.

The armed opposition were divided; different parties fought each other as recently as November. There was also probably a feeling among the rebels that the outcome of the battle was inevitable once it became evident that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, their allies since 2011, were not going to do anything to support them.

 George Osborne on Aleppo: We could have foreseen this and done something about it

The siege of east Aleppo only really got underway this summer in July when Syrian government forces cut the Castello road which had been the main supply route into the rebel zone. The rebels counter-attacked successfully in August when they broke through the government lines at Ramouseh in the south west of the enclave. The attackers were led by Nusra suicide bombers and suffered heavy casualties from air strikes, possibly losing as many as 500 dead. They did not have the firepower to keep the breach in the government encirclement open and the siege resumed on 21 September. The enclave began to contract rapidly under the impact of repeated attacks.

The Syrian governments strategy since 2012, of surrounding rebel held zones and depopulating them through shelling and bombing, was dictated by lack of troops. But from September on the Syrian Army and paramilitary forces were numerous enough to keep up constant pressure on the rebels. It seemed possible that they would make a stand in heavily populated areas in the city centre where buildings are close together and streets are narrow. So far this has not happened. It may now be too late for a last stand, as happened in the city of Homs a couple of years ago.

 We spoke to the last activists in Aleppo. They're waiting to die

There is a big contrast here with east Mosul where Isis has slowed the progress of the Iraqi army and counter-terrorism forces to a crawl, inflicting heavy casualties on them. The UN says the Iraqi army lost upwards of 2,000 dead in November alone, most of the losses being suffered in and around Mosul city.

A difference may have been that Isis is the only armed insurgent movement in Iraq, while in Syria the armed opposition is disunited, Isis had complete control of Mosul for over two years and was able to build up its defences, notably a network of tunnels, as well as recruiting hundreds of suicide bombers driving vehicles packed with explosives. It is the mass use of suicide bombers not anti-tank or anti-aircraft missiles that are essential to insurgent success against a heavily equipped enemy.

Rebels will fight on in Idlib, where they are likely to get support from Turkey, and in the south of Syria where they get aid though Jordan. But they have been losing their enclaves in Damascus as well as Aleppo, so the non-Isis forces will have difficulty continuing the struggle. What remains unclear is whether or not Isis will benefit from the defeat of the rest of the armed opposition.
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The fight for Aleppo is all but over, and already voices are crying out for refugees to go home to their liberated city. But for the Syrians who have escaped the country  the 2.7 million in Turkey, more than one million each to Lebanon and Europe and beyond  the turmoil and human tragedy will continue.

For to be associated with the revolution in any way, as aid worker, teacher, doctor, activist, or journalist, means you can never go home. Refugees fleeing Isis rule can no more go back to government areas than vice versa, and so goes the muddy complexity of this horrific civil war.

What would refugees be going back to? Much of eastern Aleppo (and Homs) has been reduced to acres and acres of rubble lying in piles and piles of dust.

Reports of children stuck alive under rubble, and of 82 men and women shot in their houses by government forces, are yet more war crimes to add to a long list with a UN spokesman calling it a complete meltdown of humanity.

My name is on a list, has become a frequent refrain of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and given as the main reason they cannot go back  most often a government blacklist, but of course there are also Isis and al-Qaida linked-Jabhat al-Nusra (now rebranded Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) lists too.

 Video shows Syrian Army taking Aleppo

Nouriman, from Douma on the outskirts of Damascus, said she saw her house bombed in front of her eyes. She managed to salvage her cooking pots from the wreckage of her kitchen. The 46-year-old then risked her life to go back to rescue her nephews, who had been orphaned. Her son-in-law had been a photographer, and her brothers also active in the revolution.

I could only flash my face at them, she told me from her sitting room in Reyhanli, on the Syrian-Turkish border, describing how she travelled with the rebels in convoys and then by bus through Syrian government checkpoints, terrified she would be recognised and arrested.

Others fled with their children after defecting from the army. Mustafa Hilaq left Damascus with his children for rebel held areas and now looks forward to taking his son to school and playing badminton with him in Turkey. Radwan, 24, fled after his friend was arrested for helping internally displaced people under government controlled Aleppo  he knew he was next. He has settled and opened a computer repair shop on the Turkish border  the calm where he sees a therapist to deal with his severe anxiety.

Recommended There is more than one truth to tell in the terrible story of Aleppo

The long term consequences of integrating 2.7 million refugees in Turkey are dire, and expensive  the seemingly enormous 3bn (2.5bn) promised by the EU pales in comparison to the near 20bn Turkey plans to spend annually in the coming three years on providing vital assistance.

But integrating a seriously traumatised population goes far beyond basic care. The vast majority have some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder; others have lost legs or eyes, need physiotherapy or complex healthcare to treat cancer, epilepsy or diabetes.

NGOs active in the area, such as the International Medical Corps  who are supported by the European Union Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (Echo)  are vital to help provide for these long-term and endemic needs.

Refugees in Turkey have long known that, should Assad prevail, they cannot go home. Last summers migration crisis was largely triggered as Russia joined the Syrian air force bombing schools, markets and hospitals using precision strikes as well as cluster bombs as many assumed, rightly, that chances for a rebel military victory were ever slighter.

Winning Aleppo may be lauded as a victory for Assad. But make no mistake, this bloody war is far from over.
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With a phone call and handful of tweets, Donald Trump singlehandedly overturned decades of US foreign policy on China. Digital diplomacy suddenly took on a different meaning.

The media focused on Beijings irritated response on Monday, which was thinly veiled. Those who go against the One China policy are lifting a rock only to drop it on their feet, said the Chinese foreign minister. Then, for the first time in 18 months, China flew its nuclear bomber along the hotly disputed South China Sea, sending an unmistakable message to the US president-elect: One China is non-negotiable.

Anyone who has dealt with China  including Trump  knows One China is immovable. When Taiwan held its first democratic presidential election in 1996, the Chinese army fired missiles around Taiwan. In 2005, following moves towards official independence by the administration in Taipei, Beijing approved the Anti-Secession Law, justifying non-peaceful means to take over the island and unite the country.

 Chinese government 'seriously concerned' by Trump stance on Taiwan

With the iron fist of President Xi Jinping, who, like Trump, wants to make his country great again, and with ever closer cross-strait economic ties, Chinas engulfment of Taiwan seems inevitable  a trend Taiwans current leader, Tsai Ing-wen, is seeking to buckle.

Tsai, not Trump, was the first major political figure to come out and reject One China in recent years. Her ambiguous stance over One China, two interpretations  the foundation of cross-strait peace since 1992, has caused significant tensions across the Taiwan Strait, not dissimilar to Trumps tweets over US-China relations. This, together with her governments handling of introducing gay marriage and cut to public holidays, has led to unpopularity with her base  satisfaction with her policies have fallen to below 50% in her first 100 days in office. Intended or otherwise, Tsais call with Trump took off some of this heat in the domestic arena.

Yet Taipei has been remarkably quiet on the foreign affairs frontier. Its diplomats, including here in the UK, have been tight lipped. Likewise, Trumps tweets have had little impact on Chinese investors who remain bullish on US companies, as they seek shelter from continued RMB devaluation. No one seems to believe the president-elect will be following through on his rhetoric.

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In his own words, Trump didnt take Tsais call because they were fellow democrats, as some hot headed Republicans presumed, but because Taiwan has the Donalds favourite thing  deals, lots of them, with fighter jets and missiles. As soon as China satisfies some of Trumps requests, One China would be back on the table.

Trump and Tsai both know this. But for now, Tsai emerges the star of this saga. The embattled president, abandoned by local mayors and business just a week ago, is now at the centre stage of international politics, with a pending request to meet with the White House transition team.

Tsai will be cautious, however, as she knows that Taiwan is just a bargaining chip to Trump. When Beijing gives the Donald what he wants, there might not be anyone on the other end of the phone line.
University Hospital Galway was one of the worst-affected

Some 541 sick or injured people are lying on trolleys in hospital emergency units, in corridors and on wards as the overcrowding crisis deepened.

Th e Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said the issue of patients queuing for beds is worsening as 180 acute beds are closed primarily because jobs cannot be filled.

The union called for a series of emergency measures to combat the problem, including the widespread cancellation of planned admissions and elective operations to clear the backlog of patients.

INMO general secretary Liam Doran said: "Today's figures in the context of the bed closures and the comparison with this time last year must be viewed by everyone as totally unacceptable and requiring emergency action."

Mr Doran said the union's emergency response plans must be implemented immediately.

The current trolley wait crisis is short of figures that prompted former health minister Mary Harney to declare a national crisis when more than 600 people were recorded waiting for a bed in one day in 2006.

That breaking point was reached again in 2011 and in early 2015.

And as the situation reached crisis levels last winter, nurses called off threatened strike action after the Government gave them new assurances on escalating the responses to overcrowding.

The latest INMO trolley watch report found Cork University and University Hospital Galway were the worst-affected with 48 patients on trolleys, including eight people waiting for a bed in wards in the Cork facility and 16 in the Galway facility.

Others among the most overcrowded were University Hospital Waterford with 36 people on trolleys, 34 in St Vincent's University Hospital, University Hospital Waterford with 33 and South Tipperary General Hospital, where 32 were on trolleys.

The INMO called for an emergency nurse staffing initiative to address the critical issue as it said there were 140 staff nurse vacancies in emergency departments and 60 of these positions are being filled by agencies.

The union accused health service management of not implementing recommendations of the emergency department expert group, which were published in August last year and called for additional staff to care specifically for admitted patients in A&E.

It also called for changes to rosters to put more senior clinical decision-makers on duty for longer.

The result of a new ballot of nurses and midwives for industrial action over the overcrowding and staff shortages is due on Thursday.
Campaigners call for the release of Ibrahim Halawa on an awareness day as he celebrates his 21st birthday behind bars in Egypt

Somaia Halawa, sister of Ibrahim Halawa, campaigns for his release on O'Connell Street in Dublin city centre

Foreign Affairs minister Charlie Flanagan has insisted Egyptian authorities will be left in no doubt that the case of Ibrahim Halawa must be resolved.

The student marked his 21st birthday in a Cairo jail as a mass trial was adjourned for a 17th time, three years on from his detention during a crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Flanagan said the further delay was to be regretted but added that a technical review of evidence in the case has been completed.

"The Irish Government remains determined to see Ibrahim Halawa return to his family in Ireland and we will not relent in our efforts with the Egyptian authorities to secure Ibrahim's release," he said.

Ireland's Ambassador to Egypt Damien Cole was in court for the hearing.

Mr Halawa's sisters made further attempts to raise awareness of the case in central Dublin by asking members of the public to sign a birthday card for their brother.

From Firhouse in Dublin and the son of prominent Muslim cleric Sheikh Hussein Halawa, Ibrahim Halawa was detained in a mosque near Ramses Square in Cairo as the Muslim Brotherhood held a "day of rage" over the removal of their elected president Mohamed Morsi in August 2013.

President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz has written to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el Sisi this week to express concern about the case.

Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan called on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to phone the Egyptian leader and to ramp up diplomatic lobbying to secure Mr Halawa's release as part of a youth amnesty.

"A Dublin teenager is missing out on some of the best years of his youth and it is absolutely urgent that all possible avenues are explored by the Irish government to end this travesty of justice in Egypt," she said.

Mr Flanagan said the Government is focused on putting pressure on Egypt over an application to secure Mr Halawa's deportation to Ireland.

He added: "The Government will continue to use every possible opportunity to underline our concerns about this case to the Egyptian authorities, both bilaterally and with the EU and other partners."

Mr Halawa's case is due before the court on January 17.
As much as 50pc of Irish beef, 60pc of cheese and 90pc of mushrooms end up on British tables. Stock Image

Farmers face having their livelihoods decimated if free trade with the UK is not maintained after Brexit, a major new report warns.

Agri-food businesses are facing a more significant risk from the result of the UK referendum than any other sector.

The study on UK-Irish relations, compiled by the EU committee of the House of Lords, notes more than 40pc of Irish agri-food and drink exports go to the UK market, compared with 31pc to the rest of the EU.

As much as 50pc of Irish beef, 60pc of cheese and 90pc of mushrooms end up on British tables. It comes as new figures from IBEC show the value of Irish food exports to the UK is down 5.6pc year-on-year.

This accelerated to 12.5pc in July and August before some recovery in September. IBEC said depreciation of sterling is playing a significant role.

Read more: Brexit impact is 'likely to be worse for Irish economy than the British'

Read more: Rural Ireland facing economic blow as value of food exports to UK falls 5.6%

Launching the detailed peers' report in Dublin yesterday, Lord Michael Jay said if the UK leaves the customs union and barriers to trade are put up, it could result in Britain importing food from other counties "at lower rates in order to ensure there is cheap food in the United Kingdom".

He said this would "have quite serious implications for agricultural exports from the Republic".

The committee concluded that while Brexit will impact on all aspects of life it will particularly hit "the substantial cross-border trade including co-operation on meat and diary, which has flourished in a single-market environment free of tariffs and customs".

Reacting to the report, IFA president Joe Healy called for Ireland's access to the UK to remain "as free as possible".

"Our first position is that the UK would remain a full member of the EU's Single Market, including free trade on agricultural products," he said.

"This is also the position represented by our farming colleagues in the NFU in the UK, with whom we remain in regular contact since the vote and work closely with in Brussels through the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations.

"If this proves unworkable, IFA is clear that the agreement of a comprehensive free trade agreement between the EU and the UK, with favourable access for agricultural products and mutual recognition of standards, must be a priority at EU level," he said.

The House of Lords' report suggests Ireland and the UK should negotiate a bilateral trade agreement and then convince the EU to take it on board. However, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said this will not be possible.

"The legal negotiation has to be conducted by the European Union with the United Kingdom and we will be part of the negotiating team," he said.

"We have representation on it already. That's the official legal position. It's not possible to sort out then what ever difficulties may emerge on the basis of a bilateral."
Canadian writer and leadership speaker Robin Sharma is most commonly know for his 'The Monk who sold his Ferrari' series.

The 51-year-old has risen to become one of the most notable motivational speakers out there and in January he will be coming to Dublin to speak at the Pendulum Summit.

Mr Sharma has been ranked amongst the top five leadership speakers in the world and has shared the stage with business giants such as Jack Welch and Richard Branson.

In the below video he explains how the business titans continue to exceed with the likes of Elon Musk 'bulletproofing' their personal lives.

'Unleash Your Warrior Mindset' Pendulum Summit will take place at The Convention Centre Dublin on January 11 and 12, 2017. Tickets for the event are on sale here.

Proudly partnered by UrbanVolt, Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, RTE Media Sales, Dublin City Council, The Marker Hotel, Front Row Speakers.
The distribution agreement could finally see the Magners brand break into the English market

Bulmers-owner C&C has agreed a deal handing distribution and marketing of its ciders in England and Wales to beer giant AB InBev.

The distribution agreement could finally see the Magners brand break into the English market, where it has struggled to nail down a successful route to market despite a well- received launch a decade ago.

An expanded manufacturing and distribution deal with AB InBev will now see the Belgian-headquartered firm take over responsibility for the sale and trade marketing of C&C ciders in England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.

The company's existing distribution agreement with AB InBev remains in place, meaning the cider-maker will continue to distribute AB's beer portfolio, which includes the likes of Beck's and Stella Artois, in Ireland.

No payment will be made in either direction as a result of the multi-year deal, which will come into effect over the coming months.

C&C said it will be earnings neutral in the first full year of operation and accretive thereafter, driven by increased volumes and value.

C&C ceo Stephen Glancey said he was delighted with the expansion of the deal.

"The agreements leverage the manufacturing, distribution and portfolio strengths of our two businesses in our core markets in the UK and Ireland.

"AB InBev will represent Magners and our other cider brands in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and to UK national accounts alongside their portfolio of leading global beer brands," he said.

As part of the deal C&C will also continue brewing, kegging, bottling, and canning certain AB products, including Stella Artois.

C&C has been making and distributing AB's beer portfolio in Ireland and Scotland since the acquisition of Tennent's business in 2009.

Mr Glancey said the renewal "underscores the quality and efficiency" of the cider-maker's manufacturing facilities.

The deal will see C&C sell and distribute AB's beer brands in Ireland except for Budweiser. The distribution rights exclude national on and off-trade accounts.

AB InBev UK and Ireland president Jason Warner said the company was happy to renew the agreement with C&C.

"The new and extended contracts will utilise AB InBev's world class distribution network to bring people in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man more choice in the cider category," he said.

The agreement will add to further cost efficiencies at C&C which incurred nearly 40m in restructuring costs last year.

The company announced earlier in the year that it was to close two plants - one at Borrisoleigh in Co Tipperary and a second at Shepton Mallet in England, with the loss of around 270 jobs.

In October an activist investment fund backed by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris became the company's largest single shareholder.
The number of holidaymakers coming to Ireland between January and September increased by a further 600,000 visitors, according to the CSO.

Ireland is continuing to grow in popularity with tourists as the number of people visiting here has jumped by 10pc.

The number of holidaymakers coming to Ireland between January and September increased by a further 600,000 visitors, according to the CSO.

More importantly for the Irish economy, revenue from overseas visitors to Ireland grew by a further 9pc during this period, an additional 304m.

Tourism Ireland chief Niall Gibbons said it was particularly encouraging to see an increase in visitors from Great Britain, mainland Europe and North America.

Read more: Donegal beats these world-famous destinations as the 'coolest' place to visit in 2017

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross said that overseas tourism figures are set for another record year with a reported 8.277 million visits to Ireland.

"The CSO release shows the economic significance of overseas tourism," he said.

With just two weeks left in the year, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirmed that 2016 will be a record year with over 1.1m flights.
Facebook Ireland yesterday declared "we do not avoid tax" as revenues and pre-tax profits soared to record levels.

New accounts show that Facebook Ireland Ltd's corporate tax bill of 16.53m for 2015 represented only a tiny fraction of its record revenues of 7.89bn.

The 63pc - 3bn - increase in revenues to 7.89bn last year coincided with pre-tax profits at the firm increasing eight-fold, from 12.82m to 109.57m.

Facebook's Irish revenues represents more than half of the social media giant's global revenues of $17.93bn last year.

Facebook has over 1.1 billion daily active users and employs 1,500 people here. The sharp rise in profit saw the Irish firm's tax bill here increase more than three-fold, going from 3.4m to 16.53m.

The comparatively low profits enjoyed by Facebook Ireland reflect the firm's very large administrative expenses; including those paid out to other Facebook entities in royalty payments and fees.

The firm's administrative expenses for last year increased by 3bn to 7.7bn largely made up of royalties; service and management fees to Facebook Inc and the costs associated with the increase in headcount.

The total tax bill last year is based on an Irish corporation tax bill of 14m and a further 2m in a deferred tax charge.

A Facebook Ireland spokesperson said that the firm's 14m Irish corporation tax bill on its profits of 109.57m "represents an effective tax rate of 12.8pc, which is line with the standard Irish rate of 12.5pc".

"There are strict accounting and tax rules in Ireland that all companies have to comply with. We follow these rules and pay all the taxes that we are required to under Irish law," the spokesman said. "We do not avoid tax. We comply with all tax laws in the countries in which we operate."

The head of Facebook Ireland, Gareth Lambe said: "We are proud that in 2015 we have continued to grow our business and focus on our goal of connecting the world. The increase in our revenue is attributable to growth in advertising from the international business community that advertise on our platform."

"2016 has been an exciting year as we continue to invest in Ireland and concentrate on our advantages as a talent hub and centre of excellence. This year we announced the creation of 200 jobs, bringing the number of people to over 1,500 in Ireland. Staff costs last year increased from 62m to 77.5m," he added.

Facebook is rapidly becoming one of the country's biggest employers, but the huge gulf between its revenues and taxable profits in Ireland will refocus attention on the low taxes paid by the technology sector generally in Europe - including many with major operations in Ireland.

A report this week from UK-based charity Oxfam labelled Ireland a "tax haven" for what it said was facilitation by governments here of large-scale international profit-shifting, the low rate of corporate tax charged here, and the use of tax incentives for investors.
Last week Mr Buckley led a stormy EGM where members of the DB schemes strongly opposed the passing of two resolutions aimed at cleaning up INMs balance sheet. Photo: Mark Condren

Independent News & Media (INM) has discussed proposals with trustees following its recent decision to close its defined benefit pension schemes, insisting its closure will not improve the cash position of the company.

Older members of INM's defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes could see their expected retirement income maintained at up to 90pc of their restructured pensions under the proposal.

INM, which publishes independent.ie and the country's leading newspapers including the Irish Independent and 'Sunday Independent', has faced criticism amid claims that it was seeking to walk away from the defined benefit pension schemes, which the company's management said is unsustainable.

Without extra funding, plans to wind up the schemes would have seen future pensioners lose 30pc of their expected retirement income.

The pensions of hundreds of DB members had already been cut by some 40pc in 2013 when INM restructured its schemes.

A statement from INM last night makes it clear that company management and board were behind the proposed pension changes - and not shareholders like businessmen Denis O'Brien and Dermot Desmond.

"The shareholders in INM have had no involvement with or any say in the company's pension plans or indeed any decisions in relation to pensions.

"This is a matter solely for the board and the management of the company."

Referring to the shareholders the media company statement said "an important point that has been overlooked is that the shareholders in INM transferred 5pc of the shares in the company to the pension funds in 2013. The value of this transfer to the pension funds was 8.14m".

Talks were held last Friday between management and the trustees, who have asked INM to contribute 12m into replacement DB schemes and give special consideration to members aged 62 and over.

Last night, the company confirmed it had met with the trustees who will today meet with the Pensions Authority.

INM's board, chaired by Leslie Buckley, meets on Thursday.

In the statement, INM moved to address what it described as some "inaccurate" media comment.

"It is not and never has been the intention of Independent News & Media to renege on the agreement with the pension trustees in 2013," said the company.

"INM has and will continue to make a significant pension funding contribution of 11.1m per annum from 2013 to 2023. The total investment across both the defined benefit and defined contribution schemes since 2013 is 35m. The total projected investment from 2013 to 2023 is circa 115m.

"Any funding being made under the defined benefit schemes will continue to be made to the defined contribution scheme."

Last week Mr Buckley led a stormy EGM where members of the DB schemes strongly opposed the passing of two resolutions aimed at cleaning up INM's balance sheet.
A FORMER head of Garda public relations has been announced as the new boss of Twitter in Ireland.

Sinead McSweeney's appointment as managing director for the social network's Irish operations was confirmed less than two weeks after former RTE news journalist Mark Little stepped down from the role.

Ms McSweeney will keep her current job as Twitter's vice-president of public policy and communications in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She has worked for the tech company in Dublin since 2012. Before that, Ms McSweeney was director of communications for An Garda Siochana for five years, a position she held after spending three years as director of media and public relations for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

From 1996 to 2004, Ms McSweeney held a range of political advisory positions in the Irish government including as special adviser to the Minister for Justice and at the Attorney General's Office.

From Midleton in Co Cork, she studied law at University College Cork and qualified as a barrister in 1993. She began her working life as a parliamentary transcriber in the Dail debates unit of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

"I am delighted to take on the role of MD of Twitter in Ireland," said Ms McSweeney. "Having been one of the first members of the Twitter team in Ireland, I have watched the office grow and its people develop over the past four-and-half years. The challenge of leading this great group of people through the next phase is one that I am excited to embrace."

The company's San Francisco- based chief operating officer, Anthony Noto, announced the decision on the social platform yesterday.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Sinead since I joined Twitter and I have seen first hand how she exemplifies Twitter's culture and leadership," said Mr Noto.

"She will bring this wealth of experience to the role of managing director of our EMEA headquarters in Dublin and I have no doubt that she will be an inspirational leader for the team."

Ms McSweeney succeeds Mark Little, who stepped down just six months after taking the top job. Following a company-wide restructuring plan and the announcement of over 300 layoffs, Mr Little said it was time to move on. Twitter employs over 200 people in Dublin.
Rogue One was initially pitched as a different kind of Star Wars film: darker, grittier, unburdened by the sagas traditionally clunky distinctions between good and evil.

Its the reality of war, said director Gareth Edwards upon being picked to oversee this first non-canon Star Wars Story. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie.

Glimmerings of Edwards original vision have made it to screen, just about. But anyone expecting a truly revisionist take on the multi-billion dollar franchise is likely to be underwhelmed.

After all the hype and grand theorising, when it comes to it Rogue One is essentially just another Star Wars romp, albeit smarter, zippier and more emotionally engaging than the dead-eyed George Lucas simulacrum that was last years The Force Awakens.

That isn't to condemn with faint praise. In fact, Rogue One is perhaps the seriess finest outing since Empire Strikes Back and it is surely no coincidence that it shares that classics melancholic arc.

Rogue One, as already pointed out, is marketed a spin-off Star Wars Story rather than an official sequel or prequel : hence the absence of the traditional scene-setting opening crawl.

Nonetheless, were back in that far, far away galaxy from a long time ago  all the way back, in fact, to events immediately preceding the original 1977 blockbuster.

The Galactic Empire is putting the finishing touches to the Death Star, a moon- sized mega-weapon sure to copper-fasten its dominion over the inhabited universe. All that is required is a final lick of paint, tiling for the bathrooms  and the instillation of a laser with the capacity to destroy entire planets.

Bunkered down amid the scenic temples of Yavin 4, meanwhile, is the plucky Rebel Alliance, which suspects the Empire has nefarious plans but requires outside help to connect the dots.

This extra assistance is courtesy of Felicity Jones Jyn Erso, a plucky urchin whose father Galen Erso (Hannibals Mads Mikkelsen) foolishly joined the Empires secret weapons programme and then, even more foolishly, tried to leave the Empires secret weapons programme.

The last Jyn saw of her dad, hed been dragged off in a Star Destroyer to help wicked Imperial mid-manager Orson Krennic (a nicely simmering Ben Mendelsohn in white gore-tex cape) fine-tune the Death Star.

Now, the Rebellion needs Jyn to exploit her contacts with friend of the family Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker)  a rebel so rebellious even the rebels dont want anything to do with with him  and work out what the Empire has up its natty SS-styled sleeves.

Video of the Day

En route to Gerreras desert planet hideout (yesanother Star Wars movie, another desert planet) she accumulates a rag-tag posse, including mercurial Rebel intelligence operation Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), sardonic droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk) and a pair of loveable mercenaries, Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen).

Later the troupe is augmented by defecting Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook  the Night Ofs Riz Ahmed in a part said to have been extensively expanded during five weeks of reshoots. Theres also mid-size spot for Dublins Genevieve OReilly as Alliance big-wig Mon Mothma.

Rogue One arrives amid a swirl of gossip over tensions between director Gareth Edwards and his bosses at Disney, who were allegedly spooked by his vision of a grim and gritty Star Wars.

Parachuted into the production over the summer was veteran Hollywood fixer Tony Gilroy, initially described as script consult but whose role rumours went, quickly metastasised as he set about correcting structural issues, in particular the movies ending.

You can certainly spot the joins, with Jyn and several other key characters undergoing significant personality transformations halfway through and Gerrera, previously central to the plot, marched unceremoniously towards the door.

However, it is by no means clear that Gilroys alterations have damaged Rogue One and may in fact have saved it, as an initially muggy narrative is slimmed down to a straightforward heist romp that, if riddled with logical holes, is soon clipping by at breakneck speed.

As the hero, Jyn is thinly-sketched and could easily have been as uninteresting as the Force Awakens one-note protagonist Rey. Credit to Jones, then, for imbuing the character with a steely melancholy. Moreover, her chemistry with bad-boy Andor visibly sizzles, so that you feel genuine investment in their story.

Surprisingly, its in the technical challenges of mounting a grand space opera that Rogue One trips up (that and the jarring ubiquity of British actors in minor roles  did Disney casting directors walk onto the set of EastEnders and hire whoever wasnt at lunch?).

The combat scenes are hackneyed and the decision to bring back characters from the original Star Wars as computer generated simulations is at once terrifying and ludicrous.

The return, in particular, of a key villain as CG animation half an hour in almost ruins the film  Ive sat through decade-old Playstation games with better effects. The uncanny valley has never felt uncannier.

That, by the way, isnt a reference to Darth Vader who pops up too  allegedly at the insistence of Disney  and brings a dark swagger. Sith happens and then some as the fallen Jedi Master demonstrates the full terror of his villainy in one of the films most stunning fight sequences.

The movie culminates in a cliched pitched battle between the Rebels and the Empire. Yet through the miracle of decent acting by Jones and Luna, you will care about the fate of the insurgents as they infiltrate a Burj Khalifa-esque Imperial base in search of the plans for the Death Star (yes, the very plans by which Luke Skywalker and Han Solo destroy the base in the original Star Wars).

Unless youve been frozen in carbonite their final scenes together will leave lump in a throat  exactly the same feeling you may have had when you sat through Empire Strikes Back for the first time. I can think of no higher praise.

Rogue One opens with midnight screenings Wednesday night.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by unverified reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in Syria's Aleppo.

"The Secretary-General is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties. He has instructed his Special Envoy for Syria to follow up urgently with the parties concerned," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

It comes after The U.S. State Department said on Monday Russia told the United States it wanted a ceasefire to allow civilians leave the Syrian city of Aleppo delayed for several days, a proposal unacceptable in view of the continued attacks on civilians.

"Rather than accepting the U.S. proposal for an immediate cessation, the Russians informed us that a cessation could not start for several days, meaning that the assault by the regime and its supporters will continue until any agreement will go into effect," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing in response to a question about weekend talks in Geneva.

"Given the dire situation in Aleppo and the reports of continued attacks on civilians and infrastructure, this was just simply not acceptable."
An asylum-seeker who assumed a false identity to allow him to work in Ireland, before claiming 50,000 in social welfare payments when he lost his job, has avoided going to prison.

Samba Sow claimed entitlements including job seekers' benefit, job seekers' allowance and rent allowance under the name Moussa Sow over a four-year period between 2011 and 2014.

His deception was flagged by the Department of Social Protection's facial recognition system when he was made legal in 2015, tried to drop his false identity and regularise his situation, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday.

Sow (55) with an address in Kilakee Way, Firhouse, Dublin pleaded guilty to 18 counts of stealing social welfare payments from Phibsborough Post Office, North Circular Road, Dublin 7 and AIB in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 between April 2011 and December 2014.

Handing down a suspended two-year sentence, Judge Catherine Murphy noted that although Sow claimed his entitlements under a false name, he never tried to claim double payments. As soon as he was given an alternative social welfare payment, he ceased claiming the first payment, she said.

Garda Nigel Daly told Dean Kelly BL, prosecuting, that Sow arrived in Ireland from Senegal in 2007 and claimed asylum. He was placed in direct provision in Tralee, Co Kerry and received a payment of 19 a week.

Sow then paid 900 for a French passport with the name Moussa Sow which allowed him to work in the country. He acquired a PPS number under this name and worked in a pub in Dublin for the next four years. While working, he paid income tax and PRSI.

Mr Kelly said Sow was made redundant during the recession and started claiming social welfare payments under the name Moussa Sow. He claimed a total of 50,006 over the next four years, the court heard.

However, when Sow was granted permission to remain in the state, he brought the claim under Moussa Sow to an end and made a legitimate claim in his real name, Mr Kelly said. He was recognised by the department's facial recognition software and later arrested.

He has no previous convictions.

Defence barrister, Paul McCarthy SC, said Sow contacted the Department of Social Protection in October 2015 and arranged to pay back 20 weekly. To date, he has returned 1000 of the money he took.

He is currently living in emergency accommodation and shares a double room with another occupant. He has been there some time and is regarded as a model occupant, the court heard. He continues to support his wife and two children in Senegal and hopes to gain employment soon, Mr McCarthy said.

Gda Daly agreed that had Sow not sought to regularise his situation, he might never have been detected. He also agreed that Sow never tried to double dip or access payments under two names.

Judge Murphy noted a probation services report was extremely positive and found Sow was in no need of further supervision. He is making and will continue to make an honest effort to pay back the money to social welfare, she said.
Customers at a brothel in a rural county town travelled more than 200km for services, it has emerged.

Gardai raided a house in Letterkenny at the weekend after a long-running investigation into a brothel being run there.

And one Romanian arrested at the house had an outstanding arrest warrant in Co Kerry, Letterkenny District Court heard yesterday.

Daniella Ioniata, (28), of Court House Manor, Letterkenny, one of three people detained in the garda raid.

She was charged with aiding or assisting in the operation of a brothel.

Daniele Costache, (19), of no fixed abode, and a man, Florian Nica, (36), of Sanefield Court, Ennis, Co Clare, were charged with the same offence.

Judge Paul Kelly was told the three were detained at a house off Justice Walsh Road just after 8.30pm on Saturday.

A Co Donegal man (73) who was in bed with Ionita was questioned.

Gda Det Peter Cullen told Judge Paul Kelly that when she was charged Ionata had replied: Yes I was working there, but not the owner of the house.

The detective said there was an outstanding warrant for Ionitas arrest for a similar offence in Tralee, Co Kerry, from February 17 this year.

She was released on 500 bail, while the other defendants were given the Probation Act.

She is due to appear at Tralee District Court tomorrow (wed).

The judge ordered the seizure of cash including 810 and Stg120.

The defendants solicitor Patsy Gallagher said the women were from an extremely poor area of Romania where the average weekly wage was 50. He insisted the women were not part of an organised prostitution ring.

Gardai say customers travelled from all over the North West to the house including from Sligo and Coleraine in County Derry. Other men interviewed by gardai as part of their investigations were from west Donegal including Ardara and Dungloe.

Under current legislation brothel customers cannot be detained for any offence.
A judge has jailed a rapist for 15 years, saying he needs to be removed from society until it's safe for him to return.

Richard O'Brien (57) lured a grandmother to a caravan in Dublin before raping her, assaulting her and biting her during a sustained and vicious attack on March 19, 2011.

He then fled to the UK before being extradited in 2013. Last July he was found guilty by a jury of rape, attempted rape, false imprisonment and assault causing harm earlier this year.

At his sentencing hearing last month Mr Justice Tony Hunt had him removed from court after O'Brien repeatedly interrupted proceedings, calling his victim a "filthy prostitute".

Yesterday Mr Justice Hunt said that the harm done by O'Brien to the victim was "very, very great indeed" with "long term, if not permanent damage".

He said that O'Brien had identified her on the night as someone who was a vulnerable person.

He had told her there was a party when in reality he was bringing her to an isolated caravan.

He was tempted to impose a life sentence so that O'Brien would be kept away from the public until the executive deemed it safe.

He said O'Brien was "a very serious threat indeed", but said his case fell just short of one where a life sentence should be imposed.

Imposing a 15-year prison term, Mr Justice Hunt said O'Brien will be in jail for a large part of his remaining life span.

"That's his fault. He needs to be removed from society until it's safe for him to return," he said. He said he was giving some allowance in his sentencing to O'Brien's age and his medical issues.

O'Brien, with a former address in Arlington Lodge, Church Street, Tralee, Co Kerry, had been sentenced in early 2015 after being convicted of separate offences of rape and false imprisonment carried out two months earlier.

He received a six-year sentence for that, backdated to the date of his extradition from the UK.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said she has had nightmares every night for the last five years. She said the attack led to the breakdown of her 23-year relationship and she had suicidal thoughts. She said her relationship with her children and grandchildren had suffered.

"For the last five years of my life I have been existing, not living," she said.
A Co Clare man who strangled a woman he claimed was blackmailing him before dumping her body has been sentenced to life in jail.

FAS worker Colm Deely (41), of School Road in Ballyvaughan, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Deirdre McCarthy (43), between 11pm on March 27, 2011 and noon the following day.

But the jury of seven women and five men found the father-of-two guilty by unanimous verdict in just under three hours of deliberation at the Central Criminal Court on Wednesday.

Today Mr Justice Barry White said he was handing down the mandatory life sentence and that he had no discretion in the matter.

Ms McCarthy was socialising in a local pub with friends including Deely on the night she went missing.

The court heard Ms McCarthys body was found on Fanore Beach four days after later and that Deely did not take part in the search to find her.

It also heard that after her body was found Deely had attempted to take his own life by stabbing himself in the stomach and was hospitalised.

Deely told gardai they were fooling around in Ms McCarthys bed and put his hands around her neck but did not mean to kill her.

He claimed Ms McCarthy started laughing at him, that she was blackmailing him for money saying that she would tell Deelys wife and children.

Mr Patrick Giblin SC defending told the court that his client was sorry for what he had done but intended no harm.

He wishes it to be known he was judged by the jury in legal terms. But my client wishes it to be known he intended no harm in a lay mans sense and he wishes to apologise to all concerned and hopes someday his apology might be accepted, said Mr Giblin.

Ms McCarthys sister Helen Geoghegan read a victim impact statement on behalf of the family.

I dont think we will ever be able to truly put into words the devastation that we still feel each and every day, said Ms Geoghegan.

Dee was a happy, easygoing person who lived a very simple life. She didnt have much need for the material things in life but she was a very caring person who loved life.

She went to work, socialised with her friends and also loved spending time with her family, especially all the children in her life, her nephews and nieces.

On Monday March 28 the day Dee was missing, we were all shocked and confused as to where she was and what had happened to her.

This was not Dee. She would never take off and not say anything to anyone. It was so out of character for her. As time passed it meant that we were now in a search party looking for Dee.

We could not believe this was happening - it was so surreal. In the following days the fear was building in us as to where she was and we were very uncertain of the outcome but we were clinging on to the hope that she would return home.

It haunts us to think how scared and petrified she was that night. Now knowing that the person that did this was asked during the search by my sister and I, did he see or know anything of Dees whereabouts he just stood there and blatantly said no and for the last two years seeing him, he just looks at us and doesnt appear to care for what he has done.

There is no closure as we so often hear. There is no moving on and there is nothing and I mean absolutely nothing that makes feel better.

They say time is a great healer but we would not agree with this. The only thing time has done for our family is to make this tragic loss of Dee more real.

We have agonised over Dees death and for the rest of lives we will have so many unanswered questions.

Deirdres death was totally unnecessary and has left our family to grieve for the rest of our lives.

Evidence

Ms McCarthy, who worked in a B&B in Ballyvaughan was a mutual friend of Deelys and he had known her for up to 20 years.

She was also a friend of Deelys wife and was a witness at their wedding, the court heard.

Witnesses at the trial said they were not aware that Deely and Ms McCarthy were romantically involved.

The accuseds sister Catriona Lucas told Mr Paul Greene SC prosecuting that her brother rang her from a house he was watching for somebody else the day after the body was found.

She said Deely told her that he had said goodnight to his children and that this made her a little uneasy because he repeated that he had done so.

Ms Lucas said Deely told her he and Ms McCarthy had been together and she told him that he could forget about the money and she wanted more saying she would tell his wife and two boys.

Deely told gardai in an interview that he went to Ms McCarthys house where he said he was drinking a lot of vodka and the pair were lying on the bed.

We were kissing and cuddling, I cant remember if we had sex, he said.

She said you can forget about your moneyshe was laughing at me, Mr Deely told gardai.

I must have rolled over and was holding her by the neckit all happened in a flash, he said.

When asked in the interview if putting his hands around her neck caused her death he said: Id say so but I did not mean it.

I was just lying on the bedI put my hand on her neck and hurt her, he added.

I panickedI did not know what to do, he said.

He said he removed her from the house by half lifting and half dragging her and when he put her in the car she was not breathing nor answering him.

I stopped the carI put her over the wallshe rolled down to the seaJesus, I didnt mean any of it, he said.

I lifted her out and put her over the wallI could hear her rolling down to the sea, he added.

I meant none of it to happensomething went out of control, he said.

Deelys counsel Mr Martin Giblin SC defending had raised the defences of provocation and of lack of intent during the trial.

The prosecution said there was no evidence to say that Deely has a propensity to lose self-control, which is necessary for a defence of provocation.

Mr Greene said that Deelys evidence that he was only intimate with Ms McCarthy on two occasions before he was married was not credible.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar gave evidence that the cause of death was asphyxia due to manual strangulation and that blunt force trauma to the head, trunk and extremities was a contributing factor to the death.

But another pathologist Professor Jack Crane giving evidence for the defence told the court that bruising found on the body did not indicate Ms McCarthy was assaulted before she died.
A number of men who received sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment for an aggravated burglary in Tipperary are set to appeal against the severity of their sentences in March.

Dublin residents Patrick Gately (29), with an address at Primrose Grove, Darndale, Dean Byrne (23), of Cabra Park, Dublin 17, John Joyce (22), Lentisk Lawn, Donaghmede, Patrick Joyce (24), of Beaumont Hall, Beaumont Woods and Thomas Flynn (22), of Moatview Avenue, Coolock were among seven men who pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary at the home of the Corcoran family in south Tipperary on November 21, 2013.

Sentences of 20 years imprisonment with the final four suspended were handed down to Gately and Dean Byrne; John Joyce was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with the final four suspended; Patrick Joyce was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment with the final four suspended and Thomas Flynn received a 12 year sentence made consecutive to a sentence already being served.

The men were sentenced by Judge Thomas Teehan at Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court on October 1, 2015.

Expand Close Patrick Gately (28) of Primrose Grove, Darndale, Dublin 17, was sentenced to 20 years, with four suspended. He had 85 previous convictions / Facebook

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Whatsapp Patrick Gately (28) of Primrose Grove, Darndale, Dublin 17, was sentenced to 20 years, with four suspended. He had 85 previous convictions

Now, all five have lodged appeals against the severity of their sentences.

In the Court of Appeal yesterday, Mr Justice George Birmingham set March 2 next as the date for the men's hearing.

Expand Close John Joyce (21) of Lentisk Lawn, Donaghmede, Dublin, was sentenced to 15 years, with four of those suspended. He had 55 previous convictions / Facebook

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Whatsapp John Joyce (21) of Lentisk Lawn, Donaghmede, Dublin, was sentenced to 15 years, with four of those suspended. He had 55 previous convictions

They were not in court for the procedural matter.

Submissions on behalf of all men have been lodged with the Court of Appeal office with the exception of Gately, records show.

Expand Close Dean Byrne (22) of Cabra Park, Dublin 17, was given a sentence of 20 years, with four suspended. He had 120 previous convictions / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dean Byrne (22) of Cabra Park, Dublin 17, was given a sentence of 20 years, with four suspended. He had 120 previous convictions

Last June a legal aid certificate was transferred from one firm of solicitors acting for Gately to another firm which had come on record.

On that occasion, Mr Justice Birmingham granted legal aid to Gately on the same terms as in the Circuit Court.

Terror

The group were involved in one of the most horrific and violent aggravated burglaries to take place in Ireland.

The gang broke into the home of Mark and Emma Corcoran armed with a sawn-off shotgun, a handgun and a machete.

Mrs Corcoran managed to dial 999 and left her mobile phone on for seven minutes.

Read More

Mrs Corcoran said she told the raiders that her children - aged eight, six and two - were in the house and was told "we'll kill your f***ing kids".

Since the horror, the grandmother of the family has praised Gardai for their handling of the case.

Cathleen Corcoran called local Gardai absolutely brilliant, and said she could not thank them enough for the support they had offered to her son and his family after the terrifying raid on their home.

The Garda were absolutely brilliant in helping Mark and Emma through the ordeal they suffered, she told RTEs Liveline.

They did so much to help the family afterwards, and they could not have acted quicker in catching those involved.

I must give them that  within 50 minutes they had five of them that night and the next day they had the other two caught. They were brilliant.

Read More

Mr Corcoran suffered a fractured eye socket after he was struck with the butt of the fire-arm, and later had to have four separate surgeries to reconstruct his face.
An Irishman described by the FBI as the world's 'largest facilitator of child porn' has lost legal challenges to his extradition to the United States and to the decision not to prosecute him in Ireland.

Eric Eoin Marques, who is alleged to be the owner and administrator of an anonymous hosting site known as Freedom Hosting, is wanted by the US authorities to face charges relating to conspiring to distribute and advertise child pornography and advertising and distributing child pornography.

The charges against Mr Marques relate to images on over a hundred anonymous websites described as being extremely violent, graphic and depicting the rape and torture of pre-pubescent children.

The 30-year-old with an address at Mountjoy Square in central Dublin, has been in custody since his arrest in August 2013.

His surrender was ordered by the High Court last December but this was stayed pending an appeal.

Dismissing Mr Marques' judicial review appeal today/yesterday(MONDAY) Mr Justice Michael Peart said he agreed with the High Court's conclusion that the DPP's decision not to prosecute Mr Marques in Ireland was not reviewable and the Director was not obliged to give reasons for her decision not to prosecute.

Mr Marques had no right be it statutory, constitutional or otherwise to be prosecuted for an offence here even where he offers to plead guilty. There was simply no such right known to the law, Mr Justice Peart said.

Citing case law, he said the constitutional right of access to the courts is a right to initiate litigation, not a right to compel suit or prosecution.

Mr Justice Peart said Mr Marques had no free standing right to be given reasons for the decision not to prosecute. If he had no right to even request what he was requesting, he had no right to reasons why his request was refused.

Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said they agreed with Mr Justice Peart's judgment.

Dismissing Mr Marques' appeal against his extradition order, Mr Justice Peart said the single ground of appeal was essentially that, if he was convicted, Mr Marques would be exposed to a sentencing regime in America that would be unconstitutional here.

It was submitted that a sentencing jugde in America is obliged to take account of other uncharged conduct as well as conduct an accused has been acquitted of at sentencing and to do so on the lower standard or proof  on the balance of probabilities.

Mr Justice Peart said the apprehensions expressed by Mr Marques were based on speculation. In so far as he feared that a potential sentence could be enhanced by reference to him allegedly making a financial gain, that fear could not amount to a substantial or real risk of unfairness.

Mr Justice Peart said he agreed with the High Court judge's conclusions that all of the common law cases referred to the court concerned the burden of proof at trial. None of them demonstrated a universal requirement that all matters at sentencing be determined beyond reasonable doubt.

Referring to the European Court of Human Rights case known as 'Abu Qatada v the United Kingdon', Mr Justice Peart said the facts relied on by Mr Marques cannot by any stretch of the imagination be compared to the heinous and egregious prospect of a conviction based upon evidence or confessions  extracted through the use of torture.

That, unlike the apprehended regime in the present case, was something that very clearly breached an international norm.

Mr Justice Birmingham and Mr Justice Sheehan again said they agreed with Mr Justice Peart's judgment.

The case will come before the Court of Appeal next week to determine final orders.
A man with 162 previous convictions who was caught with housebreaking implements within 24 hours of his release from custody has been given a suspended sentence.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Christy Connors (27) has not spent Christmas with his family since 2008.

Connors of Cookstown Cottages, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty to production of a rod like device to be used in a theft or a burglary in Dun Laoghaire on January 28, 2015.

In January 2013 Connors received a four year sentence with the final year suspended for assault of an off duty garda and the theft of her handbag on February 2, 2011 at Cornelscourt Shopping Centre in Dublin.

He was released on January 9, 2015 and rearrested for burglary three days later. He got High Court bail on January 26, 2015 and committed this offence within 24 hours of being released.

Judge Melanie Greally had adjourned sentencing with Connors in custody to allow a probation report be prepared after hearing evidence in the case last March.

Judge Greally on Monday said Connors had a difficult personal background and spent a significant period of his young life in prison. She noted that he had recently seen the error of his ways and expressed a desire to turn his life around.

She said he had been applying his time in custody to worthwhile pursuits and imposed a three year sentence which she suspended in full. She ordered 18 months probation supervision.

Garda Neill Doyle told Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, that he was on patrol on Harbour Road in Dun Laoghaire when he saw a car in which Connors was a passenger. He followed the car to Charlemont Avenue and saw Connors exit with a stick like object in his hand.

Gda Doyle said it was a whip like implement which was used as a fishing device to hook out car keys from houses. He identified himself as a garda and told Connors to stop.

Connors dropped the implement and took up an aggressive stance. Gardai struggled to restrain him and he tried to bite one of the gardai to free himself. He was pepper sprayed before being arrested.

Gardai also found gloves, hat and a glass breaking hammer in the car.

Kenneth Kerins BL, defending, said Connors' mother had died since the last hearing and his client had been unable to attend her funeral which had compounded his desire to put these matters behind him. He said Connors was doing very well in custody.

At the earlier hearing in March defence counsel said Connors had a difficult background with no strong male role model. He said Connors was using substances from a young age which lead to him becoming involved in criminality. He handed in a letter from Connors to the court.

He said since 2008 Connors had not spent Christmas with his family or attended any family event of note. He said Connors accepted this could not continue and was anxious to get on with his life.

Mr Kerins asked the court to leave Connors with some hope and to structure a sentence which would allow the probation service to intervene with him prior to his departure from prison.
An obstetrician who made a number of serious errors when treating new mothers under her care has been found guilty of poor professional performance on 17 counts by a Medical Council inquiry.

Dr Andrea Hermann, who worked as an obstetric and gynaecology registrar at Sligo General Hospital in 2013 and 2014, was also found guilty of professional misconduct on three counts.

The poor professional performance findings relate to the care provided to six mothers between August 2013 and February 2014.

The Irish Medical Council inquiry also found that Dr Hermann failed to disclose to the hospital conditions imposed on her by the Irish Medical Council as a result of a previous disciplinary hearing. These conditions included a requirement to undergo retraining and supervision.

The inquiry found that Dr Hermann failed to perform an elective caesarean section with due skill, making an abnormal wound incision on one mother.

'Patient A' said Dr Hermann told her she "cut her in the wrong place" during the procedure on December 4, 2013.

In relation to 'Patient B', the inquiry found that Dr Hermann failed to obtain informed consent prior to carrying out a membrane sweep during an antenatal visit on August 15, 2013.

Shocked

In relation to 'Patient C', the inquiry found that Dr Hermann failed to establish whether a contraceptive coil was still in place during a follow-up appointment. This patient later conceived and miscarried, the inquiry heard.

Dr Vimla Sharma, a consultant gynaecologist from Sligo General Hospital, previously told the inquiry that she was "shocked" when she learned that Dr Hermann had given a blood thinning drug to 'Patient D' who was already at risk of heavy bleeding.

The inquiry has found that Dr Hermann prescribed Innohep Tinzaparin to Patient D when it was not appropriate to do so.

Read more: 'Doctor said she cut me in wrong place', woman tells fitness-to-practise inquiry

The inquiry also found that Dr Hermann failed to display adequate surgical skill while closing up the uterus of 'Patient F' following a caesarean section.

Dr Hermann's former supervisor said she made "an astonishing mistake" while performing the section on 'Patient F'.

Dr Hermann left the lower half of a mother's uterus "in the breeze" after failing to suture the section properly, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist said Dr Heather Langan, from Sligo General Hospital.

Dr Hermann, who qualified in Germany, had worked in The Galway Clinic up to 2009. She was the subject of a previous Medical Council inquiry in 2009 and 2010.

The Medical Council had then recommended that she be suspended from June 2010 to June 2011 and that certain conditions be attached to her registration.

The report of the fitness- to-practise committee will now go to the full Medical Council. It will determine any sanction that may apply.
Ryanair has filed a motion with a UK court saying it would no longer accept the jurisdiction of English and Welsh courts in flight delay cases. Photo: Getty

Ryanair has filed a motion with a UK court saying it would no longer accept the jurisdiction of English and Welsh courts in flight delay cases, it has been claimed.

Consumer compensation firm FlightDelays.co.uk said the airline filed the motion in a Liverpool court in relation to case concerning a customer called Ms Menditta.

Ms Menditta made a claim for 250 against Ryanair after her flight from Italy to the UK was delayed by five hours.

Her claim was made to the Liverpool County Court on June 1 of this year after receiving no response from a letter of claim.

Ryanair responded to the claim on July 25, saying Ms Menditta would have to make her claim through the Irish judicial system.

FlightDelays panel solicitor Nicholas Parkinson said it had come as a "great shock".

"If passengers were only able to bring a claim using Irish solicitors in the Irish courts, the vast majority of passengers living outside the Republic of Ireland will probably not bother to bring a claim at all - especially bearing in mind that most claims against Ryanair are only worth between 210 and 350.

"To our knowledge, no other reputable airlines have a similar clause in their terms and conditions."

FlightDelays bears the brunt of legal costs for claimants in cases of compensation in relation to delayed flights.

The company works off a no win, no fee basis. However, it takes 29pc of compensation won, as well as 25, and VAT.

Ryanair said it required customers to submit flight disruption claims directly.

"We do this solely to ensure that all Ryanair customers will receive 100pc of their 261 compensation (250) without deduction of claims-chaser fees, which in the case of Mr Parkinson/Flight Delays can amount to 50pc of the compensation payable to the passenger.

"Since Ryanair customers can claim this compensation directly from us, with no fees, these 'claims chasers' provide no useful service whatsoever.

"Claims chasers don't like our terms and conditions, because they are designed solely to protect our customers, and ensure they receive 100pc of the compensation they are due," the company said in a statement.

Mr Parkinson said that FlightDelays was not a claim chaser and that Ryanair was a "claim dodger".

"They're calling us claims chasers, is it not the case that they are claims dodgers?" Mr Parkinson said.

"People that are making claims come to us for two reasons. Some people just want someone else to do the service for them but a lot of people have tried to contact Ryanair."

Ryanair issued a statement to Independent.ie responding to the claims; "This is untrue. Ryanair complies with all EU 261 legislation and deals with each claim on a case by case basis."
DFB battle the chimney blaze at The Clarence Hotel Photo: Twitter

Dublin Fire Brigade were called to battle a chimney fire at The Clarence Hotel in Dublin.

Two units of the fire brigade battled the blaze that broke out just after 9pm on Monday.

The chimney fire on the South quays has been dealt with & the road closures have been lifted. pic  @PumpItLowda #Dublin #fire #quays pic.twitter.com/cgt3yD4wvA  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) December 12, 2016

The famous hotel, owned by U2's Bono, is located on Wellington Quay, Dublin 2.

It took over an hour for the fire to be extingusihed.

No injuries were reported.

Road diversions were put in place and gardai were called to manage the trafiic.
The proposed new school will have 16 classrooms, with two classes for each year. (Stock)

The race for control of a new primary school in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, due to open next September, is hotting up.

St Nicholas Montessori Society, which runs a teacher training college and a small private school in the south Dublin town, has announced that it plans to bid for patronage.

"This is a new departure for us", St Nicholas director Ian McKenna said. "We have a waiting list and we haven't got the capacity to take them."

He said the board of trustees saw it as an opportunity to establish a primary school, based on Montessori principles, within the State system.

Mr McKenna said changes to the primary curriculum in recent years brought it closer to the Montessori model.

The St Nicholas school is based on the Montessori teaching philosophy and has 120 pupils from pre-school up to sixth class. Annual fees are 2,800 for three to four year olds and 3,475 for older pupils.

The proposed new school will have 16 classrooms, with two classes for each year. The Education Department is planning for an intake of 27 for each of two junior infant streams next September.

Fees

If St Nicholas Montessori School was awarded patronage, it would have to stop charging school fees, but Mr McKenna said a benefit being within the State system would be that it would qualify for funding from the Education Department.

Dun Laoghaire is the location for one of three new primary schools opening in September 2017 for which Education Minister Richard Bruton invited potential patrons to apply.

There is already keen competition for the school. Other patron bodies quick to announce their bids include Educate Together, Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board, for a community national school, and An Foras Patrunachta, which runs Irish-medium schools.

Parental preference is a key factor in the decision-making process and the Education Department has given patrons until January 6 to submit their applications. Patrons are now asking parents to sign up to them.

The Education Department will announce the outcome of the process in February.

Mr McKenna said all the patron bodies did "fantastic work", but St Nicholas wanted to offer parents another option.

The St Nicholas school, which has been running for more than 35 years, describes itself as multi-denominational, with a Christian ethos.
Children were given a 45-minute test aged three to gauge intelligence, language and motor skills, and were assessed for their levels of tolerance, restlessness, impulsiveness and social disadvantage. Stock photo: PA

A simple test at the age of three can determine whether children will grow up to be a burden on society, needing excessive welfare, spending time in prison or becoming obese, a 35-year study has shown.

Scientists at King's College London followed more than 1,000 children from before school until they were 38, to find out if it was possible to predict who would go on to lead troubled lives.

All were given a 45-minute test aged three to gauge intelligence, language and motor skills, and were assessed for their levels of tolerance, restlessness, impulsiveness and social disadvantage.

After 35 years, the researchers found one-fifth of the group was responsible for 81pc of the group's overall criminal convictions, three-quarters of its drug prescriptions, two-thirds of welfare benefit payments and more than half of nights in hospital.

But crucially, they discovered that the outcomes could have been predicted decades earlier, simply by looking at which children attained the lowest test scores aged three.

Burden

The team believes that if all children could be tested, it would be possible to work out which were at greatest risk, so that interventions could be made to prevent them slipping into a life where they were a burden on the state.

"About 20pc of the population is using the lion's share of a wide array of public services," said Prof Terrie Moffitt, of King's College and Duke University in North Carolina.

"The same people use most of the NHS, the criminal courts, insurance claims for disabling injury, pharmaceutical prescriptions and special welfare benefits.

"We also... found that 20pc begin their lives with mild problems with brain function and brain health when they were very small children. Looking at health examinations really changed the whole picture."

As well as increased criminality and NHS use, the most costly participants of the study also carried 40pc of the obese weight.

The study was published in the journal 'Nature Human Behaviour'. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Five gardai who had expected to be promoted to the rank of Chief Superintendent have written to Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald claiming their "unblemished careers" are being tarnished by delays in the process.

The officers are the final five from a list of 18 selected in May for promotion but will have to go through a new series of interviews as the panel expires on December 31.

This comes despite the fact eight key Chief Superintendent positions are currently vacant, including in the Dublin Metropolitan Region which oversees requests for access to the force's Armed Response Unit.

Ms Fitzgerald is expected to take part in an event to highlight the roll-out of new Garda vehicles and equipment later this week as part of the ongoing battle against gangland crime in the capital.

The row over appointments comes ahead of the transfer of power for promotions from the Government to the Policing Authority. The Tanaiste's Department said the superintendents were informed by the Garda Commissioner that when they applied for promotion they would be placed on a panel that would lapse at the end of year or when the Authority took over appointments.

"It is normal practice for panels to have an expiry date so as to facilitate fresh competitions to include persons who have become eligible in the intervening period," a spokesperson said.

However, in their letter, seen by the Irish Independent, the officers said the declaration relating to the expiration of the panel "was presented in such a way that if the candidate didn't sign, then the interview wouldn't continue".

"That was the extent of the knowledge each candidate had of any potential difficulty that might arise," said the letter.

It adds that the gardai have received "advice" that the "significance of that declaration may be nullified in the way it was presented".

The letter, which has also been sent to the Garda Commissioner and Policing Authority, said the manner in which the five officers are being treated is "inherently unfair".

It adds that if the "legitimate expectations" of the candidates are not met it will "undoubtedly cast aspersions on our characters".

A Garda spokesman said the appointment of Chief Superintendents is a matter for the Government.

"In general the Commissioner has publicly commented on several occasions on the need for critical vacancies in the organisation to be filled," they said.

The Policing Authority noted that it "previously supported the filling of critical posts up to the limit of the approved strength as determined by the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform".

Senior officers' dual roles

Four of the country's Chief Superintendents are currently tasked with responsibility for two roles due to Garda vacancies.

Despite a panel of superintendents having five officers ready and approved for promotion, it appears the gaps will be allowed to continue for months. Among the unfilled positions is the role of Chief Superintendent for the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), based in Harcourt Square.

At present the Chief Superintendent for the DMR East division is double-jobbing in this role.

Similarly the Chief Superintendent who is charged with ensuring professional standards are adhered to nationwide is also now responsible for the Garda Technical Bureau.

The senior officer in charge of Crime Policy and Administration must also take care of internal affairs.

The Chief Superintendent whose official job is to oversee Roads Policing and Major Event/Emergency Management in the DMR division also has responsibility for the Garda National Traffic Bureau.
William and Craig pictured with members of the Peshmerga military force.

Irish backpackers who visited the front line of a war zone in Iraq have been described as "foolhardy and naive" for associating themselves with Kurdish forces.

William Meara (26) and his pal Craig Reynolds (24), who travelled to a notorious front line of war in northern Iraq as part of a backpacking trip around the world, said they were "terrified" when brought to the notorious Daquq last week.

The front line has seen a number of deaths of Kurdish militants, the most recent of which came when an Isil sniper gunned down a fighter in mid-November.

The pair have spent the past two months travelling across the Middle East.

After hitch-hiking from the Iranian border to Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq they made acquaintances with Kurdish freedom fighters, the Peshmerga military force - some of which were fighting from different parts of the world.

Mr Meara told the Irish Independent that a Canadian freedom fighter was their link as they visited Daquq the day after a late night drinking session with locals.

"He introduced us to his friend. The next morning he decided he'd invite us out and try to get us out on to the front line," Mr Meara said.

"We must have said something when we were out with him the night before and that's how he got the idea.

"Before we knew it we were meeting all of these high-profile officials. There was a commander of the local area with us.

"It was absolutely terrifying to be honest.

"It was probably one of the scariest things I've ever done," he said.

The two men posed for photos for their blog 'Ready for Road', smiling with a number of soldiers who were holding machine guns and assault rifles.

While making the most of the experience, Mr Meara attempted to take some more photographs through the sandbags at the front line, but was pulled back immediately.

"I was trying to take pictures but the lads were just like, 'no stand back, this is serious'," he said.

"We were talking to the guys at the outpost and whatever they said to the lads in our convoy, they decided it wasn't safe for us to be there, because we had no military training.

"They were making gestures, in other words, we were in a vulnerable position and shouldn't be there. Even though something might not happen, it wasn't safe," he said.

Risky

The action by the pair was not met warmly by Irish security analyst, Dr Tom Clonan, who said it was risky business and that a number of governments could be looking for information from them.

"It's because of their proximity to a group that is operating in combat in Iraq," Dr Clonan said.

"There'd be a number of governments that might be interested in speaking to them.

"I would be very nervous of posing for a photograph with weapons in an environment where combat is taking place.

"It's just naive, they shouldn't be doing that," he said.
Martin Mahon (left) has been found guilty of the attempted murder of Gillian McCann Johnston

A Dublin man has been convicted of attempting to murder a woman from Co Antrim by plunging a knife into her neck during a frenzied attack in the US.

Martin Mahon, originally from Walkinstown in Dublin, has been convicted of attempting to murder his former partner, Gillian McCann Johnston, in Florida.

Ms McCann Johnston has told Independent.ie she's "relieved it's over". She also claimed he showed "no remorse" during the trial.

Ms McCann Johnston, who is originally from Co. Antrim, met Mahon in Dublin in 2010. He was home on holidays after spending several years in the US.

They started a relationship and McCann Johnson then joined Mahon in Florida.

However the couple split up in the summer of 2014, with Ms McCann Johnson forced to get a restraining order against the man in September of that year.

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The trial heard that during the afternoon of October 27 2014, Mahon called to the woman's apartment in Fort Lauderdale. While there, he tried to convince his ex to drop the restraining order.

When she refused, he left the apartment, only to return at approximately 6am the following morning and stab the woman in the neck. He then attempted to cut his own neck.

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Fortunately, a nearby friend heard the woman screaming and was able to alert the authorities. Ms McCann-Johnston miraculously survived the ordeal.

Friday last, Mahon was found guilty of second degree attempted murder and violating a restraining order.

Ms McCann-Johnston told Independent.ie: "I am just relieved that it's over and he can't hurt anyone else. The truth won. He showed no remorse at all. He couldn't man up and tell the truth."

He is being held in Broward County Jail in southern Florida, with sentencing due in February.

After the incident Ms McCann Johnston, who runs a cleaning business, told friends on Facebook: "I'm so happy to be alive... guess it wasn't my time to go... and the scars will heal."

If you are affected by the article above, call the Samaritans Helpline on 116-123
Pip was rescued by the DSPCA and placed in foster care

The DSPCA rescued a young pup that was "left for dead" in an isolated field, with extensive wounds.

Seventh-month-old Pip was rescued by the DSPCA last week after being alerted by a local pound.

We got a call from the pound saying they found a dog in an isolated field and they though it was dead.

The video shows Pip during the first hour he was brought into the DSPCA. Our team initially thought he was a senior dog who was on his way out but after surgery they realised he was just a pup," Suzanne McGovern from the DSPCA told Independent.ie.

Suzanne said that Pip is recovering well, but initially took hours to respond.

He wasnt responding initially but after some food and medication he began to come around.

After recovering in the isolation unit, Pip was fostered by the receptionist at the DSPCA.

Pip broke all of our hearts when he came in. When he was discovered he was in a very bad shape. He had really extensive open wounds. We think he was used as a bait dog or a fighter dog because he was in a really bad way. He was left for dead in an isolated field with no CCTV or anything.

The DSCPA have launched a new Christmas appeal as they said they experience a huge increase in animals at the shelter at this time of the year.

At Christmas time, some people abandon their pets because they want a new puppy or because theyre at home more and dont want their animals around. Our intake goes up tremendously at this time every year.

This year the DSPCA Christmas appeal is going towards upgrading the charitys isolation unit.

It badly needs an upgrade. Were hoping to raise 20,000 to install new heating and plumbing. Its desperately needed.

You can donate to the DSPCA at http://www.dspca.ie/donate
Health Minister Simon Harris is to set up a working group in his department which will examine ways of establishing a fund specially for the purchasing of pharmaceuticals. Stock image

Part of the health budget could be diverted into a new 'drugs fund' for buying new medicines, the Irish Independent has learned.

Health Minister Simon Harris is to set up a working group in his department which will examine ways of establishing a fund specially for the purchasing of pharmaceuticals.

It comes amid furore over access to the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi which improves lung function for many patients.

Its manufacturer, Vertex, had quoted a price of 160,000 per patient annually, or 400m in total, but the HSE had said it was willing to pay only 75m.

Read more: 'We'll work with Ireland for access to Orkambi' - Scottish Health secretary

Sources said Mr Harris would announce the working group tomorrow to coincide with the publication of the HSE's service plan for 2017.

The group will be charged with finding efficiencies in the existing pharmaceutical spend in hospitals, with any savings to be diverted to the drugs fund.

Separately, the Irish Independent understands the Cabinet will today be briefed on the HSE's spending plan for next year.

It is understood the plan will see funding increases compared to 2016 in a number of key areas.

These include:
A survey of fees in hospitals around the country found the daily rate can range from 3 to 15, while the hourly fee can vary from 1.20 to 2.70. Photo: Bloomberg

Patients and visitors are shelling out over 8,000 a day in car parking charges, a new survey by the Irish Independent has revealed.

The unpopular "tax on the sick" is generating huge annual income, including nearly 3m for Cork University Hospital.

A survey of fees in hospitals around the country found the daily rate can range from 3 to 15, while the hourly fee can vary from 1.20 to 2.70.

It follows a separate survey of hospital car parking charges by the Irish Cancer Society, which found cancer patients are paying up to 63 a week.

The charity showed the average cost of hospital parking for four hours is dearest in Dublin, where it amounts to 8.86, and cheapest in Connacht/Ulster, at 4.67.

It called for hospitals to scrap parking charges for cancer patients.

However, figures obtained by this newspaper reveal the real extent of the financial burden on all patients and families who have to pay several visits to hospital and must use the car park for a number of hours.

The fees that are forcing them to pay out around 58,000 a week in car parking charges to hospitals across the country include:

Cork University Hospital: 2.70/hour. 15 max;

Mater Hospital Dublin: 3/ hour. 15 for 24 hours;

St James's Hospital Dublin: 2.50/hour. 15 daily charge;

Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin: 3.20 for first hour. 5 for 1-2 hours. 10 daily charge. 36 weekly rate;

Letterkenny Hospital, Donegal: 1.20/hour. 15 for one week;

University Hospital, Galway: 2/hour. 9 daily rate. 30 for one week;

University Hospital, Limerick: 2 first hour. 10 daily rate;

Kerry General Hospital: 3 for 20 minutes to 1 hour. 12 daily rate.

The HSE has no guidelines for hospitals on car parking charges. The Irish Cancer Society said an hour's parking in the Mater Hospital in the north inner city of Dublin was just 1 less than the price of parking in St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre.

Some hospitals offer concessions or free car parking to cancer patients including St Luke's in Dublin, Mayo, South Tipperary, Kerry General, Wexford, Portiuncula and Cork University Hospital. Informal arrangements also apply in hospitals in Tullamore, Letterkenny, St Vincent's in Dublin and Limerick Hospital.

Hospitals have defended the charges, saying the money generated is reinvested in services and the upkeep of the car park.

The charges mean spaces are not occupied by commuters or shoppers while also helping the free flow of traffic on campus.
Irish Water has told the regulator that the original budget of 5.5bn needed to be spent between 2015 and 2021 will be 'insufficient', and that an additional 1.1bn is required. Stock Image

The cost of upgrading the water network to eliminate health hazards and provide clean and safe drinking water has risen by more than 1bn.

Irish Water has told the regulator that the original budget of 5.5bn needed to be spent between 2015 and 2021 will be "insufficient", and that an additional 1.1bn is required.

The figure comes as the special Dail committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Service meets today to begin a three-month process aimed at deciding how the network is funded.

The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has approved total spending of just over 1.8bn in 2017 and 2018. The figure is 165m less than the amount sought by the utility.

The CER said the lower figure was approved to drive efficiency, help reduce costs and ensure customers were protected. However, the Dail committee is likely to ask why the projected cost of upgrades has risen by 20pc despite the lower figure of 5.5bn being decided upon just last year.

In its decision on funding for the next two years, the CER said Irish Water had been "prudent" in delivery of its capital investment programme. But as the utility had learned more about the scale and state of repair of the infrastructure - coupled with emerging priorities and higher environmental standards - it was "now of the view" that more money was required.

Two projects alone - the new supply for Dublin and the Midlands and drainage project for the Greater Dublin Area - will cost 1.2bn. The CER said Irish Water could defer only projects if there was a need to accelerate delivery of one with a higher priority. The regulator also said while the utility was "on track" to remain within the spending framework allocated from October 2014 to the end of this year, it warned about the high cost of service-level agreements.

Read more: Families face being hit with water tax to fund upgrades

These oblige the utility to pay city and county councils to operate the network on a day-to-day basis, and were demanded by the previous government.

But they are adding "significantly" to overall expenditure - the cost of providing drinking water is between 60pc and 80pc higher compared with other utilities, and between 80pc and 90pc higher for waste water.

The CER also noted that changes under the Water Services Act 2014 "drove cost increases" for Irish Water because they changed timelines and capped domestic charges.

On metering, it said some 884,000 will be in the ground at a cost of 500m by year end. The budget was 615m and just over one million were expected.

Some 46m was budgeted for first-fix free, where external leaks in homes were repaired to conserve water, but just 19m has been spent due to a lower uptake than expected.

Overall, Irish Water is saving 65 million litres of water a day through the first-fix-free programme and pipe replacement. The target was 60 million litres.
Former Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern has taken a diverging view from his successor on how to find justice for the family of murdered prison officer Brian Stack.

Mr Ahern has refused to take a hard line on the Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams for withholding the identity of a senior IRA figure who investigated the Mr Stack's murder, saying there are "implications always about breaching some of the things from the past".

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The ex-Taoiseach said he warned "16 or 17 years ago" that situations like the Stack case would emerge unless a peace and truth commission was established to help families get information on attacks linked to The Troubles.

"I floated that but the kite fell flat. There was no takers so I never pursued it again," Mr Ahern said.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and Taoiseach Enda Kenny have both said that a statement given to the Dail by Mr Adams last week was incomplete and that he needed to give over more information about the Stack case to gardai.

Read more: 'If he feels he can, he will' - Ahern says there are 'implications' for Gerry Adams if he discloses information on Stack murder

"I'm very clear that the leader of Sinn Fein has knowledge of people who can be of great assistance to the gardai, on this case," Mr Martin said.

"If he genuinely wants to bring people to justice for the murder of Brian Stack, well in my view he is not prepared to do that."

Only a handful of Sinn Fein's elected representatives have come out to publicly defend Mr Adams in recent days, while the party leader himself has struggled in a series of gruelling media interviews.

He is refusing to name a senior IRA figure who probed the 1983 murder and will not attempt to find out what 'sanction' was applied to the killers.

When asked about the Stack controversy, Mr Ahern spoke in a wider context, saying it is "horrendously difficult" to find answers for families.

"It's very hard to put the circumstances of now into the circumstances of then," he said.

The former Taoiseach said Mr Adams had co-operated with gardai in relation to certain cases in recent years and "if he feels he can, he will and I suppose if he feels he can't, he won't".

However, Mr Ahern warned that there would be "thousands of these cases" into the future.

"I remember having to explain to the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which took place in May '74, how the file was closed in August '74. That's what happened in those days," he said.

"Say if there was a major murder today and the file was closed in three months, there would be outrage. That was probably the biggest single terrorism incident that took place in the whole roubles in the south, equalled maybe by Omagh in the North, but the file was closed after a few months."

Mr Ahern, who was to the forefront of negotiating the Good Friday Agreement, said he had dealt with victims on all sides.

"I sat with British Army widows, RUC families, nationalists, republicans, loyalists.

"They all came to me over the years and it's very hard to say to them that we can do nothing about it. There are historical inquiry groups now examining it. But it is horrendously difficult," he said.
Firefighters tackle the fire at the old warehouse that used to house the Asgard II training ship. Photo: Garry ONeill

Residents were warned to remain indoors in a Co Wicklow town after a massive blaze at a warehouse sent asbestos into the air.

Emergency services responded to reports of a fire at an old shipyard on South Quay, Arklow.

The fire broke out about 10am yesterday after locals reported sounds of a large explosion at the facility.

Firefighters from Arklow, Wicklow and Rathdrum rushed to the scene to tackle the major incident. Local businesses were closed as asbestos fumes were carried in the air currents.

The fire was eventually brought under control at 4pm, but emergency services remained at the cordoned-off scene to monitor the situation.

The HSE was notified due to the warehouse being constructed with asbestos.

It is understood that the building was an old shipyard commissioned to build and house the Asgard II training ship. It is currently used to store card packaging.

Officers from Arklow Garda Station are investigating the blaze.

Meanwhile, there was major traffic disruption caused in Dublin city centre yesterday afternoon following a domestic fire at an abandoned building.

Residents in a semi-detached house on Upper Gardiner Street were alerted to the blaze when a fireman banged on their door and said they had to leave for their safety.

A Dublin Fire Brigade spokesperson confirmed that four units and a turntable attended the scene. The first call was received at 2.46pm.

The blaze was brought under control after 3pm, with the street reopened a short time later.
Sean McKeon swims in floods on Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork city in 2014. Photo: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

The most ambitious flood defence scheme in Irish history will provide critical protection for parts of Cork.

Office of Public Works (OPW) Minister Sean Canney said the long-awaited scheme, expected to cost around 140m, will ensure the city is protected from the tidal flooding that has caused city centre damage five times in the past eight years.

The Cork scheme is the biggest ever attempted in Ireland. It will begin construction next year - but won't be fully completed until 2022.

In 2009, Cork suffered what has been described as the worst flooding in its 800-year history with large parts of the city centre left underwater.

The damage from that flooding was estimated at more than 100m.

Benefit

Cork city's new scheme is part of a total 300m outlay on flood defences across Cork when schemes in Fermoy, Mallow, Bandon, Skibbereen, Blackpool, Glanmire, Midleton and Clonakilty are taken into account.

It is estimated that more than 900 properties will immediately benefit from the enhanced flood protection systems.

Cork City Council and the OPW have agreed that the Morrison's Island area of Cork city centre - which has been subjected to five major bouts of flooding since 2009 - should have its relief works fast-tracked as part of the overall scheme.

That is expected to offer greater protection for vulnerable parts of the city centre including key trading areas such as Oliver Plunkett Street, the South Mall, Winthrop Street and Pembroke Street.

It is now hoped that, within two years, these flood-prone areas will have new defences in place.

However, the full benefits of the OPW scheme won't be on offer for Cork until 2022 given the five-year construction period involved.

Important

A total of 430m will be spent by the Government on capital flood protection schemes by 2021.

Cork Business Association (CBA) Chief Executive, Lawrence Owens, said fast-tracked elements of the flood relief scheme are hugely important.

"It is way ahead of where we would have been if we had to run with the original OPW plan," he said.

"This element has taken a huge part of the original plan and, thanks to the city council initiative, will be fast-tracking the Morrison's Island area.

"This offers the prospect of protection from flooding for a vital part of the city centre - and we need to get that in place sooner rather than later."

Mr Canney said he was confident that the scheme would finally deliver the protection that Cork desperately needs.

"The works, once completed, will significantly reduce the frequency of tidal flooding," he said.
Embattled charity GOAL has had over half of its funding for this year returned after a Government pledge of 7m was withheld amid a corruption investigation.

GOAL had been due to receive the cash in July for long-term development work in several African countries.

However, it was withheld due to a US investigation into international aid operations in Syria and led to senior GOAL manager Jonathan Edgar resigning.

The charity has this evening announced the release of 3.9m of 2016 funding by Irish Aid.

GOAL remains in constructive dialogue with both USAID and Irish Aid regarding future funding, a statement from the aid agency said.

The Board of GOAL is enormously grateful to all those who have supported the organisation over the last 40 years and in particular those who have continued to support it at this difficult time, it added.

The US investigation involves at least 25 agencies, including Goal, which sacked two staff in Turkey after the probe was launched.
The media day held in Hanoi aims to promote advantages of RoK strawberry - a new product which has been licensed for quarantine by the Vietnamese Government and will be imported into the nation from this year.

This product, by implementing a strict quality management system, has been exported to 20 markets worldwide such as Hong Kong (China), Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.





Photos: Thanh Hai



Strawberries are grown in smart farm with completely automatic technology from cultivation to rearing in order to minimize the use of fertilizers and plan protection products in accordance with Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standard. Besides, the RoK administration has provided technical training on cultivation and production management, thus improving quality/sweetness of the products, as well as its competitiveness.

After being harvested, strawberries are classified, packaged with high CO2 content process technology and specialized packaging, then transported by air. They will be available in Vietnam within two days with freshness and deliciousness equivalent to the ones sold in the mother nation.

Over the last five years, the total revenue of agriculture, fisheries and food between the two sides has increased two-fold, up to USD1.9 billion./.
A Dublin man's phone was stolen by a woman in her mid-70s at the security area in Dublin airport this morning.

Speaking on RTE Radio One, Gavin OReilly from Greystones, revealed that his phone and passport were taken at Dublin Airport.

After going through the security area, Mr O'Reilly noticed that he no longer had his passport or iPhone with him.

He told Joe Duffy on Liveline: "They did a search around the area, called the supervisor, called the airport police. They came along and they checked the video. They said: 'We have seen an elderly couple. They seemed to have touched and moved the passports, so we are going to have a quick chat with them'."

"This is at 6:30am in the morning. At that stage, we had missed the flights... the police went down and talked with the elderly couple.

"[The police said:] look, we have done our best, it is obviously not them. They don't have it... A few minutes later, the police [said] we have found your passport but we haven't got the phone. The passport was discarded in the duty-free area, [the garda said] you probably dropped the phone nearby."

Mr O'Reilly told Gardai that he was not in that area since arriving at the airport. A garda suggested using the 'FindmyiPhone' app, which led to them retrieving the phone.

"I used my partner's phone and saw it was 300 metres away," he said before proceeding to alert the airport police. The app directed Mr O'Reilly to the boarding area where the elderly couple they had previously questioned were standing.

He used the app to set off the phone's alarm.

"[The garda] heard the phone, said please open your bag [to the woman] and out pops the phone.

"I was asked whether I want to press charges or not. You are looking at an elderly couple [in their mid-70s]. You are thinking of your own parents... but I have to press charges, this is a criminal offence. She was arrested and has subsequently been cautioned. That is the end of the matter. "

The woman who was caught with the phone was travelling to Vilnius in Lithuania.
Fianna Fails Micheal Martin reversed that message in one of the worlds best-loved carols - Let it Snow  Let it Snow  today.

While the capitals citizens enjoyed temperatures of 11 degrees celsius outside on the streets of Dublin  Mr Martin loudly complained that it was far too cold inside Leinster House.

It seems to be extraordinarily cold and chilly in this chamber. I often had a view that it was just to put people off coming in in their t-shirts or something like that, he added.

Its having the desired impact I can tell you. Its becoming a hardship post leading into Christmas, he told the Dail chairman Sean O Fearghail.

The chairman then suggested that this should count as the Fianna Fails chance to question the Taoiseach. Mr Martin quickly replied that this was not his serious question  as he quickly moved to talk about public appointments.

Maybe you dont want the temperature to rise too much, Mr Martin told the Dail chairman.
Midlands north-west MEP Mairead McGuinness has failed to be selected for the job of president of the European Parliament.

Ms McGuinness is Parliament's vice-president and a long-standing member of its agriculture committee. She, along with her Fine Gael colleagues, belong to the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) group, the largest in the Parliament.

She put herself forward after the incumbent president, socialist Martin Schulz, announced he would step down next year to run in the German national elections.

The EPP selected its candidate this evening, opting for Italian MEP Antonio Tajani.

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Antonio Tajani received 94 votes to Mairead McGuinness's 57. Frenchman Alain Lamassoure finished in third place with 34.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Ms McGuinness would make an "outstanding" president.

Agriculture minister Michael Creed said a win for Ms McGuinness would be "a great help to the agriculture sector, generally, and in particular the Irish agriculture sector".

And Social Protection minister Leo Varadkar told the Irish Independent this week that having an Irish person at the helm of the Parliament would be crucial during Brexit talks.

"The election of an Irish person as president of the Parliament would send out an absolute, clear signal through the European system that, not only are we staying, we're at the top table, and that our perspectives will be recognised within Europe," he said. "So I really hope she pulls it off."

Under a deal done in 2014, the Parliament's presidency was due to pass from the socialists to the EPP next year.

But the leader of the socialist group, Italian MEP Gianni Pitella, threw a spanner in the works when he decided to run last month.
Northern Ireland's peace process risks being destroyed by a police investigation into historic killings during the Troubles, a Tory former minister has said.

Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) said allowing the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Legacy Investigation Branch to continue could "imperil the entire peace process" while also undermining morale among Britain's armed forces.

He also raised concerns about the decision to charge great-grandfather Dennis Hutchings.

The former soldier is accused of the attempted murder of a man with learning difficulties more than 40 years ago.

In a Westminster Hall debate, Northern Ireland minister Kris Hopkins acknowledged that historic investigations in Northern Ireland had focused disproportionately on the security forces instead of terrorists.

But the minister said this would change with the new historical investigations unit, which would shift the focus.

Sir Henry, who led the debate, said: "We've got to find a way forward.

"We've got to actually draw a line under this. We've got to see the scrapping of the legacy investigation branch.

"I fear that if we don't draw a line under this, then we will not just be undermining the morale in our armed forces and betraying veterans, we could also imperil the entire peace process as well."

MPs heard that the legacy investigation branch established last year is investigating more than 900 cases, at a cost of more than 33 million (39m).

Among those under investigation is Hutchings (74) from Cornwall.

Sir Henry said the incident had already been investigated a number of times, adding: "Now, can we move on to April 2015, because by now, in very poor health, there was a dawn raid on the Corporal Major's house in Cornwall.

"He was arrested, taken to Northern Ireland for four days of questioning, and then charged with attempted murder, of course a charge he vehemently denies.

"In the intervening 42 years there are no witnesses left, three of the members of the patrol have died, there's no forensic evidence, there are no weapons left.

"I was certainly taught at law school that one of the key tenets of criminal justice is the need for credible, current and corroborated evidence.

"It's beyond belief he's been charged, and there's no conceivable way he could ever receive a fair trial without proper evidence. These charges actually fly in the face of all the basic rules of criminal justice."

Mr Hopkins, who served in Northern Ireland, said the Government had always shown it was prepared to face up and account for where it had got things wrong, and that it was right criminal prosecutions were kept separate of political influence.

He added the new historical allegations unit, part of the Stormont House agreement, planned to examine the cases chronologically and be concluded within five years.

It would also have a statutory duty to act "in a balanced, proportionate, transparent, fair and equitable way", Mr Hopkins said.

He added: "This should create a more proportionate approach for dealing with the past, and ensure that the balance of investigations is rightly on the terrorists who caused so much pain and suffering, rather than disproportionately on brave soldiers and police officers who sacrificed so much to protect us."
Nathan Warren and Harry Small with their selection of Christmas Trees for sale at the Supervalu Killester Howth Road Junction.

Nobody is enjoying the festive season more than Christmas tree growers and sellers, with some customers paying up to 120 for a festive fir.

Independent.ie surveyed a number of retailers across the capital, whose prices ranged from 30 for a three-foot tiddler to more than a 100 for a 10-footer.

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While it has been a tough few years for Christmas tree sellers, the business is now worth an estimated 21m to the Irish economy, according to a survey carried out on behalf of the Irish Christmas Tree Growers Association.

It says the smaller, three-foot trees are most popular with apartment dwellers while families usually go for the bigger ones.

It is a competitive market, with Swedish giant Ikea selling trees for 30 with a 20 voucher to spend in store.

However, just down the road, Glasnevin brothers Phillip and Hugh Bannon, who source their trees from a forest in Wicklow, said business is flying. Their prices start at 35 for a three-footer.

Expand Close Dean Hand from Ballyfermot who is working with a Step Programme and Matthew Sweeney from Rathmines with a selection of Christmas Trees for sale at the YMCA in Sandymount. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dean Hand from Ballyfermot who is working with a Step Programme and Matthew Sweeney from Rathmines with a selection of Christmas Trees for sale at the YMCA in Sandymount.

Phillip and Hugh, who enjoyed a "mad weekend" trade-wise, were the cheapest surveyed by the Herald when it came to 10ft trees, priced at 70.

Phillip said their location between Glasnevin and Ballymun means they "have to be as competitive and balanced as possible".

"Business is really affected by the weather, but this year has been great and it has been an absolutely mad weekend," he said.

Across the city in Sandymount, the YMCA has partnered with the Step Youth Programme to help raise funds for projects by selling trees.

Expand Close Harry Suttle from The Yard Florist on Vernon Avenue in Clontarf with their selection of Christmas Trees. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Harry Suttle from The Yard Florist on Vernon Avenue in Clontarf with their selection of Christmas Trees.

Theirs are priced at 10 a foot, so people looking for a big tree in Sandymount will be paying that bit more than on the north side of the city.

However, Matthew Sweeney (34) said that "100pc of profits go to the fundraising campaign and into our youth projects in the inner city".

The Step Youth Programme is a back-to-education scheme that gives people a second chance to progress to further education and gain employment.

"Every year the venture grows to new levels as we are able to analyse the different types of trees people need in the area," said Matthew.

Dean Hand (21), from Bally- fermot, is one of the many youngsters benefiting from the Step Youth Programme.

"It's a great thing for me to do," he said.

Christy Kavanagh grows his trees in the Wicklow Mountains and sells them from Leopardstown Racecourse in South Dublin and Kilruddery House, Wicklow. "Sales are going up and up," he said.

A 10-foot Christmas tree from Christy will cost 120, but he said: "The price will reflect different parts of the country."

He also said it would be "no problem" selling his trees abroad because Irish trees are in huge demand all over the Continent.

At The Yard Florist in Clontarf, trees are flying out of the shop with prices starting at 35 and going up to 85 for a 10 to 12-foot tree.

Harry Shuttle (20) said they have sold 90 trees in the past week.

Up the road in Killester on the Howth Road, the Dublin Christmas Tree Depot said business has "been quieter in recent years".

Nathan Warren (18) said "we sell trees from three feet to 10 feet and we've been so busy since we opened".

Harry Small (14) said: "I'm here helping out my parents and we really love this time of year."

James Jesson, from Jesson Landscaping, said the market "has become a lot more competitive this year, with quite a lot of trees being imported from Germany".
Loneliness is often out of sight, but Christmas is a time when relationships are so important and it comes to the fore of people's thoughts, according to Professor Roger O' Sullivan of the Institute of Public Health.And chronic loneliness can have a negative impact on your health.

Loneliness can affect people of any age, with chronic loneliness affecting about 10pc of older people, said Professor Brian Lawlor of Trinity College.

Speaking at an Institute of Public Health in Ireland seminar, he said: "It is essential loneliness is recognised as a key public health issue. It is not just a feeling in isolation; sustained loneliness can have a profound influence on physical and mental well-being.

"Older people who are lonely are more likely to have poor health; are at higher risk of developing dementia, and are more likely to visit their local doctor or A&E."

Professor Gerry Leavey, Ulster University warned that it is a "mistake to think of all older people as lonely." It can be linked to events such as widowhood or retirement.
As the temperature in Ireland tumbles, the thoughts of winter sun grow ever more appealing. With fewer than 10 days of rain a year, the United Arab Emirates can almost guarantee sunshine.

And where Dubai has been offering that for some time, the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi, is upping its game, offering high-end breaks to rival any in the world.

Abu Dhabi is the biggest of the UAE's seven emirates and its second largest city. There is a friendly rivalry with the largest city, Dubai, with inhabitants referring to it often as "down the road". Whereas "down the road" has a long history of trading, Abu Dhabi's history is in hospitality and this is what it seeks to foster.

It is a fascinatingly large, high-end vision run through with superlatives. Everything aims to be "biggest", "best" and "only". An integral part of the vision is the emirate's airline, Etihad, and befitting the superlative vision, when it was set up 12 years ago it aimed to become the best travel company in the world. They are happiest when a customer (not traveller, punter or passenger) says their trip didn't feel like a flight at all.

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My usual travelling is done almost exclusively in donkey class and although the Abu Dhabi vision is high-end, Etihad has kindly included donkey class in the overall flying experience upgrade. Customer feedback and input is a big part of its process and so, for instance, it is a 6ft 4in Australian man we have to thank for adjustable head rests in economy class seats. The man was rather irritated over always having to book a window seat in order to have somewhere to rest his higher than average head, hence the development of a head rest that offers support to people seated anywhere on a plane. This Etihad innovation has been adopted by many other airlines.

Although well accustomed to donkey class the chance to fly top of the bus with Etihad was one I looked forward to. It's a reputation confirmed by the airline's story of the man who wanted to fly from London to Dublin, but, as he couldn't get a business class seat for the one hour flight he opted instead to fly London-Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi-Dublin, a round trip of some 15 hours. Business class is a whole other world of champagne, menus for anytime dining and lie-flat seats in lovely little cocoons. The Dublin-Abu Dhabi route does not offer first class which is a whole other world again, upstairs on the plane with nannies and actual beds. And only some flights offer the Residence, an apartment, separate even from first class, a flight on the Residence fare from Abu Dhabi to New York will set you back 35,000. One way.

There is enormous wealth in Abu Dhabi, wealth that we are just not exposed to on a regular basis. Space and money do not seem to be an object. They build entire buildings to promote upcoming projects like the Louvre Abu Dhabi which is scheduled to open in March. One of three large museums on Saadiyat Island, there is a 30-year deal with the Louvre in Paris to licence certain of its collection for exhibitions but it will also have its own permanent collection. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi looks in ways like the Guggenheim in Bilbao thanks to the same architect, Frank Ghery. It will, of course, be the largest of the world's Guggenheim museums and it is planned to house a modern art collection with a focus on middle Eastern work. It too is scheduled to open next year.

The Zayed National Museum will focus on the millennium of the area's history. The most radical change however has happened since the discovery of oil in 1966. The UAE has the seventh biggest oil reserve in the world and the vast majority of this is in Abu Dhabi, which, before the discovery was a fishing village on an island.

The name means "Father of Gazelles" and those gazelles can still be seen down at the shore on some of the 200 small islands that make up the emirate. Early one morning we leave the opulence of the Yas Viceroy, the only hotel in the world to be built partially over a Formula One race track which can be loud when the locals are taking their Maseratis out for a postprandial spin.

Across a marina packed with cruisers and yachts we board a dhow to cross to the island where the original settlement was. These were fisherpeople and pearl divers until oil changed their fortunes. In 50 years one of the most modern, flashy cities in the world has grown with renowned architects contributing to its skyline. The natural population is not very high, about half a million (up from 25,000 in 1960) so many (about 2.5 million) foreigners live and work in the region. Emiratis are paid differently to ex-pat workers, which is how the wealth of the nation is spread among all its citizens. It's a very different and by all accounts pleasant life with excellent healthcare.

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There is a wide range of cuisines available, we had Middle Eastern classics at Byblos sur Mer. Alcohol is legal, it just cannot be consumed publicly during Ramadan, and recommended local hot spots include Pearls & Caviar and Shangri-La.

There are resorts too, like the very lovely, family-friendly Saadiyat Beach Club. Abu Dhabi is a popular family destination with many child-friendly hotels.

The city's newness means no historical visits but the Sheikh Zayed Mosque is a sightseeing highlight. It took 11 years to build and can accommodate up to 41,000 people. It contains the world's biggest single carpet which was made in Iran, taking 1,200 women two years to complete. The seven chandeliers made of gold and Swarovski crystal are worth up 8m each and the pillars are made of imported marble and inlaid with semi precious stones.

It is the only place with a strict dress code, Men cannot wear shorts and female visitors must have their heads and all skin bar the face covered so abayas can be borrowed. Otherwise, within limits, there seem no restrictions on clothing.

You won't feel wealthy in Abu Dhabi, but it is an interesting vision of a very different world.
Line 3 will feature two branches, with a loop on the west side of the city to provide access to Cairo Airport and the university in the south. With a total of 29 stations (of which 23 underground) over 33 kilometres of track passing under the Nile, the line will eventually link the airport to the city centre.



Fifteen new stations and 17.7 km of track are currently under construction.



The European Investment bank (EIB) was already contributing to this extension's financing in 2012, with a loan of 200M (out of 600M paid in three instalments in December 2015 and September 2016) co-financed by the French development agency AFD for a total sum of 940M. In September 2012, France granted a non-refundable subsidy of 300M.

In 2018, phase 4 of line 3 will have eight stations.



The metro is designed to help combat pollution by promoting a mode of public transport that is more environmentally-friendly than the motor car and even the bus. But that combat even includes the pollution it generates. To this end, the EIB has just granted a 75M loan that will go towards modernising the rolling stock and reducing CO2 emissions.



A fourth line is due to be built in 2022, one that will link the Giza Pyramids to Nasr City. Two more are also planned: line 5, circular and completely underground, and line 6, which will run north to south and relieve congestion on line 1.



The Cairo metro is used by three million people every day, with that figure expected to rise to five million by 2020.
Crunch decisions are approaching for Italy and its new prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni.

The really difficult decisions are not about who gets which ministry in the new government, or even about the timing of elections, but about how to cope with the problems of some of Italy's banks.

On Friday last, the European Central Bank rejected a request from Rome to extend the deadline for a proposed private sector-led rescue of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), Italy's oldest and most troubled bank.

According to the 'Financial Times', this leaves Italy with little option but to trigger a government-led bailout of the bank, which would involve imposing losses on junior bondholders in the bank, many of whom are small savers rather than anonymous financial institutions.

'Burning the bondholders' thus does not have quite the same popular appeal in Italy as it had in Ireland a few years back.

But the burning of bondholders, in a bank that has to be rescued by the taxpayer, is now required by EU rules, and the EU is a rule-based institution. The primacy of rules, rather than of raw power, are what distinguishes the EU from other international arrangements, and are among the reasons EU membership is particularly valued by smaller countries like Ireland.

The alternative of avoiding a taxpayer-led bailout of MPS - by forcing the other Italian banks, who are better off, to bail it out - could infect the entire Italian banking system and weaken confidence in it. All banking, like all money itself, depends on confidence. As it is, Italian banks have only half the capital they need to meet the required safety standards.

Of course, if the Italian economy was growing more quickly, its banks would not be in such trouble.

The economy is expected to grow by only 1pc this year, well below the EU average. In fact, the economy is the same size as it was in 2007, whereas other countries, which are also subject to the disciplines of the eurozone, have grown substantially since 2007 - France by 20pc and Spain by 15pc. This contradicts those who want to blame the euro for all Italy's problems.

For example, David McWilliams has mistakenly claimed that "the strictures imposed by the euro have destroyed the Italian economy". He said Italy's economy grew before it joined the euro. But it was only able to do this because it repeatedly devalued its currency. Devaluation gave temporary relief but concealed the underlying problems. It was an anaesthetic, not a cure.

Once it joined the euro, this had to stop.

When Italy's leaders decided to join the euro, and set the rate of exchange between the old lira and the new euro, they knew what they were doing. They knew devaluation was impossible thereafter. This was a freely taken Italian decision.

Unfortunately, Italian voters do not see things that way, and blame Europe for problems that are actually home-grown. For example, in a poll last September, only 38pc of Italians felt their country had benefited from being in the EU, whereas 51pc felt it had not.

In truth, the problems of the Italian economy predate the decision to join the euro.

Government debt levels were increased during the 1980s, and were already well above the recommended 60pc of GDP when it joined the euro. Italy was already an ageing economy at that stage too, with early retirement and historically low birth rates.

The ageing of a society inevitably saps its growth potential, as even the Chinese are now beginning to find.

There was the added difficulty, since 2000, that the Italian consumer and fashion goods sector competed directly with goods coming from Asia, and it could no longer devalue to meet this new competition. Italy did not adapt to this new reality.

Productivity remains poor. Since 2007, Spanish productivity per hour increased by 10pc, whereas Italian productivity per hour actually declined by 5pc. Both Italy and Spain are in the euro, so the euro does not explain this difference in productivity performance.

The public sector is expensive and inefficient. The hourly pay rate in the Italian public sector is 40pc above that in the private sector, whereas in France and Germany, the hourly rate in the public sector is below that in the private sector.

Incidentally, in Ireland, hourly pay in the public sector is 25pc above that in the private sector.

In Italy, healthcare and pensions absorb 20pc of GDP, as against 12pc in Ireland.

There are also severe inefficiencies in Italy's commercial sector caused by lack of adequate competition and out-of-date laws. The transport and energy sectors are particularly costly.

There is a lack of competition in the legal system. The courts are the third slowest in the EU. It takes 500 days to get a case into court. This means it is difficult and costly for businesses to enforce contracts and collect debts owed to them. Court delays have also contributed to the increase in non-performing loans (NPLs) in the Italian banking system. NPLs are now 18pc of all loans, as against 6pc in 2007.

The bankruptcy laws in Italy are impossibly cumbersome.

A competition bill, which would have helped resolve some of these problems, was blocked and watered down in the bargaining between the Senate and the Lower House.

Renzi's constitutional reforms, which would have reduced the power of the Senate, would have dealt with that. Unfortunately, they were rejected by the voters.

The Gentiloni government, like that led by Renzi, has a majority in the Lower House, but will now face an increased risk that any reforms it proposes will be bogged down in the Senate, because the Senate will feel empowered by the referendum result.

Resolving Italy's problems will require statesmanship of a high order in Rome, Brussels, Frankfurt and Berlin. Ireland overcame a similar crisis since 2010, and the willingness of all sectors of society here to meet the painful challenge quickly, and leave politics aside until later, may provide a model that Italy could follow.
Is it too late for Britain to change their minds on Brexit? Photo: PA

Is it not ironic that the House of Lords in London is now advocating that 'open land borders and sea boundaries' be maintained between the Republic of Ireland and the North?

This is the House of Lords that voted overwhelmingly against giving the island of Ireland limited self-rule when it had the power to do so.

If the unity of this country had been maintained back in colonial times then Brexit, not to mention much of the political life on this island for over 100 years, would be much easier.

Instead of coming up with unrealistic proposals, the House of Lords and the rest of the British establishment should find a way to reverse Brexit. The alternative is to put up with the consequences of another 100 years in which neither the unity of the EU nor the unity of the UK will be maintained.

A Leavy

Sutton, Dublin 13

Associate partner status for UK

Brexit is the gift that will just keep on giving. The EU needs to tread carefully with regard to its negotiations with the UK.

If the EU insists on a hard Brexit with all that entails, such as trade tariffs, separate customs jurisdiction and immigration controls (hard borders), then Ireland will be affected in the cruellest of ways.

Ireland's exposure to the fallout will dwarf that of Germany, which has 80,000 jobs dependent on free trade with the UK. Ireland may have to consider following suit in leaving the EU (Irexit) and enter a bilateral agreement with the UK, which best facilitates the way of life across these isles.

If there is a sharp downturn in economic activity, there will be less discretionary spend which, coupled with reciprocal immigration controls, will mean tourism in Spain and Portugal will be hit hard. Spain and Portugal are favourite haunts for British and Irish tourists alike.

The Border issue within the island of Ireland also warrants special consideration. Triggering Article 50 could well trigger a Border poll, which is provided for in the Good Friday Agreement. That may be a tidy solution for the EU, but what effect will that have socially and economically on the whole island of Ireland?

All of this should only serve to remind us that in this post-truth world in which we live, it is incumbent upon our elected leaders to refrain from rhetoric that would paint themselves into a corner.

That is what David Cameron did, that is what Matteo Renzi did and that is what Arlene Foster has been doing, though at least now she seems to be reaching out to the Irish Government to try to steer a steady course through choppy Brexit waters.

The best outcome is that the output of the negotiations produces a situation whereby the UK is an associate partner of the EU, much like Norway and Switzerland, where the UK has control over its immigration to a large degree, has access to the single market and Ireland has derogation to form a special bilateral agreement with the UK, much like the Common Travel Area Agreement. Now, wouldn't that be the most perfect gift?

Killian Brennan

Camolin, Co Wexford

Going round in circles with phrase

In conversation these days, one often hears the phrase "squaring the circle".

For some reason I just cannot get that straight in my mind.

Tom Gilsenan

Beaumont, Dublin 9

Putin's mind-control theory

Is there nothing that elements of the us media will not say to explain why the electorate voted Donald Trump to be president? Their latest hunch is that it was Russia that did it.

I realise that Vladimir Putin was a spook in the kgb, an organisation that specialised in mind control.

But to believe Mr Putin could beam his mind-control skills across thousands of miles into America and persuade millions to vote for one particular candidate is simply mind boggling . . . and slightly mad.

Paddy O'Brien

Balbriggan, Co Dublin

Lay off president over Castro

It is regrettable Irish politicians and others criticise President Michael D Higgins for his statement on the death of Fidel Castro.

The president showed himself to be a true world statesman in his appropriate statement.

Juxtapose his statement against, for example, the self-serving call by Taoiseach Enda Kenny congratulating Donald Trump on his election success in the US; the warning to Government ministers or officials not to attend the national day celebrations in Taiwan; or the signing of the book of condolences and the expression of condolences, on behalf of the Irish people, on the death of Hitler by Eamon de Valera.

With the exception of our president, we are led by people without principles or values.

Hugh McDermott

Glasnevin, Dublin 9

Fighting ideology is a priority

The horrendous attack that targeted worshippers at the Coptic Church in Cairo is a poignant reminder of the callousness of radicals we are facing.

No country is immune from terrorism. It is important not to give unfettered legitimacy to extremists by focusing on their cultural and religious affiliation. This is a war between the civilised world and extremists whose aim is solely to hijack and defame Islam and create a wedge between peoples of diverse religions and cultures.

The ideological battle lies at the kernel of our struggle to defeat extremism. As King Abdullah II of Jordan put it: "An idea can only be defeated with a better idea that aims to drain the swamps that feed extremism, promote interfaith dialogue and solve collectively regional and global crises such as the Arab-Israeli imbroglio."

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London, UK

Quotas reap superficial rewards

While Sports Minister Patrick O'Donovan's declaration on 'burning the blazers' through future Government policy on funding sporting organisations is unlikely to have the same catastrophic fallout as former minister Phil Hogan's edict on water charges, many nightmarish echoes are all too audible.

Again, we see the strident arrogance of a minister who this time threatens, with the funding stick, to bully century-old organisations into changing their ways. An attitude underpinned with little or no consultation with the parties involved, ignorant of the risk of tokenism and anti-democratic philosophy, pandering to populism and with the potential to cheapen the graft and industry of talented women to add real value.

Grasping for political headlines with a 'just-because-I-can' attitude will reap equally superficial rewards.

Michael Gannon

Kilkenny
Police helped Daiwon McPherson trick his girlfriend into thinking he was on the run and had a gun in a spoof which led to a marriage proposal

Police in Alabama have helped stage a man's arrest - so he could kneel and propose to his girlfriend.

With the help of two officers, Daiwon McPherson, 33, tricked Shawna Blackmon into thinking he was on the run and had a gun.

The officers swooped on the couple and other members of their biker community outside a petrol station in Mobile.

Ms Blackmon, 28, said the scenario seemed real.

"I was scared," she told WPMI-TV. "I said he was going to jail, they are going to shoot him."

A video viewed nearly 10 million times online by Monday shows the officers rushing up to the couple with stun guns, ordering Mr McPherson down.

Ms Blackmon, terrified, stands between them with her hands up. Then Mr McPherson asks her to take his "gun" from his pocket.

But she pulls out an engagement ring instead, and is overcome with emotion as one of the officers holsters his stun gun and hugs her.

"I really wanted to bring the bike life and the police together," Mr McPherson told Al.com. "I can't believe I actually pulled this off."

The stunt has launched a lively online debate about whether this was a public relations win for the Mobile Police Department, or a risky escapade that could have gone wrong.

Police spokesman Terrence Perkins said Mr McPherson approached police earlier in the day with the idea, which was run up the chain of command for approval from an assistant police chief.

Mr Perkins, who attended the stunt to ensure all went smoothly, said no guns were involved and added that the Tasers were not loaded. Police also made sure the scene was safe by informing all other on-duty officers about the scene before the fake call went out.

"At no time was he placed in any danger or anyone on the scene," Mr Perkins said.

He said police received some negative comments but the positive feedback far outweighed the negative.

"It actually showed us outside the capacity of writing tickets. It showed that we do have human side as well," he said.

AP
A woman who was held captive for over two hours was rescued after sharing her location with her father via Google Maps.

Twenty-year-old British backpacker, Mary Kate Heys, was staying at the Sunshine Coast hostel, north of Brisbane, when she befriended a Swedish man.

The Courier-Mail reports that on the night in question, the man woke Mary Kate at 4:30am suggesting they go for a drive in his car. Worried that he would harm himself, the woman agreed.

However, she thought they were only going to drive to Brisbane, but the driver had a different plan.

A spokesperson for Queensland Police told news.com.au: Basically whats happened is a womans got into a car with a guy and hes driven her up to Gympie apparently against her will."

Ms Heys said the man who was holding her captive was talking nonsense and she feared for her life.

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He kept talking about how they (aliens) were coming to get us and we had to get to Cairns to escape, Ms Heys told The Courier-Mail.

I was so scared and I thought I was going to die, she added.

This fear led to Ms Heys sending texts to her father, who was back in Manchester. The panicked texts read: Dad are you awake, I need you to call Australian Police and Ive been taken by a man  please hurry.

She sent her location via Google Maps, which led to police pulling over the car more than 90km from where their journey began.

The Swedish man was brought to hospital for medical attention.
A British man has been jailed for 12 months for trying to grab a policeman's gun at a Donald Trump rally in an apparent bid to kill the now US president-elect.

Michael Sandford, 20, attempted to snatch the weapon at a Las Vegas casino where Mr Trump was addressing supporters in the run-up to the US election in June.

He allegedly told officers after his arrest that his plan was to shoot the tycoon.

Sandford, who has autism, was sentenced at a federal court in Las Vegas after pleading guilty in September to charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function.

Lawyers acting for the Briton said he suffers a number of mental health problems and he was diagnosed as having had a psychotic episode at the time of the incident on June 18.

Sentencing Sandford to 12 months and a day in prison, Judge James Mahan told him: "You have a medical problem. You should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it. You need medication.

"You're not a hardened criminal. You're not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people we have.

"I don't think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do."

Sandford, of Dorking, Surrey, became tearful as he addressed the court to apologise for his actions.

Dressed in an orange prison uniform and wearing leg irons, he told the court: "I know saying sorry is not enough. I really do feel awful about what I did.

"I wish there was some way to make things better.

"I have cost taxpayers so much money. I feel terrible."

Addressing the judge, he added: "I'm really sorry to you and the court for taking up so much time."

Sandford had faced up to 20 years in jail had he been found guilty of the offences at a trial. He had initially denied the charges but pleaded guilty in September following a plea agreement.

Before sentencing, Sandford waved to his mother Lynne, father Paul Davey, grandmother Christine and four-year-old sister Jessica, who travelled to Las Vegas for the hearing.

Addressing the court, Mrs Sandford said: "(Michael) means everything to me,

"He made a very bad mistake, a huge error of judgment.

"It breaks my heart to see him in this environment.

"So many people back in England know this is not Michael. Everyone knows he's a good person at heart.

"He needs to get psychiatric help back at home. He's very remorseful for what he did."

Ms Sandford, whose daughter Jessica was clutching a tiger toy in court, had previously called for her son to be allowed to serve his sentence in the UK.

His lawyers say he will now serve around four months, having been detained since June, before he is deported back to Britain.

Brenda Weksler, representing Sandford, told the court: "This was really not a plan. He was just answering to voices he's been having, unfortunately, for a very long time."

Sandford was arrested at Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas where Mr Trump was addressing 1,500 supporters on June 18.

According to court documents, Sandford told a policeman at the rally that he wanted Mr Trump's autograph before he attempted to seize the officer's gun.

He was tackled by officers and frogmarched from the venue.

During a police interview, when asked why he attempted to grab the weapon, Sandford replied: "To shoot and kill Donald Trump," court records show.

He had driven to Las Vegas from Californa on June 16, and went to a shooting range the next day, where he said he learnt how to use a gun for the first time.

Sandford, who was unemployed and had overstayed his visa, told investigators he expected to die in the attempt on June 18, according to court documents.

He also claimed to have booked tickets for another Trump rally in Phoenix, Arizona, in case he was unable to attempt to take the tycoon's life in Las Vegas, prosecutors said.
Baby Favour and his mum Cynthia in Italy

A baby has been born during a refugee rescue mission in the Mediterranean and is "doing well".

The tot and his mum are just two of 678 people who have been brought safely to shore, in Sicily by the MV Aquarius  a search and rescue vessel operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and SOS MEDITERRANEE.

The new-born, named Favour, was born on the night of December 11, weighing 3.1kgs and against all odds is beautifully healthy and doing well.

His mum Cynthia was aided by a midwife on board during the birth.

UPDATE: Disembarkation has begun in #Catania. It's those with medical issues and families with small kids who will touch dry land first. pic.twitter.com/YS1ZK76ZzZ  MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) December 13, 2016

UPDATE: We've finished the last 500 metres to #Catania port and disembarkation of the #Aquarius's 678 rescued people will soon begin. pic.twitter.com/YMZ1SbVlrp  MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) December 13, 2016

Arrivederci baby Favour! At two days old, our favourite little guy is on dry land for the first time. He seems to like it. #SAFEPASSAGE pic.twitter.com/VzkLbDU4m3  MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) December 13, 2016

The night of his birth saw 500 people brought aboard the Aquarius.

During the two day rescue mission rescuers also rescued 36 people from a toy like wooden boat.

Today those rescued, who hail from 20 different countries, have been making their way aboard dry land. Those with medical issues and small children were brought off the boat first.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have rescued 19,708 people this year according to the group.
Police are appealing for a carer to come forward after a man in a wheelchair allegedly gave a baby a head injury in a McDonald's queue.

The seven-month-old girl suffered a small fracture and a bleed on the brain after being struck while in her mother's arms in the restaurant in the Gallions Reach shopping centre, Newham, east London.

Scotland Yard said detectives are trying to establish whether the wheelchair user, believed to be aged 15-25, acted deliberately.

They issued a CCTV image of a woman believed to be his carer and urged her to come forward as a witness to the incident between 2pm-3pm on June 18.

The girl's parents believed she was unharmed at the time but later took her to hospital, where they called police, after noticing a bump on her head.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "The baby was kept in hospital overnight but discharged the next day. The baby has now fully recovered."

The wheelchair user is described as Asian and was wearing a foam cast on his right arm.

The woman believed to be his carer was described as black, aged around 40 and of large build.
Police on the highway where thieves robbed an armoured truck near Dardilly in France. Photo: AP

French police are hunting four men suspected of stealing gold dust worth an estimated 1.5m from an armoured truck before setting cars ablaze near a major motorway and fleeing.

The suspects, operating in multiple cars, surrounded the truck and forced it off the A6 highway between Paris and Lyon, a national gendarme service spokesman and a judicial official said.

They then seized the gold, locked the two delivery men in the back of the truck, and set one of their own cars on fire before fleeing, the spokesman said.

He said the flames spread to three cars nearby and threatened to engulf the truck as well, but local police intervened thanks to a tip-off from a witness and rescued the two men in time.

The other cars were unoccupied, the judicial official said.

Police vehicles and a helicopter searched the surrounding fields and forests near the south-eastern town of Dardilly, the spokesman said.

Scientific police studied the charred remains of the cars and the empty truck, operated by security company Loomis.

While France occasionally sees big jewel thefts and has seen a couple of high-profile highway robberies, it is rare to see a large-scale gold robbery, gendarmes said.

The judicial official said about 70kg of gold dust was stolen. He said it appeared to be an organised crime gang, but said the identities of the attackers was unclear.

He would not release details about who owned the gold dust or where it had been headed.
Italian Premier-designate Paolo Gentiloni succeeded in forming a new government yesterday, keeping key ministers from the coalition of fellow Democrat Matteo Renzi, who resigned last week.

Mr Gentiloni said he would keep economist Pier Carlo Padoan as finance minister and continue Mr Renzi's strategy of trying to get Italy's flat economy growing again. Also staying in government, but switching cabinet posts, is Angelino Alfano, who will take Mr Gentiloni's foreign minister's post.

In the outgoing government, Mr Alfano was Mr Renzi's key non-Democrat coalition ally, dealing with anti-terrorism and migrant measures as interior minister.

A swearing-in ceremony was set for last night for both Mr Gentiloni as prime minister and his new cabinet.

Starting today, Mr Gentiloni will begin pitching to lawmakers for the required confidence vote from parliament on new governments.

"I did my best to form a government in the briefest of time," Mr Gentiloni told reporters at the Quirinal presidential palace.

On Sunday, President Sergio Matarella asked Mr Gentiloni to try to assemble a government that would prioritise electoral reform laws aimed at making Italy more governable ahead of new elections many political leaders are demanding soon.

Mr Renzi left the helm of a nearly three-year long centre-left coalition government, after voters defeated a December 4 constitutional referendum on which he had staked his job. Since then, populist forces, including parliament's largest opposition group, the Five Star Movement, have been pressing for elections to be held far ahead of their spring 2018 due date.

Mr Gentiloni said electoral reform would be a priority of his government. Other priorities include efforts to help "the middle class, those suffering" economically, especially "in the south where (lack of) work is a greater-than-ever emergency", Mr Gentiloni said.

Youth unemployment is running at 36pc, and as high as 50pc in southern Italy.

Mr Gentiloni's picks for his cabinet reflect his fellow Democrats' concern that Mr Renzi did poorly in Italy's south in the recent referendum. The new premier chose a minister for the south, and his new minister for parliamentary matters hails from Sicily.

With the Gentiloni government largely resembling Mr Renzi's, opposition leaders will likely be energised in galvanising citizen protest. Matteo Salvini, who heads the anti-migrant Northern League, said he would hit the public squares in Palermo and Milan this weekend seeking signatures to "ask for elections immediately".

Electoral laws - amended several times in recent years - are blamed for making it harder for a clear majority to emerge from elections.
Six key figures in Paolo Gentiloni's new Italian government

Italy's new prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, has announced the composition of his government. Here are the key figures in the new administration, which mostly retains the team that worked under former premier Matteo Renzi.

GALLERY

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (L) and his predecessor Matteo Renzi (R) during the handover ceremony at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy, 12 December 2016.

Angelino Alfano, new foreign minister of Italy.

Rome (dpa) -The economy minister, 66, retains his post. A technocrat who previously worked at the International Monetary Fund and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, he is expected to focus on a looming banking crisis and EU requests for more budget discipline.The new foreign minister, 46, was previously at the interior ministry. He leads the New Centre Right party, and his main tasks will be preparing a G7 summit in his native Sicily from May 26-27 and celebrations for the EUs 60th anniversary in Rome from March 24-25.The 60-year-old inherits Alfanos old job as interior minister. He was responsible for intelligence matters in the previous government. He is likely to be kept occupied by record arrivals of migrants, standing at more than 175,000 so far this year.An experienced member of the ruling Democratic Party (PD), Finocchiaro is the new minister for parliamentary affairs. Her priority will be to broker a political agreement to fix disfunctional voting rules, a precondition for holding new elections.The 55-year-old PD minister keeps his role as defence minister. Italy has about 6,750 soldiers deployed in international missions, including 1,400 in Iraq, 1,100 in Lebanon, 950 in Afghanistan and 850 in Mediterranean Sea patrols that take part in migrant rescues.A former high-flying minister in Renzis cabinet, Boschi was bruised by the rejection of her signature constitutional reforms in last weeks referendum. The 35-year-old is now cabinet office undersecretary, an influential position close to the prime minister.
A Tunisian man accused of captaining a migrant boat that sank in 2015 killing almost 700 people was found guilty of multiple manslaughter on Tuesday by an Italian court and sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Mohammed Ali Malek, 28, had denied being the boat's captain, saying he had paid for passage like everyone else on the small wooden fishing vessel that capsized in April 2015 off the coast of Libya, trapping hundreds of people in the ship's hull.

The court in the Sicilian city of Catania also sentenced 26-year-old Syrian Mahmud Bikhit to five years in prison. Survivors said Bikhit was Malek's cabin boy. He had denied any wrongdoing.

Both men were handed fines of nine million euros ($9.5 million) each.

Only 28 people survived the disaster, while the remains of 675 victims were recovered from the wreck, with the boat itself raised to the surface earlier this year by the Italian navy.
Mikhail Gorbachev said the West wasted a chance to build a safer world after the Cold War (AP)

The failure of the United States and its Western allies to offer vital aid amid the break-up of the Soviet Union 25 years ago was short-sighted gloating at the Cold War rival's demise and wasted the chance to build a safer world, the bloc's former supremo Mikhail Gorbachev has said.

But Mr Gorbachev, 85, the Soviet Union's last leader, voiced hope that Russia and the United States would do better and ease current tensions during Donald Trump's presidency.

"The relations between us are so important and concern everyone else, so we must take the interests of others into account," said the man credited with helping to end the Cold War.

Mr Gorbachev said he had expected Hillary Clinton to win the US presidential race and was surprised by Mr Trump's victory. He declined to offer an assessment of Mr Trump, saying it remained to be seen what policies the new US administration would pursue.

"He has little political experience, but, maybe, it's good," he said, during the rare, hour-long interview with The Associated Press at his foundation's office in Moscow.

Mr Gorbachev, who helped end the Cold War by launching sweeping liberal reforms, cutting nuclear stockpiles and allowing Soviet bloc nations in central and eastern Europe to break free from Moscow's diktat, spoke bitterly about the West's failure to embrace a new era of friendly co-operation he said his policy of "perestroika" offered.

"They were rubbing their hands, saying, 'How nice! We had been trying to do something about the Soviet Union for decades, and it ate itself up!'," he said.

He attacked what he described as Western "triumphalism" saying it remains a key factor in tensions between Russia and the West.

Ties between them are worse than they have been at any time since the Cold War following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March 2014 and its support for a pro-Russian separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

The US and the European Union responded with several rounds of economic sanctions, which, along with low oil prices, have driven Russia's economy into recession.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has accused the US of trying to isolate and weaken the nation, pointing to the deployment of Nato forces near Russia's borders as a sign of hostile intentions and the war in Syria, where Russia has waged an air campaign in support of President Bashar Assad, has added to the tensions.

Mr Gorbachev said Russian and US leaders must sit down for talks and "stay at the table until they reach agreement".

"The world needs Russia and the United States to co-operate," he said. "Together, they could lead the world ... to a new path."

He defended Russia's action to annex Crimea, pointing out that Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev arbitrarily transferred Crimea from Russian to Ukrainian administrative control in 1954, a decision that mattered little until the Soviet collapse.

He also noted that the annexation followed a popular vote in which the residents of the Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly backed joining Russia.

"When people say yes, a decision must be made," he said.

Mr Gorbachev also praised outgoing US president Barack Obama, but deplored what he described as a misguided policy towards Russia pursued by the US and its allies, both during his presidency and now.

"They have been badgering Russia with accusations and blaming it for everything," he said. "And now, there is a backlash to that in Russia. Russia wants to have friendly ties with America, but it's difficult to do that when Russia sees that it's being cheated."

Mr Gorbachev pointed to the productive relationship he built with Ronald Reagan during the 1980s and the arms control agreements they reached despite sharp ideological differences.

"We accomplished a lot," he said. "We could talk openly, in a real partner-like way. It's necessary to take that approach again."

Asked his opinion of Mr Putin's leadership, Mr Gorbachev said he saw him as a "worthy president", even though he has criticised some of his policies.

In the past, Mr Gorbachev assailed the Kremlin for a crackdown on freedom of speech and rigid political controls. He also was critical of Mr Putin's return to the presidency in 2012 after term limits forced him to switch to the premier's seat for four years.

"I almost fully supported him first, and then I began to voice criticism," Mr Gorbachev said of Mr Putin. "I can't renounce my views."

He added, however, that he approved of Mr Putin's recent state-of-the-nation address. The speech sent a conciliatory message to the West, and some observers also saw signs that the Kremlin may ease some of its rigid domestic policies.

"It was different from his previous speeches," Mr Gorbachev said. "The speech showed that he's strongly worried."

He recalled the waning days of the Soviet Union, when his arch-foe, Russian Federation president Boris Yeltsin, and leaders of other Soviet republics plotted his removal while pretending to support his efforts to negotiate a treaty that would give the republics broader powers.

"Yeltsin took part in that and supported it, but he was conspiring behind my back how to get rid of Gorbachev," he said, claiming that a hunger for power motivated the Russian leader. "Russia was spearheading the Soviet break-up."

Asked if he considered using force to prevent the Soviet break-up, Mr Gorbachev said launching a violent domestic conflict in a nuclear superpower was never an option for him.

"The country was loaded to the brim with weapons," he said. "And it would immediately have pushed the country into a civil war."

AP
The battle for Aleppo appeared over in all but name last night after the rebels surrendered most of their remaining territory and civilians began to be evacuated en masse.

Government forces closed in on the ever-shrinking opposition enclave in the "final phase" to reclaim the city.

Expand Close A man flees with a child deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp A man flees with a child deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Photo: Reuters

"The battle of Aleppo has reached its end. It is just a matter of a small period of time, no more, no less... it's a total collapse," Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said.

The Syrian government claimed its forces had retaken 98pc of the city, while the SOHR said it was more likely around 90pc.

Whatever the figure, it was clear the revolution was in its dying hours yesterday. More than half of an estimated 200,000 residents have so far been evacuated, while 2,200 of some 8,000 rebels have surrendered or been captured.

Now tens of thousands of civilians and a few thousand fighters are holding out in a five-square-mile patch in the southern suburbs of the city.

Expand Close Free Syrian Army fighters fire an anti-aircraft weapon on government forces from a rebel-held area of Aleppo. Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp Free Syrian Army fighters fire an anti-aircraft weapon on government forces from a rebel-held area of Aleppo. Photo: Reuters

The remaining rebels had been offered a deal hashed out by the US and Russia: safe passage out with civilians if they surrender.

Osama Abo Zayd, a legal adviser to the Free Syrian Army rebel coalition, said some fighters had agreed to evacuate but that the Russians had demanded that all militants surrender, something he said was impossible.

"This pushes us to fight to the last breath despite what we have to face," he said.

The opposition, which has become increasingly fractious, has yet to agree to the proposal and one senior member of the rebel group Noureddine al-Zenki said they would stay to defend what was left.

A US official said Russia, a key ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, had refused an American proposal for a temporary halt to the fighting. As leaders discussed the plan in Geneva, the Syrian regime bombed the rebel-held pocket with unprecedented ferocity.

"It is doomsday in Aleppo," activist Abdulkafi al-Hamdo said in a desperate text message yesterday.

"People are running but they don't know where to, some people are alive under the rubble of their homes but there no one can go to help them because of the bombing."

He said men were sending their wives and children to government areas to surrender themselves rather than risk getting caught in the battle.

A dozen doctors and activists inside east Aleppo had stopped sending out messages and their fate was unknown.

A medical administrator said he and the staff of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held districts were huddled in a shelter as Syrian government forces pushed in.

"Those killed and wounded are left on the streets," Mohammed Abu Rajab said.

The situation has become so desperate that many residents who had held out for more than four years said they were ready to give up and looking for any safe way out of the fighting.

"We're exhausted, it's hopeless," Umm Leith, a mother of three young children whose husband was killed last year in fighting, said.

"I have always believed in the revolution but now it is time to think about my family. Enough people have died in this war."

Mr Assad has starved and bombed Aleppo into submission, knowing the fate of the city would decide his own.

Some believe the Syrian government and its Russian allies were never serious about reaching a political settlement for Aleppo, but rather had used the stalling talks as a cover for its military manoeuvring on the ground.

The loss of Aleppo would mark the greatest defeat for the rebels since the conflict began in 2011. The insurgents still control the north-western Idlib province as well as scattered patches of territory elsewhere in the country. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
An elderly man reacts in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad gesture as they ride on a pick-up truck in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

A member of Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walks past a damaged building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk past a tank in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk past along a street in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

A woman waits with others outside a government military police centre to visit their relatives, who were evacuated from the eastern districts of Aleppo and are being prepared to begin their military service, in Aleppo, Syria December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stand in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk past damaged buildings in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stand atop of a building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching walk inside the destroyed Grand Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo, Syria. (SANA via AP)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching through the streets of east Aleppo, Syria. (SANA via AP)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching through the streets of east Aleppo, Syria. (SANA via AP)

All military action in eastern Aleppo has ended and the Syrian government has re-established control over the former rebel-held area, Russia's UN ambassador has said.

Vitaly Churkin spoke near the end of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, saying "according to the latest information that we received in the last hour, military actions in eastern Aleppo are over".

He said that as a result, "there is no issue of some cessation of hostilities, or some special humanitarian operation".

He added that "the Syrian government has re-established control over eastern Aleppo".

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards the government-held side during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city (Photo: AFP) Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad gesture as they ride on a pick-up truck in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters. Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards the government-held side on December 13, 2016 during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city. Photo: AFP/Getty Images Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards the government-held side on December 13, 2016 during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city. Photo: AFP/Getty Images A member of the Syrian pro-government forces stands next to a tank in the old city of Aleppo on December 13, 2016, after they recaptured the area. After weeks of heavy fighting, regime forces were poised to take full control of Aleppo, dealing the biggest blow to Syria's rebellion in more than five years of civil war. Photo: AFP/Getty Images Syrian pro-government forces walk in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood after they captured the area in the eastern part of the war torn city on December 13, 2016. After weeks of heavy fighting, regime forces were poised to take full control of Aleppo, dealing the biggest blow to Syria's rebellion in more than five years of civil war. Photo: AFP/Getty Images A general view shows Syrian pro-government forces walking in the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo on December 13, 2016, after they captured the area. After weeks of heavy fighting, regime forces were poised to take full control of Aleppo, dealing the biggest blow to Syria's rebellion in more than five years of civil war. Photo: AFP/Getty Images A member of the Syrian pro-government forces walks in eastern Aleppo's al-Kalasseh neighbourhood on December 13, 2016 (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) Syrian opposition fighters fire towards positions held by Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in al-Bab on the northeastern outskirts of the northern embattled city of Aleppo on December 13, 2016. Photo: AFP/Getty Images A general view shows Aleppo's citadel on December 13, 2016, after government forces captured the area. Photo: AFP/Getty Images A Syrian child cooks in the street in a rebel-held area of Aleppo, on December 13, 2016, during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city. Photo: AFP/Getty Images People carry their belongings as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters Children walk together as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters A man pushes a cart with belongings as he flees deeper with another man into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters People carry their belongings as they flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. The Arabic words read, "No to monopolizing commodities and raising prices under the siege". Photo: Reuters People flee deeper into the remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters Damaged buildings are seen in the government-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters A general view shows the damage in the government-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching through the streets of east Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, December 13, 2016. Photo: SANA via AP A graveyard in east Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, December 13, 2016. Photo: SANA via AP Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk inside Aleppo's historic citadel, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters Boys stand amid the damage in the government-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters A general view shows the damage inside the Umayyad mosque, in the government-controlled area of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. Photo: Reuters Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad gesture as they ride on a pick-up truck in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki / Facebook

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Whatsapp Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards the government-held side during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city (Photo: AFP)

Mr Churkin said earlier that "all militants" and members of their families, as well as those wounded in the fighting, "currently are going through agreed corridors in directions that they have chosen themselves voluntarily, including toward Idlib", a rebel stronghold.

The evacuation of the remaining rebels would mark a major victory for President Bashar Assad and return Syria's largest city to full government control for the first time since rebels seized the eastern half in 2012.

Truly shocking stories from #Aleppo, incl. husbands & wives taking eachothers' lives in family suicides.



Some say 100s died today. #Syria  Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) December 13, 2016

Earlier today a staff member of a Trocaire partner organisation was killed in Eastern Aleppo - as shocking reports of civilians being shot in their homes and corpses lying on the streets come from the city.

Charity Trocaire said people in Aleppo are describing the situation as an "apocalypse".

My dad is injured now. I am crying.-Bana #Aleppo  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 12, 2016

Final message - people are dying since last night. I am very surprised I am tweeting right now & still alive. - Fatemah #Aleppo  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 12, 2016

Final message - I am very sad no one is helping us in this world, no one is evacuating me & my daughter. Goodbye.- Fatemah #Aleppo  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 12, 2016

And it is understood a charity staff member of a partner organisation is among the dead following the shelling of the city.

We have received a message from a partner in Aleppo who described the situation as an apocalypse' with bodies all over the streets," Niall OKeeffe, Head of Trocaires Programmes in the Middle East, said.

"Parents had to flee leaving their dead children in the streets. Multiple executions are reported.

Like never before the world is able to follow the terror - in tweets, pictures and videos - that these people are living, and like never before they know that we are watching as the catastrophe unfolds.

Expand Close A woman waits with others outside a government military police centre to visit their relatives, who were evacuated from the eastern districts of Aleppo and are being prepared to begin their military service, in Aleppo, Syria December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki / Facebook

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Whatsapp A woman waits with others outside a government military police centre to visit their relatives, who were evacuated from the eastern districts of Aleppo and are being prepared to begin their military service, in Aleppo, Syria December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

"This makes our inaction even more shameful. Civilians must be protected. Those who are committing atrocities must be held to account.

People in Aleppo are wondering who is left to help them?," he continued.

Expand Close Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk past along a street in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki / Facebook

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Whatsapp Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk past along a street in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

"The international community has failed in efforts to protect civilians in Syria, and especially in Aleppo.

"In truth, the efforts of the international community, were, from the start, inadequate and based not on a genuine need to protect civilians, but on political self-interest and economic considerations.

Expand Close Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk past damaged buildings in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki / Facebook

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Whatsapp Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk past damaged buildings in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

"As a result we are now witnessing one of the worst massacres since the Second World War. We cannot remain silent in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe that is unravelling before our eyes.

Mr O'Keefee spoke as thousands of people fled the front lines of fighting in Aleppo on Tuesday as the Syrian military advanced on the final pocket of rebel resistance, and a senior Turkish official said Russia and Turkey would meet to try to set up an evacuation corridor.

The rout of rebels from more than half of their ever-shrinking territory in Aleppo sparked a mass flight of civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity".

Expand Close Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stand atop of a building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki / Facebook

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Whatsapp Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stand atop of a building in the government held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 12, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

The U.N. human rights office said it had reports of abuses, including that the army and allied Iraqi militiamen summarily killed at least 82 civilians in captured city districts.

"The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. office. "There could be many more."

Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed.

Colville described the rebel-held area as "a hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre, saying its capture was imminent.

The spokesman for the civil defence force in the former rebel area of Aleppo said rebels now controlled an area of less than three sq km. "The situation is very, very bad. The civil defence has stopped operating in the city," he told Reuters.

A surrender or withdrawal of the rebels in Aleppo would mean the end of the rebellion in the city, Syria's largest until the outbreak of war after mass protests in 2011, but it is unclear if such a deal can be struck by world powers.

By finally dousing the last embers of resistance burning in Aleppo, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military coalition of the army, Russian air power and Iran-backed militias will have delivered him his biggest battlefield victory of the war.

However, while the rebels, including groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist groups that the West does not support, will suffer a crushing defeat in Aleppo, the war will be far from over.

'Fleeing in panic'

Aleppo's loss will leave the rebels without a significant presence in any of Syria's main cities, but they still hold much of the countryside west of Aleppo and the province of Idlib, also in northwest Syria.

Islamic State also has a big presence in Syria and has advanced in recent days, taking the desert city of Palmyra.

The army and its allies had taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday.

After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night as the weather deteriorated, a Reuters reporter in the city said.

However, rocket fire pounded rebel-held areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, reported. Rebels and government forces still fought at points around the reduced enclave, the Observatory said.

"Artillery shelling is continuing but because of the weather the aerial bombing has stopped. Many of the families and children have not left for areas under the control of the regime because their fathers are from the rebels," said Abu Ibrahim, a resident of Aleppo in a text message.

Colville said he feared retribution. "In all, as of yesterday evening we have received reports of pro-government forces killing least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, in four different neighbourhoods - Bustan al-Qasr, al-Fardous, Al-Kalasah and al-Saliheen," Colville told a news briefing, naming the Iraqi armed group Harakat al-Nujaba as reportedly involved in the killings.

The military official said the rebels were fleeing "in a state of panic", but a Turkish-based official with the Jabha Shamiya insurgent group in Aleppo said on Monday night that they had established a new frontline along the river.

Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night, with fighters shooting rounds into the sky in triumph.

Refugees

A daily bulletin issued by the Russian Defence Ministry's "reconciliation centre" from the Hmeimin airbase used by its warplanes, reported that more than 8,000 civilians, more than half of them children, had left east Aleppo in 24 hours.

State television broadcast footage of a tide of hundreds of refugees walking along a ravaged street, wearing thick clothes against the rain and cold, many with hoods or hats pulled tight around their faces, and hauling sacks or bags of belongings.

One man pushed a bicycle loaded with bags, another family pulled a cart on which sat an elderly woman. Another man carried on his back a small girl wearing a pink hat.

At the same time, a correspondent from a pro-Damascus television station spoke to camera from a part of Aleppo held by the government, standing in a tidy street with flowing traffic.

Abu Malek al-Shamali, a resident in the rebel area, said dead bodies lay in the streets. "There are many corpses in Fardous and Bustan al Qasr with no one to bury them," he said.

"Last night people slept in the streets and in buildings where every flat has several families crowded in," he added.

The International Committee for the Red Cross appealed for all sides to spare civilian lives. "As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run," it said.

The United Nations said on Tuesday it had reports that Syrian government troops and allied Iraqi militias had killed civilians in eastern Aleppo, including 82 people in four different neighbourhoods in the last few days.

The Syrian army and its allies have taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday.

Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. human rights office, said he feared retribution against thousands of civilians believed to be holed up in a "hellish corner" of less than a square kilometre of opposition-held areas. Its capture was imminent, he said.

"In all, as of yesterday (Monday) evening we have received reports of pro-government forces killing least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, in 4 different neighbourhoods - Bustan al-Qasr, al-Fardous, Al-Kalasah and al-Saliheen," Colville told a news briefing, naming the Iraqi armed group Harakat al-Nujaba as reportedly involved in the killings.

"The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes" Colville said. "There could be many more".

"The only way to alleviate the deep foreboding and suspicion that massive crimes may be under way both within Aleppo, and in relation to some of those who fled or were captured, whether fighters or civilians, is for there to be monitoring by external bodies, such as the UN," Colville said.

France on Tuesday called on the United Nations to use all its mechanisms to determine what was happening in Aleppo, warning Russia that it risked being complicit in acts of "vengeance and terror" taking place in the Syrian city.

Jens Laerke, U.N. humanitarian spokesman said that it looked like "a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo".

Control

Syria's army and its allies have taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday.

On Monday rebel defences collapsed, leading to a broad army advance across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket in Aleppo and a retreat of opposition fighters to a few districts on the west bank of the city's river

Recapturing the entire rebel pocket of Aleppo will constitute the biggest battlefield victory yet for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia's air force, Iran and Shi'ite militias.

For rebels, it will mark a sobering loss and leave them without a significant presence in any of Syria's main cities. They still hold much of the countryside west of Aleppo and the province of Idlib, also in northwest Syria.

After days of intense bombardment of rebel-held areas, the rate of shelling and air strikes dropped considerably late on Monday and through the night, a Reuters reporter in the city said.

The military official said the rebels were fleeing "in a state of panic", but a Turkey-based official with the Jabha Shamiya insurgent group in Aleppo said late on Monday that they had established a new front line along the river.

Celebrations on the government side of the divided city lasted into Monday night, with the Reuters reporter there describing the bullets coming "like rainfall" as fighters shot into the air in triumph.

Read More

Meeting

Russian and Turkish officials will hold a meeting on Wednesday in Turkey to assess the situation in Syria's Aleppo, a senior Turkish official told Reuters, after the Syrian army and its allies took full control of districts abandoned by rebels.

The possibility of opening a corridor to evacuate rebels and civilians and the setting up of a ceasefire will be discussed at the meeting, the official said on Tuesday.

Turkey was continuing its efforts with the United States, as well as Iran, the European Union and Gulf countries to help evacuate opposition fighters from Aleppo, the official added.

Flee

As the frontlines quickly shifted on Monday, however, thousands more people fled the fighting, carrying what possessions they could carry and sometimes pushing relatives in wheelchairs, before a heavy rainstorm began in the night.

The International Committee for the Red Cross issued a plea in an emailed statement early on Monday for all sides to spare civilian life.

The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was alarmed by unverified reports of atrocities in the wake of the army's advance, his spokesman said late on Monday.

"As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run," the ICRC statement said.

Zakaria Malahifji, another Turkey-based official for the Fastaqim rebel group fighting in Aleppo said early on Tuesday that there had been no further international contacts over a proposal to spare the city by allowing fighters to withdraw.

Alarm

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by unverified reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in Syria's Aleppo.

"The Secretary-General is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties. He has instructed his Special Envoy for Syria to follow up urgently with the parties concerned," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

It comes after The U.S. State Department said on Monday Russia told the United States it wanted a ceasefire to allow civilians leave the Syrian city of Aleppo delayed for several days, a proposal unacceptable in view of the continued attacks on civilians.

"Rather than accepting the U.S. proposal for an immediate cessation, the Russians informed us that a cessation could not start for several days, meaning that the assault by the regime and its supporters will continue until any agreement will go into effect," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing in response to a question about weekend talks in Geneva.

"Given the dire situation in Aleppo and the reports of continued attacks on civilians and infrastructure, this was just simply not acceptable."

Aid Worker

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Tim Jackson, a Donegal aid worker who travelled to Syria last summer, has described the UN reporting of the war in Aleppo as "disgracefully biased" and driven by an anti-Government agenda that seeks regime change.

Amidst UN claims today that civilians are being executed by the Syrian army, Jackson asked that sources for these claims be provided, "as there is zero evidence being offered by the UN at the moment."

"I want to make it clear that the death of any innocent person is a tragedy, but reporting of the Syrian war has been abysmally inaccurate so far, and amounted to propoganda for the most part as the mainstream media and western national parliaments continue to ignore the fact that Syria and Russia are fighting jihadi terrorists. NATO's continued arms shipments to these rebels is the elephant in the room."

"Where was the outcry from the UN as civilians fleeing East Aleppo were fired on last week by the jihadi rebels who had been using them as human shields for four years and withholding stockpiles of food and medicines at will?"
Mourners at the funerals of some of the victims in Cairo. Photo: Reuters

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has blamed a suicide bomber for the attack that killed 25 people at Cairo's Coptic cathedral, the deadliest on the Christian minority in years.

Speaking at a state funeral for the victims, Mr Sisi said four people had been detained, including a woman, and security forces were seeking two more people believed to be involved. The bomber was a man wearing a suicide vest, he added

"The attack brought us great pain but we will never be torn apart," he said. "We will only be much stronger. We will hold steadfast and, God willing, we will succeed."

At least 25 people were killed and 49 wounded when a bomb exploded in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic papacy, where security is normally tight.

Security sources said a bomb containing at least 12kg of TNT exploded on a side of the church normally used by women.

Mr Sisi did not name the organisation the attackers were believed to belong to. No group has claimed responsibility, but exiled Muslim Brotherhood officials and local militant groups have joined the international community in condemnation.

Only Isil supporters celebrated on social media.

The group has also claimed attacks in Cairo and urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds.

The Interior Ministry released a picture of the bomber it identified as Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa (22), whose nom de guerre was Abu Dajjana al-Kanani. It also released an image of what it said was the battered head of the dead bomber, who hailed from the town of Fayyoum south of Cairo.

State news agency MENA reported three of those arrested are also from Fayyoum while a fourth is from the Cairo suburb of Matariya. Both are areas typically associated with strong support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Sisi and Coptic Pope Tawadros II led the funeral procession and the coffins were draped in the national flag. Earlier, mourners had packed Cairo's Virgin Mary and St Athanasius Church where Tawadros prayed over the wooden coffins. On the walls hung banners with the names of the dead, many of them women.

Tawadros sought to heal any sectarian friction caused by the attack, saying it "is not just a disaster for the Church but a disaster for the whole nation". He also condemned attacks against the security forces.

"Those who commit acts such as this do not belong to Egypt at all, even if they are on its land," he said.

At the chapel where the bombing took place, the floor was covered in debris from shattered windows, wooden pews blasted apart and pillars blackened. Here and there lay abandoned shoes and patches of blood.

Mr Sisi dismissed accusations of a security failure and called for tighter anti-terrorism laws.
Donald Trump lost the popular vote in last months US presidential election by a bigger margin than any other US president in history.

The Republican is currently trailing Democrat rival Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million votes as the last remaining postal ballots are counted  despite him winning the November 8 election because of the Electoral College system.

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That deficit is more than five times bigger than the 544,000 by which George W. Bush lost to Al Gore in 2000 - the second biggest popular vote deficit in history for a candidate who has still gone on to become President.

Only five US presidents in history have been elected despite losing the popular vote: John Quincy Adams in 1824, Rutherford Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, George W. Bush in 2000 and Donald Trump this November.

Read More

Despite losing the public vote by some margin, Mr Trump still won the presidency after victory in the Electoral College, which sees each state assigned a number of votes that go to the candidate who wins the public vote in that state.

The Republican won the Electoral College after victory in swing states such as Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, in addition to surprise wins in previously Democrat-held states including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

However, Mrs Clintons lead in the popular vote has led to calls for the Electoral College delegates to ignore the vote outcome in their states and instead vote against Mr Trump.

Read More

Several lawsuits have been filed against laws in some states that mandate delegates must cast their votes in line with the popular vote result in their state, while a petition calling on electors to vote against Mr Trump has received 4.8 million signatures.

In 2012 Mr Trump called the Electoral College a disaster for democracy after mistakenly thinking it would lead to President Obama losing the popular vote but retaining the White House.

Following his election victory, however, the billionaire businessman praised the genius of the system.
A California police officer answering a report of a man with a gun has shot dead an unarmed 73-year-old man said to be in the early stages of dementia

The man was standing in a neighbour's driveway.

The Kern County coroner said Francisco Serna was declared dead at the scene in Bakersfield at about 1.15am local time on Monday.

Sergeant Gary Carruesco told KBAK-TV and the Los Angeles Times that police arrived at about 12.30am and when a witness pointed to Mr Serna, an officer fired several rounds and killed him.

Mr Carruesco said no gun was found in a search of the scene.

Mr Serna's son Rogelio told the Times his father was a retired grandfather who did not own a gun. He said he was suffering from delusions and other early signs of dementia.
Musician Kanye West arrives for a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Musician Kanye West arrives for a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Musician Kanye West arrives for a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Rapper Kanye West visited Trump Tower on Tuesday morning but it was not clear if he would meet with President-elect Donald Trump.

West arrived with a small entourage, but his wife, businesswoman Kim Kardashian, was not with him. Transition team officials were not immediately available to confirm that the rapper and the Republican president-elect would meet.

West was hospitalised for exhaustion last month after a series of rants and the cancellation of the remainder of his U.S. tour.

The 39-year-old rapper made headlines in November when he was booed at his San Jose, California, concert for declaring his support for Trump.
Wisconsin Elections Commission chairman Mark Thomsen, left, and commission administrator Michael Haas scan the results of the recount in Wisconsin (Wisconsin State Journal/AP)

US presidential election recount efforts have come to an end in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with both states certifying Donald Trump as the winner in contests that helped put him over the top in the Electoral College stakes.

Republican Mr Trump's victory in Wisconsin was reaffirmed following a state-wide recount that showed him defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 23,000 votes.

Meanwhile, a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvania's presidential election and scan some counties' election systems for signs of hacking.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein successfully requested and paid for the Wisconsin recount, but her attempts for similar state-wide recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were blocked by the courts.

Ms Stein garnered only about 1% of the vote in each of the three states, which Mr Trump narrowly won over Mrs Clinton. Ms Stein argued, without evidence, that voting machines in all three states were susceptible to hacking.

All three states were crucial to Mr Trump's victory, having last voted for a Republican for president in the 1980s.

The numbers barely budged in Wisconsin after nearly three million votes were recounted. Billionaire New York property mogul Mr Trump picked up 131 votes and won by 22,748 votes. The final results changed just 0.06%.

Mr Trump took to Twitter to celebrate the recount result, saying: "The final Wisconsin vote is in and guess what - we just picked up an additional 131 votes. The Dems and Green Party can now rest. Scam!"

Ms Stein said she was disappointed not all Wisconsin counties performed hand recounts, although most did. She said the goal of the recount was never to change the outcome but to validate the vote and restore confidence in the system.

"The recount in Wisconsin raised a number of important election integrity issues that bear further assessment and serious action to ensure we have integrity and confidence in our electoral system," she said, without naming what they were.

Wisconsin Elections Commission chairman Mark Thomsen said before certifying the recount results there was no evidence of a hack.

In Pennsylvania, state officials certified the results of the election in the hours following the decision by US district judge Paul Diamond.

Mr Trump beat Mrs Clinton in the state by about 44,000 votes out of six million cast, or less than 1%, according to the final tally after weeks of counting provisional and overseas ballots. Green Party voters had petitioned some counties to do partial recounts, affecting few votes, county officials said.

Judge Diamond said there were at least six grounds that required him to reject the Green Party's lawsuit, which had been opposed by Mr Trump, the Pennsylvania Republican Party and the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.

Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election "borders on the irrational" while granting the Green Party's recount bid could "ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts" given Tuesday's federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College, the judge, an appointee of Republican former president George Bush, wrote.

"Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any 'hack' occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania's voting system was not in any way compromised."

He said the lawsuit suffered from a lack of standing, potentially the lack of federal jurisdiction and an "unexplained, highly prejudicial" wait before filing last week's lawsuit, four weeks after the November 8 election.

The decision was the Green Party's latest roadblock in Pennsylvania after hitting numerous walls in county and state courts. Green Party-backed lawyers argue it was possible that computer hackers changed the election outcome and that Pennsylvania's heavy use of paperless machines made it a prime target.

Ms Stein also contended Pennsylvania erected unconstitutional barriers to voters seeking a recount.

A lawyer for the Green Party members said they were disappointed and unable to immediately say whether they would appeal.

"But one thing is clear," said lawyer Ilann Maazel. "The Pennsylvania election system is not fair to voters and voters don't know if their votes counted, and that's a very large problem."

A federal judge halted Michigan's recount last week after three days. Mr Trump won Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes out of nearly 4.8 million votes cast.

AP
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell: 'The Russians are not our friends' (AP)

Top Republicans in the US Congress have backed investigations into the CIA's belief that Russia meddled in the election to help Donald Trump win the presidency - suggesting potential battles ahead with the incoming commander in chief over Moscow and US intelligence.

"The Russians are not our friends," declared Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, as party leaders steered towards a path contrasting starkly with the president-elect's belittling dismissal of the spy agency's assessment and his past praise for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The Senate's intelligence panel, led by Richard Burr, will conduct a cross-party inquiry, according to Mr McConnell, who also expressed support for a related probe by the Armed Services Committee, chaired by Senator John McCain.

Though declining to say whether he believes Russia tried tilting the election towards Mr Trump, Mr McConnell said "I hope that those who are going to be in positions of responsibility in the new administration share my view" about Moscow.

Shortly afterwards, House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan released a statement backing an investigation the House Intelligence Committee has already started on cyber-threats posed by foreign countries and extremist groups.

He called any Russian intervention "especially problematic because under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests".

Underscoring the possible collisions ahead between Mr Trump and the men leading his party in Congress, Mr McConnell and Mr Ryan struck tones markedly more confrontational toward Russia than he has.

On Sunday Mr Trump called the CIA's contention "ridiculous" and blamed the disclosures concerning its assessment on Democrats who he said were embarrassed over losing last month's election.

Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes released a letter on Monday to national intelligence director James Clapper, complaining that recent reports of the CIA's conclusion clashed with Mr Clapper's prior statement that he lacked "good insight" about the connection between Russian hacking of Democratic campaign documents and their release by WikiLeaks.

Mr Nunes requested a briefing on the subject for this week.

The Republican leaders expressed their views after a weekend in which Mr Trump also said he would not need daily intelligence briefings, a staple of presidents' days for decades and a flouting of a convention common for presidential transitions.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump continued his cavalcade of meetings in his Trump Tower offices in New York on Monday with potential appointees for his new administration and other leading Republican, congressional and corporate figures. Among them was Carly Fiorina, who unsuccessfully vied with Mr Trump this year for their party's nomination.

Ms Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, was there to discuss national security issues and is seen by some Trump advisers as a candidate to be director of national intelligence, overseeing the government's 17 spy agencies.

She chaired an external CIA advisory board under George Bush but has not worked for the federal government.

Ms Fiorina said her conversation with Mr Trump included "hacking, whether it's Chinese hacking or purported Russian hacking".

Others meeting Mr Trump included moderate Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, number three House of Representatives Republican leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and former Texas governor Rick Perry, another Republican presidential contender whom Mr Trump defeated.

The campaign chairman for defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged the Obama administration on Monday to reveal what it knows about any Russian efforts to help Mr Trump win.

John Podesta, whose emails were stolen and posted online, said the administration "owes it to the American people" to release details of the intrusions, which included the hacking of Democratic Party files.

Mr Podesta said the Clinton campaign also supported a call by 10 of the 538 members of the Electoral College for Mr Clapper to provide information that intelligence agencies have gathered on the subject.

All 10 are unlikely to vote for Mr Trump when the Electoral College meets next Monday. Nine are Democrats and Texas Republican Chris Suprun has said he will not vote for Mr Trump.

Other Democrats calling for congressional investigations of Russia's role in the elections include House minority leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

"There must be no equivocation or ignoring the seriousness of the intelligence community's conclusion about Russia's actions," she said.

Mr McConnell said he has "the highest confidence" in US intelligence agencies and said it "defies belief" that Senate Republicans would be reluctant to scrutinise Russian tactics.

He recounted Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, said Baltic nation leaders were nervous about Moscow and pointedly praised Nato, the alliance that Mr Trump criticised repeatedly during his campaign.

"I think we ought to approach all of these issues on the assumption that the Russians do not wish us well," Mr McConnell said.

In a nod to the Trump assertion about Democrats' motives, Mr Ryan said the congressional inquiries "should not cast doubt on the clear and decisive outcome of this election".

As expected, Mr Trump's transition team formally announced he would name Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn, 56, to head the White House National Economic Council. The council provides policy advice to the president.

Mr Trump's team also said he had picked General John Kelly, the former head of US Southern Command, to head the Department of Homeland Security.

AP
A California police officer answering a report of a man with a gun has shot dead an unarmed 73-year-old man said to be in the early stages of dementia, who was standing in a neighbour's driveway.

The Kern County coroner said Francisco Serna was declared dead at the scene in Bakersfield at about 1.15am local time on Monday.

Sergeant Gary Carruesco told KBAK-TV and the Los Angeles Times that police arrived at about 12.30am and when a witness pointed to Mr Serna, an officer fired several rounds and killed him.

Mr Carruesco said no gun was found in a search of the scene.

Mr Serna's son Rogelio told the Times his father was a retired grandfather who did not own a gun. He said he was suffering from delusions and other early signs of dementia.

AP
The Obama administration is terminating some sales of military arms to Saudi Arabia over concerns about Yemen

The Obama administration is terminating some sales of military arms to Saudi Arabia over concerns about the killing of civilians in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition.

The sales being cancelled involve precision-guided munitions. An official said the decision reflects deep US concerns about the way Saudi Arabia is choosing targets.

But the US is ramping up support for Saudi efforts elsewhere.

The official said the US is increasing support for Saudi Arabia's border defences. The kingdom has been concerned about extremists coming over the border to launch attacks.

The White House announced a review of military support for the Saudi coalition following the October bombing of a funeral hall in Yemen.

AP
SALISBURY- A Salisbury woman has been arrested in connection with the shooting at Firewater Restaurant and Lounge earlier this month that left a 22-year-old dead.

Salisbury Police recently arrested Savannah Maria Queen, 21, and charged her with felony obstruction of justice in connection with the shooting that happened on Sunday, Dec. 4.

Sharod R. Mathis, 22, was killed in the shooting. Police believe an argument ensued before Mathis was shot just after 1 a.m. He died after he was taken to the hospital by private vehicle.

Officers have confirmed the shooting of Mathis is connected to the other shooting that occurred that day that killed 7-year-old Ayanna Allen as she was sleeping in her home.

The Salisbury Post obtained a warrant that explains the charges against Queen. The warrant said she denied on multiple occasions to law enforcement officers that she observed a firearm on the ground at the restaurant following the shooting.

The warrant goes on to say Queen not only saw the firearm, but also removed it from the crime scene.

Queen is in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $25,000 bond.

Rowan County commissioners and Salisbury officials have offered a $20,000 reward through Crime Stoppers for information that leads to an arrest in the death of Ayanna Allen.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) Regime Looks Set to Miss April 1 Deadline

A direct fallout from Prime Minister Narendra Modis shock demonetization announcement on November 8, rising acrimony from the political opposition threatens to block any progress towards implementing the GST regime. A major obstacle is reaching an agreement between central and state financial officials over the administration of the GST. Some states are also holding their ground over the issue of compensation for revenues they fear will be lost once the GST gets launched. On the other hand, the government is of the firm view that a central agency must audit and scrutinize taxpayers; dual agencies for the same would result in discrepancies, and be at cross-purposes with the reformed tax regime.

The three revised GST enabling bills  Central GST, Integrated GST and State GST  need to be passed before December 16, the last working day of the winter session of parliament, in order for the GST to be effectively rolled out on April 1, 2017. Given that Monday and Tuesday were holidays for parliament for Eid Milad-un-Nabi, only three working days remain. Moreover, the most recent meeting of federal and state officials of the GST Council on December 11 ended without resolution. However, without a green light from the GST Council, no legislative discussion can move forward in parliament. Another GST Council meeting is now scheduled for December 22.

Indias E-Commerce Market Forecast to Overtake US by 2034

A report by global payments firm Wordplay foresees India overtaking the US in terms of its exponential growth in e-commerce by 2034. The online shopping segment is expected to grow by 28 percent year on year from 2016 to 2020 for India, opening up vast opportunities for firms operating in the online world. Wordplay bases its projections off the rapidly increasing internet penetration in the country, a burgeoning millennial population, and the continued rise of mobile phones. According to the Household Survey on Indias Citizen Environment & Consumer Economy (ICE 360 survey) for 2016, 88 percent of Indian households now own a mobile phone. Further, Indias online population is already about 350 million strong and is touted to reach 600 million by 2020. Finally, 70 percent of the countrys population is below the age of 35 and millenials are currently driving the jump in mobile and e-commerce, both of which have enormous implications for increases in Indias future online spend.

Collectively, these high-growth enablers explain Wordplays optimistic forecast for Indias online commerce market, which is expected to reach US$ 63.7 billion by 2020, and become the second largest in the world by 2034. The momentum and scale of growth potential is not lost on major firms, reflected in the heated competition between homegrown companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal versus global heavyweights like Amazon and Alibaba.

India and UK Sign Ease of Doing Business in India MoU

India and the United Kingdom recently signed an MoU to support ease of doing business in India. The agreement will enable the exchange of officials from both Governments to facilitate the sharing of best practices. The UK government will also be able to offer technical assistance and advice on the enhanced implementation of reforms, which are vital for Indias efforts to achieve a more conducive business climate.

Under the MoU, various government agencies from the UK will be able to offer professional courses on regulation drafting for officials, capacity building of frontline inspectors, and promote the adoption of innovative practices by Indias central and state governments and their agencies. The UK government has also offered to share its expertise on several key areas, which include establishing support for small businesses and startups; starting a business and its registration; payment of taxes and tax administration; insolvency; and risk based framework for inspection and regulatory regimes.



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An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2016

Doing Business in India 2016 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in India. As such, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Indian market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to stay up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.

Pre-Investment Due Diligence in India

In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we examine issues related to pre-investment due diligence in India. We highlight the different regulatory, tax, and socio-economic issues that a company should be aware of before entering the Indian market. We also detail some of the topics related to entry structures while investing in the Indian market, as well as cultural and HR due diligence, which may differ from state to state.

Strategies for Repatriating Funds from India

In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we look at issues related to repatriating funds from India. We highlight the unique regulations for sending funds back from India, examine the various strategies companies can make use of while repatriating, and look at remittance procedures for different types of Indian entities. Finally, we give some tips on how expats can remit their Indian money to their home countries.
Vikramjeet Virk who was seen as in the role of Mahmud Of Ghazni in Shobha Somnath Ki, 2011. Virk's portrayal was widely applauded. The actor is currently waiting for the release of his first Hollywood - (Indo-Chinese) film called 'Buddies In India.' This film is a sequel to the famous film 'Lost In Thailand' that released in 2012.

Vikrmajeet Virk seems to have made a statement in the film industry. He has also worked in Bollywood film 'Khelein hum jee jaan se' by Ashutosh Gowariker, Malayali film Casanova, Telugu movie Heart attack, Rudhramadevi . Vikramjeet has left no stone unturned as he has also made his mark in the television industry, when he played Mehmood Ghaznavi in the famous show Shobha Somnath Ki.

And, literally amalgmating his Indian roots with the International scenes, Vikramjeet came up with the 'akhada' style work out. At a time, when actors are heading to gyms and following contemporary, advanced exercise routines, Vikramjeet Virk has gone the desi way.

The actor has been following the akhada style of workout regimen where, not only does he follow a desi style workout but also one of his day meal is cooked in desi ghee.

The actor said, "Though I've been living in the metro for over 10 years , my mindset is still that of the village boy. So, when I wanted to loose some weight for a project, I started following the akhada routine of exercise. For instance, if I have to do pull ups. I do it using ropes. I take the help of heavy tyres to tone up. And I make sure I have a generous serving of desi ghee in my meals. this way , I've lost fat, but not my muscles."

We wish the actor all the best for his upcoming venture..!
Single-digit reduction in NBS rates The revised NBS rates for ensuing Rabi season have been announced by the Government of India. New rates have not seen much steeper cuts as was widely anticipated; therefore, positive for complex (NPKs) fertilizer companies. This brings much comfort to the domestic complex fertilizer companies as a steeper cut would have entailed higher inventory losses. 03 Nov 2022 11:10 AM

October 2022 auto sales: PV and CV segments continue to impress Underlying demand trend has stayed strong for PV and CV segments. Analysts at IIFL Securities estimate October 2022 wholesale dispatches in PV, MHCV and LCV segments to have grown 30%, 24% and 14% YoY, respectively. They expect the above segments to clock 25-35% volume growth in FY23. 02 Nov 2022 11:43 AM

Initial signs of moderation in API cost pressures: IIFL Securities High raw-material inflation, elevated freight expenses, and normalization in marketing spends have impacted margins of Indian pharma players over the past 12 months. However, some of these API/RM cost pressures have started abating in Q3CY22. Cipla, Sun, JB Pharma and Torrent remain IIFL Securities top-picks in the pharma sector owing to lowest risk to IIFL Securities margin and earnings estimates for these companies. 01 Nov 2022 10:53 AM
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  A Purdue University professor recommends reading, including books without words, to help children understand the thoughts and feelings of others, which can be particularly important during the holidays.

Judy Lysaker, associate professor in the College of Education, said understanding other people is becoming more and more important, especially at a time of year when emotions are at the forefront.

I dont think were doing as well as we used to in imagining what other people are thinking, feeling, believing and why, she said. When feelings are intense and traditions emphasize those feelings, as happens during the holidays, it can be a particularly important time to understand the thoughts and feelings  the inner worlds  of others.

Reading, Lysaker said, is a vehicle for helping us all understand other people. Much of her research is in the area of wordless picture books in which the reader narrates the books images and characters.

You get to see how children make sense of characters, or if they attribute thoughts or feelings to them as they narrate orally, she said. Its an indication that theyre imagining the inner worlds and realties of others in the story.

Determining a persons thoughts, feelings and beliefs in a story is called social imagination. It allows a person to imagine the context clues such as gestures or eye contact that they would see in an actual conversation.

Empathy and social imagination feed into the larger idea that we have a human capacity for understanding each other, and we ought to be developing that as a central part of our educational system. Reading is the perfect place to integrate that, Lysaker said.

For children, reading provides opportunities for knowing themselves and others. Reading helps to understand others because it lets children enter a vicarious social world where they can practice.

Theres no consequence if you mess up, Lysaker said. Its a safe place to have a reaction that you might not be proud of having in a real circumstance, and you can catch yourself, take a look at your own feelings and discussion them with others  especially if you have a great teacher and a great classroom.

As we become more and more technologically advanced, Lysaker said people need to take time to ask what we understand about the world and other people.

We are beginning to notice that social media is not necessarily improving our relationships with one another, she said. Were not getting any better at imagining what other people are like because were on social media all the time  especially kids in middle school and high school. Its almost as though the social media posts we consume and texts we receive become the reality of the other person, instead of us really trying to imagine their experience.

About the College of Education

Purdues College of Education meets the challenges of educating 21st century learners by discovering what works in education. The college prepares highly qualified educators and conducts research that informs how teachers teach and students learn. With a focus on integrated P-12 STEM education and a commitment to social justice and diversity, graduates are prepared to be leaders in education, business and society.
The Sioux San Hospital is an Indian Health Service facility in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by Colorado National Guard Medical Detachment



Sioux San: A case of legalized land theft

Sixteen historic buildings slated to be torn downBy James Giago DaviesNative Sun News Today Correspondent

RAPID CITY  In the spring of 1948 the US Congress passed an act that authorized the Secretary of the Interior to make certain dispositions of the Sioux Sanatorium Farm. They were urged to this action by the City of Rapid City, the South Dakota State National Guard, the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, and the Rapid City Catholic Church.

The Sioux San lands, not necessary for the administration and operation of the Sioux Indian Sanatorium, were granted to the following: (1) City (2) Schools (3) South Dakota National Guard and (4) Churches. Number five on the list was needy Indians.

Between 1948 and 1964 the Department of Interior (DOI) gave 152.366 acres of Sanatorium land to construct three schools: Canyon Lake Elementary, West Middle School and Stevens High School. In 1949 the DOI gave the city 207.10 acres for Sioux Park and Rapid City Municipal Park.

Between 1949 and 1958 the DOI gave 182.96 acres were given to ten different religious organizations.

By 2014 only three parcels remained: the Sioux San campus, the Boarding School Hill, and Cemetery Hill. Back in 1952, according to a DOI Memorandum to the Record dated April 3, 1969, the Mayors Committee on Human Relations requested Indians be allowed to settle on lands remaining under the jurisdiction of the BIA. The DOI response was: The Area Director and Washington Office carefully considered the matter and determined that the problems which would be created by using the land for settlement of Indians outweighed the advantages. The major problems were law and order, sanitation and other municipal functions.

A 20-acre parcel of land north of Rapid City was purchased by the committee for needy Indians for $2000. It was named Sioux Addition, and apparently the DOI did not feel law enforcement, sanitation and other municipal functions would be a problem at this site, although no rationale why that should be was ever provided. Of the original Sioux Sanatorium Farm lands, exactly zero acres were ever set aside for needy Indians.

During this entire time no tribe was ever given a voice in the taking of this acreage. Over the years the concept of actually consulting the tribes over Sioux San land or health care has been a slowly evolving process.

Read the rest of the story on the Native Sun News Today website: Sioux San: A case of legalized land theft

(Contact James Giago Davies at skindiesel@msn.com)

Copyright permission Native Sun News

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Tribes have been having trouble getting water settlements through the Republican-controlled Congress but those hurdles posed no problems for the Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation

In just four short months, the tribes convinced Congress to ratify their agreement with the state of Oklahoma . The unprecedented action came even though a bill was never actually introduced regarding a huge deal that was described as a "momentous achievement" by the parties.

Since there was no bill, there were no hearings in either the House or the Senate . And the Obama administration never officially gave its views even though the settlement imposes conditions on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior

But the tribes had some key GOP allies in bypassing a process that typically takes years for others as they address concerns about cost, size and scope. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) inserted the deal into a national water bill that passed the Senate in September and, over in the House, it had the support of Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), who is Chickasaw.

"The delegation is absolutely united in supporting this, so is the state," Cole said at a legislative meeting back in September

At the time, a different lawmaker hinted of a power struggle with the House committee that usually handles tribal water rights legislation . But Cole last week said those concerns were resolved and the settlement was inserted into yet another national water bill.

"This has been an on-going conflict that not only affects the parties involved, but everyone in these areas as well, Cole said in a press release last Thursday. This is important to many people. But we must realize that tribal sovereignty, the right to govern and the defining of those rights must be honored for the Chickasaws and the Choctaws. This settlement allows them to retain that distinction, protects the interests of the people living in those areas and provides security for Oklahoma Citys water needs.

The settlement was tucked into S.612 , the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which cleared its final hurdle in Congress on Saturday. It takes up less than 18 pages of the 277-page package.

Like Cole, tribal and state officials credited Inhofe, who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works , for making the settlement a reality.

"We appreciate the quick action taken by Senator Inhofe to secure Senate approval of the historic water rights agreement between the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, the state of Oklahoma and the city of Oklahoma City," Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said in a press release

"We have confidence the water agreement is a good compromise that protects our natural resources in Southeast Oklahoma while addressing the needs of people living in Oklahoma City," added Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton.

The Chickasaws and the Choctaws weren't the only beneficiaries of S.612, also known as the WIIN Act. The bill includes water settlements for the Blackfeet Nation in Montana [ S.1125 H.R.5633 ] and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in California. [ S.1983

But those two tribes went through the normal legislative process . It took the Blackfeet Nation more than six years in fact to get Congress to advance the settlement

And, even then, S.612 does not authorize any funds to implement the deal. Instead the tribe must come back to Congress before undertaking any water infrastructure projects that are deemed vital to improving the economy in northwest Montana.

"We have more work to do to secure the funding that goes along with this critical settlement, but I will continue to roll up my sleeves and build the support needed to do right by the Blackfeet Nation," Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), the outgoing vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs , said in a press release

The Pechanga Band fared better. The WIIN Act authorizes more than $30 million for a deal that the tribe also spent years working on.

"Generations of tribal leaders have fought from the courts to Capitol Hill to protect this vital resource for future generations," Chairman Mark Macarro said in a statement.

Finally, S.612 includes the provisions of H.R.1296 , the San Luis Rey Indian Water Rights Settlement Act. Five tribes have been asking Congress to update their settlement for nearly two years.

The bill is being sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.

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There's not one but 9 weekends in 2017, which should be reason enough to dust off those riding boots and that helmet, and start planning. Your bike deserves a break from commute traffic as much as you do from work. Trouble is, the whole world and their next-door neighbour have been to Leh-Ladakh. So here are 6 off-beat road trips guaranteed to bring you and your bike closer.

1. Valparai to Vazhachal Forest

Pinterest

South India offers some of the most exciting and scenic bike routes for adventure seekers in India. Valparai to Vazchal Forest is one such route, and is a biker's delight, especially during monsoons. Word of advice - the road, though phenomenally scenic, gets tricky during the monsoons, so make sure you choose Michelin tyres which offer superior wet grip.

2. Bangalore to Kolli Hills

Pinterest

Get ready for some adrenaline rush as you take the trail to Kolli Hills. This picturesque hill station in Tamil Nadus Eastern Ghats will definitely make your heart skip a beat. The 70 continuous bends on the way will keep you on the edge of your seat and keep that adrenaline pumping.

3. Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley

Pinterest

Vishakhapatnam has some of the best roads for biking. Its winding roads and pristine locations will create the perfect ambiance to unleash the explorer in you. We know that this spectacular biking trail is already beckoning to the rider in you, so its time to take out your bike and plan a trip with your gang. Discover the hidden corners of incredible Vishakhapatnam and the breathtaking topography of Araku Valley. And while you're at it, shoot a go-pro video as a keepsake!

4. Dirang to Tawang

Pinterest

With a unique culture and topography, Arunachal Pradesh has something new to offer to everyone who seeks adventure. Even though the road is busy, and weaves its way through habitation and army camps, the view is something worth braving the bad roads for. Dirang is halfway between Guwahati and Tawang; the road is tough but the view at Sela Pass alone will be worth every minute you spend on the journey. Doubly so if you can see the pass at night in the moonshine.

5. Guwahati to East Khasi Hills

Pinterest

How about an expedition to the unexplored paradise of India? The breathtaking roads of Guwahati will lead you to Shillong and finally to the spectacular terrains of East Khasi Hills. Dont miss the living root bridges and sparkling waterfalls while you are there.

6. Ahmedabad to Kutch

Pinterest

This is one route every biker wants to cover and, trust us, it will never disappoint the adventure seeker in you. Ride through the spectacular white salt desert to create the best memories with your gang!
All thanks to social media platforms that people's reaction to everything happening around them comes out instantly. Be it posts, pictures or open letters, people have a way of making themselves heard. Right after the news of SRK's assurance to MNS that Mahira won't come to India to promote Raees broke the internet, people had mixed reactions. For some, this came across as one of the most sensible steps as a producer and actor. However, a few couldn't overlook SRK's 'cowardice'.

Twitter

Calling Bollywood's King Khan a 'coward', Ujjal Dosanjh, former Premier of British Columbia and former Canadian Minister of Health penned down an open letter (that has been published in Indian Express),

"I hope you do not mind me calling you Shah Rukh. Like most Indians, I feel I know you. But then again, perhaps I dont.

First, it was Karan Johar prostrating himself before the self-appointed extra-constitutional arbiters of Indian patriotism, the MNS an edifice of fanaticism and hate. I never thought you, the King, could succumb to such illegal and unseemly conduct of any goons, let alone the right-wing religious fanatic variety. I had once defended in writing your freedom to speak when you had thought out loud about an increasing sense of insecurity being felt by many people in India.

Red Chillies

Until yesterday you were King Khan, the king of most Indian hearts. Now, one is left to wonder what you really are.

I dont know Mahira Khan. I am told she has an impressive screen presence. And you chose her to be your leading lady. You must have seen something in her to ask her to venture across the barb-wired border and appear in Raees despite the thorny Indo-Pak relations.

Pinterest

You know that the word raees means chief, with a significant whiff of strength and power emanating from it. You were the King and had power that held sway over countless Indian hearts. Raj Thackeray and his hate-spewing followers had no legal power to enforce their diktats. That is why they threatened to disrupt the peace and prevent Raees from being shown in the theatres unless you paid obeisance to Thackeray and agreed to not have Mahira attend the release of Raees.

It must have been in a moment of fear or cowardice- you may call it desire to save your Raees from ruin and I would reluctantly understand you decided to transform from the King in you into a beggar, clutching the beggars bowl in your frightfully folded hands and walk over to seek MNS mercy. In that moment you, just as Karan Johar had done before you granted them the right to be the self-appointed guardians of peace and order in Mumbai and the surrounding areas.

Red Chillies

At that moment you mortgaged forever your freedom, particularly your freedom of expression, to MNS and any other group of goons who may choose to mimic them now or later.

You might argue that you couldnt count on Chief Minister Fadnavis having any or sufficient backbone to come to your aid and put Thackeray and his followers in their place. You knew he had once already surrendered to Raj Thackeray the chief ministerial power and responsibility to maintain law and order by sacrificing Johar at the MNS altar. But then again, life is all about choosing to fight rather than foregoing ones dignity. You chose to be stripped of your dignity.

Twitter

You are one of the worlds wealthiest actors. You did not need to make more films just for money. I also know times do change and the hate of the MNS variety isnt the kind of force that lasts forever. If people of goodwill band together they can always defeat the forces of darkness and evil.

And then there is Mahatma Gandhis love is truth, truth is lovea power mightier than a million Hitlers.

All the world needs is a powerful voice of resistance against evil. Yours could have been that voice. Unfortunately, you failed to become that voice.

Pinterest

What kind of India is being ushered in where the tallest pillars of the film world like Karan and you keep falling one by one to pure hate and evil? Vast majority of Indians are decent, honest, peace-loving and hardworking. They are also freedom loving. If you had resisted the suppression of your freedom of expression, they would have stood with you. Had you told the pseudo-patriots to mind their own damn business, many Indians would have been ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in the ensuing fight.

But unfortunately, you chose surrender to evil, SRK. You bowed to hate. Hate won.

And the lovefar deeper and more important than the one for which you routinely sing and dance in the moviesthe love of fundamental liberty and freedom of expression lost too. King Khan, since you are no longer worthy of being called the King, please tell us what to call you after your extremely deplorable deal with the merchants of hate of the MNS?

Your friend,

Ujjal Dosanjh"
In a bid to eradicate the use of plastic, the National Green Tribunal has banned the use of disposable plastic, which is mainly used for grocery and regular chai cups in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), with effect from Jan 1st, 2017.

Items like plastic tea cups, plates, spoons etc will be banned.

NGT directed to ban use of disposable plastic which is used in grocery /plastic tea cups like items in Delhi-NCR with effect from Jan 1, '17  ANI (@ANI_news) December 2, 2016

This is huge! Go Delhi! Go India! The disposable plastic ban takes effect on January 1, 2017.

#StopPlastic... https://t.co/CN550b4RKL  ecoad (@ecoadpune) December 9, 2016

NGT to hear plastic ban plea  RAM KUMAR GUPTA (@rkg2222) December 6, 2016

It has now directed the city government to take necessary steps to reduce dumped waste.

lifo

With the help of a bench headed by NGT chairperson, Swatantar Kumar, the NGT lashed out at the Government for showing laxity for the same and took imperative steps to curb the quickly-escalating problem.

Apart from this, the NGT has also asked Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) along with other local authorities to take necessary measures.

reference

NGT directed all 3 MCDs,DDA & other public authorities including NCT of Delhi to take fast steps for reduction & utilisation of dumped waste  ANI (@ANI_news) December 2, 2016

Indicating the three major dumping sites in Delhi-- Okhla, Gazipur and Bhalswa, the tribunal said, "Each of these sites is a depiction of the mess that can be created for environment and health of people of Delhi."

This rule comes in at a time when the nation, especially Delhi/NCR is in dire need of a pollution-free environment. In the past couple of months, we've seen the place taking a massive hit due to the ills of pollution.

(Also read: 10 Long Term Solutions Delhi Needs So The Next Generation Can Breathe Freely!)
What started as an internal fight in one of the country's most respected corporate conglomerate, the Tata group has had its fair bit of twists and turns, with claims and counterclaims, allegations and counter allegations between the Tatas and the now ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry.

PTI

The top management of the company is also divided down the middle when it comes to which side they are supporting. While the independent directors backed Mistry, others have stood firmly with the Tatas. The TCS board of directors have in fact approved the ouster of Mistry as the Tata Son's chairman.

But so far the biggest opposition to the Tatas apart from the Mistry family has come from another independent director, Nusli Wadia.

Wadia, who is an independent director of the Tata sons has levelled some serious allegations against Ratan Tata and the company.

PTI

Wadia who was recently given the notice to be removed from his position in Tata Steel, Tata Motors Ltd and Tata Chemicals Ltd, has hit out at the Tatas.

In a statement addressing the stakeholders, Wadia has rejected the allegations levelled against him.

He alleged that he had objected the Tata's decision to expand its steel industry into UK adding that the focus on the foreign market has affected the company's performance and revenue in the home market.

Reuters

Wadia also alleged claimed that there was no possibility of any returns from the investments the company has made in the UK.

stepping up his attack, Wadia said that Tata Steel expanding to UK went against the founding principle of the company in 1907, which was to "fulfil the dream of 'Make in India' when all the steel consumed in India was being imported from UK."
1500 German police officers will patrol the streets of Cologne this New Years Eve, to prevent a replay of the horrific sex attacks committed by the nation's new immigrant population.

newobserveronline

Taharrush - The Sickening And Terrifying Arab Rape Game That Is Spreading Across Europe



Along with heightened security, trained specialists will be on call to help women in cases of harassment, intimidation, assault, or rape, RT reported.

The city will restrict movement around the city's cathedral, a popular New Year's Eve hotspot, which saw hundreds of attacks. The church and nearby building will be brightly lit up.

Another area which saw many attacks, the main train station, will be filmed by CCTV and brightly lit up.

Reuters

Syrian Migrants Went On Raping Spree Because German Women Wore Perfume And Sexy Clothes, Says Radical Mosque Imam

Last year, Germany only had 140 officers deployed here, and was completely unprepared to address the thousands of Syrian refugees who were unaccustomed to women thronging about publicly. Over 1200 complaint were made, and 500 were of sexual assault.

Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker said the measures will restore peace in the city:"After last New Year's Eve's shocking assaults, the city has taken appropriate measures," she told reporters on Monday. "We want people to experience the true Cologne: peaceful, joyful - a city with a sense of community."

The criminals were described as men of North African or Middle Eastern descent.

German Gangs Are Beating Up Syrians After Immigrants Sexually Assault Germany's Women
Women frustrated by the election of Donald Trump to become the next President of America in 18 cities left work and took to the streets on Monday December 12 but no one noticed.

Twitter

Women & Allies, a social group formed by social-justice activist Ann Massaro, led the protest. She emphasized that Americans elected a sexual predator to the White House.

They wrote the following statement on Facebook:

On December 12, 2016, women/self-identified women and their allies will gather together in solidarity in cities across the United States to protest the normalization of sexual assault, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, unconstitutional behavior, cronyism, and hate. We [I] urge everyone to rally together to protect the inalienable rights for all and fight against the tyranny were facing as a result of the 2016 presidential election.

Twitter

The group accuses Trump of having demonstrated overt contempt for women and a troubling sexual misogyny.

Twitter

The anti-Trump strike took place in 18 cities including California, Denver, Los Angeles, Oakland, Santa Barbara, and Florida, among others but they received next to no coverage by the media.

Protests have historically been an avenue to express a larger public opinion that is usually anti something the government is doing.
I have known Muhammad Adeeb for the last two months. My friend Jad Yateem, a Beirut-based Journalist, introduced me to Adeeb. Since then, he has been reporting for us from inside Aleppo on the people, and a city battling one of the biggest human rights violations of our times.

Muhammad Adeeb

Last night he sent me this message:

It seems just a matter of time when Eastern part of the besieged Aleppo will be completely controlled by the Bashar Al Assad forces, which is supported by the Russian air force, which is bombing the neighbourhoods from above.

Today, more than any other day, Aleppo is, and will always stand united with Dera, Hems, Hama and Idlib until death, he said.

Urging the outside world to pray for the innocent people living in Eastern Aleppo, Adeeb asked us to, Do a lot of prayers for the children, women and the elderly people, left in the scattered neighbourhoods.

Reuters

Adeeb said that people of Aleppo are sad and running for their lives, but have not lost any hope. People here say that God is with them. If they die they will enter paradise as martyrs.

A lot of people from the ruined city are sending goodbye messages to their loved ones, fearing their death. According to reports the Syrian army has almost gained control in the region and will try to eliminate every single rebel in the area.

Adeeb said that 14 members of the Ajm, Alhasan and Masri families, 9 members of the Al-Sinda family (including 7 women and 4 children), 20 members of the Faseer, Hajar, and Sinda families in the Firdaus neighborhood, 25 members of the Akko, Fael families in the AlSaliheen neighborhood, have been killed in just a few hours.

Here are the videos that he has sent in the last one month.
If there's one good thing I am taking away from 2016, it is the strength to speak up. Women around the world have made a statement that might have been lost in the events through the year. Here's a look at the events etched in the pages of history by some remarkable women.

1. Marley Emerson Dias, 11

wordondastreet

She might just be a girl but she's the force behind the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign. In my fifth-grade class, I saw that books werent featuring black girls, and those were the books being assigned. So I told my mom, and she said, Well, what are you going to do about it? So thats really how the campaign started, she told American Libraries. Its something Im really passionate about.

I started this because in my fifth-grade class I was only able to read books about white boys and their dogs. I understood that my teacher could connect with those characters, so he asked us to read those books. But I didnt relate to them, so I didnt learn lessons from those stories, Dias told The Guardian. She has now exceeded her goal after an outpouring of support  both online, where the #1000blackgirlbooks hashtag has taken off, and offline.

2. The Three Judges

ICC-CPI

In a historic decision, the International Criminal Court charged former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba guilt of murder, rape and pillaging during the Central African conflicts of 2003-2003. The decision was taken by the Trial Chamber headed by Joyce Aluoch (left), Sylvia Steiner (middle), and Kuniko Ozaki (right).

Aluoch is a lawyer and former judge of the High Court of Kenya. She is the First Chairperson of the Committee of African Union Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and was the Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Sylvia Steiner is the longest serving Judge at the ICC, she was also a member of the Official Working Group on the Implementation of the Rome Statute in 2003, in Brazil. Kuniko Ozaki, is a judge of the International Criminal Court and is the Presiding Judge of Trial Chamber V, constituted to try the cases against four Kenyan nationals.

3. Negin Khpalwak, 19

Reuters

She leads the Afghan all-women orchestra which is one-of-a-kind. The Zohra orchestra say they want to transform the international perception of their country and raise awareness of womens rights issues. Negin has received multiple death threats and has been shunned by her family.

I will never accept defeat. I will continue to play music. I do not feel safe, but when people see me and say, That is Negin Khpalwak, that gives me energy," she told Reuters.

4. Peggy Whitson, 56

NASA

She is the oldest woman to have ever been to space! During her third visit to the International Space Station in November this year, Peggy Whitson, became the oldest woman in space. Shed took to social media to encourage others to "dream big". She served as Chief of the Astronaut Office until July 2012. Her cumulative EVA time to 39 hours, 46 minutes. She is now in space as part of the crew of Expedition 50.

5. Yusra Mardini

Wikimedia

She is a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team (ROT), that competed under the Olympic flag at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She is from Syria and when her home was destroyed in the civil war, her sister and she had swum for three hours pushing a boat to save their lives and get to Lesbos.

We were the only four who knew how to swim, she said of the experience.

I had one hand with the rope attached to the boat as I moved my two legs and one arm. It was three and half hours in cold water. Your body is almost like  done. I dont know if I can describe that.

6. Laxmi Agarwal, 26

mystictreasuretrove

Having survived an acid attack on her at the age of 15, Lakshmi has been a champion for acid attack victims across the world. She is one of the founders of Sheroes Hangouts and this year has expanded the brand to cities across India! She is the director of Chhanv Foundation, a NGO dedicated to help the survivors of acid attacks in India.

7. Tess Asplund, 42

TT News Agency

The image of a woman standing against the marching neo-Nazis lent the right effect to the resistance of the extremism in Scandinavia. Tess didn't care about support from others, she walked straight into the parade of the Nordic Resistance Movement in Central Sweden. It was an impulse. I was so angry, I just went out into the street, Asplund told the Guardian.

I was thinking: hell no, they cant march here! I had this adrenaline. No Nazi is going to march here, its not okay.
Lower gas pressure maintained by Russia's Gazprom again has been recorded at the entry points to the Ukrainian gas transport system from the direction of Russia, public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz has said.

"Only 12 out of 30 days in November Gazprom maintained gas pressure at Pisarevka gas metering station, while at Sudzha gas metering station gas pressure was stably lower than the figures outlined in the contract," Ukrtransgaz said.

The company said that the same situation was seen in the first ten days of December.

The company intends to publish information about gas pressure at the entry points to the Ukrainian gas transport system from the direction of Russia every week to inform its European partners and the public.

Ukrtransgaz said that Ukraine implements the orders for gas transit for European consumers.

In 2016, Naftogaz Ukrainy and Ukrtransgaz several times informed about frequent cases of gas pressure drops lower the contract level at the entry points to the Ukrainian gas transport system. Gazprom complicates the fulfillment of own orders to transport gas to Europe.

The Ukrainian company said that the Ukrainian gas transport operator had to adjust its operations and have additional costs to balance transit.
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details.
Flamboyant and equally controversial former Greek finance minister Yanison Tuesday claimed that German Finance Minister Wolfganghad already decided by June 2014 to withdraw support from the then Samaras coalition government holding power in Athens
Prosecutor General's Office in Kyiv (PGO) has opened a criminal case over embezzlement on an especially large scale against possible unlawful actions of officials of insolvent VAB Bank and its owner Oleh Bakhmatiuk. The businessman denies the accusations, believes it a prearranged PR stunt of the head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and calls on the central bank to find a compromise to really return funds to depositors.

"The NBU welcomes the actions of PGO and hopes that soon criminal cases will be opened against other heads and owners of insolvent banks that violated law," the NBU said on Monday.

The criminal case was opened under an initiative of the NBU, and the investigation department of the National Police in Kyiv will carry out the pretrial investigation.

Bakhmatiuk told Interfax-Ukraine by phone that he believes that the new accusations are the continuation of the prearranged PR stunt by NBU Governor Valeriya Gontareva.

"She is absolutely not interested in finishing the conflict and returning the funds. Her goal is to liquidate the company [Ukrlandfarming with Avangard listed on the London Stock Exchange]," the businessman said.

He said that in two years law enforces, including the National Police, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) investigated into a large number of criminal cases linked to VAB Bank, and it was established that Bakhmatiuk is not guilty.

"These cases are volumes of questioning and examinations. They proved that I am not guilty. Most of them have been closed. If the new case is opened, according to the criminal procedure code it is to be closed," Bakhmatiuk said.

The businessman said that he again proposed to the NBU to find a compromise for the real increase of payments under the bank's liabilities, but his proposals are left without response.

"The Individuals Deposit Guarantee Fund does not oppose these proposals. I would say that even the NBU does not oppose, but Gontareva opposes them," he said.
Stop the CIA Coup



The Deep State versus Donald Trump



By Justin Raimondo December 12, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " AntiWar " - The CIA is up to its old tricks: overthrowing a democratically elected government. Only this time its our government. As they are now legally allowed to do ever since the law against covert CIA propaganda in the United States was repealed, the Agency has leaked to the Washington Post reports  via anonymous third parties  of its alleged assessment of a Russian campaign to hand Donald Trump the White House: The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter. Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, according to US officials. Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt Clintons chances. It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russias goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected, said a senior US official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to US senators. Thats the consensus view. The reaction of the Trump transition team was swift and cutting: These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. Its now time to move on and Make America Great Again. This reference to the intelligence failure that led us into the most disastrous war in our history is not mere rhetoric: if youll recall, there was plenty of dissent within the intelligence community over the Bush administrations conclusion that Iraq had WMD, and was getting ready to deploy, but this was stripped from the public documents. Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby made several trips to Langley to browbeat analysts into submission and give the administration the talking points they wanted to justify the invasion. Its important to note that this leak was published just as President Obama announced he was ordering a full-scale review of the intelligence: the Washington Post story was an effort to get out ahead of that and put the CIAs conclusions on the record before the review could be made public. This is obliquely alluded to in the Posts story: The CIA presentation to senators about Russias intentions fell short of a formal US assessment produced by all 17 intelligence agencies . A senior US official said there were minor disagreements among intelligence officials about the agencys assessment, in part because some questions remain unanswered. [emphasis added] As we get down into the weeds, these unspecified minor disagreements seem a bit more major than the reporters at the Post would have us believe: Intelligence agencies do not have specific intelligence showing officials in the Kremlin directing the identified individuals to pass the Democratic emails to WikiLeaks, a second senior US official said. Those actors, according to the official, were one step removed from the Russian government, rather than government employees. What does it mean to be one step removed from the Russian intelligence apparatus? Well, it means anything the CIA wants it to mean: it is clearly a subjective judgment, akin to the criteria by which the web site propornot.com identifies Russian agents: if you hold certain views, you must be Putins puppet. Another similarity to the propornot scam is that the officials cited throughout the Post piece are anonymous: we dont know their motives, their positions, or whatever other information is necessary to evaluating their credibility. What is missing from the Posts story is any evidence: it is simply a series of assertions, offered without proof of any kind. That the Democrats, the warmonger wing of the GOP, and the media (or do I repeat myself?), are seizing on this was all too predictable. What separates this out from the usual rhetorical overkill that has characterized this election season is that it is being invoked as a reason for the Electoral College to vote for someone other than President-elect Trump. Ex-CIA analyst Bob Baer  the unofficial media spokesman for the Deep State  is calling for a new election, although he wants to see the forensics first. (Guess what, Bob, there are no reliable forensics!). John Dean, White House counsel under former president Richard Nixon, called for the intelligence report on Russias role to be made available to the 538 members of the electoral college before 19 December, when they formally vote to elect the next president. Retiring Senate minority leader Harry Reid accused the FBI of covering up the intelligence assessment, and called on director Comey to resign. The progressive Twitterverse lit up with hysterical accusations of treason, and not so subtle hints that the Electoral College must repudiate Trump. Meanwhile, former British diplomat Craig Murray threw a monkey wrench into the coup plotters campaign by asserting what Ive been saying in this space all along: that publication of the DNC and John Podesta emails werent hacks, but rather were leaks. Murray, a close associate of Julian Assange, had this to say to the Guardian: Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, who is a close associate of Assange, called the CIA claims bullshit, adding: They are absolutely making it up. I know who leaked them, Murray said. Ive met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian and its an insider. Its a leak, not a hack; the two are different things. If what the CIA are saying is true, and the CIAs statement refers to people who are known to be linked to the Russian state, they would have arrested someone if it was someone inside the United States. America has not been shy about arresting whistleblowers and its not been shy about extraditing hackers. They plainly have no knowledge whatsoever. Of course we had to go to the British media in order to read this. Lets be clear about what we actually know  and, just as importantly, what we dont know  about the WikiLeaks email releases: 1) There is not a lick of evidence that the Russians, or anyone else, hacked the DNC/Podesta emails. That is, we dont know if someone used electronic means to obtain them, or if it was an insider, i.e. a person with access who subsequently turned them over to WikiLeaks 2) It is nearly impossible to trace the source of a hack using scientific, i.e. purely technical, means. As cyber-security expert Jeffrey Carr puts it, the methods of the professional cyber-security industry are essentially what he calls faith-based attribution. Furthermore, the methodology that firms such as CrowdStrike used in supposedly uncovering the Russian hackers in the DNC case are classic examples of confirmation bias and laughably inadequate. 3) Julian Assange denies that the Russians are the source of the emails, and although he refuses to identify the person or persons responsible, someone he has worked closely with and his known to have his confidence, Craig Murray, is now telling us that it wasnt a hack, it was an insider who leaked the documents. That this is being steadfastly ignored in the American media is hardly surprising: after all, it was WikiLeaks that exposed the mainstream medias active collaboration with the Clinton campaign, and the media was clearly in Clintons camp. 4) A key element of the CIA campaign is that the Republican National Committee was also hacked by the same Russian spooks, and yet nothing was posted on WikiLeaks Note how this assumes the premises of the conspiracy theorists: that it was the Russians who hacked the DNC/Podesta emails and that WikiLeaks is merely an extension of the Kremlin. Also note that the Republican National Committee denies it was hacked, and furthermore please note the fact that Colin Powells emails were indeed posted by DC Leaks, along with routine emails from various GOP operatives that had no particular significance. So what is going on here? When Trump supporters opined that the Deep State would never allow the populist real estate mogul to take office, I was skeptical. This seemed to me like a made-for-television movie script rather than a real possibility: after all, what could they actually do, aside from using force to prevent him from taking the oath of office? However, as the campaign progressed, and the Clintonites became progressively more unhinged in their attacks on Trump, the Russian angle became more prominent: former acting CIA Director Mike Morells accusation that Trump is an unconscious agent of the Kremlin, and not a patriot, seemed over the top at the time, but in retrospect looks more like it was laying the groundwork for the current CIA-driven propaganda campaign. But why would the CIA, in particular, have a special aversion to Trump? Marcy Wheeler, whose analytical abilities I respect despite our political disagreements, has this to say: First, if Trump comes into office on the current trajectory, the US will let Russia help Bashar al-Assad stay in power, thwarting a 4-year effort on the part of the Saudis to remove him from power. It will also restructure the hierarchy of horrible human rights abusing allies the US has, with the Saudis losing out to other human rights abusers, potentially up to and including that other petrostate, Russia. It will also install a ton of people with ties to the US oil industry in the cabinet, meaning the US will effectively subsidize oil production in this country, which will have the perhaps inadvertent result of ensuring the US remains oil-independent even though the market cant justify fracking right now. The CIA is institutionally quite close with the Saudis right now, and has been in charge of their covert war against Assad. The Saudis, having given millions to the Clinton Foundation, along with their Gulf state allies, were counting on a Clinton victory. The CIA has a longstanding relationship with Riyadh, and together they have been working assiduously to not only overthrow Assad in Syria but to forge a moderate Sunni alliance that will effectively police the region while establishing the Saudis as the regional hegemon. This was the Clintonian strategy while Hillary was at the helm of Foggy Bottom: Libya, Syria, the alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, are all examples of this utterly disastrous Sunni turn. Trump represents a threat to this grand design, and therefore has to be stopped by whatever means necessary. His desire to get along with Russia, his opposition to regime change in Syria, his critique of the Libyan misadventure, his foreign policy stance in general  all this meant that he would come to power and drain the swamp of the CIA and the State Department. The irony here is that the accusation leveled at Trump  that his historic victory represents a successful attempt by a foreign power to take control of the White House  is a classic case of projection. What we are witnessing is a joint CIA-Saudi operation to overthrow the duly elected President of the United States. In a recent speech given on his victory tour, Trump said the following: We will pursue a new foreign policy that finally learns from the mistakes of the past. We will stop looking to topple regimes and overthrow governments. Our goal is stability not chaos. For the whole of its existence, the CIA has been in the business of toppling regimes that didnt bow to Washingtons dictates, from Guatemala to Iran to Chile and on and on. The production of chaos is their whole reason for existing. Trump would effectively put them out of business. No wonder they want to destroy him. We have heard much about how the CIA assessment needs to be made public, at least partially: of course, the details will never be published so that ordinary Americans can see them. Its the old we have to protect sources and methods excuse. But cries  from both those who support the CIA and the few skeptics  for an investigation into the charges are simply playing into the hands of the Langley crowd. For an investigation assumes that the premises of the CIAs case  that WikiLeaks is a Russian front, that the emails were actually hacked rather than leaked, and that there is some validity to the assertion that Trump is a Russian puppet, as Mrs. Clinton put it  are anything other than the basis of a smear campaign designed to undermine our democratic institutions. We might as well have an investigation into Pizza-gate or the belief that the moon landing was faked. Yes, we do need an investigation  into this brazen attempt by the CIA to subvert our democratic institutions, and undermine the office of the President. When Trump takes the oath of office, the very first thing he must do is to launch that probe  and clean house at the CIA. The cancer of subversion that is festering at the core of the national security bureaucracy must be excised, and Trump is just the man to do it. Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of Antiwar.com, and a senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute. He is a contributing editor at The American Conservative, and writes a monthly column for Chronicles. He is the author of Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement [Center for Libertarian Studies, 1993; Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2000], and An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard [Prometheus Books, 2000]. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy.
Rogue Elements of the CIA Are Operating Against President-elect Trump By Paul Craig Roberts December 12, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Alex Jones catches a lot of grief. Some of it he brings on himself by being over the top, but most of the criticism he receives comes from his practice of dragging into the news issues that otherwise would remained cloaked in silence. Alex is certainly correct to stress that elements in the CIA, or someone claiming to be CIA, are planting stories in the media that Russia hacked Hillarys emails and used the damning information to elect Trump. The truth of the emails is not what is in question. It is their alleged Russian origin. There is no evidence for this claim. Wikileaks said the emails came to them as a leak from inside, not from an outside hack, and former top NSA official William Binney has said that if Russia was the source the NSA would have conclusive proof. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46012.htm What is striking about this controversy is that it is the CIA, not Russia, that is interfering in American elections. The CIA is supposed to be concerned with foreign intelligence. It is not supposed to interfere in US affairs. Yet it is the CIA that is using fake news to delegitimize a president-elect. One member of this operation, Bob Baer, has called for a new election on the basis of the claim that Trump was elected by Russian interference. https://www.intellihub.com/there-is-a-plan-to-steal-the-election-from-the-american-people-and-trump-cia-pushes-for-new-election/ The FBI does not support the claim of Russian interference. http://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2016/12/11/fbi-disagrees-with-cia-on-russian-influence-in-the-presidential-election/ The importance of this issue is that it is rogue elements inside the CIA who are trying to prevent Trump from becoming president. The important question is: Why? If neoconservative or military-security oligarchs are willing to so publicly in violation of law operate against an incoming president who could have them indicted and put on trial for high treason, wouldnt these rogue operators also be willing to assassinate the president-elect? The ruling oligarchy does not want any changes in policy toward Russia or the offshoring of US jobs. Clearly, they are willing to operate against a president-elect. Are they willing to go further? The presstitute media by hyping these groundless charges are setting up Trump for assassination. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy.
Syria: Government Liberates Aleppo - In Revenge(?) ISIS Retakes Palmyra By Moon Of Alabama December 12, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Moon Of Alabama " - The assault by Syrian government forces and its allies on Takfiri forces in east-Aleppo continues. Yesterday the heavily fortified Sheikh Saeed quarter was taken in addition to Karam Da`da`, Ferdous, Bab al Maqam and Jallum. The al-Qaeda led terrorists are down to some 5 square kilometer, five city quarters, roughly 2% of the area they held when the siege on them started. They may give up today or tomorrow. Huge amounts of foreign ammunition, food and medicines were found in the quarters the Takfiris retreated from. bigger The U.S. has given up on any relief mission for them. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry is down to begging the Russians to let some of his friends escape: Kerry urges Russia to show a little grace and allow Aleppo evacuation. Winning back the economic capital of the country, a city which the Turkish wannabe-Sultan Erdogan wanted to capture and incorporate into his neo-Ottoman empire, is the biggest victory the Syrian government achieved in this war. The whole area retaken in and around Aleppo is some 18,000 square kilometers - that is a larger area than the whole countries of Qatar or Lebanon. There were discussions between Syria and its allies from Russia, Iran and Lebanon on how to proceed from here. It was decided to set a priority in the west towards the al-Qaeda occupied Idleb instead of the mostly ISIS occupied east-Syria. A two front war in the west and east would be too risky and require additional forces that are not (yet) available. Two reasons for this decision are the economic importance of Idleb governate and the continuity of the government held western part of "useful Syria". There are other forces, Turkish, Kurdish and some Arab U.S. proxies, that have declared war on ISIS and shall bleed to eradicate it in the east. Accordingly a tacit deal was found with Turkey. It would be allowed to take al-Bab, east of Aleppo and to march on towards Raqqa from there. In exchange it would refrain from supporting al-Qaeda and aligned forces in and around Idleb in the west. Those forces would still have clandestine support from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others. It is somewhat questionable if the rather unreliable Erdogan will stick to the deal but that risk has been taken. The general risk of setting the priority in the west is a festering of a U.S. occupation of Syria's east. The U.S. just deployed an additional 200 special forces there to bring the total up to acknowledged 500. There are also some French and other special forces in the area. They are building several small military airfields and hire anyone they can find in that area to, allegedly, fight ISIS. This looks much like the construction of a "Salafist principality" in east-Syria and west-Iraq without the ISIS label. Gulf countries' and Zionists' lobbyists have called for such an occupation strategy of Upper Mesopotamia. A U.S./Saudi controlled proxy entity that interrupts the "Shia crescent" from Iran over Iraq and Syria to Lebanon and holds the ground for a planned natural gas pipeline from Qatar to Turkey and onto Europe. The Russian and Syrian hope may be that a Trump administration will abandon such imperial nonsense. Since December 5 probing attacks of ISIS around the larger area of east-Homs governate and Palmyra were registered. But the priority of the Syrian government was, rightly so, on east-Aleppo. Palmyra was held by a Syrian army contingent in large company size and by a few companies of little trained National Defense Forces - way too few to defend a rather large area against a sizable and determined attack. Last Friday ISIS attacked Palmyra with several hundred fighters, heavy artillery and tanks. Multiple suicide Vehicle Based IEDs penetrated the NDF defense lines around Palmyra. A large ISIS attack on Saturday was repulsed by over 60 Russian air attacks. Major news agencies falsely reported that ISIS had taken the center of Palmyra based solely on "activists in Turkey" claims. Only a renewed ISIS attack on Sunday proved to be too much for the thin defense forces. At noon the decision was taken to avoid further losses and to retreat from the city towards the south and the west. Palmyra and the surrounding areas fell again to ISIS. The attackers are thought to have come from Deir Ezzor, where a Syrian government force surrounded by ISIS recently had a few quiet days. They fighters most likely did not recently come from Mosul in Iraq. Several military sources said the attackers were superbly organized, well led and had excellent intelligence. Reinforcements for the Syrian army have arrived in the area and the Russian deputy foreign minister promised to retake the city from ISIS. The reinforcements may be enough to stop the current ISIS advance. But the priority is Aleppo and an immediate successful counterattack on Palmyra is not likely. How does this ISIS attack fit into the bigger picture? Map by Fabrice Balanche - Status November 2016 - Palmyra is below the lower center-left of the map frame - bigger ISIS is under attack in Iraq in Mosul and the areas west of it. U.S. proxy forces, mostly Kurdish YPG fighters, attack the surroundings of the ISIS held city of Raqqa. Turkish proxy forces, including some units from the terrorist group Ahrar al-Sham, attack ISIS in al-Bab north-west of Raqqa and east of Aleppo. U.S. drones and attack planes are constantly flying over all ISIS held territory in east-Syria. How come ISIS has the considerable resources available to now attack Palmyra, far away from the critical points further north where it is heavily attacked? Where did the necessary ammunition and money come from? Why attack now? U.S. Central Command, the imperial headquarter in the Middle East, announced on December 9 that it had just bombed 168 ISIS tanker trucks near Palmyra. (CentCom is huge. There are 58,000 U.S. troops plus 42,000 U.S. military contractors under CentCom command in the Middle East.) That CentCom claim sounded very dubious to me and I was not the only one to disregard it as nonsense: The Inside Source - @InsideSourceInt

> #Syria // #Palmyra // US claims of destroying 160 ISIS oil trucks in Syria are seemingly false from what we've heard.

3:46 AM - 10 Dec 2016 The video accompanying the CentCom claim showed bomb hits on only three tanker trucks and some four fixed targets. Nothing like the claimed large scale attack. It is questionable that so many tanker trucks, most were bombed over the last year, would assemble in one area. And why would they be near the then front line with Syrian forces in Palmyra? Why would the U.S. hit them there and not on their way coming or going to wherever? How come no one else, no opposition outlet and no agency, reported such a large attack? This emphasis on "look we are hitting ISIS around Palmyra" by CentCom is suspicious. The U.S. did see tanker trucks but the hundreds of ISIS forces with heavy equipment, including tanks, preparing for their assault on the city were invisible? This under an airspace that is practically controlled by the U.S. and its allies? This smells of a "revenge" attack ordered up by the U.S. or its Gulf allies for the Syrian and Russian taking of Aleppo. A demonstration that the early victory of Russia in Palmyra was ephemeral. A propaganda defeat of Russia covering the real defeat of U.S. supported Takfiris in east-Aleppo. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy.
Life on Earth is Dying. Thousands of Species Cease to Exist

By Robert J. Burrowes

December 12, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - On the day that you read this article, 200 species of life on Earth (plants, birds, animals, fish, amphibians, insects, reptiles) will cease to exist. Tomorrow, another 200 species will vanish forever.

The human onslaught to destroy life on Earth is unprecedented in Earths history. Planet Earth is now experiencing its sixth mass extinction event and Homo sapiens sapiens is the cause. Moreover, this mass extinction event is accelerating and is so comprehensive in its impact that the piecemeal measures being taken by the United Nations, international agencies and governments constitute a tokenism that is breathtaking in the extreme.

And it is no longer the case that mainly invisible species are vanishing: those insects, amphibians and small animals about which you had never even heard, assuming they have been identified and given a name by humans.

You and I are on the brink of driving to extinction some of the most iconic species alive today. For a photo gallery of threatened species, some of which are critically endangered, see Worlds wildlife being pushed to the edge by humans  in pictures.

If you want to read more about some aspects of the extinction threat, you can do so in these recent reports: World Wildlife Crime Report: Trafficking in protected species and 2016 Living Planet Report which includes these words: The main statistic from the report  shows a 58% decline between 1970 and 2012. This means that, on average, animal populations are roughly half the size they were 42 years ago.

And if you want to read just one aspect of what is happening in the worlds oceans, this recent UN report will give you something to ponder: New UN report finds marine debris harming more than 800 species, costing countries millions.

Of course, some of what is happening is related to the ongoing climate catastrophe and there isnt any good news on that front. See Whats Happening in the Arctic is Astonishing.

But not everything that is going badly wrong is well known either. Did you know that we are destroying the Earths soil? See Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues.

And did you realise that even nitrogen is now a huge problem too? See Scientists shine a spotlight on the overlooked menace of nitrogen.

Of course, military violence has devastating consequences on the Earths ecosystems too, destroying land, water and atmosphere (not to mention killing human beings) in the fight over resources. You will get no joy from the article Iraqs oil inferno  government inaction in the face of eco-terrorism or the website of the Toxic Remnants of War Project.

But every single aspect of military spending is ultimately used to destroy. It has no other function.

While 2.5 billion human beings do not have enough to eat. See One in three people suffers malnutrition at global cost of $3.5 trillion a year

As you read all this, you might say Not me! But you are wrong. You dont have to be an impoverished African driven to killing elephants for their tusks so that you can survive yourself. You dont have to be a farmer who is destroying the soil with synthetic poisons. You dont have to be a soldier who kills and destroys or a person who works for a corporation that, one way to another, forces peasants off their land.

You just have to be an ordinary person who pays your military taxes and consumes more than your share of world resources while participating without challenge in the global system of violence and exploitation managed by the global elite.

Why is this? you might ask.

This is because the primary driver of the human-induced mass extinction is not such things as some people hunting a particular lifeform to extinction, horrendous though this is. In fact, just two things drive most species over the edge: our systematic destruction of land habitat  forests, grasslands, wetlands, peatlands, mangroves  in our endless effort to capture more of the Earths wild places for human use (whether it be residential, commercial, mining, farming or military) and our destruction of waterways and the ocean habitat by dumping into them radioactive contaminants, carbon dioxide, a multitude of poisons and chemical pollutants, and even plastic.

And do you know what drives this destruction of land and water habitats? Your demand for consumer products, all of which are produced by using land and water habitats, and the resources derived from them, often far from where you live. The most basic products, such as food and clothing, are produced on agricultural land, sometimes created by destroying rainforests, or taken from the ocean (where overfishing has savagely depleted global fish stocks). But in using these resources, we have ignored the needs of the land, oceans and the waterways for adequate regenerative inputs and recovery time.

We also participate, almost invariably without question or challenge, in the inequitable distribution of resources that compels some impoverished people to take desperate measures to survive through such means as farming marginal land or killing endangered wildlife.

So dont sit back waiting for some miracle by the United Nations, international agencies or governments to solve this problem. It cannot happen for the simple reason that these organizations are all taking action within the existing paradigm that prioritizes corporate profit and military violence over human equity and ecological sustainability.

Despite any rhetoric to the contrary, they are encouraging overconsumption by industrialized populations and facilitating the inequitable distribution of income and wealth precisely because this benefits those who control these organizations, agencies and governments: the insane corporate elites who are devoid of the capacity to see any value beyond the bottom line. See The Global Elite is Insane.

If you want action on the greatest challenge human beings have ever faced  to avert our own extinction by learning to live in harmony with our biosphere and equity with our fellow humans  then I encourage you to take personal responsibility.

If you do, you need to act. At the simplest level, you can make some difficult but valuable personal choices. Like becoming a vegan or vegetarian, buying/growing organic/biodynamic food, and resolutely refusing to use any form of poison or to drive a car or take an airline flight.

But if you want to take an integrated approach, the most powerful way you can do this is to systematically reduce your own personal consumption while increasing your self-reliance. Anita McKone and I have mapped out a fifteen-year strategy for doing this in  The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth.

You might also consider signing the online pledge of The Peoples Charter to Create a Nonviolent World which obviously includes nonviolence towards our fellow species.

One of the hidden tragedies of modern human existence is that we have been terrorized into believing that we are not personally responsible. See The Delusion I Am Not Responsible.

For a fuller explanation, see Why Violence? and  Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice.

It isnt true but few people feel powerful enough to make a difference.

And every time you decide to do nothing and to leave it to someone else, you demonstrate why no-one else should do anything either.

Extinction beckons. What will you do?

Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of Why Violence?http://tinyurl.com/whyviolence His email address is flametree@riseup.net and his website is at http://robertjburrowes.wordpre ss.com
The CIAs Absence of Conviction By Craig Murray December 12, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " I have watched incredulous as the CIAs blatant lie has grown and grown as a media story  blatant because the CIA has made no attempt whatsoever to substantiate it. There is no Russian involvement in the leaks of emails showing Clintons corruption. Yes this rubbish has been the lead today in the Washington Post in the US and the Guardian here, and was the lead item on the BBC main news. I suspect it is leading the American broadcasts also. A little simple logic demolishes the CIAs claims. The CIA claim they know the individuals involved. Yet under Obama the USA has been absolutely ruthless in its persecution of whistleblowers, and its pursuit of foreign hackers through extradition. We are supposed to believe that in the most vital instance imaginable, an attempt by a foreign power to destabilise a US election, even though the CIA knows who the individuals are, nobody is going to be arrested or extradited, or (if in Russia) made subject to yet more banking and other restrictions against Russian individuals? Plainly it stinks. The anonymous source claims of We know who it was, it was the Russians are beneath contempt. As Julian Assange has made crystal clear, the leaks did not come from the Russians. As I have explained countless times, they are not hacks, they are insider leaks  there is a major difference between the two. And it should be said again and again, that if Hillary Clinton had not connived with the DNC to fix the primary schedule to disadvantage Bernie, if she had not received advance notice of live debate questions to use against Bernie, if she had not accepted massive donations to the Clinton foundation and family members in return for foreign policy influence, if she had not failed to distance herself from some very weird and troubling people, then none of this would have happened. The continued ability of the mainstream media to claim the leaks lost Clinton the election because of Russia, while still never acknowledging the truths the leaks reveal, is Kafkaesque. I had a call from a Guardian journalist this afternoon. The astonishing result was that for three hours, an article was accessible through the Guardian front page which actually included the truth among the CIA hype: The Kremlin has rejected the hacking accusations, while the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has previously said the DNC leaks were not linked to Russia. A second senior official cited by the Washington Post conceded that intelligence agencies did not have specific proof that the Kremlin was directing the hackers, who were said to be one step removed from the Russian government.

Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, who is a close associate of Assange, called the CIA claims bullshit, adding: They are absolutely making it up.

I know who leaked them, Murray said. Ive met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian and its an insider. Its a leak, not a hack; the two are different things.

If what the CIA are saying is true, and the CIAs statement refers to people who are known to be linked to the Russian state, they would have arrested someone if it was someone inside the United States.

America has not been shy about arresting whistleblowers and its not been shy about extraditing hackers. They plainly have no knowledge whatsoever. But only three hours. While the article was not taken down, the home page links to it vanished and it was replaced by a ludicrous one repeating the mad CIA allegations against Russia and now claiming  incredibly  that the CIA believe the FBI is deliberately blocking the information on Russian collusion. Presumably this totally nutty theory, that Putin is somehow now controlling the FBI, is meant to answer my obvious objection that, if the CIA know who it is, why havent they arrested somebody. That bit of course would be the job of the FBI, who those desperate to annul the election now wish us to believe are the KGB. It is terrible that the prime conduit for this paranoid nonsense is a once great newspaper, the Washington Post, which far from investigating executive power, now is a sounding board for totally evidence free anonymous source briefing of utter bullshit from the executive. In the UK, one single article sums up the total abnegation of all journalistic standards. The truly execrable Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian writes Few credible sources doubt that Russia was behind the hacking of internal Democratic party emails, whose release by Julian Assange was timed to cause maximum pain to Hillary Clinton and pleasure for Trump. Does he produce any evidence at all for this assertion? No, none whatsoever. What does a journalist mean by a credible source? Well, any journalist worth their salt in considering the credibility of a source will first consider access. Do they credibly have access to the information they claim to have? Now both Julian Assange and I have stated definitively the leak does not come from Russia. Do we credibly have access? Yes, very obviously. Very, very few people can be said to definitely have access to the source of the leak. The people saying it is not Russia are those who do have access. After access, you consider truthfulness. Do Julian Assange and I have a reputation for truthfulness? Well in 10 years not one of the tens of thousands of documents WikiLeaks has released has had its authenticity successfully challenged. As for me, I have a reputation for inconvenient truth telling. Contrast this to the credible sources Freedland relies on. What access do they have to the whistleblower? Zero. They have not the faintest idea who the whistleblower is. Otherwise they would have arrested them. What reputation do they have for truthfulness? Its the Clinton gang and the US government, for goodness sake. In fact, the sources any serious journalist would view as credible give the opposite answer to the one Freedland wants. But in what passes for Freedlands mind, credible is 100% synonymous with establishment. When he says credible sources he means establishment sources. That is the truth of the fake news meme. You are not to read anything unless it is officially approved by the elite and their disgusting, crawling whores of stenographers like Freedland. The worst thing about all this is that it is aimed at promoting further conflict with Russia. This puts everyone in danger for the sake of more profits for the arms and security industries  including of course bigger budgets for the CIA. As thankfully the four year agony of Aleppo comes swiftly to a close today, the Saudi and US armed and trained ISIS forces counter by moving to retake Palmyra. This game kills people, on a massive scale, and goes on and on. Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy.
The Democrats Russia Hacking Campaign is Political Suicide





By Mike Whitney

December 12, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Counterpunch " - The Democratic Party is doing incalculable damage to itself by shapeshifting into the party of baseless conspiracy theories, groundless accusations, and sour grapes. Hillary Clinton was already the most distrusted presidential candidate in party history. Now shes become the de facto flag-bearer for the nutso-clique of aspiring propagandists at the CIA, the New York Times and Bezos Military Digest. How is that going to improve the partys prospects for the long term?

It wont, because the vast majority of Americans do not want to align themselves with a party of buck-passing juveniles that have no vision for the future but want to devote all their energy to kooky witch-hunts that further prove they are unfit for high office.

The reason Hillary Clinton lost the election is because she is a polarizing, untrustworthy warmonger. Period. Putin had nothing to do with it.

And the same rule applies to the major media that has attached itself leech-like to this pathetic fairytale. Heres a clip from the Times headline story connecting FSB-agent Trump with the evil Kremlin:

American intelligence agencies have told the White House they have high confidence that the Russian government was behind the theft of emails and documents from the Democratic National Committee.  The attack on the congressional committees system appears to have come from an entity known as Fancy Bear, which is connected to the G.R.U., the Russian military intelligence service, according to an official involved in the forensic investigation Clinton campaign officials have suggested that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could be trying to tilt the election to Mr. Trump, who has expressed admiration for the Russian leader. (Computer Systems Used by Clinton Campaign Are Said to Be Hacked, Apparently by Russians, New York Times)

If there was a Pulitzer Prize for fearmongering innuendo or spurious accusations, the Times would win it hands-down. As it happens, readers have to delve much deeper into the article to find this shocking disclaimer:

But the campaign officials acknowledge that they have no evidence. The Trump campaign has dismissed the accusations about Russia as a deliberate distraction..

No evidence???

They got nothing. NOTHING!

All they have is a few anonymous agents who refuse to identify themselves speculating on alleged hacking incidents that (they surmise) were the work of Vladimir P. Strangelove in his remote Soviet Cyber-war bunker. Thats not even enough material for a decent spy thriller.

But, of course, all this bunkum about Fancy Bear and Russian military intelligence and the high confidence of (unnamed) US intelligence agents is enough to scare the hell out of many readers and leave them with the impression that the Kremlin is up to its old Cold War tricks again. The Times editors are wise enough to know that its quite easy to tap into 40-years of anti-Soviet brainwashing and convince the gullible sheeple that Washington and Moscow are still mortal enemies. It would have been helpful if the Times had given the story a bit of context, that is, pointed out that the US has relentlessly expanded NATO eastward establishing military bases in all of the former Soviet satellite states, toppled the Moscow-friendly regime in Ukraine, and built nuclear weapons sites in east Europe just a few hundred miles from Moscow.

The Times writers might have also noted that this latest propaganda campaign against Russia could very well be the result of Moscows triumph over US-backed militants in Syria that are facing a decisive defeat due in large part to Russian involvement. In other words, the Times and the other US propaganda organs are functioning as they always do, whipping up public sentiment against the evildoers so Washington can drag the country into another imperial war of expansion. The whole hacking mantra fits perfectly with the Pentagons hybrid war strategy which manipulates information in order to shape public perceptions and gain support for another round of genocidal violence in some far-flung location. (Raqqa, perhaps?)

Do you think that bloodthirsty Hillary would be on-board with such a plan?

Of course she would. Hillary never met a war she didnt like.

But lets cut to the chase: Putin didnt lose the election for Hillary. Obama did. People wanted change, and they didnt get it, so they moved on to Door Number 2: Donald Trump. Take a look at these three short clips from a recent survey from PEW Research and youll get a feel for what really happened in the election:

The Republican Party made deep inroads into Americas middle-class communities in 2016. Although many middle-class areas voted for Barack Obama in 2008, they overwhelmingly favored Donald Trump in 2016, a shift that was a key to his victory..In 2016, Trump successfully defended all 27 middle-class areas won by Republicans in 2008. In a dramatic shift, however, Hillary Clinton lost in 18 of the 30 middle-class areas won by Democrats in 2008

Overall, Democrats experienced widespread erosion in support from 2008 to 2016. Their share of the vote fell in 196 of the 221 metropolitan areas examined. The loss in support was sufficiently large to move 37 areas from the Democratic column to the Republican column

Not coincidentally, Democrats also were more likely to have lost ground in manufacturing-dependent areas. Of the 56 communities with a relatively large share of manufacturing jobs, Trump picked up victories in 15 metro areas that had supported Obama in 2008 and held onto another 29, leaving only 12 communities in the Democrats column. (GOP gained ground in middle-class communities in 2016, Pew Research)

Get it? The Dems lost ground everywhere because Obama didnt deliver the goods. Thats reason number one. Second, Hillary didnt address the issues that ordinary working people really care about. And what they care about is the economy. Money, security, jobs. Is that hard to understand?

People are afraid because things are getting worse not better. Their standards of living are slipping, theyre worried about their retirement, their jobs, their health care, and the pile of debt their kids have accumulated to go to college. Theyve lost confidence in the media, the congress, the courts and the president who promised change but never lifted a finger for working people his entire time in office.

Thats why Hillary lost, just look at the research.
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday granted bail in self-recognisance to a judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Adeniyi Ademola and his wife, Olabowale, who is the Head of Service of Lagos State, Olabowale.

The duo were granted bail in respect to their trial on charges bordering on receiving of gratification, among others.

Justice Jude Okeke granted bail to the duo on Tuesday,shortly after they were arraigned by the Federal Government.

The judge granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N50m each, totalling N100m for the two of them.

But since the bail was granted in self-recognisance, the two defendants were not required to produce sureties to guarantee release.

The lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Segun Jegede, did not oppose the bail applications but urged the court to impose terms and conditions that would make the defendants to attend their trial.

In granting the bail on Tuesday, the trial judge said the choice of the prosecution not to oppose the bail applications implied that it admitted all the averments deposed to by the defendants in support of their applications.

The judge however, as requested by the prosecution, ordered the defendants to deposit their passports and other travel documents with the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court throughout the period their trial would last.

Justice Okeke granted the bail on Tuesday shortly after the couple were arraigned on 11 counts including, being in possession of firearms without valid licence, conspiracy to receive gratification and receiving gratification of N30m from Joe Agi and Associates, between March 11 and March 26, 2015.

Shortly after the arraignment, Justice Ademolas lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), and another lawyer representing the wife of the judge, informed the court that they had filed their applications for bail.

Source: Punch
Schmitt-Matzen told Sam Venable of the Knoxville News Sentinel, I cried all the way home. I was crying so hard, I had a tough time seeing good enough to drive.

My wife and I were scheduled to visit our grandchildren in Nashville the next day, but I told her to go by herself. I was a basket case for three days. It took me a week or two to stop thinking about it all the time. Actually, I thought I might crack up and never be able to play the part again.

Venable said Schmitt-Matzen got to the hospital in 15 minutes after receiving the call and met the boys mother and relatives.

He quoted Shmitt-Matzen as saying, When I walked in, he was laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep. I sat down on his bed and asked, Say, whats this I hear about youre gonna miss Christmas? Theres no way you can miss Christmas! Why, youre my Number One elf!

He looked up and said, I am?

I said, Sure!

I gave him the present. He was so weak he could barely open the wrapping paper. When he saw what was inside, he flashed a big smile and laid his head back down.

They say Im gonna die, he told me. How can I tell when I get to where Im going?

I said, Can you do me a big favor?

He said, Sure!

When you get there, you tell em youre Santas Number One elf, and I know theyll let you in.

He said, They will?

I said, Sure!

He kinda sat up and gave me a big hug and asked one more question: Santa, can you help me?

I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there. I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to A 42-year-old clearing agent, Daniel Unegbu, has been arrested in connection with 83.4 kilogrammes of drug that tested positive for ephedrine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos State.

Unegbu was apprehended with two other suspects Joseph Ettah, 28, and Bright Wopara, 31  by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the airport.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the drug, estimated at N4bn, was uncovered in artificial hair usually worn by females.

Our correspondent learnt that the drug, which was said to be the largest quantity of ephedrine seized at the MMIA so far, was to be exported to South Africa.

A bag of heroin smuggled from Nairobi, Kenya, and cannabis billed for trafficking to London, were also said to have been abandoned at the airport.

The NDLEA Commander at the MMIA, Ahmadu Garba, said a preliminary investigation showed that Unegbu helped the traffickers to conceal the drug.

He said, Officials of the NDLEA at the departure hall detected a bag and during the search, it was found to contain substances that tested positive for ephedrine, with a total weight of 83.390kg. So far, three suspects apprehended are being interrogated to determine their level of culpability. The parcels of ephedrine were concealed in artificial hair.

A preliminary investigation revealed that Unegbu, who works as a clearing agent, collected the luggage from his client and took it to the airport. Ettah and Wopara are the two luggage handlers who worked with him.

The NDLEA Chairman, Col. Muhammad Abdallah (retd.), said the agency had intensified narcotic screening at the airport to frustrate the different tricks employed by drug traffickers.

This end of the year counter-narcotic smuggling strategy had prevented attempt by a suspected drug trafficking syndicate to export 83.390kg of ephedrine hidden in female hair attachment to South Africa.

Ephedrine is a precursor ingredient used in the production of methamphetamine. The estimated street value of the drug is about N4bn. NDLEA will continue to resist attempt by criminal syndicates to compromise security through strict law enforcement practice.

Anti-narcotic agents have been placed on the alert and will remain vigilant to detect any act of sabotage. The case is under investigation and anyone found wanting shall be prosecuted in line with the NDLEA Act, Abdallah said.

Everyone outside the room realized what happened. His mother ran in. She was screaming, No, no, not yet! I handed her son back and left as fast as I could.

I spent four years in the Army with the 75th Rangers, and Ive seen my share of (stuff). But I ran by the nurses station bawling my head off. I know nurses and doctors see things like that every day, but I dont know how they can take it.

Source: Punch
Top managers of public joint-stock company Odesa Port-Side Plant has asked Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to set the beneficial price for the plant or include it in the production chain of a gas producer, First Deputy Board Chairman Mykola Schurikov has said.

"We have sent an official letter to Groysman. We have proposed two options for settling the situation: to set the special price of natural gas for Odesa Port-Side Plant as the nitric fertilizer enterprise of the public sector or allow the plant to participate in production of natural gas or other forms of cooperation with Ukrainian gas producers," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Schurikov said that both options are imperfect, but if no measures were taken, the enterprise would stop and this would result in the social crisis in the region.

Earlier Head of the State Property Fund Ihor Bilous said that the plant could be halted or transferred to management of a company with gas resources after a failure to sell it.
A Federal High Court in Maiduguri, Borno State, has ordered the National Trail Newspaper, an Abuja-based weekly tabloid, and its Editor-in-Chief, Chief Inuwa Bwala, to pay Yusuf Dikko N6 million, being damages for false publication and illegal detention.

Delivering judgment on suit filed on September 8, 2015 and September 11, 2015, Justice Mohammed Tanko Salihu ordered that the arrest and detention of Yusuf Dikko at that material time by Borno State Police Command was unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.

He also declared that the publication made by Trail and Inuwa Bwala on April 27 to May 3, 2015, that Dikko signed a two-page petition against the Inspector General of Police was false.

Dikko had deposed to a seven-paragraph affidavit seeking N100 million compensation for general damages, ridiculing and embarrassment caused by the unlawful publication.

Source: Vanguard
The President-elect of the U.S, Donald Trump has named Exxon Mobil Chief Executive, Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state.

The 64-year- old who has ties to Russian President, Vladimir Put in mentioned that he was honored by the nomination.

Rex Tillersons career is the embodiment of the American dream, Mr Trump said.

His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State.

He will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for Americas vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened Americas security and standing in the world,

The secretary of state is in effect the most senior US diplomat, responsible for enacting the governments foreign policy.
Ebonyi State Police Command has impounded over 50 vehicles from motorists using vehicles with tinted glasses following their inability to provide evidence of ownership of tinted-permits.

Speaking to The Guardian in an interview, Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Jude Madu disclosed that the states Commissioner of Police, Peace Ibekwe-Abdallah led the stop and search operation.

The essence of the excercise was to let people know the importance of having genuine documents and documents covering their tinted vehicles. Its also to alert Motor-cycle operators that the ban on using dual carriage ways is still in force and they are further reminded that the Okada riders are not supposed to ply after 7pm, said the Police image-maker.

DSP Madu disclosed that those whose vehicles were impounded for lack of tinted permit were arrested and taken to the SIB of the command.

Those arrested were issued with their tinted permits at zero cost. It gave the police extra man-hours to stay behind till late mid-night to issue them with their permits. Some of them we interviewed complained that they dont have time and money to do it.

But we want the public to know that it is free.

He said the police are now emphasising the use of tinted glass because the command has discovered that the use of tinted vehicles is an avenue that criminals use to perpetrate their nefarious activities such as kidnapping and armed robbery.

When they buy these factory-fitted cars with tinted permits, some of them will buy tinted papers and cover everywhere. So, if somebody is kidnapped, the person might be inside the vehicle, you will not know and they can drive that person to a neighbouring state but you will not know.

So, if you have these tinted permits and its reported that a particular vehicle was seen and its suspected of being involved and we have the number, all we need to do is to key the number of that vehicle into our computer system and we will get the complete data of that person easily, the PPRO informed.

On measures taken to ensure a crime-free Christmas, DSP Madu assured that based on the measures, which the CP has put in place, Ebonyians would sleep with their two eyes closed.

Source: Guardian
The Acting Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Anthony Elujoba, has been summoned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over discrepancies in the payment of allowances without approval.

In a letter signed by Oseni Kazeem of the Southwest Zonal Office of the EFCC, in Ibadan, Oyo State, the commission advised the VC and the schools bursar, Aderonke Akeredolu, to come along with necessary documents for verification.

The office is currently investigating a case in which there is the need to obtain clarification from you. In view of the foregoing, you and your bursar are requested to report to our office for an interview.

You are also to come along with the following documents: the salary payment schedule/any other payment made to senior staff and junior staff in August and September, 2016; payment vouchers relating to furniture allowances paid to the VC from the day he assumed office to date; certified true copies of the monthly salary pay slips of the VC from the day he assumed office to date, the letter reads in part.

According to a report by Premium Times, the Acting VC was accused in a petition to the anti-graft agency by an unknown staff of the institution of paying allowances without approval.

Meanwhile, the schools Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic staff Union of Universities were planning on protesting the EFCCs invite of the VC to show their displeasure.
According to a warrant, Primus threatened the woman with a gun to try to take her money  a penny.

Primus was jailed with bail set at $600,000.
Nigerian newspaper headlines December 13, 2016.

Punch

Global oil benchmark, Brent crude, jumped above $57 per barrel on Monday after 11 non-members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, including Russia, agreed to cut their production by 558,000 barrels per day.

Vanguard

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sued the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Sakari, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, over failure to give account of the spending of N500 billion as running cost between 2006 and 2016, and the monthly income and allowances of each Senator and member.

Guardian

For Nigerians hoping to have a good Yuletide celebrations by cashing out of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), their plans may have to be revised as the alleged Ponzi scheme has frozen accounts of its participants in Nigeria for one month.

Thisday

The National Images Incorporation in conjunction with Lagos State Government will tomorrow commence the 2016/2017 edition of agricultural empowerment training scheme at Oshodi-Isolo Local Council Development Area of the state.

Leadership

The Free Zakzaky Campaign Committee, a group under the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has written the Nigeria Senate, demanding the release of their leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.

Premium Times

The Code of Conduct Bureau says it may be forced to arrest and possibly prosecute at least 19 ministers and heads of agencies in the President Muhammadu Buharis government for non-compliance with procedures of declaring their assets.

The Sun

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, has described the 200million capacity sim card production plant of Secure ID Limited in Lagos as a demonstration of Federal Governments economic diversification and backward integration initiative.

The Nation

The troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have entered the heart of Sambisa forest from various fronts. They are recording huge successes clearing out the last frontier of Boko Haram terrorists hideouts.
Ukraine's Mevics has raised $500,000 from Britain's UBTower consulting company.

The company has not presented other details of the deal.

The Mevics team has created a gadget, which controls your posture and synchronizes it with your smartphone using Bluetooth.

According to tentative data, the price of the gadget would vary from $80 to $100.

The team is designing the brand, working on the new website and accounts in Instagram and Twitter. The company is also working on designing new electronics and prototypes.

Mevics CEO Viktor Laushtan said that soon the company intends to launch a campaign at Kickstarter and bring the product to the market.

"First shipments of the product are scheduled for August 2017. Then the company will enter the U.S. and European markets," Mevics said.
Microsoft has long desired to create universal WindowsWindows on every device imaginable. After several failed attempts, its trying againthis time with pocketable PCs that will be able to run standard desktop Windows apps, not just Windows Mobile apps.

Microsofts technology approach to universal Windowsin fact, to a universal PC where a smartphone transforms into a full PC when connected to large monitors and other periperhals at your desklooks like it could actually work this time, unlike the failed attempt several years ago known as Windows RT whose limitations are too many to recap.

The new horizons of the universal PC

But say the universal PC ambitions work out this time. Does it matter?

I think it does, because both the PC and mobile worlds are simultaneously intertwining and seeking to blast off their current innovation plateaus. You can see that desire to morph in the hybrid tablet/laptop devices (aka 2-in-1s), keyboard-equipped tablets (aka tabtops, like the Surface Pro and iPad Pro), Chromebooks running Android apps, Windows Continuum-based pocketable PCs like HPs Elite x3, and other experiments that have shown up in the last few years.

None of those experiments have taken the market by storm. 2-in-1s and tabtops have inspired niche audiences, but no more than that. Chromebooks remain small-time after a decade of sales. A few years ago, tablets like the iPad seemed poised to replace the laptop for most users, but their sales stalled, and they remain a companion device instead. And Continuum-based pocketable PCs suffer the same problem as Windows RT did: They cant run real Windows apps, so why bother with them?

Microsoft hopes to change that with its Windows-on-ARM effort, porting Windows 10 to the ARM chip used almost universally on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. This time, itll be the real Windows 10, not a limited subset, and using emulation it will be able to run most standard Windows apps (those .msi and .exe files we all know and love), not just the handful that use Microsofts new Universal Windows Platforms .appx format.

In other words, it would be Windows RT done right. And it would be Windows RT taken to the next level, running on smartphones and automatically adjusting its user interface (and those of its apps) based on the screen being used, similar to how the universal apps in iOS auto-adjust between the iPhone and iPad. But the universal Windows would be able to adapt from smartphone to tablet to big-screen desktopa big contrast to Apple, which so far is keeping the Mac out of its universal ambitions.

That flexibility and adaptability would be as major a change in the computing ecosystem as the smartphone was nearly a decade ago. And it could lead to the same degree of seismic shift in user behavior and application capabilities that we saw with the iPhone and later with Android. Imagine that you no longer have multiple devices with different capabilities, but one device that adapts itself and its apps based on the peripherals you have connected.

Of course, thats very much what Microsoft originally promised for Windows RT, but didnt deliver. So healthy doubt is a reasonable reaction to the latest promises.

How Microsoft can deliver a universal PC experience

What Microsoft is doing this time on the technology front is to take a page from Apple, which has successfully migrated MacOS and Mac apps from one processor to another: Motorola 680x0 to IBM PowerPC to Intel x86. Apple used a combination of operating-system ports and emulation to support multiple processors, so both old and new gear could run MacOS and Mac apps. It also encouraged developers to create apps compiled for both, running whatever part was compatible with the current computer. After a few years, Apple would retire support for the old processor in MacOS, and apps could jettison the unneeded code.

So, developers and users have already been down this road successfully. If Microsofts engineers are as good as Apples, it can take us down this road again.

This shift is major for Microsoft. For seemingly ever, it has followed the strategy of separate operating system all named Windows for each type of device, universal in branding only. Nearly two decades ago, it had Windows CE (Compact Edition) in addition to the Windows everyone knows from PCs. WinCE (whose name has changed several times since, and now has been rebranded for the internet of things) was meant for embedded devices (now called IoT devices), such as package scanners. Microsoft also had Windows Mobile, for personal digital assistants, messaging devices, and other smartphone precursors; it then replaced it with an incompatible operating system for smartphones called Windows Phone (now renamed Windows Mobile and basically moribund until Microsoft figures out the universal PC).

Microsoft is also taking another page from Apple: the adaptable app. Apples Xcode development platform lets you create apps that can run on both an iPhone and iPad, choosing the right user interface for the device at hand (thats what Microsofts recent Continuum technology does as well), as well as use capabilities on devices that support them (like cellular connections and the fingerprint scanner) but not on the (usually older) devices that dont. Thats what Microsofts Universal Windows Platform also does.

Apple has chosen to keep iOS and MacOS separate, so even though you can develop iOS and MacOS apps from the same Xcode code base, theyre separate, incompatible apps. UWP can run modern Windows apps on both Windows Mobile and Windows 10, bridging smartphone, tablet, and computer. But there are very few UWP apps, and standard Windows apps cant run on mobile devices. Microsofts failure in the smartphone market kept developers from using UWP because, well, why bother?

Thats why Microsoft needed to find a way to have both the standard Windows and standard Windows apps run on mobile devices, meaning ARM-based devices. And that way is supposed to be the coming Windows 10-on-ARM effort, with the first products expected next fall.

It wont be seamless, however. ARM-based devices wont be able to run 64-bit standard Windows apps, just 32-bit ones. Microsoft has had a terrible time getting 32-bit and 64-bit apps to work well on 64-bit versions of Windows, and the fact that Windows came in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions only ensured that users avoided the 64-bit version that initially required special hardware and developers avoided 64-bit apps because so few users had 64-bit Windows. Apple handled its 64-bit transition much better, making MacOS fat, so it ran 32-bit on 32-bit Macs and 64-bit on 64-bit Macsand applications were likewise encouraged to be fat to run optimally on either environment.

Microsofts bungling of the 64-bit conversion and its suicidal self-restrictions in Windows RT are why I am not fully confident Microsoft will do it right this time. Even though both were obvious failures off the bat to everyone else, Microsoft for years stubbornly pretended everything was fine. Although CEO Satya Nadella has purged much of that attitude from Microsoft, it still exists throughout the company and could pop up here again.

Still, Microsoft is taking proven paths on the technology front to universality. That in and of itself is a giant leap forward we should all eagerly watch.
The Day After Market Tea Leaves - 16 minutes ago Yesterday the markets were turbulent after the Fed announcement. What will we see today?

Powell: Rate hikes may slow, but inflation fight hardly over AP - 1 hour ago Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sought to strike a delicate balance at a moment when high inflation is bedeviling the nations economy and commanding a central role in the midterm elections $SPX : 3,759.69 (-2.50%) $DOWI : 32,147.76 (-1.55%) $IUXX : 10,906.34 (-3.39%)

Germany urges western Balkan leaders to resolve conflicts AP - 1 hour ago German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has told leaders of six Balkan countries that aspire to join the European Union that it is high time to overcome regional conflicts and stand together as Russia wages... $SPX : 3,759.69 (-2.50%) $DOWI : 32,147.76 (-1.55%) $IUXX : 10,906.34 (-3.39%)

Canada orders Chinese companies to sell lithium assets AP - Thu Nov 3, 4:19AM CDT Three Chinese companies have been ordered to sell lithium mining assets in Canada after the countrys government imposed limits on foreign involvement in supplying critical minerals used in batteries... $SPX : 3,759.69 (-2.50%) $DOWI : 32,147.76 (-1.55%) $IUXX : 10,906.34 (-3.39%)

UK poised to enact biggest interest rate hike in 3 decades AP - Thu Nov 3, 4:03AM CDT The Bank of England is expected to announce its biggest interest rate increase in three decades as it seeks to beat back stubbornly high inflation fueled by Russias invasion of Ukraine and the disastrous... $SPX : 3,759.69 (-2.50%) $DOWI : 32,147.76 (-1.55%) $IUXX : 10,906.34 (-3.39%)

Police: 21 bodies found at mine in South Africa AP - Thu Nov 3, 4:01AM CDT South African police are investigating the discovery of at least 21 bodies suspected of being illegal miners and found near an active mine west of Johannesburg $SPX : 3,759.69 (-2.50%) $DOWI : 32,147.76 (-1.55%) $IUXX : 10,906.34 (-3.39%)
Inside Self-Storage (ISS) has released a podcast examining how self-storage operators can effectively market to Millennials. Part of the Sounds of Storage series, the five-minute recording features an interview with Cheli Rosa, director of marketing for online-auction company StorageStuff.Bid. Rosa discusses how Millennials differ from traditional consumers as well as strategies operators can use to better connect with this growing consumer audience, which now outnumbers Baby Boomers in population.

This audio and others in the series can be accessed by visiting the ISS podcasts page.

A licensed auctioneer, Rosa has worked in many areas of the self-storage industry, beginning as a storage assistant and eventually working her way into digital marketing for a company that owns and manages other facilities. Today, she continues her emphasis on marketing. She has been a contributor to the ISS family of products, including the magazine, expo, website and store. A video of Rosas ISS Expo presentation on strategies to improve collections can be found at insideselfstoragestore.com.

For more than 25 years, ISS has provided informational resources for the self-storage industry. Its educational offerings include ISS magazine, the annual ISS World Expo, an extensive website, the ISS Store, and Self-Storage Talk, the industrys largest online community.
Self Storage Association Asia (SSAA), a trade association dedicated to supporting self-storage operators and suppliers in emerging markets along the Pacific Rim, has issued a statement warning customers not to store banned items or engage in illegal activity at storage facilities. Its also encouraging facility operators to display a public-safety poster that includes a list of activities and stored goods that are prohibited at their properties.

The SSAA is aware of the seizure of contraband cigarettes in a self-storage facility located in Singapore, association officials said. The SSAA takes the matter seriously and cautions all customers not to engage in activities and store items that are prohibited at self-storage facilities across Asia.

Customs officials last week seized 5,635 cartons of contraband cigarettes from a self-storage facility in Northeast Singapore. The shipment was imported from China under the declaration as decorative items, with many of the cartons hidden inside picture frames, according to a source. Unpaid duty on the cigarettes totaled more than S$437,000, while unpaid goods and services taxes was S$44,000. Singapore officials advised self-storage operators to exercise proper due diligence in screening persons renting their facilities.

Though storage operators in Asian countries dont typically require customers to declare the nature of the goods they are storing, [tenants] have to declare that they are not storing illegal or inflammable items, the SSAA statement said.

The association issued the public-safety poster this summer after two storage-facility fires in Hong Kong killed two firefighters and injured another. The blazes prompted government officials to suspend self-storage development inside industrial buildings, while agencies conducted safety checks throughout the region.

The poster helps to standardize communications across our members' facilities so their customers are clear about the prohibited activities and items from the outset, said Helen Ng, SSAA chair. We want both service providers and customers to have top-of-mind awareness of fire prevention and public-safety guidelines from the moment the customer decides to lease a storage space.

SSAA is also working with members to develop a template by which customers can declare storage items by category, such as books, furniture and office documents, officials said.

Launched in 2014, SSAA supports members' interests to help grow the self-storage industry in Asia.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) predicts that in 2017 additional capitalization of state-run banks will be finished and the banking sector will be completely cleaned up.

"It is expected that in 2017 the sum equivalent to less than 1% of GDP will be sent to increase the charter capitals of Ukreximbank and Oschadbank and support the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund," the NBU said in a report on financial stability published on Tuesday.

The central bank said that after the completion of the additional capitalization the state-run banks are to become profit-making. This would help to avoid extra payments to reserves and capital injections.

The NBU recalled that early this year the Finance Ministry approved a strategy for development of state-run banks. It says that each of three largest banks belonged to the state (Oschadbank, Ukreximbank and Ukrgasbank) will work in own segments and credit state-owned companies observing the central bank's prudential requirements.

"State-run banks should start gradually switch from support of state-owned enterprises to crediting of the market business and population within some targeted segments," the NBU said.

Public agencies and state-run enterprises' share of assets and liabilities of state-owned banks is large. In October 2016, the share of government domestic loan bonds was 26% compared to 17% as of early 2016 and 19% as of early 2015 and 2014, while the share of credits and securities of state-run companies and public agencies fell to 12% from 14% as of early 2016 and 19-20% as of early 2015-2014.

Funds of state-run companies in banks' liabilities grew by 21% in October 2016 compared to 17% as of early this year, 12% as of early 2015 and 10% - 2014. The budget funds grew to 5%, while it stood at 1% as of early this year, 2015 and 2014. The share of NBU's funds fell to 1% from 6% as of early 2016, 13% - early 2015 and 20% - early 2014.

"Extra crediting of state-run companies state-owned banks practiced for many years makes them hostage of the process: instead of looking into new and attractive private borrowers they continue crediting state-owned corporations. This creates risks both for banks due to large concentration of credits and for the banking system in general," the NBU said.
In the weeks after the troubled Italian lender UniCredit admitted in September that it was once again considering a sale of its money manager Pioneer Investments, Amundi quickly emerged as the most likely bidder for the franchise. On Monday the French asset manager made it official, announcing that it has put in a $3.8 billion, all-cash offer for Pioneer, which has $252 billion in assets under management.

The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, would make the combined firm the worlds eighth-largest asset manager, with a total of $1.4 trillion under management. The combined entity would be the largest asset manager in France and among the top three in Italy. The deal would also build up Amundis presence in the U.S.

The acquisition of Pioneer Investments is a major step to anchor Amundi as the European leader in asset management, Amundi CEO Yves Perrier said in a statement announcing the deal. This acquisition will reinforce Amundis industrial model and will benefit our clients whilst creating significant value for our shareholders.

A number of industry trends and headwinds  including fee pressure, the flight to passive and quantitative strategies, and regulatory changes  are causing a significant uptick in mergers and acquisitions on the part of long-only active managers as these firms seek to develop a global footprint and adapt to the changing competitive environment. This is a far cry from the glory days of active management, of which Pioneer was a part.

Pioneer was founded originally in 1928 by Philip Carret, an early leader in the field of value investing. Carret, who passed away in 1998 at the age of 101, was a friend to Warren Buffet and his father Howard  who had been Carrets broker  as well as a former financial reporter and lover of solar eclipses. Pioneer still operates Carrets original Pioneer Fund, the third-oldest mutual fund in the U.S.

Today the firm has investment offices in Boston, Dublin and London. UniCredit had been in talks to sell the manager, which it acquired in 2000, to the Spanish bank Santander, but that deal fell through in July after 20 months of negotiations  leaving Amundi, which had previously sought to acquire the firm in 2011, free to swoop in and make an offer.
During the 2016 presidential election, one theme from President-elect Donald Trump rang louder than any other: the importance of keeping jobs in America and finding ways to encourage (or perhaps force) companies that have sent jobs overseas to bring them back. The PEOTUS suggested countless ways to do so, from imposing tariffs to rolling back regulations to renegotiating trade deals.

While some of Trumps ideas make congressional Republicans squirm, one place of firm agreement between the Republican in the White House and those in Congress is tax reform, and for good reason. Our nations corporate tax code combines the highest rates in the OECD with a complex system of loopholes and deductions to create a behemoth that only serves to drive businesses (and jobs) overseas.

But in their efforts to entice jobs back to our shores, Congress must be careful not to bring an outsized portion of insurance risk back with them inadvertently. The issue at-hand is a deduction for reinsurance premiums taken by U.S. companies who cede premiums to offshore affiliates.

An insurance company purchases reinsurance to help cover its losses in the case of unexpectedly high claims  for example, massive property damage in a region due to a hurricane. The ceding premiums as a business cost, and it becomes income for the reinsurer receiving the premium payments. If that reinsurer is based in the United States, those premiums are part of their U.S. taxable income. If an insurance companys losses turn out to be high and their reinsurance contract kicks in, then the reinsurance payouts made can become a loss that is carried forward on future taxes. Obviously, if the reinsurer is foreign, they neither pay U.S. taxes on any income nor can carry forward any loss for reduced U.S. tax liability.

For more than a decade, bills have been introduced in each session of Congress to deny this deduction to U.S. insurers who purchase reinsurance from foreign affiliates. Its also made it into the presidents budget for the last five years. Proponents of this change claim that it would reap billions in tax revenue, despite outside analysis that shows the federal revenues to only come to $440 million. It has been floated as a pay-for in recent tax-reform efforts, but never made it across the finish line.

This is fortunate, because proponents second claim is even more dangerous. Supporters of ending the deduction claim that these offshore reinsurance purchases are simply done for tax avoidance purposes, encouraging capital to fly overseas. However, this is simply not the case.

First, these purchases are screened and approved by insurance commissioners to verify that the purchase is legitimate, rather than for the purpose of income stripping. But second and more significantly, its incredibly important to the structure of the reinsurance system that risk is spread all over the globe. This helps reinsurers to diversify their exposure to any given geography or line of business, which would pose solvency concerns and require higher premiums to justify the increased risk. Under the global reinsurance system, when Louisiana is hit by a large hurricane or a devastating earthquake hits Japan, the capital needed to rebuild floods in from all over the world.

Discouraging the purchase of foreign reinsurance would obviously provide incentives for more reinsurance purchases from U.S. companies, but only by distorting the global risk pool and reducing competition. According to a study by J. David Cummins of the Wharton School, along with the Brattle Group, reinsurance costs could rise between $11 and $13 billion from this change.

It doesnt stop supporters from continuing to press their case, however, and unfortunately for consumers, the chief architect of the legislation to end the deductionRep. Richard Neal, D-Mass.soon will sit as the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, which is charged with crafting U.S. tax policy. Also of concern is that House Republicans appear to be considering the proposal as part of their blueprint for tax reform  specifically in the context of a border adjustment system, in which all sales to U.S. customers are taxed and all sales to foreign customers are exempt.

Closing the outlandish number of tax loopholes riddled throughout our corporate tax code is a Herculean task, but one that is necessary to ensure lower corporate rates dont drive up our already high national debt. However, the point of tax reform is to create a level playing field that attracts companies, jobs and products to our shores, and Congress should be wary of calls to disadvantage one segment of an industry over another.

Driving up the cost of insurance for consumers and increasing our exposure to risk from disaster is a wrongheaded way to pay for tax reform. After all, each of the companies we hope will expand their U.S. presence will need insurance. It would be a shame for them to not bring the jobs back due to higher operating costs created by the very tax reform intended to lower them.

Topics USA Profit Loss Reinsurance Market
An appeals court has cleared the way for refiling of a lawsuit against an engineering firm in the deaths of four people killed in flash flooding in Pittsburgh more than five years ago.

Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. earlier dismissed claims against Chester Engineers Inc., which acted as consulting engineer and construction manager for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Plaintiffs attorneys argued that the firm should have warned of the danger before the August 2011 flash flood on Washington Boulevard in Highland Park that killed Kimberly Griffith, 46, her daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, all of Plum, and Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont.

The judge said the attorneys had failed to plead causation and hadnt established that the firm had a duty to provide information to officials about maintenance of the water and sewer systems. But the state Superior Court on Friday disagreed on the causation issue and said the plaintiffs should have been allowed to amend their suit to address concerns about the companys duty.

We are grateful that the court has allowed us to go forward with our claim against Chester Engineers, said attorney Alan Perer, who represents the Griffith family. So many responsible parties failed to address a known deadly condition, and Chester Engineers shares in that failure. Company representatives didnt immediately return a message seeking comment.

The city and its water and sewer authority, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and county sanitary authority, earlier settled legal action in the case. Because the defendants were government entities, the damages were limited under state law.

The plaintiffs said at least 30 flash floods had stranded vehicles in the same spot since one person was killed and 12 were injured in a flood June 9, 1951, but nothing was done to improve the road or storm sewers.

PennDOT has since installed three gates that keep traffic off the low-lying section of road. The gates are activated by water pressure sensors during heavy rain.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Flood Pennsylvania
Two women are suing a groom and the event company that ran his wedding reception after they allege he flew a drone that hit them in the head at the New Hampshire event.

Kneena Ellis, of Seabrook, and Kelly Eaton of Peabody, Massachusetts, claim in their Dec. 1 suit that they suffered permanent physical and emotional injury as a result of the Aug. 8 incident.

The suit says Barry Billcliff had flown the drone to take pictures at his wedding reception at Searles Castle in Windham.

It says the drone collided with the women while they were on the dance floor. The suit says they suffered a concussion.

Billcliff tells the Boston Herald he owns the drone, but wasnt operating it when it crashed. Scott Robb II, vice president of Searles Castle, said he never gave Billcliff permission to fly the drone.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Massachusetts New Hampshire
Marsh announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Panamanian insurance broker and advisor Semusa, Marshs long-standing local correspondent broker.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. It is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014.

Marshs bulletin said the transaction would strengthen its leadership position in the Central America and Caribbean region and follows the acquisition of Franco & Acra Tecniseguros in the Dominican Republic last year.

Operating under the name Marsh Semusa, the combined entity will bring together the long-established and highly-regarded operations of Semusa, with the global footprint, solutions, and placement capabilities of Marsh to provide an enhanced service to clients of all sizes in Panama.

Semusa has been Marshs local correspondent for 15 years. Upon closing, Samuel Urrutia, President of Semusa Group, will become Chairman of the Board of Marsh Semusa, reporting to Ricardo Brockmann, CEO of Marsh Latin America and Caribbean. Emanuel Abadia, currently CEO of Semusa, will become CEO of Marsh Semusa, reporting to Jose Vergara, Head of Marsh Central America and the Caribbean.

Peter Zaffino, President and CEO of Marsh LLC, said: Panama is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and I am excited that Marshs first office in Central America will be located in one of its most dynamic business environments. The country has seen significant expansion across the financial services, infrastructure, construction, energy, logistics and transportation sectors. We look forward to offering companies in Panama the full range of our global and regional capabilities.

Urrutia noted that strong economic growth in recent years has increased the demand for a higher level of risk advice from companies looking to expand. He added that by further cementing our relationship with Marsh, we will strengthen and enhance the capabilities that Semusa has built up over many years and present the most comprehensive risk and insurance offering in the local market.

David Batchelor, President of Marshs International Division, added: This transaction consolidates the successful relationship Marsh has had with Semusa since 1999. We look forward to working with their respected local management team and colleagues to further broaden their already deep client relationships.

Source: Marsh

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies
Some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled hackers to steal $81 million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, a top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters on Monday.

The comments by Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh polices criminal investigation department, are the first sign that investigators have got a firm lead in one of the worlds biggest cyber heists, which had prompted months of international finger-pointing. Arrests are soon likely, he said.

On Thursday, the head of a Bangladesh government panel that investigated the heist said five bank officials were guilty of negligence but that they were only unwitting accomplices.

Alam told Reuters his investigations had discovered that some bank officials had knowingly created vulnerabilities in the banks connection to the SWIFT global messaging and payments system.

Bangladesh Banks SWIFT network was made insecure by some bank employees in connivance with some foreign people, he said. They knew what they were doing.

He declined to name the suspects or say how many there were.

Alam said investigators were now trying to find out how the mid-ranking officials were connected to the hackers and whether they benefited financially from the heist. Asked if the officials would be arrested, he said: We are very close to it.

The apparent momentum comes after months of trading blame among Bangladesh Bank, the New York Fed, SWIFT, and a Philippine lender that received much of the stolen funds before they disappeared. The heist prompted an international probe headed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Separately SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, told Reuters its messaging system has been targeted in a meaningful number of other attacks this year using a similar approach as the Bangladesh incident.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to comment on Alams comments. A New York Fed spokeswoman also declined comment.

Another investigator in Dhaka, who declined to be named, said more than 100 Bangladesh Bank employees had been interviewed in connection with the heist, and some were barred from leaving the country.

In early February, the hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Banks account at the New York Fed.

Many of the transfer orders were blocked or reversed but, after a series of oversights and miscommunications, the New York Fed ultimately sent $81 million to four fake accounts in a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) in the Philippines. Most of the funds then disappeared into Manilas loosely regulated casino industry.

(Additional reporting and writing by Krishna N. Das and Jonathan Spicer; editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Phil Berlowitz)

Related:

Topics Cyber New York
Cyber attacks targeting the global bank transfer system have succeeded in stealing funds since Februarys heist of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank as hackers have become more sophisticated in their tactics, according to a SWIFT official and a previously undisclosed letter the organization sent to banks worldwide.

The messaging network in a Nov. 2 letter seen by Reuters warned banks of the escalating threat to their systems, according to the SWIFT letter. The attacks and new hacking tactics underscore the continuing vulnerability of the SWIFT messaging network, which handles trillions of dollars in fund transfers daily.

The threat is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated  and it is here to stay, SWIFT said in the November letter to client banks, seen by Reuters.

The disclosures provide fresh evidence that SWIFT remains at risk of attacks nearly a year after funds were stolen from a Bangladesh Bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The unprecedented cyber theft prompted regulators around the globe to tighten bank security requirements, amidst a global investigation by the FBI, Bangladesh authorities and Interpol.

Banks using the SWIFT network, which include both central banks and commercial banks, have been hit with a meaningful number of attacks  about a fifth of them resulting in stolen funds, since the Bangladesh heist, Stephen Gilderdale, head of SWIFTs Customer Security Programme, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

SWIFT, a Belgium-based co-operative owned by its user banks, had previously disclosed hacks of three SWIFT users since February but said those did not lead to the loss of funds.

SWIFTs letter to customers warned that hackers have refined their methods for compromising local bank systems. One new tactic, the letter said, involved using software that allows technicians to access computers to provide technical support.

We unfortunately continue to see cases in which some of our customers environments are being compromised by thieves who then send fraudulent payment instructions through the SWIFT network  the same kind of messages used to steal Bangladesh Bank funds, the letter said without elaborating further.

On Monday, a top police investigator in Dhaka told Reuters that some Bangladesh central bank officials deliberately exposed its computer systems and enabled the theft. He declined to identify those officials by name or say how many there were. The comments by Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh polices criminal investigation department, are the first sign that investigators have got a firm lead in one of the worlds biggest cyber heists. Arrests are likely soon, he said.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to comment on Alams comments. A New York Fed spokeswoman also declined comment.

Information Sharing

SWIFTs Gilderdale declined to provide further details about more recent attacks or to name victims or amounts stolen. Asked how many heists had been attempted, he said only that it was a meaningful number of cases.

In all of these cases attackers are suspected of trying to replicate the modus operandi of the Bangladesh attackers, he added.

The intrusions had been detected in a variety of ways, Gilderdale said. In some cases, clients antivirus software had identified malware.

In others, a new feature on software SWIFT provides to clients alerted SWIFT directly of an attempted manipulation of a clients system. In one case, a financial regulator had notified SWIFT of an attempted attack.

Gilderdale said despite the new thefts, SWIFT believed the system was becoming more secure.

In 80 percent of the cases that we are aware of and where we have completed investigations, a fraud has not actually ended up taking place, he said.

I personally am very pleased with the progress that we are making, he added.

Successful bank hackings were too rare to say whether an 80 percent success rate was good or bad, Ben Caudill, a cyber security consultant with Rhino Security Labs in Seattle, said.

SWIFT said in its letter to clients that the cyber threats were evolving.

There are likely to be multiple groups of cyber attackers attempting to compromise customer environments, it said.

There has been an evolution in the modus operandi, signifying that attackers are further adapting their methods, it added.

Gilderdale said it was impossible to say for sure whether the rate of attacks was increasing because previously SWIFT did not track or receive information from clients about incidents.

SWIFT said that in all cases, the infiltrations involved customers SWIFT interfaces and that its own central communications network had not been compromised.

The additional attacks SWIFT disclosed to Reuters do not include others that have already come to light since the Bangladesh Bank heist.

Thieves stole $250,000 from Bangladeshs Sonali bank in 2013. More than $12 million was stolen from Ecuadors Banco del Austro in 2015. Vietnams Tien Phong Bank said in May that it foiled an attempt to steal money via SWIFT.

(Editing by Brian Thevenot and Matthew Lewis)

Related:

Topics Cyber
Nearly two dozen victims of one of the largest hepatitis C outbreaks in recent U.S. history have settled their claims against a Minot, N.D., hospital out of court.

Neither plaintiffs attorney Behdad Sadeghi nor Trinity Health are releasing terms of the deal, which resolves a protracted legal dispute over an outbreak of the viral infection that began in August 2013 in Minot and eventually sickened at least 52 people.

The plaintiffs and the health care company filed a joint motion to dismiss the case late last month, according to Sadeghi. Plaintiffs chose to resolve this dispute after comparing the settlement proposal to the damages award expected at trial, he said.

Trinity attorney Randall Hanson said the hospital chose to resolve the dispute recognizing the harm to the individuals and the litigation costs faced by the families and Trinity Health.

Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can cause serious liver damage or death. At the time, the Minot outbreak was the nations largest in 13 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Twenty-one victims or relatives of people who died eventually ended up as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Trinity Hospital and the former ManorCare nursing home, where most of the victims lived or had stayed. They sought compensation for expensive drugs used to treat the disease and unspecified damages for economic harm, personal injury and the wrongful death of at least three people.

In March, the 21 victims dropped their claims against the nursing home, and the victims and nursing home joined in a lawsuit against Trinity Health, alleging an employee of the outpatient laboratory service caused the outbreak by reusing needles and not following infection control practices.

State and federal health officials suspect the outbreak might have been associated with blood services provided to ManorCare residents, but they never pinpointed an exact cause. Trinity has rejected the notion that its responsible.

A legal battle between Trinity and ManorCare isnt resolved, as ManorCare alleges that Trinity fraudulently blamed the nursing home for the outbreak, hurting its business and leading to the sale of the nursing home to a Wisconsin-based partnership at a price far below its true value. Trinity disputes that.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Heffernan Insurance Brokers has hired Matthew Skarin as Assistant Vice President in the commercial lines department of its St. Louis, Missouri, office.

Skarin comes to Heffernan with eight years of insurance experience between personal and commercial lines. Most recently, he worked at Arthur J Gallagher in the marine and construction niches focusing on contractors and transportation companies. His focus is creating programs for unique companies looking to grow.

Heffernan Insurance Brokers is headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., and has offices in San Francisco, Petaluma, Menlo Park, Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and St. Louis, Mo.

Source: Heffernan Insurance Brokers

Topics Agencies
For DuPont Co. and its Chemours Co. spinoff, hundreds of millions of dollars hinge on the interpretation of the word among.

A Cincinnati appeals court heard arguments Friday that will affect the fate of thousands of lawsuits by people who drank water contaminated with a Teflon ingredient called C-8, or PFOA, from DuPonts Parkersburg, West Virginia, plant.

Other companies exposed to consumer lawsuits also have millions riding on the verdict, industry groups say.

The appeal could be a critical turning point in a legal battle that has already stretched on for 15 years. DuPont is seeking to re-open a dispute that both sides thought was resolved by a 2004 settlement. The pact created a science panel to study 80,000 residents and set parameters for who could sue DuPont and for what ailments  kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, hypercholesterolemia, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

But the agreement was where among became contentious. The pact allowed those diseases because it found a probable link with C-8. It defined probable link as it is more likely than not that there is a link between exposure to C-8 and a particular human disease among class members. That wording has become the focus of the current appeal, in which DuPont says a lower courts idiosyncratic interpretation of the among in that phrase improperly barred it from making arguments to a jury about the dosage levels of some individuals allowed to sue under the settlement.

As a result, DuPont says the appeals court should overturn a jurys $1.6 million verdict in favor of a woman with kidney cancer, the first of 3,500 similar suits to go to trial.

Plain English

Lawyers for the woman, Carla Marie Bartlett, say the agreement was written in plain English, which the judge properly enforced, and that if DuPont succeeds, it will render the 2004 settlement meaningless, setting the clock back to 2001 for Bartlett and the thousands of others suing.

DuPont hasnt conceded that C-8 at any level causes disease, John Nalbandian, a lawyer for Bartlett, told the court Friday. They dont believe it causes anything. They dont want to say C-8 is capable of causing these diseases, even though that is what they agreed to in the settlement.

DuPont countered that Bartletts lawyers characterized the study in a way that confused the jury.

The science panel report became the Wizard of Oz, said Pierre Bergeron, an attorney for DuPont. All powerful but no one can peek behind the curtain.

At Stake

At stake is whether DuPont is likely to settle the 3,500 cases, and for how much, with hundreds of millions of dollars in the balance, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Brandon Barnes. DuPont spun off Chemours in 2015 and assigned the new chemical company responsibility for covering damages from such lawsuits. Chemours has since indicated it might not.

Chemours shares fell 3.6 percent at 1:50 p.m. in New York.

Thomas Claps, a litigation analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, said in a research note just after the hearing that he expects DuPont will lose given the appeals judges skepticism. Further, we believe that the parties will reach a global settlement of the remaining cases in the next six to eight months for a base case of $550 million, with Chemours ultimately paying less than that.

Also at issue is the fate of other companies subjected to similar lawsuits. Three trade groups  the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Chemistry Council and American Tort Reform Association  argued in court filings that more companies would like to use the novel structure in the 2004 settlement, but wont if the precedent set in the Bartlett case is allowed to stand.

The district courts error has severe consequences for businesses that find themselves frequent litigants in toxic-tort cases, the groups said, citing estimates that Merck & Co. spent $1 million a day litigating Vioxx suits, and that 61 cents of every dollar in asbestos litigation goes to costs other than payouts to plaintiffs.

Leach Agreement

The science panels finding meant that DuPont was permanently freed from all suits but the 3,500. The judge Friday said the company may lose that benefit if it won the appeal. What is to keep the other 75,000 people who were excluded from the class as a result of the science panel from suing you based on another epidemiological study? the judge asked.

The 2004 settlement, called the Leach Agreement after a plaintiff in the original 2001 lawsuit, spurred eight years of studies of blood samples and health records of 70,000 people in West Virginia and Ohio exposed to C-8.

Unlike most toxic tort cases, where epidemiologists try to determine how much of a chemical it might take to cause diseases, the science panel looked at which diseases were prevalent in an already defined group. Their study would establish whether there was a probable link between the chemical and about 40 health problems.

If one was found, people with the disease could sue DuPont, which agreed that it wouldnt contest whether C-8 was capable of causing the linked disease. Its only defense at trial would be whether exposure had caused a disease in a specific individual.

Six Ailments

In November 2012, the panel announced the six ailments that would make sufferers eligible for litigation with DuPont.

Three years later, Bartletts case went to trial. Dupont argued that her obesity had caused her cancer, not C-8, because her exposure was too low. Her lawyers said that DuPonts promise in the Leach Agreement meant it shouldnt be able to argue that amount of C-8 exposure matter.

DuPont says that among means it should be allowed to argue that some of the plaintiffs didnt have enough exposure to the chemical to cause disease. If the plaintiffs had wanted it otherwise, they should have used the words in every individual class member, DuPont said.

Dosage Levels

Bartletts lawyers argued that the entire point of the agreement was to exclude arguments about dosage levels by setting a baseline exposure as a prerequisite.

The judge sided with Bartlett. Now DuPont seeks to make the argument again at the appeals level.

DuPont is also asking the appeals court to find that the lower court erred in finding that Ohios 2004 tort reform law that capped damages at $250,000 didnt apply. The lower court found it didnt because plaintiffs had incurred the alleged injuries before then. But DuPont said it should apply because they didnt file their actual claims until later.

The appeal is Carla Marie Bartlett et al v. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, 16-3310, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.The case on appeal is In re Du Pont de Nemours and Company C-8 Personal Injury Litigation, 13-md-2433, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio (Columbus).

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits USA Ohio Chemicals
Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Ukraine Sevki Acuner hopes an agreement on financing subway construction in Kharkiv will be signed in the first half of 2017.

"Now the procedure of due diligence is underway. We are completing preliminary preparations, developing the project. I hope we will be able to finalize it in the first half of next year," the banker said at a press conference in Kharkiv.

He said EBRD representatives discussed the project at a meeting with Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes on December 13.

"The city supports this project. The EBRD on its part too, therefore we will work on it and achieve results as soon as possible," Acuner said.

According to him, now the issue is being discussed that the EBRD will issue a long-term loan of EUR175 million and simultaneously the European Investment Bank (EIB) will grant a loan of the same amount for subway construction in Kharkiv. It is expected the money will be spent on building a subway line in the direction of the airport, a depot and rolling stock purchase.
Insurance industry executives and groups working to attract millennials to the sector are now actively targeting their younger colleagues to help get the word out.

On Dec. 2, the recruiting initiative held a webinar designed to appeal to younger property/casualty insurance employees to raise awareness of the industry and help recruit new applicants. According to organizers, close to 2,000 people took part in the webinar, with millennials and others logging in from the U.S., U.K., Turkey, Switzerland, Mexico, Ireland, India, France, Canada and Bermuda.

The younger employees who tuned in represented 107 different companies and organizations, according to a spokesperson.

Hamilton Insurance Group Chairman and CEO Brian Duperreault hosted the town hall-style webinar. He told his employees afterward that the event was unprecedented, unlike any he had seen in his 40-year career, the spokesperson said.

The event was designed to engage and encourage young insurance professionals already in the industry to take part in what is called the Insurance Careers Movement. The idea is to have these young professionals spread the word about industry career opportunities, under the belief that folks already in the industry are the best people to help recruit new talent.

Organizers followed up the webinar with a short questionnaire to all registrants about recruiting policy best practices, the spokesperson said.

The quest to more heavily recruit younger employees into the P/C industry is driven, in part, by statistics that show there will be 400,000 positions becoming vacant within four years. As well, organizers say, the sector has not been very diverse and members of the industry have struggled to recruit among high school and university students. The Institutes, MyPath, Valen Analytics, The Jacobson Group, InVEST and Property Casualty Insurers of America Association (PCI) are among the organizations involved in the project.

Speakers during the Dec. 2 town hallwebinar included XL Catlin CEO Mike McGavick and Argo Group President and CEO Mark E. Watson III. Other professionals who spoke included Tijana Richards, a vice president at Marsh Global Analytics; Lissette Delgato, agent and office manager at JVS Insurance Agency in Miami; and Ben Thomas, audit executive in the Delegated Authorities Division at Lloyds.

The Insurance Careers Movement launched a careers month in February featuring video testimonials posted on YouTube from executives including Duperreault, McGavick and Lloyds CEO Inga Beale.

This year, the effort has also included insurance industry professionals sharing their stories on the web, in social media and at local events such as job fairs, internships and volunteer programs.

Overall, the Insurance Careers Movement includes more than 600 insurance carriers, agents/brokers, trade associations and industry partners.

Source: PCIAA/Hamilton Insurance Group

Invitation to Comment: What are your ideas on how the insurance industry can attract more young professionals? Comment today.

Topics Market
Stanton Strickland, deputy commissioner of the Legal Division at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), will join the Mitchell Williams Insurance Regulatory Practice Group in its Austin office, the law firm announced.

Strickland, who is slated to join the firm in February has been with TDI for 21 years. He joined TDI in 1996 as a member of the Financial Counsel Section and was named section chief in 1999 to lead the team in providing legal counsel to the TDI Financial Regulatory Division. He also served as the first deputy commissioner of the TDI-Division of Workers Compensation Legal Services Division.

Strickland currently manages a staff of 45 lawyers and other professionals. He and his staff advise and support all areas of TDI on a wide range of regulatory matters including licensure, examinations, holding company transactions, receiverships, policy form and rate filings, rulemaking, agency contracts and public information requests.

Strickland also represents TDI at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and other insurance regulatory meetings

Source: Mitchell Williams

Topics Legislation
Assignment of benefits abuse has become such a well-known problem in the state of Florida this year that it now just goes by the nickname AOB.

The issue with AOB comes from when a policyholder suffers a loss, such as water damage to their home, and then signs over their insurance policy to the person repairing the damage. Repair contractors utilizing the AOB on behalf of the insured often work with attorneys who then sue the insurance company over the claim.

Floridas one-way attorney fee statute has encouraged these suits because the insurance company is typically left paying the attorney fees. In many cases, policyholders dont know the lawsuit has even been filed.

Floridas state-run insurer Citizens has been the most affected by this abuse. Citizens CEO and Executive Director Barry Gilway says that the negative impact on the pricing of property insurance and availability of coverage in Florida is getting worse. Gilway said while the gross misuse of the AOB form is a major component of the issue, the problem has really become a litigation issue relating to all non-wind water claims.

The situation is deteriorating even further at Citizens, Gilway told Insurance Journal. Despite a book of business that has stabilized at around 490,000 policies, we are now projecting the number of lawsuits received each month will grow from 900 this year to over 1,000 in 2017. And yes, it is the same 10-15 firms that continue to be responsible for 60 percent of the litigation across the state.

At the beginning of the year, Citizens released an analysis in response to a data call from OIR that found claims utilizing an AOB were almost twice as expensive on average and more likely to lead to litigation.

The abuse has been the most rampant in Southern Florida, specifically in the Tri-County region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, and it isnt just specific to Citizens.

All companies, particularly those with any relevant market share in the Tri-County area, are experiencing the same result, Gilway said.

These losses are driving Citizens 2017 budget request, which was approved by the Citizens Board of Governors Dec. 7. For 2017, Citizens has estimated net operating losses of $100 million in its inland residential policy lines, with losses concentrated in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, where the bulk of litigated and AOB claims originate.

The abuse has also led Citizens to raise homeowners rates by an average of 6.4 percent statewide in 2017. Many other homeowners insurers in the state are raising rates because of AOB.

The industry, frustrated that the Florida Legislature failed to tackle the issue for the fourth year in a row in the 2016 session, have taken matters into their own hands.

In addition to raising rates, Citizens and other insurers have filed policy form changes with OIR to clarify policy wording regarding loss reporting, use of emergency services and the nature of permanent repairs, at the departments encouragement.

Some companies are also limiting the number of policies they will write in the Tri-County region.

In its third quarter conference call on Nov. 9, Heritage Insurance, one of the largest take-out companies of Citizens, indicated it will be much more selective on what policies it will look at in this area.

There are just wholesale areas in Tri-County on a personal lines basis that we think are at this point in time uninsurable, Bruce Lucas, CEO of Heritage said. And so therefore we have really curbed that voluntary production down there quite significantly for Id say the last six months. Until we see a fix on the legislative level to the assignment of benefit uses taking place down there, were really not interested in doubling down [in] Tri- County at this point in time.

Heritage also had a damage cap of $10,000 for water damage claims not caused by storms for homes at least 40 years old approved by OIR.

Whats Next

Citizens Gilway said the solutions private market companies are applying will help to to stop the bleeding in the short term for a few companies. But, he said, the long term solution must include changes to Floridas one-way attorney fee statute, consumer protection changes needed to the AOB form itself, and restrictions on the referral fees paid that are fueling the crisis.

As I have stated many times, without these legislative changes OIR will be forced to dramatically increase rates and approve more draconian policy changes to protect the financial solvency of the private market, Gilway said.

Citizens said at its Dec. 7 Board of Governors meeting that it plans to make AOB reform its 2017 legislative priority. The Consumer Protection Coalition, formed earlier this year in response to the rising AOB abuse, said it will support Citizens in its efforts.

The Consumer Protection Coalition joins Citizens in supporting commonsense reforms to protect homeowners against unscrupulous vendors who use AOB to pad their profits, the coalition said.

The coalition said reforms should include eliminating one-way attorney fees, which create an incentive for bad guy vendors to sue insurance companies without facing any financial risk. It also supports requirements for written estimates for work, notifications for insurers and options to rescind an AOB.

According to Politico, OIR has indicated that addressing AOB is a top priority. Politico reported Oct. 26 that OIRs director of Government Affairs Caitlin Murray said the office will issue an assignment of benefits package and plans to meet with stakeholders to fine-tune its proposal.

Jay Neal, executive director of the Florida Association for Insurance Reform (FAIR), said without a fix, rates will double in 5 years  its unsustainable.

He is optimistic that the legislature gets it now and will be more supportive if OIR puts forth a bill. Everyone will fall in line behind [OIR], he said. We are confident that people are aware there is a serious problem. We are hopeful and expect a legislative solution.

Each top Florida insurance topic of 2016 will be highlighted this week. Check back Wednesday for a recap of the states 2016 storm season and its impact on the Florida insurance market.

Related:

Topics Lawsuits Carriers Florida
Update: This story has been updated with a response from Wells Fargo.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today directed the California Department of Insurance to launch an investigation into allegations made by former employees of Prudential Insurance Co. that Wells Fargo employees signed up consumers for Prudential insurance without the consumers authorization.

Jones asked department investigators to investigate all aspects of these allegations, including possible violations of California laws that requiring persons transacting insurance to have an insurance license issued by the department.

Investigators with the California Department of Insurance will investigate new allegations of fraud and misconduct made by former Prudential employees regarding Wells Fargo and its employees, Jones said in a statement. Former Prudential employees who filed a whistleblower lawsuit allege that Wells Fargo signed up consumers for Prudential insurance policies without consumer permission much as Wells Fargo admitted its employees illegally signed up consumers for bank products without permission. We will also examine Prudential Insurance companys practices in this regard.

Wells Fargo has admitted that as many as 2 million unauthorized accounts for its consumers were created by thousands of Wells Fargo employees. Prudential has a partnership with Wells Fargo to sell insurance products to Prudentials customers.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman provided a list of bullet-point responses after being asked for comment for this reort:

We will cooperate as we continue to look into the allegations

We are deeply concerned about these allegations as they are completely counter to our values and our commitment to providing customers only the products and services they need and want.

We are working with Prudential to investigate any unauthorized or inappropriate referrals that may have occurred and we are suspending referrals of the MyTerm product until the investigation is concluded.

We take any allegations of improper sales practices seriously, and if improper conduct is found, we take action and make things right with customers.

As we have consistently reinforced, if we identify any instances where a customer received a product they didnt ask for, we will make it right.

As of October 1, we eliminated product sales goals for retail bankers. There are no incentives for direct or referred product sales for retail bankers, including insurance products. We made this change because we want to ensure nothing gets in the way of focusing on the best interests of our customers.

In accordance with the consent orders, we have begun a third party review of sales practices in the Community Bank, and that work is currently under way. Additionally, we have shared that we are also going beyond the requirements of the consent order to have a third party review sales practices across the enterprise.

The CDI will conduct its independent investigation in collaboration with the New Jersey Division of Insurance, which is also investigating this issue.

Related:

Topics California
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued fines in November totaling $63,550 against insurance companies, agents and brokers who violated state insurance regulations, including revoking the licenses of one producer.

Following are fines and punitive steps Kreidler took in November and his charges against the parties:

Emily Wang Hawkins Insurance Agency and Emily Shunan Hawkins, Seattle; license revoked

Kreidler revoked the producer licenses of Emily Hawkins and her insurance agency. State Farm contacted the insurance commissioner after it fired Hawkins, and two former employees of the Hawkins agency filed complaints with the insurance commissioner.

The commissioners investigation found that Hawkins violated several insurance laws and rules, including allowing unlicensed insurance producers sold policies on behalf of the agency, directing an agency employee to forge client signatures on documents and falsifying training records for a former employee so the agency could continue selling insurance under the employees name.

Group Health Options Inc., Seattle; fined $30,000

Group Health used the wrong form in communications with more than 3,000 consumers, which inaccurately informed them of a 70 percent coinsurance amount for a dental plan. The coinsurance amount was 50 percent, which is the maximum allowed under state law. Group Health later contacted all affected consumers to notify them of the accurate coinsurance amount and that all affected claims would be reprocessed.

The commissioner fined the company $30,000, and suspended $15,000 as long as it does not commit additional violations for two years.

LifeWise Assurance Co., Mountlake Terrace; fined $10,000

The insurance commissioner found an error in LifeWise rate filings for 2016 related to stop-loss policies and notified the company twice of an objection to the filings. LifeWise corrected the coding that caused the error in April 2016.

Premera Blue Cross, Mountlake Terrace; fined $5,000

Premera failed to send renewal notices to some consumers before the first day of open enrollment for 2016, as required by law. Premera reported the error to the insurance commissioner, who found no evidence that any consumers were unable to enroll for the 2016 plan year.

AGCS Marine Insurance Co., Chicago; fined $15,000

The companys appointed agency, PetPlan, violated Washington state laws against inducements, which limited gifts to $25 per person per year at the time of the violation. The law has since changed to $100 per person.

The company gave 32 Washington consumers a $35 PetSmart gift card for taking a survey. It also gave $25 gift cards to 72 consumers who requested a quote from the company after they went on to purchase a policy

Maximum Senior Benefits LLC, Elk Ridge, Utah; fined $2,000

The company solicited and sold insurance without being licensed in Washington state, and didnt provide adequate information to consumers about who was selling the policies.

McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc., Birmingham, Ala.; fined $1,300

The company is a continuing education provider that did not keep attendance records in accordance with state law for some of its classes, as discovered during the insurance commissioners 2016 audit. In addition, the company failed to issue certificates of completion in a timely manner, issued a false certificate of completion, and failed to provide records requested by the insurance commissioner.

Alison R. Chambers Stubbs, Sacramento; fined $250

A Washington consumer purchased a Medicare Advantage Plan from Stubbs after she confirmed multiple times that his medical providers were in the plans network. A few weeks after the purchase, the consumer found out the providers were not in the network and contacted Medicare to cancel the plan and find a new one.

Since 2001, Kreidlers office has assessed $20.8 million in fines, which are deposited in the states general fund to pay for other state services.

Topics Washington
Stone Creek Insurance Agency has named Jonathan Lee a personal lines broker in its Northern California office.

Lee specializes in autos, motorcycles, RVs, homes, life insurance, and liability. He will specialize in flood and earthquake in the Western region.

Lee has six years of experience as a captive agent with AAA and as a broker specializing in life and annuities at Asurea.

Lafayette, Calif.-based Stone Creek is a brokerage that specializes in property coverage in the Western U.S.

Topics California
Auto-Owners Insurance, a Michigan-based personal lines P&C insurer, has selected Duck Creek Technologies for a policy revamp.

Auto-Owners installed Guidewire ClaimCenter in 2012 as its new claims system. Now, it will use Duck Creek Policy to to manage the entire policy lifecycle from quote to bind to issue.

The carrier also will use Duck Creek Templates, pre-configured ISO and NCCI product content and forms, to accelerate its implementation. The templates are available as a complement to Duck Creeks comprehensive policy platform.

To continue our relentless pursuit of excellence and sustain our profitable growth objectives, we need to transform our operations to take advantage of the technology that can better meet the expectations of customers and agents, and enable a more progressive work environment for our associates, said Fred Hannula, assistant vice president, Auto-Owners Insurance. We selected Duck Creek because of their proven expertise, successful implementations and future-directed approach to insurance solutions and look forward to realizing the benefits of our system transformation.
Inizia oggi in Cile la Coppa America 2015 che vedra scendere in campo le grandi stelle che hanno divertito e meravigliato i tifosi di tutta Europa e non solo. Basti pensare alla finale di Champions sabato: Messi, Neymar, Higuain, Cavani, Falcao, J.Rodriguez, Sanchez, Tevez, Vidal, solo per citare alcuni. La partita di apertura sara quella fra Cile e Ecuador mentre la finale si giochera il 4 luglio a Santiago. Saranno dieci le nazionali sudamericane a contendersi il trofeo, piu le due ospiti, Messico e Giamaica, suddivise in tre gironi da cui usciranno le migliori 8 per i quarti di finale.

Campione uscente e lUruguay, vincitore di ben 15 edizioni, che pero non avra nelle sue fila Luis Suarez a causa delle nove giornate di squalifica per il morso a Chiellini. A sostenere il peso dellattacco Celeste sara Edinson Cavani. LArgentina, medaglia dargento nellultima edizione, ha vinto il titolo 14 volte, lultima delle quali nel 1993. Tra le favorite ce ovviamente anche il Brasile, chiamato a riconquistare i propri tifosi dopo lumiliante sconfitta del Mondiale perso in casa, 7-1 contro la Germania. La squadra di Dunga potrebbe vincere la terza Coppa America delle ultime quattro edizioni: sara Neymar, a guidare i compagni, e lallenatore sta cercando di costruirgli intorno una squadra funzionale.

Ma a dare filo da torcere alle grandi, ci saranno anche i padroni di casa, il Cile, ed anche la Colombia e il Paraguay: i primi ovviamente sfrutteranno il fattore campo e la qualita di grandi calciatori come Vidal, Vargas, Sanchez e Pizarro. I colombiani invece dovranno confermarsi dopo la grande prestazione dei Mondiali: una squadra ormai che si conosce e con un attacco invidiabile: Falcao, Martinez, Bacca, Gutierrez, Ibarbo e Muriel. Il Paraguay cerchera di bissare il grande torneo del 2011 quando giunse in finale, e puntera sugli uomini di fiducia e di esperienza come Santa Cruz, Origoza, Barrios e Valdez. Si qualificheranno le prime due di ogni girone piu le due migliori terze. Questi i gironi: gruppo A: Cile, Messico, Ecuador e Bolivia. Gruppo B: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay e Giamaica. Gruppo C: Brasile, Colombia, Peru e Venezuela.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has opened a regional office in Kharkiv.

"Eastern Ukraine is also important for our work. It is important for the economy and for our cooperation not only in terms of large-scale projects, but also in terms of the development of small and medium-sized businesses. We are opening an office here because it is important to have an office here, in the region to work with small and medium-sized businesses," EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Francis Malige said at a press conference in Kharkiv.

He noted this is the second EBRD office opened with the financial support of the EU in the framework of EU4Business initiative. The third one is to open in Odesa in February 2017.

"Thus, we are sending a strong signal that we see the prospects and a great potential of the country," the banker said.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli noted the European Union supports reforms in Ukraine, in particular, advises on the issues of economy deregulation and support and development of small and medium-sized businesses.

"In this field the European Union funds a number of programs aimed at providing advice and support to small and medium-sized enterprises, training and improving their access to finance and credits," Mingarelli said.
What Is an Overfunded Pension Plan?

An overfunded pension plan is a company retirement plan that has more assets than liabilities. In other words, there is a surplus amount of money needed to cover current and future monthly benefits to retirees. Although accounting standards allow the company to record the surplus as net income, it cannot be paid out to corporation shareholders like other income as it is reserved for current and future retirees.

Key Takeaways An overfunded pension plan is a company retirement plan that has more than enough funds to cover current and future benefits to employees.

Pension funds are usually invested in financial securities, including stocks, mutual funds, and bonds.

Over time, pension plans can become overfunded as a result of long periods of stock market increases.

Understanding an Overfunded Pension Plan

A pension plan is a type of defined benefit plan in which employers contribute money on behalf of their employees based on a formula that considers the employee's salary and length of employment. The funds in many pensions are invested in individual securities, such as stocks, and a basket of securities, such as mutual funds. Many pension funds are also invested in bonds, which are debt instruments that typically pay interest payments during the life of the bond.

The goal is to have the pension fund grow as a result of investment gains and any interest earned from the securities. The growth in the fund's investment earnings is extremely important since the majority of the monthly benefits paid out to an employee are usually from these earnings while employer contributions make up a smaller portion of the monthly benefits. Over time, pension plans can become overfunded as a result of long periods of stock market increases. As a result of an overfunded pension, there are more than enough funds to pay both current and future monthly benefits to employees.

However, it's usually more common for a pension plan to be underfunded as investment shortfalls tend to be more common. An underfunded pension is when there are not enough funds in the plan to cover current or future pension benefits.

Funding Ratio

How well a pension plan is funded is determined by calculating the plan's funding ratio. The funding ratio is the result of dividing the total assets in a plan by the amount of benefits that are due to be paid out. A pension plan that has a funding ratio of less than 100% means that it doesn't have enough funds to cover future liabilities or monthly benefits. A pension that's overfunded would have a funding ratio of more than 100 percent.

However, just because a funding ratio is below 100%, doesn't necessarily mean the pension is in trouble or in danger of not fulfilling its financial commitments. Typically, a pension that has a funding ratio of 80% or more is considered stable. For example, as of July 2020 (the most recent figures as of Dec. 2, 2020), pensions were 81.1% funded for the 100 largest corporate defined benefit plans. These plans enjoyed surpluses during the dot-com bubble and the years preceding the Great Recession but failed to benefit from the bull market of the past decade.

Benefits of an Overfunded Pension Plan

The funding level of a pension plan is an indication of the health of the plan and the likelihood that the company will be able to pay the monthly retirement benefits when employees retire. If the pension plan is more than 100% funded, it's an overfunded plan, and that's a good thing for beneficiaries. It means the company has already saved more than enough money to pay projected retirement benefits for current workers and retirees.

A well-funded or overfunded pension plan can provide peace of mind for employees that their monthly retirement benefits should be there in their golden years.

How Pension Plan Benefits Are Estimated

Estimating the amount of money a company will need to pay its pension obligations is not a simple undertaking. An actuary is a professional that uses mathematical and statistical analysis to measure risks and financial obligations for companies in the future. Actuaries create mathematical models to try to predict how long employees and their spouses will live, future salary growth, at what age employees will retire, and the amount of money a company will earn from investing its pension savings. The resulting estimate is the amount of money the company should have saved in the pension fund.

Actuaries calculate the amount of contributions a company must pay into a pension, based on the benefits the participants receive or are promised and the estimated growth of the plans investments. These contributions are tax-deductible to the employer.

How much money the plan ends up with at the end of the year depends on the amount they paid out to participants and the investment growth that was earned on the money. As such, shifts in the market can cause a fund to be either underfunded or overfunded.

Special Considerations

In some cases, defined benefit plans can become overfunded in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Regrettably, overfunding is of no use while in the plan (beyond the sense of security it may provide beneficiaries). An overfunded pension plan will not result in increased participant benefits and cannot be used by the business or its owners.
Although the Presidential election drew most of the attention in November of 2020, there were several other important decisions made at the polls as well: notably, several states held votes to determine the future of the legal cannabis industry in one form or another. Taking a leaf out of Colorado or Washingtons book, four statesNew Jersey, South Dakota, Montana, and Arizonapassed measures to make marijuana consumption for recreational purposes legal. Mississippi also voted to allow medical marijuana.

State legislation remains heavily divided on the topic. Since the 2020 election, South Dakota Circuit Judge Christina Klinger ruled that the measure was unconstitutional. In November 2021, the South Dakota Supreme Court agreed and ruled against pot legalization. On the other hand, Arizona has collected more than $284 million of tax revenue since the legalization of marijuana in the state.

All told, more and more states are moving to legalize marijuana (whether for medicinal or recreational use, or both). The legal changes have spawned a burgeoning industry of legal cannabis companies, including those which aim to research and develop cannabis-based medical products, those which are working to distribute and grow marijuana, and many others.

As of May 2022, 37 states allow the use of medical cannabis products, while 18 states allow the use of non-medical cannabis products for personal consumption. States are continuing to propose new legislation to encourage legal activity. Delaware is circulating HB 305, a bill that would make marijuana legal for adults. Meanwhile, 62% of Marylanders now support non-recreational legalization.

The economic benefits of legalizing weed have already been apparent as the first states have moved to change their legal positions. Overall, legal marijuana could mean a big push for state economies and big bucks for both the state and the federal governments. Though state law and federal law remain divided on the issue. let's explore some of the key economic benefits of legal marijuana.

Key Takeaways There has been a growing popular movement in the United States to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses, with several states adopting such measures already.

One motivation for legalization is the economic benefits that can come from the regulated commercial availability of marijuana.

Increased tax revenues, job growth, and investment opportunities all are powerful incentives to push for legalization.

As of May 2022, 18 states allow for personal consumption of marijuana, while 37 states allow medical usage.

Although the collection of tax revenue has yet to start in many of these states, a total of $3.7 billion of proceeds were collected in 2021, more than double tax revenue generated in 2019.

Impact on Tax Revenue

Better than expected sales of marijuana in Colorado and Washington over the past several years have resulted in buoyant tax revenues. In 2021, Washington collected $559.5 million of legal marijuana revenue, over $85 million more revenue than 2020. Meanwhile, Colorado collected $423 million of marijuana tax revenue in 2021, up almost 10% from the year prior.

In 2019, total tax revenue collected by all states topped $1.7 billion. two years later, the total dollar revenue had more than doubled. Aggregate revenue for all states hit $3.7 billion for legal, adult-use cannabis sales, and this does not include revenue generated for statewide budgets, cities, and towns. In addition, six states that have approved marijuana use had not started collecting marijuana tax revenue in 2021.

Should marijuana become legal on a federal level, the benefits to the economy could be exceptional: A report from cannabis analytics company New Frontier suggests that federally legal pot could generate an additional $105.6 billion in aggregate federal tax revenue by 2025.

Colorado began collecting marijuana tax revenue in 2014. In 2021, it's total life-to-date collections surpassed $2 billion.

Income and Jobs

Setting up marijuana nurseries and dispensaries would be the first step for the states that voted in favor of medical marijuana. These would not only create jobs but also set the ball rolling for economic activity in the pot industry in these areas. In the case of states like California and Nevada where such infrastructure already exists, the economic impact has become more quantifiable as the sector has matured.

An RCG Economics and Marijuana Policy Group study on Nevada says that legalizing recreational marijuana in the state could support over 41,000 jobs till 2024 and generate over $1.7 billion in labor income. The ICF study estimates at least 81,000 additional direct, indirect, and induced jobs in California as a result of legalized marijuana sales. It also projects an increase in total labor income by at least $3.5 billion.

New Frontier's report predicting the impact of federally legal marijuana suggests that nationwide legalization could generate 1 million jobs by 2025. These jobs would likely come from the quickly growing industry which would spring up across the nation. Workers would be needed to farm, process, distribute, and sell marijuana-based products. Further, there would be ample opportunities for secondary industries that are related to legal cannabis although not directly involved in its production and distribution. These might include software developers, financing services, construction companies, and many others.

Investment Opportunities

Legal marijuana presents the possibility of tremendous benefits to economies on a local and a national scale. It also could help to secure the investment portfolios of investors across the country and further afield as well. While marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, it is difficult for investors to capitalize on the growth of the industry. The number of marijuana-related companies trading on public stock exchanges is minuscule, and while investors do have the option of working with over-the-counter exchanges, many of the most successful businesses in the early legal cannabis space have been based in Canada or other countries.

Should marijuana become legal on the national level, marijuana companies would be free to list their stocks on all U.S. exchanges, thereby enhancing liquidity and opening up access to many more investors. Should the growth rates for the cannabis space continue as they have in recent years, it's likely that investors would express a keen interest in the industry.

As of March 2022, the largest marijuana ETF was AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF with over $1 billion of assets under management.

Saved Money

When considering the economic benefits of legal marijuana, it's important to think of the money that might be saved as well as revenue that could be generated through such a process. Currently, federal marijuana enforcement costs several billion dollars per year. A 2013 report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that the costs at that time were approximately $3.6 billion per year.

The more states that legalize cannabis, the lower the cost of enforcement would likely be; if marijuana were to be legalized on a national level, these costs would likely drop considerably. If marijuana were removed from the list of controlled substances, far fewer court cases involving the substance would go to trial, resulting in fewer incarcerations, and, in turn, more money saved.

Legalized marijuana also stands to benefit medical consumers of cannabis-based products. As marijuana becomes legal in more and more parts of the country, it's likely that the price will drop overall as a result of commoditization. This may not immediately seem like good news for overall tax revenue or for marijuana companies looking to maximize profits. However, individuals utilizing marijuana-based products for medical treatment would stand to benefit considerably from lower prices for these items.

How Many States Have Legalized Marijuana? As of May 2022, 18 states have legalized the personal use of marijuana. In addition, 37 states have legalized the medical use of marijuana.

How Much Money Are States Collecting in Marijuana Tax Revenue? In 2021, the states that legalized marijuana for personal consumption generated $3.7 billion. This revenue does not include city revenue or proceeds distributed to smaller municipalities.

What Is the Economic Impact of Legalizing Marijuana? States that legalize marijuana have recognized various economic benefits. There are direct tax proceeds generated for the state. States employ thousands of employees of oversee the production, distribution, and management of the sector. There are also potential savings to the legal enforcement of the industry if certain criteria are no longer considered illegal.

The Bottom Line

There is ample pushback against the idea of legalizing marijuana across the country. Critics cite the potential for confusion among law enforcement officers aiming to keep up with shifting regulations, a concern about increased homelessness or youth use of the substance, the potential for decreased property values, and much more. Some are opposed to changing the regulatory status of marijuana simply because it means a change to the status quo.

All of these reasons combine to decrease the likelihood that marijuana will become legal at a national level any time soon. However, as more and more states move to individually decriminalize pot use in various ways, and as the economic benefits of a legal marijuana industry take effect, there are also many compelling reasons to consider nationwide legalization.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that provides financial assistance and advice to member countries. This article will discuss the main functions of the IMF, which has become integral to the development of financial markets worldwide and the growth of developing countries.

Key Takeaways The IMF came into existence in 1944. Along with the World Bank, it was created to bring financial stability to the world following World War II.

The IMF is funded by quota subscriptions. Member states pay according to the size of their economy, and voting rights are based on this quota.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) is the unit of account of the IMF. The SDR is made up of a basket of five currencies: the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, the Chinese RMB, and the British pound.

When member countries run into trouble, they can turn to the IMF for advice and financial assistance.

Out of the 195 countries in the world, 190 countries are members of the IMF.

What Is the IMF?

The IMF came into formal existence in 1944 following the Bretton Woods Conference held the year before. Along with its sister organization, the World Bank, it was created to prevent economic crises such as the Great Depression. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is run by its 190 member countries. Membership is open to any country that conducts foreign policy and accepts the organization's statutes.

The IMF is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the international monetary system, the system by which international payments among countries take place. It provides a systematic mechanism for foreign exchange transactions in order to foster investment and promote balanced global economic trade.

To achieve these goals, the IMF focuses and advises on the macroeconomic policies of a country, which impacts its exchange rate, governmental budget, money, and credit management. The IMF will also appraise a country's financial sector and regulatory policies, as well as structural policies within the macroeconomy that relate to the labor market and employment.

In addition, as a fund, it may offer financial assistance to nations in need of correcting balance of payment discrepancies. The IMF is entrusted with nurturing economic growth and maintaining high levels of employment within countries.

How Does the IMF Work?

The IMF is funded by quota subscriptions paid by member states. The size of each quota is determined by the size of each member's economy. The quota in turn determines the weight each country has within the IMFand hence its voting rightsas well as how much financing it can receive from the IMF. Twenty-five percent of each country's quota is paid in the form of special drawing rights (SDRs), which are a claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members.

Before SDRs, the Bretton Woods system had been based on a fixed exchange rate, and it was feared that there would not be enough reserves to finance global economic growth. Therefore, in 1969, the IMF created the SDRs, which are a kind of international reserve asset. They were created to supplement the international reserves of the time, which were gold and the U.S. dollar.

The SDR is not a currency; it is a unit of account by which member states can exchange with one another in order to settle international accounts.

The SDR can also be used in exchange for other freely traded currencies of IMF members. A country may do this when it has a deficit and needs more foreign currency to pay its international obligations.

The value of SDRs lies in the fact that member states commit to honor their obligations to use and accept SDRs. Each member country is assigned a certain amount of SDRs based on how much the country contributes to the IMF (which is based on the size of the country's economy). However, the need for SDRs lessened when major economies dropped the fixed exchange rate and opted for floating rates instead.

The IMF does all of its accounting in SDRs, and commercial banks accept SDR denominated accounts. The value of the SDR is adjusted daily against a basket of currencies, which includes the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro, and the British pound. In November 2015, the IMF added the Chinese RMB to the basket.

The larger the country, the larger its contribution. Thus the U.S. contributes 17.44% while the Seychelles Islands contribute a modest 0.005%. If called upon by the IMF, a country can pay the rest of its quota in its local currency. So far, SDR 204.2 billion (about $293 billion) have been allocated to members.

IMF Benefits

The IMF offers its assistance in the form of surveillance, which it conducts on a yearly basis for individual countries, regions, and the global economy as a whole. However, a country may ask for financial assistance if it finds itself in an economic crisis, whether caused by a sudden shock to its economy or poor macroeconomic planning. A financial crisis will result in severe devaluation of the country's currency or a major depletion of the nation's foreign reserves. In return for the IMF's help, a country is usually required to embark on an IMF-monitored economic reform program, otherwise known as Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs).

Types of IMF Loans

There are three more widely implemented facilities by which the IMF can lend its money. A Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) offers financing of a short-term balance of payments, usually between 12 to 24 months, but no more than 36 months.

The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is a medium-term arrangement by which countries can borrow a certain amount of money, typically over four to 10 years. The EFF aims to address structural problems within the macroeconomy that are causing chronic balance of payment inequities. The structural problems are addressed through financial and tax sector reform and the privatization of public enterprises.

The third main facility offered by the IMF is known as the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). As the name implies, it aims to reduce poverty in the poorest of member countries while laying the foundations for economic development. Loans are administered with especially low interest rates.

The IMF offers technical assistance to transitional economies in the changeover from centrally planned to market-run economies. The IMF also offers emergency funds to collapsed economies, as it did for South Korea during the 1997 financial crisis in Asia, which allowed it to avoid sovereign default. Emergency funds can also be loaned to countries that have faced an economic crisis as a result of a natural disaster.

All facilities of the IMF aim to create sustainable development within a country and try to create policies that will be accepted by the local population. However, the IMF is not an aid agency, so all loans are given on the condition that the country implements the SAPs and makes it a priority to pay back what it has borrowed. Countries that are under IMF programs are typically developing, transitional, and emerging market countries (countries that have faced financial crises).

Not Everyone Has the Same Opinion

Because the IMF lends its money with "strings attached" in the form of its SAPs, many people and organizations are vehemently opposed to its activities. Opposition groups claim that structural adjustment is an undemocratic and inhumane means of loaning funds to countries facing economic failure. Debtor countries to the IMF are often faced with having to put financial concerns ahead of social ones.

Thus, by being required to open up their economies to foreign investment, privatize public enterprises, and cut government spending, these countries suffer an inability to properly fund their education and health programs.

Moreover, foreign corporations often exploit the situation by taking advantage of local cheap labor while showing no regard for the environment. The oppositional groups say that locally cultivated programs, with a more grassroots approach towards development, would provide greater relief to these economies. Critics of the IMF say that, as it stands now, the IMF is only deepening the rift between the wealthy and the poor nations of the world.

IMF FAQs

What Has Been the Role of the IMF in Helping Latin American Countries?

The IMF greatly helped Latin American countries in the 1980s during its debt crisis, helping nations overcome the financial difficulties and turning around their economies. Today, it has helped with policy advice, technical assistance, and financing. The IMF has provided $66 billion to 21 countries.

What Are the Differences Between the IMF and the World Bank?

Both the World Bank and the IMF were founded in 1944 at the Bretton Woods conference. The primary responsibility of the World Bank is to aid developing nations in reducing their poverty and increasing their well-being. The IMF's main purpose is to stabilize the international monetary system and oversee the world's currencies.

The World Bank provides "financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments, and also focuses on strengthening the private sector in developing countries. The IMF keeps track of the economy globally and in member countries, lends to countries with balance of payment difficulties, and gives practical help to members."

Which Countries Are Not Members of the IMF?

The IMF consists of 190 countries out of the 195 in the world. The countries not part of the IMF include Cuba, North Korea, East Timor, Liechtenstein, and Monaco. The Vatican City and Taiwan are also not part of the IMF.

How Is the IMF Involved in International Trade?

According to the IMF, its mandate includes "facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade."The organization utilizes tariffs, quotas, export subsidies and taxes, and preferential trade agreements.

What Is an IMF Grant?

The IMF grant "supports charities in the Washington DC metro area and in IMF member countries abroad through annual monetary grants, which focus primarily on fostering economic independence through education and economic development."

The Bottom Line

Providing assistance with development is an ever-evolving and dynamic endeavor. While the international system aims to create a balanced global economy, it should strive to address local needs and solutions. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the benefits that can be achieved by learning from others.
Klarna is a financial technology company that aims to change the way consumers pay for products online. It offers a "buy now, pay later" service that allows online shoppers to purchase from major retailers without paying upfront. Consumers can pay for their purchases in four interest-fee installments charged every two weeks, or pay the entire amount within 30 days. They can also finance their purchase over six to 36 months.

Klarna's Global Reach

Klarna was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2005. It provides payment solutions to 205,000 merchants in 17 countries. The company says its 85 million customers make one million transactions daily. The company operates as a bank and is one of the largest in Europe. Investors include Sequoia Capital and Visa.

In August 2019, Klarna raised $460 million at a $5.5 billion valuation. Gross merchandise volume grew 46% in 2020 to reach $53 billion in sales. In 2020, total net operating revenue climbed 40% versus 2019 to reach $1.1 billion (USD). Klarna's partners include large brands such as ASOS, H&M, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Ticketmaster, Sephora, Toms, Timberland, Lenovo, Ambercrombie & Fitch, Dyson, Sonos, Expedia, Air France, and Bose. Retail categories include auto, beauty, Black-owned businesses, fashion, and electronics, among others.

In 2014, Klarna opened offices in Columbus, Ohio, where its North American headquarters are based. Other office locations include New York and Los Angeles, and major cities around Europe.

How Klarna Works

The "buy now, pay later" model has proven popular with online shoppers. There is no account sign-up required, though consumers may have to supply a credit or debit card, along with information for Klarna to perform a soft credit check.

Klarna also appeals to online retailers who struggle to entice shoppers to complete a purchase after adding a product to their cart. The industry-wide cart abandonment rate is about 70% of orders. Shoppers often abandon their carts because they don't want to deal with the hassle of creating an account, or the checkout process is too complicated. Klarna helps to reduce this payment friction.

Even better for retailers, Klarna assumes the financial risk of encouraging shoppers to close the deal without payment. When the retailer ships a product, Klarna pays the merchant and then informs the consumer of their payment schedule. For installment and pay-later purchases, Klarna runs a soft credit check, which does not impact the consumer's credit score or appear on their credit report. It runs a hard credit check for those who finance their purchases. Financing is provided in conjunction with WebBank. The APR is 19.99% with a minimum interest charge of $2. Late fees are $35.

Shoppers who buy on installment are charged a late fee of up to $7 if they miss a payment. Consumers who fall behind on their payments can have their accounts turned over to a debt collection agency.

How Klarna Makes Money

Klarna does not charge interest or fees for its standard payment options, so how does it make money? It charges retailers a transaction fee. For all payment options, Klarna charges a $0.30 fee plus variable fees up to 3.29% or 5.99%.

Klarna believes retailers are willing to pay these fees because its services help to increase sales. It estimates that the ability for consumers to pay on installment boosts their average order value by 45%.

The Downside of Paying Later

Klarna markets its services toward Millennial and Gen Z shoppers, believing they demand a smooth shopping experience, and studies suggest these consumers are increasingly willing to shop on credit. Klarna's own figures indicate that when allowed to pay on installment or with financing, consumers tend to spend more, which raises concerns about whether the service enables young shoppers to take on more debt that then can handle.

In response to these concerns, Klarna told The Guardian that it employed financial safeguards to prevent overspending. Customers could not make unlimited purchases. Thresholds were in place to ensure customers made payments on existing purchases before they could make additional transactions.

The Bottom Line

Klarna is making a splash across Europe and the U.S. with its popular "buy now, pay later" model. Shoppers enjoy flexible payment options and the chance to try before they buy a product. Retailers offload credit risk to Klarna while enjoying fewer abandoned shopping carts and higher order values. Critics worry that "buy now, pay later" services may encourage profligate spending, leading to increased debt burden among young consumers.
A 401(k) is a type of qualified retirement plan offered by many employers that allows an employee to deposit pre-tax dollars from each paycheck into a retirement account. An employer can match an employee's contributions in a number of different ways:

Microsoft contributes $0.50 for every $1 contributed, up to IRS contribution limits.

Apple matches 50% and 100% of an employee's contribution depending on the length of service of that employee. Employer contributions are limited to 6% of the employee's eligible earnings, up to IRS contribution limits.

Amazon matches 50% of employee contributions up to 4% of the employee's eligible earnings, up to IRS contribution limits.

Netflix matches 100% of employee contributions up to 4% of the employee's eligible earnings, up to IRS contribution limits.

In addition to varying contributions, different companies often have different vesting schedules. Some companies allow employees to retain full ownership of employer contributions the day they are hired, while other companies require an employee be on staff for a specific period of time before retaining ownership of contributions. Should the employee leave the company, the employee will own their contributions but not be entitled to the company's match for any vesting period they did not achieve.

When the employee leaves the company, they can choose to rollover the 401(k) into a different plan or withdraw all funds (and be subject to penalties and taxes). If the employee retires and maintained the retirement account, the contributions and investment growth can be withdrawn to provide income or supplement Social Security benefits.

Key Takeaways Choosing a 401(k) over a traditional pension puts the onus of contributing and investing for the future on the employee, not the employer.

If your employer matches your 401(k) contributions make sure to take advantage of the benefit.

The IRS doesnt require employers to match employee contributions, though many do.

Having a retirement plan helps attract and keep talented employees.

Employers receive tax benefits for contributing to 401(k) accounts.

What Are the Benefits of a 401(k) to Employees?

These days, most private-sector employers prefer defined contribution plans like the 401(k) to the traditional pension that the company entirely funded. The pension plan was a monthly payment for life, in an amount based on the employees tenure and salary history. Aside from the obvious financial burden, the plan required employers to manage a retirement investing and payment system.

In contrast, 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans put the onus of contributing and investing on the employee. They don't guarantee (or "define") a set payout at retirement. Ultimately, this ends up being far more cost-effective for the employer.

Employees can grow their savings in a tax-deferred account and multiply their savings by way of the employers matched dollars, which are also tax-free at the time of contribution. If you have a 401(k) matching plan as a part of your employee benefits package, it is wise to make the most of it as it is an important tool for building net worth and financial independence for your retirement years.

The IRS doesn't require matching the employee's 401(k) contributions, but many employers do so. The "company match" is a crucial selling point inside the company. A certain percentage of a firm's employees must participate for a plan to be considered legitimate by the IRS.

Typically, the company's contribution level is tiered: A generous match might include a dollar-for-dollar match on the first 3% of the employee's deposit, then 50 cents on each dollar of the next 3%, up to 6% of employee contributions in total, for example.

4.7% The average employer 401(k) match contribution is around 5% of an employee's salary.

What Are the Benefits of a 401(k) to Employers?

Employers offer benefit programs to help employees feel valued and build financial security for themselves and their families through tax-advantaged savings. This helps to attract and retain a qualified workforce. Moreover, as more companies offer this type of plan as a standard benefit, those without it can be seen as lacking. While it can be costly for the employer to manage, oversee, and test the plan, the overriding value of offering a 401(k) match is to earn the goodwill and loyalty of employees and provide a meaningful benefit.

Employers can also deduct matched contributions from their income taxes, subject to certain limitations. In addition, elective deferrals and investment gains are not currently taxed and enjoy tax deferral until their distribution (Roth deferrals, however, are included in the employee's taxable income in the year of the deferral).

Some employers are required to maintain retirement accounts as part of state legislation. Several states have passed laws that require companies of a certain size to offer retirement plans to their employees or sign up for a private state-run program. For example, the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act states that companies with at least five employees offer their own retirement program or facilitate a Illinois Secure Choice option.

13 states have passed legislation requiring employers with more than a certain number of employees to offer qualified retirement plans like a 401(k). An additional 17 states have proposed similar laws that have not yet been ratified.

Source: ADP.

How Much Can an Employer Match in a 401(k) Plan? For 2022, the most an employee can contribute to a 401(k) is $20,500. An employer can match can be up to $40,500 (for a maximum total contribution of $61,000 per year). Employees over age 50 can make catch-up contributions that, along with employer matches, cannot exceed a total of $67,000.

Do Most Employers With 401(k) Plans Offer Matching Contributions? A 2021 industry survey reported that around 82% of employers studied offered a 401(k) on at least a portion of their employees' contributions. Most companies that offered a match required employees to work for at least one year before the matching begins, and most matches then are subject to a vesting schedule.

What Is the Typical Size of an Employer Match in a 401(k)? A study by Vanguard found that the average employer match for a 401(k) in 2020 was 4.5%. If an employee's eligible compensation was $100,000 and the company provided a 100% match up to 4.5%, the employee would contribute $4,500 and the company would contribute $4,500.

The Bottom Line

The employer match also is an attractive benefit for recruitment. If an employee has offers from more than one company and all else is equal, the 401(k) contribution matching could become a factor in choosing one firm over another.

Also, employers receive tax benefits for contributing to 401(k) accounts. Specifically, their matches can be taken as deductions on their federal corporate income tax returns. They are often exempt from state and payroll taxes as well.

CorrectionJune 16, 2022: The article has been revised to clarify how an employer match on an employee contribution is calculated.
Pullbacks, in terms of technical analysis, generate all sorts of trading opportunities after an active trend thrusts higher or lower, but profiting with this classic strategy is harder than it looks. For starters, the security you just bought on the dips or sold short into resistance can keep on going, forcing your position into a sizable loss, or it can just sit there gathering dust while you miss out on a dozen other trades.

So what skills are needed to book reliable profits with pullback strategies, how aggressively should those profits be taken and how do you admit you are wrong without breaking the bank? In this article, we will consider some historical examples to illustrate these concepts.



Key Takeaways A pullback can be a great opportunity to get into a long position when the price of the security is "on sale."

A pullback is a technical signal indicating a temporary dip in price, but from which a rebound can be expected.

Here, we consider a few basic strategies for taking advantage of pullbacks.

Pullbacks

Lets outline the most favorable technical conditions for a pullback to turn on a dime as soon as you take a risk in the opposite direction. First, you need to observe a strong enough trend so that other pullback players will be lined up right behind you, ready to jump in and turn your idea into a reliable profit. In other words, play off of market psychology and let others help out. Securities seeing new highs or dumping to new lows can fulfill this requirement after they push well beyond a technical breakout or breakdown level.

An upswing into a peak or a bear trend to a trough is notable, especially on higher-than-normal volume. It is also best when the trending security reverses quickly after topping or bottoming out without building a sizable consolidation or trading range. This is needed because the intervening range will limit the profit potential during the subsequent bounce or rollover.

Example: MSFT

Say that ABC, Corp. shares have witnessed a three-month trading range that finally breaks out on above-average volume. It pauses for a week and sells off, giving up nearly 50% of the prior uptrend, and comes into strong support at the breakout level and 50-day EMA. A midday turnaround prints a small Doji candlestick, signaling a reversal, which gathers momentum a few days later, lifting more than two points into a test of the prior high. The stock then resumes its strong uptrend, printing a series of multi-year highs.

Finding the Perfect Entry Price

Look for cross-verification once the pullback is in motion. This term denotes narrow price zones where several types of support or resistance line up, favoring a rapid reversal and a strong thrust in the direction of the primary trend. The odds for a bounce or rollover increase when this zone is tightly compressed and diverse kinds of support or resistance line up perfectly.

For example, a sell-off to a breakout through horizontal highs that also aligns with a key Fibonacci retracement and an intermediate moving average, such as the 50-day EMA, raises the odds significantly for a successful pullback trade. Even so, you can enter pullbacks in less advantageous circumstances by scaling into conflicting price levels, treating support and resistance as bands of price activity rather than thin lines.

Example

Say that XYZ stock carves out a nine-month trading range and then goes vertical in a heavy volume breakout after a well-known hedge fund manager joins the company. The news posts a huge one-day gain, giving way to an immediate pullback that lands on new support at the top of the range, now perfectly aligned with the 62% Fibonacci retracement and 50-day EMA. The stock turns on a dime, resuming the uptrend at a slower pace. It prints a six-year high two months later.

Taking Opportunistic Profits

Take profits aggressively after trade entry or scale-out, pocketing cash as the security recovers lost ground. Customize risk management to the specifics of that retracement pattern by placing Fibonacci grids over a) the last wave of the primary trend and b) the entire pullback wave. This combination can reveal harmonic price levels where the two grids line up, pointing to hidden barriers.

Gaps and small trading ranges also need to be watched for counter swings because pullback plays always carry the risk of printing lower highs in uptrends and higher lows in a downtrend. In most cases, the best exits will occur when the price moves rapidly in your direction into an obvious barrier, including the last major swing high in an uptrend or swing low in a downtrend.

Example

Acme, Inc. breaks its 19-month support in November, in conjunction with declining crude oil prices. The high volume decline bottoms out a few weeks later, giving way to a pullback that stalls at the 38% Fibonacci sell-off retracement and setting up a low-risk short sale pullback entry. A second retracement grid placed over the pullback wave assists trade management, picking out natural zones where the downtrend might stall or reverse. The bull hammer reversal at the 78.6% retracement in January warned that short-sellers could be targeted, favoring a rapid exit to protect profits.

Effective Stop Loss Strategies

Losing trades with pullback plays tend to occur for one of three reasons. First, you miscalculate the extent of the countertrend wave and enter too early. Second, you enter at the perfect price, but the countertrend keeps on going, breaking the logical mathematics that set off your entry signals. Third, the bounce or rollover gets underway but then aborts, crossing through the entry price because your risk management strategy failed. The final case is the easiest to manage. Place a trailing stop behind your position as soon as it moves in your favor and adjust it as the profit increases.

The stop needed when you first enter the position is directly related to the price chosen for entry. As you gain experience, you will notice that many pullbacks show logical entries at several levels. The longer you wait and the deeper it goes without breaking the technicals, the easier it is to place a stop just a few ticks or cents behind a significant cross-verification level. You will miss perfect reversals at intermediate levels with a deep entry strategy, but it will also produce the largest profits and smallest losses.

If you choose to take many shots at intermediate levels, the position size needs to be reduced and stops placed at arbitrary loss levels such as 25- to 50-cent exposure on a blue chip and one- to two-dollar exposure on a high beta stock such as a junior biotech or China play.

Example

Widget Co. breaks out above a nine-month trendline and rallies to a 52-week high. It turns lower after carving a three-week trading range and lands on triple support at the trendline, 50- and 200-day EMAs. The stock bounces just under support, drawing in dip buyers but the recovery wave stalls, triggering a failed breakout. A pullback play taken on the bounce requires a stop loss below that sessions low because price action into that level will flash all sorts of sell signals.

The Bottom Line

Breakouts and breakdowns often return to contested levels, testing new support or resistance after the initial trend wave runs out of steam. Pullback positions taken close to these price levels show excellent rewards to risk profiles that support a wide variety of swing trading strategies.
Ukrainian army positions in Donbas come under 42 attacks in past 24 hours

Ukrainian Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) positions in Donbas came under 42 attacks in the past 24 hours, the ATO staff in southeastern Ukraine said.

In the Mariupol sector, the hostiles fired 120mm and 82mm mortars on Krasnohorivka, Talakivka and Shyrokyne, while grenade launchers bombarded Maryinka, and sniper activity was observed in Shyrokyne and Pavlopil, the staff said on Facebook in the morning.

In the Luhansk sector, mortars, grenade launchers and small arms were used against Krymske, Novo-Oleksandrivka, Novozvanivka, Lopaskyne, Zolote, Troyitske and Syze. Novozvanivka came under artillery attack, it said.

In the Donetsk sector, the hostiles fired mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machineguns on Avdiyivka and used grenade launchers and small arms against Zaitseve, the staff said.
Press Release

Disquieting spike in human rights violations against MPs

Geneva, 9 December 2016

2016 has seen a sharp increase in the number of parliamentarians who have suffered human rights violations.

The year 2016 has seen a sharp increase in the number of parliamentarians who have suffered violations of their fundamental rights or who have alleged such violations, according to IPU statistics that underscore once more the dangers MPs face across the world in exercising their mandate and their right to freedom of expression.

Marking Human Rights Day 2016 (10 December), IPU released Human Rights Abuses of MPs2016. This comprehensive overview of the cases being examined by IPUs Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians shows an overall increase in violations of MPs human rights for the third year in a row.

In 2016, the Committee examined the situation of a total of 459 parliamentarians from 42 countries in comparison to 320 parliamentarians from 43 countries in 2015, and 311 parliamentarians from 41 countries in 2014. New cases concerning 196 parliamentarians were submitted to the Committee during the year in review.

Human rights violations affected parliamentarians from across the world: 155 MPs from the Americas (34%), 110 from Asia (24%), 89 from Africa (19%), 63 from Europe (14%), 39 from the Middle East and North Africa (8%), and 3 (1%) from the Southern Pacific.

Compared with previous years, 2016 has seen a surge of new cases in Latin America, Europe and, to a lesser extent, Asia, and a significant decrease of cases in Africa and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Cases concerning parliamentarians in the South Pacific have been referred to the Committee for the first time in recent years.



Most of these MPs are opposition parliamentarians (73%), although a significant 25% of MPs come from ruling parties. Overall, 80% of the MPs concerned are men and 20% cent women (against 88% and 12% respectively in 2015).



Lack of fair trial and other unfair proceedings have become the most common type of abuse in 2016 (rising from 18.1% in 2015 to 24.6% in 2016), followed by the suspension and revocation of the parliamentary mandatea considerable increase from 12.3% in 2015 to 20.7% in 2016.

Violations of freedom of expression remain relatively stable (with a 2% increase compared to 2015) while arbitrary arrests and detentions decreased significantly (10.8% in 2016 against 18.7% in 2015).

These figures are deeply worrying. IPU is concerned about the growing recourse to court action and unlawful exclusion from political life as a means of silencing critical voices. Using judicial proceedings as a tool to punish peaceful political dissent reveals a disturbing pattern of repression that undermines the ability of parliamentarians and parliaments to fulfil their institutional mission, says IPU Secretary General, Martin Chungong.

Amidst increasing levels of retaliation against MPs for exercising their freedom of expression across the world, it is now more imperative than ever that parliamentarians demonstrate greater solidarity with those peers whose fundamental rights have been violated, he added.

At its 135th Assembly held in Geneva in October, IPU committed to create and implement effective procedures to ensure MPs can freely express themselves without fear of reprisals, including by ensuring respect for the principle of parliamentary immunity.

Addressing the role of parliaments as early responders to human rights abuses, MPs pledged to lead by example and speak out against human rights violations wherever they occur while ensuring that every citizen who claims that his or her fundamental rights have not been respected can seek effective remedy before an independent domestic body.



Regional highlights

Africa  The Committee reviewed the cases of 89 MPs from 10 African countries (Burundi, Cameroon, DRC, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). The number has significantly dropped compared to previous years (114 in 2015 and 119 in 2014).

Four countries have continued to have a large number of MPs with cases before the Committee: DRC with the examination of allegations concerning a total of 36 parliamentarians, Zambia (14), Madagascar (12) and Eritrea (11).

The most common alleged violations alleged remained largely unchanged, with lack of fair trial and other unfair proceedings as the most frequent violation reported (26%), followed by arbitrary arrests (16%) and undue suspension or revocation of parliamentary mandate (16%).

Americas  In 2016 the Americas became the region with the highest number of alleged violations of MPs fundamental rights. The Committee considered the situation of 155 parliamentarians from the region. In previous years the Americas ranked 4th after Asia, Africa, and MENA with 43 parliamentarians in 2015 and 42 in 2014.



A sudden surge of new alleged violations accounts for this new trend, particularly two new cases concerning 84 MPs in El Salvador and 21 MPs in Nicaragua. Venezuela has also witnessed an increase and reached a total of 20 MPs at the end of 2016.

Lack of fair trial and other unfair proceedings (38.8%) were the most frequent type of alleged violation, followed closely by the undue suspension or revocation of the parliamentary mandate (36.6%) and violations of freedom of expression (10.2%).

Asia  Asia accounted for the second largest number of MPs alleging violations of their rights with 110 MPs from 13 countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand. 2016 saw a slight increase in comparison with 2015 and 2014 when the cases of 94 and 78 MPs, respectively, were under review.

Over half of the victims of abuse in Asia come from three countries: the Maldives (33), Malaysia (21) and Cambodia (15).

Violations of freedom of expression (24.7%) and arbitrary arrest and detention (18.3%) have continued to be the most frequent alleged violations, followed by torture and ill-treatment (13.3%) and lack of fair trial and other unfair proceedings (12.3%).

Europe  The Committee examined the situation of 63 parliamentarians in three countries (Belarus, Russian Federation and Turkey). The referral of a collective case concerning 55 MPs in Turkey accounted for this marked increase of cases in Europe in 2016.

The most frequent alleged violations again concerned freedom of assembly and association (26.4%), followedat an equal ranking (23.2%)by violations of freedom of expression, unlawful suspension and revocation of parliamentary mandate and lack of fair trial and other unfair proceedings.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)  The Committee examined the situation of 39 parliamentarians from 8 countries in 2016: Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine and Yemen.

Arbitrary arrests and detentions remained as the top violations reported (25.3%), followed by lack of fair trial and other unfair proceedings (16.1%), undue suspension or revocation of the parliamentary mandate (12.6%), and violations of freedom of expression (10.3%).

Pacific  The Committee examined three cases from the Southern Pacific. Allegations were related to the undue suspension of the parliamentary mandate of MPs in Fiji.

IPU marks this year the 40th anniversary of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which works to protect or seek redress for MPs whose rights have been abused.

On the basis of two key principlesNever give up and Help us to help parliamentarians under threatthe Committee has examined 2,500 cases in 109 countries since 1976, working tirelessly to persuade and pressure the authorities until a solution is found.

Animated film: Fight for the rights of persecuted MPsFight for strong democratic parliaments serving the people

The Committee in a nutshell



Parliamentary solidarity: How you can help?

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. It works to safeguard peace and drives positive democratic change through political dialogue and concrete action.
Press Release

Women Speakers of Parliament set clear goals to respond to global challenges

Abu Dhabi, 13 December 2016

34 Women Speakers gathered in Abu Dhabi to shape the future. UAE Federal National Council

Women Speakers of Parliament from across the globe agreed to rapidly develop parliamentary objectives and action plans that put at the core the integrity of our planet and peace and prosperity.

At the conclusion of the two-day Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament, women Speakers unanimously adopted the Abu Dhabi Declaration that defines concrete steps to tackle geopolitical, socioeconomic, environmental and technological challenges to ensure a more gender sensitive and inclusive world and a better quality of life for generations to come.

The Summit, organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council (FNC), was attended by 34 female Speakers of Parliament and parliamentarians from 50 countries.

At the closing ceremony, Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the FNC declared, The success of the Summit will be measured over the coming months and years as we, women Speakers and parliamentarians, work to implement the actions detailed in the Abu Dhabi Declaration.

IPU President Saber Chowdury, in his concluding remarks, said that We owe it to the people we represent to take our achievements here in Abu Dhabi and apply them. The Declaration provides parliaments with the ideas and actions to transform their work and ensure their preparedness to respond to current and future challenges.

As part of the Summit outcomes, women Speakers agreed to promote and uphold human rights and the principle of tolerance in efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism and advance peace and security. They also stressed that action to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls and the promotion of womens economic empowerment are central to resolving problems and challenges to the society as a whole.

Women Speakers reiterated their commitment to achieving gender equality in politics and in parliament by 2030. They advocated that each parliament assess institutional gender sensitivity. Statistics from a recent IPU study showed that violence and harassment against women MPs is widespread, and more needs to be done to ensure parliaments are role models of gender sensitivity and equality.

Women Speakers urged parliaments to set up structures that examine future megatrends, and how they will affect our nations and our world. They encouraged more widespread use of digital technology to make parliaments more transparent and accessible. They also proposed that parliaments develop or modify existing future-oriented strategic plans, which include steps to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Young people face major economic challenges and obstacles to fully participate in political processes. The IPUs 2016 report Youth participation in national parliaments revealed that only 1.9 per cent of Members of Parliament are under the age of 30. Women Speakers stressed the imperative of associating youth to parliamentary work through representation and participation in policymaking. They also encouraged parliaments to do more to promote youth economic empowerment and create more opportunities for education and employment.

Women Speakers agreed to timelines for achieving Summit outcomes with the first one set for three months after the Summit. IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong concluded by saying that There was a strong commitment during the Summit to ensure that words are transformed into actions. It is now up to each parliament and the IPU to take the outcomes here forward. Our work has only just begun.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. It works to safeguard peace and drives positive democratic change through political dialogue and concrete action.
Radar Online, The Real Housewives of Atlanta star defended herself and fired back by exposing his arrests and violent behavior. The drama between Kenya Moore and her ex boyfriend Matt Jordan continues! After Matt Jordan accused her of faking scenes and manipulating storylines tostar defended herself and fired back by exposing his arrests and violent behavior.

Moore took to Instagram to blast her ex boyfriend's behavior and called him out on his recent claims about the Bravo hit reality show.There were no cameras around in Mexico when the door was kicked in and police escorted him out, Moore said of their blowouts that werent caught on camera. There were no cameras the now FOUR times my home was vandalized. There were no cameras filming when my neighbors called 911. There were no cameras filming when the Vegas hotel kicked him out for being violent and destroying the hotel room.Moore continued how cameras werent around for when she posted his bail, paid for his traffic tickets and paid for his back rent so he wouldnt get evicted.And there were no cameras around when he got arrested for a felony last month (for the 4th time in a year) tazed, handcuffed and fled on foot. There were no cameras when he was banned from filming because of his violence, she said.Moore continued by explaining how she is now fighting back because she refuses to play the victim.The only thing Matt is guilty of is acting a fool, she added. Yet to continue to abuse me by claiming to be an actor is a joke.Jordan recently accused Moore of advising him to damage her beloved Moore Manor for ratings.Miss Moore requested I do that and certain things to build her storyline, he toldof the August incident where he damaged her glass garage door, garage door, outdoor security camera and Range Rover. I never broke anything that wasnt already planned to happen. It was agreed upon prior to it. It was per her decision to boost her storyline on the show.He also accused her of going to the extreme for an interesting storyline.She would manipulate me, he said. If producers said, We want to do a scene of you and Matt, she would kiss me and be like, Baby I love you. If they said, We want arguing, we are going to argue even if were on good terms.Photo Credit: Google Images
Syrian rebels have reached a ceasefire deal to evacuate from eastern Aleppo in an effective surrender, as Russia declared all military action had stopped and the Syrian government had assumed control of the former rebel enclave.

The dramatic developments, which appeared to restore the remainder of what was once Syria's largest city to President Bashar Assad's forces after months of heavy fighting and a crippling siege, followed reports of mass killings by government forces closing in on the final few blocks still held by the rebels.

Damascus confirmed the evacuation deal and the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said that the safe withdrawal of people from the besieged area was now "imminent". He was at the Security Council where an emergency meeting for Aleppo was under way.

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin took to the floor near the end of the session at the UN Security Council to announce fighting had ended.

"According to the latest information that we received... military actions in eastern Aleppo are over," Mr Churkin said. "The Syrian government has re-established control over eastern Aleppo."

Minutes earlier, he had announced that "all militants" and members of their families, as well as those wounded in the fighting, were being evacuated through "agreed corridors in directions that they have chosen voluntarily", including the rebel stronghold of Idlib province.

Retaking Aleppo, which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012, would be Mr Assad's biggest victory yet in the civil war. Aleppo, the country's former commercial powerhouse, has long been regarded as a major gateway between Turkey and Syria and the biggest prize in the conflict.

There were conflicting reports about the timing and route that the evacuation would take.

Syria's military media said the gunmen would be evacuated through the Ramouseh crossing and from there to rebel-controlled areas of northern Idlib province.

"Aleppo will be declared a secure and liberated city within the coming hours," it said on its Telegram channel.

Osama Abu Zayd, a Turkey-based legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday evening and that the first groups of rebel fighters would begin evacuating later on Tuesday.

Yasser al-Youssef, a rebel spokesman, confirmed the deal, and another spokesman, Ahmed Karali, said those leaving the city would head to rural areas in western Aleppo province then head north.

The agreement on Tuesday came after world leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents, and the UN human rights office said that pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians as they closed in on the last remaining rebel areas.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforced fears of atrocities in the final hours of the battle for the city.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the emergency meeting that the UN supported negotiations among the parties, which were being facilitated by Russia and Turkey, and stood ready to help oversee an agreement.

He said he had received "credible reports" of civilians killed by intense bombing and summary executions by pro-government forces.

"Aleppo should represent the end of a quest for military victory," not the start of a new brutal campaign, he said.

Several residents and opposition activists said that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in neighbourhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military denied the claim, saying such allegations were "a desperate attempt" to gain international sympathy.

None of the residents witnessed the alleged killings, and the reports came amid deepening chaos in the remaining rebel-held areas. Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebel-held parts of the city, said the dead and wounded were being left in the streets.

Bashar al-Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, denied any mass executions or revenge attacks, but added it was Syria's "constitutional right" to go after "terrorists", a reference to all opposition fighters.

"Aleppo has been liberated from terrorists and those who toyed with terrorism," he said. "Aleppo has returned to the nation."

The UN children's agency said in a statement on Tuesday that it had received a report of more than 100 unaccompanied children trapped in a building under fire in eastern Aleppo. Unicef is concerned over reports of "extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children", said the agency's regional director, Geert Cappalaere.

The UN human rights office said it had received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians in four neighbourhoods of the rapidly-shrinking rebel enclave, including 11 women and 13 children.

Spokesman Rupert Colville, speaking to reporters in Geneva, said the reports described pro-government forces entering homes and killing civilians "on the spot". He said the reports came in late on Monday and he did not know exactly when the killings took place.

A press release by the UN human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources reported dozens of civilians were shot dead on Monday by government forces and allied militiamen in the Kallaseh and Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hundreds of bodies were still under the rubble.

A government win in Aleppo would significantly strengthen Mr Assad's hand but does not end the conflict - significant parts of Syria are still outside government control and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad family's four-decade rule.

AP
Tickets for the regions most prestigious corporate event go on sale tomorrow at 9:30am on the Cork Chamber website, and it will be a fast sellout, such is the popularity of this key event.

Cork Chamber Annual Dinner is the business event of the year so for the Montenotte Hotel, it was a natural fit to align directly with the event and provide lead sponsorship this year, said Frankie Whelehan of the Montenotte Hotel.
The website of the European Parliament (EP) has published the updated forecast of the date of consideration the abolition of visas for Ukrainian citizens, the Internet news service Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth) published on Monday evening with reference to the information published in the registration card of an appropriate legislative initiative.

"It is noted that the EP intends to consider the Ukrainian issue during the second session of 2017, namely on February 1. Earlier it was expected that the consideration of Ukrainian visa-free regime will be held on January 18. This forecast was posted on the EP site," an item says.

As reported, on December 7, 2016 President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that a compromise solution had been found in Brussels to suspend visa waivers.

In turn, on December 8, President of the European Council Donald Tusk said that the discussion on the suspension mechanism of visa-free regime for third countries had been completed, and now the "the final stretch towards visa-free travel for Ukraine and Georgia."
Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, heard Leann Walsh tended table on the decking outside the Heuston Station Refreshment Rooms and would often have to shoo away pigeons.

Barrister Karl Finnegan, for Ms Walsh, told the circuit civil court she had been working outdoors on May 15, 2013, when she stepped on pigeon faeces and her right leg went from under her.

Mr Finnegan said she had fallen sideways on her knees and back, suffering soft tissue injuries to her ankle, knees, and lower back.

Gerry Ryan, counsel for CIE, told the court the Irish Rail Company had entered a full defence. Barrister Sarah Corcoran, for the Heuston Refreshment Rooms, of West Pier, Howth, said her client had also denied liability.

Ms Corcoran told the court that the problem of pigeons was a serious one for her client, who had asked CIE to deal with the matter.

Judge Groarke, awarding Ms Walsh, of Merrion Court, Blackhall St, Dublin, 22,500 damages with special damages of 2,148, said he would grant judgment against both defendants but would make an order over in favour of the restaurant against CIE.

The judge said what had been described to the court was a visitation by pigeons calling to the Heuston Refreshment Rooms outside restaurant area on at least six or seven times a day.

Judge Groarke said that with the comings and goings and deposits of pigeons the area was not a safe place of work for Ms Walsh, who had to serve customers at tables as well as clean up the area.

He believed an accident of the type before the court was foreseeable despite there being no evidence of a similar slip in the 19 years during which Heuston Refreshment Rooms ran the restaurant.

Among the works carried out was the placing of spikes, fire gel, a hawk on a pole with which the pigeons became very acquainted, and humane traps. No permanent solution had been found to the problem.

The judge said Ms Walsh and the restaurant did all they reasonably could in order to keep the premises clean and clean up after the pigeons. The restaurant had tried to get CIE to deal with the problem but CIE had decided not to take appropriate steps.
In 2004, more than 9,000 women attended the crisis pregnancy counselling services. In 2015, that number had dropped to less than 3,000.

As a result of these findings, the HSE is carrying out a full review of the national service, which is due for publication in January.

One of the options being looked at is telephone counselling, as opposed to face-to-face sessions.

Some reasons given by the HSE include a destigmatisation of pregnancy outside of marriage and the growth of the internet, allowing people to freely access information on abortion.

These figures were released yesterday at the HSEs Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme conference.

Helen Deely, head of the programme, suggested some reasons for the sharp drop in women accessing the service.

While we dont have any definite information, the reason for this is probably a change in society, because women can now get support from their family, friends, and partners if theyre experiencing a crisis pregnancy and, also, it isnt a taboo anymore in society to have a pregnancy outside of marriage and people are much better supported, she said.

The other thing that we know is the advances in technology have allowed for women to access information online so, if women want to get information around travelling abroad for an abortion, they can get all the details and contact information on the website and therefore dont have to attend a crisis pregnancy counselling service, she added.

However, Ms Deely said that there is still a place for a counsellor when it comes to a crisis pregnancy.

Our key message to women would be, though, that attending a crisis pregnancy counsellor gives the woman time and space to consider all her options, she said.

She will be supported in her decision and shell be allowed explore whats the best thing for her to do at that point of time in her life.

www.positiveoptions.ie
Barrister Tracy Ennis Faherty told Judge James ODonohoe in the Circuit Civil Court that Tadhg Sinammon Hanafin injured himself on the wall-mounted fire while playing in the living room.

Ms Ennis Faherty, who appeared for Tadhg with Andrea Sullivan of Hussey Fraser Solicitors, said that, in November 2011, when Tadhg was only 16 months old, he cut a finger on a sharp edge on the fire.

She said he had placed his right hand on the edge of the gas fire and sustained a cut to his hand at the base of his middle finger, severing two tendons.

Ms Ennis Faherty told Judge ODonohoe that Tadhg had been taken to the A&E Department of Crumlin Hospital, where he was detained.

He was found to have a 100% division of one tendon, and damage to another and a nerve and artery. She told the court that medical reports revealed that both tendons and the nerve were repaired under general anaesthesia before he was discharged with his full right arm in a cast, which he had to wear for six weeks.

Tadhg sued B&Q Ireland Limited and Focal Point Fires, Frampton St, London, through his father Kevin Hanafin. His parents had been concerned about the cosmetic appearance of scars on his fingers, but reported now that he uses his hand for all functions without difficulty or pain.

David ODonovan, consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon, had informed the court that from a cosmetic view, the scars were likely to improve over the next several years and, when fully matured, he was not likely to have any great significant cosmetic impact.

Functionally, Tadhg had made an excellent recovery.

Ms Ennis Faherty told Judge ODonohoe that the defendants had made Tadhg a settlement offer of 30,000 and she said she was recommending that the court approve of it.

Having viewed Tadhgs hand during a discussion of what Santa was bringing him for christmas, Judge ODonohoe said that while there was some disfigurement, he thought the offer was adequate and he approved the settlement.
That is the opinion of some Cork county councillors, who are writing to the Government asking it to drop LPT rates for householders who pay for estate maintenance themselves.

Cllr Marcia DAlton proposed the move. She said it was not equitable that householders in such estates should be charged the same as everybody else, and that a 35% reduction would reflect the lower level of local authority service delivered to estates not taken in charge by them.
The Irish Research Council, Science Foundation Ireland and Health Research Board will only allow those from 20 publicly-funded third-level colleges apply for competitive funding if they have met minimum requirements to deal with the issues from the end of 2019.

They will need to have a bronze accreditation from the Athena Swan Charter, but a silver accreditation will be required from the end of 2023, meaning they have to show improved female representation in academic roles.

With just 19% of professorships in the seven universities held by women, despite nearly half all lecturers being female, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has welcomed the measure.

Were delighted the funding agencies are doing something that will definitely make a difference to how the issue is treated because the statistics just havent been changing, said IFUT deputy general secretary Joan Donegan.

If we depend just on colleges changing policies voluntarily, wed be waiting a long time to see change. But this has the potential to hit them in the pockets and to lose out in the competitive element, when they all want to be the best, she said.

The measure from the three research bodies, with combined annual budgets of around 230m, was recommended in last Junes gender equality review for the Higher Education Authority (HEA). It will apply to the seven universities, 14 institutes of technology and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

The HEA is finalising details that would see colleges at risk of cuts to their budgets for staffing and other core functions if they fail to meet targets to improve female representation at academic and senior management levels.

Those restrictions are expected to take effect in around three years, which will place further pressure on colleges to make systematic changes to promotions and appointments processes.

As well as the academic representation of women, the HEA review highlighted imbalances on governing bodies, senior management and academic councils of 26 publicly-funded institutions. While they are being encouraged to achieve a balance of each gender in the 40% to 60% range on such bodies, several colleges fall way short of those targets.

Only 25% or less of executive management at 14 of the colleges were women, including University College Cork, NUI Galway (both 25%) and University of Limerick (22%). Only one woman was on the senior management teams, ranging from seven to 10 members, at institutes of technology in Cork, Tralee, Letterkenny, Sligo and Waterford.

However, Athlone Institute of Technology and Dublin Institute of Technology had no women on their executive management of nine and 10 members.
The musical comedy Sing Street, which is set in 80s Dublin, is shortlisted for best motion picture, comedy or musical.

Fresh from her Vogue cover and appearance on the Late Late Show on Friday, Limerick actress Ruth Negga was nominated for her part in civil rights movie Loving.

Meanwhile, Dubliner Colin Farrell is named in the best actor, comedy or musical category, for his role in The Lobster, which was shot at Parknasilla, Co Kerry.

Caitriona Balfes acting in television period drama Outlander was also given a major thumbs up by being included in the best actress, television category.

Sing Street director John Carney said it was a lovely feeling for the film to be nominated.

He said he was on the way out to pick up Guinness and whiskey for the Christmas pudding when he got the news.

Its just lovely for it to be acknowledged in this way, he told Ray DArcy on his radio show, adding that he hopes the nomination will help spread the word about the film.

It doesnt have a hope in hell but just being nominated will absolutely spread the word about the film. Its a tiny small film that I made in the school I grew up in with a lot of my mates.
Andrea Hermann, who worked as an obstetric and gynaecology registrar at Sligo General Hospital in 2013 and 2014, was also found guilty of professional misconduct on three counts.

The poor professional performance findings relate to the care provided to six mothers who attended the hospital between August 2013 and February 2014.

The inquiry, in Dublin, also found she failed to disclose to the hospital conditions imposed on her by the council as a result of a previous disciplinary hearing. These conditions included a requirement to undergo retraining and supervision.

The inquiry found that Dr Hermann failed to perform an elective caesarean section with due skill.

At the start of the inquiry, which began on November 28, this patient, identified as Patient A, said Dr Hermann told her she cut her in the wrong place during the procedure on December 4, 2013.

In relation to Patient B, a mother of three, the inquiry found Dr Hermann failed to obtain informed consent prior to carrying out a membrane sweep during an antenatal visit on August 15, 2013.

In relation to Patient C, the inquiry found Dr Hermann failed to establish whether a contraceptive coil was still in place during a follow-up appointment. This patient later conceived and miscarried, the inquiry heard.

On November 30, Vimla Sharma, a consultant gynaecologist from Sligo General Hospital, told the inquiry she was shocked when she learned Dr Hermann had given a blood-thinning drug to Patient D, who was already at risk of heavy bleeding.

The inquiry has found that Dr Hermann prescribed Innohep Tinzaparin to Patient D when it was not appropriate to do so.

Patient D later gave birth without any complications.

The inquiry also found that Dr Hermann failed to display adequate surgical skill while closing up the uterus after a C-section for Patient F.

Dr Hermanns former supervisor said she made an astonishing mistake while performing the section on Patient F. Dr Hermann left the lower half of a mothers uterus in the breeze after failing to suture the section properly, said consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Heather Langan, from Sligo General Hospital.

The report of the fitness to practise committee will now go to the full Medical Council. It will determine any sanction that might apply.
Ukrainian MP Nadia Savchenko of the Batkivschyna faction has proposed her candidacy for the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on the settlement of the situation in the east of Ukraine.

"If the Minsk group failed to make arrangements ... why not enhance it at the expense of other people. I've repeatedly offered my candidacy to strengthen the Minsk Group," Savchenko said in the air of 112. Ukraine TV channel on Monday evening.

Savchenko said that she didn't receive responses to her proposals.

"I did not hear a direct answer, except from Gerashchenko [First Deputy Verkhovna Rada Speaker and member of the Minsk Trilateral Talks Iryna Gerashchenko], who said that she is working according to some declaration, approved by the president," Savchenko said.

The MP also said that she doesn't coordinate her actions with the Batkivschyna faction.

"I really do not coordinate my working trips, my vision, either my actions with the Batkivschyna party," Savchenko said, emphasizing that she remains in the faction. "I'm staying in the composition of the Batkivschyna faction. We are performing mutual work in the Verkhovna Rada," the MP said.

Savchenko also believes that her meeting in Minsk with the leaders of the so-called DPR and LPR Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky won't make them legal.
As one of Ibrahims sisters, Somaia, joined a vigil outside Cork City Hall last night, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Des Cahill, accepted that the State has failed Ibrahim.

He confirmed he has written to Taoiseach Enda Kenny urging him, and Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, to do more in relation to this case.
The Oxfam report put Ireland in the company of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, after it found this country is sixth in the world for helping companies avoid taxes.

The agency found that Ireland facilitated corporate tax avoidance through profit-shifting and so-called sweetheart deals and it reported that, overall, it lacks effective tax rules.

However, Mr Noonan dismissed the findings, claiming Oxfams remarks are so wide of what the actual factual position is that nobody will take them seriously. He added: I dont think there is any reputational damage.

Bermuda was ranked the worst in a review of 15 countries for facilitating tax avoidance, followed by the Cayman Islands, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Singapore. Irelands sixth place put it ahead, in descending order, of Luxembourg, Curacao, Hong Kong, and Cyprus.

Oxfam Ireland CEO Jim Clarken said: Around the world, we are known as a country of good fun, bad weather, and awful tax policies that allow some of the worlds richest companies to avoid paying their fair share. This is no badge of honour.

The Oxfam report referenced the countrys 12.5% corporate tax rate, but placed much of the blame on loopholes and sweetheart deals available to big business. The report pointed to the EU Commission Apple ruling, which found the tech giant owed 13bn in back tax.

Mr Clarken said: We need to get serious about making companies pay tax. We need transparency about where and how profits are made and and how they are taxed.

The Department of Finance said it strongly rejected the findings of the report and claimed Ireland does not meet any of the international standards for being considered a tax haven.

Ireland is fully compliant with all international best practices in the areas of tax transparency and exchange of information, a statement released by the department claimed.

On the issue of the countrys corporate tax rate, the department said: The 12.5% rate is fully in line with OECD and international best practice of having a low rate and applying it to a very wide tax base. Irelands corporate tax policies are designed to attract real and substantive operations to Ireland. Ireland has not been and never will be a brass-plate location.

They also defended the very limited number of targeted tax incentives that are fully in line with agreed international best practice.

Editorial: 12
The long-term future of Skibbereen Farmers Market may be in doubt due to plans by Cork County Council to implement new casual-trading bylaws.

Madeleine McKeever, one of the organisers of a public meeting, said there are local fears the proposed regulations may compromise traders public right to trade, and act as a disincentive.

Supporters of the market claimed trading rights have existed in the town since Skibbereen received a charter from Charles I in 1669.

However, the market area, the Fairfield site in the heart of the town, had, in the 19th century, been gifted to locals, by the Salter Townsend family, as a public area.

Traders and supporters of the market said new regulations could pose a threat to its continuing success.

Up to 2002, the Saturday morning market had been in decline for some time, but it experienced a resurgence when the Growing Awareness food and farming group became interested in running it.

It is now thriving, peaking at 100 stalls in the summer. It runs once a week, from about 9am until early afternoon.

It has been very successful, said Ms McKeever.

However, she highlighted local fears about the markets future. For example, the county council has not said how much it will cost to trade under the new system.

We also believe there may be complicated application forms for traders to fill in and that the council may have the right to refuse a licence to some people, and we dont know the criteria that they will use to determine who gets trader status.

We are also afraid that the local authority may be planning to bring in a management company to run the market and this may increase the costs to traders.

We are having a public meeting about it, she said, adding that the current management team did a good job of running the market.

The meeting takes place at 8pm in the West Cork Hotel.

The council had prepared to introduce bylaws 20 years ago, but the plan was held up in the courts, following an objection in Bantry, which was resolved. Many councillors had also complained that casual trading had gotten out of control and that bylaws were needed to designate specific areas in towns and to make traders responsible for cleaning up after their work.
Mr Kenny awarded the representatives of the Defence Forces with the group European of the Year Award at a European Movement Ireland award in Dublin.

Speaking as Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone announced plans to bring 80 Syrian refugees to Ireland every month from next year, Mr Kenny said the army and navy are performing heroic work abroad.

Describing the Irish army as the only Oglaigh na hEireann we have in Ireland to applause from the audience, he said this country should have deep pride in the sobering thought that the Defence Forces have rescued so many people in need.

Separately, Ms Zappone confirmed that Ireland will take in up to 80 Syrian refugees from Greek and Italian camps every month from next year.

Her comments came as the ESRI found that the number of refugees resettled to Ireland doubled between 2015 and 2016.

LE Samuel Beckett

However, the overall number resettled remains low, both in the context of the crisis and compared to some other countries in Europe.

Ireland pledged to resettle 520 under the EU programme, almost double the number proposed by the European Commission.

As of November 2016, Ireland had resettled 98% of this total, ahead of schedule. The majority of those resettled have been of Syrian origin.
EVERY parent has experienced it  that awkward question from a curious child that leaves them stumped for a plausible answer. In the case of a young Adam Hargreaves, however, it was the question that fired his fathers imagination, and changed the course of childrens fiction-book history.

After asking his father, Roger, What does a tickle look like?, Roger set about creating a character called Mr Tickle. It was 1971, and for the entrepreneur who was looking to escape the commute to London, where he worked as an advertising copywriter, it was the beginning of the Mr Men and Little Miss series.

It remains a publishing phenomenon  more than 85 million copies have been sold worldwide in dozens of different languages. In a survey of the best-selling authors of the decade in 2009, Hargreaves came second only to JK Rowling and ahead of John Grisham and Dan Brown.

I would have been about four when I asked dad: What does a tickle look like? but its gone down in history, says Hargreaves, who has taken over his fathers legacy as the series author and illustrator. I dont remember it, but it was one of those impossible questions that children pose to their parents, like: Why is the sky blue?

He worked in London as a copywriter in advertising, so he was an ideas man and had an ambition to be a strip cartoonist. My question sparked off the Mr Men idea. It took him a while to translate that into an actual storybook.

I remember him going off to this little corner of the garage that hed put together as his office. And he used to draw all weekend.

It took a certain amount of persistence and luck, in a way, to get himself published. He created a mocked-up book of the Mr Tickles story and illustrations, and sent that off to all the main publishers and got turned down by all of them.

It was a chance meeting with a printer friend  who had no experience in book publishing  that proved to be the breakthrough.

He met a friend of his, Jack Thurman, who he knew through advertising who is a printer, they got chatting, my dad mentioned Mr Men and Jack said: Well, if you write them Ill publish them.

It took off quickly given that it was a start-up company. I know that within three years theyd sold a million books. Particularly in the 1970s, that was a quick success. Then the BBC got interested in making the first TV series, and thats when it really hit.

We meet in Dublin department store Arnotts, where the writer and illustrator is preparing to meet hundreds of Irish Mr Men and Little Miss fans. A pop-up personalisation station means customers can personalise mugs, art prints and mobile phone covers up to Christmas.

While Adam says that home life remained the same, there were changes that success brings. My dad was doing reasonably well anyway so it wasnt a rags to riches story. But it did change our lives. We were suddenly living in a bigger house but we still lived in the same village. Instead of the Sussex coast we were going on holidays to Portugal.

But misfortune was to beset Hargreaves and his family at the peak of his success. He died suddenly, leaving his bereaved family wondering what, among other things, to do with the gift to children everywhere he had created.

He tragically died very young, he was only 53, says Adam. And it happened very suddenly  he had a series of strokes over the course of one day, and was dead by the afternoon. It threw all of us into a terrible spin at the time. I guess none of us even considered the prospect of who might take over. I think I would have been the last one he expected to get involved. My brother followed my dad more in the route of copywriting, and he liked cartoons whereas I liked drawing more realistic things.

I guess in a way I just never imagined drawing the Mr Men. Even when I first took over working in the company it was more about helping my mum out on the business side of things. Id worked in farming up to then so I had absolutely no experience. I think my naivety and ignorance was a help in a way because I didnt realise how big a thing I was stepping into.

The creative side evolved over time. Ive always drawn, I did inherit that from my dad.

Creatively, he has contributed greatly to the series with new stories and occasionally new characters  Mr Adventure came to life this year to mark the brands 45th anniversary. But Adam says that his goal has always been to celebrate his fathers work. Though the company was sold in 2004, he still writes and illustrates all the books. But its his fathers name that is proudly displayed on the cover.

Ive always felt very much that it should be my dads name on the front covers, even on the ones that I write. Ive never felt it was right, in a way, to have my name on the front cover. Its his legacy.

The sale has also given him time to explore another creative outlets. He has had much success as an artist, his landscape work in oil on canvas being widely praised, and is currently preparing his next exhibition.

It was an ambition Id always had but Mr Men took over and I never had time to do it. When we sold the company in 2004, that for me was a private reason, a small part of selling meant I could then pursue the fine arts. I didnt know if I could paint particularly well or not, but I always had an ambition to try, there was always something in me that wanted to paint landscapes, in particular.

He sometimes spends his mornings painting landscapes and his afternoons drawing Mr Men or Little Miss characters, but loves the contrasts both forms bring.

His favourite characters are Mr Bump, who is the most fun to draw, and Mr Silly, because it reminds him of his father. Does his fathers personality lives on in his work?

Very much so. The Mr Men encapsulate his sense of humour, a sort of a daft silliness that is a deep vein that runs through the stories of all the characters.

That was very much my dad, he had a terrific sense of humour and liked a practical joke. He was a big fan of puns. April Fools Day was a big event in our house.

Its the essence of my dads idea that I think really works, he says of the characters enduring appeal. Its personifying human characteristic emotion and thats just a touchstone for everybody. They recognise little bits of themselves, or their friends, or their kids in each of the characters.
Choosing drinks for Christmas can feel like a rather monumental challenge but in fact you should keep it fairly simple and go for the reliable and classic rather than being too adventurous. My recommendations below are a mix of classic and unusual.

On the first day of Christmas your true love should say to you heres a glass of fizz! Thats my view anyway as no other drink says Christmas like decent sparkling wine. Champagne is of course my first choice but this year Im suggesting Irish (well, almost Irish, given that it is made by a Limerick man). I also recommend an actual Irish fizz.

Wiston Blanc de Blancs, Sussex, England

Stockists: Bradleys Cork, World Wide Wines, Le Caveau lecaveau.ie

English sparkling wine has come a long way and one of the most important people in the industry is Dermot Sugrue who also makes for some other well-known producers. This is 100% Chardonnay and has tropical fruit and brioche aromas and bright citrus and pear flavours and a zippy clean finish.

Tempted Elderflower Cider

Stockists: Bradleys, Galvins, World Wide Wines, Redmonds, Independents

One of the best new ciders of the year with pungent ripe apple and a distinct elderflower tang and a dry clean finish. Poured into flutes it will look work just as well as any Champagne.

Tenuta SantAnna Prosecco Frizzante D.O.C., Italy - 12.95

Stockists: ODonovans, Vintry Rathgar, Jus de Vine, Independents

Cheap fizz is also a must over Christmas and this is a new Prosecco to me and the first Ive been impressed with in a while. Dont be put off by the screwcap, which I think keeps more fizz in than the cork versions This is lower fizz so has still-wine tax (sparkling is double) and is packed with lemon and white peach aromas, has relatively good staying power, character, and not a little finesse.

Party Wine

If a dozen or so drummers and pipers turn up at your door you are going to need some inexpensive reds and whites. There are lots of supermarket specials (Id go for Spain, Portugal or Chile) at a low price but Im going to suggest two from OBriens.

Giaconda Blanco, Italy - 7 (OBriens)

In my experience white drinkers drink more so Ive gone for bargain basement here but one with ripe white fruit fragrance and disarming freshness and character.

Porta 6, Lisboa, Portugal - 10 (OBriens)

A blend of Aragonez (Tempranillo), Castelao and Touriga Nacional this bristles with simple fruity flavours  plums and fleshy red and black fruits.

Christmas Spirit

Boyles Gin is exclusive to Aldi and made in small quantities with Irish apple and elderflower botanicals and has fine balance. Made by the excellent Blackwater Distillery and a steal at 24.99.

Other gins to watch for include Gunpowder gin (from Leitrim) in its attractive blue bottle and of course Blackwater, Shortcross, Berthas Revenge, and dont forget Dingle Gin.

Of the many new whiskeys launched this year Im going to single out two.

Redbreast Lustau Edition (69.99) is aged in Oloroso casks from the great sherry house of Lustau and his ripe intense caramel flavours and a creamy spicy finish. Delicious.

Dingle Whiskey is rich, full-flavoured, and characterful despite its youth. Available in limited quantities at 65 this is one of the first Irish whiskeys from a new distillery in over 100 years.

Christmas Dinner

For your Christmas day starter wine I recommend the Wiston Estate Blanc de Blancs (above) or if you want a still wine try this excellent Riesling imported by Wine Mason.

Wagner Stempel Riesling Trocken, Germany  19.99

Stockists: Bradleys Cork, Green Man Terenure, Clontarf Wines

Riesling is the perfect wine for seafood, smoked salmon starters, and can also cope with soups, pate, and even prawn cocktail. This has sweet apple and ripe quince and lemon aromas, is rich on the palate, and finishes with a zingy apple acidity.

Turkey can cope with most red wines but seems to particularly match with Pinot Noir or Zinfandel but these work less well with ham and the trimmings. This year Im breaking with tradition and suggesting a Bordeaux as I think its up-front fruits will work with both ham and turkey.

Reserve de lAngludet 2014, Margaux, Bordeaux - 29.99

Stockists: ODonovans Cork, Corkscrew, Deveneys Dundrum

This is the second wine of the Margaux estate Chateau dAngludet and at a very good price. Despite its youth this has supple ripe tannins, generosity and richness and a fine cedar-tinged ripe plum fruit character.

Christmas Pudding

Monier Blackberry Wine, Wicklow  27.95

Stockists: Bradleys, ballymaloe, Ardkeen Stores, Celtic Whiskey Shop, Mitchells

Made by Wicklow Way Wines from fresh blackberries and fermented just as you would wine from grapes. This is rich and plummy with a full ripe blackberry character and lingering sweet chewy darker fruits. Also watch for their Strawberry Wine (21) which makes a good aperitif and will work well with trifles, lighter fruit desserts, and with strong cheese.

Fonseca Quinta do Panascal 2001, Portugal - 30 (was 39)

Stockist: SuperValu

Fonseca are one of the great port houses and the Quinta do Panascal estate is their visitor centre and the source for much of their best grapes. This Single Quinta (made in a non-vintage declared year) is a bit of a steal at this price and has ripe blackberry fruits, delicious concentrated sweetness balanced by freshness and with a lingering cherry character.
Whether this 11th-hour deal will survive in the face of Americas president-elect Donald Trumps dreadful, two-fingers-to-the-world decision to appoint Scott Pruitt, a staunch supporter of the fossil fuel industry and an opponent of environmental regulations, to run Americas Environmental Protection Agency remains to be seen.

Whether the deal survives the inevitable dilution in the face of intensive domestic lobbying  take a bow IFA  is another open question but that does not make it any less essential to embrace measures that may not make a significant difference on their own but add to the momentum and cultural shift still, despite Trumps antediluvian, anti-science view, gathering pace.
Business Japanese ANA Airline to Invest in Burmas Air Industry

Pilots sit in the cockpit of an airplane in Rangoon on October 2, 2013. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

RANGOON  The Japanese All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. (ANA) has proposed an investment in Burmas air industry, deputy director general of Department of Civil Aviation U Ye Htut Aung told The Irrawaddy.

ANA will reportedly be working with a local partner, the Shwe Thanlwin Co., owned by U Kyaw Win. The group operates transportation, banking and broadcast media in Burma.

Weve received their proposal for a new airline operation. ANA asked us for an 80:20 ratio, U Ye Htut Aung explained, adding that the 80 percent ownership would go to ANA and 20 percent to Shwe Thanlwin. A decision has yet to be made, he said, with discussions set to continue later this year.

Foreign investment ventures in Burma require an ownership ratio of 49 percent for the foreign investor and the 51 percent majority for the local company.

Thats why we will have to discuss more, U Ye Htut Aung said. I cant say when the government will allow it.

Yet according to a Monday report in The Japan Times, ANAs CEO Shinya Katanozaka said that in the Japanese airlines new venture in Burma, his company would hold a 49 percent stake and a local companywhich he did not identifywould in fact retain the remainder. He said that the companies had put forward a combined initial investment of US$150,000.

ANA said that the venture is expected to start in 2018.

ANA once planned to invest in Burmas air industry by working with the domestic airline Asian Wings Ltd., but the agreement was canceled in 2014.

According to Burmas Department of Civil Aviation, 29 airlines, both international and domestic, are currently operating in Burma and traveling to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Qatar.
Asia Rights Groups Call on Thailand to Ease Prosecution of Activists

British rights activist Andy Hall leaves the Bangkok South Criminal Court in Bangkok on Sept. 20, 2016. / Reuters

More than 100 rights groups, workers organizations and members of the European Parliament have sent an open letter to Thailands Prime Minister calling on the country to ease the prosecution of human rights defenders.

The call was made to mark International Human Rights Day over the weekend and it highlighted the case against British migrant rights activist Andy Hall who was convicted of criminal defamation and computer crimes in Thailand on Sept. 20.

In the letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the coalition of 110 international organizations said Andy Halls conviction set a dangerous precedent that would make it more difficult for migrant workers to ensure their rights are respected.

There are more than 3 million migrant workers who work and live in Thailand and a majority of them are from Burma.

The coalition also said that Thailands use of criminal defamation laws and the Computer Crimes Act to prosecute human rights defenders violates its international obligations and increases risk for businesses that source goods from Thailand.

Andy Hall was convicted by the Bangkok South Criminal Court for criminal defamation and computer crimes based on his research work for Finnwatch, a Finnish civil society organization, which outlined allegations of serious human rights abuses at Natural Fruit Company Ltd, a pineapple processing facility. The court handed Hall a three-year suspended sentence along with a 150,000 baht (about US$4,000) fine.

Abby McGill, campaign director with the International Labor Rights Forum, said in the letter that the use of criminal defamation and the computer crimes act was an alarming way to bring cases against migrant workers and activists who were outspoken regarding illegal working conditions.

These laws have a dangerous chilling effect and punish victims for seeking remedy, rather than those who commit crimes against them, said Abby McGill in the statement.

Last month, a chicken farm that supplies to Thai poultry export giant Betagro also initiated charges of criminal defamation against 14 Burmese migrant workers who alleged they worked in exploitative conditions on a Betagro chicken farm, according to the Thailand-based Migrant Workers Rights Network, a migrant worker rights organization in which Andy Hall serves as international affairs advisor.
Burma Analysis: Debate on Terrorism Raises Questions about USDP and Army Attitudes

Burma Army troops in Muse on Nov. 22, 2016. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Recent efforts by the Burma Army and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to label certain armed ethnic groups as terrorist organizations have raised questions about their sincerity concerning the peace process.

The four ethnic armed groups of the Northern Alliancethe Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA)have carried out a joint military offensive against the Burma Army in northern Shan State since Nov. 20, contributing to deaths and injuries to civilians in the region.

Following these attacks, USDP lawmaker U Aung Thu, who represents the Lashio region, put forward an urgent proposal in the Shan State parliament to condemn the Northern Alliance and urged the regional legislature to brand the groups as terrorist organizations.

With the majority of the seats in the Shan State parliament held by the USDP and the military, the proposal was easily approved. Sixty-three lawmakers voted yes, 45 voted no, and seven abstained from the Dec. 7 vote.

The vote drew wide criticism. Observers called the measure a harmful step backwards for the national reconciliation and peace process, which the current National League for Democracy (NLD) government has focused on since it came to power.

Critics said the move clearly revealed the militarys stance on ethnic armed organizations.

Although this vote would have no legal effect, because it was only a decision of the Shan State parliament, it is still not a good move politically because the ones who proposed it and supported it were the military and the USDP, said U Koni, a lawyer and constitutional expert.

This wasnt the first time that lawmakers were perceived as harming the peace process. On Dec. 2, the Lower House of Parliament debated a proposal from USDP lawmaker Dr. Maung Thin, which expressed concern that the Northern Alliance was deliberately shooting and using explosives to cause death, injuries, and displacement of civilians. The proposal accused the Northern Alliance of harming national sovereignty, the rule of law, stability, and the peace process.

Defense Minister Lt-Gen Sein Win and military representatives supported the Dec. 2 proposal. The minister was in favor of labeling the ethnic armed groups as terrorist organizations.

But the proposal was not approved by the NLD-dominated Lower House.

Lawyer U Koni said that parliaments have the right to enact laws, but labeling unlawful associations or terrorist organizations is more a function of the executive body. So the Shan State parliaments decision to call the Northern Alliance a terrorist organization wont have any effect unless the Union government declares it.

If the USDP wanted something to get done, they should have submitted a proposal to Parliament to urge the Union Government to take action, U Koni added.

On Sunday, while those USDP lawmakers postured, the eight ethnic armed groups who have signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) released a statement opposing the term terrorist organizations.

We oppose the labeling of any ethnic armed organization or its individual leader as a terrorist organization or terrorist because such action will damage the work of national reconciliation and internal peace that we are carrying out, the eight NCA signatories said in the statement.

So this makes it clear that the Burma Army wants to call them terrorists. They tried in the Lower House, and they didnt succeed there. So then they brought the proposal to the regional legislature, said Lower House lawmaker U Pe Than of the Arakan National Party (ANP).

But the peace process will never be completed without those ethnic armed groups who remain non-NCA signatories, he said.

U Pe Than added that if the KIA is no longer included in the peace process, then none of the other ethnic armed groups who belong to United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)of which the KIA is a memberwould attend the peace process either. This could also lead to discord among NCA signatories.

This could cause delays or a complete stop to the peace process that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is pushing for, he said.
10:48 13.12.2016 Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'Support Freedom of Choice of Running Business'

1 min read

On Tuesday, December 13, at 11.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference "Support Freedom of Choice of Running Business." he participants will include head of the office of the National Investment Council Yulia Kovaliv, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Policy MP Viktoria Ptashnyk member of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market Oliana Hordiyenko; Chairman of the Ukrainian Bar Association's Committee for Corporate Law and Stock Market, partner at the Aequo law firm Anna Babych; Chairman of UCMA Expert Council on Corporate Law and Governance, partner at Investor Relations Agency Oksana Paraskeva (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation.
Burma Arakan Army Says 10 Government Soldiers Killed in Renewed Clashes

AA Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing attends the ethnic armed organizations' peace conference in Kachin State in July 2016. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  The Arakan Army (AA) has ramped up its clashes against government forces in western Burma and the Bangladesh border region since the start of November, killing 10 Burma Army soldiers and wounding dozens more, the AA claimed in a statement on Monday night.

Throughout November and December, the AA had only one of its own soldiers killed and one injured, the AA statement read. However, despite the rising number of clashes between the Burma Army and AA, neither side issued any prior statements on the military skirmishes over the past two months.

On Monday, AA soldiers of Infantry Unit 314, Brigade 3 clashed three times with a government army battalion in Paletwa Township, Chin State, the AA reported. The AA said it suffered no casualties in the fighting.

Maj-Gen Aung Ye Win, a Burma Army spokesman, spoke to the Irrawaddy by phone from Naypyidaw on Tuesday but declined to answer questions about military operations in Arakan State.

I have to deal with a VIP visit right now, he said.

The AA accused the Burma Army of detaining and torturing about 20 loggers who went into the forest to cut bamboo in recent days, presumably because the government suspected the men of being AA soldiers. It is unclear if those detained villagers came from Arakan State or Paletwa Township, Chin State.

Residents of Kyauktaw Township in Arakan State told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that minor clashes have broken out often in the nearby forests. Locals say they have witnessed wounded Burma Army soldiers being evacuated by boat to the local jetty, presumably after being injured in battles in adjacent Paletwa Township, where waterways are the only available transportation.

In one November clash, Burma Army soldiers fired artillery shells indiscriminately near a region that straddles the border of Arakan and Chin states. About 200 civilians fled the villages to avoid being hit by artillery explosions, the AA claimed on Monday.

The AA said it has provided food, clothing and medical care to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the area since November. The AA fears that the number of IDPs will increase as clashes continue between the AA and Burma Army, the AA said in its statement.

Cold weather in December will present greater challenges to the IDPs, so the AA has put out a request to Arakanese people with patriotic spirit to make donations to the United League of Arakan (ULA), the political wing of the AA, in order to supply IDPs with warm clothing, blankets and food.

The Burma Army is currently sending troop reinforcements to several townships in Arakan State and southern Chin State, including Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, and Paletwa townships, the AA has claimed. The AA has asked the public to closely monitor movements of the Burma Army.
Burma Govt Investigation Commission Concludes First Trip to Arakan State

Arakan State Investigation Commission members talk to locals in a village during their first ground visit in Maungdaw. / State Counselors Office Information Committee / Facebook

RANGOON  A government commission examining a series of militant attacks and alleged human rights violations by security forces in northern Arakan State wrapped up their first investigation trip to the area on Tuesday.

The Arakan State Investigation Commission, led by Burmas military-appointed vice president U Myint Swe, toured villages in Maungdaw Township on Sunday. They visited the police outposts that were attacked by militants on Oct. 9 and Muslim villages where rights groups have reported that abuses including rape, extrajudicial killings and arson were committed by government troops.

The 13-member commission was formed in earlier this month by Burmas President U Htin Kyaw to look into the causes of attacks on police in Maungdaw Township, to investigate outside allegations of crimes committed during area clearance operations, as well as to document deaths, injuries, destruction and other damage.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said the commissions composition and mandate raised serious doubts that it would conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the alleged abuses, including those of murder and sexual violence. The organization added that since October 9, 2016, at least 1,500 buildings had been destroyed, driving thousands of ethnic Rohingya from their homes in northern Arakan State.

State-run newspapers reported that as of Monday, the commissions delegation had visited at least eight such villages, interviewing locals and carrying out on-the-ground inspections.

Commission member Dr. Aung Tun Thet told state-run newspapers that they would try to submit a report that would be acceptable to both local and international parties.

We learned that Muslim villagers there were in fear. The commission will expose the truth based on our findings, he said.
Burma Govt Proposes Locations for National-Level Political Dialogue

Burmese President Thein Sein (front row, 4th R), government officials, ethnic armed group leaders and international witnesses pose for a picture after the signing ceremony of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in Naypyidaw on October 15, 2015. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

RANGOON  The Burmese government has proposed holding the first round of national-level political dialogue sessions in Karen State, Tenasserim Division and Naypyidaw.

According to ethnic armed organizations that have signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), representatives of National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC)a government peace negotiation bodyhave said that they are ready to hold a national-level political dialogue in these three locations.

They [government officials] said they held discussions with regional governments to form committees in order to carry out the work to hold the dialogue. These are in Karen State, Tenasserim Division and Naypyidaw, Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, a vice president of the NCA signatory the Chin National Front, told journalists after a meeting with the NRPC in Rangoon.

In order to hold the national-level political dialogue, a nine-member committee comprised of representatives from the Burma Army, Parliament, ethnic armed organizations and political parties must be founded in each respective region to supervise the hosting of the dialogue sessions.

Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong said that a national-level political dialogue is supposed to be held in each of the territories of all eight NCA signatories and that the signatories are ready to cooperate and awaiting government approval.

We asked them to give instructions to the respective states. We can form supervision committees in the concerned states in order to carry out the preparations once we get instructions from the government. We proposed our ideas and they accepted it. We will meet again to hear back from them, he said.

Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong added that the NCA signatories have already submitted agendas on the political, economic, and social issues that they hope to discuss in the national-level political dialogue sessions as well as in an upcoming second Union Peace Conference, which is scheduled for February. However, discussion topics, as well as the time frame for the dialogue, will be finalized in a secretarial committee meeting on December 17.

In the Dec. 17 meeting, respective government and ethnic leaders also plan to discuss the formation of working committees in concerned states in order to organize the upcoming dialogue. Also scheduled for discussion is the opening of a joint office of the NRPC and Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee in Naypyidaw.

The eight NCA signatories include the Karen National Union (KNU), Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), Chin National Front (CNF), Pa-Oh Peoples Liberation Organization (PNLO), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), and another Karen armed group, KNU/KNLA Peace Council.

The Irrawaddy reporter Kyaw Kha also contributed to this story.
Burma President Appoints Two Deputy Ministers

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and cabinet members in May 2016. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Burmas President U Htin Kyaw appointed deputy ministers to the Presidents Office and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation on Monday.

U Min Thu, a retired colonel and former pilot from the Burma Air Force, and Irrawaddy Division planning and finance minister U Hla Kyawwho also worked at the agricultural planning department under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation from 1992 to 2014have been appointed as deputy ministers for the President Offices and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, respectively, according to an announcement released on Monday.

The order came after the deputy minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr. Tun Win was sacked by the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party last month. The sudden dismissal drew public criticism as the government remained silent about the reasoning behind it.

The incumbent NLD government had previously appointed 10 deputy ministers for positions in various ministries: foreign affairs; the state counselors office; defense; home affairs; border affairs; transportation and communications; agriculture, livestock and irrigation; planning and finance; education; and electricity and energy.
Burma Reporter Killed in Sagaing Division

Soe Moe Tun on a reporting trip. / Soe Moe Tun / Facebook

RANGOON  The Monywa Central Police Station has confirmed that local reporter Ko Soe Moe Tun of Eleven Media Group (EMG) was beaten to death with a wooden stick, his body discovered early Tuesday morning.

Ko Soe Moe Tun, 36, a Monywa-based EMG journalist was found dead and with bruises at around 1 a.m. on the Union Highway in Monywa, Sagaing Division. An autopsy revealed that he died of a skull fracture resulting from being beaten, said police sub-lieutenant Soe Min Tun of the Monywa Central Police Station.

His skull was broken. This was the main cause of death, the police officer told The Irrawaddy.

His personal belongings, including money, a gold ring and his national ID card, were not taken.

EMG released a statement on Tuesday calling for police to find the culprit as soon as possible.

We want to find the truth. We are taking the necessary actions [as his employer], U Kyaw Zaw Lin, EMG editor, told The Irrawaddy.

Ko Soe Moe Tun joined EMG in January 2015 as a local reporter in Monywa. He reported on Monywa in regards to the controversial Chinese-backed Letpadaung copper mining project, illegal logging and farmland confiscation, according to U Kyaw Zaw Lin.

It is unclear if his death was related to his reporting on those issues, said U Kyaw Zaw Lin, although speculation has been raised that it could have been related to his reporting on illegal logging in the area.

He was my friend and he was keen to find information about illegal logging. He was interested in that issue, said Ko Thet, editor of the Monywa Gazette.

The Monywa police force has opened a murder case in connection with the reporters death.

The Myanmar Journalist Network (MJN) issued a statement on Dec. 13, calling on the government to put more effort into ensuring the security of its citizens and discovering the truth as soon as possible.

Ko Soe Moe Tun is survived by a wife and 8-year-old son.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
Burma State Counselor Calls Asean Ministerial Meeting

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at the 21st Century Panglong Conference in Naypyidaw in September. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy

State Counselor and Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will host an Asean Foreign Ministerial Retreat on Dec. 19 in Rangoon to share details with Asean counterparts regarding the countrys development and the ongoing conflict in Arakan State.

U Kyaw Zay Ya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said the ongoing tension in Arakan State was one of the many issues that would be addressed in the meeting, in which full participation from Asean members is anticipated.

The foreign ministry invited Asean members to the informal event following protests led by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over the Burma Armys treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority. The prime minister urged Muslim nations to stand up for what he called genocide in Arakan state.

Following an Oct. 9 attack on a border security post which left nine police officers dead and subsequent attacks on Nov. 12-13, the government has said it is observing the actions of the Burma Army closely as it engages in security clearance operations.

The foreign ministry held separate meetings with the Malaysian, Indonesian and Brunei ambassadors in Naypyidaw last week to update them on Arakan affairs.

The government and the Burma Army have persistently denied allegations of human rights abuses. The Arakan State Investigation Committee led by Vice President U Myint Swe is currently in Maungdaw assessing allegations of rape and extrajudicial killings.

State media on Tuesday reported that villagers denied the abuses during an investigation committee meeting with locals on Monday.

Former UN Secretary-General and chairman of the governments Arakan State Advisory Commission Kofi Annan rejected the use of the word genocide in regards to the Arakan conflict and suggested that such a serious charge would require legal review and judicial determination after his delegation visited the conflict area last Tuesday.
Burma TNLA Frees 11 People Suspected of Being RCSS Militiamen

TNLA soldiers march in Mongton Township, Shan State, in January 2014. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  The Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) released 11 suspected militia members on Monday in Namtu Township, Shan State, local sources reported.

The TNLA had detained the 11 Mong Kat village residents since Nov. 21, following a clash between the TNLA and soldiers of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) near Mong Kat. The TNLA suspected the 11 were actually militia members for the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political wing of the SSA-S, so it took them prisoner.

Yesterday we released the 11 RCSS militia members, said TNLA Spokesman Col. Tar Phone Kyaw. The SNLD said they were civilians, but we caught them last month at the Mongbaw battlefield when we raided the RCSS camps. So now we have turned them over to the local Shan leaders.

The release of 11 Mong Kat villagers came a day after the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) publicly condemned the TNLAs actions.

The SNLD demanded that the TNLA release 35 detainees, including 11 from Namtu and 24 others from Kyaukme Township. Some of the Kyaukme prisoners are members of the SNLD political party.

The SNLD has worked on improving relations between ethnic groups, such as the Shan and Palaung (Taang). The party recently criticized the Shan State parliament after it voted to label the Northern Alliance ethnic armed groupsof which the TNLA is a memberas terrorist organizations.

However, the TNLA still has not released the 24 detainees from Pan Kwan village, Kyaukme Township.

Col. Tar Phone Kyaw said there was an ongoing investigation regarding the remaining 24 civilians who were taken on Dec. 10.

We have a new military recruitment policy for our party, he said. We only recruit soldiers from amongst our Taang people. We do not recruit from the Shan. We are still checking on the ground to figure out what is the situation of the arrested people in Kyaukme. If they are Shan, we will release them.

They took 24 people in total from the village. Most of them were youth, and one was a sixth grade student, said Sai Tun Win, an ethnic Shan lawmaker from Kyaukme.

Another 138 people fled from their homes in Pan Kwan village and took refuge at a Buddhist monastery in Kyaukme town because they were afraid of the TNLA soldiers.

Pan Kwan village is not an ethnic Shan village; it is a Palaung village, said Col. Tar Phone Kyaw. Our Taang people are required to join the TNLA military service. This is our policy.
Verkhovna Rada deputy Nadia Savchenko of the Batkivschyna faction has denied working for the Russian Federation.

"That I'm a project of the Kremlin and other insinuations I've heard about myself  it's all baloney. I have grown accustomed to the charges for the last six months," Savchenko said during an interview aired by NewsOne TV on Monday.

"I work for the good of the Ukrainian people, to help them. I am committed to the Ukrainian people and did not intend to every betray them.  I haven't betrayed them yet. I weathered the storm in a Russian prison and will endure attacks in Ukraine," Savchenko said.

Asked whether she would entertain the notion of serving the Ukrainian people in parliament with the likes of the self-proclaimed leaders Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's republics, respectively, Savchenko replied: "I can't imagine it. Frankly. They would not be able to say the same."

"Maybe we don't need Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky in the Verkhovna Rada. But why don't we need a coal miner, who can become deputy, someone who worked 20 years in the pits and knows his industry? Why can't someone like that become a minister, who knows his sphere of expertise. Why should a land trader not be in this post? Do you think all residents of eastern Ukraine are separatists? There are separatists, there are Russian soldiers, who shot at me. I know all this. But there are also Ukrainians there who are asking for our help. Ukrainians do not forsake other Ukrainians and have demonstrated this by pulling them out of prisons. I am an example," Savchenko said.

Asked whether Ukraine's SBU Security Service knew about her meetings in Minsk with Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky, Savchenko said: "I know how to keep a state secret. If the SBU finds it necessary [to do something], you will hear about it. But you should know one thing: the SBU is not a public [government] service," Savchenko said. She added that she cooperates with the SBU, Ukraine's Interior Ministry and Ukraine's armed forces, according to the law.

Savchenko said she does not fear being stripped of immunity from prosecution and the issue of trust in her should be a topic for the next parliamentary elections.

"I am not afraid of distrust in me or efforts to strip me of parliamentary immunity from prosecution. On the contrary, I press on that green [yes vote] button, because I think as a lawmaker it is necessary to strip all deputies of immunity from prosecution, all at once. Should I be trusted? People will decide. They will say at the next parliamentary election. They will tell it to my face. But I have no intention of getting mired down in all the scandals and innuendo, like in a food market, before that happens," Savchenko said.
Carbon dioxide, which is emitted when humans burn fossil fuels or clear forests, is usually the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about greenhouse gases causing global warming. There has been a progress when it comes to CO2 emissions, but it's not the only greenhouse around. There is also methane, and its levels are increasing.

Methane Levels Are Rising At Its Fastest Pace In Two Decades

Concentration of methane (CH4) is not as high as CO2, but it drives a more potent greenhouse effect. CH4 levels are rising at its fastest pace in two decades, according to a new study.

Over a century timescale, Methane is about 30 times better than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Scientists use computer models to project how Earth would warm given certain mix of gases, and methane's growth rate is close to a path that would take our planet to a difficult future.

Rob Jackson, an earth scientist at Stanford, said: "Methane concentrations in the atmosphere were pretty stable in the 2000s. But in the last decade they've gone up ten times faster than they did in 2000-2006, and they've gone up faster still in 2014-15."

Is Agriculture To Blame In Methane-Level Increase?

Scientists are not yet sure as to where the surge of CH4 levels is coming from, but they think agriculture is to blame. Methane comes from multiple sources, with some emitted by soil microbes in oxygen-poor environments like marshes and wetlands. It can also come from gas pipes leaks.

Scientists estimate that two-thirds the increase in methane levels since 2006 comes from the tropics. "Methane has many sources, but the culprit behind the steep rise is probably agriculture," Jackson told BBC.

Scientists suggest that in order to understand the concentration levels of methane, satellites can be launched. They are positive that the recent studies made about CH4 will guide policymakers, and that progress will be made in the coming years.

Check out glossary of electrical terms
Winter has finally come to Chicago. For the second day in a row, the whole city was covered in a blanket of powdery snow after a band of storms hit the area over the weekend. Despite nearly 8 inches of snow, Monday won't be another day of snow  instead, it will provide the city with temporary relief before temperatures drop into negative digits later in the week.

Chicago Experienced An 8-Inch Winter Snow

According to the National Weather Service, Monday is expected to be partly sunny, with temperatures falling to around 21 degrees by 9 a.m. and winds of up to 15 mph. By Thursday afternoon, highs will reach only 8 degrees with overnight lows in the negative digits. As of early Monday, 7.8 inches of snow had been recorded at O'Hare. Other heavy snowfalls were reported in Rockford, where 6.3 inches fell from Saturday to Sunday.

Snow and wintry precipitation made for messy, difficult traveling conditions on Monday morning in the Northeast as commuters made their way into work. Boston saw 1 to 2 inches overnight and snow continued to fall into the early morning. Below freezing temperatures are expected for millions across a large part of the country in the coming days as an arctic blast moves in from Canada.

Due to this winter snow, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) are making sure that buses undergo a thorough inspection process to get ready for cold weather operation. This includes checking heaters, engine thermostats and batteries, and making sure windows, roof hatches and doors close securely. People traveling via train can keep warm under overhead heaters at more than 120 outdoor stations across the city.

Airlines To Cancel More Than 1,300 Fights

As reported by Chicago Tribune, winter storm warning was in effect through late Sunday for Cook, Lake, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties in Illinois and in Lake County, Ind. Nearly 70 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport, and one was canceled at Midway Airport. Complicating road travel, many Chicago-area expressways had patches of snow and ice, with Interstate 290 west of the Tri-State Tollway reported as covered in both at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

As per NBC News, more than 1,390 flights were canceled in Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports  about half arrivals and half departures, flight-tracking website FlightAware reported. O'Hare recorded 3.9 inches of snowfall and Midway recorded 3.7 as of noon on Sunday, the National Weather Service in Chicago said.
Former British ambassador to Uzbekistan and Julian Assanges confidante, Craig Murray, confessed that the assessment of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that hackers aligned with the Kremlin were the ones who gave over thousands of stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to the non-profit organization WikiLeaks is a tremendous lie.

Assanges Confidante Knew Who Did It

As it was stated in a blog post made by Assanges confidante, the real people who were behind the operation with the Democratic emails were from the inside, since the former ambassador explained that he personally knew who did it, and the fact that these kind of actions can only be made by someone close to the target, especially if were talking about a country that has reinforced its cybersecurity as the U.S. did since Obamas administration.

In fact, Assanges confidante also responded to the information regarding a possibility that the CIA actually knew who the hacker was, claiming that a simple logic would destroy this argument, since the American intelligence agencies have been characterized for being extremely ruthless with the persecution of whistleblowers and the pursuit of foreign hackers and cyber criminals through extradition.

Different Assertions Without Any Kind Of Proof

It was reported that Murray also explained that the problem was not only that the CIA was making a blatant lie and didn't provide any kind of evidence to support its assertions, but also the fact that the media has created a concerning story about this alleged lie, making the American people to believe that a foreign villain was violating the sovereignty, and linking these hypothetical criminals to the radical transparency organization.

Although it is not known what will going to happen with this case, both the U.S. government and the intelligence agencies has said that hackers related to the Kremlin were the ones behind the operation, and meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and WikiLeaks have constantly denied the assertions. Assanges confidante has also gave another important element to this delicate situation, but just as the CIA, he didn't provide any evidence.
AMD follows the AI trend with its upcoming Radeon Instinct GPU for machine learning.

Deep Learning & AI Market

According to Extreme Tech, in the year 2016 artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning have been trendy topics. So far, most of the interest has focused on either custom hardware such as Google's TensorFlow or Nvidia GPUs.

At its turn, Intel is also developing its upcoming Xeon Phi-class silicon. AMD plans to enter the market as well, working on a new lineup of graphics cards. AMD upcoming GPUs are based on three different product families.

In order to accelerate these workloads, AMD will also offer its customized libraries and software tools. The deep learning and AI markets are still in their fairly early days and AMD aims to catch a good share in the industry by bringing some innovative tech to the table.

Three AMD Radeon Instinct GPUs

AMD's new Radeon Instinct brand will consist of three new cards deployed under three different product families. The MI6 is derived from Polaris with 16 GB total onboard RAM, but running at a slightly lower clock than the boost frequencies on consumer parts.

The MI8 is a smaller GPU with 4 GB RAM limitation, built around R9 Nano and working at the same frequencies. The MI25 is expected to be significantly faster than the other two cards, being a Vega-derived chip. No details on its core are provided yet by AMD.

At the moment, we do not know any ship date for any of these products, but they are expected sometimes H1 2017. Tech experts believe that MI6 and MI8 cards will be launched first, in order to test the market.

History Of AMD Vs. Nvidia Competition

It might seem surprising that AMD aims to compete against Nvidia with midrange and older consumer hardware. However, at a closer analysis, this might be a smart move.

At it turn, Nvidia still sells a range of HPC products based on older Kepler and Maxwell hardware. In a number of compute workloads, AMD's GCN was actually a very strong competitor against Nvidia.

AMD continues to offer a CUDA compatibility layer and, if it brings pricing in appropriately, the company could make a compelling argument for its upcoming Radeon Instinct GPUs. This depends, however, on whether AMD can overcome Nvidia's lead in GPGPU computing and how many resources AMD will be able to dedicate to the software side.

During the Maxwell and Kepler eras, AMD held a leadership position in multiple compute benchmarks and workloads, often by enormous margins. But, unfortunately, OpenCL could not capitalize on the strength of AMD's underlying hardware, as the company did not have the resources to spend on a major enterprise computing push.

Advantages Of AMD Radeon Instinct GPUs Lineup

Since those times, AMD has made some incremental progress on this field. Among them are included various server and virtualization product launches, last years' Boltzmann initiative and now the Radeon Instinct brand. According to PC World, AMD claims that the fastest Radeon Instinct GPU, the MI25, will outpace Nvidia's current Titan X Pascal card.

AMD's MIOpen GPU-accelerated library will be used in Radeon Instinct products to provide standard routines GPU-tuned implementations such as activation functions, pooling, convolution, normalization and tensor format. According to AMD, its ROCm deep learning network has also been optimized for acceleration of popular deep learning frameworks, Tensorflow, Torch 7 and Caffe. This will allow programmers to focus more on training neural networks. ROCm aims to become the foundation of the next evolution of machine intelligence problem sets.
Microsoft has claimed that its Surface line is outselling the MacBook Pro.

In a post on the Windows blog, Microsoft said that it is "having [their] best holiday ever" thanks to the positive response to its Surface products including the Surface Book, Surface Studio, and Surface Hub. Even the Surface Dial has garnered some positive reviews despite the low repairability score it got from iFixit.

After the Surface Studio and Dial were announced last October, the interest on Microsoft products has intensified according to the blog.

Microsoft considers the 'disappointment' of many on the new MacBook pro as the reason why more and more Mac users are switching to Surface. Since the MacBook Pro was released, it has been met with mixed reviews thanks mainly to the Touch Bar and the missing ports. Another reason cited in the Windows blog is the new innovations that have impressed many even fans of Apple.

The innovations are also the reason why the Surface is winning most if not all reviews so far that pits it against the MacBook Pro. Forbes, for example, called out the MacBook Po for its "stale design". Apple has opted to stick with its design for years. Not that the design of the MacBook is bad, in fact, it was celebrated when the design was first seen. The problem is that the design has become stale. Forbes sees the fresh design concept of the Surface Book as a major plus. Other features that Forbes liked about the Surface Book were the fulcrum hinge and detachable screen.

It should be remembered that Microsoft made a huge promotional event when it offered $650 worth of credit to Mac users who traded in their MacBooks. The credit could be used to purchase the new Surface Pro 4. The trade-in program, according to Microsoft, was a success and, in fact, saw the most number of trade-ins yet.

Microsoft is continuing to expand the Surface's availability. The high-end Surface Book, for example, is now in Australia and New Zealand. Early next year, it will be made available in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom. The Surface Studio is yet to become available in other countries.
Solving of the issue of the ratification of the Association Agreement with Ukraine will be found in the coming days, EU ambassador to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli has said.

Mingarelli said at a briefing in Kharkiv on Tuesday that at that very moment the government of the Netherlands was talking with the leaders of the European Union to find a solution, as they call it, the Dutch difficulties. He said they are confident that this week, in the next two or three days, the solution would be found.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine expressed confidence that the solution that will be found, won't allow to dilute the provisions of the Association Agreement. Mingarelli said that on the one hand they are confident that this decision will fully retain the current content of the Association Agreement, and on the other hand, will take into account all the issues of which the citizens of the Netherlands have expressed their concern," Ambassador Mingarelli said.

He rode off on a side issue on the clarifying question 'whether it is an acceptable condition the Dutch government puts forward on the adoption of the statement at the EU Thursday's summit that the Association Agreement with Ukraine does not contain any additional security or financial liabilities on the part of Brussels with regard to Kyiv.'

Mingarelli said that 27 EU member states that have ratified the Association Agreement will not agree to dilute its current position.
"Game Of Thrones" Season 7 is on its way and fans are getting more hyped than ever. With the news of Jon Snow's real parents, it is expected that the upcoming season will be packed with twists and turns. Perhaps the most exciting of all is the alleged cameo appearance of Korean superstar Lee Min Ho.

"Game Of Thrones" Season 7 To See Jon Snow's Struggle In Unveiling The Truth About Real Parents

Ever since it has been revealed that Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is not a bastard son of Ned Stark (Sean Bean) but an offspring of his younger sister, Lyanna Stark and Rhaeger Targaryen, fans have been anticipating as to how the truth will be revealed to him.

Several theories have surfaced online, suggesting potential scenarios of unveiling the truth to Jon Snow in the upcoming "Game Of Thrones" Season 7. There were claims that Jon Snow's aunt, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), will play a huge role in revealing the truth. This is in time for her alleged arrival in Westeros.

There were also reports claiming that Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) will help Jon Snow connect the pieces together, eventually uncovering the truth about his real parents. Known to be a chief advisor to the Mad King and a former Master of Whispers, it is believed that he knows the secret of Jon Snow's true identity.

So far, there has been no confirmation about these claims yet so fans should take everything with a grain of salt.

"Game Of Thrones" Season 7 To Cast Lee Min Ho For A Cameo Appearance?

Perhaps the most intriguing of all is the alleged cameo appearance of Korean actor Lee Min Ho in "Game Of Thrones" Season 7. Recently, rumors are rife that the Hallyu star will make his Hollywood debut in the series for a villain role set to face Jon Snow.

With Lee Min Ho's experience in fantasy-themed TV series, many believed that his appearance is highly possible. However, some were also quick to refute the said claims, pointing out that the idea is far-fetched. Considering Lee Min Ho's hectic schedule with his latest series "Legends Of The Blue Sea," having him in "Game Of Thrones" Season 7 could pose a lot of challenges for the actor.

As good as it may sound, fans will have to take note that these were all just mere speculations and that no official confirmation has been made. Make sure to check back for more "Game Of Thrones" Season 7 updates.
In Dead Rising 4, you need keys to access the numerous lockers and safe rooms scattered in the map. They hold cool rare items, blueprints and other stuff that can prove to be useful in your quest to survival. When you get ahold of a locker key, the location of the locker will appear on your map. If you get a Zom-B safe key, a blue circle to mark the location will appear. Go there and use the Spectrum Analyzer to find the hidden bunker. Here's a list of all key locations in Willamette Memorial Megaplex.

Dead Rising 4 Locker Keys In Willamette Memorial Megaplex

El Mode Design: In the Virago Hotel in Amazon Food Court, look behind the front counter. The key is inside the security office.

Froztee's: Still in Amazon Food Court, there's a platform with a circular bar. You will find the key there.

Pirate's Catch Restaurant: Head to the southern wall of the Carribean Cove. Climb up the stairs on the second floor to find the key on a dead body.

Baron Von Brathaus: In Medieval Town, head to Burger Fiefdom. Inspect the floor underneath the table in the center. The key should be there.

Obscuris: Case 1 will take you to the Megaplex Central Plaza. Head inside the military camp tent just out front of the main entrance. The key is in the back-left tent as you go out from the Central Plaza.

Security Keycard: Outside Central Plaza, go into the Quarantine Zone. Enter the investigation area in which you will find corpses impaled in a statue. There's a room to the right; enter it and find the key on the desk filled with photos.

Dead Rising 4 Zom-B Safe Keys In Willamette Memorial Megaplex

Virago: In the Amazon Food Court, head to the women's restroom near the Virago Hotel front entrance. The Zom-B safe key should be in there.

Charms of Desire: Near the West of Carribean Cove, on the first floor, look for Albert's Apparel. The key is right outside the shop.

Cruz Tanning: Look for the Pirate's Catch Resturant. Inspect lounge chairs next to it. They key should be on the floor.

Synthetic Cosmetics: In the Miami Boardwalk area, head to the back of Rhiannon Ferosh. The key should be in a corner.

North Pole Town: In Central Plaza, head to the North Pole village. You will find the key on Santa's big chair.

Komodo: In Kiichiro Plaza, head to the back of Kuan's Bubble Tea. Enter the Employee's Only hallway to find yourself in the kitchen where the key lies.

Max Dymond: Look for Popper's Toy Shop. There should be a men's bathroom nearby. They key is inside the open stall.

Manskape Stylists: In Medieval Village, go to Baron Von Brathaus. Climb up the awning near the shop's stairs to get yourself on the second floor of the Burger Feifdom. The key is on the roof.

B. Reddy Insurance: Find the elevators in Central Plaza. They key is beside the fountain nearby.

White Rook: In Case 1, you will be taken to a room where you will investigate where Vick could be. It's the room in the Emergency Shelter where the Locations vendor is. The key is in this room.

Class Jack's Antiques: Enter the maintenance hallway next to Central Plaza's doors. The key is found through the Employees Only doors that are next to the North Pole Town Square Workshop.

Did we miss any key in Willamette Memorial Megaplex? Tell us what cool stuff you found in the lockers and safe rooms mentioned above! Meanwhile, here's a Dead Rising 4 guide to locating Melee and Ranged Combo Weapons blueprints.
Joy Behar, host of the program "The View," once again took shots at president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, this time focusing on his mental health. President-elect Donald Trump must step down before the inauguration before they give him the nuclear codes, Joy Behar said.

Joy Behar Talks On President-Elect Donald Trump's Mental Health

Do we have to wait until the hammer and sickle is on the American flag before we stand up to this guy? Joy Behar asked. Josephine Victoria "Joy" Behar is a well-known American comedian, writer and actress. She is currently a co-hosts the ABC daytime talk show The View. She hosted The Joy Behar Show on HLN from 2009 to 2011 and Joy Behar: Say Anything! on Current TV, from 2012 until the channel switched formats in August 2013. Behar's new weekly late-night talk show, Late Night Joy, premiered on TLC in November 2015.

Behar's show named The View has a panel in which they are discussing a Washington Post report that claimed the CIA believes strongly that the foreign government intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help Trump win. According to Daily Caller, the FBI has done its own investigation and has yet to find any conclusive evidence to support that finding. Its like they are discrediting the CIA, his campaign and he, the president-elect of this country, is discrediting the organization that basically protects us from foreign invasion, Behar said.

Joy Behar is deeply concerned about Donald Trump, not only because of his policies but because she doesnt believe hes mentally stable enough to serve as the Commander in Chief, as per Raw Story. This new administration is bringing something in we havent seen in a long time and that is Whoopi Goldberg began, before being cut off by Behar. Mental illness, Behar said. She then apologized, saying that she couldnt control herself from making the quip. Its not that I dont agree with him. Hes not right in the head.

What Is Mental Health?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected.

On the other hand, as warned by Medline Plus, mental illnesses are serious disorders which can affect your thinking, mood, and behavior. There are many causes of mental disorders. Your genes and family history may play a role. Your life experiences, such as stress or a history of abuse, may also matter. Biological factors can also be part of the cause. Mental disorders are common, but treatments are available.
After Disney IT workers were told in October 2014 of the plan to use offshore outsourcing firms, employees said the workplace changed. The number of South Asian workers in Disney technology buildings increased, and some workers had to train H-1B-visa-holding replacements. Approximately 250 IT workers were laid off in January 2015.

Now 30 of these employees filed a lawsuit on Monday in U.S. District Court in Orlando, alleging discrimination on the basis of national origin and race.

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The Disney IT employees, said Sara Blackwell, a Florida labor attorney who is representing this group, "lost their jobs when their jobs were outsourced to contracting companies. And those companies brought in mostly, or virtually all, non-American national origin workers," she said.

The people who were laid off were multiple races, but the people who came in were mostly one race, said Blackwell. The lawsuit alleges that Disney terminated the employment of the plaintiffs "based solely on their national origin and race, replacing them with Indian nationals."

Disney responded to the lawsuit with this statement sent by a spokeswoman: "Like the two other dismissed cases brought by this lawyer, this latest lawsuit is nonsense and we will defend it vigorously.

This is the second lawsuit filed by Disney workers represented by Blackwell against Disney Parks and Resorts. A lawsuit filed in January by two employees against Disney and two of the IT services contractors, HCL and Cognizant, alleged a conspiracy to displace U.S. workers but lost a key ruling in federal court and was dismissed.

The latest case brings a separate claim, and follows a process where the parties first filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If a settlement isn't possible, the EEOC issues a right-to-sue letter to the former employee.

The lead plaintiff in this new case is former Disney IT employee Leo Perrero, who testified earlier this year before a Congressional subcommittee about his experience in training a replacement.

Something Perrero said he noticed soon after Disney announced the outsourcing plan was "the demographic started changing so quickly." The technology buildings across the Disney campus "just all of a sudden had these South Asian foreign workers."

"It was unfathomable for me to think that this would happen -- that people would be physically replaced by workers who just came in from offshore and were now here in person to replace us. It was completely shocking," said Perrero.

National origin discrimination claims against outsourcers are on the rise. The IEEE-USA is urging the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to ask the Department of Justice to investigate citizenship discrimination complaints related to H-1B visa use.

The Disney discrimination lawsuit makes reference to Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, who called the type of replacement training "insulting," based on an interview in June by The Hollywood Reporter.

In this interview, Iger was asked about the outsourcing decision. He defended it and argued that it helped Disney upgrade its technology and created more jobs than were lost. But he also expressed regret about way the outsourcing was handled.

Iger told the Reporter: "The mistake that was made is that we asked people who were leaving to help train their successors. That's common in the business, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's right. And looking back, I'm sorry that we did that because there's something insulting about that. That got a huge amount of attention and rubbed people the wrong way, and I completely understand why it would. It just does not pass a smell test, even if it is common practice."

Blackwell said that Iger never reached out to any of the affected employees to express his regrets.

"I think he is hypocritical by making a public admission that what he did was not okay. without ever reaching out to any of the people that were really the victims," said Blackwell. "He has a created a lot of problems and lot of heartache."

Iger's view about offshore outsourcing may ultimately affect more people than just those at Disney.

Iger was recently appointed by President-elect Donald Trump, along with 15 other business executives, to help the president "bring back jobs and make America great again," according to the Trump transition team announcement. Iger is also co-chair of the Partnership for a New American Economy, a group that advocates for increasing H-1B numbers and argues it increases job growth.

The membership of the "President's Strategic and Policy Forum" appears tilted toward firms that favor offshore outsourcing of IT. This includes the forum's chair, Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of Blackstone, a private equity firm.

In April, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Mphasis, an India-based IT services firm, from Hewlett-Packard Enterprise for about $1.1 billion. "The all-cash deal reinforces Blackstone's bullish outlook on the outsourcing business, where western clients send IT jobs to countries such as India to cut costs," wrote Reuters in a news report about the deal.
If Android ar is going to make a comeback, its going to need a pretty serious re-launch with fantastic new software hardware. At least on the software side, Android ar 2.0 is shaping up nicely.

just released Developer eview 4 of the Android ar 2.0 operating system, it brings with it several welcome features for app makers.

For starters, has added a new OAuth A support for single-click sign-in. th ar 2.0, you can browse the ay Store install watch apps without putting anything on your phone, so an easy way to sign in to apps services is necessary. This new feature lets watch apps prompt the phone for an authentication screen. If youre using a account, its even easieryou just get the sign-in confirmation screen.

Android Developers blog s making it easier to sign into accounts for watch apps.

Sign-in isnt the only thing that needs an overhaul if apps are going to live on your watch but not your phone. Devs also need a way to allow for in-app purchases on the watch, so s added that as well.

Other goodies in the new preview includes the ability to cross-promote apps between watch phone. So if you have a phone app theres a watch component (or vice versa) the app can push you to the right place on the ay Store to get its companion. Compatibility with ar 1.0 apps has been introduced, the old swipe-to-dismiss gesture is back.

says to stay tuned for Developer eview 5, so it would appear that a final release is not on the way soon.

The story behind the story: Back in September, decided to delay Android ar 2.0, once due late this year, into 2017. It was a good call: Android ar sales, smartwatches in general, are sinking. needs to seriously reboot its watch effort with a major OS overhaul fantastic new devices. The developer previews show a lot of promise on the OS side, but its going to take killer apps some real next-gen watch hardware, along with a big marketing push, to make ar thrive.
Ukrainians will be able to travel in EU without visas within several months  EU ambassador Mingarelli

Visa-free status for Ukrainians in EU member states will begin working in several months, according to EU representative in Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli.

Mingarelli said at a briefing in Kharkiv on Tuesday that the visa-free regime will enter force in a couple of months. He said he can't give the exact date, but it will depend on EU legal formalities.

The ambassador said the EU authorities have decided that Ukrainians will have visa-free status in the EU within several months and that there is an agreement among all 28 EU member states on this issue.

EU officials say introduction of the visa-free travel regime should be simultaneously introduced with a mechanism to suspend visa-free travel with non-member states.

According to information posted on the website of the European Parliament, debates on this issue will take place on December 14. On December 15 voting on a measure for suspending visa-free travel will be tabled for consideration.

In addition, on December 12 the Internet news service Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth) said the European Parliament's website had posted a revised forecast for the date of considering the measure for revoking short-term visas for Ukrainian citizens.

"The European Parliament has resolved to consider the Ukrainian issue during its second session in 2017, on February 1. It had been expected the hearing would take place on January 18  the projected scenario appearing on the European Parliament's website," Yevropeiska Pravda said.
Today

Windy with rain showers early with bright sunshine by the afternoon. High 69F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 46F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 72F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
SHAMED drink-drive Isle of Wight councillor Phil Jordan was veering all over the road before he was stopped by police, a court heard today (Tuesday).



Island magistrates were told that Jordan, 67, of Carpenters Road, St Helens, was spotted by police almost swerving into hedges before over-correcting.



When police stopped him at 11.45pm on October 11 he smelled strongly of alcohol, his speech was slurred and his eyes glazed, said Ann Smout, prosecuting.



His silver Range Rover with its personalised number plate was in Whippingham Road being driven towards East Cowes when he was pulled over.



When police asked him if there was any reason why he could not take a roadside breath-test Jordan replied: "Probably."



He complained of being short of breath although police saw no evidence of that, said Mrs Smout.



He was arrested for failing to provide a breath specimen after he appeared "not to be trying very hard&a mp;quot; to complete the procedure on three occasions, she said.



At the police station two attempts to provide specimens also failed and a blood test was taken. That revealed an alcohol level of 168 milligrammes  more than twice the legal limit of 80.





But his solicitor Lee Peckham said there was no deliberate attempt to avoid providing breath specimens  his client was in genuine difficulty.



He pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, had made a public apology for his error of judgment that would "forever blacken his name" and he had stepped down from his role on the Isle of Wight Council executive.



"He is ashamed and sorry," said Mr Peckham.



Sentencing Jordan, presiding magistrate Janice Routledge told him the offence was aggravated by the fact that his driving was poor and he had a passenger.



But he had a clean licence and no previous offences, cautions or warnings.



Jordan was fined 255 on a declared income of 1,100 a month, told to pay a surcharge of 30 and costs of 85.



He was banned for 20 months which he can reduce by a quarter by taking the drink-drive rehabilitation course.



After the case Cllr Jordan, who stood down from the executive where he had responsibility for public protection, public health and the highways PFI, said he remained staunchly against drink-driving and had only done so through "miscalculation."



"I am currently considering my future on the Isle of Wight Council  whether to stand down or remain as a councillor," he said.



"I am just so sorry for everyone who has been affected by this."
First Deputy Verkhovna Rada Speaker and member of the Minsk Trilateral Talks Iryna Gerashchenko has underlined the willingness of the Ukrainian side to compromise on the issue of hostages release kept in Donbas. However, she notes the lack of implementation of the relevant agreements on the part of Russia and the DPR [Donetsk People's Republic] and the LPR [Luhansk People's Republic].

"The hostages are kept not by Ukraine. We are ready for the greatest compromises in this regard, and this year we have claimed about them at all meetings, offering to transfer those 50 hostages who committed the crime to release 25 hostages (as the ORDLO [certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions] has confirmed it has 25 hostages) by offering to exchange them for eight saboteurs in June to release our hostages in the occupied territories. They offered to hand over 228 of hostages, where it is possible, to make free 58 hostages, confirmed by the ORDLO. We voiced our proposals at meetings in the OSCE presence, informed that the public will not prevent the negotiation process," Gerashchenko wrote on her Facebook page on Monday night.

Ukrainian side in response to all Ukrainian compromise proposals heard the answer "no" from the ORDLO. "Why? Doesn't it matter for them that 228 people, which they requested for, be at home during the New Year holidays. What else has the Ukrainian side done wrong? There is a sole answer: We haven't surrendered Ukraine, didn't throw it under the bus and didn't promise to vote for the amnesty ... therefore, Moscow is blocking the release of hostages, blackmailing Ukraine," Gerashchenko said.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), having detained Ukrainian Armed Forces Col. Ivan Bezyazykov on suspicion of cooperating with Russian special services, brought the relevant charges against him and will choose a restraining measure for him on Tuesday.

"Colonel Bezyazykov was earlier in captivity. The SBU has collected evidence that this man cooperated with Russian special services," deputy chief of the SBU Main Investigative Department Vitaliy Mayakov said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Bezyazykov has been officially charged, SBU executive office chief Oleksandr Tkachuk said.

Bezyazykov is a regular officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He had headed the intelligence unit of the former eighth army corps, which was disbanded in March 2015.

Bezyazykov was freed from captivity in Donbas on July 5, 2016. He had been taken captive in August 2014.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin has said that the Russian side is deliberately delaying the negotiation process on the settlement of the situation in Donbas, waiting for a change of leadership in several key countries in the world.

"Russia is deliberately playing for time [...] the logic of delaying is, to my mind, connected with the fact they are waiting for the change in conditions, such as changing the U.S. leadership and the possibility to negotiate with them, weakening of Europe's positions, etc.," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The minister also noted that transatlantic and European solidarity is of great importance now. "And it's not only about sanctions [...] If there is solidarity, then Russia has no place in the civilized world, and it is impossible to live outside it," Klimkin said.

The foreign minister also stressed that Russia, delaying the negotiation process, hopes to change Normandy format's participants. There are members in the Normandy format that know the matter very well, and Russia also wants to take advantage of it - to lose such key politicians, for whom this is not just a political issue, but also an emotional one," the minister said.

Klimkin also expressed regret over the possibility that head of the German Foreign Ministry Frank-Walter Steinmeier might also leave the negotiation process.

"During all these years Steinmeier has not just learned the situation, he is aware of it in details. Of course, all of us wish him to be the president, but I have told him we regret that he will leave the negotiating process," the Ukrainian foreign minister said.
Marijuana or cannabis has the scientific name of Cannabis sativa and has psychoactive effects attributed with the herb's component called tetrahydrocannabinol. It generates euphoria in both physical and mental aspect and it can be used through smoking, added with food, vaporization, and as a concentrated extract.

Cannabis could be used recreationally and medicinally. In the 20th century almost most countries have enacted laws and regulations against the cultivation, possession or transfer of cannabis, however, there are some regions wherein handling of cannabis is licensed and legal. According to Pewresearch, currently the share of Americans who favor legalizing marijuana continues to increase. Today 57% of U.S adults say the use of marijuana should be made legal, while 37% say it should be made illegal.

The changes in the public opinion on the legalization of marijuana have occurred during the time when many U.S states are very open on the legalization of the herb. In the month of June, Ohio became the 25th state together with Washington DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico to legalize marijuana in some form after a medical marijuana program was signed into law.

However, the legalization of marijuana started under the democrats with Mr. Obama now that the republicans have regained the throne what would be the future of marijuana under President Donald Trump? Based on a survey conducted, Democrats' votes legalizing marijuana over having it illegal is 66% vs. 33% whereas for republicans almost 55% oppose marijuana legalization while 41% favoring it. With the result of the Republicans' survey could Trump stop the legalization of pot?

A report from Time revealed that trying to stop and undo the legalization of the herb at this point would result to serious economic and political hurdles. There are reasons wherein the dismantling of the legalization of marijuana is not possible. Waging a war on pot would go against the will of many voters. In November 2016, voters in eight states cast their ballots for some form of marijuana legalization. That means that medical marijuana is now legal in twenty-eight states and recreational marijuana is legal in eight, including the most populated state, California.

Trump said that he supports medical marijuana . In some conferences before, he mentioned that all drugs should be legalized in order to stop the businesses of the opportunistic black markets and be able to collect money that could be used instead in counseling the people about the use of drugs and medicines. Legalization of Marijuana does not seem to be the President's list of priorities.In social media, Trump's Twitter account feed does not even show any tweet of the word marijuana as compared to more than one hundred tweets regarding of the word immigration. Furthermore, the extent of federal government's authority over these matters is unclear.

The future of the most controversial herb Marijuana or Cannabis under the republican government is yet to be revealed. The most important thing in considering the full legalization of marijuana is to have a deep grasp of the herb's pharmacologic status and psychoactive properties. Many believe that it could be a treatment for cancer and other tumors but no one knows its toxic effects. 'Marijuana could be a treatment now but destruction in the future'. Meanwhile, life-threatening Smallpox virus was again spotted in Lithuania. Get the full story and Click Here.


The most up-to-date news on what has happened in the tech world this week is here! Sneak peek in a few words: Microsoft and LinkedIn's "marriage", Amazon's grocery store's surprise, Xero and Apple Pay's integration, Slack and Google's team-up, and Facebook's plan to compete with Slack and Microsoft.

Forbes reports that after the long wait, Microsoft and LinkedIn seemed to have finally "found their way into each other's arms" and are now about to team up to provide more convenient connections to their users. The Wall Street Journal reported Microsoft finally buying off LinkedIn with its $26 billion dollar worth.

This is believed to be of help to the millions of businessmen and professionals who use LinkedIn as a means to acquire network contacts. Now, their business profiles could be linked to their emails via Microsoft Outlook.

Next up is online-disrupting news. Amazon's recently announced their online grocery and convenience store's upcoming launch this 2017 to be held in Seattle. It will be called Amazon Go, and it is set to provide the avid online shoppers with added convenience as there will be no more check-out lines for them to fall in line.

A previous report by Jobs & Hire says Amazon Go is currently giving priority to its Prime subscribers. The members only need to pay via a mobile app and that's it!

Meanwhile, ZDNet reports Xero, accounting software that has garnered more than 800,000 subscribers, has integrated with Apple Pay for their cloud-based application. Now, the customers can settle their invoices via the Apple Pay on just a few clicks.

Then there's Slack, a popular messaging service that is partnering with Google to improve its communications services. This partnership is set to battle with Microsoft and promises to help the subscribers "complete tasks without having to jump in and out of different app windows."

Finally, to top all the competitions announced, is Facebook joining the market competition. The largest social media company will not let these companies reign without putting up a fight. According to Tech Crunch, the new app will now let the users improve their CRM file sharing, email and calendars.

Basically, all of this week's news is but healthy news for the technology world. The subscribers will benefit so much from all these announcements.
Director James Wan has revealed who will play the big baddie opposite Jason Momoa's "Aquaman" -- theater veteran and actor Patrick Wilson. Both confirmed the news via Twitter on Dec. 12.

Tweeting from his account "@creepypuppet", Wan wrote, "In casting news that no one saw coming from 20,000 nautical miles away, I ordain @patrickwilson73 the Ocean Master. #KingOrm #Aquaman". The actor then replied, "Teehee. Here we go. @creepypuppet" along with a report from Deadline.com confirming the news.

Wilson's acting credentials are stellar: he's a two-time Tony Award nominee for "The Full Monty" and "Oklahoma", earned an Oscar nod for "Fargo", and gained both Oscar and Emmy nominations for his role in the HBO miniseries "Angels in America." Apart from that, he has previous experience working with Wan in the director's horror projects: "Insidious", "Insidious: Chapter 2", "The Conjuring" and "The Conjuring 2."

In "Aquaman," Wilson's character as Orm Marius will see him being the main menace in the oceans as he tried to bring down his half-brother, Arthur Curry (AKA "Aquaman"), for the throne. No plot details have been revealed yet, but Wan had stated in an earlier interview that the film is a "swashbuckling action adventure, sort of high seas adventure story."

The film is already in its pre-production stage and is all set to begin shooting in Queensland, Australia in 2017. Aside from Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson, model and actress Amber Heard was also confirmed to join the cast as "Mera", the queen of the sea and Aquaman's love interest. Wan further disclosed that the love story between the two will start off as a "love-hate relationship" that will eventually blossom into something more as "they work closer and closer."

The "Aquaman" film will officially hit cinemas on Oct. 5, 2018, as reported by Jobs & Hire. It will be preceded by similar blockbusters from the DC Extended Universe: "Wonder Woman" on Jun. 2, 2017, "Justice League" on Nov. 17, 2017, and "The Flash" on Mar. 16, 2018.
For unemployed people looking for jobs, there is good news for you. BT is opening 500 customer service jobs in England and Wales.

This will provide a contact center to Swansea, Warrington, Doncaster and Accrington. In January, BT opened 1,000 customer service jobs for its customer calls in UK and Ireland.

According to BBC, the recruitment process will start this December. Managing Director Libby Barr reported that the company is changing customer service to boost their service levels.

Barr explained that hiring 500 extra customer service representatives will allow the company to answer 90 percent of customer calls from Ireland and UK by the end of March. He said that they are proud to create new jobs in UK and Ireland.

The Guardian reported that they also offer a referral fee of 500. The site stressed that the company is also open for agency advisers who wants to directly work with the company.

BT or BT Group is a holding company that is owned by the British Telelcommunications plc. It is a multinational telecommunication service company that can be found in London, United Kingdom. It is available in 180 countries, a report claim.

In America, there are a lot of jobs one can apply like therapist, rehabilitation nurse, nurse anesthetics, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives. Jobs & Hire reported that the median pay for a therapy assistant is $54,520 per year.

A physical therapy assistant received $42,980, while, a physical therapist receives $84,020. The site stressed that the nurse anesthetics, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives usually get a median salary of 104,740 per year. While, a rehabilitation nurse gets an annual salary of $65,470.

One could also apply as wind turbine technician. According to the site, US Department of Energy believes that this industry will grow in 2017.
Ukrainian representatives in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group on settlement of the situation in Donbas will initiate the carrying out of the subgroup's online conference on the issue of releasing hostages on Wednesday, December 14, in order to reach a concrete decision at the group's meeting in Minsk on December 21.

"The Ukrainian side initiates on December 14 a Skype conference of the Trilateral Contact Group's humanitarian subgroup on one issue - the issue of releasing hostages. We have filed the relevant initiative with the OSCE [the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe], I hope that it will be supported by every side, if they are really interested in the release of hostages by Christmas," the Verkhovna Rada first deputy speaker, Ukrainian representative in the humanitarian subgroup, Iryna Gerashchenko, wrote on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

She recalled that on December 7 the Ukrainian side at a meeting of the humanitarian subgroup in Minsk has put forward an initiative: "We offered to hand over 228 people, whom separate districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions [the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics] requested in order to free those 42 people, who are confirmed in separate districts of Donetsk region, and six - in separate districts of Luhansk region."

Together with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), inter-agency center for the release of hostages, in the Minsk group format "we have worked on new humanitarian initiatives all this week in order to speed up the process of release and so that people on both sides of the contact line will be at home, with their relatives for the holidays," Gerashchenko also said.

The Ukrainian side is willing to work in Skype conference format in order to reach a decision regarding freeing hostages "that would be productive and fruitful in Minsk on December 21," she said.
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The establishment of an armed mission in Donbas is a great challenge to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.

"This is a jump to the future for the OSCE. There hasn't been anything of the kind in OSCE history so far. The OSCE is in quite a serious crisis, as the OSCE's work is being blocked by such countries as Russia, and it's doing this absolutely deliberately and in all areas, such as human rights, security, and so on. In addition, this is a logistical and a financial challenge for the OSCE," Klimkin said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"The SMM's [the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission] budget has nearly equaled the budget of the entire OSCE. Therefore, we should understand how this all will be functioning," Klimkin said.

The engagement of UN resources could be among possible options to settle the financial aspect of the matter, Klimkin said. "We are negotiating the possibility that the OSCE could use the UN's resources. I've talked about this with newly-elected UN Secretary-General Guterres, and I've also asked him to talk on the matter with all other key UN players so that the OSCE could draw on UN resources," he said.

The deployment of an OSCE armed mission has been routinely blocked by Russia, Klimkin said. "I've raised this issue in discussions with everyone. But for this mission to exist, we need Russia's decision, as its blockage by Russia is the only thing that is hampering us," Klimkin said.
LEWISVILLE  Westbend Winery and Brewery will have its grand opening Saturday, offering visitors a look at the new tasting room, brewery and winery built under new owners.

Owners Walt and Sonia Breathwit are breathing new life into the 41-acre property they bought in November 2015 for $1.6 million. The new tasting room is 10,500-square-foot, and there is a new winemaker and brewmaster.

The former Westbend Vineyards was a pioneer in North Carolinas modern wine industry. Jack and Lillian Kroustalis planted European grape varieties on the property in the 1970s, rejecting advice of experts who said the grapes wouldnt grow well in North Carolina. Westbend opened to the public in 1990. They were one of about a dozen of pioneering wineries in the state in the 1990s.

Jack Kroustalis died at age 74 in 2006. Lillian Kroustalis continued to operate the business  and even expanded into beer brewing  but eventually closed the business in March 2014.

Walt Breathwit owned a shipyard and tugboats in Dickinson Bayou, Texas, for 40 years. When he and his wife semi-retired, they started looking for something different.

I like agriculture, I like land and and I like wine, Sonia Breathwit said of the decision to buy a winery.

They initially looked all over the country. He decided he didnt want to live in California. She didnt want to stay in Texas. They both finally agreed on the East Coast.

We looked up and down the East Coast, Walt Breathwit said. We kept coming back to Westbend.

Perhaps the biggest change to Westbend is the construction of the tasting room, winery and brewery that will be finished just in time for the grand opening. The old tasting room was razed after it was found to have termites.

The new tasting room will have a large, U-shaped granite bar that will be used for both beer and wine. The lounge and barrel room will feature large wooden tables made from oak trees that had to be taken down to make way for the new building. Visitors will be able to see the brewery and winery through glass windows in the tasting room.

The new winery will have an initial capacity of 5,000 cases a year, and it will have room to grow. The new brewery area is considerably larger than the original brewery. Walt Breathwit said that he will keep the old winery building and equipment for possible use as a custom-crush winery.

The Breathwits have hired Ethan Brown, 26, as winemaker and brewmaster. Brown has a degree in oenology and viticulture from Surry County Community College and a degree in chemistry fermentation science from Appalachian State University. His previous winemaking experience comes from the now-closed Olde Mill Vineyards that his family ran near Mount Airy.

Westbend currently is selling wines made by Brown at Olde Mill or purchased from other wineries in the Yadkin Valley until maintenance and other changes can be made in the 15-acre vineyards on the property. Brown plans to plant traminette, chardonelle and petit verdot in the immediate future, and probably petit manseng later. Those grapes will supplement the cabernet franc, chambourcin, chardonnay, riesling and merlot already planted.

Current wines available include viognier, stainless-steel-fermented chardonnay, grenache, syrah, chambourcin, cabernet sauvignon and Blossom River (and off-dry white made primarily from traminette).

Brown has already been busy making beer. Westbend currently has a wheat, blond ale, brown ale and IPA for sale. A stout will be coming soon.

Were starting with the standards, Brown said. But well have up to 16 taps in the new tasting room. So well have our core beers, but Im also interested in experimenting. Im especially interested in the possibilities of crossover with the wine, like beer aged in wine barrels or beer that might use riesling pomace (solids left after crushing grapes). There are a lot of interesting things you can do.

We also to want to start making cider. Were hopeful we can work with local apple growers for that.

Breathwit said that Westbend will be primarily a winery, but that continuing to make craft beer made sense. I think its good to offer beer to people who dont like wine, he said. But wine will always be our first priority.
RALEIGH  The General Assembly has passed a bill during a special session Wednesday that would provide $200.9 million in disaster relief.

However, rather than end the third special session and go home outside of scheduled joint oversight meetings, the General Assembly has been called into a fourth special session that's being protested by House Democrats.

The fourth session began at 2 p.m. today. One or several bills may be submitted by 7 p.m. for the House.

No bills of significance was submitted in the Senate by its 5 p.m. deadline, although Senate Bill 2  addressing the State Board of Education's role and responsibility for administering the qualified zone academy bond program - could serve as a placeholder for other legislation.

House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said the special session is likely to extend into Thursday given that any bill would have to go through normal committee hearings.

Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, said all committees have been activated for meeting for the fourth session. The chambers are expected to reconvene at 5 p.m.

The Senate voted 49-0 for disaster relief House Bill 2, while the House voted 115-0 on Tuesday. The House approved minor Senate amendments.

The bill has been sent to Gov. Pat McCrory for his signature. McCrory called for the special session Friday and made two impassioned speech to legislators about the need for the disaster relief funding.

The funding would go to 49 eastern counties affected by Hurricane Matthew and two tropical storms, as well as five western counties affected by wildfires.

"You will see the General Assembly look to reassert its constitutional authority in areas that may have been previously delegated to the executive branch," Lewis said.

He said bills could be introduced that affect how the state and county elections boards are determined  currently the majorities are controlled by the party of the governor  and how department heads are chosen.

"We are going to continue to be a relevant part of governing this state," Lewis said. "We consider ourselves the body closest to the people of the state and most responsive."

Lewis said he does not expect redistricting will be considered. Other Republicans, including House speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Rep. Debra Conrad, R-Forsyth, do not expect a bill that would expand the state Supreme Court.

When Lewis was asked why a fourth special session was required to introduce the proposed legislation, rather than in regular session, he said "the opportunity presents itself and we intend to address these issues."

"When the legislation is considered, you will recognize that some of the changes will become effective Jan. 1."

Gov.-elect Roy Cooper has said he will take his oath of office on Jan. 1 - the first day he can take office.

Lewis said there is the potential to have some bipartisan support for some bills.

That level of bipartisanship may be wishful thinking on Lewis' part.

Rep. Larry Hall, D-Durham, called the decision to hold a fourth special session "an historic move ... one that the public should be aware of, that this is how the legislature is choosing to do business."

Democrats protest how special session was called

The fourth session was called by Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and Moore  the same elected officials who called the March 23 session in which the transgender restroom House Bill 2 was passed.

Both Moore and Senate President pro tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, indicated one reason for the fourth special session is to separate potential bills addressed in that session from the disaster relief bill.

Moore said 72 House members and 31 Senate members made a written request for the fourth session, essentially the Republican legislators present. The state Constitution requires a three-fifths majority of the legislature for it to call itself into special session.

Moore acknowledged that most Republican legislators signed on Monday the proclamation calling for a fourth session. Senate Republicans signed the proclamation on Tuesday.

Lewis said he understood that it took until late Wednesday morning to get the go ahead for the fourth session. He said the determination was made to consider disaster relief only in the third session "and other matters" in the fourth session.

Hall said Democratic legislators were not aware of the fourth-session proclamation until the House reconvened for the end of the third session at 11 a.m.

Most of the Democratic House members, led by Rep. Darren Jackson, D-Wake, protested the call for the fourth session, saying it is not necessary, unconstitutional, and that it is partisan in nature.

They said it is a potential way to circumvent the will of the voters from the Nov. 8 election in which Roy Cooper defeated Gov. Pat McCrory by more than 10,000 votes.

Berger said he did not know which bills would be submitted.

There are a number of things that have been talked about, Berger said. I am not in a position at this point to list or specifically articulate what they are because no decisions have been made as to what exactly will be brought up.

Conrad said she does not believe a bill will be introduced to expand the state Supreme Court by two justices.

"Packing the court was not an issue that Republicans ever intended to bring up in either the third special session or will bring up in the fourth special session."

"Any legislation for this additional session is still a work in progress."

Another bill may address environmental issues

Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., D-Durham, said he expects one likely piece of legislation will address additional regulatory reform on environmental issues.

McKissick said an environmental regulatory reform bill may be on the agenda to get it passed and then signed into law by McCrory.

"You don't yet have a Gov. Cooper to veto this legislation," McKissick said.

McKissick said he would surprised if a court-packing bill would be introduced.

"But until I see the bill or bills, I can't speculate as to what other matters that Republican legislators want to address in a fourth session," McKissick said.

"My best guess is that whatever bills being introduced have been presented to the governor and he is likely comfortable with them."

Disaster debate on speed of relief

The bill, following McCrorys recommendation, would appropriate $100.9 million from nonrecurring funds from the savings reserve account and another $100 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund. The bill recommends that money from the savings reserve account be required to be replenished.

Legislators expect to review the status of federal and state relief efforts at the beginning of the long session in late January.

About 88,000 homes were damaged by Hurricane Matthew, with a total loss of more than $967 million. Of these, 4,424 homes were destroyed.

For example, Robeson County has more than 600 families still in temporary housing or a hotel room since the flooding began.

Although its not clear how quickly flooding or wildfire victims will receive assistance, legislators from both parties stressed that the relief is just the first step.

The funding is a down payment, said Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow. We know were going to have to revisit this in the next session.

None of us really know the whole unmet need in flooding areas, and it may be until March or April until it is more fully known, Sen Brent Jackson, R-Duplin, said during a Senate Appropriations committee meeting on disaster relief House Bill 2.

Besides relief funding, the bill would give public and charter school boards more flexibility in not having to make up days missed beyond the first two days because of Hurricane Matthew.

The push for that flexibility drew the most debate during the committee meetings and in the full House and Senate. Legislators said many school systems already are making up missed days, in part to help students be better prepared for state testing requirements.

Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, asked about whether the legislature is willing to provide extra funding for those school systems who want to make up all of the missed days so they can keep up with students statewide who were not affected by the flooding.

Rep. Chuck McGrady. R-Henderson, said some legislators want to forgive all missed school days, particularly as winter arrives and the likelihood of additional missed school days. Others wanted to require making up as many as five days.

"We believed this will meet a sweet spot" in negotiations, McGrady said.

The bill also would waive certain DMV fees in the 49 eastern counties.

"It appears that the Disaster Recovery Act is a good first step to provide ... relief for the citizens adversely impacted by both the wildfires in the west and Hurricane Matthew and two tropical storms in the east," said Conrad, who serves on the Appropriations committee.

"I would expect this bill would receive bi-partisan support to get the funding rolling to the needs. Additional measures will follow in the long session to complete the necessary funds for recovery."

Rep. Ed Hanes, D-Forsyth, favors the state funding to be able to get the aid out quickly to these hurting communities.

I think well do that today and come back with follow-up relief bill when we return in January.

Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, said putting the focus on a disaster relief bill "is the most important business that we have to attend to."

"I'm not certain if other business will come before the legislature, but the primary function is to help our citizens in need."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin believes the future relations between Kyiv and Washington will depend not so much on the new state secretary of the U.S., but rather on the whole administration of president-elect Donald Trump.

"I see that the key figures within the Republican Party, within the transitional team, understand that a democratic Ukraine is in the U.S. interests and express their readiness to help Ukraine. We'll soon see what this team will ultimately look like And it is not the head of the U.S. State Department, but the whole team, that matters, the team which will be in charge of foreign policy, national defense and global economy," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Klimkin said he was also of an opinion that Russia will find it easier to work with the new U.S. presidential team. However, Kyiv will do its best to convey Ukraine's clear position to the new U.S. administration.

"It is taking long to form the future team in the U.S., but as soon as it is formed, and we hope this will take place in the coming weeks, briefings on the current situation will start and we on our part will do our best so that the future [U.S.] president and his team receive high-quality and detailed briefings concerning what is happening, as well as the context of Russia's intentions and tactics," Klimkin said.

The Ukrainian minister said diplomats are considering the possibility to arrange for a bilateral meeting between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Trump during Poroshenko's visit to the U.S.
North Carolina voters could learn today what the Republican-controlled General Assembly will do during its special session this week, including whether lawmakers will go through with a controversial proposal to add justices to the N.C. Supreme Court.

Gov. Pat McCrory called for a special session, which begins in both chambers at 10 a.m. today, to consider providing a combined $200 million in disaster relief for eastern counties affected by Hurricane Matthew and western counties affected by wildfires.

Because McCrorys proclamation included any other matters the General Assembly elects to consider, it opened the door to other potential legislation that could include adding up to two justices to the Supreme Court.

The state House and Senate have yet to publish their session agendas. Legislators have told The News & Observer of Raleigh the session could take two or three days because bills would have to go through the committee process first.

Even though the contested governors race  won by Democratic challenger Roy Cooper  caught most of the post-election attention, the configuration of the non-partisan Supreme Court may be more pivotal politically. The Nov. 8 victory of Mike Morgan, a registered Democrat endorsed by President Barack Obama, over incumbent justice Bob Edmunds gave the court a pending 4-3 tilt to the left.

The Cooper and Morgan victories represent two potential checks and balances on bills introduced by Republicans who hold a super-majority in both chambers.

Speculation about potential court-packing  adding two right-leaning members nominated by McCrory in the waning days of his administration  surfaced shortly after Morgans win.

The state constitution calls for a chief justice and six associate justices but allows for two more members. New members would be up for re-election in November 2017 as part of the special legislative election required to address redistricting issues.

House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, told The Associated Press last week he believes the legislature can act on anything it chooses once it has convened. This session is about disaster relief and taking care of critical business facing the state, Moore said.

Amy Auth, spokeswoman for Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said Monday that Senate Republicans are committed to taking up Gov. McCrorys disaster relief proposal this week.

They are also carefully reviewing what Gov.-elect Roy Cooper did as Senate majority leader in 2000 and prior.

Democrats approved in 2000 adding three appeals court justices, bringing the total to 15, to address an increase in case workloads.

Senate Republicans will have to meet as a caucus to determine if they are going to address any other issues, Auth said.

Awaiting information

Opponents of the changes to the court point to the passing of House Bill 2.

The bill was acted upon and signed into law by McCrory, all on March 23.

The state NAACP has threatened to sue if legislation passes in the special session to add conservative justices. Cooper begins his term Jan. 1  a full week ahead of tradition  to be in position to react to any court-packing legislation.

Members of the local delegation said they dont know what else might be on the agenda for the session.

Republican Reps. Debra Conrad and Julia Howard said they will not know if there is other potential legislation until todays caucus meeting.

I am unaware of any elected Republican that has brought this issue up since the election, therefore I am very skeptical that this is a genuine topic for consideration, Conrad said.

Democratic Reps. Ed Hanes and Evelyn Terry said they are opposed to potential court-packing legislation.

Using the special session to ram through a blatantly partisan power grab and overturn an election is disrespectful to these victims, Terry said Friday.

Hanes cited the legislative study about the case workload for his main opposition to expanding the Supreme Court.

Thomas Mills, with left-leaning Politics NC, said the three appeals court seats were added in 2000 because the court had seen a 30-percent increase in its caseload in just two years, and the state was growing rapidly. They were also added before the election of 2000, not after it.

Mills said the dispute about the appeals court expansion was about when the new justices would stand for election, not whether the increase was needed.

By comparison, a 2014 legislative study concluded there is no need to expand the state Supreme Court because the case workload is down per justice.
A Winston-Salem man who was arrested for allegedly breaking into a home Sunday night died in police custody early Monday at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, authorities said.

Marvin Lenard Wardlow, 36, of Motor Road was being restrained by a private citizen when officers arrived at an apartment in the 1600 block of Lincoln Avenue about 7:40 p.m., police said.

Officers had received a report that Wardlow, who was shirtless, was acting erratically and attempting to force his way into nearby apartments in the 1400 block of Woodruff Glen Drive, police said.

Before police arrived at that scene, they received a report that an apartment in the 1600 block of Lincoln Avenue also had been broken into, police said. A resident who was injured in that incident received medical treatment for a large cut on his face.

Officers found Wardlow being restrained by the private citizen inside another Lincoln Avenue apartment, which he apparently had broken into, and handcuffed him, police said. They noticed that Wardlow was in distress and showed symptoms of a potential drug overdose or excited delirium, police said.

Wardlow became unresponsive after emergency medical technicians arrived on the scene.

Wardlow was then placed in an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, Naloxone was given to Wardlow in an effort to save his life, police said. However, Wardlow later died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Investigators recovered a substance from Wardlows clothes, which tested positive for cocaine, police said.

The State Bureau of Investigation will review the circumstances that led to Wardlows death, police said. The SBI will interview officers involved in the case after an autopsy on Wardlows body is completed.

An administrative investigation also will be conducted by the Winston-Salem Police Departments professional standards division. The officers involved in the case are Sgt. H.M. Bryant, Officer T. Shu and Officer T.K. Taylor.

Bryant is a 22-year veteran of the police force. Shu has served four years as a city police officer, and Taylor has served for two years with the department.

Detectives are investigating the break-ins, police said.
Regardless of the format of negotiations on settling the conflict in Donbas, Russia should comply with its obligations, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.

"Even if a decision is taken about a formal expansion of the format, theoretically speaking about the joining of the United States or a combination of the Normandy and Budapest or Geneva formats, the matter is not about a format but about a clear political position and ability to make Russia comply with its obligations. On the other hand, certainly, the more key players are involved in this, the better, because this is a matter of a global deal for Russia. This is also a matter of global influence, the Middle East, the oil prices, and a lot of other things," Klimkin said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine when asked whether the format of negotiations on Donbas could be expanded.

It's important for Ukraine to achieve a positive result in the foreseeable future, because, the later it is attained, the more efficient Russia will be in destabilizing the situation in Ukraine, he said.
On Thursday, December 15, at 12.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference "Export of Small and Medium Business. Barriers and Opportunities" dedicated to the ways to use the Ukrainian small and medium business export potential. The participants will include Head of the Board of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, Senior Advisor at USAID Leadership in Economic Governance Program Igor Burakovsky, partner at KM Partners Ivan Shynkarenko; Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the 'Future' Charity Foundation, Chairman of the Board of KSG Agro Serhiy Kasyanov; partner at Baker Tilly Ukraine Alexander Polyansky; Director of Fialan Alla Haiduk; and managing partner at TCM Group Ukraine Denys Kopii (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation.
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Maan News Agency |  

BETHLEHEM (Maan)  Following up on a campaign pledge from US President-elect Donald Trump to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Trumps senior adviser Kellyanne Conway reiterated on Monday that the move would be a very big priority for the Trump administration.

That is very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump, Conway told radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview that was widely reported on Israeli news sites. He made it very clear during the campaign, and as president-elect, Ive heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly.

It is something that our friend Israel, a great friend in the Middle East, would appreciate and something that a lot of Jewish-Americans have expressed their preference for, Conway went on to say. It is a great move. It is an easy move to do based on how much he talked about that in the debates and in the soundbites.

If implemented, the controversial move would give legitimacy to Israels illegal occupation of East Jerusalem since 1967, disregard Palestinian claims to the city, and terminate a longstanding White House policy to perpetually defer a 1995 Congressional decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move the embassy there.

Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama renewed a presidential waiver that again delayed plans to relocate the embassy for another six months, citing national security interests, as every US president has done since Bill Clinton.

While many countries have consulates in Jerusalem that cater to citizens residing in the occupied Palestinian territory, the majority of embassies to Israel are located in the Tel Aviv area.

Last month, in response to Trumps initial comments on the issue, Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour threatened to make life miserable for the United States at the United Nations if the embassy was moved, pointing out that such a decision would represent a violation of UN General Assembly Resolution 181 regarding the status of Jerusalem, and constitute belligerency towards Palestinians.

If the US administration wants to defy international law they are doing something illegal. I hope they will do nothing, Mansour said. Many candidates gave the same election promise but didnt implement it because what you do when you are campaigning is one thing but when you have to deal with the legal thing it is something else.

Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made similar promises to move the embassy during their presidential campaigns, but once in office they signed the waiver required to avoid following through with the move.

If they do that nobody should blame us for unleashing all of the weapons that we have in the UN to defend ourselves, and we have a lot of weapons in the UN, Mansour added.

He stated that the Palestinian Authority (PA) could force the US to use its veto in a Security Council over the PAs admission as a member state, or reopen the whole Pandoras Box with regards to International Criminal Court rulings regarding Israels illegal settlements and separation wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The fate of Jerusalem has been a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, with numerous tensions arising over Israeli threats regarding the status of non-Jewish religious sites in the city, and the Judaization of East Jerusalem through settlement construction and mass demolitions of Palestinian homes.

Via Maan News Agency



Related video added by Juan Cole:

The Real News:  Wilkerson: If Trump Moves U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, War Against Iran Could Come Next
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Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

I am a fan of Garrison Keillor, of Prairie Home Companion fame. I am also a fan of Keith Ellison (D-MN), the prominent liberal representative from Minneapolis and happens to be a Muslim.

Unfortunately for me, I have to choose between them because Keillor, deep in depression over the advent of the Trump Gilded Age, blasted the idea of Ellison becoming the Democratic National Committee chair. Keillor doesnt think all the children of Lake Wobegone are above average. He thinks Ellison is a lackluster black Muslim who would have difficulty connecting with the white factory workers of Youngstown, the kind of people the Democrats need if they are to win in 2020.

Keillor is quick-witted and generally insightful, but why he chose to be so wrong, and wrongheaded, on this issue is probably a mystery that would stump even the great sleuth Guy Noir.

So heres a counter-proposition for Mr. Keillor to consider. If the Democratic Party had been less dynastic and had run Keith Ellison as its presidential candidate in 2016, Ellison would have beaten Trump. And, moreover, if the Democrats were smart they would try to convince Ellison to run in 2020.

In order to understand why I say this, you have to understand why Hillary Clinton lost the election. It was because in some key states like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, she suffered from a lack of enthusiasm on the part of Democrats. In those states, it is true that perhaps 14% of the white working class defected to Trump. But another 21% just stayed home. As Konstantin Kilibarda and Daria Roithmayr argue at Slate, the idea that Trump flipped the white working class is incorrect. It was Sec. Clintons inability to get them to come to the voting booth for her that was decisive.

Moreover, Clinton lost the African-American vote in two ways. First, she couldnt inspire as many of them to vote as did Obama. They were only 12% of the electorate in 2016, down from 13% in 2012. Second, she couldnt get as many of those who voted to vote for her. Only 88% did so, about the same level as Kerry attracted in 2004 but way off Obamas percentages (93%). She performed especially poorly with younger African-Americans and with well-educated ones. And she was way off among African-Americans in Florida, at only 84%.

Sec. Clinton also suffered an enthusiasm gap among Latino and Asian voters compared to Obama. In 2012, Obama won 71% of the Latino vote. She got only 65% of Latinos to cast their ballot for her. She performed poorly among youth across he board, compared to Obama. She did not do as well as Obama in 2008, and while her popular vote totals are near his for 2012, her support was distributed differently (it doesnt do her any good to have extra millions vote for her in California and New York but for Michigander Dems to stay home).

In short, Clinton lost in key states because she could not put back together the Obama coalition.

But Ellison can? Ellison can.

Ellison is substantially to Clintons left and those factory workers in Youngstown know that he is their champion. The AFL-CIO is jumping up and down over the moon with enthusiasm for him. He has been at the forefront of the struggle for the right to unionize, the right to strike and the right to be paid a living wage. Maybe you think the white working class is racist. It may be in the deep South and the West, but most of those states werent decisive in the presidential contest. It isnt in the Northeast and the Midwest, where its votes matter:

In Democracy Corps combined interviews for 2012, Obama won white non-college voters in New England by 51 to 42 percent, tied Romney in the West North Central states by 47 to 46 percent and trailed by only 7 points in the Mid-Atlantic by 44 to 51 percent.

Ellison, being to Obamas left on workers issues, has the potential to do even better than Obama among white workers in the Midwestern states that Trump narrowly won, and he certainly has the potential to get them out to vote in much larger numbers than Sec. Clinton did.

There is one person on the political horizon who could put back together Obamas winning coalition. It is Keith Ellison. You couldnt imagine Hillary Clinton winning North Carolina. Ellison at least certainly could, putting together the liberal whites of the Research Triangle Park with an enthusiastic African-American vote. Ellison could handily win Michigan and of course Minnesota and Wisconsin. The blue firewall did not hold for Clinton but it would, for Ellison.

If we can cede to Ellison the youth vote, the working class vote, the African-American vote, the liberal white suburban vote (which he wins in his home district), and the Latino vote, it is hard to see where we could go wrong with him.

There is that Muslim thing, of course. And billionaire arch-Zionist Haim Saban called Ellison an anti-Semite because he cares about rights for Palestinians.

In fact, Ellison has been pro-Israel, despite attempts to smear him by phonying up interview clips (the Trump fake news division). In fact, he is to the right of the Democratic Party on most issues having to do with Israel. As Bernie Sanders showed, it is possible to care about basic human rights for Palestinians while at the same time supporting basic human rights for Israelis. It cannot be assumed that Ellison would do worse nationally with Jews, especially those under 60, than Obama. But it also has to be noted that Jews are an ever-shrinking proportion of the electorate and that crowd-funding has made fanatics like Saban increasingly irrelevant. Trump took plenty of risks with the Jewish vote, down to playing to Neonazis, which is not something you could at all say about Ellison!

As for being Muslim, it could hurt him in some quarters. But likely those are the same quarters where it would hurt him to be Black. I doubt African-Americans, Latinos or Asian-Americans would care very much. As for white suburbanites, ever since Trump and the GOP far right began attacking Muslims, the view of Islam among independents and Democrats has improved markedly in just a year, according to Shibley Telhamis polling:

From November 2015 to June 2016, Americans views on Muslims have gone from 53% favorable to 62% favorable , while Americans with favorable views o f Islam have increased from 37% to 44% in June over the same period. During that same time frame, the percentage of people who think that Islamic and Western religious and social traditions are compatible increased from 57% % to 64 %.

Given that Trump is filling his administration with crazed Islamophobes, this trend could well continue and accelerate, making a Muslim like Ellison not only reputable but even beloved as an underdog. Besides, if Americans will vote for a pussy-grabbing narcissistic erratic white nationalist with a bad comb-over, it is hard to rule them out voting for almost anyone at all.

Mr. Keillor, your Democratic Party, and your idea of winning politics, is so twentieth century. Keith Ellison is the future of America, which is what makes me optimistic about, well, the future of America. Ellison for President, 2020!



Related video:

The Young Turks from last week: Anatomy Of A Political Hit Job (Brought To You By The Establishment)
JURIST Guest Columnist Karen Czapanskiy of the University of Maryland Francis King Cary School of Law discusses the road not taken in the recent Supreme Court case on in-school service dogs for special needs children In Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools argued before the Supreme Court on October 31, 2016, the question is whether parents must exhaust administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) before suing a school district for damages suffered as the result of discrimination against their child under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled for the school district. The result likely would have been the same in other circuits except for the Ninth.

The Frys daughter EF was born with cerebral palsy that limits her motor skills and mobility. A Goldendoodle named Wonder was trained to help EF, but the Napoleon Community Schools refused to allow Wonder to accompany EF to school. EFs Individualized Education Program (IEP) provided for a human aide to support EF during school hours. After meeting with a lawyer representing the Frys, the school district allowed Wonder to be with EF on a limited basis for about two months. The school district refused to allow Wonder thereafter. The Frys filed a complaint with the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. During the two years until the department ruled in favor of EF, the parents educated EF at home. Then EFs father and the school principal met to discuss EFs return to school. EFs father concluded that the principal remained unwilling to cooperate fully about Wonder, and the Frys enrolled EF in a different school system.

In the Supreme Court, the Frys, the school district and the Solicitor General all agreed on a predicate point: where parents seek remedies available under IDEA, exhaustion is required except in rare circumstances. That means, as several Justices and the lawyers before them discussed during the argument, a childs parents must engage in a cooperative process with the school to devise an individualized plan for the childs education. Only after that cooperative and individualized process is completed must a court consider a suit against the school system for discriminating against the child on the basis of disability. Some students, however, like EF, are not asking for an IEP or otherwise seeking relief available under IDEA, so her case seems to be one where exhaustion should not be necessary. The Justices posed numerous questions, however, on the limits of a ruling for EF, particularly on whether a decision for EF would open the floodgates for parents who want to avoid the administrative process.

The question nobody asked was why parents might want to avoid the IDEA administrative process, a process touted as cooperative and focused on the needs of their child. Nor did anyone ask whether schools might agree that the administrative process no longer works in many cases. Its past time, in my view, for that conversation to be joined.

Based on their experiences with school systems, many parents have concluded that the administrative process is neither individualized nor cooperative. At the same time, schools are not irrational in concluding that the individualized and cooperative system is not always the best way to deliver a suitable education to children with special needs. Frankly, continuing to pretend that special education is always individualized and cooperative belies how often the process is generalized, litigious, aggravating, unnecessary and discriminatory.

For my article Kids and Rules: Challenging Individualization in Special Education , I examined 32 special education cases involving children on the autism spectrum. The cases were heard by courts in the Southern District of New York from 2010 to 2014. In each case, the plan proposed by the school in the IEP meeting was nearly identical to the plans offered in the other meetings. Even where parents objected and suggested alternatives, the plan adopted after the IEP meeting rarely differed much from the schools original plan. In nearly every case federal courts accepted the school systems conclusion that its plan satisfied the substantive requirements of the IDEA. Exceptions were cases with procedural flaws.

I see no cooperative or individualized process here. Instead, plainly, the school system adopted a routine plan of services for children who share certain characteristics. The school system invested resources in an organization through which the routine plan is followed by trained teachers and aides. Uniformity and, perhaps, accountability, are the hallmarks of the system, not individualization, cooperation or even negotiation.

In special education jargon the New York cases could be illegitimate because IEPs are predetermined rather than individualized for each child. The predetermination label overlooks, however, what school systems have learned over the 40 years since the original version of todays IDEA: some children share similar issues and can benefit from similar services. When thats true why not create and stick to a routine?

The Frys faced exactly what the New York parents faced: a school system that had a routine, and Wonder didnt fit. While a blind child with a service dog can have the dog at school, a child using a service dog for a different purpose cannot. As the Frys saw no amount of cooperative conversation would produce a different outcome.

What the Frys faced that the New York parents did not face was an illegal rule. The routine IEPs in New York survived the scrutiny of multiple federal courts which found the plans to be substantively adequate. The routine IEP excluding Wonder could not survive scrutiny. In both cases, however, it would have been better for all concerned to be transparent. Where the school system believes that children in similar circumstances should receive similar services, the school should let the public know.

Like the New York parents, the Fry family was subjected to a privaterule or policy. The Frys (and the friends and neighbors who helped them buy Wonder) could not know in advance that the school system would exclude Wonder. If the rule or policy had been considered in public, the school board could have learned from the community about their experience and concerns. After public consultation, a rule or policy could have been adopted that protected children with service dogs against discrimination without, at the same time, causing undue worry about service dogs distracting children, scaring people, causing allergic reactions or requiring substantial staff attention. Transparency lets parents like the Frys predict whether Wonder will be welcomed, given Wonders characteristics, functions and training. Parents in New York could know whether fighting the proposed plan is worth time and resources. Keeping the rule or policy secret precludes public input, problem-solving and predictability. The Frys like many other parents, get blindsided. The school loses the trust of parents and children while wasting time seeking parental agreement to a predetermined IEP which may, in fact, be educationally sound.

No wonder the Frys withdrew their child from school, home-schooled the child for 2 years, and rejected conditions for welcoming their child and Wonder back to school. No wonder they changed schools and sued for discrimination rather than seeking a new IEP. They already knew that the cooperation and individualization values of the IDEA are suspect.

Transparent rules and policies can guide people to behave legally and predictably. School personnel want to obey the law and to deliver sound education to all children. Devising individualized education programs is not a hallmark of general education, where we want all children to achieve proficiency at certain levels by predictable times. Individualized special education is plainly a necessity for children whose issues or combination of issues are not shared by many other children. For children with more common issues, however, individualization and cooperation do not always result in sound or legal educational programs.

Parents have an unusual role under the IDEA because of concerns that children with disabilities face discrimination. The system works best when parents trust the school system to do what it can for the child, so a cooperative process makes sense. But processwhether cooperative or adversarialtakes time, and parents with special needs children are often short in that department, particularly where parents are also short of money. Another route to trust may be found in publicly adopted rules and policies which tell the school system and the parents what to expect when a child has issues that are shared by other children.

Fry v. Napoleon School District will not resolve these problems. If the Court rejects the highly restrictive rule of the Sixth Circuit, however, some parents will have a shorter route to a conclusion. What will help more parents and more schools is a reconsideration of individualization and cooperation as the keys to special education.

Karen Czapanskiy is a Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Her work focuses on the law and policy that affect families raising children with special needs. She also teaches courses in family law, property, civil procedure, and a seminar on families raising special needs children.

Suggested citation: Karen Czapanskiy, Actually, We Cant Just All Get AlongCooperation and Individualization under IDEA, JURIST  Academic Commentary, Dec. 13, 2016, http://jurist.org/forum/2016/12/Karen-Czapanskiy-IDEA-Education.php
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] Monday challenging new Texas regulations [text, PDF] that would require the burial or cremation of aborted fetal remains. The new regulations, approved last week by the Texas Department of State Health Services [official website], are set to take effect December 19 and would require the burial or cremation of fetal tissue from abortions and miscarriages. Proponents claim the regulations will prevent the spread of communicable diseases. However, critics claim that the regulations are an undue burden on women seeking abortions. According to [press release] CRR President and CEO Nancy Northup, [t]hese regulations are an insult to Texas women, the rule of law and the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared less than six months ago that medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion access are unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas on behalf of Whole Womans Health, Brookside Womens Health Center and Austin Womens Health Center, Alamo Womens Reproductive Services, Reproductive Services and Dr. Lendol Davis.

The US Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a controversial Texas abortion law in June. The court ruled [opinion, PDF] 5-3 in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt [SCOTUSblog materials] that HB2 [text], which imposed certain requirements on abortion clinics and doctors, created an undue burden on access to abortion, and was therefore unconstitutional.
The UK government said Monday it will use its terrorism laws [official summary] to ban a neo-Nazi group, marking the first time such a step has been taken. The move would make it a crime [Guardian report] to be a member of, wear insignia, or work with the National Action [advocacy website] as it would fall under the umbrella of a terrorist organization. While the group rose to prominence for its anti-semitic and xenophobic stances, they recently began to encourage [Independent report] their members to use violence. The terrorism act provision is being used because the group used their now deleted social media to encourage lone wolf acts and showed members training for battle. Additionally, the group praised the murder of progressive MP Jo Cox [BBC report] due to her political views and adopted her killers court statement as their official slogan. The measure to ban the group is subject to Parliamentary approval.

The intersections of free speech and government intervention are still debated on the global stage. The Dutch district court of Haarlem said Friday that Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch right wing political party, Party for Freedom, was convicted [JURIST report] of inciting discrimination. Egypts Supreme Constitutional Court last week upheld [JURIST report] a law that effectively bans protests. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recentlyunveiled statewide initiatives to combat [JURIST Gothamist report] hate crime and protect civil rights.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein [official website] on Tuesday accused [press release] Syrian pro-government forces of going door to door and systematically killing civilians in at least four neighborhoods. The killings have reportedly resulted in at least the deaths of 82 civilians, including 13 children. The situation on the ground is causing residents to take to social media [BI report] to explain what is happening and give goodbyes to friends and loved ones. The commissioner pleaded with the international community to assist in stopping the killing of civilians:

The crushing of Aleppo, the immeasurably terrifying toll on its people, the bloodshed, the wanton slaughter of men, women and children, the destructionand we are nowhere near the end of this cruel conflict. What can happen next, if the international community continues to collectively wring its hands, can be much more dangerous. What is happening with Aleppo could repeat itself in Douma, in Raqqa, in Idleb. We cannot let this continue.

Also Tuesday Amnesty International [advocacy website] said that reports of execution-style killings in Aleppo point to war crimes [press release].

The war in Syria [JURIST backgrounder] continues to have a devastating impact for the war torn region of Aleppo. The Russian/Syrian coalition committed war crimes in Aleppo during September and October, Human Rights Watch said [JURIST report] in early December. The same month UN officials urged [JURIST report] the international community to unite with the UN Security Council to protect civilians in the war-torn eastern Aleppo region of Syria. US Central Command concluded [JURIST report] in November that airstrikes carried out by the US-led coalition near Dayr az Zawr, Syria, in September did not violate international law. Also in November a group of German lawyers announced [JURIST report] the filing of charges against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, alleging that he committed war crimes in Aleppo.
On Wednesday, December 14, at 14.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference "The Results of Monitoring Visits to ORDLO (certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions) and 'Grey Areas'." Human rights activists will present results of monitoring human rights observance in the so-called DPR and LPR and towns along the contact line as a result of joint trips to the areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions both those controlled and those uncontrolled by the Ukrainian government. They will show videos, photos and talk about the living conditions, the main problems with human rights in these territories. The participants will include Director of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group Yevhen Zakharov, Chairman of the Board of the "Memorial" Human Rights Centre (Moscow) Oleg Orlov, deputy director of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group Oleksandr Pavlichenko, an expert of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group Yuriy Aseyev (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. More information by email: media.creative2011@gmail.com (Yuriy Aseyev).
General Mills has announced plans to reorganise its business in a move the US company said would enable it to capitalise on its international presence. But will it address some of the fundamental issues limiting growth at the Cheerios-to-Yoplait maker? Katy Askew reports.

General Mills signalled its intention to revamp its operations last week when the US company set out a new organisational structure it said would drive greater efficiency at the business.

From 1 January, General Mills will have four business groups  North America retail, Europe & Australia, Asia & Latin America and Convenience & Foodservice. Each unit will be led by a group president who will report into General Mills overall president and COO Jeff Harmening.

In addition, General Mills, which owns the Yoplait yogurt and Haagen-Dazs ice cream brands, said its dairy strategic brand unit would be aligned to the new structure. The France-based unit, which will also report to Harmening, will work alongside the presidents of each of the four divisions to explore further opportunities to drive growth and innovation for the dairy platform globally, General Mills said.

The new structure will also have a global revenue development group, which will look at areas including strategic revenue management, e-commerce and marketing innovation.

Harmening, a 20-year General Mills veteran, was appointed to the newly-created role of COO this summer and rumours have focused on the likelihood of him taking the reins as CEO from Ken Powell as early as next year. In this context, it seems likely General Mills wants to centralise the decision-making process for its global brands under one leader.

This direction of travel was first signalled in June when Harmenings COO appointment was announced. Speaking at the time, Powell noted: The timing is right to bring together overall operations under one leader. Jeff is well positioned to accelerate our global consumer-first strategy to drive both growth and profitability.

The move will advance General Mills efforts to lower its cost base, the company suggested. Harmening explained: The capability investments and savings generated by these changes will help us deliver our fiscal 2018 adjusted operating profit margin target of 20%.

In its most recent financial update, for the first quarter to 28 August, General Mills revealed it has been making progress on further strengthening its margins, which rose in the companys last full financial year. During the three-month period, General Mills said its adjusted operating profit margin expanded 80 basis points to 19.2%.

In recent years, the company has been focusing on removing excess capacity in its manufacturing network and those moves have continued in 2016. Earlier this summer, General Mills said it will close a US soup factory in Vineland, New Jersey. Streamlining its international operations has also been a priority. For example, in Brazil, General Mills plans to close one of its snacks manufacturing facilities and cease production operations on certain snacks and meals lines at another facility. The group is reorganising its Chinese snack business and stopping production of underperforming products in the market. Meanwhile, in Australia, General Mills is to close a pasta, sauces and ready meals facility located near Melbourne.

The lean approach to manufacturing is a key element in General Mills drive to cut costs. The group is also implementing a process of zero-based budgeting, which it says is delivering savings, as well as continuing with its existing holistic margin management model.

According to Morningstar analyst Erin Lash the approach has become typical of US food makers with firms across the category taking a hard look at their cost structures to drive efficiencies. However, she tells just-food, stringent cost management must be balanced against the need to invest for growth.

Our contention has been that in light of the intense competitive landscape, continued brand spending will be necessary to ensure that competitive advantages dont get eaten up, and driving cost savings helps to free-up funds to fuel that spending, she suggests.

Consumer preferences are evolving at a rapid clip, and we think the onus is on packaged-food manufacturers like General Mills to ensure that new products consistently resonate with consumers. But just bringing on-trend products to market is insufficient to winning in this marketplace, as even value-added new products can fail if consumers dont know about them. In this light, we believe that maintainingor even increasingits brand spending will be crucial to beef up brand awareness.

While theoretically cost savings could be re-invested in brand spending, to date, there is little evidence to suggest that is what General Mills is doing and the companys sales have struggled as a result. The company reported a 7% drop in first-quarter net sales with sales down 4% on an organic basis stripping out currency exchange. During the period, the company cut controllable costs to inflate profits  including a double-digit decrease in marketing behind its foundation businesses  refrigerated dough, soup and baking mixes in US retail  and its US yogurt operations.

The risk here is General Mills lower media spend will further dampen the companys ability to deliver sales growth in businesses that are already struggling to expand.

As Morgan Stanley Research analysts noted: The companys planned double-digit reduction in media spend could represent a mid-term headwind as the company seeks to moderate sales declines across both its growth [and] foundation brands and support improved retail takeaway.

General Mills did, nevertheless, insist last week the move to reorganise the business is also about delivering growth. Harmening explained: We continue to prioritise both growth and returns. The structural changes announced today will help us unlock global growth opportunities and go after them by efficiently restructuring our teams and processes.

It would seem General Mills is attempting to get the best of both worlds through trying to use its understanding of local markets and its global reach. By establishing regional teams General Mills will hope increased on-the-ground visibility will enable it to respond to local conditions in order to effectively manage the business. Meanwhile, the global revenue development group will be able to use global learnings to drive growth areas such as e-commerce.

At the same time, the company has separated out its convenience and foodservice units. Foodservice, in particular, is increasingly a growth area for packaged food manufacturers and the growing worldwide reach of large foodservice operators makes a strong argument for a unified global approach that utilises General Mills global footprint.

General Mills has placed a lot of emphasis on improving its margins and the new corporate structure is likely to contribute towards that. But unless General Mills is also willing to increase investment behind its brands  both in terms of NPD and marketing  it seems unlikely the group will be able to reverse the underlying sales declines it is witnessing.
Australian baked goods group Patties Foods has acquired New Zealand frozen convenience food producer Leader Products for an undisclosed sum.

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Major trends in the market including rapid delivery, ambient retailing, supply chain disruption, and inflation Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. The food and grocery sector thrived during the pandemic, largely due to the shutdown of the food service industry and the sectors subsequent necessity, panic-induced bulk purchasing, and spending more time at home. The market has grown as a result of inflation. Consumer unwillingness to go out and socialize, and the reopening of several hospitality facilities, helped maintain the demand for groceries, particularly online, in 2021. As consumer behavior changes, we consume more food and drink at home, and inflation increases basket sizes. GlobalData predicts that the sector will continue to hold a higher share than had been predicted prior to the pandemic. This is true despite the fact that the food and grocery sector's share of overall retail will decline from its peak in 2020. This report will discuss market forecasts and key themes in the global food & grocery industry in 2022 and beyond. It covers:Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. by GlobalData Enter your details here to receive your free Report. Please enter a work/business email address Country United Kingdom United States Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D"ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People"s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People"s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Download free Report By clicking the Download Free Report button, you accept the terms and conditions and acknowledge that your data will be used as described in the GlobalData privacy policy By downloading this Report, you acknowledge that we may share your information with our white paper partners/sponsors who may contact you directly with information on their products and services.



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Patties, which was acquired by Pacific Equity Partners earlier this year, said the acquisition of Leader Products is expected to be completed in early 2017 subject to regulatory approval.

Leader Products was established by Tony Peterson and Richard Crabb in 1998. Peterson will remain managing director and maintain a stake in the combined business.

Patties CEO Paul Hitchcock said the companies were natural partners  both focused on manufacturing high-quality frozen foods known and loved by customers.

Hitchcock said: We believe the combination of Patties and Leader will provide significant growth opportunities for both companies given our complementary savoury meals and snack products, manufacturing operations and sales footprints. This deal will create a market-leading food business across Australia and New Zealand.

Leader Products range includes meatballs, burger patties, toppas , finger foods and meal solutions under the brands Leader, Tonys Tucka and Kauri Coast. The company supplies grocery retailers, distributors, sporting stadiums, convenience stores, cafes, hotels, restaurants and caterers in New Zealand, Australia and Asia.

Brands in the Patties portfolio include Fourn Twenty, Patties, Herbert Adams, Nannas and Chefs Pride.

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Thai Union Group, the owner of seafood brands such as John West and Chicken of the Sea, has made a commitment to source 100% of its branded tuna from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council or taking part in programmes moving them towards MSC certification.

The Thai seafood giant said it wants a minimum of 75% of the tuna it sources for its brands to fall into this category by 2020. Thai Union also revealed plans to invest US$90m in initiatives such as 11 new so-called fishery improvement projects.

Tuna is the most readily available source of protein for millions of people around the world, and at least 1bn depend on seafood for nourishment or employment. As a leader in the seafood industry, Thai Union has a responsibility to protect tuna stocks for the good of the world, Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri said. Our substantial investment will transform tuna sourcing for the entire industry and demonstrates our strong commitment to the sustainability of our oceans.

The way Thai Union sources its tuna has come under scrutiny, with the company facing criticism from campaigners. In October last year, Thai Union Groups UK unit John West and Princes, the UK food and drink group, came under fire from Greenpeace over their tuna sourcing and sustainability pledges.

In August Greenpeace wrote an open letter to US retailers and foodservice operators to encourage them to stop selling brands of tuna produced by firms that refuse to drop opposition to sustainability. In the letter, Greenpeace urged Chicken of the Sea, a US subsidiary of Thai Union, to clean up its act.

A month earlier in the UK some John Wests tuna products were removed from Tesco stores in the UK after the company failed to meet the retailers sustainability standards.

And last month, Greenpeace, a vocal critic of Thai Union, broadened its campaign to attack Sainsburys for stocking the Thai groups John West brand in the UK.

The Bangkok-based seafood processor is also taking action on tuna traceability and is implementing the use of new technologies to strengthen traceability.

Currently only 11 tuna fisheries globally are MSC certified, supplying just 14% of globally landed tuna. Our commitment and strategy will have a positive impact on the entire industry by significantly increasing the supply of sustainable tuna available to the seafood processors, retailers and, ultimately, consumers, said Darian McBain, Thai Unions global director for sustainable development.

Thai Unions new tuna commitment will apply to all of its tuna brands sold around the world, including Chicken of the Sea, Genova, John West, Mareblu, Petit Navire and Sealect.

Officials at Greenpeace had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.
KYIV. Dec 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) - ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) has started building the second continuous-casting machine and a ladle furnace with an annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of steel investing over $100 million.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih CEO Paramjit Kahlon said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine last week the company has not yet selected the supplier of the equipment.

The enterprise intends to finish the project in Q2 2018.

He added that the enterprise continues modernizing other facilities, particularly the converter shop, investing in rolling mills and building other new facilities.

"We have built one coke-oven battery. We will build another one. Only we in Ukraine are building coke-oven batteries. Total investment is $170 million," Kahlon said.

"We are doing our best to finish modernization as soon as possible," the top manager said.

He said that there is a lack of skilled staff, in particular, contractors do not have them. This slows the implementation of investment projects. Kahlon urges the state to pay attention to training of employees and not to strangle business. Otherwise nothing positive would be seen, he said.
(Xinhua) 20:21, December 12, 2016

TOKYO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Association announced in Kyoto on Monday that the Chinese character or kanji "kin" meaning gold or money was selected as kanji of the year which best summarizes the year's national mood in Japan, local media reported.

According to the Kyoto- based organization, the selection was based on votes cast by the general public. The character "kin" meaning gold or money won 6,655 of the 153,562 votes received in total this year and was chosen as kanji of the year.

It is the third time that "kin" has been selected as kanji of the year following the year 2000 and 2012.

The kanji-of-the-year selection event has been held annually since 1995.

Last year, the character meaning "safety" was chosen due to people's concern about safety issues as the risks of Japan being involved in a war or suffering from terrorist attacks have been significantly increased following the controversial security-related bills forced through the parliament. Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 12 -- Former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres was sworn in as the new secretary-general of the United Nations at an oath of office ceremony here on Monday.

Witnessed by senior diplomats of member states and senior UN officials, Guterres repeated the oath after current General Assembly President Peter Thomson.

With his left hand putting on a copy of UN Charter and his right hand up in the air, Guterres pledged as follows.

"I, Antonio Guterres, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions entrusted to me as Secretary-General of the United Nations, to discharge these functions and regulate my conduct with the interests of the United Nations only in view, and not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the performance of my duties from any government or other authority external to the organization."

On Oct. 13, the UN General Assembly appointed Guterres as the 9th secretary-general of the United Nations to succeed retiring Ban Ki-moon who is to step down at the end of this year.

The five-year term for Guterres will start on Jan. 1, 2017 and end on Dec.31, 2021.

Guterres, a 67-year-old politician, served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

After swearing-in, Guterres told the 193-member UN General Assembly that he is deeply honored by the trust and confidence member states have placed in him, and is "determined to be guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter."

Guterres said the priority for the United Nations is to address root causes of multiple global challenges through three pillars -- peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.

He pledged that he will lead the UN to reform its system to better support the world's sustainable development agenda as well as the Paris climate deal.

He also promised to conduct a management reform to make the United Nations "nimble, efficient and effective, adding that the organization" must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy."

Speaking of China's role in UN affairs, Guterres told reporters here that "China is strongly engaged in creating or helping creating conditions for an effective multi-lateral approach to global development."

Noting his recent visit to China, Guterres said it was very clear that China has committed a lot to strengthening multilateralism around the world by creating a new bank and relative funds as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Guterres' swearing in came after the UN General Assembly paid tribute to Ban for his decade-long service for the largest international organization.

Ban said he has been honored to serve alongside many courageous and talented women and men of the United Nations over the past ten years and he has seen "the power of international cooperation in taking on the most pressing challenges."

Ban wished the new secretary-general and all the UN member states "peace, prosperity and every success and concluded his speech with saying "thank you" in six UN official languages.

Ban served two five-year terms since 2007.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday said that both Switzerland and China should jointly voice their opposition to protectionism, and actively explore more efforts to safeguard the world's free trade mechanism.

Meeting with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann on Monday, Wang said that the two sides should play their respective advantages so as to provide a new impetus to the world economic growth.

The Chinese foreign minister paid an official visit to Switzerland from Dec. 10 to 12 at the invitation of his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter.

Calling Switzerland an important cooperation partner of China in Europe, Wang said China has long considered that its ties with Switzerland takes the lead in the development of China-Europe relations.

Earlier in April this year, during the state visit of Schneider-Ammann to China, both countries confirmed to establish an innovative strategic partnership, the first of its kind China has ever developed with a foreign country.

The Sino-Swiss relations have become a successful win-win model for different social systems, different stages of development and different sizes of countries in terms of peaceful coexistence and cooperation, Wang said.

He added that in the future China is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with the Swiss side, and deepen all-round cooperation in various fields.

During their talks, Schneider-Ammann spoke about the initial effects of the free-trade agreement with China and noted that there had been a promising increase in Swiss exports to the Chinese market since the agreement's entry into force.

According to the latest figures provided by the Swiss government, in the economic domain, China is Switzerland's biggest trading partner in Asia.

During the visit, Wang also met with Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter on Monday and discussed bilateral relations and issues of common concern.

He also met with the top officials of the United Nations Office at Geneva, the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee.
Australian government thanks China for its contribution to search for MH370

(Xinhua) 10:49, December 13, 2016

The Australian government on Tuesday thanked China for the services of survey vessel Dong Hai Jiu, which has been described as invaluable in the ocean search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Australia's Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester said Dong Hai Jiu had assisted the search operations since February 2016, scanning broad tracks of the Southern Indian Ocean floor using deep tow sonar equipment before undertaking more detailed inspections at points of interest using a Remotely Operated Vehicle.

According to the government, the search vessel has now completed its missions and is currently returning to Shanghai.

"The Dong Hai Jiu 101 has provided significant assistance in the search for the missing aircraft," Chester said in a statement.

"This final detailed inspection, which commenced in late October from (the Western Australian city of) Fremantle, has been invaluable undertaking 33 dives in the 120,000 square-kilometer search area."

Chester said Dutch ship Fugro Equator and its Autonomous Underwater Vehicle would continue the underwater search for MH370, however more than 115,000 square km of the 120,000-square km search zone have so far been examined.

He said the search within the designated 120,000-square km zone is expected to be completed in early 2017.

"Should the aircraft not be located in the current 120,000 square-kilometer search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search will be suspended," Chester said.

MH370 was a scheduled passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. It disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.
[File photo]

Tuesday marks the 79th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre.

A series of memorial activities are being staged in the city, where more than 300,000 people, mostly disarmed soldiers and civilians, were murdered in the space of just six weeks in 1937 by Japanese forces.

79 years ago today, Japanese troops broke into Nanjing and then started a six-week massacre in the capital of then Nationalist government.

Chinese records show more than 300,000 disarmed soldiers and ordinary people were killed while thousands of women were raped.

Since the beginning fo December, wish walls have been erected in some of the city's busiest subway stations, inviting passengers to put up notes or writing down how they feel about the bloodshed as well as their wishes for the future.

One of the walls has been placed in Guo Xiang's station.

"Our Xinjiekou subway station is the largest in passenger flow in Nanjing, with about 130,000 people passing here a day. We have put up the wall at the No. 24 exit, where the passenger flow is not very big. Although not so big, it has won enthusiastic response. See that part of the wall, it is full, with some people leaving notes wishing for peace in the world."

Cong Xiaoyu is a local resident.

"The Nanjing massacre is, in fact, a matter concerning the whole world, as it was the result of war. This time every year, the sirens are sounded and all the vehicles have to stop to observe a minute of silence mourning the victims. We have experienced the event from the day we were born. We will never forget it."

The wish walls are part of the series of memorial activities this month.

Over the weekend, 110 new names were added to a memorial wall at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, bringing the total number of names inscribed on the wall to 10,615.

The "wailing wall", as it's known, was set up in 1995 with an initial 3,000 names inscribed on it, representing the 300,000 victims of the massacre.

More names were added in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014, after the identities of more victims were confirmed.

91-year-old Yang Cuiying is a massacre survivor.

"As long as I am alive, I will tell more people about my experiences in the Nanjing Massacre, tell them never to forget the history."

This year's third memorial day comes just a few days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a planned visit to the U.S. Pearl Harbor later this month, reportedly to remember the thousands killed by Japan's surprise attack 75 years ago.

The Chinese authorities have called on Japan to make a deep self-examination of what it also did during the World War II to the Chinese people.

On Monday, a new book on the Nanjing massacre was published, consisting of around 200 documents and images from China, Japan and other countries which participated in the post-war trials.

Coinciding with the anniversary, a new three-episode documentary providing rare footage of the Tokyo Trials will begin airing across the country.

It contains some rare footage that will be broadcast for the first time in China.
"Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad (2016)" was released by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) in Beijing on Dec. 12, 2016. (file photo)

In 2015, a total of 1.26 million Chinese students studied abroad, accounting for about 25 percent of all international students worldwide. According to an annual report by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), China has become the single largest source of overseas students.

The report, released on Dec. 12 and titled "Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad (2016)," was jointly published by CCG and the Social Science Academic Press (China). It is the fifth version of the research report, which was first published in 2012.

According to CCG's research, China is the largest source of overseas students in English-speaking countries including the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia. It is also the top source for Asian countries including Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Statistics show that Chinese students account for more than 30 percent of total overseas students in the U.S. and Canada, and about 62 percent of international students in South Korea in 2015.

The report pointed out that China has been the largest source of overseas students in the U.S. for seven consecutive years, and the number of Chinese students earning bachelor's degrees surpassed the number of those doing graduate studies for the first time last year.

Meanwhile, the number of younger students studying abroad is rising every year. A study conducted by CCG and MyCOS showed a significant increase in Chinese students studying in high schools outside of China. The proportion of Chinese students going abroad for high school jumped from 17 percent in 2012 to 27 percent in 2015. Data released last year by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicates that the number of Chinese students in middle and high schools in the U.S. has increased threefold in the last five years.

The report notes that from 1978 to the end of 2015, more than 4 million Chinese students went abroad to study. Among them, 126,430 students are still in school, and 221,860 have returned to China since finishing their studies. The total number of returning students has increased significantly since the academic exodus began. Good job opportunities and international remuneration are the main factors attracting returnees. Also playing a role are favorable measures including the liberalization of immigration restrictions, support for scientific research, the abolition of household registration restrictions and more.

Most returnees choose to work in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. They are mainly involved in the financial, manufacturing, education and scientific industries. More than 60 percent work in grassroots positions with salaries that fall short of their expectations, according to the report.
OMAHA -- Rhianda Dillard was a straight-A student from Mississippi who loved her new life as a computer specialist with Offutt Air Force Bases 55th Wing.

But less than five months after arriving in Bellevue, the 20-year-old airman 1st class was found dead in her Offutt dorm.

On Tuesday, officials with the 55th Wing revealed that her death on Aug. 1 was a homicide, and that another 20-year-old service member, Airman 1st Class Timothy M. Wilsey, had been charged with premeditated murder in connection with her death.

Her mother, Elizabeth Dillard, has no idea why anybody would have killed her daughter.

All of her friends, they couldnt believe it, said Dillard, reached by telephone from her home in southern Mississippi.

Dillard said Rhianda turned down college scholarships to join the Air Force after graduating in 2015 from DIberville High School, near the coastal city of Biloxi. She picked the Air Force because she liked the way the names of pilots are sometimes emblazoned on their aircraft.

She said, Id like to have my name on one of those airplanes,  Dillard recalled.

Rhianda Dillard scored high enough on her military aptitude tests to choose her career field. She was interested in robotics, her mother said, and enjoyed her work as a cybersystems operations specialist assigned to the 55th Strategic Communications Squadron. She had been stationed at Offutt since March 14.

She loved the Air Force, she loved what she had done, Elizabeth Dillard said. She would call me every day and tell me how wonderful it was.

Since they talked every day, Dillard was surprised when she didnt hear from Rhianda over the weekend of July 30-31. She texted Rhianda and asked her to call but got no response.

On Monday, someone from the Air Force came and knocked on her door in Mississippi.

They told me my baby died, Dillard said.

She learned from her daughters friends that a fellow airman had summoned a sergeant when Rhianda didnt respond to a knock on the door of her Offutt dorm room. They found her dead in her room.

Rhianda had never mentioned Wilsey to her mother, but Elizabeth Dillard said friends told her he was part of a large group of Offutt airmen who socialized together.

My daughter didnt date, so they werent together or anything, Dillard said.

She later learned that Wilsey  a member of the 55th Intelligence Support Squadron  had been seen escorting Rhianda to her dorm room on the afternoon of Friday, July 29.

Thats the last time anyone saw Rhianda alive, she said. Wilsey disappeared, too.

The Air Forces Office of Special Investigations said Wilsey, who is from Valdosta, Georgia, deserted that day. He was arrested 11 days later in Emporia, Virginia. He was returned to Offutt and has been held there since, base officials said.

Elizabeth Dillard said she was told two or three months ago that Wilsey would be charged with her daughters death, though the charges werent made public until Tuesday.

Wilsey is charged with premeditated murder and desertion under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the criminal code which covers military service members, 55th Wing officials said in a press release.

Charges in the case have been preferred, which means Wilsey has been formally charged with criminal allegations following the OSI investigation. The next step is a preliminary hearing to conduct an inquiry into the charges. That hasnt yet been scheduled, said Drew Nystrom, a 55th Wing spokesman.

The charges may eventually be referred to a court-martial panel that includes officers and may also include senior enlisted personnel. They would act as a jury in a proceeding presided over by a military judge.

Wilseys family could not be reached Tuesday. Elizabeth Dillard said she plans to attend the court-martial. She hopes to find out why her daughter was killed.

Hes not talking, she said.

The OSI has not released results of Rhiandas post-mortem toxicology reports, and the Air Force has not disclosed how she died.

Dillard said she has been told but didnt want to discuss it.

She prefers to remember Rhianda in happier times.

I want everybody to know my daughter was a sweet, kind child who wouldnt hurt anybody, Dillard said. She loved everybody, and everybody loved her.

World-Herald staff writer Alia Conley contributed to this report.
with Jenn Welch  Hugging boundaries; how to fall asleep; its safe to say Merry Christmas again; police buy homeless man a pair of socks; Tinder in the sky; how to be a vigilante; male policeman greets female pizza deliverer naked; ridable Titanic simulation

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FILE - In this Wednesday, May 13, 2015, file photo, bottles of Bayer aspirin appear on display on a shelf in the employee shop at the Bayer Pharmaceuticals facility in Whippany, N.J. On Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, Monsanto Co. shareholders approved a $57 billion merger with Bayer AG, a deal that would combine two of the world's biggest agricultural companies. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
Billionaire Chen Tianqiao, who recently donated $115 million to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the U.S., has incited a heated debate among Chinese scientists.

The donation was "a mix of surprise and regret," said Qiu Zilong, a research fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai, after it was announced on Dec. 7. Around the same time, a remark made by Rao Yi, the president of life sciences at Peking University, went viral.

"Chen Tianqiao has made a mistake by funding Caltech instead of a Chinese institute," he argued. Rao claimed that, compared with the mature and advanced research in the U.S., China's research on biology and neuroscience is still on the rise, and therefore needs more funds.

Qiu said the donation was a private matter and should not be publicly scrutinized, but he hopes it will serve as an incentive to build a more complete and transparent funding system in China.

The U.S. does have a mature donation system, which helps to explain why Chen chose an American institute, most scientists say. Those in China's scientific community also suggested that Chinese entrepreneurs take an active role in funding scientific research projects.
A flu shot is administered in Barre, Vt., Nov.18, 2004. It's that time of year again, time for Canadians to think about getting that jab in the arm to protect themselves against that dreaded winter scourge ??? the flu. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Toby Talbot
Extravagant milkshakes and multi-layered sandwiches will continue to push consumers to a whole new level of conspicuous consumption in 2017. Shown here, for example, is a candy-crusted glass of vanilla ice cream swirled with hot fudge sauce, topped with whipped cream, Oreo cookies, charred marshmallows, a large lollipop and sparklers for added decadence. The sandwich features layers of lettuce, tomato, mayo, bacon, chicken and steak between three grilled-cheese buns topped with a butter-poached lobster tail. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-THP, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
A young man smokes a marijuana joint during a rally in downtown Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday April 20, 2011. A federal task force on legalized recreational marijuana is recommending storefront and mail-order sales to Canadians 18 years and older, with personal growing limits of four plants per person. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Human rights undertakings require a sound global environment, and all countries need to launch equal-footed dialogues, cooperation and exchanges based on respect to each others independently chosen path, the Peoples Daily said in a commentary published on Saturday, the 68th International Human Rights Day.

The West has no grounds to monopolize the rights of speech in terms of human rights as their so-called superiority can rightly serve as evidence for barbarism, the article under the byline of Zhong Sheng stressed.

The following is a translation of the article:

December 10 marks the 68th International Human Rights Day, a day that reminds us to respect the course of human rights undertakings.

Mankind shares a common goal to enjoy human rights. To realize this objective, the world should boost exchanges of diversified civilizations, bolster collaboration on human rights and build a healthy and effective governance system, so that international human rights undertakings can progress in a smooth way.

Meanwhile, current international exchanges on human rights are far from ideal. Some Westerners, in particular, have turned a blind eye to the 800 million people who are still suffering from hunger around the globe, and have not paid serious attention to the issues of refugee crisis, terrorism, xenophobia and racism. But all these predicaments come down to human rights challenges.

They, though dubbing themselves as lecturers in human rights, in fact resort to it as a tool to play politics, adopt double standards and interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries by using human rights as an excuse.

The West has no grounds to monopolize the rights of speech in terms of human rights. Scholar Perry Anderson said in a recent commentary that the human rights discourse in todays world is a contemporary version of the civilization standards of the 19th century.

Back at the end of the 19th century, European jurists pigeonholed countries as civilized, barbaric and savage by comparing them with a European standard, but history has proven that such logic is absurd and unjust.

However, some Westerners, up to now, failed to realize that their so-called superiority and classification are the best evidence of their barbarism.

The Western world imagined itself as a standard of human rights, but failed to withstand the test. All kinds of deep-rooted plights they encountered in the past year have exposed their shortcomings. Racial conflicts and uncontrolled use of firearms have split the US public, while the refugee crisis is torturing the conscience of Europe.

Because of these twisted social values, widening disparity between the rich and the poor and other escalated challenges, the public are increasing their hatred toward the mainstream, establishment and politics after a host of elections have brought institutional flaws in the voting democracy of Western countries to light. The world is now alert to its emerging chaos.

What is ridiculous is that any time Western countries met with a predicament, their mainstream voice will exaggerate or make up some questions of other nations. They are now in dead ends that always blame others like Moscow and Beijing, but ignore their own flaws.

In terms of international human rights, it means that there is no one-size-fits-all" path in the world. What the world can do is to pursue a no best, but better protection of human rights.

The world has learned not a few lessons caused by copying other development models regardless of the reality. In those harrowing cases, social unrest was triggered because the borrowed system cannot acclimatize to national conditions. The involved nations, as a result, failed to secure their people with the right to survive and develop, not to mention political rights.

But there are indeed a number of successful cases. The international community recognized that by combining the universal principle with the Chinese reality, China has boosted its economic and social progress, improved its peoples livelihoods, bolstered social justice, optimized protection of law-based human rights, pursued economic, social and cultural rights as well as civic and political rights in parallel, and significantly strengthened protection of peoples rights to survive and develop, thus finding out a unique path suitable to Chinas conditions.

Human rights undertakings require a sound international environment. All countries can only seek shared progress by launching equal-footed dialogues, cooperation and exchanges based on respect to each others development path, social value, historical and cultural traditions, as well as political systems.
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The 3-D-printed blood vessel (Photo/People's Daily Overseas Edition)

Kang Yujian, chief scientist and CEO of Chinese biotech company Revotek, recently announced a breakthrough in China's 3-D-printed blood vessel project. According to the announcement, the team has successfully transplanted 3-D-printed blood vessels into rhesus monkeys, and the vessels have achieved regeneration, the People's Daily Overseas Edition reported on Dec. 13.

Produced by a 3-D bio-printer with the company's own stem cell bio-ink technology, the blood vessels have been integrated into the monkeys' abdominal aortas. The structure and biological functions of the printed vessels are the same as those of real blood vessels.

According to Kang, Revotek has transplanted 3-D-printed vessels into 30 rhesus monkeys, and all the monkeys survived. The technology has yielded a method to achieve the endothelialization of artificial blood vessels, and will benefit about 1.8 billion patients with cardiovascular disease. The stem cell technology breakthrough will lead human beings into a new medical era featuring tissue manufacturing and organ repair.

Revotek signed a technology development contract with West China Hospital in May of this year, officially starting the blood vessel experiment. Researchers made bio-ink from the rhesus monkeys' own stem cells, and replaced a portion of their abdominal aortas with the 3-D-printed artificial blood vessels.
A joint military exercise was held on Dec. 9 (local time) at a port in San Diego, joined by Chinese naval ships and American Bunker Hill Cruise. The exercise was in accordance with the Rules for China-U.S. Unplanned Encounters at Sea, as well as the Safety Code of Conduct on China-U.S. Encounters at Sea and in Air.

The joint exercise was the outcome of a leaders' meeting between China and the U.S. earlier in 2016. Fleet communication, formation movement, formation aerial photography and joint search-and-rescue were the main components of the exercise, according to China's Ministry of Defense.

Rules for China-U.S. Unplanned Encounters at Sea include a set of normative operation procedures, aiming to minimize risks and lower the possibility of unintended maritime clashes. The Safety Code of Conduct on China-U.S. Encounters at Sea and in Air is one of the two "mutual-trust mechanisms between the Chinese and American militaries.

The Peoples Liberation Army Navy commissioned ship formation, including Taihu, Daqing and Yancheng, all joined the friendly visit to the U.S. During the visit, Tyson, the commander of the U.S. Third Fleet, visited Yancheng and attended a deck reception on board. Controllers of the Chinese naval formation, including Huang Jianxing, paid a visit to senior officials such as Bynum, commander of the U.S. Carrier Strike Group.
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A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

The possibility of anesthetic neurotoxicity in infants and children  the supposition that anesthesia may alter normal activity in the nervous system  was first suggested more than 15 years ago with findings of increased neuronal cell death in the developing brains of rodents after they were exposed to ethanol at an early age. Similar findings in animal studies were subsequently identified in anesthetic agents and linked to long-term functional deficits in behavior, learning and memory. Since then, nearly all commonly used anesthetic agents have been evaluated and found to result in neurotoxic effects in a variety of animal species, including rhesus monkeys. Hundreds of animal studies have been published demonstrating these effects, with anesthetic doses relevant to humans and using monitoring standards similar to those used for clinical care in children. Despite the presence of this robust body of animal research, the clinical evidence in humans is much sparser.

Currently, there are a handful of published observational studies in human children and interim data from one clinical trial. The observational studies compare young children exposed to surgery and anesthesia with other children not exposed to surgery or anesthesia. However, the majority of these observational studies rely on data from pre-existing pediatric populations that were initially collected for other purposes. As a result, there is significant variation in the children studied, surgical procedures performed, types of anesthetic exposures, and neurodevelopmental tests used to assess the children.

It is therefore not surprising that the results of these studies are inconsistent, with some showing a slight increased risk of neurodevelopmental deficit after anesthesia and surgery, while others find no effect. In general, the studies having longer or multiple exposures and those with more robust or in-depth evaluations have typically found lower neurodevelopmental scores in exposed children. Whereas studies of brief, single anesthetic exposures, especially those with less precise tests of child brain development, have not found differences in exposed children.

For example, HealthDay recently reported on a Swedish study suggesting that children exposed to anesthesia before the age of 4 may have slightly lower school grades and IQ scores in their late teen years. The study found the average school grades were lower for those children that underwent more than one surgical procedure with anesthesia, but could not prove that exposure to anesthesia was responsible. This proves a major limitation exists in all the observational studies  even if exposed children are found to have worse neurodevelopmental outcomes, it is difficult to determine if it is due to surgery, the underlying medical condition, the anesthetic itself or another reason unrelated to surgery.

Clinical trials are the gold standard for determining causality, but are limited by cost and the length of time required to perform them. The General Anesthesia Compared to Spinal Anesthesia (GAS) study, which is currently the only ongoing clinical trial on anesthetic neurotoxicity in the pediatric population, recently published their interim analysis. In the study, infants undergoing hernia repair were randomized to a short sevoflurane gas anesthetic versus an awake regional anesthetic. The interim assessment found no measurable neurodevelopmental difference at two years of age; however, this age may be too young to measure higher level brain function, such as language and complex decision-making, suspected to be impacted by anesthesia. The results from a primary assessment of the children to be performed at age five are expected in the next few years.

To summarize the published clinical data, there is still insufficient evidence to prove that anesthetic neurotoxicity exists in children, but given the remaining gaps in the literature, there is also not enough evidence to rule it out. Some recent research, including an Anesthesiology study which suggested that general anesthesia in young children is not associated with significant neurodevelopmental concerns, provide reassurance that healthy children undergoing short, single exposures for minor procedures such as hernia repair are unlikely to suffer long-term neurodevelopmental issues. However, the neurotoxicity identified in animal models generally stems from anesthetic exposures that are of longer duration than those evaluated in the current observational studies and clinical trial. As a result, the impact of longer or multiple anesthetic exposures in children, if any, is still unclear.

A number of studies are ongoing and will address some gaps in knowledge, including the impact of multiple anesthetic exposures as well as proposed clinical trials to evaluate medications that could potentially mitigate the neurotoxic effects from anesthesia. Given the extended length of time between initial anesthetic exposure and the ability to assess higher-level cognitive functions, an important advancement would be the identification of a biomarker or imaging technique that could acutely recognize a neurotoxic event. This discovery would be invaluable in reducing the amount of time and costs associated with conducting clinical trials.

Since the existence of anesthetic neurotoxicity in children is still unclear, conversations with parents should be undertaken with care. Given the unclear benefit of such a discussion, there does not appear to be a compelling medical argument to actively raise this concern during the anesthetic consent process. If families or clinicians have questions about anesthetic neurotoxicity, physician anesthesiologists should be prepared to answer them and participate in discussions with the perioperative team. Conversations about modifying medical care should be undertaken with particular caution, as unintended harmful consequences may result from delaying necessary surgery or changing a patients anesthetic management. A 2015 consensus statement about the use of anesthetics in children is available from SmartTots, a collaborative effort between the International Anesthesia Research Society, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and many others working together to make anesthesia safer for infants and children. The consensus statement has been endorsed by a wide range of anesthesia and pediatric societies including the American Society of Anesthesiologists and Society for Pediatric Anesthesia.

Caleb H. Ing, Sean Flack, and Randall Flick are anesthesiologists.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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One of the topics that I write most about is the interaction of health care information technology with frontline clinical medicine, which I believe to be among the most critical issues facing the practice of medicine at the moment. With statistics now suggesting that doctors (and nurses) are spending an absolute minimal amount of their day engaging in direct patient care  some research suggesting as little as 10 percent for new doctors, with the majority of the rest staring at a screen  health care really finds itself at a crossroads. Do we stay true to our ideals as physicians, keeping medicine essentially a social and personable profession? Or do we reduce doctors to type and click bots who spend the vast bulk of their day performing data entry tasks and furiously clicking and checking off boxes instead of spending time with their patients and thinking problems carefully through?

Unfortunately, health care information technology in its current state has done more damage to the doctor-patient relationship than any other one thing over the last decade. Ask any doctor whos been around for a length of time (especially in a generalist specialty), and they will tell you straight up that IT represents one of their biggest daily frustrations. Its not that physicians are anti-technology (I certainly am not and love all my gadgets as much as the next person). Its just that the current crop of IT solutions are not reconciled and fully optimized with frontline clinical workflow. There are so many improvements that need to be made so that we can tip the balance back towards our patients while making the most of the amazing technology now at our fingertips.

An experience I had in the hospital drummed home this message for me. I found myself sitting next to two older physicians. They are both great doctors who Ive known for some time, and they both very much remind me of the old-school professors who taught me so much back in medical school. They are completely dedicated to their patients, extremely knowledgeable and are usually the last doctors to leave the hospital in the evening. There had been a small change in the computer system  small meaning not a new electronic medical record, but a tweak of the existing one  and I saw these two older physicians really struggling to navigate the system. It wasnt the most thought-out design (very few are, and Ive worked with nearly all major electronic medical records). These doctors needed a lot of help to work their way through it. Some other colleagues and I tried helping them, and after some time, they were able to figure things out. Frustrated, head in hands, they then bemoaned the current state of medicine and how issues like this were driving them toward retirement. I knew that these doctors were very old-school (old-school physicians are undoubtedly the best!), and they remarked how they hardly spent any time with their patients anymore. They were excellent doctors, and I knew their patients loved them.

As I watched them staring at the screen and struggling, I felt a mixture of emotions. At first, I felt sympathy  younger doctors dont like spending so much time staring at the screen either. Then, I felt disappointment. Disappointment that doctors like them, who believe in solid bedside medicine, physical examination and face-to-face communication skills are being replaced by type and click bot doctors. What will become of those great teachers of medicine who I learned so much from  those doctors who would spend most of their day interacting with patients on rounds and only a few minutes at a time writing notes and giving their orders? Finally, I began to feel a little fury inside of me. Fury that these two amazing doctors were frustrated, staring anxiously at their screen and spending their valuable time ticking boxes and clicking their mouse instead of sitting by the bedside and practicing the trade they are so good at. For every excess minute they spent on the computer, a patient was deprived of time with their trusted doctor.

As we stand at this crossroads in health care, lets not lose sight of the unbelievable work that doctors from this generation have done and how loved they are by their patients. We cant let the art of good and thorough bedside medicine go with them as they retire from clinical practice. Art is a good word actually. Despite all the technological advancements around us, medicine is still very much an art. In some ways, its a performance. The world of administrators and technologists need to understand this and work with frontline clinicians to keep humanity and personal relationships at the core of medicine. Nobody who goes to medical school anticipates spending 80-90% of their day sitting in front of a screen. No doctor, nurse or patient wants that. So what exactly are we doing here? When the old-school generation of doctors leaves, I fear for whats left and who our role models will be.

Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician and author of three books, including Thomas Jefferson: Lessons from a Secret Buddha. He is the founder and director, HealthITImprove, and blogs at his self-titled site, Suneel Dhand.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
China UnionPay, a major bank card association in China, has issued standards for QR payment, aiming to unify technical requirements and reduce payment risks caused by technical deficiencies of small and medium payment institutions. According to experts, the move will likely cause a stir in the nations mobile payment market, which has long been occupied by two Internet giants: Alibaba and Tencent.

At present, the payment market offers a tripartite-party model and a quarter-party model. Associations like UnionPay, Visa and MasterCard all use the latter model, while Alibabas Alipay, Tencents WeChat Wallet and other third-party payment institutions utilize the tripartite-party model, which connects to banks directly, bypassing bank card associations.

Compared to Alipay and WeChat, UnionPay's QR will be safer, said Dong Ximiao, a researcher from the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies under Renmin University. It allows payment via the swiping of a card, avoiding the financial risks of using a fiscal account.

As of June 2016, online payment users reached 455 million in China, of which mobile payment users surged to 424 million. Nearly 65 percent of Internet users utilize mobile payment tools. UnionPay cannot allow the fast-growing market to slip away.

With the entry of UnionPay, the duopoly pattern will be ended, and the market share of banking systems will be expanded, Dong said in an interview with Beijing Business.
St Lachtains N.S. in Freshford, County Kilkenny, became the latest school in the country to be presented with the Healthy Ireland Health Promoting Schools Flag.

The Healthy Ireland Health Promoting Schools (HPS) Flag is presented by the HSE to schools as an acknowledgement of their work in improving the health of their school communities. The HPS supports schools to focus on health and wellbeing and involves all members of the school community. Students, staff, parents and guardians are consulted to identify priority health areas. Over a period of around 2 school years, schools develop an action plan to address the health areas identified.

Schools are guided to address their priority area under the following evidence based categories: environment (social and physical) curriculum, policies and partnerships. Schools work at their own pace supported by the HSE Health Promotion & Improvement Dept. in each school, a HPS coordinator and HPS team lead out on the progression of health and wellbeing and this work is supported by the school principal, board of management and wider school community. European research has shown many benefits of the HPS - whole school approach to health. Chief among these benefits are increased self-esteem, safer and cleaner school environments, lowered incidences of bullying, a positive approach to health issues, increased parent involvement and better student/teacher relationships to name a few.

In St Lachtains N.S. some of the many health initiatives chosen to take on board in order to progress as a Health Promoting School include: 1. Promoting healthy eating and awareness of good nutrition; 2. Promoting and encouraging regular physical activity in school and outside of school; 3. Promoting good mental-health and wellbeing and raising self-esteem among children in the school.
[File photo]

The decision of Beijing authorities to list smog as a meteorological disaster has sparked strong disapproval among Chinese scholars, who believe that such a move could offer polluters a legal basis to avoid punishment.

According to the second version of the draft of the Beijing Meteorological Disasters Prevention and Control Regulations, released on Dec. 1, smog is defined as a meteorological disaster mainly caused by haze, blizzards or unfavorable meteorological conditions. Though cities including Tianjin have already listed smog as a meteorological disaster in local regulations, the State Council has yet to issue a similar national regulation.

'Meteorological disasters' are caused by natural conditions and cannot be controlled by human activity. Smog, on the other hand, is mainly caused by human activity, thus the plan to list it as a meteorological disaster not only goes against science, it will also create an excuse for polluters to escape their culpability, Zhang Zitai, a professor from Shanghai's Fudan University, told Legal Daily.

Once smog is listed as a natural disaster, risks and uncertainty will emerge in environmental lawsuits. As Chinas capital, Beijing should not adopt such a regulation, even though other cities have, said Zhu Xiao, a law professor from Renmin University.

In order to eradicate smog, the government should control or even stop the emission of pollutants. The government should be ready for a painful process to deal with pollution, eliminating the internal cause of smog, said Sun Youhai, a environmental law expert.
In good times and bad, and especially in uncertain times, a wise investor looks past the hustle and hype and goes for consistency. A thoughtful long-term dividend strategy can provide that for your portfolioand it's a particularly appealing approach in today's low-interest-rate environment.

The benefits of dividends are well-documented. Past performance doesn't indicate future results, but since 1960, 29% of Standard & Poor's 500-stock index's returns have come from dividends. They're known to provide a cushion against the scary ups and downs of the market, with lower volatility and a higher Sharpe ratio (risk versus return). And dividend payers tend to outperform non-dividend payers over the long run.

There are considerable tax benefits, as well. Qualified dividends are taxed as capital gains, often at a lower tax rate than interest and income tax. When it comes to legacy planning, inherited stocks can be passed on to your heirs at their current value, otherwise known as a step-up in basis. This potentially allows the estate to bypass paying capital gains on these holdings, leaving more money behind where you want itwith your children or other specified beneficiaries.

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A dividend strategy may seem a slow, perhaps even boring, way to invest. You won't see the crazy-high yields some stocks offerbut you likely won't experience the gut-punch lows, either. If you do your homework and choose well, that is.

Here are some things to take into consideration when deciding which dividend-paying companies you should invest in.

Don't chase yield.

A lot of people chase dividends. After all, you're in this to make money, right? But sometimes companies declare dividends to grab investor interest and boost share price. That burst of benevolence doesn't necessarily mean it's a strong company or a good long-term purchase. Do your research: Can the company afford to continue paying dividends? If it can't, bewarethere may be a dividend cut in your future. And the market has been known to punish companies for inconsistency.

Look for long-term stability.

Focus on the underlying strength of the business in which you are investing, not day-to-day or even year-to-year fluctuations. A mature company that has been delivering reliable dividends every year for decades isn't likely to stop. It's going to work very hard to maintain its reputation and not disappoint investors.

Target companies that increase their dividends over time.

Companies that increase dividends consistently dominate their industry. They tend to be more stable. They usually outperform the market; and when the market is down, they outperform the market even more. They have strong fundamentals, steady income streams and consistent earnings. And those reliable dividends are a good sign that management is looking out for its shareholders. (These stocks aren't inexpensive, of course. But they deliver the goods year after year, often for generations of investors.)

Watch out for overvalued stocks.

A lot of people are looking at dividend stocks right now because other yields are so low. The problem is that, when something is hot, it can become overvalued. Don't fall into the trap of looking only for a high-dividend payer. On the flip side, even consistent dividend payers can develop problems that can make them less profitable.

As with any financial strategy, education, balance and discipline are the keys when investing in dividend stocks. Do your homeworkand if you need help, a good financial professional will be happy to answer your questions.

Kurt Fillmore is founder and president of Wealth Trac Financial, an independent financial services firm based in Bingham Farms, Michigan, specializing in customized wealth management and retirement planning. He is an Investment Adviser Representative and licensed insurance professional.

Kim Franke-Folstad contributed to this article.

The appearances in Kiplinger were obtained through a PR program. The columnist received assistance from a public relations firm in preparing this piece for submission to Kiplinger.com. Kiplinger was not compensated in any way.
Most people don't have a lot of room for error when it comes to where and how they invest their money, especially as they grow older. Even people who do have a little cushion have no interest in needlessly losing money.

That's why when you go in search of investment advice you want to make certain you're getting the right guidance from the right person. And frankly, that's not always easy to determine.

You can better weigh a financial professional's recommendations if you find out a little bit about them before you start acting on their advice.

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With that in mind, here are five important questions you should ask a financial adviser:

1. Are you a fiduciary?

This question might not occur to everyone, but it can be helpful to understand that in the investment world, there are two standardsthe suitability standard and the fiduciary standard.

Financial professionals who operate under the suitability standard offer you products for sale from a range that is available from the company or companies they represent. They are paid commissions calculated as a percentage of the amount you pay to purchase the product. By law, the guidance they give and the products they sell you must be suitable for your needs, objectives and unique circumstances. Financial professionals operating under this standard would include insurance agents (producers), as well as brokers (registered representatives).

A financial professional operating under the fiduciary standard must present, by law, the best advice he or she can give, taking into consideration the needs, wants and objectives of the individual consumer. The client's needs and personal objectives must come first. Typically, fiduciaries are paid a recurring fee calculated as a percentage of the market-based assets for which he or she is providing advisory services (not commissions). Financial professionals operating under this standard would include investment adviser representatives.

2. How do you get paid for the services you provide?

This question is important because it's not just about the adviser's bottom line. It also affects your bottom line. Typically, there are three ways advisers make money: They charge the client a flat fee, perhaps based on an hourly rate for their advice; they charge the client a fee that is a set percentage of the assets under their management; or they make a commission for selling insurance products, mutual funds or other investments. When a fee is based on the percentage of the assets, not only does that eliminate the conflict of interest you can have with commissions, but it also ties the adviser's success to the client's success. Think of it this way: A broker who sells a financial product for a commission is unaffected by the losses or gains. But a fiduciary whose fee is determined by the value of the assets has an incentive to make sure the plan is in line with the client's financial goals.

3. What licenses or credentials do you have?

Do they have only a securities license? Just an insurance license? Can they provide services in both? You can do a little online research on a financial professional yourself. For example, FINRA.org has a free search tool called Broker Check (opens in new tab). Just type in a name to find background information about a financial professional. The Securities and Exchange Commission has a similar search tool called Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (opens in new tab). You also can visit your state's department of insurance website and verify whether an insurance producer is licensed.

4. Can you show me a sample financial strategy or plan?

Advisers should have a well-defined process they use when making recommendations. That doesn't mean they should have a cookie-cutter plan that they give out to everyonefar from it. Every client's goals and resources are different, so there should be a process for determining what's best for your situation. They should be able to show you what that process is or provide you a sample plan that demonstrates how they develop a recommendation to fit your situation.

5. Have your ever been publicly disciplined for illegal or unethical activities, or filed for bankruptcy?

It's amazing how many people who claim to be financial advisers can't handle their own money. In fact, it's downright scary seeing them give advice when their track records show they can't follow that advice themselves. You should be able to practice what you preach and have a good handle on what you're talking about before handing out advice to others.

Joshua M. Blaker is founder and president of Accrue Wealth Designs, a full-service financial advisory firm. He has passed the Series 65 securities exam, qualifying him as an Investment Adviser Representative in Arizona, and holds the Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) designation. He is also licensed as an Insurance Professional in multiple states for life and health insurance.
SYDNEY, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars were firm as their U.S. counterpart lost its mojo ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting starting later on Tuesday.

The Australian dollar nudged up to $0.7495, from Monday's low of $0.7431, edging closer to a one-month peak of $0.7510.

The 75 cents area has proved a strong chart barrier, and a sustainable break above would open the door to $0.7546, the 50 percent retracement of the November retreat from $0.7778 to $0.7311.

The Aussie drew support from rising commodity prices, particularly iron ore, Australia's largest export earner.

Also underpinning it were low short-term yields in the euro that reinforced the appeal of carry trades, where investors borrow euros and yen at cheap rates to invest in higher yielding currencies such as the Aussie and kiwi.

Yields on the 10-year New Zealand government bond reached 3.3 percent, the highest since January. The Australian equivalent fetched 2.8 percent , not far from a one-year peak of 2.9 percent touched on Monday.

The euro stood at A$1.4186 , having gone as far as A$1.4104 on Monday and nearing its lowest in 18 months.

Against the kiwi, the euro held at NZ$1.4788 and a break under NZ$1.4711 would be the lowest since May 2015. The euro is down around 7 percent this year.

The Antipodean currencies were also near multi-month peaks against the yen, last trading at 86.19 yen and 82.70 yen .

A survey showed Australian business conditions softened in November for a second month, while house prices moderated in the third quarter. The second-largest city of Melbourne showed the biggest increase, at 6.9 percent for the year. The New Zealand dollar stood at $0.7190, having risen 0.7 percent in the previous session. Resistance was found around 72 cents with support at $0.7140.

It is up 5.3 percent so far this year, largely due to its yield appeal and a robust domestic economy.

The kiwi easily weathered a national leadership change following last week's surprise resignation of Prime Minister John Key. On Monday, Bill English was confirmed as the new leader.

New Zealand government bonds edged up, sending yields between 2 and 3 basis points lower across the curve.

Australian government bond futures rose, with the three-year bond contract up 2.5 ticks at 98.055. The 10-year contract , which earlier on Tuesday touched an 11-month trough, gained 3 ticks to 97.1975.

The spread between 10- and 3-year bonds widened to 86 basis points, the largest in more than one year. The next big level is the July 2015 peak of 100 basis points.

(Editing by Richard Borsuk)
HANOI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official market and indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi at 0154 GMT.

Dec 13 Dec 12 USD/VND mid-point 22,120 22,125

USD/VND interbank 22,620/22,625 22,620/22,650 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.00/36.52 35.95/36.42

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016, the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank quotes are indicative bid/ask prices.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co, the gold manufacturer.

Interbank-offered rates are indicative, quoted from market sources.

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
HANOI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0407 GMT.

Dec 13 Dec 12 USD/VND mid-point 22,120 22,125 USD/VND interbank 22,640/22,660 22,125 USD/VND unofficial 23,230/23,270 23,230/23,270 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.10/36.62 35.95/36.42

Interbank offered rates Overnight 4.7-5.3 4.3-5.4

1 week 4.9-5.3 4.5-5.4

1 month 5.0-5.2 5.0-5.4

3 months 5.0-5.3 5.0-5.3

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Argentina will maintain subsidies to the country's oil producers next year, energy Minister Juan Jose Aranguren told reporters on Tuesday, ending speculation that the ministry was set to remove subsidies paid for by consumers at the gas pump.

A new subsidy deal is expected to be signed with oil companies next month, Aranguren said.

"A floor will be maintained at $55 per barrel for crude from the Neuquen basin and $47 per barrel for heavy crude," Aranguren told journalists after a meeting with oil company executives.

He said the subsidies should become moot in mid-2017, when he expects world oil prices to rise to subsidized levels.

Industry sources told Reuters last month that they expected oil subsidies to be reduced. Home heating oil and other subsidy cuts have been a key part of President Mauricio Macri's effort to close his government's budget deficit. The administration expects the shortfall to amount to 4.8 percent of gross domestic product at the end of December despite a sharp increase in end-of-year spending.

In a decree published on Monday, the government altered the budget to boost public spending by about 130 billion pesos ($7.9 billion) to pay subsidies and retirees and to service debt.

(Reporting by Juliana Castilla; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
HELSINKI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Finland's central bank said the economy had broken out of recession, though structural problems continued to slow the recovery, as it kept its growth forecasts largely unchanged on Tuesday.

The Nordic member of the euro zone is returning to growth after years of recession, exacerbated by the decline of Nokia's former phone business and a slowdown in neighbouring Russia.

The Bank of Finland said the economy would grow 1.0 percent this year and 1.3 in 2017, compared forecasts in June for 1.1 percent growth in both years.

For 2018 and 2019, the bank forecasts growth of 1.2 percent.

"The Finnish economy has returned to growth, driven by private consumption and investment. Growth will, however, remain slow relative to previous cyclical upswings and the rest of the euro area as structural problems in the economy and population ageing dampen recovery," the bank said in a statement.

Finnish GDP increased 0.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. From a year earlier, third-quarter GDP increased 1.6 percent. (Reporting by Tuomas Forsell; Editing by Jussi Rosendahl and Andrew Heavens)
Kirkland Lake: 2017 Output To Be 500,000 Or More Gold Ounces

Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (TSX: KL) says it is on track to become a mid-tier gold producer in 2017. "Following the successful merger with Newmarket Gold, I am very pleased to provide guidance of 500,000 - 525,000 ounces of quality gold production from our high-grade gold mines located in tier-one mining jurisdictions of Canada and Australia, says Tony Makuch, president and chief executive officer. The company says total operating costs are expected to be between $625 and $675 per ounce, with all-in sustaining costs of $950 to $1,000an ounce. The company plans growth and exploration expenditures of between $45 million and $55 million. Officials also announce the transitioning of the Stawell and Holloway gold mines to care and maintenance. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Atlatsa Reports Fatal Mine Accident Atlatsa Resources Corp. (TSX: ATL; JSE: ATL) reports that a miners assistant was killed in a water-related incident Friday at the Bokoni platinum mine's Brakfontein shaft. No other employees were injured. The company offers heartfelt condolences to the victims family, friends and colleagues. An investigation has begun, in conjunction with South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources, Atlatsa reports. Pending the outcome of the investigation, the mine has instituted its own internal audit and safety procedures in order to take the necessary remedial actions, the company adds. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

kitco news
WARSAW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Poland will likely kick off its next year's foreign debt issuance with a benchmark issue on the euro market in the first quarter, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said it may issue so-called green bonds designed to finance clean energy investments again in 2017 following an issue of 750 million euros worth of such bonds on Monday. "A significant redemption of euro-denominated bonds is to take place in March, so at the start of the year we will have more flexibility with respect to choosing the moment of issuing debt," the finance ministry said.

"Most likely we will start in the first quarter with a public benchmark issue on the euro market," the ministry said in a statement in response to questions sent by Reuters. "But we do not exclude more opportunistic actions."

Poland's financing plan envisages foreign bond issues worth an equivalent of about 4.5 billion euros next year.

(Reporting by Pawel Sobczak; Writing by Marcin Goettig)
(Adds detail)

By Huw Jones and Andreas Kroner

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Global banking regulators have softened proposed new capital rules in a bid to ease European concerns that extra demands would cause banks to crimp their lending, three sources said.

The Basel Committee of banking supervisors from nearly 30 countries met in Chile last month in an effort to complete new bank capital rules used by lenders in the world's major financial centres. It is now trying to pin down the details.

Among the most contentious elements proposed by the Basel Committee was a capital "output floor", which the sources told Reuters on Tuesday its members have now agreed to change.

They have also reached a preliminary deal on setting higher leverage ratios for the world's 30 top lenders, they added.

However, the Basel Committee's compromises could still change and will still need endorsement from the committee's oversight body, which is expected to meet on January 8.

The Committee, which had no comment on progress of the talks, is aiming to iron out differences in how banks tot up risks on their books without leading to a significant increase in overall capital requirements.

Basel Chairman Stefan Ingves said after the meeting in Chile that an outline deal was emerging, but gave no details as regulators raced to meet an end of year deadline. EU BOYCOTT THREAT

A top EU policymaker had threatened to boycott the new rules, saying they would hit the region's big banks hardest as they typically use their own computer models to calculate capital buffers, and have many home loans on their books.

Basel's proposed "floor" for capital is irrespective of what a bank's own model says is the right amount.

Sources said Basel members have agreed on starting this floor at 55 percent in 2020, rising by 5 percentage points to a maximum of 75 percent by 2025.

This means that capital cannot go below 75 percent of the amount that would be required if a bank had used the "standard" approach set out by regulators for totting up risks.

Basel had originally proposed a floor which would rise as high as 90 percent. There is also some relief for real estate loans in the latest compromise, the sources added.

A preliminary agreement on setting higher leverage ratios - a measure of capital to a bank's assets on a non-risk weighted basis - for the world's 30 top lenders, has also been reached, the sources said.

"Globally systemic" banks already face higher capital requirements which are linked to their size and complexity.

The additional leverage ratio will be equivalent to half of this surcharge, and added from 2020 to the 3 percent minimum level all banks have to comply with, the sources said.

For example, JPMorgan is in the highest bucket, with its surcharge set at 2.5 percent, and would therefore have a leverage ratio of 4.25 percent.

Most of the biggest banks have leverage ratios that already meet or exceed the surcharge.

German regulator BaFin, which has been a fierce critic of the Basel proposals said in a statement that "important questions" are still open.

(Editing by Alexander Smith)
The parents of Nie Shubin, a man who was wrongly executed 21 years ago for rape and murder, have hired two lawyers to apply for state compensation for their son's death.

On Dec. 11, Nie Xuesheng and Zhang Huanzhi, Nie's father and mother, entrusted lawyers Gu Guangwei and Wang Dianxue with their compensation case. The two lawyers told Beijing News that they will go to the Higher Peoples Court of Hebei province to apply for the compensation, which includes death compensation, funeral expenses, personal freedom compensation, Nie's parents living expenses and moral damages. The sum of 2,000 RMB, which Nies family paid to the victim of the rape case, will also be included.

According to Wang, the amount of the compensation has not yet been decided. Zhang said they are still discussing the amount, but she will include all items that meet the requirements.

Nie, a resident of Luquan County in Hebei province, was convicted of raping and murdering a woman in the Hebei provincial capital Shijiazhuang in 1995, and was executed the same year at the age of 21. The case reemerged in 2005 when another man, Wang Shujin, admitted guilt in the case, acknowledging that Nie was innocent. The Supreme Peoples Court decided to retry the case in June 2016, and finally announced Nie's innocence on Dec. 2, 2016.
North Kitsap girls soccer keeps state tourney streak alive

Four teams  North Kitsap, Bremerton, Olympic and Sequim  came away victorious in the first round of the Class 2A West Central District tournament.
Stuff reports:

A federal judge on Monday issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvanias presidential election, won by Republican Donald Trump, and scan some counties election systems for signs of hacking. In his 31-page decision, US District Judge Paul Diamond said there were at least six grounds that required him to reject the Green Partys lawsuit, which had been opposed by Trump, the Pennsylvania Republican Party and the Pennsylvania attorney generals office. Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election borders on the irrational while granting the Green Partys recount bid could ensure that that no Pennsylvania vote counts given Tuesdays federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College, Diamond wrote.

The recount application is delusional. You do recounts if the result is exceptionally close or there is actual proof of wrongdoing. But the US Greens are trying to have a recount, on the basis of Just in case.

Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any `hack occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvanias voting system was not in any way compromised, Diamond wrote. He also said the lawsuit suffered from a lack of standing, potentially the lack of federal jurisdiction and an unexplained, highly prejudicial wait before filing last weeks lawsuit.

So how about the other states?

A federal judge halted Michigans recount last week after three days. The Wisconsin recount was expected to conclude Monday. With about 95 percent of the votes recounted as of Sunday, Clinton had gained 25 votes on Trump, but still trailed by about 22,000.

So the margin has changed by around 0.1%

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(file photo)

The American Society of Hematology recently honored Chen Zhu, a professor of molecular biology at the Shanghai Institute of Hematology, and Hugues de The, a professor of cellular and molecular oncology at the College de France and Hospital Saint-Louis in Paris. Both scientists received the 2016 Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize for their significant research in the area of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), Science and Technology Daily reported on Dec. 13.

APL used to be among the most dreaded and deadly forms of leukemia. Chen's team developed a novel targeted treatment strategy using all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (As2O3), and led the first clinical trial combining ATRA, As2O3 and chemotherapy. This therapy transformed APL from a highly fatal disease to the first curable acute myeloid leukemia.

Though arsenic is known for its toxicity, arsenic trioxide has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Called "pishuang" in Chinese, it is used to treat cancer and other conditions. Chen's research represents a typical combination of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.

The Ernest Beutler Lecture, named for a past president of ASH, is a two-part lectureship that recognizes major advances related to a single topic. The award honors two individuals, one who has enabled advances in basic science and another who has accomplished great things in clinical science or translational research.
(Xinhua) 18:16, December 13, 2016

WELLINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- A New Zealand air force search has found a Tongan father and son who disappeared on a fishing trip on Saturday.

The P-3K2 Orion on Tuesday spotted the pair waving their tee-shirts on Hunga Tonga island, 58 kilometers northwest of the Tongan capital of Nukualofa, about an hour into their search, said Air Commodore Darryn Webb.

The Orion crew reported that the pair, who had failed to return from a day-long fishing trip off Tonga's Eua Island on Dec. 10, appeared to be well and their blue wooden boat intact, Webb said in a statement.

The crew dropped emergency supplies of water, food and a radio, and contacted the Tongan navy to arrange for their rescue, he said.

"We are very pleased with the successful outcome of this mission and for the survivors to be reunited with their family," he said.

"Although we are thousands of miles away from those who need help, we remain ready to assist our Pacific neighbours if required."

The Orion left New Zealand early Tuesday to scour an initial search area of about 3,000 square nautical miles off Tongatapu, the largest of Tonga's three main island groups.

The mission was the 12th search and rescue operation undertaken by the New Zealand Defence Force in the Pacific since January.

The air force's NH90 helicopters and the P-3K2 Orions had flown more than 210 hours on 17 search and rescue missions in New Zealand and the Pacific since January, representing a 44-percent increase over the 147 flying hours recorded for 2015.

Missions to the Pacific accounted for about 87 percent of total hours flown on search and rescue operations this year.
Study finds Volkswagen Group of America and dealers support 120,000 U.S. jobs, contribute $25 billion to U.S. economy

DECEMBER 13, 2016 at 10:12 a.m.





HERNDON, VA  Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) operations and its dealers were responsible for 119,830 direct and indirect U.S. jobs in 2015, including more than 2,000 newly-created jobs, according to a study of the companys 2015 U.S. economic contribution by Ernst & Young. The study finds that employees supported by VWGoAs U.S. operations earned a total of more than $7.1 billion in compensation, and generated $24.8 billion of U.S. economic gross output.



VWGoA President and CEO Hinrich J. Woebcken announced the studys results today at the 2016 AutoConference LA event, hosted by the National Automobile Dealers Association and J.D. Power.



The Ernst & Young study shows the broad reach and impact of VWGoAs operations, the strength of our U.S. dealer network, and the important role the company plays in spurring economic growth and U.S. jobs, said Hinrich J. Woebcken, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. We are tremendously proud of the positive impact weve had on the U.S. economy thus far, and are confident that our long-term investments in this market will continue to benefit communities throughout the nation.



The study also indicates that VWGoAs U.S. operations, comprising more than 900 Audi and Volkswagen dealerships in all 50 states, and 56 corporate-operated facilities in 15 states, contributed $2.4 billion of federal, state, and local taxes in 2015.



Key findings from the study show that, in 2015, VWGoA:



 Supported 45,866 direct jobs, including positions throughout U.S. corporate facilities and VW and Audi dealerships.

 Supported 73,944 indirect and induced jobs, including positions with U.S. suppliers and throughout the manufacturing sector.

 Created 2,057 new jobs based on its capital investments, including 1,600 supported by the expansion of Volkswagens Chattanooga plant.

 Provided more than $7.1 billion in employee compensation, which helped generate $24.8 billion of U.S. economic gross output.

 Contributed $2.4 billion of federal, state and local taxes, including $280 million in customs duties and fees, $550 million of direct-employee related taxes, and property and payroll taxes.

 Donated more than $4.3 million in charitable giving to 122 organizations.



The Ernst & Young study was commissioned by VWGoA. The analysis was based Ernst & Youngs IMPLAN economic model and 2015 data provided by VWGoA. The study included an analysis of the employment, labor income and gross economic output of VWGoA, Volkswagen of Chattanooga, and Volkswagen and Audi dealers nationwide. A full copy of the study is available here.



Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWGoA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, one of the worlds leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. VWGoA operates a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee and houses the U.S. operations of a worldwide family of distinguished and exciting brands including Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Volkswagen, as well as VW Credit, Inc. Founded in 1955, the company's headquarters are in Herndon, Va. The company has approximately 6,000 employees in the United States and sells its vehicles through a network of approximately 1,000 dealers. Published December 13, 2016
(Xinhua) 18:21, December 13, 2016

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- As Christmas is coming, families in California, the United States, have started to decorate their yards with lights and holiday displays, sparking concerns about safety.

Robolights, one of the biggest private yard light shows in the United States, opened by Kenny Irwin Jr., a resident in Palm Springs, about 170 km east of Los Angeles, last week for its 30th year, was sued by the local government for 10 violations of life/safety, building and fire code.

Robolights was a massive, colorful display of sculptures and structures Irwin created from recycled materials and draped in 9 million Christmas lights. It was declared by the City of Palm Springs as "unsafe" and "dangerous."

"As we have seen with the tragic Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people, cities have a responsibility to ensure life/safety violations are corrected, particularly in a case like Robolights where the public is visiting the property regularly," City Attorney Douglas Holland told CBS Local 2.

On Dec. 2, a fire broke out in a warehouse in Oakland, California, killing 36 people. It was the country's deadliest structure fire since 2003, when 100 people died at a nightclub in West Warwick.

According to The Desert Sun, Irwin worked with a professional engineer to come up with plans that would "bring the structures into compliance with city code." However, the city rejected the plans, which the city officials described as "insufficient."

After that, despite of a dozen citations for violation issued by the city and a total fine of 5,500 U.S. dollars, Irwin pledged that he would still open his Robolights tour daily until Jan. 1 next year.

This deadlock became a hot topic before Christmas in Los Angeles.

"I took my son to see Robolights last year, he loved it. I do not think there are any serious safety issues," Katherine Owen, a resident in Los Angeles, told Xinhua on Monday.

"The city is filing a civil court action instead of shutting it down, which means Robolights does not totally violate (the safety code), I think," Kimberley Bear, a local resident told Xinhua, "so if he can fix whatever the city wants, we can still enjoy Robolights every year."
Seen above is an exterior view of the newly built Daegu Shinsegae Department Store. / Courtesy of Shinsegae Group



By Park Jae-hyuk

DAEGU  Shinsegae Group has achieved its final goal for the year, as another giant "theme park-style" department store is ready to open in Daegu on Thursday.

The grand opening of Daegu Shinsegae Department Store has been one of the retail company's six major projects this year. Other projects include extensions of a Gangnam store and a Centum City store in Busan, as well as the opening of Shinsegae Duty Free, a department store in Gimhae and Starfield Hanam.

"Shinsegae Department Store returned to Daegu, 40 years after the previous store closed in 1976," CEO Jang Jae-young said during a press conference, Tuesday. "We will do our best to develop the retail industry of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province."

The most distinctive feature of the new store is the 5,000-square-meter Alive Aquarium on the ninth floor. Unlike other aquariums, mostly located on lower floors, this aquarium is on the top floor of the building, as the store can withstand the weight of the 2,000-ton aquarium and 6.5-magnitude earthquakes.

The aquarium, which is larger than those in 63 Building and Haeundae, allows customers to see various marine animals, including manatees and sharks, and also features a dome-shaped water tank and various performances by divers and sea lions.

"More than 80,000 customers have already registered as annual members of our aquarium," said vice manager of the store Hong Jung-pyo.

Hong said the store's theme park style was made to satisfy the needs of all ages and genders, which has been continuously emphasized by Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin since the grand opening of Starfield Hanam, a giant shopping mall in southeast of Seoul.





Customers look around multi-brand cosmetics shop Chicor during a pre-opening event at Daegu Shinsegae Department Store, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Shinsegae Group



The Daegu store accommodates a cosmetics select shop Chicor, which offers more than 180 brands of cosmetics from Korea and around the world to meet the demand of female customers who want to test various brands in one place, similar to French cosmetics store chain Sephora.

"Chicor mirrors the ambition of Shinsegae Department Store President Chung Yoo-kyung," Jang said. "The owner's role is to develop creative ideas, which is difficult for professional managers like me."

The sixth floor accommodates electronics outlet Electro Mart for male customers and the seventh floor accommodates toy shops for children.

The department store also has Zooraji, a jungle-style theme park on its roof. Its subsidiary building has various facilities, including 50 trampolines, climbing walls, Nerf guns and obstacle courses.

On the fifth floor, VIP customers can shop for luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Ferragamo and Bottega Veneta.

Daegu Shinsegae Department Store was selected in 2010 as the operator of the Dongdaegu Transit Complex Center, and thus it expects shoppers from other areas to visit the new store. Korea's first private-invested transit center allows passengers to transfer to six types of public transportation  KTX, local trains, inter- and intra-city buses, the subway and taxis  all in one place.

Jang said the store is considering various ways to lessen traffic jams near the transit center, cooperating with the Daegu Metropolitan Government.

On Monday, the department store also donated 500 million won ($429,000) to victims of the recent Seomun Market fire.
By Park Hyong-ki



Commercial banks here are expected to face fierce opposition from an umbrella labor group representing more than 100,000 workers in the banking sector over banks unilaterally deciding to adopt a performance-based pay system.



Seven banks announced via the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB), Monday, that they have decided to use the new system allowing them to pay workers based on their annual performance, after holding their respective board meetings.



They have tried in vain to hold talks and narrow their differences with their unions, which the banks claimed refused to engage in negotiations several times. The seven banks are Shinhan, Woori, KB, KEB Hana, SC Cheil, Citibank and Nonghyup.



"Banks have decided on their own that it was necessary to rapidly adopt the performance-based system to boost productivity after they saw that it would be difficult to reach an agreement (with their unions) by the end of the year," the KFB said in a press statement.



It said that the country's financial regulators did not pressure the banks.



No further details as to when the banks will begin to adopt the system were announced.



However, some banks said that they will discuss the timeframe with their unions in the near future.



"We will further decide on the matter with the union," Woori Bank said in a statement.



The Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU) criticized the banks, calling for the resignation of Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The labor group claimed that the FSC applied pressure on banks to hurriedly adopt the new pay system. The FSC denied the allegation.



"Chairman Yim clandestinely ordered the banks to illegally adopt the system without holding proper board meetings," KFIU President Kim Moon-ho told the press Tuesday.



He added that the banks must immediately nullify their decisions, which were made through "illegal procedures."



It remains to be seen whether bank unions will take legal action like the state-run Korea Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea and Industrial Bank of Korea. The unions of those banks filed court injunctions in an effort to nullify their decision to adopt the new pay system.



Last May, FSC Chairman Yim urged the banking sector, especially the state-run banks, to install the system, and replace the old structure that incrementally increases annual salaries, as part of financial reform.



The chief regulator warned that financial companies that fail to launch the system in time will suffer disadvantages, and face consequences of budget and pay cuts.



"We will aggressively enforce measures to freeze wages and expenses (of employees) at organizations that postpone the adoption of the system," Yim said then.




By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Yang-ho

A former senior official of the agriculture ministry will likely become the new chairman of the scandal-ridden Korea Racing Authority (KRA), replacing outgoing Hyun Myung-kwan who is accused of offering undue favors to President Park Geun-hye's confidant Choi Soon-sil.

According to officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) Tuesday, Lee Yang-ho, who served various key posts in the ministry over more than 30 years, has been leading the pack of 10 candidates vying for the much-coveted post.

If appointed, he is widely expected to take sweeping measures to overhaul the KRA, which has been implicated in the unprecedented influence-peddling scandal for allegedly providing special favors to Choi's daughter Chung Yoo-ra, a dressage competitor.

Lee, who also served as the head of the Rural Development Administration (RDA) from September 2013 to August 2016, will likely dismiss a number of senior KRA officials that helped former chairman Hyun pursue his personal interests through the public organization.

The KRA operates three horseracing tracks and other equestrian facilities across the country, earning more than 8 trillion won ($7 billion) in annual sales.

According to MAFRA, a committee overseeing the management of state-run companies at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance has selected Lee and KRA executive Park Yang-tae as two financial candidates.

Agriculture Minister Kim Jae-soo plans to forward the recommendations this week to the acting president, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who will then appoint one of them as the KRA's next chairman.

"The agriculture minister will present the recommendations to Prime Minister Hwang as soon as the necessary paperwork is completed," a ministry official said. "We are not sure when Hwang will appoint the new KRA head because he has many other pending policy issues to take care of."

A person familiar with the matter, who declined to be named, said Lee will likely be put in charge of the state-run firm, given his proven track record of public service.

"He has handled a wide range of agriculture policy issues over the years and knows exactly how KRA should operate to best serve the public," he said. "An outsider should be appointed to oversee the overhaul of the scandal-stricken KRA. Lee is the right choice."

Park Yang-tae is supported by company employees, but his quick promotion within the KRA during former chairman Hyun's three-year term has raised suspicions that he has special ties with people close to President Park.

Hyun whose term ended on Dec. 7 had previously been expected to serve for one more year. But the former Samsung Construction & Trade CEO was forced to exit amid allegations he mobilized the KRA to offer undue favors to Choi and her daughter.

In November, prosecutors raided the KRA headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, confiscating documents and other materials to investigate the firm's alleged connection with the President's confidant.
SK Networks Chairman Choi Shin-won talks with employees at the company's headquarters in downtown Seoul, Monday, calling for thorough preparation for Saturday's presentation session organized by the Korea Customs Service. SK has been making every effort to get a license to reopen its duty free store at the Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul.

/ Courtesy of SK Networks



By Lee Hyo-sik

SK Networks has made all necessary preparations to reopen its closed duty free store at the Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul, the company said Tuesday.

The trading arm of SK Group is ready to resume the store's operations within a month if it wins back a license, company officials said, adding that the installation of a computer system and interior renovation have been completed.

Company CEO Moon Jong-hoon will give a presentation before the judging panel of Korea Customs Service (KCS) officials and private sector experts Saturday to get the license back for its sole duty free shop.

The KCS plans to select three new duty free stores in Seoul. Lotte, SK, Hyundai Department Store, HDC-Shilla and Shinsegae have been vying for three much-coveted tickets.

In November last year, SK lost its license to Shinsegae Duty Free, and had to close its 25-year-old store.

"Despite the closure of our duty free store, all employees have been working hard as one family to reclaim our lost license," SK Networks Chairman Choi Shin-won said. "We must continue to do our best until the end. I am positive that we will be given an opportunity to contribute more to developing Korea's duty free industry."

The company said it invested 5 billion won ($4.3 million) to develop and install an advanced duty free operating system, which bolsters its business processing by as much as 20 percent, compared to conventional systems.

"The new system will help us process transactions faster and offer more tailored services to our customers," an SK Networks spokesman said. "We also recently completed interior renovation, designed to expand the shop's floor space and the size of our warehouse. We will be able to open the door to customers within a month after obtaining the license."

Earlier, SK Networks said it will invest a total of 600 billion won over the next few years to transform the Walkerhill Hotel into the Korean version of Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore by making the best of its duty free store and foreigner-only casino.

The company also plans to expand its parking lot to accommodate more buses carrying Chinese visitors traveling in groups, as well as attracting more fashion and other consumer goods brands that are popular among Chinese and other foreign shoppers.
By Kim Tae-gyu

Under capitalism, every company tries to enhance its bottom line by selling as many products as possible so as to benefit stakeholders such as shareholders, employees and customers.

However, sometimes a few companies try to decrease demand for certain products either temporarily or permanently for specific strategic reasons, a unique approach called de-marketing.

Some critics half-jokingly say that Apple is employing de-marketing tactics in Korea because it appears not to care about its customers here, who are frustrated and angry with the U.S.-based smartphone maker's policies. In other words, the firm is accused of attempting to get rid of customers with its unfriendly attitude.

Complaints about after-sales services by the company, which does not operate its tech support Genius Bars in Korea, are rampant among domestic consumers due to the painstaking and time-consuming procedures they undergo to deal with problems in its products.

Recently, it raised the ire of people once again by announcing its policy of replacing batteries for some iPhone 6 devices that unexpectedly shut down only in English on its Korean-language website.

Later, Apple came up with a Korean-language notice but it was too late to soothe customers, who claim the firm disregards Korean clients despite its robust revenue in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Apple Korea does not disclose its income statements or balance sheets because it is not a joint-stock corporation. As a result, it does not even have to be audited by an outside accounting firm.

But its annual performance can be estimated from the sales of its flagship products, iPhones, which are compiled by the country's three wireless operators.

During the first 11 months of this year, the overall sales of iPhones stood at 2.6 million and for all of 2016, the figure is expected to approach 3 million. In consideration of its other items, its annual sales and profits are estimated to be 3 trillion won and 850 million won, respectively.

Apple Korea is one of the biggest companies in Korea whose yearly profit is comparable to that of the country's flagship carrier, Korean Air. But it comes under fire for not being transparent and "responsible enough," according to observers.

Plus, Apple public relations officials are as difficult to contact as are the representatives who are supposed to explain its after sales policies. Even if they are available, their answers are "no comment" in most cases.

Such a high-handed attitude is unlike its approach in China  in order to grapple with the battery issue, a senior official recently visited the country to make an apology and explain its follow-up measures.

Apple seems to have dual standards in China and Korea because the former's market is more than 15 times that of the latter. It is understandable for the firm to focus on bigger opportunities.

Still, Korea is not a small country in market size and the company does not have the right to ignore the inconvenience of millions of people whether they are in China or Korea. Otherwise, it could face accusations once again that it is taking de-marketing strategies.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 30 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Dec. 13.

The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Munjuglu village of Azerbaijans Tovuz district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located on nameless heights of Armenias Berd district.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were also shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Goyarkh village of the Tartar district, Shikhlar, Sarijali, Yusifjanli villages of the Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Horadiz, Garakhanbayli villages of the Fuzuli district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Khojavand, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
By Kim Tae-gyu



The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is expected to slip into a leadership vacuum late this month as the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye will delay the process of replacing outgoing CEO Kwon Sun-joo, observers said Tuesday.



The three-year term of Kwon, the country's first female leader of a domestic commercial bank, will finish Dec. 27, but it remains uncertain whether or not the appointment of her successor will take place under acting head of state, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn.



If the interim administration, which will take charge of state affairs until the Constitutional Court hands down a verdict on the National Assembly's impeachment vote, does not take action, IBK deputy head Park Chun-hong can succeed under the articles of the state-backed lender.



But Park's term will also come to an end on Jan. 20 next year and there are no more registered executives, who are in line to lead the IBK, leaving the risk of an unprecedented leadership vacuum beginning Jan. 21.



"The relevant law stipulates that the President appoints the head of the IBK at the recommendation of the Financial Services Commission (FSS) chairman. Hence, Prime Minister Hwang may have to do make the appointment to prevent a leadership vacuum," said an industry source who asked not to be named.



"But I am not sure if the interim administration can do this. If it can, I wonder who would want to take charge of the IBK at this sensitive time, expecting that a newly-elected president  depending on the court verdict  might sack them within months. That is a big problem."



One plausible option to prevent the leadership void would be for Kwon to continue to lead the IBK. But she has refused to say anything official about a second term, which is also subject to the approval of Prime Minister Hwang.



The evaluation of Kwon, the IBK lifer who joined the bank in 1978, is not bad because the bank performed relatively well under her stewardship over the past three years.



The Seoul-based lender netted 1.15 trillion won in profit last year, topping the 1 trillion won mark for the first time. It was also the only public financial entity to get the highest A grade in annual evaluation last year.




Korea's first hydrogen taxi service took to the streets in Ulsan on Dec. 13. / Courtesy of Hankook Ilbo



By Ko Dong-hwan

The Korean auto industry's futuristic eco-friendly policies continue to evolve with the first fleet of hydrogen taxis starting operations on Dec. 13.

Ten Hyundai Motor Tuscan ix models  all hydrogen fuel cell cars  began the test service in the southern coastal city of Ulsan. After the months-long test, Hyundai plans to expand the service to other areas next year.

The taxi service, operated by the Ministry of Environment, Ulsan City Office and Hyundai Motor, will use the same meter system and fees as conventional taxis.

The environment vice-minister, Ulsan city mayor, Hyundai Motor president and a representative of the city taxi operators attended a launching ceremony at a public square in front of the city hall on Tuesday.

The guests took a spin in the taxis along a 2.8 kilometer course near the city hall.

After this, civilians had a chance to enjoy a free ride.

"Hydrogen fuel cell cars are the ultimate eco-friendly cars that do not emit toxic chemicals," said environment vice-minister Lee Chung-seop.

He said the project would lead to a thriving regular market for the vehicles.

Hyundai Motor, the world's first automaker to have introduced a mass production line for hydrogen fuel cell cars in 2014, began researching the idea in 1998.

The company started selling hydrogen cars to public offices in 2014. The cars have not been released to local markets yet.

"Hydrogen taxis, the first in Korea, have already been introduced in other countries," a Hyundai Motor public relations official told The Korea Times.

"But we hope this becomes a cornerstone to usher in an era of hydrogen cars available for civilians."

Recharging depots for the vehicles are scarce in Korea  only around 10 have been installed nationwide since 2014, including one in Ulsan.

"The taxis will have to share the city depot for now," the official said.

"To broaden local use of the cars, the first thing is to increase the number of depots nationwide."

He said the company planned to add 10 more depots by 2020 and 190 more by 2025.
The Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) / Courtesy of GM Korea



By Jhoo Dong-chan

The Ministry of Environment has certified that the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) has a range of 383.17 kilometers when fully charged.

GM Korea said in a press release, Tuesday, that its affiliate brand Chevrolet's Bolt EV received the official drive range of 383.17 kilometers from the ministry ahead of the model's sales in Korea early next year.

"The Bolt EV can nearly travel from Seoul to Busan with a single charge. The model will suggest a new set of standards in the global EV market with its drive range," GM Korea CEO and President James Kim said.

"Also with its reasonable price, the model will speed up the introduction of EVs in Korea."

A GM Korea official said the Bolt EV is the world's first mass-produced EV model with a range of over 350 kilometers. It also features connectivity and infotainment technologies, seamlessly integrating smartphones and other electric devices within the vehicle.

The Bolt EV's competitiveness has been proven in various awards in the U.S., including car magazine Motor Trend's "2017 Car of the Year," the Green Car Journal's eco-friendly car of this year, and one of the 2017 best 10 cars in Car and Driver magazine.

Developed through a partnership with Korea-based battery supplier LG Chem, the model has been produced in the U.S. since October while the European version is expected to be released early next year.

The official said the model can produce over 200 horsepower with a maximum 36.7 kg.m torque to deliver not only a long range but also a powerful performance.

With the addition of the Bolt EV to a lineup that includes the Bolt extended-range EV and Malibu Hybrid, GM Korea said in a press release that Chevrolet will offer more affordable EV options than any other major car brand in Korea next year.
By Kim Bo-eun



North Korean media have been reporting on the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye and the candlelit protests which have run for weeks.



They have been covering the anti-government rallies in the South, and reported Park being impeached only several hours after National Assembly passed the motion Friday, unlike many other previous incidents which they reported days later.



The North's news outlets began reporting on the scandal surrounding Park's confidant Choi Soon-sil since it surfaced in late October.



The Chosun Central News Agency posted a brief article outlining the facts of the impeachment, while the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, produced a more detailed story on the rally which took place the following day under the title, "The only result awaiting Park Geun-hye's rebel group is the stern judgment by the people."



The article outlined the scale of the protests, saying "10.4 million people of all classes held protests in around 80 locations in South Korea."



It cited the slogans chanted by the protesters including, "Park Geun-hye, resign immediately" and "Arrest Park Geun-hye."



The story also said, "Many protesters threw pictures of pro-Park lawmakers in the ruling Saenuri Party onto the ground and trampled on them."



This is contrary to expectations that the North's media would refrain from reporting on these events, out of concerns that its people might mimic these protests against its own regime.



However, experts say the North Korean government seems less concerned about this, and is trying to focus on denouncing the South Korean leader for other motives.



"I don't think the expressions are particularly aggressive. North Korean media have consistently been using very strong terms to denounce President Park _ which could be seen as a means to consolidate the people in the North against the South," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.



Kim also said by strongly denouncing Park, which will anger her supporters here, Pyongyang may be attempting to create conflicts between conservatives and progressives.



An Chan-il of the World Institute for North Korea Studies had a similar view.



"In its coverage of the events in South Korea, Pyongyang may want to describe its counterpart as currently under great instability, possibly hinting it could wage war with the North," An said.



"This is meant to solidify unity among people in the North."



Meanwhile, there have been some questionable measures taken by Pyongyang's media.



The propaganda site Uriminzokkiri posted a story on the impeachment motion passage several hours after the move, but later removed it.



There have been suspicions that it was taken down due to the state's concerns of giving its people ideas of bringing down its leader. But this view has been dismissed because other media have left their stories posted.



"Because of this inconsistency, it seems unlikely that the state ordered the story to be taken down from Uriminzokkiri," said Kim.



In the meantime, North Korea's Chosun Central TV reported the Dec. 3 rally against Park in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, earlier this month. But it blurred out the high-rise buildings surrounding the people.



"This is seen as an attempt by the state to cover up the splendor of the nightscapes of Seoul, which contrasts with that of Pyongyang," Kim said.




Calling himself a "child of the United Nations," outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered a farewell address to the U.N. General Assembly expressing appreciation for the honor to serve the global organization.



"As some of you said, I am a child of the United Nations. After the Korean War, U.N. aid fed us. U.N. textbooks taught us. U.N. global solidarity showed us we were not alone. For me, the power of the United Nations was never abstract or academic," Ban said in the address during a U.N. General Assembly meeting.



"This profound appreciation grew even stronger every day during my service with the United Nations. For the past ten years, I have been honoured to serve alongside the many courageous, dedicated and talented women and men of the United Nations," he said.



In Monday's meeting, Ban's successor, Antonio Guterres, also took the oath of office.



Ban said his heart is "greatly comforted knowing that I am passing the baton to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a man of integrity and principle."



"I have no doubt that he, with his passion and compassion, will successfully navigate many complex challenges and steer the O



organization to new and higher heights," Ban said.



He also expressed gratitude for support his home country South Korea has provided him with.



"I would also like to express my most profound appreciation to my home country, the Korean people and the government.



Their wholehearted support for the past ten years has been a great source of encouragement in working proudly for peace, development and human rights across the world," he said.



Ban's term ends at the end of this month.



Ban, who has long been talked about as a potential candidate for South Korean president, has said he will go back to the country in mid-January and think about what he can do for the future of South Korea.



Ban has refused to discuss the possibility of running for president, but he has never ruled it out, either. (Yonhap)




Opposition lawmakers investigating the president's corruption allegations said Tuesday they are considering questioning a key confidante who was taken into custody last month by visiting her cell, as she has refused to respond to the probe.

Choi Soon-sil allegedly exerted influence on state affairs without any seat in the administration, seeking personal benefits. Prosecutors earlier claimed President Park Geun-hye is an accomplice.

The parliament kicked off a special investigation into the scandal, summoning big names including Samsung Group heir-apparent Lee Jae-yong and former top presidential aide Kim Ki-choon, on Nov. 30. Other Choi aides also appeared before the National Assembly, delivering testimony related to the confidante's various law-breaking activities.

Choi, however, declined to respond to the parliament's order, adding her health was too fragile to appear at the National Assembly last week.

Her absence led to criticism that the parliamentary investigation may end in vain without questioning the key figure of the scandal which has virtually paralyzed the state affairs for weeks.

Opposition lawmakers on the special committee, accordingly, said they will consider visiting Choi's cell to conduct the questioning.

"We are demanding that we hold the questioning at Choi's cell," Rep. Park Beom-kye of the main opposition Democratic Party said. "But we have not yet reached an agreement with the ruling party." (Yonhap)
A group of South Korea's ruling party members supporting President Park Geun-hye are set to launch their alliance Tuesday to cope with challenges from increasingly vocal anti-Park rivals.

A factional feud has been escalating inside the Saenuri Party over a corruption scandal involving Park, with each demanding the other leave the party.

The pro-Park members, reeling from the fallout from the scandal, began to regroup after the National Assembly overwhelmingly passed the impeachment motion against the president last Friday.

Around 50 lawmakers are estimated to have joined the group, to be co-chaired by three senior politicians -- former deputy parliamentary speaker Rep. Jeong Kab-yoon, former six-term lawmaker Rhee In-je and North Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kwan-yong.

A alliance of anti-Park politicians, led by former party head Rep. Kim Moo-sung and former floor leader Rep. Yoo Seong-min, has demanded the resignation of the party leadership, dominated by Park allies.

On Tuesday, the ad-hoc group declared its disbandment to establish a new organization.

Former party head Kim said he is seriously considering leaving Saenuri and starting a new party. During a meeting with reporters, he condemned Park loyalists saying they are the slaves, not political partners, of the president.

"We need a conservative party which the people can trust and depend on," Kim said .

"Although we cannot allow leftists to take control of our country, Saenuri led by Park loyalists will not be able to win trust from the people."

Political pundits, however, said Kim will face challenges down the road as how many Saenuri lawmakers will follow him remains uncertain.

Yoo said he is not considering leaving the party for the time being, adding he wishes to focus on normalizing Saenuri. (Yonhap)
A group of South Korea's ruling party members supporting President Park Geun-hye are set to launch their alliance Tuesday to cope with challenges from increasingly vocal anti-Park rivals.





A factional feud has been escalating inside the Saenuri Party over a corruption scandal involving Park, with each demanding the other leave the party.





The pro-Park members, reeling from the fallout from the scandal, began to regroup after the National Assembly overwhelmingly passed the impeachment motion against the president last Friday.





Around 50 lawmakers are estimated to have joined the group, to be co-chaired by three senior politicians -- former deputy parliamentary speaker Rep. Jeong Kab-yoon, former six-term lawmaker Rhee In-je and North Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kwan-yong.





A alliance of anti-Park politicians, led by former party head Rep. Kim Moo-sung and former floor leader Rep. Yoo Seong-min, has demanded the resignation of the party leadership, dominated by Park allies.





On Tuesday, the ad-hoc group declared its disbandment to establish a new organization.









Kim said he is seriously considering leaving Saenuri and starting a new party. In a news conference, Kim condemned Park loyalists saying they are the slaves, not political partners, of the president. (Yonhap)





South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday redoubled calls for robust cyberdefense against North Korea, saying cyberwarfare with the provocative state has already begun.




Soldiers are standing outside the reserve training site in Ulsan, after the explosion. / Yonhap



By Lee Han-soo

Twenty four soldiers were injured in an explosion at a reserve forces training site in Ulsan on Tuesday.

One soldier was in a critical condition with his right ankle broken and face and body burned severely. Three others had their faces, legs and arms burned severely. The others suffered minor injuries.

The soldiers are being treated at hospitals in Seoul, Ulsan and Busan.

The victims are all conscripted soldiers aged 20-23.

According to authorities, the explosion happened at 11:47 a.m. at a city combat training facility in Sinhyeon-dong. The exact cause of the explosion and other details of the accident are under investigation.

"They (the injured soldiers) told me that they heard a loud explosion from the building they were walking by," a hospital official in Ulsan was quoted as saying. "The aftershock was so strong they were thrown to the ground."

An army official said no reserve soldiers were training at the scene when the explosion happened.
By Choi Ha-young

Han Sang-gyun





An appeals court sentenced Han Sang-gyun, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), to three years in jail and fines of 500,000 won ($430), Tuesday, cutting his five-year prison sentence imposed by a lower court.



Han, 54, was arrested and indicted for leading a violent anti-government protest in November last year.



The Seoul High Court ruling has come amid recent peaceful rallies against President Park Geun-hye, where both protesters and police did not use violence.



Although the court reduced Han's sentence, it did not accept his claim that it was illegal for the police to set up barricades with police vehicles and use water cannons.



"The freedom of assembly should be guaranteed in a democracy, but this freedom is applied when the assembly is legal and peaceful," the court said. "But Han did not make an effort for a peaceful rally and rather instigated a clash with the police and prepared tools to destroy the vehicles."



However, the police's reactions to the protesters were "excessive," compared to the recent peaceful anti-President rallies, and the police suppression partly provoked violence from protesters, it ruled.



"In this time when a peaceful demonstration culture is being established, a long prison for Han does not contribute to the development of the culture," the court said.



For the last seven rallies in central Seoul, calling for President Park's resignation over the influence-peddling scandal, police set up barricades with their vehicles. But they were cautious and the protesters didn't move or destroy the vehicles.



Instead, people maintained peace and order, and the police, along with the rulings by the Seoul Administrative Court, allowed the protesters to get closer to Cheong Wa Dae gradually.



The prosecution earlier demanded eight years in jail, saying Han planned the massive violent rally, where farmer activist Baek Nam-ki was hit by a police water cannon and remained in a coma for 10 months before dying in September. After the rally, Han took refuge at Jogye Temple in central Seoul for almost a month.



The court also dismissed Han's charge of injury of police officers, saying the injuries were minor and did not require treatment.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Anakhanum Hidayatova  Trend:

There were a lot of positive and negative events in the process of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2016, Matthew Bryza, former US assistant secretary for South Caucasus and former ambassador to Azerbaijan, told Trend Dec. 13.

He added that the year was eventful.

Bryza said the conflict settlement process was intensive until June 2016, but it slowed down after the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents' meeting in St. Petersburg.

Bryza expressed hope that the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents will agree on a new meeting in 2017 and the dialogue will continue.

He added that the US president-elect Donald Trumps policy towards the South Caucasus is still unknown.

Trump reiterated his willingness to establish new, positive relations with Russia, Bryza said.

He added that the OSCE Minsk Group is the only format in which the US and Russia are working together in the South Caucasus, and did not rule out that the Trump administration will want to work more actively with Russia in the OSCE MG format.

Bryza reiterated that much depends on Azerbaijan and Armenia in the conflict settlement.

The OSCE Minsk Group can play the role of a mediator, but can not force Azerbaijan and Armenia to make any decisions, he added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.


By Lee Jin-a

Prof. Park Jae-kwang from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison / Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison





A Korea-born professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is under fire in his homeland for his sexist and racist remarks in a lecture at Ewha Womans University last week.

Prof. Park Jae-kwang gave the lecture as a guest speaker on Dec. 8. According to students, the professor criticized massive anti-government rallies held across Korea for weeks with racist comments.

He allegedly said: "The people, who are apt to protest, are the problem. Asians are too emotional. They cry and protest easily."

The comment was leaked online by students who collected recordings of his controversial remarks.

The professor also wrongly accused the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the nation's two umbrella unions, as the main force behind the rallies that drew 2.3 million nationwide on Dec. 3.

The professor also made discriminating comments against women.

He allegedly said: "If you do not want to prey on your husband, go to America and live there.

"You can prove your abilities in the U.S. but you will prey on your husband in Korea."

The speaker also asked the students to raise their hands if they wanted to "live off" their husbands.

The professor's provocative comments also upset certain religious believers.

He attacked Christians, saying, "When Christians face obstacles in their lives, they blame God for not giving them wings instead of trying on their own."

After the lecture, Park did not take questions from students or allow any to speak up against him.

Some upset students left the room before his lecture was finished.





A Facebook post by an Ewha Womans University student shows her demand for Prof. Park Jae-kwang to apologize.

/ Courtesy of Facebook



A student surnamed Ahn said on her Facebook Monday that she gathered signatures from 659 fellow students requesting an official apology from the professor and made a written complaint to the university's administration office.

Ahn said Prof. Park Seok-soon of the school's Environmental Science Department made an official apology on Monday for inviting the Wisconsin professor.

"I think Prof. Park Jae-kwang may have not recognized the changing times because he has stayed in the U.S. (for a long time)," Prof. Park Seok-soon told the students.

"When I reviewed his class materials before his guest lecture, I thought there was no issue in the content.

"But there was a problem in his lecture. I truly apologize to the students."

Prof. Park Jae-kwang has not issued any official statement yet.

Prof. Park Jae-kwang is from the U.S. school's Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Yonsei University in 1977 and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering at Seoul National University in 1979, he earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the U.K., in 1985.

He joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988.
By Jung Min-ho



A plastic surgeon known to have had a close relationship with Choi Soon-sil, the central figure in the influence-peddling scandal that resulted in President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, also had close contacts in the presidential office.



According to sources from the legal and medical sectors, Tuesday, an investigation team led by special prosecutor Park Young-soo has found that Kim Young-jae, the plastic surgeon who treated Choi for years, frequently communicated with Jeong Ho-seong, a former presidential secretary.



The investigation team is looking into whether Kim was involved in the corruption scandal involving President Park and her confidant Choi.



Kim, who gave Choi 136 cosmetic procedures from October 2013 to this August, has been accused of receiving special favors from the Park administration thanks to his close ties with Choi.



According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the doctor accompanied President Park on trips to four countries in the Middle East in March. He has also been accused of tagging along on her other overseas visits. Given his mediocre credentials as a doctor, many suspect that Choi was behind these opportunities.



In another exceptional case, Kim was appointed as an advisor to Seoul National University Hospital's (SNUH) Gangnam center in July. Many SNUH professors criticized the decision because he had neither a Ph.D. nor any impressive achievements as a medical doctor. Two weeks later, the hospital abruptly canceled the appointment.



The surprising appointment was made under SNUH President Suh Chang-suk, who served as the President's doctor from September 2014 to this February. Many suspected Suh was just doing what he was told by Cheong Wa Dae.



Suh has also been accused of forcing SNUH doctors to use a medical thread developed by Y Jacobs Medical, a medical device company owned by Kim and his wife.



In an email to SNUH officials, Suh admitted that he made a request to expedite the process of adopting the thread, but insisted it was not to give Kim any special favors.



The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reportedly helped the company's development project for the thread last year by providing 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million).



Kim is also one of the people who might be able to explain the whereabouts of President Park during the first seven hours after the Sewol ferry began sinking on April 16, 2014.



Her mysterious absence has created a flurry of rumors, including that she was undergoing a cosmetic medical procedure. Both Cheong Wa Dae and Kim denied the allegations.



With the direct link between him and Jeong discovered, many hope the special prosecutor will find out whether such procedures were indeed conducted during the crucial missing hours.



Jeong is known as one of key presidential aides controlled by Choi. On Sunday, the prosecution said that he played a major role in giving critical state information to her, saying 236 audio files of phone conversations between the two proves this accusation.



Over the past two weeks, the independent counsel team has been reviewing all evidence provided by the prosecution before questioning key suspects in the scandal.




Rep. Suh Chung-won, the de-facto leader of a Saenuri Party faction that supports President Park Geun-hye, criticizes those aligned against Park who helped impeach the scandal-ridden leader, in a meeting of faction members at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Yonhap



Park loyalists ruining ruling party'



By Kim Hyo-jin

A power struggle inside the ruling Saenuri Party intensified Tuesday as lawmakers aligned against President Park Geun-hye continued their offensive against Park loyalists leading the party.

Former Chairman Kim Moo-sung, who is leading the Park dissenters, denounced the pro-Park lawmakers for refusing to take responsibility for the corruption scandal involving the President, saying they were her "slaves," not "political partners."

"They are still advocating the President, a criminal suspect, calling us betrayers for having supported her impeachment," Kim said in a press conference. "They even forgot the basics of politics that the Constitution and the public are superior to the President. They are ruining our party."

Criticizing the pro-Park leadership for having no will to reform, Kim expressed his intention to leave the party and create a new one in an attempt to salvage the conservative bloc.

"It is high time to set up a new conservative party which the public, concerned about the economy and security, can depend on," he said.

"We can't let irresponsible leftists govern the country but the Saenuri Party led by Park loyalists can't stop them. No people will believe them whatever they do to renew the party's image. New conservatives should step up to rebuild the country jointly with centrists."

The remarks came amid growing tension between the rival factions demanding each other leave the party in the fallout from Park's impeachment.

They have been at loggerheads over how to reform the party hit hard by the corruption scandal involving the impeached Park.












Acting president Hwang urged to cooperate with Assembly investigation into corruption scandal



By Kang Seung-woo

The three opposition parties urged the Constitutional Court, Tuesday, to speed up its deliberations on the National Assembly's impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

They also called on the acting president, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, to remain low-key in handling administrative affairs and focus on "maintaining the status quo." They proposed a meeting with him to discuss ways to normalize state affairs as well as his role until the court makes its ruling.

The parties also said Hwang should cooperate with the Assembly investigation into the corruption scandal involving President Park and her longtime confidant Choi Soon-sil.

The agreement was made among the leaders of the parties  the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae, the second-largest opposition People's Party interim leader Kim Dong-cheol and the minor opposition Justice Party Chairwoman Sim Sang-jeung.

The National Assembly voted in favor of impeaching Park, Friday, and the Constitutional Court now has 180 days to determine whether or not to endorse the impeachment.












By Kim Se-jeong

Anti-aging and fatigue-relieving injections are popular in Korea, as is easily seen at local clinics and their ads. Their popularity has been skyrocketing especially after it was alleged that President Park Geun-hye used such shots.

Their effects, however, are far from proven, according to medical experts.

Cheong Wa Dae said between 2013 and 2016, it purchased 890 pharmaceutical items worth 169 million won ($145,803), most of which were injections treating fatigue and aging.

The news triggered people to make inquiries about those shots, which are readily available at neighborhood clinics. Some clinics began advertising the injections as "beloved by the President."

They are uninsured items, costing around 50,000 won per shot, and patients must pay the full price.

Doctors, however, cautiously warn against the effects of the shots.












By John Redmond



The Yeoksam Global Village Center will host a year-end party to usher in 2017 at the Olympia Centre in southern Seoul, Friday.

"All foreign nationals in Korea are welcome to attend the The 8th Yeoksam Winter's Tale," the organizer said in an invitation.

The program includes a performance by Honey Band, which will perform jazz and pop songs. There will also be Christmas coloring by the piano and various other activities.

Guests are requested to wear traditional costumes, hanbok or winter character outfits.

The event is free of charge.

To participate, email your name, nationality, phone number and group size to ygvc0417@gmail.com.

The Olympia Centre is located in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu. To get there, leave Gangnam Station, exits 1 or 4. The venue is the second building down from the Yeoksam Global Village Center.
Kim Hong-kyun, center, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a joint press conference with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun, left, and Japan's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General Kenji Kanasugi following their meeting at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, downtown Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo

The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to cooperate in implementing the latest U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea's coal earnings, Tuesday.

Following their three-way talks in Seoul, Kim Hong-kyun, the special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the three allies agreed to "maintain a round-the-clock information-sharing system" to enforce a cap on Pyongyang's coal exports under UNSC Resolution 2321.

Kim said he and U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun and Japan's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General Kenji Kanasugi also vowed to carry out other diverse "money-blocking measures" against Pyongyang while verifying implementation of the UNSC resolution.

"We shared the view that it is more important than ever to keep close cooperation among the three countries," Kim said. "We also agreed to fully prepare for all possibilities including the North's additional provocations."

Kim, Yun and Kanasugi met for the first time since the UNSC unanimously endorsed Resolution 2321 on Nov. 30 and the three allies took follow-up measures by introducing their own sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime.

Resolution 2321 is designed to restrict North Korea's annual export of coal to $400 million or 7.5 million tons, whichever is lower in value, in response to the military state's fifth nuclear test carried out on Sept. 9.

Kim warned that North Korea's nuclear ambitions will only lead to regime collapse and denuclearization is its only remaining option.

He said the door remains open for talks with the internationally isolated Pyongyang although denuclearization efforts should be a precondition for any dialogues.

Yun voiced a similar view. "Sanctions are a tool, not an end in themselves," he said. "We have long made clear that we remain willing to engage in credible and serious denuclearization talks. Unfortunately the DPRK's response with an escalation pattern of ballistic launches, nuclear tests and inflammatory rhetoric underscores that it is not ready."

Yun reaffirmed the U.S.'s commitment to its allies to "remain ironclad."

Concerning China, Yun said he hopes Chinese authorities cooperate in carrying out UNSC resolutions to block Pyongyang from earning hard currency to pursue its nuclear program.

China accounts for the majority of Pyongyang's coal earnings and is seen as a key for the success of Resolution 2321.

Yun speculated that U.S policy on North Korea will remain consistent even under a Donald Trump administration, which will begin on Jan. 20.
By Walt Gardner





The news that Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of President Park Geun-hye's confidant Choi Soon-sil, was allowed to graduate from Cheongdam High School despite her failure to fulfill the requirements is a national disgrace. But if it is any consolation, the practice is not limited to South Korea. It is a pattern repeated far too often in school districts across the United States, where the number of diplomas issued has risen to an historic high of 82 percent.

Ordinarily, that attainment would be cause for jubilation. But it has been achieved through the use of shortcuts and gimmicks that border on outright fraud. By continuing like this, schools are cheapening the value of a high school diploma for students who have actually earned them. The most common tactic to boost graduation rates in the U.S. is the use of online credit recovery courses. Students, who are failing, attend special classes after school for fewer than 60 hours and earn credit without taking a mastery exam.

When the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second largest, discovered that only about 54 percent of its seniors were on track to graduate, officials allowed students to make up missed work, using that strategy. This resulted in an immediate jump to 74 percent.

One indication of the scandal is the finding by the Education Trust, a nonpartisan foundation, that more than one in five recent high school graduates could not meet the minimum entry test standards for enlistment in the Army. Nevertheless, districts in the U.S. have been reluctant to disband credit recovery courses. At last count, only 18 states and the District of Columbia had moved to tighten graduation standards. The substitute programs that Chung Yoo-ra took for 36 days to make up for the work of the 141 days she was absent sound as bogus as the credit recovery classes offered in the U.S.

It's hard to believe that any student is capable of overcoming many absences and still demonstrate mastery of the work. Yet a persistent lack of accountability remains in place in both countries.

If Chung Yoo-ra is like students in the U.S. who have been allowed to graduate despite failing to do the work required, she knows that she does not deserve her diploma. With so much talk these days about building self-esteem in young people, giving them something they have not earned is totally counterproductive.

Deep down, students know the truth about their real abilities. The lesson she has learned is that if it were not for her high connections, she would never have been permitted to graduate.

True self-esteem can come only from hard work and sustained effort. These qualities are now referred to by many as "grit." But by whatever name, they constitute the secret to success not only in school but beyond.





Walt Gardner writes the Reality Check blog for Education Week in the U.S. Write to walt.gard@verizon.net.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza is spreading with alarming speed and force. Nearly 10 million chickens and ducks have been culled since Nov. 16 when the first outbreak of the H5N6 virus was reported here. The latest outbreak could be worse than the one in 2014 when nearly 14 million fowl were culled over 195 days.



It's hardly surprising that the government's poor response has caused this year's bird flu to spread fast amid an unprecedented corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, now serving as acting president, chaired a meeting of relevant ministers Monday and issued a nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry.



But the standstill order, which will be effective through Wednesday, was obviously belated. The government cannot avoid criticism for making similar blunders, even after suffering severely two years ago. Some municipalities, in particular, have been lax in carrying out disinfection, according to an inspection of 11 bird flu-hit cities and counties by the Ministry of Public Safety and Security. One of them, for example, set up an anti-bird flu headquarters on paper but didn't put it into operation.



Such sluggish responses can be contrasted to those conducted in Japan. The Japanese government allegedly has succeeded in containing the potentially lethal avian flu through preemptive measures from the outset, even though the first case was detected around the same time. Given that the H5N6 virus is deadly enough to have killed seven people in China, the government should have ramped up quarantine measures before the virus spread across the country, sparing only the southeastern Gyeongsang provinces.



The government must identify why disinfection was not carried out preemptively and thoroughly and bring those responsible to account.



Hammering out more fundamental measures is long overdue, considering that farms wrestle with bird flu almost every year. What is needed most is to actively improve the conditions for feeding chickens and ducks. That fowl reared in ''welfare farms'' are hardly infected with the bird flu virus is quite suggestive. That is why the government should provide more support for farms that improve their feeding environment.




Ruling party should put aside factional rivalry



The ruling Saenuri Party is immersed in a heated factional feud following a National Assembly vote last week to impeach President Park Geun-hye.



The ruling party's first priority in the post-impeachment period is to work with the opposition camp in a bipartisan effort to normalize state affairs in cooperation with Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is serving as acting president. But this all-important duty has been completely lost on the leadership of the ruling party. Instead, two rival factions consisting of Park loyalists and critics have been blaming each other for the current chaos.



The Assembly's impeachment vote is not just a result of the people's judgment of the scandal-ridden President who is at the center of a massive corruption scandal. It is also the people's verdict of the ruling party, which has chosen to ignore Park's wrongdoings throughout her political career. Some notable members of the so-called rival faction, such as former Saenuri chairman Kim Moo-sung and former floor leader Yoo Seong-min, were once Park's key allies. They turned a blind eye to the inappropriate meddling of Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime confidant, in her official life, so they cannot be free from criticisms of negligence.



The latest reports suggest Kim may leave the party to form a new party with Yoo. Even if such a party is formed, it will take a long time before the people stop associating them with the most incompetent president in Korea's modern history. Any new entity formed by the rival faction will be scorned by voters unless it completely reinvents itself.



The ruling party's approval rating has plummeted since the Choi scandal erupted in October because of the irresponsible way it has dealt with the scandal. In particular, Saenuri Party Chairman Lee Jung-hyun has fueled public anger by making irrational remarks defending the President throughout the scandal. He said the opposition's impeachment push was wrongheaded because the President never sought personal gain. It is a huge shame that the nation's ruling party has been led by someone who acts like a slave to the President rather than a sensible statesman.



Lee will step down next week, but this will not be enough to change the people's hostile perception of the party. Key figures of the party's loyalist faction should first offer a sincere apology to the people and resign so the Saenuri Party can start to rebuild itself and do its part to put the nation back on track.




Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

Azerbaijan is interested in developing cooperation with Fujairah emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on a mutually beneficial basis, Dashgin Shikarov, ambassador of Azerbaijan to the UAE, said at the meeting with Emir of Fujairah Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi Dec. 13.

The ambassador added that Azerbaijan sees good prospects for developing cooperation in such areas as trade, tourism, agrarian sector, investment.

Shikarov said that opening of a direct flight from Fujairah emirate to Azerbaijan, in particular, to Azerbaijani districts can also contribute to the development of such cooperation.

The diplomat asked Emir of Fujairah to consider that issue.

Shikarov said that as a result of the simplification of the visa regime by Azerbaijan for the UAE citizens, the flow of tourists to the country increased by 25-30 times.

The diplomat added that the number of Azerbaijan-UAE flights increased up to 28 per week.

Shikarov said that another flight will be opened from March 2017, in particular, Air Arabia airline will make Baku-Sharjah-Baku flight.

The diplomat informed Emir of Fujairah about a favorable business sphere, economic indicators and big regional projects which are being implemented in Azerbaijan.

The ambassador urged Fujairahs businessmen to invest in the Azerbaijani economy.

Emir of Fujairah expressed interest in developing cooperation with Azerbaijan in many spheres and stressed readiness to assist and support in that issue.

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the UAE exceeded $57 million in January-September 2016. Some $50 million of that amount accounted for the import of products from the UAE.
Al Arabiya said that Egypt, dealing with an excessive number of stray dogs, is looking to export them to Korea.

/ Korea Times file



By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea has agreed to help Egypt solve the Middle Eastern country's problem of stray dogs, Al Arabiya news outlet reports.

Al Arabiya said on Dec. 10 that Egypt was looking into sending live dogs to Korea.

Egyptian executioners' have been shooting the dogs on sight.

But online reports about the culling have brought strong criticism.

Photos showed public workers shooting stray dogs in Alexandria.

The alleged dog trade was greeted with surprise in Korea.

The Korean Embassy in Egypt and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency are investigating where the report originated.

"There is a possibility that a private entrepreneur in Korea contacted the Egyptian government or a businessman in Egypt," an embassy official said.

He said confirming the veracity of the report was most urgent.

Koreans have traditionally eaten dogs, a custom often criticized as barbaric.

Korean residents in Egypt doubted whether the report was true, and if it was even possible to trade live stray dogs.

"Not only would exporting live dogs be problematic, but processing them in Korea  slaughtering and storing  would also open up problems," a Korean trade company official in Egypt told Hankook Ilbo.

Al Arabiya also said the General Organization for Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Agriculture in Egypt had agreed to send 10,000 live donkeys to China  which needed the skins rather than the meat  after requests from many Chinese companies.

The trade was reportedly respective of an Islamic ruling in Egypt's al-Azhar.
Yoo Yeon-Seok and Seo Hyun-Jin show a good chemistry between them in "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim" as the story about their characters become the center of attention in the fifth week's episode of the drama.

Yoo, the 32-year old can show a good acting skill and match Han Suk-Kyu who plays the titular role Teacher Kim in the drama. In "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim" Episode 11, Yoo delivered his performance in a drinking scene with Han. According to Seoul Daily News, the scene is delivered well as the tension and the flow is put nicely because of the good performance from both actors.

Meanwhile, the 31-year old actress Seo was cast play doctor Seo-Jung who is more senior than Yoo's character Dong-Joo. She has her challenge to portray a more senior, while in reality, she is one year younger than Yoo, which can be a big issue in the hierarchical culture of Korea who values seniority. However, she can deliver a performance without awkwardness.

Their characters received a big portion in last week's two episodes, episode 9 and 10. Seo-Jung who is under scrutiny from Geodae Hospital due to her history of PTSD was under pressure because of her psychological evaluation. She came to doctor Nam's restaurant and handed over her resignation to him. However, she did not know where to go until Do In-Bum came and offered her a ride.

They went to Seoul, and in the journey, Dong-Joo called him and asked about her whereabout. In-Bum told him that Seo-Yeon is with him.

Seo-Yeon and In-Bum talk and have a pizza after they arrived in Seoul. She then went to Geodae Hospital to meet the psychiatrist who conducts her evaluation. He handed her the result to give it to Teacher Kim. His evaluation showed Seo-Yeon has no recurring symptom of PSTD.

The performance of Yoo and Seo can match Han. Fans of the highly acclaimed actor can watch his ability to portray a variety of emotion according to SBS. Han shows his remarkable work ethic in the drama as he worked hard to portray a doctor as realistic as possible.

Watch their performance in the preview of "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim" Episode 12 below:
Attorney General Marty Jackley confirmed Tuesday that six inmates in the South Dakota Womans Prison were indicted by a Hughes County grand jury on drug related charges.

The indictments are as followed from Jackley's office:

Jacqueline Marie Carrera, 39

-one count ingestion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine

-one count of possession of unauthorized article with intent to deliver to prisoner, class 6 felony, punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment and/or $4,000 fine

Charlene Kay Littlebear, 34

-one count ingestion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine

Jennifer Jo Paasch, 41

-one count ingestion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine

-one count of possession of unauthorized article with intent to deliver to prisoner, class 6 felony, punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment and/or $4,000 fine

Naomi Ruth Redowl, 32

-one count ingestion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine

Amanda A. Spotted Horse, 35

-one count of accessory to a crime, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine

Tahnasha Emilee Stricker, 28

-one count ingestion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine

These individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the Attorney Generals Office.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Turkey is grateful for Azerbaijans support in the fight against terrorism, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral said.

Ozoral made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijani journalists in Baku Dec. 13.

The fight against terrorism is important, he said. Everybody must fight against terrorism. Those who support terrorism today will become victims of terrorism tomorrow.

The diplomat added that a memory book will be opened in the Turkish embassy in Baku in connection with the recent terrorist attack in Istanbul.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

Trend:

Jewish community is a very active part of Azerbaijani society and they contribute a lot to the development of the country, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the one on one meeting with the visiting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

"It is a very important factor in our bilateral relations," Ilham Aliyev told Netanyahu.

Benjamin Netanyahu, in turn said he was glad to be in Azerbaijan the second time, adding that Israel and Azerbaijan have excellent relationship and also friendship between the people of Azerbaijan and the Jewish people.

Netanyahu noted that the Jewish people feel very comfortable in Azerbaijan, adding that some 70,000 people from Azerbaijan, Jews, are living in Israel.

"We have a lot to talk about, including energy of course," he told President Ilham Aliyev.

"I look forward to discussing with you how we can increase prosperity between our people and cooperation between our governments," he told Ilham Aliyev.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan is cooperating with Israel in a multilateral format, Asim Mollazade, Azerbaijani MP, told Trend Dec. 13

Being friendly countries, Azerbaijan and Israel fully cooperate in such areas as security, economy, energy, culture, Mollazade, who is also a member of the Azerbaijan-Israel working group on interparliamentary relations, said.

Mollazade added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to Azerbaijan contributes to the strengthening of relations between the two countries.

Speaking about some Iranian politicians dissatisfaction with the development of the Azerbaijan-Israel relations and Netanyahus visit to Azerbaijan, the MP added that not only Azerbaijan, but also a number of other Muslim countries, cooperate with Israel today.

Mollazade added that the Azerbaijan-Israel relations are not directed against any third country, as those ties are based on mutual interest of the two countries.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to Azerbaijan will serve for the interests of not only the two countries but also the whole world, Aydin Mirzazade, Azerbaijani MP, told Trend Dec. 13.

Pointing to the close friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, Mirzazade, who is also a member of the Azerbaijan-Israel working group on interparliamentary relations, said that the relations can be exemplary for other countries.

Azerbaijan and Israel respect each other and closely cooperate, he said. Every official visit intensifies the current relations between the two countries.

Azerbaijan and Israel have never used their relations to create problems to other countries and do not intend to do so, he said.

Mirzazade said that the Israeli prime ministers visit will contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Israel.
Missouri Department of Transportation officials will present multiple options for replacing the Interstate 44 outer road bridge over the Gasconade River near Hazelgreen at a public meeting on Dec. 14. The bridge, which is between Lebanon and Waynesville, was part of Historic Route 66.

MoDOT closed the bridge in Laclede County on Dec. 18, 2014, after an inspection determined it was unsafe for travel. The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission in July approved funding for a new bridge.

The meeting will be from 4 to 6 at Laclede Electric Cooperative, 1400 E. Route 66 in Lebanon.

No formal presentation will be made at the meeting, but MoDOT designers and engineers will be available to explain the proposed options for the bridge, which are:

1) Do nothing;

2) Rehabilitate the existing structure using either MoDOT or contract workers;

3) Build a new, standard bridge in the same place as the existing structure;

4) Construct a new, standard bridge nearby;

5) Build a connection between the north outer roadway segments using the existing bridge piers from a previous rehabilitation project; and

6) Construct a new truss bridge (similar to the current bridge) in the same location as the existing bridge.

Displays and project information presented at the public meeting will also be available at www.modot.org/central.

Employees with MoDOTs Historic Preservation Unit will also be on hand to explain the federal Section 106 Process, which identifies historic properties, analyzes potential effects on them and determines what action will need to be taken to avoid, minimize or mitigate those effects. More information on historic preservation and the Section 106 Process can be found at www.modot.mo.gov/ehp/HistoricPreservation.htm.
A woman who was mad at a doctor walked out of Jordan Valley Community Health Center, got in her truck, and drove through the front doors into the lobby. The destructive act was about 4:40 p.m. at the clinic on Tampa Street at Benton Avenue.

Springfield Police arrested the woman.

"Why'd you do it?" a reporter asked her.

"Because they won't give me my medications," she said as officers took her to jail.

Jordan Valley serves low-income and under-insured people. It provides health care, dental care, behavioral health care and other services in Springfield and five other cities in southwest Missouri.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13



Trend:



As part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Azerbaijan, Israeli PM and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made press statements.



President Ilham Aliyev once again welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Azerbaijan.



"I am very glad to host you in our country. You visited Azerbaijan almost 20 years ago and now it is a second visit of yours. Though it is a short visit, it is very productive. Definitely, the visit will strengthen bilateral ties between our countries," said Ilham Aliyev.



President Aliyev said that Azerbaijan and Israel cooperate in many areas.



"The documents signed today clearly show that we have very big potential for cooperation. All the documents are very important. Among them I would like to underline the importance of the document, which will allow us to create a joint economic commission, which is a very efficient mechanism of bilateral cooperation. Im sure it will help to increase trade turnover and to diversify it. Though, trade turnover is at the good level, but mainly because of the oil supplies from Azerbaijan to Israel. We need to work in order to diversify and increase it," he said.



Ilham Aliyev went on to add that he discussed with PM Netanyahu a very broad range of issues concerning the two countries' bilateral relations, regional development.



"The discussions were very open, friendly and will help us to strengthen our bilateral ties," said President Aliyev.



"We have very good prospects for cooperation in agriculture. We discussed it with Mr. Prime Minister. Israel has modern technologies. Some of them we are using, and some of them probably will come to Azerbaijan later. There are good prospects for cooperation in that area," said Ilham Aliyev.



He further said that tourism is one of the areas of potential development between Azerbaijan and Israel.



"I am sure that the direct flight between Israel and Azerbaijan will help us to see the growing number of tourists in both directions. Cooperation in the area of education has very great potential," he said.



"Also we actively cooperate in the area of defense industries and this cooperation lasts already for many years. Ill just bring you one figure to illustrate how broad this cooperation is. So far the contracts between Azerbaijani and Israeli companies with respect to purchasing defense equipment has been close to five billion dollars. More precisely, 4,850,000,000 dollars. The biggest part of these contracts has already been executed and still we continue to work on that. And we are very satisfied with the level of this cooperation," noted the president.



Ilham Aliyev further said that the sides discussed the people-to-people contacts.



"This is an important part of our bilateral cooperation because Jews in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani diaspora in Israel, which consists mainly of Jews from Azerbaijan, is an important factor of our bilateral relations. For centuries, Jews and Azerbaijanis have lived in peace, friendship and continue to live here in Azerbaijan. And the Jewish community in Azerbaijan is a very active part of our society, they contribute a lot to the development of modern Azerbaijan and these close relations between our people is a very important factor in our bilateral relations," the president said.



The president went on to inform that there are seven synagogues, five of them in Baku, Jewish schools in Azerbaijan. One of them, Chabad Ohr Avner educational center, according to the president, was inaugurated in 2010.



"I remember that day because I was there at the inauguration ceremony, and the late President Shimon Peres made a video address to us. I am glad that Mr. Prime Minister has time in his tight schedule to visit that educational center and also to meet representatives of the Jewish community," President Aliyev recalled.



He went on to say that the relations between Jews and Azerbaijanis have always been very good, during all the times.



"Jews have lived in Azerbaijan for centuries. Its their home, they feel themselves at home, and they do a lot in order to strengthen our country. This was during the times of the Tsarist Russia when Azerbaijan was part of Russian Empire, this was during Soviet Union times and now for 25 years of independence relations between the people, all the people who live in Azerbaijan is a good example of multiculturalism, mutual respect, and respect for each others traditions, religion. I always say that respect for your own religion and tradition starts with respect for traditions and religions of your neighbor," Ilham Aliyev said.



He reminded that 2016 was declared the year of multiculturalism in Azerbaijan.



"Azerbaijan is recognized in the world as one of the international centers of multiculturalism. I am glad that our citizens, our former citizens  Jews who live now in Israel  keep close ties with Azerbaijan. They help us, they promote us. We have diaspora organizations in many countries, but only in Israel our diaspora consists of people of Jewish origin. This also shows unity between Jews and Azerbaijanis," said the president.



He said that the relations between Azerbaijan and Israel are very broad, diversified, and cover many areas.



"I mentioned some of them. And I am sure that the visit of Mr. Prime Minister will allow us to discover new areas of cooperation. We have established very close, friendly relations and the visit of the Prime Minister is a good indicator of that," Ilham Aliyev said.



He expressed hope that PM Netanyahu's next visit to Azerbaijan will come earlier than in 20 years.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday, said it had intercepted 83.390 kilogrammes of ephedrine and arrested three suspects in connection with the seizure at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.

NDLEA Commander at the airport, Ahmadu Garba, in a statement, gave the names of the suspects as a 42-year-old Unegbu Daniel Chukwu from Anambra State, 28-year-old Ettah Joseph from Cross Rivers State and a 31-year-old Wopara Bright from Rivers State.

According to Garba, ephedrine is an ingredient used in the production of methamphetamine. He said: Officials of the NDLEA at the departure hall of MMIA detected a bag and during search it was found to contain substances that tested positive for ephedrine with a total weight of 83.390kgs.



The parcels of ephedrine were concealed amidst artificial hair. Three suspects were apprehended and are being interrogated to determine their level of culpability. A bag containing 2.500kg of heroin was also abandoned at the arrival hall during the inward screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline flight from Nairobi, Kenya. The drug (top left) and the suspects.

Similarly, a luggage containing 4.6kg of cannabis meant for export to London on a British Airways flight from Lagos was also abandoned at the airport.

On the ephedrine seizure, preliminary investigation revealed that Unegbu Daniel, who works as a clearing agent, collected the luggage from his client and took it to the airport. Two luggage handlers, who allegedly worked with him, are Ettah Joseph and Wopara Bright.

The cases are under investigation to uncover the drug cartel that is behind the illegal shipment of the narcotic drugs.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

Trend:

Azerbaijans Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Sevda Mammadaliyeva has participated in the 11th meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of the UNESCO in Paris.

As part of the visit, Sevda Mammadaliyeva held discussions with member countries of the World Heritage Committee on including Azerbaijans Shaki city and its historical part in UNESCOs World Heritage List.

The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund.
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

Read more
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Turkish Petkim petrochemical complex continues talks with SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S., a subsidiary of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR, to buy a stake in the Star oil refinery, said a message posted on the website of the Turkish Public Disclosure Platform (Kamuoyunu Aydnlatma Platformu) Dec. 13.

This is about the purchase of 12-14 percent stake of Rafineri Holding from SOCAR Turkey Enerji which will make it possible for Petkim to become the owner of 7-9 percent share in the Star refinery, according to the message.

The annual naphtha production volume, used by Petkim oil and chemical complex (where SOCAR has equity share) as the main raw material, will amount to 1.66 million tons at the STAR refinery.

Along with naphtha, the new oil refinery will produce diesel fuel with ultra-low sulfur to the amount of 5.95 million tons, aviation kerosene - 500,000 tons, reformate - 500,000 tons, petroleum coke - 630,000 tons, liquefied gas - 240,000 tons, mixed xylene - 415,000 tons, olefin LPG - 75,000 tons and 145,000 tons of sulfur. The refinery will not produce petrol and fuel oil.

It is planned to refine Azeri Light, Kerkuk and URALS oil at the plant.

At present, the share distribution in the project is as follows: 60 percent is owned by Rafineri Holding A.S. (100 percent owned by SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S.), which had previously acquired all the remaining 18.5 percent share of Turcas Petrol in the project, and 40 percent belongs to SOCAR.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
Maya Lau, a former New York Times Magazine news assistant and blog editor who has been reporting the last couple of years in Baton Rouge, has been hired by the Los Angeles Times and assigned to cover the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. She started last week. The note on her went out to the newsroom today.

From: Shelby Grad, Assistant Managing Editor, and Jack Leonard, Law Enforcement Editor

Im delighted to announce that Maya Lau has joined us to cover the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. She started last week after finishing a recent multistate road trip from Louisiana.

Maya comes from the (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate, where she covered crime before becoming part of the newspapers investigative team.

She started her career writing freelance pieces from Senegal while serving in the Peace Corps. She worked as a news assistant at the New York Times before moving to the Shreveport Times in Louisiana, where she covered breaking crime news and criminal justice issues.

At the Advocate, Maya tackled some of the highest profile national stories of 2016, including the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police, the killing of three law enforcement officers just days later and the Louisiana floods that claimed more than a dozen lives.

She also earned a reputation for hard-hitting accountability journalism. Her work on the Angola Prison wardens business side deals ended the career of one of the countrys most colorful and celebrated prison administrators. Subsequent stories on the states prison system led to the resignations of several other top prison officials. Her work won an IRE award this year.

Maya grew up in San Diego and holds a bachelors degree in international studies from Vassar College.

Please join me in congratulating her on her new assignment and make her feel welcome. She has taken Alice Waltons old desk, near the Metro-Baja Metro border.


Boys at Manzanar by Toyo Miyatake.



A day after his own Travel section ran two letters that justified the World War II internment of Americans, Los Angeles Times editor-publisher Davan Maharaj said today the letters did not meet the papers standards for civil, fact-based discourse and should not have been published. The letters took a benign view of one of the ugliest and most racist chapters in American history: the internment in camps of more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans and immigrants  men, women and children  many of whom lost everything when ordered to leave their homes, farms and businesses. The scar remains in many Los Angeles families today.

The internment was ordered in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the height of West Coast fears about the potential for collusion by people with ties to Japan. A 1988 law signed by President Ronald Reagan formally apologized to the internees, said the internment resulted from "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership rather than from real security considerations, and established a $1.25-billion trust fund to pay reparations.

Why were these letters published in the LAT's Travel section? The section had recently run a piece by cultural writer Carolina Miranda on her visits to the sites of Manzanar and Tule Lake, the two most notorious camps in California. Travel editor Catherine Hamm says in a blog post this afternoon by the Times' Readers' Representative that it was her decision to publish the letters, thinking the views would be balanced by later letters in response. "Hamm said that, in retrospect, that was not the right decision, because the views expressed in the letters did not lend themselves to reasoned discussion," the blog post says.

From the LA Times explanation, which does not apologize or discuss further actions or sanctions beyond a plan to publish responses in next Sunday's Travel section:

Maharaj made the same point in discussions with staff members disturbed by the letters, and in remarks to editors during The Times daily news meeting this morning.

Letters in The Times are the opinions of the writers, and editors strive to include a range of voices. But the goal is to present readers with civil, intelligent, fact-based opinions that enlarge their understanding of the world, Maharaj said. These letters did not meet that standard.



The longer of the letters argued that the interned Americans were "housed, fed, protected and cared for" and were safer than they would have been if they stayed home. The writer claimed to know that the Japanese-Americans then in California would have had strong family loyalty to Japan over the U.S. A second letter cited a book by Bill O"Reilly and introduced the non-sequitur that, because Japan's military committed atrocities in the Philippines, "I would have much rather been interned by the U.S. in California than by the Japanese in their captured lands." Yesss, but...

There was a quick reaction online to the letters.

I don't now why the LA Times thought it have to give space to this racist garbage. https://t.co/HT3KMX14hP  Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) December 12, 2016

Somebody at the LA Times is in sore need of history lesson. https://t.co/JqHPgZVUnm  Angry Asian Man (@angryasianman) December 12, 2016

The blogger at Angry Asian Man elaborated on his blog:

Are we really doing this right now? Amid heightened Islamophobia, ominous discussions of Muslim registries and a spike in post-election hate crimes, the lessons of history seem more relevant now than ever. Thousands of innocent Japanese Americans were locked up behind barbed wire. Their stories stand as a memorial of the government's injustice and a warning to those who cite internment as "precedent." [skip] So what is the Los Angeles Times doing, giving voice to these views? This is not a matter of "balance." Steve and Dick [the letter writers] can believe whatever fucked up crackpot history they want, but a major metropolitan newspaper giving a platform to their whackshit arguments is dangerous and, frankly, irresponsible.



This from an LA Times reporter:

Just a reminder that the government LIED about its *own* findings on the necessity of Japanese internment https://t.co/d6urboyWl5 pic.twitter.com/ToHYlvyxl8  Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) December 12, 2016



This is the topic of my LA Observed segment on KCRW this afternoon at 4:44 p.m. Also, with Manzanar and Tule Lake in the news, it's never a bad time to point younger readers to Farewell to Manzanar or to the photographic record created for the government by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange.

Lining up to register in San Francisco. Photo: Dorothea Lange.

Manzanar War Relocation Center near Independence, California. Photo by Dorothea Lange.
PRESS RELEASE

Chronology: The Blame Russia Operation for Election Interference Is a British Fraud

Dec. 12, 2016 (EIRNS)The current hysteria to blame Russia for hacking and interfering in U.S. elections is no civic vigilence, but a classic British fraud operation, for the Queen to protect her Obama and avert the dumping of his failed London/Wall Street policies. It should be seen in the widest international context, of the collapse of the U.S. economic and political system, as well as the potential break-away from this collapse by populations around the world, from the Philippines, to Italy, to Bulgaria, to Moldova, to the U.S., to the Brexit voters, and more.

The chronology below shows the beginnings of the fraud, with the July 2016 Clinton campaign charges against Russia, made after leaks showed that the Democratic National Committee was secretly acting in Hillarys favor against Bernie Sanders, her principal Democratic opponent. Next, the Obama Administration itself jumped in to make accusations against Russia, as voters started lining up against Clinton. Then, after the electorate went for Trump, Obama formally called for an investigation of Russian involvement. Now there are calls for delaying the Electoral College vote altogether, and even for a re-election, plus denunciations of Russian President Vladimir Putin for hijacking the election.

Spring, 2016

JUNE. The Democratic National Committee said that two hacker groups had invaded its IT systems. The assertion was then later made by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Obama Administration that the hacking, and subsequent release of emails, was "consistent with" Russian tactics, while not denying the illegal activity that had been exposed by the release.

Summer, 2016

JULY. Before the Democratic Party Convention began, WikiLeaks posted some 20,000 emails from the DNC showing it was favoring Hillary Clinton, and prejudiced against her primary opponent Bernie Sanders, a breach of their own rules of impartiality. The DNC Chairman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was forced to resign just before the convention due to the exposure. Julian Assange, head of Wikileaks, denied that Wiki had hacked the emails, but said that they came from a leaker.

Autumn, 2016

OCT. 7. The Obama Administration formally accused Russia of conducting cyber attacks aimed at the elections. A statement was issued by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, and Jeh Johnson, Department of Homeland Security, saying that, "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russias senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." Such "belief," and never evidence or proof, has remained the basis of all charges. The activities referred to were hacking attempts against state election systems. Clapper and Johnson, while not blaming the Russian government specifically, asserted that the patterns of "scanning and probing" could be traced in many cases to servers operated by a Russian company.

A careful review of the Clapper-Johnson statement, however, made clear that there was no unanimous consensus among the U.S. intelligence agencies that there was adequate proof to accuse the Russians of being behind the alleged hacking. In fact, by October, according to a Dec. 12, 2016, Washington Post account, quoting FBI officials, the Bureau had greatly scaled back its five-month long probe of Russian interference and ties to the Trump campaign, due to lack of sufficient evidence.

OCT. 8. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded that the hacking accusations lacked any proof, and were intended for the purpose of inciting, "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria." Dep. Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, on the Ministry website, denounced the U.S. statements as "dirty tricks."

NOVEMBER. During October through Nov. 6, Wikileaks released several batches from a trove of over 50,000 emails, from the private email account of Clintons campaign manager, John Podesta. Again, Wikileaks spokesmen stated that they did not receive the documents from hackers, but obtained them from whistleblowers inside the United States.

Winter, 2016

DEC. 9. The Washington Post and New York Times reported that the CIA knew that Russia was behind hacking during the elections. Naming no sources, nor facts, the Post wrote, "The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency...according to officials briefed on the matter."

The London Guardian reports the same line full-blast. However, the Guardian itself quoted an expert debunking this. ZeroHedge reproduced a Guardian article which has since disappeared from Guardian homepage, featuring a British diplomat (friend of Assange) who has met and knows the leaker of the DNC emails. Those who know the leaker know, says the diplomat, that the emails were leaked, not hacked, and the leaker is not Russian but American.

From the Guardian piece: "Assange has previously said the DNC leaks were not linked to Russia. A second senior official cited by the Washington Post conceded that intelligence agencies did not have specific proof that the Kremlin was directing the hackers, who were said to be one step removed from the Russian government. "Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, who is a close associate of Assange, called the CIA claims bullshit, adding: They are absolutely making it up. "I know who leaked them, Murray said. Ive met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian, and its an insider. Its a leak, not a hack; the two are different things. "If what the CIA are saying is true, and the CIAs statement refers to people who are known to be linked to the Russian state, they would have arrested someone if it was someone inside the United States. "America has not been shy about arresting whistleblowers and its not been shy about extraditing hackers. They plainly have no knowledge whatsoever, said Murray."

DEC. 9. Obama ordered a review of Russias involvement in hacking to rig elections, going back to 2008.

DEC. 9. Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, issued a statement, saying, "Any Administration should be deeply troubled by Russias attempt to tamper with our elections."

DEC. 9. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), to CNN, "Im going after Russia in every way we can go after Russia....theyre one of the most destabilizing influences on the world stage. I think they did interfere with our election, and I want Putin to personally pay a price."

DEC. 10. Sen. Lindsey Graham issued a stream of tweets that Russia "is trying to break the backs of democraciesand democratic movementsall over the world." He wrote, "Dont have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what Russia is up totheyre trying to undermine democracies all over the world."

DEC. 10. Reporter Glenn Greenwald, on Intercept: "There is still no evidence for any of these [CIA] claims. What we have instead are assertions, disseminated by anonymous people, completely unaccompanied by any evidence, let alone proof.... Anonymous claims leaked to the newspapers about what the CIA believes do not constitute proof, and certainly do not constitute reliable evidence that substitutes for actual evidence that can be received. Have we not learned this lesson yet?"

DEC. 11. Four Senators issued a joint statement calling for an investigation of Russias involvement in election interference. Democrats Charles Schumer (NY) and Jack Reed (RI); and Republicans John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

DEC. 12. Ten electors in the Electoral College (from six states and the District of Columbia) released an open letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, asking for confirmation of whether Russia interfered in the 2016 elections, as a condition for the electors to formally cast ballots in the Electoral College when it meets Dec. 19 in respective states. This initiative is endorsed by the Hillary Clinton campaign. The electors letter says they, "require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations." A leader of this ploy is Christine Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi.

DEC. 12. John Podesta, on behalf of defeated and conceded candidate Hillary Clintons "campaign," of which he was manager, requested that the CIA or "intelligence community" give a briefing to the Electors at the Electoral College meeting, before they cast their votes. Clearly aimed to have an official executive agency intervene to tamper with the Electors votes.

Politico:

"In his statement released on Monday [Dec. 12], Podesta said The bipartisan electors letter raises very grave issues involving our national security, and added that electors have a solemn responsibility under the Constitution and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed.... "The statement describes how we continually protested that the Russians were doing it, indicating Podesta is speaking here for Clintons campaign. We now know that the CIA has determined Russias interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump. This should distress every American."

The "bipartisan electors" refers to the 10 led by Nancy Pelosis daughter.

If done, this would be the most serious such executive interference in elections since Andrew Johnson requested that the Army help him convene a Congressional session including southern slaveowner "Congressmen" whose entry Congress had rejected.
PRESS RELEASE

Sen. Rand Paul Promises To Block Any Nomination of John Bolton

Dec. 12, 2016 (EIRNS)Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told ABC News on Sunday that he would vote against any appointment for John Bolton in the Trump administration.

"John Bolton doesnt get it. He still believes in regime change. Hes still a big cheerleader for the Iraq War.... John Bolton is so far out of it and has such a naive understanding of the world.... He should get nowhere close to the State Department if anybody with a sane worldview is in charge,"

Paul said.

Given the ten Republican to nine Democrat make-up of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rands vote could sink Boltons nomination, if all Democrats held up against him.

Current press chatter is that Bolton is being considered for the number two spot at State Department, which also requires Senate approval.
PRESS RELEASE

Galbraith: Russian Actions in Palmyra A Benefit to Mankind

Dec. 12, 2016 (EIRNS)Former Clinton-Administration Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, today praised the combined Russian and Syrian actions in Palmyra as "a benefit to mankind." Speaking to Russia Today, Galbraith said,

"Russian air strikes and [the] Syrian government putting more troops [in Palmyra] is a service to mankind, to preserve both the population of the area but also these important monuments that really are [part of the] common heritage of all mankind.... Certainly one doesnt want to see the Islamic State retake Palmyra, and Russian air strikes and Syrian troops are there to protect them [the people], and I hope they succeed."

Galbraith then took direct aim at Obamas lame-duck desperation efforts to arm IS terrorists on his way out the door, charging that there was

"no merit in arming rebel groups after theyve lost [because this is] only going to get more people killed ... I cant see any point in policy for 45 days of arming rebel groups and then have a President come in who is going to go on the opposite side of the conflict."

"Its clear that [Assad] has won this war. The important thing now is to try and figure out ways to bring the fighting to an end," Galbraith said, reiterating that "there is no point in continuing the war once it has already been lost."

In fact, "Russia and the West have some common interest in Syria," Galbraith argued, that of reducing the fighting in order to reduce the flow of refugees to Europe. If Washington and Moscow were to work together, he said, they could reach, "a negotiated surrender by the opposition where they dont end up with nothing.... I think these are things that are achievable."
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

The lowest rate of Azerbaijans national currency, manat, against the US dollar was set at 1.7475 AZN/USD for Dec. 14 after a currency auction held by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) on Dec. 13 with the participation of the countrys state oil fund SOFAZ, said the CBA.

The auction started with a price of 1.743 manats per US dollar, according to the CBA.

Under a new mechanism, the official rate of manat is set, based on the weighted average rate in accordance with the transactions concluded with commercial banks in the interbank foreign exchange market and in auctions.

On the days when no auction is held, manats official rate against the US dollar will be set based on the weighted average rate formed in the currency market on the basis of the currency purchase and sale transactions between banks.
Sumner Redstones girlfriend troubles continued to play out in court.

Former lover Sydney Holland alleged in a lawsuit Monday that Redstone tossed her out of his home and cut her out of his will after she fulfilled her commitment to love and care for the 93-year-old billionaire.

In a breach of contract lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Holland demanded that the controlling shareholder of CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. honor his previous commitment to provide for her financially.

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Holland asked that, after his death, she receive a half interest in his Beverly Park mansion, worth about $20 million, as well as half his cash, bonds, stock and options that are not tied up in a trust that will eventually hold his controlling stock in media companies Viacom and CBS. his five grandchildren.

Robert Klieger, an attorney for Redstone, dismissed Hollands claims as a work of fiction punctuated by not-so-subtle threats of extortion and an overwhelming stench of greed. The critical witnesses will not be Mr. Redstones celebrity friends but instead the nurses and household staff members who, unlike Ms. Holland, were by his side day and night.

Hollands action is in response to a lawsuit that Redstone filed in late October. The ailing media mogul sued Holland and another former companion, Manuela Herzer, alleging the two women made off with $150 million of his money  and he said that he wanted it back.

Redstone has been sparring with Herzer for more than a year, since Herzer filed a lawsuit that claimed Redstone was no longer mentally competent. As that case unfolded, Holland kept quiet, in part, out of respect for Redstone and because she wanted to protect an inheritance that her daughter was in line to receive from the media tycoon, said people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.

That changed when Redstone included Holland in the October court action, a complaint that detailed her shopping sprees.

Redstone ended his relationship with Holland around Labor Day 2015 when he discovered she was having an affair with another man. Holland acknowledged the affair, but said it was a mistake  and that Redstone had had plenty of his own affairs during the five years the pair were together.

After years of monogamous commitment to Redstone (with none in return) and living in a very controlled environment, Sydney succumbed to a short-lived affair, her court papers state. Naively, when Sydney confessed her indiscretion to Redstone, she hoped for the same forgiveness and understanding that she had shown him during all of his affairs. But, to her devastation, Redstone broke off their engagement and asked Sydney to move out.

Within two months, Herzer was out of the picture, too. Herzers court action became a huge embarrassment to Viacom and the Redstone family, and led to Redstone stepping down as executive chairman.

Hollands court papers contained photos of Holland and Redstone together in happier times, and copies of a 2013 email from Redstones estate planning attorney, when Redstone was contemplating marrying Holland or adopting her daughter.

Redstone never asked Holland to return the money or gifts her gave her, including a 9-carat yellow canary engagement ring that he presented her in 2011, until the October lawsuit.

In her court papers, Holland said she and Herzer were not the only women who Redstone had doted on. Her suit lists alleged amounts of money that he showered on mistresses and girlfriends.

He gave one of his mistresses  an aspiring reality show producer  approximately $21 million; he gave a flight attendant on the CBS corporate jet approximately $18 million; he later slept with her sister, who he gave approximately $6 million; He gave another woman  $10-11 million, Hollands lawsuit alleges.

He gave another mistress  who claimed to be a model  over $7 million; he gave a friend of his grandsons girlfriend a job at Showtime and approximately $6 million, the suit said.

meg.james@latimes.com

@MegJamesLAT

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Quest Diagnostics Inc., a lab services company, is investigating an online data breach that exposed the test results and other personal information of 34,000 patients nationwide.

The New Jersey-based company announced Monday that an unauthorized third party hacked into the MyQuest patient portal Nov. 26, accessing protected health information including name, date of birth, lab results and in some cases, phone numbers. It said the breach did not include Social Security numbers or credit card, insurance or other financial information.

The breach affected 10,662 patients in California, company spokeswoman Kim Gorode said Tuesday.

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Quest said that it has provided notice to patients whose accounts were affected and that there is no indication that the information has been misused.

Due to the nature and the limited amount of information that was accessed, we believe the risk of harm to patients is low, said Denny Moynihan, a Quest spokesman.

The company said it is taking steps to prevent similar incidents and is working with a cybersecurity firm to assist in the investigation. The data breach was reported to law enforcement officials.

Were taking it seriously, Moynihan said.

Quest provides lab services at about 2,200 patient centers across the U.S., including about 400 locations in California. It says its services, which range from routine blood tests to genetic testing, are used by about 30% of American adults annually.

The publicly traded company had nearly $7.5 billion in revenue last year.

Patients with questions about the data breach can call Quest at (888) 320-9970.

Channick writes for the Chicago Tribune. Times staff writer Jim Puzzanghera contributed to this report.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

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With really good marketing and sheer force of will, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. has, over the last decade, turned the Golden Globes from a scandal-riven booze fest into a highly rated, influential awards ceremony, a metamorphosis that has never been clearer than this year.

The diverse slate of film acting nominees it announced on Monday sent a clear, early message to Oscar voters dogged by the #OscarsSoWhite label: There can be no excuses this year.

Last year, when faced with criticism for yet another all-white slate of acting nominees, some members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences argued that there simply had been too few nonwhite choices.

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This year, the 85 voting members of the HFPA identified an array of possibilities that included nominating six black actors  Denzel Washington and Viola Davis for Fences, Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris for Moonlight, Ruth Negga for Loving and Octavia Spencer for Hidden Figures. Also nominated: Lions Dev Patel, British-born to Indian parents.

Beyond that, Globes voters also took the opportunity to recognize a wide range of stories, saluting movies driven by women, such as Florence Foster Jenkins, which tells the true story of a New York socialite whose inability to sing didnt stop her from trying, and 20th Century Women, a poignant look at a free-thinking, independent mother raising her son beyond the bounds of convention.

Hidden Figures, a drama about the black women mathematicians who helped launch John Glenn into space, scored two nominations, including a nod for supporting actress Spencer.

It is nice to have more inclusion  and inclusion across the board, said Moonlight writer-director Barry Jenkins, whose coming-of-age drama received six nominations. Looking at the types of movies nominated in the best picture categories, especially in this post-election world, its really this beautiful snapshot of what America is right now. And its not just a monolith. I think thats the biggest statement.

Full coverage: 2017 Golden Globes Awards 

By casting its net wide, the Globes continued a trend. In the wake of Januarys Oscars So White controversy, . the SAG Awards and Emmy Awards ceremonies practically flaunted their inclusive sets of winners and nominees.

Here in Hollywood, the only thing that we value more than diversity is congratulating ourselves on how much we value diversity, Emmys host Jimmy Kimmel joked in his opening monologue at the September show. Ill tell you, the Emmys are so diverse this year, the Oscars are now telling people were one of their closest friends.

Now the question is: Will film academy members follow suit?

Its not like voters are going to have to go out of their way to look for worthy names, said veteran awards consultant Tony Angellotti. There are a lot of bona fide candidates, not just fringe people who, if you vote for them, it might look like youre just responding to the controversy. Every one of these people are great actors delivering strong performances.

The Jan. 24 Oscar nominations will also be the first since the academy invited its largest and most diverse set of new members ever  683 industry professionals, 46% of them female and 41% people of color. What effect those newcomers might have on this years nominees remains to be seen, though many new members think that a shift in sensibility is inevitable.

Theres a real art-house sensibility to this new class, says German director Maren Ade, who joined this year. They invited a lot of European filmmakers, as well as Asians too, people who see things and value things a bit differently, simply because they come from a different life experience.

Sharing  and illuminating  that distinct life experience was the impetus for such films as Moonlight, the drama depicting three periods in the life of a young black man as he struggles with, and ultimately learns to accept, his gay identity. Made for a pittance, the film has grossed nearly $11 million, a figure that will likely balloon with the Globes and (potential) Oscars nominations.

I do think its one of these movies that has the ability to change the way people look at life and each other.  Naomie Harris

I do think its one of these movies that has the ability to change the way people look at life and each other, said Moonlight actress Harris, Golden Globe-nominated for playing the films drug addict mother.

Her Moonlight castmate, Ali, also a Globe nominee, added: I just hope that thats something that is the norm moving forward, where there are people from all walks of life and different cultures and communities in some way, shape or form being represented on screen, and their work being appreciated and recognized.

The academys diversity push also heightened the way that movies like Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Fences and Loving were marketed and discussed.

I feel like there is a stronger interest in our movies subject matter right now, said director Jeff Nichols of his movie Loving, which tells the story of Mildred and Richard Loving, the couple who fought the state of Virginia to recognize their interracial marriage. Theres a hunger for stories about another kind of hero.

Whether this years inclusiveness, which has yet to appreciably extend to Latino, Asian and other minority filmmakers, becomes the new normal or is a one-and-done aberration is open to debate. The 2017 release schedule is littered with traditional, older-white-male-friendly titles like Christopher Nolans World War II epic, Dunkirk, and Joe Wrights Winston Churchill drama, Darkest Hour.

But theres also a drama about the 1967 Detroit riot directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who won the Oscar for The Hurt Locker. And there are likely a handful of smaller movies, like Moonlight and The Birth of a Nation  the high-profile Sundance sensation about Nat Turners slave revolt that flamed out early  that are currently hidden in plain sight.

Having spoken to his indie filmmaker friends since the release of Moonlight and its subsequent success, Jenkins said he has heard whispers that studios and financiers might be increasingly open to distinct, diverse stories.

I think that theres an informal mandate that everyone is feeling right now, Jenkins said. And I think great work  work that is needed -- is going to come out of it.

Times staff writer Trevell Anderson contributed to this story.

glenn.whipp@latimes.com

Twitter: @glennwhipp

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Cable powerhouses HBO and FX, armed with the buzziest series on TV such as Game of Thrones and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, respectively, dominated the 74th annual Golden Globe nominations. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which bestows the Globes, also saluted several freshman series on traditional networks as well as streaming services.

Though the Golden Globes have routinely honored new and original programming, a large crop of newcomers, including HBOs Westworld and Insecure, NBCs This Is Us, FXs Atlanta, and Netflixs The Crown and Stranger Things made solid showings, scoring in several marquee categories.

Four of the five nominees in the best TV series, drama category are shows that launched this year. One of the most veteran series in the comedy or musical category is ABCs black-ish, which is in the midst of its third season.

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The nods to the new shows were even more impressive in an era that FX chief John Landgraf and others have labeled as Peak TV, in which an avalanche of original scripted shows  many featuring A-list talent  has crowded the TV spectrum.

HBO received 14 Golden Globe nominations, the most of any network. The windfall was propelled by Westworld, which notched three nominations, and Game of Thrones, which scored two nominations and also won the Emmy this year for outstanding drama. Both shows are nominated for best TV series, drama.

FXs juggernaut The People v. O.J Simpson: American Crime Story, which won multiple Emmy Awards this year including limited series or TV movie, continued its winning streak in capturing five Golden Globe nominations, the most of any series. The project, which revolved around the behind-the-scenes tensions of Simpsons murder trial, is nominated for limited series or movie made for television.

Globe nominees from Simpson include Courtney B. Vance (lead actor), who played defense attorney Johnnie Cochran; Sarah Paulson (lead actress), who played prosecutor Marcia Clark; and Sterling K. Brown (supporting actor), who played prosecutor Christopher Darden. All three won Emmys for their portrayals.

Also nominated in the supporting actor category is John Travolta, who played defense attorney Robert Shapiro.

Providing competition for Simpson is AMCs The Night Manager, which notched four nominations, including limited series or movie, actor (Tom Hiddleston), supporting actress (Olivia Colman) and supporting actor (Hugh Laurie).

Rounding out the limited series or movie category are ABCs American Crime, Starzs The Dresser and HBOs The Night Of.

Vance and Hiddleston will compete in the category of lead actor in a limited series or movie against Riz Ahmed and John Turturro (both of The Night Of), and Bryan Cranston (HBOs All the Way).

Nominated with Paulson in the lead actress, limited series category is Felicity Huffman (ABCs American Crime), Kerry Washington (HBOs Confirmation), Riley Keough (Starzs The Girlfriend Experience) and Charlotte Rampling (BBC Americas London Spy.)

Amazons Transparent, which made history last year as the first online series to win best series, drama or comedy, scored another Globe nomination for TV series, musical or comedy, and will face off against HBOs Veep, which has won two consecutive Emmys for comedy series.

Also nominated for TV series, musical or comedy are Atlanta, Amazons Mozart in the Jungle, and black-ish.

Rami Malek of USA Networks Mr. Robot, who won this years Emmy for best actor in a drama, is nominated for lead actor, drama, along with Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Matthew Rhys (The Americans), Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan) and Billy Bob Thornton (Goliath).

The entries for best actress, drama was one of the Globes most intriguing categories. Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black, who won the previous Emmy for lead actress in a drama, was snubbed, while Keri Russell of The Americans is the sole Emmy nominee this year to earn a Golden Globe nomination.

Other nominees for best actress, drama, include Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld), Caitriona Balfe (Outlander), Winona Ryder (Stranger Things) and Claire Foy (The Crown).

Rachel Bloom of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the previous Golden Globe winner for TV actress, comedy or musical, is nominated again, along with Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), Sarah Jessica Parker (Divorce), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish) and Issa Rae (Insecure).

The nominees for lead actor, comedy or musical, are led by Jeffrey Tambor of Transparent, who has won a Golden Globe and two Emmys for lead actor in a comedy for his portrayal of a transgender woman.

Other nominees include Anthony Anderson (black-ish), Donald Glover (Atlanta), Gael Garcia Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle), and Nick Nolte (Graves).

greg.braxton@latimes.com
In a loss for local governments, the California Supreme Court decided Monday that online travel companies such as Expedia Inc. are exempt from paying hotel occupancy taxes.

The ruling came in one of several lawsuits filed by California cities and counties against the online firms, including Hotwire Inc. and Priceline.com.

The local governments have been attempting to get the firms to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes.

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Lawyers for the government argued the tax should be based on the total amount the companies collect from consumers, not the lower dollar figure the hotels receive. Cities and counties wanted the online sites to pay the difference.

The state high court agreed the tax should be based on the higher amount but said the online companies were not obligated to pay it.

It changes the rules in California, said Kent L. Richland, who represented the city of San Diego in the case decided Monday. It is going to affect all these cases because they are going to have to be decided under new rules.

Several cities and counties still have cases pending, including a lawsuit by Los Angeles.

So far, the online travel firms have won most of the disputes, which have been litigated across the country.

Californias top court, examining a San Diego transient occupancy ordinance, said it applied only to hotel operators, not the online businesses.

Online travel companies are not operators, the court said in a unanimous decision written by Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar.

San Diego sued the companies in an attempt to recover about $21 million in back taxes.

Hotels contract with online sites to provide rooms at discounted rates. The sites charge a higher rate and require consumers to pay a charge for taxes and fees.

Hotels have been paying occupancy taxes based on the amounts they received for their rooms, not the higher price paid by consumers to the travel firms

Industry officials say online travel companies typically mark up the wholesale price by 8% to as high as 22%, but there is no standard for this.

Local governments may still be able to recover the additional tax revenue by suing hotels, which were not a party in Mondays case.

If hotels are sued, the Internet firms could end up footing the bill anyway, Richland said.

Most hotels have contracts that obligate online travel companies to compensate them for any taxes eventually owed, Richland said.

San Diego has not yet decided what to do to next, he said.

A spokesman for the California Hotel and Lodging Assn., a trade group for the states hotels and inns, said the good news is that the ruling calls on online travel companies to pay taxes based on the rate they charge guests, not on the wholesale price charged to them by the hotels.

But it also means that hotel owners will be responsible for finding out from the online travel companies how much they marked up the rooms and collect tax on that higher rate. It means more work on the part of the hotels, said Lynn Mohrfeld, president and chief executive for the trade group.

In order to change city laws to make online travel companies pay taxes on the total charged to guests, Mohrfeld said an ordinance must be placed before voters and approved by a two-thirds majority.

Getting a two-thirds majority is an awfully tall order, he said.

The Travel Technology Assn, the trade group that represents online travel companies such as Expedia and Orbitz, declined to comment on the court ruling.

maura.dolan@latimes.com

Twitter: @mauradolan

hugo.martin@latimes.com

Twitter: @hugomartin

UPDATES:

5:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published at 4:35 p.m.
A hit-and-run driver who caused another motorist to swerve off the road and plow into a South Los Angeles apartment building, killing a 5-year-old boy, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, according to authorities.

Jorge Ruiz-Garcia, 28, surrendered to police on Dec. 9, more than a week after he fled the collision but left the front grill of his car at the scene, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The incident occurred just after midnight on Dec. 1, when the driver of a 2012 Chevy Cruz crossed into opposing traffic in the 2800 block of South Central Avenue, ran off the roadway and crashed into a two-story apartment building.

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Six family members were home at the time of the crash, and the boy and his father were pinned beneath the vehicle.

The driver, identified by police as Vrenda Moreno, 23, told authorities she swerved because a vehicle cut her off; she was found to be under the influence of alcohol, according to officials. She was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

On Monday however, the LAPDs Central Traffic Division said in a statement that Moreno, who suffered minor injuries from the crash, had been released from custody after detectives discovered the actual cause of the collision.

Detectives recovered video from surveillance cameras in the area that showed a man getting into a vehicle parked in a northbound direction along the east curb of Central Avenue, police said. The driver started his car and made a U-turn directly into the path of Morenos northbound Chevy Cruz.

The vehicles made contact, with the front grill of the turning vehicle becoming dislodged, police said. Moreno continued in a northwestern direction and hit the apartment building.

The other driver stopped briefly then fled the scene southbound on Central Avenue, police said.

Officers found the front grill at the scene and identified the second vehicle as a 1996 Saab. Police said they identified Ruiz-Garcia, who lives nearby, as the owner and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Ruiz-Garcia turned himself in to the Central Area Police Station, where he was booked and then released, authorities said.

Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorneys office, said Ruiz-Garcia has been charged with one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter.

Santiago said Moreno has not been charged and that prosecutors have asked police for further information before deciding whether to charge her.

Luis Sanchez, the boy, suffered blunt force trauma and was pronounced dead at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center shortly after the collision, police said.

His parents suffered severe injuries and numerous bone fractures. Three other children  a 16-year-old boy, 13-year-old girl and 6-year-old girl  suffered minor injuries.

Luis and his father were trapped under the vehicle and debris, according to Brian Humphrey, an L.A. Fire Department spokesman. The boy was the most severely trapped, he said in a statement.

Police told KCBS-TV the boy had written a note to Santa Claus, asking for a bicycle for Christmas. The note was strewn among wreckage from the crash.

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson

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Students from multiple Silicon Valley high schools shared and distributed sexually explicit images of other teenagers via an online file-sharing account, police said.

Mountain View police have been investigating the Dropbox file-sharing account, which has been frozen to prevent users from uploading, sharing and downloading images, department spokeswoman Katie Nelson said.

The police probe into the file-sharing account, which was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, was launched in late August when administrators at Mountain View High School learned about it, she said.

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During what authorities described as a meticulous investigation, detectives discovered male and female teens from various high schools accessed the Dropbox account to distribute the inappropriate images.

The images were uploaded to the Dropbox account and then access to the account was shared among students, Nelson said.

Police declined to say how many students and schools were involved in the file-sharing operation.

The Mountain View Los Altos District and the police department sent a joint letter to parents on Monday, addressing concerns about the file-sharing operation.

District Supt. Jeff Harding and police Chief Max Bosel said the investigation was wrapping up. Police plan to present the case to the Santa Clara County district attorneys office for review by the end of this year. Police have contacted and interviewed all people and possible victims involved in the file-sharing operation, officials said. Counseling was also offered.

Unfortunately, this case has affected some of our students, and it once again reinforces the need to educate both students and parents on safety measures surrounding social media and online activity, they wrote in the letter. We are in a new age of communication and technology. We are committed to educating our students to be good digital citizens and partnering with our parents to keep our students safe.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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A 73-year-old man in the early stages of dementia was killed by a Bakersfield police officer after a neighbor called 911 and erroneously reported the man was carrying a revolver, authorities said Tuesday.

The officer fired seven rounds toward Francisco Serna, who died just feet from his home.

But when police searched Serna for a gun, they found only a dark, faux wood crucifix.

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My dad did not own a gun. He was a 73-year-old retired grandpa, just living life, Sernas son, Rogelio Serna, said. He should have been surrounded by family at old age, not surrounded by bullets.

The shooting early Monday has sparked anger and grief in the San Joaquin Valley and drawn questions about how police respond to the elderly and people with disabilities. It prompted Bakersfields newly named police chief, Lyle Martin, to address the criticism and reveal details about the incident.

I cannot tell you enough that this community is affected by Mr. Serna losing his life, Martin said. This is a tragic incident.

About 12:30 a.m., a woman arrived at her home in the 7900 block of Silver Birch Avenue, the same block as Sernas home, and began removing items from a vehicle, Martin said. When Serna approached her, he was acting bizarrely and had one hand in his pocket, according to Martin. Police said she saw a black- or brown-handled object that she believed was a firearm.

The woman ran inside her home and told her husband to call police. The husband told a 911 dispatcher that a man outside had a revolver and had brandished the weapon.

Two police officers responded just after 12:40 a.m. As officers and the couple stood outside, the woman spotted Serna exiting his home across the street.

Martin said she pointed toward Serna, saying, Thats him.

The couple rushed inside their home and closed their doors. The officers took cover.

Serna kept both hands in his jacket and continued walking toward police, who ordered him to stop and show his hands. Serna ignored the officers commands, police said.

When Serna was about 20 feet away, after ignoring commands to stop, Officer Reagan Selman fired seven rounds at Serna, Martin said.

Serna was struck and fell in the driveway. He was pronounced dead, just across the street from his home.

Officials said that about 30 seconds had elapsed between the woman identifying Serna and the officer opening fire. By then, five more officers had responded and saw the shooting. None of the other officers fired any rounds, Martin said.

It was Selmans first police shooting since joining the force in July 2015. He and the six other officers were placed on routine administrative leave.

The incident comes at a pivotal time for the Bakersfield Police Department, which was jolted by scandal when two detectives pleaded guilty this year to federal drug and corruption charges.

Martin, a 28-year department veteran, was tapped in December to become the new police chief and was scheduled to be sworn in Wednesday. He said his willingness to discuss a disputed police shooting so soon after the incident was a show of transparency.

This is what the public can expect from their police chief. Ill give you the facts as I know them, Martin said. When things are bad, Ill be out front. When things are good, my employees will be out front.

The shooting drew wide condemnation from Sernas family and activists. The family scheduled a vigil late Tuesday where Serna was killed.

Rogelio Serna said his father had shown signs of dementia since 2015 and occasionally experienced delusions. His symptoms seemed more pronounced in the last month, his son said.

The elder Serna had worked at a cotton gin in McFarland, Calif., for years and retired in the early to mid-2000s, his son said. Rogelio Serna said his parents moved to Bakersfield about eight years ago, leaving the town of Wasco so they could be closer to their children. He lived with his wife and one of his daughters.

Bakersfield police had visited Francisco Sernas home at least two times before because his father would become confused and activate a medical alarm, Rogelio Serna said.

A police spokesman confirmed officers had visited Francisco Sernas home, but he could not provide any details.

About eight hours before the shooting, police said, there was a separate incident involving Serna in which a neighbor also believed the man may have been armed, Martin said.

Serna had reportedly banged on doors and windows and attempted to drag the neighbor outside for a fight. The neighbor said Serna also kept a hand in his pocket and acted as though he had a gun, police said. The neighbor did not report it to police.

Police officials said officers were trained to respond to a variety of situations, including a man in the early stages of dementia.

The Ruderman Family Foundation, which advocates for those with disabilities, said the shooting indicated police were ill-prepared.

These tragedies are unnecessary and preventable, said Jay Ruderman, the foundations president.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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UPDATES:

9:28 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with more details about the shooting and additional quotes.

12:50 p.m.: This article was updated with a police spokesman saying Serna ignored orders and that police had gone to his home in the past.

This article was originally published at 7:05 a.m.
The Los Angeles City Attorneys office announced civil actions against members of a San Fernando Valley white supremacist gang Tuesday, saying the filings could result in evictions, officials said.

City Atty. Mike Feuer said he filed nuisance abatement orders against several members and associates of the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods, a known white supremacist gang that has been accused of involvement in drug and weapons trafficking, identity theft and other crimes.

According to the complaints, the properties in Granada Hills and Canoga Park were known havens for drug and gang activity. Feuer said Los Angeles police officers have recovered stolen vehicles and credit cards, heroin and methamphetamine on multiple occasions at the Granada Hills home of Johnny Reed, a Peckerwoods member who is also accused of having ties to the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang.

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Investigators have been monitoring the properties for months, but Feuer said it was especially important to take action against racist criminal organizations at a time when hate crimes are perceived to be rising.

Were now fighting to prevent white supremacist gangs from infesting our neighborhoods, and they bring with them, of course, this toxic mix of violence and crime and hate, Feuer said.

Each home that was subject to an abatement complaint is located near a high school or middle school, Feuer said. Photos from inside one of the homes showed swastikas and Confederate flags adorning the walls, as well as the Peckerwoods gang crest.

The separate complaints named Johnny Reed and Erik Cutshaw, a known associate of the white supremacist gang, as well as the property owners at each location. Feuer said his office was able to compel informal changes at a third location in Canoga Park by working with the property owner.

A gang member detonated a pipe bomb at the third location earlier this year, according to Feuer, but no one was injured. The bombing was the result of an intra-gang feud, and Feuer would not say whether criminal charges were pending in connection with the explosion.

If the city attorneys office wins the abatement orders, they can compel changes to the conditions at each property. Owners will normally comply and find new tenants as a result of the orders, but the residences could be shut down if property owners dont cooperate; Feuer described that as a last resort.

Asked if his office had considered filing a gang injunction against the Peckerwoods, a tactic the city has used repeatedly to tamp down the activities of street gangs across Los Angeles, Feuer declined to comment but did not rule out that possibility.

We have a very robust series of gang injunctions in the city, and we will pursue appropriate remedies at the right time, he said.

While the investigations were focused on the Peckerwoods gang and drug activity, Feuer said the activities of hate groups in Los Angeles County have become an increasing concern in the wake of a reported surge in bias incidents and crimes.

We need to be protective of people, especially now, he said. There is no question that we are living in a nation that is experiencing heightened tension.

james.queally@latimes.com

Click here for a Spanish version of this story

For more breaking crime and cops news in Southern California, follow me on Twitter: @JamesQueallyLAT

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The death of a woman whose body was found floating in a canal two years after she disappeared is being called a homicide.

Elizabeth Sullivan, 31, went missing in October 2014. After months of searching by detectives and family members, the case went cold.

Then on Oct. 4 of this year, a body was found in the Point Loma area. An autopsy revealed the decomposed corpse was Sullivan, and that she had been killed.

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Our goal is to solve this case  but being able to [tell the family]  at least theres a bit of closure, San Diego Police Lt. Mike Holden said last week.

The lieutenant wouldnt divulge what prompted investigators to label the death a homicide, or when they believe Sullivan was slain.

The mother of two young girls was last heard from via text message on Oct. 13, 2014. Police were worried for her safety, saying the disappearance was out of character.

Family members raised thousands of dollars through a GoFundMe account to help in the search. Thousands of posters and business cards with information about her disappearance were put up and passed out, and a cash reward was offered, according to updates on the page.

But by January 2015, all leads had been exhausted.

Unfortunately law enforcement and a private detective that has taken on our case have still not been able to find a trace of Elizabeth, the page said.

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com

Winkley writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Paris is hosting the 8th meeting of the Azerbaijan-France intergovernmental commission on economic issues, the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry said Dec. 13.

In the meeting, the Azerbaijani side is headed by the countrys Finance Minister Samir Sharifov.

The French side is headed by Matthias Fekl, minister of state for foreign trade, the promotion of tourism, and French nationals abroad.

The meetings agenda includes issues of economic and financial cooperation, energy, transportation, space and ICT, agriculture, environmental protection, culture, education, youth and sports.

As part of the visit to France, Sharifov will hold several bilateral meetings, including the meeting with French Finance Minister Michel Sapin.

Earlier, Frances Ambassador to Azerbaijan Aurelia Bouchez said that her country is interested in attracting investments from Azerbaijan.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and France amounted to $557.1 million in January-October 2016, $430.3 million of which accounts for exports to France.
San Diego Countys Roman Catholic bishop and Tijuanas archbishop were among hundreds who gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday to pray for relief from war and safety for those fleeing persecution worldwide.

With a fence separating them, Bishop Robert McElroy, Archbishop Francisco Moreno Barron, members of human rights groups and others celebrated the 23rd annual Posada Without Borders, or La Posada Sin Fronteras.

The posada traditionally is a reenactment of Joseph and Marys search for shelter before the birth of Jesus. The call to help current-day refugees, McElroy said, is rooted in the origins of Christianity.

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The gospel tells us that shortly after his birth, Jesus, Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt, McElroy said. Thus they became refugees immediately. We are all called to solidarity with those who are undocumented, those who are immigrants, those who are refugees.

McElroy said the weekend event had a special poignancy on the border and a special poignancy this year with the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president.

During his campaign, Trump pledged to deport all immigrants who were in the country illegally and to increase border security. More recently, the president-elect has said his priority would be to first deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have criminal records.

But the issue, McElroy said, is a global one.

This is a horrendous time, the bishop said. Millions of people have been dispossessed from their homes all across the world and are fleeing and have nowhere to go.

Pope Francis has said were not in the middle of a world war. But in a sense were in the middle of a piecemeal world war, because theres so many [regional] conflicts going on simultaneously.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

Fikes writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Click here for a Spanish version of this story
The trail of the catastrophic Ghost Ship fire was littered with errors: Safety complaints lingered without reply, the warehouse was illegally converted into residential units, and former residents said the electrical system was shoddy.

The buildings history was not unique, a fact that has prompted officials in several cities to declare a crackdown on warehouse conversions.

Inspectors in Bay Area cities have opened investigations into dozens of buildings, and the Los Angeles city attorney has sued the owner of a warehouse illegally converted to lofts. Denver authorities recently evacuated a building that wasnt zoned for residents.

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But truly cracking down on illegal converted warehouses is going to take time, detective work and likely more resources from municipal governments. Many operators of these warehouses work under the radar, avoiding city permits that would prompt scrutiny from inspectors.

One Oakland official with knowledge of the Ghost Ship investigation estimated that there were 20 to 50 other illegally converted warehouses in the city alone, though none likely as dangerous as the warehouse where 36 were killed this month in the worst fire in modern California history.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said some firefighters at the station level know about many of the converted buildings. But until the fire, the city had not made any coordinated effort to gather the information and take action, the source said.

Oakland developer John Protopappas agreed the city is replete with warehouses zoned for commercial use but whose owners rent out space to residents. Under the law, the owners or operators must make costly improvement to the buildings  including the electrical and fire-safety systems  if they use the warehouses as housing.

By making the conversion without city knowledge, they avoid having to make upgrades but often put their tenants at risk.

To legalize use is very hard and difficult. They say: Forget it. Im not going to do it, Protopappas said. Now youre looking over your shoulder every time something occurs.

And many residents take those risks because of the housing shortage and the relatively cheap rent these buildings offer.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said its a complicated problem that will involve putting more resources into finding the buildings and addressing the rental crunch that has pushed people into substandard housing.

Theres a broader issue: How is the city going to grapple with other commercial properties that house tenants? Feuer said. The city must continue to do a better job of increasing our stock of affordable housing.

Feuers office has sued the owner of one warehouse illegally converted into lofts and asked the court to put the building into a receivership.

Feuer said a notice was to be posted to tenants about the dangers they face inside the property at 931 East Pico Blvd., in the Fashion District. The warehouse is essentially a vast open space with an freight elevator. Inspectors, according to the city, found that the fire doors on the elevator didnt work.

The ceiling in some lofts is nothing more than wooden floors above, noted the lawsuit. According to an inspection, furniture filled a fire escape and exits were obstructed.

Last week, the owner of the building, Morad Ben Neman, was charged with several misdemeanors, including constructing residences that lacked smoke alarms and accessible fire escapes. Neman faces up to $9,000 in fines and 4 1/2 years in jail. His attorney said the building poses no danger and that the city attorneys court filings were only about political ambitions.

The recent filings came after a year of violations, including inadequate fire systems and illegal interior conversions, officials alleged.

Bradley Brunon, Nemans attorney, said the building poses no danger and that the judge during Mondays hearing declined to immediately put it into the hands of a receiver.

You can walk anywhere within 10 minutes of the place and find buildings that are clearly dangerous, Brunon said. This is an outgrowth of the Oakland fire and certain political ambitions.

Brunon said he walked through the building last week and found a clean, well-lighted structure.

Its unclear how difficult it would be to find additional illegally converted warehouses if municipal leaders made it a greater priority. In Oakland, there is growing evidence that the city received numerous complaints about the Ghost Ship in recent years but did not get inside the building.

Officials revealed last week that no building code enforcement inspector had been inside the warehouse in at least 30 years, despite the fact that the building and its adjoining lot had been the focus of nearly two dozen building code complaints or other city actions.

The address of the warehouse was not found on the fire marshals inspection system, raising more questions because the Fire Prevention Bureau is required to conduct annual inspections of all commercial buildings and multifamily residences.

Officials have not determined the exact cause of the Ghost Ship fire, and they have been focusing on the buildings electrical system. Former residents described a maze of exposed wires and extension cords running through the warehouse.

In the wake of the fire, city code inspectors in Oakland and San Francisco opened numerous investigations into questionable buildings.

Among the targeted properties was an old warehouse on Magnolia Street dubbed by some residents as the Death Trap  a label they said a city inspector used to describe their home. Oakland records show that in 2011, city inspectors found blight in the exterior of the warehouse but could not verify unpermitted alterations inside. The complaint file remained open without action until 2014.

Former resident Brent Bucci, a light show artist who now lives in Los Angeles, said tenants were told they would have to leave. But evictions never occurred, and some residents continued to live there, he said.

City inspectors returned to that warehouse Thursday investigating a habitability complaint, taking pictures of its exterior. Records filed later in the day showed they found the property in violation of city codes.

Three blocks away, inspectors investigated a complaint of illegal residents at an address last permitted for use as a hydroponics office. Past inspections of the building were stymied after city personnel could not gain entry. Its unclear whether they got into the building last week, but officials did serve the owners with a violation notice.

The crackdown has prompted mixed feelings in Oakland.

On Monday, a group of Oakland activists pulled together a rally, demanding a moratorium on evictions.

Honor the dead! Fight for the living! they wrote in an online call to action. Eviction is not a solution to a symptom of gentrification.

Serna and St. John reported from Oakland; Knoll and Winton from Los Angeles. Times Staff Writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.

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Popular interest in fleeing to Canada after the election of Donald Trump may have ebbed since a surge of inquiries crashed Canadas immigration website on election night. But one Internet advocate and entrepreneur is still treating the idea seriously, and taking serious steps to follow through.

Hes Brewster Kahle, founder of the San Francisco-based Internet Archive. Kahles indispensable service maintains copies of 279 billion web pages, 2.2 million films and videos, 2.5 million audio recordings and 3 million digital books, among other items such as software and television programs.

We think its prudent at this point to at least take candidate Trump  now President-elect Trump  at his word.  Brewster Kahle, founder and chairman of the Internet Archive

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Upon Trumps election, Kahle says, he and his staff mined their own TV archive to examine what he had said during his campaign about freedom of the press and the Internet.

What we found, Kahle told me, were words of warning. We think its prudent at this point to at least take candidate Trump  now President-elect Trump  at his word. Consequently, the Internet Archive has stepped up its plans to back up its entire data hoard in Canada, out of reach of what might be efforts under a Trump administration to block public access to the material. Hes seeking donations to cover the estimated $5-million cost of the project by Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.

Kahle, who founded the Internet Archive in 1996 and serves as its unpaid chairman, had grounds to be concerned. Among the nuggets retrieved, as he explained in a FAQ on the Archives blog, were these:

-- A Trump quote from a Dec. 8, 2015, rally: We have to go see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand what is happening. We have to talk to them, maybe in certain areas, closing that Internet up in some way. Some of you will say, Oh, freedom of speech, freedom of speech. These are foolish people.  We have got to maybe do something with the Internet because they [terrorists] are recruiting by the thousands.

-- A rant about planning to open up our libel laws to attack newspapers. Newspapers are totally protected, he said, but were going to have people sue you like youve never been sued before.

These declarations may reflect ignorance or uninterest in legal precedent or the history and nature of the Internet, but thats immaterial, given the power vested in the presidents hands and the hostility to hard science and inconvenient factual information emanating from the GOP leadership in Congress.

Kahle is not alone in expressing uneasiness about Trumps attitude toward public access to information, online and otherwise. The American Library Assn. suffered a firestorm of criticism from its member librarians after publishing a post-election news release headlined, ALA offers expertise, resources to incoming administration and Congress.

ALA President Julie Todaro followed up with an apology for a statement she conceded could be interpreted as capitulating to and normalizing the incoming administration. She reiterated the organizations commitment to its core values of free access, intellectual freedom, privacy and confidentiality, which she acknowledged are at odds with messaging or positions taken by the incoming administration.

Added ALA President-elect James G. Neal, Columbia Universitys librarian emeritus: You cant have an effective democracy unless you have access to government information, and people accessing information should be able to do it in private or confidentially, without the risk of censorship.

Kahle said the Canada backup is part of the Internet Archives program to create several copies of its material in locations other than its Bay Area servers. If youre running an operation designed for the long term, he told me, the best thing you can do is make copies. If the Library of Alexandria had made copies, we wouldnt have lost half the manuscripts of Archimedes. The library of Alexandria, Egypt, was perhaps the greatest storehouse of Western knowledge when it was burned by zealots two millenniums ago.

Partial backups of the Internet Archive already exist in Alexandria and Amsterdam, and plans for a Canadian backup were underway in collaboration with the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta, which were already major contributors of public-domain digital material to the Archive. Initially, the goal is to copy that material onto the universities own servers, and ultimately to create a full backup residing on servers somewhere in Canada. That wont be a small job: the Archive already comprises 26 petabytes of data. (A petabyte is 1 million gigabytes or 1 billion megabytes.)

The choice of a location wasnt random, the Internet Archive says, but reflects strong user protections in Canada, including stringent regulations protecting users privacy.

The history of libraries is one of loss, Kahle said. Libraries like ours are susceptible to different fault lines: earthquakes, legal regimes, institutional failure. All these threats confront the Internet Archive, but the latter two are bulking larger every day.

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.
Donald Trump announced Tuesday he will nominate oil tycoon Rex Tillerson to be secretary of State, setting up a potential confrontation with fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill who are uneasy with the Exxon Mobil chief executives close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a brief statement released by his transition office early Tuesday morning, Trump praised Tillerson, 64, as among the most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers in the world and said he would be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for Americas vital national interests.

The announcement came as Trump finds himself increasingly at odds with members of his own party over his favorable posture toward Russia. Senate Republicans have already announced they will move forward with a bipartisan investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election, even as Trump mocked intelligence reports that Putins government sought to help him win the race.

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In picking Tillerson, Trump is launching a battle of wills with some high-profile congressional Republicans, including the partys 2008 presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has spent the last several days signaling discomfort with the choice.

While Rex Tillerson is a respected businessman, I have serious concerns about his nomination, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), said in a statement after the announcement. Rubio, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, which will conduct Tillersons confirmation hearings, said the next secretary must be someone who views the world with moral clarity and is free of potential conflicts of interest.

Exxon Mobils vast corporate interests around the globe are certain to be a flash point in confirmation hearings, as foreign policy experts warn Tillersons history with the company threatens to give the appearance he would be compromised.

The nomination will probably test senators appetites for defying Trumps administration and reveal what, if any, political price is to be paid by those who do so.

Anything short of full GOP support in the Senate could doom a Tillerson nomination, as nearly all Democrats are likely to oppose him based both on objections to his Russia ties and on their concerns about Exxons environmental record.

Rex Tillerson is not qualified to be secretary of State and the Senate should not confirm him, Rep. Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that set out the Democratic arguments against the choice.

Aside from his utter lack of diplomatic experience, Mr. Tillersons cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department. Especially in light of mounting evidence that Russia interfered in our election to aid President-elect Trump, its unthinkable that Mr. Tillerson should become our top diplomat.

Engel warned that if the Senate does vote to confirm, Tillerson will face a grilling in his committee over his Russia ties.

Trump aides hope to win over wavering senators with high-profile endorsements of Tillerson from mainstream GOP foreign policy figures, including former Secretaries of State James A. Baker III and Condoleezza Rice. They will also argue that Tillersons ability to close business deals in some of the most politically volatile spots in the world positioned him well for the job as the nations top diplomat.

Rice, who runs a consulting firm for which Tillerson is a client, said in a statement that he would bring to the job a remarkable and a broad range of experience; a deep understanding of the global economy; and a belief in Americas special role in the world. She called him a successful businessman and a patriot.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, who is Rices partner at the consulting business, echoed the sentiment in a similar statement.

Tillerson, a Texas native, has no government or diplomatic experience, but he worked for decades to forge ties between his company and Russia. The 64-year-old is one of the worlds highest-paid executives and a rare American who has had a personal relationship for years with Putin.

Tillerson was awarded Russias Order of Friendship by Putin in 2013, two years after Exxon Mobil signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Russias largest state-owned oil company, Rosneft, for joint exploration and production.

When Russian forces invaded Ukraine and seized the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Tillerson lobbied against U.S. sanctions that stood to cost Exxon millions of dollars.

The oil company, which long resisted government efforts to fight global warming, is also under state and federal investigations for charges it misled its investors about the risks posed by climate change. Tillersons supporters, however, note that he moderated the companys stand on the issue.

As reports surfaced late last week that Trump was poised to select Tillerson, influential Republicans sent clear signals they wanted Trump to look elsewhere.

McCain, who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on CBS Face the Nation: It is a matter of concern to me that he has such a close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin.

Other Republicans, meanwhile, have been making clear they are not on board with Trumps pursuit of a cozier relationship with Putin, who they warn is an aggressor with little regard for human rights.

Trumps choice of Tillerson brings to an end one of the more public and drama-filled Cabinet post searches in years.

For weeks, Trump seemed to be courting his erstwhile critic Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee for president. The two met multiple times and offered high praise for each other. Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was one of Trumps strongest supporters in the campaign, also openly sought the job.

But Trumps interest in Romney generated a backlash from the president-elects large base of anti-establishment supporters. And Giuliani fell out of favor, in part because of concerns that his overseas business interests would be a confirmation problem.

Trump then veered toward the ideological right, as John R. Bolton, the former ambassador to the United Nations and a neoconservative favorite, rose as a possibility.

Tillersons name emerged late in the search, and his lack of government experience seemed to make him a dark horse candidate. But he impressed Trump in an interview last week, and by the weekend he had emerged as the clear front-runner for the job.

evan.halper@latimes.com

Follow me: @evanhalper

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UPDATES:

6:35 a.m.: This article was updated with reaction to Tillersons selection.

The article was first published at 3:20 a.m.
Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Tuesday imposing a 20-week abortion ban while vetoing stricter provisions in a separate measure that would have barred the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.

Kasich acted on both proposals the same day they landed on his desk.

The so-called heartbeat bill would have prohibited most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy  or before many women know they are pregnant. Its provisions cleared the Republican-led Legislature during a lame-duck flurry last week after being tucked into separate legislation.

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Similar measures elsewhere have faced legal challenges, and detractors in Ohio feared such legislation would lead to a costly fight in the courts. Opponents predicted it would be found unconstitutional, a concern Kasich shared.

Kasich, an abortion-rights opponent, chose instead to sign off on a 20-week ban similar to those now in effect in 15 states and blocked from enforcement in two others. The measures are based on the assertion that fetuses can feel pain then. Opponents have challenged the pain-capable characterization as scientifically unsound. Ohio lawmakers rejected a Democratic amendment that would have added exceptions for rape and incest.

Ohio lawmakers still have the option to override his veto. Doing so would require a three-fifths majority of each chamber.

The developments in Ohio are a prelude to a broad offensive to be launched in January by abortion-rights opponents emboldened by the election success of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

GOP lawmakers in numerous states  including Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky  plan to push for new anti-abortion legislation. Their efforts are being supported by a national anti-abortion group, Americans United for Life, which released a report Tuesday contending that many abortion clinics are in violation of state health and safety standards.

In Congress, Republicans are expected to advance legislation banning most abortions after 20 weeks and halting federal funding for Planned Parenthood as long as it performs abortions. President-elect Trump has pledged to support both measures.

The Republican-controlled Ohio Senate acted with initial caution on the divisive heartbeat bill before passing it suddenly last week.

Abortion-rights groups oppose it, and Ohio Right to Life, the states oldest anti-abortion group, has remained neutral because of constitutional questions.

The idea of its backers was to spark a challenge to the U.S. Supreme Courts 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks, that ultimately would outlaw abortion nationwide.

Also on Tuesday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court threw out a law requiring abortion clinics to have doctors who have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of their facility.

The court ruled that the measure, which requires doctors with admitting privileges to be present for abortions, violates both the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed it into law in 2014, but courts had blocked it from going into effect. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year struck down a similar provision in Texas.

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Democrats draw sharper battle lines in tug of war over party leadership By Chris Megerian Even as Democrats try to move past last years defeats, their internal fault lines show signs of deepening in the campaign for the partys leadership. The latest evidence came Wednesday when former Vice President Joe Biden endorsed Thomas E. Perez, who served as President Obamas Labor secretary, to chair the Democratic National Committee. We have a lot of good people vying for this important job, Biden said in a statement. But I do think for this moment and in this time, Tom Perez is our best bet to help bring the party back. The endorsement was seen as more evidence that key members of the recently departed Obama administration were backing Perez. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) with Sen. Bernie Sanders. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) It was followed by a statement from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont reiterating his support for Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), another leading candidate in the race. Although Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary, he has continued to try to pull Democrats to the left, and he has emphasized the need to create a grass-roots party. Obama left office with strong poll numbers, but under his watch, Democrats lost power not only in Washington but in states around the country, something Sanders and his allies have stressed in the fight over the party chairmanship. The question is simple: Do we stay with a failed status-quo approach or do we go forward with a fundamental restructuring of the Democratic Party? Sanders said. Read More Facebook

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Border Patrol chief is abruptly out after being brought in as a reformer By Brian Bennett The chief of the Border Patrol will leave his post at the end of the month, likely the result of a change in direction by the Trump administration and a reflection of the new power of the agencys union. Mark Morgan, the agencys head, was hired from the FBI in June to reform the force after a series of corruption allegations and problems with excessive force. He will leave the Border Patrol abruptly after seven months on the job, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Morgans departure was first reported by the Associated Press. Morgan spent 20 years at the FBI and was first brought to Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrols parent agency, in 2014 to overhaul its internal affairs division. After a subsequent stint running the FBIs training academy, he started the top job at the Border Patrol in June. The Border Patrols union had opposed Morgans appointment, preferring a candidate who had risen through the ranks of the agency. The union endorsed President Trump in the election, breaking with its practice of remaining neutral in elections. News of Morgans departure comes a day after Trump announced he would build a border wall and hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents, bringing the total force to 26,000. Trump said the Border Patrol union would have a lot of clout in department decisions. Facebook

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Trump was silent on new U.S. sanctions against Russia, but he praises Putins response By Michael A. Memoli After President Obama on Thursday announced retaliatory measures against the Russian government for what the U.S. has concluded were efforts to interfere in the election, President-elect Donald Trumps response was terse and dismissive, saying it was time to move on to bigger and better things. But after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he would not respond in kind to the U.S. actions  preferring to wait until the new administration takes office  Trump weighed in with high praise. Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016 Trumps tweet did not appear to be off the cuff. As if to underscore his sentiment, Trump affixed the tweet to the top of his Twitter feed. And he posted an Instagram photo shortly after, quoting himself. View Instagram post Trumps effusive words were particularly striking given the bipartisan view of Putin as more adversary than ally. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said they supported the Obama administrations move to expel Russian diplomats and block access to two properties owned by its government. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) is expected to call a hearing on Russias cyber activities when the new Congress convenes next week. A Trump transition spokesman was asked earlier Friday whether Trump had spoken or planned to speak with Putin before his inauguration. The priority right now is for the president[-elect] to get an update next week from the intelligence community, Sean Spicer said. Trumps praise did get tacit approval from some quarters. The Russian embassy in Washington retweeted it. Facebook

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Most popular White House petitions included requests to label a hate group and deport Justin Bieber By Colleen Shalby Over the past five years, Americans have produced and signed nearly 5,000 petitions through the White Houses We the People site. How could we ever forget the effort to get the Obama administration on board with building a Death Star? Some, like that one and a petition to deport Justin Bieber, resulted only in conversation. But others made an impact. The Pew Research Center analyzed the petitions in a recent report. They ranged from serious, like an effort to ban gay conversion therapy at a state level that led the president in 2015 to support states bans, to playful. A request for Obama to appear on a previously unvisited talk show, for example, prompted him to appear on Real Time with Bill Maher in January 2016. In 2015, 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin requested a meeting with the first black president, something she never thought shed live to see. Her petition garnered only 19 signatures. But it nonetheless resulted in one of first couples most memorable meetings, this dance party: The petitioning system, launched in 2011, was part of Obamas open-government initiative. The most common topics for petitioning included healthcare, veterans issues and requests to honor individuals, such as Yogi Berra, and create or officially recognize holidays, like Talk Like a Pirate Day. While not every petition made a change or elicited a response from the White House, many captured a momentary pulse of the nation. Here are the five most popular: Legally recognize the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group, posted Dec. 14, 2012; 367,180 signatures. Establish justice and prevent a great catastrophe, posted April 4, 2016; 331,914 signatures. File charges against the 47 U.S. senators in violation of the Logan Act in attempting to undermine a nuclear agreement, posted March 9, 2015; gained 322,117 signatures. Ask President Obama to appear on HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher,  posted Jan. 15, 2016; 314,226 signatures. Deport Justin Bieber and revoke his green card, posted Jan. 23, 2014; 273,698 signatures. Facebook

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Obama slaps Russia with sanctions for meddling in the U.S. election By Christi Parsons In the most sweeping retaliation against Russia in decades, President Obama slapped the country with new penalties Thursday for meddling in the U.S. presidential election, kicking out dozens of suspected spies and imposing banking restrictions on five people and four organizations the administration says were involved. All Americans should be alarmed by Russias actions, Obama said in a statement. Such activities have consequences. Read More Facebook

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How Trump and an Obamacare rollback could affect the growing gig economy By Chicago Tribune Gabby Golub of Chicago does chalkboard art for bars and restaurants in addition to driving for Lyft and working part time at her old high school. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune) A growing share of the U.S. workforce is reyling on alternative work arrangements, which include on-demand gigs through online platforms like Lyft or Uber as well as work through temporary help agencies, freelance assignments and independent contracts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to conduct a comprehensive survey of these so-called contingent workers next year, its first since 2005, helping policymakers understand the size and makeup of a workforce not covered by many labor protections or privy to the benefits that come with a traditional employer relationship. Whether policy will catch up to the labor shifts is a question experts will watch in 2017. A major conversation point has been how to develop portable benefits that give gig economy workers access to retirement plans, unemployment insurance and paid sick leave even as they move from job to job. Read More Facebook

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Trump touts plans by Sprint and OneWeb to create 8,000 U.S. jobs By Jim Puzzanghera (Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images) President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday touted plans by telecom company Sprint and technology start-up OneWeb to hire a total of 8,000 workers in the U.S. in what he said was very good news for the economy. He appeared to be highlighting previously made jobs announcements. OneWeb, which is building a network of satellites to deliver high-speed Internet access, said on Dec. 19 that it expected to create nearly 3,000 jobs in the U.S. over the next four years after securing $1.2 billion in funding, mostly from Japans SoftBank Group Corp. And the head of SoftBank, which owns Sprint, said on Dec. 6 that the company had agreed to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and create 50,000 jobs here. The announcement by SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son came after he met with Trump at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump touted it that day. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, Trump said Sprint was going to be bringing 5,000 jobs back to the United States. They have taken them from other countries. They are bringing them back to the United States, Trump said. Sprint, though, said in a statement that the jobs would be a mixture of new positions and others that were reinstated. It wasnt clear whether those jobs were part of the 50,000 that were mentioned earlier in the month at Trump Tower. We are excited to work with President-Elect Trump and his administration to do our part to drive economic growth and create jobs in the U.S., said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. We believe it is critical for business and government to partner together to create more job opportunities in the U.S. and ensure prosperity for all Americans. Trump also said the OneWeb hiring is very exciting. OneWeb did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 3:25 p.m.: This story was updated with comment from Sprint. Facebook

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Kerry offers fierce defense of Obamas support for Israel, urges resumption of Mideast peace talks By Laura King Secretary of State John Kerry outlines his proposals for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Zach Gibson / Getty Images) With President-elect Donald Trump tweeting from the sidelines, Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Wednesday outlined broad principles for reviving the moribund Israel-Palestinian peace process -- calls that quickly ignited a new burst of Israeli anger against the Obama administration. Kerrys lengthy and impassioned address, delivered at the State Department, marked the latest chapter in an unusually bitter public clash between the United States and Israel -- and the even more extraordinary spectacle of a president-elect again inserting himself into a sensitive diplomatic matter before taking office. In a speech lasting more than an hour, Kerry appealed for a hiatus in Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, called on Palestinian leaders to explicitly denounce terrorist attacks against Israelis, and warned repeatedly that the prospects for a two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side-by-side, were in jeopardy. We cannot in good conscience do nothing, and say nothing, when we see the hope of peace slipping away, he said. Read More Facebook

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Former California lieutenant governor will meet with Trump to discuss running Agriculture department By Michael A. Memoli Abel Maldonado. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times) President-elect Donald Trump is considering former California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado to lead the Agriculture department, a move that would bring greater diversity to the Republicans Cabinet. Maldonado will meet with Trump on Wednesday at his Palm Beach, Fla., estate. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer noted that Maldonado, owner of Runway Vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley, comes from three generations of farmers and has strong roots in the agriculture industry of California. Trump will also meet with Dr. Elsa Murano, the former president of Texas A&M University and a former Agriculture undersecretary for food safety, in connection to the post, one of the few Cabinet positions yet unfilled. Maldonado, 49, was once considered to be the kind of Republican who could break through the partys struggle to attract widespread Latino support. A Santa Barbara County farmer whose parents were Mexican farmworker immigrants, he served as mayor of Santa Maria before being elected to the state Assembly in 1998. Perhaps Maldonados most notable political moment came when he worked with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to force Democrats to embrace the top-two primary system for California during negotiations on the state budget crisis in 2009. Schwarzenegger rewarded Maldonado with the appointment to the then-vacant post of lieutenant governor in 2010. But Maldonados role in helping push the nonpartisan primary system made him a pariah among many conservative Republicans, and he failed in subsequent races for Congress in 2012 and a brief flirtation with a run for governor in 2014. If nominated and confirmed, Maldonado would be the sole Latino in Trumps Cabinet. Facebook

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Trump attacks Obama over Israel just ahead of Kerrys speech on the Mideast By Michael A. Memoli The detente between President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump, as both aimed to portray a smooth transition of power, appears in jeopardy. Trump condemned the Obama administrations foreign policy on Wednesday, tweeting he was doing his best to overlook inflammatory Obama moves, while engaging in 1990s-style sarcasm. Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.Thought it was going to be a smooth transition - NOT!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2016 Last week, Obama decided to have the U.S. abstain from a United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity, which allowed the measure to pass. The vote angered Israeli leaders, who accused senior U.S. officials of complicity in drafting the resolution, a claim disputed by the U.S. We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but.......  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2016 not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2016 Trumps postings came just before Secretary of State John F. Kerry delivered a major address on U.S. foreign policy that included a rebuttal to Israeli government criticisms of the Obama administration. Trumps statement of support for Israel was welcomed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long had a tense relationship with Obama. President-elect Trump, thank you for your warm friendship and your clear-cut support for Israel! @IvankaTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr https://t.co/lURPimG0wS  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 28, 2016 Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that the president-elects tweets speak for themselves, very clearly. He also stressed that White House officials have been helpful and generous with their time, at least in terms of the mechanics of the transition. In a brief statement to reporters Wednesday night, Trump said he had a general conversation with Obama during the day. Very, very nice, was how the president-elect described the chat, which he said Obama initiated. A White House spokesman confirmed the call and characterized it as positive. When asked whether he thinks the U.S. should exit the U.N., Trump repeated his earlier comments that the global body is not living up to its potential. When do you see the United Nations solving problems? he asked. They dont, they cause problems, so if it lives up to its potential its a great thing, if it doesnt its a waste of time. The U.N. seemed to respond to Trump on Monday, in a message pinned to the top of its Twitter feed: Here's a list of 10 ways the UN makes a difference in the lives of millions every day.



See what else we do: https://t.co/MGT7G5uPFL pic.twitter.com/nMxHV0rvkf  United Nations (@UN) December 26, 2016 Times staff writer Christi Parsons in Honolulu contributed to this report. 5:10 p.m.: This story was updated with White House comment. 2:45 p.m.: This story was updated with Trumps comments. Facebook

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John Kerry, tireless in his diplomatic efforts, often came up empty-handed By Tracy Wilkinson John F. Kerry is nothing if not indefatigable, traveling to all corners of the world as Americas top diplomat over the last four years. But as he prepares to leave office, he confronts a mixed legacy: a handful of successes coupled with searing defeats, especially in the Middle East. His inability to halt the carnage in Syria, or to block Russias growing influence, ranks as the most serious blot on his record. But he also got nowhere trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, or to stop Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, from bombing civilians in Yemen. Kerrys greatest success was the historic accord to curtail Irans nuclear development program and a landmark climate change treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming. Read More Facebook

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At Pearl Harbor, Obama says we must resist the urge to demonize those who are different By Christi Parsons Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Obama. (Marco Garcia / Associated Press) President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scattered petals together on the waters of Pearl Harbor on Tuesday in a symbolic act aimed at laying to rest the enmity of the Japanese attack 75 years ago that drew the U.S. into World War II. In a moment consumed with history, both leaders were fixed on the future. They expressed concern that the lessons of the war might be forgotten amid a shifting world order and the anti-internationalist sentiment that has swept over politics around the globe, most notably with the ascendance of President-elect Donald Trump. Read More Facebook

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Obama and Japans Abe to visit Pearl Harbor amid renewed talk of nuclear concerns By Christi Parsons Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu on Monday. (AFP/Getty Images) President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are scheduled to honor the war dead at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday, marking the 75th anniversary of the attack that thrust the U.S. into World War II. The visit was planned as a coda to Obamas visit to Hiroshima in May, where Abe hosted him as the first sitting president to visit the site where the U.S. dropped one of two nuclear bombs in 1945 to end the war, the only instances of nuclear attacks in history. But the visit has taken on a new meaning. President-elect Donald Trump reawakened old fears of a nuclear arms race last week by declaring his commitment to strengthen and expand U.S. nuclear capability. In his remarks at Pearl Harbor, Obama will have an opportunity to address those renewed anxieties and to lay out the dangers of an arms race. Obama has fought to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to secure existing caches. The visit is meant to highlight the strength of the relationship between the U.S. and Japan, an administration official said. Several Japanese prime ministers before Abe have visited the Pearl Harbor site. But Abe is the first to go to the memorial at the resting place of the battleship Arizona, where 1,177 American military personnel died in the Japanese aerial attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Facebook

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Will the Feds Janet Yellen take away the punch bowl after Trump takes office? By Don Lee After three years of almost single-handedly juicing up the slow-growing economy, Janet L. Yellen and the Federal Reserve should be looking at easier days ahead. Yellen, in what will probably be her last full year as Fed chair, may finally get help from somewhere else in Washington. Tax cuts and infrastructure spending planned by President-elect Donald Trump, if backed by the Republican-controlled Congress, would lighten the load for a Fed whose easy-money policies have been the primary economic support for the nation. She is already breathing easier on the Feds employment mandate; the jobless rate has fallen to a nine-year low of 4.6%. Inflation, too, is under control and, by all accounts, creeping toward the central banks optimal level of 2%. And yet, Yellen may come under as much economic and political pressure as ever, on both the Feds policy and the independence of the institution. Read More Facebook

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Obama says he could have beaten Trump By Tracy Wilkinson (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) President Obama says he could have defeated Donald Trump in last months election by recapturing the same vision of hope that twice carried him to the presidency. Obama also was mildly critical of the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, saying her campaign didnt do enough to get her message out. The remarks were notable because Obama has been careful since the election to avoid criticizing Trump, or to deliver a post-mortem on Clintons failed bid. Obama spoke in a wide-ranging interview with former senior advisor and now CNN commentator David Axelrod for the Democratic political operatives Axe Files podcast. The interview was released by CNN on Monday. You know, I am confident in this vision because Im confident that if I -- if I had run again and articulated it, I think I couldve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it, Obama said. His comments were part of a wider discussion of what he called ugly sentiments of racism and xenophobia that surfaced during the 2016 campaign. Obama repeated his assertion that Clinton faced a double standard as a woman, which put her at a disadvantage. But he also said a kind of complacency set in that made the Clinton campaign too cautious and thus unable to get its message out sufficiently. If you think youre winning, then you have a tendency, just like in sports, maybe to play it safer, Obama said. During the interview, Obama also spoke of his family, the strength hed gotten from wife Michelle and the improbability of his own political career. And the president said the spirit that his candidacy originally inspired, especially among young people, was never snuffed out despite the last eight years of turmoil. The idealism and the dedication stayed with the staff and got us through some really hard times, he said. Trump later responded to the remarks on Twitter. UPDATE 2:07 p.m.: This article was updated with Trumps response. This article was originally published at 12:28 p.m. Facebook

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Obama personally authorized U.S. abstention from U.N. vote on Israeli settlements By Michael A. Memoli President Obama personally directed Friday that the U.S. abstain from a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity, seeing the escalation of settlement building as an increasing threat to the viability of a two-state solution to the regions problems. Ahead of the expected vote, Obama, who is vacationing with his family in Hawaii, convened a discussion Thursday with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and other top national security officials. The vote was postponed, but U.S. officials continued to monitor discussions over the Egyptian-authored resolution until Friday. Obama spoke with national security advisor Susan Rice on Friday to issue his final decision. President-elect Donald Trumps intervention in the discussions, which included a conversation with Egypts president Thursday that preceded the delay in the planned vote, did not affect Obamas calculations, deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters.. Theres one president at a time, he said. The decision to allow the resolution to pass, rather than cast a veto to block it is consistent with long-standing, bipartisan U.S. policy opposing Israeli settlement activity, Rhodes said. One of the administrations great concerns was that such activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has accelerated significantly since 2011, when the U.S. last vetoed a comparable resolution. U.S. officials also have been concerned about continued incitements of violence by Palestinians, and Rhodes said the resolution voted on Friday included greater balance to reflect that than past resolutions. Weve been very concerned that these accelerating trends are putting the very viability of the two-state solution at risk, Rhodes said. In that context, we therefore thought that we could not in good conscience veto a resolution that expressed concerns about the very trends that are eroding the foundation for a two-state solution. He also underscored what he called Obamas iron-clad commitment to Israel and its security, noting that the administration recently concluded a major military assistance package. The U.S. did not vote for the resolution because of continued concerns about the United Nations as a venue for Middle East peace discussions, Rhodes said. He also responded to what he called strident comments of Israeli officials criticizing the U.S. move. It seems like the Israeli government wants the conversation to be about anything other than the settlement activity, he said. Facebook

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Trump team seeks to ease fears on womens programs at State Department By Tracy Wilkinson ( Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) Donald Trumps transition team said Friday its requests to the State Department for details on positions and funding for global womens programs were part of an effort to ensure and protect gender equality. The statement appeared to be an attempt to allay concerns that Trump might seek to cancel or roll back gender-focused programs at the State Department following a request by the transition team on Wednesday for information about them. Most were created or championed by Trumps campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, when she served as secretary of State during President Obamas first term. The transition team statement Friday did not outline Trumps plans for the programs, which seek to promote equality, education and vocational training for women around the world as well as combat gender-based violence. President-elect Trump will ensure the rights of women across the world are valued and protected, the statement said. To help fulfill this promise, the transition team inquired about existing programs at the State Department that helps [sic] foster gender equality, ends gender-based violence, and promotes economic and political participation  finding ways to improve them. The statement said the inquiry was one of hundreds of requests it sent to federal departments as part of the transition effort. Facebook

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Trump team asks State Department for details on programs aimed at helping women By Tracy Wilkinson Donald Trumps transition team has asked the State Department for details on programs aimed at benefiting women around the world, including identifying staff members who worked to reduce gender-based violence and promote women in the workplace. In an email sent to numerous State Department offices Wednesday, the president-elects transition team asked for urgent response to its inquiries about gender-related staffing, programming and funding. Many of the programs were begun or were championed by Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of State during President Obamas first term and who lost to Trump in November. The unusual request to the State Department follows a similar email to the Department of Energy. There the transition team asked for names of staff members who had worked on efforts to combat climate change, which Trump has dismissed as a hoax. Several Obama administration officials called that query chilling. The Trump team withdrew the request after it was widely criticized. The latest email suggests the incoming Trump administration will attempt to roll back some of the State Departments most innovative programs and may seek to penalize people who worked on them. People are freaked out, said a senior State Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The email asked the State Department to deliver issue papers from bureaus and offices (one paper max per bureau/office) outlining existing programs and activities to promote gender equality, such as ending gender-based violence, promoting womens participation in economic and political spheres, entrepreneurship, etc. It said the issue papers should note jobs whose primary functions are to promote such issues, as well as money allocated for those activities and programs in fiscal year 2017. While at State, Clinton made womens issues a top priority. An office was created to deal exclusively with global womens issues, and money was allocated for programs that promote education of girls, train women in marketable skills and offer microloans. Read More Facebook

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Trump taps seasoned Republican operative Sean Spicer as White House press secretary By Lisa Mascaro President-elect Donald Trump named Sean Spicer as his new press secretary, tapping a seasoned Republican operative as the public face of the new White House. Spicer, a top Republican National Committee strategist who brought a measure of establishment Washington to Trumps operation, is known for his combative but engaging approach to communications. He will likely take over the press podium as the top spokesman at the incoming White House. Two other veterans of the Trump campaigns press operation also will get White House jobs: Jason Miller, who had been Trumps communications chief after moving from the campaign of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, will stay in that role as communications director at the White House. Hope Hicks, who was Trumps spokesperson on the campaign trail and one of his earliest campaign aides, will be assistant to the president and director of strategic communications, and Dan Scavino will serve as director of social media. Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition. I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again, Trump said in a statement. Facebook

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Obama eliminates post-9/11 registry for foreigners, making it harder for Trump to restart it By Brian Bennett (Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images) The Obama administration is taking apart a controversial, dormant national registry program that tracked visitors from countries with active terrorist groups for several years following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A final rule eliminating the program will be published in the federal register on Friday. The move would make it more difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to revive the registry, which hasnt been used since 2011. The Department of Homeland Security determined it was ineffective and didnt improve security. Civil rights advocates have long said the program was discriminatory. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to track Muslims coming to the U.S. and require them to register. He later changed his stance to say he would bar people from countries with a record of Islamist extremism. Trumps policy advisors have been looking closely at ways to jump start the registry, called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, after he takes office at the end of January. With the program being officially dismantled on Friday, Trumps team would have to issue new federal rules to restart it, a process that could take several months and would require a period for soliciting comments from the public, which likely would be contentious. The Trump transition team is preparing several executive actions for the incoming president, Trump spokesman Jason Miller told reporters Thursday morning when asked about Obama dismantling the registry. Stopping radical Islamic terrorists from entering the U.S. is of paramount importance, Miller said. He didnt say directly if Trump would rebuild the visitor registry. The American people strongly support tough measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of our country, and President-elect Trump has made clear that we will suspend admissions of those from countries with high terrorism rates and apply a strict vetting procedure for those seeking entry in order to protect American lives, he said. When asked on Wednesday if he would set up a registry for Muslims or impose a ban on Muslim immigrants in the wake of the truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, Trump said simply: You know my plans. Democratic lawmakers and civil liberties advocates have demanded in recent weeks that Obama dismantle the registry. Theyve cited a 2012 inspector general report that said Homeland Security databases collecting traveler fingerprints, flight manifests and intelligence information on foreigners are more effective at preventing terrorist attacks. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) praised the Homeland Security Departments decision to strip away dead-letter regulations no longer in use. These regulations symbolized an ineffective program based on religious and ethnic profiling, rather than individualized suspicion  a program based on fear, rather than reason, Leahy said in a statement. That has no place in this great country, under any administration. Facebook

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Trump is unwinding some foreign deals but many potential conflicts remain By Joseph Tanfani The Trump hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, would be among the finest in the world, Donald Trump promised two years ago, another example of our involvement in only the best global development projects. But the dream of a world-class Trump Baku died this month, with Trump saying he was backing out of the deal because of delays and blown deadlines caused by the developer, a 34-year-old with close family connections to the countrys government. The demise of Trump Baku is not an isolated decision. With his inauguration less than a month away, President-elect Trumps company has pulled out of a few international business deals that might have created especially sticky conflicts and controversies for his administration. Read More Facebook

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Trump names UC Irvine professor and fierce China critic to new White House Trade Council By Don Lee Peter Navarro, left, and China expert Gordon Chang attend a screening of Death By China, the film adaptation of Navarros book, in New York in 2012. (Andy Kropa / Getty Images) President-elect Donald Trump, signaling that he intends to follow through on his tough talk on trade, is establishing a new White House-based trade council to be headed by a vehement critic of Chinas economic policies. Trump on Wednesday named Peter Navarro, a Harvard-trained business professor at UC Irvine, as director of trade and industrial policy and head of the newly created White House National Trade Council. The move sends a strong message: The Trump administration will take a much more aggressive posture to shrink the nations large trade deficit and combat what the president-elect and Navarro believe are forces behind Americas manufacturing woes  unfair and mercantilist practices on the part of China and other trading partners. Read More Facebook

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The issue of race has hung over Sen. Jeff Sessions like a shadow. Heres why By Del Quentin Wilber (Scott Olson / AFP/Getty Images) Jeff Sessions uneasy history with race can be traced back to the long, winding country roads that cut through the pine forests and farm land in this deep corner of the Deep South. As a boy, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III began each day before dawn, boarding a segregated bus to his all-white school. En route he and his classmates passed the bus ferrying black students in the opposite direction. The day ended when he sat down to dinner each night with his father, an avowed segregationist until the end of his life. Reflecting on those years, Sessions acknowledged recently that he knew back then that segregation was morally wrong and regretted standing by passively as civil rights leaders in the 1960s struggled and died in the fight for equality. I should have stepped forward more and been a leader and more positive force, Sessions said in February while participating in a ceremony honoring the Selma foot soldiers. Read More Facebook

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Kellyanne Conway will join Trump in the White House By Evan Halper (Gerald Herber / Associated Press) Donald Trump has named his media-savvy campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, to advise him in the White House in the role of counselor, his transition team announced early Thursday morning. The move comes after Conway sought to put to rest speculation that she would continue to serve as the public face of the Trump team. But the new job is sure to keep her profile high. Conway will will work with senior leadership to effectively message and execute the administrations legislative priorities and actions, according to a statement from the Trump transition team. Kellyanne Conway has been a trusted advisor and strategist who played a crucial role in my victory, Trump said in the statement. She is a tireless and tenacious advocate of my agenda and has amazing insights on how to effectively communicate our message. The appointment would boost diversity in a Trump inner circle made up mostly of older white men. It also sets up another potentially competing power center on a White House staff that already will have several, including Reince Priebus, the chief of staff; Stephen K. Bannon, the chief strategist; and Stephen Miller, the policy chief. Conway had previously turned down other proposals for White House jobs, telling reporters late last month that she did not want to spend long hours away from her children. At that point, Conway said she thought she could best help Trump by forming an outside organization to support his policies. But that role appears to have gone to Brad Parscale, who ran Trumps online operations during the campaign. Conway joined Trumps campaign during the summer when it was beset with infighting and disarray. She is widely credited with helping bring message discipline and professionalism to an operation in desperate need of it. In the run-up to the election and the weeks that followed, Conway was a ubiquitous presence on cable news networks, capably moving through her talking points in tough interview settings  often on the firing line and held to account for the exaggerations and incendiary remarks Trump was prone to make on the campaign trail and Twitter. I am humbled and honored to play a role in helping transform the movement he has led into a real agenda of action and results, Conway said in the statement. She is the founder and owner of the Polling Company, inc./WomanTrend, a GOP firm that has been advising candidates for two decades. Trump has not yet chosen a press secretary. But he is believed to be considering several candidates. Sean Spicer, former communications chief of the Republican Party who has served in a spokesman role for Trump through the transition, has been a prominent possibility, although Trump reportedly has considered several women, including conservative talk radio star Laura Ingraham and Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle. Facebook

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Trump Hotel employees in Las Vegas get a union contract By Kurtis Lee (Mike Nelson / Getty Images) Its owned by President-elect Donald Trump and is among a handful of hotels on the Las Vegas Strip to not be unionized. But that will change soon. For more than a year, Trump and his staff at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas have fought efforts by employees and the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 to negotiate a contract. But a four-year contract announced by the union on Wednesday will offer Trump employees annual wage increases, a pension and family healthcare, among other benefits. In Nevada, the culinary union is the states largest and most powerful, representing nearly 55,000 workers who serve cocktails and prepare food at hotels throughout the state. A majority of the unions members are Latino. Read More Facebook

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Wait! Dont cancel that Air Force One order just yet By Evan Halper Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016 After Donald Trump scolded Boeing earlier this month for the escalating cost of building a new Air Force One, the companys CEO projected confidence that Trump wouldnt be following through with his threat to cancel order! The two men met together at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Wednesday. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said they spoke about a range of issues. The Air Force One project, which Trump complained would cost taxpayers more than $4 billion, invariably arose. Were going to get it done for less than that, and were committed to working together to make sure that happens, Muilenberg said. The company had previously noted that the project did not yet have a firm price tag. I was able to give the president-elect my personal commitment on behalf of the Boeing Company. This is a business thats important to us. We work on Air Force One because its important to our country, and were going to make sure that he gets the best capability and that its done affordably, Muilenberg added. He called the conversation terrific and Trump a good man who is doing the right thing. The presidential aircraft remains a long way from takeoff  a new plane wont be ready for use in the next four years. Even if Trump is reelected, he might not get to use the plane, as the earliest projected date for completion is 2024. Boeing is currently doing early development work on the plane  a modified 747  that will likely be outfitted with such gadgetry as top-secret communications equipment, countermeasures to foil missile attacks, and aerial refueling capability that would enable it to remain airborne for days at a time if necessary. The timing of delivery was among the topics that came up at Trumps meeting with the Boeing CEO. Thats what were going to work on together, Muilenberg said. We have an active 747 production line, and were eager to get started on the program. We havent actually started the build of the airplane yet, but once we finalize the requirements and make sure that its affordable, well launch on building the aircraft. Weve got a hot production line and were ready to go. The government actually has two planes outfitted to serve as Air Force One, which is the designation given to whichever plane is carrying the president. The current planes, which were put into service during the Reagan administration, are nearing the end of their design life. Facebook

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Fierce China critic and UC Irvine professor to head Trumps new trade council By Don Lee (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times) President-elect Donald Trump is establishing a new White House-based trade office that will be headed by a UC Irvine professor known for his fierce criticisms of Chinese trade and economic practices. In appointing Peter Navarro as director of trade and industrial policy and the head of the new National Trade Council inside the White House, Trump is signaling that he wants to follow through on his tough campaign rhetoric in which he blamed the Chinese for the large U.S. trade deficit and manufacturing woes. During the campaign,Trump threatened to slap a 45% tariff on Chinese imports. Navarro, a Harvard-trained economist who advised Trump during the campaign, is the author of the book Death by China: Confronting the Dragon  a Global Call to Action. Trump endorsed the 2011 book as well as Navarros film version of the polemical work. I read one of Peters books on Americas trade problems years ago and was impressed by the clarity of his arguments and thoroughness of his research, Trump said Wednesday in a statement announcing the appointment. He will fulfill an essential role in my administration as a trade advisor. Trump said the new trade office would develop policies to shrink the nations trade deficit and curb the off-shoring of jobs, as well as to lead initiatives such as the Buy America, Hire America program. Navarro, in a statement, said he would be honored to serve Trump and the nation and to advise on policies to re-balance our trade, rebuild our industrial base, and restore Americas comprehensive national power by making America great again. Facebook

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Trump stops the drain the swamp talk as new alligators emerge By Evan Halper Newt Gingrich. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press) It made for a great slogan during the campaign, but now that hes won, Donald Trump is finding that maybe he doesnt actually want to drain the swamp. In fact, the alligators seem to be doing quite well. Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on Wednesday boasted about his access and proximity to Trump in announcing a new consulting firm he plans to open with former Trump campaign advisor Barry Bennett. The firms offices will be one block from the White House. Clients who pony up what are sure to be hefty fees for the firms services are being assured by Lewandowski in his marketing materials that he turned down multiple opportunities within the administration so he can serve them. The pitch implies Lewandowski will remain a de facto surrogate for Trump  with all the access that implies  as he bills those seeking to influence the Trump administration for his services. So perhaps the time is ripe for Trump to stop using the drain the swamp phrase. And that is what Trump has decided to do, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who describes himself as an outside advisor to the president-elect. Im told he now just disclaims that, Gingrich said in an interview on National Public Radio, referring to the slogan Trump used in the final phase of his campaign to crystallize his promise to cleanse Washington of insiders and self-dealers. He now says it was cute, but he doesnt want to use it anymore, Gingrich said, adding that perhaps all this swamp draining talk isnt presidential. Hes in a different role now and maybe he feels that as president, as the next president of the United States, that he should be marginally more dignified than talking about alligators in swamps, Gingrich said. I personally have, as a sense of humor, like the alligator and swamp language, he added. I think it vividly illustrates the problem, because all the people in this city who are the alligators are going to hate the swamp being drained. And theres going to be constant fighting over it. But, you know, he is my leader, and if he decides to drop the swamp and the alligator, I will drop the swamp and the alligator. Lewandowski, for his part, made no mention of swamps or alligators in announcing his new consulting firm would be open for business. Proud to launch our new venture today to support @realDonaldTrump achieve his agenda in Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/ZEot6IrvJ4  Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) December 21, 2016 Facebook

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Death penalty in steep decline, but not in Los Angeles County By David Savage Lonnie Franklin Jr. was tried and convicted of 10 counts of murder. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles County and the state of California again recorded the most new death sentences this year, amid a sharp decline across the nation in both executions and new death sentences. Judges and juries in Los Angeles County imposed a death sentence on four murderers during 2016, including Lonnie Franklin Jr., the so-called Grim Sleeper, who was convicted of killing 10 women. No other county had more than one death sentence, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Since 2010, Los Angeles County has recorded 36 new death sentences, more than any county in the nation. This year marked the first time in more than 40 years where no state recorded 10 or more new death sentences, the group said in its year-end report. California had the most with nine, followed by Ohio (five), Texas (four), Alabama (three) and Florida (two). California has by far the nations largest death row, with 750 condemned inmates, but it has not carried out an execution in the past decade. Overall, the report documented the steep decline for capital punishment over the past two decades. The number of new death sentences had fallen by 90%, from 315 in 1996 to only 30 this year. And the number of executions has fallen from a high of 98 in 1999 to 20 this year. Georgia (nine) and Texas (seven) accounted for most of the executions. The only other states to put inmates to death were Alabama (two), Missouri (one) and Florida (one). Robert Dunham, the groups executive director, says the nation is clearly turning away from capital punishment. Whether its concerns about innocence, costs and discrimination, availability of life without parole as a safe alternative, or the questionable way in which states are attempting to carry out executions, the public grows increasingly uncomfortable with the death penalty each year, he said. But his report noted that Californias voters, by a 53%-47% margin, rejected a ballot measure to abolish the death penalty, and narrowly approved a measure, by a 51%-49% margin, to limit appeals and expedite executions. Facebook

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New survey finds less optimistic Democrats seeking many paths to their future success By Cathleen Decker (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) Since Hillary Clintons November defeat, Democrats have squabbled over how to return to prominence. Should they continue to court ascendant voter groups in the country, such as women, minorities and young people? Or should they turn to those who have long been in their camp but abandoned the party nominee this year, such as rural and non-college-educated voters. The answer, according to a Pew Research poll published Tuesday: Democrats want to walk both paths, simultaneously. The poll asked Democrats and Republicans whether their parties had spent too much, too little or just the right amount of time meeting the interests and concerns of specific groups of voters. Among Democrats, 64% said the party had spent too little time talking to rural voters, and 58% said the same about non-college voters. Almost two-thirds of Democrats said low-income voters had not gotten enough of the partys attention, and 58% said middle-class voters had been ignored to some extent. But Democratic voters did not want to let up on the partys outreach to its stronger supporters this year. About half said that the concerns of women and African American voters had gotten too little attention, while 43% said the same about Latinos. In the case of women, African Americans, Latinos, low-income voters, rural residents and younger voters, Democrats were substantially more likely than Republicans to say their party had not put enough emphasis on the groups concerns. The poll suggested far more confidence by Republicans than Democrats in their partys current positioning. Much of that may simply be the flood of confidence that accompanies a presidential victory. When the pollsters asked before the election about their view of their party, 61% of Republicans said they were optimistic, as did 77% of Democrats about their own party. After the election those figures reversed, with 79% of Republicans optimistic compared with 61% of Democrats. A key to Trumps success also was evident in the poll: a chameleon-like ability to make the different ideological groups in the party think he was one of them. Almost 3 in 5 conservatives said that Trumps views were conservative. And among moderates, 52% said that Trumps ideology was a mix of conservative and liberal, echoing their own posture. But queries about the new presidents impact on his party drew sharply partisan responses. More than two-thirds of all voters said that Trump had forced major changes on his party. Yet 72% of Democrats cast those changes as bad ones, while 83% of Republicans cast the changes as good ones. Facebook

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The artist and the senator: One built a desert masterpiece, the other a Nevada legacy By Lisa Mascaro When Sen. Harry Reid heard about a reclusive artist building a massive land sculpture across desolate acres in the Nevada desert, he knew they should meet. Its not just that Reid enjoys eccentrics and fighters, which he does. Michael Heizer had found an unusual way to express the majesty  and artistry  of the same lonely Nevada landscape that formed Reids childhood, when he would escape the dismal, rugged conditions of tiny Searchlight to play in the deserts hidden springs and abandoned fortresses. Both men discovered in Nevada what many outsiders miss. Far from seeing a nuclear wasteland, a dumping site or even a playground for gamblers, they drew inspiration from Nevadas quiet beauty. Heizer created an American masterpiece  a milelong complex of dirt, rock and cement rising from the desert floor like modern-day pyramids or the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. For Reid, his appreciation for Nevadas unique landscape became a cornerstone of one of the most lasting yet less-familiar pieces of his political legacy. Read More Artist Michael Heizer and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) speak in the Capitol. (Lisa Mascaro / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

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With 304 votes, electoral college seals Donald Trumps election as president  despite more desertions than ever By Michael Finnegan They convened amid unusual scrutiny, widespread protests and rafts of speculation about efforts to alter the outcome, but, in the end, the nations 538 presidential electors mostly stuck to the script Monday, formally sealing Donald Trumps victory with 304 votes in the electoral college, well above what he needed to capture the White House. After all the efforts to lobby Republican electors to desert Trump, only two did  a pair from Texas, one of whom voted for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul and the other for Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Indeed, instead of an uprising against Trump, the days voting was punctuated more by small, but persistent, gestures of Democratic discontent with Hillary Clinton. A handful of electors deserted her and a few more tried to, but were deterred by state faithless elector laws. Some of the Democratic dissenters were supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who lost the primaries to Clinton but galvanized the partys left wing. Others were backers of an abortive effort that had tried to recruit Democrats and Republicans to unite behind a third candidate other than Clinton or Trump. In the end, seven electors voted for a person other than the candidate who won their states  the largest number of electoral college desertions in a presidential contest in U.S. history, eclipsing a record set in 1808. Read More Facebook

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As electoral college meetings end in Hawaii, Bernie Sanders gets a vote that will stick By Michael A. Memoli David Mulinix, Hawaii elector who voted for Sanders, said Clinton wasn't qualified. Also said @POTUS wasn't progressive, but "conservative" pic.twitter.com/miCnZ6PzXI  Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) December 20, 2016 The last of the 50 states gave Bernie Sanders his first electoral college vote that counted. Hillary Clinton received three of the states four electoral votes after winning 60% of the popular vote here last month. But one elector, David Mulinix, said he cast his vote for the Vermont senator because he was the most qualified candidate. They can call me faithless, but the point is if we dont think someones qualified  and Hillary Clinton I do not feel is qualified, he said. Hawaiis electors are chosen by the major parties at their state conventions. Mulinix said he joined the party only this election cycle to support Sanders, who he said would have been elected president had he been the Democratic nominee. He had previously told the Associated Press he would cast his vote for Clinton, but said he changed his mind at the last minute. She did not lose the vote to Russian hackers; she lost the vote right there at the convention, he said, referring to the Democratic National Convention, where he said Sanders backers were treated unfairly. They robbed us, and the millennials know it. Mulinix, who, like his fellow electors, wore a lei made of green jade flowers, arrived for the vote with a list of candidates who had received votes in other electoral college meetings across the country. He was aware that an elector in Maine had tried to vote for Sanders but that his vote had been invalidated. An election official said the vote for Sanders here would count. The brief proceedings here in a nondescript conference room on the state Capitols third floor began with another elector, John Bickel, asking whether there was any penalty for electors who cast their ballots for someone other than the winner of the statewide vote. He said later that he had asked because he suspected someone might stray. The electoral college is outdated. If any election has proved the electoral college is outdated, its this one, Bickel said. Dolly Strazar, another elector and the vice chair of the state Democratic Party, said she had long supported the electoral college because it ensured some degree of competition between large states and small ones like Hawaii. It really seems in our times, its thoroughly outdated, she said. Janice Bond, the fourth elector, said she would have voted for Sanders but did not believe she was able to. She also expressed regret that President Obama, who was born in Hawaii and is vacationing here with his family, did not attend the meeting. To have him be on our island and not show face was disappointing, she said. Facebook

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No fireworks as Nevada electors cast votes for Clinton By David Montero Nevadas six electors cast their votes for Hillary Clinton on Monday afternoon in Carson City, reflecting her victory in the swing state despite losing the overall electoral college vote to President-elect Donald Trump. Clinton won Nevada by almost 3 points over Trump, and the swing state was one of her few bright spots on election day. The six electors  five from northern Nevada and one from Las Vegas  cast their ballots before about 75 people who had packed into the Old Assembly Chambers of the state Capitol. A few brought signs in support of Clinton, and there was some applause when the votes were cast. It all took place in less than a half-hour. No fireworks, said Wayne Thorley, deputy secretary of state for elections. He said about 40 people showed up in front of the state Capitol in the morning in sub-freezing temperatures to also show support for Clinton. Thorley said he hadnt anticipated a lot of controversy as the electors were required to sign a pledge before voting that said they wouldnt deviate from Nevadas Nov. 8 election results. Facebook

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In solemn ceremony, California electors cast votes for Hillary Clinton By Melanie Mason Casting my electoral vote for President and Vice President of the United States of .... https://t.co/jI2FGFCrVg pic.twitter.com/qufSJUM5WF  Susan Eggman (@SusanEggman) December 19, 2016 In a proceeding long on formalities and short on speeches, Californias 55 electors cast their vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday, a ceremony that coincided almost exactly with Republican Donald Trump clinching the national electoral college win. Contrasting with the spirited protests outside the state Capitol, the mood in the state Assembly chambers was muted, even a bit glum, as electors, tapped by the states Democratic establishment, convened to cast their votes for Clinton. California, which overwhelmingly backed Clinton in the presidential contest, requires all 55 electors to back the states winner. Todays solemnity and formality reminds us that in our nation, American greatness and American independence, rests on a foundation of law, said Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Cordova), who presided over the event. As written ballots were distributed, the room was completely silent, save for the clicking of camera shutters. Just moments before voting began, Trump, Clintons rival, had secured the electoral college win, with Texas, Californias perennial rival, putting him over the top. His victory went unacknowledged in the ceremony. Among the electors were current elected officials, such as Assemblywomen Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton and Shirley Weber of San Diego. Others included Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Laphonza Butler, leader of the powerful labor union SEIU in California. Electors did not make individual speeches during the main ceremony, and Trumps name was hardly mentioned. But there were subtle references to the rancorous political season: Rev. Bob Oshita, the Assembly chaplain and former reverend of the Sacramento Buddhist Church, urged leaders to engage in calming self-reflection in an opening prayer. The tone grew considerably sharper at the end of the gathering, when Pelosi offered a motion calling for an investigation into Russian efforts to influence the election outcome. I move that as an Electoral College, we do not normalize this election. We do not accept Russian interference in our election, Pelosi said. Her motion was adopted by electors, with applause. View Twitter post This post was updated at 3:32 p.m. with comments from Christine Pelosi. It was originally published at 3:12 p.m. Facebook

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All of Floridas electoral votes go to Trump By Gray Rohrer Floridas electors applaud as the vote for Donald Trump is announced at the state Capitol in Tallahassee on Monday. (Steve Cannon / Associated Press) Donald Trump officially won all 29 of Floridas electoral college votes on Monday during a ceremony held at the Capitol in Tallahassee, despite pleas from protesters to electors to change their vote at the last minute. About 100 protesters gathered outside the Florida Senate chambers before the vote, chanting love trumps hate and flip the vote and holding signs that read Vote Your Conscience, Dont Make Russia Great Again! The electors, made up of Republican Party of Florida members and high-ranking elected officials like state Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, Senate President Joe Negron and state party chairman Blaise Ingoglia, did their best to ignore the protesters. Read More Facebook

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Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was a Trump nemesis. Now the president-elect says hes wonderful By Evan Halper Donald Trump has decided that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, one of his favorite villains during the presidential election, might not be so bad after all. Hes even wonderful, Trump now says. The two dined together Saturday at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, after which Trump had only nice things to say about Slim, according to a report in the Washington Post. Trump described the interaction with his erstwhile nemesis as a lovely dinner with a wonderful man. This is not how Trump talked about Slim, one of the worlds richest men, during the election. The Mexican billionaire was a regular target of the then-GOP nominee because of his large ownership stake in the New York Times. Add to that Slims generous contributions to the Clinton Foundation and his citizenship in the country Trump reveled in attacking, and he made for good fodder at Trump rallies. When Trump objected to the New York Times coverage of his campaign  and its reporting on the allegations by multiple women of past inappropriate sexual advances by Trump  he alleged it was all part of a conspiracy cooked up by Slim. Trump called the outlets reporters corporate lobbyists for Carlos Slim and for Hillary Clinton. The New York Times called Trumps charges a fabrication, saying Slim had never inserted himself in editorial decision making there. And Trump offered no evidence to the contrary. A spokesman for Slim said at the time the two had never met, and the Mexican businessman had no interest in involving himself in the U.S. election. Now theyve met. The takeaway from the meeting, though, is murky. Maybe it indicates Trump is softening his posture toward Mexico  or maybe it just indicates billionaires enjoy the company of other billionaires. Facebook

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Meet the California electors By Liam Dillon Among the electors are Janine Bera, the wife of Rep. Ami Bera of Elk Grove; Christine Pelosi, the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and chairwoman of the state partys womens caucus; Eileen Feinstein Mariano, granddaughter of Sen. Dianne Feinstein; and Olivia Reyes-Becerra, daughter of Rep. Xavier Becerra of Los Angeles. State Assemblywomen Susan Eggman of Stockton and Shirley Weber of San Diego, former state Sen. Christine Kehoe of San Diego, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez and Laphonza Butler, president of the Service Employees International Union chapter that represents home care employees, also are on the list. Read More Facebook

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Three Washington state Democratic electors vote for Gen. Colin Powell, one for Faith Spotted Eagle By Rick Anderson (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press) Despite a statute binding the 12 members of the electoral college to vote for the winner of the states 2016 presidential election popular vote, four Washington electors made history and risked a $1,000 fine by voting for someone else Monday. But it wasnt Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton, supported by 57% of the states voters, wound up with eight of the 12 electoral votes at a session held in the State Capitol building here. Gen. Colin Powell received three votes. And Faith Spotted Eagle, an elder of the Yankton Sioux, received one. Read More Facebook

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Colorado elector says he was oppressed by state law into voting for Clinton By David Kelly In Denver, all nine electors voted for Hillary Clinton, after one was replaced for casting his ballot for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich instead. A boisterous crowd packed the state Capitol and booed when elector Michael Baca was dismissed and another sworn in to take his place. Vote your conscience! someone cried. The new elector voted for Clinton. Hecklers screamed Resign! Resign! at Secretary of State Wayne Williams after he shooed Bacas lawyer off the podium. Suspense had been building for weeks over how the electors would vote. Two courts blocked their attempts to vote for someone other than Clinton. State law here says electors must support the candidate who won the popular vote. On Sunday night they went to court again, this time asking a judge to reject a new oath drawn up by the secretary of state requiring electors to pledge to support the winner of the popular vote. Their motion was denied. As they waited, the crowd sang This Land is Your Land and America the Beautiful. But once the electors filed in, it was over quickly. Elector Robert Nemanich said he was oppressed by state law into voting for Clinton and would go to the U.S. Supreme Court. He did not elaborate. Lance Armstrong, 68, stood outside with an American flag. Im glad some of the electors made a point today, he said. Any point is better than none. Facebook

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Trump officially gets 270th electoral vote, sealing his election as president By Julie Westfall Donald Trump has obtained the required 270 electoral votes to become president. Although electors in dozens of states still have to vote, the electoral balloting in Texas put Trump over the majority threshold, according to a state-by-state tally by the Associated Press. Thirty-six of the states electors voted for Trump, one for John Kasich and one for Ron Paul. The next, and last, official step in the electoral process is for Congress to count the votes. Under the procedure set out by the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, that formal process is scheduled for Jan. 6. Some anti-Trump activists had hoped against hope that they could persuade electors in states that voted for Trump to defect, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Electors are nearly all party loyalists. Additionally, they faced more than two centuries of tradition and, in some states, legal obligations that called for them to cast their ballots according to which candidate won the popular vote in their states. No defectors have ever changed the result of a presidential election. Four electors today successfully defected in Washington state. Instead of voting for Hillary Clinton, who won the states popular vote, three electors voted for former secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Faith Spotted Eagle, an environmental activist. Electors in two other states who tried to vote against the states winner were replaced with alternates. There may be additional defections in the remaining states, but since Trump now has a majority of the electoral votes, those would not be enough to change the result. Facebook

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Emotions high in Maryland as electors unanimously vote for Clinton By Erin Cox (Erin Cox/Baltimore Sun) As Marylands 10 electors unanimously cast votes for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president Monday, several said they were privileged to vote for the countys first female presidential nominee. Outside, hundreds of anti-Trump protesters cheered as the solemn ceremony unfolded on live-stream television. A state delegate, who had the ceremonial task of handing the electors votes to another official, wept while executing her duty. This is an emotional moment for many, many women in this country and in this state, said Del. Maggie McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat. She added later: I guess I didnt cry enough on Nov. 8. Marylands electors were bound by state law to vote for the winner of Marylands popular vote, which Clinton secured with more than 60% of the ballots cast. About 100 protesters who had been chanting and singing around the historic State House grounds for at least four hours before the vote said they came in solidarity with protesters in Republican state capitols, pleading with electors not to endorse President-elect Donald Trump. This is appalling and unacceptable, and Im hoping the Republicans, in particular, rise above and do the right thing, said Cheryl Kreiser, a retired teacher from the Washington, D.C., suburb of Silver Spring. For an hour every day for the last 21 days, Kreiser has protested Trumps win on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was the only way I could cope with the disappointment, she said. Marylands Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who wrote in his fathers name rather than vote for Trump on election day, opened Marylands 58th electoral college meeting but left the room before electors were sworn in. Each elector had been appointed by the Maryland Democratic Party state chair, Bruce Poole, who reminded the crowd the United States is not a direct democracy ruled by the popular vote. A lot of people lose sight of the fact that were a republic. Were not a democracy, Poole said. The whole idea was that the president would not be chosen just by the whims of the moment, but instead there would be an opportunity for people who were thoughtful, who had judgment, who had integrity to take a step back from the moment of emotion and consider what would be in the best interest of the country. Here is "the old book" where Maryland has recorded its Electoral College electors every year since 1789. pic.twitter.com/GlsaJd3F3X  Erin Cox (@ErinatThePost) December 19, 2016 Before he introduced Marylands electors, Poole lamented the state of political discourse in the country. We live in the age of information. It is not necessarily the age of wisdom or age of judgment, he said. People on both sides, on all sides, make decisions at the snap of a finger. Maryland was both the model for creating the electoral college and the first state in the country to vote to bypass it. Framers modeled todays system after the way the Maryland House of Delegates selected Maryland senators, a process the state later abandoned after it was considered undemocratic, according to a history of the electoral college written by staff at the Maryland Board of Elections. Hogan noted the state is one of six to have participated every year since 1789. In 2007, Maryland was the first state to vote to sign the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a promise designed to award the electoral college to the winner of the national popular vote. It required enough states to comprise 270 votes to sign on for it to take effect. So far, only 10 states  including California  with a combined 165 votes have signed the compact. The president of Marylands electors, Courtney Watson, also co-chaired Clintons campaign in Maryland. She said she thought changes to the electoral college should be considered and described Monday as a poignant moment for Maryland residents. Its a very emotional time, she said. Many of us have worked long and hard, and for the first woman candidate. The point, though, is that people are still moved and even more engaged. And thats what I find promising for our future and the future of women. Facebook

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Christine Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi and California elector, demands to know the truth about Russian influence By Jazmine Ulloa Elector @sfpelosi: We won't stand down. #caleg pic.twitter.com/4cM3cE4Wb6  Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) December 19, 2016 California elector Christine Pelosi on Monday told crowds gathered outside the Capitol that she has been part of a chorus of people demanding to know the truth about Russian interference in the November presidential election. Pelosi, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis daughter, is leading 10 other electors in a call for an intelligence briefing on Russian influence. Shouting into a microphone Monday, she said Russian hackers aim to turn the American people against each other and had marginalized her and others for speaking out. They trespass on servers, she said. They receive stolen emails. They pump out stories that day after day focus on scandal rather than policy, rather than talking about climate and immigration and human rights. Californias meeting of electors is about to get underway in the state Capitol. Facebook

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After prayer for national unity, Georgia electors vote for Trump By Jenny Jarvie Outside the Georgia Capitol today, some may have held a flicker of hope that a GOP elector would refuse to cast a ballot for Donald Trump as 45th president of the United States. Yet among the inner circle of Republicans who gathered inside the cozy, wood-paneled Senate chamber, there was little doubt about what would unfold. One by one, all 16 electors - dressed in formal business suits and red dresses, bow ties and blazers -- cast their ballots for the contentious Republican candidate. It was a short ceremony, with little opportunity for disruption. Security guards prevented the public from entering the chamber, cordoning off the hallway outside the room with a red rope and locking the main door before proceedings began. The electors chosen by Georgias Republican Party included well-connected attorneys and real estate agents, a high school teacher and a farmer. As they waited for the gathering to begin, many snapped selfies and waved at loved ones above in the upper gallery. After a call to order by the Georgia Republican Party chair, the electors bowed their heads, and Rachel Little, an elector and grass-roots Republican organizer, delivered an invocation. Lord, we know we are a divided country right now, she said. We pray that you will unite us.  We pray that [those who oppose Trump] will see our conservatism lived out in a gracious way. In a short speech, Gov. Nathan Deal hit out at activists who had bombarded electors with emails, letters and phone calls in an effort to sway their votes. You have been the subject of harassment by those who perhaps are not as dedicated to the proposition of what this body is supposed to do as they are agitated by the fact that the people didnt do what they wanted them to do. I have every confidence you will not succumb to that, Deal told the electors. My words to you: Do your job. Shortly before the electors cast their ballots, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican who represents Georgias 11th District, took to the podium to present a short history of the electoral college. Our founders actually despised the idea of democracy because mob rule often results in a decision made out of pure emotion, Loudermilk told the electors, after referencing the noise of protesters outside. It does not result in good government. In fact, our founders often cited the historic trial of Jesus as how mob rule does not work. The electoral college was devised to protect the integrity of government, Loudermilk said. To protect those who live in the rural areas of America, those who work, those who are part of the farming communities and part of the industrial communities, those who live and work every day, that their interests are protected as well of those who make their living on Wall Street. For a moment earlier this year, there was an inkling of a Republican revolt against Trump in Georgia. In August, Baoky Vu, a GOP elector based in Decatur, Ga., admitted he might not cast his ballot for Trump if he won. Within hours, however, he was forced to resign. Trump went on to win 51% of Georgias popular vote. On Monday, Vu did not show up at the Capitol, and he was formally replaced by a solid Trump backer, John Padgett, the chairman of the Georgia Republican party. There seems little chance that Georgia legislators might vote to overhaul the electoral college. Earlier this year, Republican legislators authored two bipartisan pieces of legislation in Georgias House and Senate that would have made Georgias electoral votes based solely on the outcome of the national popular vote. Yet both bills stalled, and Republicans say there is little momentum to revive the debate. The system prevents the tyranny of the majority, said Kirk Shook, an elector who is a high school teacher in rural Oconee County. He scoffed at those who, since the election, had sought to overhaul the electoral college system. Theres all this weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, Shook said of those who opposed Trumps win. And rightly so. Theres going to be a Republican president, a Republican Congress and a Republican Supreme Court. With the stroke of a pen, 90 percent of what Obama considered his legacy will be gone. Facebook

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Four Washington state electors defect from Clinton; one chooses Faith Spotted Eagle instead By Associated Press (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press) Four members of the electoral college in Washington state cast their votes for a candidate other than Democrat Hillary Clinton, who won the states popular vote. Its the first time in four decades the states electors have broken from the popular vote for president. Washingtons 12 electors met Monday afternoon in the state Capitol to complete the constitutional formality. Clinton got eight votes while other candidates got the remaining four. Elector Bret Chiafalo, who earlier in the day said he planned to vote for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said that he ultimately changed his vote to former Secretary of State Colin Powell after conversations with other Washington electors. The exact breakdown of the other four votes wasnt immediately known, although at least one vote was cast for Faith Spotted Eagle. In last months election, Republican Donald Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clintons 232, though Clintons tally will now be lower. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win. The last time an elector broke from the popular vote in Washington was in 1976, when Mike Padden, who is currently a Republican state senator, voted for Ronald Reagan instead of Gerald Ford, who had won the state. Facebook

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Hundreds protest the electoral college at Capitol building in Sacramento By Jazmine Ulloa Protesters are now chanting, "hey hey ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go" pic.twitter.com/4nNyTMroI5  Marcus Yam  (@yamphoto) December 19, 2016 Cheers and chants of U.S.A and Keep him out filled the air Monday, as dozens of protestors gathered outside the California Capitol in a last ditch attempt to sway the electoral college from voting for president-elect Donald Trump. Speakers called Trump a celebrity and authoritarian unfit for the presidency. And they urged Congress to do away with the electoral college process, which they described as an outdated and broken system susceptible to foreign influence and manipulation. This is a secret system of voting where we are not allowed to see where the votes are actually coming from or how they are counted, Brent Turner, with the movement organization Democracy Spring, shouted into a microphone. John Franco, 52, says the electoral college is an outdated system that can be manipulated with or without hackers. #caleg pic.twitter.com/fs2L2W2HKp  Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) December 19, 2016 John Franco, a 52-year-old business owner visiting Sacramento from New Orleans, said he came to the demonstration with his family to protest that secret process. We dont feel a system that can be manipulated represents the interests of the people who voted for Hillary Clinton, he said. Rochelle Towers was among hundreds to protest at the CA Capitol today: "I'll take any shot that there is. #caleg https://t.co/QcOhWklrpx pic.twitter.com/mtx76NjdEW  Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) December 20, 2016 Rochelle Towers, 68, said she drove in from Oakland in an attempt to persuade the electoral college from voting for Trump. She said she would not have to live through a lot of what its decision would set in motion. But my children and grandchildren will, she said. Even though this is a real long shot, Ill take any shot that there is. Facebook

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Colorado elector removed after refusing to vote for Clinton By David Kelly A new elector is sworn in in Colorado after one refused to vote for Hillary Clinton. (David Kelly / Los Angeles Times) Eight of nine Colorado electors have voted for Hillary Clinton. One elector, Michael Baca, refused to vote for Clinton and was immediately replaced with an alternate, who was sworn in on the spot. As the crowd jeered, the new elector promptly voted for Clinton. Shouts of Resign! followed Secretary of State Wayne Williams announcement of the results. Protesters at the state capitol in Colorado. (David Kelly/Los Angeles Times) Facebook

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Electors say they have been barraged with emails By Nigel Duara View Twitter post Arizona elector J. Foster Morgan said he had received several letters protesting the election of Donald Trump, but experienced nothing on the scale of some his fellow Arizona electors whose email addresses were distributed to protest lists. They heard the worst thing imaginable, Morgan said. I just got a few letters. Despite protests outside the meeting, Morgan said, the vote went fine. Eleven votes for Donald Trump. Facebook

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Democratic electors in Minnesota and Maine try to vote for Bernie Sanders By Associated Press (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) A second elector  this one in Minnesota  has refused to cast a vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton in Mondays electoral college tally. It wasnt immediately clear why Muhammad Abdurrahman didnt vote for Clinton, but he was a delegate for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention. The electors are pledged to cast Minnesotas 10 electoral votes for Clinton since she won the state. Abdurrahman was immediately replaced by an alternate who later voted for Clinton. Earlier in the day, a so-called faithless elector in Maine cast his vote for Sanders, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Clinton. David Bright said on his Facebook page that he cast his vote for Sanders because voting for Clinton would not have helped her win. But he ultimately voted for Clinton on a second vote after being ruled out of order. Facebook

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Utah voting goes off without incident  six for Trump By David Montero A protest sign outside the gathering of Utah electors (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press) Despite chants of vote your conscience and the whole world is watching from more than 100 protesters, Utahs six electors cast their votes for President-elect Donald Trump today in Salt Lake City. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox announced the official results within minutes of the votes being cast, but he was drowned out by jeers of Shame on you by the protesters. I hope you know this is what our country is all about, Cox said. I hope all of us here are sincerely grateful we live in a country where we have the opportunity to express ourselves. The six electors -- two small-business owners, a custom metal worker, a farmer, a Brigham Young University professor and a Republican activist -- quickly introduced themselves before casting their ballots. The votes were largely a formality, as the state requires electors to vote for the winner. Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by getting 45%t of the vote. He also withstood a challenge from Evan McMullin, who garnered 21% in what was largely a protest vote from those, many of them Mormons, who felt uncomfortable casting a ballot for Trump. Cox said the turnout for this years electoral vote was a far cry from 2012, when four people and one camera crew showed up. Im a big fan of the electoral college, Cox said to the restless crowd. You dont have to boo me now. You can boo me later. About 200 protesters and Trump supporters arrived in the rotunda of the state Capitol about three hours before the votes were cast shortly after noon. The room where the votes were cast was too small to accommodate everyone, and the fire marshal sought to limit occupancy to about 130 people. Interest was high, and the vote even drew Hawthorn Elementary School students, who helped lead the room in the Pledge of Allegiance. Cox thanked them for coming and told them they were getting an experience youll never forget. Facebook

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Clinton elector balks in Minnesota One of 10 Minnesota electors has decided not cast a vote, Muhammad Abdurrahan. An alternate is now being sworn in. #ElectoralCollege pic.twitter.com/4eN1PIrZdO  Dylan Wohlenhaus (@DylanWohlenhaus) December 19, 2016 In Minnesota, where the 10 electors had all pledged their votes to Hillary Clinton, one of them refused to go through with it. Elector Muhammad Abdurrahman opted not to vote. He was replaced by an alternate, who cast a vote for Clinton. Facebook

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As Pennsylvania went unanimously for Trump, a voice from the back: Thank you By Steve Esack Electors sworn in in Pennsylvania (Matt Rourke/Associated Press) In Pennsylvanias capital of Harrisburg, the states 20 electoral college voters selected Trump today in a ceremony marked by traditional pomp and bellowing protests. Trump won the popular vote in Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes  the first Republican presidential candidate to do so since 1988. It earned him the states 20 electoral college votes. When the result was announced shortly before 1 p.m. inside the gilded, ornate House chamber, protesters jeered and supporters cheered. Shame on you, a womans voice called down from the public balcony. Thank you, a male voters voice responded back from the floor. Facebook

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How some electors have reacted to all the mail from voters Facebook

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Protesters outside Florida Senate chambers: Trump is dangerous By Gray Rohrer Protesters gather outside the Florida Senate chambers ahead of the electoral college voting ceremony. (Gray Rohrer / Orlando Sentinel) A group of about 100 protesters huddled outside the Florida Senate chambers Monday morning as Floridas 29 electors prepared to cast their votes for Donald Trump in the formal electoral eollege vote ceremony later in the day. The protesters held signs that read You can fix this, keep America free, What would Hamilton do? and Electors: Protect Us, Trump is Dangerous, pleading for electors to change their minds and not vote for Trump, who beat Hillary Clinton by 112,911 votes in Florida, about 1.2%t of all votes cast in the state. Tallahassee resident Bonnie McCluskey held a sign reading Send it to the House. If enough electors across the country do not vote for Trump, hell fall short of the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency, sending the matter to the U.S. House. The reason Im here is because I dont trust [Trump]) and I think he will harm the United States, McCluskey said. My grandmothers were suffragettes; their ancestors were willing to be traitors to the British crown to create this democracy and I dont want to see it end. And that sounds awfully dramatic but thats how Im feeling. She said that part of the reason she doesnt trust Trump is because he didnt pay a company she worked for that did promotional videos for his buildings in 1998. They were basically given the opportunity to take 10 percent or go to court. Back then I didnt realize that was his business plan, McCluskey said. I didnt make the deal with him I was just one of the people who saw a company go bankrupt. Despite the pleas from protesters, all of Floridas electors are expected to vote for Trump. Some, such as Florida Senate President Joe Negron, have posted pictures of hundreds of letters theyve received asking them to change their vote but declaring theyll be voting for the Republican candidate. Facebook

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Colorado electors make last-ditch plea to switch votes By David Kelly Crowds await the electoral college vote at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. (David Kelly / For The Times) Colorado electors are trying a last-chance legal appeal to avoid voting for Hillary Clinton, and instead vote for an alternative candidate to replace Donald Trump. A week ago, a district court judge told them they had to vote for Clinton, who won the popular vote in Colorado. A few days ago, a federal appeals court upheld that decision. But just hours before the vote today, two electors filed suit to stop the Colorado secretary of state from requiring them to swear to vote for the candidate supported by the electorate. Their effort is part of a loose national scheme to defeat Trump by persuading Republican electors to join with Democrats, such as those in Colorado, and coalesce around an alternative candidate. There has been no decision so far. Facebook

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Chants of Shame! erupt as Wisconsin electors cast ballots for Trump By Bill Ruthhart Demonstrators erupt after Wisconsin's 10 presidential electors cast their #ElectoralCollege ballots for Republican Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/A0GrASaIbY  Bill Ruthhart (@BillRuthhart) December 19, 2016 Wisconsins 10 presidential electors unanimously cast their ballots for Republican Donald Trump as expected Wednesday, but the vote still drew chants of Shame from dozens of demonstrators who had pleaded for them to back away from the president-elect. The typically procedural vote in a fourth-floor conference room in the Wisconsin State Capitol was anything but routine as about 150 protesters greeted the 10 electors with signs pleading for them to vote your conscience not your pledge. In a short 15-minute meeting, the electors quickly cast their ballots for Trump. They did not address the controversial nature of the election and no speeches were made before the 
Its hard to imagine how a strategic plan for the nations second-largest school district could be much more uninspiring than the one presented by Supt. Michelle King. In fact, the blueprint for Los Angeles Unified she has offered left the school board so unimpressed that it is unclear whether the members will even bother to reject it at their meeting Tuesday. They may just ignore it entirely.

In the latest version, King added the big-mission goal that board members had requested after seeing an earlier draft  a 100% graduation rate. In fact, she added it so many times that its the banner headline on every other page of the 24-page document. But that ambitious-sounding objective doesnt mean a thing in reality because theres no date set for achieving it and no specific strategy laid out for getting there.

The plan is chock-full of edu-speak commitments like Empower stakeholders as equal partners in decision-making and action and Deliver quality instruction through mastery of the California content standards and frameworks to improve student outcomes. And while it lists some specific, measurable ambitions for improvement, it bizarrely calls in almost all cases for an increase of two percentage points a year for the next couple of years  which makes one wonder how much thought was given to those. Arent there some areas where bigger ambitions are called for, and others where they might be tougher to meet?

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At a meeting last week, the board was mostly ho-hum about the report, though it appeared to be giving King tacit freedom to go forward on her own, without signing on and making a commitment of its own. That would be pretty cowardly; the board should be in agreement with King about the direction of the district and if it is not, it should help her move in a different direction. The board cannot duck responsibility for what happens on its watch.

The report is at its best when it lays out achievable plans, such as a marked increase in the number of magnet schools and dual-immersion language programs. These have been popular with parents  thus keeping more students from leaving the district  and represent many of L.A. Unifieds biggest academic successes. Unfortunately, such specifics are rarities in a document that mostly speaks in vague terms about improved teacher training, parent involvement and the like.

A lot of effort was expended on a document thats supposed to take the district just a couple of years into the future  to 2019. But while King has produced a serviceable and comprehensive summary of what needs to improve in L.A. Unified, what she doesnt have yet is a strategic plan.

What happens tomorrow? And next month? A true blueprint would allow a newcomer to step in and know whats next on the agenda. King says shell produce that plan, but time is short; the district is almost halfway through the first year of this unimpressive three-year plan.

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Reacting to a spike in deadly shootings of police officers around the nation, a so-called Blue Lives Matter movement has been agitating for attacks on police to be treated under the law as hate crimes, subject to the same enhanced penalties that can be meted out for attacks motivated by racial or religious prejudice. Now a Republican assemblyman wants California to climb aboard that bandwagon.

But one can be appalled by attacks on police and still recognize that this is a bad idea.

Under Californias current hate crime laws, an additional sentence of one to three years can be imposed on a defendant for a crime committed because of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. The bill proposed by Republican Assemblyman Jay Obernolte of Big Bear would expand that list to include peace officer, a category that includes not just police officers but sheriffs, marshals and port police.

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Battery against police and other peace officers while they are on duty is punished more harshly than battery against civilians.

California law already places police in a special category for some purposes. Battery against police and other peace officers while they are on duty is punished more harshly than battery against civilians. Californias second-degree murder statute provides longer sentences for the killing of a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties (25 instead of 15 years to life, and, in some circumstances, life without the possibility of parole).

Obernolte said enactment of his bill would send a message to criminals targeting law enforcement officers that their reprehensible behavior will not be tolerated and would serve as a deterrent.

But why would it create any more of a deterrent for a criminal tempted to ambush and kill a police officer on patrol than the present severe penalties?

This campaign is likely to win adherents not only because attacks on police are reprehensible, but because treating them as hate crimes sounds like a way to combat them. But in fact its based on a misunderstanding of what hate crime statutes are designed to do. Of course every violent attack on a human being is hateful, but as originally conceived, a hate crime is also rooted in a pervasive and especially pernicious prejudice that infects society at large  such as racism, anti-Semitism or homophobia  that poisons communities outside the context of a particular act of violence.

In recent years, states have repeatedly expanded their hate crime laws to include those that target not only the disabled, but also the elderly and the homeless. In 2009, the GOP tried  unsuccessfully  to have attacks on veterans classified as hate crimes. These overbroad definitions create the impression that an act of violence isnt being treated seriously unless it is designated a hate crime.

We understand the impulse to use the legislative power to send a message of support to police who feel besieged by a recent upsurge in deadly attacks on their comrades. But existing penalties for cop-killers already send that message loud and clear, while enacting this bill would muddle the meaning of a hate crime. Let this bandwagon pass by.
Both the outgoing Obama administration and the leaders of the incoming Congress recognize that there must be a full accounting of whether the Russian government engaged in cyberwarfare designed to influence the recent presidential election.

The odd man out is President-elect Donald Trump, who continues to dismiss the possibility of Russian interference, telling Fox News Sunday in reference to the hacking of Democratic emails: They have no idea if its Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace.

Trumps defiant lack of curiosity  and outrage  is perhaps more understandable in light of the new allegations that Russia was involved in hacking and distributing Democratic email accounts not just in order to undermine confidence in the U.S. election process but, more pointedly, to help elect Trump himself. The Washington Post reported last weekend that that was the conclusion CIA analysts shared with Congress. (The FBI was apparently less definite in its conclusions.)

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Responding to the CIAs conclusions, the Trump transition office released a flippant press release noting that these are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

On Monday, Trump tweeted that questions about such interference are just an example of disgruntled Democrats playing the Russia/CIA card. A Trump spokesman told reporters that the discussion of Russian meddling was an attempt to try to delegitimize President-elect Trumps win.

Its true that some of Clintons supporters fantasize about using the allegations of Russian meddling to somehow prevent the Electoral College from confirming his victory. On Monday, 10 electors (nine of them Democrats) sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper seeking a briefing on any investigation into links between Trumps campaign and Russian attempts to affect the election.

But you dont have to question the legitimacy of Trumps victory to demand an accounting of possible Russian meddling, which is both outrageous and worrisome if it indeed occurred. Obama has accepted the outcome of the election, but still has asked the intelligence community to conduct an expedited review. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said that the congressional intelligence committees would pursue the matter.

But team Trump is still in denial. Meanwhile, the president-elect is floating as a potential nominee as secretary of State Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of the ExxonMobil Corp. who is known for his close relations with Russia.

Trump has every right to defend the legitimacy of his election, and to propose new policies toward Russia and submit nominees who might share those views. But in cavalierly dismissing allegations of Russian meddling  and expressing open contempt for the intelligence agencies he must rely on as president  he is letting his vanity stand in the way of his duty.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.13

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

World oil prices have started to drop Dec.13 after reaching the highest level since July 2015, according to the trading data.

The price of February futures for Brent crude oil has decreased by 0.31 percent to $55.52 per barrel as of 12:55 EST. This is while the price of January futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil dropped by 0.51 percent and stood at $52.56 per barrel.

Brent crude futures soared to $57.89 per barrel in overnight trading between Dec.11 and Dec.12, its highest level since July 2015.

During the meeting held in Vienna Dec.10, non-OPEC countries agreed to cut the oil output by 558,000 barrels per day.



Eleven non-OPEC countries agreed to reduce the oil output: Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and Republic of South Sudan.
The volte-face began on election night. Donald Trump had already tucked both Ohio and Florida under his belt, and Pennsylvania was looking promising. As the pundits realized that it was Hillary Clinton, not Trump, who had a difficult path to an electoral majority, there was first disbelief; then, a sluggish acceptance; and, finally, a mass alighting upon a single word: Resistance.

For eight long years, the progressive left took square aim at James Madison and his constitution-drafting compatriots. Irritated by the Republican Partys recalcitrant insistence upon the representation of its voters, the Democrats and their enablers came to forget their Schoolhouse Rock and to embrace their inner caudillos. At Wonkblog and at Vox  and at all the other ersatz-Wikipedia wannabes  expedient explainers abounded. We learned that America would be better off with a parliament, that federalism was outdated and that separation of powers was at the root of our national decay. The president, we were told, had won, and enjoyed a mandate to set the agenda  by hook, if possible, by crook, if not. If Congress wont act, President Obama proved fond of saying, I will. And how happily his fans applauded.

Before Nov. 8, to complain about presidential overreach or the decline of federalism or the continuing diminishment of Congress was to be labeled an obstructionist or a nihilist or a member of the Party of No. Today, it is the soul of enlightenment. In the New York Times, Jeffrey Rosen is forecasting a [rediscovery] of the virtues of Jeffersonian small government, of the sort that progressives favored before the New Deal and the great society. In the New Yorker, Ryan Lizza is proposing that Congress would be wise to regain its proper place as the first branch of government, at least when it comes to serving as a check on a powerful executive. And, at news conference after news conference, Democratic politicians are vowing to use the powers that they have been accorded. The mayors hope to assert their cities interests against Washington. The lawmakers wish to block Trumps unsalutary appointments or the GOPs proposed legislative changes.

When the baton passes to ones enemies, the follies of expedience come clearly into view.

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To a man, the resisters are channeling deeply conservative ideas. In Colorado, marijuana activists are championing federalism as a bulwark against the overreach of the centralized state. In New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, anti-deportation activists are citing a Supreme Court case that was brought against Bill Clintons gun-control initiatives and authored by Justice Antonin Scalia. In Washington, D.C., Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) has taken a break from trying to prevent congressional oversight and become the citys foremost champion of legislative superintendence. From sea to shining sea, Federalist 51, which outlined the concept of checks and balances, is in vogue again.

And so it damn well should be. The Constitution adumbrates neutral, universally applicable rules so that no man, faction or party can grow too strong. Steeped in history as they were, the founders understood that it should not matter whether the president is an angel or a brute, whether the House is filled with saints or with sinners, or whether the Senate is one of thieves or of paragons  in all cases, the same rules must superintend their conduct.

In a system as divided as Americas, it is tempting to indulge our sides excesses on the grounds of good intentions. If Obama is a good man, the question holds, must we worry so deeply about the niceties? A good answer to this inquiry was uncovered by the Romans under Sulla. When the baton passes to ones enemies, the follies of expedience come clearly into view.

But will the lesson stick? Already, we have seen a handful of Democratic senators expressing regret for blowing up the filibuster. Already, it is being observed that in a large, diverse country, one-size-fits-all policies rarely hit the mark. Perhaps one day soon, progressives will thank the Obama-era GOP for keeping alive the tradition of intransigence.

If the left is serious about opposing Trump  and indeed, about opposing the next Trump  it will learn more than a fleeting lesson from its recent electoral slump. It will conclude that to check and to fracture power is to limit ones exposure to its abuse. And it will understand that there are no permanent victories; no unassailable coalitions. One cannot dissolve human nature and recast it into a more salubrious mold; one can only circumscribe its effects. That, in short, is why we have a Constitution. Progressives who wish to resist the president will find their ultimate salvation in the very document they have liked to dismiss as a relic.

Charles C.W. Cooke is editor of National Review Online.

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To the editor: Your article gives the appearance that all such use of coupons and copay programs are equal. They are not. (How free coupons for patients help drugmakers hike prices by 1,000%, Dec. 5)

I have for several years taken a drug called Enbrel to manage psoriasis and its related condition psoriatic arthritis. It is a biologic drug and expensive: Four doses (one month) would cost $3,360 without insurance. My insurance  which I have only because the Affordable Care Act removed the legal ability to deny me coverage based on that preexisting condition  covers $2,688 of that. The manufacturer, however, provides a coupon that covers all but $10 of the remaining balance.

Enbrel has no generic equivalent. There is no opportunity for substitution. Without that copay program, my cost would be $672 per month, which is more than my monthly insurance premium.

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Do these coupon programs used by the drug manufacturers still sound like such a bad idea?

Kymberleigh Richards, Van Nuys

..

To the editor: As a dermatologist, I sincerely hope every one of my colleagues reads about the high cost of prescription medications containing nothing more than inexpensive versions of the same ingredients available over the counter.

I used to buy cortisone cream from a wholesaler for $8 a tube and would just give them to patients so they could avoid the $60 price tag at the pharmacy. This generic brand is no longer available from the wholesaler.

Matt Schmitt of UCLA Anderson School of Management is to be commended for bringing yet another story of greed on the part of pharmaceutical companies, namely Horizon Pharma and Novum, to our attention.

Marilyn Mehlmauer, MD, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I read former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wrights piece thinking that someone with his credentials could adequately explain what was wrong with President Obamas position on terrorism. Unfortunately, he failed in that endeavor. Obama has explained in great detail why he does not use the term Islamic terrorism. (Im a former CIA officer and a Democrat. Heres what Obama still doesnt get about terrorism, Opinion, Dec. 9)

Those questioning the presidents position have failed to explain how labeling the current crop of terrorists as Islamic would help. Wright has added nothing to the conversation.

Wright states, quite rightly I believe, that Saudi Arabia has helped spread Wahhabism, which is behind the radicalization of some Muslims. Fine, but then what? Does the U.S. cut off relations with Saudi Arabia? Impose sanctions? Invade? These questions have gone unanswered.

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Until someone can answer these critical questions, I will support Obama. I think it is Wright who still doesnt understand that.

James Harley, Redondo Beach

..

To the editor: Irony is a specialty of progressive intellectuals, but they are, no doubt, choking on it after reading The Times Friday edition.

On Page A6 there was a story about the abuse of openly Muslim women in New York; in the op-ed section there was Wrights piece providing an honest appraisal of the threat faced by the West from rabid Wahhabist religious fanatics.

Blaming Donald Trumps rhetoric for anti-Muslim abuses is like blaming the canary in the coal mine for killing miners with poison gas. Trump, many of us hope, will ditch progressive political correctness for reality.

David Schwankle, Riverside

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Gov. Jerry Brown had to pick an attorney general faster than he expected

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

The phone call that Gov. Jerry Brown made on Wednesday night was unusual. A governor who marches to his own methodical timetable for decisions was having his hand forced by the politics of Capitol Hill, and the job of California attorney general hung in the balance.

In the end, Brown got the man he wanted: Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles). But it was Becerras effort to make a big career move that complicated things.

In interviews with advisers to the governor and those close to Becerra, a portrait emerged of two veteran politicians who have mutual admiration but dont really know each other very well. In fact, the 12-term congressman plans to spend part of this weekend meeting with Brown in Sacramento.

It was Becerras angling for an unexpectedly open high-profile post leading Democrats on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee that sparked the circumspect governor into action.

Nancy McFadden, the governors top staffer, decided she did not want to be attorney general. (Robert Durell / For The Times)

In Sacramento, those close to the governor said that the list of potential replacements for Kamala Harris was short, much shorter than the ones circulated by political watchers. Advisers confirmed that either First Lady Anne Gust Brown or the governors top aide, Nancy McFadden, could have had the job if they had wanted it.

Neither did, perhaps knowing the importance being placed on picking someone who would be willing to run for a full term in the job in 2018 (though Becerra declined to talk about future plans when asked on Thursday).

Becerra, on the other hand, intrigued the governor. Not only did he have the right credentials -- a former deputy attorney general, former state legislator, veteran member of Congress -- but advisers said the governor also valued diversity. And the chance to select the states first Latino attorney general was important.

While few jobs are as important to Brown, himself a former attorney general, the leading contender never came in for an in-person interview. Becerra, who grew up in Sacramento, had been in town just before election day to stump for the reelection of Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove). He met with McFadden on that visit, but not the governor.

And so the two men, who had no deep personal relationship, made the big decision long distance.

When they talked, McFadden said in an interview, the man matched the resume.

Becerra had been looking for somewhere to land. Out of places to move in House leadership and nearing the limit on how much longer he could lead the House Democratic Caucus, the vocal advocate for Hillary Clinton had spent the last year campaigning for her across the country with hopes it might lead to a new position.

Clintons loss Nov. 8 put an end to that speculation, and for a while Becerras next move didnt seem clear.

Surprise news Tuesday afternoon that the ranking Democrat on Ways and Means, Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) would not seek the position again led Beccera to quickly announce his plans to seek the position and lobby colleagues to back him. Levin quickly endorsed Becerra over Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richie Neal, who had sought the job before.

Word of Becerras effort quickly reached the state Capitol and the governors inner circle sprang into action. Perhaps fewer than a half dozen people knew of Browns decision until news began to spread early Thursday morning.

Becerra called the offer sudden and said with Congress in session he hadnt even had a chance to talk with Brown about the job in person.

It went very quickly when it started to move, he said. I was as stunned as you probably were and others were.
Rick Perry holds the Department of Energy in such low regard that in a presidential primary debate five years ago, he famously couldnt even remember it was on the list of federal agencies he wanted to eliminate.

Now President-elect Donald Trump appears to be on the verge of picking the former Texas governor to run the department that builds and maintains nuclear weapons, regulates fracking and offshore drilling and monitors the Iran nuclear deal, among its many responsibilities.

In Perry, Trump would have another oil industry ally and climate-change skeptic in his Cabinet. And like several other Trump choices so far, Perry is deeply skeptical of the department he would lead.

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Perrys disdain for the Energy Department  or, rather, his inability to articulate it  helped sink his bid for the GOP presidential nomination in the fall of 2011.

Its three agencies of government, when I get there, that are gone: Commerce, Education and, the, uh, whats the third one there? Perry said during a primary debate. Commerce, Education and the, uh, the, uh,

He continued. The third agency of government I would do away with  the Education, uh, the, uh, Commerce, and lets see  I cant ... the third one, I cant. Im sorry. ... Oops.

Then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry arrives in a Tesla Motors Type S electric car for a meeting with state lawmakers in Sacramento in 2014. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

It was one of the more awkward moments in the history of presidential politics. Perry finally remembered later in the debate that the agency he was reaching for was Energy.

Perrys background and worldview contrast starkly with the Energy secretaries under President Obama, both of whom are physicists  one a winner of the Nobel Prize, the other a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Obamas secretaries extensive background in science helped them chart a course for an agency that takes the lead in managing Americas stockpile of nuclear weapons as well as global nonproliferation efforts. The current Energy secretary, Ernest J. Moniz, was deeply involved in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, which Perry has said should be scrapped.

Officials from the Trump transition team declined Tuesday to confirm the widespread media reports that Perry was Trumps pick, but they did heap praise on the former Texas governor when asked.

We are big fans of Gov. Perrys, said transition spokesman Jason Miller. He did a fantastic job with the state of Texas. As we talk about the Texas economic revival, a lot of that had to do with the energy sector and the growth that the state saw during Gov. Perrys watch. He is very skilled, very talented.

The officials would not say whether Trump favors the Perry proposal to eliminate the Energy Department. But transition spokesman Sean Spicer cautioned against reading too much into the policy plans of any nominee.

It is [Trumps] agenda being implemented, he said. Not somebody elses.

During the period Perry was governor, from 2000 to 2015, Texas did, indeed, experience a jobs boom. Much of it was linked to the states vast energy resources, which Perry worked aggressively with oil and gas firms to develop. The former governor also traveled the nation seeking to lure companies from other states to relocate to Texas, boasting that his states low tax rates and lax regulation would boost profits.

Perry frequently traveled to California to make such pitches, jokingly calling them hunting trips. The swaggering Texan also has a taste for the Hollywood spotlight, competing on TVs Dancing With the Stars this year.

Texas was in many ways the anti-California during the Perry administration. It took a lead in defying Obama administration policies on climate change and healthcare that Perry and other GOP governors complained threatened to inhibit economic growth.

Major environmental groups immediately announced opposition to Perry, expressing alarm at the former Texas governors history of doubting climate science and flouting federal conservation efforts.

The Cabinet choices become more absurd every day, said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Yet again, Trump has chosen an unqualified individual who is at war with the central mission of the agency he is being nominated to lead.

Environmental groups also charged that Perrys role on the board of Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, creates a disqualifying conflict of interest. The Obama administration recently blocked construction of a section of the pipeline in North Dakota. That decision, made by the Army Corps of Engineers, jeopardized the entire project.

Perry had been jockeying for the Energy post with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin III, a Democrat who supports at least parts of Trumps crusade to roll back environmental restrictions on coal production. Trumps apparent passing over of Manchin probably means he would remain in the narrowly divided Senate, where he can work with fellow Democrats against much of the rest of the Trump agenda and possibly against some of Trumps nominees.

Perry is an unyielding backer of opening up more land for drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. He also supports doing away with subsidies for renewable energy.

Under the Obama administration, the Energy Department has been a hub of the presidents efforts to counter global warming. The department has distributed billions of dollars in loan guarantees to pioneering wind and solar projects, and its laboratories are incubators for clean-energy innovation.

Like Trump, Perry has consistently mocked the Obama climate change effort as driven by politics. He questions the overwhelming scientific view on global warming that Earths climate is warming at an alarming rate and that time is running out to make aggressive reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, which are the main driver of the change.

During his presidential 2012 run, Perry called climate change a contrived, phony mess. When he ran again in the 2016 GOP primary, he joined almost all the other candidates in refusing the embrace the scientific consensus on warming.

But under Perrys administration, Texas firms leveraged federal subsidies to become a national leader in wind energy. Texas produces more energy from wind than any other state, and Perry boasted that emissions in the state have dropped substantially as a result.

Even so, he continues to call for an end to such subsidies.

evan.halper@latimes.com

Follow me: @evanhalper

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Donald Trump dug in deeply Monday against growing concerns over Russian efforts to influence the presidential election, setting up a conflict with his own partys leaders even before he is inaugurated.

Trump sought to blame Hillary Clinton and the CIA for a renewed controversy over the hacking of Democratic emails during the campaign. The nations intelligence agencies jointly have blamed the hacking on Russia, and the CIA separately has reportedly concluded that the Russian effort was done with the specific intention of helping Trump win.

Trump persistently has refused to accept either of those conclusions; this weekend he sharply criticized the CIA and termed ridiculous any thought that Russia had tried to aid him.

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On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky defended the CIA. He and other Republicans announced their support for a congressional investigation of the foreign governments actions.

As Trump and leading Republican senators head in opposite directions on the issue, concerns over Russia seem likely to dominate the weeks before Trump is inaugurated and could continue into the confirmation hearings for his senior advisors.

That is particularly true if he nominates the current front-runner for secretary of State, Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, who has a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump is widely expected to announce Tillerson as his choice on Tuesday.

The tension between the president-elect and GOP senators escalated Monday after a common Trump tactic: a series of early-morning tweets, this time aimed at the CIA analysis, which was first reported over the weekend by the Washington Post.

Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory! Trump tweeted Monday morning.

Unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasnt this brought up before election? he asked.

In fact, Russian involvement in the hacking was brought up before the election, and Trump even talked about the topic during the presidential debates.

The nations intelligence agencies, in a rare public step, announced on Oct. 7, one month before the election, that Russia was interfering in the election.

After Trumps tweets were published, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said concerns about Russian election interference were an attempt to deny Trump his rightful win by some people who are bitter that their candidate lost in November.

He lumped the intelligence reports together with Democratic emphasis on Clintons popular vote victory and Green Party candidate Jill Steins attempted recounts in three key states as part of an effort to de-legitimize President-elect Trumps win.

The Russia debate has opened a rift between Trump and his party in Congress in a way that other issues have not. During the campaign, Republican leaders gave Trump a wide berth as he upended decades of GOP ideology during the campaign  on trade, spending and entitlements, among other issues.

Their strategy appeared driven by fear of political retaliation by his fervent supporters as well as by confidence that, in the sausage-making of federal Washington, more conventional Republicans could substitute their goals for his proposals. The issues upon which they disagreed also were unlikely to become main topics early in his presidency, Republican leaders believed, and would not disturb a honeymoon period focused on shared objectives.

But unlike Trump, whose political alliances are situational and driven in part by his business background, most Washington Republicans rose in a party steeped in fierce opposition to Russia and its communist precursor, the Soviet Union. In little more than a generation, the party has moved from President Reagan, who challenged Moscows hold on satellite states, to President-elect Trump, who has talked of weakening the military alliance that kept the Soviet Union in check.

For Republicans, Monday made for a delicate dance: to push back at Trumps views on Russia without undercutting his presidency.

Without specifically criticizing the president-elect, McConnell went out of his way to praise the CIA, which Trump on Friday had mocked for asserting more than a decade ago that Saddam Husseins Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. That assessment contributed to the 2003 Iraq war, during which no such weapons were found.

I have the highest confidence in the intelligence community and especially the Central Intelligence Agency, McConnell told reporters. The CIA is filled with many selfless patriots, many of whom anonymously risk their lives for the American people.

The Russians are not our friends, McConnell added, tersely contradicting Trumps rosier hopes to work more closely with Moscow. He also differed with Trumps campaign statements on NATO, calling it one of the most if not the most successful military alliance in world history.

And I think we ought to approach all of these issues on the assumption that the Russians do not wish us well, McConnell said.

A wide range of Republican senators have supported an investigation into Russian interference in the campaign. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who had already signaled his intent to buck any Trump effort to soften relations with Russia, said in a CNN interview that he believes both parties were targeted by the foreign intervention.

Republican Party leaders have strenuously denied that their computer systems were hacked. If they were, the fact that no GOP files were released would suggest Russia had decided to avoid disclosures that might embarrass the GOP, and raise suspicions that Moscow has stockpiled Republican files that might be used later in an effort to influence Trump.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), in a less forceful written statement Monday, also expressed his support for an investigation.

The potential nomination of Tillerson, the Exxon chief, has been ensnarled in the fight over Russian hacking, heightening concerns about a Trump administration tilt toward Russian. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who sits on the committee that will consider the nomination, already has joined McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in indicating discomfort with Tillersons friendship with Putin.

Democrats heightened their effort Monday to investigate Russias actions. Ten members of the electoral college, led by Christine Pelosi, the daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, demanded an intelligence briefing before their vote on Dec. 19.

Trumps willingness to disregard conclusions made by the intelligence community and his continuing defense of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin demand close scrutiny and deliberation from the electoral college, read the letter, which also mentioned Trumps public request in a July news conference that Russia seek out Clintons emails.

Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, whose emails were hacked during the campaign, asked the Senate to publicly release information pertaining to Russia.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also insisted that Congress conduct public hearings into the length and breadth of Russian interference in our elections.

The goal, he said, was deterring the Russians from further malign cyber action and inoculating the public against such manipulation in the future.

cathleen.decker@latimes.com

Twitter: @cathleendecker

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7:50 p.m.: This article was updated with the likely Tuesday announcement of Rex Tillerson as Trumps choice for secretary of State.

The article was initially published at 4:50 p.m.
Silicon Valleys entrepreneurs made little effort over the last year to conceal their distaste for Donald Trump, a candidate whose social media savvy belied what they saw as a staggering disregard for the innovation economy and the tech culture that has fostered it.

Now comes the reckoning.

Some of the nations top tech CEOs will find out how much of a grudge Trump holds when they ride the elevator up to his office in Trump Tower on Wednesday.

Tech titans including Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX and Larry Page of Alphabet, the corporate parent of Google, have been summoned by Trump as firms scramble to adjust to a reality for which they had not prepared  a potentially hostile president-elect indebted to almost no one in Silicon Valley, save for an idiosyncratic fellow billionaire they dont particularly like.

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In the new normal where no corporation is safe from the president-elects incendiary and stock-deflating Twitter barbs, tech firms could make an inviting target.

In his campaign, Trump already unloaded on Apple for manufacturing iPhones in China and for using encryption technology that federal law enforcement agents have struggled to penetrate.

He is a fan of the intelligence agency surveillance tactics that have undermined confidence in cloud-based networking and threaten to cost U.S. firms billions of dollars in business that could go to offshore competitors.

And his history of inflammatory remarks about immigrants and women is anathema to a Silicon Valley ethos built on international talent and industry leaders who increasingly see the dearth of female coders and executives as a public relations and ethics emergency.

But Trump may yet find these liberal tech executives useful allies.

The president-elect has said we need to get back to being innovators and inventing things and making things here in America, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said Tuesday during a call in which he alerted reporters that Trump would be meeting privately with Microsoft founder Bill Gates ahead of the larger group meeting.

Gates, for his part, may have shocked Silicon Valley on Tuesday when he likened Trumps vision for America to that of John F. Kennedy leading up to the moonshot.

Many of the executives are invested in Trumps plan to enable corporations to move tens of billions of dollars currently sheltered in off-shore accounts back into the United States by slashing the taxes firms would owe on the money. The overhaul of the tax code Trump envisions would give Silicon Valley a financial boost.

And tech firms are now finding solace in Trumps alliance with billionaire Peter Thiel, the contrarian co-founder of PayPal. They may find Thiels personality difficult  and his politics outright distasteful  but his business interests align with theirs, and his influence in setting policy could prove a blessing for the companies.

There are so many wildcards here, said Larry Downes, a Berkeley-based innovation scholar with the Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy.

One clear takeaway, Downes said, is that the election exposed again that in politics, much of Silicon Valley continues to play the part of novice.

The way Silicon Valley conducted itself during the election made no sense, Downes said. It is one thing to take a political position and support policies. But some of these CEOs went out of their way to antagonize, provoke and mock one of the major party nominees. Now hes won, and they find themselves in an awkward position.

The view, of course, is not universally shared in the Valley. Some executives not only have no regrets, but they have vowed to help lead the resistance.

A post-election, company-wide email from Grubhub Chief Executive Matt Maloney vowed to shield employees from Trumps nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics. Maloney called on any staffers who disagreed to please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here.

Such open resentment of Trump has been the rule at many startups and among outspoken venture capitalists, but most of the giant tech firms that are expected to be represented at Trump Tower have been careful to hedge their bets.

Relationships built through years of doing business with a Republican Congress are now coming in handy.

Google, for example, has an impressive roster of GOP lobbyists and long-standing relationships with some of the rights favored think tanks. It sends checks to conservative groups including Americans for Tax Reform, the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute.

The company recently posted a job listing for a Conservative Outreach Manager to serve as part organizer, part advocate and part policy wonk as you understand the world of third-party non-governmental advocacy organizations.

Some of these companies have worked both sides of the aisle for years, said Reed Galen, a GOP strategist with clients in Silicon Valley. Still, he said, that positioning has grown much more complicated since Trumps views often dont align with those of the traditional conservative Republicans the companies have been cultivating.

Galen himself said he joked on Twitter recently that Trumps insistence on moving Apples manufacturing onshore may just drive the price of an iPhone up to $42,000.

Navigating the new landscape is no easier for executives than it is for partisans. At a tech conference in San Francisco last week, Twitters chief executive, Jack Dorsey, said he felt complicated about Trumps heavy use of his social media platform. What does this mean to have a direct line to how hes thinking in real time and to see that? he said.

Tech leaders face immense pressure and almost inevitable conflicts as they try to please not just their customers and shareholders, but also the White House and their largely liberal workforce.

Trumps plans to wipe out Obama-era programs such as the Affordable Care Act and robust safety regulations at the Food and Drug Administration could face strong political opposition in Silicon Valley. They could also open new opportunities for biotech startups.

A burgeoning online lending industry is seeing dollar signs in Trumps promise to diminish consumer-protection regulations. And giants of the sharing economy, such as Uber and Lyft, may find less pressure to improve how they pay drivers as the transition team mulls an overhaul of the National Labor Relations Board to make it more friendly to independent-contractor arrangements.

The ride-sharing firms already have applauded Trumps pick of Elaine Chao as Transportation secretary. Shes a former Labor secretary who has welcomed the so-called gig and sharing economy. His pick for secretary of Labor, Andrew Puzder, has talked about the benefits of replacing workers with robots.

But at the same time the firms look for potential upsides of a President Trump, they are bracing for the moment they get caught in the crosshairs. The Valley is rife with speculation about how Trump will engage the companies to grab headlines. Might he, for example, coax Apple to open a manufacturing facility in America in exchange for increasing the number of visas available to tech workers from abroad?

Hes a marketer, said Vince Ponzo, senior director of the entrepreneurship program at Columbia Business School. If they can come to some kind of tradeoff where everyone wins, he could come out looking good.

Meantime, tech workers are still struggling to reconcile how a president-elect they detest rode to power on the social media tools they perfected.

Already, some employees at Facebook have undermined their chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, insisting the company could have done more to prevent fake news that many Democrats and independent analysts think helped Trumps campaign. And there is worry Trump will use the industrys most sophisticated tools to curtail freedoms and target opponents.

Justin Hamilton, a political advisor to tech firms who worked in the Obama administration, said Trump might present an identity crisis along with any opportunities for tech firms.

Whos going to sign up to work at a place where they feel like they run the risk of undermining the values they hold dear? he asked.

evan.halper@latimes.com

david.pierson@latimes.com

Halper reported from Washington and Pierson from Los Angeles.

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As chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp., Rex Tillerson has led a vast energy juggernaut, roaming the globe in search of multibillion-dollar deals, working with despots as well as democrats.

The brash Texas oilman has helped forge or supervise exploration, production and refinery projects in 50 countries on six continents, from Africa to the Arctic. The company was widely seen as a quasi-state, with more influence in some parts of the world than the U.S. government.



For the record: This story has been corrected to show that Ronald Reagan picked P. George Shultz to serve as secretary of State in 1982, not in 1980.

If Tillerson is confirmed as Donald Trumps secretary of State, however, he may find that his 41-year career at the worlds largest publicly traded oil and gas company could hamper his ability to freely conduct foreign policy as Americas top diplomat.

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A Senate confirmation fight already is brewing over Tillersons personal and business ties to Vladimir Putin, now Russias autocratic president. Few in Congress feel warmly about Putin, and many are outraged that CIA reports show that Russia used hackers to try to influence the U.S. presidential race.

After several days of leaks from his transition team, Trump confirmed Tuesday that he will nominate Tillerson, saying the 64-year-old oil moguls career is the embodiment of the American dream.

His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for secretary of State, the president-elect said in a statement.

To avoid direct conflicts of interest, Tillerson would be required to sell his $240 million in Exxon Mobil stock and other holdings. But he might also have to recuse himself from specific issues before the State Department, experts say.

Unless he severs all financial ties to Exxon Mobil, he will be required by law to recuse himself from everything relating not just to that business, but from all industries in which it operates  something that would make it very hard for him to do his job, Norman Eisen and Richard Painter, who head Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an ethics watchdog group, said Tuesday in a statement.

It may be that the appearance of conflict and the need for repeated recusals is so profound that the Senate concludes he cannot do the job, said Eisen, who served in the Obama administration, and Painter, who worked for President George W. Bush.

Tillersons Senate confirmation is far from assured. Democratic opposition appeared strong and some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about his work in Russia, although none have yet said they will vote against him.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he would ask Tillerson if he ever voiced criticism to Putin for his egregious human rights record at home and abroad, including recent Russian air attacks that killed civilians in Syria.

I have concerns about what kind of business we do with a butcher, a murderer and a thug, which is exactly what Vladimir Putin is, McCain said.

As Exxon Mobils CEO, Tillerson opposed the 2014 decision by the Obama administration and its European allies to impose sanctions on Russia for its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine, a dispute that sent U.S.-Russian relations into free fall.

The sanctions cost Exxon Mobil about $1 billion, according to company reports, because projects had to be scrapped.

In 2011, Exxon Mobil had signed a deal with Russias largest state-owned oil company, Rosneft, for joint exploration and production in hard-to-reach territory north of the Arctic Circle, where more than 90 billion barrels is believed to be in reserve.

Today, that project looks foolhardy, said Pavel Molchanov, an oil industry analyst with Raymond James & Associates.

At todays oil prices, theres absolutely no rationale for Arctic oil drilling, Molchanov said. Its in a remote location, difficult climate. Its pretty marginal, economically speaking. There obviously are places to drill with todays prices. The Arctic is not one of them.

Rosneft was built on the ruins of Yukos, an oil company that belonged to Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was sent to prison for alleged fraud in what many saw as a case of Putins revenge for the businessmans support of anti-Kremlin forces.

Rosneft and its CEO, Igor Sechin, who is considered Putins right-hand man and someone with whom Tillerson worked closely, were specifically blacklisted by the Western sanctions.

In 2012, two years before the Ukraine invasion, Putin bestowed Russias Order of Friendship on Tillerson, a rare prize for a U.S. citizen and one that on occasion has been given to communist spies.

The Tillerson appointment is very beneficial for Putin, said Vladimir Milov, Russias former deputy energy minister and an opposition leader. It will mean the end of values of the American foreign policy vector and a transfer to purely pragmatic deals on certain matters.

On Tuesday, Russia was the first country to praise Tillerson, saying he exhibited a pragmatism that would permit a mutually beneficial relationship between Moscow and Washington.

Other plaudits came from parts of the Middle East, where Tillerson is well known among Persian Gulf royalty.

Some Sunni Arab leaders felt neglected by an Obama administration that focused on forging a nuclear pact with Shiite Iran, archrival of Saudi Arabia, and called for a strategic pivot to Asia.

In Saudi Arabia, Exxon Mobil has multibillion-dollar investments in refineries and chemical companies with Aramco, the Saudi oil conglomerate founded by Exxon and considered the worlds most valuable company, worth an estimated $10 trillion.

In Qatar, Exxon Mobil is part owner of 12 of 14 liquefied natural gas plants, and in the United Arab Emirates, Exxon owns nearly a third of the largest oil concession there, according to the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington.

Arab leaders in the Gulf might look favorably on the appointment of a familiar oil executive as secretary of State, said Jean-Francois Seznec, a scholar at the institute. However, they also know he is quite a strategist who knows the regional games and how to play them.

John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, would not venture an opinion on what Tillerson should do to remove the appearance of conflict of interest.

He said the current secretary of State, John F. Kerry, and his wife agreed to divest a specific amount of assets within 90 days of Kerrys confirmation.

The last business leader of Tillersons level to serve as secretary of State was George P. Shultz, chosen for the post by Ronald Reagan in 1982. Shultz headed Bechtel Corp., a San Franciso-based construction and civil engineering behemoth with projects around the world.

Shultz signed a pledge not to participate in any decision that would affect Bechtel operations and divested himself of most investments in Bechtel, placing the proceeds in a blind trust.

Tillerson also is expected to face sharp questioning over his views on climate change, clean energy and the Paris agreement to slow global warming. Environmentalists and consumer advocates said they fear Tillerson will help lead policy away from curbing emissions to broader use of fossil fuels.

Rex Tillerson would put the U.S. oil industry at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy at a time when it is facing extinction because theres a global consciousness about climate change, said Jamie Court, executive director of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog.

Tom Steyer, the billionaire clean-energy advocate from California, called Trumps pick just a punch in the face to the rest of the world. [It says] we have no intention to do anything to move America forward in clean energy.

Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said Trumps Cabinet contains a whos who of climate deniers and fossil fuel hacks, so were shocked but not surprised that he chose the head of one of the worlds largest and most environmentally disastrous oil companies to be his ambassador to the world.

Publicly available information about Tillersons assets shows virtually all his investments are in Exxon Mobil or its affiliates.

He was paid $27.3 million in compensation in 2015. His pension was valued at $69.6 million and, according to data from FactSet, he owns about $240 million in company stock.

Wilkinson reported from Washington and Penn from Los Angeles. Staff writer Jim Puzzanghera in Washington and special correspondent Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow contributed to this report.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

ivan.penn@latimes.com

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.13



By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:



Global oil demand growth of 1.4 million barrels per day (mb/d) is foreseen for 2016 and 1.3 mb/d for 2017, the International Energy Agency said in its December Oil Market Report.



If OPEC promptly and fully sticks to its production target and non-OPEC producers deliver the agreed cuts outlined on Dec.10, then the market is likely to move into deficit in the first half of 2017 by an estimated 0.6 mb/d, according to the report.



However, IEA said that this is not a forecast, but an assumption based on the numbers in OPECs Nov.30 agreement, subsequently reinforced by the non-OPEC producers.



After the first half of 2017, the analysis is complicated by the fact that the proposed cut is for six months, and will be reviewed at the next OPEC ministerial meeting at the end of May, said the report.



This can be seen as prudent given the underlying uncertainties in the oil market and the global economy but also a warning that production restraint might not be extended.



As OPEC was deciding to cut production, its crude output in November was 34.2 mb/d, a record high, and 300 kb/d higher than in October, said the report.



Next few weeks are crucial in determining if production cuts are being implemented and if the increase in oil prices will last, according to the IEA.



During the Vienna meeting held Nov.30, OPEC members decided to implement a new OPEC-14 production target of 32.5 million barrels per day.



Later, non-OPEC countries agreed to cut the oil output by 558,000 barrels per day during the meeting held Dec.10.



Eleven non-OPEC countries agreed to reduce the oil output: Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and Republic of South Sudan.
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) is still awaiting confirmation as Californias next attorney general, and theres no date set for an election to replace him, but that hasnt stopped the furious pace of palace intrigue.

The names of more than a dozen potential candidates to replace Becerra in Los Angeles 34th Congressional District have been floated since Dec. 1, when Gov. Jerry Brown named him as his chosen successor to Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, Californias newest U.S. senator.

One of the most well-connected possible replacements, former Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, withdrew from consideration Dec. 10 due to unspecified health reasons, saying that his treatment doesnt lend itself to the intensity of a campaign that the community deserves.

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Perez, who ran unsuccessfully for state controller in 2014, had already received dozens of endorsements from members of the state Democratic Party when he dropped out, scrambling the race.

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With Perez out, Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), a former labor organizer who was elected to the Legislature in 2012, appears to have begun consolidating support from the states Democratic establishment. Gomez announced the endorsements of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) in quick succession after Perez dropped out.

Gomez said in a statement announcing his run that he wants to make sure that the Trump Republican Party does not have a free hand in Washington.

At least 16 other candidates have said they would run for the seat. They include Wendy Carrillo, a local labor activist and former journalist who was brought to the United States illegally from El Salvador as a child; Kenneth Mejia, a Green Party candidate and self-proclaimed Berniecrat who previously ran against Becerra in the June election; Sara Hernandez, a former aide to L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar who most recently ran public affairs institute Coro Southern California; Arturo Carmona, a former deputy political director for Bernie Sanders presidential campaign; and Yolie Flores, a former LAUSD board member.

Also running are Karl Siganporia, a Republican living in the Bay Area; Raymond Meza, a union organizer who helped coordinate the Fight for $15 campaign to raise the minimum wage; Alejandra Campoverdi, a former White House aide who worked briefly for the Los Angeles Times; Steven Mac, an L.A. County prosecutor and former Army intelligence officer; Vanessa Aramayo, former head of an anti-poverty group; and Maria Cabildo, a former L.A. city planning commissioner.

William Rodriguez Morrison, a Republican and perennial candidate who most recently announced a run for L.A. mayor, and Tenaya Wallace, a Democrat and public relations consultant, have also said they are running but have not raised any money. Other recent candidates to join the fray are Sandra Mendoza, who ran for state Assembly in 2014, data analyst Alex Poulton and L.A. city planning commissioner Robert Lee Ahn, all Democrats.

In a statement announcing her run, Hernandez said she had raised more than $150,000 and that she knows how to deal with bullies, vowing to stand up to a Trump administration.

They and others who are still mulling over potential bids represent a younger generation of local activists eager to run in a race where the rapidly changing neighborhoods of downtown Los Angeles, Eagle Rock and Highland Park will send a new face to Congress for the first time in more than 20 years.

The race comes at a time when Californias statewide and congressional Democrats have vowed to be a thorn in the side of Donald Trump.

This cant just be the usual game of musical chairs where one elected [official] moves to another position, Hernandez said in an interview. Its time to turn this ship around, and that needs to be done by investing in a new generation of leadership that has the time and the energy and the fortitude to stand up to these challenges.

U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), center, left his congressional seat after 24 years. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times )

The election of Donald Trump has also prompted several more seasoned politicians to skip the race: De Leon said he would not run, focusing instead on working with Becerra to defend Californias progress. L.A. City Councilmen Jose Huizar, who has been a vocal supporter of downtown development, and Gil Cedillo also turned down the opportunity, with Cedillo vowing to stay and fight for immigrant rights and other crucial issues in Los Angeles.

David Ryu, another councilman who last year cruised to victory with major support from the Korean community, also briefly considered vying for Becerras seat, but decided against it.

But theres still time for the roster of candidates to expand: Brown cant set an election date until Becerra resigns and creates a vacancy, something he has said he wont do until after hes confirmed by the Legislature.

The special election would probably be held no earlier than spring 2017, though the law gives the governor wide discretion in setting the schedule, particularly if it could be consolidated with already-scheduled citywide elections in March and May.

Others have indicated they are still contemplating runs, including Jesse Leon, who currently works for Huizar. Another name that has been mentioned is LAUSD board member Monica Garcia.

The person who wins will represent a district that largely remained geographically intact after redistricting: The core neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, East Los Angeles and Highland Park have been represented by Becerra since he was first elected in 1993 to what was formerly the 30th, and then the 31st Congressional District.

Today, Latinos make up more than two-thirds of the districts population and more than half of registered voters. Asian Americans account for more than 15% of voters in the district, where the percentage of Republican registered to vote is in the single digits.

Many of the districts neighborhoods have seen a wave of gentrification in recent years, leading to higher rents andan uptick in shops selling specialty items such as gourmet coffee and artisan goods.

Becerra, who was reelected in November with 77% of the vote, has not indicated whether hell endorse anyone.

christine.maiduc@latimes.com

For more on California politics, follow @cmaiduc.

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Updates on California politics

UPDATES:

Jan. 17, 5:33 p.m.: This article was updated with the entry of Mendoza, Ahn and Poulton.

Jan. 13, 12:22 p.m.: This article was updated with the entry of Morrison and Wallace.

Jan. 5, 2:44 p.m.: This article was updated to reflect Aramayos and Cabildos entrance into the race.

Dec. 22, 10 a.m.: This article was updated to reflect the entrance of Flores, Siganporia, Meza, Campoverdi and Mac into the race.

Dec. 13, 7:03 p.m.: This article was updated to reflect that Carmona has entered the race.

This article was originally published on Dec. 13 at 2:40 p.m.
With nothing but pavement separating them, two groups on opposite sides of a controversy over an Orange Coast College professors recorded post-election comments about Donald Trumps presidential victory  including calling it an act of terrorism  assembled for demonstrations Monday on the Costa Mesa campus.

More than 60 people rallied in support of professor Olga Perez Stable Cox, whose comments to her human-sexuality class were secretly recorded by an unidentified student and then posted on the Internet, where they went viral and drew national media attention.

The noontime rally at the campus quad first consisted of about 30 students, alumni and professors holding signs with messages such as We support academic freedom and OCC for Olga.

As they attracted more supporters in the afternoon, a counterdemonstration began directly across from the rally, with a white board featuring Coxs in-class comments and signs reading Hold teachers accountable again and Teach, dont preach.

Days after the Nov. 8 election, Cox told her students in the video that the nation is as divided as it was in Civil War times.

In the recording, Cox apparently refers to Trump as a white supremacist and to Vice President-elect Mike Pence as one of the most anti-gay humans in this country.

Cox could not be reached for comment Monday.

According to Joshua Recalde-Martinez, president of the Orange Coast College Republicans club, the student shared the video with the club, which posted it on its Facebook page last week.

The two-minute video also shows Cox saying: And so we are in for a difficult time. But again, I do believe that we can get past that. Our nation is divided; we have been assaulted, its an act of terrorism.

Seal Beach attorney Shawn Steel filed a complaint Nov. 30 to Orange Coast College President Dennis Harkins on behalf of the College Republicans club, saying Cox wrongfully assumed all students were disappointed with the loss of Hillary Clinton.

Steel said Monday that the concern among students was the brow-beating and the public shaming for the students of Trump.

His complaint suggested that Cox attend anger management classes and apologize to her students, and that the complaint be placed in her personnel file.

The districts legal counsel sent a response to Steel saying the student services and instructional wings at OCC have a review in process, Harkins said Monday.

Last week, students from campus clubs such as the Orange Coast College Young Democrats and the OCC Feminist Club began to organize Mondays rally in defense of Cox.

Some of us were upset that the media was only showing one side. ... I think her comments were taken out of context, said Autumn Durand, 23, an OCC student. Undocumented students are scared, women are scared. Olgas speech was about protecting students.

The Coast Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1911, circulated a letter last week defending Cox, who has taught at OCC for more than 30 years.

Shes never had a complaint lodged against her by a student, Rob Schneiderman, president of the union, which represents instructors in the Coast Community College District, said Monday. Its such as shame that a student chose to take a video rather than engaging the professor and the rest of the class in a discussion.

Students rally Monday in support of OCC professor Olga Perez Stable Cox, who was filmed in class making controversial remarks about President-elect Donald Trumps election victory. (Scott Smeltze / Daily Pilot)

Steel said, I dont object to what she says, but she cant object for it to be recorded.

Coxs course syllabus states that in-class recordings are not allowed, and a Coast Community College District policy also prohibits recording, according to Harkins.

Thats for different reasons, such as creating a safe space and an environment where people dont reform what you say, particularly with a class about a sensitive subject and ranging opinions, Harkins said.

Recalde-Martinez, who stood Monday with the people demonstrating against Cox, said her comments didnt create an inclusive environment or treat students equally.

OCC student Seyla Uy, 35, said he took Coxs human-sexuality class about a year ago and found it a welcoming environment. Shes very good, Uy said.

He added that he doesnt think there should be recording in any class, but especially that class, where students can share their sexual experiences during class discussions, he said.

The student services and instructional wings are investigating whether Coxs comments were in response to a students question and whether they were related to class curriculum.

Without having all the information, any disciplinary action for the professor or the student cannot be determined, Harkins said.

alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
An affiliate of the developer of Museum House, a 25-story luxury condominium tower planned for Newport Beach, lodged a complaint Monday alleging that Mark Rosen, an attorney and part-time county employee, violated state and county ethics rules while representing a group that opposes the development.

Sean Matsler, an attorney with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, a law firm representing OCMA Urban Housing LLC  an affiliate of Museum House developer Related California  sent a letter Monday to the Orange County Board of Supervisors requesting that the county investigate whether Rosens lobbying efforts with Citizens Against High Rise Urban Towers violate state conflict-of-interest laws and the Orange County ethics code.

Rosen is an attorney for Citizens Against High Rise Urban Towers, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit that has been fighting the Museum House project through mailers and television ads. Rosen also works about 20 hours a week as an executive assistant to county Auditor-Controller Eric Woolery. Rosen said he earns about $3,000 per month advising Woolery on issues related to county finance.

The county code of ethics states that no employee shall engage in any business, transaction or activity, or have a financial interest, which is in conflict with the proper discharge of official duties or would tend to impair independence of judgment or action on the performance of official duties.

Rosen said the complaint against him is incorrect and without merit.

I havent lobbied anyone, he said. "[Citizens Against High Rise Urban Towers] is not circulating any referendum petitions, and I certainly havent lobbied the county.

The letter takes issue with Rosens comments this month that the Newport Beach City Council erred in approving the Museum House project because it voted without receiving requisite written confirmation from the Federal Aviation Administration that the condo tower and aircraft using a nearby Police Department helipad would not pose a threat to each other.

The Airport Land Use Commission, a county-run group, signed off on the development in November with the condition that the FAA and Police Department also determine that the projects proximity to the helipad is acceptable. City officials have said they received sufficient documentation before the Nov. 29 council meeting from Kari Rigoni, executive officer of the Airport Land Use Commission. In her letter, Rigoni said the FAA was OK with it.

The complaint states that Rosen has engaged the news media and various Airport Land Use Commission employees in an attempt to undermine the decision on the project.

Because the county is responsible for funding of the ALUC, including with respect to employees and operating expenses, there is a likelihood that Mr. Rosen personally, in his capacity as an employee of the county auditor-controllers office generally, has authority and influence over the funding of ALUC, the letter states.

Rosen called that a stretch and said hes often involved in election cases in which he represents people suing Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley and that theres never been a conflict-of-interest issue.

This is just another attempt by the Museum House people to smear anyone and everyone who gets in their way, Rosen said. Theyre using any kind of slimy, swampy tactic they can use.

Mondays complaint is the latest turn in a battle between the developer and groups that oppose Museum House.

Line in the Sand, the political arm of Still Protecting Our Newport, is challenging the councils approval of the project through a petition drive seeking a referendum. Line in the Sand needs 5,800 verified signatures of local voters within a month to potentially bring the project to a public vote.

OCMA Urban Housing recently distributed door hangers urging Newport residents not to sign any petitions circulated by Line in the Sand or Citizens Against High Rise Urban Towers. The door hangers alleged that the latter group is funded by dark money  funding given to nonprofits that dont have to disclose the fundings source.

The hangers also referenced a complaint filed against the group in November with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Newport Beach activist Bob McCaffrey alleged the nonprofit evaded campaign disclosure requirements when it produced Facebook ads, TV segments and mailers opposing Museum House. Related California has repeatedly said the messages are false and misleading.

On Nov. 30, an FPPC representative wrote to McCaffrey that the commission dismissed the matter because Citizens Against High Rise Urban Towers hadnt violated the law.

OCMA Urban Housing recently launched two websites, SaveTheMuseum.com and FakePetition.com.

The former accuses Rosen of circulating a fake online petition that could hurt the Orange County Museum of Arts efforts to offer art education to children and senior citizens. Museum House would be built on the current site of the art museum, which plans to move to Costa Mesa.

The latter website contains a form and a phone number to report petitioners gathering signatures in Newport Beach. Matsler has said the site is about ensuring the petition process is legal.

Staff writer Bradley Zint contributed to this report.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
A 19-year-old man was arrested Monday in connection with the stabbing of another man in a Costa Mesa apartment, authorities said.

Officers responded just before 1 p.m. to a report of a stabbing in the 900 block of West 18th Street between Monrovia and Placentia avenues. The caller told police that the callers roommate had been stabbed and was bleeding, said Costa Mesa police Sgt. Bang Le.

Witnesses told police the man who stabbed the roommate ran north on West 18th Street, Le said.

The 18-year-old stabbing victim, who was not identified by name, suffered a non-life-threatening laceration to his clavicle and was taken to a hospital for treatment. He underwent surgery and was in stable condition Tuesday morning, police said.

After a 20-minute search of the area, Costa Mesa police, with assistance from a Huntington Beach police helicopter crew, found the suspect in a patio area of an apartment complex at 1850 Whittier Ave., Le said.

Police arrested Quinten Jeffrey Abubo of Anaheim on suspicion of assault, police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said.

The circumstances surrounding the stabbing were not immediately known, nor was whether the two men knew each other.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
Eleven-month-old Fatima Moshfeq spent more than half her short life in makeshift shelters outside the walls of a Greek castle that decades ago provided sanctuary to refugees like her.

But Fatima and her family fled the immediate area in mid-November after unidentified assailants standing on the Chios castles walls tossed heavy stones and pieces of concrete at the hundreds of refugees below.

We just ran, Fatimas mother, Masoma Alemi, said recently.

The Afghan family, including Fatimas two older brothers, ages 9 and 14, her father and grandfather, ended up in a parking lot not far from the castle but in an open space away from its walls. They, like thousands of other refugees seeking asylum in Europe, set up tents.

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Some aid workers and officials say attacks have been orchestrated by a far-right anti-immigrant group that advocates clean ethnic states. Meanwhile, some residents say that the attacks came after refugees and migrants broke into local stores, and that there has been an increase in vandalism and robberies.

Masoma Alemi, 38, holds daughter Fatima, 11 months, in Chios, Greece, where she and her family are seeking asylum after fleeing Afghanistan. (Maria Petrakis / For The Times )

While substantial disagreement exists about what has caused conflicts, there is widespread agreement on one thing: The Greek islands are seeing growing tension.

Migration Policy Minister Ioannis Mouzalas has urged island residents to remain calm and has pleaded with European Union countries to boost asylum services and accept more refugees for relocation, both part of a March deal between the EU and Turkey. He also requested that the EU consider a Greek proposal to move asylum seekers  migrants with infringing conduct or whose asylum claims are manifestly unfounded  to specific locations on the mainland.

Although the deal has been hailed by some as a deterrent to the exodus of refugees and migrants from Turkey, a steady trickle of new arrivals in Greece, combined with the slow pace of asylum proceedings, has created a logjam on islands ill-equipped to cater to the needs of about 16,000 people, among them an estimated 6,000 children. The refugees and migrants on the Greek islands are among more than 60,000 in the country.

Asylum applicants must remain on the islands  Chios, Lesbos and Samos chief among them  while their requests are processed.

Families are housed in tents, often unheated, and sanitary facilities are shared in the makeshift centers; in some, women share shower facilities with men. There have been protests about the quality of food in the camps.

Camps are never an ideal solution, especially not long term, Alain Homsy, head of Greek operations for the Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the aid groups active in Greece, said in a statement this month. Many of the camps in Greece are also far below humanitarian standards. There is an urgent need to ensure that people are moved into proper housing facilities, and that they receive necessary support, health services and education opportunities.

Unrest in the camps, often between people of different nationalities, and reports of vandalism and thefts are stoking dissatisfaction among local communities on the islands, whose members have already seen their livelihoods  many in hotels, transportation services and restaurants  take a hit as tourism slumps. Aid groups say overcrowding and the delays are behind the tension and unrest in the camps.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said last week that a planned increase in sales tax wouldnt be applied in the islands of the north Aegean because they have shouldered the brunt of the impact of the migrant crisis.

Chios, one of the main islands on the front line of last years refugee exodus from Turkey, is the most crowded, according to the aid group Save the Children, with more than 4,000 people in accommodations designed for 1,000.

Chios Mayor Manolis Vournous said via email that the tolerance on the island has been exhausted. Vournous said fields and crops have been damaged by refugees and migrants near the government-run Vial camp, which refugees and observers have described as having poor living conditions.

People make their way in the Souda migrant camp in Chios, Greece, in September 2016. Unknown assailants attacked the camp in November, officials said. (Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP/Getty Images )

During one recent morning in Chios, five Greek men clustered around the doorway of Theodoris Tsoukalas fish restaurant, not far from the parking lot where refugee families were camped. The men smoked, drank coffee and watched.

Tsoukalas said he was concerned about not attracting many customers. Violence in the area, including unrest in the camp, began before the stones were tossed at refugees, he said.

Some refugees at the parking lot sat cross-legged on mats behind a banner that indicated they wanted to make peace with the Greek people.

Jonathan Eccles, field manager for Save the Children in Chios and Samos, said many refugees have benefited from acts of kindness by residents, but not all.

The majority of Greeks have been very supportive, Eccles said in a phone interview. The picture recently though has been one of increased tension.

In Samos, Eccles said, a surge of refugee arrivals in October doubled the population in the detention centers  government figures in late November showed 2,600 people in accommodations designed for 850.

The Souda camp is minutes from the central square in Chora, the main town, nestled in what used to be part of the castles moat. In 1922, an influx of refugees from Turkey, ethnic Greeks fleeing persecution, found shelter in the castle. But the latest wave of refugees  Syrians mainly, but also Afghans, Iraqis, Kurds and north Africans  has been accommodated outside the fortress, now a protected archaeological site.

If new arrivals qualify to apply for asylum in Greece and for possible relocation to other European countries, they are allowed to move to mainland Greece. If they arent, they are ordered to return to Turkey, although they can appeal.

Both processes  applying for asylum and appealing  have been criticized as taking far too many months, leading to a surge in tension with the local communities and within the camps.

The number of asylum seekers who had left Greece under the relocation program for other European Union countries was 6,259 as of Wednesday, less than 10% of the agreed-to total of 66,400, said United Nations refugee agency spokesman William Spindler.

Humanitarian officials say conditions are taking their toll on the most vulnerable: the disabled, the elderly, families, pregnant women and children. Children, including those unaccompanied and those with disabilities, are forced to live in squalid conditions, exposed to disease and at risk of increased mental and physical health issues, Save the Children said.

We need to move families and children to safe, open accommodations on the mainland, Eccles said. At the moment its clear its unworkable and unsustainable having them on the islands where there is no capacity to look after them in the right way.

Alemi, who said her family feared for its safety in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has spent six months on Chios trying to obtain asylum in Europe. She said she has asked about their asylum request eight times and had yet to receive any news.

I dont want to be with troublemakers, she said, holding Fatima close as she recalled the stones being thrown from the castle. That night I didnt know where to go  there were no lights, everyone was screaming. I didnt know where to go for safety.

Petrakis is a special correspondent.

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A politician here said Tuesday that he was tortured and sexually abused while being held hostage by Afghanistans vice president, the latest development in a sordid episode that has raised serious questions about the rule of law in the country.

Speaking with local media, Ahmad Ishchi leveled the accusations against Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former warlord and militia commander who holds the title of first vice president.

The two men, who are political rivals, got into an altercation Nov. 25 on the sidelines of a game of buzkashi, a traditional Afghan sport akin to polo, in the northern province of Jowzjan. According to witnesses, Dostum stepped on Ishchis neck with his foot and threatened to suffocate him.

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He said, Who would care if I killed you here right now?  a witness, 33-year-old Mohammad Zaman, recounted.

Dostum then reportedly held Ishchi hostage for five days at his compound in Sheberghan, the provincial capital. While there, Ishchi told reporters Tuesday, Dostums henchmen beat him repeatedly.

I was tortured by Gen. Dostums 10 men and sexually assaulted, Ishchi said. The general was ordering his men to do it.

Ishchi eventually was handed over to provincial intelligence officials, according to a local official who requested anonymity because he did not want to anger Dostum by discussing the episode.

We treated Ishchi well for six days and got a doctor to prescribe him medication as his legs, hips and face were injured, the official said. The intelligence agency released Ishchi after mediation by dozens of tribal elders, he added.

Dostums office issued a statement denying the allegations of abuse, calling them a plot to defame him. The statement said Ishchi was arrested by Afghan forces on charges of aiding insurgents, a claim Ishchi denied.

If I have any links with insurgents, the government is welcome to trail me, he said.

President Ashraf Ghanis office said late Tuesday that it would investigate Ishchis allegations, a move that the United Nations and international diplomats in Kabul welcomed. Afghanistans allies have poured millions of dollars into improving the countrys justice system, but corruption and human rights abuses often still go unpunished.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said Ishchis allegations against Dostum raise serious concerns.

A strong, independent justice system is the cornerstone of every stable society, the embassy said. Afghans demand that human rights be respected and the rule of law be upheld.

The accusations against Dostum were a reminder of the strongmans brutal past. Once described in a State Department cable as a quintessential warlord, he and his ethnic Uzbek militiamen have fought on nearly every side of Afghanistans multifaceted conflicts since the 1980s.

During the 2001 U.S.-led military invasion, he helped CIA officers target Taliban fighters but outraged human rights officials, who claimed he let hundreds of Taliban prisoners suffocate inside shipping containers where he was holding them.

When Dostum joined Ghanis ticket in 2014, it was seen as a sign of political reconciliation. But his unpredictable behavior has continued. In September, his fighters faced off with rival ethnic Tajiks on a Kabul hilltop over the Tajiks plans to move the burial site of a long-dead king.

Special correspondent Faizy reported from Kabul and staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia

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A years-long siege that had reduced much of Syrias largest city to rubble came to an apparent end Tuesday when the last remaining rebels, boxed into a shrinking urban stronghold, agreed to leave Aleppo and hand it over to government forces.

The collapse of the rebel forces in Aleppo, announced by Russian officials and an opposition spokesman, came amid reports of horrific atrocities. It would mark the most significant victory yet by Syrian President Bashar Assad in his five-year civil war  a conflict that has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and forced millions from their homes.

Even as the rebels were gathering to depart the city on Wednesday morning, reports emerged that at least 82 civilians had been killed by Syrian forces who entered homes and killed those inside, then shot those who tried to flee, according to the United Nations.

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1 / 20 Syrians pray in the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo, as civilians are allowed access to some neighbourhoods recently retaken by Syrian government forces. (STRINGER / AFP/Getty Images) 2 / 20 A view from the roofs of East Aleppo shows devastation from four years of war. (Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 20 A shell punches through one of the ancient Khans (marketplaces) in the old city of Aleppo. (Nabih Bulos/Los Angeles Times ) 4 / 20 A bulldozer removes rubble from a road as Syrian pro-government forces re-open a street in Aleppos old city that was formerly barricaded, dividing the government-held and rebel-held areas of the city. (YOUSSEF KARWASHAN / AFP/Getty Images) 5 / 20 Syrian pro-government forces sit in the government-held old city of Aleppo. Trapped Syrian civilians and rebels waited desperately Saturday for evacuations to resume from an opposition-held enclave in Aleppo. (STRINGER / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 20 A Syrian man walks past a bulldozer removing rubble from a road as Syrian pro-government forces re-open a street in Aleppos old city that was formerly barricaded, dividing the government-held and rebel-held areas. (YOUSSEF KARWASHAN / AFP/Getty Images) 7 / 20 Assistance is delivered from the United Nations World Food Program to recently retaken areas of East Aleppo. (Nabih Bulos / For The Times) 8 / 20 A member of the Syrian pro-government forces watches buses during an evacuation operation of rebel fighters and their families from rebel-held neighborhoods in Aleppo. (YOUSSEF KARWASHAN / AFP/Getty Images) 9 / 20 A wounded by sits inside an ambulance as Syrian civilians and their families gather at the rebel-held al-Amiriyah neighborhood as they wait to be evacuated from Aleppo. (KARAM AL-MASRI / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 20 An elderly Syrian man is carried during an evacuation operation of rebel fighters and their families from the embattled city of Aleppo. (KARAM AL-MASRI / AFP/Getty Images) 11 / 20 Syrians wave their national flag bearing a portrait of the Syrian president during an evacuation operation of rebel fighters and their families from rebel-held neighborhoods in Aleppo. (GEORGE OURFALIAN / AFP/Getty Images) 12 / 20 An elderly Syrian woman in a wheelchair waits next to a bus during an evacuation operation in Aleppo. (KARAM AL-MASRI / AFP/Getty Images) 13 / 20 Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the Bustan al Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppos Fardos neighborhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighborhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops. (AFP/Getty Images) 14 / 20 Syrians try to keep warm in Aleppos Fardos neighborhood after fleeing from another area retaken by government troops. (AFP/Getty Images) 15 / 20 A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child as residents flee the Bustan al Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo. (AFP/Getty Images) 16 / 20 Syrian residents arrive in Aleppos Fardos neighborhood after fleeing their own area, which was retaken from rebel fighters by the troops of President Bashar Assad. (AFP/Getty Images) 17 / 20 A Syrian pro-government fighter walks past closed shops in the Bab al Nasr district of Aleppos Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppos Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognizable by some of the worst violence of Syrias civil war. (George Ourfalian / AFP/Getty Images) 18 / 20 Buildings lie in ruins in the Bustan al Qasr neighborhood after pro-government forces captured the area in eastern Aleppo. (George Ourfalian / AFP/Getty Images) 19 / 20 Syrian pro-government forces walk through Aleppos Bustan al Qasr neighborhood. (George Ourfalian / AFP/Getty Images) 20 / 20 A Syrian army soldier holds a national flag during a battle with rebel fighters at the Ramouseh front line, east of Aleppo. (Hassan Ammar / Associated Press)

We received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying in the streets but residents were unable to retrieve them due to the intense bombardment, and their fear of being shot on sight, said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, in a press briefing from Geneva.

Colville said the atrocities took place in four neighborhoods of the rebels dwindling enclave in eastern Aleppo, which had shrunk to little more than one square mile, and that the victims included at least 11 women and 13 children.

The reports could not be independently confirmed. In a phone interview, Colville said his office had cross-checked the information as far as one can in this chaotic mayhem. We would love to be wrong on this occasion, but we dont think we are.

News of the apparent end to the siege came from the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, in a Security Council session in which he announced, with diplomatic understatement: Military operations in eastern Aleppo have concluded.

The Syrian government has regained control of  eastern Aleppo, so the stage of practical humanitarian actions begins, continued Churkin, according to a report from the state-controlled, English-language broadcaster Russia Today. He added there was an arrangement for fighters to leave the city.

A cease-fire had begun as a prelude to the fighters exit Wednesday morning, according to Zakaria Malahifji, the political spokesman for the oppositions Fastaqim Kama Umert, one of a group of factions fighting in Aleppo.

Crucially, activists said fighters would be able to leave with their personal weapons - a major stumbling block that the Russians had initially rejected, Malahifji said.

Activists on both sides reported silence on the front lines, and the government confirmed that arrangements were being made for the withdrawal.

Aleppo, a U.N. World Heritage site known for its magnificent hilltop citadel, its narrow, winding streets and bustling souks, had long been divided between the rebel-held east side and the government-held west.

Residents in western Aleppo celebrated the takeover, cheering, shooting guns in the air and honking horns in convoys of cars threading their way through crowded streets, according to video broadcast by government-affiliated news channels and activists.

Groups of men chanted, God salute the army with heart and soul we sacrifice ourselves for you, O Bashar, a reference to Assad.

Some government activists, however, expressed anger on social media that rebels would be allowed to leave without punishment.

The governments Ministry of Reconciliations representative in Aleppo, Fadi Ismail, said in a statement to pro-government media that militants would leave on a road heading out of the citys southwestern flank, according to a pro-government online news site.

Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese news channel close to the Syrian government, said the exodus would begin at 5 a.m.

Churkin, in a statement to the Reuters news agency, said that although the fighters would have to leave, civilians could stay and go to safe places.

Nobody is going to harm civilians, he said.

The government assault was conducted with substantial assistance from Russian air power, and had already displaced tens of thousands of people from the rebels pocket. They have gone to government-held areas, including a refugee center in Jibreen, a district on the outskirts of Aleppo.

For the previous few days, amid the constant threat of shelling and an accelerating onslaught by security forces, the estimated 50,000 people inside the rebel blockade had fled from district to district in a desperate retreat.

In the Security Council meeting, which came after the reports of killings and other atrocities, Syrias ambassador to the U.N. insisted there was no wrongdoing. He called the reports the zenith of hypocrisy.

One pro-opposition monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the civilian deaths had been caused by the fearsome barrage that preceded pro-government troops relentless advance.

Although other activists and residents in eastern Aleppo said there had been summary executions, the information was secondhand and none had witnessed the killings.

The governments victory in Aleppo, though significant, does not end the conflict  significant parts of Syria are still outside government control, and huge swaths of the country are a devastated wasteland. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed.

Earlier this week, Islamic State jihadists waged a daring raid on the ancient city of Palmyra, taking it back nine months after a grueling government campaign to oust the extremist group.

Bulos is a special correspondent. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

5:05 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout with additional reporting, quotes, background.

2:50 p.m.: This article has been updated to include Times reporting and reaction from Syria.

1 p.m.: This article was updated to include the U.N. envoy for Syria commenting on the safe withdrawal of people and other information.

11:50 a.m.: This article was updated with Russias U.N. ambassador saying military action in eastern Aleppo has ended.

9:05 a.m.: This article was updated with reports of a cease-fire between Syrian rebels and Russia.

5:33 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

5:05 a.m.: This article was updated with a report that dozens of children are trapped in a building under fire in Aleppo.

This article was originally published at 4:50 a.m.
With an eye on developments in Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed open support Sunday for Kurdish independence.

In a policy address in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said that among the challenges facing Israel was the need to build cooperation with moderate countries in the region to help fend off the threat posed by extremists such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

He said Israel must back efforts to support Jordan, which borders both Syria and Iraq, so that the insurgency doesnt spread there.

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It is upon us to support the international efforts to strengthen Jordan, and support the Kurds aspiration for independence, Netanyahu said. The Kurds, he said, are a fighting people that have proven political commitment and political moderation, and theyre also worthy of their own political independence.

He did not specify whether he meant only Iraqi Kurds, or Kurds living across a broad stretch of the region in countries including Iran, Syria and Turkey. Those countries, as well as Iraq, have long opposed creation of a Kurdish state including territory now within their borders.

Netanyahus words were the first explicit comments on the subject after other Israeli officials hinted at this broadly.

In talks with Secretary of State John F. Kerry last week, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was quoted as saying that Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion.

President Shimon Peres also mentioned the subject in a meeting with President Obama last week as part of his tour before stepping down next month. The Kurds have, de facto, created their own state, Peres said later, adding that the Kurdish entity already was democratic.

This series of comments came amid media reports that Israel recently received a first shipment of crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, shipped via tanker that was loaded in a Turkish port.

According to media reports, Israel has maintained ties with the Kurds for years, albeit discreetly. This is the first time the government has openly called for Kurdish independence.

Israel also has tried to avoid taking a public stand on political strife in neighboring countries.

So far, it has been careful to stay out of the politics of the civil war in Syria and limit its involvement, at least publicly, to targeted security concerns and humanitarian matters.

Netanyahu also said that recent developments show Israel must maintain military control in the Jordan Valley, meaning that it would have to keep a long-term military presence in the West Bank.

Sobelman is a special correspondent.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Inclusion of non-OPEC countries in the oil output deal is bolstering market sentiment and will help support prices in December, Emma Richards, oil and gas analyst with BMI Research, told Trend Dec. 13.

During the Vienna meeting held Nov. 30, OPEC members decided to implement a new OPEC-14 production target of 32.5 million barrels per day.

Non-OPEC countries agreed to cut the oil output by 558,000 barrels per day during the meeting held Dec. 10. Eleven non-OPEC countries  Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan and South Sudan  agreed to reduce the oil output.

Richards says that a lot of the proposed non-OPEC cuts are either natural declines or, as in the case of Russia, will be made only gradually.

So, from a fundamental perspective, the impact is less significant than the headline figure would suggest, said Richards, adding that 558,000 barrels per day will likely be an end-of-period target, rather than an average reduction over the six months and there is a definite risk that the target will be missed.

Nevertheless, the expert believes that assuming a decent level of compliance, the prices could easily be supported above $60 per barrel.
Samsung Galaxy is reportedly planning to give an end of the year gift to users by launching another smartphone. The company as of late procured the Wi-Fi affirmation for its upcoming handset, samsung is likewise offering Black Friday bargains on a few new handset, three TVs and a wearable.

As per GAMENGUIDE The Samsung Galaxy will apparently be introduced in the main quarter of 2017 or by the end of this year, this alludes to the second arrival of the Second Galaxy A3. The primary release were reported in December year ago and propelled in January 2017. Likewise the Galaxy A3 additionally get its Wi-Fi Certification.

The Galaxy A3 won't be too different in term of design when compared with the other two smartphones in the series. It's the same stylish candy bar form factor with rounded corners that the Galaxy A series is well-known for. Samsung don't chang their design because they have a range of series, so they prefer to stick with one common design.

The Galaxy A3 2017 is one of the cheapest among the three that samsung plans to unveils this month. However don't underestimate the phone because it may seem to be very simple but its not an low end phone.

Samsung's Galaxy A phone is decent enough hardware-wise as the phone is powered by an Exynos 7870 processor, complemented by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory, also includes a expandable memory slot.

As per NewsPaperToday it's rumored to sport a 4.7-inch display boasting a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels. It is bound to feature a 1.5GHz octa-core processor and the ARM Mali-T830 graphics chip.

Furthermore the GFX Bench listing mentioned several reveals that the third generation of the Galaxy A3 will come up with 7-megapixel front shooter and a 12-megapixel rear camera with an autofocus and flash. The 2017 variant of the Galaxy A3 is expected to ship with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and has also been rumored to feature a fingerprint reader.

Samsung Galaxy bargain includes a free Gear VR headset for up to $349.99 investment funds as well. Besides, the Samsung 55 inch LED 4K TV, 55 inch and 65 inch 4K HDR Smart TV will likewise be evaluated at $479.99, $997.99 and $1,497.99 individually. The Samsung Gear Fit 2 will likewise cost $149.99 on that day.
For those who are preparing themselves for the annual Geminid Meteor Shower events, wanting to spend their whole evening to watch meteor showers, here's some both good and bad news for them.

The good news is, this week is going to be a real bummer for the enthusiastic watcher of Shooting Stars. Because 'December Geminis', the most beautiful & most reliable meteor shower event is going to peak at the sky on dec 13,2016 & dec 14,2016. But, the bad news is at the same time , the last Supermoon of this year is going to take place in the sky.

Supermoon occurs when the moon gets closest to earth (Perigee ), then it looks 30 percent brighter than other full moons. The brightness of the moon will overshadow those meteor showers which makes it almost impossible to watch with naked eyes. The perfect viewing conditions for meteor showers are;

1.The sky should have entirely dark.

2.The sky should be clear. the presence of cloud can restrict the viewing experience.

According to Space.com, the moon will turn full on Tuesday 7:05 p.m EST(Eastern Standard time ). The moon will be situated closer from the lower horn tip of the constellation Taurus, aka The Bull and those Geminis meteors come from the Gemini constellation which is so closer to the Taurus.

Observer's Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that the meteor shower will last for 10 hours from the peak time at 7 p.m. Geminid Meteor shower comes from the fragments of 3200 Phaethon. Under the perfect viewing condition , people could witness 120 meteors per hour. At this situation, the number of meteors will be reduced to 40 . However, these meteors will move around 22 miles per second, half the speed of Leonid or Perseid meteors.

For the best viewing experience, NASA recommends that it is better to watch shooting stars before the dawn of Wednesday. Although NASA is also arranging a live streaming session on the internet, so that everyone from anywhere in the world could experience the meteor shower.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Ivory Coast has given the green light to the construction of the gas terminal where Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR has a share, Africanews reported Dec. 13.

Earlier, SOCAR obtained a 26-percent share in Ivory Coast LNG consortium led by Frances Total.

The CI-GNL (Ivory Coast LNG) consortium has been awarded the rights to build and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal in Ivory Coast with a capacity of 3 million tons per year.

The decision announced by the government of the Ivory Coast on October 4, was followed by the signature of the shareholders agreement in Abidjan between Total, which will operate the project with a 34-percent interest, national companies PetroCI (11 percent) and CI Energies (5 percent) as well as SOCAR (26 percent), Shell (13 percent), Golar (6 percent) and Endeavor Energy (5 percent).

The re-gasification terminal project is expected to become operational by mid-2018.

The project involves the construction of a terminal with a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) in Vridi, Abidjan area, and a pipeline connecting the FSRU to existing and planned power plants in Abidjan, as well as to regional markets connected to the Ivorian network.

This will enable Ivory Coast to become the first regional LNG import hub in West Africa and to meet both regional and domestic demand.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec. 13

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

The Senate of the Uzbek Parliament approved the Law on Combating Corruption during the eighth plenary session Dec. 13, Trend correspondent reported from the session.

The law is aimed at improving efficiency of anti-corruption measures carried out by the state bodies, organizations and civil society institutions, as well as at complete eradication of corruption in all spheres of public life.

The main principles and directions of the state policy on combating corruption, international cooperation in this field, the system of authorized bodies, etc. are included to the law.

The Law on Combating Corruption, approved by the senators, will be submitted for approval to the countrys president.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec. 13

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Tashkent will host the inauguration ceremony of president-elect Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Dec. 14, a source in the countrys parliament told Trend.

The inauguration will take place during a joint meeting of the Legislative Chamber and the Senate  upper and lower houses of the Uzbek Parliament.

It was earlier reported that candidates from four political parties of Uzbekistan participated in the presidential election on Dec. 4.

More than 15.9 million voters, or 88.61 percent of all voters who participated in the voting, cast their ballots for Mirziyoyev.

The country held early presidential election Dec. 4 in connection with the death of the first Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who passed away after suffering a stroke on Sept. 2.
Bethlehem City Councilman Bryan Callahan's bid for a tax decrease has failed, but that didn't stop him from trying to whittle down the 2017 city budget Monday night.

Bryan Callahan is on Bethlehem City Council. (Courtesy photo | for lehighvalleylive.com)

Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez is proposing a $74 million spending plan that doesn't increase taxes and focuses on basic city services. The city is, however, raising sewer rates by 10 percent.

Council is scheduled to cast the final budget vote Dec. 20.

Monday evening, council held its final budget hearing during which Callahan put forward a series of budget cuts totaling almost $46,000. He garnered support for about $10,000 in cuts, which will be transferred into a contingency fund, which the administration would need council authorization to spend.

If the cuts had all passed, the money would have gone into unforeseen contingency funds because the total savings wasn't enough to cut taxes.

Callahan, who chairs the council finance committee, abandoned his plan to push for a small tax cut after he realized he could not garner enough council support to cut positions from the Bethlehem Department of Community and Economic Development, he said. Position cuts were needed to really move the tax rate, he said.

Donchez's budget proposal cuts four jobs through attrition already.

Callahan said he still thought it was important to refine the budget since every cent counts and the city faces tough financial years until the South Side TIF deal expires in 2020. He went through the budget line by line and where he saw excessive year-over-year increases proposed 25 percent cuts, Callahan explained.

Council backed some of Callahan's proposals, like cutting $1,000 from the council advertising budget and perhaps moving legal advertisements from The Express-Times to The Bethlehem Press. But council did not support $11,000 of cuts to the water/sewer gasoline budget and some other cuts.

The city began this budget season with a projected $1.9 million shortfall, which Donchez proposes closing through a refinancing, departmental consolidations, higher employee health care contributions and an early retirement program.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 12

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian reformist press, drunk with the wine of the incumbent governments victory in the biggest US-Iran aviation deal since the countrys 1979 revolution, have seized the chance to respond to conservatives concerns over the competency of the last years milestone nuclear deal (aka Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action/JCPOA) to benefit the Islamic Republic.

State airline Iran Air finalized a historic deal with the US aircraft maker Boeing on Dec. 11 to acquire 80 passenger planes, fuelling media speculations on the future of economic ties between the Islamic Republic and the US during the President-elect Donald Trumps term.

Conservatives over the past year have continuously criticized President Hassan Rouhanis government over the nuclear deal, but the administration came under bitter criticism over the past month when the US House of Representatives passed a bill designed to halt the sale of commercial aircraft to Iran.

On the other hand, Donald Trumps critical remarks over the nuclear accord and efforts made by Congressional Republicans to kill the JCPOA have given valid grounds for pessimism about the idea of whether the nuclear deal is capable of producing economic benefits for the Islamic Republic.

Although most of the prominent conservative outlets have, so far, declined to comment on the Boeing-Iran Air deal, newspapers close to the moderate President Rouhani have examined the positive aspects to the "Sundays deal".

New chapter in Iran-US economic ties/Airbus now lags behind Boeing

While some observers suggest that the Boeing-Iran Air deal would be considered as the beginning of an economic partnership between Iran and the US during Trumps era, some others say Boeing has overtaken its European rival, Airbus, in gaining share from Irans huge market.

Hamdeli newspaper ran a report on the issue saying the fact that Boeing overtook Airbus in Iran encourages the speculations that the US economy is probably going through a new phase planned by Trump.

Airbus was first to launch talks over aircraft deal with Iran following the removal of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic in January. On the other hand, many believed that reaching a deal with Airbus would be easier than with its American counterpart due to its affiliation with Europe which demonstrated more friendly approach towards establishing ties with the Islamic Republic in the post-sanctions era.

Competition over Irans market

Tejarat Newspaper noted that the Boeing deal was not an outcome of political issues but a quite economic competition between the worlds large companies to break into the Iranian market.

Boeing and Iran stroke the deal in a situation that the Islamic Republic officials had earlier turned to Russian and Japanese aircraft makers for talks on renewing the countrys aged aviation fleet as Tehran seemed doubtful over reaching a deal with European and American plane makers due to concerns over the Westerners political approaches.

In this condition, the Boeing deal is considered as a victory against other rivals in gaining market share.

Trump may honor nuclear deal

In the meantime, some others have taken the Boeing deal as a sign indicating that American politicians, in particular Donald Trump may remain committed to the US obligations regarding the nuclear deal.

Donyay-e Eqtesad newspaper has stated that an economic aspect of the Boeing deal is that the aviation agreement is a major one creating at least 100,000 new job opportunities in the US which is in line with Trumps campaign promises to improve the economic situation of the Americans, therefore it seems that the US president-elect would refrain from scraping the deal.

Supporters of this idea suggest that the Boeing deal is also likely to have a positive impact on efforts to finalize a deal between Airbus and Iran. In fact if Iran and Boeing manage to implement the deal, it means that legal and financial obstacles to the contract are already eliminated, therefore Airbus is also capable of going on with the Islamic Republic. So, Boeings return to Iran would be taken as a permission to Airbus to do business in Iran. It could also be considered as a signal that the US has a strong willingness to establish full scale business ties with Iran, so others are also safe to do business in Iran.

Etemad newspaper said that economic deals between Iran and international leading companies may encourage large banks, which have been reluctant to do business with Iran over concerns on running afoul of US regulations, to return to Iran.

What if Trump rejects the deal?

Ebtekar newspaper has said that the Boeing deal conveys the message that the US officials have accepted the realities of the nuclear deal prior to Trumps assuming power and the Westerners understand that it will bring about implications if they breach the terms of the nuclear deal.

Shahrvand newspaper believes that the Boeing deal has weakened the structure of sanctions against Iran as aviation has been considered as Irans hot-button regarding the sanctions over the past 30 years. Therefore, the American giants return to the Islamic Republic will improve Tehrans relations with the world, recognizing the Islamic Republics right to establish business ties with the rest of the world.

Shahrvand added that Trump may cause some difficulties in financing Irans purchase of aircraft.

In this case, Japanese banks would be helpful as Boeing has launched talks with two Japanese banks over financing its deal with Iran.
One of the reasons projects like the Da Vinci Science City want to come to Easton is the city's track record of money management, according to its mayor.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. released the city's 2015 audit in which its finances "present fairly," according to Palmer & Co. of Easton.

The city ended 2015 for the 10th-straight year with a budget surplus and maintains its A+ bond rating.

"I'm proud of the fact that this administration has been fiscally prudent," Panto said Tuesday. "The only way you attract investors is by showing them you have a stable tax base."

Major redevelopment projects continue in Easton, including the conversion of the abandoned Simon Silk Mill into a community for artists and the rehab of the Governor Wolf and Pomeroy's buildings.

City council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a 2017 city budget with no tax increase.

The city's fiscal sore spot continues to be its underfunded pensions. The firefighters' plan is only 66 percent funded. The police officers' plan is 49 percent funded.

Panto wants permission from the state Legislature to put future employees on the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System plan, a hybrid pension-401k system.

Under that system, employees earn a 1 percent pension for up to 40 years they work.

Police typically receive 60 to 70 percent of their annual salary when they retire. But they're not eligible for Social Security and employees in the PMRS system are.

"The pension bonds and the pension debt continue to haunt us," Panto said. "No matter how well we do there is going to be a day of reckoning when we are going to have to address this issue."

Da Vinci Science City is a museum proposal by the Da Vinci Science Center of Allentown at the site of the Days Inn hotel.

The city purchased the land and has a year to study the proposal's feasibility. If city officials give the green light, the city will put $30 million toward the $130 million project.

The investment will pay for itself in the form of employees' income taxes and parking revenue, the mayor said.

"We're fiscally prudent," he said. "We vet everything out to make sure everything right is right."

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
UPDATE: Robert Keim has been found "OK" in Cecil County, Maryland

Emmaus police asked for the public's help Monday night in finding an 86-year-old borough resident last seen leaving home Monday morning.

Robert Keim (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Robert Keim left home in the 100 block of North Third Street about 8 a.m. for the Perkiomenville Auction & Flea Market in Marlborough Township, Montgomery County, according to police.

"Keim may appear disoriented or confused," police said on their Facebook page.

He is described as white, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds with white hair and green eyes and was last seen wearing a blue shirt, tan jacket and tan hat.

He was driving a tan 2007 Hyundai with Pennsylvania license plate ESW-4493.

Emmaus police asked anyone with information his whereabouts to call investigators at 610-437-5252.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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A Jane Austen-engraved 5 note  which could be worth up to 50,000  could be in Leicestershire after it was spent in the county .

The new banknotes have recently gone into circulation but four have tiny works of art engraved on them by 70-year-old artist Graham Short.

In the past few days, the notes have been spent in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

One of them was spent in Melton's Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe.

Stephen Hallam, Dickinson and Morris managing director, said: "It's an honour he should wish to do such a thing in such a venerable establishment as ours.

"We didn't know anything about this but clearly it's legal tender.

"We have about 4,000 customers a week rising to 10,000 towards Christmas so who knows where it might be now?"

How can I check if my fiver is worth 50,000?

(Image: SWNS)

On each of the new 5 notes, Short has engraved a 5mm portrait of Austen encircled by a famous quote on the transparent section to the right of Big Ben.

The four notes put into circulation have the following quotes and serial numbers:

"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more." Emma

Serial number: AM32 885551

"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love." Pride and Prejudice

Serial number: AM32 885552

"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of." Mansfield Park

Serial number: AM32 885553

"I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good." Pride and Prejudice

Serial number: AM32 885554
Recent comments by Dr Susan OReilly on Portlaoise hospital, have reinforced fears that she will recommend closing both the A&E and the maternity unit.

While her recommendations for Portlaoise have not yet been published, her views as expressed to Laois councillors recently, reaffirm her plans for Laois.

Cllr Padraig Fleming is one of three Laois councillors on the Dublin mid Leinster regional Health Forum and is now twice as concerned.

At its November meeting, they got an update from Dr OReilly, CEO of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, whose influential report will be soon given to Minister for Health Simon Harris.

She said it should be looked at whether there should be a maternity unit to cover the midlands. She said it would be better to have one big unit serving the midlands, but that it would take time and investment. Her long term aim is to take maternity to Tullamore, thats her thoughts. Now Im equally concerned about maternity as well as the A&E unit, Cllr Fleming told the Leinster Express.

A new maternity wing in Tullamore will cost an estimated 70 million, and could be done in eight years, he said.

Dr OReilly told them that birth numbers have dropped in Portlaoise, from 2,000 a year, to 1,500 last year.

The future is bleak also for Portlaoises A&E, which gets 40,000 patients a year.

She broke down the figures, she took out the numbers going to maternity and paediatrics, leaving 23k. She is hoping that the new Acute Medical Assessment Unit built at Portlaoise will take 80 percent of those. Basically she wants to shut the A&E down, Cllr Fleming said.

Dr O'Reilly's report, commissioned after Hiqa raised safety concerns on Portlaoise, is currently with the HSE for clarification. It was drawn up in consultation with medical groups.

We have a long battle ahead, said Cllr Fleming.

Dr OReilly made her comments to the councillors before the publication of a new follow-up report by HIQA on Portlaoise hospital.

Photo: A huge turnout for the Save Portlaoise Hospital AGAIN Public meeting held last June in Portlaoise.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Dalga Khatinoglu  Trend:

Iran plans to assign development of seven oil fields to Russian companies, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Dec.13.

He said that Russian companies would develop and increase the recovery rate of the fields.

Irans oil fields recovery rate is about 25 percent averagely, but some of giant fields like Yadavaran and Azadegan have about 6-7 percent recovery.

Iran has already signed memorandum of understandings with Lukoil on studying Ab-Teymour and Mansouri fields which contain over 5 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.

Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina and National Iranian Oil Company also signed an agreement to carry out a preliminary study on the mentioned fields in August 2016.

Zanganeh said that Iran has signed MoUs with Russian Zarubezhneft on West Paydar and Aban oil fields as well as Tatneft on Dehloran iol field.

Aban and West Paydar are both among the oil fields that Iran shares with Iraq. Russias Energy Minister, Alexander Novak had said last October that Zarubezhneft will take up several projects worth a total of $6 billion in Irans oil industry.

He also said that Iran and Gazprom Neft signed MoUs on Cheshmeh Khosh and Changouleh fields on December 13.

All of the mentioned fields are among the 49 fields which Iran offered to foreigners based on the newly designed model contracts, called the Iran Petroleum Contract or IPC.
Former jockey Walter Swinburn, who died yesterday aged 55, lived for a time on the Bracknagh side of Rathangan with his family.

His parents Wally (a jockey for many years in Ireland) and Birr native Doreen Cash, ran a farm near Bracknagh.

Walter was a frequent visitor to the long closed Mahers shop at Bridge Street, Rathangan, pulling up outside in his BMW car on his way to the Curragh to either ride out for exercise purposes or to ride in races at the premier flat racing venue in Ireland.

He spoke to the Leinster Leader three years ago from Newmarket, where he was working in the family owned Genesis Green Stud at Wickhambrook, Newmarket.

Unsurprisingly he said that Shergar was the best horse he ever rode.

He was a teenager when he piloted Shergar to Derby success and Lester Pigott rode the horse to victory in the Irish Derby.

Swinburn had a stellar career as a jockey, winning a string of prestigious races including the Epsom Derby on three occasions before reportedly struggling to maintain his riding weight.

He had attended Rockwell College in Co. Tipperary before becoming an apprentice at the yard of renowned UK trainer Michael Stoute.

To be able to ride a horse like Shergar was wonderful. I was lucky to ride him. He was bred and raised in Ireland. Apart from being a brilliant racehorse, he had a wonderful temperament and I knew he was always well looked after (at Ballymany Stud, Newbridge). It would have been very difficult for him when he was kidnapped that evening and taken out of his environment, Walter told the Leader at the time, referring to Shergars kidnapping, on February 8, 1983.

Security was not tight around stud farms then. You or I could walk into a stud farm in those days, he said.

Swinburn retired in 2000, aged 39.

When you ride, you get off the horse and move on to the next race. As a trainer you have the horses for a long time and you have more contact with the owners and its not easy having to tell an owner bad news about, for example, when his horse sustains an injury.

He trained horses for a time but for many he is forever 19, scorching towards the winning post to win the 1981 Derby by a record margin. He was so far ahead that second placed John Matthias, aboard Glint of Gold, thought he himself had won.
The new Centre of Excellence in Annaduff will prove to be the catalyst for better things to come for all our players representing Leitrim in the future at all levels according to Leitrim GAA County Board Development Officer Pat Feely.

In his report to tonights Convention, Pat writes Our Centre of excellence at Annaduff continues to make progress and was open to all county panels for training and Games this season. A lot of work has been carried out on the two pitches.

Drainage and irrigation work was completed and the grass is growing very well all year. The floodlights are also sorted and working well with good reports from those who have played under the lights that visibility is excellent. Work has started to finish the dressing rooms and main building.

As each and every one involved in Leitrim GAA will know this was a major venture for us all but when this centre of excellence is fully finished it will prove to be the catalyst for better things to come for all our players representing Leitrim in the future at all levels.
2017 will be a remarkable year for the people of Knock and the Irish diaspora in New York as plans are underway at Knock Shrine to lead a group out from Ireland West Airport to New York next May.

For the last two years, Knock Shrine and Ireland West Airport has welcomed pilgrimages in from New York and Boston and will now have the privilege of bringing the people of Knock and the West and North West of Ireland across the waters for a special and historically unique, 6-day trip which will be led by Fr. Richard Gibbons, P.P., Rector, Knock Shrine.

The primary purpose of the visit is to have the remains of John Curry, the youngest person to witness the Knock Apparition of 1879, re-interred from the current location at Pine Lawn Cemetery, Long Island to St. Patricks old Cathedral, New York.

John Curry was just five years old when he, along with fourteen others witnessed a miraculous phenomenon at the gable wall of the Parish Church. Little did he know at that time what life would bring his way, however he like many others at the time left Ireland for New York where he remained until his death in 1943.

The remains of John Curry will be brought to old St. Patricks Cathedral, Manhattan on Saturday 13th May where a special requiem Mass will be celebrated. It is a great honour bestowed by the Archbishop of New York for Knock Shrine and for John Currys family to have his remains transferred to the historic centre of the Irish.

Packages for this special trip will be available to book shortly through well known Irish Tour Operator, Joe Walsh Tours by calling 00353 1241 0800.
Yesterday, December 12 a Sligo/Leitrim flu launch to promote the importance of the flu vaccine was held at HSE Cregg Services, Sligo. The launch was officiated by one of Irelands top country music entertainers, Sandy Kelly and was attended by residents from Cregg Services, athletes from Sligo Special Olympics, HSE Sligo/Leitrim staff and guests.

Launching the campaign Sandy stated I believe strongly in the flu vaccine which gives protection to myself and my loved ones from getting the flu and today I will avail of the opportunity to get my vaccine. I am delighted to offer my support to this worthwhile campaign and I would urge everyone who needs the flu vaccine to get it this year to stay fit and healthy. Sligo Special Olympian Peggy Mc Donald stated I have participated in badminton and horse riding for the last few years and I always get the flu vaccine to that I can feel healthy to participate in those sports.

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 and all those at risk should get vaccinated as soon as possible this year to make sure that they are protected.

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. Those without a Medical Card or GP Visit Card will be charged a consultation fee. Those aged 18 years or older in the at risk groups may attend either their GP or Pharmacist for vaccination and those under 18 years should attend their GP.

Delegates at the launch were entertained by the Markievicz Minstrels, a choir consisting of HSE Sligo staff who sang a song especially for the occasion about the importance of getting the flu vaccine. Sandy enthusiastically joined the choir in one of their rousing renditions giving them a boost with her own vocal prowess. Spot prizes on the day of the launch were sponsored by the following local Sligo businesses: The Little Cottage Cafe, Drumcliffe Tea Rooms, Cafe Fleur, The Vintage Lane Cafe, Cafe Victor, Markievicz Pharmacy and Angelworld.

The flu vaccine is available free to HSE healthcare workers from their local Occupational Health Department and in their workplace from nurse peer vaccinators.

The HSEs Occupational Health Service provided a clinic at the launch where those attending could avail of the vaccine.
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Photo by Jeremy Jaeger Eb and Debbie Roell in their Heatherwood home. The couple has travelled the world, making it their mission to do what they can to help others. Roell recently wrote a book about their experiences.

Looking back at a life of service to others, a local man has decided to share his life in print.

I wrote the book because I thought we had a story to tell, said Eb Roell.

The book is Piercing the Night, and the story is of the years Eb and his wife Debbie spent living and working in Uganda, amidst the chaos left behind by the infamous dictator Idi Amin.

Eb was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1939 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1962; first to Colorado Springs, and then eventually to Estes Park, where he owned a small business, an arts and crafts shop.

It was an arrangement that allowed Eb to indulge his love of travel, operating the shop during the months of the tourist season, and traveling during the rest of the year.

How would you like to go on a honeymoon around the world? Thats how Eb fashioned his marriage proposal to Debbie, at the end of their second date.

Debbie didnt say yes right away, but soon decided it was an offer she couldnt refuse.

During the course of that honeymoon trip, hitchhiking through west Africa in the mid-1970s, Eb and Debbie experienced a calling.

It was a combination of love for the place and the people, and then the tremendous needs, says Debbie.

We saw a lot of poverty and we wanted to get involved, adds Eb.

The Roells bought their home in Heatherwood (the same home they live in today) in 1977. Their son, Karsten, was born in 1978.

Soon after, in connection with an organization called World Relief, they traveled to the Netherlands, where their daughter Misha was born in 1980.

Shortly afterwards they found themselves in Uganda.

Eb sums up the principle of his mission work there with a quote from Samuel Moffett:

Theres nothing quite so crippling to evangelism and social action as to confuse them in definition or to separate them in practice.

Or as Eb himself put it, Its not just about being holy, the important thing is getting your hands dirtygetting involved.

Digging latrines, delivering mail; there was no shortage of work.

Eb also ran what he called his Revolving Loan Fund, a kind of micro-loan program which he funded out of his own pocket.

But the chaos of the post-Amin era wasnt just fertile ground for mission work.

Our time in Uganda involved a lot of danger, says Eb. Abandoned arms depots were looted, guns were everywhere, random checkpoints manned by men armed with assault rifles were on all the roads.

Eb says several friends of his, Ugandan natives, were murdered. Debbie and the two children relocated to Nairobi for long periods when it seemed that life in Uganda was too unpredictable.

In all they spent seven years in Africa, before finally returning to Colorado and their house in Heatherwood in 1987.

Photo by Jeremy Jaeger A sampling of the Roells treasures from around the world. These items are displayed in their home, mementos of their travels over several decades spent overseas.

By that time we were tired out, says Debbie, and it was time to come home.

Eb started up a painting business, and as it prospered the Roells found the freedom to continue their travels.

Eb has been to 130 countries, Debbie to over 100, and their home is decorated with the treasures they picked up along the way.

The book includes appendices which tell the stories of some of these other excursions.

But it was their time in Africaseven years spent raising two small children in a strange country, a beautiful and inspiring, but also unpredictable and dangerous placethat clearly stood out when Eb retired and decided to put pen to paper. Eb lives at 4494 Aberdeen Pl., and he invites you to Come by the house and pick up a free copy of the book!
There is an ongoing heated debate over how much if anything of her intentions Theresa May will reveal before triggering Article 50. Does she want to stay in the single market? Does she want UK citizens to have any rights (short of complete freedom?) to travel and work in the EU? Does she want to maintain the reciprocal arrangement on health care? Does she want all the policing co-operation to continue (we think so)? Does she want us to stay in the scientific research programmes? Etc. Etc.

This is all in our interests: does a sovereign nation that has taken back control have the right to enter agreements that are in its interests? Yes it does. Thats how we got in to the EU.

Presumably we want out of the Common Fisheries Policy, but some sort of agreement on fisheries will be desirable, to prevent overfishing. (Yes, I know thats what the CFP is.) And do we want to expropriate the fishing quotas that have been sold by British fishermen to Spaniards? I wouldnt think so  thats not how the UK behaves  but in that case, what respite is there for British fishermen?

All this and more May or May Not be answered. This isnt about what the UK might settle for  you dont give that kind of thing away  but about what we want. Any successful negotiation needs to start with both sides understanding what the other wants to achieve.

And that brings us to what I think is the much harder question: what does the EU want out of this? Remember that we are not really negotiating with the EU as a body. The commission doesnt have any say itself, though its main function is facilitating these kinds of negotiations. We are negotiating with 27 other EU members and the European Parliament. Theres every chance that they want 28 different things.

Some will want a soft Brexit to minimise the damage on both sides. Some may want a hard Brexit pour encourager les autres. One even wants to sell BMWs.

Leave campaigners promised us that the other 28 would be reasonable  that it was project fear to suggest otherwise  and they may be right. But reasonableness may not be enough when you need to agree a single consensus negotiating stance for the EU and you actually have 28 different ones all of which must be satisfied. (Though a limited agreement could be reached by qualified majority.)

We have been focusing on how hard it is for the UK to articulate what we want when we all know that the national interest demands we stay in the EU. It is much harder for the EU to articulate what it wants because it does not have the authority to speak with a single voice: EU members are sovereign nations and therefore sign their own treaties.

Perhaps it is time to re-open the question of whether the Article 50 process is fit for purpose. There was some discussion before the referendum whether Article 50 was the right way to Brexit, but David Cameron settled that by saying that he would invoke it in the event of a leave vote. But who is David Cameron?

Article 50 starts a clock that works against the UK. It gives the European Parliament a say but not the House of Commons. It is the preferred route for European leaders who want the upper hand. It serves, as intended, the interests of the remaining members. It is no way to take back control.

* Joe Otten was the candidate for Sheffield Heeley in June 2017 and Doncaster North in December 2019 and is a councillor in Sheffield.
Tehran, Iran, December 13



By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:



Iran and Kazakhstan have reached agreements on building renewable energy plants such as photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, in southern Kazakhstan.



Making the announcement, Kazakhstans Minister of Investments and Development Zhenis Kassymbek said Iran and Kazakhstan have made a general agreement covering eight projects worth $1.3 billion, SHANA news agency reported.



The Kazakh official further said his country is planning to provide Iran with a list of companies destined for privatization in a bid to increase economic ties between the two countries.



Kassymbek and Irans Minister of Agriculture Mahmoud Hojjati during a joint economic committee meeting in Tehran signed an agreement of 58 articles, which envisions cooperation in the areas of customs, banking, agriculture, water management, transportation, communication, petrochemicals, tourism, health, cooperative, science, technology, and mines.



Irans export value to Kazakhstan in the first seven months of the current Iranian year (since March 20) reached $79.8 million. In the meantime, Iran imported worth $48.9 million goods from Kazakhstan.
THE Minster for Housing, Simon Coveney says he is determined to ensure that nobody is forced to sleep rough in Limerick city at night.

Minister Coveney made his comments during a visit to Brother Russell Home at Mulgrave Street where he launched Novas Annual Report for 2015.

While acknowledging that homelessness is a particular problem in Dublin, Mr Coveney says hes aware there are problems in Limerick too.

Nationally, 90% of individuals and families that are homeless are in Dublin but that doesnt mean that its not equally important here (in Limerick). Because the numbers are less doesnt mean the persons life is any less. We need to make sure that everybody who is sleeping rough on streets in Limerick actually has a hostel or a safe place to go with supports, he said.

Meanwhile the Novas annual report reveals the organisation supported more than 2,400 people during 2015  more than half of whom were from Limerick.

Michael Goulding, Novas CEO, said the organisations response to the homelessness crisis is multi-faceted, creative and pro-active.

During 2015, Novas added to its long-term housing stock in Limerick and Kerry as well as adding additional capacity in McGarry House, Alphonsus Street.

Anne Cronin, head of homeless services with Novas, says the situation on the ground in Limerick is pretty bleak.

Limerick is a reflection of whats happening nationally. Whilst the figures are a lot higher in Dublin, per capita of population there is a significant issue here in Limerick as well, she said.

Novas, which has a strong presence in Limerick, works closely with Limerick City and County Council and other State agencies in trying to deal with the homelessness crisis.

To that end, it is hoped that an additional 15 beds will be made available by the end of this week as part of the local authoritys Winter Housing Initiative.

It is understood a premises, which consists of a dormitory accommodation has been secured in the city and that it will operate from 9pm to 9am once opened.

Greg Maxwell, chairman of Novas, told those who attended the launch of the annual report that homelessness situation in Limerick is at crisis levels.
A 50-inch television which was stolen during a burglary was recovered after gardai located it through Netflix.

Limerick District Court was told a woman who subsequently bought the TV for 330 having seen it on DoneDeal added a Netflix profile in her own name.

However, Aundrea Behan, aged 26, of Glendale Lawn, Old Singland Road was acquitted of handling stolen property after a judge ruled the State had not reached the necessary threshold to prove its case.

Earlier, Judge Aeneas McCarthy was told the Sony BraviaTV was stolen from a house in Woodview during the early hours of July 17, 2015.

While a male was seen on CCTV leaving the area following the break-in, he was never identified and nobody prosecuted in relation to the burglary.

The owner of the smart television told the court, he had bought it for 899 and had an account with the Netflix streaming service in his own name.

Garda Enda Clifford said sometime following the burglary, he became aware that the Netflix account was still being used and that a profile had been set up on the victims account under the name of Aundrea Behan.

The TV, he said, was recovered when gardai searched the defendants home September 11, 2015.

Ms Behan told gardai she had bought the TV for 330 in cash from a man in the car-park of Meelick stores after she responded to an advert on Done Deal.

She said the man was well-dressed and that she did not have any suspicions as she believed the price was about right for a second-hand TV which did not have a remote control.

Seeking to have case dismissed, David Hughes BL urged Judge McCarthy to look at what happened through his clients eyes. The application was granted.
NEW figures obtained this week by the Limerick Leader show that Adapt in Limerick helped 866 women fleeing domestic violence in 2015, and 258 children.

Adapt's helpline also received over 1,000 calls last year, and over 300 women were also supported through their outreach programme.

The charity has also had 243 new referrals up to the end of June 2016, and has on average some 40 referrals a month. Its outreach programme helps on average 96 women each month.

The women Adapt helped in 2015 are of 30 different nationalities, and come from across the country, many seeking refuge from as far away from a partner as possible; others choose to remain close to home for logistical reasons.

They are Irish, Latvian, Nigerian, Polish, Russian, Indian, Pakistani. Adapt Limerick is the biggest refuge for women in the country, and they also offer therapies for children affected by domestic violence.

What would you do? is the message behind a hugely powerful TV campaign aimed at not turning a blind eye to domestic violence this Christmas.

There is no subliminal message in the [ongoing] campaign to jump in, and be Superwoman or Batman. The TV campaign has definitely got people talking, and anything that breaks the silence around domestic violence is welcome, advised Majella Foley, training and development co-ordinator with Adapt.

Women generally tell their friends first, before they call any service. We would ask those they confide in two things  dont judge, and dont try to fix it. And dont advise anyone to leave a home, or just get out of there. Someone who feels power slipping away from them can become more dangerous or threatening, she said.

She said they also ask people to remember the three Rs in such a situation  Recognise, Respond and Refer.

Each Christmas, the Limerick domestic abuse charity Adapt witnesses a spike in calls from those fleeing domestic abuse.

But its services are in demand at all times of year, with support sought by young women who are pregnant to those in their 80s, who are only now coming to terms with what they have suffered after the death of a partner.

This year the UL Hospitals staff have joined forces with Limerick gardai, Adapt House and Clare Haven as part of the international campaign 16 Days of Action on Violence Against Women. Adapt provide self-contained apartments for women in need. Adapt House on 1800 200 504 or 061 412354. The Womens Aid Helpline - 1800 341 900  is open seven days a week from 10am-10pm, bar Christmas Day.
LIMERICK city has the highest number of unemployment blackspots and the highest rate of youth unemployment in the country, according to a report published by Limerick Regeneration.

In the progress report of the Limerick Regeneration Framework Implementation Plan, it shows that 50% of all 15- to 24-year-olds in the labour force are out of work. And of the 32 electoral divisions in the city, 11 have a youth unemployment rate of 60% or more.

Minister for Housing Simon Coveney launched the progress report at Innovate Limerick, Roxboro Road, last Friday morning.

Eighteen electoral divisions in Limerick city were identified as unemployment blackspots, which is twice as many unemployment blackspots as any other part of the country. The report adds that the average unemployment rate for these areas was 43%.

Seven of the countrys top 10 blackspots are situated in Limerick city, and these specifically in Regeneration areas. St Marys Park has a 57% unemployment rate; 55% in OMalley Park and Keyes Park; 47% in Moyross and Ballynanty; and 47% in Carew Park and Kincora Park.

The report states that youth unemployment remains a key issue to address in the coming years.

An examination of the local economic environment provides a stark reminder of the challenge that exists particularly in the regeneration areas. The ability to address unemployment and creation job opportunities remains to the fore of all future economic development activity and central to the implementation of the economic strategy of the LRFIP.

The report noted a significant 10.1% reduction on those signing up to the live register in Limerick city, in July this year. A total of 10,271 persons signed up to the live register.

The report states that 300 jobs have been created as a direct result of programme funding, and that there was a 12.2m employment income impact in 2015.

Minister Coveney said that the report represented an important milestone in its progress.
FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan has dismissed speculation that he is getting ready to step down in a government reshuffle saying he has no plans in that direction.

I dont think that there is any reshuffle coming up, unless Kieran OHanlon knows something I dont know, he said, in a reference to confirmation that the mayor of Limerick is to honour Mr Noonan this Friday with a mayoral reception, for "the work he has done for Limerick".

The move by Fianna Fails Cllr OHanlon has surprised many, as it is seen as extremely unusual for an opposition party member to honour a government minister.

I felt that it appropriate at this point in time to honour and pay tribute to Michael Noonan for what he has done for Limerick and the region as Minister for Finance and his other ministerial roles, explained Mayor OHanlon.

Speaking about the continuing speculation about his future, Mr Noonan said: I cant control the speculation, all I can do is keep working away and as you have seen I have been working solidly since the summer.

I have been meeting up with Kieran (OHanlon) quite a bit as we have had jobs announcements nearly every week since September. He has been there and I have been there. I am very grateful for the honour, he added.

Minister Noonan said that he had been very busy with the Budget, the Finance bill and travelling to Brussels, dealing with the Brexit issue, plus problems in Italy and the fallout from the election of Donald Trump.

I am in good form I have no plans in that direction, he replied when asked about retirement.

He said that things were starting to pick up.

The economy of the country is going well, but you always have to keep an eye on these outside events, there is an element of risk in them.

Mayor OHanlon said that he had consulted with some of his colleagues before asking Minister Noonan to accept the honour.

One of the great privileges of being mayor is that you can honour people throughout the year by having a mayoral reception. It is different than a civic reception or freedom of the city, but it is the mayors call on this, he added.

Mayor OHanlon said that Minister Noonan had made major contributions to developments at University Hospital Limerick and work on projects like the Opera Centre and a host of different job announcements.

While I would not agree with some of his decisions as Minister for Finance, politically, I am honouring him as mayor of Limerick for his work for Limerick," said Mayor O'Hanlon.

Limerick's Mayor added that he did not think he would get criticism from within his own party colleagues for honouring Mr Noonan later this week.
Tehran, Iran, Dec. 13

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

About 63,000 Iranian tourists visited Russia during 2016, about 14,000 more than in 2015, Russias Ambassador to Tehran Levan Jagarian said during a conference held in Tehran Dec. 13.

He added that tourism relations between the two countries indicate a rapid growth, Trends correspondent reported from the event.

Addressing the conference, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said that currently 20 flights are carried out between Tehran and Russian regions.

In 2015, the number of visas issued by Russia for Iranians doubled, year-on-year, reaching 49,000.
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Lincolnshire's Just Jane Lancaster has been stripped of all her paint and her structure is being surveyed as part of an ambitious plan to return her to the skies.

Lancaster NX611 is famous for performing taxi runs at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, at East Kirkby, but she is now undergoing a winter inspection and maintenance programme as part of a 3.5 million restoration.

The aim is to get her flying again after 50 years so she can fly to the flag for Lincolnshire at air shows around the country.

Just Jane's pilot Andrew Panton said that an aviation grade chemical paint stripper was used to remove the paint.

And here's the latest view from the hangar:

Fred Panton, who with his brother Harold, bought Just Jane as a memorial to their brother Christopher and all the crews of Bomber Command who gave their lives in the Second World War.

Lincolnshire's current airworthy Lancaster is Thumper, from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

And the only other flying Lancaster in the world is Canada's Vera, which crossed the Atlantic to the UK in 2014 and flew with Thumper.

Just Jane would become only the third Lancaster bomber in the world to be flying if the restoration campaign is successful.

But to make the dream come true, Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre still needs the public's help to find 2 million towards its 3.5 million fundraising total.

Mr Panton said Just Jane's restoration depends on public donations and voluntary labour, and this winter sees the launch of the Rivet Club for supporters.

For a monthly donation, members will be given special access to news updates and the weekly overhaul reports not available to non-members.

For more information click here.
Dec 13, 2016, 4 AM

This French stamp from 1969 has a birds-eye view of Chateau de Chantilly; its exterior was represented as the California estate of villain Hugo Drax in the 1979 Bond film Moonraker.

Barbary macaques of Gibraltar were featured in the pre-title sequence of the 1987 Bond film The Living Daylights as Timothy Dalton pursued an assassin on the Rock of Gibraltar.

Guinea-Bissau marked the half-century of Bond movies in 2012 with a souvenir sheet depicting four of the six actors who had played the title role to that time.

The abandoned industrial island of Hashima, off the coast of Japan, was used in the 2012 film Skyfall as villain Raoul Silvas hideout off the coast of Macau. The island is featured on a Japanese World Heritage pane of 10 issued earlier this year.

A stamp from Mexico in 2010 commemorating the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday depicts a couple in skeleton costumes. Daniel Craig as James Bond wore a similar costume in the pre-title sequence filmed in Mexico City for the latest Bond film, S

Great Britains Royal Mail commemorated the 50th anniversary of James Bond films in 2012 with a commemorative Smilers sheet using movie posters as labels for the 10 Union Jack stamps.

A view of St. Petersburgs Winter Palace appears on a 2003 Russia stamp for the citys tercentenary. The 1995 Bond film Goldeneye was shot there, the first of the franchise to be filmed in the former Soviet Union.

After the 1973 Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun was shot on Thailands Khao Phing Kan island, the site became a popular tourist attraction known as James Bond Island. The islands islet of Khao Ta-Poo (Ko Tapu) appears on a 1992 Thai stamp.

San Franciscos Golden Gate Bridge appears by daylight on a United States postal card issued for the Pacific 97 international stamp exhibition in that city. The daytime climax of 1985s A View to a Kill took place at the top of the bridge.

By Peter Yaghmaie

Few film series have captured the exotic sites of the world as have those starring the British secret agent character James Bond, code name 007, from the novels by Ian Fleming.

Each film in the series has depicted as many as three to six countries and their respective landmarks.

This article takes a philatelic journey through some of the sites and sights featured in the 24 official James Bond films produced since the debut of the franchise more than half a century ago.

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Sean Connery starred as Bond in the first film, Dr. No, in 1962, and continued in the next four movies, until replaced by George Lazenby in 1969s On Her Majestys Secret Service.

Connery came back for one more Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, in 1971, and then Roger Moore debuted as the hero in 1973 with Live and Let Die.

Moores second outing as Bond, the following year in The Man with the Golden Gun, featured Khao Phing Kan, an actual island in Thailand. For the films purposes, Khao Phing Kan posed as an uncharted island in Chinese waters, the hideout of villain Francesco Scaramanga.

A 1992 stamp from Thailand (Scott 1481) shows a view from Khao Phing Kan. The tall islet of Khao Ta-Poo (Ko Tapu), also featured in the film, is visible at the center of the stamp.

After the film, this island became a tourist attraction and was popularly dubbed James Bond Island.

A 1969 French stamp (Scott 1234) depicts Chateau de Chantilly, in the town of the same name. The chateau was featured as the supposed California estate of villain Hugo Drax in 1979s Moonraker.

The chateau and its Great Stables returned in 1985 for A View to a Kill, as the home of the mad industrialist Max Zorin, who planned to destroy Silicon Valley. This film was Roger Moores seventh and final appearance as James Bond.

A United States postal card, issued for the Pacific 97 international stamp exhibition in San Francisco (Scott UX282), pictures the Golden Gate Bridge, where an airship was tethered in the tense climax of View to a Kill.

A stamp-issuing entity familiar to stamp collectors, Gibraltar was featured prominently in the opening sequence of 1987s The Living Daylights, in which the new Bond actor, Timothy Dalton, chases an assassin on the Rock of Gibraltar.

The Barbary macaques of Gibraltar, an endemic population of monkeys, were included in the film sequence and also are pictured on a set of stamps issued by Gibraltar in 2011 (Scott 1290-1295).

Poor box-office performance of Daltons second film, License to Kill, in 1989, combined with legal troubles, halted the production of a planned third Bond film with Dalton until he resigned from the role in 1994.

Goldeneye in 1995 was the first Bond film that was shot in the former Soviet Union. Bond visits St. Petersburg, where he chases kidnappers through the citys streets in a tank.

A 5-ruble stamp, issued by Russia in 2003 for the citys 300th anniversary (Scott 6772), pictures the Winter Palace, which appears in the film as an exterior shot.

Goldeneye marked Pierce Brosnans debut as Bond. Brosnan had been signed to star in 1987s The Living Daylights, but his contractual obligation to star in televisions Remington Steele was renewed at the last minute.

Montenegro was the purported location of 2006s Casino Royale, but the film was not actually shot there. This movie did continue the series pattern of international locales, filming in the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Casino Royale marked the debut of Daniel Craig (who currently still plays Bond), following four years without Bond films and the rumored firing of Brosnan for unspecified reasons.

External shots of Japans eerie Hashima Island were featured in the 2012 Bond film Skyfall as villain Raoul Silvas hideout off the coast of Macau.

Hashima, an abandoned industrial town, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015, and is shown on one stamp in a World Heritage pane of 10 issued by Japan July 8, 2016.

Landmarks in Turkey, such as the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul and the Varda Viaduct, were featured in the opening sequence of Skyfall.

That film also marked the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise, a milestone that Great Britains Royal Mail commemorated with a special limited-edition commemorative Smilers sheet (Stanley Gibbons CS17) using cropped images of posters from select James Bond films as labels accompanying 10 Flag stamps.

All the actors who had played Bond to date are represented on the labels.

Great Britain previously had issued six stamps, a souvenir sheet, and a prestige booklet (Scott 2531-2536, 2536a and BK184) on Jan. 8, 2008, picturing covers of James Bond novels on the occasion of the birth centenary of author Ian Fleming (1908-64).

Other countries, such as Guinea-Bissau, also issued stamps for the 50-year milestone of Bond movies, in 2012.

The latest Bond film, 2015s Spectre, featured the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead, Nov. 2) as the setting of its pre-title sequence.

Daniel Craig is dressed in a skeleton tuxedo costume as he chases a fleeing bombing culprit through the festival-packed streets of Mexico City.

In recent years, Mexico has issued stamps annually for the holiday. The 2010 stamp shows a couple in skeletal fancy dress, with the man in a top hat and tails (Scott 2701).

Many more countries are still to be explored as new filming locations for the world-famous spy movies. Bond has yet to visit some major parts of the world, including Canada, Scandinavia, Australia/Oceania, and much of sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

Even major American cities on the East Coast, including New York and Washington, D.C., have been featured only briefly, through exterior shots showing landmarks such as the United Nations headquarters and the Pentagon.

Due to political and safety considerations at the time, some locations depicted in the Bond films (for example, the Soviet Union, Cuba, East Germany, and Soviet-occupied Afghanistan) were filmed elsewhere.
Tehran, Iran, Dec. 13

By Khalid Kazimov, Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Iran and Russia have inked nine memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on expansion of economic ties.

The signed documents envisage cooperation in various spheres, including the fields of energy, transportation, insurance, trade and banking, Trend correspondent reported.

The documents were signed after two days of meetings between officials from both countries within the 13th Iran-Russia Joint Economic Commission in Tehran.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi participated in the ceremony for signing the nine MoUs.

Under the MoUs Russia will be involved in financing several projects in Iran, including the construction of thermal power plants as well as a project on electrification of a railroad in northeastern Iran.

Trade turnover between the two countries currently stands at $1.5 billion, which is expected to hit $2.5 billion over the next year.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the countrys Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) to start certain nuclear activities, Iran's state TV IRINN reported Dec. 13.

In a letter to Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the AEOI, Rouhani ordered the organization to plan for manufacturing of nuclear marine propulsion and fuel for it.

The president explained the move as an answer to US "breach" of a nuclear deal, initially signed by Iran and the world's major powers.

The US lawmakers have recently re-authorized the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), which was first introduced in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry based on accusations that Tehran was pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

While Barack Obama is expected to approve the legislation on the renewal of sanctions against Iran for the next 10 years, Iranian leaders including Rouhani have sharply criticized the motion describing it as a breach of the last years landmark nuclear deal.

Rouhani has also ordered Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to follow up implementation of predicted mechanisms in the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) to address violations cases.

Iranian president has given Zarif one month to submit a report on the issue, meanwhile Salehi will have three months to submit a scheduled plan on implementation of Rouhanis decree.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Ahmad Jalalinasab, a member of Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), has been killed in Syria.

Official news agency IRNA reported that the IRGC member was killed in a recent fight against terrorists in Syrian city of Tadmur.

According to the report, a funeral ceremony for the killed IRGC officer will be held in Iranian city of Qom on Dec. 14.

According to official announcements by the Islamic Republic, over the past couple of years more than 1,000 servicemen deployed by Iran to Syria to back President Bashar Assads government have been killed in the Arab country.
The stone slab, dating to the second century, was found underwater at Tel Dor, south of the city of Haifa.

A stone slab found off the coast of Israel has finally revealed the name of the ruler during one of the most iconic moments in Jewish history: the Bar Kokhba revolt.

The slab dates to the second century A.D., a bloody time in Jewish history when a fiery leader named Simon bar Kokhba led a failed revolt against Roman rulers. The huge chunk of stone was found at an underwater site called Tel Dor, located about 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of the city of Haifa. [Photos: 5,000-Year-Old Stone Monument in Israel]

The area once housed the Biblical city of Dor, which was occupied until the fourth century. Over the last 70 years, the site has yielded a treasure trove of pottery, anchors and other artifacts from ancient Israel. Ehud Arkin-Shalev and Michelle Kreiser, researchers from the Coastal Archaeology Laboratory at the University of Haifa, uncovered the giant slab while looking in the water of the Dor Nature Reserve.

The inscription was clearly visible, even beneath the water, the researchers said. The team eventually decided to bring the slab out of the water, to prevent damage to the inscription. Researchers discovered that the massive, 1,300-lb. (600 kilograms) slab had seven lines of ancient Greek inscribed upon it.

The stone slab is on display at the University of Haifa's library. (Image credit: University of Haifa)

"The stone probably formed the base of a sculpture from the Roman period. As far as we know, this is the longest inscription found underwater in Israel," Assaf Yasur-Landau, the University of Haifa archaeologist who led the excavation, said in a statement.

Although the researchers have not completely deciphered the text, they have already made two discoveries: The inscription identified the Roman prefect in charge of Judea as Gargilius Antiques. Though researchers had found one other inscription bearing this name, that artifact did not mention the region Antiques ruled. In addition, the inscription confirms the name of the province involved in the revolt as Judea, which, until now, no inscription immediately preceding the Bar Kokhba revolt had stated, the researchers said.

The inscription dates from a tumultuous time in Jewish history. The second temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, and around A.D. 132, tensions simmering between the Roman rulers of the province and the Jewish inhabitants boiled over once again. At that point, the Jewish leader Simon bar Kokhba led a revolt against the Romans. During the four years of fighting, both sides sustained heavy casualties, and many Jews were ultimately sold into slavery or scattered.

"Immediately after the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Romans decided to abolish the province of Judea and to obliterate any mention of its name. The province was united with Syria to form a single province called Syria-Palestine," Yasur-Landau said. "So what we have here is an inscription dated to just before Judea ceased to exist as a province under that name. Of the two inscriptions mentioning the name Judea, this is the latest, of course. Because such findings are so rare, it is unlikely that we will find many later inscriptions including the name Judea,"

Original article on Live Science.
The rates at which people in the U.S die from different factors vary significantly among the regions of the country, according to a new study. For example, the rates of death from cardiovascular diseases were highest in the Southeast over the past three decades, according to the study. But death rates from self-harm and interpersonal violence were highest in the Southwest, the researchers found.

In more than 2,000 counties, the rates of deaths related to substance abuse and mental disorders have more than tripled since 1980, the researchers said. Some clusters of counties in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio saw tenfold increases in the rates of these deaths over the study period, they said. [The Odds of Dying from Shark Attacks, Tsunamis & Dozens of Other Causes]

The reasons why higher death rates vary across geographic areas are not completely clear, but the authors suggested some ideas. For example, the higher death rates from cardiovascular diseases might have something to do with higher rates of obesity in these areas, said study co-author Christopher J. L. Murray, a professor of Global Health at the University of Washington. (Previous research has shown a link between obesity and a greater risk of cardiovascular disease.)

The higher rates of death from self-harm and interpersonal violence in the Southwest may be related to the isolation that many people face there. People in the Southwest tend to live in isolated, rural areas and have less social interaction  a factor that previous research has linked to a greater risk of violence. They also have easy access to guns, Murray told Live Science. In the study, the researchers looked at death rates in about 3,110 U.S. counties between 1980 and 2014. During this time about 80.4 million people in the U.S. died, the researchers found.

The researchers found that cardiovascular diseases caused 39.8 percent of deaths in the U.S. between 1980 and 2014. These diseases were also the leading cause of death in the U.S in 2014, according to the study, published today (Dec. 13) in the journal JAMA. [10 Amazing Facts About Your Heart]

The researchers found that cancer, another major cause of death, caused 24 percent of all deaths during the study period. Overall, the highest death rates from cancer were found in counties along the southern half of the Mississippi River, in eastern Kentucky, western West Virginia and western Alaska. In contrast, counties in the west, stretching from Idaho and Wyoming down to western Texas, had some of the lowest rates of death from cancer in the country, the researchers found. On average, cancer death rates in the U.S. decreased by about 20 percent between 1980 and 2014, but in some counties, especially in the south- central states, they increased, according to the study. The largest increases in cancer death rates occurred in eastern Kentucky, the researchers found. The largest decreases in cancer death rates occurred in central Colorado, southern Florida, Alaska and parts of New England and California, the researchers found.

The reasons behind these disparities in cancer death rates are not clear and are likely very complex, the researchers said. But smoking may play a role, Murray said.

Originally published on Live Science.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that protecting the national unity and territorial sovereignty are the most important issues for Iraq.

President Rouhani warned the neighboring nation against the enemys plots and called on the Iraqi people to protect their national unity, the official news website of Iranian government reported.

Speaking in a meeting with Ammar Hakim, the leader of the National Iraqi Alliance (NIA), in Tehran, President Rouhani said creating discord among the regional nations and the issue of terrorism are plots hatched by the enemies.

He further hailed the recent breakthrough of Iraqi government and nation in fight against terrorism, saying Iranian government and nation will stand by regional nations, including Iraq and Syria in confronting the issue of terrorism.

Ammar Hakim and his accompanying delegation over the past week met several high-ranking Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues.

Since September, Ammar has served as the head of the National Iraqi Alliance (NIA), comprising Shiite political parties.

The alliance, which holds the majority of seats in the Iraqi parliament, includes four political parties, namely the State of Law Coalition, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, the National Reform Trend Party and the Sadrist Movement.
Renowned physicist Edward Witten recently suggested that consciousness might forever remain a mystery. But his words haven't discouraged other physicists from trying to unravel it.

Yes, physicists.

In the past, consciousness was almost entirely relegated to the musings of philosophers; it was too ethereal to be studied materially. But as science advanced, so too did our ability to examine the wispy intricacies of the waking mind. Biologists joined the pursuit, followed by neuroscientists with brain scanners in tow. It was only recently that select physicists shifted their attentions from concepts like the Big Bang, quantum information, and electrodynamics and instead began tendering their two cents on consciousness.

Sir Roger Penrose, a mathematical physicist at Oxford University, has openly wondered if the minute interactions taking place within the subatomic world of quantum mechanics might give rise to consciousness.

UC-Santa Barbara theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate David Gross has offered other ideas. As Ker Than wrote for LiveScience in 2005, Gross "speculated that consciousness might be similar to what physicists call a phase transition, an abrupt and sudden large-scale transformation resulting from several microscopic changes. The emergence of superconductivity in certain metals when cooled below a critical temperature is an example of a phase transition."

Gross might be on to something. One of the leading theories of consciousness comes from neuroscientist Giulio Tononi at the University of Wisconsin. Similar to Gross' concept of a phase transition, Tononi suggests that as the brain integrates more and more information, a threshold is crossed. Suddenly, a new and emergent state arises: consciousness. According to the theory, only certain parts of the brain integrate all that information. Together, these regions constitute the seat of consciousness.

Recently, Nir Lahav, a physicist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, went searching for this nucleus of conscious activity. He and his interdisciplinary team, which also included neuroscientists and mathematicians, used detailed scans of six brains to assemble an information map (or network) of the human cortex, the brain's outer layer of neural tissue. With the map, they observed and recorded how certain parts of the cortex were connected to other parts. They charted regions of high connectivity and regions of low connectivity. The map approximated how information "flows" within the cortex, and showed where that flow is concentrated. The region with the highest traffic may very well be the seat of consciousness.

The region with the highest number of connections, which Lahav dubbed the "nucleus", was primarily composed of the superior frontal gyrus, the cingulate cortex, Wernicke's area, and Broca's area. Though these areas are scattered across the brain, they were highly interconnected.

"This unique hierarchy is a single, highly interconnected component, which enables high levels of data integration and processing, probably involved in the highest cognitive functions," Lahav and his colleagues wrote.

It may also be the seat of consciousness within the brain, they suggest.

"Indeed, all of the regions in the nucleus have been previously correlated to consciousness activities," the researchers write. "The nucleus... is therefore a perfect candidate to be the high integrative, global work space region in which consciousness can emerge."

Lahav next plans to analyze the whole brain, not only the cortex. Beyond this line of research, he has even grander ambitions.

"Physics tries to uncover the basic laws of nature by constructing general mathematical equations that can describe as many natural phenomena as possible," he told RealClearScience. "These mathematical equations reveal fundamental aspects of reality. If we really want to understand what is consciousness and how the brain works we have to develop the mathematical equations of our brain and our conscious mind. We are not there yet, in fact we are quite far away from this goal, but I feel that this should be our 'holy grail' and we already started the process to get there."

The new study was published online Aug. 2 in the New Journal of Physics.

Original article on RealClearScience.
SAN FRANCISCO  Though they appear to be frozen giants, glaciers and ice sheets can move and change in unexpected ways over time, according to a new database that is now tracking the movement of ice, including the extent of its melt and slow creep into the sea.

With imagery and data from Landsat 8, an Earth-monitoring satellite, scientists at NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are tracking the speed of glaciers' movement and melt. These observations are in"near real time" and help to better predict how global sea levels will be affected by climate change, the researchers said.

The so-called Global Land Ice Velocity Extraction (GoLIVE) project uses observations from Landsat 8, as well as historical data from older Landsat satellites. By comparing data from Landsat 8, which images the Earth's entire surface every 16 days, the GoLIVE team can track subtle changes in the glacier, such as bumps and dunes, the researchers said. Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Colorado lead for the GoLIVE project, said Landsat 8 can even capture changes in a glacier's "skin." [Photo Gallery: Life Inside a Glacier]

"Not only are we able to map the glacier chunks where there are large crevices and high-contrast features, but [we can] also [map] the surface of the ice sheet even where it's smooth, down to these snow-dune features," Scambos said here Monday (Dec. 12) in a news briefing at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. "By being able to track with higher precision what the surface texture looks like, we can actually map the flowing skin of the ice sheet."

Such observations were previously extremely difficult, if not impossible, for researchers to make. The first time scientists studied a surging glacier in detail, they did so via annual field research, said Mark Fahnestock, a professor in the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Scientists visited that glacier every year for 15 years, putting down stakes during each visit. They then surveyed those stakes to determine any changes in the glacier.

But these very large, remote glacial systems in Alaska could experience sped-up melt events for months without scientists taking notice, Fahnestock said.

"We've entered an era where instead of a pilot telling us a glacier is changing, or instead of a field party recognizing a change in one of the 242 glaciers followed, we are actually following on a month-by-month basis with Landsat 8," Fahnestock said. "We are now watching all of the outlet glaciers on Earth change in near real time."

Twila Moon, a research scientist at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, joked that rather than researching several glaciers over hundreds of years, the GoLIVE project allows for the study of hundreds of glaciers over several years.

The project could also "launch a thousand ships" in terms of international research into glaciers, Scambos said. As a public database, the project will allow for scientists around the world to conduct more effective field research, according to the GoLIVE time, because scientists will have better "situational awareness" of a given glacier before researching it in person.

One other important implication, Scambos said, is that the data makes it clear that the glaciers are melting.

"By presenting the data in an easy-to-understand way, it makes it obvious what's going on in the world's eyes, and that the world is changing and that there's no attempt to hide it at all," Scambos said. "It makes it plain as day that we have a changing Earth."

Original article on Live Science.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Iran's army has deployed a suicide drone in massive ongoing military drill in the southeast of the country, Fars news agency reported Dec. 13.

The drone dubbed Raad 85 successfully hit the determined target during the last day of Army Ground Forces three-day drill, namely Muhammad Rasulullah 4 (Muhammad the Messenger of God).

The suicide drones operational range covers the distance of 100 kilometers.

The drone can fly with a speed up to 450 kilometers per hour and is capable to transfer images online during its mission.

Raad 85 is designed to crash into large-scale targets with a 5 meter precision rate.

Iranian military officials say that the drone acts as a mobile bomb, and is capable of destroying fixed and mobile targets.

The Ground Forces plan to use suicide drones dates back to September 2013.

Tehran has gained a lot of experience in making drones after the country first used the aircraft for military use.

The Islamic Republic has so far unveiled various domestically produced drones, including Ababil, Fotros, Hazem, Karrar (long range attack drone), Mohajer, Sarir, Shahed 129, Yasir and Zohal.

The country unveiled its first domestically manufactured long-range UAV named Karrar in 2010. The first Iranian medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, the Shahed-129 was unveiled in September 2012, which is capable of carrying out combat and reconnaissance eight missions for 24 hours and has a range of 1,700 km.

Iran also unveiled its largest yet homemade UAV, titled 'Fotros' in 2013. Fotros has a range of some 2,000 kilometers and is capable of launching air-to-surface missile strikes. The drone can fly at an altitude of 25,000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours.
A man pulled out of the San Antonio River Friday has been identified as a missing member of the National Guard, according to officials and family.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office identified Calvin Williams, 37, as the man authorities found dead in the San Antonio River last week.

Williams went missing Dec. 2 and was last seen at Liquid Monkey Lounge on Losoya Street, his family said on a GoFundMe page. His body was found in the San Antonio River that flows near the intersection of Washington and East Arsenal Streets, which is located about one mile from where he was last seen downtown. Dottie Laster, Executive Director of the Heidi Search Center, said the family identified Williams as a member of the National Guard.

Patty Williams, Calvin Williams' wife, posted on Facebook the day her husband's body was found saying her heart was broken.

"I still believe that I'm going to wake up and you are going to (be) right next to me telling me it was a bad dream and you are there for me," she said Sunday on Facebook. "My heart aches for you more than I may show. I am trying to stay strong (because) I know that you would of never wanted to put me (through) this. How I miss you."

The cause and manner of Williams' death is still pending, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. So far $1,965 has been raised for Williams' funeral expenses.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
The Syrian Army has officially liberated Aleppo after ousting rebels from their last bastions in the eastern part of the city, Sputnik reported.

Earlier on Monday, the Syrian Arab Army made significant advances leaving only three residential blocks in the hands of anti-government forces.

The rebels had little choice but to "surrender or die," Lieutenant Gen. Zaid al-Saleh, director of Syrias security committee, told reporters in the Sheik Saeed district.

The Battle of Aleppo lasted more than four years after fighting broke out on July 19, 2012. In 24 hours leading up to the victory, approximately 10,000 to 13,000 civilians fled the city, bringing the total number of refugees up to around 130,000, according to reports.

After local TV outlets reported the victory, residents flooded the streets, firing guns in the air in celebration.

Syrian government television channel Sana showed President Bashar al-Assad congratulating Syrian troops following the proclamations of victory in Aleppo.
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Friends and neighbours have come together to organise a massive fundraising night for the family of the late, Marcella Strkacova, who died following a battle with cancer earlier this year. The popular woman was well known locally and is survived by her husband and four young children, who range in age from three to ten.

The family, who live at Park View, were dealt a further blow recently when their seven-year-old daughter, Barbora Strkac was admitted to the neurosurgical unit at Beaumont hospital, where she is currently undergoing treatment.

Meanwhile, neighbours and the local community have rallied around Barbora and her three siblings, Robert (10), Lukas (5) and baby Matej (3). All roads will lead to the Longford Arms Hotel tomorrow night, Thursday, December 15, for a gala country music night. All proceeds from the night will go into a trust fund for the young children.

Several of the big names in Irish country music are taking part and these include Sandy Kelly, Simon Casey, James Kilbane, and the new young sensation, Keelan. There will also be a strong line-up of local entertainers and these include Busy Fingers, Paschal, Liz and Davy, Sean Hussey, Brian Ross and Seamus Farrell.

The late Marcella was a devoted young mother who loved her children and was enjoying her new life in Longford town until illness visited the family. She had a warm and easygoing personality, and was familiar to many parents, whom she would meet at the gates of the local St Michaels and St Josephs schools, as she was bringing her children to and from school.

Well known local man, Donald Keogh is one of the organisers for the fundraiser and he explained that the plan is set up a fund for the four children, which will be used for their educational and other needs going forward. The fund will be administered by three local trustees. He thanked the many who have already bought tickets for the event and is promising a great night out.

He told the Leader: They are loving young children and like all children this time of the year they are full of the joys of Christmas. Little Barbora came home from hospital during the week so they are all together again. Losing their mother has been a huge blow but I am proud of the way that the community has rallied around these little people.

Doors will open from 8:30pm with dancing until late and you can pay 10 at the door on the night whilst tickets are also on sale in advance for those wishing to support the night. Anybody looking to buy tickets in advance or make a contribution to the planned fund can contact Donald Keogh, who is assisting the fundraising effort, on 085 8272053.
Pets & Animal, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: December 13 2016

While most of us are busy writing our lists and will soon be checking them twice. The Nassau County SPCA urges you to think carefully before you give a pet as a Holiday gift.

Nassau County, NY - December 12, 2016 - While most of us are busy writing our lists and will soon be checking them twice. The Nassau County SPCA urges you to think carefully before you give a pet as a Holiday gift. Animals come with responsibilities, and the person receiving them may not be prepared to adequately provide for the animal's care. When the holidays end, the kids go back to school, and the adults go back to work, what happens to the new pet?



A pet is not a stuffed toy that can be tossed on the shelf when the newness wears off; the reality is that a pet is a serious long term responsibility and the decision to include a pet into any home should come only after careful consideration.



Please don't just "get a pet for the kids," unless you are prepared for a lifetime commitment!



The Nassau County SPCA would like you to remember to start at your local town animal shelter. You'll find dogs and cats of all sizes, breeds, colors, temperaments and personalities at your local shelter. Want a high-energy ball player to be your activity partner? How about a low-key but lovable lug to share couch potato duties with you? Shelter staff and volunteers can counsel you and your family on the best pet to fit your lifestyle. By giving a home to a shelter or rescue animal, you save a life and create space for another needy animal, helping to reduce the number of unwanted and homeless animals in your community. There may not be a greater gift for homeless animals than to open your heart and home to them.



Please adopt don't shop!



To Report Animal Cruelty call 516-THE-SPCA, email or use the online form



If you are reporting an emergency, or that an animal is it about to be imminently injured or killed, Call 911 and request immediate police response.



About Nassau County SPCA

Located in Nassau County, New York, The Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a 501(c) (3), nonprofit organization originally designed to protect animals in the county from abuse and neglect, and to provide basic welfare. We hold special authority to enforce NYS Agriculture & Markets Law, and all other state and local humane laws. We are the only animal protection agency officially designated to operate within the county's borders.



The NCSPCA is a volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue, care and placement of needy animals. The Society is run entirely by unpaid volunteers and its operations have been historically funded through contributions solicited from the public and through corporate grants.





The NCSPCA receives no public funding, is in no way affiliated with, a subdivision of or funded by any other local, state or national organization and every contribution, large or small, helps to provide the critical care needed to help homeless, abused and neglected animals in Nassau County. The continued success of each program relies entirely on donations. No money given to any other spca organization aids or benefits the NCSPCA. Your generous contribution will help the NCSPCA in all of its efforts. Visit www.nassaucountyspca.org
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: December 13 2016

In a recent letter, health care personnel were urged to play their part in the early detection/diagnosis of Alzheimers disease and dementia.

Albany, NY - December 12, 2016 - New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, M.D., appealed to health care providers in a recent letter regarding the states efforts to support those with Alzheimers and dementia and strongly urge[d] health care personnel to play their part in the early detection/diagnosis of Alzheimers disease and dementia. The communication was part of the health department's efforts to implement The Healthy Brain Initiative: The Public Health Road Map for State and National Partnerships, 2013-2018.



Alzheimers is a progressive disease that attacks the brain, killing nerve cells and tissue, and affects an individuals ability to remember, think and plan. Every 66 seconds, someone in the United States develops the disease. There is no treatment or cure, and it is fatal.



We applaud Commissioner Zucker for his support of the 390,000 New Yorkers with Alzheimers and dementia and his efforts to encourage health care providers to seek an active role in their care, said Douglas Davidson. Early detection and diagnosis are pivotal to helping those with Alzheimers, and health care providers are key partners in this effort.



Researchers believe that the early detection of Alzheimers will be key to preventing, slowing and stopping the disease. Diagnosing Alzheimers requires a careful and comprehensive medical evaluation, often with the help of a neurologist (2016 Alzheimers Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimers Association). The benefits of early detection include increased treatment options and access to information, services and support; advance planning for health, housing, finances, care and risk reduction; and better overall health outcomes.



This is especially important, as 11 percent of New Yorkers aged 45 and older report that they are experiencing confusion or memory loss, and more than half of them have not discussed it with their health care professionals (2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System).



In support of those with Alzheimers and dementia and their caregivers, New York implemented a $25 million Alzheimers Disease Support Initiative in 2015, the first of its kind in the nation.



Components of this initiative include 10 regional caregiver supportive projects across the state, 10 Centers of Excellence for Alzheimers Disease and the Alzheimers Disease Community Assistance Program (AlzCAP).



The Coalition of New York State Alzheimers Association Chapters coordinates AlzCAP, the first and most robust statewide initiative of its kind, to ensure that New Yorkers receive the information, care and support that they need in their journey with Alzheimers. Jane Ginsburg, executive director of the Coalition, noted that as more and more New Yorkers understand the true impact Alzheimers disease and related dementias have on their day-to- day lives, the more critical Alzheimers Association services will be to them, their family members, caregivers and other important community gatekeepers.



By 2025, approximately 460,000 New Yorkers aged 65 or older will suffer from the disease. Thats almost an 18 percent increase from today. Alzheimers costs Medicaid more than $4

billion in New York each year.



Coalition of New York State Alzheimers Association Chapters

The Coalition of New York State Alzheimers Association Chapters is the only statewide organization advocating for all New Yorkers affected by Alzheimers disease. For more than 30 years, the Coalitions seven New York state chapters have provided care consultations, consumer and professional education programs, a 24-hour Helpline, safety services and support groups. Together with our statewide network of Association chapters, the Coalition strives to create a world without Alzheimers. Visit alznys.org.



Alzheimers Association

The Alzheimers Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimers care, support and research. It is the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimers research. The Associations mission is to eliminate Alzheimers disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Its vision is a world without Alzheimers. Visit alz.org or call 1-800- 272-3900.
Metallica to Rock Shanghai and Beijing in January; Tickets Already Sold Out

Metallica will be touring China and other Asian countries in January. (Photo : Getty Images)

The famous heavy metal band Metallica is set to perform in Shanghai and Beijing on Jan. 17 and 18, respectively.



According to AEG Live, tickets for the two performances are already sold out.



The rock band will also be going to South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong as part of their WorldWired Tour.



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There were 20,000 tickets on sale in China and half of it was already sold out in a matter of minutes. Tickets were also sold out during the first time the band was in the country in 2013.



The band will be performing at the LeSports Center.



Lars Ulrich, Metallica's drummer, said in a recorded video released by AEG Live, "Ni Hao, Beijing. I am just sharing with you that Metallica is very excited to come to play in Beijing for the very first time."



The heavy metal group who is behind hits like "Enter Sandman" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" will be performing their record hit classics as well as new songs from their new album "Hot Wired...to Self-Destruct."



The new album is a two-CD and two Vinyl set. This is the band's their sixth number one album on the Billboard Top 200 and debuted at number one in 23 countries.



Metallica was founded in 1981 by Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield in Los Angeles, California. They are known to be one of the pillars of thrash metal along with Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer.



In 2014, they performed their hit song "One" with Chinese pianist Lang Lang at the 56th Annual Grammy Music Awards.



The group has sold 110 million albums since 1981.



Ticket prices range from 480 yuan ($70) to 1,980 yuan, and went on sale at 2 p.m. on Dec. 13.


Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com

Columnists Press Releases
An English class in Jiao Tong University located at the Minhang district in Shanghai, China. (Photo : Getty Images)

The new unified, national English proficiency testing and rating system is planned to be launched in 2017. This will assess the English language skills of Chinese students against nine levels of competence.



The China National Radio reported in November that the Ministry of Education is working on a national proficiency testing and rating system for the English language, which will replace multiple English language tests that are currently existing.



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Examples of these different tests that are implemented currently are the College English Test, the Test for English Majors, and the China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters.



English language students, instructors and experts interviewed by the Metropolitan think that this new unified system will make it easier for them to not only judge an individual's skill on the English language, but also judge how the person stacks up against the others.



The CNR reported that the Ministry of Education decided to unify the existing evaluation system to better cater to the different needs of English learners, teachers and other stakeholders.



He Linzhen, the dean of The School of International Studies of Zhejian University, said: The former different English tests were not comparable to each other. The new system, with its nine levels and consistent standard across the board, will meet the different needs of industry stakeholders and reduce test duplication.



The report said that the detailed plan will be implemented incrementally and be completed by year 2020.



The new unified test will be taken by primary, high school and university students. It is expected to be pegged to international English language evaluation systems.



Stanley D. Nel, the University of San Franciscos Vice President of International Relations responsible for China admissions, suggested that the unified test should be structured in a way that rewards rote memorization for it to be effective.



He also suggested to associate the curriculum with tests that emphasize conversational skills so that the system will increase the use of native English language speakers and retrain Chinese English language teachers to improve both their skills and teaching methodology.


The Fengyun 3 was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in May 2008. (Photo : Getty Images)

China launched a new-generation weather satellite called Fengyun 4A into space that will help improve weather forecasting and study air pollutants. Launched last Sunday, the satellite was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and weighs 5.4 metric tons.



According to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, Fengyun 4A was launched at 12:11 AM from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, located in Sichuan Province. It will be at 36,000 kilometers above the Earth for approximately seven years.



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Fengyun 4A will monitor the atmosphere, clouds and the space environment above China, as well as the Indian and the Western Pacific oceans.



The administration stated that this will gradually replace the existing Fengyun 2 satellites, as it will help better with meteorological forecasting, climate change response, environmental monitoring and disaster prevention/relief.



Yu Xinwen, China Meteorological Administration's deputy director, said: "The Fengyun 4A will help China remain one of the top developers of weather satellites. It is the first of its kind in the world that is capable of performing multi-channel observation of the atmosphere."



Chief designer Dong Yaohai said that the satellite has a total of four instruments, which consist of a geostationary interferometric infrared sounder, an advanced geosynchronous radiation imager, an instrument to monitor the space environment, and a lightning mapping imager.



The lightning mapper imager is said to be capable of taking 500 pictures of lightning per second. According to Dong, these images will extensively facilitate research on the effects of the lightning's frequency.



Moreover, the advanced geosynchronous radiation imager will be the one in charge of calculating the density of PM10 and PM2.5, two particulate matters that are harmful to human health.



He also stated: "Fengyun 4A is as advanced as the newest weather satellites developed by the United States, Europe and Japan. It is highly sensitive since it is able to detect a temperature change of 0.1 degrees Celsius on the ground."



Zhao Jian, the officer-in-charge of the project, said that China is planning to launch the Fengyun 4B and the Fengyun 4C in 2018 and 2020, respectively.


President-elect Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the DeltaPlex Arena, Dec. 9, 2016 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Photo : Getty Images/ Drew Angerer)

United States president-elect Donald Trump's view on the country's long-standing "One China" policy has once again triggered bad blood between America and China. According to Trump, it was not necessary for America to continue with its policy that Taiwan belonged to One China.







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In an interview to Fox News network on Dec. 11, Sunday, the U.S. president elect said although he is fully aware of the One China policy and comprehends it appropriately, he failed to understand why the country is bound by it without any deal with China on trade and other issues.



Trump's recent remarks have made some believe that he wants to pressurize to China to grant concessions on trade. The remarks came soon after he took an unfrequented call from the Taiwanese President early this month to discuss various issues, including China.



As expected, this infuriated the Chinese authorities, who lodged an official complaint with the U.S. China is very sensitive on the issue of Taiwan, which it deems to be a renegade province. In fact, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter changed the country's diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in 1979 and acknowledged that the country was a part of One China.



Also, Trump censured China over its currency policies, the Asian nation's activities in the South China Sea as well as its position on North Korea. Antagonizing China further, the U.S. president-elect said Beijing did not have the authority to decide whether or not he should call the Taiwanese leader.



For Trump, China should not dictate terms to him. Stating that the call from the Taiwan president was a very nice and short one, he asked why some other nation should say he should not take a call. "I think it actually would've been very disrespectful, to be honest with you, not taking it," Trump told the interviewer.



Trump also charged China for hurting the U.S. economy by devaluating its currency, imposing heavy taxes on American products at their borders and building a huge fortress in the South China Sea. Aside from emphasizing that China should refrain from these, entire he said the country also did not help the United States with North Korea.



"You have North Korea," Trump said. "You have nuclear weapons and China could solve that problem and they're not helping us at all."



It is likely that Trump is using the Taiwan issue to compel China to bargain with the U.S. over trade, Reuters quoted Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renim University in Beijing, as saying. According to Yiwei, Trump is trying to strike the best possible trade deal with China with a view to boost the U.S. economy.



It is not impossible for China to prefer a deterioration in its allow the entire relationship with the U.S. with a view to demonstrate its tenacity on the Taiwan issue, the publication quoted Jessica Chen Weiss, an expert in Chinese nationalism and professor of government at Cornell University, as saying. Meanwhile, some analysts in the U.S. have already warned that Trump may incite a military confrontation with China if he persists on the Taiwan issue.



Watch the U.S. president-elect Donald Trump speaking on China's most sensitive issue:






The Islamic State claimed credit for the Dec. 11 bombing in the womens section at the main Coptic church in Cairo, Egypt. The attack, which killed 24 Christians, is the latest against Egypts Coptic Church.

The Islamic State identified the suicide bomber as Abu Abdullah al-Masri, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which translated the groups Arabic-language statement.

Al Masri plunged amidst the gathering of Crusaders and detonated his explosive belt, killing and wounding80 of them. Press reports indicate that 24 civilians, including 22 women, were killed and 49 more were wounded in the blast, which took place during Sunday Mass.

Additionally, the Islamic State threatened further attacks in its war on polytheism, meaning Christians and Jews, in Egypt and elsewhere.

Let all the disbelievers and apostates in Egypt and everywhere know that our war on polytheism is ongoing, and that the State of the Caliphate  with permission from Allah the Almighty  will continue to spill their blood and grill their bodies, so that there is no sedition and the religion is all for Allah, the jihadist group stated, according to SITE.

The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which was a branch of al Qaeda and the forerunner of the Islamic State, had a history of attacking Christian churches. In Nov. 2010, the ISI massacred at least 30 Christians during a hostage situation at a church in Baghdad. The organization stated that they murdered the Christians to avenge the treatment of Muslim women by Copts in Egypt. Jihadists claim that Copts kidnap Muslim women and force them to convert to Christianity. However, these claims have not been substantiated.

Upon guidance issued by the Ministry of War in the Islamic State of Iraq in support for our downtrodden Muslim sisters that are held captive in the Muslim land of Egypt and after accurate planning and selection, an angry group of righteous jihadists attacked a filthy den of polytheism, according to a statement that was released shortly after the attack and obtained by FDDs Long War Journal. This den has been frequently used by the Christians of Iraq to fight Islam and support those who are fighting it. With the grace of God, the group was able to hold captive all those in the den and take over all its entrances.

Two months later, on New Years Day 2011, jihadists detonated a car bomb attack outside a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt. Twenty-one Christians were killed in that assault.

The Islamic State has also targeted Copts in Libya. In February 2015, the jihadists released a video of the mass execution of 21 Christians, saying the slaughter was carried out to avenge the kidnapping of Muslim women by the Egyptian Coptic Church.

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.
The Islamic States Amaq News Agency has produced a torrent of content from the battle of Palmyra in recent days. The videos, photos and statements are, of course, jihadi propaganda. The images are intended to help the so-called caliphate brag about one of its few battlefield successes in recent months.

One video released earlier today trumpeted the capture of a Russian base inside Palmyra. The Islamic States men are shown sorting through the weapons and ammunition left behind. It appears the Russians were gone by the time Abu Bakr al Baghdadis men showed up. The video shows some Russian books on a table and paraphernalia scattered on the floor, but there is no indication that any Russians were killed when the base was overrun.

Separately, Amaq also produced an infographic (seen below) supposedly documenting the jihadists spoils during the four-day battle in Homs province. Amaq claims that all of the following were seized: 44 tanks, 7 BMPs, 7 130mm cannons, 14 23mm cannons, several anti-armor rocket launchers, dozens of anti-armor rockets, various automatic weapons, military vehicles, weapons and ammunition. In addition, 352 men from the Syrian Army and allied Shiite militias were purportedly killed.

Of course, it is impossible to independently verify these figures. However, the video from inside the Russian base does document some of the Islamic States spoils. Screen shots from the recording can be seen below.

Amaqs infographic summarizing the battle of Palmyra:

Screen shots from the video recorded inside the Russian base in Palmyra:

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
HOME > LIFE & CULTURE > Retired Green Train Transforms into 24-hour Book Bar

Retired Green Train Transforms into 24-hour Book Bar

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As a dessert wine, the ice wine is produced from frozen grapes. In recent years, the local government of Ji'an encouraged the research and development of ice wine industry. The growing area of the special grapes has exceeded 330 hectares and local yearly production of the ice wine reaches 500 tonnes. The Ji'an ice wine has become an example of the Chinese ice wine in the global market.



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Was der neue US-Auenminister Tillerson kann - und was nicht

Jetzt braucht es ein Wunder von Washington
Australian courts have recently adopted a restrictive reading of the extra territorial operation of Australian patents.

In Load and Move Pty Ltd v Container Rotation Systems Pty Ltd [2016] FCA 843, the plaintiff owned a patent directed to a container rotation system. It sued the defendants, alleging infringement of the patent. The infringement allegation was peculiar. It alleged the defendants had contracted for the foreign manufacture in China of a container rotation system which was to be supplied to Eritrea. Thus the system was never going to enter the Australian territory, even though the supply was being orchestrated from Australia.

The judge refused to grant preliminary discovery and to entertain an infringement finding. As the contract for manufacture and sale was to be performed totally outside the jurisdiction, there was no exploitation of the patent for the purposes of infringement.

The case points to a restrictive reading by the Australian judiciary of the territorial operation of Australian patents. Given the rapid development of internet-type sales channels, this is perhaps unfortunate, as it may allow the effective exploitation of patent rights by Australian entities, provided that exploitation occurs wholly outside the country.

Peter Treloar

Shelston IP

Level 21, 60 Margaret Street

Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Tel: +61 2 9777 1111

Fax: +61 2 9241 4666

email@shelstonip.com

www.shelstonip.com
New Delhi : Under attack over the alleged power projects scam in Arunachal Pradesh, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today rejected allegations of wrongdoing and said those who have "planted" the story against him "will be beaten up with shoes". "Jo news plant kar rahe hain wo hamare yehan ayyenge to joota khayenge (Those who planted the story will be beaten up with shoes when they will come to our area)," the Tawang MP told reporters here reacting to media reports that he had written a letter to Power Minister Piyush Goyal seeking early clearance of bills related to a hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh.

Rijiju, who is the Minister of State for Home, said he had written the letter to Goyal as it was his duty as an MP to take action on representations given by his constituents. "I have written the letter to the Power Minister after I received presentations from some people in my constituency in Arunachal West regarding pending bills. I have done no wrong and there is no corruption," Rijiju said. The reports claimed that Rijiju, his cousin, a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh, Goboi Rijiju, and several top officials of the state-run NEEPCO, including its Chairman and Managing Director, have been named in a 129-page report by the PSUs Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma that alleges corruption in construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project, one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

Vermas report was sent to the CBI, CVC and the Ministry of Power in July this year. It alleges an "elaborate conspiracy" involving contractors,

NEEPCO officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds that "may extend up to Rs 450 crore". West Kameng, the site of the project, falls in Arunachal West which is the parliamentary constituency of Rijiju. The CBI has made two "surprise checks" but no FIR has been registered yet, reports said. Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was pulled up by NEEPCO for "unauthorised absence," and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report.PTI
The consortium of Eneco, Diamond Generating Europe, Shell and Van Oord has won the tender for the construction and operation of Dutch offshore windfarms Borssele III & IV. The preferred supplier for the wind turbines is MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.



Winning the tender is a confirmation that the primarily Dutch based members of the consortium are committed and determined to push the energy transition forward in the Netherlands and the important role that offshore wind needs to play in it. Members of the consortium expect that work for the build and exploitation of Borssele III & IV will have a positive impact on local economy. The consortium will not disclose any further details regarding its bid.



Windfarms Borssele III & IV are expected to generate more than 3.200 GWh per annum, the equivalent of the electricity used by approximately 825.000 households. The windfarms are located 22 kilometres out of the coast of Zeeland in The Netherlands.




Song Ji Hyo has been identified as the cast member with the most number of wins in 'Running Man' for the month of July. (Photo : Facebook/Running Man)

When Gary was confirmed to leave SBS variety show "Running Man" in October this year, fans of the Monday Couple were saddened by the news. Gary is one-half of the Monday Couple together with Song Ji Hyo. Now with Gary gone, there are rumors that the actress will be the next one to exit the show.



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One of the possible reasons for Song's rumored exit from "Running Man" is her heavy schedule. The actress has bagged the leading role in the upcoming movie "Super Express" together with Chen He. To promote the movie, the "Emergency Couple" actress is expected to travel to China.



"For the time being, Song will spend more time away from Korea," an industry insider told Korea Times. "Her fan meeting in China is one of those many events abroad." Song's fan meeting in China has been scheduled on Jan. 20.



This means that Song might be too busy with her promotional activities to be able to film for future episodes of "Running Man."



Meanwhile, Gary decided to permanently leave "Running Man" to focus on his music career. He was an original member of the show for the past 7 years, allkpop reported. Gary is part of hip hop duo Rissang, and the last album they released, titled "Unplugged," went out in 2012.



Gary is the second original "Running Man" cast member to leave the show. The first one was Song Joong Ki who left the show in 2011.



On the other hand, Ji Hyo showed support on Gary's decision to invest more time in his music. "I'm sad because we've been together for seven years, but I'll always be his colleague, rooting for him. Please keep Monday Couple as a piece of memory," the actress said addressing Gary and the fans.



Ji Hyo and Gary, collectively known as Monday Couple to their fans, is the longest-running reality TV couple in South Korea. Because of their closeness and chemistry on screen, there had been rumors of them dating. Although their representatives have refuted the rumors, they continue to show affection for one another in "Running Man."






The Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship Norwegian Jade will set sail from Port Tampa Bay during the upcoming winter cruise season.

Port Tampa Bay officials welcomed the 2,402-passenger ship for the 2016-2017 fall/winter cruise season.

Norwegian Jade is replacing the Norwegian Star, which sailed from Tampa last year, according to a news release.

Norwegian Jade will sail Sundays to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' new southern Belize destination, Harvest Caye.

The ship will also operate two eight-day holiday sailings this month that add a stop at Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala.

Guests sailing on Norwegian Jade will also be able to enjoy further Caribbean adventures with two 10-day and two 11-day Eastern Caribbean cruise from Tampa.

Built in 2006, with a gross tonnage of 93,558, LOA of 965 feet and ship crew numbering nearly 1,100, Norwegian Jade offers extraordinary dining options, an award-winning casino and a wide range of accommodations, claims the company.

The Norwegian Jade joins the Holland America's MS Oosterdam and Carnival Pride as new ships that are available for the first time this season at Port Tampa Bay.

'Norwegian is an outstanding cruise partner, and we look forward to many more years of welcoming them as an important part of our robust cruise business,' port president and ceo Paul Anderson said.
WTO Debacle Heralds the End of Postwar Trade Regime

China is not a market economy, President-elect Donald Trump said in Iowa a few days ago. In the past few months, Trump has also pledged to undo the North-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), beat back the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), impose huge tariffs on China and Mexico, and rewrite the rules of trade.



Nevertheless, the Obama White House, the EU and Japan beat Trump in the reset of the international trading regime by refusing China its market economy status (MES). The key clause in Chinas agreement for joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) expired on Sunday.

The WTO reinterpretation



When China joined the WTO on December 11, 2001, it was written into the agreement that member states could treat China as a non-market economy (MES), due to the size of the Chinese economy, government intervention and its state-owned enterprises. As a result, advanced economies could ignore Chinese domestic price comparisons and rely on constructed values to reflect the true Chinese economy.



In turn, those surrogate figures allowed them to impose heavy anti-dumping duties on the basis that Chinas low prices did not reflect market realities.



As the December 11, 2016 deadline for this practice approached, the advanced economies lobbyists, which represent some of the most uncompetitive companies in a few sectors (especially steel), began to urge WTO members to reinterpret the accession language. Now it was argued that in the original agreement there was an escape clause, which would conveniently justify the continued treatment of China as a non-market economy.



In the past 15 years, the surrogate figures have permitted wide discretion and manipulation of price data, which has been used as basis for anti-dumping charges; that is, tariffs up to 40 percent higher than normal anti-dumping duties.

Economic issues and geopolitical ploys



A few days ago, Japan said that it will not recognize China as a WTO market economy, which will leave tariffs as a ready option against Chinese exports. That is convenient at a time when the reform agenda of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has failed to reflate the Japanese economy. In turn, the US administration of Barack Obama has stated that the time was not ripe for Chinas market economy status and the European Union has followed its lead.



Such a reinterpretation of the WTO rules is very expedient from the standpoint of Washington, Brussels and Japan. In the past, it has allowed them to deploy market-restricting figures and methods to shun competition by Chinese companies. As advanced economies are struggling with secular stagnation, it seeks to extend the anticompetitive past practices far into the future.



Yet, this revision of history is relatively new. Through much of the past 15 years, US presidents (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush), US Trade Representatives (Charlene Barshefsky), Secretaries of Commerce (Gary Locke) and key administration figures repeatedly affirmed that the non-MES methodology would expire in due time.



The change came with the Obama administration in 2012 when the US Trade Representative reversed its position and affirmed a new reinterpretation, which reflects protectionist doctrines  even though such a reinterpretation by the EU was contradicted only months before the 2011 WTO Appellate Body decision.



Why the sudden change? The new approach did not emerge in a historical vacuum, but amid the US pivot to Asia, which was developed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and initiated by president Obama.

Positioning against emerging economies



In legal terms, the reinterpretation represents the violation of the 2001 agreement, which will be Chinas chief argument in the to-be-expected legal battle at the WTO.



In practice, the Obama administrations reinterpretation of the WTO agreement reflects the kind of geopolitical trading environment that was to emerge with the US pivot to Asia, particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership  both of which incoming president Donald Trump plans to redefine or bury to make room for assertive America first trading regime.



China is neither the first nor the last large emerging economy to face such anticompetitive challenges. However, as secular stagnation is about to deteriorate in advanced economies, it is likely that Washington, Brussels and Tokyo will resort to market-restricting methods to avoid intensifying competition by emerging economies. As global growth prospects rely increasingly on emerging nations  not advanced economies  such maneuvers are likely to prove costly to global economy.



Through the past 15 years, the US, the EU and Japan have often lectured China and other emerging economies on being responsible international stakeholders and the importance of the rule of law in international relations. Yet, last Sunday, they violated both tenets, which heralds the end of the postwar trading regime and the return of irresponsibility and the rule of might.

Dr. Dan Steinbock is an internationally recognised expert of the nascent multipolar world. He is the CEO of Difference Group and has served as Research Director at the India, China and America Institute (USA) and visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Centre (Singapore). For more, see www.differencegroup.net

 2016 Copyright Dan Steinbock - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Trump Got an Edge over China with a Single Phone Call

BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN : Donald Trump spoke on the telephone with the president of Taiwan, causing deep upset. It was counter to an understanding in place since Richard Nixon opened the door with China in 1972.

This understanding included an American endorsement of the one-China policy. This policy held that Taiwan is part of China, but would continue to behave as if it werent. The US agreed not to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan and pretend it isnt a close ally.

The agreement was a fairly meaningless concession. It allowed the Chinese to domestically claim they had forced the US to capitulate on an important issue. By speaking with the Taiwanese president, Trump undermined that agreement.

The Chinese responded by saying President Trump will be judged differently than President-elect Trump. They remained calm.

The Context of the Taiwan Agreement

The context of this agreement should be recalled. When Nixon went to China, the Vietnam War was still being fought. It was unclear if the US could resist Soviet military action in Europe. The Chinese fought a major battle in 1969 with the Russians along the Siberian-Chinese border. Sino-Soviet relations plummeted in the 1960s. China was worried about a Soviet attack, including a nuclear strike.

The Soviets seemed to be in a position to confront either China or the US in Europe, but not both simultaneously. The US needed to tie the Soviets down by posing a counterthreat in Europe and Asia, simultaneously. Soviet transport didnt allow for rapid force movement.

Coercing the Soviets to divide those forces between two fronts notably reduced their ability to mass strategically overwhelming power. Coordination between the US and China in the 1970s led to China permitting US intelligence listening posts to intercept Soviet trafficking.

This was the context in which the agreement on Taiwan was made. Two powers faced serious strategic problems. Geopolitics trumped ideology, as it often does. The two powers reached an understanding that achieved vital strategic goals for both.

Chinas Domestic Cover

The Chinese asked for something incredibly trivial. They asked the US to acknowledge there is only one China. China agreed not to invade Taiwan. Given the stakes, the US readily agreed. Taiwan was independent of China and a close US ally. China was too weak to invade Taiwan, but China needed domestic political cover. Its ability to claim an American capitulation on Taiwan was important. The US didnt want to expose the Chinese politically. Nixon would capitulate.

He knew there would be posturing in Congress, but he could weather it. The US closed its embassy in Taiwan and reopened it as the American Institute in Taiwan, manned by US diplomats. Travel, trade, investment, and arms sales continued as if nothing had happened.

Much time has passed since that deal, and a few things have happened. The Soviet Union collapsed. The Vietnam War ended. Vietnam is the US partner and is hostile to China. China has surged economically as the last generations low-wage, high-growth economy.

The foundations of the agreement on Taiwan have evaporated, but the reality is the same. Taiwan is an independent country despite what anyoneincluding Taiwansays. And it is a close US ally.

Trumps Bargaining Chip

Chinese exports have undercut American industry. The movement of the US industrial sector to China, among other countries, created an economic and social crisis in the US. Trump won the election because of that crisis. One of his major commitments was to restructure the US-China relationship.

Hence the phone call. By making the call, Trump signaled to China he could act unilaterally if China isnt prepared to renegotiate the relationship. Everything is on the table. Trump selected a high-visibility, low-content issueTaiwanto demonstrate his indifference to prior understandings.

Critics say Trump attacked the foundations of US-Chinese relations. Its true in a way, but Trump pledged to change the foundations of that relationship.

Trumps move could alter the US-Chinese relationship. That relationship was established during the Nixon administration.

It is important to note, the common tendency to assume observers are smarter than political leaders whose behavior they are analyzing. This attitude prevents one from realizing that Trump is clear on what he is doing and what it means.

While the rest of society enjoys belittling political leaders as sport, becoming president of the United States is an enormous struggle the brightest professors cant navigate. There is no reason to assume Trump didn't know what he was doing.

Chinas ability to counter is limited. It has money in American banks, and if China wants to redeposit that money in European banks, its their risk. Their military capabilities remain limited. Their navy remains no match for the US Navy, and they cant afford a war whose outcome they cant predict. The US is 25 percent of the worlds economy.

China cant walk away from the US without enormous pain. The US cant afford to leave the relationship unchanged. And China may not be able to stonewall Trump as they did other presidents.

Taiwan is no more important in 2016 than it was in 1972. Accepting the one-China policy never shifted the fundamental reality of Taiwan-US relations. But it gave cover for the Chinese in a strategic context that has long disappeared.

This puts China in a difficult situation. China desperately needs access to American markets to avoid slipping deeper into economic stagnation. President Xi Jinping needs to appear strong and intimidating in the world to bolster his position in China.

Trump signaled to China that he can take away what Nixon gave them. By doing what Nixon didusing volatility and unpredictability to intimidateTrump set the stage for a negotiation China cant refuse. Previous presidents were prepared to posture but did nothing substantial about China.

With a single phone call, Trump did what he seems to do bestbaffle and unnerve a negotiating partner. He has shifted the issue from what China is willing to do, to how far Trump is prepared to go.

Watch George Friedman's Ground-breaking Documentary, Crisis & Chaos: Are We Moving Toward World War III?

Russian adventurism. An ailing EU. Devastation in the Middle East. These are just three symptoms of a systemic instability engulfing a region thats home to 5 billion of the planets 7 billion people.

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A search is performed on The Pirate Bay Web site on a computer monitor in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, November 7, 2005. (Photo : Getty Images/ Adam Berry)

The Pirate Bay (TPB) is being targeted once again as media groups lobby for an ISP blockade in Sweden. The Internet Service Providers believe that blocking torrent sites will just be a dangerous form of censorship.



Nordisk Film, the Swedish Film industry, Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music has filed a lawsuit to bring down The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites through an ISP blockade. They have lost in the past case but the appeal is now being entertained.



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ISPs Telenor and Bredbandsbolaget said in a joint statement obtained by Torrent Freak that the blockade for TPB and other torrent sites will not be a good thing for everyone. They said that it will force the ISPs to monitor content and that it could violate the rights of their customers. If do they do not comply, they will become accomplices either way.



"The copyright holders argue that the blockades they request are similar to those in neighboring Nordic countries. But with the legislation we have in Sweden, it means rightsholders' demands require a form of censorship that has no equivalent in any other EU country," the ISPs said in their statement.



Both ISPs are urging the right holders to work with all ISPs in order to find a way to stop piracy in The Piratebay and other torrent sites without resorting to the censorship, according to After Dawn. They are hoping that the Court of Appeal will also arrive at the same conclusion that was ruled in the original case hearings.



Bredbandsbolaget and Telenor believe that legislation and blockades are not the answer to curbing piracy as it will do more harm than good. A workaround should be discussed instead of outright banning the sites which also contains legal torrents such as academic materials and such.



The Pirate Bay and other TPB-like torrent sites have been notorious for hosting illegal content such as copies of the latest "Doctor Strange" and "Sausage Party" torrents. However, the ISPs in Sweden believe that the blockade is not the answer.



Find out how to download torrents in The Pirate Bay in the video below:






Ha Ji Won has once again cleared up rumors that she is not dating Chen Bo Lin. The actress shut down reports romantically linking her to the Taiwanese actor during promotions of her upcoming movie "Risking Life For Love."



During an interview for the romance-thriller, which also stars Chen, Ha addressed the dating rumors as false speculation. The rumors surfaced after both stars started posting similar posts on their social media accounts, leading many to believe that the two were secretly communicating with each other.



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When asked about whether or not things were awkward between her and Chen on set because of the dating rumors, Ha mentioned that there was no such thing. "The dating rumors didn't make me feel awkward with Chen Bolin as we both have cool, open personalities," AllKPop quoted the actress as saying. "When the news broke out, we just laughed and said 'Oh, this became a news', and just went on."



She added that the rumors were nothing more than a misunderstanding, which took place because they like the same poses and share similar interests. Ha also pointed out that she and Chen got along very well and were quite comfortable with each other during the filming of the movie.



"We mostly communicate in English, but of course we use Korean sometimes too," Ha said in a statement obtained by Soompi. "Chen Bo Lin is really enthusiastic about learning languages and He would ask me to teach him."



The actress added that Chen is an incredibly considerate co-star and would always take care of her on set. She also recalled one scene in particular where he had to carry her around and even though Ha could tell that he found her heavy, the actor said he was fine.



"Risking Life For Love" follows the story of three people who find themselves involved in a serial murder case. The film is slated to hit theaters on Dec. 14. Watch the film's trailer below:






Taking care of employees needs to be the first focus of a budget, not the last. Its rare that I completely agree with a General Assembly commission, but I had no arguments about the discussion held Monday as part of state budget talks. The Commission on Employee Retirement Security and Pension Reform laid out their case, making it clear what they feel should be changed in the state budget process. I think its a good idea.

The argument is that right now, state employees arent considered until the end, once all the other bills and projects get funded. Or at least, proposed salary increases for these groups get trimmed before consideration to put other big ticket bills on hold. The group sees a proposal for a $42 million state park in Charlottesville get put in and questions why it made it before any talk on raising salaries for sheriffs deputies, teachers or any other state employees. The committee felt that was a backwards way to do things and I tend to agree. Now yes, I have several family members in the teaching profession and know a few of our sheriffs deputies, but even for someone who doesn't know a soul in either profession, this just seems to make logical sense.

Whats the first thing you do, when you sit down to make a family budget? Do you look at new projects, or figure out how youre going to pay for what you currently have? That car youve been driving for years, its likely going to need some new hoses, maybe a belt or two. The alternator also looks like its about ready to go. Doesnt it make sense to allocate money for that before setting aside money for a new tv? Its the same with state employees.

If were whining and complaining about the test scores in our schools, the first thing we should do is make certain were giving these people what they need to succeed. If were demanding that they teach kids how to use new technology, how to code on a computer or build models with a 3D printer, its hard to do that without the actual tools needed. Also, are we providing a competitive salary, to make sure these teachers stay in Virginia? Before we spend money on new bills before the General Assembly, doesnt it make sense to take care of the people already working here?

Or take sheriffs deputies, as our own Paul Collins did a detailed look in our Thanksgiving edition. After five years, a deputy sheriff makes $35,331, with $32,712 in state pay. By comparison, a state trooper with five years of experience makes $43,268. A deputy with 10 years on the job makes the same as a fifth-year. A deputy with 12 years on the job also makes the same as someone with just five years in. A state trooper with 12 years in makes $53,300, compared with $35,331. Does that seem fair? Consider the distance sheriffs deputies travel, the towns and other areas theyre responsible for. And yet there are no proposals sitting in the General Assembly, no discussions on increasing the salaries for sheriffs deputies.

Now yes, I understand theres a $1.5 billion shortfall looming and nows not the time to put in raises. Thats not what Im arguing for, as the money simply isnt there. What Im saying is that the General Assembly should reconsider how the budget process works. We need to reconsider our priorities. Should we really talk about parks and tourist attractions before we sit down and decide what needs to be in the budget? Id argue the answer is no. First and foremost, just like a family, we need to determine what our basic needs are. Then, we need to determine how were going to address those needs. Do we need more to cover educational costs? Ok, wheres that going to come from? What does our infrastructure look like? Ok, lets lay out those needs. Do we need to raise salaries to bring sheriffs deputies up to balance? Great, lets tackle that. Then, once those needs are dealt with, we can open the budget process up to parks, to new money expenses. Otherwise, these bills and projects may get General Assembly members re-elected, but they wont do anything for the core issues facing towns and cities across the Commonwealth. You build from the ground up, by establishing priorities. Id argue on the state level, its time for those to change.
AMD Zen - A First Look. (Photo : YouTube/ Paul's Hardware )

AMD Zen CPU has been widely anticipated for its potential launching in the upcoming CES 2017 trade show. Although there have been no reports of launching cancellation, some AMD users gradually becoming concerned on a reported security glitch of AMD's next generation processors.



Security concern for AMD Zen processors has been found and revealed by scientist from Security in Telecommunications Department at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, according to computer help site BleepingComputer.



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Based on the report tech-experts Felicitas Hetzelt and Robert Buhren mentioned that AMD's system,which is Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV), has not been audited until now. Thus, putting future users of the upcoming AMD processors at risk.



SEV technology, which according to report will be shipped along with AMD's upcoming Zen CPUs, has been found not secured by experts, there were some "security" flaws identified based on the AMD SEV documentation.



The technical paper released by experts describing their attacks, showed that a malicious hypervisor forcing the guest to perform arbitrary read and write operations on protected. Aside from that, it also described memory and disabling any SEV memory protection configured by the tenant.



In response to the research and test done by experts, AMD immediately made a reply coming from its product communication team.



"AMD along with the rest of the industry, continues to evaluate new threats and develop responses to them. AMD SEV is just one of the critical ingredients in AMD's security toolbox and the industry can expect to see more security enhancements in the future with our upcoming Naples platform," Gary Silcott of AMD told the TheRegister.



With the assurance given by the company of its security tools, the upcoming AMD Zen CPU in 2017 then might be almost perfect as far as marketing hype is concerned. Guess we would just have to wait and see how Zen processors will outclass or match Intel's Core i7 6900K.






The polls have closed and Best Of Mass Cupcakes' Top 10 have been decided.

As we announced at the beginning of this Best Of Mass, we will visit the top five cupcakeries from Western and Central Massachusetts and the top five from Eastern Massachusetts, using I-495 as the dividing line. After counting up the votes in these two regions, here are Best Of Mass Cupcakes' Top 10:

Mama Cakes - Westfield

Theme Cakes By Joelene - Wilbraham

Piece of Cake - Plymouth

Frosted Swirl Cupcakes - Westfield

The Queen's Cups - Millbury

Whipped Urban Cupcake Co - Boston

Cupcake Charlie's - Mashpee

Cafe Evolution - Northampton

Baked - Cohasset

Georgetown Cupcake - Boston

So, what now? MassLive judges will visit the Top 10 over the next few days to judge their cupcakes. Keep an eye out for a full ranking of the Top 10 early next week.
Amy Schumer attends the 'Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology' Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Mike Coppola)

Amidst the outrage over the casting of Amy Schumer in the lead role in highly anticipated "Barbie," Sony Pictures has revealed a new release date for the film. The live-action film will now arrive in theaters on June 29, 2018.



The movie was earlier set to be released on May 12, 2017. With the new release date, "Barbie" is expected to clash with a 20th Century Fox's mystery Marvel film, according to Coming Soon.



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Sony chief Tom Rothman approached Schumer personally with the script of "Barbie," after which she emailed her consent for the project, Deadline reported. Amy Pascal, Walter F. Parkes, and Laurie Macdonald will produce the project while Lauren Abrahams will oversee it for Sony Pictures.



The screenplay was originally written by Hilary Winston of "Bad Teacher" TV series fame. "Barbie" will be the second collaboration between Sony Pictures and Mattel, which are currently developing a film adaptation of "Masters of the Universe" based on Mattel's popular action figures.



The movie is intended to be in the same vein as "Enchanted" and "Big" as the movie will follow the main character as she navigates the new world of adventure after being kicked out of her home in Barbieland for not being perfect enough. After her journey in the real world, she then realizes that true beauty comes from the inside and not from the outside.



Apart from starring in the movie, Schumer, along with her sister and writing partner Kim Caramele, will rewrite the script. The director for the film is currently being sought.



The announcement of the casting of Schumer in the live-action film is being met with mixed response in social media. While some internet users were perplexed why the not-so-Barbie figured actress has been cast to take the lead role, several others pointed out that it will lead to the promotion of unhealthy lifestyle among younger viewers.



Fat shaming is a normal reaction to an unhealthy lifestyle choice. We don't tell smokers to be proud of their cancer https://t.co/Dh5VxhX0Wl

 Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) 3 December 2016







Watch Schumer's performance from her hit "Trainwreck" below:






Confesor GO, la aplicacion para encontrar confesores en tiempo real (Photo : YouTube/ Confesor GO)

The Catholic Church has long recognized the importance of having a confession. With its launching of a smartphone app, the said importance has somehow been reaffirmed, especially for the faithful of today's generation.



With the advent of technology, it would not be unusual that even one of the oldest institution on earth would take advantage of its use. The Catholic Church, in their campaign to straighten the exercise of confession, managed to launch a smartphone application, according to Breitbart News.



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According to the report, the person behind this ingenious idea is a Spanish priest Father Ricardo Latorre. With the help of the mobile app dubbed as "Confesor GO," lay faithful can now easily locate available an priest within the diocese or city.



The mobile app. makes use of global positioning technology to feed users list of available confessors. This is made possible only when a priest is likewise using the app, thus data would be cross-referenced to the proximity of the priest available for confession the person needing one.



The latest app. does not only serve as a map for faithful to follow and for priests to be found. Apart from the unique main feature of the application, it also gives access to faithful the name of the priest, age, date of ordination, and even picture of the priest. Thus, helping them more on the selection process and identification, especially for confessions to be made outside the church.



As of the latest update of GooglePlay, the current install of the app has reached more than a thousand with its 10.0.0 app version. As of now, the developers of the app aim to invite more priests to sign-up for the app and make it known worldwide.



Although "Confesor GO" may not be popular as "Pokemon Go," it would still definitely make a good impression among Catholics. This so-called reinvention will surely draw more faithfuls in going back to confession.






Melissa Rauch attends a screening of Sony Pictures Classics' 'The Bronze' hosted by Cinema Society & SELF at Metrograph on March 17, 2016 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Jamie McCarthy)

The upcoming "Big Bang Theory" Season 10 episode 11 is set to introduce a new character to the long-running CBS series. Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Howard (Simon Helberg) will welcome a new member to the family with baby Wolowitz's arrival.



The impending midseason finale of the "Big Bang Theory" Season 10 will mark a momentous moment in Bernadette and Howard's lives. With the birth of their baby daughter in episode 11, viewers can expect to see touching scenes and funny moments that will feature the stressed-out couple and their friends Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Amy (Mayim Bialik), as well as Stuart (Kevin Sussman).



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Titled "The Birthday Synchronicity," certain elements of the said episode may not be what viewers would expect from a birth scene. Despite the opportunity to showcase a screaming Bernadette and a panicked Howard, the midseason finale will skip the usual delivery scene.



In an interview with TVLine, showrunner Steve Molaro shared that the CBS show's writing team decided to remove Bernadette's delivery scene from the episode's script. Given the various shows that already depicted the said scenario in several comedic and dramatic ways, "Big Bang Theory" will instead focus on the events leading to the birth of baby Wolowitz.



Molaro also made a similar comment in an interview with Variety where he even revealed interesting and touching scenes in the CBS show's upcoming midseason finale. One of the said scenes involves Howard and his tribute to his deceased mother as he welcomes his newborn daughter.



Meanwhile, the showrunner also commented on how the tone of the show will remain the same despite the arrival of baby Wolowitz. He mentioned that Bernadette and Howard's newborn daughter will provide the CBS show the chance to expand its plot line and feature more stories.



The "Big Bang Theory" Season 10 episode 11 will air on Dec. 15, Thursday on CBS. Watch the episode's trailer below:






Descendants of the Sun is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, and Kim Ji-won. (Photo : YouTube/Song Joong Ki)

Song Joong Ki and Lee Kwang Soo have proven time and again that they are indeed the ideal definition of best friends: two people who constantly support each other no matter what. They have been best friends for over six years, having first met in 2010 on the SBS variety show "Running Man." Even though Song Joong Ki left the show 10 months later, he remained best pals with Lee.



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Here are five times Song Joong Ki and Lee Kwang Soo were best friend goals.



They make cameo appearances in each other's show



Lee showed his support for Song's comeback by making a cameo appearance in "Descendants of the Sun," which was the latter's first drama series after getting discharged from the military.



When Song asked Lee if he could appear on the show, the latter immediately agreed without reading the script. This time, the former is the one doing the latter a favor by appearing in his upcoming sitcom "The Sound of Your Heart."



Lee Kwang Soo was Song Joong Ki's proxy at his brother's wedding



When Song was in the military, he could not attend his brother's wedding. Thus, Lee took the initiative to represent the "Nice Guy" actor, wherein he went to the actor's house in Daejeon and acted like the family's second son. When the "Descendants of the Sun" actor saw a video from the wedding, he was moved to tears by what Lee had done for him, Soompi reported.



Song also took a leave from the military to attend the wedding of Lee's sister.



They can depend on each other



During a fan meeting in Beijing, Song was asked to choose on essential thing he would bring on a trip. His answer? Kwang Soo. Although he jokingly said that he would need someone to pay for the food, he explained that Lee is a very close friend of his and he would want to go on a trip with him if they had the time, Inquirer reported.



Song also said that Lee helps him use social networking apps such as Weibo and Intagram.






Google is spinning out its self-driving car unit as a separate entity called Waymo, the company announced today. The name is derived from its mission of finding "a new way forward in mobility."

"Were now an independent company within the Alphabet umbrella," Waymo CEO John Krafcik told an audience at a press event in San Francisco today. Krafcik also noted that the Waymo team conducted the first fully driverless ride on public roads in Austin last year, using a car with no steering wheels and no pedals in "everyday traffic" on city streets.

by Darrell Etherington (@etherington), Lora Kolodny (@lorakolodny)

Full Story: https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/13/googles-self-driving-car-unit-spins-out-as-waymo/

Many thanks to Kemble Fletcher at Google for sharing.
Marriott International (www.Marriott.com) today announced the opening of Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch and Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch .

The opening marks the debut of Marriott Executive Apartments in South Africa and the first purpose-built Marriott Hotel in the country. Owned and developed by the Amdec Group (www.amdec.co.za), the hotel and apartments are situated in the bustling Melrose Arch Precinct and provide a premium destination for business travelers and a fully serviced extended stay destination.

We are thrilled to open Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch and Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch, further strengthening our relationship with the Amdec Group in South Africa. The openings are part of Marriott Internationals commitment to expand our footprint in Africa and deepen our brand portfolio in South Africa. The property is a strong representation of two brands which will deliver tailored services, sophisticated spaces and enriching experiences, said Sandra SchulzePotgieter, Vice President Premium & Select Brands, Marriott International Middle East and Africa.

Commenting on the opening, James Wilson, CEO for the Amdec Group, said: The opening of Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch and Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch marks the continuation of a long-standing relationship between Marriott International and the Amdec Group. We are proud to play a part in paving the way for Marriott Internationals expansion into Africa. Melrose Arch is one of three Amdec Group developments to accommodate Marriott branded hotels. The Yacht Club in Cape Town is home to Africas first AC Hotel by Marriott, while Harbour Arch which is currently under construction will house a second 5-star Marriott Hotel along with a Residence Inn.

Marriott Hotels began a worldwide transformation six years ago featuring a new design including locally-inspired accents, open closets and a flexible work surface which allow guests to freely move and use technology however they desire. To celebrate the transformational journey, Marriott Hotels launched the Let Your Mind Travel campaign and led meaningful conversations through a first-of-its-kind partnership with TED.

Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch is the first Marriott Hotel in South Africa to showcase the brands new design touchpoints. The property features 306 guest rooms, including 10 Junior Suites. Each of the spacious rooms are thoughtfully designed with a balance of tailored utility and contemporary style for the traveler who believes that form is just as important as function. Local accents add a sense of place to the sleek aesthetic, while open workspaces allow for flexibility to connect anytime.

Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch is home to spaces that spark brilliance and seamlessly blend work and play with state-of-the-art business facilities, such as the Greatroom  a contemporary space located in the hotel lobby designed for socializing, relaxing and working. Guests can enjoy an elevated experience through the Mobile Guest Services, delivered with the warm and professional service for which the brand is globally renowned.

Access to the M Club Lounge, an exclusive space reserved for Marriott Bonvoy Elite loyalty members and Club paying members, provides complimentary breakfast, evening drinks, hors doeuvres and premium beverages. The M Club Lounge also offers the brands signature Mind Menu, a collection of delicious snacks and beverages infused with active ingredients to enhance the mind and body. Accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the M Club Lounge provides free wi-fi, printing and power supplies to ensure uninterrupted productivity for business travelers.

The hotel features two dining venues, Archer Bar and Eatery  a charismatic social space, part bar and part coffee hangout, serving local craft beers, specialty coffee and creative mixology, and Keystone Bistro  a stylish restaurant serving international cuisine with a South African flair. The hotel offers seven meeting rooms, a ballroom, pre-function space including The Green Room for hosting VIP dignitaries and speakers. Other facilities include 24-hour fitness center, outdoor heated swimming pool and pool bar.

On the upper floors of the new build, Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch features 84 fully sized and equipped apartments, ranging from one-, two- and three-bedroom units, for travelers seeking a trusted, longer stay. Personalized service ensures a seamless and sophisticated experience, while local textures and flavors add to the overall ambience.

Marriott International currently operates 61 hotels in South Africa and have 8 hotels in the pipeline.

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Particulierement touche par lr depart soudain de son ami, le leader du Rassemblement Mauricien a rendu un dernier hommage au danseur.



Patrick nous quitte sur un pas de danse.

Pour avoir ete des notres, depuis notre enfance et notre adolescence si empreinte de belles choses au college Royal, je sens un profond sentiment de perte tragique.

Artiste jusquau bout des ongles, avec un reel raffinement et une creativite etonnante, il a traverse le temps et les differents styles avec grace.

Pour avoir donne a la delicieuse melodie Beti de Rama Poonoosamy, chante par Zul Ramiah, un ballet somptueux, je lui dis merci.

Je le lui dis encore quand Patrick avec Anna Patten sous la direction artistique de Selvan Naidu avait permis de creer la premiere rencontre de FUSION, ballet moderne et Khatak pour la television mauricienne et pour TV5 dans les annees 90.

Nous avons perdu un etre cher, plein de vivacite creatrice et de joie de vivre.

Avec le lancement de la plateforme Old Royals, depuis le debut de cette annee, nous avons connu de tres belles emotions et le desir des retrouvailles a ete intense chez nous, dici et dailleurs.

Helas Patrick, tu ne seras pas la.

Tu nous manqueras tellement.
Bigbang perform on the stage during a concert at the K-Collection In Seoul on March 11, 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo : Getty Images/Chung Sung-Jun)

The Kpop group Bigbang marked its return to the music scene with a new album that already topped various charts. Named "MADE," the album nabbed the first spot on several iTunes charts across Asia, Europe and other countries.



Bigbang's long-awaited album "MADE" is reigning over major charts both in South Korean and other countries across the globe. Recently, the said album topped the iTunes album charts in more than 15 countries, according to OSEN.



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"MADE" landed on the top spot of iTunes charts in Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Norway, Turkey, Costa Rica, Finland and Ukraine. Bigbang's comeback album also reached the first place on Asian iTunes charts in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Macao, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.



In the U.S., Bigbang's "MADE" nabbed a spot in the top five iTunes albums as of Dec. 13, Tuesday. The Kpop group's album also reached a similar achievement on Canada's iTunes album chart.



Meanwhile, three tracks from the South Korean group's new album also posted strong chart placements since its release. Titled "Last Dance," "FXXX It" and "Girlfriend," each track nabbed a spot in the top three songs of several local music charts such as Melon, Naver, Genie, Mnet and more.



Of the three Bigbang songs, "FXXX It" landed at number one on various major South Korean charts. At second place is "Last Dance" followed by "Girlfriend."



Recently, "Last Dance" and FXXX It" also reached an impressive milestone on YouTube. Considered as the title tracks for "MADE," the said Bigbang songs posted an accumulated view count of more than 10 million, according to All Kpop. "Last Dance" has more than 4 million views on YouTube, while "FXXX It" has over 6 million views.



Bigbang released its full-length album "MADE" on Dec. 12, Monday. Watch the music video for the title track "Last Dance" below:






FKA Twigs and Robert Pattinson attend the 'China: Through The Looking Glass' Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2015 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Mike Coppola)

Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs have been putting wedding plans on hold for quite a while. The two are going strong and have been together for over two years. Even though the couple has not publicly announced plans to settle down, rumors continue to swirl.



Although it appears that the couple is not in a rush to get married, both Pattinson and FKA Twigs have expressed their desire to settle down and have a family. According to Sugarscape, FKA Twigs told Paper Magazine that she is quite traditional, which also means that her views on marriage is traditional.



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Growing up in Gloucestershire, England, FKA Twigs follows a certain format that involves going to school, working hard on GCSEs, doing A-Levels, getting married and then having children. She also believes it is important to send her kids to nice schools.



"I do this because I want my children to have a nice life, and I want my children's children to have a nice life. And I want my grandkids to be proud of what I've achieved. And I want to be a role model, but not for the world," FKA Twigs said about her aspirations.



The couple is very happy at the moment, but has constantly been followed by Robert Pattinson-Kristen Stewart dating rumors. A source close to the couple, however, claims that Robsten is now a distant memory. The source added that although Pattinson and Stewart still talk occasionally and are on good terms, they are not getting back together.



The Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs wedding might not be happening any time soon, but the source said that the couple is "happy as they are." Both stars are committed to one another and don't feel the need to stress out about a wedding. Instead, they prefer to enjoy and fun with each other.



Meanwhile, Pattinson and FKA Twigs were recently spotted looking stylish at the L.A. Dance Project Annual Gala in Los Angeles, California, The Daily Mail reported. The former put his boyish look on display wearing a blue suit while the latter look gorgeous in a red gown. The couple was also enjoying some Christmas shopping in L.A. the day before the event.






Orndorffs experimental writing began when he discovered a way to take his reading automaticity (effectively used for over thirty years of grading senior students many expository essays and research papers) and use the automaticity in his writing. The errors produced add to his sense of humility that I find refreshing. He preached the rules of General Manuscript Specifications his whole career and now finds he cant live up to them himself. He may not see the humor in this, but his many former students and colleagues might sense a secret delight in his lightly buried misery of my conditional. I would not be here but for his determination and humility to see this experimental and self-imposed writing project through. Humanity is my standard in orndorff's writing, not GMS perfection.  Amorella
East McDowell students wore tiger masks, ate bunuelos and discussed St. Nicolas as they learned about Christmas around the globe.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the sixth-grade classes of East McDowell Middle School welcomed Amanda Silverman, the Roadshow Coordinator at UNCAs Diversity of Education, who taught them about Chinese New Year, Las Posadas and Christmas in Greece as part of a December-based roadshow presentation called Festivals of Light.

As the presentation began, Silverman told the students to look at the tags on their shirts and tally the number of places from which the shirts were manufactured. Places like Jordan, Honduras and El Salvador were tallied, but the predominant locations between the students were China, Vietnam and Indonesia, which led to Silvermans ultimate point.

Its important to know where you buy things from, because you guys (the students) are going to get part-time jobs, youre going to become consumers and customers, so you need to investigate where things are made, said Silverman. In the case of somewhere like China, as a business-person, you would need to know that the shuts down manufacturing months in advance to prepare for the New Year, so orders would not be made in December. Its important to learn about holidays and other cultures not just out of celebration, but as a business model as well.

From there, the students became acquainted with aspects of the Chinese New Year, such as the importance of the colors red (for good luck) and gold (for fortune), chunlian scrolls, hot air lanterns released into the sky symbolize hope and even tasted Lychee berries; student reactions to the berries varied from squishy and sweet to it looks like a dead fish.

The next holiday discussed was Las Posadas in Mexico, the nine-day celebration between Dec. 16 and Dec. 24 that opens the Christmas season. According to Silverman, those celebrating would reenact the Holy Pilgrimage of Mary, Joseph and Jesus every night, as crowds would follow the performers to three different houses and recreate the journey to the manger, with parties and invitations to be held at the third house. On the ninth night, the celebrating party would go to mass, then return home for a Christmas dinner late into the evening.

Subsequently, the next celebration would be Dia de los Tres Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day on Jan. 5 to commemorate the Three Wise Mens bearing of gifts to the Christ child, followed by Candlemas on Feb. 2, where images of the infant Christ are blessed. All of which, according to Silverman, are built towards the Nativity story that spans two and a half months.

The final holiday the students learned with Silverman was Christmas in Greece, beginning with a brief lesson on the split between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in 1054.

From there, the students learned about St. Nicolas Day on Dec. 6, the beginning of the Greek Orthodox Christmas season.

He was known for his good works, and after his death, they gave him sainthood by the church, said Silverman. Not just in Greek Orthodox, but Anglican and Roman Catholic churches all have Saint Days. And because he was the Patron St. of Water and Sailors, he was geographically important for those celebrating during Christmas time in Greece.

Afterwards, students were shown Saint Pictures, or icons of St. Nicolas and St. Basil, framed in gold and silver, which Silverman explained were used for people to pray through on their behalf. Then, the students were taught about Kallikantzaroi, Greek goblins that would enter through homes during the 12 days of Christmas and create mischief.

In Greek folklore, the goblins would come from the center of the earth and enter through your fireplace and cause trouble, Silverman told the students. There are two ways to keep them away: 1) keep your fire going in the fireplace during all 12 days of Christmas, and 2) sprinkle your house with water and basil, from a wooden bowl tied with wire to a cross, to bless your home.

As the presentation ended, Silverman reflected on the importance of the Festivals of Light roadshow.

We travel to different schools every day in Western North Carolina during the month of December, talking about the connections of light, connections of winter, said Silverman. In my opinion, I think that the more we learn about cultures and understand them, the greater connections we are able to make to other people, the smaller our world becomes and the more loving our world becomes.
Unconfirmed reports in Egyptian media say the man accused of killing 24 in the attack on a church near the Coptic cathedral, was once arrested in 2014 on violence charges, and has since joined Islamist militants in North Sinai



On Monday afternoon, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that the 22-year-old Mostafa was the suicide bomber behind the bomb attack that targeted a Coptic church in Cairo a day earlier.

Speaking at the state funeral for the 24 victims of the bombing, El-Sisi said "Mostafa sneaked into the church and detonated an explosive belt on Sunday.'

Shortly after the president's announcement, Al-Watan newspaper said it had published in March 2014 a news report of two men apprehended in Fayoum governorate, one of whom was the man the president identified as the bomber.



Al-Watan's 15 March 2014 report said the two men were arrested for participating in a march that attacked members of the anti-Muslim Brotherhood Tamarod movement in Fayoum governorate earlier that day.

The report said authorities found the two men with firearms in their possession.



Meanwhile, Al-Masry Al-Youm news website quoted on Monday security sources who said Mostafa has been residing in Sinai for the past two years.

The sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm Mostafa had joined the Sinai-based Islamist militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, which has been carrying deadly attacks on security forces in parts of North Sinai in the last three years.

Al-Ahram Arabic news website published an image of a reported government document, revealing that Mostafa was born in Sonoras village in Fayoum governorate on 10 October 1994.

The document stated that Mostafa militant code name is "Abu Degana El-Kinany."

According to Al Youm Al-Sabea news website, Mostafa's mother told the website her son last called her last week and said he would not be returning home since he was wanted by the authorities.

"He didnt tell me any details about his life; all I know is that he was arrested once and released on bail," Mostafa's mother said.

She confirmed to Al-Youm Al-Sabea Mostafa graduated from the Faculty of Science at Fayoum University.

Sunday's bombing was the deadliest attack on Egyptian Christians in years.

In 2011, at least 21 Coptic Christians were killed in a suicide attack which targeted a New Year's Eve mass at the Two Saints Church in Alexandria.

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The cell involved in Sunday's attack on a Coptic church received directives from Muslim Brotherhood organisation's leaders residing in Qatar, a statement from the Ministry of Interior announced on Monday

Egypt's Ministry of Interior has accused the Muslim Brotherhood organisation's Qatar branch of involvement in Sunday's bombing of St. Peter and St. Paul Church inside a Coptic cathedral complex in Cairo, which killed 24 and injured 49.

The interior ministry, in a statement broadcast on state TV Monday evening, said it has identified members of the "terrorist cell'' involved in the bombing, and traced their leadership to a branch of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group, which the state designates as a terrorist organisation, residing in Qatar.

The statement said that advanced investigation procedures led to the identification of fugitive Mohab Mostafa El-Sayed Kassem, whose militant code name is "The Doctor," as the lead man in the terrorist cell.

In a raid of cell's hideout in Cairo's Zeitoun district on Monday, police arrested four members, including a woman, according to the statement.

The arrested men were identified as Ramy Mohamed Abdel-Ghany, Mohamed Hamdy Abdel-Ghany and Mohsen El-Sayed Kassemthe brother of the cell's leader.

The woman was identified as Ola Hussein Ali, the wife of the accused Ramy Mohamed Abdel-Ghany.

The accused are believed to have aided the bomber who carried out the suicide attack on St. Peter and St. Paul Church and who was identified by authorities earlier on Monday as Mahmoud Shafiq Mostafa.

According to the ministry's statement, Kassem travelled to the Arab gulf state of Qatar in 2015, where he met with leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) organisation. He later returned to Egypt to lead a cell in carrying out terrorist attacks in the country, with full financial and logistical assistance from the MB organisation.

Upon directives from the MB in Qatar, Kassem communicated with members of Ansar Beit El-Maqdis terrorist group in North Sinai, moving there to receive training on the use of explosives.

After completing his training, Kassem was empowered by MB leaders in Qatar to carry out attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians, with the aim of creating sectarian strife between Muslims and Christians in the country.

The interior ministry traced a statement to Kassem that called for carrying out attacks against Cairo's Coptic cathedral, on the basis that the church supports the current political regime.

The statement was issued on 5 December by a group calling itself "The Egyptian Revolutionary Council," which the ministry says is a political offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation.

According to the interior ministry, the statement reveals that Kassem worked on recruiting other men to his cell and received training in a terrorist hideout based in Zeitoun district in Cairo.

Among Kassem's cell members was the man implicated in Sunday's attack, Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa, known by the militant code name" Abu Dagana El-Kinany."

Mostafa was apprehended in March 2014 for involvement in violent incidents related to the MB organisation and possession of firearms. He was released by court two months later.

Mostafa was later sought for arrest in two separate cases in 2015 and 2016, for terrorism-related activities and affiliation with a terrorist organisation.

The Ministry of Interior said that all apprehended members of the cell were referred to state security prosecution, while investigations are ongoing to find and arrest other members.

Sunday's bombing was the deadliest attack on Egyptian Christians in years, killing 24, many of whom were women and children.

In 2011, at least 23 Coptic Christians were killed in a suicide attack which targeted a New Year's Eve mass at the Two Saints Church in Alexandria.

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Measuring intravascular blood flow is currently only possible with invasive methods. Swiss researchers from Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Geneva University Hospital decided to see whether color Doppler ultrasound data holds enough information to derive the velocity of blood flowing through a vessel. They created a mathematical model of the vessels and blood within, and how ultrasound interacts with them. The results are pretty impressive, though not accurate enough for clinical use, and point to the possibility of one day getting accurate blood flow gauging from existing hardware.

Heres a video of the software processing color Doppler data from a conventional clinical ultrasound transducer:

Link to study: A feasability study of color flow doppler vectorization for automated blood flow monitoring

More info: Automated Blood Flow Monitoring from Color Flow Doppler Vectorization
Accusations against the defendants include belonging to the militant Islamist group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis and receiving instructions from foreign groups to 'destroy the country'

Egypt's prosecution ordered on Tuesday a 15-day detention for four people arrested on charges of involvement in a terrorist attack on a Coptic church in Cairo on Sunday, which left 24 dead and 49 injured.

Accusations against the defendants include belonging to the militant Islamist group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis and receiving instructions from foreign groups to "destroy the country."

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has claimed several attacks on Egyptian security forces over the past years. The group has announced its affiliation to the IS group.

Egypt's interior ministry released a statement Tuesday morning saying it identified the terrorist cell involved in the Sunday bombing and arrested four of its members including one woman.

On Monday, authorities announced that the bombing attack at St. Peter's Church was carried out by a suicide bomber identified as the 22 year old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa.

Sunday's bombing was the deadliest attack on Egyptian Christians in years, killing mostly women and children.

In 2011, at least 21 Coptic Christians were killed in a suicide attack which targeted a New Year's Eve mass at the Two Saints Church in Alexandria.

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by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, December 12, 2016

Looks like meat lovers whove felt shamed by health fanatics in recent years can look forward to ordering at restaurants with impunity in 2017.

The years hottest restaurant trend, based on the National Restaurant Associations annual survey of chefs, is new cuts of meat, including shoulder tender, oyster steak and Vegas strip steak.

Further, hot trend #4 is house-made charcuterie  dubbed the cured-meat answer to the cheese plate.

Other trends ranked in the top 10:

Street food-inspired dishes: These are foods that erve as a gateway to other cultures, people and places, such as dumplings, tempura or kabobs.

Healthful kids meals: Kids still love their burgers and fries, but salads, fruit, whole grains and leans proteins are showing up on menus with growing frequency, says NRA.

Sustainable seafood: Consumers are increasingly concerned about how seafood is sourced and how it affects the eco-system, and chefs are listening.

Ethnic-inspired breakfast items: With breakfast foods becoming 24/7 items, dishes featuring Asian-flavored foods like chorizo scrambled eggs, as well as breakfast burritos, continue to grow in popularity.

House-made condiments: Chef-prepared sriracha and made-from-scratch ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise are being spotlighted.

Authentic ethnic cuisines: Ethnic foods and global cuisine are more popular than ever, thanks to adventurous Millennials and Americans yen for international travel.

Heirloom produce: The focus on sourcing has also driven chefs to seek out venerable varietals of fruits and vegetables.

African flavors: Relatively under-explored in the U.S thus far, African whole grains, vegetables and spices are starting to appear on menus across the country, reports NRA.

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For the survey, the NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 members of the American Culinary Federation, to rank a list of 169 items as a hot trend, yesterdays news or a perennial favorite on restaurant menus in 2017.
by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, December 12, 2016

I spent last week in New York and met with a variety of media owners. I sat with a very large local radio network, a large national outdoor company, a company that sells targeted TV ads, and a digital advertising platform.

These are companies that all operate in very different and distinct verticals. Local radio is a very different sell from an outdoor board, which is very different from a targeted TV ad or an ad on a digital platform.

Or so it used to be. What I learned last week was that, thanks to the data that digital creates, these very disparate media offerings are actually capable of many of the same things. And as an industry, we have not adapted very well to this changing offering.

What has the digital evolution of these media forms, and the data they generate, created?

1. The data allows for a much richer understanding of the target audience reached. Even for outdoor, the overlay of census and traffic data with, for instance, built-in beacons means that we can target much more precisely. And because the boards are digital as well, we could technically adjust the message to the most prevalent target group by daypart. The same is true for radio or TV: the combination of regular audience data mixed with the data garnered from listeners/viewers via digital platforms or set-top boxes mean you can get access to very rich user profile data. Note that I am specifically not talking about niche targeting. Mass reach is the objective, and is typical for these types of media.

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2. The digital integration also allows for creating opportunities beyond media delivery. A beacon in an outdoor board can drive actual traffic to a store. TV or radio ads that use digital platforms can deliver direct opportunities for click-and-buy. And digital platforms that offer consumer convenience and high usage can not only deliver all the sorts of direct-to-sales related opportunities one would expect, but also actually deliver reach and frequency.

But here is the difficulty. Our industry has grown up with a siloed approach to media planning and buying. I have written before that the old labels for various media, including media functions, are doing more harm than good. And that is very true for all four companies I had discussions with last week.

Each of these media companies clearly has an offering that today goes well beyond the traditional media offering. Radio is no longer a cheap, additional reach and frequency medium, and targeted TV is not just a GRP/TRP offering. Outdoor is no longer just a mass medium capable of reaching large groups of consumers with an awareness message.

However, these media companies are typically pushed into meetings with their siloed counterparts. Radio got a meeting with the guy responsible for radio advertising, outdoor with the woman responsible for out-of-home and digital with the digital team.

What they actually require is a conversation with marketers responsible for sales, retail strategies, geo-targeting and other non-media options, the responsibility of which typically exceeds that of the media agency or the media manager at the advertiser. The people that they SHOULD have the meetings with mostly arent even aware of the opportunities that media today delivers beyond media delivery. And that is a real hurdle to growth for many of the new opportunities these media now offer.
by Tobi Elkin @tobielkin, December 12, 2016

Martech firm Amobee on Monday announced the appointment of Todd Chu as senior vice president, global operator innovation in a newly created role. Chu will be tasked with leading Amobees new product offerings that use telecommunications operator assets.

In his role, Chu will lead the solutions architecture team. Chu will also work with the companys global business development team to advance its proprietary Amobee Brand Intelligence solutions.

Chu was most recently SVP of global innovation at Signal, an identity management provider. With more than 15 years of experience in the digital marketing industry, Chu also held positions at aQuantive and DoubleClick.
by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, December 12, 2016

Google appears to be doubling down its high-profile battle with French regulators, who are demanding that the company censor its search results throughout the world.

"Its plain common sense that one country should not have the right to impose its rules on the citizens of another, especially not when it comes to lawful content," global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer says in a new blog post.

His post comes as Google currently is asking a French court to rule that the so-called "right to be forgotten" doesn't require the company to purge links from its worldwide search results.

The right to be forgotten, endorsed in 2014 by Europe's highest court, requires Google to remove links to embarrassing information about people at their request, after weighing people's right to privacy against the public interest in the information.

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Google says the ruling only requires the company to prevent links from appearing in the results pages of search engines aimed at specific countries, like Google.fr, aimed at French residents. But the French CNIL says Google must delete the links from all of its search engines, including Google.com in the U.S.

Google recently appealed that ruling to a French court, and a host of advocacy groups, including the Center for Democracy & Technology, are siding with Google on the question.

In his latest blog post, Fleischer outlines the reasons why Google believes the CNIL's interpretation of the law is problematic. Among the most compelling is that the CNIL's decision could set a precedent that other countries would attempt to follow.

"Ultimately, we might have to implement French standards on Google search sites from Australia (google.com.au) to Zambia (google.co.zm) and everywhere in between," he writes. "And any such precedent would open the door to countries around the world, including non-democratic countries, to demand the same global power."
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, December 12, 2016

A judge in San Francisco has dismissed "pimping" charges against three Backpage executives.

The move is a blow to Attorney General Kamala Harris (elected last month to the U.S. Senate), who sought to hold Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer and stockholders Michael Lacey and James Larkin criminally responsible for the company's "escort ads," which often are thinly veiled prostitution ads.

Ferrer and the other executives sought dismissal of the case, arguing they were protected by the Communications Decency Act. That law says Web site operators aren't responsible for users' activity.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman agreed with the executives. "Congress has precluded liability for online publishers for the action of publishing third party speech," he wrote in a decision issued late Friday. "Congress has spoken on this matter and it is for Congress, not this Court, to revisit."

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Bowman indicated last month that he was inclined to throw out the charges, but didn't finalize the ruling until late last week.

Harris argued in a 76-page supplemental brief that the executives shouldn't be immunized from prosection by the Communications Decency Act because they allegedly "designed Backpage to function in furtherance of prostitution."

"Defendants did not provide services for legal or legitimate purposes," she argued.

She also said the executives "created and developed" illegal content by allegedly creating two other sites -- Evil Empire and Big City -- and populating them with ads drawn from Backpage.

Bowman rejected that argument as well. "Reposting content created by a third party is immune from liability for the offensive content under the CDA," he wrote.

The dismissal comes around two months after Harris drew worldwide headlines by announcing the executives' arrest. Ferrer was jailed for one week in October before he was granted bail, while Lacey and Larkin were jailed for four days before they were released on bail.

Backpage faces other potential challenges. Among others, a group of teen sex-trafficking victims want the Supreme Court to revive a lawsuit accusing Backpage of enabling sex trafficking through the design of its site.

A federal appellate court and trial judge previously ruled that the teens couldn't sue Backpage because the site is immune from liability based on users' crimes. But lawyers for the teens are seeking to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court. Also, the Senate recently held Backpage in contempt for refusing to turn over materials to a subcommittee investigating online sex trafficking.
by Philip Rosenstein , December 13, 2016

Audience data provider Eyeota announced on Tuesday that it has opened its first office in the United States -- to be initially comprised of data analysis, product development, marketing and account support staffers.

Located near New Yorks Union Square, the U.S. expansion comes on the heels of a successful funding round earlier in the year.

In the coming months, the company plans to double is employee count in New York, as well as seeking to expand into Chicago and key cities in California.

Data is expected to take center stage in 2017, with marketers focusing on ways to make ads and content more relevant and less intrusive to audiences, Kevin Tan, Eyeota CEO and co-founder, told Real-Time Daily via email. As we expand into the U.S. market, were looking at 2017 as a banner year for Eyeota and anticipate strong growth.

Tan has made the move to the U.S. from Singapore to supervise the companys growth into the North American market.

Eyeota currently has relationships with key agencies and trading partners in Europe, APAC and the Americas, including MasterCard, Dentsu Aegis Network, WPP, NEO @ Ogilvy, Havas, GroupM, Omnicom Group and iProspect.
by Richard Whitman , Columnist, December 12, 2016

You may or may not have heard of Cincinnati-based Promotion Execution Partners but the marketing promotions firm employs 250 people in 20 offices in 14 countries. The agency has handled upwards of $3.5 billion in ad spend for more than 500 worldwide brands since its

founding in 2004. One of its first clients was Procter & Gamble.



The shop has obviously done a few things right and has caught the eye of WPP which ultimately decided to acquire the shop. The acquisition

will help bolster WPP's shopper marketing efforts.



Of the acquisition, PEP President Dave Kroeger said, This acquisition will be extremely positive for our clients, employees, and supplier

partners. It combines the power of WPP; the worlds largest communications services parent company, with peps industry-leading

marketing management and procurement expertise. Our clients will realize incremental value and savings with peps increased scale in

procurement as well as the marketing solutions that WPP will bring to PEP. It positions PEP well for continued growth and innovation and I

am tremendously excited to see the possibilities unfold.



As always, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kroeger will remain in his current position as president of the agency and the

agency's headquarters will remain in Cincinnati.

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by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, December 13, 2016

Until this new episode of the PBS series Secrets of the Dead came along, the story of Vincent van Goghs severed ear didnt seem all that mysterious.

The popular version of the story is this: He was mentally ill and despondent, reportedly over a woman. Then, one evening in 1888 in Arles, France, he audaciously sliced off his right ear (either whole or in part), wrapped it in a cloth, walked to a neighborhood brothel and presented it to a prostitute he knew.

While this version of the story is true in its broad strokes, the details of this gruesome act, van Goghs motivation for doing it, how much of his ear he actually cut off, and the identity of the person he gave the ear to afterward have been shrouded in mystery, according to this show, subtitled Van Goghs Ear and premiering Wednesday night (December 14) on PBS.

The show follows an amateur sleuth, a British-born woman named Bernadette Murphy who has lived in France for 30 years. She has been researching the van Gogh ear story for seven years. She is not an art historian, but more of a van Gogh enthusiast and hobbyist.

In this one-hour show, we watch as she strolls around Arles, visits various archives in Arles and Paris, travels to the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and even ventures as far as the University of California at Berkeley.

There, she gains access to the personal papers bestowed to the university by author Irving Stone, who wrote -- among other works -- the novel Lust for Life about van Goghs life in Arles. The novel was published in 1934 and was famously made into a movie released in 1956 with Kirk Douglas as van Gogh.

Apparently, Stone conducted very thorough research for this book. Inside the file box where Stone organized his Lust for Life materials, Murphy stumbles on a document that seems to answer a key question that the show insists has eluded researchers for decades.

The document seems to show conclusively exactly how much of his ear van Gogh sliced off. The document is portrayed in the show as the Holy Grail of Murphys research. But there it was, hiding in plain sight. And its reasonable to assume that others must have known it was there, starting with Irving Stone himself, who died in 1989.

However, if Murphy was the first one in decades to discover this artifact, then more power to her. Shes a plucky lady who showed the real van Gogh scholars a thing or two about dogged research.

She goes on to uncover similar facts about the young woman van Gogh gave the ear to, and more details about the upheavals in van Goghs life in the days preceding the incident that might have led him to commit this grisly act of self-mutilation.

From the French countryside around Arles to the streets of Amsterdam and Paris, this show is a visual treat. Best of all is the attention paid to van Goghs work, dozens of paintings seen from afar and close-up, capturing the intensity of his brushstrokes.

Its all fascinating, poignant stuff -- well told, well-filmed, and well worth watching.

Secrets of the Dead: Van Goghs Ear airs Wednesday (Dec. 14) at 10 p.m. Eastern on PBS.
A number of Egyptian activists have called for a candlelit vigil Wednesday at 5pm in front of the press syndicate building in Cairo to honour and mourn the victims of the bomb attack on St. Peter and St. Paul Church on Sunday.

Twenty-four people were killed and 49 injured on Sunday when a bomb exploded inside the prayer hall of the church, which is attached to St. Mark's Coptic Cathedral in Cairo, in one of the deadliest attacks on Egyptian Christians in recent years.

The attack was met with shock and devastation among Egyptians, and has been condemned worldwide.

A Facebook page calling for the vigil attracted more than one thousand responses in the first few hours, with over 600 people saying they would attend. Among the activists calling for the event are Egyptian psychiatrist Sally Tomaan active figure in the 2011 revolutionhuman rights activist Ola Shahba, and journalists including the recently released Youssef Shaaben.

"Despite the shock and ugliness of the attack, many rushed to the blast location and to the hospitals to donate blood, and with the sun setting on that bloody Sunday, we expected a popular funeral the next day to honour the martyrs," the statement on the Facebook event read.

The creators of the event said that while they were appreciative of the ceremonies held on Monday, they felt that "by placing restrictions on who was allowed to attend the funeral services, the memorial has been made exclusive, as if those who passed away are not civilians and Egyptians who deserve an open funeral."

The state funeral and the church ceremony that preceded took place under very tight security on Monday, with attendance allowed by printed invitation only. State TV was the only media outlet allowed to cover the official state ceremony.

"Because we believe in the right of our martyrs to be honoured with an open funeral, and because of the current security conditions and restrictions, we've organised a silent vigil to mourn the martyrs, with no political signs, in front of the press syndicate on Wednesday," the event page concluded.

On Sunday, Egypt's presidency announced a three day mourning period to honour the victims and their families.

"We will not give up the pursuit of justice, even once those [who carried out the attack] are arrested. Frankly, the government and the parliament have to take further action," El-Sisi said, calling on the executive and legislative authorities to enact laws to counter terrorism.

This explosion is the third in a week, with the previous two targeting security personnel. On Friday, an explosion killed six policemen and injured three others in Giza's Haram district, while another bomb exploded on Kafr El-Sheikh international road, killing one civilian and injuring three policemen.

There have been several attacks on churches following the 2013 dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adawyia sit-in, which protested the toppling of Morsi, but this is the biggest against Copts in Egypt since 2011 when 23 people were killed in an explosion at the Two Saints Church in Alexandria.





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by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, December 13, 2016

With sales of many packaged goods soft or declining, a growing number of big brands are partnering with home meal-kit services or grocery retailers online divisions to turn an emerging competitor into an opportunity.

The latest is PepsiCos Quaker, which this month began offering three Quaker-branded Overnight Oats meals on the Chefd online meal-kit marketplace. The meals, featuring Quakers Old Fashioned Oats, make Chefd one of the only major meal-delivery services to offer breakfast, according to the companies.

Chefd is among an estimated 150 meal-kit ventures jockeying for a piece of what Piper Jaffrey has estimated is currently only about a $2 billion market in the U.S. Further, the market is heavily dominated by just three companies, according to a report from 1010data: Blue Apron, with an estimated 71% share, followed by Hello Fresh, and Plated, with 23% and 6%, respectively.

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But Piper Jaffrey projects that the meal-kit business will grow to $36 billion by 2024.

And Chefd founder and CEO Kyle Ransford recently told Upstart Business Journal that he expects his company (which currently sends out hundreds of thousands of meals per month, versus Blue Aprons 8 million), to grow to 10 times its current size within a year.

Ransford said that Chefd is doubling its revenue and orders each quarter due to its partnership-focused business model. Chefd partners with brands that have their own recipes and uses its operations to handle the sourcing, packing and delivery of the ingredients for them. It also benefits from the partners marketing capabilities.

Those partners include media brands such as the Allrecipes site and social network, The New York Times, Mens Health, Vegetarian Times and Good Housekeeping; and programs, clubs and organizations including Weight Watchers, Atkins and the American Diabetes Association; in addition to food brands including Hersheys Kitchens (chocolate desserts), Scharffen Berger chocolates, P.F. Changs and Gen Korean BBQ House, as well as Quaker.

Chefd also has the advantage of having Fresh Direct  the online grocer that serves New York City and tri-state areas plus Philadelphia  as an investor and partner. Fresh Direct has helped Chefd expand its supply chain and source ingredients, reports Upstart.

Other Brands, Other Meal-Kit Partners



Although recent NPD Group research found that just 3% of U.S. adults had tried meal-kit services in the past year, a Technomic survey found that more than half of those interested in trying the kits also believe that theyll cut back on buying groceries at retail as a result.

ConAgra Foods told The Wall Street Journalthat with CPG sales declining in the physical stores in the traditional grocery retailer channel (ConAgras own have been down in that channel for the past three years), it wants to try to head off meal kits potential to further cannibalize sales. So this past June, the company partnered with Peapod, the online business owned by giant grocery retailer Ahold, to sell meal kits featuring recipes that incorporate Hunts and other ConAgra brands.

Campbell Soup Company has a similar partnership with Peapod for meal kits that call for using its soups and other products; and Tyson Foods recently teamed with Amazon Fresh to sell meal kits that feature its chicken and beef products, per WSJ.

Many meal-kit startups fold quickly. Realizing a profit in any business that involves high-overhead, infrastructure-intensive home delivery is notoriously difficult. But ventures that can attract big food brands eager to sell through new channels would seem best positioned to dominate the business in the years ahead.

ConAgra and Campbell seem to believe that extending their relationships with traditional grocery retailers through meal kits sold through those retailers own online businesses, like Peapod, is a natural and scalable option  and others may follow them.

Multi-banner supermarket retailers like Ahold are investing heavily in expanding and honing their online businesses, and are generating higher average basket sizes that online-only grocery retailers including Amazon and Fresh Direct, according to just-released research from retail consultancy Brick Meets Click.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, December 13, 2016

A group of consumers who purchased Lenovo notebooks in late 2014 and early 2015 is asking a federal judge to grant preliminary approval to a class-action settlement requiring adware company Superfish to pay $1 million.

"The settlement was the result of analysis and consideration of the litigation and financial risks faced by both sides," class counsel writes in a motion filed Friday with U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam in San Francisco. "The size of the monetary component of the Settlement is commensurate with Superfishs financial condition and business prospects, but still represents a substantial monetary recovery."

Lenovo, which allegedly bundled Superfish's "VisualDiscovery" ad-serving software with notebooks sold around two years ago, is still fighting the lawsuit. Superfish closed last year, but reportedly re-launched as "Just Visual."

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Lawyers for the consumers tell Gilliam that Superfish's business declined after reports emerged about security flaws in Visual Discovery. "Its insurance carrier disputed coverage, and a bankruptcy filing was being considered by the company," the motion states.

In addition to the monetary settlement, the proposed deal also requires Superfish to cooperate with the consumers in their lawsuit against Lenovo.

The litigation against both Superfish and Lenovo stems from revelations about security flaws in Superfish's software, which inserts ads in Web pages -- including secure HTTPS pages. To do so, Superfish circumvents with the cryptographic security of Windows' operating system, according to numerous reports. But breaking encryption also paves the way for hackers to intercept sensitive data, including passwords and online banking credentials.

When news about the technology first emerged, the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation characterized Lenovo's bundling decision as catastrophically irresponsible.

In January 2015, soon after the security problems became known, Lenovo said it stopped preloading the software and shut down server connections that enabled Superfish. The company also posted instructions telling people how to remove Superfish, and said it was working with McAfee and Microsoft to fix the security vulnerability created by the software.

In October, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose ruled that Lenovo may have violated anti-hacking laws by allegedly selling notebooks that came pre-loaded with Superfish.

Lenovo argued that hacking allegations should be dismissed on the grounds that it never accessed people's computers without authorization, or obtained users' personal information.

Whyte rejected that argument, noting that the hacking claims against Lenovo were based on allegations that the company "conspired to enable Superfish to access the laptops after they were sold to consumers." The judge also denied Lenovo's motion to dismiss allegations that the company violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as well as the California Computer Crime Law.
by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, December 13, 2016

Support groups have been a regular feature of treatment for all kinds of serious illnesses for decades, and in the age of social media its only natural for the phenomenon to migrate online. This year saw the launch of a new social network for patients dealing with chronic heart failure, as well as their caregivers, by pharmaceutical giant Novartis, called Together in HF.

The social network, which went live in November, is intended to help heart failure patients share stories, talk about ways to manage their condition, and draw emotional support from other patients. They can also use it so find trustworthy content from medical professionals. A separate section for caregivers allows them to share their own experiences  an important addition, as the emotional toll of long-term caregiving often goes unrecognized.

Novartis created Together in HF in partnership with a number of respected professional organizations and advocacy groups, such as the American College of Cardiology, the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses, the Association of Black Cardiologists, and WomenHeart.

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Although the Together in HF Web site has a section where medical professionals can offer advice, doctors are not allowed to join the social network as practitioners  but they can register as caregivers or patients.

Not coincidentally, Novartis began work on Together in HF two years ago following its development of Entresto, a new drug for the treatment of chronic heart failure, which helps lower blood pressure and keep blood vessels open. Its not clear whether or how Together in HF will be used to promote Entresto, but its primary purpose is educational, which will presumably help drive demand for the drug.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that around 5.7 million Americans are currently living with chronic heart failure, which accounted for one in nine deaths in the U.S. in 2009.
by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, December 13, 2016

In an interview published by the Cipher Brief on Sunday, former acting CIA director Michael Morell made a stunning statement about the overwhelming evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 election:

Its an attack on who we are as a people, said Morell.

A foreign government messing around in our elections is, I think, an existential threat to our way of life. To me, and this is to me not an overstatement, this is the political equivalent of 9/11.

Morell was with George W. Bush on September 11, 2001, lending weight to his words. He also served as acting CIA director under Barack Obama.

He went on to question why the administration, Congress and media have not spent more time shedding light on the gravity of the situation.

Anxiety about the serious issue of Russian interference in the election is growing. Many in Congress have shown support for a Congressional investigation into election-related hacking.

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Electors of the electoral college have demanded a security briefing before they finalize their vote for president of the United States next week. The Washington Post reported Friday that the CIA concluded Russia intervened in the election to help Trump.

While the Obama Administration said back in October the DNC hacks were likely perpetrated by Russia, the desire for a smooth transition to president Donald Trump is primary. Nevertheless, President Obama has ordered a full review of election-related hacking, which is expected to be completed before he leaves office, January 20, 2017.

How should the media approach what Morell termed a political 9/11?

Trump has already been pried by Chris Wallace on Fox News about the revelations in The Washington Post. The president-elects response was to reject the notion: They have no idea if its Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place.

With a dearth of interviews with other mainstream new outlets, it is difficult to imagine how we will learn more about his plans as president  particularly how he will approach our relationship with Russia.

Beyond the apparent defense of Russia, Trumps claim that they have no idea, is dangerous.

He has refused daily security briefings; further, Trump appears to have no confidence in our countrys national security agencies, a position that pits him against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said Monday he is confident in the CIA's assessments about Russia's election hacking. Adm. Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, said on Nov. 15 that he believes the Russians had a specific aim.

Most alarming, Trump is rejecting the recommendations and conclusions of security professionals the closer he gets to his inauguration.

The consequences are severe: It erodes trust in political coverage and polarizes the nation as truth and spin become muddied in a Trump presidency.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (Head Office: Osaka; President & Representative Director, CEO: Dr. Masayuki Mitsuka) has presented data that show patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) given edaravone intravenously in 10-14 day cycles for 48 weeks experienced significantly less functional loss as measured by the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R). The data were presented at the 27th International Symposium on ALS/MND in Dublin, Ireland.

In the 48-week study, a 24-week double blind placebo controlled phase was followed by a 24-week open label active treatment phase. Data previously presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, showed edaravone met the primary efficacy endpoint of mean change in the ALSFRS-R at 24 weeks. The frequency of serious adverse events was similar to placebo.

"These findings suggest that intervention with edaravone may provide a treatment option to people living with ALS when therapy is promptly initiated," said Joseph M. Palumbo, MD, Vice President, Medical Sciences and Translational Research, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Development America, Inc.

About ALS

ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, attacks the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord responsible for controlling voluntary muscles, such as those needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. It is one of the most well-known neuromuscular diseases, affecting approximately two in 100,000 people worldwide. While it is inherited in 5% - 10% of cases, the cause for the majority of cases is not well understood but may involve genetic and environmental factors. There is currently no cure.

About Edaravone

Discovered by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC), edaravone is described as a free radical scavenger that is believed to relieve the effects of oxidative stress, a likely factor in the onset and progression of ALS. Oxidative stress is thought to be an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of the body to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects. In patients with ALS, there are consistent increases in oxidative stress biomarkers.

In 2015, edaravone was approved for use as a treatment for ALS in Japan and South Korea. In the same year, the FDA and the European Commission granted Orphan Drug Designation for edaravone. It is not currently approved by the FDA for any use in the U.S.
Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed broad methods to design precision medicines against currently incurable diseases caused by RNA.

RNA carries out thousands of essential functions in cells, but many RNAs can act in uncontrolled ways and cause disease. For decades, scientists have tried to develop drug candidates that target human RNAs, but they have been hampered by an inability to achieve sufficient selectivity (to reduce the potential of side effects) and potency (ensuring effectiveness).

In a study published today online ahead of press in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, researchers - led by TSRI Professor Matthew Disney and Research Associate Suzanne Rzuczek, with important contributions from Professor Ryohei Yasuda and Research Associate Lesley Colgan of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience - have disclosed several approaches to overcome these hurdles.

"This study reads like science fiction," Disney said. "We present for the first time multiple solutions to this long-standing problem. With the precision of a surgeon's scalpel, we have shown that small molecules can be designed to seek out and destroy only disease-causing RNAs. Further, we developed novel chemical approaches to use a disease-causing RNA to help make its own drug by using that RNA as a catalyst for drug synthesis at the needed site. It is like having your physician place a drug at the right place without exposing healthy cells."

Although these studies have broad implications for RNA diseases in general, they were demonstrated on myotonic dystrophy type 1, an incurable inherited disorder that involves progressive muscle wasting and weakness. It is caused by an RNA defect known as a "triplet repeat," a series of three nucleotides repeated more times than normal in an individual's genetic code, in this case, a cytosine-uracil-guanine (CUG) triplet.

In many genetic diseases, there are two copies of the problem gene - a mutant copy that causes a disease and a normal copy that a cell needs to survive. Selective recognition of the diseased gene product has not been possible before.

This new study demonstrates that designer small molecules can selectively recognize larger, disease-associated repeats (alleles) over shorter, normal ones.

"We developed several approaches to create allele-selective small molecules that seek out only the disease-causing gene product, including covalent binding, cleavage and imaging," said TSRI Research Associate Suzanne G. Rzuczek, first author of the study. "All approaches show precise recognition of toxic r(CUG) repeats and, more importantly, they showed that the mutant repeat is the sole target."

The work also offers an innovative way to track the movement of RNA in a diseased cell via imaging. "We have brought RNAs out of the darkness and into the light by developing a chemical flare that goes off when a drug targets the RNA in a diseased cell and then continues to track the RNA's movement," Disney added.

"We probed disease-causing RNA using a technique called fluorescence lifetime imaging - a sensitive technique to measure fluorophore binding," said Max Planck's Ryohei Yasuda. "We were very excited when we observed a huge difference in signal from their probes between disease cells and normal cells under our microscope technique."

Max Planck's Lesley Colgan added, "The combination of cutting-edge chemistry and microscopy techniques developed in Florida is a powerful approach to identify new methods to probe and manipulate (and kill) disease-causing RNA in cells."

Both Disney and Yasuda were 2015 recipients of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Pioneer Award, which supports individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose highly innovative approaches with high-impact potential.

In addition to Disney, Rzuczek, Colgan and Yasuda, other authors of the study, "Precise Small Molecule Recognition of a Toxic RNA Repeat Expansion," include Yoshio Nakai and Michael D. Cameron of TSRI and Denis Furling of Sorbonne Universites (Paris).

The study was supported by the NIH (grants DP1NS096898 and DP1NS096787), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (grant 380467) and the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation.
Researchers in Finland have found that heavy alcohol consumption during adolescence results in cortical thinning and alters brain development.The research was published in the December 2016 issue of the journal Addiction. The study group included young people who had been drinking alcohol heavily throughout adolescence.The researchers from the University of Eastern Finland (Joensuu, Finland) and Kuopio University Hospital (Kuopio, Finland) used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to assess brain development in the study participants.The MRI scans showed a statistically significant decrease in grey matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex bilaterally of the brain, and in the right insula, in those participants with a history of heavy alcohol consumption during adolescence.First author of the study, Noora Heikkinen, said, "The maturation of the brain is still ongoing in adolescence, and especially the frontal areas and the cingulate cortex develop until the twenties. Our findings strongly indicate that heavy alcohol use may disrupt this maturation process. The exact mechanism behind these structural changes is not known. However, it has been suggested that some of the volumetric changes may be reversible if alcohol consumption is reduced significantly. As risk limits of alcohol consumption have not been defined for adolescents, it would be important to screen and record adolescent substance use, and intervene if necessary."
The law will lead to the creation of three regulatory bodies to oversee all of Egypts media outlets

A law on the "Institutional Regulation of the Press and the Media in Egypt" was approved by Egypts parliament on Tuesday.

The parliaments speaker Ali Abdel-Aal told MPs that the law was completely reviewed by the State Council.

"We will discuss this law in principle first, then discuss it article by article, and then make a final vote," Abdel-Aal said.

Abdel-Aal also argued that the new law deals with press and media freedoms in regards to Egypt's 2014 constitution.

"This is why it took a long time to be reviewed by the State Council to ensure it does not infringe on freedoms or contravene the constitution," said Abdel-Aal.

Osama Heikal, the head of Parliament's Media, Culture and Antiquities Committee, also told MPs that the law was put in a debate only after it was approved by parliament's media committee and the legislative and constitutional affairs committee.

Heikal said the 89-article law, prepared by government-affiliated experts in media laws, aims to create three regulatory bodies that will oversee all media outlets in Egypt.

Heikal indicated that another law on media regulation, drafted by 101 MPs led by independent deputy and high-profile journalist Mostfa Bakri, was also proposed.

"But we will primarily focus on the first law because it is more comprehensive," said Heikal.

According to Heikal, "once the legislation on the three media bodies is ratified by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and their board members are named, the committee will begin discussing a second law on media and press conditions."

"The new three regulatory bodies will be invited to give their say on this general media law," said Heikal.

Leftist MPs Haitham Al-Hariri and Khaled Youssef attacked the new law, expressing fears that it might be ruled unconstitutional.

"The fact that it was reviewed by the State Council does not mean that it will not be ruled unconstitutional," said Al-Hariri, arguing that "the State Council has revised the general law on the media, but it did not have a say on the three media regulatory bodies law."

Speaker Abdel-Aal said articles 211, 212, and 213 stipulate that three regulatory bodies should be formed first to give a say on press and media laws.

"So it is logical that we discuss first the law on the three media regulatory bodies," said Abdel-Aal.

Alaa Abed, the head of parliament's human rights committee, said the release of new media laws in Egypt have become a pressing need.

"The new law should come to impose some control on the Egyptian media to ensure that it toes the national line," said Abed, accusing "private television channels of covering national issues in an unprofessional way, with some of them having gone to the extent of inciting violence against the state."

"While military and police soldiers sacrifice their lives defending the country against terrorism, we see that some media people are doing their best to tarnish the image of the state," said Abed.

However Abdel-Aal stressed that press and media freedoms are guaranteed by the constitution.

"I know that some media outlets do a bad job, but I insist that, in general, the Egyptian media does a good job and defend the supreme interests of the country," said Abdel-Aal.

Independent MP Mostafa Bakri also launched a scathing attack against the Higher Press Council and the Press Syndicate, accusing members of their boards of doing their best to delay the release of new media laws.

"They want to stay in their positions without any legal grounds," Bakri complained.

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WASHINGTON

Dec. 12, 2016

Vienna, Austria

Andrea Ferris

Physicians can best assist their patients by discussing the benefits and the risks of an additional biopsy, and how it may help decide the course of treatment.

can best assist their patients by discussing the benefits and the risks of an additional biopsy, and how it may help decide the course of treatment. It is critically important for patients to ask their doctors about new treatments and discuss the need for additional biopsies if necessary. Understanding the end benefit of having the test is an important piece of communication.

about new treatments and discuss the need for additional biopsies if necessary. Understanding the end benefit of having the test is an important piece of communication. Patient advocacy organizations can play an important role in educating patients and physicians about having an open dialogue to help patients become equal partners in their treatment decision-making.

Lecia V. Sequist

Need for Consistent Language Around Biomarker Testing in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer; funding provided by Pfizer.

Estimating Time Equivalents for Cancer Side Effects Among Lung Cancer Survivors and Caregivers: A Discrete-Choice Experiment - in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University ; funding provided by Celgene.

; funding provided by Celgene. Treating Cachexia-Anorexia in Lung Cancer Patients: Understanding the Patient Perspective on Novel Treatment Approaches; funding provided by Helsinn.

About 1 in 15 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime

More than 224,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year

About 60%-65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers

Lung cancer takes more lives than the next four deadliest cancers (colorectal, pancreatic, breast, and prostate) combined

Only 18% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it's caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's leading lung cancer-focused organization, presented four patient-focused research projects during the recent International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's 17Annual World Conference on Lung Cancer in. LUNGevity was represented by President and Chairmanand Director of Research and Policy Upal Basu Roy, MPH, PhD, who presented the four Foundation abstracts.The Foundation's oral presentation focused on understanding whether lung cancer patients are willing to undergo additional biopsies at different points of their treatment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that healthcare providers do not recommend additional biopsies to their patients, based on their assumption that patients are likely to refuse. LUNGevity's research shows thatof lung cancer patients are willing to undergo an additional biopsy if they understand the potential benefit, regardless of whether they reported any pain or complications from their initial biopsy at the time of diagnosis. Furthermore,of lung cancer patients are willing to have an additional biopsy if it can help their health care team better match treatment to their specific cancer.LUNGevity's findings suggest that there may be a mismatch between patients' willingness to undergo additional biopsies and physicians' assumptions, and have the following implications for stakeholders:The study reinforces the importance of a patient-centric model in medicine in which meaningful and timely information is provided to patients, enabling them to be more active participants in charting the course of their own care. This study is in keeping with a key element of LUNGevity's initiatives: representing the voice and needs of lung cancer patients. Funding for the study was provided by AstraZeneca."As lung cancer research and treatment options have advanced rapidly over the last few years, additional tumor biopsies have become increasingly important for clinical decision-making and for research into understanding the biology of the disease over time," said, MD, a lung cancer medical oncologist from Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and a member of the LUNGevity Scientific Advisory Board. "An educated patient can be an equal partner with their oncologist in deciding among therapeutic options. This study confirms that oncologists should not be timid about gathering input from patients regarding performing biopsies."In addition to presenting research on "Willingness for Multiple Biopsies to Improve Quality of Lung Cancer Care: Understanding the Patient Perspective," LUNGevity also presented three posters from research findings on the following Foundation-led studies:For more information on LUNGevity, please visit www.LUNGevity.org.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/majority-of-lung-cancer-patients-willing-to-undergo-additional-biopsies-300376497.html



SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation




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They have proposed genotyping, a process of determining differences in the genetic make-up (genotype) of an individual by examining the individual's DNA sequence and comparing it with a reference set."We usually say a person is susceptible to arsenic when we see skin lesions which usually takes a long period, may be even 10 years, to develop. Much before the development of these typical skin lesions, other health problems like neurological or respiratory problems may arise, which are generally ignored," Pritha Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor at the university's Environmental Science Department, told IANS.She says if genotyping could be done, vulnerable populations, i.e. individuals at higher risk, could be easily identified."They could be made aware of the situation, and available mitigation strategies can be adopted accordingly," she explained.Bhattacharjee and co-authors Nandana Das, Allan Giri and Sayan Chakraborty based their observations on experiments that linked a type of genetic variation with arsenic induced skin lesions in the exposed population in Bengal.Called SNP or snips (abbreviated for single nucleotide polymorphism), each such variation represents a difference in a single DNA building block, called a nucleotide.The study centered on the rs9527 SNP (having the nucleotide adenine instead of guanine). The findings were published in October in the journalDescribed by many as "an environmental and social disaster", arsenic poisoning was first identified in the early 1980s in West Bengal, where health officials linked an outbreak of skin lesions to groundwater pumped from shallow wells.Over three lakh people in nine Bengal districts are believed to be affected and the contamination continues to engulf more in its wake.The results of the study impinge on the alarming situation in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh and Bengal.The data also significantly substantiates the findings of a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) on Bangladeshi population, indicating that this SNP might be "a universal factor behind individual arsenic susceptibility".Dubbing the result of the present study as "interesting" and "significant", University of Manchester's David Polya said it provides a means of potentially identifying people who are at a greater risk of developing ill health from arsenic exposure, in much the same way that some people are more genetically pre-disposed to, say, breast cancer or ovarian cancer."Of course, the causes of diseases are often multi-faceted, so it is likely that mapping other contributing factors will be critical to being able to make more accurate and meaningful risk estimates," Polya told IANS via email.Polya, a professor of environmental geochemistry in the School of Earth, Atmospheric & Environment had worked in collaboration with IICB scientists in 2013 to prove a link between rice containing high levels of arsenic and chromosomal damage.What has puzzled researchers is that in some highly exposed communities only a certain proportion of the people seem to develop these diseases, Polya pointed out."It has been speculated that this might be because some people are unfortunately more genetically pre-disposed to develop such diseases as a result of long-term exposure to arsenic," Polya told IANS.Bhattacharjee said even in the same family exposed to arsenic, the absence or presence of skin lesions differs among brothers."This needs serious water access system thinking that covers from water testing, to technology development, to market mechanism, regulatory provision, consumer education programs to ensure user readiness and avoid waste of water, creating value for water among users, a gender-sensitive approach, regulation for both demand side and supply side, appropriate financing and revenue model, waste disposal regulations. Unless a systemic approach is adopted which gives equal/due weightage to each component in the solution of the problem, the problem will continue," cautioned Joyashree Roy, Professor, Jadavpur University, and environmental economist.Source: IANS
The pollution in Delhi has been on a rampant rise and with survival and breathing getting tougher by the day, the need of the hour is to curb anything that is toxic to the environment. Keeping this mind, the National Green Tribunal has announced a ban on using disposable plastic in the NCR region from 1st January 2017.

NGT directed to ban use of disposable plastic which is used in grocery /plastic tea cups like items in Delhi-NCR with effect from Jan 1, '17  ANI (@ANI_news) December 2, 2016

This is huge! Go Delhi! Go India! The disposable plastic ban takes effect on January 1, 2017.

#StopPlastic... https://t.co/CN550b4RKL  ecoad (@ecoadpune) December 9, 2016

The tough decision is being headed by Swatantar Kumar , the chairperson of NGT . The NGT has also urged the MCD and other authorities to contribute in this endeavour and make it a success.

NGT directed all 3 MCDs,DDA & other public authorities including NCT of Delhi to take fast steps for reduction & utilisation of dumped waste  ANI (@ANI_news) December 2, 2016

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The city needs more environment friendly measures like these and heres hoping that this ban helps in conservation of the environment. It is important that the residents of Delhi NCR contribute equally and not use disposable plastics post the announced date.
Several MP's said in Tuesday's session that a proposed new version of the criminal procedures law must help the country overcome terrorism and speed up trials

The cabinet has been given a 30-day deadline to present a new version of the Criminal Procedures Law before the parliament to speed up trial procedures in terrorism cases, the head of Egypt's House of Representatives legislative and constitutional affairs' committee was quoted as saying by state-news agency MENA on Tuesday.

"The cabinet will be committed to presenting a new version of the law before the parliament during the 30 days, and if it fails to do so, the parliament has the right to act upon article 101 of the house organisational regulations and present its own version of the law, if it is approved by 10 percent of MPs (60 seats)," Bahaa Abu Shoka said.

Abu Shoka affirmed that MPs are aiming to create a "legislative revolution" in both the criminal procedures law and penal code, which will be followed by a large conference gathering judiciary experts and veterans within days to discuss the new law.

Around 100 Egyptian MPs proposed on Monday that the Criminal Procedures Law, issued in 1950, be changed to help the country overcome terrorism.

Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal affirmed the house is determined to uproot terrorism and obliterate "dark forces" in Egypt, even if this requires amending the country's 2014 constitution.

After attending on Monday a state funeral for 23 Coptic Christians killed in the St Peter and St Paul church bombing a day earlier, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that the judiciarys hands are chained" by old laws amid an imminent threat from terrorism.

President El-Sisi's call to amend laws is not the first time he has done so. Following the assassination of Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat in June 2015, he urged the need to implement harsher counter-terrorism laws.

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Several thousand Iraqi federal police are ready to join the assault against Islamic State in east Mosul, a spokesman said on Monday, reinforcing troops who have faced weeks of fierce counter-attacks from the militants.

The extra forces are being deployed as the grueling U.S.-backed campaign to crush Islamic State in its Iraqi stronghold enters its ninth week. Elite army troops have retaken a quarter of the city, but their advance has been slow and punishing.

The federal police units, around 4,000 strong, have been moved to an area southeast of the city, near where an army tank division last week made the deepest incursion into Mosul so far, briefly seizing a hospital used as a base by the militants.

The troops were forced to pull back from the Salam hospital, less than a mile (about 1 km) from the Tigris river which runs through the center of Mosul, when they were attacked by suicide car bombs, mortar volleys and machine gun fire.

A spokesman for Iraq's federal police commander, Lieutenant-General Raed Shakir Jawdat, said the police units were near Qaraqosh, about 15 km (10 miles) from the southeast edge of Mosul, and were ready to mobilize.

However, he said they were waiting for advances elsewhere on the eastern front, where elite Counter Terrorism Services (CTS) have made steady street-by-street progress, unlike last week's dramatic push by the armored division towards the hospital.

"We are waiting for orders from the supreme commanders to start the offensive to defeat Daesh (Islamic State) and clear the eastern part (of Mosul)," he said.

The CTS forces said on Sunday they had captured another district of east Mosul, al-Nour neighborhood.

Accounts from Mosul are difficult to confirm since authorities have increasingly restricted international media access to the battlefronts and areas retaken from Islamic State in and around the city.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi tried to play down concerns over the slow pace of progress, saying the recapture of cities such as Ramadi and Baiji from Islamic State had taken four times longer than the Mosul campaign so far.

Visiting commanders near Mosul on Monday, a day after a trip by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Abadi also said the United States and other allies must continue to support Iraq's battle against what he said was a global threat posed by the militants.

Defeating Islamic State "requires cooperation with all countries... and this is why we appeal to the new U.S. presidency to take this into consideration," Abadi said.

The prime minister, who spoke to Donald Trump last month, said the president-elect promised "not just to continue American support but to increase it".

Carter told reporters on Sunday the battle for Mosul "hasn't been an easy fight (and) won't be an easy fight", but said it was going to plan.

He was speaking to reporters after meeting U.S. Lieutenant-General Steve Townsend, commander of the U.S.-led coalition supporting Iraqi forces in Mosul, who said that more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters had been killed or badly wounded.

The police and CTS troops are part of a 100,000-strong Iraqi alliance which launched the campaign to retake Mosul on Oct. 17. It includes soldiers, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga fighters and mainly Shi'ite Popular Mobilisation forces.

Syrian army takes over Aleppo areas quit by rebels: military source

Iraqi commanders say progress has been slowed by the fierce defence waged by the jihadists, who they say have used a network of tunnels under the eastern half of the city and exploited more than 1 million civilians as human shields.

The fight in crowded residential areas has also restricted the use of heavy weapons and air strikes from the coalition.

For weeks, commanders have talked about opening a new front in southwest Mosul to stretch Islamic State defences. But the despatch of the units to the southeast may delay that plan.

The forces in Qaraqosh had been due to join other police units who have reached within 3 or 4 km (2 or 3 miles) of the airport on Mosul's southwestern edge, and were expected to open the new front inside the city on the west bank of the Tigris.

Nearly two months into the campaign, the United Nations says 91,000 people have been registered as displaced from Mosul and nearby towns and villages. That figure excludes thousands more forced as human shields back into Mosul by retreating militants.

Most people though have stayed put, and 1 million are likely to be still living in remaining Islamic State-held areas of the city. With the militants largely sealed off, civilians are enduring increasingly siege-like conditions, with shortages of fuel, food and water as winter sets in.

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Turkish warplanes pounded 28 Islamic State group targets in northern Syria while another 157 targets were hit by artillery and other weaponry in the latest attacks, the army said on Tuesday.

The jets hit shelters, vehicles mounted with guns, ammunition depots and other targets in the strikes on Monday in the al-Bab and Bzagah regions of northern Syria, the military said in a statement.

The strikes in northern Syria are part of Ankara's almost four-month-old "Euphrates Shield" operation with Turkish-backed rebels, which aims to push the militants and Kurdish militia fighters away from the Syrian border region.

The Turkish air force has stepped up its air strikes in Syria in recent days as the rebels it supports close in on al-Bab, an Islamic State-held city which Kurdish-dominated militias have also been trying to take from the militants.

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Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias made the following statement to the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) following the proceedings of Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels, 12 December):

N. KOTZIAS: At today's meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council we discussed issues concerning mainly Africa -- in particular we considered the Democratic Republic of Congo -- Syria and migration, while we also signed the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba.

The discussion of migration we had in the afternoon was of great interest. I think that everyone sees the need for a long-term policy on the Syrian problem; a policy that doesn't deal with just the negative repercussions -- migration, that is -- but is also aimed, above all, at the very source of the problems, which is the war. We also talked about ways and means to promote humanitarian cooperation. Regarding the signing of the agreement with Cuba, this took place within the framework of the de-escalation of this country's relations with the West.

JOURNALIST: Mr. Minister, you also had a one-on-one conversation with your counterpart, the Cuban Minister, Mr. Parrilla.

N. KOTZIAS: Yes, we talked about bilateral cooperation. We talked about the political situation in Cuba and the relations with the country's diaspora. He invited me to visit, and will do so in the context of a scheduled visit to Cuba and Mexico.
Turkey on Tuesday said it was "horrified and outraged" by what it said was the massacre of civilians by the Syrian regime and its supporters in eastern Aleppo and that their actions were in serious breach of international humanitarian law.

Rebel defences in Aleppo collapsed on Monday, leading to a broad advance by the Syrian army across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket in the city and a retreat of opposition fighters to a few districts.

Calling for an immediate halt of attacks and safe evacuation of civilians in eastern Aleppo, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement the Syrian regime was giving no chance to civilians wishing to leave Aleppo and that its actions amounted to mass executions.

Turkey added that it was deeply concerned that the tens of thousands of civilians stuck in two neighborhoods in Aleppo, where opposition fighters are also present, could face a similar fate.

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France on Tuesday requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to urgently address the crisis in Aleppo, the French ambassador said.

The meeting expected to be held later in the day would discuss measures to confront "the worst humanitarian tragedy of the 21st century unfolding before our eyes," Francois Delattre told reporters.

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Civilians and rebel fighters were to start evacuating from Syria's Aleppo "within hours" under a deal reached Tuesday that would end years of opposition resistance in the city.

Rebel officials, Russia and Turkey confirmed the agreement which, if implemented, would mark a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad over opposition forces who rose up against him in 2011.

Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said the Syrian military had stopped its operations in Aleppo under the agreement, adding: "The fighting around eastern Aleppo is over."

The agreement came amid mounting global outrage over reports of atrocities, including dozens of summary executions, as forces loyal to Assad closed in on the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo.

Officials from several rebel groups told AFP it had been agreed to allow civilians and fighters to leave Aleppo for opposition-held territory to the west of the city.

"An agreement has been reached," said Yasser al-Youssef from the political office of the key Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group, adding that the deal had been "sponsored" by Russia and Turkey.

"The first stage will be the evacuation of civilians and wounded, within hours, and afterwards fighters will leave with their light weapons."

As the UN Security Council met in emergency session to discuss Aleppo, Churkin said: "There is indeed an arrangement achieved on the ground that the fighters are going to leave the city."

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said that under the agreement civilians would first evacuate, followed by a withdrawal of rebel groups.

"While we are pleased with today's step taken to secure a ceasefire, at the same time we must always be aware of the fragile situation in front of us and it is wise to be cautious," he told reporters.

US Ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council Washington wanted international observers in Aleppo to oversee the evacuation.

She raised concern for "people who wish to leave but who, justifiably, fear that if they try they will be shot in the street or carted off to one of Assad's gulags."

An AFP correspondent in west Aleppo said there had been no sounds of fighting or bombardment since around 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said a ceasefire was in place and confirmed there had been no fighting or air strikes in recent hours.

The United Nations and aid agencies had been pleading for an agreement to allow for the evacuation of thousands of civilians trapped in rebel territory.

After weeks of heavy fighting, forces loyal to Assad were in the last hours of a push to take full control of the city, dealing the biggest blow to Syria's rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

The United Nations said it had received credible reports of at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, being executed by pro-government forces in Aleppo in recent days.

Speaking in Geneva, UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said pro-government fighters had in some cases entered homes and killed those inside, and in others "caught and killed on the spot" fleeing civilians.

The UN was "filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner of opposition-held eastern Aleppo," he said.

Witnesses in Aleppo described scenes of carnage in rebel areas, with bodies lying amid the rubble of city streets, as desperate residents sat on pavements with nowhere to shelter.

Syria's army has taken more than 90 percent of the territory once held by rebels in east Aleppo, after launching an all-out offensive last month to seize control of the entire city.

Aleppo, a cultural and economic hub in northern Syria second only to Damascus in importance, had been split between a rebel-controlled east and government-held west since 2012.

Recapturing all of Aleppo would leave Assad's regime in control of all five of Syria's main cities.

As of early Tuesday, rebels were reported to be confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods, including Mashhad and part of Sukkari.

It was unclear how many civilians remained in rebel territory, after an estimated 130,000 fled to other parts of Aleppo during the government advance.

Jan Egeland, head of the UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, told AFP that thousands of civilians were in need of evacuation and safe passage, including hundreds of wounded.

"We need a pause in the fighting but we also need to get the people inside to help organise an evacuation," he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said there was only a "last chance to save lives" in Aleppo.

"As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run," it said.

The government assault has been backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes, with at least 463 civilians, including 62 children, killed in east Aleppo since mid-November, according to the Observatory.

Another 130 people including 40 children have been killed in western districts by rebel rocket fire, the monitoring group says.

More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees.

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BAD AXE  A Port Hope man, county planners and wind energy officials are working on a solution to a noise complaint regarding wind turbines.

Robert Gaffke, who owns property near the Big Turtle II project, addressed the Huron County Planning Commission last week regarding a noise complaint he has filed against Heritage Sustainable Energy of Traverse City.

He said noise from a turbine more than 3,000 feet from his property is causing problems.

It sounds like a guys in there with an eight-pound sledge pounding on it, every revolution, Gaffke said.

To address the complaint, officials need to decide the protocol by which the sound will be measured, Huron County Building and Zoning Director Jeff Smith told the Tribune.

Gaffke said Big Turtle officials have told him that something likely was lodged in the blades.

He said he has had multiple conversations with Rick Wilson, vice president of operations at Heritage.

Each time, hes approached me about signing a lease offer as a solution to noise, I guess, Gaffke said. I think thats kind of odd.

He didnt seem to have any solutions to the problem of the noise, and basically his defense is theyre in compliance with the county ordinances, and theyve done nothing wrong.

Big Turtle II is governed under the countys 2010 wind ordinance, Smith said.

Changes were made to the ordinance in 2015.

But its up to the planning commission to set the criteria on measuring the sound in determining a violation.

The commission may decide to use the noise restrictions from the 2015 ordinance, Smith told the Tribune.

Heritage project manager Xio Cordoba told the commission that the company has engaged Epsilon Associates to establish sound protocols for the site to start a required study.

Were required to prepare a compliance report within a year of operation. Weve done that for phase one. We are going to do it for phase two as well.

We would bring it to the planning commission for your input and just to make sure it fits with what youre expecting, Cordoba said.

Computerized sound modeling has shown that the noise is not loud enough to be in violation, both planning and Heritage officials said.

We feel very comfortable that we are in complete compliance at this location, Cordoba said. The closest turbine is over 3,000 feet away.

So even if there is a margin of error in the modeling, this would be well within that. That being said, that gives us a lot of comfort, perhaps it doesnt to you (Gaffke).

Gaffke called the attempts to convince him to sign a lease a bribe, and read the definition of bribe to the commission, which included that which seduces or lures.

Money does that to people, Gaffke said. Money seduces and allures and will corrupt your view and change your judgment. That is what Heritage Energy has been using with me since my complaint has been filed with Jeff Smith at the courthouse.

Cordoba said the sooner the study, the better.

Mr. Gaffke has indicated very clearly that he wants (us) to shut down  or take down the turbines, and those are not reasonable options at this point, Cordoba said. But a compliance study that can demonstrate noise levels, we think is feasible.

Chairman Clark Brock noted that as part of the commissions complaint-resolution process, its up to Heritage to prove that they are in compliance.

I believe that when a complaint is filed, the company is obligated to prove that theyre in compliance. Sound modeling doesnt prove theyre in compliance. The company stating that theyre in compliance does not prove theyre in compliance. They would need to have proof that theyre in compliance. If they have prove that theyre in compliance, then it becomes an issue outside of zoning.

Gaffke said that he would seek litigation against Heritage, If thats the route we have to take.

Why do I have to battle billion-dollar wind energy companies? Ive got work to do. Ive go things to do and this is a horrible position to put a citizen in. I really dont appreciate it.

I didnt give them permission to broadcast all these noises and effects onto my property. I didnt ask for this. Im a nonparticipating landowner. But yet Im participating in the effects of these wind turbines. And its unacceptable.

Gaffke added that he is considering hiring a sound expert to assess the situation.

Brock said the commission would be willing to consider that information if the person were board certified.
The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Tyson Foods: APF Legacy Subs LLC, Advance Food Company LLC, AdvancePierre Foods, AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc., AdvancePierre Foods Inc., Aidells Sausage Company Inc., Allied Specialty Foods Inc., American Proteins Inc, Artisan Bread Co. LLC, Australian Food Corporation Pty Limited, Australian Food Corporation Trust, BRF, Barber Foods LLC, Bosco's Pizza Co., Bryan Foods Inc., C.S. Grain LLC, C.V. Holdings Inc., CBFA Management Corp., Central Industries Inc., Chefs Pantry LLC, Clovervale Farms LLC, Cobb (Hubei) Breeding Co. Ltd., Cobb (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Cobb Ana Damizlik Tavukculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Cobb Columbia S.A.S., Cobb Europe B.V., Cobb Europe Limited, Cobb Peru (Andina) S.A.C., Cobb-Heritage LLC, Cobb-Vantress Brasil Ltda, Cobb-Vantress Inc., Cobb-Vantress New Zealand Limited, Cobb-Vantress Philippines Inc., Coominya AFC Pty Limited, Coominya AFC Trust, DFG Foods Inc., DFG Foods L.L.C., Don Julio, Egbert LLC, Equity Group - Georgia Division LLC, Equity Group - Kentucky Division LLC, Equity Group Eufaula Division LLC, Equity Meat Corp., Flavor Corp., Flavor Holdings Inc., Foodbrands America Inc., Foodbrands Supply Chain Services Inc., Gallo Salame Inc., Global Employment Services Inc., Grow-Out Credit LLC, Grow-Out Holdings LLC, Haimen Tyson Poultry Development Co. Ltd, Hudson Foods Company, Hudson Midwest Foods Inc., Hybro Genetics Brasil Ltda, IBP Caribbean Inc., IBP Foodservice L.L.C., IBP Inc., International Affiliates & Investment LLC, Jiangsu Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Keydutch Finance B.V., Keydutch Holdings I LLC, Keydutch Holdings II LLC, Keydutch Investments B.V., Keystone CLJV Holdings Limited, Keystone County House Road LLC, Keystone Foods, Keystone Foods (AP) Limited, Keystone Foods Holdco LLC, Keystone Foods Intermediate LLC, Keystone Foods LLC, Keystone Foods Pty Limited, Keystone Management Inc., Keystone Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, LD Foods LLC, M & M Express LLC, M&M Restaurant Supply (MI/OH) LLC, MFG (USA) Holdings Inc., Mac Food Services (Malaysia) SDN. BHD., Madison Foods Inc., McKey Food Services (Hong Kong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Shandong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Thailand) Limited, McKey Food Services Limited, McKey Luxembourg Holdings APMEA S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg S.a.r.l., McKey VI Holdings Limited, Myung Seung Food Company Ltd., National Comp Care Inc., New Canada Holdings Inc., Oaklawn Capital Corporation, Oaklawn IT Solution Private Limited, Original Philly Holdings Inc., PBX inc., Pierre Holdco Inc., River Valley Ingredients LLC, Rizhao Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Rizhao Tyson Poultry Co. Ltd, Rural Energy Systems Inc., Sara Lee - Kiwi Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Diversified LLC, Sara Lee Foods LLC, Sara Lee Household & Body Care Malawi Ltd., Sara Lee International LLC, Sara Lee International TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Mexicana Holdings Investment L.L.C., Sara Lee TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Trademark Holdings Australasia LLC, Saramar L.L.C., Shandong Tyson-Da Long Food Company Limited, Smart Chicken, Southern Family Foods L.L.C., Southwest Products LLC, TF 20 B.V., TF 5201 B.V., TFA Leasing LLC, TFA Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, TFI of California Inc., Tecumseh Poultry LLC, Texas Transfer Inc., The Bruss Company, The Hillshire Brands Company, The IBP Foods Co., The Pork Group Inc., TyNet Corporation, Tyson (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Tyson Americas Holding Sarl, Tyson Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Tyson Breeders Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Tyson China Holding 2 Limited, Tyson China Holding 3 Limited, Tyson China Holding Limited, Tyson Deli Inc., Tyson Europe Holding Company, Tyson Farms Inc., Tyson Farms QOZB LLC, Tyson Foods Brasil Investimentos Ltda., Tyson Foods Canada Inc., Tyson Foods Europe (Netherlands) B.V., Tyson Foods Europe GmbH, Tyson Foods France S.A.R.L., Tyson Foods Germany GmbH, Tyson Foods Group Limited, Tyson Foods Holland B.V., Tyson Foods Huadong Development Co. Ltd, Tyson Foods Iberia Alimentos S.L.U., Tyson Foods Italia S.p.A., Tyson Foods Korea, Tyson Foods Netherlands B.V., Tyson Foods Products Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Europe Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Sales (Europe) Limited, Tyson Foods UK Limited, Tyson Foods Wrexham Limited, Tyson Foods oosterwolde B.V., Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats Sales and Distribution LLC, Tyson Global Holding Sarl, Tyson Hog Markets Inc., Tyson India Holdings Ltd., Tyson International APAC Ltd., Tyson International Company Ltd., Tyson International Holding Company, Tyson International Holding Sarl, Tyson International Service Center Inc., Tyson International Service Center Inc. Asia, Tyson International Service Center Inc. Europe, Tyson Mexican Original Inc., Tyson Mexico Trading Company S. de R.L. de CV., Tyson New Ventures LLC, Tyson Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, Tyson Pet Products Inc., Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods Inc., Tyson Processing Services Inc., Tyson Refrigerated Processed Meats Inc., Tyson Sales and Distribution Inc., Tyson Service Center Corp., Tyson Shared Services Inc., Tyson Storm Lake Holdings LLC, Tyson Warehousing Services LLC, Tyson of Wisconsin LLC, Uninex SA, Universal Meats (UK) Limited, WBA Analytical Laboratories Inc., Wilton Foods Inc., Xamol Consultores e Servicos, and Zemco Industries Inc..

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The following companies are subsidiares of Clean Harbors: Ace/Allwaste Environmental Services of Indiana LLC, Altair Disposal Services LLC, Aquilex Finance LLC, Aquilex Intermediate Corporate Holdings LLC, Aquilex Intermediate Holdings LLC, Aquilex LLC, Baton Rouge Disposal LLC, Bridgeport Disposal LLC, CARBER Holdings Inc., CB Canada Acquisition Inc., CB Canada Holdings Inc., CB US Holdings Inc., CH International Holdings LLC, Car-Ber Investments Inc., Clean Harbors Andover LLC, Clean Harbors Aragonite LLC, Clean Harbors Arizona LLC, Clean Harbors BDT LLC, Clean Harbors Baton Rouge LLC, Clean Harbors Buttonwillow LLC, Clean Harbors Canada Inc., Clean Harbors Caribe Inc., Clean Harbors Chattanooga LLC, Clean Harbors Clive LLC, Clean Harbors Coffeyville LLC, Clean Harbors Colfax LLC, Clean Harbors Deer Park LLC, Clean Harbors Deer Trail LLC, Clean Harbors Development LLC, Clean Harbors Disposal Services Inc., Clean Harbors El Dorado LLC, Clean Harbors Energy Services ULC, Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Services Corp., Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Services LP, Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Western Ltd., Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc., Clean Harbors Exploration Services Inc., Clean Harbors Exploration Services LP, Clean Harbors Exploration Services ULC, Clean Harbors Florida LLC, Clean Harbors Grassy Mountain LLC, Clean Harbors India LLP, Clean Harbors Industrial Services Canada Inc., Clean Harbors Industrial Services Inc., Clean Harbors Innu Environmental Services Inc., Clean Harbors Kansas LLC, Clean Harbors Kingston Facility Corporation, Clean Harbors LaPorte LLC, Clean Harbors Laurel LLC, Clean Harbors Lodging Services LP, Clean Harbors Lodging Services ULC, Clean Harbors Lone Mountain LLC, Clean Harbors Mercier Inc., Clean Harbors Pecatonica LLC, Clean Harbors Production Services ULC, Clean Harbors Quebec Inc., Clean Harbors Recycling Services of Chicago LLC, Clean Harbors Recycling Services of Ohio LLC, Clean Harbors Reidsville LLC, Clean Harbors San Jose LLC, Clean Harbors San Leon Inc., Clean Harbors Services Inc., Clean Harbors Surface Rentals Partnership, Clean Harbors Surface Rentals ULC, Clean Harbors Surface Rentals USA Inc., Clean Harbors Tennessee LLC, Clean Harbors Westmorland LLC, Clean Harbors White Castle LLC, Clean Harbors Wichita LLC, Clean Harbors Wilmington LLC, Clean Harbors of Baltimore Inc. (DE Corp.), Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc., Clean Harbors of Connecticut Inc. (DE), Confined Space Services L.L.C., Cousins Waste Control LLC, Crowley Disposal LLC, Cyn Oil Corporation, Debusk Industrial Services Company LLC, Disposal Properties LLC, Emerald Services Inc., EnviroSORT Inc., EnviroSORT Inc., Eveready, Evergreen Holdings, GSX Disposal LLC, Global Vapor Control Inc., Green View Technologies Inc., HPC PetroServ Inc., Hilliard Disposal LLC, HydroChem Canada ULC, HydroChem Industrial Cleaning LLC, HydroChem LLC, HydroChemPSC, IISG Central Region LLC, IISG Gulf Coast LLC, IISG Real Estate LLC, Industrial Service Oil Company Inc., Inland Industrial Services Group LLC, Inland Waters Pollution Control Services LLC, Inland Waters of Ohio LLC, Jesco Industrial Service LLC, LJ Energy Services Holdings LLC, LJ Energy Services Intermediate Holding Corp., Lonestar Sylvan Inc., Lonestar Vacuum Inc., Lonestar West, Lonestar West Enterprises LLC, Lonestar West Inc., Lonestar West Services LLC, Murphy's Waste Oil Service Inc., Northeast Casualty Insurance Company, Omnichem LLC, PMS Industrial Services LLC, PSC Industrial Holdings Corp., PSC Industrial Inc., PSC Industrial Outsourcing LP, PSC Industrial Outsourcing of Michigan LLC, PSC LDAR Services LLC, Peak Energy Services, Philip Services/North Central LLC, Plaquemine Remediation Services LLC, Power Vac Construction L.L.C., RMF Aquilex Corp., Roebuck Disposal LLC, Romic Environmental Technologies, Rosemead Oil Products Inc., SK D'Incineration Inc., Safety-Kleen, Safety-Kleen Canada Inc., Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company, Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company of Puerto Rico Inc., Safety-Kleen Inc., Safety-Kleen International Inc., Safety-Kleen Systems Inc., Safety-Kleen of California Inc., Sawyer Disposal Services LLC, Seaport Environmental LLC, Service Chemical LLC, Speed Industrial Corporate LLC, Speed Industrial Service Catalyst LLC, Speed Industrial Service LLC, Speed Industrial Service of Beaumont LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Lake Charles LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Louisiana LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Texas LLC, Spring Grove Resource Recovery Inc., The Solvents Recovery Service of New Jersey Inc., Thermo Fluids, Thermo Fluids Inc., Tri-vax Enterprises Ltd., Tulsa Disposal LLC, Universal Environmental, Veolia North Americas U.S. Industrial Cleaning Services Division, Versant Energy Services Inc., Versant Energy Services LP, and Vulsay Industries Ltd..

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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.
Two young Tunisian men have been arrested and charged with homosexuality, a court official in the central city of Sousse said Tuesday.

Achref, a 20-year-old student, told AFP he was arrested last Wednesday along with Sabri, 22, on a street in the town centre.

"'You were doing something with your boyfriend, weren't you? You bring a curse on the country,' the police told me," he said.

He said he was driven to a police station, slapped, insulted and forced to sign a police report.

Brought before a judge, he said he had been forced to undergo an anal examination, a process non-governmental organisations have slammed as "degrading".

The two were released and will stand trial from January 6, the court official said.

Last year, several young men were arrested or convicted on charges of homosexuality.

A court banned six students from the city of Kairouan for five years, a sentence overturned on appeal.

Since the 2011 revolt that toppled the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists have gone more public than before.

But their situation is precarious due to a hostile society and legislation.

Under Tunisian law, "sodomy" and "lesbianism" are punishable by up to three years in prison.

During an October 2015 television interview, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi rejected the possibility of decriminalising homosexuality.

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The Syrian military has stopped its operations in Aleppo in order to allow opposition fighters and their families to leave the city, Russia's UN envoy said Tuesday.

"The bottom line is -- if everything is okay -- that means that the fighting around eastern Aleppo is over," said Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.

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Tidewater Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore marine support and transportation services to the offshore energy industry through the operation of a fleet of marine service vessels worldwide. It provides services in support of offshore oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production, as well as windfarm development and maintenance, including towing of and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transporting supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workover, and production activities; offshore construction, and seismic and subsea support; geotechnical survey support for windfarm construction; and various specialized services, such as pipe and cable laying. The company operates and charters deepwater vessels, including platform supply and horsepower anchor handling tug supply vessels for use in transporting supplies and equipment from shore bases to deepwater and intermediate water depth offshore drilling rigs and production platforms; towing-supply vessels for use in intermediate and shallow waters; and crew boats, utility vessels, and offshore tugs to transport personnel and supplies from shore bases to offshore drilling rigs, platforms, and other installations. It also operates offshore tugs for use in tow floating drilling rigs and barges; and assisting in the docking of tankers, as well as in pipe and cable laying, and construction barges. The company serves oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production companies; mid-sized and smaller independent exploration and production companies; foreign government-owned or government-controlled organizations, and other related companies; drilling contractors; and other companies, such as offshore construction, windfarm development, diving, and well stimulation companies. As of December 31, 2021, it owned 135 vessels. Tidewater Inc. was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday they favour extending EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict, ahead of a Brussels summit that will discuss the issue.

Merkel said that -- given grave shortcomings in the Ukraine peace process, which has been marred by regular ceasefire violations -- "it will be necessary to extend sanctions against Russia once more".

Hollande, speaking at a joint Berlin press conference with Merkel, agreed there had been insufficient progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement.

"Since there hasn't been an effort made, no progress, and the same blockages remain, I, like the chancellor, am in favour of extending sanctions," he said.

Neither the Ukrainian government nor the pro-Russian rebels waging an insurgency in the country's east have fully implemented the agreements -- designed to bring an end to a conflict that has claimed 10,000 lives since 2014 -- and low-level fighting continues.

In Brussels, a European official said last week that Merkel and Hollande would recommend extending the sanctions to EU leaders at the summit on Thursday.

"There appears to be consensus," said this official, adding that a formal deal to prolong sanctions could be clinched in January.

"But for some member states, it's important to listen to Merkel and Hollande first," this official added.

Imposed in July 2014 after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over rebel-held eastern Ukraine, the EU sanctions target the Russian energy, defence and finance sectors.

Currently in force until January 31 next year, they are the subject of debate among EU member states, with some arguing they should be lifted as Moscow has imposed retaliatory measures hurting especially European farmers.

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Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells petroleum products in the People's Republic of China. It operates through five segments: Synthetic Fibers, Resins and Plastics, Intermediate Petrochemicals, Petroleum Products, and Trading of Petrochemical Products. The Synthetic Fibers segment produces polyesters, acrylic fibers, and carbon fibers that are primarily used in the textile and apparel industries. The Resins and Plastics segment produces polyester chips that are used to produce polyester fibers, coating, and containers; polyethylene resins and plastics, which are used to produce insulated cables and mulching films, as well as molded products, such as housewares and toys; and polypropylene resins that are used for films and sheets, as well as molded products, such as housewares, toys, consumer electronics, and automobile parts; and PVA granules. The Intermediate Petrochemicals segment produces p-xylene, benzene, and ethylene oxide, which are used as raw materials in the production of other petrochemicals, resins, plastics, and synthetic fibers. The Petroleum Products segment operates crude oil refinery facilities used to produce refined gasoline, fuel, diesel oil, heavy oil, and liquefied petroleum gas. The Trading of Petrochemical Products segment is involved in the import and export of petrochemical products. The company was founded in 1972 and is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited is a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation.
The chief of the Army Reserve said Monday he wants to stand up a package of forces capable of mobilizing and deploying into a major contingency operation much faster than traditional Reserve units.

"We are calling it Ready Force X; we are still trying to figure out what Ready Force X is going to look like, what's in it and what war plans inform that requirement," Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey, chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve Command, told a group of defense reporters in Washington, D.C.

"I have asked the G-3/5/7 of U.S. Army Reserve Command down at Fort Bragg to do an assessment of capabilities that we think we -- the United States Army Reserve -- ought to provide to the warfighter and the Army on fairly short notice."

The Reserve is made up of commands designed provide support, such as aviation, medical, military intelligence, civil affairs and theater sustainment, to active-duty and National Guard combat forces.

Over the last 15 years, the Army Reserve has built readiness and formations in a rotational manner, Luckey said.

Now, what Reserve forces "need to be able to do is anticipate a contingency demand different than a known demand," he said.

"Instead of planning for a unit deploying sometime in 2019 and have several years to prepare, we are now in a situation where we have some capabilities that we may need to deploy in less than 90 days and, in some cases, significantly less than 90 days," Luckey said.

"What are the basket of capabilities that need to be mobilized and deployed fairly quickly to be able to bring that additional capability and capacity to the Army for certain critical warfighting functions?"

This will be a challenge since the Army Reserve is made up of part-time soldiers, Luckey said.

"The challenge from the readiness perspective is the Army Reserve has to be ready enough to be relevant to support the warfighter and the Army, but not so much that nobody can afford to keep their civilian job because of the demands," Luckey said.

Another challenge will likely come from budget constraints, he said, acknowledging that there is a "high likelihood" that it is going to cost more to generate and sustain this new type of readiness.

But "I want to make sure, before I start talking about money or needing more resources, I am very clear on what effect I think I can achieve if I had more resources," he said.

"In the main, this Ready Force X construct that we are talking about -- this sort of first tranche of formations that would need to be ready on fairly short notice -- is probably in order of magnitude of somewhere between 25,000 and 33,000 people," Luckey said. "So, it's not 200,000."

Luckey said he plans to have a conversation on Dec. 16 with "the formations that we think are the right mix" to serve as Ready Force X.

Between now and late January, Luckey said he will talk with commanders of units involved to make sure they understand the mission, "so that this is not something that is a surprise."

"Candidly, part of the challenge that I am really trying to get after is what I don't want to have -- what we don't want to have -- is a battalion ... whose leadership thinks that it's on a three-to-four year timeline to deploy to Kuwait or someplace to conduct operations when, it fact, it may be needed in much shorter time frame, so I owe the leadership of that battalion a better level of awareness of what the expectation might be," Luckey said.

"A lot of this is, frankly, a journey of discovery into what is in the art of the possible in terms of generating these capabilities."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
The goal is to walk into a room filled with pilots, mission planners, ground controllers and communications specialists from multiple nations and produce a war plan in less than 24 hours.

And, despite unknown requests or impositions that might be thrown in, the mission is still a go the next day.

Now more than ever, the U.S. relies on partner nations to coordinate on high-end fights. In the Middle East, that means bringing together more fighter jets, drones and the people who get them airborne.

The latest biannual Advanced Tactical Leadership Course, coordinated by the Air Warfare Center at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, wrapped up last month. The course began in 2004.

"Our big mission here is to host big exercises for the region," to include interoperability, tactical capability, and air operations, which includes missile defense with Middle Eastern partners, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and other coalition warfighters "that we're fighting currently with" side-by-side, said Air Force Col. Steven Boatright, commander of the Air Warfare Center.

The region's seven-week version of the service's "Red Flag" exercise starts out with participants hitting the books and mission plans, then training regional partners to behave as mission commanders.

"It gives them the ability to lead many, many airplanes into combat  we're building those guys to be able to handle that type of scenario," Boatright explained, referencing the ongoing air campaigns against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Training Partners

"We train [partners] in anything from air-to-air, to air-to-surface, to tactics, and even combat search and rescue  or close-air support missions, where we're working with [Joint Terminal Attack Controllers] on the ground" replicating precision-guided weapons launches, he recently told Military.com.

The U.S., Saudi Arabia, UAE, Australia, France, Egypt and Morocco participated in the latest Advanced Tactical Leadership Course. Aircraft included U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles; Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetails, which are capable of airborne early warning and control; Saudi F-15s and tankers; F-16s from Egypt and Morocco; French Rafale jets; and Emirati Mirage fourth-generation fighters and F-16s.

After Operation Inherent Resolve began in 2014, officials recognized the need and importance of using fifth-generation aircraft in the course. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh "personally approved F-22 Raptors" to participate in the course in recent time, "despite the high demand for sorties supporting OIR," according to an Air Force release published last year.

Getting in more fifth-gen assets, "especially as coalition partners start buying the F-35 [Joint Strike Fighter]," and drones is a must, Boatright said, citing that UAE may acquire Predators from the U.S. "sometime next year."

However, UAE has yet to receive General Atomics' unarmed XP models, pending approval through a direct sale deal announced in 2013.

The idea is to "dial up the threat level to make it harder and harder as each day goes by," Boatright said.

Under the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Center, the warfare center separately hosts a three-week missile defense exercise every year similar to that of the Advanced Tactical Leadership Course -- integrating, coordinating and executing with partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council. About 50 leaders and students simulate tracking the distances within the Arabian Gulf region because "the defense of this region is crucial," Boatright said.

"If a conflict ever kicked off, how would we handle it? We spend time talking basics  Hawk, Patriot and short-range defense [missiles] and then we'll talk [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense] and some higher-tier capabilities" before demonstrating a synchronized defensive blueprint, he said.

"My vision in the long term is to do both of these, the flying piece, and a simulated missile defense piece at the same time" for a live-meets-virtual element, Boatright said.

Focused on Air Training

Unlike Red Flag, which has grown to incorporate cyber elements to withstand electronic threats, the Advanced Tactical Leadership Course focuses "more on the air training, because our goal is to build the capability of our regional partners," Boatright said, adding the partners are not "ready for cyber" just yet.

"As the exercise continues to expand, they will likely work in those capabilities but, right now, it's more focused on the complexities that arise in a congested, high-end type of fight," added Capt. Trisha Guillebeau, spokeswoman for Air Forces Central Command.

For example, right now "Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are fighting in Yemen, and the missions we talk about here [are] directly transferrable -- the issues of civilian casualties," Boatright said.

During every mission set in the course, members work hard to make sure civilian casualties are an avoidable risk, from early stages in planning to direct targeting once up in the air.

"The key takeaway is, [the partners] are doing the fighting  and they've gotten to this point, they're very capable air forces, and these exercises just make them better.

"From an American serviceman's perspective, we're busy enough as it is in Iraq and Syria, and the fact that they're handling that situation is a good thing," Boatright said.

As officials continue to develop critical scenarios, "We continue to expand the spectrum," he said. "This is training that needs to be done. You don't want to get thrown into a real-world scenario where you're trying to plan a 40- or 50-ship mission -- and never have practiced it."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
The U.S. Army Reserve commander wants his force to be able to deploy faster, but that may not mean more training days for everyone.

Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey, commanding general of Army Reserve Command, said the current threats facing the United States may require reserve units to deploy on short notice with active-duty and National Guard combat forces into a high-intensity conflict.

"We find ourselves now in what I would submit is a different threat paradigm in terms of things we need to be ready to accomplish from a warfighting perspective should we be challenged or contested," Luckey told a group of defense reporters recently in Washington, D.C.

The reserve is made up of commands designed provide support, such as aviation, medical, military intelligence, civil affairs and theater sustainment, to active-duty and National Guard combat forces.

Unlike the active component, it is made up of "somewhere between a 90 percent and 94 percent" part-time force that has to balance civilian employment with reserve training requirements, Luckey said, adding that he recognizes reservists have to be free to advance and be upwardly mobile in their everyday jobs.

"In other words, I want soldiers who are in their day jobs -- if you will -- challenged, and progressing and feeling comfortable  and very satisfied that they have enough time to devote to their civilian careers," he said.

This will likely be a challenge because Luckey recently announced he wants to stand up Ready Force X -- a package of up to 33,000 reserve forces capable of mobilizing and deploying into a major contingency operation much faster than traditional reserve units.

So instead of having several years to plan and prepare for a rotation, many reserve units may have to be ready to go in less than 90 days, he said.

"One of the things I have asked the team to do is help me assess  where is that ... breakpoint where the amount of training necessary to achieve a certain level of readiness is probably unsustainable for soldiers that are trying to maintain civilian employment," Luckey said.

Like the National Guard, reservists are required to train 39 days per year.

"So how many additional training days are required?" Luckey asked. That number, he maintains, will depend on the type of unit and the complexity of its mission.

"An engineer battalion probably needs more time to be able to operate at that level of proficiency -- at the battalion level -- than a detachment or some smaller group, whether its a chaplains ministry team or some other small unit of action that is a coherent unit the way that the Army looks at formations, but it is easier" to ensure it's fully mission capable, Luckey said.

"We are in the process of pushing to have flexibility to add a few more training days to the training year, but I am being sort of guarded on demanding X number of additional days until I have a better sense of what is really in the art of the possible.

"So what I am telling you is I dont think it is going to be a one size fits all."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Child abuse and neglect in Army families likely goes widely unreported and untracked by military officials, according to a new study.

Only 20 percent of Army dependent child abuse and neglect cases diagnosed by doctors between 2004 and 2007 were found to have a "substantiated report" in the Army's Family Advocacy Program (FAP) system, according to researchers with the PolicyLab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Our data suggests that they don't know about the majority of the cases that are being diagnosed in health care facilities," said Dr. Dave Rubin, who directs the PolicyLab. "The data raises some serious concerns about under-reporting to the family advocacy program -- and that's the principal finding here."

The report was sponsored in part by the Defense Department and published in the research journal Child Abuse & Neglect.

While it is possible that the Army did know about the cases, investigated them and then dismissed them after finding them to be "unsubstantiated," it is statistically unlikely, Rubin said. Instead, he said, it's more likely that the cases were reported to civilian agencies -- but never passed on to the Army -- or were unreported entirely.

The disconnect highlights a major communications breakdown between Family Advocacy Program officials, tasked with making sure Army children are safe from potential abuse, and state and local agencies in towns where bases are located. The Army, Rubin said, can act only on information provided to it.

"There's a concern that kids are slipping through the cracks -- that these are not being reported at all," he said. "In 2016, we might have some kids in the U.S. Army that are at risk that neither our civilian or military agencies know about.

Without Army tracking, Rubin said, there's no way for military officials to make sure kids who move frequently are getting the protections they need.

"These kids are much more vulnerable, and they are much more of a moving target," he said.

Army officials said they used the findings to help train medical providers to report child abuse to both Army and local officials.

"The Army recently contracted with [PolicyLab] to study more recent data to understand how cases may not reach [the Family Advocacy Program] when they are reported directly to Child Protective Services and/or local law enforcement officials," Army Lt. Col. Jennifer Johnson said in a statement. "The Army's goal, as always, is to ensure we are providing soldiers and their families the assistance they need to address family issues, and to make certain that our providers adhere to the mandatory reporting of cases of child maltreatment or abuse."

A 2015 PolicyLab report showed that children under the age of two are at double the risk for neglect and abuse during a second deployment as they are during the first one.

Two measures in an annual defense bill awaiting the president's signature make it mandatory for members of a service member's chain of command to report child abuse incidents to the Family Advocacy Program while also requiring the DoD to submit an annual report to Congress on the number of abuse cases in the previous year and the effectiveness of the FAP program DoD-wide. The first report is due April 30, 2017.

-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com.
The Marine Corps crew of an MV-22 Osprey is being treated for injuries after the aircraft went down off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, Marine officials in the Pacific said Tuesday.

The five crew members were rescued after the aircraft landed "in shallow water" off the coastline of Camp Schwab around 10 p.m. local time, according to a statement from III Marine Expeditionary Force.

The Marines, from Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, were airlifted in an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter flown by members of the 33rd Rescue Squadron at Kadena Air Base to a naval hospital at Camp Foster, where they received medical treatment.

The Corps is investigating the mishap.

Officials with III MEF initially posted a pair of tweets about the crash. The first confirmed that an Osprey mishap had occurred; the second reported that all crew members of the downed aircraft had been transported to the naval hospital.

This is the second time in a week that a Marine Corps aircraft has crashed near Japan.

On Dec. 7, a Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet jet went down about 120 miles off Iwakuni. The pilot, Capt. James Frederick, ejected from the aircraft but did not survive the crash.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
State-owned Qatar Petroleum said on Tuesday that Qatar's oil production would fall from Jan. 1 in line with last month's agreement for OPEC members to cut output.

"We have started advising our customers of the expected reductions in oil deliveries to ensure the State's compliance with OPEC's allocations," Qatar Petroleum's chief executive Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said in a statement.

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Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman was given a nod after being nominated in the category of Best Foreign Language Films for the 2017 Golden Globe awards for movies and television.

Announced on Monday, other nominees in the same category include Divines (France), Elle (France), Neruda (Chile) and Toni Erdman (Germany.)

The Salesman centres around a couple who find their middle class intellectual life ripped apart after the wife is assaulted in her home in Tehran. They try to go on, notably playing in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman at a local theatre.

Last May, Farhadi won the Best Screenplay award for 'The Salesman' at the Cannes Film Festival while Iranian star Shahab Hosseini won the Best Actor award for his role in the same film.

Farhadi is one of the foremost Iranian directors of his generation. His film A Separation won Best Foreign Film at the 2012 Oscars. The film also won a Golden Globe and the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in the same year.

"Farhadi, like his contemporaries Panahi and Kioarstami, does not feed off Western stereotypes of Iranians. He treads lightly on Irans social issues; they are never the main issues in the film, they are merely a backdrop and sometimes a catalyst to his domestic dramas," writes Menna Taher in her profile of Farhadi published in Ahram Online in 2012.

"His four films  A Separation, About Elly, Fireworks Wednesdays and Beautiful City  pose questions relating to morality in their abstract sense. Even after watching the films and discussing them, the viewer is still filled with questions and doubts," Taher writes.

In an interview for Reuters, Farhadi commented on his newest film The Salesman by saying it is yet another look into the depths of human relations.

"The oldest, the most ancient relationship in human history is the couple's relationship, the love relationship between a man and a woman," Farhadi said before the film's premiere in Cannes.

According to Reuters, the upcoming Golden Globes, organised by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will be handed out at a gala dinner hosted by Jimmy Fallon in Beverly Hills on 8 January 2017.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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The Rangers announced today that righty Brady Dragmire has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to outfielder Carlos Gomez, whose one-year deal was also announced.

Dragmire, 23, continues his recent roller-coaster. After the Pirates picked him up from the Blue Jays in October, he had landed in Texas via waiver claim. Now, he could again be exposed to the waiver wire.

Pitching at Double-A last year, Dragmire compiled 72 innings with a 4.38 ERA and 5.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. While those figures dont jump off the page, the young righty has a history of well-above-average groundball induction rates, which helps explain his appeal.
ANN ARBOR, MI- An Ann Arbor bar formerly known as The Arena has reopened with a new moniker: The Curtain Call.

A Facebook post for the business, located at 203 E. Washington, said it is "now open for business. We'd love to see you soon." Another post details what patrons can expect from the opening week of The Curtain Call, such as a lighter menu.

Mark Adams and Jeff LeDuc, operating partners of Tavern Project Michigan, have been cleaning and preparing the place to open by the end of 2016. They told the Ann Arbor News they grew up in and around Ann Arbor and said they are excited to put their own spin on the new venture.

"This opportunity fell into our laps at the right moment," Adams said. "We asked the right questions at the right time."

The Curtain Call formerly operated as The Arena, which gained notoriety under former owner Brian M. "Mike" Flore when featured in an episode of SPIKE TV's "Bar Rescue" that aired in November 2015.

"Bar Rescue" host Jon Taffer could not help Flore with his financial woes related to multiple charges of failure to pay taxes, and Flore was sentenced to five years in prison in July. The Arena's doors were locked the day after.

Patrons have been asking about the fate of The Arena, Adams and LeDuc said, and stopping in to try and order a drink or check out the property featured on "Bar Rescue."

Adams and LeDuc plan to renovate the space over the span of three months next summer, but customers may notice a few small changes if they stop in through May 2017.

"Please come check out our space and let us know how we can become your new favorite hang in Ann Arbor," reads a post on the business's Facebook page.

The Curtain Call is open 11 a.m. to midnight Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to midnight Sundays.
On this week's Ag Report on Greening of the Great Lakes, Mark Seamon, research director of the Michigan Soybean Association and Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee~The Soybean Checkoff, gives an update on this year's soybean harvest in Michigan.

"Michigan soybean farmers had a record year when it comes to yield," he says. "Some of this success was due to good weather throughout the soybean growing area. August is a critical time for soybean development, and our weather in August was just about perfect for soybeans, increasing the seed size and adding pods to the plants."

Seamon says USDA estimates that Michigan's average soybean yield in 2016 was 52 bushels per acre. That's well ahead of the old record, which was set just last year, of 49 bushels per acre. He notes that using new technology, growers are able to produce more soybeans while reducing their environmental impact.

"Everything from soil sampling, to GPS-driven equipment and advanced fertilizers, have all helped farmers increase their yields, and new research conducted by the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee and Michigan State University helps farmers learn more about the latest practices," Seamon says.

You can hear this week's report here.



The Ag Report on Greening of the Great Lakes is brought to you by the Agricultural Leaders of Michigan. It airs weekly on News/Talk 760 WJR and features voices from Michigan's growing agriculture sector.
The 1960s icon starred in over 30 films in her career

The famous Egyptian actress Zubaida Tharwat passed away on Tuesday evening, the family of the 1960s cinema icon announced.

According to her family, Tharwats funeral will be held on Wednesday afternoon.

Born in 1940, Zubaida Tharwat started her career as an actress as a teenager after winning a beauty contest in a teen magazine.

Graduating from the Faculty of Law at Alexandria University, Tharwat starred in over 30 films in her career before quitting the showbiz altogether in the early 1980s.

Zubaida Tharwat's most famous films include Fi Baituna Ragol (A Man in our House) with Omar El-Sherif and Rushdie Abbaza and Youm Men Omri (A day of My Life) with Abdel-Halim Hafez.

Zubaida Tharwat married five times and had four daughters with her second husband, Syrian producer Sobhy Farahat.

Her resemblance with academy-winner Jennifer Lawrence helped her old photos from the 1960s to recently go viral on social media.

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FILM REVIEW

'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'

3.5 stars (out of 4)

MPAA rating: PG-13 for extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action

Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen

Director: Gareth Edwards

Run time: 133 minutes

In the first "Star Wars" film, Luke Skywalker used an X-Wing fighter and the Force to guide a couple of proton torpedoes into a tiny port in the massive Death Star. That spot was the intimidating space station's only weakness, and, spoiler alert, Luke blew it to smithereens. Why the evil Empire didn't cover that opening with an electromagnetic shield, a metal plate, a sheet of extra-heavy aluminum foil, an old newspaper - anything, really - was always a mystery.

Until now. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is a new movie piloted keenly through an old plot hole. A one-off story in Disney/Lucasfilm's newly expanded franchise, it details the Rebellion's mission to steal the Death Star blueprints, an action setting in motion Mr. Skywalker's heroic destiny. It butts right up against the original "Star Wars," now retitled "Episode IV - A New Hope," and should satisfy the franchise's many fans, because it's considerably stronger than extra-heavy aluminum foil. Metaphorically speaking.

Unlike the gee-whiz throwback tone of last year's "Star Wars" film, J.J. Abrams' highly enjoyable "Episode VII - The Force Awakens," "Rogue One" is the series' darkest and grittiest entry yet. Felicity Jones dons a downcast scowl as heroine Jyn Erso, who exists on the filthy fringe of the battle between Rebellion and Empire, a place where a Stormtrooper could get his shiny white armor good and smudged. In the film's first scenes, Jyn is a little girl, watching her father, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), get snatched by Imperial thugs led by Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), essentially orphaning her.

The ensuing years must have been difficult. Now, the adult Jyn is in a prison cell. On the adjacent bunk, a Cthulhu-faced alien snores. She's loaded into a transport vehicle headed for a labor camp. A grime-streaked Stormtrooper guard sits in a corner, hunched over like a guy wishing he'd gone into another line of work. Don't worry, laser guns will blast, doors will explode and Jyn will be busted out, but it's important to note that director Gareth Edwards, the talented filmmaker behind 2014's "Godzilla" reboot, paints detailed portraits in character and setting before he starts blowing things up: dings and dents and scorch marks on droids and starship fuselages, pitchers of opaque blue milk on countertops, the Empire elites' salt-and-pepper side-part haircuts that look lifted directly from the heads of a Republican congressional committee. Even Darth Vader's cloak and helmet seem to suck up light like never before, a black hole swirling in his cowl.

Did I say Vader? Don't tar-and-feather me - he's in the trailers. The iconic bad guy, sparingly but effectively used in a supporting role, returns from the dead thanks to the freedom of a non-linear franchise narrative, and because a new "Star Wars" movie that doesn't at least occasionally feel like an old "Star Wars" movie risks failure. If anyone understands that nostalgia is valuable currency, it's Disney. (Although the film is lacking some classic signatures - the opening fanfare and text crawl, most noticeably.) Vader isn't the only familiar character in "Rogue One"; a few more pop up, their faces sometimes enhanced with CGI, a choice that already seems regrettable. And I'll say no more.

Anyway. If you're looking for the visual antithesis to the sterile and pristine CGI of George Lucas' much-derided "Star Wars" prequels, here you go. "Rogue One" is textured and fascinating where those films are numbingly extravagant. Edwards has no qualms about enjoying all the visual diversity that $200 million can buy, and his work is all the better for it.

Rebellion leaders hope Jyn is the key to infiltrating the Empire - as it turns out, her dad designed the Death Star, and if anyone can get his ear, it's his long-lost daughter. Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and his pessimistic droid, K-2SO (voice of Alan Tudyk), accompany her; Cassian is a bit bland in his forthrightness, but K-2SO compensates for him, and gets all the funny lines, because a scene-stealing robot is a key ingredient of the best "Star Wars" films. Their mission requires a visit to Jyn's old friend Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), an eccentric ex-rebel leading his own underground resistance of sorts. A battle-worn cyborg with robot feet and hermit hair, Whitaker gives Saw a crazy, lilting, affected voice, and huffs on an oxygen mask like Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet," in space.

Jyn and co. pick up a few willing allies along the way, including burly warrior Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang), her father's former pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) and a sightless monklike quasi-Jedi, Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), who's a callback to classic blind-samurai characters of classic cinema. Chirrut's mantra: "I am the Force. The Force is with me," he chants, as he somehow dodges Stormtrooper gunfire, and takes out a gaggle of bad guys with his staff. Is the Force with him, or is Stormtrooper firearm training still as slipshod as ever? I can't answer that.

I'd call the group of weirdo heroes a rogue's gallery, but I'm above such things. Jyn and her friends wind their way through a convoluted plot stopping on numerous planets and delivering numerous skirmishes, all of them exhilarating, whether on the ground or in the air or in the vacuum of space. Edwards is adept at generating tension and assembling action sequences on both large and small scales, a "Star Wars" necessity. "Rogue One" may be the franchise's most visually dynamic and provocative film yet - one sequence, featuring Stormtroopers on tanks patrolling the urban streets of an occupied desert city, adroitly recalls images of the Iraq War.

Nothing here is more thrilling than the film's final third, a grand assault on the Empire's version of the Library of Congress, first incorporating crafty guerilla-ambush tactics and later adding the kind of gargantuan starship clash that defines the series - for what is a "Star Wars" movie without such a thing? (Complicated answer, in brief: The best one, "The Empire Strikes Back.") The big push for the coveted plans is a lengthy and complex sequence of triumph and tragedy, a true cockle-tickler for fans hoping to stoke the excitement of their inner nine-year-olds, and our experiences watching Luke fulfill his destiny ingrained in the amber of memory. That's why "Rogue One" is very good, and often great.
ANN ARBOR, MI - It's an idea that has come up again and again over the years, but hasn't had enough support to happen as of yet.

Ann Arbor officials are once again discussing the possibility of a city income tax that would tax the earnings of both residents and non-residents, including the tens of thousands of people who commute to work here at the University of Michigan and other places and don't currently pay Ann Arbor taxes.

At the City Council's annual budget retreat on Monday, Dec. 12, as city officials heard projections for looming deficits, a majority of council members said exploring a city income tax is a top priority heading into next year.

There's talk of updating a 2009 feasibility study and possibly putting the question of a city income tax before voters in November 2018.

The city's general operating millage would be eliminated if the city decided to institute an income tax, so there would be a property tax reduction offsetting the cost of the new tax for many residents. However, how exactly the numbers work out for anyone, and whether it would be a cost savings or increase, depends on the size of each person's income and property tax bill.

"In the course of conversation, the issue of a potential city income tax came up," Mayor Christopher Taylor said Monday night.

"As you know, a city income tax would tax residents 1 percent on earned income and non-residents who work in the city a half percent. It would also include approximately a 15 percent property tax cut on residents."

Taylor said he's very much in favor of exploring the idea as a way to shift some of the city's tax burden away from city residents and onto non-resident commuters who benefit from city services and infrastructure.

"It would also, I believe, assist people who are working to age in place," he said, suggesting senior citizens on fixed incomes likely would not see an adverse impact from a 1 percent income tax as their property taxes come down.

The city's general operating millage, which would go away, currently amounts to a 6.11-mill property tax levy, which costs $611 per year for the owner of a home with a $200,000 market value and a $100,000 taxable value.

Several cities in Michigan have local income taxes, including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Jackson, Flint, Lansing, Muskegon and others.

The idea of a city income tax in Ann Arbor has been discussed many times over the years. It was twice rejected by voters decades ago.

City officials seriously explored the idea once again in 2009 after the University of Michigan announced it was buying Pfizer's 177-acre campus for $108 million, taking a sizable chunk of the city's tax base off the tax rolls.

The city had financial consultant Plante & Moran conduct a feasibility study in 2009, outlining scenarios for an income tax at different exemption levels.

It showed a local income tax could raise $7.6 million to $14.2 million in new net revenues for the city, depending on the level of tax.

Ultimately, the City Council decided not to put the idea to voters, but the issue continued to come up in budget discussions in 2010 and 2011. Now, it's being seriously discussed again for the first time in years.

Implementing a city income tax would be a major change for Ann Arbor. It would entirely restructure the way the city is funded.

The income tax would represent about 65 percent of tax revenues for the city, with property taxes at about 35 percent, Tom Crawford, the city's chief financial officer, said when the idea was discussed back in 2011.

An analysis by AnnArbor.com in 2011 showed city income taxes can be volatile and unreliable, fluctuating wildly with changes in the economy. Grand Rapids saw its income tax revenues plummet during the recession seven years ago, while Ann Arbor saw its property tax collections go up.

Ann Arbor's property tax revenues again increased 2.8 percent during fiscal year 2015-16 and 2.5 percent in fiscal year 2014-15.

Crawford said at Monday's budget retreat property tax revenues are projected to go up another 2.2 percent in the next year, while state-shared revenue is projected to go up 1 percent, but the problem is the city's costs are growing at a faster rate, with employee costs being the largest factor.

A new income tax, if the city went that route, would apply to all Ann Arbor residents, regardless of whether they work in the city limits. The only exceptions would be individuals who work in other cities that already have an income tax, in which case they would not pay Ann Arbor's income tax.

One of the reasons for the lack of support for a city income tax over the years has been that a large percentage of Ann Arbor residents are renters.

Renters would pay the new income tax, but whether they'd realize any savings from a property tax reduction would depend on their landlords passing along the savings, and there are no guarantees that would happen.

Crawford said at Monday's budget retreat the city needs to stay focused on balancing longterm recurring revenues and expenditures.

He said the council's discipline in the past helped the city survive a major economic fluctuation, and tough decisions, including reducing the city's employee count by about 30 percent over the past 15 years, have left the city in a relatively good financial position compared to other communities.

Still, the city is projecting a $310,000 deficit in its general fund for fiscal year 2017-18, followed by a $992,000 general fund deficit in 2018-19.

Generally, the projections reflect how much it would cost to perform today's city government activities in future years, minus projected revenues.

However, Crawford said, the projections don't include some previous recurring expenses that council has funded on a one-time basis, such as money for streetlights and a sustainability associate position. If those expenses were included, the deficit projections would be even higher.

"There's going to be a little bit of a headwind this year going into your planning process," Crawford warned council members.

"We haven't had this trouble or this kind of problem in a couple years, so this will likely result in staff having to do some work to get this in balance, and that will be additional work that has to be done in addition to your priorities."

Crawford said the city's recurring revenues are going up by about 1.7 percent and costs are going up about 1 percent higher than that.

The City Council will approve a new budget in May for the next fiscal year that starts July 1, 2017.

Crawford reminded council members they approved dipping about $3.6 million into fund balance this fiscal year.

"You may recall that we put money in the bank two years ago, and then you're spending that and a little bit more this year for non-recurring items," he said. "Right now we are on track with that."
Ahram Online picks five spots where a seafood extravaganza is at its best in Cairo

Bahary the fish mix

Nasr City

There are very few reasons that would make anyone who does not live in Nasr City to venture into the traffic of Makram Ebeid Street at lunchtime; but Bahary is certainly a good enough reason.

It is in a perfectly close proximity to several popular seafood restaurants but still it is attracting enough clients that you might consider prior reservation before you drop in, unless you are prepared to go for a takeaway if you cannot find a table.

There are so many reasons why Bahary has been expanding and gaining clients for some 15 years: the fish is always fresh, the prices are not too expensive and the restaurant is basically designed for families and large groups.

But one other reason is that Bahary has such a diverse menu that includes anything from eel to seafood crepe and from seafood Alferado pasta to Moulokhiya with shrimps. And for the most part orders are really good, especially if you do an early reservation with the key dishes.

The fried barboni and the salted fish are among the specialties of Bahary and so are the Tajins.

For EGP 1000 a family of four can indulge in a very satisfactory lunch and have some leftover to take home.

Flying Fish the Kebab way of doing seafood

Agouza

This is where you would head for a perfectly satisfying fish meal  the Egyptian way plus. The plus is that if you dont have the table skills to attend to self-serving fish, shrimps and lobster then Flying Fish does it for you as it serves the items in the kebab style: on wooden skewers.

Actually, there is the option of shrimp kofta, fish kobeba  and of course fish fingers.

Flying Fish is the place where most people are delighted with their bechamel lobster and the calamari casserole as with the Chinese and Alexandrian Rice.

A little under EGP 1000 could be good enough for a nice and quite a filling lunch for two.

Gandofli bringing Alexandria and Suez to Cairo

Maadi (and elsewhere across the city)

It has been successful enough that it kept opening branches around the city from El Manial to Mohandiseen and from Nasr City to New Cairo  and elsewhere. It might be its quite diverse selection of items that meets the expectation of most Egyptians about a nice fish meal and it might also be that its prices, even if not inexpensive at all, are still within the range that could allow a family of four to have a nice lunch for around EGP1500.

But for sure, Gandoflis seafood soup (the large) and the herring and salted fish salads are among the firm accreditation of the place.

And for those who love the Alexandrian recipes the place brings the Moulokhia with shrimps.

As for those who opt more for the Red Sea style of doing fish, Gandofli is also offering its Tagen fish.

The setting is simple and it is designed for families and large groups

Rossini as close it gets to five stars

Heliopolis

It is not at all the typical fish restaurant  not according to the dominant Egyptian definition of a fish restaurant.

It is rather the place where you would have marinated slices of smoked Tuna fish and shrimps with garlic, oil and chili pepper for a starter. Then youd move along to a nice selection of Italian bread and then order Ravioli stuffed with crab served with Saffron sauce and seafood risotto before moving to the grilled salmon with dill sauce and fried sole fish with rosemary and potatoes.

You end with a classic Tiramisu and a selection of the lemon, grapefruit and kiwi sorbet and excellent coffee with your bill for two coming well over LE1500 or rather close to LE2000, depending on how much you indulge in the clearly good quality food that is offered in a perfectly chic setting.

Sennara Not just fish

Heliopolis

This is where you would like to go if you are group wishing to enjoy a nice fish lunch  with one or two people who dont go for seafood  although they would be missing out on one of the best fish places in the city.

The restaurant of Sennara is divided into sides  one for seafood the other for grills and clients at the seafood end could be served dishes from the kitchen next door.

The menu of Sennara is certainly one of the best guiding experiences at a typical eatery. No fluff  none whatsoever. You get little squares each dedicated to a particular type of fish and then you move into the shrimps and prawns and then into the crab and calamari.

The choices are quite diverse but this is a good seafood restaurant so it is wisest to skip the fried fillet that you can cook at home. Always in demand are the butterfly-style jumbo shrimps, the grilled fish of potatoes on the side. Also extremely popular is the herring with Tahina and tomato salad. For a group of more than two, it is more economic to avoid ordering in portions.

A group of four could get a feast for around LE1000 -- and quite a feast at that.

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[December 12, 2016] Latin America - Mobile Network Operators and MVNOs

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Economic turmoil placing pressure on mobile operators across Latin America

Although there are a number of smaller operators across the region, the mobile market in Latin America continues to be dominated by three operators which each have businesses in multiple countries. The smallest of these four is Luxembourg-based Millicom International, which trades as Tigo. The operator reported having 32.5 million subscribers in its six markets in Central and South America as of March 2016. Telefonica Group reported having 186.4 million subscribers in the region. For reporting purposes the Group now separates its Brazilian unit from the remaining units which come under the Telefonica Hispanoamerica umbrella (including Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Uruguay). Mexico's America Movil, trading as Telcel in its domestic market and as Claro in the remaining 16 markets in the region, reported having 285.2 million subscribers. Other international players include Telecom Italia, which has more than 75 million mobile subscribers in Brazil, and AT&T Mexico, which although is the smaller operator in that country has ambitions to develop its North American Mobile Service area covering more than 400 million people in Mexico and the US. To this end AT&T Mexico secured spectrum in the AWS band earlier in 2016 to facilitate roaming and other services for its suscribers in the two countries.



The dominance of these operators is being gradually eroded as a result of efforts by a number of national regulators to facilitate the entry of MVNOs and to encourage the participation of smaller players in spectrum auctions. In Mexico, Telcel is being obliged to reduce its market share from 68% as of early 2016 to below 50% by the end of 2018.



The company is achieving this by selling assets regionally, which is making room for other operators. There are now several MVNOs offering services in Mexico, although collectively they only have a market share of about 1%.





Operators have had mixed results during the last few quarters. Although the general trend for customer acquisitions and revenue is encouraging, some markets have proved to be difficult. Countries such as Venezuela and Brazil are undergoing considerable economic hardship, as well as dysfunctional political processes, which has stymied revenue growth. America Movil reported a 9.2% fall in the number of mobile subscribers in Brazil in the year to March 2016, which contributed to the 0.7% fall in revenue in the period. Telefonica Group suffered a 16.7% drop in reported revenue in its Hispanoamerica markets despite a modest lift in the number of subscribers, and a 13% drop in revenue for its Brazilian unit, the latter partly explained by a 10.% decline in the subscriber base. In addition, operators are facing revenue continued pressure from reduced mobile termination rates and regulated tariffs for call and data pricing, while the popularity of OTT messaging services has considerably reduced the volume of SMS traffic, and with it placed further stress on operator revenue.



As these several pressures will continue further into 2016, operators will be encouraged to invest in LTE infrastructure and enhance their mobile data and broadband offerings in a bid to secure revenue growth.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03312046-summary/view-report.html



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US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/latin-america---mobile-network-operators-and-mvnos-300376747.html SOURCE Reportlinker

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[December 13, 2016] Leading Taiwanese Companies to Show Cutting-edge Technologies at CES 2017

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is returning to Las Vegas for CES 2017. Influential voices from global Taiwanese brands, ASUSTeK, KYMCO, Delta, and Thermaltake, will share their insights into innovation at a press conference at the Encore Tower Suite on January 4th, 2017. Taiwan has long been a vital design and manufacturing leader for the global Information & Communications Technology (ICT) industry. The island's consumer electronics products embody great value and innovation, and cutting edge design. Taiwan is the world's largest chipmaker, responsible for close to a quarter of the world's semiconductor chip production. Taiwanese-based companies are responsible for about three quarters of the world's PCs, a third of the world's liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and twenty percent of mobile phones sold worldwide. During the Taiwan Excellence press conference, senior executives and researchers from the industry will be answering questions and offering the latest inside information on new technologies and products driving the ICT market. ASUSTek COMPUTER INC. Rex Lee, the Chief Marketing Officer of ASUSTeK, one of the world's top five PC and notebook manufacturers, will be sharing the latest news on his company's products and technologies, with insights based on his personal experience. Delta Electronics, Inc. Vivitek, a brand of Delta, will be presenting NovoEnterprise, the industry's best in class next generation system for wireless presentation and collaboration, capable of 4K streaming. It is designed to take corporate presentations and conferences to a new level of interaction. Every participant can easily collaborate and share digital content with other attendees using any portable and mobile device, whether they are using Windows, MacOS, iOS or Android Operating Systems. It can connect up to 64 users, and show up to four windows simultaneously. NovoEnterprise addresses todays' collaborative meetings in a clutter-free, dynamic environment for productivity and comprehension, while encouraging teamwork. The associated Launcher Plus and its Plug & Play feature allows users to mirror and send digital content instantly, without the need to install any application. Industrial Technology Research Institute ITRI's Ming-Jer Kao will be presenting ITRI's intelligent vision system for companion robots. Using deep learning techniques to continuously refine its performance, the robot learns to perform useful tasks, such as playing chess on a real board, and pouring coffee perfectly by adapting to the location and randomly-sized and positioned coffee cups. ITRI will also be introducing its management system for drone fleets, which allows drones to operate autonomously for at least a month over a huge area, recharge automatically from a variety of renewable and conventional sources, and be managed from any distance, including internationally, via multiple, redundant mobile networks. Kwang Yang Motor Co, Ltd. (KYMCO) KYMCO Chairman, Allen Ko, will discuss KYMCO's smart, connected dashboard system for scooters, which joins the scooter to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). User-customizable with shareable, personalized themes, the dashboard provides advanced usability features like smartphone integration, navigation, and weather information, and the system guides the user back to the vehicle's location in crowded parking areas. Thermaltake Technology Co., Ltd. Thermaltake's Mike Fierheller will provide details of innovative new wall-mounted liquid-cooled open frame tempered glass PC cases, and premium eSports peripherals -- such as a keyboard with individual backlights in each key that provides customized illumination modes for different games, and a super-precise 12,000 DPI mouse. Throughout CES 2017, the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion will be showing 38 innovative products from 10 companies honored by the Taiwan Excellence Awards. The award winners represent industries such as the IoT, Internet of Vehicles, gaming, wearables, and 3D printing. Exhibitors include: ASUSTeK, Acer, Thermaltake, ADATA, Transcend, and ComeTrue, among others. The Taiwan Excellence Pavilion is at Booth 21409 LVCC of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Press Conference for the Innovation on Taiwan ICT Industry Agenda Time: 18:00-20:30, Jan. 4, 2017

Location: Encore Tower Suite Las Vegas







Time Topic Speaker 18:00 - 18:30 Registration 18:30 - 18:33 Welcome Remarks Mr. Walter M. S. Yeh, Executive Vice

President Taiwan External Trade

Development Council 18:35 - 18:38 Special Remarks Mr. Ming-Shy Chen, Deputy Director

General Taipei Economic and Cultural Office

(TECO) in Los Angeles 18:40 - 18:55 Buiding Global Technology

Ecosystems TAITRA 18:55 - 19:03 Zennovation Mr. Rex Lee Chief Marketing Officer ASUSTek Computer Inc. 19:05 -19:13 ITRI's Innovation for CES 2017 Dr. Ming-Jer Kao Deputy General Director of Electronic and

Optoelectronic System Research

Laboratories of ITRI 19:15 - 19:23 A Rethink on Internet of Vehicles Mr. Allen Ko The Chairman Of KYMCO Group 19:25 - 19:33 Game With Your MOD Mr. Mike Fierheller Product Manager Thermaltake Technology Co., Ltd 19:35 - 19:43 The Next Generation of Wireless

Collaboration Mr. James Hsu Director Global Product Marketing, Vivitek Delta Electronics,Inc. 19:45 - 20:30 Q&A/ Refreshment/ Individual Interview

Media representatives interested in attending the press conference should register at: https://www.globalpr.agency/press-conference-for-the-innovations-on-taiwan-ict-industry About the Taiwan Excellence Award The symbol of Taiwan Excellence honors Taiwan's most innovative products that provide tremendous value to users worldwide. All products carrying this symbol have been selected for specific Taiwan Excellence Awards based on their excellence in design, quality, marketing, Taiwanese R&D, and manufacturing. Initiated by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in 1992, the symbol of Taiwan Excellence is recognized in 100 countries. Organized by Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), MOEA The Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), R.O.C. is responsible for implementing policies and regulations governing foreign trade and economic cooperation. Established in January 1969, the BOFT's role and position have been adjusted regularly to meet the needs of the ever changing international economic and trade environments. The BOFT has been guiding and working with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in numerous promotional trade projects and activities both internationally and domestically. Having worked closely with TAITRA for many decades, the BOFT continues to commission TAITRA for various critical government projects relating to business, trade and investment, while promoting Taiwan internationally. Implemented by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) Founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is the foremost non-profit, semi-governmental trade promotion organization in Taiwan. Jointly sponsored by the government, industry associations, and several commercial organizations, TAITRA assists Taiwanese businesses and manufacturers with reinforcing their international competitiveness and in coping with the challenges they face in foreign markets. TAITRA boasts a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network of over 1,200 international marketing specialists stationed throughout its Taipei headquarters and 50 offices worldwide. Together with its sister organizations, the Taiwan Trade Center (TTC) and the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), TAITRA has created a wealth of trade opportunities through effective promotion strategies. Media Contact Trevor Barth

Account Manager

(+886) 2-2882-5577

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leading-taiwanese-companies-to-show-cutting-edge-technologies-at-ces-2017-300377077.html SOURCE TAITRA

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business Tata Sons raises stake in Tata Motors, shells out Rs 2430 cr Going forward the stock will start aligning to its sales numbers and if they are weak, then the stock could undergo a correction, says market expert Prakash Diwan.
business Tatas boosting stake in Tata Motors is fund misallocation: Ican Speaking to CNBC-TV18 Anil Singhvi of Ican Investment Advisors said that he was amused by the Rs 2500 crore cheque. It is not the best allocation of funds, he said, adding that it was a misallocation of funds for taking Cyrus out.
current-affairs-trends Demonetisation: Probe how new Rs 2,000 notes reached hoarders, says Chidambaram "This is the biggest scam of the year. This is the one that should be investigated," Chidambaram said at a press conference.
Since there is no such thing as a futureproof security, protecting your organisation against cyber threats without disrupting business should be top priority.

Cinemas have more often than not portrayed hackers as shadowy figures who often penetrate firewalls by pounding keyboards in a matter of seconds. Hacking in real life is much more complicated, requires intricate knowledge of systems and much research. However, in February 2016, Bangladesh's Central Bank decided to make things a notch easier for hackers by using $10 switches (the one you might use at home) and no firewalls. To make matters worse, the SWIFT computers were on the same network as the bank's computers. According to news reports, hackers obtained credentials of three employees and siphoned off a cool sum of $81 million dollars- a heist that would make Daniel Ocean very proud.

The operation put the spotlight on SWIFT and how secure were money transfers between banks. As a system, it is regularly stress tested and updated to ensure the software can ward off threats. But SWIFT is only as strong as it's weakest link. And herein lies the problem.

With the Internet of Things, we have a growing number of devices that are interconnected. Networking giant Cisco said that there were around 8.7 billion devices connected by 2012 and the number will increase to 50 billion by 2020. Factories, offices, power plants, utility companies continue to be networked which increases the number of IoT endpoints. The world is moving towards smarter energy, smarter grids, and automation. Yet many of the legacy hardware and software have not been updated to withstand new threats.

Cyber attacks often manage to grab headlines and rightly so. From a hospital in California paying a hefty ransom of $17,000, a massive cyberwar disabling Estonias banks, broadcasters, police and the government, Stuxnet destroying nearly 1000 nuclear centrifuges in Iran, to the breach of Yahoo email accounts which has stalled the Verizon-yahoo deal, they are hardly industry-specific.

Companies like countries often under report cyber security incidents. Even by McAfees conservative estimates, cyber attacks globally cost around $375 billion in 2014. However, certain costs cannot be easily quantified like damage to intellectual property and opportunity costs, as both translates into less investment into R&D and builds up risk averse behaviour. Even back home, as the Indian population is increasingly going online, cases relating to cyber security have increased. According to data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) cyber crimes have increased 20% compared to 2014 with the total number of cases at 11,529 in 2015. Even the countrys Computer Emergency Response Team handled nearly 50,000 incidents ranging from website intrusion, malware, phishing and denial of service attacks.

In light of these threats, organisations are increasing their security measures by implementing technologies and developing processes to counter such threats. Business leaders now view cyber security as a crucial component of the overall corporate strategy and the role of the Chief Information Security Officer has gained prominence among many multinationals. With the adoption of cloud-based storage and mobile applications, cybercriminals can breach office networks. Apart from financial information, customer data and intellectual property are considered top prizes. Companies while upgrading legacy infrastructure need to educate employees on security practices like use of encryption, security updates, and even password strength. Operational technology which controls physical devices requires routine logs which are to be monitored for security incidents. And in the case of an incident, procedures and protocols need to be followed to minimise risk.

However, addressing global cyber threats are beyond the scope of individual businesses. Small to medium businesses (SMB) are especially vulnerable as they might find implementing security measures expensive and time-consuming. While there is no excuse for leaving assets unsecured, there is a greater need for public and private sectors to collaborate on this issue. Both, governments and the industry have to develop better cybercrime prevention methods and establish norms. Cyber crime is not bound by borders and therefore, prevention should not be as well. Governments need to reach a consensus and have an international approach especially when it comes to enforcement and prosecution. This is in the best interest of business, and with the sheer amount of stakeholders involved, a joint action is the only recourse.

There is one undisputed fact- there is no such thing as future proofed security and following security protocols can go a long way in preventing such attacks. Failing to pay heed can prove very costly, as a recent senator turned presidential candidate found out.
The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana.
Education

Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.

Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.

Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:

International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.

EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.

Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale  an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s  will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets  June Homecoming: Participant  $18 per person; Sustainer  $25 per person; Benefactor  $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler  Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:

SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available  for information call 610-275-1960

Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)

SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.

Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.  4 p.m.  computers are available during those hours.

Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.

Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.

Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.

The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:

Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at

other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.

CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.

The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:

Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.

Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.

Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.

For Kids & Families

The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.

Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.

Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.

The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.

Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.

Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.

Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.

Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.

Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!

Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.

Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.

Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.

Community Events at the Ambler Y:

-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.

Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.

Health

Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.

The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.

Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.

Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.

Spring Aquatic Programs  UDHS Pool:

-Summer is just around the corner  Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.

 Shallow Water Aerobics  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.

 Adult Swim Instructions  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR

-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.

-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday  Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.

-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.

-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.

Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.

SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.

Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.

Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:

FITNESS CLASSES

Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.

Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30  9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.

Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30  7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.

New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30  4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.

Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.

Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.

Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.

Librarytalk

Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744

www.upperdublinlibrary.org

APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:

Storytimes: Please register in the library.

o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.

o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.

o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.

o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.

APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:

North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee

APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:

NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.

One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register  contact info above.

Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.

o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.

Meetings:

Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.

Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.

Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.

For children and teens at Blue Bell:

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.

* May 14  Despicable Me

* June 11  Alpha and Omega

* Special Events

* April  watch for date of spring/Easter events

* April 14 at 4:30 p.m.  Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.

* April 14 at 7 p.m.  Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.

* April 16 at 1 p.m.  Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.

* April 16 at 1:30 p.m.  Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?

* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.

* April 30 through May 3  Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.

* May  sign up for Science in the Summer

* June  sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children

* June  sign up for Summer Reading, all ages

For adults at Blue Bell:

* Daytime Book Discussion Group  fourth Tuesday, Jan  April at 1:30 p.m.

* April 26  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Night-time Book Discussion Group  third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

o April 19  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges

o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?

*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs

* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.

* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.

* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.

* Giant Book Sale, April 29  May 3

o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!

o Held during library hours.

o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.

o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.

* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series

o May 11 at 1 p.m.  Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society

* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.

* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.

* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.

* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.

*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.

* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours

* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours

* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!

Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* For adults:

* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.

* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net

* Special Events:

* April 14 at 1:30 p.m.  Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.

* April 19 at 7 p.m.  Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.

* April 21 at 7 p.m.  Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.

*May 2 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

*May 10  Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*May 12 at 1:30p.m.  Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

*May 17  Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*June 13 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

Meetings and Lectures

The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.

The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.

The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.

LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.

Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)

-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.

The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.

For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.

Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.

Special Events

The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.

The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.

Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.

Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.

The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.

The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.

The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.

Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.

The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.

The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.

The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.

Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.

13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.

Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.

The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.

JPRN  Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them  Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.

Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.

Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.

Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.

Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.

Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp  Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:

-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.

Music and Theater

The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.

Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.

Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.

The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org

Religious News

The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.

Reunions

St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.

Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.

Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.

Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net

Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net

The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.

Support

New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.

PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.

The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.

Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.

Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group  every other Wednesday, 7  8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support  second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner  Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers  Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.

CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7  8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
Our seminary in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is named St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. However, most Catholics do not know about this great saint whose feast day is on November 4th. He was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 until 1584...
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President-elect Donald Trump has picked as his secretary of state Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of ExxonMobil, setting up a possible confrontation with members of his own party in the Senate, according to a person involved in the transition.

Since Tillerson's name emerged as a candidate for the post, leading Republicans have expressed reservations about his years of work in Russia and the Middle East on behalf of the multinational petroleum company.

GOP advisers have warned that a growing number of Republican senators may be unwilling to vote to confirm Tillerson because of his ties to Russia. While Senate Democrats cannot filibuster Trump's Cabinet picks, Republicans have only 52 votes in the Senate, leaving them in potential jeopardy if Democrats unite in opposition to Tillerson. It will take at least 50 votes to confirm a nominee, plus Vice President-elect Mile Pence casting a tie-breaking vote.

Yet Trump, after a protracted selection process that saw him also considering 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has decided to press ahead with Tillerson. Like others in the new Trump Cabinet, the ExxonMobil chief executive lacks any experience in government but will try to apply his experience in the business world to the realm of diplomacy. And he has worked extensively around the globe and built relationships with such leaders as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Trump team is planning an aggressive public relations campaign to win confirmation for Tillerson and dispel what it sees as a false narrative about his ties to Russia, a person involved in the transition said. Former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and James Baker are planning to go public Tuesday morning with their support for Tillerson, as is former defense secretary Robert Gates. Former vice president Richard B. Cheney also is supportive and may advocate for his confirmation.

Gates was the first person to raise Tillerson as a secretary of state possibility with Trump during a meeting at Trump Tower, the transition official added. Trump did not know much about Tillerson but started chewing over the idea. He invited Tillerson for a meeting and the two global deal makers hit it off. They recognized similarities in each other, and the more they talked, the more they liked each other, the transition official said.

Rice, who has served on the board of Chevron, then became a strong advocate for Tillerson. She and Trump spoke about Tillerson by phone Monday as Trump made his final decision.

One argument that the defenders of Tillerson - who during his career has also cultivated leaders of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Qatar - will probably make is that he stands firm in business negotiations in Russia and elsewhere.

"One of the things I know about the Russian government: I'm very predictable. And they know if I say no it means no. And talking about it more isn't going to change that. No is still going to be no," Tillerson said in a talk last year at the Texas Tech business school. "Over the years we've earned each other's respect. Then when you say yes, you know we'll follow through. It means something."

Weighing whether to lift economic sanctions on Russia will be one of the first things on Tillerson's plate, given Trump's desire to smooth relations with the Kremlin. International economic sanctions, imposed after Russia annexed Crimea and gave support to insurgents in Ukraine's eastern provinces, have fallen heavily on financial institutions and ExxonMobil.

ExxonMobil, which has a profitable operation on Sakhalin island in eastern Russia, had begun a drilling program in the Arctic's Kara Sea, where Exxon made a find, and had agreed to explore shale oil areas of West Siberia and deep waters of the Black Sea. If sanctions are lifted, Tillerson told analysts this year, the Black Sea drilling would probably be the first to be restarted.

While ExxonMobil complained privately to the Obama administration about the sanctions, the company has abided by the law.

"They understand the situation. We understand the situation," Tillerson said of the Kremlin when asked at an oil analysts' meeting this year about whether Exxon would resume work in Russia if sanctions were lifted.

In addition, Tillerson will have to deal with climate issues because the State Department is the lead agency in international climate negotiations. Unlike Trump, Tillerson has said that he believes that climate change is real and has favored a revenue-neutral carbon tax of more than $20 a ton.

But environmental groups charge that Exxon knew about the harmful effects of fossil fuels as much as 40 years ago and failed to inform investors and the public, possibly in violation of securities laws. The New York and Massachusetts attorneys general and a range of non-governmental organizations are locked in battle over the charges.

Human rights experts are also unhappy about Tillerson's nomination, noting that ExxonMobil does business in countries ruled by autocrats or dictators including countries in the Middle East, Equatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan.

"I don't think that companies' role is to play politics," said Pavel Molchanov, oil analyst at the investment firm Raymond James. "They're there to invest in resources. Saying that he personally has some special feelings toward Russia just because Exxon has invested there is probably overstating the case."

But that might not be the way lawmakers see it.

At least four Republican senators have already publicly expressed their concerns with Tillerson's Russia ties. Sen. Lindsey Graham, S.C., called the fact that Putin awarded Tillerson the Kremlin's Order of Friendship in 2012 "unnerving," while Sen. John McCain, Ariz., questioned Tillerson's judgment on CNN on Monday noting, "I don't see how anybody could be a friend of this old time KGB agent," referring to Putin.

Sen. Marco Rubio, Fla., also tweeted over the weekend that "being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for from a Secretary of State," while a spokesman for Sen. James Lankford, Okla., said he "has a lot of questions about Mr. Tillerson and his ties to Russia."

Of the four, only Rubio sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which first must approve Tillerson's nomination before it can head to the floor. Committee chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who was in the running to be Trump's Secretary of State, tweeted over the weekend that Tillerson "is a very impressive individual."

But Republicans outnumber Democrats by only one on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, giving Democrats an opportunity to block one of Trump's most important Cabinet picks if they stay united in voting Tillerson's nomination. Democrats would not say if they expect their committee members to hold rank. But if they can, they only need one Republican to vote against Tillerson's nomination to keep him from proceeding to the Senate floor for a full confirmation vote.
A Claremont man was sentenced to three months in jail and probation after he pleaded guilty to charges related to a wreck that killed two teenagers in 2014.

Jacob Dalton Turner, 20, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of felony involuntary manslaughter and two counts of misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors say Turner caused the October 2014 traffic deaths of Alec Calvin Sigmon and Justin Michael Turner, a pair of 15-year-old Bunker Hill High School sophomores, who were ejected from the vehicle Turner was driving. The two teens were killed as a result of a high-speed, single-vehicle crash, according to information from District Attorney David Learners Office.

Superior Court Judge Mark E. Klass, from Davidson County, gave Jacob Turner a suspended sentence of nearly 2.5 years to 4.5 years and required he serve three years of supervised probation. He also must spend three months in jail, served at the discretion of his probation officer, and he cannot drive for a period of two years, according to information from the District Attorneys Office.

Klass also ordered that Turner speak to high school students about the consequences of speeding and reckless driving.

During the court proceedings on Monday, Jacob Turner briefly addressed the families of Alec Sigmon and Justin Turner, saying, I am very sorry for the things I have put you through. Ive had a hard time dealing with the consequences.

Jacob Turners attorney, Scott Reilly, said, This is a sad day for everybody involved. (Turner)s going to live with this; hes responsible  . He was in the wrong, he made a mistake. We hope (the plea) can provide closure to the families.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol investigation showed that Jacob Turner was driving a 2002 Mercedes Benz C-240 at a speed in excess of 90 mph when the vehicle went off the side of Riverbend Road, struck a ditch and went airborne, according to a release from the DAs Office. After the vehicle landed, it continued to travel out of control down a bank, striking several trees and ejecting Sigmon and Justin Turner from the rear passenger area of the vehicle, according to the release. The two teens died at the scene as a result of their injuries.

Jessica Joy Sigmon, 17, and Chloe Allison Cordell also were injured in the crash. Cordells injuries required her to be taken to Wake Forest Baptist Regional Medical Center for extensive care, the release said.

In court Monday, Assistant District Attorney Lance Sigmon noted repeated warnings the defendant had been given regarding his erratic driving behavior and the impact the crash had on the families involved as he asked for the defendant to take responsibility for his actions, according to DAs release.

We can send a message to this defendant that his behavior is unacceptable and has far-reaching consequences, Prosecutor Lance Sigmon said. Weve heard about the defendants bright future, but Justin and Alec have no future. We want him to be a productive citizen of this community, but we also want him to be a responsible one.

Family members of both Alec Sigmon and Justin Turner addressed the court about the impact the defendants actions has had on their lives. Assistant District Attorney Melanie Earles also read statements from Jessica Sigmon and Cordell regarding the fatal crash and how it has affected them with the loss of a brother and a friend, according to the DAs release.

Troopers J.D. Connor, K.W. Stewart and D.E. Souther led the investigation for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Lance Sigmon and Melanie Earles prosecuted the case for the District Attorneys Office.
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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.
Mortgage rate type preference and down payment plans, among many other trends, found in recent report.Variable rate mortgages appear to be falling out of favour with Canadians, according to a recent RateHub study.According to the companys Digital Money Trends Report, searches for variable rate mortgages fell by 12% to just 30% of all mortgage rate requests through its rate comparison tool. The report also found a growing penchant to save 20% for a down payment.Both those trends are being attributed to recent mortgage rule changes, which have influenced an uptick in mortgage rates and made it harder to qualify for insured mortgages.Consumers are also becoming more tech-savvy in their pursuit of the perfect mortgage.The mortgage industry has fluctuated drastically over the last 10 years, and with several regulation changes in just the last quarter of 2016, the RateHub report reflects how Canadians are reacting, said James Laird, Co-founder of RateHub.ca and President of CanWise Financial. Consumers are going online first to self-educate, and finding comparison sites like RateHub that can help them navigate an ever-changing market.The report also provided some insight into which Canadians might be more inclined to work with a mortgage broker.Millennials are more likely to use a mortgage broker, RateHub said in the report. Thirty-seven percent used a mortgage broker, compared to 30% of Generation Xers and 16% of boomers.According to the report, 51% of Millennial respondents attained their mortgage through their primary financial institution, compared to 50% of Gen Xers and 69% of Baby Boomers.And Canadians continue to turn to the web a bid to learn more about mortgages.The report found 750,000 mortgage-related searches are made each month. Some hot topics are calculators (525,000), banks (247,000), rates (144,000), brokers (59,000), and affordability (23,000).To read the report in its entirety, click here
Ally's Consumer Direct Rollout; Jumbo News; Lender and Loan Amoung Changes

What is this, Europe? 20 weeks off for new parents at American Express? While we're on employment trends, I'm not sure if this will come as a surprise to anyone but according to a Census Bureau report the number of IT workers has increased tenfold since 1970. Median annual earnings of IT occupation workers were $80,665 in 2014, or almost twice as much as the median earnings of the total workforce in 2014. It also seems to be a job that doesn't always require an office: IT workers were twice as likely to work at home as all workers (10% compared to 4%) which sure helps traffic.

Diving into product news, there are developments in the jumbo/non-conforming arena.

JMAC Lending has a new non-agency program, with greater flexibility on LTVs. Highlights of JMAC Lending's Newport Non-Agency program include cash-out up to 90%, purchase up to 95%, loan amounts from $100K up to $2.5 million, NO mortgage insurance, and loss mitigations with seasoning as low as 2 years.

In conjunction with the updated FHFA loan limits, Plaza's minimum loan amount on Elite Jumbo will change accordingly. Effective for all locks on or after December 1, the minimum loan amount on Elite Jumbo loans is now $424,101 or $1 above the conforming limit for the number of units.

On the conventional conforming side of things there are plenty of changes - mostly concerning loan amounts for 2017. But there is vendor news also regarding Fannie & Freddie programs.

Equifax Inc. announced that its "industry-leading employment verification services, provided by Equifax Workforce Solutions (a business unit of Equifax Inc.) became available Dec. 10 as part of the Fannie Mae DU validation service. Equifax will now also offer asset verification services, available through its alliance with asset technology service provider AccountChek Company, LLC. The employment and asset verification services join the instant and manual income verification services and the IRS tax transcript fulfilment service that were made available through the same program as of Oct. 24. The IRS tax transcript fulfilment services aids lenders in retrieving tax transcripts directly from the IRS and can provide added data around a consumer's additional sources of income.

Loans originated by lenders participating in Fannie Mae Day 1 Certainty are eligible for purchase by Wells Fargo Funding. Note: Wells Fargo Funding's tax transcripts requirements are not changing now. Watch for additional information in upcoming communications.

One of the cool new features of Fannie Mae's 10.0 update is the property inspection waiver. This means that if you get the findings for it when running DU, NO APPRAISAL is needed on the refinance. This will include SFR and condo's only (no 2-4 units) and up to 90% LTV. To get the PIW (property insp. Waiver) the borrowers on the refinance MUST have been on the prior transaction where the data was submitted from the prior appraisal to Fannie.

Flagstar's Loantrac was updated on Friday, December 9 to allow registration of loans at the higher conforming loan limits. Fannie Mae announced that the new loan limits will be updated in Desktop Underwriter on December 10. Freddie Mac announced that Loan Product Advisor was updated on December 2. Please be sure that your submitted AUS findings reflect the appropriate loan amount. There are no closing/note date restrictions. Remember that any loan amount changes that cause the product to change on an already locked loan may be subject to worse case pricing. If you are requesting a loan amount increase on an already submitted loan, submit an updated 1003.

HomeBridge Wholesale is offering Property Inspection Waiver on Rate/Term, Cash-Out and Condo Eligible transactions. Max LTV is determined by occupancy and transaction type.

As of Monday, December 12th, PRMG is allowing Conventional Loans with increased standard balance limits to be submitted, locked and funded. High Balance/Super Conforming Loans with updated loan amounts must be submitted, locked and funded by January 1st, 2017. Existing cases can be resubmitted to the applicable AUS system to take advantage of the higher loan limits but would be subject to any standard underwriting and pricing policies for loan amount changes.

Stearns announced that the new 2017 Agency Loan Limits will be available in SNAP 2.0 on Monday, December 12th. Watch for further announcements on Stearns Lending's roll-out of Fannie Mae's Day 1 Certainty and associated benefits that will be integrated into SNAP 2.0.

In reference to the 2017 loan limit increase, Franklin American Mortgage Company loans may be locked using the new higher loan amounts effective 12/05/2016. For loans currently locked looking to take advantage of the new loan limits, the request must be submitted to the Lock Desk at secondary@franklinamerican.com. Standard pricing policy applies which may result in a price change. Additionally, if a lock has expired, worst-case pricing policy applies. If the loan has been submitted to underwriting, and the borrower requests to take advantage of the loan limit increases, the loan must be re-submitted to Underwriting/AUS for consideration. Regardless of lock status, all loans must be submitted/re-submitted to DU or LP/LPA and receive an Approve/Eligible or Accept recommendation in accordance with the time frames outlined above.

Ditech's documentation guidelines for borrowers who are starting new employment after the note date of the loan have been revised. This change applies to loans with an LPA decision in a Freddie Mac Eligible product with an application dated on or after December 5, 2016. All loans underwritten using the expiring guidelines with an application date prior to December 5, 2016 must be closed and delivered by January 15, 2017.

On 10/24/2016, Fannie Mae published SEL-2016-08, announcing various Selling Guide updates, as well as DU Validation Services and Enhanced PIWs, components of Fannie Mae's Day 1 Certainty program. Review AmeriHome'srecent announcement for resulting changes to guidelines.

Arch MI is all-in with Fannie Mae's 10.0 update. It will support the following: DU Validation for Income (effective immediately) DU Validation for Assets, and Employment (effective December 10th, 2016) and Property Inspection Waiver (PIW) (December 10th, 2016). Arch's EZ Decisioning program follows DU requirements, the DU Validation Service changes do not impact our guidelines and will be eligible on their effective date, with no guideline changes required. For the PIW change, Arch MI will update our EZ DecisioningSM guidelines to include this as an acceptable type, in addition to a full appraisal. As per the announcement, use of a PIW requires a DU Recommendation of Approve/Eligible, and is applicable for limited cash-out refinances up to a maximum 90% LTV. All the announced changes will be accepted under Arch MI's EZ Decisioning program. Arch MI's EZ Decisioning Program applies to loans with a DU approval.

Parkside Lending began accepting locks and submissions with new loan amounts beginning December 5. Loans previously locked or submitted can be changed to the new higher limits, after December 5, using the standard change request process. In addition, loans may fund and be purchased effective December 5. The 2017 loan limits will be implemented in FNMA DU for Version 9.3 or Version 10.0 loan casefiles as follows: Loan casefiles submitted on or after the weekend of December 10, will be underwritten with the new general loan limits. Loan casefiles submitted on or after January 1, 2017, will be underwritten with the new high-cost area loan limits.

Regarding the new loan limits, NewLeaf Wholesale will accept applications and locks at the new loan limits for FNMA/FHLMC (NewLeaf 1 and NewLeaf 2) products effective immediately. Its manual lock process must be followed until January 1, 2017 to lock the loans impacted by these increased loan limits. Effective December 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, when requesting a lock under the increased loan limits, the Broker must request the lock online with the highest loan amount currently allowed and then send an email to the Wholesale Lock Desk requesting the loan amount be changed to the higher loan amount. The Lock Desk will update the loan amount and send a lock confirmation.

Looking at rates, the U.S. Treasury market took some minor losses Monday with the 10-year hitting 2.53% but ended well above its worst levels. Agency MBS prices ended unchanged - that's good, right? The Treasury auctioned 3-year and 10-year notes. Demand for the sale of $20 billion 10-year notes was mediocre and this week's new Treasury issuance ends with the $12 billion 30-year reopening today. Overseas to start the week Chinese stocks had their worst sell-off in six months as concerns about trade frictions as well as a regulatory crackdown on insurance companies buying equities spooked investors.

Today we've had the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for November (which shot up to 98.4 from 94.9 as a result of the election) and November's import and export prices (-.3% and -.1%). The U.S. Treasury will auction off $12 billion in 30-year bonds. Day one of the FOMC's two-day meeting also starts today, with the rate decision tomorrow. For rates the 10-year note closed Monday yielding 2.48% and this morning its at 2.44% with MBS prices better nearly .250 versus Monday's closing levels.



Jobs and Announcements

Pacific Union Financial continues to grow at rapid speed and matching that growth with top-notch talent is a high priority. Pacific Union is pleased to announce the hiring of Regional Vice President Bob Zielinski in the Distributed Retail Lending channel. Mr. Zielinski is in charge of recruiting, branch expansion and oversight of the Florida territory. If you're considering a change in employment, feel free to submit your resume and introduce yourself to Bob.

In retail news, "On Q Financial is thrilled to announce Laurie Buldoc as its new National Operations Manager. With 35 years of leadership experience - the most recent 16 years in the mortgage industry - Laurie will help drive On Q's Vision with our Senior Management Team and lead Operations to the next level as we continue to make dreams come true for our customers. On Q Financial is always looking for the best in the industry to join our team in offices from coast to coast. Apply for the next step in your mortgage career at onqfinancial.com or email hr@onqfinancial.com."

And a bank is seeking is seeking a self-motivated Sales Manager to build and lead a dynamic team of Loan Originators in Atlanta. "The ideal candidate would have a balance of entrepreneurial vision, leadership, management, and subject matter expertise. They would have a track record of scaling Mortgage volume inside a bank. The individual would have strong attention to detail, be knowledgeable of regulatory policies and procedures, have 5+ years management experience, and oversee branch production and income goals within company guidelines. If you have great interpersonal skills, love to foster relationships with internal and external partners, and you are motivated by building a team, we may be the perfect fit for you." Send confidential resumes to me and excuse any delays in response due to travel; please specify opportunity.

As featured in The Mortgage Professional's Handbook, the chapter, Source, Train, and Assimilate New Loan Officers, is now available to download for free. Use this chapter to build and grow a productive sales team to ultimately increase your production. Written by Casey Cunningham, CEO and Founder of XINNIX, The Mortgage Academy, this chapter provides incredible value for managers looking to grow their team's production. Download your complimentary copy now!

In Consumer Direct news, Ally Bank announced its CD channel focused on its relationship with Ally's 5 million existing bank customers and expanding the bank's financial services portfolio. Ally is known for the quirky commercials and their consistent ranking as a top online bank. Teaming up with LenderLive, the program will offer varying term options for fixed- and adjustable-rate loans for new home purchase or refinancing existing mortgages. After applying for a loan, customers can select whether they'd like to be contacted by phone or email, manage loan-related documents, including online document upload/review, and from any device. The launch also spawned Ally's need for a Charlotte based Program Manager to align business and IT objectives and oversee the range of technology and business project managers. Interested parties can submit a confidential resume HERE.

"Anyone doing business in the Jumbo space should look at Parkside Lending's suite of Jumbo products. With four different Jumbo programs, Parkside offers aggressive pricing and robust guidelines. Products include both fixed rates and ARMs. And they offer LTVs as high as 95%. Please contact your Parkside Account executive for more information or Sales."
The surf washes over the wave dissipation system installed in front of properties along Beachwood East in Wild Dunes on Isle of Palms a few days after Hurricane Matthew.
Distressed bank Wells Fargo is eyeing redemption from its tumultuous year with the launch of an internal investigation headed by a four-person committee, Reuters reported.Wells Fargo Chair Stephen Sanger, Vice Chair Elizabeth Duke, Enrique Hernandez, chair of the board of directors risk committee, and Director Donald James of the finance and risk committees will make up the board responsible for the internal investigation.The four members of the committee are independent  they do not work for the operations of the company, Reuters reported.Wells Fargo came under fire in October when it was revealed that bank employees had opened 2 million customer accounts without those customers knowledge or consent. According to reports, the banks high-pressure sales goals created an environment that encouraged employees to commit fraud simply to stay ahead of the curve.The CFPB has released a bulletin warning companies that connecting bonuses or employment status to unrealistic sales goals or to the terms of transactions may intentionally or unintentionally encourage illegal practices  including unauthorized account openings, opting customers into services without their knowledge or steering them toward products that arent right for them.Tying bonuses and job security to business goals that are unrealistic or not properly monitored can lead to illegal practices like unauthorized account openings and deceptive sales tactics, said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. The CFPB is warning companies to make sure that their incentives operate to reward quality customer service, not fraud and abuse.Related stories:

In wake of Wells Fargo scandal, CFPB warns against unrealistic incentives

Wells Fargo may fail community lending test
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Students at Midland High School have a new space to gain retail experience. The Life Skills program for special-needs students held a soft opening of an expanded spirit store on Monday.

At the store, Life Skills students stock shelves, operate cash registers and interact with customers. This year, the store  called The Dawg House  moved into a bigger space within the school.

We have a vision to integrate them into society, said Stephen Darst, lead teacher of Life Skills. With these skills, they can go work in a larger area.

In the new space, students also now take custom T-shirt orders for school organizations and other groups. They then use machines to print, embroider and embellish the shirts.

Darst said the program added the machines to provide more learning opportunities to students.

We needed the next level of production, Darst said. We can take the shop and add to the retail.

Life Skills students have worked at The Dawg House since 2011. Darst said the program was outgrowing the former store when it considered moving to an unused space at the school. This semester, Darst transported apparel and other school merchandise to the new spirit store.

Dena Reno, assistant at the recovery program at Midland High, said shes impressed with the progress of the Life Skills program.

Years ago when I taught special ed, we kept away from the general public, Reno said. We were told our kids didnt have the opportunity. This class is out in the public and also learning life skills. If theyre not using machinery to make T-shirts, it can be to make something else.

The spirit store also has areas for students and faculty to charge electronic devices during breaks from classes. The space will fully open in January.






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When someone is expecting a new baby, they register for gifts at popular stores and friends help supply the things needed for the new arrival.

For a pair of orangutans at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, Texas, the process is pretty much the same.

Zoo employees are holding a baby shower for Mei and KJ - the aforementioned orangutans - on Dec. 18 - and have registered the expecting couple at Target. Yes, these are great apes we're talking about, but no, bananas aren't on the list.

Instead, the registry includes all the things a new baby could want or need: bowls, blankets and a mobile. There are a few oddities, such as a copy of the movie "The Princess Bride" and "Jetsons: The Movie," but otherwise it is a fairly standard baby registry.

ZOO LIGHTS: Holiday displays you need to see

Terri Cox, curator of exhibits and programs at the zoo, told The Waco Tribune-Herald that Mei, who is due in January, loved the movie "The Jungle Book" when she first arrived at the zoo, but staff got tired of the flick after a while.

So, the items on the registry - which the public can purchase and donate - are designed to aide the apes, Cox said.

As far as the sex of the new addition? The zoo doesn't know and it won't be known until birth. But, it seems likely that the zoo employees, Mei and KJ are hoping for happy, healthy and hairy.
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Kids anxious to meet Santa at two Texas malls last week were preached to by a man determined to expose the holiday traditions and wishes their parents have been "lying" to them about.

David Grisham, who lists himself as a preacher for Alaska-based Last Frontier Evangelism, posted two Facebook videos last week in which he approached lines of families waiting to meet Santa at Amarillo and Arlington malls on Dec. 10 and 7.

"We're going to tell the children here today the truth that there is no Santa Clause and Christmas is about Jesus Christ," Grisham said in the recently removed video. "The man you're going to see is just a man in a suit [...] parents, y'all need to stop lying to your children."

RELATED: The internet is loving this San Antonio H-E-B worker's tamale jingle and dance

The kids huddled in line looked on in confusion as Grisham's preaching filled the 3-minute video shot in Amarillo.

"There are no flying reindeer, there is no workshop in the North Pole, there is no elves making toys, (parents) buy all the gifts and put them under the tree," Grisham added.

Eventually, parents confronted Grisham. Before the video was deleted, Grisham claimed he was "ASSAULTED" by the groups.

RELATED: San Antonio megachurch pastor John Hagee condemns Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling

At least three men went face-to-face with the preacher, telling him to "quit it" and "chill out." Grisham continued shouting past the men, telling the children: Your parents are lying to you, don't believe it.

Before Grisham took Amarillo families by surprise, he filmed a video in Arlington's The Parks Mall asking others to follow his lead in their local malls.

"Start telling the kids this is all a big show, it is all fake and it it not real," he said in the Dec. 7 video. "That's probably going to get us thrown out of the mall, but we don't care."

Grisham also announced that he would return to the Arlington mall eventually.

Lorie Lisius, general manager of the Arlington mall, told mySA.com all visitors are expected to abide by the business' code of conduct. Any disruption of a family oriented event in the mall can result in that person being asked to leave, she said.

RELATED: Texas judge apologizes for 'tree and a rope' comment aimed at S.A. cop killing suspect

The video shot in Amarillo was removed from Grisham's Facebook page, but versions of the recording have been uploaded to YouTube. Posts on his personal Facebook account as well as the Last Frontier page have garnered plenty of comments from people outraged by Grisham's preaching.

Last Frontier Evangelism was also not immediately available to comment as of this write.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
Toluna Builds MENA Team and Panels

Online community and survey tech provider Toluna has expanded its presence in the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) region, through the recruitment of three industry veterans and the launch of proprietary panels in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and UAE.



In August, the company opened an office in Dubai, UAE, after investing in in-region respondent and community recruitment efforts. Toluna has now hired former OnDevice Research/Ipsos execs Abboudy Gogo and Rania Ayoub as Client Team Manager and Client Service Manager respectively; while Sakina Mannan joins from Millward Brown as an Account Manager.



In addition, the company has been developing the new panels in the region. Nader Kobeissi (pictured), General Manager of Toluna MENA, comments: 'We're excited to build our team, and capability in the Middle East. Our approach, and research platform are appealing to businesses in the region as they are quick to adopt disruptive research solutions.'



Web site: www.corporate.toluna.com .




New members inducted into Institute of ...
Calaveras County Government Center View Photos

San Andreas, CA  The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors will publically recognize its four departing supervisors, the retiring CAO and other community leaders.

Special proclamations will be issued at Tuesdays board meeting. Board Chair Cliff Edson recently lost his re-election bid, supervisors Debbie Ponte and Chris Wright declined to seek re-election, and supervisor Steve Kearney was recalled. All four will be recognized. Also to be saluted is outgoing CAO Shirley Ryan for her 26 years of service. We reported earlier that Manuel Lopez was tabbed to be the interim CAO until a fulltime replacement is found. The Supervisors will also recognize outgoing Ebbetts Pass Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Brian Hukkanene and CHP retirees Lt. Dewayne Lewis and Sgt. Richard Davis.

A public reception will start Tuesday at 8am, and then the formal meeting, and issuing of proclamations, will start at 10am. The open to the public meeting will be held at the Government Center on Mountain Ranch Road in San Andreas.

Beginning in January the Board of Supervisors will be Gary Tofanelli, Michael Oliveira, John Garamendi Jr., Dennis Mills and Clyde Clapp.
Sacramento, CA  Governor Jerry Brown sent a letter to President Obama today asking for a permanent ban on new offshore oil and gas leasing in federal waters off Californias coast.

You can read it by clicking here. The Governor writes, Clearly, large new oil and gas reserves would be inconsistent with our overriding imperative to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and combat the devastating impacts of climate change. Now is the time to make permanent the protection of our ocean waters and beaches from new oil and gas drilling.

A temporary ban on new leases off the shores of California, Oregon and Washington is set to expire in 2022. When asked by reporters this afternoon, the Associated Press reports that Governor Brown stated that he does not know if President-elect Trump would have the ability to overturn a permanent ban by President Obama. Brown plans to ask the Governors of Oregon and Washington if they would like to join the effort.
While there seem to be an increase in reports of upper respiratory illnesses as well as those suffering from seasonal allergies, both state and local health officials say that flu season across Texas is starting out light.

We havent had any confirmed cases thus far in Hale County, reports Sandra Dulakis, speaking for Dr. Sergio Lara, medical director of the Plainview/Hale County Health Department. According to the statewide influenza activity map, released by the Texas Department of State Health Services, through the week ending Dec. 3, Hale County is indicating influenza-like illness only with no laboratory confirmation if flu.

Medical officials are encouraging local residents to get their flu shots now, before the illness spreads. This years influenza season began Oct. 2.

During the past week influenza activity increased slightly, but remains low in Texas, the state reports.

Hospital and public health laboratories reported a small percentage of specimens testing positive for influenza, this weeks report notes. Compared to the previous week, the percentage pf patient visits due to influenza-like illness slightly increased.

No influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.

Additionally, there have been no flu or flu-like illness outbreaks reported.

In addition to flu, no other respiratory viruses  especially rhinovirus/enterovirus and RSV  were detected in Texas during the period of Nov. 27 through Dec. 3, the state reports.

Within the immediate six-county area, Lamb has had at least one case that resulted in a Rapid test positive for flu, but it has not been confirmed by either culture or PCR. In addition to Hale, both Briscoe and Floyd has had reports of flu-like illnesses, but none showing laboratory confirmation. Castro County has had no activity and there was no information available from Swisher County.

DSHS urges everyone 6 months old and older to get vaccinated against the flu. It is particularly important for pregnant women, young children, older adults and people with chronic health conditions, because people in those groups are at a greater risk of severe complications if they do get the flu.

To avoid the spread of the illness, DSHS encourages everyone to wash their hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitizer. Cover your coughs and sneezes, and stay home if youre sick.
A former Air Force Academy cadet serving a life sentence for killing a teen-age girl says he committed the murder to prove "ultimate devotion" to his girlfriend.

David Graham said he lured Mansfield High School sophomore Adrianne Jones, with whom he had a one-time sexual encounter, to go for a ride with him one night in 1995.

He said his then-fiance, former Naval Academy midshipman Diane Zamora, told him to kill the 16-year-old to prove his loyalty.

"There was a point when she (Jones) said something like, `You're not going to kill me, are you David?' or `Are you going to kill me?' I didn't answer," Graham told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT in a broadcast airing Monday night.

Zamora also is serving a life sentence in the slaying.

"It feels like in retrospect that it was just fate," Graham said. "I can't explain what I was thinking, can't explain why Adrianne cooperated, or how I was able to just shut down my sense of right and wrong and go through with it.

"It doesn't add up. It certainly doesn't add up that my girlfriend would want to murder to solve our problems."

He wouldn't discuss Zamora's role but said "her heart wasn't in it" when she asked him to kill Jones, although "she also wasn't willing to stop it."

He said that at the time, he thought killing Jones would show the "ultimate devotion to your partner."

Graham, who said he expects to leave prison "someday," will be eligible for parole in 2036 at age 59.

He now works in a prison factory and is earning a college degree in psychology and sociology.

"I'm willing to apologize (to Jones' family)," he said. "I do apologize for taking your daughter's life."

Graham also said he sent Zamora a Christmas card last year but was told she does not want to hear from him.
KAT WADE/SFC

An American Airlines flight headed to San Francisco from North Carolina Monday night was diverted to Phoenix due to mechanical problems, officials said.

Flight 1799 was already about 20 minutes late taking off from Charlotte Douglas International Airport before passengers found themselves facing a lengthier delay before reaching their final destination.
Nerio Ortigoza/Contributed photo

From an office in the Market Street area of The Woodlands, Nerio Ortigoza and David Vidal during Thanksgiving week launched their local House Doctors franchise.

The business provides homeowners with licensed and bonded handymen and repair workers.
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The owners of Cowboys Dancehall are appealing a September court ruling that said its lenders didnt wrongfully foreclose on the popular music venue.

Cowboys Far West Ltd., the Arlington partnership that owns the nightclub, contested the decision by Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald King in an appeal filed Dec. 7. King tossed out Cowboys lawsuit that challenged the legality of the June foreclosure.

James Wilkins, an attorney representing Cowboys, did not immediately return a call and email requesting comment. Eric English, an attorney for EverBank and Business Property Lending, declined to comment.

In its initial July lawsuit, Cowboys claimed it didnt default on mortgage payments and that Business Property Lending wrongfully accelerated the nightclubs June foreclosure. The lender had placed Cowboys for sale at a July foreclosure auction. Cowboys declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid the sale.

Cowboys owes creditors about $10 million, according to bankruptcy court documents. The clubs owners argue the building and land, valued at $5.3 million earlier this year, are worth $10 million.

The nightclub made more than $345,000 from alcohol sales in October, according to the most recent state mixed beverage receipts.

An investigation of drunk driving charges by mySA.com found that Cowboys Dancehall, was associated with DWI charges 56 times over the 12 months ended in October, more than any other business in the area, according to data from the San Antonio Police Department. Police collect data on where drivers said they were coming from at the time of their arrest.

Additionally, the venue topped a 2015 mySA.com investigation that looked at drunken driving charges associated with businesses from January 2013 to November 2015. The dance hall was associated with 297 drunken driving charges during that time frame, the most of 50 bars and businesses.

The website is owned by the San Antonio Express-News.

Click here to read the full article or turn to tomorrows Business section in the Express-News.

jfechter@express-news.net
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The legal woes for suspended San Antonio lawyer Todd Prins get worse by the day.

He missed a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday to turn over $2.4 million as ordered by a Houston bankruptcy judge.

Prins, 50, now could be held in contempt and sanctioned for disobeying U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohms order to wire the money to a bankruptcy trustees bank account by Mondays deadline.

Prins must appear before Bohm on Wednesday. If Prins fails to appear, Bohm warned in an order last week that a bench warrant could be issued for Prins arrest. According to the order, Prins violated court rules by conducting a foreclosure sale on a house in Houston without the judges approval and for failing to turn over the $2.4 million in proceeds from the sale.

On Friday, Prins law license was suspended by a Bexar County District Court judge. Prins faces various legal troubles in San Antonio.

Click here on ExpressNews.com or turn to Tuesdays Business section to read more on Prins.
Amazon won roughly $23 million in local tax incentives over the past two years to locate its distribution centers in three Texas cities when the retail giant didnt need the funds and would have likely needed operations there any way, according to a new a study published Tuesday.

Amazons business model is increasingly emphasizing speedy delivery  whether through its same-day or two-hour delivery options available through the companys $99-a-year Prime subscription service. Meeting those demands means Amazon has to set up a network of distribution and order fulfillment centers in relative proximity to its customer base, said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, which wrote the report. Good Jobs is a national organization that studies economic development.

Youre paying a company to do something that it has to do, that is baked into its business plan, LeRoy said.

The report singles out Amazons 855,000-square-foot distribution center in San Marcos among other examples in California and Pennsylvania. San Marcos City Council members approved an incentive package in July 2015 that would refund the company 85 percent of personal property taxes and 40 percent of real property taxes over the next 10 years. Hays County officials approved a similar package. The combined value of the packages was pegged at $11 million.

Amazon agreed to hire more than 350 full-time workers at the San Marcos center by the end of 2017. The company could get a five-year extension on its real property tax exemptions if it employs 1,000 people on a full-time basis.

Amazon also will receive partial refunds of its sales taxes for two decades.

Estimates in city documents projected the center would generate $200 million in investments to the city, including a capital investment of about $60 million and about $131 million in personal property and equipment. Construction costs were estimated to hit $75 million, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records.

Leroy said Amazon didnt need the package offered by Hays County and San Marcos to locate there because the company already had incentive to establish operations along the Interstate 35 corridor, connecting the company with customers in San Antonio and Austin.

This is the way retailers operate, LeRoy said. They go where their greatest concentration of customers are.

Amazon spokeswoman Ashley Robinson did not address the studys assertions, but said the company has invested billions of dollars and created more than 180,000 full-time jobs.

Whether its through the direct creation of great jobs at our fulfillment centers that pay 30 percent higher than traditional retail jobs, supporting local businesses near our sites, or creating hundreds of thousands of additional jobs through our investments across the country, were focused on supporting the prosperity of the communities where our employees live and work, Robinson said.

Officials in Hays County and San Marcos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

San Marcos isnt the only Texas municipality to lure Amazon with promises of tax breaks in the past two years. Officials in Harris County awarded a $7 million property tax abatement to the Seattle-based retailer in June to build a 855,000-square foot distribution center in Houston and create 1,000 jobs.

Officials in Dallas and Harris County have also given a $5 million cash grant to Amazon to revamp a 500,000-square-foot warehouse to create a fulfillment center. The retailer agreed to hire at least 400 people at the center.

For the companys 1.25 million-square-foot distribution center in Schertz, officials with Schertz, Guadalupe County and the Schertz Economic Development Corp. approved roughly $7.6 million in direct tax incentives. The $150 million center opened in September 2013.

jfechter@express-news.net

Twitter: @JFreports
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A San Francisco immigration attorney picked up key support Monday to fill the citys vacant Police Commission seat, but another of the three contenders may have a chance to snatch the appointment when the full Board of Supervisors weighs in Tuesday.

Bill Hing, a University of San Francisco professor who represents unaccompanied children in immigration courts, won the recommendation of the boards Rules Committee by a 2-1 vote, with backing from Supervisors Eric Mar and Katy Tang.

Mar said he recommended Hing because his knowledge as one of the most approachable mentors (of people in) the immigrant rights community would be important on the commission as sanctuary cities are under attack on a nationwide level.

Before the hearing, Mar told The Chronicle that Hing was his mentor in the 1980s and 90s, and that he would vote to recommend him.

Recommendations by the Rules Committee, though, do not have to be followed by the full board. Supervisor Malia Cohens dissenting vote  along with her support of criminal defense attorney John Hamasaki  was echoed by Supervisors John Avalos and London Breed, who attended Mondays hearing despite not being on the committee.

I came in thinking that the best candidate was probably going to be Bill Hing, just knowing Bill Hing from his human rights work, Avalos said. But as I was listening to John Hamasaki speak, I think he has the qualities that I think are going to be really needed in having someone on the Police Commission.

Cohen said that while Hing had an impressive background, he came into the hearing with the unprepared approach of a candidate unfamiliar with how the commission works. I

n particular, Cohen questioned why Hing had submitted his application after the deadline, and whether he had been involved enough with the commission before the seat opened up.

In their presentations to the committee, Hing and Hamasaki expressed many of the same reform-minded goals for the Police Commission, which has been working to implement broad changes to the Police Department following charges of biased policing and several controversial shootings by officers, including that of Mario Woods a year ago.

Tang praised all three candidates but seemed to be leaning toward Julie Soo, an attorney for the California Department of Insurance. However, Tang threw her support behind Hing after Cohen made a motion to recommend Hamasaki.

A fourth candidate, Michael Young, withdrew his application before the hearing. The appointment to the Police Commission will replace Victor Hwang, who resigned after winning a race for San Francisco Superior Court judge in November.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
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Rapper Kanye West, who recently canceled his Saint Pablo World Tour, met with President-elect Donald Trump in New York Tuesday morning.

His meeting with the reality star send the internet into a frenzy many wondered why the rapper was there, what the two had talked about and if West's supposed 2020 run for president was discussed.

The Associated Press reported West said earlier in November that if he had voted in the presidential election, he would've voted for Trump.

Click through the slideshow to see how the world reacted to Trump's meeting with West.

RELATED: Video: Kanye West visits Trump, who calls musician a 'good man'

On Twitter Tuesday afternoon, West addressed the meeting saying he spoke to the president-elect about "multicultural issues" including "bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums and violence in Chicago."

"I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future president if we truly want change," West said.

He ended the stream of tweets with "#2024," possibly alluding to a bid for the White House in eight years.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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The property at 2622 Riverside Drive was once the site of a run-down old house designated as a tear-down.

To Rachel Paxton, the dilapidated structure was a welcome challenge.

Paxton co-owns house remodeling company CFV Home Restoration with her father, Mike Cooney. Her ability to see past the degraded condition of neglected homes recently paid off for the family business.

While hunting for their next project, Paxton and her father came across the Riverside home once owned by former Houston mayor Otis Massey. He's remembered for selling off a sprawling plot of land that's now part of the Texas Medical Center. Paxton began researching both the late politician and his old abode.

She learned that Massey, who was a two-term Houston mayor in office from 1943 to 1947, commissioned this Riverside residence in 1928.

Paxton also discovered that Massey's grandchildren currently own industrial equipment company Caterpillar Tractor. She contacted them and was able to obtain the original design plans for the home.

WOMEN BUILDERS: Female custom builder takes on male-dominated industry with unique Texas homes

"His grandchildren still own the company that they founded, so it was easy to locate them," she recalls. "We had lunch and they gave me some old photographs and the original contract, and that contract showed (the layout) of the house."

That meeting, and the documents the Masseys provided, would lead to a more accurate restoration, but refurbishing was the easy part. Paxton also had to persuade her father that the project was a worthy undertaking with tremendous potential.

"One of the biggest challenges was convincing people that it's not a tear-down," she says, adding that she eventually managed to sway her father.

Cooney and Paxton have been reconditioning old houses in Houston's Washington Terrace and Riverside communities since 2011. Paxton's mother works alongside them and serves as the interior design lead for the company.

INDUSTRY SHIFT: Team of millennials leave oil & gas to launch home restoration company

Paxton also owns her own downtown Houston branch-off of the business, called Pax Houstonia.

CFV Home Restoration initially only bought small cottages, but over time they have scaled up the size and difficulty of their projects.

The Massey house proved to be a particularly challenging task. The house was not only battered and decaying, it had also been converted into a four-plex. It required a lengthy nine months to repair.

"So many walls had been added," Paxton explains. "There was a bathroom on the front porch, there was a bathroom in the kitchen." She says they were able to restore it "back to its original shape."

"We put back the original trim, the original hardwoods," she says. "It still looks like the original." She credits "the integrity of the structure" with the finished product.

The costly restoration is now a three-story, 4,168-square-foot home with French doors, Craftsman architectural features and a terra-cota covered porch.

Paxton says that she and her family will continue to pursue similar projects in Riverside and Washington Terrace.

She explains that part of what drives her to seek out houses in disrepair is the new development she's seeing in that neighborhood.

"The lots in Washington Terrace are small and meant for cottages," she explains, adding that bungalows are being torn down to accommodate multiple large townhouses that crowd the block.

"There are four to six townhouses on one lot, from the edge of one side of the lot, to the other edge. It's affected the neighborhood negatively, aesthetically" and economically, she says. "They don't care what the neighborhood will look like in 20 years."

She adds that Riverside "still has a stigma" because of its reputation as a crime ridden part of town in decades past. Paxton believes it's evolved for the better recently and will continue to grow. A new H-E-B could be coming up, and its location makes for easy access to the Museum District and medical center.

Beyond that, she says that historic houses are rapidly being replaced by cookie-cutter homes with shoddy construction. Older houses were built to withstand age better than the boxy new townhouses cropping up all around Houston and its suburbs, she explains.

Paxton says that her vision and dedication could help salvage the well-built Houston dwellings that were erected long ago.

"I can see the houses being in style for centuries instead of just for this decade," she said.
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Hotel Emma's first year in operation has been marked with national recognition from Vogue to USA Today, which dubbed the San Antonio getaway one of the "most talked about new properties."

The brewery turned luxury boutique hotel is often heralded for its food offerings, bars and atmosphere. Another talking point is one of the most expensive and well-appointed reservations, the Emma Suite, which has been rented for as much as $7,500.

Beth Smith, public relations director for the hotel, said Hotel Emma respects the privacy of guests and refused to divulge on specific names of people who have rented the lavish stay, but did mention high-profile figures in film, fashion, sports, politics and Top Fortune 500 CEOs have called the quarters "home" at some point.

RELATED: The Pearl makes Vogue's list of America's Best Food Halls

The suite, named after Emma Koehler, wife of Pearl Brewery founder Otto Koehler, sleeps two guests but can accommodate receptions for approximately 30 people on its terrace, Smith said.

Guests checked into the 2,361 square feet lap of luxury take a private penthouse elevator up to the doors of the Emma Suite to find a long list of amenities including a spacious terrace where eight guests can enjoy al fresco dining by fireplace.

RELATED: 5 of 10 top Texas hotels are in S.A., new Conde Nast list says

Customers can enjoy a vintage Grand piano, a private service pantry, a wet bar and luxurious bathrooms with claw foot tubs during their stays. Smith also noted the suite is adorned with "one of a kind art," custom furniture and flowers.

Smith said the luxurious room is typically booked for birthdays, anniversaries and corporate events.

The hotel as a whole is owning the leader board in USA Today's contest to find the Best New Hotel in the country in the "10Best" series. Hotel Emma, "one of San Antonio's most talked about new properties," was selected along with 19 other nominees by a panel of hotel experts, the website said.

RELATED: Hotel Emma one of the best new hotels on the planet, according to Travel + Leisure

Hotel Emma is currently holding the No. 1 spot. USA Today is accepting one vote a day per person. Polls close on Monday, Jan.2 and the winner will be announced Jan. 6.

Click through the gallery above to see one of the aspects  the Emma Suite  that has earned the San Antonio spot national recognition.

Staff writer Chris Quinn contributed to this report.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
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The Mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, announces the creation of the Office of New Americans with the purpose of serving as an information clearinghouse and engagement hub to serve the immigrant community of the fourth largest city in the country.

"Many members of our community are living in fear and asking whether they will continue to have a place in our great city," said Mayor Turner at a press conference on Monday.

Turner said that "The Houston that existed before the November election is the Houston that still exists today."

Houston, he added, "is going to remain a city where all are welcome, where neighbors look out for one another and where we are proud of our diversity."

The new Office of New Americans will substitute a previously established Office of International Communities. The new office will work with a task force in charge of making assessments and bringing recommendations to the city next year about services needed by immigrant communities, the Mayor said.

Turner also declared his support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a presidential executive action that allows certain young people who came as undocumented minors to the U.S. to be able to work and be protected from deportation.

President-elect Donald Trump has said during his campaign that he is going to repeal DACA.

Oscar Hernandez, a Houston organizer for United We Dream who has been undocumented for 25 years since he came as a child with his family to the U.S., said that "The election of Donald Trump has sent immigrants and our families into a panic."

According to Hernandez, who is one of around 60,000 individuals in Houston eligible for DACA, many young American-born citizens are afraid that their parents could be deported when Trump assumes the Presidency on January 20.

Hernandez outlined three points that United We Dream in Houston is asking the leadership of the city. They are:

Block city funds and resources from assisting in the enforcement of Federal immigration law; Prohibit the City from dangerous profiling practices, or questioning, stopping, arresting, or detaining an individual solely on the basis of skin color, religious practices, customs, or immigration status; and Include "immigration status" in the definition of a hate crime.

Olivia.Tallet@chron.com

Twitter: @oliviaptallet
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FAIRFIELD  Nursing may not seem a logical path to the office of college president, but it makes perfect sense to Lynn Babington.

When you are a nurse, you translate medical information between patient and families and physicians half the time, Babington said from the austere foyer of Fairfield Universitys Bellarmine Hall. And when you are a college president, you have to look at the big picture and translate it to families, students, staff, faculty and the Board of Trustees who are the ultimate overseers.

Its her time to put those translation skills to use.

As of Jan. 1, Babington, the universitys provost, will be interim president at Fairfield University, a Jesuit higher education institution. She is expected to hold the job for six months as a search takes place for a permanent replacement for departing president Rev. Jeffrey von Arx.

Last summer, it was announced he was being reassigned by the Society of Jesus after 12 years at Fairfield.

Babington came to Fairfield University in 2012 as dean of the School of Nursing. Two years later, she became senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

In its nearly 75 years of existence, Fairfield has never been led by a non-Jesuit  or a woman.

Fairfield is ready, Babington said, calling the assignment an honor and privilege.

Others agree.

Susan Rakowitz, an assistant professor of psychology, said there is no reason why a lay president would have to be male or even Catholic.

Absolutely, Zoe Ferranti, a senior and president of the Fairfield University Student Association, said. As the third female president for the student body ... I am personally thrilled.

Ferranti called Babington very active on campus.

Earlier this week she participated in a student led tree-lighting. And for some time, Ferranti said Babington has co-led efforts on a new strategic plan called Fairfield 2020.

We work on that document on a daily basis, Babington said.

A key component to the plan is a core curriculum that Babington said is headed to the general faculty by the end of the month for review. The plan calls for a writing across the curriculum component, a social justice requirement and for all students to take an interdisciplinary course before they graduate.

Faculty have worked hard on this, Babington said.

Happy with the size of its core undergraduate base of some 4,000 students, the plan also calls for Fairfield to reach out more deliberately for part-time and graduate students.

We need to establish Fairfield as a place for all kinds of education, not just as a traditional undergraduate university, Babington said.

All over the map

Originally from Detroit, Babingtons career has taken her from from Seattle to Boston and several places in between. Until recently she and her husband, Randall Carpenter, a research scientist, lived in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. They have since moved to Fairfield. Babington said she is not planning to move into the Fairfield University presidents house located just off campus.

She also wont move from her present office in Canisius Hall to Bellarmine until von Arxs official departure.

Fairfield is her first Jesuit institution, but she said she has jumped in with both feet.

I like it, she said. Jesuit values deeply enrich the formation of young people as whole persons. We hope by the time our kids graduates they can answer three questions: Who am I? Whose am I? And who am I meant to be?

Bryan Crandall, a professor and director of the Connecticut Writing Project housed at Fairfield, called Babington a natural leader.

I have no doubt she will continue to advocate for community partnerships, locally, nationally and globally, Crandall said. I think Fairfield deserves a wonderful president, and shes proven her worth again and again.

Assuming she has just six months in the job, Crandall wants to see a continued investment and commitment to faculty and staff, as well as an intentional focus on diversity initiatives across campus.

Frank Carroll, chairman of the Fairfield University Board of Trustees, said he and the board are very confident with Babington.

Her leadership experience will continue to ensure we look forward to the future of Fairfield University, Carroll said.

Babington said she not applied for the permanent job. She could if she wants to; university officials say there is no prohibition of an interim president applying.

We will cross that bridge when come to it, Babington said. We will see. It is a nationwide search.
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Schenectady

The teenage gunman who shot 19-year-old bystander Lasean Gause to death last year outside a market on Albany Street was sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison Wednesday for manslaughter and gun possession.

Kasheef James,18, opened fire at a crowd outside Zaid's Food Market on Albany Street on June 29, 2015. Gause, a Schenectady High graduate attending Schenectady County Community College, became the unintended target of the bullets fired by James and Myliek Lebron, now serving 25 years to life in prison for murder in maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Burock, who prosecuted the case, said James boasted to Lebron that he emptied his clip into the crowd because he was unsure of the target.

She noted the victim's mother, Aisha Persha, and Gause's brother, Khaliiq Woodson, both expressed to the judge their devastation at the loss of their loved one.

On Oct. 4, a Schenectady County jury acquitted James of second-degree murder but convicted him of second-degree manslaughter and weapon possession for possession for two 9mm handguns.

On Wednesday, County Judge Matthew Sypniewski sentenced James to 15 years for possessing weapons and another 5 to 15 years for second-degree manslaughter. The sentences will run consecutively.

rgavin@timesunion.com  518-434-2403  @RobertGavinTU
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Schenectady

Scott Lobdell held up a handwritten letter to Santa Claus from Hannah, a girl in Syracuse with a brother named Alec, the same names as his two children.

"It's obviously an older sister because she says, 'I'm particularly hard on my brother,' and my kids are the same way. I have an older daughter and a younger son, so it's kind of cool," said Lodbell, 45. "It's probably one of the more rewarding things I do during the holiday season because I get to read all kinds of different letters from people in different areas of the world."

Lobdell was one of dozen or so employees Monday at the General Electric plant off Erie Boulevard who spent their lunch break sitting around a conference room table opening and answering letters from mostly good little boys and girls asking for everything from a Julia Child cookbook on French cuisine to Legos to the holiday wish from a foster child from Schenectady to be with his biological family.

Last Christmas, among the 1,443 letters responded to was one written in a code, which a volunteer deciphered. In recent years, the group has been getting and answering letters from China.

The letters starting arriving at the plant after the facility acquired the 12345 ZIP code, which is the same as Santa's at the North Pole.

In 1994, a group of GE volunteers got together and began helping the Schenectady post office by receiving and responding to the letters.

Darlene Muscanell, who serves as the head elf in the de facto GE workshop, has been a volunteer for more than two decades.

Besides asking for presents, Muscanell said young letter writers sometimes include drawings and goodies and have a knack for telling it like it is.

"They'll be honest, if they're bad, or what they did to their brothers or sisters, and they'll say, 'I'm sorry and I'm going to behave,' " said Muscanell, an administrative assistant for GE's onshore wind business. "They'll ask how the reindeer are, they'll ask what kind of cookies Santa likes, they'll ask for Rudolph and the elves, and for kids that are less fortunate."

She chuckled as she recalled the little girl, about 4 years old, who wanted Santa to send her blonde hair dye.

Not all the letters are whimsical.

Ken Johnson, an engineer and program manager, recalled reading a letter from a 54-year-old man hoping for a "Christmas miracle" that his wife would beat cancer because "they have so many plans."

Muscanell said that they use one of three different form letters, which in part explain the meaning of Christmas.

"Keep the true spirit of Christmas in your heart  helping others," reads one of the letters that goes on to urge the child to leave some milk and cookies for Santa because "I get hungry on a long journey!"

The group started opening the letters on Dec. 5 and Muscanell estimates when they're done, they will have answered 1,200 letters.

"It really puts such a crazy time of year  you're hectic and running around  and this really just helps put it all in perspective," said Muscanell. "Once you do it you're hooked."

pnelson@timesunion.com  518-454-5347  @apaulnelson
Schenectady

Driving while smoking with a young person in your vehicle could lead to a fine if Schenectady police catch you.

By a 5-1 vote the City Council Monday approved an ordinance that forbids smoking in a vehicle where a child 16 and younger is a passenger.

Anyone convicted of flouting that law will be subject to a $50 fine after the first offense. The penalty will increase for multiple offenses.

Councilman John Polimeni, who proposed the ban, did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Tuesday.

City Council President Leesa Perazzo cast the lone dissenting vote; Councilman Vince Riggi abstained.

On Tuesday, Perazzo said she was conflicted and only decided how she was going to vote a few hours before Monday's meeting. She called second-hand smoke in the close confines of a car a danger to children but said a local law is not the way to combat the problem.

"The main reason for me was that, as a local law, I don't think we can provide enough education to make the law fair," she said. "If it were a state law or federal law, which I would absolutely be in support of, there would be education campaigns attached to it."

Perazzo said she also would have liked to see motorists given at least one warning.

"I just don't think it's fair to say, 'welcome to Schenectady, here's a fine,' for a law you probably had no idea about," added Perazzo. "My issue is not with the premise of the law as much as the fact that as a local law I think it presents insurmountable challenges."

Perazzo and Riggi said they would have preferred a resolution from Schenectady to state lawmakers urging them to pass a measure forbidding smoking in vehicles with minors.

"I think in theory it's a good idea, I don't think it's enforceable," said Riggi, arguing that it'll be tough for a cop to know the true age of a youngster unless they see their identification.

He said he's received mostly negative feedback from residents on Facebook with some questioning whether it was even a salient issue.

"This is what the city is worried about, they can't enforce loud fireworks explosions, they're not enforcing loud music, they're not enforcing litter, that's exactly the feedback I got," Riggi said.

Riggi says it would be easier to enforce a law like one in Vermont which prohibits adults from smoking in a car if a child is in a restraint seat.

In June 2007, Rockland County passed the Kids in Cars Smoking Safety Act, that prohibits smoking in vehicles with children younger than 18.

Theresa Zubretsky with the Capital District Tobacco Free Communities applauded Schenectady for passing its law.

"We clearly support the reduction of second-hand smoke particularly the young people who may be more vulnerable to it, so good for them for taking action."

pnelson@timesunion.com  518-454-5347  @apaulnelson
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DANBURY - If the president of the states colleges and universities wanted to ease fears among students without legal immigration status that they would be targets under a new White House, he might have partly accomplished his goal.

A statewide group that fights for students lacking documentation said the supportive statement this week from Connecticut State College and University system President Mark Ojakian was a welcome sign that immigrants had an important ally in Hartford.

Advocates said Ojakians commitment is particularly important as Washington prepares to swear in president-elect Donald Trump, who promised to crack down on illegal immigration.

To be very clear, we will continue to unequivocally support our undocumented students and provide whatever legal or other services we can during this uncertain time, Ojakian posted Tuesday on the CSCU website.

But activists cautioned that without action to back up those words, undocumented students can still be denied access to higher education.

Its one thing for president Ojakian to be supportive, but without action and policies in place we find that some students go to the admissions office seeking help, and they get told they dont qualify for in-state tuition, said Carolina Bortoletto of Danbury, a co-founder of the advocacy group, CT Students for a Dream. Or they get intimidated because people ask them about their immigration status, and they are not supposed to do that.

Ojakians statement comes one week after the president of the University of Connecticut said campus police would not question students immigration status or detain students on immigration warrants. President Susan Herbst also said UConn would continue to accept students regardless of immigration status, giving them access to health care and other services.

Ojakian, who oversees 12 community colleges and four state universities - including Western Connecticut State University in Danbury and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven - issued his statement after visiting campuses and becoming concerned about the fears some students expressed.

I have been to almost all of our campuses since (the November election) ... and have heard first-hand about the fear certain student populations are experiencing due to their race, religion, sexual orientation and because of their immigration status, Ojakian wrote. I have heard concerns from our DACA and other undocumented students, who feel particularly vulnerable and scared about what lies ahead for them and their families.

DACA stands for the Obama administration policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which gives certain students who entered the U.S. as children protection from deportation, to work and study.

Bortoletto, who graduated from WCSU in 2010 with a biology degree under the DACA policy, called on her alma mater and other state universities to follow Ojakians example.

A WCSU spokesman said the university has consistently supported the rights of all its students.

We support the goals of students who qualify under the DACA program and we will work within the guidelines that the CSCU system creates, Western spokesman Paul Steinmetz said on Wednesday.

Its too early to know exactly what support we will be able to offer these students, but with President Ojakians leadership, we will explore various avenues, Steinmetz said. We value our DACA students and want them to be able to continue and complete their educations at Western.

The president of SCSU agreed.

As a diverse, public institution committed to access and social justice, Southern is wholeheartedly supportive of President Ojakians position, SCSU President Joe Bertolino said.

Our mission is to provide a pathway to a college degree for all students, regardless of their background or circumstances, Bertolino said. In difficult times, it is essential that our campus community remains a supportive, welcoming environment for all - and that includes maintaining our commitment to our undocumented students.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342
Jessica Hill / AP Photo /Jessica Hill

Connecticut residents wishing to be covered under the states health care exchange by Jan. 1 have until Thursday to sign up, according to a statement released Tuesday by Access Health CT CEO James Wadleigh.

The deadline to have coverage starting the first of the year is this week, Wadleigh said in the released. Were seeing huge numbers of people enrolling  which is amazing. We want people to have coverage, thats for sure. But what we want most of all is for Connecticut to be healthy. Were on the right track  weve seen over 16,000 people sign up for 2017 coverage since Nov. 1.
LUBBOCK  National Sorghum Producers has announced the winners of the 2016 NSP Yield Contest. Farmers from 28 states entered to win this years contest. Producer yields are highlighted in 10 different categories with this years top yield at 208.40 bushels per acre.

"The sorghum yield contest provides incentive for growers across the nation to go the extra mile to improve yield on their operation," said NSP board of directors Chairman Don Bloss."I congratulate the winners of the 2016 yield contest and look forward to meeting each one at Commodity Classic this coming year."
In an effort to look out for the residents, the Conroe City Council approved an ordinance to suspend the implementation date of new gas rates proposed by CenterPoint Energy Corp. until after the winter months.

The company, doing business in the Houston region as CenterPoint Energy Entex and CenterPoint Energy Texas Gas, are raising rates about $6 per month. Currently, according to CenterPoint officials, the Conroe area has lower rates than Houston and the increase is to have the rates uniform for the Houston region.

CenterPoint filed its intent to raise rates with the Texas Railroad Commission in November.

The city, according to City Attorney Marc Winberry, has jurisdiction over the rates and charges of gas utility companies operating in the city. The city, he added, has the right to deny, approve or modify proposed rates. CenterPoint can appeal the action to the Railroad Commission.

"The reason the increase is larger in total for Conroe is because currently there are two different costs of gas that we charge customers in the existing Houston division," said Thomas Stevens, director of Regulatory Affairs for CenterPoint, noting the cost of gas in the Conroe area is lower than what other customers in the region pay. "So by consolidating rates, it does have a higher impact to a customer's bill (in Conroe)."

However, council members did not welcome the increase.

"Most of us up here on the dais (council seating area) are not concerned about your business model or getting your rate uniform; we are obviously concerned about the consumer," said Mayor Pro Tem Duke Coon, who added the council would do all it could to deny the increase. "This is substantial. I think if you had come to us with any other reason other than to uniform your rates, we might support it."

Councilman Duane Ham agrees.

"Even if our citizens have to suck this up, we can give them 90 days, which will get us through the winter months," Ham said. "We are different than Houston.  I think we are going to do everything we can to protect our citizens."

Winberry said the 90 days will give city staff time to consult with the council on any appeal CenterPoint makes to the RRC.
With the world facing its largest refugee and migrant crisis since World War II, numerous armed conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, the threat of terrorism, and the effects of climate change, Guterres will have a full plate when he takes up his duties on Jan. 1 from outgoing UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

The 67-year-old former prime minister (1995-2002) and UN refugee chief (2005-2015) beat out more than a dozen other candidates during a 10-month long public process to lead the organization.

"The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective," Guterres told member states. "It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy," he said.

 Conflict Prevention

"The UN must be ready to change," Guterres said. "Our most serious shortcoming -- and here I refer to the entire international community -- is our inability to prevent crises," he said. "The United Nations was born from war. Today we must be here for peace," he said.

Guterres said he would make conflict prevention his top priority. "Where prevention fails, we must do more to resolve conflicts," he said, adding he would use his good offices to personally engage in conflict resolution where it brings "added value." He also called for mediation, arbitration and creative diplomacy for addressing crises.

During a post-ceremony news conference, Guterres was asked what he would do about the situation in Syria. He said he hopes to be an "honest broker, creating the conditions for confidence to be established" to find a solution.

"This is a war in which nobody is winning; this is a war in which everybody is losing," Guterres said. "This became a threat for everybody around the world; it is high time to put an end to this nonsense."

 Farewell to Ban

UN member states also held a tribute to Ban Ki-moon, who has led the organization for the past decade. They praised his stewardship of the organization through a global financial crisis, conflicts, natural disasters and outbreaks of disease, and they gave him a standing ovation.

Over his tenure, Ban has often referred to his own upbringing and the role the United Nations played in his youth, in struggling post-war Korea. "After the Korean War, UN aid fed us; UN textbooks taught us; UN global solidarity showed us we were not alone," he said. "For me, the power of the United Nations was never abstract or academic," said Ban.

"It is the story of my life, and many Korean people," he continued. "It is a story of many millions, and millions of people around the world, many children, young boys and girls."

 Return to Korea

He said his profound appreciation for the organization only grew stronger during his tenure. "For the past 10 years, I have been honored to serve alongside the many courageous, dedicated and talented women and men of the United Nations," he said.

"Even as I prepare to leave, my heart will stay as it has since I was a child -- right here with the United Nations," he said.

Ban's term will expire at the end of this month. He will return to his native South Korea in mid-January, where there is widespread speculation he may run for president.
Timothy A. Clary | Getty Images

Little is known about what went down at this morning's meeting between President-Elect Donald Trump and Mr. Kim Kardashian Kanye West at Trump Tower in New York.

At first glance, the sweat-shirted West looked like he might be dropping by to hit the Trump Tower gym:
Employees of the Village of Maryville will have the same health and life insurance benefits as the trustees voted to approve renewals of the insurance programs.

At the last regular meeting of the full board, Trustee Rod Schmidt made the motion to approve the renewal of the employee health insurance with United Health Care and employee vision, dental and life insurance with Assurant Employee Benefits.

According to documents presented at the board meeting, the current expense to the village for health, dental, vision and life insurance for employees is $289,852.

The renewed health insurance coverage will cost the village $306,546.

The plan only increased by 5.8 percent, Schmidt said.

Employees will see increases ranging from $1.36 to $10.34 per pay period depending on the type of coverage they choose.

Id like to thank the committee, Schmidt said. This is not an easy item to put the figures together and get everyones opinion with the figures and looking at the different plans.

Mayor Larry Gulledge said he is pleased that the increase to both the village and the employees did not increase significantly.

I know of some of our neighboring communities that have seen increases as high as 15 percent, Gulledge said. Im very happy with the outcome.

Schmidt said there was a slight increase in the vision and life insurance but none associated with dental insurance.

Gulledge said the new policy is still within the budget as the budget had allowed for a 15 percent increase in coverage costs.

Trustees also approved a motion to renew the villages liability and workers comp insurance with Illinois Counties Risk Management Trust.

According to the documents provided at the trustee meeting, the total annual policy premium is $264,841 for the coming fiscal year.

The 2016 workers comp and general liability insurance cost the village $252,689.

There was a 4.8 percent increase for the coming fiscal year.

Gulledge said the village had budgeted $268,000 for the liability and workers comp.

Im pleased that we came in about $3,200 under what we budgeted for this item, he said.
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Standing in front of the monstrous remnants of the Ghost Ship, astonished onlookers Monday gently approached the burned out warehouse, getting a closer look at where 36 artists and musicians perished earlier this month.

The sour smell of wet burned lumber and other refuse carried in the air as visitors peered over a fence and into the destroyed belly of the once-lively artist collective.

Most streets around the gutted two-story warehouse on 31st Avenue near International Boulevard in Oaklands Fruitvale neighborhood had since reopened. Merchants went about their business. A Wendys on the corner served a line of cars queued up in the drive-through.

It was the beginning of the first week things appeared to be returning to normal.

But for the friends and families of the victims, and their communities in Oakland and the larger Bay Area, things were not normal.

Seeing up close what they had read about or seen on television, though, gave some of the days observers something definitive in what has been days of otherwise abstract agony.

The tragedy hits me in little spurts, 31-year-old Tony Lund said as he looked into where his close friend, Jonathan Bernbaum, died.

Lund attended film school with Bernbaum at the University of Southern California. The two would hang out almost every weekend in the four years between their 2008 graduation and Bernbaums eventual departure for the Bay Area.

Lund drove from Los Angeles on Sunday to attend a memorial at Congregation Beth El in Berkeley before he and others close to the 34-year-old Bernbaum gathered to trade stories about their lost friend.

On Monday, Lund wanted to see where the Dec. 2 tragedy happened. He stood along the section of 31st Avenue that remained closed between International and East 13th Street.

Crews had shored up the structural beams inside the warehouse over the 10 days since the fire while removing the bodies and clearing the way for investigators to work on pinpointing the cause of the blaze, which they believe started at the rear-center of the 160-by-48-foot building.

There were media reports that investigators have concluded that overloaded electrical lines were the cause of the fire. However, Alexandria Corneiro, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the lead agency in the probe, said Monday night, It is premature to say that because it is an ongoing investigation.

Witnesses have described jerry-rigged electrical wiring in the warehouse, along with a makeshift staircase to the second level that was a bottleneck for those trying to escape.

A shoddy staircase assembled from assorted pieces of wood was visible Monday as dawn broke and light filled the black and hollow building.

The shells of burned trailers, where some artists once lived, could be seen among heaps of unrecognizable debris.

The thing that hits you the most is the smell, Lund said. Its so pungent. It rocks you to your core. You smell a potpourri of charred wood and death.

A memorial of flowers grew throughout the day in front of the Ghost Ship, equaling in size large memorials along East 12th Street. Flowers, candles, signs and balloons lined the green-mesh-covered chain link fence blocking the warehouse.

A placard of small, painted hand prints from Bettys Childrens Academy preschool in Berkeley rested behind a bouquet of red roses. Across the street near Wendys, someone placed an art installation in honor of the fire victims.

Metal rods protruding from a concrete block formed a tree with candles dangling from the branches. Above each candle, a metal heart bore a victims name.

This is my first time seeing it not on the news, 53-year-old Anthony Johnson said at the scene. Its really heartbreaking. Im speechless.

He recorded video on his cell phone before stopping and taking in the emotional weight of the scenery.

Charlene Finley visited the site from San Francisco on Monday morning. She knows well the unforgiving power of fire after losing everything in a 2011 blaze that devoured her home in Visitacion Valley.

Looking into the Ghost Ship left her heartbroken.

Its so, so sad that they all had to die in a tragedy like that, she said.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
A 59-year-old woman was killed Tuesday morning, and her assailant lit her body on fire before the flames spread through her home, officials said.

This is a very brutal murder, Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, said at a news conference Tuesday evening. Its concerning in the manner she was killed. The subsequent fire was concerning.

Though Nelson declined to say how the woman  whom he described as a well-liked widow with two adult daughters  was killed, he ruled out shooting and described her injuries as brutal.

Alameda County Fire Department / Alameda County Fire Department

Firefighters rushed to the house on the 1800 block of Grove Way where flames were exploding out of the garage around 2:45 a.m., said Aisha Knowles, a spokeswoman for the Alameda County Fire Department.

Crews got to the scene and within 10 minutes put out the blaze, Nelson said. The womans body was lit on fire to start the blaze, he said. Investigators were trying to determine a motive, including whether anything was stolen.

There was smoke and flames shooting through the roof of the residence, as well as out of the garage, Knowles said in describing what firefighters encountered at the scene.

Firefighters said the womans body was found in the garage.

The victims identity was not immediately released. Though the fire was reported closer to 3 a.m., Nelson said investigators are looking for surveillance video starting as early as 10 p.m. Monday.

The fire was set to burn the body, to burn that scene, and that probably smoldered and went unnoticed for quite some time, Nelson said.

One firefighter suffered a minor hand injury while battling the fire, and was treated at a hospital and released, Knowles said.

Investigators planned to work through the night Tuesday in the rain, erecting tents to protect the crime scene from damage, Nelson said.

Unfortunately, weve been doing that a lot lately, with our work between here and what happened in Oakland, Nelson said, referring to the Dec. 2 Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36.

Evan Sernoffsky, Sarah Ravani and Michael Bodley are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com, mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @SarRavani, @michael_bodley
Brexit wiped $3 trillion from global markets in the two days after the vote, but for British startups, the surprise referendum's economic rampage has just begun. While the total impact wont be visible until years after secession from the European Union, Brexit is sure to limit access to talent and markets for sapling startups.

A record 608,110 new U.K. businesses launched last year, which means hundreds of thousands more companies are searching for talent. But if Britain tightens immigration laws as Brexiters promised, the talent pool is going to get a lot shallower.

Startups also need access to customers in large, addressable markets, and Brexit will make it much tougher for British businesses to roll out Europewide product launches.

So, while U.S.-based businesses have faced relatively little fallout from the strife across the Pond, Brexit provides some instructive lessons. This country's 50 states offer a broad, diverse market, and that strong economy brings access to the global talent pool. But H1B immigration visa rules are tightening, and we've just elected a president who could stifle innovation even further.

Nowhere -- including either the United States or the U.K. -- are onerous government regulations strangling startup innovation more than in the fintech industry.

Fintechs regulatory burden

Both the U.S. technology and financial industries are heavily regulated, and the financial tech industry faces the worst of both worlds.

In this country, there are 400 agencies, subagencies and government departments from which most fintech startups must seek approval before they can begin operations. Research shows that 86 percent of financial CEOs worry about being too heavily regulated, and increased regulation has contributed heavily to the 1,971 community banks -- one in four -- that have failed since 2008.

Related: To Help Small Businesses, Cut Regulation

Dealing with those regulatory agencies costs the average fintech startup about $2 million in legal fees, and that doesnt include soft costs. Meeting regulatory muster requires fintech leaders to put essential business functions -- such as seeking funding, finding customers and building management teams -- on the back burner. Fintech startups must also meet certain capital requirements to become online banks.

So, while effective regulation is undoubtedly crucial to fintech innovation and secure markets, regulators are still unsure how to deal with challenges like cross-border transactional risk and cryptocurrencies. As a result, fintech startups are stuck with ever-changing regulations and market uncertainty, which discourage investment and innovative risk-taking.

The VC advantage

Venture capitalists, thankfully, are one tool startups can harness to navigate this tough business environment. Part of a VCs job involves understanding a startups product-market fit. This means a VC has to spend time with end consumers to understand their needs, preferences and concerns, which puts VCs in a better position than regulators to protect the end consumer.

Related: How Innovation in The Fintech Space Can Solve Basic Necessities Of Our Life

Startups often see market challenges like regulations in the vacuum of their own businesses, while regulators are concerned about how regulations protect consumers. Both are understandable points of view, but both parties often miss how regulations hurt industrywide innovation.

That makes VCs the perfect middlemen (or women). They view regulations from a top-of-the-industry perspective, which helps them see why regulations are necessary for a secure market, but also how regulations can make success unattainable for fledgling startups.

VCs can cooperate with startups in four ways to fuel innovation in the face of regulations:

1. Identify open-source solutions

Open-source analytics platforms are low-cost or free, and excel as a data-sharing resource, making them increasingly popular among fintech startups. An open-source platform for financial regulation, such as an XML-based architecture to stream reporting data, could be instrumental in establishing new relationships between regulators and startups. VCs, which work with dozens of startups, know how advancing technologies can benefit budding fintech companies.

2. Design something consumers will fight for.

VCs can help develop a product or platform that gets consumers attention, like Venmo, and customers will advocate on behalf of services they love. Weve seen this with the ride-sharing and cannabis industries, which customers have repeatedly defended against regulatory clampdowns. When users want the product, theyll shape the narrative to ensure it remains available to them.

3. Be an industry advocate.

VCs can help mediate conversations between regulators and startups. Many of the best already have these relationships, like J.B. and Tony Pritzker of Pritzker Group Venture Capital, the siblings of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. These sorts of relationships can give fintech startups a voice when they work with regulators.

4. Prove value to regulators.

Uber was allowed to operate in California in the early days because it built a case based on actual data about the jobs it created and efficiencies it brought. VCs can help fintech startups follow Ubers lead in proving the consumer, environmental and societal values of their startups offerings to regulators.

Related: How Open Source is Changing the Landscape for Entrepreneurs

Although it would be nice to do business in a looser regulatory environment, fintech startups dont have a choice in the matter. Instead, entrepreneurs must work within the realities of current regulations, but still recognize that VCs are the advocates and mentors who can help them do so.

Related:

Regulation Is Strangling Fintech Startups: 4 Ways VCs Can Help

#5 Fintech Trends That You May Want To Watch Out For in 2017

Will Fintech Kill Traditional Banking or Simply Help It Reinvent Itself?



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Independent counsel Park Young-soo is setting up an office in Gangnam and will next week start investigating the massive corruption scandal that has engulfed the president.

Interior remodeling is underway at an office in Seoul for the independent counsel's team probing the corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye. /Newsis

Park will be focusing on 236 recorded phone conversations found in the mobile phones of former Cheong Wa Dae secretary Jeong Ho-seong. He told reporters Monday he is "closely working on" the recordings and may publish portions of them.

Independent counsel Park Young-soo shakes hands with prosecutor Kim Tae-eun (left) after a meeting in Seoul on Monday.

Around a dozen prosecutors on the independent counsel's team are gathering related documents at another office in Gangnam. The independent counsel plans to focus his probe on areas that prosecutors were unable to zero in on. The task before them is to establish a solid link between the alleged criminal activities of President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil and the president herself, and unravel the extent of the snowballing scandal that reached into every corner of government.

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President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly selected erstwhile rival and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve as his energy secretary.

If confirmed, Perry will oversee American energy policy and its ramifications on the economy, environment and national security.

CBS News and other outlets reported the news late Monday night, hours after Perry met with the president-elect in New York. It was the second time Perry had made the trip to Trump Tower.

Trump's transition team did not confirm the report Tuesday morning but praised Perry's time as governor. "They talk about Texas' economic revival and a lot of that had to do with the energy sector," Trump spokesman Jason Miller told reporters.

Yet Perry has previously supported abolishing the Department of Energy entirely. Famously, during a presidential debate in November 2011, Energy was the third federal agency that Perry couldn't name while trying to list the three he wanted to eliminate.

Its three agencies of government when I get there that are gone  Commerce, Education and the, um, whats the third one there? Lets see, Perry said, before finally giving up with his now-infamous "oops."

On Tuesday morning, Trump aides did not seem concerned with the possibility of selecting someone to lead a department that he had once wanted to eliminate.

"It's [Trump's] agenda that's being implemented, not somebody else's," Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said. "It's not a vice-versa thing where we're buying into their agenda. They're buying into our agenda."

The appointment marks a full repair in Perrys relationship with Trump. Perry called Trump a cancer on conservatism last year while the two men were in a crowded field for the Republican presidential nomination. But Perry was one of the first members of the Republican establishment to back Trump, once it became clear in May that the real estate mogul had secured the party's nomination.

Perrys background as governor of Texas, a state rife with natural resources, is a key qualifying credential for the post. But this Cabinet role can go well beyond oil and natural gas. The outgoing secretary of energy, Ernest Moniz, had a physics background and played a central role in President Obamas Iranian nuclear deal.

If confirmed, Perry will be the third Texan to serve as secretary of energy. Previously, Houstonian Charles Duncan served in this role under President Jimmy Carter, as did Laredo native Frederico Pena in the Clinton administration.

Perry will face Senate confirmation once Trump takes office. Republicans control the Senate, making that process all the easier for the president-elects nominees.
Brands are paying more and more attention to the influencers in their respective spaces -- because thats where all the engagement happens. I've been able to successfully build up my own brand by leveraging different influencers in the tech and digital spaces.

An influencer marketing strategy has become a crucial element for companies and brands. Essentially, an effective influencer marketing strategy is about pinpointing which influencers are dominating your niche and then finding organic ways to collaborate and effectively present your product or services to their audiences.

The most difficult part of executing an influencer marketing strategy comes down to one thing: it has to feel organic. Influencers in any industry have followings because of the content they share, for free, on a regular basis.

Related: 8 Powerful Ways to Market Your Business on a Limited Budget

There are many influencers out there with thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers who do very little (or sometimes nothing) to directly monetize their audiences. So the moment a brand enters the picture, audience members become skeptical -- and may stop following altogether.

Steve and Angela Watts are the founders of Slyde Handboards, a Shark Tank contender with investments from Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher. The Watts know the value of marketing to gen Z and millennial consumers through social media influencers. In fact, its a core part of their marketing strategy for the company as a whole.

They're also both part of my Facebook group, and I had the pleasure of picking their brains recently about deploying influencer marketing strategies. Here are three of their keys to success. By following these guidelines, you too can execute a well-formulated influencer marketing strategy.

1. Identify the influencers that align with your brand mission.

Where many brands and companies go wrong when reaching out to potential influencers is being tunnel-visioned on things such as follower count.

After first dipping their toes into the industry, the Slyde Handboards team reached out to some Instagram influencers within their market whom they viewed as perfect matches for the brand. They sent the influencers some free products and believed the influencers would have the best interests of the brand at heart, but quickly realized many influencers are only looking to line their own pockets.

The team recognized that a quick call and shipment of product is not the way to keep key influencers engaged with the brand. This led to the emergence of the company's Ambassador program.

They structured deals with social media stars who were then categorized as Ambassadors, Pro-Ambassadors and Riders, each with a different level of commitment and perks. This led to a long-term relationship with each influencer, and helped keep the influencer engaged with the product in the long term.

Related: Is Crocs Trying to Ditch Its Image of Lazy Comfort?

We try very hard to create a community, a family. We look for people who have a passion for the ocean and outdoor adventures, and who have an interesting story to share, the Watts say. Some of our key influencers include bodysurfing icon Sean Enoka of Hawaii and up-and-coming legend Makena Magro of California.

Their Ambassador program is not a value-for-shoutout marketing exchange. Rather, its a brand-alignment campaign. Due to the rise of social media accounts that appear to be very large and popular because theyve purchased followers, its crucial to establish that the people you work with actually have some level of influence in their communities.

We would rather partner with someone with 200 followers, 50 comments per post and 150 likes per post, since that means they have the ear of 150 close friends, than someone with 20,000 followers and 70 likes per post, the founders say.

2. Ensure that the deals you structure with influencers will be profitable in the long run.

The biggest challenge brands and companies face with marketing always comes down to return on investment. They need to know that for every dollar they spend on marketing, they will see back that same dollar plus a percentage more. Otherwise, their marketing budget will be operating at a loss.

We look at each influencer relationship as a worthwhile investment, and never offer more than were willing to potentially lose, the Watts explain. The deals we structure can include gear and specialty discounts, and most recently weve sent a few of our top influencers to Tahiti to take part in a competition called the Watermans Tour, which weve sponsored with products.

To keep each relationship profitable, its crucial that the lines of communication are always open so that everyone remains on the same page. Expectations must be properly set from the beginning.

Related: 5 Reasons Businesses Shouldn't Keep Ignoring Content Marketing

3. Take deliberate steps to ensure the success of each influencer collaboration or campaign.

The wrong way to run an influencer marketing strategy is to leave everything up to the influencers. While you do want to give them creative freedom, you need to establish some sort of game plan as to the content, frequency and messaging. Again, let the influencers use their own voices, but help guide them toward the clearly established end goal you wish to see as a company.

We have a written contract that our Ambassadors and influencers sign, with clear and concise expectations, the Watts say. We then review progress and performance on a monthly basis, and also spend a considerable amount of time on our end, thinking of better ways we can work with our team of influencers. Its our job to put them in a position to succeed.

If you are looking to build a community around your brand, you have to spend quality time nurturing each influencer. By doing so, you can help them to help you build your business.

Related:



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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Knowing he wouldn't have class the next morning because Lamar University was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Rhydan Bolton made plans to hang out with friends on Jan. 18, 2015.

Bolton, 20, and his friend Kerrick J. Madison stopped at a Florida Avenue convenience store near campus around 1 a.m. Jan. 19. Their next stop was supposed to be to Madison's house on Alabama Street.

Madison testified on Tuesday about the gunfire that rang out as he sat in the driver's seat of a blue Toyota Scion, which was parked outside the store.

More than a dozen shots were fired and at least half hit the car.

He said he looked over at Bolton in the passenger seat and "kept yelling his name."

"It was nothing," Madison testified. "He was just there. That's when I realized my friend had been killed."

Kristofer Garcia, 22, of Beaumont is on trial this week in Bolton's death.

Garcia, who is charged with murder, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. He is the first of three defendants in the case to go to trial.

Wendell Radford, Garcia's attorney, said his client did not commit the crime and was not at the crime scene.

No weapon was recovered and there is no DNA evidence linking Garcia to the shooting, according to testimony on Tuesday.

Madison didn't see the shooters.

"I ducked, trying not to get shot myself," Madison told a 911 dispatcher.

Prosecutors told jurors that Bolton's death is a case of mistaken identity.

Garcia and his cousin Orlando Escuadra-Garcia spent the better part of the day Jan. 18, 2015, looking for someone who used counterfeit cash to buy marijuana from Kristofer Garcia, according to witnesses' testimony.

A few hours before the fatal shooting, the cousins are accused of kidnapping a 14-year-old boy and questioning him.

The boy, now a 16-year-old student at Central High School, testified he was walking home from playing basketball when he was chased and grabbed on Avenue A near Washington.

Garcia's ex-girlfriend testified she was with Garcia when they saw three men walking along Avenue A. She said Garcia believed one of them was responsible for passing the counterfeit cash.

Two of the men got away, but the teen was nabbed - his head covered with a blanket as he was forced inside Garcia's Ford F-150,the girlfriend said.

The teen was first held in the backseat of the pickup truck, but was later taken to a warehouse and then a home, where he was beaten, witnesses testified.

Once it became clear that the boy had no information, he was dropped off near the same spot he was picked up.

At some point in the afternoon, Garcia and Escuadra-Garcia picked up another man, who they treated similarly as the boy, according to testimony.

The kidnapped man agreed to set up a meeting with the man the cousins were hunting, witnesses testified.

"I figured something bad was going to happen," said the former girlfriend. "I just felt it was better to mind my own business. I didn't want to be a part of it."

The girlfriend testified she was only present for the kidnapping and not the shooting.

She said she learned of Bolton's killing while watching television.

The girlfriend testified on Tuesday that Kristofer Garcia said he'd shot at someone at a gas station. He told her, "We got him," she said.

It was only later that Garcia learned Bolton was not his intended target, according to testimony.

Bolton and Madison became friends after seeing each other at a few university events.

Madison, 23, said they grew closer when Bolton joined the "Man Up" mentoring program at Lamar.

Bolton, a nursing major, was the organization's fundraising chairman, according to Madison.

Madison, a corporate communication major from Dallas, said he could have never fathomed 18 shots would be fired in his direction at a store just blocks from campus.

He was frantic when dialing 911.

"My friend just got killed right in front of me. He's right here in the passenger seat, just dead," Madison told the dispatcher.

When the dispatcher asked if Bolton was breathing, Madison said, "Ma'am, no. He's dead. I cannot believe I just witnessed this."

"We're just college students," Madison testified. "We just go to school. We wouldn't think something like that could happen to us where went to school."

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott
More than 10 million ducks and chicken have been slaughtered so far after a fresh case of bird flu was detected in South Jeolla Province on Nov. 16.

The government fears that the latest outbreak of the highly infectious H5N6 virus may be the worst ever.

The outbreak in 2014 resulted in nearly 14 million slaughtered poultry over a 195-day period.
Hydrogen fuel-cell taxis are starting test runs in Ulsan on Tuesday for the first time in Korea.

A total of 10 such taxis based on Hyundai's Tucson model are operated by three local operators with a minimum fare of W2,800, the same as other regular taxis (US$=W,170).
They are also given three secretaries, who are high-level civil servants and paid by the state, and a driver. Park is apparently hoping to keep on Lee Jae-man, Jeong Ho-seong and Ahn Bong-geun, who have been with her since she became a lawmaker 18 years ago and were Cheong Wad Dae secretaries until their recent disgrace. But Lee, Jeong and Ahn may end up in jail.

Former presidents receive pensions amounting to 70 percent of their last salary. Park's annual salary is W212 million this year, which means she would get a W148 million pension after her term ends (US$1=W1,170). The money boils down to W12.3 million a month tax-free.

According to law, presidents who either step down before the end of their tenure or serve prison terms lose all the privileges a former leader of the country is entitled to.

President Park Geun-hye may lose her pension if the Constitutional Court gives its blessing to her impeachment.

Ex-presidents receive free medical treatments in state-run hospitals like Seoul National University Hospital, and their treatments in private hospitals are paid for by the state.

Former presidents are also given an office at a location of their choosing, while the taxpayer foots the rent and other expenses.

When private groups pursue projects to commemorate the achievements of a former president, the government covers 30 to 50 percent of related expenses. They are also subject to 24-hour protection from a 10-member Cheong Wa Dae security team, assigned for up to 15 years once they retire, after which the police takes over. There is also secure housing furnished by the state.

But none of these privileges, except some security detail, apply to presidents who are impeached, go to prison, seek asylum abroad to dodge investigation like Syngman Rhee, or relinquish their Korean citizenship. Even if Park manages to avoid impeachment, she still faces an investigation and trial once her term ends.

The independent counsel is considering charges of taking bribes on top of abuse of authority and extortion. If she is found guilty, she is highly likely to go to prison, which means she forfeits her privileges and will have to fend for herself financially.

Former President Lee Myung-bak enjoys the full benefits of retired leaders, having narrowly escaped prosecution over the scandal-ridden four-rivers project. He gets a W12 million monthly pension and is assisted by three secretaries and a chauffeured vehicle. His office in the affluent Gangnam area costs the national coffers W13 million a month in rent.

Former first ladies Lee Hee-ho, Son Myung-soon and Kwon Yang-sook receive around W9 million a month, which is 70 percent of their late husbands' pension payments, while being assisted by a secretary and driver provided by the government. The government pays around W2 billion a year to support the three former first ladies and ex-president Lee.

Lee has been active since his term ended and been protected by a security detail on no fewer than 2,000 occasions in the two years since his retirement, including 15 overseas assignments for the Cheong Wa Dae bodyguards. That boils down to three requests for protection a day, which is five times more than Park needed as the incumbent leader. Over the same period, former first lady Lee Hee-ho received 820 security protection services, and Kwon 266 services.

Former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo served prison terms and are not eligible for pensions or offices, but they live in precarious luxury, allegedly thanks to money they stole while in office.
A first shipment of about 40 German Taurus long-range air-to-surface cruise missiles has arrived in Korea, a military source said Monday.

The missiles are capable of hitting buildings in Pyongyang with high purported accuracy from as far away as South Korea's Daejeon.

The missiles were delivered to a port in Busan and taken to an air base in Daegu the following day.


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Chad Holley, whose name became a rallying cry six years ago for Houstonians protesting police brutality, is due in court Tuesday morning on capital murder charges.

Video surfaced in 2010 showing officers beating and kicking a prone Holley, who was then 15.

Marches, protests and courthouse shouting matches erupted as officials and community organizers clashed, laying bare discontent about the treatment of minorities by local law enforcement and leading to criminal charges against four officers.

This week, in a stunning twist, the 22-year-old one-time burglar has been charged with capital murder in the Sept. 21 shooting of a man during an alleged robbery in north Houston, one in a series of three crimes he is accused of committing near his home over a two-week period.

Holley is scheduled to have a preliminary court appearance Tuesday morning in the 174th District Court before Judge Ruben Guerrero. No defense attorney is expected to be present.

Holley was charged Sunday in the fatal shooting of David Trejo-Gonzalez, 42, who was approached by a man as he walked from the parking lot of his apartment in the 100 block of East Crosstimbers about 9:30 p.m., according to court records.

The man demanded money, and Trejo-Gonzalez was shot in the course of the robbery, officials said. The shooter is believed to have fled the scene in a low-rider SUV or pickup driven by an accomplice.

Holley was already in custody on misdemeanor theft and trespassing charges when he was charged with capital murder in Trejo-Gonzalez's death.

Attorneys representing Holley did not return calls Monday, but community activist Quanell X issued a statement in his defense.

"I've had a chance to speak with the Holley family and I've spoken to Chad," Quanell said. "He vigorously denies he has killed anyone. I've known Chad since he was 15 years old. Chad has had many problems but the Chad Holley I know I would be hard pressed to believe he's a killer."

According to court documents, he is also accused of stealing a woman's cellphone on Sept. 27 and with trespassing on Oct. 9, the day he was arrested.

An alleged accomplice in the trespassing case who was also arrested on Oct. 9 was convicted of the misdemeanor offense and sentenced to 20 days in jail. He has since been released.

In 2010, Holley was a sophomore at Elsik High School when he landed in the national spotlight. A surveillance video showed Houston police officers beating the unarmed teen after he fled during a burglary arrest.

Afterward, a dozen officers were disciplined and four were indicted on misdemeanor charges. Raad Hassan and Phil Bryan pleaded no contest in 2013 and were sentenced to two years of probation.

Andrew Blomberg was found not guilty after a trial, while his partner Drew Ryser was convicted on a misdemeanor oppression charge.
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A former Army recruiter from San Antonio has admitted he funneled dozens of assault rifles to operatives of Mexicos Gulf Cartel last year by organizing other soldiers to help him buy the weapons.

Sgt. Julian Prezas, who is facing a disciplinary discharge from the military, pleaded guilty in two separate cases Monday to a total of five counts of lying on federal firearms forms and attempting to export defense articles to Mexico.

Prezas, 36, acknowledged acquiring 42 guns  23 of which were seized and forfeited to the government during the investigation. However, a co-defendant who became an informant told agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that Prezas sold him 13 AR-15s, some 50 to 60 AK-47s and a shotgun last year.

RELATED: Video shows judge presiding over "El Chapo" case shot, killed while jogging outside of his home

That co-defendant, who was not identified in court documents, told agents he met Prezas after Prezas posted on a Facebook group he had 1,000 magazines of ammunition for sale in the Rio Grande Valley, Prezas plea deal said.

The co-defendant bought the ammunition and asked for more, court documents said. Prezas also began selling him rifles with the serial numbers obliterated  and the co-defendant told Prezas that the guns were going to Mexico, the plea deal stated.

RELATED: Shocking photos show blood-filled streets, clubs of Acapulco in 2016

During the investigation, agents used another confidential informant to buy firearms from Prezas in August 2015 and watched Prezas as he loaded five of them into his government vehicle at his recruiting station in San Antonio and drove to Pharr in the Rio Grande Valley. There he delivered the weapons to the informant, who paid him $61,000 and specifically told Prezas that the guns were going to the Gulf Cartel, according to the plea deal and other court documents.

Prezas also sent the informant pictures of body armor via text message, offering to sell each vest for $300, though it was not clear from the documents if that part of the deal went through. The ATF declined to comment on the investigation, citing pending cases.

When he was arrested in September 2015, Prezas had 17 guns he was taking to the informant and told agents he figured the firearms were going to Mexico, probably to a cartel or something, his plea deal said.

The plea agreement said that, between April 6, 2015, and Aug. 27, 2015, Prezas used co-defendants Thomas John Zamudio, Ricardo Esparza Salazar and Christopher Brown  servicemen he met in the military  to buy at least 42 guns for him.

RELATED: Cartel assassin leader arrested in Acapulco

In all the transactions, Prezas supplied Zamudio, Salazar and Brown with the money to purchase the firearms and paid them a cut for their efforts, making the trio straw buyers, the Prezas plea deal said. The three have pleaded guilty to making false statements on federal firearms forms and await sentencing.

Prezas lawyer, George Dombart, said his client is a decorated veteran who supports the right to bear arms but misunderstood regulations over the sales of guns.

Sometimes, the line gets blurred on public versus private sales, Dombart said. Once he became aware that his conduct was illegal, he accepted responsibility.

In January, Facebook announced it was banning the private sale of guns and ammunition on its site and on Instagram, which it also owns. The move was applauded by gun violence prevention groups that advocate for closing the so-called private sale loophole, which allows gun owners in most states to legally sell their guns without a background check.

But sales have continued on private groups on Facebook and the ATF notes the proliferation of social media networks has been a challenge in the fight to control illegal gun distribution.

It is an issue and has been an issue, said Crisanto Perez Jr., assistant special agent in charge of the ATF in San Antonio, speaking generally, not specifically about the Prezas case. Social media gives them a new way to (skirt) the law. Its not regulated.

Prezas and his co-defendants are not the first members of the military to be charged in such situations. A handful of cases have been scattered around the country, such as two members of Californias National Guard assigned to the armory in El Cajon, California, who were charged last year with selling ammunition and high-grade weapons to someone they believed was working for a Mexican drug cartel.

Spc. Jaime Casillas, 22, of El Cajon, California, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Reyes, 34, of La Mesa, California, reportedly wore their uniforms during at least one transaction, according to court documents. The sales were allegedly made to an undercover federal agent posing as a cartel member.

Prezas faces up to 10 years in prison on the lying charges, and up to 20 years in prison on the attempted exportation count. Sentencing is set for March 23 before U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia. Prezas co-defendants, who are no longer in the military, each face up to 10 years in prison.

gcontreras@express-news.net
AUSTIN  Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that more information is required about the need for a transgender bathroom bill, including who has been endangered and what laws currently exist to deal with any problems.

The issue  which focuses on whether transgender people should be prevented from using the restroom of the gender with which they identify  is one thats a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who says its needed to protect the privacy of women and girls.
SAN ANTONIO  A plane stuck in the air for 25 minutes Tuesday at the San Antonio International Airport due to a sensor issue on a landing gear pilots were trying to fix mid-air caused a large emergency response.

A passenger-less American Airlines E190 aircraft arrived in San Antonio Sunday for internal maintenance, said Ross Feinstein, American Airlines spokesman. The plane was headed back to the Philadelphia International Airport Tuesday at 9:55 a.m. when the pilots discovered a sensor issue with a landing gear.
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A San Antonio man was convicted Monday of capital murder in the shooting death of a man during an attempted robbery.

A jury here found Demond Franklin, 31, guilty in the fatal shooting of Deandre Thompson, 20, on Oct. 22, 2014. Franklin was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
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A San Antonio man who officials believe led a ring that distributed synthetic cannibanoids pleaded guilty Monday in what has been described as the largest takedown targeting the designer drugs in Texas.

The arrests in 2013 of Muhammad Jaffer Ali, 53, and 18 others in San Antonio spearheaded an attempt by federal authorities to combat the rise of the dangerous synthetics, which are made by mixing certain chemicals obtained from Asia and spraying them on plant material.

Synthetic cannibanoids are commonly called synthetic marijuana, smoked for a recreational high and often marketed as a safe, legal alternative to marijuana  but it can be up to 100 times more potent than pot, with far more devastating health effects.

Most of the chemicals used to produce the designer drugs have been added to a list of controlled substances.

The final product usually is disguised as incense, tobacco, bath salts and potpourri, and sold in gram quantities in bags labeled K2, Spice, or Scooby Snax, among other names, costing around $20, federal agents said.

The finished product is sold at convenience stores or smoke shops. Ali ran two of them here  Best Foods No. 2 at Evers and Loop 410 and Hang Ten Smoke Shop on West Avenue. Both were raided in June 2013 by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and San Antonio police as part of the initial phase of a national takedown called Project Synergy.

Law officers also raided a warehouse on the Northeast Side that they claimed was a lab. During the investigation, agents seized $350,000 in cash and 10 tons of finished and unfinished product.

Authorities claim Ali oversaw a network that was responsible for the production and distribution of synthetic marijuana and bath salts in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Laredo, as well as Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

He did run a couple of shops and was selling some potpourri, but the government alleges it was synthetic marijuana, Alis lawyer, Mike McCrum, said Monday. Were going to dispute the quantities involved (at sentencing). ...Yes he was involved, but not to the extent the government says he was.

The feds and SAPD began watching Ali and others in January 2012. Their investigation reports said Ali was getting precursor chemicals from China, and daminana and marshmallow leaves from a man in Kentucky. The items were shipped to warehouses in Houston or storage units in San Antonio, where Alis accomplices allegedly distributed the finished synthetic pot to retailers, or made it, court records said.

All 19 defendants have since pleaded guilty. Besides Ali, his wife, Salma Ali, and another co-defendant, Gulzar Ameeya Dharani, entered guilty pleas Monday to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance or a controlled substance analogue.

Muhammad Ali agreed to a sentence capped at 16 years in prison; his wifes sentence will be capped at 14 months and Dharanis at 78 months. Their sentencing was set for early March before U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra.

gcontreras@express-news.net

Twitter: @gmaninfedland
Asked if the procedure will take a long time, he said, "There is no change in our stance that the case must be handled expeditiously."

Bae made it clear that the court must consider the constitutionality of the entire bill. "Calls by some people that a ruling should be made quickly based on key issues are tantamount to holding a trial with the conclusion already in mind," he said. "We cannot proceed with the case with prejudices."

Constitutional Court spokesman Bae Bo-yoon told reporters, "An impeachment case requires the review of all of the issues being claimed by the parties concerned. It is impossible to review only select issues as some are proposing."

The Constitutional Court on Monday poured cold water on hopes that it will arrive at a swift decision on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye after the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor.

Only eight of the nine judges, most of them conservatives and appointed by Park, met for their first discussion of the case on Monday morning, They agreed to hold one or two days of hearings prior to the proceedings proper to establish the main points of contention between the president and the National Assembly. The ninth is on an official overseas trip.

The last time the court was asked to rule on an impeachment motion, in 2004, there were no preliminary hearings. "There are many more people and issues involved in this case compared to 2004," a court official said. "We must narrow the disagreements between the two sides involving witness selection so that the case can proceed expeditiously."

The impeachment bill lawmakers handed over to the Constitutional Court on Friday charges Park with five counts of violating the Constitution and eight legal infractions, and names some 50 witnesses.

The bill mentions murky issues like the notorious "missing seven hours," when Park was nowhere to be found on the day the ferry Sewol sank in 2014 killing 304 people, which have not yet been properly investigated but are subject to intense rumors.

In 2004, President Roh Moo-hyun was only accused of one offense -- taking sides in the general elections in violation of presidential neutrality -- and few witnesses had to be summoned.

The court has 180 days to arrive at a ruling.

The court plans to appoint two or three judges to the impeachment case after Friday, which is the deadline by which Park must submit a written defense. It will also put together a 20-member expert panel to help with the case. Another 50 or so constitutional scholars will be assigned to the case.

The court has asked the National Assembly and Justice Ministry to submit their opinions. Meanwhile, Park was unable to form a team of lawyers to defend her as of Monday.

Most of the judges spent the entire day in court and worked late into the night reviewing documents.


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The names of several local politicians have been used in domain names that point to Mayor Ivy Taylors campaign website.

Brad Parscale, the locally based digital media director who worked for Donald Trumps campaign, is using some of his techniques in the San Antonio mayoral race, though he isnt working for either of the candidates.

Late Sunday and on Monday, people were sharing on Facebook their displeasure that Parscale owns ronforsa.org, a domain name that District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg might have bought, had it been available, for his mayoral campaign, which he launched officially on Saturday.

The link automatically reroutes to voteivy.com, the campaign website for Mayor Ivy Taylor.

One Facebook user, who posted in the Facebook group, Pantsuit Nation Texas Chapter: San Antonio, encouraged others to call Taylors chief of staff, Jill DeYoung, and complain.

Looks like Ivy Taylors tapping into the Trump mojo for her campaign, the Facebook user wrote. Ronforsa.org is registered to Brad Parscale. Yea, the same Brad Parscale of the Trump campaign. Does that give you a hint of how low Ivy will go for her campaign?

Greg Jefferson, spokesman for Taylors campaign, said they learned of the website issue late Sunday.

We knew absolutely nothing about this, he said. Parscale did this all on his own... He does not have a role in our campaign at all.

The domain was purchased on March 15 and is owned by Parscale, according to publicly available registration documentation. Parscale said he had a company employee purchase domain names for anyone they thought might run for mayor.
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A child struck by a vehicle Monday evening on the North Side was hospitalized in critical condition.

San Antonio Police Department officers said the driver, who stopped to help until EMS arrived, told investigators the child darted in front of him too quickly to avoid the collision, which occurred about 7:30 p.m. in the 900 block of Allena Drive, close to Olmos Elementary School.

The child, 7, was taken to University Hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police said investigators were still separating witnesses for interviews but said the child appeared to be part of an outdoor gathering.

It was not immediately clear whether the driver would face any charges, police said.

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
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CBS News reported late Monday that President-elect Donald Trump chose former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as secretary of energy.

Perry was considered a top contender to run the Energy Department, an agency he once promised to eliminate.

As the longtime GOP governor of the nations leading oil-producing state, Perry is expected to have an easy time during a confirmation process in the Republican-controlled Senate, analysts say.

He looks to me like a fairly straightforward, conventional pick, Joe Barnes, who analyzes energy and geopolitics at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy, recently told the Houston Chronicle. He seems like a fairly solid pick for somebody who wants to have a conservative energy policy.

However, Perry could face headwinds in Congress over his outspoken position in favor of abolishing the department, which sets the nations policies regarding energy and handling nuclear material.

Washington Bureau Reporter Kevin Diaz contributed to this report.
Nokia will launch a new smartphone early next year in hopes of clawing back some of the glory of being the world's biggest manufacturer of pre-smart mobile phones in the early millennium.

Nokia famously missed the smartphone bus in 2007 and fell to barely also-ran status behind Samsung and Apple. It was sold first to Microsoft and then to Taiwan's Foxconn this May.

Motorola and Microsoft, which also struggled in the smartphone market, equally hope to expand their presences with new devices, and struggling photographic film company Kodak is venturing into uncharted territory in the market.

 Nokia, Motorola Hope to Recapture Past Glory

HMD Global, established by former Nokia employees, will launch its first Nokia-branded Android smartphone, known as Nokia D1C, in the first half of next year, according to tech website Phone Arena on Sunday. iPhone manufacture Foxconn will make the device.

HDM Global hopes to gain ground in the mid-range market first by selling the gadget for US$150 to $200.


They never learn.

The grand journalism pooh-bahs at CNN were humiliated this election cycle when WikiLeaks revealed that former CNN contributor and interim DNC chair Donna Brazile had shared a question with the Hillary Clinton campaign in advance of a March Democratic primary town hall debate. According to CNN, "activist anchor" Roland Martin and his production team at CNN's debate partner and identity politics network TV One were responsible for the leak. CNN host Jake Tapper called the episode "very, very troubling" and condemned the breach:

"Journalistically, it's horrifying," he told WMAL radio.

CNN president Jeff Zucker declared after an internal investigation that the network "would not partner ever again" with TV One.

But instead of weeding out left-wing partisans masquerading as mainstream political analysts from their lineup, CNN is doubling down. This week, the network debuted a news special called "The Messy Truth" hosted by "political commentator" Van Jones.

Yeah, that guy.

Before he was pontificating on CNN airwaves, he was a top environmental official of the Obama administration. The special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality held a special place in Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett's heart. The Chicago power broker took full credit at a fringe Daily Kos blogger conference for recruiting him and closely following his career.

"You guys know Van Jones?" she asked to roaring applause.

"Ooh. Van Jones, all right!" she cooed. "So, Van Jones. We were so delighted to be able to recruit him into the White House. We were watching him, uh, really, he's not that old, for as long as he's been active out in Oakland. And all the creative ideas he has. And so now, we have captured that. And we have all that energy in the White House."

One of Jones's more "creative ideas" was signing a petition in 2004 calling for congressional hearings and an investigation by the New York attorney general into "evidence that suggests high-level government officials may have deliberately allowed the September 11th attacks to occur."

That's right. Valerie Jarrett took credit for recruiting a 9/11 truther who endorsed a petition peddling the crackpot theory that President George W. Bush "may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war."

Under fire, Jones disavowed the statement he had attached his name to - and decried those who dared to hold him responsible for his "creative ideas." It was conservative bloggers, not "real journalists," who exposed Jones's long record of radicalism to the public - leading to his resignation in September 2009.

Van Jones did not just accidentally slip through the cracks of the Obama vetters. They knew what he espoused before they installed him. So did his bosses at CNN who hired him in 2013.

It wasn't his expertise in political science, political history, electoral trends or journalism that got him the job. It was his social justice resume. He rose to public prominence as a race-baiting agitator at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, funded by the George Soros-supported Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the liberal Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. He became a public fixture in the Bay Area after crusading to free convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal for a Marxist organization and lambasting moderate civil rights leaders for objecting to politicizing the classrooms.

In 2011, the late great Andrew Breitbart pulled no punches in describing Jones as a "commie punk" and a "cop killer-supporting, racist, demagogic freak." Jones had employed classic, radical Saul Alinsky-inspired campaign tactics to have Breitbart banned from a website he helped create - the left-wing Huffington Post - simply for writing articles providing alternative views of the tea party and for reporting on the Obama administration's transparency-stifling measures.

Bending to the censorious mob, HuffPo assailed Breitbart's "ad hominem" attack on Jones, which violated "the tenets of debate and civil discourse we have strived for since the day we launched."

The progressives had nothing to say, of course, about Van Jones's own ad hominem attacks when he obscenely and publicly assailed Republicans as "a-holes" - and when he financed, produced and participated in cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal's rap album, which railed against "imperialist" America and white "mother---s" as the "true terrorists."

Now, Jones - who most recently race-baited Donald Trump supporters by blaming them for a "whitelash" - has reinvented himself as a roving correspondent traveling the nation to analyze the election results and to lecture others to "be passionate. But be compassionate, too" with fellow citizens who hold different political viewpoints.

This is CNN: Enabling a lifelong, extremist demagogue - who has actively stifled and smeared conservatives, law enforcement and honorable public servants - to pose as a reasonable news personality Van-splainin' the world.

This goes beyond the sin of "fake news." It's gross media malpractice of the highest order.

Michelle Malkin is a senior editor at Conservative Review. For more articles and videos from Michelle, visit ConservativeReview.com. Her email address is malkinblog@gmail.com.
To the editor:

I have been reading The Courier with interest as scandal after scandal seems to rear its head in the political halls of Montgomery County. Unfortunately, some scandals seem to be more newsworthy to the point that others are pushed out of the limelight before they're even discussed.

Case in point: Between the director debacle at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter and the closed-door conundrum of the alleged violation of the Open Meetings Act by certain members of Commissioners Court that has led to the indictments of two commissioners and the county judge, more back-room dealings seem to be plaguing the boards of the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District and the San Jacinto River Authority. Unfortunately, one name seems to be a common denominator in these instances: County Judge Craig Doyal.

The board members of these two agencies have a direct impact on water usage and rates for the law-abiding citizens of Montgomery County. Historically, some of Lone Star's board member positions have been appointed by the county judge, who named his choices with impunity and a lack of transparency and accountability. However, since those last appointments, the Texas Legislature enacted a new law  SB 2049  that reinstated the conflict-of-interest clause and demanded openness in appointment of positions such as those on the boards of LSGCD.

Unfortunately, Doyal doesn't seem to have gotten the memo. Two board members of LSGCD in particular  Richard Tramm and Greg Hope  are the living examples of cronyism. Tramm is the general manager of Porter SUD, which is wholly dependent on LSGCD maintaining its posture in certain policies. These two men have become the swing votes on the LSGCD board in favor of the San Jacinto River Authority, often to the detriment of local taxpayers.

Tramm's appointment expires at the end of January, just over a month away, and it seems clear that Doyal intends to reappoint Tramm by his continued lack of transparency in the vetting process. Several leaders in the water industry have given names of potential replacements who are better suited to be on the LSGCD board, only to be denied without comment.

The question today is, will Doyal pay heed to the legislation and not only open his vetting process, but also recognize that Tramm is in conflict of interest of his position and must not be reappointed? Montgomery County residents are reeling from the significant increase in water rates due in large part to decisions made  even to the point of flaunting Texas Supreme Court rulings  by people like Tramm. It is time for Doyal to look beyond his network of friends and instead appoint  or allow to be elected  other board members who put the needs of his constituents first.

Change needs to happen in the water political arena. The state Legislature has reviewed some of the questionable rules imposed by LSGCD, leading to hearings that have exposed the scheme of water regulations in our county and other parts of Texas. Montgomery County  and Doyal in particular  can ill afford yet another scandal.

I urge Doyal to listen to experts such as the heads of local water providers, who are more familiar with the fluid needs of the taxpayers, and to follow the law and appoint new board members next month that have no conflict of interest.

Jeff Goebel

Magnolia

Truth be told: Castro destroyed Cuba

To the editor:

Bravo for Tom Purcell to tell the truth about how Fidel Castro destroyed Cuba, the Cuban culture and Cuban families. It is about time that conservative reporters tell the truth about Castro's Cuba.

Purcell's article, "If Virginia O'Hanlon Had Asked Fidel Castro about Santa Claus," is the pure truth of what Fidel did in Cuba. And for those who are naive or blind not to accept the truth about Castro's Cuba like Bernie Sanders and other leftists in Hollywood who talk about the "Cuban paradise," they should move to Cuba and live there like the everyday Cuban has to live there and not like "elite guests" of the Cuban government.

This Christmas and in the New Year, we must pray for the Cuban people and the people of Venezuela who are suffering because of Castro's brand of Communism.

Jose Sentmanat

Conroe
The Alamo Colleges board of trustees should be very wary about the divide they are creating with their appointed 2017 Bond Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). The last time the board of trustees deviated from the community, voters said No to their bond, leaving Alamo Colleges trustees looking out of touch.

It appears, given the trustees recent posturing, delay, and hyperbole on the heels of the CACs budget recommendations, that the Alamo Colleges 2017 bond is headed in the same disastrous direction.

Indeed, the 2017 bond CAC returned a more equitable and balanced bond program than what was presented to them. Surely, the trustees and college presidents recall that the 2005 Alamo Colleges bond saw a whopping $246 million (more than half of the available $450 million bond dollars) go to Alamo Colleges two newest campuses  Northeast Lakeview and Northwest Vista. In fact, between the 2017 bond as presented to the CAC and the 2005 bond projects, these same two colleges would have gobbled up almost 50 percent of capital improvement dollars that are meant to impact all areas of San Antonio.

Gloria Ray, the 2017 CAC chairqwoman, was 100 percent correct when she told the trustees that growth in the outer areas of the county must not be pursued at the expense of the obligations Alamo Colleges has within the citys core. Per a recent education study, since 1970, college completion for San Antonio students from wealthy families has nearly doubled, from 44 to 77 percent, while completion for students from low-income families has risen only three percentage points to 9 percent. The message the CAC delivered to the Alamo Colleges board of trustees could not be more loud, apparent and spot on in its focus on community core investment.

The CAC returned a revised budget to the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees with increased infrastructure investment within the Citys core and more focus on workforce development. They recommended budget increases at the Westside Education and Training Center (WETC) and the Southside Education and Training Center (SETC) to match the $23 million investment being made at a brand new facility in Boerne. Prior to the CAC input, the South Side and West Side were slated for less than half, $11 million each, of what is proposed for the Boerne campus in a very affluent area. Further, the CAC saw fit to ensure that Alamo Colleges flagship campuses  San Antonio College and St. Philips College especially  are not left behind again as they were in the 2005 bond program.

As it stands, the CAC recommendations give San Antonians throughout all parts of the city reason to support the 2017 Alamo Colleges Bond. The CAC dutifully and responsibly reduced new construction at all the colleges to bring more equality and parity to areas Alamo Colleges has been ignoring for decades despite the apparent and dire need. Without eliminating any of the capital improvement projects, the minor budget adjustments made by the CAC favor a new and expanded WETC campus, a new SETC campus, expanded workforce training facilities at the Southwest Campus and more capital improvement dollars for St. Philips College.

For the first time in more than decade, the East Side, West Side and South Side have an Alamo Colleges bond program worth supporting. Anything less than immediate adoption and approval of the CAC recommendations by the board of trustees is an insult and slap in the face to the very community from which the board is seeking $450 million. Rest assured the community will return the gesture if this bond seeks to withdraw funding from the inner-city for outer loop and out of town (Boerne) investment. Hopefully, the Alamo Colleges board of trustees and their chancellor are a bit wiser today than the last time they squared off against the community.

Magdalena Miranda is an Alamo College Student and student representative of the WETC Advisory Board.
Add them to the annals of No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: works of art calling attention to racism in Americas past  and its persistence in Americas present  targeted by educational censorship campaigns for being too racist.

Four such works were challenged in the past month, in fact.

This fall, Salem State University put out an open call for an exhibition titled State of the Union. Artists were asked to submit work that addresses concerns and hopes for our future, such as environmental issues, social inequities, income inequality and education.

Garry Harley, an artist in nearby Lowell, Massachusetts, saw the notice and knew immediately what to submit: two digital paintings, both inspired by campaign rhetoric he found frightening. One was based on a photo of Ku Klux Klan members in full, menacing regalia; the other, Warsaw Jews being rounded up during World War II.

Both were accepted.

The exhibition opened the day after Election Day. And when it did, Harleys work  in particular the KKK picture  caused an uproar. Students complained that the art was insensitive, racist, upsetting, offensive.

The school held a tense public forum. Harley, who says he wanted to raise awareness but not offense, attended in the hopes of a teaching moment. He arrived with handouts: copies of Francisco Goyas The Third of May 1808 and Pablo Picassos Guernica, masterpieces that had committed traumatic events to canvas and, by extension, to public memory.

The next day, administrators sent an apology to the campus community and announced they were temporarily shuttering the exhibit. Then last week, after a second meeting, which Harley did not attend, the exhibit was reopened  with some modifications.

Among them: The KKK painting, and only that work, was curtained off, peep-show-style. This way the viewing will be clearly intentional on the part of the observer, according to a statement from President Patricia Maguire Meservey.

Harley, for his part, called it an elegant solution. It grants the students another layer of security, he told me. Plus, he said, it has added interest to the work.

Indeed, the school says this exhibition has attracted much more traffic than previous ones; everyone wants to see whats behind the curtain, it seems.

Down the Eastern Seaboard, two older works addressing American bigotry found themselves in similar cross hairs.

Last month, Accomack County, Va., public schools temporarily pulled To Kill a Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from classrooms and libraries because a parent complained about the racial slurs they contain. After a local uproar and a formal review, the novels were reinstated Tuesday.

Meanwhile, South Carolinas Winthrop University is threatening to expel a student who created a deeply hurtful and threatening anti-lynching art installation.

These are hardly the only recent instances of anti-racist works being targeted by anti-racists for being insufficiently anti-racist.

Mockingbird and Huck Finn are frequently challenged. More recent works, lacking the protection afforded by generations of fans, are more vulnerable. Last year, students in an Alabama high school history club were forbidden from seeing the film Selma because of its use of slurs.

To be clear, calls for censorship are hardly unique to the left. But real threats to the safety and rights of people of color do seem to have led to heightened policing of the correct way to condemn bigotry and tell more diverse stories, says Joan Bertin, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship.

Works depicting historical events are often the casualties. The problem, alas, is that history is inevitably laden with upsetting details. Needless to say, such details are precisely why we must face our own history and protect the art that helps us process it.

Believe it or not, there are ways to prepare impressionable students for such challenges that dont involve sanitizing art, curtaining off its more difficult aspects or otherwise signaling that it might be dangerous and worth avoiding.

crampell@washpost.com
What are we seeing in Donald Trumps presidential transition so far? The emerging outlines of a bipolar presidency.

Im not attempting a clinical diagnosis here. Maybe a better description is a Jekyll and Hyde administration. The president-elect is alternately making good choices (such as Gen. James Mattis as defense secretary) and horrible ones (Ben Carson at Housing and Urban Development); sounding themes of national reconciliation and sounding crazed on Twitter; attempting magnanimity (opposing prosecution for his vanquished opponent, Hillary Clinton) and rubbing it in (attacking presidential rival Evan McMullin and basking once again in chants of Lock her up!).

Trumps personnel choices seem designed to either reward personal loyalty or embody a certain perception of competence  the competence of generals who know how to give orders and of billionaires who know how to make money. Failed politicians, in this view, need to be schooled. Never mind that the habits of command are not immediately transferrable to some of the main tasks in a democracy  persuasion, compromise and public policy innovation.

This is clearly the direction of strong-hand democracy; just give the real leaders free reign and a few years. A little less James Madison and little more Lee Kuan Yew. But it is Mr. Madison who still sets the rules, making a snap-your-fingers-and-demand-results approach to leadership more likely to end in frustration and failure than in lasting damage to American institutions.

Meanwhile, this theory of the Trump presidency leaves a policy environment more fluid and open than any in my political lifetime. Apart from a few vivid campaign promises on immigration and infrastructure  which have also been renegotiated since the election  Trump has radical freedom of action. He owes no one, holds no definite ideology and will be forgiven even the worst heresies by his supporters (at least for the moment).

So, for example, it is possible that Trump will pursue the most ambitious, controversial redefinition of the federal role in helping the poor since Lyndon Johnson  block-granting Medicaid and most other welfare spending, and tying the remainder to work requirements. Or Trump could find this contentious, time-consuming debate a distraction from other priorities. He could choose, instead, to give governors more flexibility on Medicaid requirements, block-grant a few programs, increase the earned income tax credit, experiment with enterprise zones and push for his daughter Ivankas child-care and maternity-leave proposals.

There has been little real guidance from Trump himself. He has said that the welfare system provides incentives for sitting there and doing nothing (which is not really true of many programs). Referring to health care for the poor, Trump told Dr. Oz: There is a percentage, a fairly large percentage that cant afford it. ... Were going to take care of that through the Medicaid system. ... Were not going to let people die on the streets. His instincts seem mixed.

And Trumps convictions on welfare policy may not even matter much in the end. His large tax cuts and commitment to a balanced budget may force nondefense discretionary spending  only about 16 percent of the budget  to be a repeated blood donor, until it is pasty white and weak.

The openness of Trumps policy options, however, is currently a boon to lobbyists, consultants and advocates of all stripes. If ever talking with the right person at the right time with the right message has been important, it is now. Almost nothing has yet been ruled in or ruled out. Tealeaf reading is at a premium. But who can possibility predict what will be in President Trumps budget address to Congress in February? Who can know what Trump does not know yet himself? In the period between now and then, the identity of a presidential administration will be determined, in many areas from scratch.

michaelgerson@washpost.com
Documentaries, plays and grand operas will be written about what was done to Hillary Clinton in the election of 2016. Some normal mistakes were mixed in with her many accomplishments, but there was nothing normal about her treatment by political foes and many of the respectable media alike.

The gang-up on Clinton amounted to political torture, the likes of which will be remembered for generations. That makes Hillary Clinton the Martyr of the Year.

Clinton entered the race having already endured decades of coordinated right-wing attacks  though only when she got ambitious. She had left the secretary of state job with high approval ratings and glowing praise from Republicans. The ludicrous and vicious notion that she was somehow to blame for the Benghazi tragedy was invented only after she began her campaign.

Come the nominating process, Clinton endured the drowning test by which the left wing habitually torments centrist Democrats. In witch trials, the woman is tied up and thrown in the water.

If she sinks, shes deemed innocent and pulled out from drowning. Bernie Sanders left held her down for the longest time.

The Sanders campaign was not an ordinary challenge for the Democratic nomination but a war to annihilate the ideologically impure. Sanders smeared Clinton as a toady of billionaires because she gave some paid speeches to Wall Street.

Despite televisions romance with Sanders torchlight parades, Clinton amassed a commanding 3 million-vote lead over him. Instead of conceding, Sanders called on the delegates to nullify the voters choice. Failing that, he withheld his support for Clinton  implying he could make her lose  until the party submitted to his demands. It largely did.

Sanders eventually came around and offered Clinton full-throated support, but only after having made her radioactive to his more rabid followers and handing Donald Trump lots of ammo. When Clinton was finally pulled out of the water, she was alive but gasping.

Then came Trump. We wont go into the free and unmediated attention TV news outlets bestowed on his carnival act.

This is about the so-called seekers of truth trying to seem tough on the candidate they supported while hungering for clickbait.

Trumps master of media manipulation, Steve Bannon, couldnt have passed so many lies or turned minor concerns into major scandal without high-powered help. Planting a story in some Clinton-hating tabloids was no big deal, David Brock, a right-winger turned Democratic operative, explained to Bloomberg Businessweek. The jackpot was the New York Times because of its reputation.

If you were trying to create doubt and qualms about (Clinton) among progressives, the Times is the place to do it, Brock said. From Bannons point of view, the Times is the perfect host body for the virus.

The Clinton email controversy was a hot air blimp on which even sophisticated Americans were taken for a ride. So when, days before the election, FBI Director James Comey announced more emails without supplying a grain of dirt, the public was already primed.

New Emails Jolt Clinton Campaign dominated the front page of the next days Times. The demoralization of her campaign was complete.

Facebook, meanwhile, was doing a big business disseminating fake and damaging news stories about Clinton written for profit around the world.

Despite all this, despite entering Election Day with her torso covered in arrows, Clinton won 2.7 million more popular votes than Trump. Thats 2.7 million more  and she still loses.

One need not worship Hillary Clinton to know she deserves an altar in the hall of political martyrs. Go light a candle with her face on it.

fharropgmail.com
Texas is known for its vast land and abundant wildlife and fish, resources available for all to enjoy through hunting, fishing or wildlife viewing. Conservation of these resources for future generations results from a uniquely North American approach viewed as the most successful conservation program in the world.

This program is called the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and its cornerstone is the Public Trust Doctrine. The Public Trust Doctrine means wildlife belongs to all citizens, and its management is entrusted to the government to benefit present and future generations. The North American Model also is centered on the principle that fish and wildlife management must be based on sound science, and that science should drive regulations rather than emotions or short-term economics.

The North American Model was developed because market hunting of wildlife during the late 1800s and early 1900s led to the extinction and near-extinction of many species. Eventually, hunting and fishing regulations were adopted, and unregulated commercial markets were eliminated, which turned the tide on the indiscriminate slaughter of wild animals. The model deserves credit for bringing many species back from the brink to the abundant populations we now enjoy.

Today, there is a new threat to the wild creatures we all treasure  privatization of the native fish and wildlife that belong to all of us, a bad idea for many reasons. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, hunting, fishing, state park visits, bird-watching and all other nonconsumptive uses of our natural resources generate more than $28 billion in annual consumer spending in Texas. Why contemplate disrupting such a huge economic driver?

Privatization of native fish and wildlife erodes public support for conservation initiatives, leads to the slippery slope for more species to be privatized, degrades the outdoor experience, turns native wildlife into livestock, changes the purpose from conservation to exploitation, and favors short-term economic gain over long-term conservation.

The primary mission of the Texas Foundation for Conservation is to raise awareness about the Public Trust Doctrine, and to resist any efforts to privatize native fish and wildlife for the benefit of a few. These wild animal resources are like our beaches and waterways  they belong in the public trust.

We applaud the founders of the conservation group who saved fish and wildlife in this country. We also believe Texas offers unique circumstances within the model.

As the 85th Texas Legislature convenes in January, be aware there are industry groups and individuals seeking to privatize the wildlife that belongs to us all. Government should not hand over ownership of a public resource to private entities.

Fred C. Bryant is the director of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and president of the board of directors of the Texas Foundation for Conservation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
The University of Texas System board of regents needs to rethink the appointments of the committee charged with helping select the next president of the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The 15-member committee appointed to recruit the new president of San Antonios largest Hispanic-serving public university does not include any Hispanics from the campus.

The slight sends a terrible message to the student body and faculty, and sets off the process on the wrong footing.

Members of La Raza Faculty and Administration Association at UTSA are understandably concerned and are asking the University of Texas System board of regents to reconsider the appointments. In a letter to UT System Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Steven Leslie, the chairman of the committee, association members request that the composition of the committee reflect the campus and the community it serves.

The Hispanic student population at UTSA has grown from 45 percent to 51 percent in the last four years, but Hispanic faculty population has remained stagnant at 18 percent since 2011.

The UT System has rigid rules on who serves on a presidential selection committee, requiring that the seats go to individuals who serve in specific categories. The list includes two UT System regents, presidents of two system universities and the executive vice chancellor for academic or health affairs.

The committee also include three members of the universitys community and the president of the alumni association.

The institution launching the search gets six committee appointments. They include three faculty members, a dean, a student and a nonfaculty employee.

The Faculty Senate selects the faculty members, the schools nine deans pick their representative to the committee, and the nonfaculty employee is chosen by the staff council.

The regents rules explicitly states those making the advisory committee selections are expected to consider diversity, particularly as it relates to minority and female representation.

It is encouraging that the committee includes three Hispanics, who are filling seats designated for alumni, community members and a regent, and that there are also three women in the group. We can understand how the circumstances might have created the current situation, but that does not minimize the problem with the lack of a Hispanic from the campus on the team.

Leslie explains the regents rules do not allow the administration to interfere with the committee selection process. If that is the case, perhaps the rules should to be changed so that the person who views the final list can make recommendations to ensure more balanced representation.

The vice chancellor told the Editorial Board that the concerns raised by the minority faculty are being taking seriously.

Committee members are planning a meeting with the concerned faculty members in January to ensure their interests are represented during the committees work.

That approach does not address the real issue. The regents rules apply to all UT System campuses and all future presidential selection committee appointments.

The selection of the person who will succeed Ricardo Romo as the sixth president of one of the fastest-growing campuses in the UT System will have a major impact on the future of Bexar County, and the next president needs community support.

Marginalizing an important component of that community starts off the process on the wrong foot.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson Tuesday as Secretary of State, a move that would remake the job of Americas chief diplomat in Trumps own image  as dealmaker with no government experience.

In announcing his pick of Tillerson, Trump tweeted early Tuesday morning, I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State.

Trump and his transition team also released a press release in which they described the 64-year-old Tillerson as among the most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers in the world.

If confirmed, the move would mean that the people responsible for Americas diplomacy (Trump, National Security Adviser nominee Gen. Michael Flynn and Tillerson) have no formal diplomatic experience.

Rex Tillersons career is the embodiment of the American dream, Trump said. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the worlds largest and most respected companies.

More for you What Silicon Valley execs plan to tell Trump this week

And given Tillersons close relationship with top Russian leaders while at Exxon, including Vladimir Putin, the nomination also will reignite bi-partisan concerns about the role Russian hackers may have had in affecting the U.S. election in Trumps favor. Russia awarded Tillerson its Order of Friendship award in 2013.

But Trump tweeted that Tillersons relationship with the Kremlin is just an example of his vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CNN Saturday, as reports of Tillersons nomination heated up, that he was concerned about reports of Tillersons relationship with Vladimir Putin, who is a thug and a murderer.

It sets up a bruising confirmation battle that will focus on Exxons $2.2 billion investment in Russian exploration of Arctic oil fields. That deal was killed when the U.S. issued sanctions against Russia after it annexed Crimea. Tillerson has publicly criticized the sanctions.

It will also put a spotlight on Exxon as one of the worlds leading fossil fuel company at a time when the current Secretary of State John Kerry, is negotiating international climate accords.

Trump defended Tillerson in an interview on Fox Sunday as a world-class player.

Trump said that Tillerson had an advantage in knowing many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company  not for himself  for the company.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
In addition to canceling the sale of the precision-guided weapons, the U.S. will alter the way it trains Saudi air force personnel to improve their accuracy, a persistent source of concern in the Obama administration.

The official said President Barack Obama's administration canceled the sale of air-dropped precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally. "That's obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties," the official said.

The United States will halt the planned sale of precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia, a U.S. official said, in response to concerns over Saudi military practices in the Yemeni civil war, which has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians.

 Air Strikes Are War Crimes?

The decisions could further strain ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia at a time when the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume control of the executive branch of the U.S. government.

The United Nations human rights office said in August that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen was responsible for about 60 percent of the 3,800 civilians killed since March 2015. Some rights groups have criticized the U.S. for supporting the Saudi war effort with weapons sales and refueling Saudi-led coalition jets. Some rights groups also say attacks by the Saudi-led coalition on clinics, factories, markets and schools amount to war crimes.

Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or said the presence of fighters in the targeted areas justified the strikes. Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to the latest decisions by the Obama administration.

Since Saudi-led coalition forces entered Yemen's civil war in March 2015, the coalition has launched thousands of airstrikes against the Houthi movement -- which is allied with Iran.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the 20-month-old war in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. The war has sparked a humanitarian crisis, including chronic food shortages.


OSAKA, Japan  The Wall Street Journal writes that Panasonic Corp. is hoping to change convenience stores with a machine that scans and bags merchandise in the push for retail automation.

The new convenience-store checkout machines can scan and bag items on their own, joining Amazon.com Inc. in the push for more retail automation, reports the Journal. The system works by using a special shopping basket designed to detect merchandise and calculate the bill. After a customer places the basket in a slot, the bottom of the basket slides out and the merchandise drops into a plastic bag underneath, ready to be carried away. Customers can pay with cash or a card.

Sadanobu Takemasu, COO of c-store chain Lawson Inc., which joined Panasonic on the project, told the news source that the new checkout system could bring a revolution to the broader retailing industry, adding, We all face a scarcity of labor.

Executives at Panasonic and Lawson commented to the Journal that they are not looking to eliminate humans from the workforce. Our store is also a point of communication for neighbors, where customers can enjoy chatting with clerks, Takemasu said.

The executives added that Amazons Just Walk Out technology and c-store concept could have limited appeal in a country like Japan, where cash is still widely accepted. We need a good solution also for customers who wouldnt like a completely digitalized system, Yasuyuki Fukui, a Panasonic business-development executive, told the Journal.

Lawson and Panasonic are planning to add the automated checkout machines at more Lawson convenience stores later in 2017 and in 2018.
Yves here. This post confirms Lamberts conclusion based on his analysis of the disparate factions that pumped for a no vote on Matteo Renzis constitutional reform referendum: that contrary to facile readings, the rejection was not a populist uprising.

By Silvia Merler, an Affiliate Fellow at Bruegel who was most recently an Economic Analyst in DG Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission. Originally published at Bruegel

On Sunday 4 December, Italy held a constitutional referendum in which almost 60% of the voters decided against a reform proposed by the government. The vote triggered the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and opened a phase of political transition that will lead to new elections.

In light of the new elections ahead, it is important to understand the factors driving this vote. To investigate this, I run a regression analysis of the share of votes for NO at the province level on various socio-economic characteristics. Then I compare these findings with the drivers of the vote for the Democratic Party (Matteo Renzis party) in 2014 and with the drivers of the Brexit vote, which have been explored by my colleague Zsolt Darvas.

I find that the Italian NO vote was positively correlated with economic malaise, that is to say unemployment and relative economic backwardness. Provinces with a higher share of young people tended to record a relatively higher share of NO votes, and this appears to be linked to the incidence of youth unemployment at the province level. Contrary to the case of Brexit, the outcome of the Italian vote at the province level does not appear to be driven by uneducated voters. Moreover, despite the strong anti-immigration rhetoric of one of the main parties that campaigned actively for NO (the Northern League), I find that the provinces with a higher share of foreign residents voted relatively less in favour of NO.

These two elements suggest that it would be reductive to just interpret this vote as the latest example of a populist electoral victory, and that deeper factors must be considered  especially those of an economic nature. Unemployment does not appear to be significantly correlated with the share of votes gathered by the Democratic Party in 2014. The fact that two years later unemployment became an important driver of NO vote may indicate that some voters possibly felt let down by a government who had at the core of its agenda the improvement of labour market conditions.

Methodology

I use province-level (NUTS3) data on the referendum outcomes to establish whether any link can be drawn between the vote and various socio-economic characteristics of the provinces. Ideally, I would like to go to an even more granular district level, but many of the socio-economic data used here are not readily available at such disaggregated level.

The dependent variable is the share of NO votes out of the total votes casted in each province. As a comparison I will also look at the determinants of the share of votes gathered by the Democratic Party in the 2014 elections. Both these figures come from the official data published by the Italian Ministry of Interior. Figure 1 shows that the share of NO votes ranges from 42.3% to 74.6%, with the largest concentration between 55% and 65%.

Figure 1  share of NO vote

A first interesting thing to notice is that the referendum outcome is strongly correlated with the results of the European Parliament elections held in 2014. In those provinces where the Democratic Party  the Prime Ministers party  won a larger share of votes in the 2014 elections, the share of NO votes in this referendum tended to be lower.

This may seem obvious, but it is not necessarily so: differently from elections, the vote in a constitutional referendum is supposed to be on a very specific question of substance, so there is no reason a priori to expect that it should be strongly correlated with the vote pattern observed in the elections. Yet this correlation suggests that part of the electorate may have seen this vote as an occasion to re-validate their electoral choices.

Figure 2 shows that there is one big outlier to this regularity, i.e. the province of Bolzano (Bozen). Its position is explained by very province-specific electoral reasons: the PDs share of votes in the EP elections of 2014 was exceptionally low in this province, as the largest share went as always to SVP, a province- and language-specific regionalist and autonomist party that is not represented in the rest of Italy. Domestically, the SVP has given external support to PM Renzis government, but historically it belongs in the Christian Democrat tradition. So in the 2014 European Parliament elections the SVP was running for the European Peoples Party (EPP), while PD was representing the Party of European Socialists (PSE). Due to this idiosyncrasy, I exclude the province of Bolzano from my regression analysis.

As independent variables I include several socio-economic factors (some of them are only published with lags at the province level, see the appendix for more details):

Economic factors: to understand whether there is any link between the vote and the economic situation of the province I include province-level total (or youth) unemployment rate and per-capita GDP as percentage of the Italian average.

Age profile: electoral polls suggest that the age profile of voters seemed to have mattered in this referendum, with older and younger voters voting in very different directions. I therefore add as an explanatory variable the share of provinces population 20 to 34 years old.

Education and internationalisation: I add a variable to proxy for the educational level of the province. My variable is the share of people with at least some education (everyone who has at least a primary school degree). I also include the percentage of foreign residents out of the total residents in each province.

Last, I include a dummy for urban provinces, i.e. provinces that are home to cities of more than 500,000 inhabitants. All regressions will also include region (NUTS2) dummies.

I run four regressions, whose results are reported in Table 1 below. All models have a good explanatory power, ranging from 81% to 90% of the total variation in the NO vote share. Models 1 and 2 use as dependent variable the share of NO vote in the 2016 referendum, while Models 3 and 4 replicate the analysis for the share of PD votes in the 2014 European Parliament elections.

Table 1  Determinants for the share of NO vote and PD 2014 vote  province level

Several interesting things emerge. First, unemployment is positively and significantly correlated with the NO share of votes in the referendum, suggesting that provinces exhibiting a higher rate of unemployment tended also to record a higher share of NO votes. This is interestinglyI different from the pattern found by my colleague Zsolt Darvas in the case of Brexit, where a higher levels of unemployment was associated with a somewhat lower likelihood to vote in favour of Brexit.

Second, and related, the age profile also matters for the vote outcome. Provinces with a larger share of young (20-34 years old) residents, also have a relatively higher share of NO vote. This is probably linked to the fact that Italy still has a very high level of youth unemployment. In Model 2, I included the youth unemployment rate in place of the total unemployment rate, and find it to be also positively correlated with the NO share, and more strongly significant than total unemployment.

Third, provinces that had a relatively higher per capita income tend to exhibit a lower share of NO votes, and the coefficient is strongly significant. This, together with the finding on unemployment, suggests the existence of a link between indicators of economic malaise at the province level and voting outcomes.

Fourth, the share of foreign residents is negatively and significantly correlated with the NO share, suggesting that provinces with more foreign residents voted relatively less in favour of NO. This is particularly interesting in light of the fact that one of the two parties who campaigned more actively for NO  the Northern League  has traditionally had a strong anti-immigration rhetoric. This effect is significant even when controlling for urbanisation.

Fifth, The share of population with at least some education is positively related with the NO vote share, suggesting this outcome was not driven by voters with no education.

Models 3 and 4 replicate this analysis using as dependent variable the share of votes gathered by the Democratic Party in the 2014 elections. The aim of this comparison is to understand whether the referendum outcome and the 2014 votes were driven by the same factors. Largely, the results seem to mirror the ones for the 2016 vote. Provinces with a higher share of young voters recorded both higher NO shares and lower PD vote shares in 2014; relatively richer provinces voted relatively less for NO and relatively more for the PD in 2014 elections; the effect of foreign residents is weaker, but still it suggests that provinces with more foreign residents voted less for NO and also more for PD in the 2014 elections; the correlation between the vote and the provinces educational level is also the opposite of what found for 2016. Interestingly, unemployment does not seem to be a significant driver of the PD share of votes in 2014. The fact that two years later unemployment became an important driver of NO vote may indicate that some voters possibly felt let down by a government who had at the core of its domestic agenda the improvement of labour market conditions.

Overall, these results suggest that socio-economic factors played out in a way that is different than in the Brexit case. The Brexit vote appears to have been strongly driven by older voters and somewhat less educated ones. The italian NO vote appears to have been driven by young voters, and mostly related to a sense of economic malaise, which we see in the link with unemployment and relative economic backwardness. Populism has certainly been an important character of the Italian political scene, since the outbreak of the economic crisis. But several elements  particularly the direction of correlation between education, foreign residents and the vote  suggest that it would not be correct to interpret this just as the latest case of a populist polling success, akin to Brexit. Deeper factors of socio-economic nature seem to have played a very significant role. What we should be worrying about now, is how populists could use and build on these factors in view of the coming elections.

Data appendix

Referendum results come from the open data source of the Italian Ministry of Interiors, and are available here. From the same source we also obtained the vote share for the Democratic Party in the 2014 European Parliament elections.

Total unemployment rate is the total unemployment rate (15 years and older) for each province, in the year 2015. It is available from ISTATs territorial indicators for development policies (ind. 012_P)

For constructing the share of province-level population with some education I used the detailed data on education levels of the population resident in each province, published by ISTAT in the 2011 Census. The 2011 Census is also the source for constructing the share of foreign residents and the share of temporary employment in total youth employment.

Data on per capita 2013 GDP at the province level come from Eurostat.
Yves here. While no sane person would want to buy an apartment in Trump Tower now and be subject to inconveniences like gawkers, Secret Service cordons and the inability to have your driver drop you off and pick you up, Wolfs piece shows that Trump Tower apartments had been languishing on the market long before Trump won.

Theres been a sudden glut in the market for super-high end units, due to a perfect storm of a rash of construction combined with a crackdown on anonymous buyers using shell companies, which has choked off a lot of money laundering and foreign buying that was pretty much the same thing. But there are other signs of ill health in the New York City real estate market generally: falling rental prices at the lower end, and a remarkable rise in retail vacancies, with many in my neighborhood (Third and Madison Avenues on the Upper Eas Side) remaining empty for more than a year. One reason for shuttered storefronts (at least in my hood) is that landlords tried pushing through big rental increases, apparently thinking they were entitled to catch up after years of no or modest rises in the wake of the crisis. On Third Avenue two years ago, many landlord tried doubling the rents on leases up for renewal. Many stores folded or relocated and those owners either have not found tenants or have gotten businesses in that look too misconceived to last. One was an upscale frozen food purveyor with a large space, another was a healthy prepared foods vendor, but theres now tons of competition in that niche, and the staff was snooty and the offerings looked to be fattening by virtue of visibly using tons of oil. The former vendor is still open but I never see any traffic; the latter has closed.

A colleague who is a tax expert points out that retail business that soldier on with no apparent business are likely to be money launderers. The prototype is the greasy spoon pizza joint that not only seems never to have any customers but where the staff looks a bit surprised if you look like you want to eat there. Theres a low-end jewelry store on Third where in the last five years of walking by it on a regular basis Ive seen all of two people in the store save its staffer. That would seem to fit the bill.

So this is an excuse for our periodic question: how is your local economy doing, as reflected in the apparent health of its residential and commercial real estate markets?

By Wolf Richter, a San Francisco based executive, entrepreneur, start up specialist, and author, with extensive international work experience. Originally published at Wolf Street

The iconic mixed-use 58-story Trump Tower, on 721 Fifth Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan, with top-dollar retailers such as Tiffanys nearby, was the ultimate in condo living when it was built in 1983. Now its even more iconic as President Elect Donald Trump holds court there, among enormous security measures and the daily flow of potentates, moguls, Big Oil CEOs, the occasional Silicon Valley wunderkind, billionaires, retired generals, Goldman Sachs folks, and the like.

But not all is well at this piece of glamorous real estate.

Of its 238 apartments  located on the top 38 floors, including nine duplex and triplex penthouses on the top nine floors  11 are actively listed for sale, according to CityRealty, and another 12 are listed for rent. Asking prices and asking rents have been slashed to get the units to move, and its not working very well.

The table below shows the 11 apartment listed for sale. Three of them consist of two units that have been combined: 42BC, 58CD and 37D/38D. Five sellers have cut their asking prices, with reductions ranging from -7.8% to -26.8%. And note for how long theyve been on the market (right column), in a market that isnt exactly ideal:

For some units, asking prices have been cut more than once. For example, 37D/38D, with 2,184 sq ft, was originally listed over a year ago, in August 2015, for $6.9 million, according to StreetEasy. In February 2016, the asking price was cut to $6.5 million, in June 2016 to $6.2 million, and in October 2016 to $5.995 million for a total reduction of 13.1%. And still no takers.

The potential buyer can expect to pay common charges of $3,620 per month and taxes of $3,328 per month, according to StreetEasy. This would come on top of the mortgage. At current asking price, with 10% down, financed with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.2%, the monthly payment would be $26,400. So that would amount to monthly outlays of $33,348. But the views are nice.

Unit 32H was first listed for sale in January 2016 for $2.999 million. In March, the asking price was slashed to $2.5 million, and in May it was slashed to $2.195 million, in total 26.8% in reductions, and still no takers.

And there is a lot of competition. Zillow lists 6,330 apartments for sale in Manhattan alone. And the trend has not been the friend recently. Trulia figured that the median selling price of New York City apartments dropped 4.1% from a year ago, as sales volume has withered:

There are another 12 apartments for rent at Trump Tower, including one with two original units combined (34EF). In the table below by CityRealty, note the reductions in asking rents, ranging from -1.7% to -11.8%. These are just asking rents and do not include any concessions:

These units have a lot of company. Apartments.com lists 11,014 apartments for rent just in Manhattan. As I reported earlier this month, according to Zumper, the median asking rent for a one-bedroom in New York City dropped 7.4% from a year ago, and for a two-bedroom 7.9%.

But thats just the asking rent. Theyre kept as high as possible for appearances sake. To motivate potential tenants, rent concessions are piled on separately. These rent concessions just set a new record in Manhattan, according to the Elliman Report, with concessions now offered on 25.1% of all new rentals, up from 13.5% a year ago.

Is all this just a dip in New York Citys real-estate boom? Maybe not  as ominous clouds are forming. The New York Post, citing data from Attom Data Solutions, reported the foreclosures are once again surging:

More than 1,100 NYC households fell into foreclosure in October, a 32% increase from September, and a 37% increase from last year. Queens, which has been hard-hit since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007, had 400 new cases last month, nearly double the number of a year ago. Brooklyn also took it on the chin, with 365 new cases, a 20% increase. Statewide, the number of new cases jumped 15%..

Were definitely seeing a spike, Westchester-based attorney Linda Tirelli told the New York Post.

So Trump Tower may be getting hit a little harder than other buildings in New York, given the brouhaha about the election campaign and now the even greater brouhaha around the President Elect holding court in it. But the entire Manhattan housing market, after years of booming at a blistering pace, is seeing the sudden and very unpleasant arrival of second thoughts.

And not just in New York, but now also in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, and perhaps a city near you. Read. The Great Unwind Unravels Hottest Rental Markets in the US
Scientists devise new approaches to personalized medicines

(Nanowerk News) Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed broad methods to design precision medicines against currently incurable diseases caused by RNA.

RNA carries out thousands of essential functions in cells, but many RNAs can act in uncontrolled ways and cause disease. For decades, scientists have tried to develop drug candidates that target human RNAs, but they have been hampered by an inability to achieve sufficient selectivity (to reduce the potential of side effects) and potency (ensuring effectiveness).



Professor Matthew Disney (pictured) led the study with Research Associate Suzanne Rzuczek on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute. Professor Matthew Disney (pictured) led the study with Research Associate Suzanne Rzuczek on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute. In a study published today online in the journal Nature Chemical Biology ( "Precise Small Molecule Recognition of a Toxic RNA Repeat Expansion" ), researchersled by TSRI Professor Matthew Disney and Research Associate Suzanne Rzuczek, with important contributions from Professor Ryohei Yasuda and Research Associate Lesley Colgan of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neurosciencehave disclosed several approaches to overcome these hurdles.



This study reads like science fiction, Disney said. We present for the first time multiple solutions to this long-standing problem. With the precision of a surgeons scalpel, we have shown that small molecules can be designed to seek out and destroy only disease-causing RNAs. Further, we developed novel chemical approaches to use a disease-causing RNA to help make its own drug by using that RNA as a catalyst for drug synthesis at the needed site. It is like having your physician place a drug at the right place without exposing healthy cells.



Although these studies have broad implications for RNA diseases in general, they were demonstrated on myotonic dystrophy type 1, an incurable inherited disorder that involves progressive muscle wasting and weakness. It is caused by an RNA defect known as a triplet repeat, a series of three nucleotides repeated more times than normal in an individuals genetic code, in this case, a cytosine-uracil-guanine (CUG) triplet.

In many genetic diseases, there are two copies of the problem genea mutant copy that causes a disease and a normal copy that a cell needs to survive. Selective recognition of the diseased gene product has not been possible before.

This new study demonstrates that designer small molecules can selectively recognize larger, disease-associated repeats (alleles) over shorter, normal ones.

We developed several approaches to create allele-selective small molecules that seek out only the disease-causing gene product, including covalent binding, cleavage and imaging, said TSRI Research Associate Suzanne G. Rzuczek, first author of the study. All approaches show precise recognition of toxic r(CUG) repeats and, more importantly, they showed that the mutant repeat is the sole target. The work also offers an innovative way to track the movement of RNA in a diseased cell via imaging. We have brought RNAs out of the darkness and into the light by developing a chemical flare that goes off when a drug targets the RNA in a diseased cell and then continues to track the RNAs movement, Disney added.

"We probed disease-causing RNA using a technique called fluorescence lifetime imaginga sensitive technique to measure fluorophore binding, said Max Plancks Ryohei Yasuda. We were very excited when we observed a huge difference in signal from their probes between disease cells and normal cells under our microscope technique."

Max Plancks Lesley Colgan added, "The combination of cutting-edge chemistry and microscopy techniques developed in Florida is a powerful approach to identify new methods to probe and manipulate (and kill) disease-causing RNA in cells."
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) point out that today's Trolley/Ward Watch count confirms that, as of this morning, there were 541 patients admitted to hospital, who are on trolleys in Emergency Departments or Wards.

The INMO also notes that this day, last year, there were 331 people on trolleys so the situation is 63% worse, this year, than last year.

The figure for South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel on Tuesday was thirty two patients.

On Wednesday of last week, the number for the Clonmel hospital reached an all-time high of forty two.

The Nurses organisation say the situation is further compounded by the fact that there are currently 180 Acute beds closed, across the country, primarily due to the inability of the HSE to recruit the required numbers of nurses to staff these beds.

In addition INMO members in Cavan General Hospital and Mayo General Hospital were holding lunchtime protests today to highlight their professional concerns, for patients, arising from unsafe staffing levels.

The INMO say - "In view of this crisis, which is compromising both the health and wellbeing of hundreds of patients, and the nursing staff trying to care for them, the INMO believes the following emergency measures are now necessary;

1. The health service must, immediately, introduce an emergency nurse staffing initiative, inclusive of special measures, which will, begin to, address the critical situation which exists at this time;

In relation to staffing the following must be noted;

i. There are currently 140 staff nurse vacancies, in emergency departments, which represents almost a 10% vacancy rate.

ii. Health service management have failed to implement recommendations of an ED Expert Group, published last August, which called for additional (permanent) nursing staff to be recruited specifically to look after admitted patients in EDs.

2. In addition Acute and Group Hospital Management must, immediately, make arrangements to roster all available senior clinical decision makers to cover the hospitals on an extended day / seven over seven basis.

This should lead to a minimum of 8.00am to 8.00pm presence over the seven day cycle.

This is necessary in order to ensure patient flow, prompt action on results from diagnostics and other tests and early decisions regarding admission/discharge.

3. Most hospitals must, if they have not already done so, cancel /defer all elective/ planned admissions to accommodate the patient presenting through the emergency department.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016 by: David Gutierrez Tags: environment , Heavy metals , mine contamination , mining This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) (NaturalNews) Thousands of snow geese were burned and poisoned to death when they landed in a Montana mine tailings lake filled with acid and toxic metals.

The 700-acre Berkeley Pit is a massive crevice left behind from nearly 30 years of copper mining. It filled up with water 900 feet deep, which then accumulated toxic levels of inorganic compounds including arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron and zinc. The water is as acidic as distilled vinegar, strong enough to liquefy the steel propeller of a motorboat.

The pit is a Superfund site and also a tourist attraction, where people pay $2 to see the toxic, reddish water. It has also become renowned as a location to study extremophiles, microorganisms that can persist in conditions toxic to most life.

Flock of unprecedented size

The Pit is maintained by mining companies Montana Resources and Atlantic Richfield, which since 1995 have been responsible for preventing birds from landing in the toxic lake. In late November, an off-duty Montana Resources employee called to notify Berkeley Pit staff that a flock of about 25,000 snow geese was in the air about 25 miles away.

The area typically only sees between 2,000 and 5,000 snow geese all year, including during the spring and winter migration periods.

An estimated 10,000 geese landed in the Berkeley Pit. According to one mine official, the water turned white with birds.

The number of migrating geese that passed through this area and landed in the pit is unprecedented, a Montana Resources spokesperson said.

Mine employees used loud noises and drones to try and frighten the birds out of the water, but some remained in the lake even a week later.

Since the incident, dead snow geese have been turning up near and across the nearby city of Butte, including on roadsides and in a Walmart parking lot.

Officials expect the death toll to reach into the thousands. Because death from the water is not instantaneous, however, it may take a while to form a reliable estimate. Montana Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are using aircraft and drones to try to count the dead birds.

Investigations underway

This is not the first time a mass poisoning has taken place at the Berkeley Pit. In 1995, the dead bodies of 342 snow geese were found floating in the pit. The mine company initially denied that the water had poisoned the birds, instead saying they had eaten contaminated grain. But this was disproven by a University of Wyoming study showing burns and sores in the oral cavities, tracheas, esophagi and digestive organs of every bird autopsied. Heavy metals were also found in the animals kidneys.

After that incident, the government ordered Montana Resources and Atlantic Richfield to operate a hazing program to scare geese away from the lake. The program seemingly brought the number of bird deaths down to about 15 per year  until now.

Montana Resources has asked federal officials whether any further large migrations are expected. The large flock from the recent incident had bypassed its typical landing spot, Freezeout Lake, because it was completely frozen over. This occurred in part because the birds migrated later than usual due to warm weather in the Arctic, meaning that they arrived in Montana later into the winter. Then a snowstorm iced over Freezeout Lake.

I cant underscore enough how many birds were in the Butte area that night, said Mark Thompson, environmental affairs manager for the Berkeley Pit. Numbers beyond anything weve ever experienced in our 21 years of monitoring by several orders of magnitude.

An investigation is underway to determine the causes of the incident. In addition to the delayed migration, one cause may be growing numbers of snow geese moving into new habitats.

In the early 20th century, snow geese were endangered. A ban on hunting allowed their populations to rebound to 2 million by the 1980s. Now, the population is estimated at 15 million.

The EPA is also investigating whether the mine operators were negligent in their duties.

Sources for this article include:

Independent.co.uk

WashingtonPost.com

TheGuardian.com
(Natural News) Ida Auken is a thirty-something year old member of the Danish parliament. She created a bit of a stir with an article she penned recently for the World Economic Forum (WEF) that describes her ideal society and city in the year 2030. Its a place, Auken writes, where you own nothing and you have no privacy. Need to cook? Kitchen equipment is delivered within moments. No cars are allowed. Transportation is free and available with driverless machines. There is no rent in the city, because your space is used by others when youre not there. Robots and AI do most of the work, so you can be more creative and socialize. Ms. Auken has one note of caution in her utopian missive:

I have no real privacy. No where I can go and not be registered. I know that, somewhere, everything I do, think and dream of is recorded. I just hope that nobody will use it against me.

Poor Ida. Maybe Denmark doesnt have a version of the NSA, yet. She also sounds concerned for those poor misfits who havent yet been rounded up from their disconnected countryside shacks. They just got lost on the way. Yes, these are the anti-technology luddites who are still holding out for freedom, driving and eating real food. Ms. Auken gives no timetable as to their eventual adaptation, or demise.

Wakingtimes.com states that we are closer to the global elites vision of the future than ever before. The technocrats have been busy for years getting their ducks in a row. Its essential that the public buy the man-made global warming myth, because the sustainable development meme is a lynch pin of their control mechanism. Heres a video, circa 2012, created by global think tank Forum for the Future, which gets lots of money to theorize and monetize what these future global cities will look like and what businesses must do to comply.

The money, technology and media propaganda generated by the high priests of man made global warming marches on. But the technocrats who promote and plan and build these systems dont have a clue that they are building their own prison. Have any of them read the 17 goals from the UN? The first two are no poverty and zero hunger. Take a moment to ponder how that has played out in history.

Lets hope Trumps EPA nominee, Oklahomas Attorney General Scott Pruitt, will be confirmed as head of the EPA, so he can throw a monkey wrench into the globalist plans.

Sources:

WeForum.org

WakingTimesMedia.com

YouTube.com

Technologyreview.com

Un.org
Reindeer may not be able to carry Santa Clause for much longer as the specie is getting smaller and smaller. A new study presented at the British Ecological Society (BES) in Liverpool revealed that this noticeable shrinkage is due to climate change drastically limiting the food supply of the animal, according to a report from Phys.org.

The researchers revealed that the weight of adult reindeer in Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic has dropped by about 12 percent over the past 16 years. Adult reindeer born in 2010 weigh about 106 pounds or 48 kilograms, while those born in 1994 were able to hit about 121 pounds or 55 kilograms.

Study leader Steve Albon of the James Hutton Institute in Scotland stressed the importance of this weight loss saying, "Twelve percent may not sound very much, but given how important body weight is to reproduction and survival, it's potentially huge."

The BES made a statement that pointed to climate change as a factor of the shrinking reindeer, explaining that the land surface temperature in the Arctic were higher by around 2.8 degrees Celsius than it was a hundred years ago. The higher temperature during winter leads to more rain, which "falls on snow and freezes."

The frozen water acts as a barricade between the reindeer and the lichen that the animal forages for in snow during long winter months. Because they have a more difficult time getting to their food, they tend to eat less and their weight suffers.

In the winter of 2013 to 2014, 61,000 reindeer died of starvation on the Yamal Peninsula, Siberia because of this rain-on-snow phenomenon.

Also, a factor is the rising number of reindeer population, which means the animals have more competition when it comes to food.

"So far we have more but smaller reindeer," Albon described the reindeer situation in Svalbard, according to a report from The Guardian.
The National Red Imported Fire ant Eradication Program has called the federal government to spend AU$380 million (US$283,746,000) over the next decade to wipe out the red fire ants that have wreaked havoc in the biggest cities of Australia such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, among others.

In a report from ABC, the NRIFAEP found that there was "only a small window of opportunity left" to wipe out an insect that has the potential to be the worst invasive species to ever cross Australia's borders.

Invasive Species Council (ISC) chief executive Andrew Cox told ABC that "the area's slowly expanding and we think it's because they haven't got enough money to do the job."

Accordingly, ISC warns that Australia faces a national emergency if federal and state funding of the country's red fire ant eradication program is not fully funded.

"Fire ants will be a massive hit to our economy, our environment, our healthcare system and our outdoor lifestyle if we do not act now," Cox told BBC.

Cox explains that if this eradication is not properly funded, Sydney will get them, Melbourne will get them, Perth will get them, everywhere will get them. He added that people would not be able to escape them if they miss this small window of opportunity and they only get one shot at this and now is the time.

"Eradication is still possible and in our nation's interest but the time to act is rapidly diminishing," Cox added.

BBC reported that the red ant species entered Australia through the Port of Brisbane in 2001 and have flourished in southeast Queensland. Now, the red ant colonies are estimated to be within 50 kilometers (30 miles) of the New South Wales border.

The red fire ants are notorious to human health, livestock, and properties. In the United States alone, red ants are responsible for at least 85 deaths from anaphylactic reactions when the ants bite en masse which might increase up to 3,000 anaphylactic reactions each year in Australia.

On the other hand, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the Agriculture Ministers' Forum agreed that eradication remains technically feasible and in the national interest.

"[Federal and state governments] are considering a future eradication program, which will be on the agenda for the first agricultural ministers meeting in 2017 currently scheduled to take place in May," the statement said.

Further reports show that If not contained, the infestation would affect at least 20 sectors of the economy and cost the country $1.6 billion. The federal government has been battling the spread of the red ant for 15 years and had suffered public criticism.

Senator Janet Rice forced the federal government to table the independent review in Parliament.

"The economic benefits of taking action now will vastly outweigh what the current costs are . . . $38 million a year isn't much in the context of a Canberra budget. It's a real no-brainer," she said.
Before concluding its final legislative day for the 114th Congress, the US Senate unanimously approved an amended version of S. 3346, the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2016, last Friday, December 10.

A revised version of a previous bill passed by the Senate Commerce Committee back in September, the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2016 has allocated $19.5 billion for NASA for fiscal year 2017. It also included a wide range of policy provisions, such as developing a transition plan for future operations of the International Space Station (ISS), creation of a "strategic framework" for human space exploration leading to Mars missions, and a report about the effectiveness of NASA's planned Asteroid Redirect Mission, an article by SpaceNews reports.

Unfortunately, since the Congress has already passed its final bills last December 8 and has adjourned its sessions for the 114th Congress, the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2016 has lost its chance to become a full-fledged legislation this year. Still, its proponents are rejoicing, as they are confident it will pave the way for the smooth passage of a similar bill as the 115th Congress begins in January, 2017.

The bill's lead sponsor, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, said in an official statement released on December 10 to members of the press:

"This broad, bipartisan legislative achievement provides NASA with the stability it needs as the agency transitions to a new administration. It also lays an important marker as we continue working to enact this important legislation as soon as possible."

While other members of the scientific community are expressing apprehensions about federal funding under the forthcoming White House takeover of President Donald Trump, so far things are looking pretty good for NASA. Recently, the space agency scored a whopping $75 million dollars to fund its Florida facility's Hurricane Matthew damages from the stopgap spending bill.
In a sweet holiday bombshell leveled Monday, an entire third grade class in Tustin in need was surprised with bikes and helmets "Oprah style" for every student.

The students were first told that they were participating in an essay contest. Four students were to win bikes and helmets based on their essays written on the topic of empathy. Four other students also won bikes randomly at the assembly, Jeane Thorman Elementary School principal Deanna Parks said in a statement.

After these students were awarded, the curtain would be pulled back to reveal bikes for every third grader. It was a special surprise for "Thorman kids who are from low socioeconomic families," the school said in a statement.

All of the students who attend are Title 1, which means they all qualify for free lunches.

"Some kids in some areas don't know how to swim and some kids in some areas don't know how to ride a bike," Parks said.

The teachers, staff and students were all unaware of the big reveal, only thinking four students total were to receive bikes.

In another heartbreaking facet of the story, the school has a bike lock-up that has remained empty as there has never been a bike in it. But that should change now.

Some of the students admitted that they've never owned a bike.

"So it's going to be a new experience, yeah? I can't wait to push on one and go," Liliana Soto said.

The giveaway was provided by nonprofit Bike for Kids from San Diego.
The police chief of Bakersfield, California, said Tuesday that an unarmed 73-year-old man refused to take his hand out of his pocket when he was shot by an officer who thought he had a gun because of a 911 call reporting him.

An officer on the force for about 16 months, Reagan Selman, fired seven shots at Francisco Serna in the driveway in Serna's neighborhood where he was killed, Chief Lyle Martin said at a news conference Tuesday night. Six other officers had arrived, but no others fired, Martin said.

Serna's family said he suffers from dementia and he often took walks in the evening.

The woman who reported him spotted Serna in her driveway, and she told her boyfriend that she thought he had what looked like a gun, Martin said. It was the boyfriend who called 911, and he simply said the man had a handgun, the chief said.

When officers arrived, the woman pointed to Serna as the man they had called about, the chief said. About 20 or 30 seconds later, as Serna refused to take his hand out of his jacket pocket and stopped moving, Selman shot and killed him. About 10 minutes passed from the 911 call to the shooting.

Martin said it was an extremely difficult set of circumstances for an officer fearing a man with a gun and a terrible situation for all involved. "This is a tragic incident for their family, the community as a whole, and the police department," he said.

Serna was declared dead at the scene, and no gun was found. Martin says an object was recovered that may have been what the woman mistook for a gun, but he said it was difficult to describe and didn't offer further details.

Selman and his partner, who were the first two officers at the scene, were placed on routine administrative leave. The other five officers who witnessed the shooting were not directly involved enough to be put on leave.

A group was gathered outside the family home late Tuesday, with one person holding a sign that read "Justice for Francisco Serna." A candlelight vigil was held in his honor.

Serna's son Rogelio Serna posted a video on Facebook about the shooting Tuesday. "Right across the street is where the police shot my father ... and my dad was not armed," Rogelio said in the video.

He wrote in another post that his father was in the early stages of dementia and would go on small walks when he had trouble sleeping. "Last night he took his last walk," Serna wrote.
Walmart has removed a mug from its website after numerous shoppers reported it as appalling and offensive.

The black and white coffee mug was posted to the retail giants site with the message Got Retard? on it.

After numerous complaints, and a Change.org petition asking the company to stop selling the mug, Walmart said it had the item from a third-party seller removed from the site as soon as we were informed.

This item violated our policy and we quickly removed it, Walmart said in a statement on Twitter. Its unacceptable a seller put it on our Marketplace.

This item violated our policy and we quickly removed it. Its unacceptable for a seller put it on our Marketplace. -Katz  Walmart (@Walmart) December 12, 2016

A similar version of the mug also appeared on Amazon.com, but has since been removed from the site as well. Amazon said in a statement Tuesday the item is "not listed for sale on Amazon."

The National Down Syndrome Society thanked the retailers for discontinuing sales immediately.

Upon learning of the offensive language used in products sold by Walmart and Amazon, NDSS reached out to both retailers to discuss the offensive items being sold on their websites and asked that they immediately disconitnue the sale of those products, which they both have done, the group said in a statement. NDSS strongly condemns the use of the r word. As the leading human rights organization for all people with Down syndrome, we maintain a zero tolerance policy for this type of mockery and offense.

GiGis Playhouse Inc. in suburban Chicago, a group dedicated to increasing positive awareness of Down syndrome, also thanked the companies for removing the product.

Walmart, we would like to thank you for taking down your product, the despicable, offensive mug with the R-word prominently displayed on it, but not before many people were hurt, the group wrote on Facebook.

Still, the group has asked both Walmart and Amazon.com What can we do to ensure this doesnt happen again?

Walmart describes its Marketplace program on its website as a way for "strategic business partners" to sell products alongside Walmart products.

"Our sellers are selected based on reputation, sales projections and alignment with Walmart's values," Walmart's website says.

A request for comment on how the mug made it onto the company's marketplace was not immediately answered.

Amazon also did not respond to a request for comment about how the mug was listed on the site. According to the company's website, registered sellers can list their products to the Amazon Marketplace catalog.
Gov. Bruce Rauner announced Monday that his office closed a massive backlog of clemency petitions left by incarcerated former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The backlog dates back to 2003, the year Blagojevich took office. According to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Blagojevich acted on less than 25 percent of petitions filed while he was governor.

Former Gov. Pat Quinn inherited nearly 3,000 clemency petitions when he took over for Blagojevich in 2009, according to the report. Although he acted on several thousand, Rauner was left with over 2,000 cases when he became governor in 2015.

According to the report, the Rauner administration has reviewed over 2,300 petitions, 2,209 of which came from previous administrations. Thus far, clemency has been granted to 79 people, with three commutations also granted.

The Rauner administration has now reviewed and acted on all clemency requests from past administrations, according to the report. Additionally, four innocence requests remain outstanding from prior administrations, Rauners administration told the Sun-Times.

We take this very seriously, and we have spent a lot of time the last two years reviewing cases, Rauner told the paper Monday. Every request gets thoughtful, thorough analysis and discussion."

The governor said it was unfortunate that Blagojevich didnt pay closer attention to the petitions.

Clearing the backlog was a priority of Rauners criminal justice reform platform. The governor, who says he wants to focus on rehabilitation and preventing recidivism, has signed 14 criminal justice bills since taking office, the Sun-Times reports.
President-elect Donald Trump is singing House Speaker Paul Ryan's praises in Wisconsin.

At a rally Tuesday in West Allis, Trump praised the Wisconsin politicians in the room. When Ryan drew boos, Trump said he was "like a fine wine. Every day that goes by I get to appreciate his genius more and more."

Trump and Ryan have not always been so cozy. Ryan disinvited Trump from a rally in the fall, saying he was "sickened" by past profane comments from the presidential candidate. But they started mended fences leading up to Election Day.

Ryan was just one of the speakers who opened for Trump Tuesday. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Trump's pick for chief of staff, Reince Priebus, also spoke.

The president-elect won Wisconsin by roughly 22,000 votes in November, becoming the first Republican to win the state since 1984. The visit came one day after Trump's victory in Wisconsin was reaffirmed following a presidential recount that showed him defeating Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000 votes.

Trump picked up a net 162 votes as a result of the recount that the Wisconsin Elections Commission certified Monday. Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested and paid for the recount that began Dec. 1.

Trump will also attend a Thursday rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania and a Friday rally in Orlando, Florida. Trump will also headline a Saturday rally in Mobile, Alabama. The Republican won all three states in November.

A federal judge denied Stein's request for a recount in Pennsyvlania Monday, according to AP. Additionally, a federal judge halted Michigan's recount of presidential votes last week after only three days. That recount was also requested by Stein.
Hersheys Chocolate Chicago store on Michigan Avenue will close sometime in January 2017, a spokesperson for the candy company confirmed Monday.

The location has been a part of the Magnificent Mile since 2005, Anna Lingeris, a Hershey Company spokesperson said.

As we look to our future as a leader in experiential retail, we are focusing our efforts on larger scale footprints that allow for more experiential interactions between our consumers and our beloved and iconic brands, Lingeris said. Hersheys Chocolate World Chicago will remain open throughout the holiday season and will close at a date to be determined in January 2017.

Lingeris said the company did not have any plans for a new Chicago location but also wouldnt rule out the possibility.

In 2014, Hershey Company opened a flagship store in Las Vegas, Lingeris said, covering over 13,000 sq. ft. The company also has a larger store in the works for New Yorks Times Square scheduled to open in late 2017.

The candy stores shuttering will add another empty storefront to the northern stretch of North Michigan Avenue, which saw nearly 197,000 square feet of real estate sitting vacant as of last July, or about 6 percent of all Michigan Avenue retail space between the Chicago River and Oak Street, the Chicago Tribune reports, citing real estate firm CBRE.

That doesn't include stores opening soon, like the Apple Store at 679 N. Michigan Ave., which Apple will leave for a new flagship along the Chicago River that is currently under construction, the Tribune reports.

Loyola University Chicago told the newspaper the property is being marketed to prospective tenants.
A Chicago man accused of helping to plot the murder of Sheila Von Wiese-Mack is expected to change his plea in a federal courtroom on Tuesday.

Robert Bibbs is accused of conspiring with his cousin, Tommy Schaefer, and Heather Mack, in the murder of Macks mother, Sheila, who was found beaten to death and stuffed in a suitcase in Bali in 2014.

Prosecutors in the US said Bibbs texted Schaefer ways to get away with the crime and that he hoped to cash-in on the inheritance.

Last year, Bibbs pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to kill a person in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a United States national, and solicitation of a crime of violence.

It's not clear why Bibbs is expected to change his plea. A voice message to his attorney has yet to be returned.

Schaefer and Mack are serving prison sentences for murder in Indonesia.
Police are looking for a group of men who beat and stabbed a man during an armed robbery early Tuesday on Chicagos North Side.

Authorities said the attack unfolded when two men, ages 21 and 37, were parking a car in the 2800 block of North Halsted around midnight in the citys Lakeview neighborhood when two other cars pulled up. Multiple men got out of the other vehicles, police said, and approached the men parking the car.

One of the suspects displayed a firearm when they announced the robbery, police said.

The 37-year-old put his hands up when confronted by the men, according to police, and was left uninjured, but a gold chain was stolen from his neck.

At the same time, another one of the suspects grabbed the 21-year-old and began to stab him and beat him, police said.

The offenders then got into their vehicles and fled, according to police.

Police say one of the victims is a documented gang member.

Area North detectives are investigating the incident. No one is in custody.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson welcomed 100 new police recruits to the departments training academy Tuesday as the CPD continues its hiring push.

In September, the CPD announced a bold plan to fill existing vacancies and add 970 new positions to the force over the next two years. That hiring plan includes 500 new officers, 200 detectives, 92 field training officers, 112 sergeants, and 50 lieutenants. To fulfill that goal, the departments training academy will begin enrolling 100 new recruits every month of next year.

Since 2011, the CPD has hired 2,446 candidates, 617 of which were hired this year.

Being a police officer is more than a job, Mayor Emanuel said in a statement. "It is more than a career. It is a calling. Officers come together from different backgrounds, different cultures, and different faiths for a common cause: to serve and protect the people of the City of Chicago.

And this whole city will be behind our officers, rooting for their success, he added.

In November, the city started accepting applications for the next Police Entry Exam in April 2017. The citys recruitment campaign was aimed at bolstering the forces diversity to better represent the communities they serve. This months recruitment class is 60 percent non-white and nearly 30 percent female. Additionally, eight recruits have served in the military.

These dedicated young men and women represent the next generation of Chicago police officers who will dedicate their lives to safeguarding our neighborhoods and rebuilding the vital trust between officers and the communities we serve, Supt. Johnson said in a statement. As they progress on their journey to taking the oath of office, CPD is committed to providing them with state of the art training and support so they can serve Chicago with professionalism and distinction.

During the CPDs six month police academy program, new recruits learn applicable laws and protocols for being a Chicago police officer and receive extensive training in crisis intervention, de-escalation, use of force, community building and critical thinking. In addition, the CPD is also planning to add a state of the art scenario based curriculum to better prepare recruits for real world situations.
A construction company employee died in the Deep Tunnel Project Monday in suburban Summit, officials confirmed.

The Summit Fire Department confirmed that a person was killed in the 7700 block of Canal Bank Road. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as Robert Ellison, 55, of Spring Grove in McHenry County.

Cause of death was pending an investigation.

Bob Kula, vice president of corporate communication for construction company Kiewit, also confirmed the death in a statement.

"We extend our sincerest condolences to his family and friends, and those who knew and worked with him at Kiewit," he said.

Kula said the safety of Kiewit's employees is the company's top priority. Kiewit is conducting an investigation and working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state and local authorities, he said.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District started the Deep Tunnel project in 1972 as a way to cost-effectively comply with Federal and State water quality standards in the 375 square miles combined sewer area consisting of Chicago and 51 suburbs, according to the MWRDs website.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into the death of a carpenter killed at the Deep Tunnel Project Monday in suburban Summit.

The Summit Fire Department confirmed that a person was killed in the 7700 block of Canal Bank Road. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as Robert Ellison, 55, of Spring Grove in McHenry County.

Cause of death was pending an investigation, but OSHA said the 55-year-old worker was killed by a rough terrain vehicle during snow plowing operations. The incident occurred in the parking lot of the tunnel project, officials said.

Bob Kula, vice president of corporate communication for construction company Kiewit, also confirmed the death in a statement.

"We extend our sincerest condolences to his family and friends, and those who knew and worked with him at Kiewit," he said.

Kula said the safety of Kiewit's employees is the company's top priority. Kiewit is conducting an investigation and working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state and local authorities, he said.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District started the Deep Tunnel project in 1972 as a way to cost-effectively comply with Federal and State water quality standards in the 375 square miles combined sewer area consisting of Chicago and 51 suburbs, according to the MWRDs website.
A former Green Party candidate and activist died after the plane he was flying crashed in northwest suburban Marengo over the weekend, authorities said Monday.

An autopsy found that Robert I. Sherman, 63, of Poplar Grove died of multiple crush injuries due to the airplane crash early Saturday morning, according to McHenry County Coroner Anne L. Majewski.

An activist and atheism advocate, Sherman ran as a Green Party candidate for the states 5th Congressional District this year and was the Cook County Green Party chairman in 2012.

Previously, Sherman ran for state representative of Illinois 53rd Congressional District in 2008, according to his website. He was also a well-known advocate for issues surrounding the separation of church and state and atheism.

According to his website, Sherman is an airplane construction engineer and builds light sport planes for revenue.

Fire crews were dispatched at 7:29 a.m. after someone spotted the wreckage of a single-engine plane in an area off of Meyer Road just north of Pleasant Grove Road, according to Marengo firefighter Joe Taylor.

The home-built Zenair CH601 small aircraft crashed in a field under unknown circumstances and the pilot was killed, according to FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro. The pilot was the only occupant.

Majewski confirmed that a man was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

The crash appeared to have occurred sometime between Friday night and early Saturday morning, Taylor said.

The tail number of the plane provided by the National Transportation Security Board, N4218, was the same as that of a plane shown in a photograph on the website of Sherman. The plane in the photograph is an orange, Zenair CH601 with his name stenciled on the side.

The FAA and NTSB will be investigating the crash.

The plane was in the process of being moved to a secure facility on Saturday ahead of a winter storm, Keith Holloway, a spokesman for NTSB said.

It looks like the team may reconvene on Monday for further examination and documentation of the aircraft, Holloway said.
A Chicago man accused of helping plot the death of Sheila von Wiese-Mack changed his plea to guilty in a federal court on Tuesday.

Robert Bibbs, 26, is accused of conspiring with his cousin, Tommy Schaefer, and Schaefer's girlfriend Heather Mack, in the murder of Macks mother Sheila. [[406329365, C]]

Von Wiese-Mack was bludgeoned to death with a metal fruit bowl and her body found stuffed inside a suitcase in a taxi at a Bali resort in August 2014.

In 2015, Schaefer was found guilty of battering von Wiese-Mack to death and was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Indonesia. Mack was convicted of helping with the killing, and sentenced to 10 years in prison in Indonesia.

Prosecutors in the US said Bibbs texted Schaefer tips to get away with the crime from more than 9,000 miles away in Chicago, and that he had hoped to cash in on the inheritance.

In October 2015, Bibbs pleaded not guilty in Chicago federal court to conspiracy to kill a person in a foreign country, conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a United States national, and solicitation of a crime of violence.

It was not immediately clear why Bibbs chose to change his plea, but speaking to the judge on Tuesday, he revealed that he was aware of the plot, but never thought Tommy would do it and instead believed Heather would commit the crime. [[406330025, C]]

If convicted, Bibbs faces up to 20 years in prison. He remains out on bond until his sentencing in March.
The eighth season of the Chicago-centric Showtime hit Shameless is in limbo after one if its female stars has demanded equal pay to her male counterpart, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Emmy Rossum, who plays Fiona Gallagher, is demanding equal payment to that of her co-star, William H. Macy, as well as more money per episode than Macy after making less for years, the celebrity news website reports. Macy plays Frank Gallagher, a booze and drugs addled father who leaves his eldest daughter, Fiona, to raise his other kids as best she can while he parties, swindles and schemes.

The Hollywood Reporter said Warner Brothers TV and Showtime declined to comment on the negotiations.

Sources tell the Reporter if Rossum closes her deal, producer WBTV then will renegotiate with the rest of the cast. If she doesnt close a deal, the website reports, Showtime could renew the show without her or cancel it entirely.

The shows episodes contain plots like kidnapping an elderly woman from a retirement community to collect social security, Frank running from roughnecks after he fails to help burn a car for insurance money, or convincing the school district the children are tended to by responsible parents by dressing a car thief in a suit to pass him off as a doting father.

You can watch the show on Netflix and Showtime.
A group of advocates for homeless residents of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood are blaming the states lingering budget impasse for the impending closure of a homeless shelter that's set to shutter just before the holidays.

The group, which consists of homeless residents, community organizers and clergy, claimed the states inability to come up with $100,000 to fund the North Side Housing & Supportive Services shelter is directly tied to the ongoing budget stalemate in Springfield, faulting Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Richard Ducatenzeiler, the shelter's executive director, noted that the decision to close down was made in September after it became clear that funding provided by the state of Illinois through the city of Chicago wouldn't be allocated. In the past few years, the shelter has had a deficit of roughly $100,000 per year.

"We did approach the city in June or July asking for additional funding, which they came back and told us that they did not have even one more dollar to commit in order to continue to operate this program," Ducatenzeiler told Ward Room.

"It's not that the funding actually ran out, it's just that we did not have the sufficient level of funding that we needed to operate the program," he added.

Ducatenzeiler noted that North Side Housing & Supportive Services isn't associated with the group of community activists advocating for the shelter, nor is it associated with a recent GoFundMe page seeking $100,000 to keep the program running.

With the shelter expected to close before years end, advocates warn that the tent city set up in viaducts underneath Lake Shore Drive in Uptown will expand beyond capacity during the harsh winter months. The group claimed the spike in population could lead to a greatly increased threat of disability and death for homeless Chicagoans.

Still, city officials say that won't be the case.

When DFSS learned earlier this year that this shelter would close permanently by the end of the year, we acted quickly to ensure a smooth transition for all impacted clients," City Hall said in a statement. "Through our strong network of providers operating shelters citywide, we will ensure each of these clients has access to a safe and warm option for relocation, as well as the services they need to help reestablish permanent housing.

The city said it began working with the shelter months ago to find alternate placements for the 72 clients. Currently, 6 remain at the facility, officials said.

Rauner's office responded to concerns about the states precarious economic situation and the shelters funding, faulting Illinois Democrats.

"Unfortunately, due to the Democratic majority's failure to pass a balanced budget, meaningful organizations are being forced to make difficult decisions," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in a statement. "We continue to urge the General Assembly to pass a truly balanced budget with reforms to create jobs, lower property taxes, improve schools and enact term limits."

Rauner has made it clear that he wont sign another stopgap funding compromise with Democrats unless it features two key elements of his turnaround agenda, term limits and a property tax freeze.
Darien police are warning residents to keep an eye out for coyotes after a small dog was killed in a coyote attack in the northern section of town.

Police said over the past two weeks theyve received several reports of sightings and two reports of coyotes attacking small dogs. In one instance the dog was killed.

It is not uncommon for coyotes to attack small pets, particularly during mating season, January to February. Animal Control Officer Chip Stahl stressed that coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare.

Police advised residents not to feed wild animals because if coyotes associate people with food it increases the risk of run-ins.

For more information and tips on how to keep pets safe visit the Darien police website.
West Hartford police have arrested two people accused of stealing packages while posing as energy company representatives.

Police said that on Tuesday a resident in the 1300 block of the Boulevard reported two people came to his door claiming to be soliciting for a Comcast. The resident said he found the pair suspicious and they did not have solicitor badges. He also noticed that the suspects did not have packages when they first came around but were carrying some a short time later.

Officers responded and found the two suspects, identified as Justice Eugene Johnson, 24, of Waterbury and Deanna Naomi Gordon, 20, of Waterbury, with stolen items.

According to police, the pair was walking around with an Eversource clipboard when they were located. They told police that they were employed by Starion Energy in Middlebury and that they were working as subcontractors for Eversource. However, when NBC Connecticut reached out to Eversource a company spokesman said they do not contract with Starion Energy and are not associated with the company.

Starion Energy said the suspects are not their employees.

Johnson and Gordon were both charged with sixth-degree larceny, interfering with an officer, and simple trespass.

All solicitors are required to have permits in West Hartford. Any suspicious activity should be reported to police.

Eversource warned customers in the past of impostors who go door-to-door pretending to represent for their company. They released a statement which read in part:

"The two individuals arrested in West Hartford are not affiliated with Eversource. Unfortunately, our customers across Connecticut continue to report receiving unsolicited phone calls and home visits from individuals selling 'discounted power' and claiming to be 'representatives' or 'partners' of Eversource. In light of this, the company is warning customers that these individuals are not affiliated with Eversource and are most likely either scammers or third-party suppliers choosing to use deceptive marketing tactics."

The company added that all Eversource employees carry company-issued identification, and any electrical contractors working with the company carry documentation. Customers can call Eversource at 1-800-286-2000 to verify this information.

A spokeswoman for Comcast said:

All Comcast employees are required to carry identification. If a customer suspects a potential scam or anything suspicious, they should request that identification be presented prior to allowing anyone into their home. Also, anyone who has suspicions about a representative at their home should call 1-800-COMCASTimmediately to verify the legitimacy of a service call.
A former New London police officer was found dead in a car in Griswold Monday afternoon.

Russell MacDonald, 35, of Jewett City, was found dead inside a car on I-395 near exit 24 around 4:30 p.m., accoriding to state police.

MacDonald was hired to be an officer for the New London Police Department in March 2008 but resigned in August 2015. MacDonald, a property officer, was being internally investigated by the department for issues related to the evidence room by the time of his resignation, police said.

The investigation started in March 2015 and the New London Police Department told NBC Connecticut that MacDonald was involved in missing and tampered evidence, such as drugs and cash. As far as they know, those drugs and cash have never been recovered.

The case was eventually handed over to the state's attorney's office and Connecticut State Police. Due to the nature of the investigation, federal agents got involved in the probe, New London police said.

Tom Carson, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said no charges have been filed in the MacDonald case but his office cannot confirm nor deny an investigation.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct a post-mortem examination to determine MacDonald's manner of death. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the office said the autopsy of Russell MacDonald is pending further study. The office is waiting for test results to come back which will take several weeks.

Police said there is no foul play suspected and no threat to the public.

NBC Connecticut spoke with former New London Mayor Daryl Finizio, who served during the time MacDonald was investigated and resigned.

"Obviously when you hear of the death of an officer or former officer who served the city, especially a death that's the result of tragic circumstances, then my thoughts and prayers go out to his family," he said.

Current New London Mayor Michael Passero released the following statement on MacDonald's death.

"It is with a sense of sadness to learn of the untimely death of former New London Police Officer Russell MacDonald. During this difficult period, the city wishes to expresses our condolences and thoughts to Mr. MacDonalds family."
After much debate, the Glastonbury Board of Education has decided to close the Eastbury Elementary School.

Susan Karp, Chairman of the Board of Education, said that they voted seven to one to close the school.

The decision was based on declining enrollment and cost. The school will close at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.

The Board appreciates administrators and staff members for their work on this issue, parents and community members for taking time to share their thoughts and concerns, and all those who remained patient and involved throughout Board deliberations, The board said in a statement.

The decision comes after years of discussion and research. Back in May the board was originally expected to vote on the matter but after input from parents and a petition to save the school more than 700 signatures, the board delayed a final decision.

Eastbury is the smallest elementary in Glastonbury with 266 students. Glastonbury Superintendent Alan Bookman said closing the school will save the district $800,000  mostly in personnel costs but also some utilities.

The board said they will soon work to develop a school redistricting plan to share with the public. Bookman said based on projected student growth the town will still have room for the next ten years to accommodate all of its students.

However, disappointed parents disputed that.

The enrollment projections have been wrong two years in a row. Weve come in higher than projected each time theyve refreshed, said Luis Marques.

Darci McHenry, whose daughter is in 4th grade, said there were seven new students in her daughters classroom this year and fears closing the school will cause problems down the road.

We have beyond enough population to continue this school growing versus shrinking, with all the new development in the area, McHenry said.

Jennife Muller, who has children in fourth and third grade, attended Tuesday nights meeting and said shes concerned what redistricting means for the students across the whole district.

Several kids from Hopewell and Buttonball and Hebron Ave are all going to get re-districted so its going to be losing that sense of community for all of these children, she said.

Superintendent Bookman said the district did not expect to see a huge bump in class side and that average class size would stay slightly under 20.
A Lufthansa flight was diverted to JFK Airport following a bomb threat, authorities said Monday night.

Port Authority Spokesperson Steve Coleman said Lufthansa received the phone threat while Lufthansa Flight 441 was traveling from Houston, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany.

The pilot diverted to JFK and the plane landed safely, he said. Passengers were evacuating the aircraft at 9.30 p.m, and by 10 p.m. the aircraft was in a remote area being searched by a K-9 unit, government officials said.

Officials searched the plane and Coleman said nothing suspicious was found. In a tweet early Tuesday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that a search of the plane yielded nothing.

A senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News that 530 people were taken off the flight after the bomb threat was phoned in to their corporate office.

The pilot was notified of the threat and landed at JFK per standard procedure.

The law enforcement official said the Joint Terrorism Task Force was monitoring and re-screening the plane.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa tweeted that the flight was diverted "as a matter of precaution" and in coordination with relevant authorities and the pilot.

The plane left Houston at 4.10 p.m. and was due to arrive in Frankfurt Tuesday morning.

"Passengers disembarked and [Lufthansa] staff will take care of them. The aircraft will be searched," the airline said.

JFK airport said no other flights were impacted by the plane's grounding.
Next time youre in New Haven, you may notice a multi-color meter thats not for parking.

Instead, they are meant to discourage panhandling and offer a new way to give back, Mayor Toni Harp announced at a press conference Monday afternoon.

New Haven is joining several cities around the country, including Albuquerque and Denver, that have repurposed parking meters.

Give change to make change provides an outlet for those who compassionately and kind heartedly want to assist vulnerable homeless residents, Mayor Harp said.

The Give Change to Make Change program aims to supplement the citys funding for social service organizations working to end homelessness and feed the hungry.

With some change or a credit card, people looking to give back will be able to donate at 10 orange and yellow converted parking meters.

I think its a great program, Im homeless, I pay it forward, people help me and I help others, said William Ohl, who has been homeless for more than three years. I dont panhandle and I dont give panhandlers money, what I do is ask them if theyre hungry and if I can I go buy them something to eat.

But panhandlers are often spotted in downtown New Haven. Sometimes the cash they collect contributes to drug or alcohol addiction.

Police have reported that professional panhandlers can make up to $100 a day, said Win Davis, executive director of Town Green Special Services District. We are here today to let the public know that its ok to say no to panhandling and yes to giving.

With the help of social workers, Ohl said he is hopeful that soon hell be able to move off the streets and into new housing.

I have a multitude of people working towards that, he said, Im headed there.

Four of donation meters are already operational at these locations: Corner of Chapel and College outside INFO New haven, College Street Garage lobby, Corner of York and Chapel outside of the Yale Rep, Corner of Broadway and Elm by the pop-up Peabody Museum

City officials said they are taking suggestions where to set up the other six. Donations can also be made at www.givechangetomakechange.com.
New federal legislation that could be signed by President Obama as soon as Tuesday is expected to provide $1 billion dollars over two years to combat the opioid crisis.

While Connecticut would only get a share of that funding, some local families who have suffered because of opioid addiction are clear as to how they want it spent.

Lisa Cote Johns of Uncasville lost her son Christopher to a heroin overdose in 2014.

His addiction began after she helped him get prescription opioids from a doctor following an appendectomy and a broken nose.

"You don't need an opioid for a tooth extraction. You don't need an opioid if you injure your knee. That's what Tylenol is for," said Cote Johns.

On Monday, Cote Johns, along with other families of overdose victims, welcomed Senator Richard Blumenthal to discuss the best ways to use newly approved federal funds from the 21st Century Cures Act.

"It means America is putting its money where its mouth is. And we need to make those investments real here in CT because we have the need for it," said Blumenthal.

Besides cutting down on over prescription of opioids, advocates, like Cote Johns' group Community Speaks Out, want more treatment and recovery programs, including prescription monitoring, as well as making Narcan more affordable.

They also want to see insurance companies allow addicts more time in rehab, with treatment more tailored to the individual.

"You wouldn't give two people the same type of chemo treatment - one for breast cancer, one for prostate - it's not heard of. Why do you feel the need to treat those that suffer with this disease the same way? That's failing," said Cote Johns.

According to Blumenthal, Connecticut saw 700 deaths in 2015 from opioid overdoses. This year is on pace for almost 900.

"I know a lot of people don't care because they think they're just junkies. But they're not. They suffer from a disease. And they're someone's child, someone's mother, someone's father," explained Cote Johns.

Once the president signs the legislation, Connecticut will then have to apply for grants to get its share of the money.
The New London States Attorneys office has ruled that the use of deadly force by two officers during a confrontation with a South Windsor bank robbery suspect in Bolton in Aug. 2015 was justified, according to a report released Tuesday.

The New Londons States Attorney was called in to investigate after a state trooper and a Manchester police officer fired shots at the suspect, Christopher T. Anderson, 53, of Hartford, during a confrontation on Aug. 14, 2015. Anderson eventually died from his injuries.

According to police, the incident started when Anderson handed tellers a note demanding money at First Niagara Bank at 481 Buckland Road in South Windsor.

A South Windsor police officer saw him fleeing the bank and get into a Toyota Matrix. The officer chased after him into Manchester and a group of Manchester police officers joined in on the pursuit at about 3:30 p.m. The suspect refused to stop for South Windsor and Manchester police.

State police from the Troop K barracks in Colchester responded to the area of routes 384 and 6 in Manchester to help South Windsor and Manchester police with the pursuit at about 3:30 p.m.

The chase ended on Route 44 in Bolton, where the Anderson crashed on the right side of the roadway, according to state police. The suspect started driving again and made it 200 yards before his vehicle broke down near the intersection of Routes 44 and 6, east of Bolton Notch.

As State Trooper Brian Contenta and police officers approached the vehicle, state police said Anderson got out of the car and was brandishing a box cutter in his hand when he got out of the car and disobeyed authorities' commands to stop. He advanced toward the trooper and officers, state police said.

Manchester Police Officer Jason Wagner deployed a Taser, but it didn't stop Anderson, who ripped the probes out. Anderson continued advancing on the officers with the weapon, prompting Contenta and Manchester Police Officer Layau Eulizier to open fire on him simultaneously and shoot him, state police said. It's unknown how many times Anderson was shot.

According to the States Attorneys report, Contenta fired four shots and Eulizier fired one shot.

Anderson was immediately treated on scene then taken to Hartford Hospital in an ambulance, but died at the hospital. Contenta, Wagner and Eulizier weren't injured, but they were taken to the hospital to be evaluated.

Contenta was temporarily assigned to administrative duty pending the completion of the investigation, per state police policy. Wagner, the officer who deployed the taser, has been with the Manchester Police Department for 13 years. Eulizier, the Manchester officer who fired the gun, has been with the department for one year.

Detectives from the Eastern District Major Crime squad and the state's attorney's office in New London responded to the scene.

[HAR] Scene of Police-Involved Shooting in Bolton

Anderson was shot once before by police during a New Haven police investigation into another bank robbery back in October of 2006. New Haven police located him inside a home at 74 Fowler Street and determined he might be armed, police said. When Anderson confronted officers during a lengthy standoff, police were "forced" to fire their guns at him, seriously wounding him, state police said. He was hospitalized after that.

In the conclusion of the States attorney report, dated Dec. 7, 2016, the office ruled that given Andersons refusal to follow verbal instructions to drop his weapon, and his aggressive and threatening manner which continued after the use of a Taser, both officers reasonably believed they had to use deadly force to protect themselves and others from the suspect.
Authorities say an 8-year-old boy who was playing in a church cemetery was killed after a tombstone broke and fell on top of him.

The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office says the boy was attending a birthday party at the church Saturday afternoon when the accident happened in the town of Lynn, about 100 miles northeast of Little Rock. Detective Andrew Turner tells Jonesboro television station KAIT the boy was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Turner says investigators do not believe foul play was involved. The boy's name hasn't been released.

The church's pastor, Jeff Neely, says the boy was "full of life" and "just an 8-year-old rambunctious young man." He says church members plan to support the boy's family, both financially and in prayer.
The dreaded polar vortex  its back! Or is it????

I can't think of a meteorological phrase that has entered into our everyday lexicon that bothers me more than polar vortex.

With a blast of cold air moving across the United States the term has been used countless times over the past week or so. Temperatures in Connecticut by Friday morning will approach 0 degrees - with the wind chill it will feel even colder than that!

Undoubtedly you've heard about the polar vortex roaring down from the North Pole  probably even right here on NBC Connecticut  but its not exactly the best way to describe intrusions of Arctic air. I asked Assistant Professor of Meteorology Jason Furtado of the University of Oklahoma, one of the worlds polar vortex experts, to share his thoughts on what the polar vortex is and what it isnt.

The polar vortex is an area of low pressure that forms at the high latitudes and is strongest during the winter months when the air is the coldest and hence can create the larger temperature differences between the Arctic and low latitudes, Furtado said. The vortex is the most well-defined and strongest in the stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere  i.e., the layer in which we live and where the weather happens.

The key here is that this is happening up in the stratosphere  or 10 to 20 miles above our heads! What happens below that  in the troposphere  where we live is a bit more complex and is what matters to us.

There is a polar vortex in the troposphere as well, which we call the tropospheric polar vortex, and it has similar characteristics to its stratospheric counterpart. However, the tropospheric polar vortex most often not as circular or confined, and it has lobes that can extend out into the mid-latitudes and bring cold air southward, sometimes with big storms. It is this latter polar vortex (the tropospheric polar vortex) that is used to characterize these cold air outbreaks and big storms, according to Furtado.

As it turns out its not really the polar vortex diving south into New England that brings bitterly cold air. More accurately a lobe of the tropospheric polar vortex is going to swing through and bring cold air south. That doesnt sound nearly as sexy, does it?

Furtado thinks the proliferation of the term is a bit much. The term polar vortex has been used and abused over the past few winters. As a scientist, I always think it is important to be accurate without having to be overly technical. I think it is important to understand that cold air outbreaks do not mean that the actual tropospheric polar vortex comes south.

Another important item to note is that when the polar vortex is stronger  cold air effectively remains trapped over the Arctic. A more accurate headline to describe the science behind and Arctic outbreak would be: The polar vortex is weakening sending Arctic cold south

The polar vortex in the stratosphere does break down occasionally which can lead to Arctic intrusions as the stratospheric and tropospheric vortexes are coupled. This is something we see every winter and every blast of cold air from Canada is a ripple or lobe of the tropospheric polar vortex that skirts along the U.S./Canadian border with great regularity every winter.

Im a stickler for science and getting the terminology right. The producers here at the station know that polar vortex is one of the phrases they can throw into a script to get a rise out of me. They love to annoy the cranky weather guy! The polar vortex isnt new and its not really enveloping New England on Friday. Yes a lobe of the tropospheric polar vortex is coming south but to say its the polar vortex isnt really correct. Unfortunately the term, and the terms misuse, isnt really going anywhere.

Thanks to Professor Jason Furtado for sharing his thoughts on the polar vortex. Now get off my lawn!
After reaching an agreement that ended a three-month strike, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra musicians have planned two holiday concerts.

The first concert, "A Baroque Christmas," takes place at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth on Tuesday. The second, "Baroque Holiday Concert," will be held at White's Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake on Dec. 22.

All proceeds from Tuesday's concert will benefit the B Sharp Youth Music Program and Broadway Baptist Church-Fort Worth's Agape Meal Ministry, according to The Symphony Musicians of Fort Worth, who are hosting the two holiday concerts.

The concerts come after an anonymous donor stepped forward with a $700,000 gift, which bridged the gap between the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Association and the American Federation of Musicians Local 72-147.

The FWSO announced the strike had ended last Wednesday. Their new contract runs through July 31, 2020.

The FWSO will have their first official performance following the strike on New Year's Eve in a concert conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya at Bass Performance Hall. The remainder of the FWSO season remains as previously scheduled.

Click here for more information about the upcoming concerts.
The State of Texas has been given a $5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to combat the Zika virus.

The grant money is earmarked for the Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR) campaign and was awarded by Congress to increase public health preparedness and response funding to protect Americans from Zika virus infection.

The grant comes just days after the state confirmed four additional locally transmitted cases of Zika virus. State officials said the people were likely infected along the border, near Brownsville.

"Now that Texas has confirmed cases of local transmission of the Zika virus, this money will be crucial in our efforts to contain and combat further transmission of the virus," said Gov. Greg Abbott. "Texas has been at the forefront of developing and implementing the strongest possible Zika response plan and we will continue to work with our local and federal partners to ensure our communities have the tools they need to combat the Zika virus."

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has dedicated $18 million to combating the Zika virus and implementing the state's Preparedness and Response plan.

For more information, visit http://texaszika.org/

How to Protect Yourself From Mosquito Bites

Dress in long sleeves, pants when outside: For extra protection, spray thin clothing with repellent.

in long sleeves, pants when outside: For extra protection, spray thin clothing with repellent. DEET : Make sure this ingredient is in your insect repellent.

: Make sure this ingredient is in your insect repellent. Drain standing water in your yard and neighborhood: Mosquitoes can develop in any water stagnant for more than three days.

It has been recommended in the past that to avoid mosquito bites you should avoid being outdoors during Dusk and Dawn (the 4 Ds). While this is true for mosquitoes that commonly carry the West Nile virus, other types of mosquitoes that are more likely to carry Zika, dengue and chikungunya are active during the day. When outdoors, no matter what time of day, adjust your dress accordingly and wear insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus as your first line of defense against insect bites.
A mumps outbreak in Johnson County has grown to 57 cases, a 20-case increase from last Thursday, according to health authorities.

Along with the Johnson County outbreak, unrelated cases in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties have been identified, according to a health department advisory sent out Tuesday afternoon.

Collin County has two confirmed cases. Denton County has three reported cases.

In Dallas County, eight adults have been diagnosed with mumps. Six of the cases were contracted at the same Halloween party, and two others are unrelated. One person traveled back from Minnesota and another from Arkansas, according to Dr. Christopher Perkins, medical director of the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services.

"What is unique about this is that when it comes to mumps, the vast majority are vaccinated," Perkins said.

The vaccine has an 88-percent success rate, he added, which means 12 percent of people remain at risk.

Children are given the vaccine in two doses  once between 12-15 months and again between ages 4 and 6.

"So what we're seeing is that as these individuals progress and become young adults, we unfortunately have a sporadic outbreak of mumps," Perkins said. "It might be that they might consider another dose at some point."

Perkins said Dallas County typically sees two to three cases per year.

"So, yes, this is concerning," he said.

Health officials also warned they expect to see even more cases over the next few weeks because of holiday travel.

Health officials believe a family trip to Arkansas is how the virus got to North Texas. It's part of a larger outbreak that has hit schools in almost every state this year.

Nationwide, 4,258 mumps cases have been reported as of Dec. 3 this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mumps can look like the flu and spreads through infected saliva.

"I'm looking for high fevers, sore throat or swollen throat," said nurse practitioner Veronica Teran, with Children's Health Pediatric Group. "Muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, are they not eating as well?"

There's no word from the CDC as to why this outbreak has been so severe. People who lack the proper immunizations are at the highest risk of getting the mumps.

"Everybody gets the first vaccine at the age of one, and then usually when it's time to start school it's time to get the second one," Dr. Elvin Adams, Johnson County Health Authority.

"The preschoolers have, by and large, only had one, and so to give them extra protection we're recommending they get that second dose early," Adams said.

"Hand washing is also very important, especially in children, because they do share a lot of germs, and they put their hands in their mouths and then they play together," Teran said.
Monday at the SoupMobile, the menu of lasagna and sandwiches also includes a side of warmth.

Give me one of them Cowboys jackets. You got a Cowboys jacket today? Howard Ervin asks as he walks up to the SoupMobile van that has bags filled with jackets inside.

Ervin is one of about a 100 people getting suited up with a new coat Monday during lunch.

Yeah, I needed one, too, Ervin said. Well, Im 71-years-old, arthritis all through my body. Im not homeless, though, but Im not too far from it.

But when youre homeless, youre going to keep everything you can get, said Allyssia Washington.

She knows all too well whats needed when youre sleeping on the street, sleeping bags, lots of blankets.

Thanks to hundreds of donations by NBC 5 viewers, this coming winter in North Texas will be much easier to handle for these folks in need.

Oh, I mean thats a blessing, its a blessing, said Ervin.

And the gift of a new coat came as a surprise during this giving season. I see I got my Christmas present early, thank you, said Ervin.

Normally they give us, when the truck is here, they give us canned goods and stuff. But today its coats. Hey! Merry Christmas to me! said Washington with a laugh.

If you'd like to donate a new or used coat, drop it off at SoupMobile headquarters located at 3017 Commerce Street in Dallas. It's open Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A convicted hit man has been set for execution early next year for the 1992 slaying of a San Antonio woman.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark says the prison agency has received Bexar County court documents setting 44-year-old Rolando Ruiz for lethal injection March 7.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last month lifted a reprieve it gave Ruiz in August, five days before he was scheduled for execution.

Ruiz was condemned for collecting $2,000 to kill 29-year-old Theresa Rodriguez at her San Antonio home in a life insurance scheme involving her husband and a brother-in-law.

In 2007, Ruiz came within an hour of execution before a federal appeals court halted the punishment.

He's among nine Texas prisoners already with execution dates in 2017.
A former Plano firefighter was sentenced to 60 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child, prosecutors announced.

According to Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis, 45-year-old Larry Combest, of McKinney, molested a child in Wylie from 2002 until about 2004.

The child was 11 to 14 years old at the time. The victim, now an adult, told a sibling in 2015 about the abuse after learning that two other children said Combest abused them.

Wylie police spoke to the adult victim about the abuse and investigated the case.

Combest was arrested Dec. 21 and charged with indecency with a child.

The jury sentenced Combest to 60 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a child and 20 years for each count of indecency with a child. The sentences will run concurrently.
Police said a woman and her daughter were injured when their car flipped near a Dallas home Monday night. [[406257745,C]]

Dallas police said a vehicle crashed, causing another vehicle to flip near the intersection of South Ravinia Drive and Sharon Avenue at about 10:40 p.m.

Firefighters said they transported a young girl and her mother to a hospital in unknown condition.

Dallas police said they're searching for the other driver.

No further details have been released.
Dallas police want to identify a man wanted for robbing a bank in Oak Lawn Monday afternoon, investigators said.[[406290635,R]]

At about 2:36 p.m., a man, believed to be in his 30s, demanded money from a cashier at the Bank of America in the 4000 block of Cedar Springs Road, police said. The man, who claimed to be armed, got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.

He's described as weighing about 210 pounds, 6'2" tall with a muscular build. He was wearing a black hat, black jacket, blue jeans and black shoes at the time of the robbery.

Anyone with information that can help identify the man is asked to contact Dallas police detectives at 214-671-3538, or Crime Stoppers at 214-373-TIPS.
More than 100 wounded service members were treated to a night out in Dallas as part of Seats for Soldiers. Most of the men and women were from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The crowd included men and women on crutches, using canes and in wheelchairs.

"Well, I was super excited," said Army Specialist Mimi Xaysana, who lost her leg in an unexpected battle, bone cancer. "It's nice to be with everyone who has the same problem and just trying to get through it all together."

Xaysana was among the soldiers treated to fine dining at Abacus, followed by courtside seats at the American Airlines Center to watch the Dallas Mavericks take on the Denver Nuggets.

"It feels good that people appreciate us," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Moody. "Sometimes it feels like we're a little bit forgotten."

Moody survived two tours in Iraq only to come home and fight a battle with cancer.

"I get up every day smiling," Moody said. "Do the best you can to deal with it."

This is the 12th year Seats for Soldiers has treated military to a night out in Dallas, starting with dinner.

"We think about this menu as kind of a vehicle to give them a little comfort," said Chef Chris Patrick. "It's a chance for us to give them some of that down home cooking like my grandmother would cook for me when I was a kid."

Then they boarded chartered buses to see the Mavericks play and shake hands with team owner Mark Cuban. While the evening was a thrill, Moody said it's the call to serve that put them in a position to get VIP treatment for one evening.

"If you ask them to do it again, I think 99-percent of them would say 'in a second,'" Moody said of his Army service. "Cause we enjoy it. At least, I always have."

The entire evening was donated, from the American Airlines chartered plane, to the meal at Abacus, to Mavs season ticket-holders giving up their courtside seats for one night.
A North Texas grandfather closely resembling Santa Claus was kicked out of Six Flags Over Texas on Saturday.

"They told me I look too much like Santa Claus and they can't have it," said Jerry Henderson.

Henderson, a Burleson resident, has season passes to Six Flags. Henderson was celebrating his granddaughter's birthday with family before he was asked to leave the park.

"Next thing I know, I have five security guards there and one of them is telling me that I have to leave. I asked him why and he said I look too much like Santa Claus," said Henderson. "He said I needed to go home, shave off my beard, and I'd be more than welcome to come back to the park."

Henderson said he has been a year-round Santa since 1997. He said he's often asked by other families to take pictures.

On Saturday, Henderson said he was approached by several parents and their children.

"I take the picture, hand them the candy cane, and tell them have a great day at the park," said Henderson. "All I do is put my arm around them and the picture is taken."

Henderson has a clean record and no criminal offenses.

In a statement to NBC 5, Six Flags Over Texas spokeswoman Sharon Parker said: "We apologize that Mr. Henderson was inconvenienced, but the safety of our guests is always our highest priority. We cannot knowingly allow individuals who are not approved by the park to interact with small children in this capacity. Mr. Henderson was handing out candy to our younger guests and was dressed up as Santa which is in violation of our No Costume policy. When asked to change he refused and at that point was asked to leave."
A letter sent to city leaders in Tacoma, Washington, from that citys police union is raising concerns within the Dallas Police Association about the likely next Dallas city manager.

"It's concerning when they make the point to send the letter," says Dallas Police Association president Frederick Frazier. "There was no, theres no love lost of talking to them."

"It's concerning, but you we're going into this with our eyes wide open," Frazier added.

In the letter, dated June 21, 2016, the president of Tacoma Police Union Local No. 6 writes:

"Tacoma doesn't have enough officers to staff the streets  Tacoma doesn't have enough detectives to investigate the growing backlog of reported crime  Tacoma isn't investing enough in crime prevention and building community trust."

"...not having the resources to provide proper service is disheartening," wrote union president James Barrett.

Tacoma City Manager T.C. Broadnax was copied on the letter, which was sent to Tacoma's mayor and city council.

"I don't want to condemn the man after not meeting him at all, but I did read that letter, it is concerning," Frazier said.

The Dallas City Council will vote Wednesday whether to hire Broadnax as the new Dallas city manager.

"Obviously we need to sit with him, go over our concerns," Frazier said. "We have, you know, Dallas is much different than Tacoma, but policing is policing, and we're already short, so I would hate for us to get even shorter because of a person not understanding our needs."

"We're almost in a crisis mode. So to have a good city manager is going to be vital," Frazier said.
Three people suspected in the death of a man found bound and beaten in a Dallas hotel room last month were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Las Vegas last Thursday, Dallas police say.

Investigators said Monday 21-year-old Rachel Sophia Burden, 21-year-old Jessica Yasmyn Ontiveros and 24-year-old Anthony Rashad George were located and taken into custody by the U. S. Marshal Service's Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team on Dec. 8.

The three were wanted in connection with the death of 46-year-old Brian Sample. Sample's body was found in the Le Meridien Dallas Hotel on the 13000 block of Noel Road on the afternoon of Nov. 28, police said.

Prior to the announcement of the arrests, police would only say that Sample showed signs of homicidal violence and that several people were wanted for questioning.

In arrest warrant affidavits released Monday, police said Sample was found bound and suffering from severe physical injuries in room 1015 of the hotel. Police added that Sample's room had been ransacked and that some items were missing -- a large, undisclosed sum of money was found in Sample's hotel room safe.

Fingerprints recovered at the scene were a match for both Burden and Ontiveros, police said. Investigators added that Sample had contacted Burden by phone and that her phone number was linked to a prostitution website and that Ontiveros had documentation verifying she was involved in prostitution.

Police said two men, one in all red and another in all black, were recorded on hotel surveillance video entering the hotel. On the video, police said, Burden can be seen talking with the man in all black before he entered an elevator.

Both men were later recorded exiting a stairwell and leaving the hotel. As the men walked toward a dark-colored vehicle, police said the man in all black was recorded throwing an object into a sewage drain.

During the investigation, police recovered Sample's mobile phone from that sewage drain, police said. Investigators also said they found blood evidence in the stairwell used by the men to leave the building.

According to Dallas police the women waived their right to remain silent and admitted to detectives their roles in Sample's death, though further details have not been provided. Burden and Ontiveros currently face a capital murder charge and are being held in the Cook County Jail on $250,000 bond each.

George, who declined to talk with investigators, also faces a capital murder charge and is being held on a bond of $750,291. Police said George's facial tattoo looks like one visible on the man who was wearing all black in the surveillance video.

The identity of the fourth man has not been released and he's presumed to be at large.

Police did not say how the trio were located or if a $5,000 Crime Stoppers reward in the case will be paid.
Workers at Lockheed Martins sprawling plant in Fort Worth reacted with surprise and concern on Monday after President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that the costs of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are out of control and vowed to save billions of dollars in military spending.

I think hes crazy, said Lino Garay, a maintenance worker for Lockheed Martin for 38 years. I didnt vote for him.

The state-of-the art plane  the Pentagons most expensive weapons system in history  is made in Fort Worth. Nearly 9,000 people work directly on the F-35.

Another longtime worker, Paul Booker, said he worried about the future of jobs.

Well, thats his opinion. Hes the president, Booker said. If he thinks its overpriced, I dont know, but were out here trying to make a living like everyone else.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats, aware of the tens of thousands of jobs the aircraft generates in 45 states, will be wary of any plans by Trump to cut the program.

The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

The Monday morning tweet from Trump targeting the F-35 doesn't explain exactly how he'll save billions of dollars while also honoring a campaign vow to rebuild the armed forces.

Once Trump is in office, he can propose deep cuts to the F-35 or even elect to cancel the program altogether.

But Congress, not the president, controls the government's purse strings and makes the final decisions about the budget.

The nearly $400 billion price tag for the F-35 makes the program the Pentagon's most expensive weapons acquisition ever.

Despite the huge cost, the program has strong bipartisan support in Congress, where lawmakers view the aircraft as essential to national security.

Lockheed Martin's stock tumbled after Trump's tweet, wiping out nearly $2 billion of the company's market value. The company's shares fell $6.42, or 2.5 percent, to close at $253.11 Monday.

The F-35 program made up 20 percent of Lockheed's total 2015 revenue of $46.1 billion. U.S. government orders made up 78 percent of its revenue last year.

"Whoever has this airplane will have the most advanced air force in the world. That's why we're building the F-35. That's why it's important to not only the U.S., our partners and our partners like the Israeli Air force to have this airplane," said Jeff Babione, general manager of the F-35 program, at a base in Israel.

Israel and several other U.S. allies are also buying the F-35, expanding the program's international footprint.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Israel on Monday as Tel Aviv received the first two next-generation F-35 fighter jets that will help preserve the country's military edge in the volatile Mideast.

The F-35, which uses stealth technology to avoid being detected by radar, is being built in different configurations to be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy's version, for example, is designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier.

Current plans call for the United States to buy nearly 2,500 F-35s. Close to $13 billion will be needed annually between 2016 and 2038 to hit that procurement number, according to the Government Accountability Office.

While the F-35 had massive budget overruns early on, the cost has stabilized and even dropped a bit following tough negotiations between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin, according to Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Trump is unlikely to squeeze more blood out of this rock," Harrison said.

Lockheed said that it has worked to lower the price of the F-35 by 60 percent and expected the aircraft to cost $85 million each in 2019 and 2020. But the company's estimate appears to omit the price of the engine and the cost of development. When those elements are added in, the cost per F-35 in current-year dollars is closer to $138 million, according to Harrison.

Companies from 45 states are involved in the F-35's production, with Texas, Georgia, California, Arizona and Florida playing the leading roles in testing and manufacturing the jet fighter. The company is teamed with more than 1,250 domestic suppliers to produce thousands of components ranging from highly sophisticated radar sensors to parts of the aircraft's fuselage, according to Lockheed Martin.

Overall, the F-35 program is responsible for more than 146,000 U.S. jobs, the company said.

The Fort Worth plant where the F-35 is being built is located in Texas Republican Rep. Kay Granger's district. She's vice chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, represents the district next door to Granger's.

In a statement Monday, Granger hailed the F-35 delivery to Israel, calling the aircraft "what we need to keep our two countries safe in these dangerous times."

Thornberry's committee has supported buying more F-35s than the Obama administration had asked for in its budget request. The F-35 will replace an aging inventory of U.S. aircraft that many lawmakers believe are becoming increasingly unsafe to fly.

Claude Chafin, a committee spokesman, said Thornberry "shares the president-elect's determination to have the Pentagon get weapons in the hands of our troops faster, while being better stewards of the taxpayer dollar."

In Fort Worth, the president of the union representing Lockheed Martin workers, Paul Black, was not available for comment.

The tweet on the F-35 marks the second time in a week Trump has blasted U.S. aircraft spending.

Last week, he tweeted that costs to build new presidential planes by Boeing Corp. were "out of control" and ended the tweet with "Cancel order!"

NBC 5 reporter Scott Gordon contributed to this report by The Associated Press.
To set foot in the Ghost Ship on a party night was to pass through the doors of an old warehouse and enter an exotic world glowing with rainbow lanterns, guarded by figures of Asian deities and pulsing with a welcoming vibe.

Performers who came to play the electronic dance party last weekend and those looking to be awed by the sounds and scene wanted to be among people who accepted them for who they were. Straight, gay, transgender, black, white or multiethnic, they wanted a place to feel safe.

"This party was a cross-section of all those communities," said Nihar Bhatt, a DJ there to see friends perform. "This is a true counter culture. It's why we call it the underground."

But comfort among kindred spirits masked dangers that seem hard to have missed after fire raced through the building, killing 36 people in the deadliest U.S. structure fire since 2003.

It was a death trap with no fire alarms and no sprinklers. Two sets of stairs from the second-floor party did not lead to the only two exits.

For those who survived, it was largely a matter of luck that when the first cries of "fire" were heard, they were able to find their way through the smoke or were near enough to a door or already outside.

"To think when I was squeezing out of that gate there were people suffocating inside is such a horrific thought," said Alastair Boone, who had been socializing in a side yard and escaped to the street through a fence. "People were dying right in front of me and I didn't know."

The Ghost Ship was one of many Oakland warehouses converted to work and living havens for musicians and artists. The communal living spaces have helped nurture a thriving underground art scene and provide space at a reasonable price in an area where astronomical rent hikes fueled by the tech boom have driven many people out.

The warehouse was home to the Satya Yuga Collective founded by Derick Ion Almena, who billed it on Facebook as a "helter skelter" bomb shelter and "Indonesian straw huts rolling into valleys and down alleys."

It was in the industrial Fruitvale section of the city that is home to a large Latino population and features a bustling retail corridor of taco shops, check cashing businesses and a dress shop.

Almena and his partner, Micah Allison, leased the warehouse and rented out work and living space. Almena also rented it for occasional all-night parties. The couple and their three kids were not home the night of the fire.

The building owned by Chor N. Ng, however, was only permitted to be a warehouse and the city was investigating complaints about trash and people living inside.

An investigation into the fire could lead to criminal charges as serious as murder, prosecutors said.

The interior was constantly changing as tenants moved out and others took their place and redesigned more than a dozen living spaces.

Upstairs, a large public area was elaborately decorated in a Bohemian melange of eastern religious artifacts, tapestries, old furniture and colorful prayer rugs. Organs, pianos and guitars were scattered throughout. Visitors described it as a beautiful work of art itself.

But hazards were many. It was a cluttered labyrinth built with scrap wood. Electrical cords snaked between appliances, musical equipment and lights. A set of stairs was assembled with stacked pallets and a wobbly ramp.

Bhatt was wary of all kinds of dangers. He wouldn't promote a show there because he didn't want that responsibility, but he was willing to compromise and take the risk of performing and attending events there.

Several of Bhatt's friends were performing Dec. 2, playing a variety of electronic dance music that ranged from DJs mixing sounds to musicians playing synthesizers and drum machines.

He arrived before the fire broke out, but never entered because he was talking with friends out front. One of them, Joey Matlock, a DJ known as Joey Casio, had gone inside.

Bhatt heard someone yell, "fire," and people began streaming out the door, followed by black smoke. Matlock was not one of them.

Investigators haven't identified the cause of the fire, but they said it started in the rear of the building. They ruled out a refrigerator as the cause, but were still looking at electrical systems as possible sources.

Residents on the first floor described waking up to the smell of smoke and barely having time to get dressed before being chased out by a wall of flame. Some at the party upstairs were able to bypass the rickety makeshift stairs and jump from the loft in their haste to get out.

Christopher Farstad, a musician visiting from Minneapolis, inhaled a lungful of smoke when he stepped from a bathroom a moment before the lights went out.

After finding his way to safety through the dark, he tried to go back to help others. But the light on his phone wasn't bright enough and the smoke was overpowering. He had walked in on his feet, but came out on his hands and knees.

He and others called for those lost inside: "Come this way! The exit's over here!" they repeated.

Only a few came out.

People were weeping and embracing each other as firefighters tried to tame the flames. Bhatt stood there calling friends and kept learning of others close to him who were inside. He lost seven friends that night.

"When 20 minutes go by and you're watching a fire rage, there was a part of me that hoped there was another place that people were exiting," Bhatt said. "I didn't want to say it out loud but this was pretty much over."
As LAPD Chief Charlie Beck provided more details Tuesday about a shootout with police at a party in South Los Angeles Sunday night, he also took time to discuss the impact of guns and gang violence in Los Angeles.

At a briefing at police headquarters Tuesday morning, authorities said a young man who allegedly fired at Los Angeles police officers at a South Los Angeles gang party was in custody Tuesday on $1 million bail.

Quentin Durity, 23, was wounded in the shoulder when an officer fired back at him during the incident, which occurred at 10:35 p.m. Sunday at 99th and Hoover streets, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. No officers were injured.

Durity was booked on suspicion of attempted murder on a police officer, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday morning at police headquarters. No court date was immediately set.

Three other men were arrested for gun related charges, and police seized nine firearms, including handguns, a rifle and an assault weapon, Beck said.

Gang officers were patrolling in the area when they saw the gathering, which was taking place at a known "gang congregation point," and they stopped to investigate, Beck said.

Some of the people gathered at the home threw weapons on the front yard and back yard as gang suppression officers approached.

As officers arrived, people began running away, and a person fired a shot at officers, Beck said. One officer fired one shot in response, Beck said.

As the officers were detaining people for questioning, a man later identified as Durity was seen in the area with a gunshot wound, and he was taken into custody, Beck said.

About 30 people were at the party, police said.

People who attended the party described it as a memorial for a man killed during the weekend at a pajama party in Carson.

"This gang had suffered a loss over the weekend, and to have so many of this gang's members there and all armed, you know, it tells me that retaliation was imminent," Beck said. "Every one of these guns is a life saved. Every one of them, and it may be the life of the person that's carrying it."

Beck noted there were 15 other unrelated shootings in the city of Los Angeles over the weekend, adding there have been 152 gang-related homicides and 802 people shot in gang-related incidents so far this year.

Toni Guinyard contributed to this report.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer on Monday announced a crackdown against several property owners and sites of criminal activity that are near schools and involve a white supremacist gang.



Feuer is using the city's nuisance abatement law to clean up the criminal activity and try to force homeowners who rent to those causing it, to clean up the property.



Feuer said his office has been working with the Los Angeles Police Department over the last year to arrest white supremacist gang members and then to sue the owners of the properties where they live.



Photographs from inside one home in Canoga Park he shared pointed to criminal activity of illegal gun sales, drugs, stolen property and identity theft.



His office is also going after the homeowners of three properties, one in Granada Hills, two in Canoga Park.



He says the city will force the homeowners to make changes that go beyond just making the property look nice.



"And those changes involve assuring individuals who are a threat to the neighborhoods are not allowed to be on that property and assuring other strategies that have been employed at other properties like these not be permitted there," Feuer said in a news conference.



One property owner has already made good with the city and avoided a lawsuit. That house is up for sale and the tenants evicted. The other two remain in legal limbo while the city fights to do the same.




After a doctor was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting several patients, police are looking to identify other possible victims, authorities said Tuesday.

Dr. Michael Howard Popkin, a 67-year-old medical doctor and surgeon in the Encino area, was arrested and charged with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Patient and three counts of Sexual Battery, said Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Sex Crimes Unit detectives in a statement.

Popkin is accused of assaulting multiple women during medical examinations in his office, police said.

He has been licensed to practice medicine in California since 1977, and has been a general practice doctor for 40 years. The allegations against him range from 2001 to 2016.

Popkin is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in August during a medical exam in his office in Encino. Once LAPD detectives looked into his past, they found five other sexual assault allegations have been made against him dating back to 2001.

Popkin was not prosecuted in the most recent case in 2014, and in the other four cases the accusers only reported the allegations to the medical board, detectives said.

Due to Popkin's long career and the multiple allegations against him, police believe there could be other victims and are hoping they will come forward.

"I recognize the difficulty for many sex crimes victims reluctant to report what happened to them, especially if the perpetrator is in a position of trust, like a doctor, and a respected member of the community," said Det. Ninette Toosbuy, Officer-in-Charge of the West Valley Sex Crimes Unit in a statement.

Popkin was arrested on Dec. 5 and was released the next day on $65,000 bail.

Detectives said Popkin was still working. His first court appearance was scheduled for Dec. 30.

Police are hoping the four accusers who reported their allegations to the medical board alone will come forward. They believe they may still have a case against Popkin, but believe other victims' accounts could help corroborate the new allegations at the very least.

Anyone with information related to the case was urged to call Det. Moreno of the West Valley Sex Crimes Unit at 818-374-7714, or to call Toosbuy at 818-374-7718.
A former JetBlue Airways flight attendant who tried to smuggle nearly 60 pounds of cocaine worth up to $3 million in her carry-on luggage, then fled when pulled aside for a baggage search at Los Angeles International Airport, pleaded guilty Monday to a federal charge.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, 32, entered her plea to a single count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. She's scheduled to be sentenced March 13 on the felony charge, which is punishable by a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Reynolds was initially charged with possession with intent to distribute, but the allegations against her expanded to conspiracy involving an unindicted co-conspirator, documents obtained by City News Service show.

Reynolds, of Queens, New York, sprinted down an up escalator and out of LAX, leaving behind her luggage, after she was randomly selected for secondary screening March 18. The following day, she worked a JetBlue flight back to New York and surrendered to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents there on March 23, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy.

A former beauty pageant contestant in Jamaica, Reynolds had been a New York-based JetBlue employee for six years. Her lawyer said she was also a nursing student, but withdrew from school before her arrest.

The drug discovery was made March 18 in Terminal 4 by a Transportation Security Administration security officer who was screening the airline attendant's carry-on bags as part of a random search. As a crew member, Reynolds would ordinarily get to bypass bag screening.

As the TSA officer led Reynolds to a location to be searched, she made a cell phone call -- speaking in what sounded like a foreign language -- then kicked off her Gucci high heels and ran from the terminal down the up escalator, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

"Upon being notified she was going to secondary screening, she appeared nervous and kept her distance from the supervisor," U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte said at an April hearing. "And before the bags were even open, she utilized her track skills to flee from the airport."

Reynolds' abandoned luggage was found to contain 11 individually wrapped packages -- labeled "Big Ranch" -- that were taken to the Los Angeles police's Forensic Science Division, where the contents tested positive for cocaine, court papers show.

"It takes a very bold criminal to run through the airport -- and come back the next day and flee the district," El-Amamy said after the April hearing.

Following the foiled drug-smuggling attempt, Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Police Officers Association, called for 100 percent screening of all airport employees.
A man once charged with vehicular manslaughter after crashing his Infiniti into a minivan carrying a mother and her two young children has been exonerated after it was revealed that his car's brakes were defective.

"The nightmare is over," Solomon Methenge said.

Two families' lives were changed forever Aug. 29, 2012, in the horrible crash that left a mother and her 4-year-old and 6-year-old children dead.

Methenge said he had been living his nightmare since.

He rammed his Infiniti SUV into a minivan carrying the family. They died that morning, and Methenge says a part of him died too.

"I feel very bad about the family who lost their family in that accident," Methenge said. "There's nothing I can take back."

His nightmare grew when - after a month in the hospital - Methenge was then charged with vehicular manslaughter.

The deceased family's relatives also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him. But Methenge had always maintained it wasn't his fault. He put the blame on his car's brakes.

"I tried to avoid not hitting them because the brakes weren't working," Methenge said. "They went all the way to the floor."

For four years, he fought to clear his name and on Monday morning, the charges were finally dropped.

"We simply cannot prove that Mr. Methenge committed a criminal act beyond a reasonable doubt," said Deputy District Attorney George Castello in court.

The judge announced Methenge was exonerated, his charges cleared, and he was free to go.

Castello took over the case a year ago and said he saw that Methenge's Infiniti was part of a known defect that caused intermittent brake failure, and it was even part of a class-action lawsuit Infiniti's parent company, Nissan, settled out of court.

"And that played a substantial role in this case because we were able to contact members of that class an interview them and they experienced the identical problem," Castello said.

The SUV, though, was never part of a nationwide recall. Infiniti chose not respond to NBC4's inquiries because of the pending litigation.

"We're just pleased that enough people now believe Mr. Methenge. That those who we believe are responsible will be able to be brought to justice for this tragedy," said Kirk Wolden, attorney for Methenge in the case against Nissan and Infiniti.

In a unique twist, the family that once wanted to see the driver jailed for life has dropped their civil case against him and the two have joined together for a case against Nissan-Infiniti.

"Together we'll find out what the truth is," Methenge said.
Police in a Southern California suburb are still seeking a man suspected of a hate crime in the stabbing of a worshiper near a mosque, authorities said.

A man arrested Sunday, 29-year-old John Matteson, was involved in the crime, but he was not the one who stabbed a worshiper from the Islamic Center of Simi Valley, police said Monday.

The two men approached a group of people who had just left the Islamic Center of Simi Valley late Saturday night and yelled slurs at them, police spokesman Sgt. Travis Coffey said. That escalated to a fight when the suspect stabbed the man, whose injuries were not life-threatening, Coffey said.

It does not appear that the men had planned the attack, but had merely run across the group of Muslims.

"Our belief is they hadn't staked out the mosque at this point," Coffey told the Los Angeles Times. "It appears to be an opportunity crime."

The crime and the word that the stabber remains free caused concern in the area's Muslim community.

"We need more patrol and more protection," said Omar Jubran, an imam at another mosque, the Islamic Society of Simi Valley, told the Ventura County Star. "I've been in Simi Valley for 30 years, and I've never seen this."

Matteson is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. He was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, violating civil rights and disturbing the peace by fighting, Ventura County jail records show.

It's not clear whether he has an attorney. Police said he also was injured in the fight, but didn't give details.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement about the arrest.

"With the recent spike in hate crimes across the nation, prompt and professional law enforcement actions in response to these incidents sends the message that violence targeting the Muslim community will not be tolerated," CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said.

Anti-Muslim crimes in the United States increased 67 percent in 2015, according to FBI statistics. The report indicated a 7-percent increase overall in hate crimes.

NBC4's Jonathan Lloyd contributed to this report.
A mistrial has been delcared in the trial of Dalia Dippolito, the South Florida woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to murder her newlywed husband.

The six jurors asked Judge Glenn Kelley if they could consider a lesser charge in the case, which he said they could not do. That came after defense attorneys raised concerns that a jury member was possibly talking to a media member, forcing Kelly to ask each jury member if they had contact - which they all denied.

Kelley said the vote was split 3-3, saying he "had" to declare the mistrial as a result.

Dippolito claimed her abused her and said police should have helped.

In an exclusive interview conducted before the trial ended, Dippolito told NBC's Dateline that Boynton Beach Police used her and set her up to look good on the reality TV show 'Cops'.

"They turned what should have been a complaint and getting me help and questioning men into this big production for a 'Cops' TV show deadline that they had. They just started manufacturing all of these things and creating these scenarios and putting me in these situations that look horrible," said Dippolito.

Her ex-husband Mike Dippolito calls the abuse allegations non-sense. He talked to reporters at a news conference after Wednesday's mistrial. "You call me an abuser. That is real convenient for her. It is just not true and anybody that knows me will you, that's not me," said Dippolito's ex.

Prosecutors made no comments on camera after Wednesday's proceedings, but the State Attorney's Office said Dippolito will be tried a third time.

Late Tuesday, the jury said they couldn't agree on a verdict in Dippolito's solicitation of first-degree murder trial. Kelley told them to keep deliberating. The 34-year-old Dippolito would have faced a possible 20-year sentence.

The jury sent a question to the judge asking to review transcripts of recordings where Dippolito allegedly tries to get an informant to find her a hit man. They also wanted video transcripts where she tells an undercover officer posing as a hit man she was 5,000 percent sure'' she wanted Michael Dippolito killed. Those 2009 conversations were seen by millions when shown television's Cops.''

Dippolito was convicted in 2011 but that verdict was thrown out on appeal. The State Attorney's Office said they will retry Dippolito for a third time.

She remains on house arrest with a hearing on that taking place on January 6th.
The Miami Marlins recently tried to land several game-changing closers and ended up striking out.

Miami was interested in the services of Mark Melancon, Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman over the past week and all three went elsewhere. There were reports that the Marlins offered the most money to Jansen and Chapman, and still couldn't get deals done.

The Marlins have multiple glaring needs on the roster and an improved bullpen is on the list. Adding a superstar to the back of the pen may have helped decencies in the rotation, but that is not going to be an option this off-season. Jansen and Chapman had the ability to help Miami former a "super pen" of sorts, but will instead help Los Angeles and New York respectively.

Chapman decided to return to the New York Yankees during last week's Winter Meetings, while Jansen reportedly agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday morning. Melancon signed early in the meetings with the San Francisco Giants after some talk of Miami's interest in him.

With the big closers off the market, it appears the Marlins will stick with A.J. Ramos as the closer. The team could still add some arms to the pen, but it is unlikely that any would replace Ramos in the ninth inning. The veteran was solid last year and would have slid into an eighth inning role if Miami landed a big arm.

The Marlins could make a trade for a reliever, but that appears to be an unlikely route. With a shaky offense in place and a thin minor league system, the Marlins would not be trading from an area of strength in any transaction. Miami could also be in the market for another starting pitcher even after adding Edinson Volquez and Jeff Locke recently.
Miami Police are investigating a morning shooting that sent one man to the hospital in an area suffering from a rash of home invasions recently, according to residents.

Officers responded to a home off Northeast 42nd Street just east of Miami Avenue. They say the man, identified as Dennis Harris, was in the backyard of the home when the homeowner opened fire, striking Harris on the side of his torso. He was taken to a nearby hospital and is currently undergoing surgery.

"He was caught off guard by the homeowner coming out of the house," said Officer Yelitza Cedano.

Neighbors in the area say they have experienced recent break-ins at their homes and that the shooter in todays incident had recently been the victim of several break-ins, but officials have not confirmed that information and continue to investigate. A pair of bolt cutters were found on the ground.

"This street apparently isn't safe even though it looks safe," said neighbor Rachel Straub.
At the Miami-Dade Elections Headquarters Monday, a handful of Doral residents dropped off their ballots. The race between the former mayor and challenger J.C. Bermudez and current Mayor Luigi Boria goes for a vote Tuesday. At the same time, the Miami Dade State Attorney is investigating if there's voter fraud in Doral. Fourteen more names were added to the list Monday.

The law says that a voter must register to vote at the residence they call their home where they sleep at night, says Christina White.

Elections officials told NBC 6 there are three locations where multiple voters listed as their homes. The City of Doral says these locations are zoned commercial or industrial and that no one is permitted to live here. Both candidates want answers.

That's why we are supporting the investigation. We really want and we support Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections to be transparent in this process,  said Mayor Boria.

Certainly since it would impact the city where i am running for mayor it is a concern, said Bermudez.

Bermudez, who is Doral's first mayor, worries any fraud could make a difference in the tight race Tuesday.

You don't want people registering at commercial addresses that may not be registered voters in that city. It could have tremendous impact on the local election where fewer people obviously could vote, particularly in a runoff, he said.

The State Attorney started an investigation after NBC 6 last week discovered 8 registered voters including Jonathan Aserraf used an office suite in this building for their voting address. Records show Aserraf operates his business from the suite. He denied committing any fraud. Now, prosecutors will want to speak to those who told elections they lived here.

If that voter is determined to not be registered to vote at a place they are entitled to then the state attorney's office and a court of law will determine how we go from there, said White.

So now we are aware of 20 people being investigated by the State Attorney. The concern is people who dont live in Doral using a business or warehouse address just so they can vote. The State Attorney doesnt expect any answers before polls open and close Tuesday in Doral.
A Miami beauty shop owner is assessing damage from what he says is the second break in at one of his stores in just days.

Police responded to the scene at the Beauty Exchange supply store off NW 10th Avenue and 118th Street. The stores owner, Rabee Hamed, said the thieves smashed into the back of the store and stole a box of hair extensions.

The box contained 50 pieces of hair that the owner says are valued at $35 for each piece. A motion sensor inside the store set off an alarm shortly after the break-in, likely keeping more items from being taken.

"We don't have nothing but hair here. Hair and wigs. So I know they're coming for the hair," said Hamed.

The owner said he had around $20,000 worth of hair and other items stolen from his other store two days before  saying the crooks in that case broke in the same way.

"That's not right, you come take somebody else's stuff, somebody else's money," Hamed said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers.
Miami-Dade Police have arrested the gunman behind a deadly shooting in South Miami last week. Terrance Carter, 22, turned himself into police Monday for the murder of 22-year-old Markeith Nickles.

The shooting happened Friday at the South Miami Market off Southwest 70th Street and 59th Avenue around 11:30 a.m.

Police say Nickles was involved in a dispute with Carter outside the store. Detectives say the argument was over Carter's girlfriend.

According to a police report, the dispute escalated and Carter pulled out a gun and shot at Nickles, but missed. Nickles then ran inside the store and the suspect followed him.

Once inside, police say Carter pistol whipped Nickles before shooting him in the chest. The entire incident was captured on surveillance cameras.

Family and friends held a vigil Saturday for Nickles during the search for his killer. His family says he was the father of a 2-year-old girl.

Carter is charged with 2nd degree murder. He was previously convicted of burglary and grand theft back in 2012.
Authorities say a 2-year-old child was fatally injured after being hit by a CSX train northeast of Tampa. The boy's babysitter, 26-year-old Heather Henderson was also hit and injured.

The incident happened just before noon Monday in Zephyrhills.

According to witnesses, Henderson had taken the child and his four-year-old sister for a walk near the train tracks. When the train came around the bend, she was able to safely grab the little girl. However, Henderson and the boy could not move out of the way in time.

Both were flown to the hospital, but the toddler died from multiple traumatic injuries. The condition of the babysitter is unknown.
A hail of gunfire lit up the streets Monday night in Miami's Brownsville neighborhood.

Police say one person was killed in the shooting that happened on Northwest 46th Street and 19th Avenue.

The victim, 22-year-old Alvin Parker, was driving in a car when an unknown vehicle drove up beside the car and someone opened fire. Parker lost control and crashed into the front yard of a house. No one at the home was hurt.

Parker died on the scene. NBC 6 spoke with a family friend who did not want to be identified. She said the victim did not bother anyone.

No one else was inside the victim's car.

Detectives have no information on possible suspects or a motive.
President-elect Donald Trump met Tuesday with several black celebrities, including rap mogul and possible future presidential candidate Kanye West, to talk about some of the issues facing inner city African-Americans.

"I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future president if we truly want change," West later said in a tweet.

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/808767333065981956

Trump met with West, former NFL linebacker Ray Lewis and NFL icon and civil rights leader Jim Brown, along with longtime Trump backer Omarosa Manigault, at Trump Tower in New York City on Tuesday.

West refused to comment with reporters after the meeting, instead saying only "I just want to take a picture right now" as he posed for pictures with Trump.

Trump said the two were meeting as "just friends" and were talking about "life."

"He's doing well, he's a good man," he said.

Trump added, "we've been friends for a long time."

West announced last year at the Video Music Awards that he would run for president in 2020. That means he would face Trump if the president-elect seeks a second term. After meeting with Trump, West hashtagged a tweet #2024, the first time someone would be able to run for president outside of a possible two-term Trump presidency.

This all comes as civil rights leaders have been asking for a meeting with Trump to discuss his upcoming administration's positions on issues like housing and urban renewal. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and other civil rights leaders last week wrote Trump to ask for a meeting to discuss urban policies, and to hold a White House conference on violence.

It was not immediately known whether Trump would be meeting with civil rights leaders. Meeting with black celebrities - especially West - is not going to give Trump much credibility among black voters, said Leah Wright Rigueur, a professor of public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Exit polls showed only about 8 percent of black voters backed Trump.

"While Trump may see this as establishing a level of legitimacy, it does nothing to validate him among black audiences. Kanye's recent views are outside the mainstream of black political thought, as are Donald Trump," she said. "If anything, the association only serves to weaken Kanye's standing, particularly since Kanye has been silent on issues like economic inequality, joblessness, criminal justice reform and Black Lives Matter."

Brown and Lewis said they talked with Trump about the new administration partnering with Brown's "Amer-I-Can" outreach program, which aims to teach life skills to young people from poor backgrounds.

The full governmental involvement of President Barack Obama's signature program, "My Brother's Keeper," which is designed to improve the lives of boys and young men of color, will likely come to an official end at the conclusion of his presidency.

Brown said he didn't vote for Trump. But "we couldn't have had a better meeting," said Brown, a three-time MVP who retired from football to pursue an acting career and crusade for racial justice. "The graciousness, the intelligence, the reception we got was fantastic."

Lewis, a former Super Bowl MVP, said on Twitter that "wherever Papa JB asks me to go I go. His vision is beyond platforms."

After the meeting, Lewis praised the Amer-I-Can program, saying because of it "we have 30,000-40,000 former gang members who've changed their lives."

If they can partner with the Trump administration, "forget black or white. Black or white is irrelevant," Lewis said. "The bottom line is job creation and economic development in these urban areas to change the whole scheme of what our kids see."

The appearance came the same day that Trump announced that he was picking ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state. Tillerson has connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump' spokeswoman Hope Hicks also announced Tuesday that the president-elect's first press conference, scheduled for Thursday, was being postponed until January.

[NATL] Seen in Trump's Orbit: Jared Kushner, Jack Ma
MCC Theater has just opened Ride the Cyclone, an edgy comedy with a morbid hook thats only the third musical in the companys 30-year historyCyclone comes to New York after a well-received U.S. premiere last year in Chicago.

Lest we confuse, the Cyclone in question isnt the ride New Yorkers know from Coney Island. Rather, its a rickety old roller coaster up in Saskatchewan where, as the story begins, a half-dozen members of The Saint Cassian High School Chamber Choir are about to go for the final adventure of their young lives.

Theyll board at 8:17 p.m., and, as we learn from a cynical fortune-telling machine, the front axle on their car will break, sending them all into musical-theater purgatory. Thats where most of the of the 90-minute piece by writers Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond transpires.

That machine, Karnak (Karl Hamilton, doing excellent work with hinged, tin man-like movements) plays fast and loose with the rules, but makes it known that the six students here in carny netherworld are playing a game, and that one and only one will have the opportunity to cheat death.

In the dozen musical numbers that follow, we hear each of the students articulate the dreams they had for their future selves and their own occasional pleas to Karnak to be spared. It wouldnt be overstating matters to call the overall vibe here Final Destination, with a dash of Cats.

Ocean (Tiffany Tatreau) is an overachiever; Constance (Lillian Castillo) an outcast; Noel (Kholby Wardell) is the towns only homosexual; Mischa (Gus Halper) has yet to meet the fiance he discovered online; and Ricky (Alex Wyse) has a degenerative disease that has left him unable to speak, though hes somehow made it into the choir, anyway.

Also on hand is a sixth student, a ghostly creature called Jane Doe (Emily Rohm). We learn that only her headless body was found in the carnage of the roller coaster accident. None of the community members seem to know who she is.

The young actors are skilled and charismatic beyond their years, in particular Wardell, as Noel, who dreams of a life as some sort of Sally Bowles, where he can be an entertainer, supported and abused by rich patrons in Weimar Germany. In Canada, well ... he works at the local Taco Bell, which, we learn, intends to cater his funeral for free. Ah, the indignity.

Rohms Jane Doe wows in the productions most startling number, flying in the air attached to a beam thats almost entirely invisible thanks to skilled lighting work. Its theater magic that helps make us remarkably sympathetic to the character, a young girl with an ice cold vibrato who has left no impression on the people around her while alive. The other kids have no idea who she is.

The atmosphere jerks from song to song, so theres a Busby Berkeley-esque sequence with synchronized dancing, then a number that might be suited to a David Bowie movie. As things wrap up, a winner is chosen. A photo montage shows that person passing through the stages of life the other teens will be denied.

The point, as Castillos earth-bound Constance makes pointedly, is that its fine to hold onto dreams, but wed be wise to make the most of the quotidian existence we may have, because life comes with no guarantees. That's a message that cant be heard enough: theres joy to be found in the mundane.

Ride the Cyclone, through Dec. 29 at MCC at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St. Tickets: $49-$150. Call 212-727-7722.

Follow Robert Kahn on Twitter@RobertKahn
What to Know Donald Trump has nominated ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be his secretary of state

New Jersey-based healthcare company Quest Diagnostics said that information about 34,000 of its patients has been hacked

A Lufthansa flight was diverted to JFK Airport on Monday night after someone phoned in a bomb threat to the plane

Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Trump Picks Tillerson, Perry

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department, dismissing concerns about the businessman's close ties to Russia and bringing a long public audition process to a conclusion. Sources say Trump has also made his pick for the leader of the Department of Energy  former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously once forgot that he wanted to abolish the Energy Department. Perry, a rival of Trump's during the Republican presidential nominating campaign, met with Trump for about 90 minutes earlier Monday at Trump Tower in midtown.

Clinton Campaign Changes Tune on Russia

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has dropped its reluctance to challenge the election results because Russia "certainly succeeded in interfering" with the electoral process, a top campaign official told MSNBC on Monday night. Clinton campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said calls to declassify U.S. intelligence on Russia's alleged connection to hacks of U.S. political institutions' email and computer systems were "compelling" enough for the campaign to break its silence and join the fray.

Major Data Breach of NJ Lab

Clinical laboratory services company Quest Diagnostics announced Monday that it is investigating a third-party hack into an internet application on its network. The Madison, New Jersey-based Fortune 500 healthcare company said in a press release that on Nov. 26, an unauthorized third party accessed the MyQuest by Care 360 internet application and obtained health information of about 34,000 patients.

2 Face Judge in Hofsta Grads Death

Two men who have been charged in the murder investigation of a young Hofstra graduate from Connecticut will go before a judge in a Manhattan court on Tuesday morning  and they could face even more charges. James Rackover, 25, and Lawrence Dilione, 28, face a number of charges in the slaying of Joey Comunale, whose body was stabbed more than a dozen times in a luxury Manhattan apartment last month and then buried in a shallow grave in New Jersey.

Flight Diverted to JFK After Threat

A Lufthansa flight was diverted to JFK Airport following a bomb threat, authorities said Monday night. Port Authority Spokesperson Steve Coleman said Lufthansa received the phone threat while Lufthansa Flight 441 was traveling from Houston to Frankfurt, Germany. About 530 people got off the flight. Authorities later said that the plane had been searched and cleared.

Long Island Video Goes Viral

Heartwarming video of an employee at a Long Island electronics store giving a Nintendo console to a boy has gone viral. The act of kindness was captured at the Valley Stream Best Buy earlier this month after store employees pitched in to buy a Wii U for the boy. The video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times on YouTube.

Talked-About Santa Stories

A Santa Claus says a terminally ill 5-year-old boy died in his arms after he gave the boy a present in the hospital. Eric Schmitt-Matzen, who plays Santa, says that after giving the boy a toy, the boy asked how he would be able to tell when he got to where he was going after he died. The touching conversation between the boy and Santa is sure to bring a tear to your eye. On a happier note, a Santa came through with an early gift for a 7-year-old boy in Ohio. James Croot wished for his dad, a staff sergeant in the Air Force, to come home. His wish came true. Meanwhile, a pastor angered parents after he went to a mall Santa and said "We're going to tell the children here today the truth."
A New Jersey state trooper has been accused of covering up an alleged habit of pulling over women to ask them on dates.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office said Tuesday that Marquice Prather, 37, had been arrested Friday Dec. 9 and suspended from his job.

The Linden man has been accused of tampering with or falsifying records to cover up the fact he was stopping female drivers in order to ask them on dates or ask for their phone numbers.

Several women between 20 and 30 years old told authorities that Prather pulled them over to ask them to go on dates or give them his phone number.

Prather also allegedly turned off his microphone during the pick-ups and saying it malfunctioned, and falsely reported the gender of the drivers he pulled over to disguise the fact he stopped a high number of women, according to authorities.

Prather was charged with of third-degree tampering with public records or information and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records.

He was released without bail after being processed on the charges, prosecutors said.

The charges will be presented to a state grand jury for potential indictment.
Police are searching for two men seen on surveillance video destroying a statue at a Catholic Church in Brooklyn over the weekend.

The angel statue was one of several others surrounding a Virgin Mary statue outside Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg.

Surveillance video from around 11:55 p.m. Saturday shows what appears to be two men stumbling and climbing near the angel statue as other people move about nearby.

One of the men is seen standing in a praying position next to the statue as another man tries to climb behind him. The video shows the two men losing their balance and falling into the statue, causing the angel to tumble to the ground. It's head was knocked off in the fall.

Its not the first time a statue has been broken at the church. Several years ago, a vandal knocked over an angel statue that was sitting out front, shattering it.
What to Know Hofstra grad Joey Comunale was stabbed to death after some sort of dispute last month at the apartment of James Rackover, authorities said

Rackover and Lawrence Dilione will appear before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday

The men could face murder charges at the appearance in addition to crimes they've already been charged with, including hindering prosecution

Two men have been arraigned on charges in connection with the death of a Connecticut man who'd attended a party at a Manhattan luxury apartment building.

James Rackover, of Manhattan, and Lawrence Dilione, of Jersey City, New Jersey, both pleaded not guilty Tuesday to concealment of a human body, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.

Rackover owned the East Side apartment where authorities say 26-year-old Joseph Comunale was stabbed 15 times.

Investigators have been working to determine who killed the Stamford, Connecticut man, whose body was found in New Jersey. Murder charges could still be forthcoming.

A third person, 26-year-old Max Gemma, of Oceanport, New Jersey, has been arrested in connection with the case. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
A Romanian national was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Tuesday for participating in a scheme that stole bank account information from thousands of customers by installing card-reading devices in ATMs across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida.

A federal judge sentenced Robert Mate to 57 months in prison for his role in what the U.S. attorney's office called one of the largest such conspiracies ever uncovered.

It is estimated multiple banks were defrauded out of at least $5 million, and thousands of customers were affected.

Mate, 31, who also went by the name Marcel Varga, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He also will be required to pay about $7.4 million in restitution under terms of his plea agreement.

Authorities uncovered the scheme in 2013. Fifteen of 16 people charged in the conspiracy have been convicted and one remains elusive, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Mate and the others, including mastermind Marius Vintila, also of Romania, used the card-reader devices and pinhole cameras at ATMs in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida and other states.

The information taken from customers' bank cards through the process known as "skimming" was used to produce fraudulent cards and make withdrawals from other people's account.

Vintila was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison.

He used an alias to rent storage units where the group stored cash, the skimming devices and other materials used in the scheme. He also allegedly provided members of the group with fake passports and aliases.
What to Know Police released two new photographs that appear to be of a black leather belt, which is seemingly inscribed with the initials HM or WH

Investigators previously said they believe the belt was used by the suspect responsible for the killings

Both at the time of the announcement and on Monday, Suffolk County Police refused to elaborate any more on the belt, including its size

Police on Monday released two new photographs of articles recovered in relation to the investigation into the bodies of 10 victims found near a stretch of highway near Gilgo Beach.

The photos appear to be of a black leather belt, which is seemingly inscribed with the initials HM or WH, that investigators believe was used by the suspect responsible for the killings.

Suffolk County Police did not share where exactly the belt was located, or when it was found. Investigators previously said they believe the belt was handled by the killer and did not belong to any of the women whose bodies were found mutilated along the stretch of highway off the south shore of Long Island.

Police refused to elaborate any more on the belt at the time of their initial announcement, declining to answer a question about the size of it.

The investigation had been dormant for years, at least publicly. It wasn't until January of this year, nearly a decade after the bodies were found, that Suffolk County police launched a website dedicated to the ongoing investigation. Soon after, they held a press conference to share what they described at the time as a "previously undisclosed piece of evidence" (referring to the belt, and releasing photos showing the initials) in their quest for answers. Officers also offered a new commitment to share information with the public on their continuing investigation into the years-long mystery of those finds on Ocean Parkway.

The latest photos of the belt come months after Suffolk County police released the name of a previously unidentified victim linked to the notorious killings. After announcing they had unearthed the identity of the woman previously referred to as "Jane Doe #6," cops revealed her to the public as Valerie Mack in late May.

Mack was 24 when she was last seen; she was working as an escort in the Philadelphia area at the time of her disappearance. Family members last saw her in the spring/summer of 2000 near Port Republic, New Jersey. Mack, who also used the name Melissa Taylor, was never reported missing. She is survived by family members, whose identity will be kept confidential, officials said.

Mack's dismembered remains were located in separate locations over an 11-year span. Her torso was found in Manorville in 2000, not long after she was last seen. In 2011, her head, hands and right foot were found by Gilgo Beach.

Handout

"Valerie Macks identification is a giant leap forward in the investigation," Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said in a statement at the time. "As detectives relentlessly pursue leads related to her murder, we ask members of the public, friends, family, and associates of Valerie Mack to provide whatever information they have about her and the circumstances leading to her death."

Mack's Gilgo remains were discovered by authorities investigating a separate case, the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, a sex worker from New Jersey.

Gilbert vanished after going to meet a client on Long Island's Oak Beach in 2010. The search for her would yield the grisly discoveries of 10 bodies along a stretch of highway near Gilgo Beach; four of them were sex workers who were found strangled and dumped in burlap sacks less than a mile apart.

No arrests were made in any of their deaths. Gilbert was later found dead in a swampy marsh not far from where she had last been seen. The autopsy results were inconclusive, and Suffolk County officials maintain she drowned or succumbed to the elements. They have consistently refused to link her death to the other women, despite independent autopsy results commissioned by Gilbert's mother that experts said indicated she too may have been strangled.

Search for Missing Woman Leads to Hunt for a Possible Serial Killer

Gilbert's body was found in a swampy marsh about a year and a half after she disappeared. She had called 911 from Oak Beach and said someone was trying to kill her; that call lasted about 22 minutes. There were three other calls. Despite efforts from the attorney of her now-deceased mother Mari Gilbert to have the calls released -- and a court order to do so -- they have never been made public.

The search for the missing 24-year-old sex worker led law enforcement to the grisly discoveries of 10 separate sets of remains, most of whom were also believed to be sex workers.

On Dec. 11, 2010, an officer found the body of Melissa Barthelemy, a call girl who had vanished in 2007. Two days later, officers discovered the remains of three other missing prostitutes -- Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, all of whom advertised their sex services on Craigslist. Those four bodies had been dumped within a quarter-mile span, about 500 feet apart. All of the victims were in their 20s -- Brainard-Barnes from Connecticut, Waterman of Maine, Costello of North Babylon.

The following April, authorities found a partially dismembered woman, later identified as another prostitute, Jessica Taylor (no relation to the alias used by Valerie Mack), an unidentified Asian man, two unidentified women and an unidentified female toddler. The toddler was determined, through DNA testing, to be the daughter of the woman discovered about 7 miles away (see map above). They have not been identified.

Police revealed evidence in one of Suffolk County's most notorious criminal cases that they've been holding onto for nine years. Police believe initials were embossed on a black belt found at the crime scene, but offered no details on where it was found or how it may have been used. NBC New Yorks Pei-Sze Cheng reports.

Authorities said they were the victims of homicides -- and of a possible serial killer. No suspects have ever been publicly named in any of the cases.

On Dec. 13, 2011, investigators eventually discovered Gilbert's body about a half-mile from where she was last seen. She was found in a swamp rampant with thorny brush and police said they believed Gilbert drowned by accident.

Later, an independent autopsy by the renowned forensic pathologist Michael Baden found Gilbert had suffered injuries consistent with homicidal strangulation. Police have said consistently they do not believe her death is linked to the others.

Gilbert's mother, Mari, refused to let the case drop out of the public eye and pressed law enforcement for a homicide investigation that never matured. Mari Gilbert died in July 2016, allegedly stabbed to death by her other daughter, Sarra, who suffers from schizophrenia.
Clinical laboratory services company Quest Diagnostics announced Monday that it is investigating a third-party hack into an internet application on its network.

The Madison, New Jersey-based Fortune 500 healthcare company said in a press release that on Nov. 26, an unauthorized third party accessed the MyQuest by Care 360 internet application and obtained health information of about 34,000 patients.

In its statement, the company said the data accessed by the third party "included names, dates of birth, lab results and, in some instances, phone numbers."

None of the compromised information included Social Security numbers, credit card, insurance or other financial information, Quest says. The company says it immediately addressed the hack when it was discovered and has notified all affected individuals.

There is an investigation underway, and the company says it is working with a cybersecurity firm to determine the source and cause of the breach.

Anyone with questions on the incident can call Quest Diagnostics at (888) 320-9970 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
Police have arrested and charged a man accused of spray painting anti-Trump vandalism at a Philadelphia grocery store while a city attorney recorded him.

Evan Brown, 33, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested Sunday and charged with criminal mischief and other related offenses.

Police say Brown and assistant city solicitor Duncan Lloyd, 32, were caught on surveillance video approaching the Fresh Market grocery store on 8200 Germantown Avenue back on November 25 at 12:10 a.m. Authorities said the footage captured Lloyd, holding a glass of wine, filming or taking photos as Brown spray painted the words 'F*** Trump' on the wall of the store. Both men then fled the area on foot, police said.

Officials say the vandalism caused thousands of dollars in damage.

While Brown was arrested, Lloyd is not facing any charges and will keep his job. First Deputy City Solicitor Craig Straw told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday that prosecutors had informed his office that police didn't submit a warrant requesting charges against Lloyd. He said Lloyd, who has been on a two-week leave without pay, will complete 40 hours of community service.

City inspector general Amy Kurland said the "punitive measures of unpaid leave and community service'' were appropriate.

Joe DeFelice, the chairman of the Philadelphia Republican Party, said that Lloyd should be fired for his actions.

For somebody with extensive legal training to feel entitled to vandalize a newly opened super-market strikes us at the Philadelphia Republican Party as an astonishing feat of idiocy," DeFelice wrote. "Did the extra glass of Shiraz give him some sort of delusional confidence that there are no cameras on Germantown Ave? The taxpayers should be entrusting exactly none of our faith into this man. He should be fired from our citys law department immediately.




The estate of Lt. Joyce Craig, Philadelphia's first female firefighter to die while fighting a fire, has filed suit against 30 equipment manufactures alleging the devices failed to save her life.

Lawyers representing Joyce Craig's 18-year-old and 3-year-old sons filed the wrongful death suit late last week in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas, almost two years to the day the decorated 11-year-veteran of the department was killed.

On Dec. 9, 2014, Craig suffocated while trapped in the basement of a burning home along the 1600 block of Middelton Street in West Oak Lane. Craig, who was assigned to Engine 64 in Lawncrest, was working an overtime shift at a different engine when she perished.

Craig's estate alleges her self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), an emergency location device and thermal-protective clothing failed to protect her in the intense blaze. They allege design flaws and failure to withstand heat as points of failure.

"This was a totally foreseeable and preventable tragedy. We now know and will demonstrate at trial that Firefighter Craig never stood a chance at surviving that fire because her equipment  from her personal protective suit to her air tank system  was inadequate," David L. Kwass, an attorney representing the family, said in a statement Monday.

An inspection of Craig's equipment was carried out at the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health following her death. No word what came of that inquiry.

Kwass' Philadelphia-based firm Saltz Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendensky is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.

No word yet how some of the companies named in the suit plan on responding.
This shoreline community has tried everything it can think of to prevent protective sand dunes from being built along the beach, invoking lost views, wrongly seized property rights and damaged tourism prospects.

Now that those big-picture issues have failed to kill the project, Margate is using a mosquito to make a questionable claim: that the dunes will help spread the Zika virus.

Six homeowners are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Protection in a lawsuit due to be heard Tuesday, contending among other things that puddles or ponds that would collect behind the dunes would allow water to stand for days, providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

"This project will seriously degrade Margate's beaches and jeopardize public health and safety in the process," said Jordan Rand, an attorney for the homeowners. "Ironically, the proposed plan to reduce storm damage will simply cause it in a different way."

But the kind of mosquito that spreads Zika isn't a problem in New Jersey. In the U.S., the mosquito is concentrated in states along the Gulf Coast. The only cases spread by local mosquitoes so far have been in Florida and Texas. And the argument has not been raised by any of the other Jersey shore towns seeking to block the project.

Jon Miller, a coastal expert with Stevens Institute of Technology, doubts the drainage claims.

"I'd say it's pretty unlikely," he said. "Sand in and of itself has a very high capacity to drain. If you go to the beach and pour your bucket of water onto the sand, it drains almost immediately."

A state judge ruled in April that the dune project does create "a drainage issue that needs to be resolved." Bob Martin, the state environmental protection commissioner, says New Jersey will address any drainage concerns that arise from the dunes.

AP

Rand did not respond to a request for details on the lawsuit's claim that drainage problems could help transmit the Zika virus.

The lawsuit offers no assertions to support that claim other than saying that Zika is transmitted by mosquitoes, and that mosquitoes breed in standing water. Rand would not say what, if any, evidence he plans to introduce at trial.

A contract for the project was recently awarded, and the state has condemned the private property it needs, leaving the latest lawsuit as potentially the last hope of opponents.

Zika isn't a concern for most people. It causes only a mild illness, at worst, but can cause severe brain-related birth defects if women are infected during pregnancy. Except for the cases in Miami and Brownsville, Texas, all the infections in the U.S. have been connected to travel to countries with Zika outbreaks, mostly Latin America and the Caribbean.

Scientists say the possibility of the dune project causing Zika transmission is remote at best.

"If outbreaks of Zika virus should occur in New Jersey, they are likely to be limited," wrote researchers at the Center for Vector Biology at Rutgers University.

Margate relies on wooden bulkheads to protect against ocean flooding, and even though the storm surge during Superstorm Sandy washed over those bulkheads, the town maintains its worst flooding damage came from the back bay at the other end of town.

The six homeowners' lawsuit claims that because the dunes will increase the elevation of the beach, storm water that now flows through scuppers, or openings in the bulkhead near the ground, will have nowhere to go, and will collect in what they alternately describe as puddles, ponds or even "a lagoon" up to a mile and a half long and three feet deep that could persist for 36 hours, even without a major storm. [[238427591, C]]
A New Jersey State Trooper was arrested and suspended from his job after he allegedly pulled over several women in order to ask them out on dates and then tried to cover up the improper stops.

Trooper Marquice Prather, 37, of Linden, New Jersey was arrested on Dec. 9 and charged with tampering with public records or information and falsifying or tampering with records.

The charges stem from an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards. Investigators say they determined Trooper Prather pulled over several women between the ages of 20 and 35 and asked them to go on a date with him or give him their phone numbers. On some occasions Prather intentionally deactivated his wireless microphone while asking the women out and falsely reported that it malfunctioned, according to officials.

He is also accused of falsely reporting the gender of the drivers he pulled over to cover up the fact that many of the drivers he stopped were women.

Officials say several women came forward and filed complaints against Trooper Prather accusing him of improper conduct. Other women who were later contacted by investigators also made similar allegations.

Prather was released without bail after his arrest. He has also been suspended without pay.




Philadelphia police say a man was shot in the face by a robbery suspect outside a strip club, but the suspect was then also shot at by the victim's friend.

Police are still searching for the suspect who shot the victim as he and his friend left Jungle Gentleman's Club about 4 a.m. Tuesday.

Police haven't released the victim's name, but say he was taken to Temple University Hospital and is expected to survive.

The victim of the robbery and shooting was a 28-year-old man. He was the passenger of the car driven by the 33-year-old man who shot at the robber and then drove the wounded man to the hospital.

Police don't know whether the robbery suspect was wounded when the victim's friend returned fire.
Students at the University of Pennsylvania have removed a portrait of William Shakespeare and replaced it with the picture of Audre Lorde, an African American writer, civil rights activist and self-described, "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet."

Philly.com reports the students put Shakespeare's portrait in the office of English department chair and professor Jed Etsy. Etsy told the student newspaper the Daily Pennsylvanian that the students are "affirming their commitment to a more inclusive mission for the English department."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BN8aOOfDrih/

The Shakespeare portrait has hung for years on the Heyer Staircase at Fisher-Bennett Hall. Etsy says the Lorde photo will remain in its place until the English department decides what to do with the wall space.

Lorde was born in Harlem in 1934 and died in 1992. Her writings, which included poetry and prose, confronted racism, sexism and homophobia. She was also actively involved in the women's rights, civil rights and LGBT rights movements.
A widely-shared video posted to YouTube Saturday appears to show a pastor, who's well known for previous public protests, telling kids waiting in line at an Amarillo mall that Santa isn't real.

In the video, a man identifying himself as David Grisham of "Last Frontier Evangelism" said, "We're going to tell the children here today the truth that there is no Santa Claus and that Christmas is about Jesus Christ."

Grisham has previously gained notoriety in 2010 for attempting to burn a copy of the Quran in an Amarillo park, NBC News reported. He was thwarted by a 23-year-old skateboarder who grabbed the Muslim holy book from Grisham.

In Saturday's video, Grisham walked up to a line of parents and kids waiting to see Santa and yelled, "There is no such thing as Santa Claus. Santa Claus does not exist."

The video ends with several parents confronting Grisham and asking him to leave.

"Shut up," one parent says.

Another asks Grisham to "quit talking this mess."

"There is a Santa," someone shouts.

One Facebook page for Last Frontier Evangelism appeared to be unavailable Monday morning, but another page for the group had shared the video with the comment: "Mark Zuckerberg and his band of GESTAPO censors at Facebook took down the original of this post."

While not mentioned in Saturday's video, Grisham is also the director of "Repent Amarillo," according to the Amarillo Globe-News. That organization has been categorized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
A 14-year-old ovarian cancer survivor is living her dream on stage as the star of The Nutcracker, playing at the San Diego Civic Theater until Christmas Eve.

The aspiring ballerina performed in her first show over the weekend, just one year after cancer took away her dream role of dancing on stage in the classic Christmas season ballet.

At first glance, The Nutcracker is the story of a girl named Clara, who suddenly finds herself caught in a dream surrounded by fear and the unfamiliar until she gathers the courage to fight back.

Since Caitlyn Feddock was a little girl, its been her dream to star in The Nutcracker as Clara.

It's a lot harder than it looks, Caitlyn says of ballet. But our job is to make it look easy.

A year ago ovarian cancer took away that dream. She got the part, but on the night of her first dress rehearsal, instead of dancing on stage, Caitlyn went to the hospital with stomach pains.

It turned into an emergency surgery for a twisted ovary, Michele Feddock, Caitlyns mother told NBC 7. We thought it was just going to end with that.

But that was just the beginning. Caitlyn was robbed of her chance to perform on stage and doctors later diagnosed her with ovarian cancer.

It was really, really painful, Caitlyn remembers.

Her parents were shocked.

Its not something a parent of a 13 year old daughter would ever expect," Feddock said.

It was a very, very hard time, Caitlyn said. But looking back at it, I can now really feel so blessed to have even been able to be here.

Since June, Caitlyn has spent her time regaining her strength on the dance floor because her words this part means the world to me.

Caitlyn has now defied all odds, earning the role as Clara once again this year, and fulfilling her dream on stage.

Just being able to dance on this beautiful stage is a huge accomplishment. I'm just so excited and so happy," she said.

What gave my husband and I strength is just watching Caitlyn, her mom said. And her amazing strength and her incredible faith that she has. And she has just a joy and love for life. She's just a happy person.

Caitlyn's cancer is in remission though she still has check-ups every few months to make sure everything is normal. She attributes her recovery and success to her faith, family and friends at the ballet studio.

And this year the enchantment of the Nutcracker at the Civic Theater may just be a little more special.

Caitlyn will be performing in The Nutcracker at the Civic Theater through Christmas Eve.

She will also be at our NBC 7 studios on Friday, for our 6th annual Wishes in Flight Mile-A-Thon.

You can donate your frequent flier miles to raise the 2 million airline miles needed annually, to grant 200 wishes to local kids suffering from terminal illnesses.

For more information, click here.
A former Camp Pendleton-based Marine was ordered to stand trial in the gruesome killing of an Army reservist whose body was found in the trunk of a vehicle at a Fallbrook shopping center.

Kevin Coset was found competent to stand trial at a mental competency hearing Monday.

Coset was arrested and charged three years ago in the stabbing death of Alvin Bulaoro. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder with a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait.

The body of the 24-year-old Army reservist was found zipped up in a sleeping bag inside a 1997 Toyota 4Runner on January 3, 2013. He had suffered two gunshot wounds to the head, 44 stab wounds and his throat was slit almost from ear-to-ear according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner.



Detectives said Coset and victim exchanged a phone call and 29 text messages between Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, 2012. Bulaoro was reported missing on Dec. 23.



The device Coset was allegedly using to contact Bulaoro was a pay as you go phone purchased on Dec. 19, according to detectives. Investigators saw that Coset was one of the last numbers Bulaoro had contacted, which led to his arrest on Feb. 22 at Camp Pendleton.

Evidence in the preliminary hearing revealed Coset had a journal, in which he allegedly wrote about the killing.

NCIS detective Jason Keller read the following excerpt from Coset's diary at a pre-trial hearing:



"Tonight I had to kill for the third time. It was a guy named Alvin Bulaoro in Fallbrook. It was definitely a him or me situation. I find no joy in killing but must survive in my fight against the evil Musgrove organization.They have been plotting against me for years now as well as entering my mind and stealing my intelligence."



According to the arrest warrant, Bulaoro and Coset had met up in an Albertson's parking lot in Fallbrook. Detectives said surveillance video shows that the suspect parked his car in the lot, got into the victim's Toyota 4Runner, and the two men drove away.



The arrest warrant also quoted the victim's brother telling investigators that his brother was gay, and may have been headed for a popular San Diego gay bar when he was first reported missing on Dec. 23.



If found guilty, Coset could face the death penalty or life in prison.
Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a rallying cry for many Donald Trump supporters. With the GOP controlling Congress, and Trumps recent appointment of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Service, a change to the ACA could soon come.

Under current ACA rules, businesses with less than 50 employees dont have to provide a health insurance to employees. That allows many small businesses to rely on the ACA for coverage of their workers.

NBC 7 talked to small businesses in San Diego to see how they approached healthcare and if the coming change in the White House has led to any changes.

Kelsey McNair, 38, runs North Park Beer Company. The brewery opened in June. This is his first business and while its still early, he does plan to offer insurance coverage to his employees.

Whether Im a small business owner or not, its part of my responsibility to try and take care of the people that work for me, McNair said. So its definitely something that I want to work towards.

He said over time, those benefits could grow to include partial-ownership for his employees.

In Escondido, Vinnie Griffin runs Vinz Wine Bar. His business first opened 16 years ago. In that time, he said hes never provided health insurance to his employees.

If we are forced to insure full-time employees or even part-time employees, youre going to be paying $12 for a sandwich rather than $8 for a sandwich, Griffin said.

He believes shouldering the burden of insurance would hurt his business.

Little guys like me, where we support our families, we have certain expectations for how our business should perform, said Griffin. So how do our employees fit into that? And how do we keep them happy?

Though Griffin said his business future is most dependent on something else, The more you get support, the better you can do for your employees.
A man who led deputies on a pursuit in Spring Valley Monday jumped down from an overpass to escape arrest, according to the San Diego Sheriff's Department (SDSO).

The pursuit began at approximately 11:40 a.m. when deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Jamacha Road.

Frank Rios, 36, had been wanted for an outstanding felony warrant related to a pursuit in National City, SDSO said.

Rios refused to stop and led deputies on high speed, 15-mile pursuit on the southbound State Route 125.

The San Diego Police Department and the National City Police Department, along with the SDSO ASTREA was involved in the pursuit, in which speeds reached around 100 miles per hour.

Rios rear-ended another vehicle on the northbound Interstate 5 near Civic Center Drive and then ran out of the vehicle. He jumped down from the overpass above 18th Street in National City, SDSO said.

Deputies found a loaded handgun on Rios after they took him into custody. The gun had been stolen.

Rios suffered broken bones in his arms, legs, knees and lacerations to his face as a result of jumping down from the overpass and was taken to a local hospital.

He is facing several charges, including an outstanding felony warrant, felony evading, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and carrying a stolen loaded firearm.
The U.S. Department of Justice has made combating sex-trafficking a top priority, pouring resources into stopping it in San Diego and along the U.S. Mexico border.

But then, just on the other side, about 20 miles away from downtown San Diego, Tijuana is a premier world destination for those looking to buy sex.

Teenagers as young as 13 are being bought and sold as sex slaves by the hundreds in our region, according to federal law enforcement on both sides of the border, but domestic cases typically stay in the country where they originated.

Only about 20 percent of domestic sex trafficking cases involve the border, according to San Diego County Chief Deputy District Attorney Summer Stephan. The vast majority, the other 80 percent, involve girls from the U.S. being trafficked in the U.S. by gangs and other criminal organizations. The criminal activity generates an estimated $810 million a year for those organizations.

Still, some question whether legal prostitution in Tijuana attracts a dangerous clientele to our region.

Prostitution is tolerated in certain areas in Mexico, often known as zonas de tolerancia or zones of tolerance. Buying or selling children for sex is not legal anywhere, but the problem is rampant in both Tijuana and San Diego.

In Tijuana, District Attorney Hector Orozco prosecutes cases of child-trafficking.

It is very difficult, he told NBC7 exclusively. After something has already happened to the child, the damage is irreversible. It is something that affects the victim forever.

He said his most emotionally draining and difficult case involved a mother who sold her teenage daughter for a hit of drugs.

Orozco said the trafficking of minors is not done out in the open in Tijuanas Zona Roja or red light district.

This part of it is very clandestine, he said. Its not happening out in the public. They do it in motels, in houses. They go do that where it cannot be seen.

But NBC7 showed Orozco images we took of the word child scrawled in graffiti on the wall of a building adjacent to a world-famous sex club, Hong Kong.

At first Orozco said he did not believe the word indicated trafficking was taking place there, but when he viewed our material, he said his office would investigate.

If someone reports possible activity to us at a location involving minors, we respond, Orozco said.

Since 2011, Orozco and his investigative team have rescued 246 child sex-trafficking victims, and prosecuted 116 traffickers, including putting the mom who sold her daughter behind bars for 24 years.

Stephan, who is Orozcos counterpart on the U.S. side in San Diego, said Tijuanas Zona Norte or Zona Roja remains a very destructive problem because the majority of the women are not there by choice, even if they are adults.

No girl wants to grow up and be a prostitute, Stephan said. They dont want to be sexually abused. This is not a choice for them. You can put a bow on it, but still these women were girls that were exploited and then had no other choice.

Some say legal prostitution in Tijuana may protect adult women somewhat in that it is partially regulated. Sex workers are required to obtain a permit and receive monthly health check-ups in Tijuana.

Stephan said the women are mostly controlled by their pimps and cannot escape the lifestyle, even if it is legal.

Theyre watching them, just like they always watch them here also. Theyre watching them to make sure they get every penny of their money; theyre not talking to police; theyre not talking to someone that can offer them resources to help them get out of this particular life, Stephan said. They want them to have no choice.

NBC7 Assignment Editor Pablo Key contributed to this piece by assisting in translation and voicing the translated portions of broadcast piece.
The San Diego Unified School District is facing a $117 million budget shortfall for the 2017-2018 school year, just a month after approving across-the-board pay raises for all teachers and most staff.

School officials are considering everything from reducing health care benefits to revamping district headquarters organization to plug the $117 million hole in their $1.3 billion budget.

The issue was first reported by our media partner, Voice of San Diego.

"What you're seeing is a structural deficit," said Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis. "They are set-up to spend more money than they are set-up to collect."

School trustees recently approved a 4 percent employee pay hike taking effect this school year. It added $30 million to the budget gap for the 2017-2018 school year, and will cost at least $50 million more in 2018-2019, according to VOSD's Ashly McGlone.

San Diego Unified school officials declined an on-camera interview with NBC 7 Monday.

A district spokeswoman sent the following statement:

"San Diego Unified's 2016-2017 budget is balanced and all school staff and operations are fully funded through the end of the school year. Any financial discussions now are focused on the 2017-2018 budget, and a lot depends on what happens in Sacramento."

It's a dilemma school districts commonly find themselves facing: the district has to send out layoff notices by March 15 but they aren't privy to the state's budget until June.

"The district's budget relies heavily on the budget passed by the state - typically in June. And given that the Governor will not publicly present his budget until next month, all district staff is doing at this time is preparing for contingencies," said Shari Winet, a district spokeswoman. "San Diego Unified expects to have final budget decisions for the 2017-18 school year in June of next year."

Still, county education officials warn that cuts are on the way.

Assistant Superintendent San Diego County Office of Education Lora Duzyk said San Diego Unified will eventually have to face their deficit spending.

Critics of the decision to give staff a four percent pay raise also warned last month that the next wave of pain was coming. However, district staff said the pay hike was needed to ensure San Diego Unified retains the best and brightest teachers and support staff.

One way the district will not be able to bridge the funding deficit is by dipping into their reserves. The "rainy day" funds are already at a bare minimum to meet state mandates.

"They've depleted their reserves, so they've spent reserves over the last few years, even as things have been going well, in order to keep the same level of teacher ratios and services they had before," said Lewis.

Parents told NBC 7 Monday that what they fear most are decisions that impact the teacher-to-student ratio at their children's schools.

"I think its important to maintain a decent teacher-to-student ratio and definitely Im not in favor of more cuts," said Paul Vincent, a parent of three students at Washington Elementary. "I think they should utilize the teachers they have better."

The board is scheduled to hear a report on the budget and discuss solutions to the shortfall, including possible buyouts and layoffs, at its Tuesday meeting.
Five people aboard a U.S. Marine Osprey were rescued Monday when the aircraft landed in shallow water off Okinawa, military officials reported.

The emergency landing was reported at 10 p.m. on December 13, 1st Lt. Joseph Butterfield, a spokesman at Marine Corps Base Camp Butler saidMarine Corps Base Camp Butler said. The cause of the incident was under investigation.

The MV-22 Osprey crew is part of Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

They were taken to a U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa aboard Camp Foster where theyre being treated for injuries, Butterfield said in a written statement.

Ten days ago, in a separate incident, an MV-22 Osprey made a precautionary emergency landing east of San Diego, near Mount Laguna.

The unplanned landing happened during routine training while the crew was flying approximately 30 miles east of the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

In this incident, the Osprey landed in an open field in the Cleveland National Forest. There were no reports of injuries or damage to the aircraft.
California Gov. Jerry Brown wants President Barack Obama to permanently ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in the state.

We meet today at a time of real change  political as well as climatic, Brown said in Coronado Tuesday. What is not slowing down in any way is the change in the atmosphere, in the oceans, in the weather, in the climate.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the president, Brown said allowing new drilling would be inconsistent with goals of reducing reliance on fossil fuels and combating climate change. A temporary ban in California, Oregon and Washington expires in 2022.

We dont need to spoil or put at risk the beautiful beaches or waters that are adjacent to our coast, Brown said.

Obama has the authority through the Outer Continental Shelf Lands act to permanently withdraw federal waters from offshore oil and gas drilling, Brown said.

Brown says he doesn't know if President-elect Donald Trump would have authority to overturn a permanent ban.

Trump has selected Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental groups denounced the choice last week. The Sierra Club likened Pruitt's selection as EPA administrator to "putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires."

Pruitt has been a vocal public denier of the science showing that the Earth is warming and that man-made carbon emissions are to blame.

Brown spoke with urgency and used terms like battle and catastrophic risk when he talked about searching for partners and allies to combat climate change despite the policies of an incoming administration in Washington, D.C.

The politics is various, Brown said. The science is pretty nearly unanimous.

The governor announced his proposal in Coronado, near San Diego, at an event to launch a new organization to protect oceans. Oregon and Washington also joined the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification. The governor plans to ask the governors of those states if they want to join the effort.

We have to take action wherever we are, he said. We are taking whatever steps we can to find allies and partners to forestall the catastrophic changes that are occurring in the air, in the water, to our lands, to our habitats.

California Governor Jerry Brown said the state of California must work with allies and partners to save the environment regardless of the political climate in Washington, D.C. This is part of his statement made Tuesday in Coronado, California.
The D.C. inspector general will investigate reports that Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration steered contracts for political reasons, sources tell News4.

The two probes involve city contracting to clear land for a soccer stadium in Southwest D.C. and a $60 million Washington Wizards practice facility in Southeast D.C.

Former General Services contracting director Christopher Weaver abruptly quit in August and said the administration tried to interfere in awards that did not go to a favored contractor.

Dismissed city contracting official Yinka Alao is suing the city for $10 million. He contends the Bowser administration "embarked on a crusade to defame."

Earlier this month, members of the D.C. Council began three days of closed sessions on possible pay-to-play arrangements after a member of the Department of General Services quit abruptly.

The D.C. Council probe will extend into next year, Councilmember Mary Cheh said Tuesday.

"I expect to get everything wrapped up, I'm hoping, by the end of January, and we can release what we can release. We'll have our own report with our own recommendations," she said.

Inspector General Dan Lucas said in a statement: "The inspector general is always interested in pursuing suspected wrongdoing. We are paying careful attention to the contracting matter. We will respond according to our legislative mandate."

D.C. City Administrator Rashad Young testified to the Council that the Bowser administration did nothing wrong. The mayor's office said Tuesday that officials look forward to the release of the full facts at the appropriate time.

The inspector general could find no wrongdoing or refer the case for criminal prosecution.

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
Michelle Obama made her final Christmastime visit as first lady to Children's Hospital.

Television and radio host Ryan Seacrest joined her Monday.

They read Twas the Night Before Christmas to a group of children and answered some of their questions.

Obama said it's been an honor to visit the hospital for the past eight Christmas seasons.

She also let the kids meet Bo and Sunny, the family dogs who accompanied her to the hospital.

She answered several more questions afterward during a brief interview with Seacrest. The program was broadcast to patients throughout the hospital.

First ladies have been making Christmastime visits to the hospital to cheer sick children since Bess Truman started the tradition in the 1940s.
The U.S. Department of Justice says a Virginia county violated federal law by blocking the construction of a mosque.

DOJ filed a lawsuit against Culpeper County, Virginia, on Monday, arguing that county officials "imposed a substantial burden" on a Muslim congregation's free exercise of religion and discriminated against the group based on religion.

Members of the Islamic Center of Culpeper (ICC) bought land to build the county's first mosque, but the county board denied them a "pump and haul" sewage permit, saying the site does not meet requirements.

The Justice Department said the county has considered 26 applications since 1992 and never denied a pump and haul permit to a commercial or religious use prior to the ICC.

The Constitution and federal law specifically protect the freedom of religious communities to establish houses of worship, the head of the Civil Rights Division, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, said in a statement. The Justice Department will continue to work tirelessly to protect every persons right to assemble for religious exercise.

In April, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors denied the ICC's request for a sewage system permit in a 4-3 vote.

A roomful of Culpeper County residents cheered when the board denied the permit request, the Culpeper Star-Exponent reported at the time.

The ICC began meeting in 2011, first in a train station and then in a small home next to a member's car dealership. News4 reported in April that they had about 20 members and were seeking a proper prayer space. The property the group bought was an abandoned house surrounded by weeds.

Member Mohammad Nawabe previously told News4 he simply was seeking to live and worship alongside his neighbors.

"This is my right. I'm trying to protect my right too," he said.
A Massachusetts man dubbed the "spelling bee bandit" will be in court on charges that he robbed several banks in the Greater Boston Area.

Jason Englen was arrested Monday for several bank robberies that date back to October.

Prosecutors say Englen robbed banks in Arlington, Reading, Burlington and Peabody.

In each incident, he allegedly approached the teller with a note, and each time the word "robbery" was misspelled.

Englen was already in state custody on unrelated charges at the time of his arrest.
Locked in a nasty dispute with ExxonMobil, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey says the appointment of CEO Rex Tillerson as the next secretary of state raises some serious questions.

"There are some obvious ones about his experience, or lack of experience, to be the chief diplomat," Healey said. "I think also there are real questions and concerns about his relationship with Russia and with Vladimir Putin."

The Democratic attorney general spoke to the Taunton area Chamber of Commerce only hours after President-Elect Donald Trump formally announced his plans to nominate the oil company CEO to the top cabinet post.

Healey was scheduled Tuesday morning to appear in a Texas courtroom to answer questions about her investigation of ExxonMobil.

That hearing was canceled, but Healey is still looking for internal company records that may show ExxonMobil knew about the dangers of fossil fuels for years. The corporation is suing to stop her.

"Instead of providing the information, all that Exxon has done is stick to squash this investigation by suing us," she said.

Healey was a big supporter of Hillary Clinton. She said the nomination of Rex Tillerson seems to be par for the course, given the president-elect's other appointments.

"When you look at who he has nominated for the various positions, many of them have spent their entire careers or much of their careers looking to dismantle the very departments they are now nominated to head," Healey said.

Healey said she hopes all the president-elect's appointments get a thorough vetting.
A 2-year-old child who was found unresponsive in a Brockton, Massachusetts home last week has died from his injuries.

According to the Plymouth County District Attorneys Office, officers received a call for an unresponsive child at 23 East Main St. last Monday.

The boy was taken to Brockton Hospital and was later flown to Massachusetts General Hospital.

The Plymouth DA says the boy died Saturday night from his injuries. The nature of his injuries was not detailed.

The boy is not being identified at this time.
A former Episcopal priest who worked at several elite boarding schools pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 1973 in Boston.

Howard "Howdy" White appeared in Suffolk Superior Court with his attorney, David Duncan, after being indicted on five counts of assault and battery. White, 75, of Bedford, Pennsylvania, was freed on personal recognizance.

Prosecutors said White assaulted the boy during two overnight trips to Boston when he worked at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said the statute of limitations does not bar White's prosecution because he was never a resident of Massachusetts. He is charged with assault and battery instead of indecent assault and battery because, as the office points out, Massachusetts had not enacted the latter law at the time of the alleged crimes.

"Whether as a child or as an adult, disclosing sexual abuse can be the most daunting experience in a person's life," District Attorney Daniel Conley said in a statement. "Survivors everywhere should know that they can feel safe and supported coming to us, and that we place their well-being above all else as we investigate and prosecute the harm committed against them."

An investigator's report about widespread abuse at St. George's, released in September, found multiple allegations against White at the school, where he was an associate chaplain for four years before being fired in 1974 for inappropriate sexual contact with male students.

The report also found allegations that White sexually abused children in places including New Hampshire, where he worked at St. Paul's School before being hired by St. George's, and in West Virginia and Waynesville, North Carolina, where he worked for churches.

White also worked at Chatham Hall in Virginia and Asheville Country Day School, which later became Carolina Day School, in North Carolina.

White was removed from the priesthood in October by his home diocese in Pennsylvania.
Nearly five years after a husband and wife were found shot to death inside their Massachusetts home, authorities are pleading for the public to help them solve their murders.

John and Geraldine Magee were found shot to death in their Andover home on Dec. 14, 2011, hours after their Lexus SUV was found on fire in Boston.

State and local police say they've worked without countless local police departments and federal authorities as they interviewed family, friends, neighbors and business associates in four states and 20 communities in the Greater Boston area.

Calling the Magees' slaying "horrific," Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said his office still hopes to solve their homicide.

"Someone out there knows something," he said in a statement. "We are asking you to search your memory and your conscience, pick up the phone and call us."

Anyone with information is asked to call state police assigned to the Essex district attorney's office at 978-745-8908 or Andover police's anonymous tip line at 978-470-3864.
An upscale neighborhood in Swampscott, Massachusetts may be getting new neighbors.

"I'm against the brewery," said Ira Rosenberg from Swampscott. "Absolutely against it. Monastery? I'd love to have it."

The monastery would be at the old Marian Court College on Littles Point Road and would house up to 18 monks brewing beer to fund the projects. Millions are expected in repairs to the buildings.

"The only way to support the property and restore it and to be a good neighbor would be to have the level of economic activity a brewery would provide," said Fr. Andrew Bushell, an orthodox monk.

A beer brewing monastery wouldn't be the a first for New England. One is up and running in Spencer.

"Initially we would hope to sell 1,800 barrels of beer," said Fr. Andrew.

The sale of the 6-acre land along the waterfront is a private matter. Being allowed to brew beer commercially makes it public.

The town is checking their ordinances to see if beer can be brewed on a residential land.

"Father Andrew had stated he wasn't interested in acquiring the property unless he could get the brewery approved which raised, for us, what we think is an issue," said Don Hause, a Swampscott Town Selectman.

Hause said he is outright against the proposal and questions if it can even be done under town code.

"We think it would really improve the neighborhood," said Christine Bilyk, who lives next door to where the monastery would go. She points to the fact the monastery/brewery would bring the dilapidated property back to life.

"There's so much water damage," said Bilyk. "It's falling apart."

Bilyk says the town is against the proposal because they would lose tax revenue.

"Revenues are always beneficial to a small town like ours," said Hause. "We would certainly support a monastery or religious use."

A town inspection will now check the property and their ordinances to see if a commercial brewery can go on the land.

If the monastery/brewery is not approved, Fr. Andrew said he would look to go the legal route to complete the deal.
Representatives of school districts from more than a dozen Vermont communities learned about a new kind of school bus Tuesday: one that is yellow on the outside and "green" under the hood.

The utility Green Mountain Power and energy efficiency proponents at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation organized an event to help start conversations about whether electric school buses can, long-term, help towns cut greenhouse gas emissions and save on fuel.

"About 30 percent of the fossil fuels that get consumed in our country get consumed by transportation," said Jeff Monder of Green Mountain Power. "We've made great progress, but we've got to continue to wean ourselves off fossil fuels."

Lion Bus of Quebec told the school transportation managers in attendance that the manufacturer sees huge growth potential in the segment.

"This is the next step for us," said Marc-Andre Page of Lion Bus. "It's going to be a niche market for the next five to six years, but obviously, everybody's going to get there, that's what we think."

The school district representatives took part in a test ride Tuesday in downtown Montpelier.

They learned the buses have an approximately 75-100 mile range, and a regenerative braking system that can help stretch the distance the buses can travel between charges back at their home bases.

Lion Bus said because most school buses travel a predictable route every day, it makes them the perfect kind of vehicle to run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

The buses are so quiet, they play music at slow speeds to not catch anyone off guard.

But it's not an easy sell. The buses are $325,000 each; roughly three times the cost of a diesel model.

The manufacturer pointed to potential savings on fuel and maintenance.

"A lot of questions to answer, yet," said Patsy Parker of the Fairfax School District, who attended Tuesday's demonstration. "There's a lot of money involved. And without incentives and grants, our little school system is probably not going to be able to do anything about it, even if we do like them."

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources recently awarded grants to launch a pilot project in four communities in the Bay State: the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, Amherst Public Schools, Cambridge Public Schools and Concord Public Schools.

A similar effort is in the preliminary planning stages for Vermont, Green Mountain Power and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation explained.

The Massachusetts pilot will look at how the vehicles function in cold climates, offer a cost-benefit analysis, and test whether bus batteries are an effective mobile power source in emergencies, VEIC said.

"These electric school buses will reduce the use of petroleum fuel and create momentum for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in school districts across the state," Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton said in a news release when the grants were announced. "With this pilot project, Massachusetts continues its leadership in advancing clean energy technology and reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

With the complex questions to answer about the effectiveness of electric buses, its the adults who have a lot of homework to do about the future of school transportation.
Police say a person of interest in a Providence, Rhode Island, homicide is in custody after leading officers on a chase, totaling his vehicle and crashing into three others.

Maj. David Lapatin says the man was arrested following the multi-vehicle crash in Providence on Monday afternoon. He will be questioned about the slaying of 36-year-old Adalberto Martinez, who was found shot to death inside an auto body shop on Friday.

Affiliate WJAR reports the man has been identified as Hierberro Rivera.

Lapatin says officers had been looking for a red car in connection with the homicide investigation. He says a patrol officer spotted the car and a chase ensued. The vehicle sped through an intersection crashed into three other cars.

He says the driver and his two passengers were hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries.

Rivera is set to appear in court Tuesday to be questioned about the slaying.
Police returned to the scene Tuesday where a partially decomposed body was found in a dry area of an East Boston marsh last week.

Massachusetts State Police troopers were back at the Belle Isle Marsh on Tuesday, conducing a line search of the area looking for evidence.

At least two canine teams were also involved in the search, and one officer was seen using a metal detector.

An autopsy was conducted Sunday, and the body has been identified, but the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office is not publicly releasing that information.

The cause and manner of death have not been released.

State Rep. Adrian Madaro of East Boston said he has been briefed on the investigation and was told the victim is a young male - a teen or young adult - and that one possibility investigators are looking into is whether it was a gang-related killing.

History tends to lend itself to this being gang related so I think thats a natural theory that they go on any time there is a teenage body found, Madaro said.

The discovery of the body has parents in the area understandably concerned about their own children.

Winter time it gets dark early. Im not sure if they are going to be safe or if someone is going to follow them or chase them home, said Alba Adana, who expressed concerns over her daughters safety.

The investigation remains very active, investigators said, and it is being treated as a criminal matter.
An unknown number of people were taken to a local hospital as a precaution after crash involving a private school bus van and a vehicle in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Tuesday morning.

The crash happened at South Street at Route 3 just before 8:30 a.m.

It's unclear how many students were on board the school bus van, which was headed to Plymouth North High School.

No other details were immediately available.

The crash is still under investigation.
Some Boston residents are blaming short-term rental sites like airbnb for making their apartment buildings feel more like hotels.

Monday night, the Boston City Council held a public hearing on the matter. They're trying to figure out what to with short term-rental options like airbnb and FlipKey.

The most likely scenario will include taxes and regulations for short-term rental industry. Many agree they are inevitable and long overdue.

Theres talk about putting a cap on the number of units that could be rented out in one complex, a registry to keep track of hosts, and paying taxes similar to the hotel industry.

While airbnb wants taxes and regulations, the industry leader also wants it all to be reasonable, leaving room to grow in Bostons innovation economy.

A bill to tax the home sharing industry never made it out of the state legislature last summer. But thats expected to be taken up again in the next session. As for the city council, the hope is to have regulations and taxes in place by next spring.
A 24-year-old man is dead after a shooting outside Ryans Pub in Groton over the weekend and police say the "armed and dangerous" suspect has been detained at the Canadian border.

Police had a warrant for the arrest of Dante Hughes, 30, for his connection to a fatal shooting.

On Sunday, police said they were called to the business at 112 Fort Hill Road around 1:35 a.m. When they arrived they found the victim, identified as Joseph Gingerella, of Groton, in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds.

Gingerella was taken to L&M Hospital in New London where he was pronounced dead.

No other details were immediately available.
A tweet from Donald Trump contributed to a tumble in military stocks, and left even some Vermont Democrats finding common ground with the Republican president-elect.

The remarks had to do with the F-35, the so called next generation fighter jet that has been controversial nationally and in the Champlain Valley.

Monday morning, Trump tweeted, The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.

Trump offered no specifics or additional policy explanations, and political observers know it is very difficult to read too much into a single tweet.

Still, after the Trump statement, the stock price of Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35, ended the day down about 2 percent. It regained some deeper losses from morning trading.

The comments made waves in Vermont, where eighteen of the radar-evading F-35 strike fighters will be stationed at the Air Guard Base in South Burlington starting as soon as 2019.

The F-35s will replace the Green Mountain Boys tired fleet of F-16s.

The Vermont National Guard does not speculate on national level policy, a spokeswoman for the Guard said Monday.

Trumps tweet renewed longstanding criticism of the F-35, which the Government Accountability Office has called the defense departments costliest national project. It already has approached $400-billion, and predictions are that spending will more than triple that figure over the lifetime of the program.

Vermont Congressman Peter Welch, a Democrat, said he was able to agree with Trump on the issue of spending.

There have been a lot of cost overruns, Rep. Welch said of the F-35 program. If what Donald Trump is talking about is cutting down on waste and fraud and abuse in our huge spending programs and weapons programs, Im for that. Weve got to protect taxpayers against big cost overruns in any weapons system program.

Welch also urged Trump to back legislation he introduced with other U.S. House members that would require an audit of Pentagon spending.

Welch noted the F-35 is already in the production and delivery stage, and said he is glad the Vermont Guard will house the planes following a decision from the Air Force.

Its been called a national scandal, said Eileen Andreoli of Winooski, Vermont, an opponent of the F-35. Its going to have severe impacts for this area.

Andreoli said she worries about the jets price, effectiveness, and impacts from noise over Vermont, including on property values.

She is now a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit asking the U.S. Department of Defense to reconsider its Vermont basing decision for the F-35.

Its kind of exciting to hear someone whos not indebted to all the military industrial complex take that stance, look at it with fresh eyes; see that its a boondoggle, Andreoli said of Trumps tweet.

Regarding potential noise impacts, the Vermont Air National Guard has repeatedly said that it would work to mitigate noise levels from the new jets.

Vermonts Republican governor-elect, Phil Scott, left cost concerns to Washington, but told reporters Monday the new fighters are critical to more than 1,000 good jobs at the Air Guard base.

We need to upgrade our fleet, Scott said. Im an advocate of the F-35. I think its essential for Vermont and retaining our base here in Vermont. Its certainly important for our military.

In response to Trumps tweet, the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, said ongoing oversight of the F-35 is a must, while describing the fighter as a reality that is critical to the future of the military.

David Carle, Sen. Leahys spokesman, continued to say of the F-35, The fact that the Vermont Air National Guard was selected for its basing is a credit to the elite men and women serving there and who are deployed today.
An 80-year-old man who once testified that he was shot eight times by Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger has been charged in the 25-year-old murder of an armored truck guard.

Ralph DeMasi of Amesbury, Massachusetts, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and charged with armed robbery and the murder of Edward P. Morlock Sr. of Athol on May 18, 1991, in the foyer of a Shaw's Supermarket in Worcester, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.

DeMasi allegedly escaped the robbery and shooting in a waiting car, which was abandoned around the corner. The suspects then switched to a second vehicle.

Three other men believed to have participated in the robbery and murder have died in the intervening years.

DeMasi testified in Bulger's 2013 trial that he was riding in a car with another man in 1973 when a car pulled up alongside and Bulger began firing at them. The other man was hit 17 times and died instantly. DeMasi sustained eight bullet wounds.

"Car pulled up alongside, opened up," he said afterward. "When it was over there were over 100 bullets in the car."

DeMasi was compelled to testify against Bulger, fresh off a 21-1/2-year prison sentence for an armored car robbery in Newburyport.

The 87-year-old Bulger was a fugitive for 17 years until his arrest in 2011. A jury convicted him in 2013 for playing a role in 11 murders and many other crimes.

DeMasi's arrest on Tuesday was the result of new information uncovered during an investigation by Worcester Police, the FBI and the district attorney's office.

"I have seen first-hand the hard work and dedication that has gone into this case," Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent said. "Hopefully, this arrest brings some measure of closure to the family of Edward Murlock."

Morlock's widow, Jeannette, said Tuesday she has mixed emotions over the arrest.

"I'm happy yet sad because it's Christmas and I'm going back on memories and those were very painful times for me. My husband got killed 25 years ago and he was not ordered to work. He filled in for someone else so they could get married and he did it for extra money because he was the saver," Morlock said.

Morlock said if convicted, she wants DeMasi to be put away for good or executed for the pain he has caused her for the last 25 years.

"Put him away again so he can never hurt anybody. Because he has ruined my life," Morlock said.

DeMasi is expected to be arraigned around 11 a.m. Wednesday in Worcester Superior Court.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has picked Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, calling the oil executive with close to ties to Russia one of the most accomplished "international dealmakers in the world."

Tillerson's business relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are certain to draw scrutiny and could fuel a Senate confirmation fight. Leading Republicans have already expressed anxieties as they contend with intelligence assessments saying Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump.

Separately, the president-elect has selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department, according to people with knowledge of the decision. Perry, who ran two unsuccessful presidential campaigns, is on the board of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the company that is trying to build a 1,200-mile pipeline that would carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois and has sparked protests.

The people with knowledge of Perry's pending nomination insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision ahead of an official announcement

As for Tillerson, Trump says he sees the business leader's ties with Moscow as a selling point, along with his "vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments."

"Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart dealmaking, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of Exxon Mobil, one of the world's largest and most respected companies," the billionaire real estate mogul said in a pre-dawn news release from Trump Tower in New York.

In an accompanying statement, Tillerson said he was honored by his selection and shares Trump's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security."

Trump's team has voiced confidence about its ability to get the president-elect's nominees confirmed. But Tillerson appears likely to pose the toughest challenge.

In a bid to fend off Republican opposition, Trump's team is lining up support for Tillerson from high-profile national security experts. Condoleezza Rice, who served as secretary of state under President George W. Bush, called Tillerson a "successful business man and a patriot" who will "represent the interests and the values of the United States with resolve and commitment."

Exxon is a client of the consulting firm run by Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who also endorsed Tillerson's nomination Tuesday.

Still, some Republicans are voicing doubts, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who said he had "serious concerns" about the nomination. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he expected the U.S.-Russia relationship to be "front and center" in Tillerson's confirmation hearings.

Reince Priebus, Trump's incoming chief of staff, said Tuesday that Tillerson was chosen because he is "a diplomat that happens to be able to drill oil." Priebus said on MSNBC, "The good Lord didn't put oil in all freedom-loving democracies across the world and yet Rex Tillerson was able to make this work. Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson, they hit it off and they have a similar vision of how to get things done."

For weeks, Trump has teased out the secretary of state decision process publicly, often exposing rifts in his organization. Prospects included Mitt Romney, a one-time vocal Trump critic who wrote on Facebook Monday that it "was an honor to have been considered" for the job.

Trump's unconventional Cabinet vetting procedures are in keeping with his presidential style thus far, unconcerned with traditions. In recent weeks, he's attacked CIA intelligence, spoken to the leader of Taiwan a irritating China a and continued his late-night Twitter tirades.

Beijing is looking forward to working with the new secretary of state "to push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point," China's foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Tuesday.

In Washington, a congressional investigation is in the works over a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on Trump's behalf, a conclusion he has called "ridiculous."

The issue is raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about protecting the U.S. voting system.

On Twitter Monday, Trump pushed back, saying: "Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!"

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to meet with Trump "at any moment."

In the transcript of his interview with journalists which was released Tuesday in Moscow, Putin said "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this." Putin added that he thought a meeting with Trump would be more likely after Trump's January inauguration.

If confirmed, Tillerson would face immediate challenges in Syria, where a civil war rages, and in China, given Trump's recent suggestions that he could take a more aggressive approach to dealing with Beijing.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, he has held posts in the company's central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

Early in the company's efforts to gain access to the Russian market, Tillerson cut a deal with state-owned Rosneft. The neglected post-Soviet company didn't have a tremendous amount to offer, but Exxon partnered with it "to be on the same side of the table," Tillerson said, according to "Private Empire," an investigative history of Exxon by Steve Coll.
USAFWS hosts joint integrated hostage rescue

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. - The U.S. Air Force Weapons Schools 14th Weapons Squadron hosted 17 diverse units and other government agencies during a hostage rescue exercise, as part of the Weapons School Integration (WSINT) phase on Dec. 2, at the Nevada Test and Training Range.



The Weapons School trains expert instructors and leaders of Airmen skilled in integrated battlespace dominance. The WSINT occurred at Nellis Air Force Base and on the NTTR from Nov. 28 to Dec. 14. The exercise included 34 integrated full-mission profiles, including units from around the Air Force and joint community.



This exercise is the culmination of five-and-a-half months of training and is the capstone event for the Air Force's newest weapons officers.



Of the 34 missions executed in WSINT, three showcased integrated support to U.S. Special Operations Command core or collateral missions: hostage rescue, weapons of mass destruction recovery and noncombatant evacuation operations. The three missions are supported by multi-day planning and debriefing cycles to ensure integration and realistic execution in preparation for real-world events.



USSOCOM executes and trains within the guidelines of the five Special Operations Forces Truths. WSINT provided an unparalleled opportunity to train to the fifth SOF Truth, Most Special Operations require non-SOF support.



"This is not just a SOCOM mission set. This is a national mission set; it is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. All of our citizens know that we will come [rescue] them, any place, anytime, anywhere," said Lt. Col. Meghan Ripple, 14th WPS commander.



The Dec. 2, mission featured a combination of Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft and special tactics Airmen, Air Combat Command and tactical air control party personnel and Air Mobility Command aircraft. Integral to the mission were also intelligence, cyber and space Weapons Instructor Course students, providing layered kinetic and nonkinetic effects across the dual objective areas. Finally, three U.S. Army MH-47 and two MH-60 rotary-wing aircraft from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, participated in the exercise.



In total, the iteration launched 17 aircraft and more than 200 personnel supporting the rescue of two hostages, including a 50-man assault force as well as five space, cyber and intelligence operators. Without this integrated force packaging, the mission would not succeed in the operational environment or on the NTTR.



When our people have been taken hostage, there shouldnt be any doubt to the extent at which we [U.S. Forces] will integrate to effectively and decisively recover our own, said Maj. Brough McDonald, 34th WPS lead instructor.



The mission was also a night of firsts. The USAFWS and WSINT enhanced operational relevance through greater integration of assets required for this mission set; a 160th SOAR MH-47 and an Air Force Special Operations Command, U-28 accomplished a first of its kind rotary-wing to fixed-wing forward area refueling point operation at the Delmar Lake desert landing zone. The fuel extended the mission duration of critical intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance.



The forward area refueling site was enabled by special tactics Airmen providing security at the landing zone and was conducted within a highly contested environment with an AFSOC AC-130U providing close air support.



In addition to the refueling operation, the mission was also the first non-deployed U-28 semi-prepared landing and the first use of the newly acquired AFSOC MC-12W from the Oklahoma Air National Guard in a large-force exercise.



The coordination required to pull these feats off by the USAFWS team was incredibly rewarding by watching these events unfold from the joint operations center, said Capt. Tyler Martin, SOF exercise lead planner.



This opportunity for SOF to train with the combat air forces provides lessons learned to improve the chances of success when the nation requires execution of this mission. All graduates of the Weapons School are expected to create and execute integrated plans at the expert level for all USAF mission sets, not simply the career field they originated from.










Up to four new Catholic schools planned for Norfolk Up to four new Catholic schools planned for Norfolk

The Catholic Diocese of East Anglia is to be among the first to open new Catholic schools after the proposed removal of the 50% faith admissions cap, with plans for up to eight in the pipeline, including four in Norfolk.
The nature of the workplace is changing dramatically. Project teams are typically more geographically dispersed and more mobile. And yet, in some ways they remain more connected than ever.

More than 8 in 10 managers in a 2016 Millward Brown survey, conducted on behalf of Sennheiser, said meetings aimed at flexibly bringing together experts from different sites helped their business, in terms of saving time and other factors. While the cloud and mobile technologies have made it easier for team members to collaborate virtually using group chat and similar tools, audio conferencing remains one of the most effective ways for teams to communicate.

The challenge is that legacy conferencing technology has not kept pace with the changing needs of organizations. Who doesnt have a horror story of a conference call featuring team members huddled around a speaker phone, straining to hear remote team members speaking over a poor-quality connection? Other times, it can be difficult to simply find a room with the proper conferencing setup.

Issues such as sound quality are not a small consideration. In the Millward Brown survey, more than two-thirds (69%) of managers said adequate speech comprehension plays a much more important role in the success of a meeting than video quality. The study concluded that successful organizations have strong internal connections and run a higher frequency of meetings, while lower-performing enterprises meet less often.

Despite the key role of collaboration and information exchange, however, too often conferences dont run smoothly, are hindered by technical problems, or offer poor sound quality.

Wireless to the rescue

A new generation of wireless audio conferencing technology promises to address the challenges and remove some of the stigmas of cumbersome, hard-wired conferencing systems. The technology helps organizations create a flexible environment that aligns with the modern workplace and improves the productivity of teams.

Solutions such as Sennheisers TeamConnect Wireless feature wireless satellite units that can be set up easily in any formal or ad hoc meeting space. A master unit mixes the microphone signals from all the satellite units to create a homogeneous sound level, and transmits the audio signal via Bluetooth, USB, or jack to one or more devices. Team members use their own smartphones, tablets, PCs, or land-line phones to administer calls.

This type of agile, easy-to-use conferencing system can help facilitate communications and collaboration among project team members in an organization, regardless of where they are located. Thats an important capability as companies look to stay innovative in an increasingly digital world.

For more information about the latest audio conferencing technology, visit Sennheiser.
In recent years, Microsoft has made enormous efforts to get people to migrate off products that had reached their end of life. In 2014, it was Windows XP. In 2015, it was Windows Server 2003. This year it was SQL Server 2005.

So, knowing what the company went through to make people migrate makes this latest bit of news somewhat baffling. Microsoft has quietly announced the addition of a third tier to its product lifecycle, expanding the lifespan of both Windows Server and SQL Server by an additional six years.

Microsoft usually offers two tiers of lifecycle support covering a 10-year lifespan. The first five years, known as Mainstream support, include new features as well as security and non-security updates. The last five years, covering Extended support, has security and non-security updates, but no new features are added to the product. After that, all support ceases.

Beginning next year, customers can purchase a Premium Assurance plan to extend the lifecycle of both Server and SQL Server beyond the traditional extended support period for six more years.

Under the current life cycle plan, both Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 are set to go to end-of-life in 2020. Yes, they had two extra years of life tacked on. With the addition of Premium Assurance, both 2008/2008 R2 products will now be supported until 2026. Premium Assurance will provide security updates rated Critical and Important, so basically it's Extended support minus the non-critical fixes.

How much it will cost to extend support

However, there's a catch. You didn't think this would be a total freebie, did you? In the blog post announcing the new support layer, Microsoft says the cost of Premium Assurance will be up to 12 percent of the total license cost.

"Premium Assurance pricing will start at 5 percent of the current product license cost and will increase over time (up to 12 percent). Buying before the end of June 2017 means you will save nearly 60 percent on the cost of Premium Assurance."

To purchase Premium Assurance, you must already have a Software Assurance contract. Software Assurance is Microsoft's maintenance contract that covers updates to apps so they always have the newest version of the product, along with technical support and deployment planning.
As some of the tech sectors heaviest hitters prep for a meeting this week with president-elect Donald Trump, they need to make sure they get answers to critical questions about issues that could affect not only their businesses but the U.S. economy in general.

While the meeting has been called by Trump, the Silicon Valley executives should be prepared to set some of it themselves so they arent blindsided by policy shifts that can affect their success. Items of interest range from encryption to China policy.

Here are some of the issues important to Trump and that are important to the interests of technology vendors and service providers.

Where does Trump stand on encryption?

During the campaign Trump called for a boycott of Apple if it didnt help the FBI break into the iPhone used by the terrorists who shot 36 people last year in San Bernardino, Calif., killing 22.

Thats the strongest hint that Trump would support weakening encryption in order to help stop crime, but how dedicated is he to making that law?

The issue is thorny, pitting privacy against security. On the one hand, strong encryption secures online transactions, data on hard drives, and sensitive corporate communications. On the other, it can enable secure and private communications among terrorists that law enforcement cant penetrate.

Weakening encryption by whatever means makes all encrypted data and communication less secure. If vendors were forced to enable encryption backdoors, the fear is it would reduce the desirability of their products on the world market. Vendors in other countries not subject to such rules would have a superior product to sell.

Breakable encryption is a potentially powerful law enforcement tool that might stop terrorist plots in the planning stages. Rather than just knowing who is communicating with whom, it would reveal what they are saying.

With a Republican-backed Congress, its more likely that legislation about this issue could pass if Trump throws his weight behind it. And if it does, it will have vast implications not only for Silicon Valley businesses but also for all ecommerce and privacy in general.

Where does he stand on H-1B?

Trump says he wants to crack down on H-1B visas that let U.S. companies  tech companies in particular  hire foreign workers who have skills they need that U.S. workers dont have. But Trump says some of this hiring is done because the workers can be had for lower wages than U.S. citizens.

Its a complex and contentious issue, a solution for which has eluded congressional reformers who want to make it work more in favor of Americans. What Trump does via executive action and what he is able to bring about through his influence over Congress could have a big impact on tech companies.

If he makes it more difficult to find skilled workers and more expensive to hire eligible H-1B workers, that could change hiring strategies. Its possible tech companies might move more jobs overseas where wages are lower, which would be the opposite of what Trump says he wants.

Any change will alter the behavior of high-tech businesses, and that could have an impact on the cost of products and the speed of product development. Ultimately it could affect the competitiveness of these companies, at least in the short term.

The tech leaders meeting with Trump need to get an answer so they can prepare for a new way of doing business, whatever it turns out to be, and avoid the damaging downsides.

How will Trumps China policy affect sale of U.S. tech products and protection of U.S. intellectual property?

China has already fallen into Trumps crosshairs on economic issues, notably manipulating the value of its currency, and it looks like hes willing to go to the mat on other issues given that he is threatening to renege on the U.S. one-China policy that doesnt acknowledge Taiwan as a sovereign state. Hes come out against Chinas disregard for the intellectual property and copyrights of U.S. companies.

If Trump is successful, the results could be good for U.S. tech companies, which China has allegedly hacked in the past, whose intellectual property has been reverse engineered and whose software has been pirated.

But tech leaders need to hear how Trump will negotiate these outcomes because Chinas response could hurt them. China could resume its ban on U.S. companies doing businesses with the Chinese government, as it did with Apple and Cisco in 2015. Given the size of the Chinese market, restrictions or even all-out bans on U.S. technology sales could have a huge impact on the bottom lines of tech companies.

They need to hear Trumps explanation of how he plans to proceed and what safeguards he is considering to protect the interests of Silicon Valley businesses and those of every U.S. company that has come to rely on China as a major source of sales revenues.

Will he kill Net neutrality?

A 3-2 vote of the Federal Communications Commission this year prohibits service providers from blocking or throttling back traffic, and from offering high-priority service for a fee, but that could change with a single Trump appointee to the commission. Just a one-vote swing could undo the new rule.

This is important to the providers who are directly affected. Backbone providers would be able to charge more for priority service and to throttle best-effort service to make paying for priority service more palatable. That ability to charge more for faster internet might be attractive to some classes of service provider.

But Silicon Valley in the past, particularly investors and entrepreneurs, say tiered services will hamper innovation by making it more expensive for innovators to try out new technologies. Small scale experimentation of new concepts could become more expensive and therefore less likely to come about. The overall effect would be a dilution of fresh technologies.

Startups that are effective incubators for larger tech companies to buy up later could be fewer and offer less compelling solutions.

Another aspect of Net neutrality that could affect tech companies in the long-term is the power the FCC gave itself to push for expanding internet access into underserved markets such as rural areas and poorer communities. That could lessen the availability of educational benefits the internet affords these groups, and so affect the pool of skilled workers graduating from U.S. schools.

Silicon Valley needs to get a bead on what Trumps thoughts are on Net neutrality so it can prep for the economic impacts its repeal could have.

Will he favor letting ISPs share or sell customer data?

An FCC ruling this fall blocks ISPs from gathering and selling data about their customers browsing history and use of applications. Both are valuable for marketers and represent a profit stream for providers but a privacy hole for consumers.

Trump has announced appointments to key government positions that indicate he opposes these protections.

Reversing them would directly affect service providers by opening up a revenue stream but at the expense of consumer privacy.

Trumps stance on this could tip his hand on privacy in general, which has broad implications for individuals but also for businesses and other organizations and how they conduct their activities.

Silicon Valley execs should care because among them are entities that stand to gain or lose from a regulatory shift, but also because it will help paint a picture of the regulatory environment in which they will have to operate during the Trump administration.

This story, "5 core topics Trump needs to address in Silicon Valley leaders meeting" was originally published by Network World .
In my previous post, I previewed what we should expect to see from Cisco in 2017. While I think Cisco is in a strong position next year, I dont expect Ciscos competitors to sit around and let it take share. Below are the market segments where I think well see the most activity and which vendors are likely to be the most disruptive.

Collaboration

Hard-charging Microsoft has turned its unified communications (UC) focus to the cloud with its Skype For Business Voice available as part of the Office 365 suite. One can argue who has better voice or video, but Microsofts real strength is in how easy it is to purchase and start using voice, including PSTN calling. Microsoft also announced its Team product, which directly competes with Ciscos Spark product, so the collaboration battle will be drawn on many fronts.

Mitel has interesting potential as a stronger competitor, depending on which companies they decide to acquire next. I suspect we might see Mitel snap up a video vendor, which certainly wont put them in the same class as Cisco and Microsoft, but theyre trending in that direction.

The UC as a service (UCaaS) vendors pose a threat to Cisco as more customers move their communications to the cloud. Some customers will use Cisco-powered solutions, but many will choose one of the many Broadsoft-based providers that will benefit from the investments the company has made in its BroadCloud and BroadWorks platforms. The company is ready to market directly to the enterprise in a bigger way in 2017.

The one with the most potential? Vonage, which will spend 2017 making itself more well known to business customers and will try to disrupt the UC industry with a combination of its traditional UC suite and Nexmo.

Data center

No vendor personifies the term co-opetition like Dell. Executives have stood on stage and praised Cisco and discussed how important the company is as it wages war on archrival HP.

Drilling down even more, the converged infrastructure group (formerly known as VCE) has been one of the biggest channels for Cisco Nexus and ACI. Now that the market demand is shifting from converged to hyperconverged, the VxRack and VxRail products will dominate and could limited Ciscos opportunity with Cisco HyperFlex. Also, as the converged infrastructure group gets more integrated into Dell, expect to see Dell-flavored infrastructure. They wont stop using Cisco, but customers will likely get a Dell option.

Arista is the most formidable threat to Ciscos data center networking business, as it has proven itself to be an innovative and nimble competitor and has become the de facto alternative to Cisco in this market. The company is growing up, and I expect to see Arista bring an architectural story to market in 2017 where the company is able to quantify its end-to-end value better. It has great products; now it needs to start punching above its weight class.

The other main data center networking vendor is the IP division of Brocade, currently owned by Broadcom and likely to be spun out in 2017. The mostly likely places for the IP division of Brocade to land are Extreme Networks and private equity. Dell is also a possibility, but it has its hands full integrating EMC.

Security

There is no shortage of competitors in the security industry. One of Ciscos points of differentiation is the architectural story it can put together because it can provide security at so many points in the network. The only other vendor that can boast a set of secure products as broad as Cisco is Fortinet whose security fabric message is highly differentiated. I expect to see Fortinet quantify the value of the fabric and open it up to enable more third parties to integrate into it.

Also, I believe we are on the verge of seeing FireEyes second act. The company launched as a best-in-class sandbox, but growth has slowed and the stock price has fallen. The company has spent the better part of the past year integrating its platform with Mandiant, and its iSight platform gives it one of the most sophisticated threat intelligence platforms available today. Expect FireEye to exploit this and re-emerge as a dominant security vendor.

VMware is the third security vendor worth mentioning. Adoption of NSX has been sluggish as a network virtualization tool, but the company has seen some traction by customers using it as a network segmentation product. Expect to see VMware be more aggressive in 2017 as a disruptive security vendor.

Wireless LAN

The market for Wi-Fi is changing, and as Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins pointed out, controller-less solutions are becoming the preferred deployment model. I fully expect Aruba, an HPE company, to shift more of its go-to market towards its cloud platform, Instant. Also, now that the integration with HPE is done and the Aruba team is running the network show, we should expect to see the wired network become a significant part of its go-to market, like it was with the recent IoT announcement from Discover. Aruba wireless will still be the centerpiece, but it can complement that with products from HPE.

Aerohive has been one of the early evangelizers of controller-less solutions, and the market has finally come to them. Its probably been its dependency on K-12, which was fine when the E-Rate money was rolling in. To offset this, we should expect to see Aerohive broaden its vertical focus into higher education, retail, hospitality and healthcare.
Evolution inevitably involves the creation of new problems, and the big tech stories of the year show that this goes for IT just like anything else. While the internet has brought the world closer together, it also paved the way for fake news and new forms of espionage. The rise of AI has humans worried about being replaced. Chip makers are consolidating and scrambling to retool to meet the demands of virtual reality and the internet of things. And while Apple removed legacy ports on its new devices, a lot of users are grumbling about needing adapters for their favorite headphones and other peripherals. It's been a big year for trade-offs like this. Here are the IDG News Service's picks for the top 10 tech stories of the year.

Election of Trump brings fake news to the fore

LVCVA Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on stage during the third presidential debate in Las Vegas on October 19, 2016.

The U.S. presidential election highlighted the internet's power to disseminate false information, fueling a fierce debate over the role of social networks in the media landscape and how Facebook, Google and Twitter should police "fake news." The election was the number one news topic on Facebook this year, and that "news" included blatantly false stories, including one that Hillary Clinton was running a child porn ring out of a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor. Google and Facebook have started blocking ads from sites that are known to promulgate disinformation, but they continue to struggle with the issue. Meanwhile, the world braces for the presidency of Tweeter-in-Chief Donald Trump, who claims he won the US popular vote "if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally," possibly the biggest fake story of the year.

Mirai botnet pokes holes in IoT security

Michael Kan

The internet of things (IoT) promises to revolutionize industry and enhance all sorts of web-connected services, but thanks to the Mirai botnet, it also represents a global security risk. Mirai was designed to scan the internet for devices like cameras and DVRs, then access and control them. In addition to other attacks, Mirai was responsible in September for a DDoS attack that overwhelmed cloud provider Akamai and brought down the website of security expert Brian Krebs. In October, it hit DNS (Domain Name System) service provider Dyn and disrupted dozens of major websites. Security experts are warning that more botnets like Mirai will appear unless the hardware industry moves away from default passwords.

Qualcomm buys NXP: The incredible shrinking chip industry

Stephen Lawson A booth sign at Mobile World Congress 2016 shows the logo of mobile technology vendor Qualcomm in a file image captured on Feb. 25, 2016.

Mergers and acquisitions are a great window on how tech evolves, and this year's $38 billion deal for Qualcomm to buy NXP Semiconductors, announced in October, was a signpost pointing to how the chip industry is consolidating around IoT. Qualcomm wants to expand beyond a stagnating mobile phone industry, getting into NXP's market for chips for cars and IoT devices. SoftBank's July announcement that it would spend $32 billion to acquire ARM revealed its interest in cashing in on growing demand for processors and other technologies for the IoT and mobile markets.

Intel axes 12,000 as it breaks away from PCs

Intel Intel's Shooting Star drone

In another confirmation that we're living in a post-PC world, Intel announced in April that it would lay off 12,000 people, a whopping 11 percent of its worldwide workforce. The slowdown in PC shipments has hurt Intel, and the company needs to evolve to better serve the cloud and IoT. Data-center equipment will be Intel's growth area growing forward, along with the rapidly increasing number of sensors and connected devices.

HoloLens goes on sale: The VR future is here

Microsoft A Microsoft rendering shows simulated HoloLens apps.

The release of Microsoft's HoloLens Development Edition at the end of March, and the later release of the hardware to nondevelopers worldwide, marked a major milestone for the burgeoning markets for both virtual and augmented reality. Other bellwether VR events included the releases of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets. But it seems Microsoft is leading the charge to bring VR and AR to the masses, promising a Windows Holographic software update to Windows 10 next year, a move that could make it easier to blend physical and digital reality on any PC.

The DNC hack: Cyberespionage shapes an election

Joffi/Pixabay

The revelation in June that hacking groups with likely Russian ties had hacked into the U.S. Democratic National Committee's computer network sent shockwaves through the global security community. Emails made public by WikiLeaks caused embarrassment among Democrats, led to the resignation of several DNC officials and allowed Hllary Clinton's opponents to portray her and the party's infighting in an unflattering light. The assessment of intelligence officials that Russian hackers intervened to sabotage Clinton's campaign, taking cyberespionage to a new level, has created a rift between Trump and the intelligence agencies, a blow to smooth U.S. intelligence operations.

Samsung's Note7 recall: Epic fail

Martyn Williams A sign advises against use of Samsung's Note 7 in aircraft at Changi Airport in Singapore on Oct. 8, 2016.

When Samsung released the stylish Galaxy Note7 in August, gushing reviewers found a lot to like. But soon enough, if you called it a "hot" product you'd be accused of committing a bad pun. Users started reporting problems with overheating and even outright fires. Samsung started recalling the device, and in October it finally threw in the towel, stopping production. The Note7 recall has been both a public-relations and a financial debacle for Samsung, and one of the tech industry's epic fails of all time: The company has reported that third-quarter operating profit fell 95 percent, largely as a result of the Note7 recall.

AlphaGo dominates, humans get worried

Google Lee Se-dol plays against AlphaGo in second game on March 10, 2016

Google DeepMind's AlphaGo artificial-intelligence program overwhelmed 18-time world champion Go player Lee Se-dol in March, beating him 4 games to one in a Seoul match watched around the world. The AlphaGo program's ability to to learn from its experience apparently explained its unexpected and far-from-human moves. It was arguably the biggest AI v. man event since IBM's Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in chess in 1997. As a wide variety of films and TV series around the world attest, concerns about AI have entered the zeitgeist, and no wonder: Milestones keep happening as AI is incorporated into everyday tech products. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said, "We've evolving form a mobile-first to an 'AI-first' world." That is exactly what has humans worried.

Apple kills headphone jack: Courage or arrogance?

Susie Ochs Apple's iPhone 7

When Apple announced in September it was eliminating the 3.5mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7 to pave the way to a wireless future, users around the world fumed. Getting rid of USB ports in the new Macbooks added insult to injury for many. Now, uncountable peripherals will no longer directly work with Apple devices. Apple's Phil Schiller said it took "courage" for Apple to move on from legacy ports, but many users said the change showed that Apple cares more about its own vision than about consumers.

Apple v. FBI: Encryption debate intensifies

Martyn Williams An Android smartphone going through the disk encryption process.

In February, Apple was ordered by a federal judge in California to provide assistance to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to search a locked iPhone 5c that was used by Syed Rizwan Farook in the December 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, that left more than a dozen people dead. The order crystallized a long-running debate about public access to encrypted devices, including whether tech companies should help law enforcement crack encrypted devices. In March, the judicial order was vacated after the FBI was able to hack the iPhone with the help of an unidentified third party. With law enforcement officials around the world dealing with an increasing number of encrypted devices in criminal cases, though, the debate over encryption is far from over.
If fake news reports by the mainstream news media are true, all it takes to create fake news are some clever Romanian or Macedonian teenagers with malicious intent and a websiteand shazam the fake news propagates throughout Facebook. The reality is SEO, backlinks, paid promotion and other content strategies play a key role.

It is odd that mainstream news media would miss the most critical issue because after all, organic and paid promotion of internet traffic is what has put most of them on financial life support.

How fake news starts

Promotion starts with a fake news site with a credible URL name, such as realtruenews.org, probably built with WordPress and themed to look like a real news site. The end goal is to get tens or hundreds of thousands of gullible people to share the stories onto Facebook. Gullible reporters help, too.

Paul Horner, fake news writer and self-proclaimed satirist (to skirt libel and slander lawsuits), convinced Washington Post journalist Caitlin Dewey that it was simply his writing prowess that resulted in the viral spread of his fake news stories on Facebook. It was an example of skilled self-promotion by Horner and bad reporting by Dewey because she did not dig into how his stories were promoted. No one reporting on Horners viral creativity asked the question either. The story was echoed on credible news outlets such as CBS News, Slate and the Intercept.

The creativity in writing a headline, sub-headline and the first few paragraphs of an article is important, but its only the beginning of creating fake news. Multiple versions of the story can be compared using A/B testing to optimize clicks and read times. But on these merits, the probability that the story is shared virally is microscopic. And repeating this feat on a brand-new fake news site with little traffic is even less probable.

Gaming Google with fake news is the first step to reaching Facebook

Black search engine optimization (SEO) increases Googles ranking in search results. A real company with a real brand would not engage in black SEO because if caught, Google will reduce the websites ranking or eliminate it all together from search results.

The barrier to entry is very low for fake news sites. Content creators and an Amazon account cost very little. A self-hosted WordPress site costs nothing because it is free, open-source software. And the revenue from Googles Adsense ad network could cover the cost. Even if Google categorizes the site as a fake news site and cuts off Adsense revenues, other ad networks might not be as meticulous or as capable of categorizing the site.

Google dynamically ranks the credibility score of websites. It measures credibility in the number and quality of sites that link back to the fake news site. Googles credibility score can be increased with black SEO, using link manipulation. Link manipulation can be as simple as placing a backlink on a website that has greater credibility than the fake news group or buying a backlink on a site that has more credibility. Doing either of those things passes the credibility back to the referred site. A top brand will not sell a backlink to a fake news site, but a backlink to a site that has more credibility is all that is needed to increase the ranking. And it only needs to affect the ranking in the search term domain to move a fake story link to the top of the first page of the search results within the keyword search domain.

If fake news producers fool a mainstream media outlet to link back to a story, the credibility score will receive a huge boost from careless editors.

Link farms and link wheels

There are more complex schemes, such as link farms and link wheels.

A link farm is a website or a group of websites designed to increase link popularity of a single site using backlinks. This is how backlinks work with a normal website. But in the case of fake news, the sole purpose is to provide links to a target website and increase the number backlinks in order to raise the credibility score. Inserting backlinks into a link farm can be automated.

Link wheels are a mutual link exchange in which different websites agree to pass the page rank and create a circle of reciprocal backlinks, obfuscating the reciprocal links to fool the search engines. Link wheels can also be automated.

There are many other methods that no credible website would use because of the risk of Google downgrading or eliminating the site from its search results. But a fake news perpetrator can simply buy a new domain name, get a new IP address, repurpose the content to obfuscate its reuse from Google, and be back in business with a new website in minutes.

Paid promotion on Facebook accelerates propagation of fake news

If there is only one principal of internet marketing, it is money brings eyeballs. Most websites are constrained in spending by a profit motive; however, if the goal is to accelerate a fake news storys time-to-viral sharing on Facebook, deficit spending on promotion is the accelerant.

Content networks arrange for contextual placement of content images, headlines and links to other websites for money. Content networks are brokers that have an inventory of space on website pages that the website owner is willing to sell to increase revenues. The content network sells this space to other websites that want to increase their traffic and promote their content. It is automated and contextuallike ad networks. But the content is presented with a phrase such as You might like. An example is at the bottom of this page, with content suggestions inserted by revcontent.com. The linking can be read with a webpage editor such as Chrome tools.

Like display ads, the promoting sites can select the contextual attributes of the websites where their contentin this case, fake newsis placed. And the site displaying the content can choose the attributes of the content that is recommended on their site.

Buying AdWords and display ads are other options for the fake news site to promote its content.

End to end it is a digitally measurable and optimizable pipeline

The sharing of articles on Facebook can be measured and optimized with Google Analytics or other analytics software. It is a pipeline with a digital trail: from posting on the fake news site, to black SEO, to content networks, to Adwords and ad networks, and finally to Facebook. A fake news organization with the goal of creating disinformation about a specific subject can start with multiple versions of the same fake news story on a few or even hundreds of fake news sites with credibility established with black SEO. This part of the pipeline is inexpensive. By measuring the organically produced clicks and time spent on the page, the most potentially viral stories can be selected for paid promotion.

The shares and referring links of any story onto Facebook and other social media can be measured with tools such as buzzsumo.com, and the digital trail back to the original post can be measured and optimized. A fake news site with financial resources, motivated with the goal of disinformation instead of a profit, can finance a storys predictable sharing onto Facebooksomething a real news site cannot counter because it is unable to afford that kind of promotion without a profit.

By the time a fake news article spreads, Facebook and Google have identified the fake news site using the digital trail. National security agencies with resources and the data could also identify it, as could any organization with the financial resources and technical expertise to uncover the trail. Facebooks Open Graph is open. Programs can be written that search the Open Graph to find the fake news stories, and other programs can be written to trace the trail back to the fake news site and estimate the cost to promote the fake news. Law enforcement could do the same if there is probable cause that a law has been broken.

Mainstream media has created disinformation as much as the fake news sites. By reporting fake news created by Macedonian and Rumanian teenagers and Paul Horner, the fake news was propagated onto Facebook organically.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI:Following allegations of involvement in money laundering in the wake of demonetisation, the Reserve Bank on Monday quelled rumours stating that it has not initiated any action to cancel the licence of Axis Bank.

Axis Bank had suspended 24 of its employees for allegedly breaking rules in accepting or exchanging old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, which lost legal status since November 9.



The Reserve Bank clarifies that it has not initiated any action to cancel the banking licence of Axis Bank in the wake of certain allegations abo ut some serious irregularities in transactions relating to deposit/exchange of Specified Bank Notes in a few branches of the bank, said RBI. }



The clarification comes amid rumours in a segment of the media that the bank was likely to lose its banking licence, RBI stated further.

Refuting the reports in a clarification to BSE, Axis Bank said, We strongly deny the contents of the said article and we reiterate that the bank has strong systems and controls as per the norms prescribed by RBI.



The bank added that without prejudice to our rights and contentions in the matter and to take appropriate measures to counter the irresponsible and mala fide report published by the said newspaper, as advised.



Stung by accusations that its employees have been involved in laundering black money, the bank has temporarily suspended the accounts of some bullion dealers as part of enhanced due diligence to stamp out any attempt to make black money white.

NEW DELHI:Following allegations of involvement in money laundering in the wake of demonetisation, the Reserve Bank on Monday quelled rumours stating that it has not initiated any action to cancel the licence of Axis Bank. Axis Bank had suspended 24 of its employees for allegedly breaking rules in accepting or exchanging old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, which lost legal status since November 9. The Reserve Bank clarifies that it has not initiated any action to cancel the banking licence of Axis Bank in the wake of certain allegations about some serious irregularities in transactions relating to deposit/exchange of Specified Bank Notes in a few branches of the bank, said RBI. } The clarification comes amid rumours in a segment of the media that the bank was likely to lose its banking licence, RBI stated further. Refuting the reports in a clarification to BSE, Axis Bank said, We strongly deny the contents of the said article and we reiterate that the bank has strong systems and controls as per the norms prescribed by RBI. The bank added that without prejudice to our rights and contentions in the matter and to take appropriate measures to counter the irresponsible and mala fide report published by the said newspaper, as advised. Stung by accusations that its employees have been involved in laundering black money, the bank has temporarily suspended the accounts of some bullion dealers as part of enhanced due diligence to stamp out any attempt to make black money white.
By IANS

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday asked banks to retain their CCTV recordings of branch operations and currency chests between November 8 and December 30, to deal with any unlawful activities.



"The banks are advised to preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from November 8 to December 30, 2016, until further instructions," the RBI said in a statement here.



It said this was necessary "to facilitate coordinated and effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes".



The apex bank had earlier issued a notification on October 27, prior to demonetisation, asking the banks to cover the banking hall/area and counters under CCTV surveillance and record to facilitate identification of people abetting circulation of counterfeit notes.



The government has kept December 30, as the last date to deposit the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.



MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday asked banks to retain their CCTV recordings of branch operations and currency chests between November 8 and December 30, to deal with any unlawful activities. "The banks are advised to preserve CCTV recordings of operations at bank branches and currency chests for the period from November 8 to December 30, 2016, until further instructions," the RBI said in a statement here. It said this was necessary "to facilitate coordinated and effective action by the enforcement agencies in dealing with matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes". The apex bank had earlier issued a notification on October 27, prior to demonetisation, asking the banks to cover the banking hall/area and counters under CCTV surveillance and record to facilitate identification of people abetting circulation of counterfeit notes. The government has kept December 30, as the last date to deposit the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has 2.7 lakh doctors under its fold, has urged the government to exempt healthcare services offered by private hospitals from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"We welcome the government's decision on enforcing the GST and feel that it will increase transparency and improve efficiency in the country.

"However, we feel that the GST exemption of healthcare services offered by governmental institutions should be extended to the private sector as well," said Dr K K Aggarwal, the national president-elect of IMA.

IMA stated that exemption of GST to private sector shall result in several benefits which will include no increase in cost of healthcare being provided by the private sector, affordable healthcare services in India, eradication of any possibility of dis-incentivising future investments in the sector, among others.

At present, healthcare services provided by all types of clinical establishments are exempted from service tax under the mega exemption notification, issued in June 2012, which are strictly defined to cover diagnosis, treatment and care for illness, injury or deformity, he said.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has 2.7 lakh doctors under its fold, has urged the government to exempt healthcare services offered by private hospitals from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). "We welcome the government's decision on enforcing the GST and feel that it will increase transparency and improve efficiency in the country. "However, we feel that the GST exemption of healthcare services offered by governmental institutions should be extended to the private sector as well," said Dr K K Aggarwal, the national president-elect of IMA. IMA stated that exemption of GST to private sector shall result in several benefits which will include no increase in cost of healthcare being provided by the private sector, affordable healthcare services in India, eradication of any possibility of dis-incentivising future investments in the sector, among others. At present, healthcare services provided by all types of clinical establishments are exempted from service tax under the mega exemption notification, issued in June 2012, which are strictly defined to cover diagnosis, treatment and care for illness, injury or deformity, he said.
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: At a time when cash is being rationed to the common man, how are black money hoarders able to access new currency notes by the crore?

In March 2012, a sub-group constituted by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) reviewed the working of currency chests and recommended 360-degree surveillance. It also made a significant observation: Manpower planning for currency chests is not accorded due attention. Normally the deployment of personnel in chests is done in a routine manner without any proper due-diligence.

This observation, seen in the light of the arrest of a junior officer of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Bengaluru and the ongoing investigation of a Delhi lawyer, could change the tone of the demonetisation debate. Income-Tax officials suspect that black money hoarders are striking at the heart of India's financial operations to access huge amounts of new high-value currency notes.

On the evening of December 12, a team of Income-Tax officials landed up at the office of lawyer Rohit Tandon to follow up on their discovery of Rs. 13.65 crore in cash, including Rs. 2.60 crore in new currency notes, earlier. One senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told New Indian Express that the tax sleuths had prepared a detailed voucher of the serial numbers borne by the Rs 2000 banknotes of the new Mahatma Gandhi series to find out the exact currency chest from which the amount was shipped to the law firm.

Such leakage is not possible from a bank branch. In the past couple of days we have searched many firms and individuals and our suspicion is that new currency in such huge amounts can only be diverted through currency chests. We have prepared a voucher of new currency seized from Tandons firm and we are seeking RBI's help to find out the exact source, the official said.

The RBI has over 4100 currency chests in various banks across the country, including 52 in Delhi. Its regional offices have the details of the daily balance in each chest, including the denomination-wise pieces of currency, total pieces of soiled notes and the vault holding limit.

Now, RBI has directed banks and currency chests to preserve the CCTV recordings of their operations for the period from November 8 to December 30 to help the tax sleuths and other enforcement agencies in unearthing wrongdoings, if any.

In the last few day, whispers have been heard in the corridors of enforcement agencies that new currency was seeping into the coffers of black money hoarders through currency chests apart from some banks.

The senior tax official said they had received reliable inputs about cartels converting black money into white by charging a commission of up to 40 per cent. In one such seizure, they discovered Rs.100 and Rs. 2000 notes. The availability of huge amounts of Rs.100 notes is suspicious because banks and ATMs are running dry round the country. "We dont have conclusive evidence at the moment but it seems that even the movement of soiled legal tender has been compromised in connivance with insiders, the official added.

The month-long deadly crackdown, as government officials like to call it, against black money hoarders has done little to attack the chief source of the scam operating in major cities. Sources in the government confirmed that many supposedly high-profile search operations last week that were based on intelligence resulted in a whimper.

NEW DELHI: At a time when cash is being rationed to the common man, how are black money hoarders able to access new currency notes by the crore? In March 2012, a sub-group constituted by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) reviewed the working of currency chests and recommended 360-degree surveillance. It also made a significant observation: Manpower planning for currency chests is not accorded due attention. Normally the deployment of personnel in chests is done in a routine manner without any proper due-diligence. This observation, seen in the light of the arrest of a junior officer of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Bengaluru and the ongoing investigation of a Delhi lawyer, could change the tone of the demonetisation debate. Income-Tax officials suspect that black money hoarders are striking at the heart of India's financial operations to access huge amounts of new high-value currency notes. On the evening of December 12, a team of Income-Tax officials landed up at the office of lawyer Rohit Tandon to follow up on their discovery of Rs. 13.65 crore in cash, including Rs. 2.60 crore in new currency notes, earlier. One senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told New Indian Express that the tax sleuths had prepared a detailed voucher of the serial numbers borne by the Rs 2000 banknotes of the new Mahatma Gandhi series to find out the exact currency chest from which the amount was shipped to the law firm. Such leakage is not possible from a bank branch. In the past couple of days we have searched many firms and individuals and our suspicion is that new currency in such huge amounts can only be diverted through currency chests. We have prepared a voucher of new currency seized from Tandons firm and we are seeking RBI's help to find out the exact source, the official said. The RBI has over 4100 currency chests in various banks across the country, including 52 in Delhi. Its regional offices have the details of the daily balance in each chest, including the denomination-wise pieces of currency, total pieces of soiled notes and the vault holding limit. Now, RBI has directed banks and currency chests to preserve the CCTV recordings of their operations for the period from November 8 to December 30 to help the tax sleuths and other enforcement agencies in unearthing wrongdoings, if any. In the last few day, whispers have been heard in the corridors of enforcement agencies that new currency was seeping into the coffers of black money hoarders through currency chests apart from some banks. The senior tax official said they had received reliable inputs about cartels converting black money into white by charging a commission of up to 40 per cent. In one such seizure, they discovered Rs.100 and Rs. 2000 notes. The availability of huge amounts of Rs.100 notes is suspicious because banks and ATMs are running dry round the country. "We dont have conclusive evidence at the moment but it seems that even the movement of soiled legal tender has been compromised in connivance with insiders, the official added. The month-long deadly crackdown, as government officials like to call it, against black money hoarders has done little to attack the chief source of the scam operating in major cities. Sources in the government confirmed that many supposedly high-profile search operations last week that were based on intelligence resulted in a whimper.
Rakshnna Pattabiraman By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The origins of the classical guitar still remain uncertain, centuries after the instrument was designed. Resembling the design of an acoustic one, this guitar has nylon strings that can compose an entire orchestra, Nanini Sudhir tells City Express.



With every emerging culture, a different shade and undertone evolves in music, which is accommodated into our lifestyles and such practices are carried on for generations together. One such growing musical movement in India is the classical guitar. Like the regular acoustic guitar, a classical guitar has the same built except the strings are made with nylon and is plucked with fingernails or sometimes the fingers rather than strummed continually.

Musical Travelogue

For someone like Nandini, classical guitar has inspired and changed her and set the course of quite an unlikely life.



Currently pursuing her Bachelors in Humanities from Mount Carmel College, in Bengaluru, Nandini recounts a life of performing and learning from great composers and teachers from across the globe. Being a 19 year old who came to many opportunities, she recalls how many people have been supportive of her dreams including The Bangalore School of Musics founder, Aruna Sunderlal.



She feels indebted to several teachers over the years like Dinesh Khundrakpam, who inculcated her love for the music. She has also travelled alongside Bobby Rootveld and Sanna Van Elst of the NIHZ Duo whom she says, have helped her grow.

Skype Classes

Nandini is presently taking classes online, via Skype every Thursday, from Annette Kruisbrink, the famous Dutch classical guitarist and composer who dedicated a composition to Nandini titled Ranganana, a solo guitar piece on Indian music tradition. I was overwhelmed and moved by that, she says.



As for academics, Nandini says I find time for both practice and studies and really enjoy balancing the two. She hopes to work on her own compositions in the future, but as of now, thoughts on it have been put on hold.



Nandinis parents have been very supportive of all her decisions and they have relentlessly taken her to music festivals and competitions across the world. She is no stranger to awards and accolades and has several prizes pinned to her name.



Starting from her famous win at the Calcutta International Classical Guitar festival in 2012, she went on to achieve a great feat in several other competitions in India and abroad. Some notable ones inclue winning the Thailand International guitar festival and competition, Twents Guitar Festival and competition, The Nordhorn Guitar Festival and competition for four consecutive years, and last year she came second at The Bangalore Classical Guitar festival organised by The Indian Guitar Federation.

She was adjudged The Most Promising Guitarist in 2013. She has also taken part in seminars and masterclasses, which included famous artists like Marcin Dylla (Poland), Pavel Steidl (Czech Republic), Zoran Dukic (Croatia), Hubert Kappel (Germany) and several others in the field.

Plans for a Europe Trip

Nandini says her favourite piece keeps changing over time although she likes the work of many composers from different periods of time like the Renaissance, Classical period and Modern eras. I admire the work of Mauro Giuliani, a 19th century Italian composer and others like Fernando Sor, 19th century Spanish composer, Johann Kaspar Mertz, 19th century Hungarian composer, John Dowland, Renaissance English composer, to name a few, she says.



She has plans to travel to Europe to pursue classical guitar after graduating college. She also hopes to come back to Bengaluru to share her experiences and teachings with the people here.



BENGALURU: The origins of the classical guitar still remain uncertain, centuries after the instrument was designed. Resembling the design of an acoustic one, this guitar has nylon strings that can compose an entire orchestra, Nanini Sudhir tells City Express. With every emerging culture, a different shade and undertone evolves in music, which is accommodated into our lifestyles and such practices are carried on for generations together. One such growing musical movement in India is the classical guitar. Like the regular acoustic guitar, a classical guitar has the same built except the strings are made with nylon and is plucked with fingernails or sometimes the fingers rather than strummed continually. Musical Travelogue For someone like Nandini, classical guitar has inspired and changed her and set the course of quite an unlikely life. Currently pursuing her Bachelors in Humanities from Mount Carmel College, in Bengaluru, Nandini recounts a life of performing and learning from great composers and teachers from across the globe. Being a 19 year old who came to many opportunities, she recalls how many people have been supportive of her dreams including The Bangalore School of Musics founder, Aruna Sunderlal. She feels indebted to several teachers over the years like Dinesh Khundrakpam, who inculcated her love for the music. She has also travelled alongside Bobby Rootveld and Sanna Van Elst of the NIHZ Duo whom she says, have helped her grow. Skype Classes Nandini is presently taking classes online, via Skype every Thursday, from Annette Kruisbrink, the famous Dutch classical guitarist and composer who dedicated a composition to Nandini titled Ranganana, a solo guitar piece on Indian music tradition. I was overwhelmed and moved by that, she says. As for academics, Nandini says I find time for both practice and studies and really enjoy balancing the two. She hopes to work on her own compositions in the future, but as of now, thoughts on it have been put on hold. Nandinis parents have been very supportive of all her decisions and they have relentlessly taken her to music festivals and competitions across the world. She is no stranger to awards and accolades and has several prizes pinned to her name. Starting from her famous win at the Calcutta International Classical Guitar festival in 2012, she went on to achieve a great feat in several other competitions in India and abroad. Some notable ones inclue winning the Thailand International guitar festival and competition, Twents Guitar Festival and competition, The Nordhorn Guitar Festival and competition for four consecutive years, and last year she came second at The Bangalore Classical Guitar festival organised by The Indian Guitar Federation. She was adjudged The Most Promising Guitarist in 2013. She has also taken part in seminars and masterclasses, which included famous artists like Marcin Dylla (Poland), Pavel Steidl (Czech Republic), Zoran Dukic (Croatia), Hubert Kappel (Germany) and several others in the field. Plans for a Europe Trip Nandini says her favourite piece keeps changing over time although she likes the work of many composers from different periods of time like the Renaissance, Classical period and Modern eras. I admire the work of Mauro Giuliani, a 19th century Italian composer and others like Fernando Sor, 19th century Spanish composer, Johann Kaspar Mertz, 19th century Hungarian composer, John Dowland, Renaissance English composer, to name a few, she says. She has plans to travel to Europe to pursue classical guitar after graduating college. She also hopes to come back to Bengaluru to share her experiences and teachings with the people here.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A devastated city - no, this is not how you can describe Chennai a day after the massive cyclone Vardah passed over the city. The city's roads are filled with the broken branches of the trees and it does look like wreckage. But Chennaites are getting ready to be back to their routine life.

There have been no rains since Tuesday morning and not much of the roads are water logged. So the traffic has almost resumed and people head to offices and a few shops have opened again.

But the power supply was not restored in most parts of the city. In effect, the tanks are empty in most of the apartments and few could afford to take a bath. The available water was rationed only for cooking purposes. Cellphone towers still not functional and there is no network coverage in most parts of the city.

Common people and the corporation workers were busy clearing the trees and branches that were collapsed by the strong winds on Monday. When there are shortage of conservancy workers, it is the residents themselves who volunteer remove the branches.

The images can be misleading that the cyclone had caused a great damage to the city's green cover. But only a fraction of the trees were uprooted and what most of the trees had only suffered breakage of a few branches. Many flower trees were among the most common of the trees that were uprooted.

Children did not go to schools since many of the school premises require at least a day more to clean it. Same was the case with a few of the IT companies. They have asked the employee to return home saying the premises needs to be cleaned of the fallen tree branches.

The images can be misleading that the cyclone had caused a great damage to the city's green cover. But only a fraction of the trees were uprooted and what most of the trees had only suffered breakage of a few branches. Many flower trees were among the most common of the trees that were uprooted.

Chief Minister O Panneerselvam reviewed the situation at the Secretariat with the senior officials and later chaired a meeting at Chennai Corporation.

After that, he visited the cyclone affected areas in three districts - Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts.

He visited the relief centre at Manali and inspected the damages caused to the boats of fishermen and then interacted with the representatives of fishermen community at Koonankuppam.

Children did not go to schools since many of the school premises require at least a day more to clean it. Same was the case with a few of the IT companies. They have asked the employee to return home saying the premises needs to be cleaned off from the fallen tree branches.

No shop in Chennai accepting card payments citing network failure. People unable to buy essentials #Vardah #DeMonetisation @NewIndianXpress  J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016

Meanwhile, a release from Raj Bhavan said, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao is closely monitoring the situation. The governor who was preoccupied in connection with the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly winter session in Nagpur, had enquired with the CM of Tamil Nadu regarding the situation in the wake of cyclone Vardah. He also apprised the governor about the rescue and rehabilitation works that were being undertaken.

Power being restored in areas where debris of trees cleared #Vardah @NewIndianXpress  J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016

Meanwhile, D.S. Rawat, secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), said, The hurricane-strength storm caused by cyclone Vardah uprooted trees, overturned cars and caused extensive damage to buildings, besides it has also significantly hit agricultural sector, destroying banana plantations, papaya groves, rice paddies and others thereby causing widespread destruction worth up to $1 billion."

Local fishery trade, poor supply of power and supplies due to logistics crunch in both urban and rural areas, extensive damage to crops due to incessant rains, loss of livestock, damage to private property, problems in ferrying passengers and transporting goods owing to cancellation of flights, trains, road blockades may significantly hit the regions economy, said Mr Rawat.

Mobile networks and power restored in a few areas of Chennai; but still most areas lack both #Vardah @NewIndianXpress  J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016

The cyclone might also have a short-term impact on the tourism industry of southern India, a leading economic activity, especially in Tamil Nadu which accounts for a good 10 per cent share in total investments attracted by hospitality sector across India, he added.

Nearly 20 cm rainfall

Chennai had received a nearly 20 centimetres of rainfall on Monday (up to 8.30 AM today). At Nungambakkam, 11.9 cm of rainfall was recorded. At Meenanbakkam, it was 20.2 cm.

CHENNAI: A devastated city - no, this is not how you can describe Chennai a day after the massive cyclone Vardah passed over the city. The city's roads are filled with the broken branches of the trees and it does look like wreckage. But Chennaites are getting ready to be back to their routine life. There have been no rains since Tuesday morning and not much of the roads are water logged. So the traffic has almost resumed and people head to offices and a few shops have opened again. But the power supply was not restored in most parts of the city. In effect, the tanks are empty in most of the apartments and few could afford to take a bath. The available water was rationed only for cooking purposes. Cellphone towers still not functional and there is no network coverage in most parts of the city. Common people and the corporation workers were busy clearing the trees and branches that were collapsed by the strong winds on Monday. When there are shortage of conservancy workers, it is the residents themselves who volunteer remove the branches. The images can be misleading that the cyclone had caused a great damage to the city's green cover. But only a fraction of the trees were uprooted and what most of the trees had only suffered breakage of a few branches. Many flower trees were among the most common of the trees that were uprooted. Children did not go to schools since many of the school premises require at least a day more to clean it. Same was the case with a few of the IT companies. They have asked the employee to return home saying the premises needs to be cleaned of the fallen tree branches. This is at the entrance of IIT Madras #Vardah @NewIndianXpress #Vardahcyclone pic.twitter.com/E2NThJMzyG  J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016 The images can be misleading that the cyclone had caused a great damage to the city's green cover. But only a fraction of the trees were uprooted and what most of the trees had only suffered breakage of a few branches. Many flower trees were among the most common of the trees that were uprooted. Chief Minister O Panneerselvam reviewed the situation at the Secretariat with the senior officials and later chaired a meeting at Chennai Corporation. After that, he visited the cyclone affected areas in three districts - Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. He visited the relief centre at Manali and inspected the damages caused to the boats of fishermen and then interacted with the representatives of fishermen community at Koonankuppam. Children did not go to schools since many of the school premises require at least a day more to clean it. Same was the case with a few of the IT companies. They have asked the employee to return home saying the premises needs to be cleaned off from the fallen tree branches. No shop in Chennai accepting card payments citing network failure. People unable to buy essentials #Vardah #DeMonetisation @NewIndianXpress  J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016 Meanwhile, a release from Raj Bhavan said, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao is closely monitoring the situation. The governor who was preoccupied in connection with the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly winter session in Nagpur, had enquired with the CM of Tamil Nadu regarding the situation in the wake of cyclone Vardah. He also apprised the governor about the rescue and rehabilitation works that were being undertaken. Power being restored in areas where debris of trees cleared #Vardah @NewIndianXpress  J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016 Meanwhile, D.S. Rawat, secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), said, The hurricane-strength storm caused by cyclone Vardah uprooted trees, overturned cars and caused extensive damage to buildings, besides it has also significantly hit agricultural sector, destroying banana plantations, papaya groves, rice paddies and others thereby causing widespread destruction worth up to $1 billion." Local fishery trade, poor supply of power and supplies due to logistics crunch in both urban and rural areas, extensive damage to crops due to incessant rains, loss of livestock, damage to private property, problems in ferrying passengers and transporting goods owing to cancellation of flights, trains, road blockades may significantly hit the regions economy, said Mr Rawat. Mobile networks and power restored in a few areas of Chennai; but still most areas lack both #Vardah @NewIndianXpress  J Santhosh (@Santhosh_TNIE) December 13, 2016 The cyclone might also have a short-term impact on the tourism industry of southern India, a leading economic activity, especially in Tamil Nadu which accounts for a good 10 per cent share in total investments attracted by hospitality sector across India, he added. Nearly 20 cm rainfall Chennai had received a nearly 20 centimetres of rainfall on Monday (up to 8.30 AM today). At Nungambakkam, 11.9 cm of rainfall was recorded. At Meenanbakkam, it was 20.2 cm.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: A former tax inspector of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and a chain man (supervisor in charge of monitoring illegal constructions) have been arrested by the Gachibowli police in connection with the Nanakramguda building collapse case. The tax inspector was earlier caught by the police in a mujra party at Khanamet in Cyberabad early this year.

The police on Monday said that during investigation, it was found that the tax inspector Sanjay Kumar alias Thakur Sanjay, who is not in duty now, extorted money from builder Satyanarayana Singh to manage other GHMC officials.



In February this year, Sanjay Kumar noticed the violations done by Satyanarayana Singh. Though it was not his jurisdiction, he demanded `5 lakh and took `1.1 lakh. Later, he was caught in a mujra party and was suspended, said the Cyberabad police.

Another GHMC employee, B Narahari, who works as a chain man noticed the violations and questioned Satyanarayana Singh. When Satyanarayana said that he knows higher officials of GHMC and he will handle the situation through them, Narahari did not react.



Though they were aware of the risk, they kept quite and did not complain with the authorities concerned to prevent the illegal construction, which has now claimed 11 lives.



The duo has been arrested and sent to judicial remand and further investigation is still on, police said.

HYDERABAD: A former tax inspector of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and a chain man (supervisor in charge of monitoring illegal constructions) have been arrested by the Gachibowli police in connection with the Nanakramguda building collapse case. The tax inspector was earlier caught by the police in a mujra party at Khanamet in Cyberabad early this year. The police on Monday said that during investigation, it was found that the tax inspector Sanjay Kumar alias Thakur Sanjay, who is not in duty now, extorted money from builder Satyanarayana Singh to manage other GHMC officials. In February this year, Sanjay Kumar noticed the violations done by Satyanarayana Singh. Though it was not his jurisdiction, he demanded `5 lakh and took `1.1 lakh. Later, he was caught in a mujra party and was suspended, said the Cyberabad police. Another GHMC employee, B Narahari, who works as a chain man noticed the violations and questioned Satyanarayana Singh. When Satyanarayana said that he knows higher officials of GHMC and he will handle the situation through them, Narahari did not react. Though they were aware of the risk, they kept quite and did not complain with the authorities concerned to prevent the illegal construction, which has now claimed 11 lives. The duo has been arrested and sent to judicial remand and further investigation is still on, police said.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: PV Rajeswara Rao, former Congress MP and second son of former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao, died at a corporate hospital here on Monday following illness. He was 70. Rajeswara Rao represented the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency in the 11th Lok Sabha from May 15, 1996 to December 4, 1997.

Rajeswar Rao, who was born on August 14, 1946 at Vangara village in Karimnagar district, was the founder-member of Matrusri Education Society which runs several noted engineering colleges, including Maturi Venkata Subba Rao (MVSR) College of Engineering, in Hyderabad. He served as general secretary of APCC in the erstwhile united state. He also held the post of vice-chairman of Bhagyanagar Khadi Samithi.

Rao was an approved light music artiste of All India Radio, and actively participated in literary, social and cultural activities in Hyderabad during his younger years of life. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has expressed sorrow over the death of former MP PV Rajeswara Rao.

HYDERABAD: PV Rajeswara Rao, former Congress MP and second son of former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao, died at a corporate hospital here on Monday following illness. He was 70. Rajeswara Rao represented the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency in the 11th Lok Sabha from May 15, 1996 to December 4, 1997. Rajeswar Rao, who was born on August 14, 1946 at Vangara village in Karimnagar district, was the founder-member of Matrusri Education Society which runs several noted engineering colleges, including Maturi Venkata Subba Rao (MVSR) College of Engineering, in Hyderabad. He served as general secretary of APCC in the erstwhile united state. He also held the post of vice-chairman of Bhagyanagar Khadi Samithi. Rao was an approved light music artiste of All India Radio, and actively participated in literary, social and cultural activities in Hyderabad during his younger years of life. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has expressed sorrow over the death of former MP PV Rajeswara Rao.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor P Sathasivam has lauded the efforts being made under the aegis of UNICEF in making the country more children friendly.



Speaking at the launch of the anniversary ceremony of UNICEF here on Monday, he said since its formation on December 11,1946, UNICEF has been providing aid without any discrimination due to race, creed, nationality and status of political belief.

The UNICEF believes that there is hope for every child. The conviction that every child is born with same inalienable right to healthy, safe childhood has been a constant thread through the history of the organisation, he pointed out. It was gratifying to note that the UNICEF was in the forefront in ensuring human rights for children.

He pointed out that UNICEF could actively respond in risky situations for the safety and welfare of the children across the world. He recollected that, during the days of Partition in India, UNICEF had engaged its machinery to ensure that milk feeding children were taken care off.



In 1960 famine in Bihar, it had contributed 50 convoys of vehicles carrying food items.

Emphasising the contribution made by the UNICEF in Kerala, he said the genesis of Kudumbasree programme and Kerala being declared Baby Friendly state in the country could be attributed to the initiatives undertaken by the UNICEF.



Governor pointed out that Kerala had the best child development indicators in the country including factors like infant mortality rate. He said it was the children who were mostly affected by conflicts, contagious diseases and famine.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor P Sathasivam has lauded the efforts being made under the aegis of UNICEF in making the country more children friendly. Speaking at the launch of the anniversary ceremony of UNICEF here on Monday, he said since its formation on December 11,1946, UNICEF has been providing aid without any discrimination due to race, creed, nationality and status of political belief. The UNICEF believes that there is hope for every child. The conviction that every child is born with same inalienable right to healthy, safe childhood has been a constant thread through the history of the organisation, he pointed out. It was gratifying to note that the UNICEF was in the forefront in ensuring human rights for children. He pointed out that UNICEF could actively respond in risky situations for the safety and welfare of the children across the world. He recollected that, during the days of Partition in India, UNICEF had engaged its machinery to ensure that milk feeding children were taken care off. In 1960 famine in Bihar, it had contributed 50 convoys of vehicles carrying food items. Emphasising the contribution made by the UNICEF in Kerala, he said the genesis of Kudumbasree programme and Kerala being declared Baby Friendly state in the country could be attributed to the initiatives undertaken by the UNICEF. Governor pointed out that Kerala had the best child development indicators in the country including factors like infant mortality rate. He said it was the children who were mostly affected by conflicts, contagious diseases and famine.
Navamy Sudhish By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: He hums Ramaiya Vastavaiya, is fond of vintage Bollywood and considers Satyajit Ray his master. Michel Khleifi, the Arab filmmaker who heads the jury of 21st IFFK, doesnt believe in the academic idiom of cinema. I am not part of any intelligentsia, I belong to the masses, he says. Born in Nazareth and based in Belgium, he has lived the perils of war and exile and knows the true meaning of peace. All my films are expressions of everyday life, and through them I try to erase the factors that contribute to the invisibility of certain sections, he adds.

He calls his ghetto childhood a happy one and talks about the years he toiled at a garage with gusto. I was 14 then and I lived in the middle of this metallic clink-clank for five years. But that was the time I fell in love with theatre and spent my every free second poring over drama books. It was much later that I discovered motion pictures, says the director whose third film bagged International Critics Prize at the Cannes in 1987.

He says there are two factors that shaped his creative discourse - Elia Kazans film America America and the Vietnam war. Kazans film altered my outlook, making me approach films from a rather serious perspective. Vietnam was another great revelation - a small, modest force challenging the superpower and defeating it, he says.

Fertile Memory, his feature film debut, is a female-oriented narrative mapping the war-torn lives and the filmmaker says he finds women more spontaneous. There is something more human about women and the film is my tribute to them. Its the collective memory and cultural identity that define the backdrop of his works and Khleifi says creativity is a kind of double exploration for him.

You discover love from books, songs and anecdotes. But the way you feel it is different, a more intense experience. The artistic reality stands somewhere in between the two. There is an Arab saying which can be loosely translated as oh dear the truth exists only in dreams. Truth or reality is a very relative thing and when I make a film I try to blend in reality, memory, truth and poetry, he says.

Exile is not a clear-cut and definite experience for him as it can take a number of forms. You can be at a place surrounded by everything familiar and still experience an emotional exile, he says. He collaborated with Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan for Route 181 Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel and calls it an amazing experience.

I am a pacifist. I think making the film was very important since there are still questions regarding who is good and who is bad. In the film we tried to explore the conflict in a cinematic way.

Quiz him on the current Palestinian cinema and a content smile spreads on his face. We are a people with no country. I dont know when we will arrive, but I can tell you something. When I started I was alone, and now, after 12 years, there are 300 Palestinian directors. I think we will have to wait a little more, he winds up.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: He hums Ramaiya Vastavaiya, is fond of vintage Bollywood and considers Satyajit Ray his master. Michel Khleifi, the Arab filmmaker who heads the jury of 21st IFFK, doesnt believe in the academic idiom of cinema. I am not part of any intelligentsia, I belong to the masses, he says. Born in Nazareth and based in Belgium, he has lived the perils of war and exile and knows the true meaning of peace. All my films are expressions of everyday life, and through them I try to erase the factors that contribute to the invisibility of certain sections, he adds. He calls his ghetto childhood a happy one and talks about the years he toiled at a garage with gusto. I was 14 then and I lived in the middle of this metallic clink-clank for five years. But that was the time I fell in love with theatre and spent my every free second poring over drama books. It was much later that I discovered motion pictures, says the director whose third film bagged International Critics Prize at the Cannes in 1987. He says there are two factors that shaped his creative discourse - Elia Kazans film America America and the Vietnam war. Kazans film altered my outlook, making me approach films from a rather serious perspective. Vietnam was another great revelation - a small, modest force challenging the superpower and defeating it, he says. Fertile Memory, his feature film debut, is a female-oriented narrative mapping the war-torn lives and the filmmaker says he finds women more spontaneous. There is something more human about women and the film is my tribute to them. Its the collective memory and cultural identity that define the backdrop of his works and Khleifi says creativity is a kind of double exploration for him. You discover love from books, songs and anecdotes. But the way you feel it is different, a more intense experience. The artistic reality stands somewhere in between the two. There is an Arab saying which can be loosely translated as oh dear the truth exists only in dreams. Truth or reality is a very relative thing and when I make a film I try to blend in reality, memory, truth and poetry, he says. Exile is not a clear-cut and definite experience for him as it can take a number of forms. You can be at a place surrounded by everything familiar and still experience an emotional exile, he says. He collaborated with Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan for Route 181 Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel and calls it an amazing experience. I am a pacifist. I think making the film was very important since there are still questions regarding who is good and who is bad. In the film we tried to explore the conflict in a cinematic way. Quiz him on the current Palestinian cinema and a content smile spreads on his face. We are a people with no country. I dont know when we will arrive, but I can tell you something. When I started I was alone, and now, after 12 years, there are 300 Palestinian directors. I think we will have to wait a little more, he winds up.
Princy Alexander By

Express News Service

Major Ravi, who just wrapped up the first schedule shoot in Rajasthan for his new film '1971:Beyond Borders', says he and his crew were worried of the hidden dangers at the location. "We didn't know about the vipers and learnt about their presence only when we reached the desert to begin the shoot. It was scary because we were told that the vipers can camaflouge themselves in the sand and that it was impossible to spot them. We immediately ordered anti-venom medicines and wore heavy shoes to be on the safe side," says the Major, whose movie is the fourth sequel to Kirthi Chakra, centred around the life of Colonel Mahadevan.

Major admits that chest congestion was a common affair at the set. "The sand storms were strong. The afternoons were hard because of the heat. The camera had to be wiped several times. The climatic condition was a challenge but we spent an enjoyable 25 days," he adds.

Major Ravi says that shooting a film set in 1971 was a challenge too. "We were shooting at the military camp. Today there are electric fences and roads along the border. In the 1970's, a road in this area was non-existent. We had to be extremely careful during the shooting," he added.

When asked about the expectations about the film, Major Ravi shares that he fears his movies will be compared with 'Kirthi Chakra', the blockbuster which prompted him to make the sequels. "However, I am sure that I will be able to provide something different to the viewers this time."

Mohanlal will play two roles for the movie and will be seen as Colonel Mahadevan and his father Sahadevan, who fought in the 1971 war. The next part of the movie will be shot at Pattambi. The war sequence between Pakistan and Indian armies will be shot in Uganda.

Major Ravi, who just wrapped up the first schedule shoot in Rajasthan for his new film '1971:Beyond Borders', says he and his crew were worried of the hidden dangers at the location. "We didn't know about the vipers and learnt about their presence only when we reached the desert to begin the shoot. It was scary because we were told that the vipers can camaflouge themselves in the sand and that it was impossible to spot them. We immediately ordered anti-venom medicines and wore heavy shoes to be on the safe side," says the Major, whose movie is the fourth sequel to Kirthi Chakra, centred around the life of Colonel Mahadevan. Major admits that chest congestion was a common affair at the set. "The sand storms were strong. The afternoons were hard because of the heat. The camera had to be wiped several times. The climatic condition was a challenge but we spent an enjoyable 25 days," he adds. Major Ravi says that shooting a film set in 1971 was a challenge too. "We were shooting at the military camp. Today there are electric fences and roads along the border. In the 1970's, a road in this area was non-existent. We had to be extremely careful during the shooting," he added. When asked about the expectations about the film, Major Ravi shares that he fears his movies will be compared with 'Kirthi Chakra', the blockbuster which prompted him to make the sequels. "However, I am sure that I will be able to provide something different to the viewers this time." Mohanlal will play two roles for the movie and will be seen as Colonel Mahadevan and his father Sahadevan, who fought in the 1971 war. The next part of the movie will be shot at Pattambi. The war sequence between Pakistan and Indian armies will be shot in Uganda.
Anand ST Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar feels that his state is getting a bad press for crime -- unfairly -- because the media has been blind to the fine print of statistics. Doing some number crunching himself, the chief minister came with the finding Tuesday that crime in Bihar is an exaggerated phenomenon.

If you consider the ratio of criminal incidents to one lakh population in the country, Bihar stands at no. 22. But news coverage about crime in Bihar is unduly high. So many criminal incidents take place in Delhi. Does anyone speak about that? complained Nitish Kumar in a speech to a workshop organised by his party Janata Dal (U) on prohibition.

And the chief minister blames the BJP, the main opposition in Bihar, for adding to the distortion by going on and on about the prevalence of jungle raj in the state since Nitish Kumar's new government took office last year.

In fact, Nitish Kumar argued, the state police have been so efficient that Bihars storied crime rate has seen a considerable decline, especially since prohibition was imposed in April this year.

There is rule of law in Bihar," the chief minister asserted and added that the real story about Bihar, the progress it has made in the economic and educational sectors, is not being told widely enough.

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar feels that his state is getting a bad press for crime -- unfairly -- because the media has been blind to the fine print of statistics. Doing some number crunching himself, the chief minister came with the finding Tuesday that crime in Bihar is an exaggerated phenomenon. If you consider the ratio of criminal incidents to one lakh population in the country, Bihar stands at no. 22. But news coverage about crime in Bihar is unduly high. So many criminal incidents take place in Delhi. Does anyone speak about that? complained Nitish Kumar in a speech to a workshop organised by his party Janata Dal (U) on prohibition. And the chief minister blames the BJP, the main opposition in Bihar, for adding to the distortion by going on and on about the prevalence of jungle raj in the state since Nitish Kumar's new government took office last year. In fact, Nitish Kumar argued, the state police have been so efficient that Bihars storied crime rate has seen a considerable decline, especially since prohibition was imposed in April this year. There is rule of law in Bihar," the chief minister asserted and added that the real story about Bihar, the progress it has made in the economic and educational sectors, is not being told widely enough.
Namita bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Launching a frontal attack on BSP chief Mayawati, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said here on Tuesday that her party shifted its votes to the BJP during 2014 Lok Sabha elections. As a result, the BJP formed a majority government at the Centre and the BSP was badly decimated with a duck, Akhilesh told media persons after holding the cabinet meeting here on Tuesday. Of late the two leaders have been exchanging jibes and calling each other Bua (aunt) and Babua (kid). On occasion, Akhilesh even addressed her as BBC2 (Bua Broadcasting Corporation 2). But with the poll cauldron heating up in the state, he appears to have sharpened his barbs.

Emerging from the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he said: In fact, the BSP transferred its booth level votes to the BJP.

That is why it did so badly and ended with a zero. Continuing with his tirade, Akhilesh asked her if any of her elephants would ever stand up and walk? If yes, then when? came his poser to Mayawati.

During 2014 Lok Sabha elections, while BJP surpassed even its own expectations by winning 71 out of 80 seats, BSP even failed to open its account. Congress, on the other hand could save only Amethi and Rae Bareli in the Gandhi Pariwar bastion and Samajwadi Party wrapped up their tally with just five members  all from the Yadav family. The remaining two seats were won by Apna Dal which contested as a BJP ally.

In a no-holds-barred onslaught on the BSP chief for allegedly trying to snatch credit away for developmental projects like Lucknow Metro and Agra-Lucknow expressway, the chief minister asked who had stopped the BSP government, which was there in the state from 2007-2012, working on them.

Attacking Modi government over demonetisation, the CM saw no immediate end to the ongoing currency crisis not only in the state but across the nation. People who were asking for 50 days time, are now asking for 50 more days. This problem take at least one year to be resolved, Akhilesh said, adding that people standing in queues for money these days would soon queue up at polling booths to teach BJP a lesson.

On the decision to implement 7th pay commission in the state, the CM said that though there would be an added burden of over 24,ooo crore on state exchequer after the implementation, my government is ready to bear the burden as we are committed to the growth and development of the people of UP.

Referring to alliance with parties ahead of polls, Akhilesh said that he would return with absolute majority in the state, but in case of a tie-up, the number of seats might touch 300 mark.

LUCKNOW: Launching a frontal attack on BSP chief Mayawati, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said here on Tuesday that her party shifted its votes to the BJP during 2014 Lok Sabha elections. As a result, the BJP formed a majority government at the Centre and the BSP was badly decimated with a duck, Akhilesh told media persons after holding the cabinet meeting here on Tuesday. Of late the two leaders have been exchanging jibes and calling each other Bua (aunt) and Babua (kid). On occasion, Akhilesh even addressed her as BBC2 (Bua Broadcasting Corporation 2). But with the poll cauldron heating up in the state, he appears to have sharpened his barbs. Emerging from the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he said: In fact, the BSP transferred its booth level votes to the BJP. That is why it did so badly and ended with a zero. Continuing with his tirade, Akhilesh asked her if any of her elephants would ever stand up and walk? If yes, then when? came his poser to Mayawati. During 2014 Lok Sabha elections, while BJP surpassed even its own expectations by winning 71 out of 80 seats, BSP even failed to open its account. Congress, on the other hand could save only Amethi and Rae Bareli in the Gandhi Pariwar bastion and Samajwadi Party wrapped up their tally with just five members  all from the Yadav family. The remaining two seats were won by Apna Dal which contested as a BJP ally. In a no-holds-barred onslaught on the BSP chief for allegedly trying to snatch credit away for developmental projects like Lucknow Metro and Agra-Lucknow expressway, the chief minister asked who had stopped the BSP government, which was there in the state from 2007-2012, working on them. Attacking Modi government over demonetisation, the CM saw no immediate end to the ongoing currency crisis not only in the state but across the nation. People who were asking for 50 days time, are now asking for 50 more days. This problem take at least one year to be resolved, Akhilesh said, adding that people standing in queues for money these days would soon queue up at polling booths to teach BJP a lesson. On the decision to implement 7th pay commission in the state, the CM said that though there would be an added burden of over 24,ooo crore on state exchequer after the implementation, my government is ready to bear the burden as we are committed to the growth and development of the people of UP. Referring to alliance with parties ahead of polls, Akhilesh said that he would return with absolute majority in the state, but in case of a tie-up, the number of seats might touch 300 mark.
Anand S T Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: In two incidents in Bihar that show how prohibition remains a tough task for Nitish Kumar's government, a ruling Janata Dal(U) MLA was seen drunk in public badmouthing a police officer, and two policemen were placed under suspension for getting photographed with a fugitive liquor smuggler.

Shyam Bahadur, the controversial MLA for Barharia in the western Siwan district, allegedly used foul language against an officer at an outpost just as a police team was out on a liquor patrol Sunday night. Sources said the MLA reached the site in a drunken condition with his bodyguards and badmouthed the officer, Feroze Hussain, in the presence of a policeman Radheshyam Jha. By the time two senior officials reached the spot to attend to the fracas, the MLA had left.

We have received a written complaint from the police official who was an eye-witness to the incident. A probe is currently on, said ASP Arvind Kumar Gupta. Police are trying to ascertain if the MLA was intervening on behalf of liquor smugglers in the district.

Shyam Bahadur, who has previously starred in a controversy over his penchant for dancing with bar girls in a drunken condition, has denied the allegation. JD(U) leaders declined to comment on the matter.

In Muzaffarpur district, two police constables were placed under suspension by superintendent of police Anand Kumar after they were seen happily getting photographed with Sunil Kumar, a known liquor smuggler and history-sheeter, at a wedding. In police records, Sunil Kumar is shown to be absconding. During a raid in the Rambagh area of the town in August, a large quantity of liquor was seized but Sunil Kumar could not be arrested, said police.

PATNA: In two incidents in Bihar that show how prohibition remains a tough task for Nitish Kumar's government, a ruling Janata Dal(U) MLA was seen drunk in public badmouthing a police officer, and two policemen were placed under suspension for getting photographed with a fugitive liquor smuggler. Shyam Bahadur, the controversial MLA for Barharia in the western Siwan district, allegedly used foul language against an officer at an outpost just as a police team was out on a liquor patrol Sunday night. Sources said the MLA reached the site in a drunken condition with his bodyguards and badmouthed the officer, Feroze Hussain, in the presence of a policeman Radheshyam Jha. By the time two senior officials reached the spot to attend to the fracas, the MLA had left. We have received a written complaint from the police official who was an eye-witness to the incident. A probe is currently on, said ASP Arvind Kumar Gupta. Police are trying to ascertain if the MLA was intervening on behalf of liquor smugglers in the district. Shyam Bahadur, who has previously starred in a controversy over his penchant for dancing with bar girls in a drunken condition, has denied the allegation. JD(U) leaders declined to comment on the matter. In Muzaffarpur district, two police constables were placed under suspension by superintendent of police Anand Kumar after they were seen happily getting photographed with Sunil Kumar, a known liquor smuggler and history-sheeter, at a wedding. In police records, Sunil Kumar is shown to be absconding. During a raid in the Rambagh area of the town in August, a large quantity of liquor was seized but Sunil Kumar could not be arrested, said police.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: With only three days left for the winter session of Parliament to end, the government on Tuesday said it hopes for the normal functioning of the two houses and a debate on demonetisation.



Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley urged the opposition to help in the normal functioning of Parliament.



Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is keen on holding the demonetisation debate as well as passage of key bills.



"Bills should get passed; but we also want Parliament to function smoothly so that a proper debate on demonetisation can be held," Naqvi told IANS.



"We hope the debate can take place in these three days," the minister said.



Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been witnessing ruckus and repeated disruption over demonetisation and other issues like presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate, since the beginning of the winter session on November 16.



In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition wants Modi's presence during the debate while in the Lok Sabha they have sought a debate under the rule entailing voting.



On Tuesday, the Congress said they will also raise the issue of alleged involvement of Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju in a scam relating to an Arunachal Pradesh hydroelectricity project being executed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited.



"We will not only raise the issue in Parliament, but also question Modi on his promise of transparency and honesty, both inside and outside Parliament," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.



Naqvi, however, said the Congress has just been shifting the goalposts.



"The Congress is looking for a new reason every day. As far as the charge against Rijiju is concerned, it is a non-issue. They are making a mountain out of a molehill," Naqvi told IANS.



"Let us see how the opposition parties behave tomorrow (Wednesday) in Parliament. We still have hope," the minister added.



Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "I urge my friends in the Congress, and the entire opposition, (that) we are ready to debate this issue in Parliament. Rise above slogans and look at the positive advantages that these changes in system (demonetisation) are going to bring to the economy as a whole in the long-run."



The Lok Sabha has so far only passed the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, and Supplementary Demands for Grants, both of which were passed by voice vote amid a din.



The Rajya Sabha has not passed any bill so far in this session, which is scheduled to end on December 16.



Among the bills pending are the Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2016, to facilitate levy of tax on supply of goods or services; the Integrated GST Bill, 2016, to levy tax on inter-state supply of goods or services; and the GST (Compensation for Loss of Revenue) Bill, 2016, to facilitates payment of compensation to states for any loss of revenue arising under the GST regime.

NEW DELHI: With only three days left for the winter session of Parliament to end, the government on Tuesday said it hopes for the normal functioning of the two houses and a debate on demonetisation. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley urged the opposition to help in the normal functioning of Parliament. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is keen on holding the demonetisation debate as well as passage of key bills. "Bills should get passed; but we also want Parliament to function smoothly so that a proper debate on demonetisation can be held," Naqvi told IANS. "We hope the debate can take place in these three days," the minister said. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been witnessing ruckus and repeated disruption over demonetisation and other issues like presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate, since the beginning of the winter session on November 16. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition wants Modi's presence during the debate while in the Lok Sabha they have sought a debate under the rule entailing voting. On Tuesday, the Congress said they will also raise the issue of alleged involvement of Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju in a scam relating to an Arunachal Pradesh hydroelectricity project being executed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited. "We will not only raise the issue in Parliament, but also question Modi on his promise of transparency and honesty, both inside and outside Parliament," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. Naqvi, however, said the Congress has just been shifting the goalposts. "The Congress is looking for a new reason every day. As far as the charge against Rijiju is concerned, it is a non-issue. They are making a mountain out of a molehill," Naqvi told IANS. "Let us see how the opposition parties behave tomorrow (Wednesday) in Parliament. We still have hope," the minister added. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "I urge my friends in the Congress, and the entire opposition, (that) we are ready to debate this issue in Parliament. Rise above slogans and look at the positive advantages that these changes in system (demonetisation) are going to bring to the economy as a whole in the long-run." The Lok Sabha has so far only passed the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, and Supplementary Demands for Grants, both of which were passed by voice vote amid a din. The Rajya Sabha has not passed any bill so far in this session, which is scheduled to end on December 16. Among the bills pending are the Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2016, to facilitate levy of tax on supply of goods or services; the Integrated GST Bill, 2016, to levy tax on inter-state supply of goods or services; and the GST (Compensation for Loss of Revenue) Bill, 2016, to facilitates payment of compensation to states for any loss of revenue arising under the GST regime.
By IANS

NEW YORK/NEW DELHI: The hacker group "Legion" that broke into the Twitter accounts of the Congress Party, its Vice President Rahul Gandhi, controversial liquor baron Vijay Mallya and now TV journalists Barkha Dutt and Ravish Kumar has finally come out in the open.



In an interview with The Washington Post on Monday -- through an encrypted instant-messaging software, "Legion" said the group has access to servers like that of Apollo Hospitals and it was unsure about releasing data from those servers because it might cause "chaos" in India.



"Legion wasn't even interested in 'political data' until a few weeks ago. ...the group was in possession of several terabytes of raw data concerning all sorts of 'interests' and that within that trove the hackers had identified gigabytes worth of information relating to Indian public figures," the report quoted the user marked LC from "Legion Crew" as saying.



"When I asked him how they came into possession of so much data, he was vague, and said they just ended up with access to over 40k+ servers in India, 'and we decided -- hey, why not write a tool to sift through them for interesting data'," said Max Bearak who writes about foreign affairs for the Washington Post.



"He said the data was choosing the targets for them, not the other way around. Whatever they were finding, they aimed to release. From Dutt's Twitter account, they shared a link to a 'partial' data dump of approximately 1.2 gigabytes of her emails," Bearak said.



"Legion" has warned that their next target is former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi.



"As for upcoming targets, LC indicated that he and his fellow hackers had their sights set on bigger things," the report said.



"Then again, he said, the hacking was taking away from precious time he'd rather spend doing drugs and making electronic music... He said he particularly disliked spending time in India's capital, New Delhi, and suggested that he might try to go to Russia -- to do some more drugs," it added.



As they hacked the Twitter accounts from India, the group sought public support claiming that they will be doing more such cracking in the coming weeks.



"People and brothers who support the cause - Join us! Email us at legion_group@sigaint.org. We require info on f***tards like this one," a tweet said earlier.



"Support Legion. We will bring you the info needed to bring these criminals to justice," it said.



"This is just a partial dump. More data will be coming over the course of a few days ;) We are Legion," another tweet from the shadowy group said.

NEW YORK/NEW DELHI: The hacker group "Legion" that broke into the Twitter accounts of the Congress Party, its Vice President Rahul Gandhi, controversial liquor baron Vijay Mallya and now TV journalists Barkha Dutt and Ravish Kumar has finally come out in the open. In an interview with The Washington Post on Monday -- through an encrypted instant-messaging software, "Legion" said the group has access to servers like that of Apollo Hospitals and it was unsure about releasing data from those servers because it might cause "chaos" in India. "Legion wasn't even interested in 'political data' until a few weeks ago. ...the group was in possession of several terabytes of raw data concerning all sorts of 'interests' and that within that trove the hackers had identified gigabytes worth of information relating to Indian public figures," the report quoted the user marked LC from "Legion Crew" as saying. "When I asked him how they came into possession of so much data, he was vague, and said they just ended up with access to over 40k+ servers in India, 'and we decided -- hey, why not write a tool to sift through them for interesting data'," said Max Bearak who writes about foreign affairs for the Washington Post. "He said the data was choosing the targets for them, not the other way around. Whatever they were finding, they aimed to release. From Dutt's Twitter account, they shared a link to a 'partial' data dump of approximately 1.2 gigabytes of her emails," Bearak said. "Legion" has warned that their next target is former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi. "As for upcoming targets, LC indicated that he and his fellow hackers had their sights set on bigger things," the report said. "Then again, he said, the hacking was taking away from precious time he'd rather spend doing drugs and making electronic music... He said he particularly disliked spending time in India's capital, New Delhi, and suggested that he might try to go to Russia -- to do some more drugs," it added. As they hacked the Twitter accounts from India, the group sought public support claiming that they will be doing more such cracking in the coming weeks. "People and brothers who support the cause - Join us! Email us at legion_group@sigaint.org. We require info on f***tards like this one," a tweet said earlier. "Support Legion. We will bring you the info needed to bring these criminals to justice," it said. "This is just a partial dump. More data will be coming over the course of a few days ;) We are Legion," another tweet from the shadowy group said.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: The Aman Aviations helicopter is said to have crashed on Sunday in an attempt to save children playing at a playground, sources have said.



A team of DGCA officials has arrived in Mumbai to investigate the accident and recorded statement of one of the three who were injured in the accident, police sources have said.



Technician Sanjeev Shankar, who suffered fractures in the helicopter crash, is recuperating at the Intesive Care Unit of Seven Hills hospital at Marol.



According to officials investigating the case, Shankar said that pilot Prafulla Mishra, who died in the accident, tried his best to reduce damage.

As the helicopter developed a problem with its clutch system, the pilot decided to land it at the helipad at the film city in Goregaon. But, he couldnt do that. Then he decided to make an emergency landing at a playground in the area. There was enough space to do that. But, children were playing on the ground and the copter crashed in attempt to save the playing children, Shankar is learnt to have said in his statement.



The police is yet to record statements of Ritesh and Vrinda Modi, the couple that had boarded the helicopter for a joy ride. According t hospital sources, Vrinda (32) suffered 40 per cent burns. She is stable and conscious.

Her husband Ritesh suffered severe head and chest injuries and is critical.



Mishra was an experienced pilot. He lost his life doing what he loved best, flying. I dont know what happened in air, but I think he showed amazing skill till the end by ensuring that no one on land was hurt, said one of Mishras friends.

MUMBAI: The Aman Aviations helicopter is said to have crashed on Sunday in an attempt to save children playing at a playground, sources have said. A team of DGCA officials has arrived in Mumbai to investigate the accident and recorded statement of one of the three who were injured in the accident, police sources have said. Technician Sanjeev Shankar, who suffered fractures in the helicopter crash, is recuperating at the Intesive Care Unit of Seven Hills hospital at Marol. According to officials investigating the case, Shankar said that pilot Prafulla Mishra, who died in the accident, tried his best to reduce damage. As the helicopter developed a problem with its clutch system, the pilot decided to land it at the helipad at the film city in Goregaon. But, he couldnt do that. Then he decided to make an emergency landing at a playground in the area. There was enough space to do that. But, children were playing on the ground and the copter crashed in attempt to save the playing children, Shankar is learnt to have said in his statement. The police is yet to record statements of Ritesh and Vrinda Modi, the couple that had boarded the helicopter for a joy ride. According t hospital sources, Vrinda (32) suffered 40 per cent burns. She is stable and conscious. Her husband Ritesh suffered severe head and chest injuries and is critical. Mishra was an experienced pilot. He lost his life doing what he loved best, flying. I dont know what happened in air, but I think he showed amazing skill till the end by ensuring that no one on land was hurt, said one of Mishras friends.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: BSF on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a retired Pakistan army soldier from the International Border (IB) along Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The BSF men noticed suspicious movement on Pakistan side near the border fence along IB in Ramgarh sector of Samba district last evening, a BSF official in Jammu told Express.

He said the border guards fired some rounds after noticing suspected movement. However, due to heavy fog and wild growth, it could not be observed what this suspected movement was.

"Later, at some distance at about 1 am, an alert BSF men on naka duty again observed suspicious movement ahead of border fence on this side of IB, the official said.

He said the intruder was forced to surrender and arrested by the border guards.

The official said during questioning the intruder identified himself as Mohammad Baksh son of Firoz-ud-Din Baksh R/o Gandyal village, Sialkote of Pakistans Punjab province.

He said Baksh, 65, has told them that he is a retired Pakistan army soldier.

The questioning of the arrested Pakistani national is going on, the official said.

The BSF and army are on highest mode of alertness along the IB and Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in view of escalation in border skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops after conducting of surgical strikes by army on militant launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28/29.

Earlier, on September 23, BSF had arrested 32-year-old Pakistani national Abdul Qayum near the IB in Pragwal Sector of Akhnoor area of Jammu district.

He had told interrogators that in 2004, he underwent 'Daura-e-Aam' militant training with LeT outfit at Mansera training camp in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK).

On September 21, army and BSF in a joint operation near LoC in Uri sector in Kashmir had arrested two PaK citizens, who were allegedly acting as guides for Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group.

One of them identified as Faisal Hussain Awan son of Gul Akbar of Pottha Jahangir, PaK had later identified one of the attackers involved in September 18 deadly attack on Army base at Uri as a PaK resident.

19 soldiers were killed in the militant attack on army base, which prompted army to conduct surgical strikes on militant launch pads across the LoC 10 days after the attack.



SRINAGAR: BSF on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a retired Pakistan army soldier from the International Border (IB) along Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir. The BSF men noticed suspicious movement on Pakistan side near the border fence along IB in Ramgarh sector of Samba district last evening, a BSF official in Jammu told Express. He said the border guards fired some rounds after noticing suspected movement. However, due to heavy fog and wild growth, it could not be observed what this suspected movement was. "Later, at some distance at about 1 am, an alert BSF men on naka duty again observed suspicious movement ahead of border fence on this side of IB, the official said. He said the intruder was forced to surrender and arrested by the border guards. The official said during questioning the intruder identified himself as Mohammad Baksh son of Firoz-ud-Din Baksh R/o Gandyal village, Sialkote of Pakistans Punjab province. He said Baksh, 65, has told them that he is a retired Pakistan army soldier. The questioning of the arrested Pakistani national is going on, the official said. The BSF and army are on highest mode of alertness along the IB and Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in view of escalation in border skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops after conducting of surgical strikes by army on militant launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28/29. Earlier, on September 23, BSF had arrested 32-year-old Pakistani national Abdul Qayum near the IB in Pragwal Sector of Akhnoor area of Jammu district. He had told interrogators that in 2004, he underwent 'Daura-e-Aam' militant training with LeT outfit at Mansera training camp in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK). On September 21, army and BSF in a joint operation near LoC in Uri sector in Kashmir had arrested two PaK citizens, who were allegedly acting as guides for Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group. One of them identified as Faisal Hussain Awan son of Gul Akbar of Pottha Jahangir, PaK had later identified one of the attackers involved in September 18 deadly attack on Army base at Uri as a PaK resident. 19 soldiers were killed in the militant attack on army base, which prompted army to conduct surgical strikes on militant launch pads across the LoC 10 days after the attack.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque in Kolkata, Maulana Noor-ur Rehman Barkati, known for his closeness to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has issued a fatwa against state BJP president Dileep Ghosh, saying he should be stone-pelted out of Bengal.

Speaking at a presser here, the Muslim cleric said: I issued the fatwa which states that he should be pelted with stones and then kicked out of Bengal. He does not deserve to stay in Bengal. He was reacting to Ghoshs comments on Mamata where Ghosh said BJP workers could have dragged Mamata by her hair in Delhi for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation.

From where does he get such audacity to make filthy comments against our beloved chief minister who is the most secular leader of our country?, Barkati questioned. Dismissing the fatwa, Dileep Ghosh said: Is this Bangladesh or Pakistan that he can issue a fatwa against me? He can issue a fatwa against TMC, they will listen to him, but not the BJP.

It seems that Barkati no longer wishes to stay in Bengal or India. Meanwhile, an FIR was lodged against Ghosh in Jhargram PS limits where a former BJP party worker alleged that when he protested against comments on Mamata Banerjee, he was threatened with country-made guns by Dileep aides.

The BJP leader, however, has sought apology after Trinamool Congress MLAs created a ruckus in the state Assembly on Tuesday with regards to his comments on the TMC supremo.

KOLKATA: Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque in Kolkata, Maulana Noor-ur Rehman Barkati, known for his closeness to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has issued a fatwa against state BJP president Dileep Ghosh, saying he should be stone-pelted out of Bengal. Speaking at a presser here, the Muslim cleric said: I issued the fatwa which states that he should be pelted with stones and then kicked out of Bengal. He does not deserve to stay in Bengal. He was reacting to Ghoshs comments on Mamata where Ghosh said BJP workers could have dragged Mamata by her hair in Delhi for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation. From where does he get such audacity to make filthy comments against our beloved chief minister who is the most secular leader of our country?, Barkati questioned. Dismissing the fatwa, Dileep Ghosh said: Is this Bangladesh or Pakistan that he can issue a fatwa against me? He can issue a fatwa against TMC, they will listen to him, but not the BJP. It seems that Barkati no longer wishes to stay in Bengal or India. Meanwhile, an FIR was lodged against Ghosh in Jhargram PS limits where a former BJP party worker alleged that when he protested against comments on Mamata Banerjee, he was threatened with country-made guns by Dileep aides. The BJP leader, however, has sought apology after Trinamool Congress MLAs created a ruckus in the state Assembly on Tuesday with regards to his comments on the TMC supremo.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India would oblige any request for upgrading of Ayni airbase near Dushanbe as Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon comes starts his two day visit to India.

It is President Rahmons 6th visit to India and he will be entering the country through Kochi, which is not an official part of his visit. The Ayni airbase near Tajikistans capital city was refurbished by India in 2007 and is seen as New Delhis strategy to find a toehold in the Central Asia.

There have been reports of Indias interest in taking the airbase on lease. However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the reports. The Ayni airbase is of Tajikistan and as a strategic partner they have requested earlier for some resources, for example this ALS (Advance Landing System) which was to be replaced, which we did. As and when any such proposal comes to us for helping them out and making it functional, we would be more than happy to do that, but I dont think that we are going in the direction which you are suggesting, MEA Joint Secretary (Eurasia) G Srinivas said.

The airbase has been the first and so far the only instance of India developing a foreign military base. However, it is far from being fully operational as there are no fighter jets operating from it. New Delhi had shown interest to deploy a complement of helicopters and fighter jets, but Russian concerns have made it to put the plans in abeyance.

Following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 and its later force landing in Kandahar, New Delhi has been scouting for an airbase giving it access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Besides this airbase, India had also helped Tajikistan in setting up a field hospital, known as India-Tajikistan Friendship Hospital, in Farkhor in 1990s, and it is said to have served as Indias support base for Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. However, the Indian establishment has been insistent that the nature of India-Tajikistan defence cooperation has training as a major component.

 Our engagement with Tajikistan is more in terms of training, as I just pointed out to you, and of course not to also miss out on that whole creation of infrastructure, bringing back that airfield of Ayni to such a position that it is one of the best airfields now in the region, so that is the engagement with that country, Srinivas added.

India is also working on tapping the unexplored hydro-power potential of Tajikistan that has 90 percent of the water resources in Central Asia.

NEW DELHI: India would oblige any request for upgrading of Ayni airbase near Dushanbe as Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon comes starts his two day visit to India. It is President Rahmons 6th visit to India and he will be entering the country through Kochi, which is not an official part of his visit. The Ayni airbase near Tajikistans capital city was refurbished by India in 2007 and is seen as New Delhis strategy to find a toehold in the Central Asia. There have been reports of Indias interest in taking the airbase on lease. However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the reports. The Ayni airbase is of Tajikistan and as a strategic partner they have requested earlier for some resources, for example this ALS (Advance Landing System) which was to be replaced, which we did. As and when any such proposal comes to us for helping them out and making it functional, we would be more than happy to do that, but I dont think that we are going in the direction which you are suggesting, MEA Joint Secretary (Eurasia) G Srinivas said. The airbase has been the first and so far the only instance of India developing a foreign military base. However, it is far from being fully operational as there are no fighter jets operating from it. New Delhi had shown interest to deploy a complement of helicopters and fighter jets, but Russian concerns have made it to put the plans in abeyance. Following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 and its later force landing in Kandahar, New Delhi has been scouting for an airbase giving it access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Besides this airbase, India had also helped Tajikistan in setting up a field hospital, known as India-Tajikistan Friendship Hospital, in Farkhor in 1990s, and it is said to have served as Indias support base for Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. However, the Indian establishment has been insistent that the nature of India-Tajikistan defence cooperation has training as a major component.  Our engagement with Tajikistan is more in terms of training, as I just pointed out to you, and of course not to also miss out on that whole creation of infrastructure, bringing back that airfield of Ayni to such a position that it is one of the best airfields now in the region, so that is the engagement with that country, Srinivas added. India is also working on tapping the unexplored hydro-power potential of Tajikistan that has 90 percent of the water resources in Central Asia.
By PTI

PATNA: Bihar is planning to form the world's longest human chain, which will be over 3,000 km long, on January 21, involving more than two crore people, to express its commitment towards liquor ban, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today.

The human chain will be formed to herald the second phase of a campaign in support of prohibition, he said at a workshop of the JD(U) here.

Briefing party MPs, legislators and office bearers on prohibition and 'seven resolves' of his government, Kumar said 2,000 people will participate in one km of the proposed human chain.

About 56 lakh participants will hold each others hands on the main route. While, more than 1.5 crore citizens will form human chain in sub-routes within the districts, the Chief Minister said, adding the exercise will involve more than two crore people.

The human chain will be formed at 10 AM on January 21 for half an hour. The participants will stand in queue on the left side of the road, he said.

The human chain will herald the launch of the second phase of the campaign in support of liquor ban enforced in April this year, which will continue till March 22 next year, Kumar said.

Giving details of the routes, the Chief Minister said the human chain in North Bihar will cover 1,821 km and in South Bihar 1,186 km connecting all districts.

In North Bihar, a 274 km human chain will be formed from Banuani to Mushridharari, Muzaffarpur, Motihari, Bettiah and Mangalpur. There will be a 163 km human chain from Patna to Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sonebarsa, he said.

In South Bihar, a 223 km human chain will be formed from Durgawati (on the border of Uttar Pradesh) to Mohania, Sasaram, Aurangabad, Arwal and Jehanabad. Another one will be 155 km-long from Patna to Dobhi (Gaya) and Barachatti (on the border of Jharkhand), he said.

Photography of the gigantic human chain will be done with the help of drone/low flying helicopter and satellite, the Chief Minister said, adding government officials, teachers,students (above class V) and members of NGOs will participate in the human chain for which traffic police will make proper arrangements.

PATNA: Bihar is planning to form the world's longest human chain, which will be over 3,000 km long, on January 21, involving more than two crore people, to express its commitment towards liquor ban, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today. The human chain will be formed to herald the second phase of a campaign in support of prohibition, he said at a workshop of the JD(U) here. Briefing party MPs, legislators and office bearers on prohibition and 'seven resolves' of his government, Kumar said 2,000 people will participate in one km of the proposed human chain. About 56 lakh participants will hold each others hands on the main route. While, more than 1.5 crore citizens will form human chain in sub-routes within the districts, the Chief Minister said, adding the exercise will involve more than two crore people. The human chain will be formed at 10 AM on January 21 for half an hour. The participants will stand in queue on the left side of the road, he said. The human chain will herald the launch of the second phase of the campaign in support of liquor ban enforced in April this year, which will continue till March 22 next year, Kumar said. Giving details of the routes, the Chief Minister said the human chain in North Bihar will cover 1,821 km and in South Bihar 1,186 km connecting all districts. In North Bihar, a 274 km human chain will be formed from Banuani to Mushridharari, Muzaffarpur, Motihari, Bettiah and Mangalpur. There will be a 163 km human chain from Patna to Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sonebarsa, he said. In South Bihar, a 223 km human chain will be formed from Durgawati (on the border of Uttar Pradesh) to Mohania, Sasaram, Aurangabad, Arwal and Jehanabad. Another one will be 155 km-long from Patna to Dobhi (Gaya) and Barachatti (on the border of Jharkhand), he said. Photography of the gigantic human chain will be done with the help of drone/low flying helicopter and satellite, the Chief Minister said, adding government officials, teachers,students (above class V) and members of NGOs will participate in the human chain for which traffic police will make proper arrangements.
Harpreeet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: In a major jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), its national executive member Yamini Gomar resigned from the primary membership of the party on Tuesday alleging wide-scale corruption in the party and terming it anti-Punjabi.

Yamni today alleged, The leaders of the party which claims to weed out corruption and crime in Punjab itself are engaging in such acts. AAP leaders Durgesh Pathak and Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh, are the biggest manipulators. AAP has already begun the loot even before elections, the Congress and Akali Dal looted the State after they came to power. The volunteers work twenty hours and put in their best of efforts. The so-called observers of the AAP which have come from outside have captured the entire Punjab and are indulging in corruption.



She termed the party as anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh and anti-Punjabi. Being one of the prominent Dalit faces of the party, she was expecting a ticket from Sham Churasi (reserved) Assembly seat. She had earlier contested Lok Sabha elections in 2014 on AAP ticket from Hoshiarpur but lost.



She termed national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwals recent announcement of appointing a Dalit as deputy CM as an election stunt.

It is nothing more than an election stunt. If the AAP is so concerned, why the party did not announce its MP Harinder Singh Khalsa, who is a Dalit, as the leader of parliamentary group, she said. She also termed the release of the Dalit manifesto as a poll plank of the party.



Baljit Singh, vice-president of the youth wing, AAP Punjab who also resigned, said, There is no democracy within the party. We cannot speak freely as the volunteers have no role in decision-making. All old volunteers, who had established the party in Punjab, have been thrown out one by one. The party tickets are openly being sold.

CHANDIGARH: In a major jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), its national executive member Yamini Gomar resigned from the primary membership of the party on Tuesday alleging wide-scale corruption in the party and terming it anti-Punjabi. Yamni today alleged, The leaders of the party which claims to weed out corruption and crime in Punjab itself are engaging in such acts. AAP leaders Durgesh Pathak and Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh, are the biggest manipulators. AAP has already begun the loot even before elections, the Congress and Akali Dal looted the State after they came to power. The volunteers work twenty hours and put in their best of efforts. The so-called observers of the AAP which have come from outside have captured the entire Punjab and are indulging in corruption. She termed the party as anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh and anti-Punjabi. Being one of the prominent Dalit faces of the party, she was expecting a ticket from Sham Churasi (reserved) Assembly seat. She had earlier contested Lok Sabha elections in 2014 on AAP ticket from Hoshiarpur but lost. She termed national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwals recent announcement of appointing a Dalit as deputy CM as an election stunt. It is nothing more than an election stunt. If the AAP is so concerned, why the party did not announce its MP Harinder Singh Khalsa, who is a Dalit, as the leader of parliamentary group, she said. She also termed the release of the Dalit manifesto as a poll plank of the party. Baljit Singh, vice-president of the youth wing, AAP Punjab who also resigned, said, There is no democracy within the party. We cannot speak freely as the volunteers have no role in decision-making. All old volunteers, who had established the party in Punjab, have been thrown out one by one. The party tickets are openly being sold.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA/TIRUPATI/ VISHAKHAPATNAM: Cyclone Vardah has played havoc with air travel to Chennai and Tirupati from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. The flights to the two cities have been cancelled with powerful winds blowing across the two airports.

As many as 500 air passengers were stranded after the airport was shut down on Monday morning. Children and elderly accounted for 65 per cent of the pilgrims stranded in the airport. They were en route to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Air India flight number 542 from Hyderabad (1.45 pm) and two SpiceJet flights (8.30 am and 10 am) along with an Air Costa flight were forced to return after they were denied permission to land in Tirupati airport.

The Air India flight circled four times over the airport while Spice Jet flights made three rounds and Air Costa one round in the air before they returned owing to bad weather conditions, said airport authorities.

Having been stranded in the airport, M Vivek and five of his friends, VKM Babji and six of his family members hired taxis from Tirupati to Chennai, with the help of Air India staff. They did this in a bid to take their flights from the port city.

Though the airport was officially closed by 10 am, the passengers of Hyderabad-bound Air India flight (1.45 pm) waited up to 3.30 pm, expecting the air traffic to resume, but in vain.

All the 10 flight services were suspended on Monday. All the 500 passengers except those boarding SpiceJet (8 am) returned from the airport.

Two flights to Chennai operated by SpiceJet and TruJet were cancelled. Ciruclar flight from Tirupati to Visakhaptnam to Vijayawada and back to Tirupati was also cancelled. Four flights to Chennai from Visakhpatnam too were cancelled.

Airport authorities said that as of now they would not be able to say if flight operations would resume tomorrow. A decision will be taken depending on the situation, an official said.

VIJAYAWADA/TIRUPATI/ VISHAKHAPATNAM: Cyclone Vardah has played havoc with air travel to Chennai and Tirupati from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. The flights to the two cities have been cancelled with powerful winds blowing across the two airports. As many as 500 air passengers were stranded after the airport was shut down on Monday morning. Children and elderly accounted for 65 per cent of the pilgrims stranded in the airport. They were en route to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi. Air India flight number 542 from Hyderabad (1.45 pm) and two SpiceJet flights (8.30 am and 10 am) along with an Air Costa flight were forced to return after they were denied permission to land in Tirupati airport. The Air India flight circled four times over the airport while Spice Jet flights made three rounds and Air Costa one round in the air before they returned owing to bad weather conditions, said airport authorities. Having been stranded in the airport, M Vivek and five of his friends, VKM Babji and six of his family members hired taxis from Tirupati to Chennai, with the help of Air India staff. They did this in a bid to take their flights from the port city. Though the airport was officially closed by 10 am, the passengers of Hyderabad-bound Air India flight (1.45 pm) waited up to 3.30 pm, expecting the air traffic to resume, but in vain. All the 10 flight services were suspended on Monday. All the 500 passengers except those boarding SpiceJet (8 am) returned from the airport. Two flights to Chennai operated by SpiceJet and TruJet were cancelled. Ciruclar flight from Tirupati to Visakhaptnam to Vijayawada and back to Tirupati was also cancelled. Four flights to Chennai from Visakhpatnam too were cancelled. Airport authorities said that as of now they would not be able to say if flight operations would resume tomorrow. A decision will be taken depending on the situation, an official said.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU / MYSURU: Karnataka Public Service Commission officer L Bheema Nayak and his driver, who were arrested in Kalaburagi on Sunday on charges of abetting the suicide of Ramesh, were produced before the court on Monday and were handed over to CID custody for five days.



Meanwhile, the state government issued an order on Monday suspending Special Land Acquisition Officer Nayak. The KAS officers driver Ramesh committed suicide and had left behind a death note accusing Nayak of harassing him.



In the note, Ramesh also accused the officer of helping former minister Janardhana Reddy of converting black money. The order issued on Monday stated that Nayak has been kept under suspension, pending departmental inquiry.

Nayak and his driver Mohammad were produced before the Maddur JMFC court on Monday. The CID police led by Superintendent of Police Martin, Deputy Superintendent of Police K C Chandre Gowda and Mandya SP Sajeev Kumar Reddy interrogated both Nayak and Mohammad in a farm house near Somanahalli.

Police recorded their statements and prepared papers to produce them before the court.



Sources said that Rameshs friend Shivapura Shivakumar has also been questioned about the alleged money laundering and the threat Ramesh faced from Nayak. Though the police would have produced Nayak and Mohammad before JMFC court second additional judge C M Prakash, they waited till evening for security reasons. They were brought to Maddur police station and were produced before the judge later.

The government council for the CID appealed to the judge that the two be handed over to them for seven days. The officers were allowed custody for five days.



A senior CID officer told Express that the accused were subjected to medical tests before being taken into custody. Its not possible to reveal more about the investigation until we gather all evidences and question others who are related to the case, he said.

BENGALURU / MYSURU: Karnataka Public Service Commission officer L Bheema Nayak and his driver, who were arrested in Kalaburagi on Sunday on charges of abetting the suicide of Ramesh, were produced before the court on Monday and were handed over to CID custody for five days. Meanwhile, the state government issued an order on Monday suspending Special Land Acquisition Officer Nayak. The KAS officers driver Ramesh committed suicide and had left behind a death note accusing Nayak of harassing him. In the note, Ramesh also accused the officer of helping former minister Janardhana Reddy of converting black money. The order issued on Monday stated that Nayak has been kept under suspension, pending departmental inquiry. Nayak and his driver Mohammad were produced before the Maddur JMFC court on Monday. The CID police led by Superintendent of Police Martin, Deputy Superintendent of Police K C Chandre Gowda and Mandya SP Sajeev Kumar Reddy interrogated both Nayak and Mohammad in a farm house near Somanahalli. Police recorded their statements and prepared papers to produce them before the court. Sources said that Rameshs friend Shivapura Shivakumar has also been questioned about the alleged money laundering and the threat Ramesh faced from Nayak. Though the police would have produced Nayak and Mohammad before JMFC court second additional judge C M Prakash, they waited till evening for security reasons. They were brought to Maddur police station and were produced before the judge later. The government council for the CID appealed to the judge that the two be handed over to them for seven days. The officers were allowed custody for five days. A senior CID officer told Express that the accused were subjected to medical tests before being taken into custody. Its not possible to reveal more about the investigation until we gather all evidences and question others who are related to the case, he said.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Continuing with its agitations against the Centre on the demonetisation issue, the Left Front in the state will form a human chain from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram on December 29. The LDF state committee which met here on Monday, also chalked out various protests against the Union Government for the alleged attempts to destroy the cooperative sector in the state.

LDF convener Vaikom Viswan said that, as part of the human chain to tbe formed on December 29 at 5 pm, peoples meets would be organised on December 20 at the panchayat level. Also processions will be taken out on December 22 besides booth-level house visits on December 27 and 28.

The LDF alleged that demonetisation was brought with a political motive without any preparations. Even after a month of the demonetisation drive, people are struggling to get money to meet their daily expenses. And the Centre is trying to destroy the cooperative sector which is a major support at such times, Viswan said. The LDF accused the Prime Minister of trying to sabotage the federal nature of the country. The Prime Minister was not even ready to meet an all-party delegation from the state based on a resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly. The human chain would be a protest against all these aspects, the LDF said.

The LDF said the PM has been trying to introduce cashless economy in a country where only 1-2 pc of the population use plastic currency. The demonetisation exercise has severely affected the financially weaker sections of society like the farmers, small scale traders, fishermen and tribals while big corporates are not affected at all.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Continuing with its agitations against the Centre on the demonetisation issue, the Left Front in the state will form a human chain from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram on December 29. The LDF state committee which met here on Monday, also chalked out various protests against the Union Government for the alleged attempts to destroy the cooperative sector in the state. LDF convener Vaikom Viswan said that, as part of the human chain to tbe formed on December 29 at 5 pm, peoples meets would be organised on December 20 at the panchayat level. Also processions will be taken out on December 22 besides booth-level house visits on December 27 and 28. The LDF alleged that demonetisation was brought with a political motive without any preparations. Even after a month of the demonetisation drive, people are struggling to get money to meet their daily expenses. And the Centre is trying to destroy the cooperative sector which is a major support at such times, Viswan said. The LDF accused the Prime Minister of trying to sabotage the federal nature of the country. The Prime Minister was not even ready to meet an all-party delegation from the state based on a resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly. The human chain would be a protest against all these aspects, the LDF said. The LDF said the PM has been trying to introduce cashless economy in a country where only 1-2 pc of the population use plastic currency. The demonetisation exercise has severely affected the financially weaker sections of society like the farmers, small scale traders, fishermen and tribals while big corporates are not affected at all.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which looked into the mysterious money transfer made by Bulgarian company Zevzda to the account of Kochi-based Trade International run by businessman Jose George, has grounds to suspect that the `59 crore must have been meant for terror financing activities or money laundering purposes.

Since the incident involves issues beyond the powers vested with the ED, the findings will be passed onto the Central agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A senior ED official told Express that there were only two possibilities regarding the end use of the `59 crore sent by the Bulgarian company to the exporter in Kochi.

Either the money was sent on behalf of someone, who had invested abroad or for financing anti-national activities, including funding of some terror groups here. Since neither Jose George, who received the fund, or Zevzda that sent the money cooperated with the probe, we could only find that money was sent in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act(FEMA) norms. To probe the other aspects, Central agencies, including the NIA and the CBI would be informed. Police are already probing the matter, he said.

The EDs suspicions regarding the anti-national activities were strengthened after it emerged that all the documents submitted by Jose George originated from Mumbai.

Besides, the Central agency had a nagging suspicion that Jose George was operating on behalf of an anonymous shipping agent. Even though the shipping agency ran a website it had no office.

The documents revealed the involvement of a Mumbai- based shipping agency. But our investigation could not locate any such shipping agency in Mumbai.

The involvement of Mumbai-based agencies aroused our suspicion on terror funding behind the financial transaction, he said.

Already, the Customs and Income Tax Department are probing the matter. However, Jose George, who is the proprietor of Trade International, has not responded to the summons sent by the agencies.

After the reports regarding the bogus transaction emerged, Jose George had responded to media that he was being targeted by the officials and that his company was not involved in any dubious transactions.

It was in July that `59 crore was sent by Zevzda in the form of Letter of Credit to Jose Georges account in Wellingtion Island.

As per the norms, Letter of Credit can be encashed only after the exporter has shipped the consignment. However, without shipping any consignment, Jose George allegedly used fake documents to encash the amount. He had transferred around `30 crore to the bank accounts of his relatives.

KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which looked into the mysterious money transfer made by Bulgarian company Zevzda to the account of Kochi-based Trade International run by businessman Jose George, has grounds to suspect that the `59 crore must have been meant for terror financing activities or money laundering purposes. Since the incident involves issues beyond the powers vested with the ED, the findings will be passed onto the Central agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A senior ED official told Express that there were only two possibilities regarding the end use of the `59 crore sent by the Bulgarian company to the exporter in Kochi. Either the money was sent on behalf of someone, who had invested abroad or for financing anti-national activities, including funding of some terror groups here. Since neither Jose George, who received the fund, or Zevzda that sent the money cooperated with the probe, we could only find that money was sent in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act(FEMA) norms. To probe the other aspects, Central agencies, including the NIA and the CBI would be informed. Police are already probing the matter, he said. The EDs suspicions regarding the anti-national activities were strengthened after it emerged that all the documents submitted by Jose George originated from Mumbai. Besides, the Central agency had a nagging suspicion that Jose George was operating on behalf of an anonymous shipping agent. Even though the shipping agency ran a website it had no office. The documents revealed the involvement of a Mumbai- based shipping agency. But our investigation could not locate any such shipping agency in Mumbai. The involvement of Mumbai-based agencies aroused our suspicion on terror funding behind the financial transaction, he said. Already, the Customs and Income Tax Department are probing the matter. However, Jose George, who is the proprietor of Trade International, has not responded to the summons sent by the agencies. After the reports regarding the bogus transaction emerged, Jose George had responded to media that he was being targeted by the officials and that his company was not involved in any dubious transactions. It was in July that `59 crore was sent by Zevzda in the form of Letter of Credit to Jose Georges account in Wellingtion Island. As per the norms, Letter of Credit can be encashed only after the exporter has shipped the consignment. However, without shipping any consignment, Jose George allegedly used fake documents to encash the amount. He had transferred around `30 crore to the bank accounts of his relatives.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State police chief Loknath Behera said that the police would take strong legal action against the delegates who do not stand up when the national anthem is played before the screening of films at the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).



"The Supreme Court had given orders in this regard. We have to comply with that. Otherwise, it would be a case of contempt of court. I had conveyed this to the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Kamal on Monday itself. He had replied positively and said that he would make arrangements to request the delegates to stand up during the national anthem before each show," Behera said, after attending the Student Police Cadets programme in the city on Tuesday.



Citing the incident that took place inside a cinema hall in Chennai the other day, Behera said the police would not tolerate any violent incidents when the national anthem is played inside the theatre. There is no point in creating controversy on the issue, he said.



On Monday, the city police had taken six persons into custody for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem by remaining seated before a show held at Nishagandhi auditorium as part of the IFFK. The Museum police registered a case under Sections 188 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against them. They were also served a notice stating that they should be present at the police station whenever the police summon them. Interestingly, director Kamal had opposed the police action earlier in the day which triggered a controversy.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State police chief Loknath Behera said that the police would take strong legal action against the delegates who do not stand up when the national anthem is played before the screening of films at the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). "The Supreme Court had given orders in this regard. We have to comply with that. Otherwise, it would be a case of contempt of court. I had conveyed this to the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Kamal on Monday itself. He had replied positively and said that he would make arrangements to request the delegates to stand up during the national anthem before each show," Behera said, after attending the Student Police Cadets programme in the city on Tuesday. Citing the incident that took place inside a cinema hall in Chennai the other day, Behera said the police would not tolerate any violent incidents when the national anthem is played inside the theatre. There is no point in creating controversy on the issue, he said. On Monday, the city police had taken six persons into custody for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem by remaining seated before a show held at Nishagandhi auditorium as part of the IFFK. The Museum police registered a case under Sections 188 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against them. They were also served a notice stating that they should be present at the police station whenever the police summon them. Interestingly, director Kamal had opposed the police action earlier in the day which triggered a controversy.
P Ramdas By

Express News Service

Cashless transaction is the new mantra in India. But it is a distant dream for four million migrant workers in Kerala because many of them do not have a bank account. Reason: Lack of valid ID cards to fulfil the KYC norms. After demonetisation, both nationalised and private banks had conducted camps for migrants to open accounts but with minimal impact.

It was reported that a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are also among the migrant groups. Hence, banks are vigilant while opening savings bank account for migrant workers, said a senior bank officer. Most of the migrants in Perumbavoor, the migrants capital in the state, have no proper ID card. Such workers can produce a letter from the contractor/employer giving details of temporary local address. Most of the identification documents produced by them cannot be trusted. So we insist on employers letter which states that the migrant is being employed in the company. But many employers are reluctant to give the letter, he said.

All Kerala Plywood and Blockboard Manufacturers Association president M A Mujeeb Rehman explained the reason behind employers not providing letter for migrants to open bank accounts. If a migrant is involved in a criminal activity, employers will also be pulled up. So, many employers are reluctant to issue such a letter, he said.

Cashless transaction is the new mantra in India. But it is a distant dream for four million migrant workers in Kerala because many of them do not have a bank account. Reason: Lack of valid ID cards to fulfil the KYC norms. After demonetisation, both nationalised and private banks had conducted camps for migrants to open accounts but with minimal impact. It was reported that a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are also among the migrant groups. Hence, banks are vigilant while opening savings bank account for migrant workers, said a senior bank officer. Most of the migrants in Perumbavoor, the migrants capital in the state, have no proper ID card. Such workers can produce a letter from the contractor/employer giving details of temporary local address. Most of the identification documents produced by them cannot be trusted. So we insist on employers letter which states that the migrant is being employed in the company. But many employers are reluctant to give the letter, he said. All Kerala Plywood and Blockboard Manufacturers Association president M A Mujeeb Rehman explained the reason behind employers not providing letter for migrants to open bank accounts. If a migrant is involved in a criminal activity, employers will also be pulled up. So, many employers are reluctant to issue such a letter, he said.
Toby Antony By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the National Central Bureau (NCB), a wing under Central Bureau of Investigation that acts as Interpol in India, for issuing red corner notice (RCN) against 19 Keralites, including five women, who are believed to have joined Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan.

The notice, which is an arrest warrant circulated by Interpol on behalf of the government of a particular country and serves as a request from one country to another to arrest and deport the wanted individual, will enable the NIA to track the missing persons with assistance from police agencies, which act as Interpol in Afghanistan.

NIA officials said an application for the notice was filed a few weeks ago. NCB would proceed on the application against the absconding accused in the missing person cases reported in Kasargod and Palakkad. It will be sent to the Interpol Secretariat for issuing red corner notices. There is a non-bailable arrest warrant pending against the 19 accused, said an NIA official. The official added that once the notice is issued, agencies acting as Interpol in Afghanistan would assist in tracking them.

They can also be nabbed easily at airports, should they choose to fly. We suspect the accused have reached Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan, where IS has gained a foothold after Syria, Iraq and North African countries. Hence tracking them would not be easy, the official said. In all, 22 persons - 14 men, five women and three children - were reported absconding from Kasargod and Palakkad. The children were not named as accused in the case.

Earlier, the Interpol issued RCNs against 23 Keralites - 20 men and 3 women. With the addition of 19 more persons, Kerala would be one of the Indian states with highest number of wanted persons in the country against who RCN has been issued. An RCN is pending against P P Yusuf and K P Sabir, who have been absconding since cases pertaining to terrorist activities were registered against them in Kerala and other states.

NIA has approached NCB to issue RCNs against Abdul Rasid alias Rashi (30) of Udumbunthala, his wife Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha (29), Padanna-natives Mohammed Sahid (29), Murshid Mohammed T K (24), Hafesudheen Theke Koleth (23) Ashfaq Majeed (25), Dr Ijas (32), his wife Rafeela (25), Shihas (24) of Thekkepuram, his wife Ajmala, Yakkara-natives Bexen Vincent alias Isa alias Easa (31), his wife Fathima alias Nimisha (26), Bestin Vincent alias Yahiya (24), his wife Merin Jacob alias Mariyam (24), Shibi Kunnath Thodil (31) of Kanjikode, Muhammad Marwan (23) of Thrikaripur and Firoskhan M T P (24), Shamsiya Kuriya (24) and Muhammad Manzad of South Thrikaripur.

KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the National Central Bureau (NCB), a wing under Central Bureau of Investigation that acts as Interpol in India, for issuing red corner notice (RCN) against 19 Keralites, including five women, who are believed to have joined Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan. The notice, which is an arrest warrant circulated by Interpol on behalf of the government of a particular country and serves as a request from one country to another to arrest and deport the wanted individual, will enable the NIA to track the missing persons with assistance from police agencies, which act as Interpol in Afghanistan. NIA officials said an application for the notice was filed a few weeks ago. NCB would proceed on the application against the absconding accused in the missing person cases reported in Kasargod and Palakkad. It will be sent to the Interpol Secretariat for issuing red corner notices. There is a non-bailable arrest warrant pending against the 19 accused, said an NIA official. The official added that once the notice is issued, agencies acting as Interpol in Afghanistan would assist in tracking them. They can also be nabbed easily at airports, should they choose to fly. We suspect the accused have reached Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan, where IS has gained a foothold after Syria, Iraq and North African countries. Hence tracking them would not be easy, the official said. In all, 22 persons - 14 men, five women and three children - were reported absconding from Kasargod and Palakkad. The children were not named as accused in the case. Earlier, the Interpol issued RCNs against 23 Keralites - 20 men and 3 women. With the addition of 19 more persons, Kerala would be one of the Indian states with highest number of wanted persons in the country against who RCN has been issued. An RCN is pending against P P Yusuf and K P Sabir, who have been absconding since cases pertaining to terrorist activities were registered against them in Kerala and other states. NIA has approached NCB to issue RCNs against Abdul Rasid alias Rashi (30) of Udumbunthala, his wife Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha (29), Padanna-natives Mohammed Sahid (29), Murshid Mohammed T K (24), Hafesudheen Theke Koleth (23) Ashfaq Majeed (25), Dr Ijas (32), his wife Rafeela (25), Shihas (24) of Thekkepuram, his wife Ajmala, Yakkara-natives Bexen Vincent alias Isa alias Easa (31), his wife Fathima alias Nimisha (26), Bestin Vincent alias Yahiya (24), his wife Merin Jacob alias Mariyam (24), Shibi Kunnath Thodil (31) of Kanjikode, Muhammad Marwan (23) of Thrikaripur and Firoskhan M T P (24), Shamsiya Kuriya (24) and Muhammad Manzad of South Thrikaripur.
By Express News Service

ROURKELA: Medical students of Hi-Tech Medical College and Hospital of 2015-16 batch here resorted to polishing shoes as a mark of protest, after their admission was declared invalid. They held the protest inside the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) campus to draw attention on Monday.



In fact, 100 medical students of 2015-16 batch of the medical college are on agitation from Thursday. They started relay hunger strike from Sunday. The students alleged that they are suffering due to the ongoing tussle between the Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital management, Medical Council of India and Government of Odisha.

Sources in Hi-Tech Medical College said before admission to the 2015-16 academic session, an MCI team citing infrastructure shortcomings banned the medical college from conducting admission. However, the management moved the Orissa High Court with the plea that the shortcomings were removed and the court asked the MCI to allow admission. By the time MCI granted permission, the counselling process of the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) was over.



However, the management floated advertisements in newspapers for admission and through its own entrance exam, admitted these students in 2015-16 session, which was challenged by the MCI in the Supreme Court (SC) and the Odisha Government also followed suit.



Following Governments instruction, the Sambalpur University has also refused to provide registration numbers to these students and barred them from appearing the university examination.

While a review petition filed by the management at the SC is pending, another petition filed by the guardians of the students in the apex court for relief was rejected recently.



The agitating students - A Sahoo, Subham Agarwal, Sony Jaiswal, Sourav Modi and others - said they are staring at a bleak future for no fault of theirs. Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital Registrar SS Ahemad refused to comment on the issue.



Meanwhile, former Rourkela MLA Pravat Mohapatra has sought intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to save the future of the students and take over the medical college & hospital.

ROURKELA: Medical students of Hi-Tech Medical College and Hospital of 2015-16 batch here resorted to polishing shoes as a mark of protest, after their admission was declared invalid. They held the protest inside the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) campus to draw attention on Monday. In fact, 100 medical students of 2015-16 batch of the medical college are on agitation from Thursday. They started relay hunger strike from Sunday. The students alleged that they are suffering due to the ongoing tussle between the Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital management, Medical Council of India and Government of Odisha. Sources in Hi-Tech Medical College said before admission to the 2015-16 academic session, an MCI team citing infrastructure shortcomings banned the medical college from conducting admission. However, the management moved the Orissa High Court with the plea that the shortcomings were removed and the court asked the MCI to allow admission. By the time MCI granted permission, the counselling process of the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) was over. However, the management floated advertisements in newspapers for admission and through its own entrance exam, admitted these students in 2015-16 session, which was challenged by the MCI in the Supreme Court (SC) and the Odisha Government also followed suit. Following Governments instruction, the Sambalpur University has also refused to provide registration numbers to these students and barred them from appearing the university examination. While a review petition filed by the management at the SC is pending, another petition filed by the guardians of the students in the apex court for relief was rejected recently. The agitating students - A Sahoo, Subham Agarwal, Sony Jaiswal, Sourav Modi and others - said they are staring at a bleak future for no fault of theirs. Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital Registrar SS Ahemad refused to comment on the issue. Meanwhile, former Rourkela MLA Pravat Mohapatra has sought intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to save the future of the students and take over the medical college & hospital.
By Express News Service

CUTTACK: The death of a mentally challenged person due to physical injuries allegedly caused by police action has once again put the men in khaki under scanner. The 44-year-old victim, Akula Senapati of Mali Sahi village in the district, was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, here on Saturday and succumbed on late Sunday night.

According to the FIR filed by Ranjan Kumar Nayak, brother-in-law of the deceased, at Mangalabag police station, ASI Bhagaban Sahu, Havildar PK Patra and four other police officials of Narasinghpur police station conducted a raid on Akulas house on Friday night. They dragged Akula from the house and assaulted him mercilessly. He succumbed to injuries, the FIR stated.

Refuting the allegation, SP (Rural), Cuttack Madhab Chandra Sahoo said a 50-year-old woman had filed an FIR with Narasinghpur police on December 6 alleging that Akula had outraged her modesty and attacked her. Acting on the FIR, police had summoned Akula.

As he did not turn up at the police station, the ASI and other staff conducted the raid. Akula, who tried to flee during the raid, was injured in the scuffle with cops, the SP said adding that he was rushed to Narasinghpur CHC from where he was shifted to SCB Medical College. After post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family.

The SP said on the basis of FIR filed by Kapila Nayak, father-in-law of the deceased, a case has been registered at Narasinghpur police station. The ASI and Havildar have been withdrawn from the police station and shifted to headquarters. Headquarters DSP (Crime) Ashok Kumar Patnaik has been directed to conduct a probe into the matter, the SP informed.

It is an unfortunate incident in which an accused has succumbed to his injuries. I have ordered an inquiry and action will be initiated against whoever will be found responsible, the SP said.

Meanwhile, tension ran high in Mali Sahi as Akulas death news reached the village. More than 200 irate locals detained the ambulance carrying the dead body and staged demonstration in front of Narasinghpur Club Square. The agitation was withdrawn after the administration provided `10,000 from Red Cross and `2,000 from Harishchandra Yojana towards cremation. The administration also assured to provide ` two lakhs as compensation from Chief Ministers Relief Fund, rehabilitate wife of the deceased as per her educational qualification and take appropriate action against erring officials after completion of the investigation.

CUTTACK: The death of a mentally challenged person due to physical injuries allegedly caused by police action has once again put the men in khaki under scanner. The 44-year-old victim, Akula Senapati of Mali Sahi village in the district, was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, here on Saturday and succumbed on late Sunday night. According to the FIR filed by Ranjan Kumar Nayak, brother-in-law of the deceased, at Mangalabag police station, ASI Bhagaban Sahu, Havildar PK Patra and four other police officials of Narasinghpur police station conducted a raid on Akulas house on Friday night. They dragged Akula from the house and assaulted him mercilessly. He succumbed to injuries, the FIR stated. Refuting the allegation, SP (Rural), Cuttack Madhab Chandra Sahoo said a 50-year-old woman had filed an FIR with Narasinghpur police on December 6 alleging that Akula had outraged her modesty and attacked her. Acting on the FIR, police had summoned Akula. As he did not turn up at the police station, the ASI and other staff conducted the raid. Akula, who tried to flee during the raid, was injured in the scuffle with cops, the SP said adding that he was rushed to Narasinghpur CHC from where he was shifted to SCB Medical College. After post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family. The SP said on the basis of FIR filed by Kapila Nayak, father-in-law of the deceased, a case has been registered at Narasinghpur police station. The ASI and Havildar have been withdrawn from the police station and shifted to headquarters. Headquarters DSP (Crime) Ashok Kumar Patnaik has been directed to conduct a probe into the matter, the SP informed. It is an unfortunate incident in which an accused has succumbed to his injuries. I have ordered an inquiry and action will be initiated against whoever will be found responsible, the SP said. Meanwhile, tension ran high in Mali Sahi as Akulas death news reached the village. More than 200 irate locals detained the ambulance carrying the dead body and staged demonstration in front of Narasinghpur Club Square. The agitation was withdrawn after the administration provided `10,000 from Red Cross and `2,000 from Harishchandra Yojana towards cremation. The administration also assured to provide ` two lakhs as compensation from Chief Ministers Relief Fund, rehabilitate wife of the deceased as per her educational qualification and take appropriate action against erring officials after completion of the investigation.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Students of Utkal University staged an agitation in front of the university main gate here on Monday night after two post-graduate students were allegedly heckled by a group of unidentified persons on the campus.

The two students who were manhandled are Santosh Das and Mukesh Sahoo, both first year students of Journalism. They were travelling on a motorcycle while the accused group accosted them near the RRL gate of the varsity. The duo was abused and assaulted by a group of drunkards, Students Union president Mahesh Prasad said.

Soon after the news spread, students congregated outside the main gate and demanded arrest of the miscreants. The miscreants reside in the quarters inside the university campus and such incidents have become a regular affair, Prasad alleged.

The agitation was called off after police assured the students of action. Saheed Nagar police has registered a case and is probing into the matter.

BHUBANESWAR: Students of Utkal University staged an agitation in front of the university main gate here on Monday night after two post-graduate students were allegedly heckled by a group of unidentified persons on the campus. The two students who were manhandled are Santosh Das and Mukesh Sahoo, both first year students of Journalism. They were travelling on a motorcycle while the accused group accosted them near the RRL gate of the varsity. The duo was abused and assaulted by a group of drunkards, Students Union president Mahesh Prasad said. Soon after the news spread, students congregated outside the main gate and demanded arrest of the miscreants. The miscreants reside in the quarters inside the university campus and such incidents have become a regular affair, Prasad alleged. The agitation was called off after police assured the students of action. Saheed Nagar police has registered a case and is probing into the matter.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held a high level meeting here to take stock of the situation of the relief operations following the landfall of cyclone Vardah in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.



After the review meeting, Singh expressed satisfaction on the preparedness of the Central and State agencies in handling the devastating cyclone. The combined efforts by both the Centre and the States have resulted in minimising the casualties, the ministry said.



Singh also issued a directive to keep the Inter-Ministerial Central team ready to be sent to Tamil Nadu immediately on receipt of the Memorandum from the State Government, the Union Home Ministry said in a statement.



The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed as many as 19 flood and rescue teams in various parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry affected by the cyclone.



In Tamil Nadu, 10 flood rescue teams of NDRF have been deployed in various low lying areas. Two teams are deployed at Kanchipuram, three teams at Tiruvallur and five teams are in action at Chennai.



In Andhra Pradesh, eight flood rescue teams of NDRF have been positioned in coastal areas including one each at Prakasam and Vishakhapatnam, two at Chittoor) and four at Nellore. One team is also placed at Puducherry.



Immediately after the landfall, NDRF teams started clearing the road by removing uprooted and fallen trees to establish normalcy in the affected areas. The teams in these areas have cleared all the major roads, the ministry said.



The moment landfall took place, the teams began tree clearing operation as several trees had fallen due to the severe wind of high speed of 110-120 KMPH. The NDRF teams carried out the operation throughout night and have cleared the main roads of all the major places in Chennai, the statement further said.



The Director General of NDRF is closely monitoring the situation round the clock. NDRF Control Room in Delhi is in touch with IMD and local State administration.



The DG NRDF informed that eight teams of NDRF consisting of 268 rescuers along with 29 boats have been deployed in Tamil Nadu. Three more teams of NDRF consisting of 108 rescuers along with 15 boats have also been sent to Chennai.



Six teams of NDRF consisting of 205 rescuers along with 20 boats have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh.



NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held a high level meeting here to take stock of the situation of the relief operations following the landfall of cyclone Vardah in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. After the review meeting, Singh expressed satisfaction on the preparedness of the Central and State agencies in handling the devastating cyclone. The combined efforts by both the Centre and the States have resulted in minimising the casualties, the ministry said. Singh also issued a directive to keep the Inter-Ministerial Central team ready to be sent to Tamil Nadu immediately on receipt of the Memorandum from the State Government, the Union Home Ministry said in a statement. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed as many as 19 flood and rescue teams in various parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry affected by the cyclone. In Tamil Nadu, 10 flood rescue teams of NDRF have been deployed in various low lying areas. Two teams are deployed at Kanchipuram, three teams at Tiruvallur and five teams are in action at Chennai. In Andhra Pradesh, eight flood rescue teams of NDRF have been positioned in coastal areas including one each at Prakasam and Vishakhapatnam, two at Chittoor) and four at Nellore. One team is also placed at Puducherry. Immediately after the landfall, NDRF teams started clearing the road by removing uprooted and fallen trees to establish normalcy in the affected areas. The teams in these areas have cleared all the major roads, the ministry said. The moment landfall took place, the teams began tree clearing operation as several trees had fallen due to the severe wind of high speed of 110-120 KMPH. The NDRF teams carried out the operation throughout night and have cleared the main roads of all the major places in Chennai, the statement further said. The Director General of NDRF is closely monitoring the situation round the clock. NDRF Control Room in Delhi is in touch with IMD and local State administration. The DG NRDF informed that eight teams of NDRF consisting of 268 rescuers along with 29 boats have been deployed in Tamil Nadu. Three more teams of NDRF consisting of 108 rescuers along with 15 boats have also been sent to Chennai. Six teams of NDRF consisting of 205 rescuers along with 20 boats have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh.
PK Balachandran By

Express News Service

COLOMBO: The recent detention of a Japanese vessel by striking workers at Hambantota port in south Sri Lanka has given international shipping lines yet another reason to avoid the port.

Sri Lankan Ports Minister Arjuna Ranatunga told the media on Monday that following the detention of the Japanese car-carrying vessel causing it a loss of USD 400,000, some ships had to be diverted to Colombo while others just skirted Sri Lanka and went elsewhere.

The port, constructed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa with a Chinese loan of US$ 1.4 billion, has been without business so far because it has no worthwhile hinterland. Unable to pay back the loan, the present Sri Lankan government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had recently given 80 % stake and near total operational control to a Chinese company.

But even as the government was battling trenchant public criticism of the deal, workers at the port went on a flash strike and detained a Japanese vessel. The strike had to be broken up by the Sri Lanka navy by force. The use of force caused a public outcry. The opposition condemned the use of force against workers who only wanted their jobs to be regularised. And the media condemned it because a cameraman of a leading publishing group was manhandled by the Navy Commander Vice Adm.R.Wijegunaratne himself.

Even as the government ordered a probe into the series of incidents in the harbour, Ports Minister Ranatunga told newspersons that some international shipping lines had informed Sri Lanka that they might not use Hambantota port.

The detention of the vessel has eroded the confidence of the international maritime sector. The damage by the protesters is severe, he said.

Ranatunga further said that the workers had damaged a 13-storey building as well as other equipment in the harbour. He blamed the 'Nil Balakaya', an organisation floated by MP Namal Rajapaksa who is also the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

As expected, the opposition led by Rajapaksa condemned the breaking up of the strike and criticised the deal with the Chinese company which not only envisages the grant of 80 % equity in the ports Joint Venture company, but a 99-year lease also.

The deal had faced opposition in the government itself, with Ports Minister Ranatunga appealing to the Prime Minister not to deprive the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) of control over the port. But Prime Minister Wickremesinghe overruled him and got the Framework Agreement signed by two other ministers, Strategic Development Minister Malik Samarawickrama and Minister for Special Assignments, Dr.Sarath Amunugama.

The Joint Opposition led by Mahinda Rajapaksa has also lambasted the governments decision to hand over 15,000 acres of land to the Chinese to build an Economic Zone near Hambantota port to enable the creation of a suitable hinterland for it. According to the Joint Opposition, this is a major give away. It also wonders how 15,000 acres can be acquired without social and economic disruption in the poverty stricken Hambantota district.

Since the government has promised to give China 15,000 acres, it cannot back out of it, even if the issue extracts a political price from it in the local bodies elections in mid-2017.

COLOMBO: The recent detention of a Japanese vessel by striking workers at Hambantota port in south Sri Lanka has given international shipping lines yet another reason to avoid the port. Sri Lankan Ports Minister Arjuna Ranatunga told the media on Monday that following the detention of the Japanese car-carrying vessel causing it a loss of USD 400,000, some ships had to be diverted to Colombo while others just skirted Sri Lanka and went elsewhere. The port, constructed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa with a Chinese loan of US$ 1.4 billion, has been without business so far because it has no worthwhile hinterland. Unable to pay back the loan, the present Sri Lankan government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had recently given 80 % stake and near total operational control to a Chinese company. But even as the government was battling trenchant public criticism of the deal, workers at the port went on a flash strike and detained a Japanese vessel. The strike had to be broken up by the Sri Lanka navy by force. The use of force caused a public outcry. The opposition condemned the use of force against workers who only wanted their jobs to be regularised. And the media condemned it because a cameraman of a leading publishing group was manhandled by the Navy Commander Vice Adm.R.Wijegunaratne himself. Even as the government ordered a probe into the series of incidents in the harbour, Ports Minister Ranatunga told newspersons that some international shipping lines had informed Sri Lanka that they might not use Hambantota port. The detention of the vessel has eroded the confidence of the international maritime sector. The damage by the protesters is severe, he said. Ranatunga further said that the workers had damaged a 13-storey building as well as other equipment in the harbour. He blamed the 'Nil Balakaya', an organisation floated by MP Namal Rajapaksa who is also the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. As expected, the opposition led by Rajapaksa condemned the breaking up of the strike and criticised the deal with the Chinese company which not only envisages the grant of 80 % equity in the ports Joint Venture company, but a 99-year lease also. The deal had faced opposition in the government itself, with Ports Minister Ranatunga appealing to the Prime Minister not to deprive the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) of control over the port. But Prime Minister Wickremesinghe overruled him and got the Framework Agreement signed by two other ministers, Strategic Development Minister Malik Samarawickrama and Minister for Special Assignments, Dr.Sarath Amunugama. The Joint Opposition led by Mahinda Rajapaksa has also lambasted the governments decision to hand over 15,000 acres of land to the Chinese to build an Economic Zone near Hambantota port to enable the creation of a suitable hinterland for it. According to the Joint Opposition, this is a major give away. It also wonders how 15,000 acres can be acquired without social and economic disruption in the poverty stricken Hambantota district. Since the government has promised to give China 15,000 acres, it cannot back out of it, even if the issue extracts a political price from it in the local bodies elections in mid-2017.
By AFP

WASHINGTON: A coalition air strike in Syria killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men involved in facilitating last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

"The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. He said the three were killed in a December 4 air strike in Raqa, an IS stronghold in Syria.

WASHINGTON: A coalition air strike in Syria killed three Islamic State leaders involved in plotting foreign attacks, including two men involved in facilitating last year's attacks in Paris, the Pentagon said Tuesday. "The three were working together to plot and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. He said the three were killed in a December 4 air strike in Raqa, an IS stronghold in Syria.
By AFP

PARIS: A wall funded by Britain to try and stop migrants from the former Calais "jungle" camp reaching its shores has been completed -- seven weeks after the site was cleared, a French official said.

The four-metre-high (13-foot) wall runs along a kilometre-long stretch of the main road leading to Calais port, next to the area that used to house the sprawling camp.

The concrete barrier -- estimated to cost 2.7 million euros ($3 million) -- aims to prevent new arrivals stowing away on trucks bound for Britain.

Work on the wall, which is covered with plants on the traffic side, began in September. The squalid camp was razed after thousands of migrants were taken to shelters around France in October.

The structure is complete, a spokesman for the local prefecture told AFP late Monday.

The wall was built to boost a network of wire fences that had failed to prevent near nightly attempts by migrants to waylay trucks en route to Europe's second-busiest port.

This year alone, several migrants died after falling off trucks or being run over.

Calais has for years been a staging post for attempts by migrants to sneak into Britain by stowing away on trucks or trains crossing the Channel.

The Jungle camp was first demolished in 2009 only to sprout up again in 2015 when migrants from the Middle East and Africa began pouring into Europe in unprecedented numbers.

Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart attempted to stop construction of the wall, saying there was no need for it once the camp was cleared.

PARIS: A wall funded by Britain to try and stop migrants from the former Calais "jungle" camp reaching its shores has been completed -- seven weeks after the site was cleared, a French official said. The four-metre-high (13-foot) wall runs along a kilometre-long stretch of the main road leading to Calais port, next to the area that used to house the sprawling camp. The concrete barrier -- estimated to cost 2.7 million euros ($3 million) -- aims to prevent new arrivals stowing away on trucks bound for Britain. Work on the wall, which is covered with plants on the traffic side, began in September. The squalid camp was razed after thousands of migrants were taken to shelters around France in October. The structure is complete, a spokesman for the local prefecture told AFP late Monday. The wall was built to boost a network of wire fences that had failed to prevent near nightly attempts by migrants to waylay trucks en route to Europe's second-busiest port. This year alone, several migrants died after falling off trucks or being run over. Calais has for years been a staging post for attempts by migrants to sneak into Britain by stowing away on trucks or trains crossing the Channel. The Jungle camp was first demolished in 2009 only to sprout up again in 2015 when migrants from the Middle East and Africa began pouring into Europe in unprecedented numbers. Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart attempted to stop construction of the wall, saying there was no need for it once the camp was cleared.
By AFP

KABU: Allegations that Afghanistan's first vice president and his guards sexually assaulted a political rival while holding him captive in his private compound prompted calls Tuesday from the country's Western allies for a government investigation.

Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former warlord who has a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name, is accused of ordering his guards to seize Ahmad Ishchi last month in northern Jowzjan province during a game of buzkashi, or polo with a carcass.

Dostum allegedly kept Ishchi hostage in his private enclave for five days, where he was said to be tortured and sodomised.

"He told me 'I will throw you under the horses and do buzkashi on you'," Ishchi, a former Jowzjan governor, told local Tolo television Tuesday.

"He (Dostum) said first I want to have sex with him. His men rolled up my clothes... Then Dostum told 10 of his men to sodomise me until my anus ruptures and bleeds."

Dostum's office dismissed the comments as a conspiracy to defame him.

But the United States joined a slew of Western governments to call for a thorough probe.

"The unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr Ishchi by the First Vice President raises serious concerns," the US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.

"We would welcome the Afghan government's move to swiftly investigate these allegations."

The European Union along with Australia and Canada also demanded a "fair and transparent investigation" into what it called "gross human rights violations and abuses against Ishchi".

The presidential palace in Kabul, under fire from human rights campaigners, said the government was committed to investigating the allegations.

The controversy has once again drawn attention to how warlords and strongmen throughout Afghanistan operate with impunity, hobbling Western-backed efforts to restore peace and rebuild the nation after decades of conflict.

Dostum, who has come under a storm of criticism for his alleged brutalities and war crimes in the past, joined the the country's National Unity Government in 2014 in a bid by President Ashraf Ghani to attract the support of his mostly ethnic Uzbek constituency.

KABU: Allegations that Afghanistan's first vice president and his guards sexually assaulted a political rival while holding him captive in his private compound prompted calls Tuesday from the country's Western allies for a government investigation. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former warlord who has a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name, is accused of ordering his guards to seize Ahmad Ishchi last month in northern Jowzjan province during a game of buzkashi, or polo with a carcass. Dostum allegedly kept Ishchi hostage in his private enclave for five days, where he was said to be tortured and sodomised. "He told me 'I will throw you under the horses and do buzkashi on you'," Ishchi, a former Jowzjan governor, told local Tolo television Tuesday. "He (Dostum) said first I want to have sex with him. His men rolled up my clothes... Then Dostum told 10 of his men to sodomise me until my anus ruptures and bleeds." Dostum's office dismissed the comments as a conspiracy to defame him. But the United States joined a slew of Western governments to call for a thorough probe. "The unlawful detention and reported mistreatment of Mr Ishchi by the First Vice President raises serious concerns," the US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement. "We would welcome the Afghan government's move to swiftly investigate these allegations." The European Union along with Australia and Canada also demanded a "fair and transparent investigation" into what it called "gross human rights violations and abuses against Ishchi". The presidential palace in Kabul, under fire from human rights campaigners, said the government was committed to investigating the allegations. The controversy has once again drawn attention to how warlords and strongmen throughout Afghanistan operate with impunity, hobbling Western-backed efforts to restore peace and rebuild the nation after decades of conflict. Dostum, who has come under a storm of criticism for his alleged brutalities and war crimes in the past, joined the the country's National Unity Government in 2014 in a bid by President Ashraf Ghani to attract the support of his mostly ethnic Uzbek constituency.
By IANS

DAMASCUS: The Syrian representative at the United Nations denied reports that the Syrian Army has committed atrocities in the northern city of Aleppo.



Bashar Jafaari made the comments during an emergency UN Security Council session on Syria on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.



He said that every time the Syrian Army makes a progress, the rebels and their Western backers falsely accuse the Syrian Army of crimes against civilians.



The denial comes against the backdrop of Western accusations that the Syrian Army has killed civilians during its recent battles to drive out the rebels from the few pockets they are still holding in the eastern part of Aleppo city.



Meanwhile, negotiations were still ongoing on Tuesday for the evacuation of rebels and their families from eastern Aleppo.



Russia declared the evacuation deal, but the Syrian Army has yet to confirm, amid talks that the general-command of the Syrian Army will make a statement later on Tuesday to declare the government stance on the deal.



The rebels in eastern Aleppo have become cornered in a very small area, and if confirmed, they could leave the city as early as at dawn Wednesday.

DAMASCUS: The Syrian representative at the United Nations denied reports that the Syrian Army has committed atrocities in the northern city of Aleppo. Bashar Jafaari made the comments during an emergency UN Security Council session on Syria on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. He said that every time the Syrian Army makes a progress, the rebels and their Western backers falsely accuse the Syrian Army of crimes against civilians. The denial comes against the backdrop of Western accusations that the Syrian Army has killed civilians during its recent battles to drive out the rebels from the few pockets they are still holding in the eastern part of Aleppo city. Meanwhile, negotiations were still ongoing on Tuesday for the evacuation of rebels and their families from eastern Aleppo. Russia declared the evacuation deal, but the Syrian Army has yet to confirm, amid talks that the general-command of the Syrian Army will make a statement later on Tuesday to declare the government stance on the deal. The rebels in eastern Aleppo have become cornered in a very small area, and if confirmed, they could leave the city as early as at dawn Wednesday.
It's win-or-go-home time for Newport County football teams

This season marks the first time in three years all three Aquidneck Island high school football teams have qualified for postseason play.
Reporter

Tim Mitchell is a reporter at The News-Gazette. His email is tmitchel@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@mitchell6).
Reporter/Columnist

Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Plenty of sunshine. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 58F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.
Mumbai: Since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) came into being in 1948, which eventually paved way for the WTO in January 1995, the share of China's exports soared to 14.2 per cent in 2015 from a paltry 0.9 per cent 67 years ago, while that of the US nosedived to 9.2 per cent from 21.6 per cent.



In absolute terms, China's export earnings zoomed to USD 2.27 trillion in 2015 from a non-consequential USD 530 million 67 years ago, says India Ratings in a report, quoting the World Trade Organisation (WTO) numbers. The report by its analyst Abhash Sharma, however, does not offer the comparative numbers for the US or any other country.



India, too, slipped in the global trade sweepstakes.



From a 2.2 per cent share in the global trade in 1948, it's down to 1.7 per cent in 2015 and has always been under 1 per cent in between. India's third best figure was 1.3 per cent in 1963. Similarly, China's exports to the country rose manifold to USD 62 billion in 2016 from USD 7 billion in 2005.



In fact, the US never saw its export share increase from 1948 as it has been steadily falling. Its second best peak was in 1963 when it had an export share of 14.6 per cent. Similar sorry story was that of Britain, whose share of global trade fell like ninepins - from a robust 11.3 per cent in 1948 to just 2.9 per cent in 2015.



These numbers assume importance as the Communist China -- which has become the world's factory over the past three decades -- has completed 15 years as a WTO member on December 10 and is set to get the market economy status (MES) as per the trade body's membership rules.



The only three other countries that have improved their exports share are Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, the report said.



While the share of Germany jumped from 1.4 per cent in 1948 to 8.3 per cent in 2015, that of Japan, which was the second largest economy till 2011, improved to 3.9 per cent from 0.4 per cent during this time while its peak of 9.8 per cent was in 1993 and 6.8 per cent in 2003.



Similarly, the Netherlands' share rose from 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent during this period. Germany had a peak share of 11.7 per cent in 1973.



Sharma, in the report, warned that an MES status for Beijing, which currently has only a non-market economy status, will be highly detrimental to the commodity driven economies and sectors.



Region-wise, Europe and Asia saw a rise in their share, whereas North America, South and Central America and Africa lost out massively.



While the share of Europe rose to 37.3 per cent in 2015 from 35.1 per cent in 1948, that of Asia had the maximum jump - from 14 per cent to 34.2 per cent in 2015. Within Asia, share of the Middle East more than doubled - from 2 per cent in 1948 to 5.3 per cent - thanks to the oil.



As against this, the share of North America nearly halved to 14.4 per cent in 2015 from 28.1 per cent 67 years ago, while that of South & Central America dipped to a third -- from 11.3 per cent to 3.4 per cent. Similarly, the trade share of Africa came crashing down from 7.3 per cent to 2.4 per cent.



Sharma warns that China getting the MES status would be a big risk to commodity-driven markets and sectors like iron & steel, chemicals, ceramics and tyres, the items which enjoy heavy state subsidy in the Communist nation. He notes these sectors are among those which have benefited by the anti-dumping duties in the past.



As a subsidy-driven manufacturing helped China yank everybody's trade, it had to face the maximum number of anti-dumping duty cases.



According to Sharma, as much as 35 per cent of the entire anti-dumping cases are against Beijing, with 541 of the 1,009 such matters being filed against the Middle Kingdom as of 2015.



New Delhi alone has the maximum number of unfair trade practises cases against Beijing, accounting for 35 per cent of the total cases. As per the rules governing China's accession to the WTO, the Communist giant would get the market economy status on completion of 15 years of membership.



Since December 10, 2001, when Beijing became a WTO member, China has been treated as a non-market economy based on terms of its membership of the trade body.



As per the report, the MES status means that China's cost of production and sale price (within China) need to be considered by importing countries, while ascertaining if the dumping of goods is taking place, which was optional hitherto.



Though the MES status should be automatic as per the membership rule, it is easier said than done as even though not providing MES is not an option for WTO members. Many countries argue that MES should not be given to the world's second largest economy.



The MES status would give Beijing's competitors less opportunity to initiate anti-dumping measures on Chinese exports, thus pushing up exports from that country further and threatening commodity-linked sectors.
New Delhi: While government is pushing for digital payments through mobile phones, chipset maker Qualcomm said that wallets and mobile banking applications in India are not using hardware level security which can make online transactions more secure.



"You will be surprised because most of the banking or wallet apps around the world don't use hardware security. They actually run completely in Android mode and users password can be stolen.



Users use fingerprint which might be captured ... in India that is the case for most of all digital wallets and mobile banking apps," Qualcomm Senior Director Product Management Sy Choudhury told reporters here.



He said that even most famous digital payment application in India is not using hardware level security.



"Reason we are saying that none of them is using it because we work with OEMs (original equipment makers)," Choudhury said.



As per market research firm Strategy Analytics, Qualcomm leads mobile chipset market globally with 37 per cent share.



"Everyone is getting connected, everyone is getting authenticated by device. How do you know that your device is getting ready for demonetisation? When you download a mobile banking app you don't know if it is using hardware security or not," Choudhury said.



He said that Qualcomm is now approaching digital payments companies for using secure environment for processing payments on mobile phone.



"We are providing secure execution environment in the chipsets. This layer separates transactions on mobile phone from operating system. This checks any malware from effecting transactions," Choudhury said.



He said that Qualcomm is also coming up with new feature in its mobile chipsets from 2017 that verify user with payment gateway using unique features like device id, phone manufacturer signature, Android version in the phone, root kit of operating system, location and time, which will be nearly impossible to duplicate.



"Device attestation feature will start shipping in 2017. For end users it should be available by end of 2017," Choudhury said.



The company has partnered with software security company Avast to generate alerts for users in case their mobile phones are infected with virus or malware.



Choudhury lauded India's Aadhaar authentication system.



"Aadhaar initiated by Indian government, the path that it is moving now with digital version of Aadhaar is far ahead then most government in the entire world," Choudhury said.
Washington: In a significant development, the World Bank has paused the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.



"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said.



The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan. It was also emphasised that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty.



Pausing the process for now, the Bank would hold off from appointing the Chairman for the Court of Arbitration or the Neutral Expert -- appointments that had been expected on December 12 as earlier communicated by the Bank.



India had taken strong exception last month to the World Bank's decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistan's complaint against it over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.



Surprised at the World Bank's decision to appoint a Neutral Expert, as sought by the Indian government and at the same time establish a Court of Arbitration as wanted by Pakistan, India had said proceeding with both the steps simultaneously was "legally untenable".



Both processes initiated by the respective countries were advancing at the same time, creating a risk of contradictory outcomes that could potentially endanger the Treaty, the Bank noted.



"This is an opportunity for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time. I would hope that the two countries will come to an agreement by the end of January," Kim said.



The current processes under the treaty concern the Kishenganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants. The power plants are being built by India on, respectively, the Kishenganga and Chenab Rivers.



Neither of the two plants are being financed by the World Bank.



The bank said the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.



In September, the World Bank, which had mediated the Indus Water Treaty, had said it was approached by India and Pakistan and it is "responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the treaty".



"India and Pakistan have informed the World Bank that each has initiated proceedings pursuant to the Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and the World Bank Group is responding in its limited, procedural role as set out in the Treaty," it had said.



The Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries. It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties.
New Delhi: The Information and Broadcasting ministry has issued warning to three different television channels over content which an Inter Ministerial Committee appointed by it felt was not as per broadcasting norms.



In the first case, a television channel was issued a warning in an order dated November 29, after it showed disturbing visuals of incidents of suicide in Kerala without adequately morphing them, as recorded in the ministry order.



In another instance, a warning was issued in an order dated November 29, to another channel which too allegedly did not adequately blur the visuals of a murder victim lying in a pool of blood.



Another channel was also issued a warning by the ministry, over revealing the identity of a victim of sexual abuse and other content which did not confirm to the norms.
Dubai: Parliamentarians and journalists from India and Pakistan have highlighted multiple challenges in covering the India-Pakistan relationship and stressed that an enabling environment for free and fair reporting must be ensured.



This was one among several recommendations made at the fifth round of Pakistan-India legislators and public officials dialogue facilitated by Pakistan Institute of legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) at Dubai , U.A.E on December 11-12. Legislators and journalists from both the countries have met up twice in Dubai to go around visa restrictions in India and Pakistan in the backdrop of recent tensions in their relationship.



The dialogue on the role of media in improving cross border ties had elected representatives from the Congress, Indian National Lok Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party attending. A recently concluded dialogue also facilitated by PILDAT had several BJP legislators participating.



The Pakistani delegation had representatives from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, Pakistan Muslim League - Functional and was chaired by Javed Jabbar, the former Federal Minister for information and media development, Pakistan. The Indian delegation had Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Member of Parliament and a former Union Minister in the chair.



The Dialogue recognised and appreciated the diversity of opinion in the Indian and Pakistani media and promoted a balanced and positive approach in news media of both countries towards improving relations. Participants stressed that sensationalism and negative hype must be avoided in reporting India-Pakistan matters in both the countries.



Participants also highlighted the continuing issue of inability of news organisations in India and Pakistan to appoint reporters in each others countries. They underscored that lack of access for media to locations in the other country and obstacles in obtaining visas for journalists of both countries remain key issues hampering an informed portrayal of each country. Mani Shankar Aiyyar said media correspondents must be there in both countries to better understand each other.



While India has in general been more open to granting visas to Pakistani journalists than vice versa, participants reiterated the earlier demand that India and Pakistan should put in place policies ensuring ease of access, travel and reporting by journalists from both countries.



Emphasising the role of the media in improving ties Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President , PILDAT said until Pakistan understands what bothers India and Indians understand what bothers Pakistan, effective dialogue cannot take place.



However, participants underscored that while media can play a role in positively influencing relations between the two countries, the essential responsibility to chart a course in this regard remains that of the elected leadership in both India and Pakistan.



With reference to the recent Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar, the participants observed that in inter-State relationships, due consideration, courtesy and diplomatic protocol must be observed. Mani Shankar Aiyyar referring to the cold response to Pakistan Prime Ministers Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, in Amritsar said It is Sartaj Aziz who stands to gain from this and makes India look weak. It was needlessly discourteous.



Underlining the critical need for positive and continuous engagement between Pakistani and Indian media, participants highlighted that institutional arrangements in two countries through the respective professional associations and forums of owners, editors and journalists must be facilitated for dialogue.



Media in both countries must develop priority policies to positively influence India Pakistan relations, said Senator Sassui Palijo from Sindh, Pakistan.





(The writer attended the dialogue at the invitation of PILDAT)
New Delhi: Media of India and Pakistan should continuously engage with each other and promote a "balanced" and "positive approach" in news coverage to improve bilateral ties, a conference of legislators and journalists of the two countries underscored.



Held in Dubai amidst chill in the relations between the two countries, the 'India-Pakistan Legislators, and Public Officials Dialogue on Sharing of Experiences on Governance and Democracy' emphasised that media can play a role in positively influencing relations between the two countries.



A "joint statement" issued after the conference yesterday stressed that dialogue is the only way forward for the two countries to improve relations and the essential responsibility to chart a course in this regard remains that of the elected leadership in both India and Pakistan.



At the same time, it underlined "the critical need for positive and continuous engagement between Pakistani and Indian media".



"... The participants highlighted that institutional arrangements in two countries through the respective professional associations and forums of owners, editors, and journalists must be facilitated for dialogue," the declaration said.



"While promoting a balanced and positive approach to news media of both countries towards improving relations, the Dialogue recognised and appreciated the diversity of opinion in the Indian and Pakistan media.



"In doing so, the participants recalled the earlier Joint Communique of March 10, 2016, on the subject that urged media in both countries towards the requirements of objective and professional reporting upholding the core values and cardinal principles of journalism. In particular, sensationalism and negative hype must be avoided," the declaration said.



The Indian delegation was led by Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and included AAP and Congress MLAs of Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana besides six journalists.



The Pakistani side was headed by Senator Javed Jabbar and included legislators from various parties and journalists representing various organisations.


Vadodara: Police here chanced upon cash worth Rs 19.67 lakh, including Rs 13 lakh in the new 2,000 rupee notes, kept in a gunny bag during a raid at the house of a city-based businessman regarding illegal liquor possession.



The notes were seized from a gunny bag kept in a cupboard in the businessman's house, located on Ajwa Road in the city, during the raid on Monday, Detection Crime Branch police Inspector M S Vaghela said.



During the raid, 650 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination, 6,000 notes of Rs 100, 500 notes of Rs 20 denomination, 1,000 notes of Rs 50 and 700 notes of Rs 10 denomination were seized from the house, Vaghela said.



Acting on a tip-off regarding illegal liquor possession, police first went to Goyal's house on Sunday and seizure 91 cases of IMFL and some foreign liquor brands allegedly stored in his house illegally.



"We arrested the businessman on Sunday after seizure of liquor bottles, under relevant provisions of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, as Gujarat is a dry state," Vaghela said.



The businessman was then produced before a local court which remanded him in one-day police custody. He was later released on bail.



During the remand period, Goyal revealed that a member of his family was holding liquor permit issued on health ground by the state Prohibition department and claimed that he had purchased the liquor from an authorised shop.



In order to find the invoices of the liquor purchased, police raided the businessman's house yesterday and chanced upon the gunny bag containing the currency notes and seized it, Vaghela said.



The Vadodara police have informed the Income Tax department about the currency seizure, he added.
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is prepared to meet President-elect Donald Trump at any time.



When asked by journalists about the possibility of arranging a meeting with Trump, Put said "we are ready at any moment.



There are no problems from our side,'' according to an interview transcript released by the Kremlin on Tuesday.



Putin said that "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this.''



He added that "we understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship. But we are prepared to do our bit.''



Putin said, however, that a meeting between the two leaders was more likely after Trump's January inauguration.
New Delhi: An RSS affiliate, associated with small scale industries, Laghu Udyog Bharti (LUB) has warned demonetisation may lead to negative impact both on industry and unorganised labour if cash crunch is not resolved soon.



LUB office bearers, led by its President Om Prakash Mittal, will be meeting Minister of State Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in Delhi on Wednesday to apprise the government of their problems and seek remedial measures.



The meeting to be attended by a Finance Ministry bureaucrat will be the first of its kind between government representative and an RSS affiliate post note ban.



"We are not against demonetisation per se. But one must realise that most of the small scale industries employ labour which seeks weekly remuneration in cash. Small Scale Industries should be allowed to withdraw money to meet their expenditure and there should not be any limit attached to it," said Mittal.



Laghu Udyog Bharti has welcomed government's effort to shift to cashless economy but insist that the transformation should not be an event but a process.



"Labour does not accept money by cheque. Most of the migrant labour does not have bank accounts. These are practical problems we are facing. The realty sector is worst hit," said Mittal.
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has said that those who "planted" the news that he has been named along with a few others in a vigilance report on corruption at North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) will get beaten up with shoes if they come to Arunachal Pradesh.



"Jhoothe khayenge hamare yahan," he told CNN-News18 reacting to the report that appeared in The Indian Express on Tuesday.



The paper had reported that Rijiju; his cousin, a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh, Goboi Rijiju; and several top officials of the state-run NEEPCO, including its Chairman and Managing Director, have been named in a 129-page report by the PSU's Chief Vigilance Officer that alleges corruption in the construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project, one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh.



Rijiju had written a letter to Ministry of Power to release funds to the contractor and his cousin Goboi Rijiju, a copy of which is with News18.



Rijiju confirmed that he indeed had written the letter. "Is trying to help people corruption?" he asked.



Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was pulled up by NEEPCO for "unauthorised absence," and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report. The paper quoted him as attributing the absence to his investigation.







Express said that Verma's report was sent to the CBI, CVC and the Ministry of Power in July this year. It alleges an "elaborate conspiracy" involving contractors, NEEPCO officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds that "may extend up to Rs 450 crore." West Kameng, the site of the project, falls in Arunachal West, which is the parliamentary constituency of Rijiju.



The CBI has made two "surprise checks" but no FIR has been registered yet, according to The Indian Express.
Mumbai: Actress Yami Gautam has started shooting for filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's upcoming film Sarkar 3.



The actress has donned a serious look for her character in the movie.



"I am attempting something like this for the first time and I'm very excited about it," Yami said in a statement.



The 28-year-old actress said that as an actor, she "wants to explore a new side with each film".



"We have started the shoot and I really look forward to coming on sets and getting in that particular character," she added.



Yami will also be seen sharing screen space with actor Hrithik Roshan in Sanjay Gupta's Kaabil, which is set to release on January 25, next year.




New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday broadened its attack on demonetisation with former finance minister P Chidambaram calling for a probe into how freshy-minted Rs 2000 notes got into the hands of hoarders while there was an acute shortage in banks.



He said most people including him were struggling to get cash because it was not available in banks and ATMs while seizures by enforcement agencies showed bundles of Rs 2000 notes with hoarders.



"This is the biggest scam of the year. This is the one that should be investigated," Chidambaram said at a press conference.



Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "shifting goalposts" by talking on cashless economy after initially pitching it as an anti-black money move Chidambaram said: "In his November 8 speech PM Modi mentioned the word black money 18 times. In his two speeches on November 27 he mentioned black money 8 times and cashless economy 27 times."



He pointed out that no country is actually cashless and that especially in India low-value transactions are always done in currency notes.



Calling demonetisation a "thoughtless, meaningless" move he said it will irrepairably damage 45 crore people of the country who depended on daily wages for their livelihood.



"45 crore people in this country depend on their daily income. Tomorrow nobody will compensate them for that," he said.



"Nearly 45 crore people in this country depend on their daily income. Tomorrow nobody will compensate them for that," he said pointing out that the rich were unfazed by demonetisation.



He also questioned the black money math saying that if all the Rs 15 lakh crore that was withdrawn returned to banks then it would raise doubts on the rationale behind demonetisation.



Khoda Pahad Nikli Chuhiya



"It is a case of khoda pahad nikli chuhiya (dug a mountain and found a mouse)," Chidambaram quipped.



"The government should have consulted at least Yashwant Sinha, he is their own man. They could have consulted Dr Manmohan Singh. There are over a 100 officers involved in budget making, till today it's never leaked. What secrecy is this?" the former finance minister said.
New Delhi: A week after Jayalalithaa's death, RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy has dropped a bombshell by demanding a probe into the medical treatment given to the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.



This comes, few days after actress Gauthami demanded a similar probe saying the secrecy around Jayalalitha's illness and her time in hospital was a cause of suspicion.



J Jayalithaa passed away on December 5 late night at Apollo Hospital in Chennai after being admitted following a cardiac arrest.



Here are the excerpts of S Gurumurthy's exclusive interview with CNN-News18's Executive Editor Bhupendra Chaubey:



Bhupendra: There are many who are asking for probe into the circumstances that led to the death of Jayalalitha. Do you think should there be a probe? There are some who are suspecting foul play.



Gurumurthy: Jayalalitha was in hospital for 50 days, she was ailing for months and in these cases let us assume you have to administer medicine to her which is risky. Who will you consider, you should consult a relative or somebody. If there is no relative who did they consider? Its an issue because its an issue concerning medical discipline. We need to go into who did the wrong thing or something. Whether the medical discipline was observed or not is a matter of enquiry.







Bhupendra: Do you think that AIADMK as a political outfit can continue in existence post Amma?



Gurumurthy: AIADMK as a political outfit was sustained by anti-DMK vote bank, the anti-DMK votebank so long as it continues. The AIADMK as a party will be a very potent party but it is true that AIADMK does not have a one mentionable leader. So how will they manage in the coming months to work out arrangement among themselves. Power can be a great binding factor, it can also be a dividing factor but one thinks AIADMK is used to obedience.



Bhupendra: Do you believe Sasikala is a kind of person who can still generate that kind of obedience?



Gurumurthy: I don't think so. Unfortunately having being so close to Jayalalitha, she is probably the person who has been seen as the one responsible for all the wrong things that have happened so the people at the bottom level do not view her kindly. So, I dont think she can develop as a leader and if she grows that ambition that will be very serious and will have a great impact on AIADMK's future itself.
Dadri: Sharpening his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday told people at Dadri Anaj Mandi that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation drive has made them "cashless" as he couldn't recover money from corporates who squandered away with crores of rupees.



"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken away your money back to banks while he couldn't recover it from top corporates of the country who have taken at least Rs 8 lakh crore loan from banks", Gandhi said addressing traders and women in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri.



"PM has made you stand in line for banks to function. If your money remains in these banks for eight to 10 months, they will be able to waive off these loans owed by the industrialists who actually marketed Modi and made him the Prime Minister," Gandhi added.



Taking a direct jibe at Prime Minister, Gandhi said "Modi has really made the economy cashless because the people don't have any cash. The whole country is crying," he said.



Gandhi said the demonetisation was carried out to suit the interests of the corporates and industrialists who were "running the government de facto".



Minutes after senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram criticised NDA government for implementing the "anti-poor" demonetization scheme, Rahul who is on visit to the state said, "PM's narrative has changed over time. First, it was fight against black money, then terrorism and now it's about making society cashless. PM talks about making the society cashless, society has already become cashless because of this move, people are suffering".



"The poor and honest queuing up outside banks and ATMs" continued to suffer he said, adding "you will not find a single rich or black money hoarder there", as they were completely unaffected by the exercise, Rahul told the women and traders who had assembled in the area.



Gandhi said, "While you struggle to get your own money, the black money hoarders are getting their money converted into white in the banks through the back doors."



He accused Modi of waging a war against the poor through demonetisation.



(With inputs from IANS)


Kolkata: The BJP state president Dilip Ghosh has tendered an unconditional apology for his controversial remarks against Mamata Banerjee at the West Bengal state Assembly on Tuesday.



He said he was new to Bengal politics and that he had made the remarks in excitement and that he would not repeat such an act in future.



As the war of words between the TMC and the West Bengal BJP unit gets murkier over the issue of demonitisation, Shahi Iman of Tipu Sultan mosque Maulana Noor-ur Rahman Barkarti has issued a fatwa on Monday against BJP State President Dilip Ghosh.



Barkarti questioned the audacity of the BJP State President for making derogatory comments against Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee who is trying to build an image of being a strong opposition against the BJP at the Centre demanding a roll back on demonitisation.



On issuing the fatwa, the Muslim cleric said, From where does he get the audacity of make filthy comments against our beloved Chief Minister who the most secular leader of our country? I issued the fatwa which states that he should be pelted with stones and kicked out of Bengal. He does not deserve to stay in Bengal.



Reacting to the fatwa, Ghosh questioned Barkatis move. What does Barkati think, is this Bangladesh or Pakistan that he will issue a fatwa against me? He can issue a fatwa against TMC, they will listen to him, not the BJP.



Ghosh also pondered whether Barkati wishes to stay in India or planning to migrate to Pakistan or Bangladesh.



Mamata has been hitting out at the Modi Government on demonitisation, campaigning aggressively in Delhi, Patna and Lucknow.



At a public meeting in West Midnapore district on Saturday, Ghosh said Mamata has lost her mind, which is why she is going to Delhi and Patna.



He also commented saying, When she was staging protests in Delhi, if we wanted we could have thrown her out of Delhi by grabbing her hair as we have our police deployed there, but we didnt do so. How can a Chief Minister use such words for the Prime Minister, its not right.



The Trinamool Congress on Sunday condemned Ghosh for using abusive language against Banerjee.



While Ghosh is unfazed at the fatwa issued by the Shahi Iman, in the days to come, will the BJP State President now choose to tone down his attack to avoid inviting more trouble for himself?
Cairo: Egypt said on Tuesday it had arrested four people suspected of involvement in a devastating bombing of a Cairo Coptic church, as grief stricken mourners gathered for the funeral of the dead.



The health ministry said 25 people had been killed in the bombing at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church yesterday.



It was the deadliest attack in recent memory on the Christian minority, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population.



President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at the funeral, said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who had been identified as 22 year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa. One of the four people arrested was a woman, Sisi said, and authorities were looking for two other suspects he did not identify.



Most of the victims were women, authorities have said. The attack occurred during Sunday service at the church adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.



There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Coptic Christians have been previously targeted in Egypt.



Wooden coffins, each bearing a cross, were covered with the country's flag and lined up at the Saint Mary and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in the Nasr City district today.



A woman who lost two daughters in the attack cried and fell to the ground next to their coffins as other mourners prayed silently.



In the streets of Nasr City, Sisi and Tawadros led black-clad mourners behind soldiers carrying the coffins of the victims.



Troops marched to the sound of military music.



"This blow has caused us a lot of pain, but never will we let it break us," Sisi said.



Pope Tawadros II said: "We are hurting from this evil." Yesterday's blast was the worst attack on the Coptic Christian community since a 2011 suicide bombing killed more than 20 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.



The health ministry said in a statement late today the death toll had risen to 25 after a 40-year-old woman died of extensive injuries.



Copts have faced persecution and discrimination dating back to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.
Washington/New York: Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson will be President-elect Donald Trump's choice as secretary of state, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday, but he could face a struggle getting confirmed by U.S. senators concerned about his close ties to Russia.



Trump will announce his pick as secretary of state on Tuesday morning, and the source said it would be Tillerson. Trump called Republican Mitt Romney, another candidate for the top diplomatic job, to tell him he would not get it.



Lawmakers from both major parties have raised questions about Tillerson and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 State Department official and has voiced hawkish views on Iraq and Iran.



In a separate development, Trump is expected to pick former Texas Governor Rick Perry as his nominee for energy secretary, the source said. Perry met Trump on Monday at Trump Tower in New York.



Republicans and Democrats said Tillerson, who is also president of Exxon Mobil Corp, would be asked about his ties to Russia, having met President Vladimir Putin several times. He won fresh praise from Moscow on Monday.



In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honor, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."



Senator John McCain, a leading foreign policy voice and 2008 Republican candidate for president, told Reuters in an interview: "I have concerns. It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin."



Calling Putin "a KGB agent who is bent on restoring the Russian Empire, McCain said he would await confirmation hearings if Tillerson is nominated before making a judgment on the nomination.



Another Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that would review a Tillerson nomination, has voiced similar worries.



Renewed allegations of Russian hackers meddling in the Nov. 8 election, coupled with Trump's stated admiration of Putin, have stoked concern. Washington is at odds with Moscow over a range of issues that include Syria, Ukraine and NATO's presence in Eastern Europe.



Trump, a Republican, is due to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. During Trump's presidential campaign, Democrats and longtime government officials voiced alarm when Trump repeatedly praised Putin.



BOLTON ALSO A CONCERN



Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was optimistic Trump's nominees would be confirmed by the Senate, but he declined to comment on any future nominees such as Tillerson.



McConnell called all of Trump's choices so far "pretty impressive."



Senator Charles Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader, told CBS "This Morning" that "the bottom line is, every one of these nominees, particularly a guy like Tillerson, needs a thorough, thorough hearing."



"Talks about his closeness with Putin will come forward," Schumer said.



Bolton has also generated bipartisan concern. On Sunday, Republican Senator Rand Paul said he would work to stop Bolton from being confirmed to any Trump administration post.



"His worldview is naive," Paul said on ABC's "This Week." "He still believes in regime change. He's still a big cheerleader for the Iraq war. He's promoted a nuclear attack by Israel on Iran. He wants to do regime change in Iran."



In 2005, then-President George W. Bush installed Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in a temporary "recess appointment" that sidestepped U.S. Senate confirmation. He took that step after Democrats used procedural rules in place at the time to block the nomination.



Bolton left the job at the end of 2006 when the temporary appointment was ending.



Senate rules have since changed, making it harder for a minority of senators to stop judicial and executive branch nominations.






President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his choice to be US secretary of state, hailing him as "among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal makers in the world."In a release from his transition headquarters in New York, Trump calls Tillerson's career "the embodiment of the American dream. "He says Tillerson rose through the ranks "through hard work, dedication and smart deal making."File photo of Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson. (Reuters)Here are other appointments made by President-elect Donald Trump:: Donald Trump has nominated Marine General Mad Dog Mattis as the Defence Secretary. Mattis is considered to be an outspoken military man and pithy at times. He was once even asked to cut down on his rhetoric. "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight," the Los Angeles Times quoted him as saying. "You know, it's a hell of a hoot. ... It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up-front with you. I like brawling.Retired U.S. Marine Corps General James Mattis, sits down to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his office at the Capitol in Washington, U.S. December 7, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst.: Kansas congressman, Mike Pompeo, appointed to lead Central Intelligence Agency, has been accused of being anti-Muslim in the past. In the aftermath of 2013 Boston bombings, Pompeo had taken potshots at Muslim leaders while speaking in the congress."Mr Speaker, its been just under two months since the attacks in Boston, and in those intervening weeks, the silence of Muslim leaders has been deafening," Pompeo said at the time.He was also a part of the committee looking into the events that led to the death of a US ambassador in Libya.File Photo of Mike Pompeo (Centre) in Washington June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan: Jeff Sessions was rejected by the Senate for the post of a district judge in 1986. Three decades later, Sessions was picked by Donald Trump for the post of Attorney General. A Senator from Alabama, Sessions is well-known for his opposition to immigration, his campaign against marijuana and has been accused of racism, too.President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) waves to reporters after meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (not pictured) on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron: In 2012, Michael T. Flynn was made the director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, a post he held before leaving in 2014 over reported clashes with President Obama. Flynns unbridled support for Donald Trump was palpable at the Republican convention where he delivered a fiery speech vehemently criticising Trumps counterpart Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama. "We are tired of Obamas empty speeches and his misguided rhetoric," he said. "This has caused the world to have no respect for Americas word, nor does it fear our might."File photo of Donald Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. (Reuters): An American attorney and politician, Reince Priebus is the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, which is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy.Priebus friendship with the House Speaker, Paul Ryan dates back to two decades. Ryan and Trump had their differences, but he endorsed Trump just before the US electorate went to polls. With no governing experience in Washington, Priebus is still considered to be a man of immense competence, who could build and maintain relationships with leaders not only at the top but also from the grassroots level.Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus reacts during a general session at the Republican National Committee Spring Meeting at the Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Florida, U.S. on April 22, 2016. (REUTERS/Joe Skipper)
Moscow: A new Islamic State attack on Palmyra in Syria from the besieged Mosul region of Iraq could be "orchestrated" to divert the attention of Syrian government forces from Aleppo and spare the militants entrenched in the city, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.



The fact that the Islamic State militants launched their offensive on Palmyra from Iraq and "apparently from Mosul" and marched through the "territories patrolled by the aircraft of the US-led coalition makes one think that -- and I really hope to be wrong here -- that it was orchestrated and coordinated to give a respite to those thugs, who are entrenched in eastern Aleppo," the Foreign Minister was cited by RT news as saying.



Lavrov went on to say that the US has been conducting a two-faced policy towards terrorist groups in Syria from the very beginning of the Syrian crisis. The US-led coalition is fighting the Islamic State but was studiously avoiding targeting another terrorist group, which is Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, he said.



"There is a significant number of reasons to believe that (Al-Nusra) was being spared as the most effective combat-capable force, which opposes the governmental (forces) of the ground in order to be used for overthrowing the legitimate Syrian government when the time comes," Lavrov told journalists.



At the same time, he said Russia is still ready to guarantee that the corridors allowing the militants to leave Aleppo will not be targeted by the Syrian government forces and once again asked the US to persuade the armed groups to leave the city.



"Those who want to be the part of the reconciliation process should immediately join the ceasefire regime, as all the others would be regarded as legitimate targets," the Minister said, referring to the armed groups fighting the government forces in Syria.



He also expressed hope that the US will stop "exonerate" the militants and will confirm its commitment to the "fundamental agreement" on "uncompromising struggle against terrorism." At the same time, he admitted that the talks between Russia and the US on Syria were difficult.




A shining city on a hill, Ronald Reagan called America (by way of the Puritan authoritarian John Winthrop). We are great because we are good, Hillary Clinton said during the campaign (via Tocqueville). Michelle Obama, earlier this year: This right now is the greatest country on Earth.

You may have heard of mansplaining, which is when a dude patronizingly explains something to a woman, often concerning a subject about which she knows more than he does (c.f., rape culture, workplace discrimination, etc.). Other spin-off portmanteaus mocking pompous people of privilege include whitesplaining (white person explains racism to black person), straightsplaining, Millennialsplaining, and even (during the primaries) Bernie-splaining.

May the victory of Donald Trump mark the long overdue death of Ameri-splaining  when American leaders like Clinton and Obama (and not a few ordinary citizens) pretentiously declaim our nations supposed exceptionalism to people in countries that do a better job than we.

First and foremost, Id like to thank Trump for his campaign slogan: Make America Great Again. Granted, he wasnt talking to blacks and other oppressed segments of society for whom the past is more about pain than nostalgia. Trumps campaign was aimed at whites. Nevertheless, Trump deserves credit for acknowledging that  at least at this time  America is not so great. He compared us to the likes of a Third World country. Keep reading and youll see that he has a point.

The first step is acknowledging that you have a problem.

Problems? Where to start?

Our economic structure sucks. Were the worlds richest nation. But because we also have the most horrendous wealth inequality, most Americans are poor. According to the UN, our poverty rate is worse than 17 of the 19 OECD countries. We have the highest rate of childhood poverty. But the rich pigs in charge dont care. Which is why we have the worst social safety net.

Maybe we should stop letting people die of cancer because theyre poor before Ameri-splaining human rights to Iran, where free RouhaniCare for everyone rolls out in 2018. Similarly, we might want to stop executing children before telling the Iranians theyre wrong to do the same thing.

Our infrastructure is outdated and poorly maintained. It would take an additional $3.6 trillion to bring our existing highways, bridges, dams, sewers, water pipes, rail and so on up to code  yet spending on repairs is at a 30-year low. That doesnt count the $500 billion or more it would cost to build a high-speed rail system like they have in Europe and Japan  you know, modern countries.

Rather than harassing China over their ridiculous little fake islands, perhaps U.S. officials could invite the brilliant civil engineers creating a high-speed train system to Tibet, complete with pressurization like a plane as it soars through and around some of the biggest mountains on the planet, to show us how to bring our trains into the 21st century.

What is with us? Why do we talk down to the rest of the world from the depths of the lowest swamp below the moral high ground? At his penultimate State of the Union address, President Obama Ameri-splained to Russias Vladimir Putin over his aggressive annexation of Crimea. At the time, the U.S. was in its 14th year of occupying Afghanistan and its 12th of occupying Iraq. It was bombing the crap out of Yemen. Obamas death drones were killing thousands of people, most of whom he thought were innocent.

When you stop to imagine what we look like to the rest of the world, were lucky we got away with just one wee 9/11.

Will Ameri-splaining continue under Trump? Youd think not, but since hes already swiveled 180 degrees on so many other issues, he easily could revert to Bush-Obama-style triumphalism from his current, refreshing pessimism. The difference now is, no one  not even here in America where no one reads anything  can possibly take the U.S. government seriously when it scolds some country for, say, torturing people. Whereas Obama condescendingly tells his successor that torture doesnt work (but not that its immoral, or that he still allows the CIA to use it), Trump has said of waterboarding I like it a lot.

The United States has always been corrupt, savage and brutal. It has always been wildly dysfunctional and hypocritical. But now, thanks to a president-elect who is loudly ignorant and utterly devoid of impulse control, the mask is off. The horrible truth about the United States can no longer be denied.

Trump epitomizes truth in advertising. Were a nasty, crappy country.

President Trump suits us fine.

Rall is a syndicated writer and cartoonist for ANewDominion.net and Skewed.net. His latest book is Trump: A Graphic Biography, an examination of the life of the Republican president-elect in comics form. Contact him through his website, Rall.com.
You always can expect the Golden Globes  both the nominations and the ceremony itself  to be more exciting and adventurous than its rather reserved counterpart, the Emmys.

The 2017 Globes nominations were announced Monday morning, a list that affirmed the love I already had for some shows and further cemented the list of series I need to catch up on.

Here are the nods that put a smile on my face, and a few developments that left me scratching my head:

 Stranger Things as a best drama series contender

Ill save most of my thoughts about the Netflix series for my best TV of the year list, which will run in The Burg on Dec. 28. There was no show I enjoyed watching more in 2016 than Netflixs throwback series, which reveled in all things 80s.

- Nods for Donald Glover and his FX show, Atlanta

This series is at the top of my to-watch list. Ive loved Glover since his days on Community and couldnt be more thrilled that hes broken out with a show that has been so popular among viewers and critics alike. And whats next for him? Playing Lando Calrissian in the Han Solo Star Wars prequel.

 Riz Ahmed, for HBOs The Night Of, in the best limited series/miniseries actor category

I cant say enough good things about Ahmed, who played a man who was chewed up and spit out by the prison system after being wrongly accused of murder. His performance was absolutely heartbreaking, and it would be amazing to see him win.

'The Night Of' ends with heartbreaking finale HBOs The Night Of wrapped up its first season Sunday night with what Id been hoping for 

Hes got some stiff competition, though; in addition to frontrunner Courtney B. Vance, for FXs The People v. O.J. Simpson, hes also up against costar John Turturro, as the low-rent lawyer who took on his case (the series itself also was nominated).

The only thing missing was a nod for Bill Camp, excellent as an about-to-retire cop who had some eleventh hour reservations about the case against Ahmeds character.

 Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, nominated for FXs The Americans

Its about time these two finally got some awards-show love, and 2016 has certainly been their year. In addition to the Globes, they also were nominated for Emmys back in the fall. They didnt win there, but fingers crossed their fortunes will change here.

 Thandie Newton, Westworld

I wasnt completely on board with the HBO series, but Newton was one of the reasons I kept tuning in.

 The entire comedy actress category

So much talent, and not your usual laundry list of veteran actresses (though Julia Louis-Dreyfus, for Veep, and Sarah Jessica Parker, for HBOs new Divorce, did make the cut).

Check out these ladies and join in my applause: Rachel Bloom, The CWs Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; Issa Rae, HBOs Insecure; Gina Rodriguez, The CWs Jane the Virgin; and Tracee Ellis Ross, ABCs blackish.

And, now, the disappointments:

 I wouldve loved to have seen David Harbour, from Stranger Things, and Jeffrey Wright, from Westworld, break into the supporting actor category  perhaps in place of John Travolta for FXs The People v. O.J. Simpson. What he did as lawyer Robert Shapiro was so bizarre and certainly not award-worthy.

 Where was Millie Bobby Brown, a revelation as Eleven on Stranger Things? She has my vote for best supporting actress.

'Gilmore Girls': A love letter to the returning series The pop culture event Im most thankful for this holiday season hasnt even happened yet. Netflixs four-part revival of Gilmore Girls subtitled A Year in the Life  drops Friday, and Im not sure I can even put into words how thrilled I am.

 No Gilmore Girls love. Im not talking about the show itself; the four-part continuation had its moments but was largely uneven (you can skip the middle two episodes and really not miss a thing).

But Lauren Graham did some of the best work of her career in the final episode, as Lorelai finally dealt with her fathers death. And Kelly Bishop is always her perfect foil as mother Emily Gilmore.
The Golden Age, the Silver Age, and beyond: the different eras of comic book history explained

What do people mean when they refer to the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and beyond?
Home News Sports Social Obituaries Events Letters Superintendent's Scoop A look back at the year that was, and a look ahead December 12, 2016 By Gary Pflueger

Superintendent, School District 101



As we come to the end of another year (as my parents taught me) its time to reflectwhat went well, what can we do better?



Lets start with enrollment. We have more students enrolled in our district than the previous two years. I take this as a very positive sign. I will attribute this to a couple factors. First, take an opportunity to visit with our school principals. Ive said it before, Ill say it again, this is the best admin team I have seen in my 25 years in the business. They are unified in spirit and conviction. All members are child-oriented. We are focused on student safety and learning!



Student/staff relationships are improving through the support of Love & Logic and PEAK strategies. With fewer disruptive behaviors, deeper teaching and learning can occur. Homeschoolers, come in and take a look at us; you may like what you see. Do we have problems? Of course we do, were humans after all, but I love what I am seeing. Excellence will be rewarded; poor performance removed!



Another point to celebrate is our continued growth in technology with the latest and greatest. We now have enough Kindles for every second, third, and fourth grader to have a device. We have also purchased a Chromebook for each fifth grader in the district to use.



These advances in technology will allow us to provide the necessary up-to-date instructional practices our children deserve. These will be used to strengthen our reading, writing, and research skills as our students learn to compete in this global world.



On another technological front and most exciting, our district personnel and city planners have met with a company out of Coeur d Alene that is bringing fiber optic capability to our community. This is huge and exciting as we open our connectivity to all people!



I have established two groups who are providing tremendous input to the Boundary County School District Board of Trustees. The Facilities Committee has gone through all five schools and identified/prioritized needed upgrades and repairs. Projects effecting student safety are getting done: controlled access into schools, gym floors in both the HS and MS, and repair of leaking roofs to name a few.



The second and newest group is the BCSD Budget and Financial Advisory Committee. This group consists of Diane Cartwright, Cal Russell, Greg Johnson, Merle Ansley, David Walter, Deborah Youngwirth, David Brinkman, Nathan Williams, Robin Merrifield, Luke Omodt, Jacob Garrison, and Cal Bateman. One of the co-presidents of the BCEA, Josh Knaggs or Rita Vannoy, will likely join this group at the next meeting.



The first challenge of this group is to prepare for and pass the M&O Levy. Yes, this is a levy year. We need your help again this March.



All of the positive activities and projects listed in this letter would not have been accomplished without the support of the levy two years ago.



Here is the things we can do better part of the letter.



For all the positive things happening in our schools and around the district, the one thing that bothers me most is we went into mediation during negotiations with our teachers last year. I was deeply troubled by this process. The Budget and Financial Advisory Committee is challenged with making our district budget crystal clear. The financing of public education is a very complicated process. We have had one expert who is leaving us soon.



Diane Cartwright is retiring this year after 20 years of dedicated service.



She is a wealth of knowledge and has kept our district in the black during turbulent years. Her expertise and loyal dedication to BCSD will be greatly missed! Replacing Diane in January is our own Cal Bateman. Cal and I will step up to the challenge with the support of this advisory committee; we have no choice!



This year we are making great strides strengthening our partnership with the Boundary County Education Association. Our teachers and support staff deserve what we can give them and more. The stronger our partnership the better for our children in Boundary County.



Besides an educated society, what do our kids and teachers give back to us?



This time of the year: seasonal band and choir concerts, the theatre. (Did you see Letters to God? It was amazing!) Our leadership classes and FFA are bringing in turkeys and hams for the Ministerial Association Community Baskets. Canned food drives will happen after the New Year to refill the food banks.



Dare I say, We are blessed!



Yes, the future is bright for Boundary County! I am excited to work with Mayor David Sims, City Planner Lisa Ailport, and Dennis Weed, our Economic Development Coordinator. I look forward to seeing the growth of our community as we celebrate the awarded High 5 Grant and future development that will come with fiber optics. Like it or not folks, we are on the move! Our kids deserve everything we can give them!



Thank you for entrusting your children to Boundary County School District. We proudly accept this challenge with honor and conviction. Questions or comments about this article? Click here to e-mail!
CONTEMPT

Robinson-Regis scathing condemnation came after Finance Minister Colm Imbert did a sequel of his challenge to former Peoples Partnership (PP) government to come outside, challenging the Opposition this time to, come inside and debate the Tax Information Exchange Bill 2016 which is critical to TTs FATCA compliance with the United States.

Looking at the empty Opposition benches, as he concluded the debate, Imbert declared, I appeal to them again...as I appealed in the past..I appeal to the Members opposite again...come downstairs...

come inside! Government MPs pounded their desks as Imbert continued, Come inside!...Why are you outside?..They should come inside...This is the peoples House..

Dont be cowards...What are you hiding for?...Come inside! In 2015, when the then Opposition Peoples National Movement (PNM) walked out of debate on a no-confidence motion against then Opposition Leader (now Prime Minister) Dr Keith Rowley, Imbert challenged the PP to come outside, and say what they had to say.

The Government yesterday approved several amendments to the bill in the committee stage but did not take the vote on the bill, which requires a three-fifths majority, for passage. The House was adjourned to January 6, at 1.30 pm, to complete deliberations on the bill.

Prior to the adjournment, Robinson- Regis declared it was unacceptable for the Opposition for the third time,  to absent itself from this very important piece of legislation. She continued, Our Parliament is here to ensure the conduct of law and order...degradations for the proper organisation of our country. As Government MPs thumped their desks, Robinson-Regis quipped, It is indeed passing strange that on three occasions (September 23, December 9 and yesterday)...those in opposition to us have determined they should not participate in this debate. She reminded Government MPs that when Opposition MPs walked out last Friday, they indicated they were doing so in solidarity with Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Naparima MP Rodney Charles when they (Persad-Bissessar and Charles) openly challenged Speaker Bridgid Annisette-Georges decision to deny Persad-Bissessars request to to adjourn the House to discuss what Persad- Bissessar described as Governments failure to address an unprecedented number of murders and missing persons in TT.

Saying Persad-Bissessar and Charles displayed gross disorder and misconduct last Friday, Robinson- Regis asked Deputy Speaker Esmond Forde, What is their reason for not being here today? She found it interesting the Opposition did not want to discuss legislation that would facilitate the exchange of tax information. Robinson-Regis warned that if the bill is not passed, it can lead to the collapse of the entire banking system in TT. She continued that even if the Opposition did not want to speak to the Government in Parliament, why are they not speaking to the Bankers Association? On the Oppositions claim of supporting the bill in a joint select committee (JSC), Robinson-Regis said the Government was discussing the bill in committee stage in the House because, this exercise allows all members...whether on the Governments side or the Oppositions side to say clause by clause...what is the concern they have for the bill. In his contribution, Imbert said Persad-Bissessar was inaccurate to allege that FATCA was not important and only dealt with big business.

He said he was amazed that Persad-Bissessar pretended not to know that FATCA affects, all 1.3 million souls in the country if the legislation was not passed.

Reiterating the timelines for passing the bill, the efforts he made to get extensions after the PP missed two FATCA deadlines, Imbert said the country dodged the bullet twice and would be pushing its luck if it tempted fate a third time.

Speaking to reporters after the Houses adjournment, Imbert said, We (Government) have listened to what they (Opposition) have to say and amended the bill to suit their concerns. He added, We did it in the public so everyone could understand what we are about and we will also be informing the public about exactly what weve done today. Imbert stressed, The business of the Parliament...the business of the country must go on. Dismissing Persad-Bissessars demand for evidence that the economy would collapse if TT is not FATCA compliant, Imbert said, I think thats really irresponsible.
Too violent in TT

Robert Mc Inniss, 36, a Jamaican national was shot dead just after midnight on Saturday near a bar in Curepe.

The mother of the victims one-year-old son, stood outside the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday, having arrived in the country hours earlier.

Not me and Trinidad.

People fi kill you here for nothing, said the woman who did not want to give her name.

Mi ah go back fi Jamaica one time. I cyah deal with the way things are here. I dont like this country because it is so violent here, said the Jamaican, whose country is also well-known internationally for its own levels of violence and murders.

According to reports, Mc Inniss who was an employee at a liquor mart in San Juan, was near Bruce Bar at the corner of Bushe and Belle Smythe streets in Curepe when at about 12.30 am on Saturday, gunshots rang out and he fell into a nearby drain on being shot in the head. He was rushed to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EW MSC) in Mt Hope, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The woman described Mc Inniss as a jovial, kind-hearted person. She said he was never involved in any criminal activity as far as she could tell and the only altercation he had was with another man in the Diego Martin area. Police are still trying to ascertain a motive in his death, as investigations continue.

The murder toll stands at 442, compared to 394, for the same period last year.
La Brea woman reported missing

According to reports, Heather Barriteau, from Sobo Village, La Brea, went out with with a friend in San Fernando on Saturday evening and has not been seen since.

She was reportedly last seen wearing a grey sweater, a black vest and purple leggings.

Her husband, Devon Paul, is asking anyone with information to call 291- 3470 or to contact the police on 555 or 800-TIPS as soon as possible.
US Ambassador at LINKAGES launch

LINKAGES partners with governments, communities and key populations in an effort to provide support and reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Linkages across the Continuum of HIV Services for Key Populations Affected by HIV (LINKAGES) is the first and largest project of its kind in the Caribbean.

USAID, in a statement issued on its behalf by the US Embassy, explained that through funding and technical support, LINKAGES will share the best tools and strategies drawn from decades of global experience and adapted to local needs and conditions. This will help LINKAGES and its partner countries realise challenging but essential objectives: testing those who dont know their HIV status; linking those living with HIV to quality care, treatment and support; and reducing new infections.

The programme will also address incidents of stigma and violence that place people at greater risk for HIV, USAID stated.

Luke Sinnette, Director of Friends for Life; a Trinidad-based LINKAGES grantee, spoke about how crucial it is to include everyone in the HIV/AIDS fight.

It is important to focus on key populations in the fight against HIV and we must not just do so in rhetoric. Inclusion of men who have sex with men, sex workers and transgender women must be done in ways that address their experiences and help heal their communities. This is the opportunity we have with the LINKAGES project, Sinnette said.

Meanwhile the LINKAGES Director, Hally Mahler, said the project is about passion, partnership and re-thinking the way we address HIV, with the end goal that all members of key populations in the Caribbean, and globally, will have access to comprehensive health care services and enjoy a high quality of life. LINKAGES is excited to work alongside local governments, international partners and local communities in these efforts. Mission Director, USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean, Christopher Cushing, talked about how the agency works with stakeholders to implement LINKAGES.

USAID, as part of the broader PEPFAR initiative in Trinidad and the Caribbean, is proud to work hand-in- hand with Governments, Civil Society and the LINKAGES project to pilot innovative ways to expand access to life-saving HIV/ AIDS services to critically under- served and stigmatised populations, Cushing shared.
Opendoor Is Laying Off

Almost a Fifth of Its Workers
(Newser)  It's the kind of story you'd hope would have a miraculously happy ending, but it wasn't to be in South Africa. Last Monday evening, 28-year-old Msizi Mkhize was struck by a car in Durban and pronounced dead at the scene, reports the Times of London. He was transferred to the local morgue and placed in the facility's refrigeratoronly to be discovered alive the next day, when his family came to identify the body. "A pulse was found in the patient by mortuary staff," says a provincial official. Mkhize was rushed to the hospital, but he died five hours later. Police and health officials have confirmed the story and say a formal inquiry is underway to figure out how the awful mistake happened.

We arrived there at 8am to do the paperwork and view the body of my child," Mkhize's father tells the local Daily News. "It was after 12pm when an employee told one of the doctors my son was alive." Doctors began an intensive effort to warm and resuscitate Mkhize's body, but it was ultimately unsuccessful, reports the Citizen. One official says staffers stayed beyond their shifts to help. I have no words to express how I feel about what happened to my child," says Mkhize's father. "To spend the entire night and morning in the mortuary refrigerator is wrong." (This is not a first.)
(Newser)  A pastor in Texas angry at parents for "bearing false witness" when they lie to their children about Santa Claus decided to unleash his views on kids, too. In a 3-minute video that has gone viral, Amarillo pastor David Grisham, who leads religious fundamentalist group "Repent Amarillo," yells at families waiting to see Santa at the Westgate Mall: "The man you're going to see today is just a man in a suit dressed up like Santa, but Santa does not exist." He tells the Dallas Morning News his life has since been threatened, but he just sees that as proof that he did indeed manage to make Christmas more about Jesus.

Grisham has taken his sermons to gay pride parades, Catholics visiting the Pope, and strip clubs. In fact he tells the Washington Post that he's been "street preaching" most weekends since God spoke to him a decade ago while on vacation in Mexico. (The Morning News says his awakening came during a viewing of M. Night Shyamalan's Signs.) He's also attempted to burn the Koran in public and executed a Santa pinata by firing squad, which cost him his job as a security guard at a nuclear power plant. Grisham says he plans to hit other malls soon. (A dying boy just passed away in Santa's arms.)
(Newser)  President Obama has ensured that the landmark Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture won't be shredded by future administrationsbut the public won't be able to read it until 2029 at the earliest. Obama has decided to have the 6,700-page 2014 report preserved in his presidential library, meaning it will be subject to public records requests 12 years after he leaves office, the Guardian reports. The report details the CIA's use of waterboarding and other "harsh interrogation techniques" after 9/11. It concluded that the agency had lied to lawmakers about the program's effectivenessand that torture hadn't produced any useful intelligence. The Presidential Records Act will allow a declassification review after 12 years, though analysts say the CIA is likely to argue that the information should remain classified.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had called for Obama to declassify the report before he leaves office, said she's glad it will at least be preserved, Politico reports. "The report represents six years of hard work by dedicated staff, and I firmly believe its 6,700 pages and 38,000 footnotes will stand the test of time," she said in a statement. "I also strongly believe that this must be a lesson learnedthat torture doesn't work." Sen. Ron Wyden, a fellow Democrat, argued that the American people "deserve the opportunity to read this history rather than see it locked away in a safe for 12 years"especially since "the president-elect has promised to bring back torture." (Earlier this year, the CIA's internal watchdog said it had accidentally destroyed the report.)
(Newser)  The head of a West Virginia nonprofit that receives both state and federal funding will get her job back a little over a month after calling Michelle Obama an "ape in heels." Following Donald Trump's election win, Pamela Taylorthen executive director of the Clay County Development Corp, which assists the poor and elderlywrote on Facebook, "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a [sic] Ape in heels," per the Hill. Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling, who commented that the post "just made my day," later resigned, while Taylor was removed from her post; a petition calling for her ouster garnered 199,000 signatures.

She is now to be reinstated on Dec. 23, according to a letter sent to the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services from CCDC's acting director, obtained by the Charleston Gazette-Mail, which notes her tenure with the CCDC hasn't been an uninterrupted one. In 1999, Taylor lost her position due to restructuring but was reinstated by a judge's order. Three years later, she was again removed, accused of stealing fundraising money, only to return after a few months. Before she was removed in November, Taylor apologized for the Facebook comment but told WSAZ it led to a "hate crime against me," noting she and her children had received death threats. (A doctor was fired over a similar comment.)
(Newser)  The ATF and Oakland authorities are due to speak about the deadly Ghost Ship fire Tuesday morning, and sources tell the East Bay Times that they're expected to blame terrible wiring for the disaster that killed 36 people. One insider tells the Times that the warehouse, described as a tinderbox that turned into a deathtrap when it caught fire during a Dec. 2 party, was powered by a network of extension cords that stretched through the building, all connected to a single line coming from a hole punched in the wall of a neighboring business. "I tried to throw a party, and the power would shut offbecause of the way it was set up, all the plugs were in the same sockets," a former resident says. "The whole place was wires and cables and wood ... It would spark and smell."

The sources say ATF investigators have ruled out arson, and they no longer believe an old fridge can be pinpointed as the cause of California's worst building fire in more than a century. KGO reports that on Monday, first responders led by a bagpiper paid tribute to the 36 dead with a procession and a vigil. The group included officials from the ATF and the Oakland fire and police departments. The New York Times' graphics team has worked with former Ghost Ship residents to produce maps demonstrating why the fire in the cluttered warehouse was so deadly. People fleeing the fire down a makeshift wooden staircase would have had to have found their way around three pianos and a jumble of other furniture to get to the exit. (Read more Oakland fire stories.)
(Newser)  Christmas gifts have arrived at the International Space Station, courtesy of Japan. A Japanese cargo ship pulled up at the orbiting lab Tuesday, four days after launching. The capsulecalled Kounotori, or white storkcontains nearly 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other supplies, reports the AP. NASA says there also are Christmas presents for the two Americans, three Russians, and one Frenchman on board.

Barely two weeks ago, a Russian supply ship en route to the space station exploded shortly after liftoff. At the same time, one of NASA's main suppliers, SpaceX, is grounded. So the Japanese delivery is especially welcome. The astronauts need the six new lithium-ion batteries for next month's spacewalks. They will replace the old nickel-hydrogen batteries that store energy generated by the station's big solar panels. (The ship also carries a whip for space junk.)
(Newser)  A North Carolina woman who seemingly vanished in 2011 has been found safe and living under a false name in Columbus, Ohio, police say. Rachel Natacha Owens was just 15 when she was last spotted getting off a school bus and into a vehicle in the parking lot of South Brunswick High School in Boiling Spring Lakes, reports the Wilmington Star News. The teen had previously run away for brief periods, per the New York Daily News, and for five years, Owens' parents and five siblings didn't hear a word from her. In 2014, however, FBI agents say they received a tip that Owens might be in Columbuswhich is exactly where she was found around noon Friday, according to the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office.

The 21-year-oldpreviously believed to be with a much older man, per the Star Newshad left North Carolina of her own accord and "went to great lengths to intentionally conceal her whereabouts, even assuming a false identity and date of birth," police say in a release. "There is no foul play in Rachels disappearance and no charges will be pursued at this time." In that respect, it's a happy ending because "some people assumed you are never going to find her because ... you're chasing a ghost," FBI Special Agent Rich Novelli says. "Thankfully none of us gave up." It isn't clear if a reunion is expected. (Police have a new lead in a 47-year-old disappearance.)
(Newser)  If conditions could get incrementally worse than "barely survivable," they just did in Aleppo, Syria. The human rights arm of the United Nations says that forces supporting the Syrian regime have been entering homes in eastern Aleppo and murdering residents, with one report coming in that 82 civilians (11 said to be women, 13 children) have been shot in four separate areas of the city, per the BBC. "We're filled with the deepest foreboding for those who remain in this last hellish corner," says a UN spokesman, who conceded that confirmation of the reports was impossible at the moment. Another humanitarian rep from the UN is calling it a "complete meltdown of humanity." From elsewhere on the internet:

The New York Times reports rebels hold just a "sliver of territory," per reps for the Syrian government and opposition forces. The paper notes it's "increasingly likely" that Assad's regime could regain control of the city "within days, if not hours."

The UN and the Red Cross are making desperate pleas to spare the people of Aleppo, the BBC reports, with the International Committee of the Red Cross noting residents have "literally nowhere safe to run." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is said to be "alarmed over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians," and the ICRC said further tragedy could only be avoided if the basic rules of war were adhered to.

An opinion piece in the Independent examines why the rebels are losing (they can partly blame Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia) and whether Assad will have truly won the war if he gets eastern Aleppo back under his command.

Vice News has compiled social media postings from people trapped in Aleppo now saying their final goodbyes to the world. One photographer there wrote, "I am waiting to die or be captured by the Assad regime  Pray for me and always remember us," while the mom of Bana Alabed, the 7-year-old girl who's been made famous by her tweets out of the war-torn city, posted on her daughter's Twitter account, "Final messageI am very sad no one is helping us in this world, no one is evacuating me & my daughter. Goodbye." SBS.com notes that Aleppo's governor has pledged to evacuate Bana and her family.

(Read more Aleppo stories.)
(Newser)  Family members are demanding answers after they say a police officer fatally shot an unarmed 73-year-old man with dementia in Bakersfield, Calif., on Monday. Authorities say they were responding to a call about a man brandishing a gun outside a home around 12:30am when a witness on the scene pointed to Francisco Serna, standing in a neighbor's driveway, reports the Los Angeles Times. Police say an officer opened fire after Serna failed to comply with requests, per KGET; family members tell KERO that eight shots were fired. Serna was pronounced dead at 1:15am, per the AP, but investigators say a search turned up no gun.

"My dad did not own a gun," says Serna's son. "He was a 73-year-old retired grandpa, just living life." Rogelio Serna adds his father had been showing signs of dementia since last year and police had previously visited his homeon the same block where the shooting occurredat least twice when a disoriented Serna activated a medical alarm. His condition appeared to have worsened in the last month, Rogelio Serna says. His father had difficulty sleeping and sometimes walked late at night to fatigue himself before bed. "He should have been surrounded by family at old age, not surrounded by bullets," his son says. (Read more police shooting stories.)
(Newser)  Dedra Shannon may have to settle for cranking up Vince Guaraldi tunes to get into the holiday spirit at her workplace. The principal at Charles Patterson Middle School in Killeen, Texas, made Shannon, a nurse's aide, take down the Charlie Brown-inspired decor she'd put up on the nurse's office door, reports the Austin American-Statesman. The display showed the character Linus, along with: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." Shannon calls the move "discriminatory," and the state's attorney general calls it a violation of her First Amendment rights. The school, however, cites HB 308, a 2013 law also known as the "Merry Christmas Bill," which dictates how schools may celebrate the holidays.

Per the bill, seasonal displays are permitted as long as they include the depiction of more than one religion (or one religion plus a "secular scene or symbol"), and as long as the display doesn't "[encourage] adherence to a particular religious belief." "Employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs on students," the Killeen school district noted in a statement. Texas AG Ken Paxtonwho thinks HB 308 actually protects Shannoncalls the teardown an "attack on religious liberty." The president of Texas Values, the nonprofit religious advocacy group advising Shannon, had this to say: "It's amazing that even a quote from [A Charlie Brown Christmas] is not even safe for some overzealous or misguided government officials." (This Christmas display is driving a New York lawyer batty.)
(Newser)  A Pennsylvania-sized patch of the Indian Ocean has been combed in a $150 million search effort for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370and that search is now coming to a close with the mystery still unsolved. The last boat still looking for the plane left the Australian port of Fremantle on Tuesday to scan areas that might have been missed during the initial search because of sonar issues or too-deep water, reports Perth Now. If no fresh evidence or trace of the plane has been found once its month-long mission wraps up, no future search missions will likely follow, reports NBC News. Though officials "remain hopeful," Australia's transport minister says that "we have to prepare ourselves for the prospect" that MH370, which disappeared in March 2014, will not be found, per the BBC.

Relatives of MH370's 239 victims plan to continue hunting for evidence of what happened to their loved ones, however. Frustrated by a lack of activity from Malaysian officials, family members from Malaysia, China, and France have banded together to search for debris, including on remote beaches in Madagascar, where Jiang Hui, 44, of China says he recently found a possible plane part. "I felt excited but at the same time it was saddening," he tells the Guardian. "It is a small piece and will not really be able to show what happened to the plane, but I hope so much that the authorities  will try to find more." Relatives have also handed out brochures in three languages that explain to locals what to do if plane parts are found, per the BBC. (Here's what debris has revealed so far.)
(Newser)  Stormfront has the dubious distinction, via the Southern Poverty Law Center, of being "the first major hate site on the Internet." That online longevity has also helped it earn the top spot in Google's search results when users type "Did the Holocaust happen" into the search field, but it's Google's reaction to the outcry over this fact that Gizmodo calls "far more concerning." Carole Cadwalladr of the Guardian spotted the white supremacist site at the top of the search results for that question, with the No. 1 result turning up Stormfront's "Top 10 reasons why the Holocaust didn't happen." She's written before on how neo-Nazi and other right-wing sites have "gamed Google's algorithm" to their advantage and evolved into a "vast and growing ecosystem that is encroaching on the mainstream news and information infrastructure like a cancer."

A search engine expert tells Cadwalladr "something has gone terribly wrong with Google's algorithm," but Google apparently isn't planning any changes. A company rep told Fortune that while Google is "saddened" about hate groups, search results don't imply a Google endorsement, and the company "[does] not remove content from our search results, except in very limited cases" There's been outrage over both the search results and Google's shoulder shrug, though at least one person finds it amusing. "Oy Vey! Call the ADL...," ex-KKK head David Duke sarcastically tweeted. One person on Twitter has come up with a possible workaround: Click on different results other than Stormfront's so that the group's results get pushed down the search result ladder. (Read Cadwalladr's column on how she thinks Google is "profiting from Holocaust denial.")
Putting the state government in a spot of bother, CPM State Secretary MV Govindan said that raising the retirement age was not discussed with the party.
(Newser)  Donald Trump has decided on Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department, though that department wouldn't actually exist if Perry had his wish, reports the New York Times. NBC News and the Washington Post are also among several outlets reporting the news after the former Texas governor met with Trump for 90 minutes on Monday. All are citing anonymous transition officials. The Post speculates that Perrywho will be largely responsible for America's nuclear weapons as energy secretaryis likely to move "away from renewable energy and toward fossil fuels," given his track record as a strong ally of the oil industry in Texas. Perry, like Trump, has voiced skepticism about global warming.

A rep for the League of Conservation Voters accuses Perry of being "deep in the pocket of Big Polluters, who have contributed over $2.5 million to his presidential campaigns, a disturbing sign that they expected him to protect their profits in office, not do whats best for the American people." However, an official who served in the Energy Department under George W. Bush says Perry has shown "it is indeed possible to successfully balance appropriate environmental regulations with domestic energy production and use." Perrywho previously described Trump as a "barking carnival act"now sits on the board of Energy Transfer Partners, in charge of the Dakota Access Pipeline project, which will likely come up during confirmation hearings. (Read more Rick Perry stories.)
(Newser)  Donald Trump's transition team sent a memo with 74 questions to the Energy Department this week, among them a request for the names of people who have worked on climate change issues recently. Specifically, it requested a list of all employees and contractors who attended the UN's annual global climate talks during the past five years, Reuters reports. The Energy Department responded Tuesday with a refusal. "We are going to respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department," says a department spokesperson, who added that the Trump team's request "left many in our workforce unsettled." Many media outlets are framing the Trump team's request as an attempt to "purge" the Energy Department of certain workers.

"We will be forthcoming with all publicly available information with the transition team. We will not be providing any individual names to the transition team," the Energy Department spokesperson continued. An official at the Union of Concerned Scientists applauded the Energy Department's response, calling the Trump team's request "absurd and dangerous," and an anonymous Department of Energy employee called the Trump memo "the first draft of an eventual political enemies list." White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said the request for a list of names "could have been an attempt to target civil servants ... who are critical to the success of the federal government's ability to make policy," and a civil service expert tells the Washington Post that even if named employees weren't fired, they could be "marginalized" in other ways. (Trump has made an interesting choice for the head of the Energy Department.)
(Newser)  Women are taking to social media to defend their right to wear granny pantiesand also their right not to be cyberbullied by the media while just trying to buy some dang groceries. The paparazzi snapped a few photos of Australian morning show host Samantha Armytage running errands recently, the Kansas City Star reports. The Daily Mail Australia ran the photos in a piece making hay of Armytage's "giant granny panties," "giant granny undies," and "oversized granny panties," the outlines of which could be seen through her outfit, according to BuzzFeed. It also made sure to point out her "loose-fitting dress" and "make-up free" look before moving on to rumors about her love life, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The response on social media was swift, with the article being decried as "cruel" and "shameless" amid calls to wear granny panties in solidarity, News.com.au reports. One Twitter user said the Daily Mail "should be craterized by orbiting laser guns," and another said a more accurate headline for the piece would have been "Woman going about her day stalked, photographed, and then cyberbullied." "Granny undies are cool" and "all women wear them," others chimed in. Armytage, who only hours before the story ran had criticized tabloid coverage of herself, is apparently considering legal action. "I'm not making any comment as it's with the lawyers," she tells BuzzFeed. (This man's gag gift to his wife turned him into an underwear model.)
(Newser)  After four years, the battle for Aleppo is apparently no more. Russia's UN envoy on Tuesday confirmed what rebel officials had said a short time earlier: The fighting would cease Tuesday night, with rebel fighters leaving the city." My latest information is that they indeed have an arrangement achieved on the ground that the fighters are going to leave," Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.

Though Reuters reports the rebels are saying civilians will also exit for opposition-held areas, the BBC reports it's unclear if the deal actually extends to them. NBC News' sources say the agreement does include civilians, and that five buses will empty out the eastern portion of the city at 5am Wednesday. NBC reports that while the Syrian government hasn't confirmed any of this, the shooting did halt after news of the cease-fire broke. (Read more Aleppo stories.)
(Newser)  Uber employees are being accused of using customer data to track "high profile politicians, celebrities, and even ... ex-boyfriends/girlfriends and ex-spouses," NBC News reports. That quote comes from a lawsuit filed by Ward Spangenberg in October but first reported by Reveal this week. The former forensic investigator at Uber is accusing the ride-sharing company of a multitude of things, including age discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and encrypting data to keep authorities from seeing it. Spangenberg claims he was fired after objecting to Uber practices he considered "reckless and illegal." But perhaps of most concern to customers is Uber's alleged handling of their data.

Five former Uber security professionals tell Reveal that Uber employees have "broad access" to customer data. When I was at the company, you could stalk an ex or look up anyones ride with the flimsiest of justifications, a former senior security engineer says. It didnt require anyones approval. Uber responds that it's "absolutely untrue that 'all' or 'nearly all' employees have access to customer data," though it adds "fewer than 10" employees have been fired for abusing the ride-tracking "Heaven View" (formerly "God View") tool, the Guardian reports. It says employees need access to that tool for things like refunds and accident investigations. The company says it now flags any Heaven View searches for "MVP" customers, such as celebrities. (Read more Uber stories.)
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos reiterated his appeal to rethink the methods used on the war on drugs during his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. So far Colombia has paid the highest price having countless deaths and sacrifices.

He said there's no sense to send a peasant to jail for growing marijuana. He cited the United States as an example. Right now there are eight states wherein the cultivation and use of marijuana is considered legal. Santos said that the U.S. promoted war on illegal drugs that has lasted decades has already caused too much violence and damage to the environment of nations supplying cocaine. He said there needs to be a worldwide focus on easing the laws which prohibit the consumption of illegal narcotics per CBS news.

In April 2015 he said that it's time for the world to take on a different approach regarding its drug policy. He clarifies in The Guardian that this he is not talking about drug legalisation. What he's saying is that it's important to recognise that between war and legalisation there are vast range of alternatives worth exploring. This if we want to take care of the drug consumers, veer the youth away from drug abuse, and work together in order to fight organised crime and give other options for livelihood to illegal marijuana farmers and the most vulnerable of communities.

Santos received his diploma and gold medal for winning the Nobel Peace Prize at the ceremony in Oslo. This is for his efforts to end five decades of conflict that has taken the lives of 220,000 people and has also displaced 8 million individuals. He declared that there is one less war in the world that is in Colombia. He was referring to the peace deal he made with the rebels of the FARC or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Some victims of the past conflict attended the ceremony. This included Ingrid Betancourt. She was a hostage of the FARC for six years. There's also Leyner Palacios who's 32 relatives were killed. Among them were his brothers and three parents during a mortar attack. Santos said the FARC has asked for forgiveness for what they have done, and that Leyner who is currently a community leader has already forgiven them. Citizens of Columbia reacted to their president's prize with quiet emotion. The people are divided over the peace deal that has been made. For more of President Juan Manuel Santos news and latest update, keep it here on News Everyday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's endorsement of her party's call for a partial ban on the burqa, the facial veil worn by Muslim women, has unsurprisingly triggered a storm of reactions from supporters and opponents alike. The Christian Democratic Union is also setting the stage for a full facial ban of the veil on selected areas deemed critical to public safety, such as universities, schools, city streets with heavy traffic, and law courts.

Debaters from both sides argue that the resolution of this matter will strike close to the heart of the principles that Germany has long valued: respect of minorities, the preservation of the diversity of culture, and the safeguarding of secular, civil liberties. At the same time, the well-being of the people against any act of extremist terrorism must also be safeguarded.

Many perceived Merkel's position as caving into her administration's decision to let more than 800,000 refugees into Germany with the taxpayers shouldering the burden of cost.

The Economist has criticized Merkel's statements to her party delegates last December 6 as contradictory. Her calls to ban the full veil on the grounds that they are against European traditions steeped in "sexual equality" and "religious tolerance" apparently infringe on the rights of the Muslim ladies this latest move is supposed to protect. A full ban would stop these women from exercising their religious rights. It might also curtail their basic freedoms, such as the simple act of stepping outside the home to go to another place. The Economist advises Merkel to take a less extremist approach, but one more conducive to integration.

Interestingly, Qanta Ahmed, a devout Muslim woman, takes a position in favor of ban precisely because it will liberate herself and her sisters from repressive cultural mores that do not truly align with Islam. In her Tribune article, Ahmed says that the veil ban will strengthen civil liberties and remove the restrictions on dress, mobility, and visibility that generations of a patriarchal tradition have placed on womankind. The "secular liberal democracy" that Merkel champions will create a safe haven for a more pluralistic form of Islam to flourish.

The debates have just begun, and expect more interesting arguments from various parties. In the meantime, Merkel and her party will find that they face a herculean task in submitting the ban on full facial veil this week.
In October 21st of 2016, the world saw the first appointed United Nations honorary ambassador superhero. Wonder Woman from DC comics was appointed a UN honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls.

The appointment was novel, but received criticisms and protests on the appointment. Protesters demonstrated their disagreement on the decision of the appointment during the day of official appointment of Wonder Woman by entering the chamber where the appointment was held with their backs turned and fists raised. Moreover, petitions have been going on since the appointment of the superhero for the role.

Much of the criticism focused on why a real person couldn't be appointed instead of a comic book superhero. Furthermore, Wonder Woman received criticisms on how the character is portrayed in comic books and in her character design as having exaggerated proportions and revealing outfits, on top of the colour combination of red, blue and white in the character's color scheme.



According to a report in CBC news, the online petition against the appointment reached 45,000 signatories. The petition urged UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon to reconsider the appointment of the character. The UN now officially announced that Wonder Woman's stint ends Friday of this week.Wonder Woman was intended to appeal to a younger audience to drive the message of the importance of women empowerment and gender equality. The UN did not provide reasons why the UN honorary ambassador will end her stint this weekend.



The United Nations have used pop culture characters to promote advocacies in the past. The most notable was the use of characters from the hit mobile game "Angry Birds" to promote climate change advocacies of the UN, but the use of those characters did not see much time either.
Mallika's tale was an eye-opener to the world of Indian medical science. The 27-year-old had met with an accident and was suffering from a severe disability for over a year. On March 18, 2009, Mallika had undergone a brain stem cell transplant surgery at a hospital in Bengaluru. The surgery was successful, and she was discharged on April 3, 2009. Experts said that before this incident, only China had attempted such forms of treatment. In a nutshell, the incident did highlight the scope of stem cell therapy in India.

The Progress So Far

Over the years, stem cell research has been crucial in the treatment of various diseases such as Parkinson's disease, heart failure, Alzheimer's disease and even diabetes. According to Dr S. Ramaswamy, Dean, inStem, Bengaluru, the LV Prasad Eye Institute at Hyderabad is a pioneer in an area of stem cell research related to eye disorders, especially that of the cornea.

Where Does India Stand?

In a survey conducted by Ernst and Young, India was ranked third in the area of biotechnology. Biotechnology includes agricultural and stem cell research as well. Researchers believe that the ranks, so derived stated in the survey could be due to India's progress in agricultural research. The ranks, according to them, do not imply that the India tops the charts in the field of stem cell research.

Research Publications By India

Senior researchers state that the number of publications that India contributes in the area of stem cells is quite low in comparison to other nations like China or even South Korea.

"In terms of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, this is not true. Nor is it true in terms of patents in biotechnology. The statement does not seem convincing considering the contribution to GDP. Then, again, this can be skewed by calling regular agriculture as biotechnology. In terms of funding for research and development this is not true. There are countries that do better than India - intuitively to me in the Asia-Pacific region would be (not in any particular order), Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, South Korea," said Dr Ramaswamy, Dean, inStem, Bengaluru, India.

The following table published on http://journals.plos.org gives insights into the number of publications produced by stem cell researchers in India.

The Hurdles That Hamper Work

Despite the research scenario having improved over the past ten years, scenario has improved significantly, the number of people pursuing stem cell research in India is minuscule compared to most other countries, which have specialized stem cell research programs.

What Could Be The Reasons Behind The Poor Statistics?

Researchers seem to be facing a lot of issues due to lack of adequate funds. Over the past ten years, the funding allocated for stem cell research has reduced drastically due to stricter and regulated norms.

According to Dr Anuradha Vaidya, Deputy Director, Symbiosis School of Biomedical Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune, Maharashtra, India, the current status of stem cell research in India is productive, yet challenging. Till now the focus of research has been purely on basic sciences. However, the focus should now be on "bench to bedside" approach. How could a common man benefit from such advanced level of research is something that should be continuously thought over and over by researchers. We are good in basic research, but the application part is missing. It is important that researchers keep taking important cues from basic research; however without translational research, it is impossible to develop and commercialize the use of stem cell products in future explains Anuradha.

Product Development And Stem Cell Research - The Time Factor

The product development process in the field of stem cell research does take several years. This is primarily due to the fact nothing concrete seems to have evolved with regards to several aspects of such therapy. One of these aspects is the number of stem cells that are required for treatment.

Note: The art of storing stem cells: These cells are frozen and are preserved with the help of extenders, most often nitrogen. Theoretically, it should last till the end of eternity or till the liquid nitrogen lasts. This could also have an impact on the product development process.

Another fact that could delay the product development process could be that the research revolves around the lives of western part of the world. "Indians have a different body constituency. So, the research need not necessarily yield favorable results among Indians," explains Dr Radhakrishnan, Head of the Division, Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics, Rajiv Gandhi Center of Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

Suggestions As Per The Experts' Request

Stem cell research should be treated at par with other types of medical research. It could be noted that the last antibiotic was prepared over 20 years ago. Since then, nothing new has been introduced in for the benefit of the public. Similarly, instead of binding stem cell scientists to a time-frame of not more than three years, they should be granted an initial time frame of nine years so as to do justice to the research work.

A new strategy for funding could be implemented. Researchers should be granted funds for a minimum of nine years instead of three years. This should be irrespective of the stage of product's development. By doing so, the researcher and the other authorities would be able to assess their progress in the work they have undertaken. The next allot of funds could be determined based upon the progress that they have made.

The work of the scientist could be monitored from time to time. An ideal assessment system could even include provisions for penalizing the researcher for not meeting the terms and conditions that have been set.

Lastly, research publications could be made available in the local dialects as well. "It is important for the public to know more about the work we do. Unless and until we can pen our findings down in the lingua franca, our work will go unnoticed," added Radhakrishnan.

There are several factors - both external and internal that determine the state of stem cell research in India. Moreover, stem cell therapy is expensive. Thus, the questions of surrounding its feasibility as a cure to diseases remain answered. Then again, unless there is more productive research, one would never know if the option could be accessible to all.
Till now, the honeymoon was something the newlyweds went for on the earth. But now, the couples can really go 'over the moon' when it comes to honeymooning. Reports say that 10 years from now, newly married couples can celebrate their lifetime moment on the moon.

Moon Express or MoonEx, an American private start-up company which is preparing to launch a lunar mission that could fulfil the dream of those who want to set their foot on the moon in the next decade, said reports. MoonEx will take the help of SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk to take a trip to the natural satellite for $10,000, said a Science World Report article.

According to The Tecake, a mission to moon generally costs one person $25 billion but things could get really cheap in the next 10 years, said Naveen Jain, the founder of MoonEx.

Jain said in a recent interview with CNBC in Helsinki: "It's very complimentary as a matter of fact...Elon (Musk) will build the rocket and we do the rover. Essentially, he lays the cables and we do the last mile." The IB Times reported.

"I believe in the next 10 years, there is going to be a gentleman on their knees asking their sweetheart to say, honey will you go to the moon with me for honeymoon," Jain said.

MoonEx's CEO Bob Richards hailed the U.S. government saying Moon Express 2017 is a landmark decision and also a "pathfinder" for private commercial missions beyond Planet Earth's orbit, the Science World Report article added.

"We are now free to set sail as explorers to Earth's eighth continent, the moon, seeking new knowledge and resources to expand Earth's economic sphere for the benefit of all humanity," Roberts said. The U.S. government's first-ever go-ahead for the Moon Express mission sets a regulatory framework for several other commercial expeditions to the moon and other space objects, according to a Daily Mail report.
Even Santa Claus' reindeer are vulnerable to global warming. Research shows that the reindeer are producing smaller offspring in the Arctic. It seems like Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Blitzen, and Donner are smaller today than 20 years ago.

A survey was conducted for the past 16 years on the arctic island of Svalbard in Norway. The survey found that the average weight of reindeer declined by 12 percent. The decline in average weight is reportedly caused by global warming.

In a meeting in Liverpool with British Ecological Society, scientists from Britain and Norway explained how global warming contributed to the lowered average body mass in reindeer. According to the research, the rising temperatures deprive female reindeer of nutrients during their pregnancy. The winter in Svalbard usually runs for 8 months yearly which hinders grass growth from June to July.

The temperatures in the arctic increased by approximately 5 degrees Fahrenheit. While the warmer winters provide food for the reindeer, come summer, when rain is usually abundant, gives way to another impediment to their food supply. The rain that freezes in the arctic island buries their food supply.

Moreover, the erratic climate change also affects reindeer greatly. While the number of reindeer is growing, their offspring are getting smaller. In fact, the population of reindeer increased from 800 to 1,400 but the average body mass of reindeer in Svalbard, Norway has dunked from 55 kg to 48 kg since the 1990s. It is "survival of the fittest" at Svalbard amongst reindeer as weaker reindeers usually die, including the calves, the sickly, and the elderly.

It is a well-known fact that arctic temperatures are rising at a dangerous rate due to building-up of greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere. Santa Claus may not be able to save his reindeer, though, as climate change is clearly taking a toll on the reindeer.
New Delhi:

The banks and other financial institutions are expected to see heavy rush on Tuesday as they reopen after three days' break. Banks were closed between Dec 10-12 on account of second Saturday and Sunday followed by Eid Milad-un-Nabi.



On Monday, people faced a myriad of problems as the ATMs ran dry due to a long weekend.



Many people expressed unhappiness that even a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement about demonetisation on November 8, the situation has not improved much. They say the government must take corrective steps quickly.



It is now clear that the idea of demonetisation has failed due to lack of planning and execution. Many ATMs are still unable to dispense cash, a city-based businessman said.

Also read | 0.75% discount on use of debit/credit cards, mobile wallets at PSU petrol pumps from December 13



Another businessman from south Mumbai said it took him almost one hour to find a functional ATM in the area.



Thereafter, I had to spend another one hour in the ATM queue to get a single note of Rs 2,000. I think it is high time government should announce corrective measures to tackle the crisis, otherwise it is going escalate further.



Modiji is appealing to people to go cashless. I dont know about the countrymen, but it seems that banks and ATMs are certainly following the PMs words, said Shyama Kukreja, who runs private tuitions in suburban Dahisar.However, there are still many, who feel that people should give more time to the government to see the positive effects of demonetisation.



Naresh Upadhyay, a medical representative, said, Just see what is happening in Venezuela. This country has followed Indias footsteps in its efforts to eradicate the black money. It is matter of pride that other countries are now following our suit.



Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has signed an emergency decree ordering the countrys largest banknote, the 100 bolivar bill, taken out of circulation to thwart mafias he accused of hoarding cash in Colombia.



Kavita Dhawan, an entrepreneur from Vashi in Navi Mumbai said, The way huge stocks of currency in new notes are being seized, looks like that these are tip of the iceberg. And this is the reason why people are dying in the queue. If Modiji has to make his demonetisation plan successful, then he needs to keep a check on the bank officers and employees, because without their help, such huge amount of cash cannot go outside the banks.

(With Inputs from PTI)

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Washington:

President Barack Obamas White House on Monday made it clear that US ties with Taiwan was not a bargaining chip and that America was firmly committee to the decades-old One-China policy, a day after president-elect Donald Trump questioned the relevance of pursuing the policy.



The United States government, under the leadership of President Obama, has been and remains firmly committed to our one-China policy. Thats also the policy, by the way, that previous presidents in both parties have pursued and our country has benefited from adherence to that policy, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.



One reason that we have pursued that policy is because the Obama administration does not view Taiwan and our relationship with Taiwan as a bargaining chip, he said adding that Taiwan is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US.

Also read | Trump questions relevance of One-China policy



Trump yesterday questioned the relevance of continuing the One-China policy if Beijing refuses to make any concessions on trade and other issues. He had said that China was very badly hurting the US by devaluing its currecy and accused the communist nation of not helping in reigning in North Korea.



Trump has suggested he can leverage Taiwan by questioning the One China policy and force China to make a deal.



Trumps One China rhetoric prompted the strongest public warning from China today that bilateral ties will be damaged.



Adherence to one-China principle is the political bedrock of the China-US relations. If it is compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relationship as well as bilateral cooperation in major field would be out of question, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.



The US since 1979 has respected Chinas stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province. But Trump said without concessions from China, he did not see why it should continue.





Bargaining that away is not something that this administration believes is in our best interest. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to make the case that its in the interest of Taiwan, Earnest said.



Under Obama administration, the US has been able to lower tensions around cyber issues and they have been able to work effectively with the Chinese to ramp up pressure on the North.



We certainly dont agree with the Chinese on everything, but where common ground does exist, weve been able to make progress in a way that benefits the American people and benefits the Chinese people... That kind of progress is much more difficult if tensions are heightened around our one-China policy, Earnest said.



Obama, he noted, has worked hard to manage relationships with China and Russia in a way that gives the US the opportunity to capitalise on common ground where it exists.



In each case, our differences are substantial, but in each case effective diplomacy resulted in both those countries bolstering our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and further isolate the North Korean regime for their destabilising activities on the (Korean) peninsula, he said.

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Ghaziabad:

Police on Monday busted an inter-state sex determination racket active in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and arrested a lady doctor and her associate, while another doctor managed to flee.

Acting upon secret information, Sonipat police and health department of Haryana were trailing a lady doctor Anita and his compounder Gajendra, who was associated with Sahibabad based doctor Rahul Malik, Deputy Superintendent of police Manish Mishra said.

Gajendra used to bring customers to doctor Anita, who used to perform sex determination tests, he said.

One such lady, who has paid Rs 26,000 as sex determination and abortion fee to doctor Anita, exposed the nexus. Doctor Anita called her to a clinic which is being run in a residential society of Sahibabad.

As and when the lady reached the clinic to get her fetus checked, health and police department team raided the flat, he said, adding Anita and Gajendra were nabbed while doctor Rahul fled the spot.

An FIR has been registered upon the complaint of Deputy CMO Adarsh Sharma of Haryana health department under section 23, 25 of pre-natal diagnostic techniques (regulation and prevention of misuse) act 1994.
New Delhi:

The members of backward castes from Uttar Pradesh protested at Jantar Mantar on Monday, demanding their inclusion in SC category.

Led by former MP and president of Kashyap Nishad Adivasi Mehra Sabha, Narendra Kumar Kashyap, scores of members of several extremely backward castes in UP attended the protest and tried to take out a march to the Parliament but were stopped by the police.

The castes of Kashyap, Nishad, Kevat, Kahar, Dhimar, Mallah among others are demanding to be included in SC category but no government is listening to them, Kashyap said.

Also Read: Demonetisation : Delhi BJP to distribute one laddoo per family for standing in ATM queue

"Unless you unite and are determined to snatch your right no government will listen to you," he said, addressing the protesters.

They also demanded justice for the rape survivors from the community in UP and Rajasthan.

"The women and girls of the community are facing threat to their honour and life. In both the cases the victims of rape belonged to extremely poor Dhimar and Kashyap castes. Police has not been able to arrest them," Kashyap said.

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New Delhi:

This day 15 years ago, five heavily armed men dared attack one of the symbols of nations pride - Parliament of India. Later identified as the members of Pak-affiliated terror groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire.

What followed was a fierce gun-battle lasting for nearly 30 minutes. One of the most blatant attacks in Indian history claimed the lives of eight security personnel who fought bravely to save the symbol of national democracy. A by-stander also lost his life, while all 5 intruders were shot down, before they could cause anymore damage.

The attack triggered extensive investigations which revealed possible involvement of four accused namely Mohammad Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain Guru (cousin of Afzal Guru) and Gilani (Syed Abdul Rahman Gilani) and Shaukats wife Afsan Guru (Navjot Sandhu before marriage).

My deepest tributes to the martyrs of 2001 #ParliamentAttack; their sacrifices to protect the temple of democracy will always be remembered. pic.twitter.com/oIaXKN2Y1I  Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 13, 2016

Here are the 10 facts about the unfortunate day:

Also Read: From 2001 Parliament attack hero to domestic help: Painful story of Radha Chauhan

# The gunmen used a fake identity sticker on the car they drove and thus breached the security deployed around the parliamentary complex.

# The terrorist entered the Parliament complex around 40 minutes after the Parliament was adjourned. There were about 100 members of parliament in the building at the time.

# While then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi had left, many MPs including Home Minister LK Advani and Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak were still inside.

# The gunmen drove their vehicle into the car of the Indian Vice-President Krishan Kant (who was in the building at the time), got out, and began shooting. The Vice-Presidents guards and security personnel shot back at the terrorists and then started closing the gates of the compound.

# Constable Kamlesh Kumari Yadav, of CRPF was the first to spot the terrorists and was shot by them as she raised the alarm. She died on the spot. One gunmans suicide vest exploded when he was shot dead; the other four gunmen were also killed.

# Delhi Police claimed that five militants carried out the attack and the names given by them were Hamza, Haider alias Tufail, Rana, Ranvijay and Mohammed all of whom were killed by the security.

# There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assault. One of the attackers died when he detonated explosives strapped to his waist. The four others, who also hurled grenades, died in a gun battle with police.

# All MPs and ministers escaped unhurt .

# Delhi Police officials claimed that gunmen received instructions from Pakistan and the operation was carried out under the guidance of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

# On Dec 15, 2001 Delhi Police picked up Afzal Guru, an alleged member of terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), from Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly conspiring and sheltering the militants.

The day is a brutal reminder of terror threat that India faces on everyday basis and how brave each and every Indian soldier can be when facing it, on the border or within the nation.

Smriti Z Irani  took to twitter to pay tributes to martyrs of Parliament Attack who made the supreme sacrifice while protecting our Temple of Democracy.

Tributes to martyrs of Parliament Attack who made the supreme sacrifice while protecting our Temple of Democracy. pic.twitter.com/rxWfNms6aJ  Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) December 13, 2016

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New Delhi:

Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nation, Ambassador Tehmina Janjua has recently been elected to preside over the Fifth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).

The unanimous decision was taken at the start of the Review Conference, that is being held in Geneva from 12-16 December 2016. Foreign Ministry of Pakistan claims that the election of Pakistan as the President of the conference is an endorsement of the country's strong credentials in multilateral diplomacy.

The Ministry also added that it reflects that the international community's confidence in, and recognition of Pakistan's contribution to international security and arms control related issues. The Convention and its five protocols deal with prohibitions and restrictions of certain conventional weapons, balancing humanitarian concerns with their military utility.

The Fifth Review Conference of the Convention was preceded by a Preparatory Committee meeting in September 2016 that was also chaired by Ambassador Janjua. Review Conferences of the CCW are held every five years to review the implementation of the protocols.

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Hyderabad:

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi addressed a public meeting on the occasion of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad Milad-un-Nabi. Hitting out at the government over demonetisation, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a tyrant and alleged banks and ATMs in Muslim dominated areas in the city were not functioning.

Every family is in distress today...I cannot withdraw my money. Who made this law, the Hyderabad MP said.The Prime Minister should remember that those standing in queues now to withdraw their money would stand in queue again to vote against him (in the elections), Owaisi said.

Also Read: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi accuses PM Narendra Modi of raising 'triple talaq' issue for political gains

Talking about Modis fakir remark, he asked whether a fakir wears a Rs 15 lakh suit.What type of a fakir is he?...Would any fakir give pain..You are not a fakir, you are a zalim (tyrant), he said.

Modi should come to the old city of Hyderabad to see the suffering of the people as they cannot withdraw their money, said the AIMIM chief about the constituency he represents in Parliament which has large Muslim population.

Also Read: Owaisi alleges Modi govt trying to convert India into a Hindu rashtra with its attempt to impose Uniform Civil Code

Why cashless economy? We will not do cashless economy. Give me my money. Credit card, how many credit cards are there in India. I bet there wont be even one or two per cent of credit cards with Muslims.

Not with Dalits.Banks are not open in our Muslim localities. If bank is open, it is declared red zone and loans are not available.If ATM is installed, money is not coming out of them in our localities, he alleged.Claiming that demonetisation would not have any fruitful outcome, he said experts have estimated a loss of three per cent of GDP due to this decision.

Also Read: Post-demonetisation cash chaos: Heavy rush at banks as they reopen after 3 days break

The NDA government has failed to check price rise and bringing back black money, Owaisi alleged.On December 3, the Prime Minister at his rally in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh had said he was being targeted for cracking down on those with black money.

I am being hounded as if I have committed some crime by waging a battle against graft. But, what can my opponents do to me? I am a fakir (hermit)?jhola ley kar chaley jayenge (I will exit with my little belongings), Modi had said.

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Brussels :

EU regulators have fined Japanese electronics giants Sony, Panasonic and Sanyo a total of 166 million euros (USD 176 million) for colluding on prices for rechargeable batteries.

The European Commission, the EUs executive arm, said the three companies coordinated prices and exchanged sensitive information between 2004 and 2007 on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

South Koreas Samsung also participated in the cartel, but was not fined as it had revealed the existence of the cartel to the commission.

Millions of Europeans use laptops, mobile phones and power tools that run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the EUs competition chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Todays decision sanctions four rechargeable battery producers whose collusion affected the prices of a number of goods sold to European consumers, she added.

All the companies had agreed to their responsibility in the case and had accepted the fines, the commission said.

Sanyo, which is now owned by Panasonic, received the biggest fine of 97 million euros.

The commission slapped Panasonic with a fine of 39.9 million euros and Sony with 29.8 million euros
New Delhi:

Hitting back at the Chidambaram's comment that demonetisation is the biggest scam of the year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that UPA ran the most corrupt government.



Rebutting at the Congress, Jaitley says, 'no steps against corruption or black money were taken by UPA regime. Corruption scams peaked in Congress period''.



He further retaliated saying that because of the scandalous record, Congress is uncomfortable with anti-corruption steps. He further said that to make the demonetisation scheme more effective, the government is now rapidly completing the scheme and it significant amounts of cash will be injected in next 3 weeks.

He also laid emphasis on digital transactions as it will widen the tax ambit and check blackmoney. Talking on the blockage of the house, he said that government is ready to debate on demonetisation in Parliament. 'Please rise above slogans and join this campaign. There are obvious advantages of this,not withstanding some transient problems people have to face,' Jaitley added.

Jaitley held a press conference in New Delhi to answer former finance Minister P Chidambaram's claim that demonetisation is the biggest scam of the year that needs to be investigated.

Also Read: Demonetisation biggest scam of the year, needs to be investigated: P Chidambaram

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New Delhi:

Under attack over the alleged power projects scam in Arunachal Pradesh, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday rejected allegations of wrongdoing, saying people should not waste their time on it and that it should not be taken seriously.

"Is it a crime to write letter? It's my duty to help people and it cannot be called as corruption. I don't understand why people are taking it seriously. Do not waste your time in this issue," he told News Nation.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rijiju said those who have aplanteda the story against him awill be beaten up with shoesa.



aJo news plant kar rahe hain wo hamare yehan ayyenge to joota khayenge (Those who planted the story will be beaten up with shoes when they will come to our area),a the Tawang MP told reporters reacting to media reports that he had written a letter to Power Minister Piyush Goyal seeking early clearance of bills related to a hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh.



Rijiju, who is the Minister of State for Home, said he had written the letter to Goyal as it was his duty as an MP to take action on representations given by his constituents.



aI have written the letter to the Power Minister after I received presentations from some people in my constituency in Arunachal West regarding pending bills. I have done no wrong and there is no corruption,a Rijiju said.

Congress, AAP demand Rijijuas removal



Congress has alleged that M Rijiju's role in "450-crore scam"in Arunachal is under cloud and has demanded his removal till independent probe is conducted.A

The party also said that PM Narendra Modias claim of transparency is now under question and that people are watching what action he takes in 'Arunachal scam'.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also demanded Rijijuas resignation.

Now Congress must apologise to the Nation. All Contract works & payments were made during Congress regime. I just forwarded a memorandum. https://t.co/2gOFKQIaju a Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 13, 2016

Really cheap! This is the copy of representation I received & forwarding letter to Power Minister. Is it a corruption helping poor Tribals? pic.twitter.com/lwQXthQsNI a Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 13, 2016

Whatas the alleged scam?

The reports claimed that Rijiju, his cousin, a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh, Goboi Rijiju, and several top officials of the state-run NEEPCO, including its Chairman and Managing Director, have been named in a 129-page report by the PSUas Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma that alleges corruption in construction of two dams for 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project, one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh.



NEEPC comes under the Union Power Ministry.

Vermaas report was sent to the CBI, CVC and the Ministry of Power in July this year. It alleges an aelaborate conspiracya involving contractors, NEEPCO officials and the West Kameng district administration to defraud NEEPCO and the government of funds that amay extend up to Rs 450 crorea.



West Kameng, the site of the project, falls in Arunachal West which is the parliamentary constituency of Rijiju.



The CBI has made two asurprise checksa but no FIR has been registered yet, reports said.



Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma, a Gujarat IPS officer, was pulled up by NEEPCO for aunauthorised absence,a and transferred to the CRPF in Tripura soon after his report.



Verma was also part of the three-member SIT set up to probe the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat in 2004 when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister.



Verma had said Ishratas killing was a apremeditated murdera.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Kupang:

An angry mob barged into a police station and killed a man who had attacked a group of school children with a knife in eastern Indonesia police said.

Seven children were injured after a man went on a stabbing spree inside a primary school on Savu, a small island in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The 32-year-old attacker tried to flee but was caught and taken to a police station, said local officer Silfeston, who like many Indonesians goes by just one name.

But once there hundreds of locals, furious at news of the attack, rushed to the station, forcing their way past police and into the cell where the man was being held.

"The suspect was tortured by the mob and died," Silfeston said.

Footage aired on local broadcasters showed dozens of shouting men pushing past police and climbing over walls at the station.

The injured children, aged eight to 11, were taken to hospital for treatment, Silfeston said.

Police are still investigating the mob killing and the motivation behind the knife attack.Savu is home to around 100,000 people.

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Dubai:

Amidst deteriorating India-Pakistan relations, leading political leaders and top journalists representing both the nations met in Dubai while claiming that a "candid and consistent" dialogue was the only means to improve relations.

The fifth round of 'Pakistan-India Legislators and Public Officials Dialogue' was held on Sunday and facilitated by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT).

Under the leadership of Mani Shankar Aiyar, former MP and union minister, delegates from India included MLAs from Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Some prominent journalists from India also attended the event.

The topics on the agenda were the role of media in improving relations between Pakistan and India and how to positively take forward the 'Fight Poverty' agenda.

The participants underscored that while media can play a role in positively influencing ties between the two countries, the essential responsibility to chart a course in this regard remains with elected leadership in both India and Pakistan.

Also Read: Sartaj Aziz to visit India, says good opportunity to defuse Indo-Pak tension

"It was also recognised, at the outset, that while dialogue is the only way forward for two countries to improve relations, candid and consistent dialogue aimed at conflict resolution can only take place when the two states recognize and address the issues such as those included in the Composite Dialogue 1997 and the Comprehensive Dialogue 2015," a statement said.

The participants observed that in inter-State relationships, due consideration, courtesy and diplomatic protocol must be observed.

And media should be given access without hindrance to cover all such events.

They recalled the earlier Joint Communique of March 10, 2016 that urged media in both countries about objective and professional reporting, upholding the core values of journalism and avoiding sensationalism and negative hype.

Participants highlighted the continuing issue of inability of news organisations in India and Pakistan to appoint reporters in each other's countries.

They underscored that lack of access for media to locations in the other country and obstacles in obtaining visas for journalists of both countries remain key issues hampering an informed portrayal of each country.

Participants highlighted that the phenomenal growth in new digital media has enormous potential for positive engagement between Pakistani and Indian citizens.

Noting that resolution of disputes between Pakistan and India can free-up resources for poverty alleviation, the participants stressed that poverty offers a critical challenge for both countries which should share successful policies and practices in alleviating it.

Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan at the LoC and got escalated after the cross border terror attack on an army base in Nagrota in Jammu.

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New Delhi:

Actress Kangana Ranaut has rubbished the reports of tiff with Shahid Kapoor saying she shares a healthy partnership with the actor.

Kangana and Shahid have collaborated for Vishal Bhardwajs upcoming movie 'Rangoon'. While it is the first time that the two will be sharing screen space, it was reported that Kangana and Shahid had some ego clashes on the sets.

Media reports suggested that Kangana boasted starry tantrums on the sets along with interfering in the creative decisions, leaving Sasha quite miffed.

However, the 'Queen' actress has finally put all the rumours to rest.

Kangana stated that though she doesn't share a friendly relation with Shahid, there isn't any tiff between them as well.

"We werent pally, which [is] probably [what] was misconstrued," Ranaut told a leading daily.

The actress also made a point saying that she goes for the shooting to work and not to make friends.

During her interview, Kangana even spoke about her terms with another co-star from 'Rangoon'- Saif Ali Khan and cited him as a classic man.

"I am a fan of his charms. He and Kareena have been extremely gracious to me. They hosted a dinner for me when I came down. I love their company," Kangana added.



Helmed by Vishal Bhardwaj, 'Rangoon' is a period drama based in the backdrop of World War II. The movie is scheduled to release in February next year.

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New Delhi:

The makers of much touted movie 'The Ghazi Attack' starring Rana Daggubati has finally released the first look of the film.

The first look poster features Rana posing as a Navy Officer and he is indeed turning up the heat in the uniform.

Besides, his intense bearded looks in the poster promises an intriguing movie coming up for the audience.

The poster was revealed on micro-blogging site Twitter by the official handle of PVP Cinema, which happens to be the producers of the movie.

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'The Ghazi Attack' is said to be inspired from a real-life incident of the mysterious sinking of Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi during the Indo-Pak 1971 war.

The movie will reportedly focus on an executive naval officer and his team , who were stuck underwater for 18 days.

Aaprently, 'The Ghazi Attack' is said to be the first war-at-sea movie and will also feature A Taapsee Pannu, Kay Kay Menon and Atul Kulkarni in key roles.

Interestingly, Rana Daggubati is not the first Bollywood actor to portray a naval officer on the silver screen.

Earlier, superstar Akshay Kumar was also seen donning the uniform in 'Rustom' this year. Besides, Bobby Deol too was seen as a naval officer in 2004 release 'Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo'.

'The Ghazi Attack' will also mark the Bollywood debut of director Sankalp. This naval based flick will be a bilingual movie and will be made Hindi and Telugu. In fact, it will also be dubbed in Tamil as well.

'The Ghazi Attack' is slated to release on Feburary 17, 2017.A
Chennai:

Eighteen people were killed in six districts of Tamil Nadu in rain-related incidents linked to Cyclone Vardah. Chief Minister O Panneerselvam held a meeting of top officials on Tuesday to speed up work to ensure return of normalcy in storm-hit regions.



The government said it is taking all steps to ensure that the jammed mobile phone networks are restored and a meeting of telecom operators and officials was held.



A total of 18 persons were killed in rain-related incidents linked to Cyclone Vardah, a top Tamil Nadu government official monitoring the situation told PTI.



He said five each were killed in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts. Four persons died in Kancheepuram district, one each in Villupuram and Nagapattinam districts and two in Tiruvannamali district, the officials added.



He said as expected districts like Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and the Western belt of Dharmapuri too witnessed heavy rains that began with the commencement of the cyclone Vardahs landfall.



He said traffic has already been cleared in all arterial roads in all of the affected districts and efforts were now on to clear the roads and restore power in other neighbourhoods.

ALSO READ | Cyclone Vardah wreaks havoc in Tamil Nadu: Dos and don'ts



TANGEDO (State-run power undertaking) itself has deployed about 4,000 personnel to ensure quick restoration of power supply, he said.



Personnel from multiple government departments including Revenue, Police, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and other state agencies from Ariyalur, Perambalur, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Salem and Thanjavur districts were being deployed to handle the situation in the cyclone-hit regions, he said.



On the number of people now housed in relief centres, he said more than 13,000 people are being sheltered in over 100 centres. All vulnerable areas were identified in advance and teams of officials are on the job, he said.



TN Governor monitoring situation closely

Panneerselvam briefed Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao about rescue and rehabilitation works. The Governor enquired about the situation in the wake of the cyclone and the Chief Minister apprised him of the rescue and rehabilitation works being undertaken, a Raj Bhavan release said.



The Governor is monitoring the situation closely, it said.

Vardah update | Cyclone makes landfall in Chennai, 4 killed in TN; services at Chennai Airport suspended till 2300 hrs

Rajnath reviews relief operations

Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed with senior officials the progress of relief operations in cyclone Vardah battered areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Singh ordered that the inter-ministerial central team should be ready to go to the states immediately on receipt of the memorandum from the state governments.



The meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Member Secretary, NDMA, DG of NDRF and senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs.



Singh expressed satisfaction on the preparedness of the central and state agencies which has resulted in minimising casualties.



Stalin rides pillion to visit cyclone affected areas

DMK Treasurer and Tamil Nadu Opposition Leader M K Stalin rode pillion on a two wheeler to visit cyclone Vardah-affected areas in his Kolathur Assembly constituency.



Stalin hopped on to a party functionarys motorbike to visit areas where his car could not travel, DMK said.



He also spoke to affected people and urged his party workers to aid the state government officials in relief work.



Cyclone Vardah cripples telephone services

Telecommunication network services were hit the most by cyclone Vardah that barrelled through the city yesterday, leaving many people without any means to contact their near and dear ones.



Mobile services, including of Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, were affected in the city and its neighbouring districts, bringing back memories of the deluge last year.



BSNL landlines were operating at some places but its network services were disrupted. Several people took to Twitter expressing anguish over the disruption of services.



Telecommunication companies could not be contacted for a comment. However, the state government has asked them to restore their full network at the earliest.



All telecom companies are told to restore their full network as quickly as possible and its being monitored, State Disaster Management Agency said in a tweet.



Double whammy for TN as Vardah increases demonetisation woes

Cyclone Vardah has hit the currency supply to banks and ATMs here, aggravating the post-demonetisation woes of people already reeling under a severe cash crunch.



While several banks and ATMs are providing cash far below the allowed limit every now and then due to cash shortage, the damage caused by the cyclone has dealt a further blow with movement of cash vehicles coming to a grinding halt, resulting in empty ATMs.



Also, ATMs could not be used to access other services like cheques or cash deposit as electricity supply is yet to be restored in several localities due to fallen trees, snapping power cables.



Adding to those problems, Vardah forced many banks to suspend operations, while ATMs have already gone dry.



Even if banks had cash, personnel transporting them to the ATMs were unable to proceed as several trees were uprooted, virtually halting traffic movement, officials said.



Besides, since Tuesday was a holiday on account of Milad-un-Nabi, most ATMs had went out of cash while banks remain closed, causing great hardships to people.



Assocham appeals to industry to help cyclone victims



Industry body Assocham appealed to its members and industrialists to come to the aid of thousands of people evacuated following the devastation caused by cyclone Vardah which struck Chennai.



The chamber recommended the industry both in the public and private sectors to set up rapid response units under the aegis of their respective CSR divisions to collect donations to provide vital supplies like food, clothing, beds, blankets tarpaulins, water purification equipment and medicines for people who have been evacuated and shifted to relief shelters.

Assocham also appealed to the insurance industry to constitute special teams to expedite settlement of claims of people hit by the cyclone.
Patna:

Bihar is planning to form the worlds longest human chain, which will be over 3,000 km long, on January 21, involving more than two crore people, to express its commitment towards liquor ban, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday.

The human chain will be formed to herald the second phase of a campaign in support of prohibition, he said at a workshop of the JD(U) here.

Briefing party MPs, legislators and office bearers on prohibition and seven resolves of his government, Kumar said 2,000 people will participate in one km of the proposed human chain.

ALSO READ: (Nitish Kumar claims liquor ban resulted in economic prosperity of Bihar)

About 56 lakh participants will hold each others hands on the main route. While, more than 1.5 crore citizens will form human chain in sub-routes within the districts, the Chief Minister said, adding the exercise will involve more than two crore people.

The human chain will be formed at 10 AM on January 21 for half an hour. The participants will stand in queue on the left side of the road, he said.

The human chain will herald the launch of the second phase of the campaign in support of liquor ban enforced in April this year, which will continue till March 22 next year, Kumar said.

Giving details of the routes, the Chief Minister said the human chain in North Bihar will cover 1,821 km and in South Bihar 1,186 km connecting all districts.

In North Bihar, a 274 km human chain will be formed from Banuani to Mushridharari, Muzaffarpur, Motihari, Bettiah and Mangalpur. There will be a 163 km human chain from Patna to Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sonebarsa, he said.

In South Bihar, a 223 km human chain will be formed from Durgawati (on the border of Uttar Pradesh) to Mohania, Sasaram, Aurangabad, Arwal and Jehanabad. Another one will be 155 km-long from Patna to Dobhi (Gaya) and Barachatti (on the border of Jharkhand), he said.

Photography of the gigantic human chain will be done with the help of drone/low flying helicopter and satellite, the Chief Minister said, adding government officials, teachers,students (above class V) and members of NGOs will participate in the human chain for which traffic police will make proper arrangements.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New York:

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif might like to attend US President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration with his government voicing optimism the new administration in Washington will provide it with a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials with the US, a media report said.

The Pakistani government had sent a special emissary Tariq Fatemi to Washington last week where he hinted broadly that Sharif might like to attend Trumps inauguration, said The Washington Post.

Fatemi said he believed the incoming Trump administration would provide Pakistan with a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials with the United States, the report said.

It added that senior Pakistani officials said they take the long view of their countrys relationship with the US, which has been dominated by military and intelligence ties.

Our relationship with the United States is almost as old as Pakistan itself. There have been ups and downs, but overall we have remained very close, Sartaj Aziz, Pakistans top foreign policy chief, said in an interview. Through both Republican and Democratic administrations, there has been a broad continuity in policy, and we fully expect our relations will continue on an uphill trajectory.

Following Trumps conversation with Sharif, in which the US president-elect had said Pakistan is a fantastic country and hinted casually that he would be willing to help Pakistan solve its historic differences with India, Pakistani officials are now scrambling to prepare for an unpredictable new phase in its wary but enduring partnership with Washington.

Vice president-elect Mike Pence too had said several days ago that the new US administration planned to be fully engaged in both nations and was prepared to play a pivotal role in resolving the key dispute over Kashmir.

The key issue for the US is that escalation could spark a conflict between two nuclear powers, Awais Leghari, who is chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Pakistans Parliament, said in the report. We cannot resolve these issues without superpower help, and it needs someone who is out of the box, someone radical enough to put an international hand into a sincere effort.

Pakistani officials said they also want to reassure the incoming administration that their relations with other countries are not a zero sum game and are independent of their policies toward the US. They insisted that their deepening economic trade and plans for a major transportation corridor to China do not represent a pivot away from their longtime economic and military links with Washington.

Aziz added that Pakistan, like the US, wants to see Afghanistan become peaceful and stable. He said Pakistan has been frustrated that its efforts to arrange peace talks with the Taliban have failed, and that rising attacks in Afghanistan have been partly the result of Pakistans military raids to drive the insurgents out of the tribal border areas. To blame everything on Pakistani sanctuaries is simplistic, he said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

India said on Tuesday World Bank's decision to temporarily halt two simultaneous processes to look into Indo-Pak dispute over Kishenganga and Ratle project confirms that pursuing the two concurrent processes could have rendered the Indus Waters Treaty unworkable over time.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India remains fully conscious of its international obligations and is ready to engage in further consultations on the matter of resolving current differences regarding these two projects.

"The government had pointed out on 10 November, 2016 the legal untenability of the World Bank launching two simultaneous processes-- for appointment of a Neutral Expert as requested by India and establishment of a Court of Arbitration requested by Pakistan-- to adjudicate technical differences between India and a Pakistan on Kishenganga and Ralte projects.

"By temporarily halting both the processes now, the Bank has confirmed that pursuing the two concurrent processes can render the Treaty unworkable over time," Swarup said.

The World Bank's move to pause the process came nearly a month after India had strongly objected to the global body's "inexplicable" decision, saying going ahead with two separate mechanisms was "legally untenable".

Group President of World Bank Jim Yong Kim said,"We are announcing this pause to protect the Indus Waters Treaty and to help India and Pakistan consider alternative approaches to resolving conflicting interests under the Treaty and its application to two hydroelectric power plants."

The pause was announced by Kim in letters to the finance ministers of India and Pakistan. It was also emphasised that the Bank was acting to safeguard the Treaty. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan and also the World Bank in 1960, the World Bank has a specified role in the process of resolution of differences and disputes.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The governor of Indonesia capital is on a trial for having some profane talks about Islam which landed him to trouble. Being a country of majority muslims this hasn't gone down well the civilians and they protested rigoursly against the governor.

On Tuesday when he was brought for trial to court he sobbed and said his intent was never to insult the religion as he himself is raised by Muslim parents and they had a significant role in his childhood.

As a person who grew up in Islamic circles, is not possible for me to insult Islam, Ahok, the governor, told the court.

Things came into light when a video surfaced online where Ahok lightheartedly joked about Islam and since then there has been protests by the citizens for six consecutive weeks where the last protest turned violent killing one and leaving many injured.

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Shahrukh Khan as bootlegger Raees Alam in upcoming film 'Raees' is being appreciated just after seeing trailer released. If buzz is to be believed, SRK is in Dubai with the Raees team to complete the shooting of 2 songs which couldn't be possible to shoot in India. Speculations are also that Pakistani actress Mahira Khan will join him there for completing the song's shoot.

As per report of a daily, Now when the dust has settled down and the Raees trailer has got a great response the makers of the film decided to shoot the remaining songs with Mahira Khan who plays SRKs love interest  but outside India and a country where nobody could object. Mahira has received a good response too in the trailer and the makers are more confident. They decided to fly to Dubai first and shoot one song in Abu Dhabi or Bahrain and then fly to Morocco for the second. It is all being done under the utmost secrecy and is very hush-hush till the songs are shot and the team flies back, so that nobody finds out. Whatever patchwork remained was complete a few days back with SRK in Mumbai. After the two songs are shot abroad, Raees is complete.

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Retailers wanting to reach new markets without committing to a full brick-and-mortar location are increasingly turning to pop-up stores and events -- with pop-up stores especially popular during the current holiday season. Locations? Typically, they're areas that see a great deal of foot traffic.

Related: IKEA Is Opening a Pop-Up Cafe That Serves Breakfast in Bed

As the pop-up concept has caught on, multiple businesses have embraced it, applying it to a diversity of areas of customer outreach. After all, pop-up events offer various benefits: They give businesses a chance to put together a quick, temporary gathering that comes across as spontaneous and informal. And pop-up stores can be erected and dismantled in a matter of hours, giving them a flexibility not found with traditional stores.

In addition, pop-up stores and events give the appearance of having involved little planning and required only a simple design. This fools the customer -- in a good way -- because, as most businesses know, a great deal of work goes into giving off the appearance of "spontaneity." Here are a few tips to help businesses planning just such a pop-up event.

1. Make your pop-up exclusive.

Exclusivity is the key to generating excitement about your event. When Google decided to preview its virtual reality platform, the company set up a pop-up event in New York City.

Customers were drawn in by the promise of glimpsing something others wouldnt be able to see. If you're doing a pop-up yourself, make sure the wording for your invitation gives the impression of exclusivity, whether its based on the people who are invited or the time frame for response. Only 20 seats available will drive a more immediate response than an invitation where space isnt mentioned, for instance.

2. Plan for a short time frame.

The key to success with a pop-up event is to plan for a short turnaround time. Whether youve decided to hold your event in a couple of days from now or a couple of months, you should start sending invitations out just before the event.

That means carefully coordinating how youll promote the pop-up, both to your existing customers and the many consumers you hope to reach. During the planning period, come up with a schedule to post about the upcoming event online. The event itself should have a short time frame, as well. Instead of a multi-day conference, make it a one-day intensive or a lunchtime workshop.

Related: Snapchat Will Sell Its Spectacles Camera Glasses Through Pop-Up Vending Machines

3. Partner with other businesses.

If reaching new customers is your goal, one great approach is to partner with businesses that can reach out to their own networks to generate attendance. For its upcoming small business bootcamp, Salesforce has partnered with a small group of high-profile companies to provide expert advice.

Consider the benefits your respective audiences can bring to each of your companies as you choose your event partners. A graphic design firm might find, for instance, that a marketing expert has a clientele that would benefit from its services; by partnering, the design firm will get its brand in front of a new base of potential customers.

4. Cover an in-demand topic.

The subject matter of your pop-up event could make all the difference. Consider a topic you can cover as an expert that is likely to win a large audience. A law firm in London hosted a pop-up legal event where it met one-on-one with businesses, providing legal advice. This can help you generate buzz in your local community while also potentially winning over a few future clients.

You may feel as though youre giving information away, but a client who wants to retain your services wont get any further than the advice stage during a brief meeting.

5. Choose the right location.

Unless your event is online, youll need to secure a location to host it. Your office may seem like the most likely place, but, objectively, consider the most convenient spot for attendees. People will often decline to attend events if theyre too far out of the way, even if they involve interesting subject matter.

Your location should have character, fitting your own branding and the theme of your event. Even if youre meeting in a hotel conference space, you can make it your own with a little signage and furniture rearrangement.

Overall, pop-up events may seem spontaneous, but to be successful, they have to be the focus of extra planning time. Once youve hosted your first one, youll likely come up with strategies you can implement in the future.

Related: More Than 13,000 People Are on the Waitlist for This Tiny Pop-up London Restaurant Where You Can Eat Naked

Just make sure you go into each event with a goal in mind and strive to reach that goal, assessing the results afterward to decide what you can do better the next time.

Related:



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DANBURY - An attorney who represented Florida murder suspect Casey Anthony was arrested in Haiti last month after attempting to use a corporate jet based at Danbury Airport to smuggle cocaine.

Todd Macaluso, a California-based attorney on the team that successfully defended Anthony in 2008 on charges that she murdered her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, was taken into custody by federal authorities Nov. 14, court documents state.

Federal prosecutors charge that Macaluso, pilot of a Falcon 10 jet owned by the-Danbury based Maule Group, told co-conspirators that the plane could hold up to 1,500 kilograms of cocaine, which has a street value of approximately $45 million in the New York area.

Macaluso met with his co-conspirators in Haiti to show them the aircraft and devise a plan to smuggle the drugs from Haiti to Honduras and eventually into the United States, court documents show. Federal agents, who secretly recorded the meeting, arrested Macaluso and others involved in the plot the same day of the meeting.

Macaluso and the co-conspirators, including Carlos Almonte Vasquez, were to receive an up-front payment of $35,000 and another $150,000 after the drugs were delivered to the United States, court documents state.

James Marquis, the managing member of the Maule Group, said Macaluso had rented the aircraft, which he once owned. Macaluso did not have permission to fly the plane to Haiti, he said.

The plane has since been confiscated by federal authorities.

We are working through the attorneys right now, and the insurance company, to try and get the plane back, Marquis said Tuesday. We are trying to figure out if they have the right to keep it.

Court documents noted that no drugs were ever actually put aboard the aircraft. An indictment filed on Dec. 1 in the case, however,shows that federal authorities nevertheless plan to take ownership of the aircraft under the courts forfeiture guidelines.

Murray Singer, Macalusos attorney, said he had no information on the agreement between his client and the Maule group.

Macaluso, who his charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, to is expected to appear in court in New York state on Jan. 13 for a status conference on the case.

dperrefort@newstimes.com
Wisconsin election recount confirms Trump victory, widens lead

United States,Politics, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Washington, Dec 13 (IANS) The presidential election results recount in Wisconsin state of the US has certified the victory of President-elect Donald Trump and even increased his victory margin by 131 votes.

The Wisconsin Election Commission on Monday reported that Trump added 844 votes to his total in the November 8 elections, while Clinton added 713.

Overall, Trump won 1,405,284 votes -- 22,748 more than Clinton with 1,382,536, EFE news reported.

The Wisconsin recount was requested by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, who barely received 1 per cent of the votes.

He claimed, without providing evidence, that voting machines in some states could have been hacked by some foreign interference.

Trump, for his part, tweeted: "The final Wisconsin vote is in and guess what -- we just picked up an additional 131 votes. The Democrats and Green Party can now rest. Scam!"

Claiming the same alleged hacking on voting machines, Stein also tried to have recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Trump also won beating the forecasts.

However, courts in both states rejected the request to recount the presidential election ballots, in which Trump won by about 44,000 votes in Pennsylvania and about 11,000 in Michigan.

Clinton needed victories in all three crucial states to overturn the November 8 result.

--IANS

py/dg
India, Indonesia provide bulwark against radicalism, intolerance: Mukherjee

Delhi,National,Politics,Diplomacy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said India and Indonesia provide a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance.

"We see India and Indonesia as two countries providing a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance. India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and transnational threats," Mukherjee said while welcoming visiting Indonesia President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

"India looks forward to work with Indonesia to achieve the full potential of economic cooperation, maritime and air links and in increasing reciprocal investments. India would be happy to contribute to Indonesia's 'maritime fulcrum vision' of Indonesia archipelago and, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region."

Observing that Indonesia is the largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and India's number one trade partner in the region, Mukherjee said bilateral trade was about $16 billion last year.

Pointing out that India values Indonesia's active support for strengthening India-Asean relations during 2017 while celebrating 15 years of the summit, he said: "We can try to realise the actual potential of our trade by diversifying our trade basket."

"The two countries share a common experience of struggle for freedom from colonial rule," the President said.

"Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve for strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes."

--IANS

akk/tsb/vt
Egypt blames Muslim Brotherhood leaders for church blast

Egypt,Politics,Religion,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Cairo, Dec 13 (IANS) Egypt on Tuesday accused Muslim Brotherhood leaders of fleeing to Qatar for training and financing the perpetrators of the church bomb attack in Cairo.

"The investigations revealed that a man called Mohab Moustafa el Sayed Qassim, adopted Takfiri thoughts of the Muslim Brotherhood Godfathter Sayyed Qotb, received financial and logistical support and instructions to train and carry out the attacks by Brotherhood leaders," Xinhua news agency cited Interior Ministry as saying.

The Muslim Brotherhood denied any involvement with the explosion that took place during Sunday service at the church adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

According to a statement, Qassim travelled in 2015 to Qatar and contacted a number of fleeing Muslim Brotherhood leaders who helped him with financial and logistic support to destabilise the country and trigger sectarian sedition.

The interior ministry said investigations showed 22-year-old Shafiq, who get trained by Qassim is the suspected suicide bomber due to the results of DNA testing of body parts found at the scene matched with his family.

It said Shafiq had been arrested in 2014 while securing Muslim Brotherhood convoys. He was released in May the same year.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addressing the funeral on Monday said the blast was carried out by Shafiq.

The president said four suspects has been arrested, including a woman, for alleged involvement in the attack, while two more were being pursued.

The incident was the deadliest attack since 2011 blast on a church in Alexandria in the Christmas Eve on the Copts, who make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's population.

--IANS

py/dg
Wouldn't be President; work tiring, pay poor: Duterte

Philippines,Politics, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Manila, Dec 13 (IANS) Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte claims if he could go back in time, he wouldn't want to be President, as he finds the work exhausting and the pay bad, media reports said on Tuesday.

"I don't know if I will survive the next six years," Efe news agency quoted Duterte as saying at an awards ceremony held late Monday at the Malacanang Presidential palace in Manila.

"I am ready to step down. I have no illusions about power or the presidency," added the leader, who thinks his monthly salary of 130,000 pesos ($2,600) is too little.

However, Duterte also said he wants to fulfil all the promises he made during his election campaign that brought him victory in the presidential polls held on May 9, 2015.

Duterte will complete six months in office at the end of December since he assumed office on June 30, and according to surveys still enjoys huge popularity among Filipinos.

However, critics have panned him for his aggressive war on drugs that killed nearly 5,900 people in mostly extrajudicial killings, since he took office.

--IANS

vgu/vt
Putin wants normalisation of bilateral ties with Japan

Japan,Politics,Diplomacy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Tokyo, Dec 13 (IANS) Moscow seeks full normalisation of relations with Tokyo as it is imperative for the resolution of a peace treaty, the Russian President said on Tuesday.

"We strive to sign a peace treaty. We want full-scale normalisation of relations," Efe news agency quoted Vladimir Putin as saying in an interview to a Japanese TV channel ahead of his visit to Japan on Thursday.

Japan and Russia are embroiled in a territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, which have been controlled by Moscow since Japan surrendered in the Second World War in 1945, a dispute that has prevented the countries from signing a peace treaty.

Putin said that Moscow does not believe in territorial disputes and is ready to hold talks on it.

"Our agreements on creating the conditions for preparing a peace treaty should be rooted in this trust," said Putin.

The Russian President said that trust-building between Tokyo and Moscow can also be achieved through cooperation in security matters.

He added that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology is a common threat and that if the two countries "act together along these lines, (they) will create conditions for trust".

Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are set to meet on Thursday in Japan's Yamaguchi prefecture to discuss territorial and peace-related matters.

On Friday, they are expected to go to Tokyo to attend talks centered on economic cooperation.

--IANS

vgu/vt
Over 5,900 deaths in Philippines 'war on drugs'

Philippines,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Manila, Dec 13 (IANS) There have been 5,927 deaths linked to the "war on drugs" in the Philippines since July 1 according to statistics released by its national police.

President Rodrigo Duterte who assumed office in May on a platform of cracking down on crime, particularly illegal drugs, came down heavily on drug cartels, reported CNN on Tuesday.

Since taking office, his police force has waged a bloody war on drug dealers and users, resulting in the deaths of thousands of suspects at the hands of police and vigilantes.

The figures released by the Philippine National Police on Monday span the period from July 1 to December 12.

Of the total, 2,086 were killed in police operations and 3,841 in extrajudicial or vigilante-style killings. More than 40,000 suspects have been arrested.

Although, Washington was critical of the handling of drug dealers, but on December 3, President-elect Donald Trump told the Duterte that he was going about his fight against drugs "the right way," according to Duterte.

The Police force also said that since July, more than five million houses were visited as part of an anti-drug campaign.

--IANS

in/
Brazil Police file more charges against Lula

Brazil,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Rio de Janeiro, Dec 13 (IANS) Brazil's Federal Police has filed new charges against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, local media reported.

The charges against Lula are for passive corruption in a case involving bribes paid by the Odebrecht construction company for him to rent an apartment and buy property, Efe news reported on Tuesday.

The police, in the same case, also filed charges for money laundering against six other people, including Lula's wife, his former finance minister and his attorney.

Lula was already the target of three indictments for corruption.

One of the accusations refers to alleged influence-peddling to benefit the former head of state's son, Luiz Claudio Lula da Silva.

The grafts took place in 2013-2015, two years after the end of Lula's second term, but prosecutors maintain that he continued to wield influence within the administration of protege and successor Dilma Rousseff.

Lula's son received $740,000 from companies that sought an extension of favourable tax treatment for Brazil's auto industry, according to the Attorney General's Office.

The new charges filed on Monday come within the framework of the investigation into the huge corruption network that diverted funds from state-run oil company Petrobras.

The charges filed by the police would now be reviewed by the Attorney General's Office, which may then ask the Justice Ministry to bring the seven accused to trial.

--IANS

in/
India, Indonesia linked by Garuda's Jakarta-Mumbai service

Maharashtra,National,Business/Economy, Tue, 13 Dec 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS) Garuda Indonesia on Tuesday launched its first direct flight with India, from Jakarta to Mumbai, to serve as the national carrier's first gateway to the region, a top official said here.

Garuda President and CEO Arif Wibowo said that thrice-weekly service would be operated via Bangkok every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to boost economic, social, cultural and tourism partnerships between the two countries.

"India is an important market for Indonesia and Garuda's flights on the Jakarta-Mumbai route will establish an important direct link between the two countries. It will help forge an even more solid bridge to enhance future partnerships between the two nations, both Asian new economic powerhouses," he said.

Presently, Indonesia is one of the largest markets to India with around 350,000 people travelling both on business and leisure.

Its Mumbai service will be operated by a Boeing 738 with two-class cabin configuration in 12 business class and 144 in economy class seats.

The flights GA-862 will depart Jakarta on all Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12.55 p.m. and arrive Mumbai at 8.30 p.m. after a brief halt at Bangkok.

On its return journey, GA-861 will depart Mumbai the same evening at 11.20 p.m. and arrive Jakarta the following day at 10.05 a.m. after a brief halt at Bangkok.

--IANS

qn/vd
Syrian Army controls all of Aleppo: Russia

United States,Politics,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Wed, 14 Dec 2016 IANS

United Nations, Dec 14 (IANS) The Syrian Army is in full control over Aleppo and the operation to re-take the eastern part of the city from rebels is over, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday.

"The latest information that we have received during the past hour or so is that military operations in eastern Aleppo have concluded," EFE news quoted Vitaly Churkin as saying during a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Syria's largest city.

The Russian-backed Syrian government offensive began in mid-September.

"So, there is no issue of any ceasefire or special humanitarian operations. The Syrian government has regained control of the eastern Aleppo, so the stage of practical humanitarian actions begins," he said.

The head of the political office of a rebel group active in eastern Aleppo confirmed that the fighting had stopped.

"The truce has already begun, the bombardments and combat have stopped and the combatants will leave tomorrow, we expect starting sometime after 5 a.m.," the Fastaqim Union's Zakaria Malahifyi said from outside Syria, citing reports from comrades in Aleppo.

Churkin told journalists ahead of the Security Council session that agreement had been reached on a plan for the rebels occupying the eastern part of Aleppo to leave under a grant of safe conduct.

"All the militants along with their families and the wounded are now withdrawing through the agreed corridors in the directions they themselves have chosen, including in the direction of Idlib," the Russian said during the Security Council meeting.

Idlib, which lies southwest of Aleppo, is under rebel control.

The leader of the opposition Free Syrian Army told EFE on Tuesday that civilians will be evacuated before rebels leave Aleppo headed southward.

FSA leader Ahmed Berri said, via telephone, that a deal had been struck to allow for the evacuation.

--IANS

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Investments in innovation, alliances and people drive strong growth across core services to achieve fiscal year (FY) revenues of US$25.42 billion .

. Over 37,000 new graduates and other associates hired, with the total workforce growing to a record-high of 189,000 people.

Strong growth across Audit, Tax and Advisory services, with growth in all three regions and exceptional year-over-year growth of 11.5% in Advisory services.

LONDON, Dec. 13, 2016 /CNW/ - KPMG International today announced aggregated network revenues of US$25.42 billion for the fiscal year ending 30 September 2016 (FY16), representing an 8.0% increase in local currency terms.

"KPMG's strong FY16 results, in what remains a slow-growth global environment, are a testament to the passion and innovative thinking we bring to our work," said John Veihmeyer, Chairman, KPMG International. "In today's volatile business climate, our strategic investments in technology, alliances, and our people, are fuelling our growth across our geographies and service lines. In FY16, thousands of extraordinary people were hired across the KPMG network, and we continued our relentless focus on providing high-quality, excellent service.

"We continued to prioritize strategic investments in new services and technologies in FY16, focusing on the areas where we see businesses facing the greatest challenge and disruption. We have taken a leadership position in key business areas such as cyber security and data & analytics (D&A). We are also working closely with a number of the world's leading technology companies, in alliances that bring together world-class innovation, business expertise and leading edge technology.

"We are also actively engaging with regulators, tax authorities and other stakeholders, to advance the conversation around some of our industry's most complex challenges. Our purpose has never been clearer  we inspire confidence, and our work empowers clients and the business community to explore, invest, innovate, grow and change. KPMG's Global Brexit Centre of Excellence is an example of the quality of thinking and advice KPMG people bring to clients around the world as they prepare for what could be a potentially major shift in global trade."

Success built on serving clients across the globe

Reflecting our vision to have clients see a difference in us, KPMG firms grew across all three geographic regions:

Americas revenues increased by 9.6%, driven by growth in Advisory services of 12.0%, growth in Tax of 11.6% and growth in Audit of 6.4%. Strong US growth of 9.4% was driven by double-digit growth for non-Audit services. In other Americas markets, Brazil saw 12.7% growth and Mexico had 8.8% growth.

saw 12.7% growth and had 8.8% growth. Asia Pacific delivered stronger growth than FY15, with revenues increasing by 9.8%, versus 8.2% in the previous year, led by exceptionally strong growth of 20.7% in Advisory. Particularly strong growth was seen in Australia , which again recorded double-digit growth, Japan at 13.3%, Korea at 9.4% and China at 9.2%, which all grew faster versus FY15.

delivered stronger growth than FY15, with revenues increasing by 9.8%, versus 8.2% in the previous year, led by exceptionally strong growth of 20.7% in Advisory. Particularly strong growth was seen in , which again recorded double-digit growth, at 13.3%, Korea at 9.4% and at 9.2%, which all grew faster versus FY15. Reflecting an improving but challenging business environment in Europe , Middle East and Africa (EMA, including India ), revenues increased by 6.0%, up from a 4.0% increase in the previous year. Within the region, revenues were driven by strong performance in the Advisory business, with growth of 8.7% over the previous year. EMA saw strong growth in a number of firms, including India at 18.6%, Middle East and South Asia (MESA) at 10.7% and Ireland at 8.6%.

Growth in business lines  Audit, Tax and Advisory

Audit

Total Audit revenues for the year were up by 4.5%, to US$10.12 billion, building on last year's exceptional growth of 6.1%.

KPMG firms continued to win a number of important audit appointments across the globe, particularly in Europe, where FY16 marked the first year of European Union audit reforms.

"We have a relentless focus on audit quality and are continuing with a several hundred million dollar, multi-year, investment program in new audit technologies. These technologies allow us to provide insight-driven advice on clients' business risks; in addition, our investments in cognitive processing and in building the D&A skills of KPMG Audit professionals, will continue to increase confidence in the work we do," said Veihmeyer.

Tax

Tax revenues grew 8.8% over the previous year, to US$5.56 billion, with Tax revenues in Asia Pacific improving by 11.1%. Strong Tax performance was driven by high demand for tax compliance services, as well as international and M&A related services, in all three regions.

"In an increasingly inter-connected business world, the tax work done for clients is increasingly important and complex. Clients are looking for help with their tax compliance across multiple jurisdictions, advice on indirect tax, immigration work, and the implications of tax policy across multi-country supply chains. Now more than ever, KPMG professionals are also advising clients on how to most effectively communicate the tax they pay with stakeholders across the world. We are leading the responsible tax dialogue  a discussion about ethical tax behaviors that involves government, taxpayers and professional advisors," said Veihmeyer.

Advisory

KPMG's strong Advisory revenues reflected a focus on innovation in the role as trusted advisors to some of the world's largest businesses. Total Advisory revenues for the year were up 11.5%, to US$9.74 billion, an increase over the growth of 9.2% in FY15, with stronger year-over-year growth seen across each of KPMG's three Advisory service groups.

Demand for Management Consulting services, which saw growth of 16.3%, was led in-part by technology-enabled transformation engagements.

Risk Consulting, including Financial Risk and Regulatory Management, IT Advisory Services and Forensic, grew 10.2%.

Deal Advisory saw growth of 12.1%, as KPMG professionals helped drive value for clients in their acquisition/disposition transactions.

In addition, the Global Strategy Group contributed to the strong growth across Advisory.

Investing for future growth

KPMG is planning investments of more than US$2.5 billion over the next 3 years in new services, technology, alliances and acquisitions, focused particularly on D&A, Strategy, Cyber, Digital Labor and Audit. This will represent the largest ever investment in our network and will drive a transformation in our operating model and technological capability.

A leading choice for talent

In FY16, KPMG maintained its long-standing focus on being an employer of choice for extraordinary people. More than 37,000 new graduates and other entry-level professionals joined KPMG member firms, and more than 300 new external partners and more than 600 promoted KPMG partners were welcomed into the leadership ranks. KPMG's global workforce grew by more than 8% to almost 189,000 partners and staff, the highest number of individuals ever employed across the network.

KPMG's inclusive culture helps ensure that our teams reflect the diversity of skills, backgrounds, experiences and thought expected by clients. Led by the gender-balanced Global Management Team, our inclusion and diversity strategy continues to accelerate our progress towards achieving our inclusion and diversity goals.

Veihmeyer concluded, "KPMG gives our high-performing recruits the foundation upon which to build an exceptional career. Global Mobility assignments, collaborative working, innovative learning, and our inclusive culture, create a multi-disciplinary organization with the skills to make KPMG the clear choice for clients."

Other FY16 highlights

KPMG member firms serve more than 80% of Global Fortune 500 companies.

KPMG's alliances with industry partners like IBM, Microsoft and Oracle extended the breadth of technology-based offerings for clients around the world.

KPMG was named a leader in information security consulting services by Forrester Research, achieving the highest score for current offering and strategy (tied) in The Forrester Wave: Information Security Consulting Services, Q1 2016.

KPMG has a commitment to lifelong learning. To date, KPMG has distributed nearly 3 million books worldwide through KPMG's Family for Literacy (KFFL), and is a proud supporter of Enactus, One Young World , and Junior Achievement, among others.

Notes to editors:

Combined revenues of KPMG member firms by region (US$ billion)

Regions Current Prior Local

growth (%) US$ growth

(%) Americas $10.02 $9.34 9.6% 7.3% Asia Pacific $4.06 $3.79 9.8% 7.1% EMA $11.34 $11.31 6.0% 0.3% Total $25.42 $24.44 8.0% 4.0%

Functions

Audit $10.12 $10.03 4.5% 0.9% Tax $5.56 $5.31 8.8% 4.7% Advisory $9.74 $9.10 11.5% 7.0% Total $25.42 $24.44 8.0% 4.0%

The following global reports have also been issued by KPMG International today:

KPMG International Annual Review

The International Annual Review reflects on our record of achievement over the past fiscal year, demonstrating the insights and expertise of KPMG professionals and the unrelenting focus on acting with integrity and quality in everything we do.

KPMG International Transparency Report

This report provides insights and details on how we continually strive to enhance audit quality, which is a direct reflection of our network's unwavering commitment to audit quality, an integral element of our business and culture.

UN Global Compact  Communication on Progress

KPMG International has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact since 2002. The International Annual Review describes the ways in which we are implementing the 10 principles of the Compact and supporting broader development objectives.

About KPMG International

KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 152 countries and have 189,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

The financial information set forth represents combined information of the separate KPMG member firms that perform professional services for clients. The information is combined here solely for presentation purposes. KPMG International performs no services for clients nor, concomitantly, generates any client revenue.

Headcount figures are expressed as FTE (Full Time Equivalent) and are based on average headcount for the financial year.

SOURCE KPMG International

For further information: Brian Bannister, Head of Global Communications, KPMG International, +44 7919 393753, [email protected]
Upgrades will improve energy efficiency and modernize equipment

ARVIAT, NU, Dec. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CanNor, announced $200,000 to renovate the John Ollie Complex in Arviat, Nunavut. The Complex provides year-round recreational, cultural, and fitness activities. These improvements will help better serve the needs of the community's residents while extending the building's life.

The renovations, funded through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, will improve the energy efficiency of the building and modernize its equipment. Upgrades include replacing lighting with a high-efficiency LED system, expanding the entrance to reduce heat loss and improve safety, washroom improvements, and adding an indoor climbing wall.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada is pleased to support improvements to the John Ollie Complex in the Hamlet of Arviat through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program. The upgrades, while marking Canada's 150th anniversary, will also provide residents with a safer, more efficient, and healthier building to use, which will serve the community for years to come."

Navdeep Bains

Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and

Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

"The John Ollie Complex is the main community space in Arviat. Many things happen there - from feasts and festivals to public meetings to square dances. Because of constant use, the building is showing its age, and it is important to the community that we keep the Complex functional and comfortable for its many users. The Hamlet of Arviat would like to thank CanNor for their support, which will help us keep the John Ollie Complex in serviceable condition for the community."

Bob Leonard

Mayor of Arviat

Quick Facts

CanNor contributed $200,000 to the renovation with the Hamlet of Arviat providing an additional $75,000 for a total of $275,000 .

to the renovation with the Hamlet of providing an additional for a total of . As outlined in Budget 2016, an additional $150 million will be provided over two years for CIP 150, bringing the total funding available to $300 million across the country. The program supports projects to renovate, expand and improve spaces such as community centres, parks and arenas across Canada as part of the Government of Canada's celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017. CIP 150 is delivered by CanNor in the North.

Associated Links

Increasing the availability of recreational activities in Arviat

Upgrades Improve Kugluktuk Arena Complex

For more information about CanNor, visit cannor.gc.ca

SOURCE Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor)

For further information: Office of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, 343-291-2500; Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, Craig Welsh, Communications Advisor, Nunavut Region, 867-667-3210; Hamlet of Arviat, Bob Leonard, Mayor of Arviat, 867-857-2841
Alleged corrupt judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola and his wife, Olubowale, were on Tuesday arraigned before the Federal High Court Abuja for ...

Alleged corrupt judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola and his wife, Olubowale, were on Tuesday arraigned before the Federal High Court Abuja for corruption by the Federal Government.They were accused of collecting huge sums of money as gratification to impede the cause of justice by the Department of State Service (DSS).They are facing a 15-count charge of alleged fraud and abuse of office.The duo were scheduled to be arraigned on 5 December but it was rescheduled by the office of the Attorney General because the judge was yet to be served with the originating summons for his trial.More details later...
Damini Ogulu, also known as Burna Boy is the cover star of the latest issue of Guardian Life magazine. The music star, famous for his Nig...

Damini Ogulu, also known as Burna Boy is the cover star of the latest issue of Guardian Life magazine. The music star, famous for his Nigerian reggae-dancehall infused songs, is described as the coolest kid on the block.Burnas music career became official in 2012 as he rose to fame after releasing hit singles Like To Party and Tonight. Growing up in a family of music, he was destined for fame. He explains,Guardian Life writes that:
Super Eagles midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi underwent medicals on Monday at a private hospital in Belgium ahead of his 14 million January transfer move to English Premier League side, Leicester City.The upcoming deal is subject to a work permit, it was also gathered, according to reports via British daily, Leicester Mercury.Ndidi,19 who features for Genk in the Belgian top league will join compatriot, Ahmed Musa and become Leicester City's first signing of the new year if the move is completed.It was also gathered that the Nigeria international, 19, has agreed a five-year contract with Leicester.Ranieri is also targeting a winger and another centre-half.
Nigerians have been thrown into a sudden anxiety following a decision by promoters of deposit money scheme, MMM, to suspend new payouts to...

Nigerians have been thrown into a sudden anxiety following a decision by promoters of deposit money scheme, MMM, to suspend new payouts to subscribers.The members woke up on Tuesday morning to a disclaimer on the schemes website informing them of the move.But the promoters of the scheme say it wont go burst just yet, adding that the setback will only last a month.The MMM is a deposit money scheme that market analysts said remained highly suspicious. The scheme draws from investments of later investors to pay off earlier ones.Despite repeated warnings by the government for Nigerians to desist from investing their money, the subscriber base of the scheme has continued to boom.But the MMM said the move was only to prepare its system for intense activities ahead as part of its preparation for a new year, which arrives in less than three weeks.As usual, in the New Year season, the system is experiencing heavy workload, the message, seen by those who logged on to their account this morning read.The promoters also blamed the hysteria that has greeted the emergence of the scheme in the Nigerian media, as well as attempts by the Nigerian government to shut it down.Moreover, it has to deal with the constant frenzy provoked by the authorities in the mass media.The alert came two days after the schemes founder, Sergey Mavrodi, taunted President Buhari for trying to shut down a business that has supported over three million Nigerians.The development immediately sent some subscribers into panic mode.Harriet Okpara, an Abuja-based lawyer, who has participated in the scheme for several months, told newsmen on Tuesday morning that she immediately lost appetite upon realising that she wont be able to cash out on her investment.I put money out to support other people last month and I expect that money to yield so I can request for my payment with interest from the community, but now I cant do that, she said. I dont want to believe that were gradually getting to see the end of this business.MMM Nigeria, which coordinates Nigerian subscribers of the scheme, posted a screen grab of the announcement on its Twitter page on Tuesday morning, saying that the scheme has not and will not crash.
Oil prices shot up over four per cent to their highest level since 2015 early yesterday after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Co...

Oil prices shot up over four per cent to their highest level since 2015 early yesterday after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers at the weekend in Vienna reached first output cut deal since 2001.They jointly reduced output in order to rein in oversupply and prop up the market.Brent sweet crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, soared to 57.89 dollars per barrel in overnight trading between Sunday and Monday, its highest level since July 2015.United States (U.S.) West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also hit a July 2015 high of 54.51 dollars a barrel.With the deal finally signed after a year, the markets focus will now switch to compliance with the agreement.ANZ bank said that Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabias state-controlled oil company, had informed customers that their allocations would be reduced in January 2017, in line with the recent OPEC production cut agreement.OPEC has said it will slash output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting around 486,000 bpd in a bid to end overproduction .Oversupply has dogged markets for over two years and pushed the economies of many oil exporting countries into crisis.On Saturday, producers from outside the 13- country OPEC group agreed to reduce output by 558,000 bpd, short of the initial target of 600,000 bpd .
On Saturday 10 December, 2016, the world woke up to the shocking news of The Gambia President, YahyaJammeh, rejecting the result of the countrys Presidential election he earlier accepted. What could have necessitated this decision remains in the realm of speculations but may not be unconnected with the statement credited to Adama Barrow to the effect that his administration may look into the books of Jammeh who has been in power for about 22 years. How true this is remains to be seen. Events look to have moved fast since Jammeh made the announcement on state TV last Friday.
Despite all the challenges facing Nigeria, the ongoing economic recession would end in 2017 because the foundation for a diversified econo...

Despite all the challenges facing Nigeria, the ongoing economic recession would end in 2017 because the foundation for a diversified economy was already being laid, the Federal Government assured on Tuesday.The government also premised its optimism on the fact that the 2017 budget will strengthen the economy further.The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, expressed this optimism when he received a delegation from the Methodist Church of Nigeria led by the Archbishop of Abuja, the Most Reverend Joseph Oche Job.A statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the SGF, Bolaji Adebiyi, quoted Lawal as restating that President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to revamp the economy and take the nation out of recession next year (2017)He assured that President Buhari was determined and committed to the three major objectives of his administration, which are to improve national security, vigorously fight corruption and overhaul the economy.The SGF thanked the Methodist Church delegation and other religious leaders in Nigeria for their support for the government.He implored them to continue to pray for peace and security of the nation.Archbishop Job, in his remarks, expressed the support of the Church for the Federal Government in the fight against corruption which, he said , is the number one enemy of our dear country Nigeria.He noted that the major ills of the society including youth unemployment, poor and weak infrastructure, injustice and insecurity were all products of corruption.
The Sen. Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday expressed readiness to contest the Rivers South-East Senator...

The Sen. Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday expressed readiness to contest the Rivers South-East Senatorial Districts re-run election result at the tribunal.The faction also said that it would contest some other outstanding issues in the Saturdays re-run elections.The faction made its intention known in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, in Abuja.It said that PDP was law-abiding and would contest all issues legally.He said, We believe that the court will do justice to all the issues.It is important to note, once again, that the Rivers South-East Senatorial District election purportedly won by Sen. Magnus Abe of the All Progressives Congress still remains a farce and will be contested at the tribunal.For the umpteenth time, we reiterate that there was no election in that senatorial district.He alleged that the declared result was influenced the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies.Adeyeye congratulated the government and people of Rivers for the triumph of the PDP in the re-run elections.He said that the results of the elections declared so far by INEC showed that the PDP won two senatorial seats, six House of Representatives seats and 10 state House of Assembly seats.Adeyeye commended the zeal, determination and support of Gov. Nyesom Wike during the election.He said, Rivers people have shown that the will of the people cannot be defeated.We are particularly proud of all our candidates in the elections for remaining united in the face of daunting provocations.We congratulate the winners on their victory, and those that were frustrated, for their gallant performances.Finally, we thank all PDP supporters nationwide for their support and contributions during the re-run elections in Rivers.
Unknown gunmen have killed the Commandant of Command Secondary School in Ibadan, Oyo State, Col. Anthony Okeyim.

Unknown gunmen have killed the Commandant of Command Secondary School in Ibadan, Oyo State, Col. Anthony Okeyim.His body was found in his apartment in the school.Sources said he was attacked in front of his official quarters and strangulated.Police spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu said the police were treating it as a suspected case of murder.I can confirm to you that the deceased was found dead in front of his apartment about 6.30 am yesterday. We are treating it as a case of suspected murder.Commissioner of Police Samuel Adegbuyi visited the school immediately the case was reported. Police investigation had begun and the investigating team is working with the military police. We have strengthened security around the area.A friend of the late Army officer, who preferred anonymity, said Col. Okeyim was promoted three weeks ago and he was waiting to be decorated.
ATLANTIC COUNTY -- A Bridgeton man charged in the shootout that left an Atlantic City police office with a gunshot wound to the head was the lookout in the botched robbery that led to the exchange of gunfire, according to a report.

Demetris Cross, 28, faces an attempted murder charge in the shooting of officer Josh Vadell, who continues to recover from his head wound.

Cross was in court Monday for a hearing in the case and a judge ruled there was probable cause to move forward, according to PressofAtlanticCity.com.

Cross was allegedly the lookout for two other men who tried to rob three people in the parking garage of the Caesars on Sept. 3, the report said.

When police arrived, one of the other suspects, Jermone Damon, shot officer Josh Vadell in the head, according to authorities.

Vadell's partner, who was never named, then shot and killed the 25-year-old Damon. Police discovered Damon dead about a block away near Missouri and Pacific Avenues, according to authorities.

During the chaos after the exchange of gunfire, Cross didn't obey officers' instructions to stop running, authorities said. He was later arrested in Millville.

At Monday's hearing, Cross' attorney argued that he wasn't seen in the video where Vadell was shot, the PressofAtlanticCity.com reported. The lawyer also said Cross didn't know Damon had a gun.

The case against the other suspect, Martel D. Chisolm, 29, of Millville, is also ongoing.

Vadell spent 12 days in the hospital and nearly eight weeks in a rehabilitation facility in Elkins Park, Pa. recovering from his injuries. He's now continuing to recover in his Egg Harbor Township home.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
LODI -- Police are seeking more information after two armed men broke into a Lodi home on Monday, authorities said.

Residents at a home on Westminster Place were woken by what officials said was a loud noise from a rear window. At least one resident in the home saw the intruders who had weapons, police said in a news release.

One of the suspects pointed his handgun at a male resident, who began walking back to his family in his bedroom. As he did, the suspect pushed him into an adjacent bathroom.

A second suspect was searching the home, police said. They left after a few minutes and none of the residents reported injuries. Police responded to the call just after midnight.

One of the suspects was wearing dark pants, a red hooded sweatshirt and a mask over his face while the other was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and had a black handgun, police said.

Video surveillance showed that four to five people were outside of the home. Three of them were recorded walking to the rear of the house, while two stayed in front of the home. Police said they could have served as potential look outs.

It wasn't immediately clear if they stole anything.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective David Esposito of the Lodi Police Department at (973) 473-7600, extension 8127.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
Because fish and other marine wildlife cross national boundaries, the United States shares living marine resources with other countries. The way other countries manage these shared marine resources can directly affect the status of fish stocks and protected or endangered species of importance to the United States. For this reason, we collaborate with other countries to ensure successful fisheries management and conservation practices.

Regional Agreements

We participate in various international fisheries organizations that promote international cooperation to achieve effective, responsible marine stewardship and ensure sustainable fisheries management. Learn more about the international fisheries organizations that NOAA Fisheries participates in for each region:

In the Spotlight: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, also known as ICCAT, was created in 1969 and covers 50 member nations, including the EU. ICCAT covers the Atlantic Ocean and deals with tuna and tuna-like species.

The Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section of ICCAT is made up of people representing commercial industries, recreational fishing groups, and academia, who are nominated every two years and provide advice to the U.S. ICCAT Commissioners on international issues related to conservation and management.

Global Agreements

We have the authority to engage in international activities with other countries to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Our international affairs work builds strategic partnerships with other nations, particularly with developing countries, to promote sustainable and responsible management of fisheries and other relevant marine resources at a global level.

Learn more about our current global and other multilateral living marine resource agreements

Bilateral Arrangements

We hold consultations with a number of countries and fishing entities on a regular basis to exchange views and enlist support for U.S. fisheries trade and conservation and management initiatives in international fora.

Canada

Chile

China

European Union

Mexico

Norway

Russia

Taiwan

Vietnam

More about bilateral agreements

Fisheries Trade Agreements and Organizations

As a large seafood-consuming and fishing nation, it is critical that we take an active role in shaping the conservation and management regimes of international fisheries. We work to meet the demand of U.S. consumers that imported seafood be safe, legal, and sustainable and ensure confidence in U.S. seafood by protecting and strengthening the seafood market through global trade.

Learn more about our international fisheries trade agreements
'Rudolph,' 'Frosty' and snow at the Prytania, plus more local movie events
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all.
The NRL concluded its investigation into Cronulla Sutherland forward Andrew Fifita on Tuesday.

A spokesman said Fifita has been issued with a breach notice relating to his on-field support for a convicted criminal during the Telstra Premiership.

Fifita met with the Integrity Unit on Tuesday following the receipt of information from NSW police last week.

Fifita has five business days to respond to the allegations in the breach notice.
Munster-based American Community Bank plans to open a branch in Crown Point, which will be its fifth in the Region.

We are grateful for the support that this area has given our bank for over 100 years now, but we still have a lot of opportunity to grow and expand in the Northwest Indiana community," Bank President Michael Mellon said. "We are delighted and proud to bring our bank to the Crown Point area.

Mellon said it was essential for a community bank with $200 million in assets to grow so it could realize an economy of scale. American Community Bank, which was American Savings FSB until it was rebranded last year, plans to soon open a full-service branch in a 3,180-square-foot former Bank Midwest location at 11275 Broadway in Crown Point.

The new branch will employ about six people and have a 24-hour ATM and lending officers on-site.

"As the banking industry shrinks and consolidates into a collection of larger national and regional banks, consumers often feel resigned to accept their place as a large bank customer," Mellon said. "But thats not how it has to be. Community banks like us are here to offer a much more pleasant and flexible solution, with the added benefit of supporting the local economy in a very direct way.

American Community Bank has branches in Munster, Hammond, Dyer and Schererville. The 106-year-old bank last added a new branch, the Schererville location on Indianapolis Boulevard, in 2008.

The bank was interested in expansion to Crown Point partly because of the strengths of the housing and commercial markets there, Mellon said. It hopes to do a brisk mortgage business there.

Crown Point has been thriving with a growing population, rising home prices, and a household income that increased to $62,177 in 2013 from $52,889 in 2000, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

"There's good leadership and good sense of community," Mellon said. "It attracts people and has that community pride. There's construction, rooftops going up. There's refinancing and a strong commercial business."
A Lansing resident wrote "The Root Cellar," a novel of suspense about a woman who takes revenge.

C.A. Thomas wrote the 152-page paperback thriller, which was published by RoseDog Books in Pittsburgh.

"When Candace is brutally attacked by her employers son she finds that no one in the town will take any action towards bringing him to justice," according to a news release. "The reason being: he is white and rich; and she is not. Her family is also fearful and reluctant to help. So she vows to kill him and she hides out in the root cellar as she plots her revenge."

Thomas, a great-grandmother and veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the Illinois Army National Guard who's now retired, wrote her first book on two typewriters and an "out-of-date" word processor.

"The idea for 'The Root Cellar' came during one of many periods of extemporary daydreams," according to the news release. "The first chapter opened up like a giant movie screen and, in the spur of a moment, it became necessary to quickly find a pen and paper. The words were coming so fast in one afternoon, nearly all the main characters had presented themselves."

The novel is available for order on Amazon.
NORRISTOWN, Pa.  The Latest on Bill Cosby's latest court appearance in a sexual-assault case (all times local):

2:25 p.m.

Defense lawyers for Bill Cosby are complaining that celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred fed Pennsylvania prosecutors a list of accusers to use as witnesses at Cosby's sex assault trial.

The 79-year-old Cosby appeared relaxed in court Tuesday as he listened to pretrial arguments about how many other accusers can testify as "prior bad act" witnesses at his spring trial. Cosby is facing charges he sexually assaulted a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Prosecutors hope to call 13 of the approximately 50 Cosby accusers they interviewed to show an alleged pattern of criminal activity.

The defense believes the judge should consider how prosecutors selected those women.

The case is being heard in Montgomery County, near Philadelphia. The hearing is scheduled to run through Wednesday.

___

12:05 p.m.

The Pennsylvania judge in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case doesn't want to hear from a memory expert at this week's hearing on the potential testimony of other accusers.

Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill says the memory expert won't help him decide if the accusers can testify against the 79-year-old comedian. He says the expert might be allowed to take the stand at Cosby's trial next year.

The criminal charges involve Cosby's 2004 encounter with Andrea Constant at his home near Philadelphia.

Prosecutors want to call 13 other women as "prior bad act" witnesses. The women say Cosby drugged and molested them.

Defense lawyers are introducing thick binders full of news interviews, police statements, Facebook posts and other information on the women. They call the accusers' accounts irrelevant to the case.

___

11 a.m.

A judge has admonished both the prosecution and defense after a courtroom shouting match over the names of the women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault.

Judge Steven O'Neill denounced Tuesday morning's outburst as uncivil.

District Attorney Kevin Steele clashed with Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle over the defense team's practice of publicly identifying accusers.

Steele suggested that Cosby's lawyers are publicizing them in an attempt to intimidate the women.

McMonagle said many of them had already gone public with their allegations.

Cosby's lawyers want the women barred from testifying at the 79-year-old comedian's Pennsylvania sexual assault trial next year.

O'Neill ruled that Cosby's lawyers can identify 11 of the women by name. He said two have remained out of the spotlight and shouldn't be named in court.

___

9:15 a.m.

Bill Cosby joked, 'Don't tase me, bro,'" as he was being wanded by security officers on his way into a suburban Philadelphia courtroom.

The actor and comedian entered the courthouse Tuesday morning for a hearing on whether prosecutors will be able to call more than a dozen accusers as witnesses at his upcoming sexual assault trial.

Lawyers for Cosby are trying to limit the number of other accusers who can testify at a trial involving accusations by Andrea Constand. Prosecutors want to show Cosby had a pattern of drugging and molesting women.

The defense will attack their credibility and relevance to his 2004 encounter with Constand.

The hearing is expected to run through Wednesday.

___

12:35 a.m.

Lawyers for Bill Cosby will battle in court starting Tuesday to try to limit the number of other accusers who can testify at the comedian's sexual assault trial.

Prosecutors near Philadelphia hope to call 13 other women to show Cosby had a pattern of drugging and molesting women.

The defense will attack their credibility and relevance to his 2004 encounter with accuser Andrea Constand.

The case started a decade ago when the Temple University employee filed a police complaint. A suburban Philadelphia prosecutor declined to file charges.

But scores of women have since gone public with similar accusations. And damaging testimony Cosby gave in the first accuser's civil lawsuit became public last year. That led authorities to reopen the case.

The hearing is expected to run Tuesday through Wednesday.
GARY  Police are continuing to investigate several shootings from last week, including one in the Brunswick neighborhood that left one person dead and two others wounded.

Andrew Ford, 24, of Gary, was found dead early Friday in the 300 block of Matthews Street, according to the Lake County coroner's office.

Gary police responded about 11:45 p.m. Thursday to the 100 block of Hovey Street for a report of a gunshot victim, Lt. Dawn Westerfield said.

An investigation later led police to Ford's body and another person who had been wounded, she said. Ford was pronounced dead at 1 a.m. Friday from multiple gunshot wounds in a homicide, a coroner's release said.

Westerfield declined to release additional details, citing the ongoing investigation. Police don't think the crime poses a threat to the general public, she said.

Lake County sheriff's Detective Jeff Minchuk, of the Lake County/Gary Homicide Unit, is investigating.

In a separate shooting, a 33-year-old Gary man was wounded in an attempted robbery, police said.

The man told police he was outside in the 1700 block of East 20th Court early Friday when he was approached by a man he didn't recognize. The man displayed a handgun and demanded the 33-year-old's keys, police said.

The 33-year-old told police the man pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired and they fought. As the 33-year-old ran inside, he felt a pain in his arm and realized he'd been shot.

The gunman fled before police arrived, Westerfield said. The 33-year-old was taken to a local hospital by ambulance.

Gary police Detective Sgt. James Bond is investigating.

Anyone with information can call detectives at (219) 755-3855. To remain anonymous, call (866) CRIME-GP.
CROWN POINT  The father of a 5-year-old Gary boy bound and brutally beaten to death in 2010 was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison and five years probation for neglect of a dependent.

Leon D. Burns, 35, said at the sentencing hearing in Lake County Criminal Court he was sorry he did not do something to save his child, Leon Walker, who was pronounced dead April 28, 2010.

Defense attorney Timothy Ormes maintained Burns' girlfriend, Rochell Johnson, inflicted the fatal blow to the boy at the couple's residence in the 3900 block of Virginia Street.

The majority of the injuries were caused by her, I have no doubt in my mind, Ormes said.

Judge Clarence Murray, who presided over the hearing, said in brief remarks that Burns' son was tortured to death.

There was not an inch of this child's body not injured, Murray said. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Burns' sentencing brought to an end a criminal case that had shocked the community when it occurred.

Leon Walker's bruised and battered body was transported by ambulance April 28, 2010, to Methodist Hospital's Northlake Campus, where he was pronounced dead, according to a probable cause affidavit.

A Lake County coroner who examined the boy's body told police he had never seen a person so badly beaten, the affidavit states.

Police said in 2010 the boy had 40 scratches and bruises on his body at the time of his death, some of which may have come from past abuse. He had rope burns around his wrists and his vertebrae was severed from his skull, which caused his death, the affidavit states.

Burns and Johnson initially told police they found Burns' son unconscious the night of April 28, 2010, after he complained of stomach pain, the affidavit states.

When confronted with the evidence of abuse, Burns admitted to police he occasionally whipped the boy when he lied or wet the bed. He said on the day of the boy's death, he hit his son several times and the boy fell into a door, striking his head, the affidavit states.

Johnson also changed her statement, according to the affidavit. She said Burns tied the child up with black cords and beat him with a belt for lying and being disrespectful. She said the child was tied up most of the day of his death, and Burns regularly beat the boy, whose mother was in a treatment facility for addiction.

Johnson and Burns were both charged with murder and two counts of neglect of a dependent in the child's death.

Johnson pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent in October 2012 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years probation.

Burns pleaded guilty to the same offense Nov. 8.
GARY  Police continue to seek a suspect in the Dec. 1 armed robbery of state Rep. Vernon Smith.

Lt. Dawn Westerfield said Tuesday the suspect entered the Glen Theater, 20 W. Ridge Road in Gary, at about 11:40 a.m. and threatened Smith with a black handgun.

The suspect stole Smith's car keys and credit card, Westerfield said. A second victim entered the theater during the incident and was robbed of cash and a driver's license.

The suspect then fled the scene in Smith's vehicle, which had government license plates, according to the lieutenant.

Westerfield said Smith's vehicle was found later that night in the 4900 block of Vermont Street.

Smith is board chairman of the African American Achievers Youth Corps, a nonprofit organization that owns the Glen Theater.

The suspect was described as a 5-foot-10 black male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue gym shoes and a ski mask.

Anyone with information about the robbery can contact Detective Sgt. Michael Barnes at 881-1210. Anonymous tips can be submitted at 866-CRIME-GP.
VALPARAISO  Pleas of not guilty were entered Monday morning on behalf of a 24-year-old Westville woman accused of driving drunk Nov. 5 and causing an accident that resulted in the death of a passenger on a motorcycle.

Rachel Dover, who is out of jail on bond, sat silently during her initial appearance before Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.

Her attorney, John Vouga, of Portage, told the court he has received some of the evidence against Dover and is waiting on more, such as the toxicology and accident reconstruction reports.

Future hearings in the case are scheduled for Feb. 20 and March 20.

Dover is charged with two different felony counts of drunken driving resulting in a death and two different felony counts of drunken driving causing serious bodily injury, according to court records.

She also is charged with misdemeanor drunken driving.

Dover reportedly told police she was driving south on County Road 550 East approaching U.S. 6 in Jackson Township around 7:30 p.m. when she saw two motorcycles driving west, according to charging documents. She turned east once the bikes passed and said she did not see a motorcycle that struck her vehicle.

A passenger on the motorcycle, Nanette Howard, 55, was airlifted to an Illinois hospital and later died of massive trauma to her head and leg, police said.

The driver of the motorcycle also suffered serious injuries, according to police. Neither was wearing a helmet.

Police said they used a portable breath test and found Dover had a blood alcohol content of 0.23 percent.
VALPARAISO  The City Council and Center Township Advisory Board on Monday both passed measures that create a new combined park board that would essentially expand the city's existing park program to encompass the entire township.

The City Council voted 6-0 to adopt the interlocal agreement with Center Township.

The township board voted 2-1 in favor of the agreement.

"I think it was a pretty bold move on their part and one that I think will benefit the residents of Center Township and the city of Valparaiso," said City Administrator Bill Oeding.

Karl Cender, a financial adviser to the city, told the council he expects no net tax rate increase for Valparaiso residents, but there would be minor change. The current tax rate of 14 cents per $100 of assessed value for real property would be changed to 11 cents for city residents, and a new 3 cent rate would be added for a new cumulative park improvement fund.

Center Township residents will see an increase in property taxes. Starting in 2018, Center Township residents will pay the same rate as city residents, but they will be considered residents of the park district and would pay lower rates than they currently do for park programs. Those new program rates would likely go into effect in 2018.

Cender said the new tax on residents of unincorporated Center Township could draw as much as $1.1 million the first year, but that number could be lower based on review by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance and state-mandated tax caps.

Center Township Advisory Board member Debbie Fray was the lone vote against the interlocal agreement.

She said she had voted earlier to create the park board, but decided since then to vote against the agreement that came with a tax increase.

Fray said she had been contacted by several constituents who had seen taxes and fees increase over the last four years. She said her vote was against the tax, but not against the idea of parks or preserving green space.

Center Township Trustee Doug Miller said several residents attended Monday's meeting and talked about the tax implications.

In the end, Miller was happy with the vote.

"I think it's what we hoped for," Miller said. "If you look long term, it's great for residents of Center Township. It puts Center Township at the table. They have a voice at the park department."

Mayor Jon Costas said interlocal agreements are being used increasingly, and pointed to a similar agreement in place with Center Township regarding fire protection.

"This type of collaboration and cooperation is certainly a very valuable thing," Costas said.

Costas said the measure is efficient and would provide a valuable service for all the residents of Center Township.

Valparaiso Parks Director John Seibert had said about half of the people who sign up for Valpo Parks programs are not city residents and pay nonresident fees. A majority of those nonresidents live in unincorporated Center Township.

The new park agreement would eliminate the extra cost for Center Township residents who pay those nonresident fees and give them a voice in how park tax dollars are spent.

The combined board will begin meeting in 2017 to propose budgets and make plans for 2018.
HIGHLAND  It was the six weeks Reinaldo Arocho lived in a crack house in the summer of 1998 that cost him the next 18 years of his life.

Arocho, a nonviolent drug offender, was sentenced in 2000 to more than 32 years in prison, of which he served about 18 years before he was granted clemency in August by President Barack Obama.

He said Wednesday in an interview at his attorney's office he was upset about his severe sentence, but he always held out hope that he would be freed, and he was a model inmate during his incarceration.

It's an amazing feeling, Arocho said about his release. But it wasn't guaranteed.

Arocho was assisted in his clemency petition by Kerry C. Connor, a Highland defense attorney and member of Clemency Project 2014, a working group of attorneys who assisted inmates like Arocho, who sought clemency through a 2014 U.S. Department of Justice initiative.

In June 1998, Arocho said he was homeless and jobless before he moved into a residence at 1105 Clay St. in Gary, where he admitted he sold crack to support his addiction.

Arocho, then 31, did not know then that the house was being monitored by law enforcement, who executed a warrant at the residence July 2, 1998, and found cash, crack and a .22-caliber revolver.

Arocho and four other residents were arrested and eventually convicted on felony offenses that included drug distribution, possession of a firearm in the commission of drug trafficking and maintaining a drug house.

Prosecutors maintained Arocho helped manage the residence and cooked the crack. Because of the firearm offense and a past drug conviction, Arocho faced a 25-year minimum prison sentence.

Defense attorney Luke A. Casson asked the federal judge for compassion at Arocho's sentencing hearing in January 2000, according to a transcript.

Casson argued Arocho, a father of three, was a longtime addict who got caught up in a police investigation at a residence where he stayed for only a few weeks to get high.

By the time he is released, a lot's going to be different and that kind of time, for what is basically, in my opinion, a drug abuser, a drug user and a drug addict, is unconscionable, Casson said.

The judge was unconvinced, and Arocho was sentenced to 32 years and three months in federal prison.

A shift toward leniency

Since Arocho was sentenced, there has been a cultural and political shift toward leniency in sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders, due in part to an explosion in the U.S. prison population that resulted from anti-crime bills passed during the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2014, the number of inmates in federal prisons dropped for the first time in more than 30 years, but between fiscal year 1998 and 2012, the prison population increased 84 percent, according to a 2015 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, and the number of drug offenders in federal prison grew 63 percent during that time.

Andrea D. Lyon, dean of Valparaiso University School of Law, said Thursday the community has paid both an economic and moral price because of increased incarceration.

Overlooking the economic cost of running a prison, there is this final cost to the communities and the offenders, particularly the people that never receive treatment, Lyon said. Locking them up does not address the underlying problem of addiction.

Lyon said she felt the shift toward leniency was due in part to the methamphetamine and heroin epidemics, which have devastated rural and suburban white communities the same way the crack epidemic destroyed black communities in the 1980s and 1990s.

Now that suburban and rural white people are becoming addicts, people are saying, 'Oh gosh, it's a public health problem, we should address it as a public health problem,' and we should, Lyon said, but that is a lesson she wished the country had learned sooner.

A 'pristine' record

A lot changed for Arocho, too.

Arocho, now 50, got clean in prison. He completed more than 44 education courses while incarcerated, and he obtained employment in a correctional work program.

Arocho received no disciplinary infractions while in prison. He was so trusted, prison officials allowed him a 36-hour furlough in October 2013 so he could take a public bus unescorted from a prison in Minnesota to one in Kentucky.

In April 2009, defense attorney Kerry C. Connor filed a motion on Arocho's behalf requesting a federal judge reduce his sentence based on Arocho's exemplary behavior and changes made in the mid-2000s to crack-cocaine penalties, which reduced the sentencing disparity between offenses for crack and powdered cocaine.

The judge reduced Arocho's sentence to 25 years in January 2011. He noted in the order the defendant had a pristine record of conduct, which was evidence that Arocho was not the same man he was in 1998.

But the judge said he could not reduce the sentence lower than the mandatory minimum imposed at Arocho's initial sentencing.

The judge gave him the largest reduction he could give him, Connor said Wednesday, but it meant Arocho still would not be released until 2020.

However, in April 2014 the U.S. DOJ launched the Clemency Initiative to encourage federal inmates who met certain qualifications to petition President Barack Obama to have their sentence commuted.

The Clemency Project 2014, a national working group of volunteer attorneys and advocates, responded to the department's call for petitions by recruiting and training attorneys on how to screen for prisoners who met the department's criteria.

Connor said she immediately thought of Arocho when the initiative was announced.

There was no inmate more qualified than Reinaldo for clemency, Connor said.

Arocho submitted his petition for commutation on Dec. 5, 2015.

He wrote in the petition his reason for seeking commutation was because he was physically, mentally and spiritually a changed man.

Arocho had missed his children's graduations, but he hoped to attend his daughter's wedding in the summer.

I can be a productive member in society if given the chance, he wrote.

On Aug. 3, Arocho received the call from Connor at his penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, where he learned the president had granted him clemency.

He was one of 214 inmates to receive clemency on that day, though Obama has commuted the sentences of 1,023 prisoners total since taking office, more than the past 11 presidents combined.

Arocho said he was elated when he heard the news.

I thought they would have flying cars by the time I got out, he said.

Arocho was released to a halfway house on Sept. 12, and he moved into his mother's home in Hobart in late October, where he remained under court monitoring until Dec. 1.

Though the president granted him clemency, potential employers have been less broad-minded.

Arocho said he works as a dishwasher at a steakhouse, but his attempts to get a better job have been unsuccessful due to his felony convictions and employment gap.

Though Arocho was freed, he said there were many more inmates he met who also deserved early release.

The Clemency Project has submitted more than 2,400 petitions to the federal government for review, but less than half have been accepted.

The president has stated he will continue to exercise clemency powers until Inauguration Day.
State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, was the victim of an armed robbery Dec. 1 at the Glen Theater in Gary.

A Gary police officer was dispatched at about 11:45 a.m. to the theater at 20 W. Ridge Road in reference to an armed robbery, according to a police dispatch log.

A car was stolen, the dispatch log states, and Smith was listed as the alleged victim.

The dispatch log does not indicate whether the car was recovered or if anyone was arrested in connection to the incident.

Gary police Lt. Dawn Westerfield said Monday afternoon she would need approval from the city mayor's office before she could discuss the investigation.

Smith said Monday he had no comment on the incident.

Smith is board chairman of African American Achievers Youth Corps, the nonprofit organization that owns the performing arts center.
INDIANAPOLIS  The Indiana Supreme Court will not consider an appeal from the LaPorte man serving 40 years in prison for the 1993 murder of 16-year-old Rayna Rison.

The state's high court voted 4-1 last week to reject Jason Tibbs' requests that it set aside the Sept. 8 Court of Appeals decision unanimously affirming his 2014 conviction and order a new trial.

Justice Robert Rucker, a Gary native, was the sole jurist voting to grant transfer. He did not specify why he thought the Supreme Court should hear Tibbs' appeal.

The decision not to hear it all but assures that Tibbs, 41, will remain in prison until at least 2033, when he'll potentially be eligible for release due to time off for good behavior.

According to court records, Tibbs choked Rison to death on March 26, 1993, near the Pine Lake Veterinary Hospital where she worked, after she declined to rekindle their brief relationship.

Tibbs then weighed down Rison's body and dumped it in a LaPorte County pond where police discovered it a month later.

Rison's murder went unsolved for 15 years until a previously unknown witness contacted cold case investigators.
Flipping through history books about East Chicago, youll find records of how an area  once nothing more than a swampy wasteland  in the early 20thcentury boomed into a city synonymous with heavy industry and the roar of manufacturing plants.

What you wont find there are the memories of families who lived in the shadows of the smokestacks, and of those who still call East Chicago home. You wont find these in the history books, because these stories are still being written.

'Raised on the lead'

When Garfield School burned down in January 1956, students were relocated to an empty office building on the former lead smelter Eagle Pitcher property.

Sherry Hunter, 68, was one of them.

When I was out here, we knew about the lead. We didnt know how bad it was, but we lived here and was raised on the lead, she said.

The lifelong East Chicago resident and community activist grew up near the corner of 151st Street and Melville Avenue  the USS Lead site right in her backyard.

She and her friends used to play in the park not too far from the lead plant property.

We used to tease this old man  who worked at the lead plant. He used to cross by us on his way home down Melville. We called him 'Stinky Stout.' His name was Stout. He smelled like the lead plant  like steel, like metal. His breath, his body. Everything.

For years, Hunters grandfather worked at Harbison-Walker, a refractory plant at 4343 Kennedy Ave. that once supplied the steel mills with silica fire brick, according to the Calumet Region Historical Guide.

"As far as the men would go, they would work in the mills and the lead plants," Hunter said. "They didn't know about the dangers of the lead."

'This is home'

Blighted, vacant lots are littered throughout the city's Calumet neighborhood these days, save for the white house near the corner of 150th Street and McCook Avenue. Byron* "Duke" Florence calls it home.

This has always been home to me, other than when I was in college, he said. I moved from (zone) 2 to 3, but basically this has been my home  This is home. I grew up here. Born in 1951. When I left the hospital, I came here."

Anchored in childhood memories are the factories that towered on all sides of the neighborhood, the billowing smoke dominating the city sky.

Two once long-forgotten and defunct nearby factories, USS Lead and Eagle Picher, the latter also known as Anaconda Lead Products, have been thrust back into the spotlight with this summer's discovery of dangerously high lead and arsenic levels in the soil.

Eagle Picher started all the way down to 151st all the way down to where Carrie Gosch is now. That was the factory. The cast iron fence out there now, thats the original boundaries. We used to play, dig underneath the fence there," Florence said.

"Wed go inside the buildings and pop open the bags. We would run through the powder after we bust open the bags, not knowing what it was. And we played in it.

At times of high production, the city had a distinct metallic smell, Florence said.

It was a metal smell, but it was something we were used to. They would emit smoke certain times during the day; it was like fog coming in," Florence said. "Here again, we had no knowledge. EPA wasnt even around then.

'We were kids. We didn't know.'

Never pausing to wonder if the soil they were playing in was contaminated with toxins, childhood friends Mary Irizarry and Maritza Lopez made the citys industrial landscape their playground in the 1970s.

We were kids. We didnt know, said Lopez, now 53.

After living for years in the Calumet neighborhood, Irizarry moved to East Chicagos Harbor section. But her parents  ages 85 and 90  remain in her childhood home on Euclid Avenue.

The DuPont facility, which manufactured lead arsenate insecticide from 1910 to 1949, operated for years just blocks southwest of the Calumet neighborhood. Sneaking onto the land long after the facility shut down was something we did, Irizarry said.

I remember taking cardboard boxes and sliding down the gravel mountains. We played King of the Hill on them, Irizarry said. We were kids in the '70s  We were outside in the summertime from the time we woke up until the street lights came on.

Lopez said her family moved to East Chicago when she was 6 months old. They lived in the 4800 block of Grasselli Avenue before moving into her current house on Euclid Avenue.

These days, Lopez  who suffers from a long list of ailments  said she questions if toxic soil is the culprit behind her illnesses, and many of her neighbors illnesses.

(My neighbors) husband just passed away from cancer in February. Liver cancer. Same thing like my mom. Across the alley from her, (another neighbor)  same type of liver cancer. She, herself, has colon cancer, Lopez said.

The lady at the end of the block died of colon cancer. The lady two doors down from me  she has breast cancer. I have breast cancer. Im anemic. I have very severe brittle bones.

'This corner has been good to me'

Greg Blosky, 62, switched on his mothers old projector  bringing to life a much younger version of himself that illuminates a large screen in his darkened living room.

Im maybe 5 or 6 years old here," Blosky said.

In the photo, its a bright, sunny day and Blosky is sitting on a playground slide in EJ&E Park  a tiny, sandy lot just west of the old E.B. Lanman & Sons property at 151st and McCook.

Farther west and north of EJ&E Park was the Anaconda Lead Products facility. Grasselli Chemical Co. was situated just over the railroad tracks to the east. And to the south was USS Lead. On the corner of 151st and Alexander Avenue was Blosky's home.

I remember riding around town on bikes with my mother. We would see all the (industrial) buildings. We just rode around together, he said.

Growing up playing in the shadow of smokestacks and factories, Blosky, now 62, speaks of East Chicago like he would an old friend.

Some people are blessed with having a big family around them, a support group, and I was not one of them. I sort of look at the city, not so much as my family, but an area that shaped who I am today, he said. This corner has been good to me.

'We didn't ask for this'

Wearing a black T-shirt that read, "Attention. Calumet Lives Matter," 29-year-old Nayesa Walker was stopped by a stranger this past September. She and her family had been staying at a hotel while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deep-cleaned her West Calumet apartment unit following the discovery of lead and arsenic in the soil.

The stranger handed her $50.

"I said, 'What is this for?'" Walker said. "And she said, 'I couldn't help but read your shirt and I asked the lady at the front desk what was going on.' She told me lunch was on her today."

It was a rare, bright moment for Walker, who learned this summer that she  along with 1,000 other residents  would be forced to relocate from the West Calumet complex due to the toxic soil.

Walker's grandmother, who died in 2010, was one of the first to move into the housing complex after it was built in 1972 on the former lead smelter, Anaconda Lead Products, she said. Now, Walker lives there with her three children  ages 7, 4, and 3.

"I don't want to leave. I'm comfortable here. To see it be torn down, it's hard. I can't ever return home," she said.

Walker said she has difficulty trusting the very agencies  local, state and federal  that are supposed to be there to protect her and provide her safe housing.

"Somebody knew something, but nobody did nothing," Walker said. "What did we do that was so bad? We didn't ask for this. We didn't ask for any of this to happen."
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  Former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock, who just two years ago was the future face of the Republican Party, pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court to charges that he misused government and campaign money for personal use.

The 35-year-old Republican from Peoria pronounced his plea and gave short answers to questions by U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough, who set a trial date of Feb. 7.

Appearing calm and dressed in a dark suit with thin stripes, the one-time formidable fundraiser and rising GOP star faces federal corruption charges alleging he used his position to spend lavishly on travel, World Series and Super Bowl tickets and other amenities of an extravagant lifestyle.

The tickets were later sold for a profit, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors claim he also pocketed thousands of constituents' dollars, hosting Washington tours and meet-and-greets, charging a fee and keeping some of the cash.

Schock has said he is innocent, referring to the spending in question as "honest mistakes."

In a brief statement to reporters after his arraignment, Schock said he looked "forward to all the facts coming out in this case."

"I have full confidence in my legal team, full confidence in the good people of this community, and I'm confident that in the end justice will prevail," he said.

The 24-count federal indictment was unveiled last month. It was the culmination of a 19-month investigation that included two grand juries.

Schock is from Peoria and had asked for the case to be moved there, but Myerscough ruled that proceedings should remain in Springfield.

Schock resigned in March 2015 amid intensifying scrutiny over real estate deals, extensive travel and other spending. Questions about his spending were sparked in part by word that he redecorated his congressional office in the lavish style of TV's "Downton Abbey."

The indictment alleges Schock spent $40,000 in government funds to redecorate his Washington office, including $5,000 on a chandelier.

When Schock risked missing a connecting flight for a European vacation, the indictment alleges, he paid a private aircraft company more than $8,000 out of his campaign account to fly him from Peoria to Washington.

The indictment includes nine counts of wire fraud, five of falsification of election commission filings, six of filing false federal income tax returns, two of making false statements, and one each of mail fraud and theft of government funds. A conviction on just one count of wire fraud carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
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Blankets can do more than warm and comfortthey also can improve the look of your home.
The fight between charter schools and the de Blasio administration is heating up, with charter schools accusing the city of standing in the way of their getting more classroom space. Our education reporter, Lindsey Christ, has more.

At Boys Prep Bronx Charter School, the principal's office is a converted broom closet.

It's one of 50 charter schools that says, over the next two years, they won't have room for all their students.

According to the leaders of the city's largest charter school networks, Mayor de Blasio's administration is delaying the approval process.

"Things are going slower than we had hoped," said CEO of Public Prep, Ian Rowe. "And it's December. And parents want to know where their kids are going to school, potential teachers want to know where they're going to be working and so we are very anxious."

In a letter obtained by NY1, leaders of six charter networks serving 45,000 students, told the Mayor that working with his team is onerous. They urge him to finalize decisions on where charter schools will be sited, saying hundreds of families don't know where their kids will attend school next year.

"The biggest consequence of a delay is that a parent desperately wants to send their son or daughter to a great school doesn't have that option," said Rowe.

De Blasio has not been a big fan of charter schools. Nearly three years ago, the charters fought him over whether they were entitled to space in public school buildings. The charters triumphed, with a new state law requiring the city to provide school space or pay for private space.

Now the charter leaders accuse the city of sabotaging the process by appealing decisions and delaying whenever possible.

The campaign is once again very public, with television ads:

"Even though the Mayor has over 200 half empty school buildings, he is shutting them out."

And City Hall rallies:

"The only explanation for why we are holding get another press conference is that the Mayor is playing politics," said Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz.

The City says it continues to work with the charters, with proposals for seven schools finalized and four more in the works.

Regarding Boys Prep, the State Education Commissioner says the city needs to pay for space  and the city is now appealing the decision in court.
Sources tell NY1 police are looking for the ex-boyfriend of a correction officer murdered in Brooklyn last week.

Sources say 25-year-old Alastasia Bryan and her ex-boyfriend had gotten into a dispute over her BMW before she was found dead in Flatlands the night of December 4.

Sources say the ex-boyfriend has dozens of arrests, including some for domestic violence.

Bryan was found shot to death in her parked car.

Surveillance video shows a man walking up to the driver's side window and firing five shots.

Police believe two people had been staking out Bryan, and drove off in a gold or tan colored Hyundai Elantra.

A Wake will be held for Bryan at First AME Zion Church in Bedford Stuyvesant between 5 and 9 p.m. Monday.

Her funeral will be at the same church tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Bryan had worked at Rikers Island for about a month.
Law enforcement officials say credit card fraud appears to be the latest frontier for violent gangs eager to make a quick buck. NY1 Criminal Justice Reporter Dean Meminger tells us about a major bust in Brooklyn.

"The Hoodstarz are a notorious gang that has terrorized parts of Brooklyn for years," said NYPD Assistant Chief James Essig.

That's what gangs usually do with guns, violence and drugs. But the NYPD and Brooklyn DA's office say several gangs in the Brownsville area were heavily into credit card fraud as well.

"I can say this Dean, that we know for sure that some of these people made this their full time job," said Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez. "That this is how they committed their life to doing this credit card fraud."

Investigators say alleged gang members printed thousands of illegal credit cards using real and fake names. They bought the card numbers from hackers who sell stolen identification and financial data over encrypted websites, what's known as the "dark web."

The members of Hoodstarz and other crews such as Folk Nation and 823 Crips then used the bogus cards to rent expensive cars and buy everything from concert tickets to food.

"One of the defendants a man named Tyrone Sexton  was apparently a big fan of the store American Girl and he allegedly bought expensive dolls," Gonzalez said.

Detectives say once the gang members printed up the fake credit cards, they needed to figure out if they were working. So, they came to muni meters and simply charged a dollar to see which ones were good.

But it wasn't all about having a good time. The gangs are accused of violence, drug dealing and buying guns with money from stolen cards.

"Sixteen have been involved in shooting incidents," said NYPD Assistant Chief Essig. "Seventeen have been arrested for weapons position. Twenty five have been arrested for robberies."

"We found a man who owned a gun in which an eight-year-old relative brought to his school," said District Attorney Gonzalez.

In all, 35 people have been arrested. As part of the case  for the first time, the Brooklyn DA was able to obtain a warrant to monitor direct messages between individual Facebook users. Until now, they only tracked public posts about gang violence.

"For those who are from Brownsville this is the end of Hoodstarz violence," said NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill.

And cops are looking to make more arrests.
In terms of the basic infrastructure, there were no decent roads, no electricity, no water, no air transport coming in, and the work force we needed was nowhere near the mine, said Cameron McRae, chief executive of Oyu Tolgoi, at his office in the capital, Ulan Bator, which is about 375 miles from the mine. Basically we have had to provide everything from scratch.

The economic impact of Oyu Tolgoi is visible on the streets of Khanbogd, the town nearest to the site. The population of Khanbogd, a frontierlike outpost where most residents still live in traditional nomadic tents, has grown from just 2,000 a decade ago to over 7,000 today, not including the 10,000 workers housed at the mine itself.

The dusty roads are now crisscrossed with cars and vans, as well as the shuttle buses filled with workers traveling from their nearby camp to the mine and back.

Electricity is now available to households for set periods throughout the day, and the mine has promised residents 24-hour electricity soon. Still, life is harsh for many here, with no running water and only five doctors working at the towns small, one-story hospital, the same number as before the influx of people.

Image Credit... The New York Times

We are looking at the moment at how we can help develop Khanbogd town so it is something better than it currently is, and somewhere where it is attractive for our employees to live, Mr. McRae said.

The development is inexorably altering the area, for good and ill.

The high level of respiratory illness in the southern Gobi is due to the influence of the mining companies, as well as to the influx of people into the region and the subsequent increase in building projects, said Narantsetseg Logii, a doctor at the Health Sciences University of Mongolia.
Some characters pop up in different stories  set years, even decades apart  and together they create a kind of choral portrait of a place, which turns out to be less a real community than a collection of misfits and Isolatoes. In fact, the reader cant help feeling that Dream Life is a kind of variation on Winesburg, Ohio (1919), Sherwood Andersons enduringly influential story cycle about the residents of a small town, grappling with loneliness, isolation and an inability to connect. In this case, Mr. Ryans people, both young and old, long to escape the tedium and unhappiness of their lives on Merritt Island and, at the same time, they feel powerless and trapped. Without ever italicizing the metaphor, Mr. Ryan suggests that this is what has become of the American dream for many people who live in the shadow of Cape Canaveral, once the symbol of the countrys loftiest dreams and ambitions.

Image The Dream Life of Astronauts, by Patrick Ryan, is published by the Dial Press. Credit... Patricia Wall/The New York Times

A former astronaut who never made it into space (I was lined up for three different missions, he says, but they didnt come through. NASA politics and whatnot) now sells real estate; when he gives a talk at the local library, five people show up. A middle-aged man named Leo, who has recently suffered a stroke, feels helpless to control his own frail body, much less his two sons, who have been bullying a neighborhood boy, with growing cruelty and perversity. A man who dreamed of moving to Alaska or becoming a famous racecar driver finds himself working at a depressing job and married to a woman he proposed to by accident. (Id meant the question to be theoretical, but she heard it as literal, and I went with it to save face.)

Even simple dreams of romance prove elusive. A pretty teenager, with a photographic memory and a dream of becoming Miss America, ends up pregnant and abandoned. And the would-be beauty queens mother finds herself, after three husbands, in a sordid hookup with a drivers ed teacher at a sleazy motel.

Many of the grown-ups in these stories  and quite a few of the kids  are narcissistic, cynical or deluded, given to venting their frustrations on relatives and neighbors or abdicating their familial responsibilities with alarming ease. But if Mr. Ryan  the author of a novel and three books for young readers  is unflinching in depicting their liabilities, he also displays a gift for excavating the dashed hopes and yearnings that lie beneath. He is especially adept at capturing the point of view of children, with a Salingeresque understanding of their alienation, their vulnerability, their keen powers of observation.

The rhythms and rituals of these peoples daily lives are sharply etched here, too, as is this corner of Florida, which occupies the emotional latitudes somewhere between Frederick Barthelmes depressive New South and Carl Hiaasens skanky, oddball Sunshine State.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, furious about President-elect Donald J. Trumps appointments of finance industry insiders, took to Facebook a little over a week ago to fire off a message to her nearly 2.5 million followers.

She took aim at an individual she described as a hedge fund billionaire who is thrilled by Donald Trumps economic team of Wall Street insiders.

The hedge fund manager she condemned was Whitney Tilson, who runs Kase Capital. Ms. Warren  the fiery Massachusetts Democrat who is known for her stern mistrust of Wall Street  called him out by saying, Tilson knows that, despite all the stunts and rhetoric, Donald Trump isnt going to change the economic system. Then she added, The next four years are going to be a bonanza for the Whitney Tilsons of the world.

Theres one rather glaring problem with Ms. Warrens attack: Mr. Tilson happens to be one of the few financial executives who publicly fought Mr. Trumps election and supported Hillary Clinton. A lifelong Democrat who was involved in helping to start Teach for America, Mr. Tilson also happened to be one of the rare Wall Street executives who had donated to Ms. Warren and actively sought new regulations for the industry. Recently, he gave Mrs. Clinton $1,000 so he could see Ms. Warren speak at a campaign fund-raiser. (Hes also far, far from a billionaire.)
Mr. Gatess remarks came during a telephone interview in which he described details of the investment fund. The backers include Mr. Gates and 19 other investors, including Jack Ma, founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, and the venture capitalists John Doerr and Vinod Khosla. The fund will have a life span of 15 to 20 years.

The fund will consider investing in electricity generation and storage, transportation, agriculture and energy-system efficiency. Seed money for start-ups and projects ready for commercialization, among other efforts, will be considered, fund officials said.

Mr. Gatess plans to establish a fund were first announced at the United Nations climate talks in Paris in November 2015. At the same meeting, the United States and about 20 other nations pledged to double their spending on clean-energy research and development under a plan called Mission Innovation.

Mr. Gates said that in the year since Paris, a number of countries had followed through on the plan. I do hope the U.S. and other countries continue along the Mission Innovation path, he said.



Mr. Gates backs a string of clean-energy projects, including the nuclear reactor start-up TerraPower, and Aquion Energy, a company developing batteries made from nontoxic materials like saltwater. Mr. Gates also provided seed money for Carbon Engineering, a start-up led by the Harvard University physicist David Keith that is testing a process to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

But those projects have yet to yield real-world results. Eight years after it was founded, TerraPower has not built a working prototype. Last year, it said that it was shifting some of its focus away from what had appeared to be a promising traveling-wave reactor design that burns fuel made from depleted uranium. The start-up is now exploring a different nuclear concept based on molten chloride reactor technology, which uses a molten salt mixture, instead of water, as the primary reactor coolant.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos Taste NY program seemed simple enough: Slap some new branding on the blue billboards that line New York States roadways, establish markets that sell local products at places frequented by travelers and hold events across the state featuring homegrown goods.

As far as government initiatives go, promoting local products seemed unlikely to stir much controversy.

Wrong.

From the signs promoting the program to the over-the-counter sales at rest stops, the state is engaged in a battle with the federal authorities over whether New York is in compliance with regulations.

First came the scrutiny over the I Love NY signs crowded with information about local excursions, including promotions of Taste NY.
New York Citys Education Department is withdrawing a plan to merge two elementary schools in southern Harlem after receiving criticism that it had not given parents enough time to respond, it said on Monday.

The department announced in October that it wanted to merge Public School 241, the STEM Institute of Manhattan, which has had its enrollment decline steeply in the last decade, with nearby Public School 76. The department also wanted to redraw the school zone lines in the area to divide the STEM Institutes zone among P.S. 76 and three other nearby schools in Community School District 3.

That would require a vote of the districts Community Education Council, an elected volunteer board.

But the proposal faced opposition from STEM Institute parents and members of the council, who said that the department was rushing the plan through and not listening to the concerns of black and Hispanic parents whose children attend the schools. Several parents drew comparisons with the 18 months that the department recently spent pursuing a rezoning of several schools at the southern end of District 3, where more parents are white.
Set aside the fact that Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil and Donald Trumps choice for secretary of state, knows scores of world leaders and is a skilled businessman. Why would Mr. Trump choose as his top diplomat a man whose every decision or action would be tainted by suspicion that hes capitulating to Russian interests or those of the oil industry, having spent his entire career at Exxon Mobil?

Mr. Trump seems impervious to ethical standards. By naming Mr. Tillerson, he risks burdening his administration with another appointee likely to ensure endless controversy.

Mr. Tillerson has no background in diplomacy beyond corporate deal making. And his relationship with Vladimir Putin, Russias authoritarian leader, raises serious questions about whether he could manage Russia policy in a way that advances Americas national interests. Mr. Putin even gave him an Order of Friendship award in 2013.

American-Russian relations are at their worst since the Cold War, a result of Mr. Putins annexation of Crimea, the war in eastern Ukraine, his attempts to destabilize countries in Europe, and bombings of civilians in Syria. The Central Intelligence Agencys newly revealed judgment that Russia interfered in the election to hurt Hillary Clinton adds a frightening dimension to the relationship.
UNITED NATIONS  Antonio Guterres took the oath of office on Monday to become the next secretary general of the United Nations amid a rise in nationalist movements around the world and what he called a loss of confidence in institutions, including the one he will take over in January.

The next United Nations leader would already have faced tough challenges: war, climate change, widening income inequality, record levels of global displacement. But the election of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States has changed the incoming secretary generals approach to virtually every major crisis, a wide array of United Nations diplomats said in recent weeks, outlining three particularly vexing conundrums.

The first is that even as he needs commitment from the United States, the single largest funder of the United Nations, Mr. Guterres will be under pressure to call out American leaders if they flout the basic values of the United Nations Charter, including respect, human rights, tolerance and solidarity, as he described them to the packed General Assembly hall on Monday.

The threats to these values are most often based on fear, he said. Our duty to the people we serve is to work together to move from fear of each other to trust in each other. Trust in the values that bind us, and trust in the institutions that serve and protect us.
Presidential election recount efforts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin came to an end on Monday, with both states certifying Donald J. Trump as the winner in contests that helped put him over the top in the Electoral College tally.

Mr. Trumps victory in Wisconsin was reaffirmed after a statewide vote recount showed him defeating Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000 votes.

In Pennsylvania, a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in that states presidential election and scan some counties election systems for signs of hacking.

The Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, successfully requested and paid for the Wisconsin recount, but the courts blocked her attempts for similar statewide recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
WASHINGTON  For the billionaires, the multimillionaires and the plain well-off people whom President-elect Donald J. Trump is choosing for his cabinet, the first step to office will be the sort of grilling he didnt face  on potential business conflicts of interest and, for some, tax returns  courtesy of the Senate sleuths who have taken their toll in the past.

President Obamas first Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, was nearly derailed in 2009. His first choice for secretary of health and human services, Tom Daschle, did not make it through that year.

Now the billionaires Betsy DeVos, Linda McMahon and Wilbur L. Ross Jr., and the multimillionaires Rex W. Tillerson, Ben Carson, Elaine Chao, Steven Mnuchin, Representative Tom Price, Andrew F. Puzder and Todd Ricketts can expect much of the same scrutiny.

With the president-elect flouting a 40-year bipartisan tradition of disclosure and transparency, we think its more important than ever to ensure that senior officials across government arent operating under a different tax code than everyone else, warned Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which has upended its share of nominees.
WASHINGTON  Long before Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn became Donald J. Trumps choice for national security adviser, he believed that the Central Intelligence Agency had become a political tool of the Obama administration  a view now echoed by the president-elect in his mocking dismissals of C.I.A. assessments that Russia sought to tip the election in Mr. Trumps favor.

Theyve lost sight of who they actually work for, Mr. Flynn said in an interview with The New York Times in October 2015. They work for the American people. They dont work for the president of the United States. He added, speaking of the agencys leadership: Frankly, its become a very political organization.

Mr. Flynns assessment that the C.I.A. is a political arm of the Obama administration is not widely shared by Republicans or Democrats in Washington. But it has appeared to have been internalized by the one person who matters most right now: Mr. Trump.

In the past few days, Mr. Trump has sought to portray reports of the agencys assessments that Russia actively tried to interfere in the election as a desperate attempt by sore losers to taint his presidency before it begins. His denigration of C.I.A. officials as the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction has opened up an extraordinary rift between the president-elect and the nations intelligence community that is unlikely to be bridged anytime soon.
WASHINGTON  President-elect Donald J. Trump said late Monday night that no new deals will be done by his real estate business while he is in the Oval Office, a promise that appeared meant to address ethical concerns about conflicts of interest between his elected position and his real estate empire.

But the move is unlikely to satisfy critics, including the governments official ethics office, who have said the only way for Mr. Trump to avoid such conflicts is to entirely divest his stake in the Trump Organization.

Mr. Trump said on Twitter just after 11:30 p.m. that he would leave his businesses before his inauguration and that his grown sons, Eric and Donald Jr., along with other executives, would manage them. He added, No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office, and promised to hold a news conference soon to discuss the plans.

Mr. Trump had originally said, in an earlier Twitter post, that he would announce his business plans during a news conference on Dec. 15. But officials with the transition confirmed on Monday that the news conference had been delayed.
WASHINGTON  President-elect Donald J. Trump on Tuesday officially selected Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, to be his secretary of state. In saying he will nominate Mr. Tillerson, the president-elect is dismissing bipartisan concerns that the globe-trotting leader of an energy giant has a too-cozy relationship with Vladimir V. Putin, the president of Russia.

A statement from Mr. Trumps transition office early Tuesday brought to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over the nations top diplomat  a process that at times veered from rewarding Rudolph W. Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most outspoken critics, might be forgiven.

Instead, Mr. Trump has decided to risk what looks to be a bruising confirmation fight in the Senate.

In the past several days, Republican and Democratic lawmakers had warned that Mr. Tillerson would face intense scrutiny over his two-decade relationship with Russia, which awarded him its Order of Friendship in 2013, and with Mr. Putin.
Mr. Ellison has been the early favorite in the slow-forming party contest, winning support from liberal powers such as Mr. Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and the A.F.L.-C.I.O., in addition to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming minority leader. After finding considerable unease among committee members over the prospect of electing a part-time chairman, Mr. Ellison said last week that he would resign his seat in Congress if he is elected.

Still, at party forums, in interviews and in private conversations, a range of Democrats have indicated an appetite for additional candidates to join the race, which also includes Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, and Raymond Buckley, the head of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. By heeding those calls, Mr. Perez is wagering that the committee members who will select the next party leader in late February are open to tapping somebody with few ties to the D.N.C.

While he has served in positions in state and federal government, Mr. Perez, 55, has scant experience with electoral politics, having served just four years on the Montgomery County Council in Maryland. The state party chiefs and other committee members who make up the voting members of the two national parties at times prefer candidates to come from their own ranks when they do not control the White House.

But there has been no groundswell of support from the committee for any of the announced candidates, and the contest remains highly volatile. In Mr. Perez, Democrats would have an articulate messenger who has ties to both the Hispanic community (his parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic) and the Rust Belt (he grew up in Buffalo).

He could potentially handle both the public and private aspects of the job, appearing on television as a face of the opposition to President-elect Donald J. Trump while also cultivating the partys contributors. With many senior Democrats casting about for an alternative to Mr. Ellison  whose views on Israel have drawn scorn from Jewish groups and Haim Saban, one of the partys most significant donors  Mr. Perez could prove a contender.
The nations largest veterans groups are urging President-elect Donald J. Trump to keep President Obamas secretary of veterans affairs, Robert A. McDonald, out of concern that his rumored candidates inexperience and ideological leanings could cripple the massive veterans health care system.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump was relentless in his criticism of the Department of Veterans Affairs, calling it the most corrupt agency in the United States. Some of the candidates mentioned to head the department have called for sweeping changes to make it easier to fire federal workers and privatize veterans health care.

But the major veterans groups, which together represent hundreds of thousands of veterans, said they favor the incremental reform they have seen under Mr. McDonald. On Friday, leaders of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America and Amvets told members of Mr. Trumps transition team that they would not support other candidates that have been mentioned.

We all want McDonald, said Joe Chenelly, the executive director of Amvets. He has a good business mind, he is experienced and we feel we can trust him.
MOSCOW  Now that President-elect Donald J. Trump has chosen Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, to be the next secretary of state, the giant oil company stands to make some major gains as well: It has billions of dollars in deals that can go forward only if the United States lifts sanctions against Russia.

As head of Americas largest oil company, Mr. Tillerson has earned a friendship award from Russia and voiced skepticism about American sanctions that have halted some of Exxon Mobils biggest projects in the country.

But Mr. Tillersons stake in Russias energy industry could create a very blurry line between his interests as an oilman and his role as Americas leading diplomat.

The chances that he will view Russia with Exxon Mobil DNA are close to 100 percent, said Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, a public interest group based in Washington.
I grew up in San Francisco, land of organic vegetables and vegan delights, before such things were so popular. From an early age, my parents sent me to school with peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh fruit from the fields of the Central Valley. Although I had every opportunity to eat delicious and nutritious food, I never met a vegetable I liked.

Every time I tried something green, I spit it out or threw it up. I was a theatrical kid: taking off all my clothes when I didnt want to leave a friends house, throwing myself against walls screaming Aya not tired! Aya happy! Aya bouncing off the walls! when I didnt want to go to bed. I was just as melodramatic with food, gagging loudly when I accidentally ran into a zucchini in a quiche, picking mushrooms out of pasta dishes and piling them on the side of my plate like dams, throwing out a perfectly good tuna melt if there were slivers of celery inside.

What I could keep down was junk food. Lots and lots of junk food. My parents tried their best, but the only times I was truly happy were the two days a week I ate fast food for dinner, one day with my mom at McDonalds and the other with my dad at Wendys. My parents were divorced; I spent exactly half the week with each of them, alternating every Saturday.

Neither parent knew about the others weekly convenience meal. Like most children of divorce, the only power I had was to keep their secrets and then exploit them when it suited my needs. I kept these fast-food visits confidential, allowing both parents to think they were treating me to something special. I would sit in the car, beatifically chewing, fondling a Hamburglar toy or cheap movie tie-in that had come with the food.
E. R. Braithwaite, a Guyanese author, diplomat and former Royal Air Force pilot whose book To Sir, With Love, a memoir of teaching in Londons deprived East End, was adapted into a hit 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier, died on Monday in Rockville, Md. He was 104.

Mr. Braithwaites companion, Genevieve Ast, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. He had taught English at Howard University, in Washington, and lived in the area for many years.

Mr. Braithwaite, who became a diplomat and represented Guyana at the United Nations and in Venezuela, wrote several books, many about racism in countries like South Africa and the United States, where he lived much of his life. But he is best known for To Sir, With Love (1959).

The book chronicled his efforts  as a courtly, Cambridge-educated military veteran who had been denied employment as an engineer because he was black  to motivate a group of unruly adolescents raised in a slum in early-1950s Britain, which was still slowly recovering from the austerity of the war years.
Shirley Hazzard, the Australian-born author of an acclaimed if small portfolio of fiction peopled with characters whose lives, much like her own, toss them up far from home, died on Monday night at her home in Manhattan. She was 85.

A friend, Annabel Davis-Goff, confirmed the death, adding that Ms. Hazzard had struggled with dementia.

Ms. Hazzards fiction is dense with meaning, subtle in implication and tense in plot, often with disaster looming: A shipwreck tears away the parents of tiny children. A man who has waited a lifetime for a woman loses her at the last moment. A disease slowly saps the life from a beloved brother. Nuclear weapons wreak destruction and menace the next generation.

Catastrophes are accompanied by lifes cruelties: The true love turns out to be the incestuous one. The bureaucrat basks in his power, refusing compassionate leave to an underpaid young worker facing an emergency.
Asahi Group, the Japanese beer giant, said on Tuesday that it would pay $7.8 billion to buy a group of Central and Eastern European beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev, in the latest brand shuffle for the rapidly consolidating brewing business.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, based in Belgium, is selling the brands, including the Pilsner Urquell group, to allay the concerns of European competition regulators after it completed its merger with SABMiller in a deal valued at more than $100 billion.

Shareholders approved the SABMiller deal in September, nearly a year after it was announced, creating an industry giant that would account for about 30 percent of global beer sales. Anheuser-Busch InBev then entered into a number of agreements to sell a variety of assets from the combined company to win over regulators.

Among the other deals it reached were a $12 billion agreement to sell SABMillers 59 percent stake in MillerCoors in the United States to Molson Coors Brewing. It also agreed to sell SABMillers 49 percent holding in the maker of Snow, the worlds best-selling beer, to China Resources Beer, a state-owned brewer, for $1.6 billion.
The competition is heating up at Goldman Sachs.

Donald J. Trump officially asked Gary D. Cohn, the firms president, to be his top economic policy adviser. That will open up opportunities at the bank for the next generation of Goldman leaders.

Mr. Cohn was among a handful of senior executives to have held sway at Goldman since before the financial crisis and is among the last to leave.

The bank is expected to announce a new slate of deputies to Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive and chairman. Among the most likely candidates: David M. Solomon, the head of Goldmans advisory division, and Harvey M. Schwartz, the chief financial officer.

Viewed through a political lens, Mr. Trumps appointments of finance industry insiders have already agitated Senator Elizabeth Warren  so much so that she took to Facebook to attack a hedge fund billionaire who is thrilled by Donald Trumps economic team of Wall Street insiders.
Mr. Ailes had met Ms. Curanaj at a dinner in February 2011 that she attended with Gregory R. Ball, a New York state senator whom Ms. Curanaj had dated. Mr. Ailes brought her into the network for the interview about three months later.

After his private meeting with Ms. Curanaj, Mr. Ailes contacted Mr. Ball and asked him, Hows the sex? and whether she put out sexually, according to the suit. Mr. Ball described Ms. Curanaj as a very nice girl, signaling that she would not provide sexual favors to Mr. Ailes.

Shortly after, Ms. Curanaj received a call from Mr. Ailes, who told her that she was not ready for Fox News and that she instead should contact Foxs local stations, she says in the suit. Ms. Curanaj believed that she did not receive the position at F.N.C. because Ailes determined that she would not submit to him sexually, the suit states.

A spokesman for 21st Century Fox declined to comment, as did a lawyer for Mr. Ailes. A representative for Fox Television Stations said in a statement: We do not think the plaintiffs claims have merit, and we intend to defend vigorously.
The regions Museum of Torun Gingerbread recently opened a Laboratory of Gingerbread to study the taste and composition of gingerbread over the years.

Traditional pierniki are soft when they first come out of the oven and harden after that. The cookies should be put away in a moist place like a basement or kept in a metal or airtight container to soften. Fans say the cookies only get better with time, but if you want to speed the process, adding a wedge or two of apple or fresh ginger in the container will do the trick.

Kopernik sells a variety of pierniki, although most of its cookies are no longer made with honey because of the expense. At the factory, gingerbread masters still guard the secret spice mix and decide when to use the dough, which is stored in large metal bins, where its aged for up to a year.

Sometimes it doesnt work, Jakub Kopczynski, marketing manager for the Kopernik company, said during a tour of the factory in November. Thats why its so unique: Most people dont mature the dough anymore.

The job of gingerbread master has long been held by men because of the difficulty of working with the dense, heavy dough. Training for the job is likened to that of a winemaker, since selecting the dough relies on using the senses of smell and touch to know when the mix is ready. Traditionally, the soda or leavening agent would have been kneaded in at the end. Because dough used for molds is not leavened, it can hold a sharper design.

The elegant and intricate carved wooden molds that the cookies were made in hundreds of years ago were perhaps as important as flavor to the gingerbreads popularity. The beautiful molded cookies have for centuries been prized gifts, specially made for royalty and dignitaries. After a visit to Torun in 1825, the composer Frederic Chopin, 15 at the time, wrote to a friend praising the towns gingerbread as better than the Gothic architecture and famous leaning tower.
Headliner

TAVO Julieta Ballesteros, who has made her name at a number of Mexican spots, including Crema, La Loteria and China Latina, has teamed up with Francisco Decrescenzo, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, and a fledgling restaurateur who developed his business plan while at the Stern School of Business at New York University. The menus Mexican approach is richly seasoned with global notions, the result of both partners travels. You will find Peking duck carnitas, chow fun noodles with corn and shrimp, and lamb chops in a chocolate-habanero sauce. Chorizo shumai, calamari in a blue cornmeal crust, and Cuban lasagna with adobo pulled pork and plantains are also available. The dining room is finished in copper, oak and white brick, and the restaurant gets its name, short for Gustavo, from one of Mr. Decrescenzos grandfathers. (Opens Friday): 615 Hudson Street (West 12th Street), 917-675-6454, tavonyc.com.

Opening

ALLORA RISTORANTE Red-sauce Italian is served at this restaurant, with some specialties like steak Diane and whole branzino finished tableside. A rooftop portion will open in the spring (Wednesday): Bernic Hotel, 145 East 47th Street, 212-754-9800, alloranyc.com.

COFFEEMANIA There is a chain of 27 restaurants by this name in Moscow, and this will be the groups first branch in America. The name is misleading: Its a full-on restaurant, not a coffee shop (though the simple bare wood decor suggests that it is), and its open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The chef, Titus Wang, who presides over an open kitchen, was previously at Annisa. The menu is American, with Asian touches, featuring dishes like roasted bone marrow, grilled chicken wings, hamachi tartare, seared duck breast and borscht, some prepared on a special charcoal grill. (Wednesday): 1065 Avenue of the Americas (40th Street), 212-221-2510, coffeemanianyc.com.

LA BARRITA The Argentine-style steak house is the work of Sebastian Cardona, a native of Mar del Plata, a beach town just south of Buenos Aires. His goal is to provide Argentine food that is more authentic than the usual fare found in New York, with crispy sweetbreads; tongue vinaigrette; empanadas filled with chopped, not ground, beef; rolled and stuffed breast of veal; and grass-fed steaks. The wine list is long on malbec, and the chef, also from Argentina, is Marcello Lazzarin: 132 Montague Street (Henry Street), Brooklyn Heights, 718-596-1800.
Because restaurants have for so long relied on tips as an important financial element  essentially subsidizing the entire payroll for the service staff  what sounds like a simple policy decision can require a complete overhaul.

This is more like opening a new restaurant, said Dino Lavorini, the director of operations at the Modern, which ended tipping in November 2015, the first restaurant in the Union Square group to do so. In the year since, the restaurants profits have slipped, company officials said; they would not say by how much, but added that they had anticipated the drop and expect it will correct itself.

But some restaurants that adopted a no-tipping policy in 2016 have already revoked it: The New York restaurateurs David Chang, Tom Colicchio and Gabe Stulman all found it unworkable in the small-scale experiments they tried. We continue to be supportive of the no-tipping movement, Mr. Colicchio said, but weve heard from our customers and team that they just arent ready for it yet.

Mr. Adler of Huertas, and others, say that one big reason to end tipping is the need for more equity between those who work in kitchens, who earn straight wages, and those who work in dining rooms, who receive tips.

A more immediate motivation, local restaurateurs said, was the approach of the $15 minimum wage in 2018, proceeding in New York City on Dec. 31 with a raise to $11 an hour (from $9) for nontipped workers. Labor is just going to cost more and more, and all restaurants will need to rethink how their people get paid, Mr. Lavorini said.

As the dining business, especially at the high end, attracts more educated and skilled workers, there is increased pressure to treat them fairly, professionally and predictably.
Star Shower is made by Telebrands, the company behind those As Seen on TV products like Doggy Steps and the Lint Lizard dryer cleaner. A. J. Khubani, the companys founder and chief executive officer, said he first saw a similar product four years ago when his wife paid $199 for a gadget from a mail-order catalog that projected green lights onto their New Jersey house at Christmas.

I didnt care for it that much, Mr. Khubani said. It was very different, and I didnt think it was that appealing to the mass audience.

But after recognizing its sales potential, Mr. Khubanis company made some design refinements, like adding red lights to make it more Christmassy and engineered a deep price cut, and in July 2015, he said, Telebrands introduced something that changes the way people do holiday decorating in a big way.

Star Shower is back again this year  new and improved, as they say  for $49.99. Now its the Star Shower Motion, with red-and-green laser stars that oscillate in a manner that recalls at least to some spectators the more powerful, high-impact lights used at Manhattan nightclubs. In a true sign of its success, competitors have introduced their own versions, including the Startastic and the Star Night Laser.
Echoing many peers in the do-it-yourself scene, Ms. Sinelnikova criticized the authorities for shutting down events if they lack permits or are set in spaces without safety features like sprinklers or escape routes. The result, she said, is that Brooklyns artists celebrate even deeper in the shadows. They send a huge message to people trying to present culture in a classy way that it should be marginalized, that it should be underground, she said. They are always focused on demonizing people who are presenting this culture in the world.

City officials maintain that the issue is not the preservation of culture, but the preservation of life by abiding by safety regulations.

The authorities have said the deadly fire at the Oakland warehouse, known as the Ghost Ship, trapped partygoers in a jury-rigged warren of art studios and living spaces. The loss has been deeply felt in Brooklyn. But while the deaths have stirred new introspection and prompted vows to be safer, the risky venues will persist, viewed by users as essential to emerging artists as radio was to rock n roll.

Yet as obituary after obituary has streamed across Facebook feeds in the days since the California tragedy, there is a growing sense of deep agitation. Cities value the creative class, but do little to support it, artists say. And in expensive cities like New York, running legitimate galleries and dance clubs, or bringing existing ones up to code with sprinklers and adequate exits, requires deeper pockets than most artists have.
In the middle of Marilyn Oshmans otherwise cozy apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, between an antique candelabra, flower-covered curtains and framed family photos, was a hospital bed.

I was dying, Mrs. Oshman, 85, said. I felt like I was in a prison in that lousy hospital bed. I couldnt get out.

She was bedridden and unable to walk because of venous stasis and cellulitis, a painful bacterial infection that covered the lower half of her body with large, pus-filled sores. Ordinary tasks, like getting out of bed every morning, became impossible.

It was a drastic setback for someone who loved to move around on her own.

As a child born and raised on Monroe Street on the Lower East Side, she loved exploring the city by foot. When she was 20, she had a job at a toy factory on Broadway, and it was there that she met her husband, David Oshman. They divorced in the late 1980s after 35 years of marriage, but Mrs. Oshman recounted fond memories of their active, early years together: Dancing the jitterbug on Fridays and Sundays at a club on the Lower East Side (And he was some jitterbug dancer! she said); fishing for pogies off a Coney Island pier; and when they had children, a son and a daughter, taking family vacations to the mountains.
The evangelical pastor and broadcaster D. James Kennedy, whose Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church is a beneficiary of DeVos largess, said in a 1986 sermon that children in public education were being brainwashed in Godless secularism. More recently, in 2005, he told followers to exercise godly dominion over every aspect and institution of human society, including the government.

Jerry Falwell Sr. outlined the goal in his 1979 book America Can Be Saved! He said he hoped to see the day when there wouldnt be any public schools  the churches will have taken them over and Christians will be running them.

Vouchers are part of the program. According to an educational scholar, they originally came into fashion among Southern conservatives seeking to support segregation in schools. But activists soon grasped that vouchers could be useful in a general assault on public education. As Joseph Bast, president of the Heartland Institute, which receives support from a DeVos-funded donor group, explained: Complete privatization of schooling might be desirable, but this objective is politically impossible for the time being. Vouchers are a type of reform that is possible now.

The DeVoses well understand that, stripped of specious language about reform and choice, such a plan for public education would be deeply unpopular. In 2002, Mr. DeVos Jr. advised a Heritage Foundation audience that we need to be cautious about talking too much about these activities.

The public school system faces the most immediate threat, but it is not the only institution at risk. The Christian right has already won a number of key roles in the Trump administration.

The head of the presidential transition, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, is an avid voucher proponent. As governor of Indiana, he expanded a voucher program that now funnels $135 million a year to private schools, almost all of them religious. Mr. Trumps nominee for attorney general, Jeff Sessions, favors religious tests for new immigrants and objects to chief justices with secular mind-sets. The nominee for secretary of health and human services, Tom Price, is a member of a physicians organization aligned with conservative Christian positions on abortion and other issues.
This Week in Hate tracks hate crimes and harassment around the country since the election of Donald Trump. The Southern Poverty Law Center and other groups are keeping detailed counts of harassment and abuse. We will regularly present a selection of incidents to show the scope of the problem.

 The home in Moonachie, N.J., of Nikita Whitlock, a fullback for the New York Giants, was vandalized last Tuesday night with swastikas, the phrase KKK and the word Trump. Police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.

 Brandon Marshall, a Denver Broncos linebacker who had knelt during the national anthem at games this season, received a threatening letter full of racial slurs last week. We are channeling a devastating hard hit for you, the sender wrote. Something to make you an invalid in a wheel chair. The security staff of the Broncos is investigating the letter.

 Ilhan Omar, a newly elected Minnesota state representative and the countrys first Somali-American legislator, was harassed last Tuesday by a cab driver in Washington, D.C. He called her ISIS and threatened to remove her hijab. Ms. Omar was in Washington to attend a planning session for Democrats at the White House.
OSLO  On Nov. 29, a 6-year-old Colombian girl, Yisely Isarama, was killed by a land mine in Choco Province. The same day, the Colombian Senate voted 75 to 0 to ratify peace accords to end the 52-year war between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC.

In microcosm, the two events encapsulate Colombias past and its potential future.

In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech here on Saturday, the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, the architect of the peace settlement, called the war a half-century nightmare. It claimed 220,000 Colombian lives, most of them civilians, and drove six million from their homes. In United States population terms, that would translate into 1.3 million dead and 36 million displaced Americans. Colombians year after year are killed or injured by land mines at rates higher than in any country except Afghanistan.

Under the agreement, FARC combatants will disarm and demobilize over 180 days under United Nations supervision. For most Colombians, it will be their first day living in a nation at peace. But the peace settlement, hammered out in Havana after four and a half years of negotiations, and revised following the loss of a plebiscite, aims to do far more than silence the guns, as welcome as the end of the conflict is.

The peace accord sets out to bridge the great historic divide between what President Santos calls the two Colombias: the Colombia of developed, modern urban centers and the Colombia of the vast, impoverished interior, where historically there has been little or no government presence and, as a result, little security, justice, rule of law or access to roads, health care and education. That is where the war was fought.
On Dec. 2, Yahya Jammeh, the dictator of the small West African country Gambia, did something remarkably undictatorial: He agreed to step down after losing an election. But a week later, he reverted to type, appearing live on state television to reject the results.

Mr. Jammeh has been in power for 22 years, a ruthless autocrat throughout. He ran a paramilitary hit squad that, according to human rights groups and one former member I interviewed, assassinated political opponents and dumped their bodies in an abandoned well; he threw lesser enemies in Mile 2, a mosquito-infested prison. In Banjul, the countrys dusty capital, military checkpoints maintained a lifeless calm that dissipated only during official celebrations of Mr. Jammehs rule.

But in presidential elections held on Dec. 1, a political newcomer named Adama Barrow managed to get more votes. Mr. Barrow worked as a security guard in London before returning home to Gambia a decade ago and becoming a property developer.

He served as treasurer for the United Democratic Party, Gambias long-suffering opposition, and was nominated its standard-bearer in September, after Ousainou Darboe, the partys founder and perennial candidate, was jailed. Mr. Barrow campaigned on a single issue: to once and for all take this soulless dictator out.
Over the years, Judicial Watch has called out many White House conflicts of interest. We fought in court against President Bill Clintons taking money to pay his legal bills through a legal-defense fund. During the George W. Bush administration, we questioned the propriety of his father, President George H.W. Bush, working for Carlyle Group, an investment company that was, in effect, a major defense contractor. We also investigated and sued over the connections between another defense contractor, Halliburton, and Vice President Dick Cheney, the companys former C.E.O. We highlighted in 2014 how Bill Clinton was getting unusually large six-figure speaking fees from foreign governments while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.

Soon, Donald J. Trump could face some very serious conflict of interest problems of his own. He acknowledged as much recently when he tweeted out plans for a major news conference on Thursday, since postponed, to explain how he intended to leave behind his great business in total to fully focus on running the country.

In a tweet on Monday, he promised without elaborating that no new deals will be done by his business while he is president. This sounds interesting. Americans should expect that the new president will take reasonable steps to separate his public office from his personal business.

But it would be unfair to insist that Mr. Trump destroy his business to become president. This would create a dangerous precedent that would, in effect, deter those who had succeeded in their private lives from bringing their substantial skills to the public arena.
Two years later, Mr. Assad is even less compromising. Today he claims the chance of a truce in Aleppo is practically nonexistent. His confidence is buoyed by a series of rebel defeats in 2016, after which populations were forced from besieged areas to Idlib Province in northwestern Syria. Today, as one Aleppo district after another falls, the rebels know resistance is futile; Mr. Assad knows that they know. His forces will make opposition areas unlivable, isolate fighters from civilians, and force both to surrender or leave.

These cleansings reflect a pattern, but the strategy behind them is still unclear. Maybe Mr. Assad believes that if these people remain they will pose a permanent threat to nearby areas under his control. Maybe he doesnt want to spend government money on them. Or maybe his minority-led regime just wants to push disloyal Sunnis out of its heartland in western Syria. Whatever the logic, this ominous pattern  sometimes called the green bus strategy after the vehicles used to transport the displaced  paints a grim picture of what the people of Aleppo can expect.

The opposition, Russia, Turkey and the United States will continue to negotiate over Aleppos fate while Mr. Assad shapes it. One insurgent group told me that rebels were demanding humanitarian aid, an end to bombing, and a guarantee that civilians would be allowed to remain in eastern Aleppo under rebel protection. They will get none of these. Fighters will surrender or be forced to leave. Civilians can follow them into exile or place themselves at the governments mercy. They might join their fellow displaced in Idlib, or head to the countryside east of Aleppo that is now controlled by rebel groups allied with Turkey. People close to the rebels tell me Mr. Assads government and Iran prefer to send the fighters to Idlib where they can fight them unrestrained, while the rebels prefer the Turkish-protected safe haven, in part because Turkeys presence might deter violence by the regime.

Military-age men from rebel-held Aleppo face the direst future. They might be conscripted or executed, or join the tens of thousands starving in Syrias prisons. Already, hundreds of fighters who surrendered have disappeared, according to a United Nations spokesman. The civilians who stick around are hardly safe; the Syrian government does not distinguish between fighters and those who give them aid, medical care, shelter or news coverage. Mr. Assad, his government and its soldiers and supporters see these people as traitors and terrorists. People close to the government say Mr. Assads troops and supporters object to the green buses: They would rather the traitors in Aleppo be brought to justice than be sent to Idlib.
The postwar order that America built now is facing acute challenges, including from old competitors. Russias president, Vladimir Putin, is no Stalin and Russia is no Soviet Union. But Mr. Putin does seek to recreate a Russian sphere of influence while picking apart the liberal international order that prevailed in the Cold War. China remains focused on stability at home, but the new model of great power relations it has proposed to the United States would have us stick to our side of the Pacific and let China play the pre-eminent role on its side.

Americas allies in Europe and Asia are fixated on whether the Donald Trump administration will reject the re-emergence of spheres of influence or embrace them. They worry that, in his campaign, Mr. Trump seemed to approve of the strong leadership of autocrats and favor a transactional approach to Mr. Putin. He showed little concern about Russias cybermeddling in our election or aggression in Ukraine while suggesting that NATO is obsolete. He argued that the United States should get out of the business of defending the world and described Japan and South Korea as free riders that should pick up the burden of their own defense and nuclear deterrence.

He has promised to jettison the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, ceding to China economic leadership and strategic influence in Asia. For many Europeans and Asians, these proclamations translate into a world in which the United States retreats into its cocoon, and Russia and China dominate them in both political and economic spheres.
NEW YORK

An article on Friday about two toddlers who were burned to death by radiator steam in city-financed homeless housing in the South Bronx referred incorrectly to New York Citys efforts to shelter some homeless residents. Some of the people have been placed in hotel rooms paid for by the city instead of being placed in cluster apartments; the city has not moved people from cluster apartments to hotels.



An entry in the Metropolitan Diary last Monday about letters the writer sent from an aircraft carrier off Korea in 1953 misstated the number of time zones in the world. It is 24, not 27.

BUSINESS DAY

Because of an editing error, a picture caption on Monday with the Mediator column, about rare examples of tough questions on TV news, misstated, in some copies, the given name of a CNN anchor. As the article correctly noted, he is Jake Tapper, not Jack. The column also misstated, in some copies, the month Mr. Tapper conducted his last interview with Hillary Clinton. It was in early June, not in May.



An article on Monday about efforts to build safer batteries misidentified the work of Cyclotron Road. It is a project that supports energy innovators; it does not provide funding for start-ups.
The rosiest projections forecast as many as 500 new jobs with an average annual salary of $40,000 coming to the area, said Shelley Dickstein, the Dayton city manager. Whether the market delivers what wed like to see, there is the real question, she added.

Jean Brown, of the nearby Westwood neighborhood, said she hoped that rejuvenating the factory would benefit its residential neighbors. She noted that after the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center, about two miles from the factories, was complete and became a stop on the aviation trail, housing in that area improved. They got so many new buildings up there, Ms. Brown said. They say theyre coming this way.

Outside Dayton, the project has prominent advocates in David McCullough, the author of the 2016 biography The Wright Brothers, and Patty Wagstaff, an air show pilot. Both made videos in support of the development plan after touring the dilapidated factory.

The impact of aviation is not confined to the last century, or even to people who fly frequently, Ms. Wagstaff said.

Every weekend I fly, and I see how it can change lives, Ms. Wagstaff said, but if you dont fly, how do you know how special it is? Thats what restoring the factory for the public accomplishes.
Talk about a no-win situation that many leaders of the biggest tech companies have found themselves in.

On Wednesday, a group of about a dozen of these luminaries  including Timothy D. Cook, chief executive of Apple, and Larry Page, chief executive of Alphabet  are making the trek to Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet with President-elect Donald J. Trump. It will be a breathtaking gathering of some of the most valuable companies in the world.

But as David Streitfeld reports, the agenda for this round table is full of topics that Mr. Trump has been discussing for some time  but which will not necessarily make the tech companies look good.

Image

There is the matter of jobs. Tech companies, many of which have outsourced their manufacturing outside the United States and have advanced trends like automation, are not in a particularly strong position to argue they have spread jobs throughout the country.
Ms. Rometty, a member of Mr. Trumps Strategic and Policy Forum, is championing a new educational model for the United States that focuses on vocational training. Six-year public high schools that combine traditional education with the best of community colleges would provide IBM and other companies with the relevant skills for new collar information-technology jobs, she wrote in a letter to Mr. Trump after the election.

There is no simple policy change that could spread techs success to parts of the country that are reeling. Facebook employs relatively few people. Apple manufactures its products mostly in China and says reproducing its intricate ecosystem here would push up prices drastically for iPhones. Amazon has created tens of thousands of jobs in its warehouses across the country but is also blamed by critics for forcing small retailers out of business.

Two companies were invited to the meeting on Wednesday but are not showing up: the ride-hailing company Uber and the short-term home rental service Airbnb.

Perhaps it is merely coincidence, but both companies are at the forefront of the debate about jobs and the digital economy. Fans say they provide flexible work for those who need to supplement their incomes. Critics say they are poor substitutes for full-time jobs.

What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process.

Airbnb said that its chief executive, Brian Chesky, was traveling overseas, and that nothing more should be read into his absence. We look forward to working with the incoming administration, and others in Washington, on a range of issues, said Nick Papas, a company spokesman. He declined to say where Mr. Chesky was.

An Uber spokesman said its chief executive, Travis Kalanick, was in India this week.

Apple has already drawn the president-elects scrutiny over jobs. One of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, Mr. Trump said in late November.
Here I have found my lifes path, Ms. Sealey said when she returned from the river, where she had completed her initiation by making an offering to Osun  the content of which only the devotee and the priestesses knew. The sound of the brass bells the priestesses rang to invoke the goddesss spiritual energy had faded away. Clad in a simple piece of white cloth and without her usual makeup, Ms. Sealey fit right in with the other believers under the ako tree next to the Osun temple.

Her initiation over, the 51-year-old would return in three days to her job at a New York investment firm, a world away from the Sacred Grove. But the spirit of the grove would remain with her, Ms. Sealey said. It is the only place in the world I feel really at peace.

If You Go

Since Osogbo is a four-hour drive away from Lagos, an overnight stay is your safest bet. The Osogbo Guesthouse, run by the artist and curator Nike Davies Okundaye, is an artistic place to spend the night, at a rate of 7,000 naira per night (about 22 dollars) for a standard double room. (Email nikeartgallery@gmail.com for inquiries.)

The guesthouse also organizes tours to the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove. If you go on your own, know that there are hardly any road signs showing the way to the grove, but everyone in Osogbo will be able to point you in the right direction.

Entry to the Sacred Grove costs 500 naira for non-Nigerians and 200 naira for Nigerians. You pay an additional fee for taking a camera along: 1,000 naira for a phone camera and 3,000 naira for a photo camera. A video camera for noncommercial use sets you back 15,000 naira. You will be accompanied by a guide. Expect a two-hour walk through the forest to see all the sights.

If Nigeria is not on your travel schedule, you can also see the work of the New Sacred Art movement in New York. In the 1990s Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, the founder of the National Black Theater in Harlem and a regular visitor to Osogbo, invited the artists of the grove to beautify both the inside and outside of the theater, at 2031 Fifth Avenue.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence received a surprise dinner invitation on Monday night from his new neighbors in leafy northwest Washington. They asked him to dine with them at Comet Ping Pong, the pizzeria at the center of debate over whether allies of President-elect Donald J. Trump are spreading so-called fake news.

In an open letter posted on the online blogging platform Medium, Mr. Pences neighbors  part of a coalition that describes itself as opposed to the unacceptable practices and policies in the Trump administration  implored the vice president-elect to help bring an end to this madness through the simple act of breaking bread. There was no immediate comment from Mr. Pence or a spokesman.

During the transition period, Mr. Pence and his family have rented a temporary home in a heavily Democratic area not far from Comet Ping Pong, a popular dining spot for families with children. The restaurant became caught up in a bizarre conspiracy theory after fake news reports claimed the pizzeria was operating a child sex slave ring linked to Hillary Clinton.

Earlier this month, that fake story led to the firing of real bullets, when a gunman showed up at Comet Ping Pong, saying he had come to self-investigate the claims, and fired shots inside, terrifying the entire neighborhood. No one was injured, and the police arrested Edgar M. Welch of Salisbury, N.C., who remains in jail. The episode drew new attention to the Twitter habits of Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trumps pick for national security adviser, who has used social media to spread fake news stories.
And two of the Republicans joining Democrats in the push for a wider bipartisan inquiry are Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both deeply suspicious of Russia and who have their own reasons for challenging Mr. Trump, as well as a history of going their own way.

Mr. Graham, an often bitter foe of Mr. Trump during the presidential primary, criticized him throughout the campaign. Mr. Trump belittled Mr. McCain for being captured and held as a prisoner during the Vietnam War and they clashed on other issues, though Mr. McCain often held his tongue since he was in his own re-election fight.

Still, proponents of better oversight say they sense a new receptiveness on Capitol Hill to restoring a more traditional role, opening the possibility of Congress reasserting itself on questions beyond the Russian election interference.

There are definitely glimmers from both chambers, but more on the Senate side, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight. Separate from the Russian question, there are questions of whether it violates the Constitution if the president has entanglements with foreign entities. There are actually a lot of Republicans who care about this question.

The immediate question is how far any investigation will go in the Russian case. Mr. McConnell said he was supportive of the regular order  meaning that any inquiry should proceed through the relevant committees.
Senators former press aide named senior White House adviser.

For congressional reporters of even a moderately long vintage, Stephen Miller was known as an eager press aide to Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, eager to talk ... and talk ... and talk about policy, especially his views on immigration.

Mr. Miller hit it big when he left the Senate for the Trump campaign when few gave Mr. Trump much of a shot to win the Republican nomination.

On Tuesday, he was named assistant to the president and senior adviser to the president for policy.

Stephen played a central and wide-ranging role in our primary and general election campaign, Mr. Trump said. He is deeply committed to the America First agenda, and understands the policies and actions necessary to put that agenda into effect. He is a strong advocate for protecting American workers, and will fulfill a crucial role in my Administration as my senior adviser on matters of policy.

Get ready for election 2020.

Before Mr. Trump is even inaugurated, the first poll of his potential Democratic opponents in 2020 is now out. Not surprisingly, it looks a bit premature.

Joe Biden leads the way for Democrats with 31% to 24% for Bernie Sanders, and 16% for Elizabeth Warren. Theyre the only folks we tested with meaningful support for the nomination at this point.

The survey of 400 Democratic primary voters, conducted last week by Public Policy Polling, drops off precipitously from there, with Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey coming in at 4 percent, Senators Al Franken of Minnesota and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York at 3 percent, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York at 2 percent, and Julian Castro, President Obamas housing secretary, at less than 1 percent.
For his part, Mr. West dodged questions about the possibility of performing at Mr. Trumps inauguration in January. The rapper only smiled at reporters and said, I just want to take a picture right now.

It is unclear why the musician and sometime fashion designer stepped out from a reported recovery and into the center of the media circus at Trump Tower, but Hope Hicks, Mr. Trumps spokeswoman, said in an email that Mr. West had requested the meeting.

The meeting was requested by Kanye and we were delighted to host him, Ms. Hicks wrote, adding, They had a very positive and productive conversation. She did not elaborate, but later in the afternoon, Mr. West said on Twitter that he wanted to meet with Mr. Trump to discuss multicultural issues that included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums and violence in Chicago.

He added: I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.
WASHINGTON  After waging an 18-month assault on the Republican establishment, President-elect Donald J. Trump changed course on Tuesday and enlisted the partys high priests of foreign policy to help him win the confirmation of Rex W. Tillerson as secretary of state.

Several former Republican secretaries of defense and state sought to dismiss bipartisan concerns about Mr. Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil chief executive, over his two-decade relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. At the center of the debate are questions about Mr. Tillersons vocal opposition to American sanctions imposed on Russia as he pursued oil and gas deals in that country.

Their mobilization showed how much Mr. Tillersons nomination is already a Congressional proxy fight over Mr. Trumps embrace of Russia and Mr. Putin. Democrats issued blunt denunciations of the idea that a globe-trotting energy executive could adequately represent the national interests of the United States. So did several leading Republicans, whose party orthodoxy has been anti-Kremlin for decades.

I have serious concerns about his nomination, said Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida. Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, declared himself deeply troubled by Mr. Tillersons opposition to sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia after its intervention in Ukraine in 2014.
The city is home to an Army Proving Ground and a Marine Corps Air Station, fortified islands that nonetheless help shape the countys law-and-order disposition. Latinos, whose roots in the area straddle two countries, make up 62 percent of the countys 201,000 residents, and the closer one gets to the border, the more predominant they become. In the city of San Luis, which adjoins Mexico, virtually every resident is Latino.

Not all of them can vote, though, and among those who can, there are many who do not because they are not engaged politically. One thing that makes Yuma stand out is its success in at least one key element of Mr. Trumps approach to border security: Apprehensions of undocumented immigrants plummeted to roughly 6,000 last year from 140,000 in 2005, after a barrier that already existed was fortified and augmented.

Eleven years ago, unauthorized immigrants would rush at the border by the hundreds, knowing that federal agents could not catch them all. These days, it is mostly Central American and Haitian migrants who are keeping the agents busy, turning themselves in at the port of entry in San Luis and asking for asylum.

Illegal immigration isnt something thats on peoples minds around here, Hispanic or not Hispanic, said Capt. Eben Bratcher of the Yuma County Sheriffs Office.

The areas political balance has been slowly tilting left, as the countys demographics are changing, mirroring the rise in the number of Latinos throughout Arizona. For the first time since 2004, voters elected more Democrats than Republicans for the Board of Supervisors. Still, in the Hispanic community, there was a lot of disagreement over Trump, said Tony Reyes, a county supervisor for 18 years and the vice chairman of the countys Democratic Party.

There were some people who judged him by his statements on Mexicans and Mexico, Mr. Reyes said. Then theres those who picked him because of his message on jobs.
WASHINGTON  The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that hydraulic fracturing, the oil and gas extraction technique also known as fracking, has contaminated drinking water in some circumstances, according to the final version of a comprehensive study first issued in 2015.

The new version is far more worrying than the first, which found no evidence that fracking systemically contaminates water supplies. In a significant change, that conclusion was deleted from the final study.

E.P.A. scientists chose not to include that sentence. The scientists concluded it could not be quantitatively supported, said Thomas A. Burke, the E.P.A.s science adviser, and deputy assistant administrator of the agencys Office of Research and Development.

The report, the largest and most comprehensive of its kind to date on the effects of fracking on water supply, comes as President-elect Donald J. Trump has vowed to expand fracking and roll back existing regulations on the process. His choice to run the E.P.A., Scott Pruitt, the attorney general from Oklahoma, has built his career on fighting E.P.A. regulations on energy exploration.
Mr. Trump, who criticized the recount effort despite his own baseless claims that millions had voted illegally, took to Twitter to celebrate the results, pointing out that he had gained votes in Wisconsin. The Dems and Green Party can now relax, he said, calling the effort a scam.

While the effort had no impact on the outcome of the presidential race, critics said, it highlighted a number of concerns about the election system and recount procedures, including arcane rules, conflicting court opinions and hefty costs.

The recount has shone a light on that mess, and has really lifted up the call for a voting system we can trust, Ms. Stein said.

In Michigan, a recount was underway for three days until it was halted last week after court rulings. But questions over the election there are not over.

Officials from the Michigan secretary of states office have announced that they will pursue an audit of the vote in 20 precincts in Detroit after the recount turned up inconsistencies. By some estimates, a third of the citys precincts were deemed not recountable because the number of voters recorded on Election Day did not match the number of ballots stored in containers in case of a recount.
We are so close to saying goodbye to 2016. Until then, its time to feast on end-of-year lists. There are enough out there to sustain you through the next couple of weeks, and one course on your menu should be the New York Times critics picks for the best TV of the year.

Finding where to stream it all can be difficult and time-consuming, so here are the picks with links for where to watch each title. James Poniewozik picked his top 10 shows over all, and Mike Hale his top 11 international shows.

Atlanta

For a series about people bumping up against limitations, Donald Glovers comedy was limitless in its possibilities. Atlanta created a diorama of African-American life and a testament to the weirdness of existence.  James Poniewozik (Buy it on Amazon or iTunes, and add it to your Watchlist.)
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico  Five men shot dead in a barbershop, their bodies slumped near the doorway. A decapitated body dumped next to a housing development. Three others killed behind a pool hall and several more in a bar called Tres Mentiras, or Three Lies.

By the end of October, at least 96 people had been killed in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. It was the highest monthly tally since 2012, sowing fears of a return to the gangland mayhem that once earned this city the title of the most violent place in the world.

Back then, the bloodshed in this city was in a class of its own. But now it has company, with other Mexican cities that are as bad or worse. In the last year, the number of homicides around Mexico has soared to levels not seen in several years.

In the first 10 months of this year, there were 17,063 homicide cases in Mexico, already more than last years total and the highest 10-month tally since 2012. The relapse in security has unnerved Mexico and led many to wonder whether the country is on the brink of a bloody, all-out war between criminal groups.
Well impose environmental standards on our own operations that may not necessarily be required by law, Mr. Jeffers said. Its a good practice as a responsible operator.

Mr. Page said that Mr. Tillersons experience in negotiating deals around the world would help him in the role of Americas top diplomat. Exxon has this reputation as being take-no-prisoners in terms of its negotiations in other countries, and Tillerson was the big hitter, he said. He would fly around the world negotiating these deals with foreign heads of state. From that viewpoint, hes a natural for secretary of state.

But under Mr. Tillerson, Exxon Mobil has also been criticized for a lack of transparency in dealings with the Nigerian government. The countrys Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is investigating a 2009 license renewal deal for Exxon Mobil, after allegations that the company was significantly outbid by a Chinese competitor. Critics contend that the deal was done illegally.

They were running a very corrupt and opaque renewal process, Olanrewaju Suraju, the chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption in Nigeria, said of the Nigerian government in power at the time.

Some analysts said that Exxon Mobil had a singular goal overseas.

The one clear trend that runs through Exxons foreign policy is that they are really all about business and doing what is best for shareholders, said Ben Van Heuvelen, the managing editor of Iraq Oil Report. They are willing to look the other way in the face of a whole host of problems.

But Robert M. Gates, who served as secretary of defense under President Obama and President George W. Bush, said he had recommended Mr. Tillerson to Mr. Trump. Mr. Gates, whose consulting firm has represented Exxon Mobil, said Mr. Tillerson would be more than capable as Americas top diplomat: I think Rex is a hard-eyed realist, and I think he will absolutely put Americas interests first in any negotiation.
JAKARTA, Indonesia  The Christian governor of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim-majority nation, tearfully denied on Tuesday that he had intended to insult Islam as his trial on blasphemy charges began.

Some analysts have said the trial is a plot to keep the governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, from being elected to the office, which he inherited when his predecessor won the presidency in 2014. Others say that his comments are being exploited in an effort to incite ethnic and religious hatred against Mr. Basuki, who is ethnic Chinese and the first Christian in nearly 50 years to govern Jakarta.

Mr. Basuki, known as Ahok, is charged with violating blasphemy laws during a speech to fishermen in September.

In that address, Mr. Basuki lightheartedly cited a verse of the Quran that warns Muslims against taking Christians and Jews as allies. He said at the time that given Indonesias transition to democracy in 1999, it was perfectly acceptable for Muslim voters to choose a Christian in the election for governor in February.
KABUL, Afghanistan  A political rival of Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum of Afghanistan said on Tuesday that he had been tortured and raped with an assault rifle after being abducted by General Dostum last month.

In an interview with The New York Times, the political rival, Ahmad Ishchi, said he was badly abused by the general, who was the acting president at the time because President Ashraf Ghani was out of the country, and by the generals men.

I can kill you right now, and no one will ask, Mr. Ishchi said General Dostum told him. He claimed the vice president stepped on his throat and pressed down after he had already been beaten and bloodied.

General Dostums office, in a statement, called the accusation a conspiracy to defame the vice president. The statement said Mr. Ishchi had not been abducted, but rather had been arrested by security forces on charges of supporting the opposition, for which he remains under investigation.
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan  Allah Mohammed, 37, helps sustain life, baking bread all day in the small oven of his corner shop in Kunduz city. Part of his bakerys ceiling remains caved in where it was hit by a rocket during the latest Taliban siege.

In another corner of the city, Abdul Rassoul, 65, comes in after life has gone. He digs graves and then waters the trees that dot the cemetery. He also chases away addicts trying to steal a grave railing, or shepherd boys whose herds stumble on the graves  pelting them with rocks and cursing them.

Both men wake up around 3 a.m. when the rest of Kunduzs residents are fast asleep, barring just a few.

Their everyday lives are woven into a larger pattern of hardship and resilience in the city. The bullet holes in the walls after each siege  two Taliban takeovers in just over a year  are reminders that it could easily happen again, and most likely will. So the people of Kunduz try to shrug it off as just another disruption in a long stream of them.
Religious minorities in the United States are far more likely to have attended college or a vocational school than members of the Christian majority, according to a review of census and survey data from 151 countries released on Tuesday that found wide gaps in education among followers of the worlds major religions.

The review was based on data from 2010 and was conducted by the Pew Research Center, which also found an education gap between men and women within religious groups. The researchers said the educational differences among the faiths were rooted in immigration policies that favor the educated, as well as in political, economic and historical factors.

There were 267 million Christians in the United States when the data was collected, but only 36 percent of them had a postsecondary education, including college or a vocational school, the researchers said. That made them the least-educated religious group in the country.

Jews in the United States were more than twice as likely as Christians to have a postsecondary degree, and Hindus were almost three times as likely, Pew said. Buddhists, Muslims and those who said they were religiously unaffiliated were also more likely to have a college degree than those who identified themselves as Christians.
MOSCOW  Aleksei A. Navalny, the most vocal critic of the Kremlin, announced on Tuesday his intention to run for president of Russia, though he is facing a court trial that could make him ineligible to participate in the campaign.

There have been no true elections in Russia since 1996, and this is one of the reasons of our plight, Mr. Navalny said in a video statement, posted on his new campaign website. I will participate in the election, and I will fight for victory.

Apart from Mr. Navalny, only Grigory A. Yavlinsky, the leader of the liberal party Yabloko, has declared his intention to run for the post. President Vladimir V. Putin has deflected questions about his own candidacy, saying it is too early to talk about it. But he is widely expected to run and, in light of his soaring approval ratings and control over the news media, is expected to win.

The vote is scheduled to take place in March 2018.

A lawyer by training, Mr. Navalny, 40, emerged as Russias most prominent opposition politician on the wave of public protests that followed parliamentary elections in 2011, seen by many as flawed.
ROME  A Tunisian captain who was piloting a fishing vessel crammed with migrants that collided with another ship, resulting in the deaths of about 700 people traveling to Italy from Libya, was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 years in prison.

The captain, identified as Ali Malek Mohammed, 28, was convicted by a court in Catania, Sicily, of multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the disaster in April 2015, the Mediterraneans deadliest known shipwreck.

Prosecutors said he had steered the fishing boat into a Portuguese freighter, the King Jacob, off the Italian island of Lampedusa. The King Jacob was sent to the area to help after the Italian authorities received an emergency call, prosecutors said.

The victims were part of a huge influx of migrants fleeing war and economic desperation who have risked their lives in an effort to reach Europe. More than 4,740 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2016, according to an estimate by the International Organization for Migration, far surpassing the 2015 total of 3,660 deaths.
At the memorial gathering outside the presidential palace on Saturday, Mr. Kaczynski defended the police action to remove the protesters, even though they had a permit to be there.

Today we have the first direct attempt to disrupt our ceremonies, he said. Those who are here say, We are doing this legally. Yes, formally their actions are legal. But what about their goals? Are they legal or permissible? Is it legal to take away someones right to pray? Its all illegal. We need to say it clearly.

The government was stunned in October when thousands of people  most of them women dressed in black and carrying black umbrellas, the symbol of their movement  took to the streets to protest a proposed law that would have made all abortions illegal. The measure was withdrawn.

Many see this new law to regulate public assemblies as an attempt to stop such movements from spreading. This is the sort of effort they are most afraid of, Mr. Smolar said.

But while much of the attention on the new law has focused on its effect on government opponents, Kazimierz Kik, a political scientist at the Polish Academy of Sciences, said the governing partys real worry may be its own extreme, right-wing supporters attacking opponents on the streets.

That would be a shambles, and the whole of Europe would cry in outrage, Mr. Kik said. This new law is supposed to protect the government from some of its own supporters.

In competing protests on Tuesday, thousands of pro-government demonstrators waited with Polish flags flying as counterprotesters from the Committee for the Defense of Democracy passed by.
At least 259 journalists have been jailed around the world this year, a press advocacy group reported on Monday, the most since it began a detailed annual census of imprisonments in 1990.

The group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, attributed the increase largely to a surge of imprisonments in Turkey after the failed military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July.

At least 81 journalists  almost a third of the total  were incarcerated by the Turkish authorities in relation to their work, the group said in announcing the 2016 figures, the highest number in any one country at any time.

Among those imprisoned were Mehmet Baransu, a former columnist and correspondent for the daily newspaper Taraf, who was accused of obtaining secret documents, insulting the president and membership in a terrorist organization. He is facing a maximum sentence of 75 years.
Mrs. Morgan, who was fired from the cabinet in July and who has clashed with Mrs. May over European, immigration and education policy, suggested that the prime ministers upmarket fashion sense was misplaced in this age of austerity. My barometer is always, How am I going to explain this in Loughborough market? she said, referring to her parliamentary constituency in Leicestershire, a slice of middle-class England that is the home of Red Leicester cheese and pork pies.

Soon, The Guardian reported that Downing Street, where the prime minister works and lives, had disinvited Mrs. Morgan from a private meeting with Mrs. May to discuss plans for Britains exit from the European Union, prompting criticism that the British leader was vengeful and thin-skinned.

Mrs. Mays office added to the intrigue by refusing to be drawn into a debate over whether the now-famous garment had been purchased with a discount card. Asked on a flight to Bahrain whether the trousers could signal that she was out of touch with the common voter, Mrs. May extolled the importance of a country that works for everyone.

At a time of working-class revolt on both sides of the Atlantic, the accusations of elitism have been particularly awkward for Mrs. May. An Oxford-educated former home secretary, she has railed against the establishment and promised to champion Britons who are just about managing, people she referred to as Jams in her first speech as prime minister.

Glad @theresa_may is nice and warm in her 2000 leather trousers while so many cant afford to heat their homes, #ToriesOut, Theresa D., a Labour supporter and 40-something mother, wrote on Twitter, referring to an exaggerated cost of $2,500, or double the real price of the pants.
Salah Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, two of the three operatives the Pentagon said had been killed this month, were described as close associates of Mr. Adnani, helping him carry out the Nov. 13, 2015, Paris attacks, which killed 130 people. Killed along with them was Walid Hamman, described as a suicide attack planner, who was convicted in absentia in Belgium for a plot that was thwarted in 2015.

The presence of those names together evokes a fourth: All three were part of a network led by Boubaker al-Hakim, a senior French jihadist and one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world, according to Jean-Pierre Filiu, a specialist at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. The United States announced that Mr. Hakim had been killed in an airstrike in Raqqa on Nov. 26.

Mr. Hakim, 33, a French citizen of Tunisian descent, was accused of acting as the mentor to the brothers who carried out the attack on the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing 12 people on Jan. 7, 2015. He is also suspected of having inspired the Islamic State-led attack on the National Bardo Museum in Tunisia two months later, killing 22 people.

Besides giving one interview in the Islamic States online magazine, Mr. Hakim had kept a low public profile after moving to Syria to join the terrorist group. Though his name surfaced repeatedly among counterterrorism analysts as a possible senior figure involved in the Paris attacks, there has been no concrete confirmation of such involvement.

The Pentagons announcement on Tuesday that some of Mr. Hakims killed associates were involved in the Paris attacks goes a step further in suggesting that he was involved, too. In announcing his death, the Pentagon stopped short of that, describing his removal as one that degrades the terrorist groups ability to conduct further attacks in the West.
BEIRUT, Lebanon  Russia declared on Tuesday that the four-year battle over Aleppo, Syrias largest city, was over, as the last remaining rebel fighters agreed to turn over their territory to the Syrian government. While pro-government forces were moving in, United Nations officials said they were receiving multiple reports of execution-style killings.

The deal was announced just as civilians inside the rebel enclave said they had lost hope. They had spent days huddled in abandoned apartments under heavy shelling, as those with a record of opposing the government said they were bracing for arrest, conscription or death.

Under the deal, evacuations were set to begin at 5 a.m. Wednesday, although the departures were delayed and there were reports of renewed shelling. Earlier on Tuesday, fears had mounted as the United Nations said it had received reports that Syrian troops or allied Iraqi militias were gunning down families in apartments and on the streets, with the toll reaching 82 civilians.
Bob Ferrett was scared at first.

Would the tattoo-covered men with shaved heads give him mean looks? Would they try to make fun of him or question his presence? Would they lash out at his message?

But the retired school administrator and Riverside resident never wavered in his quest to deliver the word of God to those behind bars. His fears proved unfounded.

For the past 11 years, Ferrett has made regular visits to inmates at the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside. He and a partner, Tim Lucas, pray, sing gospel songs and share scripture with men and women who have been arrested or broken the law.

A lot of times they dont have anybody who cares about them, said Ferrett, 77. In Gods eyes, they have equal dignity and are loved by God just as much as I am.

Ferrett attends St. Catherine of Alexandria church in Riverside and participates in a Diocese of San Bernardino ministry that offers spiritual guidance to the incarcerated at more than two dozen jails, prisons and juvenile halls in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Such work is encouraged in the diocese that serves 1.6 million Catholics in the region. On Monday, its leader, Bishop Gerald Barnes, traveled to the Norco prison to say Mass for the Virgin of Guadalupes feast day.

Other Christian denominations also seek to spread the Gospel to inmates.

Theyre called monsters because of what they may have done and society wants to lock them up and throw away the key, said Marciano Avilla, the dioceses Office of Restorative Justice Ministry director. Even though they may have done horrible things, theyre still worthy of Gods goodness, grace and compassion.

NOT FORGOTTEN

Nearly 200 volunteers in the ministry offer faith sharing, Bible studies, worship services and one-on-one spiritual counseling. Priests also celebrate Mass at various jails or prisons.

Its to bring that olive branch of hope to the incarcerated and hopefully after theyve been released, a seed has been planted in them to grow and flourish, said Lucas, a 57-year-old Jurupa Valley resident who attends St. Matthew Catholic Church in Corona. Its a humbling experience.

Barnes visit to the California Rehabilitation Center came on the Catholic feast day that honors the Virgin Mary.

Before the service, inmates mimicked what happened throughout the day at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where Barnes said some 8 million Catholics paid their respects to Mary.

They crawled on their knees along a narrow hallway toward a large poster board of her image before entering the small chapel inside the sprawling complex ringed by barbed wire.

During the bilingual service, inmates sang hymns, read Bible verses and listened to Barnes sermon that stressed Jesus mothers love for them  despite their sins.

GLIMMER OF HOPE

Barnes said later that, while they have made bad choices, theyre not forgotten in Gods eyes.

Even though theyre incarcerated, theyre still part of the human family and part of society, Barnes said. There is redemption and they are saved in Jesus Christ. Mary is a sign of that love for them. Mercy is theirs and one day, theyll come back into society and join us.

Carlos Vasquez, 19, said he was charged with first-degree murder, later reduced to manslaughter, for starting a fight that led to a gang-related stabbing three years ago. Hes serving an 11-year-sentence.

He said Barnes visit offers a glimmer of hope that its not too late to turn his life around.

It gives me the faith I need in order to keep going and let go my past and everything Ive been through, said Vasquez, who grew up in Los Angeles and wants to help troubled youth when hes released.

Tyrone Mayorga, 27, said the presence of a religious figure of Barnes stature was unlike anything he has ever experienced.

For him to come here, its like Wow, he said. It shows he cares and were not alone.

Mayorga said he was 16 when he was arrested and convicted for attempted murder in a gang-related shooting. He spent time in five correctional facilities and has eight years left on his 21-year sentence.

It makes you feel like youre human, he said of Barnes visit. It brings joy to my day and excitement.

SECOND CHANCES

Other Christians say they volunteer in jails and prisons because God calls them to reach out to people society has rejected.

Menifee resident Barbara Swarthout started visiting the California Institution for Women in Chino in 2012 after her son, now 34, was released from prison. She declined to talk about his crime.

When her son was sentenced in 2009, Swarthout got involved in a support group at Crossroads Christian Church in Corona that helps friends and family members with loved ones in prison.

Shes now the coordinator of a four-year seminary-level leadership skills program that in October graduated its first class of eight women who are trained to become pastors and Christian leaders when theyre released.

Swarthout also volunteers twice a week at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, teaching incarcerated men to write resumes, look for jobs, build social skills and control their anger.

Everybody deserves a second chance, said Swarthout, 60, the pathology coordinator at Corona Regional Medical Center. I love seeing men and women change and succeed.

Religion can play a role in changing criminal behavior, said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections in Sacramento.

There is great rehabilitative value in religion or any discussion that gives inmates the opportunity for introspection to study themselves, Sessa said.

DELIVERING THE WORD

In addition to volunteer visits, state prisons are staffed with a Catholic priest, a Protestant chaplain, a Muslim imam, a Jewish rabbi and a Native American healer.

I am certain that for many inmates that participate in a religious service, it gives them an opportunity to reflect on how they thought or believed in the past or what they would hope or aspire to in the future, Sessa said.

David Reynolds, who attends The Grove Community Church in Riverside, reminds inmates that no sin is too dark or horrible for God to forgive.

As vice president of Cops Out Preaching Salvation, a prison ministry of active and retired law enforcement officers, Reynolds has watched in awe as veteran police officers bond with hardened criminals.

When you see a cop killer and a police officer come together for the first time, its an amazing thing to watch the grace of God melt away the tensions, said Reynolds, the only member of the group who does not have a law enforcement background. His father, Bill Reynolds, retired as a deputy chief of the Riverside County Sheriffs Department.

The groups mantra is Matthew 25:36, which calls on the faithful to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, take care of the sick and visit those in prison. Since its inception about 20 years ago, the ministry has helped thousands of inmates become Christians, he said.

Volunteers offer church services to inmates at jails and prisons in 15 states, including the California Institution for Men in Chino once a month.

There have been times his group was ready to enter a detention center but left because they were told it was too dangerous, he said.

Theres people that should never be let out because they are really bad people, said Reynolds, a 50-year-old Riverside resident. Theres people in there who are evil. Mixed in are absolutely amazing saved individuals that are doing the time and love the Lord.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9292 orstwall@scng.comTwitter: @pe_swall
Alma Fausto is a crime, breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. She has worked for the Register since 2013. Previously, she lived in New York City while studying at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she covered the growing Mexican immigrant population in the city. Alma has also lived and studied in Californias rural and agricultural Central Valley. Shes an Orange County native from Costa Mesa, and in her spare time likes to read and contribute to causes related to literacy. She has been on the board of the Orange County Press Club since 2015.
The holidays are in full swing at the Disneyland Resort, but there are changes coming, too, to the parks.

The biggest change is the new security screening areas on the west side of the resort. Beginning Thursday, visitors coming from the Disneyland Hotel, the Downtown Disney parking area, or the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, will be screened before getting to Downtown Disney or boarding the trams.

Regular visitors might have noticed all the construction happening near the parking structure, and on both sides of the ESPN Zone. New tents, metal detectors and fencing have appeared for these security screening areas. Once the new checkpoints are in use, the current westside security screening area will be dismantled, making it easier for visitors to go from theme park to theme park, and into Downtown Disney.

Because of the new screening areas, there was no ice rink on the west side of Downtown Disney near the Disneyland Hotel this year. It is not known if there will be one in a different location in the future.

Demolition has begun on the building that once housed the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. A new building will take its place that will hold the Splitsville Luxury Lanes bowling alley and restaurants that is tentatively planned to open in late 2017.

Elsewhere in Downtown Disney, a Sprinkles cupcake shop opened a few weeks ago, and a Pandora Jewelry shop opened last week. Construction continues on the Curl Surf shop, with an opening date yet to be announced.

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Holiday decorations expanded in Disney California Adventure this year, encompassing areas like the Grizzly Peak Airfield and the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, which is now the home to Santa Claus and his elves in that theme park. The Festival of Holidays and Festive Foods Marketplace continue too, along with the holiday version of World of Color.

Construction continues on the new route for the Disneyland Railroad and the Rivers of America, with them possible opening up again in 2017. Of course, construction also continues on Star Wars land. Rebel spies are trying to ascertain the real name of the area, but have not yet been able to steal a copy of the plans.

As usual, holiday decorations abound throughout Disneyland, along with special holiday versions of Its a Small World, the Haunted Mansion and the Jingle Cruise in all its fruitcake glory.

Find out more by viewing the photos and reading their captions in the slideshow.

Contact the writer: meades@scng.com or follow on twitter @markaeades
Have you heard the one about the mom who took four teenagers on vacation by herself and lived to tell the tale?

No? Well, its strange but true. I know this because that mom was me.

I know you have a few questions, including why we went on vacation last week instead of waiting until the holiday break, like everyone else in the known galaxy.

Well, as you know if youre a regular reader, Im an odd, contrary kind of person who seldom does anything like everyone else.

And it cost half as much to fly to Costa Rica after Thanksgiving as it will when the holidays hit full gale force. Lodging is cheaper, too, and no crowds.

I didnt intend to take four teenagers to Central America by myself. It was an accident.

What I meant to do was go to Costa Rica with my friend Kim, allowing the four teens to accompany us, as long as they never rolled their eyes or took off their headphones.

In fact, Kim was going to be our head chef, since we were staying in a three-bedroom cabana with a kitchen the entire eight days. She loves to cook and was looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, at the last minute, she had to bail out of the trip due to issues back home with her own daughter.

Leaving me to travel to Central America with four unfinished humans.

Now, there is something important you have to understand about teenagers: They were all taken up into alien spaceships at age 10, and replaced by doppelgangers, who look and sound like them, but behave in strange and aggravating ways.

Ive been told the aliens get sick of the teenagers and send them back around age 25, but, meanwhile, yeah, I have a houseful of the alien replicas most of the time these days.

The reason I brought four teens with me is because my 17-year-old daughter, Curly Girl, wanted to bring her boyfriend, and so I then had to also bring a friend for her brother.

While we were standing in line to board our flight to Costa Rica, I told the teens, I know youre going to ditch me as soon as we get there.

My daughter, Curly Girl, insisted Mom, we are not going to ditch you. She repeated this about eight times before we got to the little Caribbean resort town of Puerto Viejo.

And, then, of course, they ditched me.

Our modest little cabana resort, Cashew Hill Jungle Lodge, sits atop the town, and its an easy walk downhill to the shops, clubs and restaurants, not to mention the beautiful beaches.

The walk back isnt as easy, requiring approximately 1.2 million stairs to get back up to the top of the hill, but I just figured that was replacing my stairstepper at home.

The teens couldnt wait to dart back down the hill into town and, surprisingly, I really didnt care.

Our cabana, called Todo Bien, had three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a little tiled porch out front, where it was possible to sit and gaze into the jungle.

The entire upstairs was immediately designated the Kid Zone, so I took the downstairs bedroom and just tried to never go upstairs for any reason.

The whole cabana is open to the breezes and the jungle noises, protected by screening and lattice, but theres not a pane of glass to be found. I was immediately entranced by the roars of the howler monkeys, the chirping of the tree frogs and the cicadas, my entire body relaxed, and I just didnt mind if the teens wanted to go into town without me.

I brought my tablet with me, and the cabin had excellent wi-fi, so I put on a little Pink Martini music, opened a bottle of wine and read a book with my feet up, glad to be anywhere that wasnt moving.

I went down to the open-air lobby, met the resorts charming owner, Andrew Denley, and was able to book private yoga lessons on the oceanview platform for every day we were there.

They have regular public yoga classes daily, but I was too nervous to take one, never having done it before, even though Id promised myself I would learn yoga on this trip.

I required all the teenagers to take the yoga classes with me daily, expecting them to grumble like crazy, but I was surprised to find they actually liked it. Im sure that was partly because our instructor, Nicole Hudson, was not only knowledgeable but also gorgeous.

I was glad Id booked private lessons on our first one, when I tried to get into a Downward Facing Dog pose, and instead fell over with a giant thunk.

The entire week, the teens helped cook meals before renting bikes and riding to the beaches, ziplining, rappeling down waterfalls, riding horses on the beach and such.

We saw a lot of decorative Snow Man Christmas ornaments on peoples lawns, which were decidedly odd considering it was 93 degrees outside in the tropics, with the palm trees blowing.

A baby howler monkey urinated on Curly Girl at the Jaguar Rescue Center. I crossed the most terrifying shaky bridge of my life going to visit an indigenous shamans house, where we were made to drink quinine water and make chocolate.

Meanwhile, I met some fascinating women who travel around the world finding ways to support themselves as digital nomads. Hmm. Something to think about for my future.

By the end of the trip, we were better at climbing up all those bleeping steps, the kids had stopped screaming at the top of their lungs every time they found a strange and gigantic bug in their rooms, and we already knew wed be coming back next year.

We felt freezing cold when we returned a few days ago, after a week in the humid tropics near the equator. I dont know who turned on the freezer, but he can turn it back off now, thank you very much.

And I wouldnt have any problem taking those four teens back with me again next year. Especially when theres a bottle of wine in my suitcase.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7994 or mfisher@scng.com

Read more Frumpy Middle-age Mom. Its 42% better than real life!
UNITED NATIONS  Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres was sworn in Monday as secretary-general of the United Nations, becoming the ninth U.N. chief in the bodys 71-year history.

The former U.N. refugee chief was elected to the top job by acclamation in the General Assembly in October. He takes over from Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1.

Guterres, 67, performed well in answering questions before assembly members and his executive experience as prime minister and as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005-2015 propelled him to first place among 13 candidates vying for the job in informal polls in the Security Council. After the sixth poll, the council nominated him by acclamation and his name was sent to the assembly for final approval.

After being sworn in by General Assembly President Peter Thomson, Guterres addressed the 193 member nations, saying the U.N. must work to simplify, decentralize and make more flexible its sprawling bureaucracy.

It benefits no one if it takes nine months to deploy a staff member to the field, he said. The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process, more on people and less on bureaucracy.

Guterres also said he would send a clear signal that gender parity from top to bottom within the organization would be among his first priorities.

The swearing-in came after the General Assembly paid tribute to Ban, ending with a standing ovation for the South Korean.

Guterres swearing-in ceremony included the U.N.s top leaders and was attended by dignitaries.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power lauded Bans accomplishments while in office and said she was confident Guterres is the right person to replace him. He is the man for the job in such challenging times, she said.

Louis Charbonneau, the U.N. director at Human Rights Watch, said rights abuses are abundant around the globe, not just in war zones like Syria. He said Guterres should use his position and authority to call out rights abuses wherever they occur.

The selection of a new secretary-general had traditionally been decided behind closed doors by a few powerful countries. But this year, the process involved public discussions with each candidate who was campaigning for the job.

U.N. chiefs are charged with promoting sustainable development, working for peace around the globe, protecting human rights and dealing with humanitarian catastrophes.

Ban served two 5-year terms.
Nearly 19,000 homeless, elderly and disabled Orange County residents are one step closer to being able to use their food stamp benefits to purchase hot meals at local restaurants.

County supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to implement a state program allowing those populations to swipe their CalFresh EBT cards to buy meals at participating eateries  a change that would help increase food access to thousands of people who have nowhere to store groceries or are unable to cook for themselves.

If the state approves the program, it could start by summer.

Several advocates for the homeless spoke at the meeting, saying the current CalFresh system forces homeless people to spend their food stamps on chips, crackers and other nonperishable food items. Curtis Gamble, a homeless man and Navy veteran, told supervisors he eats mostly food from 7-Eleven because of his EBT limitations. Other homeless people have said they hardly use their CalFresh benefits due to the restrictions.

Compared with existing options, the Restaurant Meals Program would offer healthier fare  even if that means fast food  advocates and county staff said.

The only way to reliably serve all the (homeless) people  is to let McDonalds do it, said Dwight Smith, a longtime advocate for the homeless.

California has approved the program in eight counties over the past 13 years, including San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles counties, where it has become very popular among residents who qualify.

If the state approves, local restaurants would apply to participate. County staff members said they would approve use at restaurants in high-need areas first and expand later.

From mid-2015 to mid-2016, Orange County provided CalFresh benefits to an average of 263,941 residents per month, most of whom are children. Only a small portion of that total would qualify for the Restaurant Meals Program. If the program is approved by the state, the county would work to certify eligible recipients and inform them of their new benefits.

The program would cost the county $160,000 to implement and $250,000 annually to operate.

Advocates for the homeless have lobbied the county since 2011 to implement the Restaurant Meals Program. The push finally gained traction in October when Susan Price, the countys director of care coordination, recommended adoption to the board.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7960 or jgraham@scng.com
Its that season again  the time when your heart swells, your desire to help your fellow man grows, and opportunities to give are often ringing a bell just outside the grocery store. But before you shell out some cash, here are six tips on how to give without getting swindled.

1. Do your research: 75 percent of all donors dont do any research. Do not be one of them. Dont be tempted to donate impulsively when you receive a phone call or a knock on the door. Take the time to look up the charity you want to support and verify that its money is being used wisely. Check the website for the charitys mission, program and finances. If the information isnt available there, look it up on give.org.

2. Eliminate the middleman: Even if you like the pitch given by a telemarketer, dont donate over the phone. Hang up, visit the nonprofits website, and donate directly. This ensures that a greater portion of your money goes to the cause rather than the telemarketing company.

3. Dont be faked out by a name: Many charities have similar-sounding names. That doesnt mean they perform equally well. Again, do your research. The Childrens Charity Fund, for example, is different from the Childrens Defense Fund.

4. Get specifics: If a charity is helping the homeless, for example, find out how and where the organization is concentrating its efforts.

5. Verify status: Not everyone asking for donations represents a tax-exempt charity. You can check an organizations tax status at irs.gov.app.eos.

6. Concentrate your giving: If you find a well-run charity that is doing good work for a cause you care about, consider putting all of your charitable eggs in one basket. If you spread the wealth, you risk making less of an impact.

MORE ON GIVING

Who gives the most? The least? What do we give: Money? Time? Effort? >Heres a look at those questions, along with some things to consider when giving.

WHICH STATE GIVES THE MOST?

Darker areas in the map below indicate that more charitable donations are made by people in some of the lowest-income areas in the nation.

WHICH AREA OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GIVES THE MOST?

DID YOU KNOW? THE POOR GIVE MORE People making less than $50,000 a year donate about 4 percent of their income to charity. People earning more than $100,000 give 2 percent. 95.4 percent of households give to charity. $2,974 is the average annual household contribution.

WHEN DO PEOPLE GIVE THE MOST?

The chart below shows the amount of donation dollars made online for each day of the year from December 2014 through Dec. 7, 2015, according to data from the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The darker the areas, the more money given. One of the biggest reasons charitable donations are largely given in December is for last-minute tax deductions. Over the years, 23 percent of December traffic has come in the week from Christmas to New Years Day.
Second-term Laguna Niguel councilman Jerry Slusiewicz, 55, was elected mayor for 2017 at the Dec. 6 council meeting. The financial planner and radio host is married with two teenagers and a dog. Slusiewicz is a self-described hack magician and five-year member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood.

Q: What skills or qualities make you best equipped to lead the city?

A: I spent four years as a council member under great leadership such as Linda Lindholm, Robert Ming, Jerry McCloskey and Laurie Davies. I learned a lot just by watching them. I spent five years on the planning commission, which gave insight to many public and private projects going on all around the city. I spent six years on the Laguna Niguel Investment Banking and Audit Committee  so I had a very good understanding of our financial position as well as where and how much money we take in annually in order to run a positive budget. Also, I served on former Orange County Treasurer John Moorlachs Treasurers Advisory Committee for eight years, so I was able to learn and understand fiscal conservatism with public funds from one of the very best in public service.

Q: What will your priorities be as mayor?

A: As always, people come first. Having fun places to play and live for our children and families and healthy activities for our seniors are a top priority. Keeping the community safe for our residents is also at the top. In addition, we have many projects in their early stages  such as the Downtown Agora, the Crown Valley Park as well as the Gateway Projects that need to be moved along or completed. The last election pointed out that there is some dissension and misinformation regarding these projects. I plan to hold some educational meetings for concerned residents so everyone can better understand how and why the city is moving forward for the betterment of the entire community.

Q: You talked about the need for increased communication among the city and its residents. How do you plan to improve this ongoing dialogue?

A: Last year, Mayor Davies implemented a quarterly Meet the Mayor event, which allowed for open dialogue between residents and city government. I thought she did a great job with it and I hope to continue these. However there are several more controversial issues which caused division during the last election that I feel need to be addressed. One of the keys that has made Laguna Niguel so successful as a place to live and work has been an esprit de corps attitude that has existed over our 27-year history. We are moving more into an adolescent stage as a community. There are factions growing, where I feel many residents are resistant to change. I want to help alleviate those fears of the future because like it or not, change is the only constant and that applies to Laguna Niguel as well.

Q: How did serving as mayor pro tem prepare you for your current position?

A: Being the mayor pro tem, one has the opportunity to work very closely with the current mayor. I had the good fortune to work with one of the best, Laurie Davies. Laurie is smart, dynamic, business-oriented and more than capable to handle the many facets of being mayor. She is very involved locally, regionally as well as on a state level. She allowed not just me as pro tem but all of the council members to participate at the various functions we attended. I hope to continue with that practice.

Q: Who has been one of your biggest heroes over the years? Why?

A: My biggest hero is far and away my dad, Richard, who is almost 86 years old. He immigrated to this country at age 20 after growing up as a front-row witness to World War II. He watched his home, school and family business in Warsaw, Poland, reduced to rubble from the blitzkrieg bombings. Many family members perished in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Fortunately, my dad survived and was freed by US Allies, which changed his destiny. It didnt start well here in the U.S., as he was almost immediately sent to Korea for a UN-sanctioned war before he spoke the English language. He survived that war too, which granted him citizenship, given by former President Gerald Ford while he was still just a congressman in conservative Grand Rapids, Michigan. A lack of a formal education has nothing to do with ambition and intelligence, and my father proved this over his lifetime.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7844 or snewell@scng.com
The latest round of permanent restaurant closures includes a poke shop open for less than four months, three Daphnes California Greek restaurants and another Knowlwood.

Heres the latest round up:

Fins Poke Fusion

Fins Poke Fusion, one of dozens of new poke shops to open over the last six months, has closed its Fullerton location.

Co-owner Moby Duncan said he and his partners, sushi chefs and brothers Peter and David Cho, made the tough decision to close the poke restaurant Dec. 6 because the restaurant couldnt sustain itself.

The first Fins in Mission Viejo opened in 2015 with a menu of build-your-own poke bowls, fish tacos and tostadas. Its success prompted the owners to scout for more locations. After signing a lease last year, Fins opened next to the Fox Fullerton Theatre in mid-August. The Fullerton restaurant, a former Taco Bell with drive-through service, took months longer to build out because it was in an older building that needed more work than expected, Duncan told the Register.

The construction costs ate into the companys safety net of funds needed to keep the Fullerton restaurant open until it became profitable. Duncan wanted to be the first poke restaurant to open in downtown Fullerton. But by the time the Fullerton location opened, a few other poke shops had debuted in the area.

Now, the Orange County market is saturated with dozens of concepts.

I cant believe all of them popping up. They are spread out everywhere, Duncan said.

Though the restaurant was getting a steady stream of customers, including college students, the business was still being subsidized by the Mission Viejo restaurant, Duncan said. Unwilling to risk the flagship brand in Mission Viejo, Duncan said the bleeding in Fullerton had to stop.

Mission Viejo is booming thank God. We didnt want to jeopardize that restaurant, he said.

Though Fullerton didnt work out, Duncan said he and his partners are still looking to grow the poke concept.

In a matter of months, well have another one open, he said.

Daphnes California Greek

The diminishing of Daphnes California Greek in Orange County continues as three more locations have closed.

Locations in San Clemente, Aliso Viejo and Foothill Ranch are permanently closed, according to voicemail messages left for customers at each restaurant. A sign on the Aliso Viejo store, at 26611 Aliso Creek Road, refers customers to locations in Newport Beach and Lake Forest.

Its unclear why the locations closed. Representatives for Daphnes have not returned several requests for comment, including Chief Executive Dave Wolfgram. Wolfgram is the CEO of Yalla Mediterranean, a modern fast-casual restaurant featuring wraps, salads and platters inspired by flavors found in Greece, Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Tunisia and Egypt.

Earlier this year, Yalla opened its first Orange County location in a former Daphnes in Seal Beach. At the time, Wolfgram said some Daphnes restaurants would be converted to Yallas, a build-your-own meal concept.

Over the last 18 months, a handful of Yallas have opened in former Daphnes locations  but mostly in the Bay Area. In early 2016, Wolfgram said Daphnes locations in Newport Beach and Irvine would be converted to Yalla restaurants. However, those conversions have not occurred.

In 2011, a year after emerging from a 2010 bankruptcy, Daphnes Greek Cafe rebranded and remodeled restaurants under the new name, Daphnes California Greek. At the time, Daphnes had about 18 restaurants in Orange County. According to the Daphnes website, there are six locations left in O.C: Irvine (two locations), Tustin, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest and Newport Beach.

Knowlwood

After a 21-year run in Laguna Niguel, Knowlwood closed Nov. 30 at The Center at Rancho Niguel.

A representative for developer Buie Stoddard Group said the firm is looking at several restaurants interested in replacing Knowlwood.

There was a business opportunity that arose and the landlord negotiated a mutually-acceptable deal with the owner of Knowlwood to recapture the space, Ann M. Forella, vice president of asset management, told the Register in an email.

The closure comes as Knowlwood has been downsizing its traditional restaurants.

Thanh D. Nguyen closed the Fullerton Knowlwood in March. At the time, he said he was focusing on opening restaurants with smaller footprints such as the Knowlwood Cafe at the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse.

Other closure

Dude, Wheres My Curry, a fast-food Indian restaurant, closed in Foothill Ranch so the owner could pursue another food business. The owner is turning the restaurants housemade ice cream into a wholesale business. The ice cream is available at more than 60 stores in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties.
Made possible by a $1.5 million donation by Cal State Fullerton alumnus Jeffrey Van Harte last year, the universitys Mihaylo College of Business and Economics community gathered on Dec. 2 to celebrate the opening of its first investment management center.

Named the Titan Capital Management Center, it will house the colleges Applied Securities Analysis Program (ASAP), also founded with Van Hartes assistance.

The program centers on portfolio management and how to invest in the marketplace; it gives students firsthand experience in securities analysis and portfolio management using real dollars.

Van Hartes recent donation will help to grow ASAP investment funds and allow more students to participate.

The Titan Capital Management Center is made up of a high-tech and interactive classroom and a conference room. In the coming semester, select students will receive 24 hour access to the conference room to work on ASAP group projects

With access to Bloomberg terminals, the new classroom mimics the software and work environment students may find in financial institutions trading floors across the country and the world, said ASAP director Michael Milligan.

The Titan Capital Management room and Bloomberg (terminals) will allow our students to hone their skill sets, to make them more desirable, he said.

Van Harte, chairman and chief investment officer of Jackson Square Partners, graduated from CSUF with a bachelors degree in business administration-finance in 1980.

His donations to the university go back more than a decade.

Every time that I meet with Jeff I get the same feeling  that he is a student who just cant wait to be on this campus, who can not wait to spend time here with students, said Anil Puri, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Puri is the former dean of the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, as well as Van Hartes former microeconomics professor.

We are very proud to have this program and this lab named after him, he said.

The Titan Capital Management Center will additionally allow faculty to engage with students in a more profound manner, said Morteza Rahmatian, interim dean of the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics.

Titan Capital Management enhances the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics ability to offer exceptional classes to our students, Rahmatian said. This is truly a high-impact practice for our students who can really enjoy the kind of experience this provides.

We need to set ourselves apart from the hundreds of business schools around, he said. This opportunity for our students is clearly a unique opportunity that not a lot of business programs can afford to have.

For Van Harte, its all about the students.

I feel like I have this moral obligation to give back, Van Harte told the Register in 2015 when asked about his donation. I know how much my degree meant to me and how much it helped me.

For me, its really about the time spent helping kids get on track the early parts of their careers, he said.

His comments at the grand opening ceremony focused on the years-long collaboration between administrators, faculty, staff and students that made the ASAP program and Titan Capital Management Center realities.

Vision really starts with a thought, Van Harte said.

It was such a collaborative effort, he said. By the time it got rolling, so many people had collaborated and thought about how we could design this program that it was really lost on me whose idea it really was.

Feedback from students was also key in putting together the program and center, he said.

CSUF President Mildred Garcia praised Van Harte for his continuous donations to the university.

He also offers his time and talent to students, Garcia said. He sits with them and gives them guidance.

He exemplifies Titans Reach Higher not only by giving with his resources but by his time, his heart and his soul, she said. And we are very lucky to have him as a Titan.

Its not only about what you make of yourself in your life, its how you give back and give to others, she said.

Van Harte pointed out that the new center is a testament of what could be at CSUF.

This is really the result of a change in culture and the change of a thinking template that needs to occur in higher public education especially at state university (level), Van Harte said. So this program is really the result of a collaboration between the private sector and the public sector.

Look what we did with just a little bit of money and a lot people, he said.

Aside from serving as a mentor for finance students, Van Harte is also the chairman of the CSF Philanthropic Foundations board of governors.

He was honored in 2012 as a CSUF Vision & Visionaries distinguished alumnus.

Contact the writer: amarcos@scng.com
WASHINGTON  President-elect Donald Trump has picked as his secretary of state Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of ExxonMobil, setting up a possible confrontation with members of his own party in the Senate, Trumps transition team announced Tuesday.

Since Tillersons name emerged as a candidate for the post, leading Republicans have expressed reservations about his years of work in Russia and the Middle East on behalf of the multinational petroleum company.

GOP advisers have warned that a growing number of Republican senators may be unwilling to vote to confirm Tillerson because of his ties to Russia. While Senate Democrats cannot filibuster Trumps Cabinet picks, Republicans have only 52 votes in the Senate, leaving them in potential jeopardy if Democrats unite in opposition to Tillerson. It will take at least 50 votes to confirm a nominee, plus Vice President-elect Mile Pence casting a tiebreaking vote.

Yet Trump, after a protracted selection process that saw him also considering 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has decided to press ahead with Tillerson. Like others in the new Trump Cabinet, the ExxonMobil chief executive lacks any experience in government but will try to apply his experience in the business world to the realm of diplomacy. And he has worked extensively around the globe and built relationships with such leaders as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Trump team is planning an aggressive public relations campaign to win confirmation for Tillerson and dispel what it sees as a false narrative about his ties to Russia, a person involved in the transition said. Former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and James Baker are planning to go public Tuesday morning with their support for Tillerson, as is former defense secretary Robert Gates. Former vice president Richard B. Cheney also is supportive and may advocate for his confirmation.

In a statement, Trump called Tillerson an embodiment of the American dream and cited the oil executives tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics. Trump, however, made no mention of the nomination process in the announcement.

Gates was the first person to raise Tillerson as a secretary of state possibility with Trump during a meeting at Trump Tower, the transition official added. Trump did not know much about Tillerson but started chewing over the idea. He invited Tillerson for a meeting and the two global dealmakers hit it off. They recognized similarities in each other, and the more they talked, the more they liked each other, the transition official said.

Rice, who has served on the board of Chevron, then became a strong advocate for Tillerson. She and Trump spoke about Tillerson by phone Monday as Trump made his final decision.

One argument that the defenders of Tillerson  who during his career has also cultivated leaders of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Qatar  will probably make is that he stands firm in business negotiations in Russia and elsewhere.

One of the things I know about the Russian government: Im very predictable. And they know if I say no it means no. And talking about it more isnt going to change that. No is still going to be no, Tillerson said in a talk last year at the Texas Tech business school. Over the years weve earned each others respect. Then when you say yes, you know well follow through. It means something.

Weighing whether to lift economic sanctions on Russia will be one of the first things on Tillersons plate, given Trumps desire to smooth relations with the Kremlin. International economic sanctions, imposed after Russia annexed Crimea and gave support to insurgents in Ukraines eastern provinces, have fallen heavily on financial institutions and ExxonMobil.

ExxonMobil, which has a profitable operation on Sakhalin island in eastern Russia, had begun a drilling program in the Arctics Kara Sea, where Exxon made a find, and had agreed to explore shale oil areas of West Siberia and deep waters of the Black Sea. If sanctions are lifted, Tillerson told analysts this year, the Black Sea drilling would probably be the first to be restarted.

While ExxonMobil complained privately to the Obama administration about the sanctions, the company has abided by the law.

They understand the situation. We understand the situation, Tillerson said of the Kremlin when asked at an oil analysts meeting this year about whether Exxon would resume work in Russia if sanctions were lifted.

In addition, Tillerson will have to deal with climate issues because the State Department is the lead agency in international climate negotiations. Unlike Trump, Tillerson has said that he believes that climate change is real and has favored a revenue-neutral carbon tax of more than $20 a ton.

But environmental groups charge that Exxon knew about the harmful effects of fossil fuels as much as 40 years ago and failed to inform investors and the public, possibly in violation of securities laws. The New York and Massachusetts attorneys general and a range of non-governmental organizations are locked in battle over the charges.

Human rights experts are also unhappy about Tillersons nomination, noting that ExxonMobil does business in countries ruled by autocrats or dictators including countries in the Middle East, Equatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan.

I dont think that companies role is to play politics, said Pavel Molchanov, oil analyst at the investment firm Raymond James. Theyre there to invest in resources. Saying that he personally has some special feelings toward Russia just because Exxon has invested there is probably overstating the case.

But that might not be the way lawmakers see it.

At least four Republican senators have already publicly expressed their concerns with Tillersons Russia ties. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called the fact that Putin awarded Tillerson the Kremlins Order of Friendship in 2012 unnerving, while Sen. John McCain of Arizona questioned Tillersons judgment on CNN on Monday noting, I dont see how anybody could be a friend of this old time KGB agent, referring to Putin.

Established in 1994 by the president at the time, Boris N. Yeltsin, the Order of Friendship has been handed out by Russian leaders to figures as diverse as pianist Van Cliburn, former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt, and Raymond E. Johnson, founder of the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida also tweeted over the weekend that being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a Secretary of State, while a spokesman for Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said he has a lot of questions about Mr. Tillerson and his ties to Russia.

Of the four, only Rubio sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which first must approve Tillersons nomination before it can head to the floor. Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who was in the running to be Trumps Secretary of State, tweeted over the weekend that Tillerson is a very impressive individual.

But Republicans outnumber Democrats by only one on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, giving Democrats an opportunity to block one of Trumps most important Cabinet picks if they stay united in voting against Tillersons nomination. Democrats would not say if they expect their committee members to hold rank. But if they can, they only need one Republican to vote against Tillersons nomination to keep him from proceeding to the Senate floor for a full confirmation vote.

Earlier Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Tillersons relationship with Putin and his friendly attitude toward Russia, but played down the idea that it would influence policy.

As to the allegations of whether his attitude to the Russian Federation is good or bad: being secretary of state is very different from leading a company, even a very big one. Therefore, any, so to speak, sympathies become secondary, Peskov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as telling reporters.

The only thing that remains here is readiness to demonstrate a constructive attitude and be professional, he said. We are hoping that this is what will happen.

Peskov said that Tillerson and Putin had met on several occasions but offered only measured comments about their relationship.

Indeed, he repeatedly had contacts with our representatives due to his work in the post of one of the worlds largest oil companies; he fulfills his duties very professionally, Peskov said.
Dan Albano has been a high school sports writer at The Orange County Register since 1993. He specializes in football and all the aquatics but covers many different sports. Dan's passion for water sports has earned him the nickname, Aqua Dan, in the newsroom and taken him to multiple U.S. Olympic Swim Trials and many USA water polo events as a reporter. He also writes about high school football recruiting, including The Register's annual FAB 15 teams that list the top high school football players in the Western U.S. before National Signing Day. He compiles the Hot 150 list of football players to watch in Orange County before each season. During football season, he partners with Steve Fryer and Jonathan Khamis on OCVarsity's Gridiron Show and hosts a weekly podcast on Trinity League football. In 2015, Dan received the Bud Dwyer Jr. media award from the Southern California High School Football Coaches Association. He was honored as a Jim Staunton Champion for Character by the CIF-Southern Section in 2017. Dan is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, where he worked at The Daily Titan as a news reporter, sports reporter, managing editor and opinion editor.
Bob Chandler

Bob Chandler, co-founder of healthcare firm Chandler Chicco Agency and former president of parent company inVentiv Healths communications operations, has launched a new agency.

That new shop, MaxAscent, is a boutique healthcare communications consultancy specializing in PR, advertising, advocacy, social/digital, corporate positioning and crisis management. Chandler told ODwyers that MaxAscents focus will be to initiate and sustain conversations between patients and the communities that treat them, making interactions more frequent, engaging and, ultimately, more successful.

I wanted to get back to a hyper-focus on this and felt it best to do it in a small, highly specialized agency, Chandler said, adding that the timing has never been more appropriate and important.



Chandler said he has access to more than 20 staffers who work virtually, and hes presently looking to lease a space in downtown New York sometime next year.

The announcement comes alongside the arrival of a new global micro-network of healthcare communications agencies, Watershed Bridges, to which MaxAscent will serve as a member, along with nearly a dozen firms specializing in healthcare communications.

Other partner agencies will include firms specializing in patient behavior, medical education, public affairs, experiential marketing, advertising, corporate communications, narrative development, and storytelling, as well as the emerging field of patient intelligence.

Chandler, who was previously executive VP and managing director of Burson-Marstellers healthcare practice, co-founded Chandler Chicco in 1995 with Gianfranco Chicco, building it into a top independent healthcare PR shop with blue chip clients like Allergan and Novartis. That agency was sold in 2007 to Burlington, MA-based healthcare communications group inVentiv Health for $65 million.

Inventiv, which is owned by private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, is also parent company to firms Chamberlain Healthcare PR and Allidura Consumer. InVentiv in early 2013 tapped Chandler to lead a revamped communications operation, which included PR, policy, advertising and digital in addition to his leadership role at Chandler Chicco. Chandler left the agency in 2014.

There has never been a time in my long career in healthcare where professionals looking after patients have felt more worried sick about our system of care delivery. There is upheaval related to where Obamacare will land, there are massive changes looming in Medicare and problems of accessing medications are at an acute stage, Chandler told ODwyers. Patients, more than ever, need to consult with their caregivers and caregivers, like never before, need to know how to guide patients, not in just changing behavior but also figuring out delivery options or alternatives that could help them, at least in the short-term.
A school committee of Worcester, second largest city in Massachusetts (pop. 180,000) is taking up the issue whether Wi-Fi and other sources of radiation pose a threat to its 24,000 students.

Committee members Molly McCullough, Brian OConnell and John Monfredo, at the urging of Cecelia Doucette, ex-president, Ashland Education Foundation, agreed to allow basic best practices about cellphones, computers, etc., to be posted on the school districts website and to make further decisions after meeting with the states Dept. of Health in February.

Monfredo and OConnell were the most supportive of the study while McCullough expressed doubt and asked for more study.

Monfredo, vice chair of the committee, said, I think we have a moral obligation to the students to let them know theres a danger. Its not to scare anyone. Its to let them know these are things they need to be careful about.

(L to R) Molly McCullough, Brian O'Connell and John Monfredo

McCullough said, Honestly, I dont think theres enough information on the table for us to be making a recommendation. She said she doesnt want best practices to be confused with a new mandate for the schools.

Bob Walton, school technology officer, noted that the World Health Organization classified electromagnetic radiation as a Group 2B carcinogen, meaning it is potentially cancer-causing. But he said coffee and pickles are on the same list and We dont have any definitive evidence this causes damage to humans.

Wi-Fi Health Advocates Rejoice

Wi-Fi health advocates, including Leslie Saffer, were surprised at the receptive attitude of two of the school committee members. Saffer told telegram.com that she had to pinch herself after finding that attitude.

Robert Pontius, geography professor at Clark University, told telegram.com, Its shocking, the level of ignorance in the U.S. Every time I talk to a doctor, theyve never heard of it. Other countries including the Scandinavian nations, have programs that warn people about the dangers of electro-magnetic radiation, he said.

Physics professor Germano Iannacchione of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute told the Telegram that people blaming Wi-Fi for symptoms might be overlooking other causes of the conditions.

Robert Knorr, director of the Environmental Epidemiology Program, Bureau of Environmental Health, said there are no official guidelines for schools or anyone else to follow. He said the department is creating a general information sheet on the issue.

Wi-Fil Health Hazards Shown in Video Series

Doucette and parent Keith Marciniak have created a five-part YouTube series that describes the health hazards of pulsed electro-magnetic radiation that floods the environment.

The series covers radiation sources such as cellphones, computers, iPads, cordless phones, cell towers, and powerful Wi-Fi routers that are in most classrooms in the U.S.

Episodes are Discovering the Dangers; Educating the Greater Community; Why We Dont Know; Impacts of Excessive Screen Time, and Solutions.

Doucette has lectured at the Ashland, Mass., library, which earlier this year hosted a six-part series on the dangers of radiation.

Below are some of the scientific papers cited in the new series.

Electromagnetic Radiation Spectrum chart: http://www.citizensforsafetechnology....

Manufacturers' fine print warnings: http://showthefineprint.org/see-the-f...

U.S. National Toxicology Program study results just released finding electromagnetic radiation causes cancer: http://www.cqlpe.ca/pdf/SPINvsFACTS-F...

Harvard Law School Center for Ethics' Report, Captured Agency: How the Federal Communications Commission is Dominated by the Industries it Presumably Regulates: http://ethics.harvard.edu/files/cente...

International Appeal: Scientists Call for Protection from Non-ionizing Electromagnetic Field Exposure, signed by 221 world scientists specializing in electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and submitted to the World Health Organization and the United Nations: https://www.emfscientist.org/images/d...

Columbia University's Dr. Martin Blank gives a three-minute appeal overview here: https://vimeo.com/123468632

IEEE Power Electronics Magazine article indicating even the IEEE, which helped to set the FCC standards in 1996 based on thermal effects, now recognizes biological effects at the non-thermal level: Some Effects of Weak Magnetic Fields on Biological Systems: RF fields can change radical concentrations and cancer growth rates: http://www.wirelesseducation.org/ieee...

BioInitiative Report Summary for the Public: http://www.bioinitiative.org/report/w...

Dr. Martin Pall's 16-minute lecture on what electromagnetic radiation is doing to our bodies and why it is causing illness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kQQy...

Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate Scientist Dr. Devra Davis and former long-time Microsoft Canada President Frank Clegg presenting the need for an EMF right-to-know initiative to the MA legislature: https://vimeo.com/134411701

Environmental Health Trust article, First US Public School District Limits Wi-Fi Radiation Exposure to Students and Staff: http://ehtrust.org/first-us-public-sc...

Senate Bill 1222: An Act creating a special commission to study the health impacts of electromagnetic fields: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/S...

WACA-TV public service video for the Acoustimeter on loan at Ashland Public Library showing how to measure common home exposures and solutions to create a safer environment: https://vimeo.com/159873631

Boston Parents Paper back-to-school cover story: Is Wi-Fi in Schools Safe?: http://bostonparentspaper.com/article...

Ashland Public Schools, MA, Best Practices for Mobile Devices: https://3a4786cd-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.g...

OctoWired Solution: http://octowired.com/

On-line 40-minute wireless education course for less than the cost of a movie ticket: http://www.wirelesseducation.org/stor...
Kim Gagne

Kim Gagne, a former senior director of industry affairs at Microsoft, has joined APCO Worldwide, where hes been named a senior advisor in the agencys tech practice.

Gagne first joined Microsoft in 2004, where he was responsible for managing the multinational tech companys legal and corporate affairs matters in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. In 2012 Microsoft tapped Gagne to provide business and government relations support in Singapore as director of public sector policy, Asia, before serving as senior director of industry affairs in Brussels. Prior to joining Microsoft, Gagne was a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State and an attorney and partner at Washington, D.C.-based firm, Janis Schuelke & Wechsler.

Gagne is based in the UK and will split his time between the APCOs London and Brussels offices.
Its back to basics with an Irish twist for the Christmas top toy recommendations from Flemings Department Store, part of the leading Irish independent toy retailer group, Toymaster.

Its back to basics with an Irish twist for the Christmas top toy recommendations from Flemings Department Store, part of the leading Irish independent toy retailer group, Toymaster.

Toys and games that encourage interaction and role play, such as dolls, figures, games as well as the all-time favourite, Lego feature strongly, and, for the first time, rural Ireland has its say with farm toys making a significant appearance. The top toys for Christmas 2013 from Toymaster are:

 Transformers Cyberverse Vehicle

 Britains Farm Set

 Lego Galaxy Squad Star Slicer

 Silly Moo

 30 Seconds

 Furby Boom

 Monster High 13 Wishes Haunt the Casbah

 Doc McStuffins Doctors Bag Set

 Pop & Play Elephant

 Rolly John Deere X-Trac with Loader

 The First Talking Sofia Doll & Animal Friends

 My Model Styling Head

.

All twelve toys and the Toymaster Christmas catalogue are now available from Kellys Toymaster, Tullamore.

According to Kellys Toymaster spokesperson, Ray Kelly the list of 12 items is an exciting mixture of new and revamped favourites to appeal to girls, boys and preschoolers. Top toy lists at Christmas typically focus on a small number of flashy, big price-point toys. But with our experience and knowing our customers well, we are determined to provide parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles with a range of quality, realistic suggestions that will provide real value in terms of both price and play, he said.

Reflective of the spread of Toymaster stores across the country farm toys are represented for the first time on a top toy list. A large livestock set complete with building, fencing, Friesian cattle, feeder, bales of hay and a family is perfect for starting your own farmyard, while the more boisterous will aspire to a sit-on John Deere pedal tractor complete with a front-loader with tipping digger bucket, which looks and feels just like the real thing.

Meanwhile a retro life-size model styling head will have aspiring fashion stylists totally made up, while younger girls will delight in the spook-tacular Monster High 13 Wishes dolls and love recreating favourite scenes from the popular Disney series with the talking, animal-loving Sofia Doll.

Christmas wouldnt be Christmas without board games and families will be thrilled to see them featuring prominently in the shape of a new Irish edition of the quick thinking, fast talking game 30 Seconds and for the younger ones, Silly Moo, an udderly funny game where you milk a cow to earn pints.
Agricultural News

Oklahoma Pork Council Donates $10,000 to Regional Food Bank for Kids Backpack Program

At the okPORK quarterly board meeting on Dec. 9, board members and staff from the Oklahoma Pork Council presented a $10,000 check to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to purchase pork sticks for its Food for Kids Backpack Program.







This program provides chronically hungry children with backpacks filled with non-perishable, nutritious, shelf-stable food to sustain them over weekends and school holidays. This donation from the Oklahoma Pork Council will allow the Regional Food Bank to purchase 28,571 pork sticks.







Thanks to a matching challenge from APMEX.com, the Cresap Family Foundation and Chesapeake Energy Corporation, which matches every gift received from Nov. 15 through Jan. 15 dollar for dollar, this $10,000 donation will have double the impact.







"Helping hungry Oklahomans is important to Oklahoma's pork producers - especially during this time of year," said Roy Lee Lindsey, okPORK Executive Director. "That's why we gladly give each year to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. But the matching funds campaign this year is especially exciting because now the impact of our donation will go even further."







Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma CEO Katie Fitzgerald said the long-term partnership between their organization and okPORK is one that makes a difference in the lives of hungry Oklahomans.







"Since the Oklahoma Pork Council began partnering with the Regional Food Bank in 1996, they have provided a total of $112,000 in donations," said Fitzgerald. "That equates to 500,000 meals for families in our state."







If you would like to donate to the Regional Food Bank, please click here. For more information on the Oklahoma Pork Council, visit www.okpork.org.







Source - Oklahoma Pork Council













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Agricultural News

Federal Judge Agrees with R-CALF USA's Arguments on Beef Checkoff Being Unconstitutional

A Montana federal judge yesterday released an initial ruling agreeing with R-CALF USA that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beef Checkoff program violates the First Amendment. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Johnston recommended that the district court halt the transfer of money to the Montana Beef Council, in a decision that could have national implications.





The Beef Checkoff is a federal tax, which compels producers to pay $1 per head every time cattle are sold, half of which is used to fund the advertisements of the Montana Beef Council. The Montana Beef Council is a private corporation whose members include representatives of the largest multinational beef producers. The council's private speech promotes the message that there is no difference between domestic beef produced under U.S. food safety laws and beef produced in foreign countries. It has paid for advertisements for the fast-food chain Wendy's to promote hamburgers that use North American beef, meaning beef that can come from anywhere on the continent not necessarily Montana or even the United States.





The Government has 14 days to object to the Magistrate Judge's recommendation. Should the district court uphold Judge Johnston's findings and recommendations, a preliminary injunction would be issued to ensure that Montana cattle producers' money did not fund the beef council's private speech without their consent while the lawsuit proceeds on its merits.





"We are encouraged by yesterday's recommendation, even though it is still subject to the district court's review, because it marks the first time in well over a decade that anyone within any of our three branches of government has agreed to take a critical look at our complaints regarding the illicit operations of the beef checkoff program," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.





Bullard added that his organization's checkoff-related complaints regarding misappropriation of funds, conflicts of interest and unlawful checkoff operations have been repeatedly and summarily ignored by Congress and the executive branches of government for many years.



"We're thankful for the opportunity to have our concerns heard by an independent branch of government that is not influenced by the intense, high-dollar lobbying efforts of the multinational meatpackers and their so-called producer-group allies."





David Muraskin, an attorney with Public Justice, a public interest law firm in Washington, DC that is representing R-CALF USA, explained that "the decision vindicates an important constitutional right. This decision ensures the government cannot give citizens' money away to private corporations. For too long the checkoff programs have been a government subsidy of corporate meat producers at the expense of independent, domestic farmers. This decision ensures the government must take accountability for the program and respond to independent producers' concerns."





"Hopefully this is the start of trend to finally recognize the rights of independent farmers and ranchers in Rural America", said J. Dudley Butler of the Butler Farm & Ranch Law Group.





R-CALF is also represented by Bill Rossbach of Rossbach Law, P.C. in Missoula, Montana.







Source - R-CALF USA











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In a move to boost recruitment and retention while keeping up with the corporate Joneses, American Express said it will offer 20 weeks of paid leave to any U.S. employee of either gender who has a child through any means, including adoption and surrogacy. Birth mothers will get an additional six to eight weeks of paid medical leave on top of that.

The announcement is a huge leap forward by the credit card company, which currently makes separate provisions for primary and secondary caregivers of six and two weeks paid leave, respectively.

As companies such as AmEx compete for talent in a tightening labor market, generous parental leave that doesnt distinguish among moms, dads and birth parents is slowly replacing maternity and paternity leave policies in the most competitive industries.

Tech companies, in part because of their difficulty in recruiting and retaining women, have led the way. Etsy Inc., for example, now offers 26 paid weeks off for all new parents; Netflix Inc. offers up to a year.

But other industries have been quick to follow. Bank of America Corp. and Fidelity both expanded leave policies this spring.

We are taking a close look at the market and where the market is moving overall. We think 20 is a

generous step, said Kevin Cox, the chief human resources officer at AmEx. Our employees are generally saying We want more help and more support. These are busy people with busy lives.

Indeed, 20 weeks of paid leave to any parent is aggressive. Even financial behemoths such as Morgan Stanley, Barclays PLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. offer only 16 weeks to primary caregivers, and much less to secondary caregivers.

But the larger reality is that most U.S. workers dont get paid family leave at all, though access is steadily increasing. Last year New York and San Francisco passed paid family leave laws, and President-elect Donald Trump said during his campaign that he would push for six weeks of paid family leave for new mothers.

Meanwhile, to stay competitive, companies have engaged in a parental leave arms race. According to the Society of Human Resource Management, 21 percent of large U.S. corporations offered paid maternity leave in 2015, up from 12 percent in 2014.

Still, the benefit is unevenly distributed to highly skilled workers and people who live in cities and states that have laws mandating leave. Many sectors and organizations still offer no paid leave.
SIDNEY, Neb.  Cabelas annual shareholders meeting was strictly business Tuesday, and executives did not provide any information about what the future holds for the companys longtime home of Sidney.

It was the first time management had addressed shareholders in person since Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops announced in October that it would buy the Nebraska-grown outdoors retailer for $5.5 billion.

Executives did not take any questions from shareholders as they have at past meetings. Chief Executive Tommy Millner said shareholders approved the current board of directors slate by proxy, as well as an executive compensation package in an advisory vote. The meeting adjourned in less than 10 minutes. Company Chairman Jim Cabela and Mike McCarthy, an investment banker with Omahas McCarthy Capital who serves on the board of directors, attended the meeting. About 20 shareholders were there.

Tuesdays brevity was a stark contrast from past annual meetings, which celebrated the companys growth.

Last year, for example, shareholders and employees filled the Sidney High School auditorium, and Millner announced that the company would rapidly expand and hire thousands more workers. The city was facing a housing shortage in an effort to keep up. A new $34 million headquarters expansion was underway. At the time, Millner thanked local officials, residents and law enforcement, saying Sidney was the greatest place in the world that we could run our company.

That was in June 2015, before Elliott Management got involved. Less than six months later, the New York hedge fund declared an 11 percent stake in Cabelas and said it would agitate for change, including a sale of the company.

Elliott got its way in less than a year. Bass Pro Chief Executive Johnny Morris has said that he plans to maintain some functions in Sidney but also that some jobs will be cut as the headquarters is combined with Bass Pros operations in Springfield, Missouri.

The extent of those cuts is still uncertain, and some shareholders were disappointed that they did not get more answers at Tuesdays meeting.

We were expecting much more information, said Jean Lashley, 76, of Mitchell, Nebraska. We havent had a shareholder meeting in almost two years.

Lashley has owned Cabelas stock since its initial public offering in 2004. She attended the meeting with friend Dwight Walker, 81, also of Mitchell. Both said they would like to attend the next meeting, when shareholders are expected to vote on the Bass Pro deal.

Of the executive compensation package, Lashley said she thought it was fair. Walker said it was more than fair.

Seems like most of the big shots in this company are sold out. They got their money, he said.

Both said they want more information on what the future holds  especially for Nebraska.

I feel for Sidney. Im afraid theyre going to get the ax, Walker said.

Sonja Boyles Peters of North Platte said she was hoping for more information on why the company decided to sell.

Van Harris, a shareholder from Wichita, Kansas, said he expected the meeting to be brief and hopes to attend the merger meeting.

Harris said the deal is good for shareholders, but it will potentially affect a lot of people in Sidney and Nebraska.

It sounds like there is some agreement there will be a base of operations here. What that is, I dont think anybody knows.
The biggest oil production cuts in Asia are coming from a country that didnt sign up for the agreement by non-OPEC countries reached over the weekend.

China, the worlds fifth-biggest producer last year, has reduced output by about 300,000 barrels a day this year, more than the combined cuts announced Saturday.

The decline in production is expected to continue next year, with Chinese production shrinking as much as 200,000 barrels a day, according to consultant Energy Aspects Ltd.

Were seeing a natural decline in China oil production as fields are very mature and depletion rates are high, said Virendra Chauhan, a Singapore-based oil analyst at industry consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. The price level we had in last 12 to 18 months has incentivized imports over spending on domestic production.

Chinas output slumped as state-owned firms shut wells at mature fields that are too expensive to operate amid last years price crash.

Production during the first 10 months of the year averaged about 4 million barrels a day, down about 7 percent from the same period last year, according to Bloomberg calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics data.

Malaysia and Brunei were the only Asian nations in the group of producers outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that agreed to cut output by a combined 558,000 barrels a day starting Jan. 1.

The deal, hammered out over the weekend in Vienna, was the first pact between the group and non-members in 15 years. While all individual country cuts are unclear, the non-OPEC reduction totals 83,000 barrels a day and excludes Russias 300,000 barrels a day, as well as announced figures from Mexico, Oman and Azerbaijan.

If all of these cuts are realized in the market, we could see prices potentially rise beyond $65 by May (about 20 percent from current levels) when the next OPEC meeting is convened, said Sushant Gupta, director of Asia Pacific refining at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. in Singapore.

While some of the countries individual cuts are small, the combined reduction by OPEC and non-OPEC nations could flip the oil market balance into deficit next year, according to Sanford C. Bernstein. The current surplus will slip into a 800,000 barrel a day deficit by the first half of 2017, Bernsteins Neil Beveridge wrote in a research note Monday.
SEATTLE  Eddie Bauer recently launched a national marketing campaign featuring its first TV ad in years. The campaign emphasizes the companys roots and transformation into an active outdoor lifestyle brand.

If that sounds familiar, well, it is.

The company, which has been in a recurring search for its niche as it has gone through ownership changes and Chapter 11 bankruptcy, said pretty much the same things back in 2002 and around 2009.

Eddie Bauer executives say the difference this time is in execution, with a greatly pared-down product line displayed in redesigned, downsized stores.

The effort comes as the market for active outdoor apparel is growing  but also growing more competitive.

Founded in 1920 in Seattle by outdoorsman Eddie Bauer, the company has in more recent decades struggled to find its identity.

During the 1990s, under the ownership of Spiegel Group, the company emphasized everything from womens casual wear to dressier professional attire to home furnishings.

After declaring bankruptcy in 2009, the company was purchased by private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital, which took Eddie Bauer private.

While the company has said for many years that its plan was to focus on its active-outdoors roots, its fairly easy to come up with strategy. Execution is the key, said Michael Egeck, president and CEO of Eddie Bauer since 2012.

Fundamentally, its the same strategy. he said. I think we have just committed to the strategy.

The company started this latest effort in 2012, Egeck said, shedding significant portions of the business because it didnt fit with our active outdoor filter.

The company exited categories including swimwear, jewelry and handbags, and decreased its workwear and furnishings offerings.

Its focusing, rather, on performance products  outerwear and sportswear with performance characteristics such as wicking or water-repellancy properties.

Four years ago, such products made up less than 20 percent of Eddie Bauers total sales; now they account for more than 50 percent.

Its stores have been pared down, too, both in square footage and design.

Earlier this year, the company moved its Seattle-area flagship store from a 8,390-square-foot location to a space half that size. The store design morphed from a lodge motif to a more spare look with darker walls and ceilings and lots of light, intended to make the products stand out.

So far, 57 of the companys 370 stores worldwide (335 in the U.S. and Canada) have this new design. And the company is looking to downsize its other locations as leases come up.

Eddie Bauers focus now makes sense, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with market research firm NPD Group.

Without this particular focus, the brand kind of vacillates in a sea of thousands of other brands, Cohen said. When they tip the scales towards outdoor lifestyle, they obviously are in a lot of company, but its a lot smaller than when they were trying to go full lifestyle and leisure brand.

Outdoor apparel is about a $26 billion business and is expected to grow about 4.5 percent next year and 3 percent the year after that, he said.

The growth is fueled by an increase in people participating in outdoor and fitness activities but also by people who just like dressing that way  yoga pants for day-to-day activities, for example, Cohen said.

The younger generation driving the growth in this category looks for true, heritage brands, which Eddie Bauer has in its history, he added.

In reaching this market, CEO Egeck deems his company more approachable than rivals such as California-based The North Face, where Egeck had previously been president.

He characterizes a recent North Face digital ad, which features outdoor enthusiasts enduring hardships on their way to triumph, as literally about the pain and suffering of our pursuits.

In contrast, he says, Eddie Bauers 30-second spot is really about community and sharing, family, friends. Its about the outdoors as a playground for your health and wellness and a fun experience, not a battle with the elements.

The jury is still out on whether the changes are working.

The company has seen an almost 10 percent decline in revenue over the last 12 months, and comparable-store sales declines in eight of the last 10 quarters, Moodys Investors Service said.
A publicly traded Michigan company agreed Tuesday to purchase Smeal Fire Apparatus of Snyder, Nebraska, for $36.3 million, a transaction that could affect Smeals 400 employees in Nebraska, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

About 230 people work at the companys headquarters in Snyder, and Smeal also has operations in Neligh, Nebraska.

Spartan Motors of Charlotte, Michigan, said the purchase is due to close in January, subject to standard closing conditions.

Spartan has about 1,800 employees at 13 facilities and has supplied firetruck chassis to Smeal for about 30 years, said Samara Hamilton, marketing director for Spartan.

Hamilton said Spartan will look at synergies that would result from the purchase to determine what would happen to Smeals manufacturing locations and employees. She said combining the companies is expected to increase the overall business so there would be more production and the need for more employees.

While Smeal specializes in firetrucks, Spartans product line also includes buses and military, recreational and emergency vehicles. The firetruck business has been consolidating in recent years as orders for new trucks have declined.

Smeal, which also has manufacturing locations in Delavan, Wisconsin, and Ephrata, Pennsylvania, adds hoses, electrical systems and other specialty equipment for sale to fire departments around the country.

Smeal Fire Apparatus Co., founded in 1963 by the late Donald Smeal, is owned by 50 Smeal family stakeholders. Smeal and his wife, Ardath, raised nine children.

Smeal buys about $30 million worth of chassis annually from Spartan and would add about $70 million to Spartans annual revenue, Spartan said in a press release. The sale terms include forgiveness of money Smeal owes to Spartan for recent chassis purchases.

In the press release, Smeal Chairman Rod Cerny said Spartan is the perfect fit for Smeal, our customers, our employees and our operational leadership team, as we combine with a proven ally and industry leader to help solidify our future and preserve the legacy of the Smeal organization.

As part of a larger publicly traded company, Cerny said, we will have the working capital necessary to ensure continued investment in product development and make sure the Smeal brand is able to deliver the exceptional products and service our dealers, departments and municipality customers have come to expect.

Daryl Adams, president and chief executive officer of Spartan Motors, said the acquisition is a logical next step in the long-standing relationship between the two companies.

He said the purchase would enhance Spartans emergency vehicle product line and expand the geographic reach of its dealers.

With orders for new trucks declining due to municipal budget cuts, longtime manufacturers like Smeal have been consolidating to increase their market share.

In 2014 Smeal announced that it would acquire an aerial ladder company in Pennsylvania and a tanker company in Wisconsin, making it among the 10 largest fire apparatus companies. The combination with Spartan would move it into the top four.

Smeal President Mark Huber joined the company in 2013. He was a co-founder of an Omaha-based health care payment management company, Payflex Holdings Inc., which was sold for $202 million to insurance giant Aetna in 2011.

Huber later joined a mergers and acquisitions company, Corporate Ventures Inc. of Omaha, and advised the Smeal family when it sold a separate manufacturing company in early 2013 to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Oh, my poor little bunny!

For the second year in a row, my Bunny Portfolio lost money while the overall market gained.

Despite that setback, this little rabbit boasts a good long-term record, up an average of 17 percent in 15 annual outings while the Standard & Poors 500 Index is up an average of 5.7 percent.

This hypothetical portfolio is named after the Energizer Bunny, featured in once-popular TV commercials for batteries. The bunny was still going long after you would have expected it to run out of juice.

That is the concept behind my Bunny Portfolio. It contains stocks that achieved 25 percent earnings growth or better the past five years, yet sell for a modest 12 times per-share earnings or less.

You see that combination if investors believe that a companys past success has ended, or is about to end. However, people are bad at predicting the future. Therefore, I reason that some of these stocks will be still going long after the majority expects their good fortune to end.

To narrow the field to 10 stocks, I select the five with the fastest earnings growth rates, and the five with the cheapest price/earnings ratios.

I dont use judgment in choosing the Bunny stocks, except in setting up the selection paradigm. The actual selections are made by a computer program. In recent years, Ive been using a stock screening program from Ned Davis Research Inc.

I started this hypothetical portfolio in December 1999 and have published it every December since then, with the exceptions of 2007 and 2008.

In 15 attempts, the Bunny has shown a profit 11 times and beaten the S&P 500 index eight times.

Bear in mind that my column recommendations are theoretical and dont reflect actual trades, trading costs or taxes. Their results shouldnt be confused with the performance of portfolios I manage for clients. And past performance doesnt predict future results.

Last year the bunny flopped instead of hopped. With big losses in Federated National Holdings Co. (FNHC), a Florida insurer, and Lannett Co. (LCI), a generic drug company, the portfolio dropped 7.3 percent while the S&P 500 returned 11 percent.

This years Bunny Portfolio includes two hotel stocks, both of which are real-estate investment trusts. Hersha Hospitality Trust (HT), based in Philadelphia, owns all or part of 55 hotels in major U.S. cities. It yields 5.1 percent in dividends.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (SHO) owns 28 hotels, mostly branded as Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott or Fairmont. The company has been slowly cutting its dividend since 2013, and appears to be straining to pay the current dividend.

Analysts foresee a big slowdown in the hotel industry next year. But with the economy heating up I think they may be too pessimistic.

The portfolio also includes a pair of airlines. Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (HA) provides air service to and from Hawaii. Like all airlines, it has benefited from industry consolidation and falling fuel prices. Those propellants might be exhausted now. United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL), one of the largest U.S. airlines, faces similar issues.

Cincinnati Bell Inc. (CBB) is back in the Bunny Portfolio for a second year. Earnings have been sporadic lately and analysts foresee worse ahead. However, the analysts were also gloomy a year ago, yet the stock produced a 13 percent gain.

Equity Residential (EQR) is a Chicago-based real estate investment trust run by the legendary Sam Zell, now 74. It owns 315 apartment buildings, mostly in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) has a rich lineup of drugs and a robust pipeline. The fly in the ointment is that insurers and government are getting more and more reluctant to pay up for expensive medicines.

Gladstone Investment Corp. (GAIN) is a small closed-end fund containing private equity investments. Closed-end funds resemble mutual funds, but have a fixed number of shares and trade like stocks.

Natural Health Trends Corp. (NHTC), out of Rolling Hills Estates, California, sells nutritional supplements, vitamins, and herbal products by direct selling and on the Internet. After several years of losses, it has shown very high profitability in recent years. The company is debt-free.

New Home Co. (NWHM) is a smallish California homebuilder. I like the industry but dont know the company well. The stock trades for 13 times recent earnings but only nine times estimated 2017 earnings.

Tower International Inc. (TOWR) makes car frames and other auto parts. The stock is dirt cheap at less than four times earnings. The auto industry has seen a big recovery since 2009, but of course it is, and always will be, cyclical.

Disclosure: One of my clients owns shares in Lannett.

John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, and a syndicated columnist. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.
A 26-year-old Norfolk, Nebraska, man was arrested after he allegedly threatened another man and scuffled with officers.

Norfolk police said officers were dispatched around noon Monday to an east-central Norfolk location to investigate a report of a man threatening a worker with a gun and a knife.

Officers found the man and the employee in a small office at a business near First Street and Norfolk Avenue. Police said officers separated the man from his weapons.

Police said the man resisted arrest, punched an officer in the face and put another officer in a headlock. Officers used a Taser on the man, who then was taken into custody, police said.

The man was booked into the Madison County Jail on suspicion of making terroristic threats, assault of an officer, obstructing an officer and resisting arrest second offense, police said.
An 18-year-old killed himself inside a bedroom at his parents home while Omaha police stood outside the door, trying to talk with him.

Because the teen died in the presence of police, the Omaha Police Department will investigate the incident as an in-custody death. In addition, under state law, a grand jury will be convened to investigate the circumstances of the death.

Police were called to the home near 50th Street and Hartman Avenue by a parent who said the youth had been damaging vehicles there.

When police arrived, the teen barricaded himself inside a bedroom and fired a single gunshot at himself. He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Omaha police said the teens parents were at home at the time and have cooperated in the investigation. One of the officers was wearing a camera and, according to police, the footage from the camera was consistent with the account provided by the teens parents and the officers on the scene.
A statewide group of principals has named Matt Blomenkamp of Bennington Junior-Senior High School its 2016 New Principal of the Year.

Blomenkamp received the award from the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals, which gives the award annually to a principal who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in their school, their region, and at the state level.

Blomenkamp has been the high school principal at Bennington Junior-Senior High since 2013, and staff and students praised him for improving the culture of the high school.

I can honestly say that since Matt has become our high school principal the morale of our school has consistently increased, language arts teacher Laura McGrew said in a press release. His leadership capacity as well as his personal relationships with the staff and students are only a few of the reasons why he is truly a dynamic administrator.

Heather Daubert, assistant principal at Beadle Middle School in Millard, was named the Assistant Principal of the Year by the same organization.

In a school as large as ours it is hard to imagine the logistics of meeting the needs of so many students, but Heather has always made us feel that no time spent is too much, no unusual request too unreasonable, and no situation too unmanageable, said Jolene and Mike Straub, two Beadle Middle School parents. We feel very blessed to have such a voice for our kids.
DES MOINES (AP)  A state panel on Monday lowered Iowas revenue projection for the current budget year by roughly $96 million, a deficit that will need to be addressed when the new GOP-controlled Legislature convenes in January.

The three-member group known as the Revenue Estimating Conference said in crafting its projection that Iowa will take in about $7.21 billion during the budget year that began in July. Thats down from a $7.31 billion projection in October.

Iowa Department of Management Director David Roederer, a member of the panel, said the lowered revenue estimate is linked to several factors, but he didnt emphasize one key reason. He said the panels projections are also complicated by factors such as federal taxes and corporate income taxes, which can fluctuate.

Roederer noted that the states revenue growth is predicted to increase by 4.2 percent over the previous budget year.

The economy is growing and the revenues into the state are growing, he said. Theyre just not growing at the rate that the budget was based on.

Still, Roederer acknowledged the severity of Mondays news. The Governors Office will need to make recommendations early next year on how to address the deficit.

I dont in any way want to underestimate ... the challenge that it will be when you cut $100 million out of the existing budget, Roederer said.

Ben Hammes, a spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad  whom President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to be the next U.S. ambassador to China  declined to provide details on how the governor would address the panels deficit projection. Hammes emphasized that K-12 school funding would not be cut.

The Revenue Estimating Conference, which meets three times a year, also released its projection for the budget year that begins next July. It expects $7.55 billion in revenue for that period, a growth of 4.8 percent. Still, thats about $50 million less than originally predicted.

State law requires the governor and the Legislature to use the panels December estimate to draft the next budget.

Legislative leaders from both parties quickly responded to the panels latest projection. Bill Dix, the new majority leader in the Republican-led Senate, said the projection underscores the need for economic growth and reform in state government.

Dix, of Shell Rock, and House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake, have indicated support for tax reform when the Legislature returns, though Roederer said any kind of tax cuts in this climate would be a challenge. He declined to be more specific.

Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City and a ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, released a higher deficit projection and said in a statement that Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and House Republicans have stalled the states economy.

Hall vowed that House Democrats would balance the state budget  a promise also made by GOP leaders.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Walkathon to fund free surgeries for the disenfranchised in Bengaluru

Bengaluru

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

People Tree Foundation, a renowned hospital in Bengaluru, is organising a fund raiser to help patients from economically weaker sections of the society. A walkathon planned on December 18 hopes to draw donors to fund free surgeries.

People Tree Foundation has roped in prominent violin artist Aneesh Vidyashankar to perform at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall on Sunday. The hospital has invited donors to purchase passes of Rs 1000, Rs 2500 and Rs 5000 for the events and contribute.

At the beginning of this year, the hospital in its 'People Touch 2' movement had pledged to carry out free surgeries to 300 patients from economically weaker sections of the society.

Sunday's walkathon is an attempt to extend the free services with the help of good Samaritans willing to extend a helping hand. The hospital also looks at the donation as a way to save tax under section 80G deduction.

People Tree Foundation, in the last two years, has carried out over 160 surgeries and has set up over 50 health camps in rural areas. The foundation has also provided primary and secondary education to over 40 students. People Tree Foundation has opened up phone lines and email for queries on the same.

Mobile: 09900027280, 09886707070, 09845853344

Email ID: foundation@peopletreehospitals.com

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, December 13, 2016, 17:41 [IST]
Why is BJP not bringing Uniform Civil Code across the country: Kejriwal in Gujarat

Arvind Kejriwal has no affection for Punjab: Badal

India

oi-PTI

Gurdaspur (Pb), Dec 13: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday accused his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal of having no affection for Punjab or its people and his sole intention is to "grab power" in the poll-bound state.

"Kejriwal's statement on the Sutlej-Yamuna-Link (SYL) canal issue is aimed at deriving political benefit from this move. He is against the state from the core of his heart," Badal said after laying foundation stone for a college and sub-division complex in Kalanaur here.

He claimed the AAP leader "changes" his stand on the issue "as per his convenience to mislead the people".

Recently, Kejriwal accused ruling SAD, and Congress of "befooling" Punjabis on the SYL issue. "Kejriwal hails from Haryana so he is naturally inclined to safeguard interests of his state. He has no affection for Punjab and his sole intention is to grab power for Haryana's benefit," he said.

"In an affidavit to the Supreme Court on SYL, the Delhi government said the Punjab government's stand will disintegrate the country," Badal alleged, adding the "Delhi government has also claimed this step was unconstitutional and anti-national".

Meanwhile, at a function ahead of Christmas, Badal slammed Congress and AAP for hobnobbing with each other on the SYL issue and asked people to foil their "nefarious designs to ruin the state".

Also read: SAD nowhere in Punjab polls, fight between Congress, AAP: Amarinder

"They are conniving to deprive Punjab of its legitimate share of river water by constructing the canal," he said, adding as per the Riparian principle Punjab is the rightful owner of its river waters.

The Congress has divested the state of its rights by giving water to Rajasthan, Haryana and other states and now AAP has joined it to rob the state of its waters, Badal alleged.

He said Congress in the past had signed various water agreements to "deprive" the state of its waters and now the AAP is trying to ensure them at the earliest. "Punjab has no spare water to share with anyone. Nobody will be allowed to construct the canal," Badal said, adding the parties are hell bent on turning the state into a desert.

He said by conferring ownership rights of land acquired for the canal to original owners the SAD-BJP government "had buried this issue forever".

Reiterating the state government's firm commitment to ensure development of the Christian community, Badal said his government has earmarked Rs 100 crore for providing land for burial grounds as required by the community, he said.

PTI
Bihar: When asked to take off hijab to check for bluetooth device, Muslim student leaves exam centre

Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

Bihar govt won't compromise on rule of law and justice: Nitish Kumar

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Patna, Dec 13: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday that criminals associated with political parties cannot escape from law and reiterated his government's resolve not to compromise on rule of law and justice in the state.

"It is my government's duty to ensure punishment to criminals, howsoever powerful they may be. The Grand Alliance government in Bihar is taking all measures to control crime," the Chief Minister said.

"There is rule of law in Bihar and it will continue," he said at a function here.

Nitish Kumar said the crime graph in Bihar has gone down but even a single crime incident gets a lot of attention.

He said the Bihar government is committed to social justice. "We have given 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchayati Raj institutions and Bihar is the first state in the country to do so," he said.

The Chief Minister said, "The government in the last 10 years has worked on ground to increase literacy among women and helped them become self-reliant."

Nitish Kumar said he had publicly supported demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 but will now wait and watch till the completion of 50-day time that Modi asked for to normalise the cash crunch situation.

IANS


'Decision to ban Pak actors should be taken by right authority'

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Dec 13: Filmmaker Vikas Bahl believes decision to ban actors from across the border should be taken by the "right authority" and not by any other body.

Recently, superstar Shah Rukh Khan met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at his residence here, in connection with his film "Raees" which features Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

MNS has in the past objected to casting of Pakistani actors in Bollywood movies citing the neighbouring country's involvement in terrorist attacks in India. When asked if this issue concerns filmmakers, Vikas told reporters last night, "I just think that any of these decisions which are being taken, should be taken by the right authority. I think it's not being taken by the right authority and people are having to follow those decisions, which I am not in agreement with."

The "Queen" director said it is wrong if people make their own rules and then others have to follow it. "If the right authority is taking the decision with the larger perspective and if they think it is for good for both the countries, then one should follow them. But I don't think people can just get up from anywhere, make their little decisions and the whole country has to follow it."

Earlier in October, the MNS had staged high-voltage protests against the release of filmmaker Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" for featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

Shah Rukh had previously run into trouble for the release of "My Name is Khan" in 2010, with Shiv Sena, opposing its screening then.

PTI
Gap between rich and poor has widened, needs to be bridged: Gadkari

Demonetisation is the biggest scam of the year: P Chidambaram

India

oi-Madhuri

By Madhuri

Nagpur, Dec 13: Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government's demonetisation move as the 'biggest scam of the year' and demanded that it be investigated.

Chidambaram said, "It has broken the back of poor people, a case of khoda pahad nikli chuhiya (Make a mountain out of a molehill)."

While addressing the media Chidambaram questioned, "I cannot get Rs 2,000 note. How crores in Rs 2,000 denomination got into the hands of hoarders while there was an acute shortage in banks?"

"Just as Dr Manmohan Singh said, 'this is monumental mismanagement'. Every bank says -- no cash. So how does the government says there is enough cash? What calculations did the government do to say that one can withdraw Rs 24,000 when banks don't have enough cash to dispense," Chidambaram said while addressing the media at an event in Nagpur.

He also asked why district-level cooperative banks have been kept out of this whole exercise. "Farmers were the ones suffering as they don't have money to buy seeds, hire labours or purchase fertilisers," Chidambaram said.

Calling demonetisation a 'thoughtless, meaningless' move he also said 45 crore people are dependent on daily wages. "Who is going to compensate them. Every major economist, newspaper in world has condemned it and called it as the most absurd move by the government," he stated.

On banks being unable to provide cash to customers, Chidambaram said it may take seven months to replace the equivalent of the banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency.

He further questioned, "Which country has cashless economy? Does US? Does Singapore have it? Where is electricity in this country? Where are the machines?"

He also asked why Modi did not bother to consult eminent economists like Manmohan Singh on the demonetisation issue.

"Government should have consulted at least Yashwant Sinha, he is their own man. They could have consulted Mr Manmohan Singh. Are they suggesting that the former PM if consulted by the present prime minister will betray a secret?" Chidambaram asked.

OneIndia News
The NIA, ED dossiers that led to the raid on the PFI

Keep it clean, keep it safe: How the federal agencies raided the PFI

ED officials turn 'clients' to bust money laundering racket

India

oi-Anusha

Bengaluru, Dec 13: Officials from Enforcement Directorate posed as clients to bust a major black money conversion racket largely in Karnataka. The major breakthrough came after the ED officials themselves approached racketeers and changed currency notes.

Seven middlemen have been arrested so far for laundering money. A major part of the nexus was busted in Karnataka. Officials from the Enforcement Directorate suspect that the same group had converted currencies earlier.

The ED has found new currency worth Rs 93 lakh from those arrested. The agency is also trying to establish links of middlemen with bank officials.

Following the arrests, many bank officials are now on the radar of the ED. The officials claim that the middlemen were converting money for commission of 15%-30%.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, December 13, 2016, 10:35 [IST]
Fact Check: This video of a bus being attacked is from Egypt and not related to the ongoing violence in Iraq

Egypt arrests four over deadly church blast

International

pti-PTI

Cairo, Dec 12: Egypt said on Monday that it had arrested four people suspected of involvement in a devastating bombing of a Cairo Coptic church, as grief-stricken mourners gathered for the funeral of the dead.

The health ministry said 25 people had been killed in the bombing at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church on Sunday. It was the deadliest attack in recent memory on the Christian minority, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at the funeral, said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who had been identified as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa. One of the four people arrested was a woman, Sisi said, and authorities were looking for two other suspects he did not identify. Most of the victims were women, authorities have said.

The attack occurred during Sunday service at the church adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II. There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Coptic Christians have been previously targeted in Egypt. Wooden coffins, each bearing a cross, were covered with the country's flag and lined up at the Saint Mary and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in the Nasr City district today.

A woman who lost two daughters in the attack cried and fell to the ground next to their coffins as other mourners prayed silently. In the streets of Nasr City, Sisi and Tawadros led black-clad mourners behind soldiers carrying the coffins of the victims. Troops marched to the sound of military music.

"This blow has caused us a lot of pain, but never will we let it break us," Sisi said. Pope Tawadros II said: "We are hurting from this evil." Yesterday's blast was the worst attack on the Coptic Christian community since a 2011 suicide bombing killed more than 20 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.

The health ministry said in a statement late today the death toll had risen to 25 after a 40-year-old woman died of extensive injuries. Copts have faced persecution and discrimination dating back to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.

PTI
Jaish letter threatening to kill Mamata Banerjee a hoax

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Kolkata, Dec 13: A letter threatening to kill West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee if a Rs 50 lakh pay out was not made appears to be a hoax. A letter was dashed off to the General Manager of the Eastern Railways to arrange Rs 50 lakh failing which lakhs of people would be killed.

The author of the letter claimed that he was a member of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. Signed by some S C Das, the letter said that if Rs 50 lakh was not arranged, the West Bengal Chief Minister would be killed.

Das a former employee of Doordarshan claimed that he had sheltered several members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. He said that he had sheltered the Jaish operatives in the 50 apartments in West Bengal that he had purchased during his employment with Doordarshan. Das writes, " do not do any extra smart work or else lakhs of people at the Howrah railways will be killed," he also writes.

A thorough investigation was conducted by the officials after the letter had been received. The letter has a phone number and address and after a probe nothing was found said Aryan Mahapatra of the Eastern Railways. Another official said that the letter appears to be a hoax and may have been dashed off by some disgruntled employee.

The probe is still on and we are trying to get to the bottom of it, the official also added.

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Story first published: Tuesday, December 13, 2016, 8:11 [IST]
5-year-old dies after being attacked by pack of dogs in MP

Madhya Pradesh: Govt seeks complete ban on mining around Amarkantak

India

oi-PTI

Bhopal, Dec 13: The Madhya Pradesh government would soon urge the Centre for a complete ban on the mining activities around Amarkantak, the place of origin of Narmada river.

"The people have chopped the trees, carried out mining activities and put waste water for their vested interests in the holy river," said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announcing that his government would soon send a letter to the Centre in this regard.

Chouhan made this announcement yesterday while addressing a public gathering at Karanjia of Dindori district of state during the second day of 'Narmada Sewa Yatra,' a five-month long awareness campaign to make river Narmada, a pollution free stream.

During the course of the Yatra, Chouhan also administered pledge to the villagers for plantation, construction of toilet, sanitation, environment protection and de-addiction.

Chouhan reiterated that massive plantation will be undertaken on vacant forest land and the farmers would be given Rs 20,000 per hectare till three years for plantation on their lands on Narmada's banks.

Illegal mining whistle-blower joins AAP Karnataka

"The state government would also bear the 40 per cent of the plantation cost. Narmada will be made pollution free by this and its flow will become stronger," said Chouhan.

However, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has demanded total ban on the mining activities at the banks of river Narmada.

"The mining activities should be banned on entire stretch of river Narmada flowing in Madhya Pradesh. Chief Minister is only talking sweet about the conservation of this river, instead of doing the real work," Pankaj Chaturvedi, MP Congress spokesperson, told PTI.

"Rampant illegal mining is underway at river Narmada," he alleged.

PTI
Parliament attack: No closure at all, the Jaish has become even more menacing

20 years since Parliament: Pak has done little or nothing to bring Azhar to justice

Parliament attack: 15 years on, Maulana Azhar is still Pakistan's blue-eyed boy

India

oi-Vicky

It has been 15 years since the temple of democracy, the Parliament of India was attacked by the Jaish-e-Mohammad. As the country observes yet another anniversary on Tuesday, the fact remains that that the man who masterminded the attack continues to walk scot-free in Pakistan.

[Also read: On Maulana Azhar, the China-Pakistan bonhomie is a reality]

Following the Khandahar hijack on December 24, 1999, the Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed under Maulana Masood Azhar. The hijack was staged to have Azhar released, and once that was done, the then President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharaff assured that he would be brought to justice. However Azhar went on to form the JeM, and plotted an attack on Parliament.

The attack:

On December 13, 2001 terrorists of the JeM stormed the Parliament complex and opened fire in which 12 persons were killed. The attack took place 40 minutes after Parliament was adjourned.

All the MPs and ministers inside the Parliament escaped unhurt. In the ensuing one-hour gun-battle with the security forces, the terrorists were killed. Investigations that followed zeroed in on four persons --Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain, S A R Geelani and Navjot Sandhu.

Sandhu was acquitted of all charges except one under Section 123 of the Indian Penal Code (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage a war). The rest were awarded death sentences. However, the Delhi high court acquitted Geelani while commuting the death sentence of Hussain to life.

In the Supreme Court, the death sentence awarded to Guru was confirmed, while Geelani's acquittal was upheld. In February 2012, Guru was hanged.

The reality now:

Nothing much seems to have changed 15 years after this ghastly attack. India has witnessed many Pakistan sponsored attacks such as the Mumbai train bombings in 2006 and the 26/11 attacks. India has been making several requests to Pakistan to act against Azhar.

Azhar continues to be a blue-eyed boy of the ISI in Pakistan. He had a short falling out with the Pakistani spy agency when he allegedly plotted the assassination of President Musharaff. But still he remained free., but got away unscathed.

Today, he is Pakistan's most important proxy. The recent attacks at Nagrota and Pathankot were carried out by the Jaish under Azhar's orders.

India has not also failed to get a ban on Azhar imposed by the United Nations. China has been a stumbling block for India as it continues to oppose a ban. China says that this is a matter that needs to be debated before any decision is taken. India feels that Azhar's ban is being blocked as China considers Pakistan to be an all-weather friend.
Sex determination racket busted in Haryana & UP

India

oi-PTI

Ghaziabad, Dec 12: Police on Monday busted an inter-state sex determination racket active in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and arrested a lady doctor and her associate, while another doctor managed to flee.

Acting upon secret information, Sonipat police and health department of Haryana were trailing a lady doctor Anita and his compounder Gajendra, who was associated with Sahibabad based doctor Rahul Malik, Deputy Superintendent of police Manish Mishra said.

Gajendra used to bring customers to doctor Anita, who used to perform sex determination tests, he said. One such lady, who has paid Rs 26,000 as sex determination and abortion fee to doctor Anita, exposed the nexus.

Doctor Anita called her to a clinic which is being run in a residential society of Sahibabad. As and when the lady reached the clinic to get her fetus checked, health and police department team raided the flat, he said, adding Anita and Gajendra were nabbed while doctor Rahul fled the spot.

An FIR has been registered upon the complaint of Deputy CMO Adarsh Sharma of Haryana health department under section 23, 25 of pre-natal diagnostic techniques (regulation and prevention of misuse) act 1994.

PTI
Comedian Atul Khatri's joke on seatbelt becomes one on him as Mumbai Police responds

TCS shareholders oust Cyrus Mistry as Director

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Mumbai, Dec 13: The shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday ousted Cyrus Mistry as a Director of the company.

According to a regulatory filing to stock exchanges, 93.11 per cent of TCS shareholders voted Mistry out of its board of Directors in an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Tuesday.

Tata Sons had earlier asked Mistry to step down from the boards of Tata companies after it removed Mistry as its chairman on October 24 and appointed Ratan Tata as the interim Chairman.

IANS
Two policemen shot at in Uttar Pradesh

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, Dec 13: Two policemen were shot at and critically injured by unknown assailants in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh early on Tuesday.

Uma Shankar and Arvind were on night patrol when shot at by assailants in Sikandra rao, said a police official.

One policeman sustained a bullet injury in the head while the other was shot in one of his arms.

Both of them are undergoing treatment at the trauma centre here.

According to the official, the policemen had detained two persons on suspicion of being cattle smugglers and were taking them to the police station when their accomplices apparently shot at them.

IANS


Indian-origin Sikh woman who wears turban is new councillor of Canadian city Brampton

Rajasthan: Woman killed over dowry, family alleges torture

India

oi-PTI

Jaipur, Dec 13: A 23-year-old woman was allegedly killed over dowry by her husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law in Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan, police said today.

The deceased, Safedi, was beaten up and thrown into a well located nearby yesterday, SHO Bamanwas police station Revad Mal said.

The body was pulled out and taken to a hospital where she was declared dead, he said.

"A case of murder has been registered against her husband of three years Satyanarayan, his brother and father," he said, adding that no arrests have been made yet.

The victim's father alleged that she was tortured over dowry demands by her husband's family, the officer said. The body was handed over to her parents after postmortem.

PTI
Shubham couldn't have enmity with anyone, says father on son's stabbing in Australia

Australia risks losing its share of Antarctica

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Sydney, Dec 13 Australia is in danger of losing its position as an Antarctic leader, as well as its claim over the frozen continent, unless it maintains funding for its scientific research program, experts said.

Countries including China and Russia were seeking to broaden their share and exert more power, ABC news reported on Tuesday.

The Australian program was currently "well-funded" but it's crucial resources continued to feed the work scientists were doing.

Australia asserts sovereignty over 42 per cent of Antarctica, and has deep historic ties to the continent, but new players were emerging and challenging the traditional arrangements.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Anthony Bergin fears countries like China and Russia were playing for the long haul.

Bergin said both were up-front in their desire to exploit the continent.

"If the Antarctic Treaty were to collapse, then obviously all bets would be off in terms of countries legally being able to pursue a military presence in Antarctica," Bergin said.

Australia was one of the 12 original signatories to the Treaty which ensures Antarctica remains a conservation zone: free from mining, exploration and crucially, military bases.

While the economic value of Antarctica cannot be measured, there could be massive mineral, oil and gas reserves beneath the surface, and a virtually untouched krill fishery off the coast.

Australian Labor MP and a keen Antarctic observer, David Feeney said the global rules governing Antarctica could be re-written in a few decades.

He said Australia needed to maintain its influence around the negotiating table to ensure the status quo remained.

While Australia has three scientific research bases and a replacement ice-breaker on the way, China is searching for a site for its fifth research base and building a new class of ice-breaker vessels.

According to Feeney, years of under-funding have eroded Australia's standing in Antarctica and "we need to take far more seriously our presence there and investment in our presence there".

IANS
Donald Trump 'shoot someone' boast tops 2016 list of notable quotes

International

oi-PTI

New Haven, Dec 13 Donald Trump's boast on the campaign trail that he could "shoot somebody" and not lose any voters tops a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2016.

Sound bites from the presidential campaign dominated the 11th annual "Yale Book of Quotations" list from Fred Shapiro, an associate director of the library.

He chooses quotes that are famous or revealing of the spirit of the times, and not necessarily eloquent or admirable.

The list includes quotes from each of the national party conventions.

At the Republicans' gathering in Cleveland, it was Trump saying: "I alone can fix it." At the Democrats' convention a week later, it was Khizr Khan, the father of an American soldier killed in Iraq, addressing Trump and saying: "You have sacrificed nothing and no one."

AP
Rapper Kanye West, Donald Trump discuss 'life' at NY meeting

International

oi-PTI

New York, Dec 13: US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he discussed "life" with rapper Kanye West when he met him at his luxurious Manhattan headquarters here.

Trump, emerging from the elevators of his Trump Tower with West by his side, called the rapper a "good man" and told journalists that they have been "friends for a long time".

When asked what did the two discuss during their meeting, Trump said "Life, we discussed life".

West's appearance at the Trump Towers came only days after the rapper first came back into the public eye following his hospitalisation. West, who had declared last year that he would run for President in 2020, remained mostly silent and did not comment when asked whether he plans on performing at Trump's inauguration.

He also ignored a question about whether he wishes he had voted for Trump. "I just want to take a picture right now," West said, smiling. "You take care of yourself, I'll see you soon," Trump told West.

Also read: Nawaz Sharif might like to attend Trump's inauguration: Report

West had asked for a 15-minute meeting with Trump, transition spokeswoman Hope Hicks said. It was not clear why TV reality star Kim Kardashian's husband met Trump.

West walked in with a slight smile and made his way to the elevator. He was accompanied by an entourage that included a videographer.

West had been hospitalised last month due to exhaustion. He had abruptly ended a concert in California, saying had he voted, he would have voted for Donald Trump. "I told y'all I didn't vote, right?" Kanye said. "But if I would've voted, I would've voted for Trump."

PTI
What does the US actually want in Syria?

Reports of executions by Syrian army in Aleppo

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Damascus, Dec 13: Humanitarian volunteers in Aleppo city appealed for help amid multiple reports of executions of people with ties to rebel groups by the Syrian army, media reports said on Tuesday.

Relatives of Free Syrian Army rebels, including women and children, were among those executed, CNN quoted activist Mohammad Basbous from Aleppo media centre as saying on Monday.

"Every hour, butcheries are carried out," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding evidence to earlier UN reports of atrocities being committed against civilians.

The reports come as Syrian soldiers recaptured neighbourhoods of east Aleppo in the rebels' last stand against the government forces.

"Young people especially were executed," said Ahmad Dbais, director of hospitals for the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations.

Terrified residents slept on the streets after Syrian soldiers forced them out of their homes, Aleppo resident and journalist Karam al Masri told CNN.

According ot the Syria Civil Defence activist group, the White Helmets pleaded with the international community to provide safe passage out of Aleppo for their volunteers and the 100,000 civilians.

"The regime has been trying to kill us for five years," the group said on Twitter. "Please don't give them this chance."

An Aleppo resident, a "teacher, activist and reporter" inside the beleaguered city, posted a number of tweets bidding farewell to his followers.

"This is a call and might be the last call," he tweeted. "Save Aleppo people. Save my daughter and other children."

The Syrian army and its allies have aggressively pushed into the rebel sections of east Aleppo in recent days, said the Syrian government.

"It is going to be a very difficult situation because there is no place for all these fleeing civilians," said Ismail Abdallah, a member of the White Helmets.

Abdallah told CNN the al-Fardous neighbourhood has been captured by Syrian government forces, while some areas of resistance remain in parts of the city.

"There is a mass exodus of terrified civilians fleeing from al-Fardous, al-Jaloom, al-Salheine and areas that have been captured today to other areas such as al-Mashhad and Salah Eddiene," he said.

Syrian state television painted a different picture of the day's events, broadcasting video that showed residents celebrating after the government forces took control of a neighbourhood.

Earlier, SANA news agency and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the neighbourhood of al-Sheikh Saeed in southeastern Aleppo had been captured by the Syrian military.

The neighbourhood was taken from rebel forces with the assistance of government-allied groups.

According to SANA, the army units are "continuing the operations and targeting the remnants of the terrorists who fled away towards" the al-Sukkari and al-Fardous neighbourhoods.

Syrian army seizes major southeast Aleppo district: Monitor

There are also reports of civilian casualties as a result of the shelling, according to media organisations with teams in Aleppo.

The international community has failed to broker a ceasefire for the city, which appears on the brink of falling back into regime control.

Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon expressed alarm over "reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children" in a statement.

"While stressing that the UN is not able to independently verify these reports, the Secretary General is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties."

The government controls western Aleppo and its troops have made significant territorial gains in the east since its forces entered the enclave by ground on November 27, backed by continual airstrikes.

The government has now taken more than three-quarters of the area.

Rebel groups held eastern Aleppo for more than four years after the Arab Spring uprising, and a Syrian regime siege on the area had essentially cut it off from the outside world, sparking a humanitarian crisis there.

IANS
Trump picks Rex Tillerson as secretary of state

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Washington, Dec 13 US President-elect Donald Trump has settled on Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil CEO, to be his secretary of state, transition officials said on Tuesday.

Trump planned to announce the selection on Tuesday morning, finally bringing to an end his public and chaotic deliberations over choosing the nation's top diplomat, New York Times reported.

His choices veered from Rudolph Giuliani, one of his most loyal supporters, to musing about whether Mitt Romney, one of his most vicious critics, might be forgiven.

It also included an endlessly changing list that at times included Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee; David Petraeus, the former Army general and C.I.A. director; and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor and presidential candidate in 2012.

Romney, Petraeus and Corker - the three leading runners-up for the diplomatic post - all received calls late Monday informing them of Trump's decision, according to people familiar with the final choice.

Trump teased his imminent announcement of Tillerson on Monday night on Twitter, saying that "I will be making my announcement on the next Secretary of State tomorrow morning."

He settled on Tillerson, a deal maker who spent the past four decades at Exxon, much of it in search of oil and gas agreements in troubled parts of the world.

Tillerson, 64, is from Wichita Falls, Texas, who speaks with a strong Texan twang, and runs a company with operations in about 50 countries, cutting deals to expand business in Venezuela, Qatar, Kurdistan and elsewhere.

If confirmed as Secretary of State, Tillerson would face a new challenge: nurturing alliances around the world that are built less on deals and more on diplomacy.

IANS
After 3 day break the situation at bank branches and ATMS have not improved as ATMs are still not dispensing adequate cash. Banks are still short of cash. Public waiting in long queues losing their cool, frustation rises. Watch the angry public here.
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Buy any dips from current levels down to 29,037 with stops below 28,308 and with a target of 31,865.
From Reader Supported News



From flickr.com/photos/22007612@N05/24200091549/: Bernie Sanders

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All of the signs I see lead me to believe that the political revolution is succeeding in its effort to transform the Democratic Party. This Wednesday night, Our Revolution will be live streaming an event with Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison. Ellison is the leading candidate to replace Donna Brazile as chair of the DNC. The location of the event and one of its participants lead me to believe that Our Revolution has already won over a significant chunk of Hillary Clinton's base of support.

The headquarters of the American Federation of Teachers is where the event will take place. Randi Weingarten, the union's president, is participating in the event, which is focusing on Congressman Ellison's vision for where he would lead the Democratic Party.

Weingarten and the teachers union endorsed Hillary Clinton early. Weingarten was one of the fiercest supporters of Secretary Clinton and has a lot of sway with Clinton supporters around the country. Her support of Keith Ellison, Bernie's choice to be chair, signals to me that at least organized labor has joined the political revolution.

If you remember shortly after Trump's victory there was a rally in Upper Senate Park organized by Our Revolution. The rally, which featured speeches by Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Keith Ellison and Nina Turner, also included many labor leaders who supported Clinton. The chair of the board of Our Revolution is Larry Cohen, former president of Communication Workers of America. It looks to me like Cohen has succeeded in bringing labor on board.

Another thing to remember is Cohen is co-chairing a critical commission charged with reforming the nominating process. The "Unity" Commission will have seven members appointed by Sanders in addition to Cohen. The Clinton Campaign will appoint nine members. The next party chair will appoint an additional three members. Keith Ellison is the heavy favorite at this point to win the chairmanship. Ellison, the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was the first elected official to endorse Bernie Sanders. A 10-9 majority would be enough to guarantee substantial changes in the nominating process. There are signs, however, that many in the Clinton camp are open to significant changes.

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by Maxy the Bootlick

"Dere shouldn't be any doubt in anybody's minds, dis was not somethin' dat was done casually, dis was not somethin' dat was done by chance, dis was not a target dat was selected purely arbitrarily. Yuh got me so fahr? Dis was a conscious effawht by a nashun-state tuh attempt tuh achieve a specific effect. Okay?"

Dat was Adm. Michael Rogers, head o' da NSA speakin' dis week 'bout da pre-election hack o' democratic party n' Clinton campaign personnel emails. Translated from bureaucratese, What the f*ck dude meant was dat tha hack was undertaken by Vladimir Putin ta influence tha U.S. election. U.S. intelligence chiefs will not go so far as tuh say dat Putin's intent was tuh elect Donald Trump -- it's also possible dat de Russian leaduh just wanted tuh sow dissension -- but it's pretty significant dat de Kremlin made no attempt tuh steal and release emails from de Republican campaign. Yuh got me so fahr?

N' why the f*ck would they? Trump repeatedly praised Putin as a "strong leader," n' refused ta criticize his ass fo' anythin'. Dude even refused ta accept da U.S. intelligence community judgment dat Putin was behind da DNC leaks. Yuh got me so fahr? Dude did, howevuh, suggest dat NATO might be "obsolete," dat he might not defend de Baltic republics from Russian aggression, and dat he might lift sancshuns on Russia -- in othuh wawhds, he might enact Putin's dream list of American policies. Ya' dig?

Afta Trump won, Russians close ta Putin were openly cheerin'. "Today I want ta ride 'round Moscow wit' an American flag in tha window, if I can find a flag," tweeted Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief o' tha kremlin's propaganda organ, RT. N' deputy foreign minista Sergei Ryabkov admitted dat da kremlin had maintained contacts wit' Trump durin' da campaign: "obviously we know most o' da people from his muthaf*ckin' entourage." Yuh with me?

Dat entourage at one time included forma campaign chief Paul Manafort, Who the f*ck be linked ta Russian n' Ukrainian oligarchs, n' policy advisa Carta Page, who the f*ck be linked ta Russkie oil giant Gazprom. Naw Manafort n' Page r' gone. N' therez ain't nuthin' but retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a campaign advisa whom Trump reportedly asked thursday ta be his muthaf*ckin' national security adviser, has acknowledged dude accepted a payment ta attend an RT banquet last yea in Moscow. Dude sat next ta Putin his dirty ass.

Tha love-fest between Putin n' Trump continued afta tha election, wit' Trump praisin' Putin fo' sendin' his ass a "beautiful" letta o' congratulations. On Nov. 14, da two leaders spoke on da telephone n' agreed, accordin' ta a kremlin statement, "to normalize relations n' pursue constructive cooperation on da broadest possible range o' issues." Dat sh*t is perhaps a coincidence dat within hours Russian warplanes resumed their muthaf*ckin' bombardment o' Aleppo, hittin' hospitals n' otha civilian targets ta terrorize tha population da f*ck into acquiescin' ta rule by Putin's ally, Basha Assad?

Trump repeatedly said, both before n' afta da election, dat dude would end U.S. support fo' Syrian rebels n' align tha U.S. wit' Russia in Syria. "My attitude," dude told da Wall Street Journal on Nov. 11, "was you're fightin' Syria, Syria be fightin' ISIS, n' yo' have ta git rid o' ISIS." Actually, as tha Aleppo strikes show, Putin be more intent on gettin' rid o' mainstream Syrian rebels ratha than tha Islamic state, bcuz' dat sh*t views tha mo' moderate rebels as tha greata threat ta Assad. Yuh with me? N' dat ain't nuttin, but such nuances r' likely ta escape a president-elect who the f*ck erroneously claimed durin' one debate dat Aleppo had already fallen

Da only real questions at dis point r' how tha f*ck fa Trump gotta git in a pro-Russkie direction n' how tha f*ck long dis rapprochement gotta last. Dude be hardly tha first American president ta come da f*ck into office vowin' ta improve relations wit' Putin. George W. Bush claimed ta have looked da f*ck into Putin's eyes n' peep his muthaf*ckin' soul. Barack Obama pursued a "reset" o' relations. Both initiatives floundered When the f*ck Putin launched unprovoked aggression such as his muthaf*ckin' 2008 invasion o' Geawhgia n' his muthaf*ckin' 2014 invasion o' Ukraine. It's quite possible, even likely, dat da wack feelings between Putin n' Trump gotta similarly give way ta mutual recriminations n' suspicions afta Putin does somethang dat Trump views as a personal insult.

There gotta certainly be prominent republican voices inside n' outside tha administration arguin' fo' a tougha policy on Russia. Vice president Mike Pence be a hardlina n' so r' most o' tha people -- Jizzy Bolton, Rudy Giuliani n' naw Mitt Romney -- Who the f*ck r' bein' mentioned fo' senior national security posts. Okay? Just dis week, sen. Jagoff Mccain warned Trump not ta place any faith in statements made by a "forma kgb agent who the f*ck has plunged his muthaf*ckin' country da f*ck into tyranny."

Trump be too moicurial a figure ta pursue any policy wit' any consistency, even a pro-Russia policy. We can only hope dat Russia, right?, does not succeed in reestablishin' itz empire n' swallowin' some o' America's more vulnerable allies in eastern europe before Trump wakes the f*ck up ta tha fact dat Putin aint a friend of ours. Capeesh?
Before I say "Goodbye cruel world," I'd like to give my own humble opinion as to how it could be saved from total destruction. Guided by the highest principle of law, The Golden Rule, wisdom in choosing our values and our world leaders is tantamount to avoiding violent revolutions and wars. Based on my personal experience and watching American politics for over sixty years, I offer my ideas on how to prepare for a New World Order that I envision.

Wisdom comes from a lifetime of learning, beginning at home. Babies should be taught to hug everyone, to share toys, not to bite and kick, and not to be cruel to animals. Parents should use tiny pats on the butt or hand and "no-no" if necessary. After age four or five, a butt-tap is not effective, and a big stick will give you an undesired result, so all you have left is encouragement and reasoning, maybe carrots too. There should be no "black sheep" but all members accepted for who they are, if not always for how they behave. We must also avoid familial treason, such as criticizing your child to neighbors, or in front of others. Verbal abuse is always worse than physical abuse. Don't compare them to those you hold in low esteem. These are the years you must show children they all have equal love and equal rights, even if not equally talented, beautiful, or healthy. Show your faith in your children. And make it a twice-daily practice of meditating on The Golden Rule so you don't forget.



Get the kids ready to become proud and worthy of being Labor. I love to go to old adages because I find so much wisdom there. "Any job worth doing is worth doing well" is one idea I learned from my old Aunt Dorothy, who taught me to do domestic chores with perfection when I was ten years old. After a hard day of domestic work, I went to bed feeling a sense of empowerment, of real value. The added advantage, from another old adage: "Idleness is the devil's workshop." Highest praises must always go to Labor in any society and we must be prepared for worker cooperation at all levels. And certainly, parents must make sure that if their children have the ability and determination to complete a university program, every effort should be made to see that they are not left behind!

Teach the children to discriminate against foul-mouthed people and those "Me-Firsts" who shove their way ahead in lines, and protesters who break into stores and throw stones. Tell them not to show their backs and dare an officer to shoot, or wear clothing and a "walk" that makes them look suspicious. Explain that it's best tactic to show respect when a policeman stops them, which will probably cause police to realize they have good judgment. Reaching out to make friends makes them seem innocent of any crime. It's wise to be friendly anyway though, even if guilty. A lot of people get out of tickets by apologizing. Explain to young people that there may be law officers who dishonor their professions by over-reacting in ways that bring their training and skill into question. Warn them to avoid becoming victims of such officers. When the case is brought before the court, it should be a simple matter for the judges to ask if either the victim or officer, or both, disobeyed The Golden Rule, and to each assign the appropriate blame.

Children need to discriminate when choosing their dressing attire. There are appropriate times and places for arousing our basic human drives, but not all day, every day, everywhere! Private advertising and media news are not always a good influence on our children.

Feminists must realize that it is sometimes their heads we want men to look at, not their knees and boobs. We don't need religion to know that society can be greatly degraded by too much emphasis on sex. (My old Pops made my aunt cry by forbidding her to be in a bathing-beauty contest.) We presently have too many young women pregnant before they are ready to care for a child. This is not only unfair to the rest of society, but mostly it is unfair to the child.

Measure the child's success by how adjusted and happy s/he is. Show students a successful person is a live, free, happy person, not necessarily a rich one. Show them not to be jealous of the material wealth of others, but glad for them instead. Let them realize the alternative means to happiness, the joy of creating, working toward goals, studying, investigating the world, adventurous expeditions. Anyone can be forced to be unhappy with themselves if we insist they compete with others too much or in too many ways. They should learn to compete with themselves as much as possible.

At home and in schools, children need to be taught the responsibilities of citizenship in a large and complicated world. Make them aware of people who vie for leadership in this world. Show them how to research the views of the contenders. Critical thinking and how to do research are the two most basic skills to be learned in our schools.

Taking personal responsibility is a good thing for children to learn. Children should also be taught that when all they can do for themselves fails, the community will show their love for The Golden Rule and come to their rescue. Welfare should not be doled out to slovenly people who time and time again show themselves as personally negligent. We must train people not to take advantage of others, which would also be counter to the Golden Rule, exploiting and manipulating the Good Will of others.

When we come to a point where government clearly sees an imbalance in the distribution of economic resources where a large majority of people are being driven into poverty while a minority is obtaining a gluttonous amount of our resources, it is incumbent upon government to seek a remedy to even things out. That could be higher taxes on the wealthy or programs for those so impoverished.

Hopefully adult voters will vehemently discriminate against individual and corporate cheaters receiving unjust taxpayer subsidies, and/or weaseling out of paying any taxes at all! Honest legislators would use the Golden Rule to recognize the justice of "from each according to their means, to each according to their needs." We Americans are bound to each other by the constitutional contract guaranteeing each citizen the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Unemployed or disabled or underpaid people are deprived of these rights while the wealthy loose more of their happiness as their incomes swell.



Legislators know that no matter where our tax money is spent, it flows through the economy and stimulates economic growth. A tax break to any organization is equivalent to taking that much money out of potential direct government spending and hopefully into job creation, but that is not guaranteed. We do know that a large part of that forfeited tax will go into the "profit" of the organization; i.e., Wall Street. As a democratic socialist, my preference is for direct government help to individuals and families, or even to worker co-ops. In this way we are better assured the economy will produce more of the things we need, through consumer spending, instead of unnecessary luxuries only the rich can afford. Not any or even all of my jewelery makes me as happy as does my bread and butter. Apparently Trump saved jobs at Carrier by making a bad deal for America:

https://twitter.com/Slate/status/8052548559883...

Our worry about the global trade can be greatly diminished if we realize the easy solution is instituting national worker economies. We should not only support labor unions in private enterprise, but we should encourage and fund worker co-ops! Worker cooperatives should get priority on government contracts for many good reasons, including the fact that they are more cost-effective and more egalitarian. Look to worker cooperative - Wikipedia.

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Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010. See https://www.craigmurray.org.uk

Murray explains that he has met the leaker of either the DNC or Podesta emails and that both sets of emails were leaked by one or more people at either the NSA or the Democratic Party, that Russia played no role at all.

Vincent Emanuele (pictured at right) joined the United States Marine Corps as a squad automatic machine gunner in 2002. After two combat-deployments in Iraq, he refused orders for a third and immediately began organizing with Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War. In 2008, Vince testified to Congress at the Winter Soldier Hearings on Capitol Hill, where he provided detailed accounts of war crimes, atrocities, drug abuse and sexual assault within the military. See https://www.facebook.com/vincentjr.emanuele

Emanuele is just back from Standing Rock and discusses environmental and antiwar strategy. This show contains half our discussion. The second half will appear next week.

Total run time: 29:00

Host: David Swanson.

Producer: David Swanson.

Music by Duke Ellington.

Download from LetsTryDemocracy or Archive.



Pacifica stations can also download from Audioport.

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INTRODUCTION

Many people love the song Imagine by John Lennon. It takes you away to this place where, just for a moment, you think humanity has a chance. Then the song ends and you realize, oh, there still are countries, and there still are many things people are killing and dying for, and possessions, and greed, and the peaceful humanist paradise that is depicted in that three minute song pops like a soap bubble. Though Lennon can be criticized for wishful thinking, at least he was thinking big. The world he imagines is not impossible. Right now, it is very far away. The genius of Imagine is the notion that yes, Lennon's vision is improbable, but wouldn't it be great if it were true! Though the atheist message may alienate some, you have to be a sociopath to conclude that world peace is bad, or that sharing the world is bad. Imagine instills a tiny kernel of hope.

This essay is a direct appeal to the billionaire class. For simplicity, multi-millionaires are lumped in with the billionaires. Social improvement is the responsibility of every citizen, but the billionaires are widely believed to control the American political process, and must buy in to the necessity of a massive social overhaul project. As long as money is important in society, if you want to solve social problems, you have to engage moneyed interests. The billionaires have the most money, which grants them the most influence. If not them, than who?

Like Imagine , the ideas expressed in this essay don't seem very likely right now, even though numerous blueprints for social improvement have been around for a long time. Also, it is difficult to portray a complex world in a five-page essay. The various assertions can all be challenged, especially as oversimplifications. Identifying exceptions to every assertion is not important. What is important is that none of the ideas are impossible. You can only assume the essay envisions an impossible world if you believe humanity is evil. That war, poverty, exploitation, inequality, and social Darwinism are inevitable consequences of human evolution, and we should all just tolerate this. We have seen the formation of leftist and right wing military dictatorships in response to social unrest. Domination is evil.

However, it is incorrect to assume futility with regard to the problems that plague us. Humanity is both good and evil. There have been many victories for the social justice movement throughout history. Humans are effective problem-solvers. Our history need not define our future. Incremental change is the more realistic expectation, but it is a useful exercise to "imagine" sweeping change, without the abhorrent violence of revolution. Finally, this essay is written in the context of the money paradigm. Many would challenge whether the existing money supply is sufficient to fund solutions to complex social problems. That discussion is beyond the scope of this essay.

What follows is an adaptation of Imagine for USA 2016, but no effort at poetry.

THE BILLIONAIRES IMPROVE THE COUNTRY PROJECT

Imagine this realization spread rapidly throughout the American billionaire class: in a stunning act of randomness, fate has granted a miniscule fraction of the population the awesome power to direct the course of human history.

Imagine that every billionaire, regardless of political orientation, convened a summit to decide what to do with this power. They called it the Billionaires Improve the Country Project.

Imagine the billionaires are as sick of the evening news nightmare as the average citizen. They brainstormed a list of interrelated social problems that urgently need to be addressed: poverty, homelessness, violence, health care financing, food insecurity, employment insecurity, endless war and terrorism, criminal justice reform, skyrocketing education costs, and environmental degradation. Forgive the billionaires if they forgot something. They are open to other suggestions.

Imagine the billionaires reviewed the tools of oligarchy: owning politicians and governmental regulation agencies, employing lobbyists, paying lawyers, judges and fixers, financing elections, financing media propaganda machines, employing private security forces and finally, funding political front groups. They said to each other, "These things are expensive!" Funding their charitable organizations is expensive too, and the sporadic implementation of these programs has a minimal effect on social dysfunction as a whole. Charity is not enough.

Imagine the billionaires concluded that political gridlock is harmful. They concluded the funding of the wasteful, poisonous Red vs. Blue political divide must stop.

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Recall the last time you fell ill. What did you do? If you fall into the large percentage of Americans who self-diagnose, your response might be to simply search for illnesses fitting your symptoms on Google.

The internet has changed the medical world, and the availability of medical information today is unprecedented. When feeling ill, many Americans choose to search for an explanation online. In fact, over one-third of all U.S. adults use the internet to self-diagnose.

However, could this increased availability of information be a double-edged sword? The internet spreads inaccurate medical information and permits the dangerous practice of self-diagnosis.

Figuring out medical problems is best left to medical professionals. When a person self-diagnoses, they usually look at symptoms of specific illnesses, then check if their own symptoms match. This can be an inaccurate method of diagnosis.

For example: based on a list of symptoms, a person with severe anxiety issues might come to the conclusion that they have generalized anxiety disorder. A trained psychiatrist might come to the more precise conclusion that the patient actually has major depression. With a self-diagnosis, the patient would not seek proper treatment. Rather than seek a cure for a larger problem, they might seek medications to mask the symptoms.

In other instances, individuals might severely overestimate the severity of their medical issues. The availability of information online can be detrimental to the mental health of hypochondriacs (people who are abnormally worried about their health). In fact, a phrase has been coined for people who practice such tendencies online: cyberchondria. Minor dizziness and chest pain can instantly spell heart failure to a cyberchondriac. Skin discolorations can be misinterpreted as cancer. These misconceptions can cause a great deal of mental stress.

Social media may be to blame. One needs to look no further than Facebook stock to know that the social media network has grown exponentially over the past four years. For a social media giant, growth means more users. In fact, almost two-thirds of adults in the U.S. regularly use Facebook. The network has had a major impact on the way we consume media.

Since each person's newsfeed is dependent on who they are friends with, users are given an echo chamber -- and are segmented into generally isolated communities. If inaccurate information circulates in one of these communities, knowledgeable outsiders will be unable to correct inaccuracies or misconceptions. This problem is compounded by shady advertisers, who buy ads on Facebook designed to look like authentic sources of information. As a result, a lot of incorrect medical information is spread throughout these communities.

The problems of self-diagnosis can be exacerbated by inaccurate information. On the internet, the advertising dollar is king. People are exposed to information and articles that advertisers want them to be exposed to. It is no wonder that, as a result, a vast amount of baseless medical advice is shared online.

What is the answer to most ailments, according to advertisers? A product. Readers looking for examples of false medical information should look at legal actions made against corporations for false claims in the past few years. False claims often become scandals for brands. Some examples include:

Activia claimed that their yogurt is specifically formulated to help with digestion. This was found to be false.

In 2010, Kellogg's was sued for claiming that Rice Krispies and Frosted Mini-Wheats boosted the immune system. The FTC found these claims to be false.

Airborne was promoted to prevent ailments like the flu and common cold. Airborne had to pay over $20 million for false claims. It is now advertised as a mere vitamin C supplement.

False scientific claims can come back to harm brands, but the amount of sales that they generate with such claims often offset legal costs. Users often fail to use critical thinking skills to verify such information. Readers must carefully examine such claims for accuracy.

There is no question that the increased availability of medical information has had a positive effect on the industry. Technological innovations that have led to this increase will continue to have a profound impact on the future of healthcare information systems. However, when used incorrectly, this information can lead to very poor decisions. Resist the urge to self-diagnose. The only responsible way to interpret symptoms is through a trained medical professional.
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

"Did China ask us if it was OK to... build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!" tweeted President-Elect Donald Trump after shattering nearly 40 years of U.S.-China diplomatic protocol by having a telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

The call -- the first official contact between a U.S. president or president-elect and Taipei since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in the late 1970s -- was prime Trump. So was the tweet, a no-nonsense response to typical Chinese military provocations.

At least, that's one way to look at it.

Of course, if China's president Xi Jinping was a social media blowhard, he could have easily tweeted back: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... maintain a massive military complex of more than 100 bases in nearby Japan? I don't think so!"

Or the Chinese leader could have tweeted: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... rent space at the massive U-Tapao military complex in nearby Thailand? I don't think so!"

Or Xi could have tweeted: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... use portions of the military complexes at Antonio Bautista Air Base, Basa Air Base, Fort Magsaysay, Lumbia Air Base, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in the nearby Philippines? I don't think so!"

China's president might have tweeted: "Did America ask us if it was OK to... deploy troops to a military complex near Darwin, Australia? I don't think so!"

Xi could have even tweeted "Did America ask us if it was OK to... maintain four major Army facilities in nearby South Korea at Daegu and Yongsan as well as Camps Red Cloud and Humphreys; not to mention air bases at Osan and Kunsan and a naval facility at Chinhae? I don't think so!"

Had he enough characters to spare, Xi might have mentioned U.S. access to key facilities in Singapore or its other Pacific military strongholds like Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan. He could even have mentioned the "massive" U.S. military presence in Asia -- the U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Army Pacific, U.S. Pacific Air Force, U.S. Marine Forces Pacific, U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific, and U.S. Forces Korea as well as the U.S. Eighth Army (also in Korea) -- for which there are no Chinese analogs operating in or around the Americas.

Even if Xi Jinping were to counter Trump's twitter storm with gale-force tweets of his own, it's fair to assume that the president-elect wouldn't be swayed. American leaders don't view U.S. power projection through the lens of those on the receiving end. Meanwhile, the American public remains mostly ignorant of the ways in which the U.S. garrisons the globe and rings its rivals with military bases.

Today, Tim Shorrock, a long-time Asia expert, seeks to do his part in obliterating this obliviousness with his inaugural TomDispatch article. The author of Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing, he delves into how the election of Donald Trump will affect President Obama's famed "Asian pivot" by teasing apart the tangled history of U.S. foreign policy in that region, and analyzing what it all means for the longstanding U.S. military footprint in Japan and South Korea. Nick Turse

Cops of the Pacific?

The U.S. Military's Role in Asia in the Age of Trump

By Tim Shorrock Despite the attention being given to America's roiling wars and conflicts in the Greater Middle East, crucial decisions about the global role of U.S. military power may be made in a region where, as yet, there are no hot wars: Asia. Donald Trump will arrive in the Oval Office in January at a moment when Pentagon preparations for a future U.S.-Japan-South Korean triangular military alliance, long in the planning stages, may have reached a crucial make-or-break moment. Whether those plans go forward and how the president-elect responds to them could help shape our world in crucial ways into the distant future. On November 18th, Shinzo Abe, Japan's most conservative prime minister since the Cold War, became the first foreign head of state to meet with Donald Trump after his surprise election victory. The stakes for Abe were high. His rightist Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has run Japan for much of the last 70 years, has been one of America's most reliable, consistent, and subservient allies. Yet during the campaign, Trump humiliated him, as well as the leaders of nearby South Korea, with bombastic threats to withdraw U.S. forces from both countries if they didn't take further steps to defend themselves. Even more shocking was Trump's proposal that Japan and South Korea develop their own atomic weapons to counter North Korea's rising power as a nuclear state. That left the governments of both countries bewildered -- particularly Japan, which lost tens of thousands of lives when the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were incinerated by American atomic bombs in World War II. (Hundreds of Koreans in Japan died in those attacks as well.) Trump made these statements despite the LDP's ardent support over the decades for American wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq, and the Japanese government's payment of around $2 billion annually to maintain a string of U.S. bases, primarily on the island of Okinawa, which host over 48,000 American soldiers.

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Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

MEMORANDUM

Allegations of Hacking Election Are Baseless

A New York Times report on Monday alluding to "overwhelming circumstantial evidence" leading the CIA to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin "deployed computer hackers with the goal of tipping the election to Donald J. Trump" is, sadly, evidence-free. This is no surprise, because harder evidence of a technical nature points to an inside leak, not hacking -- by Russians or anyone else.

Monday's Washington Post reports that Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has joined other senators in calling for a bipartisan investigation of suspected cyber-intrusion by Russia. Reading our short memo could save the Senate from endemic partisanship, expense and unnecessary delay.

In what follows, we draw on decades of senior-level experience -- with emphasis on cyber-intelligence and security -- to cut through uninformed, largely partisan fog. Far from hiding behind anonymity, we are proud to speak out with the hope of gaining an audience appropriate to what we merit -- given our long labors in government and other areas of technology. And corny though it may sound these days, our ethos as intelligence professionals remains, simply, to tell it like it is -- without fear or favor.

We have gone through the various claims about hacking. For us, it is child's play to dismiss them. The email disclosures in question are the result of a leak, not a hack. Here's the difference between leaking and hacking:

Leak: When someone physically takes data out of an organization and gives it to some other person or organization, as Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning did.

Hack: When someone in a remote location electronically penetrates operating systems, firewalls or any other cyber-protection system and then extracts data.

All signs point to leaking, not hacking. If hacking were involved, the National Security Agency would know it -- and know both sender and recipient.

In short, since leaking requires physically removing data -- on a thumb drive, for example -- the only way such data can be copied and removed, with no electronic trace of what has left the server, is via a physical storage device.

Awesome Technical Capabilities

Again, NSA is able to identify both the sender and recipient when hacking is involved. Thanks largely to the material released by Edward Snowden, we can provide a full picture of NSA's extensive domestic data-collection network including Upstream programs like Fairview, Stormbrew and Blarney. These include at least 30 companies in the U.S. operating the fiber networks that carry the Public Switched Telephone Network as well as the World Wide Web. This gives NSA unparalleled access to data flowing within the U.S. and data going out to the rest of the world, as well as data transiting the U.S.

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Developers of First Fully Integrated Aircraft Heating and A/C System Launch Website

Aircraft Climate Control Systems

www.NexusCCS.com

www.NexusCCS.com

www.PreceptPartners.com

Nexus Climate Control launches website to introduce first fully integrated aircraft cabin comfort system for heating and air conditioning for the Beechcraft Baron; other models under developmentBenton Harbor, Michigan; December 12, 2016  Nexus Climate Control, LLC today announced the launch of the companys website providing an overview of the worlds first fully integrated aircraft heating and air conditioning system for the Beechcraft Baron, atNexus CCS Head of Product Development Bill Sandmann said, We worked closely with our website designers at Precept Partners to make the pertinent details and benefits of our technology clear and accessible. The website highlights key features of the Nexus system, including low installed weight, custom installation preserving the aircrafts luggage capacity, a single, set and forget command unit, and dedicated pilot and co-pilot A/C vents.Stephen Antisdel of Precept Partners, the websites developers added, With more than half of online searches now originating on mobile devices, we took great care to insure the website is fully responsive to provide a great user experience and ease of navigation across all mobile platforms and devices. Optimizing the site for search engine visibility was also a consideration in our development process.Sandmann concluded: The Nexus Climate Control system has been engineered for a perfect fit in the Beech Baron using a specially designed C&D Heating system (originally developed by the Nexus CCS team) and the Nexus A/C controlled by a sophisticated command unit to provide the first fully integrated, automatic cabin comfort system.About Nexus Climate Control, LLC:Located in southwest Michigan, Nexus has its roots as a leading provider of AD free aircraft heating systems with over 30 years of industry experience. Since its beginnings in 1979 the team behind Nexus has offered solutions and products that are better by design. Todays Nexus Climate Control systems are easy to operate, and include innovative technologies that meet or exceed FAA standards for the utmost in dependability. For additional details on Nexus Climate Control systems visitAbout Precept Partners, LLC:Precept Partners provides award winning website design, development, e-marketing and security services, proven by more than $100M in online sales revenue. Launched in 2003, the company serves clients in retail, professional services, e-commerce, manufacturing, healthcare, technology and not-for-profit sectors. Media coverage and recognition for the company and its founders includes in The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, and NPR. Company and client awards include the Inc. 500, the Internet Retailer 500, the Hot 100 Best Retail Websites, the Webby Award, the Michigan 50, and many others. More information on Precept Partner atNexus Climate Control, LLC610 Woodland AveBenton Harbor, MI 49022888-701-4767
Investment Fund hDock42 Buys Stake in Orbis Avia Aircraft Manufacturing Startup

http://hdock42.com

London, United Kingdom, December 12, 2016 - hDock42 Ltd., the innovative investment fund and global commercial innovation scaling platform, recently purchased stake in Orbis Avia, a Czech Republic-based aircraft manufacturing startup, furthering Orbis Avias mission of expanding and scaling on an international level.A general purpose aircraft manufacturer, Orbia Avia is set to release their first aircraft model, the Praga Alfa. The Praga Alfa, now available for ordering, will launch in 2017 and has been specifically designed to cost far less than competitors on the market while still maintaining a strong focus on technological advances and low operational costs. Their new partnership with hDock42 Ltd ensures that Orbia Avia will be able to expand internationally into under-targeted market spaces, such as Europe, Australia and Latin America. There are several Praga Alfa options targeting special interest users such as the medical industry.Today, one month since hDock42 Ltd entry we can announce that the first three aircrafts were sold with delivery dates in 2017.Like with OrbisAvia, hDock42 Ltd. also plans on expanding, helping other European based start-ups effectively scale their operations through unique networking opportunities and investment funding. Formed in 2016, the London based firm describes themselves as a European Launchpad for Global Ideas.To learn more about hDock42 Ltd. and Orbis Avia, members of the media are encouraged to visit hdock42.com and orbisavia.cz respectively.- END -Since 2016, hDock42 Ltd. has made it our mission to help European companies thrive and advance into the global marketplace. Find out more at hdock42.com.Petr PalanCEOhDock42 Ltd.6th Floor, One London WallLondon, England420.603.170.749petr@hdock42.com
Allergan Inc., Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Novartis Ag., Santen Pharmaceuticals, Valeant Pharmaceuticals And Aerie Pharmaceuticals By Glaucoma Therapeutics Market 2016-24

https://goo.gl/DKZJYO

"Glaucoma Therapeutics Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Volume, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024" The Report covers current Market Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Glaucoma Therapeutics Market: OverviewGlaucoma is an ocular disease which affects the optic nerve of the iris and progression of the same results into vision loss and blindness. The treatment for glaucoma starts with topical eye drops belonging to the class of prostaglandins, beta blockers, alpha agonist, combined medication, carbonic anhydrase inhibitor and cholinergic. Administration of these eye drops reduces the production of the fluid inside eyes thereby reducing the intraocular pressure. Using topical eye drops is an alternative for surgery or delays the surgical procedure.Get Sample Report With TOC @Glaucoma Therapeutics Market: Scope and MethodologyThe research is a combination of primary and secondary research, conducted for understanding and arriving at trends, used to forecast the expected revenue of the major glaucoma therapeutics market in the near future. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts with information collected from in-depth interviews and discussions with a number of key industry experts and opinion leaders. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, investor presentations, analyst presentation and various international and national databases. The report provides estimated market size in terms of US$ Mn for each by drug class, end user, and geography for the period 2014 to 2024Glaucoma Therapeutics Market: Competitive LandscapeMarket share analysis among the market players is analyzed to signify the contribution of these players in the market in terms of percentage share. All these factors will help the market players to decide about the business strategies and plans to strengthen their positions in the global market. The report also profiles the major players in the market and provides various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments. Major companies profiled in the glaucoma therapeutics market are Allergan Inc., Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Novartis AG., Santen Pharmaceuticals, Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Aerie Pharmaceuticals.The glaucoma therapeutics market has been segmented as follows:Glaucoma Therapeutics Market, by Drug ClassAlpha AgonistBeta BlockersProstaglandin AnalogsCarbonic Anhydrase InhibitorCholinergicCombined MedicationGlaucoma Therapeutics Market, by End UsersOphthalmic clinicHospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersGlaucoma Therapeutics Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaEuropeU.K.GermanySpainItalyFranceRest of EuropeAsia PacificIndiaJapanChinaAustraliaNew ZealandRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and AfricaSouth AfricaSaudi ArabiaA.E.Rest of MEAResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Global IT spending in Energy Sector set to grow at a CAGR of 3.18% during the period 2016-2020

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IT spending comprises the spending of the enterprise on the procurement of IT solutions and services in the energy sector. Energy firms like the oil and gas companies along with the power companies require IT solutions such as on-premises of cloud-based software solutions, networking devices, equipment, and IT support services.Technavios analysts forecast the global IT spending in energy sector to grow at a CAGR of 3.18% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global IT spending in energy sector for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated by vendors providing IT products, solutions, and services for energy firms operating businesses in the oil and gas and the power sectors.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEARequest For Sample Copy:Technavio's report, Global IT Spending in Energy Sector 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsDellIBMInfosysSAPOther prominent vendorsABB LimitedAlcatel-LucentCapgeminiCiscoSystemsGE Oil and GasHitachiHuawei TechnologiesHCL TechnologiesOracleSiemensTCSMarket driverDigital transformation and automation of energy sector.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeSystem integration and interoperability issues.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendEnergy analytics spending is on the rise.For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Central Vascular Access Devices - US Analysis And Market Forecasts

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SummaryCentral vascular devices, particularly catheters, have been a mainstay of modern medicine for the last 40 years. These devices are intended for patients with both acute and chronic diseases such as systemic infections, which require catheters that are able to be situated comfortably and confidently within a patients venous system for extended periods of time. The report analyses the market at a category (PICC, Non-tunneled, tunneled, port, hemodialysis catheters and Huber needles) and subcategory level (E.G. antimicrobial vs non-antimicrobial and acute vs chronic hemodialysis catheters) highlighting trends and issues affecting utilization, volume and value of central access devices within the US. Key topics discussed include the increasing utilization of PICCs thanks to the development of nurse led implantations and the reasons for the slow adoption of antimicrobial technologies within major markets.*This is an on-demand report and will be delivered within 4 working days (excluding weekends) of the purchase.HighlightsKey Questions Answered- What is the current and future outlook of central vascular access devices in the US?- What trends are affecting the US central vascular access devices market?- What are the market sizes of each central vascular access device segments in the US?- What are unmet needs in the central vascular access devices market? What are the clinical and non-clinical barriers in this space?Reasons to buy- What Do Physicians Think quotes provide a unique insight into how healthcare professionals are reacting to events within the industry, and what their responses could mean for industry strategists. This information is essential for all strategic decision makers in every organization allowing them to act on high quality information.Download sample copy of Report at1 Table of Contents1.1 List of Tables1.2 List of Figures2 Introduction2.1 Catalyst3 Industry Overview3.1 Central Venous Catheters3.1.1 Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter3.1.2 Non-tunneled Catheters3.1.3 Tunneled Catheters3.1.4 Implantable Ports3.1.5 Hemodialysis Catheters3.2 Technological Assessment3.3 Mergers, Acquisitions, and Key Partnerships4 Market Access4.1 Reimbursement4.1.1 North America and Brazil4.2 Regulatory Issues/Recalls5 Unmet Needs5.1 Catheter Related Complications5.1.1 Catheter Related Infections5.1.2 Catheter Related ThrombosisMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Enabling Metro/Train Monitoring and Control with Rugged Railway Communication Platform

Rolling stock operators today are seeking for intelligent solutions that enable premium services for the satisfying passenger experience and real-time communication/control for optimal operation efficiency. To meet the demands of highly reliable and scalable communications systems under harsh environment, at InnoTrans 2016, Lanner will showcase its LVR-8300, a fanless highly modularized 3U rail communication system packing with EN50155 compliant endurance, high performance CPU, multiple M12-protected I/O modules and an abundance of data storage spaces, making it an ideal railway/MRT communication system to operate as the brain of intelligent rolling stock.Highly Modular Railway PC Lanner LVR-8300Assured 24/7 reliability, wide range operating temperature and long-time vibration endurance are major concerns for rolling stock business and LVR-8300 has been EN50155 complaint for endurances against shock, vibration, temperature (-20~60C), humidity and surge.With the 4th Generation Intel Core i5 4422E CPU (codenamed Haswell), Lanner LVR-8300is able to handle high-volume data transmissions and process multimedia contents efficiently. LVR-8300 also features up to 16x M12 PoE ports which allow easy integration of networking devices such WiFi access points and/or PoE surveillance camera for in-train WiFi sharing and remote video surveillance and monitoring applications.LVR-8300 is a highly scalable system with 4 modular expansion slots for Internet access, sensors connectivity, passenger information, wayside communications and on-board train management. These modules provide diverse I/O configurations, including serial COM, GPIO, USB, VGA/HDMI and the mini-PCIe sockets designed with SIM card readers for WiFi/3G/LTE connectivity. To store the large volume of video contents from infotainment or surveillance systems, LVR-8300 also offers 4 swappable 2.5 drive bays for video data storage.LVR-8300High Performance Fanless Rackmount Railway Computer with Intel Core i5-4422E or Celeron 2002E CPU- Intel Core i5-4422E or Celeron 2002E processor with QM87 chipset- Compliant with EN50155 and MIL-STD-810G standard- 16 x rugged M12 PoE ports- 3 x Mini-PCIe slots with 2 SIM card readers- Wide range operating temperature from -20 to 60C- 4 x Swappable 2.5 drive bays- Onboard GPS receiver module and G-sensor- Rich I/O: 2 x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, 2 x COM, GPIO, VGA- Rackmount 3U form factorLanner Electronics Inc. (TAIEX 6245) is a world-leading hardware provider in design, engineering, and manufacturing services for advanced network appliances and rugged industrial computers.With 30-year experiences, Lanner provides reliable and cost-effective computing platforms with high quality and performance. Today, Lanner has a large and dynamic manpower of over 800 well-experienced employees worldwide with the headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan and subsidiaries in the US, Canada, and China.7F, 173 Datong Road Section 2,Xizhi District,New Taipei City 22184,TaiwanTelephone: +886-2-8692-6060Fax: +886-2-8692-6101Email: contact@lannerinc.com
Global Hydraulic Cylinder Market to grow at a CAGR of 4.39% during 2016-2020

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/892994

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

About Hydraulic CylinderThe hydraulic cylinder industry will see a steady growth during the forecast period due to a continuous demand from the agriculture, construction equipment, mining equipment, material handling equipment, industrial equipment, aerospace, and defense sectors.Technavios analysts forecast the global hydraulic cylinder market to grow at a CAGR of 4.39% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global hydraulic cylinder market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report discusses major drivers that are influencing market growth and challenges faced by vendors and the market as a whole.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Hydraulic Cylinder Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Download sample Copy of Report atKey vendorsBosch RexrothEatonHYDACParker HannifinWEBER-HYDRAULIKOther prominent vendorsBengbu Yeli MachineryCaterpillarDongyang MechatronicsEnergy ManufacturingEnerpacHunger HydraulikHydratech IndustriesHyvaKCCKomatsuKYBLigon IndustriesPacomaPrecision HydraulicSMCTexas HydraulicsWrenWipro Infrastructure EngineeringYukenMarket driverRising demand for food and fiber to drive agricultural industry.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeLimitations in repair and servicing of hydraulic cylinders.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendRising popularity of integrated solution and servicing.For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Ammonia Industry Outlook In Thailand To 2020 - Market Size, Price Trends And Trade Balance

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/895873

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SummaryGlobalDatas new report, "Ammonia Industry Outlook in Thailand to 2020 - Market Size, Price Trends and Trade Balance", provides in-depth coverage of Thailands Ammonia industry and presents major market trends. The report covers historical and forecast market size, demand and production forecasts, end-use demand details, price trends and trade balance data.Scope- Ammonia industry market dynamics in Thailand from 2006 to 2020, consisting of market size, demand and production outlook, demand by end-use sector, and average prices- Trade balance data from 2006 to 2020, including import and export data and net exports and imports as a percentage of demandReasons to buy- Obtain up-to-date information on Thailands Ammonia industry- Benefit from GlobalDatas advanced insights and analysis- Identify the macro and microeconomic trends affecting the industryDownload sample Copy of Report atTable of ContentsTable of Contents 2List of Tables 2List of Figures 2Thailand Ammonia, Industry, Market Size, 2006-2020 3Thailand Ammonia Industry, Demand and Production Outlook, 2006-2020 5Thailand Ammonia, Industry, Demand by End Use Sector, 2015 7Thailand, Ammonia Industry, Price Forecasts, 2006-2020 8Thailand Ammonia, Trade Balance, 2006-2020 10Thailand Ammonia Industry, Imports and Exports, 2006-2020 10Thailand Ammonia Industry, Net Exports, 2006-2020 12Thailand Ammonia Industry, Imports as Percentage of Demand, 2006-2020 14Appendix 16Abbreviations 16GlobalDatas Methodology 16Coverage 16Secondary Research 16Primary Research 17Expert Panel Validation 17Contact Us 17Disclaimer 17List of TablesThailand, Ammonia Industry, Demand Value, $m, 2006-2020 4Thailand, Ammonia Industry, Demand, MMTPA, 2006-2020 6Thailand, Ammonia Industry, Demand by End Use Sector, %, 2015 7Thailand, Ammonia Industry, Price Forecasts, $/Tonne, 2006-2020 9Thailand, Ammonia Industry, Imports and Exports, MMTPA, 2006-2020 11Thailand, Ammonia Industry, Net Exports, MMTPA, 2006-2020 13Thailand, Ammonia Industry, Imports as Percentage of Demand, %, 2006-2020 15MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Diamond Mining To 2020- Market Research Report

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/279944

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

SynopsisTimetric's 'Global Diamond Mining to 2020' report comprehensively covers global reserves of diamonds and reserves by country, historical and forecast data on global rough diamond production, and production by country and trade. The report also includes demand drivers affecting the global diamond mining industry, profiles of major diamond mining companies, and information on the major active, exploration and development projects by region.Executive summaryTimetric estimates global rough diamond production at 131.5 million carats (Mct) in 2014, marginally up from 130.5Mct in 2013. The market for rough diamond production centers around the top eight producing countries - Russia, Botswana, the DRC, Australia, Canada, Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa which collectively account for 97% of global production. The Argyle, Orapa, Jwaneng, Diavik, Catoca and Nyurbinskaya are some of the major diamond producing mines while Alrosa, De Beers SA, Rio Tinto Plc, Dominion Diamond Corporation and Petra Diamonds are the worlds largest diamond mining companies, collectively accounting for 70% of global production.ScopeThe report contains an overview of the global diamond mining industry together with the key demand drivers affecting the industry. It also provides information about reserves, historic and forecast production, reserves and production by country, major exporting and importing countries, competitive landscape and major active, exploration and development projects.Reasons to buyGain an understanding of the global diamond mining industry, the relevant demand drivers , reserves, historic and forecast production, major exporting and importing countries, active, exploration and development projects and the competitive landscape.Download Sample Copy of Report atKey highlightsDiamond mainly occurs in kimberlite, lamproite and alluvial deposits. The worlds largest kimberlite reserves are found in Botswanas Orapa region and in South Africa, while alluvial deposits are found mainly on the Atlantic coasts of South Africa and Namibia.The Australian Argyle mine in Kimberley region hosts lamproite deposits. Global diamond reserves were 730 million carats (Mct) as of January 2015, with Australia, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) collectively accounting for 72% of the total.Globally, the accessibility of diamond deposits and the depth of occurrence are increasing challenges to the expansion of global diamond mining operations, with projects becoming more capital intensive, necessitating substantial investments, especially in technology.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Healthcare Master Data Management Market Forecast By End-use Industry 2016-2026

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2411

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2411

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/healthcare-master-data-management-market

www.futuremarketinsights.com

Information Technology has revolutionised every industry and brought about substantial changes. It has made the world more interconnected, interdependent and increased the volume of data to be processed enormously. However, if the data is compromised by way of a leak or hack, it can also have devastating consequences. This is particularly true in medical healthcare and thus, there is a focus on the healthcare Master Data Management market. MDM is the processes, policies, and tools that allow an organisation to define and manage its critical data, leading to a single point of reference. The healthcare master data management market is a major component of MDM. Medical healthcare facilities need to keep critical records of their patients health and security. Any lapse by way of administering an inadequate or incorrect dosage could even lead to death. It is vital for organisations to keep accurate, up-to-date records of their patients to avoid mistakes that could lead to reputational as well as financial harm to the organisation. Master data in healthcare is mainly divided into identifying data like the patient, provider or location and reference data i.e. linkable vocabulary like LOINC, RxNorm, ICD, SNOMED, etc.Healthcare Master Data Management Market DriversThere are three drivers of the healthcare master data management market  mergers & acquisitions (M&A), Health Information Exchange (HIE) and Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). In todays globalised world, M&As have become commonplace and this also holds true for the medical industry. National boundaries have become irrelevant and healthcare institutions can go in for M&As for the same reasons as other organisations. It is very rare for two medical institutions to have the same type of data management techniques & each will have its own master data. MDM is crucial to helping the two entities organise, manage and then merge the healthcare data. There is also a great deal of interaction & information exchange between hospitals worldwide now. It may be for a second opinion, diagnoses or patient reassurance. To successfully exchange information across different locations, HIEs need to have reconciled the master data file. The last major driver of the healthcare master data management market is ACOs. They are a group of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who provide medical assistance to their Medicare patients voluntarily. It neednt be mentioned that they would all have different data organisation & management methods, hence they would need to look at the healthcare master data management market.Request Free Report Sample@Healthcare Master Data Management Market RestraintsSome of the restraints constraining the growth of the healthcare master data management market are  data ownership, multiple sources of data, lack of true integration between clinical & administrative apps & lack of analytical talent. Autonomous clinics have largely funded their own data management systems to the exclusion of the entire healthcare system. With increasing M&As in the industry, this issue has only been compounded recently. While patients have the right to their healthcare data, the question of who owns the data continues to linger. A second challenge is the sheer volume of data. Not only is it in individual organisation departments, some data might also be in a proprietary format like Picture Archiving Communication Systems (PACS). This might be controlled by an external source, making it difficult to extract or claim. Many healthcare institutions struggle to understand modern technology like healthcare payments, coding, reimbursements or other data. Integrating it for decision-making is another challenge entirely! Another major challenge for the healthcare master data management market is the lack of analytical talent. Healthcare providers struggle to find the right experts to help them exploit their databases to the fullest. There is a massive shortage of data scientists, especially in healthcare, who can use big data techniques to optimise healthcare records.Request For TOC@Healthcare Master Data Management Market Key RegionsThe largest healthcare master data management market at present is the U.S. It is also expected to grow at the highest rate due to legislation like the Affordable Care Act, EHR adoption, and government focus on customised medicine, healthcare management and hospital reimbursement. Key Asian markets are China, India, Japan and Korea.Healthcare Master Data Management Market Key Market PlayersSome of the companies competing in the healthcare master data management market are IBM Corporation, Cerner Corporation, Verisk Analytics, Allscripts Health Solutions and Health Catalyst.Browse Full Report@Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Laparoscopic Instruments Market Projected To Be Worth 11.68 Billion USD by 2021

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/laparoscopic-instruments-market-130019497.html

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The report "Laparoscopic Instruments Market by Product (Laparoscope, Insufflator, Energy Device), Application (Bariatric Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, General Surgery), End User (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers) - Analysis & Global Forecast to 2021", analyzes and studies the major market drivers, restraints/challenges, and opportunities.Browse 124 market data Tables and 37 Figures spread through 191 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Laparoscopic Instruments Market"Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.This report studies the global laparoscopic instruments market during the forecast period of 2016 to 2021. The market is expected to reach USD 11.68 Billion by 2021 from USD 7.61 Billion in 2016, at a CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period.The global laparoscopic instruments market is segmented on the basis of products, applications, end users, and regions. Based on products, the market is segmented into laparoscopes, access devices, suction/irrigation systems, insufflators, energy devices, hand instruments, closure devices, and accessories. In 2016, the energy devices segment is estimated to account for the major share of the laparoscopic instruments market owing to the technological advancements introduced in these products by market players.Inquire More about This Report@Based on applications, the market is segmented into bariatric surgery, gynecological surgery, general surgery, urological surgery, colorectal surgery, and pediatric surgery. In 2016, the gynecological surgery instruments segment is estimated to account for the major share of the laparoscopic instruments market. This is owing to laparoscopy being widely used in obstetrics and gynecology, especially in procedures such as hysterectomy, hysteroscopy, amnioscopy, myomectomy, fetoscopy, and ovarian cyst removal, among others.Based on end users, the market is segmented into hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. In 2016, the hospitals segment is estimated to account for the major share of the laparoscopic instruments market. Hospitals prefer laparoscopic procedures to open surgical procedures as it offers advantages such as lesser costs, decreased average length of stay (ALOS) of patients, and increased patient satisfaction. Thus, hospitals are currently the largest end-user segment of the laparoscopic instruments market.Buy Now@On the basis of region, the market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW). In 2016, North America is expected to account for the largest share of the laparoscopic instruments market. However, the Asia-Pacific market is slated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period and serve as a revenue pocket for companies offering laparoscopic instruments. This is owing to the impetus provided by the entry of key market players into this market and growing infrastructure support for laparoscopic procedures in India, South Korea, and Singapore.The major players in the laparoscopic instruments market include Karl Storz GmbH & Co.KG (Germany), Olympus Corporation (Japan), Medtronic plc (Ireland), B. Braun Aesculap (Germany), Stryker Corporation (U.S.), Richard Wolf GMBH (Germany), Ethicon, Inc. (U.S.), Smith & Nephew PLC (U.K.), Cook Medical Incorporated (U.S.), and ConMed Corporation (U.S.).About MarketsandMarketsMarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.M&Ms flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.Contact:Mr. RohanMarketsandMarkets701 Pike StreetSuite 2175, Seattle,WA 98101, United StatesTelephone No: +1-888-600-6441
Animal Vaccine Market Growth with Worldwide Industry Analysis to 2020

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Animals are raised either as companions or with an intention of gaining profit through production and sale of meat, dairy, fertilizers and other by products such as wool, horn, leather which are aptly called commercial or livestock animals. Some of the most common livestock include pigs, sheep, cattle, goat and poultry. In recent times, this commercialization has extended into several other flightless bird species such as ostrich and emu along with some others animals such as guinea pigs and rabbits that are now raised for meat. Companion animals on the other hand are owned with an intention of providing company to humans and include dogs, cats, exotic fish and horses to the largest extent along with guinea pigs, rabbits, pigeons to a smaller extent.Livestock and companion animals are susceptible to several infectious diseases depending on the species such as Aujeszkys disease, Bluetongue, Bovine tuberculosis, Coccidiosis, Johnes disease, Foot and Mouth Disease and Liver fluke. The diseases such as Schmallenberg Virus and African swine fever are serious threats to livestock. The impact of diseases to both types of animals can be disastrous. Millions of dollars were lost in the recent avian flu in Asian continent and over 15 million poultry and fowl were culled within 3 years due to constant adaptation of the virus. The threat of diseases to these animals is faced by almost all countries in the world and situation worsens with diseases transferring to humans. Recently, Hong Kong has banned live chicken sales and plans to cull another 20,000 birds at a market to prevent the spread of a mutated form of H1N1 virus that was designated H7N9 avian flu. The 2011 outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in U.K. is estimated to have had cost of more than $5,186 million to U.K. According to the estimates, the 2003 outbreak of avian influenza and 1998-1998 outbreak of classical swine, both in Netherlands, cost $612 million and $2,520 million respectively.Click For Full Report And Request TOC@The global market for animal health is estimated to be well over $90 billion in 2013 of which the biologicals market is estimated to be valued at approximately $7.2 billion. The market is further expected to grow in the coming years driven by increasing focus on animal cultivation and increased consumption of meat and dairy over the world. By 2020, this market is expected to be worth $11.9 billion categorized mainly by vaccines market that include, porcine vaccines, bovine vaccines, poultry vaccines, ovine vaccines, equine vaccines, & other animal vaccines. These vaccines have always been very effective means for eradication of diseases as well as to reduce impact on animal health and welfare. Key players in the field are Pfizer, Sanofi-Merial, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Virbac, Vetoquinol, Monsanto, Novartis, Elanco and FortDodge among several others.For More Research Reports@About UsSpearhead Acuity Business Research & Consulting Private Limited (SA-BRC) is a premium Life Science business intelligence and data analytics firm. SA-BRC team offers a wide range of business intelligence services to multiple stakeholders such as Medical Device Manufacturers, Service Providers (Hospitals, Payers, etc.), Suppliers, Group Purchase Organizations, Distributors and all other individuals in the entire value chain of healthcare industry. Our research and consulting capabilities extend across several sub-domains within the sphere of Life Sciences such as Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Medical Devices, Veterinary Sciences, Wellness Products and Pharmaceuticals.Contact UsJohn Whitmore10685-B Hazelhurst Drive,Suite 17411Houston, Texas 77043,United StatesPhone: +1(832)-426-3701Email: sales@sa-brc.comWebsite:
No spying any longer: Hacker protection Camera Guard for MacOS

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No spying any longer: Hacker protection Camera Guard for MacOS blocks webcam and microphoneSecret services, hackers, voyeurs, online-scammers: Your own computer isnt safe any longer! The world first Camera Guard brings back privacy at work place and in the children's rooms at home with one single click  specifically protecting the webcam the and the microphone of iMacs and from MacBooks.Who knows whos observing you right now? After the NSA documents from the archive of the whistleblower Edward Snowden became public, it was clear: Not only data thieves and computer scammers are interested in invading the privacy of the user. Also secret services use every possibility at their disposal to gain access. Taking over the computer webcam or the built in microphone from afar is no longer just science fiction.Who wants to be secretly observed?Chris Bohn, CEO of ProtectStar: Who wants to be observed or overheard by unknown people while at work or at home? No-one. That's the reason why millions of users all over the world tape over their webcams and microphones. Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and FBI boss James Comey do that. For a lot of parents this is one of the most commonly used safety measures on computers in children's rooms. When the Camera Guard is installed, a single click is enough in order to secure the camera and microphone. The safety tool from then on reports all applications and processes that try to gain access to the camera and microphone. The user himself then decides if he whishes to allow access to the eyes and ears of the Mac Computer. Or indeed if he does not wish allow it. All accesses and warnings are protocolled in a log file.The personal settings of the Camera Guard are also protected by a PIN number which is equipped with special hacker protection in order to even prevent the software itself from being manipulated.Deep Detective: The intelligent safety officerThe core of the safety software is the intelligent Deep Detective. This detective does not only recognize well known malware, like for example the Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor, which specifically takes over the control of the integrated webcam, it also identifies attacks of previously unknown malware.Just like an alarm system, a firewall or intruder detection, all attacks from hackers, spies and trojans are detected and blocked using heuristic methods. At the same time the software uses minimal system resources.FREE- and PRO-full versionCamera Guard runs on Mac OS 10.11 or higher (OS X El Capitan, macOS Sierra). The Mac Software is given away for free in the FREE-Version. Here you already have the protection of the webcam and safety information over accesses.The PRO-version additionally offers protection of the microphone, the Deep Detective, protection against well-known and unknown access attempts, a protocol in a log file, a password protection and a 24/7 support via email. The pro-version costs 29.90 Euros.Important Links:Homepage:Product Page:Based in Miami, Florida, ProtectStar, Inc. was founded by Christopher Bohn in 2004. Their aim is to protect the users of tomorrow against unauthorized data access today. ProtectStar was among the first companies to check mobile devices for security risks, a pioneering effort leading to significant security improvements in mobile and smart phones. In 2006, it released Data Shredder for Windows, which has become an industry standard in secure data deletion. The company's iShredder for iOS, released in 2011, is the leading iOS data erasure app that protects against third parties restoring deleted files. ProtectStar has more than 1,000,000 customers in over 100 countries, from industrial, business, institutional, government, and military sectors, as well as individual users.Nigel Donahue-WoltersPR ManagerCorporatePR@protectstar.comProtectStar Inc.Press Center444 Brickell AvenueSuite 51103Miami, FL 33131USAPhone: +1 305 328 5044Fax : +1 305 967 6704
Global Blood Collection Market Popularity, Development, Landscape & Shares 2016

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Blood Collection Market Research Report 2016" to its huge collection of research reports.The global Blood Collection market the target of analysis of the research report recently added to the expansive database in QYResearchReports.com. The extremely descriptive and insightful document chalks out a thorough and all-inclusive analytical perspective of the global Blood Collection market, covering all key categories and their segments, along with the factors that have the potential of being influential on the market in the near future. The report thus presents a 360-degree analysis of the current state of the global Blood Collection market to the reader.The market has been excavated from a ground-up fashion, where rudimentary data and key, industry-specific definitions of the global Blood Collection marketas elements are described in the overview. The report moves ahead to the complete analysis of global Blood Collection market, sticking to aspects such as classifications, industry chain structure, applications, policies, industry overview, and recent developments.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The massive volume of market data included in the report has been garnered over time with the help of multiple primary and secondary research methodologies. This data is further narrowed down using standard industry-based analytical processes so that only the important sections of qualitative and quantitative information are offered to the reportas users.The report also provides an analysis of the way in which the key drivers, trends, and challenges will potentially affect the global Blood Collection market and its overall growth and development over the given forecast period. These factors are analyzed for regional as well as global perspectives, so the reader gains data on the market to varying levels.The competitive and regulatory landscape of the global Blood Collection market are analyzed and studied in the research study. The various levels of details on the rules, regulations, policies, and plans are also included in addition to an analysis of their impact on the marketas overall growth prospects. The report also includes detailed business profiles of some of the most influential vendors in the market.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Blood Collection Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Blood Collection1.2 Blood Collection Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Blood Collection by Type in 20151.2.2 Blood Collection Needles and Syringes1.2.3 Blood Collection Tubes1.2.4 Blood Bags1.2.5 Others1.3 Blood Collection Segment by Application1.3.1 Blood Collection Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Hospitals and Diagnostic Centers1.3.3 Blood Banks1.3.4 Others1.4 Blood Collection Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Blood Collection (2011-2021)2 Global Blood Collection Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Blood Collection Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Blood Collection Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Blood Collection Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Blood Collection Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Blood Collection Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Blood Collection Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Blood Collection Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Blood Collection Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2011-2016)3.1 Global Blood Collection Production and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.2 Global Blood Collection Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.3 Global Blood Collection Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.4 North America Blood Collection Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.5 Europe Blood Collection Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.6 China Blood Collection Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.7 Japan Blood Collection Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.8 India Blood Collection Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.9 Southeast Asia Blood Collection Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)For Latest QYResearchreports Press Release Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.QYResearchreportsContact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States+1-518-621-2074866-997-4948USA-Canada Toll freesales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market Elegant Growth, Advancements & End-Users 2016

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market Research Report 2016" to its huge collection of research reports.During the last couple of years, the global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test market has experienced changes that have affected the course of companies operating in the industry. The analysts chronicle the changes and present a detailed analysis by studying their cause and effects. Using all the information, it forecasts the global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test market in the years to come. Comprised of Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test pages, it offers a chapter-wise dissection of the market. With a generous use of charts, tables, and graphs, it presents crucial figures and facts, making it easier to grasp the comparative picture and spot key trends.To peruse the market, the report segments it using different parameters. Some of them are product type, application, and geography. Wherever necessary, it further divides the segments to draw proper insights. The revenue and growth projections for each of these segments and sub-segments have been bundled in the report as well. This would help players a both new and old a in the global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test market to spot where a good opportunity lies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Prepared by a team of experienced analysts, the report will help various entities in their growth path by throwing light on not just good opportunities, but also by guiding them on how to avoid the pitfalls. It presents a detailed analysis of the various factors that have driven the market growth so far. Going forward, it attempts to gauge what factors would further boost the growth. It also discusses in details the factors crimping the growth in the market. It uncovers some of the important trends that are emerging on the horizon. Using all the information, it has chalked out the best course of action for companies hungry for success.This report has leveraged both primary and secondary research by interacting with C-level executives of leading companies in the global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test market and by undertaking appreciable online research.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test1.2 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test by Type in 20151.2.2 Reagents & Assay Kits1.2.3 Systems1.2.4 Software & Services1.3 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Segment by Application1.3.1 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Hospitals1.3.3 Clinical Laboratories1.3.4 Physician Office Laboratories1.3.5 Others1.4 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test (2011-2021)2 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2011-2016)3.1 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.2 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.3 Global Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.4 North America Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.5 Europe Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.6 China Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.7 Japan Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.8 India Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.9 Southeast Asia Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) Test Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)For Latest QYResearchreports Press Release Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.QYResearchreportsContact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States+1-518-621-2074866-997-4948USA-Canada Toll freesales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Industry For Social Media Messaging Platforms Is $8.6 Billion Anticipated To Reach $27.2 Billon By 2022

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Social Media Messaging: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2016 to 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.The 2016 study has 380 pages, 121 tables and figures. Worldwide Social Media Messaging markets are poised to revolutionize communications by evolving a lifestyle support platform that has broad capabilities to connect people.Social messaging platforms leverage smart phones to deliver an increasingly broad set of lifestyle functions. Social media platforms that have been adept at moving to embrace the mobile revolution in user adoption. The smart phone can do everything. Messaging is the preferred medium of the smart phone.Social media messaging usage is dependent on opening and engaging with the app. Message platforms are the most used apps globally. Social media messaging has transcended simple communication and become a platform for gaming, commerce and payment, media, taxi services and beyond. As these trends play out globally, mobile messaging leaders are evolving into central communication hubs.Social messaging platforms leverage smart phones to deliver an increasingly broad set of lifestyle functions. Tencent (TCEHY) in China owns WeChat. This dominates the messaging market. Chat apps are widely used for shopping in China. They make consumer goods more available. In the U.S, Americans have access to brick-and-mortar shopping options.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Tencent Holdings Ltd provides Internet value-added services, mobile services, online advertising, and e-Commerce transactions services to users in the People's Republic of China. WeChat is used by 500,000 people to connect. WeChat is available for iOS and Android. It supports a group chat conversation. Twitter WeChat broadcast messages mimics a basic function of digital messaging, allowing broadcast of a single message to a group capability.Facebook as a social media platform has benefitted from embracing the mobile revolution in user adoption. The smart phone can do everything. Tablets and cell phones have replaced PCs. Messaging is the preferred medium of the smart phone.KakaoTalk was the number one social media messaging app when measuring the number of sessions. Sessions refers to usage, opening and engaging with the app. Topping the list with 55 sessions, the KakaoTalk app was shown to be used 1.5~7 times more than the other five messaging apps on the top 10 list. These results are significant. Message platforms are the most used apps globally. KakaoTalk is the most frequently visited and heavily replied on app per user, proving its potential to be one of the most influential services among its users.KakaoTalk has already transcended simple communication and become a platform for gaming, commerce and payment, media, taxi services and beyond. As these trends play out globally, mobile messaging leaders are evolving into central communication hubs.Facebook Messenger implements texting via the smartphone data plan. It bypasses the need to pay for each text. Users do not have to pay for every message. Facebook Messenger works with the data plan. Messenger works after the users sign in to Facebook.Social media messaging supports the sharing of information. Social media messaging companies enable marketers to display advertising, and provide development platforms for application developers. Social media messaging companies compete to attract, engage, and retain people who use a digital screen to share information. The aim is to attract and retain marketers, and to attract and retain developers to build compelling mobile and web applications that integrate with products.Users of social media messaging platforms are delighted with the effectiveness of texting. It works in real time, but without the interruptions created by a voice call. Building more functionality on the messaging platform will achieve key milestone in telecommunications. The platforms are evolving an e-commerce component.As the e-commerce platforms evolve, the SOA once and only once delivery messaging will become a key aspect of the messaging platforms, providing an opportunity to transform the communications industry by adding a retail component. Social networks provide an intuitive base for communications, people generally want to talk to people they know and to buy things recommended by people they know.New platform components and new designs are bringing that transformation forward. By furthering the growth of innovation message text users can get better connections to their friends and colleagues. By enhancing the platform and the user experience customer bases are going over one billion, creating the prospect that the entire market will grow rapidly.The worldwide market for social media messaging platforms is $8.6 billion anticipated to reach $27.2 billon by 2022.The complete report provides a comprehensive analysis including user numbers for those generating revenue, and counting separately, the much larger number of users not generating revenue. Segment analysis looks at texting, games, video, and e-commerce revenue, providing users, market value, forecasts, as well as a detailed competitive market shares and analysis of major players success, challenges, and strategies in each segment and sub-segment. The reports cover markets for social media texting platform specialties and sub-specialties.Companies ProfiledMarket Leaders- Baidu- Tencent Wechat- Facebook Whatsapp- Daum Kakao- IBMMarket Participants- Apple- Baidu- Blackberry- Daum Kakao- Facebook- Fiorano- Five- Fujitsu- Google- Hike- International Business Machines (IBM)- Kik- Naver / Line- Microsoft- NetDirect- Newcall / Nimbuzz- Owler- Rakuten- Snapchat- Software AG- Tango- Tawkers- Tencent- Tencent WeChat- Tibco- Tumblr- Twitter- Yahoo- Yik Yak- Yolodata- Weather MessagingMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Military Drones Industry Size, Growth, Demand, Shares, Market Strategies and Forecasts 2015 to 2021 | Researchmoz

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Military Drones: Market Shares, Market Strategies, and Market Forecasts, 2015 to 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.Next generation drones leverage better technology, launching from ships anywhere and from the battlefield should that be necessary. The drone technology is evolving: better launching, better navigation, softer landings, longer flights, better ability to carry different payloads are available. The study has 881 pages and 415 tables and figures.The military drones are able to achieve terrorist control tasks. They have been evolving air camera integration for surveillance systems capability. They are used for surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence missions. They do 3D mapping and support ground troops. These are more energy efficient, last longer and have a significantly lower cost of operation than manned aircraft.Drone aircraft are sophisticated and flexible. They take off, fly and land autonomously. Theyenable engineers to push the envelope of normal flight. Reconnaissance drones can fly for days continuously. Remote, ground-based pilots can work in shifts.Drone technology extends everywhere, even to airline control towers. Drones evolving technology is extending uses, making units combat enabled. The use of drone technology to control moving devices remotely extends the notion of drones, creating a larger potential drone market. Military drones will make every navy ship an aircraft carrier. They can be launched from anywhere, not needing an airfield in many cases.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Drone unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has reached a level of maturity that has put these systems at the forefront of aerospace manufacturing. Procurement around the world is adapting to drone availability. Use in the global war on terrorism has demonstrated unique usefulness for military intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications relay.Removal of the need for an onboard pilot ushers in an era of low cost drone aerial craft. The drone elimination of the need for human support systems on aircraft dramatically reduces the aircrafts size, complexity, and power requirements. The drones effectively reduce overall program cost, development time and risk. Many advanced flight technologies are for piloted craft. These are initially tested using unmanned subscale demonstrators.Designers work to simplify the aircrafts configuration, making systems that are adaptable to different payloads on different days. Drones can be redesigned and tested at reduced risk than with development of manned aircraft. Drones allow configurations that would be impossible or impractical for human occupation. Drones are becoming easier to control.A common issue with UAV platforms is the need to optimize these aircraft. UAVs need to carry useful payloads. These platforms are flexible as to payload, permitting interchangeable or additional sensors and other electronics, extra fuel or weapons systems. The sole function of an unmanned aircraft is to get to a target location, perform a task, and then return in the most efficient and cost-effective way. Without a pilot aboard, the return trip is optional. Light weight is central to UAV design.Drones represent a way to use air to travel faster and at less cost. The market is divided between large and small military drones. Military drones represent the future of the national security presence for every nation. Increasing technology sophistication and lower costs are achieving dramatic market shifts.Unmanned aircraft systems are achieving a level of relatively early maturity. Fleets of unmanned aircraft systems have begun to evolve. The U.S. Army has achieved one million flight hours for its unmanned aircraft systems fleet. Unmanned aerial systems have good handling characteristics. UAS units are designed to perform high-speed, long-endurance, more covert, multi-mission intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and precision-strike missions over land or sea.Quantities of fielded military and commercial systems of every size and description are set to increase. Every ship can become an aircraft carrier with drones, Military drone units feature a variety of internal loads, including 2,000 lb payload, an Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR) sensor, and an all-weather GA-ASI Lynx synthetic aperture radar/ground moving target indicator (SAR/GMTI), maximizing long loiter capabilities.Military drone markets at $3 billion in 2014 are anticipated to reach $11 billion by 2021. Segments are persistent, penetrating, tactical, small tactical, and mini, Persistent drones represent the largest revenue segment in 2015 and remain the biggest throughout the forecast period.Companies ProfiledMarket Leaders- Northrop Grumman- AeroVironment- Boeing / Insitu- General Atomics- Lockheed Martin- Draganflyer- Textron / AAI- IAIMarket Participants- AeroVironment- ASN Technologies- Aurora Flight- Aviation Industry Corp (Avic)- BAE Systems- Boeing- Challis UAV Inc.- China Aerospace- Denel Dynamics- DJI- Draganflyer- Finmeccanica- Flirtey- General Atomics- General Dynamics- Google- GoPro- Honeywell- Integrated Dynamics- Israel Aerospace Industries- L-3 Communications- Laird / Cattron Group International- Lockheed Martin- Marcus UAV- MMist- Northrop Grumman- Parrot/senseFly- Prox Dynamics- Proxy Technologies- RUAG Aerospace- Safran Morpho- SAIC- Scaled Composites- Schiebel- Textron- TRNDlabs- Wing LoongMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global LED Driver and Chipset Industry Analysis, Trend, Size, Share and Forecast 2015 - 2021 | Researchmoz

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "LED Driver and Chipset Market - Global Industry Analysis, Trend, Size, Share and Forecast 2015 - 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.The global LED Driver and Chipset market is expected to experience stable growth throughout the forecast period from 2015 to 2021. LED Drivers and Chipsets are transformers that are either fitted inside or outside the LED devices and converts high voltage alternating current to lower voltage direct current for proper functioning of LEDs. The global LED Driver and Chipset market is segmented on the basis of application and geography. By application, the LED Driver and Chipset market can be segmented into: display and lighting. By display, the LED Driver and Chipset market has been categorized into: mobile phones, digital camera, television and navigation devices, medical devices, computer/laptop peripherals and others. The others segment includes gaming devices, digital photo frames and MP3 players. The lighting segment is further segmented into: outdoor areas and traffic signals, automotives, indoor lighting and commercial lighting among others. In addition, a cross-sectional analysis has been provided with respect to all the above segments included in different geographical regions which include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW).Increasing demand for lighting and display appliances having an extended lifespan and less power consumption are the major factors responsible for the enormous use of LED devices which in turn is responsible for robust growth of LED Driver and chipset market. The average lifespan of a LED is 50000 hours and utilizes a fraction of energy as used by traditional display and lighting devices whereas an incandescent bulb lasts for 1200 hours and a CFL lasts for 8000 hours. Moreover, LEDs use less power (watt) per unit of light generated (lumen). Thus, the extended lifespan and less power consumption have boosted the demand of LEDs which in turn is driving the global LED driver and chipset market. In addition, different initiatives such as Green Paper "Lighting the Future" (COM(2011)889) has been taken by the government across different parts of the world such as the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, brazil, New Zealand, China, India and Japan to reduce the consumption of power by phasing out the demand for incandescent and CFL bulbs in lieu of high quality power efficient LEDs. This automatically increases the deployment and usage of LED drivers and Chipset.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @However, lack of awareness about benefits associated with this new technology is restraining the growth of LEDs and restrains the users to switch from conventional display and lighting techniques to LEDs system. Moreover, even those who are aware of this new technology are changing their decision owing to high initial cost involved. In addition, proper functioning of LEDs largely depends on various conditions such as high temperature, incorrect polarity and inappropriate use of LED drivers and chipsets. This complex nature has discouraged consumers to switch to LED technology which in turn is restricting the growth of LED drivers and chipset market. In spite of these restraining factors, the LED Driver and Chipset market is expected to stand firm during the forecast period.The report also provides a conclusive analysis of the global LED Driver and Chipset market and the expected market growth for the period 2015 to 2021. In addition, in depth study of different market segments and detailed analysis of the LED Driver and chipset market across overall application segments has been provided in the report. Moreover, various macro and micro economic factors influencing the market growth of LED Drivers and Chipsets are also highlighted in this report.In 2014, among the different lighting applications, the outdoor lighting and traffic signal held the largest market share and is expected to witness a growth of double digit CAGR. However, the indoor lighting is expected to be the fastest growing market expanding at a CAGR of 26.0%. LED lights up very quickly and can reach full brightness in microseconds. Thus, it is most suitable for lighting purpose. Moreover, LEDs don't lose its brightness over time. Even if the LEDs dim over time, they never fail completely like HID sources. LEDs are needed to be replaced after they reach 30% lumen depreciation. These factors are responsible for wide use of LEDs for lighting purposes, which in turn affect the LED Driver and Chipset market positively. Bye different display segment, the medical devices held the largest market share in 2014. This segment's dominance is attributed to the increasing usage of LEDs used for lighting and display of devices used for teeth whitening, removal of wrinkle skin, endoscopy, stroboscopic and Computerized Tomography (CT scan)scan among others.In 2014, by geography, Asia pacific held the largest market share and is also expected to be the fastest growing market. Rising environmental concerns among the consumers regarding energy conservation coupled with increasing disposable income has fuelled the demand of power efficient LEDs used for lighting and display purposes. Moreover, initiative of government to promote LED lighting products has also boosted the demand of LED lighting. Owing to these factors, the LED Driver and Chipset market is expected to show an exponential growth during the forecast period.Overall detailed analysis of the global LED Driver and Chipset market and the expected growth for the period 2015 to 2021, after considering various macro and micro economic factors influencing the demand is provided in this report.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Medical Tourism Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2015 | Researchmoz

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Medical Tourism Market Report: 2015 Edition" to its huge collection of research reports.Medical tourism is a high-growth industry driven by globalization and rising healthcare costs in developed countries. People prefer traveling to developing countries for treatments in order to save cost. More than forty countries in Asia, America, Africa and Eastern Europe are serving millions of medical tourists annually. International medical service providers are in continuous race to get accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI).Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and India are the major destinations in the Asian medical tourism market. Thailand is more popular among Western European medical tourists for cosmetic surgery. Singapore and India specialize in complex procedures with India having a cost advantage and Singapore a technology advantage. The most common categories of procedures that people pursue during medical tourism trips are cosmetic surgery, dentistry, cardiology (cardiac surgery), and orthopedic surgery.The healthcare industry in Thailand has seen rapid growth in recent years, ahead of the country's GDP. In Thailand, medical costs are lower than in Singapore and also, it is a much more popular tourist destination. In this regard it is providing medical services, latest medical technology, medicines, and is further strengthening modern medicine, alternative medicine and biotechnology.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The Malaysian government is aggressively promoting medical tourism. Through its Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia oversees tourism policies and tourism-related activities to realize its vision of making Malaysia an international tourism destination.Indian government is aggressively promoting India as a global healthcare destination. It has also started giving affiliation to the companies working in healthcare sector. Being one of the lowest cost and highest quality of all medical tourism destinations, it offers wide variety of procedures at about one-tenth the cost of similar procedures in the US.The Korean government is promoting the nation's growing medical tourism industry and is actively taking initiatives that are mainly geared to introduce the services and facilities of Korean hospitals to overseas expositions. However, Korea has yet to increase its standing among other Asian nations.This report gives an overview of the medical tourism industry with focus on Asia. It discusses the major medical tourist destinations like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, India, South Korea and Turkey and their respective competitive advantages. The major healthcare organizations in Asia are also profiled in the later part of the report.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Energy Drinks Market: Sugar-Free Energy Drinks to Emerge as Most Prominent Trend

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A new research study by Transparency market Research (TMR) states that the global market for energy drinks has been registering a tremendous rise over the past few years. The research report, titled Energy Drinks Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Analysis And Forecasts 2016-2024, presents an unbiased assessment of this market on the basis of its historical performance, current status, and future prospects.Interpret a Competitive outlook Analysis Report with PDF Brochure:According to the research report, the increased demand for improved functionality in drinks is likely to influence the global market for energy drinks significantly during the forecast period. The increasing awareness among consumers regarding health and fitness as well as the health benefits offered by energy drinks are also anticipated to boost the sales of these drinks across the world in the near future, reports the market study.Over the forthcoming years, sugar-free energy drinks will surface as the most prominent trend in the global energy drinks market. With the increasing number of consumers cutting down on sugar consumption, triggered by the growing prevalence of diabetes, a lucrative opportunity is developing in the sugar-free energy drinks segment for market players. The obesity pandemic is projected to boost the low-calorie energy drinks considerably in the years to come, finds the research report.Predominantly, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, and Asia Pacific are considered as the key geographical segments of the global market energy drinks. Among these, Asia Pacific and Latin America are likely to witness a substantial rise in the sales of energy drinks in the years to come, thanks to the presence of a young consumer base and the dynamic economy of countries in these regions.Browse Full Report with ToC:Mature regional markets, including North America and Western Europe, are also expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities to energy drink producers on account of the increasing preference of consumers for healthier alternatives over sodas, notes the market study.The research report also analyzes the competitive landscape of the global energy drinks market by reviewing the profiles of the prominent players operating in this market. Analysts have studied the historical performance and studied the future prospects of each market players thoroughly in order to define the current market hierarchy. The leading producers of energy drinks are focusing on product innovation in terms of flavors and nutritional value in a bid to withstand this highly competitive environment and improve their visibility.Some of the leading companies producing energy drinks are PepsiCo, Red Bull GmbH, Hansen Natural Corp., and The Coca-Cola Co., states the market study.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Military Land Vehicle Market: Size, Share, Growth, Segments, Industry Analysis and Forecasts 2015 - 2021

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Defense is an integral part for every nation. To protect countrys land and its people is one of the first and foremost responsibilities of every national government. Land security is one of the areas of defense strategy apart from navy and air security. Nations land has to be protected and defended to secure its boundaries and protect people living on the land. Military land vehicles are of use in every defense planning. Protecting own land is as important as maintaining a strong economy in the country.Request Free Sample Report @Emerging nations with developing economies are showing more interest in the purchase of military land vehicles. These economies are with growing population and need more advanced defense mechanism with comparatively more numbers of land protection machines or equipment to protect its civilians and secure the national border. In addition, the overall global security scenario is getting more complicated and hence increasing the pressure on nations to have more modern and accurate defense mechanism than ever before. With every new invention in this industry the growth of the global military vehicle market is growing. However due to few nations with weaker economic conditions, the defense expenditures of those countries are decreasing and hence badly affecting the overall global military land vehicles market. The new trend in developed countries to produce their own defense equipment is also restricting the import of vehicles from other countries, which in turn adversely impacts the global market.The world military land vehicle market is segmented on the basis of types and regions. On the basis of types, the global military land vehicles market is segmented as main battle tank, infantry battle tank, armored personnel carriers, armored combat support vehicles, mine protected vehicles, light armored vehicles, light utility vehicles, anti-aircraft, unmanned vehicles, and others. On the basis of regions, the global military land vehicles market is classified into the United States, Latin America, Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are more engaged into world politics owing to their geopolitical interest; hence, they require more defense equipment and stronger mechanisms as compared to other countries. They are cutting the number of soldiers in the services and focusing more on the use of machines. Apart from these nations, few Asian and African countries are frequently facing security issues, leading to the increase in demand of the security and defense equipment to protect their land. These scenarios are highlighting the growth of military land vehicles in the world.Some of the key players dominating the global military land vehicles market include BAE Systems, Rhenmetall, General Dynamics, and Oshkosh Corporation. The global military land vehicles market is very dynamic as every nation and scientists around the globe are putting efforts to have more powerful and effective military vehicles with greater efficiency and minimal collateral damages.Browse detail report @Military Land Vehicle Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilThe Middle East and AfricaPre-Book Copy of report @About UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Alcoholic Beverages Market: Beer Tops Sales and Consumer Preference

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The global alcoholic beverages market has been witnessing consistent growth over the years, despite fluctuating economic conditions around the world. Transparency Market Research, in a report titled Alcoholic Beverage Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 20152021, notes that sales are likely to remain steady in the coming years as well. The growing economic prosperity in developing countries, strengthening distribution channels and purchase channels, and evolving consumer lifestyles are responsible for the expansion of the alcoholic beverages market.View exclusive Global strategic Business report:The key product categories of alcoholic beverages are beer, wine, and spirits, which include vodka, whiskey, and rum. Beer is by far the most commonly consumed alcoholic beverage, driven mainly by aggressive advertising and marketing activities and constant improvement in quality. TMR finds that the top six beer makers account for over half the global market for alcoholic beverages, hinting at the considerable growth of this product segment.On the basis of geography, the report studies North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Rest of the World as the key segments of the global alcoholic beverages market. Although Europe and North America are mature markets, they continue to be major revenue generators in the market. However, companies are looking to invest in markets where the unmet need is higher and where there is immense scope for growth. Asia Pacific is one of the most lucrative markets in this respect, owing mainly to the rising consumption of alcohol among the urban youth in countries such as China and India. Eastern Europe and Africa are also blossoming markets for alcoholic beverages thanks to a steady pace of Westernization and an increase in the youth population.Browse Full Report with ToC:There are several international and local players operating in the global alcoholic beverages market, making it a highly competitive and lucrative one. Product differentiation and competitive pricing are two of the key strategies adopted by companies to stay on top and garner a larger share of the consumer base. The launch of new products to cater to the health-conscious consumer is a recent trend noted in the alcoholic beverages market. Heineken, Constellation Brands, Bacardi, Treasury Wine Estates, Carlsberg, Accolade Wines, Diageo, Beam Suntory, E. & J. Gallo Winery, Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller, China Resource Enterprise, The Wine Group, Torres, and Pernod Ricard are some of the more prominent names in the alcoholic beverages market.These players are studied in depth, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in addition to the threats and opportunities in store. The key strategies and collaborations in the recent past have been evaluated to understand their impact on the performance of a company and its financial standing. The latest product portfolio of a given company has also been studied to offer readers a clear picture of the competition in the alcoholic beverages market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Rubber Tires Market: Size, Share, Growth, Segments, Industry Analysis and Forecasts 2015 - 2021

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A tire is a ring-shaped component used in vehicles. It covers the wheel's rim in order to protect and provide better vehicle performance. Most of the tires, those used for automobiles and bicycles, provide traction between the vehicle and the road, which provides a flexible cushion that absorbs shock. Nowadays, rubber is used for the production of tires, mainly due to the wear and tear rubber can withstand while retaining tires resilience. The majority of the worlds rubber production is consumed by the tire industry. Advantages of rubber tires such as providing grip to the vehicles, carry and transport loads, and resist abrasion along with providing safety and enhancing the performance of the vehicle are responsible for the high demand of rubber tires around the world.Request Free Sample Report @Rising population along with a significant rise in income levels of consumers is the major reason for the growth of the automobile industry, which in turn impacts the global rubber tire market in a positive way. Not only tires used in new vehicles but they are used to replace trees of old vehicles which are damaged due to wear and tear. This is also a major reason for the global market growth. Rapid increase in the number of vehicles produced around the world also acts as the key growth driver for the rubber tire market. Airplane tire is a new market which contributes to the rubber tire market in terms of revenue. On the other hand, rising fuel prices may hamper the automobile production, which in turn will have a negative impact on the rubber tire market growth. In addition, several automobile manufacturers implemented production cut-backs on a large scale due to financial burdens in the past, which affected the sales negatively.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the leading player in the boost rubber tire market mainly due to the increasing demand for rubber tires in this region. The U.S. and Europe are also expected to shoe considerable growth owing to the high demand for rubber requirements in China, as it is the leading consumer of bicycles and motorcycle tires. Further, Latin America and the Middle East are expected experience high demand for tires due to increased automotive production in these regions.Some of the major players dominating the global rubber tires market are Goodyear, MRF, Bridgestone Corporation, and Continental AG. Other key players influencing the global market are Eurogrip Tires, Maxxis International, and others.Browse detail report @Global Rubber Tire Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilThe Middle East and AfricaVisit Our Blog:About UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:
16th Euro Global Summit and Expo on Vaccines & Vaccination

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Exploring Emerging Markets in VaccinesWorldwide Vaccines Conference SeriesConference Series has been instrumental in conducting international Vaccines meetings for six years, and very excited to expand Europe, America and Asia Pacific continents. Previous meetings were held in major cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas, Melbourne, Dubai, Birmingham, Rome, with success the meetings again scheduled in three continents. 16th Vaccines Conference to be held during June 19-21, 2017 at Paris, France.According to market study, the global vaccines market is expected to reach $57,885.4 million by 2019 from $33,140.6 million in 2014, at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2014 to 2019. The report segments this market on the basis of type, technology, disease indication, and end user. Among various end users, the paediatrics segment is expected to account for the largest share of the market and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2014 to 2019. Growth in this segment can be attributed to the rising prevalence of diseases and the increasing number of initiatives taken by government organizations for vaccination programs.Program CoordinatorEuro Vaccines 2017conferenceseries.comE-mail: eurovaccines@conferenceseries.net, +1-650-268-9744ConferenceSeries.com hosts 3000+ Global Events that incorporates more than 1000+ International Conferences, 1000+ Symposiums and 1000+Workshops and preconference workshops on various Medical, Pharmaceutical, Clinical, Engineering, Science, Technology, Business and Management fields. More than 25 Million visitors run to our sites to observe the attest advancements in these fields.Conferenceseries.com2360 Corporate CircleSuite 400 HendersonNV 89074-7722, USA
Metal Cleaning Chemicals Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2024

Metal Cleaning Chemicals Market

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Global Metal Cleaning Chemicals Market: SynopsisMetal cleaning chemicals are used to wash off extraneous organic and inorganic materials from the surface of metals. They are used to remove unwanted substances, oil, grease, particulates, corrosion oxides, and other impurities to prevent damage and maintain performance efficiency. Usage of cleaning chemicals protects metals from corrosion caused by lubricating oil, corroding substrates, hard water, etc., that are deposited on the surface. They remove fouling caused by organic materials (such as algae, microbes, denatured protein residues, animal fats, and hydrocarbons) and inorganic materials (such as carbonates, hydroxides, oxides, sulfides, sulfates, silicates, and phosphates). Metal cleaning chemicals are employed to clean equipment and heavy machineries used in industries such as manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and transportation.A wide variety of chemicals are used in the cleaning process depending on the nature of metals. Selection of metal cleaning chemicals also depends on various factors such as surface condition and impurities to be removed. Metal cleaning chemicals are broadly classified into two groups  aqueous and solvent  based on application method.Get Free PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical insights:On the other hand, based on chemical composition, they are segmented into two categories: acid and alkali. Alkaline chemicals are used to remove organic impurities such as oil, grease, and soil from metal, whereas acidic chemical cleaners are used to remove inorganic substances such as scale, lime, and smut from the metal surface. Inorganic mineral acids such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and hydrofluoric acid are used as metal cleaning chemicals. Strong acids such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid are broadly used to clean stainless steel. Mild acids such as phosphoric acid and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether are used to clean the surface of iron and steel. Equipment that are used in the metal cleaning process include spray, soak, electroclean, and ultrasonic.Global Metal Cleaning Chemicals Market: Trends and OpportunitiesHeavy machinery and equipment used in manufacturing and transportation industries require regular maintenance to sustain performance efficiency. Thus, substantial growth in aerospace, automotive, manufacturing industries drives the metal cleaning chemicals market. Major growth in these end-user industries in Asia Pacific is expected to boost the market in the next few years. However, stringent environmental regulations in developed countries regarding usage of non-toxic chemicals is anticipated to hinder the market growth in the near future. Therefore, emergence of bio-based and environmentally sustainable chemicals is likely to create new opportunities in the metal cleaning chemicals market during the forecast period.Global Metal Cleaning Chemicals Market: Regional OverviewMetal cleaning chemicals are used in numerous end-user industries such as manufacturing, transportation, metal & mining, automotive, aerospace, oil & gas, and pharmaceutical. As a result, the global market for metal cleaning chemicals has witnessed significant growth in the past few years owing to rising demand from end-user industries. Asia Pacific dominated the market for metal cleaning chemicals in the past few years. Growth in manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, metal & mining industries favored the progress of the metal cleaning chemicals market in Asia Pacific. Developed countries such as China, countries in ASEAN, Japan, and India generated strong demand for metal cleaning chemicals in the past few years. Hence, Asia Pacific is projected to experience the fastest growth rate in the next few years. However, North America and Europe are anticipated to witness sluggish growth during the forecast period. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are projected to be lucrative markets for metal cleaning chemicals in the next few years.Global Metal Cleaning Chemicals Market: Key PlayersKey manufacturers of metal cleaning chemicals include Hubbard-Hall Inc., Houghton International Inc., ICL Performance Products, Modern Chemical, Inc., PCC Chemax Inc., Quaker Chemical Corporation, Spartan Chemical Company, Inc., and Stepan Company.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Carbon Tetrachloride Market - Global Industry Analysis 2023

Carbon Tetrachloride Market

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Carbon tetrachloride is a sweet smelling colorless liquid, also known by other names such as tetra chloromethane and carbon tet. Carbon tetrachloride is a vital chemical which was introduced by a French chemist in 1839 and has been an important inorganic chemical since. It is manufactured commercially as a by-product of chlorination of methane. It is synthesized during the manufacturing of other chloromethane products such as dichloromethane.Carbon tetra chloride molecules contains only one carbon atom which is surrounded by four chloride atoms. It is tetrahydral in shape and is highly symmetrical. Tetra chloromethane is a non polar compound similar to methane gas. Carbon tetrachloride is a very good solvent. Being a non polar compound, it readily dissolves other non polar compounds such as oil, fat and iodine.Get Free PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical insights:Carbon tetrachloride was extensively used as a fire extinguisher, refrigerant and cleaning agents. It was widely used to produce chloroflurocarbon refrigerants. However, chloroflurocarbon was banned after research proved that it is an ozone depleting agent. This in turn decreased the demand for carbon tetrachloride.Despite carbon tetrachloride being used as pesticides to kill insects in grains, its usage was banned in U.S. in 1970 owing to the increasing health concerns related to tetrachloro carbon-containing pesticides. Hence these uses are considered as historic usages of this compound. Presently, carbon tetrachloride is used in significant quantities as a laboratory reagent. It is used as a solvent and a source of chlorine in a wide range of chemicals. Moreover this inorganic compound is a hepatotoxin. It means it is toxic to liver and hence is used in scientific research as a hepatoprotective agent.Asia Pacific is the largest as well as the fastest growing market for Carbon tetrachloride and other chlorine containing hydrocarbons. The demand for Carbon tetrachloride is rising due to its increasing demand from application industries and increasing population needs. China has emerged as the leader in Asia Pacific for this industry. Some of the other major markets in this region are India, South Korea and Japan. South Asian countries contribute significantly for the growing demand for carbon tetrachloride. Emerging economies such as Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia have been organizing major global chemical industry events over the past few years. Increased industrial manufacturing activities and local production is boosting the demand for this compound in Asia-Pacific region.In North America and Europe the demand for carbon tetrachloride was significantly high over the past decade. However the demand in these two regions has declined recently due to the environmental regulations by government agencies such as U.S. Environmental Protection agency. Extensive research studies highlights that consumption of carbon tetrachloride gives results in emission of gases such as Chloro fluro carbon (CFC) which is termed as a harmful gas as it leads to ozone layer depletion and is banned in North America and European Union. Owing to this regulatory legislation, the usage of carbon tetrachloride as a refrigerant and fire extinguishers has been replaced by tetrachloroethylene. However the demand for tetrachloro methane as hepatoprotective agents and laboratory reagents is increasing globally. Increasing chemical manufacturing activities in Brazil and Russia is also increasing the demand for this compound in Rest of the World regions.Some of the major carbon tetrachloride manufacturing companies are AkzoNobel N.V., Occidental Chemical Corporation, Ineos, Solvay S.A., Kem One, Shin-Etsu, Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd. and Tokuyama Corporation.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeMiddle East and AfricaLatin AmericaAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Contraceptives Market Size to Surpass USD 33 billion

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MarketStudyReport.com adds Contraceptives Market Size By Product (Drugs [Oral Contraceptive Pills, Injectables, Topical], By Devices Condoms, Diaphragms, Sponges, Vaginal Rings, Subdermal Implants, Copper IUD, Hormonal IUD], Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, Japan, China, India, Brazil, South Africa), Application Potential, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2023" new report to its research database. The report spread across 113 pages with tables and figures in it.Global Market Insights Inc. has announced addition of a new study based report on global contraceptives market. The market is expected to foresee significant growth and surpass USD 33 billion at a growing CAGR of over 6.8% by 2023. Population on rise, increased awareness of family planning, and growing prevalence of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) are the prime factors contributing to the surge. The advent of new products with superior efficacy is projected to further the market growth over the estimated period. Furthermore, awareness programs held by NGOs and government, campaigns regarding sex education to encourage the use of contraceptives globally are also influencing the market positively.Request Sample Copy @Contraception, also known as fertility or birth control, refers to the use of devices, drugs or methods to avoid pregnancy as a result of sexual intercourse. Contraception methods are available to both women and men. The methods can be permanent (female sterilization including hysteroscopic sterilisation or tubal occlusion, and male sterilization (vasectomy). Temporary methods can be non-hormonal (cervical caps, diaphragms, condoms, sponges, non-hormonal IUDs, withdrawal methods) and hormonal methods include vaginal implants, contraceptive transdermal patches, oral contraceptive pills, hormonal IUDs, and vaginal rings. Disposable, inexpensive and self inject contraceptives are also expected to transform the market growth.Contraceptives Market SizeThe demand for contraceptive sponges and condoms is anticipated to propel market growth during the projected time frame. Condoms provide both effective birth control and prevention from STDs. They are expected to continue its dominance as the most preferred and lucrative segment worldwide owing to its low cost and widespread availability. Growing acceptance to female condoms is also likely to boost the growth in next few years. Rising demand for efficient and advanced contraceptive devices and methods is encouraging manufacturers to invest in research and development to introduce advanced devices and drugs in the Industry. Low-priced contraceptive implants also foresee wide acceptance globally.Browse full table of contents and data tables @North America is expected to dominate the region segment and register high gains, especially due to U.S. market during the forecast period. APAC, particularly India and China, is anticipated to upsurge over 30% of global revenue by 2023 owing to favorable government initiatives regarding sex education. The surge is attributed to high disposable income, inventions in healthcare infrastructure, and growing awareness. The LATAM market is predicted to observe growth at a growing CAGR of 8.6% in the near future.The market is highly competitive and major market participants include Mayer Laboratories, Inc. Pfizer, Inc. Merck & Co., Cooper Surgical, and Actavis PLCs. Product innovation to meet the rising demand for modern contraceptive methods is an important approach for market players.Enquiry before Buying @To receive personalized assistance write to us @ sales@marketstudyreport.com with the report title in the subject line along with your questions or call us at +1 866-764-2150About Market Study ReportCentralize market research purchases across your entire organization in one place.Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.The Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United States
Palm Oil Market: Manufacturers Focus on Sustainable Production Processes to Stay Competitive

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The growth of the global market for palm oil is primarily attributed to its rising application in various end-use industries, says Transparency Market Research in a report. The report, titled Palm Oil Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20162024, states that the demand for sustainable palm oil will continue driving this market through the forecast period.Download exclusive Sample of this report:Palm oil finds application in a wide range of edible and non-edible uses. In the food industry, it is used in products such as biscuits, bakery, fast foods, ice cream, and snacks. Among non-edible applications, palm oil is used to produce lubricants, candles, and grease; it is used to manufacture cleaning products, cosmetics, animal feed products, and fuel; and it is considered to be an ideal substitute for mineral oils in gas stations.The palm oil market has been positively impacted by improving economic conditions across the globe, which have in turn, resulted in better living conditions and greater disposable income to spend on personal care products and healthier food products. Although the implementation of certain global and domestic legal norms threaten to impede the growth of this market, manufacturers are focused on producing palm oil by keeping in mind the processes social as well as environmental sustainability.Browse Full Report with ToC:From a geographical standpoint, the global market for palm oil is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. Asia Pacific has emerged as one of the most prominent and promising markets for palm oil. Malaysia and Indonesia are the leading contributors to this market and growth in these two countries can be attributed to the large-scale production of palm oil. The soaring demand for modern cosmetics and the rising consumption of noodles has made Southeast Asia one of the most significant consumers of palm oil in the world. The APAC palm oil market is also fueled by the increase in population, the growing disposable income, high investments in R&D and technology, and evolving consumption patterns. In addition, the increasing yield of palm oil and a surge in the use of palm oil in edible as well as non-edible applications has benefited the Asia Pacific market.ADM (US), Alami Group (Malaysia), The United Palm Oil Industry Public Company Limited (Thailand), Musim Mas Group (Indonesia), and Boustead Group (Malaysia) are some of the notable companies competing in the global palm oil market. The report offers a detailed evaluation of the prominent players and sheds light on their individual strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The latest developments and strategies undertaken by these players have been assessed at length to give readers a thorough understanding of what the competitive scenario looks like.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Microfluidic Device System Market Shares Investments 2014 Base Applications, Sales and Recent Developments

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Microfluidics device system deals with the several systematic applications areas including medicine, cell biology research, and protein crystallization. It is a developing scientific field having significant commercial potential. Microfluidic device system helps to reduce side effects and improve the efficacy of medical treatments. Scientifically, the microfluidic study involves the study of the behavior of fluids in microchannels and technically, it deals with the manufacturing of microfluidics devices for applications. Microfluidic device system has many applications in other areas such as inkjet printers, blood-cell-separation equipment, biochemical assays, chemical synthesis, genetic analysis, drug screening, electrochromatography, surface micromachining, laser ablation and mechanical micro milling.Get a copy of free Sample Report @Increasing demand of microfluidic device system from point of care testing and pharmaceutical industry are the major factors driving the microfluidic device system market. Rising demand of microfluidic device system in genomics and proteomics strongly associated with the growth of microfluidic device system market. However, harsh regulatory requirements may hamper the growth of this market.The report includes the detailed competitive landscape of the global microfluidic device system market. It includes company market share analysis, the product portfolio of the major industry participants. The report provides detailed segmentation of the microfluidic device system market based on material, industry, application and region. Glass, polymer, and silicon are the material segments of microfluidic device system market. These materials are used in the manufacturing of microfluidic devices.On the basis of industry segment, microfluidic device system market can be segmented into three major industries include in-vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Due to increased demand from in-vitro diagnostics industry, it is the largest industry segment of microfluidic device system market.Get in-depth TOC (Table of Contents) with Tables and Figures @The point of care testing, pharmaceutical and life science research, drug delivery, analytical devices, clinical and veterinary diagnostics, environment and industrial are the key applications involved in the microfluidic device system market. The microfluidic device system is widely used in clinical and veterinary diagnostics application. Therefore clinical and veterinary diagnostics applications segment was the leading segment of global microfluidic device system market in 2014.Major regional segments analyzed in this study include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. This report also provides further bifurcation of the region on the country level. Major countries analyzed in this reports are U.S., Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India, and Brazil. Microfluidic device system market was dominated by North America. Asia-Pacific region is expected to exhibit the rapid growth of this market in coming years.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Abbott Laboratories, Roche Diagnostics, Becton Dickinson and Company, Agilent Technologies, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Siemens Healthcare, Fluidigm Corporation, and Johnson & Johnson.Browse the full report @The report segments the global microfluidic device system market into:Global Microfluidic Device System Market: Material Segment AnalysisGlassPolymerSiliconGlobal Microfluidic Device System Market: Industry Segment AnalysisIn-vitro diagnosticsPharmaceuticalsMedical DevicesGlobal Microfluidic Device System Market: Application Segment AnalysisPoint of care testingPharmaceutical and life science researchDrug deliveryAnalytical devicesClinical and veterinary diagnosticsEnvironment and IndustrialGlobal Microfluidic Device System Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilThe Middle East & AfricaInquire more before buying this report @About US:Syndicate Market Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Syndicate Market Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with the one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suite #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sale@syndicatemarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Vascular Stents Market Growth, Insights, Analysis, Trends, Overview and Forecasts 2014 to 2020

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Stents are devices placed into the blood vessel, artery or narrow blood vessels in the human body. A vascular stent is placed in an artery called as coronary angioplasty. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart to other parts of the body. Stents made up of metal mesh and fabric. Fabric stents also called as stent grafts, which are widely used in larger arteries.Get a copy of free Sample Report @Increasing aging population and rising prevalence of the peripheral arterial disease are important factors bolstering the growth of the vascular stents market. Advanced technology and R&D in new devices such as drug-eluting stents are expected to exhibit lucrative growth during the years to come. The study includes drivers and restraints for the vascular stents market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the opportunities available in the acne vulgaris treatment market on a global level.The report provides detailed segmentation of the vascular stents market based on product and region. Fem-pop artery stents, iliac artery stents, renal artery stents, carotid artery stents and others are key product includes in vascular stents market. Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand of vascular stents in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India, and Brazil. The vascular stents market is dominated by North America followed by Europe. Asia-Pacific is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period.Get in-depth TOC (Table of Contents) with Tables and Figures @The report covers forecast and analysis for the vascular stents market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2014 along with a forecast from 2014 to 2020 based on revenue (USD Million). To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the vascular stents has also been included.The report covers detailed competitive scenario including the company overviews, financial revenues of the key participants to develop their positions in the global market. Major market players include Cordis Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation, C.R.Bard, Inc, Cook Medical and W.L. Gore & Associates and Abbott Vascular, Inc.Browse the full report @This report global vascular stents market is segmented into following types:Vascular Stents Market: Product Segment AnalysisFem-pop Artery StentsIliac Artery StentsRenal Artery StentsCarotid Artery StentsOthersVascular Stents Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East & AfricaAbout US:Syndicate Market Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Syndicate Market Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with the one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suite #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sale@syndicatemarketresearch.comWebsite:
Welding Consumables Market - Indonesia Industry Analysis 2023

Welding Consumables Market

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Transparency Market Research has published a new report titled Welding Consumables Market - Indonesia Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2015 - 2023. According to the report, the Indonesia welding consumables market was valued at US$150.3 mn in 2014 and is anticipated to reach US$293 mn in 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 7.7% between 2015 and 2023. In terms of volume, the welding consumables market in Indonesia stood at 64.5 kilo tons in 2014.Welding, an effective and economical process, is employed widely in various industries such as automobile, building & construction, pipeline, and oil & gas. Growth of the welding industry is highly dependent on the consumption of steel in various end-use industries. Welding equipment and consumables are primarily used in the welding industry. Demand for welding consumables in Indonesia has been increasing significantly due to constant technology advancements and substantial growth in end-use industries.Get Free PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical insights:Key end-use industries driving the welding consumables market in Indonesia include automobile, building & construction, power, and oil & gas. Furthermore, capacity addition and infrastructural development in power and oil & gas sectors are estimated to boost the demand for welding consumables in the country. Factors such as availability of raw materials and increasing competition from other countries in Asia, especially China, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, may hamper market growth. However, rise in investments resulting from the emerging scope of public-private partnership projects in Indonesia is likely to enhance the production and consumption of welding consumables in different end-user industries in Indonesia.In terms of demand, stick electrodes accounted for more than 50% share of the welding consumables market in Indonesia in 2014. Flux-cored wires is anticipated to be one of the fastest growing product segments during the forecast period. Market shares of flux-cored wires and SAW wires and fluxes are estimated to increase during the forecast period due to rising implementation of emerging welding technologies in various end-user industries.Automotive & transportation dominated the market for welding consumables in Indonesia in 2014 and accounted for over 20% of the share in the same year. Increase in domestic demand in the automotive industry coupled with growth in manufacturing activities for automotive and automotive parts in Indonesia is expected to further propel the demand for welding consumables in the near future. Automotive & transportation is estimated to be one of the fastest-growing segments of the welding consumables market in Indonesia from 2015 to 2023. Oil & gas, building & construction, and power sectors are the other major end-users of welding consumables in Indonesia.The report includes profiles of leading companies such as Lincoln Electrical Holdings Inc., The Linde Group, Inc., PT. Ispat Indo, PT. Gapura Raya, PT. Alfa Metalindo Indonesia, P.T. Intan Pertiwi Industri, PT. Cahaya Las Mandiri, PT. Yontomo Sukses Abadi, Nikko Steel, and Voestalpine AG.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog:
New president for Bruel & Kjr Vibro

Roderik Wiedemeier, Bruel & Kjr Vibro's new president

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Bruel & Kjr Vibro, the world-wide leading independent supplier of machine protection and condition monitoring systems and solutions for rotating machinery, is pleased to announce that Roderik Wiedemeier hasbeen named President and Managing Director effective 16 September 2016.Roderik was with Mirion Technologies as head of the Munich/Germany office (MGPI H&B) for the past six years. MGPI H&B is a global company that manufactures electronic instruments and systems for radiation monitoring. Previous to that he held top management positions with Teupen Maschinenbau and Suss MicroTec AG, among others. A Diplom-Kaufmann by training (Masters of Business Administration degree, Georg August University in Gottingen/Germany and Florence University/Italy), he was a Management Consultant in the first years of his career before moving on to technological and industrial environments.Roderik brings with him an impressive track record of strategic and operational accomplishments. He is an inspiring and motivating team member with a strong drive for positive results and sustainable growth.Roderik enjoys being a part of the team and looks forward to working with his new colleagues, customers and partners.Bruel & Kjr Vibro is the leading world-wide independent supplier of condition monitoring solutions for rotating machinery. The comprehensive product range comprises vibration sensors (acceleration, velocity and displacement), vibration monitors, portable instruments and rack-based plant-wide integrated monitoring solutions. These products plus a suite of comprehensive services fulfil the most demanding applications for machine protection as well as condition and performance monitoring of rotating machinery. Monitoring in the power industry is a strategic focus area with numerous applications in the conventional thermal, cogeneration, nuclear, hydro and wind energy sectors.Based on 60 years of experience and a world-wide sales and support network, Bruel & Kjr Vibros monitoring solutions have successfully reduced downtime and maintenance costs and increased machine reliability for our customers worldwide. For more details, please refer toBruel & Kjr Vibro is part of Spectris plc, the leading supplier of productivity enhancing instrumentation and controls.Bruel & Kjr Vibro GmbHMarketing CommunicationsLeydheckerstrasse 1064293 Darmstadt/GermanyPhone: +49 6151 428 0Fax: +49 6151 428 1000E-mail: press@bkvibro.com
Global MonoChloro Acetic Acid Market: What to Watch Out for in Coming Future!

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Global MonoChloro Acetic Acid Sales Market Report 2016Report HighlightsThe report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.Check complete report @The study is a source of reliable data on: Key market segments and sub-segments Evolving market trends and dynamics Changing supply and demand scenarios Quantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecasting Tracking current trends/opportunities/challenges Competitive insights Opportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsAvail more information from Sample Brochure of report @Reasons for Buying this Report: This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth It provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors It helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments It provides distinctive graphics and exemplified analysis of major market segmentsOrder a copy of Global MonoChloro Acetic Acid Market Research Report @About us:MarketIntelReports (MIR) aim to empower our clients to successfully manage and outperform in their business decisions, we do this by providing Premium Market Intelligence, Strategic Insights and Databases from a range of Global Publishers.A group of industry veterans who are well experienced in reputed international consulting firms after identifying the sourcing needs of MNCs for market intelligence, have together started this business savior MarketIntelReports.MIR intends to be a one-stop shop with an intuitive design, exhaustive database, expert assistance, secure cart checkout and data privacy integrated. It curates the list of reports, publishers and studies to ensure that the database is constantly updated to dynamically meet the targeted, specific needs of our clients.MarketIntelReports currently has more than 10,000 plus titles and 35+ publishers on our platform and growing consistently to fill the Global Intelligence Demand  Supply Gap. We cover more than 15 industry verticals being: Automotive, Electronics, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Chemicals, Building & Construction, Agriculture, Food & Beverages, Banking & Finance, Media and Government, Public Sector Studies.Contact us:Mayur S.Sales Manager2711 Centerville Road, Suite 400,Wilmington, Delaware, 19808United Statessales@marketintelreports.comTelephone: 1-302-261-5343
A Focus On Its Segments Including: Curtains, Textile Floorings And Towels By Global Home Textiles And Furnishings Market 2016-19

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"Global Home Textiles and Furnishings Market: Trend and Opportunities (2016-2019)" The Report covers current Market Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Scope of the ReportThe report titled Global Home Textiles and Furnishings Market: Trends and Opportunities (2016-2019) analyzes the consumption pattern of the global home textiles and furnishings market, with a focus on its segments including: curtains, textile floorings and towels. The global market along with markets of the US, Europe, India, China and Turkey are assessed in the report. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the industry are presented in this report. The three major players in the industry, Welspun India Ltd, Dorel Industries Inc. and Springs Global are profiled, along with their key financials and strategies for growth.Get Sample Report With TOC @Countries CoverageThe USEuropeIndiaChinaTurkeyCompany CoverageWelspun India LtdSprings GlobalDorel Industries LtdExecutive SummaryHome textiles and furnishing sector forms a significant portion of overall textile industry. The sector offers a wide range of bedspreads, furnishing fabrics, curtains, rugs, carpets, placemats, cushion covers, table covers, linen, kitchen accessories, made-ups, bed spreads, bath linen, and other home furnishings accessories. Over the past 5 years, consumption of home textile and furnishings witnessed consistent growth driven by factors like rising consumer spending on home renovation, accelerating investments on infrastructure, demand from Asian markets like India, China, Korea and Indonesia. Product innovation and development has allowed retailers and manufactures to widen the market, using new technologies and advanced marketing approaches.Table of Content1. Executive Summary2. Global Textile Industry and Trade2.1 Textile TradeTable 1: World Merchandise Trade of Textiles in US$ Billion, 2009-20132.2 Top Exporters and Importers of TextilesTable 2: Share of Top Exporting Countries of Textiles in %, 2013Table 3: Share of Top Importing Countries of Textiles in %, 20133. Home Textiles and Furnishings3.1 Introduction3.2 Home Textiles Market: Sizing and GrowthTable 4: Share of Home Textile Out of Total Fiber Consumption, 2013ETable 5: Share of Major Home Textile Importers in %, 2013Table 6: Global Home Textile Consumption by Volume in Million Tonnes, 2009-2013Table 7: Forecast of Global Home Textile Consumption by Volume in Million Tonnes, 2016-20193.3 Home Textiles Market Share: Market SegmentsTable 8: Market Segmentation of Global Home Textile Industry in %, 2013E4. Home Textiles and Furnishings: Market Segmentation4.1 CurtainsTable 9: Global Home Textile Consumption in Curtains Category in Million Tonnes, 2009-20134.2 Textile Floor Coverings, Carpets, RugsTable 10: Global Home Textile Consumption in Floor Coverings Category in Million Tonnes, 2009-20134.3 Bed LinenTable 11: Global Home Textile Consumption in Bed Linen Category in Million Tonnes, 2009-20135. Home Textiles and Furnishings Market: Regional Analysis5.1 The US Home Textiles & Furnishings MarketTable 12: The US  Retail Sales of the US Home Textile Furnishing Industry in US$ Billion, 2007 to 2013Table 13: The US - Imports by Country in Cotton Towels in %, 2013Table 14: The US - Imports by Country in Cotton Sheets in %, 20135.2 India: Home Textiles & Furnishings MarketTable 15: Growth Rate of GDP at Factor Cost (at 2004-2005) Prices in % (2007-08 to 2013-14)Table 16: Indian Textile and Clothing Industry  Domestic and Exports in US$ Billion, 2012-2022Table 17: India - Production of Raw Cotton in Million Bales, FY07-FY13Table 18: India  Production of Yarn in Million Tonnes, FY07 to FY13Table 19: Indian Home Textiles Market in US$ Billion, 2011 to 2021FTable A: India  Home Textiles Market Breakup in US$ Million, 2011-2021FTable 20: Share of India in Global Home Textiles Export in %, 2013Table B: Major Textile Manufacturers in IndiaResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) Construction - Global Industry Analysis 2023

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Ultra mega power projects (UMPP) are large power stations with a capacity of 4,000 MW. UMPP was an initiative planned by Government of India in 2005 to build series of ambitious power stations. The aim of the initiative is to create an additional capacity of minimum 100,000 MW power by 2022. The UMPPs are perceived as an extension of the MPP (Mega Power Projects) projects that the Government of India initiated in the 1990s. The projects are awarded to developers on the basis of competitive bidding. In countries such as Brazil, China, Poland, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Russia, UAE, Canada, Venezuela and the U.S, ultra mega power projects exist with different names and different initiatives. Generally, these UMPPs are coal powered, hydro powered, nuclear powered, wind powered and oil & gas powered.The global UMPP construction market has been growing substantially since the first ultra mega power project was started in Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in 1971. This power plant has an installed capacity of 5,428 MW and is owned and operated by the Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation Limited.Many other ultra-mega power projects such as the Itaipu hydroelectric dam, Xiluodu hydroelectric dam, and Guri hydroelectric dam have been constructed in various regions of the world. North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America are the major markets for UMPP construction industry.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:The drivers for UMPP construction market include rising demand for electricity across the globe. The rising population, industrialization and modernization have led to an increase in demand of electricity. UMPPs provide electricity to consumers at much lower rates. As the size of the power plants is very huge, the cost of the electricity is much lower due to the economies of scale. However, initial high capital costs, negative environmental impacts and infeasibility to relocate large number of residents could hamper the growth of UMPP construction market.UMPPs are beneficial for low cost electricity generation and rising demand of electricity could be satisfied with help of UMPPs. Many governments such as Government of India and Government of China among others have provided subsidies,financial assistance, public clearances and approvals, and plug and play model to encourage UMPP construction projects. These positive attributes are likely to help the UMPP construction market to grow during the forecast period.The global UMPP constructionmarket for can be segmented on the basis of technology and geography. Various types of UMPPs are constructed across the globe using different renewable and non-renewable energy sources. UMPPs are constructed using various energy sources such as coal, nuclear energy, oil & gas, wind power and hydro power. Asia Pacific held largest market share of the global UMPP construction market in 2014. China is one of the leader in UMPP construction market followed by India, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. North America, Latin America and Europe including countries such as the U.S, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Russia and Poland have a large market for UMPP construction. Middle East has also started construction of UMPP in recent years. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and UAE are major players in this region for UMPP construction market.Asia Pacific including countries such as China and India have a huge potential market for UMPP construction in the coming years.Some of the key players in the global UMPP construction market include China Three Gorges Corporation, Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, CVG Electrificacion Del Caroni CA, Chubu Electric PowerCo. Inc., Itaipu Binacional, LongTan Hydropower Development Co. Ltd., Ontario Power Generation Inc.,PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA, Reliance Power Ltd., RusHydro JSC, Saudi Consolidated Electric Company, Taiwan Power Company , Tata Power Co. Ltd, and Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. among others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
The Fallas  a tradition of Valencia has now been declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity

www.Costadevalencia.com

Spanish language students had the chance to participate in an extraordinary event in ValenciaValencia. Those Spanish language students that booked their holidays at the right time were especially lucky. Because they were allowed to experience the joy that occurred as Unesco announced the declaration of Fallas as Cultural Heritage. The Fallas do not only attract a mass of tourists, but also many curios Spanish people and this tradition is now officially safe in the future  certainly, this must be celebrated! The Spanish students could take part in an exciting program, established to impress the spectators and to appreciate the recent decision. It was a unique possibility for the students to see and to live the Spanish culture and the Spanish jollity.Therefore, Valencia celebrated the whole Sunday. In the afternoon, the program started: many important persons as the president of Valencia, his vice-president and other relevant persons for the Fallas hold speeches, which was followed by an audiovisual demonstration and an impressive speech in many different languages. Additionally, a great firework display fascinated the spectators and, in particular, the language students.For a great ending, the Crema of an especially built Falla was planned. The Falla had been in public since Wednesday and should now  as the tradition says  be burned. Mostly, it is a very special event and the Spanish students were fascinated and impressed by the whole program. Normally, one can see such a burning only during the Fallas celebration in March, as they show some kind of new beginning and new hope when everything old gets destroyed.This way, language students of the Spanish language school Costa de Valencia got the chance to participate in this extraordinary event. With new international friends they could follow the Spanish Fiesta and  quiet on the go  learn more Spanish. To conclude, a very special time for the language students!Since 1995 the language school Costa de Valencia has focused on teaching Spanish to non-native speakers. This language school, which is situated in the heart of Valencia, is a Centro Acreditado of the Instituto Cervantes and a member of many associations.The teaching material, which is used during the lessons, is worked out by a team of well-versed teachers. One of the most important aspects of teaching in this school is the individual involvement of every single student. This way every student has the possibility to speak very much during the language course. Furthermore, both managers place big value the quality of the language lessons and a broadly diversified leisure programme.Costa de Valencia, S.L.Avda. Blasco Ibanez, 66E-46021 ValenciaTel.: (+34) 96 361 03 67Fax: (+34) 96 393 60 49info@costadevalencia.comContact person:Andreas Temer (manager)Andreas@Costadevalencia.com
Micro Hydro Electric Market - Global Industry Analysis 2023

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Water power can be utilized in numerous ways; tidal flows can be used to generate power by building a barrage across an estuary and discharging water in a controlled and systematic manner by a turbine; large dams accumulate water, which can be utilized to provide ample quantities of power; wave power is also harnessed in different ways. It is a method that has been in use throughout the world, by a diverse range of cultures and societies. Water can be harnessed from small to large hydro electric plants.In United Kingdom, water mills are in use for the past 900 years. Their numbers grew rapidly and by the end of 19th century, there were over 20,000 water mills in operation in England itself. In Europe, Asia and few parts of Africa, water wheels were utilized to propel various industrial machineries, such as mills and pumps. First effective water turbine appeared in the middle of 19th century and they started replacing water wheels in various applications. In contrast to the water wheels and turbines, modern turbines are small, highly efficient and are capable of running at high speed. Hydropower is a reliable technology, relying on non -polluting, renewable and indigenous resource, which can easily integrate with irrigation and water supply projects all across the globe. Of the total, china constitutes more than 85,000 small-scale, electricity generating hydropower plants.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:In the last decade, there has been a growing realization in emerging economies in which micro - hydro schemes have played an important role in the economic development of remote rural areas, especially mountains. Micro hydro schemes can generate power for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses through direct mechanical power or by the coupling the turbine to a generator to develop electricity.In order to determine the power potential of the water flowing in a river it is important to determine both the flow rate of the water and the head by which the water can be made to fall. The flow rate is the amount of water flowing past a point in a specific time. Generally, flow rate units are liters per second. The head is the vertical height measured in meters from the turbine up to the point, where the water enters the penstock.However, some amount energy is always lost when it is transformed from one form to another. Small water turbines hardly have efficiencies more than 75%. Power will also be wasted in the pipe carrying the water to the turbine, due to some frictional losses. By a systematic design, this loss can be lower down to a small percentage. A rough guide used for small systems of a few kW rating is utilized to take the overall efficiency as approximately as 45%. Hence, the theoretical power has to be multiplied by 0.50 for more accurate results.Growing population and developing economies are some of the key drivers of the micro hydroelectric generator market. However, limited exposure regarding micro hydroelectric generators can hinder the growth of the market. Ample opportunities are there for the micro hydroelectric generator market owing to rapid industrialization taking place in Asia Pacific countries such as India and China.Some of the key companies in the business of Micro hydroelectric generator market are Rainbow Power Company Ltd, Brownell Micro Hydro, Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre Ltd., Canyon Industries, Inc., Addnew Technologies Limited, Alps Power Technologies (P) Limited and Addnew Technologies Limited among others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Android App from ChangeMyStyle.com compensates short daylight with sunrise simulation

Wake up by light

http://www.graphics-tools.com

http://www.ChangeMyStyle.com

The App "Gentle Wakeup" is a sunrise simulator for Android which wakes people up by light. The artificial daylight can make the wake up feel like in summer while it is still dark in the morning.Getting out of bed while it is still dark outside is a challenge. Most people feel tired and exhausted even though they slept enough hours. This is because the missing daylight could not initiate any wake up processes in their body.The App Gentle Wakeup compensates the short daylight by turning any Android device into a sunrise simulator. The device is put on a nightstand and 20 minutes before wake up time the display starts brightening the room. The body will switch into a light sleep phase and prepare for wake up just like at a nice summer day. The flashlight is turned on constantly to increase the effect.Other wake up methods like sound and vibration are supported as well but rise gently. Sounds can be gentle twittering birds, a fireplace, ocean waves or a favorite song from storage. Vibration is starting with a very short length but will have maximum intensity at the end to assure that the alarm is not missed.After dismissing the alarm a wake up show is started. An animation shows the weather for the morning, noon and evening with the real and felt temperature which is influenced by wind and humidity.The slowly increasing light, sound and vibration effects will not only lead to a gentle wake up but it can also keep other people in the room sleeping who need to get up at a different time.ChangeMyStyle.com is owned by the Indie Developer Dr. Rieger. Products started in 1999 with photo effects for Windows computers and have won several awards during the years (). Started App development in 2012 for iOS. Since then lifestyle utilities, quiz games and over 1000 photo effects have been released.Dr. Alexander Rieger, Bochumer Str. 22, 10555 Berlin, GermanyE-Mail: info@changemystyle.comInternet:
Thermoseal Group Wins Amazon Growing Business Award Export Champion of the Year

Thermoseal Group has added to its recent compilation of awards, now being announced as the Winner of the Export Champion of the Year at the 18th annual Amazon Growing Business Awards, which took place at The Brewery in London on November 30th.This award follows various other award wins including: the coveted Component Supplier of the Year award at the recent Glass and Glazing Industrys G-Awards; an EEF Future Manufacturing Award for Export for the North West Region and also a Wigan Business Award for Exporter of the Year 2016.As the leading UK insulated glass (IG) component manufacturer and supplier of over 1,500 IG components and machinery to manufacturers of double and triple glazing units, Thermoseal Group has been in the business of IG for over 37 years. Following many years of research and development, in 2010 the Group embarked on its Warm Edge Project to begin manufacturing its own highest performance warm edge spacers and accessories. With a huge investment into its own innovation centre and EN1279 test facilities the Groups innovation team worked with customers and export distributors to make two of the best quality and highest performance products suited to current manufacturing methods - Thermobar (rigid plastic spacer) and Thermoflex (foam spacer) Warm Edge Spacers.The whole project was approached with a focus on developing products which are competitive in the worldwide market and rivalling large international brands. Both Thermobar and Thermoflex are industryleading products in terms of thermal efficiency, (Passive House Approved with highest ratings and can achieve A++ Window Energy), aesthetics and manufacturability.In 2015, Thermoseal Group saw a 95% increase in export business coming from its expanding network of customers  many of which are distributors in 22 countries within Asia; Australia and Oceania; Europe; North America and South America. This year, the Group will achieve 100% growth in export sales and plan to significantly increase export sales in 2017.We are so excited to receive such a prestigious award, says Samantha Hill, Group Marketing Manager. What better recognition for our export brand presence than to be endorsed by such a well-respected business as Amazon. Its been a great year for awards in recognition of the hard work of all of our teams here at Thermoseal Group and we are all spurred on to continually improve the products and service that we provide. Thank you to all of our customers and particularly the ones who have given us feedback to be able to develop our products and service and expand the warm edge range we offer.Thermobar Warm Edge Spacer Tube achieves a 0.14W/mK and Thermoflex Warm Edge Spacer a 0.135W/mK Bundesverband Flachglas (BF) rating. Both spacers also achieve a Passive House phA+ rating.To find out about Thermoseal Group and its comprehensive range of insulated glass components and machinery for glazing manufacture, call +44(0)121 331 3950.-Ends-For further press information or photography please contact Sophie Williams on +44 (0)121 331 3978 and quote reference number 142.Thermoseal Group Limited is - Dedicated to Insulated Glass. It is the largest specialist insulated glass (IG) component manufacturer and distributor in the UK, supplying over 1,500 insulated glass components including the largest combined sales volume of spacer bar sold into the UK market.Thermoseal Group (HQ)Gavin Way, Holford DriveBirminghamB6 7AF
Global Medical Electronics Market 2021 Value Chain and Stakeholder Analysis by 2021

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Global Medical Electronics Industry Report 2016 is a professionally analysed report. The report describes the forecast and analysis of Medical Electronics market on a global as well as regional level. Main regions covered in the report are North America, Europe and Asia and the major countries are United States, Germany, Japan and China. The report involves the research of opportunities available in the market.Request For Sample:The report fundamentally derives definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain overview of Medical Electronics Industry Report. Industry policies and plans, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures are also considered in this research report. The report is significantly analysed on the basis of product price, profit, capacity, production, capacity utilization, supply, and demand and industry growth rate. All the application sections are analyzed on the basis of present and future trends of market.Enquiry before buying :The report imparts the specific details of key manufacturers in the market. Various parameters are covered in the report like Company overview, product portfolio, revenue, financial overview, and manufacturing capacity, to give detailed competitive outlook of key manufacturers in the market."MarketInsights.Biz offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Frank ValadezDirector of Business DevelopmentWebsite:Email:sales@marketinsights.biz
A Portland police sergeant is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on suspicion of driving drunk in a police car while off duty during the weekend.



Timothy K. Robinson, 43, is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. in Beaverton Municipal Court on an accusation of driving under the influence of intoxicants. He was booked into the Washington County Jail around 12:30 a.m. Saturday and released around 5 a.m., jail staff said.



Robinson, an 18-year police veteran, is a sergeant with Portland police's drugs and vice division. The police bureau said he has been reassigned to the telephone reporting unit pending a resolution in the case.



Robinson was driving the city-owned vehicle he used as part of his police duties when he was arrested by officers in Beaverton, Portland police said. No further information about his arrest has been released.



Robinson is the second Portland police officer arrested this year on suspicion of intoxicated driving in a police car.



Daniel Chastain, a 18-year veteran on the gang enforcement team, was arrested in April after a crash in Happy Valley. He was sentenced to 32 days in jail in August for driving under the influence of intoxicants, fourth-degree assault and reckless driving.

Chastain remains on paid administrative leave as of Monday because an internal review of the crash still hasn't been completed, Portland police said.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
From a technique perspective, Portland is near the top of America's cocktailing class, with dozens of proficient, vested mixologists stirring their way through finishing school at Teardrop or Clyde Common each year. Yet even as these graduates go on to open bars with cutting-edge ice programs and Bull in China mixing glasses, a sameness has crept in, with interchangeable menus of "classic cocktails with a twist" feeling like a cliche. Thanks, then, to Adam Robinson, the former Bent Brick manager, for spending more than a year abroad working at Taipei's Ounce, and for bringing back a syllabus of drinks filled with seaweed, sesame and bitter melon. For now, the format is as idiosyncratic as the cocktails, with Robinson's Deadshot opening just once a week -- on a school night, no less -- at pioneering Southeast Portland pop-up Holdfast Dining. But that could be changing soon.

The dish: Turns out, Robinson has known Holdfast's Will Preisch and Joel Stocks for years, dating back to the trio's time together at Park Kitchen. The reunion seems to have been equally fruitful for Preisch and Stocks, who turn from their typically intricate tasting menus toward Deadshot's fun, elevated snacks. On my first visit, a bar filled almost entirely with members of Portland's restaurant and bar industry dabbed ham into pineapple butter, crunched fried-chicken skin nachos and nibbled on a plate of squab wings, their tiny claws and all dressed in a totally faithful Buffalo sauce. Behind the bar, Robinson made botanical G&Tea's, savory beet-coriander Switchblades and the pale-green Casper's Ghost, a cocktail of bitter melon, pineapple, rhum agricole and mezcal garnished with tarragon.

Scouting Report

The takeaway: A top bartender returns to Portland after more than a year in Taiwan, launching a one-night-a-week bar with refreshingly unusual cocktails and snacks. For now, Deadshot exists as a Mondays-only pop-up, but Robinson says he's actively looking for a full-time home.

Sample menu: G&Tea ($11), Casper's Ghost ($12), crunchy prawn heads ($3 each), chicken skin nachos ($12), bone marrow mac and cheese ($12).

Go: When you don't have anywhere to be Tuesday morning.

Drinks: Cocktails ($10-$13), wine chosen by Holdfast's resident grape geek Jeff Vejr ($10), Montucky and Stiegl Radler tallboys ($4-$5).

Details: 6 to 11 p.m., Mondays; disabled access; no reservations; 537 S.E. Ash St., #102 (enter on S.E. Sixth Ave.), 503-504-9448, deadshotpdx.com

-- Michael Russell
AF9V5480

Former Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Austin Maloata celebrates during in September against UC Davis.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

Former Oregon Ducks defensive tackle Austin Maloata was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation and 30 days in Lane County jail after pleading guilty to a pair of misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree assault and a misdemeanor count of DUII.

A felony charge for methamphetamine possession was dismissed, according to court documents.

The sentencing in Lane County Circuit Court comes one month after Maloata's

after his early morning arrest. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Lane County Court last month, a Eugene police officer reported that the car Maloata was driving ran a red light near the UO campus and struck another car with two passengers, injuring both.

The incident came shortly after an Oregon home loss to Stanford and Maloata, who had been suspended for UO's previous game at USC, was dismissed by the team before he was released from Lane County jail later that morning.

, Maloata pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges for assault, DUII and methamphetamine possession. A Eugene police officer reported that Maloata initially denied driving the vehicle but later admitted to it after several witnesses confronted him. A breath test measured Malota's blood-alcohol level at 0.11 percent, above the Oregon legal limit of 0.08.

During a search of the car, the officer located two glass pipes with methamphetamine residue. According to the

, Maloata's lawyer, Laura Fine Moro, told the court that evidence showed the pipes did not belong to Maloata.

Maloata, 20, also reportedly apologized to the two women injured in the collision Tuesday, and he must pay them an unknown amount of restitution.

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com
1comet.JPG

This Dec. 5, 2016 file photo shows the front door of Comet Ping Pong pizza shop, in Washington.

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

By Maggie Orth

This month in Washington, a gunman shot up Comet Ping Pong pizzeria, threatening customers and workers and terrorizing an entire neighborhood. For months, internet conspiracy theorists have accused Comet's owners and leading figures of the Democratic Party of running a child pornography ring out of the restaurant, complete with satanic symbols and underground tunnels. And what did Comet Ping Pong owner James Alefantis do to earn such venom? He emailed with Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, about hosting a fundraiser.

This attack on liberal politics and an opposition party was not organized by some authoritarian state, the Republican Party or President-elect Donald Trump. No action was taken by any Orwellian Big Brother. Nor did a government generate the doublespeak that created the Comet Ping Pong lies. Instead, this political violence emerged from a self- organized pack of irate, fear-mongering, right-wing conspiracy theorists reacting to whispers about Clinton in fake news and on social media and the Web.

This is Little Brother - millions of irrational people spreading lies, sowing doubt and fomenting violence. Thanks to Little Brother, the government - Trump and his incoming administration, in this case - doesn't have to directly threaten the political opposition or spread propaganda on its own. Leaders only need to find indirect ways to validate supporters' most vile emotions and make lying acceptable, as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., did recently when he said it was all right for Trump to spread falsehoods. Little Brother and his NRA-protected guns can take it from there.

So wha tis Little Brother?

Like the pack of wild children in "Lord of the Flies," Little Brother is unsupervised, isolated from civilization and potentially murderous. And thanks to the internet, the vicious, dog-eat-dog world of Little Brother is impossible to escape.

Little Brother screams so loud, no one can think. When human beings experience anger and fear - the dominant emotions of Little Brother and his internet clickbait - their IQs drop. People cannot use their rational minds when thousands of angry children are shouting at them online. That's Little Brother.

Little Brother gossips and lies. In a dramatic historical shift, too much information on the internet - rather than a lack of information - has become the prevailing form of censorship. People cannot easily assess facts while doubts, lies and bias-confirming opinions are constantly whispered in their ears. That's Little Brother.

Little Brother cuts school. Learning history, assessing facts and analyzing data have no place in Little Brother's world.

Little Brother goes by his gut and trusts his predisposed, angry instincts. He thinks science is a pack of lies.

Little Brother has too much time on his hands. He invents his own reality, a world of imaginary demons, secret tunnels, false-flag coverups and murder. In the case of Comet Ping Pong, Little Brother spent hours Photoshopping pictures, creating fake maps of tunnels and deceptive collages of stolen Facebook images.

Little Brother is like a gaming addict. He sits in a dark room, making fake news, driving traffic to his website. He watches the data and refines his lies, earning more money with every click. Like a gamer, he feeds off the emotional high of every small victory.

Little Brother is a bully. He waits for his gang leader, in this case Trump, to bad-mouth someone smaller and less powerful, and then pounces. When Trump criticized Carrier union president Chuck Jones this last week, Little Brother bombarded Jones with threats and abuse.

And as we have seen with the Comet Ping Pong gunman, those threats are real.

Little Brother is armed. In state-sponsored fascism, armed citizen militias blend with police, forming an official means of destroying the political opposition and minority scapegoats. But thanks to Little Brother and gunrights advocates, there is no need for the government to organize violent action against its own citizens. Little Brother can take care of wrong-thinkers all by himself.

Little Brother is nobody's responsibility. Whatever his bad behavior, he acts alone, and besides, he's just a kid. No one can be blamed if he shoots up a pizza parlor, intimidates minorities or threatens to send people to the gas chamber. He's an outlier. He's not Fox News' or Trump's fault.

That's Little Brother.

It won't be easy to hold Little Brother accountable. Already, conservatives are creating false equivalences between liberal news and fake news. This month, in a disheartening interview, New York Times Public Editor Liz Spayd practically ceded this point to Fox News' Tucker Carlson. This is unacceptable. Those who believe in liberal democracy must fight Little Brother's lies and aggressions with everything we have. We cannot allow legitimate resistance to authoritarianism to be squashed by an armed mob of angry Little Brothers. We must fight back.

Maggie Orth is a writer who lives in Seattle.
1jail.JPG

(AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

By The Washington Post Editorial Board

The District of Columbia has had on its books since 1985 a law that gives judges extraordinary discretion in whether to give youthful offenders a second chance. The commendable aim is to give young people an opportunity to learn from their mistakes, change their ways and have futures unburdened by a criminal record.

As desirable as those goals are, particularly given concerns over racial disparities in criminal justice and over-incarceration, the question has emerged of whether the District has endangered public safety by tilting too far toward leniency.

A recent Post investigation analyzing the District's Youth Rehabilitation Act suggests yes. Judges in D.C. Superior Court need to review how they use the law, and the D.C. Council should assess whether limits should be placed on who can benefit from it.

Post reporters Amy Brittain, Aaron Davis and Steven Rich, in an unprecedented examination of how the law has been applied, concluded that hundreds of criminals sentenced under the District's unique law have gone on to rob, rape or kill. The court doesn't maintain records on the law's implementation, so there are built-in limitations to The Post's review: those who successfully completed the terms of their sentences without reoffending had their records expunged and so weren't included.

Nonetheless, instances of the law giving license to some hardened criminals are startling. At least 121 defendants sentenced under the act went on to be charged with murder since 2010 with 30 of the killings taking place while the suspects were on probation and four occurring while the defendants would have been incarcerated if not given a sentencing break.

At least 750 offenders were sentenced multiple times under the act, effectively turning that second chance into a third or fourth chance. Most distressing was the violent nature of some of the crimes - an elderly woman robbed at gunpoint, a gay man beaten in a hate crime, an armed home invasion. Of the 3,188 sentences for felony crimes handed down between 2010 and 2016, 73 percent involved violent crimes or weapons offenses.

Murder is the only crime not eligible for youth act sentencing.

The D.C. Council needs to revisit the issue of whether breaks should be given and records expunged to those guilty of violent criminal acts. Also worth examining is whether defendants should get multiple chances under the law, whether 22 is the right age cutoff and what can be done to better provide offenders with the support and services they need to turn their lives around. At the same time, there should be some soul searching at D.C. Superior Court.

It is to its discredit that it failed to collect data on how this law has worked.

And the lack of empathy, even callousness, demonstrated by some judges toward community concerns and victims suggests that part of the problem is not with the wording of a law but with the person implementing it from the bench.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post
ELLIOTT.JPG

The Elliott State Forest is Oregon's oldest and remains the mainstay of forest lands in the Oregon Common School Fund portfolio.

(Courtesy Oregon Department of Forestry)

The terrain near Coos Bay, in Oregon's Coast Range, is steeply sloped, densely forested, and abundant in fish-bearing rivers and other wildlife. An 82,500-acre patch of it constitutes the Elliott State Forest, created on consolidated lands transferred to Oregon by the federal government with the mandate its riches be turned to money so children could go to school and build a life.

Things went well for decades. Oregon's Common School Fund, the repository for logging revenues from the Elliott and other such state-owned lands, funneled money annually to school districts statewide. The many sources of earnings in the fund this year will throw off $66 million for Oregon's 197 districts - a not insignificant sum in a time when schools stretch dollars.

But the Elliott's contribution fell sharply following the decline of logging and the sting of lawsuits over the state's failure to properly manage habitat for protected species depending on the Elliott. The Elliott once generated more than $10 million a year for the school fund. But it's been in the red or netted less than $1 million in recent years, Andrew Theen of The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Not unreasonably, state officials panicked. Bound by the state's Constitution to eke money from the forest for schools but unable to do so for so long, they decided last year to find a way out and put a For Sale sign on the forest. The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians joined Lone Rock Timber Management Partners recently in offering $220.8 million, most of it Lone Rock's money, and pledged to sustainably log the forest while boosting public access and properly steward its many environmental values. The bid was under review last week, and the Oregon Land Board - comprising Gov. Kate Brown, Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins and Treasurer Ted Wheeler - meets Dec. 13 to consider it.

This proposition should stop cold in its tracks - at least until the Legislature can probe and articulate the value of Oregon lands held in the public trust. Once covering more than 3 million acres, Oregon's Common School Trust lands now comprise just 780,000 acres. Should the Elliott, the most abundant of the state's forestlands held in trust, be next to go? Not yet, if at all.

It is gratifying that the Cow Creek would reclaim once-tribal lands and a growing stake in the forest's management. Lone Rock is persuasive, too, in its capacity to ramp up logging while honoring environmental codes and maintaining profitable timber output. But land management has changed since federal turf was deeded to a state with few people, little industry and modest schoolhouses.

Oregonian editorials

reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom.

are Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, Mark Katches, John Maher and Len Reed.

To respond to this editorial:

Post your comment below, submit a

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or write a

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If you have questions about

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contact Laura Gunderson,

editorial and commentary editor,

at lgunderson@oregonian.com

or 503-221-8378.

Resource extraction and development stressed natural systems. Lawsuits and environmental regulation worked to limit timber harvests, hobbling Oregon's timber-dependent communities. Forests are now credited with air-cleaning properties: Portland-based EcoTrust in 2011 calculated that an unlogged Elliott would store 46.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050 - more than two thirds the amount of greenhouse gases emitted statewide in 2007. While that puts no money in the school bank, climate regulation is expensive, and likely to become more so, even with political uncertainty ahead. Separately, the Elliott is valued as prime habitat for the marbled murrelet, a sea bird under endangered species protection.

The question isn't whether the Cow Creek proposal is good; it may be, given the parameters of the state's invitation for bids. Instead the question is whether Oregon should divest itself of such prime land, rich in resource and environmental value, because it fails to meet a narrow mandate conceived long ago.

Lawmakers must engage the question and explore all possibilities, among them ownership by conservation groups and state land transfer arrangements as seen in neighboring Washington state. Brown, Atkins and Wheeler will hear testimony next month but should defer to the Legislature on the core question of divestiture. Wheeler, in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, wisely said the Elliott was not a "hair-on-fire" problem whose solution should be rushed and that "this is an opportunity for leadership in Oregon."

Indeed. Let's see it: from Brown, most of all. Wheeler and Atkins have worked diligently on the Land Board but will be replaced soon by Tobias Reed and Dennis Richardson. What's needed from them and lawmakers is a new definition of how the Elliot State Forest can truly benefit Oregonians over the next century - and a plan to achieve it that can be executed in 2017.

-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
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A Grant County jail deputy is accused of gun and domestic violence charges after authorities say he pointed a gun at his wife on Dec. 11.

(The Oregonian/OregonLive/file)

A Grant County jail deputy was arrested Sunday on suspicion of domestic violence after authorities say he pointed a gun at his wife.

Joseph Hutchison

Oregon State Police detectives took Joseph A. Hutchison, 25, into custody at 11:35 p.m. Details about the incident that led to his arrest haven't been released by police. He was booked into the Baker County Jail on accusations of unlawful use of a weapon, pointing a firearm at another person, fourth-degree assault and menacing.

A Grant County judge allowed Hutchison to be released from jail after a court appearance Monday under conditions that include no contact with his wife, guns, alcohol or drugs, according to the Grant County District Attorney's Office.

The Baker County District Attorney's Office will prosecute the case. Hutchison is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 12.

Authorities have not released any more information about the case.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
A state plan to open a second women's prison faced a major setback Monday when lawmakers recommended denying money for the proposal.

Oregon Corrections Director Colette Peters sought $3.8 million to get a former prison in Salem ready to accept inmates next year. Gov. Kate Brown's proposed budget for the next biennium includes $17.5 million to operate the prison on the grounds of the Oregon State Penitentiary.

A legislative subcommittee recommended that the Emergency Board turn down the request. The Emergency Board meets when the Legislature is not in session to consider agency requests for money. The board is scheduled to take up the matter Wednesday. It would be unusual for the full board to reject a subcommittee recommendation.

Peters told the subcommittee that Coffee Creek Correctional Institution in Wilsonville has exceeded its 1,280-inmate capacity every day since May 18. She said funding from the Emergency Board would allow the agency to move toward opening the second prison in June, when the governor's budget kicks in. Oregon faces a $1.7 billion shortfall in the state budget.

"I know this is a very difficult situation, especially with the budget that is looming," Peters said. She said she and Brown "have been very clear that opening a prison is not ideal. This is not something we want to do here in Oregon."

But she added: "I would be remiss if I did not stress and discuss the very real concerns I have for my team at Coffee Creek. We have put a strain on that facility for too long."

Yet lawmakers said they're wary of spending money on a second prison, with some saying the space crunch at the women's prison should force the state to take additional steps to contain the growth of women in prison. Oregon's incarceration rate of women tripled between 1994 and 2015.

Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, said the situation "is kind of like a pressure cooker."

"I am not prepared to support this today," he said. "It just strikes me that this country incarcerates more people than any other country in the world."

Now is the time to get a handle on the prison population growth, he said.

"If we don't force that to happen," he said, "I am afraid it won't happen."

After the meeting, Brown's spokesman said the recommendation to reject the funding request "reflects a growing consensus that more must be done to address inmate population trends for women, reduce recidivism and support the self-sufficiency of people with prior offenses."

The governor "remains hopeful" that the state can avoid opening a second prison, spokesman Bryan Hockaday said in a written statement.

Elizabeth Craig, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said agency officials this week will discuss the possibility of sending some women to an out-of-state prison.

The department also is waiting, she said, to see the impact of programs in Lane and Marion counties that will allow Coffee Creek inmates to serve out the end of their sentences in the counties' transitional programs.

"We will continue to manage the population to the best of our ability," she said.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
A Portland man was arrested early Monday after authorities discovered five dozen stolen purses in his car during a traffic stop police search.

The 60 purses, which still had price tags on them, were determined to have been stolen from Appetite near East Burnside Street and Southeast 22nd Avenue, Portland police said. The shop owner told investigators that the purses were swiped after a recent craft fair when they were left in a van in Southeast Portland.

Officers stopped Bradley G. Gallagher around 3:40 a.m. in the 9200 block of Southeast Stark Street after he committed traffic violations, police said. He gave permission to have his car searched.

Gallagher, 46, was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of first-degree theft. He has since been released from jail.

Jail records show Gallagher was booked and released from jail last Monday on an accusation of second-degree theft. It is not clear what he is suspected of stealing in that case.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
A 29-year-old man was arrested Saturday after police say he was behind the wheel during a

.

A Multnomah County grand jury indicted Laurence D. Farrington Dec. 2 on charges of first-degree manslaughter, failure to perform the duties of a driver, reckless endangering and reckless driving in connection with the death of 34-year-old Robin M. Parks.

The

during a T-bone collision near Southeast Division Street and 139th Street, her cousin and police told The Oregonian/OregonLive. She was cut out of her car and died after being taken from the scene by an ambulance.

Witnesses told investigators the car that left the scene had three people inside, police said. One of them came back to the crash, grabbed a paper bag and then left again without checking on Parks' condition, according to police.

Evidence found during the investigation led authorities to suspect Farrington was the driver, police said. An investigation is still ongoing.

Portland police ask anyone with more information on this case to contact Officer Phil Maynard at 503-823-2216 or

.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
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A 51-year-old man was identified as the pedestrian fatally struck by a car in Southeast Portland on Dec. 7. The driver remained at the scene. No arrests have been made. An investigation is ongoing.

(The Oregonian/OregonLive/file)

A 51-year-old homeless man has been identified as the

last Wednesday.

Myit Oo was about 120 feet from a crosswalk with a flashing beacon when he was struck around 6:55 p.m. by a car traveling west in the 15600 block of Southeast Division Street, Portland police said.

Thongsavanh Virakitti, the 36-year-old driver, remained at the scene. Investigators found no evidence that Virakitti was impaired or distracted before hitting Oo, police said.

An investigation is ongoing. The case will be forwarded to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office for a review once the investigation is complete.

Police ask anyone with more information about the crash to contact Portland officer Garrett Dow at 503-823-5070 or

.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
Last week's mix of snow and freezing rain rained havoc on Portland trees and roads, and city crews responded to dozens of calls of downed trees and debris, including a landslide in the West Hills area.

"This was one of the most impactful weather events for trees in at least the last decade, and it seems ... the ice was the main culprit, not the snow," said Mark Ross, spokesman for Portland Parks & Recreation, the agency responsible for tree safety in public areas.

Parks and city Bureau of Transportation officials held a news conference Monday at the site of a landslide Saturday -- on Northwest Cornell Road near the Wildwood Trail just east of the Audubon Society of Portland. A large tree, possibly weighed down by ice, was uprooted and carried down an estimated 50 cubic yards of soil and debris onto Cornell, said Steve Townsen, a Transportation engineer. That's about four or five commercial dump trucks of dirt.

The road will remain closed for another day or two while crews and engineers ensure the land is safe, he said.

Ross said the city has responded to 160 locations affected by fallen trees, and crews have another 100 to visit by the end of Monday. Inspectors are looking for dangerous debris, such as limbs that could cause damage if broken. Cleanup is a secondary priority for the moment, he said.

"That (number of downed trees) could take a while to clean up," Ross said. "It could take a long time. It will be cleared, but the imminent task it to remove any threats. So we appreciate people's patience."

As of about 2 p.m. Monday, Ross said these public areas remain closed:

* The Newton Road entrance of Forest Park.

* Several trails at the Hoyt Arboretum along with nearby Southwest Fischer and Bray lanes.

* Washington Park archery range.

* Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial.



Officials have not calculated the cost to clean up and fix problem areas, officials said.

Property owners should be careful if they remove limbs or address other problems with their trees, and it's best to consult with a certified arborist first, Ross said. Arborists can help property owners determine if trees need to be trimmed or have other problems, he added.

People with questions for the Urban Forestry division of Portland Parks & Recreation can call 503-823-TREE or email trees@portlandoregon.gov.

-- Tony Hernandez

thernandez@oregonian.com

503-294-5928

@tonyhreports
      

News Highlights

      





2018 European Congress of Conservation Biology in Jyvaskyla, Finland!

Next Policy Committee meeting - February 11-12, 2017 in Eberswald, Germany!

Student Blogging Contests at SCCS Cambridge, ICCB Cartagena and SCCS Tihany 2017!





                                                     







We have had an exciting year within the Society for Conservation Biology Europe Section (SCB-ES)! Thanks to all who have contributed to SCB-ES in 2016! We would like to extend a special thank you to all the students and early career researchers who applied and contributed to our initiatives this year! 2016 has been an extremely active year and we hope to continue this into 2017 and beyond!





Ending on a high point we would like to take this opportunity to announce that the next European Congress for Conservation Biology is planned for 2018 in Jyvaskyla, Finland ! The board is busy working with the local organizing committee, and conference dates and venue will be announced in early 2017! We look forward to seeing you all in Jyvaskyla!





Starting this December, we will be sharing bi-monthly updates from the SCB-ES board here on the blog, and plan to continue these updates into the future. We hope this initiative will help with keeping members better up-to-speed with what the board is up to and what current initiatives are in the works or available to our members. This month we are sharing updates from SCB-ES President, Piero Visconti as well as the Policy, Communications, and Membership committees.





Thank you again to all our members for a wonderful year! We look forward to 2017 and onward to 2018 for ECCB 2018 in Jyvaskyla, Finland!





                                                     



Message from the outgoing SCB-ES President



As they say, all good things come to an end, and so it is also for my time as president of the SCB Europe Section. I have been in the SCB-ES board for 5 years, first as governor and later as president. It is now time for me to leave the helm in the capable hands of President-Elect, Bengt-Gunnar Jonsson who will step into the presidency from January 1st, and lead SCB-ES for the next four years. It is sad to leave the SCB-ES board as it has been an important part of my life for many years, but it is important that the section has an active leader that can dedicate 20-30% of their time that is required to keep-up good work. At the same time, it is important to have a rotating board, to bring fresh energy and new ideas. When leaving a leadership role, it is custom to look back at what was achieved and reflect on what was done and what awaits. I wont be an exception, as this gives me the opportunity to thank those that made these achievements possible.





Bialowieza National Park . We contributed to a positive outcome to In 2014 and 2015 we joined forces with other professional societies, conservation organizations and research institutions to ensure that scientific evidence was taken into account during the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the fitness check of the EU Habitat and Birds directives and the management of. We contributed to a positive outcome to protect the directives but more needs to be done to ensure the next CAP is biodiversity friendly and that natural ecological processes are safeguarded in the broader Bialowieza ecosystem.





The leadership and organization of the joint European and International Congresses of Conservation Biology (ICCB-ECCB) in Montpellier in 2015 was certainly the main achievement of the SCB-ES board since its birth in 2002. This was the largest conference ever organized by SCB, dwarfing all the others with its 2063 attendees, 782 poster presentations and 943 oral presentations organized in 74 contributed sessions and 73 symposia sessions. ICCB-ECCB was not only a success in attendance numbers but also in scientific and social content. The degree of satisfactions of the attendees was overwhelming , with people talking about the closing party and the plenary talks for months after the congress.





I would like to highlight a few of the achievements that were made in the design of ICCB-ECCB. First, special attention was put into ensuring that the proposals and abstract review process to ensure it was rigorous and fair. Second, we introduced normalization of abstract scores and a third reviewer for abstracts with controversial scores. Third, we maximized the number of talks at ICCB-ECCB by having 10 parallel sessions. Indeed, as head of the scientific committee, I was responsible for deciding how many abstracts were rejected from ICCB-ECCB, and I did my best to minimize rejections. It was extremely rewarding to offer more than 2000 scientists and practitioners an opportunity to disseminate their knowledge and experiences, and to learn and form collaborations with one another. The SCB-ES board strives to make conferences affordable for everyone, but thanks to generous grants from the Swedish government, we could subsidize tens of early career attendees with a fair and transparent process that prioritized those most in need of support and those for whom attending the conference would make the most difference. I am most proud of the networking opportunity that ICCB-ECCB created; perspective students meeting their future supervisors, job-seekers finding jobs, research ideas being generated and professional collaborations being formed. This is the main legacy that my presidency and the current board has left.





training grant to support early career conservationists attendance at training events. We also funded the In 2016, we continued our support for Early Career professionals by contributing financial resources to two Student Conferences for Conservation Science, one in Tihany and one in Cambridge . We subsidize attendance costs, provided training through workshops, and offered students insights into the many opportunities that early career conservation professionals can obtain through SCB and other professional societies. We also, for the first time, awarded the Early Career European Conservation Award . This went to Attila Nemeth to recognize his contribution to knowledge and conservation of blind mole rats in Europe. This will hopefully start a tradition of early career awards given by the section. In 2016, we also started ato support early career conservationists attendance at training events. We also funded the Greek Summer School of Conservation Biology to provide training to a dozen students from all of Europe.





The last two years have also seen a step change in the social media activity of the Section thanks to the opening of a Twitter account and the strong activity of the Communication Committee on this blog and on our Facebook page . We also opened 12 opportunities for students to share about their research or recent conference experiences through guest posts here on the SCB-ES blog.





The merit for all goes mostly to others, the section board and all its committees with whom I was fortunate enough to work with, Id like to thank all board and committee members for their important contributions to the section. These are exciting times for SCB Europe, up to six new members could join the board next year and I expect the new board to be the youngest and most diverse SCB Europe has ever had. I wish the new board all the best for the future, and continued growth for SCB-ES to increase its support for conservation professionals.





See you all in Jyvaskyla, Finland for ECCB 2018!





Post written by Piero Visconti, SCB-ES president 2015-2016



                                                     



Updates from Policy Committee



Sub-regional and local policy statements : A recent topic of interest to our members deals with sub-regional and local policy statements. Based on a request from the Society for Conservation Biologys Europe Section (SCB-ES) Board of Directors, the European Policy Committee has prepared a set of eligibility criteria for policy statements with sub-regional or local geographical scope. Statements by the SCB-ES generally address conservation issues on the European or EU level. While relatively few chapters continue to feed into SCB-ES, the section is responsible for handling sub-regional or local policy issues. However, we cannot currently attend to all those conservation issues of smaller scope. Accordingly we drafted text to clarify our current position and capabilities with regards to sub-regional or local policy statements: for an activity of sub-regional or local scope to be eligible for an SCB-ES statement should highlight issues relating to outstanding biodiversity, address conservation issues of wider relevance, and have the potential to serve as a ground-truthing exercise, influence decision-making and provide local capacity and increase credibility, visibility and outreach of SCBs work. The SCB-ES Board of Directors recently approved this statement and criteria about sub-regional and local policy statements, and if any SCB-ES members have questions about this process, you can contact Stefan Kreft, Chair of the Policy Committee at stefan(dot)kreft(at)hnee(dot)de.





Lower Odra Valley National Park, Germany, situated close to Eberswalde and bordering Poland (background). (Photo by: Stefan Kreft)



Whats coming up? The next few months will be busy for the Policy Committee. We are currently preparing for our next PC meeting on February 11-12, 2017. We will gather in Eberswalde (Germany) for a workshop about biodiversity and conservation in Europe. This workshop will allow us to systematically derive a strategic framework for SCB-ES Policy Committee work in the coming years. Furthermore, our Roadless Initiative is running on high momentum, in expectation of an upcoming important publication we have been working on fopr years. On December 16th, the Roadless Initiative will publish a press release. There will also be an entirely new website and coverage on SCB's homepage, so check it on December 16th! We are very excited about the Roadless Initiative reaching this important milestone, and look forwarding to sharing all news with members in 2017!



Post written by Stefan Kreft, SCB-ES Policy Committee Chair



                                                     



Updates from Communications and Membership Committee





Student guest blogging on SCB-ES Blog: The SCB-ES communications and membership committee has had a busy year, including rewarding 12 students the opportunity to share a guest blog post on the SCB-ES blog! The most recent guest blog post was about marine protected areas and local ecological knowledge, a post by Adam Rees. There are two more planned posts from students who attended SCCS Tihany, and those will be live in mid-December. We look forward to sharing these last few posts and to the opportunity to continue supporting student blogging on the SCB-ES blog. We will be continuing the student blogging contests into 2017, and will host contests at the Student Conference on Conservation Science in Cambridge and Tihany, and at the International Congress for Conservation Biology! Students attending any of these three conferences, and who are SCB-ES members, will be eligible to apply for our blogging contests! The SCB-ES student blogging contest aims to offer students a platform to share about their research or recent experiences at conferences or workshops with a broad audience, and to extend them the opportunity and experience to work with SCB science communication professionals to refine their writing skills. We look forward to sharing more student's stories in 2017!





What's coming up? In 2016 we gained a new committee member, Isabel Vique. Isabel has already contributed to our on going improvements in social media and communications, but in 2017 she and board member Petra Mihalic will be taking on a new activity for women in science! In 2017, Isabel and Petra are leading the organization of a series of talks by women in science in Europe to complement the In 2016 we gained a new committee member, Isabel Vique. Isabel has already contributed to our on going improvements in social media and communications, but in 2017 she and board member Petra Mihalic will be taking on a new activity for women in science! In 2017, Isabel and Petra are leading the organization of a series of talks by women in science in Europe to complement the Ted Women 2017 event in San Francisco! We are very excited about the development of this initiative, which will take place in late fall 2017! We will work closely with our members to identify speakers, and invite members to share their ideas about additional events they would like to see and might be willing to support in their region! More information on the Women in Science speaker series will be released in early 2017; keep an eye on our blog and social media outlets for details!



Post written by Stephanie Januchowski-Hartley, SCB-ES Communications and Membership Committee Chair
Tuesday 13 December 2016 12:29pm



Sharon Dell, Hocken Librarian

Recent public donations to the Hocken Library, including World War 2 letters in German, works by Frances Hodgkins Fellows, an early 1960 Mount Cook Air Services poster, and early farm implement catalogues, were celebrated last Friday.

It is important for us to acknowledge the generosity of the Hocken community. It began with Hocken himself and has continued for over 100 years, says Hocken Librarian Sharon Dell.

Donations are vital to the Hocken, with its plethora of collections that cover more than a century of Otago history. Every year well over a hundred people donate books, magazines, newspapers, pictures, photographs, maps, music, ephemera, archives and personal papers to the Hocken. They are individuals, families and organisations who value research and history and want to make this material available for present and future generations of researchers.

The Hocken collections would be unable to maintain their relevance to the communities that it serves without this kind of support. While the operational budget and acquisition of books are covered by the University of Otago, the purchase of unpublished material, which includes art, photographs and archives, are reliant on Trust funds established by past benefactors.

The Hocken Collections are used for research in many different ways. Each year (since 2009) an average of 224 books, brochures, conference proceedings, journal articles, theses, exhibitions, exhibition catalogues, reports, websites, displays, plays, films and television programmes are produced making substantial use of the Collections.

Recent donors attended an evening thank you function at the Hocken on Friday, December 9. There, they were also able to look at one part of the exhibition Undreamed of 50 years of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, the other part being hosted at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

Ms Dell noted: It has been a highlight for the Hocken to receive generously donated works by three Fellows during the Fellowships 50th anniversary year.

Archives and Manuscripts

Estate of Beatrice and Noel Parsloe  letters from Colin McCahon, Anne McCahon and Rodney Kennedy to his parents and another family. Beatrice was Colins sister and the mother of brothers Andrew and John Parsloe. Over 100 letters covering most of Colins lifetime were donated this year. The letters discuss family matters and news but also Colin writes about his art and his thoughts on painting.

 letters from Colin McCahon, Anne McCahon and Rodney Kennedy to his parents and another family. Beatrice was Colins sister and the mother of brothers Andrew and John Parsloe. Over 100 letters covering most of Colins lifetime were donated this year. The letters discuss family matters and news but also Colin writes about his art and his thoughts on painting. Maureen Eppstein - Hone Tuwhare poem, calligraphy by Jean McCormack Tuwhare. Both the McCahon letters and the Tuwhare poem are described in this story.

Eppstein - Hone Tuwhare poem, calligraphy by Jean McCormack Tuwhare. Both the McCahon letters and the Tuwhare poem are described in this story. Janet Clark - The Cygnet, a hand written newsletter by and for the passengers on board the Black Swan, 1864, during its voyage from London to Port Chalmers, and some family history papers. Includes a variety of information such as logs on the ship's progress in terms of latitude, longitude and distance, places and sights passed, songs, poetry, activities undertaken by passengers on board, births, deaths and marriages occurring and weather conditions. The final pages are comprised of Advices to emigrants including what to do on arrival at the Port and for those going onto the goldfields. Evidently The Cygnet was written up by the editor from information contributed by passengers and then handed around the ship to be read.

Ally McBride - Tewsley family collection  mainly 19th century family papers relating to the Tewsleys. The collection was donated after she published a book based on the letters.

Heinke Sommer-Matheson (wife of Presbyterian Minister Peter Matheson who has lived in New Zealand most of her married life) - additions to a collection of letters between Ernst and Lilo Sommer in WW2 Germany (Heinkes parents). The first lot of these letters were donated in 2015. Ernst was on active service and wrote to Lilo every day, Lilo wrote back to him daily as well. They promised each other that when the war was over they would read the letters together. Ernst saved Lilos letters and sent them back to her in batches for safekeeping, and of course Lilo kept Ernsts letter safe too. Given the conditions he lived under this was an achievement on Ernsts part. Sadly Ernst was killed 13 February 1942 before he could return home permanently, leaving Lilo with two small children to raise in wartime. The letters are in German, Heinke has transcribed most of them, but they are not yet translated. Heinke has previously donated a collection of Hone Tuwhare letters.



Pictorial Collections

Donations to the Pictorial Collection in the past year include gifts from Frances Hodgkins Fellows:

Peter Gibson Smith - a reimagined Grecian vase called Volute Krater, 2015

Gretchen Albrecht - four ethereal prints entitled Two Measures (Moon), 1999; Ebb Tide, 2016; Cloudy Mirror, and Moon, Shadow, Ocean, Light, both 2012

Scott Eady - a witty take on an old English inn sign by called Cock & Swallow, 2002.

Music Collections

John Steel (PognScroggin Bush Band) - One of the most significant donations to the music collections is a large number of locally-focussed folk music cassettes. These tapes provide an amazing snapshot of the local folk scene between the 1970s to 1990s, and fill a gap in our collection relating to this genre.

Dunedin Public Library, and The Regent Theatre - a number of Pacifica music LPs and some treasures in 78rpm. Other highlights include a small collection of cassettes of local bands including Doug the Warlock, Naughty Amoeba, and Moral Fibre.

Eric Biddington (composer) - a substantial number of scores from his own personal collection. These will add depth to the Hockens sheet music collection, and provide further opportunities for research into New Zealand music.

Ephemera Collection

Purposeful collecting for the Hockens ephemera and posters collection only began in the 1960s, so it is always great to be able to add material from earlier periods.

This year the Hocken has been fortunate to accept:

Posters and programmes for two late 1950s Otago University Dramatic Society productions The Two Noble Kinsmen and The Queen and the Rebels. While programmes are one of the most commonly donated types of ephemera; it is rare to receive accompanying posters.

A Mount Cook Air Services poster from the early 1960s that shows passengers had to journey to Queenstown by plane and then by bus. Queenstown airport was not certified for DC3 operation until 1964 so passengers had to fly to Cromwell and then bus to Queenstown.

A rare Geisha Chocolates box produced by local company Romison & Co. (which used to be located in the University Bookshop building) from the 1920s/1930s - often only the lids of old boxes survive so it is possible to see how the whole box was constructed.

Publications Collection

Terry Leamy - One off self-published publications like zines and comics are hard to come by as their print run is very limited. We are very fortunate at the Hocken to have a number of kind donors who will pick up publications for us from various events and locations around New Zealand. Many zines and comics from the Wellington Zinefest were given by Terry and as a result this has increased our collection of zines from 149 to 233 zines this year.

Product catalogues such as the 1930 P. & D. Duncan agricultural implements are a wonderful source of images of past technology. Donors who think to give them to us rather than throw the catalogues away are rare and very much appreciated.

In Periodicals, it is often the everyday items we are most interested in. We have all the newspaper supplements of the coronation we could ever want, but we are still missing old issues of the New Zealand Womans Weekly, for example.

School magazines contain a wealth of information for genealogical research. We have been very fortunate this year to receive three donations that were able to fill some significant gaps in our collection of school magazines.

For further information, contact

Sharon Dell

Hocken Librarian

Hocken Library

Email: sharon.dell@otago.ac.nz

Tel: 64 3 479 8877
Tuesday 13 December 2016 4:40pm



From left to right: Professor Alistair Woodward, Vice Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne, Professor Johan Mackenbach and Professor Michael Baker at the opening in 2016

What has art got to do with public health? How can people be nudged to better health using behavioural economics? And what emerging infectious diseases should we really worry about?

Find out the answers to these and other important public health questions at the University of Otago, Wellingtons annual Public Health Summer School coming up in February 2017.

Like public health, art can play an important role in commenting on social issues. The potential of art to support better physical and mental health is not a new idea, however the role of art in supporting the goals of public health has had much less attention, says Professor Michael Baker, one of the organisers.

The Art and Public Health course features Massey Universitys Distinguished Professor of Fine Art, Anne Noble, and the 2016 recipient of the Walters Prize, Shannon Te Ao, and will introduce ways in which art and public health intersect, including the role of public art in wellbeing and in creating social space and using art to discuss or disseminate public health issues.

The 2017 Public Health Summer School features an eclectic array of courses ranging from epidemiology and screening to the health of early childhood centres and cities.

The Summer School is now into its 21st year making it the longest running as well as the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, with a huge range of public health topics, says Professor Baker.

This year were offering 14 new courses, including Promoting childrens oral health, Changing the tobacco supply landscape and another on Fuel poverty, energy vulnerability and injustice, he says.

These are just some examples of the 30 courses on offer. The Wellington Public Health Summer School typically attracts 700-900 people, looking for high quality, short-format courses provided by expert presenters.

Because most of the courses are one or two days, people can access a few topics of interest, not just one. Last year one international delegate, Dr Hyobum Jang, a Health Leadership Fellow in the Pacific from the World Health Organization, timed his familys holiday to New Zealand especially so that he could attend nine courses over the three weeks of the Summer School.

Along with new topics, the popular core courses, such as Hauora Maori and Pacific Health, statistical methods and public health law, remain on the schedule. Childrens health, including confronting childrens obesity-promoting environments, will also be a big part of the programme this year.

The courses are presented by international and national leaders in their field. The PHSS will be opened on Tuesday 7 February 2017 with a public lecture by Professor David Heymann from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Professor Heymann is amongst the foremost world authorities on emerging infectious diseases, says Professor Baker.

Professor Heymann has taken a leading role in responses to major global infectious disease outbreaks, including the first recognised Ebola outbreak in 1976 and the SARS epidemic in 2003. He will be the keynote speaker at the emerging infectious diseases course, which will include presentations on such topics as combating antimicrobial resistance, lessons from the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak, and the risk from Zika and other mosquito-borne infections.

On a lighter note, the opening event will feature a 21st birthday cake.

Find out more about the outstanding Public Health 2017 programme.

Early-bird registrations (25% discount) apply until 21 December 2016.

For more information, contact:

Professor Michael Baker

Department of Public Health

University of Otago, Wellington

Tel 64 4 918 6802

Mob 64 21 355 056

Email michael.baker@otago.ac.nz
The master plan to develop a business and research district on the south end of Central Michigan Universitys campus has moved one step closer to reality with the rezoning of land in the Mount Pleasant SmartZone.

The Mount Pleasant City Commission recently voted to rezone the 300 acres of land near Central Michigan University Research Corp. to be consistent with university zoning.

Businesses will not only have direct access to CMU experts and resources, it also will be a chance for hands-on learning for students across disciplines. Under the new guidelines, the CMU Board of Trustees will approve land leases for proposed developments vetted by CMURC.

We are excited about the opportunities that further development of the SmartZone will bring to our students, particularly their exposure to multiple career opportunities, said CMU President George E. Ross, who serves as chair of the CMURC Board of Directors.

The change means CMURC President and CEO Erin Strang and her team are now ready to begin fielding ideas from developers interested in taking advantage of this unique opportunity. Developments could include launching a new venture or expanding existing commercial, office and research operations.

We invite developers to create an experience with their concepts and projects. Not only will the SmartZone become a business hub where small businesses, community and the university converge, but a high energy development with unique attributes, Strang said.

The vision for the Mount Pleasant SmartZone calls for bold and sustainable designs that will create a walkable and bikeable business/residential experience with a variety of potential development projects. Possible developments range from the creation of satellite offices for existing technology-centered businesses to unique food establishments using state-of-the-art food preparation.

In addition to placemaking and contributing to the economic growth of the Mount Pleasant area, the SmartZone gives businesses a chance to collaborate and have direct access to services provided through CMURC as well as experts at CMU.

Approximately 900 jobs have been created since the SmartZones inception, with 500 additional jobs projected over the next five years, according to Strang.

The move is the next step following an announcement earlier this year that the Michigan Treasury Department and Michigan Economic Development Corp. approved a five-year extension of tax capture funding in the Mount Pleasant SmartZone.
U.S. and ROKAF EOD train to increase interoperability

Ordnance is detonated in a controlled area at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Nov. 7, 2016. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. William Riddle, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal technician, detonated the ordnance as part of a demonstration for the ROKAF EOD team. ROK and U.S. Airmen work together to integrate operations more effectively in order to deter aggression in the region. This training increases U.S. and ROK interoperability and ultimately enhances U.S. and ROK commitments to maintain peace in the region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Colville McFee/Released)
Beware The Self-Righteous Media When They Speak Of 'Fake News'. They Are The Ones Who Got Us Into This Mess

By Petr Navovy | Think Pieces | December 13, 2016 |

A Brave New, Post-Truth World

Have you heard? Were living in a post-truth society. Its been all over the news. The New York Times have told us. The Guardian have told us. The Washington Post have told us.

Oxford Dictionary even declared post-truth the word of the year.

As per The Guardian:

Defined by the dictionary as an adjective relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief, editors said that use of the term post-truth had increased by around 2,000% in 2016 compared to last year. The spike in usage, it said, is in the context of the EU referendum in the United Kingdom and the presidential election in the United States.

Indeed, as even a cursory glance at Facebook shows us, the internet looks to be awash with people sharing ill-researched  or just flat out maliciously misleading  hogwash. Whether its your Cousin Becky sharing a piece about man-made climate change being conclusively revealed to be a conspiracy of nefarious scientists, or Uncle Steven re-posting a memed image with damming statistics about colossal, out-of-control welfare abuse, our communal hall of mirrors is looking increasingly flooded with gibberish. In an attempt to quell the tide, Facebook has recently started to break out the buckets  testing a tool designed to let users rank an articles headline based on how misleading they perceive it to be. As alarming an event as the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America calls for action after all, and the purveyors of these outlets of drivel which Facebook now wishes to flag have been receiving a lot of heat for their culpability in this travesty.

Think pieces on the matter abound. A piece in Vox, for instance, compares and contrasts Facebooks efforts to Googles own past struggles:

Six years ago, Google faced a problem a lot like the problem Facebook faced today: The web was being flooded with webspam, web pages with little useful content that were created solely to manipulate Googles algorithm in order to generate traffic and ad revenue. Googles successful response to this crisis tells us a lot about how Facebook can deal with todays fake news epidemic.

A report in The Verge explores the evolution of the formatting and display of news, especially over a medium like Facebook, and how we as a news-gathering public relate to it:

Over centuries, print media developed a visual language of credibility that became second nature to most readers: crisp type and clean, uninterrupted columns communicate integrity, while exaggerated images, messy layouts, and goofy text inspire doubt. On a physical newsstand, its still easy to tell the National Enquirer from, say, The Atlantic. Online, its becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between the two.

The BBC, too  that most austere, revered fount  has gotten involved, collaborating with filmmaker Adam Curtis to air a documentary called Hypernormalisation, the thesis of which, complex though it is, could roughly be boiled down to: we are all of us, day to day, looking at a fake world, convinced that it is the real one. Cold, hard, impersonal facts are becoming harder and harder to discern from flighty, mercurial opinions, and as a result we wander about in an apathetic haze.

In other words, there seems to be a decently broad sweep of consensus among the serious institutions of journalism: When it comes to information, we are entering dangerous, uncharted territory. Our old systems are failing; the bulwark of a truth-telling, investigative press is disintegrating before our eyes. Tread lightly. Here be dragons.

Except here is instead where we must pause, consult our map, and raise our head to the serious institutions and say, Yes. Here indeed be dragons. But we have been in their waters for much, much longer than you claim. And, my oh my, dont you look awfully scaly?

The Mainstream Media: The View From Britain

A few years ago the British newspaper, The Independent, reported on a study with a truly glorious headline:

British public wrong about nearly everything, survey shows.

According to The Independent, The research, carried out by Ipsos Mori from a phone survey of 1,015 people aged 16 to 75, lists ten misconceptions held by the British public.

You might think you could guess the scale of these misconceptions. Slightly skewed perhaps, a few percentage points here and there, and maybe around relatively trivial issues. As it happens, the issues are some of the most prevalent, and politically powerful in the country  immigration, welfare, and crime for example.

And, the scale? Oh boy, the scale.

Drum-roll please:

Teen pregnancy is thought to be 25 times higher than the official estimates: 15 per cent of of girls under 16 are thought to become pregnant every year, when official figures say the amount is closer to 0.6 per cent.

26 per cent of people think foreign aid is in the top three items the Government spends money on (it actually makes up just 1.1 per cent of expenditure), and that 29 per cent of people think more is spent on Jobseekers Allowance than pensions. In fact we spend 15 times more on pensions - 4.9 billion on JSA vs 74.2 billion on pensions.

And my personal favourite:

Benefit fraud: the public think that 24 of every 100 of benefits is fraudulently claimed. Official estimates are that just 70 pence in every 100 is fraudulent - so the public conception is out by a factor of 34.

Once more with feeling:

So the public conception is out by a factor of 34.

That is just batshit fucking insane.

Similar figures to these abound, and the picture is the same in the United States. Anecdotally, too, I am sure everyone reading has a story or six about a popular misconception regarding politics, science, or something equally vital. The simple fact of the matter is that the public is, in general, woefully misinformed. In many ways, this is understandable. People live busy lives. Its hard enough to spend the day digging through ones own personal bullshit without using up the evenings to consciously correct and fact-check the bullshit being beamed across the airwaves and travelling down our internet pipes.

But the crucial point here is: this did not begin in 2016, and it did not begin with a few small springs of gibberish. Yes, those websites which have been flagged over the past few months for posting flagrant nonsense about Donald Trump winning the popular vote or climate change not happening are a problem, but as pernicious as influence as they are they remain small fry by comparison. The old hands at this game, the establishment media  they are the ones who shape history.

This is not a partisan issue either. It is not simply the case of Fox News Bad; New York Times Good. Yes, of course, one is a cartoonishly gaudy manifestation of evil while the other sometimes actually speaks sense, but the truth is far more nuanced than that.

I have written before about the rise of Jeremy Corbyn over here in Britain, and I specifically mentioned a study in that piece by the London School of Economics, entitled: Journalistic Representations of Jeremy Corbyn in the British Press. I will quote the key passage from that study once more here:

Our analysis shows that Corbyn was thoroughly delegitimised as a political actor from the moment he became a prominent candidate and even more so after he was elected as party leader, with a strong mandate. This process of delegitimisation occurred in several ways: 1) through lack of or distortion of voice; 2) through ridicule, scorn and personal attacks; and 3) through association, mainly with terrorism. All this raises, in our view, a number of pressing ethical questions regarding the role of the media in a democracy. Certainly, democracies need their media to challenge power and offer robust debate, but when this transgresses into an antagonism that undermines legitimate political voices that dare to contest the current status quo, then it is not democracy that is served.

And therein lies the rub. We are being told to fear for the state of our democracies because of the apparently meteoric rise of a post-truth world, but the fact of the matter is that we have been living in that world for a very long time now. This is a situation that stretches decades and decades back  centuries even. There is perhaps no greater example of it than the unified front presented by left wing and right wing outlets of all stripes over a decade ago in helping to sell the lie that led to probably the defining moment of our time: the bloody, unforgivable crime that was the invasion and destruction of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands dead; millions displaced; and the seeds for unimaginable further destruction sowed. Where was the voice of the hard-nosed, investigative media then? It fell in line, as it almost always does.

Beware False Dichotomies

The famous linguist, scholar, and political commentator Noam Chomsky famously came up with a model to describe this phenomenon. Working with Edward S. Herman in the 80s he developed the Propaganda Model of media control. It argued that large media companies, owned by big business and dependent on advertising revenue as they are, would have a vested interest in not challenging the status quo beyond a certain point. Yes, there would be a freedom of debate allowed, but that freedom would only be permissible within accepted margins. Crucially, Chomsky and Herman explained, these ideals would not be enforced in any overt way. This would not be a hammer-fisted Soviet approach, but a far more sophisticated and self-enforcing system, much more efficacious by this design. Journalists would come to learn what was acceptable. The Iraq War serves as a useful case study once again. Commentators  respected conscientious liberals and hawkish conservatives alike  joined the chorus of drum beats for that invasion. They may have framed their reasons differently, but the end result was the same. Those who voiced opposition were either marginalised, ridiculed, or attacked, and visibly so. The idea, the reflex, of conformity that way becomes ingrained, invisible, within the profession. Dissent still exists, of course, but again within very specific boundaries. Some things just cannot be questioned. The primacy of the Western world and its enlightened status compared to the rest of the globe; the benign nature of the motives that guide our foreign policy; the fundamental correctness, minor flaws aside, of consumer capitalism and a heavily financialised economy - these are, in effect, sacred pillars, among many.

The power of the mainstream media is slowly waning. It still holds unbelievable sway over public consciousness  both in more overt ways like fact manipulation and more subtle, insidious ways such as value inculcation  but it is waning nonetheless, and people are slowly losing their faith in it. The system that has for so long been propped by it has repeatedly failed to address many of the concerns of the people it claims to represent. The media, in its servile, cosy relationship with power, has given a free pass to governments time and time again. It has let them impose crippling, life-destroying austerity on their populations to compensate for a world-changing banking crash while allowing the financial sectors responsible to go essentially unpunished. It has championed neocolonial interventions abroad because governments have told them that they knew what were doing and that they were doing it for the right reasons. By simple virtue of the fact that it has not been blasting every front page for years with dire warnings about the looming climate catastrophe that now almost certainly awaits us it has failed by its own standards. The media has lied, withheld, and systematically failed to speak truth to power, and after decades of doing so, people have noticed. Trust was catastrophically undermined, and a violent populism was unleashed that is now on the precipice of putting a dangerous and deranged fanatic into the White House, with the help of that very same media and the countless dollars of free publicity they gave to him.

In the midst of all this, an endless tide of reports from those same institutions about the rise of fake news and the dawn of a deadly post-truth world. Who can save us from this apocalypse, they will ask in dismay. Who should be the only trusted source of information? Who, indeed? I wonder what their answer will be. Its all very well clamping down on racist nonsense that presents itself as objective fact, or sexist tripe that tries to wear the mask of Real News, but to begin the march down the road of censorship is to walk a path lined with daggers.





Petr Knava lives in London and plays music





Petr is a staff contributor. You can follow him on Twitter.
NORMAL  Rivian Automotive took a big step Monday toward making electric cars at the former Mitsubishi plant in Normal to hit the market in 2019.

The Normal City Council approved a $1 million grant and five-year tax abatement  both based on performance  for the automaker, which plans to buy the plant and manufacture there, employing 1,000 workers and investing $175 million in the site through 2024.

"There's so much to gain, and, from our perspective, not much to lose," said council member R.C. McBride of the deal, which requires Rivian to employ 500 workers and invest $40.5 million in the plant by the end of 2021 to get the incentives.

The abatement also needs to be approved by Normal-based McLean County Unit 5 schools, Heartland Community College and other local taxing bodies. Heartland will consider it Tuesday, and Unit 5 on Wednesday.

"Anything worth a desired result comes with risk," said council member Jeff Fritzen. "We feel the risk we've been presented here to consider is worth (it)."

The council first interviewed Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, who said his company is excited to begin manufacturing in a community with an established base of auto manufacturing employees that's also in close proximity to its suppliers.

"This is a competitive process," said Scaringe of why the company needs the tax breaks, given how much it plans to spend on the site. Rivian, he said, also has looked into other manufacturing sites that meet it criteria.

The company already has research locations in the Detroit and San Francisco areas with about 100 employees. It was founded in Florida in 2009.

Scaringe said the company left Florida to get closer to its suppliers. The company received a grant from the state of Florida to complete specific work, he said  neither the grant amount nor the work was specified  and never promised to continue to operate there.

Rivian received a deal from the state of Michigan in 2015 that was very similar to the one approved by Normal on Monday. Scaringe said some development operations, which are split between California and Michigan, might come to Normal  as well as some Rivian suppliers.

Scaringe said he needs to be vague for now about the sources of Rivian's funding and the car it plans to make, but the company is close to manufacturing. Local officials drove a prototype last week.

"It made me feel better that that's a real car and it's very impressive," said Normal City Manager Mark Peterson of driving the prototype. "They have substantial liquid assets. They are well-positioned financially."

Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council CEO Kyle Ham, who led a task force to find a manufacturer for the plant, referred to the agreement as the last chance for Normal to salvage it. The plant is now owned by Maynards Industries, an industrial asset liquidation company with offices in Michigan.

Maynards bought the plant in June, the month after Mitsubishi closed it for good after ending production and laying off about 1,200 in November 2015. Maynards has twice delayed auctioning the building, which would have likely resulted in its demolition.

Marc Tiritilli, who is running for mayor against incumbent Chris Koos, said that scenario is preferable to Rivian failing at the site and Normal paying to raze the facility or trying to sell it in poor condition.

"We're here basically out of fear," he said. "Rivian is the worst option."

Koos said "they're the ones that have all the risk."

"I'm all in," he said.

Scaringe acknowledged that the company has operated in secret in the past but will be much more transparent going forward.
CLINTON  A Clinton man was in police custody Tuesday in connection with a drive-by shooting Monday night in Clinton.

Police said they were called at 8:14 p.m. to the 400 block of South Center Street for a report of shots being fired.

In a statement, police said the investigation revealed that a vehicle drove by a residence at a slow speed and a suspect or suspects in the car fired four to six shots from a semiautomatic handgun at several people who were standing outside.

No one was injured, but police said they were looking for two people of interest and a a maroon car with tinted windows and a loud muffler.

On Tuesday morning, police said a 25-year-old Clinton man, Michael A. Herald, was arrested at 12:07 a.m. on preliminary charges aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and attempted first-degree murder.

He was being held in the DeWitt County jail awaiting the filing of formal charges.

A second person of interest was taken into custody but later released without charges. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Clinton police are being assisted in the investigation by the Dewitt County Sheriffs Department and the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Unit.
BLOOMINGTON  Heeding a request by Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal, the City Council voted unanimously Monday night to delay for a month taking action on a proposed police substation for west Bloomington.

"I find it interesting that none of our members  not of my church, not of the Black Lives movement  had heard about this substation issue prior to this past Friday," said Ky Ajayi, a Black Lives Matter member who attends Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church, 803 W. Olive St. He spoke to the council during the meeting's public comments portion.

"As far as I know there has not been any detailed conversations with members of the community about the need for and the desire for such a substation," said Ajayi.

"So I come here to humbly request that you table any discussion of this issue today to allow the community to have input on this issue," said Ajayi.

Ward 7 Alderman Scott Black made a motion to table until Jan. 23 a vote on leasing a house owned by Mid Central Community Action at 828 W. Jefferson St. for the substation. Black represents the area on the council.

"I think there could be a positive for the community, but I want to make sure everyone gets an understanding about what this is and what this is not," said Black.

"The other thing that I think is really troubling about society is that there is a divorcing of facts and reality," added Black. "Let's have a fact-based discussion about this."

Prior to the council's vote to table the matter Police Chief Brendan Heffner and Community Action Executive Director Deborah White presented the council with more details about the proposed substation and how the idea came about.

Heffner said Community Action approached the police department about letting an officer rent the house to provide a better sense of safety and security for residents by having more of a police presence in the neighborhood.

When no officer came forward with in an interest to do that Heffner suggested using the residence as substation where officers from every patrol shift could stop, depending on their calls for service, to fill out reports, eat meals, take a break, and when weather permits, be out and about in the neighborhood.

Heffner said the substation was never intended as place where police would conduct police business such as interviews of suspects.

"For us, this was strictly for community outreach," said Heffner.

Community Action's attorney Stacey Tutt noted that the lease, at $12 annually, prohibits an armory for the storage of firearms on the premises. The house could be used for community events such as officer "meet and greets" or "open houses," according to the lease.

The local Black Lives Matter group previously issued a statement that said: "Local residents have not been engaged in assessing whether or not a substation should be established in their neighborhood.

"If the council votes on the substation on Monday, they are imposing an increased police presence on the neighborhoods and violating any commitment to community policing."

Since 2012, five feedback surveys have been conducted to gauge what residents in that area think about their neighborhoods and the community, according to information issued by Community Action and West Bloomington Housing Collaborative.

In 2014 and 2015 community needs assessments and another currently being conducted, "there has been a consistent response ... that safety is a concern and increased law enforcement is the solution on the minds of residents," said the agencies.

"I have been on neighborhood walks over there and in my monthly focus meetings (which are open to the public) I have been asked over the last two years on at least two occasions about having a police substation on the west side," said Heffner.

The house was rehabbed at a cost of $79,720, which was paid for with a grant from the Illinois Attorney General's office.

Ajayi said after the meeting that he believes that money could have been better spent helping some of the low-income children in the area.

"Many of these children on the west side have nothing to do. Many of them cannot afford the extra-curriculars at school," said Ajayi. "MCCA and others  how about paying so that some of these kids are playing basketball or running track or in theater or in literature courses? Policing is a Band-Aid There are structural issues on the west side that must be addressed.

"Come and talk to us," added Ajayi. "We have ideas. There is communication we need to engage in."

Members of Black Lives Matter plan to meet with Heffner at 7 p.m. Thursday at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, 801 W. Market St. That meeting had been scheduled before the substation issue arose.
BLOOMINGTON  A 51-year-old assistant professor at Illinois Wesleyan University remains in jail after allegedly firing 13 shots into the doorknob of a bedroom where a woman and three children were hiding.

Darryl L. Brown faces charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm and endangering the life of a child following a Sunday night incident at his home on Bloomington's Downing Circle. He must post $30,035 to be released.

Brown, who university officials said has been on a leave of absence this semester, appeared before Associate Judge Lee Ann Hill on Tuesday via a video link with McLean County jail.

Prosecutors said Brown was an admitted alcoholic who resumed drinking several months ago. On Sunday morning, he began consuming alcohol and then became upset with a comment a woman he was with made while watching a movie.

The arguing escalated as he drank more throughout the day, said McLean County States Attorney Jason Chambers. He became verbally abusive.

Chambers said that when Brown left to buy more alcohol Sunday evening, the woman locked the doors and removed the battery from the garage door opener. When he returned and was unable to get in, Brown threatened suicide by cop and broke into the house, which contained several weapons, Chambers said.

Chambers said that at that point, Brown took a revolver and several rounds of ammunition and fired 13 shots into the doorknob of a bedroom where the woman and three children  ages 2 through 7  were hiding. Chambers said Brown told police that he knew nobody was directly behind the door and that is why he shot at the doorknob.

Brown, who told the judge he was on unpaid leave from his job, is an assistant professor of accounting and financial services at IWU. IWU Director of Communications Ann Aubry declined to elaborate on Browns leave of absence or his status with the university.

According to a biography page posted earlier on the IWU website, Brown earned his bachelors degree in accounting and a masters degree in taxation from Bentley College. He also has a masters degree in accounting from the University of Arizona where he completed his Ph.D. in accounting with a minor in finance in April 2006.

Browns biography was removed from the universitys website Monday afternoon, but prior to its removal, it also indicated he taught introduction to taxation, advanced taxation, special issues in taxation and accounting for decision making.

Brown's next court appearance is Dec. 30.
The (Springfield) State Journal-Register

Welcome to your new job, Susana Mendoza.

We're sorry to give you the bad news, but it's only fair that you know the realities you have assumed as Illinois comptroller.

You have inherited a financial mess decades in the making, and since you get to pay the state's bills, the meltdown it has become is yours to manage.

We hope you will continue The Ledger, the website where anyone can go to dig into a plethora of the state's financial information. We like, for instance, that anyone can find out just how bad the backlog of unpaid bills is in the state (it was $10.3 billion as of Dec. 1). It makes it hard to ignore the problem when it's right there in your face.

Progress will come when everyone commits to the idea of shared sacrifices; you have said as much. You noted you could be a fresh voice in gridlock; the state's residents are begging you to please do so.

We hope your voice can resonate above the noisy brouhaha that masquerades as discourse these days in the Capitol, and provide solutions. You should know all about that, having been a state lawmaker for a decade before becoming Chicago's city clerk in 2011.

Good luck. You're going to need it.

The Quad-City Times

Don't blink.

For a few days, Illinois touted a functioning government, and the sudden bit of 11th-hour bipartisanship salvaged nuclear plants in Cordova and Clinton.

It all started just before Thanksgiving, when nuclear operator Exelon made its final bid to the General Assembly for sweeping legislation to keep the cash-bleeding plants on-line. But it was this past week that featured the real wheeling and dealing that forms a fully functional governmental body.

Gov. Bruce Rauner, who long remained silent on his position on the massive overhaul of state energy policy, voiced short-lived support. At the last minute, he momentarily walked back his approval when one of those doomed amendments, credited to House Speaker Michael Madigan, inserted prevailing wage requirements for non-union employees. Madigan relented.

Lawmakers didn't break along the usual partisan lines. No, dissenters griped about the rushed "process." They questioned the fecundity of Rauner's caps on rate hikes. They railed against requiring ratepayers to subsidize Exelon Corp. that last year posted $2 billion in profits, and an alleged state policy of "picking winners and losers."

Coal-country lawmakers raged because the final draft stripped subsidies for downstate coal plants. Legislators from Chicago worried about the effects on inner city jobs.

Strange bedfellows, too, constituted the bill's proponents.

It wasn't about party in either house. For once, it was about policy.
A 9-year-old girl who has dyslexia received the Children's Award from the British Dyslexia Association. Lotte Scaman was chosen by the organization because she showed such a determination in managing the struggles that come with the learning disability.

Through it all, Lotte Scaman remained a positive individual who has a strong willpower to succeed. "Lotte is a wonderful example of how the right educational approach can overcome almost all barriers presented by dyslexia," special education school headmaster Michael Taylor said, according to the Grimsby Telegraph.

Taylor oversees the Fairley House in London that specializes in helping children with learning disabilities. The 9-year-old and her mother, Simone, who live hundreds of miles away in Lincolnshire, visited the institution so that she would be able to spend time with other children with learning disabilities.

Simone said that as a parent, she thought that her family would have to move out of their farmhouse so that Lotte could be in a school that could properly help her special education. But Fairley House has an outreach program to service kids with dyslexia from other schools.

At the awards' night and standing before the members of the British Dyslexia Association, Lotte delivered her acceptance speech with such emotions. "Winning this award has turned a negative journey into a positive one for me; I now know that I can enjoy learning," the 9-year-old said.

At least 10 percent of the world's population suffer from dyslexia and of these, four percent have severe difficulties, the British Dyslexia Association official site stated. Dyslexia comprises disability in reading, decoding and spelling words.

A common misconception is that it is related to IQ. Yet even influential people who have changed the world, such as Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill, were said to have suffered from dyslexia, according to Yale.

The condition doesn't also just go away because it is lifelong. But with early detection and proper education, such as in the case of Lotte Scaman, learning success can still be achieved.
Data from the application launched by the Federal Government reveal most common topics parents are seeking help with. Surprisingly, the most common, seemingly effortless daily activities like watching television, use of gadgets and preparing breakfast are taking the top spots.

The Potential Parenting Application was launched in August last year by Hon Christopher Pyne MP, the former Minister for Education and Training. The downloadable free application for parents is full of tips and advice that can help parents become more involved in their children's learning.

Ever since it was launched by the Federal Government, records show that the Learning Potential Parenting Application has been downloaded for more than 118,000 times. The application data show that the most common topics Australian parents need help with include how to transform television viewing into a learning experience for children, tips on preparing healthy meals and how to properly regulate the use of technology among children.

According to Adelaide Now, the Learning Potential Parenting Application's most read article is about how parents can transform watching television into an exciting TV learning experience for children with 15,934 views. The article about healthy breakfast and how it can help improve children's concentration and learning comes close behind with 15,047 views.

In the latest interview, Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said that the Learning Potential Parenting Application was primarily designed to give parents tips and advice based on statistics from both national and international studies. Birmingham added that as a father himself, he can relate to parent's who wish to seek guidance about raising children. The Federal Education Minister also believed that literacy and numeracy applications could be beneficial from his experience with his two daughters ages four and five.

Learning Potential Parenting Application proves to be an efficient storage of reputable parenting tips, sources says. Currently, the application is experiencing an increase in popularity leading to its relaunching with 45 new articles as additions. Of this number, nearly half deal about tips on how to use technology.
Children these days are more interested in iPads than playing outside. Parents are grappling with the

issue of limiting their use of mobile devices. The new generation is getting addicted to these devices

in a quick span of time.

To tackle this issue, Australian parents are seeking help from a federal government technology.

The free app is a guide on screen time and the content that children should watch, it also advise

parents on their children's meals in terms of their nutritional value.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Australian Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham is now planning to redesign the app for the school holidays. The reformulated app will provide nine articles, which will help parents to suggest activities for children during the summer holidays.

It will also enable parents to help their dyslexic children in reading. Senator Birmingham told The Courier-Mail that parents want to regulate their children's time spent on the mobile devices and are seeking help from the App.

It is evident from the data collected that even young parents, who themselves have used modern technology, are keen to put the right amount of technology in their children's lives. They are also looking for the best ways that can benefit them.

Birmingham also shared his personal experience, saying his daughters have learned a lot from literacy and numeracy apps. But he also found it equally important to let them know when to stop using their iPads and engage in other aspects of their daily routines.

A mother from Brisbane, Lucy Phillips, told that she limited the screen time of her 3-year-old daughter Annabelle. She allows her an hour to spend on the iPad while she is busy with her daily chores like cooking. She expressed that it's difficult to assume how much time children should spend on these devices but a planned strategy could help.
A new bill was passed in Oregon for the benefit of children with dyslexia. This new law makes it mandatory for kindergarten and first-grade grade students in public school to be screened first for possibilities of dyslexia before they are formally accepted into the school.

In an article published by Edweek, Senate Bill 612, a bill that requires kindergarten and first graders to undergo screening for dyslexia went into full effect in July of last year. Its aim is to help kids and parents be aware of the risk involved with dyslexia if it is detected early.

For those who are not familiar with dyslexia, according to Mayo Clinic, it is a disorder that hinders children to do well in school, as it affects their learning ability to recognize speech sounds and their learning on how to deal with letters and words. All of these problems lead to them having difficulties in reading.

Many parents think that their child has vision impairment or their child was not born to be intelligent. Parents should know that dyslexia could affect even a child with a 20/20 vision and with normal cognitive skills. This new bill that targets not just the education system but also the health of a child would help in the early diagnosis of dyslexia in children. Most of the time, people with this learning disability don't get to know their case until they are an adult.

As of the moment, no cure has yet been discovered for dyslexia but there are specialized school programs strictly designed for this case in order for kids to keep up and even have a chance to do well in their academic career. Parents who have kids with dyslexia are encouraged to get their child a tutor to also help with the case. But most importantly, emotional support plays a vital role for children with dyslexia to not just do well in school, but to feel accepted and normal.
For years, many medical experts are warning people about the over consumption of sugar could lead to getting diseases like diabetes. There are also others who have mixed feelings about it saying that sugar is not bad as long as it is used in moderation. But recently, experts have found more evidence pointing to sugar as the culprit to many different deadly diseases that even a small intake of it could result in one's life being at risk.

In an essay released by The Wall Street Journal, it pointed out the many reasons why sugar could be completely bad to a person's health. Sugar is known for playing a huge role in America suffering from obesity and diabetes. What most people don't know is that those two health issues increase a person's chance of having other deadly diseases cancer and cardiovascular problems.

Ever since the rise of the candy and ice-cream industries along with sodas back in the middle of the 19th century, people in the U.S. have been more hooked into sweets. For a while, these products were banned but it only leads to people consuming it more than alcohol that annual sales when up to over 100 pounds per capita. That was the first time in history that America has reached a sale like that.

Since then, doctors have always blamed sugar for being the cause of many diseases from the less serious ones like rheumatism and jaundice to the deadly ones such as cancer and diabetes. They have observed that back before the candy, ice-cream and soda industries became popular, diabetes wasn't even an existing disease. It only became common since 1861, which was the time of the Civil War.

If sugar is indeed a culprit in the cause of diabetes and cancer, then Beat Cancer's article would make so much sense stating that cancer and sugar are closely related to each other. Having said that, it is best to stay away from sugar and keep a healthy lifestyle by finding an alternative from it.
There's an alarming rise in numbers of teenagers being arrested in South Texas for smuggling immigrants into the United States. Arrest records from authorities in Hildalgo County show that more teen girls are into the illegal activity and it should be a community concern.

Brittany Lizeth Roque, 17, has had a brush with the law two times this year. According to Fox News, she was paid $250 per smuggled immigrant by criminal organizations.

She is one of five young women among 11 teenagers accosted by the police in 2016. The number of teen arrests due to human smuggling has apparently doubled from 2011 to 2015. The police, however, are very aware of who the criminals are targeting.

Police Chief Raul Gonzalez believes that human smugglers hire teens, especially young women, from low-income families living in the La Joya Independent school district. "Because of their circumstances they look at their options and they feel this may be something that can help out financially," he told Fox News.

The police believes that the teenagers are generally good kids. Some of them have actually provided the authorities valuable police information they can use against criminal organizations.

The teenagers, however, have to face the consequences of smuggling immigrants, especially since human smuggling carry a heavy mandate under state laws even for minors. "We want our federal partners to know that we support them but we are not going to let these people go with a slap on the hand," Sheriff Eddie Guerra said, according to The Monitor. Some teens have reportedly become emotional and regretful while detained in jail.

Yet authorities are aware that it's not the teenagers they have to aggressively go after. The problem, however, is that criminals often change their style and the police have to constantly adapt to these changes.

In the meantime, the community has to work together to protect the young victims who might be enticed by money. "We tell them about the risks because it not only that you may get arrested but you can hurt somebody and end up in jail," Gonzalez told the news outlet.
The Palestinian militant group called Hamas celebrated their 29th anniversary and they have paraded toddlers armed with machine guns. This shows that the team mimicked the Islamic State's "Cubs of the caliphate" as they have demonstrated that they are also expanding their child army.

Photos have been uploaded to Twitter, and the children were referred to as the future of Hamas. Dozens of heavily armed children were photographed having automatic guns and other weapons. Many of these kids looked as young as two years old, and they wore army fatigues. They also had green bandanas on them, The Sun reported. The parade took place over the weekend.

In one of the photos uploaded on Twitter, the caption said that these Hamas Cubs are the next soldiers of Gaza and the next liberation army. In another snap, a toddler was seen wearing a beret and was holding a gun. The caption said that the Hamas is increasing its enthusiasm, dignity, and power.

        

     

         .#_29 pic.twitter.com/9iMVZs07FT    (@KotlaWest) December 9, 2016

The children that are part of the child army of Hamas are not limited to boys as videos from the procession that made rounds online also showed young girls in uniforms holding assault rifles. Another photo showed a mother lifting up her baby during the rally that marked the 289th anniversary of the militant group, The Tower reported.

Hamas has been celebrating their 29th anniversary since December started. It is believed that a major celebration will be taking place on Wednesday. This is not the first time that Hamas paraded with their soldiers, but it seems that this year more child soldiers were part of the ceremony. In 2014, they also burned an image of a religious Jew.

Over the summer, Hamas turned their terror tunnels into a tourist attraction as children frequented it. Just this May, videos surfaced showing children, possibly of kindergarten age, dressing up in fatigues and pretending that they were able to capture an Israeli soldier. It was part of their school play. Summer camps are also said to be operated by the militant group.


Tesla made a remarkable breakthrough after powering an entire island. It was mentioned that the innovative company managed to provide solar power to an entire island.

The island of Ta'u which is located in American Samoa went through tough times as the island still doesn't have an electricity. The residents of the island mentioned that they used to rely on diesel for their electricity, which means that some of the villagers would have to go to neighboring islands for them to be able to but the needed diesel. Keith Ahsoon, a resident of Ta'u stated that they would only have access to electricity in the morning and in the afternoon as they would have to save up on fuel according to The Verge.

The water from the entire island is also derived from pumps, which is also fueled by diesel. During his interview, Ahsoon mentioned that their island didn't progress much as they still lack electricity, which is a basic necessity even if it's already 2016.

"I recall a time they weren't able to get the boat out here for two months," said Keith Ahsoon, a local resident whose family owns one of the food stores on the island. "We rely on that boat for everything, including importing diesel for the generators for all of our electricity. Once diesel gets low, we try to save it by using it only for mornings and afternoons. Water systems here also use pumps, everyone in the village uses and depends on that. It's hard to live not knowing what's going to happen. I remember growing up using candlelight. And now, in 2016, we were still experiencing the same problems."

According to Forbes, Tesla came up with 1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity from Solar City and Tesla and 6-megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Tesla Power packs - was implemented within just one year from start to finish. The solar panel definitely changed the lives of the residents in a way that it helps save the environment as well. Tesla's move to put up solar panels to light up the entire island is considered as something historic as it helped lessen the carbon footprints as well.
A viral outbreak of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease took place in a Florida school which causes alarm among parents. It was mentioned that the local school did not notify parents of the outbreak, which caused a backlash as some parents were upset that the safety of their children was compromised.

Parents whose kids attend Lakeview Elementary School in Sarasota were outraged stating that the school failed to notify them of ongoing influenza. It was then mentioned that the state itself failed to release a memo wherein the HFMD is continually becoming a widespread in the area according to The Stir.

Scott Ferguson, a communication's specialist, explained the rationale as to why the school remained mum in regards to the outbreak. He mentioned that the school does not usually notify the parents. The then clarified that they would make an announcement once the breakout would take place on a larger scale and they would then advise parents to let their kids stay at home once they would see the symptoms breaking out according to CBS Local.

"We usually don't inform parents about common illnesses that run their course in a few days, as this disease generally does," Ferguson stated. "When we do contact parents about symptoms appearing in relatively large numbers at their child's school, we may ask them to take certain precautions, including keeping their children at home if they are exhibiting certain symptoms."

HFMD does not have a given vaccine up to this date, but it is mentioned that it can be treated. According to WebMD, HFMD can be transmitted through saliva, open blisters, body fluid contact. The sore blisters can be salivated by an over the counter prescription and do too usually last more than a week.

"It usually starts with a fever, reduced appetite, sore throat, and a feeling of being unwell. One or two days after the fever starts, painful sores can develop in the mouth."
A Connecticut woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy one day later she found out she is pregnant. Amanda Francis, 26, was shocked when told by her doctor during her monthly checkup that she was 8-week pregnant after undergone six negative pregnancy tests. However, she gave birth 24 hours after the finding of her pregnancy. She was eight-months into her pregnancy and then gave birth to Kellin.

Amanda Francis tried to take a pregnancy test for six times, but all failed. So she never concerns herself about till her doctor told her during her monthly check up that she was 2-months pregnant. The following day, Francis went into a crazy labor and welcomed her first child, Kellin.

Francis got shocked and happy at the same time upon hearing the news that she was pregnant. "When I first found out I was pregnant, I was shocked," Mirror quoted Francis as saying.

She only thought she was "bloated" or "fat" while some of her friends said she lost some weights. And so when she found that she was pregnant she had mixed emotions. She said she was confused and in tears but was triumphal because she always wanted children, but she did not expect it to come like this.

After her checkup and finding of her pregnancy, Francis continued to her work the following day. However, she did not feel well as the cramps she had felt the night before that day got worst. She decided to go to an emergency room thinking that she was having a miscarriage.

In the emergency room, the doctors did an ultrasound to her immediately and were all shocked to find out that she was 8-months into pregnancy and was in labor that time. Francis was all the more shocked when the doctors told her about her present condition. She went through a C-section and welcomed Kellin on July 20.

More moms were reported in the past had surprise pregnancy and birth stories just like what happened to Francis. ABC7 reported about an Iowa mom who gave birth to a baby girl three hours after finding out she is pregnant. The mother did not expect that she's pregnant as she had not experienced any symptoms or signs of being pregnant.


It's being reported today that Samsung Electronics is rumored to be ditching flat screens for its Galaxy S8 smartphones, and going solely with their dual-edge panel designs. The rumor states that the upcoming Galaxy S8 may come in 5.7-inch and 6.2-inch variants, with both adopting dual edge screens. This would be a new sales strategy for Samsung, which currently offers both flat and dual-edge screens.

Despite the seemingly radical design changes, industry watchers expressed doubts about whether customers would be happy to wave flat screens goodbye. There's a fear that users would mistakenly touch the sides of the smartphones and unwantingly alter the content on the display.

Yet with that said, the trend to dual-edge panel designs will expand this year, not detract, thanks to their own Samsung Display division who will be providing the curved edged displays to Chinese smartphone makers Huawei and Vivo. It's also being reported that LG Display will supply Xiaomi with curved edged display for an upcoming smartphone design. It's also be rumored that Apple may be following this trend as well to some degree.

Peter Lee, NH Investment & Securities is on record saying that "Samsung appears to be pushing dual-edge screens to distinguish its design rather than from an efficiency perspective.

In order to boost efficiency, Samsung needs to unveil foldable devices, which can be used as both smartphones and tablets," added Lee.

Lastly, the report noted that Samsung Electronics is currently developing two types of foldable devices -- whose panels face inward and outward -- to unveil them as early as late 2017, according to news reports. The smartphone can be used as a tablet when it is unfolded. Patently Apple covered this topic last week in a report titled "It's Crunch Time: Will Samsung Pull the Trigger and Launch a Foldable Smartphone in 2017 or Chicken Out?"

The pressure is on Samsung to enlarge their phablet displays to better compete with Apple's 2017 anniversary iPhone Plus model which is likely to offer a display in the 5.7" to 5.8" range. It's also a known fact that Chinese OEM's will be aiming to deliver larger size displays in the 6.2" to 6.4" range, if not higher. So a Samsung S8 with a larger 6.2" display isn't out of the question.

It appears that Samsung Galaxy S8 feature rumors are leaking out in a steady stream to get their fans excited. Below are a few other S8 rumor reports that we've published since October.



Samsung's 2017 Galaxy S8 will substantially Advance its Selfie Front-Side Camera with a Next-Gen Actuator

Samsung Confirms AI is coming to the Galaxy S8 in Late February Courtesy of Viv

Copycat Samsung to Introduce Galaxy S8 in Q1 2017 with Dual Cameras and No Home Button

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.
Last week Patently Apple posted a report titled "Samsung Set to Bomb their U.S. Note7 Zombies out of Existence on December 19." The report noted that last month New Zealand's telecommunications industry announced Note7 customers would no longer be allowed on New Zealand's mobile network after November 18  so as to force Note7 users to hand in their discontinued smartphone so that it could be returned to Samsung in Korea to be disposed of properly. Last week Samsung publicly notified stubborn Note7 customers refusing to hand in their smartphones that a software update would be issued that would automatically shut their phones off on December 19 from being able to be recharged. But plans don't always go according to plan.

It was reported in Korea today that AT&T, T-Mobile and two other mobile carriers plan to go ahead with the software update as Samsung has requested. The exception in this case is Verizon.

According to the report Verizon, the number one mobile carrier in the U.S., said it would not comply with the Samsung plan, because the move could cause problems in the case of an emergency.

The statement read: "We will not push a software upgrade that will eliminate the ability for the Note 7 to work as a mobile device in the heart of the holiday travel season. We do not want to make it impossible to contact family, first-responders or medical professionals in an emergency situation."

Verizon didn't confirm whether they would take full responsibility for any fires caused by their decision to go against Samsung's legal position. That could be a headache waiting to happen.

As for the situation in South Korea, approximately 80 percent of the recalled Note 7s have been returned. One source for the report noted that "Samsung is considering restricting battery charges for Note 7 devices sold in Korea, but they still remain careful due to possibly strong repercussions from remaining users. Once Samsung confirms its decision, the nation's three mobile carriers will issue statements, but nothing has been decided at the moment."

While it's certainly hypocritical for Samsung not to pressure their local customers equally with their software update, the pressure was highest in the U.S. so as to avoid any complications in the recall with U.S. authorities.

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.
Options and Respectful Speculations on the Synod on the Family, Amoris Laetitia and Practical Applications

Pope Francis at Varginha in southwest Minas Gerais state, Brazil during World Youth Day (7-27-13). Photograph from Agencia Brasil, a public Brazilian news agency. [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Brazil license]

*****

As most of you who have followed my writings know, I have been a staunch defender of Pope Francis: holding that he is orthodox and has often been grossly misrepresented, for a variety of reasons: most but not all occurring through no (or little) fault of his own. To that effect, I have written a book defending him, and collected a lengthy list of articles that explain controversies in a light favorable to the Holy Father. In my previous two articles on the pope, I expressed my opinion that Amoris Laetitia was sufficiently clarified already (11-16-16). Then I modified my view somewhat (though not essentially), in terms of thinking that further clarification from the pope (in reply to the dubia from the four cardinals) would be helpful and indeed is necessary in our present confused circumstances (12-1-16).

Despite my provocative title (yes: designed  like all good titles  to draw you in!), I am far from saying that he is a heretic (!). I havent fundamentally changed my mind. But some people (including many  of impeccable orthodoxy  whom I respect) think he is wrong in areas related to difficult marital situations and reception of Holy Communion. Im not sure, myself. He may be in error. At this point, I dont think there is enough hard evidence of that. Others disagree. I think our options are roughly outlined in the following analysis, that I submit to you for your consideration. Perhaps it will help some folks work through where they stand on this increasingly troublesome controversy. I will outline the choices we have at each step of the way.

A. The Synod on the Family [October 2015] is orthodox and in line with Catholic moral tradition. B. The Synod on the Family is heterodox and not in line with Catholic moral tradition.

I choose A.

C. Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia is orthodox and in line with Catholic moral tradition. D. Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia is heterodox and not in line with Catholic moral tradition.

I choose C.

E. Amoris Laetitia allows no exceptions to the rule of prohibiting Holy Communion to persons in an irregular marital scenario. F. Amoris Laetitia allows very rare exceptions (on a case-by-case basis) to the rule of prohibiting Holy Communion to persons in an irregular marital scenario. Indeed, there is precedent for this in canon law and previous papal statements. G. Amoris Laetitia allows many exceptions (on a case-by-case basis) to the rule of prohibiting Holy Communion to persons in an irregular marital scenario. H. Amoris Laetitia allows widespread, sweeping exceptions to the rule of prohibiting Holy Communion to persons in an irregular marital scenario (basically the Cardinal Kasper proposal).

I choose F.

I. Pope Francis own personal opinion on the matter is consistent with E. J. Pope Francis own personal opinion on the matter is consistent with F. K. Pope Francis own personal opinion on the matter is consistent with G. L. Pope Francis own personal opinion on the matter is consistent with H.

Here is where Im not sure, and where my own confusion and uncertainty lie. I suspect that his position is J (= F), but it is possible (and more and more people think) that his position is K (= G) or even (God forbid) L (= H). Thus my position, summarized, is:

A. The Synod on the Family [October 2015] is orthodox and in line with Catholic moral tradition. C. Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia is orthodox and in line with Catholic moral tradition. F. Amoris Laetitia allows very rare exceptions (on a case-by-case basis) to the rule of prohibiting Holy Communion to persons in an irregular marital scenario. Indeed, there is precedent for this in canon law and previous papal or magisterial statements. [see Addendum at the end] J. Pope Francis own personal opinion on the matter is consistent with F. [more likely, in my opinion] or [less likely, in my opinion]: K. Pope Francis own personal opinion on the matter is consistent with G: [Amoris Laetitia allows many exceptions (on a case-by-case basis) to the rule of prohibiting Holy Communion to persons in an irregular marital scenario.]

Hence, the need for clarification. If the pope provides clarification that his position is F (granting that F is true in the first place), then my set of opinions (A + C + F + J) is consistent. But if he clarifies that his position is G, then I think he is (with all due respect) in error.

Moreover, there is the altogether different practical question of how theological liberals in the Church (or dissidents or heterodox or modernists or progressives: choose your term)  including some of the bishops  will interpret and implement Amoris Laetitia. I touched upon this in my previous article:

Its also true that those who have nefarious heterodox intent (as I have alluded to in the past) will exploit any confusion or (rightly or wrongly) perceived loopholes as a license to depart from true Catholic practice, just as they did with Vatican II and the reform of the Mass. Yet another good reason to clarify with great specificity . . .

Heres how that works. I indeed F is the case (as I believe), the theological liberals habitually distort that in practice and implement G or H, under the pretext and pretense that any loophole becomes (after being exploited and co-opted) a giant gaping hole big enough for a truck to drive through. It becomes a (by now familiar) exercise in the slippery slope. If rare exceptions exist, and if this is in line with previous Catholic moral tradition and canon law, then it needs to be made crystal clear which scenarios constitute such exceptions and which do not. Otherwise, there is confusion and exploitation from those who are seeking to change unchanging Catholic moral tradition.

Thats why the pope (or at least a high-ranking Cardinal in effect speaking for him) needs to clarify, and the sooner the better. The longer the current confusion continues on, the worse it gets. Its now scandalous. Soon it will be outright disastrous, leading to defections into quasi-schismatic radical reactionary Catholicism or out of Catholicism altogether (similar to an early 70s scenario of mass defection).

Im quite willing to give the Holy Father the benefit of the doubt, and wait and see until more certain statements are made. Many others, I think unfortunately, are not so unassuming, and therein lies the widening troublesome situation that we now face, until this is definitively resolved. The more uncertainty we have, the more we will have undue and unedifying speculation, detraction, gossip, calumny, and slander taking place in our beloved social media.

And that is not good . . .

*****

Addendum: Possible Exceptions to Rules on Reception of Holy Communion (Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI)

Cardinal Ratzinger, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Concerning Some Objections to the Churchs Teaching on the Reception of Holy Communion by Divorced and Remarried Members of the Faithful (1998):

3c. . . . Some theologians are of the opinion that the faithful ought to adhere strictly even in the internal forum to juridical decisions which they believe to be false. Others maintain that exceptions are possible here in the internal forum, because the juridical forum does not deal with norms of divine law, but rather with norms of ecclesiastical law. This question, however, demands further study and clarification. Admittedly, the conditions for asserting an exception would need to be clarified very precisely, in order to avoid arbitrariness and to safeguard the public character of marriage, removing it from subjective decisions. [Footnote 4] During the meeting with clergy in the Diocese of Aosta, which took place 25 July 2005, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of this difficult question:  those who were married in the Church for the sake of tradition but were not truly believers, and who later find themselves in a new and invalid marriage and subsequently convert, discover faith and feel excluded from the Sacrament, are in a particularly painful situation. This really is a cause of great suffering and when I was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I invited various Bishops Conferences and experts to study this problem: a sacrament celebrated without faith. Whether, in fact, a moment of invalidity could be discovered here because the Sacrament was found to be lacking a fundamental dimension, I do not dare to say. I personally thought so, but from the discussions we had I realized that it is a highly complex problem and ought to be studied further. But given these peoples painful plight, it must be studied further.

***

*
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You say you've installed a password manager and replaced all your lame and duplicate passwords with strong ones that nobody could guess? Congratulations! Now you need to think about what protects that treasure trove of stored logins. A lone master password may not be enough. For real security, you need additional authentication factors. True Key places more emphasis on multi-factor authentication than any competitor, and it works across Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Note that this is now a McAfee product; the "by Intel Security" branding is slated to be removed.

You can install True Key and use it at no costif you don't need to store more than 15 passwords. Once you hit that limit, you must pay $19.99 per year, which isn't bad. Sticky Password Premium costs $29.99 per year; Dashlane and LogMeOnce go for $39.99 per year. Even LastPass has recently gone up to $24 per year.

Easy Start

Anybody can go to the True Key website, download the product, and start using it immediately. As part of the setup process, you create a master password of at least eight characters. Normally I'd recommend something longer, but as you'll see, the master password is just one way that True Key protects your secret data. You're encouraged, but not forced, to either use all four character types (uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits, and symbols) or create a lengthy passphrase, with spaces permitted.

On Windows or macOS, True Key installs as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. There's no longer a separate True Key app on these desktop platforms. I am somewhat surprised that there's no support for Internet Explorer on Windows or Safari on Mac.

True Key installs as an app on iOS, with its own internal browser. Like LastPass, Dashlane, Trend Micro Password Manager($14.95/Year at Trend Micro)(Opens in a new window), and others, it can fill passwords for Safari, Chrome, and supporting applications using an extension accessed through the share box icon.

On Android, True Key also installs as an app with an internal browser. It directly supports Chrome, Opera, and several other Android browsers. Once you open Accessibility Services and enable True Key's instant login, it can also log in to most Android apps.

True Key works hard to ease you into password management. It starts by displaying a list of over two dozen popular websites and encouraging you to add one as a login. When you click an item, it opens that page in the browser, explaining that all you need do is log in as usual. It also walks you through the process of clicking a saved item to automatically revisit the site and log in.

Once you've used the product a little, it suggests that you add another authentication factor. On the Nexus 9 that I used for testing, it suggested adding face authentication. Later, when I turned on face authentication on an iPhone, it used the existing face data from the Android device. Nice! Extending face recognition to the Mac required download of a helper program, but after that it worked fine.

Basic Password Management

True Key does all the basic password management tasks you'd expect. It captures your credentials when you log in to secure sites, plays them back if you revisit such sites, and lets you visit and log in to a site with one click. If you're creating a new account, it notices, and offers to generate (and save) a secure password. By default, it creates 16-character passwords using all character types. That's better than many competing products. Kaspersky Password Manager($14.99 Per Year at Kaspersky)(Opens in a new window) and Trend Micro default to 8 characters, for example. At the tougher end, Password Boss and KeePass default to 20-character passwords.

This utility doesn't just assume that every login was a success. If its algorithm calculates that the login worked, it saves the credentials and notifies you, along with an option to never save this site, or to skip saving it this time. But if it's not sure, it instead asks you whether to save credentials. It's a subtle touch, and a nice one.

Most secure websites follow the same standards for the login page, which makes the job of a password manager easier. Some, though, go wildly off-standard. LastPass 4.0 Premium and Sticky Password handle weird logins by letting you enter all the data and then capture every field on the page. LogMeOnce works from a catalog of over 4,000 known websites.

True Key handles oddball logins in its own way. If it can't properly capture login credentials, it sends a report to its masters for analysis. They aim to update True Key to handle that site (both for you and for all other users) within 24 hours. However, I didn't see this happen in my testing. On a Thursday morning, I found two popular sites that True Key failed to capture. Monday morning, it still couldn't capture them.

You can also import passwords stored insecurely in your browsers. If you choose to do so, True Key clears them from the browser and turns off the browser's password capture facility. There's also an option to import from LastPass, Dashlane, or (oddly) the ThinkVantage Toolbox preinstalled on some Lenovo computers.

There aren't a lot of settings to worry about, but there's one every user should update. Like Zoho Vault, RoboForm 8 Everywhere, and most other password managers, True Key logs you out after a period of inactivity. But unlike most others, the default for this period is a full week! I strongly recommend setting it to no more than 30 minutes. This is a per-device setting, not global to your account, which makes senseyou might want a different timeout on your smartphone than on your desktop computer.

You can save any number of free-form color-coded secure notes. There's also a Wallet feature that lets you save address, credit card, driver's license, membership, passport, and social security number data, with appropriate data fields for each type. For credit cards, True Key lets you import details by snapping a photo. You can create as many personal data records as you want, and color-code them. However, you can't use them to fill in Web forms the way you can with LastPass, Password Boss Premium, and most for-pay password managers.

True Key sticks to the basics. It doesn't have the actionable password strength report or automated password changing ability you find in LastPass, Dashlane, and LogMeOnce Password Management Suite Ultimate. At the time of my previous review, the company told me that this feature was planned for the next edition, but it still hasn't happened. You can't categorize, group, or tag your saved logins. There's no secure sharing of passwords, or password inheritance, either. But what it does do, True Key does well.

Multi-Factor Authentication

True Key's real strength lies in its ability to use multiple factors for authentication. Right from the start, it requires both the master password and a trusted device. Any attempt to log in from a device that's not yet trusted requires additional authentication. For example, when I installed it on an Apple iPhone 7, it sent a verification email that I had to click. When I went on to install on an Android device, it asked me to verify by swiping a notification on the now-trusted iPhone.

You can add other factors in settings. Your trusted email account is automatically available for verification. If you wish, you can enhance facial recognition so it requires you to turn your head from side to side. That's so that nobody can log in using a photo of your face. And you can require authentication using a second device, typically a mobile device. The second device receives a request for authentication, and you simply respond by swiping, much like the Keeper DNA feature in Keeper Password Manager & Digital Vault.

At the default Basic security level, you choose from a subset of these possibilities. You can't deselect Trusted Device; that's a given. To that, you add either master password, face-based authentication, or fingerprint verification. Which of these are available depends on your device. If you raise the security level to Advanced, desktop installations add the option to authenticate using a second device. At this level, you must choose exactly two factors besides the trusted device. On the iPhone, for example, it offered three choices: Face & Master Password, Master Password & Touch ID, and Face & Touch ID. The Mac edition still exhibited slightly confusing behavior. If you select three additional factors instead of two, it disables the Activate button without explicitly saying why.

The security level and authentication choices are specific to the device you're using. If you want to always use Advanced authentication, remember to change that setting on each new device.

If you've gone out without your second device, or if it's too dark for face recognition, never fear. You can choose to use a different factor, such as email verification. As noted, on iOS devices, you can use Touch ID as a factor. Fingerprint verification is available for certain Android devices, but only those whose fingerprint readers meet Intel's criteria for accuracy.

True Key can use a PC-installed fingerprint reader for authentication. It also supports Intel's RealSense camera technology, and can protect its data using Intel's SGX (Software Guard Extensions) on CPUs that support it. Having been part of Intel has clearly paid off for True Key.

When you use the Edge extension, you get another option for authentication, Windows Hello. This is the same feature that lets you log into your Windows account using face recognition, fingerprint authentication, or a PIN on a trusted device. Which of these are available depends on the capabilities of your PC. I have several Windows 10 computers, but only one has a camera, and the camera isn't up to Windows Hello standards.

True Key doesn't attempt to pull in every authentication factor in the world. Dashlane, LastPass, and Keeper support Google Authenticator. Keeper, LogMeOnce, and Zoho Vault can send a one-time password via SMS. LastPass, LogMeOnce, and Sticky Password can modify a USB drive so it serves as an authentication factor. But really, True Key's choices for multi-factor authentication work well together.

Kill the Password!

LogMeOnce lets you create your account without ever defining a master password, using a variety of other factors instead. With oneID, you can't create a master password even if you want to; it relies strictly on authentication using a trusted device.

True Key initially requires a master password, but you can go password-free quite easily. At the Basic security level, you can choose to authenticate using your face, not a master password. If you wisely choose Advanced, you can authenticate with multiple factors.

Password managers that do rely on a master password usually offer a warning that if you forget that password, they can't help you. (That also means they can't be compelled to unlock your account for the NSA, which is a plus.) McAfee can't unlock your account, or tell you the master password you forgot, but if you've defined enough other factors, True Key lets you authenticate with those and thereby reset the master.

I tried the reset feature on the Android device. It required advanced face authentication, meaning I had to move my head from side to side. And it sent an authentication request to my iPhone. With that double authentication, it let me reset the master password.

If someone else tries to reset the master password, you get an email alert, with an option to lock password recovery for a day. Three failed tries triggers that lock automatically.

You're not likely to lose a desktop computer, but it's awfully easy to misplace a mobile device. If someone else gets hold of your device, the multi-factor authentication system should prevent them from accessing it. To make it even tougher for a thief, you can remotely remove the device from the trusted list.

Multi-Factor Maven

Every successful modern password manager syncs passwords across all your devices. True Key goes a step further, involving those devices and your biometric data in the authentication process. It's easy to set up, easy to use, and attractive. If only it also had the advanced features that grace its competitors, it would be even better.

LogMeOnce Password Management Suite Ultimate also offers many different authentication factors, but just two at a time. It's even more feature-packed than long-time favorite LastPass Premium. With Dashlane, you get all your password management needs in a slick package that's as attractive as True Key's. And Sticky Password Premium combines advanced password management features with an extra-secure local-only syncing option. These four are our Editors' Choice commercial password manager. But if your main concern is multi-factor authentication, True Key has them all beat.

If this review has piqued your interest in multi-factor authentication, you can read more about it in our feature, Two-Factor Authentication: Who Has It and How to Set it Up.

How Your Password Was Stolen How Your Password Was Stolen

McAfee True Key 3.5 (Opens in a new window) Check Price (Opens in a new window) Pros Broad support for multi-factor authentication.

Syncs passwords across Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.

Can operate securely without a master password. Cons Lacks advanced features such as password sharing, inheritance, and automatic changing.

No support for Internet Explorer on Windows or Safari on Mac. The Bottom Line McAfee's True Key password manager handles basic tasks, with a focus on multi-factor authentication, but it lacks secure sharing, password inheritance, and other advanced password management features.
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In the December issue

We review two laptops, the Microsoft Surface Book i7 and the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Plus, learn about Google Home, the search giants digital assistant for your night stand.

Other highights:

Alienware 13 (2016): The first OLED gaming laptop has landed.

The first OLED gaming laptop has landed. Lenovos ThinkPad X1 Tablet: modules add features but limit functionality.

modules add features but limit functionality. Hands On: Using crossover Android to run Windows Apps on a Chromeboook.

Using crossover Android to run Windows Apps on a Chromeboook. Consumer Watch: Microsofts popping up ads from the Windows 10 taskbar again.

Microsofts popping up ads from the Windows 10 taskbar again. Heres How: 6 settings to make your Android phone anticipate your needs.

Video highlights

Watch: our Hands-on preview to Microsofts Paint 3D and our MacBook Pro and Alienware 13 reviews. Also, learn five easy ways to save Facebook videos, and see how compact robot explorers are uncovering secrets of renowned shipwrecks.

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Even AMD fanboys have to admit that the companys CPUs havent been competitive with Intels chips in a decade. With AMD finally unveiling its official CPU brand, Ryzen, this afternoon, as well as the first chips base clock speed, there are signs Intel might actually have a fight on its hands. Heres every single thing we know about AMDs Ryzen CPU so far.

The Specs

Here are all the specs we know about AMDs upcoming Ryzen CPU next to its counterpart: the Broadwell-E Core i7-6900K.

Your conspiracy theory? Wrong

AMD shocked the PC world in August by showing its 8-core Summit Ridge CPU (featuring Zen architecture) matching the performance of an 8-core Intel chip in the open-source Blender application. The internet, of course, immediately spawned conspiracy theories that AMD probably used Blender because it could recompile the open-source program to run better on the Zen architecture. Wrong.

PCWorld asked AMD officials if this was true. We were told that all of the demos were done using the compiled binary file from the Blender website.

Last week, AMD doubled down on its performance claims by running not only the Blender test, but also additional demos of a Handbrake encode and Pixologics ZBrushCore benchmark. All highly multithreaded applications. And, yes, all performed using the binary downloads sans any alterations, the company insists.

Gordon Mah Ung AMD demonstrated its new 8-core Ryzen CPU running a Handbrake encode and slightly outpacing an Intel 8-core Core i7-6900K CPU.

Performance matches or exceeds Intels 8-core CPU

In the fall Blender demo, AMD showed that Zen could go toe-to-toe with its Intel counterpart when clock speeds were exactly the same3GHz in that instance. That raised the question of whether AMD could actually meet Intels maximum speed. The answer is yes.

AMD says it expects the Ryzen CPU to have a base clock of at least 3.4GHz, which is about 5 percent higher than its Intel counterpart, the 8-core Broadwell-E 3.2GHz Core i7-6900K CPU. That same Intel chip, however, will boost to 3.7GHz, and even hit 4GHz under single-threaded loads.

AMD hasnt divulged Ryzens boost speed, so how do we know it will be as fast, or possibly even faster, than Intels Broadwell-E? For starters, in AMDs demos, Ryzen at 3.4GHz (with boosting turned off) ran every bit as fast as the Core i7-6900K in Blender, Handbrake, and ZBrushCoreand that was with the Core i7-6900Ks boost mode on.

If we believe AMDs tests so far, and that Ryzen is the equal of Intels Broadwell-E, then it comes down to clock speeds that primarily separate these chips. Given AMDs statement that Ryzen will be at least 3.4GHz, it seems that its CPU will have a slight edge over Intels.

Intels 6th-gen, 5th-gen, 4th-gen, and 3rd-gen CPUs compared.

Ryzen vs. Skylake vs. Kaby Lake

Okay, so Ryzen looks good, but its being matched against Intels 5th-gen Broadwell core. What about Intels 6th-gen Skylake and the soon-to-arrive 7th-gen Kaby Lake desktop chip?

In pure efficiency, Skylake should have a small advantage over Ryzen. Kaby Lake, which is mostly a clock bump from what weve seen in laptops, builds on that lead.

The problem, for Intel, is that the efficiency advantage isnt that substantial at equal clock speeds. As I noted in my review of Skylake, when I set four generations of Intel chips to the same clock speed and disabled any boost advantage, the differences were pretty incremental (see above chart).

Of course, these parts dont all run at the same speed. Skylake has a base clock speed of 4GHz. Kaby Lake, which is mostly a refined Skylake core, should have a little more speed still.

The first problem for Skylake (and probably Kaby Lake) is the ability of the 8-core chips to also run at pretty high speeds on light loads.

My review of the 10-core Broadwell-E shows how that chips Turbo Max feature can mostly nullify any clock-speed advantage the Core i7-6700K chip has in light loads. If AMD can do the same with its boost modes, the base-clock differences between Ryzen and Skylake could be too minimal to matter.

The second problem with Skylake and Kaby Lake is that both are only quad-core parts with no ability to add more cores.

This isnt the last word on performance, but the general upshotif you accept AMDs demonstrations at face valueis that Ryzen looks poised to put the company back into the ballpark for the first time in a long, long time.

Gordon Mah Ung This AMD reference board for Ryzen from the unveil in the fall had four DIMM slots and thats because Ryzen is a dual-channel-memory CPU.

Its dual-channel

One thing we havent been sure about up until now is whether Ryzen would be a quad-channel-memory CPU like its Intel counterpart. Today, I can say for certain that its a dual-channel configuration.

Thats because the demo we witnessed was equipped with a pair of 8GB DDR4 DIMMs, versus the Intel box with four 8GB DDR4 DIMMs. AMDs recently announced Bristol Ridge chips are also dual-channel and use the same AM4 socket, and compatibility with Zen cores has been touted as a feature.

Afraid thatll hobble Ryzens performance? My own testing last year shows the impact to be mostly minimal.

The one negative to a dual-channel configuration is the limited amount of RAM you can pack into a system (128GB on Intel versus 64GB with Ryzen). Intel might have a slight price advantage here as well since smaller DIMMs are usually cheaper.

AMD has the possible advantage of cheaper motherboard construction. Adding more memory channels to a motherboard means running more wires or traces and also more layers. More layers means more cost.

AMD Youll need a new AM4 motherboard and cooler for Ryzen.

Motherboard, cooler, and power consumption

For many technical reasons, Ryzen just wont work in older AMD FX motherboards. A new mounting system means youll need a new cooler too, or at least an adapter to make your existing cooler fit.

Gordon Mah Ung Running Blender, AMD showed its new 8-core Ryzen CPU to use a little less power than the equivalent Intel CPU, which ran at about 100W.

AMDs most recent CPUs have a reputation for running hotter than their Intel equivalents but that doesnt look to be true anymore. The company showed Ryzen running ZBrushCore while consuming slightly less power than the Intel Core i7-6900K running the same workload. AMD hasnt actually disclosed the amount of heat, or TDP, the chip generates but did say people would be surprised.

UPDATE: AMD said during its New Horizon livestream that the 8-core Ryzen chip will have a 95W TDP, far less than the Core i7-6900Ks 140W.

Brad Chacos Yup, SLI will work on Ryzen motherboards. AMD showed a Ryzen and a Core i7-6900K running Battlefield 1 with SLId GeForce Titan X cards.

Yes, SLI works

AMD knows that people who buy 8-core CPUs tend to like cranking their systems to 11. In a nod to enthusiasts, the company demonstrated a Ryzen PC using a pair of Nvidia Titan X cards in SLI to run Battlefield 1 against a similarly configured Core i7-6900K PC.

AMD said it wanted to prove that even with high-end configurations, Ryzen wont be a bottleneck.

The other good news for enthusiasts is the assurance that we wont see some walled-off AMD motherboard that forces you to run Radeon for multicard configurations. This isnt without precedent. Most high-end AMD motherboards support Nvidia SLI.

Its not really a CPU

AMD actually considers Ryzen to be an SoC, or system on a chip, because each chip will have some south bridge functions such as USB, PCI-E, and SATA. You can read more about the reasons here, but the gist is it was made to scale from laptops to servers so, please, dude, proper nomenclature.
U.S. efforts to get to the bottom about Russias role in hacking this years presidential election may very well end up mired in politics, hampering any response.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was the latest U.S. lawmaker to call for an investigation into Russias possible involvement. This simply cannot be a partisan issue, he said during a press conference.

A growing number of lawmakers, in addition to U.S. intelligence agencies, also assert that Russia was behind the high-profile hacks that were intended to influence this years election. Among the targets were Democratic groups and figures whose emails were stolen and later leaked online.

However, any investigation into the matter will probably receive little to no support from incoming President Donald Trump, whos remained skeptical of the hacking allegations. Hes been particularly dismissive of a new claim from the CIA that the Russian government interfered to help Trump win the election.

I think its ridiculous, Trump said in an interview aired on Fox News Sunday. I think its just another excuse. I dont believe it.

In the interview, Trump went on to allege that rival Democrats are compelling U.S. intelligence groups to claim that Russia meddled in the election. He plans on introducing new leadership to run those intelligence agencies.

The resistance from Trump isnt a surprise. During the campaign trail, he also voiced doubts about Russias involvement in the hacks, claiming that China or a 400-pound hacker may have been the true culprit.

But Trumps insistence on dismissing the hacking claims, despite U.S. intelligence findings, has less to do with cybersecurity, and everything to do with politics, said John Bambenek, a malware researcher at Fidelis Cybersecurity.

Critics of the incoming president are now using claims of Russian interference in the election to discredit Trumps election win, he said. The debate isnt about whether Russia hacked the elections, its about whether Trump is a legitimate president or not, Bambenek said.

His company, Fidelis Cybersecurity, was among those that investigated the hack of the Democratic National Committee, one of several breaches during the presidential race blamed on Russia. All the evidence found, including the malware and tactics used, pointed to the involvement of two hacking teams, known as Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear, believed to have ties with the Russian government.

However, partisan politics is overshadowing the debate on Russias involvement, Bambenek said. Several news articles published this past weekend, suggesting that the CIA and the FBI disagree on Russias role in the hacking, has only muddled the affair.

We are well outside the realm of intelligence, Bambenek said. Even if the truth was known, would anyone believe it?

However, before Trump takes office, President Barack Obama has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to produce a report reviewing Russias alleged involvement in the election hacks. The Obama administration intends to make parts of that report public.

On Monday, McConnell declined to say whether he believed Russia was behind any U.S. election hacks. But, he added, the Russians are not our friends.

Other lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have also called for an investigation to look into U.S. election tampering. But the continued skepticism from Trump makes it unclear if his administration intends to take any retaliatory action against Russia.

Unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking, Trump tweeted on Monday.
Last Wednesday was historic for Qualcomm. In one day, the company jumped beyond its comfort zone of mobile chips and entered the PC and server markets.

With the expansion, Qualcomm now has chips for most computing products. It wants to outcompete even Intel, which dominates in PCs and servers but gave up on markets like smartphone CPUs earlier this year.

Qualcomm on Wednesday announced its Centriq 2400 server chips, which started shipping to test customers. Later that day, Microsoft revealed that first PCs based on Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 chip would come next year. The chip will also be used in high-end smartphones.

In some ways, Qualcomm and Intel are heading in the opposite direction. Qualcomm has grown and is now what Intel used to be  a chipmaker dabbling in all the major computing products, from wearables to servers.

Intel, on the other hand, has left some markets after tough lessons learned through unabated chip expansion and throwing billions of dollars at products that ultimately failed. This year it downsized and cut unprofitable products like mobile processors  a market Qualcomm leads  to focus on growth areas like IoT, data centers, and machine learning.

Qualcomms goal of joining the PC and server markets is clear: to challenge Intels areas of strength. But trying to unseat an incumbent is easier said than done, and Qualcomm faces many challenges of its own. The jury is still out on whether Qualcomm will succeed, but the company is the first legitimate competitor to Intel in the server, PC, and IoT chip markets.

Qualcomms first jab at the PC market was doomed with the failure of Windows RT, a version of Windows 8 for ARM-based tablets and PCs. But the re-entry into PCs with Windows 10 is better organized, and the ARM-based Snapdragon 835 will be able to run popular Win32 apps that typically run on x86 chips. Qualcomms chips could pave the way for Windows 10 into the 5G era, an area where Intel is at a competitive disadvantage.

But it wont be easy for Qualcomm, which faces compatibility challenges with 64-bit applications, drivers, and peripherals. The Snapdragon 835 will run x86 apps through emulation, which limits hardware acceleration.

In the last two decades, only AMD has threatened to Intels lead in PCs, but even that didnt last too long. AMD is mounting a new challenge with its upcoming Zen processors, and Qualcomms ARM-based chips could take on Intels Celeron, Pentium, and Core i3 chips in low-end PCs.

Qualcomm has no plans to give up on PCs anytime soon. The companys success with cellular PCs could take off when deployments for 5G  which combines long- and short-distance wireless communications  take shape in 2020. Qualcomm has already introduced the Snapdragon X50 5G modem, but its not yet known if the Snapdragon 835 will have an integrated 5G chipset.

Its a different competitive landscape in servers, despite analysts calling Centriq 2400 the best ARM server chip to date. Intel dominates servers with Xeon chips, and companies wont easily change over from x86 to ARM because it would require wholesale changes in the hardware and software infrastructures.

Moreover, ARM servers havent caught on despite being around for more than three years. Qualcomm could rekindle some interest in ARM servers with Centriq 2400, which has 48-cores and high levels of I/O and networking interface integration.

Qualcomm has said it will take a wait-and-watch approach with server chips. The goal is to avoid mistakes made by other ARM server makers like Calxeda, which folded, and AMD, which is re-focusing on x86 after putting ARM on the back burner. Other ARM server chipmakers Cavium and AppliedMicro are struggling.

The server chip is targeted at large cloud server installations, and Qualcomm is working with a few unnamed customers. If cloud companies believe custom software and Qualcomm chips will cost less than Intel Xeon chips, they may switch over. The competition could also provide bargaining power to Intels server customers, who could acquire chips at cheaper prices.

But a few server installations wont be enough to dent Intels server dominance. Qualcomm will also compete with IBMs Power9, which is aiming for a double-digit market share in servers by 2020.

The market for ARM chips has also declined with applications like machine learning, which require brawnier processor cores like x86. ARM is considered a wimpy core that provides strength in numbers. Intel has a wide lead over Qualcomm in machine learning with an assortment of deep-learning chips like the Xeon Phi and FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) in its arsenal.

There is a separate competition brewing in the IoT market, in which Qualcomm has a big advantage over Intel. Qualcomm dominates in telematics, and is spending US$47 billion to buy NXP Semiconductor, which provides circuitry for cars, IoT devices, and other low-power devices. Intel is trying to grow its profile in the market and has made numerous acquisitions.

The mobile market should be a long-term strength for Qualcomm, but it is facing competition from MediaTek and companies like Samsung and Apple that design chips internally.
In 2017, your new fridge might be able to tell you corny jokes and serenade you, but still lack a witty answer to Are you Skynet? Microsoft announced during the WinHEC coference in Shenzhen, China that Cortana would arrive on Windows IoT Core as part of the Windows 10 Creators Update. The IoT version of Windows is designed for smart devices such as robots, maker projects, thermostats, toasters, doorbells, and picture frames.

Windows IoT Core can sometimes lag a little behind Windows 10 PC releases so its not clear when the IoT version will roll out. During the Windows 10 November Update in 2015, the IoT build lagged by about a month, though the earlier Anniversary Update arrived around the same time on both PCs and IoT devices.

Cortanas coming to your fridge.

The impact on you at home: If I was in a betting mood Id expect to see the new Windows IoT Core inspire multiple Cortana-powered smart speakers from third parties. Microsoft doesnt appear to have any interest in making its own smart speaker. Instead the company is sticking to its standard the PC-is-the-solution-to-everything approach with Home Hub. That makes a certain amount of sense, however. As weve noted before Microsoft is backing away from hardware under CEO Satya Nadella save for the flagship Surface line. An army (or at least a platoon) of Cortana smart speakers would likely benefit Microsoft more than a single Surface Echo to take on Amazon and Google.

Bolts are ready just add the nuts

To that end, Microsoft is bringing the features to Windows IoT Core that youd need for a Cortana-powered speaker. In addition to Cortana itself, Microsoft is also adding far-field speech communication and wake-on-voice functionality to Windows 10 IoT and the PC version of the Creators Update.

Far-field speech will enable Cortana to recognize voice commands from up to 13 feet away, and wake-on-voice allows users to activate a device with the Hey Cortana command.

Microsoft hopes to see the first Cortana-powered IoT devices roll out in late 2017 around the back-to-school or holiday shopping seasons. If Microsoft and its device partners hit that target we could see Cortana-powered devices show up as early as Computex 2017 next May.
Bob Ferrett was scared at first.

Would the tattoo-covered men with shaved heads give him mean looks? Would they try to make fun of him or question his presence? Would they lash out at his message?

But the retired school administrator and Riverside resident never wavered in his quest to deliver the word of God to those behind bars. His fears proved unfounded.

For the past 11 years, Ferrett has made regular visits to inmates at the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside. He and a partner, Tim Lucas, pray, sing gospel songs and share scripture with men and women who have been arrested or broken the law.

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A lot of times they dont have anybody who cares about them, said Ferrett, 77. In Gods eyes, they have equal dignity and are loved by God just as much as I am.

Ferrett attends St. Catherine of Alexandria church in Riverside and participates in a Diocese of San Bernardino ministry that offers spiritual guidance to the incarcerated at more than two dozen jails, prisons and juvenile halls in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Such work is encouraged in the diocese that serves 1.6 million Catholics in the region. On Monday, its leader, Bishop Gerald Barnes, traveled to the Norco prison to say Mass for the Virgin of Guadalupes feast day.

Other Christian denominations also seek to spread the Gospel to inmates.

Theyre called monsters because of what they may have done and society wants to lock them up and throw away the key, said Marciano Avilla, the dioceses Office of Restorative Justice Ministry director. Even though they may have done horrible things, theyre still worthy of Gods goodness, grace and compassion.

NOT FORGOTTEN

Nearly 200 volunteers in the ministry offer faith sharing, Bible studies, worship services and one-on-one spiritual counseling. Priests also celebrate Mass at various jails or prisons.

Its to bring that olive branch of hope to the incarcerated and hopefully after theyve been released, a seed has been planted in them to grow and flourish, said Lucas, a 57-year-old Jurupa Valley resident who attends St. Matthew Catholic Church in Corona. Its a humbling experience.

Barnes visit to the California Rehabilitation Center came on the Catholic feast day that honors the Virgin Mary.

Before the service, inmates mimicked what happened throughout the day at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where Barnes said some 8 million Catholics paid their respects to Mary.

They crawled on their knees along a narrow hallway toward a large poster board of her image before entering the small chapel inside the sprawling complex ringed by barbed wire.

During the bilingual service, inmates sang hymns, read Bible verses and listened to Barnes sermon that stressed Jesus mothers love for them  despite their sins.

GLIMMER OF HOPE

Barnes said later that, while they have made bad choices, theyre not forgotten in Gods eyes.

Even though theyre incarcerated, theyre still part of the human family and part of society, Barnes said. There is redemption and they are saved in Jesus Christ. Mary is a sign of that love for them. Mercy is theirs and one day, theyll come back into society and join us.

Carlos Vasquez, 19, said he was charged with first-degree murder, later reduced to manslaughter, for starting a fight that led to a gang-related stabbing three years ago. Hes serving an 11-year-sentence.

He said Barnes visit offers a glimmer of hope that its not too late to turn his life around.

It gives me the faith I need in order to keep going and let go my past and everything Ive been through, said Vasquez, who grew up in Los Angeles and wants to help troubled youth when hes released.

Tyrone Mayorga, 27, said the presence of a religious figure of Barnes stature was unlike anything he has ever experienced.

For him to come here, its like Wow, he said. It shows he cares and were not alone.

Mayorga said he was 16 when he was arrested and convicted for attempted murder in a gang-related shooting. He spent time in five correctional facilities and has eight years left on his 21-year sentence.

It makes you feel like youre human, he said of Barnes visit. It brings joy to my day and excitement.

SECOND CHANCES

Other Christians say they volunteer in jails and prisons because God calls them to reach out to people society has rejected.

Menifee resident Barbara Swarthout started visiting the California Institution for Women in Chino in 2012 after her son, now 34, was released from prison. She declined to talk about his crime.

When her son was sentenced in 2009, Swarthout got involved in a support group at Crossroads Christian Church in Corona that helps friends and family members with loved ones in prison.

Shes now the coordinator of a four-year seminary-level leadership skills program that in October graduated its first class of eight women who are trained to become pastors and Christian leaders when theyre released.

Swarthout also volunteers twice a week at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, teaching incarcerated men to write resumes, look for jobs, build social skills and control their anger.

Everybody deserves a second chance, said Swarthout, 60, the pathology coordinator at Corona Regional Medical Center. I love seeing men and women change and succeed.

Religion can play a role in changing criminal behavior, said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections in Sacramento.

There is great rehabilitative value in religion or any discussion that gives inmates the opportunity for introspection to study themselves, Sessa said.

DELIVERING THE WORD

In addition to volunteer visits, state prisons are staffed with a Catholic priest, a Protestant chaplain, a Muslim imam, a Jewish rabbi and a Native American healer.

I am certain that for many inmates that participate in a religious service, it gives them an opportunity to reflect on how they thought or believed in the past or what they would hope or aspire to in the future, Sessa said.

David Reynolds, who attends The Grove Community Church in Riverside, reminds inmates that no sin is too dark or horrible for God to forgive.

As vice president of Cops Out Preaching Salvation, a prison ministry of active and retired law enforcement officers, Reynolds has watched in awe as veteran police officers bond with hardened criminals.

When you see a cop killer and a police officer come together for the first time, its an amazing thing to watch the grace of God melt away the tensions, said Reynolds, the only member of the group who does not have a law enforcement background. His father, Bill Reynolds, retired as a deputy chief of the Riverside County Sheriffs Department.

The groups mantra is Matthew 25:36, which calls on the faithful to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, take care of the sick and visit those in prison. Since its inception about 20 years ago, the ministry has helped thousands of inmates become Christians, he said.

Volunteers offer church services to inmates at jails and prisons in 15 states, including the California Institution for Men in Chino once a month.

There have been times his group was ready to enter a detention center but left because they were told it was too dangerous, he said.

Theres people that should never be let out because they are really bad people, said Reynolds, a 50-year-old Riverside resident. Theres people in there who are evil. Mixed in are absolutely amazing saved individuals that are doing the time and love the Lord.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9292 orstwall@scng.comTwitter: @pe_swall
A Colorado man was injured Sunday night, Dec. 11, when the aircraft he was flying crashed in eastern Riverside County.

Riverside County sheriffs deputies in the departments Thermal station responded to a reported aircraft emergency between Painted Canyon and Box Canyon at 10:36 p.m.

They contacted Devid Wedmore, a 60-year-old Denver resident, via cell phone and were able to obtain GPS coordinates that led them to his crashed aircraft 8 miles east of the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport.

The airport is about 7 miles southeast of Indio.

Deputies were assisted by the San Bernardino Sheriffs Department in Wedmores rescue. When they found him about 11:30 p.m., Wedmore had significant but non-life-threatening head and facial injuries.

He was taken to Desert Regional Medical center.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were both notified.
An early morning crash critically injured a 6-year-old child and sent the driver to jail, say Riverside police.

City firefighters witnessed and reported the 8:14 a.m. wreck Monday, Dec. 12, in front of Fire Station 12, 10692 Indiana Ave.

The westbound vehicle hit a sign pole, Sgt. Erich Feimer said in a written statement.

The child was riding in the front passenger seat and was improperly restrained, according to the statement. Police arrested 39-year-old Riverside resident Jesse Posada for investigation of child endangerment and being under the influence of prescription medication and marijuana, Feimer wrote.

Anyone with additional information may call Detective Ken Madsen at 951-826-8723.
As Bishop Gerald Barnes celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass in front of more than 50 murderers, rapists, thieves and others confined to the California Institution for Men in Chino, some of the inmates choked up.

The bishops message of repentance and forgiveness for sins  no matter how terrible  resonated with prisoners like Jose Cabral.

Cabral, 41, said it meant a lot to him that the leader of Riverside and San Bernardino counties estimated 1.6 million Catholics chose to spend one of the most important days on the Catholic calendar with him and other prisoners.

When he walked in, I felt the presence of God, said Cabral, who is serving a 12-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon. I felt a lot of joy. I was tearing up.

The Ash Wednesday prison Mass is a longtime tradition for Barnes and Auxiliary Bishop Rutilio del Riego, who Wednesday presided over Mass at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe.

The bishops also celebrate Masses in prisons and jails on Good Friday, Mothers Day, the day before Thanksgiving, and on Dec. 12, the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in addition to ministering to families of murder victims.

I go to parishes, to schools throughout the year, Barnes said. I think its important on special days like this to remind them they are part of the church. On days like today, they may feel lonely. These men, and women  I also visit prisons for women  have broken the law, and they are paying the price of breaking the law. They know that. But they are still children of God.

The bishop arrived at noon at the 73-year-old California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation prison. He walked through metal gates, alongside chain-link fences topped with several layers of barbed wire, past the prisoners low-slung wooden dormitory buildings and into the simple L-shaped chapel of medium-security Facility A of the sprawling correctional center.

The men in blue uniforms emblazoned with CDCR Prisoner waited quietly on plastic chairs facing an altar draped with a white cloth. They smiled as Barnes entered in his purple and white robe.

RELIGION AND INSIGHT

A number of the men in their 60s or 70s had balding heads, gray mustaches and hearing aids. Some are serving life terms. Those ineligible for parole likely will die in prison.

Others, like Cabral, will be released in the coming months or years.

Inmates who become religious in prison often are less likely to commit crimes when they get out, corrections spokesman Bill Sessa said.

There is a great rehabilitative value in religion, Sessa said. It is one path inmates can use to gain insight into their behavior and attitudes, which is the first step toward rehabilitation.

Michael Arviso, 44, has been in and out of prison since the late 1980s. Hes been convicted of assault, theft, forgery and the manufacture of handguns.

He said his strengthened faith in God will help keep him reoffending.

Arviso traces the change in his life to 2011, when he called his son from prison and found out his grandson had just been born.

I wish you were here, his son told him.

Not being able to touch and hold his grandson hit Arviso hard.

It was then I knew I needed a change, he said.

He started becoming more religious. He vowed to never return to life in a La Mirada gang.

His son still runs with the gang, Arviso said. He worries his son and eventually his grandchildren could end up in prison if they follow the same path he did.

I want to be a better role model for them, he said.

WE HAVE SINNED

Barnes told the inmates how it is especially important on Ash Wednesday to reach out to societys marginalized.

Its one of the reasons were here today with you, he said. You are our brothers, and you are not forgotten.

Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent, the 40 days  not counting Sundays  leading up to Easter. Its a time of sacrifice, prayer and helping the less fortunate, Barnes said in English and Spanish.

Its a time, the bishop said, to be restored to who we are as children of God. Its a time for us to receive the graces to be fully who we are.

As Barnes prepared to smudge black ash in the sign of the cross onto the inmates foreheads, he joked how the ashes are only meant for those who are sinners, so if youre not a sinner, please dont come to receive ashes.

The prisoners laughed loudly.

The ashes are a symbol of repentance and an acknowledgement of mortality.

As the men slowly walked up to receive them, they sang, Come back to the Lord with all your heart. Leave the past in ashes.

Contact David Olson at 951-368-9462 or dolson@pressenterprise.com

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTION FOR MEN

Opened: 1941:

Size: 2,500 acres

Location: Chino

Layout: Minimum-, medium- and maximum-security wings

Population: 4,627 inmates
At long last, there is water rights peace in the Temecula Valley.

Congress has approved a settlement agreement with the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians that protects the tribes access to groundwater in the region and provides the tribe with more than $30 million in federal funding to pay for water storage projects.

The agreement  which took the form of legislation introduced by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona  settles competing claims involving the Rancho California Water District and the Eastern Municipal Water District, which both draw from the large aquifer in the region that stretches 750 square miles from Southwest Riverside County to north San Diego County.

Calverts legislation was tucked inside the omnibus water bill approved last week by both houses of Congress. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill.

Its really good, just for certainty in the region as a whole, said Meggan Valencia, spokeswoman for the Rancho California Water District, who added that the district has been working on the agreement for the last eight years.

In a release, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro said the tribe is deeply thankful for the final passage of settlement.

Generations of tribal leaders have fought from the courts to Capitol Hill to protect this vital resource for future generations. Today, it is almost a reality, Macarro said in the release.

Under the 1908 Indian Water Rights Settlement, the federal government pledged to provide sufficient water resources to tribes that were forced to live on reservations.

In recent years, as Southern California found the reliability of its water deliveries compromised by legal battles involving the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the Pechanga tribe stepped up negotiations with Rancho Water and the Eastern Municipal Water District to hash out claims to groundwater in the Santa Margarita River basin.

Numerous legislators, including former U.S. Rep. Mary Bono, took a crack at a settlement but those efforts failed, in part due to new requirements that called for extensive federal oversight of water rights settlements.

The federal funding in the agreement will be used to make sure Pechanga has physical access to water supplies roughly equal to the amount they were awarded in a mid-1960s federal court order called the Fallbrook Decree, which amounts to about 5,000 acre-feet of water a year.

An acre-foot of water equals 326,000 gallons, about the amount two families use in a typical year.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the agreement would establish the Pechanga Settlement Fund and authorize the appropriation of about $3 million to be deposited into the fund to construct a storage pond. The bill also would authorize the appropriation of about $26 million, with about $4 million in construction overrun costs, to build interim and permanent capacity for water storage.

In addition, Rancho will end up providing more water from the Wolf Valley Basin  the aquifer under the tribes land  and other sources, including imported water from the much larger Metropolitan Water District.

In exchange for that water, money from the settlement fund will be tapped by Rancho to build the pipeline that will carry water from Metrolpolitian sources to the Pechanga reservation and reimburse the district for recycled-water ponds that have already been built.

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, as well as all of the parties to this settlement, deserve to have some certainty on the future of their water supply, Calvert said in a statement. Im grateful we have been able to enact the settlement and ensure all of the stakeholders in the Santa Margarita River Watershed can better shape their future.

RELATED

Pechanga chairman says tribe is close to water deal

Pechanga ready to build $285 million expansion

Pechanga adding sacred mountain to reservation

Contact the writer: 951-368-9698 or aclaverie@scng.com
In the late 90s one could not mention multiparty democracy in Ghana without tagging it as a fledgling one just to stay safe should there be any disturbances arising out of activities in the run up to the general elections in the year 2000.



This was partly because of the pockets of violence that characterised the 1996 elections which saw Jerry John Rawlings retain the Presidency for the second and last time, after defeating John Agyakum Kufuor, the gentle giant, who had made his first shot at the Osu Castle.



I remember as a young boy then, how the victors -National Democratic Congress- filled the streets in parts of Accra particularly Maamobi, Nima, New-Town, Kotobabi and Pig Farm to celebrate victory over the elephant (NPP) for the second time running. Miniature elephants were tied on a rope and dragged on the streets by the ecstatic party faithful to signal their victory.



It was all fun those days even though I did not really know much about party politics apart from the fact that it had to do with J.J Rawlings and the opposition parties seeking to kick him out through the opaque ballot boxes.



But all that seem to have taken a different direction lately especially as our democracy gets entrenched. I remember in the run up to the 2008 elections, the most popular campaign song then was Nana Akufo-Addos Winner which was sang by every Ghanaian, young or old.



It was popular to the extent that some NDC supporters sang it to celebrate their election victory over the NPP which was then in government. At that time it sounded a bit weird to some observers and equally worrying for those concerned as there was the fear that, that could amount to teasing and could result to attacks from the losers some of whom were still in a state of shock.



In 2012, the decision by then opposition NPP leadership to challenge at the Supreme Court, the declaration by the Electoral Commission of John Mahama as winner of the Presidential election, automatically put to bed, any plans by the NDC to organise a victory party. The court case dragged until late August, 2013 when the justices affirmed the EC proclamation. NDC then organised some form of a celebration over the ruling but the fact that it came after almost a year due to the adjudication, took the shine out of it.



The most popular campaign song during the 2016 electioneering campaign was undoubtedly, the NDCs Onaapo tune which is a blend of the Ga dialect spoken by the indigenous people of Accra, and English language to project the incumbent, John Mahama as the obvious candidate for the Presidency.



However, the shocking outcome which saw the NPP recapture power from the NDC and for the first time beating a sitting president, has taken the victory celebrations to a new height.



The Onaapo tune has been the number one hit song on the airwaves since Friday, December 9, when the EC Chair, Charlotte Osei officially declared NPPs Nana Akufo-Addo winner of the elections after he garnered over 53% of total votes cast while John Mahama polled just a little over 44%.



Interestingly, NPP supporters by default, seems to have shielded its Nana y winner jingle and have claimed the Onaapo one from their fiercest opponents. However, one would look at this interesting development, it is one beautiful aspect of our democracy that we just have to be proud about.



Everywhere in the country where NPP is marking victory rallies- Dome-Kwabenya, Bantama, New Juabeng and Jaman North- the Onaapo tune is very prominent there. As the winning party jubilates with the jingles of the villain, it leaves one thing in my mind which is victory for Ghana.



This is because, if you are visitor to Ghana at this moment and keep hearing the Onaapo playing over and over, hardly will you know who won the polls. There are no NPP jingles and there no NDC jingles. It is a rare occurrence in our part of the world where election victory rallies are mostly characterised by violent clashes which sometimes leave scores dead.



The winning party is celebrating its victory with the campaign tunes of the losing party and thats a big plus for an African democracy which just celebrated 24 years of multiparty democracy since 1992. Lets keep it this way and the Red, Gold and Green flag of Ghana, the Hope of Africa, will continue to score high marks with her democratic credentials and make Africa proud







Source: 3news.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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Nudist beaches are a pretty solid idea; there arent a lot of places you can go to tan the underside of your dick that arent a) exxy tanning salons or b) illegal. They are very weird, though.

In an ideal world, nudist beaches would be full of hot young people with the kind of bodies that would make Dolph Lundgren feel insecure, but, in reality, they are like 10% that and 90% extremely hairy middle-aged men who stare at you like they are a hungry person in an old-timey cartoon and you just appeared to turn into a hotdog.

While Im of the opinion that they are harmless at worst, thats not a universally held opinion. The Sunshine Coast Daily ran an article today about an outraged punter who is sick to death of these clothesless degenerates nuding it up on his local beach.

Jason Bowker has a holiday home near Coolums unofficially nudist Third Beach and, after an encounter with a bunch of naturists on Sunday, hes campaigning for cops and the council to get the attendees to put their balls away.

Nudists had been flocking to Third Beach after cops on the Sunny Coast started cracking down on nudity in Noosas A-Bay.

Bowker happened upon two people having quote-unquote full blown sex and was not bloody chuffed about it:

I didnt find it too offensive when people were sitting on the beach, mostly naked, but I did find it offensive when they were sitting on the beach blatantly fornicating. It was not discreet, it was a bit of showmanship. Another couple were on the beach heavy petting.

Heavy petting, Christ, what is this world coming to. Interestingly, it seems like hes not just against nudist beaches, but also nudity, and also sex:

As far as Im concerned, nudity promotes promiscuity. From what Ive just seen, it encourages people to become sexually active and I am 1000% percent against this.

Considering that in the article it mentions that he has kids, its probably fair to assume he is actually at least 1% for sexual activity, but who knows.

He also reckons that nudist beaches are cultural, and while that shit might fly in other countries, it has no place in the proudly pro-clothing Australia:

It seems to be different in Europe where (nudity) is just part of a culture and is not sexually orientated. We are not like that. I am not a prude by any stretch of the imagination and I find nakedness in Australia is linked to sexuality and Ive clearly witnessed it.

Seems like even a small stretch of the imagination could actually find him a prude, but hey, Im not here to judge (I am doing it though). Hes also not open to the idea of going elsewhere:

People say dont go there if you dont like it, bloody oath, its my closest beach and its a beautiful environment, of course Im going there.

Having to walk a bit further to get to the beach from your holiday home must be truly traumatising, my heart is breaking for you, mate.

Source: Sunshine Coast Daily.
Since anti-government protests and a disproportionately violent government response unofficially started the Syrian civil war five years ago, over 400,000 lives have been lost, and more than 11 million people have been forcibly displaced.

The human fallout has been catastrophic, to say the least. Itll be long-lasting in not only the region, but also in the form of millions of people seeking safety across Europe, the still-present menace of Islamic State, and the symbiotic rise of far-right nationalists across the globe.

And it would take a fucking book to fully explain the political motives, violent escalations, engagement with failed peace efforts, and straight up war crimes weve seen from the various government / anti-government / ISIS / foreign forces.

We can, however, at least point to one innocent group through all of this: Syrian civilians, who have tragically been caught in the middle of this shithouse conflict.

As the battle for the city of Aleppo reportedly comes to a close, with the Syrian military and Iranian-backed forces retaking control of at least 98% of the city as of yesterday, were seeing a lot more of this personal cost.

100,000 people are still stuck in a tiny, five square metre [sic] area in east Syria as government forces continue some of the heaviest bombardments yet to capture the last rebel-held territory. While multiple international and human rights bodies have called for civilians to be protected, there are reports civilians are being killed on the spot.

Now, we are seeing people taking to Twitter to put out what might be their final goodbyes. Some of the messages have come from people involved more directly in anti-government forces than theyd otherwise appear, but, as best we can, weve complied messages from civilians, activists and volunteers here.

Have a look below gang, and Christ, just try to be kind to yourself and each other.

My name is Bana, Im 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die.  Bana  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 13, 2016

Activist @Linashamy Lina Shamys last distress call from besieged Aleppo: All those who hear me must move now to save civilians in Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/26M9GAj9kG  ???? ????????? Hadi (@HadiAlabdallah) December 12, 2016

At least we know we were a free people #Aleppo https://t.co/e4hGJNcO7D  Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) December 13, 2016

I still here, facing the genocide with my special friends without any comments from the world i hope i could broadcast our live death to you https://t.co/9U7kJHMNrl  Monther Etaky (@montheretaky) December 13, 2016

In this moment we serve as a reminder that humanity will always prevail and defy dictatorship. We will not kneel. #saveAleppo  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) December 13, 2016

Final message  I am very sad no one is helping us in this world, no one is evacuating me & my daughter. Goodbye.- Fatemah #Aleppo  Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 12, 2016

the last massage. Thanks for everything. we shared many moments. The last tweets were from an emotiomal father. Farewell, #Aleppo  @Mr.Alhamdo (@Mr_Alhamdo) December 12, 2016

U guess its goodbye..

Thanks all who stand for us and pay for us.

But its almost over and they are just hours away of killing us  Rami Zien (@Rami_Zien) December 12, 2016

Source: Twitter.

Photo: Getty / George Ourfalian.
Fair warning gang, this is one will not help your opinion of humanity as a whole.

While out jogging last night, Perth teenager Maddison White was injured in a barbed wire booby trap some evil fuckhead had set up along the street.

The sixteen year old was running along Upton Road in east Perths High Wycombe when she hit and tripped over the wire, which police say was hooked to a power pole, strung along the street and footpath, and rolled up on the adjacent verge.

While we can only imagine the psychological impact this whole thing had on Maddison, she at least only received minor physical injuries, mainly where the wire hit her shin.

Her mother Michelle White confirmed on ABC radio that Maddison was shaken by the incident, and that, considering the wires placement, it could have been much worse:

It hit her mid-shin, caused little bit of a scratch and she tripped over. She was shocked that it was barbed wire and that it was deliberate. [The wire was] situated near the skate park and it gets a lot of traffic with skateboards and scooters and bike with lots of kid action around that area.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact the police.

Source: ABC.

Photo: WA Police.
Kanye Wests Twitter account has been very quiet of late; both he and his wife Kim Kardashian West  both of whom are prolific users of social media  have taken a digital break after an exceedingly tumultuous second half of the year.

However, after Kanye met with Trump today, media went batshit nuts (yup, us included); we all wanted to know exactly why a previously-progressive rapper was meeting with the commercial leader of the right and future President of the United States of America.

Speculation was rife, especially since both Trump and Yeezy were extremely secretive about the meeting when speaking to press directly after.

Trump told cameras theyd been friends for a long time and just talked about life. West declined to make a statement, calmly telling a journalist, I just want to take a picture right now.

Kanye West and President-elect Trump at Trump Tower https://t.co/n5HI6EjLA4  Carol Costello (@CarolCNN) December 13, 2016

Reports are emerging that Trump is considering Kanye as ambassador of sorts. A source close to Kanye told E! that Trump would like the rapper to be in an entrepreneurial leadership role. Reportedly, Trumps team reached out to Yeezy about the role because he thinks hes a great role model when it comes to business.

Kanye has now resurrected his iconic Twitter account to shut down ~tha rumourz~ and give some context to the situation.

He tells fans that he met with Trump to discuss multicultural issues.

I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

He concludes his explanation with 5 simple digits: #2024.

#2024  KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 13, 2016

While Ye has previously said he will run for President in 2020, the potential pushback of four years is interesting  it could very likely mean he doesnt want to run against Trump, and will only run once the future President has had his full two terms in the White House.

We dunno, hey. Well just leave this absolutely 11/10 Trump on WWE gif here one more time for yall:

Source: Twitter / @kanyewest.

Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with 20th Century Fox to mark the cinematic release of Assassins Creed on New Years Day. Keep reading to find out how you and a mate could win an epic VIP trip to Fox Studios in Los Angles ft. AC-themed stunt training session.

Anyway, we shant beat around the bush. 20th Century Fox + P.TV are giving you and a mate the chance to win a trip to Fox Studios in Los Angles where youll partake in an exclusive 2 hour Assassins Creed stunt masterclass, which includes stunt demos, high jumps, freefalls and hand-to-hand combat. In addition, the lucky winner will get:

Luxe return private airport transfers in LA + a meet and greet with your PERSONAL CHAUFFEUR at LAX

Welcome breakfast ft. champagne

Exclusive 20th Century Fox ~goody bag~

Personalised welcome pack with local information / guides / helpful hints

Luxe transfers to Fox Studios

VIP tour of Fox Studios with an expert guide

Lunch at the Commissary

Screening of a latest 20th Century Fox film in a private theatre

Keen? Get to entering below:

WIN A TRIP FOR TWO TO LA THANKS TO ASSASSINS CREED

If youre reading this and youre all like, the hell is Assassins Creed? then lemme explain why you need to fang it on your must-see agenda for 2017.

Through a new / hectic tech that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the life n times of his 15th Century ancestor, Aguilar (talk about a blast from the past, right?!). Lynch discovers that hes a descendant of a secret society v. succinctly named the Assassins (cos they, yknow, assassinate people  but for the good of society, we swears it). While hes forced to used the tech, he starts learning the knowledge and skills to kick ass left, right and centre. This, of course, comes in handy when he takes on the oppressive and powerful Templar organisation in the present day.

Besides Fassbender, the movie stars Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises, La Vie en Rose) and is directed by Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth). Nice lil lineup theyve got going on. Oh, and in terms of cinematography, the film was shot in Spain + Malta and features stunts thatll get you signing up to a parkour class five minutes ago.

So yeah, its going to bloody yugeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

If you entered the comp, GOOD LUCK. If you didnt, go do it now lol.

Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Were willing to bet that, like the rest of the world, your 2016 has sucked a big pair of low-hanging testicles.

Some good news, though: Jetstar has announced cut-price flights to the b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Whitsunday Islands  home of Australias best white sand beach, Whitehaven  for a ridic $59 to celebrate more direct flights to the archipelago off sunny QLD.

The airlines new cheap fares from Sydney to the Whitsunday Coast Airport  from which you can travel to any of the islands, including Hayman and Hamilton, as well as the Great Barrier Reef  will operate three-times-weekly from April 4, 2017.

Weekly flights from Brisbane will increase from seven to ten over peak periods starting *today*, while year-round flights from Melbourne will go from three to four per week from next March.

You want this all up in you, trust us:

Fares this cheap are v. rare, and wont hang around long  they expire at the stroke of midnight on Thursday, December 15  so rally the troops and get to booking right HERE.

Photo: Queensland Tourism.
Victory Brewing

Winter Cheers-Infused Seven Fishes Cioppino from Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown.

(Provided)

As part of a series, we asked Pennsylvania breweries to share a recipe for the holidays, whether it be a family favorite, a chef's favorite or dish served in a brewpub.

Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown definitely takes beer and cooking seriously.

The craft brewer operates three brewpubs in Downingtown, Kennett Square and Parkesburg and shares recipes on its website.

For the holidays, it shares these recipes for a Winter Cheers-Infused Seven Fishes Cioppino - a play off of the traditional Italian-American stew made with seafood - and a HopDevil Bloody Mary.

The recipes were created by Victory for pairing ideas and are sometimes offered as specials at its brewpubs.

Winter Cheers-Infused Seven Fishes Cioppino

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large fennel bulb, medium dice, reserving some fennel fronds for garnish

1 onion, medium dice

2 carrots, medium dice

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup tomato paste

4 bottles Winter Cheers

2 cups fish stock or clam juice

1 pound clams, scrubbed

1 pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded

2 tilapia filets, cut into 2-inch pieces

4 ounces scallops

4 ounces squid, cleaned

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 ounces lump crabmeat, cleaned

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the fennel, onion and carrots to the pot. Season with salt and cook until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and tomato paste to the pot. Stir until the tomato paste coats all the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beer and stock to the pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to medium low heat. Cover the pot and cook the stew for about 30 minutes. Add the clams and mussels to the pot. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the tilapia, scallops, squid and shrimp. Cook the stew on low for about 5-10 minutes, just until the fish is cooked through and the clams are completely open. Stir the stew gently and cook 1-2 additional minutes. Discard any clams and mussels that do not open. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish the soup with the reserved fennel fronds and serve with crusty bread.

HopDevil Bloody Mary

Serves 4 Ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

4 bottles HopDevil Ale

1 cup tomato juice

1 tablespoon hot sauce, or to taste

12 olives

4 dill pickle spears

1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions:

In a small bowl, mix together the salt, celery seed, black pepper and sugar. Pour onto a plate and set aside. In a large pitcher, mix together the beer, tomato juice and hot sauce, just until combined. Using four toothpicks, divide and arrange the olives and pickle.

To assemble the Bloody Mary, run a lime wedge around the rim of 4 glasses. Dip each glass rim in the salt and spice mixture. Fill each glass with ice, and carefully pour the Bloody Mary mix into each glass. Place a lime wedge and a skewer of pickles and olives on each rim.
A second midstate school today was dealing with a threat incident today that turned out to be a "copycat" incident.

At Camp Hill High School, a student reported seeing a threat posted on social media. The threat was posted on an app called "After School," said a message on the school's web site.

The threat appears to be a "copycat" post of a photo of bathroom graffiti containing a threat at Cedar Cliff High School, said Patricia Sanker, acting Camp Hill School District superintendent.

She said Camp Hill police concluded the photo was from the Cedar Cliff incident Monday. "It did not happen here," Sanker said, but said they treated the threat as potentially real until it could be investigated.

There was a police presence in the middle/high school building today, as classes continued on a normal schedule.

At Cedar Cliff High School, threatening graffiti was found on a boys' bathroom wall Monday, said West Shore School District spokesman Ryan Argot. The threat prompted authorities to have an increased police presence at the school Tuesday, he said.

"The investigation is still ongoing. We are working with Lower Allen Township police," Argot said. "We remain vigilant and are working to keep our schools safe."

Classes were held as usual, and he didn't have information available on whether there were increased absences Tuesday due to parents keeping students home.

Camp Hill advised parents to talk to their children about appropriate use of social media, and specifically the After School app.

They referred parents to a 2015 Washington Post story about the app, which allows teens to post anonymous comments and images on message boards associated with individual high school campuses.

There were complaints about cyberbullying and anonymous threats on the app since shortly after it first appeared in November 2014, said the report, and schools around the country reported threats seen on the app.

Michael Luchies, communications manager for the After School app, said the message in question was reported by a user and removed from the school's network. "We are reviewing as to why the image was initially approved by one of our moderators," he said.

After School "takes all instances of threats and bullying extremely seriously," and they are prohibited under the App's community guidelines.

Luchies said After School takes a three-step approach to keeping the network free of cyberbullying and threats. The first is the community guidelines that users follow, followed by "proactive moderation" by technology and a moderator, and then allowing users to curate their own network. When posts are reported, they are removed from the feed and reviewed again by moderators to see why it had been accepted.

UPDATE: Information from After School was added Dec. 14, 2016.
crying-baby-found-in-heroin-users-filth-in-PA.jpg

Jeremy M. Bridges, 31, (pictured) and Jenna C. Corona, 24, face drug and endangerment charges after the couple was allegedly found unresponsive after using heroin in their apartment, and a 9-month-old baby "was screaming at the top of his lungs" for more than an hour. What is more, the apartment where police say this all took place was allegedly filled with filth and squalor.

(via LehighValleyLive.com)

The couple was allegedly unresponsive after using heroin. The 9-month-old baby "was screaming at the top of his lungs." And the Northampton County apartment where police say this all took place was filled with filth and squalor.

Our sister website, LehighValleyLive.com, reports that the couple, identified as Jeremy M. Bridges, 31, and Jenna C. Corona, 24, of Bethlehem Township, Pa., now face drug and endangerment charges in the case. Both had to be taken to a hospital to be revived after the incident Friday.

The baby is now in the hands of Northampton County Children and Youth Services.

Corona's father, Mark Corona, concerned about his daughter's safety, went to the apartment, heard the infant crying incessantly and forced his way into the home. Both adults were unresponsive on the bed, prompting the dad to dial 911.

Details from LehighValleyLive.com:

Police said they found garbage in all areas of the apartment, loose medication every few feet in each room, pills chopped down into powder and hypodermic needles on the floor and furniture; fruit flies swarmed in every room, and the baby's crib was found to be urine-soaked; bottles of food for the baby were curdled, and the baby was dirty and crying.

A neighbor told police the baby had been "screaming at the top of his lungs for an hour," court records say.

Both face charges of endangering the welfare of a child and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Read more Pa. Buzz:
f & m.edu.jpeg

Franklin & Marshall College and Lehigh University are the two Pennsylvania higher education institutions that have agreed to join with 28 others from across the nation in becoming the first institutions to commit to expand the number of talented low- and moderate-income students they enroll and graduate.

(File photo/PennLive.com)

Opening the college doors to more high-performing students from low- to moderate-income families is the goal of a new initiative announced on Tuesday that two Pennsylvania higher education institutions have joined.

Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, along with 28 other public and private colleges and universities, have agreed to be the first institutions to commit to expand the number of talented low- and moderate-income students it enrolls and graduates.

F&M President Daniel Porterfield said the objective of this endeavor, called the American Talent Initiative, is to educate a larger pool of students to help America face its challenges.

"From public health to international diplomacy to countering terrorism, these are areas of work where diverse leadership and diverse teams strengthen our nation's ability to achieve our goals," he said. "We can help ensure a stronger democracy, a more vibrant economy and healthier shared future by empowering leaders from all communities in all zip codes to take their place at the table."

The initiative's organizers are hoping to attract more of the nation's 270 institutions with 70 percent or higher graduation rates over the next few years to help reach a goal of attracting, enrolling and graduating 50,000 high-achieving, lower income students by 2025.

The initiative, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, compares itself to the G.I. Bill, the Higher Education Act and the Civil Rights Act in having a purpose of opening up access to a college education. It points to research that shows that at least 12,500 lower-income students with outstanding academic credentials tend not to enroll in schools with graduation rates of 70 percent or higher.

"If we're serious about promoting social mobility in America, we need to ensure that every qualified high school student in the U.S. has an opportunity to attend college. I'm so glad that so many great colleges and universities have stepped up today and committed themselves towards that goal. This is a vital first step towards creating a more meritocratic society," said Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term former New York City mayor, in a news release about the program.

F&M expects to include more high-performing lower-income students in its future freshman classes but a college spokesman said about 20 percent of the last three entering classes were eligible for federal Pell Grant assistance, which is roughly how this initiative defines eligibility, said spokesman Peter Durantine. That figure is up from a single digit percentage a decade ago.

"As it has been doing, F&M will continue to invest in need-based financial aid to enable enrollment of more talented, lower income students from all backgrounds," he said. "This investment in talent has enriched the college's learning environment for all students, and F&M looks forward to working with partner institutions to further this effort. "
HARRISBURG--A planned court hearing Tuesday over codes violations issued by the city of Harrisburg against the owner of the McFarland Apartments has been postponed until February.

The delay represents just the latest disappointment in a seven-month saga to jumpstart cleanup of tons of debris that came crashing down when a wall collapsed that had been propping up the parking lot for the apartment complex.

No one has touched the exposed wall or debris pile since the May 5 collapse next to the Mulberry Street Bridge. The debris crushed the rear warehouse of Howard Tire and Auto at 200 South Cameron Street. Concerns about additional collapses that could endanger employees and customers prompted the tire shop owner to shutter his business in October, laying off 12 workers.

The continuance of the codes citation case comes five days after the owner of the McFarland filed an appeal in a different, but related court case concerning the city's condemnation of the McFarland's parking garage which contains eight rental units.

The attorney representing the apartment owner said earlier this year in explaining requests for court continuances that they hoped to have an insurance settlement by mid-December. But the attorney, Adam Klein, confirmed this week that they still have no confirmation of coverage from the insurance company, which is why they requested a postponement of Tuesday's hearing.

"Realistically, the only way it's going to get cleaned up is going to involve the insurance company," Klein said. "My client doesn't have the money to take on a multi-million dollar cleanup. They're working through the insurance process to get coverage."

Although the owners of the McFarland are pursuing an insurance claim, they are still denying ownership of the wall and responsibility for the collapse. The company is pursuing a claim, Klein said, because their property was damaged in the collapse as well.

Since insurance companies are notorious for trying to find ways to deny claims, especially costly claims as this one is likely to be, some experts wonder if the delay indicates the insurance company is searching for a way out.

Depending on the exact wording in the insurance policy, there may be a way for the insurance company to pay off the property owners for their loss without covering the cleanup. It could be akin to an insurance company paying off a driver when the cost of replacing a totaled vehicle would cost more than the car is worth.

William Trask, a Philadelphia attorney who practices general civil litigation with Sprague and Sprague, said it should be expected that the insurance company is looking to reduce its liability.

"You can be certain the insurance company is doing everything possible not to pay unless obligated," Trask said. "You're still obligated to pay for other damages if it's your fault. But if the property owner has a valid argument that it wasn't his fault, if they can argue that PennDOT did it, and if the property value is significantly less than cost of damages...you could have a situation where they settle, shut down (their LLC) and the city is left with a mess."

Property owners walk away from blighted properties all the time, Trask said.

"It might be like every other property where you default on your obligations and walk away, " he said. "In all those cases, the city ends up with a condemned property and it's a blight and it costs taxpayers money to clean up...That's just kind of the story of the rust belt."

There are a lot of "ifs" and unknowns about the situation in Harrisburg that make it unclear how likely it would be for the New Jersey owners to walk away. They would have to abandon the entire property, which still has an operational apartment building of about 40 units that wasn't harmed in the collapse.

Under a walkout scenario, the city could try to pursue a claim against the owners. The insurance company for Howard Tire and Auto also could go after the owners to try to pierce the corporate veil. But the litigation could be costly and would likely take years, Trask said.

The situation is a can of worms, Trask said.

"It's going to depend on policy agreements and everything else," Trask said. "But the 30,000-foot view looking at business law in this country: When a party has an opportunity to pay $3.5 million instead of $10 million, the law encourages them to do that."

Peter Speaker, a local attorney representing the Firstline National Insurance Company, which lists the address for the McFarland, 1139 Mulberry Street, as an insured location, could not be reached for comment.
LANCASTER - When refugees land in the U.S., everything is different, Khem Subedi said.

Whether it's the social system, school and work environments, or the language barrier, foreigners with little to no means need help adjusting to American society, Subedi said.

Subedi, of the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, helps connect refugees and immigrants to assistance services through the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds Middle School. He spoke during center's one-year anniversary celebration at the school Tuesday morning.

"Assistance services helps support whatever is required for a human being to be in a foreign place," Subedi said.

Since the center opened at the middle school last year, it has connected 300 children and adults to anything from healthcare and dental services to job placement and community programs aimed at helping them succeed. At 605 W. Walnut St., the school is in Northwest Lancaster, home to the city's largest concentration of refugee families, according to the School District of Lancaster.

The center aims to support refugees and immigrants who no longer receive services from a resettlement agency and state and federally funded programs, which normally provide assistance for their first 90 days in America.

The center is open to children and adults from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is a full-service health clinic on site, and participants also can find help with food and clothing needs at the school, which also serves as a refugee community meeting center.

The health clinic is the most frequently used facility at the center, and with 132 students participating, the after-school program also a vital program service.

After entering the program, those in need work with volunteers called "cultural navigators," who help them open bank accounts, fill out job applications, obtain green cards and more.

Lancaster has long welcomed refugees, Lancaster School District Superintendent Damaris Rau said during the celebration. The number of participants the center saw during its first year "underscores the connection between our new arrivals and the school district," Rau said.

Participants include refugees and immigrants from around the globe, including natives of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Cuba, Iraq and Thailand, said Joshua McManness, coordinator of the center and community school.

The center is a "hub for services," McManness said, adding that a community school brings the outside community and educators together to not only support a child but the whole family

The purpose is "To provide not just academic services, but services before school, after school, on the weekends and in the summer to make sure students and families feel welcomed and supported in a school environment," McManness said.

The center and community school operates on a roughly $750,000 annual budget funded by the Lancaster School District, the Rotary Club of Lancaster, the United Way and the Lancaster County Community Foundation.

Other organizations, including the IU 13, the Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon and SouthEast Lancaster Health Services also are program collaborators.

Private donations are accepted, and program volunteers are always welcomed. The center saw 103 volunteers spend 3,061 hours helping refugees and immigrants during its first year. For more information on the center, visit the Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13 website.
Following an internal investigation that included the review of surveillance footage, officials said they have narrowed the list of suspects they believe could have scrawled threatening graffiti on a bathroom wall at Cedar Cliff High School.

The school district has not released the names of the possible suspects.

The graffiti prompted authorities to have an increased police presence at the school Tuesday, according to a school spokesman.

Cedar Cliff High School.

Parents and guardians were alerted Monday about the apparent threat, said Ryan Argot, who did not release any information about the content of the graffiti.

In a statement posted to the West Shore School District website, Superintendent Todd Stoltz said that after meeting with police, administrators felt it was safe to allow classes and after-school events to continue as planned Tuesday.

"Today, further investigation was conducted and from a safety standpoint, we believe that our response to yesterday's threat was and remains appropriate," Stoltz said. All activities for this evening and tomorrow will continue as scheduled with the continued increase in presence by law enforcement."

The threat at Cedar Cliff spurred a "copycat" incident at neighboring Camp Hilll School District.

At Camp Hill High School, a student reported seeing a threat posted on social media. The threat was posted on an app called "After School," said a message on the school's web site.

The threat appears to be a "copycat" post of a photo of bathroom graffiti containing a threat at Cedar Cliff High School, said Patricia Sanker, acting Camp Hill superintendent.

She said Camp Hill police concluded the photo was from the Cedar Cliff incident Monday. "It did not happen here," Sanker said, adding that they treated the threat as potentially real until it could be investigated.
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A state court has blocked the release of names of hunters and landowners in a controversial deer culling program.

An opponent of a western Pennsylvania community's controversial deer culling program can't have the names of the bow hunters and landowners who participated, a Commonwealth Court panel has decided.



Those people donated their time or property to Mount Lebanon Township's culling effort, so their privacy must be preserved under an exception in the state's Right-to-Know Law, Senior Judge James Gardner Colins found in an opinion issued this week.



The ruling thwarts an effort by Elaine Gillen to obtain, and publish, the names of participants in the culling venture that has caused tempers to flare in the Allegheny County community since 2015. Gillen and others oppose the culling on grounds that the community is too congested to allow for safe hunting.



She won the first round in her bid to get the names of the participants.



Last year, the state Office of Open Records ordered Mount Lebanon officials to release to Gillen all emails between municipal staff and the president of White Buffalo Inc., the firm hired to organize the hunt on public and private land.



Township officials had provided Gillen with some emails, but withheld others that contained the names of people who volunteered to participate in the cull. They appealed the open records office order and Allegheny County Judge Terrence W. O'Brien reversed it.



Gillen then appealed to the state court.



In upholding O'Brien's decision, Colins found that the volunteer hunters and landowners were making donations to the township, so a donor exception to the Right-to-Know Law bars the release of their identities.



Township officials reported more than 200 white-tailed deer were killed during the first culling in 2015 and early 2016. They are continuing the program with the aim of reducing the municipality's deer population by 50 percent over five years.



Local leaders said a main factor that prompted the cull was a dramatic rise in deer-vehicle collisions.
pennsylvania judicial center

The Pennsylvania Judicial Center

(Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com )

A Pennsylvania appeals court panel is refusing to give a vandal a break on the $44,330 that was slapped on him for his rampage through an empty warehouse.



The Superior Court judges agreed that David A. Wales should pay every penny of it.



The ruling came in an opinion Senior Judge William H. Platt issued this week, denying Wales' appeal of the restitution figure set by a Bradford County judge.



Wales, 23, of Towanda, is paying for what he and 21-year-old Devin Hubert did at the closed Valley Stockyards in Athens Township on the night of March 10, 2015. The property was up for sale at the time.



Platt noted that Wales and Hubert were thorough in their destruction. The building's owner "testified that every window but one was smashed, the restaurant and coolers were smashed, pots and pans were broken, fluorescent lights were torn down and ripped out," the judge wrote. "He described the overall nature of the damage as devastating."



After causing the destruction Wales and Hubert walked back to Hubert's house. Police arrested them there after following their footprints in the snow, Platt noted.



Hubert and Wales both pleaded guilty to criminal trespass charges in return for 18 months of probation and the dismissal of more serious burglary county. Platt observed that in accepting the plea deal Wales said he'd pay full restitution for the crime.



Yet on appeal to the state court, Wales claimed county Judge Maureen T. Beirne's restitution figure was excessive since there had been prior-break-ins at the warehouse. He argued as well that the county judge didn't take into accounts his "limited mental abilities and earning ability."



Platt had no problem with Beirne's tally. He found that Wales provided no medical evidence of his supposed disabilities.



In any case, the state judge concluded, restitution must be based on the amount of the victim's loss, not on the culprit's ability to pay for the harm he caused.
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Chad Anthony DeJohn, 35, of Washington County, Pa., has been jailed after being accused of striking his girlfriend, who is seven months pregnant, in the stomach with a pick axe during a domestic dispute.

(screen shot/police photo)

A man in western Pennsylvania has been jailed after being accused of striking his girlfriend, who is seven months pregnant, in the stomach with a pick axe during a domestic dispute Sunday night.

As the Observer-Reporter writes, suspect Chad Anthony DeJohn, 35, of Washington County, Pa., faces charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children and two counts each of simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment.

This, after a domestic argument escalated to the point where DeJohn allegedly hit his pregnant, 33-year-old girlfriend in her stomach "with a portion of a pick axe," the newspaper reports, adding:

Pa. state police say the woman, who is not identified in the story, was reluctant to discuss the matter. But a trooper saw a clump of her hair on the floor in the bedroom, and she had a small cut near her left eye. Police also saw a scratch on her right forearm and red mark on her foot.

In addition, several dining room chairs in the house had been knocked over, and a wooden footboard on a bed in a downstairs bedroom was damaged.

Police took the pick axe as evidence.

However, police did not indicate whether the victim received medical treatment.

DeJohn, jailed on jail on $500,000 bond, faces a preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 22.

Read more Pa. Buzz:
A Texas pastor played the role of the Grinch Saturday at a mall, choosing to inform children waiting to see Santa that the man in the red suit is a myth.

Rev. David Grisham, leader of the religious fundamentalist group "Repent Amarillo," said he was "going to tell the children here today the truth, that there is no Santa, said a report by the Dallas Morning News.

"The Christmas season is about Jesus. He born 2016 years ago, he was born in a manger in small town called Bethlehem," Grisham said at the Amarillo, Texas mall.

"The man you see today is just a man in a suit, dressed up like Santa, but Santa doesn't exist. Parents, you need to stop lying," he said. Grisham went on to say that Christmas is about Jesus, who was born in a manger in Bethlehem 2016 years ago.

He didn't stop with the man in the red suit.

"There are no flying reindeer, there is no workshop of the North Pole, there is no elves making toys," Grisham said in the rant.

Grisham was greeted by stares and calls to "shut up" and "stop."

"Hey that's enough - those are my children," said one parent in Santa's line.

Grisham is known for other shock tactics, such as trying to burn a copy of the Quran in a Houston Park in Amarillo in 2010, and trying to start a boycott against Houston after an openly lesbian candidate was elected mayor and an abortion clinic was built in the city.
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Pittsburgh's City Council adopted Pennsylvania's first ban on "conversion therapy" or "ex-gay therapy" for minors in the city during a meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Photo via Pixabay.

Pittsburgh has formally adopted Pennsylvania's first ban on the controversial practice of "conversion" or "ex-gay" therapy for minors, weeks after it first proposed the measure amid mounting post-election anxiety.

The bill was approved at Tuesday's meeting of City Council by a 9-to-0 margin. This after it passed 8-to-0, with 1 abstention, in a first reading vote last week.

Once enacted, the ban will prohibit mental health professionals within the city's limits from conducting conversion therapy sessions on minors. The practice, one typically meant to turn gay and lesbian people straight, or transgender people cisgender, has been widely discredited and is opposed by a plethora of medical and psychiatric organizations.

Under Pittsburgh's ban, offenders can be fined $300 for each offense and sentenced to up to 30 days in prison for failure to pay.

The city is the first to adopt such a ban in Pennsylvania and officials say they hope others will follow suit.

"I can only hope other cities and boroughs across the state do this and that the Senate hears us," Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak said prior to last Wednesday's first reading vote on the ban.

"Because we really do need statewide protection from this."

Philadelphia also began efforts to ban conversion therapy there this month, while previous efforts to ban the practice at the state level have stalled.

According to the Equality Federation, there are 5 states (California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont) plus the District of Columbia with laws that prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from engaging in efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of persons under the age of 18. Additionally, the cities of Cincinnati and Seattle have banned conversion therapy, along with 6 cities in South Florida (Bay Harbor Islands, Miami, Miami Beach, North Bay Village, West Palm Beach and Wilton Manors).

Pittsburgh's inclusion on that list comes just weeks after the election of Republican President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence prompted calls from local LGBTQ groups and activists to pit the city's liberal identity against the Trump-Pence agenda.

This led to, or renewed, calls for a conversion therapy ban amid fear for the future of LGBTQ rights under Trump and, more specifically, under Pence. Pence is well known for his rigid and oppositional stance on LGBTQ issues through the years, but while his name has become synonymous with official support for conversion therapy, Pence denies having ever supported the practice. Regardless, many in the LGBTQ community see him as a threat and fear his growing influence.

The response has included a push for new LGBTQ-focused and LGBTQ-supportive policy in places like Pittsburgh and New York State, where a lawmaker recently introduced a conversion therapy ban titled the Prevention of Emotional Neglect and Childhood Endangerment Act -- or PENCE for short.

In addition, a handful of American cities say they'll refuse to assist the Trump-Pence administration if it follows through on vows to deport large numbers of undocumented immigrants across the country. The announcement comes as the cities stake their identities as progressive and open-armed bastions against the crackdowns promised by the Trump-Pence campaign.

In Pittsburgh, city officials said they're even considering a formal "sanctuary city" declaration, one signaling a city-wide policy of sheltering those residents in the country illegally instead of working to deport them.

Meanwhile, the city's conversion therapy ban for minors had at least one resident concerned that the council was overstepping its authority.

Mark Brentley Sr., a former member of the Pittsburgh Public Schools' Board, spoke before last week's first reading vote and took issue with the council wading into the conversion therapy debate and national politics. He also questioned whether their attempt to ban conversion therapy amounted to interfering with parental rights.

"You shouldn't be in the business of how I raise my child. ... And in our community there are a lot of other pressing issues," Brentley said.

He listed jobs, training opportunities and equity in employment as being among those issues.

But others who spoke at the meeting supported the ban, often in emotional pleas to council to end the human suffering wrought by conversion therapy.

Councilman Dan Gilman echoed this sentiment after Tuesday's final vote. Gilman introduced the ban proposal with Council President Bruce Kraus in late November.

"I am thrilled that my colleagues joined with me to ban this barbaric behavior," Gilman said in an email to PennLive. "The City has a responsibility to protect the physical, emotional, and mental health of our children - and City Council took an important step forward in doing that today."

UPDATE: This article has been updated to include comment from Councilman Dan Gilman and reference to Philadelphia's conversion therapy ban proposal.
Hampden Township police are asking the public to help find a bank robber.



The crime occurred just after 6 p.m. Saturday at the M&T branch in the 5500 block of Harrisburg Pike.



Police said the man displayed a handgun, demanded money and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.



Anyone with information can call police at 717-761-2609.
Fortis, Jupiter, Quid and Stella. Those are just some of the 26 names the Weather Channel has chosen to name the winter weather storms in 2016 and 2017.

The Weather Channel began naming winter storms five years ago with Winter Storm Athena in November 2012. A committee composed of three Weather Channel staff members name storms based on a thorough discussion of meteorological and societal factors, according to the forecasting service.

Winter Storm Decima is currently making its way to the east coast. Decima was one of the Fates, or female personifications of destiny, in Roman mythology.

The names are often based on Latin, Greek and Roman words, phrases, places and mythology.

The Bozeman, Montana High School Latin class, which has contributed to the winter storm name list since 2013-2014. The class, once again, contributed to the 2016-2017 list.

Below is the list of 26 names to be used this season, as well as background on each and a pronunciation guide for names from the Weather Channel:
Donald Trump, Chris Wallace

President-elect Donald Trump is interviewed by Chris Wallace of "Fox News Sunday" in Trump Tower, in New York, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

(Richard Drew)

By Jackson Diehl

Donald Trump is about to lead the West into the third and darkest phase of its 15-year quest to neutralize the threat of Islamic extremism. The first was George W. Bush's freedom initiative, which posited that political liberalization in the Middle East's rotting autocracies would dry up terrorist recruiting.

Jackson Diehl (Washington Post photo)

The second was the engagement policy of Barack Obama, who bet that respectful dialogue and attention to Muslim demands for justice - above all for the Palestinians - would make the West a less compelling target.

Both were widely judged to be failures. Now the new president will embrace the approach that both Bush and Obama explicitly ruled out as morally wrong and practically counterproductive: civilizational conflict.

The outlines of what might well be called the Trump crusade are easily located in the rhetoric of Stephen Bannon, Michael Flynn, Jeff Sessions and other Trump appointees. They describe a "long history of the Judeo-Christian West struggle against Islam," as Bannon put it, or "a world war against a messianic mass movement of evil people," as Flynn, the incoming national security adviser, has written.

Bush and Obama were careful to distinguish the terrorists of al-Qaida and the Islamic State from Islam itself, which they described as a great religion worthy of respect.

Not Flynn.

Islam, he has said, is a cancer, a political movement masquerading as a religion and the product of an inferior culture. "I don't believe that all cultures are morally equivalent, and I think the West, and especially America, is far more civilized, far more ethical and moral," he argued in a book published this year.

What might this mean in practice? On the battlefields of the Middle East, very little. Trump's team is certain to continue the ongoing offensives against the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Given that they appear to be slowly succeeding, Flynn and incoming defense secretary James Mattis are unlikely to alter Obama's approach of backing local forces rather than committing large numbers of U.S. troops. The new administration will look for showy ways to challenge Iran, but it is unlikely to do so in the place where it would matter most: Syria.

Trump's civilizational conflict will be experienced not by Shiite militias or Sunni terrorists - who will surely welcome it - but by average citizens across the Muslim world.

They will see it in the "extreme vetting," if not an outright ban, they will be subjected to in seeking to enter the United States. And they will feel it in the ramping up of U.S. support for dictators and monarchs who are judged by Trump to be tactical allies in the civilizational war.

First among these will be Egypt's Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, who has been lionized by Trump and his aides for supposedly battling jihadists while seeking the "reform" of Islam.

In three years of the harshest rule his country has known in at least half a century, Sissi has wrecked the economy and all but destroyed a once-vibrant secular civil society. Yet the increasingly unpopular dictator is quickly emerging as the foremost Trump ally in the region, already invited for the White House visit that Obama denied him.

Other autocratic regimes may quietly fall in behind Trump's strategy, despite its anti-Islamic cast. Saudi Arabia and other monarchies will welcome heightened U.S. hostility to Iran as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood; Bahrain, the base for the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf, quickly signaled its obeisance by staging a national day celebration in Trump's new Pennsylvania Avenue hotel.

Europeans, too, will follow along. Rightist governments in Hungary and Poland are already cheering Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric; the more moderate of the two leading candidates to become France's next president, Francois Fillon, authored a book titled "Conquering Islamic Totalitarianism."

Even Germany's Angela Merkel, the most prominent remaining defender of liberal democratic values, felt obliged to strike an anti-Islamic pose last week, proposing a crackdown on the minuscule number of German women who wear a burqa.

It's not hard to foresee the consequences of this movement. Muslims who despise jihadists and long to modernize their countries with free markets and democratic institutions will be alienated from their potential Western partners.

The Islamic State and al-Qaida, which all along have promoted the idea of civilizational war with the West, will gain new recruits, both in the Middle East and among Western Muslims. Sissi's regime will eventually crumble from corruption and incompetence, if it avoids a popular rebellion.

Bush and Obama tried to transform the Muslim Middle East, or U.S. relations with it, and failed. Trump's aim will be to quarantine and repress the region and its religion.

The worst foreseeable outcome is that he will succeed.

Jackson Diehl is deputy editorial page editor of The Washington Post. He is an editorial writer specializing in foreign affairs.
With dozens of count circles across Pennsylvania, and thousands across North America, the 117th Christmas Bird Count gets under way on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Most of the local, one-day counts - done in 15-mile-wide circles - will be run on Saturdays and Sundays later this month. The open period for the count, which is organized by the National Audubon Society, runs through Thursday, Jan. 5.

Each circle is "a unique area that has been done for years," explained Doug Gross, state ornithologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. A compiler is responsible for organizing volunteers to cover each circle and then submitting reports to Audubon

The circle is divided into areas, and within those areas volunteers may count birds in the field or at their feeders.

Circles - all of which are open to additional volunteers - can be located through the Christmas Bird Count website.

Gross said the same areas and circles are covered year after year "so we can compare the numbers from one year to the next."

Last year's 116th CBC recorded 2,607 species throughout the Western Hemisphere.

"It's essentially an early winter bird survey," he noted. It helps to assess the state of all those bird species and the health of the habitat in that area.

The data collected by participants in the longest-running wildlife census continues to contribute to one of only two large existing pools of information helping ornithologists and conservation biologists to determine what conservation action is required to protect birds and the places they need.

"It's never been easier to be a citizen scientist and it's never been more important to be one," said David Yarnold, president and CEO of the National Audubon Society. "Birds and the people who watch them are noticing changes. Using the data gathered by more than a century of Christmas Bird Counts, Audubon will keep protecting birds and the places they need."

Christmas Bird Count data have been used in more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, including Audubon's landmark Birds and Climate Change Report, which found that more than half of the bird species in North America are threatened by a changing climate.

Last year, the CBC included a record-setting 2,505 count circles, with 76,669 observers in the field. About 5 percent of the North American landmass was surveyed.

A disturbing finding from last year was the continued decline of the northern bobwhite, the only native quail in the eastern United States. Record low numbers of this species were observed from the Midwestern states to the Mid-Atlantic and down to Florida.

Meanwhile the Eurasian collared-dove, introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s from its native Europe, was observed in record high numbers from North Carolina throughout the Midwest and northward to the Great Lakes and southern Canada.

Beginning on Christmas Day in 1900, Dr. Frank M. Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore - which evolved into Audubon magazine -- proposed a new holiday tradition that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them.

Conservation was in its beginning stages in that era, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations.
In this photo taken on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, and made available on Tuesday, Dec. 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his interview with the Nippon Television Network Corporation and the Yomiuri Shimbun prior to his visit to Japan and meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin/ Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Boyne City Splash Pad construction continues, to open next year

The project is being funded by the sale of the Boyne City Community Building.
OPEC's compliance key of oil cut success: Q&A

LONDON

Petroleumworld.com 12 13 2016

For the first time in 15 years, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has sealed a global petroleum-cuts deal that includes non-members such as Russia. Can the parties to the deal stick to their pledge? Members have broken quota agreements before, while previous deals with Russia have mostly come to nothing. The fruits of this cut -- the immediate rally in oil prices -- might last only a few months. It's still far from clear how long the cooperative spirit will last.

1. Why cut production?

To drain record global oil inventories caused, in part, by OPEC's policy of unfettered production. Saudi Arabia, the group's de facto leader, opened the floodgates in 2014 when it decided that protecting its market share was more important than price stability. This time around, to prove to Russia and other non-OPEC countries it meant business, Saudi Arabia signaled deeper cuts were possible if all producers joined the effort.

2. Have similar cuts worked before?

The largest cut ever by OPEC members, 2.2 million barrels a day in December 2008, was prompted by price per barrel dropping to near $30. Within a year, crude had recovered to around $75.

3. How's this one working?

The price of brent crude rose about 20 percent in the two weeks after the deal, to about $56 a barrel.

3. Who will cut, and by how much?

Ten of OPEC's 13 members will reduce their output by a combined 1.2 million barrels per day starting Jan. 1. The biggest reductions on a gross basis are by Saudi Arabia (486,000 barrels a day) and Iraq (210,000 barrels a day). Nigeria and Libya were exempted from the reductions. On the non-OPEC side: Russia pledged to cut by 300,000 barrels a day with the rest of the 258,000 barrels a day of cuts coming from 10 countries. Except for Russia, Oman and Kazakhstan, the rest of the non-OPEC nations will see their output decline naturally rather than implement voluntary cuts, raising skepticism among analysts about the real impact on supply next year.

4. How will compliance be monitored?

Algeria, Kuwait, Venezuela and two participating non-OPEC countries -- Russia and Oman -- will serve on a committee "to closely monitor the implementation of and compliance with" the agreement. For the most part, though, the deal relies on self-discipline among members.

5. Who might not comply?

Nobody's been immune to a bit of quota busting, but Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have traditionally stuck to their promises. Elsewhere, compliance has tended to be patchier . Russia didn't respect its side of agreements with OPEC in 2001 and 2008.

6. What's the goal?

OPEC officials have expressed the hope that by midnight on the last day of 2016, oil will be approaching $60 a barrel, or double what it was in January. Analysts say $60 is possible, but so is that prices fall back to $55 a barrel once U.S. shale oil companies rev up their production.






Mexico signing on a non-Opec production cut just a token signal



Mexico says OPEC cut in-line with its target - see bloomberg video

SANTIAGO

Petroleumworld.com 12 13 2016

Mexico surprised the oil market over the weekend by signing on to an accord to cut non-Opec production, but its short-term pledge appears to be more of a symbolic gesture that rebrands an existing decline in output.

At its 10 December meeting in Vienna, non-Opec countries led by Russia committed to reducing combined production by 558,000 b/d for six months starting on 1 January, complementing an Opec pledge of cutting up to 1.2mn b/d, led by Saudi Arabia.

Mexico's deputy oil minister Aldo Flores attended the meeting, maintaining a low profile in the wake of the government's first-ever awards of deepwater acreage to foreign oil companies in a historic auction last week.

The official statement from the meeting said the reductions pledged could encompass "managed decline" as well as active cuts.

Mexican state-run oil company Pemex tweeted yesterday that it "will reduce its production by 100,000 b/d in 2017, in line with what was approved in the 2017 Income Law and the Pemex business plan 2017-2021. This reduction is the result of the natural decline of the fields."

But Algeria's state news agency specifically asserted that the Latin American country would actively reduce output by 100,000 b/d beyond expected natural decline of 200,000 b/d. Algeria was a key player in broking both the Opec cut agreement and the deal with non-Opec producers.

Speaking this morning at Washington-based think tank Wilson Center, Flores did not directly respond to the Algerian statement. But he said Mexico's participation in the Vienna meeting was in the context of Pemex's expected production declines.

"We have been very clear that [Mexico's] managed decline that was mentioned at the meeting will take place in the context of Pemex's own plan," Flores said. "A managed decline will also help in bringing the market into the balance." Mexico's participation in the agreement between Opec and other producers will not overturn the historic opening of Mexico's energy sector, he said. "We will continue to implement our reform as planned."

Mexico's oil production has been falling steadily from a 2004 peak of 3.4mn b/d, and further declines have already been factored into the nation's 2017 budget. Next year's output is forecast to drop below 2mn b/d, from around 2.1mn b/d in 2016.

In any case, Mexico's leap back into the spotlight of global market management strategy is likely to be short-lived. The country is preparing to conduct more licensing rounds next year, cementing the break-up of Pemex's monopoly that it hopes will revive production. The Gulf of Mexico blocks awarded on 5 December offer the biggest potential upside so far, although any fresh production would take years to develop.

At today's meeting, Flores said the government is studying the possibility of setting up a more concrete calendar for bidding rounds, and plans to expand Pemex farm-outs.

Mexico was a key participant in the 1998 Riyadh Pact with Opec countries Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to cut production. Nearly two decades later, Mexico and Venezuela have lost much of their relevance because of declining production. In Latin America, only Brazil is showing immediate upstream gains driven by its gigantic sub-salt deposits. Brazil did not attend the Vienna meeting.






Li Gaoshan demonstrates a certificate of survivors of the Nanjing Massacre, Nov 21, 2016. Li Gaoshan, born in 1925 in South China's Guangdong province, attended the battle of Nanjing in 1937 when he was 13 years old. He escaped from death after being arrested by Japanese troops. Japanese troops occupied eastern China's Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937, and began a six-week massacre. Chinese records show more than 300,000 people -- not only disarmed soldiers but also civilians -- were brutally murdered and thousands of women raped. In the past 79 years, the number of survivors decreases. After Zhang Fuzhi, 89, passed away on Nov 26, 2016, the number of the registered survivors reduced to 108. With hurt that are unable to heal and tragic memory of suffering, survivors are the witnesses of the massacre. [Photo/Xinhua]
Visiting Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday. [Fu Jing/China Daily]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that he has agreed with Swiss leaders that China and Switzerland are determined to upgrade their free trade partnership and oppose any form of protectionism.

"Facing a global situation which features the rise of conflicts, wars and uncertainties, China and Switzerland are determined to make our ties as stabilizing factor in international relations," Wang told reporters when he wrapped up two-day visit in Switzerland.

"While the trends of protectionism are picking up, we will take advantage of the chance to upgrade our free trade partnership to send active signals over maintaining the global trade system."

On Monday, Wang met the President of the Swiss Confederation, Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, who will be replaced by Doris Leuthard from the beginning of 2017. Both visited China in 2016.

Wang has also held talks with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

The talks happened after the foreign ministers Sunday meetings with Michael Moller, director-general of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympics Committee based in Lausanne.

Regarding to the rise of protectionism, Wang recalled that Switzerland was the first country in the West to recognize China's market economy status. Currently, up to 100 countries have done so while some members of World Trade Organization, including the United States and Japan, have refused to do so.

Wang made the comments as China's 15-year transitional period of World Trade Organization accession expired on Sunday. The WTO accession protocol stipulates that after the transitional period, China should be given full market economy status when dumping prices of exports are calculated.

Schneider-Ammann said Switzerland attached great importance to the Sino-Swiss relationship and his country has benefited greatly from China's development over the previous decades.

"The Sino-Swiss relationship is excellent and both sides have implemented fruitful cooperation in various areas," said Schneider-Ammann.

"I hope both sides will substantially implement the innovation strategic partnership and jointly maintain the free trade system."

Schneider-Ammann paid a state visit to China in April and entered into agreement with President Xi Jinping to set up strategic partnership of innovation. During the meeting, Switzerland also became an observer country in the partnership between China and sixteen Central and East European countries.

When meeting Wang on Monday, Didier Burkhalter, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said China and Switzerland have set examples on how to establish a win-win partnership by ironing out differences in political and social systems.

"Swiss side is willing to deepen cooperation with China to explore innovation and maintain the global free trade system," said Burkhalter.

Burkhalter added that his country will also work closely with China in various multilateral areas to become stabilizing factors of the complicated global situation.
David Lyttle and Emma-Lee Moss are ready for their visit to China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Hong Kong-born Londoner Emma-Lee Moss, better known to fans as "Emmy the Great", is of to China next year to take part in a six-week musicians-in-residence program organized by the British Council and the PRS for Music Foundation, the UK's leading founder of new music.

"This is so amazing," Moss told China Daily. "I grew up in Hong Kong but I have never been to the Chinese mainland and to be given this opportunity through this program is very special."

Moss, 33, was born to a British father and Chinese mother and moved to England with her family when she was 11.

Between April and June, she and two other UK-based artists will spend time in three Chinese cities. Moss, who sings in English and Cantonese and has released three studio albums since 2009, will be based in the coastal city of Xiamen in the southeast.

The performer, who wrote the original score for the Sony Pictures film Austenland and who contributed original music for Mystery Show, the number one podcast in the US in 2015, hopes her time in China will help her improve her Mandarin skills.

"I want to produce music through language and use the words to tell a story, which I think makes it more interesting," she said.

Irish musician David Lyttle, who will be in residence in the eastern city of Suzhou, and multi-instrumentalist Quinta, who will be based in Guiyang in China's southwest, will travel with Moss.

Lyttle told China Daily: "This is a fantastic experience. Coming from a jazz and Irish-folk music background, I'm interested in working with classical Chinese music and mixing all the influences together into a new sound."

During their time in China the three will meet local musicians and exchange ideas, create new work and build cultural bonds.
WASHINGTON - One more retired general in the incoming US administration now -- President-elect Donald Trump on Monday formally pick retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

Kelly will become the third retired general to be tapped for the incoming Trump cabinet after retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn for national security advisor and retired Gen. James Mattis for Defense secretary.

As the DHS chief, he will be at the forefront of realizing Trump's campaign promise to build a wall between the US and Mexico, as well as crack down on undocumented immigrants.

"Gen. John Kelly's decades of military service and deep commitment to fighting the threat of terrorism inside our borders makes him the ideal choice to serve as our Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security," Trump said in a statement.

"He is the right person to spearhead the urgent mission of stopping illegal immigration and securing our borders, streamlining TSA and improving coordination between our intelligence and law enforcement agencies" Trump said.

"The American people voted in this election to stop terrorism, take back sovereignty at our borders, and put a stop to political correctness that for too long has dictated our approach to national security," Kelly said in a statement.

"I will tackle those issues with a seriousness of purpose and a deep respect for our laws and Constitution," Kelly said.

Kelly headed the US Southern Command until retiring in January after more than 45 years in the Marine Corps. In that role, Kelly oversaw the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and publicly butted heads with the Obama administration over its plan to close it, according to a TheHill news daily report.

He also served in combat in Iraq and spent a year as the head of US forces in that country.

A report last week said Trump is considering tapping as many as five generals for his cabinet, said the TheHill report.
UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres was sworn in as the new secretary-general of the world body at an oath of office ceremony here on Monday.

Witnessed by senior diplomats of member states and senior UN officials, Guterres repeated the oath after current General Assembly President Peter Thomson.

"I, Antonio Guterres, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions entrusted to me as Secretary-General of the United Nations, to discharge these functions and regulate my conduct with the interests of the United Nations only in view, and not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the performance of my duties from any government or other authority external to the organization."

On Oct. 13, the UN General Assembly appointed former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres as the 9th secretary-general of the United Nations to succeed retiring Ban Ki-moon who steps down at the end of this year.

The five-year term for Guterres will start on Jan. 1, 2017 and end on Dec.31, 2021.

Guterres, a 67-year-old politician, served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. Before joining the UN refugee agency, Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.
King's Casino Owner Leon Tsoukernik Leads 50,000 PokerStars EPT Prague Super High Roller

December 12, 2016 Frank Op de Woerd

After a day full of action, just six players remain in the 50,000 Super High Roller at the last PokerStars European Poker Tour event ever in Prague.

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (photo, left) bubbled the event, going out in eighth place while King's Casino Rozvadov owner Leon Tsoukernik (photo, right) leads the star-packed final table.

Charlie Carrel, two-time EPT High Roller champion, sits in second place. Russian online player Viacheslav Buldygin comes into Day 3 third in chips. Rounding out the table are German 2013 WPT Prague winner Julian Thomas, 2014 EPT Prague Super High Roller runner-up Paul Newey and EPT Deauville High Roller champion Juha Helppi.

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Leon Tsoukernik Czech Republic 4,330,000 87 2 Paul Newey United Kingdom 955,000 19 3 Charlie Carrel United Kingdom 3,565,000 71 4 Julian Thomas Germany 535,000 11 5 Viacheslav Buldygin Russia 1,230,000 25 6 Juha Helppi Finland 1,615,000 32

The penultimate day of the Super High Roller started with three players signing up, bringing the total to 49 entries (39 unique players, plus 10 reentries). Besides [Removed:17] and Martin Kabrhel giving it another go after having played on Day 1 already, Justin Bonomo was the sole new player in the field. Bonomo came straight from Vegas where he had made the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic final table (fifth for $345,272), but didn't last long in Prague. He spun up a stack before doubling Ali Reza Fatehi and busting to Martin Kozlov not much later.

By that time, Steffen Sontheimer and Max Silver had already fallen. They wouldn't be the only ones; Russian players Sergey Lebedev and Vladimir Troyanovskiy followed them to the rail rather quickly.

Steve O'Dwyer, who won this event last year for 746,543, doubled early in the day through Mustapha Kanit, but wouldn't put those chips to good use. Bit by bit he lost his precious stack and eventually got it in with ace-seven against the kings of Leon Tsoukernik.

While big names like Isaac Haxton (ace-nine to the ace-eight of Vojtech Ruzicka), Ben Heath (fives to ElkY's aces) and Martin Kabrhel (king-queen to Vojtech Ruzicka's ace-ten) all fell, Leon Tsoukernik was gaining chips by the dozens. The King's Casino Rozvadov owner splashed around in a lot of pots; showing big bluffs, tricky semi-bluffs and sneaky value bets. Like yesterday, Tsoukernik was the life of the party, battling with his neighbor Charlie Carrel on multiple occasions and coming out on top just as many times as going under.

Tsoukernik first busted Koray Aldemir in a huge pot to get his stack up to 1.8 million. He added another two million in a huge three-bet pot against Carrel and Jean-Noel Thorel. Tsoukernik got it in with a set of nines against the top pair and top kicker Thorel held with ace-king, and had his French opponent drew dead on the turn.

That was after Charlie Carrel had taken care of Mustapha Kanit in a pot just as big. Kanit couldn't get away from his straight, only to discover upon showdown that his British adversary had the nut flush.

While Carrel and Tsoukernik took care of the big pots, most other players built their stacks by playing small ball. Paul Newey, as patient as ever, waited for his spots and got it in with big hands several times to hang in there and make the money. He finished runner-up in 2014 for 557,090 and tomorrow he'll be back on the final table to try and one-up that result.

PokerStars Team Pro Grospellier, once a staple on the EPT Super High Roller scene but absent in recent years, made his return to the big stage here in Prague. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he ended up bubbling the event. Down to just short of four big blinds, he pushed with pocket fives. Leon Tsoukernik called with nine-eight and flopped a nine to send ElkY packing.

With that, the remaining seven players were in the money and guaranteed 123,520. Anthony Zinno, who bubbled this event last year going out against Dzmitry Urbanovich, made the money this year, but won't be coming back on Tuesday's final day. He went out in seventh place when his jack-ten was up against Paul Newey's ace-queen. Zinno hit a jack on the flop to stay hopeful, but the river gave Newey a straight and the tournament was six-handed.

With almost 50 minutes left in the 25,000/50,000-level, play was done for the day. The remaining six players return to the Hilton Hotel Prague Tuesday at noon to play down to a winner. The final table will be live streamed with hole cards up on a one-hour delay. PokerNews coverage of the final table, with every hand covered, resumes at 1 p.m. local time.

Charlie Carrel

Seat 1  Leon Tsoukernik (4,330,000, 87 BBs)

One of Europe's true high rollers, Tsoukernik runs the show over at King's Casino on the western edge of the Czech Republic but has made the short journey to Prague for this last EPT Super High Roller. Tsoukernik is no stranger to big action, having been a participant in a number of nosebleed cash games in his home casino against the likes of Patrik Antonius and other big name pros. Tournaments don't seem to be his area of expertise as he has just one recorded cash, coming back in 2011 for 33,020. It's clear the joy of pulling off big bluffs plays a central role in Tsoukernik's drive to play poker and he's certainly not afraid to get chips in the middle at any time. He'll be active as ever in seeking his first big tournament cash.

Seat 2  Paul Newey (955,000, 19 BBs)

Newey is one of the high rollers without a true poker pedigree in the sense that he did not build a roll in smaller buy in events. The well-bankrolled Brit hopped into deep water pretty much right away and has cut his teeth against some of the world's best tournament players over the past few years. Observe nearly any high buy in event around the globe recently and one was likely to lay eyes on Newey. He has been a regular face at final tables, including making the second $1 million Big One for One Drop final table in 2014. He's totaled over $4 million in cashes but is still seeking that first big win.

Seat 3  Charlie Carrel (3,565,000, 71 BBs)

A young British pro who crushed online under the name "Epiphany77" on PokerStars, Carrel has made a remarkably smooth transition to live poker. He has already bagged a pair of EPT High Roller titles, winning a 25,500 High Roller at EPT Grand Final 2015 for 1.1 million and a 10,200 High Roller at EPT Dublin for 164,500. Indeed, Carrel is already acutely attuned to looking for live tells, as he spends quite some time studying the faces and reactions of opponents in every notable hand and isn't afraid to get the banter going in search of information. Carrel's looking to add to his $3 million in live cashes and is certainly a favorite to do so given his stack.

Seat 4  Julian Thomas (535,000, 11 BBs)

Thomas is a young German grinder, and while he hasn't attained the fame or fortune of some of his compatriots like Ole Schemion and Christoph Vogelsang, he still doesn't lack for some nice results. Thomas' best live score came in this very city in 2013, when he beat out a field of 306 runners to win World Poker Tour Prague for 206,230, almost exactly half of his live cashes. Thomas has shown he isn't afraid to gamble in big spots, like when he surprised Anthony Zinno with a raise-call for almost 20 big blinds holding king-jack. He'll take that fearless attitude to the final table.

Seat 5  Viacheslav Buldygin (1,230,000, 25 BBs)

Not much is known about Buldygin, a young Russian player who has reportedly done well online. That would be the likely explanation for Buldygin's ability to play in some of the high-stakes live events, considering he had no live cashes until August 2015. Since then, he has been unafraid to mix it up with in the nosebleeds of the EPT, with three of his four live cashes coming in EPT High Rollers to account for most of his $258,094. Buldygin has been close to grabbing wins twice but finished runner-up in a pair of Malta events. He's a bit hot right now after cashing the 10,000 prelim event here at EPT Prague for 20,250.

Seat 6  Juha Helppi (1,615,000, 35 BBs)

Among the high roller community, few have been doing it as long as Helppi, whose first live cash came way back in the day at an event called Helsinki Freezeout 2001 for just over $5,000. The Finn has come a very long way since then with over $6.5 million in cashes and nary a score bigger than $400,000. Helppi has experienced his share of success on EPT high rollers, with five top-five finishes. One of those came in this very event two years ago, when Helppi finished fourth for 269,360 in a tournament won by Leonid Markin. He tends to be the quiet sort at the table, contrasting him a bit with some of his opponents here, but the Finn will be drawing on a vast well of experience.
Officer Luke Brown (Photo: Facebook)

A wounded officer with the Cloverdale (IN) Police Department was released from the hospital Saturday night following a shooting in Putnam County, thanks to his ballistic vest, reports the Indy Channel.

According to Indiana State Police, officers went to a house in the 4400 block of E. County Road 375 S. around 4 p.m. to follow up on a theft from the Tractor Supply store in Greencastle.

A man confronted them at the door, then fired a shotgun, hitting the Cloverdale officer's vest in the chest. The officer returned fire, hitting the suspect in the torso.

State Police identified the wounded Cloverdale officer as Luke Brown, 27. Brown is a two-year veteran of the force. He was treated for his wounds and released from the hospital.

While wounded, Officer Brown provided medical treatment to the suspect until the paramedics arrived. The suspect, 48-year-old Jeffrey Hunter, remains hospitalized in Indianapolis.

A spokesman for ISP says a review of potential charges against Hunter will come later this week.
The ASPCA honored members of the NYPD and two Assistant District Attorneys for their commitment and dedication to helping animals through the NYPD/ASPCA Partnership. (Photo: ASPCA/Anita Kelso Edson)

The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) today honored 11 members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and two Assistant District Attorneys for their commitment and dedication to helping animals through the NYPD/ASPCA Partnership.

All 13 honorees attended a special luncheon held at the ASPCA's Adoption Center, where they were presented with appreciation awards for the critical roles they played in the enforcement, investigation, and prosecution of animal cruelty and neglect cases over the past year.

"The ASPCA is proud to recognize these 13 individuals for their extraordinary dedication to improving the lives of animals across the five boroughs," said Howard Lawrence, Vice President of ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement. "Their achievements further demonstrate the importance of tackling animal cruelty and neglect to help build a safer and more humane community."

Individuals honored at today's luncheon:

Detective James Berk, 67th Precinct Det. Berk is being recognized for his strong collaboration with the ASPCA's Cruelty Intervention Advocacy (CIA) team. Det. Berk identified two pet owners in need of assistance  one involving a dog in need of an insulated dog house, and another involving a pet owner who was struggling to provide veterinary care and training for his dog. Thanks to Det. Berk, both situations were resolved through a collaborative approach that allowed people and pets to stay together in a safe environment.

Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, Patrol Borough Staten Island Inspector Bologna is being recognized as an integral member of the NYPD/ASPCA Partnership since its inception. As the borough animal liaison, Inspector Bologna has ensured that animal welfare is a priority for all police officers working on Staten Island.

Assistant District Attorney Nicoletta Caferri, Queens District Attorney's Office ADA Caferri is being recognized for her dedication and expertise in handling animal cruelty cases in Queens County. In January 2016, the Queens District Attorney's Office announced that ADA Caferri - a veteran prosecutor who has been with the Queens DA's Office since 1992  would lead the new Animal Cruelty Prosecution Unit. Her dedication and expertise in handling these cases has resulted in the convictions of numerous people for horrific animal-related crimes. Notably, she successfully prosecuted an individual for failing to properly care for and feed his dog, Brewster. When Brewster was found, he was so emaciated he could barely stand, but thanks to ADA Caferri's hard work, Brewster's owner pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty and Brewster now has a new home. Detective Tara Cuccias, Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad (ACIS) Det. Cuccias is being recognized for her dedication to animal welfare throughout New York City in her role as a detective in ACIS. She has played an instrumental part in numerous arrests made in animal cruelty cases resulting in the rescue of hundreds of animals. One example of her dedication to fighting animal cruelty involved a cat named Lucy, who sustained numerous injuries over a period of time with no eye witnesses or video of the incidents. With the assistance of the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Erin Satterthwaite, ASPCA forensic veterinarians and detectives from ACIS, the perpetrator was identified and arrested.

Inspector Frederick Grover, 113th Precinct Inspector Grover is being recognized for his dedication to animal welfare as a Precinct Commander. The 113th Precinct has been at the forefront of the NYPD/ASPCA Partnership since its inception. In addition to their anti-cruelty efforts, including their involvement in one of the first NYPD dog fighting cases, the 113th Precinct has collaborated on multiple dog house and dog food giveaways at the stationhouse with the ASPCA's CIA team. These events are just one example of the many ways the officers from the 113th Precinct, under the command of Inspector Grover, have shown compassion for animals and their owners residing in South Jamaica, Queens.

Police Officer Jaime Ramirez, 73rd Precinct & Police Officer Guy Randel, 73rd Precinct Officers Randel and Ramirez are being recognized as Neighborhood Coordinating Officers for their innovation in dealing with quality of life issues including animal welfare occurring in their precinct. These officers organized a MARCH Program (Multi Agency Response to Community Hotspots), conducted to address community complaints and quality of life issues in the confines of the precinct. Participating agencies included the NYPD, NYC Department of Buildings, NYC Marshalls Office, NYC Sanitation Police, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Police and the ASPCA. In total, 21 locations were visited with varying enforcement action taken.

Police Officer Jessica Ruotolo, 1st Precinct Officer Ruotolo is being recognized for her dedication and assistance with all animal-related matters in the downtown community as the Animal Liaison in the 1st Precinct. Officer Ruotolo demonstrated that dedication in a recent case resulting in the recovery of numerous cats from an individual who is currently under investigation for animal cruelty. The application and execution of the warrant occurred over several days with the assistance of the ASPCA's legal advocacy, forensic and CIA teams, along with members of ACIS.

Police Officer Joshua Sailor, 113th Precinct Officer Sailor is being recognized for rescuing a dog that was left without food or water and chained in an abandoned house. Officer Sailor, along with members of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit, were able to gain access to the house and rescue the dog. Officer Sailor has since adopted the dog, now named Mila.

Assistant District Attorney Erin Satterthwaite, Manhattan District Attorney's Office ADA Satterthwaite is being recognized for taking the lead in seeking out and prosecuting numerous animal-related cases. Recently, ADA Satterthwaite successfully indicted and convicted Vince Cooper, a noted dog fighter, on dog fighting and animal cruelty charges. Each case ADA Satterthwaite handles receives the same care and attention, and she has led many successful animal-related prosecutions in Manhattan over the past few years.

Sergeant Maria Sexton, Patrol Borough Manhattan North Sgt. Sexton is being recognized for her exceptional commitment and assistance to the NYPD/ASPCA Partnership. Sgt. Sexton oversees all Animal Liaisons assigned to Manhattan North Precincts and ensures that all animal complaints reported in PBMN are thoroughly investigated. PBMN Liaisons have made several animal cruelty arrests under Sgt. Sexton's supervision, and she readily assists the ASPCA's CIA team in all matters pertaining to animal welfare.

Detective Dennis Steele, Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad Det. Steele is being recognized for his dedication to animal welfare throughout New York City in his role as an ACIS detective. He has played an active role in numerous arrests in animal cruelty cases and the rescue of hundreds of animals. One example of his commitment to fighting animal cruelty involved the arrest of an animal fighter, Jeremias Nieves. Det. Steele, with the assistance of Queens ADA Nicoletta Caferri, the ASPCA's CIA, Legal Advocacy, and forensic veterinarian teams, and detectives from the ACIS, was able to arrest Nieves for animal fighting. More than 100 birds and several other animals were rescued as a result of the long-term investigation.

Police Officer Lorraine Vultaggio, 115th Precinct Officer Vultaggio is being recognized for her initiation of a search warrant resulting in a large scale removal of animals at a hoarding location. Officer Vultaggio  the Precinct Crime Prevention Officer  was conducting a follow-up investigation of a domestic violence incident when she observed numerous animals inside the location. She immediately contacted members of the ASPCA and applied for a search warrant through the office of the Queens District Attorney, with the assistance of ADA Nicoletta Caferri. The search warrant and investigation resulted in the rescue of more than 55 cats, 12 dogs and two turtles. Officer Vultaggio was instrumental in securing the arrest and has continued to work with the district attorney's office on the investigation.

Launched in January 2014, the NYPD and ASPCA citywide partnership continues to have a considerable positive impact for New York City's vulnerable animals. Since its launch, there have been triple digit increases in arrests and animals treated.

For more information, visit www.ASPCA.org.
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White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest bluntly told the world that the president-elect is making excuses for Russia because Trump directly benefited from Putins interference in the US presidential election.

Video of White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest:

.@PressSec: You don't "need a security clearance to figure out who benefited from malicious Russian cyber activity." https://t.co/6oVIntSOrR pic.twitter.com/t95bwXccCH  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 12, 2016

Earnest said, You didnt need a security clearance to figure out who benefitted from malicious Russian cyber activity. The president-elect didnt call it into question. He called on Russia to hack his opponents. He called on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton, so he certainly had a pretty good sense of which side this activity was coming down on. The last several weeks of the election were focused on a discussion of emails that had been hacked and leaked by the Russians. These were emails from the DNC and John Podesta, not from the RNC and Steve Bannon.

President Obama and his White House arent going to let the Russian interference in the presidential election slide. Earnests remarks to the press were the strongest words yet from the White House. While they didnt point the finger directly at Trump, the fact that the White House is willing to publicly suggest that the president-elect condoned meddling by a foreign power in a US presidential election is a powerful statement on where the scandal stands.

Republicans are joining with Democrats in calling for a full Congressional investigation, and now the White House is pointing out that the president-elect is dismissing Russian election interference because he benefited from Russias behavior.

Donald Trumps potential presidency is not only tainted. It is in danger of not happening.
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Former Bush Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Bush and Obama Defense Secretary Robert Gates strongly endorse Putin pal and Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State.

Of course, their endorsement is largely meaningless because as NBCs Katy Tur points out,

Both of whom are paid consultants for Exxon https://t.co/XNHUUgoRLo  Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) December 13, 2016

The news about Gates comes via Fox & Friends:

Fmr Defense Secretary Robert Gates: "I strongly endorse the President-Elect's selection of Rex Tillerson to be the next Secretary of State." pic.twitter.com/afAZ13pMGc  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) December 13, 2016

According to Gates,



He would bring to the position vast knowledge, experience and success in dealing with dozens of governments and leaders in every corner of the worldHe is a person of great integrity whose only goal in office would be to protect and advance the interests of the United States.

Oh, and in case youre worried about the whole Exxon thing, Gates wants you to know that,

While ExxonMobil was one of many clients of RiceHadleyGates, I met Rex earlier through our mutual involvement in and leadership of the Boy Scouts of America.

Rice was equally effusive in a Facebook post, without happening to mention those oh so important business ties to the man she is endorsing:

Rex Tillerson is an excellent choice for Secretary of State. He will bring to the post remarkable and broad international experience; a deep understanding of the global economy; and a belief in Americas special role in the world.

I know Rex as a successful business man and a patriot. He will represent the interests and the values of the United States with resolve and commitment. And he will lead the exceptional men and women of the State Department with respect and dedication.

I look forward to supporting Rex through the confirmation process and then welcoming him to the family of Secretaries of State.

You know were in trouble when its left to the likes of Marco Rubio to question Tillersons moral clarity and potential conflicts of interest.

Watch the corrupt congregate at Trump Tower. At some point, one has to wonder if the whole thing will fall over, not simply because of shoddy Trump construction but because its so top-heavy with inflated egos and other peoples money.

As endorsements, this is about as reassuring as Bernie Madoff telling us Trump is a righteous dude.
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By saying that Trumps Sec. of State nominee, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson must be opposed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took the first step in mobilizing his millions of grassroots supporters against a Trump cabinet pick.

Sen. Sanders said in a statement, Mr. Trumps nomination of Rex Tillerson for secretary of state is sending a very troubling message to the international community. Not only is Mr. Tillerson a pal of Russias authoritarian leader, Vladimir Putin, but he is the head of one of the largest oil companies in the world. In this appointment, Mr. Trump is making it abundantly clear that the short-term profits of the fossil fuel industry are more important than climate change and the future of the planet. Very sad. Very dangerous. Mr. Tillerson must be opposed.

Sanders nailed it. The CEO of Exxon Mobil is completely unqualified to be secretary of state. The nominee has dangerous ties with a hostile foreign actor and has a major conflict of interest.

Sanders is not alone.

Sen. Tim Kaine tweeted:

Tillerson for Secretary of State! What's next  climate change deniers for EPA & Energy? Oh wait.  Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) December 13, 2016

Non-partisan money in politics groups are also sounding the alarm. David Donnelly, Every Voice president, and CEO said, Nominating Rex Tillerson is Donald Trumps latest broken promise. He said hed shake up Washington, but Trump has nominated billionaires and big donors to lead the government. Tillerson represents everything Trump campaigned against and voters hate about Washington.

Donald Trump couldnt nominate an oil corporation to represent our nation abroad, so he sprung for the next best thing  its CEO, Donnelly continued. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump mocked donors and wealthy interests while promising to represent all Americans, yet now hes trying to place a Big Oil executive in charge of our foreign policy.

The Tillerson nomination will be one of the first tests of Sen. Sanders grassroots power. While the Senate is sending signals that they may reject the nomination, it will take the efforts of millions of Americans to make sure that they follow through.

Bernie Sanders and the Democrats in the Senate need help to stop this nominee, which is why the left must lead the effort to defeat the nomination of Rex Tillerson.
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Last Days pastor Tom Horn told Jim Bakker about some unidentified rabbis and their view of Donald Trump, saying, Theyre looking at Donald Trump as the messiah. These rabbis, Horn relates, are saying that Trumps name actually means messiah. In what language is anybodys guess.

Horn also assured us that these mysterious rabbis are doing research to prove Trumps bloodline goes back to the Davidic dynasty. In other words, a descendant of Mary, the mother of Jesus, or, worse, the family of Jesus himself (Luke 3:23-38).

Talk about looking for messiahs in all the wrong placesThe more corrupt Donald Trump shows himself to be, the more certain the Religious Right becomes that he is the messiah. Not a messiah in the sense the word is more generally used, but in the sense that the word is used in Christianity.

It doesnt help that Horn allows that Trump may not be the messiah himself but rather a John the Baptist-type forerunner, and that either way, he signals the arrival of the end times againor still (take your pick).

At the turn of the first of our 21 centuries, the Roman province of Judaea was a hotbed of sedition. And people were seeing messiahs everywhere.

And not just one messiah, or even one type of messiah. What New Testament scholar Morton Smith described as an unreconciled diversity of first-century messianic groups.[1] The Maccabeans had their messiah, The Essenes another, the intellectual Philo of Alexandria his, the followers of Jesus another and these were only a few.[2]

While we must be careful not to make too much of the differences a la Pythons Life of Brian  as J.J. Collins observes, The variation was limited, and some forms of messianic expectation were widely shared[3]  we must also recognize that there was no uniform expectation of who or what the messiah would be.

Arguably, the one Christians got is not the one Jesus followers were originally looking for, or alternately, the Jews expected one and the Gentiles ultimately got another.

There were all sorts of messiahs just as there were all sorts of Judaisms  and Christianities  all expecting different sorts of messiahs. The Romans couldnt shake a census scroll without hitting one. Naturally, they were underwhelmed when the attention fell on a tekton (the Greek word for craftsman) from Galilee, from which nobody expected a messiah to come.

Similarly, nobody expected a messiah to come from Manhattan, but that is what the Religious Right is telling us.

We have watched as Trump has corrupted the Religious Right beyond anything imaginable. We have seen them increasingly come to the defense of the indefensible, but as I wrote here in October, the Religious Right set out to conquer our sins but was conquered by Donald Trumps instead.

They have flushed whatever pretense they had of being defenders of Christianity, let alone some monolithic morality, and idea that the most unholy example of humanity we can imagine is somehow the messiah is offensive however you understand the term, as a physical savior or a spiritual.

Notes:

[1] Morton Smith, What is Implied by the Variety of Messianic Figures? JBL 78 (1959), 68.

[2] See Jacob Neusner et al, Judaisms and Their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era (1987).

[3] John J. Collins, The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature (1995), Collins, 12
Christians in China being targeted and killed for organ harvesting

In 2006, two Canadian nationals began a journey that would reveal information so dark, it is deeply troubling to ponder, let alone believe. But in a world controlled by money, man is capable of doing anything to get it, including the harvesting of organs from living persons. The victim dies during this heinous and tortuous procedure. The body is then cremated. No evidence remains of the burnt human sacrifice yielding hearts, livers, kidneys, corneas and more. All in a days work for the burgeoning global organ transplant market in the Peoples Republic of China.

But even without ashes or bones, David Kilgour, Esq., a former Asian administrator for Canada, and international human rights lawyer David Matas, Esq., were able to weave a damning indictment a decade ago called Bloody Harvest. This must-read treatise originally investigated unnerving claims; Chinese Falun Gong members were being killed for their organs and the lucrative international organ transplant marketplace.

Falun Gong practitioners account for 70  100 million of the Chinese population and remain a prime target of the surgeons knife, as reported by Theepochtimes.com. But other spiritual and ethic groups are also victimized by this barbaric practice, according to Kilgour:

 . . . there has been regime-sanctioned pillaging and trafficking in the vital organs of prisoners of conscience, overwhelmingly from practitioners of Falun Gong, but also Tibetans, Uyghurs, and some house Christians. . .

Through interviews, public records and meticulous inquiries, Kilgour and Matas discovered the who, what, when, where and why of this barbaric practice. Financing the Chinese military was reported as a prime reason. In the summer of 2016 they revised their report, significantly increasing the numbers and scope of Chinas organ transplant industry.

The new data scrutinized by Kilgour and Matas indicate that 60,000 to 100,000 transplants may take place each year in China. The regime claims only a fifth of that amount, or 20,000. Profits from these evil acts is estimated at $12 billion dollars and beyond. Hospitals say this practice is their number one money maker. American author and investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann spent seven years researching Chinas illicit organ transplant industry before releasing his book The Slaughter, in 2014.

Why do people travel to China for organ transplants? Simple. Human organs are abundant at a reduced price. Why wait on a long list for a new liver, heart, lung, kidney or pancreas when someone can be murdered today for your organ tomorrow? As Wnd.com suggests, technocrats love efficiency:

Planned parenthood had no problem with selling body parts either.

Sources:

TheEpochTimes.com

Science.NaturalNews.com

OrganHarvestInvestigation.net

TheEpochTimes.com

OrganHarvestInvestigation.net

YouTube.com

Wnd.com

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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

About eight years ago Americans saw an honest-to-dog rash of so-called American patriots take to the streets, many with firearms strapped to their backs, to protest the election of an African American man as President. Their primary complaint was that Barack Obama was illegitimate and not really American simply because he was not white. It was a meme that continued throughout the 2012 general election and beyond. President Obamas election also incited a frightening increase in so-called patriot groups, the so-called real Americans, whose claim to legitimacy was their sworn duty to America and specifically the Constitution.

Now that the entire world knows that Donald Trump benefitted from his friends in Moscow, friends that waged a form of warfare on America, it is curious there isnt a whisper, much less outrage, from the so-called patriot class of real Americans. Their silence speaks volumes to their fraudulent claim to patriotism. Because if they, like their hero Trump, believe a hostile foreign government attacking the pillar of our democracy is remotely acceptable, they are no more American patriots or Oathkeepers than Vladimir Putin.

First, it is noteworthy that deceitful Donald has been closely aligned with the Russian Putin and his regime throughout the campaign; even if it was only to express his undying adoration and praise of the dirty dictator. This applies to congressional Republicans as well because they really wanted a rubber-stamp in the Oval Office. It is exceedingly curious, however, that the faux patriots and real Americans werent raging against Trump throughout the campaign for being blatantly un-American.

No real American would ever embrace what House Speaker Paul Ryan said was an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests. And yet the real American patriots, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, were silent and turned out to vote for their Rusky-loving hero after listening to Trump wax adoringly about Putin for months.

However, even though Mr. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are finally speaking out; one wonders exactly where in the Hell are all the real American patriots and why are they hiding? If they turned out in the streets raging with guns in tow over an African American mans election, or passage of healthcare insurance reform, or because Republicans shut down the government; why are they cowering now that a serious attack on the pillar of our democracy has been revealed for all the world to see?

The answer is crystal clear: the so-called real American, tea party patriots and their right-wing militias, Oathkeepers and gun-fanatics are simply frauds. If those faux patriots need an example of what a patriot is in 2016, there are Republicans who are as outraged at Trumps Russia connection as millions of Americans who dont need labels, silly yellow snake flags or guns to express their loyalty to America; they are the real patriots.

Regardless of what ones opinion and assessment of Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain might be, they put Americas interests first; it is what a patriot does. It is true that both McCain and Graham are incredibly more prone to saber-rattling and warmongering than one supports, but they take their allegiance to the United States seriously; it is what a patriot does. Both McCain and Graham are also acutely aware of the aggression and anti-American mindset driving dumb Donnies idol Putin and the threats Putin and his incoming White House puppet pose to America.

Mr. McCain, in particular, has a firm grasp on exactly what kind of foreign tyrant attacked Americas pillar of democracy to put his candidate in the White House. Over the weekend McCain accurately described Trumps, and his choice for secretary of states, good friend Putin:

Vladimir Putin is a thug, a bully, and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying.

This column has said on more than one occasion, and will say it ad nauseam; any American citizen that is not outraged beyond comprehension that a presidential candidate was aligned with, and received campaign and electoral assistance from, a thug, a bully and a murderer running an adversarial foreign power is not a real American; or any kind of patriot. No real American, self-professed patriot or not, would ever consider sitting idly by after a serious attack on Americas pillar of democracy, they just couldnt. Millions of Americans are not taking an attack on America sitting down; they are the real patriots.

What is abundantly clear to real Americans is that any other American who still supports a White House-bound friend of Putin and beneficiary of warfare against America is a traitor. And that particularly includes each and every one of the so-called real American patriots, Oathkeepers and militia-types who never wavered in supporting Trump despite his love-affair with a foreign aggressor that consistently undermines American interests.
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By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  The U.S. Energy Department said on Tuesday it will not comply with a request from President-elect Donald Trumps Energy Department transition team for the names of people who have worked on climate change and the professional society memberships of lab workers.

The Energy Departments response could signal a rocky transition for the president-elects energy team and potential friction between the new leadership and the staffers who remain in place.

The memo sent to the Energy Department on Tuesday and reviewed by Reuters last week contains 74 questions, including a request for a list of all department employees and contractors who attended the annual global climate talks hosted by the United Nations within the last five years.

Energy Department spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder said Tuesday the department will not comply.

Our career workforce, including our contractors and employees at our labs, comprise the backbone of (the Energy Department) and the important work our department does to benefit the American people, Burnham-Snyder said.

We are going to respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department, he added. We will be forthcoming with all publicly available information with the transition team. We will not be providing any individual names to the transition team.

He added that the request left many in our workforce unsettled.

Andrew Rosenberg, an official at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the Energy Department made the right choice in refusing this absurd and dangerous request. Federal agencies need the best available science to respond to the growing risk of climate change.

Reuters reported late Monday that former Texas Governor Rick Perry is expected to be named by Trump to run the Energy Department. The agency employs more than 90,000 people working on nuclear weapons maintenance and research labs, nuclear energy, advanced renewable energy, batteries and climate science.

The memo sought a list of all department employees or contractors who have attended any meetings on the social cost of carbon, a measurement that federal agencies use to weigh the costs and benefits of new energy and environmental regulations. It also asked for all publications written by employees at the departments 17 national laboratories for the past three years.

Trump transition officials declined to comment on the memo.

This feels like the first draft of an eventual political enemies list, a Department of Energy employee, who asked not to be identified because he feared a reprisal by the Trump transition team, had told Reuters.

Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, said in a news briefing on Tuesday that the queries could have been an attempt to target civil servants, including scientists and lawyers and other experts who are critical to the success of the federal governments ability to make policy.

By design, their work transcends the term of any one president, Earnest said.

Trump, a Republican, said during his election campaign that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by China to damage U.S. manufacturing. He said he would rip up last years landmark global climate deal struck in Paris that was signed by President Barack Obama.

Since winning the Nov. 8 election, however, Trump has said he will keep an open mind about the Paris deal. He also met with former Vice President Al Gore, a strong advocate for action on climate change.

After that meeting, he picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate change skeptic, to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

(Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis)
Negative yield within reach in Hungary

Portfolio Save article Share Hungarian

The yield on Hungarys 3-month discount Treasury Bill has dropped further at the Government Debt Management Agencys (AKK) weekly auction on Tuesday therefore short yields may cross south of the 0% mark really soon. The reason is that despite massive demand the issuer allotted the original lot on offer.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 77F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 59F. Winds light and variable.
Emanuel AMEs former secretary is suing the church and the Rev. Norvel Goff for ending her employment after she questioned the handling of donations that poured into the church after a gunman killed nine worshippers. Read moreFormer secretary at Emanuel AME sues for unpaid wages
Veteran mistreated at work for being the husband of Flint water crisis whistleblower

Dennis and Lee Ann Walters have two 5-year-old boys, and the twins have been poisoned by lead from Flint, Michigans tainted water supply. The boys continue to suffer health problems. Lead is a toxic heavy metal that accumulates in the body and can cause brain damage. As noted by the Chicago Tribune, exposure to lead significantly increases the likelihood of violent behavior, and despite the removal of lead from paint and gasoline formulations years ago, it is common today to find dangerous levels of lead in children.

To add insult to injury, the Walters are now in the midst of a battle with the U.S. Navy. Dennis claims he is being persecuted in retaliation of Lee Anns advocacy efforts regarding the Flint water crisis.

According to CNN, Lee Ann Walters was the first to discover and then report to the Environmental Protection Agency that their water was contaminated with extremely high levels of lead. The mom noticed rashes on both boys and a pronounced orange tint to her tap water. Once aware of the problem, the EPA dragged its feet and took a year to issue its emergency order for Flint. Thousands of homes await retrofitting of water pipes, and on NPR radio, Flints mayor Karen Weaver admitted to a lack of funds and a slow pace of remediation.

CNN quotes Walters saying Were still recovering from Flint. We never thought wed be in this position again, explaining that she is afraid her husband is in danger of losing his job. We are afraid now for our livelihoods.

Since I testified at the state Senate hearing, things got progressively worse, Lee Anne Walters said. They threatened to force him into a hardship discharge if he didnt get me under control.

Dennis Walters, a 17-year veteran of the Navy, filed a complaint that outlines harassment, humiliation, and mistreatment while on the job. His claims include being forced to work extra long shifts without breaks at Naval Station Norfolk, and being denied training opportunities, among other offenses.

Dangerous waters

The Environmental Protection Agency was created with the responsibility of safeguarding our health; to protect us from chemical hazards in our air, water, and environment. When the EPA blatantly violates the publics trust, American citizens need to question the legitimacy of such federal agencies. If they cant accomplish their most fundamental job, that of ensuring the safety of our water supplies, why should they be funded by Congress? Unfortunately, we only get the government that we are willing to put up with, and no better. A reminder to all Americans: your duty in shaping our countrys destiny can and should include more than merely voting once per year. Get involved!

Dangerous waters of another sort

The Whistleblower Protection Act is supposed to protect federal employees from retaliation when they disclose abuse, corruption, fraud, and dangers to public health. In reality, the law does an abysmal job of protecting whistleblowers.

According to USAToday, The Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi-judicial agency that adjudicates whistleblower complaints, uses appointed administrative law judges who often back the government. Since 2000, the board has ruled for whistleblowers just three times in 56 cases decided on their merits, according to a Government Accountability Project analysis.

USA Today further reported, The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) uses agency lawyers in the place of administrative law judges to decide federal employees whistleblower appeals. These lawyers, dubbed attorney examiners, deny 98% of whistleblower appeals

Once again, a Washington bureaucracy intended to protect its citizens does the very opposite. In this hostile climate, why would a potential whistleblower stick their neck out only to get harassed or fired? Why, indeed.

Sources:

CNN.com

USAToday.com

ChicagoTribune.com
Drug busts happen occasionally at the Port of Charleston. In 2007, border officials seized 767 pounds of cocaine in 5-gallon buckets of frozen mango puree that had arrived at the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant. File/Provided
Angie Jackson covers crime and breaking news for The Post and Courier. She previously covered the same beat for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive.com in Michigan. When shes not reporting, Angie enjoys teaching yoga and exploring the outdoors.
South Carolina superintendent candidates Ellen Weaver and Lisa Ellis traded criticisms for an hour-long debate on Nov. 2, and argued over who was best suited to improve education in South Carolina Read moreState superintendent candidates spar over solutions
There are five candidates vying for three open seats on Clemson City Council. We asked the two incumbents and three newcomers what they think is most important for Clemson's residents and council. Read moreMeet the candidates: 5 vying for 3 seats on Clemson City Council
The recent Post Bulletin cruise to the British Isles boasted a significant number of attractions  the likes of London tours and stops in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland  but it was more meaningful than just that for the John Rud family, of Rochester.

The Ruds were able to find and explore some of the family's roots, thanks to a history teacher who served as a "connector" to some branches of the Rud family tree.

John Wishart was the host of the Rud family stop in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The visiting Rud family consisted of parents John and Melinda and daughters Micela and Hannah.

The common thread between the Ruds and John Wishart was John Rud's grandmother, Louise Wishart.

Louise was born and raised in Belfast and came to the U.S. in 1922. She was 14 at the time and came with a sister, Evelyn, and Louise made her life in Wisconsin. She had one daughter, Virginia, who married, and she became the mother of John Rud.

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Virginia died in July 2015 and the Rud family, after reading about the Post Bulletin's sponsored cruise to Ireland and the rest of the British Isles, thought it would be a good time to travel to Belfast to explore the family's roots.

Before the cruise, Melinda Rud spent time on Ancestry.com to find more information about the family. Through her search of Louise's family tree, she came across the name of John Wishart, and his family tree contained Louise's name.

Melinda then contacted John Wishart and set up a meeting with him on the day the Post Bulletin's cruise ship docked in Belfast.

He led the Rud family on a tour of the city, including the Titanic museum, parliament and other historical sites. He also took the group to the street when Louise grew up, as well as to Malachy Church, the family church where Louise was baptized. "We were overcome with emotion to stand in the place where so many of our family members were baptized, married and had funerals," said Melinda Rud.

Wishart also supplied other information about the family, noted Melinda.

"All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime for us. We hope to return to Ireland again and meet John and his family," said Melinda.
As promised in Monday's epic , here's more on what's likely to be the first big test of Rochester's heritage preservation ordinance : The fate of the nearly century-old Days Inn building on First Avenue Northwest and West Center Street.

Events are moving quickly on that corner.

First, you should know that the project planned for the site is already in front of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday. The P & Z documents call it the Heart of the City North project, and the developer is Rochester Development I LLC , headed by building owner Mark Kramer.

It's now a 17-story hotel and apartment project, one floor taller than earlier versions. Floors 2-5 would be a parking ramp, with a hotel on floors 6-10 and 120 apartments on floors 11-16.

The project will get a formal public hearing at the commission meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Government Center. That hearing ought to be lively.

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In Monday's scoop, I reported that Kramer has hired a demolition contractor and the contractor last week applied for a demolition permit, which is now being processed at City Hall.

A t a special meeting a week ago today, the city's ponderous Heritage Preservation Commission voted to recommend that the City Council designate the building a heritage preservation site under the city's preservation ordinance. The vote was 5-2 , with commission chairman Jeff Allman and Aaron Benike voting no.

Just the night before , the council had approved a revision in the ordinance that assured that the Days Inn project will be considered under a previous version of the ordinance. The final version approved Dec. 5 hasn't been posted online yet, but I'll attach it with this file online.

The Days Inn issue will probably hit the new council's agenda next month.

So, a lot of important public meetings are to come on this topic.

Now, onto the history of the five-story building, which was built in 1919-20, in the early heyday of Mayo Clinic. In 1919, the Mayo brothers spun off their privately owned clinic to a new nonprofit, the Mayo Foundation, as allowed by the new federal income tax law. The hotel business in Rochester was booming, as it is now, thanks to Mayo's tremendous growth.

Among the other new hotels that went up in those years: the Zumbro, the Rommel, the Martin, the Claton, the Francis, the Avalon, the Arthur, the Campbell and the Norton. Of those, only the Francis, Avalon and the former Hotel Carlton -- now the Day's Inn -- are still standing.

The Hotel Carlton started out as three stories; two more were added between 1925 and 1930. It replaced a two-story, wood-frame hotel called the Winona House, cost about $115,000 to build, and at the time was called "the latest word in hotel construction and finishing."

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The architect was Rochester-born F.H. Mosse, who also designed the nearby Armory building -- until recently the Rochester Senior Center -- and he also designed the more modest Reiter Apartments, another landmark I've regaled you with details about.

Ironically, the future of those two buildings also hangs in the balance currently, for other reasons.

The city hired a consultant, the St. Paul-based 106 Group , to assess the historic importance and value of the Hotel Carlton property, and they say the building meets two of eight criteria in the city's new ordinance. Not a slam-dunk, in other words, in terms of historic value.

The Rochester Conservancy, a nonprofit group that promotes historic preservation, has put out a statement that says, "Speaking for those in our community who cherish its heritage and being supportive of the goals and vision of the DMC planning and Design Guidelines, we believe this historic landmark should be spared the wrecking ball and continue to serve as a unique downtown Rochester anchor."

I'll attach that document and many others online.

Is the Days Inn ravishingly beautiful, like the Plummer House or Calvary Episcopal Church? No one would say that. But all landmarks are not created equal. Some are pleasing to the eye and others are more important for their history and the context they provide. There's no doubt the building is in good shape, unlike a few other landmarks that have reduced to rubble in recent years.

Again, this will be an interesting test of the city's preservation ordinance and whether it leads to genuine consideration of the building's value. What happens in this case is likely to shape what happens next time as well.
ST. PAUL  Timothy Scott Dorway, 44, was arrested today at his home in Victoria on suspicion of possession of child pornography, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Dorway, who was principal of Mayo High School in Rochester from 2007 until 2010, has been principal at Chanhassen High School since the 2010-2011 school year.

BCA agents with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Dorway after search warrants were executed at his home and at Chanhassen High School.

He's been booked into the Carver County Jail; charges are pending, officials said. The BCA's investigation is "active and ongoing," said Jill Oliveira, a BCA spokeswoman.
Dodge County

Active shooter training set for Friday

MANTORVILLE  The Dodge County emergency services personnel will come together at 2:30 p.m. Friday for an active shooter training exercise.

All fire departments will be part of the training. The courthouse and government services building will be closed during this time, but service response times will not be affected.

Houston County

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La Crescent tables decision on parcel

LA CRESCENTThe La Crescent City Council voted 3-2 against a motion to accept an "option purchase agreement" at its Nov. 28 meeting to decide whether to purchase an 89-acre parcel for sale from a family trust that was recently annexed into the city from La Crescent Township.

The council decided later to table it.

Fillmore County

Land Stewardship Project to discuss health care

RUSHFORD VILLAGEThe Land Stewardship Project will host a meeting tonight to address concerns about growing costs for Minnesota's individual health-care plans.

Former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch will be present to answer questions. LSP organizers and members will explore what the system should look like to provide affordable care for everyone.

The meeting will be at Rushford Village City Hall at 6:30 p.m.

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Mower Count

Foundation approves record number of grants

AUSTIN  The Hormel Foundation approved more $34 million  a record  in grants and annual contributions in 2016 to benefit Austin-area organizations, including $25 million for a new recreation center, the largest single project donation in the foundation's history.

The record is particularly significant since it comes during the foundation's 75th successful year, said foundation officials.

Wabasha County

Woods Amish Furniture sale will be Saturday

PLAINVIEWThe Woods Fine Amish Furniture is having an inventory reduction sale Saturday.

Everything in the showroom will be on sale, including holiday decor. The store is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is at 435 W. Broadway No. 1, Plainview.

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Goodhue County

Open house to focus on ski jump plans

FRONTENAC  An open house at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday will provide discussion on plans for a year-round 120-meter ski jump at the former Mount Frontenac ski area.

The Florence Town Hall will host the open house to answer questions. The ski jump would use a refrigerated track. The public would be able to purchase tickets, ride to the top, and take in views of the Mississippi River Valley. It could also host prominent ski events.

Winona County

Winona Health's Telecare Service seeks volunteers

WINONA  Winona Health's Telecare Service is looking for new volunteers to make daily phone calls to clients, people who live alone, many of whom are disabled or elderly.

For more information, call the Winona Health volunteer office at 507-457-4342.
CANNON FALLS  An overturned semi caused the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 52 to be closed for about an hour Monday afternoon in Cannon Falls.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a semi driven by John Albers, 56, of Owatonna, was attempting to use the entrance ramp from Minnesota Highway 19 to U.S. 52 when he lost control, overturned and slid on to U.S. 52, blocking both lanes of southbound traffic.

The incident occurred at about 2:45 p.m. and Minnesota Department of Transportation reported one lane was reopened just after 4 p.m., though traffic was still moving slow. Northbound traffic was not impacted.

Albers was transported to Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester to treat non-life-threatening injuries. A condition update was not available from Mayo Clinic.

The Cannon Falls Police Department and the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene.
PLAINVIEW  As the temperature dropped, a Plainview business went up in flames late Monday night.

Authorities were called to Custom Electronics Sales & Services, at 421 W. Broadway, at 11:37 p.m., according to Wabasha County dispatch. First responders arrived about 15 minutes later to find smoke pouring out of the building's windows.

Plainview Fire Chief Ed Jacobs said that within minutes of kicking in the door, flames broke through the roof. The close proximity of other businesses on that street meant that the blaze endangered the heart of Plainview's downtown. Jacobs said the use of a ladder truck to get above the fire and spray water down onto the buildings made the difference.

"Thanks to a 30-year-old ladder truck, we contained the fire to one building. That 1984 truck saved the seven businesses on that block," said Jacobs.

While none of the other buildings were damaged, the Custom Electronics shop was a total loss. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal estimated the damage at $150,000 to $175,000. The Fire Marshal is still investigating the fire and its cause.

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A total of about 40 firefighters from Plainview and the Elgin Fire Department battled the fire in the cold through the night. Ice covered everything. Jacobs said none of the firefighters were injured other than a couple cases of frostbite. They also had to be aware of the toxic fumes from the burning televisions and stereos.

Jacobs said preparation also helped keep this fire from causing more destruction. His team did a training in November about what to do if there was a major downtown fire.

Firefighters notified business owner Chris Carter early this morning.

"I got the call around 1 (a.m.) that the shop was on fire. I went down there. After about an hour, they told me they would be there all night," said Carter.

It took the Plainview Fire Department about three hours to get the blaze under control, but crews remained on the scene until around 9:30 a.m.

The firefighters began fighting the fire when the wind chill was minus-19. By the time the scene was cleared, the temperature had dropped to minus-11 with a wind chill of minus-29, according to data from the National Weather Service.
ZUMBROTA  "They asked for public comment on a document they didn't make available to the public," said Kristi Rosenquist, one of three Goodhue County residents who stood up Monday night at a public information meeting concerning a proposed hog facility to be located in Zumbrota Township. "I think the process is not very transparent."

The meeting, hosted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in the city council chambers at Zumbrota City Hall, was to discuss the Circle K Family Farms facility to be located about a mile east of the city of Zumbrota. The facility would house up to 4,700 finishing pigs, or 1,410 animal units, according to the MPCA, and feature a pit for storing up to 1.54 million gallons of liquid manure annually.

Rosenquist, along with several other individuals, made statements and asked questions of the MPCA staff members who were there to share information about permits and the process for permitting as well as the environmental assessment worksheet, to answer questions, and to give the public a chance to speak.

"The PCA can only operate within state law," said Cathy Rofshus, a public information officer for the MPCA. "If it meets all the conditions, we have to issue the permit."

Missing data?

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One of the main concerns of the evening, brought up by Rosenquist among others, was that the EAW did not reflect accurate data, and that a new environmental worksheet should be completed and subjected to a new round of public scrutiny. The original EAW, she said, was missing several wells and houses.

However, the EAW had been amended, said Kim Grosenheider, a project manager for environmental review with the MPCA. A map in the EAW had missed four homes, but those homes were added during the public comment period from Sept. 5 to Oct. 5. "In our finding of fact document," she said, "those amendments are taken into consideration. Sometimes there are small errors made (in the initial EAW). That's kind of the good thing about this process. They're looking through it."

In conjunction with the EAW, the MPCA also had a consultant look at how air quality would be affected by the facility. Those results, which were also questioned by some in the audience, were revised after the input during the EAW comment period. "The air modeling actually done by a separate consultant only missed two of those homes," Grosenheider said. "We had them redo the air modeling to make sure those homes were in safe standards."

The results of the air emissions modeling showed the facility would perform well within state standards when it comes to hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. For example, modeling showed that at the distance to the closest neighbor, the state standard is 10 micrograms per millimeter cubed. The projection from the facility would be 1.32 micrograms. The other measurements were also well within state standards, said Mark Gernes, and environmental specialist with the water division of the MPCA.

Integrity questioned

Still, not everyone was convinced of the MPCA's quality of work on the EAW. A woman named Andrea, who spoke with Rosenquist, said the MPCA had been unresponsive to citizens. "We hope the MPCA changes course and listens to the citizens tonight," she said.

Some people even called into question the integrity of the family proposing the facility, saying they would cut corners and not manage either the facility or the manure usage plan properly. That got the attention of members of the crowd supporting the project, which was about half of the 50 to 60 people present.

"Let's cut the slander," said Yon Kohlnhofer, one of the members of the family farm business behind the proposal.

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Kohlnhofer said responsible management of the facility goes hand in hand with good economic management of the facility. As a family farmer, he said, that is crucial to the success of his business. And his track record speaks for itself. In nearly 30 years of running similar facilities, he has not been fined once by the MPCA, because it pays to follow the rules. "All the rules are in place," he said, referring to the process for getting the permit for the proposed facility. "You don't know if it passes until it passes."

The next step, he said, would be to get approval of the county. "One step at a time," he said.
A Byron lawmaker wants local governments to wait at least 18 months before deleting employees' emails.

GOP Rep. Duane Quam said he plans to introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would require local governments to keep electronic records such as emails and text messages for at least 18 months. He said the bill is aimed at improving government transparency by making sure public records are preserved.

"Government should be open and accessible. There should be some daylight there," he said.

But some city officials argue that Quam's proposal would be onerous and costly for local governments. Rochester City Attorney Terry Adkins helped draft Rochester's email retention policy more than a decade ago. Under that policy, city employees' emails are automatically deleted after 60 days  unless the emails are the subject of litigation or fall under other state record retention rules.

Adkins said concerns about the cost of storing the email data helped prompt the policy.

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"When you have more than 800 employees sending email messages, there was a concern about the increased cost to the city," Adkins said.

In addition, he said city official moved ahead with the policy amid worries about overly broad data practices act requests that required extensive staff time to comply with  such as a request for all emails sent by employees.

Local governments are facing enhanced scrutiny over how long they decide to keep their emails. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office recently announced it would begin automatically deleting its employees emails after 30 days. Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, responded by saying he plans to introduce legislation require these records to be kept longer, according to the Star Tribune . The city of St. Paul purges its employees' emails after six months.

League of Minnesota Cities lobbyist Irene Kao said cities already have to follow strict guidelines when it comes to record retention. State law requires local governments to "preserve all records necessary to a full and accurate knowledge of their official activities." Most cities use a general records retention schedule created by state agencies, which outlines what data must be kept and what can be destroyed. Cities that opt to create their own records retention schedule must get approval from a state panel.

Kao said the league generally opposes changes to state data retention laws.

"We would like cities to have the discretion to determine what works for them," she said.

But others argue the automatic deletion of emails after a couple of months could lead to the loss of important public information. Minnesota Newspaper Association lobbyist Mark Anfinson said local governments should be required to keep electronic records for at least a year. He said it can take time to determine whether emails contain important public information. For instance, he said issues or questions can often surface months after an event.

"If all the emails related to that event are purged, there could be a significant loss of public information about the agency's actions, which ultimately is a significant loss in most cases of public accountability, of understanding whether the agency did a good, bad or indifferent job," Anfinson said.

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Quam said he is skeptical of cities' arguments that keeping records for 18 months would be too costly. He said the cost of storage has dropped dramatically in recent years. He said he is open to changing the length of time electronic records must be kept, but said 60 days is not long enough.

He added, "I'm open to having a reasonable time period. I'm not open to having no requirement."
MINNEAPOLIS  Two construction companies have agreed to pay a combined $147,500 in fines over safety violations in the death of one worker and injuries to another during construction of the Minnesota Vikings' new stadium last year.

Berwald Roofing is paying $113,200 for three violations, while Mortenson is paying $34,300 for one violation. The penalties are lower than Minnesota's Occupational Safety and Health Administration originally proposed, but the contractors disputed the original fines.

Jeramie Gruber, 35, of Faribault, died and a second Berwald Roofing worker was seriously injured when they fell while working on the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium on Aug. 26, 2015.

James Honerman, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, says the contractor didn't have an adequate plan for fall protection in place.
NICOLLET  A blanket holds special meaning to 16-year-old Hailey Sherwood of Nicollet.

Her foster parents, now her adoptive parents, bought her a Winnie the Pooh blanket when she was first brought to their home at six months old. She's kept it ever since, holding it dear and sleeping with it every night.

"I use it as a security blanket," she told the Mankato Free Press . "It's something that makes me feel safe and comforted."

Entering a new foster home can be a scary experience for children. Knowing this, Sherwood came up with a project to help them feel the same comfort she felt growing up.

Coordinating with the local Adoption Support Network, Sherwood and others recently made 41 tie blankets at Hosanna Lutheran Church, with plans to donate them to Nicollet County's foster programs. Another nine blankets were made in the last week, raising the total to 50. Sherwood and her adoptive mother, April, plan to deliver them to the county this week in hope they can be distributed by Christmas.

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The project is part of Sherwood's schooling at Blue Sky Online Charter School. Class members took part in a WE Day conference  a movement seeking to empower people to pursue world-changing initiatives  this fall, which inspired her and others to come up with a local and global service project.

Sherwood chose a project close to her heart.

"With my experience I thought it would impact those kids greatly, and help them be able to feel safe," she said.

She contacted the Adoption Support Network, a program funded by the Department of Human Services, to see if children who'd been adopted and their families wanted to help make the blankets. She also checked with local counties to find out where the needs were. Blue Earth County already had some blankets from another project, but Nicollet County was in need of 40-plus blankets.

Before adopting Hailey, April was a foster parent for more than 10 years. She said she's seen children arrive with little more than the clothes on their back. It's why getting a blanket for Hailey was such a big deal.

"When she came to my home I wanted her to have her own blanket and her own things," she said.

The Sherwoods hope the project does more than help foster children feel comforted in their new surroundings. They want the project to raise more awareness of the need for more foster and adoptive parents.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services lists 866 children under state guardianship in its latest report from September. The majority of them are in need of adoptive families immediately. The rest are in pre-adoptive families, meaning they're staying with relatives or foster parents who plan to adopt them.

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Hailey said more people stepping up to foster or adopt would be the best possible outcome to come out of her daughter's project.

"I'd like to encourage those people to make a difference in someone's life by becoming a foster parent or adopting a child in Minnesota," she said. "That would make a bigger impact, too."

Plans for future blanket-making events can help continue awareness efforts. Deemed "Hailey's Hope," the Sherwoods and their local adoption support network plan to make the blanket making an annual affair.
While University of Minnesota Rochester officials offered no timelines and few details on plans for future campus construction, they did inspire thoughts of the future as they celebrated the university's 10-year milestone last week.

Founded in 2006, the move toward a Rochester campus actually dates back to the 1950s, when local advocates began lobbying for an increased University of Minnesota presence in the city. Programs slowly began to be offered in southeast Minnesota, but it took more than five decades to create what is now UMR.

It shows that change can be slow.

However, once change starts, things can happen in the seeming blink of an eye. Since UMR set up shop in what was formerly known as the Galleria Mall, the downtown mall has remained a shopping destination, but it also has become a hub for students. Visitors with shopping bags easily move through the space with students carrying backpacks, and both sets can be spotted stopping for a bite to eat midday, along with throngs of downtown employees.

The approximate 650 UMR students provide an active presence in downtown Rochester, but so does the campus as a whole. Community programs, such as UMR Connects, offer an array of ways for area residents to engage with the unique campus.

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It's all part of the unique partnership the university was founded on. In the past decade, UMR has become a vital part of the city and a significant player in the region's future growth.

While enrollment has slipped in the past, student numbers continue to indicate the campus has a solid future in the city, especially as speculation for future growth continues. More space is already needed for student housing and wet labs, and the recent concern about skyway access to new classrooms in the former Paine Furniture building simply shows how precious the existing space is for the campus.

With that, eyes routinely look southward to the plan for something that might look like a more traditional campus, with outdoor walkways and greenspace for students to gather and lounge. Officials note, however, appearances could be deceiving. The campus isn't expected to fit the traditional mold. Instead it will be a private-public partnership, perhaps similar to what has been growing from its roots at University Square.

That partnership has served Rochester and the surrounding community well for the past decade, and we're excited to anticipate the new growth that it creates, hopefully helping bridge the activity in today's downtown with new life to the south.

As UMR's second decade starts, we can only imagine how the city and university will grow together in the next 10 years.
Leaders of an indigenous tribe on Nov. 18 shout slogans against oil pollution in the Amazon, following a dozen oil spills from state energy company Petroperu's pipeline, as heads of state arrive for the 2016 APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit that took place Nov. 19-20 in Lima, Peru. Reuters
Of all the stale cliches of liberalism, the side of history has to be the laziest. It is a romper room version of Hegelianism, or a secularized version of Providence. (Notice that it involves the Divine Right of the State replacing the Divine Right of Kings as the agent of transcendent History.)

But it explains a lot, including the incredulity and rage liberals exhibit whenever they lose an election. If History is on your side, it is categorically impossible that liberalism can lose unless the voters are stupid, or Republican cheated. (You can pick more than one.)

A long time friend writes in to observe that the current liberal campaign to de-legitimize Donald Trump fits a long time pattern:

Sigh. Democrats have been trying to de-legitimize GOP presidential victories for over 40 years. Lets review:

1) George H.W. Bush won a convincing 54% victory in 1988. And that was after he was down 17% in August and the Dems thought they had it in the bag. Then Bush began pounding on the Little Dukes MA record, especially his policy of giving furloughs to lifers like Willie Horton. The Left went berserk, claiming they wuz robbed. For the next four years, they never shut up about Willie Horton and how it was supposedly racist to talk about him, even though Al Gore mentioned it first. (I have a liberal friend who to this day STILL brings it up.) Bush didnt help his cause by visibly wincing every time the media mentioned itas though it were a bad childhood memory. You couldnt blame his 1992 defeat on this, but it put the GOP unnecessarily on the defensive for four years.

2) The Florida 2000 recount. Nuff said.

3) After 2004, remember how Michael Moore and John Kerry were yapping about the Diebold voting machines in Ohio and how there should be a recount?

4) Now that I think about it, they tried to retrospectively de-legitimize Ronaldus Magnus, too. Remember the supposed October Surprise? This didnt come up until 1991 and was the brainchild of Gary Sick, an allegedly disinterested National Security Council staffer (who subsequently morphed into a left-wing commentator). Supposedly, future CIA Director Bill Casey was strapped into the backseat of an SR-71 and flown to Paris to meet with mysterious Iranians and convince them to keep the hostages until after the election. Congress actually investigated this ridiculous story, even though Speaker Tom Foley admitted there was no evidence for it. (It was the seriousness of the charge, you see.) Needless to say, they found nothing.

In fact, you could even take it back to 1968, when LBJ cynically ordered an end to bombing North Vietnam a week before the election to boost Humphrey. I dont recall the details, but it had something to do with Nixon supporter Anna Chennault calling the South Vietnamese, or something.

So none of this is new. Democrats seem to believe the only way they can lose is because the GOP somehow cheated. Keep that in mind as this insanity unfolds.
Rex Tillerson will be President-elect Trumps nominee for Secretary of State. As head of Exxon-Mobil, Tillerson has ties with Russia and a good relationship with Vladimir Putin, who awarded him the Kremlins Order of Friendship in 2012.

On the other hand, Tillerson reportedly has the support of Condoleezza Rice and former vice president Cheney. They must believe he will not be soft of Russia.

Nonetheless, Senators like John McCain and Marco Rubio are right to raise that concern, especially given some of the things candidate Trump had to say about Putin. Its a concern that Tillerson will have to allay. Until he has a chance to do so, judgment should be reserved.

Many, including us, have noted the Democrats hypocrisy in complaining about Trumps position on Russia. It was the Dems, after all, who gave us the Russian reset and who responded so weakly to Putins aggression in Syria and Ukraine.

However, the hypocrisy argument doesnt factor in heavily when it comes to Tillersons nomination. For one thing, the Democrats Russia policy came from the Executive branch, not Congress, and the Senate confirmed Hillary Clinton pre-reset. Unless a particular Democratic Senator defended Obama-Clinton policy on Russia, and did so after Putins adventures in Ukraine or Syria, a charge of hypocrisy against that Senator probably wont stick.

In addition, the focus of the Democrats attack on Tillerson will probably be the environment. They consider climate change to be a core part of the Secretary of States portfolio.

Tillerson has said he believes climate change is real, and he has supported a revenue-neutral carbon tax of more than $20 a ton, according to the Washington Post. But given his position at Exxon-Mobil, this may not be enough to satisfy Democrats.

If 48 Democratic Senators oppose Tillerson citing climate change and three Republican Senators oppose him citing Russia, the nomination will fail.

Finally, the real issue here isnt hypocrisy, its whether Tillerson should be Secretary of State. If he has the wrong line on Russia he shouldnt be.

Trump can say, as President Obama did, I won and should have my picks confirmed. But Senators McCain and Rubio also won in November. Indeed, all (or virtually all) members of the Senate won their Senate race (I dont think any current Senators were appointed). They all get a say.

It was legitimate (and I think correct) to oppose Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense due to serious concerns about his views on Israel, even though they comported with Obamas. It was legitimate (and I think correct) to oppose Tom Perez for Secretary of Labor due to serious concerns about his views in favor of racial quota, even though they comported with Obamas.

It will be legitimate for Democrats to oppose Jeff Sessions for Attorney General due to their strong disagreement with many of his positions. The problem will be attempts to accuse Sessions of bigotry when the real issue is policy disagreement.

In the case of Tillerson, Republican Senators need to satisfy themselves that there are no serious concerns about his views on, and his relationship with, Putin. If Senators like McCain, Graham, and Rubio arent satisfied, it would be hypocritical of them to vote to confirm.
Lawmakers on Tuesday faulted the federal governments plan to secure a N309 billion bond to finance the shortfall in the Nigerian electricity market.

The bond, issued by the Federal Ministry of Power and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc., has encountered serious opposition by Nigerians, with the House of Representatives organising a public hearing to review it.

At the opening of the public hearing on Tuesday, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said apart from the dismal performance of the power sector under private operators, the government had no business securing a bond issue in a privatised market operated by private entities.

The whole essence of the Federal Government embarking on the privatization of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the electric power sector reform programme was to bring about efficiency to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

Unfortunately, since the unbundling of PHCN and transfer of the businesses to the privately-operated successor companies on November 1, 2013, we have not had a good report from the electricity market, Mr. Dogara noted.

The speaker said available statistics showed an abysmal situation that has given lawmakers reason to be afraid that if the trend continued, there may be need for a fundamental re-thinking of the privatization process (in the power sector) in Nigeria.

According to Mr. Dogara, since the privatisation exercise, the duration of uninterrupted supply of electricity has degenerated to an average of six to eight hours daily, while metering of customers, which has been a major source of concern for consumers, has remained dismal.

Besides, he said the problem of crazy estimated bills used to exploit consumers, has worsened, while tariffs were increased in February 2016, despite that there had not been any improvement in electricity generation capacity over the period.

The speaker said despite the deplorable state of the industry, cumulative market funding shortfall rose to over N700 billion as of date.

NBETs Electricity Market Payment Report for August 2016 showing that the trend was escalating at about N25.6 billion monthly.

A market shortfall represents the difference between the invoiced amount of electricity transmitted to the distribution companies (DISCOs) in any given month and the amount remitted for the payment of the market participants for electricity supplied.

During the public hearing, the lawmakers expressed concern over the inability of the operators to set controls to halt the bleeding of the market revenue before attempting to raise a bond to cover the growing shortfall.

Besides, they stressed the need to assess the impact of the N213 billion stabilization facility by the Central Bank of Nigeria in March 2015 to the power sector operators before considering fresh funding through the bond issue.

What is the role of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in this process? Who will bear the cost of the facility  consumers or operators? How would this impact the electricity tariff? Mr. Dogara asked.
President Yahya Jammeh took another step in brinkmanship today by asking Gambian soldiers to seize the office of the countrys electoral commission.

His plan was not so clear. But he had called for new polls last week after rejecting the result of the December 1 election.

The latest action was taken on a day that four West African leaders arrived to persuade him to accept the verdict of the Gambian people.

The soldiers ordered the chairman of the commission, Alieu Njie, and other staff to leave.

They then barred all employees from entering.

The military came to my office and said I am not to touch anything and told me to leave, he said. I am worried for my safety, Mr. Njei said.

As the drama was going on, Mr. Jammeh received the African leaders at the CoCo Ocean Resort and Spa, in the capital of Banjul.

The delegation of West African leaders urged the former soldier who had spent 22 years in power to step aside following his poll defeat by real estate mogul, Adama Barrow.

Asked if Jammeh had been receptive, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria told reporters: Yes, very much so.

The West African leaders who attended the meeting included ECOWAS chairman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, John Dramani Mahama of Ghana and President Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone.

(NAN)
The United Nations warned on Tuesday that it had received reports of dozens of extrajudicial executions by Syrian government forces in eastern Aleppo, amid appeals for protection of civilians.

Government forces have reclaimed the majority of the rebel enclave in eastern Aleppo and are poised to recapture the few areas still in rebel possession.

At least 82 civilians have reportedly been killed during the offensive, UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said, though he cautioned that reports were very hard to verify due to an extremely fluid situation.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that around 60 people were killed in the neighbourhood of al-Faradous by either regime fire or shelling after government troops took the area from rebels on Monday.

The Observatory could not confirm reports of extrajudicial executions.

The head of the UNs humanitarian task force for Syria urged the Syrian government and its ally Russia to agree to a ceasefire so that injured people could be given treatment.

Our renewed urgent appeal to Russia and Damascus: ceasefire today to let us evacuate wounded and other vulnerable groups from Aleppos rubble, Jan Egeland posted on his Twitter account.

Egeland also said that Moscow and Damascus are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious [pro-government] militias in Aleppo are now committing.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that thousands of civilians were at risk as front lines closed around them, warning that this may be the last chance to save lives.

It said it had been in touch with all sides to find a humanitarian solution for more than a week, without success.

We stand ready to oversee the implementation of any mutual agreement that puts civilians first. We cannot urge this strongly enough: this must happen now, said Marianne Gasser, the head of the international humanitarian organisations delegation in Syria.

Limited fighting and airstrikes were reported in the enclave on Tuesday as heavy rain apparently hampered military operations.

Government forces made rapid advances on Monday, hemming in rebels and remaining civilians in an area less than 3 per cent the size of the original enclave.

Opposition leaders and people inside eastern Aleppo fear deadly reprisals by the Syrian government. Unarmed activists and medics in particular are concerned, with several telling journalists that they expect arrest and torture if they are caught.

Activists and civil defence workers were at risk of grave violations including detention, torture and killing, Colville warned.

He noted reports from Aleppo that some civilians trying to leave the area had been caught and killed on the spot and others arrested, as well as reports of pro-government forces breaking into houses and killing the inhabitants.

We hope, profoundly, that these reports are wrong, or exaggerated, as the situation is extremely fluid and it is very challenging to verify reports. However, they have been corroborated by multiple reliable sources, Colville added.

International monitoring was needed to alleviate deep foreboding and suspicion that massive crimes may be under way both within Aleppo, and in relation to some of those who fled or were captured.

The news out of eastern Aleppo is catastrophicpeople have to be saved or else they will be massacred by the regime and their allies when they reach them, Samir al Nashar, a Syrian opposition figure originally from Aleppo said.

The Observatory said that nearly 600 civilians have been killed in the last month since regime forces launched the offensive that has seen them seize almost the entire rebel enclave in eastern Aleppo.

Some 463 civilians were killed in airstrikes and shelling in the East, and another 130 were killed in rebel shelling in the government-held western sector.

Rebel defences in eastern Aleppo collapsed in late November after a five-month siege by government forces.

(dpa/NAN)
The Federal Government on Tuesday arraigned a Federal High Court judge, Adeniyi Ademola, before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

Mr. Ademola is one of the judges arrested by operatives of the State Security Service on October 8 on allegations of corruption.

He is alleged to have fraudulently acquired huge sums of money as gratification to impede the cause of justice.

Mr. Ademola, alongside his wife, Olubowale, is facing a 15-count charge of alleged fraud and abuse of office.

The office of the Attorney General had planned to arraign Mr. Ademola on December 5 but failed to do so because the judge was yet to be served with the originating summons for his trial.

The case is ongoing.
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of lying, saying the president cannot intimidate him.

At a stormy court session on Tuesday, Mr. Kanu said the president can intimidate court judges, but not him.

The president can intimidate the judges, but he cannot do that to me. Tell him he has lied, said Mr. Kanu.

A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on Tuesday on an application seeking the protection of witnesses in the ongoing trial of Mr. Kanu, and three others, David Nwawuisi, Benjamin Madubugwu and Chidiebere Onwudiwe, who are facing trial for alleged treasonable felony.

They were arraigned before Justice Binta Nyako after the first defendant said he had no confidence in the former judge, John Tsoho.

The court had adjourned the application for protection of witnesses to December 13.

Delivering the ruling, Mrs. Binta said the court would allow the witnesses some degree of protection.

The counsels and the defendants will see the witnesses. The witnesses will have special entrances to and outside the court, the judge said.

Mrs. Nyako also said the court would allow the witnesses to be shielded with screen-guards. She said the court would set aside two days for rehearsals on how the witnesses will come into the court and depart from the court.

After the ruling was given, Mr. Kanu said he would not allow himself to be given a secret trial in any way.

Raising his voice, Mr. Kanu said anything short of a public trial would not be allowed.

Mr. Kanus lawyer, Chux Muoma, warned his client to allow the counsel he employed to do his job without undue interference in court.

Sit down! I am your counsel let me talk. I have not come all the way here to allow you speak for me in court, said Mr. Muoma.

He apologised to the court afterwards. Counsel to the other defendants said they would make a formal application against the judgement. They said they were opposed to the ruling of the court.

Shortly after, the defendants began to clamour for an opportunity to speak to their lawyers.

The judge, Mrs. Nyako, warned the defendants to desist from making her court rowdy.

The judge said her ruling did not imply that the trial will be conducted in secret.

It is not going to be a secret trial. The court will allow the defendants see the witnesses. The defendant counsel will also see the witnesses, said Mrs. Nyako.

The defendants challenged that position again, drawing the judges warning.

If you dont stop talking in my court I will assume you are becoming a nuisance in my court. And if I assume so, I will continue this trial in your absence, so do not try my patience, she said.

When you are in my court you will do what I want. Its like having a visitor in your house; you can serve the visitor food but if he wants to eat he will eat and if he doesnt want to, he will not.

After a brief recess, Mr. Kanu began to speak again.

I will address this court! You cannot be killing my people and tell me that you will make me have a secret trial. That wont happen! The president can intimidate the judges, but he cannot do that to me. Tell him he has lied, said Mr. Kanu.

The other defendants soon joined in the voice of opposition against the courts ruling and the session became rowdy.

The court clerks then told the people present in court that the session was over and that the matter would not continue again on Tuesday.

Outside the court, the IPOB supporters clashed with the security operatives while the latter tried to return Mr. Kanu and the other defendants to the vehicle that brought them.

They kept shouting chants in support of the Biafran State, after the vehicles carrying the defendants zoomed off on top speed.
The Nigeria Police have confirmed that a deputy superintendent of police was killed during the rerun elections in Rivers State.

The police also confirmed that some other police officers who partook in the security arrangement for the election are still missing.

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, therefore said a high-powered investigation team has been directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Mohammed Alkali and other missing officers during the re-run elections in Rivers State.

A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the Force spokesman, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Don Awunah, said Mr. Idris master plan on election security would continue to be improved upon for future elections

This master plan will usher in credible, fair, free and acceptable elections in accordance with the principles of democratic policing and international best practices, Mr. Awunah said.

He said some disgruntled elements in the state attempted to foist violence and insecurity on the populace that were generally peace loving.

Comparatively, the re-run election was a huge success in contrast to past elections in the state that were usually characterised by violence and wanton destruction of lives and property, he said.

The police chief expressed satisfaction with the performance of the police officers deployed to Rivers for the elections.

The IGP condoles with the family for this great loss and identify with the grief of his colleagues, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mr. Alkali was killed on election duty. He and his team were sabotaged at an ambush at Omoku, Onelga Local Government Area, a report by CLEEN foundation showed.

Mr. Awunah said the report by CLEEN Foundation, an NGO, that the elections were marred by irregularities, violence, and open bias by security operatives and electoral personnel lacked substance.

It is a disservice to the evolving Nigerian democracy and sacrifice of the security personnel for the CLEEN Foundation report to assert that.

It is also saddening for the CLEEN Foundation report to attribute the death of a police officer, DSP Mohammed in the course of duty to what the report termed unwarranted use of force and shooting.

It is a brazen display of insensitivity to the fallen officer and disrespect to the family.

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are our veritable partners; the extent to which they justify funding should not undermine national interest, he said.

Contrary to the police claim, PREMIUM TIMES and other election monitors witnessed large scale connivance of the police and other security officials in the various malpractice that characterised the Rivers rerun election.

On Monday, Mr. Awunah said that the police chief wished to reassure Nigerians that enthronement of credible electoral process remained one of the polices uppermost priorities.

In addition, the I-G commends the good people of Rivers for the cooperation availed the police and other security agencies in the course of the re-run elections, the spokesman added.

( NAN)
The Federal Government will issue new oil licences as part of efforts to explore new streams of revenues to fund the 2017 budget, an official has said.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, stated this when he appeared before the Senate Joint Committee on Appropriation and Finance to defend the revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

He said the Federal Government would also review the current joint venture arrangements with oil companies, marginal oil fields as well as mount pressure on revenue generating agencies to surpass expected targets.

Mr. Udoma said a total of N10 trillion was being targeted by the Federal Government as revenue for the 2017 fiscal year.

According to him, out of this amount, about N5 trillion is expected to be generated from the sale of crude oil.

Non-oil revenues will rake in about N5.06 trillion.

These revenues are expected to come from corporate and company taxes, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Stamp Duties, capital gains tax and value added tax.

Others are Customs, excise, fees, surcharges on luxury items, special levies and Federal Government independent revenue, he said.

Speaking further on the budget projections, Mr. Udoma said: I know N7 trillion seems larger than N6 trillion.

In actual dollar term, the 2017 budget is smaller. We have had challenges in revenue generation in funding the 2016 budget.

We are trying to get to the bottom of revenue generating agencies in order to raise more money.

On independent revenue, we need to work with the National Assembly. The issue of 80 per cent of operating surplus is a problem.

We need to work with the National Assembly to review certain clauses of the law. We need to be more imaginative and creative in order to get out of the problem we have with revenue generating agencies.

We want to issue a presidential order to ensure that revenue generating agencies are unable to spend money unless payments of salaries until their budgets are passed.

We want to be more engaging in the Niger Delta to ensure that there is peace in order for us to produce.

We will be increasing the amount for the Amnesty Programme to the old figure. It is important to engage the people in the Niger Delta region, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the MTEF report submitted to the Senate by the Budget Office indicated that the 2017 budget which was initially pegged at N6.7 trillion, had also been revised upward to N7.3 trillion.

Out of this, the Federal Government is expected to expend N1.5 trillion in servicing domestic debts, for which the Federal Government earmarked N1.3 trillion in the 2016 budget.

On foreign debt, the Federal Government would spend N175.9 billion as against N54.5 billion spent on foreign debt servicing in the 2016 budget.

On capital expenditures, the Federal Government budgeted N2.1 trillion.

Recurrent expenditures would gulp N1.9 trillion; about N1.8 was budgeted for the same purpose in the 2016 Appropriation.

Meanwhile, the new figure is coming in spite of claims by the Federal Government that many ghost workers had been removed from governments payroll.

The Federal Government also intends to borrow a total of N2.3 trillion. Out of this, N1.5 trillion would be sourced locally, while others would be gotten from foreign sources.

In the 2016 budget, N1.2 billion was reportedly borrowed locally, while N635.8 billion was gotten through foreign borrowing.

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to present the 2017 budget proposal on December 14 before a joint session of the National Assembly.

(NAN)
Nigerias Department of Petroleum Resources admitted on Tuesday that no due diligence was carried out prior to the awarding of Oil Prospecting Licence 245 to Malabu Oil in 1998.

The oil block, considered the richest in Africa, is estimated to contain about 9 billion barrels of crude.

The licence was awarded during the regime of a former military dictator, Sani Abacha, under the supervision of then Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mr. Etete, using a fictional character Kwekwu Amafegha, owned 30 per cent of Malabu at inception in violation of Nigerian laws. The other shareholders were Mohammed Sani, Mr. Abachas son (50 per cent) and Hassan Adamu, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S. (20 per cent).

After years of controversy that saw OPL 245 changing hands between Malabu, the Nigerian government, and oil giant Shell, the Nigerian government received about $1.1 billion through an escrow account with JPMorgan from Shell and another oil major, ENI, for the block. The government then transferred majority of the funds to accounts controlled by Mr. Etete in a suspicious deal that has been a subject of sweeping investigations across four jurisdictions.

At a resumed hearing on the controversial deal by the Nigerian parliament on Tuesday, Joseph Tolorunse, the Director of Legal Services at DPR, said the regulator only took instructions from top level government functionaries when the block was originally allocated.

Mr. Tolorunse said his department only confirmed payments for the licence but didnt participate in the process leading up to the selection of Malabu Oil as the recipient of a prospecting licence for the lucrative oil field.

In 1998, an instruction came from the head of state that we should give licence for the OPL 245 to Malabu, Mr. Tolorunse said. It was based on an application they submitted to the head of state at the time.

Mr. Tolorunse said he was only able to confirm that Malabu Oil paid N50,000 as application fee to the government at the time. The firm also paid $10,000 for the processing of bilateral investment terms.

However, the $20 million that was meant for signature bonus was not paid by Malabu. Instead, the firm paid about $2 million in advance fee and later gave the government a cheque for the $18 million balance which failed to clear.

The alleged sharp practices, as well as political interests in the block, led the Olusegun Obasanjo government to withdraw the award of the oil licence from Malabu in 2000. It was later allocated to Shell via a selective bidding process between 2001 and 2002, before it was later withdrawn from the oil giant, also by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

The Nigerian government later in 2009 brokered a fraudulent deal that led to the transfer of the oil block to Shell and ENI with the oil majors paying about $1.1 billion through the federal government to Malabu accounts controlled by Mr. Etete.

Although Shell and Agip had long maintained innocence since the fraud was first uncovered, PREMIUM TIMES investigations as well as a leak of internal emails of the companies later indicated their involvement.
The Inspector-General of Police, I-G, Ibrahim Idris, has inaugurated a 27-member implementation committee on the curtailment of cattle rustling in Nigeria.

Inaugurating the committee in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr. Idris charged its members to come up with policies and strategies to enable the police stamp out the menace of cattle rustling in the country.

I believe with proper coordination and synergy the problem of cattle rustling will be a thing of the past in Nigeria, he said.

He said the setting up of the committee was overdue, adding that cattle rustling and kidnapping were part of security challenges confronting the country.

With the enactment and enforcement of these laws, we will stamp out cattle rustling in Nigeria, he said.

The police chief said that the standing committee was expected to advise the police from time to time on how to tackle cattle rustling.

Earlier, the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Force Animal Branch, Charles Ugomuoh, said that the committee would in exercise of its functions, set up other committees as the need arises.

He said that members of the committee in partnership with the police had the capacity to stamp out cattle rustling in Nigeria.

This inauguration is a bold step on the police community partnership and collaboration for enhancement of community policing in Nigeria, he said.

Garba Sharubutu, who spoke on behalf of the members, said that they were committed in discharging their responsibilities based on the committees terms of reference.

He urged members to remain committed to the task assigned to them.

We need to remain committed to our mother land and nothing will stop us from achieving result, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the committee will among other things, design standard operational guidelines for implementation nationwide.

It will also serve as an advisory body through the I-G to the state governors and the presidency for the curtailment of cattle rustling in Nigeria.

The inauguration of the committee was the fallout of stakeholders forum on the curtailment of cattle rustling held on September 20.

(NAN)
Nobel peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and other African leaders on Tuesday urged Gambias long-ruling President Yahya Jammeh to respect the will of the people and step down following his defeat in an election.

Mr. Jammeh has declined to relinquish power in spite of initially conceding that he had lost to opponent Adama Barrow in the election on Dec.1.

He cited irregularities in the official results and on Tuesday morning security forces took over the building of the Independent Electoral Commission which holds the original poll records, its chairman said.

Mr. Jammehs change of mind drew international criticism, and a delegation of West African leaders under the auspices of the regional body ECOWAS was in Banjul on a mission to resolve the crisis.

We hope that the will of the people prevails, Johnson Sirleaf, who is Liberias president and ECOWAS chairwoman, told journalists on arrival.

Other heads of state taking part are Nigerias Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leones Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghanas John Mahama, who lost an election recently and conceded defeat.

A witness said several of them rode in Rolls-Royces with Mr. Jammehs name embroidered on the headrests and then departed for the presidents office.

We will be asking President Jammeh to respect his countrys Constitution, and to maintain the inviolability of the electoral process, Buhari said on Twitter.

Diplomats say that if Mr. Jammeh seeks to cling to power after negotiations fail, neighbours may consider options for removing him by force.

The delegation was also due to meet Mr. Barrow, who has said he would annul Mr. Jammehs declaration of Gambia as an Islamic republic among other reforms. (Reuters/NAN)
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja has adjourned the trial of a Federal High Court judge, Adeniyi Ademola, to January 18.

The judge, Jude Okeke, gave the date after ruling on an application for bail by the defendants.

Mr. Ademola and his wife, Olubowale, are facing trial for alleged fraud.

Mr. Okeke also ruled on an application by the prosecution counsel, Segun Jegede, to depose to an affidavit proving the guilt of the defendants.

Mr. Jegede had applied verbally in court for permission to make the open statement through which he intends to prove the guilt of the defendant.

Responding to the verbal application, counsel to Mr. Ademola, Onyeachi Ikpeazu, told the court that the first and second defendant counsel had not been availed of the said statement.

He prayed the court to permit the statement be made available to the defendants first.

Delivering a ruling on the application, Mr. Okeke noted that the prosecution counsel did not oppose the submission of the defendants that the statement had not been made available to them.

He therefore ruled that the prosecution should avail the defendants of the statements before it can be mentioned in court.

Mr. Ademola and his wife had earlier been granted bail, with a bond of N50 million each.

The court decided that the bail application was granted on self-recognizance so the defendants were not required to provide sureties.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has confirmed the death of 13 persons in a ghastly motor accident on Malumfashi-Dabai road in Kafur Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Abdu Bagadawa, the FRSC Sector Commander, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Katsina that the accident occurred at Unguwar-Iliya village at about 7 a.m on Tuesday.

He explained that the accident involved a Volkswagen wagon, with registration number KAF 608 XA carrying 18 passengers and a trailer belonging to Dangote, registered TRN 130 XA, parked by the road side.

According to him, the Volkswagen had a tyre burst, which caused it to skid off the road and hit the parked trailer.

He explained that 13 persons were killed instantly, while five others sustained various degree of injuries.

Mr. Bagadawa said the bodies and injured victims were conveyed to Malumfashi General Hospital.

(NAN)
About three days after a total of 21 constituencies went into elections in Rivers State, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is yet to announce final results for most of the areas.

On Saturday, December 10, 2016, INEC conducted the rescheduled Rivers national and state assemblies rerun and supplementary elections across three senatorial districts, eight federal constituencies and 10 state constituencies.

The voting exercise  and later counting of votes and collation of results  took place amid widespread violence that claimed lives, including police officers, irregularities and overt bias by security operatives and electoral personnel, reports by the media and observer groups say.

Of the 21 constituencies, as of early Tuesday, results are only known for 10  the three senatorial districts, four federal constituencies and three state constituencies.

PDP Surpasses APC In Senatorial Contests

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, won senatorial elections in the Rivers East and Rivers West districts, leaving one, Rivers South East senatorial district, for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

In Rivers South East, APCs Magnus Abe clinched victory to earn a second term in the Senate. He polled 125,938 votes to trounce Olaka Nwogu of the PDP who garnered 25,394 votes, INEC said. The district witnessed cases of violence and irregularities with security operatives caught on video snatching election materials in Bodo, Gokana LGA and two persons dead in Luwii, Tai LGA amid gunfight.

Rivers East result was declared on Monday afternoon after confrontation between PDP members led by Governor Nyesom Wike and security operatives at the collation centre in Port Harcourt. There, PDPs George Sekibo scored 93,098 votes to defeat APCs Andrew Uchendu who had 34,193 votes. Arch rivals, Mr. Wike and his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, APC leader and Minister for Transport, are from Rivers East.

Shortly after return was made in Rivers East Monday afternoon, INEC announced Osinakachukwu Ideozu of the PDP winner in Rivers West, bringing PDPs senatorial seats to two. Mr Ideozu scored 107,166 votes. He defeated Otelemaba Amachree of the APC who garnered 48,898 votes.

Parties reject opposing victories

PDP rejected the election of Mr. Abe as Rivers South East Senator-elect, saying there was no election in the zone; rather, INEC, Army and the Police aided APC to earn victory. The rejection came after Mr. Abe had urged PDP to accept his election, having been declared winner by INEC already. He said Rivers people have suffered enough.

But APC also vowed to legally challenge Mr. Sekibos election in the Rivers East. On Monday, Dakuku Peterside, an APC leader and NIMASA boss who was the partys flag bearer in the 2015 governorship election, told journalists that results had not been conclusively collated in Etche, Port Harcourt City and Emohua LGAs, yet PDP was announced winner even without APCs agent present.

FOUR FEDERAL CONSTITUENCIES SO FAR

APC candidates  Barry Mpigi and Maurice Pronen  were declared winners of elections to represent Tai/Oyigbo/Eleme and Gokana/ Khana federal constituencies respectively in the Federal House of Representatives.

Mr. Mpigi scored 48,760 votes to defeat PDPs Jacobson Nbina with 11,737 votes, while Mr. Pronen had 68,219 votes to defeat Dum Dekor with 20,329.

In Okrika/Ogu/Bolo federal constituency, PDP claimed its first Reps seat in the rerun elections. PDPs Gogo Tamuno with 11,668 voted defeated APCs Maureen Tamuno who had 5,995.

Also, PDPs Boma Goodhead won the Asari-Toru/Akuku-Toru federal constituency. In the result announced by the Returning Officer on Monday at in Abonnema, headquarters of Akuku-Toru LGA, Ms. Goodhead, said to be a younger sister to ex-militant, Asari Dokubo, scored 39,444 votes, to defeat APCs Dewari George who had 8,817 votes.

Mr. Dokubo was said to have mobilised some supporters to the collation centre to demand result be announced after initial delay. Mr. Dokubo later joined his sister on street jubilation.

Eight federal constituencies went into the rerun and supplementary polls. With outcomes in four now declared  PDP and APC taking two each  results from the remaining four are being expected.

Ikwere/Emohua, Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni, Degema/Bonny, and Etche/Omuma federal constituencies are the remaining four from which final results are still being expected

STATE ASSEMBLY SEATS

It is only in three state constituencies that final results have been declared, with APC winning two, and PDP one.

In Khana state constituency II, APCs Friday Nkeeh scored 15,000 votes to defeat PDPs Dinebari Loolo who had 4,000 votes. Both winner and loser had round figures! In Gokana state constituency, APCs Innocent Barikor won with 24,624 votes.

Bonny state constituency was won by the PDP. The partys Abinye Pepple scored 6,610 to win the seat.

Thus, final results by INEC are being expected from seven state constituencies namely Eleme, Asari-Toru I, Asari-Toru II, Andoni,, Etche II, Ikwere, and Degema.

Summarily, out of the 10 constituencies where results have been released so far, PDP and APC have five each. PDP has two senatorial seats, two Reps seats and one State Assembly seat, while APC has one senatorial seat, two Reps seats and two State Assembly seats.

The rerun polls were held following invalidation of the 2015 national and state assemblies elections in Rivers State. Although the elections had earlier been slated for March 19, violence marred the polls then, forcing INEC to suspend the exercise  and finally held during the week.

Rivers State has notorious history of electoral violence, and tough talks by opposing political actors helped stoke tension and prepare ground for violence that characterised the electoral exercise in the state on Saturday.

At least five persons lost their lives, but previous elections recorded greater tragedies. Although there were cases of overt bias, huge deployment of military and security personnel for the Saturdays elections helped improve the security of exercise.
President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Banjul, The Gambia, this morning to meet with the countrys President, Yahya Jammeh, who lost the presidential election penultimate week.

The Nigerian leader, who arrived together with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, who is the current Chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, and President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra-Leone, were received at the airport by Gambias Vice-President, Isatou Njie-Saidy.

The out-going President of Ghana, John Mahama, who had earlier arrived Banjul, will join the other West African leaders to meet President Jammeh at the CoCo Ocean Resort and Spa, Banjul.

President Jammeh had earlier conceded defeat in the election, after a 22-year rule, but recanted a week later, asking for fresh polls to be conducted by a god-fearing and independent electoral commission.

President Buhari and the ECOWAS leaders will discuss the ensuing impasse in The Gambia with President Jammeh, and insist on the sanctity of the electoral process, and respect for the wishes of the people.

They would also ask their host to respect the Constitution of his own country, and maintain the inviolability of an electoral process that had been concluded, and in which he had admitted defeat, and congratulated his main challenger.

The leaders are also scheduled to meet the President-elect, Adama Barrow.

President Buhari is expected back in Abuja later today.
A timely intervention by local leaders has averted a major communal crisis in Ganye, a town in the southern part of Adamawa state, following the killing of a young man by soldiers for allegedly stealing a mobile phone handset.

Reports from the area revealed that a woman, believed to be a friend of one of the soldiers manning a checkpoint in the town, on Monday, December 5, reported to the soldiers that a neighbor, Abdulaziz Adama, stole her Asha Nokia handset, worth about N5000.

The soldiers were said to have subsequently whisked Mr. Adama away to their base in Ganye for interrogation.

He insisted that he did not steal the phone but they refused to listen and went ahead to manhandled him until he died, claimed a local youth leader, Geoffrey Babale.

According to Mr. Babale, two days after Mr. Adamas death, his accuser however found the missing handset lodged in the cushion of a chair in her sitting room.

This development led to protests and pandemonium by youth who insisted justice must take its course over the unlawful killing, he said.

Multiple sources confirmed that the paramount ruler, the Gwangwari Ganye, Umaru Adamu Sanda, and other notable personalities of the chiefdom, managed to pacify the irate youth and brought the situation under control.

Confirming the incident, spokesman of Adamawa Police Command, Othman Abubakar, said the police had officially written the brigade commander of the Nigerian Army 23rd Armored Brigade, Yola to hand over soldiers involved in the incident for interrogation and prosecution.

Mr. Abubakar, a superintendent of police, however lamented that the Army commander was yet to respond to the letter since it was delivered last week.

When contacted on phone, the Army Public Relations Officer of the brigade, Ahmed Ngulde, a major, said he had been on a course in Lagos for the past three months and was not aware of the development.

However, the state Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Ahmad Sajoh, told journalists on Sunday after an emergency security meeting over the Madagali twin bomb blast that claimed over 30 lives that the state government and the military authorities discussed the killing of Mr. Adama in Ganye.

The military assured us of handing over the accused soldiers to the relevant authorities for necessary action after their own internal investigations, said the commissioner.
Business owners and traders at some of the major markets in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, have complained over poor sales.

A survey by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that the poor sales came as part of the ripple effects of the economic recession plaguing the nation.

The traders lamented the impact of the poor sales and expressed hope that things would improve once the economy is normalised.

Shade Oduola, a dried fish seller at Yoruba Road market who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, explained that there is no money in circulation and it affects the consumption pattern of customers. She maintained that it was far worse than what they experienced last year.

Sales and rate of turnover have been very poor. Many customers do not have money, while traders have been turned into bench warmers in the market. Sales have never been this terrible, quite unlike what we experienced last year.

When probed further, she lamented the increase in the cost of dried fish, saying it is one of the reasons customers dont patronize her any longer:

As at October last year, dried fish that sold for N18,000 now goes for between N26,000 and N28,500, even directly from the market. Of course, the ones we sold at the rate of N500 or N650

now sells for N900 or 1,000 and our customers are complaining.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the stall of Hajia Adijat, a butcher at Unity market, she lamented the poor state of the economy, calling on the government to quickly intervene because the people are suffering.

Nigerians are really suffering, there is no money in circulation and things are costly. The goat we used to buy for N4,000 naira now sells for N6,500 and when we begin to sell in pieces, people will not patronize us because of the high cost. We have been here since morning and as you can see, we havent sold anything, she said.

Another butcher who simply identified herself as Simbiatu complained bitterly about the drop in sales due to the poor state of the economy.

Before now, I make an average of between N9,000 to N12,000 daily; but these days, I would have to stay here till late in the evening before I would be able to sell meat worth N3,000.

As I speak, my children are at home playing because two weeks ago, they were sent out

of school for non-payment of school fees, she said.

Agbaje Jaiyeola, a boutique owner at Unity area, attributed high price of goods and low sales to increase in the exchange rate of dollar to the naira. She however maintained that once the exchange rate is regulated, the price of goods will be normalised.

Forex has increased from what we used to buy. More so, its not readily available as most of us buy from the black market. Based on this, the difference will definitely reflect in the prices of the

items, he said.

Remi Bashorun, a foodstuff seller at Taiwo-Isale, said traders only watch people go around pricing goods without buying them.

She attributed the bad situation to the poor state of the economy and non-payment of workers salaries.

We only see people walk around the market pricing goods but they do not buy anything . It is so painful. There is no money in circulation because workers are being owed backlog of salaries.

This is affecting sales and no one understands the state of the economy now, Ms. Bashorun said.

She added that unlike in the past when she made between N25,000 to N40,000 daily, she now struggles to sell foodstuff worth 15,000 daily.

For Isaiah Igwe, an electronics dealer at the Challenge electronics market, sales were low because there is a new government in town.

Mr. Igwe also said that prices of electronics and electrical gadgets were high and may even go higher next year.

There is change. Buhari has taken over and nobody understands his economic policy. People are taking their time, so they are not buying things. Everything is just difficult for people. I just hope things get better in the coming days.

As per electronics, beginning from next month, prices may even go higher than we presently have. People cannot access FOREX and all this will bounce back on prices. As I speak to

you, dollar is around four hundred naira and above. This is frustrating, he said.

For Joseph Isaac, a barber and recharge cards retailer at the old Government Residential Area, GRA, sales have been very poor.

People no longer patronize me like in the past and these days, I struggle to sell recharge cards. Before the recession, I used to realize roughly N8,000 to N10,000 daily from barbing alone but now, it is between N3,000 to N5,000.

At the open market under the overhead bridge at Post office, investigations revealed that sellers of clothes, shoes and cosmetics were most affected by the poor sales.

I have sold only one single pack of make-up kit today. Look at your time; it is about 4 p.m. The same is applicable to my colleagues here. We hope it will be better in the days ahead, Aina Sotubo, a

cosmetics seller, said.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the section of second-hand clothes, popularly called Okrika, the situation was the same. The traders who are mainly from the eastern part of the country were seen sitting idly in their shops while those who own makeshift shops abandoned their wares

due to poor sales.

Most of them declined speaking with our correspondent, responding angrily that sales are poor. When probed about the cause of the poor sales, Okosi Nnamdi, a second hand clothe dealer from Onitsha, revealed that sales have nosedived due to the economic downturn and scarcity of resources.

We have been sitting like this since morning, no sales. Our customers are students, especially those higher institution girls but most of them can no longer feed themselves and meet basic needs in school.

When they come around, they complain of no money. So they rarely patronize us these days. Do you think about clothing and fashion when you cannot feed yourself?

Stanley Onuoha, another used cloth dealer said, The prices of clothes have increased. Clothes that sold for N300 in the past now sell for N500 and above. In fact, you cannot find Okrika

clothe of N200 in the market these days. It is really bad.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, on Tuesday said that 51 cases of kidnapping were recorded in the state in the last one year.

Mr. Owoseni also said the state witnessed 246 murder cases during the year.

The police chief spoke at the 10th Town Hall Meeting on security organised by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund in Lagos during a presentation on the Commands activities from December 2015 till date.

The meeting had Optimising Security Funding in a Recession as its theme.

He said that Ijede in Ikorodu area, accounted for the highest number of the kidnapping cases, with 47 per cent.

According to Mr. Owoseni, kidnapping is high in the area due to the many hidden water/streams and oil pipelines that ran through the area.

He said that 355 distressed calls of allegations of armed robbery were received, 85 were found to be false calls, while 179 were prevented due to swift response and 91 could not be prevented.

The commissioner said that Ifako/Ijaiye, Agege local government areas and Ojodu Local Council Development Area accounted for the highest number of armed robbery cases in the state.

On murder, 246 cases were recorded, deaths occasioned by cultism, gangsterism, youth restiveness and street fights ranked highest. Most prevalent within Ijede, Morogbo and Surulere areas.

Clashes are mainly for supremacy as well as claim to territories for the purpose of collecting illegal levies from business owners and motorists.

On arrests, a total of 486 armed robbery suspects were arrested, while 46 lost their lives during confrontation with the police.

Also, 38 suspected kidnappers were arrested while 181 suspects were arrested in connection with cultism and street fights.

On recovery, 213 different types of fire arms were recovered with 2,901 rounds of ammunition and cartridges of different calibres, he said.

Mr. Owoseni also said that 180 cases of domestic and sexual violence were recorded, 18 were clear domestic violence cases while 162 were rape cases.

He said that four convictions had been secured while the remaining cases were still in court.

Conspiracy of silence is a major challenge and religious leaders carry out most of these cases of domestic violence.

We need our people to speak out and join in the fight against domestic and sexual violence to curb the menace, Mr. Owoseni said

He said that six police officers lost their lives while serving their fatherland during the year under review.

Mr. Owoseni pledged that the police force would continue to make best use of the resources made available to it to ensure a secure and safer Lagos.

(NAN)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has formally provided reasons why it invited the Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Anthony Elujoba and the Bursar, Aderonke Akeredolu, for interrogation.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how the duo were summoned to appear at the commissions zonal office in Ibadan.

Ayo Oyewole, the Head of Public Affairs, EFCC Ibadan Zonal office told journalists that the duo were invited for interrogation for allegedly diverting N1.4 billion.

He said that the EFCC had acted on a petition it received that the duo diverted the said amount illegally without approval.

According to him, in the petition they were alleged to have diverted the amount without approval from the Federal Ministry of Education and the institutions governing council.

The said amount was used to settle some allowances, out of which the VC paid himself N7 million as furniture allowance.

He was also said to have paid others varied allowances from the said amount, he said.

However, there was drama at the EFCC office over the interrogation of the duo as various associations from the institution besieged the office in solidarity with the VC and the bursar.

Among the associations were the Students Union, Academic Staff Union of Universities, and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), all of OAU chapter.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, SSANU, and others were also represented.

Niyi Sunmonu, the Caretaker Chairman, ASUU, OAU said that the VC and others could defend themselves, saying the VC had done much in the interest of peace for the institution.

He said the vice chancellor had in the last five months of his assumption had turned around the institution positively.

Ademola Oketunde, the SSANU Chairman, OAU said that it was better that Nigerians started addressing issues objectively.

He said that the VC had run a transparent administration to the extent that everyone in the institution took him for his words.

Mr. Oketunde said that the vice chancellor had set up task forces to investigate the activities of the institution, out of which some had submitted their reports.

I hope these are not a ploy by some, who might have the fear of being caught to frame up the man.

We are not here to prevent investigation and we believe he will come out clean. No one will allow his head to be cut off, he said.

Olusola Fadele, an official of the Students Union, OAU said that they were in Ibadan because they believed there was no fire without smoke.

We were surprised to hear the VC was being probed. We are not against people being probed but not someone who has achieved so much in five months.

People like Professor Bamitale Omole, who was alleged of gross mismanagement was not probed by the EFCC, he said.

Similarly, Olusoji Adeyosoye, the Vice Chairman, NAAT said that they had come to solidarise with the duo as lovers of peace and positive advancement of the institution.

Mr. Adeyosoye said that the VC since he came to office had been very superb in terms of achievements for the institution.

The institution is having a good time under his administration and such is what we all craved for.

He is transparent and we are sure he will come out clean, he said.

The VC and the bursar were still being interrogated as at the time of this report.

(NAN)
A Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes commission, EFCC, to unfreeze all blocked accounts belonging to Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose.

The judge, Taiwo Taiwo, gave the ruling on Tuesday after considering the arguments of respective counsel on the matter.

The judge also said the decision of the commission to freeze the account, without considering first the arguments or opinion of Mr. Fayose on the matter, amounted to abuse of the defendants fundamental rights to fair hearing.

Mr. Taiwo said the act, as perpetrated by the EFCC, was illegal, wrongful and unconstitutional.

He noted that the defendant was a sitting governor who enjoys immunity as enshrined by the constitution and the decision of the EFCC to have acted as it did, amounted to a breach of the constitution.

Mr. Taiwo also ruled that the decision of the commission to freeze his account through the banks, without making Mr. Fayose a party to the process was illegal.

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said his commission would appeal the judgment.

While the Commission awaits the certified copy of the ruling, it is important to point out that this order contradicts another order by Justice M. B Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos which gave the Commission the nod to freeze the accounts pending the conclusion of investigation, Mr. Uwujaren said. This order from a court of coordinate jurisdiction was not set aside by Justice Taiwo.

In spite of this, the Commission has taken immediate step to appeal the order by Justice Taiwo.
The number of journalists jailed globally has hit record with a sharp increase in media professionals imprisoned by Turkey, two independent reports published by press freedom watchdogs said on Tuesday.

An annual report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, found that the number of journalists imprisoned worldwide hit a record high of 259 this year after Turkey jailed no fewer than 81 journalists.

CPJ said that Turkey held more journalists simultaneously behind bars this year than any other country on record.

According to CPJ, all 81 journalists held in Turkey faced anti-state charges related to their work.

The organisation noted that dozens of other journalists were also imprisoned in the country, however, CPJ could not confirm that their arrests were directly related to their work.

China, which had topped the list of countries jailing journalists in the past two years, dropped to second place this year holding 38 journalists behind bars.

Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia were also among the top five jailers of journalists, which together accounted for two-thirds of imprisoned journalists worldwide.

The warning from the New York-based CPJ coincided with the publication of a report by Reporters without Borders (RSF), which also found that the number of journalists imprisoned in Turkey has risen dramatically over the past 12 months.

According to RSFs records, no fewer than 100 journalists and media contributors are currently being held in Turkish jails, a 22 per cent rise since 2015.

The organisation said the increase was due to President Recep Erdogans authoritarian response to a failed military coup in Turkey in July, which has resulted in raids on media outlets with the aim of silencing government critics.

RSF has been able to directly link the arrests to the victims journalistic activities in 41 of the cases, and said it was continuing to investigate the others.

Erdogan has the power to rule by decree under a current state of emergency put in place after the failed coup attempt.

Report says hundreds of journalists have been taken to court on charges of insulting the president or terrorism.

Christophe Deloire, secretary general of RSF, noted that some journalists were being jailed without any charges brought against them.

At the gateway to Europe, an all-out witch-hunt has jailed dozens of journalists and has turned Turkey into the worlds biggest prison for the media profession.

In the space of a year, the Erdogan regime has crushed all media pluralism while the European Union has said virtually nothing, Deloire stressed.

According to the RSF report, other countries with high numbers of journalists in jail include China, Iran and Egypt.

A total of 348 journalists are currently being detained worldwide, it said, a rise of 6 per cent since 2015.

(dpa/NAN)
The Adamawa state government in North-east Nigeria has said it would procure arms for 150 more local vigilantes to help fight insurgency in areas recaptured from Boko Haram terrorists.

The states commissioner of Information and Strategy, Ahmad Sajoh, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone that the measure was in response to the recent suicide bomb attacks in Madagali local government area of the state in which at least 50 persons were killed and 177 others injured, including minors.

The state government had already mobilized 223 local vigilantes to help the security agencies tackle Boko Haram remnants in the troubled northern part of the state.

Mr. Sajoh said the government would assist the new batch of 150 with stipends and ammunition for their locally-made dane guns.

The vigilantes, who include hunters, have been assisting in the fight against Boko Haram, and these men will be drawn from Madagali, the town hit by bomb blast on Friday, he explained.

They know the terrain like their fingertips, and are capable of outmaneuvering the terrorists, said the commissioner.

In recent times, attempts by suicide bombers to attack Shuwa, Michika and Rumirgo Market in Askira Uba local government area of Borno State were reported to have been thwarted by vigilante group members.

They wield machetes, locally made guns and anything they could use to terrify the enemies, said Adamu Kamal, the member representing Michika and Madagali Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

And since their inception, they have had some success fending off Boko Haram in our areas, Mr. Kamale told PREMIUM TIMES.
The Taraba Police Command on Tuesday said it was awaiting the result of the autopsy conducted on the body of Samuel Awar, a comedian who was found dead in a hotel in Jalingo.

The commands spokesman, David Mishal, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Jalingo that the autopsy would determine the cause of Awars death.

It is normal to conduct an autopsy in situations like this to determine whether the deceased was killed or he died as a result of natural causes, Mr. Mishal said.

He said the two ladies whom the command earlier invited for interrogation in connection with the case, had been released after nothing implicating was found against them.

We have since released the two girls we invited for questioning. I dont intend to give more information on this because doing that can jeopardise the ongoing investigation, the spokesman said.

Mr. Awar, aka Big Shark, was found dead by his aides in Jalingo on December 8.

He made his last public appearance on Wednesday when he went out with his fans to paste posters around Jalingo in preparation for a peace concert scheduled for December 17.

(NAN)
Inibehe Effiong, a lawyer and human rights activist, has rejected a Freedom and Justice Award that was to be given to him by a local branch of the African Church in Akwa Ibom State.

The award ceremony took place on Sunday, without Mr. Effiong showing up.

Mr. Effiong said he rejected the award from the St. Pauls Parish of the church, Eket, because of unnecessary expectation from the church.

I cannot accept an award that violates my principles and values, Mr. Effiong said.

My work as a human rights lawyer cum activist is totally humanitarian and selfless. I believe that any recognition or appreciation of my modest humanitarian activities by any individual or group should be without a request or expectation of reward.

The young lawyer explained that he took to Facebook to publish his Notice of Rejection because he had previously used the same medium to publicise the churchs decision to bestow the award on him.

Richard Peter, the priest in-charge of St. Pauls Parish, in his response to Mr. Effiong, explained what the lawyer meant by unnecessary expectation.

Mr. Peter said Mr. Effiong and others who were to receive different categories of awards from the church were expected to assist the church complete a small project. He did not mention what the project was all about.

It was never a condition (for the award) or compulsory. But (just) an appeal for support, Mr. Peter said.

The clergy told PREMIUM TIMES, Tuesday, that he was embarrassed by Mr. Effiongs action.

He said he had never met with Mr. Effiong before, but that he had followed his activism through the social media, and that his nomination of the lawyer was to encourage him to touch the lives of people.

He said he called Mr. Effiong to brief him in advance that during the award ceremony the awardees would likely raise money publicly to support a church project, and that he did not want the lawyer to be surprised or embarrassed when it happened.

Buying of titles, awards and honours is a common practice among rich and influential Nigerians.

Though I feel so sad about it, I want us to forget about what happened, the clergy, Mr. Peter said.
The governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, says he has not earned salary since he assumed office six years ago.

He said this during the launch of Oodua FM in Ile-Ife on Sunday.

When people complain about our financial state, I begin to wonder if they think I am spending peoples money. Some of you do not know that I have not received any salary since I became governor- of Osun state, why will I take that of others, said Mr. Aregbesola, who became governor in November 2010.

According to the pay package prepared by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and which became effective 2009, a state governor earns a monthly salary of N2.2 million.

He is however entitled to several other perks, including constituency allowance of N4.44 million, hardship allowance N1.11 million, leave allowance N222, 370.00, and newspaper allowance N333,555.75.

Osun State has been in deep financial crisis for a long while and has been unable to pay salaries of workers.

Besides, the governor who began his second term in office in November 2014, has not appointed commissioners.

The poor financial condition of the state has also made it impossible to live up to its obligations to the Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, which it jointly funds with Oyo State.

Mr. Aregbesola said the economic crisis was not only affecting Osun state but also other states, noting there is no free money anywhere.

He explained that he refused to appoint commissioners because of the states poor financial condition.

How will I have commissioners when we have no money? he asked.

The minority leader of Osun state House of Assembly wrote a post on Facebook complaining that I have not paid them. We dont have the money, even the minority leader does not have a car.

The governor advised the owner of the radio station, Rotimi Makinde, to use it for the development of the state, rather than for politics.

Mr. Aregbesola criticized the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation for allegedly performing below expectation.

According to him, Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation has set standards but they just do things anyhow. There was a time that Osun state was almost torn apart through the media but Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation refused to act.
Consumers Energy has announced it will provide assistance to nonprofit organizations and houses of worship throughout 2017, saving the groups $1.5 million in energy costs.

The companys Nonprofit and House of Worship Initiative provides free energy efficiency upgrades to food pantries, the Salvation Army, senior centers and other nonprofit groups, lowering their energy cost for years to come.

According to Consumers Energy, the company has assisted 1,328 nonprofits and house of worship since 2009.
Trustee Joseph Guido joined the Dearborn Public School board of education years before the current high school seniors were born, but he bid farewell to the district Monday night.

Guido and Trustee Roxanne McDonald were the guests of honor at a farewell reception held before the school board meeting on Dec. 12.

Guido has served on the board since 1993  the same year Bill Clinton was sworn in as president and Jurassic Park was in theaters.

McDonald is completing her first term on the board. She did not seek reelection while she unsuccessfully vied for state representative in the 15th District.

During the reception, Guido said the best part of serving on the board is seeing performances by the youngest students and high school graduations, and knowing the district is there helping students all those years in between.

Asked why he decided not to seek reelection, he said, It was just time. Another six-year commitment for me was just too much.

Im old, Guido quipped, adding, Its been worth every minute of it.

Asked her future plans, McDonald said, The immediate future is Im going to bake a lot of cookies and decorate and spend some time with my family.

And after that?

I will be involved in the community, she said. I dont know in what capacity.

The reception proved to be a whos who of current and former district officials, including former school board President Aimee Schoelles; former Dearborn Public Schools Supt. and current State Supt. Brian Whiston; former Henry Ford College President Andrew Mazzara; and former Dearborn school trustees Gerald Stockwell, James Schoolmaster and Hussein Berry,

I wanted to thank them for coming, especially on a snow day, said current Supt. Glenn Maleyko. Today the only thing operating in the district is the board meeting.

Whiston said he knew while he worked in Dearborn that he had a good school board, an idea that has been reinforced as he works with districts around Michigan.

He presented Guido and McDonald each with a state Symbol of Excellence for their service.

Trustees past and present thanked Guido for his calm demeanor. Guido was soft spoken at board meetings and generally brief when he commented at all. His expertise as an architect often helped the board, especially with building projects.

Joe had such a calming effect, McDonald said. He was the one you went to for rational advice.

Trustee Mariam Bazzi recalled when she was in high school and sang in front of Guido and the school board. She thanked him for helping new board members.

Joe was so welcoming, so great, Bazzi said.

Schoelles noted Guido was there the whole 15 years she served on the board.

She chided others for remembering Guido for just being so pleasant and easy to work with.

You cant please everybody and accomplish stuff.  he accomplished so much, Schoelles said.

She credited Guido with a lot of behind the scenes work. Dearborn Public Schools prides itself on how well its buildings are maintained, she said.

This is the reason, she said, gesturing at Guido.

Guido thanked all those who came to the reception. I cant express what this means to me, he said.

He said he was proud of the district and its students and enjoyed hearing about the scholarships they have received and those who are accepted to prestigious schools such as Harvard.

There are so many success stories in this community, Guido said.

Ironically, Guido did not stay for his last meeting as a trustee because he had another meeting he was required to attend.

During the school board meeting, Jim Thorpe was sworn in as the newest school board member. Thorpe was elected to finish the final two years of Schoelles term, so he started immediately. Fadwa Hammoud, who was appointed to fill the vacant position for more than a year, will be off the school board for a month. She and Hussein Berry were elected to full six-year terms and will be sworn in in January.

McDonald was also recognized during the reception and remembered as someone who was always active in the district, attending numerous school events.

Whiston and Maleyko both sad they knew McDonald first in her role as an active parent in Dearborn.

Once she was elected, she was still the same person, Whiston said, noting her concern for all students.

Schoelles noted that it is not easy to serve as trustee.

Its really emotionally draining. when you become a board members, you are now a parent of 20,000 kids, Schoelles said.

For McDonald, that adjustment was sometimes difficult because she was worrying about the students.

Schoelles added, though, that being a trustee isnt all bad.

Its very reward, and it makes you feel good to be part of something, especially in a good district like Dearborn, she said.

McDonald thanked everyone in the district for their professionalism, from the top administrators to the support staff.

Before I cry, I just want to thank everyone for attending. Its been an honor and an honor to serve, McDonald said.

Katie Hetrick covers Dearborn Public Schools. She can be reached at katie_hetrick@hotmail.com.
The head of the state Board of Public Utilities will oversee the case of complaints by Cumberland County and 16 South Jersey municipalities about Verizons landline service in their area.

The BPU announced this week that its president, Richard S. Mroz, will be presiding commissioner in a case charging that Verizon has failed to properly maintain its copper landline facilities in the affected area. The towns challenging the giant telecom companys quality are mainly in rural sections of Atlantic, Cumberland, Salem and Gloucester counties.

The local governments petitioned the BPU in November of 2015, saying they get poor telephone and data service in their area. The state regulatory agency held public hearings on the matter in August of this year, and more than 200 people showed up and spoke, according to the BPU. Another 150 or so filed written statements.

The regulators noted that Verizon and the parties have held talks to try to settle the case but havent come to an agreement. Mroz, the BPU president, will have the power to rule on motions, handle the schedule for the case and run any hearings that are needed.

 Martin DeAngelis
MAYS LANDING  A turbine that can harness the power of water to generate electricity has won the first New Jersey STEAM Tank challenge award for three 17-year-old students from the Atlantic County Institute of Technology.

Michael Moore and Tommy Liang, both of Buena Vista Township, and Jacob Weber, of Mays Landing, are also known as the Tidal Tyrants. They developed Tide Tech One as an alternative to fossil fuels.What sets our turbine apart is the design, which is around a vertical axis so it can capture water from all directions, said Liang.

Seventeen finalists chosen from 41 applicants presented their projects at the New Jersey School Boards Conference in Atlantic City in October. A panel of judges questioned and critiqued them in a format similar to the television show Shark Tank.

The competition was co-sponsored by the NJSBA and the U.S. Army Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Battalion, with assistance from the N.J. Technology Educators Association, to promote the elements of STEAM  science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

Sgt. George Johnson, who developed the contest, said the judges were impressed by the Tidal Tyrants.

They looked at environmental issues, sustainability, even the impact on marine life, he said. Their presentation was amazing, and it scored the highest with the judges.

John Henry, a STEM and sustainable schools specialist with the school board association, said they held the competition at the conference for a reason  for school board members to see what other schools are doing and bring ideas to their own districts.

Locally, teams from Egg Harbor Township High School and Somers Point also competed.

Next year the competition will include three regional challenges, with six middle school and six high school finalists competing at the conference. A team from DeMasi Middle School in Evesham Township, Burlington County, won this years middle school award.

Johnson said the Army got involved because modern military is much more about technology and engineering. It wants students to consider military careers.

Atlantic County Institute of Technology life sciences teacher Melissa Hannan, who advised the team, liked the idea of a turbine that could work in water.

The students just ran with it and its really incredible how far they took it, she said. One judge said they could be engineers at NASA.

Weber and Liang are applying to colleges now and plan to study engineering. Moore has been accepted to Stockton University and plans to study criminal justice with a specialty in homeland security.

The next step is looking into patenting their design. They estimated the cost to build at about $93,000. Add in permits and tying the turbine into the power grid and the total cost rises to about $7 million, a little out of their budget.

They designed their prototype with the Absecon Inlet in mind, but also identified where the units could be located around the country. Each could generate about 3 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 3,200 homes.

The team started work on their project last year as juniors and said they each took on sections, but collaborated a lot.

Wed call each other, stay after school, Weber said.

Their presentation is online at https://prezi.com/arbhopndl5rb/the-tidal-tyrants.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  As Iraisa Ann Reilly grew up in Egg Harbor City and here, she heard tales regularly of her maternal grandparents lives in Cuba. Her grandparents were the ones around when she arrived home from school.

Reilly, 27, used these stories as the initial inspiration for the first play she wrote and produced, titled One Day Old. It was performed nine times in September during the Philly Fringe Festival, and it will possibly be staged again next year.

With the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro late last month, Reilly thinks there may be more interest in what she created.

Its important to get these stories out because I think we have gone from This is a terrible regime to Hey, lets go build a hotel in Cuba, and from where Im sitting, nothing has changed, Reilly said. I hope there is more of a desire for this story to be told and for people to know about it.

Reillys play is based on Operation Pedro Pan, also known as Operation Peter Pan, which brought 14,000 unaccompanied children to this country from Cuba in the early 1960s.

Their parents were afraid of Communism indoctrination, and it was an underground operation, said Reilly, who is a playwright and an actor. It started out as an operation among the CIA, a boarding school in Havana and Catholic Charities in the United States.

This effort gave children visas, brought them over, placed them in temporary shelters in Miami and in Catholic Charities foster and group homes around the country.

I took that story and melded it with the story its named after, Peter Pan, and created this kind of magical realism play, said Reilly, who graduated in 2007 from Holy Spirit High School in Absecon.

Reillys grandmother died in the midst of her writing the play in 2011. When Reilly talked to her about Operation Pedro Pan, her grandmother explained the family did not want to send Reillys mother, Iraisa C. Orihuela, away by herself. So they waited until the whole family could come.

One Day Old started as a short story about Reillys family, but she wanted to turn it into a play for her senior thesis while she was in the theater program at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Reilly added the historical elements to give depth to her written story. She researched at the Cuban Heritage Collection in Miami, and the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

I grew up around my grandparents, my mom and my (great-) aunt, said Reilly, who added her mothers grandparents came over from Cuba as well. My mother was 4 when she came over. Her memory of coming over is from the perspective of a 4-year-old.

Most of her mothers memories are from when she was here and dealing with the immigrant experience in the United States, Reilly said.

You landed in Miami. You would go to the Freedom Tower, which is still there, but it is a museum now, and thats where they would process you as a refugee, Reilly said.

Jose Pepe Orihuela, Reillys 91-year-old grandfather, came to this country a couple of years before Reillys mother and the rest of her family did. Reillys grandfather grew up in a farm in Cuba.

He always talks about how it was warm all the time. Food was much fresher, Reilly said. I dont have the perspective to know whether thats a matter of him growing up in the 1930s, and food was fresher all over the world or if its a matter of that agrarian way of life was actually better in Cuba.

Reillys grandfather and mother had mixed emotions when Castro died, Reilly said.

Because Raul (Castros brother) took over and there is no promise of change, its not like, Oh, great. Were going to go home now. There is no hope for change. Obviously, his coming to power changed their lives in a big way, Reilly said.

Reillys grandfather did say at one point that leaving Cuba was a blessing because coming to America gave him opportunities he wouldnt have had in Cuba. Orihuela owned a small hotel in Atlantic City and the Casa Pepe grocery store on Cincinnati Avenue in Egg Harbor City at one point.

Iraisa C. Orihuela would have never had the opportunity to attend college if she grew up in Cuba, and Reilly would have never been born because her mother would have never met her father.

Reilly said she definitely wants to see Cuba herself, but will not visit as long as the current government is in power.

Mary K. Guerrieri, 72, of Mullica Township, sang at the wedding of Reillys parents. She taught Reilly and her brother at Saint Nicholas Academy in Egg Harbor City and kept in touch with the family over the decades. She traveled to Philadelphia to see One Day Old.

Guerrieri said one of the moments mentioned in Reillys play she heard from her mother firsthand.

When she was age 4 and fleeing Cuba, the custom officers seized her doll. They ripped it apart looking for contraband. This is mentioned in Iraisa Anns play, Guerrieri said. Shes a super kid. She is so happy she is expressing herself and using her creative abilities.
PITTSGROVE TOWNSHIP  Graveside services and burial for Lloyd Rudley, who died in a Dec. 5 head-on collision that killed State Trooper Frankie Williams, are sched-uled for noon Tuesday.

Services and burial for the 61-year-old Philadelphia resident will be at Alliance Cemetery in the Norma section of this Salem County municipality, officials at the cemetery confirmed.

State Police said Rudley was traveling south on Route 55 when he crossed the median and collided with a State Police vehicle driven north by Williams, 31, about 7 p.m. The accident at milepost 22.2 in Millville occurred as Williams was on his way to investigate reports of a person driving erratically in the southbound lanes.

Williams was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where he was pronounced dead. Rudley was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rudleys body was taken to Shore Regional Medical Center in Somers Point after the accident, said Kristi Schaller, a 60-year-old Elmer, Salem County, resident who said shes known Rudley all my life.

Friends of Rudley said they believe he has no living relatives. Schaller said her family claimed his body Thursday.

People who knew Rudley also said they believe his parents are buried in Alliance Cemetery, which is located at 970 Gershall Ave.

The cemetery was founded in 1891 by members of 43 Jewish families who fled religious persecution in Russia in 1882. Rudleys parents were Holocaust survivors, his friends said.

Schaller said shes known Rudley since she was 4 years old. She said Rudley spent part of his early life in a house that was separated from her home by a field. She said the two used to visit each other by walking a path through the field.

All the holidays, birthdays, barbecues, she said. I always took it for granted that he would also be here.

Schaller said Rudley had suffered from diabetes since he was a child. She said she and her brother once found Rudley unconscious three years ago on the kitchen floor of a house that he owned at the inter-section of English and Upper Neck roads here.

Schaller said she last saw Rudley on Thanksgiving and that he seemed fine.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers turned out at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for Williams funeral.

Most of the services were private, at the familys request
PITTSGROVE TOWNSHIP  Lloyd Rudleys casket was slowly lowered into the damp earth at Alliance Cemetery on Tuesday afternoon.

The services that followed were brief and low-key for the 61-year-old man who died Dec. 5 when his car collided head-on with a State Police cruiser on Route 55. Police said Rudleys car crossed the median into the northbound lanes.

On Monday, services for Frankie Williams, the 31-year-old state trooper also killed in that crash at milepost 22.2 in Millville, drew more than 1,000 law-enforcement officers to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Many of those officers, including a large contingent of state troopers, stood in rows on the rain-wet Boardwalk, saluting as the hearse carrying Williams body passed under gray skies.

Rudley had no living relatives. The Philadelphia resident, psychiatrist and Vineland High School graduate never married, friends said.

On Tuesday, about 15 of his friends gathered around his grave as bright sunlight warmed an otherwise chilly afternoon.

Our hearts are full of grief, Rabbi Israel Rappaport said to begin the services.

Two lives, one tragic crash on Route 55 They were two men headed in opposite directions on Route 55 on Monday night, and their meeti

Still, he told those gathered at the gravesite, it was a time to remember the joy and service in Rudleys life.

There was a dream that he had, Steven Polloch, who operates a ministry in Philadelphia and who said he knew Rudley for 50 years, told those gathered for the services. He always wanted to be a doctor. He accomplished that.

He spent time with them, Polloch said, referring to Rudleys patients. He cared about them. He was just a caring, kind person.

Rudleys service to his patients spanned more than 30 years, Polloch said.

Pollochs wife, Janice, who also presides over the ministry, said Rudley liked to travel overseas to see the world that God created.

Lloyd is at peace, she said.

Services ended with Rappaport and others shoveling dirt on top of Rudleys wooden casket.

Rudley was buried in the same gravesite as his parents, John and Ida. The two Holocaust survivors died in the 1990s.

Alliance Cemetery was founded in 1891 by members of 43 Jewish families who fled religious persecution in Russia in 1882. A portion of Tuesdays services was in Hebrew.

State Police continue to investigate the accident to determine why Rudley, who was traveling south on Route 55, drove across the highways median and hit Williams vehicle. Williams, of Egg Harbor Township, was traveling north to investigate calls about a vehicle that was being driven erratically in the southbound lanes.

Kristi Schaller, a longtime friend of Rudley, said Monday that Rudley had suffered from diabetes since he was a child. She said she and her brother found Rudley unconscious about three years ago on the kitchen floor of a house he owned at English and Upper Neck roads in Pittsgrove.

Rudley underwent treatment for his diabetes, and Schaller said he seemed fine when she saw him on Thanksgiving.

Polloch said Tuesday he believed Rudleys accident was linked to his diabetic condition.

Schaller said Rudleys body was at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point until her family claimed the remains Thursday.

Cemetery officials said Rudleys services and burial are being paid through his estate.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  The New Jersey Air National Guards 177th Fighter Wing, based at Atlantic City International Airport, was left off the list of units the Air Force is considering to house the new F-35 fighter jets.

Last week, the Air Force announced five finalist stations for the next generation of fighter jets: Dannelly Field Air Guard Station in Alabama; Gowen Field AGS in Idaho; Jacksonville AGS in Florida, Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan; and Truax AGS in Wisconsin. The Air Force will select two locations.

The F-35s, which cost about $138 million each, would replace the F-16s currently flown. The F-35As are expected to begin arriving in the early to mid-2020s.

Earlier this year, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and U.S. Rep Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, backed the 177th Fighter Wing to be the home of the F-35s.

The Air Force is committed to a deliberate and open process to address F-35 basing, Jennifer Miller, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for Installations, said in a statement. As we progress through the basing process, we will share information so interested communities are aware of what to expect.

In a statement, LoBiondo said he was disappointed by the decision.

In recent years we have made tremendous investments at our local ANG base  from state-of-the-art readiness facilities to technology upgrades for the radar systems of our existing jets, he said. The men and women of the 177th are unwavering in their service and defense of our country. This setback will not deter the critical homeland security mission of the 177th Fighter Wing. I will continue to work closely with Sen. (Cory) Booker and the leadership at the 177th on what our next steps will be.
MAYS LANDING  The case against one of the two men charged in the shooting of Atlantic City police Officer Joshlee Vadell moved a step closer to trial Monday.

Superior Court Judge Bernard E. De-Lury heard enough during a probable-cause hearing to decide the attempted-murder case and other charges against Demetris Cross, of Bridgeton, should move forward.

Cross, 28, and co-defendant, Martel D. Chisolm, 29, of Millville, are charged in the shooting that wounded Vadell on Sept. 3 near the Caesars parking garage in Atlantic City. Last month, DeLury decided the case against Chisolm also should proceed.

Similar to last month, Lt. Thomas Finan was the only witness called by Assistant Prosecutor Seth Levy.

Finan said the incident started with three victims being robbed at gunpoint. Cross was allegedly the lookout. Chisolm allegedly patted the victims down. Jerome Damon, 25, of Camden, was allegedly holding the gun on the victims.

Authorities have said Damon shot Vadell in the head when police arrived on the scene to investigate the robbery. Vadells partner, who has not been identified, returned fire and killed Damon, police and Finan said. The gun used to rob the victims was the same gun used to shoot Vadell, Finan said.

When police arrived, Cross did not comply with the order to stop and started running, Finan said. Because the officers were helping Vadell, they couldnt chase Cross and the other suspects, he said.

Vadell is home with his family in Egg Harbor Township after stays at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Cam-pus, in Atlantic City, and the Drucker Brain Injury Unit at MossRehab in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

Assistant Deputy Public Defender Eric R. Shenkus, who represented Cross, questioned Finan.

Police captured Cross image on surveillance video, and phone records and social media activity was used to identify him, Finan said.

There were a few videos where Cross could clearly be seen, but the presence of a gun during the robbery could not been seen, Finan said.

Under questioning by Shenkus, Finan said no one identified Cross in a photo array. Cross image was not identified in any video depicting the shooting, and Cross said he did not know that a weapon was present, Finan said.

He (Cross) was present within several feet of the robbery victims, said Finan, who added Cross was wearing a sweatshirt that was discarded in a trash can as he ran away.

Levy argued, as he did last month against Chisolm, that Cross was part of the conspiracy to rob the three victims. Because a gun was used in the robbery, he was responsible for all the acts that sprung from the use of the gun in the robbery, including the shooting of Vadell.

The defendant benefited from the use of a firearm during the course of the robbery, said Levy, referring to Cross alleged escape.

Shenkus argued there was not enough evidence to proceed further with the attempted-murder charge.

DeLury agreed with Levys argument that there was enough probable cause to show that a street-level armed robbery took place and that Cross was one of the people identified as being part of the robbery.

A discussion between Levy and DeLury revealed that mid-January looks like the period where a grand jury can hear the cases against Chisolm and Cross.

The two suspects were arrested by State Police on Sept. 3. Chisolm and Cross face the same charges.

In addition to attempted murder, they are each charged with three counts of robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, two counts of possession of a weapon (firearm) for an unlawful purpose and two counts of conspiracy to commit possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose.

A GoFundMe account called This Blue Life Matters has been set up for Vadell and his family. The goal is currently $200,000. More than 1,266 people had donated $125,531 since Sept. 3 as of Monday.
A fourth person has admitted having a role in a 2014 armed robbery at Caesars Atlantic City.

As part of a plea agreement, Aaron Evans, 26, of Atlantic City, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree theft charges in Atlantic County Superior Court. Evans faces eight years in state prison.

According to the Attorney Generals Office, Evans admitted he and Izyiah Plummer, 22, of Atlantic City, entered the casino wearing gloves and masks at 6:18 a.m. July 21, 2014. The men approached a security guard and a casino employee who were loading cash boxes onto a trolley. Prosecutors said Plummer held the security guard and employee at gunpoint, while Evans took three cash boxes. Evans dropped one of the boxes, but fled with two boxes that contained $181,200.

Two other men in the getaway vehicle, Nathaniel Greenlee, 23, of Bear, Delaware, and Donavon Jackson, 22, of Wilmington, Delaware, both pleaded guilty in June to second-degree theft for their roles in the robbery.

Prosecutors said Greenlee drove to Plummers apartment in the Venice Park section of Atlantic City, where the men divided the stolen money. A search warrant was executed at Plummers apartment, where authorities found a black ski mask, bullets for a .38 special handgun and $43,900 in cash. A search warrant also was executed at Evans home, where $4,300 in cash was seized. Detectives found a handle from one of the cash boxes in the street in front of Evans home.

Evans, Greenlee and Jackson are scheduled to be sentenced March 17.

Plummer, a former security guard at Caesars, pleaded guilty Aug. 22 to charges of first-degree armed robbery, conspiracy, aggravated assault and weapons offenses. He is set to be sentenced Jan. 6 and could face 15 years in state prison.
DENNIS TOWNSHIP  A township man who shot his adult son early Sunday morning was not charged with a crime, State Police said Tuesday.

Patrick Boland, 28, tried to kick down his parents locked bedroom door and threatened to kill them before his father, William Boland, 55, shot him in the hip about 2 a.m., according to police.

Case moves forward against both A.C. cop shooting suspects MAYS LANDING  The case against one of the two men charged in the shooting of Atlantic City 

Patrick Boland was airlifted to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, with nonlife-threatening injuries and is listed in stable condition, police said.

The elder Boland and his wife reported fearing for their lives during the incident, police said.

State Police decided not to file charges after consulting with the Cape May County Prosecutors Office, according to a statement.

Several hours before the shooting, a drunk and combative Patrick Boland allegedly broke a portion of his parents fence. He was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, State Police said.

After being processed at the Woodbine barracks, Boland was taken to a friends house in Middle Township. He prom-ised authorities he would re-main there for the rest of the night but returned to his parents house anyway, police said.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  Being passed over for the new F-35 fighter jets was a major setback for the New Jersey Air National Guards 177th Fighter Wing, but officials still see a solid future for the base.

On Friday, the Air Force announced the 177th was not in the running for the latest-generation stealth fighters.

Local officials, while disappointed with the decision, say recent investments in the base and its location near three major East Coast cities ensure it will continue to operate well into the future.

But the 177ths strategic location leads to the question of why the base was not chosen as one of two across the country to get the jets.

Its disappointing. I was very surprised when I saw the news, Egg Harbor Township Mayor James Sonny McCullough said. The base has really great facilities, one of the longest runways and relatively free airspace because of the Atlantic Ocean.

Last week, the Air Force announced the five finalists for the new jets were Dannelly Field Air Guard Station in Alabama, Gowen Field AGS in Idaho, Jacksonville AGS in Florida, Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan and Truax AGS in Wisconsin.

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, and Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker had lobbied for the new jets to come to the 177th because of its location near New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. They also raised the issue of the aging F-16s, known as the Jersey Devils, that are currently used by the fighter wing.

A statement from Col. Bradford Everman, 177th operations group commander, said the current jets have more than a decade left in their lifespan.

For our existing airplanes, we continue to receive upgrades in the form of new radars, ground sensors and defensive suites of electronic warfare equipment, helping us maintain our combat capability, he said.

LoBiondo said in a statement he was disappointed the Air Force did not select Atlantic City and did not provide specific information about what happens next for the fighter wing.

In recent years we have made tremendous investments at our local ANG base  from state-of-the-art readiness facilities to technology upgrades for the radar systems of our existing jets, he said. This setback will not deter the critical homeland security mission of the 177th Fighter Wing. I will continue to work closely with Sen. Booker and the leadership at the 177th on what our next steps will be.

Questions about the F-35s in general were raised once again Monday after President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that spending on the program was out of control and that billions of dollars can and will be saved on military purchases when he takes office.

The F-35s, which have been in development for 15 years, have had numerous software issues that delayed the jets deployment. Over the summer, the military declared them combat-ready and this week delivered two of them to Israel.

Trumps tweet shed light on the ballooning cost of the program, which reportedly will exceed the estimated $400 billion. The rising costs make the plane the most expensive weapons system in U.S. military history.

Trumps tweet also spooked investors Monday afternoon. Lockheed Martin, tasked with running the F-35 program, saw its stock fall by $2 billion.
Clintons been gracious, despite popular vote win

Enough with Donald Trump supporters patting themselves on the back and claiming that the people have spoken. The president-elect did not win the people if by that is meant winning the popular vote; he won the electoral vote.

And even though Hillary Clinton continues to lead with the popular vote, she has been very gracious in her loss of the election.

If the tables were turned, we wouldnt hear the end of the rigged system.

Robin Veloso

Egg Harbor Township

Americans will pay for electing Trump

Millions of Americans are about to learn six important lessons. Not all change is for the better; shaking things up doesnt always improve those things (think earthquakes); the powerless (most undocumented immigrants, poor people, foreigners and Muslims) are not the cause of their problems; the powerful (big corporations and the very rich who are only interested in maximizing private profits and wealth, respectively) are; dont believe everything thought or heard; global warming, like all facts, is true whether believed or not; and slogans are not strategies and goals without realistic strategies are just words.

People should remember these lessons the next time they vote. The price for learning them will be high.

Ron Caplan

Northfield

Pitts full of fear and hate

The world is full of hate, in part thanks to people like Leonard Pitts Jr. His commentary on Nov. 18, Trump must be resisted no matter what he does, can be compared to Chicken Little in the rain claiming that the sky is falling down.

His column will rouse anger, violence and inflammatory public behavior. It was worthless tripe not suitable for publication.

Michael Fonte

Galloway Township

Let convicted killers choose their own death

The Supreme Court should ban the death penalty. That way it wont have to determine if someone is disabled or not. Convicts should decide if they want to be executed or live in jail the rest of their lives. If the public acts to kill them, it is just like them.

The death penalty is a form of racial profiling in reverse. The public cant reverse who has been killed, so it becomes like the killers and kills them. Two wrongs dont make it right.

Those who want the killers to die should ask them if they want to die and have them prove they are not disabled and can decide to live or die.

Those who feel better for having killed a killer may change their minds when they get to the other side.

Michael K. Dale

Linwood
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.




Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/449511/DRC_Embassy.jpg



The complaint was also delivered to the two individual defendants in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, earlier today. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

"I'm suing these individuals who have abused their power in the Kabila government as a way of standing up to those who violate basic human rights. I know that I am only one of many to suffer torture at their hands. Although these individuals targeted me because I am an American, these individuals are notorious for their abuses against the Congolese people as well. I hope this case will bring some small measure of justice against persons who have no regard for basic human dignity."

In his complaint, Mr. Lewis is seeking not less than $4.5 million in damages.

NOTE: These materials are distributed by DCI Group AZ, L.L.C. for Akin Gump Straus Hauer and Feld LLP on behalf of Moise Katumbi, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

PDF - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448854/PDF_1_Darryl_Lewis.pdf

PDF - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448850/PDF_2_Darryl_Lewis.pdf

SOURCE Darryl Lewis
OSLO, Norway, 13 Dec, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES.

Reference is made to the stock exchange releases from Axactor AB (publ) ("AXA" or the "Company") published 25 October 2016 regarding the commencement of the subscription period for the subsequent repair offering of up to 50,000,000 new shares ("Offer Shares") in the Company (the "Subsequent Offering").

The subscription period in the Subsequent Offering expired at 16:30 hours (CET) yesterday, 12 December 2016. The preliminary results indicate that a total of 125.8 million shares were subscribed for and the Subsequent Offering was consequently oversubscribed. The preliminary result indicates that 421.1 million subscription rights were utilised. Twelve subscription rights gave the holder a right to subscribe and be allocated for one Offer Share in the Subsequent Offering.

The Board of Directors will resolve the allocation of the Offer Shares as soon as possible and according to the allocation principles set out in the prospectus dated 25 November 2016. The final result will be made available as soon as the allocation has been resolved by the Board of Directors.

Carnegie and DNB Markets acted as Managers for the Subsequent Offering.

For further information, please contact:

Endre Rangnes

Chief Executive Officer

Mail: endre.rangnes@axactor.com

Tel: + 46 8 402 28 00

Cell Phone: +47 48 22 11 11

Geir Johansen

Chief Financial Officer

Mail: geir.johansen@axactor.com

Cell Phone: +47 47 71 04 51

Important information:

The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia).

This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations, and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. It is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States. The issue, exercise, purchase or sale of subscription rights and the subscription or purchase of shares in the Company are subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions.

Neither the Company nor the Managers assumes any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.

The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The Managers are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Subsequent Offering and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Subsequent Offering and/or any other matter referred to in this release.

Forward-looking statements:

This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the Company's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

CONTACT:

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/axactor-ab/r/axactor---preliminary-results-of-the-subsequent-offering,c2147605

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE Axactor AB
NEW YORK, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Increasing sales of vehicles coupled with constantly expanding automotive fleet to drive Brazil tire market through 2021

According to TechSci Research report, "Brazil Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021", tire market in Brazil is forecast to cross BRL 21.9 billion ($6.5 Bn) by 2021, on account of recovering domestic demand, growing automobile sales and favorable government policies. Moreover, increase in population from 200.51 million in 2011 to 207.84 million in 2015 is driving demand for tires in the country. With the presence of major tire companies like Rinaldi, Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Titan, etc., Brazil is one of the most competitive tire markets in Latin America.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 )



Browse 27 market data Tables and 42 Figures spread through 115 Pages and an in-depth TOC on

"Brazil Tire Market"

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/brazil-tire-market-forecast-opportunities/859.html

Passenger car tire segment dominated Brazil tire industry during 2011 - 2015, and the segment is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period as well on account of increasing passenger car production by global car manufacturers in the country. Fiat, Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Renault and Hyundai are some of the major passenger car brands available in Brazil. In 2015, south-east region accounted for the largest share in the country's tire market, followed by north-east and south regions.

Download Sample Report

@ https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=859

Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report.

"The government of Brazil has played an important role in boosting the automobile sector of the country. In October 2012, the Federal government of Brazil started an initiative to stimulate manufacturing of automobiles in the country, named Inovar Auto. This program is slated for completion by 2017. Under this program, automobile manufacturers would be encouraged to invest in Brazil to produce efficient, safe and technologically advanced vehicles." said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

"Brazil Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021" has analyzed the potential of Brazil tire market, and provides statistics and information on market sizes, shares and trends. The report will suffice in providing intending clients with cutting-edge market intelligence and help them in taking sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers and key challenges faced by the industry.

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https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/global-commercial-drone-market-by-drone-type-rotary-blade-drone-fix-wing-drone-hybrid-drone-nano-drone-by-application-mapping-surveying-photography-precision-agriculture-etc-by-region-competition-forecast-opportunities-2015-2021/666.html.

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United States Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/united-states-tire-market-forecast-opportunities/828.html

About TechSci Research

TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends.



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SOURCE TechSci Research
DUNDEE, Scotland, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The mild autumn weather didn't dent demand for an all-weather, all-season safety footwear product which was conceived, developed and CE tested and certified by independent safety footwear brand, Buckler Boots. Now that winter is upon us however, the company's renowned Buckbootz BBZ S5 safety boots come right into their own.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448426/Buckler_boots_Logo.jpg )



(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448427/Buckler_boots_new.jpg )



A combination of neoprene and rubber and a host of safety features plus Cold Insulation certification has created a safety boot which has become Europe's Number 1 product in this category and a firm favourite with individual users in construction and agriculture plus some of the UK's most prominent utility providers.

Buckler Boots' product range extends to popular leather safety boot styles, all designed by the Dundee based company.

The Buckler Boots brand recently received unprecedented recognition when it went head to head with international brands like CAT and Timberland after it was nominated then shortlisted for the Best Boot Brand Of The Year award at a recent ceremony and dinner held at The Emirates Stadium in London. The award was sponsored by the online construction industry community; On The Tools which is the biggest community of its kind in the UK with over one million followers.

Speaking from its offices and design and distribution centre in Dundee, the company's Managing Director and co-founder, Andrew Duncan said, "This is a tremendous accolade for an independent locally owned business and brand like ours. The votes which took us all the way to the shortlist were cast by people working in the construction sector. The company started in 1998 and there has been a stage by stage approach to building a brand and profile which competes successfully against multi-national big budget brands. Our focus on marketing, design quality, innovation, testing, service and employing top quality personnel has been key to elevating the company's profile in the sectors we supply."

Buckler Boots Ltd distributes its safety footwear products via a network of dealers in the builders, tools and agricultural merchants sectors throughout the UK and Ireland. Its subsidiary Buckler Boots BV, based in Oisterwijk in the Netherlands, is responsible for the company's business in Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | Website

SOURCE Buckler Boots
LONDON, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Nordic companies are strong innovators and early adopters of new technologies and solutions with a mind-set of problem solving, strong engineering and software skills, and an environmentally conscientious approach to technology. Aligning IP strategy to that of the business is crucial to you harnessing your company's IP as a source of revenue generation.

With this in mind, Legal IQ is excited to announce the launch of the Nordic IPR forum, which is taking place in Copenhagen, 10th - 12th April 2017.

Take advantage of an intimate and interactive format to benchmark and learn from industry's elite:

Learn the commercial importance of effective communication of IP to your business from Bobby Mukherjee - Chief Counsel IP and Technology Law, BAE Systems

to your business from - Chief Counsel IP and Technology Law, BAE Systems Assess the significant benefits of aligning Licensing Strategies with the Strategic Interests of the Product Business with Thomas Steffen - Senior Director IP Portfolio Management, Philips Intel

with the Strategic Interests of the Product Business with - Senior Director IP Portfolio Management, Philips Intel Analyse vital strategies that evolve with the changing times with Ericsson's representative, Peter Ericsson-Nester - Director Defensive IPR Strategy, Ericsson

that evolve with the changing times with Ericsson's representative, - Director Defensive IPR Strategy, Ericsson Discover how you can increase the success rate of your IP valuation to better identify the potential value in your technology and knowledge using examples from Ruth Donners - Director of Licensing, DSM

to better identify the potential value in your technology and knowledge using examples from - Director of Licensing, DSM Learn how to implement strategic alignment within your own organization from the success of Philips' Arian Duijvestijn - Head of Intellectual Property, Philips Lighting

from the success of Philips' - Head of Intellectual Property, Philips Lighting Discuss the key strategies to ensure that you are able to find the diamond in the rough and better predict the future with regards to your IP portfolio under the guidance of Peter Berg - Chief IP Counsel, Draexlmaier

To see the full speaker and session line up download the agenda here >> https://www.nordicipr.com/agenda-mc

Find the programme, event details and registration information about the forum on https://defencelogistics.iqpc.co.uk/ phone +44(0)20-7036-1300 or email enquire@iqpc.co.uk

Media Contact: Faith Arinaitwe, Marketing Manager IQPC: faith.arinaitwe@iqpc.co.uk or call +442070361302. Press are invited to attend this important summit, if you would like a complimentary press pass please email.

SOURCE Legal IQ
LONDON, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

In order to keep pace with today's operations, logisticians require an agile supply chain. Militaries across the world are focused on finding solutions that will allow for the rapid procurement, maintenance and replacement of military assets, often in austere theatres.

To address these challenges, Defence IQ presents our 14th Annual Defence Logistics, taking place in Brussels from 21-23 February 2017.

Hear from an expert panel of speakers, including:

Mr Roger West , Director Logistics Delivery Operating Centre, Defence Equipment and Support, UK MoD

, Director Logistics Delivery Operating Centre, Defence Equipment and Support, Mr Rune Fromreide Sommer, CEO, Supply Division, Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation

Major General Craig Crenshaw , Commanding General, Marine Corps Logistics Command

, Commanding General, Major General Angus Fay , Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Logistics Operations), UK MoD

, Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Logistics Operations), Major General Samuel Nandwa , Assistant Chief of Defence Forces for Personnel and Logistics, Kenyan Ministry of Defence

, Assistant Chief of Defence Forces for Personnel and Logistics, Brigadier General Michael Vetter , Commander of the Bundeswehr Logistics Centre, Bundeswehr

, Commander of the Bundeswehr Logistics Centre, Colonel Jaroslav Schoen , Branch Head, Logistics Planning & Operations, Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

To see the full speaker and session line up download the agenda here >> http://bit.ly/2hszPAA

What's new for 2016?

A range of senior military speakers drawn from the NATO and non-NATO communities, offering a global take on the key logistical challenges facing today's operations

Presentations specifically dedicated to explaining how to maximize engagement with industry to deliver cost-effective and efficient solutions

A pre-conference workshop, committed to educating attendees on how to integrate new technologies safely into the supply chain

Find the programme, event details and registration information about the forum on https://defencelogistics.iqpc.co.uk/ phone +44-(0)20-7036-1300 or email enquire@iqpc.co.uk

Media Contact: Faith Arinaitwe, Marketing Manager IQPC: faith.arinaitwe@iqpc.co.uk or call +442070361302. Press are invited to attend this important summit, if you would like to a complimentary press pass please email.

SOURCE Defense IQ
DUBLIN, Dec 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "India Router and Switch Market (2016-2022)" report to their offering.

In the last five years, India's Routers and Ethernet Switches market has registered significant growth. Routers can be categorized as - wired and wireless, wherein wireless dominates both in revenue and volume terms.



India being one of the potential markets for routers is increasingly witnessing growth in demand for wireless routers. Whereas Ethernet switches can be segmented as managed and un-managed switches. Presently, Managed switch segment accounted for dominant market revenue share; increasing amount of data traffic over the network coupled with increasing bandwidth requirements in the enterprise segment are driving the market for managed switches.



According to research, India's Router and Switch market is exhibiting growth on the back of increasing usage of internet enabled devices, government initiatives like Digital India, Smart Cities and Make in India, increasing internet penetration, emergence of IoT and increasing adoption of solutions such as social, mobility, analytics and cloud.



Companies Mentioned:



Best IT World ( India ) Pvt. Ltd. (iBall)

) Pvt. Ltd. (iBall) Binatone Telecommunication Pvt. Ltd.

Cisco Systems ( India ) Private Limited

) Private Limited D-Link India Limited

NETGEAR Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

Tenda India Private Limited

TP-Link India Pvt. Ltd.

ZyXEL Technology India Private Limited



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Introduction



3. Global Router Market Overview



4. Asia-Pacific Router Market Overview



5. Middle-East & Africa Router Market Overview



6. India Router Market Overview



7. India Router Market Overview, By Specification (Quarter-wise Analysis of 2015)



8. India Residential Router Market Revenues



9. India Enterprise Router Market Revenues, By Size of Employees



10. India Government Router Market Revenues



11. India Transportation Router Market Revenues



12. India BFSI Router Market Revenues



13. India Healthcare & Hospitality Router Market Revenues



14. India Telecommunication Router Market Revenues



15. India Educational Institutions Router Market Revenues



16. India Router Market Price Point Analysis, By Verticals



17. India Router Market Opportunity Assessment, By Features



18. India Router Market Opportunity Assessment, By Verticals



19. India Residential Gateways Router Market Overview



20. India Router Competitive Landscape



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vtg4w2/india_router_and

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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SOURCE Research and Markets
SHARJAH, UAE, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Sharjah has successfully eyed increased opportunities for business with Far East Asia following the participation of 'Invest in Sharjah' at two key summits. An initiative from Sharjah FDI Office, Invest in Sharjah took part at events in South Korea and China to introduce businesspersons in two of Asia's strongest economies to the emirate's fertile investment landscape.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161206/445973LOGO )



(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448851/Shurooq.jpg )



Invest in Sharjah's trip, which took place from December 4-8, heavily promoted the emirate as being the perfect hub between east and west. High on the agenda at the events was how citizens from both South Korea and China can now receive a visa on arrival to the UAE - a decision that was announced in September this year and one taken to promote both tourism and business in the UAE.

Throughout the trip the Invest in Sharjah representatives showcased the many benefits that investors could avail from Sharjah, with a strategic special focus on the four key sectors of Tourism and Leisure, Healthcare, Transport and Logistics and Real Estate and the Environment.

The first port of call in Invest in Sharjah's itinerary saw it travel to Seoul to highlight the array of advantages that Sharjah can offer Korean entrepreneurs considering setting up operations in the emirate. The organisation reiterated that South Korea was already a very important trading partner with the UAE, with bi-lateral trade between the two countries from 2010 to 2015 reaching AED 122.7 billion, of which AED 115.8 billion comprised the volume of UAE imports from Korea and AED 5.6 billion UAE exports in the other direction.

Following its visit to Seoul, Invest in Sharjah travelled to Shanghai to attend the Free Trade and Special Economic Zone Summit Shanghai 2016, which took place in the world's most populous city proper from December 7-8. Titled 'Global Investment Strategies for a Going Global China,' the event saw the representatives pitching to businesspersons in the world's largest economy by purchasing power parity (according to the IMF).

Invest in Sharjah's trips to Seoul and Shanghai are the latest in its extensive itinerary of overseas business visits is has conducted in 2016, with its representatives also having travelled to the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the United States and Cuba.

Contact: Mousa Nimer, +971-50-222-0561, m.nimer@nncpr.com

SOURCE Shurooq
AMSTERDAM, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Kate Moss is set to become the international face of Dutch fashion label NIKKIE. Designer Nikkie Plessen and the supermodel have agreed to work together on the 2017 autumn collection.

Nikkie Plessen announced the news during her Spring/Summer 2017 presentation in Amsterdam, in the presence of Kate Moss. In the autumn of 2017, Kate Moss will be seen on all campaign communications for the NIKKIE ladies' line international.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448484/NIKKIE_Logo.jpg )



(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448494/NIKKIE_Kate_Moss.jpg )





"I am incredibly proud of the fact that supermodel Kate is the new face of NIKKIE. Kate Moss personifies precisely what I want to express through my fashion label: she is strong and tough but at the same time also feminine and sexy. The fact that she wishes to represent NIKKIE as its muse is of course fantastic. For me personally, Kate has also always been the ultimate embodiment of style. Seeing how we immediately got on so well with one other during our first meeting, and knowing that she will now become the face of NIKKIE, is a dream come true. Having Kate Moss as our brand ambassador will enable us to put NIKKIE firmly on the map worldwide", says CEO and designer Nikkie Plessen.

What makes the partnership particularly special is that Kate Moss is extremely selective in which modelling work she accepts these days. What's more, this year she decided to focus on her own model agency: Kate Moss Agency.

About Nikkie

NIKKIE was launched by its owner Nikkie Plessen in 2011, and has grown over the past five years into an international brand with 15 of its own stores and in-store shops within large department stores such as Galeries Lafayette, Takashimaya, Robinsons and Le Marais in Europe and Asia.

NIKKIE plugs the gap between high-end and high-street fashion labels. The strength of the brand comes from its ability to offer high-end designs, luxury materials and an elegant, feminine fit at an affordable price. NIKKIE is worn by international supermodels and IT-girls such as Natasha Poly, Tyra Banks, Kristina Bazan and Raline Shah.

SOURCE NIKKIE
CALGARY, Alberta, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Packers Plus Energy Services Inc. recently worked with an operator in Egypt to complete a 6-stage StackFRAC system using the Drillable Closeable (DC) FracPORT sleeve in a short timeframe.

"Packers Plus' advanced manufacturing capabilities ensured the product was delivered and tested within three days, meeting the client's operational timeline and technical requirements," said Packers Plus President, Ian Bryant. "Not only was the client working in a short turnaround time, they were also interested in a closeable system that would simplify future operations."

The open hole approach was chosen over the plug-and-perf method to shorten operational time, simplify operations and reduce overall cost. The DC FracPORT sleeve is a ball-actuated, hydraulically activated injection/production port. The closeable feature of the sleeve provides the operator with options to shut off water encroachment if required, reducing operational costs and optimizing production performance. The operation, installation and completion - done in conjunction with Packers Plus' global marketing alliance partner, Schlumberger - were flawlessly executed according to plan. Additional systems have been planned for late 2016.

To learn more about Packers Plus' international experience, visit packersplus.com/proven-performance.

About Packers Plus

Packers Plus is an industry leader in designing and manufacturing lower completions solutions for a variety of technically challenging applications. Known for its innovative, high-quality and responsive style, the privately held company has run over 16,000 completion systems, accounting for over 240,000 fracture stages since it started operations in 2000. Today, Packers Plus has employees around the world, maintaining an influential role in key markets and remaining true to its roots-an innovative company with a focused niche, enabling it to be one of the best in the industry. Learn more at packersplus.com.

Ian Bryant, President, Packers Plus Energy Services Inc., ian.bryant@packersplus.com, +1(281)730-8373; Tess MacLeod, Manager, Marketing & Communications, Packers Plus Energy Services Inc., tess.macleod@packersplus.com , +1(403)234-6011

SOURCE Packers Plus Energy Services Inc
DUBAI, UAE, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Quercus is a leading international investment advisor, specialising in renewable energy projects

UAE is the strategic choice as the GCC plan s to invest $100 billion in renewable energy in the next 20 years

Global installed capacity for renewables set to increase 69% by 2030

London-based Quercus Investment Partners Ltd. has launched its Middle East office in Dubai as investment in renewables gathers momentum across the GCC. Quercus is positioned to become one of the largest European investors in renewable energy within the next five years. The firm now operates from offices in London, Milan and Dubai, with an international senior management team.

The International Energy Agency has said that the world's capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources has now overtaken coal, which indicates a clear market shift in favour of renewables. European governments are planning to power 20% of production from renewables by 2020, while Dubai's DEWA has made a solid investment in solar power with its Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park development, the largest single-site solar project in the world.

Commenting on opportunities for GCC investors, Diego Biasi, Co-Founder and CEO of Quercus said:

"In the last couple of years we have seen a lot of interest in renewable energy from GCC investors. This is an ideal moment for us to establish a permanent presence in the region, as GCC member states have announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in renewable projects during the next two decades. Investment in renewables is no longer just a subject of debate among the investment community, and there are plenty of questions around which funds to choose. The UAE has a clear vision for a sustainable future beyond the hydrocarbon era, so it is an ideal market for us to present opportunities for pursuing competitive returns in the sector."

The global installed capacity for renewables is set to increase by 69% over the next 15 years. Renewable energy sources show resilience against market conditions, and in particular the recently volatile price of oil.

Quercus has built a successful track record over 6 years, and only last week announced the 150 million first close of an innovative set of 3 funds which are targeting 500 million, an annual dividend yield of 6%, distributed semi-annually and an IRR above 11%. The firm has already completed fundraising for two funds that have invested approximately 200 million globally, generating an annual dividend yield of 5% and 6% and an IRR of 9-10%. As Middle East investors eye opportunities to diversify their portfolios, renewables are an increasingly attractive option.

"We launched our latest funds as part of a unique project to combine three separate renewable energy funds to provide investors with choice and flexibility. The 150 million Italian Wind fund will invest in Italian wind projects, the 150 million Italian Solar fund will invest in photovoltaic plants, while the 200 million European MultiTech fund will invest in solar, wind, hydroelectric and biomass projects, preferably in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Italy. The funds will capitalise on opportunities presented by fragmentation in the broader European renewable market. The close of these funds will place Quercus among the top 3 renewable infrastructure funds in Europe. We aim to bring funds like these to the UAE, demonstrating our commitment to providing fresh alternatives for local investors and supporting the country's ambition to become a major player in the renewables sector," Biasi added.

SOURCE Quercus
LUND, Sweden, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

BONESUPPORT AB, an emerging leader in innovative injectable bioceramic bone scaffolds to treat bone voids caused by trauma, infection, disease or related surgery, is pleased to announce that its CEO Richard Davies has won the "Best CEO in the Biomaterials Industry" award. The award was presented by European CEO Magazine based on Mr. Davies' track record at the forefront of major new healthcare trends and the continuing success of BONESUPPORT under his leadership.

Mr. Davies became CEO of BONESUPPORT in January 2016, following nearly four years spent at Hospira, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. While at Hospira, he drove growth, globalization and modernization across the business. Hospira was acquired by Pfizer at the end of 2015. Prior to Hospira, Mr. Davies spent nine years in increasingly senior leadership positions at Amgen in Europe, Australia and the U.S. His roles included leadership of the U.S. Inflammation sales group, which commercialized Enbrel (etanercept), the most prescribed biologic medicine in the U.S. at that time. Mr. Davies began his career at Eli Lilly, spending 13 years in increasingly senior positions.

Richard Davies, CEO of BONESUPPORT, said: "I am very humbled to have been given this award. I firmly believe that BONESUPPORT has an exciting future based on the significant potential of its unique CERAMENT platform. This platform is truly innovative and enables surgeons to improve patient outcomes across a range of orthopaedic indications, enabling a single stage surgical procedure for osteomyelitis, reduce length of stay in hospital and lower the cost of care. These benefits are based on the platform's important clinical features including its ability to rapidly remodel to host bone in six to 12 months, as well as being a carrier for therapeutics that enhance the bone healing process."

BONESUPPORT recently raised $37 million (SEK 327 million) to support the execution of its strategy to deliver significant shareholder value, focused on:

Driving the sales of CERAMENT BONE VOID FILLER, CERAMENT G and CERAMENT V (with the antibiotics gentamicin and vancomycin respectively)

Generating further clinical data to highlight the compelling benefits that the current CERAMENT products deliver

Conduct the FORTIFY study to support a planned PMA filing in the US for CERAMENT G

Building the Company's product pipeline by capitalizing on the unique drug-eluting properties of its injectable bioceramic platform

BONESUPPORT believes that the attractive properties of its CERAMENT platform will allow it to develop products that are both osteoconductive and osteoinductive for use managing a range of bone diseases where enhanced bone growth is needed to improve treatment outcomes.

- Ends -

Notes to Editor

About BONESUPPORT

BONESUPPORT has developed CERAMENT as an innovative range of radiopaque injectable osteoconductive bioceramic products that have a proven ability to heal defects by remodeling to host bone in six to 12 months. Our products are effective in treating patients with fractures and bone voids caused by trauma, infection, disease or related surgery. Our lead product, CERAMENT BONE VOID FILLER (BVF) addresses important issues facing health care providers, such as avoiding hospital readmissions and revision surgery that result from failed bone healing and infection caused by residual bone voids. CERAMENT BVF is commercially available in the U.S., EU, SE Asia and the Middle East.

CERAMENT's distinctive properties as a drug eluting material have been validated in clinical practice by CERAMENT G and CERAMENT V, the first CE-marked injectable antibiotic eluting bone graft substitutes. These products provide local sustained delivery of gentamicin and vancomycin, respectively. The local delivery feature enables an initial high concentration of antibiotics to the bone defect and then a longer sustainable dose above the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) to protect bone healing and promote bone remodeling.

CERAMENT G and CERAMENT V have demonstrated good results in patients with problematic bone infections including osteomyelitis. They are also used prophylactically in patients who are at risk for developing infection. CERAMENT G and CERAMENT V are available in the EU.

BONESUPPORT was founded in 1999 by Prof. Lars Lidgren, an internationally respected scientist who has been the President of various musculoskeletal societies. BONESUPPORT's mission is to bring people with bone and joint diseases back to an active life. The Company is based in Lund, Sweden. http://www.bonesupport.com

BONESUPPORT is a registered trademark.

Contact Information



Citigate Dewe Rogerson

David Dible, Andrea Bici, Mark Swallow

+44 (0)20 7282 2949/1050/2948

bonesupport@citigatedr.co.uk



SOURCE BONESUPPORT
Improvements Include More User-Intuitive Search Function and Mobile Optimization

SOMERVILLE, New Jersey, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- STI Marine, a division of Specified Technologies Inc. (STI), has unveiled its latest website, www.STIMarine.com. The website was created to support the company's ongoing offering of products that enhance fire and life safety on marine vessels through fire-stopping infiltrations at bulkheads and decks. The upgraded website continues to improve user experience through increased product and application classifications.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448905/STI_Marine_Firestop_Logo.jpg

"With the latest version of our marine website, ship owners and engineers can easily access product information from one easy-to-navigate source, either by product, application or the required Classification Agency type," said James P. Stahl, vice president and general manager, STI Marine. "The website is also mobile-optimized to increase user experience across a variety of smart devices, including the iOS and Android platforms."

STI Marine offers a variety of Classification Agency-approved lines of marine products focused to save shipyards and installers significant installation time and expense. For ship owners and operators, STI Marine offers products with the best life-cycle costs and proven maintenance-free solutions. All products and systems comply with IMO FTP and have associated Type Approvals from ABS, BV, DNV GL, Lloyd's Register, USCG and more.

STI Marine focuses on developing and manufacturing a wide array of systems for sealing infiltrations through fire-rated bulkheads and decks. For more information on STI Marine, please visit www.STIMarine.com.

About STI Marine

STI Marine, is a leader in developing innovative fire-stopping solutions, both on land and at sea. A division of Specified Technologies Inc. (STI), STI Marine focuses on developing and manufacturing a wide array of systems for sealing infiltrations through fire-rated bulkheads and decks. For ship owners and operators, providing best life-cycle cost matters, and many STI Marine solutions are maintenance-free and allow for easy modifications while in dry dock or at sea without disturbing passenger comfort or safety. For more information, visit www.STIMarine.com.

Related Links

http://www.STIMarine.com



SOURCE STI Marine
Patient Enrollment in the United States and Canada Ongoing

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tocagen Inc., a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, today announced its randomized, controlled Phase 2/3 clinical trial, called Toca 5, is now enrolling patients in Israel. Enrollment in the trial is ongoing in the United States and Canada. The study compares a cancer-selective virus, Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec), in combination with Toca FC (extended-release 5-fluorocytosine) to standard of care in patients with first or second recurrence of glioblastoma or anaplastic astrocytoma who are undergoing resection.

"Brain cancer remains one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancers, and there is significant need for new approaches. We are excited to be able to offer the Toca 5 gene therapy trial to patients in Israel," said Rachel Grossman, M.D., attending neurosurgeon at Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and principal investigator for the Toca 5 clinical trial in Israel. "This investigational treatment is designed to activate the patient's immune system selectively against the cancer, while maintaining a favorable safety profile."

"Receiving a brain cancer diagnosis is devastating for patients and their families, and if the tumor returns there are very few treatment options," said Alexander Lossos, M.D., head of the neuro-oncology center at the Hadassah Medical Center, which enrolled the first patient in Israel. "Our dedicated brain tumor care team is delighted to be the first clinical site in Israel to randomize a patient for this new study."

The primary endpoint for the Toca 5 clinical trial is overall survival with secondary endpoints including objective response rate. Investigators may choose chemotherapy (lomustine or temozolomide) or antiangiogenic therapy (bevacizumab) for the control arm. More information about the clinical trial can be found at www.tocagen.com/toca5.

Added Zvi Ram, M.D., Ph.D., department director of neurosurgery at Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, "The Phase 1 results for this treatment in patients with recurrent high grade glioma showed encouraging data including a favorable safety profile, durable tumor responses and promising survival. We now eagerly anticipate the results from the randomized Toca 5 study."

High grade gliomas are among the most common and aggressive primary brain cancers. The two most common forms of high grade glioma are glioblastoma and anaplastic astrocytoma. Standard treatment for newly diagnosed high grade glioma includes safe surgical removal of as much of the tumor as possible followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Despite these treatments, the tumor often recurs. Median survival after recurrence is approximately seven to nine months.

A total of 126 patients have been treated in Tocagen's Phase 1 ascending-dose studies. Clinical data were recently published in Science Translational Medicine. In the subset of patients in the higher dose cohorts that mirror the patient population under evaluation in the ongoing Toca 5 trial, a clinical benefit rate of 41.7% was reported at the 21st Annual Scientific Meeting and Education Day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. This included 3 complete responses, 2 partial responses and 5 patients with stable disease (N=24). All patients with an objective response remain alive and the median duration of response is at least 26.7 months. A summary of clinical data from Tocagen's ongoing Phase 1 clinical trials can be found on Tocagen's website.

About Toca 511 & Toca FC

Tocagen's lead product candidate is a combination of an investigational biologic, Toca 511, and an investigational oral tablet, Toca FC. Toca 511 encodes a prodrug activator enzyme, CD. Its selective delivery to cancer cells means that the infected cancer cells carry the CD gene and produce CD protein. Toca FC is an orally administered, proprietary extended-release formulation of 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), a prodrug that is inactive as an anti-cancer drug. Within Toca-511-infected cancer cells that are producing CD, Toca 511 is designed to convert Toca FC into the anti-cancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) at local high concentrations. In addition to the direct killing of Toca 511-infected cancer cells, 5-FU kills neighboring uninfected cancer cells and immunosuppressive myeloid cells including myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumor associated macrophages (TAM) in the tumor.

About Tocagen

Tocagen is a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company developing first-in-class, broadly applicable product candidates designed to activate a patient's immune system against their own cancer. The company is developing its lead investigational product candidate, Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec) & Toca FC (extended-release 5-fluorocytosine), initially for the treatment of recurrent high grade glioma (HGG), a disease with significant unmet medical need. Tocagen has initiated the Phase 2 portion of a randomized, controlled Phase 2/3 clinical trial of Toca 511 & Toca FC in patients with recurrent HGG, which is designed to serve as a potential registrational trial. More information about the clinical trial can be found at www.tocagen.com/toca5. Tocagen has initiated a clinical trial of Toca 511 & Toca FC in metastatic cancers, including colorectal, pancreatic, lung, breast, renal and melanoma. Tocagen obtained Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Toca 511 & Toca FC as a treatment of recurrent HGG and Orphan drug designation for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a subset of HGG. Tocagen has received grant support from leading brain cancer foundations, including Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA), Musella Foundation and Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC). For more information, visit www.tocagen.com or follow @Tocagen.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374329LOGO

Related Links

http://www.tocagen.com



SOURCE Tocagen Inc.
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Flying to more countries than any other airline in the world, Turkish Airlines reaches 50 destinations in Africa

Turkish Airlines has launched its flights between Istanbul and Zanzibar today. Following the addition of Zanzibar, Turkish Airlines will now be flying to 293 destinations worldwide; 50 of which are in Africa. These include the east African city hubs of Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar, Nairobi, Mogadishu, Djibouti, Asmara, Addis Ababa, Kigali and Entebbe.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161024/431899 )

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448780/Turkish_Airlines.jpg )





Flight TK567 will provide a direct link to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, from where passengers will be able to conveniently reach top global destinations including Frankfurt, Muscat, Munchen, Dubai, Paris, London, Milano, Amsterdam, Zurich, Bombay, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg, Tel-Aviv, Dusseldorf, and Prague.

Mr. Ahmet Olmustur, Chief Marketing Officer at Turkish Airlines, said "Turkish Airlines is proud to transport people around the globe to experience new cultures, share ideas and create memories that will stay with them for a lifetime. We are delighted to open the new route to Zanzibar, a truly remarkable destination. We continually seek out opportunities to expand our network and look forward to welcoming passengers on their way to Zanzibar in the near future."

To view schedule of flights, please visits http://www.turkishairlines.com or visit any Turkish Airlines sales office.

About Turkish Airlines:

Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines is a 4-star airline today with a fleet of 334 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 293 destinations worldwide with 244 international and 49 domestic. According to the 2016 Skytrax survey, Turkish Airlines was chosen as "Europe's Best Airline" for the sixth and "Best Airline in Southern Europe" for the eighth consecutive time. Having won in 2010 the world's "Best Economy Catering Service", in 2013 and also in 2014 the world's "Best Business Catering Service", and "Best Business Class Lounge Dining", "Best Business Airline Lounge" awards in last year's survey, Turkish Airlines was awarded again the world's "Best Business Class Dining Lounge" and "Best Business Class On-Board Catering" prizes in this year's survey. More information about Turkish Airlines can be found on its official website http://www.turkishairlines.com or its social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, and Instagram.

Turkish Airlines Inc.

Office of Media Relations

Tel: +90(212)463-63-63 - 11153 / 11173

Fax: +90(212)465-20-78

press@thy.com



SOURCE Turkish Airlines
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Burlington Stores and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Light The Night Walk campaign collaborated for the 15th consecutive year to shine a light on the urgent need for funding to help support blood cancer research and advance new treatments and cures. From September 7 through November 30, all Burlington Stores nationwide encouraged customers to donate to the cause at check-out during this 12-week in-store promotion. The campaign, featuring young "heroes" who are blood cancer survivors, raised $3.86 million, which brought Burlington's grand total raised over 15 years to $29.4 million.

"Burlington Stores continue to be our top National Corporate Partner and Honored Friend," said Louis J. DeGennaro, PhD, LLS president and chief executive officer. "Their dedication and commitment to LLS is helping us fund research to advance cures for patients with blood cancers. We're so grateful to Burlington and all of its associates for their dedication to our mission and their support for LLS as we strive to create a world without blood cancers."

"We are so proud of Burlington's long-standing partnership with LLS and its Light The Night campaign. Giving back to the community is an important part of our heritage and I sincerely appreciate the commitment of our associates, and even more, the generosity of our customers who have helped us continue to save lives and spread the word about this important cause," said Tom Kingsbury, President, CEO and Chairman, Burlington Stores.

LLS exists to find cures and ensure access to treatments for blood cancer patients, and is doing more than any health non-profit organization to advance cures and access for blood cancer patients. Today, LLS is having an impact beyond the blood cancers; more than 40 percent of new cancer therapies approved by the FDA between 2000 and 2015 were first approved for blood cancer patients and many are now helping patients with other serious diseases. This would not be possible without the generosity of partners such as Burlington and their customers and associates.

About Burlington Stores

Burlington is a national off-price retailer offering style for less with up to 65 percent off other retailers' prices every day. Departments include ladies' dresses, suits, sportswear, juniors, accessories, menswear, family footwear and children's clothing. It also includes an assortment of furniture and accessories for baby at Baby Depot, home decor and gifts, along with the largest selection of coats in the nation for the entire family. Burlington has 593 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. For more, visit www.BurlingtonStores.com.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

LLS Contact: Burlington Stores Contact: Kristin Hoose Lauren Flanagan 914-821-8973 212-539-3248 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Related Links

http://www.LLS.org


FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The global robotics market is more competitive than ever. New companies are emerging constantly. Which are the best? Who should you keep on your business radar? Enter the RBR50: Robotics Business Review's annual list of the top 50 robotics companies in the world.

Is your company a leader in the industry? Are you a startup making waves? Robotics Business Review (RBR) is accepting nominations for this prestigious list now through January 31, 2017.

"From brand-new startups to the biggest robotics makers, RBR50 companies are the innovators, trend setters, and companies to watch as the business continues to rapidly evolve," says Eugene Demaitre, Senior Editor for Robotics Business Review.

The RBR50 is selected from a pool of strong nominations across the industry based on factors such as innovation, groundbreaking application, commercial success and commercial potential with an eye towards representing many different facets of the robotics industry ecosystem. "Whether you're in manufacturing, supply chain, or healthcare, among other vertical markets, the RBR50 is a veritable who's who of key robotics players. Self-driving cars, customer-service robots, and AI-powered processes are just a few of the applications we follow," continues Demaitre.

The benefits of making it onto the RBR50 are many. Members are tracked throughout the year with RBR reporting on their partnerships, product pipelines and business growth, keeping readers informed on where each company stands in the market and why. "The leading component makers, robot suppliers and integrators look to our list to find investment opportunities, partners, customers and even rivals," says Demaitre.

To nominate your own company for the RBR50, please visit RoboticsBusinessReview.com. To nominate a company not your own that you think should make the list, please email Eugene Demaitre with the company name, URL and any company contact information you can share. Entries must be received by the January 31 deadline. Nominations will weigh heavily in the development of the final top 50 list, which will be announced in February 2017.

ABOUT ROBOTICS BUSINESS REVIEW

Robotics Business Review provides business intelligence for the global robotics industry. Members enjoy exclusive insights into global trends, tracking of financial transactions, analysis of new technologies and companies, annual and quarterly research reports, access to the RBR50 Top 50 Companies list and much more. Visit RoboticsBusinessReview.com.

CONTACT: Eugene Demaitre; [email protected]; 508.663.1500 x 237

SOURCE Robotics Business Review

Related Links

http://www.RoboticsBusinessReview.com


Sponsored by Senate Health and Human Services Committee Vice Chair Peggy Lehner and Assistant Majority Whip Representative Sarah LaTourette, the Ohio Caregiving Act will help as many as 1.4 million Ohioans who provide unpaid care to parents, spouses or other loved ones. The value of this unpaid care in Ohio alone is estimated at $16.5 billion a year.

More than 70 percent of Ohio caregivers also perform complex medical tasks  though only half receive training on how to do so when a loved one leaves the hospital. Ohio voters aged 50+ overwhelmingly support the bill, with 92% saying hospitals should "explain and demonstrate" to family caregivers the medical tasks they'll need to perform when their loved ones return home from the hospital, a 2014 AARP survey found; the act makes this a requirement.

"This is a great day for family caregivers across Ohio who are doing all they can to help their loved ones live at home for as long as possible," said Barbara Sykes, State Director of AARP in Ohio. "Senator Lehner, Representative LaTourette and all of our lawmakers are making a real and positive difference in the lives of Ohioans in passing this bill."

"Information is power, and the Ohio Caregiving Act will empower Ohio's family caregivers."

"SB 314 recognizes the critical role family caregivers play in keeping their loved ones out of costly institutions. It utilizes the existing hospital discharge process to put in place some small, but meaningful supports for caregivers during hospital transitions, a difficult and stressful time for both patients and caregivers," said Senator Peggy Lehner of Kettering.

"As I have seen firsthand, family caregivers are already the 'new normal' and have become the default providers for complex chronic care in home," said Representative Sarah LaTourette from Bainbridge Township. "As Ohio's population ages, this normal will become even more critical and it will become incumbent to keep family caregivers better informed, notified, and instructed in after-care tasks, so that they have a better chance to keep their loved ones safely at home."

"I was not in the ER to advocate for my Mom when it was most needed, and they were going to send her on her way into the cold with a "follow up" appointment and some pills she couldn't swallow," said Andrea Tayek of Shaker Heights, who cares for her mother Marcia. "Now that won't happen. Family caregivers like me will be engaged at the start and allowed to play a key role in the medical care of their loved ones."

The Ohio Caregiving Act garnered vast support from a wide range of organizations representing consumers, health advocates and seniors, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, LeadingAge Ohio, Mt. Carmel Health System and the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

"This regulation is a perfect example of how common sense solutions can be found when stakeholders work together," said State Advocacy lead for AARP Ohio, Trey Addison. "Family caregivers will be given crucial guidance on how to care for their loved ones after leaving the hospital and help older Ohioans avoid nursing homes and other institutional care. We commend our state lawmakers for working with us on this new rule."

Two other pieces of legislation supported by AARP for their impact on healthcare and independent living for Ohioans 50+ and their families were also passed; SB 311 Older Adult Influenza Vaccine Information & Education and HB 216 Nurses Scope of Practice.

Follow us on Twitter: @AARPOhio and Facebook: AARP OH

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of more than 37 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Espanol, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity of AARP that is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.

SOURCE AARP Ohio

Related Links

http://www.aarp.org


LONDON, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

UBM plc ("UBM", or the "Company") announces today that it has agreed to acquire Allworld Exhibitions ("Allworld", or the "Business") for a cash consideration which values the Business at US$485 million on a debt and cash free basis (the "Acquisition").

Allworld is the leading privately-owned Asian exhibitions business operating 51 tradeshows in 11 countries and across nine industry sectors. Allworld generated revenues of $97.2 million and EBITDA of $37.6 million (38.7% margin) during the twelve months ended 30 June 2016.

Highlights

Allworld is a high-quality, high-growth events business

Pure-play portfolio of large, high-margin events: 90% of revenues generated from 28 Major events

Consistent record of high organic growth: 7.3% revenue CAGR over last 10 years

Strong strategic rationale, in line with Events First strategy

Strengthens UBM's market-leading position in Asia , creating the leading events business in the ASEAN region, and provides UBM with entry into the Middle East

, creating the leading events business in the ASEAN region, and provides UBM with entry into the Strong sectoral complementarity with UBM's existing portfolio - particularly in Food & Hospitality, Packaging and Manufacturing - with entry into Oil & Gas

Significant opportunity to accelerate growth through operational initiatives and application of Events First best practices

best practices In combination with UBM, revenue growth is expected to accelerate over the next 24 months

Strong growth and margin expansion underpin attractive financial returns

Immediately enhancing to earnings in 2017

Return on investment to exceed cost of capital from 2019

Fully debt funded with new bridge facility

UBM expects to maintain investment grade rating and return to target leverage corridor of 1.5-2.0x within 12 to 18 months (in line with financial policy) whilst maintaining flexibility to continue with regular bolt-on acquisitions

Commenting on the acquisition, Tim Cobbold, CEO of UBM, said:

"The acquisition of Allworld is wholly in line with our Events First strategy and represents an exceptional opportunity to accelerate growth by investing in a high-quality events business.

"In so doing we cement our position as the leading events business in Asia and achieve the number one position in the fast-growing ASEAN region. We see excellent opportunities to accelerate organic growth in the business.

"Allworld's management and employees bring tremendous experience and expertise to UBM and I look forward to working with them to realise the growth potential of the combined business."

Investor and analyst call

A conference call will be held at 8.30am GMT on 13 December 2016. To listen to the audio and watch the slides please log onto the web conference link ( https://webconnect.webex.com/webconnect/onstage/g.php?MTID=e5a2a6e6f45e79ba0b0b3c96f8b330837 ) . Alternatively please dial-in to the conference call on +44 (0) 1452 555 566 (Passcode: UBM) or UK freephone 0800 694 0257. Slides are available on the UBM plc website. http://investors.ubm.com/presentations#

Background on Allworld

Allworld is a pure-play events business serving nine different industry sectors. It operates 51 tradeshows (a mixture of annual and biennial shows) in 11 countries: Singapore, China & Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, South Korea, Bahrain and Kuwait, and is the leading privately-held Asian exhibitions organiser (with a position in the Middle East). Allworld has industry-leading events in attractive sectors including Food & Hospitality, Packaging, Manufacturing, TMT and Oil & Gas. It has international sales teams based in London and Singapore and has approximately 250 employees.

Events First implementation and integration planning

Allworld is a well-run, family-owned business with a strong track record of organic growth. Its geographical and sectoral strengths are aligned well with UBM's existing business in Asia. It is this high degree of alignment that generates the strong revenue growth opportunities.

A thorough, event-by-event and country-by-country due diligence exercise has identified event-specific growth opportunities arising from a combination of the two portfolios and by applying Events First best practices. These opportunities include making use of additional venue capacity at certain space-constrained shows, implementing value-based pricing, launching new geo-adapts and spin-off events and deploying UBM's systems and processes.

Allworld, which operates differently from UBM from a systems and process perspective, will require investment to support the accelerated revenue growth and so net zero cost synergies have been assumed. The integration process and realisation of anticipated revenue synergies is expected to last approximately two years, with total integration costs of approximately $20m.

Financial information

Allworld generated revenues of $97.2 million and EBITDA of $37.6 million (38.7% margin) during the twelve months ended 30 June 2016, of which $50.9 million was from annual events. Over the last 10 years the total revenues of the Business have grown at a 7.3% CAGR.

Annual events revenue for the period July to December 2015 was $29.4 million and for the period January to June 2016 was $21.5 million. Annual events revenue has grown at a 6.6% CAGR over the last two financial years and growth is expected to accelerate to double digit in each of calendar years 2017 and 2018. Annual events revenue growth rates are then expected to return to historic levels (7-8%) after 2018.

Biennial events represent approximately 40% of Allworld's revenues on a calendar year basis, with modestly higher revenues in even years. Biennial revenues in the year to December 2015 were approximately $39.5 million and are expected to be relatively flat in the year to December 2017, reflecting good growth in the underlying odd-year portfolio, offset by headwinds in the Oil & Gas events. Strong growth is expected in 2018, at least in line with annual events, reflecting the revenue synergies and some recovery in the Oil & Gas events.

Allworld has delivered consistently high profit margins and cash conversion. EBITDA margins in the year to December 2017 are expected to be approximately 35%, reflecting the biennial mix. Significant margin expansion is expected thereafter, primarily driven by revenue growth.

As at 30 June 2016, Allworld had gross assets of $62.9 million and generated an operating profit of $37.1 million for the twelve months ended 30 June 2016.

Details of the transaction

The transaction will be structured as a purchase of several legal entities and definitive documentation has been executed with the vendor, International Exhibition Services Limited. It is expected to complete without any closing conditions on 16 December in all geographies except Bahrain. Completion of the acquisition of the Bahrain entity containing Allworld's Middle Eastern events is conditional upon completion of local reorganisation steps and approvals and is expected to occur within the next month.

The consideration and UBM's transaction expenses will be financed from existing revolving credit facilities and a new $365 million bridge facility, which is expected to be refinanced with longer-term debt following completion.

Key members of Allworld's management team will continue to manage the business within UBM and will report directly to the UBM senior leadership in Asia. Allworld's outgoing Chairman will assist UBM with the integration process.

J.P. Morgan Cazenove acted as financial adviser to UBM in relation to the Acquisition. BCMS acted as financial adviser to Allworld Exhibitions.

About UBM plc

UBM plc is a leading global B2B events organiser. Running over 350 events per year, UBM is the largest listed pure-play organiser globally and the largest independent organiser in the US and China. We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online and in print. Our 3,500 staff in more than 20 countries are organised into specialist teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business, and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.ubm.com; for UBM corporate news, follow us on Twitter at @UBM.

For more information, go to www.ubm.com; for UBM corporate news, follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc and go to http://media.ubm.com/social for more UBM social media options.

'Major' events generate revenue greater than 1m per annum. Organic revenue growth defined as growth excluding acquisitions.

About J.P. Morgan

J.P. Morgan Limited (which conducts its UK investment banking business as J.P. Morgan Cazenove) ("J.P. Morgan Cazenove"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as financial adviser exclusively for UBM plc and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than UBM plc for providing the protections afforded to clients of J.P. Morgan Cazenove or its affiliates, nor for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to herein.

Contacts:

UBM plc

Kate Postans

Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

[email protected]

+44 207-921-5023

Brunswick

Jon Coles, Andy Rivett-Carnac, Craig Breheny

[email protected]

+44 207-404-5959



SOURCE UBM plc
BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Celtra, the leading creative management platform for digital advertising, today released results from a commissioned study, "The Mobile Ad Experience Matters To Your Media ROI," conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Celtra. The study found that brands who prioritize creative see improved customer response rates and achieve higher brand recognition.

Forrester predicts that mobile advertising spend will increase by 24.5% year over year through 2020. The research study commissioned by Celtra notes that if ad spending continues to increase without an improvement in ad UX quality, the result will be an increased use of ad blockers by consumers, which could create longer-term issues that can damage the entire digital ecosystem.

"Smart advertisers have a significant market opportunity to drive high levels of customer engagement and sustained competitive advantage by leveraging strong creative in their mobile ad campaigns," said Mihael Mikek, Founder and CEO of Celtra. "Many brands have yet to realize the full potential of mobile advertising and will benefit greatly by refocusing their efforts on quality and the user experience. This will ensure that mobile ads are more relevant, less disruptive and, ultimately, more engaging to consumers."

Key Findings

Brands are struggling to achieve their mobile advertising objectives: While advertisers set out to accomplish branding objectives via mobile ads, this study revealed that more than two-thirds of surveyed brand advertisers believe that at least half of their mobile advertising isn't successful in achieving their objectives.

While advertisers set out to accomplish branding objectives via mobile ads, this study revealed that more than two-thirds of surveyed brand advertisers believe that at least half of their mobile advertising isn't successful in achieving their objectives. Delivering poor mobile ads comes at a cost: Delivering ads with a poor experience threatens brand results. Millions of media dollars wasted, sunk costs of ad development and creation, and harm to the brand image. More broadly, poor mobile ad experiences threaten the advertising ecosystem itself, leading to an increased use of ad blocking technology and depriving publishers of the ability to monetize consumer traffic. According to survey respondents, 73% of the mobile advertisements seen in a typical day fail to create a positive user experience, which can damage brand perception and lead to negative business impact.

Delivering ads with a poor experience threatens brand results. Millions of media dollars wasted, sunk costs of ad development and creation, and harm to the brand image. More broadly, poor mobile ad experiences threaten the advertising ecosystem itself, leading to an increased use of ad blocking technology and depriving publishers of the ability to monetize consumer traffic. According to survey respondents, 73% of the mobile advertisements seen in a typical day fail to create a positive user experience, which can damage brand perception and lead to negative business impact. Improving ad creative will remedy the mobile ecosystem stalemate: Mobile is an important ad channel, and brands are significantly more likely to achieve core brand and advertising objectives when providing consumers with positive mobile ad experiences.



Survey Methodology

Celtra commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate the impact of a poor mobile advertising experience on consumers. Forrester tested the hypothesis that advertisers are wasting millions of dollars on ad spend each year due to poor consumer experiences with mobile ads.

Forrester conducted a survey of 1,000 consumers regarding their recent experiences and preferences toward mobile ads. Forrester also surveyed 100 advertising and marketing professionals from various US brands. Each company surveyed had 1,000 employees or more, with the largest percentage coming from companies of over 10,000 employees.

Resources

To access the full study, "The Mobile Ad Experience Matters to Your Media ROI," visit: https://www.celtra.com/insights/forrester-report

About Celtra

Celtra empowers agencies, media suppliers and brand leaders with the leading creative technology for data-driven brand video, display and native advertising across all screens including mobile, tablets and desktop. AdCreator 4 is built to run large-scale and complex campaigns. It provides a single, self-service solution for streamlined data-driven ad creation, performance optimized serving and consolidated reporting, providing common metrics across all screens. Celtra powers the ad user experience in 35 markets for more than 3,000 brand advertisers, including two-thirds of the Fortune 500.

Celtra is headquartered in Boston (MA), with offices in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London (UK), Tokyo (JP), Sydney (AU) and Ljubljana (SI). For more information, visit Celtra at www.celtra.com or @CeltraMobile on Twitter.



Media Contact:

Michael Gallo

For Celtra

212-239-8594

[email protected]

Cristy Ebert

Celtra

646-439-2181

[email protected]

SOURCE Celtra

Related Links

http://www.celtra.com


Add a glistening, on-trend look with a lighted canvas, which features twinkling lights that dance on shimmering glitter to lend a glam look to any room. The project, designed by crafting experts at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, can be adapted to any palette; just change out the color of the glitter to match the hues in your favorite room.

For a charming, subtle accent, this frosted jar and doily not only adds quaint flair  the jar also provides a soft glow of light. It's perfect nestled on a shelf or sitting atop a dresser with similarly styled items.

Find more creative ideas to bring a touch of light to your home decor at joann.com.

Glitter and Lights Canvas

Crafting time: 3-5 hours

Skill level: Intermediate

Supplies and Tools:

Foam brush

18-by-24-inch canvas

Decoupage medium

Ultra-fine to coarse gold glitter

Craft knife

3 packages battery-operated warm white LED moon lights

Duct tape

Protected work surface

Use foam brush to cover entire canvas with layer of decoupage medium.

Working 12 inches from canvas, dust canvas with glitter. Apply glitter so bottom is fully covered, fading into less glitter at top to create an ombre effect. Apply additional layers of glitter to achieve a thick consistency at bottom. Mix types of glitters to create dimension.

Apply thin layer of decoupage medium over entire canvas to seal glitter. Tip: Ensure base layer is completely dry before applying top coat to avoid smearing glitter.

Poke small hole in back of canvas with craft knife. Push tip of moon light through hole and secure in place with duct tape. Repeat, adding holes and lights over entire canvas. Continue ombre effect by placing more lights at bottom of canvas and less toward top. Apply layers of duct tape to hold lights securely in place on canvas.

Frosted Ball Jar with Doily

Crafting time: 1-2 hours

Skill level: Intermediate

Supplies and Tools:

Ball jar (1-quart)

Frosted glass spray

Doily (8- to 10-inch diameter)

Spray adhesive

Hemp twine

1/8-inch ribbon

Battery-powered tea light

Follow manufacturer's directions and spray Ball jar completely with frosted glass spray. Allow to dry completely. Spray working side of doily with adhesive. Press doily to jar, smoothing out any wrinkles. Allow to dry thoroughly. Use twine and ribbon to embellish top. Place battery-powered tea light inside.

Michael French

[email protected]

1-888-824-3337

editors.familyfeatures.com

About Family Features Editorial Syndicate

Established in 1974, Family Features is a leading provider of free food and lifestyle content for print and online publications. Our articles, photos, videos and web content solutions save you time, money and help create advertising opportunities. Registration is fast and free  with absolutely no obligation. Visit editors.familyfeatures.com for more information.

SOURCE Family Features Editorial Syndicate

Related Links

http://www.familyfeatures.com


DUBAI, UAE, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Manthan's contextual targeting engine TargetOne to deliver enhanced customer experiences and multi-channel campaign management with one-to-one customer connects

Manthan, a global leader in Big Data and Analytics solutions, has now tied up with Al Habtoor Motors, one of the leading automobile distributors in the Middle East, which has become synonymous with global brands including Bentley, McLaren, Bugatti and Mitsubishi to name a few, to build a strong omnichannel personalization platform for enhanced customer experience.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160321/346132LOGO )



Al Habtoor Motors, part of the renowned Al Habtoor Group, has a strong footprint in the region with a diverse portfolio ranging from high-end luxury automobiles to passenger and commercial vehicles. As part of the relationship, Al Habtoor will use Manthan TargetOne, a cloud based solution, which will enable its business users to leverage analytics driven contextual personalization, to deliver increased purchases, loyalty and enhanced customer relationship.



With TargetOne, businesses can now gain a real-time view of campaign performance through a central hub, micro-segment, and utilize machine learning based recommendation engines to personalize every promotion. A unique Vehicle Personalization feature will also provide an additional edge to the business by tailoring communications to potential buyers.

"Due to the nature of rapidly changing and competitive market it was getting increasingly challenging to target and track campaigns accurately. With TargetOne we can provide our business teams with an integrated, single window view of our multi-channel campaigns. What we really liked about Manthan was that it was a cloud based solution that business users could intuitively use, and of course, the fact that we were up and running in short span of time," said Mr Sahayam K, Director IT, Al Habtoor Motors.

"Manthan TargetOne will enable us to manage our multi-channel campaigns more effectively, thereby giving us better ROI and a more impactful customer contact plan. It helps manage our campaigns from start to finish. By integrating with our core ERP, it allows for easy target segmentation and list management. Its built-in tracking and analytics are also some of the other features that we find useful," said Ms Sujata Dutta, Head of CRM, Al Habtoor Motors

"This partnership with Al Habtoor Motors is an important milestone for us, re-emphasizing our commitment to bring best in class BI and Analytics capabilities to businesses in the MEA region by empowering them with better insights and helping them align and perform better as an organization. We believe this is the beginning of a strong and lasting relationship which will grow across the Al Habtoor Group in the near future," said Mohammed Ehtesham, VP Middle East and Africa, Manthan.

With a regional office in Dubai Internet City, and a number of technology partnerships and customer wins, Manthan has built a significant presence in Middle East and Africa. Manthan's award winning advanced analytics solutions enable its customers to drive the fastest path to profit with real-time actionable insights powering every decision for every role across organization.

About Manthan:

Manthan is the Chief Analytics Officer for consumer industries worldwide. Manthan's portfolio of analytics-enabled business applications, advanced analytics platforms and solutions are architected to help users across industries walk the complete data-to-result path - analyze, take guided decisions and execute these decisions real-time. Sophisticated, yet intuitive analytical capability coupled with the power of big data, mobility and cloud computing, brings users business-ready applications that provide on-demand access and real-time execution - the only path to profit in a contemporary, on-demand and connected economy. Manthan is one of the most awarded analytics innovators among analysts and customers alike. To see how your business can gain from analytics, visit http://www.manthan.com.

Reach out to Manthan on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Contact: Vikram Murdeshwar, +91-9731310438, [email protected]

SOURCE Manthan
The complaint was also delivered to the two individual defendants in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, earlier today. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

"I'm suing these individuals who have abused their power in the Kabila government as a way of standing up to those who violate basic human rights. I know that I am only one of many to suffer torture at their hands. Although these individuals targeted me because I am an American, these individuals are notorious for their abuses against the Congolese people as well. I hope this case will bring some small measure of justice against persons who have no regard for basic human dignity."

In his complaint, Mr. Lewis is seeking not less than $4.5 million in damages.

NOTE: These materials are distributed by DCI Group AZ, L.L.C. for Akin Gump Straus Hauer and Feld LLP on behalf of Moise Katumbi, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

SOURCE Darryl Lewis
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Anaplan has added Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) in the 2016.4 release of its leading planning and performance management platform. First to market with an advanced ALM in the cloud Enterprise Performance Management space, Anaplan is giving customers greater precision and control when managing applications across development, test, and production environments, thereby enabling greater flexibility in adapting to changing conditions. The new release also improves model history tracking for greater visibility and auditability.

The benefits of Anaplan's ALM offering include:

Easier management of the development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of Anaplan-based plans and applications across a business. Users can automatically see changes and synchronize models.

Improved data safety and reliability since model building, administration, and deployment responsibilities are separated and controlled.

Revision control enabling administrators to tag model structure revisions that are ready for testing or for deployment to production.

Improved auditability using a summary of net structural changes that can be created before changes are synchronized.

Added security so that a deployed environment's structure can be locked down to prevent inadvertent or unwanted changes.

"Only Anaplan offers this level of sophistication and efficiency in a modern enterprise platform that reduces the production deployment timeline from days to hours," said Michael Gould, Anaplan's Chief Technology Officer and Founder. "As a cloud-native platform, Anaplan is leading the market with capabilities such as ALM, which address customer-driven requirements around security, governance, and efficiency."

This platform update also improves security and auditability with the addition of model history details. Users can track what was changed in a model, who changed it, and when it was changed. Anaplan also announced these new capabilities and apps:

Easier, better data integration with Anaplan HyperConnect, powered by Informatica. HyperConnect enables business users to extract and transform data, and schedule data integration using an intuitive interface.

More data visualization and reporting options due to a new partnership between Anaplan and Tableau Software. Joint Anaplan-Tableau customers can easily bring Anaplan data into Tableau for visualization and reporting.

A range of new apps, such as Long-Range Planning, Asset Management, and P&L Forecasting are now available in the Anaplan App Hub, which offers over 150 industry-specific apps from Anaplan, partners, and customers.

To learn more, visit: https://www.anaplan.com/4th-release-of-2016

About Anaplan

Anaplan is the leading planning and performance management platform for smart businesses. Anaplan delivers an unrivaled planning and modeling engine, predictive analytics, collaboration in the cloud, and a simple interface for business users. Anaplan is privately held company headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with offices in 16 countries. To learn more, visit anaplan.com. Follow us on: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.

SOURCE Anaplan

Related Links

http://www.anaplan.com


Mr. Scott Rinaldi joins Ankura as Managing Director with more than 19 years of experience in the turnaround and restructuring industry. Mr. Rinaldi possesses a depth of experience in helping clients and counsel prepare for and navigate the formal and in-court bankruptcy processes including, among other things, contingency planning; pre-filing operational readiness; motions/pleadings preparation; communication plan development; preparation and filing of schedules of assets and liabilities, statements of financial affairs and monthly operating reports; claims resolution/distribution process implementation; and disclosure statement/plan of reorganization development. Mr. Rinaldi has worked across many industries including financial services, energy, airline, retail, real estate, technology, not-for-profit entities and manufacturing. Mr. Rinaldi was most recently with FTI Consulting.

"Ankura becomes a stronger partner for its clients with each and every additional colleague," said Kevin Lavin, Co-President of Ankura. "I have known Scott for more than 15 years. Through my prior work experience with Scott and given his reputation in the industry, I am keenly aware of Scott's capabilities in helping companies solve problems in the most challenging circumstances. He will prove a valuable resource to our Turnaround & Restructuring clients."

About Ankura Consulting Group

Ankura Consulting Group is a business advisory and expert services firm. Its deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges clients face enables its team to provide impactful, senior-level counsel. As an independent firm built on five key principles  Integrity, Quality, Diversity, Collaboration and Longevity  Ankura's relationships extend beyond one engagement or issue. The firm empowers its industry experts to provide a high-touch, unique approach for its clients in critical times. Ankura's offering includes a wide range of services offered within its Data Analytics & Technology Services, Investigations & Accounting Advisory, Litigation & Disputes, Regulatory & Contractual Compliance, Risk, Resilience & Geopolitical, Turnaround & Restructuring groups. For more information: ankuraconsulting.com.

SOURCE Ankura Consulting Group

Related Links

https://ankuraconsulting.com


SEATTLE, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AnswerDash, a leading provider of SaaS self-service support solutions, announces its agreement with Rise Broadband, the nation's largest fixed wireless internet and digital phone provider. Under the agreement, Rise uses AnswerDash's predictive Q&A engine on its website to deliver questions and answers in context, thereby improving the customer experience.

AnswerDash Delivers Predictive Self-Service Customer Support to Fixed-Wireless Leader Rise Broadband

AnswerDash provides this support by overlaying a dynamic Q&A tab on each page on the Rise site. When clicked by visitors, the tab pops out and displays the most commonly asked questions which are relevant to that page. By clicking on one of the common questions, a visitor receives an instant answer without having to leave the page to search a static FAQ or formulate a search query. The system leverages a company's existing knowledge base and determines the optimum questions to present using AnswerDash's predictive Q&A engine based on proprietary natural language processing (NLP) algorithms.

"We are excited to work with Rise Broadband," said Bill Colleran, CEO at AnswerDash. "Rise provides exceptional service and is continuing to lead the way in the fixed wireless industry by implementing the latest customer support technology."

Rise Broadband utilizes AnswerDash's simple, intuitive interface to efficiently handle commonly-asked questions. Visitors can also view other questions, search for different topics, submit a new question and provide feedback as to whether the answers were helpful. Rise continues to offer live chat and customer service agents when additional support is desired.

"Rise is dedicated to providing a positive experience for our website visitors by answering questions quickly, accurately and efficiently," said Kim Whitehead, Vice President of Marketing at Rise Broadband. "AnswerDash seamlessly delivers content to our customers, enabling us to effectively assist them 24 hours a day."

Because AnswerDash enables web site visitors to get predictive self-service help, organizations can improve their customer satisfaction while reducing customer support costs. Similarly, because AnswerDash provides assistance that is faster, more intuitive and simpler to access, visitors to AnswerDash-enabled web sites tend to achieve their objectives more often, resulting in higher conversions including downloads, registrations and purchases.

About AnswerDash

AnswerDash's predictive Q&A engine enables companies to empower their users with the right information in the right place at the right time, whether on websites, in mobile apps or via chatbots. With AnswerDash, businesses can transform their digital user experience to dramatically cut support costs, increase sales conversions and improve customer satisfaction. AnswerDash integrates with the most popular knowledge bases and ticketing systems from Salesforce.com, Zendesk and Freshdesk, bringing knowledge base content directly to the point of need. AnswerDash also integrates with live chat solutions from leading providers such as Olark, Zopim, LiveChat, inContact, and SnapEngage. Founded by experts in human-computer interaction at the University of Washington, AnswerDash was named a Cool Vendor in Gartner's 2015 CRM Customer Service Report. Learn more at www.answerdash.com.

About Rise Broadband

Rise Broadband is the nation's largest fixed wireless internet service provider; offering affordable high-speed broadband (internet and phone) services in 16 states. Established in 2005 as JAB Wireless, Inc., Rise serves nearly 200,000 residential/commercial accounts in rural and suburban areas throughout the Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions. The company also offers DISH and Direct TV service as well as PC Care; a one-stop resource for residential tech assistance. Rise is headquartered in metro Denver and more information can be found at RiseBroadband.com.

Media Contacts

AnswerDash

Jennifer Spencer

301-675-7848

[email protected]

Rise Broadband

Richard Abels

303-779-6292

[email protected]

SOURCE AnswerDash

Related Links

http://www.answerdash.com


WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- API today blasted the EPA's abandonment of science in revising the conclusions to the Assessment Report on hydraulic fracturing.

"It is beyond absurd for the administration to reverse course on its way out the door," said API Upstream Director Erik Milito. "The agency has walked away from nearly a thousand sources of information from published papers, technical reports and peer reviewed scientific reports demonstrating that industry practices, industry trends, and regulatory programs protect water resources at every step of the hydraulic fracturing process. Decisions like this amplify the public's frustrations with Washington.

"Fortunately, the science and data clearly demonstrate that hydraulic fracturing does not lead to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water resources. Unfortunately, consumers have witnessed five years and millions of dollars expended only to see conclusion based in science changed to a conclusion based in political ambiguity. We look forward to working with the new administration in order to instill fact-based science back into the public policy process."

Hydraulic fracturing supports millions of U.S. jobs, has increased supplies of oil and natural gas and has helped to put downward pressure on energy prices. It also has strengthened America's energy security and geopolitical position.

The United States is not only leading the world in the production of oil and natural gas due to fracking, it is also leading the world in reducing carbon emissions. In fact, clean-burning natural gas has driven emissions in the U.S. power sector to 25-year lows. Consumers are also saving an average of $1,337 in energy costs per household and drivers saved $550 in fuel costs in 2015.

When asked earlier this month about the finalized report, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said: "We're going to stick with the science." EPA's original findings are supported by academics and specialists in oil and gas engineering operations, hydrology and geology. The list of supporting evidence includes findings that no drinking water contamination as a result of hydraulic fracturing was found in the Marcellus, the Utica, the Barnett, the Permian, the Eagle Ford, the Woodford, the Fayetteville, the Haynesville, the Bakken, the Denver- Julesburg, the Piceance, the Raton, or any other shale formation where oil and gas resources are being developed through hydraulic fracturing.

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API's more than 625 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation's energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 30 million Americans.

SOURCE American Petroleum Institute

Related Links

http://www.api.org/


UTQIAGVIK, Alaska, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Arctic Slope Regional Corporation ("ASRC") is pleased to announce its strong support for Rex W. Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's selection for secretary of state. Trump made the announcement early this morning in a statement. If confirmed, Tillerson will be the first oil executive to lead the State Department.

"Through his work with Exxon, Tillerson has proven his business expertise in dealing with issues in the Arctic, especially Alaska's Arctic," said Rex A. Rock Sr., ASRC president and CEO. "He brings a sense of familiarity with his understanding of our region's strategic importance, as well as the vital significance of the pan-Arctic. He's lead successful projects with our doorstep neighbors Russia and Canada, and has business experience with other Arctic nations as far away as Norway. I look forward to working with Secretary Tillerson and others in the new administration in the future."

"I'm pleased to see a nominee who has the ability to have true, meaningful and candid conversations about the Arctic," added Crawford Patkotak, ASRC board chairman. "The Arctic is a region for opportunity and for peace and Tillerson brings a clear understanding of this global view. We will be watching the nomination process closely."

Tillerson started his career with Exxon in the mid-70s as an engineer, working his way up the corporate ladder to become the company's board chair and chief executive officer in 2004. His confirmation process is expected to begin in late January.

About ASRC

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) is owned by and represents the business interests of the Arctic Slope Inupiat. ASRC was established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, an act that extinguished aboriginal land claims in Alaska, and mandated the creation of corporations to provide benefits to their people, also known as shareholders. ASRC represents the most northern and remote region in the United States, an area approximately 55,000 million acres in size. The Arctic Slope region lies above the Arctic Circle, where a gallon of milk on average costs more than $7.00. The corporation has approximately 13,000 Inupiat Eskimo shareholders. Corporate headquarters are based in Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly known as Barrow, Alaska), with administrative and subsidiary offices located in Anchorage and throughout the United States. ASRC is the largest Alaskan-owned company, employing approximately 12,000 people worldwide. The company has six major business segments: petroleum refining and marketing, energy support services, industrial services, construction, government services and resource development.

CONTACT:

Ty Hardt

Director of Communications

Desk (907) 339-6888

Mobile (907) 223-3253

[email protected]

SOURCE Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

Related Links

http://www.asrc.com


COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) announced today that its 2016 "Give Big for Kids" campaign raised $3.6 million for lifesaving pediatric research and care at Nationwide Children's Hospital, a $1.4 million increase over last year's campaign donation to the hospital of $2.2 million.

The six-week-long campaign offered customers and associates the opportunity to donate in-store and online to support Nationwide Children's, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, but cares for patients from all 50 U.S. States and 41 countries. Funds raised will help benefit state-of-the-art facilities, revolutionary research and available lifesaving treatments.

The campaign also included shopping sprees for hospital patient champions representing Big Lots in seven markets across the country, including California, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Patient champions are children who are being treated or have been treated at Nationwide Children's and this year's Big Lots patient champions had an opportunity to shop at their local Big Lots store for gifts to send back to patients at Nationwide Children's to enjoy.

In addition to spearheading the Give Big for Kids campaign, on August 31, 2016, Big Lots together with the Big Lots Foundation announced a $50 million transformational gift to Nationwide Children's Hospital. This gift will support the construction of the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion. The 250,000-square-foot pavilion on the hospital's main campus will foster collaboration with Nationwide Children's research teams, as well as community partner agencies to help care for children and teens with mental illness and behavioral health conditions.

"On behalf of Big Lots, I want to express sincere thanks to our customers and associates and their generosity for making a tremendous difference in the lives of the many patients at Nationwide Children's Hospital through their kind donations," said David Campisi Big Lots CEO and President. "Our patient champions continue to inspire the Big Lots community, and we are so thrilled to have exceeded our goal of $3 million for this year's Give Big for Kids program. We look forward to continuing our support for the hospital through similar donation programs in the future and our commitment to the Behavioral Health expansion."

To learn more about Big Lots, speak with a company representative or arrange a store visit, contact the Big Lots media hotline at 877-251-0243 or visit BigLotsMedia.com.

About Big Lots, Inc.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is a unique, non-traditional, discount retailer operating 1,445 Big Lots stores in 47 states with product assortments in the merchandise categories of Food, Consumables, Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Hard Home, and Electronics & Accessories. Our vision is to be recognized for providing an outstanding shopping experience for our customers, valuing and developing our associates, and creating growth for our shareholders. Big Lots supports the communities it serves through the Big Lots Foundation, a charitable organization focused on four areas of need: hunger, housing, healthcare and education. For more information about the company, visit www.biglots.com.

About Nationwide Children's Hospital

Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report's 2016-17 list of "America's Best Children's Hospitals," Nationwide Children's Hospital is America's largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare system providing wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children and adolescents, as well as adult patients with congenital disease. Nationwide Children's has a staff of more than 11,000 providing state-of-the-art pediatric care during more than 1.2 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of the Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children's physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Healthfunded freestanding pediatric research facilities. Nationwide Children's remains true to the original mission since its founding in 1892 of providing care regardless of a family's ability to pay. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.

SOURCE Big Lots, Inc.

Related Links

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LONDON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, has been appointed to provide fund accounting, transfer agency, custody, and trust and depositary services to the Local Pensions Partnership's (LPP) 5 billion global equity fund. This follows reforms to pool the UK's local government pension fund assets.

The fund, the first launched by LPP, comprises the pooled equity assets of the Lancashire County Pension Fund (LCPF) and London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), which are the primary clients and shareholders of LPP. It was launched under the LPP's Authorized Contractual Scheme (ACS) with future funds planned for additional asset classes. ACSs are a type of tax-transparent fund.

"We launched the LPP as we believed funds must manage all services together to enable them to benefit from superior governance and to achieve lower costs and above average returns," said Bruce Carnaby, Head of Investment Operations at LPP. "BNY Mellon's depositary oversight and performance reporting capabilities, and its robust approach to managing the transition of assets to the global equity fund, made them our preferred custodian when launching our first tax-transparent pooling vehicle."

"Over the next year we expect to see more UK-based public sector pension funds collaborating on investment strategies as they seek to control their costs and take advantage of opportunities from the new ACS legislation," said Paul Traynor, International Head of Pensions and Insurance Segments at BNY Mellon. "In supporting this fund structure, BNY Mellon is providing a range of solutions that can help pension schemes maintain their beneficial tax status and transition their assets into efficient pooling vehicles."

Notes to Editors:

BNY Mellon's Asset Servicing business supports institutional investors in today's fast-evolving markets, safeguarding assets and enhancing the management and administration of client investments through services that process, monitor and measure data from around the world. We leverage our global footprint and local expertise to deliver insight and solutions across every stage of the investment lifecycle.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of September 30, 2016, BNY Mellon had $30.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.72 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

This press release is issued by The Bank of New York Mellon to members of the financial press and media.

All information and figures source BNY Mellon unless otherwise stated as at September 30, 2016.

The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, registered in England and Wales with FC005522 and BR000818.

Branch office: One Canada Square, London E14 5AL. The Bank of New York Mellon is supervised and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority.

The Bank of New York Mellon London branch is subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Details about the extent of our regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request.

Contact:

Malcolm Borthwick

+44 207 163 4109

[email protected]

SOURCE BNY Mellon

Related Links

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According to TechSci Research report, "Brazil Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021", tire market in Brazil is forecast to cross BRL 21.9 billion ($6.5 Bn) by 2021, on account of recovering domestic demand, growing automobile sales and favorable government policies. Moreover, increase in population from 200.51 million in 2011 to 207.84 million in 2015 is driving demand for tires in the country. With the presence of major tire companies like Rinaldi, Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Titan, etc., Brazil is one of the most competitive tire markets in Latin America.

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Passenger car tire segment dominated Brazil tire industry during 2011 - 2015, and the segment is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period as well on account of increasing passenger car production by global car manufacturers in the country. Fiat, Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Renault and Hyundai are some of the major passenger car brands available in Brazil. In 2015, south-east region accounted for the largest share in the country's tire market, followed by north-east and south regions.

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"The government of Brazil has played an important role in boosting the automobile sector of the country. In October 2012, the Federal government of Brazil started an initiative to stimulate manufacturing of automobiles in the country, named Inovar Auto. This program is slated for completion by 2017. Under this program, automobile manufacturers would be encouraged to invest in Brazil to produce efficient, safe and technologically advanced vehicles." said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

"Brazil Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021" has analyzed the potential of Brazil tire market, and provides statistics and information on market sizes, shares and trends. The report will suffice in providing intending clients with cutting-edge market intelligence and help them in taking sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers and key challenges faced by the industry.

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SOURCE TechSci Research
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Brilliant, an award-winning search, staffing and management resources firm specializing in accounting, finance and information technology, released its Q1 2017 Hiring Forecast. The data indicates businesses have widespread open positions in accounting, finance and information technology and plan to increase their hiring in the year ahead.

Brilliant's Q1 2017 Accounting, Finance and Information Technology Hiring Forecast, produced with Dr. Richard Curtin, Director, Surveys of Consumers at the University of Michigan, studies the hiring trends and business factors affecting proprietary entities in the greater Chicago and south Florida markets.

The study finds three-in-10 businesses report unfilled full-time accounting and finance positions, and one-in-six companies report unfilled full-time information technology positions. Further, one-in-five companies plan to increase their hiring of accounting, finance and information technology professionals in the year ahead.

"The overall strength in hiring plans indicates that human resources professionals and hiring managers expect continued business growth and gains in nationwide employment during the year ahead," says Dr. Richard Curtin, Director, Surveys of Consumers at the University of Michigan. "One-in-five firms expect to increase their hiring of accounting, finance and information technology teams at the same robust pace as the past year."

Brilliant CEO Jim Wong, CPA (Inactive) adds, "Our study brings important insight into the future of accounting, finance and IT, and the overall health of the labor market. We remain optimistic that the strength in hiring plans indicates continued growth given the recent unpredictable performance of the economy."

The study, conducted between Oct. 17, 2016, and Oct. 31, 2016, surveyed more than 500 human resources professionals and hiring managers from a variety of industries.

To download the Brilliant Q1 2017 Accounting, Finance and Information Technology Hiring Forecast, click here.

About Brilliant

Connecting People and Opportunities

Founded in 2009, Brilliant is an award-winning search, staffing and management resources firm specializing in accounting, finance and information technology. Brilliant's team of business development and recruiting experts include former Big 4 CPAs, hiring managers and leading industry professionals. Its achievements include: Crain's Chicago Business Fast 50, Staffing Industry Analysts Fastest-Growing Staffing Firms, Chicago's and Nation's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, Inc. 5000, Staffing 100 List for North America and Inavero's 2016 Best of Staffing Talent Satisfaction. Learn more at http://www.brilliantfs.com.

Contact: Laurie Canning, Brilliant, [email protected] or 312.582.1812

SOURCE Brilliant(TM)

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LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadvoice, an award-winning provider of hosted voice, unified communications (UC) and SIP trunking services for businesses, is making significant further investment into its service capabilities by greatly expanding staffing in its Service Delivery departments as part of a company-wide initiative to deliver an amazing customer experience.

Cynthia Henderson, recently promoted to Senior Manager of Service Delivery at Broadvoice, now spearheads a new service department, which dovetails with the company's rapid growth and expanding footprint. The effort will result in customer-centric service coordination, from quote to close, along with an attitudinal mission that puts the customer first for the entire relationship lifecycle.

"We want to deliver an amazing experience each and every time a customer interacts with us," she said. "When you work with Broadvoice, we want you to hear and feel that we care. Our job is to go the extra mile to exceed your expectations."

Broadvoice recognizes that ensuring an amazing experience for all customers and partners takes a deep company-wide commitment that involves every single staff member from the executive suite all the way down to entry-level customer service representatives.

"We are dedicated to this initiative from the top down," said George Mitsopoulos, Broadvoice COO. "It's no secret that the telecom industry isn't renowned for customer service. Our investment in this cross-company effort is at the heart of how we want to continue growing this organizationwe want to differentiate ourselves by raising the bar for the industry."

The roll-out of the service initiative comes amid a period of intense growth for Broadvoice, which has seen 167% growth in the last three years. It also was recently named to the annual Inc. 500|5000, a ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.

Broadvoice offers a flexible, smart portfolio of IP-based voice and data offerings, backed by its enterprise-class, geo-redundant IP telephony platform. This includes a full UC suite and cloud PBX services, including unlimited voice calling plans for businesses, throughout the continental United States and Canada.

For more information on the Broadvoice Partner Program, please call 866-634-1394, or visit www.broadvoice.com/partners

About Broadvoice

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Broadvoice is a premier provider of cloud phone service, contact center solutions, collaboration and conferencing. Utilizing the latest cloud communications technology, Broadvoice helps businesses achieve higher call quality and faster internet speeds while reducing overall costs and improving efficiency. The company continuously delivers a full suite of secure, reliable, real-time communication solutions that help businesses connect with customers anywhere, any time and with any device. Broadvoice has been ranked in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Visit Broadvoice.com to learn more.

Media Contact:

Broadvoice

Cheryl McRae

818-671-2953

[email protected]

SOURCE Broadvoice

Related Links

http://www.broadvoice.com


ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Who's Who recognizes Bruce Andrew Fowler, Ph.D., as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in recognition of his contributions to the field of Higher Education and Toxicology.

Dr. Fowler is an Adjunct Professor and Toxicologist at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and a Presidents Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Alaska- Fairbanks.. Additionally, he serves as a Founding Partner at Toxicology and Risk Assessment Consulting Services. He brings over 46 years of experience to the field and touts expertise in application of computational toxicology to risk assessment as well as molecular biology markers.

Inspired by working at the University of Washington, where he worked on the pesticide endrin (which is lethal to embryos of fish) he now continues his career with a focus on consulting and public service. For example, he is the current President of the Rotary Club of North Bethesda, Maryland and also serves as the Federal Legislative and National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE)-PAC Chair for Rockville, Maryland NARFE Chapter 1127.

Dr. Fowler earned his Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Oregon Medical School and his Bachelor's degree in Marine Fisheries Biology from the University of Washington  Seattle. A number of published works (260 plus journal articles, symposia proceedings and book chapters) fill his resume.

In addition, he authored Molecular Biological Markers for Toxicology and Risk Assessment, published in 2016; co-edited the fourth edition of Handbook on the Toxicology of Metals in 2015; and edited Computational Toxicology: Methods and Applications for Risk Assessment in 2013.

To further his professional development, Dr. Fowler is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, and a member of the American College of Toxicology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Nanomedicine, the Society of Toxicology and the Society for Risk Analysis.

As a result of his impressive work, Dr. Fowler has amassed a series of honors. Among these, he was named Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Committee on Measuring Lead Exposure in Infants, Children and Other Sensitive Populations; Awarded a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellowship, 1990; Fulbright Scholarship and Swedish Medical Research Council Visiting Professor Fellowship, Karolinska Institute Stockholm, Sweden, 19945;Colgate-Palmolive Visiting Professorship in In Vitro Toxicology, University of Washington, 1998-9; Member, Fulbright Scholarship Review Committee for Scandinavia, 1999- 2001, (Chairman, 2000-1); Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences (A.T.S.), 2000- Present; Member, National Metals Risk Assessment Framework Review Panel USEPA Science Advisory Board, 2003-6; Elected Council Member, Society of Toxicology, 2005-7; Member of All Ages Lead Model Review Panel USEPA Science Advisory Board 2005-6; Member of the Clean Air Advisory Committee (CASAC) Lead Review Panel, USEPA Science Advisory Board 2006-2008; Visiting Scientist at the National Institute of Health Sciences, Sakura, Japan, March 19-31, 2006; Elected to Toxicology Expert Committee, U.S. Pharmacopeia(USP), 2010-2015; NCEH/ATSDR Honor Award for Excellence in Leadership Award(Non-Supervisory, December 2010) ; 2014 USP Award for an Innovative Response to Public Health Challenges; Appointed to USP Nanotechnology Subcommittee 2015-, Appointed to the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) 2016-2020.

Dr. Fowler dedicates this recognition to his wife, Mary J. Sexton, for her unwavering support and continuing love.

For more information, visit www.sph.emory.edu.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Military command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solution providers have acknowledged the requirement for improved collaboration, and enhancements commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software can provide, and are weaving them into their systems. Global C4ISR spending will grow steadily through 2020, demonstrating the significance of cybersecurity solutions sales, assured GPS/navigation, unmanned sea vehicles and missile defense systems.

Global C4ISR Market, 2016 is part of Frost & Sullivan's Defense Growth Partnership Subscription. According to the study, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and Europe will gain market share as military forces and systems in these regions are modernized. While the surveillance & reconnaissance segment will be the largest, the electronic warfare segment will demonstrate the highest growth rate through 2020.

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"Advancements such as hypersonic weapons and unmanned naval systems will require the development of new countermeasures," said Frost & Sullivan Aerospace & Defense Industry Principal Brad Curran. "As nations have been at the receiving end of determined, nation-state and criminal computer hacking of networks, they are keen to invest in cybersecurity."

While frequent technological advances are raising the levels of competition, they also challenge companies to separate incremental technology advances from emerging technologies that will disrupt their industries. The number of companies providing basic military capabilities in every region is rising, as countries seek advanced technology and look to lower dependence on outsiders. This, in turn, is intensifying competition and shrinking margins.

"Nevertheless, C4ISR companies have many reasons to feel optimistic. High-margin, high-quality C4ISR gear continues to account for the majority of the market, as reliability, quality and sustainment services emerge as bigger purchase factors than lower costs and tech transfer negotiations," noted Curran. "Buyers have also shown a marked preference for proven designs that can be integrated with existing equipment in regional and allied nations, opening up the market to innovative security technology firms."

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

Global C4ISR Market, 2016

K130-16

Contact:

Jaylon Brinkley

Corporate Communications  North America

P: (210) 247.2481

F: (210) 348.1003

E: [email protected]

http://www.frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

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NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Cap Applicators Market: Scope and Methodology

This report provides forecast and analysis of the cap applicators market on the global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with forecast from 2016 to 2024 based on volume (units) and revenue (US$ Mn). It comprises overview of packaging machinery market along with their key drivers. Further, it also includes drivers, restraints and the ongoing trend of the cap applicators market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of opportunities available in the market for cap applicators on the global and regional level. It also includes the detailed regional pricing analysis and value chain analysis with list of components producers and packaging machinery manufacturers in the value chain.

In order to provide the users of this report with comprehensive view of market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players with unique selling propositions. The competitive dashboard provides detailed comparison of cap applicators manufacturers on parameters such as company's revenue, unique selling propositions and key strategic developments. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by machine type, cap type, end-use, and region.

Global Cap Applicators Market: Segmentation

The report includes consumption of cap applicators and the revenue generated from sales of cap applicators in all regions and important countries in these regions. The machine segment comprises of present and forecast demand for automatic capping machines, semi-automatic capping machines and hand-held capping machines. The cap type segment comprises of demand for ROPP caps, screw caps, snap-on-caps, crown caps and corks. End-use industry segment comprises of demand for cap applicators in industries such as food & beverages, pharmaceutical, personal care, consumer products and others.

Market statistics have been estimated based on average consumption and weighted average pricing of three types of machines namely automatic capping machines, semi-automatic capping machines and hand-held capping machines by machine segment. Market size and forecast for each segment have been provided in the context of global and regional markets. Market size and forecast for each product segment have been provided in the context of global and regional markets. Market dynamics prevalent in China, North America, and Europe have been taken into account for estimating the growth of the global market. Market estimates for this study have been based on volume, with revenue being derived through regional weighted average price trends. The cap applicators market growth has been analyzed based on expected demand over long term and short term coupled with macro-economic, demand side and supply side factors.

Market data for each segment is based on demand volume and corresponding revenue. Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are average regional prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional suppliers, distributors, and direct selling regional producers based on manufacturers' feedback and application requirement. All existing key end-users have been considered and potential in application areas have been arrived on the basis of secondary sources and feedback from primary respondents. Regional consumption patterns have been considered while estimating the market for various end-users of cap applicators or capping machines in different regions. Top-down approach has been used to estimate the cap applicators market by regions. Market numbers for global machine type, cap type, and end-use segments have been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of each region's demand. Regional demand is the summation of sub-regions and countries within the target regions.

A number of primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include PMMI (The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies) Institute of Packaging Machinery Manufacturers of India, Factiva, Packaging Digest, Pack World, Hoover's, and company annual reports and publications among many others.

Global Cap Applicators Market: Competitive Landscape

Key players in the global cap applicators market include Tetra Pak, Krones AG, Bosch Packaging Technology, Crowns Holdings Inc., Closure System International, Tecnocap Group, Federal Mfg. Co., E-PAK Machinery, Inc., Karmelle Liquid Filling & Capping Solutions Limited, Accutek Packaging Equipment Companies, Inc., IC FILLING SYSTEMS Ltd. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategy, SWOT analysis, and recent developments.

The global cap applicators market has been segmented as below:

Cap Applicators Market - Machine Type

Automatic Capping Machine

Semi-Automatic Capping Machine

Hand-Held Capping Machine

Cap Applicators Market - Cap Types

ROPP caps

Screw caps

Snap-on-caps

Crown caps

Corks

Cap Applicators Market  End-use Type

Food & Beverage

Pharmaceutical

Personal care

Consumer Products

Others ( Chemical Products, Automotive Fluids)

Cap Applicators Market  Region-Analysis

North America

U.S.

Canada

Latin America

Brazil

Argentina

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Europe

Germany

France

U.K

Spain

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific (APAC)

China

India

Australia & New Zealand

Japan

ASEAN

Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa (MEA)

GCC Countries

South Africa

North Africa

Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA)

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04415231-summary/view-report.html

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ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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SAN ANTONIO and BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cengage, an education and technology company, devoted part of its annual National Engagement Summit last week to a community service project for students in the KIPP San Antonio Public Schools. Hundreds of employees gathered to assemble solar car classroom kits and backpacks filled with school supplies for underserved students.

The 140 solar car kits will promote fun, hands-on learning activities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) at the KIPP Poder Academy, which serves students in fifth and sixth grades. Additionally, 200 backpacks of supplies will benefit students throughout KIPP San Antonio Public Schools.

"At Cengage, our employees share a passion for education and helping all students succeed in the classroom," said Michael Hansen, CEO, Cengage. "With STEM skills in high demand, learning activities that connect to the real world can inspire interest and excitement around these subjects at a young age, engaging and instilling confidence in students."

"We are extremely appreciative of Cengage's generous and thoughtful donation," said Faith Castellano, 5th grade science teacher, KIPP Poder Academy. "At KIPP San Antonio, we believe all students should have the opportunity to reach their dreams which often requires a novel approach. This program enhances our STEM program while addressing critical classroom needs. The Cengage partnership serves as a great example of the type of innovation necessary to prove what is possible in public education."

KIPP San Antonio is part of the national KIPP Network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and life. Nationally, more than 93 percent of KIPP middle school students have graduated high school, and more than 82 percent of KIPP alumni have gone to college.

About Cengage

Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. The company serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. Cengage creates learning experiences that build confidence and momentum toward the future students want. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA with an office hub in San Francisco. Employees reside in nearly 40 countries with sales in more than 125 countries around the world. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Media Contact:

Susan Aspey, Cengage

202-695-6012, [email protected]

SOURCE Cengage Learning

Related Links

http://www.cengage.com


ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Porte Brown LLC, a rapidly expanding Chicago area accounting and consulting firm, is pleased to announce its recent merger with Borhart Spellmeyer & Company, LLC of Elgin.

The merger, effective December 1, extends Porte Brown's presence in the Northwest suburban market and builds upon the depth of accounting and advisory services available to clients. The professionals from Borhart Spellmeyer, now operating under the Porte Brown name, will continue to service clients in their current office located near the I-90 / Randall Road corridor.

Since its founding in 1989, by Len Borhart and Robert Spellmeyer, Borhart Spellmeyer has offered a wide range of financial, accounting and consulting services to closely held businesses and their entrepreneur owners within the Fox Valley and extended Chicago communities. Over the years the firm has built a strong reputation for developing close partnerships with clients that extend well beyond the traditional client/CPA framework.

"We have known the professionals of Borhart Spellmeyer for a very long time," said Bruce Jones, Managing Partner of Porte Brown. "In fact, we were both part of the same best practices group and realized early on we had a lot of similar philosophies in our approach to client service and a shared emphasis on professional development. This is a great opportunity to bring together some of the best multi-disciplinary professionals in our field and leverage their talents to the advantage of our clients."

About Porte Brown

Porte Brown LLC is a full service accounting and consulting firm headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, Illinois. For more than 70 years, Porte Brown has focused on providing the highest level of service to individuals, businesses and organizations throughout the region. In addition to the traditional accounting services such as tax planning and preparation, audit, business valuations, and retirement plan administration. Porte Brown also provides strategic consulting and leading-edge technology implementation for clients in cloud and non-cloud environments. Wealth management services provided by Porte Brown Wealth Management LLC.*

Porte Brown serves accounting and consulting clients from offices in Illinois, Indiana and Texas. For more information, visit www.portebrown.com or call 847-956-1040.

*Securities offered through 1st Global Capital Corp., Member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through 1st Global Advisors, Inc. Insurance services offered through 1st Global Insurance Services, Inc.

Contact: Pam Metzger, [email protected], 847-956-1040

www.portebrown.com

SOURCE Porte Brown LLC

Related Links

http://www.portebrown.com


ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) announced today that its Choice Privileges rewards program received the Best Hotel Loyalty Program distinction on USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice Award list. This award follows the successful redesign of the program, which included a series of new benefits allowing guests to receive greater and faster rewards. A panel of experts partnered with 10 Best editors to select nominees and the top 10 winners were determined by USA Today readers' popular vote.



"We are honored to receive this recognition from USA Today readers and travel experts. We significantly improved our member benefits this year and we've been very pleased that we have not only increased our membership, but that our Choice Privileges members are more engaged than ever," said Robert McDowell, Chief Commercial Officer, Choice Hotels.

Key program enhancements include:

Your Extras . Weekday travelers earn instant rewards right when they check in. For each qualifying stay that includes at least one weekday night, U.S. members can choose a special reward, such as Fuel Rewards savings at participating Shell locations, discounts on Uber trips and Amazon.com credit. International members have two options: 500 bonus points or 100 airline miles from participating airline carriers.

. Weekday travelers earn instant rewards right when they check in. For each qualifying stay that includes at least one weekday night, U.S. members can choose a special reward, such as Fuel Rewards savings at participating Shell locations, discounts on Uber trips and Amazon.com credit. International members have two options: 500 bonus points or 100 airline miles from participating airline carriers. FlexRewards . Get to a free night faster  members can redeem points for free nights at discounted point levels at participating hotels, varying by season. There are up to 2,000 hotels reduced during either the weekdays or weekend at any time.

. Get to a free night faster  members can redeem points for free nights at discounted point levels at participating hotels, varying by season. There are up to 2,000 hotels reduced during either the weekdays or weekend at any time. Digital Gift Cards. Choice is the first hotel company to offer immediate in-app gift card downloads. Members can receive instant gratification with new digital gift cards.

Choice is the first hotel company to offer immediate in-app gift card downloads. Members can receive instant gratification with new digital gift cards. Keep Your Points . As long as members stay active by completing a qualifying activity at least once every 18 months, they get to keep their points.

. As long as members stay active by completing a qualifying activity at least once every 18 months, they get to keep their points. 10 Points per Dollar. All Choice Hotels now earn 10 points per dollar spent  including economy and extended stay hotels. During seasonal promotions, it is now easier than ever to qualify since members no longer need to stay two consecutive nights at economy brands.

All Choice Hotels now earn 10 points per dollar spent  including economy and extended stay hotels. During seasonal promotions, it is now easier than ever to qualify since members no longer need to stay two consecutive nights at economy brands. Exclusive Rates. Existing and new Choice Privileges members now have access to exclusive room rates that are up to a 7% discount off the best available rate by booking directly on www.ChoiceHotels.com or the Choice mobile app. If a guest finds a lower price elsewhere, ChoiceHotels.com will match the price and give U.S. residents a $50.00 Visa gift card bonus. International residents will receive their first night free.

For more information about USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice Award list, visit http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-hotel-loyalty-program/.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the world's largest lodging companies. With more than 6,400 hotels franchised in more than 40 countries and territories, Choice Hotels International represents more than 500,000 rooms around the globe. As of September 30, 2016, 745 hotels were in our development pipeline. Our company's Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria hotels & suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, and Vacation Rentals by Choice HotelsTM brands provide a spectrum of lodging choices to meet guest needs. With more than 28 million members and counting, our Choice Privileges rewards program enhances every trip a guest takes, with benefits ranging from instant, every day rewards to exceptional experiences, starting right when they join. All hotels and vacation rentals are independently owned and operated. Visit us at www.choicehotels.com for more information.



 2016 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.choicehotels.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketing analytics and advisory firm CMO Labs announced a strategic partnership with LiveRamp, an Acxiom company and leading provider of omnichannel identity resolution. This partnership enables marketers to leverage CMO Labs' expertise in analytics and insights combined with the identity resolution capabilities of LiveRamp IdentityLink to maximize the effectiveness of people-based marketing campaigns.

CMO Labs is a San Francisco-based group of analysts, strategists, and designers that directly services clients and partnering agencies. Together, with LiveRamp, the two solutions give marketers essential insight into campaign effectiveness by channel, content, and demographicall using data that LiveRamp connects at the individual-level. With CMO Labs' custom dashboards, Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) capabilities, and LiveRamp IdentityLink for identity resolution, marketers can precisely measure and refine audience targeting, and develop insights that inform subsequent media planning efforts.

"Marketers get tremendous value with LiveRamp's ability to resolve their customers' data at the individual level across marketing and sales channels, and we're delighted to be in a position to help brands further extend this value," said Zachary Van Doren, CEO of CMO Labs."

Travis May, LiveRamp President and GM, added, "CMO Labs has built analytics dashboards and a custom ETL system designed specifically to ingest data processed by LiveRamp IdentityLink. The benefit for marketers is a clearer, more nuanced understanding of the complete customer journey."

About CMO Labs

Based in San Francisco, CMO Labs is a team of strategists, data analysts, data visualization designers, data engineers, and systems architects - servicing direct clients and agency partners. For more information, visit http://cmolabs.io/

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp offers brands and the companies they work with identity resolution that is integrated throughout the digital ecosystem, and provides the foundation for omnichannel marketing. Our services transform the technology platforms used by our clients into people-based marketing channels that improve the relevancy of marketing, and ultimately allow consumers to better connect with the brands and products they love. LiveRamp is an Acxiom company, delivering privacy-safe solutions to market and honoring the best practices of leading associations including the Digital Advertising Alliance's (DAA) ICON and App Choices programs. For more information, visit www.LiveRamp.com.

Media Contact

Erika McGrath

415-670-9582

[email protected]

Related Links

CMO Labs LiveRamp Services

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com/.

SOURCE CMO Labs

Related Links

http://cmolabs.io


NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Connexient announced today that the company has joined the Mist Bluetooth Lowe Energy (BLE) alliance, an ecosystem of technology partners with a common goal of driving the adoption and evolution of high accuracy indoor location services through product interoperability. As part of this partnership, the two companies assure that the Connexient MediNav solution for Digital Wayfinding and Indoor Navigation is qualified to work with the Mist wireless platform, which provides wireless access with high accuracy indoor location services. The joint solution delivers robust maps with turn-by-turn indoor navigation to enhance patient, caregiver, administrator, and visitor experiences at healthcare facilities.

Connexient's MediNav Navigator Edition features the world's most advanced turn-by-turn "blue dot" indoor navigation MediNav indoor navigation features voice prompts, off-route notification, visual landmark references and more.

MediNav Navigator v. 2.0 is the most advanced digital wayfinding solution available, with rich features that solve real world problems.

True turn-by-turn indoor navigation  with voice prompts, off-route notification, visual landmark references and more.

 with voice prompts, off-route notification, visual landmark references and more. Parking Planner and My Car Saver  features that navigate users to the best parking location based on their appointment location inside the facility and saves their car's location for easy return when they are finished.

 features that navigate users to the best parking location based on their appointment location inside the facility and saves their car's location for easy return when they are finished. All Screens Solution  ensuring that patients and visitors can access vital information anytime and anywhere across Mobile, Web, Kiosks and Digital Signage.

 ensuring that patients and visitors can access vital information anytime and anywhere across Mobile, Web, Kiosks and Digital Signage. Outdoor + Indoor, Network-wide Wayfinding  guiding users across all the challenges of a campus or even networks of facilities.

 guiding users across all the challenges of a campus or even networks of facilities. Mobile Application SDKs and Web APIs  to enable integration of maps and navigation into existing mobile and Web applications.

"There are many important and valuable use cases for indoor positioning and location-based services across multiple industries," said Jeff Aaron, VP of marketing at Mist Systems. "Healthcare in particular is leading the charge, as wayfinding provides numerous benefits for patients, caregivers, guests, and administrators. We are pleased to be working with Connexient, a leader in the space, to deliver a robust indoor navigation solution that is easy to use and cost effective to deploy."

"Connexient is a proud to announce our support for Mist Systems via the Mist BLE Alliance," commented Mark Green, Connexient's CEO and Co-Founder. "We have been very impressed by the robustness and flexibility of the Mist wireless platform, which includes several unique innovations like virtual beacons that faciliate the deployment of indoor location services. We share a common goal of delivering amazing personalized experiences to mobile users, and look forward to working closely with Mist to bring indoor navigation services to many more healthcare institutions."

About Mist

Mist built the first wireless platform for the Smart Device era. By taking a user-first approach to networking, the Mist Intelligent Wireless Cloud (IWC) eliminates the operational burdens of legacy wireless architectures by replacing time consuming manual tasks with machine learning and proactive automation. In addition, Mist is the first vendor to bring Enterprise grade Wi-Fi and BLE together to deliver a superior experience for wireless users and administrators.

The Mist team consists of leading experts in wireless, machine learning, and cloud, who are responsible for building the largest and most advanced networks in the world. Founded in 2014, the company is based in Cupertino, CA and funded by top investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Cisco Investments. For more information, visit www.mist.com.

Helpful links:

Mist website: www.mist.com

Mist platform: www.mist.com/platform

Mist BLE Alliance: www.mist.com/partners/BLEalliance

About Connexient

Connexient (www.connexient.com) provides innovative Indoor Mapping, Navigation and Location-based Services hospitals and healthcare networks with large, complex buildings and campuses. The MediNav Navigator Edition Patient Experience solution helps to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, reduce missed or late appointments and improve HCAHPS scores.

More than just a mobile app, Connexient's mission and vision is to navigation-enable Enterprise IT. The Connexient Mobile Application SDKs and Web APIs enable its clients to integrate its rich, navigation quality indoor maps and location-based services across Enterprise IT in areas such as asset tracking, staff and patient flow, facility management, safety and security and more, with use cases that bring compelling value to users and direct ROI in capturing lost revenue, reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency and intelligence.

CONNEXIENT CONTACT:

Rachel Kessler

Kessler Communications, LLC

917.660.0608

[email protected]

SOURCE Connexient

Related Links

http://www.connexient.com


PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 14, 2016, CPI International Holding Corp., the parent company of CPI International, Inc. (CPI), plans to file its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to issue a press release regarding its financial results for fiscal year 2016. At 11 a.m. (EST) on Thursday, December 15, 2016, CPI will hold a telephonic conference call in conjunction with this release that will be Web cast simultaneously on the company's Web site. Joe Caldarelli, chief executive officer of CPI, and Joel Littman, chief financial officer, will host the call. Topics discussed on the call will include the company's recent financial performance and the status of its business.

To participate in the conference call, please dial (800) 649-5127, or (253) 237-1144 for international callers, enter conference ID 23563691 and ask for the CPI International Fiscal 2016 Financial Results Conference Call.

A replay of the call will be available for one week following the live call. To access the replay, please dial (855) 859-2056, or (404) 537-3406 for international callers, and enter conference ID 23563691.

To access the Web cast of the live call, please visit http://investor.cpii.com on the morning of the call and click "Events." Interested parties should allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download the streaming media software required to listen to the Web cast. After the live call, the online archive of the Web cast will remain available on the site for one year.

About CPI International Holding Corp.

CPI International Holding Corp., headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is the parent company of CPI International, Inc., which is the parent company of Communications & Power Industries LLC and Communications & Power Industries Canada Inc. Together, Communications & Power Industries LLC and Communications & Power Industries Canada Inc. develop, manufacture and globally distribute components and subsystems used in the generation, amplification, transmission and reception of microwave signals for a wide variety of systems including radar, electronic warfare and communications (satellite and point-to-point) systems for military and commercial applications, specialty products for medical diagnostic imaging and the treatment of cancer, as well as microwave and RF energy generating products for various industrial and scientific pursuits.

SOURCE CPI International Holding Corp.; CPI International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cpii.com


ZURICH, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Credit Suisse AG announced today that David C. Mulford will leave the bank this month to take up an appointment as Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University in the new year. In this role, Mulford will focus on research, writing and activities related to global economic integration, including the legal and political environments of trade agreements and their management. He will also concentrate his efforts on economic growth in the Indian subcontinent and the trend of receding globalization in developed economies. Mulford begins at the Hoover Institution on January 15, 2017.

"We look forward to the extensive experience David brings in international business and public service, particularly as we think broadly about pressing trade and globalization issues facing our country," stated Tom Gilligan, director of the Hoover Institution. "David is a welcomed addition to our team."

"I am honored to join such an esteemed group of exceptional scholars and policy experts as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. I look forward to bringing my experience and perspectives from both government service and international finance to further advance the studies of globalization, emerging economies and intergovernmental trade agreements," said Mulford.

Since 2009, Mulford has been Vice Chairman International at Credit Suisse, based in London and New York, where he worked with a range of clients across the bank, with a particular focus on governments. Prior to 2009, he served as the US Ambassador to India for five years, where he worked to strengthen the strategic partnership between the world's two largest multicultural democracies. Before his nomination to Ambassador, Mulford worked at Credit Suisse from 1992 to 2004. During this time, he served as Chairman and CEO of CSFB Limited and later as Chairman International and member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse. He was responsible for leading Credit Suisse's global privatization business, as well as other corporate and government advisory assignments.

Mulford served as Under Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for International Affairs from 1984 through 1992. He worked as the senior investment advisor to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency from 1974 to 1983. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director and Head of International Finance at White, Weld & Co., Inc., responsible for coordinating efforts with Credit Suisse on international financial business from 1966 to 1974. He also served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury as a White House Fellow from 1965 to 1966, in the first year of the White House fellowship Program.

Mulford holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford University, an MA in Political Science from Boston University and a BA in Economics, cum laude, from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.

David C. Mulford's full biography is available for download on Credit Suisse's website.

Credit Suisse AG

Credit Suisse AG is one of the world's leading financial services providers and is part of the Credit Suisse group of companies (referred to here as 'Credit Suisse'). As an integrated bank, Credit Suisse offers clients its combined expertise in the areas of private banking, investment banking and asset management. Credit Suisse provides advisory services, comprehensive solutions and innovative products to companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth private clients globally, as well as to retail clients in Switzerland. Credit Suisse is headquartered in Zurich and operates in over 50 countries worldwide. The group employs approximately 47,690 people. The registered shares (CSGN) of Credit Suisse's parent company, Credit Suisse Group AG, are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares (CS), in New York. Further information about Credit Suisse can be found at www.credit-suisse.com.

About the Hoover Institution

The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, is a public policy research center devoted to the advanced study of economics, politics, history, and political economyboth domestic and foreignas well as international affairs. With its eminent scholars and world-renowned library and archives, the Hoover Institution seeks to improve the human condition by advancing ideas that promote economic opportunity and prosperity and secure and safeguard peace for America and all mankind.

SOURCE Credit Suisse AG

Related Links

http://www.credit-suisse.com


Red Herring's Top 100 Global has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube and eBay would change the way we live and work.

"Choosing the companies with the strongest potential was by no means a small feat," said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. "After rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list down from hundreds of candidates from across the globe to the Top 100 Winners. We believe CrisisResponsePro embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture."

"We are honored to be named to this prestigious list, and feel it's a testament to the success of our young start-up," said Jim Haggerty, Founder & CEO of CrisisResponsePro. "The level of talent represented on this list is extraordinary. We're humbled by our inclusion."

CrisisResponsePro was developed by PRCG | Haggerty LLC, a leading communications firm specializing in crisis communications, litigation communications and other sensitive areas of public relations and reputation management. Jim Haggerty's new book, Chief Crisis Officer, will be published in 2017 by Ankerwycke Books, an imprint of the American Bar Association.

Red Herring's editorial staff evaluated the companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, strategy, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track records and standing of startups relative to their peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the 'buzz' and make the list a valuable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the most promising new business models from around the world.

Red Herring has been selecting the most exciting and promising start-ups since 1995.

About CrisisResponsePro

CrisisResponsePro.com's highly secure, web-based subscription portal brings the crisis communications team together and provides content and a collaborative platform to respond quickly and effectively to immediate crises like physical accidents, data breaches or product recalls, as well as longer-term issues related to legal, regulatory or public affairs matters.

Built around the "Virtual WorkRoom" concept, CrisisResponsePro.com allows Users to access more than 10,000 statements issued by other companies, as well as hundreds of templates, checklists and other resources. Users can alert members of the crisis team and open a new Virtual WorkRoom at the touch of a button and view their crisis plan, approved messages and background materials from any computer, tablet or smartphone.

CrisisResponsePro's subscription, browser-based software is cost-effective and scalable to organizations of any size, with billing based on Users and Virtual WorkRooms in service. All data is hosted on secure, private servers that allows CrisisResponsePro to deliver cost-effective crisis communications planning and response with the highest level of security: NSA-level, 256-bit encryption (in transit and at rest); password protection for all documents; secure, encrypted confidential messaging; two-factor authentication; and daily backup to multiple server locations with bank-level security.

For more information, visit www.crisisresponsepro.com.

Media Contact: Andrea Garcia, 1-212-683-8100, [email protected]

SOURCE CrisisResponsePro

Related Links

http://www.crisisresponsepro.com


VANCOUVER, British Columbia and DENVER, Dec.13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Company executives and entrepreneurs looking to take their organizations to a higher-performing, community-focused, and socially-responsible level have a new, comprehensive consulting resource to explore, Enlightened Capitalist.

Founded by Carol Wain, an award-winning business transformation consultant, entrepreneur, author, and leadership mentor, Enlightened Capitalist aims to help individuals collaborate, mentor and learn how to reinvent their businesses and use the power of profitable organizations to transform lives and positively impact the planet.

"Over the past year, we've witnessed a growing discontent throughout the world. People are growing angry with the way they are being treated by governments and business, and the effects that current business practices are having on society and the planet," Wain says. "Combine this with awakening with disruption in industries due to technological advances, increased pressure from customers to improve their experiences, and the exasperation of managers regarding the expectations of the millennials, and the perfect storm for a massive reinvention is brewing."

Wain's vision involves changing the dialogue and sparking a movement to reinvent broken systems in a manner which creates win-win-win situations for people, our planet, and those who courageously lead the way. "Business and the decision making that goes with it doesn't have to be on an 'either/or' basis," she says. "I like to say that your future starts with AND, meaning that organizations and the people who lead them should opt for a more holistic approach where profit AND purpose are aligned to transform lives."

Enlightened Capitalist draws on the experience and talents of its Advisory Board, which includes:

Anne C. Graham , #1 bestselling author, speaker, and consultant in helping businesses achieve sustainable, profitable growth

, #1 bestselling author, speaker, and consultant in helping businesses achieve sustainable, profitable growth Dr. Stephen Hobbs , CEO, educator, and business consultant specializing in workplace culture, business mapping, and merger and acquisition strategies

, CEO, educator, and business consultant specializing in workplace culture, business mapping, and merger and acquisition strategies Susan Radojevic , a successful entrepreneur and advisor on business performance and engagement

, a successful entrepreneur and advisor on business performance and engagement Bernadette Slowey , an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of Vast Universe Productions. Her experiences include marketing, human resources and training, organizational development and customer experience. With her diverse background, she brings creative thinking to corporate and business savvy to entrepreneurs.

To learn more about Enlightened Capitalist, its concepts, and its services, please visit www.enlightenedcapitalist.org.

About Enlightened Capitalist: Enlightened Capitalist (EC) educates individuals in the process of mindful emergence as it relates to business. Enlightened Capitalist provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs and leaders to link life purpose with business sense. EC is a movement that consists of consulting, education, and local communities which guide transition at the personal level that results in change at the organizational level and beyond. Learn more at www.enlightenedcapitalist.org.

SOURCE Enlightened Capitalist

Related Links

http://www.enlightenedcapitalist.org


LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fazoli's, America's largest fast casual Italian chain, today announced the signing of a franchise agreement to develop a restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama. The news comes on the heels of another month of strong sales results for the brand's franchise restaurants. The Lexington, Kentucky-based company reported a 5.1 percent same-store sales increase for its franchised locations in November.

"We are thrilled to expand Fazoli's presence in Alabama, which represents a key state for our brand's overall growth and development," said Carl Howard, president and chief executive officer of Fazoli's. "With 14 consecutive quarters of same-store sales results, there has never been a more exciting time to be part of the Fazoli's brand. Our franchise restaurants are consistently delivering solid sales results and we anticipate another strong year in fiscal 2017."

As part of this development, Nareshkumar and Jaimin Patel of Mahant, Inc. will open their first restaurant in Huntsville. The father-and-son team also own and operate two Dairy Queen locations in the state with plans to develop additional Fazoli's locations in the area over the next few years.

"We are thrilled to join the Fazoli's family and bring its variety of craveable menu items to the Huntsville community," said Jaimin. "What attracted us to Fazoli's was not only its menu of high-quality, made-to-order entrees, but also the long-term viability of its business model. We are excited to bring Fazoli's back to Huntsville and look forward to serving local residents for many years to come."

In 2011, Fazoli's underwent a major brand overhaul with the introduction of real plateware and silverware in lieu of foam plates and plastic cutlery. As part of the brand refresh, earlier this year, Fazoli's began remodeling some of its locations with a new, contemporary look and feel. In addition, the company introduced an upgraded menu using premium ingredients, which has been well received by guests. This, coupled with the company's strong performance, continues to drive its national expansion. To further catapult the brand's development across the country, Fazoli's is targeting new markets including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Knoxville, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and several other cities.

With nearly 220 restaurants in 25 states, Fazoli's is America's largest Italian fast casual chain, serving freshly prepared classic Italian entrees, Submarinos sandwiches, salads and pizza. Fazoli's franchisees are experiencing record sales growth, and the company is currently seeking single- and multi-unit operators to join the brand's rapid expansion. For more information about franchise opportunities, connect with Fazoli's online at www.fazolis.com, www.ownafazolis.com, @Fazolis, and https://www.facebook.com/Fazolis.

About Fazoli's

With approximately 220 restaurants, Fazoli's is America's largest Italian fast casual chain, serving freshly prepared entrees, Submarinos sandwiches, salads and pizza. One of the New York Post's five breakout fast casual restaurants and a Fast Casual.com Brand of the Year, Fazoli's franchisees are experiencing record sales growth. Visit www.ownafazolis.com for details on development opportunities.

Contact:

Elayne Jacobs

Fish Consulting

202-588-8138

[email protected]

SOURCE Fazoli's

Related Links

http://www.fazolis.com


LINDON, Utah, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation (OTCQB: FVRG), a leading direct marketing company and provider of health-centered products, announced today the appointments of Shane Manwaring as General Counsel and Dan Eastman as CIO.

Manwaring most recently served as Vice President of Legal of ForeverGreen. With his years of meticulous and expert work, Manwaring is naturally the best decision to be named as ForeverGreen's General Counsel. He brings ForeverGreen more than nine years of legal experience on both a domestic and international level, with seven years' experience in the Direct Selling industry. Manwaring received his juris doctor from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a licensed attorney in both Idaho and Utah. Manwaring commented, "I am pleased to continue supporting ForeverGreen and its members around the world. The opportunities and challenges that come from the global business model are what make this an exciting company to be involved in."

Eastman moves into his new role as CIO with multiple years of experience in information technology, project management and direct selling for several large companies, most recently as VP of Information Technology of ForeverGreen. He holds multiple project management and IT certifications including certification in Six Sigma. He is a very skilled and creative problem solver, coming up with new solutions to meet emerging demands and to improve Member platforms to give ForeverGreen's valued Members the best tools to grow their business. Eastman commented, "What intrigues me most about ForeverGreen are the unique challenges that come with doing business and having customers in over 200 countries across the world, I look forward to serving our members in this new capacity."

CEO and Founder Ron Williams commented, "Shane Manwaring has earned the role of General Counsel. His knowledge, versatility and commitment to ForeverGreen will continue to ensure not only the protection of ForeverGreen but all efforts made in the areas of compliance. Additionally, I'm happy to see the promotion of Dan Eastman to CIO. In the years that he has been with ForeverGreen we have seen our IT development stabilize while successfully capturing business communities all around the world."

For more information on ForeverGreen's products, visit http://www.forevergreen.org.

ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation develops, manufactures and distributes an expansive line of all natural whole foods and products to North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, including their new global Xpress offering Prodigy-5. Additional products include PowerStrips, SolarStrips and BeautyStrips. They also offer their North America weight-management line Ketopia, along with FrequenSea, a whole-food beverage with industry exclusive marine phytoplankton, immune support and weight management products, and Pulse-8 powdered L-arginine formula.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" and involve both known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such uncertainties include, among others, certain risks associated with the operation of the company described above. The company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.

Contact:



ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation

Craig Smith, 801-655-5500

[email protected]



or



Brokers and Analysts:

Chesapeake Group

410-825-3930

[email protected]



SOURCE ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gateway Engineers, one of Pittsburgh's oldest and fastest growing engineering firms, will move into its new corporate headquarters on December 16.

The 62-year-old civil engineering firm is consolidating two Greentree locations into a 60,000-square-foot facility at the McMichael Road Business Park in Robinson Township and will initially occupy 45,000 square feet in the flex space, leaving room for future growth. The company will maintain its northern office in the City of Butler and its southern office in Southpointe, Cecil Township.

"With a collaborative workspace bringing all of our corporate staff under one roof, the new headquarters is designed to ensure that we continue to meet our clients' objectives now and in the future," said Gateway Engineers Chief Executive Officer Jason Jesso. "Our new facility will help to ensure project success through maximizing efficiencies in collaborative, mobile and technologically-proven design and related tools."

Gateway Engineers has been in a rapid growth period, both in terms of client and staff growth, with more than 450 clients and 150 full-time employees. Over the past five years, the organization has grown by 24 percent in terms of active clients and 17 percent in employment. The company reported more than $30M in revenue and is listed as the 20th largest civil engineering firm in the 2015-16 Pittsburgh Business Times Book of Lists.

Gateway Engineers is repeatedly recognized as a national Zweig White Hot Firm, a regional Pittsburgh Business Times 100 Fastest Growing Company and one of The Top 500 Design Firms in Engineering News-Record (ENR) Magazine.

SOURCE Gateway Engineers
DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the acquisition of its client, Hanson Directory Service, to a DirecTech, LLC, based in Chicago. The acquisition closed November 8, 2016. Details were not disclosed.

Hanson Directory Service, based in Newton, IA, was founded in 1973 by Lloyd L. Hanson and was still family-owned, by his son Bill. The company publishes print and digital directories for more than 130 telephone companies in 23 states and employs over 60 people.

DirecTech, LLC, was actively looking for a phone book directory publisher to merge with or acquire for a relatively new media advertising product. This product required an outbound sales force and a local customer base, both of which Hanson provided.

Generational Equity Managing Director Michael Goss and his team, including affiliates Chris Barnard and Todd McGreevey of Marigold Resources and Vice President Luan Ly, led advisory services for the seller. "It was an honor to work with such a venerable publisher here in Iowa, and help connect Bill and Monica with a content developer well suited to continue the Hanson Directory tradition into a new era," said Todd McGreevy.

"We feel the sale to DirecTech is a good fit for our telephone industry affiliates, our advertisers and our employees," Bill Hanson said. "My father started the business in January 1973. Proudly, my family has had a long, enjoyable and successful history of service to the rural telephone industry. It was really important to me to find a buyer that wanted to keep the company here."

About Generational Equity

Generational Equity, part of the Generational Group headquartered in Dallas with over 200 professionals located throughout North America, helps business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition, and strategic growth advisory services. Their four-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, and M&A transactional services. The M&A Advisor recently named the Company its 2016 Investment Banking Firm of the Year. For more, visit www.genequityco.com and the Generational Equity press room.

For more information:

Carl Doerksen

972-232-1125

[email protected]

SOURCE Generational Equity

Related Links

http://www.genequityco.com


NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global X Management Company LLC (Global X), the New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced the appointments of three new regional directors: Kize Behrends, Devan O'Dowd, and John Stec.

Mr. Behrends, joining from Deutsche Bank, will serve as Global X's regional director in the Midwest Region. Mr. O'Dowd, who comes from Cedar Capital, will be responsible for client relations and distribution in the Pacific Southwest. Mr. Stec, joining from Accuvest Global Advisors, will be responsible for distribution across all channels in the Pacific Northwest. All three will report directly to Brian Diessner, Global X's Head of Sales.

"We are thrilled to have Kize, John and Devan as part of the Global X team. They each have a proven track record of bringing consultative value to financial advisors and they will be a great asset as we continue to grow the team to support the demand for our expanding suite of ETF solutions," said Bruno del Ama, CEO of Global X Funds. "In 2017, we plan to continue to hire top distribution talent to have full national coverage to support Global X's growth."

Kize Behrends was the first ETF Regional Vice President at Deutsche Bank. This appointment marked the beginning of Deutsche Bank's U.S. distribution efforts, and he was instrumental in building its passive investment platform. Kize spent 8 years at Deutsche Bank and was recognized as the ETF Regional Vice President of the Year. He received his BLA from Lawrence University.

Devan O'Dowd joins Global X from Cedar Capital, an ETF strategist and liquid alternative provider, where he was a Director and Product Specialist, responsible for distribution efforts on the West Coast. Mr. O'Dowd began his career as part of the Advisor Sales team in the Development Program at Morningstar, the Chicago-based investment research firm. He received his BA in Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana  Champaign.

John Stec was most recently Executive Vice President at Accuvest Global Advisors, where he led the firm's U.S. sales and marketing efforts. Mr. Stec started his career in finance as an internal wholesaler for First Trust Portfolios, where he was recognized as Internal Wholesaler of the Year. Following the award, he was promoted to external wholesaler, covering Northern California. He received his BS in Business Management Entrepreneurship from South Illinois University.

ABOUT GLOBAL X

Seeking to provide access to high-quality and cost-efficient investment solutions, Global X is a New York-based sponsor of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Founded in 2008, we are distinguished by our smart core, income, alpha, risk management and access suites of ETFs and have more than 50 funds available across U.S. and foreign exchanges. Global X is recognized as a leader in providing intelligent investment solutions for our clients.

DISCLOSURE

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds' summary or full prospectus, which may be obtained by calling 1-888-GX-FUND-1 (1.888.493.8631), or by visiting www.globalxfunds.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Global X Management Company, LLC serves as an advisor to the Global X Funds. The Funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (SIDCO, 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA, 19456), which is not affiliated with Global X Management Company, LLC.

SOURCE Global X Management Company LLC

Related Links

http://www.globalxfunds.com


ATLANTA, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gray Television, Inc. ("Gray," "we," "us" or "our") (NYSE: GTN and GTN.A) announced today that it has reached an agreement with over-the-top video network Haystack TV to distribute its local news video content to its millennial-targeted audience.

Haystack TV radically improves the way TV news is consumed and distributed online through a mix of big data technology, artificial intelligence and human curation. Upon accessing Haystack TV, local users will see a mix of the top news stories and other content tuned to their specific interests based on their viewing habits, preferred publishers and favorite topics. The platform features content from traditional news broadcasters, as well as from newer niche publishers. Haystack TV presents videos in a way that allow for an optimal lean-back viewing experience.

"Third party researchers have named Gray as the television group reaching the highest number of 'millennial' consumers," said Kevin Latek, Gray's Executive Vice President. "It is therefore quite appropriate that Gray today becomes the first local broadcaster in each of our 50+ television markets to distribute local news video content on Haystack TV's new and innovative platform."

Jason Effinger, Gray's Chief Digital and Technology Officer explained, "Our viewers don't just want great content, they want to consume information on the platforms and devices of their own choosing. Haystack TV allows Gray to better meet the needs of our millennial viewers through a technology and a platform that are far ahead of the competition in delivering relevant video content to local viewers across the country."

The Haystack TV platform is just one more exciting way that Gray's stations get their highly sought-after local content into the hands of news-hungry millennials. Previously, Gray was the first television broadcast group to launch all of its CBS affiliates on the CBS All Access platform. Gray is also one of the largest broadcast groups supporting Roku with local station apps in dozens of markets in addition to hundreds of iOS, Apple, Kindle, and AppleWatch apps. Likewise, Gray's early and extensive involvement with "Facebook Instant Articles" led Facebook to select Gray as a "case study" for all media companies looking to expand their presence on the world's largest social media network.

Haystack TV is available on iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Fire TV and on the web via http://www.haystack.tv. Haystack TV was one of the initial launch partners for the Android TV platform and was featured by Google for its Chromecast integration. Haystack TV has also been featured multiple times on the Apple App Store and was a winner at Twitter's Hatch startup competition. Additional information about Haystack is available at http://www.haystack.tv/about-us.

About Gray Television:

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE: GTN and GTN.A) is a television broadcast company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that owns and operates television stations and leading digital assets in markets throughout the United States. Upon completion of all previously announced acquisitions, we will own and/or operate television stations across 53 television markets that collectively broadcast approximately 200 program streams including 101 channels affiliated with the CBS Network, the NBC Network, the ABC Network and the FOX Network. We then will own and/or operate the number-one or number-two ranked television station operations in essentially all of our markets, which collectively cover approximately 10.1 percent of total United States television households.

SOURCE Gray Television, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.gray.tv


NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hankook Tire, the leading and one of the fastest growing tire companies in the world, recently welcomed four students from the University of Cincinnati's Industrial Design program to the Hankook Technodome, the company's newly opened R&D center in Seoul, Korea, for the company's Design Insight Forum. The students are winners of Hankook's Design Innovation 2016, a competition that encourages design students to create futuristic yet realistic concept tires for future mobility.

Under the theme of "Connect to the Connected World," the students developed designs for self-driving and connected vehicles and their optimized tire systems for a future mega city. The designs focused on compact cars for ride sharing, as well as minivans and driverless taxis. The winners of Hankook's Design Innovation 2016 from the University of Cincinnati are:

Cameron Bresn , who designed a concept tire to introduce lateral movement with maximized cornering grip

, who designed a concept tire to introduce lateral movement with maximized cornering grip Hayden Lapiska , who developed a concept tire using multiple tread sections that can expand and contract to handle different urban environments

, who developed a concept tire using multiple tread sections that can expand and contract to handle different urban environments Ian McGillivray , who designed a space-saving personal transit system with varied tire specs that is built into the ground to provide on-call transportation

, who designed a space-saving personal transit system with varied tire specs that is built into the ground to provide on-call transportation John Piper , who designed a system of autonomous and self-driving tires to function as an in-wheel drivetrain responsible for steering, braking and handling

Each of the winners sourced their inspiration from preexisting mechanics simplified and repurposed for the road. Each design works to tackle a different problem with an innovative solution granting the tire more responsibility than simply traveling in a forward or backward direction. Being able to change size, shape and adapt at will provides a more convenient and efficient way to travel for both public and private transport.

During the Design Insight Forum last week in Seoul, Korea, the students exhibited their work at the Hankook Technodome, participated in design lectures, met with Hankook Tire's R&D staff, and toured Seoul's top design destinations. The winning works will also be exhibited in mock-ups and videos.

"The Design Insight Forum at the Hankook Technodome is a meaningful opportunity to experience the fine works of young designers developing future tire innovations at our new and state-of-the art R&D center," said Mr. Seung Hwa Suh, Vice Chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire. "Hankook Tire expects to further create synergy with the future leaders of industrial design in collaboration with Hankook Tire's technological leadership through the Design Insight Forum."

The Design Innovation project is a biannual program that began in 2012. In collaboration with students at premier university design programs, the Design Innovation Program creates new product concept designs for the future of the automotive industry. The winning designs have resulted in numerous patents as well as awards at the world's leading design awards, including IDEA, IF awards and Red Dot Design Awards. Last year, the innovative Boostrac Concept Tire, which was a part of Design Innovation 2014, won the prestigious Luminary of Red Dot Award.

About Hankook Tire America Corp.

Hankook Tire America Corp. is a growing leader in the U.S. tire market, leveraging investments in technology, manufacturing and marketing to deliver high quality, reliable products that are safer for consumers and the environment. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Hankook Tire markets and distributes a complete line of high performance and ultra-high performance passenger tires, light truck, SUV tires, as well as medium truck and bus tires in the United States.

SOURCE Hankook Tire
SHANGHAI, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hanon Systems (KS:018880), a leading global provider of automotive thermal solutions, is enhancing its ability to serve vehicle manufacturers in China by opening a new engineering center in Shanghai.

Located in Shanghai's Songjiang district, the new 3,612 square meter multi-story facility will serve as the engineering epicenter of technical collaboration for application engineering and system evaluation supporting Chinese automakers and global vehicle manufacturers operating in China.

"Supporting customers is a top priority and China is an important market to Hanon Systems," said In-Young Lee, president and chief executive officer of Hanon Systems. "We are pleased to open this new engineering center in Shanghai to provide automakers with local technical expertise and testing capability to better support the growing China market."

The engineering center also is equipped with state-of-the-art test equipment to provide in-house design verification, product validation and in-process testing. Specific test capability includes noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) evaluation; air handling performance and durability of heating, ventilation and air conditioning modules; and thermal system component testing for electric vehicles.

"Hanon Systems is well-positioned to support the demand for new energy vehicles (NEV) in China with a suite of products that are proven with global vehicle manufacturers and designed specifically for NEV architectures," said Dr. Kwangtaek Hong, chief technology officer of Hanon Systems. "This new engineering center is a testament to our commitment to support the China market and the NEV trend."

Hanon Systems is relocating its Shanghai technical staff from an existing site approximately 25 kilometers in distance to the new facility in the Songjiang district, which has the capacity to accommodate additional resources to support growth based on business and customer needs.

The Shanghai center is one of 14 engineering locations supported by four global technical centers that are responsible for developing advanced technologies, core product development and global standardization of new technologies. Hanon Systems' global technical centers are located Daejeon, Korea; Kerpen, Germany; Novy Jicin, Czech Republic; and Van Buren Township, Mich.

About Hanon Systems

Hanon Systems is a full-line supplier of automotive thermal management solutions. Products include heating ventilation and air conditioning; compressors; powertrain cooling; fluid transport; and thermal and emissions solutions for conventional and electric, hybrid and fuel cell vehicle thermal systems. With 40 manufacturing sites supported by four global technical centers in 20 countries, the company employs more than 16,500 people. To learn more, visit hanonsystems.com.

SOURCE Hanon Systems
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawthorne, the leader in accountable and analytics driven advertising, announced today the launch of a "Cause for Celebration: 12 Days of Caring and Sharing" campaign that involves the company donating to one cause a day from December 12th until December 24th.

Charities scheduled to receive donations include; The American Heart Association, The Nature Conservancy, UNICEF, ASPCA, St. Jude, 350.org, Doctors Without Borders, Future's Bridge, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Feeding America and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Visitors should go to http://hawthorneholidays.com/ to submit their information and select their charity and Hawthorne will make a donation on their behalf. Individuals can also "like" the company's posts on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to generate donations.

"Charitable giving is a cornerstone of our organization, and something I personally embrace and promote throughout the company," said Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Owner/CEO of Hawthorne. "I'm proud to support these 12 charities during our 2016 '12 Days of Caring and Sharing' campaign, which is only a part of our year-long commitment to charitable giving. I encourage our partners and clients to enter their names so we can make a difference on their behalf and embrace the holiday spirit."

The new campaign as a part of Hawthorne's commitment to supporting charitable causes. The company made similar donations to a variety of charities during the 2015 holidays, and Hawthorne staff are encouraged to donate their time to support both global and local organizations. The company also operates the Hawthorne Direct Community Causes Committee (HDCCC) which meets monthly to contribute funds and other resources to community needs. The company is also a designated "Blue Zones" worksite, which reflects its commitment to a work/life balance as well as a focus on wellness.

About Hawthorne:

Hawthorne, a creative, analytics and technology-driven advertising agency, specializes in strategic planning, creative development, production, media planning, buying and analytics, and campaign management for integrated marketing campaigns. With nearly 30 years of proven excellence, the agency combines persuasive brand messaging with best-in-class analytic systems to create accountable, high performance advertising campaigns. Hawthorne helps brands efficiently target their consumers, improve cost per acquisition, optimize the lifetime value of a brand's customers, and even drive consumer response to key retail outlets or corporate locations.

As a leading analytic and data driven, accountable brand advertising agency, Hawthorne specializes in integrated campaign solutions. The company offers a full suite of integrated solutions with creative, media, digital and mobile services. Hawthorne maintains brand integrity and metrics to efficiently and effectively optimize the results of its clients' integrated media budgets via leading edge and proven data analytics. Hawthorne has developed successful award-winning campaigns for countless Fortune 500 brands. Please visit www.hawthornedirect.com and http://www.linkedin.com/company/hawthorne-direct for more information.

SOURCE Hawthorne

Related Links

http://www.hawthornedirect.com


WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- International eDiscovery and digital forensics solutions provider Haystack Information Discovery ("HAYSTACKID") today announced that it has brought seasoned litigation support veteran Devin Scanlon aboard. Mr. Scanlon will add even more expertise and experience to the already robust leadership team, and will act as Director of Legal Strategy & Forensic Technology at HAYSTACKID.

Mr. Scanlon knows the eDiscovery industry from top to bottom thanks to his humble beginnings and rapid rise to leadership positions. He did not intend to become as technically driven as he is today when starting his career, but aggressively learned the inner workings of eDiscovery database management relatively early on and has not looked back since.

From there, he began to play many roles in each position he held, including those related to sales, scoping, project management, and client services at eDiscovery firms. Mr. Scanlon's fact-based approach to decision making earned him the respect of his colleagues, and distinguished him as a reliable and powerful force among the clients he served.

"We could not be happier about Devin's decision to join the team," said Kevin D. Glass, HAYSTACKID President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our leadership team is already soaring, and I know that the addition of Mr. Scanlon will push us to even greater heights, all the while enabling HAYSTACKID to provide our clients with the best possible guidance and support."

Mr. Scanlon's experience in the eDiscovery industry is unique, to say the least. By starting at the ground level during the dawn of litigation services, and organically rising the ranks to VP positions, he gained expertise in all of the moving parts involved.

"Our eDiscovery services business is booming, and Devin's presence here will translate to an even more competitive stature in the market," Michael D. Sarlo, HAYSTACKID Global Director of eDiscovery, explained. "We are all very excited to begin working with, and learning from, Mr. Scanlon, and I know that he will be taking another big step in his career by joining the HAYSTACKID family."

HAYSTACKID continues to evolve alongside the rapid transformations taking place in the eDiscovery and legal tech industries. By continuously innovating and adding new talent to the leadership team, HAYSTACKID remains as a leader within the space.

The HAYSTACKID family proudly welcomes Mr. Scanlon to the team.

About HAYSTACKID

HAYSTACKID is an international eDiscovery and digital forensics solutions provider, with office locations throughout the country and in Europe. HAYSTACKID provides corporate customers and their counsel with cost predictability options that allow accurate budgeting and forecasting of their discovery expenses without the additional cost of software, hardware or implementation fees. HAYSTACKID is headquartered in Boston with offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Los Angeles; San Diego; San Francisco; Beaverton, Oregon; Paris, France; and Frankfurt & Berlin, Germany.

Press Contact

[email protected]

877.9.HAYSTACK (877.942.9782)

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com/.

SOURCE HAYSTACKID
CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Prices for the same quality medical services can differ by thousands of dollars across health care providers within the same region and health plan network  sometimes as much as 300-500 percent. Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the nation's largest customer-owned health insurer, introduced Member Rewards, a new tool to help consumers better navigate their health care experience and provide them incentives for making smart decisions, which may also help reduce medical costs for themselves and their employers.

"Consumers may not be used to the idea of shopping for health care or be aware of the potential benefits of just a few minutes of research. But given the benefits and rewards consumers can achieve, we should move to a mentality where we shop for health care just like we do for other products," said Tom Meier, vice president, Market Solutions at HCSC. "By pairing the right transparency tools to compare costs with a meaningful financial incentive for our members, we can empower them to be smart consumers of care and potentially help lower costs for themselves and their employers."

Available to self-funded large employers across Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Montana, this new program offers a cash reward when a quality, lower-cost provider is selected from several possibilities for the same medical service or procedure, such as MRI, mammogram or hip replacement. Member Rewards, powered and administered by Vitals, leverages Provider Finder, HCSC's nationwide database of independently contracted health care providers, as well as Benefits Value Advisor, a live health care member advocate, to help consumers:

compare costs and quality for numerous procedures

estimate out-of-pocket costs

earn cash while shopping for care

save money and make the most efficient use of their health care benefits, and

consider treatment decisions with their primary doctors.

Once members complete the procedure, they'll receive any financial reward they earn within weeks. The cash reward can vary from $75 - $3001 and depends on the care being performed and the difference in cost compared with other options. These benefits for the consumer are, in turn, passed on to employers, as lower-cost providers reduce their overall cost of care2.

About Health Care Service Corporation

Health Care Service Corporation is the country's largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall, with more than 15 million members in its Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. A Mutual Legal Reserve Company, HCSC is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. HCSC has a rating of A+ (Strong) from Standard and Poor's, A1 (Good) from Moody's and A (Excellent) from A.M. Best Company. For more information, please visit HCSC.com, visit our Facebook page or follow us at www.twitter.com/HCSC.

1 Ranges may change based on geography and account claims.

2 HCSC makes no endorsement, representation or warranty regarding Vitals' administration of the Member Rewards program. Information received through the Member Rewards program is not meant to replace advice of a health care professional, and decisions regarding course and place of treatment remain with the member and his or her health care provider. Eligibility for rewards is subject to terms and conditions of the Member Rewards program.

CONTACT: Kristen Cunningham, 312.653.1686, [email protected]



Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130401/AQ85974LOGO

SOURCE Health Care Service Corporation

Related Links

http://www.hcsc.com


NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Huniford Design Studio was honored by the Americas Property Awards at The Savoy Hotel, London on December 11th and awarded as "Highly Commended" in the Interior Design Private Residence - New York category for its' 7 Bond Street residential project. Huniford Design Studio's eco-friendly penthouse was named among the most exceptional projects of 2016, representing the U.S. on an international stage.

James Huniford, a renowned New York interior designer completed the penthouse for a client, a portfolio manager and published author on the subject of domestic sustainability and healthy living. Feng shui master Dee Kelly and Matthew Waletzke, a certified Building-Biology consultant, worked with Huniford to create an eco-friendly apartment, which incorporated the installation of electromagnetic frequencyblocking throughout. The use of non-toxic materials and reclaimed wood combined with raw and exposed materials were used to create a sensibility which emulated a Northern Californian design aesthetic  rugged and masculine with bohemian and earth toned accents.

"We're honored to be internationally recognized for our work," said James Huniford.

The International Property Awards rank amongst the most prestigious commendations in the residential and commercial property industries. The judging panel consists of 70 experts focusing on design and quality, innovation, originality and commitment to sustainability including Lord Caithness, Lord Best, Lord Liverpool, members of the House of Lords in the UK Parliament. www.propertyawards.net

HUNIFORD DESIGN STUDIO James Huniford is the Founder of the interior design firm Huniford Design Studio in New York. When designing a Manhattan townhouse, a beach house getaway, or a Northern California residence, Huniford blends new and old, uniting found objects with refined materials in distinctive combinations and vignettes. Whether it's the gentle curve of a whale bone or the circular repetition of oversized gears, one-of-a-kind objects inspire all of Huniford's designs. His signature use of calming wall colors highlights the importance of objects, art, and furniture, as a canvas does for a painter. In January 2017, the firm will introduce the Huniford Collection, a luxury furnishings line that brings graceful design with optimal craftsmanship. James Huniford was selected by Architectural Digest as one of the "Top 100 Designers." His work has appeared in American, Italian and French editions of AD, Elle Decor, W, Vogue, New York Times, and House Beautiful www.huniford.com

SOURCE Huniford Design Studio

Related Links

http://huniford.com


ALBANY, New York, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Transparency Market Research observes that the global industrial automation market is highly fragmented due to the presence of several players in the market. The top four players with a strong foothold in the global market held a share of 12.2% in 2015. "Developing new technologies that deliver commercial excellence, functional transformation will be the key focus areas of these companies," states the lead author of this research report. According to the research report, the global industrial automation market is anticipated to reach a valuation of US$352.02 bn by the end of 2024 from US$182.64 bn in 2015. Between the forecast years of 2016 and 2024, the global market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.6%.

The strong growth in the CNC technology segment is driving the global growth of the industrial automation market, especially in the Asia Pacific and Europe region. Industrial automated products are manufactured in large varieties, each differing from another based on automation type, instrumentation, flow computers, analyzers, operation, and geography. The industrial automation market has been globally emerging to be a relatively more attractive space for investment by organizations across the world. The usage of robots in industrial controller mechanisms is an established trend. Thus it paves the way for larger adoption of the industrial control and industrial automation equipment. In spite of this, the development of the global industrial automation market is affected with massive threats in some regions all over the world, considering the fact that the method caters to human labor replacement with machines and computers.

Get PDF Sample for Emerging Trends & Advancements at http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=10868

Europe to Acquire Nearly 30.0% Share in Global Market by 2024

In terms of geography, the global market is segmented into North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Rest of Latin America. Of these, Europe is anticipated to lead the global market in the coming years. By the end of 2024, the Europe industrial automation market is projected to acquire a share of 29.9% in the global market. Meanwhile, product lifecycle management (PLM) will be the popularly used technology in the coming years. By the end of the forecast period, this segment is expected to be worthy US$44.10 bn.

Demand for Operational Efficiencies Raises Demand for Industrial Automation

The global industrial automation market is expected to witness a significant spike in the coming years as the manufacturing industry is on the cusp of revolutionizing its operations. The introduction of new technologies that permits manufacturing industries to speed up their processes and ensure utmost efficiency are expected propel the growth of the overall market. Analysts project that industrial automation is expected to witness substantial growth in areas of metals and mining, oil and gas, automotive and transportation, and pulp and paper industries. The growing efforts to reduce the human element in several processes to prevent accidents, bring in operational efficiency, and establish a certain quality of output are all fuelling the growth of the overall market.

Browse Regional PR: http://www.europlat.org/global-industrial-automation-market.htm

The global industrial automation market is also growing due to the rise in the number of industries. The emergence of industries such as food and beverages, electrical and electronics, chemicals, water management, and pharmaceuticals have triggered a sizeable demand for various types of industrial automation processes. Additionally, adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) across the construction industry is also projected to boost the demand for industrial automation in the coming few years. The report states that the industrial automation will find a significant impetus from emerging economies of Brazil and India as both the countries are inclined toward increasing their manufacturing activities.

High Cost of Installation and Maintenance Hampers Market Growth

The global industrial automation market faces restraints such as poor rate of awareness about the benefits of industrial automation in the manufacturing industry. This sentiment is especially true for small players. Thus, the adoption of industrial automation technologies is especially low in emerging economies. Furthermore, several players in the market are being dissuaded by the challenge of repeatedly incurring high installation and maintenance costs to ensure the systems function smoothly.

This review is based on Transparency Market Research's report, titled "Industrial Automation Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024."

The segments covered in the global Industrial Automation market are as follows:

Global Industrial Automation Market: By Automation Type

Distributed Control System (DCS)

Programmable Logic Control System (PLC)

Machine Vision System

Manufacturing Execution System (MES)

Human Machine Interface (HMI)

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

Plant Asset Management

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) routers

Electronic Control Units (ECU)

Others

Global Industrial Automation Market: By Industry

Automation and Transportation

Metals and Mining

Oil and Gas

Pulp and Paper

Hydro power

Energy and Power System

Chemical, Material and Food

Measurement and Instrumentation

Global Industrial Automation Market: By Geography

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe U.K. Germany France Italy Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific South East Asia and India China Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa UAE Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of MEA

and South America Brazil Argentina

Rest of Latin America

Related Research Reports by TMR:

Industrial Controls System Market:

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/industrial-controls-market.html

Home Automation Market:

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/home-automation-market.html

About Us

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.

Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Inkling, the leader in mobile communications for the deskless worker, today announced a $25 million Series E round, bringing the total funding to date to $95 million. Sapphire Ventures led the round with participation from current investors Sequoia Capital and Tenaya Capital. The company will use the new funding to expand its product and sales efforts globally.

Today, 75 percent of U.S. workers perform their jobs without sitting in front of a desk or computer. Think of the restaurant worker, sales person, field service technician, or retail employee. Information technology has not played a transformative role in their lives. In fact, employers often inform and equip these workers by shipping paper binders or distributing static PDF files. However, the broadening availability and affordability of mobile technologies is finally changing this dynamic.

Inkling lets enterprises communicate with deskless workers and enables measurement of employee engagement and compliance. Real-time updates ensure that field employees are always looking at the most up-to-date information. Built-in analytics allows employers to correlate usage data with critical performance metrics like customer satisfaction, revenue, and brand consistency.

"Mobile devices are finally poised to change the work lives of tens of millions of deskless employees, so the opportunity is massive" said Matt MacInnis, CEO of Inkling. "We are excited to scale our business alongside Nino and the entire Sapphire Ventures team, a team that has deep enterprise software experience, a differentiated business development platform, and a track record of working with growth-stage companies."

Over the past year, Inkling has grown its customer base to include top 10 firms in the insurance, retail, restaurant, pharmaceutical, energy, and manufacturing industries. As a recent example, McDonald's rolled out Inkling to roughly 15,000 restaurants. Inkling also achieved a key milestone this year, surpassing one million licenses sold, and expanded its executive team to include new leaders in both marketing and product.

"Along with its incredible base of customers, we believe Inkling has a deep technology advantage in serving distributed workforces across a wide range of industries," said Nino Marakovic, CEO and managing director of Sapphire Ventures. "Inkling's customers have shared with us firsthand the transformational impact of the company's technology on the lives of over a million workers. We look forward to helping Inkling tap into Sapphire's own enterprise network to further enable the company to grow and improve the work lives of tens of millions more people worldwide."

With this new funding, Marakovic will join Inkling's board of directors.

About Inkling Systems, Inc.

Inkling is on a mission to transform the way people work. Founded in 2009 and backed by Sequoia Capital, Sapphire Ventures, and Tenaya Capital, Inkling's mobile communication platform allows enterprises to convey critical information to their deskless workers. Employees today expect to access accurate and compelling information on any mobile device, yet enterprises still ship paper binders or print static PDF and Word files. Companies use Inkling to convey mission critical information via video, interactive images, dynamic documents, and/or alerts. Using Inkling, enterprises enforce their brand standards and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

About Sapphire Ventures

Sapphire Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on helping innovative technology companies become global category leaders. Leveraging nearly two decades of experience and an extensive global enterprise network, Sapphire Ventures invests capital, resources and expertise to enable its portfolio companies to scale rapidly. Whether entrepreneurs sell to businesses, consumers or both, Sapphire Ventures offers a platform for business development and operational excellence to help them accelerate growth. With over $2.4 billion under management via direct growth investments and early-stage fund investments, Sapphire Ventures is positioned to elevate companies to the global stage. Find us in Palo Alto and London and at www.sapphireventures.com

SOURCE Inkling
Investments in innovation, alliances and people drive strong growth across core services to achieve fiscal year (FY) revenues of US$25.42 billion .

. Over 37,000 new graduates and other associates hired, with the total workforce growing to a record-high of 189,000 people.

Strong growth across Audit, Tax and Advisory services, with growth in all three regions and exceptional year-over-year growth of 11.5% in Advisory services.

LONDON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - KPMG International today announced aggregated network revenues of US$25.42 billion for the fiscal year ending 30 September 2016 (FY16), representing an 8.0% increase in local currency terms.

"KPMG's strong FY16 results, in what remains a slow-growth global environment, are a testament to the passion and innovative thinking we bring to our work," said John Veihmeyer, Chairman, KPMG International. "In today's volatile business climate, our strategic investments in technology, alliances, and our people, are fuelling our growth across our geographies and service lines. In FY16, thousands of extraordinary people were hired across the KPMG network, and we continued our relentless focus on providing high-quality, excellent service.

"We continued to prioritize strategic investments in new services and technologies in FY16, focusing on the areas where we see businesses facing the greatest challenge and disruption. We have taken a leadership position in key business areas such as cyber security and data & analytics (D&A). We are also working closely with a number of the world's leading technology companies, in alliances that bring together world-class innovation, business expertise and leading edge technology.

"We are also actively engaging with regulators, tax authorities and other stakeholders, to advance the conversation around some of our industry's most complex challenges. Our purpose has never been clearer  we inspire confidence, and our work empowers clients and the business community to explore, invest, innovate, grow and change. KPMG's Global Brexit Centre of Excellence is an example of the quality of thinking and advice KPMG people bring to clients around the world as they prepare for what could be a potentially major shift in global trade."

Success built on serving clients across the globe

Reflecting our vision to have clients see a difference in us, KPMG firms grew across all three geographic regions:

Americas revenues increased by 9.6%, driven by growth in Advisory services of 12.0%, growth in Tax of 11.6% and growth in Audit of 6.4%. Strong US growth of 9.4% was driven by double-digit growth for non-Audit services. In other Americas markets, Brazil saw 12.7% growth and Mexico had 8.8% growth.

saw 12.7% growth and had 8.8% growth. Asia Pacific delivered stronger growth than FY15, with revenues increasing by 9.8%, versus 8.2% in the previous year, led by exceptionally strong growth of 20.7% in Advisory. Particularly strong growth was seen in Australia , which again recorded double-digit growth, Japan at 13.3%, Korea at 9.4% and China at 9.2%, which all grew faster versus FY15.

delivered stronger growth than FY15, with revenues increasing by 9.8%, versus 8.2% in the previous year, led by exceptionally strong growth of 20.7% in Advisory. Particularly strong growth was seen in , which again recorded double-digit growth, at 13.3%, Korea at 9.4% and at 9.2%, which all grew faster versus FY15. Reflecting an improving but challenging business environment in Europe , Middle East and Africa (EMA, including India ), revenues increased by 6.0%, up from a 4.0% increase in the previous year. Within the region, revenues were driven by strong performance in the Advisory business, with growth of 8.7% over the previous year. EMA saw strong growth in a number of firms, including India at 18.6%, Middle East and South Asia (MESA) at 10.7% and Ireland at 8.6%.

Growth in business lines  Audit, Tax and Advisory

Audit

Total Audit revenues for the year were up by 4.5%, to US$10.12 billion, building on last year's exceptional growth of 6.1%.

KPMG firms continued to win a number of important audit appointments across the globe, particularly in Europe, where FY16 marked the first year of European Union audit reforms.

"We have a relentless focus on audit quality and are continuing with a several hundred million dollar, multi-year, investment program in new audit technologies. These technologies allow us to provide insight-driven advice on clients' business risks; in addition, our investments in cognitive processing and in building the D&A skills of KPMG Audit professionals, will continue to increase confidence in the work we do," said Veihmeyer.

Tax

Tax revenues grew 8.8% over the previous year, to US$5.56 billion, with Tax revenues in Asia Pacific improving by 11.1%. Strong Tax performance was driven by high demand for tax compliance services, as well as international and M&A related services, in all three regions.

"In an increasingly inter-connected business world, the tax work done for clients is increasingly important and complex. Clients are looking for help with their tax compliance across multiple jurisdictions, advice on indirect tax, immigration work, and the implications of tax policy across multi-country supply chains. Now more than ever, KPMG professionals are also advising clients on how to most effectively communicate the tax they pay with stakeholders across the world. We are leading the responsible tax dialogue  a discussion about ethical tax behaviors that involves government, taxpayers and professional advisors," said Veihmeyer.

Advisory

KPMG's strong Advisory revenues reflected a focus on innovation in the role as trusted advisors to some of the world's largest businesses. Total Advisory revenues for the year were up 11.5%, to US$9.74 billion, an increase over the growth of 9.2% in FY15, with stronger year-over-year growth seen across each of KPMG's three Advisory service groups.

Demand for Management Consulting services, which saw growth of 16.3%, was led in-part by technology-enabled transformation engagements.

Risk Consulting, including Financial Risk and Regulatory Management, IT Advisory Services and Forensic, grew 10.2%.

Deal Advisory saw growth of 12.1%, as KPMG professionals helped drive value for clients in their acquisition/disposition transactions.

In addition, the Global Strategy Group contributed to the strong growth across Advisory.

Investing for future growth

KPMG is planning investments of more than US$2.5 billion over the next 3 years in new services, technology, alliances and acquisitions, focused particularly on D&A, Strategy, Cyber, Digital Labor and Audit. This will represent the largest ever investment in our network and will drive a transformation in our operating model and technological capability.

A leading choice for talent

In FY16, KPMG maintained its long-standing focus on being an employer of choice for extraordinary people. More than 37,000 new graduates and other entry-level professionals joined KPMG member firms, and more than 300 new external partners and more than 600 promoted KPMG partners were welcomed into the leadership ranks. KPMG's global workforce grew by more than 8% to almost 189,000 partners and staff, the highest number of individuals ever employed across the network.

KPMG's inclusive culture helps ensure that our teams reflect the diversity of skills, backgrounds, experiences and thought expected by clients. Led by the gender-balanced Global Management Team, our inclusion and diversity strategy continues to accelerate our progress towards achieving our inclusion and diversity goals.

Veihmeyer concluded, "KPMG gives our high-performing recruits the foundation upon which to build an exceptional career. Global Mobility assignments, collaborative working, innovative learning, and our inclusive culture, create a multi-disciplinary organization with the skills to make KPMG the clear choice for clients."

Other FY16 highlights

KPMG member firms serve more than 80% of Global Fortune 500 companies.

KPMG's alliances with industry partners like IBM, Microsoft and Oracle extended the breadth of technology-based offerings for clients around the world.

KPMG was named a leader in information security consulting services by Forrester Research, achieving the highest score for current offering and strategy (tied) in The Forrester Wave: Information Security Consulting Services, Q1 2016.

KPMG has a commitment to lifelong learning. To date, KPMG has distributed nearly 3 million books worldwide through KPMG's Family for Literacy (KFFL), and is a proud supporter of Enactus, One Young World , and Junior Achievement, among others.

Notes to editors:

Combined revenues of KPMG member firms by region (US$ billion)

Regions Current Prior Local

growth (%) US$ growth

(%) Americas $10.02 $9.34 9.6% 7.3% Asia Pacific $4.06 $3.79 9.8% 7.1% EMA $11.34 $11.31 6.0% 0.3% Total $25.42 $24.44 8.0% 4.0%

Functions

Audit $10.12 $10.03 4.5% 0.9% Tax $5.56 $5.31 8.8% 4.7% Advisory $9.74 $9.10 11.5% 7.0% Total $25.42 $24.44 8.0% 4.0%

The following global reports have also been issued by KPMG International today:

KPMG International Annual Review

The International Annual Review reflects on our record of achievement over the past fiscal year, demonstrating the insights and expertise of KPMG professionals and the unrelenting focus on acting with integrity and quality in everything we do.

KPMG International Transparency Report

This report provides insights and details on how we continually strive to enhance audit quality, which is a direct reflection of our network's unwavering commitment to audit quality, an integral element of our business and culture.

UN Global Compact  Communication on Progress

KPMG International has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact since 2002. The International Annual Review describes the ways in which we are implementing the 10 principles of the Compact and supporting broader development objectives.

About KPMG International

KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 152 countries and have 189,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

The financial information set forth represents combined information of the separate KPMG member firms that perform professional services for clients. The information is combined here solely for presentation purposes. KPMG International performs no services for clients nor, concomitantly, generates any client revenue.

Headcount figures are expressed as FTE (Full Time Equivalent) and are based on average headcount for the financial year.

SOURCE KPMG International
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital LP, adviser to the DoubleLine Funds, today will hold a webcast, titled "Drain the Swamp," on the investment strategies and positioning of DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund and his market outlook.

The DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund (I shares: DBLTX; N shares DLTNX) is an open-end intermediate-term bond fund which invests primarily in mortgage-backed securities (MBS).

The webcast will start at 4:15 pm Eastern/1:15 pm Pacific today (Tuesday December 13). To register for the webcast, please click here: https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1085786

For a 2-page fact sheet on the DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund, please click here: http://www.doublelinefunds.com/wp-content/uploads/total-return-bond-fund-fact-sheet.pdf?c=1481582344

About DoubleLine Capital LP

DoubleLine Capital LP, a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, acts as the investment adviser for the Fund. DoubleLine Capital and its related companies ("DoubleLine") managed $106 billion in assets across all vehicles, including open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, hedge fund, variable annuities, UCITS and separate accounts as of the September 30, 2016 end of the third quarter. DoubleLine's offices in Los Angeles can be reached by telephone at (213) 633-8200 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Media can reach DoubleLine by e-mail at [email protected]. DoubleLine is a registered trademark of DoubleLine Capital LP.

Disclosures:

The fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The statutory and summary prospectus contains this and other important information about the fund and may be obtained by calling 1 (877) 354-6311 / 1 (877) DLINE11 or visiting www.doublelinefunds.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Mutual fund investing involves risk; Principal loss is possible.

The DoubleLine Funds are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

SOURCE DoubleLine

Related Links

http://www.doubleline.com


CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Joyce Foundation has awarded more than $10 million in grants to support organizations advocating clean energy and energy efficiency policies in the Great Lakes region, help roll out a new data reporting system designed to strengthen teacher preparedness programs, and fund research and advocacy to advance common-sense gun violence prevention policies.

The Chicago-based foundation approved these and other investments at its December Board of Directors meeting, one of three grant making sessions held each year.

Joyce works with grantee partners to develop and advance evidence-based policy solutions to improve quality of life, promote community vitality, and strive for a fair society. It focuses much of its grant making on the Great Lakes region, and also partners with public agencies, advocates and other funders across the country to achieve broader impact.

Highlights of the December round of grant making include the following:

Education: $2.3 million total (11 grants)

Several Education Program grants focus on helping advocacy groups shape the state plans required under the Every Student Succeeds Act to ensure the plans' top priorities include: teacher quality, the needs of low-income and minority students, and strong supports to schools. They include grants to Minnesota Comeback ($200,000, 1 year); Migration Policy Institute ($120,000, 1 year); Students for Education Reform ($100,000, 1 year); and Educators for Excellence ($275,000, 1 year). Joyce also awarded a grant to Advance Illinois ($400,000, 2 years) to work with the Illinois State Board of Education to help roll out a new data reporting system aimed at strengthening teacher preparation programs.

Employment: $1.3 million (6 grants)

Employment Program grants reflect Joyce's focus on building evidence about effective workforce policies and programs and sharing that evidence with federal and state policy makers and business groups to support change. The Business Roundtable ($500,000, 2 years) will support the work of the National Network of Business and Industry Associations in its work to build a unified business perspective on skills issues. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Good Jobs LLC ($170,000, 1 year) will launch an initiative that aims to build on insights from Zeynep Ton's book The Good Jobs Strategy to get more companies to provide good jobs to their employees as part of return-maximizing strategies.

Joint Fund for Education and Employment: $1.5 million (8 grants)

Chris Hulleman, a professor at the University of Virginia, was awarded a two-year, $540,000 grant to demonstrate how psychology-based "mindset" interventions can improve employment outcomes and increase student engagement. Mindset interventions use brief readings or reflections to change students' mental disposition toward academic work, and can produce measurable improvement in academic outcomes.

Environment: $1.5 million (6 grants)

Several Environment Program grants will advance the goal of putting the Midwest on a path of accelerating reductions in power sector carbon dioxide emissions, by increasing use of energy efficiency alongside cleaner power generation. Fresh Energy of St. Paul, Minnesota ($300,000, 2 years) will work on Minnesota energy efficiency and carbon pollution policy. The Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. of New York ($700,000, 2 years) will advance energy efficiency, smart grid, and related clean energy policies in Illinois and Ohio. And the Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund ($180,000, 2 years) will continue energy efficiency and carbon pollution reduction education and organizing efforts.

Gun Violence Prevention: $1 million (6 grants)

Grants were awarded to organizations involved in research, coalition building and advocacy to reduce firearm violence. The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence received a grant ($225,000, 1 year) for policy education and advocacy to reduce gun violence. The University of Chicago Crime Lab ($50,000, 1 year) will provide support to the City of Chicago to help produce a firearm tracing report, and provide ongoing analysis of crime data to inform gun violence prevention efforts.

Democracy: $1.3 million (10 grants)

Democracy Program grants support state-based advocacy efforts on democracy reforms in areas such as election administration, voting rights, redistricting, and judicial selection. The League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund ($160,000, 2 years) will continue advocacy and public education on democracy issues. The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Inc. ($100,000, 2 years) will build coalitions and public awareness to promote automatic voter registration. The William J. Brennan Center for Justice in New York ($400,000, 2 years) will provide research, technical assistance, and litigation support on voting rights, redistricting, and fair courts in the Great Lakes states.

Culture Program: $250,000 (5 grants)

The foundation awarded $250,000 (1 year, $50,000 each) to five collaborations between arts organizations and artists of color in Chicago, Cleveland, and the Twin Cities. The Joyce Awards support the creative development of artists of color and engagement of the communities in which commissioned works will be presented. Since the competition started in 2003, Joyce has awarded nearly $3 million to commission 55 new works.

Special Opportunities Program: $625,000 (4 grants)

The Special Opportunities Program supports important opportunities that span core Joyce grant programs. In Communications, Joyce awarded $75,000 for one year to Madison365.com, to support expansion of the media outlet's daily online coverage of public affairs, business and culture for African Americans and Latinos. Madison365's social media presence also provides a robust platform for conversations about issues affecting Wisconsin's communities of color.

More information on the Joyce Foundation's latest round of grants is available HERE.

Contact: Lilly Athamanah, [email protected] / 312-782-2464

SOURCE The Joyce Foundation

Related Links

http://www.joycefdn.org


ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 2016 was a strong year for next-generation sequencing according to healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information. The estimated $3.8 billion in product revenues in 2015 saw revenue growth, new applications, regulatory advances and investment. Kalorama covers next-generation sequencing in its report, Next Generation Sequencing Markets.

To view information on Kalorama Information's report: http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Generation-Sequencing-Systems-10290041/.

Investors Continue to Bet on NGS  Over $800 million in investor capital went into companies with a next-generation sequencing focus in 2016. Among 2016 deals - N-of-One announced that it had received $7 million in a Series B financing from Providence Ventures and Excel Venture Management. AccuraGen announced that it had raised $40 million in a Series B financing round to support development and commercialization of Firefly, the company's liquid biopsy technology. Omicia announced completion of a $23 million Series B financing round. ACT Genomics announced that the company had raised US$ 12.5 million in Series B funding. The announcement reported that Hotung Group and CDIB Capital Management led the round. Human Longevity, L.L.C announced earlier in the year it had raised 220 million in Series B financing. The company claims the HLI Knowledgebase has more than 20,000 complete genomes coupled with phenotype data. Clinical Opportunity in Three Areas: Cancer, non-invasive pre-natal and transplantation are the settled areas of clinical opportunity in NGS. DNA sequencing has successfully penetrated the research market, but future growth is expected in diagnostic applications of next generation sequencing in clinical laboratories and companies with CLIA-certified laboratories, and also in IVD companies that sell kits to clinical labs. Among the three, transplantation is a specialty area. NIPT is the established opportunity and cancer is the growth area. The use of NGS in cancer relates to the identification of mutated genes that can be targeted or used to guide drug treatment. NGS-IVD: While next generation sequencing has been used for some clinical applications for a while, this is becoming more widespread and some next generation sequencing companies are starting to develop and commercialize kits that can be produced and sold to clinical laboratories following the traditional in vitro diagnostic (IVD) model. Illumina's MiSeqDx was the first cleared in vitro diagnostic next generation sequencing system. MiSeqDx is also CE marked, and FDA-cleared tests are currently available on this platform. Illumina is continuing to develop products for the IVD market. In August 2014 , Illumina announced collaborative strategic partnerships with AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Sanofi to develop a next-generation sequencing based test for use during clinical trials, and eventually resulting in a multi-gene panel to be used to select therapies. Regulatory Picture Getting Clearer  Positive regulatory decisions for NGS product launches bode well for future efforts. Recent regulatory decisions include: Vela Diagnostics obtained Chinese FDA (CFDA) approval of the Sentosa SX 101 multi-purpose automated liquid handling platform for clinical use. The company also received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US FDA for its Sentosa SA ZIKV RT-PCR Test, a real-time PCR test for qualitative detection of RNA from Zika virus. Asuragen announced that it received premarket clearance from the US FDA for the QuantideX qPCR BCR-ABL IS Kit for the monitoring of molecular response in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) patients. HTG Molecular Diagnostics received CE-IVD marking for its HTG EdgeSeq DLBCL Cell of Origin Assay and the NGS-based HTG EdgeSeq system. And Roche Molecular Systems received FDA approval for the cobas EFGR Mutation Test v2 for detection of substitution mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene. China a Major NGS Player in 2016  Chinese companies and labs have rapidly expanded China's role in the market both on the supplier side and the customer side. BGI played a big role in this trend, along with the rapidly growing life science community. NIPT has become a large market in China. The BGI sequencer systems are now available, although they cancelled the Revolocity system; the systems are based upon Ion Torrent and Complete Genomics technologies. Direct Genomics is a Chinese company developing a diagnostic sequencer platform that uses the now-defunct Helicos' technology. BGI BGISEQ-100 and BGI-SEQ-1000 (Life Technologies and Complete Genomics, respectively, CapitalBio BioelectronSeq 4000 (Life Technologies), DaAn DA8600 (Life Technologies) and HYK Gene HYK-PSTAR-IIA are among the CFDA-cleared systems available.

Kalorama Information's Next Generation Sequencing Markets contains market estimates and forecasts for DNA sequencing as well as detailed lists of investments in NGS, partnerships and collaborations and other data.

Please link any media or news references to our reports or data to http://www.kaloramainformation.com/.

About Kalorama Information

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased through Kalorama's website and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog on our company website.

Press Contact:

Bruce Carlson

212 807 2262

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150831/262422LOGO

SOURCE Kalorama Information

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AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of its 18th year of partnering with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and as part of its 100th anniversary activities, Kay Jewelers has announced the launch of the #SingForStJudeDonation campaign. Guests can help support St. Jude by uploading a video of themselves singing the Kay Jewelers jingle  "Every Kiss Begins with Kay"  to the Kay Facebook page or on Twitter and using the hash tag, #SingForStJudeDonation. In celebration of the Kay 100th anniversary, $100 will be donated to St. Jude for every video posted from now through December 24, up to $50,000 in total.

Since the inception of the partnership with St. Jude in 1999, Kay has raised nearly $53 million dollars to help St. Jude advance research and treatment of childhood cancer. These funds are critical given that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Most recently, Kay and St. Jude announced the latest collaborative effort, the Kay Research and Care Center, a six story building in the heart of St. Jude's campus. The Kay Research & Care Center ushered in a new era of research, education, collaboration, care and treatment for the kids at St. Jude.

In addition to participating in the #SingForStJudeDonation campaign, guests can also support Kay and its efforts benefitting St. Jude through the annual plush campaign. This year two plush animals  Kit, an adorable plush bear, and Kobie, a cuddly plush puppy  are available at all Kay stores for $13.99 each. All profits, no less than $7 of the purchase price of each "Kit" and "Kobie," will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

About Kay Jewelers

Kay Jewelers, the number one jewelry store in America, is conveniently located in malls and off-mall shopping centers across the country. Kay Jewelers is operated by Signet Jewelers Limited, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry. Signet Jewelers operates Kay Jewelers among its approximately 3,600 stores. For additional information on Kay Jewelers visit www.Kay.com, follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/KayJewelers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/KayJewelers), YouTube (www.youtube.com/KayJewelers), Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/KayJewelers) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/KayJewelers).

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other deadly diseases. St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent, and we won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries we make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org or following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.

SOURCE Kay Jewelers

Related Links

http://www.Kay.com


RESTON, Va., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a global science and technology company, has earned the 2017 Military Friendly Employer and Silver Medal-level award designation by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse. For more than a decade, Military Friendly ratings have set the standard for companies and colleges demonstrating positive employment and education outcomes for veterans and their families. The 2017 list of Military Friendly Employers distinguishes elite companies who boast the strongest job opportunities, hiring practices and retention programs for transitioning service members seeking civilian employment.

Leidos has a long-standing commitment to supporting military veterans and their families. With approximately 20 percent of the workforce comprised of veterans, Leidos operates a dedicated military veteran outreach program, Operation MVP. Through the program, Leidos teams with military transition centers, military associations and veteran organizations in an effort to identify and hire separating and retiring military veterans. The Operation MVP team participates in specific career development and networking events geared towards the veteran and military dependent/caregiver population, and stays actively engaged with military transition offices, Department of Labor representatives, as well as veteran non-profit and membership organizations.

"We recognize the immense character, work ethic and technical skills that veteran employees bring to Leidos," said Ann Addison, Leidos Chief Human Resources Officer. "We are particularly honored to receive this award as it is a recognition of our company's commitment to work with those who have made the sacrifice to serve and continue to serve our country."

"All of our Military Friendly award recipients set the standard for excellence," said Daniel Nichols, Chief Product Officer of Victory Media and head of Military Friendly development. "They offer exceptional examples of what it means not just to build a program that meets federal requirements, but one that serves the military and veteran community from classrooms to careers."

Companies competed for the designation through a data-driven survey with criteria including a benchmark score across key programs and policies such as hiring and onboarding, opportunity and advancement, culture and commitment, and support and retention. For more information, please visit www.MilitaryFriendly.com.

About Leidos

Leidos is a global science and technology solutions leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 33,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported pro forma annual revenues of approximately $10 billion for the fiscal year ended Jan. 1, 2016 after giving effect to the recently completed combination of Leidos with Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions business (IS&GS). For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 1, 2016, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.leidos.com


TULSA, Okla., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightspace California announced today support from leading lighting suppliers including Zumtobel, Tivoli, Tempo, Prudential Ltg., Luminii, Lucitelex, Insight, Eclipse Lighting, A Light and ACDC for the inaugural event to be held February 28-March 2, 2017 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. This free-to-attend event will showcase the future of innovation in architectural lighting design, bringing together lighting designers and architects to share creative insights and expertise.

"We are pleased to have these industry leaders as founding sponsors of Lightspace California, emphasizing the need for a dedicated lighting specification event in the California market. The immense and rapid support that this event has enjoyed so far truly speaks to the demand for a platform that brings lighting and architecture together in the spirit of inspiration, collaboration and innovation," said Mr. Ray Molony, 2017 Program Chair for Lightspace California and Publisher of Lighting Magazine.

Exploring the themes of integration of light and architecture, the role of darkness and shadow and collaboration across the disciplines, Lightspace California also features an exciting line-up of top thought leaders including:

Howard Brandston , Brandston Partnership Unlimited

, Brandston Partnership Unlimited Ben Ball , Ball Nogues Studios

, Ball Nogues Studios Teal Brogden, Horton Lee's Brogden-LA

Brogden-LA Gustavo Aviles, Lighteam

Chris O'Neill , Philip Hue

, Thomas Kowalczuk , Wynn Design

, Wynn Design Deborah Burnett , Benya Burnett Consultancy

, Benya Burnett Consultancy Rand Elliott , Elliott + Associates Architects

, Elliott + Associates Architects Heinrich Hermann , Rhode Island School of Design

, Sage Russell , Inter-Lux

, Inter-Lux Suzan Tillotson , Tillotson Design Associate

, Tillotson Design Associate Susanne Stadler , Life Cycle Design

, Life Cycle Design Jim Benya , Benya Burnett Consultancy

Lightspace California is co-located with Strategies in Light and The LED Show. Taken together, the events represent an unparalleled diversity which spans the lighting supply chain and breaks down barriers between manufacturers and specifiers.

The event is presented by Revo's Lighting magazine, the lighting design industry's most progressive publication focused on state-of-the-art architectural lighting design projects. Similar to Lightspace dot London, Lighting magazine has heavily contributed to the content, look and feel of Lightspace California. The event is also supported by LEDs Magazine, the presenting publication of Strategies in Light and The LED Show.

Learn more about Lightspace California here.

Learn more about Lighting magazine here.

Learn more about Strategies in Light and The LED Show here.

Learn more about LEDs Magazine here.

About Revo Media

Revo Media Partners Limited, a media company, produces the leading Lux Review lighting brand, including a portfolio of news and information channels and events. In addition to Lighting magazine, the brand Includes Lux Review, a publication and online offering that shares knowledge globally and LuxLive, a lighting exhibition that brings together specifiers and end-users to showcase products and services. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in London, United Kingdom. In 2014, Revo Media Partners Limited began operating as a subsidiary of PennWell Corporation.

About PennWell Corporation

PennWell Corporation is a privately held and highly diversified business-to-business media and information company that provides quality content and integrated marketing solutions for the following industries: Oil and gas, electric power generation and delivery, hydropower, renewable energy, water and wastewater treatment, waste management, electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, optoelectronics, fiber-optics, aerospace and avionics, LEDs and lighting, fire and emergency services, public safety, and dental. PennWell publishes over 130 print and online magazines and newsletters, conducts 60 conferences and exhibitions on six continents, and has an extensive offering of books, maps, websites, research and database services. In addition to PennWell's headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Company has major offices in Nashua, New Hampshire; London, England; Houston, Texas; San Diego and Mountain View, California; Fairlawn, New Jersey; Moscow, Russia; and Hong Kong, China. For additional information about PennWell Corporation, visit www.pennwell.com.

Contact:

Wendy Lissau, Marketing Director

PennWell Corporation

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 918.831.9793

SOURCE PennWell Corporation

Related Links

http://www.pennwell.com


"Viscous products sticking to the inside of tanks leads to huge inefficiencies across industries," said LiquiGlide's Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, and MIT Professor, Kripa Varanasi. "For example, in paint manufacturing alone, paint sticking to the inside of mixing and holding tanks costs the industry more than 100 million gallons of lost product and billions of dollars per year in associated waste costs. At LiquiGlide, we are on a mission to eliminate waste generated in the manufacturing of viscous products and usher in a new era of sustainable manufacturing."

LiquiGlide's CleanTanX system is custom-engineered for each coating application depending on manufacturing specifications and product properties. The technology is retrofitted onsite by LiquiGlide, without having to remove the tanks, which minimizes installation costs and operational downtime. In addition, LiquiGlide works closely with its customers to validate coating performance, product compatibility and cost savings.

Overall, the CleanTanX system provides significant sustainability and profitability benefits for manufacturers of viscous or sticky products, including:

Dramatically reduced material and operating costs through improved product yields;

Virtually eliminating waste water generation and related fresh water consumption;

Reduced employee safety risk by minimizing confined space entries for manual cleaning;

Mitigated bacterial contamination and corrosion; and

Increased capital utilization by reducing equipment cleaning time between batches.

LiquiGlide's CleanTanX technology was invented at MIT and is based on the groundbreaking science of liquid-impregnated surfaces. The company's patented, permanently wet coatings create lubricated surfaces that eliminate the no-slip boundary condition between viscous liquids and solid surfaces that causes products to stick to tank walls resulting in costly product losses and waste. Coating durability and performance has been proven in a number of applications and in tank installations.

Dave Smith, LiquiGlide's CEO and co-founder, said: "LiquiGlide's coatings are a materials science revolution. Manufacturers across industries have reached out to us looking to address their largest sources of waste. They have real pain points in their business around low product yields and the time and expense to keep production equipment clean. Our patented CleanTanX system can be broadly deployed across a range of manufacturing applications  from food and personal care, to adhesives, agrochemicals and energy  to help companies tackle these complex challenges and improve their bottom line."

To see videos demonstrating LiquiGlide's new coating application for manufacturing tanks, visit: http://liquiglide.com/mfg-tanks-pr.

To learn more about LiquiGlide's technology platform, visit: http://liquiglide.com/tech/.

For additional information about LiquiGlide, please visit: www.liquiglide.com, or contact us online or via email at [email protected] .

About LiquiGlide

The first company to create permanently wet, slippery surfaces, LiquiGlide Inc. revolutionizes the way people and businesses move liquids by eliminating friction between liquids and solids. From paint manufacturing, to better packaging for consumer goods, to oil and gas infrastructure, LiquiGlide delivers coatings that work and are safe across a myriad of consumer and industrial applications.

LiquiGlide was founded in 2012 by Dave Smith and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Kripa Varanasi to commercialize MIT's patented liquid-impregnated surface technology. The patents are licensed exclusively to LiquiGlide from MIT and include thirteen issued patents with more than 150 applications pending around the world. www.liquiglide.com

Contact:

Meghan Locke

LEWIS

[email protected]

(781) 418-2434

SOURCE LiquiGlide Inc.

Related Links

http://www.liquiglide.com


NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LiveAuctioneers.com, the world's leading online platform for auctions of collectibles, antiques and fine art, has been named "One of the Best Places to Work in New York City" by Crain's New York Business for 2016.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161209/447725

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161209/447724LOGO

Members of LiveAuctioneers' New York team outside the company's offices in Manhattan's Chelsea arts district. Photo by Suzie Ryu

The annual competition identifies, recognizes and honors the 100 best employers in New York City out of a pool of more than 200,000 eligible companies. Its selections are based on a variety of factors, including workplace environment and culture; team spirit and cooperation; results-based incentives and employee benefits.

According to Jill Kaplan, publisher of Crain's New York Business, this year's evaluation was the most difficult, as it attracted "a record number of applications representing a wide array of industries throughout the five boroughs."

The first part of the evaluation process consisted of a review of each nominated organization's workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part involved assessing the employee experience, including engagement, culture and job satisfaction. An independent research firm, Best Companies Group, analyzed the data used in selecting this year's winners.

"LiveAuctioneers could be regarded as a case study for the importance of investing in talented, highly motivated people. We're approaching our 15th year and creating accelerating value to our bidder base and auction houses. There can be no question but that our people are the key to our ongoing success," said Phil Michaelson, VP of Product and Strategy. He continued, "Our workplace has a unique culture that fosters innovation, creative thinking and a team spirit. We all thrive on the challenge of improving our technology, products and services so they make a difference that is positive and meaningful to over 4,000 auction-house partners."

"It is very gratifying to be recognized as one of the best places to work in New York City," said Jason Finger, co-founder and long-time CEO of Seamless and Board Member of LiveAuctioneers. "The Crain's award provides terrific third-party validation of our team's passion and engagement. Some may think that a robust marketplace develops solely as the result of engaged buyers and sellers, but LiveAuctioneers takes a broader approach. We know that our online community of nearly three million bidders has flourished because of the catalyst provided by our team's commitment to excellence and our performance-based culture. This award is a great leading indicator of continued success in the market."

Founded in 2002, LiveAuctioneers is the world's foremost online platform for auctions of fine art, antiques and collectibles. The company provides Internet live-bidding capability and digital-marketing products to auction houses in 47 countries. Since its inception, LiveAuctioneers has showcased 31 million items in more than 62,000 online auction catalogs, enabling over 55 million international bidders to participate in sales of premier art, furnishings, vintage collectibles and luxury goods via the Internet.

Earlier this year, LiveAuctioneers was named a 2016 Red Herring Top 100 North America award winner, joining a prestigious list of past winners that includes Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype and eBay.

Online: www.LiveAuctioneers.com

Media Contact:

212-634-0977, [email protected]

SOURCE LiveAuctioneers LLC

Related Links

http://www.LiveAuctioneers.com


"Consider that a single movie at TV quality is a gigabyte," said Charlie Oppenheimer, CEO at Loggly. "Companies are now generating thousands of gigabytes of log data or more every day, but until now most log management platforms have bogged down when processing searches at this scale. Gamut Search offers an innovative architectural approach built on years of experience with billions of interactions and petabytes of data. There's is no longer a need to constantly reduce scope. More importantly, these productivity gains translate into faster mean time to resolution and fewer revenue leaks."

Gamut Search changes users' relationship with log data. Previously, users would submit their large queries, and often wait long for them to run and return results. Gamut makes the entire log analysis process more interactive, allowing users to instantly see results that can quickly be modified and optimized based on search terms. With Gamut Search, each search request is broken down into small time slices that are computed dynamically. The most recent time slice is processed first and the results of that time slice are presented instantly. The system then progresses through each earlier slice until the entire request has been fulfilled. With Gamut Search, you get results immediately, instead of waiting for the entire search to be processed before seeing results. Users can take action more quickly.

"Loggly Gamut Search really is a tremendous advance. Retrieving search results is much faster, and I can start browsing recent events almost instantly while older data continues to load in the background," said Ryan Jung, software engineer at ClearCare. "The new UI gives me a clean visual reference for the loading process. The near instant access to data browsing is a crucial feature. I can get to the bottom of my problems right away and without endlessly spinning throbbers, which makes me a much happier engineer. Gamut Search is making log interaction easier by degrees."

"Not having to wait for search results to become available makes a huge difference", said Jessie Chen, software engineer at MedHelp.org. "Gamut Search allows for much more agile interaction with large data sets. Refining a complex search pattern is a lot easier when you can see its results right away. It simply allows you to be much more efficient. No wait time means less stress and better focus on solving the problem."

"Getting to the root cause of the issues used to be a painful task that involved long and unproductive wait times" said Mayank Singh, product manager at Indix. "And when you're debugging a critical problem that is impacting your customers and revenue, you neither have the time nor patience. Gamut Search gives me results as they're being found. It's really fast and I can get to work immediately."

Every search displays a graphical event timeline that shows when the log events represented in the search results occurred, simplifying navigation over time periods. In addition, they have one-click access to the full unfiltered collection of events that occurred immediately before or after an event of interest via Loggly Surround Search.

With Gamut Search, caching is also optimized to provide even faster response for subsequent requests. "As part of Loggly's ongoing analysis of user behavior, we have discovered that more than 50 percent of all search and analysis interactions are based on subsets of previously queried data within the last 30 minutes," said Jon Gifford, founder and chief search officer at Loggly. "As a result, Gamut Search provides memory-speed responsiveness for subsequent analyses, thereby further boosting user productivity."

Summary Benefits

Faster mean time to resolution eliminates revenue leaks: Users get near instant search results across huge data volumes and over long time periods.

Time savings for developers and DevOps: Users benefit from the pre-processing that Loggly does on log data and can iterate on their queries much faster than before.

A more satisfying user experience: Users start seeing data immediately and have greater transparency on query response through progress indicators.

Usability improvements eliminate many of the annoying things about searching logs, such as re-generating queries multiple times to get a slightly different time slice.

For a complete overview on Gamut Search, check out our lab reportvideo. To learn more about how Loggly can help your organization, visit www.loggly.com.

About Loggly

Loggly aims to empower the creators and operators of cloud-based services to operate flawlessly and deliver great user experiences by knowing what's going on with their applications and why. Our cloud-based log management solution shows you what matters by crunching through huge volumes of log data that no human could possibly read. Loggly is the world's most popular cloud-based, enterprise-class log management solution. Founded in 2009 and based in San Francisco, the company is backed by True Ventures, Matrix Partners, Cisco, Trinity Ventures, Harmony Partners, Data Collective Venture Capital, and others. Loggly achieved AWS DevOps Competency status and is a Docker Ecosystem Technology Partner. Visit us at www.loggly.com or follow @loggly on Twitter.

CONTACT: Dan Sorensen, 801-461-9756, [email protected]

SOURCE Loggly

Related Links

http://www.loggly.com


The regions highlighted in the report are those that LWR is actively monitoring and, in many cases, is already responding to help mitigate the worst effects of a crisis, develop disaster response plans and strengthen community resilience, especially in the most vulnerable rural areas.

Amb. Daniel V. Speckhard (rt.), LWR President & CEO, noted that the international community is confronting tremendous challenges, including regional conflicts, blatant disregard for international humanitarian law, and what the United Nations is calling the highest levels of displacement on record.

At the same time, "we are making real progress in reducing global poverty and now is not the time to turn inward or retreat," says Speckhard. "The international community must continue to engage, to fund humanitarian response and development, and to support the local communities bearing the brunt of these crises."

The countries and regions on the 2017 Watch List include:

Syria & Northern Iraq : War & Massive Civilian Displacement

War & Massive Civilian Displacement The Philippines : Disaster Preparation & Political Instability

Disaster Preparation & Political Instability Venezuela : Potential Failed State

Potential Failed State The Lake Chad Region: Consequence of Boko Haram Conflict:

Consequence of Boko Haram Conflict: East Africa : Political Instability & Refugee Flows

Political Instability & Refugee Flows Haiti : Recovery from Hurricane Matthew

Recovery from Hurricane Matthew Central America's Northern Triangle: Increased Violence & Migration

In addition, there are areas where LWR sees signs of hope:

Building Peace in Colombia

The Promise of Information Communications Technology

Economic Growth in the Two Africas: Some Good News & Some Bad

Download the 2017 Early Warning Forecast.

About Lutheran World Relief

LWR works to improve the lives of smallholder farmers and people experiencing poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America, both in times of emergencies and for the long term. With the financial support of US Lutherans and other donors, LWR strengthens communities through programs in agriculture, climate, and emergency support. LWR works with partners, supporters and technical assistance providers to achieve lasting results. For more information, visit lwr.org.

CONTACT:

John Rivera, [email protected]

410-230-2751 (o), 443-604-2918 (m)

SOURCE Lutheran World Relief

Related Links

http://www.lwr.org


ATLANTA, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- McAlister's Deli, a leading fast casual restaurant chain known for its Big & Bold Sandwiches, Famous Sweet Tea and recently ranked as one of consumers' favorite chains by Restaurant Business, today announced it is looking for new partnerships with experienced multi-unit franchise owners as the brand continues its expansion into Michigan.

"Central and Western Michigan represents an important part of McAlister's growth strategy, and we're excited about the brand's continued expansion into the region," said Jeff Sturgis, McAlister's Vice President of Franchise Sales. "The McAlister's Deli brand has become a top choice for some of the most successful multi-unit franchise owners in the country, so we're excited to watch the brand grow in these areas due in large part to the talent of our franchisees."

As the company looks to open additional locations in the area, they are actively seeking qualified franchisees to develop in the areas in and around Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Currently, McAlister's has one location in the state of Michigan, located in Lansing, and several locations in Northern Indiana, including Valparaiso, South Bend and Ft. Wayne.

McAlister's had a successful year of franchise growth in 2015 with $548 million in system-wide sales, the opening of 27 new restaurants  some in new markets, including Chicago, Rochester, and Orlando  and nearly 60 commitments for new restaurants. This growth is fueled by both existing franchisees as well as new partnerships with experienced multi-unit franchise owners with notable portfolios.

The company has attracted a record number of franchise inquiries in recent years due to its quality leadership, healthy sales to investment ratio, and exceptional company performance.

To learn more about franchising opportunities with McAlister's, please contact (888) 855-DELI (3354) or [email protected], or visit www.mcalistersdelifranchise.com.

About McAlister's

Founded in 1989, McAlister's Deli is a fast casual restaurant chain known for its sandwiches, spuds, soups, salads, desserts and McAlister's Famous Sweet Tea. In addition to dine-in and take-out service, McAlister's also offers catering with a selection of sandwich trays, box lunches, desserts, a hot spud bar and more. With numerous industry accolades, the McAlister's brand has more than 361 restaurants in 28 states. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. For more information, visit www.mcalistersdeli.com.

About FOCUS Brands Inc.

Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands Inc., through its affiliate brands, is the franchisor and operator of more than 5,000 ice cream shoppes, bakeries, restaurants, and cafes in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 60 foreign countries under the brand names Carvel, Cinnabon, Schlotzsky's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Auntie Anne's and McAlister's Deli, as well as Seattle's Best Coffee on certain military bases and in certain international markets. Please visit www.focusbrands.com to learn more.

Media Contact: Lauren Tweet, Allison+Partners, (214) 975-8784, [email protected]

SOURCE McAlister's Deli

Related Links

http://www.mcalistersdeli.com


WOODBRIDGE, N.J., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. is pleased to announce that Michael F. Schaff has been selected as the recipient of NJICLE's 2016 Distinguished Service Award. The award was presented to Mr. Schaff on December 12th during the association's 2016 Excellence in CLE Awards Reception.

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes Mr. Schaff for his exceptional contributions to continuing legal education spanning his 30 plus year career, particularly the New Jersey State Bar Association and NJICLE and for serving as the Chair of the Editorial Board for the New Jersey Lawyer magazine. Mr. Schaff has taught over 50 ICLE seminars. Mr. Schaff, legal education advocate, is a frequent lecturer to a myriad of organizations and business owners. In addition to his many hours on the dais, Mr. Schaff has contributed to many legal healthcare publications and treatises, including serving as author and editor of the American Health Lawyers Association's Representing Physicians Handbook, and as an author of Representing Hospitals Handbook and Fundamentals of Health Law. He is also the co-Executive Editor and an author of AHLA's The ACO Handbook: A Guide to Accountable Care Organizations.

Brian J. Molloy, President and Managing Director of Wilentz said of Mr. Schaff's achievement: "We have long recognized the important leadership role Michael plays and his commitment to supporting and encouraging legal education in the firm and the New Jersey and national legal community. He is a role model for all of us."

Mr. Schaff, a Shareholder and Chair of the Business Law and Healthcare teams, has a background rooted in business, finance, and taxation and an exceptional understanding of the law. His knowledge has been particularly beneficial advising professional practices for many healthcare professionals and Facilities; for the structuring of business entities; for entities interested in buying, selling or merging businesses; and for a variety of other manufacturing, retail, and service businesses requiring legal experience. Additionally, Mr. Schaff has served as general corporate counsel for many privately-held companies.

About Wilentz

Established in 1919, the full-service law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. has four offices throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The breadth of our practice and regional concentration combines to deliver proactive results-driven solutions to the dynamic and complex legal issues our clients face. For more information, visit http://www.wilentz.com or call 1-855-WILENTZ.

SOURCE Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A.

Related Links

http://www.wilentz.com


AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly eight-in-ten consumers said personally relevant content increases their purchase intent for a brand's products and services according to a joint study unveiled today by OneSpot, the only Content Sequencing platform, and Marketing Insider Group, a marketing strategy consultancy. The survey was designed to better understand U.S. consumer attitudes, preferences and expectations for personalized branded content.

"More than ever, consumers expect and demand a personally relevant experience wherever they go and whatever they do digitally," said Adam Weinroth, chief marketing officer, OneSpot. "Findings from this research reinforce the need to make personalization a strategic priority for brands to remain relevant to consumers. Digital marketers who leave this irreversible trend unaddressed are missing a tremendous business opportunity and placing their brands and business results at risk."

Key findings from the study of 1,500 U.S. consumers discovered:

Brands risk alienating consumers by not making content personally relevant.

Nearly half (45%) of consumers won't spend time with branded content if it's not relevant to their interests.

Forty-two percent (42%) of consumers are less interested in a brand's products and services if the content the brand provides is not personally relevant.

More than half (51%) of millennial consumers (age 18 to 34) are less interested in a brand's products and services if the brand's content isn't personally relevant.

Consumers are more inclined to purchase and pay more for products from brands that personalize content marketing.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of consumers say that personally relevant content improves how they feel about a brand.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) say that personally relevant content increases their purchase intent for a brand's products and services.

Fifty percent (50%) say that they would pay more for products and services from brands who do a good job of providing personally relevant content.

Not all digital channels are created equal when it comes to content discovery; Facebook stands above the others.

Half (50%) of consumers surveyed cited Facebook as a primary discovery channel for branded content.

E-mail and Search tied for the second top discovery channel at 29%.

Millennial respondents (age 18 to 34) cited YouTube (42%) as a primary channel for branded content discovery.

Amazon sets the gold standard in providing a personalized digital experience followed by Google and Facebook.

At a significant margin, 55% of consumers indicated that Amazon sets the standard for delivering personalized digital experiences followed by Google (39%) and Facebook (38%).

Consumers place the most value on content that informs and educates them.

Consumers find content that "informs" (40%) and "educates" (28%) to be the most valuable. Only 17% say content that "entertains" is the most valuable and 11% say content that "inspires" is the most valuable.

Eighty-one percent (81%) of consumers say that content "quality" is somewhat or very important, and 78% of consumers say that "relevance" is somewhat or very important.

When citing the most important categories for personally relevant content, consumers ranked Health & Wellness at the top with 72%, followed closely by Food (71%) and Electronics & Technology (66%).

"Attention has become the currency of all digital experiences. Increasingly, the best way to attract attention is through high-quality content delivered through an individually personalized experience for consumers," said Michael Brenner, chief executive officer and founder, Marketing Insider Group.

To view and download The Personalization Imperative for Content Marketing survey, visit https://pages.onespot.com/Personalization-Imperative-Report.html?utm_campaign=70139000000mxiL&utm_source=pr&utm_medium=website.

About Marketing Insider Group

The Marketing Insider Group is a marketing strategy consultancy focused on helping clients use content marketing to connect with audiences and generate measurable results. The firm's unique approach brings transformative value to clients by delivering content marketing strategies that engage targeted audience, convert to results and deliver ROI that supports overall business objectives. For more information visit www.marketinginsidergroup.com.

About OneSpot

OneSpot is a technology platform for personalizing content marketing across digital channels. The company's machine learning based Content Sequencing engine helps the world's best brands use their content marketing to create one-to-one, personally relevant digital experiences across website, email and paid media. Fortune 2,000 customers including Nestle, IBM, Whole Foods Market, L'Oreal and Delta Faucet rely on OneSpot to build strong content-based relationships, provide measurable audience and content insights, and drive quantifiable business results. Privately funded and based in Austin, Texas, OneSpot is a Forbes Top 100 Brand Publishing Solution, a three-time AlwaysOn Global 250 Winner and a three-time EContent 100 Winner. For more information visit www.onespot.com.

Media Contact

Finn Partners for OneSpot

Valerie Beesley

Phone: 646.202.9767

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE OneSpot

Related Links

http://www.onespot.com


DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial business innovation and economic advancement in North Carolina, announced today that it is awarding $250,000 in grants to five North Carolina startups. Since its inception in 2006, NC IDEA's seed grant program has awarded over $4.75 million to 114 companies across the state, with these most recent awards being the 22nd cycle of the program.

The following five grant recipients were chosen after a four-month application and selection process that drew 142 applications from across the state:

Allstacks  Raleigh, NC

Allstacks makes it easy for companies to onboard and offboard their employees in just a couple of clicks by managing all of their SaaS productivity apps. Learn more at www.allstacks.com .

Ampogee (formerly Catalant)  Greensboro, NC

Ampogee (formally known as Catalant) is a technology company committed to helping manufacturers improve their performance. By promoting autonomy, supporting mastery and connecting to purpose, Ampogee provides a performance management SaaS solution that actively engages team members and leaders in their individual success, as well as organizational success. Learn more at www.ampogee.com.

Decision Point Informatics  Winston-Salem, NC

Decision Point Informatics is a human informatics company that creates validated clinical decision pathways that integrate with Electronic Health Records. Their clinically validated pathways reduce healthcare spending while improving patient outcomes. The first product, HEART Pathway, has shown a yearly savings of over $3.5 million in unnecessary healthcare spending in one hospital system alone. Learn more at www.decisionpointinformatics.com.

Orchid Gene  Morrisville, NC

Orchid Gene is a high-tech floriculture startup that produces completely maintenance free miniature flowering plant terrariums. Through the company's technology, a superior gel medium replaces soil to eliminate plant maintenance and manipulates flowering plant characteristics such as size, bloom longevity and rate of re-bloom. Learn more at www.orchidgene.com.

Planktos Instruments  Morehead City, NC

Planktos Instruments builds autonomous drifters for river science. The company's innovative drifter design simplifies water monitoring and strengthens water quality assessment. Learn more at www.planktosinstruments.com.

"This flight of grant recipients represents one of the strongest and most geographically diverse cohorts in the history of our organization," said Thom Ruhe, President and CEO of NC IDEA. "It may be premature to say we are seeing a trend in more competitive applications, but it is encouraging that our job is getting harder," concluded Ruhe.

NC IDEA's seed grant program is a catalyst for breakthroughs developed in North Carolina that have a significant potential to successfully transition into commercially viable high-growth enterprises. The $50,000 grants support a variety of activities for the growth of nascent firms. In addition to the funding, grant recipients will also benefit from mentoring by successful entrepreneurs and experienced investors; use of MBA interns; in-kind services from attorneys, accountants and marketing consultants; public recognition and access to growth capital.

About NC IDEA

NC IDEA is a private foundation committed to supporting business innovation and economic advancement in North Carolina. Today, the organization fulfills this mission through four initiatives. The Ecosystem Partner Grant program funds organizations across the state that execute creative programs to support entrepreneurs. Over the last decade, the Seed Grant program has awarded over $4.75M to 114 high-growth companies across the state. Since 2011, more than 100 companies have participated in the Groundwork Labs startup program. SoarTriangle, a program founded in 2012 to address the proven funding gap for female entrepreneurs, formally became a foundation program in August 2016. Learn more at www.ncidea.org.

SOURCE NC IDEA

Related Links

http://www.ncidea.org


QUITO, Ecuador, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on over seven years of experience in organizing premium motorcycle tours, Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental announced their latest self-guided, off-road excursion called Dirt Deluxe. The new tour combines exclusive, award-winning luxury accommodations with a tantalizing unpaved route that takes riders into the more remote and obscure areas of Ecuador, giving a glimpse into ways of life that have largely disappeared.

The 6-day tour crisscrosses the northern Ecuadorian Andes, a part of the country that still feels enigmatic, subtly inaccessible and not saturated with tourists. It's an area known for its pristine wildlife refuges, coffee plantations, timeworn colonial buildings and therapeutic hot springs. The recent political settlement in neighboring Colombia allows visitors to safely travel through this exotic region.

Now, the company's off-road capable, adventure-ready motorcycles are the best way to dig deeper into this special region of the country. Customers are provided a pre-programmed Garmin ZUMO GPS unit and a "road book" containing detailed daily routes with genuine points of interest and culinary experiences that are not to be missed along the way. Part of the route  through the Coca-Cayambe Wildlife Reserve - is so pristine and well-protected that it is off limits to motorized traffic, unless you have a special permit, which the company arranges in advance.

"We believe there is a market out there for people who like traveling on rough dirt roads yet want to enjoy premium lodging after a hard day's ride." explained Court Rand, Co-Founder of the Quito-based motorcycle tour operator. "Years of riding these roads has made us intimate with them. Every ride leads us to something new: a glacial lake we never visited before, a traditional artisan we've never met or a sparkling waterfall we've never swam in. We're in this business because it moves us and we're eager to share our experience with other riders."

Consistent with the route - which traverses several climatic zones, cultures and altitudes  the included luxury hotel accommodations are rich in diversity. The hospitality of each venue has its own unique regional character that is evident in every gesture. The Septimo Paraiso Cloudforest Lodge offers customers a special Pisco Sour cocktail made with homegrown passionfruit. Set in a desert landscape, the Tunas y Cabras Lodge prepares a succulent marmalade from the prickly pear fruit that is cultivated from cactus grown on their farm. The Hacienda Primavera Wilderness Lodge serves a mythical cup of coffee from their plantation.

The new self-guided tour is available from May  February. Customers can depart any day of the week with advanced reservations. The self-guided tour includes an adventure-ready dual-sport motorcycle or 4X4 off-road capable pickup truck, motorcycle saddlebags or luggage, pre-programmed GPS, lunch and dinner each day and a cell phone for 24-hour customer support. Prices start at $1915. For more information: http://bit.ly/DirtDeluxe

About Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental

Located in the historic capital city of Quito, Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental is the country's first motorcycle tour operator founded in 2009. Working with local, professional guides they design and outfit tours for adventure enthusiasts who wish to explore Ecuador on two wheels. They are open 7 days a week and provide full-service rentals of mountain bikes, motor scooters, and motorcycles at reasonable daily and weekly rates.

For more information: FreedomBikeRental.com

Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12607499

Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental

Related Links

http://www.FreedomBikeRental.com


TORRANCE, Calif., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- NEON, a Yvolution brand, is blazing the trail with red-hot rides and epic street fashion for the next generation. Four new decked out ride-ons are joining the NEON Street Rollers, which launched earlier this year. These new wheels will blind the competition with their kid-powered LED lights that ensure the brightest ride possible.

NEON is blazing the trail with four new decked out ride-ons that will blind the competition with their kid-powered LED lights to ensure the brightest ride possible.

"From scooters to skateboards to heel wheels, NEON lets kids choose how and what they want to ride, while blazing the trail with LED lights," said Thomas O'Connell, Global CEO, Yvolution. "Kids were stoked about the NEON Street Rollers and we're looking forward to expanding the brand with even more turbo-charged products."

The full line is available now at Toys"R"Us and features five products, including:

NEON Viper  The Neon Viper scooter gives kids a super-smooth, quiet ride with an awesome NEON bite! Its strong, lightweight frame coupled with the Neon Viper's high performance grip deck allows for a safe and secure ride. With the speed and the agility of the Neon Viper, kids will be the envy of all their friends! Ages 5+; MSRP $49.99 ; Max Weight 220 pounds

The Neon Viper scooter gives kids a super-smooth, quiet ride with an awesome NEON bite! Its strong, lightweight frame coupled with the Neon Viper's high performance grip deck allows for a safe and secure ride. With the speed and the agility of the Neon Viper, kids will be the envy of all their friends! Ages 5+; MSRP ; 220 pounds NEON Flash  Light up your ride! Introducing the Neon Flash kids' scooter. Kids will glide in lights with the cool LED deck and motion-powered wheels. The reflective deck features a neon under glow from the dynamic ultra-bright LED wheels, which light up as kids take flight. This strong and durable scooter with a lightweight aluminum frame is perfect for quick and easy transportation. Ages 5+; MSRP $79.99 ; Max Weight 145 pounds

Light up your ride! Introducing the Neon Flash kids' scooter. Kids will glide in lights with the cool LED deck and motion-powered wheels. The reflective deck features a neon under glow from the dynamic ultra-bright LED wheels, which light up as kids take flight. This strong and durable scooter with a lightweight aluminum frame is perfect for quick and easy transportation. Ages 5+; MSRP ; 145 pounds NEON Cruzer  Cruise around in style with the all new Neon Cruzer skateboard, featuring ultra-bright LED wheels that are visible through the cool transparent deck. This stylish longline board is easy to control and is completely motion powered - no batteries needed. The electric blue neon wheels glow as children cruise around comfortably. Ages 5+; MSRP $59.99 ; Max Weight 134 pounds

Cruise around in style with the all new Neon Cruzer skateboard, featuring ultra-bright LED wheels that are visible through the cool transparent deck. This stylish longline board is easy to control and is completely motion powered - no batteries needed. The electric blue neon wheels glow as children cruise around comfortably. Ages 5+; MSRP ; 134 pounds NEON Hype  Get up and glow with the Neon Hype skateboard! Featuring a neon red light-up deck and quality PU Wheels, the Neon Hype board is the revolutionary new way to skateboard. The super grip neon deck ensures a flexible, smooth ride for ultimate comfort and control. Kids are bound to be noticed on the Neon Hype with its cool light-up deck featuring multi-mode light patterns, as well as a sleek design. Ages 5+; MSRP $49.99 ; Max Weight 220 pounds

Get up and glow with the Neon Hype skateboard! Featuring a neon red light-up deck and quality PU Wheels, the Neon Hype board is the revolutionary new way to skateboard. The super grip neon deck ensures a flexible, smooth ride for ultimate comfort and control. Kids are bound to be noticed on the Neon Hype with its cool light-up deck featuring multi-mode light patterns, as well as a sleek design. Ages 5+; MSRP ; 220 pounds NEON Street Rollers  Revolutionize your favorite pair of shoes instantly with the Neon Street Rollers. These heel skates can fit most shoes and offer a customized fit with an adjustable quick lock size system. Simply adjust it, strap in and GO! Easy to master, kids control how fast they ride and just put their foot down to stop. The NEON Street Rollers feature innovative wheel technology with bright light-up LED's. With each turn of the wheel, the LED's glow. No batteries needed! Available in pink, green and blue. Ages 6+; MSRP: $29.99 ; Max weight 132 pounds

For more information, please visit www.neonlyghts.com, NEON on Facebook, @Neon_worldwide on Twitter, Neon on YouTube or neon.worldwide on Instagram.

About Yvolution

Headquartered in Ireland with offices in Torrance, CA, Yvolution is an active lifestyle company dedicated to making fun, innovative, high-quality and safe wheeled products. Since 2009, Yvolution has launched new products successfully in more than 50 countries worldwide. Its award-winning Y Fliker scooter was one of the hottest and hardest to find toys when introduced in the U.S. in 2012, and continues to be the company's best-selling product range. Yvolution is also known for its three-wheeled, Y Glider scooters, which feature its patented "Lean to Steer" technology and with the launch of the Y Velo line, Yvolution is revolutionizing how kids will learn how to ride bikes. The company's global product portfolio includes ride-ons, balance bikes, two and three-wheeled scooters, go-karts, trick scooters, skateboards and light up wheeled goods, with more to come including electric products, offering toddlers through teens the opportunity to experience Life through Motion at every stage.

For more information, please visit www.Yvolution.com, www.Facebook.com/YvolutionWorld, www.Twitter.com/YvolutionWorld, or www.YouTube.com/YvolutionWorld.

SOURCE Yvolution

Related Links

http://www.Yvolution.com


PLAYA VISTA, Calif., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Wemo, the award-winning smart home brand from Belkin International, today announced compatibility with Google Home and Google Assistant. With this new integration, all Wemo switches will work with Google Home, giving users hands-free, seamless control of their lights, fans and other household electronics using just their voice.

"Voice control continues to be a major driver of smart home integration, and we're thrilled to expand our voice offerings with Google Home and Google Assistant," said Brian Van Harlingen, Chief Technology Officer for Wemo. "Wemo stands for simplicity and convenience, and working with Google Home is yet another way we can live up to those values and provide our users with an easy, useful and fun smart home experience."

First launched in October, Google Home is a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. It lets you easily stream music, get answers from Google, manage everyday tasks and control smart home devices. Wemo products that work with Google Home include the Wemo Switch, Wemo Insight Switch, and Wemo Light Switch.

Wemo works with Google Home via Google Assistant's industry-leading natural language processing technology, so users can reliably control any Wemo-connected device using natural speech patterns, not pre-set commands. Simply say the wake word, "Ok Google," followed by a request such as, "turn on the fan," and a Wemo-controlled fan will turn on. With Wemo and Google Home, it's easy to control almost any electronic device with an on/off switch, as well as built-in light fixtures like overhead lights, chandeliers and porch lights. Google Home also allows users to group Wemo devices together to control entire rooms or scenarios with a single statement. For example, saying "Ok Google, turn on the living room," can power on table lamps, overhead lights, and a window AC unit at the same time.

Availability

Google Home compatibility for Wemo will be available later this month via the Google Home App. To enable, users must be running Wemo firmware version 10885 or higher for both iOS and Android, which is available now. Wemo products are available at Belkin.com, Amazon.com and major retailers worldwide. Google Home is available now at select retailers nationwide.

About WeMo

Wemo, the award-winning home automation brand from Belkin International, is the simple way to a smarter home. Wemo products let users control their household stuff right from their phone from anywhere. Approachable and fun to use, Wemo smart plugs, switches, lighting products and cameras provide easy solutions to everyday tasks. To learn more about WeMo visit http://wemo.com. Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Wemo, and follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/Wemo, and Instagram at Instagram.com/Wemo.

 2016 Belkin International, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Wemo product names and logos are trademarks of Belkin International. Google Home and Google are trademarks of Google, Inc.

SOURCE Wemo

Related Links

http://wemo.com


Using its semantic language mapping technology, Omnity can match documents to find highly relevant results from its proprietary document database, which includes patents, scientific, engineering and medical literature, clinical trials, case laws, SEC filings, company profiles and much more.

Omnity's language-neutral search technology mathematically identifies the most unique words in a document irrespective of their source language and matches them to semantically-related documents in one of the world's largest document databases. The resulting knowledge discoveries are based on the best possible contextual and semantic match. Connections between documents can be illustrated in highly detailed and visualized charts, graphs, and maps.

"Unifying search and empowering knowledge workers to use documents from all the world's most-used languages enables a powerful global research capability," said Brian Sager, co-founder & CEO of Omnity. "Transcending language barriers, our platform rapidly detects highly semantically-related documents mapped from otherwise hard-to-access foreign language source documents."

Omnity's multilingual capability launches today for all its users, from free public users to enterprise-level customers. Try out Omnity's language-neutral knowledge discovery platform today -- visit www.omnity.io to sign up for a free account.

About Omnity

Omnity offers a next-generation research and discovery engine, which enables users to discover otherwise hidden patterns of interconnectedness within and between knowledge domains. Omnity's semantic connectivity technology reveals unique insights that sharpen focus and drive innovation. CEO and co-founder Brian Sager is a serial entrepreneur who holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Stanford University, was a Whitney Fellow at Harvard and MIT, and has more than 120 patents issued or pending. More information about Omnity can be found at www.omnity.io.

Contact

Mark Lindsey

Cognito-Tech PR

310-246-9530 (o)

[email protected]

SOURCE Omnity

Related Links

http://www.omnity.io


SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to an initiative known as Ban the Box, Michigan-based MyCDLapp.com recently updated its popular software to support carriers who are required to remove felony and criminal history questions from their driver applications. MyCDLapp.com is a software platform that allows small and medium carriers to implement affordable online driver job applications that are mobile-ready and can accept electronic signatures on any device.

Today nearly every driver has a smartphone, and they have it with them at all times. Very few drivers carry with them a printer, scanner, or a stamp. Stop relying on drivers to print, fill-out, scan, and email/mail a PDF driver job application to you. MyCDLapp.com puts your truck driver job application in the hands of every driver. MyCDLapp.com allows drivers to complete your driver application, along with all of the consent forms, the moment they see your job posting. Our online driver applicat

Ban the Box is an international campaign aimed at persuading employers to remove from their hiring applications the check box that asks if applicants have a criminal record. Nationwide, over half of the states and localities have already adopted the "Ban the Box" legislation, as well as other Fair Chance laws requiring prospective employers to consider a job candidate's qualifications first, without the negative stigma of their criminal history. On a federal level, President Obama has endorsed Ban the Box by directing all federal agencies to delay inquiries into a job applicant's criminal history until later in the hiring process.

MyCDLapp.com has made it possible for its client carriers to easily comply with any Ban the Box regulations by making criminal history questions a client-controlled option on their online employment applications and consent forms. "Nearly all of the carriers we serve have some sort of unique hiring circumstance to contend with. This is just another example of how our online application is designed to address those exceptional requirements," says Brandon Lawrence, Customer Service Manager at MyCDLapp.com.

As the number of states and counties enacting Fair Chance laws continues to grow, more carriers will be required to revise their application processes in order to comply, starting with any hiring forms they use. Carriers who utilize MyCDLapp.com as their online driver application are able to update their hiring forms with the press of a button. "We have actually been surprised with the number of carriers that have proactively removed the criminal history questions from their application forms in support of the initiative," says Lawrence. "Those carriers are still investigating each applicant's history as required by FMCSA, however, they have simply moved the general criminal history part of the investigation downstream."

Ban the Box legislation varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some states the laws are currently limited to the public sector, while other jurisdictions target private employers, including trucking companies. Under most Ban the Box legislation, criminal history may still be examined, but only after the driver applicant has been evaluated on their ability to perform the job. Carriers are offered some exemptions for convictions specifically related to violations of motor vehicle laws within the prior 3 years.

Carriers are encouraged to seek guidance from counsel prior to making changes to their employment applications or hiring practices to ensure compliance.

Contact

To learn more about MyCDLapp.com, please contact:

Ken Walker, Media Relations

888.209.7427

www.mycdlapp.com

SOURCE MyCDLapp.com

Related Links

http://www.MyCDLapp.com


"Again this year, it is clear that what makes firms great employers isn't necessarily about salaries. Many firms were cited for their culture and benefits," said P&I Editor Amy B. Resnick. "Our surveys found that the employers on the list were much more likely to offer things like flex time, telecommuting, child and elder care, family leave, job sharing and adoption assistance. Employees at these top-ranked firms most often cited their colleagues, the firm's culture and the benefits as the things that make it a great place to work."

OppenheimerFunds has rolled out numerous new initiatives over the past year, including launches in the ETF and ESG spaces and its international expansion. As the firm strives to be a client-centric organization  clients include corporations, public funds, foundations and endowments around the world  it offers employees training on new programs and incorporates client feedback. Additionally, the firm surveys its employees regularly and acts directly on those learnings to continually enhance the work environment. For example, at its New York headquarters, OppenheimerFunds this year opened state of the art conference facilities for clients and employees, a broadcast studio for internal and external video production, and revamped internal digital signage to highlight corporate updates and new initiatives. In Denver, the firm has partnered with Galvanize, a collaborative alternative workspace, to complement its main office campus.

The firm's philanthropic work and community collaboration are also highly valued by employees and include the launch of its 10,000 Kids by 2020 math literacy program this year, in partnership with The National Museum of Mathematics, The Boys and Girls Club, and Cross-Cultural Solutions. The firm's Volunteer Time Off Program ("VTOP") allows employees the chance to spend two full workdays per year rolling up their sleeves and making a difference volunteering with projects sponsored by qualified organizations.

"We're proud that P&I, a trusted resource in the institutional investment market, has recognized OppenheimerFunds as a great place to work in asset management," said Art Steinmetz, Chairman and CEO, OppenheimerFunds. "We strive to create a work environment that is exciting and challenging, and a culture where we continually put our clients at the center of everything we do."

Pensions & Investments partnered with Best Companies Group, an independent research firm specializing in identifying great places to work, to conduct a two-part survey process of employers and their employees.

The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company's workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies.

For a complete list of the 2016 Pensions & Investments' Best Places to Work in Money Management winners and write-ups, go to www.pionline.com/BPTW2016.

About OppenheimerFunds

OppenheimerFunds, a leader in global asset management, is dedicated to providing solutions for its partners and end investors. OppenheimerFunds, including its subsidiaries, manages more than $219 billion in assets for over 13 million shareholder accounts, including sub-accounts, as of November 30, 2016.

Founded in 1959, OppenheimerFunds is an asset manager with a history of providing innovative strategies to its investors. The firm's 15 investment management teams specialize in equity, fixed-income, alternative, multi-asset, and revenue-weighted-ETF strategies. OppenheimerFunds and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of products and services to clients, who range from endowments and sovereigns to financial advisors and individual investors. OppenheimerFunds and certain of its subsidiaries provide advisory services to the Oppenheimer family of funds, and OFI Global Asset Management offers solutions to institutions. For more information, visit oppenheimerfunds.com.

About Pensions & Investments

Pensions & Investments, owned by Crain Communications Inc., is the global news source of money management. P&I is written for executives at defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds, as well as those at investment management and other investment-related firms. Pensions & Investments provides timely and incisive coverage of events affecting the money management and retirement businesses. Visit us at www.pionline.com

SOURCE OppenheimerFunds, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.oppenheimerfunds.com


LOS ANGELES, and DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- OriginClear Inc. (OTC/QB: OCLN), a leading provider of water treatment solutions, today announced that its Dallas-based Progressive Water Treatment (PWT) division has seen a post-election increase in quotations for large system sales.

"In the month since the election, we have seen a significant increase in quotations for major projects," said Marc Stevens, President of PWT. "Buyers appear to be reassured about the business climate and are calling us to move ahead. This indicates to me that we will see strong growth in 2017."

Certain customers are interested in modernizing their systems, instead of stretching the life of older, less-efficient equipment. Stevens pointed to an existing customer, an energy company which until now, has opted to take the cheapest option which was to replace the fewest membranes they could. As a result, an opportunity to sell consumable products was upgraded to a potential system sale.

"The plant feels it will be better off spending money on new equipment instead of patching together the old," Stevens said.

"The new administration's triple focus on business, energy and water is the perfect trifecta for our industry," said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginClear CEO. "Especially in the energy sector, more water will need to be treated and buyers appear encouraged and seem willing to invest in large capital projects."

Despite these strong indications, the OriginClear CEO cautioned there can be no guarantees that this activity will lead to increased business.

The incoming administration has begun to make appointments that reflect its stated plans to build up water infrastructure. The Fresno Bee reported in an editorial that "Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, a bulldog on water, is an executive member of Trump's transition team. The incoming administration also has appointed a Westlands Water District lobbyist, David Bernhardt, to head the Interior Department transition team that will make recommendations on policies and personnel."

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About OriginClear, Inc.

OriginClear is a leading provider of water treatment solutions and the developer of a breakthrough water cleanup technology serving the rapidly growing $500 billion world market. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, OriginClear provides systems and services to treat water in a wide range of industries, such as municipal, pharmaceutical, semiconductors, industrial, and oil & gas. To rapidly grow this segment of the business, we strategically acquire profitable and well-managed water treatment companies, which allow us to expand our global market presence and technical expertise. To enable a new era of clean and socially responsible water treatment solutions, we invented Electro Water Separation, a breakthrough high-speed water cleanup technology using multi-stage electrolysis, that we license worldwide to water treatment equipment manufacturers. Water is our most valuable resource, and the mission of the "Family of OriginClear Companies" is to improve the quality of water and help return it to its original and clear condition. To learn more about OriginClear, please visit our website at www.originclear.com.

OriginClear Safe Harbor Statement:

Matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this update, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with our history of losses and our need to raise additional financing, the acceptance of our products and technology in the marketplace, our ability to demonstrate the commercial viability of our products and technology and our need to increase the size of our organization. Further information on the Company's risk factors is contained in the Company's quarterly and annual reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, there cannot be any assurance that the Company will consummate any acquisitions. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Press Contact:

Antenna Group

Kaitlyn Finegan

415-977-1914

[email protected]

Investor Relations OriginClear:

Tom Becker

Toll-free: 877-999-OOIL (6645) Ext. 3

International: +1-323-939-6645 Ext. 3

Fax: 323-315-2301

[email protected]

www.OriginClear.com

SOURCE OriginClear, Inc.

Related Links

http://originclear.com


Otis Canada Inc. was awarded the contract to provide 44 Gen2  elevators, 10 special freight elevators, and to modernize two additional elevators. Many of the elevators will combine Otis' innovative Gen2 technology with custom-designed glass cabs for an exceptional riding experience. The agreement with OLRT Constructors, a consortium composed of EllisDon, Dragados and SNC-Lavalin, includes a 10-year Otis maintenance contract.

The more than $2 billion O-Train Confederation Line is Ottawa's largest infrastructure project since 1832, when construction was completed on the 202-kilometer Rideau Canal connecting the city with Kingston, Ontario. The new rail line will provide light rail transit service along a 12.5-kilometer, 13-station route. Three of the stations are underground, and interconnected by a 2.5-kilometer tunnel that spans the city's downtown core.

"Otis is proud to support this project by providing customized, innovative and modernized product solutions at a competitive price," said Tony Grilli, president, Otis Canada Inc. "For this historic project, we are uniquely capable to provide products sturdy enough to handle a transit system with a capacity of 24,000 customers per hour in each direction, with limited control room space requirements and customized elevator cabs, some with glass panels."

Preliminary construction of the LRT system began in the spring of 2013, with planned full service in 2018.

More information about Otis and its products and service can be found at www.Otis.com, on our social media pages: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About Otis

Otis is the world's leading manufacturer and maintainer of people-moving products, including elevators, escalators and moving walkways. Founded more than 160 years ago by the inventor of the safety elevator, Otis offers products and services through its companies in more than 200 countries and territories. Otis is a unit of United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. By combining a passion for science with precision engineering, the company is creating smart, sustainable solutions the world needs. For more information, visit http://www.otis.com or follow Otis on LinkedIn, YouTube and as @OtisElevatorCo on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Contact:

Jodi Hynes

561-618-4667

[email protected]

SOURCE Otis

Related Links

http://www.otis.com


KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PerfectServe, creator of PerfectServe Synchrony, healthcare's most comprehensive and secure care team collaboration platform, announced today that Mary Hatcher has been promoted to Vice President of Product Development. Hatcher will lead all product development initiatives including a team representing product management, engineering and quality assurance.

"Mary is an exemplary professional who recently received our company award recognizing the employee best exhibiting the PerfectServe culture," said Terry Edwards, CEO and President of PerfectServe. "Mary's well-deserved promotion reflects a 15-year track record of designing workflow solutions for providers. She led the prototypes of our group practice solution as well as the first application in the acute-care hospital setting to improve nurse-to-physician communication."

Don Dally, Chief Technology Officer at PerfectServe, worked alongside Hatcher and Edwards as the company's original core team developing PerfectServe Synchrony's version 5 capabilities.

"Mary is an exceptional leader, highly respected among the engineers in solving complex technical challenges and delivering solutions that create tangible business value," Dally said. "Her career path is the quintessential success story. In the early days of our business, Mary focused on implementing voice communication services in the ambulatory care market. Her passion for evolving software drove our product innovation to the health system enterprise level where her efforts contributed significantly to new sales and long-lasting customer relationships."

Hatcher joined PerfectServe in 2001 and has since served in rising leadership roles in client services, implementation and product management. She designed the company's Dynamic Intelligent Routing capability, a key differentiator of the solution's single-platform architecture, implemented at the first pilot facility, Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, Ohio.

Hatcher earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering from Michigan State University.

Journalists: Click here to download Mary Hatcher's photo.

About PerfectServe

PerfectServe Synchrony is healthcare's most comprehensive and secure care team collaboration platform. The platform is unique in its ability to improve communication process accuracy and reliability via its proprietary Dynamic Intelligent Routing capability, which automatically identifies and provides immediate connection to the right care team member for any given clinical situation at every moment in time. More than 100,000 clinicians in forward-looking organizations across the U.S. rely on PerfectServe to help them speed time to treatment, expedite care transitions, enhance the patient experience and reduce HIPAA compliance risk. Headquartered in Knoxville, TN, with offices in Alpharetta, GA and Chicago, IL, PerfectServe has helped clinicians provide better care since 2000. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and subscribe to our blog.

Media Contact: PerfectServe Contact: Angela Jenkins Heather Dorsett, MBA Agency Ten22 Director, Content Strategy and Marketing 720.859.6930 855.871.7299 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE PerfectServe
Phoenix Wrappers is a leading designer and manufacturer of stretch wrapping equipment. Formerly Phoenix-Innotech and CanAm Packaging Systems, the companies merged in October 2016 to form Phoenix Wrappers. Phoenix Wrappers is a fully integrated provider of stretch wrapping equipment, parts, service and support.

Phoenix Wrappers' Chief Executive Officer Graham Nicholson commented: "We are fortunate to have Luc join Phoenix to lead our manufacturing and operations team. Luc's background as a six sigma black belt and his expertise in lean manufacturing and kaizen are significant assets that will help us deliver world class products as we continue to grow. Luc is a great addition to our leadership team."

"I am excited to join the management team of Phoenix Wrappers and eager to begin helping with the company's growth while maintaining excellence in product quality," said Mr. Bergeron. "This is an exciting time for the company as it completes the integration of its sales and service operations with manufacturing. I look forward to building strong relationships with our customers, our employees and our suppliers."

About Phoenix Wrappers

Founded in 1994 and headquartered outside Montreal, Quebec, Phoenix Wrappers designs and manufactures industry leading stretch wrapping machinery. Phoenix Wrappers had operated as a partnership between two separate companies, Phoenix-Innotech and CanAm Packaging Systems. The two companies merged in October 2016 to form Phoenix Wrappers, a fully integrated provider of stretch wrapping equipment, parts, service and support. With over 3,000 stretch wrapping machines deployed worldwide, Phoenix Wrappers delivers superior performance combined with unparalleled customer service. For more information, visit www.phoenixwrappers.com.

SOURCE Phoenix Wrappers

Related Links

http://www.phoenixwrappers.com


WAYZATA, Minn., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Miles Franklin is offering clients around the world a simpler, safer way to store precious metals. Its newly launched private safe deposit box service (http://privatesafedepositboxes.net/) is not associated with any bank, and the contents of every box are fully insured. Deposit boxes are housed in secure Brink's facilities in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. To learn more about this first-of-its-kind program, call Miles Franklin toll-free at (877) 685-4705 or send an email to [email protected].

Precious Metal Storage Leader Miles Franklin Offers New Private Safe Deposit Boxes for Gold, Platinum and Palladium - With Services Provided by Brink's

"Private" means only the client has keys to his or her box, says Miles Franklin President Andrew Schectman. Clients can visit their boxes in person, or ship their keys via UPS when conducting transactions. The company provides complete transparency, allowing clients access to their investments.

"Miles Franklin have been both innovative in identifying the current market gap and quick in bringing this valued added service to the market," says Joe Maulucci, General Manager of Brink's Global Services." Brink's is delighted to be the storage provider of choice for Miles Franklin and value the opportunity to continually support their go-to-market approach."

The new safe deposit box program has several advantages over similar offerings from traditional banks. For one thing, banks do not routinely insure the contents of boxes. With Miles Franklin, contents are insured to their full value. Insurance premiums are built into the monthly box fees.

Storing precious metals with Miles Franklin also provides a much greater degree of liquidity than storage with banks. The company has been in the precious metals business for nearly three decades, so clients can get paid quickly when they choose to sell assets. Miles Franklin handles all the logistics involved with purchases and sales to make life even easier for clients.

Setting up an account with Miles Franklin is easy. Prospective clients complete an agreement, which is then signed by the company president. The account is issued and the client receives a key and inventory confirmation certificate. Clients can ship their own metals into the box, or purchase metals directly from Miles Franklin for immediate storage. Miles Franklin can even import your gold from Switzerland for you. All holdings are considered the managed assets of clients  not of Miles Franklin.

For international investors and high net worth individuals, Canada is increasingly becoming a haven for asset storage. Miles Franklin is pleased to offer solutions to those looking for a practical, convenient and safe means to store physical assets like precious metals.

About Miles Franklin

Miles Franklin is anything but an ordinary precious metals storage company. Their approach provides creative domestic and international strategy for diversifying clients' assets with precious metals. This strategy has been yielding positive results for clients nationwide since 1989.

Miles Franklin's philosophy can be summed up in three words: Value, Integrity and Creativity. The company has maintained an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau for 27 years of Dependability.

Miles Franklin is one of America's oldest, most trusted bullion dealers. Miles Franklin is well known for their service including providing reports, articles, and hosting Q&A sessions free of charge because they believe in educating people about precious metals. Their brokers on average have 30 years of industry experience.

Miles Franklin Ltd. is proudly licensed and regulated by the Minnesota Department of Commerce as a Bullion Coin Dealer. License Number: 40387211

Private safe deposit boxes for precious metal storage is the newest service offered by Miles Franklin.

Contact:

Joel Kravitz, Chief Operating Officer

Miles Franklin

877-685-4705

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161209/447710

SOURCE Miles Franklin
Pugh brings 22 years of experience in developing and implementing government and community strategies on the local, state and national levels; leveraging federal and state funding opportunities; and informing and educating policyholders, elected officials and other key stakeholders on pressing issues.

The advocacy and government relations team Pugh will lead monitors legislation affecting MemorialCare, promotes understanding of legislation and communicates public policy implications. The team also acts as a catalyst for constructive dialogue among lawmakers and MemorialCare hospitals, physicians, outpatient and community-based programs to ensure adequate funding and sensible healthcare legislation.

"Kristen's tremendous expertise and accomplishments on all levels of government and with key constituents throughout Southern California will help ensure communities we serve can access high quality, affordable healthcare," says MemorialCare General Counsel Terri Cammarano.

Additionally Pugh will further elevate the profile of Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach and identify opportunity to support the unique services it offers.

"As one of the nation's 10 largest children's hospitals and a pioneer in pediatric, perinatal and neonatal medicine, Kristen will focus on advancing our mission, legislation and funding support," says John Bishop, CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach.

"I'm honored to join MemorialCare, which for decades has been in the forefront of transforming healthcare and promoting legislative and government programs that benefit the health of children and adults," says Pugh.

Recently Pugh was Executive Director for Federal Research Relations at University of California, Irvine where she built a broad network of legislators, agency officials and industry stakeholders to advance research funding. She previously spent a decade as Associate Vice President of Government and Community Relations with City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Center working on cancer care policy and legislation. She served as Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges Government Relations Representatives Steering Committee and Associate Director of Federal Government Affairs for American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. She holds a master's degree in public administration from George Mason University and a bachelor's degree in government and politics from University of Maryland.

With more than 200 care locations throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties, MemorialCare Health System is a nonprofit, integrated delivery system including five top hospitals  Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills; MemorialCare Medical Group; Greater Newport Physicians; Seaside Health Plan; and numerous ambulatory surgery, imaging, kidney dialysis, urgent care and outpatient health centers. For more, visit memorialcare.org.

SOURCE MemorialCare Health System

Related Links

http://memorialcare.org


NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- QBE North America, an operating division of global insurer QBE Insurance Group Limited, today announced the launch of a program with Patriot National (NYSE: PN) to write workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance policies for hospitality, healthcare, property management and manufacturing accounts in 12 states.* Patriot National, Inc. will serve as program administrator with defined underwriting, claims administration and loss control authority on behalf of QBE.

"We are pleased that QBE, one of the world's largest insurance carriers, has engaged Patriot National to capitalize on the promising opportunity to write workers' compensation and employers' liability policies for the targeted industries in 12 key states," said Steven M. Mariano, Chief Executive Officer of Patriot National. "We are proud of our continued success in broadening and deepening our carrier relationships, particularly with major global carriers such as QBE. We look forward to working with QBE to help them meet their business objectives by leveraging Patriot National's end-to-end suite of services."

"QBE is an integrated specialist insurer and one of the premier writers of program business in the U.S. with nearly $1.3 billion of in-force annual premium. We are dedicated to providing customers with insurance solutions that fit their needs," said Glenn Skrynecki, QBE Senior Vice President, Underwriting Leader - Program Business.

In addition to providing a suite of Commercial Line products, such as property, casualty, and workers compensation, QBE offers a broad class appetite with the flexibility to provide multiple lines of coverage, including Personal insurance. Through QBE Specialty, midsized business customers have integrated access to best-in-class insurance solutions in Accident & Health, Aviation, Cyber, Inland Marine, Management Liability & Professional Lines, and Trade Credit.

*Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont (as of 12/12/2016)

About Patriot National

Patriot National, Inc. is a national provider of comprehensive technology and outsourcing solutions that help insurance companies and employers mitigate risk, comply with complex regulations and save time and money. Patriot National provides general agency services, technology outsourcing, software solutions, specialty underwriting and policyholder services, claims administration services, self-funded health plans and employment pre-screening services to its insurance carrier clients, employers and other clients. Patriot National is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information about Patriot National, please visit www.patnat.com.

About QBE

QBE North America (QBE NA) is part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, one of the largest insurers and reinsurers worldwide. QBE NA reported Gross Written Premiums in 205 of $4.6 billion. QBE Insurance Group's 2015 results can be found at www.qbena.com. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 37 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. QBE NA, headquartered in New York, conducts business through its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. QBE insurance companies are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best and "A+" by Standard & Poor's. Additional information can be found at www.qbena.com, or follow QBE North America on Twitter.

SOURCE QBE Insurance Group

Related Links

http://www.qbena.com


NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Real Estate Activities in South Africa: The total value of South Africa's property sector, which comprises commercial and residential properties, was an estimated R5.8-trillion in 2014/15 up from R4.9-trillion at the end of 2010. This exceeds total annual GDP and makes the sector a critical part of the economy. Formal residential property still accounts for nearly three-quarters of property owned in the country, and grew in value from an estimated R3-trillion at the end of 2010 to R3.9-trillion. In the commercial sector the Retail property sector has the highest value at R534bn.



Pressing Issues: The commercial property sector is confronted by numerous problems: the contraction of the economy, on both a national and international level



the contraction of rental growth numbers as well as unsecured lending, particularly in the retail sector, which is placing significant stress on the economy



and the skills deficit in the sector. At the same time, industry bodies and government realise the importance of creating an attractive and inviting investment environment for local and international investors.



Property Development: In this vibrant sector there have been many joint ventures between property developers and financial institutions and public-private partnerships with local, provincial or national government. The major dealmakers during 2015 were Atterbury, Attacq, Redefine Properties, Sanlam Properties, Emira Property Fund, Actis and the Government Employees Pension Fund represented by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). Rand Merchant Bank has entered the property development sector through a number of transactions with property funds locally and in Africa. Construction companies such as Basil Read and G5 Properties, a subsidiary of Group Five, have also entered the real estate market as developers, equity participants and asset managers.





Report Coverage:



The detailed report on South African Real Estate Activities describes current conditions and recent developments in all sub-sectors, as well as factors influencing the success of the sector. The report profiles 138 companies, including the main players in the residential real estate sector, Pam Golding Properties (Pty) Ltd, RE/MAX of Southern Africa, Seeff Property Services (Pty) Ltd and Harcourts Real Estate.



Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p02798357-summary/view-report.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

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BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Recorded Future, the real-time threat intelligence leader, today announced new technical threat intelligence that enables security teams to rapidly find connections in threat data and drive security actions with confidence. The challenge defenders face is making sense of data from technical threat sources that are scattered across multiple sites and systems. Recorded Future is the first to deliver deep integration of technical and open source intelligence (OSINT) into a single product. The combination gives security teams powerful all-source analysis capabilities, reducing the risk to their business.

Recorded Future provides a wide spectrum of technical threat intelligence on topics including malware infrastructure, malware files, vulnerabilities, phishing and spam, abuse and infections, and web infrastructure. Recorded Future's automated engine then distills all of this information, in real time, into Intel Cards  on-demand summaries that highlight key risk factors across all these sources, giving analysts greater insight and ultimately increasing their efficiency. The new technical threat intelligence provided by Recorded Future includes:

Vulnerable hosts (including web shell exploits and specific server vulnerabilities).

Web infrastructure (including ICS systems, IOT devices, and honeypots).

Intelligence from new OMNI partners  Cisco Umbrella, Shodan, and VirusTotal.

New OMNI Partners

Security teams can maximize their value from Recorded Future through all-source analysis that combines unmatched breadth of intelligence with specialized threat content. Through the Recorded Future OMNI Intelligence Partner program, analysts get on-demand integration of malware sandbox analysis, incident response investigations, and finished intelligence reporting, as well as domain, DNS, phishing, and internet of things (IoT) enrichment  all put in context with real-time threat intelligence from the web. We have added three new partners to the program who offer complementary threat intelligence. They include:

Cisco Umbrella Investigate for malware file analysis (formerly Cisco ThreatGrid) and IP routing and DNS resolution (formerly Cisco OpenDNS).

for malware file analysis (formerly Cisco ThreatGrid) and IP routing and DNS resolution (formerly Cisco OpenDNS). Shodan for internet-wide current and historic scans of any internet-connected device.

for internet-wide current and historic scans of any internet-connected device. VirusTotal for malware file analysis, IP routing, and DNS resolution data.

All of this intelligence is now at the analyst's fingertips via a single interface, saving hours or even days of effort; no need to manually gather and piece together data from multiple sources.

"With the addition of technical threat intelligence, our customers now have a powerful new source of advantage against their adversaries. Security teams, armed with our unique combination of technical threat intelligence and open source intelligence, can take more decisive security actions. We are delighted to welcome our newest OMNI Intelligence Partners, and provide even more value to our joint customers."

 Dr. Christopher Ahlberg, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Recorded Future

"Through our partnership with Recorded Future, security teams gain an unparalleled view of malicious internet-connected devices, placed in context with threat intelligence analyzed by Recorded Future. This distinct perspective enables analysts to quickly detect and conclusively verdict threats."

 John Matherly, Founder of Shodan

Surfacing new threats, responding to attacks, and everything in between are now data-driven processes. Knowing where this data is and accessing it from multiple screens and tools can be challenging to any organization and time is also an enemy of security. By combining technical intelligence with the a huge repository of open source, web, and narrative sources, Recorded Future can certainly deliver greater insight while increasing the efficiency of defenders working with threat intelligence."

 Jon Oltsik, Senior Principal Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group

See It in Action:

New Analysis  "A Hunting Story: What's Hiding in PowerShell Scripts and Pastebin Code? Saudi Actors": This new report by Levi Gundert , Recorded Future's Vice President of Intelligence and Strategy, investigates a recent incident where APT attackers compromised their victim and evaded detection with novel exploits of widely used technologies  PowerShell, base64 encoding, and data sharing using paste sites. This research shows how to investigate this new attack vector using all-source analysis, yielding both tactical security actions and a strategic intelligence method for use in hunting similar, but currently unknown, threats.

This new report by , Recorded Future's Vice President of Intelligence and Strategy, investigates a recent incident where APT attackers compromised their victim and evaded detection with novel exploits of widely used technologies  PowerShell, base64 encoding, and data sharing using paste sites. This research shows how to investigate this new attack vector using all-source analysis, yielding both tactical security actions and a strategic intelligence method for use in hunting similar, but currently unknown, threats. SANS CDI Summit in Washington, D.C. : In-Person Demo ( December 14 ): Visit the Recorded Future booth to speak with our experts. Live Talk (December 15): Allan Liska, threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, will present "All About That Base64: A Case Study."

Palo Alto Networks User Group Summit in Boston (December 16): Get an in-person demo from our experts at our partner event

(December 16): Get an in-person demo from our experts at our partner event Online Demo : Not attending the conference? Request a live demo.

: Not attending the conference? Request a live demo. Two-Minute Video: Watch now.

About Recorded Future

Recorded Future's mission is to empower our customers with real-time threat intelligence, to proactively defend their organizations against threats at the speed and scale of the internet. With billions of indexed facts, and more added every day, our patented technology continuously analyzes the web and technical sources to give you unmatched insight into emerging threats. 86% of the Fortune 100 use Recorded Future every day to reduce risk. Learn more at www.recordedfuture.com. Follow us on Twitter at @RecordedFuture.

SOURCE Recorded Future

Related Links

https://www.recordedfuture.com


Prior to joining Red Lion, Bruce was Managing Director for SMAC Inc. In this role, he managed all aspects of sales, software development, machine design and customer support for the EMEA and APAC regions. Previously he held positions of increasing responsibility with Automatic Sea Vision S.A., High Integrity Solutions Ltd., Mercury Computer Systems Inc. and Datel Technology Ltd.

"As Red Lion continues to expand across the globe, we are adding top-notch executives to Red Lion's leadership team to support our growth," said Lee. "Bruce's 25 years of industrial computing and automation experience coupled with an impressive background in systems and hardware sales make him the perfect fit to lead our EMEA and SAARC sales efforts."

Bruce began his career as an Electronics and Communications Engineer with the British Army, where he served for nine years before moving into technology sales and senior leadership roles. His experience includes building new organizations, as well as turning around underperforming operations.

"I look forward to this exciting opportunity to work with the EMEA and SAARC teams to serve new and existing customers," said Macpherson. "Our goal is to continue providing reliable automation and networking solutions that allow users to drive efficiencies across a range of industrial applications, enabling our customers to become more successful."

For additional information about Red Lion, please visit www.redlion.net.

About Red Lion Controls

As the global experts in communication, monitoring and control for industrial automation and networking, Red Lion has been delivering innovative solutions for over forty years. Our automation, Ethernet and cellular M2M technology enables companies worldwide to gain real-time data visibility that drives productivity. Product brands include Red Lion, N-Tron and Sixnet. With headquarters in York, Pennsylvania, the company has offices across the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Red Lion is part of Spectris plc, the productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company. For more information, please visit www.redlion.net.



2016 Red Lion Controls, Inc. All rights reserved. Red Lion and the Red Lion logo are registered trademarks of Red Lion Controls, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Red Lion Controls

Related Links

http://www.redlion.net


"At Red Roof, women have always played a major role. We believe women owners and general managers are vital to our brand's success and the overall health of the hospitality industry," says Marina MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer, Red Roof and the Forum's organizer. "Red Roof has found that successful women thrive in the workplace when they have supportive spouses, support from senior leadership, mentoring, education, and training. We are proud to say these women are gaining strength in numbers through opportunities to own and manage hotels across the chain-scale segment."

Currently, 20% of Red Roof franchise owners are women and 6 out of 12 Red Roof Franchise Operations executives are women. Within their corporate offices, 75% of Red Roof's corporate office promotions within the last two years were women while 50% of honorees and winners of their internal Circle of Excellence Award were women. In addition, about 50% of Red Roof's top 10 corporate properties are managed by women and 6 out of Red Roof's top 7 performing PLUS+ locations are managed by women.

The number of women in managerial positions at Red Roof is ahead of the national average: for instance, women drive 85% of consumer spending in the U.S. and 75% of final travel decisions are made by women,[1] however, for the travel industry as a whole in the U.S., 70% of employees are women but women hold less than 40% of all managerial positions[2] and just 14% of hospitality and leisure companies are operated by female CEOs.[3]

The obstacles women encounter in getting ahead in the travel industry are similar to those they face in broader industries. According to McKinsey[4], the three largest barriers are balancing family and work commitments, navigating workplace politics, and lack of development pathways.

The Red Roof Forum on Leadership for Women Entrepreneurs was developed to help women hospitality professionals tackle these issues as well as equip them with the fundamentals in driving top-line revenue, mentoring and growing employees. These women are highly proficient in the back office and operations; they know how to make a profit, but are eager to know more.

Red Roof shared tools to help women manage their hotel business more effectively and to rise in the ranks. They also counseled them on how to grow their business with acquisitions and investments. The company provided guidance on the marketplace challenges of increased competition, the growth of third party booking channels and the increased expectations of guests.

The Forum served as a platform for women to learn, grow and evolve. The brand plans to replicate the Forum next year. For more information on Red Roof franchise and career opportunities, visit www.redroof.com.

About Red Roof

Red Roof is a leader in the economy lodging industry with franchised, corporate-managed, and corporate-owned properties, serving millions of guests each year. With coast-to-coast locations, Red Roof has 500 properties in the U.S. Red Roof is also expanding internationally to Brazil, Canada, Thailand and Japan. The primary goal at Red Roof is to provide customers a savings without sacrificing comfort. The brand has been investing significantly to renovate and upgrade hotels nationwide with sleek and modern NextGen redesign elements. The Red Roof NextGen hotels feature updated, stylish and home-like interior and exterior designs that demonstrate the Red Roof dedication to providing customers with an affordable stay in a clean, comfortable and modern room. The company is rolling out Red Roof PLUS+, an enhanced Upscale Economy offering at a value price, committed to "Adding More Wow to Your Stay!". Nice Place. Nice Price is what every consumer can expect when they stay at any Red Roof location; and because the company has a single brand in their portfolio, Red Roof also offers franchisees One Brand. One Focus. The Red Roof loyalty program, RediCard, is the richest in the industry rewarding members with free nights with only 6,000 points, advance notice of special offers, and complimentary bottled water each day of their stay. Traveling with your pet? Don't forget that at Red Roof 'you stay happy, pets stay free' as one well-behaved pet is welcome per room, nationwide. The Columbus, Ohio based company has more than 4,500 employees. For more information or reservations, call 800.RED.ROOF (800.733.7663) or visit www.redroof.com.

[1] Unleashing the Power of the Purse, Gallup, 2014

[2] International Perspectives on Women and Work in Hotels, Catering & Tourism, 2013

[3] Diversity Drives Diversity: From the Boardroom to the C-Suite, EY, 2013

[4] Women in the Workplace, McKinsey, 2016

SOURCE Red Roof

Related Links

https://www.redroof.com


LONDON, December 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE: RDS.B)

TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES 1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached: [ii] Royal Dutch Shell plc 2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes): An acquisition or disposal of voting rights X An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments An event changing the breakdown of voting rights Other (please specify): 3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation: BlackRock, Inc. 4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.): 5. Date of the transaction and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached: [v] 14 November, 2016 6. Date on which issuer notified: 12 December, 2016 7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: Voting rights attached to shares holding for BlackRock, Inc. has gone above 5%

8. Notified details: A: Voting rights attached to shares Class/type of shares if possible using Situation previous the ISIN to the triggering Resulting situation after the triggering CODE transaction transaction Number of Number of Shares Voting Number of Number of Rights of shares voting rights % of voting rights Direct Direct Indirect Direct Indirect GB00B03MLX29 247,550,995 247,550,995 N/A N/A 248,378,746 N/A 3.06% GB00B03MM408 144,180,688 144,180,688 N/A N/A 228,891,512 N/A 2.82% B: Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is Type of financial Expiration Exercise/ exercised/ % of voting instrument date Conversion Period converted. rights Securities Lending (GB00B03MLX29) 2,234,800 0.02% American Depository Receipt (GB00B03MLX29) 16,005,448 0.19% American Depository Receipt (GB00B03MM408) 1,269,346 0.01% C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction Number of % of voting Exercise/ voting rights rights Type of financial Exercise Expiration Conversion instrument instrument price date period refers to CFD (GB00B03MLX29) 190,243 Nominal Delta 0.00% 0.00% CFD (GB00B03MM408) 1,851,996 0.02% 0.02% Equity Linked Note (GB00B03MLX29) 03/02/2017 998,890 0.01% 0.01% Total Return Swap (US7802592060) 14/10/2017 220,008 0.00% 0.00% Total (A+B+C) Number of voting rights Percentage of voting rights 500,040,989 6.16%

9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: See Annex Proxy Voting: 10. Name of the proxy holder: 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: 13. Additional information: Mark Edwards 14. Contact name: Royal Dutch Shell plc 15. Contact telephone number: +44 20 7934 2817

% of voting rights through % of voting financial rights if it instruments if it Total of both equals or is equals or is if it equals or higher than the higher than the is higher than notifiable notifiable the notifiable Name threshold threshold threshold BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 4, LLC BlackRock Holdco 6, LLC BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc. BlackRock Fund Advisors BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock Capital Holdings, Inc. BlackRock Advisors, LLC BlackRock, Inc. Trident Merger, LLC BlackRock Investment Management, LLC BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock Group Limited BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock Holdco 3, LLC BlackRock Canada Holdings LP BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd. BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock Group Limited BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock Group Limited BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 4, LLC BlackRock Holdco 6, LLC BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc. BlackRock Fund Advisors BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock Group Limited BlackRock International Limited BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock Group Limited BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V. BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Ltd. BlackRock Asia-Pac Holdco, LLC BlackRock HK Holdco Limited BlackRock Cayco Limited BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited BlackRock Japan Holdings GK BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd. BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Ltd. BlackRock (Singapore) Limited BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock Holdco 2, Inc. BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BlackRock International Holdings, Inc. BR Jersey International Holdings L.P. BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Ltd. BlackRock Asia-Pac Holdco, LLC BlackRock HK Holdco Limited BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited BlackRock, Inc. FutureAdvisor, Inc.

SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc
SANTA MONICA, CA, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Signal Bay is proud to announce that seven of its Maryland clients received Stage One license pre-approvals, more than a year after applications were submitted.

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission ("MMCC") named 102 dispensary entities last Friday who have each been awarded Stage One license pre-approvals from a total of 811 submitted.

The seven prospective licensees cover districts ranging from the College Park, Baltimore City and County, as well as Frederick and Washington Counties.

Lori Glauser, company COO and head of the Signal Bay Services division stated "Seven of the eight clients who engaged Signal Bay Services are now proceeding with the final stages of the state licensing process. Only two coveted licenses were available in each district and as many as 25 applications were received in each district and the competition was significant.

Signal Bay anticipates assisting the applicants as they proceed with final licensing and move into the build and operations phase. The company is already working closely with BluPharms, LLC, a dispensary that plans to operate near the University of Maryland.

Ms. Glauser continued "I cannot be more grateful to all of the Signal Bay staff and consultants who made this happen. Top notch professionals, including Dr. Alicia Wilbur, author of Medical Marijuana Desk Reference, and nearly a dozen other experts from across the country, worked around the clock on behalf of our clients during the very short window of application last year."

Will Waldrop, CEO of Signal Bay concluded, "While we have moved swiftly into the cannabis testing space during the past year with our expansion of EVIO Labs from Oregon and into California, we continue to provide consulting services to the industry, which complements the expansion of EVIO Labs. Our consulting services are evolving and expanding from application and startup support to regulatory R&D, product formulation, and operational optimization. While awaiting the results of the Maryland applications, we acquired 4 additional cannabis test labs in Oregon and California, and helped over a dozen Oregon companies attain cultivation, dispensary, and processing licenses. Several of those consulting clients are now testing with EVIO."

Legal Disclaimer: Online Media Group, Inc. is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide, nor claims to provide, investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release to buy, sell or hold any securities. Investing intrinsically involves substantial risk and readers are reminded to consult an investment professional and complete their own due diligence, including SEC filings, when researching any companies mentioned in this release. This release is based upon publicly available information and, while vetted, is not considered to be all-inclusive or guaranteed to be free from errors. With respect to Section 17(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 and in the interest of full disclosure, we call the reader's attention to the fact that Online Media Group, Inc. may have received compensation from the companies mentioned in this release.

SOURCE Online Media Group Inc
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SiFive, the first fabless provider of customized, open-source enabled RISC-V semiconductors, has been named "Startup of the Year" at the UBM Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards held in conjunction with the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley in San Jose.

The ACE Awards, given in partnership with EE Times and EDN at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 7, showcase the best of the best in today's electronics industry. The "Startup of the Year" category recognizes companies less than three years old with working prototypes or proof of concepts of innovative new electronics technologies. The award was judged by a panel comprising UBM editors and dignitaries from the electronics industry.

"This award caps a banner year for SiFive, one in which we not only brought to market the first ever commercial open-source RISC-V-based silicon but also sold out of our development kits in less than a week," said Krste Asanovic, co-founder and chief architect, SiFive. "The momentum and excitement around RISC-V  and SiFive  was palpable during ESC, and we can't wait to see what's in store for 2017. We are proud to receive this recognition of the team's efforts, and humbled to join the ranks of the other innovative companies who have received this distinction in the past."

"The innovation and thought leadership introduced by this year's ACE Awards finalists and winners is true a testament to their hard work and dedication to their craft," said Nina Brown, VP Events, UBM Americas. "We'd like to thank each of this year's participants for their incredible work in the electronics field and celebrate their accomplishments as they help to further the industry in new and exciting ways."

About the Embedded Systems Conference

The Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) is where the global design engineering community gathers to learn, collaborate, and celebrate innovation. Held in Silicon Valley, Boston, and Minneapolis, ESC empowers the design engineering community with hundreds of essential technical training classes and accreditation opportunities. For more information and to register for ESC, visit: www.embeddedconf.com. ESC is organized by UBM Americas, a part of UBM plc, an Events First marketing and communication services business. For more information, visit ubmamericas.com.

About SiFive

SiFive is the first fabless provider of customized semiconductors based on the free and open RISC-V instruction set architecture. Founded by RISC-V inventors Krste Asanovic, Yunsup Lee and Andrew Waterman, SiFive democratizes access to custom silicon by helping system designers reduce time-to-market and realize cost savings with customized RISC-V based semiconductors. SiFive is located in San Francisco and has venture backing from Sutter Hill Ventures. For more information, visit www.sifive.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Jack Kang

SiFive

(510) 673-1309

[email protected]

Leslie Clavin

SHIFT Communications for SiFive

(415) 591-8440

[email protected]

SOURCE SiFive

Related Links

http://www.sifive.com


James started from the ground up, working as a bus boy in several of his family's restaurants where he eventually became general manager. He then worked in fine dining restaurants and prestigious hotels in Scottsdale as a member of the opening team while he gained experience with a keen eye to detail. He recently served as senior corporate trainer at an upper crust steakhouse, instilling the impact of customer experience and brand loyalty to employees.

His food concept stems from a trip to Toronto, dining in a downtown restaurant serving Japanese tapas based on the Izakaya concept, a Japanese "gastropub" atmosphere for an engaging dining experience. James has also made frequent trips to Japan to research this type of cuisine and dining style, offering a variety of small plates that's big on flavor including meats, seafood and vegetarian with east Asian flavorings and a hint of western influence. He knows that the mark of an exceptional venue is one that offers the best of a country's cuisine with locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible, and tantalizing menu items like braised barbeque pork belly in a steamed bun, Peking duck flatbread, Korean street tacos, ramen burger sliders and Thai-stuffed tofu.

Asian beers and spirits like Japanese sake, Korean soju and many other liquors will be made into specialty handcrafted cocktails infused with new and traditional drinks that will complement the culinary journey through Asia.

Silk - Modern Asian Tapas will be an upbeat place where people come together and engage in conversation, make new friends and share great food. Attentive hospitality found in a high-end steakhouse will be the hallmark of service at Silk, yet approachable and casual. Silk will be open late for office workers pulling late shifts, a late date night and a destination for restaurant and hotel industry workers, serving food and drink to 1 a.m. and closing at 2 a.m. The restaurant will also be open for lunch and have special menus for Happy Hour and Reverse Happy Hour.

Opening in the Scottsdale area in fall-2017, the design for the 4,000-square-foot Asian restaurant will reflect a contemporary, yet comfortable design with modern lighting, textured walls, rich cherry wood, open ceilings and an exhibition kitchen with a counter to dine and enjoy interacting with the chefs.

James strongly believes in giving back to the community and connecting with people in which he lives and conducts business and regularly volunteers in several charitable organizations he belongs and donates to Shriner Hospitals for children and Phoenix-area feed the hungry organizations.

"Instead of bringing in traditional investors, we want to partner with the community and share the opportunity with those who have the same passion of a family-run business focused on the all-encompassing dining experience and hospitality in an upbeat environment," said Xie. Silk seeks to raise a minimum goal of $50,000 in additional capital. The offering is being carried out with the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform and will last until mid-January. The Silk offering is available at www.tiny.cc/silktapas.

Follow Silk - Modern Asian Tapas on Facebook www.facebook.com/silktapas, Twitter www.twitter.com/silktapas and Instagram www.instagram.com/silktapas.

Contact: LAVIDGE

480-998-2600

Jennifer Whittle

[email protected]

SOURCE Silk
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Silk Title & Escrow LLC announced today the opening of its high tech, state-of-the-art, Operations Center in Warwick, Rhode Island. The office is located in the sought after, class A, Summit Office Park.

Silk Title & Escrow, LLC has seen significant growth over the last year, increasing business by over 500%. "This success is a result of our proprietary business process and forward-thinking technology, which has allowed us to acquire new clients and increase market share," Marc Trachtenberg, CEO of Silk, stated.

"With the recent promotions of Sarah Silva to Executive Vice President of Operations and Trachtenberg to CEO, it only made sense to leverage their extensive network in the New England region. Prior to joining Silk, both Trachtenberg and Silva spent years in the title and settlement industry with companies in Rhode Island," Lance Silver, Chairman of Silk, stated. He continued, "Rhode Island is a very strong market for title and settlement personnel, making the Warwick location a logical choice."

"This is an exciting time for Silk Title & Escrow. The Rhode Island office represents the future. It features state-of-the-art technology and an open concept, eliminating the cubicles associated with a typical title operations center." Sarah Silva, EVP at Silk, explained. "People, process and technology will certainly have a continued impact on the company as well as the industry. The opening of this center will spur the future growth of not only Silk Title & Escrow, but the Silk Companies in general," concluded Trachtenberg.



About Silk Title & Escrow LLC:

Silk Title & Escrow LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (f.k.a. Silk Abstract Company, a Pennsylvania limited liability company), is a National title insurance, search, settlement and escrow provider, focused primarily on collaborating with lenders to simplify and streamline their mortgage loan settlement processes to enable the closing of more loans in a more cost-effective manner.

SOURCE The Silk Companies
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyhorse Publishing, one of the fastest-growing independent book publishers in the country, is extending its brand into the TV, film and streaming digital arenas, teaming up with Thank You, Brain! Productions.

A boutique TV and film production company, Thank You, Brain! Productions recently sold the novel and top ten podcast, This is Why You're Single, as a half-hour sitcom for TV, and its top executives have worked with A-list talent from Chris Rock to Anne Hathaway across television networks.

Skyhorse recently published the movie tie-in screenplay for Oliver Stone's SNOWDEN and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s FRAMED: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison for a Murder He Didn't Commit. Skyhorse is also currently working with A + E Networks on paperback novelizations tied to the first season of History Channel's upcoming drama series, SIX, inspired by the real missions of the Navy's SEAL Team Six.

"We have a growing stable of great writers, over forty-three New York Times bestsellers, and a library of thousands of books that need to be introduced into the TV, film and digital worlds," said Tony Lyons, who launched Skyhorse in 2006. "Joining forces with a visionary boutique production company, which knows what it takes to translate the pages of a book into a visual medium, will bring our writers special access and added value."

Executive Producers Krysia Plonka (Billy on the Street, Those Who Can't) and Tracey Baird (Bored to Death, Flight of the Conchords) launched Thank You, Brain! Productions in 2012. Separately, the two partners have worked for HBO, ABC, NBC, CBS and others. As a company, the two have developed and produced for MTV, Comedy Central, YouTube Red, Mattel, ABC Digital, Adult Swim, POP TV, truTV, Amazon, Glamour and IFC Films.

"Telling great stories is what we're passionate about," said Plonka. "It's clear Skyhorse is expert at doing just that. We have found the perfect entree to extend our brand by mining the vast intellectual property of Skyhorse. My partner and I love conspiracy theories and stories about whistleblowers and others who speak truth to power, so we're excited to delve into those arenas, both of which are so rich at Skyhorse."

With a backlist of over 6,000 titles, Skyhorse publishes a maverick list that includes fiction, nonfiction, history, politics, rural living, cooking, humor, and children's books. Founder Tony Lyons is dedicated to publishing books that make people's lives better, whether that means teaching them a hobby, bringing them a unique and important story, or encouraging them to fight against injustices, conspiracies, or abuses of power.

Writer/Producer, Gene Hess, will oversee and shepherd projects with Skyhorse. He recently joined Thank You, Brain! Productions as Vice President of Development.

CONTACT: Charlie Lyons

[email protected]

(212) 643-6816 x 286





SOURCE Skyhorse Publishing

Related Links

http://skyhorsepublishing.com


Daiki Orihara, Vice President, Service Platform Development Division at SoftBank, welcomed Dialpad's entry into the Japanese market. "We feel certain that Dialpad, a next-generation tool which has challenged established internal communications and legacy fixed-line phones with a new concept, will transform future voice communications," he said. "We will offer this new style of work, the ability to 'connect at any time, with anyone, on any device' to our corporate customers."

"In the rapidly-changing and ever-growing cloud market, the need for unified communications is especially high," said Kunihiro Fujinaga, Vice President, Enterprise Business Strategy Division at SoftBank. "We expect Dialpad to meet our customers' needs as it seamlessly works with G Suite, which is used by many of our customers. SoftBank will work to expand the sales of Dialpad in the future as one of the core cloud services."

As a pure-cloud solution, Dialpad does not require any on-premises servers, storage or hardwired phones. This frees customers and their IT teams from the burden of administering and managing traditional infrastructures that cost, rather than contribute to, business growth. Dialpad can also be deployed in minutes, enabling organizations of any size to immediately derive more value from their shift to the cloud by better connecting offices and anywhere workers. Through simply logging into the application interface, employees are immediately empowered to connect and collaborate in whatever format they prefer  voice, video, messaging or SMS  on any device, anywhere and at any time. In fact, approximately 85 percent of Dialpad users are completely free of their desk phones and have cut the cord on legacy technology.

"It's now clear that companies that remain tied to their old desk phones are falling further behind the competition every day," said Craig Walker, CEO of Dialpad. "As we continue our global expansion, we are extremely pleased to be working with SoftBank, which has had extraordinary success taking cloud solutions like G Suite to market. With close to 100 million smartphone contracts[1] in Japan, we are confident that Dialpad will become the standard business communications solution, empowering organizations and connecting workers across Japan."

"I think Dialpad will fundamentally change internal and external communications. Dialpad enables communications, anywhere, anytime on any device and will become a standard tool," said Nao Kitazawa, COO of MONEY DESIGN Co., Ltd, one of the first enterprise customers for Dialpad in Japan.

Kenji Tomooka, Operating Officer and CIO of the Information Systems Department at Fujitec Co., Ltd. added, "It has become more common to use cloud services rather than have the hardware. Dialpad seems most likely to accelerate migration from PBX to the cloud. I greatly look forward to it."

Dialpad is pioneering the new era of Work From Anywhere. Dialpad's pure-cloud business communications solution harnesses the power of any productivity suite, such as Google G Suite and Microsoft Office 365, to allow employees, customers and partners to do their jobs better, no matter where they go. The thousands of organizations relying on G Suite in Japan today will be able to take advantage of this new combination of solutions to build a more innovative and productive company, while eliminating the burdens and exorbitant costs of desk phones.

Additional Resources

Learn more about Dialpad: http://www.dialpad.com

Follow us on Twitter @DialpadHQ

Like us on Facebook

About SoftBank

SoftBank Corp., a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), provides mobile communication, fixed-line communication and Internet connection services to customers in Japan. Leveraging synergies with other companies in the SoftBank Group, SoftBank Corp. aims to transform lifestyles through ICT and expand into other business areas including IoT, robotics and energy.

About Dialpad

Dialpad is the #1 pure-cloud communications solution for business. Available on any device, anywhere, Dialpad includes HD voice, HD video, group messaging, SMS, MMS, conferencing, screen sharing, and document sharing, and is integrated with Microsoft Office 365 and G Suite. Dialpad customers include 60 percent of the Fortune 500, high-growth enterprises and forward thinking organizations including Uber, Vivint Solar, Betterment, Stripe, Postmates, Quora, Denison University, and Netflix. Dialpad is funded by Amasia, Andreessen Horowitz, Felicis Ventures, GV (formerly Google Ventures), SoftBank and Work-Bench. For more information, visit dialpad.com and follow @DialpadHQ on Twitter.

[1] Japanese Government, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications12-5 Number of Subscriptions and Contracts to Information and Communication Services

www.stat.go.jp/english/data/nenkan/66nenkan/1431-12.htm

SOURCE Dialpad

Related Links

http://www.dialpad.com


CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit Bascom Ventures, LLC ("Spirit Bascom") a partnership between Irvine, California based The Bascom Group, LLC ("Bascom"), and Stamford, Connecticut based Spirit Investment Partners, LLC ("Spirit"), has acquired 6807 N. Sheridan Road for $18,875,000, its second Chicago acquisition in the past year. The property is located in the dynamic Rogers Park neighborhood, a few blocks north of Loyola University's flagship Lake Shore Campus. Todd Stofflet of KIG CRE represented the seller in the off market transaction. Andy Feinberg, Marc Schulder, and David Harte from Ackman-Ziff arranged a first mortgage loan from local lender First Midwest Bank and mezzanine loan from New York based Hillcrest Real Estate.

6807 N Sheridan

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161209/447618

The 1920's era 9-story building contains 160 rental units featuring unobstructed views of Lake Michigan, dramatic, has high coffered ceilings on the ground floor and approximately 10,150 square feet of fully leased retail space along North Sheridan Road. The property is located four blocks north of the Loyola Station El stop and one block west of Columbia Beach. The transformation of Rogers Park into a popular neighborhood for millennials and young professionals combined with a limited supply of large luxury properties existing or planned for the submarket is what attracted the new buyers to the opportunity.

Spirit Bascom Ventures has been focusing on acquiring value add multifamily properties along the eastern seaboard and Midwest, acquiring over $300 million in assets over the past three years. The venture also focuses on neglected urban mixed use assets is path of progress submarkets that can benefit from similar high end repositioning and is seeking to add to the two property portfolio their currently own in Chicago.

David Nachman, a principal of Spirit Investment Partners, explains, "This building has been neglected for a long time and is underperforming its potential. We're excited to unlock that potential and create a real amenity for the neighborhood." Ian Hafner, a principal of Spirit Investment Partners, adds, "We love the long term growth story in North Chicago and want to add more properties to our growing local portfolio."

About Spirit Bascom Ventures: Spirit Bascom Ventures, LLC a joint venture between Spirit Investment Partners, LLC (www.spiritinvestors.com) and The Bascom Group, LLC (www.bascomgroup.com) which was formed to acquire distressed and value added multifamily assets in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest markets. Spirit is a Stamford, Connecticut based real estate investment company, owned and operated by principals David Nachman, Scott Zwilling and Ian Hafner, with over $400 million in holdings throughout the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast. Bascom, founded by principals Jerry Fink, David Kim, and Derek Chen, is one of the most active and seasoned buyers and operators of apartment communities in the U.S. Bascom has completed over $12 billion in multifamily and commercial value-added transactions since 1996 including more than 300 multifamily properties containing over 79,000 units. Bascom has ranked among the top 50 multifamily owners in the U.S. Bascom's subsidiaries and joint ventures include the Southern California Industrial Fund, Rushmore Properties, Bascom Portfolio Advisors, Shubin Nadal Associates, Spirit Bascom Ventures, REDA Bascom Ventures, MHF RM Holdings, Bascom Northwest Ventures, Bascom Arizona Ventures, Harbor Associates, Village Partner Ventures, and the Realm Group. Bascom's subsidiaries also include Premier Business Centers, the largest privately held executive suite company in the U.S. For additional information, please visit www.bascomgroup.com.

If you would like further information, please call David Nachman at 212.331.8353 or email at [email protected].

SOURCE Spirit Bascom Ventures, LLC

Related Links

http://spiritinvestors.com


WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Across the board declines in past 30-day use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes & other tobacco products by young people in today's Monitoring the Future survey are evidence that winning the most significant public health battle of our time is within reach if we keep our foot on the gas and continue our efforts. Today's report and record low tobacco use number fuels our momentum and puts the finish line in plain sight. Despite the relentless efforts and deep pockets of Big Tobacco, young people aren't buying it  literally. There is one key piece of data, however, that is cause for concern. Although promising, the rate of smoking among 12th graders did not show a significant decline and was twice the rate of 10th graders suggesting that the real risk is once kids are legal or near-legal age. More work needs to be done to limit the industry's efforts to recruit this age group, such as raising the legal age of sale to 21, to ensure this is the generation to end smoking and tobacco use for good.

The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study tracks trends in substance use among students in 12th, 10th and 8th grades. Each year the national study surveys 40,000 to 50,000 students in about 400 public and private secondary schools throughout the United States.

About Truth Initiative

Truth Initiative is a national public health organization that is inspiring tobacco-free lives and building a culture where all youth and young adults reject tobacco. The truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry are at the heart of our proven-effective and nationally recognized truth public education campaign, our rigorous and scientific research and policy studies, and our innovative community and youth engagement programs supporting populations at high risk of using tobacco. The Washington, D.C.-based organization, formerly known as Legacy, was established and funded through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more about our work speaking, seeking and spreading the truth about tobacco, visit truthinitiative.org.

SOURCE Truth Initiative

Related Links

http://truthinitiative.org/


ST PETERSBURG, Fla., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As more travelers take flight during the holiday season, the impact of delays and cancellations increases. With another winter storm expected to cross the country this week, travelers have a small window to insure their upcoming trips, says leading travel insurance site Squaremouth.

What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

Airlines are not required to compensate passengers for delays due to weather, so additional expenses due to the delay often come out of the traveler's pocket. Most travel insurance policies provide coverage if snow, ice, or other inclement weather delays a traveler's flight.

Depending on the policy, benefits can be payable as early as three hours into a delay, and can cover expenses incurred during the delay, including food and even overnight accommodations. For travelers whose trips are canceled outright due to winter weather, travel insurance can reimburse the entire cost of their trip.

When Do Travelers Need to Buy a Policy?

Travelers worried about winter weather can purchase a travel insurance policy at any time before they leave. However, if they are concerned about a specific storm forecasted to impact their trip, they should check to make sure that storm isn't named.

Travel insurance providers generally look at The Weather Channel to determine when a storm is named. Policies purchased on or after that date will not include any coverage for that storm.

"Travelers who buy a policy after hearing about a storm may be spending money on something they won't be able to use," said Squaremouth Customer Service Director Jessica Harvey. "We always recommend travelers call us and speak to a professional if there's any question about coverage."

Visit Squaremouth's Travel Insurance Information Center for Holiday Travel to find out more about coverage for trips during the winter holiday season.

ABOUT SQUAREMOUTH

Squaremouth compares travel insurance policies from every major travel insurance provider in the United States. Using Squaremouth's comparison engine and third-party customer reviews, travelers can research and compare insurance products side-by-side. More information can be found at www.squaremouth.com.

Available Topic Expert:

Rachael Taft

[email protected]

(727) 264-5174

SOURCE Squaremouth

Related Links

http://www.squaremouth.com


CLEVELAND, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Insulation warns that 90 percent of American homes are under-insulated. This warning comes as winter approaches and the US Energy Information Administration released statistics that a colder winter could mean an average increase of $635 in heating costs over the winter months. This works out to over $100 in additional costs for each winter month. Under-insulation means that as homeowners are forced to crank up their heaters in a last ditch effort to keep warm, the heat escapes and leaves rooms cold and drafty.

USA Insulation Logo

"Winter is the most expensive time to heat a home and for under-insulated homeowners, this can mean spending an extraordinary amount of money per month in heating costs," stated Patrick Pitrone, President of USA Insulation Franchise Corporation. "By adding highly efficient USA Premium Foam Insulation to problem areas in the home before winter hits, homeowners can ensure they keep energy costs down."

Insulation settles over time and some homeowners choose incorrect types of insulation for their homes, both of which contribute to under-insulation issues. However, these issues are easily remedied. Families can stay warm efficiently all winter long by being mindful of insulating key areas in the home with USA Insulation's premium insulation products! These key areas are:

The Attic

Attics are often under-insulated and are responsible for a majority of heat loss in many homes. Heat rises, and according to the Department of Energy, by adding sufficient insulation in the attic, homeowners can prevent heat from escaping and significantly reduce heating costs.

The Crawl Space

Usually the culprit of cold floors, the crawl space of a home is often overlooked when it's a fundamental part of the home's thermal envelope. A sufficiently insulated crawl space is essential to maintaining a comfortable and energy-efficient home and also provides resistance to mold, insects and other unwanted guests.

Whole House Insulation

By adding or updating whole home insulation, homeowners can easily maintain a comfortable environment that isn't affected by external factors like extreme weather. To achieve this, it's important to include the insulation of the attic and crawl space since they play an integral role in keeping the home warm and efficient. And when it comes to the home's walls, insulating with USA Premium Foam Insulation will provide highly effective results against the cold since it's 35% more efficient than other types of insulation products. As a result, homeowners can stay comfortable during the winter months (and longer), without spending a fortune on their heating bills.

USA Insulation is currently expanding nationwide. Contact a USA Insulation franchise development professional today to check availability in select markets.





About USA Insulation:

USA Insulation is in the business of helping homeowners save thousands of dollars over the course of home ownership through the installation of high-quality residential home insulation. The U.S. Department of Energy's number one recommendation for reducing energy bills for heating & cooling is by adding insulation - to attic spaces, ceilings, interior walls and crawl spaces. USA Insulation offers the best solutions for your home improvement dollars  including proprietary injection foam that expands to fill all cracks and crevices. Air sealing services are also available to further reduce drafts. USA Insulation is dedicated to providing a superior product and service, resulting in satisfied customers nationwide.

Media Contact:

Lynne Wilson

440-951-6800

[email protected]

SOURCE USA Insulation
LUND, Sweden, Dec 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The authors of the article "Internalization of secreted antigentargeted antibodies by the neonatal Fc receptor for precision imaging of the androgen receptor axis" (Thorek et al., Sci Transl Med. 2016 Nov 30;8(367))" hK2 in mouse models and human tissues to accurately detect prostate cancer lesions, including bone and liver metastases.

Disseminated prostate cancer is typically treated by targeting the androgen receptor, but so far there has been no convenient way to monitor the efficacy of these drugs or to determine when a tumor is becoming resistant to treatment. The new publication by Thorek et al. shows that imaging hK2, using the antibody 11B6, can be applied as a robust method to efficiently monitor androgen receptor activity in real time.

The exciting finding that these labelled highly specific antibodies are internalized opens up the possibility for an efficient radio immuno-therapy of prostate cancer.

"This is an important scientific proof for us at Diaprost, as our pipeline covers humanized antibodies for both diagnostics and therapeutics targeting the hK2 antigen. It's a well-established fact that the currently used in vitro tests for PSA levels are not giving results of sufficient clinical value. We believe that using real time non-invasive detection and monitoring of hK2 will increase both the effectiveness and the efficiency of prostate cancer care," says Johan Drott, CEO of Diaprost.

You can access the article at http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/8/367/367ra167 .

For more information, please contact:

Johan Drott, CEO, Diaprost AB

+46 709 224 140

[email protected]

Our Mission:

Diaprost's mission is to be the leading biotechnology company discovering and optimizing targeted, high specificity, medicines to provide personalized care for prostate cancer patients. We aim to establish and commercialize an antibody platform, based on the anti-hK2 antibody 11B6, for both in vivo diagnostic and targeted therapy applications. Our goal is to validate the use of this novel technology, and deliver innovative breakthroughs to improve the lives of patients.

About Diaprost:

Diaprost was founded in 2005 based on the idea that the transformative success of the PSA assay for detection of prostate cancer could be leveraged as a personalized theranostic (therapy and diagnostic) platform. The technology and patent applications were pursued by researchers at Lund University in Sweden. Diaprost is collaborating with leading international experts in the fields of molecular medicine, biotechnology, immunology, radiology, radiation physics, laboratory medicine, and oncology. Our scientists are active at some of the worlds most prominent centers in cancer research. The Diaprost pipeline covers humanized antibodies for both diagnostics and therapeutics targeting the hK2 antigen, as well as therapy targeting the PSA antigen. Diaprost AB is a Swedish privately held company based in Lund, Sweden. For more information, please visit www.diaprost.com.

About prostate cancer:

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, with over 1 million new cases diagnosed annually (Cancer Research UK 2012). It is also the second leading cause of death from cancer in men. Prostate cancer often has no indicative symptoms that enable early diagnosis. Critically, differentiating aggressive from benign or low-risk disease, with significantly different treatment options and outcomes is often very difficult. New agents that detect, define and direct therapy may have a significant role in future management of this disease.

CONTACT:

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/diaprost-ab/r/study-demonstrates-the-feasibility-of-targeting-human-kallikrein-related-peptidase-2--hk2--for-detec,c2147221

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/15278/2147221/602815.pdf Press release (PDF) http://news.cision.com/diaprost-ab/i/johan-drott-ceo-diaprost-ab,c2038118 Johan Drott CEO Diaprost AB

SOURCE Diaprost AB

Related Links

http://www.diaprost.com


ATLANTA, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Zika virus can make thousands of copies of itself in fetuses' brains and in the placentas of pregnant women, which may help explain how the virus causes devastating birth defects and pregnancy losses even if a woman had only a minor illness. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the first to show Zika virus RNA (genetic material of the virus) replicating in brain tissues of infants with microcephaly who later died and in placentas of women who suffered pregnancy losses.

CDC scientists found Zika virus RNA persisted in fetal brains and in placentas for more than seven months after the mothers contracted Zika. The researchers also found evidence of the virus replicating in an infant with microcephaly who died two months after birth. The RNA levels were about 1,000 times higher in the infants' brains than in the women's placentas, according to the study published today in CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.

"Our findings show that Zika virus can continue to replicate in infants' brains even after birth, and that the virus can persist in placentas for months  much longer than we expected," said Julu Bhatnagar, Ph.D., lead of the molecular pathology team at CDC's Infectious Diseases Pathology Branch and the study's lead author. "We don't know how long the virus can persist, but its persistence could have implications for babies born with microcephaly and for apparently healthy infants whose mothers had Zika during their pregnancies. More studies are needed to fully understand how the virus can affect babies."

The study sheds light on how the virus can cross the placenta and infect the fetus's brain. The researchers found Zika virus infects and proliferates in Hofbauer cells, a type of migratory immune cell in the placenta. Because the Hofbauer cells can move freely throughout the placenta, they may help transfer the virus to the fetus's brain. Once there, the virus can infect various types of brain cells.

The CDC researchers tested tissues from 52 patients with suspected Zika virus infection, including brain tissues (tested postmortem) from eight infants who had microcephaly and later died. They also tested placental tissues from 44 women: 22 who had adverse pregnancy or birth outcomes (miscarriage, elective termination, stillbirth or babies born with microcephaly) and 22 who had babies who appeared healthy. Most of the women were U.S. residents who had traveled to countries with Zika outbreaks during their pregnancies. The eight infants with microcephaly who died were from Brazil and Colombia.

More evidence that Zika is most dangerous during early pregnancy

Brain tissues from all eight infants were positive for Zika virus, and Zika virus was detected in placentas of nearly three-quarters (16/22) of women who had an adverse pregnancy or birth outcome. Mothers of all the infants with fatal microcephaly and all of the women with positive test results contracted Zika virus during their first trimester of pregnancy. Zika virus RNA was also detected in the placentas of more than one-third (8/22) of the women who had apparently healthy infants. All of these women had Zika infection during their third trimester of pregnancy, but the babies who were tested for Zika after birth tested negative. These findings further confirm that Zika virus infection during the first trimester of pregnancy poses more danger for pregnancy and fetal development than infection contracted during the third trimester.

As part of the Zika response, CDC's Infectious Disease Pathology Branch developed a variety of tests to detect Zika virus in human tissue samples. The molecular tests used in this study can show evidence of Zika virus in tissues long after the virus would be undetectable by blood tests, which typically can only be used during the 12 weeks following infection.

"Our molecular tests for tissues extend the timeframe to detect Zika virus," Bhatnagar said. "For women who contracted Zika virus during early pregnancy but were never diagnosed, these tests could help determine whether Zika virus may have caused their miscarriage, pregnancy loss, or adverse birth outcome."

CDC recommends monitoring babies born to mothers who had Zika virus infection during their pregnancy. CDC established the US Zika Pregnancy Registry (USZPR), in collaboration with state, tribal, territorial, and local health departments, to monitor the effects of Zika virus infection during pregnancy on fetal and infant outcomes. The data collected through the USZPR is used to update recommendations for clinical care, to plan for services and support for pregnant women and families affected by Zika virus, and to improve prevention of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

CDC continues to recommend that pregnant women not travel to areas with Zika. If a pregnant woman travels to or lives in an area with active Zika virus transmission, she should talk with her healthcare provider and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites and sexual transmission of Zika virus. For more information, please visit www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/.

As of Dec. 12, 2016, Zika virus outbreaks have been reported in 50 countries and territories in the Americas. More than 4,000 travel-associated cases of Zika have been reported in the United States. A total of 1,172 pregnant women in the United States have had evidence of Zika virus infection.

The EID article is available at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/23/3/16-1499_article. For more information about Zika, please visit www.cdc.gov/Zika.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

CDC works 24/7 saving lives and protecting people from health threats to have a more secure nation. Whether these threats are chronic or acute, manmade or natural, human error or deliberate attack, global or domestic, CDC is the U.S. health protection agency.

Contact: CDC Media Relations

(404) 639-3286

SOURCE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Related Links

http://www.cdc.gov


PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Only 20 percent of medically diagnosed child abuse and neglect cases in U.S. Army dependent children between 2004 and 2007 were found to have a substantiated report with the Army's Family Advocacy Program (FAP)  the agency responsible for the investigation and treatment of child abuse  according to a new PolicyLab study. This rate is less than half of the rate (44 percent) of medically diagnosed child abuse cases substantiated by civilian Child Protective Services (CPS). Researchers say this contrast raises questions about the Army-reported rates of child abuse, and suggests under-reporting of abuse cases by medical providers and/or a breakdown in communication between civilian CPS and established military services.

The study, published online Dec. 10 by Child Abuse & Neglect, also found that the number of medically diagnosed abuse cases with corresponding substantiated Army FAP reports was poorest for children cared for at civilian treatment facilities, 9.2 percent, but still low for children receiving care from military health care providers, 24.2 percent. PolicyLab partnered with U.S. Army FAP on this research.

Following is a statement reacting to these new findings from senior author Dave Rubin, MD, MSCE, director of PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), pediatrician at CHOP and a presidential appointee to the federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities.

"For many years, the U.S. Army has reported rates of child abuse well below that of the civilian population. This study calls those reports into question. Yet, the U.S. Army can only report cases they know about, and our findings suggest that they may not be aware of the majority of their cases.

"When any health care provider suspects a child has been abused, they are required to report that case to a child welfare agency, or risk losing their license. The Department of Defense created an extra layer of support for children in military families  recognizing their unique needs related to the stress of deployment and frequent moves around the country  by establishing its own child and family services program in 1981, the Family Advocacy Program (FAP). With offices across each military branch, FAP is tasked with investigating child abuse cases and providing treatment and supportive services for affected military families. However, FAP can only provide these supports if both military and civilian health care providers either report cases directly to them or if Child Protective Services reports all cases they receive involving a military child back to FAP.

"Unfortunately, what is implied by the low number of substantiated abuse cases by U.S. Army FAP compared to known substantiation rates in the civilian population is that some children are falling through the cracks of a broken system. Military children move across states more frequently, making it particularly important that FAP know about any maltreatment since they can monitor at-risk military children wherever they are. Although the numbers of abuse cases linked to substantiated reports were higher from military treatment facilities, where health care providers are required to report to FAP, still only one in four diagnoses were linked to a substantiated report, suggesting that under-reporting may be part of the problem at military treatment facilities.

"Among civilian health care providers, the problems are even more complicated. Since they are located off-base, these providers may not be aware of the need to report to FAP and there is no mechanism to mandate they do so. They may well be reporting cases to civilian agencies  that are then assisting children in need  but for the most part, those cases are not communicated back to FAP, which is best positioned to intervene with military families.

"What this study tells us is that we have an incomplete picture of what is happening to a large population of children in this country who might need our help. We must support further research that will detect how systematic true under-reporting and under-recognition is within the Army and other military branches and shed light on why under-reporting may be occurring. We must also hold Child Protective Services accountable for identifying the military family when they are reported to them, and for communicating their involvement back to FAP so the agency can provide consistent military-specific services to children and families in need. Finally, by knowing the true magnitude of this stress to the U.S. Army family, we can better identify the resources FAP needs to meet its obligations in serving military families."

"Our hope is that by bringing this problem to light, we can work together with our civilian partners and the Army to build a better approach to tracking child abuse cases in the military to ensure no child in danger nor at-risk family is neglected."

The other authors on the study are Joanne Wood, Heather Griffis, Christine Taylor, Doug Strane, Gerlinde Harb, Lanyu Mi, Lihai Song and Kevin Lynch. This work was sponsored by the Department of the Army (award number: W81XWH-11-2-0100). The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014 was the awarding and administering acquisition office. The information in this manuscript does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Limitations: The study period for this data is 2004-2007. Additionally, the data used didn't include substantiated reports, so the analysis cannot determine what percentage of cases were reported to FAP, but not substantiated. The authors and their Army partners understand the need to reproduce this analysis on more recent and complete data to see if trends observed during this study have continued to present day.

Citation: Wood, J. N., et al. Under-ascertainment from healthcare settings of child abuse events among children of soldiers by the U.S. Army Family Advocacy Program. Child Abuse & Neglect (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.11.007

About PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is dedicated to achieving optimal child health and well-being by informing program and policy changes through interdisciplinary research. Founded in 2008, PolicyLab is a Center of Emphasis within the CHOP Research Institute, one of the largest pediatric research institutes in the country. With more than 25 highly-regarded faculty and 35 passionate staff who bring expertise from myriad of fields covering health, research and health policy, our work focuses on improving public systems, improving health care delivery and improving child health outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.policylab.chop.edu.

About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 535-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lauren Walens, Communications Manager

PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

[email protected] or (267) 426-9837

SOURCE PolicyLab at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia

Related Links

http://www.policylab.chop.edu


DENVER, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Swiftpage, the maker of Act! and a leading provider of software and services that help small and mid-sized businesses grow, today announced the release of Act! Facebook Ads powered by Tiger Pistol, a prominent Facebook Marketing Partner with a proven track record of delivering meaningful results in the SMB space. Act! Facebook Ads is the newest Connection available to Act! Premium subscribers.

Act! is the solution individuals, SMBs, and sales teams trust most to organize prospect and customer information in one place, send emails, market products or services more effectively and drive sales results. Act! Facebook Ads allows subscribers to easily create Facebook Lead Ads and automatically funnels new leads generated from their campaigns back into their Act! database.

"We are pleased to be able to offer our subscribers Act! Facebook Ads powered by Tiger Pistol," said Lorcan Malone, president and COO of Swiftpage. "Act! Facebook Ads will provide our subscribers with another connection that will save them time and accelerate their sales and marketing efforts by automatically generating new leads using their own Act! databases."

Swiftpage is committed to providing Act! small and mid-sized businesses with the tools they need to connect with prospective customers through social media channels. With Act! Facebook Ads, these users will gain invaluable visibility with targeted demographics.

"With over 1.7 billion active users on Facebook worldwide, it's now more important than ever for SMBs to establish a meaningful presence on the platform," said Steve Hibberd, CEO and Co-Founder of Tiger Pistol. "We are thrilled to partner with Swiftpage to provide Act! subscribers with our Facebook Ad optimization platform which will allow them to easily generate new leads and, ultimately, grow their business."

Act! Facebook Ad packages start at $79/month. Get started with Act! Facebook Ads today.

Social Media and Website Links

About the Act! Portfolio

Act!, the award winning customer & contact manager trusted by more than six million businesses globally, enables business owners to manage their relationships, interact and follow-up with their customers effectively and efficiently. Small and medium sized businesses rely on the Act! portfolio daily to run, manage and grow their business. Learn more at www.act.com.

About Tiger Pistol

Tiger Pistol is a Facebook Marketing Partner with over 5 years' experience delivering meaningful business results for SMBs. Tiger Pistol's Facebook Ads platform enables SMB resellers to create, deploy, manage and optimize high-performance Facebook and Instagram ads at scale. Learn more at www.tigerpistol.com.

2016 Swiftpage ACT! LLC. All rights reserved. Swiftpage, Act!, and the Swiftpage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Swiftpage ACT! LLC, or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Press Contacts  North America

Mallory Bowers

Swiftpage

(720) 490-4332

[email protected]

Dave Feistel

LF|PR

(949) 502-6200 x 224

[email protected]

SOURCE Swiftpage

Related Links

http://www.act.com


Nelson comes to SageSure from American Modern Insurance Group, part of Munich Re, where she was Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Customer Experience Officer. While at American Modern, she led marketing, communications, customer experience and innovation/digital. Prior to that, Nelson spent most of her career leading marketing and sales for Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance. In addition to her property/casualty experience, Nelson was head of marketing for a vision insurance company and held various marketing roles at American Express and several ad agencies.

"Tammy has a track record of building award-winning, high-performing marketing teams that fuel company growth and customer retention," said Terrence McLean, CEO of SageSure. "We conducted a national search to fill this role and are thrilled to have found someone with deep expertise and proven successes in our industry."

Earlier this year, Nelson was named Top CMO in the Cincinnati Business Courier's C-Suite Awards. She has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor's degree in advertising and economics from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. She is a designated Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati.

"SageSure has an outstanding track record of growth and customer loyalty," said Nelson. "I'm excited to join a team that's so committed to technology and to delivering an exceptional customer experience."

Nelson and part of her team will work from the Cincinnati SageSure office that will open in 2017.

About SageSure Insurance Managers

SageSure Insurance Managers is the largest independent residential property managing general underwriter in the United States. SageSure develops competitively priced property insurance products for its highly rated carrier partners and distributes these products through a growing network of insurance agents and brokers. SageSure offers 24 products in 11 states, managing nearly all operations for over 100,000 policyholders. For more information, visit SageSure.com.

CONTACT: Director of Marketing, Kristen Watson, 1-470-330-0428, [email protected]

SOURCE SageSure Insurance Managers
TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Tandem Expansion Fund is pleased to announce the sale of Vancouver based Delta-Q Technologies Corp., in which Tandem Expansion is the largest shareholder with a 42% ownership interest, to Italian company Zapi S.p.A.



Sandy Scott Partner at Tandem Expansion stated: "We are profoundly appreciative of Ken Fielding CEO/co-Founder and Delta-Q's management/employees for the opportunity to be associated with such a high caliber company over the past 6 years. Since its founding, in 1999, Delta-Q has shown that Canadian companies can attract large scale local capital, world class human resources, a skilled mentor support system, and scale to be successful on a global stage. The Governments of Canada and British Columbia have provided an enabling environment for high growth, innovation companies such as Delta-Q to succeed over the long term. Delta -Q is an example of how a cohesive amalgam of Canadian entrepreneurism, Canadian capital, Canadian government support and a Canadian Will 'to be the best on a global basis' can drive great achievements".



Ken Fielding CEO and co-Founder of Delta-Q stated that "Delta-Q continues to grow and evolve and has benefited tremendously from the Tandem Expansion investment. But money alone doesn't build a great company  it is exceptional people coming together, helping to build a shared vision and executing on that path and this is where Tandem has clearly delivered. Tandem has been a great financial partner for myself and for Delta-Q, investing at a critical time for our company, helping in shaping our strategic direction which accelerated our growth. Delta-Q is a company that really is all about innovation and change. We believe we've changed our industry through the introduction of advanced and robustly designed products helping to push the boundaries of what electrified vehicles and equipment can do. We are excited about where we can go next, building on the exceptional capabilities of our team, our strong core values and further leveraging the Delta-Q brand which is well recognized in our markets. As part of the Zapi S.p.A group we look forward to continuing to drive our growth forward, leveraging their capabilities, complementary technologies and global foot-print."

Tandem Expansion is a Canadian based technology growth fund which supports the scaling of Canadian companies. Tandem Expansion has investments in companies across a wide array of technology markets including industrial, software, hardware, digital media, cloud computing, mobile, virtual reality and energy. Tandem Expansion investee companies have annual revenue in excess of $380 million.

Delta-Q is a leading manufacturer of on and off-board battery chargers for industrial and recreational electric drive vehicles and equipment. The company sells mainly to OEMs as well as battery suppliers and aftermarket channels. The market for the company's products continues to expand, fueled by the global demand for clean, zero emissions, low maintenance, high performance electric vehicles and equipment.



Zapi S.p.A is the parent company of ZAPI Group, whose affiliates are market leaders in electric and electronic motion control for industrial/off-highway/agricultural vehicles. ZAPI Group companies design, develop and manufacture state-of-the-art electronic controllers, inverters, electric machines and battery chargers. ZAPI Group is partner of all major OEM serving them worldwide and is constantly increasing its market share and reputation. ZAPI Group annual revenue is expected to exceed $400 million this year.

"We are proud to be able to complement our business portfolio with Delta Q"  stated Giannino Zanichelli, ZAPI Group President - who stressed the strategic importance of such an acquisition to enhance the competitive advantages of ZAPI Group and grow further.

SOURCE TorQuest Partners

Related Links

www.torquest.com


CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of our comprehensive Consumer Brand Metrics program, Technomic asks consumers to rate more than 120 leading U.S. restaurant chains on 60+ different attributes. The attributes capture the consumer experience from every angle, from the quality of the food to the overall brand reputation. The ongoing study records almost 100,000 consumer visits annually.

Based on analysis of consumer ratings in four key areas, Technomic has determined the winners of the 2017 Chain Restaurant Consumers' Choice Awards:

Pillar of Excellence Quick Service Fast Casual Full Service Food Taste and Flavor In-N-Out Burger Schlotzsky's Texas Roadhouse Intent to Return Papa Murphy's Pizza Raising Cane's Chicken Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Use of Technology Improves the Experience Papa John's Pollo Campero The Capital Grille Overall Takeout Capabilities Hungry Howie's Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches Brio Tuscan Grille

The Chain Restaurant Consumers' Choice Awards will be presented at Technomic's Consumer Insights Planning Program Conference, January 11-12, 2017, in Newport Beach, Calif.

Methodology

Consumer Brand Metrics is an ongoing research program that tracks consumers' attitudes toward, and usage of, leading restaurant chains and other foodservice venues. In 2016, the program currently includes 142 leading restaurant chains operating within the U.S. This includes Technomic's Top 100 U.S. Restaurants, as well as other category leaders and chains that have experienced significant unit and sales growth. Chains are added with each quarterly survey wave.

To determine the winners, key consumer experience attributes were analyzed from four quarters, fourth-quarter 2015 through third-quarter 2016. Winners are based on top-box ratings, or a rating 5 on a 5-point scale, where 1 equals very bad and 5 equals very good. Top-two-box ratings were used for ties and other purposes.

Each chain may only win one Consumers' Choice Award each year; if a chain had the highest ratings on multiple Pillars of Excellence, it most often receives the award in the pillar in which there is the greatest difference between its ratings and the next-highest chain's ratings.

Learn more about the Consumer Brand Metrics online platform and other Technomic products and services at Technomic.com or contact one of the individuals below.

Contacts:

Press Inquiries: Darren Tristano, 312-506-3850, or [email protected]

Consumer Brand Metrics Details: Patrick Noone, 312-506-3852, or [email protected]

About Technomic

Only Technomic, a Winsight company, delivers a 360-degree view of the food industry. We impact growth and profitability for our clients by providing consumer-grounded vision and channel-relevant strategic insights. Our services range from major research studies and management consulting solutions to online databases and simple fact-finding assignments. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants and retailers, other foodservice organizations, and various institutions aligned with the food industry. Visit us at technomic.com.

About Winsight, LLC

Winsight, LLC is a business-to-business media and information services company specializing in the convenience-retailing, restaurant and noncommercial foodservice industries. Winsight has an extensive media portfolio including four publications, CSP, Restaurant Business, FoodService Director and Convenience Store Products, a suite of digital products including websites, e-newsletters (Restaurant Business Daily and CSP Daily News) and webinars, plus video products, mobile and tablet apps, custom marketing solutions and the convenience-retailer intelligence tool, CSPedia. The Winsight Events group produces six exclusive, large-scale executive-level conferencesRestaurant Leadership Conference, FARE Conference, Outlook Leadership, Convenience Retailing University, FSTEC and MenuDirectionsin addition to more than 12 major EduNetworking conferences and advisory meetings. In Aug. 2015, Winsight acquired Technomic Inc., a food industry provider of primary and secondary market information and advisory services. Winsight is a recognized leader in the markets it serves.

For more information on Winsight and its brands, go to WinsightMedia.com.

SOURCE Technomic

Related Links

http://www.technomic.com


LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tempur Sealy International, Inc. announced today future plans to move and upgrade its South Gate Sealy plant to a new Los Angeles-area location as well as expand its Mexico operations. The Los Angeles move is expected to be complete in 2018.

"We are thrilled to announce our intention to make these long term investments in the operations of our worldwide business," said Tempur Sealy Chairman, CEO and President Scott Thompson. "The capital invested in these facilities highlights our commitment to quality product and growth of the company."

Thompson noted that the company has outgrown the existing South Gate Sealy plant, which is also in need of modernization. This state-of-the art facility is expected to include a new distribution center in addition to replacing the Sealy assembly facility. The facility is expected to be fully operational in early 2018.

The South Gate facility employs approximately 120 employees and Thompson is making it a top priority to seek a location for the new plant that is close to where the current workforce lives.

"Our company is committed to investing in the right high Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) projects, but I also want to avoid disrupting our skilled employees who are critical to our success," Thompson said. "Once operational, the company is expecting rent reduction and operational efficiencies combined with improved quality."

The company also announced the purchase of additional land adjacent to its existing Sealy manufacturing plant in Toluca, Mexico. The purchase will facilitate expansion of the facility, leading to increased capacity and improved productivity. In addition, Sealy South Korea, part of the Sealy Asia Joint Venture, recently announced the opening of a manufacturing and distribution center outside of Seoul. This investment positions Sealy South Korea for continued growth. Both of these expansions will supply the facilities' home markets.

About Tempur Sealy International, Inc.

Tempur Sealy International, Inc. (NYSE: TPX) is the world's largest bedding provider. Tempur Sealy International, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets mattresses, foundations, pillows and other products. The Company's brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including Tempur, Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Sealy Posturepedic and Stearns & Foster. World headquarters for Tempur Sealy International, Inc. is in Lexington, KY. For more information, visit http://www.tempursealy.com or call 800-805-3635.

Contacts:

Aubrey Moore, Tempur Sealy Investor Relations Rick Maynard, Tempur Sealy Public Relations Phone: 800-805-3635 Phone: 859-455-2988 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Tempur Sealy International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tempursealy.com


CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago Crime Commission welcomed Terry Hake as their guest speaker at their annual holiday luncheon. Hake was the principal FBI undercover lawyer in the Operation Greylord investigation, which culminated in the largest and most successful bust of its kind.

"In 1980, as a young assistant prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Hake said he became confused, then disillusioned, then disgusted and finally angry with the corruption permeating the Cook County Courts," according to J.R. Davis, Chairman and President of the Chicago Crime Commission. "Soon after, Hake was approached by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI and agreed to work undercover posing as a corrupt lawyer," he said.

"Operation Greylord is still credited today for cleaning up a system that was overrun by crooked judges and lawyers. At the time, Hake could have easily looked the other way, but instead he made a difficult choice and did the right thing. That's what makes him a hero," Davis explained.

During his presentation to the Chicago Crime Commission about Operation Greylord, Hake, the author of a book by the same name, told the audience how as a part of the nearly four-year-long investigation, he accepted bribes, made payoffs, bugged a judge's chambers, and wore a wire. He also told of how he befriended people that he knew that he would later betray.

"Operation Greylord was the longest and most successful undercover investigation in FBI history and the largest corruption bust in the history of the United States," Davis continued. "When all was said and done, the operation resulted in bribery and tax charges against 103 judges, lawyers, and court personnel, and more than 70 indictments in the Cook County court system. For that we owe Terry Hake a debt of gratitude," he concluded.

Contact:

John Pastuovic

312-925-9092



SOURCE Chicago Crime Commission
CARY, N.C., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning for and Living in Retirement" by Hans E. Scheil, CFP, climbed to bestseller status as the number one bestseller in Amazon's Retirement Planning category on December 9, 2016.

The author, Hans E. Scheil, CFP, is the CEO of North Carolina-based Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc. His career and desire to write the book was inspired by his personal experience as a caregiver for his mother, father, and grandmother. "The response to this book is validation that most people are concerned about their financial preparation for retirement. They are looking for information and answers to help them understand their potential costs and benefits."

Available at BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com, "The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning for and Living in Retirement" includes the many items that are important for a successful retirement, as well as the details of Social Security and Medicare, long-term care, post-retirement investment strategies, tax reduction strategies and more. Easy-to-understand chapter summaries, charts, reports, and sample documents help the reader gain a better understanding of each retirement planning topic. Each chapter also provides an in-depth analysis of each topic through real-life examples from Scheil's own practice.

Residents of North Carolina can request a complimentary signed copy of the book in return for a donation to Alzheimer's North Carolina in memory of Mary Scheil. For more information please call (919) 535-8261.

Hans E. Scheil is available for media inquiries and interviews. For more information on Scheil, please call (919) 535-8261 or visit www.PlanWithCardinal.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR HANS SCHEIL

Hans E. Scheil, CFP, is the CEO of North Carolina-based Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc., and the author of "The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning for and Living in Retirement." Throughout his 40 years in the financial services industry, Scheil has worked with clients age 65+ to help provide them with the financial solutions they need to live a long and successful retirement. In his book, "The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning for and Living in Retirement," Scheil addresses the major problems retirees can face and provides strategies for overcoming them. Scheil is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) as well as a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Chartered Advisor for Senior Living (CASL). He also holds Life and Health insurance licenses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and is an investment advisor representative. For more information on Scheil, please call (919) 535-8261 or visit www.PlanWithCardinal.com.

All written content is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Cardinal Retirement Planning Inc. and our editorial staff. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representations as to its accuracy or completeness. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation. Fee-based nancial planning and investment advisory services are offered by Cardinal Retirement Planning Inc. a Registered Investment Advisor in the State of North Carolina. Insurance products and services are offered through Cardinal Advisors. Cardinal Advisors and Cardinal Retirement Planning Inc. are afliated companies. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from these systems does so at her or his own risk. Cardinal Advisors and Cardinal Retirement Planning Inc. and Hans Scheil is not afliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any government agency. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be used to make any nancial decisions. Unauthorized use of the material is prohibited.

CONTACT

AdvisorPR

(702) 685-7450

SOURCE Hans E. Scheil
SHANGHAI, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 10, the National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China) hosted a press conference in Shanghai to announce its inaugural summer training residency and concert tour, as well as the commencement of its application season for the Class of 2017. The event was joined by several esteemed guests and supporters of the program, including the Honorable Gary Locke  the former US Ambassador to China, Secretary of Commerce, and Governor of Washington. Mr Locke helped introduce the program, voicing his belief that, "Just as ping pong diplomacy helped bring [China and the United States] together, so will NYO-China."

Several others also voiced their support of the program. "The growth of music in China is astounding; it is going to be a central part of what defines music in the 21st century. NYO-China will be a beacon of excellence and something that everyone aspires to," commented Sir Clive Gillinson, the Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall and the principal architect behind NYO-USA. Deputy Consul General Meifang Zhang from the Consulate General of China in New York, which had previously served as an enthusiastic proponent of NYO-USA during its 2015 China Tour, mentioned how, "Through its music, NYO-China will continue to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of China and the United States."

Created in 2016, NYO-China was inspired by the myriad National Youth Orchestras of the world and their collective mission to nurture and promote young classical musicians. "There is tremendous musical talent rising in China, and it is our hope that the the best instruction and performance opportunities are available to the student musicians living there," says Vincent Accettola, NYO-China's Managing and Creative Director.

Approximately 100 high school-aged musicians will be selected from a projected pool of thousands applying from all across China to join the upcoming Class of 2017. The group will convene on the campus of Western Connecticut State University for an intensive two-week training residency. They will be joined by a suite of extraordinary teaching artists recruited from among the principal members of the world's finest orchestras, led by NYO-China's Guest Conductor Ludovic Morlot  the Grammy Award-winning Music Director of the Seattle Symphony  and NYO-China's Music Director Jindong Cai  the Music Director of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra.

Robert Blocker, the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale University, who also serves as NYO-China's Senior Global Advisor for Artistic Affairs, mentioned how "[this] is a venture that will inspire, educate, and prepare China's most gifted young orchestral musicians for their future roles as leading arts and cultural leaders across the globe."

NYO-China will debut at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, July 22 featuring Musical America's 2017 Artist of the Year Yuja Wang, followed by an international concert tour of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou featuring Olga Kern, the winner of the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Both internationally acclaimed pianists are Steinway Artists. NYO-China's premiere in New York will take place one day after that of Carnegie Hall's own NYO-USA.

Ronald Losby, the CEO of Steinway & Sons, also offered his support: "NYO-China gives students an opportunity to perform for large audiences what they have practiced for so long. There's nothing quite like a concert experience, and it will live within them for many years to come."

NYO-China is committed to ensuring educational opportunities for students regardless of their financial capacity. To that end, the entire program  including tuition, travel, and housing  is entirely free, underwritten by NYO-China's generous sponsors. Members will be selected via a meritorious online audition process, overseen by a panel of professional musicians in the United States. All Chinese citizens aged 14 to 19 (strings, percussion, and harp) or 14 to 20 (woodwinds and brass) at the time of the program's conclusion (July 30, 2017) are eligible. The online application portal and additional program details are available at www.nyochina.org.

ABOUT NYO-CHINA

The National Youth Orchestra of China was founded and developed by Athena Education Group, an education development corporation based in Midtown Manhattan that is dedicated to delivering superior learning solutions for our next generation of global citizens. It is made possible thanks to the generous financial and institutional assistance of the US-China YES Foundation, an organization based in New York and Shanghai that is known for its support of internationally oriented education projects for young people living in either the United States and China.

Press Contact

Eric Ashenberg (English)

Peggie Zhong (Chinese)

[email protected]

SOURCE National Youth Orchestra-China

Related Links

http://nyochina.org


PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Total Retail, the preeminent source for industry executives looking for the latest news and analysis on the retail industry, is proud to announce the release of its first annual Salary Benchmark Report. The extensive report is comprised of data analyzing key statistics on retail executives' salaries, benefits and views on career growth potential.

Last July, Total Retail surveyed its audience over a two-week period, collecting nearly 700 responses. Several variables were examined to provide a comprehensive look into retail executives' salaries, including gender, age, experience, title, department, geographic region, retail vertical, organizational department, and company size (by annual revenue).

What resulted is a 30-plus page comprehensive report. This extremely valuable resource can be of help to both retail employees as well as employers as they negotiate salaries.

Total Retail's research initiatives are led by Nathan Safran, director of research at NAPCO Media, parent company of Total Retail.

"I'm thrilled to have participated in the Total Retail salary research," commented Safran, a former Forrester Research analyst. "The industry salary data will prove to be invaluable to retailers, HR managers and executives in the industry."

"Total Retail created its 2016 Salary Benchmark Report as a service to our readers," says Melissa Campanelli, editor-in-chief/content director of Total Retail. "Until now, our readers  retail executives across multiple organizational departments  didn't have a comprehensive, one-stop-shop report that provides the data they need to ensure they're maximizing their earning potential."

The survey is important for retail executives who are hiring talent as well. "Now, retail employers have a handy guide to use as they look to negotiate fair and competitive compensation packages," Campanelli continues. "That's no small task in today's competitive retail environment, where companies are not only fighting over consumers' wallets, but also to attract and retain the executive talent critical to running a profitable business."

The Salary Benchmark Report is available to download online for free.

With the expert guidance of Safran, Total Retail will produce four more retail research projects in 2017, including a second annual Salary Benchmark Report.

"We are excited about the report and will publish it annually going forward," Campanelli added. "To be a true resource for our readers, we have to keep up with the latest salary trends, as well as be able to offer comparisons around salaries year over year. Publishing annually will enable us to do just that."

About NAPCO Media/Total Retail

Total Retail is the go-to source for retail executives looking for the latest news and analysis on the retail industry. Featuring a quarterly print magazine, daily e-newsletter (Total Retail Report), daily-updated website, podcast channel, virtual and in-person events, and research reports, Total Retail offer retail executives the information they need to do their jobs more effectively and grow their professional careers. Lear more at www.myTotalRetail.com.

NAPCO Media has been a leading information source in the markets it serves since 1958. NAPCO Media continues to evolve with information distribution methods and specializes in the creation and cross-channel distribution of exceptional content. Our mission is to build community between our audience and our clients. Learn more at www.napco.com.

Contact:

Joe Keenan

1-215-238-5435

[email protected]



SOURCE Total Retail

Related Links

http://www.mytotalretail.com


BROOKLYN, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- TuneCore, the leading digital music distribution and publishing administration service provider, caps off a strong year of sustained and international growth with the announcement today of TuneCore Italy  the service provider's fourth launch in the European market and sixth international expansion. Since the company's inception in 2006, TuneCore artists worldwide have earned more than $783 million collectively from over 43.8 billion downloads and streams. As the only major global distribution service with a dedicated Italian offering, Tunecore.it features local content in the native language that caters to the Italian independent artist community.

As part of its continued commitment to support independent artists around the world, in 2016 TuneCore launched three international sites including TuneCore Germany (April 2016), TuneCore France (October 2016) and now, TuneCore Italy (December 2016).

TuneCore's global expansion efforts have led to an overall increase in its year-to-date international customer base. Further, TuneCore's local offerings in international markets have seen significant increases in customer growth, specifically in the France and Germany markets. TuneCore also identified Hip Hop and R&B/Soul as two of the fastest growing genres in each of its key international markets (U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, Germany and France). Additionally, TuneCore has seen the growing popularity of streaming reflected across its international markets, with a 340 percent year-over-year increase in streaming in Canada, as well as year-over-year increases in Australia (92 percent), Germany (71 percent) and the UK (67 percent). Streaming also continues to grow in the U.S., with a 65 percent year-over-year increase.

"As we head into 2017, global expansion is pivotal in furthering our mission to bring more music to more people worldwide, while continuing to establish TuneCore as a leader in the international digital music distribution market," says Scott Ackerman, CEO at TuneCore. "Our global expansion into Italy  a market that previously lacked a dedicated local offering from a global distributor  is a natural fit as we continue to support our artists by giving them the local resources and tools they need to be successful."

In addition to keeping 100 percent of their revenues, and retaining complete creative control and ownership of their music, Italian customers will have access to TuneCore's robust portfolio of artist services, as well as local Italian partners such as Music Raiser and MusicOFF, and world-class customer service. TuneCore Italy artists can also opt to include their music in storefronts controlled by TuneCore's extensive network of more than 150 digital partners across the globe, including iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and Amazon Music. In addition, TuneCore Italy customers will be able to take advantage of the company's strategic partnership with Believe Digital. With an already existing office in Italy with more than 30 employees, Believe Digital will offer TuneCore Italy customers access to a variety of advanced artist services, such as international campaign management, trade and online digital marketing, video management and distribution, physical distribution and more.

With its expansion into Italy, TuneCore now offers local musicians in seven countries outside of the U.S.  UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, and Italy  the opportunity to collect revenue from streaming services, digital download stores, songwriter royalties, and sync licensing opportunities, all in their local currency.

About TuneCore

TuneCore brings more music to more people, while helping musicians and songwriters increase money-earning opportunities and take charge of their own careers. The company has one of the highest artist revenue-generating music catalogs in the world, earning TuneCore Artists $783 million from over 43.8 billion downloads and streams since inception. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels and managers sell their music through iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play and other major download and streaming sites while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, world-wide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe Digital Services, operates as an independent company and is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY with offices in Burbank, CA, Nashville, TN and Austin, TX, and global expansions in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany and France. For additional information about TuneCore, please visit www.tunecore.com or https://youtu.be/TSjGACrJyiY.

SOURCE TuneCore

Related Links

http://www.tunecore.com


(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/448918/PRNE_Haselmeier_Bengaluru_Image.jpg )



The final measures to qualify the machines and systems at the Bengaluru facility were executed from January to late summer 2016. This also involved preparing the documentation needed for proper manufacturing of insulin pens, e.g. process descriptions and releases. The plant was audited by TUV SUD in July 2016, and the official TUV certification document was received on 21st September 2016, confirming that our new facility in Bengaluru is compliant with international regulations and standards. TUV SUD Certificate No. Q2N 16 07 96203 005 relates to the "manufacturing of injection systems for self-injection and their components". It includes applied standard EN ISO 13485:2012 + AC 2012 and describes the specific requirements for quality management systems in the medical products industry. Extensive staff recruitments to fill all the positions needed in a smooth-running factory accompanied these activities and procedural processes. The new colleagues were highly qualified for their particular fields of work.

Haselmeier is now in a position to supply the Asian market more easily and more effectively with medication dosage systems and, as a result, significantly improve life for patients. Our Plant Director, Indrajith Natarajan, explains: "Having Haselmeier built similar infrastructure to the existing German Facilities in Bengaluru - India, helps us to provide a quality focused atmosphere for our employees. This leads to the production of self-injection devices on the same quality level as the other Haselmeier facilities. The TUV certification helps our customers to easily recognize our quality standards."

About Haselmeier

Haselmeier stands for the development and production of innovative self-injection devices with award-winning designs. The Haselmeier Group primarily works on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to improve the lives of patients by manufacturing pens and auto-injectors that are easy to use and that can be dosed with precision. The family business covers all steps-from design to planning to industrialisation-in the creation of high-quality self-injection systems.

Founded as early as in 1920 in Stuttgart, Haselmeier has long been an established name in the medtech industry, thanks to its proprietary technologies and international award-winning designs. In four years from now, this well-established company shall be able to look back on a 100 year old success story. Spread across eight global locations on three different continents, the Haselmeier Group employs a workforce of about 220 employees. While the Development department is located in Stuttgart, Haselmeier products are manufactured in the most modern production facilities in Buchen in Odenwald (Germany), Dnesice (Czech Republic) and Bengaluru (India). The international sales are controlled from Stuttgart and have representations in Zurich (Switzerland), Lowell, Maryland (USA), Gurgaon (India) and Guangzhou (China).

For further information, please go to: http://www.haselmeier.com

Media contact:

Wilhelm Haselmeier GmbH & Co. KG

Vaihinger Strae 48

70567 Stuttgart

Germany



Jana Heidrich

Marketing and Sales Coordinator

49 711 71978 176

[email protected]



SOURCE Haselmeier AG
HOLMDEL, N.J., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vonage (NYSE: VG), a leading provider of Cloud Communications for Business, was recently granted its first patent for Nexmo since acquiring the company in June 2016. Vonage now owns 146 U.S. patents, with nearly 200 U.S. patent applications pending, along with many foreign patents and pending applications in jurisdictions worldwide.

Nexmo, the Vonage API platform, enables developers to embed programmable text, chat and voice communications contextually into apps, websites and business systems to help enterprises create deeper engagement with customers.

The newly-issued patent (U.S. Pat. No. 9,485,169) covers Vonage's proprietary Adaptive Routing solution, providing users with improved deliverability, latency, and stability when using Nexmo contextual communications services to send and receive text messages.

Adaptive Routing and a unique direct-to-carrier network of more than 1,000 carriers enable the Nexmo platform to continuously monitor multiple available routes for delivering text messages, and to select the best route among multiple options based on real-time, relative performance data of each route. The Nexmo platform processes more than 60 million data points per month based not only on traditional carrier-provided delivery receipts, but also on delivery confirmations provided by actual end users, leading to a more robust understanding of end-to-end performance and, ultimately, optimization of SMS delivery.

"For enterprise customers that rely on the immediacy of contextual communications to seamlessly connect with users, Vonage's Adaptive Routing solution provides higher quality communications than is available without this technology," said Tony Jamous, President of Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform. "Vonage has access to multiple carriers and networks over which to deliver contextual communications solutions. This provides us with a unique advantage for Vonage's Adaptive Routing algorithms to redirect traffic via the optimal route, finding the best path for text messaging based on the automated and real-time collection of route performance data. It's like GPS for SMS."

ZALORA, Asia's leading online fashion retail destination, partnered with Nexmo as it needed a reliable global SMS solution that would deliver SMS with speed and accuracy to enhance the customer shopping experience. In many countries where ZALORA does business, SMS is often the only way to connect to customers in real time. ZALORA uses SMS to provide customers with reliable transaction, order and delivery updates, as well as to implement effective marketing campaigns to drive new business.

"Because the deliverability is so high with Nexmo's SMS API solution, ZALORA has seen a significant uplift, both in terms of increased revenue and traffic to our website. SMS is no longer a 'nice to have,' it's an expectation from our customers. We look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible in customer communications with Nexmo," said Alicia Teo, Customer Experience Manager for ZALORA.

Johanan Choo, Senior CRM System Analyst for ZALORA, added, "SMS provides great value as it informs our customers in a very timely manner about deals. Having one touchpoint for our centralized marketing outreach is very efficient. Nexmo's SMS API provides better visibility into our marketing spend, which helps our marketing team create more strategic, cost-conscious marketing decisions."

Learn more about Adaptive Routing.

About Vonage

Vonage (NYSE: VG) is a leading provider of Cloud Communications for Business. Vonage transforms the way people work and businesses operate through a portfolio of cloud-based communications solutions that enable internal collaboration among employees, while also keeping companies closely connected with their customers, across any mode of communication, on any device.

Vonage's Nexmo API Platform provides tools for voice, messaging and phone verification services, allowing developers to embed contextual, programmable communications into mobile apps, websites and business systems, enabling enterprises to easily communicate relevant information to their customers in real time, anywhere in the world, through text messaging, chat, social media and voice.

The Company also provides a robust suite of feature-rich residential communication solutions. In 2015 and 2016, Vonage was named a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as-a-Service, Worldwide. Vonage has also earned the Frost & Sullivan Growth Excellence Leadership Award for Hosted IP and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) Services. For more information, visit www.vonage.com.

Vonage Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. Vonage is a registered trademark of Vonage America Inc. To follow Vonage on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/vonage. To become a fan on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/vonage. To subscribe on YouTube, visit www.youtube.com/vonage.

(vg-a)

SOURCE Vonage

Related Links

http://www.vonage.com


SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WardsAuto's 23rd annual Wards 10 Best Engines list honors a diverse set of powertrains that appeal to a wide range of tastes and budgets.

Three electrified drivetrains make the Wards 10 Best Engines list for the second time in as many years, while all seven remaining honorees are turbocharged, illustrating the industry trend toward downsized powertrains with forced induction and direct fuel injection.

For the first time in 23 years of testing, no V-8 engines earned a spot on the Wards 10 Best Engines list, but many of the high-output turbocharged 6-cyl. engines in the competition, even some that didn't make the cut, generate enough horsepower and torque to fill the void. Two of the honorees are returning winners.

Since 1995, the competition has recognized outstanding engines and electrified propulsion systems, as well as the technology and engineering behind them. This year's field of 40 nominees include all new or significantly improved powertrains, as well as last year's ten returning winners.

The Wards 10 Best Engines of 2017:

3.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-6 (BMW M240i)

1.5L DOHC 4-cyl./Dual Motor EREV (Chevrolet Volt)

3.6L DOHC V-6/Dual Motor PHEV (Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid)

2.3L Turbocharged DOHC 4-cyl. (Ford Focus RS)

2.0L DOHC 4-cyl./Dual Motor HEV (Honda Accord Hybrid)

1.4L Turbocharged DOHC 4-cyl. (Hyundai Elantra Eco)

3.0L Turbocharged DOHC V-6 (Infiniti Q50)

2.5L Turbocharged DOHC 4-cyl. (Mazda CX-9)

2.0L Turbocharged DOHC 4-cyl. (Mercedes-Benz C300)

2.0L Turbo/Supercharged DOHC 4-cyl. (Volvo V60 Polestar)

"Automakers see downsizing, turbocharging and electrification as key strategies for delivering no-compromise powertrains that also are fuel-efficient, and this year's list clearly affirms that strategy," says WardsAuto Senior Content Director Drew Winter.

WardsAuto editors evaluated the 40 vehicles in October and November, driving to and from home, work, school, the hardware store and on weekend road trips. Vehicles must have a base price no higher than $62,000 to be eligible.

Editors score each powertrain based on horsepower, torque, comparative specs, noise attenuation, observed fuel economy and the application of new technology. The guiding principles: Does the engine or electric propulsion system truly sell the car or raise the bar for its competitive set?

The winning automakers will be honored at an awards ceremony to be held January 11 in Detroit. More information on the Wards 10 Best Engines program can be found at http://wardsauto.com/engines/10-best-engines

About WardsAuto

WardsAuto is a world-leading provider of automotive insights and analysis, having served the industry's information needs for more than 90 years. Based in Southfield, MI, WardsAuto provides a forward-looking perspective on all aspects of the automotive business, from the tech center to the plant floor to the showroom. Its services include the premium WardsAuto.com resource and suite of customizable data reporting tools, the WardsAuto Interiors, WardsAuto UX and WardsAuto Outlook Conferences, and digital newsletters and magazines. Subscribe to WardsAuto and attend its events by visiting http://www.wardsauto.com. Follow WardsAuto on Facebook and Twitter @WardsAuto.

About Informa

WardsAuto is part of Informa, the international business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events group. Informa serves commercial, professional and academic communities, helping them connect and learn, and creating and providing access to content and intelligence that helps people and businesses work smarter and make better decisions faster.

Informa has over 7,500 colleagues in more than 20 countries and a presence in all major geographies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Chris Lamphear

Director of Marketing

WardsAuto

248 799 2658

[email protected]

SOURCE WardsAuto

Related Links

http://wardsauto.com


NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) Foundation, the largest global membership organization of women corporate board members, today marked a new chapter in its 16-year history with the launch of a new brand identity and logo. With investment from long-time sponsor KPMG enabling WCD to become a not-for-profit foundation in 2015, the organization has now expanded to more than 75 chapters globally, dozens of which were launched with the support of KPMG partners. WCD has helped place more than 500 women on large public company and private company boards and advisory boards.

"WCD has spent years improving director education and advocating for women on boards, and we are taking this opportunity to define our mission even more clearly and expansively," says Susan Stautberg, CEO and Chairman of WCD. "With directors challenged today more than ever by the pace of change and growing stakeholder involvement, we seek to inspire visionary boards worldwide. We are building a powerful network of women directors who can share experiences and insights with their peers, and inspire others on their boards to perform at the highest level."

From a dining room table to a global network

Sixteen years ago, Stautberg and Nordstrom director Alison Winter, a top Northern Trust executive, gathered around the dining room table at Stautberg's apartment in New York City with a group of other top women executives and directors: Barbara Colwell, Julie Hembrock Daum, Elaine Eisenman, Jill Kanin-Lovers, and Edie Weiner. At the time, Stautberg was running a firm she founded that assembled and managed advisory boards for businesses, governments, and nonprofits. In the year 2000, of all the directors on Fortune 500 company boards, 11.7% were women. Stautberg and Winter and the other executives recognized that women's voices were not as strongly heard in the boardroom, and that there wasn't a network that connected women directors with other women directors to learn from and support each other.

They began to ask themselves: how can we help get more qualified women onto corporate boards? And how can we help them in the director role once they get there?

The small group knew there was power in numbers, and began to invite other women directors into their fold. They began to expand their network beyond New York after Winter made a professional move to Chicago, which then led to the idea of establishing different "chapters" around the country. Stautberg and Winter became co-chairmen of the new organization called "WomenCorporateDirectors," and the membership took off from there. Chapters opened then in Washington, D.C., and Boston. Soon after, when WCD was launching the Atlanta chapter, KPMG partner Chris St.Clare introduced Stautberg to KPMG leadership in New York, and the long-standing KPMG sponsorship of WCD began. In 2008, after a number of chapters opened in the U.S., WCD began to look overseas. Henrietta Holsman Fore  former U.S. Undersecretary of State and director at Exxon Mobil, General Mills, and Theravance Inc.  brought her international network and experience to the organization and joined as global co-chairman.

Strengthened by the call for more diversity on boards happening around the world, WCD launched the London chapter in 2008, and then moved into Asia with the launch of chapters in Hong Kong, then Beijing and Shanghai. In 2011, WCD launched what has become its flagship annual event  the WCD Global Institute, which brings together each May hundreds of top board and C-suite leaders from dozens of countries. In addition to the Global Institute, WCD began to offer regional Institutes in EMEA, Asia Pacific, and the Americas, and expanded their director education to include chair/lead director roundtables and seminars for new directors. WCD also developed, with Spencer Stuart and Professor Boris Groysberg and other researchers from Harvard Business School, the largest-ever survey of corporate directors worldwide. Additional programs include the WCD Thought Leadership Commission series of reports on boardroom issues as well as WCD Board Strategy Briefings.

Today, the 75 chapters stretch from North America, Europe, and Asia to Australia, Africa, and South America, with each holding local chapter events that connect local directors with each other and provide a connection point for fellow members from other chapters globally. In 2015, with the investment from KPMG, WCD became the WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Stautberg serves as CEO and Chairman, and Nancy Calderon, KPMG partner and board member, KPMG's Global Delivery Center, Ltd., in India, and Kapila Anand, director at Extended Stay America and retired partner at KPMG, also serve on the board.

Meeting growing demand for director education

While WCD has continued to add a wide range of director programs beyond its original chapter meetings, the organization will further expand its offerings to members to accomplish the four key pillars of the organization's evolved mission:

Inspire visionary boards worldwide  by providing education and tools that keep members engaged, informed, and high-performing as directors

Foster a powerful, trusted, global community of influential women corporate directors

Increase the representation of women on boards and in board leadership positions

Increase the pipeline of qualified female board candidates

"To accomplish all of this, and stay current, we will broaden our online content to include new features such as profiles and accomplishments of some of our members, more information about new board positions, access to other board portals, and more opportunities for members to engage on emerging issues in the boardroom," says Anand, WCD lead director.

WCD director Calderon comments, "Our members value the education they receive from their peers  insights from leaders like themselves who are tackling similar issues in their own boardrooms. We are proud of the quality content that WCD provides at Institutes and also as part of the local chapter meetings held around the globe."

New visual identity

In addition to a newly articulated mission, WCD has developed a new visual identity. The new logo reflects both the history and legacy of WCD as well as the next chapter of growth for the organization.

In its new iteration, the logo keeps the "WCD red" that WCD has used from the beginning, a color strongly tied to the group and its events and publications. "The dynamic 'globe' in the new design represents the truly global nature of WCD," says Stautberg, "and, with the tagline, reinforces WCD's mission to inspire visionary boards worldwide."

Continuing a legacy of increasing women on boards

Where has WCD made the greatest impact? Stautberg cites two accomplishments in particular: "First, we have fostered a vibrant community of directors who enjoy meeting with each other and learning from each other. Our members say that this global network is extremely valuable to them as directors."

The second is in helping move the needle on women's representation in boardrooms, even if the change is very slow. "Through our deep relationships with nominating committees, board chairs, search firms, and organizations such as the IFC, we have been able to get over 500 women onto boards or advisory boards, and we are preparing them to be the best directors they can be," says Stautberg. "Even though the number of women on boards is still too low  21% of the Fortune 500 today and far lower in countries across Asia and Latin America  we are getting there, and supporting women once they're there."

Some of the fastest growing chapters of WCD are indeed in Latin America. "There aren't quotas mandating gender diversity on boards there, but we see so many women who are qualified and need support from each other to get considered for a board seat," she says. The Chile chapter, one of nine WCD chapters in the region, will host the WCD Americas Institute in Santiago in March.

With more than 100 members, Japan is another big success story for WCD. The very active chapter mentors other women who want to get onto boards and has hosted the WCD Asia Institute. Members include Yuriko Koike, elected this year as the first female governor of Tokyo; Merle Okawara and Izumi Kobayashi (chapter co-chairs); and Kathy Matsui, Goldman Sachs' Chief Japan Strategist who has influenced the workforce policies of prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Highlights from other continents include Italy, where members in the two WCD chapters there (Rome and Milan) serve on boards representing over 35% of the market capitalization in the country. Kenya, which launched in early 2015, has made particular strides in providing mentorship and training for directors, developing a three-week program for new directors seeking to improve their performance.

For more information about WCD, please contact Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or [email protected].

About WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc.

The WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. (WCD Foundation) is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the WCD Foundation has 75 chapters around the world, including recent launches in South Korea, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay. The aggregate market capitalization of public companies on whose boards WCD Foundation members serve is over $8 trillion. In addition, WCD Foundation members serve on numerous boards of large private and family-run companies globally. For more information visit www.womencorporatedirectors.com or follow us on Twitter @WomenCorpDirs, #WCDboards.

SOURCE WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc.
Company invites individual and institutional investors to attend interactive real-time VirtualInvestorConferences.com

ATLANTA, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WorthPoint Corporation, based in Atlanta, the largest online resource for researching and valuing antiques, art and collectibles, today announced that Will Seippel, Chief Executive Officer, will present live at VirtualInvestorConferences.com on December 13, 2016.

DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 2016

TIME: 11:00 am ET

LINK: http://tinyurl.com/1213pre

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time - both in the presentation hall as well as the company's "virtual trade booth." If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an on-demand archive will be available for 90 days.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to save time and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.VirtualInvestorConferences.com.

Learn more about our equity crowdfunding campaign at https://marketplace.99funding.com/PreviewOffer?offer_id=56832

Securities offered through North Capital Private Securities, Member FINRA/SIPC

The company has also filed a Form 1-A for a Regulation A+ offering. Legal Disclaimer: WorthPoint is "testing the waters" to gauge market demand from potential investors for an Offering under Tier II of Regulation A. No money or other consideration is being solicited, and if sent in response, it will not be accepted. No sales of securities will be made or commitment to purchase accepted until qualification of the offering statement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") and approval of any other required government or regulatory agency. An indication of interest made by a prospective investor is non-binding and involves no obligation or commitment of any kind. No offer to buy securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received without an offering statement that has been qualified by the Commission. An offering statement regarding the offering has been filed with the SEC. The preliminary offering circular that is part of that offering statement can be found here https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1450158/000114420416136462/v451131_partiiandiii.htm

About WorthPoint

Founded in 2007, WorthPoint is the world's largest online resource for identifying, researching, and valuing antiques, art, and vintage collectibles. With no true central library for price guides or research material, the information in regard to antiques, art and collectibles is out of date or difficult to find. WorthPoint is building a solution, creating a global "worth" database to provide a powerful online resource for collectors, financial professionals and service providers. This solution leverages shared interests in collectibles, their value and stories, into a dynamic multimedia community.

WorthPoint's database hosts over 300 million auction sales results with more than 500 million images collated from multiple sources, including more than 50 auction houses, such as Heritage Auctions, Pook & Pook, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and eBay. WorthPoint enables collectors, financial professionals and service providers to gain more knowledge of the items they own or are seeking to buy or sell. In doing so, WorthPoint replaces traditional, published price guides and the need to search multiple online sources. The Company derives more than 93% of its revenues from subscriptions to its Worthopedia price guide, its Marks, Autographs, Patterns and Symbols ("MAPS") database and the WorthPoint Library. WorthPoint is also accessible on iOS and Android platforms, providing subscribers with mobile database access. While traditional word search is the primary search tool on the platform, the Company has introduced a beta version of visual search on MAPS.

WorthPoint provides the tools to help a user identify any "old" vintage and collectible items in a person's house, whether it is worth $5 or more than $1 million. Collectibles include fine art, antiques, coins, stamps, toys, glassware, folk art, memorabilia and thousands of other categories of items. These classes of items represent hidden value in many homes, often unknown to their owners, inheritors or even those people responsible for administering estates. Since its founding, the Company believes interest in collectibles has grown as programs such as Antiques Roadshow, Cash in the Attic and Pawn Stars have grown in popularity.

The Worthopedia price guide is a searchable database that provides access to sales records on more than 300 million items from online marketplaces and auction houses from around the world. Historical eBay sales data form the bulk of the data in Worthopedia, but are declining in significance as the database grows. WorthPoint is not a marketplace nor does it sell any of the items that appear in the Worthopedia. WorthPoint management believes that being a marketplace would conflict with its aim of being an independent source of information for its community.

The Company's MAPS database is an online resource for researching Marks, the identifying marks or impressions used by artisans and manufacturers to distinguish their wares, Autographs, and other distinctive Patterns and Symbols that are found on collectibles. WorthPoint has developed a visual recognition feature for use on computers and iOS devices that is currently in beta and will enable users to conduct searches optically. The Company plans to use a portion of the net proceeds of this Offering to enhance the feature and develop an Android version.

The WorthPoint Library contains the digital version of almost 1,000 collectibles price guides and reference books from leading publishers on a wide range of collecting topics. It offers users the ability to do the necessary research to identify and better educate themselves on a wide array of collectibles and is an additional tool for users of the Worthopedia database. The Company plans to use a portion of the net proceeds of the Offering to expedite the digitizing of materials for the WorthPoint Library.

About VirtualInvestorConferences.com

Since 2010, VirtualInvestorConferences.com, created by BetterInvesting (NAIC) and PRNewswire, has been the only monthly virtual investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for presenting companies to meet directly with investors using a graphically-enhanced online platform.

Designed to replicate the look and feel of location-based investor conferences, Virtual Investor Conferences unites PR Newswire's leading-edge online conferencing and investor communications capabilities with BetterInvesting's extensive retail investor audience network.

SOURCE WorthPoint Corporation
The event showcased the new Vera Wang LOVE fashion jewelry collection at Zales including a themed assortment of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings that feature combinations of diamonds, pearls and sapphires. The collection exhibits exquisite craftsmanship including feminine detailing such as sapphire and diamond heart-shaped pendants, delicate pearl earrings and modern diamond chevron styles.

Within the Vera Wang LOVE fashion jewelry collection are three distinct themes: Open Book Heart & Love, including the focal point of the collection  the "Kindred Heart"  a delicate heart emblem reflecting love and devotion; Simplicity Timeless Designs and Everlasting Sapphire. Each category features a variety of exquisite modern and classic styles that are representative of Vera Wang's passion for designing fashions for today's contemporary woman.

As part of the event, Zales pledged a donation to the New York Presbyterian Youth Anxiety Center, founded by Vera Wang, in the amount of fifty-thousand dollars.

For images of the Zales Vera Wang LOVE Holiday cocktail event, click here.

About Vera Wang Group

Vera Wang Group designs, markets and distributes collections of women's ready-to-wear, cocktail attire and bridal. Vera Wang Licensing LLC, the licensing division of the company, has selectively granted licenses for the manufacture and distribution of fragrance and beauty-related products (Coty Prestige, Inc.), eyewear (The Kenmark Group), china, crystal, silver and gifts (WWRD), fine papers (Crane & Co.), bedding (Revman International) and flowers (FTD). In addition, Vera Wang on Weddings was published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2001. In 2007, the company partnered with Kohl's to introduce Simply Vera Vera Wang, a lifestyle collection. In Spring 2011, Vera Wang launched her highly anticipated inaugural collection for David's Bridal, WHITE by Vera Wang, which brings the acclaimed Vera Wang aesthetic to a new set of brides. In Fall 2011, Vera Wang partnered with Zale Corporation to introduce Vera Wang LOVE, an exclusive collection of diamond engagement rings, wedding bands and solitaire jewelry. In 2012, Vera Wang introduced an exclusive collection of rental tuxedos for Men's Wearhouse.

For more information on Vera Wang, please visit the company's website at www.verawang.com.

About Zales Jewelers

Zales Jewelers, a leading brand name in fine jewelry retailing, operates stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Zales Jewelers is operated by Signet Jewelers Limited, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry. Signet Jewelers operates approximately 3,600 stores. For additional information on Zales visit www.Zales.com or follow us on:

Facebook

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitter

YouTube

SOURCE Zales Jewelers

Related Links

http://www.zales.com


TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - ZD Ventures Corporation (OTC: ZDVN) ("The Company" "ZD Ventures") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a development and consulting agreement with Lupama Producciones, S.L ("Lupama").

Lupama will be managing and developing on behalf of Plyzer Corporation ("Plyzer"), a private corporation incorporated in Delaware and a wholly owned subsidiary of ZD Ventures, a unique web portal providing solutions for price comparison using Artificial Intelligence ('IA') in a number of niche markets.

Lupama is a Spanish information and technology development company with its head office in Barcelona, Spain. Lupama's Chief Executive Officer, Luis Pallares is a serial entrepreneur with a computer science background from MIT, also founder of Nennisiwok, Digital Agency NYC, Visual Underground Media & Prod TC, and co-founder of Babypod, Addhoc, Lupama Producciones, among others. Effective immediately Mr. Pallares will become the CEO of Plyzer.

Lupama will be issued 5 Million shares and will earn up to an additional 25 Million shares of ZD Ventures subject to certain milestones being attained. Plyzer is currently developing its first AI solution and is aiming for a beta test in the first quarter of 2017.

Mr. Pallares commented, "I am very pleased to be working with the team at ZD Ventures. I believe we can develop Plyzer into a world class technology company using Artificial Intelligence and machine learning technology. We are focused on developing the next-generation AI driven comparison engine."

Mr. Terence Robinson, CEO of ZD Ventures commented, "We are very happy to have Luis Pallares and his team join us at ZD Ventures. Luis has a very successful track record of developing leading edge technologies from inception to final product."

About the Company

ZD Ventures is a technology company focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning developing solutions aimed at niche markets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a results of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE ZD Ventures Corporation

For further information regarding this press release, investment opportunities, or other questions, please call +14168600211
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Islamabad, Dec 8 : The pilot of the ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines plane that crashed into a mountain on Wednesday killing everyone on board reportedly lost control of one of the engines, the airline said.

Azam Sehgal, PIA's chairman, told reporters that the pilot for flight PK661 told the control tower at 4:09 p.m. local time that an engine had developed a technical fault and moments later made a "mayday call" shortly before the plane disappeared, Dawn reported.

"We were confident that the plane could land with one working engine," he said, adding: "I think that there was no technical error or human error... obviously there will be a proper investigation."

The small twin-propeller aircraft was enroute from Chitral to the capital when it crashed near the town of Havelian, about 45 miles northwest of Islamabad. The airline said there were 48 people aboard the plane - 42 passengers, five crew members and one ground engineer.

Emergency was declared at the airport soon after receiving the phone call.

The call about the plane crash was made by a resident of Batolni village who had witnessed the tragedy, the official said.

He called the Benazir Bhutto International Airport at around 4:35 p.m. and was asked to contact the airport manager as he was the relevant person, he said.

Aviation Division Secretary Irfan Elahi told Dawn that an investigation team, led by Air Commodore Munir Ahmed, has been formed to find out why the ATR-42 had crashed. "At the moment, there is no other reason for the plane crash other than the failure of the left engine," he said, adding that the investigators will also search for the plane's flight data recorders.
New Delhi, Dec 10 : Non-profit CARE India on Saturday called for stronger, resolute action from key stakeholders to address vital gaps in the implementation of the 'Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act (2005).

According to a release issued by the CARE India, December 10 marked the closing of the '16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence' campaign, which had began on November 25 --International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

CARE India MD and CEO Rajan Bahadur said that prevention and elimination of domestic violence against women was one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030.

"Domestic violence is widespread in South Asia. Countries such as India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have promulgated several laws over the years, to criminalise domestic violence. However, the implementation of these laws remains a major challenge, as multiple barriers impede their implementation," Bahadur said.

CARE India, in partnership with Mahila Jagran Kendra (MJK), recently released its 'State-facilitated Support Services under PWDV Act, 2005: Review of Status of Implementation in Bihar 2016'.

The report highlighted "the gaps and quality of services being rendered by state-facilitated support institutions and stakeholders and the experience of survivors in accessing justice".

Some of the key findings in the report showed that 82 per cent respondents were dissatisfied with complaint redressal by government institutions such as helplines and police stations while only 72 per cent of stakeholders interviewed during the study could refer to the all the various provisions under the PWDV Act.

The findings further indicated that only 67 per cent of the protection officers and 42 per cent of police station in-charges register cases and only 60 per cent of key stakeholders could comprehend each other's roles and responsibilities.

It also revealed that all survivors responded that lack of knowledge about various provision of the Act made them to run from one institution to another for relief.

Seventy per cent of women in India suffered from domestic violence in 2014, as per the National Crime Record Bureau.
New Delhi, Dec 10 : In an attempt to give a big push to cashless transactions, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will shortly roll out the Android-based Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AEPS) application, said officials.

Developed in collaboration with TCS, the application can be downloaded by the merchants, who will need a smartphone and a fingerprint scanner to use it. Transactions on this application can be done without any card or PIN.

The application would be made available to all banks, who would encourage merchants in their vicinity to adopt this application.

This was one of the decisions taken by the Chief Ministers' committee on adoption of digital payments.

The panel in its report submitted to the Union Finance Ministry on Friday also recommended rolling out more user friendly version of USSD or *99# which is used on feature mobile phones for making cashless payments.

It said that Aupgraded version of USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) should be rolled out by December 25.

According to an official statement, the second meeting of the panel headed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was held Friday at NITI Aayog.

The meeting followed the deliberations held by Naidu, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya with RBI Governor Urjit Patel, top officials of ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the UIDAI and CMDs of major private and public sector banks on Thursday in Mumbai.

The committee noted that further steps are required to make digital transactions attractive vis-a-vis cash transactions.

The panel said that procedure for simplified Know Your Customer (KYC) using Aadhaar needs to be adopted and also suggested that RBI should allow authentication through iris scanner and One Time Password (OTP) for AEPS and that there should be no charge on AEPS transactions.

"Inter-operability of all pre-paid instruments on the United Payments Interface(UPI) platform along with a common QRCode would greatly simplify transactions," it said.

The panel called for streamlining the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) regime. To popularize digital transactions the committee proposed a detailed review of the MDR regime, inter-linking of various digital payments platforms such as USSD with UPI, self-boarding by small merchants and a common application for UPI.

The committee also considered the issues relating to procurement of equipment like Point of Sales (PoS) machines and Micro-ATMs. It was decided that Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology will prepare a status note on the procurement options for these devices.
Damascus, Dec 11 : The Islamic State militant group has retreated from the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria because of intense airstrikes by Russia and Syria, the media reported on Sunday.

The airstrikes on Saturday targeted several areas near Palmyra in a bid to push back the militants who attempted to attack the city and re-entered it after losing it to the Syrian forces nine months ago, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, a military source said the Syrian forces have thwarted an infiltration attempt by the IS to enter the eastern part of Palmyra.

Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS entered the oasis city on Saturday.

"The IS is in Palmyra for the first time after losing it to the Syrian army, whose forces are collapsing in the city," it said.

The UK-based watchdog group said the IS group succeeded in advancing and reaching the vicinity of the Palmyra hospital after capturing the Amiriyeh suburb in the northern part.

The militants also captured the Tar mountain, close to the Palmyra Citadel, in tandem with shelling the citadel with mortar shells and heavy artillery.

The observatory said intense battles were still raging between the IS militants and the forces in the city.

The IS started its offensive in Palmyra on Thursday, after bringing in hundreds of fighters for taking the city.

The Syrian army is fighting to restore the positions it had lost in Palmyra as a result of the IS attack.

The army captured Palmyra on March 27 this year, after losing the city to the IS last year.

Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

The city has an importance to the IS as it connects areas under the terror group's control in Deir al-Zour with Homs province.

The recapture of Palmyra is also important as the group's fighters in Iraq have started entering Syria recently after suffering great losses in battles against the Iraqi army and the US-anti-terror coalition.
Damascus, Dec 12 : The Islamic State militant group has recaptured Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, just nine months after losing it to the government forces, a monitor group has reported.

Following four days of clashes with the Syrian army, the group on Sunday successfully recaptured the millennia-old oasis city of Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs province, Xinhua news agency quoted the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying.

The city as well as its airbase, ancient part and citadel fell to the Islamic State, said the observatory.

Over 120 Syrian soldiers lost their lives during the offensive and tens of IS militants were also killed.

The Syrian army withdrew to the desert in southern Palmyra, amid intense Russian and Syrian airstrikes on the IS positions there, SANA news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Homs Governor Talal Barazi said the army had withdrawn from the city.

The IS started its offensive on Palmyra on Thursday, after bringing in around 4,000 fighters for retaking the city, SANA reported.

The Syrian army captured Palmyra on March 27 this year, after losing the city to the IS last year.

Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

The city has an importance to the IS as it connects areas under the terror group's control in Deir al-Zour province with the central province of Homs.

The recapture of Palmyra is also important as the group's fighters in Iraq have started entering Syria recently after suffering great losses in battles against the Iraqi army and the US-anti-terror coalition.
Phnom Penh, Dec 12 : Activists on Monday staged protests in the Cambodian capital against Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte who will be here on Tuesday on a two-day visit.

Six masked activists, reportedly Filipinos, gathered in front of the Royal Palace in downtown Phnom Penh and held up placards denouncing Duterte's strict stance on drugs, Efe news reported.

One large sign with red lettering said: "Duterte uphold human rights and rule of law" while another said: "War on poverty, war on hunger not only on drugs".

The flash group took out their signs and placards and two people lay down on the ground before separating and walking away after only about five minutes.

There were, however, no reports of police intervening or passers-by paying any attention.

About 5,900 people in the Philippines have lost their lives in police operations or through vigilante activities against drug dealers since the former mayor took the presidential office on June 30.

However, Duterte still enjoys high popularity as a Pulse Asia poll conducted in October showed that 86 per cent of Filipinos trust him.
Belgrade, Dec 13 : The US proposal for implementing a ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo is not acceptable to Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here on Monday.

Russia, which is assisting the Syrian government's offensive to expel rebels from East Aleppo, thinks it is necessary to define in advance the corridors to be used by the rebels in leaving the besieged city, EFE news quoted Lavrov as saying in Serbian capital.

"We can coordinate this with Americans very quickly. We undertake commitments to guarantee that these corridors won't be attacked by Syrian armed forces, while Americans undertake commitments together with their regional allies to get militants' consent to leave eastern Aleppo via these safe corridors," he said.

But the US, after initially endorsing the Russian plan, subsequently insisted on implementing the truce immediately without prior coordination, the Foreign Minister said.

"We have already gone through this. This will mean that militants will once again get a respite," Lavrov said.

"I hope they will stop sparing gunmen, that the United States as a serious power will use its influence on militants and on those who control gunmen apart from Washington, and that we will finally be able to solve this problem, honestly and caring first of all for the civilian population," he added.

Lavrov travelled to Belgrade for bilateral talks with the Serbian government and for a meeting on Tuesday of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council.
Canberra, Dec 13 : The Australian government remains committed to the contentious Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme despite criticism from US President-elect Donald Trump, the nation's Defence Industries Minister Christopher Pyne said on Tuesday.

Australia has invested heavily in the F-35 JSF programme, with two of the fighter jets currently on order with 16 options likely to be taken up over the next three years at $90 million apiece, Xinhua news agency reported.

Overnight, President-elect Trump criticised the Lockheed Martin-led project, describing its costs and delays as "out of control".

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after (my inauguration on) Jan. 20th, 2017," Trump posted to social media.

But Pyne, who oversees Australia's delivery of defence projects, said the Australian government was committed to seeing the F-35 JSF project through to the end even if Trump wants to scrap the plan in the United States.

"Whether it has been efficiently managed from the United States' point of view in terms of their costs and delays is really a matter for them ... it's perfectly fine for (Trump) to have that opinion," Pyne told the Australian press.

"How he wants to manage the actual delivery of the programme is a matter for him and for his incoming administration."

Pyne added he would be surprised if Trump decided to scrap the plan entirely, considering a "great deal of money has been invested in it".

The F-35 JSF programme has been widely criticised since its inception. Some experts have said early designs had critical flaws, while it has also been described as being billions of US dollars over-budget and years behind schedule.
Manila, Dec 13 : There have been 5,927 deaths linked to the "war on drugs" in the Philippines since July 1 according to statistics released by its national police.

President Rodrigo Duterte who assumed office in May on a platform of cracking down on crime, particularly illegal drugs, came down heavily on drug cartels, reported CNN on Tuesday.

Since taking office, his police force has waged a bloody war on drug dealers and users, resulting in the deaths of thousands of suspects at the hands of police and vigilantes.

The figures released by the Philippine National Police on Monday span the period from July 1 to December 12.

Of the total, 2,086 were killed in police operations and 3,841 in extrajudicial or vigilante-style killings. More than 40,000 suspects have been arrested.

Although, Washington was critical of the handling of drug dealers, but on December 3, President-elect Donald Trump told the Duterte that he was going about his fight against drugs "the right way," according to Duterte.

The Police force also said that since July, more than five million houses were visited as part of an anti-drug campaign.
New York, Dec 13 : At around 66-year-old, the world's oldest known seabird is expecting, again.

The Laysan albatross called Wisdom is incubating an egg at the same nesting the seabird and her mate use each year, Xinhua news agency quoted Amy Olliffe, an official with the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Hawaiian archipelago, as saying on Monday.

The refuge's oldest resident is also the world's oldest known breeding bird in the wild, Olliffe said.

Wisdom, spotted by biologists earlier this month, has successfully raised and fledged at least nine chicks since 2006. She has travelled an estimated three million miles in her lifetime.

Laysan albatross do not lay eggs every year and when they do they raise only one chick at a time, the contribution of even one bird to the population makes a difference, biologists said.

Midway Atoll is home to the world's largest colony of albatross. Nearly 70 per cent of the world's Laysan Albatross and almost 40 per cent of Black-footed Albatross as well as endangered Short-tailed Albatross all rely on the Refuge.

Albatross start to arrive to return from sea to breed in late October and by the end of November nearly every available nesting space on the atoll is claimed by a breeding pair.

There are 20 different birds species that rely on Midway Atoll, in addition to the over one million albatross. In total, over three million individual birds call the refuge home.
Patna, Dec 13 : Work is set to start soon to build what could well be the world's largest Hindu temple -- in Bihar.

Those behind the idea say no more hurdles are left for the construction to begin after Holi festival next year, now that the original plan was modified following objections from the Cambodian government.

"We modified our original plan after Cambodia raised objection to our Viraat Ramayan Mandir, saying it is a replica of Angkor Wat," Acharya Kishore Kunal of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust told IANS.

"We are set to start work after Holi, which will be an auspicious time," he said.

A former Indian Police Service officer, Kunal said the design or architecture of the proposed temple will have nothing to do with Angkor Wat, visited by millions every year.

The Cambodian temple complex was built in the 12th century during king Suryavarman's rule and is now a Unesco World Heritage site.

The proposed temple will come up over 165 acres at Janki Nagar near Kesaria in West Champaran district, about 150 km from Patna. It will cost over Rs 200 crore in the first phase.

That is when the Ramayan Mandir and a Shiv and Mahavir temple each would be built.

Its main attraction will be its 405-feet-high octangular spires. It will be taller than the Angkor Wat temple, which is 215 feet high. The complex will comprise 18 temples.

It will have a Shiva Linga, 44 feet tall and 33 feet in circumference -- proposed to be the tallest in the world.

Kunal said when work on the temple was to start last year, the Cambodian government raised objections with New Delhi, saying it was a copy of Angkor Wat.

Kunal and his team then re-exmained their plan. The modified plan was sent to Phnom Penh last year and again early this year through the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Cambodian embassy in New Delhi reportedly indicated that in case of any objection, it will suggest modifications.

"I have been informed by our government that there is no response from the Cambodian embassy," Kunal said. "So, a decision has been taken to start the construction work."

He said the temple design has been influenced by over a dozen famous temples in India and abroad, particularly Thailand and Indonesia.

Many Muslims have provided land at a nominal rate for the temple. "Without their help, it would have been difficult to take up this dream project," Kunal said.

The temple would have a seating capacity of 20,000 in a hall facing the main temple having the idols of Rama, Sita, Luv and Kush.

L&T, India's leading construction company, will build the temple.

(Imran Khan can cbe contacted at imran.k@ians.in)
Lucknow, Dec 13 : Two policemen were shot at and critically injured by unknown assailants in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh early on Tuesday.

Uma Shankar and Arvind were on night patrol when shot at by assailants in Sikandra rao, said a police official.

One policeman sustained a bullet injury in the head while the other was shot in one of his arms.

Both of them are undergoing treatment at the trauma centre here.

According to the official, the policemen had detained two persons on suspicion of being cattle smugglers and were taking them to the police station when their accomplices apparently shot at them.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed a a daily newspaper for "planting" story about his alleged involvement in a power project and said if they visit Arunachal Pradesh they will be "thrashed with shoes".

"It is a planted story. And if they shall come to Arunachal Pradesh they would be thrashed with shoes," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told reporters here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's comment came after a newspaper claimed that he has written letters to clear payments of the contractors in the construction of two dams for the 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Does serving people means corruption," Rijiju asked.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju for his alleged involvement in an Arunachal Pradesh hydro project scam.

Surjewala said: "The minister has no right to remain on his post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who talks of transparency and honesty, should get this (Rijiju's involvement in scam) investigated by an independent agency.

"Till that time, the Prime Minister should either dismiss the Minister of State or ask for his resignation."

Surjewala also demanded an investigation against all the senior officials associated with the project.

Rijiju on Tuesday slammed a daily newspaper for "planting" a story about his alleged involvement in a power project and said if they visit Arunachal Pradesh, they will be "thrashed with shoes".

The newspaper claimed that he had written letters to clear payments of the contractors in the construction of two dams for the 600MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday slammed the Congress for calling demonetisation the "biggest scam", and ridiculed it for not taking any steps against corruption in its decade- long rule till 2014.

"There were two striking features of the two Congress regimes. No steps against corruption or black money; and corruption, scams peaked during UPA regime.

"It is not surprising that Congress is uncomfortable with NDA campaign against black money," Jaitley told media persons here.

Jaitley also urged the opposition parties to join the campaign against black money, and assured them of a debate on the issue in Parliament.

"Urge my opposition friends, we are ready to debate this issue in Parliament. Please rise above slogans and join this campaign," he said.

Earlier, Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that demonetisation was "the biggest scam of the year" and demanded an investigation into how some people were managing to get bundles of new Rs 2,000 notes while the masses struggled to withdraw even one Rs 2,000 note.
Moscow, Dec 13 : A new Islamic State attack on Palmyra in Syria from the besieged Mosul region of Iraq could be "orchestrated" to divert the attention of Syrian government forces from Aleppo and spare the militants entrenched in the city, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

The fact that the Islamic State militants launched their offensive on Palmyra from Iraq and "apparently from Mosul" and marched through the "territories patrolled by the aircraft of the US-led coalition makes one think that -- and I really hope to be wrong here -- that it was orchestrated and coordinated to give a respite to those thugs, who are entrenched in eastern Aleppo," the Foreign Minister was cited by RT news as saying.

Lavrov went on to say that the US has been conducting a two-faced policy towards terrorist groups in Syria from the very beginning of the Syrian crisis. The US-led coalition is fighting the slamic State but was studiously avoiding targeting another terrorist group, which is Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, he said.

"There is a significant number of reasons to believe that (Al-Nusra) was being spared as the most effective combat-capable force, which opposes the governmental (forces) of the ground in order to be used for overthrowing the legitimate Syrian government when the time comes," Lavrov told journalists.

At the same time, he said Russia is still ready to guarantee that the corridors allowing the militants to leave Aleppo will not be targeted by the Syrian government forces and once again asked the US to persuade the armed groups to leave the city.

"Those who want to be the part of the reconciliation process should immediately join the ceasefire regime, as all the others would be regarded as legitimate targets," the Minister said, referring to the armed groups fighting the government forces in Syria.

He also expressed hope that the US will stop "exonerate" the militants and will confirm its commitment to the "fundamental agreement" on "uncompromising struggle against terrorism." At the same time, he admitted that the talks between Russia and the US on Syria were difficult.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Union Ministry of Rural Development may ask for additional funds for the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA if there is a hike in the demands for works, an official said on Tuesday.

"The government sanctioned around Rs 38,500 crore for the current financial year. In the first budgetary supplement, an additional Rs 5,000 crore was released in the month of November and Rs 4,000 is likely to be allocated as the second supplement for the scheme," an official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

This is the highest-ever allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGA).

State governments contribute around 25 per cent for the material expenses of the scheme. The central government's share in the scheme is around 90 per cent. On an average, the total contribution of all the state governments to the scheme is around Rs 4,000 crore.

On the issue of decline in demand and allocation of work under the scheme in the past two months, the official said: "These months being the agricultural sowing season, we generally see a drop in the demands across the nation."

"In comparison to last year, which was a drought year, this year we had good monsoon, creating more agricultural jobs."

"We have increased the labour budget for the states like Karnataka, which is facing drought for the the third consecutive year. In addition, some states, including Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where small pockets of a few districts are facing drought-like conditions, will also get additional budget."

There has been a steady decline in the month-wise household demand for the scheme since September this year.

"Till today Rs 40,000 crore, including Rs 12,651 crore carried forward from the last financial year, have been released," said the official.

He added: "In the last 10 days, we have released around Rs 3,000 crore and with this we are left with around Rs 7,000-6,000 crore for the rest of the financial year."

The ministry on Tuesday released funds to the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Mizoram for the works to be executed by the month of January, the official added.

In this financial year, the scheme carries wage liability to the tune of Rs 410 crore from the last financial year.
Mumbai, Dec 13 : Garuda Indonesia on Tuesday launched its first direct flight with India, from Jakarta to Mumbai, to serve as the national carrier's first gateway to the region, a top official said here.

Garuda President and CEO Arif Wibowo said that thrice-weekly service would be operated via Bangkok every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to boost economic, social, cultural and tourism partnerships between the two countries.

"India is an important market for Indonesia and Garuda's flights on the Jakarta-Mumbai route will establish an important direct link between the two countries. It will help forge an even more solid bridge to enhance future partnerships between the two nations, both Asian new economic powerhouses," he said.

Presently, Indonesia is one of the largest markets to India with around 350,000 people travelling both on business and leisure.

Its Mumbai service will be operated by a Boeing 738 with two-class cabin configuration in 12 business class and 144 in economy class seats.

The flights GA-862 will depart Jakarta on all Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12.55 p.m. and arrive Mumbai at 8.30 p.m. after a brief halt at Bangkok.

On its return journey, GA-861 will depart Mumbai the same evening at 11.20 p.m. and arrive Jakarta the following day at 10.05 a.m. after a brief halt at Bangkok.
Imphal : Imphal Dec 13 (IANS) Unidentified gunmen shot and wounded two drivers carrying goods to the state capital along NH 37 on Monday night.

It is one of the two highways where an economic blockade was imposed by the United Naga Council from November 1 protesting against the state government's plan to create two new districts -- Jiribam and Sadar Hills.

Over 1,030 trucks and oil tankers were being escorted from Jiribam, adjacent to Assam, towards Imphal on Monday.

Some gunmen opened fire at a truck bringing rice at Sheijang in Tamenglong district. Driver S. Rahman was injured in the incident.

In another incident, other gunmen shot and wounded another driver K. Ibomcha near Awang Khul in the same district.

The injured drivers said that though they had informed police and paramilitary personnel of the gun attack, no search operation was conducted.

Another driver said: "Whenever there are blockades, there have been gun attacks and torching of trucks in these areas."

Anil, President of the All Manipur Transporters and Drivers Union, said: "There should be adequate security coverage for the drivers."

On three occasions, the Manipur High Court has directed the state government to provide adequate security so that there is free movement on the two highways.
Bhopal, Dec 13 : Slamming Narendra Modi over demonetisation, former MP and All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) Vice President Subhashini Ali said the Prime Minister is "guilty of picking women's pockets".

In the ongoing 11th national conference of AIDWA here, Ali spoke to IANS on the central government's demonetisation move. "Women are most affected by demonetisation," she said.

"It took many days for women to change their 'emergency savings' which were in spiked notes to new. Those who don't have bank accounts are still thinking over what needs to be done with old notes," she added.

On being asked to highlight the difference between Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh, Ali said: "Both have same economic policies and none is better. Both's policies are pro-US."
Guwahati, Dec 13 : In a bid to intensify surveillance and security along the India-Bangladesh Border, the Assam government has decided to raise four new battalions of border police.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said this on Tuesday after reviewing the law and order situation with top Home department officials.

The Chief Minister said the four proposed battalions will form the second line of vigil and patrolling along the India-Bangladesh border and will assist the Border Security Force (BSF), which has been guarding the International Border so far.

Sonowal directed the department officials to work towards the immediate steps to raise the four battalions and said that these battalions will be deployed in four districts namely Cachar, South Salmara-Mancachar, Karimganj and Dhubri, which has international border with Bangladesh.

Sonowal said the Commandants of these four battalions will also be acting as Superintendents of Border Police in their concerned districts.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the activities of 120 watch towers located along the India-Bangladesh border and asked the officials to take steps to modernise these towers for better surveillance.

Sonowal also asked the Home Department to issue directive to the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police to put in efforts to prevent any fresh bid of illegal encroachment in the char (river sandbars) areas.

He said that the concerned district SP or the DC must undertake regular inspection tours to the char areas.
Hyderabad, Dec 13 : A special court on Tuesday held five operatives of banned Indian Mujahideen including a Pakistani national guilty in the 2013 twin bomb blasts case.

Pronouncing the judgement, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court fixed December 19 for announcing the quantum of punishment.

Those found guilty include one of the IM's founders, Yaseen Bhatkal alias Ahmed Siddibappa Zaraar, brother of Riyaz Bhatkal, the brain behind the blasts.

Riyaz, a resident of Karnataka's Bhatkal town, is suspected to be hiding in Pakistan and NIA has already issued Interpol Red Corner notice for him.

Zia ur Rehman alias Waqas, a resident of Mustafabad of Pakistan's Punjab province is among the convicted.

Others found guilty are Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi of Uttar Pradesh, Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu of Bihar, and Aizaz Saeed Shaik alias Aijaz Shaikh of Maharashtra.

"This is the first case in which any operative of the Indian Mujahideen have been convicted," the NIA said in a statement.

All five have been convicted for offences including waging war against nation, criminal conspiracy and murder.

The twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar area in Hyderabad on February 21, 2013, killed 18 persons, including one unborn child in mother's womb, and injured 131 others.

The NIA, which probed the case, arrested Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar from India-Nepal border in August 2013. Tahseen Akhtar and Rehman were arrested by Delhi Police from Rajasthan in March 2014. Shaikh was arrested subsequently.

The investigating agency filed three charge sheets in the case. Charges were framed against the five accused on July 16, 2015 and the trial commenced on August 24 the same year.

The trial had been going on in the special court at Cherlapally Central Prison on the city outskirts where the five accused are currently lodged.

The NIA said during the trial, the prosecution examined a total of 157 witnesses. A total 486 exhibits and 173 material objects were marked during the trial as evidence.

The twin blasts occurred within a distance of 100 metres at crowded places in shopping area Dilsukhnagar on the evening of February 21, 2013.
Bengaluru, Dec 13 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested seven touts in Karnataka for laundering an amount of Rs.91.94 lakh through banks for new notes, said an official on Tuesday.

"Among the accused is G. Prashanth, brother-in-law of S.C. Jayachandra, an engineer of the state Public Works Department, who was arrested on December 5 in Bengaluru for stashing Rs.6 crore in new currency and 7kg gold in his house," the ED official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

The ED registered a case against all the accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after Jayachandra revealed modus operandi of the touts in converting the demonetised notes into new currency notes.

"Based on Jayachandra's revelations during investigation into fraudulent exchange of demonetised notes into newly introduced currencies, we registered the case against him and the touts," said the official.

Referring to the organised network of supplying new currency notes in exchange of old currency, the official said the commission for laundering the money was 20-35 per cent since the note ban on November 8.

"The accused had supplied new currency to Jayachandra through Prashanth on earlier occasions and fell into our trap while making efforts to supply new notes on December 4 after sourcing them from other parts of the state," the official noted.

The accused used to cultivate householders operating savings bank accounts and entitled to draw Rs 24,000 per week to exchange the demonetised notes for a consideration.

"The modus operandi was to make the account holders to deposit the old notes and withdraw the new notes for 25 per cent commission," pointed out the official.

The other means of laundering was to use collection agents of micro finance institutions to withdraw fresh currency notes from self-help groups but deposit old notes in their accounts as they have an RBI exemption.

"The accused have also misused current account holders who are allowed to withdraw Rs 50,000 per week by the RBI," said the official.
Panaji, Dec 13 : Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said he was not aware of media reports that claimed the Prime Minister's Office was trying to influence the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) regarding the state alliance.

"There are four variables. I am not aware. I am not aware of any of the four variables... the PMO is a variable which is not in my control. The fourth is IB. All four are not in contact with me. So I do not know," Parrikar said.

He was asked to comment on Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party leader Deepak Dhavalikar's claim that Intelligence Bureau officials had met him recently with a brief from the Prime Minister's Office.

Dhavalikar was one of the two MGP ministers unceremoniously dropped from the state Cabinet late on Monday.

The Congress on Monday alleged that government agencies like the Intelligence Bureau were being misused by the central and state governments to pressurise the MGP leaders to stay put with the ruling alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bhubaneswar, Dec 13 : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday asked Reserve Bank of India and other banks to provide adequate Rs 500 and Rs 100 denominations in rural areas to facilitate agricultural activities in the state.

The Chief Minister also directed the Chief Secretary to review the demonetisation impact on agriculture and on people in rural areas at regular intervals and take steps accordingly.

Patnaik took a review meeting on demonetisation impact through videoconferencing with district collectors of Ganjam, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Balangir.

He said he would draw the attention of the central government to take remedial measures to overcome the situation in rural areas so that farmers would not suffer due to the demonetisation move, and asked the district collectors to provide drought assistance to the affected farmers by December 17.

The state government has already distributed Rs 72 crore to the drought-affected farmers in the state.

He also directed the collectors to ensure that the farmers would participate in the paddy procurement process.

The Chief Minister directed to distribute crop insurance to farmers by December 20.
Ahmedabad, Dec 13 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has extended support to the reservation stir of the Patels in Gujarat and agreed to attend a gathering of the community in the Saurashtra region on January 28, Patel community leader Hardik Patel said on Tuesday.

Nitish Kumar has expressed total support for extending reservation to the Patels just like the Marathas in Maharashtra, Gujjars in Rajasthan and Jats in Haryana, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener Hardik Patel told local television channels from Patna.

Hardik, who is spearheading the Patels' quota agitation, is currently living in Udaipur in Rajasthan as per a Gujarat High Court order.

He had sought permission to visit Haridwar in Uttar Pradesh for a fortnight. After the High Court granted permission, Hardik landed in Patna to call on the Bihar Chief Minister.

Hardik's six-month exile from Gujarat is due to expire next month. PAAS has planned a "grand re-entry" of the young convener by organising a major function of the community in Saurashtra, the Patel stronghold in the state.

Reports reaching here said Nitish Kumar accorded the state guest status on Hardik Patel in Patna, where he was allocated a ministerial car with a red beacon and police escorts during his stay in the Bihar capital.

Patel said Nitish Kumar, who also belonged to the Kurmi caste that is similar to Patels in Gujarat, had always favoured reservation for the underprivileged groups like the Patels and promised to stand by them during their agitation against the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to visit the state on December 21 to address a gathering of the Patels in Mehsana in north Gujarat.

The reservation stir by the Patels started from Mehsana last year and spread to other parts of the state.

Riding on the anti-BJP wave among the Patels, the Congress captured both the Mehsana district and taluka panchayats in the elections held last year.

The visits of both Rahul Gandhi and Nitish Kumar to address the Patels and the threat of the PAAS to re-launch the reservation agitation with a new vigour once Hardik Patel returned from his exile are certain to unnerve the BJP government in the state.

The state goes to elect a new legislative assembly by the end of the next year.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, India and Indonesia have sought to elevate the bilateral relationship to a New Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, according to the Vision Document 2025, the details of which were released by the Ministry of External Affairs here on Tuesday.

"Together, our two nations comprise one-fifth of humanity, with a combined GDP of more than $3 trillion, and form two of Asia's largest nations and the world's fast growing emerging economies," the document says.

It stated that in the 20th century, India and Indonesia were among the first nations to declare independence after World War II, initiated the Afro-Asian and Non-Aligned Movements, and actively promoted multilateralism, decolonisation, disarmament and North-South dialogue as well as South-South cooperation.

"In no small measure, these achievements helped shape the world order," the document said.

Indonesia is among the largest of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional grouping, which is the focus of New Delhi's Act East Policy.

The bid to elevate this relationship is significant following India elevating its relationship with another Southeast Asian nation, Vietnam, "Strategic Partnership" to "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership", during Modi's visit there in September this year.

"In the 21st century, as they anticipate an uncertain world filled with promise and peril, it is high time for India and Indonesia to elevate their relations to a New Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," the Vision Document said.

"This partnership must be robust, forward-looking and multi-sectoral. The partnership must also carry significant impact, both to their bilateral cooperation and the regional order, commensurate with the strategic weight of India and Indonesia."

The Document said that "the elevated partnership must build upon the long history of diplomatic, political, economic,and socio-cultural relations that have been cultivated over decades and centuries, but, more importantly, it must also seize the boundless opportunities, live up to the enormous economic potential each has to offer, add value to their national development, and contribute to regional stability and world peace".

"By 2025, this elevated Partnership shall evolve with significant breadth and depth, particularly in the five major areas of cooperation set forth in 2013: strategic engagement, defence and security cooperation, comprehensive economic partnership, cultural and people to people links, and cooperation in responding to common challenges," it stated.

"By 2025, the Partnership shall contribute to a more durable Asian order, marked by peaceful relations among the major powers, win-win cooperation involving all the countries in the region, open regionalism, resolution and/or reduction of conflicts, and the prevalence of strategic trust."

Widodo's was the first presidential visit from Indonesia to India in nearly six years since the visit of then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in January 2011.
Paris, Dec 14 : France's newly-appointed Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Tuesday won the National Assembly's confidence vote with a large majority, according to the lower house of parliament.

Cazeneuve won the backing of 305 lawmakers to head the Socialist Party (PS) cabinet, while 239 voted against him, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I know that this mission will be brief but I want to exercise it fully. I want to continue reforming to pursue our country's recovery," he said.

Addressing the National Assembly before the confidence vote, Cazeneuve pledged "to make every day count" with "competitiveness, growth ...fighting unemployment will obviously remain the government priorities".

"We can reform without injuring. We can modernise without destroying," he told lawmakers, referring to the conservative candidate for presidential election Francois Fillon's proposal to slash 500,000 public posts and limit public health insurance.

A week ago, French President Francois Hollande named Cazeneuve as the head of his executive staff until a new head of state is elected next May.

The government's minor reshuffle was prompted by the resignation of former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who announced he was stepping down in order to prepare for the 2017 presidential election.
John Frost, joins Integro as Vice President, Strategic Accounts We are thrilled to welcome John Frost to our growing team of information governance professionals

Integro, an award-winning consultancy specializing in Information Governance solutions and products, announced that John Frost has joined the firm as Vice President, Strategic Accounts.

Frost has worked for more than twenty-five years in the field of records and information management and governance as a practitioner, consultant and respected advisor for Fortune 500 companies and government entities. Frost is a Certified Records Manager (CRM) and is globally recognized as an expert in content management, content analytics, information governance, and related technologies.

We are thrilled to welcome John Frost to our growing team of information governance professionals, said Scott Burt, President and CEO of Integro. John will be a tremendous asset as we continue our dedication to delighting clients with high value information governance solutions that solve myriad information challenges, from minimizing risk to improving decision-making. We look forward to sharing his deep industry expertise with Integro clients and partners alike.

Frost has contributed widely to the field, and in September 2016, was inducted into the ARMA International (http://www.arma.org) Company of Fellows as Fellow Number 52. Frost received this prestigious award for his dedication to the advancement and achievements in the information governance profession. He has contributed to the creation of ARMA's Records and Information Management Core Competencies and the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles, in addition to working with international governments regarding records and information management principles and best practices.

Prior to taking on his role at Integro, Mr. Frost was Vice President of Sales and Client Success at Neocol, Inc. He served as a member of the board, president-elect, president, and chair of the board of ARMA International from 2001-2010. He also served in ARMA chapter and region leadership positions, and in information governance capacities with IBM, FileNet, Johnson & Johnson Medical, American Airlines, the Miss Universe Organization and the City of Shreveport, Louisiana.

About Integro

Integro is an award winning, industry recognized products and services firm specializing in Information Governance, Enterprise Content Management, and Content Security solutions. Since 1995, Integro has been delighting clients with technology solutions that support defensible disposal, minimize risk, reduce eDiscovery and storage costs, ensure compliance, govern email records, and enable auto-classification. Integro is proud to be named a Top ECM Consultant by research firm, Clutch, a Cool Vendor by analyst firm, Gartner, and a Worldwide Governance award-winner by IBM. Learn more at http://www.Integro.com.
Smart Clinic presented their new education-driven patient engagement application at the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs Launch Pad: Pathways to Cancer InnoVAtion event, highlighting its ability to educate patients about their condition and provide ongoing support, while walking them through treatment, resulting in better outcomes. The Launch Pad event, in support of the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative, brought together the top minds in the healthcare and medical research community with the goal of eradicating cancer, improving discovery and treatment technologies, and advancing the lives of those suffering from the disease.

Its great to see the changes happening at the VA including their renewed focus on patients as individuals, not just part of a group, stated Robert Backie, CEO of Smart Clinic. Cancer among our vets is a huge problem. Many of them have fought military battles and now must fight a personal one. The opportunity for us to be part of the engagement solution is one of the most important things we can do.

Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald discussed the VA initiative to focus on prevention and effective treatment of several cancers affecting veterans, including colon and prostate cancer. Michael Milken, founder and chairman of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, spoke on the importance of rethinking our approach to research into and management of prostate cancer.

Mike Milken has begun the process of disrupting the way we do prostate cancer research, says Paul Berggreen, Founder of Smart Clinic. "We're doing the same thing with doctor patient-communication. Smart Clinic was designed to enhance the patient engagement and education level while fitting seamlessly into office workflow. Thats the type of non-intrusive change that doctors can embrace.
Chris Montgomery with Brigadier General Porter at the Veteran's Day Parade in Mobile, Alabama Veteran suicide has got to stop, explained Chris Montgomery. I have joined Veterans Recovery Resources because I want to do anything that I can to help prevent further tragedies from happening to guys like me who have served our country.

We are pleased to announce that Chris Montgomery, a local business owner, triathlete and veteran joined the Advisory Board of Veterans Recovery Resources on the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Veterans Recovery Resources is a first-of-its-kind public charity designed for veterans, by veterans, and intended to innovate the way we treat veteran addiction recovery issues, regardless of a veterans ability to pay.

December 7 is a sacred holiday for Chris in reverence to the greatest generation. His grandfather served as a Marine and stormed the beaches at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. But December 7 is also a major milestone in his own life that Chris calls "Alive Day." Chris is a retired Corporal in the U.S. Marines with almost six years of service, including three combat tours in Afghanistan. During his last tour, Chris was almost killed by an IED while serving with the 3/5 Dark Horse Marine Battalion resulting in the loss of both legs, severe damage to one arm and injuries to his abdomen, sight and hearing. After his unplanned return home from a job he loved and recovery from his extensive injuries, Chris became an IronMan triathlete, CrossFit enthusiast and successful business owner.

The journey Chris has traveled is inspirational to many, but it is not without its real struggles. The worst has been losing fellow veteran friends. Four members in the Marine Company in which Chris served have committed suicide, leaving a void that cannot be filled.

Veteran suicide has got to stop, explained Chris Montgomery. I have joined Veterans Recovery Resources because I want to do anything that I can to help prevent further tragedies from happening to guys like me who have served our country.

Some estimated 5-million veterans are living on the Gulf Coast, the second highest in the U.S. One veteran in four suffers from severe mental health issues, often turning to drugs, alcohol, and even suicide to end their pain. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 414,079 people live in Mobile County. Of those, 10 percent have served in the military, per SHARE Southwest Alabama suggesting that roughly 10,350 veterans with mental health issues need support in Mobile County alone. The goal of Veterans Recovery Resources is to create another place they can turn before its too late.

Veterans risk their lives to defend our freedom every day. Unfortunately, when they come home, their battle can be worse, said John F. Kilpatrick, Veterans Recovery Resources, Founder & Executive Director. We are honored to have Chris on our team as a Veteran Advisor. I know his contributions will help our mission of removing the barriers to mental health care for all veterans.

Veterans Recovery Resources has launched its $1.5 million capital campaign geared towards individuals wishing to support the cause, as well as local community foundations and businesses.

In the meantime, Chris has a message for other veterans: Im here to tell you that there can be something more. You can have a life again. Im living proof.

For more information about Veterans Recovery Resources, as well as fundraising opportunities, visit http://www.VetsRecover.org or call 866-648-7334.
PKF OConnor Davies, LLP, the nations 26th largest accounting and advisory firm, announced today that 16 professionals from Scialo, Reimann & Varley CPA, PC (SRV CPA), including three partners, will join the Firm effective Jan. 1, 2017. These professionals bring significant expertise in key industry sectors including real estate, broker dealers and manufacturing. The new hires are the latest sign of the Firms ongoing growth, adding more than 160 professionals in the last two years alone.

We are thrilled to welcome each of these new members to the PKF OConnor Davies team, said Kevin J. Keane, Managing Partner. We continually look to add to the depth of expertise in key specialty areas so that we can meet the changing demands of our clients and maintain our position as a valued business partner. These new professionals bring a tremendous level of ability and experience, and theyre also a great culture fit. This is an exciting day for our firm, these professionals and, most importantly, our clients.

PKF OConnor Davies strategic growth initiative is centered on the identification of expanding client verticals and areas of growth in client service needs. The Firms ongoing expansion has included a series of recent mergers and acquisitions in the Northeast and Washington, D.C. area.

Joining forces with PKF OConnor Davies was a natural move, said Joseph Scialo, Partner and President of SRV CPA. We share a commitment to providing the highest levels of client service and now, as a part of PKF OConnor Davies, we are able to bring that dedication to a larger and more diverse group of clients.

The depth and breadth of the PKF OConnor Davies offerings are unparalleled in the industry, added Brian Varley, Partner at SRV CPA. We are confident that we will enhance the Firms well-known proficiencies and together continue to set the pace for the industry.

About PKF OConnor Davies, LLP

PKF OConnor Davies, LLP is a full service Certified Public Accounting and advisory firm with a long history of serving clients both domestically and internationally. With roots tracing to 1891, 10 offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, and more than 600 professionals, led by over 100 partners, the Firm provides a complete range of accounting, auditing, tax and management advisory services.

PKF OConnor Davies is ranked number 26 in Accounting Todays 2016 Top 100 Firms list and the Firm is also recognized as a Leader in Audit and Accounting, a Pacesetter in Growth and one of the Top Firms in the Mid-Atlantic. PKF OConnor Davies is ranked number 29 in INSIDE Public Accountings 2015 Top 100 Firms list and recognized as one of the Top Ten Fastest-Growing Firms." In 2016, PKF O'Connor Davies was named one of Vault's Accounting 50, a ranking of the 50 best accounting employers to work for in North America, and ranked among the top 50 most prestigious accounting firms in America in a complementary Vault survey. The Firm is the 11th largest accounting firm in the New York Metropolitan area, according to Crains New York Business, and was named the 10th top accounting firm in New Jersey according to NJBizs 2016 rankings.

By consistently delivering proactive, thorough and efficient service, PKF O'Connor Davies has built long-lasting, valuable relationships with its clients. Partners are intimately involved in the day-to-day management of engagements, ensuring a high degree of client service and cost effectiveness. The Firms seasoned professional staff members employ a team approach to all engagements to provide clients with the utmost quality and timely services aimed at helping them succeed. Continuity of staffing and attention to detail in all client engagements make the Firm stand out among its competitors.

PKF OConnor Davies is the lead North American representative of the international association of PKF member firms. PKF International is a network of legally independent member firms providing accounting and business advisory services in 440 locations in 150 countries around the world. With its tradition, experience and focus on the future, PKF OConnor Davies is ready to help clients meet todays ever-changing economic conditions and manage the growing complexities of the regulatory environment. For more information, visit http://www.PKFOD.com.
San Rafael precision instrument manufacturer Berkeley Nucleonics has announced the next generation of handheld radiation detection tools for first responders, government, environmental safety and anyone requiring a ruggedized radiation detector.

The Model SAM 950 boasts a touch screen, PDA operable, water and shock resistant ruggedized shell and a one click reach-back service supported by FEMA. It has a wide range of applications from Homeland Security to Hazmat and Environmental Waste Management. The Sam 950 is designed to meet the requirements of ANSI 42.34 criteria for handheld instruments for detection and identification of radionuclides. The SAM 950 is designed to provide state of the art reach-back capabilities rarely seen in the industry. Product Line Manager, Allan Gonzalez, is happy to introduce this new unit to the community. The responder community finally gets a system that provides modern reach-back capabilities in an easy to use device.

By implementing a reach-back feature, the SAM 950 allows users to upload data, readings, video and audio to either a command center or the Radresponder network. Sponsored by FEMA the Radresponder network is a free network for logging, transmitting, storing, analyzing, and presenting environmental radiation monitoring data. With a built in ruggedized speaker system and a 13 MP camera, the 950 is equipped for any situation, allowing the end-user to record, store and replay audio and video at full HD. Berkeley Nucleonics aims to combat obsolescence, and the SAM 950 was designed with this in mind. BNC provides free, automatic software updates, ensuring lifetime value and lowering the overall operations cost as the device does not need to be sent back for repairs.

Berkeley Nucleonics will continue its accredited training programs for the SAM 940 and SAM 945 simultaneously. Our classroom and field exercises are ideal for users new to the radiation detection field or users tasked with developing protocols using a suite of various instruments and technical personnel. Courses are offered on a regional basis and on-site as required by customers.

Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation is a leading manufacturer of precision electronic instrumentation for test, measurement and nuclear research. BNC has its corporate headquarters in San Rafael, California with several additional manufacturing facilities and sales offices located throughout the United States. Founded in 1963, BNC has been a recognized leader in the field of isotope identification and conducts hundreds of short courses on radiation detection and isotope identification for Federal and State agencies.
We have been building the company to serve the international markets of APAC, Europe and Latin America. Now that we have established deep roots in these regions working with top agencies and brands, we are well-positioned for U.S. growth

Eyeota, the global leader for audience data, has opened its first U.S. office in New Yorks Union Square. The expansion follows a successful round of funding earlier this year and will allow the company to widen its footprint in the U.S.

Since we founded Eyeota in 2010, we have been building the company to serve the international markets of APAC, Europe and Latin America. Now that we have established deep roots in these regions working with top agencies and brands, we are well-positioned for U.S. growth, said Kevin Tan, co-founder and CEO, Eyeota. We are very excited to embark on our new chapter and expand our business to the States with the opening of the New York office.

Eyeota provides marketers with access to over three billion unique profiles in Europe, APAC and the Americas. The company currently partners with some of the top agency and trading desks around the globe, including Dentsu Aegis Network, WPP, Neo@Ogilvy, Havas, GroupM, Omnicom Group, iProspect, among others, and serves the data targeting needs of many leading global brands. By working with global leaders in online and offline data, as well as publishers, Eyeota provides a more comprehensive view of audience data and insights.

Eyeota stands at the forefront of audience data and market insights, delivering key analysis to advertisers to improve their engagement with online audiences on a more targeted and personal level, said Russ Fradin, co-founder and CEO of Dynamic Signal. Eyeotas exponential growth in audience data segments and expansion to new markets is a testament to Kevins international expertise and business acumen.

Tan has relocated to New York City from the companys headquarters in Singapore to manage operations and oversee company growth in the States. The Eyeota New York office is primarily comprised of marketing, data analysis, product development, sales and account support staff. Over the course of the next six months, Eyeota plans to double its employee headcount in New York and is seeking candidates for various positions in this region as well as Chicago and key cities in California.

For more information on career opportunities at Eyeota, visit http://www.eyeota.com/careers.

About Eyeota

Eyeota is the global leader for audience data with 3 billion unique profiles in Europe, APAC and the Americas. The company provides marketers with the data they need to reach the right online audiences and cut campaign waste while also enabling publishers to monetize their audiences more widely. Eyeota is a certified member of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), the leading self-regulatory industry association dedicated to responsible data collection and its use for digital advertising, and has received consumer privacy certifications around the world. Eyeota data delivers deep audience insights to help brands understand their customers in a new way - as humans. For more information, http://www.eyeota.com.
BlueStar Gas Range in the 2017 Pantone Color of the Year Use color to create a stunning focal point in your home kitchen with a range and kitchen hood or refrigerator. Continue to customize to your personal taste and cooking preference  from metal trims to the configuration and power of the burners.

BlueStar, manufacturer of high-performance appliances for the home  and a trailblazer in color innovation  is celebrating "Greenery," the just announced 2017 Pantone Color of the Year. Select from an entire suite of kitchen appliances or just give a kitchen a pop of color with green range knobs. Either way, BlueStar gives home chefs even more opportunity to unleash their inner designer and create a truly individual, bespoke kitchen design.

According to Pantone, "Greenery" is natures neutral. It is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when natures greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of "Greenery" signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate. The more submerged people are in modern life, the greater their innate craving to immerse themselves in the physical beauty and inherent unity of the natural world.

BlueStar has been a leader in color customization for nearly a decade, offering its appliances in over 750 colors and finishes, plus custom colors. In addition, BlueStar offers curated groupings of unique finishes to stimulate the design process, including a brand new Matte color collection; its popular Precious Metals featuring copper, enchanted silver and other metallics; as well as the award-winning Textures collection and the gem-inspired Jewel Tones.

Use color to create a stunning focal point in your home kitchen with a range and kitchen hood or refrigerator. Continue to customize to your personal taste and cooking preference  from metal trims to the configuration and power of the burners, said Eliza Sheffield, President, BlueStar.

An interactive website tool, 'Build Your Own BlueStar', allows consumers to customize a new BlueStar range  from the intensity of the burners to the color of the knobs  before buying.

Constructed with commercial-grade stainless steel, all BlueStar products are designed to withstand the rigors of the busiest home kitchens. BlueStar gas ranges provide the home chef with a cooking experience that only can be matched by a restaurant kitchen environment. Its powerful burners provide up to 25,000 BTUs of cooking power for consistent, controlled heat and shortened cooking times. And for delicate soups and sauces, no stove matches BlueStars gentle 130 degree simmer burner. The companys first-ever Built-In Refrigeration Line, featuring top performance and unmatched customization, provides a seriously fresh take on premium food preservation that redefines the art of cooling. The new built-in refrigerator was just recognized as an Honoree in the prestigious Interior Design 2016 Best of the Year Awards.

For information, visit http://www.bluestarcooking.com.

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BlueStar cooking and refrigeration products are designed for discerning home chefs who demand restaurant-quality results in their own kitchens. In business since 1880, the Pennsylvania-based manufacturer specializes in handcrafted gas ranges, cooktops, electric and gas wall ovens and complementary kitchen ventilation hoods and premium, built-in refrigeration. The companys spectrum of highly innovative appliances stays true to an authentic restaurant kitchen experience at home. Available in over 750+ colors and finishes, and with almost infinite configuration possibilities, BlueStar offers unmatched options for customization. For more information, please visit http://www.bluestarcooking.com.
Were excited to launch a loyalty program to engage and reward our customers for multiple interactions on the website. - Ken Hammond, Digital Marketing Director of Yoga Directs parent company, Shockoe Commerce Group.

ShopSocially assists Yoga Direct, one of the yoga industrys premier B2C and B2B suppliers, to launch Yoga Direct Rewards program on its website. Yoga Direct will be using the loyalty program to increase engagement on the website, build brand awareness and boost repeat sales.

Companies have never faced a greater challenge when it comes to customer loyalty. 2016 was the first year that shoppers made more of their purchases online than in traditional stores, according to the United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) annual survey. With customers able to pick and choose between a vast range of global brands, companies that want to beat the competition need to think innovatively about how to reward shoppers for their loyalty and encourage repeat business. That is precisely what Yoga Direct has done by launching a modern day loyalty program with help from ShopSocially.

The Yoga Direct Rewards program will reward points to customers not only for purchases but also for subscribing to Yoga Directs email newsletter, writing a product review, uploading a photograph showing a Yoga Direct product in use and referring Yoga Direct to their family and friends thus facilitating 360 degree customer engagement on its website.

The tiered reward system means that Yoga Direct customers can receive greater rewards based on building up an increasing amount of reward points. The user who is on the basic bronze tier becomes silver once the customer has 2,500 reward points, then gold at 5,500 points and platinum at 17,000 points. At each stage, a point multiplier means that the customer receives additional rewards points (1.2X for silver members, 1.5X for gold and 2X for platinum). Points can be redeemed for vouchers ranging in value from $10 to $250.

Were excited to launch a loyalty program to engage and reward our customers for multiple interactions on the website, commented Ken Hammond, Digital Marketing Director of Yoga Directs parent company, Shockoe Commerce Group. The innovative nature of the program and the tiered rewards are definitely going to be appreciated by our customers. We look forward to enhanced customer loyalty, increased referrals and some great social media coverage as a result of the program.

The ShopSocially loyalty program offers businesses an easy-to-implement solution that seamlessly integrates with their existing website. The program leads to increase in the customer life time value (CLV) by up to 5X, boost in average order value (AOV) and uplift in repeat purchase frequency.

Yoga Direct should look forward to the benefits of the ShopSocially loyalty program, which is designed to boost repeat sales and customer retention, explained Samir Palnitkar, President at ShopSocially. We are delighted to support Yoga Direct by helping them increase customer loyalty through our innovative program.

About Yoga Direct:

Yoga Direct manufactures and distributes mats, blocks, bolsters, yoga balls and similar products from YogaDirect.com and YogaDirect.co.uk. Since 1999, Yoga Direct has supplied customers directly as well as retail stores, YMCAs, fitness centres, etc. and offers great prices and convenience on the online site and has become a premier supplier within the industry.

Yoga Direct is a part of Shockoe Commerce Group of Companies. The Shockoe Commerce Group is a rapidly growing multi-channel retailer. They have multiple brands under their portfolio.

About ShopSocially:

ShopSocially is a SaaS-based, social, referral and loyalty marketing platform that delivers up to 40% more revenue by enabling an increase in new customer acquisition, engagement, conversion rate and retention. More than 500 global brands are using ShopSocially to grow their business via proven strategies such as referral marketing, visual commerce, customer loyalty, social login, social gamification, customer Q&A and more.

ShopSocially platform offers a comprehensive suite of marketing solutions which eliminates the need to implement multiple, inconsistent solutions and delivers a measurable ROI. Our fully managed services option ensures no additional work for your marketing or IT team.

ShopSocially has won several awards and recognition's for its innovative technology. To learn more how ShopSocially can help grow your business, please contact us at (650) 701-7759 or at http://www.ShopSocially.com.
President, William Coulson explained Concerns about effects on patient and physician health, and the environmental impact of toxic chemicals in plastics, have been substantiated in numerous reports."

WilMarc Medical, a premier U.S. manufacturer of PVC-free and DEHP-free fittings, tubing and filters for anesthesia and other medical devices, today announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. With this expansion, the company intends to provide employment to a larger number of people and boost the local economy.

What makes the success of WilMarc Medical particularly significant, is the health care industry trend serving as the catalyst for growth, and the outlook for continued economic success. President, William Coulson explained Concerns about effects on patient and physician health, and the environmental impact of toxic chemicals in plastics, have been substantiated in numerous reports. However, public pressure on hospitals for accountability could be one factor in surging demand for clean and green alternatives.

DEHP and other Phthalates, also known as plasticizers, are commonly found in flexible tubing and other medical products. Studies show these compounds produce a range of toxic effects and health problems, while the chemicals released during production and incineration of PVC raise serious environmental concerns.

As regulatory agencies, hospitals and medical facilities acknowledge the potential harm, they are forming initiatives and joining coalitions to abolish use of these chemicals, and protect patients, health care workers, and the environment from exposure.

In support of this call for reform, WilMarc Medical installed state-of-the-art automated equipment for tubing extrusion for anesthesia breathing circuits and gas sampling lines in their newest Fort Collins plant, and spent the last two years improving product design and composition. Today, their U.S. investment is paying-off; as demand for readily available, cost competitive green solutions continues to swell, they are keeping pace and preparing for more growth.
Matt Howard, CFO, Indiana Limestone Company

Matt Howard, Chief Financial Officer at Indiana Limestone Co., Bloomington, Ind., has been named 2016 CFO of the Year by the Indianapolis Business Journal. The publication selected him as Top Honoree in the category of Private Company, $100 million in revenue or less.

The award recognizes Howards key efforts in support of Indiana Limestones notable turnaround success beginning in 2014. Wynnchurch Capital, a leading middle market private equity firm focused on investments in niche manufacturing, distribution and business service companies, acquired Indiana Limestone in May 2014.

In little over a year, ILCO had doubled its excavation figures and reestablished itself as one of central Indianas leading employers, adding 43 new jobs. Executives at Wynnchurch and Indiana Limestone said Howard was an essential figure in the companys strong growth over the past two-and-a-half years.

"Indiana Limestone Company, in partnership with Wynnchurch, has reasserted the industry leadership it held for many decades, said John Hatherly, Co-Managing Partner at Wynnchurch. Matt's been one of the most important players in that remarkable progress. His judgement, skill and dedication have helped keep ILCO on the strongest possible fiscal footing as it moved ahead to exploit new markets and sharpen product and service offerings to its traditional customer base. I can't think of any financial officer who's more deserving of the honor."

Said Tom Quigley, Indiana Limestone CEO, Were more than proud of Matts accomplishments as our CFO. This award sets the seal on all hes done here. Dynamic management of the finance side of our work was a prime element in achieving what we have here. Weve seen major revenue and earnings growth, and weve established important new business relationships. Matts work was fundamental in making it all happen.

About Wynnchurch Capital, Ltd.

Wynnchurch Capital, Ltd., headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois with offices in Michigan and Toronto, and affiliates in New York City, Los Angeles, and Montreal, Canada, was founded in 1999 and is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurch's strategy is to partner with middle market companies in the United States and Canada that possess the potential for substantial growth and profit improvement. Wynnchurch Capital manages a number of private equity funds with $2.3 billion under capital management and specializes in management buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate carve-outs, restructurings and growth capital. For more information, please visit http://www.wynnchurch.com .

About Indiana Limestone Company

Indiana Limestone Company is unmatched as the premier supplier of Indiana Limestone in a range of beautiful and lasting building products. Founded in 1926 (with predecessor firms that had been quarrying limestone since the mid-1800s), ILCO today remains the provider of choice for this internationally renowned natural stone. Throughout an illustrious history in which its stone has made such iconic structures as the Empire State Building, National Cathedral, and the Pentagon, ILCO has reliably provided the highest quality products and services carefully tailored to the needs of the market with an environmental, natural focus. For more information, please visit http://www.indianalimestonecompany.com.
As a company striving to offer the best technology solutions and customer service we are honoured to be recognised for our progress and growth.

Vizor Software has been named to the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's (DTT) Technology Fast 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), one of the most objective rankings for the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) industries.

Vizor ranked 174th overall in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 2016 programme after being automatically entered in the annual ranking by placing 5th of 50 in the Deloitte Ireland Technology Fast 50 programme in November.

As a company striving to offer the best technology solutions and customer service we are honoured to be recognised for our progress and growth, said Ross Kelly, Joint CEO of Vizor Software. This ranking is recognition for everyone at Vizor who do their best everyday to deliver innovative solutions and services to our clients.

Now in its sixteenth year, the Fast 500 EMEA program was created to recognise the effort and dedication of the 500 fastest growing technology companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). It recognises both public and private companies headquartered in the EMEA that have demonstrated exceptional growth in turnover over the last four years.

The full list of 2016 ranked companies, as well as additional details on the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's (DTT) Technology Fast 500 program, can be accessed at https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/technology-fast-500-emea.html

About Vizor Software

Vizor Software has been the standard for financial regulatory technology since 2000. Leading the way in regulatory supervision software, Vizor Software is trusted by Central Banks and Financial Regulators from around the globe for the collection, validation and analysis of highly complex data from Financial Institutions. Serving the needs of financial regulators in more than 30 countries, Vizor is a trusted partner of large consulting firms and leading XBRL toolset providers. Employing a collaborative, agile approach to implementing regulatory solutions, Vizor simplifies and strengthens financial regulation systems. You can learn more and visit Vizor at http://www.vizorsoftware.com or by following Vizor on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest.
Year Up has had a proven impact on transforming its students lives, helping them to become economic assets and role models in their communities - Melissa Nelson, State Attorney Elect

Celebrating the hard work and determination of its newest graduating class, Year Up Jacksonville announced today that Melissa Nelson will deliver the keynote address at its Class 3 graduation ceremony. Nelson recently was elected state attorney for Floridas 4th Judicial Circuit and takes office Jan. 3.

The graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 15th at 11:00 AM, in the Downtown Auditorium located at Florida State College Jacksonvilles downtown campus at 101 West State Street. The event is open to the public; please RSVP to Richard Naylor at RNaylor@yearup.org.

Were honored to have Melissa address our newest class of graduates, said Robin Tanya Watson, Year Up Jacksonvilles Executive Director. Melissa is a supporter of our work in connecting young adults in need of an opportunity with companies in need of talent, and we look forward to partnering with her to help more young people in Jacksonville enter careers in growing industries.

Year Up has had a proven impact on transforming its students lives, helping them to become economic assets and role models in their communities, said Nelson. I look forward to collaborating with Year Up to explore how the program can serve as an alternative pathway to personal and professional success and growth for non-violent offenders.

Year Up Jacksonville is a nonprofit job-training program that launched in January 2015 in partnership with Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ). Year Up students spend one semester gaining technical and professional skills, followed by a full-time, credit-bearing internship at a top local company. They can then complete their associates degree the following year. Ninety-four percent of Year Up Jacksonvilles Class 3 graduates are either employed or attending college full-time, with average starting salaries of $17.32/hour. Learn more about Year Up Jacksonville by following us on Twitter @YearUpJax and on Facebook.

About Year Up Inc.

Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Year Up achieves this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships and college credits. Its holistic approach focuses on students' professional and personal development to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency. Year Up currently serves more than 3,000 students a year at sites in Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, the National Capital Region, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay Area, and South Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.yearup.org or http://www.youtube.com/yearupinc.
Ocean Front Condo- Mansions of Acqualina The art of selling luxury translates to all sectors of the industry, Elena said, I wanted to create a luxury showcase for my guests with brands that fit well with Mansions of Acqualina lifestyle."

Last night Elena Vertlib from One Sothebys International Realty, hosted an intimate soiree to introduce her multi-million dollar co- listing to a selected group of investors, art collectors and buyers. The highly desired ocean-front residence of the Mansions of Acqualina became a stunning luxury showcase lavished with high-end international art and design.

While touring the 4,609 sq ft condo, the affluent guest-list had the chance to meet the contemporary Cuban-American painter, sculptor, printmaker, and ceramicist, Carlos Luna whose rare and exclusive collection was displayed within the residence. Rooms elegantly styled by LExcellence Designs in Miami Design District featured displays of the exclusive collection of Audemars Piguet Timepieces and Diamonds from Miamis 7th Generation Jeweler, Morays Jewelers.

In the mix, guests indulged in decadent hor doeuvres provided by private chef Isaac Perlman and sipped on first- class Champagne by Pariss BILLECART-SALMON.

During the evening, guests learned about Hadassah Organization through special guest speaker and Hadassah National Founders Chair, Dr. Judith Mann, who spoke about Hadassahs initiatives of advocating health and the medical advances of the medical care and research facility of Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem which is helping many worldwide.

Sponsors for the event were BILLECART-SALMON champagne and Luxury Brand Atelier LLC.
OpenWorks, one of Americas leading integrated facility services franchises, has announced plans to expand into the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan market and offer its full-scale line of facility cleaning and maintenance services to customers in the area.

The company began operations at the beginning of December and will move into its permanent offices in Bloomington after the start of the new year. OpenWorks will be able to serve an extensive territory of businesses within a 50-mile radius from downtown Minneapolis, covering areas such as St. Paul, Minnetonka, Bloomington and western Wisconsin. This will be OpenWorks second regional operation in the Midwest, as they also an office in the Chicago market.

OpenWorks has provided customized cleaning solutions for a wide range of facilities and offices for more than 30 years. OpenWorks uses an environmentally clean green program to provide businesses with a clean, safe work environment. Last year they added additional services such as landscaping, electrical and plumbing to help meet the extensive needs of each facility they serve.

Dominic DArpino has been hired as the areas Regional Director, overseeing the growth and development of the region by creating and maintaining new business and franchise partnerships. DArpino has spent the last eight years in the Minneapolis market, including a five-year stint as National Sales Manager for startup company Neurotech. While at Neurotech, he coordinated the companys business operations, sales and marketing efforts.

OpenWorks currently has one Minneapolis company it is serving, and DArpino is in discussions with several other area businesses. OpenWorks will be able to offer local companies a single point of contact to handle all their facility service needs, including specialty floor care, landscaping, pest control and window cleaning. DArpino said the franchise is a good fit for the Minneapolis market, which has a high concentration of medical facilities and are the types of facilities that frequently utilize OpenWorks services. They can serve a wide range of buildings that also include private office, retail spaces and educational facilities.

DArpino has had initial meetings with prospective franchise owners and anticipates adding at least two by the end of the first quarter of 217. OpenWorks is an attractive option for potential franchisees. The company provides all necessary equipment as part of the franchise fee and handles all sales as well as collections and billing. By having a guaranteed client base and not dealing with sales responsibilities, owners can focus on facility service and meeting the needs of their customers. DArpino is currently in the process of hiring two account executive staff members for the Minnesota office to handle all sales responsibilities.

Minnesota is a growing market with a large amount of companies that can benefit from the wide range of services OpenWorks is able to provide to clean and maintain their facilities, said DArpino. Similarly, OpenWorks is a rapidly growing company with a proven track record of success. We offer a great franchise ownership opportunity for local entrepreneurs seeking to create a successful career for themselves.

OpenWorks Founder and CEO Eric Roudi cited the growth of the Twin Cities market as one of the top reasons for the companys expansion to the area.

There are a lot of new residents and businesses coming to the Minneapolis-St. Paul market and we feel the location is a great fit for OpenWorks, said Roudi. Dominic has considerable experience in the market and will be able to provide great opportunities for local businesses and entrepreneurs.

The Minnesota office marks the fifth new market OpenWorks has expanded into in 2016. Earlier this year the franchise added new offices in Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Austin and San Diego. OpenWorks currently has more than 360 franchises in nine states.

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About OpenWorks:

Established in Phoenix, AZ in 1983, OpenWorks is a leading national commercial cleaning franchise that offers integrated facility services through highly reputable local affiliates. In 30+ years, the company has grown to 360 franchise locations in nine states from Florida to California.

OpenWorks is guided by a simple philosophy: a cleaner, safer and healthier environment means a more productive workplace. The OpenWorks franchisees and preferred partners who serve more than 1100 facilities each day offer more than simple cleaning and maintenance - they help their clients fundamentally improve their work environment. Each OpenWorks representative implements an environmentally friendly Green Clean program using the highest quality equipment.

The OpenWorks difference is all about open, flexible relationships. Each OpenWorks customer receives customized solutions that fit the needs of their specific facility.

For more information on OpenWorks, please visit http://www.openworksweb.com.
The Houston office of the international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, has been honored with a 2016 Top Workplaces Award by the Houston Chronicle for the seventh year in a row. Greenberg Traurig was the only law firm included on the list of 150 businesses recognized as Top Workplaces. Greenberg Traurig is one of only a handful of companies that have made the list every year this recognition has been awarded.

Each year, we strive to continually enhance our work environment and focus on a collaborative culture and a positive work environment, says Todd Grube, business director of Greenberg Traurigs Houston office. We believe that happy employees are productive employeesand aim to achieve both.

Fostering a well-balanced workplace is an integral part of our commitment to preserving the firms culture, says Doug Atnipp, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurigs Houston office. We value the unique contributions of each member in the Greenberg Traurig community. As a team, we strive to achieve the highest standards of excellence and client service.

The list of the 2016 Top Workplaces was published in the Nov. 3rd print edition of the Houston Chronicle. Of several hundred companies considered for this award, 150 companies were selected as Top Workplaces. Companies are chosen based on a 24-question survey completed by employees. This survey covers six different areas of the workplace environment including company values, internal communication, career opportunity, working conditions, quality of management and employee compensation.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP  Texas

Greenberg Traurig has more than 100 attorneys in Texas, serving clients from offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, second largest in the U.S. on the 2016 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at http://www.gtlaw.com.
It has long been an axiom in politics that Social Security is politically radioactive, and that politicians court political disaster by pressing for major changes in the nations premier retirement program.

Former President George W. Bush suffered a sharp decline in popularity following his 2004 reelection by promoting an ill-fated plan to partially privatize the system by allowing Americans to invest their benefits in private accounts. The more Bush talked about his Social Security proposal, the more unpopular it became. The Gallup organization recorded that disapproval as it grew from 48 percent to 64 percent during the first six months of his second term.

Related: Heres a First Draft of the GOPs Plan to Overhaul Social Security

Veteran Republican Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas, the chair of the House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee, may have touched the so-called Third Rail of Politics last week. He introduced legislation to assure the long-term solvency of the retirement trust fund by  among other things  raising the retirement age to 69, raising payroll tax revenues, means testing the system for wealthier retirees and adopting a less generous cost-of-living formula.

Although the trust fund isnt in imminent danger, the Social Security trustees warned that absent congressional action, it will be exhausted in 2033. Thereafter, the benefits for 61 million retirees and their families would have to be cut by 23 percent. Johnsons proposal immediately drew sharp attacks from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other liberal Democrats, who portrayed it as an assault on the 75-year-old retirement system that could lead to cuts in benefits for average beneficiaries of a third or more.

However, a comprehensive survey by the University of Marylands Program for Public Consultation released shortly before the election found that two-thirds or more of Republican and Democratic registered voters agreed on steps along the lines of Johnsons proposal that would cover at least two-thirds of the projected shortfalls in the trust fund. A slightly smaller majority of voters (59 percent) said they would back even more stringent measures to wipe out the shortfall entirely.

Story continues

Related: A New Plan to Save Social Security for Another 75 Years

Perhaps the most popular measure, according to the survey, would be raising the cap on income subject to the federal payroll tax from $117,000 to $215,000 per year. Some 88 percent of the GOP and Democratic respondents said they would favor that approach. Another idea with widespread appeal is raising the retirement age for full benefits to 68, which garnered 79 percent approval. The retirement age is currently 66 and is scheduled to rise to 67 by 2027 under current law.

Another revenue measure with high voter appeal, according to the survey, is raising the federal payroll tax from 6.2 percent to 6.6 percent. That idea drew an overall approval rating of 76 percent. Meanwhile, proposed cuts in benefits for those in the top 25 percent income levels drew support from more than seven in ten voters.

Another popular idea  but one that would add to the long-term Social Security shortfall  is raising the minimum monthly benefit for those who have worked 30 years or more, from $800 to $1,216. The current minimum benefit is below the federal poverty line. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and numerous liberal Democrats have clamored for an increased benefit, especially for widows struggling to make ends meet. Some 58 percent of those interviewed for the project favored increasing the minimum benefit, although Democrats were far more in favor of that than Republicans.

Other ideas fell flat with voters interviewed for the project, including changing the way the Labor Department calculates the cost of living adjustment. Less than a third of voters supported the so-called Chained CPI method that would likely slow the rate of increase, an idea that has been advanced by a number of Republicans and President Obama as well to slow the rate of growth in Social Security spending.

Meanwhile, just three in ten say they would go along with basing the COLA primarily on what elderly people tend to buy, an approach that would accelerate the rate of increase in spending and add to the trust funds financial woes.

Related: How the Democratic and GOP Platforms Clash Over Social Security Reform

Its hard to exaggerate the importance of the Social Security system, created in 1935 during the Great Depression, to tens of millions of seniors and retirees. Among elderly Social Security beneficiaries today, 53 percent of married couples and 74 percent of unmarried persons receive half or more of their income from Social Security, according to the study. Whats more, 22 percent of married couples and 47 percent of unmarried people depend on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income, the study says.

Much of the previous polling by Gallup and other organizations suggest that many Americans are highly concerned about the future of Social Security  including many who doubt there will be anything left in the trust fund by the time they retire. However, they are dubious about specific proposals for assuring the programs long-term solvency. Many of the polls asked voters specifically whether they would approve or disapprove of a major change in Social Security without providing much background, and the result was frequently for voters to say no.

Yet the responses were quite different in the survey results released in mid-October by the non-partisan, non-profit Program for Public Consultation which over the years has embraced a more sophisticated approach. Rather than simply responding to a series of yes or no questions about their attitudes on Social Security and other entitlement reform, the PPC technique requires voters to play the role of policy makers and consider the pros and cons of a set of proposals for assuring the long-term solvency of Social Security.

The significance of these findings are that if leaders wanted to engage the public in a way that says, okay, we have this problem, lets think about the solutions, here are the possibilities, what do you think . . . they could get engaged, said Steven Kull, a political psychologist and director of PPC who wrote the report. In the end, the voters can come to terms with some hard choices.

Related: Medicare and Social Security Worse than They Look

Kull noted that in 1983, the last time the retirement trust fund faced a financial crisis, a bipartisan commission headed by Alan Greenspan and key members of Congress worked out a compromise that largely satisfied the public. We didnt have rioting in the streets and Im not aware of anybody who lost their seat because of a vote on that. So if there is the political will in Congress, what I think the survey shows is that the public can get on board with it.

In all, 8,697 registered voters across the country randomly selected by Nielsen-Scarborough, a public opinion and consulting operation, took part in the study. The research project specifically targeted or oversampled large, politically and demographically diverse states including California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, New York, Oklahoma and Virginia. GOP and Democratic congressional staff members and experts at the National Academy of Social Insurance and the American Enterprise Institute reviewed the explanatory material used in the simulation for accuracy and balance.

For example, on raising the retirement age  arguably one of the more controversial proposals  voters were told that the strongest case to be made is that people are now healthier and generally have physically less demanding jobs than in the past. They should be able to remain on their jobs for a longer period of time. Moreover, they were told, there would be nothing to prevent people from taking an early retirement at 62 if they so choose, although they would receive roughly 20 percent smaller benefits than if they waited for full retirement.

But the argument used against raising the retirement was that it actually would be unfair to workers in their 60s who continue to hold physically demanding jobs, such as in nursing or construction, that require them to be on their feet all day or undertake physically exhausting tasks. Even having to wait until just 67 to qualify for full retirement would be difficult for some.

Related: GOP Cuts in Medicare May Be Next After Dismantling Obamacare

After weighing these and other factors, 79 percent of the voters interviewed favored gradually raising the retirement age to at least 68, with Republicans and Democrats in virtual agreement.

Members of the so called Citizen Cabinet gradually embraced policies for addressing the problem rather than voicing strong opposition or outrage. In short, the exercise was far from touching the third rail of politics, according to Kull.

What we see in this study is that voters want to see some increases in revenue, they want to see the higher earners paying more, theyre up for diminishing the benefits of the top 25 percent (income earners) but not the top 50 percent, theyre up for raising the payroll tax rate, but not by a lot, and theyre up for raising the retirement age to 68  but not 69, as Sam Johnson has proposed.

The University of Maryland- based research program is primarily funded by The Democracy Fund, a bipartisan foundation established by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar, and the Hewlett Foundation, a nonpartisan, private charitable organization. Both foundations say they seek to promote strengthening democratic institutions.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Propper's new line of womens products work really well with both law enforcement and civilian women who want flattering yet functional tactical apparel. Tatiana brings years of expertise in both firearms instruction and self-defense, and we are pleased she has joined the Propper team.

Propper International is proud to announce a partnership with defensive firearms instructor Tatiana Whitlock as a new brand ambassador.

We are excited to be partnering with Tatiana as she joins our corps of ambassadors, said John Negrau, Proppers Director of E-Commerce. Tatiana brings years of expertise in both firearms instruction and self-defense, and we are pleased she has joined the Propper team.

Building on personal experience, Tatiana Whitlock formed her own firearms and defensive tactics training company based on the idea that training needs to go beyond the range and into everyday life. Today, she teaches men, women and youth to establish a real-world foundation of firearm skills, safety and situational awareness. A lifelong interest in martial arts resulted in the inevitable introduction to firearms as a means of self and home protection. Whitlock travels across the country to train with top names in the industry.

Im really excited about becoming Proppers first female ambassador, Whitlock said. Their new line of womens products work really well with both law enforcement and civilian women who want flattering yet functional tactical apparel.

About Tatiana Whitlock

Tatiana is a mother of two, a firearms instructor, an entrepreneur, writer and Maine Hunters TV Pro-Staffer and host of Trigger Time TV. Her career took a shift five years ago away from plastics manufacturing to pursue a passion for firearms, personal and home defense. She is a dedicated student as well as an instructor and travels the country to train with top names in the industry. She hunts, hikes and fishes Northern New England and is an active GoRuck participant and grad. Tatiana is an NRA BPI, RSO and Refuse to Be a Victim instructor.

About Propper

Making tactical gear with a purpose has been a way of life for Propper, since their first U.S. Navy contract in 1967. Today, Propper designs and manufactures tactical clothing and gear that keeps military, law enforcement, and public safety professionals protected whether theyre in the service, on the job, or off for the weekend.

For more information, press only:

David Workman

636-685-1062

davidw(at)propper(dot)com

For more information on Propper:

propper.com
2016 was a big year for eBOARDsolutions, launching Simbli with new product enhancements, features, and an exciting long-term product roadmap. This award certainly validates our efforts and our commitment to serving school boards across the country.

Simbli has been recognized for making a positive difference with school boards and district leadership by K12 leaders who named it to District Administration magazines Readers Choice Top 100 Products for 2016.

The winners were compiled from 1,500-plus nominations from the magazines readers over the past year. The Readers Choice Top 100 Products has been announced online and in the December 2016 issue of District Administration.

The District Administration Readers Choice Top 100 Products awards program informs superintendents and other senior school district leaders about products their colleagues around the country are using to help their districts excel in a variety of areas, such as technology, sustainability and curriculum instruction.

Simbli makes board management easy by providing school boards, governments, nonprofits and other decision-making bodies with the tools and resources they need to simply get more done. Simblis one-of-a-kind suite of six integrated modules for meetings, strategic plans, board policies and regulations, board/leader evaluations, communications, and documents brings all of the boards key governing documents online in one easy-to-access, convenient location.

This years award from District Administration is particularly special, said Mark Willis, Chief Operating Officer of eBOARDsolutions. 2016 was a big year for eBOARDsolutions, launching Simbli with a variety of new product enhancements, features, and an exciting long-term product roadmap. This award certainly validates our efforts and our commitment to serving school boards across the country.

Visit http://www.eboardsolutions.com to learn more about Simbli.

About eBOARDsolutions

eBOARDsolutions is the leader in online board management tools for effective governance. With a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing school boards, the Georgia School Boards Association began building these online tools nearly 20 years ago to help its member boards increase their efficiency and effectiveness. In 2007, eBOARDsolutions, Inc. was born, and has been making these tools available to school boards, nonprofits, and governments across the United States ever since. With an annual renewal rate of more than 98 percent, Simbli is helping boards and the people who work with them simply get more done. Learn more about eBOARDsolutions and Simbli at http://www.eboardsolutions.com.

About District Administration

District Administration provides K12 leaders with critical news and information for school district management, through its monthly magazine, website, e-newsletters and the District Administration Leadership Institute Superintendent Summits. For more information, visit http://www.districtadministration.com.

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Research shows that customers are increasingly leveraging self-service tools as they seek out time-saving and effortless interactions, and as a result weve seen a huge surge of interest in our technology from enterprises around the globe during 2016.

Creative Virtual, a world leader in self-service customer engagement solutions, was recently announced as a dual winner in Softech Intl Magazines 2016 Business Awards. The awards programme named the company Best Self-Service CX Technology Company 2016 and Most Innovative Enterprise CX Management Solution: V-Person.

The 2016 Softech Business Awards are designed to recognise leaders across a variety of industry sectors who are dedicated to changing their field and providing an integral service, software or technology. The awards are given solely on merit and commend those most deserving for their ingenuity and hard work, distinguishing them from their competitors and proving them worthy of recognition.

This awards programme highlights the incredible work of the businesses throughout the software and technology markets whose contributions are vital to the corporate market, said Tom Jones, Awards Coordinator. It has been a pleasure showcasing the dedication and sheer hard work of all our winners, and I would like to wish them the very best of luck going forward.

As a pioneer in the virtual assistant space, Creative Virtual has played a key role in the development and adoption of this self-service technology. The companys natural language virtual assistant technology, V-Person, is backed by a knowledge management, workflow management and business intelligence reporting platform, V-Portal, which is unique in the marketplace today. Large enterprises around the world utilise V-Portal and V-Person technology to improve customer engagement, reduce customer support costs and create better customer experiences.

Research shows that customers are increasingly leveraging self-service tools as they seek out time-saving and effortless interactions, and as a result weve seen a huge surge of interest in our technology from enterprises around the globe during 2016, said Chris Ezekiel, Founder & CEO of Creative Virtual. Its an honour to be recognised as the best in our field and for our innovative approach to the development and implementation of our customer experience technology.

Visit the Creative Virtual website to learn more about the V-Person suite of self-service and customer engagement solutions.

ABOUT CREATIVE VIRTUAL

Creative Virtual is a world leader in self-service solutions that enable anywhere, anytime customer engagement between brands and their customers. Leading global organisations including Lloyds Banking Group, Time Warner Cable, HSBC, Verizon, Chase, InterContinental Hotels Group, Autodesk and Tesco rely on our award-winning V-Person technology to improve their customer support experience, increase sales, reduce costs and build brand loyalty.

Backed by an experienced, expert team as well as an extensive partner network, our innovative virtual agent, knowledge management and business intelligence platform empowers organisations to provide customers with consistent, accurate, personalised and seamless omnichannel engagement across web, mobile, social, SMS, contact centre, service desk, live chat and IVR channels. Delivering significant contact deflection and reductions in average call handling times, as well as increased first contact resolution, together with powerful customer analytics and outcome tracking, the V-Person Smart Help platform is the most compelling self-service product in the world today.

Creative Virtual is headquartered in the United Kingdom with operations in the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore and Hong Kong. For more information about Creative Virtual and V-Person technology, please visit our website at http://www.creativevirtual.com.
Tapestry: Club Room, view into private dining room. Designed by Dyer Brown. (Photo by Jared Kuzia, courtesy Dyer Brown) ...the hospitality and retail sectors have a real need for not only high-caliber design but also the true owner affinity Dyer Brown brings to this work...

Reflecting its longstanding commitment to innovative design solutions and a growing reputation for hospitality industry insight, the acclaimed architecture and interiors firm Dyer Brown has announced new restaurant design honors and several project wins. With a popular citywide design win from Eater Awards 2016 for the firms latest restaurant -- Tapestry -- these developments build on the firms national presence and a growing portfolio of hospitality work. They also recognize Dyer Browns contributions to a fast-moving and competitive sector where design leadership  and building close relationships  are vital assets.

Among the new hospitality sector developments for Dyer Brown are several new project completions, including a renovation of Boston Harbor Hotel and an East Coast restaurant debut scheduled for next year. Others underway include a new foodservice concept for the citys Fort Point neighborhood, according to Brent D. Zeigler, AIA, IIDA, president and director of design for the firm, who says his firm is committed to this sector and planning for growth.

We believe that the hospitality and retail sectors have a real need for not only high-caliber design but also the integrated services and true owner affinity we bring to this work, says Zeigler. We can advocate for our hospitality clients, develop their brand into vibrant spaces and places, and even create lifelike visualizations of their concepts. These vertical services help ensure their true vision, design aspirations and operational needs are all fully met.

Led by veteran design experts including Zeigler and interior designer Katie Bean, Dyer Browns hospitality project wins and firmwide growth indicate an assertive expansion into more restaurants and hotel facilities.

Bostons Restaurant Design of the Year

The Eater Award 2016 last month, honoring Tapestry (tapestry.restaurant) as Restaurant Design of the Year, Readers Choice Winner, immediately vaulted Dyer Brown into the upper echelons of New Englands premier hospitality architects and designers.

According to the Eater Boston article, Readers were wowed by the dual concepts of Tapestry, which Dyer Brown designed in collaboration with the restaurants three owners. Eater added that the space was transformed into the Havana-inspired Club Room and the bright, casual Expo Kitchen. Reimagining the spaces as two distinctly designed venues in one restaurant location, the Dyer Brown team brings a fresh new perspective and a magnetic offering to Bostons famed Fenway-Kenmore Square area.

With cushy chairs, tropical murals, and an elegant fireplace, the Club Room is a far cry from its previous life, wrote Eater, and Expo Kitchen feels like a beach resort with light blues, bright yellows, and light fixtures that look like sea urchins. Its the perfect spot for a Neapolitan-style pizza and some oysters.

Other recent projects by Dyer Brown include a range of hospitality and retail locations, workplaces and office properties, as well as academic facilities and interiors. The firms unique offerings for long-term corporate and building owner engagements -- as well as specialized competencies in branding, 3-D visualization, and property analysis -- set Dyer Brown apart from other U.S. high-caliber design firms.

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For images and interviews, contact Kelly Conover at Dyer Brown, (617) 457-2154.

About Dyer Brown

Recognized nationally for its award-winning portfolio of architecture and interior design projects, Dyer Brown Architects offers a fully integrated suite of professional services including high-level building owner and corporate advisory as well as 3D concept visualization. The firms clients range from property owner/developers and end-users to global corporations and leading regional brands in such market sectors as workplace, retail, hospitality and higher education. Known for its unwavering commitment to both design excellence and client service, Dyer Browns 45-plus professionals forge long-lasting relationships with business leaders, building owners and brokers, and institutional leaders. Dyer Brown believes that buildings and spaces -- the backdrop to our daily, shared experience -- should always be inspiring, useful and enjoyable. See the firms recent work and a detailed overview at dyerbrown.com.
New Jersey Audubon celebrates the passing of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act (DRBCA), which will provide a coordinated strategy for conservation efforts in the watershed and authorizes a grant and technical assistance program to support on-the-ground work throughout the basin. Congress passed the DRBCA as part of a larger legislative package known as the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act for the Nation (WIIN) Act, previously called the Water Resources Development Act. The WIIN Act passed by a majority of 78 to 21 in the Senate and 360 to 61 in the House of Representatives, and will now go to the Presidents desk.

The Delaware River Basin is one of our nations most important river systems with over 15 million people depending on it for safe drinking water and as a place for recreation and connecting with nature. The river also has great ecological significance and provides habitat to nearly 180 special concern species of fish and wildlife, including unique species like the red knot and Atlantic sturgeon. Despite these important attributes, the Delaware River has historically received a fraction of the federal support other major watersheds in our country enjoy.

As home to one of the most internationally important shorebird migration sites and the largest population of horseshoe crabs in North America, the watershed supports some our most treasured wildlife, stated Eric Stiles, President and CEO of New Jersey Audubon, We applaud Congress for passing this bill, which prioritizes the Delaware River and recognizes that a healthy, vibrant watershed is essential to our communities and economy.

Passage of the DRBCA establishes the non-regulatory Delaware River Restoration Program in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that will create a coordinated approach for identifying, prioritizing, and implementing restoration and protection projects throughout the watershed. It will also support locally-driven conservation projects through grants and technical assistance to local governments and nonprofit organizations. This program will bolster the substantial work already taking place in the watershed to combat critical issues like habitat degradation, invasive species, and climate change.

Due to the tremendous value of the basins resources, the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, which is coordinated by New Jersey Audubon in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, identified passage of the DRBCA as a top priority. As such, New Jersey Audubon and the Coalition have been at the forefront of advocating for the DRBCA in Congress.

By advocating for legislation such as the DRBCA, we can enhance the reach of our on-the-ground efforts focused on the Delaware River, including water quality and habitat improvements as part of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI) and fostering a conservation ethic through our education efforts, noted Kelly Mooij, Vice President of Government Relations, The Coalition will work to ensure the program is funded next year to support this type of work and leverage existing initiatives and investments to better protect and restore the resources of our region for future generations.

In the new year, New Jersey Audubon and the Coalition will advocate for federal funds to be appropriated for the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program so that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can begin its implementation as quickly as possible. The Coalition will also work to ensure the voice of the non-profit community is included in the development of a basin-wide strategy as part of the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program.

About New Jersey Audubon:

New Jersey Audubon is a privately supported, not-for profit, statewide membership organization. Founded in 1897, and one of the oldest independent Audubons, New Jersey Audubon is working to make New Jersey a better place for people and wildlife. New Jersey Audubon fosters environmental awareness and a conservation ethic among New Jersey's citizens; protects New Jersey's birds, mammals, other animals, and plants, especially endangered and threatened species; and promotes preservation of New Jersey's valuable natural habitats. For more information, visit http://www.njaudubon.org
The Big Blue Blocks provide a wonderful opportunity for all of our students, K-12, to engage in open-ended play. They give students an opportunity for unlimited self-expression.

On the verge of achieving their 2016 play goals, Imagination Playground, LLC announced today having reached 2,944,042 of the 3 million children they set out to reach this year with creative play. The company says it can make 100% of its goal if 60 more schools or family centers commit to bringing an Imagination Playground to their children before year end.

Understanding that funding is frequently the only obstacle preventing children receiving the benefits of play, Imagination Playground President Dave Krishock emphasized the continued availability of Gift of PlayImagination Playgrounds offer of financial assistance to schools and family centers announced earlier this year. The offer, recently increased to unprecedented levels, translates to 20% off a set of Imagination Playground blocks of any size.

Were 99% there, but we wont rest or claim victory until weve reached absolutely 100% of our goal, said Krishock. I want to assure our many friends that our commitment of help through Gift of Play is still available and yes, theres still time. Please let us help you help your children experience the power of play.

Imagination Playground says a total of 602 schools have been helped so far this year by Gift of Play. The program is also helping childrens play centers in underserved communities, such as the upcoming Tickleberry Place in South Los Angeles. Owner Lauren McElroy said, I know kids like to problem-solve and make forts and build things, which is why when I saw the blocks I thought they were so exciting and had to get them. The Gift of Play was great and really helped. We plan to use them in pop-up events around the community until we get our permanent location.

Elementary Principal Steve Ross recently brought a set of Big Blue Blocks to Island Pacific Academy in Kapolei, HI, and is very supportive of the unstructured, student-directed play that they encourage. The Big Blue Blocks provide a wonderful opportunity for all of our students, K-12, to engage in open-ended play, said Mr. Ross. They give students an opportunity for unlimited self-expression. The only rule that we have for them is that Big Blue Blocks are for building'."

Schools and family centers interested in learning more about Imagination Playground and Gift of Play are encouraged to call 1-678-604-7466, email ContactUs(at)ImaginationPlayground(dot)org or visit http://www.imaginationplayground.com/promotions/gift-of-play.html

About Imagination Playground, LLC

Imagination Playground is a breakthrough play space concept developed to encourage child-directed, creative free play. The kind of play that experts say is critical to childrens intellectual, social, physical and emotional development. Created by architect and designer David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group, Imagination Playground enables children to play, dream, build and explore endless possibilities. Imagination Playground finds its home in daycare centers, kindergartens, elementary schools, childrens museumsand science, nature, discovery centers, camps, community centers, childrens hospitals, hotels, public parks and morein North America and over 60 countries overseas. For more information, visit http://www.imaginationplayground.com
InterHarmony Outstanding Guest Artist Series

InterHarmony International Music Festival announces its 2017 Outstanding Guest Artists, featuring Vadim Repin, Alfred Brendel, Shlomo Mintz, Bruno Canino, Christa Mayer, Boris Kuschnir, and Antonio Di Christofano. The program offers participants of the festival the chance to interact with living legends of the classical music scene on a variety of levels, from exclusive concerts and performance opportunities, to master classes and lectures. More details about InterHarmonys exciting new location and the application process can be found at http://www.interharmony.com.

InterHarmony International Music Festivals 2017 summer season is starting soon, and that can mean only one thing: the return of IIMFs successful Outstanding Guest Artist series. The series takes off on July 6th, 2017 in IIMFs new location, Acqui Terme, Italy, where celebrated Italian pianist Bruno Canino will join Music Director Misha Quint for a grand opening concert. Quint and Canino will perform a selection of the greatest works for cello and piano: Beethovens foundational Cello Sonata No. 3, Schuberts heart-breaking Arpeggione, Stravinskys neo-classical masterpiece, the Suite Italienne, and Tchaikovskys final work for cello: the Pezzo capriccioso.

IIMFs Outstanding Guest Artist Series is proud to announce the participation of Israeli virtuoso Shlomo Mintz in 2017s first session in Acqui Terme, Italy. On July 9th, 2017, Mintz will join Guest Artist Bruno Canino (piano) and festival founder Misha Quint (cello) for concert of chamber music. The program includes Rachmaninoffs heart-breaking Trio elegiaque, Kodalys epic Duo for Violin and Cello, and Tchaikovskys tragic Piano Trio. A student of Ilona Feher, he made his orchestral debut in Israel at the age of 11 and, under the patronage of his mentor, Isaac Stern, had his debut in Carnegie Hall five years later. Since then he has become an internationally sought after performer, collaborating with such giants as Pablo Casals, Eugene Ormandy, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel and Mistislav Rostropovich More info can be found here.

It is with great pleasure that InterHarmony International Music Festival announces its ongoing collaboration with one of the greatest violinists of our time, Vadim Repin. As a part of its Outstanding Guest Artist Series, IIMF is offering students the chance to play with this legendary artist at the final concert of Session 2, on July 29th, 2017. Repin will take the stage with festival founder Misha Quint and the InterHarmony Festival Orchestra to perform Brahms transcendent Double Concerto in a minor. Students will experience firsthand how the man Yehudi Menuhin once called the "most perfect violinist that I have ever had the chance to hear rehearses, prepares and performs. More details are on the InterHarmony website.

Alfred Brendel will join the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, on July 21, 2017, to deliver a lecture on performing Mozart, a composer whose mastery and power of expression [] seem virtually unlimited. Brendel's talks have been roundly praised due to his uncanny ability to translate his informed and astute interpretations of the classical tradition from musical expression to verbal description. This lecture is not only chance for students to benefit from his observations and insights into problems of performance  it is a way to hear the master demonstrate musical examples.

InterHarmony International Music Festival welcomes pianist Antonio di Cristofano to its 2017 Outstanding Guest Artist Series. Di Cristofano will join founder Misha Quint on July 19 for the opening concert of Session 2 in Acqui Terme, Italy. Program highlights include Shostakovichs searing D minor Sonata for Cello and Piano and solo piano works by Scriabin. In 2006 and 2007 Di Cristofano mades the debut in Carnegie Hall  New York and in Konzerthaus and Golden Hall MusikVerein in Wien. He has recently been appointed Guest Professor at the Xiamen Conservatory in China.

This year in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, InterHarmony International Music Festival announces its first Outstanding Guest Vocalist, world-class mezzo soprano Christa Mayer. A native of Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Mayer has been an ensemble member of the Saxon State Opera in Dresden since 2001, where her interpretation of Erda in Das Rheingold and Siegfried brought her international recognition. Guest performances in recent years have brought her to opera houses in Berlin, Munich, Venice, Florence, Bilbao, Barcelona, Sevilla und Tokyo. In 2007, Mayer took part in the Ring Cycles of Valencia and Florence, and, in 2008, she made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Erda and Waltraute, where she has returned yearly since. Her recordings include a collection of songs by Hermann Zilcher and a number of albums of Strauss with Karl Anton Riekenbacher. She has performed at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Bad Kissingen Summer Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. Upcoming engagements include Brangane in Tristan und Isolde, Mary in The Flying Dutchmen at the Bayreuth Festival. On August 4, 2017, in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, she will give an open master class, at which students in the Vocal program will then be invited to perform. This rare opportunity to work personally with one of operas most acclaimed mezzos should not be missed, and more info is on this link.

Join InterHarmony International Music Festival this summer in Sulzbach-Rosenberg for a masterclass with Boris Kushnir, one of the world's foremost violin pedagogues. A student of David Oistrakh's at the Moscow Conservatory, Kushnir has been described as a modern-day Leopold Auer. His students include Julian Rachlin, Nikolai Znaider and Lidia Baich, along with more than 40 other laureates of national and international competitions. Kushnir has given master classes and served as a jury member at competitions across the globe, including the Tchaikovsky in Moscow, the Queen Elisabeth in Brussels, the Nicolo Paganini in Genoa, the Jacques Thibaud in Paris, the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, the Seoul International Music Competition and Eurovision. His own career as a soloist and chamber musician (as co-founder of the Moscow and now the Kopelman Quartet) has been equally illustrious. He performs on the "La Rouse-Boughton" Stradivarius (1703). His masterclass will take place on August 7th, 2017.
Dr. Jason Fader, a son of medical missionaries and now on a team of American physicians in Burundi--the worlds hungriest nation--today was awarded $500,000 in the first-ever Gerson LChaim Prize for Outstanding Christian Medical Missionary Service.

Watch Dr. Jason Fader at work

Because of the LChaim Prize, hundreds of people will walk, thousands will receive care, and tens of thousands will be helped by the doctors we train, Dr. Fader said.

The LChaim Prize, the largest ever in clinical care, is awarded by the African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), founded by New York entrepreneur Mark Gerson and his friend Dr. Jon Fielder, a medical missionary serving in Kenya.

Missionary doctors are this eras untold humanitarian story, said Gerson, who underwrites the prize with his wife, Rabbi Erica Gerson. "Forsaking every comfort and convenience to bring skilled compassion to the continents poor, Dr. Fader and his team are links in a string of unsung heroes across Africa.

With the LChaim prize, Fader and his colleaguesserving with the agency SERGEwill:

 add critically needed hospital beds at rural Kibuye Hope Hospital

 create Burundis first postgraduate medical training

 expand lower-limb fracture care in a nation that travels by foot

Its hard to overstate the value, Fader said. In one of the worlds poorest countries, a prize of this magnitude, for one hospital, is far reaching.

Burundi--called the worlds hungriest nation by the World Bank--has but 13 surgeons for 10 million people. For their part, Fader and his on-the-ground team are training doctors, performing surgical procedures, and upgrading and expanding medical facilities. Every team member raises individual financial support and arrives having studied both French and Kirundi. Since 2013, the team has served at the Kibuye Hope Hospital, the teaching hospital for Hope Africa University Medical School.

To move forward, to provide higher volume and better quality care, and to train more national healthcare workers, this hospital must expand, Fader said. He plans to serve in Burundi for many years to come.

Medical care is Africas most endangered species. Since missions and agencies peaked in the last century, the docs still there, and their African colleagues, receive shrinking support amid rising and complex medical challengesfrom AIDS to surgical problems to cancer. Fielder and Gerson, with friends and supporters, formed AMHF to bolster Africas white-lab-coat heroes and their institutions.

The 2016 Gerson L'Chaim Prize drew 26 applications from long-term medical missionaries, Catholic and Protestant, in 12 countries. Candidate projects span womens health centers, African doctor training, cancer diagnosis and treatment, pediatric surgery training and care, heart surgery, mobile HIV care, malaria prevention, and ER centers.

For interviews, contact: Michael Conrad michael(at)lovell-fairchild(dot)com 214-616-0320:

 Learn more at http://www.amhf.us

 Read the Gersons essay on Medium

 Watch the Prize and Finalist videos

 Read official prize policies

 Follow #LChaimPrize via AMHFs profile on Twitter or Facebook

 Donate

Visit Lovell-Fairchild.com for:

 Curtain Raiser Press Release

 AMHF Media Tip Sheet

 AMHF Q&A

 Suggested Interview Questions

About African Mission Healthcare Foundation

A registered U.S. 501(c)3 charity, AMHF enhances access to health services for the tens of millions of Africans who fail to receive quality, life-saving care. It advances financial, logistical, personnel and management support to African mission health facilities, which, through thousands of centers, provide roughly one-third of medical services on the continent. AMHF directly supports care for 70,000 patients annually and finances formal training of 100 African healthcare professionalsa credit to its partners efficiency. In Kenya, a clubfoot may be corrected for $100. In Malawi, a childs malaria treatment costs less than $10. In eight countriesincluding Malawi, Uganda, South Sudan and TanzaniaAMHF has built clinics, procured x-ray machines, educated surgeons and doctors, and sponsored life-changing operations, particularly pediatric rehabilitative treatments. AMHF oversees Kenyas largest HIV and tuberculosis clinical mentorship program.

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Blubrry Podcasting, a leader in the podcasting industry since 2005, has released Post to Social, a hosting feature that publishes podcast episodes easily on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Post to Social can be used by Blubrry hosting clients, and sharing is scheduled within the users account.

Post to Social for Twitter, YouTube and Facebook makes it easy to publish podcast episodes or episode teasers to your social media accounts, explains CEO Todd Cochrane. By automatically publishing your episodes using best practices to P2S you give listeners another way to listen or sample your show content.

The new feature provides podcasters the capability to almost instantly post their entire show to Twitter because it enlists a Twitter audio card. YouTube and Facebook will post the first two minutes of the episode and content creators can record a promotional outro, to drive listeners to their website to listen and subscribe.

We all know YouTube and Facebook users are more likely to listen to a short audio segment versus a full length audio segment, which is why Blubrry created the podcast teasers with an outro promo, Cochrane explained.

Post to Social at Blubrry continues to simplify podcasters publishing routine and share episodes to social media accounts all at the same time, Cochrane said. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website or whatever destination you want your listeners to visit.

Blubrry hosting users can use Post to Social today -- instructions are posted on the Blubrry website. Individuals not hosting with Blubrry can sign up here to get the added benefit of Post to Social for podcasting.

About Blubrry

Blubrry is a podcasting community and directory with more than 350,000 shows that gives creators the power to make money, get detailed audience measurements and host their audio, video and websites. Whether you are a media creator, advertiser or media consumer, Blubrry is your digital media interface.
Our Marketing Communication team strives to create, eye catching, one-of-a-kind materials for our clients and for our company. Their hard work inspires program participants to deliver their best efforts and to reach our clients goals.

Next Level Performance, a Dittman Company was honored with a Platinum MarCom Award for the imaginative packaging created to deliver travel information before and during an incentive program to Key Biscayne, FL. All materials were designed to incorporate the trips theme and the clients branding. The pre-trip mailing package included material delivered in custom packages designed with the purpose of getting participants engaged and excited about the trip they earned. Upon arrival participants also received a personalized welcome kit.

The company also scored another Platinum MarCom Award for the promotional website built for a VIP Loyalty Incentive Travel Program. The program included an all-inclusive trip to the Hard Rock Punta Cana and a 7-night cruise through the islands of the Caribbean. The website played a major role in the motivation of the programs participants. The beautiful design, exciting imagery, and sophisticated layout delivered both the anticipation and excitement needed to inspire performance and earn an Incentive Travel trip

Next Level Performance rounded out the competition with a Gold MarCom Award for its own company rebrand. This year, Dittman Incentive Marketing rebranded as Next Level Performance, a Dittman Company. All materials involved in the rebrand including the company website, print and digital content, and more, were recreated with a completely new look and a revamped style to help the company and its clients achieve more.

Susan Adams, Senior Director of Engagement says, Our Marketing Communication team strives to create, eye catching, one-of-a-kind materials for our clients and for our company. Their hard work inspires program participants to deliver their best efforts and to reach our clients goals.

About the MarCom Awards

MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. Based in Dallas, TX, the awards are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, an international organization consisting of several thousand creative professionals committed to recognizing marketing and communications excellence.

Judges consist of industry professionals who look for individuals and companies whose work set the industry standard and that exceed a high level of excellence. For the 2016 Awards, there were over 6,000 entries from the United States, Canada, and several other countries.

About Next Level Performance, a Next Level Perofrmance Company

Next Level Performance, a Next Level Perofrmance Company, continues the mission of Next Level Perofrmance, helping people and organizations to dig deeper, reach higher, and attain the next level of performance.

For 40 years, the company has been an award-winning leader in providing incentives, recognition, and rewards programs to help companies realize immediate ROI in motivating sales people, employees, channel partners, customers, and consumers. Their signature products and services include: TotalPRO (Performance Recognition Online)  an incentive, recognition and rewards online software solution (SaaS)  and Deluxe Group Incentive Travel.

For more information visit http://www.nxlperformance.com
Marsden Marketing recently was honored with a Silver Stevie Award in the Fastest Growing Company of the Year category in the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

This Stevie Award recognizes Marsden Marketings growth in several key categories. Revenue grew 73 percent and profitability increased 69 percent. During that same period, the company increased its client base by one-third, including signing its first global client, and grew staff by two-thirds.

Its very exciting to lead a group that is generating spectacular results - internally and for our clients, said Anne Marsden, principal and founder of the company. Our growth is a reflection of our work and I am gratified to see how our clients continue to benefit from our programs. Were very honored to be recognized with this award.

More than 1,400 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in more than 90 categories in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Stevie Award winners were selected by more than 160 professionals worldwide who participated in the judging process this year.

Each year we think the quality of achievements portrayed in Stevie-winning nominations couldnt possibly get any better, and each year the amazing women who are recognized in this program prove us wrong, said Michael Gallagher, Stevie Awards founder and president. We are thrilled and humbled to be able to recognize so many outstanding women in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and to share the stories of their achievement with the world.

Marsdens growth was propelled by extending both its reach and breadth of service offerings. The company built upon its B2B marketing foundation to deliver an expanded suite of lead generation, digital marketing, public relations and content marketing services. Notable results for clients include triple- and quadruple-digit increases in search results, conversions, email-generated visits, blog subscribers and qualified leads.

Details about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of Stevie Award winners are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

About Marsden Marketing

B2B companies seek out Marsden Marketings results-focused expertise as a full-service digital marketing agency that integrates digital marketing and PR to accelerate clients brand positioning and propel their lead generation programs. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Marsden Marketing serves both emerging and established B2B clients with a strong focus in the technology and professional services markets.

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.stevieawards.com.
Troup County Schools seventh graders competed in the SAE International Motorized Toy Car Challenge as part of the A World in Motion (AWIM program). Last weeks event was sponsored by Kia Motors Manufa Kia Motors has long been a valued supporter and friend of SAE International and our STEM programs. - Chris Ciuca, Director of Pre-Professional Education for SAE International

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG), welcomed 150 Troup County, Ga. middle school students on Wednesday, Dec. 7, to the Kia Georgia Training Center in West Point, Ga. The students participated in SAE Internationals Motorized Toy Car competition.

SAE Internationals Motorized Toy Car Challenge is part of the award-winning A World In Motion (AWIM) program. The challenge is designed for middle school students whose teachers are using a multidisciplinary approach. Over the course of the curriculum, students develop a proposal and a prototype for an electric gear-driven toy of their own design. In the Troup County School System, this years program culminated in a friendly competition where students (in Engineering Design Teams of three or four) competed in a 15 Ramp, 30 Ramp, and Speed Competition.

Winning teams included:



Long Cane Elementary Team 17

Gardner Newman Elementary Team 12

Gardner Newman Elementary Team 15

Kia Motors has long been a valued supporter and friend of SAE International and our STEM programs, Chris Ciuca, Director of Pre-Professional Education for SAE International, said. Quite simply, programs such as these would not be possible without their support. We thank them for their efforts to improve the quality of STEM education.

What we saw today was an encouraging glimpse at the workforce of tomorrow, said Stuart C. Countess, KMMGs chief administrative officer. These students were focused on teamwork and continuous improvement, two very important aspects of our successful philosophy, the Kia Way.

AWIM is a teacher-administered, industry volunteer-assisted program that brings science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to life in the classroom for students in Kindergarten through Grade 8. Benchmarked to the national standards, the AWIM program incorporates integrated STEM learning experiences through hands-on activities that reinforce classroom STEM learning.

About SAE International

SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including programs like A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series.

About KMMG

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. With an annual capacity of 360,000 units, KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia, and began mass production on Nov. 16, 2009. KMMG is home to the Sorento SUV and the Optima mid-size sedan, two of the brands top selling models in the U.S.

-- http://www.sae.org --
The nations largest security franchise, Signal 88 Security, knows that not every family can count on Macaulay Culkin and an elaborate system of booby traps to keep their home safe during the holidays. The leader in creating peace of mind is now using the beloved classic Home Alone to teach homeowners valuable lessons this holiday season on what not to do when skipping town for the familys big Paris getaway so that the only thing to fear is Buzzs girlfriend. (Woof.)

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, homeowners leave their homes unattended for an average of four nights during the Christmas/New Years holiday, compared to day trips that are often taken for Thanksgiving. But there are precautions to take to help protect travelers from being taken advantage of this holiday season with modern day Harry and Marvs roaming the streets. Signal 88 compiled ten scenes from Home Alone to help keep homes safe from a break-in. Take note, ya filthy animals!

Scene: Marv walks right into the McCallister home only to see the family frantically packing for Paris

Tip: Always lock the door  even if everyone is at home and the neighborhood is seemingly safe.. If the McCallisters had locked their door, Marv would have had to ring the doorbell and a parent would have answered. Instead, he was able to stand in the entrance and scope out the scene at the house, thus getting an idea on the best approach for robbery.

Scene: The block is left dark while all neighbors go on vacation

Tip: Burglars look for occupancy cues like outdoor lights burning 24 hours a day, piled up newspapers, or advertising flyers hanging on the door knob. Even though there were some timed lights, its important to have a neighbor or friend come over and keep the front of the home clean of paper and debris.

Scene: Almost every McCallister tells Marv they are going out of town

Tip: Its important not to broadcast travel plans. Dont post them on Facebook, dont post them on Instagram, and definitely dont tell a random person.

Scene: The McCallister Christmas tree is sitting in the window with presents for everyone to see

Tip: While a well ornamented tree is a beautiful sight, it is important to be careful about broadcasting the location of valuables for the whole neighborhood to see. Keep decorations visible, but make sure that gifts arent easily visible to those who may want to play Grinch.

Scene: Harrys head fits perfectly through the doggy door to see inside the McCallister home

Tip: Doggy doors are great for pet owners who dont want to constantly let their dog outside. They are also an invitation for a robber that is looking to scope out the inside of a house. The McCallisters failed to secure their doggy door before leaving for Paris, thus Harrys head was able to fit perfectly through the hole.

Scene: Oh-Kay Plumbing & Heating Van driving all over the neighborhood

Tip: Marv and Harry slowly perused the neighborhood in their decoy plumbing truck as they checked out the scene on the block. Keep an eye out for suspicious trucks and vans, and also keep an eye out for repeat visitors in the neighborhood. If something doesnt feel right, call the (real) cops.

Scene: Marv and Harry try entering the McCallister home several different ways

Tip: A lot of things could have been avoided in Home Alone with a simple motion detector or security system. While Kevins blowtorch method worked quite nicely at the expense of Marvs scalp, the Wet Bandits would have been able to walk right in had Kevin not been there. With a motion detector or security system, the authorities would have been notified when the duo was lurking around the home.

Scene: Harry and Marv are able to look through the windows and see Kevin putting an ornament on the tree

Tip: When leaving town, make sure to shut all of the curtains. If someone is able to walk up to a window and see inside the home, a roadmap for robbery is essentially created. While it shouldnt look like there is no one home, it is also important that the entire inside of the house is not visible.

Scene: Harry enters the house through an open window

Tip: A sure gut-wrenching feeling when boarding a flight is thinking  are all of the windows shut? The first thing that comes to mind is a rainstorm or rodent getting in; however, in an even worse scenario, someone like Harry is able to pry the window open and fit his body through the space. Make sure to always lock the windows for utmost security.

Scene: Kevins fear of Old Man Marley (creepy shovel neighbor)

Tip: Find neighbors that can be trusted in a pinch. When the McCallisters left for Paris, they should have had a neighbor available to help in case of an emergency. Even if said neighbor looks like an axe murderer and carries a shovel around. Old Man Marley ended up saving Kevin from a very dangerous situation, and the danger could have been put to rest had they trusted him from the beginning.

While the holidays are known to be the most wonderful time of the year, there are also a lot of dangers involved with leaving a home unattended for an extended period of time. Take a couple of notes from Home Alone and do what Peter and Kate McAllister did not do by following Signal 88 Securitys advice. Kevin simply cannot protect all of our homes.

ABOUT SIGNAL 88 SECURITY Founded in 2003 in Omaha, Nebraska, Signal 88 Security is one of the nations leading security franchises for residential, commercial, retail and institutional customers. Built on the principle that safety is a basic human right and need, Signal 88 offers customized services to keep communities free from harm. This includes the brands unique patrol methodin which a Signal 88 Security vehicle comes on site multiple times a night to scope out the designated areaas an effective and economical means to deter crime. Signal 88 launched its franchise opportunity in 2008 and currently has more than 170 locations run by local owners and operators nationwide.
The nations fastest-growing better breakfast franchise, Famous Toastery, has once again set itself apart in the segment through the announcement of a new partnership and Facebook campaign with professional pancake artist Dancakes. Famous Toasterys Merry & Bright Dancakes Delight is running from December 5th through December 14th.

The campaign features eight holiday characters: Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus, Ebenezer Scrooge, Buddy the Elf, Kevin McAllister from Home Alone, Clark Griswold from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and The Grinch. Famous Toastery and Dancakes Facebook fans can vote for their favorite pancake in the first two rounds to enter to win prizes like Dancakes swag, stickers and gift cards to Famous Toastery, with the third and final round awarding someone who votes for the winning pancake character with a mini iPad and a personalized Dancakes pancake portrait.

This campaign marks our first project together, and I am looking forward to continuing this partnership with Dancakes to raise awareness for both brands through fun and creative pancake art, said Famous Toastery CEO Robert Maynard. As we continue to open new locations and sign new franchisees, Famous Toastery will become a nationally recognized brand, and were looking forward to working with Dancakes to show the world how much fun you can have when you play with your food.

Playing around in the kitchen has been Dan Drakes unexpected path to starting Dancakes. Drake was working as a fry cook at a local diner in St Louis when he realized he had a knack for turning pancakes into art. Five years later, a Facebook photo went viral, ultimately landing Drake a segment on the Today Show in 2013, when he brought his high school friend Hank Gustafson on board to help run the company. Since then, Dancakes has worked with major brands like Disney, Taco Bell, Netflix and Twitter, and now adding Famous Toastery to its list.

We love seeing smiles on peoples faces after creating pancakes of their face or their pet, said Gustafson. This campaign is just the beginning of our relationship with Famous Toastery, and I think there is a lot of fun we can have with the growing brand.

ABOUT FAMOUS TOASTERY:

Famous Toastery story began in 2005 in Huntersville, N.C. in a small house-turned-restaurant where best friends Brian Burchill and Robert Maynard opened their first breakfast spot. News of their fresh-made breakfasts and fun atmosphere spread. The concept quickly grew to three locations, serving new and loyal clients dishes such as made-from-scratch portabella mushroom benedict and avocado omelets. Never compromising fresh ingredients or friendly service, the demand for Famous Toastery kept growing. To satisfy its family of patrons pleas for more locations, Famous Toastery evolved into a franchise system in 2013. Dining customers always can expect impeccable service because at Famous Toastery, every server is your server. Breaking through the boring casual breakfast segment, Famous Toastery will continue spreading its success to new communities across the United States. For more information about Famous Toastery or to learn about franchising opportunities, please visit famoustoastery.com.
A coalition of groups has served the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a Petition asking for a national ban on artificial water fluoridation chemicals. Just as people once thought lead, DDT and asbestos were safe, there was a time when those erroneous assumptions shifted and the policies were forced to change. This is now that time for artificial fluoridation chemicals.

A coalition of environmental, medical and health groups, including leading national nonprofit Moms Against Fluoridation (MAF), has served the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Petition calling on the Agency to ban the addition of artificial fluoridation chemicals to public water supplies due to the evidence-based risks that drinking fluoridation chemicals poses to the brain.

The TSCA Petition, which includes over 2,500 pages of supporting scientific documentation, claims that drinking fluoride has profound harmful effects on the brain that were never understood years ago when communities started adding the chemicals to the drinking water.

Now that science has extremely sophisticated laboratory tools and technologies, scientists are able to examine the brain in detail as never imagined decades ago. This Petition reveals broad brain changes from fluoride, ranging from IQ deficits, neuroanatomical and chemical changes, to the worrisome effects on the fetal brain.

"In times past when fluoridation was instituted, science only had the scalpel or basic X-ray technology, and we simply werent able to assess the brain in the way technology can today, states MAF leadership.

The Petition was filed under TSCA, which authorizes the EPA with the ability to prohibit the particular use of a chemical that presents an "unreasonable risk" to the general public or susceptible sub-populations. The Petition argues the intentional addition of artificial water fluoridation chemicals now constitutes an unreasonable risk to citizens, and those risks have now been revealed by 196 new scientific studies included in the Petition.

A Decade of Increasing Scientific Concern:

Over 10 years ago, at the EPAs request, the National Research Council (NRC), with taxpayer funding, reviewed fluoride toxicology and concluded in 2006 that:

it is apparent that fluorides have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain and the body by direct and indirect means.

"Not only do fluorides [adversely] affect transmitter concentrations and functions but also are involved in the regulation of glucagon, prostaglandins, and a number of central nervous system peptides including vasopressin and other hypothalamic peptides."

"Fluorides also increase the production of free radicals in the brain through several different biological pathways. These changes have a bearing on the possibility that fluorides act to increase the risk of developing Alzheimers disease."

These findings and dozens more like them were published in the 507-page NRC report.

Drinking fluoride may be doing damage to our brains, but does drinking fluoride do any good at all for the teeth? The Petitions author, attorney Michael Connett, says, "It is now understood that fluoride's predominant effect on tooth decay comes from topical contact with the teeth, not ingestion."

The Petition states: "Since there is little benefit in swallowing fluoride, there is little justification in exposing the public to any risk of fluoride neurotoxicity..."

It is important to note, says a MAF representative, "that not only does it appear that drinking fluoride does nothing for the enamel, but not a single long-term fluoridation safety trial has ever been conducted on the fetus, the brain or the thyroid by our government. Not one."

The government may not have done any safety clinical trials, but scientists around the world are interested in fluoride toxicity, and the research has become so extensive that fluoride is now classified alongside lead, mercury and PCBs as one of the developmental neurotoxicants" according to esteemed journal, Lancet Neurology.

Mothers are appalled, and petitioner K. Lavelle says: "I don't want my family drinking a neurotoxin (fluoride) just like I don't want them drinking lead or eating arsenic. Period!"

Physicians are also deeply concerned about adding this chemical to the drinking water, as Angela Hind, M.D. notes: Right now we have 1 in 6 children in the U.S. with neurodevelopmental brain disease, including ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, low IQ and behavioral disorders, and 1 in 8 women who will develop thyroid disease. These two epidemics tell us that chemicals like fluoride and lead, both developmental neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors, have no place in our public water.

Leading professionals in the field of dentistry are bothered as well. "As a practicing general dentist of 39 years, I was stunned when I saw the studies demonstrating the effects that drinking artificial fluoridation chemicals can have on the bodyparticularly, on the brain," comments Dr. Bill Osmunson, D.D.S. of Bellevue, Washington.

"This Petition is a watershed, adds MAF. Just as people once thought lead, DDT and asbestos were safe, there was a time, after much work and pushing by the people, when those erroneous assumptions shifted and the policies were forced to change. This is now that time for artificial fluoridation chemicals, as the science raises far too many concerns, and the EPA must act to protect the people."

Petitioners include Moms Against Fluoridation, The Fluoride Action Network (FAN), Food & Water Watch, Organic Consumers Association, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), as well as individual co-petitioners.

The EPA has 90 days to respond.

To view the TSCA Petition, visit http://momsagainstfluoridation.org/epa-petition. See the delivery of the petition at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI-1GxTfS9U.

Links:

http://momsagainstfluoridation.org/epa-petition

http://momsagainstfluoridation.org

https://www.Facebook.com/MomsAgainstFluoridation/

@EndFluorideNow

http://www.ourdailydosefilm.com/

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ACRES: Building a Global System - Promoting Accountable Research Greg Koski, ACRES co-founder and CEO, noted "The standards and processes now being developed will provide an effective mechanism and incentives for sites to improve without imposing new bureaucratic and financial burdens.

The Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES), in partnership with the British Standards Institution (BSI), has announced advances in the third-phase of their global initiative to create standards for the accreditation of high-performing clinical research sites worldwide, thus promoting professionalism and excellence in clinical research while accelerating medicines development and enhancing clinical trials performance, safety and quality.

The Global Standards for Excellence (GSE) Working Party, formally launched in mid-November, brings together a team of global content experts from multiple domains to work with the BSI professional standards-writers to fast-track the development and testing of standards and metrics for assuring site excellence.

This announcement marks the continuing progress of the global accreditation effort launched by the ACRES enterprise-wide collaborative three years ago. Led by co-chairs Arti Bajpai, President, Compliance and Quality Integration (CQI) Consulting and Amir Kalali, Vice-President, Quintiles, the GSE Working Party encompasses ten cross-functional teams working across seven core domains and three specialty domains to create standards to provide the foundation for globally recognized accreditation of research sites.

Standardization and accreditation has been shown to substantially improve connectivity, interoperability, productivity, sustainability and efficiency in the conduct of clinical trials, reducing time to start-up and study completion, thereby accelerating the clinical trials process and medicines development.

Domain Team Leaders include: Anthony Rissling, CTMG, Inc.; Katie Porter, Hamilton Health Sciences; Mary Westrick, University of Wisconsin; Ivo Ivanov, AstraNova; Sara Monday, ACRES; Penny Jester, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Nadina Jose, Anidan Group Pte Ltd; Larry Kennedy, Quality Management Institute; Nonna Stepanov, Mountain State Health Alliance (MSHA) and Terry Stubbs, ActivMed Practices and Research, Inc. Steven Hirschfeld, NIH, will serve in a liaison role.

Over the next 6-9 months, the teamseach with 3-6 members bringing extensive experience in every aspect of clinical researchwill work with professional standards writers from BSI to complete a set of draft standards. These will be circulated worldwide for review and comment by the entire stakeholder community--particularly research sites--but also sponsors, regulators, ethics committees, CROs, IT providers, investigators and patients. After revision based upon the comments and feedback, this initial set of standards will be pilot tested prior to a staged initiation of a unique accreditation process currently being developed in parallel with the standards.

The ACRES Dynamic Accreditation process, based upon proven high-performance models from other industries, will differ from traditional accreditation schemes by using information flowing in real-time during normal workflow to immediately identify potential challenges and opportunities for improvement, not unlike the air-traffic control feedback system utilized for global air transportation and safety.

Greg Koski, ACRES co-founder and CEO, noted that prominent industry leaders, such as Freda Lewis-Hall, CMO at Pfizer and Briggs Morrison, CEO of Syndax Pharmaceuticals and a member of ACRES Board of Directors, have previously underscored the importance of high-performing sites in improving clinical trial performance. The standards and processes now being developed will provide an effective mechanism and incentives for sites to improve without imposing new bureaucratic and financial burdens.

Sara Monday, ACRES VP of Site Development and Support and ACRES liaison between BSI and the teams, notes In collaboration with BSI, our Domain teams include research professionals from around the world, each working toward one common goal: establishing standards of excellence in the clinical trials industry. This effort will bring much needed changes to our industry and will lead to the accreditation of research sites globally.

Rob Turpin, Healthcare Market Development Manager, and Bei Ma, VP, Global Healthcare Development, are leading the BSI contribution. Turpin noted that BSIs partnership with ACRES "takes advantage of a unique opportunity afforded by its multi-stakeholder global alliance to accelerate the development of standards that will surely enhance the entire clinical research and drug development process. We commend ACRES for its leadership of this challenging yet immensely valuable process and are delighted to be part of it.

ACRES

The Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES) is a non-profit alliance working in the public interest. Bringing together stakeholders spanning the clinical research ecosystem to build an open, integrated global system based in principles of Accountable Research, ACRES adapts lessons from industries successfully implementing principles of systems and safety engineering, such as transportation, communications and information technology. For more information, please contact Mary F. Tobin, PhD, Special Advisor to the President and CEO at mtobin(at)acresglobal(dot)net
Hair transplant surgery using the advanced NeoGraft hair restoration system is available at Louisville, KY-based Calobrace & Mizuguchi Plastic Surgery Center.

Specialists at Calobrace & Mizuguchi Plastic Surgery Center (http://www.calobrace.com) perform hair transplant surgery using the automated NeoGraft system at their Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky locations for patients concerned about premature hair loss.

"Our practice is the first in Kentucky to offer the NeoGraft hair restoration system," Dr. M. Bradley Calobrace says. "NeoGraft is a game-changer for patients who want hair transplant surgery."

NeoGraft is considered a breakthrough because its computer-assisted handpiece uses pneumatic pressure to harvest individual hair follicles from the back of a patient's head. Hair on the back and sides of the head is genetically programmed to continue growing, even in a person with hair loss. Hair with this genetic programming is then meticulously implanted in the balding area.

Before NeoGraft came on the market, this technique -- called follicular unit extraction (FUE) -- was performed manually. It was effective, but quite tedious.

"We have a certified NeoGraft technician available at our plastic surgery practice in Louisville," Dr. Calobrace says. "Patients favor NeoGraft over other hair restoration techniques because it's the least invasive method available and it leaves no visible scars."

The alternative to FUE hair restoration is a technique called follicular unit transplantation, which is sometimes called the "strip method" because a narrow strip of the scalp is surgically removed from the back of the head. Follicles are then harvested from the strip. This method is less popular because it requires an incision, which results in a visible scar for men or women who want to wear their hair short.

The most common reason both men and women start going bald is a genetic condition called androgenetic alopecia (it's also called male pattern baldness when experienced by men). It typically affects the top of the head and occurs when a testosterone derivative called DHT attacks hair follicles, causing hair loss. Almost 50% of American men and about 20% of American women experience hair loss.

People who want hair transplant surgery are typically self-conscious about going bald, but until recently the hair restoration procedures available didn't produce satisfying results. NeoGraft has changed that.

"The days of 'hair plugs' that looked obvious and unnatural are long gone," Dr. Nana N. Mizuguchi says. "It is very difficult to determine whether someone underwent hair transplant surgery with NeoGraft. The hair grows in a natural direction and looks like natural hair  because that's exactly what it is."

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Calobrace & Mizuguchi Plastic Surgery Center (http://www.calobrace.com) is a comprehensive surgical and non-surgical center, which includes the Calobrace Breast Center, the Calobrace Plastic Surgery Center, and the CaloSpa Rejuvenation Center. Both Dr. M. Bradley Calobrace and Dr. Nana M. Mizuguchi are certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery and have received years of training in general surgery and plastic surgery. They have served as clinical instructors for University of Louisville's Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and both perform a full range of treatments, including breast, body, and facial plastic surgery, for Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, patients.
Scott Bruno (holding scissors) at the grand opening of his new Minuteman Press franchise in Pasadena, Texas What being a business owner has afforded me is the ability to be an integral part of my community. My first responsibility is not to my employer or shareholders but instead I get to help and serve the people I'm surrounded with on a daily basis. Past News Releases RSS Minuteman Press International Gets...

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Scott Bruno is the proud owner of the brand new Minuteman Press franchise in Pasadena, Texas. As part of the world's largest design, print and marketing franchise, Scott and his team offer essential products and services to help other businesses grow.

Why Be a Business Owner?

Scott Bruno loves helping people. That is how he built his career as a corporate trainer for companies like energy giant BP, where he played a key role in staff development. Despite his success, Scott was not doing exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. "I was looking for something where I would enjoy going to work every day," says Scott. "That something turned out to be Minuteman Press."

Why Buy a Minuteman Press Franchise?

Before embarking on his corporate career, Scott Bruno enjoyed being a graphic designer. "I love being creative, and so I figured I could either freelance or start a business. I thought there may be an opportunity in franchising, and so I went to a local franchise expo in Houston and landed on Minuteman Press."

In addition to meshing well with his corporate background as well as his desire for something more creative, Scott also liked what the Minuteman Press franchise had to offer from a business standpoint. He says, "I thought the startup costs were reasonable, and I appreciated their royalty incentive program that puts a cap on royalties."

Coming from a background where he trained other business professionals for a living, Scott is also uniquely qualified to evaluate the Minuteman Press International training program. He offers this review, saying, "The Minuteman Press franchise training program was great. It was two weeks of hands-on training working with experienced staff at the company headquarters. I felt it was very appropriate and helped give owners like me without industry experience a real leg up on running the business."

One other aspect of the Minuteman Press system that Scott Bruno appreciates is the ongoing local support he gets from the company. "My Regional Vice President Pete Scaglione and Area Manager Rich Panowitz have been extremely helpful. They will just come over, roll up their sleeves and work with me. That means a lot to me that I can lean on them like that."

"It's like night and day. I now enjoy going to work."

Working for any large company can certainly take its toll. This is especially true for someone like Scott Bruno, who looked at entrepreneurship as a way to break free from the monotony of corporate culture and become more involved in his community. As it pertains to his life before and after becoming a business owner, Scott explains there is no comparison, stating, "It's like night and day. I now enjoy going to work. I look forward to going to work. What being a business owner has afforded me is the ability to network and be an integral part of my community. My first responsibility is not to my employer or shareholders but instead I get to help and serve the people I'm surrounded with on a daily basis."

Scott also enjoys the diversity of his days as a Minuteman Press franchise owner. "Because our customers are so varied in what they do, every day is different. I have a really diverse pool of business owners and people I am working with, so I have to know how to accommodate them by asking, 'What is the best solution for their needs?' One day, I'll be helping a startup company get off the ground, the next I might get a big order from a returning customer and I have to make sure I have the right paper in my inventory. It's definitely never boring and I'm glad to be able to help."

Building Connections in the Community

Another advantage of owning a business like a Minuteman Press franchise is that it gives owners the opportunity to be proactive in their communities. Scott agrees, saying, "Today, I am a part of the local Chamber of Commerce here in Pasadena. I am also in a rotary club and am involved with the local professional BNI networking group. At the end of the day, you get what you put into these organizations. You have to invest your time and build those relationships."

Scott and his wife Erica are also active members of their local Church community, and even before owning a business they knew how important it was to give back. "I have met various non-profit entities through the different networking groups, and have helped them out. We also support an organization called Project Joy and Hope, which provides living assistance and arrangements for families with children who have life-limiting conditions."

Business Goals and Advice for Others

Being brand new to owning his business, Scott Bruno's goals for growth are aligned with others who are in his position. "Like most entrepreneurs, I am looking to grow this business and build up my monthly revenues."

Scott adds this piece of advice for others who are thinking about taking their own leap of faith into business ownership: "My discovery through this whole process is that it doesn't matter how well-prepared you think you are. You will only learn through experience. If owning a business is something you've thought about doing for a long time, you can jump in and do it."

Scott Bruno's Minuteman Press franchise is located at 4416 Fairmont Parkway, Suite 107, Pasadena, TX 77504. For more information, call Scott and his team at (832) 598-2551 or visit their website: http://www.pasadena-tx.minutemanpress.com.

About Minuteman Press

Serving the business community for over 40 years, Minuteman Press' customer service driven business model provides digital print, design and promotional products and services to businesses from concept review through to completion. Today we are much more than just print; anything you can put a name, image or logo on, we can produce. Our slogan  We Design, Print & Promote YOU!  indicates the wide variety of products and services we offer that go beyond printing.

For more information about our products and services or to find your local Minuteman Press, visit http://www.minutemanpress.com.

About Minuteman Press International

Minuteman Press International is a number one rated business service franchise that offers world class training and unparalleled ongoing local support. Started in 1973 by Roy Titus and his son Bob, Minuteman Press began franchising in 1975 and has grown to over 950 locations worldwide including the U.S., Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Minuteman Press is rated #1 in category by Entrepreneur for 13 years in a row and 24 times overall, including 2016. We are the modern version of the printing industry, providing high quality products and services for businesses that go way beyond just ink on paper. Today our stores produce promotional products, custom apparel, direct mail advertising, large format printing (banners and posters), signs, and much more. Prior experience is not necessary to own and operate a successful Minuteman Press franchise.

Learn more about Minuteman Press design, printing, and marketing franchise opportunities by calling 1-800-645-3006 and access Minuteman Press franchise reviews at http://www.minutemanpressfranchise.com.
Owler Celebrates 1 Million Active Users Thanks to contributions from our community as well as our sophisticated technology, Owler is the worlds largest crowdsourced business insights platform in existence.

Owler, the crowdsourced business insights platform, has blown past 1 million active users, marking its second consecutive year of 10X+ growth. Startups, large enterprises, and companies of all sizes leverage Owlers free, crowdsourced business insights to outsmart their competition, gain competitive intelligence, and uncover the latest industry news and alerts.

Owler has rapidly grown to become the second largest active business community, surpassed only by LinkedIn. Their intelligence set currently includes over 2 million community contributions, an amount that continues to grow at an impressive velocity. Every 8.64 seconds, members add their own competitive insights, including private company revenue estimates, employee headcount, and CEO ratings.

Thanks to contributions from our community as well as our sophisticated technology, Owler is the worlds largest crowdsourced business insights platform, said Jim Fowler, Founder and CEO at Owler. This unprecedented volume of competitive intelligence--millions of insights from 1 million business professionals--allows us to provide highly accurate estimates for previously elusive information. For example, were proud to offer the best private company revenue estimates in existence.

Next year, Owler plans to further expand their insights by providing more opportunities to contribute and delivering even greater value back to users. The team has their sights set on the next 10X: 10 million active users.

About Owler

Owler is the crowdsourced business insights platform that business professionals use to outsmart their competition, gain competitive insights, and uncover the latest industry news and alerts. Owler is powered by an active community of 1 million business professionals, who contribute unique business insights such as competitors, private company revenue, and CEO ratings. From startups all the way to large enterprises (including 96% of the Fortune 500), CEOs, salespeople, marketers, product managers, and all types of business professionals use Owler daily.

With unique data on 15 million searchable company profiles and proprietary community driven Competitive Graph, Owler helps business professionals uncover competitive insights and discover new companies that participate in their space. Owlers web platform provides members with real-time insights not found anywhere else and helps them outsmart their competition.

Owler users receive three free email products. Weekly Showdown shows weekly competitive insights that delight users. Instant Insights delivers immediate announcements on funding, acquisitions, and leadership changes. Daily Snapshot surfaces top news stories, blog posts, and other coverage relevant to each persons unique Competitive Graph (competitors, customers, prospects, and industry sectors news).

Launched in 2014, and funded by Norwest Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, Owler is headquartered in San Mateo, CA with offices in Coimbatore, India.

Sign up for Owler on our website: http://www.owler.com

Read our blog: http://blog.owler.com/

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/owlerinc/

Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/owlerinc
Jvion's cognitive technology solution has the potential to help us improve health outcomes by making it possible to accurately identify the dual eligible patients at highest risk of a readmission.

Trinity Health, one of the nation's largest health systems, selected clinical cognitive science leader Jvion as a grant awardee in its inaugural Innovation Challenge. With the award, Jvion will apply the industrys first and only Cognitive Clinical Science machine to improve care and reduce readmissions for patients who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Using a powerful approach to cognitive computing, Jvion will deliver accurate predictions to stop complications and drive effective interventions for one of the most complex and high-risk populations served by the provider.

The dual eligible patient population includes between 9-11 million people within the United States. This group comprises low-income seniors and younger people with disabilities. Individuals covered as dual eligible patients tend to have substantial health requirements, are more likely to have mental health needs, and are more likely to live in a nursing home.

"We selected Jvion because we believe its solution can help us deliver more personalized, people-centered care to the populations of patients in our communities who are covered by both Medicaid and Medicare," said Anna Marie Butrie, vice president, Innovation Program and Services for Trinity Health. " Jvion's cognitive technology solution has the potential to help us improve health outcomes by making it possible to accurately identify the dual eligible patients at highest risk of a readmission; once we do that, we can more readily empower Trinity Health clinicians with the actionable information they need to address these patients' specific needs.

The substantial needs and specific challenges of the dual eligible patient population increase the costs and complexity of delivering care. On average, the annual cost for this patient group is more than double that of non-dual eligible patients. Some of this cost is attributed to higher rates of 30 and 90-day readmissions, which are driven by fragmented care, poor access, disjointed communication across caregivers, and a lack of patient understanding within the dual eligible population.

Jvion will work directly with St. Joseph Health, a Trinity Health ministry in Syracuse, New York, to test and launch the dual eligible use case. The solution will help Trinity Health predict the patients at highest risk of readmission and recommend the best interventions that will reduce risk and drive patient engagement. In addition, Jvions solution will help patients, family members, and care providers better coordinate care and communications across multiple settings and organizations by simplifying current processes while eliminating the fragmentation of care.

Helping improve care for dual eligible patients fully aligns to our mission of using data and cognitive science to improve health, explained Shantanu Nigam, Jvions CEO. We are honored to be selected by Trinity Health and look forward to working with our Trinity Health partner to improve the lives of the dual eligible population.

About Trinity Health

Trinity Health is one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation, serving diverse communities that include more than 30 million people across 22 states. Trinity Health includes 93 hospitals, as well as 120 continuing care programs that include PACE, senior living facilities, and home care and hospice services. Its continuing care programs provide nearly 2.5 million visits annually. Based in Livonia, Mich., and with annual operating revenues of $16.2 billion and assets of $23.4 billion, the organization returns almost $1 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. Trinity Health employs about 97,000 full-time employees, including 5,300 employed physicians. Committed to those who are poor and underserved in its communities, Trinity Health is known for its focus on the country's aging population. As a single, unified ministry, the organization is the innovator of Senior Emergency Departments, the largest not-for-profit provider of home health care services  ranked by number of visits  in the nation, as well as the nations leading provider of PACE (Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) based on the number of available programs. For more information, visit http://www.trinity-health.org. You can also follow @TrinityHealthMI on Twitter.

About Jvion

Jvion delivers a Clinical Cognitive Science Machine that helps providers predict patient-level risk and provides the action-level recommendations that will best reduce the likelihood of an adverse event. The firms cognitive appliance is helping hundreds of hospitals across the nation reduce target illnesses and diseases. The machine outperforms and outsmarts even the highest performing predictive solutions/approaches available. And this performance hasnt gone unnoticed; Jvions solution has won numerous external awards including designation as the #1 Predictive Provider in Healthcare by Black Book Market Research. http://www.jvion.com

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Viks is the perfect vehicle for the conscious big city commuter. It is not only beautiful, but practical. Viks is not for 100mph days as cafe racer motorbike will do, but it will take you anywhere you need with a very special flair.

Viks North America LLC. / Viks & Velonia Bicycles, One of the world's leading custom handcrafted bespoke studios have partnered and opened an office in the United States. The company will operate under the name Viks North America, headquarter in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sitting in a small cafe on an autumn afternoon 2012 in search of a unique two-wheeler to ride to work, Estonian designer / engineer and co-managing director of Velonia Bicycles / Viks, Indrek Narusk decided to build one himself. Inspired by classic cafe racer-style motorcycles, sketched out the Viks (roughly translating to "classy" or "gentlemanlike") which would be a little bit different, and definitely not boring constructed entirely from high-quality stainless steel tubes (or of both carbon fiber and stainless steel), making for a durable bike that's still relatively lightweight when compared to urban commuters on a wider scale.. Its unique shape is made up of two identical tube frames joined alongside each other, meeting at a single head tube, seat tube, and bottom bracket. Featuring either a fixed gear or a coaster brake hub as standard factory setup, it's the ideal bike for cruising through flat cities either on the way to work or out for the night. Available in a number of customizable configurations, and a range of powder-coated, or wet paint colors and other surface treatments, this is a city bike that you can really make your own. Every Viks bicycle is crafted by hand to each individual owners specifications. The ride is quite sporty, but comfortable; even though there is no seat tube, the frame is very rigid and does not flex. The 30mm handlebars feel good without the grips. Viks wasnt created to be an attention seeker, but it still turns heads everywhere you go: being ridden or simply parked outside a cafe.

In Estonian Viks means classy, gentlemanlike, polite. At the same time it sounds fixed like fixed gear this was the initial idea at first  a fixed gear commuter. Today its a lot more  front disc- or rim brake, electronic shifting and belt drive are available among other features. VIKS has given us an impulse to go even further. The prototype of the second anniversary version of Viks, is made from carbon tubing and built to celebrate Viks bicycle second birthday, which were currently ready to accept limited pre-orders in early 2017.

We encourage people to get involved in the process and work with us creating their most beautiful bike out there. You are welcome to express your own vision of what your bicycle should be. The cafe racers low handlebars, stainless steel frame and unlimited ways of customization, create multiple ways of making it even more unique and personal.

But you should remember  minimum is maximum. Less is more.

Viks is the perfect vehicle for the conscious big city commuter. It is not only beautiful, but practical. Viks is not for 100mph days as cafe racer motorbike will do, but it will take you anywhere you need with a very special flair.

We are honored to have received global attention and recognition. However, at the same time its of most importance for us to make sure that our clients are happy, and for us to receive positive feedback from each client. One thing is obvious  we do not want Viks to be a one hit wonder and disappear at the same pace we came onto the market. Wed like to see Viks become one of the classic bikes that gains extra value with its years.

Source: Viks North America LLC.

Sandra Moore, Vikslife Strategist

The New ViksGT, and Viks Urban Steel Commuter Stainless steel unique frame without a seat tube. 100% handmade in Estonia. Two identical tube frames run alongside the entire frame. Joined at the head tube, seat tube and bottom bracket. The frame is now in full production, as well as the New ViksGT aluminum alloy bike.

If youre interested in your own journey on a Viks (completed bike or just the frame), contact us at info(at)viks.us, or visit us at http://www.viks.us and join our waiting list of clients.

ViksGTcan be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/2e2z29J

Visit and learn more about the ViksGT here: http://viks.us/slide/viks-gt/

Also join our community of Viks's owners, and enthusiast on fb.me/ViksNorthAmerica for more updates and news.
(Adds comment from U.S. Attorney and interbank rates)

By Karen Freifeld and Nate Raymond

March 19 (Reuters) - Bank of New York Mellon Corp has agreed to pay $714 million to settle allegations that the bank overcharged pension funds and other clients for foreign exchange services, U.S. federal and state authorities said on Thursday.

Federal and New York state authorities, among others, had accused BNY Mellon of telling clients it would provide the best possible execution for their currency transactions, but instead giving them prices at or near the worst interbank rates during the trading day. Meantime, authorities said, BNY Mellon obtained better spot prices for itself and profited on the spread.

As part of the agreements settling lawsuits filed by New York and the United States, the bank accepted responsibility for the conduct, authorities said.

The world's No. 1 custody bank also agreed to terminate David Nichols, its head of products management, and other executives, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. The other executives were not identified.

"The bank repeatedly deceived its customers and is paying a heavy penalty for it," Bharara said in a statement.

BNY Mellon said that it resolved substantially all the foreign exchange-related actions pending as part of the $714 million, including by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and class action litigation.

"We are pleased to put these legacy FX matters behind us," the company said.

BNY Mellon disclosed last month that it would take a $598 million charge as it tried to resolve the cases.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's lawsuit, which began when a whistleblower filed a complaint in 2009, claimed that BNY Mellon earned $2 billion over ten years through the alleged deception. The U.S. complaint said the bank defrauded clients of hundreds of millions of dollars between 2000 and 2011.

In addition, the bank settled a class action suit partly led by two Ohio pension funds for $335 million pending court approval, said Ohio AG Mike Dewine, adding that the agreement had followed four years of "hard-fought" litigation.

Story continues

BNY Mellon will pay a penalty of $167.5 million to the United States. New York state will receive a further $167.5 million, nearly all of which will compensate victims of the misconduct, authorities said. The rest of the funds will be split between other agencies involved.

The settlement also resolves Justice Department claims against Nichols, 60, BNY Mellon's products management head.

As part of the agreement, Nichols admitted to knowing the bank did not disclose its pricing methodology to customers, who did not fully understand it, among other things.

Attorney Stephen Fishbein, who represents Nichols, declined to comment.

The cases include United States v. Bank of New York Mellon, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-06969, and People of the State of New York v. Bank of New York Mellon, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 114735/2009.

(Reporting By Karen Freifeld and Nate Raymond in New York. Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel.; Editing by Christian Plumb, Bernard Orr)
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Bulgarian Regulator Likely to Maintain Price Caps for Balancing Energy

The ban on negative surplus prices makes Bulgaria's biggest balancing generation - Chaira PSHPP - provide this service at a loss

AUTHOR: publics.bg



 Biepmiep, flickr.com



Bulgarias Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) will most likely maintain the current levels of price caps for balancing energy shortage and excess, it became clear during a public discussion of a report on balancing energy prices. The report of the Bulgarian energy regulator stipulates that there are no current reasons to modify balancing energy price caps which are BGN 202/MWh (about EUR 100/MWh) for shortage, and BGN 0/MWh (EUR 0) for excess energy. The main reason cited by the experts of the EWRC was the fact that the balancing energy market in Bulgaria is not liquid enough to allow for a reference price based on the day-ahead market, as is the case in neighbouring Romania.

Balancing market participants, however, did not fully agree with the regulator.

The state-owned Maritsa East 2 TPP requested higher price cap for shortage, of around BGN 300/MWh. The regulator however objected that this would be a suitable price, if more liquidity was present and if no cap was imposed.

Power incumbent NEK, which operates the countrys biggest balancing generation  the Chaira PSHPP, insisted that the regulator sets different excess prices, depending on the expenses each type of balancing generation uses. Chaira PSHPP has a total of 30% power losses when operating in pumping mode, which are not compensated neither through the regulated power prices, nor through the BGN 0/MWh cap on excess energy. Chaira is thus balancing the system at a loss. Earlier this year a report by NEK said that the then-suggested negative price cap for excess energy of between BGN -17/MWh and BGN -22/MWh, also failed to compensate for the work of Chaira PSHPP.

NEK also blamed poor dispatching of the balancing units and suggested that the Electricity System Operator should have the power to oblige more agile generations, such as TPPs, to reserve capacity for excess balancing in order to cover smaller imbalances, as Chaira PSHPP usually operates at 200 MW.

Bulgarias TSO, on its turn, suggested that the regulator allows it to buy balancing energy from neighbouring countries or balancing markets.

The Bulgarian energy regulator is to announce its final decision on balancing energy price caps on December 30.
Yesterday afternoon marked the soft opening of Gramercy Books in Bexley, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Although as bookstore founder Linda Kass, author of Tasas Song, told PW, people have been walking in for a week whenever we dont lock the door.

The 3,000 sq. ft. general bookstore, which includes a 450 sq. ft. cafe that is leased to Kitties Cakes, will hold its grand opening in six weeks. Poet Maggie Smith and bestselling childrens book author R.L. Stine will be among the featured authors at the January 27-29 event.

Long-time bookselling professional John Gaylord is partnering with Kass as general manager. He is also a part owner of the bookstore and has opened and operated 24 bookstores, including 15 Little Professor Book Centers.

Kass said that it has long been her abstract dream to create a warm and welcoming place with books. The idea of becoming a bookstore owner was spurred by a visit that she and her husband, developer Frank Kass, whose Gramercy Partners LLC acquired the corner where the bookstore is located, made 20 years ago. At the time, they visited Sundog Books in the Florida Panhandle and "loved it."

There is no better place than within the walls of a bookstore to foster communication and engage our communities, Kass said. Gramercy Books seeks to be that kind of community builder.

As for the name of the bookstore and the condo building in which it is located, Kass finds them fitting. While for some they may hearken back to New Yorks Gramercy Park, for her its about the original French meaning: big thanks or gratitude.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Thousands of Indiana corn farmers rely on Bob Nielsen's expert guidance for a successful crop, just as they rely on spring rains and summer sun.

But Nielsen, Purdue Extension corn specialist and professor of agronomy, has proven to be more dependable than the state's often erratic weather.

Over the past 30 years Nielsen has delivered timely, significant, research-based crop management information on his Chat 'n Chew Cafe and KingCorn websites, in educational programs and through one-on-one conversations with producers and crop advisers in fields, tractor cabs and farmhouse kitchens throughout the Midwest and across the globe. Known simply as the "Corn Guy," Nielsen is widely recognized as the foremost expert on Indiana corn production, a key driver in the state's $25-billion-a-year agricultural industry.

To honor his ongoing commitment to the state's grain producers, Nielsen was presented the Frederick L. Hovde Award of Excellence in Educational Service to the Rural People of Indiana on Dec. 9, at the annual convention of Indiana Farm Bureau, sponsor of the award, in Fort Wayne. This award is presented annually to a faculty or staff member who has provided exceptional service to the improvement of rural Indiana.

"By sharing his vital research and expertise with farmers throughout the state, Dr. Nielsen has helped Indiana's agricultural community remain in the forefront of the effort to feed a growing global population. His work represents the highest standards of the land-grant mission," said Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture.

"No one could be more deserving of this prestigious accolade," said Jason Henderson, associate dean and director of Purdue Extension. "Through his innovative Extension programs and ongoing search for excellence, Bob has enhanced the lives of all Hoosiers."

Nielsen's profession is education but farming is his passion. Originally from Nebraska, he joined Purdue in 1982 and was instrumental in the development of the College of Agriculture's nationally recognized Crop Diagnostic Training and Research Center. He has conducted more than 350 field-scale research trials to determine economically optimal nitrogen application and seeding rates for different types of soils and has helped promote the use of site-specific crop management tools.

An energetic and entertaining speaker, Nielsen makes about 60 presentations each year, reaching a total audience of about 5,000 agribusiness professionals and consumers. He delivers his message in a plain spoken, direct style punctuated by colorful figures of speech such as "goose-drownder," his term for a heavy rainstorm.

"Bob's number of speaking opportunities are limited only by the number of free days in his calendar, never by the lack of demand," said Jim Camberato, Extension soil fertility and plant nutrition specialist and co-author with Nielsen of the annual report Nitrogen Management Guidelines for Corn in Indiana. "During the growing season Bob answers numerous phone calls and emails and makes several farm visits to help farmers and crop advisers identify the causes of crop production problems. These one-on-one encounters not only help the individual farmers but are also spread to neighbors via the crop adviser and word-of-mouth."

Hoosier farmers often find that working with Nielsen is a learning experience.

"My first experience working with Bob was in 1996," said Eric Aulbach, a Purdue graduate and grain producer in Blackford County. "I was two years out of college, still knowing everything, and I was asked to scout a field of poorly emerging corn. Quickly finding out that I knew much less than I thought, I called Bob and he came over to help determine what the problem was. His patience and thoroughness started a trust that led to future troubleshooting calls that always resulted in an increased trust of Bob's ability and an educational outcome for me."

Colleagues say Nielsen's top priority is making sure producers have the information they need to make smart crop management decisions. When the internet was in its infancy, he quickly recognized its potential as a communication tool.

Nielsen launched the KingCorn and Chat 'n Chew websites in 1995 and continues to update them regularly with new research, articles, photos, videos and other resources useful to all row crop producers. The sites generate more than 250,000 page views per year.

"Bob is a great teacher of adults, whatever mode of communication is employed," Camberato said. "Bob's professional drive is to help people better themselves through knowledge so that he can make a difference in people's lives."

The Hovde Award, sponsored by Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., was established in honor of Purdue's seventh president, who served from 1946 to 1971. The award has been given annually since 1972.

Winners receive a monetary prize and a plaque. A permanent display of award winners' names is in the Agricultural Administration Building on Purdue's West Lafayette campus.

Writer: Darrin Pack, 765-494-8415, dpack@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415;

Darrin Pack, dpack@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
Defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. found that out Monday when the president-elect again used Twitter to blast the F-35 fighter-jet program for costs he termed out of control.

The stock prices of Lockheed Martin, the projects prime contractor, and of one of its suppliers quickly dropped. It was the same scenario that hit Boeing Co. last week when Trump tweeted that the development of new Air Force One jets was too expensive.

Never mind that Trump championed building up U.S. defense as part of his presidential bid. The F-35 contractors learned that any company can suddenly find itself on Trumps bad side, especially those that do business with Uncle Sam.

The clear message thats being sent is that the president-elect is going to fight to save taxpayer money at every turn, said Trump spokesman Jason Miller. I would expect this to be wide reaching and impact all of government as we look to come up with better deals.

Presidents have leaned on big companies in the past in hopes of enacting change. But whats happening with Trump is novel, public relations experts and business analysts said, because hes using the lightning-fast communication tool of social media to spread his complaints to millions of people, with no prior warning. And hes yet to take office.

Its a PR nightmare for the companies involved because you dont want the president of the United States shining a spotlight on a practice that the public might find dubious, said David Shulman, senior economist for the forecasting program at the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management.

Whats really unprecedented is that hes not even president yet, Shulman said. If this becomes a weekly event, its going to have a negative impact on the business climate even if Trump correctly points a finger at the legitimate issue of the high cost of (defense) procurement, he said.

Trumps habit of identifying companies and programs that displease him has corporate PR departments trying to figure how best to respond, if at all.

Companies often settle for an initial no comment, then perhaps a carefully worded press release days after being criticized. That might no longer suffice, analysts said.

Imagine if he suggests boycotting a companys products, Stan Steinreich, president of the public relations firm Steinreich Communications Group, wrote Monday on Fortune.com. What if he casts aspersions about an executives comments?

With Trump as president, corporations are going to have to move with the times and join the social media discussion much more rapidly than they generally have, Steinreich wrote.

Or at least respond in some way quickly, as Lockheed Martin did Monday. Jeff Babione, executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin, said the company and its partners understand the importance of affordability for the F-35 program.

We welcome the opportunity to address any questions the president-elect has about the program, he said during remarks at Nevatim Air Base in Israel before an F-35 delivery ceremony there.

In his tweet, Trump did not identify Lockheed Martin or the other defense firms by name.

The F-35 program and cost is out of control, he wrote. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.

Lockheed Martin stock fell $6.42, or 2.5 percent, to close at $253.11 a share. Northrop Grumman, a big subcontractor on the F-35, fell $6.36, or 2.7 percent, to $232.07 a share.

Known as the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35 is designed to be largely invisible to radar, fly faster than the speed of sound and incorporate advanced sensors, linking data with ships, planes and drones.

The new fighter would replace four aircraft, with three design variations to meet the unique requirements of the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. More than 3,000 planes eventually would be built for the U.S. and 11 other countries.

The program has been repeatedly criticized over the years for cost overruns and lengthy delays, though its cost has been declining recently. With a total estimated cost of $379 billion, it is considered the most expensive weapons program ever.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

Although companies will keep feeling the pressure to respond to Trump, they shouldnt always feel compelled to answer his complaints directly while remaining neutral and open to discussion, said Eileen Koch, chief executive of the public relations firm EKC PR in Los Angeles.

If hes just making a comment, sometimes its better not to get into a war of words with him; its better to take the high road, Koch said. You might be getting a minute of his thoughts and then hes on to something else.

Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst for the research firm Teal Group, said Trumps tweets about companies and programs are an appeal to his base.

Hes got this real contradiction, which is hes throwing money at defense but hes told his base hes draining the swamp, he said.

Defense stocks had been on a tear before Monday; the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, which tracks the industry, was up nearly 12 percent from just before the election through Friday.

One of his very top promises is to rebuild the military and everyones talking about more money, and the upward trajectory in their share prices reflects that in anticipation, Aboulafia said. Its very tough to institute reforms and go after very big programs in this kind of upward budget environment.

In the meantime, what should contractors do if theyre called out by Trump on Twitter?

Its best not to respond, Aboulafia said.
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Egypt to explore the history and archaeology of this ancient land.

At the outset, I should note that any concerns about safety in traveling to Egypt with tour groups is misplaced. Everywhere we went the security was great. The nation depends heavily on tourism, which was severely affected by the turmoil surrounding Arab Spring disturbances back in 2011; and the government makes great effort to assure visitors feel safe. Likewise, a featured presenter on our tour, the well-known Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, in addition to shedding light on the rich history of his nation, expressed how welcome and appreciated tourists -- particularly from the U.S. -- are in Egypt. We felt this welcome wherever we traveled.

As for the historic sites themselves, these included the Great Pyramids at Giza, the temples and tombs at Luxor, and the massive stone carvings of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. The extraordinary engineering and human effort represented by these monuments might be best reflected by a few "vitals" regarding the first and largest of the pyramids at Giza.

Built in about 2600, the structure contained over 1 million two-ton stones that rose to an elevation of 480 feet, higher than any man-made structure in the world until the dawn of skyscrapers in the late 19th century, nearly 4,500 years later. The pyramid also included interior vaulting that used design principles similar to those incorporated in the cathedrals of Europe some 3,700 years later. Truly a marvel of early engineering.

These vast works were, of course, enabled by the availability of inexpensive and abundant labor.

However, according to our guides, the builders of the pyramids were not slaves as sometimes assumed. Rather they were craftsmen and laborers conscripted from the various provinces of Egypt -- particularly during the four month annual flooding of the Nile when farming was impossible.

But what was perhaps most remarkable was the enduring achievement accomplished by a nation working toward a common goal. This cannot be missed even now, 4,600 years later.

Throughout Egypt, these monuments of the past also reminded us of the breadth of human history of which we are but a part. This helps place in perspective the challenges of our own time. On this subject, while in Egypt, we heard the results of our own national elections.

As in the U.S., there appeared to be widespread surprise at the outcome. The fact one presidential candidate received more votes than the declared winner was perplexing enough -- a result our outdated electoral college has now produced twice in the last 16 years. The fact that Donald Trump made a point of attacking others -- particularly those of foreign origin -- was of perhaps of even more concern overseas.

At the same time, all those we spoke with wished Mr. Trump the best as he undertakes the formidable burdens of the presidency. In this spirit, it seems to me the reasonable approach now will be to support the new president on policies that make sense, while opposing him vigorously on policies based on anger or intolerance that run against the American grain.

Given his lack of preparation and volatility, the old admonition about "planning for the worst and hoping for the best" also comes to mind.

A wise man once observed that "those who forget the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them."

Traveling to a nation as ancient as Egypt reminds us of these lessons. One such lesson teaches that when we work together for shared goals, rejecting bitterness and hatred, we can accomplish great things. Another lesson teaches that the reverse is also true.
Moline police remove a man from the apartments at 2302 31st St. after a standoff on Monday. Police responded at 6:24 p.m. Monday to the area of Avenue of the Cities and 31st Street for a report of a man in an apartment acting irrationally. Residents were evacuated from their apartments while police talked to the resident, who left with police shortly after 8 p.m.
HAMPTON -- Village trustees on Monday received updates on the proposed purchase of a Hampton-owned property by an unnamed buyer first discussed at the Nov. 28 meeting.

Village attorney Clayton Lee said the buyers attorney could not reveal the buyers name. Mr. Lee said he believed the buyer does not want to develop the property which provides storm sewer drainage. The board approved going forward with the sale, subject to restrictions on development and village easements.

Trustee Jeff Heintz voted against the motion, citing concerns over the secrecy surrounding the sale. Trustee Richard Vershaw also opposed the sale citing scarcity of information.

Mayor Kevin Irby shared an anonymous letter he received from a disgusted veteran who complained Hampton could afford a drone to photograph the village but not light the American flag. Mayor Irby has discussed, upon his retirement, creating a promotion video about Hampton using his personal drone.

In other action the board approved:

-- Employee health insurance renewal; rates were increased by 5.7 percent.

-- Renewing membership for mobile team training at a cost of $525, $75 for each of seven officers.

-- Spending up to $600 to replace the brakes on Squad Car No. 2.

-- Pay Request No. 1 for $39,200.39 from Brandt Construction and $1,005.14 upon completion of the motor fuel tax project, subject to the Illinois Department of Transportations approval.

-- The purchase of a new copy machine at a cost of $5,000 and a service agreement at $65 per month.
MOLINE -- School board members on Monday unanimously adopted a 2016 tax levy of $43.1 million.

Moline-Coal Valley School Board members held no discussion before adopting the new levy that is expected to generate $1.4 million more for the district in the 2017-18 school year. The 2015 levy generated $41.7 million.

Chief financial officer Dave McDermott said the rate of $5.15 per $100 of equalized assessed valuation will mean owners of $100,00 homes will pay $1,715.03 for the school district's portion of their tax bills, down from $1,719.80 in 2015 when the tax rate was $5.16.

The district's equalized assessed value is projected to increase by 3.69 percent, which Mr. McDermott has said is a great positive change after years of negative or declining values.

Board members also discussed the district's gifted programming again, hearing from supporters of the Program for Academically and Talented Students (PATS). The board previously approved phasing out PATS and implementing a total school cluster-grouping model designed to meet the needs of more students.

Sixth-grade PATS student Anandi Hoogheem, of Coal Valley, and parent Jamie Baxter and her children, of Moline, discussed how important PATS's challenging environment is to ensure district students achieving at the highest levels are nurtured appropriately.

Current PATS students will continue the program, but no new students will be added. The district's last first-grade PATS program began this year.

Board member Susan Tucker posed several questions to administrators after the public comment session but later said she did not intend to seek further action.

I recognize PATS parents and teachers are very passionate about the program," she said. "They came to the board asking us to have another discussion, and I felt it was part of my responsibility."

Ms. Tucker also said she trusts assistant superintendent Matt DeBaene, who is overseeing the transition, and believes he wants the best for the district's students.

Superintendent Lanty McGuire said the past board made its PATS decision for important reasons, not all financial, and that he believed the cluster grouping model can be a real asset for the district. He said advanced students can accelerate a grade level or subject level as needed through the new program.

Several PATS supporters stayed after the meeting to discuss their concerns with board members.

In other business, the board:

-- Heard from Mr. McGuire that the high school's Share Joys fundraiser raised $50,894.31, the second largest sum in the fundraiser's history. The initiative this year benefited 271 district students.

-- Approved multiple policy updates as recommended by the Illinois Association of School Boards, tabling a policy regarding student and family privacy rights. Ms. Tucker said she had concerns and asked for more information.

-- Heard a report on Read 180, a high school program that aims to improve students' reading fluency and comprehension.
Jim McGough is one of them. As a 19-year-old infantry soldier, McGough was with his unit near the Laotian border in 1971 when they came under fire. A grenade exploded nearby, shredding his feet and lower legs. McGough was taken by medevac to Okinawa, where he underwent surgery, including a transfusion to replace the blood he had lost. Unable to wear army boots after the injury, he was shipped back to the States, where he married his high school sweetheart, Sheryl Isaacson, and they settled down near their hometown of Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Twenty years passed before McGough, who worked in magazine advertising sales, learned that he had hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause scarring called cirrhosis and liver cancer. The virus only was discovered in 1989, and routine testing of the blood supply began shortly afterward. It was about that time that McGough, a regular Red Cross blood donor, learned he had been infected. Hed never been an intravenous drug user or gotten tattoos, common routes of infection, so the McGoughs figured he must have contracted the virus when he had the blood transfusion in Japan.

Veterans are more than twice as likely to have hepatitis C as members of the general population, studies have found. The virus is significantly more common among Vietnam era veterans than those of any other service era.

McGough went to a liver specialist, who found no damage. The standard treatment at the time, a combination of the drugs interferon and ribavirin, had debilitating side effects. So Jim and Sheryl, who had two daughters, decided not to do anything.

We were having a great time, said Sheryl, now 62. Were going, No big deal. When youre young, youre invincible.

In his late 40s, Jim started to show signs of liver damage. About that time, he and Sheryl took a trip to the nations capital, and visited the Vietnam Memorial. He thought it was magnificent, Sheryl remembers, and told her, If this thing kills me, I want to get my name added.

In January 2014, the virus did kill him. Jim had gone through the interferon treatment but couldnt shake the disease and finally succumbed to liver cancer.

In order to have their names added to The Wall, Vietnam veterans have to meet criteria established by the Department of Defense. Many of the 376 names that have been added since the memorial was completed in 1982 are people who died during the war or shortly afterward but whose records were misplaced, for example, or who were overlooked for other reasons. Their deaths generally must be the result of injuries sustained during the war in Vietnam or a defined combat zone. A number of causes of death dont qualify, including exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange or similar chemicals, illness or suicide related to post-traumatic stress disorder, diabetes, cancer and heart attack.

They reject far more than they accept, said Tim Tetz, director of outreach for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which founded the memorial and is responsible for adding new names to it.

In McGoughs case, at the bottom of a box in their basement he and Sheryl found a handwritten note from a nurse in Okinawa ordering a blood transfusion for Jim the day after he was wounded. That was the documentation they needed to prove his disease was service related so he could qualify for veterans disability benefits. Later, after his death and a lengthy application and evaluation, adding McGoughs name to the memorial also was approved.

In addition to Jim McGough, seven names were inscribed in 2016. Theres not much room left to add more names, Tetz said, at least not long ones. Theres space for one more long name, he said, fewer than 20 medium-length names and a basically unlimited number of short ones. Its an issue that the National Park Service is wrestling with, according to Tetz.

In 2013, the first of a number of pricey new drugs was approved by the Food and Drug Administration that cure hepatitis C in as little as eight weeks with few side effects. Yet the price tags for a course of treatment, which can exceed $84,000, created financial challenges for programs like the Veterans Health Administration. But with additional financial support from Congress, the VHA has reduced the number of vets who are eligible for treatment from 145,000 to 71,000, said Dr. David Ross, director of the HIV, Hepatitis, and Public Health Pathogens Programs at Department of Veterans Affairs.

It was too late for McGough, though, who died just weeks before the drug came on the market.

I can hardly bear to watch those commercials, said Sheryl. Its just heartbreaking.
A senior DHS official told Kemp last week that there was no attempt to hack Georgias network, but did acknowledge an agency employee left an electronic paper trail that might make it appear something nefarious was afoot. Kemps office said Monday that federal officials cannot say that with certainty.

After contacting our office late this afternoon, DHS has still not been able to confirm the origin or intent of this attack, David Dove, Kemps chief of staff and legal counsel, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This was a reconnaissance scan that raised red flags with our vendors counter-threat unit.

Kemp last week demanded the federal agency explain why someone using a DHS computer attempted to access Georgias voter registration database. Homeland Security launched an internal investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that DHS had tracked the incident to a computer at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

DHS has not intentionally scanned the systems of the Georgia Secretary of State office. DHS has not tried to break into those systems, Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Philip McNamara wrote in an email to Kemp, according to the Wall Street Journal.

McNamara went on to say the agency was deeply concerned and continues to investigate. An employee with DHS was using licensing databases on the Secretary of States website to verify an individuals background, the agency claimed. Federal officials told Kemp that they believe the employees computer was incorrectly set up so that a legitimate visit to the website inadvertently set off alarms.

Last weeks contrempts follow a dispute this summer between the state and federal agencies. The FBI encouraged states in August to allow it to test their election security systems, an invitation Kemp declined. Georgia was one of two states to refuse as Kemp sought to reassure voters the states system was well protected.

State officials said Georgia was not one of 20 states that had voter registration systems targeted in recent months by hackers.

That claim came after FBI Director James Comey told House Judiciary Committee members that his agency has detected a variety of scanning activities related to election systems in the United States.
Go To The Polls And Pull The Lever

We hope everyone turns out to pull the lever next Tuesday (Nov. 8). Actually, new voters wont know what we are talking about, as the...

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Street Closure Dangers Neighbors, Friends, Citizens of NYC/QUEENS: Many may not know that NYC has decided to close off miles of streets to cars in...
Rated 3 out of 5 by 27 reviewers.

Rated 5 out of 5 by dee24-7 Best Popcorn Can't have popcorn because of the kernels,stomach issues .I love popcorn and have been missing it for quite some time. When I first purchased this I was not impressed, too many unpop kernels and it burned easily. Decided to give it one more try using my microwave instructions and not the package instructions. Wow, perfect, fluffy, delicious popcorn! My only regret is that I used so many bags before following my microwave instructions! Bummer,but I am enjoying my remaining popcorn. 01-20-17

Rated 5 out of 5 by JaneinMaine Best Popcorn, Tossed my Other Popper My husband and I LOVE this popcorn. It is the only popcorn we eat now and we even donated our air popcorn popper knowing will never use it again. His favorite is the kettle while I like the buttery movie theater, but we neglected the white only to realize that is amazing too! Ordering more now! 01-10-17

Rated 5 out of 5 by PKS121 Love It! I love this popcorn. Have tried all three flavors and love them all. Also gave as Christmas gifts and it has been a big hit 01-01-17

Rated 1 out of 5 by Margaret613 Lots of Unpopped kernels This is expensive popcorn and so much is wasted. I tried following the directives and used different popping times, thinking this might help. Nope .... so much wasted unpopped kernels. Returning, very disappointed. I would never purchase this again. 12-30-16

Rated 3 out of 5 by Macwil Not what it was popped to be This popcorn is a disappointment. I thought it would be fluffy with no hulls. Can't see much difference in store bought. Cost way to much. Used for some stocking stuffers or I would return it. . 12-27-16

Rated 5 out of 5 by PIckle Boy Perfectly Popped This popcorn was the best popping corn I have ever purchased. Not one kernel left in the bag. Light and fluffy! 12-27-16

Rated 1 out of 5 by benpatmc Disappointed I was so excited about this product. I thought it was going to be so wonderful to be able to eat popcorn again. Imagine how disappointed I was after trying this assortment. I "virtually" could not believe how many hulls this popcorn had. Not a hit with me. 12-26-16

Rated 5 out of 5 by Alpine Cowgirl The BEST Popcorn! This set of popcorn flavors is so good! Nice variety. Love them all!! 12-19-16
G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now!
The legally-binding agreement, which was signed by Singapores minister for infrastructure and transport Mr Khaw Boon Wan and Malaysian minister in the prime ministers Department Mr Abdul Rahman Dahlan, builds on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in July, which sets out the timeline and implementation structure for the project.

The 350km double-track line will have a design speed of 350km/h and will serve eight stations: Bandar Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri in Malaysia, and Jurong East in Singapore.

The two countries will design, build, finance and maintain infrastructure and operate the stations within their respective territories, through the Malaysia High Speed Rail Authority (MyHSR) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore.

A privately-financed assets company will design, build, finance and maintain rolling stock and infrastructure assets including track, electrification, signalling and telecommunications. A joint tender for this contract will be issued in 2017.

Malaysia and Singapore will also issue a joint tender for an international operator (OpCo International), which will operate non-stop Kuala Lumpur - Singapore express services with a journey time of around 1h 30min, as well as a cross-border shuttle service between Iskandar Puteri and Singapore. According to LTA, express services will begin by December 31 2026.

Malaysia will launch a separate procurement for a domestic operator (OpCo Domestic) to run services within Malaysia. OpCo International will have scheduling and operational priority over services operated by OpCo Domestic.

Tendering to appoint a joint development partner (JDP) has already begun and this contract will be awarded early next year. The JDP will be responsible for developing technical and safety standards and as well as providing project management support, technical advice and guidance through the procurement process.

The line will link the two countries via a new bridge over the Straits of Johor, which will be constructed to the west of the Second Link bridge between Gelang Patah in Malaysia and Tuas in Singapore.
MBTA placed an initial order with CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles (now part of CRRC) in 2014 for 132 vehicles to replace the Red Lines 1500 and 1600 series cars, which date from 1969-1970, in a deal which also included 152 new vehicles for the Orange Line.

At this time, MBTA intended to operate a mixed fleet on the Red line, overhauling and upgrading the 85 1800 series vehicles supplied by Bombardier in 1993-94. However, MBTA says opting for a standardised fleet of new trains, together with minor alterations to speed codes, will increase passenger capacity by 30,000 passengers per hour, enabling the operation of three-minute headways, compared with four-and-a-half minutes at present. Furthermore, with a uniform fleet of modern trains, MBTA will be able to introduce a life-cycle maintenance programme to improve reliability.

MBTA says that overhauling the 1800 series cars would cost $US 310,000 more per vehicle than procuring new cars from CRRC.

The expansion of the order for Red Line cars includes an option for 14 additional vehicles. The vehicles will be assembled at CRRC MAs plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, which is due to be completed in September 2017, with manufacturing set to begin in April 2018. The expansion of the MBTA order means the plant now has work until at least 2023.
At the inaugural meeting of the UITP (International Association of Public Transport) International Rail Forum for North America in New York City Dec. 8-9, three themes emerged among domestic and global transport executives:

Keeping rail systems in a state of good repair, innovation and the renaissance of light rail.

Renewing track, upgrading signalling, re-building tunnelling and bridges may not be the most politically appealing work but if nothing is done, performance and safety will suffer, leading to customer complaints, pressure from politicians and even network shutdowns. This work is essential and can ultimately affect cities vitality and competitiveness, said UITP Regional Manager for North America, Andrew Bata. Continuous modernization is an essential need to meet the needs and demands of the public, added Claude Andlauer from RATP in Paris.

Closely linked to modernization is innovation, which can be slow in many transit agencies because there is often a general management reticence to push innovations. Recent improvements in service quality, integrated door-to-door services and smart information are all enhancing customer experience. Safety is often taken for granted in transit, but recent events demonstrate that the industry needs to constantly work and to innovate to keep-up with high safety standards, said UITP Secretary General, Alain Flausch. True innovation is to do what the Metro is generally not doing routinely, explained Nadine Lee from LA Metro.

Meanwhile, light rail has been enjoying a dramatic renaissance in North America with more than 30 cities in the US and Canada currently introducing or expanding light rail. This revival is going hand-in-hand with new features such as low-floor design, clever urban planning and transit oriented development, which have all triggered high interest around light rail in the US.

UITP says these themes will be further explored at their next event, the Global Public Transport Summit in Montreal, May 15-17, 2017.
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As part of RAND's ongoing Beyond the Headlines series, researcher Christopher Paul discussed his recent study on the Russian Firehose of Falsehood propaganda model on Dec. 7 at the research organization's Pittsburgh office. A massive, ingenious, and concerning campaign of propaganda has been pumping westward for years, supporting the Russian agenda in Ukraine and Syria and likely attempting to influence the recent U.S. presidential election, said Paul, a senior social scientist at RAND.

According to Paul, the new propaganda modela modern, media-savvy twist on Soviet-era propaganda methodsis distinguished by four characteristics:

High volume (hence the term firehose), using a wide range of modes and media, from news-media facsimiles like RT (formerly Russia Today), an English-language cable network; to proxy fake-news outlets and armies of paid trolls (provocateurs paid to start arguments, hurl insults, denigrate counterarguments, and pollute discussions on social media and other internet forums). Rapidity and continuousness, spreading virally via myriad channels around the clock. Falsehood, or as Paul put it, no commitment to objective reality. Reports sometimes contain a kernel of truth, a distortion of reality, a garnish of actual newsor just complete fiction, doctored photos, and staged events. No commitment to consistency, though that may seem counterintuitive in relation to conventional wisdom about persuasion. Within themes useful to Russian interests, propagandists may throw up a chaff cloud of alternative explanations, questions, theories, and accusations to simply obfuscate, cause distraction, and see which rumors about a real event can gain traction (which occurred after the 2015 downing of the Malaysian Air passenger jet, MH17, over Ukraine).

While this extensive disinformation apparatus is primarily aimed at the domestic Russian audience, it is also employed against the West, including reported efforts to interfere in the recent U.S. presidential campaign. What Russians may have hoped to accomplish by meddling is unclear. The goal may not have been to boost one candidate over another but just to create a little mayhem, Paul said, by seeking to undermine U.S. democracy, or create a closer, more contested, and less legitimate election.

The question that drove our research, Paul said, was Why does this work? It's intuitive to assume that credibility is king. But novolume is associated with persuasiveness, the researcher said. It's not always the quality of information, but the sheer quantity that equates to believability, and the source. The most persuasive thingalways, anywhereis to hear something from someone like you, he said.

The Russian disinformation pipeline exploits both of those tools, and it delivers its stream first, another important advantage, Paul noted. Once you hear something and accept it, it's really hard to change your mind, he said.

If most sources of information deserve skepticism and distrust, the few trustworthy ones that remain are likely to be discounted, too.

Paul suggested the Russians were playing a long game focused more on sowing confusion, distrust, division, and discontent among adversaries than on any immediate economic gain for Russia. He summarized the objective by inverting the adage about a rising tide lifting all boats. A falling tide sinks all boats, he said. If most sources of information available deserve to be treated with skepticism and distrust, he pointed out, the few trustworthy sources that remain are likely to be discounted, too.

Although election campaigns are often muddied with smear and spin, foreign operatives potentially trying to influence American elections deserves a strong and clear response.

How can the United States counter this kind of campaign, when responding in kind (by spreading disinformation) or barring access to compromised communication channels (censorship) would violate American values? It's really tough for us, Paul conceded, because we're the 'freedom of information' society. The U.S. government and the State Department have an obligation to rebut fiction with fact, though that won't solve the problem, he said.

Don't try to fight the firehose of falsehood with the squirtgun of truth, Paul said. Try to put 'raincoats' on those who will be hit with the firehose. In other words, it may be possible to inoculate against propaganda by getting good information out in advance of disinformation.

Sowing confusion can be a prelude to strong action. The playing space has changed, Paul said. We've got to defend the rules.

 Samantha Bennett
Strengthening its position in its only Latin American market, Roku has launched the Premiere+ box which enables 4K content and HDR.





A year after arriving in Mexico, the Roku Premiere+ is the fourth device launched by the US company in the country following the Roku Premiere, Express and Stick Black introduced to the market last year.The streaming box offers over-the-top (OTT) access to over 2,500 channels available through the Mexico Roku Channel Store, including the popular video-on-demand (VOD) platforms like Netflix, Crackle, HBO Go and Cinepolis Klic. Its the first Roku device that supports Ultra HD programming, a standard which still has limited availability in the country.The device, which transforms any TV into a smart screen, is also the most expensive box Roku offers in Mexico , at over $120.Following the Roku Premiere+ launch, the company has also updated its devices to support the mirroring feature, which enables users to show their smartphone content onto their TV screen.With this move, Roku continues building its position in Mexico; it aims to start expanding distribution into other Latin American countries soon.
HITN-TV has announced Leticia Parra Ibarra from Waukegan, Illinois as the winner of its national Vive Tu Momento (Live Your Moment) contest.





Ibarra and her husband will attend the 2017 presidential inauguration on a three-day trip to Washington, DC, in January.The contest was a test of knowledge with participants being challenged to utilise their grasp of the presidential election and their understanding of the Electoral College to predict which states each presidential candidate would win on Election Day. HITN-TV carefully examined hundreds of entries and in the end found one contestant to be the most politically astute: Ibarra became the contest winner after being the first to accurately predict the voting results for 46 states.The Vive Tu Momento contest was the final component of HITN-TVs Tu Momento 2016 campaign, a national educational campaign aimed at educating US Hispanics on the presidential election process and at increasing the Hispanic voter turnout rate.Born in Michoacan, Mexico, 33-year-old Ibarra works for a tech company in Chicago, where she lives with her husband, who together had been following the developments of the presidential election through HITN-TVs Tu Momento 2016 segments.
The November Netflix ISP Speed Index has shown that the highest average monthly speed for the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service in the US was delivered by CenturyLink, clocking in at 2.55Mbps, up from 2.11Mbps in October.





Yet the ratings, which show which ISPs provide the best prime time Netflix streaming experience, also showed that the US lags South Korea, DLIVE rose three places to take the No 1 spot with a significant average monthly speed increase of 1.02Mbps since last month, raising it to 3.13Mbps in November. LG U+ dropped one spot to fourth place, with a decline in average monthly speed to 2.22Mbps, down from 2.53Mbps in October.In Taiwan, Hoshin Multimedia moved into the No 2 spot from fifth place in October, with an average monthly speed of 2.95Mbps, up from 2.58Mbps last month. KBro fell one spot to third place, with average monthly speed decreasing to 2.87Mbps in November from 3.1Mbps in October.ComClark in the Philippines rose two spots into first place, raising its average monthly speed to 2.42Mbps in November, up from 1.85Mbps in October.In Spain, Telecable secured the No 1 spot, moving up five places since last month, increasing its average monthly speed to 3.68Mbps from 3.61Mbps in October.And Mexicos Totalplay took the top spot this month by delivering an average monthly speed of 3.8Mbps on November, up from 3.43 last month.The Netflix ISP Speed Index is a measure of prime time Netflix performance on a particular ISP and not a measure of overall performance for other services/data that may travel across the specific ISP network.
MOSCOW, December 13 (RAPSI)  Russian authorities offered Temerlan Eskerkhanov, who is suspected of involvement in the killing of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, 6,000 euros as compensation to quash his complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Nemtsov was murdered in central Moscow on the night of February 28. In the 1990s, the politician held a number of high-ranking posts in the Russian Government. In the 2000s, he joined the opposition.

Pretrial investigation into the case has been completed. Zaur Dadayev, brothers Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, Khamzat Bakhayev have been charged along with Eskerkhanov with contract murder and illegal acquisition, carrying and keeping of weapons. Ruslan Mukhudinov, a former officer in Chechen Interior Ministry, is believed to be the mastermind of the murder. He was placed on the international wanted list.

Eskerkhanov filed a complaint with the ECHR alleging violation of his rights. Eskerkhanov complained of a number of violations over the conditions of his detention and extention of its duration, his lawyer Roza Magomedova told the newspaper.

Georgy Matyushkin, Russia's representative in the ECHR, and the court reached an agreement resolving the case. Russia is ready to pay compensation to Eskerkhanov, according to Kommersant.

Russia admits that the conditions for holding Temerlan Dukvakhaevich Eskerkhanov in prisons No. 6 and No. 1, the Basmanny District Court in Moscow and the conditions for his transportation do not meet the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Kommersant wrote, citing Matyushkin.

Four other suspects in the case, including alleged killer Zaur Dadayev, also filed complaints with the ECHR.
Russias antimonopoly watchdog appeals transfer of dispute with Google to IP Court

MOSCOW, December 13 (RAPSI)  The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has appealed a ruling of the Moscow District Commercial Court on transfer of dispute between the watchdog and Google to the Intellectual Property Court (IP Court), court documents read on Tuesday.

On December 12, the Moscow Commercial Court postponed until January 9, 2017, a hearing in a lawsuit lodged by Google Ireland Ltd. against the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) over a 500,000 rubles ($8,000) fine.

Initially Google filed an appeal with the Moscow District Commercial Court but the court transferred the case to the IP Court.

Google is to file missing documents by the deadline. Otherwise, the lawsuit would be dismissed.

The watchdog held that Google Ireland Ltd. and Google Inc. had violated anti-monopoly law by abusing their dominance on the Russian market of mobile applications.

The Moscow City Court dismissed a lawsuit against the watchdog in March. On August 17, the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.

On November 2, the watchdog fined the companies 500,000 rubles each for their failure to comply with its order.

On November 30, FAS announced that it had filed a lawsuit with a commercial court against Google, forcing it to follow the order.

Yet in September, Igor Artemyev, the Head of FAS, stated that the agency was ready to fine Google every two weeks if the company failed to comply with the order.

In case we see the process is dragged out, we will meet every two weeks to impose new fines on them for failing to comply with the order, Artemyev said. It will continue until the final victory [is achieved - ed.] and final court judgement [is passed - ed.], according to Artemyev.

Hearings in the lawsuit filed by Google Inc. were set for December 20.
Eccentric artist Pavlensky claims his right to fair trial in Russia violated

MOSCOW, December 13 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who was found guilty of setting fire to the Moscow headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB), filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), his lawyer Irina Khrunova told RAPSI on Tuesday.

Eccentric artist Pavlensky was arrested on November 9, 2015, along with several other people who claim to be journalists that were invited to the artists performance. The next day Pavlensky was detained under a court decision.

According to Khrunova rulings issued by the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow and the Moscow City Court regarding Pavlenskys case were issued in violation of Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights (right to a fair trial). She added that Pavlenskys right to freedom of expression was violated as well.

On June 8, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow imposed a 500,000 ruble ($7,900) fine on performance Pavlensky and ruled in favor of this security agency, which sought 481,000 rubles ($7,700) in the framework of a civil lawsuit.

The court imposed on Pavlensky a fine of 1.5 million rubles ($24,000); however, taking into account his detention during pretrial investigation, this amount was reduced to 500,000 rubles ($7,900). The artist was set free in the courtroom.

Additionally, Pavlensky was sentenced to pay 480,000 rubles ($7,700) in compensation to FSB for the damaged door of its Moscow headquarter.

The artist told a crowd of journalists gathering to report about the proceedings, that he was disinterested in the results of the lawsuit.

Later the courts ruling was appealed.

Initially Pavlensky was accused of vandalism but later investigators reclassified charges against him to destruction of cultural heritage sites.

Pavlensky is known for a number of controversial performances.

In July 2012, he sewed up his mouth and stood at the Kazan Cathedral with a poster in support of Pussy Riot.

In May 2013, Pavlensky lay down on the ground in front of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly naked with barbed wire around his body.

In November 2013, also naked, Pavlensky nailed his scrotum to the Red Square pavement near the Lenin Mausoleum.

In October 2014, he staged an eccentric stunt on the roof of the Serbsky Mental Institution in Moscow by cutting off one of his earlobes.

In February 2015, Pavlensky and his accomplices burned car tyres, waved Ukrainian flags and banged sheet metal with sticks in a show of solidarity with the anti-government protesters in Ukraine. The performance was held near the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg.
* Scotiabank claiming damages of about $52.6 mln

* Not obligated to pay indebtedness, Cliffs told Scotiabank

* Cliffs shares fall as much as 7.2 pct (Adds comment from Scotiabank, analyst, shares)

By Anannya Pramanick and Shubhankar Chakravorty

March 19 (Reuters) - Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia sued Cliffs Natural Resources Inc, saying the U.S. iron ore miner had breached terms of a loan agreement when it filed for creditor protection for its Canadian operations.

Cliffs in January stopped production at its Bloom Lake mine in Quebec, where costs exceeded expectations, and started restructuring the Canadian operations after years of weak iron ore prices.

Cliffs' shares fell as much as 7.2 percent in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The move to file for creditor protection in Canada accelerated Cliffs' payment obligations, Scotiabank said in a lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in Ohio on March 16.

Scotiabank is claiming damages of about $52.6 million.

In response to the bank's notices, Cliffs denied that it was obligated to repay the debt immediately, Scotiabank said in the lawsuit.

Andrew Chornenky, a spokesman for the bank told Reuters he would not comment on matters "that are before the courts."

Cliffs was not immediately available for comment.

The court's decision will determine whether Cliffs has to immediately pay back the loan made for equipment used in Bloom Lake.

"If a bankruptcy filing is an event of default under the terms of the contract, then they will be asked to pay," CRT Capital Group analyst Amer Tiwana said.

"If it's not, then they can continue to pay the monthly or quarterly payments they have to."

Cliffs had about $3 billion in debt outstanding as of Dec. 31 and $290.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Cliff shares were at their lowest in more than a decade. They had lost more than three-quarters of their value in the 12 months through Wednesday.

(Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Joyjeet Das)
The head of MI6, Alex Younger, makes his first public speech in the job today  a tradition of relative openness initiated by his immediate predecessors. He is clear that we remain very much under threat, especially from Islamist extremists, but that our intelligence services are doing a remarkable job. British spies are, he says, risking their lives to take the counter-terror fight to Islamic State in its heartland, Iraq and Syria.
Property details:

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Price: $ 14,995 Seller State of Residence: Florida State/Province: Florida City: Panama City Type: Oil, Gas & Mineral Rights Zoning: Mixed Zip/Postal Code: 32465 Property Address: Unnamed Rd off Hwy 22 Location: 324**, Wewahitchka, Florida

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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 12/13/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
Cramer: Trump's pick Tillerson is a wedge between Germany and US

President-elect Donald Trump has caused a rift between Germany and the United States by picking Exxon Mobil (XOM) Chief Executive Rex Tillerson for secretary of State, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday.

"Tillerson to me represents a realpolitik choice," Cramer said on " Squawk on the Street ."

Tillerson was formally announced as Trump's intended choice for top diplomat on Tuesday. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn't say anything, Cramer said, "This is a wedge between Germany and the United States and I think people don't realize that."



The Exxon Mobil CEO has maintained close ties with Russia and was awarded the Order of Friendship by Russian President Vladimir Putin . Exxon Mobil has various projects in Russia that are allowed under American sanctions, which are intended to put economic pressure on Russia over its involvement in Ukraine.

Others, however, have been halted amid the sanctions.

If Tillerson is approved as secretary of State, sanctions on Russia may be slowly repealed, Cramer said. Merkel has said she is in favor of extending sanctions against Russia.

 Reuters contributed to this report.
On Aug. 16, the Athens-Clarke County commission reviewed an animal control ordinance in reference to electric pet fences which would define what an electronic containment system is and the circumstances in which it would be able to be used.
When Syrian rebels surged into Aleppo in the summer of 2012, it was the high point of their still young, still idealistic revolution against President Bashar Assad.

Four and a half years and hundreds of thousands of deaths later, troops loyal to his government were poised Tuesday to take the city back, heralding the end of an era for the rebellion.

With the rebels clinging to a tiny pinprick of territory in one corner of the city, it is now only a matter of time before the government reclaims full control over the country's biggest metropolis, an architectural and historical jewel that has now become a symbol of the catastrophe of the Syrian war.

Last-minute diplomacy to rescue the tens of thousands of people trapped by the fighting or because they fear being detained by loyalist forces generated a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey on Tuesday to evacuate the last rebel-controlled enclave.

The deal would see rebel holdouts and perhaps also the civilians still living there evacuated on buses to other rebel-held areas in the north of the province of Aleppo or the nearby province of Idlib, according to Russian officials and rebel spokesmen. But exact details were unclear, and U.S. officials said they were doubtful it would be implemented fully, if at all.

"We remain skeptical," said one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a quickly changing situation. "We've seen these kind of declarations before by the Russians and the regime, and just as many times we've seen them violated and broken."

If the evacuation does not go ahead, an even bigger nightmare could unfold, U.N. agencies and human rights groups warned. Jens Laerke, the U.N. humanitarian spokesman, called the scenario in Aleppo "a complete meltdown of humanity."

There have already been disturbing reports of abuses as Assad loyalists converged in recent days on former rebel strongholds that had been fighting against the government. The U.N. Human Rights Council said it had been given the names of 82 civilians who were killed in summary executions in two neighborhoods on Monday. According to Rupert Colville, spokesman for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the reports asserted that Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi militia had entered homes and killed people "on the spot." Among them were 11 women and 13 children, he said.

Tens of thousands of people who fled the neighborhoods overrun in recent days have sought refuge in the tiny enclave still under opposition control, joining the residents who were already there and creating chaos in the cramped streets. People stumbled over the bodies of the dead as they fled for their lives ahead of advancing government troops, and they now fear for their lives should they be caught, said Zouhir al-Shimale, an activist who lives in one of the last rebel-held neighborhoods.

Most people now only want the chance to escape the area safely and welcomed the news of Tuesday's deal with "a kind of shock of happiness," said Shimale, who was among those who joined in the uprising against Assad's rule. But now, he said, all anyone can think about is getting out.

"It's dead. It's over, and no one cares," he said.

The rout of the rebels gives the Assad government its biggest victory yet in the five-year-old war. It won't, however, change the course of the conflict, which was all but sealed by Russia's military intervention more than a year ago. That Assad is in no danger of being toppled has been clear since Russian airstrikes began turning back rebel gains, putting beyond doubt that the opposition would ever be able to overthrow his regime in Damascus.

It also won't end the war. The rebels still control large areas of northwestern Syria, much of the countryside of southern Syria and several pockets of territory around Damascus and near Homs.

But the endgame in Aleppo does change the parameters of the conflict, leaving the rebels with no hold over any strategically significant area of the country and no real bargaining chip to try to force the government into a negotiated settlement. Coming weeks before the inauguration of a new U.S. president, Donald Trump, it leaves the Obama administration's five-year-old policy of using rebel gains to force Assad to compromise in shreds.

The bloodshed could now intensify, diplomats fear, as an emboldened government, backed by its Russian and Iranian allies, steps up its efforts to fulfill Assad's promise to reclaim all of the territory lost to the rebels.

Whether they can, at least any time soon, is a different question. It has been three years since government forces turned the tide in Aleppo and began taking back rebel areas.

And the war, which has claimed, by most estimates, at least 400,000 lives, has since become much more complicated.

The Islamic State now controls more than a third of the eastern part of the country, and has drawn the United States into Syria's war. While attention was focused on the battle for Aleppo, the militants recaptured the Syrian city of Palmyra, overrunning in just three days loyalist positions that had been depleted by diversions to the Aleppo front.

Syrian Kurds are now governing a big area in northeastern Syria that Assad has also said he wants to reclaim. Turkish troops have intervened in another area of the north of the country and control a chunk of territory alongside a force of allied rebels.

"Two things are absolutely clear here," said the U.S. official. "One, the regime doesn't have capability to end this war, even with Russia's backing, and the scorched-earth approach that they're taking is only going to attract more extremists."

Aleppo will nonetheless be remembered as a symbolic milestone, the final death of a dream of a more democratic Syria that had waned long ago. The brutality of the government crackdown and the reluctance of world powers to pressure the Assad regime into softening its tactics exposed shortcomings in the global system of laws and norms designed to ameliorate the suffering of civilians in war.

Aleppo represents "the death of respect for international law and the rules of war," according to David Miliband, who heads the International Rescue Committee, an aid agency.

U.S. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who have long advocated a more assertive U.S. policy toward Syria, said Aleppo would go down in history as one of the great failures of the international community to halt human rights abuses.

"The name Aleppo will echo through history, like Srebrenica and Rwanda, as a testament to our moral failure and everlasting shame," the senators said, citing the locations of major atrocities in the Bosnian war and in Africa.

And Aleppo also became a symbol of the failures of the Syrian revolution, which began with peaceful protests against a dictatorial regime but mutated into an armed rebellion that also violated many of those international rules.

In Aleppo, rebels looted homes and factories. They squabbled, fragmented and turned on one another, even in the last days of the siege, battling one another for control over stockpiled weapons, according to rebel commanders and residents of the city. A sizable number embraced the extremist visions of Islam that so alarmed the United States and its Western allies that promises of more significant support were never fulfilled.

And now the shattered city stands as a symbol too of a wrecked and polarized country. West Aleppo, which always remained in government hands, is still largely intact, though rebel shelling killed many civilians there too. Tens of thousands of civilians from eastern Syria have sought refuge there in recent days, streaming across the front line clutching bags and blankets.

East Aleppo, which was under rebel control, is destroyed.

Syrian state television broadcast live footage throughout the day on Tuesday showing its reporters roaming through the ruins of the newly reconquered neighborhoods, trumpeting the government's victory as they climbed over piles of rubble, peered into abandoned homes and sifted through the remains of rebel defenses. There was no other sign of life in the empty streets.

The Post's Ryan reported from Washington. Heba Habib in Stockholm and Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul contributed to this report.
Greeting cards at Foursided Pop-up at theWit. (Photo courtesy of Jacob Hand)

Holiday markets, ugly sweater decorating and more things to do in Chicago on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

EAT

Month of Giving Back

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Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya

1482 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-270-4150

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Through Thursday, the Wicker Park restaurant offers a special menu including ramen, an appetizer and a soft drink or beer and donates 10 percent of the proceeds to Leave No Veteran Behind. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m. $19.99. Tickets: eventbrite.com



Now Open

Armand's Victory Tap

1416 S. Michigan Ave. 312-566-9300

The multi-level, 8,000-square-foot South Loop restaurant serves square-cut, thin-crust pizza and classic Italian-American fare including baked clams ($8), stuffed artichokes ($9) and orecchiette in sausage gravy ($16). 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.



DRINK

Ugly Sweater Decorating

Hopsmith Tavern

15 W. Division St. 312-600-9816

Bring your own sweater or RSVP to buy one for $15 and deck it out for a shot at winning prizes from Bell's Brewery. The Gold Coast bar serves seasonal beers from the Michigan brewery all night including Christmas Ale Scottish ale and bourbon barrel-aged 30th Anniversary Ale imperial stout ($7-$10). 7 p.m. No cover. RSVP: megan@hopsmithtavern.com



DO

The Night Market Before Christmas (Free!)

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Chicago Athletic Association Hotel

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12 S. Michigan Ave. 312-940-3552

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'Who would want to be the man nominally in charge of driving the economy when your boss orders you to swerve it into a ditch of unknown depth?'

'Demonetisation demonstrates that this government is simply too amateurish in terms of economic policy-making to properly address India's deep, deep problems,' argues Mihir S Sharma.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sounded more than a little exasperated when he was asked -- as he has been so often -- about 'big bang', or transformational, reform.

'The last two years,' said Jaitley, 'I was being asked where the big bang was. Now you ask if we can afford (big bangs like demonetisation).'

This is, like most statements from high officials of this government, simultaneously true and false.

It is true that demonetisation is a big bang -- in the sense that it is accompanied by a terrific amount of noise, and nobody is sure for a while exactly what the explosion has destroyed.

It is false, however, that demonetisation is any kind of transformational reform.

In fact, given that it is statist in orientation, reduces choices for market participants, depends enormously on inefficient government machinery, and increases the costs of doing business for the foreseeable future, it is on pretty much every count the opposite of 'reform.'

Of course, you have to feel for Jaitley.

Who would want to be the man nominally in charge of driving the economy when your boss orders you to swerve it into a ditch of unknown depth? And when the justifications for ditch-diving that you must repeat can change weekly, even daily?

(At the time of writing, the prime minister's stated justification was that it would mean beggars could go cashless. He had apparently seen a video on WhatsApp to that effect.)

It is not surprising therefore that, in the grab-bag of explanations, clarifications, attacks, and tearful moral posturing that has passed for government statements on demonetisation, Jaitley would --almost by accident -- seize on one of the most damaging.

By indicating that the government views demonetisation as big-bang reform, the finance minister has destroyed two things.

First, he has undermined what little remains of the government's reputation for policy-making.

And second, he has fatally weakened any defence of its failure to reform so far.

Much of what the government has done for the economy has been very limited in scope.

What has not been incremental has been imposed externally -- the auctioning of natural resources was mandated by the Supreme Court, for example, and the Goods and Services Tax was merely the culmination of a decade-long process.

The argument that the government and its multitude of strenuous defenders provided for this timidity was that, in India, it is difficult to spend political capital on transformational reform.

Even the most powerful politician since Indira Gandhi, we were told, would have to move slowly.

In one stroke, demonetisation has rendered that argument specious.

Narendra Modi has shown that if he has chosen so far to avoid transformational economic reform, it is not because he is worried about the disruption it would cause or the political opposition it would create -- no, it is because he simply is not interested in doing it.

Who now can claim that privatisation of big public sector monopolies or administrative reform or labour law reform was off the table because Modi was forced towards incrementalism?

If you decide to plunge the world's third-largest economy into a liquidity crisis overnight, then you cannot be described as being too cautious for shock therapy.

And as for what it reveals about the policy-making in this government -- well, the less said, the better.

Demonetisation cannot be defended as a good idea, poorly implemented.

The first rule of governing India is that you only make the policies you can implement.

If we ignore implementation, then no doubt the Licence Raj was a brilliant idea too.

No, demonetisation has to be either a good idea or a bad idea to begin with, with a clear-eyed estimation of the implementation difficulties being an integral part of the decision-making process.

And that is where the government's weaknesses have been thrown into sharp relief.

Not only is this the extreme example of a general problem -- that this government is absurdly top-heavy, with all major initiatives coming from the prime minister's office. But it is also emblematic of all the government's other policy-making weaknesses: A tendency to think in terms of headlines, not of effects; a pernicious distrust of expertise; and a tendency towards statism.

In many ways, Modi is a prisoner of his experience in Gujarat.

As chief minister there, he had India's best bureaucracy to work with; so he severely overestimates the agility and efficiency of the government system.

His conception of political stumbling blocks is also conditioned by his Gujarat experience -- as we saw when the land acquisition ordinance had to be withdrawn, because he thought that taking farmers' land for companies would be as easy nationwide as it was in Gujarat.

And his electorate in that trading state was relatively well-off and supremely adaptable -- so he tends to bet the rest of the country can adapt as swiftly to economic changes.

But above all, what is revealed here is the limitations of a government that does not believe in thinking through its actions.

There is something deeply amateurish about the planning of demonetisation, as if it was done on a Bharatiya Janata Party WhatsApp group in between furious discussions about cow slaughter.

Where were the professionals? Let us dispense with the fiction that 'nobody could have known' about demonetisation. As is abundantly clear now, rumours and speculation about it were rife beforehand.

So little would have been lost if Modi had consulted, in confidence, leading economists on the subject of adaptation costs.

Who briefed him of ATM penetration?

Of currency-printing timelines?

Of supply chains for small and medium enterprises?

Before you try something on this scale, do you not need to get the country's foremost experts into the room, and listen carefully to their warnings and advice?

I do not deny that demonetisation is currently politically popular. It may remain so -- only in long-suffering India, perhaps, will already trodden-on people accept additional inconvenience if assured that everyone else is suffering too.

Given that, immediate political popularity is not how this decision should be judged.

Its implementation shows that, far from being an efficient manager, Modi fails comprehensively when it comes to thinking at scale.

Its nature proves that, far from being a reformer constrained by politics, Modi is simply a statist who thinks only in terms of politics.

And its conception demonstrates that this government is simply too amateurish in terms of economic policy-making to properly address India's deep, deep problems.

Politically popular or not, the reputation of this government and its leaders should not survive this disastrous experiment.

IMAGE: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Reserve Bank of India Governor Dr Urjit Patel, right.
The telecom companies have also been asked to urgently improve their infrastructure, as the government aims to digitise a host of services.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister of electronics and information technology, has given a week to mobile telephone service providers for a plan on how to increase cashless transactions, sources said.

At a meeting on Friday, Prasad apparently met representatives from Jio, Airtel, Idea, Vodafone and BSNL, among others. Apart from promoting of digital payments, the minister asked them to find ways of making it possible for feature phones to pay and accept e-payments.

The service providers are on-board with the idea and have said they would be ready with a plan in a week. The minister wants the telecom players to come up with different solutions. From our end, we will help them in every way possible, said a senior official in the ministry.

The latter has also asked the telecom companies to urgently improve their infrastructure, as the government aims to digitise a host of services. The ministry's biggest concern at present is the connectivity issue.

Digital Push IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad met representatives from Jio, Airtel, Idea, Vodafone and BSNL, among others

Apart from promoting of digital payments, the minister asked them to find ways of making it possible for feature phones to pay and accept e-payments

The telecom companies have also been asked to urgently improve their infrastructure, as the government aims to digitise a host of services

Telecom companies have to reach the interiors, so that we are able to start digital services in rural areas. Point-of-sale machines, mobile wallets and UPI (United Payments Interface) would only work if there's connectivity. The government has also asked (State-owned) BSNL for rapid expansion of its network, added the official.

As reported earlier, the ministry has launched a TV channel named DigiShala. It is a satellite channel but airing it is not mandatory for the service provider and direct-to-home customers may opt for it. The channel would be managed by Doordarshan and use its infrastructure.

The ministry has also launched a website (www.cashlessindia.gov.in), to be a repository of knowledge regarding digital payment. Teams have been formed to think of ways to digitise payments and promote the methods. Apart from talks with mobile wallet and payment gateways companies on e-payments.

The urban development ministry has also taken steps to digitise payments. They say they've spoken to various statutory local bodies and reviewed the process of computerisation. The bodies have been told to ensure most payments -- for water, property and other local taxes -- are done electronically. By March, most city governments are expected to start accepting payments electronically.
The estimated cost of the metrino is Rs 50 crore per km and each pod can accommodate three to four persons, Megha Manchanda/Business Standard reports from New Delhi.



IMAGE: The estimated cost of the metrino is Rs 50 crore per km and each pod can accommodate three to four persons. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Metrino PRT



Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's pet project of a pod taxi service is unlikely to take off soon. The minister has been talking about a seamless ride to millennium city Gurugram from Delhi's Dhaula Kuan on a metrino or a pod taxi.

The Niti Aayog, the central governments policy think-tank, is looking at safety aspects of the personal rapid transit project. V K Saraswat, the consultant for the project, is expected to submit his report to the ministry next year.

In the past, the indigenously designed SkyBus was scrapped after the Konkan Railway found it unviable. A water-taxi service on the lines of the one in New York was envisaged from Mumbai to Mandwa, a popular beach destination, but is yet to become a reality.

Recently, the Elon Musk-backed Hyperloop Transportation Technologies said it was ready to build a hyperloop between Mumbai and Pune. The hyperloop runs faster than aircraft at a speed of 1,120 kmph. Industry insiders, however, claimed the hyperloop was yet to be tried out commercially.

In April, the National Highways Authority of India presented a feasibility report on the metrino project and invited expressions of interest from international agencies for its execution.

The ropeway-like system runs on electricity and driverless pods descend at designated stations.

The estimated cost of the metrino is Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) per km and each pod can accommodate three to four persons.

According to a person close to the development, not much has moved on implementation of the project announced by Gadkari earlier this year. The implementation will lie with the Union ministry of road transport and highways.

An official said some spots, including Rajiv Chowk and Sohna Road Chowk in Gurugram, had been identified for pilot projects. Decisions on technical specifications and other modalities like suspension and support would be left to the concessionaire, the official added.

No official in the road transport ministry divulged the actual time of submission of expressions of interest, but according to a source, work on the report was at a premature stage and would take some time to complete.

The project may fructify, if at all, only late next year. The pilot study can only begin after NITI Aayog submits its report, after which interested players will be selected to undertake trials spread over six months.

A metrino system was also being planned to connect the Golden Temple with the Amritsar railway station but was shelved over costs, a road transport ministry official said.
'While Shah Rukh is working on your film, he hates your film and loves the other one he is working on!'

'So while shooting Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, he was all praises for Dil Se...'

'While shooting Mohabbatein, he constantly spoke about Hey! Ram and during Kal Ho Naa Ho, it was Devdas this and Devdas that.'

'He kept comparing his death scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho with the one in Devdas and said that our scene was rubbish.'

'He kept telling me that it needed more drama, that it was a comma, not a full stop.'

Meet the Shah Rukh Khan you never knew.

So much has been written and said about Shah Rukh Khan.

And yet, there's so much we still don't know.

Former journalist, director and friend Samar Khan gives us SRK through the eyes of his directors, all 30 of them, in his book SRK: 25 Years Of A Life, celebrating 25 years of Shah Rukh's movie career.

These directors give us fascinating insights into the superstar in these excerpts from SRK: 25 Years Of A Life.

Rohit Shetty

Film: Chennai Express

People say that Shah Rukh just can't come on time. And that he can't come for morning shots.

I think that after so many years in the industry, he has the right to expect his directors to keep him in his comfort zone. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

If you have to film a shot that can only be done early in the morning, he will be there, but otherwise, he wants to work in his comfort zone and I don't think anyone can grudge him that.

Yash Chopra

Films: Darr, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Veer-Zaara, Jab Tak Hai Jaan

He thinks of me like his father in the industry and yet he won't answer my phone or reply to messages.

I have to call Gauri if it's urgent and tell her to trace him and get him to call me back.

She is his only connection to the outside world while he's working.

It take sometime to get used to it; to understand that he's not insulting you by not answering the phone, that it's just the person he is.

Anubhav Sinha

Film: Ra.One

People called it a stroke of luck, and I agree. I had broken into the long line of people who had been waiting for years. But there was a lot more to it than that. I've done my fair share of waiting.

The process of Shah Rukh coming to understand and trust me was a long one. It wasn't like he said yes and then signed a cheque for an obscene amount and handed it over to me.

He was making a huge investment and he needed to be sure that I wouldn't go crazy with the amount of money he was looking to pour into the film.

I had my own share of waiting to endure. Our actual meetings started in January 2007.

For the first 15 days, we did daily six hour sitting to discuss the script and characters.

Then on January 17th or 18th, Shah Rukh won the bid for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Our next meeting happened in July.

For seven months, he didn't reply to even one of my text messages. At first it was frustrating. It was jarring too, and I admit there were times when I felt insecure.

But as I got to know Shah Rukh better, I realised that he's just that kind of man.

When he gives you time -- whether it's 30 seconds or 30 minutes -- he's all yours.

Karan Johar

Films: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, My Name Is Khan

You catch his theatre training while directing him because of his unique way of deconstructing the scene and the character.

He has a walk for almost every character he's played. But that walk and that nuance that he brings to every role is something he doesn't license.

He doesn't share it with you because those are his own notes.

He's not one of those people who make their homework apparent to the world. It's all done in his head.



Priyadarshan

Film: Billu

Shah Rukh Khan can never play a poor man.

He always has to play a character that is above the ordinary. That's because his body language, his demeanour, his carriage, everything is that of a star.

Shah Rukh doesn't think small or poor. And because he portrays his reality in his characters, a poor man is only the character for which he has nothing to draw from within.

Shah Rukh is more aware of this limitation than anyone around him.

He once told me, "I cannot believe myself to be a poor man. I cannot think like one and so I wouldn't want to play the role of a poor man."





Ashutosh Gowariker

Film: Swades

I still vividly remember the first time I met him. I was in Aziz Mirza's office for a reading and he was this thin, lanky guy sleeping on a mattress in a corner, with his back turned to me.

There was nothing special about that moment and yet, it was a striking image.

When he finally woke up, I recognised him as a boy from Fauji and he remembered me from an article about West is West, a film I had acted in.

That's when our friendship started. We went on to work in movies like Chamatkar and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa after Circus.





Farah Khan

Films: Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om, Happy New Year

I will never forget the first time Shah Rukh walked on to the sets (of Main Hoon Na) in Darjeeling.

As usual, he was two, three days late. But the day he arrived, it was exactly like a scene from the movie.

My 100 dancers rushed to the gate and started cheering, whistling and clapping.

I was so happy that I started crying and ran away from there because he makes a lot of fun of me when I cry.

I don't ever remember being so happy in life, except the birth of my kids.





Nikhil Advani

Film: Kal Ho Naa Ho

The thing about Shah Rukh is that while he is working on your film, he hates your film and loves the other one he is working on!

So while shooting Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, he was all praises for Dil Se....

While shooting Mohabbatein, he constantly spoke about Hey! Ram and during Kal Ho Naa Ho, it was Devdas this and Devdas that.

He kept comparing his death scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho with the one in Devdas and said that our scene was rubbish.

He kept telling me that it needed more drama, that it was a comma, not a full stop.

"This isn't a death scene, you should see what we've done in Devdas."





Subhash Ghai

Film: Pardes



And so I wrote Motherland, a war film.

It is a story about a soldier who is a prisoner in Pakistan and how he escapes from there. To date, I think it is one of the best stories I ever wrote.

When I went to London with the script and narrated it to him, he said it was one of the best scripts he'd ever read and said "When should we start?"

I got inspired and signed Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta for it and trust me, after lot of perseverance I assembled this mammoth cast.

I signed A R Rahman for the music and recorded three amazing songs.

I booked a 5,000-soldier unit in Delhi and travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan for research. It was all done in good faith.

But he kept delaying the start of the film. He was getting busy with his clan and his group of friends.

I was a senior director, so I couldn't be going everyday, landing up on his set and saying, "Hi! Are you Shah Rukh?" because I didn't belong to his generation.

I began to gauge the ebb in his interest for my film. Finally after nine months of excuses and delays, he called me one day and said "Let's start the film next year."

By then, I had lost my patience. I said, "No, thank you, Shah Rukh. It was lovely meeting you."

And then I heard that he was making Veer Zaara with the Chopras. I guess he had never intended to be a part of Motherland.

I had worked for two years on this script, recorded three songs, Rahman felt so bad, everybody felt disappointed.

I don't think I had ever been more hurt in my life.

Excerpted from SRK: 25 Years Of A Life by Samar Khan, with the kind permission of the publishers, Niyogi Books.
Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil CEO, was on Tuesday tapped by United States President-elect Donald Trump as his Secretary of State to "reverse years of misguided foreign policies" that weakened America's security and standing in the world, amid bipartisan concerns over the veteran oilman's close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest and most respected companies," Trump said in a statement.

Among the most accomplished business leaders and international deal-makers in the world, 64-year-old Tillerson has spent his career protecting the jobs of his employees, who number over 70,000, the presidential transition team said.

Guiding operations around the world that include more than 200 offices, Tillerson knows how to manage a global organisation and successfully navigate the complex

architecture of world affairs and diverse foreign leaders, it argued.

"As Secretary of State, he will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened America's security and standing in the world," the statement said.

"His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State," Trump said, adding that he will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States.

"Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none. I can think of no one more prepared, and no one more dedicated, to serve as Secretary of State at this critical time in our history," Trump said.

Tillerson said he shares Trump's vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing American national security.

"We must focus on strengthening our alliances, pursuing shared national interests and enhancing the strength, security and sovereignty of the United States," he said.

A native Texan Tillerson began his career at Exxon Company, in 1975 as a production engineer. He went on to become the company's CEO in 2006.

Like Trump, Tillerson has no formal foreign policy experience, but has built close relationships with many world leaders by closing massive deals across Eurasia and the Middle East on behalf of the world's largest energy company.

Tillerson's nomination could face intense scrutiny in the Senate due to his close ties with Putin. Trump, who during his presidential campaign praised Putin, wants to improve US' relationship with Russia which soured in 2014 when Kremlin annexed Crimea.

There is bipartisan concerns over his nomination after CIA in a secret assessment indicated that Russia intervened by hacking into the Democratic National Committee websites to help Trump win in the 2016 presidential elections, a report strongly refuted by the President-elect's transition team.

According to media reports, intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman.

Tillerson was awarded the Order of Friendship by Putin in 2012 and had lashed out against the sanctions on Russia at a shareholders meeting in 2014.

The secretary of state is in effect the top US diplomat responsible for enacting the government's foreign policy.

Tillerson was originally a dark horse for the secretary of state nomination, but emerged from a lengthy public interview and vetting process that included better-known quantities like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney and Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

Tillerson's confirmation hearing would be held in early January.

Should Tillerson not win confirmation, it would be an early setback for Trump's presidency. A Cabinet nominee hasn't been rejected by the Senate since 1989, and Trump will need Republicans to coalesce around Tillerson.

He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top American think-tank.

Corker, Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee welcomed his nomination.

"I very much appreciated President-elect Trump calling me last night to let me know that he would be nominating Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State," said Corker.

"Mr Tillerson is a very impressive individual and has an extraordinary working knowledge of the world. I congratulate him on his nomination and look forward to meeting with him and chairing his confirmation hearing," he added.

Photograph: Daniel Kramer/Reuters
With a massive final push, which began mid-November, Syrian forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad took over the last remaining rebel strongholds in the historic city of Aleppo on the night of December 12.

They won a ruined city and ruined lives.

TThe innocent victims of airstrikes on the rebel-held areas of Aleppo, November 18, 2016.

The Aleppo Offensive -- this phase code named 'Operation Dawn of Victory' -- was launched on November 15 by the Syrian armed forces and allied groups, including the Russian armed forces.

They conducted heavy air and Cruise missile strikes against the rebel-held districts in Aleppo.

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

The ruined Omar Bin Abdulaziz hospital in Aleppo on November 19.

This, 'the last operating hospital in east Aleppo', was destroyed by airstrikes a day earlier.

Another four hospitals were hit and forced to close that day, leaving an estimated 250,000 residents without access to surgery or specialist care.

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

A man inspects an unexploded missile in a rebel-held al-Qaterji neighbourhood on November 28.

By December 4, the Syrian army had captured this and other areas of Aleppo's Old City.

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

Syrians flee the clashes by going deeper towards other rebel-held areas on November 28.

Civilians in these areas faced an impossible choice between fleeing through war-torn zones or staying and facing capture and death.

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

While many chose to flee deeper into rebel-held areas, many more -- like those pictured here on November 29 -- evacuated and headed to government-held areas.

Photograph: Reuters

Syrians evacuated from eastern Aleppo reach out for Russian food aid in the city's government-controlled Jibreen area on November 30.

The text on the bag, showing Syrian and Russian national flags, reads in Arabic: 'Russia is with you.' Photograph: Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Syrian government forces took control of another area on December 2.

The victory in Aleppo was always viewed as one of the Assad regime's most important victories in a civil war that has devastated Syria.

Photograph: Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Even as the massive military push continued, ordinary people couldn't help but return -- often with their children -- to inspect their homes.

The poster on the bus in the government-controlled Hanono housing district on December 4 shows Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and reads in Arabic 'Together.'

Photograph: Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Men wash the bloodstained ground after strikes on the rebel-held al-Zebdieh district on December 5.

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

An injured woman walks at a site hit by an airstrike in a rebel-held neighbourhood on December 7.

Russia's RIA news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that the Syrian army had halted military activity December 8 to let civilians leave rebel-held territory.

Reuters, however, reported that bombardment could still be heard.

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

Along with stories of a possible cease fire -- which was being negotiated between the US and Russia to allow civilians to leave, but failed -- emerged these heartbreaking photographs of children collecting firewood from debris at a site hit by airstrikes in a rebel-held neighbourhood and children lighting a fire using plastic bags to keep warm inside a government controlled shelter.

Photographs: Abdalrhman Ismail and Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Aboy reacts to a photographer while waiting to fill containers with water in a rebel-held besieged area, while another pulls a cart full of water containers on December 10.

Photographs: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

A brigadier general addresses men, who were evacuated from the eastern districts of Aleppo, as part of a preparation to begin their military service at a police centre on December 11.

Photograph: Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

A member of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the government-held Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo, during a media tour, on December 12.

The advance of the forces loyal to the Syrian regime was marked by, what The Guardian termed, 'some of the most intense bombardment of the war.'

A resident described it to the British newspaper as a kind of 'doomsday.'

The besieged residents faced 'non-stop artillery shelling through the night (of December 11) and Monday morning (December 12) and numerous airstrikes.'

Photograph: Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

A Free Syrian Army fighter in a rebel-held area on December 12.

Overall, Assad's army secured 9 districts during the day, leaving rebels with nothing but a sliver of territory that was expected to fall December 13.

Assad had described Aleppo as the 'last hope' of the rebels and their backers, although he said the war would continue once it falls.

'The battle of Aleppo will be a gain, but ... it doesn't mean the end of the war in Syria. It is a significant landmark towards the end of the battle, but the war in Syria will not end until terrorism is eliminated.'

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

A man in a remaining rebel-held area carries a child with an IV drip as he tries to find a safe place on December 12.

With no aid in sight, many others remained trapped under rubble.

Along with the terrifying collapse of Aleppo emerged reports of spine-chilling brutalities and mass executions and fears of genocide.

Humanitarians and activists sent out 'last messages' via social media fearing they would be killed by the bombing or at the hands of the army.

The White Helmets, a group of volunteer Syrians who act as first responders, tweeted on December 12, 'There is no total number of casualties in Besieged #Aleppo today, all streets & destroyed buildings are full with dead bodies. It's hell.'They also published an impassioned plea for the UN to intervene: 'The bombs are falling as we write this. For years our humanitarian volunteers have worked to save the lives of our people in Aleppo: operating in underground hospitals, rescuing entire families buried under rubble and risking our lives to document what the daily war crimes committed by the Assad regime and its ally Russia. We can do no more...

'We are calling on you in the international community to provide safe passage out of Aleppo for the remaining 100,000 people.'

'We know that the UN has a plan to get us out across the 4 kilometres of Western Aleppo to safety: With a few dozen buses and lorries we could all be evacuated in twenty-four hours.'

'However, we need you to guarantee the safety of their workers and our own.''If we stay we fear for our lives.'

'The women may be taken to camps, the men disappeared and anyone who is known to have supported civilians will face detention or execution.'

'We've watched thousands of our boys and men be detained.'

'Countless White Helmets, doctors, nurses and humanitarians have been targeted and killed in the regime's cruel assault on Aleppo.'

'The regime has been trying to kill us for five years.'

'Please don't get them this chance.'

'We cannot believed that the world's most powerful countries cannot get 100,000 souls four kilometres to relative safety.'

Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters
When Obama signs the NDAA 2017 into law this week, the US-India partnership will be enshrined in US legislation, binding every succeeding administration, whatever its inclinations, to treat India as a 'major defence partner,' says Ajai Shukla.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

After a recent meeting with Manohar Parrikar, with whom he had already met seven times since he was appointed India's defence minister in November 2014, US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter was quoted by a senior American official as lamenting that despite their relentless efforts to invigorate the Indo-US defence partnership, there was always more to be done.

The official concluded by likening this to Zeno's Paradox (external link).

"There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. We shuffled our feet and tried to look like we knew the first thing about Zenos Paradox," says the US official.

Then, to relief all around, Parrikar broke the silence with the comment that Zeno's Paradox was indeed a good description. The IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) graduate explained that the ancient Greek had postulated, in his Dichotomy Paradox, that a destination could never be reached because, one had first to reach the half-way mark; at which point half the journey still remained.

When one covered half of that, half still remained. In this manner, there would always be half of some distance remaining to be covered, howsoever small. Thus, the journey could never be completed.

Such was the peculiar bond between Carter, a technocrat and academic; and Parrikar, an engineer and politician, who both were convinced that a close defence relationship was vital for both Washington and New Delhi.

Over the last two years, they have set course pragmatically, steering over speed bumps and obstacles, to achieve a number of successes that testify to the solidity of the relationship.

Amongst them are the 'Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship', signed in 2015; and a long postponed 'Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement' signed this year.

In addition, Carter and Parrikar have solidified an entire edifice of discussion bodies, providing forums in which Washington and New Delhi's bureaucracies negotiated the new relationship.

Some of these, like the apex Defence Policy Group and the Military Cooperation Group, predated the current ministers.

But the real driver of the relationship was the newly-created Defence Technology and Trade Initiative, which explored co-development programmes that had the potential to really build trust and overcome decades of suspicion between the two new partners.

Also created by Carter in the Pentagon was an India Rapid Reaction Cell that processed India-related issues on priority.

With Carter due to demit office in late January, all this hung in the balance.

The India policy was an initiative of the Barack Obama administration, and there was no certainty that it would be followed up by President-elect Donald Trump and his chosen defence secretary, General James Mattis.

Even before Trump won the election, questions were being asked about whether Hillary Clinton would accord New Delhi the priority that Obama's administration had done.

Obama's successor, or another president down the line, could easily have reversed course, walking away from the DTTI, shutting down the India Rapid Reaction Cell and abandoning the idea that India was a special partner, vital to Washington's interests in Indo-Asia-Pacific.

This uncertainty was removed with the passage of the National Defence Authorisation Act of 2017, in which Section 1292 is headed 'Enhancing Defence and Security Cooperation with India'.

Over the last fortnight, the NDAA passed the House of Representatives (375:34) and the Senate (92:7).

When Obama signs the NDAA 2017 into law this week, the US-India partnership will be enshrined in US legislation, binding every succeeding administration, whatever its inclinations, to treat India as a 'major defence partner.'

While the US Congress was (as the voting pattern indicates) solidly behind the India legislation, it would have been tempting fate to introduce it as a standalone 'US-India Partnership Bill.'

Most small bills introduced in the US Congress disappear without a trace into what is essentially a legislative black hole that has time only for the really big things -- and sometimes not even for those.

So, like many other strongly supported legislations, the Indo-US legislation was made to piggy-back on the NDAA 2017, which must be passed each year since it allocates funding for the American defence forces.

This was the method followed to legislate the US-Israel defence partnership, which has ensured that Israel remains the pre-eminent military power in West Asia.

In 2008, a similar amendment, the Naval Vessel Transfer Act, contained the clause that binds Washington to ensuring that Israel enjoys a '"qualitative military edge' over every potential adversary.

Effectively, the bill enjoins the US secretaries of defence and state to recognise India as a 'major defence partner of the US.'

It mandates the appointment of an official to pursue the 'Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship', a 10-year agreement signed in 2015 that lays down an elaborate agenda for the partnership.

New Delhi will be carefully watching who the Trump administration appoints; the official's seniority and influence would be an indicator of how important the new president considers the Indo-US relationship.

The India section also enshrines the DTTI and the India Rapid Reaction Cell into US law. This means the continuation of the Indo-US development projects that were taken up under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative last year: joint development of the Indian Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier, INS Vishal, and the crucial high-temperature 'hot section' of an experimental jet engine.

Official sources in Washington and New Delhi are whispering about a new big-ticket project about to be announced under the DTTI. There is speculation this might involve building a jet fighter in India.

The passage of the legislation was not without drama.

In the summer, the House of Representatives had passed the NDAA 2017, along with an 'India amendment' introduced by Representative George Holding. But, due to infighting in the Senate over a barely connected matter, the India amendment was left out of the NDAA 2017.

Eventually, the House-Senate conference that met to reconcile the two versions of the NDAA 2017, agreed to include the India amendment in the final version.

This is a measure of India's influence on Capitol Hill and a stark reversal from the days when most legislations relating to South Asia were directed at providing Pakistan exceptions from sanctions over its clandestine nuclear project, its trampling of democracy through military coups, and its support to terrorist groups.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) stands to regain access to huge reserves of oil if the United States rolls back sanctions on Russia.

U.S. sanctions on Russia have prevented Exxon Mobil from exploring assets covering 63.6 million acres. The prospect of rapprochement between the U.S. and Russia remains speculative, but both President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have said they want to improve relations. The two countries' relationship fell apart after Russia took Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then intervened in civil wars in Ukraine and Syria.

Trump over the weekend dismissed the assessment, reached unanimously by 17 U.S. intelligence services, that the Russian government directed cyberattacks on the United States in a bid to "interfere with the U.S. election process." He then waved off a subsequent report citing CIA sources that alleges that intervention was meant to boost his chances of beating Hillary Clinton in November.

On Tuesday, Trump announced he would nominate Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of State.

Tillerson has experience negotiating deals in Russia, and he got to know Putin while chief executive of the world's biggest integrated oil and gas company.

Tillerson has the backing of former Republican Secretaries of State James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, but GOP lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including John McCain and Marco Rubio, have expressed concerns about Tillerson's relationship with Putin.





Maximum loss from halted ventures: $1 billion

Tillerson has criticized U.S. sanctions on Russia and was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Putin in 2013. To be sure, as Exxon's chief executive, Tillerson's priority has been to his shareholders, and he has sought to protect the company's substantial interests in Russia.

Exxon's operations in Russia represent only a fraction of its global oil and gas production, but a joint venture with Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft (:ROSN1-MZ) to explore and produce fossil fuels in Arctic waters represents a big part of Exxon's potential future production growth.

Story continues

Those endeavors have been on ice since 2014, when the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for its incursions into Ukraine. Exxon said in a filing after the sanctions were put in place that its "maximum before-tax exposure to loss from these joint ventures" totaled $1 billion through the end of 2015.

Exxon did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.



Exxon and Rosneft entered the joint venture in 2012 to develop offshore reserves in the Arctic Kara Sea and the Black Sea, as well as onshore assets in Siberia. The following year, they advanced their strategic alliance by adding seven more blocks in the Chukchi, Laptev and Kara seas.

Exxon's holdings in Russia's Arctic waters and the Black Sea, which are not producing for the energy giant due to the sanctions, totaled 63.6 million acres. By comparison, Exxon holds 85,000 net acres across its main Russian venture, an offshore project called Sakhalin, which was in place before the sanctions.



Exxon holds a 33 percent stake in Arctic Kara Sea and Black Sea joint ventures, and a 30 percent stake in the Sakhalin project.

Rosneft estimates there are 87 billion barrels of oil lying in the three blocks of the Kara Sea covered by its joint venture with Exxon Mobil. The first exploration well in the Kara Sea in the icy Arctic waters above Russia yielded a discovery of 730 million barrels of oil, S&P Global Platts reported.

Just days before the Kara discovery was announced, the United States expanded sanctions on Russia's oil industry that forced Exxon Mobil to quickly wind down its operations in the Kara Sea.

Purely from a size perspective, the Arctic is one of Exxon's biggest prizes, said Anish Kapadia, an analyst at energy investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt. But he cautioned there are many questions about the economics of developing the reserves.

Drilling in the Arctic is notoriously difficult and can take place only during a few months of the year due to the harsh conditions. A number of oil companies have abandoned Arctic projects in the waters off Alaska.

From a financial perspective, Exxon's long-term plans in offshore Guyana make more sense than the Arctic joint venture, Kapadia said. Projects to develop liquefied natural gas and Canadian oil sands could also come with lower development costs.

"It's not just the size of the prize, it's whether you can make it work commercially," Kapadia told CNBC.

The onshore Siberian assets are not materially significant to Exxon's business, he added. That part of the joint venture likely benefits Rosneft by allowing it to tap Exxon's experience in extracting fossil fuels from tight rock formations, Kapadia explained.

Correction: This story was revised to correct the spelling of Condoleezza Rice's first name.
Security Council underlines need for stronger judicial cooperation to combat terrorism

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 12 December 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Security Council underlines need for stronger judicial cooperation to combat terrorism, 12 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584fea0540c.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

12 December 2016 - Condemning acts of terrorism and their impact on innocent civilians and on peace and stability, the United Nations Security Council emphasized the need for establishing wilful violation of prohibition on financing of terrorist organizations or individual terrorists as serious criminal offenses in national laws and regulations.

In a resolution adopted unanimously today, the 15-member Council further called on UN Member States to share, where appropriate, information about foreign terrorist fighters, individual terrorists and terrorist organizations, bilateral, regional and global law enforcement agencies, in compliance with international and domestic national law and policy.

The adoption of this resolution comes against the backdrop of at-least three major terrorist attacks around the globe this weekend. Turkey's capital, Istanbul; Egypt's capital, Cairo; and Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, each were targets of terrorist bombings and attacks that killed many civilians and injured many more.

Further in the resolution today, the Council also called upon countries to consider the possibility of allowing, through appropriate laws and mechanisms, the transfer of criminal proceedings, as appropriate, in terrorist-related cases as well as enhancing cooperation to prevent terrorists from benefiting from transnational organized crime as well as to investigate and to build the capacity to prosecute such terrorists and transnational organized criminals working with them.

The adoption of the resolution was followed by a high-level meeting of the Security Council on the theme of 'international judicial cooperation in countering terrorism.'

Presided over by the Minister of Justice of Spain, Rafael Catala Polo, the meeting was participated in my senior officials and representatives of countries including, inter alia, Angola, China, Egypt, France, Japan, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The meeting also heard briefings from Jean-Paul Laborde, the Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate of the UN; Dorcas Oduor, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in Kenya; and Robert Strang, the Executive Secretary of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law.
Malnutrition among children in Yemen at 'all-time high,' warns UNICEF

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 12 December 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Malnutrition among children in Yemen at 'all-time high,' warns UNICEF, 12 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff2f840c.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

12 December 2016 - With Yemen's health system near collapse, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned today that nearly 2.2 million children are acutely malnourished and require urgent care, while at least 462,000 are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) - a near 200 per cent increase since 2014.

The Hodeida, Sa'ada, Taizz, Hajjah and Lahej governorates put together experience the highest SAM cases in the country. In some areas of Sa'ada, eight out of 10 children are chronically malnourished. Additionally, 1.7 million children suffer from Moderate Acute Malnutrition.

"The state of health of children in the Middle East's poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today," stated Dr. Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Acting Representative in Yemen, adding that malnutrition in in the country is at an all-time high and increasing.

According to UNICEF, Yemen's health system is on the verge of collapse, with less than a third of the population having access to medical care, and more than half of the health facilities are non-functional. In addition, every ten minutes at least one child dies of preventable diseases such as malnutrition, diarrhoea, and respiratory tract infections.

"Violence and conflict have reversed significant gains made in the last decade in the health and nutrition of Yemeni children. Diseases such as cholera and measles have spread and, with few health facilities functional, such outbreaks are taking a heavy toll on children," said Dr. Relano.

Throughout 2016, the agency provided treatment for 215,000 children in Yemen suffering from SAM, and also delivered vitamin supplements to more than four million children under the age of five. However, a funding shortage limits the agency's actions. In 2017, UNICEF said it will need $70 million to provide the much-needed nutrition services to mothers and children across the country.

"We call on parties to the conflict to give us unhindered access to children in need across the country so we are able to deliver nutrition supplies, treat malnourished children and support Yemen's health services," urged Dr. Relano.
Conflict threatens decades of progress for children in Middle East, North Africa  UNICEF

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 12 December 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Conflict threatens decades of progress for children in Middle East, North Africa  UNICEF, 12 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff33640e.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

12 December 2016 - Although countries across the Middle East and North Africa have made major strides in protecting children's rights and wellbeing since the inception of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 70 years ago, conflict risks reversing these gains for 157 million children in the region.

"Looking back on 70 years of UNICEF's work for children is a source of great pride. Every country in the region has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, less children die before the age of five, and school enrolment rates have improved," said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a news release issued today.

"But conflict risks reversing these gains for 157 million children across the region, making our mandate to protect them more crucial than ever," he added.

According to UNICEF, nearly one in five children across the Middle East and North Africa is in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, with violent conflict, poverty and displacement creating dire conditions that push almost 29 million boys and girls to the brink.

After years of conflict across the Middle East and North Africa, children have increasingly come under attack and suffer the brunt of war in half of the countries in the region.

These grim figures on our 70th anniversary should be an urgent wake up call to the world to work harder

An estimated 8.4 million Syrian children are in need of immediate assistance for shelter, food and water, compared to 500,000 in 2012. Nearly half a million children are living in besieged areas in Syria and have received little to no aid in almost two years.

Almost 10 million children in Yemen are affected by conflict and living in critical conditions, with nearly 400,000 at risk of severe acute malnutrition.

Extreme brutality against children is rife in Iraq. According to reports, nearly 400 child rights violations were recorded since January 2016. The ongoing military operation in Mosul has displaced nearly 74,000 people, almost half of them children.

In Sudan, Libya and the State of Palestine, conflict has pushed millions of children out of their homes and schools and denied them access to basic services.

"These grim figures on our 70th anniversary should be an urgent wake up call to the world to work harder so that each and every child across the Middle East and North Africa can survive, thrive and be reach their full potential," said Mr. Cappelaere. "This is not a lost generation. History will judge us: we must invest more in the region's children today."

Through the No Lost Generation, UNICEF has helped provide formal and informal learning opportunities for Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.

In Syria and neighbouring refugee-host countries, UNICEF has helped vaccinate over 21 million children against polio in 2016, and in Sudan, over 82,000 children have received psycho-social support this year. Since January, four million children in Yemen have received nutritional services with support from UNICEF.
UN condemns terrorist attack in Egyptian capital, Cairo

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 11 December 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN condemns terrorist attack in Egyptian capital, Cairo, 11 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff41840d.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

11 December 2016 - Condemning the terrorist attack at the St. Peter's Church, attached to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council underlined that those responsible for the attack should be held accountable.

In a statement issued by his office, Mr. Ban condemned the terrorist act against the place of worship and expressed hope that its perpetrators will be swiftly identified and brought to justice.

Dozens of people have been killed and many more injured in the attack.

In separate statement, the UN Security Council also spoke out against the attack and reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.

The Council also underscored the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of such reprehensible acts to justice.

Further in the statement, Council members also condemned the terrorist attack in Giza on Friday in which six Egyptian policemen were killed and a number of civilians injured.

Wide view of the Security Council Chamber. UN Photo/Loey Felipe (file)

Members also urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in holding those responsible for the killings to account.

Further today, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC) also denounced the attack.

The brutal crime, which killed dozens of people and wounded many others is shocking by all means taking place near a church, a sacred place of worship where people of faith seek peace and comfort and share the values of compassion and tolerance, read a UNAOC statement.

The UN officials and the Security Council also expressed their sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims as well as to Egyptian Government, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured.
Disclaimer

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Human Rights Council: Maintain scrutiny of situation in Ukraine

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 12 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Council: Maintain scrutiny of situation in Ukraine, 12 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff6424.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Human Rights Watch welcomes the new periodic report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report is an important opportunity to reinvigorate discussions on addressing key human rights issues in Ukraine.

We would like to highlight several concerns described in the report, some of which have been areas of extensive Human Rights Watch research.

First, Human Rights Watch, together with Amnesty International, has documented cases in which Ukrainian government authorities, pro-government paramilitary groups, and Russia-backed separatists have held civilians in prolonged, arbitrary, and incommunicado detention, and have subjected them to beatings and other physical abuses. In many instances the cases documented were enforced disappearances, in which the detentions were followed by denials of the detentions, or refusal to provide any information on the whereabouts or fate of the detainees. In all the cases we documented, the captors held victims on suspicion of collaborating with the other side. A report we published in July 2016 documented, among other things, that 18 people had been victims of enforced disappearances while detained on the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) premises in Kharkiv through the end of that month, some for months at a time and one for as long as 16 months. In the two weeks after the report's publication, 13 people were released from detention in the Kharkiv SBU, but remain victims of enforced disappearances as the authorities still do not acknowledge the detentions. The military prosecutor's office pledged to investigate. As noted in the OHCHR report, at least five people are believed to remain forcibly disappeared, held in Kharkiv.

Ukraine's military prosecutor should prioritize and personally oversee an investigation into allegations of enforced disappearances by the SBU, and Ukraine's allies and international partners should ensure that it does this.

Second, in areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Russia-backed separatists, we found that local security services operate without any adherence to the rule of law, subject to no oversight whatsoever, and with complete impunity. People whom they detain are simply at their mercy, and the relatives have no one to turn to for assistance. In one case we documented, a man spent three months in late 2015 and early 2016 in the custody of local security services custody, cuffed to a water pipe, and was badly beaten.

We believe that many other incidents of torture take place but that the pervasive climate of raw fear that we witnessed, fostered by rebel authorities in Donestsk region, prevent people from discussing or seeking justice for them. Making the region even more isolated from the outside world, in November local authorities expelled several Russian journalists and People in Need, a nongovernmental organization that had provided humanitarian assistance.

Third, we have also documented the significant hardship civilians face crossing the line of contact and support OHCHR's call to review restrictions on freedom of movement and to take measures to shorten processing time and provide necessary facilities.

Fourth, as noted in the OHCHR report, a handful of Ukraine's volunteer battalion members are currently on trial for violent crimes committed during the armed conflict, and trials are also under way for the 2014 political violence in Odesa. We are extremely disturbed that ultranationalists have been allowed to disrupt proceedings and intimidate judges and defendants. The authorities take some, but inadequate, measures to rein in the situation. Unless the government takes robust measures, ultranationalists will become further emboldened to severely undermine justice.

Finally, Human Rights Watch continues to be alarmed by the human rights crisis that has attended Russia's occupation of Crimea. Russian authorities are prosecuting people for publicly opposing Russian occupation of Crimea, further shrinking space for free speech and freedom of association. The OHCHR report notes Russia's banning of Mejlis, the self-elected representative body for Crimean Tatars, and the persecution of its activists, including the forced psychiatric confinement of one of Mejlis's deputy chairmen, Ilmi Umerov. Just last week, Russian authorities sent a Crimean human rights activist, Emir Hussein Kuku, who had been held in pretrial custody since February 2016 on bogus charges of membership in a terrorist organization, to forced psychiatric confinement.

Russia's forced imposition of Russian citizenship on people in Crimea violates international humanitarian law and has severely interfered with residents' access to healthcare and barred them from working in certain professions. It is important that the UN continue to condemn Russia's abuses in Crimea, and for the Human Rights Council to maintain scrutiny of the situation in Ukraine and reflect in upcoming resolutions the concerns and recommendations of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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Philippines: Duterte Should Disavow Threat to Lawyers

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 12 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Philippines: Duterte Should Disavow Threat to Lawyers, 12 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff6ae4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte should disavow his threat to target the lawyers of alleged drug dealers and reaffirm the right of criminal suspects to legal counsel and due process of law, Human Rights Watch said today.

At a public event in Manila on December 7, 2016, Duterte said that drug suspects were able to post bail and avoid prosecution because they have "good, high-profile lawyers," warning, "Even their lawyers, I will include them." Duterte's remarks, amid an abusive "war on drugs" that has resulted in the deaths of more than 5,000 Filipinos since July 1, follows a similar warning to human rights defenders on November 28 for allegedly fostering drug use in the country.

"Duterte's threats against lawyers and human rights defenders constitute a dangerous extension of his abusive 'war on drugs' that has already resulted in more than 5,000 killings," said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director. "The sinister lesson of Duterte's first six months in office is that the groups and individuals he publicly identifies as legitimate targets in his drug war all too often end up dead, in high numbers."

Philippine National Police statistics indicate that police killed 2,086 "drug personalities" between July 1 and December 12. Police have attributed those killings to suspects who "resisted arrest and shot at police officers," but have not provided further evidence that police acted in self-defense. The Philippine National Police say that an additional 3,841 alleged drug users and drug dealers were killed by "unidentified gunmen" between July 1 and November 30.

Duterte has responded to prior public challenges to the killing campaign with similar intimidation tactics. Senator Leila De Lima's senate hearings in August to probe the legality of the spiraling death toll prompted a torrent of harassment and intimidation from Duterte and other government officials. In August, Duterte told a crowd of supporters that De Lima should commit suicide, saying, "If I were De Lima, ladies and gentlemen, I'll hang myself." In October, Duterte announced that the challenges of prosecuting his drug war sometimes made him "tempted really to declare martial law." A month later, Duterte issued a public warning that he may suspend the right of habeas corpus.

"Duterte's efforts to intimidate lawyers, human rights defenders, and lawmakers demonstrate that he's willing to extend his abusive 'war on drugs' from the slaughter of criminal suspects to anyone who might object to that bloodletting," Kine said. "Unless Duterte walks back those threats, his government will bury the rule of law along with the thousands of suspected criminals killed since he took office on June 30."

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EU: Restore Rights Values to Migration Policy

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 13 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, EU: Restore Rights Values to Migration Policy, 13 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff74b4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

European Union leaders should signal a change in course and affirm strong human rights principles in EU asylum policy and foreign relations, Human Rights Watch said today. Heads of state from the 28 EU countries meeting in Brussels on December 15, 2016, are expected to assess migration cooperation with selected African countries, evaluate implementation of the EU-Turkey deal to stem boat migration to the Greek islands, and discuss proposals for further reform of EU asylum rules.

"EU leadership has never been more vitally important than now," said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The EU moves to outsource responsibility for asylum seekers and limit refugee rights will do little to stave off populist anti-immigrant movements, but will significantly harm both people desperately seeking refuge and the EU's global standing."

In a recent report, Human Rights Watch analyzed the human rights consequences of EU migration and asylum policy trends, and set out recommendations on how the EU can place human rights at the core of its response to boat and other migration. The focus on deterrence has come at the expense of concerted action to increase safe and legal options for refugees such as resettlement, Human Rights Watch said.

The problematic EU-Turkey deal and the so-called migration "compacts" with African countries demonstrate the EU's increasing focus on foreign policy and aid to leverage cooperation by countries of origin and transit. Providing aid to improve people's lives in countries of origin and the lives of refugees and host communities in countries of first arrival and asylum is positive. But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has warned against a "carrot and stick" approach, which risks creating incentives for governments to implement abusive policies to block departures or restrict freedom of movement. This would have a devastating impact on the ability of asylum seekers to reach places of genuine safety and of everyone in those countries to exercise their right to leave their own country, Human Rights Watch said.

On December 8, the European Commission proposed changes to the EU-Turkey deal that would make it even harder for vulnerable groups or family members of people already in Europe to avoid being forcibly returned to Turkey. The changes would also further accelerate asylum procedures for people from countries considered to be "safe countries of origin" on the assumption that they do not need protection.

The Commission is pressing Greece to speed up the work of Greek Appeals Committees and to explore ways to limit their opportunities to review cases. This would effectively reduce their ability to block returns of asylum seekers even if they believe that Turkey is not a safe country for return. The committees have been blocking returns in almost all of these cases.

The Commission has also indicated that EU countries should be able, as of mid-March 2017, to gradually resume returns to Greece of asylum seekers who passed through the country, applying the EU asylum rule known as the Dublin regulation. European and national courts have blocked returns of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin regulation because of Greece's failure to provide effective protection and decent reception conditions for asylum seekers.

EU leaders are expected to consider a raft of changes to EU asylum laws proposed by the European Commission. These include measures to make it harder to qualify for protection in EU countries, to punish asylum seekers for moving between EU countries, and to impose compulsory reviews to facilitate revoking protection and forced returns. While the Commission proposals include some positive aspects, the overall package would lower standards and protection, Human Rights Watch said.

Mismanagement and the failure to act collectively and share responsibility fairly among EU member states are causing unnecessary hardships for asylum seekers and migrants, Human Rights Watch said. Numerous organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, have criticized the conditions and treatment in processing centers, called hotspots, in Italy and Greece.

Over 62,500 asylum seekers and migrants remain stranded in Greece, and the EU policy of containment on the Greek islands in implementation of the EU-Turkey deal is exacerbating terrible conditions and tensions on the islands. The asylum system in Italy is also increasingly overwhelmed. The poorly designed and implemented relocation plan has done little to alleviate the stresses on these two countries, or help people seeking protection. Only 8,162 people have been relocated to other EU countries, just 5 percent of the initial total target of 160,000.

Since the beginning of 2016, over 350,000 asylum seekers and other migrants have reached the EU by sea, almost evenly split between Italy and Greece. Despite rescue efforts by nongovernmental groups and EU states, more than 4,700 people have died or been reported missing at sea in 2016, the deadliest year on record.

"EU leaders like to be seen talking tough about keeping people out of Europe, when their time would be much better spent figuring out how the EU can be a real leader in the global displacement crisis," Sunderland said. "That starts with sharing responsibility and protecting rights here in Europe, increasing resettlement, and tackling the human rights abuses that drive forced displacement."

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Lebanon: Student Arrested for Facebook Post

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 13 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Lebanon: Student Arrested for Facebook Post, 13 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff7d74.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Lebanese authorities' arrest and detention of a journalism student for a critical Facebook post is incompatible with Lebanon's human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said today.

The authorities arrested Bassel al-Amin, 21, on December 6, 2016. An investigative judge released him on bail on December 12, and referred his file to the general prosecutor, who will recommend whether to drop the case or bring charges, said Al Amin's lawyer. Lebanon should drop the case and repeal vague and overbroad criminal laws that can lead to prison terms for insulting the president or state symbols, stifling freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said.

"Arresting Bassel Al Amin for no more than criticizing Lebanon's presidents and symbol is a clear case of suppression of critical speech that will further chill freedom of expression in Lebanon," said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "This is only the latest incident in a troubling pattern of using vague and overbroad criminal laws to detain people who criticize the government."

The Lebanese Internal Security Force's Anti-Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Rights Bureau summoned Al Amin for questioning on December 5 about the post, which criticized Lebanon, its presidents, and its national emblem, the cedar. The post has since been deleted. The lawyer said that Al Amin was interrogated without a lawyer and is being investigated for insulting the Lebanese national emblem and causing sectarian or racist strife under articles 317 and 384 of the penal code. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.

Protesters demonstrated against Al Amin's arrest and detention outside the Justice Ministry on December 8, and at Al Amin's university on December 12.

"I saw him the first day and the following morning and I collapsed, I started crying," Al Amin's mother told Human Rights Watch. "He does not belong in that cell. You should have seen the people he's with. What did he do to deserve this? He's a student. He studies journalism. He shouldn't be there."

Lebanon's constitution guarantees freedom of expression "within the limits established by law." But article 384 of the penal code authorizes imprisonment of six months to two years for insulting the president, the flag, or the national emblem. Article 317 criminalizes acts, writing, or speech that is meant to cause or results in "sectarian or racist strife," with prison terms of one to three years.

Such laws are a disproportionate and unnecessary response to the need to protect reputations and the state, and they chill freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said.

The UN Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has held that "harassment, intimidation or stigmatization of a person, including arrest, detention, trial or imprisonment for reasons of the opinions they may hold, constitutes a violation" of the covenant, which Lebanon ratified in 1972. The committee has stated its disapproval of laws that criminalize insulting the head of state or national symbols.

In addition, "libel," "defamation," and "insult" are not well-defined in Lebanese law. Such vague and broadly worded provisions can be used to quell criticism of the government, or actions or policies of government officials.

Human Rights Watch has long documented Lebanon's use of libel and defamation laws to penalize journalists and activists for opinions and statements that are protected under international human rights law.

On May 30, Lebanese authorities arrested a lawyer and human rights activist, Nabil al-Halabi, over his Facebook posts criticizing government officials. He was detained for three days and released after signing a "document of submission."

In October 2015, security forces detained a political activist, Michel Douaihy, after General Security filed a complaint against him for Facebook posts that officials deemed libelous. He was released after nine days, and a court fined him US$200. Also in October 2015, a court sentenced Mohammed Nazzal, a journalist, to six months in absentia and fined him US$666 for a Facebook post criticizing the Lebanese judiciary. In January 2015, Lebanese authorities summoned an Al Jazeera journalist, Faisal Qassem, over charges of insulting the army in Facebook posts and, given his failure to show up to two hearings, issued a warrant against him.

Between June 22 and 28, 2010, security forces detained Na`im Hanna, Antoine Ramia, and Shibel Kassab for posting comments critical of then-President Michel Suleiman on Facebook. They were charged with libel, defamation, and insulting the president under articles 384, 386, and 388 of Lebanon's penal code.

The Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom found in a 2016 report that Lebanese defamation laws were used for "targeting activists and dissidents and intimidating online journalists, bloggers and Internet users from speaking about certain subjects, thus paving the way for self-censorship and the chilling of speech."

While few bloggers, activists, and journalists end up in jail, the proliferation of such prosecutions and the threat of arrest reflect an urgent need for Lebanon to amend its laws to remove criminal sanctions for libel, defamation, and insulting the president and national symbols, Human Rights Watch said.

"The criminalization of free expression has no place in a rights-respecting country," Fakih said. "Whether or not it agrees with the views being expressed, the Lebanese government should guarantee the right to speak out freely as a necessary check on the abuse of power."

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Burma: Military Burned Villages in Rakhine State

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 13 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Burma: Military Burned Villages in Rakhine State, 13 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff84b4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Satellite imageryimagery and interviews with refugees place responsibility for burnings of Rohingya villages in Burma's Rakhine State squarely with the Burmese military, Human Rights Watch said today. Since October 9, 2016, at least 1,500 buildings have been destroyed, driving thousands of ethnic Rohingya from their homes.

Military and government officials should immediately allow humanitarian agencies, the media, and human rights monitors access to all of Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township. The Burmese government has repeatedly denied using arson as a tactic, instead accusing militants of setting fire to Rohingya villages.

"The new findings refute the Burmese military and government's claims that Rohingya militants were responsible for burning down their own villages," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The satellite imagery and eyewitness interviews clearly point the finger at the military for setting these buildings ablaze."

The new satellite imagery analysis of villages in Maungdaw Township reveals four new elements. First, the total number of destroyed buildings identified by Human Rights Watch has climbed to 1,500 as of November 23. The full number is probably higher as tree cover may have concealed some destroyed buildings.

Second, the pattern of burnings over time suggest government responsibility for the destruction. The first three villages that were burned, between October 9 and 14, are all next to the main Taung Pyo district road, while the villages burned during the second and larger round between November 12 and 15 lie approximately 3 to 5 kilometers west of the road. This progression is consistent with military forces advancing westward rather than militants or local residents haphazardly setting fires.

Third, Human Rights Watch documented systematic building destruction in villages on three occasions after government forces reportedly came under attack in the area, suggesting a reprisal element to the arson. In some cases, the fires started hours after a reported attack and in other cases a day or two later. Following an attack on a joint military-border guard patrol in Pwint Hpyu Chaung on the morning of November 12, for example, more than 800 buildings in total were burned in that village and five others nearby over the next four days.

Fourth, the imagery reveals the presence of Burmese security forces in the Border Guard Post Number 1 that is located directly adjacent to Wa Peik village, which was almost entirely burned down in three waves over a one-month period. Militants attacked the post and two other security force facilities on the morning of October 9, killing nine government officers and sparking the last two months of violence.

The first fires in Wa Peik started in the early afternoon of October 9, hours after the attack on the border guard base. Human Rights Watch also identified the subsequent presence of multiple military transport vehicles and the periodic landing of military helicopters at the base.

"It's difficult to believe that militants burned down over 300 buildings in Wa Peik over a one-month period while Burmese security forces stood there and watched," Adams said. "Burmese government officials have been caught out by this satellite imagery, and it's time they recognize their continued denials lack credibility."

Witness accounts from Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh further implicate the Burmese military in arson, Human Rights Watch said. Ten refugees, interviewed in person, described witnessing Burmese soldiers destroying buildings and setting them afire, including in the village tracts of Kyet Yoe Pyin, Dar Gyi Zar, and Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son.

"Abdul," 23, from Kyet Yoe Pyin village tract, said he fled on October 12 as the military advanced on his village, shooting at residents and setting the village on fire with a combination of gasoline and shoulder-fired rocket launchers. "I saw the army setting fire to the village and aiming and firing at people," he said.

"Chomi," 35, said he watched the military enter his village in Dar Gyi Zar village tract on November 13, and fire rocket launchers at residents' homes, causing them to catch fire. He watched from a nearby field as the homes burned and then fled the area with his wife and three children, eventually making it to Bangladesh.

"Ahmet," 45, said soldiers entered his village in the Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son tract in mid-November and threw jars of gasoline on rooftops, setting them on fire one by one.

At a press conference on November 16, the Burmese government showed imagery of northern Rakhine State taken from a military helicopter to refute Human Rights Watch's allegations of village destruction. But the government fundamentally downplayed the extent and severity of fire-related building destruction in the villages of Wa Peik, Kyet Yoe Pyin, Pyaung Pyit, and Dar Gyi Zr, while effectively validating Human Rights Watch's findings and revealing major building destruction in the villages of Wa Peik and Dar Gyi Zar.

The government erroneously claimed that Human Rights Watch had reported the complete destruction of Dar Gyi Zar village. That village was not included in the initial Human Rights Watch report because the damages had not yet occurred. The government said that 30 buildings had been destroyed in Dar Gyi Zar but a subsequent satellite imagery analysis puts this number at more than 250.

The government also did not show helicopter imagery of burned buildings in villages near Dar Gyi Zar (including Thu U Lar, Kyee Kan Pyin, Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son, Myaw Taung, Kyar Guang Taung, Pa Yin Taung, and Pwint Hpyu Chaung) that had been set on fire just before the military helicopter flight. Human Rights Watch subsequently reported the destruction in these villages. In addition, environmental satellite sensors detected multiple burning fires in the village of Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son on the early afternoon of November 15. It is likely that smoke from those fires would have been visible from the helicopter as it flew over the area in the afternoon of the same day.

The ongoing military operations in Rakhine State since October 9 have had a major impact on the affected population. About 30,000 people have been displaced but the military and government have prevented humanitarian agencies from verifying the numbers or determining these persons' needs. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says about 21,000 people have fled to Bangladesh.

The government should immediately allow unfettered humanitarian access to all parts of northern Rakhine State, as the United Nations and others have urged, Human Rights Watch said. Governments with influence in Burma should press the military and government to urgently grant access.

On December 1, the government announced the creation of a committee to investigate the situation in Rakhine State and to report by January 31, 2017. However, the committee's composition and mandate raise serious doubts that it will conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into alleged abuses, including extrajudicial killings and sexual violence, Human Rights Watch said. In October, the Rakhine State parliament also created a commission to examine the situation, but discriminatory comments against the Rohingya by some commission members have undermined its credibility and objectivity. The commission has thus far failed to seriously investigate alleged abuses by government forces.

The government should instead invite the United Nation to assist in an impartial investigation, Human Rights Watch said.

"Blocking access and an impartial examination of the situation will not help people who are now at grave risk," Adams said. "Whatever occurred during military operations, the government has an obligation to allow humanitarian agencies access to the area to provide aid."

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South Africa: Marikana compensation announcement brings justice closer

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 12 December 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, South Africa: Marikana compensation announcement brings justice closer, 12 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/584ff9484.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

President Jacob Zuma's long-overdue announcement that the government is ready to pay compensation to the victims of the 2012 Marikana tragedy is an important development towards achieving justice for the victims and their families, Amnesty International said today.

The President also announced that some members of the South African Police Service are facing criminal charges for their role in the killings of 44 people during the wage dispute between Lonmin mine and its striking employees in August 2012.

"While the compensation for the loss of life and livelihoods for the tragic events of that fateful week in August 2012 is a welcome step forward, four years was much too long for the survivors and their families to wait," said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for Southern Africa.

"The government must act swiftly to finalize the payment and ensure effective remedies and justice for the 44 lives lost."

The announcement is in line with the recommendations of the Farlam Commission which was set up to investigate the circumstances that led to the killing of 44 people in Marikana between 13 and 16 August 2012.

President Zuma has also threatened to suspend the mining license of Lonmin Plc if it fails to comply with its Social Labour Plans, as it has promised, to deliver housing for its workforce as it has done in the past.

"Almost four months ago, Amnesty International revealed that Lonmin broke its own promise to deliver 5,500 houses for its workforce. It's high time the government held the company to account for failing to uphold its decade-old commitment to its Social Labour Plans."

Background

On 16 August 2012 the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) fatally shot 34 men at Marikana.

Ten other men died in the days leading up to the killings.

More than 70 others sustained serious injuries. The men were Lonmin's employees and had been engaged in strike and protest action over low pay and poor conditions at the mine.

On 15 August 2016, Amnesty International released a report, Smoke and mirrors: Lonmin's failure to address housing conditions at Marikana, detailing how approximately 20,000 miners working for Lonmin at Marikana are living in squalor in spite of legally binding commitments made by the company to build more houses.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
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Syria: Reports of execution-style killings in Aleppo point to war crimes

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 13 December 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Syria: Reports of execution-style killings in Aleppo point to war crimes, 13 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5850097d4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Shocking reports from the UN that scores of civilians have been extrajudicially executed by advancing Syrian government forces in eastern Aleppo point to apparent war crimes, said Amnesty International. The organization is making an urgent plea for all parties to the conflict to protect the civilian population.

The UN human rights office said it had reliable evidence that up to 82 civilians were shot on the spot by government and allied forces who entered their homes, or at gunpoint in the streets, over the past few hours.

"The reports that civilians - including children - are being massacred in cold blood in their homes by Syrian government forces are deeply shocking but not unexpected given their conduct to date. Such extrajudicial executions would amount to war crimes," said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for Research at Amnesty International's Beirut Regional office.

"Throughout the conflict Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, have repeatedly displayed a callous disregard for international humanitarian law and utter disdain for the fate of civilians. In fact, they have regularly targeted civilians as a strategy, both during military operations and through the mass-scale use of arbitrary detention, disappearances and torture and other ill-treatment. As government forces gain full control of eastern Aleppo the risk that they will commit further atrocities raises grave fears for thousands of civilians still trapped.

"In recent months the world, including the UN Security Council, has watched from the side-lines as civilians have been slaughtered on a daily basis and eastern Aleppo has been flattened and transformed into a mass grave. The global inaction in the face of such inhumanity is shameful. The lack of accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity has allowed the parties, particularly government forces, to commit such crimes on a mass scale.

It is now crucial that independent monitors are deployed to ensure that the civilian population is protected and that humanitarian access is granted so that life-saving aid can reach all those in need."

At present those injured cannot be evacuated and those trying to flee are risking their lives. Amnesty International is calling for all parties to the conflict to allow civilians wishing to flee the fighting to be granted safe passage to leave the area.

As government forces advanced in recent weeks, civilians in eastern Aleppo told Amnesty International they feared revenge attacks. Last week the UN reported that hundreds of men and boys went missing from government controlled areas.

"Amnesty International has previously highlighted the Syrian government's widespread and systematic use of enforced disappearance to attack the civilian population in what has amounted to crimes against humanity. It is crucial that independent monitors are deployed to prevent further enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment," said Lynn Maalouf.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
RSF shocked by British-Algerian journalist's death in detention

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 13 December 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, RSF shocked by British-Algerian journalist's death in detention, 13 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58500a0d4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is shocked and appalled by journalist Mohamed Tamalt's death in detention in Algiers on 11 December after going on hunger strike in protest against his arrest last June and the two-year jail term he received in July on a charge of insulting the president.

Tamalt, who had dual British and Algerian nationality, had been based in Britain since 2002, where he was the Algerian newspaper El Khabar's London correspondent. In London, he also created an online newspaper called Assiyak Alarabi (Arab Context) in which he posted content, expressed opinions critical of the government and made provocative comments.

Arrested on 27 June while back in Algeria, he was sentenced by a court in the Algiers district of Sidi M'ahmed on 4 July to two years in prison and a fine of 200,000 dinars under articles 144 (b) and 146 of the criminal code on charges of defaming a public authority and offending President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in videos and poems posted online.

Although diabetic, Tamalt went on hunger in protest against his detention. This had a bad effect on his health and his condition had worsened dramatically in recent weeks.

"This news is a shocking blow for all those who defend freedom of information in Algeria," said Yasmine Kacha, the head of RSF's North Africa desk. "The message that this tragic event sends is terrifying. How does one account for the fact Tamalt's condition was allowed to deteriorate without anything being done? As RSF and other human rights NGOS have already asked, why was such a sentenced imposed for comments on Facebook that put no one in any concrete danger? Lawyers must be allowed to see his medical case file, his family must be given a public apology and an investigation must be launched at once to shed light on what happened."

Tamalt's lawyer, Amine Sidhoum, told RSF: "Those responsible must be prosecuted. The deceased's brother says Mohamed received blows to the head. We and the family plan to request an alternative medical expert opinion, given that we have already filed a complaint with the public prosecutor alleging mistreatment without so far receiving any satisfactory response."

Algeria's judicial authorities continue to systematically and wrongfully apply the criminal code to journalists whenever they criticize the regime in their reporting or in the views they express. This violates the new Algerian constitution that was promulgated on 6 March as well as Algeria's international obligations, including those under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Algeria is ranked 129th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - France has called for an immediate U.N. Security Council resolution to discuss alleged atrocities being carried out in eastern Aleppo, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Tuesday.

"In the face of allegations of exactions in Aleppo, France calls for a U.N. Security Council meeting," Ayrault said on his Twitter account.

He earlier told LCI television that the meeting, which should take place as soon as possible, should discuss the possible war crimes and crimes against humanity that were being carried out and that a U.N. investigation should begin immediately to determine the culprits.

(Reporting by John Irish; editing by Leigh Thomas)
Secure safe passage for all media workers wishing to leave Aleppo

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 13 December 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Secure safe passage for all media workers wishing to leave Aleppo, 13 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58500a734.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

As the Syrian and Russian government forces are taking over territories within the city of Aleppo, International Media Support (IMS) and other international media assistance NGOs and press freedom organisations call on all parties of the conflict to ensure that steps are taken to safeguard the lives of media workers living and working in Aleppo and those media workers choosing to leave the city.

Throughout the conflict, Syria's media workers and other news providers have directly and deliberately been targeted by multiple parties in the conflict. Despite the risks, those media workers chose to stay reporting directly from the streets of the besieged city and informing the outside world of atrocities committed by all sides.

The undersigned organisations therefore call on all parties to ensure the safe passage of media workers and show respect for the work and the physical integrity of media personnel, who are ensuring that the outside world and citizens within Syria are being kept informed of developments and can make informed decisions on the basis of this.

The United Nations have reported that civilians in Aleppo have gone missing as they have tried to seek safety by crossing territories held by opposing sides. For this reason, the undersigned organisations reminds all parties to the conflict that media workers and other news providers are to be protected alongside civilians as stated in the Geneva Convention.

Names and identities of Aleppo's media workers are known to international media assistance and press freedom organisations and any harm to their personal safety will be considered a breach of international conventions put in place to ensure the safety of journalists and must be independently investigated.

Jesper Hjberg, Director of International Media Support

Ayman Mhanna, Executive Director of Global Forum for Media Development

Cyprien Ndikumana, Directeur General de l'Institut Panos Grands Lacs

Courtney Radsch, Advocacy Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists

Owais Aslam Ali, Chairman of Pakistan Press Foundation

Steve Buckley, Managing Director of Community Media Solutions

Gisele Khoury, President of Samir Kassir Foundation - SKeyes Center for Media & Cultural Freedom

Remzi Lani, Executive Director of Albanian Media Institute

Johan Romare, Director, Fojo Media Institute

Lucie Morillon, Programme Director of Reporters Without Borders

Tihomir Loza, Executive Director of The South Etienne Fiatte, General Manager of CFI

Petra Berner, Head Strategy and Consulting Service, Deutche Welle

Jeanne Bourgault, President and CEO, Internews

Leon Willems, Director of Free Press Unlimited

Kateryna Myasnikova, Executive Director, Independent Association of Broadcasters

Armand Hurault, Executive Director, Media Libre

Joyce Barnathan, President of International Center for Journalism

Tihomir Loza, Executive Director of the South East European Network for Professionalization of Media

Tina Carr, Director of Rory Peck Trust
Mexico: Chihuahua reporter gunned down outside home

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 13 December 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Mexico: Chihuahua reporter gunned down outside home, 13 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58500ae14.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns radio reporter Jesus Adrian Rodriguez Samaniego's murder in the northern city of Chihuahua. 2016 has been a particular violent year for journalists in the country.

By a cruel irony, Jesus Adrian Rodriguez Samaniego was gunned on 10 December, Human Rights Day. He was setting off from home to go to work when gunmen drove by and shot him several times, killing him on the spot.

Rodriguez had been a journalist with various media outlets for more than 15 years and was working for Radio Antena 760 AM at the time of his death, covering the Chihuahua state government. He had recently been a crime reporter for the El Heraldo de Chihuahua newspaper.

In the days immediately prior to his death, he had been investigating a sensitive story about a presumed error of justice and the alleged involvement of justice ministry officials in acts of torture carried out in prison.

"We are deeply shocked by this latest murder and offer our full support to Adrian Rodriguez's family and fellow journalists," said Emmanuel Colombie, the head of RSF's Latin America desk.

"After what has been a terrible year for the safety of journalists in Mexico, it is time that reliable protective mechanisms were established in what is one of the world's most violent countries, one in which the media are systematically targeted whenever they take an interest in corruption or organized crime."

Ricardo Boone Salmon, the head of GRD Multimedia, the group that owns Antena 760 AM, said Rodriguez has not received any specific threats prior to his murder.

The police said they were actively considering the possibility that Rodriguez was killed in connection with his journalism. They also reported that they had already made some initial arrests.

His death brought the number of journalists murdered this year in Mexico to 13, of whom at least nine were killed in direct connection with their work.

Mexico is ranked 149th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
Call for protection of human rights defenders working on issues related to Palestine

Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 12 December 2016 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, Call for protection of human rights defenders working on issues related to Palestine, 12 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58500b754.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

In marking International Human Rights Defenders Day, the undersigned organizations commend the work of all human rights defenders working for justice globally, stand in solidarity with them, and highlight the case of individuals and organizations focused on Palestine. Human rights defenders advocating and working on Palestinian human rights around the world are facing intensifying threats and are increasingly targeted for their work.

Human rights defenders operating in Palestine use a variety of non-violent methods to call attention to Israeli human rights violations and to seek accountability. Each of these methods, however, is met with acts of suppression and intimidation by Israel [1]. Weekly peaceful protests throughout the West Bank are routinely met with force by the Israeli military. Hashem Khader Abu Maria, 45, coordinator of Defence for Children International  Palestine's community mobilization unit, was shot dead by Israeli forces while peacefully participating in a weekly protest in July 2014. Human rights defenders seeking to monitor and document human rights violations, including lawyers seeking to represent their clients, have their freedom of movement and access obstructed, and are further at risk of arrest and detention because of their work [2] . Palestinian human rights organizations providing submissions to the International Criminal Court (ICC) during its preliminary examination have faced even more extreme targeting. Palestinian organizations Al-Haq and Al-Mezan have had staff members receive death threats, and have also been the targets of a wider campaign that attempts to discredit and destabilize the organizations [3]. These campaigns have included the hacking of emails, intimidating phone calls to staff, and efforts to alarm donors; all of which seek to distract organizations from their primary human rights work. While the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor and other authorities have recognized these threats [4], acts of intimidation have persisted.

Human rights defenders advocating on issues related to Palestine in the United States and Europe are also facing intensifying pressure for bringing attention to Israeli human rights violations [5] . Israel has treated the Palestinian call to engage in nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns, given the absence of accountability for Israel's violations of international law, as a "strategic threat," and has countered it with increasingly coercive and punitive measures, both in Palestine and globally [6]. In the United States, individuals and institutions engaged in advocacy for Palestinian rights, including BDS campaigns, have been targeted [7] with online harassment [8] , surveillance, threats to their physical safety [9], frivolous lawsuits [10], intimidation campaigns maligning them as terrorist supporters and antisemitic [11], and even disciplinary and criminal investigations and sanctions for their protest activities [12]. Legislative measures in the US aim to penalize advocacy for Palestinian rights and engagement in BDS [13].

These attacks in total aim to silence and undermine any resistance to Israel's unlawful policies and should not be viewed in isolation. They should rather be examined within the broader context of impunity in Israel itself, as well as the failure of states to hold Israel accountable for its commission of internationally recognized crimes.

Citizens and organizations have internationally and domestically recognized rights [14] to engage in alternative means for accountability and advocate for justice for Palestinians [15]. Our organizations underscore the universality of human rights, including the right to "participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" [16] and we call upon states to protect human rights defenders working on issues related to Palestine.
Syria: Abducted Activists' Whereabouts Remain Unknown

Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 9 December 2016 Cite as Article 19, Syria: Abducted Activists' Whereabouts Remain Unknown, 9 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58500daa4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The prominent Syrian human rights defenders Razan Zaitouneh, Samira Al-Khalil, Wael Hamada and Nazim Hammadi, who remain missing three years after armed men abducted them, should be released immediately, 56 human rights organizations said today, on the anniversary of their abduction.

On December 9, 2013, a group of armed men stormed into the office of the Violations Documentation Center (VDC) in Syria, a local human rights monitoring group in Douma, in the Damascus countryside. They abducted Zaitouneh, the head of the center, her husband, Wael Hamada, and colleagues, Samira Al-Khalil and Nazem Hamadi. There has been no news of their whereabouts since then.

The armed groups exercising de facto control over Douma at the time include the Army of Islam, which is part of the Islamic Front, a coalition of armed groups. The groups should immediately release the four human rights defenders if they are in the groups custody, or work toward ensuring they are released unharmed and without delay. Countries that support these groups, as well as religious leaders and others who may have influence over them, should also press for the immediate release of the four activists and for an end to abductions of civilians.

Zaitouneh had defended political prisoners in Syria since 2001 and played a key role in the promotion and protection of human rights through her brave work as a lawyer, activist and journalist. Since the beginning of the crisis in 2011, Zaitouneh had played a key role in efforts to defend human rights for all and to protect independent groups and activists in Syria. Along with a number of other activists, she established the VDC, which monitors human rights violations and records casualties in Syria.

She also co-founded the Local Coordination Committees (LCCs), which coordinates the work of local committees that document human rights violations in various cities and towns across Syria. And she established the Local Development and Small Projects Support Office (LDSPS), which assists non-governmental organizations in besieged Eastern Ghouta.As a result of her work,she had been threatened by both the Syrian government and armed opposition groups in Douma several months before her abduction.

Al-Khalil had been a longtime political activist in Syria. The Syrian government detained her between 1987 and 1991 for her activism. She later worked in a publishing house before shifting her efforts to working with the families of detainees and writing about detention in Syria. Before her abduction, she was working to help women in Douma support themselves by initiating small income-generating projects.

Hamada was also an activist before the 2011 uprising in Syria. When peaceful protests first broke out in the country in 2011, the government detained and later released him. He was an active member and co-founder of the Local Coordination Committees and the VDC. Before his abduction Hamada had been working to provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance to the residents of besieged Eastern Ghouta.

Hammadi, a lawyer and poet, was one of the most prominent volunteer defenders of political prisoners before and after the 2011 uprising in Syria. He contributed to founding the Local Coordination Committees and also worked to provide humanitarian assistance to residents of Eastern Ghouta.

Zaitouneh and her colleagues appear to have been abducted and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty as punishment for their legitimate activities as human rights defenders. Such actions are prohibited by international humanitarian law and are contrary to international human rights standards. The armed groups in control of the area and the governments who support them should do everything in their power to facilitate the release of Zaitouneh, Hamada, Al-Khalil and Hamadi.

List of 56 signatories:

Amnesty International (AI) Arab Foundation for Development and Citizenship ARTICLE 19 Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria (VDC) Center For Women s Equality (CWE) CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Digital Lighthouse English PEN El Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence EuroMed Rights European - Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights (EBOHR) FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Front Line Defenders (FLD) Foundation to Restore Equality and Education in Syria (FREE-Syria) Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) Hivos International Human Rights Watch (HRW) Index on Censorship Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) International Center for Supporting Rights and Freedoms (ICSRF) International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) International Media Support (IMS) International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) Iraqi Al-Amal Association Iraqi Journalists Rights Defense Association (IJRDA) Iraqi Network for Social Media (INSM) Justice for Life observatory in DeirEzzor  Syria Kvinna till Kvinna Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) Lawyer's Rights Watch Canada Libya's Future Center for Media and Culture Maharat Foudnation Martin Ennals Foundation MENA Media Monitoring Metro Centre to Defend Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan NGOs Platform of Saida (Tajamoh) Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) PAX PEN International RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War) Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Sisters' Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF) SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC) Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Researches Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) Syrian Centre for Democracy and Civil Rights Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) Vigilance Association for Democracy and the Civil State in Tunisia Vivarta World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Umammu Organisation in Syria

Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19
Would South Ossetia, By Any Other Name, Be So Contentious?

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Irina Kelekhsayeva & Joshua Kucera Publication Date 7 December 2016 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Would South Ossetia, By Any Other Name, Be So Contentious?, 7 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58500f844.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The authorities in South Ossetia want to change the name of their self-declared republic in response to a historical dispute with a rival Caucasus nation. A rebranding could also, some in South Ossetia hope, hasten its incorporation into the Russia Federation.

In November, South Ossetia's de facto president Leonid Tibilov announced that he was forming a political council to address renaming the republic after Alania, a medieval Caucasian kingdom.

South Ossetia may appear to have more pressing concerns. Its traditional agricultural economy has collapsed and most residents rely on state jobs paid out of the budget of its superpower patron, Russia. Its population of 50,000 (according to official statistics) is isolated, cut off from Georgia - to which it still belongs, in the eyes of most of the world - by an increasingly hardened border.

But that has been put aside for the moment, as public debate has shifted to the conflict between Ossetians and several of their Caucasian neighbors over who are the true heirs of Alania, a kingdom that existed from the 8th to 13th centuries. At its peak in the 10th century, Alania controlled most of the North Caucasus, and was "the first and the only indigenous political establishment in the Northern Caucasus before the Mongol invasion," wrote historian Victor Shnirelman. "Thus, the Alan identity provided one with a symbolic prestige of both bearers of higher culture and 'civilizers.'"

That prestige has led many North Caucasus peoples to identify themselves with the Alan legacy. Ossetians - who are divided into two entities, North Ossetia in Russia and South Ossetia, still considered by most of the world to be part of Georgia - have been the most active in claiming Alanian lineage. The Russian republic of North Ossetia renamed itself to "North Ossetia - Alania" in 1994. Across the Ossetias, supermarkets, hotels, dance troupes, and a brand of mineral water are all named after Alania.

Other North Caucasus peoples, including Chechens and Karachais, also have tried to connect their national history to Alania. But the Ossetians' most aggressive challengers for that legacy are the Ingush. The Republic of Ingushetia, which borders North Ossetia to the east, founded a new capital in 1995 and named it Magas, after the ancient capital of Alania. And last year, the Ingush government erected a ceremonial arch over the road leading to Magas, calling it "the Gates of Alania."

The response from both Ossetias was swift. "Of course, in Ossetia we can not remain indifferent to these events. ... This action carries a political, and in no way historical or scientific character," said Lyudvig Chibirov, South Ossetia's first president, in an interview with a North Ossetian newspaper. "Unfortunately, the rewriting and fabrication of historical facts as one sees fit, the peremptoriness and aggressive dilettantism is gathering speed, not only in published works but in this structure."

A week after the structure was inaugurated in Ingushetia, Tibilov proposed changing South Ossetia's name. "Many peoples would like to distort their own history and appropriate others' history. In South Ossetia we were surprised that the Alanian Gates were erected in Ingushetia, as the entire world knows that the Ossetians are the descendants of the Scythians and Alans, and we will not allow anyone to appropriate our history."

Tibilov also suggested that a name change to coordinate with North Ossetia-Alania would ease the process of eventually merging the two Ossetias: "That historical moment will come, when the two parts of Ossetia unite and a united Ossetia will again enter the structure of the Russian Federation."

Russia has financially and militarily supported South Ossetia since the latter broke away from Georgia after a civil war in 1991 and 1992. A second war with Georgia, in 2008, prompted Russia to recognize South Ossetia as independent and raised the possibility that it would be incorporated into Russia.

In February, Tibilov announced that a referendum on joining Russia would be held in 2016, but he later said that it would be postponed indefinitely. Compared with Crimea, which Russia annexed with great fanfare in 2014, Moscow has appeared significantly more cautious about the prospect of incorporating South Ossetia. In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that while he had discussed the issue with Tibilov, Moscow was "not considering" integration at the time. Georgia, meanwhile, continues to consider South Ossetia part of its territory.

While the reintegration process appears to have stalled for now, the renaming project has continued apace. It is not yet clear what exactly the new name will be. The council is considering various names, including South Ossetia-Alania, the Republic of Alania, Alania, and others, which will eventually be put to voters in a referendum, a source in the government told EurasiaNet on condition of anonymity. The source added that the date for the referendum is still to be determined.

Public opinion seems to support a name change, though opinions differ on what exact form it should take. Some South Ossetians favor "South Alania," dropping the "Ossetia" name altogether, under the belief that "Ossetia" is derived from the Georgian name for the people. Others favor using some version of "Iryston," which is what Ossetians call their nation in Ossetian.

"I support the name change to Alania. And honestly, I'm not sure if there is anyone who opposes it. I don't know any opponents," Vyacheslav Dzhabiyev, an economist in the capital, Tskhinvali, told EurasiaNet. "The most important thing for me is that the name shouldn't drop 'Ossetia,' so it shouldn't be 'South Alania,' but 'South Ossetia-Alania.'"

But there are some opponents. "We shouldn't rename the entire country just because of someone else's incorrect actions, what the Ingush did," Dina Alborova, a local political analyst, told EurasiaNet. "Also, we have too many other problems that require financing, and the renaming of the republic would entail a lot of expenses - changing official documents, republishing textbooks, passports, and so on." But if the name were to change, she would support a different variant, she said: "There is already an Alania in the north," she said. "We always call our country 'Iryston' and ourselves 'Iron,' not Alans. So let's change the name to Iryston."

Editor's note: Irina Kelekhsayeva is a freelance journalist based in Tskhinvali. Joshua Kucera is the Turkey/Caucasus editor at EurasiaNet, and author of The Bug Pit. He is based in Istanbul.

Copyright notice: All EurasiaNet material  Open Society Institute
Uzbekistan: Familiar Landslide Election Win Portends More of the Same

Publisher EurasiaNet Publication Date 5 December 2016 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Uzbekistan: Familiar Landslide Election Win Portends More of the Same, 5 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5850107d4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The victory of Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Uzbekistan's special presidential election December 4 was never in doubt, but the Soviet-style scale of his winning margin indicates that hopes of pending political reform may have been premature.

Preliminary results announced by election officials December 5 show Mirziyoyev winning 88.6 percent of votes cast. That is only slightly less than the 90 percent gained by the late Islam Karimov in 2015. Karimov died during this past summer.

While Uzbek state media have hailed the election as a breakthrough in raising democratic standards, observers have been more sanguine.

"The dominant position of state actors and limits on fundamental freedoms undermine political pluralism and led to a campaign devoid of genuine competition," observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) noted in a preliminary post-election report. "Media covered the election in a highly restrictive and controlled environment, and the dissemination of a state-defined narrative did not allow voters to receive an alternative viewpoint."

With Mirziyoyev enjoying the advantage of incumbency as acting president since Karimov's death, his victory in the special election was largely assured. But the sizeable reported turnout figures suggest that authorities in Tashkent remain eager to confer upon Mirziyoyev's administration an indisputable sense of legitimacy. Election officials said 87.8 percent of registered voters cast their ballot, only slightly down from 91 percent in 2015.

The government did indeed throw all its effort behind getting as many people to polling stations as possible. Polls opened at 6 am and travel on all public transportation was made free of charge for the day. Nature did its bit too. Weather was chilly in some parts of the country, but the thermometer stood at an unseasonably balmy 18 degrees Celsius (65 degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital, Tashkent.

After voting, many citizens headed to the market, where they could buy basic groceries like potatoes, eggs and cooking oil at subsidized prices. Large crowds could be seen scrambling to buy goods, and some lost patience over long waits and went home.

Polling station Number 510 in Tashkent was teeming with people by mid-morning. Vote organizers made a show of insisting that voters had to present their documents before voting and that nobody could cast their ballot on behalf of relatives.

One voter, 61-year old Hamid, said that a polling station worker refused to give him additional three voting slips for his wife, son and daughter-in-law. "I told her that I wanted to vote for the rest of the family, like I always do. But the girl refused and said they should come in person, because international monitors are keeping a close eye on things this time," he told EurasiaNet.org.

For all those apparent precautions, the OSCE team noted that there were cases of ballot box stuffing, widespread proxy voting and irregularities during counting.

"Voting was assessed negatively in 12 per cent of observations, with observers noting serious irregularities inconsistent with national legislation and OSCE commitments, including proxy voting and indications of ballot box stuffing," the OSCE report said. "Observers assessed counting negatively in 46 of 77 cases. Reconciliation procedures were not followed in more than half of polling stations observed."

On election day, Mirziyoyev's Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party, or UzLiDeP predicted that their candidate would get no less than 80 percent of the vote - selling their man short as it turned out.

Commenting on the pre-election environment, political analyst Rafael Sattarov described the vote as colorful, well-organized and free of the mood of paranoia that normally accompanies such events. But he cautioned before the vote to pay close attention to the results and what they would signify.

"By all appearances, he will get 80 percent, but for the sake of his image, they need to be more modest, and give him 60-70 percent. Otherwise he is going to be seriously mocked by international organizations," Sattarov told EurasiaNet.org.

After the result came through, Sattarov expressed his dismay.

"Shameful. It means the level of authoritarianism will not be dropping and we should not expect it to happen in future," he said.

Ahead of the election, there were some signs that a slight change in approach might be in the offing. Campaigning was anemic, but visible all the same. And in an important break with tradition, Mirziyoyev's three place-holder rivals were afforded coverage on state television.

Uzbek media framed the election as a vote for the country's "bright future" - a subtle implication at a portended change of direction from the stiflingly isolationist and centrist policies of Karimov.

In another eye-catching development, Mirziyoyev turned up to vote with his extended family, marking the first time they have been seen by the Uzbek public. Along with the newly elected president was his wife, Ziroatkhon Hoshimova, two daughters, Shahnoza and Saida, and their husbands Oybek and Otabek. Another three young children - two boys and a girl - are shown in images posted on social media.

A curious development on election day was the unexpected public appearance of Salim Abduvaliev - a man described in some quarters as a successful entrepreneur and informal authority, who was also characterized by leaked US diplomatic cables as a "crime boss." After casting his vote, Abduvaliev posted a picture online as he sat at home wearing a t-shirt bearing an image of Mirziyoyev and the slogan - "My President."

A similar public display would have been inconceivable in Karimov's time and may suggest that big players in Uzbekistan's informal economy feel they may have the authority to flex their muscles under Uzbekistan's new regime.

Mirziyoyev's formal inauguration is expected to take place before the end of the year. Yet, as of December 5, no date had been set.

Copyright notice: All EurasiaNet material  Open Society Institute
Turkmenistan Cracking Down on Gulen Followers

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Nick Ashdown Publication Date 8 December 2016 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Turkmenistan Cracking Down on Gulen Followers, 8 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/585010ee4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Security services in Turkmenistan are taking dozens of alleged followers of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen into custody, according to their family and friends.

"They take people, keep them for 30 or 40 days, and torture them until they give somebody's name. Until you [name] somebody, they won't let you go," said Azizov Nepes*, a Turkmen graduate student outside of the country who personally knows several of those detained.

The Turkish government, an important partner for Turkmenistan, accuses Gulen, the leader of a global Islamic movement with deep roots in Central Asia, of masterminding the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15. Ankara is engaging in an ongoing purge of alleged Gulen followers at home, and has pressured countries hosting many of Gulen's followers to crack down on the movement.

Some countries, such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, have refused to comply, but Turkmenistan appears to be susceptible to Ankara's pressure. "[Ankara] is a very important partner because Turkey has been a major origin of [foreign direct investment] in Turkmenistan," said Professor Luca Anceschi, an expert on Central Asian studies at the University of Glasgow.

Anceshci said Turkey is one of the few countries to which Turkmen citizens can travel with reasonable ease. It thus plays a de facto role of safety valve, allowing disaffected citizens to leave, rather than stay and cause problems. "At some point you need to let some of the youth especially go and work somewhere else. Otherwise it just becomes a tinderbox," he said, adding that this was especially urgent now that the country is in the midst of an economic crisis.

"In order to keep the access to Turkey open to Turkmen citizens, the government is more likely than not to comply to the dictates of [Turkish president] Erdogan and his government," Anceshci said.

Komek Geldiyew, a Turkmen businessman who graduated from a Gulen-linked school, fled Turkmenistan in October when he heard about the crackdown, as did others. "When our friends got taken in, we went abroad, expecting that it would happen to us too," Geldiyew told EurasiaNet.org. "If things keep going like this, a lot of people will leave."

Geldiyew said about 100 people have been detained and interrogated, and 20-30 people, including teachers, business people and engineers, remain in jail. Many others who e-mailed EurasiaNet.org confirmed these numbers.

N.H., a student abroad, said her brother, a businessman and graduate of a Gulen-linked school, was taken in early October. Later in the month, she and her family were able to visit him in prison. "When we met him, he did not say anything about his condition. But it was easily [understandable] from his face and skin that he was exposed to torture," she wrote in an e-mail exchange with EurasiaNet.org.

N.H., like several others, says her brother does not have a lawyer. "Lawyers also fear the government," she said. "There is no rule of law in this country."

Activists say torture is widespread in Turkmenistan. "This is one of the very most repressive governments in the world, and even within that context, the authorities have been cracking down very hard, including in the past few months," said Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division, in an e-mail to EurasiaNet.org.

Gulen-linked schools, referred to in Turkmenistan as "Turkish schools," first opened up in 1993. The high schools, language centers, and university had a reputation for having the highest educational standards in the country, teaching a Western-style curriculum that included English and Turkish, as well as Gulen's religious teachings.

Most of them closed by August 2011, possibly because current President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is said to have a less close relationship with the Gulen movement than his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov.

"No one knows why exactly. It was suspected that [Gulen followers] were perceived by [Berdymukhamedov] as too influential," said Victoria Clement, a research scholar specializing in Central Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center and one of the few westerners to have lived and done academic research in Turkmenistan.

"They were suspected of promoting Islam, which is something over which the state wishes to retain control," said Clement, whose book charting the history of education in Turkmenistan is due for publication next year. "There has [also] been some tension between followers and the rest of society."

Some believed the schools made students more religiously conservative, "behavior that made parents uncomfortable," Clement added.

"More recently Erdogan has been sending signals about Turks and Turkish schools so that the Turkmen government is now reluctant to hire graduates and very cautious about the ones already working in the system," Clement said.

Clement said the schools produced thousands of some of the most highly qualified graduates in the country, and that their closing was "a terrible blow to society."

Editor's note: Nick Ashdown is a freelance journalist in Istanbul, Turkey.

Copyright notice: All EurasiaNet material  Open Society Institute
Boise, ID -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/13/2016 --Thrust UAV (http://www.thrust-uav.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of PCS Edventures!.com (OTC:PCSV) and a leader in the drone racing market, today announced it will begin selling its products on Newegg.com. Newegg is one of the industry's leading tech-focused online retailers with a customer base of technology enthusiasts and early adopters. Thrust UAV is selling the Riot 250R Pro racing drone on Newegg and will run multiple promotions throughout the holiday season leading up to the Christmas holiday.



"Drones appeal to our tech enthusiast customer base, which includes everyone from recreational hobbyists to competitive racing pilots," said Merle McIntosh, Newegg SVP of Sales & Marketing. "Newegg considers drones to be an important growth category, strategically important to the company as we continue to expand our offering in emerging categories."



"Thrust UAV is excited for the opportunity to sell direct to FPV racing customers across North America on Newegg.com," said Todd Hackett, CEO of PCS Edventures. "Newegg is a great fit for Thrust UAV, and we look forward to promoting sale of the Riot 250R Pro during the holiday season and beyond."



Releasing the Riot 250R Pro through Newegg lets Thrust UAV gain market exposure across North America, part of the company's core strategy of giving the ability to purchase and fly the Riot to as many people as possible. Having Newegg as a national sales platform sets up the Riot 250R Pro sales to grow over time during the holiday season and into 2017.



About Thrust UAV

Thrust UAV, a business unit of PCS Edventures!.com, Inc. (OTCPINK:PCSV) located in Boise, Idaho, builds and manufactures creative innovative, cutting-edge technology solutions for the rapidly expanding FPV (First Person View) drone racing market. Thrust UAV designs and sells FPV race drones, components, frames and high-performance electronic modules applicable to many industries.



Learn more at http://www.thrust-uav.com.



This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934; actual results could differ materially from such statements.



About Newegg Inc.

Newegg Inc. is the leading electronics-focused e-retailer in the United States. It owns and operates Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) which was founded in 2001 and regularly earns industry-leading customer service ratings. The award-winning website has more than 28 million registered users and offers customers a comprehensive selection of the latest consumer electronics products, detailed product descriptions and images, as well as how-to information and customer reviews. Using the site's online tech community, customers have the opportunity to interact with other computer, gaming and consumer electronics enthusiasts. Newegg Inc. is headquartered in City of Industry, California. Newegg operates Hybrid Centers in City of Industry, CA and Richmond Hill, Ontario.



Contact

Investor Contact: Mike Bledsoe 800-429-3110, mikeb@edventures.com

Investor Relations Web Site: http://www.pcsv.global



Source: Uptick Newswire
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Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha (L) embraces National Election Committee official Ny Chakrya at the General Department of Prisons in Phnom Penh, Dec. 13, 2016.

Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Kem Sokha paid a visit to a jailed election commission official today as attempts to free opposition politicians and government critics from prison continues.

Kem Sokha, the CNRPs acting president, told reporters very little following his visit with Ny Chakrya, the National Election Committees deputy leader who was jailed as part of the governments wide-ranging probe into an alleged affair between Kem Sokha and a young hair dresser.

I am not the one who will sign to release him, Kem Sokha said as he left the prison in downtown Phnom Penh where the election official is being held.

While Kem Sokha was taciturn with reporters, CNRP lawmaker Long Ry said they were looking for a way to get Ny Chakrya released.

Acting President Kem Sokha has met in person with Ny Chakrya, said Long Ry, who was also at the prison. He has asked him to remain patient while he is looking into all possible means to find a solution.

Hope for Ny Chakryas release and the release of four human rights workers imprisoned in the probe were raised when Kem Sokha and a CNRP commune chief received royal pardons in the wide-ranging case. Both pardons came at the behest of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen who also heads the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP).

On May 2, Cambodian authorities arrested Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) staffers Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, Yi Soksan, and Lim Mony, as well as Ny Chakrya for allegedly attempting to pay hush money to Kem Sokhas purported mistress.

Theam Chan Piseth, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge investigating the charges has decided to close his investigations into the allegations, but it is unclear what the next steps will be, the Khmer Times reported.

The judge declined to say whether the case would proceed to trial or if the court might drop the charges against the Kem Sokha Five, the paper reported.

We cannot be bought

While Kem Sokha is meeting with opposition prisoners, CNRP President Sam Rainsy wrote in a Facebook post that rumors of the demise of their partnership were exaggerated.

The two men have led the CNRP since Sam Rainsy left Cambodia last year after he was given a two-year prison sentence in a defamation case. It is not his only conviction handed down by the Cambodian courts to the CNRP leader, and earlier this year he was barred from entering the country.

Kem Sokha was recently elevated to president of CNRP National Assembly Members, a position roughly analogous to minority leader in the U.S. Congress and one that had been held by Sam Rainsy.

While CPP leaders have painted the change as a split between the two leaders, they deny theres any friction.

Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha represent honor and hope for Cambodian people, Sam Rainsy posted on his Facebook feed. These two Cambodian sons signify the great and dignified Cambodian children who do not give in to threats or intimidation.

We cannot be bought, he added. He who is attempting to break us is unquestionably dreaming.

Phnom Penh City Hall spokesman Suos Yara told local reporters on December 12, that Sam Rainsy appears to be hallucinating after he left the position.

In his Facebook posts, Sam Rainsy compared the two parties to boats racing across the Mekong River with the CPP in a doomed luxury liner and the CNRP manning smaller more seaworthy boats.

Knowing they will never reach any shore in 2018 and facing possible death in the middle of the river, the big ship's passengers start to jump out into the river, he wrote. I call on the small boats and their passengers to set out to go rescue those who are in danger of getting drowned because they all are Cambodians and human beings.

Cambodian national elections are scheduled for 2018 and local elections in 2017. While the CPP still controls the National Assembly, the CNRP gained 55 seats in the 2013 election that was marred by accusations of fraud.

Cambodians are using a new digital voter registration system that is designed to combat those allegations.

The new system is part of a 2014 election reform deal between the CPP and opposition CNRP that ended almost a year of deadlock following the 2013 ballot.

Reported by Savi Khorn and Naline Pea for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan are clamping down on spontaneous public protests after several days of heavy smog hit the provincial capital, Chengdu.



Schools have slapped a ban on face-masks in the classroom, while the ruling Chinese Communist Party's propaganda machine has issued strict guidelines on coverage of the pollution protests.



And online activist Liu Ermu was detained after he penned an article protesting the government's response to air pollution in China.



"I hope that soldiers and armed police will think about the fact that the people whose interests they protect have sent their families to live overseas, while their own wives and children have to breathe in this smog," the article said.



"They should shake off the [mental] fog that surrounds them and act to protect their families' interests," it said.



Liu's wife said he still hadn't returned by Tuesday afternoon, local time.



But she declined to give an interview. "I don't want the foreign media involved," she said, before hanging up.



A source close to Liu said he had been detained by officers from the Puyang police station in Chengdu's Wuhou district.



"It's to do with the article he wrote about military police wearing face-masks," the source said. "The article was posted the day before yesterday ... He has been writing a lot of very cutting articles that really hit their mark."



A journalist surnamed Wen said Liu is likely still being questioned inside the same police station.



"It was to do with an article he wrote about the smog a couple of days ago," Wen said.



An employee who answered the phone at the Puyang police station on Tuesday hung up when contacted by RFA.



Students warned



Meanwhile, screenshots of text messages sent out to students at Chengdu's Jiaxiang Foreign Languages School warned students not to take part in any protest activities.



"Please do not believe in rumors, and do not spread them," the text message, sent on Monday, said. "You must put your trust in the government to carry out anti-pollution work."



"No teachers or students in our school will wear face-masks, without exception," the message said.



An employee who answered the phone at the Jiaxiang school denied that students were being forced not to wear masks, but declined to comment further on Monday.



The Sichuan provincial propaganda office also issued a set of censorship instructions to the media, imposing a "unified" message on all coverage of the smog ahead of an official press conference.



"Journalists invited to take part should submit scripts to the Chengdu environmental protection bureau for checking," the press conference communique, a copy of which was posted on the China Digital Times website, said.



"Drafts are subject to approval and should not be rushed to publication, while headlines that encourage to speculation or negative reactions should be avoided," it said.



It said all media outlets, including individual social media accounts, should only use official reports from the local government.



"Do not carry out independent reporting or take photos or video," it said.



Online activist Xiucai Jianghu said the government's actions are part of a coordinated "stability maintenance" strategy.



"It's really draconian to ban students from wearing face-masks, but these arbitrary school rules are a response to the smog," he said.



"The education minister has called for ideology to enter the classroom, and for any negative news to be excluded from it," he said. "They mustn't say anything negative about the government."



Sporadic protests



The clampdown follows sporadic protests, on and offline, last week that included the placing of face-masks on sculptures in downtown Chengdu, after which police threw a security cordon around the city's central Tianfu Square.



Authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan on Friday deployed riot police to clamp down on spontaneous anti-smog protests in the provincial capital, Chengdu.



Chengdu residents, unused to the toxic brown haze that regularly engulfs more northern cities like Beijing, were quick to complain about the smog that engulfed their city.



Police have also warned local businesses to report anyone buying bulk orders of face-masks.



"You have to register [with ID] now even if you are just buying a face-mask," a local journalist surnamed Huang told RFA.



"They're afraid people will use them to incite unrest."



He said the authorities are more concerned about maintaining their grip on power than with the long-term health of Chinese people.



"They won't allow anyone to form a unified public opinion ... They are terrified that environmental issues will become the basis for a popular movement," Huang said.



"So the more public pressure they get on the environment, the more they'll suppress it, and pretend it isn't happening," he said.



'Ridiculous approach'



Xiucai Jianghu said the government's approach is "ridiculous," however, and accused officials of seeking to cover up their own mistakes.



"The smog is the disaster; it is fundamentally negative," he said. "How can you report smog in a positive light?"



"Are we supposed to love the smog? Be proud of it? They think they can make it go away by not letting people talk about it."



Police on Sunday briefly detained eight mask-wearing protesters for questioning, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.



The demonstrators were artists staging a brief sit-in after a mass protest planned for the weekend was scuppered by police, the paper said.



Reported by Xin Lin for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Siu-san and Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.




Police in northwestern Chinas Gansu province beat and tortured the wife and daughters of Tibetan self-immolator Tashi Rabten after taking them into custody for questioning following Rabtens fatal protest last week, local sources say.



The abuse followed authorities demands that the three sign a document declaring that Rabten had set himself ablaze not in protest of Chinese policies, but because of problems at home, a Tibetan living in the area told RFAs Tibetan Service.



When his wife and two daughters refused to comply, the authorities beat and tortured them, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Finally, they put their thumb prints on a document they did not understand, and only then were they released on Dec. 9, the source said.



Many who met Tashi Rabtens wife and daughters after their release saw marks of physical abuse on their bodies, he said.



Authorities also raided the family home, looking everywhere and taking photos as they searched, he said.



Tashi Rabten, 33, set himself ablaze on Dec. 8 at about 7:00 p.m. local time on a road leading from the Machu (in Chinese, Maqu) county center to the Machu Bridge, local sources said following the protest.



Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Tibetan living in the area told RFA next day that witnesses to the protest heard Rabten call out for freedom for Tibet and for the return of [exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama.



He also called out for the release of the [detained] Panchen Lama, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, RFAs source said.



Others also detained



Following Rabtens protest, Chinese police raided teashops and restaurants in Machu and took nine area residents into custody on suspicion of involvement, a second source said.



Among them, three younger Tibetans were detained on suspicion of having taken photos and video of Rabtens fatal protest, he said.



Also detained was a Tibetan woman who had witnessed the self-immolation and prayed aloud for the Dalai Lamas blessings, another local source told RFA.



Four of her family members were detained with her, but were later released, the source said, adding, The lady, named Tsedzin Lhamo, is still being held.



Though Rabtens family had wanted to take his remains to Labrang monastery for a traditional burial, their wishes were denied, one source said.



Instead, authorities took his body to Tsoe [Hezuo] city, where it may have been cremated on Dec. 9, the source said.



Later, a bag of ashes said by authorities to be his burnt remains were handed over to his wife and family.



Prayers being held



Prayers for Rabten are now being held in Machu, with Tibetans coming from near and far away to offer their condolences to the family, a Tibetan source said.



The police are not stopping those who visit from nearby villages except to register their names, but they are blocking everyone coming from distant places.



Rabtens protest brings to 146 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans living in China since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009.



Most protests feature demands for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from India, where he has lived since escaping Tibet during a failed national uprising in 1959.



Reported by Lhuboom and Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Vietnamese people huddle on a fishing boat bound for Australia in an undated photo.

A Vietnamese court on Tuesday sentenced four boat people to prison terms as long as three years and six months under Hanois new immigration law, RFAs Vietnamese Service has learned.

Nguyen Giao Thong is sentenced to three years and six months in prison. Nguyen Tuan Kiet is sentenced to 30 months in prison. Nguyen Tuan Khanh and Tran Thi My Van, each received 18-month suspended sentences, Vo An Don, lawyer representing the defendants told RFA.

We can appeal to the higher court if one of the defendants sends a demand to the appeals court, the attorney said.

The four defendants were among 21 people who on left Vietnam on a fishing boat on May 18 and headed to Australia in search of work. They reached Australian waters on June 9, when they were detained by Australia Navy.

They were returned to Vietnam by airplane and arrived at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City on June 16.

Their sentences came despite promises some of them say they received from Australian and Vietnamese officials that they would not be prosecuted if they agreed to go back to Vietnam.

The convictions for organizing for others to flee the country illegally come under article 349 of Vietnams new penal code.

It marks the third time this year that the Vietnamese government has tried some of the country's citizens who were returned by Australia.

In the two previous trials in Binh Thuan province eight people were sentenced to jail for terms ranging from 24 to 36 months.

New Human Smuggling Agreement

The convictions also come after Australias immigration minister announced that the two countries reached new memorandum of understanding (MOU) on human smuggling.

While details of MOU are not spelled out, Dutton said in a statement posted on his official website Monday that the agreement is consistent with both countries' domestic and international legal obligations.

Known as a hardline anti-immigrant politician, Duttons release called the MOU a significant milestone in Australia's bilateral relationship with Vietnam and an important part of its broader efforts to counter irregular migration.

"The Coalition Government is committed to protecting our borders, stamping out people smuggling and preventing people risking their lives at sea," Dutton said.

"Australia's borders are stronger than ever and our tough border protection policies are here to stay, he added.

According to the release, the Australian and Vietnamese Governments repatriated 113 Vietnamese nationals from three vessels intercepted by the Australian Border Force under Canberras zero-tolerance posture on boat people known as Operation Sovereign Borders.

Its unclear if the 21 people on the boat that included the four Vietnamese sentenced today were included in the head count.

Reported by Gia Minh for RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Vietnamese in the central coastal province of Ha Tinh protest at a steel factory run by Formosa Plastics demanding the Taiwanese firm pay compensation a massive toxic spill, Oct 2, 2016.

About 1,000 villagers from Thach Ha district in Vietnams north central coastal province of Ha Tinh on Monday submitted a complaint to the local Peoples Committee office about what they consider to be unfair compensation for those affected by a Taiwanese steel plants toxic chemical spill.

The group of petitioners, which included a priest and Catholics from Lang Khe church in Vinh dioceses Thu Chi parish, argued that the amount of compensation offered to them is not enough to cover the losses they have suffered in the countrys worst environmental disaster.

Vietnamese state media has estimated the losses of those in Lang Khe alone at about 41 billion Vietnamese dong (U.S. $1.8 million).

The petitioners also demanded that local authorities pay compensation to each family that signed the complaint they submitted.

Formosa Plastics Corporation of Taiwan acknowledged in June that its steel plant run by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation was responsible for the release of toxic chemicals in April that killed an estimated 115 tons of fish and harmed the livelihoods of more than 200,000 people, including 41,000 fishermen, in Ha Tinh and three other central provinces.

Formosa pledged to pay $500 million to clean up the spill and compensate people affected by it, but the government has faced protests over the amount of the settlement and the slow pace of the payouts.

We came here to the village Peoples Committee to demand our rights because our families have been affected by the sea pollution caused by Formosa, said one fisherman who declined to give his name.

They [authorities] explained the situation to us, but things are still not very clear because they still must obey orders from above, though we think this is their responsibility, he told RFAs Vietnamese Service.

After the Formosa disaster, things in general became very complicated, he said. Most of the issues stem from village authorities, and this is making our lives more difficult. Nobody wants to buy our fish.  I want the government to close Formosa so our sea is clean, and we can have stable lives.

A female villager who declined to give her name said the protesters want fair compensation from Formosa.

We want all people who make their living from the sea to get compensation," she said. "We heard that all fishermen will receive compensation, but when we went to receive our payments, we were told that some would not receive theirs.

Another protester said villagers want Formosa to leave Vietnam.

And if that does not happen, we want the government and scientists to try their best to protect our sea and make it clean again for the people, he said.

I think the local authorities are still trying not to address our issues though we have been suffering, said the man who did not provide his name. The way they talk indicates that they want to avoid responsibility or cover up something.  We only demand compensation from Formosa, not from the government.

Saturday protest

The petitioning comes two days after about 300 people from Thach Lac village in Thach Ha district protested in front of the village Peoples Committee, demanding an explanation from local authorities after one resident was injured by a committee security guard.

Before the protest, village leaders and the heads of some hamlets held a meeting to assess the losses and prepare a plan for issuing compensation payments, according to state media.

But just as the meeting was ending, an argument erupted when a group of villagers rushed into the office to ask why they were not eligible to receive compensation.

A security guard attacked a villager named Tran Van Ro who had to be taken to a local hospital, according to state media.

After officials mobilized police to restore calm, the protesters demanded that local authorities come out of the office and speak directly with them, but they refused.

They protesters dispersed at about 7 p.m., news reports said.

In early October, thousands of demonstrators converged on the Formosa steel factory in Ha Tinh to press claims over the toxic chemical spill. The protest followed filings in September of some 500 individual lawsuits demanding compensation from Formosa.

On Dec. 7, Vietnams environment minister promised representatives of fisherman from Ky Anh district of Ha Tinh province that the government would address their concerns about the disaster that has devastated Vietnams central coast and promised that more money would be released at a later stage to cover vocational training and low-interest loans so fishermen could buy bigger boats allowing them to fish further out at sea.

Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
MINSK -- Two former officers of the Belarusian KGB and a former police officer are among 17 people convicted and sentenced to prison in a high-profile drug case.

The Minsk city court on December 13 sentenced former KGB officers Dzmitry Veratsenski and Ihar Karytski to 15 and 14 years in prison, respectively. Former police officer Kanstantsin Dzenisevich received a 14-year sentence.

All three were found guilty of narcotics trafficking and distribution, as well as illegal entrepreneurship.

A man authorities claim led one of the biggest drug rings in the former Soviet republic, Kanstantsin Vilyuha, was convicted of organizing and running a criminal group and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Thirteen other defendants, including two women, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to 18 years. One defendant was sentenced to four years of "freedom limitation," which is similar to a suspended sentence with parole limitations.

Some of those convicted are citizens of neighboring Russia or hold dual Russian-Belarusian citizenship.

The trial started in February. Most of the defendants pleaded not guilty.
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Foreign ministers of the 12-nation Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation met in Belgrade to discuss a series of issues, including emergency management. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic hosted the meeting on December 13, with guests including his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. (RFE/RL's Balkan Service)
The Russian Defense Ministry has said Moscow is resuming its participation in the Ukraine grain deal, saying it had received "sufficient" guarantees from Kyiv on demilitarizing a maritime corridor.

"Russia considers that the received guarantees are at the moment sufficient and is resuming the implementation of the agreement," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament that "shipments will continue from 12 p.m. today as planned," after a call between the Russian and Turkish defense ministers.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Zelenskiy hailed the development as "a significant diplomatic result for our country and the whole world." In his nightly address, he said the implementation of the grain export initiative continues.

Zelenskiy also said that Russia's call for guarantees showed the failure of Russia's aggression.

After eight months of war, "the Kremlin is demanding security guarantees from Ukraine," he said. "This shows both the failure of the Russian aggression and how strong we are when we remain united."

Earlier, in a tweet, Zelenskiy thanked Erdogan "for his steadfast support of [the] sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

The United States also welcomed the restoration of the grain deal and urged Russia to renew it beyond November 19, its current expiration date.

State Department spokesman Ned Price praised UN and Turkish mediators but said it was important that the deal is "not only set back in motion, but it's renewed later this month."

"That will ultimately inject even more predictability and stability in this marketplace and, most importantly, apply downward pressure to the prices" of global food, he told reporters.

Moscow pulled out of the UN-brokered deal on October 30 after its Black Sea Fleet based in Crimea's Sevastopol port was targeted by drones in what Russia called a "terrorist attack."

The Defense Ministry said it was able to get written guarantees from Kyiv "thanks to the participation" of the UN and "assistance" from Turkey.

The ministry said Kyiv guaranteed "the nonuse of the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports defined in the interests of the export of agricultural products for conducting military operations against the Russian Federation."

The announcement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin told Erdogan that he wanted "real guarantees" from Kyiv before rejoining the deal.

Putin spoke with Erdogan before Russia announced it was reentering the deal. He said later on November 2 that Russia would again leave it if Kyiv violated security guarantees.

"Russia retains the right to leave these agreements if these guarantees from Ukraine are violated," Putin said in televised comments.

But he added that even if Moscow withdraws again, it would not interfere with grain deliveries from Ukraine to Turkey. He cited Turkey's neutrality, the grain processing industry in Turkey, and Erdogan's mediation efforts as reasons for Moscow's stance.

Ukraine had condemned Russia's decision to leave the UN-brokered deal, with Western countries urging Moscow to reconsider.

The deal, overseen by the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, has allowed more than 9.7 million metric tons of grains and other foodstuffs to leave Ukrainian ports.

It was agreed in July and played a crucial role in driving down the prices of wheat and other commodities globally and helping poor countries in Africa and Asia avoid famine.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said Russia has yet to decide if it will remain part of the deal beyond the expiration date.

The extension of the deal beyond November 19 is "a separate issue" and that decision will be made "taking into account all the accompanying factors," Rudenko was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA Novosti.

He reiterated Moscow's displeasure with the implementation of the deal.

Grain exports are a key revenue source for Ukraine, whose economy has been devastated by Russia's eight-month war.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Russia's biggest export isn't oil and isn't gas -- it's politics.

In fact, one of the most disturbing things about the past couple of years is that many of the things Kremlin-watchers took for granted about Russian domestic politics have gone international.

We've long known, for example, that corruption was a political tool in Russia.

It wasn't a bug in the system, but a feature. It was an instrument of control and a means of establishing networks of influence.

And now we know how the Kremlin has successfully exported this practice, whether to Western financial markets, energy markets, or the Olympics.

We've long known that elections were fixed and manipulated in Russia.

This wasn't just from old-fashioned vote rigging. It was the result of carefully shaping the information environment in advance to assure the desired result.

And now we're finding out that the Kremlin has gotten very adept at shaping the information environment in Western countries and thus manipulating elections there as well.

We've long known that Russia's media regularly report false stories and half-truths that suit the Kremlin's needs.

And now fake news and disinformation has become something of an epidemic in the West.

Vladimir Putin has long complained about the West attempting to export its political model to Russia.

And all the while, Putin has been very busy exporting his political model to the West.

When Putin came to power nearly 17 years ago, he quickly launched a stealth war on Russia's fledgling democracy.

And now he's launched one on Western democracy as well.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what Ive been following during the past week and what Im watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Iran has accused two female journalists who covered the hospitalization and funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- whose death in the custody of Tehran's morality police triggered protests across the country -- of being U.S. spies and the "primary sources of news for foreign media."

The accusations came in a joint statement by the feared intelligence branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Intelligence Ministry, which identified the two journalists, Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who are being held in Tehran's Evin prison, by their initials. The statement claims the journalists were trained abroad. It also says the protests that have shaken Iran were planned by the CIA along with other foreign intelligence services, including the British and Saudi spy agencies as well as Israel's Mossad.

The statement was met with fear and anger by Iranian journalists and their colleagues, who pushed back against the accusations. Senior editors of Hamedi's Sharq daily and Mohammadi's Hammihan dismissed the charges and said the journalists were only doing their jobs. "Our journalist and our newspaper.....acted within the framework of the journalistic mission," said Mehdi Rahmanian, editor of the reformist Sharq, while Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the editor of Hammihan, said the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency and other news agencies had similar reports that included more details. More than 500 journalists, photographers, and other media workers demanded the release of their colleagues while calling on officials to allow the free flow of information.

Separately, Tehran's Journalist Association said that based on the statement by the Iranian intelligence agencies, journalism should be banned because "the normal activity of journalists has been cited as evidence of a crime." For its part, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists dismissed the charges against the two journalists as "conspiracy theories," adding that it will hold Iranian leaders accountable for any harm done to the journalists.

Why It Matters: The spying accusations against Hamedi and Mohammadi are a major escalation of state pressure on the media, which is already facing a severe crackdown and tough censorship. The spying charges leveled against the two carries the death penalty. According to the CPJ, more than 45 journalists and columnists have been arrested in the current crackdown. The French media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Iran has become the world's biggest jailer of female journalists in the course of the current crackdown.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that France-based Iranian journalist Vahid Shamsoddinnezhad, who had traveled to Saghez to cover the aftermath of Amini's death for the European TV channel Arte, has been in jail since September 28.

What's Next: The judiciary has not officially charged the two journalists with spying. The pushback from the Iranian press and journalists and international pressure could be instrumental in clearing the two journalists of the accusations.

Stories You Might Have Missed

Iranian authorities secretly buried the body of RFE/RL's Radio Farda broadcaster Reza Haghighatnejad at a location near Shiraz after seizing his body upon repatriation to Iran for burial. Haghighatnejad, 45, died of cancer in Berlin on October 17. His body was flown to Iran on October 25. His family was not allowed to see the body or participate in his burial. Radio Farda obtained a video of Haghighatnejad's gravesite , where the anthem of the current mass protests in Iran, Shervin Hajipur's Baraye, was heard in the background. The U.S. State Department has called on Iran to release Haghighatnejad's body and said the episode showed the extent the Iranian government will go to intimidate the press.

at a location near Shiraz after seizing his body upon repatriation to Iran for burial. Haghighatnejad, 45, died of cancer in Berlin on October 17. His body was flown to Iran on October 25. His family was not allowed to see the body or participate in his burial. Radio Farda obtained , where the anthem of the current mass protests in Iran, Shervin Hajipur's Baraye, was heard in the background. The U.S. State Department has called on Iran to release Haghighatnejad's body and said the episode showed the extent the Iranian government will go to intimidate the press. Iran has arrested rapper Toomaj Salehi, who had expressed support for the anti-govenment protests in Iran. Security authorities announced that the rapper was arrested on October 30 while attempting to flee the country. Salehi's uncle denied the claim, saying his nephew was arrested in the southwestern province of Chaharmahal Bakhtiari. Salehi was also detained last year over lyrics he wrote that condemn state repression, the killings of protesters, poverty, and injustice.

What We're Watching

Iran saw a surge in protests last week when thousands of people marked 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini in state custody. In Amini's hometown of Saghez, a massive crowd gathered at the cemetery where the young woman is buried. Many walked to the cemetery amid reports that authorities had blocked the roads leading to Amini's resting place. Mourners also gathered last week at the grave of 16-year-old Nika Shahkarami near the western city of Khorramabad, 40 days after she was killed in the brutal state crackdown amid reports that security forces had opened fire to disperse mourners while also making arrests.

Why It Matters: The memorial ceremonies for those killed by security forces have energized the protest movement by fueling more anger with state repression. The establishment has responded with force. More protests could erupt as Iranians mourn those killed by security forces.

Thats all from me for now. Dont forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.



Until next time,



Golnaz Esfandiari



If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.
ASTANA -- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has enacted an amnesty for tens of thousands of people who are behind bars in the Central Asian nation.

Before signing an amnesty bill into law on December 13, Nazarbaev said that the amnesty would affect some 28,000 convicts and people held in pretrial detention.

Of those, Nazarbaev said, some 1,500 will be released, 80 percent of them on parole. Others will have their sentences reduced.

Nazarbaev proposed the amnesty in late November to mark the 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence, which is celebrated on December 16. The bill was approved by the parliament earlier in December.

Nazarbaev said that Kazakhstan had eight mass amnesties for prisoners since it gained independence in 1991.

Some 36,000 persons are currently either serving prison sentences or awaiting trial in the nation of 17 million.
If Moldova wants to integrate with the West, the best way forward would be to modernize its infrastructure and strengthen its democratic institutions.

That's the advice given by American journalist and author Robert Kaplan, who argues in his latest book, In Europe's Shadow, that Russian President Putin's recent moves against Ukraine have pushed Romania and Moldova to the front line of the West's confrontation with Moscow.

In drawing on his travels in communist Romania in the 1970s, and charting the nation's complicated past and future following recent visits , the author could not ignore Moldova's deep historical ties to the current NATO and EU member.

He argues in one chapter that the two neighboring countries, although together on the front line of a "new Cold War" triggered by Russia's actions in Ukraine, are far apart.

He described their differences as "stark," during an interview with RFE/RL on March 7. "And they are stark because one country has been in the EU for almost a decade now and one is kind of still trapped in a kind of post-Soviet sub-development."

Existential Threat

Today, says Kaplan, Moldova finds itself in a fight for its survival as a state.

"What Moldova needs to do -- first of all, the most important thing, and this is true of Romania as well -- is to strengthen its institutions, make them sturdier and more transparent, less corrupt," Kaplan told RFE/RL.

Moldova has seen months of anticorruption protests prompted by the disappearance of more than $1 billion from three banks in 2014, a scandal that led to the downfall of the government.

The resulting political crisis threatens to reverse Moldova's recent efforts to integrate with the West and turn the former Soviet republic back toward Moscow's orbit.

Kaplan advises the new government -- whose introduction in January rekindled antigovernment protests calling for early elections that could bring pro-Kremlin forces to power -- to tread carefully if it wants to continue on a Westward course.

"Moldova should seek a stronger association membership with the European Union, and some sort of associated membership with NATO, but it cannot join formally these large institutions of the West without leading to a Russian backlash," he says.

Chisinau is pursuing EU membership, having signed an EU Association Agreement in 2014. Moldova cooperates with NATO through its membership in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the Partnership for Peace program, but is constitutionally neutral and has no plans to join the alliance.

Kaplan suggests that, ultimately, Moldova should strive to preserve its historical status as a buffer state between Russia and the West.

"Moldova, for reasons of geography and history, sad to say, you know, is somewhat a neutral buffer state that cannot... that should not join either alliance for the time being," said Kaplan.

Reunification A No-Go

The notion of reunification with Romania, a longstanding idea that Kaplan writes is "never really off the table," is also a nonstarter. Pursuing reunification, he says, could be seen by Russia as cause for war, particularly under the current circumstances.

"I do not see how Moldova and Romania can unify," Kaplan explains. "That would be almost a casus belli for [President Vladimir] Putin's Russia."

WATCH: Robert Kaplan On The Potential Ramifications Of Moldova Becoming Part Of Romania

While some two-thirds of Moldova's population of 3.5 million speak Romanian, most of its present-day territory was alternately part of Romania and Russia or the Soviet Union.

Moldova's eastern, mainly-Russian speaking Transdniester region separated violently from Chisinau in the early 1990s over fears that the ethnic Romanian majority would seek reunification with Romania.

Transdniester remains a Russian bulwark against the European Union and NATO, reinforced by the presence of some 1,200 Russian troops. Stationed there since the Soviet era, the forces guard arms dumps and serve as "peacekeepers" separating Moldovans and Transdniestrians.

Both Chisinau and Bucharest have floated from time to time the idea of reunification as a possible shortcut for Moldova's accession into the West, while Russian speakers have been using the Romanian "threat" as justification for maintaining close ties to Moscow.

"Were Romania to annex Moldova or to unify with ethnic Romanian-speaking Moldova, that could lead Russia to formally annex Transdniester and that would create far greater regional tensions than we see now."

Corruption Junction

Kaplan told RFE/RL that Moldova's "incredibly high levels of corruption" and the public's "complete loss of confidence" in the government is playing right into Russian President Putin's hands.

"Moldova is kind of being unwoven, it's kind of coming apart without Russia having to do all that much," Kaplan says.

"It wouldn't take much for Putin to undermine it," Kaplan adds. "He probably already is doing so, because as I write, Russia has various age-old forms of imperialist tactics -- subversion, intelligence operations, buying media through third parties, and on and on that are ambiguous enough to be deniable."

Kaplan said that the West -- and the United States in particular -- has to do more to help Moldova back onto the right track.

Kaplan recommended increased American military power in Central and Eastern Europe coupled with more robust diplomacy.

"The secretary of state, the president, the secretary of defense -- they need to be seen to be paying more attention to Europe, because it's my contention that Europe is as important to the United States now as it was during the Cold War," Kaplan concludes.

Watch the full video interview with Kaplan
MOSCOW -- Prominent Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has announced he intends to run for president in an election due in March 2018, potentially setting up a contest against longtime leader Vladimir Putin.

"I am running in the election and I am going to fight for victory," Navalny said in a video statement on December 13 on a new website dedicated to his Kremlin bid. "I am going to discuss the things that everyone is silent about, but have long needed saying."

"Russia should be a rich, free, strong country.... I am going into the election with a program to make Russia strong and modern. To curb corruption. To turn Russia's riches into prosperity for every family," Navalny said on the website.

The firebrand anticorruption campaigner and fierce Kremlin critic is the first politician to announce the intention to run in 2018. Putin, in power as prime minister or president since 1999, is eligible to seek a new six-year term and is widely expected to do so, but has not announced his candidacy.

In his statement, Navalny appeals to voters with promises to combat corruption and battle gaping social inequality that, he says, means 0.1 percent of the population owns 88 percent of the wealth in Russia.

"In this election, I want to be your voice, the voice of those tens of millions of people who work honestly, raise children, pay taxes, love their country, but whose voice the authorities do not hear. They are ignored, robbed, deprived of the dignified life they deserve," he says.

Navalny, 40, wore a suit and tie and sat beside a Russian tricolor flag and framed photographs of his family -- a stark change of image from the casual street style that accompanied his rise to prominence as a leader of major antigovernment protests in 2011-12.

Essentially blacklisted from Kremlin-controlled TV networks, Navalny carved out a following online, using social media to harry Putin with a series of detailed reports alleging corruption among high-level Russian officials.



Putin weathered the protests to return to the Kremlin for a third term in May 2012, cracking down on the opposition and bolstering his popularity with a conservative pivot at home and confrontation with the West abroad.

"The people in power have been there 17 years," he says. "They have stopped reacting to any criticism. Both the Kremlin and the government are concerned only with the resolution of their own financial issues. Therefore, they do not tolerate any criticism and they forbid it."

Navalny posted his campaign platform online, calling for an end to international "isolationism" and for money lost to corruption or spent on military action abroad -- a reference to Russias involvement in wars in Syria and Ukraine -- to be channeled toward hospitals and education.



He also proposed devolving political power from Moscow to the regions, which would reverse a key policy underpinning Putins centralized grip on power, and allowing taxes to be gathered and spent by local regional authorities.



Reinforcing a nationalist and populist streak that irks some in the liberal opposition, Navalny also called for a visa regime to be imposed on migrants from ex-Soviet Central Asia who travel to Russia in the hundreds of thousands for work.

Navalny could face an uphill battle just to get on the ballot, needing to clear bureaucratic hurdles that Kremlin critics say have been used extensively in the past to block opposition politicians from challenging Putin and the dominant, Kremlin-controlled United Russia party.

He has been convicted of financial crimes twice in trials he says were Kremlin-dictated revenge for his opposition activities, but the Supreme Court in November threw out the verdict in one of the cases, removing a legal restraint that had barred him from running for office.

If Navalny is convicted in the retrial now under way in Kirov, a provincial city east of Moscow, he would probably be prohibited from running in 2018.

Vladimir Solovey, a political analyst, told RFE/RL's Russian Service that Navalny's announcement serves a secondary tactical function as it makes it politically harder for the authorities to use the courts to bar him from the presidential ballot.



"He is showing [the Kremlin] and the world that the trial against him is exclusively political and politically motivated," Solovey said.

Most observers believe that Putin will ultimately decide whether to let Navalny get on the ballot. If he does, the Kremlin has many levers to try to turn voters against him, from the state TV networks that dominate the media and United Russia's strong influence nationwide.

Kremlin critics including Navalny say that elections held since Putin was first elected in 2000 have been marred by fraud employed to benefit the president and his allies.

Navalny challenged the Kremlin-backed incumbent in a Moscow mayoral election in 2013, coming in second with more than 27 percent of the vote.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that sanctions imposed on Russia over its actions in Ukraine are an obstacle to talks on a peace treaty with Japan.

Tokyo-Moscow relations have been hampered for decades by a dispute over a group of islands that Soviet troops seized at the end of the World War II. Russia calls them the Southern Kuriles; Japan calls them the Northern Territories.

Lingering tensions over the islands have prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end the war.

Putin heads to Japan on December 15 to discuss the territorial dispute and economic cooperation with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In an interview with Japanese media that was published on the Kremlin website on December 13, Putin said Moscow and Tokyo must agree on conditions for a peace treaty based on trust, adding that large-scale joint economic activities could help achieve that.

But he suggested sanctions were a significant obstacle.

"How are we going to further develop economic relations on a new, much higher...level, given the existence of a sanctions regime?" he asked.

On December 12, Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko ruled out any economic deals that would undermine unity of the Group of Seven (G7) economic powers on sanctions imposed on Russia after the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in March 2014.

With reporting by Reuters
Need more evidence that the Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula are hitting Moscow right where it hurts?

How about computer fonts?

A Russian computer-programming company says it has scrambled to write code for a Kremlin-contracted operating system after it was denied license to use some of the most common computer fonts in the world.



RusBitTech is the developer of Astra Linux, an operating system similar to Windows or Mac OS specifically designed for use in Russia. The software was ordered six years ago, for special use by the Defense Ministry and agencies, including the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet KGB.



According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, RusBitTech told the Communications Ministry earlier this month that the programmers had sought to buy licenses for certain fonts. Those included one called Times New Roman, which is one of the world's most commonly used computer fonts, even in Russia, with its Cyrillic alphabet.



The company that owns the licenses, U.S.-based Monotype, initially proposed what the Russians considered to be extortionate prices for a package of popular fonts: Monotype sought 650 euros ($691 at current rates) per individual workstation, according to Kommersant, rather than what the newspaper described as a more typical 3 to 4 euros ($3.20-$4.20).



Yury Sosnin, the lead developer for the Astra Linux team, told the newspaper that in the end, Monotype withdrew from negotiations and refused to sell the licenses. The reason, Kommersant quoted Sosnin as saying, was the sanctions imposed by the United States.



Monotype, which is headquartered in Massachusetts, did not immediately respond to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.



That put RusBitTech in a bind, Sosnin told the newspaper, because nearly all official documents in Russia use Times New Roman as their standard font. Ultimately, the company was forced to contract with a Moscow typography firm called Paratype to design a font similar to Times New Roman.



It wasn't immediately clear the additional cost to RusBitTech, but Kommersant said company documents showed RusBitTech's contracts with state agencies were worth 1.7 billion rubles in 2014 (around $28 million).

Though relatively minor -- one EU estimate puts the total economic damage to Russia's economy at $5.8 billion -- the case is an illustration of some of the challenges Russia has faced after being hit with Western sanctions in 2014.



Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has been tasked with a policy of "import substitution" -- to build up domestic industries to produce things that are barred from being imported, like Parmesan cheese or Champagne.



The Kremlin has put special emphasis on replacing foreign-built or -designed computer hardware and software -- such as Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows operating system -- with Russian systems.

In March, President Vladimir Putin ordered state-owned companies to buy or license Russian software rather than foreign programs.

In September, the Moscow city government announced it would be replacing the Microsoft operating systems on its computer networks and earlier phased out a Cisco Systems technology used for surveillance cameras.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that he is unlikely to meet with Donald Trump before the U.S. president-elect is inaugurated on January 20.

In an interview with Japanese media published on the Kremlin website on December 13, Putin said that he was "ready at any moment" to meet with Trump.

However, he said that "it seems to me that it's necessary to give the president-elect a chance to put together his administration and take office."

Trump said in October that he would consider meeting with Putin before his inauguration if elected. He won the presidency on November 8.

Trump has repeatedly said he will seek to improve relations with Russia, which have been badly damaged by Moscow's seizure of Crimea and involvement in a deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Putin's comments came amid controversy in the United States over claims that Russia used computer hackers to interfere in the U.S. election, with the CIA reportedly concluding that Moscow's aim was to help get Trump elected over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

As he has before, Putin said that Russia welcomed Trump's stated intention of improving ties and was ready to do its part, but that it will be difficult.

Putin said that "it's widely known that the elected president of the United States has publicly called for the normalization of the Russian-American relationship. We cannot but support this."

He added that "we understand it will not be a simple task considering the extent of degradation of the Russian-American relationship. But we are prepared to do our part."

With reporting by Reuters and AP
Russia and the United States traded blame over Syria's loss of Palmyra to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group for a second time over the weekend.

Russia blamed a lack of cooperation from the United States in fighting IS.

"There still is a lack of coordinated action and real cooperation with other states -- with the United States first and foremost," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 12. "This cooperation could allow us to avoid such attacks by terrorists."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later suggested that, with IS fighters pouring into Palmyra as they flee a U.S.-backed Iraqi assault on Mosul, the development appeared orchestrated to distract Syrian forces from their battle to retake rebel-held parts of Aleppo.

"It makes me think, and I hope I am wrong, that it is all orchestrated...to give a respite to the bandits still in eastern Aleppo," Lavrov said.

But the Pentagon hit back, saying the Palmyra loss proved that Russia and Syria never gave any priority to battling IS extremists.

"It appears that Russia has failed to sustain the singular gain against ISIS they had achieved since their military intervention on behalf of the regime," Pentagon spokesman Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway told AFP.

"This is a further demonstration of why, as we have long advocated, Russia must change their focus."

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
Amid rising tensions between Serbia and Croatia, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will visit Moscow later this month to discuss the possible donation of four MiG-29 jets and other unspecified military equipment.

Dacic spoke after meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on December 12.

Media reports said the jets were decommissioned by the Russian Air Force and need major repairs.

Dacic said Serbia had to strengthen its armed forces in the wake of what he called NATO's arming of neighboring Croatia.

Lavrov confirmed the visit but did not disclose details of a possible agreement.

Croatia, a member of NATO and the European Union, blocked one of three negotiating chapters Serbia hoped to open by year's end in its bid to join the EU, prompting Vucic to leave Brussels in protest on December 12.

"If Croatia is the one to decide if Serbia will become an EU member, I have suddenly lost...interest," Dacic said.

Serbia wants to join the EU, but has refused to join Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its interference in Ukraine.

"Serbia will never become an anti-Russian state and we will never join sanctions against Russia," Dacic declared.

Based on reporting by AP and TASS
Some of the tens of thousands of citizens in eastern neighborhoods of the devastated northern Syrian city of Aleppo still controlled by rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad have been sharing "final messages" and calls for help on social media.

Reports are swirling that the Syrian government is poised to retake those regions -- with support from Russian air strikes -- after four years in the hands of Assad's enemies.

The United Nations' humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, has warned that "atrocities" are being committed in eastern Aleppo by Syrian government forces advancing into neighborhoods previously out of their control.

Humanitarian watchdog Amnesty International issued an "urgent plea" in connection with UN warnings of extrajudicial killings and said reports that residents "are being massacred in cold blood in their homes by Syrian government forces are deeply shocking but not unexpected."

Muhammad Shbib, a media activist based in Aleppo, told RFE/RL via WhatsApp on December 13 that many people are "terrified" of the Syrian regime taking control of the city.

He says he and many others are preparing themselves for the worst.

"We may be killed or imprisoned. We dont know," Shbib said. "There is no safe place [to hide]."

Elsewhere, on social media, another activist posted a video that said simply, "We are being killed."





"This may be my last video," another activist, Lina Shami, said in a video posted on Twitter.

Graphic designer Monther Etaki, also based in eastern Aleppo, said he didn't believe Assad forces could take full control of the city -- formerly Syria's largest with well over 2 million residents before civil war erupted in 2011 -- without committing war crimes.

Etaki, speaking to RFE/RL via social media, said on December 13 that he was trying to keep his family, including an infant, safe. But he added that no one is completely safe in eastern Aleppo.

He described the situation facing residents as a "genocide" and talked of "mass executions" by Assad forces supported "from the sky" by Russian jets that have been attacking the city without "any mercy."

"Its like a prison where you cant get anything," Etaki added, saying the siege on eastern Aleppo has left its people in desperate need of basic necessities.

"I can see people carrying water gallons, people standing for a long time, waiting for bread," he said.

He said many people are without shelter to keep them warm.

"[There are] little boys [breaking up] furniture to burn it to keep warm," he said.



Etaki said his message for the international community was that it should feel responsible toward civilians and that "criminals" should be punished.

"I dont know how they can sleep at night..." he said.

The capture of Aleppo would mark the biggest military victory for Assad since the civil war erupted following a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
ON MY MIND

Intelligence officials recently announced that a Russian hacking group known as Fancy Bear launched a series of cyberattacks targeting political parties and government officials that were aimed at manipulating an election.

And if you think you know what I'm talking about, you're probably wrong.

Because I'm not talking about the CIA's allegations that Moscow attempted to influence the U.S. election through a series of hacks and leaks.

No, what I'm talking about is Germany, which will hold federal elections late next year and which is clearly Vladimir Putin's next target.

Germany, of course, knows what is coming.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned about it. The country's intelligence services have warned about it. And the German media has warned about it.

But the question remains: Will it matter? Will a Kremlin attempt to meddle in an election succeed even when the target sees the attack coming a year in advance?

We'll soon see.

IN THE NEWS

Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny has announced that he plans to run for president in 2018. Navalny made his announcement in a video statement and on his newly opened campaign website.

Some of the U.S. electors who are charged with determining the next president in a vote next week have called for a briefing to detail evidence behind a finding that Russia intervened to help Donald Trump win the November 8 popular vote.

The top Republican in the U.S. Senate has said Congress will investigate the CIA's conclusions that the Russian government used computer hackers to help President-elect Donald Trump win the election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has praised Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as a professional and shrugged off suggestions that Tillersons ties with Russia and Putin might affect his conduct if he becomes U.S. secretary of state.

Vladimir Putin has suggested that he is unlikely to meet with Donald Trump before the U.S. president-elect is inaugurated on January 20.

Russia and the United States traded blame over Syria's loss of Palmyra to the Islamic State extremist group for a second time over the weekend.

Ukrainian lawmaker Nadia Savchenko has confirmed that she met with the leadership of Russia-backed separatists for consultations on prisoner swaps. The move triggered rebukes from her party for what it called "negotiating with terrorists."

Election results from Moldovas breakaway Transdniester region show the head of the regions self-styled parliament has won the de facto presidency by easily winning more than 50 percent of the first-round vote.

Two former officers of the Belarusian KGB and a former police officer are among 17 people convicted and sentenced to prison in a high-profile drug case.

WHAT I'M READING

Russia And The U.S. Election

David Frum has a piece in The Atlantic that asks "five questions about Russia's election hacking."

Max Fischer has a thorough piece in The New York Times on "what we know and don't know" about Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

Also in The Atlantic, Peter Beinart tackles the question of why many in Donald Trump's Republican Party are now embracing Russia.

And NPR's International Editor Greg Myre has a piece on how Russia went from uniting the United States to dividing it.

The View From Estonia

Benjamin Oreskes has a piece in Politico on Estonia's fears about what a Trump presidency and U.S.-Russian rapprochement might mean for them.

Meanwhile, according to a new poll, 81 percent of Estonians consider armed resistance necessary in the event of an invasion and 89 support NATO membership.

Russian Assassins In Turkey

In an in-depth feature, the BBC asks: Have Russian Hitmen Been Killing With Impunity In Turkey?

The 1917 Centennial

In a piece in The Spectator, British author and historian Max Hastings argues that the centenary of the Bolshevik Revolution should be mourned, not celebrated.

Rosneft And Putin's Retirement Plan

Karina Orlova argues in The American Interest that the recent sell-off of shares in the state-controlled oil giant Rosneft deal could form the basis for "Putin's retirement plan."

Russia's New Economy Minister

MIkhail Khodorkovsky's Open Wall web portal has a post looking at the appointment of Maksim Oreshkin, Russia's new economic development minister.

Lessons Learned From Dictatorships

Writing in Republic.ru, political scientist Olga Malinova looks at what the experiences of Germany, Spain, and Latin America can teach Russians about how to overcome the trauma of living in a dictatorship.

Sovereignty In Former Soviet Space

Chatham House has published commentaries by James Nixey and Richard Sakwa on "sovereignty and legitimacy in post-Soviet Eurasia."

Saving Transatlanticism

In Foreign Affairs, Josef Joffe, editor of Die Zeit, a fellow of the Hoover Institution, and the author of the book The Myth Of Americas Decline, argues that if the United States abandons Europe it would be a gift to Russia and China.

Saving Europe

Francisco de Borja Lasheras, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations' Madrid office, has published a Letter To A Besieged Europe.

New SRB Podcast

The new SRB Podcast, hosted by Sean Guillory of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, takes a look at post-Soviet Ukraine. Sean's guest is Sophie Pinkham, author of the book Black Square: Adventures In Post-Soviet Ukraine.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has tweeted that he will announce his choice to become the next secretary of state on December 13, with news reports saying Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson remains the front-runner.

Trump did not say on December 12 who he would name, but Fox News, AP, and Reuters became the latest to report that Tillerson is Trump's choice for the prized top diplomatic post.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters that Tillerson's long business experience with drilling projects in Russia helped make him a "leading candidate" for the job.

If he is nominated, however, his extensive ties with Russia may be the focus of bipartisan concern in the closely divided Senate, which would vote on confirming him.

"I have concerns. It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin." Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain told Reuters. McCain called Putin "a KGB agent who is bent on restoring the Russian Empire."

Senator Charles Schumer, who will be the Senate's Democratic leader next year, told CBS that "a guy like Tillerson needs a thorough, thorough hearing." He added that "talks about his closeness with Putin will come forward."

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa, Fox, and CBS
Ukraine's Defense Ministry says its website was temporarily knocked out of service by cyberattacks that appeared to be aimed at preventing the release of news about Kyivs conflict in eastern regions with Russia-backed separatists.

Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said the website was regularly targeted on December 13 by denial-of-service attacks.

Motuzyanyk said it was not clear who was responsible for the latest attack, but the situation had been brought under control.

Ukraine's Finance Ministry and State Treasury websites were attacked a week earlier.

The Finance Ministry blamed hackers who it said were trying to discredit the government's reform drive.

At the end of 2015, Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) said Russia was responsible for a cyberattack on its power grid that temporarily shut off electricity to part of western Ukraine.

Based on reporting by Reuters and unian.info


Ukraine's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) Party said on December 13 that Ukrainian lawmaker Nadia Savchenko resigned from the political party at the end of October.

The announcement -- confirmed by Savchenko's spokesperson Tatyana Protorchenko -- came a day after the military aviator turned lawmaker confirmed that she had met in Minsk with eastern Ukraine's Russia-backed separatist leaders Aleksandr Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky.

Protorchenko said Savchenko remains a member of Batkivshchyna's parliamentary faction for now, but will be concentrating her political activity on her own "civil platform" and will "soon start her career as an independent lawmaker."

Batkivshchyna leader Yulia Tymoshenko told Ukraine's 112 television channel on December 12 that Savchenko could be expelled from the party's faction when it meets on December 20.

She said Shavchenko had been called to that meeting "to talk and to take a decision."

Tymoshenko also said "Savchenko can plan her life and political activity however she likes. She has nothing in common with the Batkivshchyna Party."

Savchenko told RFE/RL on December 13 that she will continue her efforts to free Ukrainians held captive by Russia-backed separatists.

'Positive' Talks

Savchenko, who was jailed in Russia in 2014 and became a national symbol of resistance before her release in May, rejected reports that her talks with Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky were secret. She said there had been months of preparations.

She denied that her meeting was a step toward legalizing "terrorists," saying "nobody can legalize what is illegal."

Savchenko also said there are no grounds to expel her from the parliamentary National Defense Committee, as urged by some lawmakers, and that what Ukraine needs now is peace.

According to Savchenko, two Russian representatives responsible for humanitarian issues were present at the talks in Minsk.

She said a chief goal of the meeting was to outline the number of people held by both sides.

She said that a separatist claim that some 700 separatist fighters are in Kyiv's custody is far from the truth.

Savchenko described the talks as positive and said that they will continue, but that no specific date has been set for the next round.

With reporting by The Kyiv Post and Interfax
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has formally announced that ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson is his nominee to serve as secretary of state, drawing support from prominent Republicans but also criticism from U.S. lawmakers over the oil executives longstanding ties to Russia..

In a statement released by his transition team on December 13, Trump said that Tillerson's "tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State."

"He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States," the statement quoted Trump as saying.

Trump added on Twitter: "The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments."

In his own statement, Tillerson said he was "honored" by his selection and shares Trump's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States' foreign relations and advancing our country's national security."

The pick is likely to set up a contentious confirmation process in the Senate, where both Republicans and Democrats are wary of Tillersons close cooperation with the Kremlin on Exxon deals in Russia and his opposition to U.S. sanctions targeting Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.



Trump has pledged he would seek to repair battered bilateral ties with Russia as president, triggering bipartisan warnings that he could give President Vladimir Putin a free hand in countries on Russias periphery and beyond.



Senator John McCain (Republican-Arizona), an influential foreign policy voice in Congress, said Tillersons ties to Putin are "a matter of concern."



"Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully, and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying," McCain said earlier this month.



ExxonMobil has extensive drilling interests in Russia, and Tillerson has criticized the U.S. sanctions, which have forced the company to abandon some projects.



Putin decorated Tillerson with a state Order of Friendship medal in 2013 for what the Kremlin called a "significant contribution to strengthening cooperation in the fuel and energy sector."



Benjamin Cardin (Democrat- Maryland), a leading member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on December 13 that he is "deeply troubled by Mr. Tillersons vocal opposition to U.S. sanctions on Russia following its illegal invasion, occupation, and annexation of Crimea, Ukraine, and his close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin."



"Mr. Tillerson has demonstrated he knows the corporate world and can put his shareholders interests first, but can he be a respected Secretary of State that puts the national security interests of the American people first? It remains to be seen," Cardin said in a statement.

Mounting Controversy



Tillersons nomination comes amid a mounting controversy over claims that Russia used computer hackers to interfere in the U.S. election, with the CIA reportedly concluding that Moscows aim was to help get Trump elected over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 vote. Trump and his transition team have rejected the allegations as ridiculous.



White House spokesman Josh Earnest took a thinly veiled swipe at Tillerson's warm interactions with Putin, telling reporters in Washington on December 13 that his nomination is not "particularly surprising" given Trump's stated desire to pursue rapprochement with Moscow.



"Throughout his campaign, the president-elect indicated his intent, if elected president, to pursue warmer relations with Russia. So what better way to do that than to choose somebody whos been awarded the Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin to be your secretary of state?" Earnest said.

VIDEO PROFILE: Tillerson And Russia

An unidentified member of Trumps transition team was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that Trump settled on Tillerson, 64, after the Texan was backed by several influential Republicans including former Secretary of State James Baker, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Trump judged in making the pick that Tillerson could adequately address questions about his relations with Russia, another unidentified official said.

Other Republicans backed the selection as well. Representative Ed Royce (Republican-California), who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Tillerson "has unique experience and comes highly recommended."

"I look forward to hearing from him on restoring U.S. leadership and countering threats to freedom and peace," Royce said in a statement.

However, Eliot Engel, a congressman from New York and the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Tillerson was "not qualified" for the job.

"Aside from his utter lack of diplomatic experience, Mr. Tillerson's cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department," Engel said in a statement. "Especially in light of mounting evidence that Russia interfered in our election to aid President-elect Trump, its unthinkable that Mr. Tillerson should become our top diplomat.

'Good Businesslike Relations'

Reacting to the announcement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed hope that the "pragmatism" he ascribed to Trump and Tillerson would help mend badly strained Russian-U.S. relations.



Trump and Tillerson "have never been opponents of the development of our interaction -- quite the contrary, in fact. These are pragmatic people," Lavrov told journalists in Serbia. "We are counting on this pragmatism to become a good basis to set up mutually beneficial relations -- mutually beneficial both from the point of view of Russian-American interaction and in terms of resolution of international issues."



Putin's senior foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, said shortly after Trump's announcement that Tillerson is "well known" to Russian officials as a result of "active business cooperation."



"Russian representatives, not only the president, have good businesslike relations" with Tillerson, Ushakov said, adding that the ExxonMobil CEO is seen by Russian officials as "a very solid figure" and "a big professional in his field."



Putin and Tillerson are reported to have first met in the 1990s when the oilman supervised an Exxon project on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East.



Their ties were further cemented in 2011 when Exxon signed a deal with Russian energy giant Rosneft to explore and drill in the Arctic and Siberia.



The deal, which Rosneft originally said could entail more than $500 billion in total investments, was put on hold due to the sanctions.

China's Foreign Ministry said Beijing looked forward to working with the new secretary of state to, in the words of a spokesman, "push forward greater progress of the bilateral relationship on a new starting point."

Trump had interviewed several potential candidates for the top U.S. foreign policy job ahead of his inauguration on January 20..

U.S. business groups welcomed Trump's selection of Tillerson. The National Association of Manufacturers said it was "pleased that Rex will bring a business perspective to the State Department."



Environmental and human rights groups, meanwhile, denounced the nomination, citing Exxons environmental record under Tillersons guidance and its dealings with an array of governments.



"This sets a very alarming path for the new administration," the international advocacy group Global Witness said in a statement.



Like Trump, Tillerson has no political experience, but has said he holds conservative views.

Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson has spent his entire business career at Exxon, which he joined in 1975.

Among others, Trump had previously considered former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and 2012 Republican Party presidential nominee Mitt Romney for the post of secretary of state.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa
Virginia Union University will receive $300,000 from the estate of the late Allix B. James, who served as VUUs president from 1970 to 1979.

The gift is to be used for the completion of the lower level of Coburn Hall to include a Memorial Room to house James memoirs. Coburn already contains a chapel bearing his name.

A VUU alumnus, James served for 46 years as a faculty member and administrator. Under his leadership, financial support increased and the Sydney Lewis School of Business Administration was established.
Days after a fire damaged or destroyed at least a dozen boats at a marina in eastern Henrico County, an untold number of vessels remain at the bottom of the James River, but unspecified contaminants have been contained to a section of the water.

Dozens of people involved in cleanup efforts have been working long hours at the site of the partially destroyed Richmond Yacht Basin. Fire marshals have simultaneously been investigating where Fridays fire started and what caused it.

Its going to be very, very methodical ... trying to determine where the origin was, what the cause was and any contributing factors, Henrico fire Capt. Taylor Goodman said Monday. No causes have been ruled out, including arson, he said.

Throughout the day Monday, cleanup crews with First Call Environmental, an emergency response firm, worked to pull contaminants from a blocked-off area of the river surrounding the marina, where a burned-up dock and some at least partially burned boats remained afloat.

Mark Helberg, chief operations officer for First Call Environmental, said Monday that the company, with the assistance of responding emergency agencies, contained the area quickly to limit contamination to the rest of the James River and surrounding area.

I have to give all of the credit to Henrico County Fire Department and Newport News Fire Department, Helberg said of the initial containment work.

Helberg said his company responded immediately Friday after receiving a call from the marinas president, but Henrico fire crews already were blocking off the area with river booms to prevent contaminants from polluting the rest of the water.

Helberg said First Call Environmental made some adjustments to the booms but that the initial containment seemed to be done well.

Now, its a matter of removing the contaminants from the blocked-off section of the river, analyzing the contaminants, and determining where they can be safely disposed of within government regulations. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is overseeing First Call Environmentals work.

Its not a one-day, throw some sawdust on it and clean it up kind of thing. Its a slow, steady process, Helberg said of the cleanup efforts. We have containment right now, which means that the environmental impact  at least unless something crazy happens  will not be getting any bigger than it is currently.

What contaminants exist in that closed-off swath of the James River, where a film of what looks like oil and fire debris floats atop the water, has not been fully determined.

Some of the chief contaminants that were worried about (include) gasoline, diesel fuel, antifreeze, fire debris, obviously, and theres foam they use in fighting fires, he said.

Theres a boat that sank right there at the end of the pier, said Helberg, pointing to an area where he says the top of a boat is visible at low tide.

Its one of multiple boats underwater and, on Monday, it was not immediately clear when they will be removed.

About 60 boats were kept at the marina, Richmond Yacht Basin President Max Walraven said Friday. Some of the boats docked there are yachts on which people live.

Goodman noted that the investigation, which is being led by the Henrico fire marshals office with assistance from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, is going to be a complicated and lengthy one, partly because the fire affected a large area and destroyed a lot of property. He said theres no specific timeline.

As for the cleanup, Helberg said he also could not give any timeline  there are numerous agencies involved and the work has to be done without interfering with authorities investigation.

We are definitely picking up some contamination, and I feel confident to say we have taken off a lot of the contamination so far. ... I feel like were making good progress, Helberg said. Weve been going nonstop since the beginning. ... Well keep working.

No one was killed or injured in last weeks fire.
Virginias state employees and teachers would receive a 1.5 percent one-time bonus next year under the budget plan Gov. Terry McAuliffe will announce this week.

The governor said Tuesday that his budget includes roughly $130.6 million in relief for public employees, including $42.2 million in bonuses for state workers and $55.5 million to cover bonuses for teachers, with no local matching funds required.

The bonuses would be distributed in December 2017, the governor said.

McAuliffe announced the proposal during an appearance on the Richmond radio station WRVA. The bonus, he said, will be offered as an alternative to a planned raise that was canceled as the state deals with a $1.5 billion revenue shortfall.

I think were all in agreement; working with the General Assembly, we would like to see this not as bonuses but as full-time pay raises, McAuliffe said. But the budget isnt where it needs to be to do that yet.

A state compensation panel headed by House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, this week recommended the restoration of a 3 percent salary increase for state workers, even as some lawmakers cautioned that the final decision on a raise will hinge on finding revenue to pay for it.

In a statement Tuesday, House Appropriations Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, said he appreciated the governors focus on employee compensation but added, the devil is always in the details.

We will need to look closely at how the governor funds this one-time bonus, ensuring that it is consistent with past practice, especially as it relates to funding schoolteachers and state-supported local employees, which has always required a local match, Jones said.

R. Ronald Jordan, a lobbyist who represents state workers as executive director of the Virginia Governmental Employees Association, declined to comment on the bonus proposal, saying he wanted to hear more when the governor unveils his full budget proposal Friday.

Jordan has pressed officials to put the state employees first rather than treating them as an afterthought.

The states revenue picture is improving, McAuliffe said, but state agencies have been asked to recommend budget-tightening cuts. He said he intends to shield K-12 education from cuts.

The governors pay-relief package also includes $13.8 million to cover bonuses for state-funded local employees such as election officials, sheriffs deputies and court workers. An additional $12.7 million would go toward addressing salary compression  in which newly hired employees make as much or more than veterans  for Virginia State Police and sheriffs deputies.

To help pay for the bonus, the governors budget calls for one-time tax amnesty period next year that is projected to generate $59.4 million by giving individuals and businesses who owe back taxes a chance to settle up without facing fines and paying only half of any interest due.

Were looking at every way to bring some more money into our budget to do what we have to do, McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe said that when he reveals his full budget Friday, theres going to be a lot of relief for a lot of folks.
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RICHMOND  Virginias state employees and teachers would receive a 1.5 percent one-time bonus next year under the budget plan Gov. Terry McAuliffe will announce later this week.

The governor announced Tuesday that his budget includes roughly $130.6 million in relief for public employees, including $42.2 million in bonuses for state workers and $55.5 million to cover bonuses for teachers, with no local matching funds required. The bonuses would be distributed in December 2017, the governor said.

McAuliffe announced the proposal during a radio appearance on Richmonds WRVA radio station. The bonus, he said, will be offered as an alternative to a planned raise that was called off as the state deals with a $1.5 billion revenue shortfall.

I think were all in agreement working with the General Assembly we would like to see this not as bonuses but as full-time pay raises, McAuliffe said. But the budget isnt where it needs to be to do that yet.

A state compensation panel headed by House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, this week recommended the restoration of a 3 percent salary increase for state workers, even as some state lawmakers cautioned that the final decision on a raise will hinge on finding the revenue to pay for it.

In a statement Tuesday, House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, said he appreciated the governors focus on employee compensation, but added the devil is always in the details.

We will need to look closely at how the governor funds this one-time bonus, ensuring that it is consistent with past practice, especially as it relates to funding school teachers and state supported local employees which has always required a local match, Jones said.

R. Ronald Jordan, a lobbyist who represents state workers as executive director of the Virginia Governmental Employees Association, declined to comment on the bonus proposal, saying he wanted to wait to hear more when the governor rolls out his full budget proposal Friday. Jordan has pressed officials to put the state employees first rather than treating them as an afterthought.

The states revenue picture is improving, McAuliffe said, but state agencies have been asked to recommend budget-tightening cuts. The governor said he intends to shield K-12 education from cuts.

The governors pay relief package also includes $13.8 million to cover bonuses for state-funded local employees such as election officials, sheriffs deputies and court workers. An additional $12.7 million would go toward addressing salary compression  in which newly hired employees make as much or more than veterans  for Virginia State Police and sheriffs deputies.

To help pay for the bonus, the governors budget calls for one-time tax amnesty period next year projected to bring in $59.4 million by giving individuals and businesses who owe back taxes a chance to settle up without facing fines and paying only half of any interest due.

Were looking at every way to bring some more money into our budget to do what we have to do, McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe said that when he rolls out his full budget Friday, theres going to be a lot of relief for a lot of folks.

They are the strength that continues to make us the greatest state in America, McAuliffe said.
Executives for Virginias hospitals on Tuesday said they would ask the General Assembly to amend mental health care laws so their emergency rooms can treat patients faster and, if needed, find them inpatient beds in units best suited to their needs.

The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association also wants time to stabilize patients to see if they can be discharged before commitment hearings are held, and to be able to tap state funds reserved for involuntary commitments to care for patients who willingly seek treatment.

The association held a news conference Tuesday at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, which was streamed on Facebook, to talk about ways to improve mental health care.

Virginia and all Virginians are familiar with these issues through several very high profile cases as well as personal experiences in their own lives, said Deborah Davis, CEO of VCU Hospitals and Clinics. Behavioral health care issues have touched every Virginian in some form.

About 1.1 million Virginians, or 20 percent of the states population, in 2014 were diagnosed with a mental health illness; 213,000 of them had serious mental illnesses, but almost half went untreated.

The association said there arent enough psychiatric beds. Of the 2,922 inpatient beds statewide, private hospitals manage 1,300 of them. In addition, their emergency departments often are the go-to place for people in crisis who wait until a bed in a psychiatric unit or hospital can be found.

In 2014, lawmakers mandated the creation of a statewide computerized bed registry to aid in placement. The registry was in response to a high profile case. Gus Deeds attacked his father, state Sen. Creigh Deeds, and then killed himself hours after he was released from an emergency custody order when it elapsed before a hospital placement could be secured.

The bed registry requires state psychiatric hospitals to provide a bed of last resort, but it doesnt ensure that patients are placed in the hospital best able to treat the complexities of their illnesses.

The hospital association is asking that another layer be developed that provides for more information about patients so that hospitals can better match patients with their staffing and capabilities.

The association also wants to use behavioral health care workers to screen patients for admission when a community services board employee cannot respond within two hours. Time is often critical when patients are held under emergency custody orders.

The association proposes two other ways to reduce involuntary commitments. One would delay commitment hearings for at least 23 hours after admission to allow time to evaluate and stabilize patients. The other would allow state funds to be used based on clinical need rather than on whether a patient is hospitalized under a commitment order.

The associations agenda comes a week after the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services, chaired by Deeds, advanced its own legislative agenda for improving access to services. Several lawmakers on that committee have agreed to sponsor the hospital associations bills.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Nine news organizations are partially siding with Rolling Stone magazine in challenging the jurys verdict in the recent multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit won by University of Virginia administrator Nicole Eramo.

On Thursday, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press was joined by The Associated Press, The Washington Post and other organizations in a filing that supports Rolling Stones motion to override part of the jurys Nov. 4 verdict in the high-profile case.

The suit was filed in May 2015 by Eramo, who alleged that she was defamed by Rolling Stone, its publisher and author Sabrina Rubin Erdely, who penned the now-retracted article A Rape on Campus. Published in November 2014, the piece was intended as an expose of the culture of sexual assault at elite universities.

Other news organizations found holes in the articles centerpiece narrative, leading the magazine to append an editors note at the top of the article on Dec. 5, 2014, stating that Rolling Stones trust in the articles primary source had been misplaced. After a review by the Columbia Journalism School found that the article was a journalistic failure that was avoidable, Rolling Stone officially retracted the piece in April 2015.

Eramos suit went to trial in October, at which time she argued that shed been painted as the chief villain in Erdelys debunked tale. At the time of the articles publication, Eramo had been the associate dean charged with aiding student survivors of sexual assault; mentioned more than 30 times in the piece, Eramo claimed she had been portrayed as callous and indifferent to students needs, and that shes since suffered unduly at the hands of Erdely and her editors.

After three weeks at trial, jurors found in favor of Eramo, saying in their verdict that Erdely had acted with actual malice in publishing certain false statements about Eramo, and that the magazine had acted with equal malice in republishing the article with the editors note on Dec. 5. They awarded Eramo $3 million, although she had sought $7.85 million when the suit was filed.

This past Dec. 5, two years after the fateful editors note was tacked onto the online story, Rolling Stone filed a motion with the court to overrule the jurys verdict. The motion states that there is no evidence to support the jurys findings that the defamatory statements were republished, and that Eramo did not successfully prove that Erdely published the statements with actual malice.

While neither Eramo nor a federal judge has responded to the magazines motion, a judge has temporarily suspended the enforcement of the jurys verdict until the matter is settled.

In its own filing, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said that it and eight other news organizations support Rolling Stones motion with respect to the question of whether the editors note constituted a republication of the entire article, and that they wish to assist the court in its determination of the case.

In the filing, the organizations say they are reputable news organizations and that each of which recognizes a commitment to be vigilant in clarifying inconsistencies and to update their work accordingly in the hopes of providing their audience with accurate information. In that capacity, the organizations wish to stress the chilling effects that would result if Rolling Stone was to be penalized for the republishing element of the jurys verdict.

Plaintiff threatens to set a dangerous precedent for news organizations and those who rely upon them for accurate up-to-the-minute news throughout the country, the filing reads. Upholding the current verdict would set [the organizations] on a collision course between correcting errors in their journalism and facing liability for doing so.

A federal judge has yet to publicly weigh in on the recent spate of filings, other than to stall the verdicts enforcement.
POLICE have reopened roads and businesses after bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion of a suspicious package.

The package was found on Temple Road, Templeborough, near Magna Science Adventure Centre, at around 8.45am this morning (Tuesday).

Sheffield Road, Templeborough, was closed between St Lawrence Road and the junction with Ickles Way until around 2pm.

Businesses within 200m of the package were evacuated along with attendees at a conference which was being held at Magna.

Read more on this story in this week's Advertiser.
A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a woman on a train.

A 33-year-old man, from Barnsley, was questioned by British Transport Police following the incident on a train in November.

The victim  a 27-year old woman  was travelling with her partner on the delayed 10.24pm train from Sheffield to Leeds on Saturday, November 19.

When the womans partner went to the toilet, a man sat next to her and subsequently tried to rape her.

Her partner returned and physically moved the offender from his seat, before both alighted the train at Swinton.

The suspect has been bailed until January 20 while enquiries continue.

British Transport Police officers are still appealing for information in connection with the incident.

The offender was white, aged in his late twenties to early thirties, with brown hair and was wearing a blue puffer jacket.

He was with another man who was also white, aged in his late twenties to early thirties and wearing a black puffer jacket.

It is not known where the two men alighted the train.

Det Insp Mick Jackson said: We have spoken to a number of witnesses already, but I believe there are still people who were on the train or perhaps on the platform who may have seen what took place, or have information about what happened prior to or after the incident which could help us to piece together what happened.

Incidents of this nature on the railway network are rare and it is vital that we establish the exact circumstances of what happened.

The victim continues to be supported by specially trained officers as the investigation continues.

I would like to hear from anyone who was on the train who has not yet spoken to police, who may have seen or heard anything that could help with our investigation.

If you recognise the description of the offenders or have any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, please call calling 0800 405040 or text 61016, quoting reference 147 of November 24.
Osino receives 20-year mining licence for Namibia project Osino Resources has received a 20-year mining licence for its wholly-owned Twin Hills gold project, in Namibia. The mining licence is subject to the fulfilment of several customary conditions which include adherence to an agreed work programme, conclusion...

Newmont announces third quarter 2022 results Newmont Corporation announced third quarter 2022 results. The company produced 1.49 million attributable ounces of gold and 299.000 attributable gold equivalent ounces from co-products.

Debswana boosts diamond sales Debswana, a 50/50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, recorded a 37.5% growth in rough diamond sales in the first nine months of 2022, statistics released by the Bank of Botswana showed Tuesday, driven by steady demand for...

AGC signs declaration of responsibility and sustainability principles with gold industry leaders Artisanal Gold Council Executive Director Dr. Kevin Telmer signed a Declaration of Responsibility and Sustainability Principles along with other gold industry leaders at the LBMA/LPPM Global Precious Metals Conference in Lisbon on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022...
ALROSA has announced it will rename its foreign-based trading subsidiaries and affiliates ARCOS.

ARCOS sales network will be renamed and offices will bear a name of ALROSA and their region of location. ALROSA will also carry out relevant rebranding.

This decision was made to identify ALROSA with its own sales network and provide clients with the guarantee of origin and quality of rough and polished diamonds sold through the network.

Renaming the Companys subsidiaries and affiliates is a part of common concept of creating ALROSAs single corporate brand. The renaming procedure will probably take four months.

Since 1993, English trading company Arcos (Anglo-Russian Cooperative Society) Limited has been a trading company engaged in export operations related to the supply of equipment for the diamond industry. It has become an ancestor of the sales network and gave the name to all ALROSAs subsequent regional trading and marketing offices (Arcos USA, Arcos Belgium NV, Arcos Hong Kong, Arcos East DMCC, Arcos Diamonds Israel). In 2016, ALROSA sold Arcos Limited, following which its connection with the initial trademark was actually lost.




Kimberley Diamonds said it is set to process 62,500 tonnes of ore this month and recover about 12,500 carats at Lerala Diamond Mine in Botswana.

The company processed 46,085 tonnes of ore in November yielding a total of 9,338 carats at a recovered grade of 20.26 cpht.

It also processed 52,408 tonnes of ore in October and realised 10,156 carats.

The lower processed ore tonnes in November compared to that achieved in October was the result of significant maintenance being performed on the existing secondary scrubber early in the month, it said.

Increased throughput over the remainder of the month partially offset this stoppage.

Kimberley applied to the ASX for removal from the official list as its shares were trading at a price that it believed was materially lower than the underlying value of its assets.

Meanwhile, the company said that it had since October raised additional debt of A$ 2.9 million and repaid A$ 1.0 million.

It had a total debt of A$ 22.6 million.

The company said it required further funding to complete its performance improvement plan and for additional working capital.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), SMART United Transportation Union-Local 61 (SMART-UTU) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) signed an Implementing Memorandum of Understanding (IMOU) on Dec. 12 to join the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS).

C3RS is described as an FRA-sponsored, voluntary and confidential program that encourages transparency and allows railroad carriers and industry employees to report close calls. The program aims to facilitate a safe environment for reporting hazardous instances and conditions. The program protects reporting employees from disciplinary actions against them and from FRA enforcement, and railroads are protected from FRA enforcement for reported risks, as well.

SEPTA employees will now have the ability to anonymously report safety risks without fear of consequences. As a C3RS site, SEPTA is among carriers including Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Metra, MBTA, Long Island Railroad and Metro North.

Building a strong safety culture is a key organizational goal for SEPTA. We are always exploring ways to expand and enhance our programs, said SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey Knueppel. As a C3RS site, we will be made aware of situations that we might not have been previously alerted to so that we can take action to prevent accidents and protect our employees and passengers.

The C3RS system will allow SEPTA conductors and engineers to submit notices of safety concerns online or by U.S. mail to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The program uses NASA as an independent third party federal agency to analyze all C3RS data, redact employee names and contact information and return the reports to a peer review team including SEPTA managers, the unions and FRA officials for review.

We are looking for conditions or close calls other than accidents or injuries that might not otherwise be reported to the FRA, said Scott Sauer, SEPTA assistant general manager of system safety. We are asking employees to report events that we might not otherwise know about, the warning signs and precursors that could lead to major safety risks and accidents.

Knueppel added that the C3RS program, paired with the implementation of positive train control, is expected to significantly improve SEPTAs safety.

Previously, employees may have been hesitant to report a close call, fearing disciplinary action for themselves or colleagues, Sauer said. When NASA returns the report to the peer review team, it is completely scrubbed of any employee information. We never know who submitted the information to NASA.
President-elect Donald Trump heavily criticized the rising costs of F-35 fighter jet program, which negatively impacted the shares of contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th," tweeted Trump on Monday.

Trump claims he will save billions of dollars on military programs once he takes control as the US President next month. LMT shares slipped $6.42 or 2.47% on Monday's regular trading.

F-35, which was initially expected to enter full-scale production in 2008, has become the world's most expensive weapons project with estimated cost of about $379 billion.

The F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter jet that is designed to be largely invisible to radar, fly faster than the speed of sound and incorporate advanced sensors.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Google on Monday announced that it has signed a new deal with Cuba's state-run telecommunications company granting internet users speedy access to YouTube and other Google products.

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc, signed the deal in Havana with Mayra Arevich Marin, president of State Enterprise of Telecommunications of Cuba, known as ETECSA, which handles all Internet and phone services in the island.

The deal will provide Google's "Global Cache" service to the country. The Cache network stores content from sites like Gmail and YouTube on servers located closer to end users. It reduces the amount of time it takes high-bandwidth content to load by storing data on servers on the island.Google previously made available some of its other products on the island nation, including its Google Chrome Web browser and Google Play music service.

Meanwhile, the move will help only a small percentage of Cubans as vast majority of the communist country's residents do not have access to the Internet. According to a U.N. agency, only 3.4 percent of homes in the country had either intranet or internet access last year.

Over the past two years, the Internet giant has been making small moves into Cuba providing some of its other products, including its Google Chrome Web browser and Google Play music service, with the United States working to re-establish diplomatic relations with the country.

"Taken together, all these projects are tied to Google's core values to make the world's information useful and accessible to everyone regardless of cost, connectivity, and language barriers," the company said in a statement.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY), a provider of labeling and packaging materials and solutions, announced Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Hanita Coatings from Kibbutz Hanita Coatings and Tene Investment Funds for $75 million, subject to customary adjustments.

Avery Dennison expects that completion of the transaction will take up to a few months, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.

Hanita is an Israel-based pressure-sensitive materials manufacturer of specialty films and laminates. It has sales and distribution facilities in the United States, Germany, China and Australia. The company develops and manufactures coated, laminated, and metallized polyester films for a range of industrial and commercial applications.

With 2015 sales of roughly $50 million, Hanita currently employs more than 220 employees, most of whom are located at the company's headquarters in Israel's Western Galilee.

Mitch Butier, Avery Dennison president and CEO, said, "In addition to expanding our product portfolio and providing new growth opportunities, Hanita Coatings' culture of innovation and long-standing commitment to R&D are a strong fit with our own company's 80-year history of innovation in materials science."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Italian lender UniCredit SpA (UCG,UNCFF.PK) on Tuesday said its Board of Directors has approved its 2016-2019 Strategic Plan, Transform 2019. As part of the plan, the company announced a 13 billion euros rights issue aiming to strengthen its capital base.

Separately, the company said it has signed two agreements for the disposal of a 17.7 billion euros Italian non-performing loan portfolio.

The company noted that the rights issue will be submitted for approval to the Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting to be held on January 12, fully underwritten by volume by a consortium of leading international banks which entered into a pre-underwriting agreement.

Apart from this, other main Transform 2019 actions aimed at strengthening the capital base are no payment of dividends for 2016, thereafter a 20-50 percent cash dividend pay-out policy, and the agreed disposals of the whole interest in Pekao and Pioneer as well as the already finalised disposal of Ukraine and rightsizing of shareholding in Fineco altogether contributing by 164bps to the fully loaded CET1 ratio.

By 2019, the company aims net income of 4.7 billion euros and revenues, CAGR 2015-2019 at plus 0.6 percent.

Jean Pierre Mustier, Chief Executive Officer, UniCredit said, "All these actions will allow us to generate a return on tangible equity of above 9 per cent in 2019 and allow for a cash dividend pay-out policy of between 20 to 50 per cent..... we will in 2019 have a fully loaded CET1 ratio above 12.5 per cent, well in line with other best in class G-SIFIs."

Regarding the sale of its loan portfolio, the company announced that, as part of its efforts to accelerate the deleveraging of its non-core portfolio, it has entered into two separate agreements, one with Fortress Investment Group (FIG) and one with PIMCO to transfer two portfolios of non-performing loans to newly setup and independent entities in which UniCredit will retain a minority position. Each of the two entities will be managed by the respective investment partner who will each have a majority position.



The transactions involve the transfer of a combined about 17.7 billion euros of gross book value as at the end at the second quarter of 2016. The completion of the transactions is subject to customary conditions and is targeted to close by the end of the first half of 2017.



Morgan Stanley & Co. International and UniCredit CIB acted as Financial and Structuring Advisors to UniCredit in these transactions.

The company also announced that, in the context of the Rights Issue, UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley and UBS will act as structuring advisors and, alongside BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, and Mediobanca, as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners. In addition, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International and HSBC will act as co-global coordinators and joint bookrunners.

UniCredit Board of Directors resolved to call an Extraordinary and Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting to be held on January 12th.

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Business News
Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (PPBI), the holding company of Pacific Premier Bank, and Heritage Oaks Bancorp (HEOP) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Pacific Premier will acquire Heritage Oaks in a stock transaction. The holders of Heritage Oaks common stock will have the right to receive 0.3471 shares of Pacific Premier common stock for each share of Heritage Oaks common stock they own. Existing Pacific Premier shareholders will own approximately 69.9% of the outstanding shares of the combined company and Heritage Oaks shareholders are expected to own approximately 30.1%. The aggregate merger consideration is approximately $405.6 million or $11.68 per share of Heritage Oaks common stock.

Heritage Oaks, the holding company of Heritage Oaks Bank, is headquartered in Paso Robles, California, with $2.0 billion in total assets, $1.3 billion in gross loans and $1.6 billion in total deposits at September 30, 2016. Heritage Oaks has 12 branches located in San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County and a loan production office located in Ventura County.

Pacific Premier Bancorp expects the transaction will be immediately accretive to tangible book value per share and 5.2% accretive to earnings per share in 2018. The transaction will increase Pacific Premier's total assets to approximately $6.0 billion on a pro forma basis.

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Business News
Synalloy Corp. (SYNL) Tuesday announced that it, through its subsidiary Bristol Metals, LLC, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Stainless Steel Pipe and Tube operations of Marcegaglia USA. The transaction that excludes real estate and certain other assets, will be in a range $15 to $16 million.

The transaction is expected to close on or by March 1, 2017. The agreement will be structured as an asset purchase and will exclude galvanized product and ornamental tubing products.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped oil giant Exxon Mobil's chief executive Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State.

Trump announced the nomination on Twitter, saying, "I have chosen one of the truly great leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State."

Tillerson's confirmation is not expected to be easy, as his close ties to Russia and its President Vladimir Putin have reportedly alarmed both Democrats and some Republicans.

The latest appointment in Trump's Cabinet coincides with top Democratic Senators' demand for an independent inquiry into the alleged Russian meddling in the elections. It emerged last week that U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russia acted covertly to boost Trump in the election.

The Secretary of State is the most senior U.S. diplomat and the President's key man in charge of Washington's relations with other governments. It is rare in American that a non-politician with no formal government experience heads the State Department.

Trump tweeted, "The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments."

Joining the rank of an engineer in Exxon Mobil more than 40 years ago, Tillerson, 64, spent several years as a globetrotter running the company's extensive international operations.

"Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart deal making, Rex rose through the ranks to become CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest and most respected companies," Trump said about his nominee in a statement.

Trump expressed confidence that Tillerson will "promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States."

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SACI Instagram: Statement on Diversity and Inclusion e South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute is committed to diversity and inclusivity in chemical sciences. The Institute opposes discriminatory acts or threats based on race, ethnicity, citizenship, culture, language, disability, age, religious or spiritual beliefs, political opinion, gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation and economic class. The Institute is dedicated (i) to endorsing excellence and scientific credibility across chemical sciences conducted in academic, industrial, and governmental institutions, and (ii) to nurturing the values of diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the chemical sciences in South Africa. Hence, SACI will continue to play a leading role in assuring the professional competence and integrity of chemists and fostering international collaboration whilst upholding inclusivity and diversity. Statement on Sexual Harassment e South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute will not permit any kind of sexual harassment (physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct) in the Institute or at events organised by or related to the Institute. The Institute is committed to and fully supports environments that are free of any form of unfair discrimination and harassment, including gender-based violence. Allegations of any form of sexual harassment will be dealt with seriously, expeditiously, sensitively and confidentially. Statement from SACI Council on tertiary training in chemistry as a result of disruptions to the 2020 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the professional body representing the interests of all chemists in South Africa, we recognise the challenges that the current COVID-19 crisis presents to all our members in academia, research and industry. We also acknowledge the challenges the current situation presents to our tertiary institutions and specifically the challenges presented by moving to online teaching. We applaud the efforts of all our members who work at tertiary institutions who have adapted and innovated to ensure that we can continue as far as possible with our teaching and learning of chemistry even when on campus face-to-face contact is not possible. Our tertiary institutions play a critical role in not only training the next generation of chemists, but they are also tasked with the important responsibility of ensuring that many people from other professions and disciplines are trained in the fundamental principles of chemistry. We reaffirm our belief that this training is essential, as chemistry is one of the central sciences. Key to this training is the practical component and laboratory based skills development. While we accept that this critical component of our training is not possible under the current situation, we strongly urge that plans be put in place to preserve this component of training as part of the curriculum as far as possible. In some cases, virtual laboratory tools can facilitate learning, but we believe that in laboratory practical training particularly for senior level courses should be preserved. SACI strongly recommends that at least a critical minimum practical experience should form part of the plans to complete the 2020 academic year at our tertiary institutions. We believe that this is essential to preserve the validity and integrity of the academic training programmes in chemistry. Latest Updates: Pay your SACI membership fees with SnapScan SACI Ties, Scarfs and T-shirts Periodic table ties and ladies scarfs R130 each. Periodic table T Shirt Short sleeve R180, Long sleeve R200 Please contact head office to place orders. There is also a courier charge of R150 per order for delivery.


By SA Commercial Prop News

Joburg's Newtown Precinct.



Big Businesses are moving out of Joburg's Newtown Precinct, sparking rumours that electricity, rent and rates were too high for some.

Among those deserting the popular cultural hub is Kaya FM. The radio station is moving back to Rosebank next year. Situated on Bolton Road for several years, this time Kaya FM will move to Jan Smuts Avenue.

Blue IQ, Xarra, Cappellos and the Gauteng Tourism Authority have already moved. Kaya FM station's managing director, Greg Maloka, said the move was not entirely triggered by the Johannesburg Development Agency's high costs.

Maloka said their move was influenced by their growth and to accommodate the demands and requirements of a dynamic business. "A number of buildings were looked at, including in Newtown, but our best option was to build a new structure.

"We responded to challenges of space and economics that must be suited to where the business needs to go," he said. Sources in the know say most of the businesses are moving out of Central Place Building because of rising rentals.

Grant Harrison of Kaldi's Coffee Shop agreed that the rates had increased a lot. "It is difficult to operate under these circumstances. Everyone is leaving because of the rates. We had discussions with the JDA, but have seen no change.

"We were supposed to meet each other halfway, but that is not happening yet," he said. But Xarra Bookshop owner Khanyiso Mguni denied that they moved because of the high rates.

"We moved because we are changing our strategy. We are venturing online and moving to Hillbrow was the right move for us," Mguni said. Blue IQ's group executive for marketing, communications and events, Stephen Watson, refuted the claims, saying the rent was market-related.

"The rental is negotiated with tenants at great length and tenants signed the rental offers. "Blue IQ's and GTA's moves are in line with the Gauteng Department of Economic Development's directive to centralise government services.

"Agencies, among others, Gauteng Economic Development Agency, Gauteng Economic Propeller and Gauteng Film Commission are all relocating to 124 Main Street to create a one-stop service centre for the public," Watson said.

He said Sophiatown Restaurant and Kaldi's Coffee Shop were expanding.
A first-of-its-kind journey along India and Pakistan border

What binds the two most talked about nations - India and Pakistan together? What makes the
Fiber optic network by Bluebird now live for businesses in Salina
Here's what social emotional learning looks like in Salina

A panel of Salina Public School professionals talked about and provided examples of social emotional learning in the November edition of SPS Chats.
The Apia Ivakaliatu donated food and much-needed goods for the children at the Samoa Victim Support Group yesterday.

Youths from four parishes within the Ivakaliatu from Matautu and Leone, St Anthony, Taufusi, Togafuafua, Saleufi and Vaimoso worked extremely hard to make the donations happen.

The youths came up with the idea knowing that were in the festive season and they wanted to do as much as they can to help our children at S.V.S.G, Father Losi Numia said.

So they provided all this stuff from their heart. Its a wonderful lesson about a life of giving and helping each other in the community.

Father, Losi Numia, said this would not be the last donation from the young people. He also wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

S.V.S.G President Siliniu Lina Chang expressed her heartfelt thanks for the donation.
The Controller and Chief Auditor, Fuimaono Camillo Afele, has confirmed that audited reports to Parliament from 2013 to 2016 are ready.

These will be submitted to the Speaker of Parliament, Leaupepe Toleafoa Faafisi, to be tabled when Parliament convenes for the last time this year, next week.

In response to an email to the Samoa Observer, Fuimaono who is overseas was reluctant to talk about the reports.

However, he pointed out that December 2016 is the month to submit reports to Speaker as discussed in August 2016.

I will be fully accountable to you when December 2016 is finished and still no reports submitted to the Speaker, said Fuimaono

Asked to explain if he meant the reports might not be ready, Fuimaono said the reports are ready but he did not wish to discuss them before the Parliament sitting.

Parliament will reconvene on 20 December 2016 for its last sitting this year.

The Chief Auditors Office has been working on compiling the reports to parliament for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 in the past months. The Officers of Parliament Committee report on the audit reports to parliament for 2010 and 2011 came out in 2014.

In an interview back in August, Fuimaono said governments response to the O.P.C. included corrective, remedial actions and explanations about some of the issues questioned. The response came out in 2014.

Audit Office as per usual and standard audit practice followed up governments response to O.P.C. report of corrective and remedial actions and explanations during financial and working year ended 30 June 2016 so an audit coverage on the follow up work will be included in the audit report to parliament for the year ended 30 June, 2016, he explained.

O.C.L.A. (the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly) is to confirm whether there is an O.P.C. report on the 2012 report but the Audit Office has included in its annual plan/program for the year ending 30 June, 2017 the follow up of the 2012 Audit Report to Parliament and any O.P.C. report on it.
Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, has defended the governments decision to change the age limit of vehicles imported to Samoa from twelve to eight years.

He vehemently downplayed claims linking the rationale behind their latest decision to one of the strongest points of objection raised by opponents of the controversial road switch several years ago.

The government was clearly warned about Samoa becoming a dumping ground for cheap vehicles.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, Tuilaepa said times are changing and there is a need to bring in newer vehicles.

It doesnt mean that we import cars and continue on with (importing) rubbish, he said.

In this life we move forward. When you start bringing in cars, the next thing you want is a brand new car.

Tuilaepa reminded that even before road switch was implemented, many Samoans had already started importing brand new cars.

But thats the nature of these things, he said.

The old man knows that an old car doesnt last long so he writes to his son to tell him to stop fooling him (with an old car) and to bring someone new.

In 2009 when the government introduced the road switch, one of the reasons used to sell the idea at the time was to allow the importation of cheaper cars from New Zealand and Australia to make transportation easier.

Fast-forward to now, the government is changing its mind. Instead of 2004, imported vehicles will now have had to be manufactured in 2009 to be allowed to enter the country. The change becomes effective in January 2017.

Although many people are concerned, it is the suddenness of the decision that has hit some businesses hard.

Take for example the Manager of Alnima Motors, Shahjahan Fazor, who told the Samoa Observer they were only made aware about the change recently.

He said the short notice means their bulk order scheduled to arrive early next year, might have to be returned. And this will cost them dearly.

This is the busiest time of the year and we have already processed our orders to arrive next year, said Mr. Fazor.

The short notice really does affect our business because we made our orders three months prior because of the long process. We have already processed about 40 cars from year 2004  2005 that will get in next year.

Asked about concerns from Alnima Motors about vehicles they had already pre-ordered and are on their way here, Tuilaepa said he needs proof that this was the case.

We are considering that until the orders come in, he explained.

But first I need proof. Who knows they might bring in the proof and we find there werent any cars that were ordered from that time.
The two Chinese men accused of stealing more than $10,000 from an Automatic Teller Machines were called in the District Court on Monday.

Zhong Shuiming and Yang Quigreen are facing 16 charges of theft. They are represented by lawyer, Alex Sua.

The pair are being charged per transaction where they allegedly stole money.

National Prosecution Office lawyer, Iliganoa Atoa is the prosecutor.

The matter was initially called in the Supreme Court but it was later referred to the District Court where theft is under the Courts jurisdiction.

Before District Court Judge, Fepuleai Ameperosa Roma, the matter was scheduled for hearing yesterday. However, Fepuleai said the Court was not available as it was engaged in other matters.

Sua then told the Court he had just received several footages from the prosecution on Friday last week. He requested two days to look at it and an adjournment for hearing.

The Judge noted that both the defendants and the prosecutor whom have eight witnesses are ready to proceed.

He then adjourned the matter until 6th March, 2017 for hearing.

The accused remain on bail with conditions to sign at the Police headquarter every Monday and Friday.
Samoa has achieved another first in as far as the battle against climate change goes. It has become the first Pacific Small Island Developing State to host a Green Climate Fund (G.C.F) Board meeting.

Held at the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys Hotel in Apia, the delegates from all over the world were officially welcomed during a cocktail at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum on Monday. The G.C.F is the largest dedicated multilateral climate fund and is tasked to serve developing countries by supporting country-driven climate strategies through simplified and efficient application and approval procedures.

Throughout the week, the G.C.F Board members will take in consideration three major proposals for the Pacific. One of these is a US$58 million project for integrated flood management in Samoa.

The other two projects involves Vanuatu and the other one is for seven Pacific Island Countries.

Australias Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells congratulated Samoa for hosting such a great meeting.

This is the largest climate finance meeting ever held in the Pacific and will bring much-needed attention to the regions unique and diverse climate financing needs and significant opportunities for investment, she said.

Holding the meeting in Samoa allows delegates to see and experience first-hand the realities of climate change, she said. From Australias perspective, she said the Board should do all that is possible to help.

Australia spends a lot of money in terms of assisting and building resilience in the Pacific. This is because seven out of the ten most disaster prone countries are in the Asia Pacific, she said.

Our Pacific neighbors are on the front line of the impact of adverse climatic events and the Australian Government is committed to helping them build resilience to its impact."

For example, we visited the Vaisigano river- and we were able to see first-hand the issues with this in Samoa. This issue is something that is common in the Pacific and Samoa faces this issue in relations to water management, river management every day."

So for us, whether its bridges, whether its water, whether is sanitation or assisting with meteorological or climate information or whatever."

The better prepared, and the more information our Pacific countries have, the more our people are going to be better prepared so when the disasters do come, we can forecast them better, we can prepare for them better, and we can deal with them much much better."

So for that reason, Australia as the largest country in the area and the Pacific are our neighbors, and when you do have the largest house in the street, you help your neighbors."

And that is why Australia is committed to assisting and helping the Pacific. Asked if we as Pacific Islanders can access these funds, and Mrs. Wells said, The Green Climate Fund is an important fund. And today, and over the next couple of days, they will be considering various proposals and three of those proposals are being considering at the moment. One is for Samoa, basically for the water management framework for the Vaisigano catchment area."

Theres another project for Vanuatu and theres another project for seven countries in the Pacific. What we have tried to do as Co-shares of the Green Climate Fund is actually assist our Pacific Island countries in terms of accessing money, preparing valid proposals for considerations, weve chaired information sessions."

Thats the sort of stuff weve done leading up to this meeting.

Moreover, Mrs. Wells said that if these three projects will be accepted after the meeting, it will make up five projects in the Pacific in terms of climate change.

The three projects under consideration over the next couple of days are worth a $103 USD million."

For Samoa particularly, the acceptance if these proposals will make a huge difference in terms of water management and obviously will assist in future to avoid the sort of disasters that we saw with cyclone Evan when that happened."

As Co-Chair of the Board in 2016, Australia has guided the Fund through its first full year of operation and overseen the rapid progress made in improving its performance and approving more than US$1 billion for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities."

The Board meeting will consider important issues, including ways to enable easier and faster access to resources. This will be crucial for Pacific Island Countries, where climate related interventions are often smaller in scale and available data are not always up to the task."

The Board will consider three proposals for the Pacific. First, US$23 million for a project to deliver climate information services for resilient development in Vanuatu with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme."

Second, US$58 million for integrated flood management in Samoa with the United Nations Development Programme."

Third, an initial US$22 million for the Asian Development Banks Pacific Renewable Energy Investment Programme.
Faupega Mania, from the village of Falelauniu, believes that it is time to start having village leaders in urban villages.

Aged 24, being a youth himself, Faupega has noticed how the young are starting to get out of hand and says that things need to change.

He says that he envies the youth from rural villages with great village leaders keeping everyone in line.

To be honest with you, I think the youth from villages that have village councils are luckier than we are, Faupega told the Village Voice.

The duty of the village leaders is to keep order and peace in a village and thats why I feel that the youth living in those areas are lucky.

Here in the urban areas, its as if its Christmas every day. The youth have parties from Monday right up to the next Monday and I dont think thats the way it should be.

With the population of the urban villages increasing, he says that having a village council to run things is well overdue.

There are many people living in these urban areas so we should really consider coming up with village councils, he said.

If we dont then the youth will only get worse. Their behaviour is getting out of hand and theres no controlling them unless we get the whole village in on it.

One benefit of creating village councils in urban villages is the ability they have of rallying the entire village. They can rally everyone against those who love to break rules.

Living without rules is what birthed the uncontrollable youths and Faupega says its time to get rules to guide people in the village.

We really need proper rules and guidelines in these villages, he said.

With rules and a proper village council enforcing them, then it wont just take pressure off of the police, but it will also keep everyone in the village in line.

I dont just say this because the youth needs it; everyone in the village needs it. That includes adults too.

And in a way, having village councils lead the urban villages will help sustain some of the culture we are losing to western influences.

This will also help us keep parts of our culture alive, Faupega said.

The youth are easily influenced by the western way of life and thats why they act the way they do. With a village council upholding what we believe in as Samoans, then it will help stop the western influence.

It will be so helpful for everyone. My message for the youth of Samoa is to stop wasting time and messing around. We need to go back to the way of the Samoan.

Stop abusing alcohol and other types of narcotics.
Your choice, your future.

That is the mantra behind the first Open Day hosted by the Samoa National Health Services (N.H.S) this week. The Open day aimed at showcasing the services provided by the N.H.S.

It was also an opportunity for the youth to learn about the various services provided by the N.H.S so they can choose from for future career paths.

The two main goals are to showcase the service we provide and what we offer. Because with the new hospitals and the new changes at N.H.S, said Aharoni Tinai-Williams, the Chairman of the N.H.S Open Day Committee

The other thing is people think that when it comes to health its just the nurses and doctors. But there are other people included as well like the lab technicians, dental therapists, dental technicians and pharmacists, and others as well.

Secondly we are looking at inviting the students, because we know that some of them are looking at taking some of these services as career paths in the future. This is an opportunity for them to see and observe the different services that we have and offer so that they can pursue it in the future.

He went on to say that the great need for more people to work at the health sector is another reason the initiative. Nevertheless, he also added that they are looking at hosting another open day next year and it will be bigger than the one this year. We need more people to work with us. For example, we are in need of pharmacists at the moment.

The open day this is just a low key showcase but we are looking at having it again next year. This is only for National Health Service.

The initiative came from the Directors. This is new, but with anything in life you have to start somewhere. But for next year, we are now looking at having it during the schools time.

We have booths for blood donors and other things as well.

Our main purpose is to get more students to come and pursue professions in health. Its obvious that we need more people to work and help out with the work here at the Health Service.
Its taken four years and $17 million, but historic Horton Plaza park  its 106-year-old fountain, a new interactive fountain, food services and a schedule of public events and activities  is almost complete.

The original fountain with new lights and plumbing has been in business since the May 4 grand opening, as have Starbucks and Sloans ice cream. The Artstix booth is selling seats to concerts, plays and other events. Visitors at tables, chairs, on the lawn and in the amphitheater can surf the web using free WiFi.

But the sound-and-light show is not operational at the new million-dollar interactive fountain and a sandwich bar in the southern pavilion has yet to be named.

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But the vision of a century ago when the plaza was redesigned to tie in with the U.S. Grant Hotel remains the same  a public gathering place where VIPs talk, demonstrators march and the people relax.

As the citys leading merchant and philanthropist, George W. Marston, said at the Oct. 15, 1910, fountain dedication, With its margin of stately palms, its magnificent central fountain and the addition of the features just mentioned, the plaza will be an ornament of great beauty.

The historic fountain, a marvel in its day by virtue of its colored underwater light show, was restored in 1985 when Horton Plaza shopping center opened and restored again this year with the addition of LED lighting and state-of-the-art timing and pumping mechanisms. The cost was $600,000.

The newest feature is the $940,000 interactive fountain called for by the expanded parks landscape architectural firm, Walker Macy of Portland, Ore.

Designed by Aquatic Design Group of Carlsbad and built by Pacific Aquascape of Fountain Valley, it includes 46 aerating jets, six leaper jets, seven popups and six fog jets in a 652-square-foot arrangement in the southern third of the expanded park, said Rick Jamieson, who worked out the mechanics of the fountain at Aquatic Design. Echo Pacific Construction was the general contractor.

Steve Zimmers runs safely through the newly installed Horton Plaza park interactive water feature. At night the lighting and water effects will be synched to music. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune )

The Broadway Fountain, donated in 1910 by a future mayor, Louis Wilde, has been restored with state-of-the-art LED lighting, plumbing and electrical systems. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/U-T )

Above ground, passersby will see a succession of jets and streams of water rising and falling from spigots in an S pattern and concentric circles. There are about 200 versions that operate in a random order in two- to five-minute bursts. So if you watch for 30 minutes at any time of the day or night, youll never know what order the jets will play in.

Out of sight is a 4,000-gallon holding tank and a trench drain leading to the pumps. Each jet and light fixture is embedded in two-foot metal cans encased in concrete. A four-foot-square control panel in a maintenance room in the parks southern pavilion controls the LED lighting and solenoid valves. A second panel in a control room beneath the northern pavilion operates the nightly music and light show.

Its that show that is still not operational due to two undersized pumps and breaker switches that have to be replaced.

But in tests by the show designer, Douglas Mobley, president of Burbank-based Gilderfluke & Co., lights and jets go on and off in time with 10 musical selections, from Aaron Coplands Rodeo and John Philip Sousas Stars and Stripes Forever to the Beach Boys Good Vibrations.

I was sitting there programming the thing with headphones on and people started dancing to the music, even though they couldnt hear it, Mobley said. They picked up the beat from seeing the water (playing) and were pretty accurate.

It took six to eight hours a day for more than a week last March to program the 10 musical selections, Mobley said, because he has to track every change in beat and tempo and then choose the best lighting and water effect.

Programming is tedious but basically its fun, he said, likening it to editing a movie and sound segments on a computer.

When done right, a passage in Rodeo that calls to mind a stampede of horses can be interpreted in the rapid movement of lights and jets in the fountain.

Its probably too late to program Christmas carols this year, but Westfield officials hope to present seasonal and holiday offerings next year.

Once the fountain fixes are in place, a series of randomly selected sound-and-light shows will be presented every 30 minutes from dusk to 9 p.m.

The historic fountain has similar timing features but it is only programmed to mimic how it operated in 1910 and will not be synced with the music.

Both fountains also operate continuously during daylight hours now that drought controls on decorative fountains have been lifted.

Daniel Kay, the project manager for Civic San Diego which funded the park expansion from leftover redevelopment funds, called the new fountain terrific and noticed that it draws people to the park when it is working.

Land-use attorney Cythnia Morgan chaired the CivicSD board when the parks design was being finalized and was one of the most outspoken advocates for the new fountain, even as costs escalated.

I thought it was really important for children, Morgan said, who has a 2-year-old daughter. There are not many resources for children downtown as we all think there should be.

One other missing element in the expanded park is a replacement for the Bruxie waffle shop that was originally scheduled to open in the south pavilion. A Westfield spokeswoman said a replacement will likely open sometime in the first half of the new year.

In the meantime, the shopping center that manages the park has presented special events as well as informal recreational activities. The next big events are the Poinsettia Bowl Gaslamp March at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, the Holiday Bowl Marching Band Contest at 6 p.m. Dec. 26 and the Grand Chanukah Celebration at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 27.

As for the future of Westfield Horton Plaza itself, nothing has been announced to reuse the Nordstrom department store that closed earlier this year. A comprehensive redesign or redevelopment of the entire center has been in works for years but nothing has been decided, the spokeswoman said.

Both the historic fountain and present plaza configuration were designed by leading local architect Irving J. Gill. That effort, completed in 1910, represented a major upgrade to the space originally bought from the city by Alonzo E. Horton in 1867. It was part of his original 800-acre, $265 purchase from the city of much of todays downtown.

Horton set aside the 20,000-square-foot plaza when he opened his Horton House hotel in 1870. Then he installed a bandstand and other features and 24 years later, sold it back to the city for $10,000. He died in 1909.

Among VIPs who have appeared at Horton Plaza was President Benjamin Harrison, the first sitting president to visit San Diego, in 1891.

In the nearly 150 years since that Hortons purchase, downtown has soared and suffered with every economic cycle.

The current park upgrade occurred when Westfield decided to demolish the Robinsons-May department store building at the adjacent shopping center.

The 37,000-square-foot site was returned to city hands and increased the parks size to 1.3 acres. Westfield agreed to eventually hold at least 200 events a year in the park and to maintain it for the next 25 years. In turn, the city dropped a profit-sharing agreement related to the malls parking garages.

Historic echo

Just as the final touches are being made to the expanded Horton Plaza Park, the U.S. Grant Hotel also is finishing up a $13 million refresh of its lobby, public areas and guestrooms. Both local landmarks opened the same day on Oct. 15, 1910, and both were restored 75 years later in 1985 when the Horton Plaza shopping center debuted.

roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley
Memo to Corporate America: Be ready to be Donald Trumps next target.

Defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. found that out Monday when the president-elect again used Twitter to blast the F-35 fighter-jet program for costs he termed out of control.

The stock prices of Lockheed Martin, the projects prime contractor, and of one of its suppliers quickly dropped. It was the same scenario that hit Boeing Co. last week when Trump tweeted that the development of new Air Force One jets was too expensive.

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Never mind that Trump championed building up U.S. defense as part of his presidential bid. The F-35 contractors learned that any company can suddenly find itself on Trumps bad side, especially those that do business with Uncle Sam.

The clear message thats being sent is that the president-elect is going to fight to save taxpayer money at every turn, said Trump spokesman Jason Miller. I would expect this to be wide reaching and impact all of government as we look to come up with better deals.

Presidents have leaned on big companies in the past in hopes of enacting change. But whats happening with Trump is novel, public-relations experts and business analysts said, because hes using the lightning-fast communication tool of social media to spread his complaints to millions of people, with no prior warning. And hes yet to take office.

Its a PR nightmare for the companies involved because you dont want the president of the United States shining a spotlight on a practice that the public might find dubious, said David Shulman, senior economist for the forecasting program at UCLAs Anderson School of Management.

Whats really unprecedented is that hes not even president yet, Shulman said. If this becomes a weekly event, its going to have a negative impact on the business climate even if Trump correctly points a finger at the legitimate issue of the high cost of [defense] procurement, he said.

Trumps habit of identifying companies and programs that displease him has corporate PR departments trying to figure how best to respond, if at all.

Companies often settle for an initial no comment, then perhaps a carefully worded press release days after being criticized. That might no longer suffice, analysts said.

Imagine if he suggests boycotting a companys products, Stan Steinreich, president of the public relations firm Steinreich Communications Group, wrote Monday on Fortune.com. What if he casts aspersions about an executives comments?

With Trump as president, corporations are going to have to move with the times and join the social media discussion much more rapidly than they generally have, Steinreich wrote.

Or at least respond in some way quickly, as Lockheed Martin did Monday. Jeff Babione, executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin, said the company and its partners understand the importance of affordability for the F-35 program.

We welcome the opportunity to address any questions the president-elect has about the program, he said during remarks at Nevatim Air Base in Israel before an F-35 delivery ceremony there.

In his tweet, Trump did not identify Lockheed Martin or the other defense firms by name.

The F-35 program and cost is out of control, he wrote. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.

Lockheed Martin stock fell $6.42, or 2.5%, to close at $253.11 a share. Northrop Grumman, a big subcontractor on the F-35, fell $6.36, or 2.7%, to $232.07 a share.

Known as the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35 is designed to be largely invisible to radar, fly faster than the speed of sound and incorporate advanced sensors, linking data with ships, planes and drones.

The new fighter would replace four aircraft, with three design variations to meet the unique requirements of the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. More than 3,000 planes eventually would be built for the U.S. and 11 other countries.

The program has been repeatedly criticized over the years for cost overruns and lengthy delays, though its cost has been declining recently. With a total estimated cost of $379 billion, it is considered the most expensive weapons program ever.

Although companies will keep feeling the pressure to respond to Trump, they shouldnt always feel compelled to answer his complaints directly while remaining neutral and open to discussion, said Eileen Koch, chief executive of the public relations firm EKC PR in Los Angeles.

If hes just making a comment, sometimes its better not to get into a war of words with him; its better to take the high road, Koch said. You might be getting a minute of his thoughts and then hes on to something else.

Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst for the research firm Teal Group, said Trumps tweets about companies and programs are an appeal to his base.

Hes got this real contradiction, which is hes throwing money at defense but hes told his base hes draining the swamp, he said.

Defense stocks had been on a tear before Monday; the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, which tracks the industry, was up nearly 12% from just before the election through Friday.

One of his very top promises is to rebuild the military and everyones talking about more money, and the upward trajectory in their share prices reflects that in anticipation, Aboulafia said. Its very tough to institute reforms and go after very big programs in this kind of upward budget environment.

In the meantime, what should contractors do if theyre called out by Trump on Twitter?

Its best not to respond, Aboulafia said.

james.peltz@latimes.com

Twitter: @PeltzLATimes

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

For more business news, follow me @smasunaga

Times staff writer Cathleen Decker contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

3:30 p.m.: This article has been updated to include additional commentary and analysis.

The original article was published at 10:25 a.m.
Evernote, the Bay Area company that makes a digital note-taking service used by more than 200 million people, has chosen San Diego for its third U.S. office location, and is currently employing seven engineers in a temporary space in Sorrento Valley.

While the companys immediate plans include hiring just three additional engineers, Evernote is also currently searching for permanent office space in the Sabre Springs area of the city. The tech company is targeting around 4,000 square feet of space for the satellite office, which would allow for additional growth locally.

In San Diego we see a deep pool of talented engineers, including the group we hired who all had some connection to one another, and great experience at leading technology companies such as Yahoo, said Evernote spokesperson Greg Chiemingo. There is a very strong university presence including UC San Diego where our CTO, Anirban Kundu, is an alum. San Diego is also a vibrant, diverse and beautiful community, and important to help us continue to serve the needs of a diverse customer base.

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Founded in 2007, Evernote has developed applications for smartphones and desktops that work seamlessly across devices to store notes and files. The company is based in Redwood City and maintains another U.S. office in Austin, Texas.

Evernote offers a free version of its tools to consumers, but also sells a premium version of its software to both individuals and businesses. The latter product, known as Evernote for Business, competes with a number of web and mobile-friendly tools for corporate teams, including services from Microsoft, Google, Slack and even Facebook.

Evernote says its business product is used by 20,000 unique businesses and will be the focus of the San Diego team.

Since its creation nearly a decade ago, Evernote has raised around $300 million in funding. It employs approximately 320 people and remains privately held, despite previous ambitions to go public and a 2012-valuation of $1 billion.

The new San Diego office is currently being managed by Seth Hitchings, vice president of engineering, who is based at the companys Bay Area headquarters. Amir Doron is the engineering director for Evernote in San Diego.

Business

jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin
Google has signed a lease for nearly 60,000 square feet of office space in Sorrento Mesa, expanding its Southern California footprint into San Diego for the first time.

The Mountain View-based Internet search giant said its a tenant at 6420 Sequence Drive  a four-story office building thats part of the Verge complex. Building permits for tenant improvements were approved earlier this month for Google on the first and fourth floors, according to city records.

Its the first time the tech titan has leased space in San Diego. A second building in the Verge is fully occupied by Arris Group, which makes routers and other digital communications gear.

Under traditional office layouts, a 60,000-square-foot office could house 250 to 300 workers  though tech companies often prefer less dense working conditions in hopes of retaining employees.

Its unclear what work Google will focus on in San Diego. The company has many far-flung businesses and research projects, ranging from Internet search to YouTube to Android Auto.

The only local job listing on the companys website is for a San Diego/Los Angeles based public affairs manager for Google Fiber, a high-speed Internet initiative. San Diego is one of several cities being considered for Google Fiber deployment.

In an email, the company declined to provide further details. The building owner  local real estate developer Cruzan  and brokers from CB Richard Ellis who worked on the deal couldnt talk because of non-disclosure agreements.

"They could be here for a number of reasons," said Rory Moore, head of startup incubator EvoNexus and co-founder of Peregrine Semiconductor. "One is access to talent. They are saturated up there (in Mountain View) and the cost of living up there is insane."

Moore added that Google also may want to be closer to the telecommunications and genomics/data science expertise that is prominent in San Diego.

Mike Krenn, president of the San Diego Venture Group, said its his understanding Google would be hiring for high-caliber engineering jobs."

"I think it's fantastic for San Diego," he added. "The more we have these brand-name tech companies here, the better it is for the macro environment."

In San Diego tech circles, companies sometimes complain that its difficult to recruit software engineers to the region because of fears that if the job doesnt work out, they will have relatively few options locally.

Google might help ease those concerns, said Mark Cafferty, head of the San Diego Economic Development Corp.

"They have strategically gone into regions where they see talent thats worth tapping into  both in terms of the companies that are there and the individuals who are there," said Cafferty.

Google has been opening outposts in Southern California for several years. It has a large facility in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, which launched about five years ago. In 2014, it opened a 91,000-square-foot office in Orange County near UC Irvine.

In Los Angeles, Google engineers work on products for Ads, Chrome and YouTube. It also has as a digital advertising team there, according to its website.

The Irvine office specializes in massive data storage, forecasting, inventory management, optimization and search. It also has engineering and sales teams for Google Analytics.

Last year, Google bought San Diego sensor technology start-up Lumedyne Technologies for about $85 million, according to several news reports. Lumedyne, which makes MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) sensors, occupies about 9,500 square feet in Kearny Mesa but began looking for a larger office late last year. Lumedyne did not respond to an email request for comment.

In 2012, Google purchased Nik Software, maker of a popular photo editing app for smartphones and tablets, for an undisclosed price. The deal aimed to give Google Plus users a larger suite of photo editing tools. Google shut down Nik Software after the deal.

"San Diego is known for its talented workforce so were a perfect fit for one of the worlds most innovative companies," said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. "Landing a heavy hitter like Google means we have one of the worlds largest companies contributing to our thriving innovation ecosystem."
Students in Valhalla High Schools marching band and its color guard returned from a week in Hawaii with lifelong memories of the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Nearly 70 students from the El Cajon school traveled to Oahu with two band directors and 20 chaperones to be part of the nighttime parade on Dec. 7.

Valhalla students get to be part of Pearl Harbor events

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Several students said the opportunity to talk to the veterans who were there during the attack on U.S. soil was something they will never forget.

Its great that we are still talking about it to make sure it doesnt happen again, said Valhalla junior Matt Justo, a trumpet player. Im a big supporter of our troops, especially those men who are still around from Pearl Harbor. Theyre amazing.

The Valhalla students also toured the USS Arizona, played a 20-minute concert at the USS Missouri and visited the Polynesian Cultural Center, a macadamia nut farm and the Dole pineapple factory.

Christina Serafin, senior clarinetist, said meeting the veterans, and being on or near the military ships that were in the battle was a super humbling experience.

Being around all the veterans made it all really real, she said. To know that person was alive and there, it means so much more than just hearing about it.

The parade honored remaining Pearl Harbor survivors and recognized all veterans, active duty military and their families. It was led by Grand Marshal Gary Sinise, the actor known best for playing Lt. Dan in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump.

Valhalla band director Carl Reed said his students played American anthems, Bravura and a drum cadence. Two of the students Navy dads, Cmdr. Frank Ingargiola and Master Chief David McGuire, were also part of their parade group.

The band and color guard followed people carrying a USS California banner and in front of a choral group out of Santa Fe Springs called Masters of Harmony. The parade watchers were four rows deep, the students recalled.

There were hundreds and hundreds of people there, Christina said. You couldnt even see them all.

Matt and his bandmates have marched down Main Street at Disneyland and performed at other events over the years. He said most parades are pretty routine, but this one was unforgettably unique.

I felt different and special at the Pearl Harbor veterans parade because this is something no one else will be able to do, Matt said. Nobody can march in the 75th anniversary parade like we did.

Valhalla was the only California band in the parade. There were also high school bands from Arizona, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Virginia, New Jersey and Wisconsin.

Reed and the students presented custom blue polo shirts to Hawaii Gov. David Ige and to some of the Pearl Harbor survivors they met. The shirts bore the American flag, the words Memorial Parade 2016 on the sleeve and Valhalla Instrumental Music, Pearl Harbor, 75 Years on the front.

Valhalla Principal Mary Beth Kastan said the school would do something to honor the traveling students sometime in 2017.

Im very proud of them as not only ambassadors for Valhalla and for the Grossmont Union High School District, but also for the state of California, Kastan said.
An Oceanside woman who plowed into a homeless man, then kept driving for another mile with his body wedged in her car, had been drinking for several hours before the crash, witnesses testified Monday.

Esteysi Stacy Sanchez was crying and smelled of alcohol when she arrived home that morning, her teenage son told police.

The details emerged as a preliminary hearing began Monday for the 30-year-old Sanchez, who is charged with murder and drunken driving and has pleaded not guilty. At the end of the hearing, likely to wrap up Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman will decide if there is enough evidence to send the defendant to trial.

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Police say Sanchez was driving east on Mission Avenue in Oceanside around 6:20 a.m. June 27 when her car struck and killed 69-year-old Jack Ray Tenhulzen, near the Highway 76 bridge. The impact sent the victim through the cars front windshield and into the passenger seat, and also severed one of his legs near the foot.

The driver kept going for nearly a mile before stopping in the middle of the road in a residential neighborhood. Witness Edwin Esparza testified Monday that he heard the car stop in front of his home as he was leaving for work.

Esparza said he first saw a severed foot on the trunk. As he approached, he saw the broken windshield and a body in the passengers seat.

I saw the lady get out. She was panicking and screaming, said Esparza, 20.

The woman repeatedly screamed help me, he said. At some point, while he was focused on the body, the terrified woman walked off while on her cell phone.

Sanchez was shaking and softly crying in court Monday as witnesses recounted the crash and its aftermath.

According to testimony, Sanchez had gone to a San Marcos club around 11 p.m., then went with a friend to an Oceanside hotel to hang out with two male friends. There, the foursome split a 12-pack of beer.

Around 5 a.m., Sanchezs boyfriend called her to say he was headed to work, and to come home to her kids  she has two sons, ages 2 and 13. She told him she was drunk. He hung up.

About an hour later, her boyfriend flagged down police and reported the crash, after Sanchez called and told him shed hit someone.

Police ended up at three sites that morning: the crash scene, the spot where the car was abandoned, and Sanchezs home a few blocks away.

Officer Jose Perez testified that when he talked to Sanchez at her home that morning, she told that she had been drinking. He said she told him she was not sure what happened but suddenly saw a person in my car.

At her arraignment in June, prosecutors said that, two hours after the crash, Sanchezs blood alcohol level was about 0.18, or more than twice the legal limit.

Its unclear whether Tenhulzen was on the sidewalk or street when he was struck. At the crash site, Perez found a pair of trousers and a shoe (presumably Tenhulzens) in the middle of the road. There was also a brief mention of apparent tire marks on the curb, but there has been no further detail.

Prosecutor Bob Bruce has not said why he added the murder charge, or what evidence supports it. Most fatal drunken driving cases bring a manslaughter charge.

To prove second-degree murder, prosecutors must show that the defendant had a conscious disregard for life.

One of the men who briefly kissed Sanchez at the hotel after-party testified that hed tried to convince Sanchez to stay and believed she wasnt fit to drive. He was on the stand when court ended for the day; his cross examination will continue Tuesday.

The gruesome nature of the case made headlines, but interest increased after authorities said Sanchez was driving without a license and is suspected of being an unauthorized immigrant.

Over the past year, illegal immigration has landed at the center of a national conversation, fueled in part by President-elect Donald Trumps vow to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. On Monday, a number of people watching the hearing were supporters of the Remembrance Project, which advocates for the families of people killed by unauthorized immigrants.

Sanchez remains jailed in lieu of $1.5 million bail and faces a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted. The manslaughter charge is a maximum of 10 years.

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teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
Members of a local chapter of the national Young Marines led the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Honolulu on Wednesday.

Nine teens and preteens from the North San Diego Young Marines based in Vista traveled to Hawaii, where they joined several hundred other members of the youth group in the 75th anniversary Pearl Harbor Day Commemoration. The Young Marines performed a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in memory of service members interred there.

Young Marines is a nationwide nonprofit youth education and service program that serves students ages 8 through 18. The program teaches leadership, teamwork and self discipline while fostering moral, mental and physical development. The group has 9,600 members across the country with affiliates in other countries.

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Visit YoungMarines.com.
Whats in a name? A lot, according to the U.S. trade association that represents the Champagne region. Every year at bubbly season, it sends out email reminders that, Champagne only comes from Champagne, France. In other words, dont call California sparkling wine Champagne, dont call Spanish cava Champagne, etc.

OK, I know the rules. But I will call French cremant de Limoux the closest thing to Champagne you can buy without the Champagne price.

Cremant  pronounced cray-mahn  is sparkling wine made in France in the traditional Champagne method, just outside of the Champagne region. Limoux, in the southwest region of Languedoc, is a particularly fine place to make cremant. And one of the the best producers in Limoux is Gerard Bertrand, maker of excellent wines, sparkling and still.

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The (2013) vintage Gerard Bertrand is a wonderful departure from Champagne, said Damon Goldstein, co-owner of Truly Fine Wine on Morena Boulevard, where I bought my bottle.

Made primarily from chardonnay, the white blend creates, a delighting and round body, dense, but approachable, Goldstein said. (Its) perfect over the holidays and for New Years Eve. Compared to Champagne, starting at $30-plus per bottle, this is a tremendous value at $15-18.

He suggests pairing it with party appetizers, rich cheese courses, fried foods, shellfish or nothing at all.

Make sure to check out the label, with its image of Thomas Jefferson, the most French of American presidents, and a great fan of cremant de Limoux. Clearly, he could afford Champagne.

Also available at: San Diego Wine Co., Miramar; The Wine Bank, Krisp, downtown San Diego; Park Place Liquor, Coronado; KnB Wine Cellars, Del Cerro; The Wine Connection, Del Mar; select BevMo stores.

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Twitter: @sdeditgirl

michele.parente@sduniontribune.com
Just over a year ago, George Takei experienced what he calls the incredible, absolute thrill of a lifetime: Seeing the title of the stage musical he inspired go up on a Broadway marquee.

That musical, Allegiance, was born at San Diegos Old Globe in 2012 (with Takei in a featured role), and broke a long-standing box-office record at the Balboa Park theater.

While the shows subsequent Broadway stay was shorter than Takei mightve hoped, Allegiance is now getting new life: On Tuesday evening, a filmed version of the musical  which starred Tony Award-winner Lea Salonga and Glee star Telly Leung  hits some 600 movie screens around North America.

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Takei, the Star Trek icon turned social-media star and activist, is gratified that the show has a fresh chance to reach a large, continent-wide audience  people who would not have access to the theater on Broadway or in San Diego. That part, to be able to reach people in Kansas City, Mo., or Omaha, Neb., is to us enormously fulfilling.

Allegiance

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 13)

Where: AMC Otay Ranch 12; UA Horton Plaza 8; AMC Mission Valley 20; AMC La Jolla Village 12; Edwards Mira Mesa Stadium 18; Edwards San Marcos Stadium 18; Regal Oceanside 16.

Tickets: $12.50-$18.

Online: fathomevents.com

But theres another reason Takei is anxious to see Allegiance get wider exposure. The show is based on Takeis own boyhood experiences of being uprooted from L.A. with his family and being sent to Japanese-American internment camps at the start of World War II.

The internment was sparked by fears of sabotage or espionage by Japanese-Americans, although many of the 100,000-plus people sent to the camps were U.S. citizens who had never set foot in Japan.

Decades later, the U.S. government apologized for the action and granted reparations in a bill signed by President Reagan.

But the internment tore apart Takeis family, and he perceives ominous echoes of what happened then in some of the rhetoric coming from President-elect Trumps team and supporters. (In November, a prominent Trump backer seemed to suggest the internment could serve as legal precedent for some form of registry for Muslims, although Trump  who said during the Republican primaries last year that he would support such a registry  has since publicly backed away from such ideas.)

It is so critically timely now, said Takei of the reappearance of Allegiance, at a time when such trial balloons are being floated.

Weve been very vocal about the word precedent ever being used. If anything, the precedent should be to warn us that we must never do something like this again.

Takei has long said that telling the cautionary tale of the internment was his lifes mission. It was one that came to fruition after he met composer Jay Kuo and writer-lyricist Lorenzo Thione, who teamed with Takei to launch the musical project.

His greatest regret, he said, is that his parents didnt get a chance to see it all happen, although their spirit of resilience lives on in the piece.

Takei recalled that when he was a teen-ager, his dad told him our democracy is a peoples democracy, and it can produce noble ideals like what I was reading in the civics books  shining ideals of democracy. But, our democracy being a peoples democracy, its made up of fallible human beings.

Takei has spoken out on a number of social issues over the past few years, including gay rights and the plight of immigrants. Earlier this year, he received a Voices of Courage and Conscience Award from the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

The Allegiance film viewers will see Tuesday was captured by four cameras over the course of two performances on Broadway.

So its really not a filmed stageplay, but a motion picture of a stage musical, Takei said.

He added that he still cherishes the memory of launching the piece at the Old Globe four years ago:

Its always there in our hearts.

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 For Takei, the exhibition puts a fine point on his lifes work: educating the public about the Japanese American experience, especially the internment camps.

Twitter: @jimhebert

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com
Lead by example.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ, is the governing law that applies to all U.S military personnel worldwide and spells out the conduct that every service member is to live by.

Article 133 of UCMJ requires that all officers act in a way that is becoming of an officer and a gentleman; note that the word gentleman includes both male and female officers.

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Now that the election is over, I wonder how we have allowed the conduct of our candidates and elected officials to sink to the lowest common denominator. If they are leading by example, what example are they setting for the country to follow?

We teach our children to be good people and treat each other with respect, yet the debates were nothing more than name calling and personal attacks that often have no foundation in the truth.

It seems that cognitive dissidence is rampant, and we definitely dont hold them accountable for what they say and how they conduct themselves; we seem to blindly accept the candidate we support while overlooking their misconduct.

To put it in context, a few months after I left Afghanistan in 2010, General McChrystal, the commander of Afghanistan was forced to immediately resign after Rolling Stone magazine published an article with disparaging comments made from his staff about certain elected officials.

He is one of the most respected leaders of modern times and dedicated his life to serving this country. Yet, under the UCMJ, as an officer you cannot display contempt for elected officials, nor can you promote an environment that does -- no matter how much they deserve it.

Watching the final debates for the presidency, I realized how far we have fallen from being the statesmen that once governed this country.

Mr. Trump calls people a liar with no hesitation; he also speaks as if he is a child with A.D.D on the playground using bullyboy tactics to one up the other person.

Secretary Clinton had open contempt for Americans and seems to be able to lump them in a deplorable box while refusing to admit accountability for sloppy handling of classified information.

She speaks to us if we are a jury by using what I call lawyer lies, like, nothing was marked classified when the information itself was classified and she knew it. You dont need intent to be guilty in this case, just ask General Petraeus,.

Today our congress is exempted from many of the laws that all citizens are governed by and are no way held to the personal conduct standards that all military are held too. Why do we not hold our elected and appointed leaders to a higher standard than the people that they lead?

These are the people that run our country and have our blood and treasure at their disposal. Should they not be held to a higher standard, or at least to the same standard that we hold our military to; lead by example?

The reason we hold the military to such a high standard is that they control Americas war fighting capability. But our politicians control our money and send our military to war.

The UCMJ is a tool that enforces accountability and extreme ownership of your actions; it does not care about excuses. The list of elected officials and their misconduct is becoming epidemic and may be one of the weakest links in our Republic.

The trust level in our politicians is at an all time low even with the low standards that we expect from them already. Of course not all of them are this way but enough so that people have lost faith in their character and their ability to govern.

I suggest we revisit the ethical standards of our leaders and compare that to the UCMJ and see how we can align them to represent the values of this country.

We the people are the ones to fix it by demanding change.

We need women and men of strong character that display the personal behavior of an officer and a gentleman. We need to contact our elected leaders and demand that the code of ethics become more, or at least as stringent as, our military UCMJ.

Leading by example is one of the oldest and most basic elements of leadership. Do we believe the conduct of our leaders represents the values of America? If not, why are we not demanding more?

Most of my adult life I worked for them, now they work for me. If we need to see what this looks like we dont have to go far, just look at our military leadership and you will see an example of how it can be done.

San Diego resident Ed Hiner is a retired Navy SEAL, best-selling author, leadership consultant and corporate speaker who focuses on veterans and military issues through the lens of leadership. You can reach him at edhiner.com.
Five crew members of a Marine MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft were rescued late Monday evening after making a landing in shallow water off the coast of Okinawa,

In a Marine Corps statement released early Tuesday, officials said that an Air Force Sikorsky HH-60G of the 33rd Rescue Squadron from Kadena Air Base transported all of the crew to the Naval Hospital at Camp Foster, where they are being treated for unspecified injuries.

The incident occurred around 10 p.m. local time Monday off the coast of Camp Schwab.

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The crew is assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 36 at the Corps Futenma air station on Okinawa.

The Marines have launched an investigation into the mishap.

On Dec. 1, sensors aboard an Osprey alerted the Marine crew to make a precautionary landing about 30 miles east of San Diego.

Assigned to Marine Tiltrotor Squadron 166  the Sea Elks  the Osprey was on a routine training mission out of the Miramar air station. No crew members were injured in the incident.

On Dec. 8, Japanese Defense Forces recovered the dead body of a Marine pilot who had ejected from his F/A-18C Hornet strike fighter the day before about 120 miles southeast of the Iwakuni Marine Corps air station.

cprine@sduniontribune.com
First, it was Air Force Ones big price tag. This week, President-elect Donald Trump has turned his Twitter ire toward the Pentagons most-expensive aircraft program.

Early this morning, Trump tweeted:

The stock of F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin took a swift nosedive this morning, down more than 4 percent at 9 a.m. Pacific.

Welcome to The Intel, a blog examining the hot military news of the day

Trump isnt alone in criticizing the over-budget, delayed $379 billion fighter jet program.

Heres a website that assembles negative news coverage of the aircraft.

And the position is not new for Trump. He was talking this way more than a year ago  but that was before he won the election.

On social media, some hailed the sentiment. Others took the president-elects tweet as another sign that he is not suited to run the country.

Some media outlets described the move as another example of Trump using his bully pulpit to try to force a better deal.

CNN Money said:

Trump's attack on Lockheed is just his latest use of his Twitter feed as a means to try and shame big companies into negotiating better terms with the government.

Can Trump kill a program has been called too big to kill because it supports businesses in 45 states?

Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC., told an Alabama television station:

... since the F-35 program is already in the purchase phase, unraveling it and changing it will be difficult. Instead, (Harrison) thinks the administration could renegotiate the future "blocks" of aircraft to be bought. That's because the F-35 isn't bought in one big batch. Instead the US contracts for small groups of the jets in "blocks". That way, as production becomes more efficient, future "blocks" can be cheaper to taxpayers.

Harrison also thinks Trump could drop the number of aircraft bought, but did say that could increase the price, because as more aircraft are bought, the cheaper they are.

If you ask the Navy and Marine Corps, the F-35 is the future heart of military aviation.

Testing the new jets off the San Diego coast, Navy test pilots said the sophisticated, highly automated aircraft will make the job of landing on bobbing carrier decks much less dangerous.

The Marine Corps now has two F-35 squadrons in Yuma, Ariz., that have reached operational status, and one is slated to deploy to Japan in January.

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com

Facebook: U-T Military

Twitter: @jensteeley
An exhibit of combat art by Marines who fought in Vietnam runs through the end of December at Camp Pendleton as part of the bases partnership with the USA Vietnam War Commemoration project.

The exhibit, Vietnam Era Combat Art, features a sampling of 20 works by seven Marine Corps combat artists from the collections of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia. Many of the works capture the life of Marines during wartime.

The works are done in watercolor, charcoal and acrylic by artists ranging in age from 21 to 52. Some were done while the combat artist was serving in Vietnam. Each painting includes a story of the artist.

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Among the famous artists contributing to the exhibition is Sgt. Henry Casselli Jr., whose works include a life-size portrait of former President Ronald Reagan, now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Casselli, now 70, created four of the pieces on display when he was 21 years old and serving as a combat artist with the Marines in Vietnam.

He committed himself to sketching what he witnessed of the hell and the unspeakable horrors of Vietnam, Casselli said on his website, henrycasselli.com.

This exhibit is dedicated to the combat artist who captures the life of the warrior in the field, said Faye Jonason, museum director at Camp Pendleton.

The exhibit is at the bases historic Santa Margarita Ranch House complex, at Vandegrift Boulevard and Basilone Road.

Free tours of the exhibit can be scheduled at MCBCAMPEN_history@usmc.mil or call (760) 725-5758.

For information on base access, visit https://www.mccscp.com/baseaccess
An Encino doctor has been charged with sexually assaulting two female patients during exams in his office, authorities said.

Michael Howard Popkin, 67, faces two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery, one felony count of sexual battery by restraint and a felony count of sexual exploitation of a patient by a physician, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. The incidents occurred between June 2014 and July 2016.

Popkin, who was arrested on Dec. 5 and later released, is expected to be arraigned Dec. 30 in Van Nuys.

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When reached at his office Tuesday afternoon, Popkin told the Los Angeles Times that the allegations are not true.

I am restrained by my attorney to go into details, he said. All I can say is that I have treated thousands of women in my nearly 40 years of practice. I think my patients are very fond of me, both men and women.

Los Angeles police detectives with the West Valley Sex Crimes Unit suspect Popkin has assaulted more female patients.

Shortly after police released details about the doctors arrest Tuesday, LAPD Det. Edward Moreno said he received calls from other women.

Popkin, who has been practicing internal medicine for nearly 40 years in California, is accused of inappropriately touching and sexually assaulting two women during medical examinations in his Encino office, Moreno said.

Moreno said two complaints of sexual battery were made to the Medical Board of California in 2001 and 2003. The outcome of those complaints was unclear Tuesday.

Cassandra Hockenson, the boards spokeswoman, said the state agency doesnt release information about complaints because they are confidential. She said the board is working with investigators.

The board, she said, is preparing to take appropriate action regarding Popkins license. A judge can either order that his license be suspended at his arraignment or the board can issue an interim suspension order if it doesnt happen in court, Hockenson said.

She said the board is well aware of Popkins case.

Popkin, who is also a surgeon, was reprimanded in 2005 and placed on probation for three years after he was accused of gross negligence and incompetence, according to documents filed with the medical board. He was accused of failing to maintain adequate records for his patients and prescribing medications without exams.

In one instance, Popkin was treating a 29-year-old woman who had chronic back pain as a result of a crash. He was accused of failing to document her pain, psychological status and the dates he had prescribed powerful opiates, according to the documents. His notes also failed to include information about her addiction to opiates as well as details about her physical condition, according to the documents.

According to the board, Popkin had engaged in an extreme departure from the standard of practice of care and treatment for the patient.

On Tuesday, Popkin said the accusations of sexual battery were the result of difficulties with two to three people. He described the incidents as all different circumstances. One of the incidents you can laugh at and the other two involved different personalities, he said.

Popkin said he was arrested in his medical office and carried away in handcuffs in front of his office staff.

It was humiliating, he said. Obviously, news travels fast.

Popkin said he asked for the public to wait for the trial before you make any judgment.

Anyone with details about Popkin is urged to call Moreno at (818) 374-7714 or Det. Ninette Toosbuy at (818) 374-7718.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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UPDATES:

3:50 p.m.: This article was updated to include comments from physician Michael Popkin.

This article was originally published at 3:10 p.m.
A tiny 1-inch-by-2-inch toy billboard has sparked a mammoth controversy.

The Balboa Park billboard bore a pro-life message. It was mounted in a landscape setting in an HO train display at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.

Kinsee Morlan noticed the sign while visiting with her two kids Thursday morning. No one knows how or when it was added to the display, but Plexiglass barriers bar public tampering so it was apparently an inside job.

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Morlan, a Voice of San Diego editor, popped a photo on her Facebook page with the message: A little anti-abortion propaganda hidden in an exhibition at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park.

Comments instantly began flowing in, most expressing outrage, or anger, or a call to action, such as contacting the musuem, City Hall, even the state Attorney General to protest a museum on city-owned land taking a political or social stance.

The model train controversy was building up steam when Anthony Ridenhour, the museums executive director, returned to his office to be confronted by a backlog of irate emails and phone messages.

He didnt even know the toy prop was in one of the displays, which are set up, operated, maintained and paid for by about 300 volunteers representing different model railroad clubs.

When found in the HO-scale train display, the sign was quickly removed. The head of the club overseeing that section knew nothing about the offending billboard and is investigating.

That kind of thing is prohibited, said Ridenhour. Everyone knows when you step in the door you leave your political and social views behind. The museums job is to promote model railroading and the heritage of American railroads.

Furthermore, displays are set in the 1940s and 1950s, and the rogue billboard included a website contact, certainly not of that era.

I am both saddened and angered by this, he wrote in a Facebook response. I can assure you there will be a full investigation on this. He said the museums board will decide on an appropriate punishment, perhaps barring the culprit from future volunteer work.

Morlan said she was pleased with the quick response.

Calling the museum a community treasure, Morlan said the decision by one misguided volunteer to make a political statement had a big impact.

No matter how you feel about the issue, this is just not the right place, she said, explaining that children should not be exposed to propaganda when they visit a family museum in Balboa Park.

Playful exhibitors incorporate plenty of engaging humorous figures and comedic scenarios in their displays  such as an empty poultry crates on a freight train with chickens running through the surrounding desert; two drag racers about to confront a police officer writing a ticket, and a pool shark  that is, a shark fin in a backyard swimming pool.

But, as visitors arrive at 11:30 a.m. Saturday for the Polar Express family day and showing of the film, one item they will not see is a tiny billboard next to another of Lucille Ball holding an RC Cola.

Moving piece: The article headline read, At Home With the Saltman Family. The magazine, A Pets Life, profiled Camille Sobrian Saltman and David Saltman with their two shelter-rescued Weimaraners in its fall edition.

The Del Mar couple spoke of Coronado and Del Mar dog beaches and hiking Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve. The photos were of sunny San Diego.

The only issue is the Saltmans live in Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada. They moved on Oct. 10, shortly after the interview.

The sudden departure of the longtime local residents and clean technology pioneers wasnt a protest against state taxes or the Trump election, Camille says, but rather a retreat to a smaller community with space to roam and a strong environmental culture. Its also an escape from a city that has grown too large and congested over the past two decades.

Friends told us we were crazy, says Camille, former president of CONNECT. The couple plans to be back in San Diego three or four times a year, though, and remain active on various San Diego boards.

Camille is a Biocom director and co-chairs a science-based Innovation Night at the La Jolla Playhouse. David sits on the UCSD biological sciences Deans Leadership Council and continues to support the Saltman Chair in honor of his father, former UCSD Vice Chancellor Paul Saltman.

diane.bell@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1518

Twitter: dianebellSD

Facebook: dianebell.news
Measure C was 86d at the ballot box for a number of reasons, most based in disgust with the way the Chargers have played San Diego in their nearly two-decade quest for a new stadium.

For a small but highly engaged segment of voters, however, C pitted competing visions of how the East Village in general, and Tailgate Park and the Metropolitan Transit System bus yard in particular, should evolve.

Would the city prosper if it spent a billion bucks to subsidize a stadium/convention complex that could be built in a few years? Or would it benefit more by dedicating time (up to 20 years) and a unique palette of public space to an enterprise zone that would, in an ideal world, generate urban jobs amid trendy work/living spaces?

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For a savvy sliver of the city electorate, that was the yin and yang of C.

Back in April, Chargers front man Fred Maas generated some buzz when he scoffed at those who see Tailgate Park and the bus yard as a rich field of millennial dreamers: Youve heard a lot of talk about things that might happen on these blocks. I can tell you as someone whos spent 10 years on this project, weve been listening to that for 10 years. And the possibility of bringing some artistic, airy-fairy consultant-based, planner-based plan to those blocks is impossible.

Well, the airy-fairy gang picked up some gravitas this week.

UC San Diego, the Union-Tribunes Roger Showley reported Monday, is planting its Triton flag in East Village, just a few blocks from the asphalt jungle of those blocks.

UCSDs intention to take over a four-story building in Holland Partner Groups Park & Market project was cheered as a game-changer by Kevin Faulconer, a flexible mayor whos trying to have it both ways, supporting a customized version of C while hailing UCSDs downtown branch.

The two initiatives, the stadium and the campus, may not be mutually exclusive, but they arent inherently compatible, either.

Mary Walshok, the universitys associate vice chancellor and dean of extension, has for some 20 years envisioned a downtown campus linked to east and south counties as well as the La Jolla campus. Call her the fairy, if not airy, godmother of what all large cities consider a no-brainer.

Three years ago, Anthony Monacos senior thesis in UCSDs Urban Studies & Planning Department found that of the top 35 most populous cities in America, only San Diego, the eighth populous, lacks a major public or private university campus location within, or adjacent to, the central business district boundary.

Arizona State University, for example, capitalizes on a trolley line to connect its Tempe and Phoenix campuses. UC Davis opened a branch in downtown Sacramento, about the same distance as La Jolla is from East Village. Urban downtowns are naturally inclusive magnets, too strong to ignore.

On a political level, its no accident that UCSD waited until C flunked before going public with its downtown plans. Why get in the middle of a divisive political mess? Why put your thumb on one end of the scale?

It doesnt take a political scientist, however, to deduce how the universitys fingers were crossed on Election Day.

A huge stadium in East Village would have been an oxygen-sucking neighbor.

Frightening enough to scare away the fledgling campus? Maybe, maybe not. Fortunately, we dont have to find out.

This bold move by UC San Diego, on the City Councils Tuesday afternoon docket, validates the so-called airy-fairy types like David Malmuth, co-founder of the I.D.E.A. District; Michael Stepner, professor at the New School of Architecture and Design in East Village; Central Library architect Rob Quigley; and many more.

To be sure, a crucial domino has tipped. But many more will have to follow to prove Maas wrong.

The conversion of Tailgate Park and bus yard to higher, better uses will require a huge infusion of money. The Chargers have the resources to pull it off. Could they return for another bite of the poison apple? Remotely possible.

San Diegans are waiting for this star-crossed season to end and for Dean Spanos to put us (and the injury-riddled team) out of our misery. Will he take yes for an answer and settle for Mission Valley, the only last-ditch location that makes any sense? Or rent U-Hauls bound for L.A. and second-string status in L.A., grumbling about Americas Finest City all the way up the 405?

In a Voice of San Diego op-ed before the election, Maas dismissed Quigley (and, by extension, like-minded C opponents) as a NIMBY undertaker.

Undertaker. Its a uniquely San Diegan slur dating back to a 1923 speech by a 70-year-old John D. Spreckels. The tycoon delivered this oft-quoted lament: Why does San Diego always just miss the train? I will tell you: Lack of cooperation. We have no team play. The moment anybody appears with any proposition of a big constructive nature, the small-town undertakers get busy digging its grave.

Considering the fact that Spreckels was the baron of San Diego who owned newspapers, the ferry line and just about everything else, the complaint has always struck me as odd.

(The old joke went that a mother and her daughter were walking and every time they came to anything of value in San Diego, the girl would ask her mother who owned it and the answer was always Mr. Spreckels. When they came to the ocean, the girl asked the same question and the mother said that God owns the ocean. So Mr. Spreckels didnt want it? the girl replied.)

In the end, the lesson of C is that the vision of a downtown field of dreamers is in fact more ambitious, more nervy, than a publicly funded stadium next to Petco Park. Its more consistent with a city yearning to go long.

If the young, red-blooded progressive businessmen of the city will only get together and stick together, nothing will be too big to expect for San Diego, Spreckels said at the end of his 1923 speech.

Substitute gender-neutral entrepreneurs for sexist businessmen and you have an East Village action plan for the airy, the fairy and the extraordinary.

Unfortunate Footnote: Around the historic Remmer House, the gritty but quaint Quartyard includes the Meshuggah Shack (Syrians + Muslims + Mexicans + Immigrants + Everyone Else Are Welcome but No Kvetching), a casual outdoor performance area and a well-used dog park (artificial turf in what resembles a batting cage with Christmas lights). The Quartyard will have to take its movable feast elsewhere when Holland Partner Group breaks ground on the $275 million block project.

logan.jenkins@sduniontribune.com
The owner of a local Thai restaurant, who was accused of failing to pay employees and forcing them to work through breaks and meal periods, has been sentenced to jail and ordered to repay $20,000 in stolen wages.

Zihan Zhang, 38, owner of the now-shuttered Antique Thai Cuisine in San Diegos Midway District was convicted in May of grand theft and various labor violations.

She was sentenced Dec. 2 to two years in county jail, of which she will have to serve at least 50 percent, and was ordered to repay the stolen wages and tips to six workers.

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The District Attorneys Office, which announced the sentence Monday, said Zhangs case was the first of its kind in the state to result in a conviction by a jury under a theory of felony grand wage theft by false pretenses.

The panel found the defendant guilty of two counts of felony grand theft of labor for failing to pay workers as promised and one count of felony grand theft of tips, according to prosecutors. She was also convicted of six misdemeanor charges, including two for refusing to pay wages when she had the ability to do so and four counts for failing to provide itemized wage statements.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Yvonne Campos ordered the sentence.

Prosecutors Kimberley Scott and Lisa Stark contended in trial that some of Zhangs employees who had been promised wages were often paid only in tips. Some members of the kitchen staff were either unpaid or paid just a few dollars an hour and forced to work during breaks and meal periods.

According to a news release, Zhang took some of the tips herself. She also charged workers $5 per shift for glass breakage to offset her operating costs.

One worker testified in trial that she worked 12 days in a row, including double shifts, but was not paid her hourly wage, according to the news release.

Allegations against Zhang came to light in 2014, when some workers filed claims with the state Labor Commissioners Office. In July of that year, the office cited Antique Thai more than $36,000 for various labor violations including failing to pay workers the minimum wage, as well as for working overtime.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
Widely known for causing the munchies, marijuana may also have obesity-fighting powers, according to a newly released study.

A team of researchers led by San Diego State University economist Joseph Sabia examined public-health surveys nationwide from 1990 through 2012 and found that in states where medicinal marijuana laws have been enacted, obesity rates are 2 percent to 6 percent lower than expected.

Its a counter-intuitive finding given that cannabis reputation is more Cheetos than celery where weight gain is concerned. Past studies have shown that marijuana can be an effective appetite stimulant for HIV and cancer patients whose diseases come with a significant risk of weight loss that can lead to muscle wasting.

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But the SDSU study, performed with Cornell University in New York, found that among younger adults, marijuana use can supplant alcohol consumption in states allowing marijuana for medicinal uses. For older adults, use of the drug can lead to greater mobility.

Increases in movement and a decrease in calorie-heavy alcohol use add up to moderate decreases in obesity rates, Sabia and his team concluded.

Now sit back down.

Its not time to head out to the closest marijuana dispensary for a weight-loss prescription. Sabia said the observed effects have to do with the public-health effects of marijuana policy on large populations of people. The health surveys his team used to make its estimates do not directly measure marijuana use among individuals, so its a little early to imagine a cannabis-fueled version of Jenny Craig.

We are certainly not arguing that medical marijuana laws are a central tool in the fight against obesity. We are arguing that there is an unintended health benefit of these laws in that regard, Sabia said.

The new study is perhaps the first to examine how medical marijuana laws affect public-health issues such as body weight, physical wellness and exercise. It comes at a time when many states are are trying to identify and understand the social and health impacts of marijuana legalization, which has now been enacted, in one form or another, in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Brendan Saloner, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Universitys Bloomberg School of Public Health who holds a doctorate in health policy, said the findings provide a new data point in the ongoing debate over whether medical marijuana is a net public-health benefit.

And the results certainly are interesting, he added, in light of the well-known munchies factor.

If you had asked me before reading this study which direction I would have thought the results would go, I would definitely have thought that the munchies effect would have been the bigger factor here, Saloner said.

He was quick to add that one study is far from conclusive proof that marijuana legalization leads to reduced obesity rates. More definitive proof would require more direct evidence, he said.

I think this is a novel and important study, and a well-done study. But we still need to zero in on people who are actually consuming cannabis through a state program and more directly measure how their health changes, Saloner said.

Sabia and his fellow researchers, doctoral students Timothy Young at SDSU and Jeffrey Swigert at Cornell, used health surveys conducted by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to estimate the differences between states that have or have not enacted medical marijuana laws. Established in 1985, the system interviews more than 400,000 adults each year, asking them to share a range of personal health information from body weight to exercise habits.

In order to estimate how marijuana use affected body mass index, the researchers built synthetic statistical profiles, sampling data from the non-legalization states that most closely resembled each state where medical marijuana is legal.

In this way, by cobbling together the most applicable outcomes from states where medical marijuana is not legal, the team was able to calculate what body mass index would have been had legalization never taken place.

We allow the data to tell us what combination of states look very similar to the treatment states, Sabia said. Imagine a parallel universe where we can observe what would have happened if California hadnt legalized marijuana in 1996.

paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com
San Diego City Council members selected Myrtle Cole over David Alvarez on Monday to serve as council president, a pivotal post that sets the councils agenda, determines when proposals get voted on and doles out committee assignments and chairmanships.

Alvarez and Cole are both Democrats, but Cole is viewed as a moderate or centrist while Alvarez is perceived as more liberal and more ardent in pursuing a progressive agenda.

The vote was 6-3, with Cole and Democrat Barbara Bry joining with the councils four Republicans. Alvarez was joined in dissent by fellow Democrats Georgette Gomez and Chris Ward.

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Cole said she would strive to move the city forward and work with everyone on the council regardless of whether they supported her for president.

What I plan to do is work with every single individual on this dais, she said. Even if you dont (support me), were going to continue to move forward in this city and move all the issues forward in this city: homelessness, affordable housing.

Cole, 66, was first elected to office in the 2013 special election to fill the seat vacated by Tony Young. She is the first black woman to serve on the council.

Cole represents District 4, which includes the mostly lower-income neighborhoods of southeastern San Diego.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer praised the councils decision afterward, saying he has respect for Cole and her effectiveness as a politician.

She has repeatedly delivered for her district over the past three years and I have no doubt she will make an excellent council president and bring similar results to the entire city, Faulconer said. I look forward to working together with her and the rest of the City Council to keep San Diego headed in the right direction and continue building a better future for all of our neighborhoods.

After the vote, Alvarez said the councils choice would not deter him from pursuing a progressive agenda.

While I am disappointed by the outcome, I remain strongly committed to advancing initiatives that improve the lives of San Diegans, he said. The council must lead in several critical areas, such as increasing housing affordability, impactful solutions to homelessness and achieving the goals set out in the climate action plan.

He also echoed recent comments hes made that his strong leadership was necessary to prevent the business community and other groups from having too much influence in City Hall.

We will only be successful if we are each able to focus on the common good that benefits all San Diegans and rise above serving special interests that benefit only a few, Alvarez said. An independent and strong City Council that casts aside personal agendas in favor of good public policy is critical to the success of our city moving forward.

Gomez said she supported Alvarez because she has had a long working relationship with him and because he would be a strong advocate for low-income areas of San Diego that lack infrastructure and jobs.

The status quo is no longer acceptable, she said. Its the right thing for San Diego. Its the right thing for our underserved communities and Im here to honor that.

The vote came after nearly an hour of testimony from community leaders and labor groups, who were also split between Cole and Alvarez.

Councilman Chris Cate said speakers who said Alvarez would increase the councils strength in relation to the mayor have a misperception about how the council works.

I believe it is up to the individual council members to put forward their ideas, their visions and act upon them, he said, contending they dont need to rely on the council president. I believe she will lead us and allow us as individual council members to explore these ideas and visions that we have and hopefully work collaboratively with other members of the council to see them through.

Mark Kersey, another Republican who supported Cole, praised her as a good leader.

I believe she has the temperament and background to be a fine council president, Kersey said.

Bry called the decision between Alvarez and Cole a difficult one.

People and organizations I respect both support Councilmember Cole and Councilmember Alvarez, she said.

But Bry said she thought Cole would work well with the entire council.

I believe with Councilmember Cole as our president she will work together with all of us effectively, Bry said.

The battle between Alvarez and Cole has also divided local labor groups.

The powerful San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council backed Alvarez, but the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, which represents more than 130 local unions, backed Cole.

This is about the opportunity for the new City Council to define and deliver a progressive agenda for San Diego, said Gretchen Newsom of the Building and Construction Trades Council. David (Alvarez) has been working with working families when no one else would stand up with us. Hes been a champion of progressive policies since the beginning.

But labor council president Mickey Kasparian balked at the notion Alvarez would be a better choice for progressives.

What about just being behind the city? he said. What about caring about what goes on in this city and moving the city forward in a bipartisan type of way?

Kasparian said Cole would allow more progress on key issues by working more collaboratively.

Were not supposed to be obstructionists, he said. Were supposed to be trying to work together for the common good of San Diego.

The communities that Cole represents include Alta Vista, Broadway Heights, Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Encanto, Greater Skyline Hills, Jamacha, Lincoln Park, Lomita Village, North Bay Terrace, Oak Park, OFarrell, Paradise Hills, Redwood Village, Rolando Park, South Bay Terrace, Valencia Park and Webster.

Council president is a powerful job created as a counterbalance when San Diego switched to a strong mayor form of government.

RELATED

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
A bill to rename a Chula Vista post office to honor a slain San Diego police officer has cleared another legislative hurdle and is on the cusp of being signed by the president.

Legislation that will rename the post office at 830 Kuhn Drive in Chula Vista in honor of Officer Jonathan De Guzman passed the Senate on Friday and is now headed to President Barack Obama. Its extremely unlikely for a bill to rename a post office to be vetoed.

The memory of Officer Jonathan De Guzman will live on, Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, said in a statement. She introduced the bill in September.

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Generations will know the sacrifice he made and that he dedicated his life to protecting and serving the San Diego community he loved. This is a tribute to him and all our law enforcement officers who make the safety of San Diegans their top priority, she said.

If signed by the president the facility will officially be called the Jonathan J.D. De Guzman Post Office Building and laws, maps, regulations, documents and other records will refer to the property by that name.

All five of the House members from San Diego County were original co-sponsors to the bill.

On July 28 De Guzman and his partner in the San Diego Police Department, Officer Wade Irwin, attempted to speak with two pedestrians in the Southcrest neighborhood when they were suddenly attacked. Irwin was immediately shot in the throat, and the shooter went to the police cars passenger side door and shot De Guzman several times at close range.

De Guzman, 43, died at a hospital shortly after the shooting. A 16-year veteran of the department, he was born in the Philippines and was married with two children.

Irwin managed to return fire and hit the suspect. The gunman ran away but was found unconscious in a ravine. Jesse Michael Gomez was charged with murder, attempted murder, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The president has 10 days to sign the bill or return it to the House with objections. If he neither signs it nor returns it to the House, it becomes law after 10 days, excluding Sundays, as long as Congress has not adjourned.
Two congregations in Carlsbad  one Christian and one Jewish  are planning a joint service Dec. 24 to celebrate Christmas Eve and the first night of Hanukkah. The two holy days wont coincide again until 2027.

The interfaith service will include traditions of both faith groups and is being planned by Bnai Tikvah and Holy Cross Episcopal Church. The congregations share a worship space on Gateway Road, which they generally use at separate times.

They came together last month for a Thanksgiving celebration that drew 40 community members. Because of the success of that shared worship, the two faith groups are planning another joint service.

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The Dec. 24 celebration, like the Thanksgiving event, will include readings, chants and prayers from both traditions, including in Hebrew.

At the Thanksgiving service, Holy Cross member Patrick Lamke played the guitar and Bnai Tikvah Cantor Larry Kornit chanted.

The beautiful aspect was that we were coming together and, although we acknowledge different ways of approaching the Divine Spirit, we could do it together, said Rabbi Ben Leinow, Ph.D. We share similar liturgy and read the same Bible.

The clergy from Bnai Tikvah and Holy Cross worked together to assemble the prayers and readings into a booklet for participants.

The combined clergy of both communities provided the forum to come together and express our unity and solidarity and thanksgiving, said Bnai Tikvah member Naomi Gabai-Fisher. There was a lot of discussion following the program.

When we give thanks together side by side it makes the room more holy, Leinow said.

At the conclusion of the Thanksgiving service, Leinow and the Rev. Laura Sheridan-Campbell, vicar at Holy Cross Episcopal, asked God in Hebrew and English to bless the people with a blessing that is in the Christian Bible and Hebrew BibleTorah.

It is an amazing thing in a polarized world for congregations of different faiths to come together and worship side by side, said Sheridan-Campbell, D. Min.

The Dec. 24 celebration will be held at 4 p.m. at 2510 Gateway Rd., Carlsbad, and will last less than 90 minutes. Parking is available adjacent to the building.

Visit bnaitikvahsd.com and holy-cross-church.org
Dec 13 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- President-elect Donald Trump settled on Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, to be his secretary of state, transition officials said. In naming him, the president-elect is dismissing bipartisan concerns that Tillerson, the globe-trotting leader of an energy giant, has a too-cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. http://nyti.ms/2gBx7vh

- Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, went on trial in Paris on Monday, facing criminal charges that when she was France's finance minister, her negligence resulted in the misuse of hundreds of millions of euros in public money. http://nyti.ms/2gU8KFj

- A business tax overhaul championed by a Berkeley professor could advance President-elect Donald Trump's job-creation agenda without tariffs or presidential deal-making. http://nyti.ms/2guYJx5

- President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that the cost of building the military's next-generation fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, had spiraled "out of control", and he vowed to save billions of dollars on military programs once he enters office next month. http://nyti.ms/2hyji0y

- In a sign of widening fallout from Wells Fargo's sales scandal, Prudential Financial Inc said it was suspending sales of its life insurance policies through Wells Fargo & Co until it completed an investigation into the bank's sales tactics. http://nyti.ms/2gG5jnP

- Donald Trump officially asked Goldman Sachs Group Inc President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn to serve as director of his National Economic Council, removing a crucial impediment for Goldman's next generation of leaders. http://nyti.ms/2gBHXBf

- Boeing Co announced a $16.6 billion deal to sell planes to Iran, which for decades had been economically blacklisted by the United States. The company instead chose to emphasize how many jobs the sale would support. http://nyti.ms/2hodXWi

- Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp, has started a fund to invest in energy research to reduce the causes of climate change, work that would build on efforts that may be threatened by a Trump administration. http://nyti.ms/2hyjjBN (Compiled by Aurindom Mukherjee in Bengaluru)
The architect most commonly involved in pricey single-family home projects fast-tracked through San Diegos permitting process under an affordable housing program has donated more than $10,000 to Mayor Kevin Faulconer since 2009.

The architect, Tim Golba, says the contributions have nothing to do with the program  as does Faulconer.

Golba said he did not even benefit from the accelerated approvals under the citys Affordable/In-Fill Housing and Sustainable Buildings Expedite Program.

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The program  which promises to process permits twice as fast in exchange for a $500 fee  was created via a City Council vote in 2003, meant to cut back on red tape associated with building dense, affordable and energy-efficient housing.

A report released by city auditors earlier this month criticized the effort for including single-family homes, given that the program did not allow for housing developments with fewer than four units.

Auditors found many apparently ineligible homes fast-tracked under the program between 2011 and 2015 provided questionable environmental benefits and were not designated as affordable.

They went on to point out the size of those residences, frequently clustered in upscale neighborhoods along the coast, averaged 5,000 square feet. Thats more than twice the size of a typical San Diego house and, according to the report, large enough that heating and cooling requirements could potentially undermine program-mandated greenhouse gas reduction efforts.

Days after the well-publicized reports release, and under pressure from San Diegos elected leaders, the citys permitting chief said he would stop processing single family residences through the program.

Staffers first started expediting those homes in 2006, after members of a city advisory panel suggested they would consider adding small residential projects to the program.

Among the most ardent proponents of loosening the programs rules was Golba, then a Sustainable Energy Advisory Board member and planning commissioner who would later push through more expedited single family projects than anyone else in the city.

Golba on Friday conceded that the city programs sustainability criteria had become outdated, though he said extending the programs solar incentives to single family homes qualified as a big deal at the time.

Golba said his contributions to Faulconers political campaigns have nothing to do with his support for changes to the permitting program  or his use of the program for clients.

Golba denied changes to the programs eligibility requirements helped architects like himself, adding he and others who tackle complex coastal projects tend to bill by the hour  not necessarily benefiting from faster permit processing.

What benefit did I receive? Golba asked. I didnt receive anything any architect in town couldnt have received.

Golba said the high concentration of expedited homes in the citys toniest, seaside neighborhoods could be explained by the lengthy wait times for building permits in San Diegos coastal areas, delays he characterized as the slowest in the state of California.

A spokesman for Faulconer, who appointed Golba to the Planning Commission and attended the hearing that sparked the programs expansion to single-family homes, also said there was no connection.

The decision to include single-family homes in this program occurred three mayoral administrations ago, spokesman Craig Gustafson said. To connect a policy change made in 2006 to campaign contributions made years later is ludicrous. Thousands of San Diegans have donated to Mayor Faulconers campaigns and there is absolutely no connection here. We expect the Development Services Department to follow all regulations and treat every applicant fairly.

Jon Dominy, the architect behind a project auditors identified as the largest single family home allowed into the fast-track program, agreed there was no pay-for-play element to the citys actions. He said city staffers suggested his client apply for an expedited permit only after hed already waited two years for entitlements to add a garage and guest house on the coastal property.

Employees are no longer referring single family home applicants to the fast-tracking program.

Robert Vacchi, director of the citys Development Services Department, on Wednesday pledged to immediately stop letting such permits into the pipeline.

Vacchi, through a spokesman, later told The San Diego Union-Tribune he had no specific information to explain why an advisory boards suggestion was relied upon to allow single family homes into the program  without a vote by council members who put the four-unit minimum in place.

If sustainable development was a goal then as it is now, and the department had the capacity to handle additional workload, we understand the reason for including single family development within the program, he said.

UPDATES:

4 p.m. This story was updated to include comment arriving from Mayor Kevin Faulconers office after the original posting.
The Washington Posts report that the CIA concluded that hackers directed by the Russian government had sought to help Moscow-friendly Donald Trump win the presidential election is likely to resonate throughout U.S. history. It is also being immediately interpreted by everyone under the sun to advance self-serving narratives.

Democrats are using the report to enable their denial of their broad national unpopularity and say this is why heavy favorite Hillary Clinton lost. Republican anti-Russia hawks are using it as an argument for a crackdown on Moscow, ignoring the long list of U.S. efforts to influence other nations elections. Trump is using it as another example of what he sees as a media and political establishment out to belittle and taint his triumph.

But Mondays announcement by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  that he agreed with a bipartisan group of four senators who want a vigorous, painstaking investigation of Russias role in the election  seems to set the U.S. government on a responsible, mature course.

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A starting point should be establishing exactly what is known with certitude. The FBI has looked at the same facts as the CIA without reaching the same conclusion. Some FBI agents appear to see this as one more in a long series of attempts by Russia to clandestinely sow discord among Western democracies, as opposed to trying to help Trump.

Its also worth noting that the CIA is hardly beyond reproach. Its not just that the CIA has often been wrong in its analysis of world developments. Its that this is an agency with a dark history. Long-hidden CIA documents show one of its active agents was part of the Nixon White House-controlled plumbers caught in the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committees offices in Washington  launching the Watergate scandal. More recently, in 2014, the CIA admitted it had searched the Senate Intelligence Committees computers.

It is certainly quite possible the CIA is right. It is also plausible that Russian-directed leaks hurt the Clinton campaign enough that it cost her the election. The disclosure of Democratic National Committee emails showing some ostensibly neutral party officials favored Clinton over primary challenger Bernie Sanders infuriated Sanders millions of supporters and may have kept some home in the general election.

But the actual precise effect of Russian hacking on the election results is something no investigation can establish. Clintons weaknesses as a candidate were extreme and werent invented.

However, if Moscows role in campaign hacking is established, the effect on U.S. political discourse is much easier to predict. On the left and quite possibly beyond, many will see Trumps victory the same way that millions saw George W. Bushs 2000 win  as stolen property  and the cultural and political polarization of America will endure and perhaps intensify.

In a less contentious era, the lessons of this election would be obvious. American institutions  not just the government  should care far more about cybersecurity. Americans should be much more skeptical about the accuracy of what is presented as news in social media. The U.S. government should establish clear policies on how it will sanction nations that try to manipulate American debate  policies that arent hypocritical, given Washingtons history of covert manipulation of other nations.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board hopes that these lessons eventually sink in  and that America doesnt become trapped in partisan bitterness at a time when our nation faces so many challenges.

That list of challenges only starts with the startling and dispiriting possibility that archrival Russia has stealthily changed the course of U.S. and world history.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: UTOpinion
Regarding CIA alleges Russian role in vote (Dec. 10): Thoughtful, patriotic Americans understand that government snooping can lead to a police state. Your article told us that the CIA has determined that the Russian government has hacked emails from the Democrats, including Clintons campaign, as part of a wider effort to elect Donald Trump.

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

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Trump responded, as would any aspiring dictator, with a bald-faced lie, saying the CIA is composed of the same people who told us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Actually, Dick Cheney was the source. Our intelligence community knew better.

We are at the mercy of the Electoral College. Are enough straight-thinking, patriotic Republicans on the Electoral College?

There were plenty of patriotic Republicans willing to impeach Richard Nixon for tapping the telephone of Democratic Party chair Larry OBrien. Patriotic Republicans need to speak up now.

Mike Bullock

Oceanside

* * *

Lawmakers seek to investigate Russian hacking in our presidential election. The CIA has reported that the Russian government hacked Democratic Party emails this year.

No matter who gains access to the emails, it appears to be spilled milk by the Democrats. The discussion needs to be that if their emails did not contain damaging content, this it would not even be a story.

They need to be reminded that even the appearance of impropriety is wrong and keep their communications (and their thoughts) appropriate.

The only way the emails can be used against Hillary Clinton or the Democrats is if the content was incriminating. It was and they did. Russia or not, the Democrats are the ones who wet the bed. The hackers only pulled back the covers.

John W. Konecki

San Diego

* * *

Seriously? The Trump people just threw the CIA under the bus by referencing weapons of mass destruction misjudgments 13 years ago?

They apparently will say anything and own up to nothing while not even considering whos got your back. This deflect-and-denial stance is Nazi Germany dangerous. Welcome to Donald Trumps America. I guess well see where freedom of speech and the Second Amendment end up in four years.

Chris Schultz

San Diego

* * *

Its not the Russians who are responsible for Trump winning. Its the fact that Hillary Clinton is untrustworthy.

Plus the fact that the mainstream media made many think that Clinton had it in the bag and many never voted. I would have voted Bernie. But the Democrats blew that chance.

William Lyons

Oceanside

The president is the civilian in charge

Tom Greene in his recent letter (Honor the law on civilian control of military, Dec. 9) harbors a false assumption.

Civilian control of the military, per the U.S. Constitution, resides in the person of the president. It does not reside in the office of the president.

This means the command authority is personal, and does not flow down to subordinates in the executive branch or elsewhere.

There has been confusion in this area for several years ever since the Goldwater-Nichols Act gave the secretary of defense very limited authority to move troops.

Peter M. Hekman

Retired Vice Admiral

U.S. Navy

Never too tired to fight against extremism

What a horrible and naive column written by Ruben Navarrette (Tiresome Trump hate, Dec. 9). Congratulations, Mr. Navarrette, for becoming a complete apologist for Trump.

Trump ran an extremely hateful campaign and hes gotten the new Mr. Breitbart himself (Steve Bannon) helping choose his billionaire cabinet members, yet Navarrette is calling fighting his extremism tiresome?

God help this country from this vulgar, narcissistic, unqualified man.

Howard Brickner

Mira Mesa

Our electoral process protects lesser states

Numbers can be used to say many things. Example: Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 4.2 million votes in California, but by only 2.7 million nationally.

That means Trump beat Clinton by 1.5 million votes in the entire country outside of California. Thats our system of checks and balances at work.

Norman L. Macht

Escondido

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Forty presidential electors  mostly Democrats  are asking for information from the U.S. government on whether President-elect Donald Trump can be tied to alleged efforts by Russian hackers to interfere with the 2016 election, and Hillary Clinton s campaign chair thinks its a great idea.

Just days before the decision from the Electoral College on Dec. 19, the electors  hailing from states like California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Texas  wrote a letter expressing their demands to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper .

Arguing the Americas founders created the Electoral College to elect a president who is constitutionally qualified and fit to serve, the electors wrote this:

Accordingly, to fulfill our role as Electors, we seek an informed and unrestrained opportunity to fulfill our constitutional role leading up to December 19th  that is, the ability to investigate, discuss, and deliberate with our colleagues about whom to vote for in the Electoral College.

The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations. We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.

The electors  who include House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi s daughter Christine and a guy from Texas who already said he wont be voting for Trump  also ask Trump himself to provide evidence that no connection between alleged election interference and him can be made.

Read the full letter here: Bipartisan Electors Ask James Clapper: Release Facts on Outside Interference in U.S. Election

So will this letter make an impact? It already has.

Clinton campaign chair John Podesta , who had his emails hacked and then be published by WikiLeaks during the campaign, is on board with the plan.

Podesta called on President Barack Obama s administration to explain what it knows regarding the extent and manner of Russias interference and this be done as soon as possible.

With a decision from the Electoral College required in just a few days, its unknown whether these electors will get anywhere with their request. But in the meantime, reaction to this last-ditch effort by electors is mixed.

See our other coverage of the Electoral College and the Russian hacking investigation here:

Republicans leaders support Russian hacking investigation

Did Russia really hack the U.S. election? Obama wants to know

Rogue electors won't stop last-ditch Electoral College fight

Elector won't vote for Trump, urges Electoral College to join him

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin

UPDATES:

12:24 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published on Dec. 12 at 2:45 p.m.
Donald Trump s pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, may not be a household name, but his nomination for one of the top Cabinet positions has raised interest in the long-time ExxonMobil executive.

The announcement of his selection Tuesday spurred headlines and debate on Twitter where many people raised questions about his business deals in Russia and his relationship with Vladimir Putin , questions that are also likely to surface at his Senate confirmation hearings.

But questions about Tillerson, 64, and how he would do the job of Americas top diplomat do not stop there. What else should we know about him and the secretary of state job? Here are five things.

1. Career oil industry executive

Tillerson is a Republican and a Texas oil industry executive who joined ExxonMobil as a production engineer in 1975 right out of the University of Texas, according to biographical information on the companys website. Before he became CEO in 2006, Tillerson held roles in other divisions of the company includeing Exxon Yemen and other holdings in Russia and the Caspian Sea.

According to Forbes, Tillerson holds more than 2.6 million shares in ExxonMobil stock valued at $240 million.

2. Russian connection

The reports about Russias alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential elections may be a problem for Tillerson, given his decades of business deals in Russia. Will this mean hell take a conciliatory approach to the Kremlin, normally seen as a U.S. archrival?

While at ExxonMobile in the 1990s, Tillerson oversaw multibillion-dollar deals with Russias petrolium company to produce gas and oil in the Arctic. And in 2013, Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson with the Order of Friendship, which is one of the highest honors that Russia gives civilians.

Tillerson also opposed U.S. sanctions on Russia  punishment for its annexation of Crimea in 2014  which has reportedly stalled billions of dollars worth of ExxonMobil projects in the region.

3. Other secretary of state candidates

Trump had reportedly considered other more well-known Republicans for the role of secretary of state. Among them were former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Other names also included former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), former China ambassador Jon Huntsman , Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), former CIA Director David Petraeus , Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntingon Beach) and retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis.

4. Secretary of state in a nutshell

The secretary of state is the first Cabinet member in the line of succession in case of the presidents death, following the vice president, House speaker and Senate president pro tem. The position was established with the creation of the Department of State (formerly Department of Foreign Affairs) in 1789.

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and James Buchanan are notable figures who served as secretary of state and later became president of the United States. More recently, two Democratic presidential nominees (John Kerry and Hillary Clinton ) have also been secretary of state  Kerry after his 2004 loss and Clinton before her loss this year.

5. Reactions to his nomination

On Twitter, Republicans and Democrats alike have raised questions about Tillerson and his connections. Some were concerned over Tillersons nomination, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) tweeted, Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState. Others were less so.

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

OTHER TAKES

Five reasons Rex Tillerson is the right pick for secretary of state

Five ways the role of the U.S. secretary of state has changed

Five roadblocks that may trip up Tillerson
President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former Texas Gov. Rick Perry for secretary of energy, a man who has an interesting past which includes his own attempt to become president.

In fact, his campaign website is still up and describes him as a veteran of the United States Air Force, a former farmer and the former governor of the 12th largest economy in the world. But theres much more to Perry than that, so weve compiled a list of five interesting things to know about him.

1. His background

Perry was an Eagle Scout in a small town in Texas before going to college at Texas A&M and joining the Air Force. From 1972 to 1977, he flew missions in a C-130 in Europe and the Middle East. After retiring from the military, he returned to Texas to work in the family cotton farming business.

He joined the Texas House of Representatives in 1984 as a Democrat. He switched to the Republican Party in 1989. Before reaching the position of governor, he was also elected lieutenant governor in 1998. Another government position on his resume is Texas commissioner of agriculture. He became governor of Texas in 2000 after George W. Bush resigned upon winning the presidency and held the job until 2015.

Texas economy boomed while Perry was governor. Texas did much better during the Great Recession than any other large state.

2. Education

Perrys background in education is very different from those of his predecessors in the secretary of energy position. He majored in animal science (and didnt make very good grades) and was a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. He admits to having struggled in college and finding a more enjoyable home in among the discipline and comradery of a military career.

President Barack Obama s current secretary of energy, Ernest Moniz, has a bachelors degree in physics and a doctorate in theoretical physics from Stanford University , and honorary degrees from several other prestigious universities. He also served on the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology among other positions related to energy.

Before him, Steven Chu served in the position for Obama. He holds an associates degree in mathmatics, a bachelors degree and doctorate in physics from UC Berkeley, as well as 23 honorary degrees. The Stanford professor also won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997.

3. He previously said he wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy

In a 2011 presidential debate, Perry asserted that he would eliminate three federal agencies. They were the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce and actually he couldnt think of the third one and stumbled on national television.

But after the debate, he told reporters that the one he couldnt remember was, you guessed it, the Department of Energy. The mission of the department is to ensure Americas security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.

4. He ran against Trump

Trump actually attacked Perry at a campaign event in South Carolina in July 2015.

Hes doing very poorly in the polls, Trump said. He put glasses on so people will think hes smart, but it just doesnt work. People can see through the glasses.

Perry ran for president in the 2012 election and then again for 2016. His campaign priorities were economic growth, lowering taxes, lowering the amount of federal debt, national security and stopping special interests and big government.

5. He was on Dancing with the Stars

Perry was on the most recent season of the show and says he did it as a way to raise awareness and support for veterans.

It is a great privilege to be on Dancing with the Stars,' and more importantly I got to see and have a whole new appreciation for some professionals, he said of the show. Whether it was the costume artists, the makeup artists, the individuals moving sets around  Obviously, the professional dancers, the producers.

He was the second person eliminated from the show.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
The Fair Pay Act that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2016 bars California employers from paying workers of one sex more than the workers of the opposite sex for substantially similar work unless the employer can show that any pay gap is justified by a factor other than sex, such as a system that determines pay based on quantity or quality of production or that resulted from differences in education, training or experience.

The 2016 law was designed to close the asserted 16-cent pay gap between what California men and women are paid in similar jobs. Unlike some employment laws, such as the general employment anti-discrimination law and family leave law, the Fair Pay Act applies to employers of any size.

The first big change in California equal pay law that goes into effect on Jan.y 1, 2017 is that the principles of the Fair Pay Act will be expanded to compensation differences between members of one race or ethnicity and those of another. Supporters of the new measure argued that women of color who are paid less than white women should also be able to make a claim under the law.

The bottom line is that all California employers should review the compensation of their work force as the year comes to a close to make sure that workers of one gender, race, or ethnicity are not being paid more for substantially similar work than those of another gender, race or ethnicity unless such a gap can be fully justified by factors unrelated to membership in the protected class. Remember also that the law prohibits retaliating against an employee for discussing his or her salary or the salary of others or for asking about the salary of others.

The second big change in California equal pay law enacted by the California legislature now explicitly prohibits an employer from justifying an otherwise unlawful difference in pay on an employees or applicants prior salary alone. The sponsors of this measure asserted that such a clarification in the law will avoid perpetuating the effect of lower prior salaries that may themselves have been discriminatory.

The original version of this second measure would have prohibited employers even from asking applicants about their salary history. Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year, saying it went too far. The sponsor of the new law dropped that part of it in the face of broad opposition. Opponents argued that employers legitimately request the salary history of applicants to enable the employers to adjust salary ranges of a given position to match the current market rate, particularly in competitive industries in which employers do not advertise salaries.

Importantly, then, employers may still use prior salary as a factor justifying a gender, race, or ethnicity wage differential as long as the pay gap also is based on at least one of the other legitimate factors, such as a difference in applicants or employees experience.

Even as the focus is on brand new laws in the new year, employers also should ensure that their handbooks and policies reflect other recent changes in the law of the workplace, such as the recently enacted California and San Diego paid sick leave laws. Consulting with counsel, and accessing the excellent resources available from the California Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego Society for Human Resource Management, may prevent a multitude of legal problems in the coming year.

Eaton is a partner with the San Diego law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek where his practice focuses on defending and advising employers. He also is a business ethics and employment law instructor at San Diego State University. Email: eaton@scmv.com. Twitter: @DanEatonlaw
The sheriffs Ramona station has set up a Twitter account, @sdsoramona, in an effort to disseminate information to residents.

Were hoping the word gets out, said Sgt. Robert Samuels, adding that hes also hoping those who are sharing comments about a questionable incident on Facebook pages can get the real story through the new communications tool. Among ways the Twitter account will be used will be to alert residents to be on the lookout or ask if they have seen a particular person. The station will also try to put in noteworthy arrests, said the sergeant.

It wont be an instant source of information and it wont be 24/7, he said, but hopefully it will be a good source of information.

In other business, sheriffs deputies arrested a 41-year-old Ramona man for petty theft and possessing stolen property from a church after he was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance on Dec. 6. Samuels said they recognized the man as the suspect in a video supplied by Apostolic Assembly of Ramona, 421 19th St., following a church theft on Nov. 25. Reported stolen was a propane tank, valued around $60, he said.

Among other reports at the station:

<QL>Sunday, Dec. 11

<QL><bullet> Male, 19, arrested, A Street, use/under influence of controlled substance and obstruct/resist peace officer/emergency medical technician.

<QL>Saturday, Dec. 10

<QL><bullet> Male, 25, arrested, 1600 block Main Street, misdemeanor bench warrant.

<QL>Friday, Dec. 9

<QL><bullet> San Diego Country Estates Association victim of arson. Juveniles suspected of setting fire to a pack of toilet seat covers in a clubhouse restroom. Damages estimated at $250 to replace covers and for cleanup.

<QL>Tuesday, Dec. 6

<QL><bullet> Victim of theft by use of access card information, $950 or less, 700 block A Street.

<QL><bullet> Vandalism to air conditioning units on roof of Ramona Elementary School, 400 block Eighth Street, damage estimated at $2,000, occurred between 1:30 p.m. Dec. 4 and 6:20 a.m. Dec. 6. A witness reported seeing two Hispanic juveniles on the roof near the units.

<QL>Sunday, Dec. 4

<QL><bullet> Male, 41, arrested, Main and 13th streets, driving while license suspended or revoked.

<QL><bullet> Male, 26, arrested, Main Street and Montecito Road, driving while license suspended or revoked with prior DUI conviction.

<QL><bullet> Victim of battery: spouse/ex-spouse/date, 500 block South 14th Street.

<QL>Saturday, Dec. 3

<QL><bullet> Female, 25, arrested, 700 block Main Street, possess narcotic controlled substance.

<QL><bullet> Male, 24, arrested, 24500 block Watt Road, spousal/cohabitant abuse with minor injury.

<QL>Friday, Dec. 2

<QL><bullet> Female, 31, arrested, B Street, drunk in public.

<QL><bullet> Victim of fraud, 1500 block Montecito Road.

<QL>Wednesday, Nov. 30

<QL><bullet> Petty theft of license plate from motor vehicle, 1700 block La Brea Street.

<QL><bullet> Commercial burglary, Oil Changers, 1800 block Main Street.

<QL><bullet> Juvenile arrested, battery on person, 1200 block Ninth Street.

<QL>Tuesday, Nov. 29

<QL><bullet> Motorcycle/scooter taken without owners consent/vehicle theft, 24500 block Del Amo Road.

<QL><bullet> Male, 35, arrested, 1400 block Keyes Road, spousal/cohabitant abuse with minor injury.

<QL><bullet> Female, 36, arrested, 900 block Main Street, transport/etc. controlled substance and possess controlled substance for sale.

<QL><bullet> Male, 46, arrested, North 10th and A streets, possess controlled substance, possess controlled substance paraphernalia and possess narcotic controlled substance.

<QL>Monday, Nov. 28

<QL><bullet> Male, 27, arrested Main Street, driving while license suspended or revoked.

<QL><bullet> Theft of $1,400 in currency, 1500 block Angel Place.

<QL>Saturday, Nov. 26

<QL><bullet> Petty theft, Apostolic Assembly of Ramona, 400 block Ninth Street, miscellaneous valued at $60.

<QL><bullet> Male, 24, arrested, 1300 block Main Street, driving while license suspended or revoked with prior DUI conviction.
San Diego County supervisors are considering giving themselves a pay raise that will sweeten their salaries by more than $19,000 per year.

An item on Tuesdays agenda would change the formula county government uses to determine how much the five supervisors are compensated, and if passed, all board members would receive a pay hike of as much as $19,161 per year.

Under current law, supervisors make 80 percent of a Superior Court judges base salary. Supervisor Ron Roberts proposal, if approved, would give them 85 percent of a judges pay between March 17 and Dec. 7, and then 90 percent after that.

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Provided judicial salaries hold steady, supervisors will eventually earn $172,450 per year, up from the $153,289.60 they currently receive. It will cost the government $95,806 more annually once the 90 percent formula is in effect for an entire fiscal year.

In a memo to his colleagues, Roberts said the county has not changed its law for calculating supervisor pay since 1998, and that their salaries have increased 7.17 percent since 2008.

It has been nearly 20 years since we adjusted the formula for members of the Board of Supervisors and salaries have risen less than 1 percent annually over the last nine years. San Diego County has the second largest population in the state and in terms of square miles is one of the nations largest counties, larger in size than two states. I am very comfortable this adjustment is fair and justified, he said in a statement.

See where San Diego ranks >> California counties with the top paid supervisors 

In the memo he said the pay increase would cost an additional $17,688 for the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30, and then $88,438 in the next fiscal year (for a part of that fiscal year, supervisors would be paid at 85 percent, and then, for the rest, 90 percent).

Roberts was unavailable for an interview on his proposal Monday..

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association, a public finance watchdog organization, reviewed legislative documents but said it could not determine if the pay raise is worthwhile.

Pay raises for public officials are rarely popular because they use tax dollars that could be put to use elsewhere, Haney Hong, the associations president and CEO said in a statement. We dont have enough information about this proposal to know if its a good value for taxpayers

Among the five-largest California counties, San Diego supervisors earn the least in base pay, except for Riverside where they also earn $153,289.60. Last year Los Angeles County Supervisors earned $189,061 before benefits, and Orange County, a jurisdiction that is slightly smaller than San Diego County, paid its leaders $155,103.36.

Besides base pay, San Diego supervisors are provided with other types of compensation, including a car allowance. The compensation formula only considers base judicial salary and excludes other benefits that judges may receive. Total compensation for Superior Court judges varies widely across California.

The first supervisor pay hike to 85 percent would take effect on March 17; by that point Supervisor Dave Roberts will be off the board and replaced by Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar, the supervisor-elect. The second pay hike to 90 percent would begin on Dec. 8.

If the legislation passes on first reading on Tuesday, it would reappear on the January 10 agenda for final approval. It would be Gaspars first board meeting.

Due to term limits, Supervisors Bill Horn and Ron Roberts would benefit from the pay raise for, at most, 17 months. Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox will leave the board after 2020 because of term limits.

As in San Diego, many California counties tie supervisors pay to Superior Court judges base salary. Judicial compensation increases are based on a formula linked to the increases in pay for state unionized employees. In effect, San Diego County supervisors get a pay raise when the states union workers are paid more.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A feared wave of protectionism could undermine economic growth in Denmark, one of the countries most dependent on international trade, its new economy minister said on Monday.

"It is our single largest concern when it comes to the global economy," Simon Emil Ammitzboll told Reuters in the office he moved into two weeks ago when his Liberal Alliance party joined the government.

Britain's decision to leave the European Union and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's victory could be omens of a global tendency, a report from his ministry concluded on Monday.

"We are concerned with the trend we see around the world, that politicians are saying they will close access to their markets further and introduce protectionist policies," he said.

The government on Monday downgraded its forecast for export growth this year and next to 0.6 percent and 2.4 percent, from earlier forecasts of 1.0 percent and 3.3 percent respectively.

Falling global trade has especially hit Denmark's shipping sector. It is home to Maersk Line (MAERSKb.CO), the world's largest container carrier.

"It is important that ... we work for free international trade and to keep down protectionism," Ammitzboll said.

He said that the greatest domestic challenge was to avoid labour force bottlenecks in coming years.

(Editing by Andrew Roche)
At 17, Brae Hansen plotted with her older brother to ambush and kill their stepfather, a San Diego attorney, then lied to police to cover their tracks.

The pair tried to make it look as though Timothy MacNeil had been shot in his Rolando home by an intruder. But the plan failed, and both siblings were convicted of murder at the end of a high-profile trial.

Now 25, Hansen wants a judge to change her original sentence  life without the possibility of parole  to one that might give her a chance at freedom some day. She argued, and an appellate court agreed last week, that her current term violates her constitutional rights because she was a minor at the time she committed murder.

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Hansens case will be sent back to San Diego Superior Court. No new hearing date has been set.

Kim Bieda, who was MacNeils girlfriend at the time of this death, said she was horrified when she learned that Hansen could be resentenced. She said she and members of MacNeils family met with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis before the trial to discuss whether prosecutors would seek the death penalty in Hansens case.

Everyone agreed that life without parole was appropriate, Bieda said Wednesday. The jury got it right and for that to be second-guessed, I find offensive.

Hansen is among a few juvenile offenders who have asked courts in San Diego recently for resentencing hearings so they might one day have an opportunity to appear in front of a parole board. Many of those inmates, who are now adults, have been incarcerated for decades.

In their requests, the offenders cited the California Fair Sentencing for Youth Act, also known as Senate Bill 9, which allowed offenders serving life without parole for crimes they committed when they were under 18 to ask for resentencing.

Inmates who file petitions under that law have to have spent at least 15 years in prison.

Hansen challenged her sentence by citing a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The high court found that mandatory sentences of life without parole for people who were under 18 when they committed their crimes violates the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Juvenile justice advocates say the changes to federal and state law recognize that minors differ from adults, particularly in how they process information, make decisions, evaluate risk and respond to negative  and possibly older  influences.

Hansen has been in prison for five years. She was 19 when she went to trial in 2009 alongside her then-20-year-old brother, Nathaniel Gann. The cases were heard in front of separate juries.

Bieda said this week that she does not believe Hansen was following her brothers lead.

She wasnt under his influence, she said. They planned this. The idea was hers She set up the ambush. Frankly, shes an evil person to have murdered in this manner, with this amount of plotting, someone who had raised her as his daughter.

According to the testimony, Hansen called 911 on July 19, 2007, and reported that she and her stepfather had been attacked at their home on Marraco Drive.

MacNeil, 63, was shot four times. The gun used in the killing had belonged to the siblings mother, who committed suicide in 2006 by taking an overdose of pills.

Deputy District Attorney George Bennett, the prosecutor in the case, argued that Gann was the triggerman, but that Hansen was just as responsible for murder.

She lied to police, telling them after the shooting that she and her stepfather had been surprised by a robber dressed in black. MacNeil was shot, she said, when he refused to reveal the combination to a safe.

Police found Hansen standing near the body, her wrists bound with plastic zip ties. She told authorities she had dialed the phone with her tongue.

Investigators considered Hansen a victim at first, but grew suspicious when they noticed several inconsistencies in her story. Then she slipped and called the attacker by name: Nathan.

Bennett, who died of cancer months after the trial ended, did not establish a clear motive for the killing, but family members said she was driven by anger and greed. They said Hansen wanted inheritance money and thought her stepfather paid too much attention to his girlfriend.

A defense attorney argued in trial that Hansen had tried to back out of the plan to kill MacNeil, but her brother threatened her with a gun.

Ganns case was tried twice. The first time, the jury deadlocked 7 to 5 in favor of finding him guilty. Later, a different jury convicted Gann of first-degree murder but not the special-circumstance allegation, which would have made him eligible for life without parole. He was sentenced to 25 years to life.

Its likely that Hansen will ask for a similar prison term when her case is sent back to the trial court. She filed her petition with the 4th District Court of Appeal last year, asking that her sentence be reconsidered. Court records show that she served as her own lawyer.

According to the courts written opinion, the prosecution argued at Hansens 2009 sentencing hearing that the law required a presumption in favor of life without parole. Judge Frederic Link found no reason to reduce the term.

The appellate court did not fault Link for dutifully applying the law as it stood at the time but found that the sentence imposed raised serious constitutional concerns.

The Attorney Generals Office conceded that Hansen should get a new sentencing hearing, given a state Supreme Court decision this year in a case that dealt with similar issues.
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

A group dedicated to ensuring the memory of World War II pilots and a mighty military plane took to air over Santa Paula Airport on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, for its annual remembrance flight and Low Angle Bombing Competition.

The event was sponsored by the Condor Squadron Officers and Airmens Association out of Van Nuys Airport, which has local members as well as those out-of-towners that keep their planes at the historic Santa Paula airfield.

Will Tinsley of Santa Paula and his son Jordan took to the air Wednesday for the annual remembrance of those lost in the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, a surprise attack that killed more than 2,400 Americans. War was declared against Japan the next day and within three days World War II was launched.

Tinsley said Dick Sykes founded the Van Nuys-based nonprofit Condor Squadron so he and other aviation enthusiasts  including WWII fighter pilots  could preserve the memory of those who have served our country over the years, and to pay homage to the North American Aviation AT-6/SNJ trainers originally flown during World War II.

After the war the planes were often assigned to search and rescue duties with the National Guard and other units for training purposes, said Tinsley.

According to its website, The Condor Squadron is a unique non-profit organization founded in 1965 by a group of WWII fighter pilots, preserving a piece of aviation history that played an important part in securing the freedoms we cherish as a nation.

We proudly fly WWII, North American AT-6 airplanes in formation over parades, memorial services and events commemorating veterans, and the group maintains museum sites at the Van Nuys airport and the Portal of The Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation at the Valhalla Cemetery in Burbank.

In addition to the museums, the Condor Squadron provides community services such its annual Easter Egg Hunt  held at Van Nuys Airport and staged for generations of local residents  and visits from aviation and historical enthusiasts who frequent the airport.

Tinsley has been flying with the Condor Squadron for seven years: I remember them coming out to the airport since I was a little kid but I never thought Id fly with them.

The Condor Squadron also appears in air shows and stage a brief battle with other AT-6s painted to look like fighter planes of the German Luftwaffe.

The group has AT-6s owned by members as well as owned by the squadron organization.

Our founders, the original owners, started to get too old to fly, while others passed away, and the AT-6s started to change hands.

When our founder passed away, Tinsley said Sykes left four planes to the Condor Squadron.
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

Two Santa Paula men involved in a violent robbery pled guilty to various charges Friday in a Ventura County Superior Court.

According to Santa Paula Police Sgt. Cody Madison, at the December 2 preliminary court proceedings for suspects Adrian Lopez, 19, and Mark Anaya, 20, Pled guilty to different crimes. Lopez pled guilty to robbery, and is due to be sentenced Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

Anaya, said Madison, pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon.

Anaya was sentenced to one-year jail time and three years probation. Anaya, who has been in jail since his arrest in February and served without infractions, has already served his sentence and is currently not in custody, said Madison.

Due to his good behavior while in custody, Anayas one-year sentence was reduced resulting in his release.

Anaya and Lopez were arrested following a February 1 incident that involved an assault and robbery that occurred about 6:43 p.m. in the 400 block of Ojai Road.
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

The Santa Paula Society of the Arts (SPSA) will host a Holiday Meeting and Art Demonstration Sunday featuring an acclaimed artist and award winner.

Santa Paula Art & Photography Show Best of Show winner Benvenido Boi Sibug will be the Demonstration Artist at the December 13 meeting, held in the Upper Gallery of the Santa Paula Railroad Depot located at 963 Santa Barbara St. The free meeting  open free to the public  will start at 2 p.m.

According to SPSA President Virginia Gunderson, Mr. Sibug has been an entrant and supporter of our annual Santa Paula Art & Photography Show for many years.

In the 79th annual exhibit held earlier this year that drew hundreds of entries, Sibug took the top show prize in an artistic change of pace with his Graphics & Mixed Media entry, a drawing named Bearded Man.

For more than 35 years Sibug has been capturing the essence of a typical world he grew up in with his paintings, portraits, designs and photographs. He is originally from the Philippines, where he studied fine arts; Sibug painted, worked in advertising agencies and exhibited his works in more than 70 art shows.

Sibug moved to the island of Guam in 1992 to accomplish more works described by Asian art critics as A Collection of Artistic Gems.
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

A Santa Paula High School project using mealworms to learn more about wildlife led to a fundraising effort that will support a freeway-crossing corridor.

Elizabeth Mitchell, a Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher at SPHS, said she first did an engineering project with My bio students about wildlife corridors and their ability to maintain or increase genetic diversity.

Students had to design their group corridor and had a limit on size and price for the project.

Because students were using models in the classroom, We couldnt use large mammals as test subjects, so, said Mitchell, we used mealworms as the migrators!

Teams were formed for the project and Mitchell said other students observed each pretend city, each habitat named Mitchellville after the teacher.

She said the project was not only a lot of fun but students also learned a lot of different skills  such as project collaboration  that you could find in the workplace. This type of lesson is an inquiry teaching method where students explore before discovering more specifics about a topic. In this case, students learned about the mountain lion population and genetic diversity crisis we are having in the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding areas like the Los Padres National Forest right in our backyard.

Mitchell said, These large mammals used to be able to roam more freely, but are now limited by the fragmented habitats that we have created because of the infrastructure we have built like cities, fences and roads.

In an effort to encourage students to get involved in taking action on issues like these, Mitchell showed them the non-profit working on this issue, http://www.nwf.org/Save-LA-Cougars/Wildlife-Crossing.aspx

The organization has proposed constructing a wildlife overpass over Highway 101 in the Agoura area.

I asked them if they wanted to donate and I was surprised to find that so many students did want to, they were ready to give right on the spot. For one week I decided to run a tally of each classes total and have them compete with who raised the most money. Each day they wanted to know the totals of the other classes.
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

The 2016 Presidential Election was one for the books, the record books according to Ventura County Clerk Recorder/Registrar of Voters Mark Lunn who announced Friday the official final election results for the November 8, 2016 election.

Santa Paula also saw a stronger than usual turnout, at least for those casting ballots for and against a sales tax measure.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Lunn said a total of 363,285 ballots were cast in this election. 60.2 percent of the ballots cast by mail. Only 39.8 percent were cast at the 366 polling places located throughout Ventura County, showing the continued  and rising  popularity of voting by mail.

Final results for the November 8 election revealed an 82 percent voter turnout, the highest according to Lunn, in Ventura County history. It was a big year for Ventura County Elections, not only did we have a record year for voter registration, but also voter turnout. Its always exciting to witness citizens engaged in the democratic process.

Eighty-one percent of Ventura County voters had cast ballots in the 2008 Presidential Election.

During the 2016 post-election canvass period, the Elections Division released semi-official result updates twice weekly. California Law allows 28 days (December 6, 2016) after Election Day for the County Registrar of Voters to certify election results.

The November 8 Presidential General Election marks the 25th consecutive election in Ventura County certified before the deadline since 2010.
Santa Paula News

Santa Paula High sophomores Jessica Perez and Marlen De Silva received invitations to attend this years Hoby Conference being held at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

The Santa Paula Lions sponsored De Silva with a check to cover the cost of his attending, and the Santa Paula school district will cover the cost of Perez.

The Hoby Leadership,founded in 1958 by the late actor Hugh OBrien is a leadership conference for high school sophomores that help students learn about community service and leadership. The students will spend three days living in the college dorms, talking with college students, attending meetings,and listening to motivational speakers.
Charlotte, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/13/2016 -- Stephen Hopkins was from Hampshire, England. He married his first wife, Mary, and resided in the parish of Hursley, Hampshire. They had three (3) children: Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles; all baptized there. It has long been claimed that the Hopkins family was from Wortley, Gloucester, but this was disproven in 1998 with the discovery of his true origins in Hursley.



http://mayflowerhistory.com/hopkins-stephen/



Stephen Hopkins went with the ship Sea Venture on a voyage to Jamestown, Virginia in 1609 as a minister's clerk, but the ship wrecked in the "Isle of Devils" (Bermuda). Stranded on an island for ten months, the passengers and crew survived on turtles, birds, and wild pigs. Six months into the castaway, Stephen Hopkins and several others organized a mutiny against the current governor. The mutiny was discovered and Stephen was sentenced to death. However, he pleaded with sorrow and tears. "So penitent he was, and made so much moan, alleging the ruin of his wife and children in this his trespass, as it wrought in the hearts of all the better sorts of the company." He managed to get his sentence commuted. Eventually the castaways built a small ship and sailed themselves to Jamestown. How long Stephen remained in Jamestown is not known. However, while he was gone, his wife Mary died. She was buried in Hursley on 9 May 1613, and left behind a probate estate which mentions her children Elizabeth, Constance and Giles.



Stephen was back in England by 1617, when he married Elizabeth Fisher, but apparently had every intention of bringing his family back to Virginia. Their first child, Damaris, was born about 1618. In 1620, Stephen Hopkins brought his wife and children Constance, Giles, and Damaris on the Mayflower (child Elizabeth apparently had died). Stephen was a fairly active member of the Pilgrim group shortly after arrival, perhaps a result of his being one of the few individuals who had been to Virginia previously. He was a part of all the early exploring missions, and was used as an "expert" on Native Americans for the first few contacts. While out exploring, Stephen recognized and identified an Indian deer trap. And when Samoset walked into Plymouth and welcomed the English, he was housed in Stephen Hopkins' house for the night. Stephen was also sent on several of the ambassadorial missions to meet with the various Indian groups in the region.



Stephen was an assistant to the governor through 1636, and volunteered for the Pequot War of 1637 but was never called to serve. By the late 1630s, however, Stephen began to occasionally run afoul of the Plymouth authorities, as he apparently opened up a shop and served alcohol. In 1636 he got into a fight with John Tisdale and seriously wounded him. In 1637, he was fined for allowing drinking and shuffleboard playing on Sunday. Early the next year he was fined for allowing people to drink excessively in his house: guest William Reynolds was fined, but the others were acquitted. In 1638 he was twice fined for selling beer at twice the actual value, and in 1639 he was fined for selling a looking glass for twice what it would cost if bought in the Bay Colony. Also in 1638, Stephen Hopkins' maidservant got pregnant from Arthur Peach, who was subsequently executed for murdering an Indian. The Plymouth Court ruled he was financially responsible for her and her child for the next two years (the amount remaining on her term of service). Stephen, in contempt of court, threw Dorothy out of his household and refused to provide for her, so the court committed him to custody. John Holmes stepped in and purchased Dorothy's remaining two years of service from him: agreeing to support her and child.



Stephen died in 1644, and made out a will, asking to be buried near his wife, and naming his surviving children.



BAPTISM: 30 April 1581 at Upper Clatford, Hampshire, England, son of John and Elizabeth (Williams) Hopkins.

FIRST MARRIAGE: Mary, possibly the daughter of Robert and Joan (Machell) Kent of Hursley, co. Hampshire, prior to 1604.

SECOND MARRIAGE: Elizabeth Fisher on 19 February 1617/8 at St. Mary Matfellon, Whitechapel, co. Middlesex, England.

CHILDREN (by Mary): Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles.

CHILDREN (by Elizabeth): Damaris, Oceanus, Caleb, Deborah, Damaris, Ruth, and Elizabeth.

DNA HAPLOGROUP: R1b-M269



Charlotte, North Carolina General Society of Mayflower Descendant, Adam Paul Green (Ancestor Stephen Hopkins / Gen.No. 86,723) Introduces New Geneology Resource Website for Local Enthusiasts http://www.AdamPaulGreen.com



Women of Early Plymouth: Governor William Bradford reported that the Pilgrims were worried that the "weak bodies of women" would not be able to withstand the rigors of a trans-Atlantic voyage and the construction of a colony. Prior to the Mayflower, very few English women had made the voyage across the ocean.



Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke colony arrived in Virginia in 1587, and amongst those 120 colonists there were 17 women: a baby girl, Virginia Dare, was born after arrival. When re-supply ships came from England, they could not relocate the people. The colony had mysteriously disappeared, and was never seen again. The Jamestown Colony was founded in 1607, but relatively few women had yet made the voyage and taken up residence there.



The Pilgrim husband, as head of the household, had an important and difficult decision to make. Building a colony would be hard on a woman's "weaker body." It might be safer and healthier to leave her behind, and have her come later once the houses were built, and the general safety and successfulness of the colony were better established. But that could be several years. Could he live several years without his wife? How strong was his wife anyway, could she really handle it? Was it right to put your wife's life in danger in this manner?



As the Mayflower left England for America, there were 18 adult women on-board. Three of them, Elizabeth Hopkins, Susanna White, and Mary Allerton, were actually in their last trimester of a pregnancy. All the adult women on the Mayflower were married; there were no single women--although there were a few teenage girls nearing marriageable age.



While no women would die during the Mayflower's voyage, life after arrival proved extremely difficult. In fact, 78% of the women would die the first winter, a far higher percentage than for men or children. Dorothy Bradford was the first woman to die, and the only woman who died in the month of December. While many of the men, including her husband, were out exploring on Cape Cod, she accidentally fell off the Mayflower into the bitter cold waters of Provincetown Harbor. Most of the women's death dates were not recorded, but we do know that Rose Standish died on January 29, Mary Allerton died on February 25, and Elizabeth Winslow died on March 24. Most of the women died in February and March.



The extremely high mortality rate among women is probably explainable by the fact the men were out in the fresh air, felling trees, building structures and drinking fresh New England water; while the women were confined to the damp, filthy and crowded quarters offered by the Mayflower, where disease would have spread much more quickly. The two-month voyage was long enough; the women, however, remained living on the ship for an additional four months while the men built storehouses and living quarters on shore. Many of the sick were no doubt cared for on-board the ship by the women, increasing their exposure to colds and pneumonias. William Mullins died on February 21, apparently on-board the Mayflower since his will was witnessed by the ship's captain and ship's surgeon. His wife Alice and son Joseph had not yet died, but it wasn't too long before they did, orphaning their teenage daughter Priscilla in the New World.



Only five women survived the first winter. One of the five survivors, Mrs. Katherine Carver, died in May of a "broken heart," her husband John having died of sunstroke a month earlier. Weak bodies or not, by the time of the famous "Thanksgiving," there were only four women left to care for the Colony's fifty surviving men and children. The four women were Eleanor Billington, Elizabeth Hopkins, Mary Brewster, and Susanna (White) Winslow.



http://mayflowerhistory.com/women



The Mayflower was hired in London, and sailed from London to Southampton in July 1620 to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage--much of which was purchased at Southampton. The Pilgrims were mostly still living in the city of Leiden, in the Netherlands. They hired a ship called the Speedwell to take them from Delfshaven, the Netherlands, to Southampton, England, to meet up with the Mayflower. The two ships planned to sail together to Northern Virginia. The Speedwell departed Delfthaven on July 22, and arrived at Southampton, where they found the Mayflower waiting for them. The Speedwell had been leaking on her voyage from the Netherlands to England, though, so they spent the next week patching her up.



On August 5, the two ships finally set sail for America. But the Speedwell began leaking again, so they pulled into the town of Dartmouth for repairs, arriving there about August 12. The Speedwell was patched up again, and the two ships again set sail for America about August 21. After the two ships had sailed about 300 miles out to sea, the Speedwell again began to leak. Frustrated with the enormous amount of time lost, and their inability to fix the Speedwell so that it could be sea-worthy, they returned to Plymouth, England, and made the decision to leave the Speedwell behind. The Mayflower would go to America alone. The cargo on the Speedwell was transferred over to the Mayflower; some of the passengers were so tired and disappointed with all the problems that they quit and went home. Others crammed themselves onto the already very crowded Mayflower.



Finally, on September 6, the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, and headed for America. By the time the Pilgrims had left England, they had already been living onboard the ships for nearly a month and a half. The voyage itself across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days, from their departure on September 6, until Cape Cod was sighted on 9 November 1620. The first half of the voyage went fairly smoothly, the only major problem was sea-sickness. But by October, they began encountering a number of Atlantic storms that made the voyage treacherous. Several times, the wind was so strong they had to just drift where the weather took them; it was not safe to use the ship's sails. The Pilgrims intended to land in Northern Virginia, which at the time included the region as far north as the Hudson River in the modern State of New York. The Hudson River, in fact, was their originally intended destination. They had received good reports on this region while in the Netherlands. All things considered, the Mayflower was almost right on target, missing the Hudson River by just a few degrees.



As the Mayflower approached land, the crew spotted Cape Cod just as the sun rose on November 9. The Pilgrims decided to head south, to the mouth of the Hudson River in New York, where they intended to make their plantation. However, as the Mayflower headed south, it encountered some very rough seas, and nearly shipwrecked. The Pilgrims then decided, rather than risk another attempt to go south they would just stay and explore Cape Cod. They turned back north, rounded the tip, and anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor. The Pilgrims would spend the next month and a half exploring Cape Cod, trying to decide where they would build their plantation. On December 25, 1620, they had finally decided upon Plymouth, and began construction of their first buildings.



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About MayflowerHistory.com

MayflowerHistory.com, the Internet's most complete and accurate website dealing with the Mayflower passengers and the history of the Pilgrims and early Plymouth Colony. The website was first created back in 1994 (when the web was still mostly text!) as a simple, but complete, passenger list of the Mayflower. It has grown over the past twenty years as the author, historian Caleb Johnson, has researched and compiled material.



http://mayflowerhistory.com
Salt Lake City, UT -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/13/2016 -- Over the past 50 years in business Hoj Engineering is expanding operations into nearby properties, until recently, the company operated out of four business properties. In the past year, the company orchestrated a consolidation of operations into a new 55,000 square foot corporate center to make room for the growth of the distribution engineering and technology divisions. Hoj Engineering provides professional services in design of distribution operations and supply of innovative software solutions for warehouse fulfilment including deployment of WarehouseOS and integration of fulfilment conveyor solutions to the growing ecommerce and distribution market.



"The new corporate center will bring together all of the parts and field services divisions that service conveyor, overhead cranes, forklifts, dock equipment, and overhead doors. Field service dispatch of over 50 service and installation vehicles will be coordinated with the new customer care department. We are excited that the new building will also feature a large repair shop and central parts and general warehousing," noted Tim Hoj, president of Hoj Engineering.



About Hoj Engineering & Sales Co. Inc.

Hoj Engineering, based in Utah, with clients throughout the United States, are a leader in warehouse distribution consulting and material handling solutions. Hoj (pronounce Hoy) opened their doors more than fifty years ago as an engineering-driven family business with a mission to change the industry. Today Hoj Engineering & Sales Company operates with 150 employees and over 50 service vehicles.



Tim Hoj, CEO of the company, shared that all at the firm are passionate for providing the most rigorous and creative design solutions, backed up by exceptional customer service and friendly, caring people. Hoj Engineering's goal is to extend the boundaries of modern material handling and logistics, one customer at a time.



Hoj Engineering specializes in internal logistic design, space utilization, productivity and process improvement studies, and app driven inventory management solutions. The company provides support to the distribution, fulfillment, and manufacturing industries throughout the United States. Some of their satisfied customers include Sparkle in Pink, Pitman Creek Wholesale, Backcountry.com, and CampSaver.com. Contact Hoj Engineering at http://www.hoj.net/contact-us/.
Elon Musk has a great year this 2016; his companies and himself received several awards. The failure of SpaceX last Septemeber may be bad, but SpaceX won the World Technology Summit Space category under the organization.

On Dec. 8, 2016, at the Los Angeles Times HQ building in California, The World Technology Network hosted its World Technology Summit. It has announced winners in the 20 categories. SpaceX got the award for its Space category in the field of innovation.

The Teslarati reported that the goal of the World Technology Network is to establish a forum for the innovators in different disciplines in emerging technologies, to look for unique and new ways to collaborate. On its website, it stated that, "The WTN exists to encourage happy accidents of colliding ideas and new relationships that cause the biggest breakthroughs for individuals and institutions. Through global and regional events for its members. To help make connections among them and to examine possible applications of emerging technologies."

The nominees for the Space category, originally composed of 20 companies. Then it is eliminated down to five. SpaceX competed against Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Rocket Lab and Planet Labs, as well as with the Bigelow Aerospace.

However, to be a member of the network, it is only granted through the annual awards process. Its judging is done by the current Fellows. The Summit is then followed by the World Technology Awards gala. It is a two-day conference that took place at the United Nations, panel discussions, networking and comprising of keynote addresses.

As for Elon Musk, in 2014 he won the individual award for innovation in energy and space technology. Now, Jeff Bezos got the individual award for the 2016 "space" category.

Thus, it is a great year for Elon Musk, as he is awarded the most admirable tech leader. And for SpaceX, it belongs to the Glassdoor's 2016 Top 50 "Best Places to Work."
The scientists traced ammonia in the upper troposphere, which is the lowest atmospheric layer of Earth, for the first time. They discovered increased amounts of ammonia (NH3) between 12 and 15 km height in the Asian monsoon.

The findings of the discovery were published in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics journal. It was led by researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The find indicates that this gas produces the formation of aerosols, tiniest particles that might contribute to cloud formation, according to Science Daily.

The team used the MIPAS infrared spectrometer to detect the ammonia in the upper troposphere. They said that they have presented the first evidence of ammonia being present in Earth's upper troposphere above 6.2 miles (10 km). They further said that the region and period of detection are confined to the Asian summer monsoon system. They detected a concentration of ammonia of up to 33 pptv (33 NH3 molecules per trillion air molecules).

Ammonia or also referred to as "azane" is a chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell. This gas originates from agricultural processes such as from livestock farming and fertilization. Currently, the highest ammonia emissions are in Southeast China and North India.

Once the ammonia is released as an agricultural emission in an increased level, the local ecosystem is polluted and could trigger the formation of new clouds. This could also induce existing clouds in the above atmosphere and has a role in the aerosol formation in the troposphere.

NASA explained that aerosols could modify the size of cloud particles and alter how the clouds reflect and absorb sunlight. This leads to fog and much redder sunrises and sunsets.

According to Science Alert, the accumulation of aerosols in the troposphere could have a cooling effect. This could make up for the human-caused greenhouse effect.
The scientists have detected clouds of rubies and sapphire on a gas giant planet referred to as HAT-P-7b. This super-sized planet is 16 times larger than the Earth and about 1,000 lightyears away from Earth.

The discovery was led by Dr. David Armstrong of Warwick Astrophysics Group and other colleagues. Dr. Armstrong found that the HAT-P-7b is influenced by massive scale changes in the strong winds that move across the giant gas planet. This would likely lead to catastrophic storms.

This gas giant planet is inhabitable due to its sadistic weather systems and severe temperatures. The one side of the gas giant planet always faces the star because it is tidally locked. Meanwhile, the other side is much hotter than the other with an average temperature of 2860 K, according to Science Daily.

Dr. Armstrong commented on the discovery. He said that by using the NASA Kepler satellite, they could study the light reflected from HAT-P-7b's atmosphere. They found that its atmosphere was changing over time and the planet is tidally locked. They also expect clouds to shape on the cold night side of the planet. On the other hand, they would evaporate fast on the hot dayside.

First time that weather systems have been observed on an exoplanet. On HAT-P-7b it's raining rubies https://t.co/61ucalEGsG  Caspar Henderson (@casparhenderson) December 12, 2016

The results indicate that strong winds circle the planet and transporting clouds from the night side to the day side, according to Dr. Armstrong. He further said that the winds change speed dramatically that leads to large cloud formations building up then vanishing away. He then said that this is the first detection of weather on a gas giant planet outside the solar system.

In the discovery, the team found that the clouds are made up of corundum, which is the mineral that forms rubies and sapphires. On the other hand, more detail is required to identify the cloud's exact make-up, according to New Scientist.
Drone

A new documentary, "National Bird," exposes the secret drone war being carried out in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere from the ground level of the strike and from the perspective of three military operators who used to pull the trigger.

"When you watch someone in those dying moments, what their reaction is, how theyre reacting and what theyre doing," Heather Linebaugh, a former drone imagery analyst, says in the film. "Its so primitive. Its really raw, stripped down, death."

Though unmanned systems have been used for many years to carry out surveillance, it wasn't until after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks  on February 4, 2002  that a drone was armed and used for targeted killing. That 2002 strike apparently killed three civilians mistaken for Osama bin Laden and his confidantes, a theme that went on to play out again and again.

Armed drones have operated since in Afghanistan and many other countries in which the US is not at war, including Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan. They have been used to strike militants and terror leaders over the years  a program accelerated under the Obama administration  but it has come at a deadly cost, with thousands of innocent civilians killed, to include hundreds of children.

"I can say the drone program is wrong because I dont know how many people Ive killed," Linebaugh says.

Linebaugh and two others, introduced only by their first names Daniel and Lisa, tell equally compelling stories from their time in the military's drone program. The film gives them a chance to shine a light on what is a highly secretive program, which officials often describe as offering near-surgical precision against terrorists that may someday do harm to US interests.

Instead, the three offer pointed critiques to that narrative, sharing poignant details of deaths they witnessed through their sophisticated cameras and sensors. The most disturbing thing about being involved with the drone program, Daniel said, was the lack of clarity about whom he killed and whether they were civilians.

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"Theres no way of knowing," he says.

Darpa Drone

Though the testimony of the three operators is compelling, the documentary's most important moments come from a visit to Afghanistan, where the documentary showcases a family that was wrongly targeted by a strike. It was on February 21, 2010, when three vehicles carrying more than two-dozen civilians were hit by an Air Force drone crew.

"That's when we heard the sound of a plane but we couldn't see it," one victim says.

Filmmaker Sonia Kennebeck mixes witness statements with a reenactment of overhead imagery and voices reading from the transcript prior to the strike. A later investigation found that the operators of the Predator drone offered "inaccurate and unprofessional" reporting of what they saw.

During the incident, the drone operators reported seeing "at least five dudes so far." Eventually, they reported 21 "military-age males," no females, and two possible children, which they said were approximately 12 years old.

"Twelve, 13 years old with a weapon is just as dangerous," one drone operator says. The operators never got positive identification of the people below having weapons.

That's because the group consisted only of innocent men, women, and children, according to the documentary. Twenty-three Afghan civilians were killed, including two children aged seven and four.

"We thought they would stop when they saw women, but they just kept bombing us," the mother of the children says.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then the commander of US forces in the country, apologized for the strike. Four officers involved were disciplined.

The documentary cuts through the defense of drones as a "surgical" weapon that only kills the bad guys. As many reports have made clear, the US often doesn't know exactly who it is killing in a drone strike, instead hazarding an "imperfect guess," according to The New York Times, which is sometimes based merely on a location or suspicious behavior.

That imperfect guess has often resulted in the death of innocent locals  or, as was the case in 2015, the death of two men, an American, and an Italian, who were being held hostage by militants.

As Daniel points out in the documentary, the presence of drones on the battlefield has only emboldened commanders, who no longer have to risk military personnel in raids and can fire a missile instead. That viewpoint only seems to be growing, as the technology gets better and drones continue to proliferate around the world.

US Air Force 2014 predator drones

The drone may continue to be the "national bird" of the US military for a long time, but perhaps the documentary can start a conversation around their use and whether they create more terrorists, as has been argued, than they are able to take out.

"Not everybody is a freakin terrorist. We need to just get out of that mindset," says Lisa, a former Air Force technical sergeant, in the documentary. "Imagine if this was happening to us. Imagine if our children were walking outside of their door and it was a sunny day, and they were afraid because they didnt know if today was the day that something was going to fall out of the sky and kill someone close to them. How would we feel?"

NOW WATCH: EX-UNDERCOVER DEA AGENT: What I told my friends and family about my job





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FLORENCE, S.C.  Affordable Colleges Online, a nationally recognized reviewer of distance learning in higher education, has ranked Francis Marion University as one of the best online colleges in South Carolina.

Affordable Colleges cited FMUs impressive student-professor ratio and relative affordability as some of the facets of the universitys ranking.

In recent years, Francis Marion has been adding online offerings, including masters-level programs in nursing, business and education.

Affordable Online Colleges evaluated schools based on criteria such as student-to-teacher ratio and the number of online programs offered.

We wanted to highlight the schools in each state that are driving innovative learning and meeting demands of students, Dan Schuessler, CEO and founder of Affordable Colleges Online, said in a news release. These schools are not only offering great programs, but they have expanded their program excellence to the much-desired online environment.

For more information, visit Online.org.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The essence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs legacy is unity, and two civil rights activist groups in Florence showed just that on Monday.

What started as a miscommunication on the formation of two MLK Day marches turned into an olive branch moment and a pledge to work together in future planning.

Last week organizers of the Annual MLK March for Freedom and Justice  an event led by late Councilman Ed Robinson for 17 year  held a news conference to decry the formation of a separate march, citing division within Florences black community.

Tim Waters, a local activist and confidant of Robinson, initially applied for accommodations tax dollars and requested a permit to hold additional MLK Day marches that would meet with the other group in downtown Florence.

After weeks of back-and-forth communication and misconstrued intentions, the controversy came to a head at Mondays city council meeting. Waters decided to withdraw his requests for funding and cancel plans for another march.

Social change is never easy," he said. "I came up with an idea thats different, and that wasnt received well. That group is a great group of people and a great group of friends. We may not always see eye-to-eye, but we all want the same thing. We can heal from this and make Florence what it needs to be.

Former City Councilman Billy D. Williams, an organizer of the original march, said there is always room for suggestions

We are one Florence, he said. Theres no winner or loser here. There was simply a misunderstanding that I think weve brought some closure to. Well move on, and more importantly, well come together and iron out any differences. We all live together, we worship together, we work together and we can all march together.

Councilman George Jebaily said this was a prime example of a community coming together and resolving a problem.

Everybody showed an understanding that the meaning of this march is much bigger than themselves, he said. Unity within a community is key, and this shows unity in Florence.

This years march will be called the Annual MLK March in Remembrance of Councilman Ed Robinson. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 16.

The march will begin at Shekinah Glory Seventh Day Adventist Church on Oakland Avenue. It will continue toward Lucas Street, cross over the MLK Bridge, make a right onto Cheves Street, a left onto Dargan Street and conclude with a program at the Poynor Adult Education facility.

This event is free and open to everyone.
Tomorrow, all eyes will be on New York Citys Trump Tower as President-Elect Donald Trump sits down with Silicon Valleys top tech leaders. While the meetings agenda has yet to be disclosed, it is safe to assume themes like job creation, immigration, regulation, and encryption will all be likely discussion topics.

Its been well documented that the vast majority of Silicon Valley leaders opposed Trump during the presidential election, with some helping and fund-raising for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during her campaign. The Obama administration has acted largely favorable towards large tech corporations over the years, from its net-neutrality policywhich requires internet providers to treat all web traffic equallyto its hands-off tactics to the tech industrys growing concentration of power.

Joining Trump on his side of the table will be Reince Preibus, his chief of staff, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and key transition team member Peter Thiel, a tech investor who was one of the few Silicon Valley names to support Mr. Trump.

Expected tech executives include:

Apple AAPL Chief Executive Tim Cook

Facebook FB Chief Operating Officer and Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg

Microsoft MSFT CEO Satya Nadella

Amazon AMZN CEO and The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos

Tesla Motors TSLA CEO Elon Musk

Alphabet GOOGL CEO and Chairman Larry Page and Eric Schmidt

Intel INTC CEO Brian Krzanich

IBM IBM CEO Ginni Rometty

Oracle ORCL co-CEO Safra Catz

Cisco CSCO CEO Chuck Robbins

Surprisingly, Twitter TWTR CEO Jack Dorsey will not be present at the meeting, given how much Mr. Trump prefers the social networking platform over others.

Many of these tech companies, including Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, saw their shares slide the day after the election on worries that a Trump presidency would negatively affect their manufacturing and product distribution methods here in the U.S. and especially abroad.

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One area of common ground, however, could be tax reform. According to the Wall Street Journal, the president-elect is expected to promote corporate tax reform, which, depending on the details, could enable U.S. tech companies to bring home hundreds of billions of dollars they currently hold offshore.

The meeting is set for 2:00pm on Wednesday afternoon, and the world will be watching, waiting to learn all the minute details, hoping for, at least, some agreement on key issues, and realizing that the tech industry and Mr. Trump may need more from each other than either is willing to give.

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Donald Trump

President-elect Donald Trump continued to express skepticism on Monday about whether Russian hackers interfered in the US election, insisting that if Republicans had made that accusation, it would be treated as a "conspiracy theory."

"Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card," Trump tweeted. "It would be called conspiracy theory!"

He continued: "Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?"

The Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security had said one month before the election, however, that officials were "confident" the Russian government directed hacks on US political institutions.

Internal emails from members of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign, were leaked online throughout the campaign.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reported on Friday that an assessment by the CIA concluded that Russia interfered in the election to help Trump's presidential bid.

Trump has been reluctant to pin blame for the hacks on Russia. In an interview that aired on "Fox News Sunday," he called the claim "ridiculous" and "just another excuse" for Clinton's surprise loss last month.

NOW WATCH: 'I don't believe it': Trump slams reports of Russian election hacking





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Norwegian Jade will sail Sundays to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' new southern Belize destination, Harvest Caye.

The ship will also operate two eight-day holiday sailings this month that add a stop at Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala.

And, marking the first time Norwegian Cruise Line has offered sailings longer than a week from Tampa, Norwegian Jade will operate two 10-day and two 11-day eastern Caribbean cruises.

The 10-day cruises sail Jan. 15 and March 19 to Key West, Tortola, Antigua, St. Maarten and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Norwegian will call at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for the first time with Norwegian Jades 11-day cruises on Jan. 25 and March 29. Additional ports include Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, St. Thomas or Tortola and San Juan.

'Norwegian is an outstanding cruise partner, and we look forward to many more years of welcoming them as an important part of our robust cruise business,' port president and ceo Paul Anderson said.

Norwegian Star operated from Tampa last winter.
First, there is the election. When asked for views about a Trump presidency, Kurt Nagle, the ceo of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), speaking on a conference call, pointed out that Trump had mentioned harbour deepening, a lightning rod issue for AAPA members, at a recent rally on a tour around the US heartland to thank voters for their support.

Nagle said, We think that there is a recognition by the new administration that we need to invest.in our transportation infrastructureand specifically our freight infrastructure, if we are to compete internationally.

There is more, the conference call itself, organized by the AAPA and another group promoting surface transportation, had the purpose of recapping developments on the one year anniversary of the Fixing Americas Transportation Act (FAST Act), which sets aside $11bn for freight handling, over a five year period, included within a much larger funding authorization.

In a prepared statement, Nagle said: For the first time we have dedicated funding for multimodal freight projects. This is a big step forward. It shows that Congress and the Administration firmly recognize that seaports must be connected to Americas surface transportation network in order for the freight network to be efficient.

The conference coincided with the release of an AAPA-led report The State of Freight II, amplifying on the AAPAs estimate that $29bn would be needed in the next decade, for baseline investments in seaport landside infrastructure.

One example, mentioned on the call by Maryland Port Administrations deputy chair Kathleen Broadwater concerned a railway tunnel, built in the 1890s, connecting the Port of Baltimore with the network of the CSX railroad, that must be raised to allow the movement of trains with double stacked containers. When asked about a desired funding mix, Broadwater suggested equal tranches from the private side, the State (in this case, Maryland) and from funding mechanisms under the FAST Act.

The AAPA call also coincided with other developments that are viewed as auspicious for the seaports, and for inland waterways which also depend on Federal funding for maintenance of river depths. A revised Water Resources Development Act is now in the final stages of its tortuous voyage through the U.S. legislative process.

Under the latest drafts of the bill, dubbed Water Infrastructure Improvement for the Nation (or WIIN), the allowable harbour dredging depth would be increased to 50 feet (from the present 45 feet) on harbor deepening projects, which become eligible for a 75% federal contribution. Additionally ports will also gain better access to money previously withheld by the Federal government, out of a trust fund built up on collections from the Harbor Maintenance Tax - a levy on each container imported into the US.
ASL Marine is holding a meeting of bondholders on 16 December ahead of consent of solicitation exercise.

The meeting is with holders of its SGD100m notes due in 2017 and SGD50m notes due in 2018. No details of the planned consent for solicitation exercise.

Noteholders should note that no resolutions are being proposed for adoption at the informal meeting, which is not intended to, and does not constitute, a meeting convened pursuant to the Trust Deed relating to the notes, ASL Marine said.

ASL Marine is the latest listed Singapore shipping and offshore company to seek to restructure its notes. While some such Marco Polo Marine have been successful, others such as Swissco failed and went under judicial management.
The subsidiary yard of privately-owned Sinopacific Shipbuilding had gone into liquidation in August this year, and embarked on a debt restructuring in November upon approval by the court.

A recent statement from SOE said the embattled company is seeking investors to help pay its debts and allow operations to continue.

Potential investors are requested to express their interests by 31 December 2016.

At a first meeting of creditors last month, it was revealed that a total of 418 creditors are chasing for RMB8.8bn ($1.27bn) owed by SOE.
(Adds report on interior secretary, Miller appointment)

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump named the head of Exxon Mobil Corp, Rex Tillerson, as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and won backing from some Republican foreign policy figures ahead of a possible Senate fight over the oilman's ties to Russia.

The Exxon CEO potentially faces difficulties getting confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Some lawmakers worry about his links to Moscow and opposition to U.S. sanctions on Russia, which awarded him a friendship medal in 2013.

But several Republican establishment figures, including former secretaries of state James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates vouched for Tillerson, 64, who has spent more than 40 years at the oil company.

Rice and Gates, who have worked for Exxon as consultants, both issued statements of support on Tuesday.

Their backing could be crucial for Tillerson receiving the approval he needs in the Senate, where Republicans will have a slim majority when Trump takes office on Jan 20.

"The fact that Condi Rice, James Baker and Bob Gates are recommending Tillerson carries considerable weight," said Senator Jeff Flake, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

By choosing Tillerson, Trump adds another person to his Cabinet and circle of advisers who may favor a soft line toward Moscow, which is under U.S. sanctions for its 2014 annexation of Crimea and at the center of allegations that it launched cyber attacks to disrupt the U.S. presidential election.

Republican foreign policy hawks in the Senate like John McCain and Lindsey Graham are likely to give Tillerson a rough time at a confirmation hearing in early January.

"It's very well known that he has a very close relationship with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin," said McCain, the Republican party's 2008 nominee for president.

Republicans will have a majority of just 52-48 in the Senate, and only a few defections from their ranks would block Tillerson if every Democrat also opposed him.

Story continues

'CLEAR-EYED ADVOCATE'

Trump said in a statement that Tillerson will reverse policies that left America less safe. "He will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests," Trump said.

Trump upset U.S. allies during his campaign by calling for a better relationship with Russia and questioning the usefulness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the U.S.-led military bloc created after World War II to counter the Soviet Union.

Trump has also pledged to confront China on trade and territorial issues and temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, angering many Islamic countries.

Tillerson has foreign experience from years of cutting deals with foreign countries for his company, the world's largest energy firm. In 2012, Tillerson signed a deal with Russian state oil giant Rosneft to jointly develop oil fields in western Siberia.

He has been chief executive of Exxon Mobil since 2006 but like Trump he has never held public office.

Tillerson said in a statement that he shared the president-elect's "vision for restoring the credibility of the United States."

Exxon Mobil said its board will meet soon regarding its transition.

Trump was also poised to add another figure with close ties to the oil industry to his Cabinet.

A source close to the transition said Trump had chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry, whose state is a leading oil producer, as his nominee for energy secretary, with an announcement expected soon.

Perry met Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, part of a series of meetings that included Rapper Kanye West on Tuesday.

Politico reported Trump also has offered the position of interior secretary to Montana first-term Rep. Ryan Zinke, an ex-Navy SEAL commander who was an early Trump supporter. It said Zinke has yet to accept the offer.

Trump also appointed Stephen Miller, a top policy aide during the campaign, to be his senior adviser for policy. Miller had been an adviser to U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who Trump has nominated to be attorney general.

In 2013, Putin bestowed a Russian state honor, the Order of Friendship, on Tillerson, citing his work "strengthening cooperation in the energy sector."

There also has been controversy over alleged Russian interference in the Nov. 8 presidential election, with the CIA concluding that Moscow had intervened to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Tillerson's "cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department," Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump and Tillerson were "pragmatic people" who could help America and Russia build a mutually beneficial relationship.

A group of U.S. state attorneys general is investigating Exxon for allegedly misleading the public about climate change and some environmental groups are alarmed Exxon's CEO could be America's top diplomat.

Exxon has said it has acknowledged the reality of climate change for years. Tillerson told a congressional hearing in 2010 he thought humanity contributed to climate change but the science was unclear about the size of the contribution. "It is extremely complicated," he told the hearing.

After Trump's election, Exxon came out in support of the Paris Climate Agreement to combat climate change.

There also are concerns among lawmakers about former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who an adviser to the Trump's transition team said was still under consideration for the deputy secretary of state role.

Bolton has urged Washington to do more to counter China's assertiveness in East Asia.

(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart in Washington and by Georgina Prodhan in Belgrade; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell)
"In the current difficult market conditions, flag states can no longer afford to regard themselves as mere factories for issuing registration certificates. It is necessary to evolve and embrace new challenges. Shipping registries need to combine quality and innovation with tradition, experience, reputation and flexibility, Alfonso Castillero, vice president of the Liberian Registry, told a recent Liberian Port State Control seminar in Tokyo,

Castillero was speaking at a Port State Control (PSC) seminar organised by the Liberian Registry. The objective of the seminar attended by representatives of the Australian Maritime Safety Agency (AMSA), was to promote amongst clients of the Liberian Registry a clear understanding of the Port State Control process in Australia, in order for owners, operators, and managers to achieve full compliance with  and facilitate efficient inspections under  Australias PSC regime.

Benson Peretti, managing director of the Liberian Registrys Singapore office, outlined for the seminar the Liberian Registrys PSC results for the year to date, showing a major reduction in detentions in China, Australia, and the United States, thanks in large part to the free compliance assistance programmes implemented by Liberia to help owners ensure full compliance, and reduce the incidence of PSC detentions worldwide.

Takeshi Okamoto, general manager of LISCR Japan, explained how and why the Liberian Registry is leading the global campaign to seek an extension to the implementation date for the Ballast Water Management Convention.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota is President-elect Donald Trump's top choice as Agriculture Secretary, according to a report.

Politico reported Saturday she was Trump's leading choice for the Agriculture post. The first-term senator met with the president-elect at Trump Tower on Dec. 2.



However, Heitkamp, a moderate Democrat, is facing pressure from her own party to stay in the Senate seat to avoid it going to a Republican if a special election in North Dakota were to be called in the traditionally red state.

If Trump were to nominate Heitkamp to join his cabinet, he would get a maverick of sorts among Democrats. She is known to have gone against fellow Democrats and even President Barack Obama. For example, Heitkamp voted to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline Bill in 2015. Obama vetoed the controversial measure, which would have allowed the construction of a nearly 1,200-mile crude oil pipeline from Canada to Nebraska.

Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada told CNN in an interview Monday, "I have no idea what they're going to do. I just know Heidi Heitkamp, I would doubt very seriously, she being the populist that she is, that she would" take a cabinet post in the Trump administration.

Still, if she is tapped by Trump and opts to leave the Senate for a cabinet post, the state law in North Dakota requires an election to be held within 95 days of the Senate vacancy, and a GOP win could allow Republicans to expand their majority in the chamber to 53-27.

Heitkamp has served in the U.S. Senate since January 2013. She's a former North Dakota attorney general who took on the meatpacking industry in the late 1990s over pricing transparency and prevailed.



A spokesperson for Heitkamp declined comment on the cabinet speculation. However, the spokesperson said a previously released statement from the Senator ahead of her meeting with Trump still stands: "Whatever job I do, I hope to work with the president-elect and all of my colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle to best support my state."

Story continues

Messages requesting comment from the Trump transition team were not immediately returned.



Heitkamp, 61, is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Also, she sits on the Senate's banking and homeland security committees.



As Agriculture secretary she would hold a critical role shaping Trump's farm and rural policies. The federal government's food stamp program, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also falls under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Taxpayers spend roughly $70 billion annually for SNAP benefits to more than 44 million people.



Other names circulated in recent weeks as contenders for the Agriculture secretary post have included former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. Also, current Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and former Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman were reported to be in the running. There also were early reports several farm leaders from Vice President-elect Mike Pence's state of Indiana were under consideration.

Heitkamp, who represents a state where more than three-fourths of the land is engaged in production agriculture, helped craft and pass the five-year bipartisan farm bill in 2014, which provides a safety net for farmers and ranchers with expanded crop insurance but it did away with the long-time practice of direct payment subsidies to farmers. The bill also reduced spending for the SNAP food assistance program.



She defended a compromise that kept the sugar program in the farm bill despite criticism from the conservative Heritage Foundation and others that the USDA program essentially is indirect subsidies in the form for higher prices paid by consumers. The Red River Valley region of North Dakota and Minnesota ranks as one of the nation's largest producers of beet sugar.

"Opponents of the sugar program would have us do one thing: Unilaterally disarm and surrender our market to foreign producers," Heitkamp said in the Senate chamber during discussion of the farm bill in 2013. At the time, she singled out Mexico's "highly subsidized" sugar policies as unfair.

In July, the lawmaker sided with food manufacturers, grocers and the ag-biotech lobby in backing a bill to create a voluntary genetically modified food labeling standard. The federal legislation pre-empted a stricter genetically modified food labeling law from going into effect in Vermont.



Prior to the Senate, Heitkamp was North Dakota attorney general from 1993 to 2001 and served as the Great Plains state's elected tax commissioner from 1989 to 1993. While attorney general, Heitkamp was involved in lawsuits against major cigarette makers that ultimately led to the 1998 tobacco litigation settlement agreements and payments to 45 states.



In the late 1990s, Heitkamp was part of a group of 20 state attorneys general that urged Congress to make meatpackers disclose more information about the price they pay for livestock to provide more transparency in the beef market. The multi-state effort resulted in passage of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, and the law was extended but is currently set to expire in 2020.

In 2000, Heitkamp as state attorney general sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to try to block imports of cheaper Canadian herbicides. At the time she had claimed some pesticide makers were using a legal loophole to charge American farmers more than they were selling it to competitors such as Canada.



She waged an unsuccessful try for governor in 2000 against Republican John Hoeven, who now is the senior U.S. Senator from North Dakota. Heitkamp considered another run for the governorship in 2016 but ultimately decided against it.



Heitkamp previously served as director of the Dakota Gasification synfuels plant, which is the nation's only commercial-scale coal gasification facility that manufactures natural gas. She also had been in the running as Energy secretary in the Trump administration. However, Perry, who returned to Trump Tower on Monday, is reported to be a leading contender for that post.

USDA's spending in 2017 is projected to total just over $150 billion, with 83 percent of the amount going for mandatory programs such as crop insurance, SNAP food assistance programs, research, as well as farm commodity and trade programs.

In Trump's 2011 book, Time To Get Tough, he wrote: "When half of food stamp recipients have been on the dole for nearly a decade, something is clearly wrong, and some of it has to do with fraud."

Trump might find some support in the Republican-led Congress if he looks to reform the SNAP program, including adding requirements for public assistance. There have been attempts in recent years to reduce funding for the program and add federal requirements such as drug testing for SNAP recipients.



In 2017, USDA budget documents show there will be 94 overseas Foreign Agricultural Services locations operating, including one in Cuba. About $197 million has been allocated for FAS programs, although the exact amount spent for Cuba is not disclosed.Trump has been critical of the Obama administration's restored diplomatic ties to Cuba and threatened he may reverse the move.





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In efforts to fight climate change, much of the focus has been on controlling and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. But newly published research reveals, another gas is emerging as a pressing problem.

In a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, scientists report that concentrations of atmospheric methane - whose greenhouse effect is 25 times more potent than CO2 - according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - are rising faster than at any time in the past two decades, and that efforts are "urgently needed" to reduce it.

But that's easier said than done. While about 40 percent of methane comes from natural sources - seeping from vents in the ocean floor for example - most of it comes from an array of human-caused sources, ranging from cattle burps to venting from oil and gas wells. The exact reasons for the surge remain unclear. In their article, the scientists said analysis suggests that most of the increase is coming from agriculture, and to a lesser degree fossil fuel use, with some contribution also from natural emissions from wetlands.

RELATED: Five Simple Ways to Put the Brakes on Climate Change

Since 2004, the U.S. and more than 40 other countries have signed on to work together in the Global Methane Initiative, which aims to attack the problem though an array of measures, such as using anaerobic biodigester technology to extract methane from animal manure and trapping methane emissions from coal mines.

The captured methane - the chemical equivalent of natural gas - can be burned as a fuel that only produces about half the CO2 emissions of oil or coal. In May, the Obama Administration issued new regulations that would compel the oil and gas industry to fix leaks in tanks and pipelines to curb methane emissions, though it's unclear whether President-elect Trump, who as a candidate vowed to eliminate "unnecessary" regulations on energy production, will undo those rules.

U.S. government researchers also have been working on more exotic solutions to capture methane, which is difficult to filter out of a stream of gaseous emissions because it doesn't interact as readily as carbon dioxide does. One idea is to use molecular-level engineering to create frameworks of minerals called zeolites, which could absorb methane though nano-sized pores.

Recently, they've come up with another solution that would enable captured methane to be converted into a liquid fuel which would be easier to transport and use. Researchers extracted enzymes from methanotrophs - methane-eating bacteria - and mixed them with plastics to create a 3D-printed material that could convert gaseous methane into methanol at room temperature and pressure.

"We can use materials to make biology work better," Sarah Baker, a chemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, told Seeker.

RELATED: Methane-Eating Microbes Produce Protein

Baker said the new technology, which could be on the market in as soon as five years, would make it easier to make fuel from methane emitted by sources such as landfills and municipal waste water treatment plants, and reduce the amount of methane going directly into the atmosphere.

Though methane is more efficient than trapping heat than CO2, its lifetime in the atmosphere is much shorter. That means that if methane emissions could be reduced quickly, that might buy more time to reduce its CO2 emissions.

"Methane presents the best opportunity to slow climate change quickly," Rob Jackson, chair of Stanford University's Earth science program and one of the study's authors, said in a press release. "Carbon dioxide has a longer reach, but methane strikes faster."

Image: This graphic, based on data from NASA's Aqua satellite, shows the monthly average atmospheric methane for January 2016 in various parts of the world. Credit: NASA WATCH VIDEO: What Makes Methane Gas Toxic?
An international team of researchers has discovered a mysterious ancient city on top of a hill in central Greece.

Scattered on and around the Strongilovouni hill on the great Thessalian plains near a village called Vlochos, some 190 miles north of Athens, the ruins had been dismissed as part of a small, irrelevant settlement.

"The fact that nobody had ever explored the hill before is a mystery," Robin Ronnlund, a PhD student in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Gothenburg and leader of the fieldwork, said.

Ronnlund and colleagues from the University of Bournemouth, completed the first field season during two weeks in September 2016. The work was done in collaboration with the Swedish Institute at Athens and the local archaeological service in Karditsa.

RELATED: Did the Greeks Make Human Sacrifices to Zeus?

According to Ronnlund, the hill is hiding many secrets, although hardly anything is visible on the ground.

"We found a town square and a street grid that indicate we are dealing with quite a large city. The area inside the city wall measures over 40 hectares [0.15 square miles]," Ronnlund said.
NASA's Juno mission has successfully completed its third close approach of Jupiter, NASA confirmed on Monday. Still in a 53-day orbit, the spacecraft is not due to make another close pass until Feb. 2, 2017. The moment of closest approach to Jupiter's cloud tops occurred at precisely 9:04 a.m. PST (12:04 p.m. ET) on Sunday (Dec. 11) when the spacecraft was traveling at the breakneck speed of 129,000 miles per hour.

The point of closest approach in Juno's orbit - known as "perijove" - brought the solar-powered spacecraft around 2,580 miles (4,150 kilometers) from the gas giant's atmosphere, allowing the mission to gather incredibly precise measurements of the planet's magnetic field, gravity and chemical composition.

Seven of its eight instruments were operational during perijove and NASA expects the close encounter data to be beamed back to Earth over the next few days for analysis.

RELATED: Jupiter's Wild North Pole Photographed

According to the Juno's principal investigator Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, this was the first time the mission was used to fully investigate Jupiter's internal structure by measuring the planet's gravitational field. "We are looking forward to what Jupiter's gravity may reveal about the gas giant's past and its future," he said before Sunday's encounter.

The only instrument not powered-up during perijove was the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), which was offline while the Juno team completed a software update that processes science data. JIRAM is expected to be fully operational for its fourth perijove in February.
New analysis from NASA's Mars Curiosity rover shows that the red planet is likely flush with organics.

"I am convinced that organics are all over Mars," said Jennifer Eigenbrode, a biogeochemist and geologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"They're all over the surface and they're probably through the rock record. What that means is something we'll have to talk about," Eigenbrode said last week during a National Academy of Sciences workshop about the search for life beyond Earth.

Scientists on Tuesday will present additional findings from Curiosity, which four years ago landed on Mars, the planet most like Earth in the solar system, to explore a mountain of sediments rising from the center of a 96-mile wide impact crater.

The rover quickly accomplished the primary goal of its mission, which was to determine if Mars ever had the chemical ingredients and suitable environments to support microbial life.

RELATED: Curiosity's Mars Drill Is Jammed

With strong evidence that Mars indeed was habitable at some point in its past - and may still be so today - scientists began using the rover to learn more about possible niches for life and how evidence of it might be preserved.

A key part of the search focused on organics, a quest that has led to the surprising discovery that organic matter may be widely distributed on Mars.

"To me this is the biggest take-home message. Four years ago, we would never have said this," Eigenbrode said.

Scientists don't know the source of the organics, nor how the material has managed to survive in the harsh radioactive environment on Mars. It was found in samples drilled out from rocks and chemically analyzed.

Whether biological or geologic in origin, a rich supply of organics has implications not only in the search for past life, but also in supporting future endeavors, such as farming.

"That organic matter could be really important," Eigenbrode said. "The door is really open here to an expanded habitability potential."

In related research, California Institute of Technology geologist John Grotzinger, said Curiosity, which has been slowly making its way up Mount Sharp, has found multiple examples of primary igneous minerals being altered.

RELATED: Curiosity Confirms Organics on Mars

"What this is telling us is that that sedimentary basin is a chemical reactor, that those primary igneous minerals are being converted under different chemical circumstances into different minerals," Grotzinger said during the National Academy of Sciences workshop. "We're not sure what all this means, but it's pretty exciting for habitability."

The Curiosity team also has made progress on locating potential types of rocks that could preserve evidence of past life. The most promising find, according to Grotzinger, has been a silica-rich rock which is chemically similar to early rocks on Earth that have been found to contain fossil cells.

"Silica is the great material on Earth that survives everything," Grotzinger said. "If you have it precipitate early on, it is capable of preserving the things you're most interested in and apparently Mars is making this stuff."

As Curiosity has climbed Mount Sharp, it also has discovered increasingly enriched concentrations of boron inside rock fractures. On Earth, boron is tied to the formation of ribose, a key component of RNA.

"We haven't found any boron-bearing minerals yet, so we need to be a cautious on that one, but it's pretty tantalizing," Grotzinger said.

Scientists plan to present new results from the Curiosity mission at the American Geophysical Union conference, being held this week in San Francisco.

WATCH VIDEO: No, We Don't Have Proof Of Life On Mars
A non-profit called Refugee Cities is working to turn refugee camps into permanent cities, so displaced people can set-up their own local commerce and infrastructure. These special enterprise zones (SEZ) would offer refugees more opportunities than current aid strategies have been able to provide.

The jobs and revenue created within these cities would benefit those in the camps as well as host countries. They could also equip displaced people with new job skills in a number of industries for when they return to their homeland.

"We have received a lot of interest from tech companies interested in training refugees and outsourcing coding work or simpler internet-based work via platforms like Upwork," Michael Miller, executive director of Refugee Cities, told Seeker. "Displaced people might have the opportunity to learn skills useful in the digital economy that they can apply back home."

Miller mentioned that some companies like RBK (ReBoot Camp), and Techfugees, are currently training refugees in engineering work and are forming relationships with Silicon Valley firms in hopes they will hire them in the future.

The fact that these cities will be built in Special Economic Zones could add to the benefits for the host countries. SEZ give a government the opportunity to experiment with new policies that don't have a nationwide effect. In China, certain tax and business incentives implemented within SEZ have spurred rapid economic growth in the country.

Many of these host countries are in desperate need of an economic boost. As of 2015, 65.3 million people have been displaced globally, and population growth, climate change and continued civil unrest are expected to make the refugee crisis worse going forward.

RELATED: Paris Is Turning Its Famous 'Love Locks' Into Cash for Refugees

Refugee Cities is somewhat critical of how the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has handled the crisis in the past. The UNHCR has been very active in providing aid where possible, but their main focus is on donations rather than preparing refugees for the future.

"Despite their best efforts, the resources of the UNHCR consistently fall short of its requirements to meet people's basic needs, let alone to achieve any long-term development goals," Refugee Cities writes on its website.

UNHCR appears to recognize that aid alone won't work. Earlier this year, they ran the Refugee Challenge for the What Design Can Do conference in Amsterdam, where competitors designed products that will assist in the development and integration of refugees, particularly those in urban areas.

UNHCR has also stopped promoting refugee camps as a viable long-term solution for displacement, and is focusing on integrating refugees into local populations instead. "From the perspective of refugees, alternatives to camps means being able to exercise rights and freedoms, make meaningful choices regarding their lives and have the possibility to live with greater dignity, independence and normality as members of communities," UNHCR said in their 2014 Policy on Alternatives to Camps.

RELATED: Is The United States The Best Country For Refugees?

Refugees are also taking it upon themselves to change living conditions inside the camps. At the Zaatari camp in Jordan, residents figured out how to power their businesses with electricity from the power grid, and they even built swimming pools to find some relief from the intense summer heat.

Refugee Cities plans to set-up their locations in buildings and warehouses near the existing camps, and turn them into business incubators for residents. Once the refugees leave, the spaces can be used as a number of different urban facilities like retail shops, offices, social service or apartment complexes.

Despite the difficulty of getting these cities approved, Miller is convinced that once officials see the benefits, they will want to make them permanent. "It's important to note that after the residents have been working, operating their own businesses, and being educated, it will be much more likely the government will want them to stay, because they will be contributing strongly to the economy and society," Miller told Seeker.

"Most refugees return to their homeland if and when it becomes livable," he continued. "[But] over time, if the city is free and in a good location, it should become a thriving area with a mix of nationals and immigrants living and working together. That's not a place most governments will want to close down."

The next step is gaining more investors as well as finding "strategic partners to help advance the effort, including international NGOs, government aid and development agencies, the UNHCR and inter-governmental development institutions," Refugee Cities said. The company is currently scouting locations that have the least opposition toward the idea of a refugee city, the most need for one and the most potential for economic gain.

With the right location, investors and support from the local community, Refugee Cities hopes to move forward with their first project in 2017, but can't reveal any details just yet. "We have some exciting prospects in the works that, if things go well, would mean we're very close," Miller said. "I have to keep that under wraps for now, unfortunately."

WATCH: Which Countries Have The Most Refugees?
A dog named Arrow has leaped his way into the Guinness World Record book, as "the world's first skydiving, anti-poaching dog."

The German shepherd, trained to fight poaching in Africa, made his first jump at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria, South Africa with his handler Henry Holsthyzen, of The Paramount Group's Anti-Poaching and K9 Academy.

Arrow is among a group of canines trained at the South African academy to search large areas for firearms, poachers themselves and bush meat. The dogs also find snares set by trappers, in hopes the devices can be removed before wildlife sets foot in them. "These dogs are extremely useful against very skilled poachers using advanced counter-tracking techniques," according to the academy.

The leaping canine got the gig thanks to his temperament, according to The Citizen. Holsthyzen and Arrow are best friends, and dog trusted handler as the duo dropped from the sky. "He's a natural-born skydiver and an adrenaline junkie. I was more scared than he was," Holsthyzen told the site.

"Arrow's story combines all the elements we love here at Guinness World Records: animals, bravery, adventure and a worthy cause," Guinness World Records Editor in Chief Craig Glenday told Seeker in an email. "The anti-poaching team and their canine trainers do inspiring work, so we're honored to be able to welcome Arrow and his owner Henry to the record-breaking family."

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Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a climate science denier who once said that he wanted to shut down the U.S. Department of Energy, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to run that very agency.

In Perry's famous "oops!" moment in 2011 that helped derail his candidacy for president, he forgot the name of the Energy Department during a Republican debate when asked which federal agencies he would eliminate.

Perry is an ardent critic of Obama administration climate policies and denies that humans are causing climate change. He has falsely said that human-caused global warming is not "settled science by any sense of the imagination."

"Calling CO2 a pollutant is doing a disservice to the country, and I believe a disservice to the world," Perry told the Dallas Morning News in 2014. "I'm not a scientist, (but) short term, I'm substantially more concerned about Iran changing the temperature of New York."

If confirmed, Perry would succeed MIT nuclear physicist Ernest Moniz as Energy secretary.

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Perry is a former U.S. Air Force captain with a bachelor's degree in animal science from Texas A&M University. He served as Texas' governor over a 14-year period during which the state became the nation's top wind power producer and a leader in shale oil and gas development.

Texas also is the nation's leader in carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption, sending nearly twice the carbon pollution into the atmosphere as California and three times that of New York, DOE data show.

As secretary of Energy, Perry would oversee an agency that has a wide-ranging impact on U.S. energy policy, renewable energy research and development, and record keeping on U.S. patterns of energy production and consumption.

The DOE is in charge of all of America's national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and others such as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which together form one of the world's largest scientific research institutions.

Many of the national laboratories conduct research into the global impacts of climate change, sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and technologies that could be used to reduce carbon pollution. The DOE is also in charge of America's nuclear energy research and helps fund climate-related scientific and energy research at universities nationwide.

Trump's transition team appears to be scrutinizing the DOE's climate-related research and work. It sent a questionnaire to DOE management last week asking for details about its climate and renewables-related activities and requesting the names of all the DOE's employees involved in those projects.

The DOE announced Tuesday that it is declining to provide the names of any individual employees to the transition team.

"The fact that the Trump transition team appears to be targeting employees whose work relates in some way to climate change is only more worrisome given that Gov. Perry doesn't believe in climate science," said Robert Cowin, director of government affairs in the Union of Concerned Scientists' Climate and Energy Program.

RELATED: Trump Picks Strident Foe of EPA to Lead the EPA

"Given his record as governor in Texas, it's hard for me to see him going after clean energy with prejudice, but it indicates that they want to remove climate as a key aspect of DOE policy," Cowin said. "Perhaps of greater concern is that it might be a preview of what's to come from a science intimidation and scientific integrity standpoint in a Perry-run DOE."

Perry's nomination is receiving mixed reviews from scientists and observers who champion the DOE's climate and renewables work.

"We do know that Rick Perry had proposed that the department be abolished, although it is not clear that at the time he understood that the mission that consumes the largest share of the budget of the Energy Department is nuclear weapons and security," said Jeremy Firestone, director of the Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration at the University of Delaware. "But it does provide a cautionary note for the important energy research that DOE supports and conducts."

Firestone said Perry has little experience in energy or nuclear security and does not have the technical expertise that Moniz has.

Cowin said Perry likely understands that clean energy is a pro-growth strategy, but only as part of an energy policy that includes fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources of power.

"But he certainly saw the business opportunity with wind energy, and helped turn Texas into a national leader," Cowin said. "As governor, he supported a clean energy mandate, some clean energy innovation, and was a genuine champion for wind energy and expanding transmission across the state to bring wind to new markets."

Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, said an early test of Perry's priorities will be what he does with one of the DOE's least-known but most important jobs - setting energy efficiency standards for appliances and industrial equipment.

Those standards help reduce the sales of natural gas, electricity and other forms of energy, and Perry's actions on those standards will show whether he will be pro-energy or pro-consumer, Gerrard said.

Jennifer Layke, director of the World Resource Institute's Energy Program, said Perry comes from a state that has worked hard to boost renewables even as it remains a leader in fossil fuels production.

But Trump's anti-renewables agenda threatens to reverse recent trends toward clean energy, Layke said.

"Recent signals about Trump administration's energy agenda suggest a return to an earlier era and outdated energy model," Layke said. "This would undermine hundreds of small businesses and thousands of workers who are working in the clean energy sector. It would stand in conflict with the country's shift to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.

Robert Stavins, director of the Harvard University Environmental Economics Program, was blunt about Perry's nomination.

"It is very disappointing yet not surprising that Mr. Trump would nominate to be secretary of energy an individual who just five years ago indicated that he wanted to eliminate the entire department but could not even remember its name," Stavins said.

WATCH: Can Trump Run His Empire if He Becomes President?
Press Release

December 13, 2016 De Lima named one of the Leading Global Thinkers for 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Human rights advocate and now Senator Leila M. de Lima has been cited in the influential Foreign Policy magazine's list of 100 leading global thinkers for 2016 for her works in investigating the spate of extrajudicial killings in the country. De Lima, former chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and former justice secretary, is honored "for standing up to an extremist leader" as one of the 13 global thinkers in the "Challengers" category under the 100 leading global thinkers for this year. "Since taking office in June, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has waged a brutal war on drugs. Thousands of alleged traffickers, dealers, and users have been executed by state forces or pro-government vigilantes," the citation said. "In response, Sen. Leila de Lima has been a steadfast advocate for the rule of law. As the chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, she spearheaded an investigation into the extrajudicial killings--work that landed her firmly in Duterte's crosshairs," it added. Among the extraordinary ranks of FP's 100 Leading Global Thinkers for 2016 are individuals and organizations that have championed worthy causes. Among them include former US State Department Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Apart from De Lima, also honored as "Challengers" are Rep. Geraldine Roman, French Penitentiary Administration Project Director Geraldine Blin, Women Without Borders Founder Edit Schlaffer, Zimbabwe Pastor Evan Mawarire, among others. "Like a coat of many colors, these individuals showed that agitation takes myriad forms," the FP stressed. The Foreign Policy also cited how De Lima has bravely refused to be silenced by the blatant and incessant attacks by President Duterte's allies as she stood her ground and vowed for her innocence against trumped-up charges leveled against her. "President Duterte's loyalists accused de Lima of being involved in the drug trade and ousted her as head of the investigation in September. That didn't silence her, though. She called on the United Nations to examine the violence, arguing that Manila isn't equipped 'to serve complete justice to the victims'," the citation noted. "After the criminal accusations, de Lima said, 'I am willing to resign; I am willing to be shot in front of the president... I am confident to prove him wrong. I will stand by my innocence, any time now and forever'," it added. The list of top 100 Leading Global Thinkers for 2016 can be accessible at https://gt.foreignpolicy.com/2016/profile/leila-de-lima.
Press Release

December 13, 2016 De Lima files 'dissenting report' on Senate probe on extrajudicial killings Sen. Leila M. de Lima has filed a "dissenting report" as the true findings of the Senate investigation into the unabated spate of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and summary executions on the government's all-out campaign against illegal drugs. De Lima filed her Dissenting Report to the Joint Committee Report No. 18 of the Senate Committees on Justice and Human Rights and on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chaired by Senators Richard Gordon and Panfilo Lacson, respectively. "This Dissenting Report aims to provide an alternative analysis of the facts presented and the conclusions deduced therefrom based on applicable laws and rules," she said in her 151-page report, with 250 pages of annexes. "The objective is to present to the Senate and, ultimately, to the Filipino people what this Representation honestly believes to be the just conclusions and proper courses on the issues at hand" she added. Last July 13, De Lima filed Senate Resolution No. 9 which seeks to initiate an investigation into the phenomenon of extrajudicial and summary killings carried out in the Duterte administration's all-out war against illegal drugs in the country. De Lima said the Senate probe failed on several grounds, notably on its refusal to hear the testimonies of EJK witnesses of the Commission on Human Rights, its premature termination, its failure to weigh in the testimonies of Senate witness Edgar Matobato, among others. "Due to the premature and abrupt termination of the Senate investigation, no comprehensive, in-depth gathering, and assessment of the evidence was done by the Committee. Instead, what came out was a virtual whitewash designed to absolve the national leadership as led by the President," she said. "The unreasonable exclusion of important witnesses had precluded a thorough and intensive treatment of the subject of EJKs," she added, mindful that Matobato's testimony laid the foundation into explaining the national phenomenon of state-sponsored EJKs. According to the Senator from Bicol, the Gordon Committee wasted its golden opportunity when its ultimate goal was to exonerate the President and the administration from any involvement in the bloody drug war that claimed thousands of lives. De Lima, a former justice secretary, also lashed out at the Gordon Report for taking an issue on her alleged unparliamentary behavior and that of her colleague, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, during the public hearing. "The Gordon Report was not about finding the source behind all this public bloodbath drowning the poor and shirtless in this country, but about libeling, attacking, and pillorying the two Senators who dared come out with guns blazing against the President as the inducer of these killings," she said. De Lima submitted 10-point recommendations to the Senate, to wit: 1. To look into the alleged irregularities in the preparation, routing and filing of the Gordon Report and study the propriety of enforcing the standing Senate rules on all the committees; 2. To strengthen the investigative and forensic capacities of our law enforcement agencies to align with internationally accepted standards of law enforcement; 3. To urge the Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority to follow the International Drug Control Conventions; 4. To ensure the conduct of the visit, and effective and unhampered discharge of the duties of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Summary Executions; 5. To enact into law of Senate Bill 1197, also known as the Anti-Extrajudicial Killings, which seeks to address institutional barriers to efficient, independent and impartial investigation of EJKs among concerned government agencies; 6. To enact into law the Charter of the Commission on Human Rights, logged as Senate Bill 1230, granting it its status as the country's premier human rights body with powers to respond in real-time to human rights violations against Filipinos here and abroad; 7. To create a separate, dedicated office within DOJ or Public Attorney Office that would provide legal assistance and representation to law enforcement officials facing charges; 8. To establish a program in the Department of Social Welfare and Development to assist the surviving families of those killed during police operations; 9. To investigate not only the possible criminal acts of policemen but also the liabilities of their superiors under the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity; 10. To direct an independent investigation by a commission on the President's war on drugs and the concomitant EJKs that have gone with it. (30) The full text of the Dissenting Report may be accessible at http://bit.ly/2hh1PsL
Press Release

December 13, 2016 Transcript of ANC Headstart Interview of Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin M. Drilon by Karen Davila Q: Let's start with President Duterte. He assured businessmen in a forum that he will honor contractual obligations in the country. How is this important for us? SFMD: Very important, because of the instability created in the business environment at the start of the administration, when the President started making very strong statements on the alliances with the United States. And in our situation, one of the biggest industries is the service industry of which the business process outsourcing (BPO) is part of, and the BPO industry brings in - about what - $25 billion in foreign exchange yearly, I think it is almost the same or next to that of our overseas Filipino workers. Q: And in 2022, something like $39 billion is the estimate. SFMD: That's correct. Because in the next several years, there will be an addition of seats in the BPO industry, about a 100,000 seats per year. So this created instability in the future plans of the BPO industry. Remember, about 75 percent of our BPOs are based in the United States, so therefore, these statements that you hear from no less than the President about the not-so-smooth relationship with United States are making these people rethink their position here. So it is good and reassuring that the President has made the statement in order to provide some stability to that particular industry so that they will carry out their future plans. As you said, it is predicted that in five years or so time, the BPO industry will have $39 billion. That means they are planning ahead, and if you would look around in Metro Manila, there are a lot of building that are being constructed, Double Dragon for one, and a number of real estate companies. They build office spaces for rent to the expected additional BPO industries coming in, and all of these are financed by banks. So you can imagine if this industry changes their plans and would not come to Manila, you can imagine all those empty office spaces, and no income. Q: The President also said he is open to lifting the 60 to 40 ration of foreign ownership of local enterprises. Do you believe it will make a big difference? SFMD: To me, whether big or small, it will make a difference. The image of being an open economy, making our investment climate attractive, and improving our investment climate in general, will do good to us. Q: What else do we need to open? Many industries are already open for foreign ownership. Mining, power, for one. SFMD: A number of industries will still be nationalized. For example, media and educational institutions. Q: So media, is zero foreign ownership. SFMD: The theory being that we did not want to expose our people to foreign influence. And yet today, you'll find cable TV right in your bedrooms, the internet. So there's really a need to review this. By the way, we have started hearings, because these involve amendments to the Constitution. So the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, which I chair, we started hearings on the proposed amendments to the Constitution last week. So there are four resolutions pending in the Senate, two of which called for a Constitutional Convention, two of which called for amendments through Congress. Q: If you were going to propose changes in the Constitution, what provisions would that be? SFMD: Let me put it this way, we would want to open the economy, and remove the undue restrictions on foreign equity, because that limits the flow of foreign capital. Whether you like it or not, projecting ourselves as open for business would suffer some credibility issues when in the very Constitution that we have, there are number of activities which are limited to Filipino nationals. It is about time. Thirty years ago has passed since the Constitution was crafted. It is different now. We just have to accept the fact that the world has gotten smaller, and therefore, we must react accordingly. Q: Would you agree with President Duterte that land should not be included? SFMD: Well, I would want a debate on that. I am open to it. Q: He has a point. For example, China could buy the whole of Tondo. SFMD: Yeah. Precisely what I am saying is that we want to debate, we want to open the Constitution for review. We are not saying that we should open land to everybody. Q: We could have foreigners buying islands. SFMD: The productive aspect of our land ownership should not be compromised. Q: Are they formal hearings already? SFMD: Yes. The hearings are not already on the substantial amendments yet, we had the first hearing to find out from our resource persons 1.) if in fact, we have to amend the Constitution, 2.) assuming the consensus is that the Constitution has to be amended, how to do we amend it - through converting Congress into a constituent assembly or a constitutional convention? Q: What do you believe is better? You have two schools of thought. Some believe that it is better for the President to assign members of a Constituent Assembly. SFMD: No, the President cannot assign. The process of amending the Constitution is basically a function of Congress whether or not we do it ourselves or we call for a Constitutional Convention. Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of either? SFMD: The often - repeated argument against the Constitutional Convention (Con-con) is the cost, that it can be a runaway convention, that we could not have limits on the terms of office or the length of time that the convention will assign itself to draft the Constitution. The advantages of the Con-con are that we have a wider representation, because as in the past, the Convention is supposed to be non-partisan, and non-political. Therefore, a cross-section of our society will be represented. The advantage of the Constituent Assembly (Con-ass) is that is less costly, the representatives of the people - Congress - are already there. The disadvantage of course, is the ability of Congress in amending the Constitution. Q: What I heard from supporters of the President is that he can appoint members of Con-ass, experts from different fields, then they change the Constitution. SFMD: No. He can appoint a study group, and this is what he did, in that executive order that he issued, and brought into our attention by Executive Secretary Medialdea during our hearing last week. The President cannot amend our Constitution. He can choose the resource persons who will draft the suggested amendments to the Constitution. Q: But not as members of the Con-Ass. SFMD: No. Only members of Congress can be members of the Con-Ass. That's under the Constitution. Only members of Congress can be members of the Con-Ass, no appointive official can be member of the Constituent Assembly, because these are composed solely of members of Congress. Q: So for example, a member of the academe, or a scientist they cannot join the Con-Ass? They cannot take part in changing the Constitution? SFMD: If we have a Constitutional Convention, then they can run as delegates. Q: But they will have to spend to run? SFMD: That is a fact of life. Q: What if they do not have the money to run? SFMD: That is a policy issue provided in our present Constitution, that a Constitutional Convention will be composed of elected delegates. Now, appointive experts can act as experts and resource persons, they can submit papers and studies. That is exactly what the President did. He has formed a group of experts who will draft a set of recommendations to either Congress or to the Constitutional Convention. By the way, the President, in a National Security Council meeting, said that he prefers Constituent Assembly. After some discussions, he said on the issue of whether the two houses of Congress will vote jointly or separately, he said, "I concede, that you must vote separately." I argued with him that if he wanted us to vote jointly with the House, we might as well make ourselves irrelevant. The 3/4 vote will always be achieved by the House, because of the numbers. Q: I assume that this is in a roll already. SFMD: Well I assume that his allies in Congress would take the sinews from him, as their political leader. Q: Do you think it is time for the Charter Change already? He is just six months into office, not even a year. SFMD: To me, and the discussion that we had in the committee hearing, there is a consensus that it is time that we review the Constitution, and the only issue that we are discussing - at least after the first hearing - is that if whether or not we go for a Constituent Assembly, or a Constitutional Convention. Q: If we review the Constitution, that would include already issues like political dynasty? SFMD: Yes. Q: Even the system of government - federalism? SFMD: Yes. Q: Terms of office? SFMD: It includes everything. Q: In terms of office, does it work that a mayor has only three years? Some say that a mayor is preoccupied with running again, instead of doing his job? SFMD: A valid argument. On the other hand, those who are for the present system argue that we have this kind of system because precisely it keeps our elected officials on their toes. As I said, this is the beauty of democracy, that we can debate on ideas, and that we open it up for discussion. Q: If I were to ask you what is your personal advocacy- the thing that you would want to change in the Constitution? SFMD: Firstly, this Constitution was crafted immediately after Martial Law. Many of the provisions had in mind the very dark period of our history. Maybe it is time that we review that and having learned our lesson, we would now be able to have a more objective view of the Constitution. As I said, the Constitution is already 30 years old, and a lot of things have happened. If there is anything I would like to see, I would like to see a more flexible Constitution, to be not unduly restricted by the Constitution. Q: So you are saying that the 1987 Constitution is much stricter? SFMD: Of course. As I said, this Constitution is crafted right after Martial Law. Therefore the pendulum swung the other way around. For example, all this talk about Martial Law, if you are going to follow the Constitution, then it is ineffective. The only thing left for an authoritarian president would be to declare a revolutionary government, throw away the Constitution, and close Congress and the Supreme Court. That is why I would want a Constitution that would just set the General Principles rather than so restrictive as we have today. Q: Do we have a model Constitution in the ASEAN today? SFMD: I haven't gone in-depth in that aspect. I'm sure that in the course of our studying we will be getting references, as rich sources or good models. Q: Speaking of Charter Change, you do want to change the Corporate Code of 1980. SFMD: This afternoon, I will sponsor the Senate bill which we crafted which will propose changes to the 1980 Corporation Code. 1980 was 30 years ago. Again, there are so many restrictions. Just to give you an example that is easy to understand, you and I could not form a corporation today. Q: You need five people. SFMD: You need five. So it is common knowledge that sometimes people get their drivers, their maids, their cooks, just to form five. What is the use of all these pretense? One thing that we will change is that we will allow a one-person corporation so you alone can put up a corporation. Q: Is that allowed in other countries. SFMD: That is allowed. That is one area of amendment. Q: That would encourage people to start businesses easily. I won't have to pretend to look for four more. SFMD: That's correct. You see, the limited liability of a corporation become an attractive vehicle for putting up corporations, but presently we have to look for four more. Q: Are there no disadvantages to this amendment? SFMD: No. In other words, under the general principle of ease of doing business, in other words these corporate provisions would make it easier for one to start a business - which is one of the objectives of this amendment, so that we could really use the corporate entity as instruments of economic activity and generate more employment for our people. That is one of the things that we will have to do. The second aspect of the proposed amendments that we have is corporate responsibility, especially in cases of corporations imbued or vested with public interest. What are these? For example, banks, those publicly-listed corporations. You solicit funds from the public, and yet it is the majority stockholders who have the full say how the company is run. So how do we put a check on this? By strengthening the 'independent directors' concept. Q: How would you do that? That is quite interesting. We have multinational companies, we have listed companies. How do we monitor if these appointed directors act independently? SFMD: First, not all. If you are the majority stockholder, you would still have the majority in the board. But now as required in the present system, 20 percent but not less than 2 percent should be so-called 'independent directors' who need not have enough shares to sit in the board. As I said, we want to strengthen this concept for the better protection of our investing public. Q: Will you be imposing responsibility to private corporations? SFMD: We will be imposing more responsibility especially in cases where the corporation is vested with public interest. And generally, where you solicit funds from the public, through bonds issues or sales of shares, we would consider you as a corporation vested with public interest, because then the public is involved. Q: How do you work with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in this matter? You have listed companies, some are not brick and mortar, some have made money just issuing an IPOs, and you have people losing money from these companies, and they are still there. SFMD: A lot of that will involve in the ability of the PSE to police its ranks. There are certain rules there designed to protect the investing public, and the responsibility in enforcing these are precisely with the Philippine Stock Exchange. Q: On the Senate Ethics Committee case against Senator Leila de Lima. What is the process? SFMD: This could be the first case in the committee that was filed by the House leadership against a senator. This is unprecedented. What is the process? The Secretariat receives the complaint as it did yesterday. We will take this up and find out if we have jurisdiction. The first thing that we decide on is whether or not we have jurisdiction, and we have to decide on that because we don't want to into look at complaints based on acts long before an incumbent senator became a senator. Q: This one was allegedly committed long before an incumbent senator became a senator. SFMD: That's right. After we have decided on that, we ask the respondent to file the answer to the complaint. After that we hold hearings, and let me highlight the fact that the Senate Ethics Committee hearings - unlike any other committee hearings in the Senate hearings - are adversarial hearings. Adversarial meaning that the process goes like in a court, where you question and answer, and a cross examination, because this already involves the integrity of a member of the Senate, and therefore he or she must be given every opportunity to hear his side, as contrasted to all other hearings which are in aid of legislation - even the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings. When you see us asking questions on TV like prosecutors or judges, that is only we want to draw the answer we can use either in crafting legislation or amending an existing law. But not in the Ethics Committee, in the Ethics Committee, it is like a proceeding in court, though not as strict as the Rules of Court. But the due process is strictly observed, since the ethics case is no longer a matter of writing or amending a law, but whether a member of the Senate should be disciplined. Q: How long does the Senate Ethics, Committee hear a case like this, if the committee decides that it has jurisdiction? SFMD: Well, depending on the nature of the case being filed. If the facts are not disputed, it could be a few hearings. Because then, there is no question of fact. Q: Does the committee decide whether an individual is guilty or innocent? SFMD: Yes, ganoon talaga. And what is the appropriate penalty- ranging from the removal from office or a mere warning. Q: Yung warning, from the committee or the Senate as a whole? SFMD: As a whole, because that is a form of discipline. We submit our findings to the plenary. Q: Let's say someone gets suspended for a month. That would be the whole Senate? SFMD: That's correct. Q: Is this important to the public? SFMD: This is important to the public since we have no masters but the public. We must be held accountable for our behavior, but we cannot be accountable for our behavior outside of Congress' halls. In other words, we cannot be held for libel for a privilege speech we delivered, but we are subject to discipline by the Senate Ethics Committee if we abuse the privilege speeches. Q: How do you feel about comments that Senator Leila de Lima - a partymate - that say she is being politically harassed? SFMD: Unavoidable in an open society like ours. When we go to the real McCoy of issues, the issues must be simply decided on whether or not she violated our ethical conduct. That's all. Q: Who is responsible for deciding if Senator de Lima took or did not took drug money? The courts? SFMD: That's correct. Precisely that is one issue of jurisdiction that we have to decide. This is not without precedent. In the case for example of former Senator Loi Estrada, there was a guy who filed a case of malpractice against her in cleaning up the Pasig River. We said that if something is wrong with us, file a case in court, not in the Senate Ethics Committee, but these are acts done before she became a senator. Precisely the point is, how far back do we go? Q: The President is saying, "The yellows want me out. They want to oust me." SFMD: That is not true. Mind you, we started with around 110, we are down to 30. Just by the fact alone, how do we propose to carry out that task of removing him? That's why I said, "Hindi ko po alam kung saan nanggagaling itong mga kwentong ito." Who feeds the President with this kind of misinformation? It is sad. Q: Do you want Vice President Leni Robredo to be the voice of the opposition? SFMD: Of course, we are all elected officials, who are all elected with the expectation that we will work for the welfare of our people. We expect Vice President Leni to lead the Leni to lead the Liberal Party, and the Liberal Party to be the voice of the opposition. That is the role that is inevitable today, given Leni was practically eased out of the Cabinet. And from where I sit, I see no other reason but politics, especially in light of the fact, we would not know what would happen in the next several years, but certainly we think weakening the Vice President politically is an objective that is not far-fetched. Why should that be an objective? You know, Mr. Bongbong Marcos has a protest in the Supreme Court and if, ultimately, acting through the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, would sustain the protest, the political cost to the administration would not be that great, because they have weakened Leni politically. Q: Do you expect fairness from this administration for Vice President Leni? SFMD: I would just appeal for rationality, for the sake of our country. Leni was elected as vice-president, she has the mandate of the people, she has very clearly said she wants to work to alleviate poverty and the difficulties of our people today. I think that should be given appropriate respect and support. She is the Vice President of our country. Q: Have you signed the Senate committee report on extra-judicial killings? SFMD: With reservations. Q: Why? What are your reservations? SFMD: Precisely because I want these to be debated. This is just a committee report, and I signed it with reservations and a right to amend, and we will amend. If we proposed amendments that we think are consistent with the truth and they are rejected, then we will vote against the adoption of the committee report in the plenary. Q: On the case of the killing of Mayor Espinosa SFMD: The President should allow the process to proceed. The process can precisely find out the truth, if there are state-sponsored killings or not. Let the process go through the process. The President knows this. He is a former prosecutor. Now if at the end of the day, if Col. Marcos et al are found guilty and he doesn't agree with it, then he has the power under the Constitution to pardon them. But only after the trial in our courts. Q: Do you still the culture of opposition is still there these days? Is the opposition still strong like it was during the time of President Estrada, or GMA or even P-Noy? SFMD: There is some reluctance. Well, I wouldn't be here today if that is a concern. I'd say there is some reluctance, particularly due to the access in social media these days, opinion makers sometimes have reservations about being too vocal or too forward about their views.
Press Release

December 13, 2016 SPONSORSHIP SPEECH OF SEN. FRANKLIN M. DRILON

December 13, 2016 Senate Bill No. 1280/ Committee Report No. 22 ACT AMENDING BATAS PAMBANSA BILANG 68 OR THE CORPORATION CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES. Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, good afternoon. The Philippines has been hailed as the fastest-rising economy in Asia, even being predicted to outperform China. With reasonable labor costs and an educated workforce, the Philippines should be an attractive investment destination. But, it is still widely observed that doing business in the country presents many complexities. Although the Philippines improved its ranking, from 103rd to 99th, in the 2017 World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" survey, we dropped 7 spots from 164th to 171st in the aspect of Starting a Business. Indeed, investors find it hard to navigate through the startup procedures in the Philippines, without the assistance of experienced counsel. For individuals who do not have the resources to hire lawyers, the task of putting up a corporation is even more daunting. Mr. President, the Corporation Code of the Philippines was enacted in 1980, or thirty six years ago. If we are to keep up with the rest of the financial world, we need to codify best international corporate practices and address the archaic bottlenecks in the areas of starting a business, and protecting minority investors. We must likewise provide an environment conducive not just to big businesses, but make the corporate vehicle an appealing prospect for startups and entrepreneurs. It is in this light Mr. President, that I present to this chamber Senate Bill No. 1280 under Committee Report No. 22 or the "Act Amending Batas Pambansa Bilang 68 or the Corporation Code of the Philippines." The amendments sought to be introduced by the bill may be divided into four (4) main reform clusters: First, policies that would enhance the ease of doing business in the Philippines; Second, rules that prioritize corporate and stockholder protection; Third, provisions that instill corporate and civic responsibility; and Fourth, amendments that will strengthen the country's policy and regulatory corporate framework. Enhancing the Ease of Doing Business To contribute to the ease of doing business, the proposed revised corporation code would streamline the process of incorporation - with the name verification process simplified. In addition, the proposed measure will allow companies to perpetually exist. It will permit a single person to form a "one-person corporation". Likewise, stockholder voting may now be through remote communication, or in absentia. The present name verification system, with the "confusingly similar" standard imposed, is indeed confusing. Hence, a shift to the "distinguishability" test will no doubt allow the full and seamless automation of name registration. For example, under the law today, you cannot register "XYZ Dream Network" because of a previously registered "XYZ Dream Hospital". Under the proposed amendment, you can do so, because one of the key words is different. A common stumbling block for many investors to incorporate is the requirement for a corporation to have at least five (5) incorporators. This has made declarations of trust and nominee shareholders indispensable to doing business in the country. Investors name individuals as incorporators, with no real interest in the corporation, just to comply with the legal requirement. For local business owners, naming the entire household as incorporators- from cook to driver- is not unusual. It is for this reason that we seek to introduce the concept of the One Person Corporation in our jurisdiction. The Philippines is one of the few countries that sets limits on the corporate term. Those who actually go through the arduous task of incorporating, run the risk of having their corporations dissolved simply by forgetting to renew their corporate term. The proposal for a perpetual corporate term as the default option seeks to address this problem. Although no one will confess to it, many lawyers do what we call as "paper minutes". The resort to paper minutes is due to the fact that shareholders are required to be present during meetings in person, or by proxy. Likewise, directors are required to be present during meetings in person, or through video/teleconferencing. The proposed amendments acknowledge the need to adapt to changing times, by allowing the use of alternative modes of communication that are available through technology. Stockholders and directors need not be physically present in meetings. Remote communication can facilitate attendance in meetings, allowing the stockholders to actively participate in discussions and come up with more informed decisions. Votes may, in some instances, be cast in absentia. On the electronic filing of requirements with the SEC, the Commission has noted that although it has already opened up several satellite offices in Metro Manila and all over the country, compliance with reportorial requirements is not satisfactory. Only 500,000, out of 800,000 registered companies, are reported to be still operating or doing business.[1] With the proposed adoption of an electronic filing system, we hope that the compliance number will improve. Prioritizing Corporate and Stockholder Protection The second reform cluster includes provisions on (a) the creation of emergency boards; (b) the revised rules on the right to inspect corporate books; (c) modified quorum requirements; and (d) expanded grounds for disqualification of directors. The creation and recognition of an emergency board would address the situation where a corporation's board of directors or trustees goes on a perpetual holdover because it cannot muster a quorum. An emergency board can operate for a limited period and purpose, allowing the corporation to continue its daily operations despite vacancies in the board. It is recognized that some stockholders may not be well versed to interpret the contents of corporate documents. Hence, we propose to allow a representative or counsel to exercise the right to inspect the corporate books on behalf of the stockholder. We are likewise introducing a more stringent and expanded set of grounds for disqualification of directors towards a more principled corporate decision-making. Instilling Corporate and Civic Responsibility In crafting the amendments to the thirty-six year old Code, we want to create corporate entities, which would be effective vehicles for the accumulation of capital, production of goods, and delivery of services. In the words of the sponsor of BP Bilang 68, "corporations are not mere business organizations exclusively intended to serve personal interests, but are social institutions in which all sectors of society have an interest."[2] The third reform cluster therefore is on the imposition of more stringent Corporate and Civic Responsibility. In the public sector, we have imposed stricter good governance standards when we authored the GOCC Governance Act in the 15th Congress. Criminals hide behind the separate personality given to corporations. Shareholders have little incentive to be vigilant because the corporation itself is not subject to criminal liability. In compliance therefore with our obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, or the UNCAC, to prevent the use of the corporation as a vehicle for committing crimes, we hereby seek to impose corporate criminal liability and penalties for graft and corruption. Aside from having to pay hefty fines, the corporation may also suffer revocation of its registration. In addition, corporations vested with public interest are now required to have independent directors as part of the Board. Further, the Board of Directors of such corporations shall elect a compliance officer. Educational institutions, banks, insurance, transportation, telecommunication companies, publicly listed companies, among others, are examples of corporations vested with public interest. The SEC, in the interest of the public, may expand the list. Strengthening the Policy & Regulatory Corporate Framework The fourth and last reform cluster includes provisions on (a) arbitration of commercial disputes; (b) amendments on dissolution; and (c) the alignment of SEC's powers under the Corporation Code with the Securities Regulation Code. Presently, the SEC is equipped under the Securities Regulation Code with powers that are proper to an investigative and regulatory agency. It can issue subpoenas, cease and desist orders, and it can cite persons in contempt. The amendments seek to vest the same power to the SEC over ordinary corporations. The proposed amendments also provide expanded grounds for dissolution and a more streamlined process for both voluntary and involuntary dissolution. Finally, a provision on arbitration is included in the proposed amendments, recognizing that methods alternative to litigation can resolve disputes in a more practical and efficient manner. In general, the proposed amendments promote efficiency and encourage transparency in corporate dealings --from formation to daily operations. These proposed amendments are in line with global best practices. Having them in place will allow the Philippines to compete with other countries as a viable investment destination and business-friendly jurisdiction. Mr. President, for these reasons, and more, we urge the passage of this important measure. Thank you. ________________________________________ [1] Transcript of Committee Hearing dated 26 September 2016, p.22. [2] Sponsorship Speech of Minister Mendoza, 5 November 1979.
Press Release

December 13, 2016 Bicam Approves Proposed 2017 National Budget Senator Loren Legarda announced that the bicameral conference committee approved today the proposed P3.350 trillion national budget for 2017 following the consolidation of the respective versions of the Senate and House of Representatives. The bicam report will be presented by Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, and Rep. Karlo Nograles, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, to their respective chambers during the session today for ratification before the same is submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature. "This is a budget that is in line with the President's 10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and we ensured that it funds the necessary services needed by our citizens, such as universal healthcare, free tuition for all in state universities and colleges (SUCs), and additional funds for social services. We also allocated funds for free irrigation, additional funds for prisoners' subsistence allowance, pension for Post World War II veterans and centenarians, among others," said Legarda. Among the highlights of the budget is the strong support for education with the increased budget worth P8 billion for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) so that all college students enrolled in any SUC in the country will not have to pay for their tuition fee. The budget for SUCs was also increased to provide additional funds for scholarship and capital outlay for all SUCs; while increased allocation for the Department of Education (DepEd) is intended for site development of public schools and to increase teachers' cash or chalk allowance from P1,500 to P2,500, which they use to purchase classroom supplies like chalk, erasers and forms. For healthcare, P3 billion increase in the PhilHealth was approved so that all Filipinos will now be covered by the universal healthcare program, while indigent patients will not have to pay for anything in government hospitals under the No Balance Billing (NBB) policy. The bicam also approved additional funds for the Department of Health (DOH) worth P1.521 billion for the Doctors to the Barrio program, construction of additional health facilities, and medical assistance to indigent patients; as well as the P2.646 billion allocation for the establishment of DOH-Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers in regions which do not have such facility. Under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), P100 million will be granted to centenarians and additional funding is provided for the supplemental feeding program. Moreover, all 4.4 million beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will now be entitled to a rice allowance in the form of cash grants. Under the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) budget, the amount of P2 billion is provided to subsidize irrigation fees that farmers have long been shouldering. For livelihood and microenterprises support, additional P1 billion is allocated under the Small Business Corporation so it can provide loans at almost no interest to microenterprises; additional funds were also provided for various programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) including Employment Facilitation and Capacity Building Services. Under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Congress approved funds for the Training for Work Scholarship Program/Livelihood, as well as Training Provision for Drug Dependents. For the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), additional funds were provided for training and equipment of firefighters, support to the Philippine National Police's (PNP) fight against illegal drugs, increased subsistence allowance of prisoners and rehabilitation and construction of jail facilities. Additional funds were also allocated to the Department of National Defense (DND) to fund activities to effectively defend the country from internal and external threats, as well as to fund programs such as the repair of Veterans Center, expanded veterans hospitalization program, and construction of cadet barracks. The bicam also approved allocation for the combat and incentive pay of the military and police worth P12.1 billion, as well as funding for the Capability Enhancement Program of the PNP. For environment and resilience programs, funds under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were allocated for restoration of mangroves, which are effective buffers against storm surge and tsunami. In implementing the National Greening Program (NGP), the DENR should use planting materials that are responsive to the needs of the communities such as fruit-bearing trees, bamboo, coconut trees, and trees that are important for traditional use and livelihood of indigenous peoples and local communities. Legarda also ensured continued support for heritage, arts and culture under the 2017 national budget. "This is a pro-people budget--one that will be felt by those at the grassroots as it prioritizes rural development and social services. But these funds must be spent judiciously and expeditiously. I urge agencies of government to spend these resources well and address the challenges that lead to underspending or low absorptive capacity," Legarda concluded.
Press Release

December 13, 2016 FARMERS' INCOMES NOW AN AGRI BENCHMARK: PANGILINAN MANILA - At the insistence of Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, the Department of Agriculture now benchmarks its programs on increased farmers' incomes. At the confirmation hearing for his ad interim appointment at the Commission on Appointments (CA), Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol on Tuesday said: "Our target is 6,000 pesos [average income per month] at the end of the term of the President, that's a modest target. But we believe we could achieve that because right now there are interventions that we are doing with the fisheries and farming sector." The average income of farmers is 150 pesos a day or 4,500 pesos a month, he added. This income bracket involves 40 percent of the country's total farming population because there are financed farmers involved in high-value crops production, Pinol said. Pangilinan, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food and former Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, credited the previous administration's focus on the sector for the improvement of agriculture's performance in the preceding quarter. "There may have been critics of the policy of separating four key agriculture agencies from DA and placing them under the Office of the President in 2014 but the 3rd quarter 2016 GDP numbers showing a 3.5 percent increase in agri output despite El Nino is proof that the policy was generally a sound one. Natutukan nang husto ang mga agri concerns," Pangilinan said. In the last administration, the National Food Authority, the Philippine Coconut Authority, the National Irrigation Administration, and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority were transferred from the DA to the OP, under the direction control and supervision of then OPAFSAM Secretary Pangilinan. "The reason why I raised these issues of income as a benchmark is that based on the programs of the Department of Agriculture in the past and not only in the previous administration, we focused on productivity and then our deliverables are number of equipment delivered, number of coconut hectares fertilized, number of coconut trees planted but it does not identify the increase in income of our farmers," Pangilinan said. He cited the changes he made in the mission and vision statements of the Philippine Coconut Authority which now include increase in incomes as part of the mission. "If fertilization of a coconut tree will mean doubling yields in a period of two years, what does that mean in terms of income? Because if we put in place fertilization as a program, then we should have incomes as the output rather than just fertilization as the output," Pangilinan said. "The outcome has to be increased incomes. The interventions of value adding sa coconut, ang ginawa natin (what we did), we projected an income of as much as 80 thousand a year for coco enterprise intervention for the farmer. I think that's the direction taken by the agriculture department so that we actually see lives improved. Madaling sabihing tataas ang (It's easy to say that there will be increased) productivity," he added. "The number one dollar earner in agriculture is coconut oil exportation yet the poorest farmer is the coconut farmer. He is poorer than the rice farmer. He is poorer than the vegetable farmer. Where is the money going? That's a huge amount of money coming in for the country in terms of export earnings. But it's not going to the farmer, the number one resource," Pangilinan pointed out. "We should be doing benchmarking so that our interventions would have a clear deliverable, otherwise, what's the point of spending billions of pesos for irrigation, for farm-to-market roads, for post-harvest facilities if after six years farmers' incomes remain the same or would have a negligible decrease," he said. The CA deferred the confirmation of Pinol after a question was raised on the Quantitative Restriction (QR) on Rice. The CA is set to resume the confirmation hearing early next year, 2017.
Press Release

December 13, 2016 SPONSORSHIP SPEECH OF SEN. POE

Senate Bill No. 1297 "An Act Creating a National School Feeding Program Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat. Mr. President, 30 years from now, experts predict that the Philippines will encounter a "demographic sweet spot" - a condition wherein there are more working-age persons in the general population. The Philippine Statistics Office (PSO) projects that by 2045, 67.5% of the population will be of working age. This means that 30 years from now, our country will have 95 million workers in our labor force. This so-called "demographic sweet spot" could be a boon or a bane for our country. On one hand, our huge population could prove to be a bane if we are unable to provide our children with proper support for them to realize their full potential. Then our country will be saddled with millions of idle, unemployed adults 30 years from now. On the other hand, this 95-million strong workforce could be a boon - provided of course, if we can give our children the proper support now for them to become skilled workers and productive citizens later on. Thus, to reap the economic dividends of this so-called "demographic sweet spot," we need to provide our children the proper "nurturing environment" to help them succeed in the future. We need to invest in our children today to reap the rewards tomorrow. Improving the nutritional well-being of our children requires government intervention because many Filipino families today still cannot afford to feed their children sufficiently. As we have seen, Mr. President, despite years of economic growth, involuntary hunger and child malnutrition continue to be endemic in the Philippines. The latest SWS survey (conducted during the 4th quarter of 2015) found that 2.6 million families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the last three months. That's about 12 million Filipinos or 12% of our population Mr. President. Bilang mga magulang kapag nasasaktan ang ating mga anak, di ba minsan sinasabi natin "malayo naman 'yan sa bituka. Ayos lang' yan". Pero paano kung bituka mismo ang problema? Paano kung madalas hindi nalalapatan ng tamang pagkain ang mga bituka? Hindi ba't sangay-sangay na pagdurusa na ang haharapin ng sinumang walang laman ang sikmura? The nutritional status of our children is not getting better. It is, in fact, getting worse. The incidence of underweight children (aged 0-5 years) rose from 19.9% in 2013 to 21.5% in 2015 (a 1.6% increase). Likewise, child stunting rose from 30.3% to 33.4% (a 3.1% increase) in the same period. The UNICEF, in its April 2013 report, reported that the Philippines is now the 9th country with the largest number of stunted children in the world. Filipinos are now the second shortest people in Southeast Asia. Hahayaan pa ba nating maging pinaka maliit, pinaka payat at pinaka kulelat ang mga susunod nating henerasyon? Don't we have a moral obligation to ensure the improvement, not the decline, of our race? It is a medical fact that a person who grew up chronically malnourished often performs poorly in school, is often sick and is less productive at work. Thus, in 2013 alone, it was estimated that productivity losses and health care costs due to childhood stunting amounted to a whopping ?328 billion. This is about 3% of our GDP. Investing in the nutritional well-being of our school-children is money well-spent Mr. President. This is because for every 50 pesos spent on school-feeding, we could save ?5,150 in future health, education and lost/low productivity costs brought about by childhood malnutrition. School feeding programs have found to improve academic performance. In 2011, the DepEd reportedly strengthened its School Health and Nutrition Programs (SHNPs) to make them more responsive to enhancing students' motivation and capacity to learn, reducing absenteeism, and ensuring completion. Doon po sa bayan ng ating kasamahan na si Senator Win Gatchalian, meron silang school-feeding program na spearheaded by the local government of Valenzuela (under Mayor Rex Gatchalian) and the Ateneo Blue Plate (of Fr. Ben Nebres). And based on anecdotal reports, school attendance rates in Valenzuela went to the roof after they established the feeding program years ago. Moreover, teachers report that their pupils are more lively, mas listo at mas ganado mag-aral. Valenzuela has succeeded in reducing the incidence of child malnutrition. A young, intelligent girl once said, "Hunger is not a problem. It is an obscenity. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." Those were the words of Anne Frank, the famous writer, whose family had to hide during World War 2, practically starving to death. Clearly, we need not wait for a war. We need not wait a single moment before improving our world. We need to put in place programs that will improve the nutritional status of our children and eradicate child malnutrition in the country. A national school-feeding program is one of the most important components of our efforts to create a right "nurturing environment" for our children. Mr. President, the Department of Education (DepEd) has a School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) running for a couple of years now. For the current year 2016, we allocated ?4.8 billion to feed around 500,000 severely-wasted students. The government spends only 0.52% of its annual national budget on nutrition. On the other hand, the global average is 2.1%. We need to allocate more to be at par with international standards. Notwithstanding the DepEd School-Based Feeding Program, we still need to enact a law establishing the National School-Feeding Program in order for the program to be institutionalized, properly funded, and not subject to the whims of whoever is in Malacanang. Mr. President, I would like to point out that under Senate Bill 1279, an initial appropriation of 10 billion pesos (to be sourced from PCSO, PAGCOR and the President's Social Fund) is provided for. But please note that there are around 420,000 public schools all over the country that would be covered by this law. Just imagine how many children we can reach out to with this program. Hence, ten billion pesos is a small price to pay given the massive positive effect that can be achieved. Christmas will be upon us in a few days. Huwag tayong maging bulag sa mapait na realidad na marami pa rin ang magpa-Paskong gutom. Sana naman ito na ang maging regalo natin sa kanila. Before I close, as one of the principal authors of Senate Bill No. 1279 entitled "An Act Creating a National School Feeding Program to Combat Hunger and Under-nutrition for all Public Basic Education Students," I humbly ask all of my colleagues here in this august Chamber to approve this measure. I also would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, our hard-working Chairman - Senator Bam (Aquino) - for his prompt and speedy action to our bills, and likewise to my co-authors, namely Senator Zubiri and Honasan. The former US President John F. Kennedy once said, that "the war on hunger is truly mankind's war of liberation." This is a battle we must all wage against - vigorously, victoriously. Perhaps rather than just focusing all its energies and attention on the war on drugs, the government can also devote our resources to reduce hunger, poverty, and ignorance. Baka naman puwede wag lang tayo puro extrajudicial killings ang pag-usapan; at sa halip ay mag "extrajudicial feeding" naman tayo. Maraming salamat po.
Press Release

December 13, 2016 Statement on the Bicameral Conference Committee Approval of the National Budget for 2017

Office of Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto We are pleased to note that the General Appropriations Bill for 2017, which the Bicameral Conference Committee has approved for ratification by both chambers, carry the amendments initiated by the Senate minority leader. Foremost is the P8 billion Free College Tuition Fund that is lodged with the Commission on Higher Education. This will exempt from basic matriculation close to a million state university and college students next year. Also included is the P397 million additional building and equipment fund for SUCs, thus raising their budget for capital outlays to P9. 68 billion. Two basic education initiatives we advocated were likewise upheld. One is the provision of P100 million for DepED's school site development plans, to expedite classroom construction. The other is the increase in the teacher's supplies allowance, through the adoption of Senator Lacson's more superior amendment that it be increased from P1,500 to P2,500. We are successful in increasing by P1 billion the budget of the DSWD for school feeding. With this P4.42 billion, it can serve 1.74 million 2 to 4 year olds a nutritional meal each day for 120 days. Another amendment of ours which has been ratified is the increase of the budget of the Doctors to the Barrio Program and the Rural Health Practice Program to P7.81 billion. Hopefully, this will foreclose the planned 'endo' of frontline nurses and other health personnel. One health initiative we successfully fought for in the 2016 budget does not involve amounts but a key provision mandating that no Filipino shall be denied access and treatment to public hospitals and facilities pursuant to the principle of universal health care. I am also happy to note that the Bicameral Conference Committee adopted our proposal for the creation of a P100-million "emergency repatriation fund" the Labor secretary could use to bring home distressed OFWs next year. Our advocacy for a bigger "help fund" for Filipinos abroad continues. On the peace and security front, the final Congress version of the budget carries two initiatives we lobbied for which are designed to boost the equipment inventory of our uniformed services. For the PNP, this is through a P5.63 billion fund for capacity enhancement which has been included in the Unprogrammed Fund. This will be used to buy more guns, build new stations, deploy new cars and fill other logistical voids. For the Armed Forces and the PNP, we crafted a provision requiring the purchase of quality defense equipment, vehicles, armaments, and weaponry which local Filipino manufacturers are producing. Sourcing these locally will result in faster delivery times. In addition, it is a scheme that will provide jobs to the people. We are also successful in sponsoring the construction of a NEDA regional office building in Southern Tagalog, to bring its services to the region with the second highest GDP. Our amendment, however, to increase the budget of another DSWD program, the implementation of the Centenarians Act, was not carried for the valid reason that any deficiency will be charged to unspent amounts of the 2016 budget. We have batted for a P3 billion increase in the medicines purchase budget of the Department of Health. But one intervening event partially met our request: The President's decision to earmark P2 billion of PAGCOR earnings to stock up hospital pharmacies. Our belief in the merits of these initiatives gives us the confidence that these will be affirmed by the executive. We look forward to the pledge made by those who will execute the budget to promptly release the allocations in the proper manner because budget delayed is development denied.
CARACAS (Reuters) - - Venezuela's leftist president Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he would close the bustling border with Colombia for 72 hours to prevent the smuggling of bank notes, a day after he announced the country's biggest bills would be withdrawn to crack down on organised criminals operating on the border.

(Reporting by Corina Pons; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Alan Crosby)
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Its a constant dilemma for San Francisco residents: give money to panhandlers, or ignore their requests for change and keep walking?

Leave it to a 26-year-old digital strategist from London to come up with an alternative  and a very creative one at that. Charlotte Cramer has just debuted the U.S. version of Crack + Cider in the Tenderloin Museum gift shop, after launching in London a year ago.

People can buy products useful to homeless people, from a $12 fleece to a $25 backpack, but you dont take the item with you. The museum instead offers a note card on which to write a message to the homeless recipient, and Crack + Cider gives the products and note cards to nonprofits that work directly with homeless people for distribution.

Fanning through some note cards at the Tenderloin Museum on a recent morning, Cramer found sentiments ranging from Destroy the patriarchy! to I love you.

My favorite one said, Someone cares, Cramer said. Some of them say, You are seen and you are heard.

Cramer and the co-founder of Crack + Cider, Scarlett Montanaro, came up with the idea on a vacation in Berlin two years ago when a panhandler asked them for money.

We said no and shrugged him off, as we always did, Cramer said.

Paul Chinn/The Chronicle

Over coffee after that encounter, the women confided in each other that they never give money to homeless people. They both felt guilty about it, but it had been drilled into them that the money would just go for drugs or alcohol. But surely, they thought, there must be a better answer than doing nothing.

Back in London, another panhandler told them that nobody wants to give him change because itll just be used for crack and cider. And thus the program with the quirky name was born. Cramer joked that the name doesnt translate very well to America, because in the United Kingdom, cider refers to the alcoholic drink. Here, most people think of it as kid-friendly apple juice.

But not lost in translation is the quandary of just what to do when a panhandler asks for money. A controversial recent ad campaign in London told pedestrians not to give change to homeless people because you could contribute to a persons death.

Similar messages have been relayed to San Franciscans. In 2003, the Hotel Council funded an ad campaign linking panhandling to drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases. One ad read, Today we rode a cable car, visited Alcatraz and supported a drug habit.

In 2008, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom was about to launch a program in which unused old parking meters would be turned into homeless meters with signs reading, Be a part of change. Dont give change.

The idea was to give collected change to nonprofits that work with homeless people. But the plan was dropped after being roundly mocked in the media and by the public.

Crack + Cider has done well in London, having sold 7,000 items worth $100,000 in the first year through a pop-up shop and online sales.

The San Francisco shop launched during election week, which Cramer said wasnt a good idea since all news was drowned out by President-elect Donald Trumps election victory. But she is hopeful that it will take off here, too.

Shoppers at the Tenderloin Museums pop-up shop, which lasts through Dec. 27 or online permanently at www.crackandcider.com, can purchase a number of items, including a canine care pack with a leash, collar, dog food and dog vest; a set of hat, socks and gloves; and a womens care pack with tampons, sanitary napkins, a hairbrush and other toiletries.

Crack + Cider has teamed up with Hospitality House, which runs a homeless shelter and provides other services, and Lava Mae, which turns old public-transit buses into mobile showers, for distribution of the products.

Doniece Sandoval, founder of Lava Mae, said San Franciscos homeless crisis is so profound that innovators in the field are welcome.

Being the first San Francisco-based online store that enables anyone anywhere to quickly and enjoyably purchase essentials for our homeless neighbors is a wonderful new option for San Franciscans who are wanting to help in practical and tangible ways, Sandoval said.

The Crack + Cider items come mostly from local wholesalers or Amazon. All of the proceeds go back into buying more product. Cramer and Montanaro are taking no salary.

People say, Youre profiteering off poverty, but we dont take a penny off it, Cramer said. We paid someone 100 pounds once to design an info graphic.

Cramer moved to San Francisco in March on a work visa to take a job as a strategist at Beyond, a digital product agency. She said she was alarmed by the rents here  shes paying three times as much for a studio in the Tenderloin as she did for her accommodations in London.

Shes already had calls from all over the U.S. and Canada about how to bring Crack + Cider elsewhere, and has made an open-source toolkit so offshoots can launch anywhere.

Katie Conry, executive director of the Tenderloin Museum, called Crack and Cider a great fit for us. She said many visitors have come to the museum in the past few weeks specifically because they heard about Crack + Cider and want to purchase items.

Conry said homeless people so rarely receive brand-new, high-quality items that she thinks Crack + Cider can make a real difference.

A brand-new jacket thats specifically for them can help people not only stay warm, but give them a sense of pride and dignity thats really important, she said.

Cramer agreed that dignity is sorely needed in the homeless community. Whether or not you give change, whether or not you buy an item from Crack + Cider, Cramer has a piece of advice.

Make eye contact and say hello, she said of panhandlers and homeless people. Acknowledging another human as a human is the most meaningful thing you can do. And the easiest.

Heather Knight is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
For a city notorious for having the smallest percentage of kids of any city in the nation, San Francisco is at least in the forefront of making sure there are plenty of tables on which to change their diapers.

Supervisor Katy Tang will introduce legislation Tuesday that would greatly expand the number of restrooms around the city mandated to have diaper-changing tables installed.

President Obama signed a bill in October called the Bathrooms Accessible for Babies in Every Situation Act, mandating that federal buildings open for public use have changing stations in womens and mens bathrooms alike.

(By the way, we doubt changing tables will be on the radar of President-elect Donald Trump, seeing as how the father of five has said he didnt change diapers and that hands-on parenting is not for me.)

Tangs legislation would expand on the Babies Act by requiring that all city buildings have diaper-changing accommodations and that all businesses in San Francisco with a changing table in the womens restroom provide them in the mens room or gender-neutral room, too.

San Francisco already requires changing tables in new businesses or old ones that undergo substantial renovation. But Tangs legislation would move enforcement of the requirement from the Planning Department to the Department of Building Inspection to ensure compliance.

This proposed legislation goes beyond just providing a convenient and sanitary place for parents to change diapers, Tang said in a statement. I hope this new law causes us to question and break down existing stereotypes about child care.

That sigh of relief you hear is from moms all over the city handing their diaper bags over to Dad.

 Heather Knight

Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, hknight@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @hknightSF
San Franciscos First Republic Bank has acquired Gradifi, a Boston startup that helps employers offer student-loan repayment as an employee perk.

First Republic started offering up to $100 per month in student-loan repayment to its own employees in early October, using Gradifis technology and payment processing service. Response was so great  about 500 to 600 of the banks approximately 3,000 workers enrolled  that it enhanced the program last month. It now offers up to $150 per month in the employees second year and $200 per month in future years until the debt is repaid, said Michael Roffler, First Republics chief financial officer.

This is a rather innovative benefit developed over the past year or so to help (employers attract and retain talent) in a competitive job market, Roffler added.

The acquisition could bolster First Republics student-loan refinancing business, which it started about two years ago. That business lets people consolidate student loans, including grad-student loans, into one loan with a lower rate than they might be paying.

It has been a very successful program which has attracted clients to the bank who might not otherwise have come, at least this early in their life, Roffler said.

In Gradifi, we have a partner who is very focused on student-loan assistance. Some of those individuals, if they are in our geographic footprint, might go into the student-loan refinancing program we are offering. This program is open to borrowers who are near First Republic branches in six states.

Gradifis other clients include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Random House and a number of smaller companies.

Tim DeMello, Gradifis founder and chief executive, said First Republic, which has $68 billion in assets, will give Gradifi the financial stability it needs to attract large clients.

Roffler said employers with thousands of employees want to launch benefit programs with companies they know will have staying power.

Gradifi will also use First Republics customer service center in California to supplement its own.

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First Republic paid cash for Gradifi. It did not disclose the amount, but said it is currently not material to earnings or capital.

Gradifis headquarters, which has 27 employees, will remain in Boston. We are going to grow 30 to 40 percent in the next 18 months. We are hiring for sales, service, technology, DeMello said.

Only 4 percent of companies surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management offered student-loan assistance this year, up from 3 percent last year. One drawback is that employees must pay income tax on loan repayments employers make on their behalf. DeMello said more employers would offer this benefit if the payments were tax-free.

Today, employers can offer up to $5,250 per year in tax-free tuition assistance to employees. A number of bills, which have bipartisan support, would let employees receive up to $5,250 in employer-provided tuition assistance, student-loan repayment or some combination thereof. DeMello said the authors of the two leading bills, HR3861 and HR1713, plan to combine them into one and introduce it early next year. A lot of employers say, let me see how that goes, before going ahead with a program, he said.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
A man was injured in San Franciscos North Beach neighborhood Sunday after a sidewalk dispute led to a drive-by shooting, officials said.

Gunfire erupted about 2:15 a.m. on the 400 block of Columbus Avenue near Vallejo Street, close to a number of bars and restaurants, police said.

The 24-year-old victim exited a business with two men, ages 26 and 22, police said. As the victim was walking out, he bumped into a group of three other men standing on the sidewalk, leading to an angry altercation, police said.

The three suspects fled the argument, returned in a vehicle and opened fire, hitting the victim, police said.

The victim, whose name was not released, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspects fled south on Columbus Avenue, police said.

No arrests have been made.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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A San Francisco immigration attorney picked up key support Monday to fill the citys vacant Police Commission seat, but another of the three contenders may have a chance to snatch the appointment when the full Board of Supervisors weighs in Tuesday.

Bill Hing, a University of San Francisco professor who represents unaccompanied children in immigration courts, won the recommendation of the boards Rules Committee by a 2-1 vote, with backing from Supervisors Eric Mar and Katy Tang.

Mar said he recommended Hing because his knowledge as one of the most approachable mentors (of people in) the immigrant rights community would be important on the commission as sanctuary cities are under attack on a nationwide level.

Before the hearing, Mar told The Chronicle that Hing was his mentor in the 1980s and 90s, and that he would vote to recommend him.

Recommendations by the Rules Committee, though, do not have to be followed by the full board. Supervisor Malia Cohens dissenting vote  along with her support of criminal defense attorney John Hamasaki  was echoed by Supervisors John Avalos and London Breed, who attended Mondays hearing despite not being on the committee.

I came in thinking that the best candidate was probably going to be Bill Hing, just knowing Bill Hing from his human rights work, Avalos said. But as I was listening to John Hamasaki speak, I think he has the qualities that I think are going to be really needed in having someone on the Police Commission.

Cohen said that while Hing had an impressive background, he came into the hearing with the unprepared approach of a candidate unfamiliar with how the commission works. I

n particular, Cohen questioned why Hing had submitted his application after the deadline, and whether he had been involved enough with the commission before the seat opened up.

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In their presentations to the committee, Hing and Hamasaki expressed many of the same reform-minded goals for the Police Commission, which has been working to implement broad changes to the Police Department following charges of biased policing and several controversial shootings by officers, including that of Mario Woods a year ago.

Tang praised all three candidates but seemed to be leaning toward Julie Soo, an attorney for the California Department of Insurance. However, Tang threw her support behind Hing after Cohen made a motion to recommend Hamasaki.

A fourth candidate, Michael Young, withdrew his application before the hearing. The appointment to the Police Commission will replace Victor Hwang, who resigned after winning a race for San Francisco Superior Court judge in November.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
Steven G. de Polo / Getty Image

Police identified the man who was shot to death in the Bayview district Friday evening.

Terrence Briggs, a 35-year-old San Francisco resident, was found about 8:30 p.m. with gunshot wounds on the 4900 block of Quesada Avenue, near a Bank of America, police said.
City College of San Francisco, struggling for every dollar it can muster, must repay the state nearly $39 million because it cant prove that instructors taught thousands of students in hundreds of online classes from 2011 to 2014, an audit revealed.

City College has been unable to verify teaching about 16,000 students in 587 online courses  from Accent Improvement to Cardiorespiratory Emergencies  over the three-year period, according to the state-commissioned audit that ended in September.

No fraud is suspected. State officials say the college simply bungled the way it tracked course participation and will give the college a decade to repay the money. But having to give up $3.9 million a year exacerbates City Colleges budget woes, brought on by what the college says has been a severe plunge in enrollment due to its ongoing accreditation troubles.

Community colleges receive state money on a per-pupil basis. But to keep the money, instructors of online courses have specific requirements for documenting that they spent the required amount of time interacting with students.

Its a pretty black-and-white requirement, said Mario Rodriguez, vice chancellor for fiscal policy at the California Community College Chancellors Office, which requested the audit in 2015 after City College officials themselves discovered and reported the problem.

They knew they should have been keeping records of communications between students and instructors to prove the course was happening  and they didnt, Rodriguez said. No one can prove that they did, or they would get to keep the money.

He said it isnt enough just to show that students received grades in the courses. Were asking for some reasonable assurance that the state is getting what it paid for, he said, noting that of the states 113 community colleges, one or two have similar difficulties each year, although none to the extent of the City College problem.

According to the audit, it was not evident that students both participated and/or knew about the instructional activities and expectations of the courses.

The audit attributes the problem to instructors improper use of the Learning Management System designed to keep track of online instruction.

The trouble began in 2011 as the college, like many around the country, began relying more heavily on online courses in hopes of expanding enrollment and course offerings for less money.

But it was also a time when City College had grown lax with its fiscal management and governance  problems that came to the attention of college accreditors in 2012. Thats when the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges cracked down on City College for such lapses and spent the next few years trying to revoke its accreditation and shut down the school.

At the time, we were not keeping ourselves abreast of (state requirements), which is part of why there were accrediting challenges, said Jeff Hamilton, the colleges spokesman.

The accrediting commission is set to make its final, private determination about whether City College will live or die in January, and will make the ruling public in February.

State officials say the latest revelation should be seen as an example of how City College has improved since the crisis began.

They discovered the problem themselves, brought it to our attention, fixed the problem and are committed to paying the money back, said Paul Feist, spokesman for the states Interim Chancellor Erik Skinner. So this would suggest that the college has made a lot of progress, and a demonstration that its getting its fiscal house in order.

Hamilton said the problem was revealed in 2014 by Susan Lamb, just months after she was hired from Contra Costa Community College as vice chancellor for academic affairs at City College. Lamb brought it to the attention of the schools then-Chancellor Art Tyler, who reported it to the state.

Tyler has since resigned, while Lamb is interim chancellor. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Since its accrediting crisis began in 2012, City College said it has lost roughly 22,000 students, or 26 percent, bringing annual enrollment to less than 62,000. It remains unclear whether the problems with student counts in online courses are related to City Colleges overall enrollment decline.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

The state has given City College millions of dollars in stabilization funding to offset the loss of students, but the law authorizing that cash ends in 2017.

The college got $44 million last year and $25 million this year, and will get nothing next year.

To address the budget problem, college officials have begun reducing their 3,500 course offerings by 5 percent a year, to the dismay of students and faculty.

Last month, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved Prop. B, an extension of the citys parcel tax for City College, which is expected to provide about $19 million a year, up from the current $15 million.

Asked how the $38.9 million loss will affect the college, Hamilton said only that the loss will have to be built into its budget.

We arent falling off a fiscal cliff, as some have described the schools finances, he said. We have a budget plan to prevent us from falling off a fiscal cliff.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
A Chronicle Life Tribute for Esther Orioli, who died on Nov. 29, didnt escape the notice of reader David Jensen. She loved Italian cooking, said the notice, flower arranging, garage sales, music, dancing, sex, travel and painting (and, as she would point out, not necessarily in that order).

Jensen, perhaps the Bay Areas most discerning reader of such tributes, also found an in loving memory notice for Betty Joy Perez: Betty was engaged in the political process and voted in the last election. However, she passed away before learning who the next President is, and for that we are grateful.

And Susie Taylor, who for 35 years was curator of the Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy, died last week. The collection is housed in the San Francisco Public Library, and according to her daughter, is the premier collection of Western calligraphy in the United States, if not the world.

Taylor, herself a calligrapher, worked as a scribe for then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein, for whom she would hand-write and illuminate official proclamations. She created pieces for royalty, including Queen Elizabeth and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Did she ever receive thanks from the recipients?

I remember she told me she introduced herself to Queen Beatrix at the reception, said her daughter, Emilie Gatfield. She apparently surprised the mayor with her audacity.

Paul Templeton, who was a good friend of Edward Albee, was in New York last week for an onstage tribute (very touching, very funny) to the playwright at the August Wilson Theater. Afterward, he went to dinner at the Italian restaurant Barbetta, at which he overheard the grand lady sitting next to him sigh to her husband, Oh dear, my menu has a stain on it.

At 1 p.m. Friday afternoon, Dec. 9, accordionist Ron Borelli and operatic tenor Peter Girardot set forth between the tables, replacing the din of holiday lunch talk with the strains of O Sole Mio. This was at Sams Grill on Bush Street, owners John Briscoe and Mark Buell having arranged the holiday surprise for patrons of the 149-year-old restaurant.

We tore off slices of sourdough bread, sipped cocktails and with members of waitstaff weaving their ways to and fro around the entertainers, wrapped our conversation around the music. After the Italian classic tilted to the theme song from The Godfather, it was off to the American standards, including show tunes (Some Enchanted Evening has nothing to do with Italy, but its a song that seems as though it was born in Rome) and Cole Porters So in Love (sung by Noah Griffin, who was lunching at the restaurant that day).

I think they played Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, but at our table, we were having a heartfelt discussion about rent control. The musicians were behind us, on the other side of a partition, so I cant be sure I heard right. Perhaps, in this full restaurant with most patrons having sipped a glass or two, it was the Hallelujah Chorus.

In the where-are-they-now department, if youre a watcher of Fox News, you dont need to be informed that former San Francisco first lady Kimberly Guilfoyle is cutting a swath at the former workplace of Roger Ailes. The networks press people just sent notice that shes been there for 10 years, and (among other things), Her signature fashion statement is a good heel and (she) has even attracted her own Twitter alias for her long legs and high heeled shoes. Even Edward R. Murrow couldnt have claimed that.

Steven Moss, publisher of the Potrero View newspaper, which printed what he describes as a premature Clinton Wins headline, got a bunch of irate mail about it. Teaches this neighborhood newspaper to stay out of national politics, he says. Though, really, nothing riles people up as much as anything related to dogs.

The most wonderful time of the year is also the most stressful, says Dr. Deborah Sandella. Seasonal stress elicits inner emotions and takes on a life of its own.

Stress? Been there, done that. But at least you ought to have good reason to stress out. The new year is right around the corner and it should serve as a wake-up call for America, says the Sleep to Live Institute, giving us the opportunity to reflect on one of the most overlooked health priorities in our lives: sleep!

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik

Public Eavesdropping

You do that and itll take two years off your sentence.
As a 17-year-old arriving on his first day of work, Matthew Wood was understandably intimidated by his new job at George Lucas Skywalker Ranch.

But I played video games all day with other passionate geeks, drank Coke and ate M&Ms, and had a great time, Wood says about those early years at the ranch.

After working nearly 26 years at Skywalker Ranch and Sound, Wood, 44, can claim three sound editing Academy Award nominations (The Force Awakens, Wall-E and There Will Be Blood) and a career as a voice-over actor, perhaps most famously as General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III  Revenge of the Sith. Now the senior sound editor and also in charge of the voice-over talent, Wood is getting ready for the premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first film of the stand-alone anthology series, which opens Friday, Dec. 16.

Wood, who lives in Petaluma, was a high school senior in his hometown of Danville when he stumbled upon an online ad for a quality assurance technician at a discreetly titled company. This was before Skywalker Ranch could be found on Google. The location was secret, he says.

Wood was working as an assistant in his local library at the time, and he researched the address listed on the posting, confirming his suspicions that the company was Lucasfilm Games. He applied for the job, and after interviewing in Skywalker Ranchs solarium, he was hired on the spot as a video game tester in 1990.

I went into my guidance counselors office the next day and told her about the job, Wood says. She looked at my file, and since I had done some summer school and production classes that earned me extra credits, I was in a position to graduate early.

Before long, a new opportunity at Skywalker Sound piqued Woods interest. Lucas was developing a program called SoundDroid, a sound editing tool to be used for filmmaking. It was the first digital sound editing system that we had here, Wood says.

Peter Prato/Special to The Chronicle

The life of a sound editor can be hectic. Wood can end up working seven days a week, whether at his office at the ranch or hitting the road to record the likes of Harrison Ford in Los Angeles or Adam Driver in New York. While working on The Force Awakens, Wood found himself hopping flights among the Bay Area, Santa Monica, New York and London within a span of a few days.

And yet he still manages a job as a voice-over actor, especially creatures and droids in the Star Wars films. He started acting in his mid-20s, when he took courses for five years at San Franciscos American Conservatory Theater. It was Lucas who gave Wood his first chance to blend his sound design with his vocal performances. That opened up some doors to get an agent. Things went from there.

Following his tendency to use the same handful of actors for the vocal roles, Wood has brought original 1977 Star Wars actors on board to use their voices for Rogue One, such as Angus MacInnes and David Ankrum, who played Gold Leader and Red Two in A New Hope.

Wood also gets invited to appear at sci-fi conventions around the world. Keith Zen and Abby Dark Star, a cosplayer couple from San Francisco, were thrilled when they met Wood at San Diego Comic-Con and found out he was General Grievous.

We didnt realize the huge role he has played in our favorite genre of television and film, says Zen. Getting to see him in action at the conventions is like seeing a painter paint.

Despite his own seniority today, Wood values being able to work with newcomers to the Star Wars franchise, such as Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up, Ratatouille, Inside Out), who served as composer for the recently completed Rogue One.

They all seem to have that same glint in their eye that I had, and still have, Wood says. To see it from the perspective of people who have never worked on it before, thats really fun for me.

The six-time Golden Reel Award winner has his family to thank for his early interest in technology and sound. Hanging from the wall in Woods office at Skywalker Ranch is a vintage record of radio sound effects from his late grandfather, a radio DJ in the 1950s and 60s. I only use that in case of emergency, he says, smiling.

He confesses to never imagining at age 5 when he saw Star Wars in theaters with his father that 12 years later he would be a part of the team that made it.

Working for Lucasfilm has always had this magic essence which I still feel today, Wood says, looking out his office window toward the same path he drove down on his first day of work at 17.

We are just here, renting space and living out our childhood fantasies.

Alexi Melvin is a freelance writer

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens on Friday, Dec. 16.

To see a trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=frdj1zb9sMY
San Francisco politics has long been a weird wonderland. One of its oddest features is the proliferation of progressive candidates and Democratic clubs that are progressive in name only. Politicians like Scott Wiener and London Breed magically morph into fire-breathing, left-wing dragons during campaign season, only to change back again to cuddly creatures of corporate interests when they are safely elected.

Likewise, Democratic clubs sprout up around the city pretending to be agents of progressive change, when they are really conduits for corporate dark money of murky origin. Theyre poisonous mushrooms, says political strategist Larry Bush. This kind of fungi has a long history in San Francisco.

The biggest mushroom of Election Year 2016 was the Robert F. Kennedy Democratic Club. Theyre Ron Conways committee du jour, his flavor of the year, Bush says, referring to the billionaire tech investor and City Hall power broker.

The club  led by a 31-year-old, bow-tied, corporate public relations man named Justin Jones who has established himself as the fizziest host on the political cocktail circuit  raked in over $900,000 in contributions this year. Most of this bounty came from Progress San Francisco, the political action committee started by Conway and his Big Tech friends, and from the real estate industry.

The RFK Club used this corporate windfall to finance a slate of business-friendly candidates like Wiener and Breed  as well as successful city measures like Proposition Q, the cruel law that lets San Francisco police confiscate homeless peoples tents after giving them 24 hours to move to a shelter. The club also opposed Proposition T, the winning measure that places strong limits on lobbyists financial firepower.

By this point, if youre wondering what the RFK Democratic Club has to do with the values of the man its named after, youre not alone. I wrote a book about John and Robert Kennedy (Brothers), and Im aware of what Bobby Kennedy stood for  and it wasnt stripping poor and desperate people of their only shelter from the rain and wind.

As a senator from New York, Bobby shined a light on the suffering of our nations poorest, in Appalachia and Mississippi and on American Indian reservations. He fasted with Cesar Chavez and lectured a reactionary Central Valley sheriff about the constitutional rights of striking farmworkers. He stood up to the establishment wing of the Democratic Party and risked his life to run for president.

I had a feeling that Robert Kennedys family would not be pleased to hear how his name was being used in San Francisco, to mislead voters into casting ballots for candidates and measures that were the opposite of progressive. I was right. When I contacted Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental and social justice activist who has carried on his fathers mission, he sent me this statement on behalf of the family.

The Kennedy family condemns the use of Robert Kennedys name by an organization that engages in activities that he would abhor. We are exploring our legal options for enjoining Justin Jones and his corporate clients from raising dark money for darker purposes in the RFK name.

I called Jones for a response, and he told me, While we have much respect for RFK and RFK Jr., we feel that were honoring Bobbys legacy by serving at-risk groups in our community. Jones added that Bobby would be proud of the clubs community service work. He also insisted that Conway and his wealthy allies dont have undue influence over the Robert F. Kennedy Club.

Jones club is part of a network of young, corporate-backed activists who see themselves in opposition to the citys progressive establishment. One such Jones comrade is 29-year-old Laura Foote Clark, a vice president of the RFK Club and the founder of Grow SF, a pro-development group that attracts funding from some of the same sources as the RFK Club.

Clark is spearheading a campaign to wrest control of the Sierra Clubs San Francisco chapter from its traditional, sustainable-growth leadership. She is one of four pro-development candidates running for the chapters executive committee. (Voting, which is limited to chapter members, closes on Friday.)

I disagree with most of Clarks program, but I find her a friendly and refreshingly honest advocate for her groups position. She insists that the benefits of a market-rate housing boom will somehow trickle down to low-income and middle-class residents of the city, even without the affordable housing quotas that Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jane Kim pushed for at City Hall. I consider that magical thinking.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Clark believes the Sierra Club has become a bastion of antihousing NIMBYism, and she points to the clubs opposition to the 8 Washington luxury condo tower on the Embarcadero as an example. I dont care if we block peoples views of the bay. Hey, if you live in a city, thats the way it is. Thats the trade-off.

The battle lines are drawn in San Francisco. Both sides have a clear vision of what the city should be, says Clark, and I like that.

Clark and Jones think progressives and moderates should keep the phone lines open with each other, no matter how strongly they disagree  because theres a bigger common enemy slouching toward Washington.

On that point, we can all agree. But when it comes to demonizing the homeless or ruining San Franciscos legendary visual beauty, theres no room for compromise.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Talbot appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email: dtalbot@sfchronicle.com
Michael Short/The Chronicle

Legislation containing a rider destructive to the already struggling West Coast salmon fishery is almost certain to become federal law, thanks to a 69-30 Senate vote late Friday approving the $11 billion act that authorizes water projects nationwide. California, as with so many other issues now, will need to take the lead on environmental protection policies.

Retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., was forced to filibuster her own bipartisan bill at the 11th hour after our states senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, added a 90-page-plus drought rider to the bill that maximizes pumping at federal water projects on California rivers to benefit agribusiness. Despite Feinsteins insistence that the rider protects endangered species and includes more than 30 mentions that the new water policies would not override environmental laws, the fishing community disagrees because it changes the rules under which pumping is allowed.